It took spending every afternoon for a week at the cove, but Rey managed to lift the X-Wing from it's depths. At first she'd thought it was about the strength of her powers, but slowly and surely she started to realize it was about focus, pactiance, and determination. When she was finally able to lift the X-Wing up from its watery grave, Rey had been so proud of herself. And better than that, Luke had been proud of her as well. The whole ordeal had left her exhausted, so Luke had given her a day off from training, and Rey had spent most of that day sleeping. Between her training and Ben invading her dreams, she hadn't slept well in awhile and she needed the rest. The following morning Luke told her she was ready.
Ready for what she didn't know but for some reason her stomach twisted up with nerves when he told her that they had a long walk ahead of them.. He took her to a place on the island that made her feel cold, and filled her with a sense of dread that warned her to stay away. When she peered over the edge of the low cliff and into the massive hole covered in pitch black seaweed, Rey had to fight the urge to run. "What is that place?"
"Darkness." Luke answered as he watched his niece carefully. "Before we can go any further in your training you must go in there and face whatever's in the darkness."
Rey swallowed hard as she looked into the pitch black. She could feel something down there and it frightened her. Looking over at her uncle she knew that she had a choice, she could not go and they would continue to train the way they have been, or she could go and move forward. Taking a deep breath Rey launched herself over the side of the small cliff and scampered down to the hole. The closer she got to it the harder she had to fight the impulse to run as far and as fast as she could. Closing her eyes at the edge she steeled herself and then jumped.
She landed in a pool of warm clear water. She clenched her jaw tight to keep herself from gasping at the sight of the gleaming white skulls of creatures who'd died long, long ago. Swimming to the surface she made her way to a ledge and pulled herself up. The rock walls all around her were black as space without stars and pulsing with darkness. One of the walls, the one directly in front of her, was as smooth and reflective as a mirror. She was drawn to it, and despite the cold radiating off it, Rey inched closer. Reaching out she pressed her fingertips to the smooth glass surface and coldness consumed her.
Suddenly Rey was surrounded by the mirror but instead of seeing her own reflection, she saw the reflections of the people she loved. Han, Leia, Amilyn, Finn, Poe, Luke, Chewie, and even Ben as she had seen him in her memories, they all surrounded her and for a moment the cold and darkness of the cave vanished in their warmth. But then the cold returned, and this time it brought with it the eerie red flickering light of an angry lightsaber. Kylo Ren appeared beside the reflection of her father, and Rey watched for a second time as Han died at Kylo's hands. When the Kylo appeared behind the reflection of Leia, Rey reached for her own lightsaber and ignited it. She surged forward, but Kylo was faster and Leia was gone just like Han. One by one the people she loved fell to the angry red hissing lightsaber until Rey was alone, panting, on her knees as tears streamed down her face.
She was alone again, alone and unloved, unwanted, forgotten. She felt Kylo move closer and hold out his hand to her. She looked up into his masked face, and she could feel a silent promise. Take his hand and he would give them all back. Join him and together they could keep them safe. Give in to the darkness and she could have the kind of power that would ensure she was never alone again. Rey stared for a long moment and then tightened her hand around her lightsaber hilt, ignited it, and swung at him, severing his outstretched arm at the elbow.
The images all faded and Rey once again found herself in the dark cave. Wiping the tears from her face she pushed to her feet and made her way out of the cave and back to the huts where Luke waited with a pot of Amilyn's tea freshly brewed and piping hot. She wrapped her hands around the mug, soaking in it's warmth, and breathing in the sweet fruity scent, allowing it to calm her.
"The Dark Side will play off your greatest fear." Luke told her after several minutes of silence. "And offer you an easy way around it. You faced the darkness, Rey, and you refused it." He smiled at her, a warm, proud smile. "Now go get some sleep. You're going to need it. From here on out, pulling that X-Wing out of the water's going to be the easiest thing you've done."
Rey nodded but remained by the fire until she'd finished her tea. When she finally went to bed that night she easily fell into a deep sleep, but it was far from restful. The Force did not connect her with Ben that night, but with her mother, and suddenly it was her nightmare come to life. She awoke screaming for her mother as her heart raced, her breathes came short and fast, and tears streamed down her face.
In her dream she saw her mother on the bridge of a ship. Leia's back was turned towards her, arms spread wide as she grasped the edge of a control table. She wore a dark gray cape over a gray dress and everything about Leia in that moment radiated power and authority. Rey felt pride swell in her chest as well as her lingering disbelief that this incredible woman was her mother. Rey reached out towards Leia in that moment, as if to put her hand on Leia's shoulder, but then she felt something cold wash over her and she shivered. Ben. Only this time her brother wasn't invading her dreams. He was close to their mother, Rey could sense him, sense the conflict in him, and the love coming from Leia.
Then there was a bright flash of fire, followed by the coldness of space. Her mother was in grave danger. Rey could feel her life force slipping and she screamed out in the Force as well as into the night. Rey bolted up on her cot and reached out her hand as she cried. "Mama! Mama!" She continued to cry out until she felt someone pull her close. "She's in danger, Uncle Luke! Something's terribly wrong!"
"I know. I felt it." Luke wrapped his niece in his arms and held her tight. "It's alright Rey, she's alright. Leia's alright."
When Rey was calmer she pulled out of her uncle's embrace and looked into his eyes. "I have to go. I have to go to her."
Luke nodded his understanding. He had been weavering on whether to go back with Rey or not, but now, now there was no doubt. Leia needed him. Letting go of his niece Luke stands and closes his eyes. He lifts his human hand and stretches it out towards something. His aged face twists a bit as he uses the Force but then he smiles just moments before something bursts through the wall of Rey's hut and into his hand. Opening his eyes he looked at the hilt of his lightsaber for the first time since arriving on Ahch-to. Looking down at Rey, he smirks at the look of astonishment on her face, and then says, "So what are we waiting for, kid? Don't you know it's a bad idea to keep your mother waiting?"
Rey continued to look at him with shock for a few moments and then nodded slowly. Luke hadn't used his powers before, and it was a little startling to see him do so now. Rey had wondered a few times about his lightsaber, he'd refused to even touch hers, and now that she saw it in his hand she wondered where it had been. There would be time to ask questions later. Right not they needed to get to Leia, so she calls out to Chewie to tell him they were leaving and to get the ships ready. They pack quickly, and with Luke's help they managed to dock his old X-Wing to the Falcon. Because after spending a week pulling the damn thing out of that stupid cove, there was no way in hell Rey was leaving it behind.
Plugging the tracker bracelet her mother had given her into R2D2 Rey laid in the course that would take them to Leia. As they grew closer Rey could sense them, Leia, Amilyn, and Ben. Ben. He couldn't do it, he couldn't fire on Leia, couldn't hurt his mother. In the short time she had been with her mother and Amilyn she had heard them talk about hope, and how important it was, even if it were just a sliver of it. There was a sliver of Ben Solo left somewhere in Kylo Ren, Rey knew it, she could feel it. She just hoped she could reach it. She could sense that Leia was alright, that she was awake and alive, and with Amilyn. Which made Rey's choice a lot easier.
"Keep the Falcon out of sight," Rey told Chewie as she settled into the pod that she'd programmed to take her to Ben. "Until you get my signal." Chewie grunted and growled at her. "I have to at least try." She told him. "It's what he would want me to do and you know it."
As soon as the Falcon dropped out of hyperspace Chewie launched the pod with Rey in it, and then shook his furry head as he watched the blip of it on his screen as it headed straight for the massive First Order ship. Rey's stomach twisted painfully as she felt herself getting closer and closer to Ben. There was a darkness coming off that ship that made the cave on Ahch-to feel like a bright sunny day on Jakku. Closing her eyes Rey reached out for a moment, letting her brother know she was coming to him.
When her pod landed in the docking bay of the massive ship Ben was there to greet her. He said nothing as he helped her out of the pod, but he did take her lightsaber, and she let him. She wasn't here to hurt him or to fight him, she was here to save him. For a long moment they just looked into each other's eyes, and then Rey reached up and gently touched the scar on Ben's face. "You didn't have this in my dreams." She said softly. "I'm sorry."
Ben's reply was to slap restraining cuffs on her wrists. He led her to an elevator and as they ascended Rey did her best to squish all of the sudden doubts she was having about this plan of hers. Luke had warned her this was a mistake, but he didn't try to stop her, much to her surprise. Coming out of the cave the way she had, had somehow changed his point of view on her. Luke believed in her and that gave her the confidence she needed in the moment. "You don't have to do this. I can feel the conflict in you, Ben."
"My Master has agreed to allow you to be my apprentice." Was Ben's reply. "All you have to do is give him what he wants."
Rey bit back a growl of frustration. "And what is it that he wants?"
"The last Jedi." Ben answered as the elevator doors opened.
Ben pushed her forward and Rey stumbled out of the elevator and into a massive red throne room. The overwhelming icy darkness she had felt as she'd approached the ship, now nearly brought her to her knees as she walked closer to the creature sitting on the throne. Ben did fall to his knee.
"Well done my good and faithful servant." Snoke said as the Skywalker siblings approached. "My faith in you is restored." He said to Kylo before turning his attention to the girl. "Young Rey." His voice was a cold purr. "Or should I address you using your true name?" He paused and hummed softly. "Breha Amidala Organa Solo, welcome."
The restraints on her wrists pop open and fall to the floor with a clatter. Rey instinctively shakes out her hands. Her heart is racing, but she manages to keep her breathing calm and slow as she looks into the face of evil. This was the creature who had tormented her brother, twisted him, and stole him away from his family, from her. Well, she was here to steal him back.
"Come closer, child." Snoke purred.
Rey stood, unwearing, staring him in the eyes.
"So much strength." Snoke said as he summoned the Jedi's weapon from Kylo's hand. "The blood and power of Darth Vader rushes through you just as it does my young apprentice. I can see why he wishes to take you on his own, and with the proper training, you could make a valuable addition to my Knights of Ren."
Rey continues to stare unflinchingly, definitely, as he speaks.
"Come closer my child." Snoke repeated, only this time he wasn't going to wait for her to do it on her own. Picking her up with the Force he pulls the girl to him. He practically moaned with delight as he felt her power.
"You understatement us." Rey told him in a firm and confident tone despite the fear she felt. In that moment Rey was very much her mother's daughter. With her chin up, and fire in her eyes, she was almost the mirror of image of Leia standing up to Vader. "And it will be your downfall."
Snoke gasped as if what Rey said was of actual concern, and then he laughed, a haunting sound that echoed through the room. "Foolish child. Do you actually believe you can turn my apprentice to the Light? Turn him against me? He is mine!" Reaching out he curled his long fingers around the girl's head and drew her closer until there were barely inches between their faces. "And soon youngling, you'll be mine as well." He hissed and the raised his voice. "Tell me where Skywalker is!?"
Fear and anger were rising in Rey, but still she maintained control. "No."
Ben watched as his Master sent his sister sailing into the air and when Rey began to scream in pain he flinched ever so slightly, as he fists tightened and pressed hard into the floor.
It was unlike anything Rey had ever felt before. Every cell of her being burned as if on fire, and it was hard to think of anything else. She screamed in angrish as she felt the creature forcing his way into her mind. She tried to fight him, tried to keep him out, but he was stronger than she was, and far more experienced. He violently ripped what he wanted from her mind as he continued to torture her body. But Luke had taught her well and she was able to hide the smallest details of the truth behind the repeated lyrics of her mother's lullaby.
Snoke laughed as he dropped the girl to the floor. "Well, if Luke Skywalker wishes to die on his little island I will be happy to grant him his last request. We will go to his planet and obliterate it! But first, we must finish taking care of the rebels." Picking Rey up again he sent her to his monitor and activated it so she could see what was happening outside. "Let Hux think it was his technology that led us to the heart of the Resistance, it's good for his poor ego. But you child should know the truth." Snoke closed his eyes and sucked in a breath of air as if he were tasting something on it, something deliciously powerful, and then he hums in delight. "The raw untapped power of Leia Amidala Skywalker."
Rey twisted in Snoke's hold, now that her fear was centered on her mother it was harder to keep control of, as was her growing anger. She would not let him hurt her! "Her name is Organa." She hisses out as she manages to move just enough to try and summon her lightsaber, but it merely twitches on the arm of Snoke's chair.
Again Snoke's cold laughter fills the room. "Such spunk! Such fire! I will enjoy breaking you, girl. Now watch as the Resistance dies."
The thought of her mother dying, of Amilyn dying, gives Rey what she needs but instead of summoning her lightsaber, she calls for Ben's just as she breaks Snoke's hold on her. She ignites the angry red blade, feels the way it rattles painfully in her hands, and then charges towards Snoke.
"You have the heart of a true Jedi." Snoke says as the girl comes at him, a little startled by the force of her power. But with a simple flick of his fingers he sends her flying, knocking the lightsaber from her hands. "Pity." He once again picks her up and uses the Force to move her across the room. This time he places her right in front of Kylo. "She is lost to you my boy, full of too much Light, I warned you this may be the case once she'd discovered Skywalker. Now you must put an end to the Light, you must put an end to her."
"Ben!" Rey cries out as she looks into her brother's eyes. "Ben! Please! Don't let him do this! Ben, you can't let him kill our mother! I felt it in you, Ben! I felt it when you couldn't fire on her! Help me save her! Please!"
Ben dropped his head, his fists flexing painfully in his gloves as he continues pushing against the floor as if trying to push something down inside him.
Snoke roared in anger. "My worthy and faithful apprantance, son of Darkness, and heir apparent to Lord Vader. Prove to her once and for all that you belong to the Dark Side and snuff out the Light!"
Kylo picks up his lightsaber and slowly rises to his feet. He looks into Rey eyes as he moves towards her. His hand flexes around his hilt. "I know what I have do."
"Ben." Rey whispers. Snoke laughs, he taunts her, mocks her for believing in the fallacy of hope, belittles her belief that any part of her brother still remains. But Rey continues to look into Ben's eyes, to reach out to him, begging him to remember who he truly is. She doesn't look away from him as he turns his lightsaber hilt towards her, as he aims it at her neck. She refuses to look away. If her brother was going to kill her he was going to have to do it looking into her eyes.
But when the sound of the lightsaber igniting fills her ears there's no red light, no searing pain from it slicing through her flesh. Rey does however hit the floor painfully. Turning her head she sees Snoke on his throne with her blue blade piercing him clean through. She watches as the lightsaber moves forward, slicing Snoke in half, and as it flies towards them. Rey reaches up and catches it, and then turns as she's getting to her feet to look at her brother before all hell breaks loose. The people in red armor around the room really didn't like having their Supreme Leader slice in half like a bantha sausage.
They move in unison until they're back to back, sabers held high, and then Rey fights side by side with her brother as it's meant to be. She is completely outnumbered and overpowered but Rey allows the Force to guide her, allows her emotions to heighten her connection to the Force, and uses that power to her advantage. She stabs one red guard in the chest, quarters another as she pushes her blade into him and then yanks it upwards after freeing herself from his weapon. When one cuts her with his blade she uses that pain to fuel her own actions. There is a moment when one of the guards kicks her to the floor that Rey wishes she had her staff. She'd gotten better with the saber, but she was just more comfortable swinging her staff. She gets back on her feet and when one of the guard's gets ahold of her, pinning her dominant arm so she can't use her lightsaber, she lets go of the saber, catching it in her other hand and spinning out of the guard's grasp, dispatching him easily with a swipe of her weapon. When she sees that her brother is trouble she doesn't hesitate, she throws him their grandfather's lightsaber.
The room burns around them as Ben uses the blue bladed lightsaber to kill the last of the red guards. They're both out of breath, Rey trembles as she says they can still save the transports, save their mothers. She turns to Ben.
"Snoke is dead." Ben pants as he stares at Rey. "Bay." He says her real name with a sigh of relief. "He's finally dead. We can finally take our places."
"What?" Rey replies, confused. "Ben, I don't understand."
"Don't you see? It's our destiny! I am the grandson of Lord Vader! And you, Breha, you are the daughter and granddaughter of queens!" He shouts at her, but not in an angry way, he almost seems euphoric. "You and I could rule the galaxy together! Me as Supreme Leader, and you, Breha, as Empress!"
"Ben!" Rey shouts. She can't believe what she's hearing. Snoke is dead and yet Ben keeps talking as if he's under Snoke's control. "You're delusional! Now come on we have to save…"
"We could finally give them peace, Bay." Ben continues. "For the first time in their lives Mother and Auntie can live in a galaxy of true peace. They wouldn't have to spend the rest of their days fighting. Mother could live out her remaining days as the queen she was meant to be, Auntie by her side just as she always has been, happy and at peace."
He was using her desire to save and protect Leia to manipulate her and it was breaking Rey's heart. Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
Ben held out his hand to her. "Bay, join me, please. This is what I have worked so hard towards. This is what everything has been for. Please, Bay, please."
Rey swallowed the lump in her throat, her stomach churning, her heart breaking. She lifts her hand and stretches it out towards Ben, but not to accept his hand, to call back her lightsaber. Ben roars out in pain, betrayal flooding his eyes and he reaches out for the saber as well. They struggle over this time, Rey doesn't know why, it had come to her so easily last time. They both reach out to Force push the other, neither of them letting go. The lightsaber shakes and rattles between them until finally it cracks in two, the blast sending them both flying backwards, knocking them unconscious.
Amilyn watched as the transports made their way to the surface. They would be safe on Crait, at least for a little while. They just needed to reach the surface. Her gaze had been locked on Leia's transport, needing to see it disappear into the planet's atmosphere, but something pricked at the edge of her senses, making Amilyn turn to look at the attacking ship. While the main weapons of the Supremacy continued to bombard the cruiser, Amilyn noticed a flash of green roar down from someplace near the top. When the blast hit one of the transports Amilyn felt the blast in the very core of her beginning. Somehow they'd been discovered! She had to protect the remaining transports, she had to protect Leia! Moving to the pilot's chair Amilyn began moving the ship into position and as she did so she closed her eyes for only a moment and whispered softly, "Forgive me, my loves."
Rey awoke with a gasp, her mind flooded with images. It wasn't quite a dream, more like a vision, of Amilyn. Scampering to her feet she went to the view screen, she narrowed her eyes she reached out, searching for why she was suddenly and overwhelming so full of dread. "No." She whispered. "No! No! No! Ammy what are you doing!"
Snoke's escape ship was close by. Rey scooped up the broken lightsaber and ran for the ship. She didn't have time to waste. Minutes, maybe seconds, hardly any time at all.
Leia continued to watch out the transport's window, scanning the darkness for any sign of Amilyn's pod, but there was nothing. Nothing until she noticed the Raddus beginning to shift its course. Fear washed over Leia like ice. "Amilyn." She whispered as she stood and pressed her hand against the glass. "Amilyn, what are you doing?"
For a moment there is only silence. There is no hum of the engines. There are no voices from the people in the transport with her. She does not hear her own voice cry out, nor Poe's as he calls out her name as her knees give out and she sinks towards the floor. She does not feel Poe grab her or guide her into a seat. For a moment there is only silence and the blinding white light of the Raddus as it hits the Supremacy at hyperspeed. The resulting explosion is so intense Leia has no choice but to turn away from it.
It takes longer than usual for General Organa to surface as Leia trembles, but she manages, she has too. Her people are counting on her as the remaining transports land on Crait, so she begins giving orders. Amilyn obliterated the Supremacy, taking the fleet with it, but Leia knew in her gut the danger wasn't over. Endor put an end to the Emperor and Vader, but the war continued for months afterwards. Snoke was dead, she felt it, the icy black darkness she had felt was gone now, but the war was far from over. Hell, this day, this one terrible battle wasn't even over yet. There was no way there weren't a few survivors and they would have nowhere else to go but down here, on Crait, with them.
Sure enough a shuttle and several Ties were heading right towards them. She had only wanted a moment, a moment to mourn yet again, but the First Order was going to take that from her as well. Leia ordered the doors closed as she turned and headed back inside, but the shuttle managed to make it inside just before the door slammed shut. Grabbing a rifle Leia aimed it at the cockpit. Her anger and grief rose in her chest as the glass canopy popped off, her finger pulled back on the trigger, but then something caused her to shift her aim at the last moment and the shot she fired went between the raised arms sticking out over the glass. A second later a head popped up. Leia blinked. "Finn?"
"Finn! Korrie! Rose! You're not dead!" Poe cheered beside her. "Where's my droid!"
Leia watched as young Rose Tico held up a device of some sort and cheered about getting it, and how Korrie had wiped the ship's computers after copying the plans for it. In her anger and grief Leia had damn near taken Finn's head off. Drifting away from the group Leia ordered D'acy to use her personal codes to reach out to any allies, and then sank onto a crate. It was sweet of Finn to believe in her, telling the others to have faith because people believed in her. Han believed in her. Amilyn had believed in her when she was just a stupid sixteen year old girl out to change the galaxy and had followed her into this mess willingly and unwaveringly. Now they were both gone, the loves of her life, gone because of her war. The base began to shake above their heads. Leia looked up. The First Order was here.
Poe lead a group out onto the salt flats in skimmers that were so old, Leia was fairly sure they were the same ones she, Han, and Luke used the last time she'd been on this forsaken planet, and they had been rust buckets back then. She was only half paying attention to the comm chatter, rolling her eyes at Poe's sudden whoop of excitement, assuming he'd been able to blow something up.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Poe's voice cracked over the comms.
"Well I couldn't let you have all the fun without me now could I?" Came the reply.
Leia gasped, the numbness that had settled over her ebbing away. "Rey."
"Let's see if we can't take some of the heart off you." Rey's voice cracked over the comms.
"You got it, ace." Poe replied as his teamed chugged along in their battered old machines. A minute or two later his voice once again crackled over the comms. "She's doing it! They're following, all of them!"
Finn's laugh rang out next. "They really hate that ship!"
The ground above their heads continued to shake violently as whatever had survived the destruction of the First Order fleet, now marched towards their stronghold. Leia could feel the anger and hated without having to open herself to it. He was pushing it out as if he wanted to announce himself. Ben. No. Leia closed her eyes, and sighed mournfully. Ben was gone. All she felt now was Kylo Ren. Her son was lost. It felt as if the weight she had been carrying around with her since she was sixteen was finally taking its toll, crushing her slowly, and Leia almost gave into it. Almost. She had heard her daughter's voice, and now as she lifted her head to look up at the doorway, she knew not all was lost. "Luke."
"Leia." Luke said as he walked towards his sister, pulling back the hood of his black robe.
"You came." Leia said, awed by the sight of him after so long.
"You needed me." Luke replied as he sat across from her. "I only wish I'd come sooner. Leia, I'm so sorry."
Leia held up her hand. "I know you are. I'm glad you're here."
"I need to face him, Leia." Luke told her. "Rey tried, but now, now I need to face who he's become."
Leia didn't even try to hold back her tears. "I held out hope for so long, but I know my son is gone." She shook her head slightly as she whispered. "So many losses."
Luke stood and leaned down to place a kiss on his sister's forehead. As he held her face in his hands he smiled. "Don't give up all of that famous hope of yours just yet, Leia. There are still some sparks left in the galaxy."
It was Poe who figured out Luke was giving them a distraction. The boy was learning and had brought his team back into the base when it was clear they were on a suicide run. Finn hadn't been happy about it, but he followed Poe's orders, would probably follow Poe anywhere, Leia began to realize. They both had a lot more to learn, a lot more growing up to do, but Leia was proud of both of them. The spark that would light the fire. Amilyn would have been proud of them too. The rest of their little band of rebels, however, didn't quite see the growth in Poe just yet, so when he ordered them all to follow, they looked at her. She nodded, chuckled, and said, "Well, don't look at me, follow him."
After lifting an X-Wing out of it's watery grave moving rocks was easy, but Rey couldn't help but laugh. One of the first things Luke said to her was that the Force was more than just moving rocks. Closing her eyes Rey reached out and the pile of boulders blocking the opening began to tremble, and then slowly they began to rise and move to the sides, opening a path straight to her. She held them in place until she opened her eyes and saw her mother step into the light of day. Then she let the rocks fall, creating barricades on either side of a path leading up to the waiting Falcon. With their escape secured, Rey called out and rushed forward towards Leia. "Mother!"
"Rey." Leia breathed out in a silent prayer of thanks that her daughter was safe. The warmth of having Rey in her arms burned away the cold she had felt from the moment Snoke's ship appeared, though the numbness of her lost still remained.
"I'm so glad you're alright." Rey says as she clings to Leia. "I felt… I saw…"
"I'm fine sweetheart." Leia reassured. She needed to tell Rey about Amilyn, that she was gone, but she just couldn't bring herself to say it. So she pulled back and reached up to caress Rey's face, and reminded her that they would have more time to reassure one another once they were all aboard the Falcon.
Rey nodded and then helped her mother up the side of the cliff to the Falcon before going back to help the others. Once everyone was onboard Rey closed the door as she said into her comm, "That's everyone, Chewie. Let's get the hell out of here."
The Falcon lifted off with a Wookie's roar and speed off planet unnoticed.
Rey made her way to the hold where she knew her mother waited. She could feel the sadness and grief rolling off Leia in crushing waves, and it broke her heart. She had wanted so badly to save Ben, but now she feared that was impossible. Spotting Leia sitting on a crate alone in the center of the room Rey went to her and watched as Leia stood, opening her arms to her once again. She soaked in just as much comfort and reassurance as she gave.
When Rey was sure Leia was alright, when her own heart stopped pounded painfully in her chest, she pulled out of her mother's arms and looked at Leia for a long moment before she suddenly exclaimed, "Don't ever scare me like that again, Mother!" Throwing her hands up in frustration she continues, "I mean seriously! What the hell? I leave for a couple of months and you get yourself sucked out into space, and then you get yourself stranded on a giant ball of salt!" Rey rants and then suddenly she's pointing at a closed door, "And she tries to ram a mega death ship with an empty cruiser at lightspeed while she's still kriffing on it because she has to save a spark or something!"
Leia turns towards the closed door Rey is pointing at and watches as they part to reveal a disheveled, bloody, but very alive, "Amilyn." Again the rest of the world melts away and Leia is left in silence as she moves towards the woman she's loved all her adult life. Was she dreaming? Had she died on Crait and joined Amilyn in the Force? As soon as she was able to Leia reached out, taking Amilyn's face in her hands. She was warm, and soft, and real. In that moment Leia didn't care who was watching. She pulled Amilyn in closer and kissed her. She was very real, and very much alive. It was then, as she felt Amilyn's arms go around her, as she felt Amilyn returning her kiss with just as much love, and relief, that Leia realized she hadn't felt Amilyn's death in the Force like she had Han's. She had been so focused on what she'd seen, she's missed what she hadn't felt. Reluctantly Leia pulled out of the kiss and looked into Amilyn's eyes, her fingers reaching out to trace a trail of dry blood near her temple. "How?"
"I'm not entirely sure." Amilyn answered as she held Leia and looked into her eyes. "One moment I'm at the helm on the Raddus, my hand on the hyperdrive, and the next I'm waking up here on the Falcon."
Leia caressed Amilyn's face once more before turning to look at her daughter. She was the only explanation for why Amilyn was still alive. "Rey?"
"I may have tried some risky Jedi stuff, with help, and a hell of lot of luck?" Rey replied as she squirmed under her mother's gaze.
"Help?" Leia repeated and then gasped as she remembered. "Luke."
"Is fine." Came a gruff voice from behind Amilyn.
Leia blinked. Amilyn shifted them so they were no longer blocking the doorway that lead to a corridor that led to the captain's cabin. Standing there now, well more like leaning there now, was Luke. He looked different than he had on Crait. On Crait his hair and beard had been short, neatly trimmed, and brown in color. He'd worn black like he use to during the rebellion. But the man slumped against the doorframe now wore tattered robes of cream and his hair was long, unkempt, and gray. "Luke?"
Luke smirked as he looked at Leia. "This time I'm real, I promise."
Pulling reluctantly out of Amilyn's arms Leia went to her twin, catching him in her arms just before he collapsed. "Luke?!"
"I'm alright." Luke promised her. "Just tired. I'm to damn old for this crap."
Leia couldn't believe it. Breha, Amilyn, Luke, all thought lost to her at one point or another, and all of them here, now, surrounding her, alive and well. She had wondered how she was going to go on, how she was suppose to continue fighting, but all of her doubt was gone now. This wasn't the end, it was just the start of something, and Leia was once again filled with incredible hope.