Rey heard Chewie's familiar growl as she checked the Falcon over before leaving the Resistance base days later. "Down here Chewie." she called as she watched his head poke over the hatch opening. His head cocked as he began to berate her for not coming to say goodbye. She winced at the memory of the cool goodbye she had received from Poe and Finn an hour ago when she had finally broken the news to the Rebellion that she was leaving for an unknown amount of time, and was insisting on going alone.
She could tell Poe was frustrated with the lack of certainty and details. Rey was one of the only other people he trusted to help run the complicated missions they were pulling to eradicate the remaining First Order Fleet. Finn was still upset with the idea of being left behind, especially since he knew her true intentions and was sworn to secrecy. He had tried to be kind and understanding about things before, but the new leads were darker than he had anticipated. He trusted Rey, but everything he had heard about trying to bring Ben Solo back sounded like a sick plan for a Sith Lord to cheat death.
But Rey would have none of it, they both knew, so their brief goodbye had been less than ideal. She had hoped that despite how things looked, he would try to trust her and wish her well. His stiff jaw and eyes glued to the floor were a somber reminder of the sacrifices she was willing to make. With a last lingering look, she had pushed her feelings aside and decided to skip the rest of her goodbyes and get away as soon as possible. She was never good at them anyway.
"I'm sorry, Chewie. I'm not much for goodbyes. I really wasn't trying to avoid you." she said sympathetically. The wookie let out a muffled gruff in response and eyed her cautiously before letting out another string of growls. "I'll take good care of the ship, I promise. I wouldn't go alone if I wasn't sure it was absolutely necessary." she assured and bit her lip, trying to decide if she should share any details of the trip with him. Despite all he had done, Rey knew Chewie still held a small soft spot of lingering hope for Ben as she did. She toyed with the idea before resigning with a sigh and pulling herself back up to the main hold.
"BB-8!" She called the nearby droid who had been assisting her with some last minute repairs. He beeped in response and whirled over to her questioningly. "I need to speak to Chewie privately. We're just about done here anyway. I think it's time we said goodbye for now." The droid erupted with indignant beeps and whistles. "I know, but I told you before that this is something I have to do alone. Besides," She patted the droid's head. "I need you to stay here and make sure Finn and Poe don't get themselves into trouble, ok?"
The droid let out a low whine. "I'll miss you too. I'll see you when I get back, okay?" The droid gave her a nod before rolling down the ramp. Rey had decided it was best to leave him here in an effort to keep her secrets safe. As much as she adored him, he had the tendency to report things back to Poe she specifically told him to keep secret.
She turned back to the amused Wookie. "I have something to tell you, but I want you to listen to everything before you react, and you have to promise not to tell anyone." she said in a low tone. Chewie leaned his head closer to her after doing a quick check to ensure no one was close to the hold entrance.
Rey could see the agitation grow as she whispered some of the details of the past few weeks. Sparing some of the unnecessary details, she recounted the dyad, visions, and a loose idea of what she had to go do. She omitted the Sith stone since she knew this would be more of an issue to explain to a non-Force user. Kriff, she hardly knew what she was doing.
Once she had finished Chewie sat for a moment before turning to throw his fists into the nearest wall. He wailed for a moment in contempt and confusion, but calmed as his head bowed slowly. Rey reached up and rested her hand on the Wookie's arm and felt him twitch at her touch. She knew he was not an affectionate creature but willed as much calming energy through her hand as she desperately hoped it helped calm him.
"I know Chewie, but please believe me when I tell you he has turned. Now that I know I can save him and bring him back.." she trailed off as Chewie's dark eyes turned to meet hers. "I have to do this. Even after everything he's done, the Force is willing to give him a second chance. I hope you can too." Rey finished gently.
Chewie rose back up to his full, tall stature and looked down at her as he took a deep breath. They stood like that for a moment before he rumbled a short reply of approval. Rey felt her strong composure weaken and inwardly sighed in relief. If anyone else in the galaxy could understand why she had to do this, it was Chewie. Despite all Ben had done, they were still family, and if there was a chance at saving him, they needed to take it.
They both shrugged off the intimate moment as Chewie offered to help her finish her pre-flight check. Rey smiled and happily accepted, he knew that ship better than anyone and could make sure she was well prepared for whatever obstacles she may end up facing.
Before she knew it, she was truly ready for take off. Sitting in the pilot's chair alone she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Rey realized she actually hadn't formulated a plan for finding the stone and hadn't found any leads so far. "Alright then" she paused for a moment and threw her mind deep into the Force. Her thoughts wandered around, thinking of the places she had been. She reached out into the void and called out. Rey knew from her encounter with the Jedi on Exegol that she was deeply connected in the Force. She called back out to them. "Be with me." she willed "Tell me where to go, what to do. I'm ready. I'm listening."
She wavered when she had no response. Furrowing her brow and taking another deep breath, she called back out to the Force. Imagining the calm darkness she had seen once before when she was deep in meditation, but nothing materialized. No one reached back out to her. The silence stretched on.
Rey's mind faltered for a moment in uncertainty. Why weren't they guiding her? Weren't they with her? Her heart rate picked up and a small surge of panic rippled around her before she opened her eyes in frustration. She let out a small gasp in shock, the Falcon was gone, she looked around at the dark cavern and smelled the salt in the air. Her mind raced to catch up and understand where she was. Rey stood and looked around at the cold darkness around her before recognition kicked in. She was back on Ach-To, in the chasm below the island that had filled her with so much terror and darkness before.
She surveyed the cave and noted the darkness was much more subdued than she had remembered from her previous visit. Slowly, she made her way to the wall where she had seen her last vision but stopped short from looking directly at it. Waves of the terror she had felt upon her last glance washed over her and she took a moment to close her eyes and breathe deeply to steady herself. She could face whatever was waiting for her now. She was no longer afraid of what the Force had to offer her.
Peace washed over her body in comforting waves and she opened her eyes to meet her fate. Her breath hitched in her throat and she paused for a moment, taking in the familiar scene of the Falcon cockpit before her. "Kriff." she muttered and rubbed her forehead. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. She began flipping switches in irritation and set a course for the now-familiar planet of Achc-To. The rebel base below her faded from view as Rey pulled the ship into orbit. She was going back to the darkest place in the galaxy she had ever been, and had no idea what could be waiting for her there.