The Truth

Rey stood up furiously. She turned to Luke and yelled accusingly, "Is it true? Did you try to murder him?"

Luke ignored her and growled, "Leave this island now!"

"Stop," Rey called after him. When he didn't respond, she shouted as loud as she could. "STOP!" Luke stormed away before stumbling forward when Rey's staff struck his back, knocking him to the ground. He looked up to see Rey's angry stare, her staff held threateningly. "Did you do it?" she asked. "Did you create Kylo Ren?" Luke snarled before leaping to his feet and thrusting out his hand. A metal antenna from one of the huts flew into his grasp with a flurry of sparks. He raised it just in time to block Rey's blow. Rey glared at him and Luke met her hard stare head-on.

Rey gave a cry as she swung her staff towards his head. Luke ducked easily. Rey shouted in frustration and swung again. Luke dodged this one, too. Rey's anger was making her movements sloppy and unrefined. She swung wildly again, yelling in frustration when Luke's staff struck her upper back. Rey yelled and struck again with her staff, her movements now swift and fierce. Luke easily parried all of her strikes although he was forced to step back as Rey advanced forward. Rey's next stroke went wide, allowing Luke to seize it from her grasp and toss it aside. Rey's hand shot out as Luke's old lightsaber flew into her hand. She ignited it and held it up, the saber humming with the contact of the rain and the blue light reflecting across her face. Luke stumbled backward and fell, but caught himself with the Force before slowly lowering himself onto the stone steps. Rey lowered the saber and Luke looked up at her to see her angry face glaring down at him. She turned off the saber and opened her mouth.

"Tell me the truth," she demanded as she turned off the lightsaber, the blade hissing as it retracted. Luke's gaze lowered and Rey suddenly saw a broken old man where there was once a proud Jedi master. Luke paused as his eyes gained a faraway look, full of regret.

"I saw darkness…" he said as he was thrust back into the memory. "I'd sensed it building in him." He saw his own face look upon his sleeping nephew. "I had seen it in moments during his training. But then I looked inside…" He winced before continuing, "But it was beyond what I ever imagined." He saw himself reach his hand out and he shuddered as he remembered the crackling of a lightsaber, the cries of pain and the screams of terror. He pulled back, shaking. "Snoke had already turned his heart." His gaze lowered to the lightsaber in his hand. "He would bring destruction and pain and death at the end of everything I love because of what he would become and for the briefest moment of pure instinct I thought I could stop it!" He saw himself ignite his lightsaber. Then his gaze registered shock as he looked at his mechanical hand holding the saber as he realized what he had almost done. "It passed like a fleeting shadow," Luke said somberly. "And I was left with shame." His eyes watered as he looked at his hand in horror. Then he looked up to see Ben, his nephew, Leia's son, staring at him wide-eyed over his shoulder. He looked at the ignited green saber, then at his uncle. He looked terrified, confused, and betrayed. Luke's voice lowered as he said, "And with consequence." He watched himself look at Ben with horror, shame, and regret. His eyes watered as his face twisted with pain and he gave Ben a pleading look. Ben only stared back at him, trembling slightly with fear. His voice shook slightly as he said, "And the last thing I saw were the eyes of a frightened boy whose master had failed him."

Ben in a panic, summoned his lightsaber and ignited it in desperation. His blue blade collided with his uncle's in a spray of sparks. Luke remembered shouting, "Ben, no!" Ben wore an expression of fear and anger as he reached out with his free hand and collapsed the stone walls around them A last scream rang in his mind before Luke was returned to the present. He blinked through the rain before he met Rey's somber gaze.

She paused before saying, "You failed him by thinking his choice was made. It wasn't! There's still conflict in him!" Luke's face saddened as Rey continued. "If he would turn from the dark side that could shift the tide! This could be how we win!" she insisted.

"This is not going to go the way you think!" Luke said forcefully. Rey knelt so that she was at eye level with him.

"It is," she said with certainty. "Just now, when we touched hands, I saw his future. As solid as I'm seeing you!" Luke's expression became one of despondency at her words. "If I go to him, Ben Solo will turn." She spoke with such finality that even as Luke began to protest, he already knew there was no changing her mind.

"Rey," he implored. "Don't do this!" Rey looked at him and then stood up. She offered him his lightsaber, eyebrows raised. She waited to see if he would take it if he would accept the challenge he had to face. Luke's eyes closed as he hung his head. Rey looked at him with a stoic expression upon her face. She lowered her arm.

"Then he's our last hope." She then turned and walked away, leaving Luke sitting on the stone steps. The last thing Luke saw was the Millenium Falcon's jump to lightspeed.

Rey quickly closed the open drawer before making her way to the Falcon's small escape pod. "As soon as I launch, you jump back out of range," she said to Chewie. "Stay there until you get my signal for where to rendezvous." R2-D2 whistled as Rey punched in the coordinates into the keypad. Chewie grunted and handed her her lightsaber. She paused and said to Chewie, "If you see Finn before I do, tell him…" she paused, unsure of what to say. Chewie roared softly and offered to tell him that she was safe that there was no need to worry about her. Rey smiled and said, "Yeah, perfect. Tell him that." Chewie nodded in affirmation. Rey looked at Luke's lightsaber before breathing deeply and lowered herself in the escape pod. Chewie closed the escape pod and secured it into place. Rey lay on her back, clutching the lightsaber to her chest as she inhaled deeply.

The Falcon came out of hyperspace just long enough for Rey's pod to eject before just as quickly jumping back to lightspeed. The thrusters fired up and began to move her towards the Supremecy.