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Kylo Ren's voice: You . . . a scavenger.

Snoke: You have the spirit of a true Jedi!

Han Solo: There's more to it than that, kid.

Palpatine: Empress Palpatine.

Han Solo: You've got a lot to learn.

Palpatine: It is your birthright . . . to rule.

Luke: She saw your spirit, your heart.

Palpatine: It is in your blood. Our blood.

Obi-Wan: Rey!

Luke: Some things are stronger than blood.

Kylo Ren: We are a Dyad in the Force, Rey.

Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side.

Kylo Ren: Two that are one.

Darth Vader: Join me, and together, we will rule the galaxy!

Kylo Ren: Join me.

Qui-Gon Jinn: The Force is behind you, Rey.

Palpatine: A scavenger girl is no match for the power in me!

Kylo Ren: You're not alone.

Palpatine: I am all the Sith!

Yoda: Alone, never have you been.

Luke: The Force will be with you. Always.

Palpatine: You are nothing!

Kylo Ren: But not to me.

After the onslaught of voices, everything went silent. Until, that is, Ben Solo's whisper echoed. "Rey."

Rey awakened with a jump, the face of Ben imprinting itself in her mind. Realizing the sheets were soaked in sweat, she pushed herself up and out of the cot she slept on. Darkness would have reigned in her quaint, mostly empty bedroom had it not been for the dim, golden nightlight in the corner. Feeling weak with sadness, regret, and a tumbleweed of other emotions, Rey collapsed beside her bed.

As a sliver of morning light, courtesy of the Twin Suns, fought through her thick window shades, Rey curled up in a ball on the floor, remembering Ben's sacrifice for her and her alone. One tear fell to the ground, then another, then another, until they gushed like a river, staining her usual starry white interlocking garments. Her whimpers drenched the room in gloom. As was typical, she could not stop herself. The whimpers increased into wails, which caused Finn, wearing Poe's signature copper jacket, to storm into her room.

"Rey!" he cried. He turned on a light and looked around, spying her on the floor. Her face hid behind her hands. "Rey, what's wrong?" She continued her cries and did not answer. "Please, tell me!"

She looked up to him, her red, swollen eyes calling out for help. "I can't."

He sighed and looked downward defeatedly. "Nightmares again." Partially succeeding in catching her breath, she nodded and sniffled. Her hair buns were out of sorts. He bent down and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You need help, Rey. I can't stand to see you like this. It has been weeks and now it's getting worse. Like you have an opened wound or something."

"Because it is," she replied. He glanced at her, seeking an explanation. "You wouldn't understand."

"No, maybe I do," he responded.

She shook her head. "You don't."

"OK, then is there someone who does? Someone who can show you a path out of this?"

She sniffled again and stared into space. "There was." She paused and glanced at him, wiping dried tears away. "I'm OK. You can trust me. Wait for me outside. We'll start the next lesson."

"Are you sure, Master?"

She huffed a laugh. "I told you not to call me that."

"Sorry, Master," he joked again. He helped her stand. She smiled lightly and grasped him into a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't mention it," he replied.

When she pulled away, he flashed a smile and left, looking back once. He closed the door with the Force. Her eyes widened. His connection to the Force was increasing.

Suddenly, a voice echoed so loud in her mind that it seemed real. "Rey Skywalker, come and see." She jumped and turned around. No one was there.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Rey . . ." a deep voice murmured. It was not the same as before. She recognized it.

"B-Ben?" she replied. Her heart pounded mercilessly. She gulped. A strange, indecipherable word — almost a scream — silently echoed from seemingly nowhere.

Just then, Poe Dameron barged in. "Hey! Well, uh, there's free breakfast today for you at Chalmun's. Finn wants to eat first before training."

Rey grinned, then glanced back into the empty room. A shroud of mystery descended. "Oh, nice. Thanks." Poe nodded once as she hooked her lightsaber on her belt and followed him to the world outside.

Stepping out of her yellowish house and onto the matching sands of Tatooine, Rey walked through the bustling streets of Mos Eisley, full of aliens of all kinds. For the last month, she lived a peaceful life here, hoping to disconnect from the closing war with the First Order.

Once she meandered around four-legged, enormous creatures, she reached Chalmun's Cantina, where dozens of the populace welcomed her in with clapping and celebration. They ate a hearty meal in the same booth where Han Solo shot Greedo, then left. Poe headed to a temporary Resistance base, while Finn and Rey went off to train in the ways of the Force.

Thirty minutes later, Rey brought Finn to Lars Homestead, the original home of Luke Skywalker. In the last month, she used it as a place to hone her skills thanks to the strong Force energy around the igloo.

"No, try it this way," Rey said, adjusting Finn's stance. She placed her lightsaber on the sand. "Now, close your eyes."

He breathed in and out, wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead. "All right, I'll give it a shot." Reaching out with his hand, he could feel a magnetic pull towards the object. "I feel it."

"That's the Force!" she yelped in joy, almost trying to imitate Luke when he trained her on Ahch-To. "Now, lift it up. Just a little bit."

He obeyed. As his arm strained and trembled to channel the Force, Rey's lightsaber began to lift slightly off the ground. As she watched his focused expression, Rey smiled. It kept rising inch by inch until Finn opened his eyes. It floated a foot from his nose.

"Yes!" Finn shouted. His arms shot up into the air. As a result, the lightsaber fell into the sand. "Oh, uh, sorry."

"You did great," she replied, waving him off. "Now, lift that." She pointed to their hovering speeder.

His jaw dropped. "What? You're joking, right?" She didn't answer. "Right?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Just do what you just did."

"What I just did? I lifted a lightsaber! This is . . . totally different!"

"No, it's only different in your mind. You can do it. I know it. See? Watch me." She reached out and began to channel the Force. It ran through her fingers, her hair, her clothes like a never-ending rush. As she started to lift the speeder higher into the crisp, vibrant blue sky, the surroundings vanished. Everything went black.

Far off in the void, she noticed a black figure. She squinted, moving closer to it. Yet, the closer the walked, the farther away it seemed. After a minute of this, Rey became frustrated. "What is this place? Who are you?" Suddenly, a familiar surge of Force energy fell upon her. She could feel him. "Ben? Please, if it's you, tell me! Show me!"

The figure, although still far away, turned around. It appeared to wear a long-sleeved black shirt and matching pants. Her heart skipped a beat and increased tempo as if in a panic attack. Was this a Force Bond?

"Rey . . ." it said. As suddenly as it happened, the figure vanished, and she was left alone once again.

"Find him, find me," a new voice whispered. "Come and see." It reverberated around her, growing louder in amplitude until Finn screamed into her ears.

"Rey!" Finn shouted. He shook her ruthlessly.

When she came back to reality, Rey let out a resounding cry. She was still standing where she was before. She fell to the sand, desperate to catch her breath. Her eyes watered. Her strength abandoned her. She gave in and fell to the ground. Finn caught her. "Finn, stay close to me. Please."

He bent low and held her neck steady, holding her body in his arms much like how Ben did on Exegol. "I'm here. I won't leave you." She nodded and grinned. Her eyelids almost totally covered her brownish-green eyes. "Just tell me what happened."

"Ben . . . Ben is alive. I need to find him."

Finn's eyes widened. Maybe she was going insane now and the PTSD was creating other problems. "Rey, I hate to tell you this, but Ren is gone."

Rey looked at him, clearly in a daze. "But, but he said . . . no one's ever really gone . . ." she murmured. "Luke wouldn't . . . he wouldn't lie." And then, she succumbed to the chokehold of slumber.

Hours later, Rey awoke after noon. She found herself back in bed like before. Thankfully, they were all fresh and clean. She checked her surroundings and looked both ways before pushing the sheets away and sitting on the side of the bed. "Be with me," she mumbled. "Be with me. Be with me."

"Rey," a voice spoke. Frightened, she jumped up and ignited her yellow lightsaber. A blue-tinted Force Ghost wearing tan Jedi robes stood at the other end of the room, in front of a closed window. His chin was narrow and his wavy, whitish hair reaching to the shoulders. He had a short gray beard.

"Who . . . are you?" she asked, gulping. "I've never seen you before."

The figure smiled. "I am here to be with you, and to help you in the quest you are destined for. A quest you and you alone must take. My son guided you once. Now I, Anakin Skywalker, will complete your destiny. Since Palpatine's demise, you have been split in half, but I know how to make you not only whole, but one once more."