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For the first time in a while, Rey sits still, cross legged, and quiets her mind.
It works, and for a moment she’s floating in nothingness, in the blackness behind closed eyes. Then she pulls out, reaches out, and the jungle explodes in life around her, from the tiny creatures living in the undergrowth, to the faint signatures of the beings of the teeming base behind her. Further in, she feels the vibrant, pulsing beacon of Force that is Finn, and if she tries hard enough, she can feel Poe, and Jess, and everyone for miles and miles.
She rests in the flow of the Force, relishing in the glow of it, the life, until she remembers why she came, what she’s doing. She draws her mind back to the small clearing where she’s sitting, and narrows down her focus. She reaches. She calls.
Ben?
For a moment, silence, and she thinks maybe she’s mistaken, until she feels the world bend, just a little, somewhere behind her. She keeps her eyes closed, her body still, but her hands go cold.
He says nothing, but she knows he’s there. She licks her lips, unsure of what to say, until the words form and come unbidden to the surface.
“You should have died screaming.” Words of hate, but her mind remains calm. It’s not hate. It’s just what needs to be said.
I know.
“Thank you, for my life.” Another statement that needs to be spoken. Another stone dropped from the weight on her back.
It was yours to take. I’m sorry for all that’s happened to you.
“You still had me, you know that? Do you know about my dreams?” She’s fighting to stay calm now, and for a moment she thinks maybe he’s gone, but she feels him walk over, sit down in front of her. A sigh, from a dead man.
What I’ve done, who I am… it’s inexcusable. I can’t take back the things I’ve done.
“I don’t want you to. It wouldn’t do anything now. I just want to move on.” She opens her eyes, and there he is, scarless, looking better than she’d ever seen him in life, shimmering blue just like his mother, just like Luke. Sudden fury rises in her chest, but she tamps it down. Do you deserve this? Do you deserve to live on?
I don’t. He looks pensive, and blinks, looks down. There’s shame in his face. Good.
“I’m trying to be happy. I’m in love. I’m training Finn in the Force. I’ll train any who want it. I’m doing what Master Skywalker started, but better, and when it’s done, you’ll be a cautionary tale, a villain in a history book. That’s your legacy to this galaxy. That’s all you’ll ever be.”
And what will I be to you?
“A memory,” she whispers, and she feels it to be true. “A memory of a nightmare long over. Nothing more.”
He nods, looking resigned, and fades away.
Rey does not cry. She’s wasted enough tears on him. She stands, soaking in the warm, riotous pull and flow of life, growing and dying and living.
Jess is waiting for her.