Rey's reunion with the rest of the crew was warm and nostalgic. Finn had never seen D-O wheel so fast up to anyone. BB-8 nearly rolled into her legs to greet her. Chewy, most of all, roared so loud and hugged her so tightly that Finn thought he may crush her.
Finn felt at home seeing her big, beautiful smile fill her face again.
Sweet relief settled over the entire base at the realization that they weren't under attack and that the war really was over. Rey apologized profusely, mentioning that her ship had been destroyed and the tie fighter was her only option.
Finally, when she was able to get away, she slunk off into her quarters to settle in and get cleaned up.
The rest of the base slowly began to go their separate ways to eat dinner and retire for the evening. Finn and Poe were the last two left in the command center, along with the droids. When everyone else had left, Poe brought out a bottle of Alderaanian wine and two glasses for them to share. Finn grinned and accepted, eagerly.
They moved outside the cave to sit by the campfire, taking the bottle with them. The Ajan Kloss sky had turned a deep, dark purple, dotted with stars. Finn thought it was a beautiful evening, one of the most beautiful he had ever seen while on the jungle planet - or perhaps it was the wine and the return of Rey.
They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the peace. Eventually, Poe looked up to Finn from his place across the fire, clearing his throat. He held up his cup into the air, "To Leia."
Finn nodded, raising his cup. "To Leia." A lump built in his throat but he washed it down with the wine. It was a gorgeous, dark red vintage that tasted of blackberries and leather. No wonder Leia kept this stuff secret.
Poe leaned back against a stack of ration creates, sighing. "Can't believe it's finally over."
Finn raised his eyebrows, staring at the fire, "You're telling me. So what now? Where do we go from here?"
"The First Order is gone, tyranny is dead, but the galaxy is a mess." Poe took a sip of his wine, "We have to rebuild." He paused, looking into the fire with longing eyes, "It's what Leia would want."
Finn leaned in, resting an arm on his knee. "I'm with you, 'till the end." He raised his glass in the air, "To a free galaxy. A new republic."
Poe grinned, raising his glass. Poe took a few greedy gulps then lowered his glass to speak, "But for now, let's take it easy, huh? I think we owe it to ourselves to lay low a bit before the real work begins."
Finn smiled in agreement.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by footsteps emerging from the cave. Finn turned his head to see Rey's silhouette emerging from the command center.
Finn's heart warmed at the sight of her.
As she approached, her features became more clear. Her hair was washed and dried, mostly down save for half of the top portion pulled back into a small hair tie. Finn noticed that her hair was much longer now, almost down to the middle of her back. The clothes she wore were clean and fresh, a light grey tunic and pants with crisp, white wrappings and dark brown boots. She no longer wore the leather arm band around the scars she received nearly a year ago.
On one shoulder, she was carrying her staff and the other, she carried a large satchel stuffed full with belongings. Her grey haversack was strapped to her body as well, overflowing with provisions.
Odd...
She reached the two men and dropped the large satchel to the ground with a thud and leaned her haversack and staff against it.
She sighed and spoke, "I can't stay. I have to leave."
"Wh-Why?" Finn was shocked, dumbfounded. "You only just got here."
She said nothing as she walked towards them and sat down on an empty crate.
Poe silently handed her the bottle of Alderaanian wine, it's contents noisily swirling around in the bottle. She accepted and took a few giant gulps, then wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, exhaling satisfyingly.
Rey handed the bottle back to Poe without looking at him, her eyes fixed on the fire.
Poe and Finn exchanged a look.
Finn hated that Poe was right. Something was up, and it made his stomach churn with anxiety.
"I've been on Ahch-To and I have to go back. I have some..." she pursed her lips "business to take care of there." She explained.
"Ok, back up. Why Ahch-To?" Poe eyed Finn, acknowledging that his previous theory that Rey was on this planet was correct. It gave Finn some mild satisfaction to know he was right.
Finn looked down at her hands. She twisted them together in her lap. She was nervous. But, why?
"About a year ago, when I was there training briefly with Luke. I saw a vision...or rather, I saw someone's future."
Finn and Poe were silent, letting her finish.
She sighed and continued, "I saw Ben Solo's future." Finn tensed. Her words started to come quickly now, spilling out of her, "Because of what I saw, I knew that if I went to him, if I helped him, that he would turn to the light. I believed he was our only hope."
Rey must have felt their silent confusion because she continued when they said nothing, "And I was right. What I saw came true. On Exegol, he came to face Palpatine with me. He helped me."
The tension in Finn continued to rise like a mustafar volcano threatening to boil over.
She looked up at Finn then turned her head to look at Poe. She still wrung her hands until her knuckles were white, waiting for a reaction from them.
Poe was the first to respond. "So you're saying that Kylo Ren helped you defeat Palpatine?"
"Ben Solo." She corrected. "He's a good person and I always saw the good in him. He deserves a chance."
Finn had remained silent, still putting the pieces together. She looked back at Finn, expectantly.
"Hang on, 'deserves'? So he's still alive?" Finn asked, then he shook his head, "Also, 'good person'?" His voice raised two octaves.
She nodded, simply, eyeing him with cautious eyes.
Suddenly, understanding hit Finn like a freight train. "You're on Ahch-To with him." It wasn't a question.
She nodded.
"You're trying to protect him." He continued.
She nodded again.
Of course. It was one of the most desolate planets in the galaxy. No one knew it existed.
Which also meant that no one was there to protect her from him.
Poe took in a sharp breath and sat back in his seat, speechless. Finn stood up abruptly, placing his glass down and began pacing back and forth in front of the fire. He felt Rey's eyes on him.
He tried to control the shaking in his voice, but it was impossible. "Rey, have you forgotten everything, everything he has done to you? To me? To Leia?!"
Poe nodded, "Guy's an asshole. He tortured me-"
"I know, I know." Rey interrupted. She looked up to Finn, catching his gaze as he continued pacing. "Believe me, I know more than anyone who he is...or was."
"See?!" Finn's voice raised, holding his hands out in desperation. "Rey, he is dangerous. He's been trying to kill you since the first time you met him. What if this is all a part of some master plan of his, to earn your trust then take you down?"
She shook her head, opening her mouth to speak, but Finn cut her off.
"Kriff, Rey, he killed his own father!"
At the mentioned of Han Solo, the crates around them began to shake. Finn thought there was some sort of earthquake happening, until his eyes flicked down to Rey and realized it was her who was shaking - with anger.
She stood up suddenly, force-knocking over the bottle of wine and empty crates surrounding them. "HE SAVED MY LIFE!" She yelled, fists balled up tight.
Poe stood up, backing away. Finn felt his mouth gape as he stood there, unsure of what to say. Rey's eyes were on fire.
I had felt her die...but then she came back.
Finn hated Kylo Ren. Not just for everything he had done while he was FN-2187, but to his friends and family too. It was unforgivable.
But now knowing that Kylo Ren had saved Rey by giving her the gift of life stirred confusion and conflict within him like he had never felt before. This man that he was supposed to hate, the conduit of the most evil and vile things in the galaxy, was now responsible for saving Rey from death.
It made no sense.
Rey looked down at her shaking hands, eyebrows furrowing in concern. She looked around at the toppled over bottle of wine and boxes as she sank back down in her seat.
"I-I'm sorry...I don't know what that was."
Finn took a deep breath and walked towards her, sitting next to her. He placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in so she rested her head in the crook of his arm.
Poe walked forward, kneeling before Rey and taking her hands. His eyes were warm, "Rey. You are our dearest friend and I have always trusted your judgement. But this...this is crazy." He shook his head, "I agree with Finn, I don't think this is a good idea. You owe him nothing."
"I owe him my life." She contradicted. "Palpatine killed me, but Ben he..." She shook her head, "Do you remember when I force healed that giant serpent on Pasana?"
Poe nodded. "Well, that's exactly what he did to me." She looked between the two men, "I was dead but he brought me back to life, using the force. If he wanted me dead, why didn't he just leave me there?"
"Maybe he doesn't want you dead. Maybe he wants you for your power." Finn responded echoing Han Solo's words.
"I will never turn to the darkside." Her head snapped to Finn, eyes on fire. "Never. You both know me better than that."
Finn and Poe said nothing. Finn felt defeated. He knew no matter what he said to Rey, she would do whatever she felt was best.
Poe sighed, eyeing the giant satchel laying on the ground. "So what now? He's on Ahch-To and you're going back to him? For how long?"
"I don't know," She responded. "As long as it takes. I promised I would help him turn back to the light and I intend to keep that promise. I plan to stay there until I feel it's safe for him to re-enter society again." She paused. "He is Leia's son, don't forget that."
Rey didn't wait for either of them to respond. She stood suddenly, walking towards her belongings. "I have to go, I've already stayed too long." She pulled out a small device from her haversack - a comms link.
Her eyes bore into Finn's as she waved the device in the air, "We can reach each other, on this."
Finn, in a last second attempt to stop her, stood and pleaded, "Rey, please-"
"-I'm sorry. I have to go." She briskly grabbed her things and walked away towards the landing platform.