Star Wars- In another Life.

Chapter 37- All the Jedi

Rey felt Ben rise, felt Sidious cast him away and forget him as though he were insignificant, nothing more than discarded rubbish. She could barely draw breath. She wanted to scream, to cry out, not for herself or for help but for Ben. She reached for him, but she couldn't feel him. There was nothing as though he'd fallen out of existence itself. Tears filled her eyes, and she rolled onto her back with what little strength she had left. The citadel's roof had been blown away, and she watched the indescribable power erupting from the Emperor. Terrifying streaks of cold blue light, like a ravenous monster encircling the Resistance ships in their fire. Such immeasurable potency at Palpatine's finger, destroying the Resistance; stolen power, their power hers and Ben's. They were supposed to be the last hope, but they'd failed. She heard Sidious laughing, grating and smug, and the tears and grief that filled her eyes trickled down her face as she watched the Resistance ships fall from the sky or burst into flames. She was alone; it was over.

Rey, you're not alone. You are never alone. The Force is with you. Reach out, Rey.

Rey heard Luke's voice and remembered what he had told her and Ben.

"We pass on all we know. A thousand generations live in you now, but this is your fight."

She took a moment to close her eyes to the destruction in front of her; she let her breath become shallow as she let go. She stretched out with her feelings beyond the citadel and its ominous statues, beyond this rocky wasteland of a planet. Opening her eyes, she reached beyond the Resistance ships and the battle raging above her, beyond the stars themselves. She was transcendent within the Force, or maybe she was dying. Her body relaxed. True power came from oneness, letting the Force flow a passage wherever it willed, like a river. The Force embraced her; she was at peace and calm.

"Be with me, be with me," she whispered.

Beyond the stars and perfect sky, she felt the space between spaces, a place between places within the molecules of life. The physical world disappeared from thought, her pain, her friends, the Emperor, and the war. There was only black expansiveness, shimmering with vast tiny lights like stars.

"Be with me."

She could feel the Jedi past with her, hear them.

"Rey."

"Every Jedi that ever lived lives in you."

"The Force surrounds you. Let it guide you."

"In the night, find the light, Rey."

"In the heart of a Jedi lies their strength."

"Luke," Rey whispered, recognising his voice once more.

"Rise, Rey, this is your fight. The Jedi past are with you."

She couldn't see him, any of them, but their presence in the Force around her filled her with hope, brilliant beams of light blue, green, purple, and gold shining brightly. She wasn't alone. The space between spaces receded, and the war above came back into view. The reality of the devastation and the job still to be done; they hadn't failed- not yet, she hadn't failed. She was the Resistance's last hope, and she would not give up, not while she could stand or blood still flowed in her veins. Her body ached, but it no longer felt as empty and depleted as before. She felt renewed. Rey rolled from her back onto her front, pushing herself out of the dust with her hands. She found vitality in her arms and legs she thought had been taken from her.

"I'm one with the Force. The Force is with me," she whispered to herself.

"These are your final steps."

This time, the voice of a Jedi past wasn't just in her head. It was loud and clear; they were with her the Jedi past.

The Emperor, sensing and hearing her, turned to her.