Luke Skywalker turned away. Rey had extended the lightsaber, pleading with everything but her own voice. He had stood there, staring into her eyes. And he turned away. She didn't move. She couldn't move. This rejection cut into her and she couldn't react.
They were frozen in time, her arm extended and his back to her.
"We need your help." It was only thing Rey could convince herself to say. She didn't dare speak more.
"Go back to the resistance and tell them that I cannot help."
"Then help me! Train me as a Jedi. Let me learn so that I can defeat Kylo Ren!"
Rey could see Luke reacting to her words, but she couldn't quite read the emotion as he remained solidly facing the water.
"Our legacy is that of being tempted by the dark side of the force. I cannot help you."
Rey could feel tears pricking at her eyes "Why? What have I done?"
"Your fate affects all of the galaxy. I only hope that you can't fall if you never rise."
The tears began to fall. "What fate? I'm just a girl who was abandoned on Jakku. I'm not going to fall to the dark side!"
Luke finally turned towards her, emotion hanging heavy in his own eyes. "I am so sorry Rey. I set you on this path, and now there is nothing I can do to save you. I-" his words trailed off and he turned away again.
Rey stood there, her arm now dropped to her side. Luke Skywalker- the greatest hero of The Rebellion and Jedi Master- was afraid. So afraid that he only left cryptic remarks and rejection. It shouldn't affect her so much.
But it did.
She gave in.
Rey turned her back to the old man and made her way back down the steps. When she got back to the millennium falcon, she didn't speak except to say that they were leaving and that Luke wasn't coming along.
The trip back to D'Qar was quiet, with the only discussion about the flight itself. Once the ship had landed, people began to swarm the area.
Rey disembarked first, her eyes staring straight ahead. She made no eye contact, striding forward and trying to hold herself together. The crowd pressed on, questions on their lips. But Rey had no answers. Luke wasn't with them.
She tried to keep her head up and not make eye contact, but the crowd of so many eyes mad it difficult. But, finally, she reached the edge when Finn was waiting for her. Finn, who had been unconscious when she left. Finn, who had tried desperately to protect her and had gotten hurt for it. Finn, who would understand what she didn't. She ran forward and pulled him into a hug. His arms were warm and comforting, everything that she needed in that moment.
"I'm going to bring you to General Organa, ok? She'll debrief you and then we'll talk." Finn's voice was quiet in her ear, breath warm on her cheek.
She nodded against his shoulder, hugging him just a little tighter. Finn let go and grabbed Rey's hand before leading her into the complex. He clearly knew the building better then she did, because he navigated the twisting halls with confidence. By time they reached the center of operations, Rey was completely lost.
The center of operations itself didn't help either, with a certain chaotic energy in the air. People were running around and conferencing and modeling things on countless interfaces. Rey could only stare at the chaos around her.
Finn dragged her through the crowds, pulling her to where General Organa seemed to be waiting for them in the back. When they reached her, General Organa pulled Rey into a hug.
"Thank you for your help Finn. I can take care of her from here."
Rey couldn't see Finn, but she guessed that he probably smiled that great smile of his. Or maybe he look concerned. Maybe he held no expression at all. No matter his expression, he left without saying a word.
Leia released the hug, and began to lead Rey into a room just off the main control center. The room was bare except for two chairs facing each other with a table in-between. General Organa sat down in one and gestured for Rey to sit in the other. Once Rey sat, General Organa's entire face relaxed.
"Tell me, what happened to happened to my brother?" He voice sounded tired, like she had given up hope for any good news.
Rey closed her eyes briefly, trying to calm herself before beginning. "He was there. Alive."
General Organa let out a deep breath, a small smile gracing her face. "Keep going."
"He's refusing to help. He won't leave the island and" -Rey could hear her voice beginning to choke- "he said that he refuses to train me."
Leia's smile slipped. She reached out and covered Rey's hand with her own.
"Tell me exactly what he said."
"He-he said that it's our legacy to be tempted by the dark side. That he set my on this part and he won't train me."
Leia's eyes widened with surprise. "How did I not see this before? It is you."
Rey pulled back in suspicion, "What are you talking about?"
Leia gripped Rey's hand even tighter. "Did he say anything else"
Rey shook her head, "He mentioned something about my destiny, but nothing beyond that."
Leia's eyes lowered "I wish that I didn't have to be the one to tell you this. But Luke is your father."
Rey couldn't speak. She couldn't think. Her brain was malfunctioning. Nothing made sense.
So she ran.
She ran from the room into the twisting halls she couldn't navigate. She could feel the force in body trying to guide her, but Rey didn't listen. She ran until she found a way out of the compound and into the forest beyond.
She kept running until she couldn't run any further. She collapsed on the ground falling into the soft dirt.
How? How was this the reality she was living?
Luke Skywalker, the one who had denied her at Ach-to, had been the one to abandon her on Jakku. He had denied her training and had denied her any sense of family.
Rey could feel tears beginning to fall again. She had cried more in the last few days than she had at any point in her life except for when she had been abandoned on Jakku.
She thought about Luke- the father who had willingly abandoned her twice. She thought about Han- he who had been like a father when she had known him. Had he known who she was? She thought about Leia- the aunt who was trying, if only to not have a repeat of her own son.
A fear of falling to the dark side. It kept her entire family at a distance. But she would prove them wrong. If no one would teach her how to be a jedi, she would teach herself.
Rey smiled. Ok, so what did she know about the jedi? The legends said that the Jedi were peacekeepers who would fight using lightsabers, and that they were super spiritual because of their connection to the force. She seemed to be doing ok on the lightsaber bit (she had defeated Kylo Ren), so the force seemed like a better way to start.
But how to do that?
Meditation? That felt like a good starting place.
Rey rearranged herself so that she sat cross-legged with her hands on her knees and her eyes closed. She tried to empty her mind, thinking only of the energy within and surrounding her.
But she couldn't. Her mind was still back in the room with General Organa.
Rey shook her head. She needed to focus. She needed to learn this. For the sake of her friends.
Maybe a different approach was needed. Rey took a deep breath and brought her mind back to Jakku. She imagined herself walking across the sand, the heat so intense she could feel it one every inch of skin. She could feel her staff strapped across her back, but she was still dressed in clothes she received from the resistance. Rey kept walking until she decided she found a nice spot. She slid her staff off of her shoulder and stabbed it securely into the sand. She sat down with her back against the staff and began to meditate. She could hear footsteps in the sand, but she stayed in position.
The footsteps stopped.
"Why are you here?"
The voice was soft. Clearly male, but barely louder than a whisper.
"I wish to gain knowledge from the force. For the force to train me."
"Why not seek out a teacher?"
"The only person who could teach me has rejected me, but I still need to learn. My friends need me to learn."
"Then I shall teach you. Open your eyes."
Rey could feel a smile on her face as she opened her eyes. The memory of the intense heat was gone, and she was back in the D'Qar forest.
"Tell me, what do you see?" The voice was in her head. It was slightly louder than before, but still rather quiet.
Rey's eyes scanned the area ahead of her.
"Trees. Fallen branches. Underbrush. Rocks."
"Good. Push your ability in the Force further. Find your way back to base with your eyes closed."
"But I-"
"Close your eyes and find your way back to base."
Rey sighed. She may have found a teacher in the force, but apparently even the force could grow impatient. She closed her eyes and tried to tap into that part of herself that she had found to be connected to the force.
Walking with the force guiding her was something unlike anything else rey had ever experienced. It was like the force was taking the place of a sense she hadn't even known was missing. She knew which way to face and where to step without being able to see it. Before long she could feel the ground beneath her feet change from soft dirt to solid duracrete.
"Rey!" Rey's eyes shot open. She was standing on the edge of the runway with Finn running towards her. "Rey, where were you? We were looking everywhere for you?"
"I-" Rey paused. How could she explain to anyone what she was doing?
"Then don't explain." The voice in her head was quieter than before but just as insistent.
"I was just overwhelmed by everything and had to get away."
Finn nodded in acceptance. "I get that. It was weird for me once I woke up and started moving around. You're probably not used to being around so many people paying you so much attention."
Rey nodded but didn't elaborate further. She didn't know how.
And as the days passed, she found herself doing the same thing. Going out into the forest to train in the force, being found by Finn on her way back, and giving a noncommittal response as explanation.
This continued until the day Finn decided that instead of dragging Rey off to get food he dragged her off to the room he shared with Poe.
Rey thought Poe was nice. He was one of the few people on the base who tried to talk to her about more than being a jedi or meeting Luke Skywalker. He had a really great energy and Rey was just happy that Finn had someone that was watching out for him.
But on that day, he wasn't talking to her about all the exiting little details of X-Wing engines.
He was asking if she would join him on a trip to Yavin IV to visit his father.
"I was going back home and I want you and Finn to come with me. Both Finn and I think getting you off base would be good, and I know you're itching to fly again."
Rey smiled.
"It would be nice to pilot the falcon again."
Poe's face lit up "Okay! It looks like we're going!"
And thus Rey found herself piloting the millennium falcon to Yavin IV. The trip itself was fairly calm and uneventful. Poe acted as her copilot and navigator (something he was very excited about), so that helped. But Rey's mind wasn't fully present. She was back on Ach-to, denying her father's prophecy.