Ben slowly opened his eyes. He knew exactly where he was but had no recollection of how he got here. The fogginess in his head was slowly residing but still ever present. He could remember returning to Exegol, because he knew Rey had found the hidden planet of the Sith. He had to reach her, as she didn't know the fatal dangers that were awaiting her arrival. But why could he remember holding her lifeless body? Did he fail?

He glanced around the room until his eyes met the scratches on the wall. There were hundreds of them, desperately etched over and over again into the metal as she clung on to a fleeting hope that her parents would return to her. Every day she had suffered, knowing the truth but too terrified to accept it. Her presence and her pain engulfed him.

More of the fogginess in his head resided as new memories emerged. He gave up the last bit of strength he had to give her life back. He could still feel her hand gently squeeze his as she returned, the comforting relief of her eyes and her smile as she called out his name, and her hand gently touching his cheek as she pressed her lips firmly against his.

Then everything went black.

He knew he should have been dead, but he wasn't. Why? How?

"You're finally awake," said a familiar voice behind him. He knew that voice and for the past several years had loathed it. But now, he could feel his anger slowly lift away as he turned to see the ghost of his uncle standing a few feet away. "Hey there, kid."

"What's going on? Why am I here? Why am I… am I ali…" Luke held up a ghostly hand and Ben fell silent.

"I know you have a lot of questions, which is why I am here. I told you that if you struck me down, I'd be with you forever."

"But I didn't strike you down."

"Not directly, but I did exhaust the last bit of my energy to reach to you, which I knew would be my demise."

"So you knew I would try to kill you."

Luke shrugged. "I had a feeling." Ben looked away and stared blankly at the floor in front of him. His uncle still had no faith. What was the point then?

"I should have died. After all that I've done, and after Rey…" His voice trailed off. He couldn't say the words out loud. He didn't deserve any of Rey's compassion, especially that.

"Kissed you?" Ben returned his gaze to his uncle in surprise. "Yeah, I know. And you did die."

"Then I am dead."

"No," Luke chuckled. "Only a few Jedi can become a force ghost, as Yoda would call it. Your case is a bit… unique. The Jedi of the past have given you a second chance at life. Something I would have wished for my father, but that's neither here nor now."

"Why would they do that? They must have known all of the terrible things I have done." Luke raised up his hand again. Even in ghost form, Ben knew that look all too well. It was the look of exasperation when he was asking more questions than listening for the answers.

"Yes, we know. But we also know that your powers haven't changed; they are as strong as ever. However, now that you have returned back to the light, it can be channeled into a less… destructive direction. Use this opportunity to right your wrongs, to save lives instead of destroy them."

Ben nodded. "What about Rey?"

"Of all the places in the galaxy, why do you think you are here, specifically?" Luke gave a little smile. "I'm not going to lie, you have a difficult journey ahead of you. Take this second chance. I know you can do good."

"You believe that I can be good?"

"You wouldn't be here if I didn't. See you around, kid."

As soon as Luke's ghost disappeared, a vertically challenged woman stepped into view, her arms crossed and a scowl plastered on her face.

"You're awake. Good. Now we can finally get paid and get out of this wasteland."

Ben was just starting to absorb the fact that he was indeed alive, that he just saw the ghost of his uncle, and he was given a second chance at…. well, pretty much everything. He stared blankly at the mystery woman.

"Who are you?"

"None of your concern," she responded, curtly. "Just consider me one of your saviors. You would have been dead if we didn't come across your naked body in the desert." Ben looked down and realized his black attire had been replaced by an unpleasant old tan robe. Not at all his style, but it was better than nothing. Awkward…

"Why did you save me? I can't pay you, I have nothing."

The woman gave a menacing grin. "Ah, but you do. As soon as you are better, you can work as a scavenger for Unkar Plutt. He lost his best scavenger a couple of years ago and hasn't been able to find a suitable replacement. We were lucky to find you. He promised me and my crew a nice amount of credits, but only if you didn't die. A dead man isn't worth anything, at least, not in your case."

"And if I choose not to?"

The woman shrugged. "Then you'll die. There are no ships, no towns nearby. Unkar pays in rations, so if you don't work, you don't eat. It's that simple. We get paid no matter what, so it doesn't matter to me what you do."

Ben paused. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"Should I care?" She laughed. "I don't know where you came from, but good luck on your new life, not that it concerns me anymore." She gave a little backwards wave as she left. Digested

Ben laid back down on the bed as he assimilated everything that just happened. The woman didn't recognize him; this would be extremely helpful. With this new start on life, he had to take a new path than the dark one he had been on before. For starters, that meant repaying his debts for still being alive and given this opportunity to begin with, even if his saviors were scum. He certainly wasn't going to stay on Jakku forever. Kylo Ren destroyed so many lives, and even though the debt would be impossible to fulfill in his life time, he had to try to do everything he could to prove to the Jedi of the past, Rey, and himself that he was a different person. He was Ben Solo.

He had to reach Rey.