A/N: This is a little post Rise of Skywalker blurb. Not ForceBondy, but it's one-shot that I can't get out of my head. "Sometimes dead's better."

The unfeeling deadness in her eyes was the first sign there was something wrong with Rey.

Poe initially wrote it off to exhaustion and grief. No one was certain what happened on Exegol, but the Emperor was gone and Rey came out alive. The last Skywalkers had died. Rey toyed with the idea of adopting the name, but ultimately decided that she would forever remain just Rey.

As work began to form a new government and sort out the remnants of the First Order prisoners and war criminals, life intensified into a business that hadn't existed during the hurry up and wait nature of the war. He had a military to build, missions to continue running, and an enormous legacy to live up to. Finn was a great help, but it was far too much for their small group of rebels to do. Poe was so consumed with his own responsibilities that somehow he had neglected to notice Rey's life slip so suddenly and deeply into what he assumed was depression.

On a dreary morning, she sat at a table in their new base, staring blankly into space. The breakfast in front of her was untouched.

"Hey, Rey," he said softly as he sat beside her. "Good to see you in the mess hall."

She nodded.

"You seen Rose lately?"

She shook her head.

Poe sighed. "Listen. I know how you're feeling. With Leia gone… and Ben," he added quickly when her eyes flicked up at him in a cold glare. "It's hard. We're all learning how to move on. There's a place for you somewhere. Anywhere you want it. The military. The new republic senate. All you have to do is choose. When you're ready," he added hastily.

"Of course," Rey replied, stabbing her toast viciously. "I'll let you know."

Poe watched in surprise as she tore the bread apart using the fork and her hands. When it was nothing but crumbs on the plate, he nodded nervously and stood to leave. "All right. Well, I'll let you keep at it, then."

She watched him wordlessly. Without a Force user in camp to help understand that was going on with her, Poe had to admit he was more than a little intimidated.

Rose poked her head into the Millennium Falcon, blaster drawn. Chewie had sent her a distress signal. She figured it was a simple misdial, but Rose felt obligated to check in anyway.

"Chewie?" she hissed. "It's Rose."

She crept through the passageways and checked the cockpit. No one was home.

"What are you doing here?" a harsh voice came.

Rose jumped and swore before realizing it was only Rey. She laughed and caught her breath. "You scared the life out of me. Where's Chewie?" She held up her comm. "I got a distress call."

Rey shrugged. "Don't know. You should go find him." She moved back through the Falcon. One of the tan wraps Rey always wore flapped after her.

Rose stared. There were drops of blood splattered across the bottom of the material. "Rey, are you hurt?" she caled after her.

"No."

"You're bleeding!"

Rey paused and looked down. "I hunted earlier." She moved back to the Derajik table and sat back down over a plate. She ate ravenously.

Rose breathed half a sigh of relief. "Oh. Okay. Well, if you see Chewie, let me know." She lingered, waiting for Rey to reply, but she never did. Rose felt sorry for the woman. She'd always suspected there was something connecting her to Ben Solo. Leia sure seemed to think so. Besides, the proof was there in her face. The bags under Rey's eyes told a story Rose knew too well. The woman clearly hadn't slept in days.

"What happened down there?" Rose asked softly. "You've been so quiet. I'm here if you want to talk about it. I'm a good listener."

"Thanks. I'm fine."

Dejected but glad to have made the offer, Rose nodded. "Oh. Okay. Sure. I'm just a few doors down if you change your mind." She patted Rey on the hand, then realized she was eating a raw rat.

Poe was jogging off steam when Rose caught up with him.

"Poe, I think we have a problem. Big problem," Rose panted. "It's Rey."

Sighing, Poe stopped and wiped sweat from his brow. "She's been off. I think we've just gotta give her time. I don't know what's going on in her head-"

"Have you seen Chewie?" Rose interrupted frantically.

He ran through a quick replay of the day in his head. "Nope." Poe frowned. "Rose. What's goin' on?"

"I got a distress call, and I couldn't find him, and Rey just isn't right. There was blood on her and Chewie's missing and she was eating a rat like some sort of animal." Rose's eyes were wide. "I think she might have hurt Chewie."

"What?" Poe held his hands up. "Slow down. Eating a rat? Who, Chewie? That's pretty on brand."

"No, Rey! Please, just – we have to do something." Rose danced on the spot, then froze. "Oh, no." She turned and sprinted back toward camp.

Groaning, Poe hurried after her. "What? Now what?"

"Finn was going to ask her to train this afternoon," Rose panted. "I have to stop him."

Something in Poe's stomach flopped. Rose was usually the most level headed of any of them. Her panic lit a fire in him. True, he'd been ignoring Rey's eccentricities, hoping it was just some Force hangover from whatever happened with Palpatine. If Rose was this worked up, the danger Poe thought he imagined might just be a real threat.

"Okay," Poe barked. "Where's Finn?"

"He might have already been to the Falcon!" Rose pounded toward the ship, Poe at her heels.

Finn pestered Rey to help with his Jedi training from the moment they established a permanent base. Her emptiness didn't bother him. Finn was pleased with his new found powers and wanted desperately to understand how to unleash them and harness them. It blinded him to all else. Being Force sensitive was a bizarre development that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, but Poe agreed that if anyone would know how to deal with it, it was Rey. Now he kicked himself. Throwing so much at her was clearly causing some sort of psychotic break. Too much loss. Too much strain. Too much – whatever happened on Exegol.

When Rose and Poe tore around to the back side of the Falcon, it was too late. Chewie was slumped over a few crates with a deep saber wound slashed down his entire abdomen. Rose stopped and whimpered. She clawed at Poe, but he couldn't stop.

Finn was screaming something at her and pointing to Chewie's lifeless body. Rey stared at him, completely expressionless.

"Finn!" Poe screamed. "Get out of there!"

Without casting a glance backward at the newcomers, Rey raised her hand at Finn. Her fingers extended into talons. Blue lightning sparked outward, forking through the air until it enveloped Finn completely; jumping and connecting to different points on his body. Finn's face was all surprise.

Rose fell to her knees and shrieked. Poe cursed the sound until he realized his own voice was mixing with hers. Finn's body jerked and spasmed. There was no way he would survive it, and it sure as hell wasn't an option for Rey to heal him. Steeling himself, Poe raised his blaster and fired directly at Rey's heart.

The beam of burning plasma hung in the air. One of Rey's hands was lazily extended toward it, holding it in place. The lightning stopped and Finn's body slumped sickly to the ground. He was most certainly gone.

"Who are you?" Poe spat. His arm trembled, but he kept the blaster trained on her.

The blaster shot hung in the air for a moment longer, then fired back at him twice as fast as the gun had launched it. It exploded against his hand. His blaster clattered to the floor and Poe cried out and cradled his burning fingers against his chest.

At last, Rey smiled. It didn't quite reach her cheeks and her eyes didn't sparkle like they used to. "I'm every Jedi," she said simply.

"No, you aren't," Poe hissed through his teeth in agony as his fingers smoked. "Rey never came back. It's just like your vision! You're Palpatine." He groaned out in pain, then looked back to her. "Rey would never kill a friend."

She smiled wider. "I'm just Rey." She walked over and gave Finn a gentle kick. "Don't worry about him. He's a traitor. He's betrayed everyone. The First Order. The resistance. What hasn't he run from?" She drew her saber and thrust it through his chest.

Rose sobbed harder and hugged her arms around herself.

"Stop blubbering," Rey snarled, curling her fingers into claws and reaching for Rose.

Poe fell to his knees beside her and tried to soothe her. Rose clutched at the invisible grasp around her throat and choked.

"Stop, please," Poe cried. "You're killing her!"

Rey released a dark giggle. With a quick gesture, Rey closed her hand to a fist and a sharp snap from Rose's neck made Poe's stomach churn. Rose slumped to her side.

This couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream. The war was over. The Sith were gone. Poe squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. A bizarre thought popped into his head, and Poe wished Kylo Ren would appear and put an end to whatever this was. He was the only one who could contend with her. His jaw quivered as he silently whispered an old prayer he remembered his father saying. Poe didn't even know what the words meant or who he was praying to, but he carried on nonetheless.

Rey twirled her light saber, then smiled sweetly at him.

"Who are you?" he whispered. "What are you?"

She shrugged. "Just Rey."

Poe squeezed his eyes shut. He briefly thought she'd died on Exegol. Now he wished she had. Sometimes dead is better.