The Redemption of Fate ~ A Reylo Story

11

The rain poured down, consuming the earth, terminating all activities at the Base. Everyone took shelter, whether inside a tent or a starship. Rey nestled into her tent, pulling her bedsheets over her chest. The rain thudded down on her tent and the wind whipped violently. It howled ominously, drowning out the sounds of angry thunder from up above.
Rey blew out a breath; fatigue was coming over her. She munched on a few stale crackers leftover from dinner several days ago. Her stomach wasn't choosy, though. She needed the sustenance, even if it was just carbs.
After her meager but appreciated snack, Rey sprawled out in bed, clinging onto her lumpy pillow. Sleep urged at her. She felt all energy devoid; suddenly overcome with powerful drowsiness. Slumber overtook her.

                                                                                                ***

"Dear, Child," the diabolic voice of Palpatine rang out, ricocheting off the walls of Rey's brain, "remember my gift to you. Though you foolishly may have denied me--which I'll never know why--you still have my spirit. My midichlorian gift of resurrection. Try not to forget--"
"Get out of my head!" Rey hissed, standing in the fiendish throne room of Palpatine. Right where she had killed him. In that dark, devilish destination. Palpatine was dead--Rey made sure of it, but his voice lingered. His repulsive snicker filled the stony space. Rey shook with rage. She loathed him--that twisted human that she recently discovered was her grandfather. His mocking laugh continued. It grew louder with each cackle. Shaking the room. Rey ignited her lightsaber in a fighting stance, readying to attack anything--anything that moved. Her temper was palpable. Untamed. "Shut up!"

"Oh, don't worry." Palpatine suddenly stopped. His tone patronizing. Rey bared her teeth. "I am already aware that you killed me. Don't waste your breath, foolish child. I am just trying to. . . help."
"What. Do. You. Know. About. Help." Rey shouted, feeling her vocal cords tear, veins protruding from her neck. Palpatine chortled. Rey gripped onto the saber's hilt, squeezing it with every ounce of passion in her body. A cramp pinched at the muscles in her hand but she ignored it, too engrossed in her fury.
"I'm sorry you don't see it, Grandchild. But what should I expect? You are a halfwitted, moron of a--"
"I wish I could have killed you properly!" Rey spat. Trembling more than she ever had. She could picture Palpatine nodding in agreement.
"Yes, you should have. You failed. My spirit could have possessed you to the bitter end. Yet, you chose the weak way. Can't say I'm surprised."

All the anger accumulating inside Rey burst like a bubble in her chest. Releasing such overwhelming amounts of abhorrence that her knees gave out. She felt no pain as her ankle contorted underneath her limp body. Rey stared at the black sky above. It was lifeless, forbidding. All she wanted was for that night to be over and done with. Discarded from memory.
"Rey." A gentle voice called out. Rey turned to see that Ben Solo was laying beside her, where he had previously died, somehow breathing again. Lacerations covered his face, sliced his eyebrow. Half of his upper lip was cut off, blood pouring down in streams. His body was mangled too. Distorted limbs. More blood covering the vastness of his torso, becoming a deeper, deathly red by the second. "It's true. . . what Palpatine says"--Ben swallowed the foamy blood, wincing with pain. Rey realized his neck was slit--"you can bring me back. Y-you have the power."

"Ah," Palpatine's voice vibrated off the stone walls, "my truthful boy does not lie to you. What he says is true, Grandchild. You can, in fact, bring him back. Whatever possession he may be to you."
Rey's tearful eyes gazed firmly onto Ben's, digging for a genuine answer. He nodded, beginning to slip into drowsiness. He was losing blood exceptionally fast.
She sucked in a sharp breath. Reached out to grasp hold of Ben's hand. His fingers broken; twisted into bumpy configurations. She nodded. "I will save you, Ben."
Desperation shone into his slowly closing eyes. 

Almost instantly, the background changed as if someone had flipped a switch in Rey's dream: she was no longer in Palpatine's thrown room. Instead, she was standing in a pristine entry hall that belonged to a castle, unlike the dungeon she had just been trapped inside of. She smelled her own expensive fragrance. Felt the heavy tiara on her head. Ben appeared out of thin air. His body restored. Skin smooth and soft; glowing. Eyes alight. Hair tousled, as if he had an entire team styling it to perfection. His voice angelic. "I told you. It's all possible. Every last part--thanks to your power."

                                                                                               ***

Rey bolted up from her bed, panting. Eyes wide, expression bemused. That dream--what on earth could it mean? She was silenced by it. Her mind rushed with ideas.
No, no, it can't be true. . . Rey thought, looking down at her pair of quivering hands, turning them over cautiously. I couldn't possibly bring Ben back. . .
Rey shook her head. The odd dream was infeasible. A scam--just her listless, overworked mind creating illusions. Or, She cocked an eyebrow inquisitively, could I?