The Redemption of Fate ~ A Reylo Story

20

"Rey?" The man called out. Luke heard the man's voice grow closer, and inside Luke already knew who the voice belonged to--it was his nephew, Ben Solo. As if on cue with Luke's intuitive prophecy, the brawny body of Ben Solo poked out through the mess of palm fronds. His eyes lit up in trepidation as they caught sight of Rey's crumpled body.
"Rey. . ." Ben--a human now, no longer a figment of the Force--exhaled. He collapsed on the grass beside Rey, scooping up her face in his human-hands. "How could you. . ."
"It worked. She did it." Luke spoke. He stood beside his doleful nephew. Ben's arms cradled Rey, her head rested in the crook of his elbow. 

Ben's eyes darted onto his uncle's. Unhindered remorse--swam inside of them. The last time the two men had seen each other, Ben Solo was Kylo Ren, and Luke had sacrificed his life to save the Resistance at the Battle of Crait in an attempt to terminate the destruction that Kylo Ren would inevitably wreak. But even before all of that, Luke's penitence from being unable to save Ben from becoming Kylo Ren--the mere fact that he nearly tried to murder his own nephew, Leia's son, instead of helping him overthrow the formidable dark side--had been a lingering particle of self-condemnation that poisoned his soul. Ben could feel Luke's rumination just then. A wave of odious chagrin washed over Ben's tormented soul. "Luke. . . I'm sorry."
It was an understatement, but it was all he could manage; his mind was too engulfed. 

"I know." Luke nodded. "And I know you're not him anymore. Your mother redeemed your life--she undid your wrongful doings. I felt that, and I can feel it now; you're not him."
"I'll never be him." Ben choked out. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, they focused on Rey's depleted face. Dry blood stained a skinny trail down her nose. Her face had been drained of its warm, youthful glow. Now it was something of a ghastly pale; cold and dull. 
"I told her not to do this--risk her life for me." Ben swallowed down the fresh pain that swelled inside of his chest. Rey's skin was still as soft as it had always been, even when he touched her as a ghost, though now it was icy and chilled. But she was still beautiful--expressionless and limp in his arms. 

"You know she never listens." Luke deadpanned. He rolled his eyes and cracked a wry smirk. 
All Ben could do was nod. He could hardly breathe correctly; shock overtook him. His human fingers ran through the ends of Rey's damp hair and along the side of her neck, down the soft expanse of her shoulders. Ben couldn't grasp it--being human again; feeling Rey as a human, not a ghost. It had all happened so instantaneously; his consciousness in the Force had been suddenly zapped. A brief moment of pain surged through Ben like he had been electrocuted straight through the heart, then the next millisecond, he opened his eyes--his human eyes--to find that he was standing on real legs that didn't glow and fizzle with Force energy. He was clothed. His skin was solid to the touch.

Immediately, his mind surged of Rey--he knew she had brought him back to existence. He felt her unconscious mind, heard her shallow breathing. And now, there Ben was, with Rey in his arms, eyes clenched shut as he concentrated. He had to wake her up from the stupor--he had to make her know he was here, that her plan had succeeded.
Luke clasped both of his ghostly hands, "I know that Rey is in good hands--"
"Rey!" 
Ben's eyes darted from his uncle's, to a pair of dark, distressed eyes which belonged to the ex-stormtrooper Ben only ever knew back when he was Kylo Ren. Within milliseconds, Ben's peripheral vision caught sight of Luke Skywalker's blue Force ghost vanishing as Finn abruptly skidded to a stop.

"Wha. . . What's going on?" Finn hoarsely whispered. His eyes were huge, panicked. He took a few steps back, still caught off guard at the sight of Ben--who used to be Supreme Leader, who also happened to nearly have slit Finn's throat several times if given the opportunity. Finn shivered. "Ben? Y-you're really. . ." He couldn't finish his sentence. He hadn't even realized he was holding his breath until he became lightheaded. 
"Finn," Ben replied, though it felt awkward, mostly strange--to Kylo Ren, Finn's only identity was FN-2187. 
Finn blinked, incredulous. Even dubious. "You--how. . ." He struggled, to overcome looking Ben in the eyes as Ben Solo, not Supreme Leader Ren. He sighed, diverting his eyes onto Rey. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"She's. . . stable, at the moment." Ben replied, his hands still supporting Rey's head. "It seems she's in a Force-induced coma."
Finn had no idea what to say except, "Can she come out of it?"
Ben's chest heaved with uncertainty, but his eyes were valiant, and his spirit was ardent. "I know she will."