((Thanks for returning. Song lyrics featured in this chapter is "Great Wide Open" by 30 Seconds to Mars. Enjoy!))
Rey rolled her shoulders, and stretched out her arms – left, then right—as she brought her gaze to focus on the steep, stone steps that led up to the Jedi temple on the hill above the cliffs. Then closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, let the power that welled inside of her come forward.
Taking a running leap, Rey bounded up the stairs two at a time with incredible speed to the top near the large, heavy, monastery-type doors that guarded the entrance to the sanctuary.
But, she didn't go through...
With another solid leap, Rey flew straight up to the roof, perching there on bended knee for a few moments while taking in the sunrise and letting the breeze from the ocean blow through her hastily braided hair…
Her mother's brown eyes and her father's smile assessing it all.
She could hear the birds calling and feel the light and life of the island radiate up from the ground, through the temple and, in turn, through the roof and into her body.
The Force flowed through this island more powerfully than any place she had found herself so far.
It fed her and kept her balanced.
With a shallow breath, she stood and leaped across the roof top ridge with agile footing, back flipping off of the slope on the other side and sliding gracefully across the luscious grass and letting herself blindly fall over the cliffside, reaching out with that same Force.
Soon, Rey's feet landed noiselessly on the narrow rock ledge below and Rey focused her breathing as she looked down to the ocean waves crashing violently against the shoals below.
After a moment, Rey leaped from her ledge to the next and then the next, not using hand holds to help herself, remaining perfectly balanced in body and mind – closing her eyes once more and letting the Force guide her along the treacherous cliffside.
When she smelled grass again, she leaped high and landed above the cliffs onto the meadow she once trained with her father.
Rey opened her eyes and smirked then, still channeling the Force, summoned her lightsaber from the back of her belt to her right hand, igniting it in one smooth motion.
The silver beam cast light on her face in the semi-darkness, then cast it into shadow again as she began stepping and swiping, going through the training motions her father had taught her.
When she had warmed up, she turned and faced the field of upright stones—each as tall as a person and set there by training Jedi who had occupied the temple centuries before her father was even born—and took off.
Sprinting toward the first stone, Rey flipped effortlessly over it and landed a lightsaber strike on the back of it, before turning and sliding through the space between the two stones next to it, double slashing the bottom of each of the stones as she came to her feet.
She then rounded them to face the fourth stone, a mere two feet away, and cried out as she threw her sword at the stone and it spun violently as it hurtled toward the imagined adversary and sliced the top part of the stone clean off like a head off of shoulders.
Rey's lightsaber came back to her like a boomerang and she leaped over the fallen part of stone to the next, waiting henge, but stopped immediately when she felt something touch the back of her mind…
Rey lowered her lightsaber as she furrowed her brow and closed her eyes to reach out.
But, as soon as she did, she pulled back out of reflex as if burned.
Rey could suddenly feel her eyes change, panging behind her eyelids the way they always did when the darker part of her nature came forward and overtook her.
Rey… an sweet, but almost inhuman voice sounded in her ears, almost as if whoever or whatever spoke it was close enough to reach out and touch if she spun around.
Rey's now Sith yellow eyes snapped open and she did just that, but saw no one.
# # # # # # # #
There was a silence as Poe leaned forward in the chair at the small stone table in Luke Skywalker's former home in the hillside just below the Jedi Temple on Ach To.
When he finally did speak, his voice, so soft it seemed to echo off of the walls of the small space—the only other interruption to the dead silence surrounding him being the ray of early morning sunlight that streamed in through the tiny oval window and poured itself on Finn, sleeping in a loft bed facing the north wall.
"General…" Poe said, his eyes moving to meet Leia's through the hologram image that R2 was transmitting live, "I don't know what to do….tell me what to do."
"The dream that you experienced is as much a mystery to me as it is to you, Poe," Leia replied, shaking her head, "I wish I could tell you what to do in every situation, Commander, but I can't give an order on this one. There are some things that we just have to feel out. We can't just go in and blow everything up at the first sign of trouble. That doesn't solve anything, Poe. You know that."
"Yeah," Poe smirked, sitting back with a sigh, clearly disappointed, "But, I think I much prefer an aerial battle where my weapons are depleted mid-fight and I have to improvise with cunning wit and killer charm instead of... well...this. This is feelings. I've never been very good at those."
Leia chuckled softly, "You'll be fine. Just….well, just keep an eye on Rey and see if there is anything she tells you or shows you in her own time. You care about her...you'll figure it out."
"Yeah..." Poe replied, nodding
"Until we know more," Leia added "I don't think pressing her or telling her about the mutual dream we had last night will help anything right now. The First Order is on its last legs and things are…well, things are in flux all over the galaxy. With Luke gone, I'm still not sure how or where Rey fits in to all of this quite yet."
"But, General," Poe lifted sad brown eyes to meet hers, "You saw what I saw…You saw her eyes…You saw the bodies…what she could do –what she will—"
"Nothing has happened yet," Leia interjected, her voice lowering solemnly, trying to calm Poe and to will her own voice to stay even and calm at the same time, though she couldn't help but remember the terror she had also felt in that same dream.
Leia swallowed the bile that began to rise in her throat, but before she could continue, a small figure walked in front of her.
"Poe," a voice suddenly spoke up and Maz Kanata popped up in the frame of the hologram, blocking Poes' view of Leia's face, "Nothing is set in stone. Rey has not turned into Darth Vader just yet. Listen to Leia. Just be with Rey and take things day by day. Keep in contact, okay?"
"What—" Poe started confused, sitting forward again, "Wait!"
But, Maz interjected, "Over and out, Kiddo!"
Then the hologram snapped off and the image dissolved.
Poe sat back and scoffed and R2 gave a sullen beep in commiseration.
# # # # # # # #
"I suppose I should thank you for that…" Leia said as she brought a hand to her forehead and then pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and took in a shallow breath
Maz didn't say anything, she only climbed up into the chair next to Leia at the table, placing her small hand on Leia's arm soothingly.
After a few moments, Leia pulled her hand down from her forehead and turned to meet Maz's gaze.
"At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite," she smirked, her eyes worried and sad all at the same time, "What should I do about Rey? You were good enough to listen to me tell you about my dream, then wait while Poe called in… I suppose I'm needing some validation in what I just told my best fighter pilot, who is trapped on an island with the woman he loves, but who also wields both a powerful light and dark inside of her."
Maz took in a breath and lifted her hand from Leia's arm, bringing it up to adjust her goggles as she considered Leia's words.
"I don't pretend to know or see the future…" Maz said, "What I do see is what is in front of me and what I do know is the Force. I think that what you experience isn't a foretelling of what is to come. I think it is a warning—a warning about darkness—about death and about those we love who get caught in the crossfire of the causes we believe in and fight for."
Leia narrowed her eyes in confusion and so Maz clarified.
"I have consulted the Force and it agrees. We have not lost Rey," she paused and smiled, "Not yet. There is too much light in her. We can thank her father for that. But, we must also recognize that thought it frightens us, her darkness serves a purpose also. Luke knew that, too."
Leia couldn't help but sigh in relief and give a small smile of her own, remembering her brother.
"When I first met Rey," Maz continued, "I told her that she knew in her heart that there were those she loved who were never going to come back….but, that there was someone who still could."
Leia quirked an eyebrow
"She thought it was Luke," Maz added, then a twinkle entered her eye, "But, she was wrong. He was never lost. The Force spoke of another."
"Then… who was it referring to?" Leia asked, prompting
"Someone who had yet to die," Maz revealed, the raised a finger as she pointed out, "Someone who Rey loved, who she shares a very powerful connection with—more powerful than she knows—and who, with the help of her power, could live again."
# # # # # # #
Rey…
"Dad?" Rey whispered, uncertain
Is this life that we're living?
She tried reaching out with the Force to summon her father's spirit to her from the farthest recesses of the island, but the darkness in her mind blocked her, leaving her mind reeling and blank.
Confused, Rey tried again to push through the barrier, but before she could close her eyes and give it a true effort, she was summoned again.
Say the prayers of a thousand tongues….
Rey… the voice came in a raspy tone and Rey's eyes flew open once more, immediately and obediently letting her body lead her…
Is this love some new beginning?
Soon, she nearly hurdled off the cliff edge as she followed the direction of the voice. Rey stopped just short of falling over, her feet slipping on the edge and sending pebbles and dirt tumbling below.
Or a night in our wildest dreams?
Through the minimal light and the wind, her yellow irises focused on the vine edged cave entrance etched into the flat cliff ledge below, wet with ocean spray, the cold and darkness radiating out of it.
Neither the serpents of the island, nor the porgs were anywhere to be seen down there.
An ominous sign…
Rey blinked and powered down her lightsaber, placing it back on her hip as she didn't hesitate to make her way down to the cave.
Into the great wide open,
Across a land of blood and dreams…
She took a running leap and when landed at the bottom of the cliff bottom, her footing somehow sure and steady on the wet and treacherous rocks, she didn't hesitate again as she jumped down into the hole, falling like a log into the dark cavern below, barely making a splash in the bright blue, still water.
I will save your heart from breaking,
Won't you stop, please?
Rey came to the surface with a shallow breath and immediately started swimming to the edge.
Set me free…..
Moments later, she came to her feet, after climbing up onto a flat rock formation, and wrung out the end of her braid with one hand as she wiped the excess water from her face with the other so she could survey the cavern.
It was dark, yet lit by a dim light source—from where, though, Rey couldn't tell—and didn't go very deep into the heart of the island—just deep enough that the water pooled, but didn't flood the cavern.
Again, Rey looked over the edge into the water, but saw neither fish nor mammal in the water.
Rey took in a breath…
I swear to God….
The air was crisp and clean and she didn't sense any danger in the cave, just…
Loneliness, cold, and emptiness…
She looked for a sign of someone—surely someone had called to her, had beckoned her.
I'm the devil...
"Hello?!" Rey called out with an even voice, her defenses up, but her stance relaxed and ready like her father had taught her.
There was the sound of water dripping off of the overhangs…
Then, the sound of small rocks being disturbed and the flash of a dark shadow…
Raise your hands to the sky and praise….
Rey whirled around to follow it and found herself suddenly facing a large reflective wall of pure crystal, created over centuries of precious rock growth on the cavern wall.
Most of Rey's reflection itself was darkened, but her eyes – still flashing bright yellow- were clearly visible in the crystal, the cavern seeming to bring out the Sith inside her even more.
I'm a thief, you're a liar…
Rey closed her eyes, partly in shame, still trying to push down that side of herself that the voice seemed to call to and awaken.
But we live in our wildest dreams….
Rey…. the voice said, but in a softer tone now and echoing off of the walls and water in the cavern
Rey's eyes opened and she turned in a circle on her heel again, listening and keeping her senses open.
Into the great wide open….
After a long moment passed and nothing else happened, Rey turned back to face the crystal wall again, smirking in the relief when she saw that her eyes had returned to their normal brown hue.
Then, they narrowed as Rey focused on something …
Across a land of blood and dreams….
A shadow, seemingly behind her reflection, walking toward her…
Rey whirled around to confront the shadow, but found no one behind her.
I will save your heart from breaking,
Confused, Rey, turned back to the wall.
Won't you stop, please?
The shadow was growing taller and more formed as it continued to walk up behind her in the crystal wall's reflection until her own reflection disappeared and Rey saw the shadow more clearly now, defined.
Set me free…
It wasn't a shadow anymore, it was a person.
# # # # # # # #
October 12, 19 A.B.Y...
Han hurried up the ramp of the Millenium Falcon, sprinting down the causeway, and hastily threw the switch that illuminated the cockpit as he entered it.
Set me free ….
He immediately found what he was looking for and practically dove forward between the pilot and co-pilot seats, pulling his gold plated dice that always hung in front of the windshield, down.
Set me free ….
Han palmed them for a moment thoughtfully, before wrapping his fist tightly around them and turning on his heel, racing back down the hallway toward the waiting ramp, not bothering to turn the lights off.
Set me free….
Han raced back up the sand dunes and across the back lawn of the home he shared with Leia, much faster than he thought he could have imagined he could move at 42 years-old.
Taking the back steps two at a time, he raced through the double doors and down the hallway weaving past a medical droid, Lor San Tekka, and a Senator friend of Leia's who was the wife of a well-known and respected physician who lived nearby.
Let it out….
When he made it down the hallway to the bedroom he shared with Leia, he saw two medical droids leave the room, one with bloody towels in a wash bin and one touching a data pad methodically.
Let it out….
Han inched passed them through the doorway and found Leia at the bedside of Luke's wife, Mayla, holding the woman's left hand and wiping her forehead with a damp cloth as she encouraged her to breathe, slowly and steadily through the labor pains she was experiencing.
Go….
Suddenly, Mayla's breath hitched and she screamed, sitting forward and closing her eyes from the shear pain she was experiencing. Then, almost immediately, she remembered to breath and began to do so methodically, trying to focus her mind and feel Leia's calming presence through the Force.
It's time to lay down your arms….
"Alright, Mayla, here we go…Everything is fine…" the doctor said, looking up from the end of the bed between Mayla's legs, where blood soaked sheets told a different story than the positive one he was trying to portray, "The second baby is coming now…"
Let it out…
There was a part of Han, as he stood there in the door way, that wanted to open his sarcastic, smart mouth and say 'No Bantha shit, doc.'
Let it out...
"No—" Mayla now cried, shaking her head at the doctor's proclamation, tears of pain and grief filling her eyes and streaming down one of her flushed cheeks, "I can't…"
Go…
Mayla then looked to Leia as her sister-in-law tried to sooth her, "Mayla, this baby is going to live, I promise you…It will be alright..."
Time to lay down your arms…
But, Mayla's eyes started to fade and she let out short gasping noises, her eye lids fluttering as she slowly fell back on the pillow.
Leia immediately brought her hand to Mayla's forehead, closing her eyes as she tried to reach Mayla through the Force.
Seeing this, Han immediately broke his trance as he walked quickly forward to the other side of the bed and knelt down, taking Mayla's hand in his as her dark chocolate eyes fluttered again as she struggled to stay conscious.
"She's weak," Leia said softly, shaking her head as she moved her hand to the side of Mayla's face, "She's lost so much blood…I can't feel her….She's drifting away from me…"
Into the great wide open…
"Mayla….come back…" Han said, urgently and encouragingly, his nostril's flaring in worry as he stroked Mayla's cheek, "Hey, you have to fight. We need you to fight, Honey…Come on…"
Across a land of love and dreams….
"Han…" Leia whispered, furrowing her brow, her eyes suddenly looking frightened as she pulled her hand back, "I don't think–"
I will save your heart from breaking ….
The doctor's voice suddenly interjected, low and serious, taking in the scene now from the end of the bed, "Senator Organa, I need her to stay conscious! She needs to push or we'll lose them both! There's not much time. I can do a caesarian, but there's no guarantee we can save the baby or her if worse comes to worse—"
Won't you stop, please?
Suddenly, Mayla sucked in a breath as she came back to full consciousness and moaned in pain, seeming to regain her strength somehow.
Set me free!
"Oh! Thank the Force!" Leia cried, closing her eyes in relief and Hal suddenly felt himself exhale a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding until that moment.
Raise your hands to the sky…
Leia immediately climbed up on the side of the bed next to Mayla as Han climbed on the bed behind her, lifting his sister-in-law's limp, sweating body against himself as he supported her.
"Mayla," Han whispered in her right ear, "I've brought you some luck….hold tight to it and we'll meet this baby, alright?"
Set me free….
Then he placed the dice in her right palm and closed her hand around it.
Mayla closed her eyes in relief and nodded weakly as she reached up and held Han's arm with the same enclosed fist.
Leia too held tightly to Mayla's left hand, and with their encouragement, Mayla moaned again as she sat as upright as she could.
When they were ready, the doctor looked up to her from between her legs and said, "And….push!"
Mayla squeezed Leia's hand and Han's arm as she pushed hard.
Raise your hands to the sky…
"Alright, Mayla….gather your strength….." the doctor instructed, not looking up, keeping his eyes focused on what he was doing
Mayla took in a deep breath through her nose, clutched the dice tighter as she waited out the next contraction, panting as she lay back against Han.
"Oh…okay…Here comes another one fast, get ready…." the doctor said, surprised, raising his eyes to assess Mayla,
Set me free….
Mayla groaned and pushed back against Han in severe pain.
"Hang in there..." Han encouraged in her ear, but was interrupted by the doctor
"Mayla…I need you to push now! Push!" the doctor encouraged
With Han's help, Mayla sat up again and clutching Han and Leia once more, pushed hard, grunting with pain and effort.
Suddenly, Mayla let out a strangled cry and fell back as the wailing of an infant was heard.
Raise your hands to the sky….
Mayla closed her eyes and caught her breath as she leaned back against Han and he smiled, chuckling in relief as he watched Leia leave the bed and assist the doctor with the newborn.
In seconds, the cord was cut and the baby wrapped and the doctor walked back over to attend to Mayla's bleeding as Leia moved toward the bed and with tear filled eyes, placed the wrapped infant in Han's outstretched hands, his arms still around his sister-in-law.
Won't you stop….
"It's a girl…" Leia said, smiling from ear to ear, her eyes moving from Mayla to Han, her husband's eyes looking down with love and awe to the small face inside the blanket as he brought the baby in toward Mayla and laid it against her chest.
Please?...
Mayla smirked weakly as the baby yawned and flexed a tiny hand around the gold dice still dangling from Mayla's right hand.
Set me free….
# # # # # # # # # # #
Rey's eyes assessed the stranger as he soon became clear in the crystal. He was no older than her and just as tall, with a shock of dark brown hair that fell over his eyes—eyes that were clear and the color of the green and blue hues of the ocean. The young man's scoundrel smile flashed in amusement and confusion and then he eyed Rey up and down as though he was only looking at her through the other side of a large pane of glass.
He stepped closer and Rey found herself absentmindedly coming closer too, studying him and the dark brocaded jacket, long pants, tall black boots and blaster in a thigh holster on his right side.
He didn't look like a Jedi or a soldier – he looked too renegade to be a First Order goon or bounty hunter.
The young man looked over his shoulder in confusion, at an unseen something or someone, before he said in a familiar voice, "Just what the Hell is this?"
Then he stepped forward and tapped on the crystal wall.
Rey's heart skipped a beat and nearly jumped into her throat…
It couldn't be.
"Han?" Rey whispered
But, it wasn't her Han. This was a very young, Han Solo— not the man she watched her cousin murder on Starkiller Base.
Han's eyebrow went up immediately at the mention of his name and he pulled his hand away from the wall as he pointed to himself quizzically, then opened his mouth in surprise and said, "I'm—yeah, I'm…Han Solo…Who—Who are you?"
"Holy Crap…" Rey smirked