Stardust ━━ Star Wars

━ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘅𝗹𝘃

     "No," Rey interjects before he can finish speaking. "You're not coming with me."

     Luke frowns. "I understand if you're upset with me — I know I haven't been the best teacher — but that's all going to change. Rey, I was wrong about everything. You were right all along. Leia needs me — my family needs me — and the rest of the Resistance does, too. I can't hide any longer."

     "Master Skywalker, you can't come with me," his student repeats, looking far more agitated than before. "I'm really sorry, but I can't let you."

      Luke pauses then and looks at Rey — really looks at her. Her deep brown eyes are wide and shifty, unable to hold his gaze for longer than a few seconds before they dart away. Everything about her posture screams that she is in distress — tense shoulders, clenched fists. Something else is bothering her. Something she is trying to hide from him.

     "Rey," he says evenly. "What's going on?"

      She refuses to look at him. "Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."

     "Rey," he repeats, more firmly this time.

      "You can't come with me!" She blurts out; unable to hold it in any longer. "I went to the cave — the Dark place on the island. I know you told me not to go there, but I had to see it. I thought that it would show me ... something. The answer to a question I've always had, maybe. But it didn't. It showed me something else. Finn is either in danger or he will be soon. I have to go to him."

      Luke shakes his head. "You went where and saw what?" He repeats incredulously. "Rey, I've told you a hundred times not to trust visions — especially if you know they come from Darkness."

      "Something is wrong," she argues. "We haven't been able to make contact with the Resistance since we first landed here, but I can feel it deep inside me. I already knew that before I went to the cave, but my vision confirmed it. And Ben — I mean, Kylo Ren — he told me he can help if I come to him. I have to go, Master Skywalker. If anything were to happen to Finn —" her voice breaks momentarily before she shakes her head. "I can't stay here any longer. I've already wasted too much time."

     She steps forward, as if to walk around him and exit the hut, but Luke grabs her arm. "Wait," he says, feeling his resolve crumble. Even though he doesn't approve of Rey's actions, he knows that something is deeply wrong in the Force — and he definitely doesn't trust Ben. "If you're going, you're not going alone."

     The scavenger yanks her arm free from his grasp. "Yes, I am."

      "No, you're not," Luke argues. "I'm still coming with you. I'm not just going to sit back and let you go charging into danger like this, all on your own —"

      "You're not coming with me!"

     Frustrated, the old Jedi Master throws his hands up in the air. "Well, why the hell not?"

     "Because you'll die if you do," Rey shouts before she can stop herself. "The cave didn't just show me Finn. It showed me you, facing Kylo Ren alone. He strikes you down — you don't survive. I won't let that happen. I can't. You're our last hope."

     Luke's eyes widen in shock as he takes in her words. For a moment, he feels a flicker of fear pass over him before he shakes his head. "Rey, the future isn't set in stone," he says gently. "This vision could just be a trick or a fleeting glimpse of a possible future. I need to go with you. I can't let you go alone."

     "And I can't let you come with me," she says, the words quiet yet determined.

     Before Luke can say another word, she pulls her staff from her back and brandishes it towards him like a weapon. "I'm leaving now," she says firmly, voice wavering slightly. "Please, I'm begging you — don't follow me."