Chapter Text
As if playing a violin, the Force’s energy plucks a sobering melody. Painful and gothic notes vibrate through the Galaxy as Rey’s body lay cold and lifeless on the black stone of the Sith’s grand hall. Ashes of the dead and crushed stone floats in the air. Stark and poignant, the tinge of death permeates the air.
A harsh echo of a hand slapping against the edge of a massive crack in the earth shakes through the morbid atmosphere; a single high note of hope mingles with the eerie darkness. Ben Solo rises from the depths, clutching his broken chest. A split bone in his thigh scrapes against it own splinters. He falls. A broken gasp escapes his chest. The desperation to get to her overpowers the pain that lances vital acute points all over his body. Ben momentarily has black and white spots dance around his vision. He breathes deeply, palms bracing, before thrusting himself forward.
Falling one more time, before making his way to Rey- he finds himself frozen. Her eyes, they are open. Her hazel eyes now dulled into lifeless, glassy greens and golds. Ben almost gives in to this pain. A pain deeper and more potent that his broken body. A trembling breath rushes out of him.
Slowly, gently, his hands grab hold of her. Pulling her towards him, he pivots their bodies so that he can carry the weight of her over his lap.
Her head falls back slightly, the slack held by his hands. And Ben’s worst fears are confirmed. Cold, like stone, Rey lays dead in his arms.
Ben’s body shivers with the emptiness he feels from her side of the bond. But it isn’t just emptiness, it’s a tear. A feeling of torn vessels and flesh. As if a limb were viciously ripped from him; and it was. She died. She was taken from him.
And it hits him square in the chest, bruising the walls of his heart. It flutters painfully through him, as he begins to lose his grip. In and out, quick, he struggles to take in air as breaths catch on battered corners of his lungs.
No…
His hands roll slightly, wanting to reach inside her- find her soul and drag it back to the surface. Kneading her hardening flesh, to keep her warm; feeling the heat fading impossibly fast.
Ben searches around them, desperate to find an answer in the rubble. Perhaps a miraculous rune will point the way. Or a Force ghost will appear to offer sagely advice… but there is nothing. And every second is a wasted moment.
He looks at her smooth skin. Her freckles. The high cheekbones, and the soft flesh of her lips. He wants so desperately to bury her inside him, keep her there; give her as much of himself as he could. He wants to touch her face. Kiss her cheek. Crush her in a hold and never let go…
But he doesn’t. Because this wasn’t a moment where he gets what he wants. Ben realizes, with sudden clarity, that this moment was about her. It would always have led to this moment. Him surrendering to her, in some way. And he gladly accepts it.
Ben pulls her close, one last chance to make sure she’s truly not there. Listening for a breath. Waiting for a sign that her chest my expand. Nothing…
Then, as if his own Force had dampened; drained by Palpatine no doubt, the proximity allows a fixed point within him swell with warmth. Like a beacon. A light tower on the coast of a rocky sea. I ebs, but swells again, as he focuses the warmth towards her.
There…
He feels her. A small flickering of light. Not enough to keep her warm, to keep her alive, but just enough that if a man was stranded at sea he'd see the small flame of a candle in the window. And he is that man…
I know what I have to do…
With a resolute and heavy nod, his eyes emulate the choice he is about to make. Draping her gently over his arm, holding her head, he lays his other hand over her middle. He feels a nearly imperceptible echo of her there. With a deep breath, steadying himself, Ben closes his eyes and chases that echo through the Force.
Be with me… He begs her.
Like heat rising from desert sand, his Force shimmers up. A tendril of sorts, a mirage- unseen but felt. It is all him. He holds it for a moment. Solidifying it, weaving it, until it is a tether. Soft and warm and woven with all the words and emotions he’ll never get to express…
Rey…
He now wraps the ribbon around that last flickering ember. Feels the life of her fluttering light brighten for a moment, as if his breath stoked her little life left. He breathes deeper.
Be with me…
Ben feels it as it shimmers brighter again. And he coaxes it more, wrapping the string around it- her- over and over until it becomes a knot. And then… he pulls.
He feels it then. The stubborn echo begins to sing. It begins to roar. And the string feels less heavy the more he pulls… It is almost as if with every inch he gains, another pair of hands grasps onto the tether; pulling along with him. And with a shocking realization, he knows it’s the Force that pulls with him. He can feel it, can feel them, then. All the Jedi. All of the Force. And he can now feel her…
Rey…
Her Force burns like a desert sun…
I’m here with you…
Ben feels small fingers wrap over his hand. His eyes open. A puff of air escapes his broken chest. Her eyes blink as she fully returns to the world- to him …
Rey sits up abruptly; shock registering across her face. She pulls away slightly. Her eyes darting between them, seeing their bodies so close- so intertwined. Ben’s wonder dampens into a sad apprehension, bracing himself to be pushed away.
But, by the Force, her eyes soften into a wonder of her own. Joy- hope…
“Ben,” her voice is a benediction. Absolution. And acceptance…
The hand Rey placed over his, now travels up to cup his cheek. Her eyes flit to his trembling lips. And her blinding smile turns into something else- something heavier...
Rey leans forward, then. Ben’s eyes widen- only slightly. She pauses, with a shuddering breath, and searches his face for a sign to stop. But only finds his awe. And so, her lips kiss his.
Their breaths synchronize. His arms tighten around her. Enveloping her with his reverence. Telling her with every slight pressure, what he may never get to say. They breathe each other in. The Force sighs in contentment around them.
Rey is the one to break the kiss. She has so much to say. To her, there’s so much they need to do. So much they could have the chance to do…
Her smile is returned by a toothy one of his own; a hint of Han in his joyous expression. All of her words die on her tongue as his face sobers.
“Rey,” he blinks, and Rey suddenly knows what is happening. She shakes her head, firmly holding his face in her hand, “ You were greater than my destiny.”
His eyes close, then, and she feels him shrink in their bond…
No, Ben- no…
Ben falls backward. Rey scrambles to catch him. Her hands grasp his neck and hand. His Force dissipates, and the feeling of him fades too fast for her to catch her breath. She thinks all is lost, but the Force around them begins to hum busily. It pools underneath his body and wraps itself over him. The humming builds into a song, and glistens. Slowly, Ben fades. His robes deflating where he lay, as he becomes one with the Force…
Rey blinks; choking on a breath; the loss of him- too soon. Her hands scramble over the tunic, keening forward to bury her face into the wavy folds of the fabric. His warmth still there. She lets her sobs free. Tears wet the dusty black tunic.
The floor begins to rumble. And tremors make the unstable columns of the cavern groan. She swallows a sob and looks upward. The Destroyers are finally hitting the surface. She wipes an ungraceful arm over her snot and tears, and picks herself up; grabbing his tunic. With the Force, she calls the sabers to her and runs; escaping this tomb.
Some time later…
Peace. Balance.
War is over. The worlds are free. Republics and sovereign planets are finding their own ways back to democracy. Families are reunited and celebrations echo throughout the Galaxy. An effervescent anthem of delight and pride. And it’s different this time. It doesn’t take a Force user to feel it. This time, the Galaxy has gotten a taste of standing up for what is right, and the very clear and lasting belief reverberates through all creatures and beings- never again.
Yet, amongst all this good, Rey has sequestered herself to a desert world- separated from her friends. From the family she had saved…
The old desert home is silent, save for the hum of moisture rods divesting the air of its water. The smell of stale air is less potent at it had been nearly a month ago. The white of the walls revived; an empty bucket and drying rag lay in the corner. The dust and hill of sand that littered the courtyard was now gone; shovels and brooms neatly tucked in their outer compartment...
It’s been weeks since the fall of the Final Order. It's been weeks since Ben disappeared. And try as she might, she has searched for him in the Force. Only to get radio silence.
“Rey,” Leia sighs, concerned.
Rey jumps, wiping away greasy tendrils of hair away from her face. The swip leaves a long oil stain across her cheek. Leia spots the blisters and newly forming calluses on her hand.
“I’d expect that judgy look from Luke,” Rey grumbles. Leia snorts, laying a hand on her hip.
“I’d expect the pity party from my son,” Leia shoots back. Rey blinks, caught off guard. Luke actively avoids talking about Ben when he checks on her. But leia? It only makes sense that she would be the more forward one… like her son…
Rey’s face crumbles; contorting and giving into the pain that wracks through her chest.
“Leia,” she sobs. Leia melts, chastened, and she slowly makes her way to Rey. Rey scrunches away slightly, for no real reason, other than to keep her pain hidden. A futile attempt.
“Never hide from your feelings, Rey,” Leia coos; her arms enveloping the young Skywalker.
“It hurts so much,” Rey chokes on the admission, “I can't find him. I can't feel him. But i know he isn’t dead. The Force... It wants me to hold hope... Where is he?”
“Oh, honey,” Leia’s voice lowers into a somber tone, “He is within you.”
Her hand pets Rey’s matted, grimy hair. The other presses comfortingly over her sweat crusted robes. Gently brushes away the dirt covering her exposed arms.
“Rey, it’s time to care for yourself,” Leia says and softly as possible. Rey’s eyes fly up to defy the not-so suggestion. Leia’s curt gaze silences her, her translucent fingers wipe Rey’s cheek and she splays them before Rey’s eyes, “taking time to care for yourself, isn't going to keep you from finding him any sooner. The Force will reveal itself to you when you’re ready. Be patient Rey… Grappling onto what you want out of fear is no way to live.”
Rey gulps. Feeling naked under Leia’s apt observation. Pushing herself up off the mat she uses to meditate, she walks to the nearest fresher...
“She’s in bad shape, Luke,” Leia calls out. Luke shimmers before her, Rey still in the other room.
“I told you,” He says with a sigh. Leia, slaps him.
“Ow! Leia?” Luke’s indignant cry would otherwise be comical, if it weren't punctuated by Leia’s very clear displeasure.
“You told her to go looking for him-” she scolds.
“Leia, his body disappeared, he became one with the Force,” when its clear that wasn’t convincing enough, he continues, “your son brought Rey back from the dead, for crying out loud! You have any idea how connecting to the Force you’d have to be to do that? He’s somewhere; she just has to keep looking...”
Leia’s angered look softens to something sadder, “What if even sacrificing himself wasn't enough?”
“Oh Leia,” Luke sighs, reaching for his sister’s hands, “That’s not how the Force works.”
“The Force doesn’t take sides. It doesn’t punish for sins. If you reach a place where you can be one with the Force, when you pass on into it, you can keep your self. You can still live within it… Sometimes- it just takes time before you’re able to be seen again. Most people, who didn’t care enough or weren’t able to get to that point, become a part of the Force- to be reborn somewhere else, somehow.”
“Oh,” Leia says plainly, “I just thought-”
“- I know,” Luke smiles softly. A brotherly hand squeezes Leia’s shoulder.
“Well, I figured, them being a Dyad- after he gave the rest of his life’s energy- that he became one with her…” Leia’s thought trails off. She hears the fresher turn off.
“They were what?” Luke’s eyes suddenly light up with shock. As a world shattering realization passes through his mind and into hers. Her own eyes widen in terror.
“You mean to tell me that Luke Skywalker , greatest Jedi of all time, happened to miss that pertinent detail?”
“Leia, I was a hermit.”
“You became, how you put it, ‘ One with the Force ’- for a year!” Leia’s eyes roll impossibly round.
Rey walks out of the quarters, dressed, with wet hair as the two siblings commit to a glare-off.
“Er, what did I miss?”
“Rey, we have something to tell you…”
Her eyes well up. The feeling the half joy, half horror, fills her up with hope.
“We think Ben is alive. And we can help you find him.”
In the World between Worlds-
The feeling of weightlessness hits him first. He feels other . And he simply accepts that he’s dead.
You’re not dead… a soft voice speaks to him, within the Force.
The voice is familiar somehow. Almost like his own, like when he was younger. His eyes open, painfully fast. Even the pitch black seems to strain his eyes… His eyes begin to focus.
Before him is a young man. A man who looks like him. Only less awkward.
Who is he?
“You know that already,” the young man snorts, with a soft crooked smile. His mother's smile…
“Anakin Skywalker,” he says breathlessly.
“Hi, Ben,” he says. Right before Ben passes out.