A/N: May the 4th be with you. This was a hard one for me, but I hope you enjoy. (PS. I don't have a formal beta... I just occasionally get to subject my friends to reading a chapter... so pardon minor mistakes...)

Rey was running. The grass was tall, to her knees usually, but every few strides she would feel the whip of a blade against her hands. It stung, but not enough to slow her down. Her heart was pounding. Something in the grassy plains of Lothal was calling to her. On the horizon, Rey could see what looked like a mountain, a single pillar of earth rising as she ran towards it. That was where she needed to be.

As she approached the mountain, it became evident that the structure wasn't entirely natural. There were carvings that she recognised from the Jedi texts she had taken from Acht-To. She could only just make out the city skyline when she looked back over her shoulder. She had run farther than she realized. This was where the Force wanted her to be, she could feel it to her core. Circling the mound, Rey looked for any signs of an entrance but she had been around it nearly half a dozen times with no luck. Rey sat down on the ground with her legs crossed like she had with Luke when he first taught her to reach out to the Force. She took in a deep breath, deep enough that the air in her lungs caused them to ache and then she held it.

Rey reached out. Her awareness spread out like a web from where she sat. She could feel a pair of Loth-cats play fighting, a flock of birds soaring over the remains of another animal, the sway of the grass, and the warmth of the sun emanating from the earth that absorbed it. Her diaphragm begged to relax but she resisted the urge to let it all out at once. As she exhaled as slowly as she could, she felt her reach in the Force pulling back, returning to her center. Her understanding of the Force was so untamed. The time she spent with Luke was too short and had been left alone to navigate its uncertainty. Despite that, she knew that being here was crucial to her path.

With another deep breath in, she reached back out, this time trying to search for more of a sign of why she needed to be here. She tried to focus on the structure in front of her, but it felt like a void in her vision; it was as though it weren't even there. A knot formed in her stomach as she tried to push through the darkness. Her sense spread like fractals, but every tendril just simple ceased if it neared the void. As she let out her breath, she pulled back towards herself once more, but this time the darkness followed her. Her next inhale burned her throat and her eyes sprung open. Instead of seeing the grassy plains of Lothal, she saw nothing. The void was no longer just in her mind.

Rey leapt to her feet as she pulled her staff around from her back as though she could take a swing at the space around her. She tried desperately to get a sense of direction in the darkness. She took a cautious step forward and found that she could at the very least ground herself.

Rey…

Rey….

Rey…

Rey...

Voices came from every direction, calling out to her. Some of them were kind, almost encouraging, where others felt like they were threats.

"Who's there?" Rey shouted.

The voices stopped and were replaced with a beam of light ahead of her. She couldn't tell if it was only a few steps away, or a few miles. There was no sense of distance in the void. Still, she walked towards it.

Rey, who are you?

Rey, what are you doing here?

Rey, why do you want this?

Rey, where are you trying to go?

The voices were back, talking over each other. She could barely make out what they were saying to her. She stopped, closed her eyes, and tried to focus on any one voice.

Rey, who are you? Rey, who are you?

She finally locked on to one and opened her eyes again. She was no longer surrounded by the void but instead on the shores of Acht-To. Behind her and up the hill were the huts just as she remembered them. A flash of movement caught her eye and she took off up the steps of the cliff. Her heart pounded in her chest as she crested the top. An older man carrying a bundle of wood ducked into one of the huts. Rey quickly ran towards the hut. Just before she reached the door, the man came back out and came to a sudden halt.

"Master Skywalker!" Rey sighed, relieved to see a face she knew.

The man's brows scrunched up, "Who are you?"

"It's me, Rey. I…"

Luke pushed passed her before she could finish her thought, "I don't know any Rey, and you shouldn't be here."

"I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how you are either. You're…"

"Ah. Stop. I don't care." He continued walking away from Rey and back towards the large pile of wood.

Rey stood, still stunned by the interaction. "I'm... You are my… teacher." She shouted toward him.

"No. I don't teach anyone. Especially a nobody." Luke scoffed.

"But I can use the Force!" Rey shouted. She held out her hand and tried to lift a log from the pile in front of him, but nothing moved.

Luke laughed as he turned back towards her, "Nice try, now leave."

Rey's chest tightened, "Master Skywalker, I need your help."

"You are no one. You wouldn't have what it takes to use the Force." He spat at her. "Now GO!" He pushed her with a flick of his wrist, sending her tripping backwards. Her heel caught on the edge of the cliff. The earth gave way under her as she tumbled over the precipice.

Rey braced herself for the icy shock of the water below, but instead she hit solid ground. She sat herself upright as her lungs fought for air. The tension broke in her chest as she started to take in her surroundings. It looked like she was back on the Resistance base on D'Qar. There were people running back and forth from ships, loading up supplies.

Rey scanned the crowd and saw a jacket she thought she recognized. "Finn!" She shouted after him. "FINN!" This time Rey started to run towards him.

Finn turned and scanned for the source of his name. When Rey was only a few feet from her friend, he finally seemed to see her. "Oh Hey, Rey right?"

"Yes, it's Rey!" She nearly knocked him over throwing her arms around him. His arms flew up above his head, unsure what to do with the sudden contact. He gave her a light pat on the shoulder. Rey pulled back as she sensed his hesitation, "What's wrong?"

"It's just that, I don't really know you all that well." Finn responded.

Rey stomach dropped, "Finn, you're my best friend! Stop, please."

Finn took a step backwards. He seemed suspicious of the desperate girl in front of him, "I'm sorry, I really need to go."

"I don't understand." Rey watched as he left her amidst the chaos. She looked inside one of the hangers and saw an older woman with intricate braids in her hair. "General Organa!" She shouted as she approached Leia.

"Can I help you?" She responded.

Rey was caught off guard by the irritation in her tone, "I um, was just wondering what is going on."

Leia's eyes narrowed, "I believe that is fairly obvious. We are packing up and leaving. What was your name again?"

"Rey…" She responded softly. Every part of her was on fire.

"Why don't you check in with Connix and see where you can be useful" Leia gestured towards the blonde girl near one of the transport ships.

The muscles in her chest tightened. Her stomach was in knots. She wasn't sure that her legs would hold her up much longer. Why didn't her friends know who she was? They were rejecting her. Rey's breath quickened as her vision went blurry. How could they forget her? After everything they had been through already. She had nearly forgotten pain of abandonment. She thought that she had started to come to terms with who and what her parents were. They really did just leave her and they were gone. Finding a place here, among the Resistance, had done so much to heal those wounds. But without that, why should she carry on?

Rey's knees buckled out from under her. Her ears were ringing and she wasn't entirely sure she was conscious any more.

"My Young Apprentice," a sinister voice pierced through her mind. Rey tried to jump to her feet, but no matter how hard she tried, her body would not comply. She was able to take in some of her surroundings. She was in a chamber that looked much like the throne room that had once belonged to Snoke. "You have finally woken."

"Yes, Master." Rey spoke, finally glancing up from the floor. In front of her sat the very man she thought Kylo had already killed.

"I sense unease about your upcoming task." Snoke leaned forward slightly in his throne.

"No Master, I know what I must do." The words were forming in her mouth, but her heart pounded in protest.

Snoke flicked his wrist slightly and sent the hilt of a saber towards Rey. Her arm reflexively reached out, the cold hard metal of the saber crashing into her palm. She lit the blade, illuminating her face with a red hue. "Do not disappoint me again. Next time I won't be so forgiving." His fingers twitched as he pointed the tip for the lightsaber towards her throat.

Rey did not flinch. She knew that he had done this to her before. That was how her master ensured that she did not stray from her purpose. "Where am I to go?"

The corner of Snoke's lips curved up slightly, "The rebel ships were seen over your home world of Jakku. I trust that you will not seek out your parents?"

"No, Master. My parents are dead to me." Rey's parents gave her up. They sold her for drinking money and it was Snoke that pulled her from the life of a scavenger to give her life meaning.

"Good, good." Snoke relaxed the Force grip he had on her wrist and the lightsaber. "Now get out."

Rey finally felt herself rise to her feet. Turning sharply on her heel, she headed towards the door of the chamber. The metal slid open as she approached revealing the hallway of the Finalizer. The interior of the ship was familiar. Stormtroopers stopped mid march to halt and salute to her. She felt lips curl into a snarl as she passed by a trooper who did not. Her hand reached out, her fingers curled around air in the shape of the trooper's throat. "FN-2187, prepare my ship." She barked at the man. He coughed through the respiratory helmet as he headed towards the docking bays. Something about that trooper's designation caused a pang in Rey's chest that she did not understand.

Shaking off the feeling, she returned to her chambers to retrieve her cloak before returning to Jakku. As she hooked the heavy black fabric to her shoulders, she noticed a scar along her face. The red mark ran down her cheek towards her neck. She didn't remember it ever being there before. A finger traced the line of raised skin. The bumps beneath her fingers reminded her that it was a gift from Snoke early in her training. She refused to kill an officer for a mistake he had made. It was not the first time that Snoke had turned her own lightsaber against her, but it was the first time he had actually left a mark. Over the years she had learned better how to both avoid the punishments and to heal the wounds he left.

For a brief moment, Rey felt as though she was no longer alone. She turned around quickly but her chambers were empty. In the corner however, she noticed a staff propped up in the corner. It was not hers, or at least, she did not recognize it to be, and yet she was drawn to it. Ensuing her saber was clipped to her belt, she crossed the room to pick up the staff. The same pang as before filled her chest. It was stronger this time, and threatened to fill her whole body. Memories that were not her own flashed through her mind. Before she could focus on any one of them, alarms were going off through the ship. All units to docking station E. All units to Docking Station E. Rebels have boarded the ship.

Rey tossed the staff aside, but this time she couldn't toss aside the strange feeling it gave her. Either way, the Rebels were aboard her ship and she needed to fight. Bursting from her chambers, she ran down the hallways towards the docking station. The final set of blast doors opened to total chaos. There were several storm trooper bodies piled in the corner already. Far on the other side of the bay she saw two sabers, one green and one blue, blocking shots. Her chest tightened. At first she thought it was fear, so she let her instinct take over and tried to turn it to hate as Snoke had so many times before told her. This feeling was something different. Running towards them, she lit her own saber in time to cut down a quickly approaching rebel soldier. The scream from the now dead man hung in her ears. She paused a moment to look back at the body. His dark hair had fallen into his face and nearly covered his still open eyes. The scarf around his neck was turning red from the slash she had left in his chest. Rey never paused to look at who she killed, but somehow she knew this face.

The men with the sabers were now making their own push towards her. The one wielding the blue saber had a blaster in his left hand which he aimed at the stormtrooper that had tumbled out of her jump ship. Without a second thought, he fired.

"FINN!" Rey shouted. She ran to the fallen trooper, pulling off his helmet.

"Rey.. this isn't you…" His last breath left him. She clutched his body to her chest, now toe-top full of pain. She looked around at the carnage surrounding her. Something was wrong. Why did she know his name? Why did she know that man? A guttural scream formed came from her as she once more picked up her lightsaber. That man would pay for killing her… She shook her head, trying desperately to get rid of the next word from her mind.

Rage. That was what she had. Rage and loneliness. Not Friends. More of the memories were pushing her back into her mind. "Poe…." Her voice so low she wasn't sure she said it out loud. She looked back over her shoulder at the man with the scarf, "I'm so sorry." Fury. Rey clung to it once more. By now the man with the blue saber was nearly upon her. He had holstered his blaster, as he prepared to take her on.

He came down on her with his blade held high over his head. She quickly threw up her arm and her own to block the slash. With their blades locked, she rose to her feet. Rey pushed forward and knocked him back on his left foot, but he was relentless. He gave his blade a quick twirl before coming at her right side low to the ground. She parried, but he was ready for it and swung again to her left. Rey barely got her lightsaber around to stop the next swing. The pair went back and forth for several volleys. Attacks had been coming in so quickly, she had only been able to focus on the lightsaber and had not noticed any of his features, save for his intimidatingly broad shoulders. The man finally gave her a moment's reprieve when he took a small step backwards and gave his body a small shake, as if it were an attempt to ease the evident tenseness in his shoulders.

Rey finally let herself look on his face instead of his hands.

Ben.

The reprieve was short and he was swinging at her again. "No, please. Stop, I don't want to fight you." Rey pleaded with him.

"I don't believe that for a second." He was smug.

"Something is wrong." She continued to block his efforts to hurt her, but she was losing the will. This wasn't right. Her friends were dead, and some at her hand. That word again, friends. It couldn't be avoided this time. "I'm not supposed to be like this." Rey blocked once more as Ben tried to cut her down from the waist. "NO. PLEASE," She pleaded again. "I don't want this. This is not my path!"

The hilt of Rey's lightsaber began to disintegrate in her hands. The red light of the blade faded into nothing. As soon her blade was gone and no longer blocking his, she felt the white hot pain of a lightsaber cutting through her. She collapsed, but did not hit the ground as she expected. Instead, Ben had caught her.

"Rey! Where are you!" He was shouting at her. Her vision was fading, and quickly. He shouted again. "Where are you, Rey?"

No sooner had her eyes closed, she felt her entire body shudder like she was falling in a dream. The earth was beneath her again. This time it was the solid sandy dirt of Lothal. She clenched her fists around the dirt in her fingers, but something hard was in the palm of her right hand. Once the dust filtered through her fingers, she was left with a crystal.

"Rey! Where are you?" She heard Ben, no, Kylo shouting to her again. She could not see him like she usually could when they connected, but she could feel him.

"I'm here. I'm…" Rey put her left hand over the spot that the imaginary Ben had pierced her abdomen. "...alive." She spoke out loud.

"Where is here, Rey? I need to know." There was an urgency to his voice. "I tried to find you, but it was like you were gone."

"I'm… I'm on Lothal."

"You need to get off that planet, and NOW."

Before Kylo could explain any more, three tie fighters roared overhead headed towards the center of the city.