Chapter Text
Rey couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Kylo was hers, but he wasn’t. He was not of this time. And Rey couldn’t wrap her head around it. Why would her feelings for Kylo feel so right if what they were saying was true?
She watched two blue stars circle one another repeatedly without ever touching, her heart suddenly felt empty, her body numb.
“I had closed myself off from the Force for so long, but the signature, the pain, the desperation, it felt amplified, and so vastly different. I could feel the signatures just as I could feel this Jogan.” Luke’s voice broke as he picked up the small fruit.
“Why should I believe you?” Rey hissed, but she sounded defeated. She didn’t want to believe them. They had to be lying because the situation was impossible.
“Because you can feel it,” Luke answered. He watched the pain fill Rey’s eyes. “Now you understand why he kept the answers hidden from you for so long. Now, in his defense, I think Ben was probably waiting for the right moment to tell you, but as long as Palpatine lives, the opportunity will not present itself.”
“I felt my son fall to the dark side six years ago,” Leia explained, “I never felt so helpless until recently.” She pressed her lips together and took a shallow breath. “Several months ago, I felt him again. The anger, shock, and betrayal rivaled the night he succumbed to Snoke’s grooming. And now, I feel him, but I don’t. I feel the Ben you know, not the Ben Solo I once knew. Whoever he is, he’s more lost than ever. I guess you can say he bit off more than he can chew. Rey,” Leia’s eyes were pleading with the young woman. She needed Rey to understand. “I feel the good in him.”
“As do I,” Luke added. “But I need to get to the bottom of this.”
Leia glared at her brother, “Not right now.”
She looked at Rey again. “The anger and resentment toward me, his father, and Luke is still there, but I can feel his determination to make something right along with his devotion to you. But both of you need to understand–”
“But it doesn’t seem real. He’s here.” Rey closed her eyes and tried to piece the mysterious puzzle that was her husband together. All the boundaries, the walls he built so she didn’t discover the truth about who he really was. He was Kylo, or Ben Solo, but from another time or place. Her head began to ache as she tried to make sense of it, but then her heart felt heavy as she realized the burden he carried. Rey’s eyes watered. “Something happened to your son, Leia. In whatever life he lived in, something terrible must have happened.” She stifled a gasp. Her mouth trembled when a tear streamed down her face. She quickly turned away from them in a sad attempt to hide her feelings. Though with two other Force-sensitive beings, that was damn near impossible.
“Rey,” Leia called in a soothing voice and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. When Rey looked at her, another tear fell. Leia sadly smiled in understanding and pulled the younger woman into a warm embrace. Rey cared for her son. She might already love him.
Stunned, Rey didn’t immediately hug Leia back. Kylo was the only one to ever hold her in a way that was both gentle and protective. Leia’s embrace was gentle and soothing. Rey’s jaw trembled when she realized this was what a mother’s touch felt like. Although Rey wasn’t her child, Leia was trying to calm her without words.
“I know things are quite confusing now,” Leia continued. “But everything will be alright. We’ll help fix it. All hope is not lost.”
“I no longer know what to do or what to think. None of this seems possible.”
“I think the best course of action is this… For starters, you’re going to get a shower and rest. You went through so much in such a short amount of time. You won’t realize it until you finally sit and try to relax; you’ve been running on pure adrenaline. Surviving an assassination attempt, quarreling with your husband, betraying him by letting Poe take you away–”
“Leia, that’s not really helping,” Luke chided.
“What I mean by that is you felt the Force calling to you. You are the key to balancing things out.”
“I only came here to steal plans and Rebel base locations.” Rey whispered in a dazed state.
Leia softly laughed at Rey’s eagerness to remain stubborn, “I figured as much.”
“And you’re still hugging me?”
“Because I know how much my boy means to you, and how much you mean to him.”
Rey’s arms lightly wrapped around the older woman’s smaller frame. “But–”
“No buts. After you rest, we will come up with a plan to reunite you two, and help you take down Palpatine if you need backup. And then you will know what to do.”
“I’ll know how to fix things?” Rey blinked away her remaining tears. “But how?”
“You’ll know,” Luke answered. “There’s no other way to describe it, but just as it did with bringing you here, the Force will guide you both.”
“I’m already tired of hearing the Force will guide me.”
“It does get old, doesn’t it.” Leia grinned.
“It sure as hell does,” came a new, scruffy voice. “All that mambo jumbo still doesn’t make sense to me, but it’s real. All of it.”
Rey turned around to see an older man who resembled Ben. His long nose and prominent jaw, his height. Even the way he swept his gray hair to the right.
A tall Wookie followed him into the room and softly growled.
“How was I supposed to know the girl was crying?” The man shrugged. “I thought they would be past all that now.”
The Wookie growled again, and the man held his hands up, “How’s it my fault?”
Leia let out a small, but slow sigh, “Rey, may I introduce you to my husband–”
“Han Solo,” the man walked over and extended a hand.
“Han Solo?” Excitement lightly fluttered through Rey’s body. She’d heard of him before. He was a legend to most scavengers. “The Han Solo?”
Han grinned at the recognition.
“The spice runner?”
“That’s what I’m remembered for?” Han asked while the Wookie purred a chuckle. “What about Chewie here, what is he known for?”
“He helped the Rebels deactivate the energy shield around the Death Star.” Rey wiped her tears as Chewie boasted with a proud growl.
Han frowned and looked at Rey again, “And you must be the girl we heard so much about.”
“How can you hear so much about me when Leia said she could barely see me in the holos.”
“Well as soon as word got out that Supreme Leader,” He rolled his eyes, “I can’t believe he took on that role–”
“Han,” Leia warned.
“Anyway, once Leia heard Kylo Ren got married, she became so obsessed, I had to stop looking for the Falcon.” Han put his hands on his belt. “She wanted to know everything she could about the girl from Jakku. Except no one knew who you were.”
“Instead of looking for the Falcon, you should have been looking for our son, or ways to bring him back.” Leia tsked through her teeth.
Chewie growled again.
“Yeah, I was getting to that.” Han looked at the Wookie before looking at Rey again. “Then Leia said she could feel flickers of another signature in the Force. So, it had to be the new daughter-in-law.” He gestured toward Rey, “And here you are.”
“Oh,” Rey said after a long pause.
“Don’t you just love my husband’s explanations of events?” Leia whispered with a hint of amusement.
“So… you could feel me in the Force?” As Rey asked, it felt as though time had paused. She heard a distant voice and a vision of red curtains.
“You underestimate Skywalker, and Ben Solo, and me. It will be your downfall.”
It was her voice, but she’d never made that statement. Confused, she glanced around the room and found nothing, but the same simple trinkets Leia kept.
“It felt like a small heartbeat from time to time. Nothing alarming. There are other Force-sensitives out there.
“But–” Rey nervously licked her lips when she realized there wasn’t anything red in Leia’s quarters. “What if Palpatine felt my signature? He didn’t let on that he knew I was Force-sensitive when I met him.”
“You met him?”
“Yes. He came to the Finalizer. His body is old and brittle. Kylo had to explain to him why he married a commoner like me. He also had me dress in rags and keep my head down to prevent Palpatine’s attention.”
“Ben must have been so worried about you during that meeting.” Leia spoke as softly as if she was reading a lullaby.
“You think you can turn him?”
Rey turned around again.
“Rey?” Leia sounded worried as she watched the younger woman’s eyes frantically scan the room.
“Did you hear that?”
Luke’s eyebrows dipped. Han looked at the twins knowing something was happening in the Force but didn’t understand any of it.
“No dear, we didn’t hear anything. You might be hearing something that’s happened before. Like with what happened on Takodana and–”
“Ilum.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ilum. It’s also known as Starkiller Base.”
“Oh no,” Luke’s face paled. “The Empire cleared out the planet’s Kyber crystals. Now they transformed it into a base?”
“A weapon.” Rey didn’t know why she was giving them this information, it just felt right to do so.
She barely registered their panicked faces after dropping such a bombshell. Her eyes grew heavy, her body felt heavy, and her adrenaline was coming down.
“We’ll have our intelligence unit fly out and get as much information as possible.”
Rey could hear the worry in Leia’s voice. “General Hux oversees the base from the Finalizer. It’s his project from what I understand.”
“Thank you, Rey. You didn’t have to tell us about the weapon, but I’m so happy you did.” Leia placed her hand on her back. “Let me show you to your quarters. You look exhausted.”
Devastated was more like it.
And now, she just betrayed her husband, but she knew he hated the super weapon just as much as she did. They couldn’t stop Palpatine and a weapon of that magnitude on their own.
Kylo watched her go.
“Come find me.” she’d said.
He would burn the whole fucking galaxy down to find her again. But now wasn’t the time for dramatics.
Kylo ran his leather-clad hand through his sweaty locks as he returned to his quarters. He was stunned. He didn’t even have the energy to bicker with Hux when the General demanded to know what he was thinking by letting the future Empress get kidnapped.
What was he thinking?
Kylo no longer knew. His plan slipped from his fingers so easily and from the very beginning. His attempts to regain control of his life, his fate, and his love, had failed so fucking miserably. And deep down inside, he’d known this would happen.
What a goddamn fool he was.
He and his knights stopped about eight feet away from Cardo. The knight finally regained consciousness with a loud groan. It only took a matter of seconds before he jumped to his feet in panic.
“Sir! Your wife!” Cardo anxiously spoke. “She–”
“Knocked your ass unconscious.” Ap’lek snickered.
“You idiot, you missed the whole ordeal.” Kuruk tsked.
Cardo’s breathing deepened. “Master, I didn’t mean to–”
“You didn’t mean to underestimate my wife?”
“Well, it’s not like I can knock common sense into her,” Cardo pleaded. “She’s as stubborn as you are.”
“Master, Cardo has a point,” Trudgen cut in. “Perhaps if you had just–”
“Knock it off already.” Kylo grasped Trudgen by his neck. “What I do with my wife is not of your concern.”
“That’s fair.” Trudgen quickly nodded. “Now’s not the time for banter. I got it.”
“General Hux has already sent a search team to try to find the Tie Fighter. When do you want us to find and retrieve the future Empress?”
“General Hux’s team must not find the Empress. Destroy them.” Kylo took a shallow breath. “I already know where they are taking her.”
The men he knew in another lifetime, Poe and the ex-stormtrooper would bring the First Order’s future empress to none other than Leia Organa herself. However, Kylo may have had a little luck on his side for his mother was far too predictable, hiding on Ajan Kloss. She must have thought he was too young to remember the old base… unless she hoped he would eventually return– no. She lost hope in him years ago.
There was no going back. Not again. Especially now that he fucked up the timeline. He should have stayed in the World Between Worlds.
To Rey’s surprise, she wasn’t led to a jail cell, but to quarters near Leia’s. She walked into the small room and looked around once the doors shut behind her. It was such a contrast compared to her quarters on the Finalizer. The walls were bright grey, and the linens were white. Her viewport was much smaller than the one in her and Kylo’s quarters. She frequently looked out of it to gaze at the planets she and Kylo visited.
Despite how welcoming General Leia Organa had been, Rey was feeling homesick. Slowly, she walked over to the small viewport and gazed at the endless blue and white streaks as they traveled at Lightspeed.
Her heart ached for her husband. Hearing the final puzzle pieces was almost too much for her. How Kylo remained strong after the events, she’ll never understand. He realized Snoke was grooming him and killed him almost immediately and knowingly took on the role of a puppet for Sidious. And he did all of it just for her.
Suddenly, a tingle went through her body, and the hum of the ship faded into silence. She thought she saw Kylo’s large frame in the viewport and turned around.
“Kylo?” Her jaw dropped at seeing her husband standing across the room from her. He was there but wasn’t. Her heart skipped a beat upon seeing the translucent image of the large man. If he had a blue hue, Rey would think he was a holo. “I don’t understand, how did you–”
“We’re bound through the Force, Rey. If anyone else tried to connect through the Force like this, the effort would kill them.” He softly replied. His eyes grew concerned, “you’ve been crying.”
She turned away from his worried gaze. She hated appearing weak and refused to do so due to a man who had been lying to her… her heart knew it to be true. Why was she so gullible?
“Rey?”
“You understand I didn’t leave you?” Rey hastily asked.
“Yes. But why did you do it?”
“Maybe I wanted revenge because I didn’t want to sit in my room.”
“Rey, you’re a little old to be playing these games–”
“Maybe because I was bored and wanted an adventure. Or the most likely case because my original plan was interrupted by that idiotic pilot. I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
“Fucking Dameron.”
Despite his body not physically standing in this room, she heard him walk toward her. “You know him?”
“I know of him. The Resistance’s best pilot.”
“I’m surprised he’s lasted this long with such an ego.”
She felt her husband’s amusement and felt the warmth of his body against her back. “What are you doing?” She asked when he wrapped his arms around her slender frame and placed his chin on her shoulder.
“Trying to talk to you.”
Rey’s smile was sad. She was the Rey he needed to talk to. “Ben.”
His body recoiled just a touch and he sucked in a short breath.
“So, you are Leia’s son.” She muttered as the weight of the truth threatened to come crashing down over her tired soul. Perhaps more heartbroken than anything.
“I should have known you’d end up on her ship. The Raddus. It’s where she spent most of her time after the Senate betrayed her. You might be nearby since they delivered you so quickly--”
“Betrayal seems to go through your family like wildfire.”
She wanted to confront him. She wanted to demand he tell her the truth. Rey looked down at his translucent hands around her waist and swallowed hard. But most of all, she wanted him to be… real wasn’t the word she was looking for. Because he was a real man, but where was–
“I don’t know how long this connection will last.”
“This connection is from our Force Bond?” She repeated his earlier explanation.
“Yes.” He muttered by her ear. “The connection feels weak.”
“What?”
“The connection; it’s so rare.” He corrected himself. “I’m still having trouble finding its history unless it was part of the Jedi texts that burned in the Jedi temple during Order 66. But Palpatine wanted this power; he wanted to learn how to make a dyad.”
“That’s new information.” She lightly snapped. Rey needed to tread carefully if she wanted to get to eventually get to the bottom of Kylo’s plans. Why he did whatever he did to get here and what he thought would happen. Force, she had so many questions, but needed to wait.
“Rey, we need to–”
“Leia would like to rendezvous with you so I can return to the Finalizer She’s been a lovely host. I wasn’t able to sneak around the ship like I originally planned, though nothing is stopping me now.” She turned her body to face him, their noses were mere inches apart. She gazed at his lips before finding his eyes. “We need to kill Sheev Palpatine. He’s only growing stronger with each passing day.”
“My mother knows about Palpatine?”
“As does Luke.”
Anger and fear flickered in his eyes and were smothered the next instant. “I do not wish to speak with them.”
“Perhaps.” Rey lifted an eyebrow, “After we finish killing Palpatine.”
“I think I can manage that.”
Rey lightly hummed and lifted her chin higher, her lips nearly brushing his. Kylo moved to close the distance between them.
“It’s the least you can do.” She turned away.
Kylo’s blood ran cold, shame rippled through his body, and the skin under his left eyelid twitched. Has Rey discovered the truth? No. That was impossible. No one knew what he had done to get here.
“We need to set up a rendezvous point.” Rey continued. “The First Order and the Resistance have a common enemy.”
Where was this compliance from Rey in his timeline? No matter, things might be turning for the better… finally.
“You think the rebels will help?” He asked though he had no reason to trust them.
With a small nod, Rey replied, “I do, with the exception of that idiot pilot.”