Force Destiny

Acid Rain

"Let me in, Ben!" Rey screamed as she spun her staff and thrust it expertly into her imagined target, nearly twisting her ankle on a white, glowing rock under her foot. She kicked the rock to join the others shimmering in the stream that cut through the jungle floor. The red of the sediment tinted the water. It was an ever-present reminder of what she had almost done. Her body was shaking, sweat glistened on her skin, but she was relentless in her practice. Kylo had effectively shut her out. His presence was still as strong as ever in the corner of her mind that he had carved out for himself, but no amount of screaming, begging, meditation, or pushing into his energy brought him to her.

Rey had listened to Snoke and betrayed him; in a manner nearly identical to what Luke had done when Kylo first fell into Snoke's grasp. She feared what he would do this time. She couldn't stomach the thought of losing him to the darkness forever. He had light left in him; she had seen it. What she had done to him was unforgivable; she knew that, and she wouldn't blame him if he hated her. She deserved it. If he wanted to end their bond, she wouldn't blame him, but she wouldn't give up on bringing him home.

Leia deserved to have her son back. She believed if she could only explain to him that it was her weakness, that she allowed the darkness tempt her – that he was right about her – then maybe she could convince him to talk to his mother. Then maybe Leia could succeed where Rey had failed. The last thing she would allow to come of her betrayal would be to leave him to his own darkness again.

"Ben, I'm sorry! Please!" she screamed into the trees. Her only answer was a low rumbling.

Another recon ship?

Breathing deeply, she attempted to calm her nerves. Her head tilted to the heavens above.

No, thunder, she realized.

The turquoise sky was growing darker, but she wanted to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. She knew she could not stall the conversation with Leia any longer, but after what she had done to Kylo, she dreaded facing his mother.

How do I explain to her that he saved my life, and then I tried to kill him?

Before she could further contemplate her fears, the skies opened above her. She reluctantly gathered her weapon and pack, preparing to end her training session early.

Then she cried out in unexpected pain.

It wasn't until the first few droplets had touched her skin that she understood her oversight. Round, red wounds were forming on her exposed shoulders as the acid rain fell around her. With a jump aided by the Force, she leaped across the river in the direction of the temple.

Her panic spiked as she sprinted through the trees, searching for protection from the immediate downpour. After being caught in enough sandstorms, she understood the dangers of a progressing storm, and knew she wouldn't make it back to base. She pressed herself against the tall stalk of a towering purple flower – its 3-meter-long, trumpet-shaped petals providing her adequate cover. She sank to the ground and closed her eyes, waiting for the storm to pass. The thunder sounded directly above her, and she couldn't help the childish fears, the loneliness, the helplessness that returned.

Her mind drifted back to the dust storms that she had weathered in the abandoned AT-AT, covering her ears as she had back then as the weather raged around her. The Force was overstimulating her senses as she perceived the movement and sound of every raindrop around her. Defiant tears fell down her face, and she hissed between sobs as stray droplets dripped through the shelter. But she had survived worse. It wasn't the acid rain, or being stuck by herself in the jungle, her friend's distrust, her impending conversation with Leia, or her bondmate's silence, but the weight of it all that finally released the floodgates to her tears.