Chapter 2 - Finding Rey
The sounds of peaceful wildlife outside the window was a delightful contrast to Ben's aching head. With a groan, he lifted his arms to cover his ears but nothing could sooth the torment. Were ghosts meant to have headaches? His heart reached for Rey, knowing that it must be her pain stretching through their bond. However, as his hands moved along the soft texture of blankets, he startled awake.
Ben scanned the gloomy room alit by only one small window. He recognized the small hut in an instant, having spent years in that very same bed. Ben glanced down at his hands, his warm flesh-covered hands. They ran along his chest, his face, his hair. Testing a multitude of touches to confirm his suspicions, but nothing sated his curiosity. He had to see…
His hands fumbled with the covers as he leaped to the door before bothering to cover himself in proper dress. The grass flowed with a gentle breeze, while younglings raced around enjoying the daylight. He glanced around to take in all the sights, but did not stop until his eyes fell upon the temple. The same temple that he had watched burn so many years ago.
"Solo?"
Ben turned to face the student's voice; a student whose body had burned in that same fire. Yet there he was, standing in the flesh.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost?"
"Where's Luke?" The pitch of his voice was a surprise, but he refused to allow it to distract him.
"At the temple of course," the teen narrowed his gaze in confusion.
Ben didn't bother sparing him any explanation and instead took off running down the familiar path that he used to walk every morning. Ignoring the laughs and sneers of the students as he burst into the halls wearing only a night-shirt and pants. Nothing would stop him.
Luke flinched as the door to his studies was thrown open, followed by the hasty entrance of his panting nephew.
"Ben?! What's going on?"
"Where is Rey?"
"Who?"
"Don't play games with me," Ben threatened.
"Hey, watch your tone, kid." Luke's brow furrowed in an instant. Staring down upon him as if he were a child. Then again…
Ben glanced down again at his scrawny hands and atrophied muscles, taking notice of how his lungs still burned from a run that should have been routine. He forced himself to calm and to take in his uncle's form in the flesh; not a hazy glow as he would have expected. His eyes searched the room but could not find what he was looking for.
"What year is it?" He asked against his better judgment, with his muddled mind in no state for any sort of wisdom.
"Year?" Luke tilted his chin, gazing in concern at the boy before him. Ben, however, offered only a glare of frustration to warn against testing his temper. "Twenty after the battle of Yavin."
"Twenty," Ben breathed in disbelief. It worked. He looked again to his young hands, free of scars and scabs from years of harsh treatment. Staring in astonishment. It worked.
"Ben?"
His gaze rose to meet his uncle's suspicious glare and only then did the boy regret his foolish antics. Fearing what consequences would await if others were to know of his new power. He allowed his hands to rest casually at his side, doing all that he could to act natural.
"I have to take a leave," he panted through exhausted lungs.
"A leave?" Luke smirked. "You're too young to be making such demands, kiddo."
"It's important, uncle," Ben swallowed his fury; reminding himself that he was at the mercy of his uncle's cooperation.
"Why don't you take a seat and explain to me why?"
"There's no time!" The rage returned, followed swiftly by a voice he had long since buried.
He doesn't trust you.
Ben stiffened at the taunt and immediately collected his anger; dreading the thought of facing the terrors of his childhood once again.
"Uncle," he sighed calmly; swallowing the disgust he felt to allow him the chance to beg. "Please, there is someone that needs our help."
Luke watched him carefully. Ben could see the wealth of suspicion in his eyes that he wouldn't dare to ignore. However, to his utter amazement, the Jedi rose to his feet.
"Get dressed and meet me on my ship in fifteen minutes."
"Jakku," Luke scoffed as he toggled the map in his ship. More than once Ben caught the man shaking his head in disbelief. However, his disapproval failed to bother the fifteen-year old. Ben simply sat in the co-pilot chair, nervously playing with a deactivated control.
More than once he told himself that he worried for nothing, but a flood of irrational fears sought to terrorize him. What if his tinkering erased her from existence? What if in this world she had already perished? What if Palpatine somehow learned of his dealings and was already on his way to claim her?
Ben shuttered at the thought before scolding his imagination. Rey had survived the desert for years on her own. However, he knew better than anyone that surviving and living held two entirely different meanings.
"How do you know this girl?" Luke finally asked. The question had been on his mind, radiating from his skull like an itch in the force. However, to the old man's credit, he had cooperated thus far.
"You wouldn't believe me," Ben spoke dully.
"Try me," Luke ordered while transmitting a set of landing codes. "If you want me to land this ship, you will answer my questions, Ben."
"She needs us…" He began but was swiftly cut off.
"The chance that a life is in danger is the only reason I am entertaining this mission." Luke twisted in his chair to face him. "But you forget yourself, Ben. If you want to complete this journey, you will answer your master."
Ben's fists clenched at his sides. The strange peace he had felt in death for his uncle had all but vanished as he met his gaze. Forgiveness had been so easy then, yet it seemed that life would not be so simple.
"Ben," Luke's hand reached forward and before Ben could control his actions he found himself cowering from the touch. The Jedi recoiled in an instant, as his eyes grew wide with terror. "Ben?"
It surprised him how little he cared to appear so childish, as an array of emotions swelled within his mind. The fear of that night flashed across his eyes and it was as if he once again found himself gazing into the mad eyes of a man ready to strike; a man he had trusted. The young heart lacked the rage that Kylo Ren had harnessed so masterfully. Without the strength to bury his fears beneath a façade of fury, his trembling skin became impossible to hide.
Pull yourself together. He scolded himself for acting so childish. However, the act at least appeared to lengthen Luke's cooperation as the man focused on landing the ship. As if there was no end to the strangeness of that day, Ben felt… regretful?
He slowly moved to sit straighter in the chair; banishing the shivers that had overtaken him. His throat felt tight as his heart urged an apology, yet his stubborn mind could not yet oblige. With a sigh, he forced himself to speak.
"We've shared dreams," he cleared his throat, hoping that it would settle for a suitable answer. It wasn't a lie, he recalled the strange images that would invade his rare moments of peaceful slumber. Though he had never understood why he continued to see the same little girl year after year, the revelation of their dyad had finally answered the question of his youth. "She has no one to care for her."
"Dreams?" Luke eyed him suspiciously. "Ben…"
"I know," Ben stopped him before he could be lectured on the dangers of the dark side. "I know how it sounds. But you must trust me, uncle. I have to find her."
Luke's gaze never faltered as he pondered. Ben knew exactly what would happen if the Jedi refused to aid him or even forbid him from this venture. He would sneak into the night and steal a ship if he had to, but nothing would stop him from breaking his promise to Rey. However, with the voice lingering at the back of his mind, there was no chance his memory had not been stolen by the Emperor's puppet. Luke's compliance quickly became a necessity, making the path far more simple.
"The moment I sense anything out of order, you will race back to this ship." Luke ordered sternly before releasing the hatch. Ben practically sighed in relief as the man rose to exit the ship, before following a moment later.
The unforgiving sun was an unpleasant greeting as he stepped onto the sandy platform. Niima was a small city, but the great desert surrounding was vast. He allowed the memories of his visions to guide him, taking in the sights that he had once forced from the scavenger's mind.
"I'm going to see who's in charge," Luke started wandering off, but Ben merely shook his head.
"She's not here," he stated simply; staring out into the open desert. So young was their connection that she failed to appear when he reached for her, however, there was a light that pulled his attention over the vast dunes. "I need a transport."
More than once Ben feared that the rusty motor would give way beneath him. Trading in the desert it seemed, was far more difficult than he imagined. Credits carried little value to the desert people, a foolish oversight that he should have foreseen in his haste to reach her. With Luke already agitated over the fact that they could only scurry enough parts to barter a single ride, the old transport would have to do.
The terrain seemed endless but the force offered its guiding light; answering his desperate prayers. He could almost feel her presence approaching with every mile. Memories of her make-shift home drew him to the fallen At-At half buried in the sand. As he brought the transport to a halt, the engine sputtered with a loud pop.
The sound caused even him to wince and he feared what state it would put her in. With a groan, his hand ran along his side to feel his lightsaber before dismounting. Though he wouldn't dare use it to harm, he was no fool to think that Rey would accept any intruder into her home without a fight.
Would she remember him? Ben couldn't help but wonder. He hadn't even had the opportunity to let the bizarreness of it all to sink into his mind. Defying all rules that he had been raised to believe, he had made it here to a moment that had already been lived. Their bond had opened the gates of time, all he had to do was walk through.
He halted at the base of the once great machine where he found an opening. Would a knock frighten her? He quickly smirked at the foolish thought. It would be imprudent to think that anything other than an angry desert teen was waiting to send whomever stepped through that hatch straight into a coma. With his weapon in hand, he prepared to block whatever furious attack she would greet him with as he stepped into the dark 'home'.
The inside of the once proud machine was utter chaos; unlike anything he had ever seen in his visions. There was no space cleared for easy passage, no makeshift stove seated near the entrance, no poorly sewn and aged-cloth that served as a pathetic excuse for bedding. There was nothing but the remains of an old war machine.
"Hello?" He finally dared to speak; still disturbed by the awkward voice of his youth. He waited for any sign, any shuffle of movement before she would haul whatever weapons she could find at his head. And yet, several moments of silence passed as he stood in the hollow shell of the At-At. A streak of panic raced through him as he nearly fell to the conclusion that he had failed to find the correct location, but then his eyes fell to the wall that had become burned into his mind.
The sight of endless scratch-marks against metal was one of the first images that he had taken from Rey's memories. A terrible documentation of the days that she suffered in that wasteland. However, unlike in his visions, the wall was relatively free of any such marks. He counted the tiny section of seven, before allowing the spark of hope return. She was here.
Behind him, the clash of metal sent his heart racing. He turned in an instant while igniting his blade to block the incoming blow, but to his surprise it never came. His eyes fell to the new pile of scrap that had been knocked to the floor and his heart tumbled when he finally saw her. Between two sections of rotted metal peaked a set of eyes, but they disappeared quickly as the pitter patter of feet began scurrying away.
"Wait!" He disabled the blade before tip-toeing over endless piles of useless scrap. His panic rose when he caught the glimpse of a foot vanish into a crevice. As he reached the small opening his heart fluttered in panic, knowing that it would be daft to think he could fit. "I'm not going to hurt you!"
He wanted to curse himself for his serious misjudgment as the girl quickly tucked herself out of reach. The lightsaber had frightened her. His mind raced quickly, searching for a solution before she buried herself into danger.
Ben opened a palm to the chunk of metal, commanding a larger opening. It was a simple task, especially for someone so versed in the force as he. And yet, the metal refused to do anything more than shutter. His shoulder's fell with his energy and he stared at his palms in surprised, dreading the terrible truth. His strength in the force had also fallen with his age.
"Your parents sent me!" He blurted into the hole in desperation, but to his relief the retreating footsteps came to a halt. He fell to his knees beside the small opening and waited patiently as the gentle sounds of bare feet against cold metal slowly returned. He could only see a shadow as she observed him from her hole.
"It's okay," he smiled through a soft whisper.
Ben raised an arm slowly as he offered a cautious hand. By the time she finally reached out, his arm was aching in its position. The moment her hand fell into his own, her tiny little hand, his whole body relaxed with a sigh. Her brown eyes gazed up at him with great innocence and Ben nearly startled as he gazed into the eyes of a child.
He had never given much thought to the scavenger's age. Rey's maturity had far masked the differences between them. Yet now, there was nothing to mask her youthful innocence. Her hand barely spanned the length of his fingers and there were tears building at the edge of her eyes as she gazed up to him with a youthful trust; void of the terrors that no doubt had been waiting around the corner.
He took in the dirty scraps of clothing hanging loosely around her form and felt sick at the sight of bones that should be well hidden beneath her skin. She was starved, he quickly noticed. How long had she survived such a way before the desert formed her into the warrior he had come to know?
A lump formed in his throat as he carefully closed his fingers around her; vowing silently to ensure she would never see another day of suffering.
"It's going to be okay, Rey," he promised in a whisper. "It's all going to be okay."
A/N – I have read somewhere back in the Last Jedi days that Ben and Rey shared dreams as children, does anyone have a source to that? I'd like to learn if that was an official fact or a fan-theory, but I cannot remember the source.
Review Replies – For anyone new to my writing, I always love to communicate with my readers, so if you would like a reply but also remain anonymous just list yourself as Guest + something to differentiate yourself!
GALAXYTHUNDER00 – Great to hear! Thanks for reading!
Royan Granger-Nott – I am so glad you are enjoying the story! I would really love to go into a crazy amount of depth in this story, going through each year, but I know I won't make it if I tried. So I'll definitely get these chapters done and then if I'm still feeling up for more writing, I'll do little one-off stories to go along with it. Thanks for reading!
The Doctor Rose – Glad to hear it! Thanks for reading!
Magali – They never do! We'll certainly see some unexpected turns for them in upcoming chapters. Thanks for reading!
Tori – Glad that you are looking forward to more! Thanks for reading!
marjoe – I am glad that you enjoyed the first chapter! Thanks for reading!