Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Prologue
The man's hair is the whitest Rey has ever seen. If there are any people with white hair on Jakku, it has long been stained brown by the sand. She looks at his wrinkles and wonders how many planets he has seen and how many stars he has touched. Rey can only remember vaguely how dark the outside looked from the window of a ship. She can remember how her breath fogged the glass as she watched light flash pass the window over and over, the ship going quicker than the objects outside.
She is hiding behind a disabled droid as she watches the old man talk to Plutt. Plutt somehow seems even fatter today Rey observes. She wonders how many portions he ate instead of giving it to scavengers and his other workers. Unkar Plutt and the old man seem to be in a disagreement. Plutt's fat finger points at the old man and she can see it shaking from the effort. Rey thinks he looks even pinker from anger and she can see spittle flying and landing in the sand—darkening it. The old man himself, who looked quite peaceful moments before when Rey spied him from afar, has a disgusted look on his face. Rey clutches the small power pack in her hands and she can feel her knuckles changing from tan to white. Her breath quickens as she continues to watch Plutt become angrier and angrier. Rey has always hated dealing with the Crolute when he is angry. He never gives her portions when he is and the thirteen-year-old is very hungry.
She gives a frustrated sigh and decides she will try again in a few hours. As Rey turns around to walk back to her speeder, she hits a solid mass and then her vision becomes not her own.
She is thirsty. So very thirsty. The sun is so bright and there is no cloud in the sky. She looks at her belly and she sees the piece of the ship that landed on her belly—it has pierced through her skin.
"Help!" she yells in Zabraki. But there is no one within miles that can hear her. She wipes her tongue across her lips to moisten them, but all it does is cut her tongue and she can taste blood. As she starts coughing, she realizes that it isn't blood from her tongue she can taste, but blood coming from her throat and now out of her mouth. She tries to swallow, but she begins to choke on it. There is so much blood. She has seen many people cough blood before, but it was only when they were dying. She realizes she is dying. She feels fear enter her heart and then she feels nothing. And then she sees nothing.
And then Rey sees the sun and she is so very thirsty. She is on her back and she sees the face Feral looking down at her, his light brown eyes staring at her with anger.
"Stay away from me witch or I'll eat you for dinner."
Rey scrambles to her feet and wipes away the sand from her eyes. She ignores the large Zabrak and runs to the watering hole. She puts her gloved hand into the water and scoops the water to her lips. She doesn't care that the water tastes like glove, sand, and animal. All she knows is that she is going to die if she doesn't drink. She can't believe she let that happen—Rey is always careful not to touch anyone and they know not to touch her most of the time. People are too scared to know their fates and she has seen plenty on Jakku to know that their deaths are painful and lonely. She keeps drinking even when she feels the presence of another next to her. She is panting from pain, dizziness, and exhaustion.
"Are you alright, girl?"
She looks to her right and sees the old man. He has the kindest and wisest eyes she has ever seen. It appears he had ended whatever business he had with Plutt. She looks behind her and she notices Plutt is back in his shed dealing with other scavengers. She had been right—he isn't giving out portions.
"Are you alright, girl?" the old man questions again.
Rey swallows and tries to answer. Her throat is still dry. The man reaches out his hand and Rey's eyes widen as he reaches towards her unclothed shoulder.
"No—" she croaks but it is too late. Once again her vision becomes not her own.
It is dark and the air is hot despite it being night. She can hear whimpering and screams. She hopes the young man made it out with the map. If the monster in front of her gets the map, there would be no hope for the Rebellion—for the Princess. She wonders if the creature in front of her looks like his mother beneath the mask. She wonders if he has her kind eyes or is he now truly deformed inside and out.
Rey looks at the black masked man and realizes how old she truly is. This creature is clearly not a boy with his huge mass and dominating presence. But she can still feel how unstable he is—just like when he was a child. She feels ash from the fire land on her face and she turns her face to look at all the humanoids around her. Some are masked in white and some in fear.
"Look how old you've become." the creature now named Kylo Ren says. His voice is modulated by the mask, matching his appearance. She remembers how little and shy his voice had once been.
She looks at him again and sees nothing. She can't see past the mask to see the boy that she once knew. She can't see if he has his mother's eyes or his father's nose.
"Something far worse has happened to you." she says and she is pleased with her dying words. She knows she is dying. She doesn't have to map. As if reading her mind the creature says, "You know what I have come for."
For a moment she feels a flash of fear in her heart and she wonders if she should lie, she decides to avoid his question and says "I know where you come from. Before you called yourself "Kylo Ren."'
She notices Kylo Ren's hands turn into fists and she knows that Kylo Ren is not enjoying the conversation. He is anxious to get what he wants and she is anxious to end this for her sake and the sake of everyone around her.
"The map to Skywalker. We know you've found it. And now you're going to give it to the First Order." She can detect a hint of frustration in Kylo Ren's voice. She is relieved that maybe this is still the little boy she once knew. Maybe this is Ben and he is still the boy that threw tantrums while his mother ignored him and talked to her. She feels a smile on her face from the memory. This man cannot be truly evil.
"The First Order rose from the Dark Side. You did not."
She sees the fist unclench and move up towards the hilt of the lightsaber on his hip.
"I'll show you the Dark Side."
She gives a little chuckle and realizes Ben is about to throw a tantrum. She knows this boy. She isn't scared of him and her heart relaxes. And she like she did when she was less old, she decides to goad him and she says, "You may try. But you cannot deny the truth that is your family."
And Ben's voice sounds more like the child he once was as he says,
"You're so right."
And before she can truly comprehend what is happening she sees a flash of red. And before she sees nothing, she sees a green island.
This is my first Star Wars story! I am so excited to write about Reylo and I have thought about this story for about two years now. This is probably the closes thing we'll get to the events in Force Awakens. Everything else is pretty much different. If you interested in me continuing let me know! Let me know what you liked and how I can improve.
By the way: Momento Mori is latin for 'remember you have to die.'