Chapter 2 - With Blood On It's Wings

Author's Note: More bonding with Ben and Rey. :)

~ Amina Gila

"They have training settings?" Rey echoes dubiously, studying the lightsaber she was given. The crystal practically sings in the Force, radiating a strange sense of peacefulness so unlike how her own crystals always felt. They felt like they were crying.

"You have no past experience with them," Ben points out bluntly. So he thinks. "It's safest."

Is it? Sidious never did that with her. As soon as she was old enough to use one, she fought against training droids, who also didn't use blades with training settings. They were programmed not to inflict any permanent injuries, but she was minorly injured many times at first.

"It will give you power," Sidious had told her, "Pain and fear lead to anger which leads to hate which leads to power."

She understood it, somewhat, even if she never liked it. Apparently, Jedi are... more different than she imagined. With how Sidious talked about them, she thought they'd be worse somehow. But they simply pretend to be good, so she needs to keep that in mind.

(It keeps feeling harder, though. And why does everything about the Jedi way feel so familiar, like something she once knew and respected?)

The blue of the lightsaber is oddly familiar, and she kind of likes it. Maybe it's just that it's different, though, because she doesn't want a Jedi color.

Ben moves first, their blades clashing.

Rey has no idea how she's supposed to play ignorant on this, when she's trained ceaselessly in being the best that she can be in lightsaber combat. She's trying to fight a little sloppily, which would probably work better if Ben wasn't so skilled, so she keeps automatically countering him probably more easily than she ought to be able to.

He sends her blade flying when she's making a particularly sloppy swing. This... is not working.

"You were doing pretty well," Ben replies, a hint of surprise in his voice. What? She... genuinely expected criticism for failing like that. Then again, she's not supposed to know anything. "You sure you've never used a lightsaber before?"

Her heart skips a beat, even as she frantically reminds herself that that probably wasn't a serious question. "I fought a lot with... swords and weapons like that before," she offers.

"You must've been skilled with it," he muses, "Why don't we go again?"

Rey makes the first move this time, jumping at him. Even if she's still holding back so it's not obvious how good she is at it, hopefully, it's... fun. A lot more fun than just fighting droids. Maybe, before long, she can try showing off what she actually knows.

**w**

It's been a couple weeks since Rey first came here, and Ben's spent much of that time training her. They haven't known each other long, and Rey never says much about herself, but he can't deny feeling a closeness with her that he doesn't really understand. There's a certain protectiveness there that he's never felt towards anyone before. Never had a reason to.

He's never taught anyone before.

(Except – except in his dreams, and why does Rey's Force presence shine with a familiar feel so much like that... like that boy's, even if not as strong?)

Rey is waiting by his ship for him when he arrives for their excursion to Ilum. She's staring off into the trees, a far-off but peaceful look on her face.

"Ready to go?" Ben asks, crossing his arms, watching her. She's trained enough with training 'sabers that she's ready for an actual lightsaber of her own now.

She blinks, glancing up at him. "Yeah."

She still seems slightly distracted, though. "What?" He can't help asking.

"It's... pretty here. I know I've already been here for weeks, but it's – It's nothing like what I'm used to. Everything was so barren. There wasn't any life. Not like here, anyway. And there's so much sun."

"I would have thought the desert would be far brighter than here," he can't help commenting, not that he knows that much about Jakku, but –

He senses the slight sudden flux of emotion – fear? He can't tell because it's gone so fast – before it fades. Sometimes, he still wonders if Luke was right that she's not entirely sincere, but she's always so eager to learn more about the Jedi. He doesn't know why she would've come here, otherwise. He won't dismiss anything yet though, despite how he feels about her. He never imagined having an actual apprentice of sorts.

"It was... scorching," she replies, "And I had to stay indoors a lot. It wasn't like – something I could enjoy."

Hmm. "Well, we'll be stopping by on a new type of planet entirely for your crystals."

"Really?" She perks up, eagerly, "What's this one like?"

"Wait and see," he advises, a little smugly.

"Is it made entirely of crystals?"

"No."

"Or... entirely of rock with crystals hidden in them?"

He can't help nearly laughing. "No."

"What? Why can't you tell me?" Rey whines, as they head onto the ship, and she slides into the pilot seat.

"It would destroy the surprise, right?"

She huffs, dropping back in her seat, though a smile inches onto her face a few moments later. "I haven't seen many places," she admits, "I can't wait to see what it's like there."

It takes some hours to get to Ilum, and Rey leans forwards to get a better look out the window as they fly for the surface. Ben remembers it well from when he went here briefly. The place doesn't look anything like the records say it once did. "What happened to this place?" she asks, eyes widening, "Why does it look so... gutted?"

Much of the surface has been entirely dug up and destroyed. That is... precisely what it looks like now. "The Empire was harvesting the Kyber crystals for the Death Star," Ben explains, "Not much of the planet is left, but there's still enough."

Rey blinks. "Death Star?"

"You've never heard of it?" He thought everyone had by now; it's something the Rebellion made sure to publicize. But if she was on a backwater – actually sand – world, it makes sense.

"No?"

"It was a battle station the size of a small moon, with enough firepower to destroy planets. They used it on Alderaan, my... mother's home planet."

He senses a flare of raw horror and confusion in the Force. Obviously, she isn't lying about not knowing, though Ben can't understand how someone couldn't have known that. He grew up with that knowledge, but she did grow up on the backwater planet of Jakku, so probably, she hasn't really seen anything. "What?" she demands, faintly, "But that –"

"They tried hard to keep it hidden, claiming Alderaan was ripped apart when its sun expanded," he says bitterly. Leia talks about her home sometimes, though rarely, and never without an underlying note of pain.

"I can't believe they would do that," she objects, horrified.

"Yeah," Ben answers shortly, because once, he wouldn't have either, but he grew up with that. His mother lost everything because of them. "But they did."

Rey doesn't say anything the rest of the ride down, even if he can feel her horror and disbelief.

Her attention momentarily seems to shift, though, when they actually step off the ship onto the snow-covered ground outside. It's freezing here, not that Ben cares much either way. They landed near one of the small caves that still has anything left in it.

"I've never seen snow before," Rey says, awed, as she crouches down to get a closer look at it.

"You'll see some on Ossus, in the winter," Ben offers. It must be a jarring change from the desert, after all. He was pretty enthralled with all the snow the first time they came here, too.

"Really?" She trails her gloved hands through the snow, and he finally can't resist the temptation to throw a snowball at her back.

She yelps, spinning around.

Ben tries to suppress his laugh, and she scoops up a handful of snow, tossing it back at him. Which he's fast enough to duck, but not when she throws another, practically giggling now.

"Hey," he huffs, wiping off the face full of snow he just got. "We... do have a mission to be focusing on."

"Right," she concedes, a little disappointed as she lets the snow slide through her fingers. "What do I do?"

"You can feel the crystals in the cave ahead?" He continues when she nods. "Go in there, and you'll sense the one that's meant for you."

"What if none of the ones there are for me?" she asks, almost nervously.

"I don't think that's ever happened before, but if it has, there are other places we can still go."

Rey still looks hesitant, but she slowly steps into the cave, while Ben stays outside waiting. And wondering, for a moment, why this feels so familiar, like he's done this with someone before, a lifetime ago.

**w**

She's supposed to be focusing on finding her crystal somehow, but Rey can't stop thinking about what he was saying about the Death Star. Sidious never mentioned something like that, and she doesn't even know that she can't believe it's real. The Rebellion would try to make the Empire look bad, right?

But his anger about it wasn't feigned. Unless he was convinced of something that wasn't true. That doesn't sound very likely, but there's no way her grandfather would've destroyed planets. He said he was doing this for order in the galaxy. That doesn't make any sense.

She... wants to do research on it, almost, just to prove to herself, and maybe Ben, that it can't possibly be real. But there's a part of her that's almost too scared to even try, because what if she finds the opposite? That's not possible, though.

And she's supposed to be focusing on finding her kyber crystal right now. She can feel them in the walls all around her, which are sparkling with an almost unnatural light, but nothing is... calling to her. Not the way he said.

She closes her eyes and reaches out, trying to feel for which one is hers. There should be something, right? Rey doesn't really know how this works – her first crystals she got because Sidious just gave them to her, and there were no processes involved. Should she feel some kind of pull or direction? She doesn't feel anything, though.

What if... she wasn't supposed to get one from here, because she's not a Jedi? It isn't like she can ask Ben that.

What if he realizes there's something wrong with her cover story because of this? And panicking is not going to help, but she can't stop it, because she's still afraid that's going to happen.

Especially because, the more time goes on, the more the tight knot of guilt inside her only seems to be growing. She... cares about Ben. She can't deny that, no matter how much it was never supposed to happen.

He might not be her family, but he's still teaching her and taking care of her in the same way that Sidious did. And even the times she's expecting him to snap at her, lecture her about failing, that doesn't happen. She can't label how she feels towards him, but – but she doesn't want to hurt him.

And destroying the Order he's always believed in is going to do that, even if he's still in the wrong. (What if what he said about the Death Star is true? She has to ask her grandfather about that.) What if there's a way that she can convince him to join her? But could she really ask him to turn on his family? Just for her? She already knows the answer to that. There's nothing about her, no... reason that he even has to care about her, not when she's lying to him about everything.

Thinking about it momentarily floods her with the ridiculous urge to cry, because she doesn't want him to know why she's here. She doesn't want this to end, and – She's getting very distracted.

She needs to focus.

But no matter how hard she tries, she still can't feel anything. Waiting in here longer isn't going to change that, so finally, she very reluctantly drags herself back outside.

"Well?" Ben asks, straightening. Sometimes, she could swear there's a hint of fondness in his eyes when he looks at her – even if she doesn't fully understand why – and it only makes the knot of guilt inside her grow.

"I... didn't find anything."

He frowns. "That is unusual."

"I don't know why," she blurts, in a rush, "I thought I was doing what you told me to, but maybe I should try again?"

"If you didn't feel it the first time, maybe that's not where it is." He doesn't sound overly bothered. Hopefully, that's a good sign. "There's something else we can try."

He motions for her to follow, and they head back onto the ship, where he pulls up a holomap of a collection of various planets. "Places that have had crystals in the past," he explains, "If you focus on the map, the Force may direct on where you ought to go."

Or maybe, she thinks a little miserably, it'll show to her that she doesn't belong getting a crystal as a Jedi at all. Or it'll direct them to Exegol.

Which isn't even on the map, so she probably doesn't need to worry about that, but still.

Trying to let go of her fear the way she's learned how to – it shouldn't feel so freeing and peaceful to not drown in emotions every time she meditates – she closes her eyes, letting herself focus on the map. She's almost expecting to not feel anything this time either, but then she feels a sudden nudge, and uses the Force to scroll through the holomap, until she's selected a specific planet.

Ben looks a little perplexed when she opens her eyes again.

"What?" Rey asks, nervously.

"I'm not aware of any crystals on Takodana, but it shouldn't hurt to check it out," he replies, "Let's get going."

**w**

The planet is somewhere in the Mid Rim, and it's covered in forests a little like Ossus, except it's far more populated. Rey can't ignore how nervous she's feeling, as she follows Ben through the streets of the town that the Force nudged her in the direction of. She's never been in a place with so many people when she was young. She's fine with interacting with strangers, after how much she's done it on Ossus, but it's... overwhelming.

But now that they're actually moving through the streets, she can actually feel something. "I think it's calling to me," she says, unable to help the excitement slipping into her voice. She can feel the pull of it now.

Maybe – maybe she is meant to get a crystal after all, one that's actually truly hers.

"My father came here sometimes," Ben comments as they pause outside a building that doesn't look like it attracts the most ideal kind of attention. The kind of people wandering around just look... like criminals. "We don't need to attract attention."

They slip in through a side entrance, going to the lower part of the building where Rey can feel the pull. Up ahead in the hall, there's a small container on a ledge, and she approaches it cautiously.

She lifts the lid, pausing when she sees the lightsaber inside. The crystal already has a lightsaber? That means it must've belonged to someone else, presumably from when the first Jedi Order was destroyed. So why is it calling to her like this?

Cautiously, she reaches out, fingers closing around the hilt.

Something shifts almost violently in the Force around her, and suddenly, she's standing... somewhere else? The landing platform is dark, lit by the glow of rivers of lava surrounding them on all sides.

There's... someone lying motionless on the ground – a woman she's dreamed of very briefly in flashes in the past – and across from her is... the person she's always seeing.

"I will do what I must," he says, voice full of determination and fury, and then, she ignites her own blade, jumping at him.

And the next thing she knows, she's on a platform somewhere in the lava, still fighting, but then, her surroundings go almost entirely dark, and a young Togruta – she's dreamed of her a lot, before – is jumping at her, eyes glowing yellow.

Rey can feel the desperation of both moments, and it's only multiplied by a hundred when a dark being comes into view, touching the Togruta's forehead – who's suddenly no longer fighting her – and she collapses to the ground, motionless.

Dead.

"No!" she hears herself scream, running forwards, but then, she's suddenly standing in a pipe of some kind, rain pouring all around her, and the Togruta, who looks older now, is standing at the end.

There's something pained and desperate in her eyes before she spins around and jumps off the edge, falling from sight, and Rey can't shake the crushing feeling that this going to go terribly, she's about to lose her forever, too.

Before she's suddenly somewhere in a fancy hall with Jedi there, some young ones, but then she just moves forwards and starts killing them.

What?!

And then, everything is fading back to that lava planet again.

"Don't try it!"

"You underestimate my power."

She doesn't fully register what happens next. It's too fast, but she knows she's stuck on the ground, and she can't move.

"You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you."

And then, she's jolting back to herself, hard enough that she lands very unceremoniously on the floor next to the lightsaber.

What was that? Rey desperately tries to catch her breath, heart still pounding from what she just saw. She's seen flashes of all of that in her nightmares before, but this is when she's fully awake, and every bit of it felt so real, like it was tangibly happening around her, not just a memory.

"Rey?" Ben asks, crouched next to her, frowning, "Are you... okay?"

Sidious is always annoyed when she panics about things related to this, but she still can't quite stop herself from leaning into it a little when Ben uncertainly touches her shoulder. "Yeah," she mutters, furiously blinking away the tears abruptly stinging her eyes.

"What happened?" he queries, not sounding very persuaded.

"I saw... things. I don't know what it was. Maybe of who the lightsaber used to belong to?" She only said it so she wouldn't have to explain anything about how it parallels her nightmares, but it never occurred to her until right now that that could be true. If – if she's having nightmares of something that happened to her in another time – is that even possible? It doesn't sound like it should be – how does she know this lightsaber didn't used to belong to... whoever she keeps dreaming about?

"That's possible," he muses, "We should get back to Ossus. My uncle may know more about it."

**w**

Ben still finds the whole situation bizarre, as they get back to the Temple. He's never heard of someone else's lightsaber calling to another person before. It's... weird.

He goes to find Luke as soon as they get back, explaining what happened.

Luke takes the lightsaber from Rey, shock flitting across his face as he studies the design.

"You recognize it?" Ben asks, surprised.

"This was the first lightsaber I used," Luke replies, looking up, "When I first began training as a Jedi. It once belonged to my father, but I lost it. Where did you find it?"

His father. Anakin Skywalker, or rather Darth Vader. Ben knows that all too well, for all that no one really talks about it. He knows a lot about him, because he was curious the moment he first realized who he was. (And maybe it's also that it's Anakin who he dreams of sometimes, like he once knew him, which is... strange when he's technically Ben's grandfather now.)

"Takodana."

"Can't imagine how it ended up there," Luke muses, passing it back to Rey, "You said it was calling to you?"

She nods. "I don't know why. That's..."

"I don't either," he admits, "I've never heard of this before, either."

"Is it... bad?" Rey asks, uncertainly.

"I doubt it," Ben offers, "Just different." Is there some connection between her and Anakin, though? He really can't help wondering now, even if he's probably jumping to conclusions far too quickly.

"Who... was your father?" she asks, hesitant but obviously curious.

"Anakin Skywalker. He was once a Jedi, but I... hardly knew him," Luke answers, a hint of the longing and grief his voice usually has when he talks about how Vader was lost, only right when the Empire was collapsing. Even though he's the one who saved Luke's life. Ben doesn't think that seems fair. He's always wanted to know more about him, mostly because it was a subject his parents never really wanted to discuss. It's some big secret, even if... there's more to his interest than just that.

"... Oh," Rey says. She looks curious but doesn't ask anything more.

"She's very strong in the Force," Luke notes reflectively, once Rey is out of the room. "I haven't seen that much potential in anyone aside from you."

"I noticed it," Ben admits. He's never seen any of the other students who are nearly as strong. Luke always had him go slower than he wanted to in his training, which frustrated him a lot. The other students always went so slowly,and Ben never understood why, and when he was younger, he had little interest in trying to help them. He just wanted to keep moving himself.

It's slightly different now that he's older, and Rey learns about as quickly as he did. He can't imagine training someone who doesn't.

"Do you know why that lightsaber would have called to her?" Ben can't help asking, even if there's a part of that can't help wondering...

Something, even if it doesn't make any sense.

"I don't know," Luke admits, "There's something about her... It's familiar. I don't understand why."

There really is, and Ben hopes they get answers about what, sometime.

**w**

It's been over a month since he first started training Rey when Ben is sent along with her to check into some new Jedi Order recruits. The Order is so small, and they have to actively go out and look for more people who want to join. It's rare that people just show up there, even if it's happened on occasion.

"We're picking up a strange energy reading," Rey says, frowning, right as they're taking off from the planet after finishing their mission.

Ben leans closer to check the scans. The energy readings are weird. "It looks like a massive ship," Ben observes, "Not one I can identity the frequency of."

And he can't say what it is, but the Force is indicating that something about it might be important, even if he has no idea why.

"Should we check it out? We're already out here," Rey points out. She presumably senses the same thing.

"Yeah," he agrees.

The signal is coming from a nearby desert-covered planet, which doesn't seem inhabited.

Scanning and circling overhead quickly reveals just what is sending off the signal. It's a cruiser. A massive cruiser.

"I think that is Separatist," Ben realizes, taken aback, as he studies the markings from the air.

"Separatist?" Rey practically yelps, "But weren't those all destroyed long ago?"

"Once in a while, remnants turn up. I'm surprised no one's found the ship before now."

"Let's get closer. What if someone's stranded here, which is why it's powering up?"

"If I had to guess, I think it might be from the electric activity caused by the storms, but it's possible," Ben offers.

Rey runs a scan, stilling when it comes up as showing only one life form. "There is someone in there."

"Take us down, then," he decides. If it was pirates or someone dangerous, he doubts they'd be lingering there.

As they cross the sand, approaching the ship, cautiously stepping inside, it feels like taking a step into the past, his past, as little sense as that makes. Like – like he and someone have done this a million times over before. The halls, despite how rusted they are now, look so familiar and yet, he's seen nothing of them except very briefly in history holos. And he has no idea why it momentarily makes him miss... something.

They take a wrong turn somewhere along the way, coming face to face with a hall full of deactivated battle droids. But – "If the ship is powering up, I don't know how long those will stay inactive," Ben warns.

"Good point," she agrees, but takes a cautious step closer, "They're so... cute."

"Cute?" Ben repeats, almost amused despite how ridiculous that is. "They look stupid."

"That's why they're cute. Even you have to admit that."

"Maybe a little bit," he concedes, grudgingly, laying a hand on her shoulder and tugging her to the door. "Come on. For all that they're interesting to see, I don't want to be around when they wake up."

He knows Rey couldn't agree more with that, and they need to figure out who's already on this ship.

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