In An Alternate Galaxy: A Collection of Star Wars Oneshots

In An Alternate Galaxy Far Far Away...

A/N: Hello everyone!! It has been a hot minute since I've been on either of my Star Wars fanfics, but after seeing Rise of Skywalker I NEEDED to write. SO.... here is an alternate ending to TROS.  There are spoilers if you haven't seen it so I wanted to give a fair warning.  please please please comment and lmk what you think I've been working all night and day on this.  Also, if you celebrate, merry late christmas!! I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday <3

It happened so fast. Ben felt the life force sucked out of him, Rey beside him. Through their bond he felt hers drain faster than his and a deep seated panic set in. It had taken far too long for him to realize his need for Rey and everything she stood for and now that he had realized, was he too late? Pain seeped into every inch of his body. It felt as if his bones were drying up within his body, his breath stolen from him. He heard the tiniest grunt of pain from Rey and his chest clutched. Everything he had done to her, and yet here she was fighting his enemy for and alongside him.

Palpatine yanked viciously one last time on their life forces, then dropped them brutally to the ground. Ben's head smacked the stone, his vision swimming. Time passed in an unperceivable way. He might have been lying there for minutes or perhaps just seconds, but a neverending thought wound its way through every neuron in his brain. Rey. Her name alone gave him strength. Rey. Feebly, he rose to his feet. Palpatine had taken nearly every ounce of his strength, but the overwhelming, permeating need to protect Rey overcame the weakness in his body. It did not, however, protect him. Palpatine thrust his deformed hand outwards and Ben found himself in a Force chokehold. If not for the situation, he might have laughed at the irony. The Sith lord growled out a sinister, mocking bit on how he was going to destroy the last Skywalker, but his words fell on deaf ears. Ben's eyes were fixated on the still form of the tiny desert scavenger, and she was the last thing he saw.

The Sith lord flung Ben backwards and he shut his eyes tightly. He felt an absence of gravity, then within the same instant he felt his bones shatter as he slammed into protruding metal. He didn't even have the strength to scream in pain and the world went black.

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Ben's eyes cracked open, then shut again quickly. Pain, hot and sharp, overtook all of his senses. He let out a roar of agony then fell silent, panting. His ribs were broken, head bleeding, and breathing shallow. Desperately, he reached out with the Force, seeking the bond that he shared with the only person that mattered. He felt her, but the connection was as weak as they were. Through her he heard screams of pain but his heart told him they were not hers. Whether she realized it or not, Rey lent him the image before her. Palpatine was disappearing, destroyed by his own attacks and Rey's power. As he disappeared, Ben felt Rey's life slowly slip away. He reached out as if he could grasp it with his physical hand. His throat closed up as he felt her slowly fade away from the Force. There was no time to think, no room for the "what if." He painfully and ever so slowly got to his feet, and then began to climb.

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Rey watched Palpatine disintegrate, horrified. Relief followed the horrification, then the relief was followed by a feeling of failure so strong she dropped to her knees. Palpatine was gone, but at what cost? Ben was gone, and he had been all that had ever mattered in her quest. When Kylo became Ben that was the moment evil was defeated for Rey. Palpatine had merely been one more obstacle to climb over. But now Ben was gone and her sole purpose and motivation with him. A single tear slipped down her cheek. The Resistance was saved. Her purpose was fulfilled. She could hold on to the last bit of her life no longer and with a final breath, she let go.

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In the same breath that Rey's life ended, Ben's hand appeared at the edge of the throne room. He hauled himself upwards, pain streaking through every limb. He made it onto the floor, reaching out for Rey through the Force as his vision was blurry and his senses failing him. She was there for only the briefest of moments, a warm light in the coldness of his chest.