Once upon a time, there was a lonely prince whose parents always made him stay home, surrounded by servants and droids. The heir to a legacy far greater than any the galaxy had seen before, the prince was a slave to his bloodline until one day when he could stand it no longer, he found a new path. A presence made itself known to the prince and became his master, guiding him and the power he held. The prince abandoned his title, his name, and his parents' heavy expectations.
Time passed and the prince became a knight. Renewed by grand purpose, he no longer remembered the prince he'd once been until he captured a scavenger from Jakku. The girl was like the prince — alone, abandoned and blessed with abilities beyond her understanding. The knight chose the girl over his master, proposing a future where together they would rule the galaxy.
The girl refused and fled. The knight sought her day and night, fading into his darkness deeper with each passing day. Yet the girl remained hidden from him. Word of her defiance spread across the galaxy, bringing hope to those who rebelled against the First Order.
But what no one knew was the knight had fallen in love with the girl and inadvertently given her power over him...
A sole figure stood at the jungle's edge peering into the shaded clearing before her. In the seemingly peaceful area, a stream cut a path through the soft earth, leading further into the forest, away from one of the few remaining buildings on the moon. The building she now called home.
She missed her friends, the Falcon, and her co-pilot. Finn and Rose had married in a small ceremony last month, unwilling to wait for the war to end. Rey had watched from a temporarily linked communication device Chewie had brought her. She'd never been so happy to hide away in the Falcon as she had been that day. Her furry friend stayed with her students while she took advantage of the rare quiet time.
Her former co-pilot was the only live connection she had to her friends. He stopped by once a month to check in on her and drop off supplies until his next trip. Despite his aid in getting her aboard the Supremacy, he'd hadn't stayed with her. Chewie chose to remain with the Resistance, serving faithfully even after having lost another friend.
Leia.
The last Jedi shook her head as if she could dislodge the unhappy memory from her mind. The General's recent passing was felt by all who had known her, but her words to Rey constantly echoed through time and space.
We have all we need.
It had been three hundred sixty-eight standard days — one full year by Coruscant's calendar since the Battle of Crait, and even longer since Rey left Jakku on the impossible journey which landed her here. Often she found herself wondering if she'd made the right choice. There was blood on her hands and the weight of past actions weighing on her conscience.
Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered...
As she neared her twenty-first year of life, the young woman reflected on herself and the changes which brought her to the jungle's edge for the third day in a row.
Rey had grown out of the girl she'd been on Jakku, struggling to get by, into a Force-wielding beacon of hope for the Resistance. Immediately after Crait, a hefty bounty was placed on her head by General Hux of the First Order. It was because of the redheaded man's merciless attempts to capture her that Commander Dameron urged Leia to send Rey away.
"We can't lose her or we'll lose any allies we might still have," he'd argued.
The council voted and Rey watched as a group of strangers decided her fate was to serve off of the battlefield.
"Very well," Leia hung her head in defeat.
Rey had never had free time before and after a week of meandering around the base, fixing droids — old rust-buckets which were poor excuses for actual ships — and updating the comm system, she was bored. Her restless energy had her looking for any task, no matter how minor to complete, so long as it gave her something to focus on.
She chased odd jobs until even those became tiresome and she could no longer hide from what chased her.
The energy from the shattered kyber crystal called to her. It sought her attention, demanding to be made whole again. Rey ignored it for weeks, too ashamed by her actions which resulted in the destruction of the saber to consider mending it.
A lightsaber was an elegant weapon and this one was no exception. It held a legacy, the lineage of the Skywalker family, a family who many believed was the most powerful in the galaxy. There was no reason for her to have it.
You don't belong in this story. You're nothing.
Rey grit her teeth, the words painful even after so much time had passed. Her parents hadn't wanted to raise her. Finn hadn't wanted to join her in returning BB-8. Luke hadn't wanted to train her. It was always the same. No one wanted her.
But not to me.
No one except the last Skywalker.
Please, Ben, don't go this way.
She knew inevitably they'd meet again. Before the war was over Rey would have to face him. So, when she could no longer put it off, she fashioned herself a new saber built from the broken pieces of his family's legendary weapon.
The saber staff was unique, glowing purple instead of the former turquoise blue it had been. Leia hadn't known what to make of it, which unnerved Rey, but the other rebels all stared at her in awe.
In fact, due to Commander Dameron's boasting — she refused to call him Poe after he outed her to the council —, the Resistance members began to revere her as some sort of deity. People brought her gifts and food. They stopped speaking when she walked into the room and moved out of her way when she was strolling through the corridors.
Kaydel, Finn, and Rose laughed, loving extra portions at dinner and the fact they'd always have their choice of tables to sit at in mess.
Rey hated it.
She started taking her meals on the Falcon. At first, it bothered her friends but as the war raged on, they became busy with the fight and Rey was left alone again.
Then one day she felt it.
It was small at first, like the first embers churning in a fire. Slowly it became stronger. The harder she focused on it, the clearer it became.
Canto Bight.
He is there. He is there. He is there.
Rey left the very next morning. She'd felt him before Chewie landed the Falcon, already knowing exactly where she'd find him.
Temiri Blagg was an orphaned slave. Like her, he'd never known his parents and he was ignorant of the power waking up inside of him. Rey chose to remedy that.
Of course, she had to have a word with his 'master' before they left. If her identity as the last Jedi didn't help her persuade the man, Chewie's growls did. And as an added favor to Rose, Rey brought all the children back to the Resistance...after she freed the Fathiers.
They'd narrowly escaped the First Order, who descended upon the casino town at the first hint that the last Jedi was there.
Rey expected to see him then — the Supreme Leader — whether through the bond or other means, but she didn't. She hadn't known what to do with the feelings his absence brought up.
After Temiri, more came. Rey would awake in a sweat, the pulse thrumming through her body, calling her to them. She went without hesitation. It wasn't as though she had anything better to do. Commander Dameron wouldn't let her join in the fight, even after Leia tried to appeal the council's decision.
As her collection of Force-sensitives grew, the available space at the Rebel base decreased. A change was needed. Leia was the one to suggest Yavin IV, having ties to a former Alliance base. Chewie set the coordinates and they were off — him, Rey, and half a dozen students.
The irony wasn't lost on her.
While Rey grew up, the galaxy hit a milestone of its own. For the first time since the Empire — almost three decades — Darkness overpowered the Light. She could feel it, like a hand suffocating the last tendrils of hope out of the galaxy. It didn't help that in her mind that hand was wide and wearing black leather gloves.
With a sigh, she returned to the present and her students.
They were collected from across the stars, gathered up before the First Order could snatch them from their homes. While the flags of red and black started to appear plant to plant, Rey shrouded herself in the Force, disguising herself as the nothing she'd been dubbed her entire life.
The First Order may have been looking for the last Jedi but they wouldn't raise an eyebrow at the sight of another scavenger or bounty hunter traipsing through their post. Her former designation granted her a safety her new powers couldn't rival. She was protected by her mediocrity.
If only the Supreme Leader knew...
Despite herself, Rey felt the edges of her lips tug upwards. Normally she'd didn't allow herself to think of him. It was too painful. During the day she focused on her students, relaying to them what she'd been able to translate from the ancient Jedi texts and what she'd learned from years spent surviving on her own. But at night — it was more difficult to keep her thoughts from drifting.
Sleep had never come easily to her. When she'd been young, Rey constantly worried about another scavenger breaking in to steal her finds. Once she learned to defend herself — and reinforce her door — her sleepless nights were blamed on hunger pains. And now... well, now she saw him.
She saw him each morning when she tossed her legs over the side of her cot, reminded of how she'd shot at him in her hut on Ahch-To.
She saw him in her students when they grew frustrated. Their anger crackled and flared out across the Force, bathing the energy in spotted black because it was the way of the Dark Side.
She saw him when she closed her eyes at the end of each exhausting day. His face had been blasted all over the HoloNet. Supreme Leader Ren wanted to instill order to the galaxy and while there were many opposed to his methods, only a handful would openly disobey him.
The worst was when she saw him in her dreams because when she was there it was nearly impossible to refuse him. Rey saw the throne room, could feel the heat of the flames, smell the acrid smoke and hear the plea in his voice. The moment played on repeat, threatening to break her completely.
Yes, the last Jedi saw the Jedi Killer often. Just not through their bond.
Perhaps it was a cruel twist of fate or the Force's will, but their bond remained quiet after Rey closed the door on him. There hadn't been a single instance of it reopening since, not once in three hundred sixty-eight days. Rey knew the exact countdown to the second.
She had always been good at waiting.
The only problem was that this time she didn't know what she was waiting for...
"Again," Rey instructed a pair of her students.
Her two oldest had been at this for hours and while Rey hadn't needed to interject much, she was feeling the wear of the long day. She enjoyed teaching her students. Watching them grow under her care, knowing they'd never have to suffer alone as she had, made her proud. Seeing them develop made her even prouder. But there were days — like today — where their teenaged hormones got the better of her.
Between the insults and the posturing, Rey was tempted to call it a night, but she had to set an example for the rest of her students. She refused to call them padawans. While what they were learning was primarily derived from what she knew of the Jedi, Rey chose to do things differently. After all, hadn't Luke Skywalker himself decreed the Jedi should die?
Rey disagreed with her former master on many things, but on this one instance, she agreed. The Jedi way wasn't perfect, not in the way the galaxy perceived it to be. She'd seen through the bond how the 'right' way failed a student. Rey didn't want to go down the same path.
"Begin," she ordered.
Windbor and Ganrum circled each other, both gripping short sticks. The weapons were meant to mimic the size and weight of a saber, though they were far more forgiving than the actual weapon they stood in for.
"I thought an Ardeenian would be better at this," Windbor shot at his opponent.
The four-armed, lanky sentient blinked his wide brown eyes but gave no other indication of his oncoming attack to the Bothan.
Rey noted how advanced Ganrum's skills were becoming, though it wasn't a surprise. He came from a race prized for their efficient combat tactics. If anything, she needed to be cautious about how rapidly he excelled in his training.
He kept on the balls of his feet, allowing himself to adapt in a split second to avoid an incoming attack from his opponent. When Windbor lunged at him, Ganrum deflected his strike to the left and sidestepped out of the way.
In turning over his opponent's stick, he was able to come back around and smack Windbor across the hand. It was a warning blow, not meant to do significant damage, though it clearly wounded Windbor's pride.
Agitated, the Bothan began slicing his short stick through the air. His emotions took root and his form suffered for it. While he stabbed at the air around Ganrum's head, he failed to notice how the Ardeenian was closing in on him.
Ganrum dropped his weight, thrusting his stick into Windbor's gut.
The other four students cheered.
"That's enough for today," Rey strolled forward, stepping between the two. "Good work everyone."
The students dissembled, all migrating away from the training grounds to the old rebel base they called home. The upside of repurposing the base was everyone got their own room. The downside was there was only one fresher. Rey couldn't imagine how an entire fleet managed that nightmare. She had a hard enough time getting her six pupils in and out.
At least they are safe, she reminded herself, following them back inside.
Rey picked at what her students had left her in the mess. She always allowed them to get their dinner first. Hunger pains from her former life haunted her even now. Some scars weren't left on the skin.
Scraping what was left from the pan, she filled her plate. She grabbed a cup of water and headed out through the forward flight doors.
On evenings when the weather was nice, Rey and her pupils often ate together under the stars. Growing up with harsh environmental conditions made her appreciate the freedom to be outside. It was an added bonus eating under the night sky helped show her students how small they were.
As with their previous meals, a fire was built in the center of their circle, providing natural light while the group ate. Chatter about the day, news from the HoloNet and typical complaints about the converted base trickled in and out as Rey chewed.
Her mind was elsewhere, drifting to problems whole star systems away. She wondered where Finn and Rose were now. Were they safe? Were they fighting? And Commander Dameron. Was he still being reckless? How many times had he needed to straighten out BB-8's antenna since she'd left? Did he even notice?
She sighed, wishing there was a way for her to check in on them, but it was too great a risk. The only updates she received came once a month with Chewie. It was the only way to ensure the Resistance's safety and the safety of her students.
Her mind continued to wander, bouncing around like a ship dodging incoming fire in an asteroid field. She only hoped she could pilot herself out before she ended up crashing.
It wasn't until she heard Kailale say his name that she latched onto the topic of their conversation.
"He's not the most powerful Force user in the galaxy," Temiri stood up. "Rey is."
Kailale stood up as well, strolling over to the young boy. "Really? Well I heard that he's so powerful he can hear you from anywhere in the galaxy and if you call for Supreme Leader Ren, he and his knights will come and take you away. It's treason."
"That's not true!" Temiri spat.
"Is too," the female Chiss shot back.
"Oh yeah? Then why don't you do it," he challenged her.
"I'm not afraid of him, like you," Kailale crossed her arms over her chest. It was a blatant lie but Temiri was too spun up to back down.
"I'm not afraid," Temiri growled.
"Prove it," Kailale snapped. "Do it."
"Fine!"
Even without the Force, Rey knew what was about to happen and yet she was powerless to stop it. She was paralyzed by the name which had crossed Kailale's lips, a name she was all too familiar with.
"I wish Kylo Ren would come take you away, Kailale," he shouted. Rey felt her stomach pitch. "Right now."
Everyone around the fire stilled. All eyes were on Temiri. Rey was gripping the wood beneath her so tight splinters started jabbing into her flesh. She could smell the copper of her own blood in the air and yet she remained frozen, not even breathing as she waited.
She expected the bond to reenact with its telltale silence as if she'd been pulled into a vacuum. She thought she'd hear the cry of TIE fighters as they descended from the heavens, reigning blaster fire down upon them. She wondered if General Hux would come at her with a pistol again.
But in the end, nothing happened.
After what felt like the longest moment of her life, Rey realized how ridiculous she was being. Of course he wasn't going to just show up because a kid mentioned his name. She felt like smacking herself. Had living out here alone with these children made her so gullible?
Rising from her spot, she walked over to the two, Temiri now smug as anything and Kailale blushing in embarrassment. "Are you both finished now?" she asked, eyeing them both.
The smirk fell from Temiri's face as he gazed up at her, his cheeks burning red from her chiding tone. Kailale bowed her head and took a step backward.
"Apologies, Master," the Chiss girl replied.
"Kailale, I'm no one's master," Rey reminded her.
She hated that term. Too many years toiling under the sun and Unkar's unfair portion control tainting her position on it. It was another part of the Jedi way she'd let die with Luke.
"Rey." Someone tugged on her arm wraps. Temiri was there, peering up with his docile eyes. It struck her just how young he really was and any disappointment she had in her students vanished. They were only children after all. To them, this was all a game.
"Bedtime," she announced to the entire group.
They all shuffled back inside, leaving her to put out the fire. Rey stood over it, closing her fist over the flames and watching as it suffocated. A soft tendril of gray smoke rose up, dancing in the nighttime breeze. She watched it disappear into the darkness, an unsettling feeling working its way into her chest.
When she turned around, he was there.
Rey stilled, her hand immediately going to her belt, but he merely stared at her with betrayal in his eyes. He didn't need to speak for her to understand. He hadn't followed his own advice.
The past wasn't dead.