•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•

EPISODE LVIII - YOU'RE AN IDIOT

Luke deliberately aims his escape pod into the sea. If he survives, Chewie and Lando will have to rescue him.

Salt water explodes through the walls as Luke kicks his way out. It stings and scrabbles at his eyes. His lungs quiver as they start to scream for air. Clawing his way up, Luke breaks the surface and gasps. A snarky wave tosses itself into his mouth, and he chokes.

Luke hauls himself towards the shore. The island towers over him as his teeth begin to chatter. There—right there. He spots the steps, hewn from stone and wedged in-between two cliffs, one tall and proud, the other stooped and rugged.

"Good," Obi-Wan encourages him.

Gratitude saturates Luke as he drags himself out of the ocean. Obi-wan, Yoda, and his father all working together, to help him. Somewhere up in the sky, past the vast expanses of cerulean and pearlescent clouds, his sister, his nephew, Finn and Poe worked to free his apprentice.

He remembers when he first arrived on Ahch-To, convinced he had failed. Failed to save Han and Leia's son, the boy Luke had known and loved since the day he was born. He had failed his nephew in ways he hadn't even failed his father.

Luke Skywalker had never run before in his life, but he ran then. He'd given up everything, and others, like Nishi, had given up so much forhim, and it was all for what?

Is this how it ends? Luke remembers asking himself. All his padawans, the ones he'd cared for, nurtured, lying slaughtered and burned in a muddy field? He'd run screaming for Ben, and when he didn't find the boy, Luke knew it the worst way.

Except Rey. She was his hope. Luke hid her, gave part of his map to Lor San Tekka in case Rey ever wanted to find him, and said goodbye to R2. And he left, because he couldn't face Leia. Not when she'd pleaded with him to help her son, and Luke had reported so many times what improvements Ben was making...

That wasn't how it ends, Luke thinks as he drags himself up the steps, flicking on his lightsaber. The temple comes into view, and with it, a redheaded man in black, and a creature who willingly became a monster.

This is.

/////

"It's me!"

Rey's voice cuts through the radio and through Finn's heart. Rey. She's alive. She's okay.

"We're heading back to the escape pod," Ben says.

Finn plants his last explosive and nods to himself.

"Coming back at you," Poe says.

"Me too," adds Leia.

"I'll be just another minute," Finn says as he watches two stormtroopers march together a level below him, because he knows what he has to do.

If he's truly Force sensitive, Finn aims to stay as far away from the Dark Side as he can.

I can't believe I'm doing this, he thinks as he marches towards the circuit board. Because he remembers being the man who wanted to run, as Maz called him, when all he wanted to do was live, save his own damn life.

And then Kylo Ren took Rey, and he saw Han Solo die, and then Kylo Ren took Rey and now they've got her back. And the part of Finn that's always wanted to do the right thing—it overshadows his fear.

"Attention," Finn says. "Your ship is going to explode in about five minutes. I suggest you all make your way to an escape pod and evacuate. Like right now."

He has no more time to get the point across, and Finn knows a majority of the stormtroopers won't listen, but he had to try. Now they know.

Finn races back. A blaster shot explodes behind him, and Finn blocks it with his lightsaber.

"You're an idiot," Poe greets him when he finally gets back to the pod. But he throws his arms around him, hugging him tight and planting a brief kiss on his lips.

"Let's go!" Leia shouts.

Finn jumps inside, and another pair of arms closes around him. "Rey!"

"Finn!" She's beaming at him, her face a bit pale and her stomach swollen. She really is pregnant.

"You look great," Finn manages. This is the first time he's seen her since the snow-blown forests of the Starkiller Base, when the man whose arm is now wrapped around Rey and who is looking at her like she's the sun tried to kill him.

She laughs. "So do you?"

"Finn's going to be a Jedi now," Ben tells her.

"Oh right," Finn says. "Here's your lightsaber."

Rey takes it, studying his face. "Are you really?"

Finn nods. "Apparently."

"That's great!"

"Luke?" Leia asks, pressing her radio as they glide to the Millennium Falcon. "Luke, come in."

Ben and Finn help Rey down the ladder. "I can do it myself," she snaps.

She hasn't changed that much.

Finn lands, watching as Chewie wraps furry arms around Rey, murmuring and snuffling. BB-8 squeals, and Rey laughs.

"Luke's not answering," Leia reports as Ben starts to climb down.

"Then we're going, aren't we?" he says.

"Me too," Finn says, grabbing hold of the ladder again.

"We're all going," Rey says.

"No way," Finn, Ben, and Poe all answer.

"You don't get to tell her what to do!" Leia shouts. "Get back on the Falcon. We're all landing on Ahch-To because we need to avoid the blast!"

"You heard her!" Lando's voice drifts from the cockpit.

"Fine." Finn lets go of the ladder. Ben, Leia, and Poe slide down, and Lando takes off, speeding towards the planet.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Ben says to Rey, sounding sheepish.

"Snoke's been hurting me," she snaps. "You know that. I'm not stupid. I know I'm not exactly in prime condition for any sort of physical combat. But I can help. I have the Force."

Ben pulls her close and rests his chin on top of her head.

"Damn, they really are in love," Poe whispers, as if in awe.

"Isn't it wonderful?" gushes C-3PO.

Finn squeezes Poe's hand.

An explosion rocks the Falcon as it descends. BB-8 shoots out wires to hold itself and R2 in place as Ben and Rey fall backwards against the bunk.

"So long, Star Destroyer," Poe says.

Finn nods, wondering how many stormtroopers heeded his warning.

"Are you okay?" Poe asks softly.

Finn nods, but he's not. Guilt claws at him. If we killed them, how can we claim to be from the Light?

Poe grimaces and puts his arm around Finn. "You did what you could, Finn."

"I'm sick of death," Finn admits, just loud enough for Poe to hear.

Poe sighs. "Me, too, buddy."