9/19/2020 - Chapter Updated
Chapter 2 - Finding Rey
Age: Ben, 15
Ben woke to the sounds of peaceful wildlife outside the window. The gentle breeze and chirps of singing birds was a delightful contrast to the furious ache in his head. Ben groaned while bringing his arms up in a feeble attempt to massage away the pain, instead it felt as if his head were splitting in two. Were ghosts meant to have headaches? He 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.
The cloth wrinkled where his fingers moved, and the mattress curved underneath his weight. Ben scanned the gloomy room alit by only one small window to find a sight that he had become all too familiar with in his youth. He then 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…
Ben fumbled with the covers as he leapt to the door, not even bothering to pull on proper dressings. When he reached outside the grass flowed with a gentle breeze, while younglings raced around enjoying the daylight. His eyes moved quickly from one sight to the next, stopping only when they 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?"
Ben twitched.
"Where's Luke?" he replied. The pitch of his own voice surprised him, but he refused to be distracted.
"At the temple of course," the teen narrowed his gaze in confusion. "What are… Hey, where are you going?!"
Ben didn't bother sparing him any explanation and in his panic he 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 trousers. Luke Skywalker jumped 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?!" Ben gasped through tired lungs.
"Who?"
"Don't play games with me," Ben threatened with a firm tone. However, the high pitch of his voice failed to lend him any support.
"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 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 glanced again at his uncle, taking in the sight of his body in the flesh; not a hazy glow as he would have expected. Ben glanced around the room but grew impatient when he couldn't 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, only glared 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?"
He lifted his gaze to meet his uncle's suspicious glare and only then did the boy regret his frantic behavior. Fearing what consequences would await if others were to know of his strange power. He brought his arms down to rest casually at his side, doing all that he could to act natural. Judging by the expression on Luke's face, Ben feared that he might be a tad bit too late.
"I have to take a leave," he finally stated.
"A leave?" Luke smirked. "You're too young to be making such demands, kiddo."
"It's important, uncle," Ben swallowed his fury before he could explode; 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, collecting his emotions in an instant. Snoke. He shivered. Even now, after his victory over the vile creature, Ben couldn't help but dread the thought of facing the terrors of his childhood once again.
"Uncle," he spoke calmly; swallowing his disgust and convincing himself to beg if that was what it takes. He had to find her. "Please, there is someone that needs our help."
Luke watched him carefully and Ben could see the wealth of suspicion in his uncle's eyes. He won't cooperate, Ben thought, of course he wouldn't. However, to his amazement, the Jedi rose to his feet a moment later.
"Get dressed and meet me on my ship in fifteen minutes."
"Jakku," Luke scoffed as he toggled the map on 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 sat quietly in the co-pilot's 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 shuddered at the thought before scolding his imagination. Rey had survived the desert for years on her own and was far more capable then he was giving credit. However, he also 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 me."
Ben clenched his fists at his sides. The strange peace that he had felt in death had all but vanished as he met his uncle's gaze. Forgiveness had been so easy then. Pleasant even. Yet now, it seemed that life would not be so simple.
"Ben," Luke reached forward and before Ben could control himself, he found himself cowering from the touch. The Jedi recoiled in an instant, while his eyes grew wide with terror. "Ben?"
Ben shivered in his chair. It was surprising how little he cared to appear so childish, as an array of emotions swelled within his mind. The fear of that night flashed through his mind and it was as if once again he had found himself gazing into the mad eyes of a man ready to strike; a man he trusted. Without the strength to bury his fears beneath a façade of fury as he would have as Kylo Ren, his trembling skin became impossible to hide.
Kylo Ren. The name raced through his mind. What if he fell again?
Ben pinched himself, scolding himself for acting so childish. However, the pathetic display at least appeared to lengthen Luke's cooperation as the man turned to focus on landing the ship. As if there was no end to the strangeness of that day, Ben felt a sting of regret. He moved slowly to sit straighter in the chair; banishing the trembles that had overtaken him. Ben's throat felt tight as his heart urged him to apologize, yet his stubborn mind could not yet oblige. He is going to try to kill you, he reminded himself. With a final sigh to push away the last of his shivers, Ben forced himself to speak.
"We've shared dreams. She has no one to care for her," he cleared his throat, hoping that his uncle would accept the cryptic answer. It wasn't a lie after all. Ben had recalled strange dreams in his youth, images of sandstorms and a metal wall of tick-marks scratched into its surface. It hadn't been until his bond with Rey had opened when Ben finally understood why his mind drifted to that same scene night after night.
"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. She's in danger and I have to find her."
Luke's gaze never faltered as he pondered, debating the risks of continuing this mission. Ben knew exactly what would happen if his uncle refused to help or even forbid him from this venture. He would sneak away at the first opportunity, steal a ship in the dead of night if he had to. Nothing would stop him from breaking his promise to Rey. However, with Snoke's presence lingering in the back of his mind, Ben was almost certain that there was no chance his memories had not been stolen by the emperor's puppet. And if Snoke knew of Rey and her true lineage, Luke's compliance was a necessity. Right now.
Thankfully, Luke sighed before releasing the hatch.
"The moment I sense anything out of order, you will race back to this ship." Luke ordered sternly.
Ben practically sighed in relief as the man rose to exit the ship, before following a moment later. The sun was unforgiving as he stepped down 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 tug 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 Rey. 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 as it led him through the desert. 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, Ben rand a hand 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. Each moment that passed offered an ounce of relief that he might not be dreaming.
Ben 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, dismissing it in an instant. It would be imprudent to think that anything other than an angry desert teen was waiting to send whoever 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 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, fully expecting Rey to appear and haul whatever weapons she could find at his tiny teenage 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. Or, even worst, what if he was too late? However, he began to relax when 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, instinctively igniting his blade to block the incoming blow. To his surprise an attack 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 she disappeared quickly as the pitter patter of feet began scurrying away.
"Wait!" Ben shouted, disabling 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. Of course it had frightened her, he thought angrily. Her journey on that forsaken planet had only just begun. Ben's mind raced quickly, searching for a solution before she buried herself into danger. He opened a palm to the chunk of metal, commanding that a larger opening be made. 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. Ben's shoulders fell along with his energy and he stared at his palms in surprised, dreading the terrible truth. It appeared that his physical strength had not been the only feature to fall with his age.
Ben began to panic.
"Your parents sent me!" he blurted into the hole in desperation. To his relief the retreating footsteps came to a halt. Ben 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. Rey's brown eyes looked up at him with great innocence and Ben nearly startled as he gazed into the eyes of a child.
Ben 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 hide 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. He couldn't help but wonder how long she had survived in 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 large fingers around her hand; vowing silently to ensure she would never see another day of suffering.
"It's going to be okay," 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.
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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!
