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Chapter Text

Leia watched as Rey announced to the old woman, that she was Rey Skywalker. She looked at Luke, he was happy with this. But she felt... sad? Happy? Frustrated? She was happy because Rey had found her place in the world, but sad that Ben, wasn't with her. Leia had thought, that by sacrificing her life to bring Ben back to the Light, he'd be alive and happy, at peace. But he wasn't. He had become one with the Force, so she couldn't even talk to her son, apologise for abandoning him, tell him that she loved him. Leia wanted so badly, to bring him to Rey. Ben deserved it. She deserved it.

As Leia looked at Rey, standing, watching the sunset, she noticed a faint image, just behind Rey. It was Ben. He reached out to touch Rey's shoulder, but his hand passed through and he looked miserable. He was crying, but there wasn't any sound. She looked at Luke, but he was now standing next to Rey, also watching the horizon. He didn't even acknowledge, that Ben was there. Ben looked lost and Leia was frustrated. What good was her sacrifice, if Ben still died. Ben didn't deserve this. It wasn't his fault.

Leia closed her eyes and let out a frustrated breath. Then she heard it. A whisper. It sounded like Han, her parents and everyone who'd been her friend or family. It was a friendly, loving voice and it made her feel warm and safe. It reminded her of when she'd come home, upset by things in her life, that she couldn't control and seemed to make everything seem hopeless, and Han would have her favourite comfort food, ready for her, as if he knew she was having a really bad day. He probably did. She realised that she'd never properly appreciated him. The voice said, "Let go. If you want Ben back, just surrender yourself. It'll be okay". Leia felt like she was being hugged from behind. It felt like Han. "Okay. I'll surrender myself, for Ben". The voice then said, "Han is waiting for you ".

Leia looked at Luke and Rey, who were deep in conversation. She said a silent farewell to them, let out a deep breath and felt herself be released to the Force. She looked at Ben, becoming a solid form.

Ben, suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings, looked in his Mother's direction, saw her mouth, "I love you ". He looked at his hand becoming solid, then looked back at his Mother direction, just as she faded away, smiling. "Rey"?

Rey and Luke turned to face the voice behind them. "Ben"? "But how"? Ben just shook his head, then just pointed to where Leia had been. He couldn't explain it. Luke looked at Ben, sad, but happy. Luke said, "I'm so sorry, that I didn't try to find out about what was happening to you. I thought it was just a matter of you being trained. I should have been looking for the cause, instead I thought I knew it all and was just fighting the symptoms" "Ben, can you forgive me"? Ben smiled with relief. "Only if you can forgive me. I should have told you about the voices in my head. About the anger I was feeling, instead of bottling it up. I should have trusted you". Luke shook his head. "I was too arrogant, thinking I knew it all. I probably wouldn't have listened to you, anyway. I failed you. you didn't fail me".

Rey just watched the exchange, with tears running down her cheeks. She had Ben back. She looked at BB-8, nodded and pointed at Ben. BB-8 rolled up to Ben's leg and zapped him. Ben let out a yelp. Luke snorted a suppressed laugh. Rey, just looked at Ben and pointed at the Falcon, raising and lowering her eyebrows, in a suggestive way. Ben was half way up the gang-plank, by the time Rey was saying good-bye to Luke. Luke watched as Rey followed Ben, shaking his head, highly amused. "It's Han and Leia all over again". He'd see them in the morning, but for now, he had to talk to the Force ghosts, trying to find out what happened with Ben and how was Leia connected. How come he didn't feel her leave?

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Leia became aware of the warmth. A gentle breeze. The smell of her favourite, fresh-brewed kaff. Of the chocolate and caramel cheesecake that she and Ben had discovered, whilst they had gone exploring after they'd arrived for a senate session, but it had been cancelled, due to a bomb threat. The smell of Han's aftershave and freshly wash sheets. She heard soft music. It was her favourite music from when she was a child, sitting with her parents, on those rare days, when they had the night to themselves. She opened her eyes and saw that she was walking, or floating along a cloud road. The clouds were a rich caramel colour, gently undulating. They filled her with joy. It was like something totally amazing was about to happen and she was going to witness it.

As she looked ahead and up, her eye was drawn to a massive golden, shining orb, almost like a sun, hovering above everything. It filled her with calm. She then looked ahead to two rather peculiar cloud bubbles. She thought she heard giggling coming from them. Between them was a golden shining figure, with a hand raised and waving at her. She went up to the entity and before Leia could say anything, the being declared, "You were magnificent. You did an amazing job and you did it better than we could of hoped for, especially with what you were forced to endure". Leia frowned, "What do you mean"?. The entity sighed, "Let me ask you this, If you could redo your entire life, making new choices that would alter everything, thus changing the universe, for the better, would you"? "What if I also told you that someone had stolen your destiny, even before you were born? Would you be willing to go though life again, in an effort to change everything"? Leia looked at the golden entity and blinked. "Is Han going to be with me"? "Yes, he is part of this", came the reply, "His destiny was also stolen". "Unfortunately, what was done to you and Han, has left a kind of a stain, that we need to get rid of. And if we don't get rid of it, it'll "infect", everything, from here on out". Leia sighed. "Will you explain everything, to me"? The entity said, "I was going to explain everything, even if you decide not to do through with it". Leia let out a laugh, "I'm in. But I suspect I'm going to need some Kaff, for this". A very, large mug of Kaff appeared in Leia's hand. Leia looked at the entity and merely said, "Oh. That bad, huh"?

Chapter Text

Leia took a sip of her drink. It was the most amazing kaff she'd ever had the pleasure of drinking. Like liquid silk, but without coating the inside of her mouth. A perfect balance of sweet and bitter, with gentle, rolling under tones of spice, chocolate and general warmth and happiness. It was the perfect kaff, that promised not to leave her with the smell of stale kaff on her breath a few hours later. It also allowed her to get all her thoughts in order.

The entity sat patiently, waiting. The look on their face said that they already knew the questions. Leia just had to ask them.

Leia: "Where are we? What is this place?"
Entity: "Well, imagine that this is a mass transit station, going off to all points in multiple universes. But it contains a birthing centre, with cloud themed aesthetics. And we are waiting for new arrivals, who are part of the solution to our current problem.

Leia mulled this over, chewing the inside of her cheek. She looked at the two large orbs. The giggles of small children could be heard coming from them. The colours swirled gently. It was quite stunning if she had to be honest. She looked around, her eye was drawn to the large, sun-like orb above them.

Leia: "Who or what is in that massive sun-like orb, and why does it make me feel so calm?"
Entity: "That orb contains the First One." "Imagine a being so exceedingly powerful, that when their universe ended, they were still alive. Just sitting on a chunk of rock, floating around the void. Being bombarded by the screams of the souls, of every life form ever. Being slowly, but surely, driven insane. And, desperate to save their sanity, they started reaching out to all the fragments of said universe, bringing them back into a singularity, including most of the souls. Zapping said singularity with a blast of energy, thus restarting the universe. Unfortunately, the souls who couldn't interacted with this new reality, began trying to destroy the new universe. So, after much thought, created this place and helped the remaining souls to connect with their new place in the world."
"And now they reside in the orb, watching over the multiple universes, kind of directing traffic."

Leia: "So a god?"
Entity: "No. A god's existence is solely reliant on being worshipped, by anyone. Gods also tend to interfere with the lives of their followers, make stupid demands and rules, that don't make any sense, that tends to be bad in the long run. A god can't exist without worshippers to bring attention to them." "The First One's role is just to start the formation of a universe, letting it go through its life cycle, without any further interference, unless something goes catastrophically wrong. Like now."

Leia gave an incredulous, almost outraged glare to the Entity.

Leia: "Well, SHOULDNT WE BE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT, INSTEAD ON SITTING HERE, DRINKING KAFF AND WATCHING THESE ORBS CHANGE COLOUR?!"

Leia couldn't believe the relaxed nature of the Entity. She was so enraged, on behalf of everyone, whose lives were at stake. The Entity just raised both hands, in a please calm down, so I can explain, gesture. Leia took a drink of kaff and gestured for the Entity to continue.

Entity: "The First One has time-locked the multiverses. Only this place and the First One aren't effected. It's to give me time to explain everything to you, without any interference, from any source. We can talk freely, I can answer any questions and you can be given a full idea of what we're up against." "You, Han and the ones in the Orbs are the answer to saving the multiverses, as you were inadvertently, involved, by the one who caused this." "To answer your question about the Orbs, they contain new, first time souls. They've NEVER been through any universal cycle. They are fresh to the multiverse. No experiences, no knowledge. Just new and shiny."

Leia frowned, thoughtfully, at this news. A thought was floating about her brain, refusing to be grasped. Something she was missing. She thought about the conversation so far, replaying it through her mind. Mentions of "Stolen Destinies", the fact that Han was already here, somewhere, waiting. It made sense, as he'd died before her. But so had Luke and he wasn't here. In fact, Luke hadn't been mentioned once, almost like he was a topic to be avoided. Maybe he was. Oh no. Maybe he was the cause. Leia looked at the Entity, who seemed to be avoiding Leia's gaze. The Entity sighed, squinted at Leia and nodded.

Entity" "Yeah, it's why he's not allowed to pass through here at this point. We can't afford to have him interfering with the soul process again. He's why there is a stain on reality, that we need to remove, before it gets any worse. It's causing events to replay over and over, bad events, VERY bad events.

Leia looked at her kaff. She didn't want it any more. She was feeling sick. Leia closed her eyes and when she opened them again, the mug was gone. A strange, hollow, "BONK" , came from the Orbs as the giggles intensified and they'd began to collide, like balloons bouncing together. She looked at the Entity, who had a huge grin.

Entity to the Orbs: "Lick the sides of your Orb."
Orbs: " Ooh yummy."
Entity: "The Orbs contain a sort of information syrup. It's so they can communicate with us and understand what I'm telling them, make some sense of the world they're about to enter."
Leia: "Can't you help them? Maybe put a hole in the side to assist them?"
Entity: "No. That will kill them. They're attached to the walls by a membrane. If I were to tear a hole in the side, even a tiny hole, it would rip the membrane and tear them to pieces." "I was tasked once, with training someone to assist me and they thought the same thing as you. I was summoned to the First One, when we heard the scream. The First One and I got back here, in time to see shredded soul ooze out of its Orb. I tried to put it back together, to save it, but it flowed out of my grip. It was mere hours from being born." "When the First One asked what had happened, the trainee tried to lie, said it wasn't them, then they admitted that they'd torn open the Orb, just to have a look. After that, I don't remember much, except that I get flashbacks of them getting carried to the edge of the departure platform, thrown off bit by bit. After that, the First One declared that only I'm allowed to oversee the birthing and template process. Lot of jealous folks up here who want my position."
Leia: "And who are you?"
Entity: "I'm the only survivor of my universe. But instead of it dying through entropy, some arsehole created a weapon that caused it to collapse in on itself." "As the collapse happened, I noticed this place, started jumping from one chunk of debris to another, until I'd reached the platform and pulled myself to safety. I was already over a million years old by the time of the collapse, but it messed my mind up that I couldn't stop it."
"Anyway, the First One came up to me with this massive book, trying to identify me, but couldn't. Turns out that I'm in a very exclusive club, in fact I'm the first inductee."

Leia looked at the Entity, about to ask which club, when a strange "SPLOOP", came from the Orbs, as they collapsed to reveal to naked, genderless, featureless babies floating, upside-down coming towards them. They were vaguely human looking and they looked happy.

Entity to the new souls: "You two have figure out how to get yourselves right side up and how to move. Go play in the clouds. You can eat them."

Leia and the Entity watched as the souls began to move their arms and legs, righting themselves up. Once they figured that, they quickly figured out how to move to play in the clouds. Leia noticed that the clouds were starting to change colour and size.

Leia: "I take that the changing clouds means we're running out of time?"
Entity: "No, I'll just take them to their template room and time lock it. We have time"
Leia: "What's this exclusive club your part off?"
Entity: "Firstly, all souls born here, are born to fulfil a destiny. Most souls born on the Universal Plane, don't have a destiny to fulfil. On the very rare occasion, a soul born on the Universal Plane has a destiny to fulfil, they will be more powerful, smarter and better looking than their peers. Able to pull off feats most people wouldn't even survive an attempt."
Leia: "Like out-running a collapsing universe."
Entity: "Yes. Can you think of any other cases? Anything you yourself may have witnessed or read about?"

Leia was thinking about it. She could think of a few off the top of her head, right now. Leia sighed, looked for the souls and spotted them whizzing around with cloud puffs trailing after them. She heard the giggles. Leia let out a groan.

Leia: "Is one of them Anakin?
Entity: "Yes."
Leia: "I can also put Han in that category. He's got flying skills that not even Luke can pull off. He's also smarter than Luke."
Entity: "You can also put yourself in that category, Hutt Slayer. Let's face it", you're smarter than the pair of them. Han said so."
Leia: "But not Luke?"
Entity: "No. And here in lays the issue. The crimes he committed, that has caused so much damage, is that he stole to new born children of destiny, from their Universal Plane. It has damaged reality so violently, that he erased multiple species from existence. Races that would've saved their individual universes from being rendered lifeless, infectious husks. His actions alone, caused an infection that caused the dead to raise up, attacking the living, that spread throughout that universe, wiping out all life."

Leia winced at this. She sighed heavily, at a complete loss.

Leia: "I want to hear the whole story. But I think I'm going to need a strong drink, just to hear this."

The Entity handed Leia a very large, cold cocktail. She took a sip. Ohh. It was her favourite vacation cocktail. The Sunset Blitz. Han had introduced it to her, after they had a successful mission, but had to lay low, on a beach, during some Empire day festivities, playing tourist, He'd gone to a beachside bar and a half hour later, had come back with 2 hats; hot, fresh, fried fish and the drink. With Leia sitting alone in the shade, she had begun to attract the attention of a small group of stormtroopers. A suspicious woman, sitting alone, in the shade. When every good imperial citizen should be showing how loyal and grateful to the Emperor they were. Han also had a backpack, from Force-knows where. She also became aware that he was now wearing a tropical shirt with matching shorts, slide on foot wear, sunglasses and two hats made from woven palm fronds. He handed her her food and drink, put a hat on her head, gently slipped the sunglasses on her face, took off the backpack and began to search for a few canisters of coloured sunscreen. He then applied a very patriotic imperial design to her face. She was about to blow her top, when she saw the approaching stormtroopers in the refection of Han's sunglasses. Han, with a look of pure concentration, hissed at her to play along. Han had finished up her face as the heavily armed troopers were standing in front of them. Leia wished them all a Happy Empire Day and thanked them for there service. Han stood up and shook all their hands, trying to thank them, but it only came out as a stuttered, garbled mess. Leia stood up kissed his jaw, telling them he also thanks them. Han just nodded happily. The stormtroopers then walked off up the strip, satisfied that they a young couple were just enjoying the day together. Leia congratulated Han for his very quick thinking. Han said he felt slimy and Leia agreed that sentiment. They stayed listening to the free concert, wandered around the stalls and stayed for the fireworks display, before making their way back
to the Falcon, then waited until the shift change of the air space control. In the confusion they made their escape.

The Entity, just looked at Leia, with mouth wide open.

Entity: "One drink conjured up that big a memory? No wonder Han insisted, that I had to involve you." "Mind you, that was also his memory when I gave him his drink." "Well drink up. It's a bit of a doozie."

Leia took a long drink. As two naked babies floated past her, spinning and giggling.