and with a stroke of her saber

[strongerthanblood]

Things have been going well. That probably should have rung in her head like warning bells, but it didn't. Maybe this place is making her too soft.


Rey is on the Falcon one night, because she got in an idea in her head about how she might be able to repurpose some a parts to try and make a repulsorlift for her bike. She kind of likes it how it is now, with its primitive rubber wheels, but an upgrade might be nice. Plus, she did tell Anakin that she would try.

She becomes so focused on her task that by the time she comes out of it enough to check the time, it's already so late at night and she's so tired. After checking in with Ben through the bond to let him know her plans, she goes to crawl into her preferred bunk. She'll get a few hours of sleep, and then go back to town at dawn.

Sleep comes easily to her, but it does not stay peaceful.

Rey dreams. This is not unusual, except for the fact that she's had this dream before, and it wasn't a dream. It was a vision.


Rey is on Exegol, dressed all in black. There is a hood over her head and a saber in her hand, and she walks with purpose. She strides, really, with her chin held high and a smile on her face. She makes all the way up to the top of the Sith throne without hesitation, and takes her seat next to Ben.

No, not Ben. It's Rey and Kylo Ren. Empress and Emperor.

Thousands of Sith rise up below them, and their cheer sounds more like a roar. A declaration of intent. An oath. Rey ignites her lightsaber and smiles, teeth sharp and face lit up in red.

The world belongs to her now.


A scream is what finally wakes Rey up, and it takes her a long moment to realize that it's coming from her. Even as she wakes up, the vision doesn't stop. It keeps on going, plaguing her mind with images of her tearing apart worlds just to watch them burn. She grabs her saber and stuffs her feet into her boots, runs out of the Falcon and into the misty rain, and it keeps going.

Palpatine's laugh rings in her head so loud that it makes her dizzy. It feels like it's pressing in on her from all sides, like it's echoing throughout the entire city.


The time has come. You will ascend.

You will take the throne. It is your birthright to rule here. It is in your blood. Our blood.


I wanted you here, Empress Palpatine.



Rey lets out a wild scream into the rain, chest burning as she keeps running, feeling compelled to do so. Her feet know where they are going before she does, but maybe she just doesn't want to acknowledge it, because it can't be true. It can't be here.


You will take the throne.


She tears through the forest, tripping over gnarled roots and fallen branches, and when she finally makes it to a clearing overlooking the sea, near where her and Ben sometimes train together, she sees it. There under the glowing light of the moon, shining in the rain, it sits.

The Throne of the Sith, with all it's cruel, horrible points carved into stone. It's not something that Rey thought that she would ever see again, and she lets out another cry of terror as she falls to her knees before it. She destroyed it, once. She'll just have to do it again.

She can practically hear the chanting of the Sith as she throws her hand in front of her and sends out a burst of electric energy. The tendrils of lightning curl around the stone but do nothing, and Rey screams louder as she forces more of her power into the act. She wants it gone. It has to be gone.

Her teeth grit against the onslaught and she yells through it, even as the lightning shoots up from the throne and into the sky like a beacon, crackling through the air like thunder claps.

It is in your blood.

"No!" She cries out into the night, into the Force, to anyone who will listen. "I don't want it!"

Comments

[nextchance]

Jyn hasn't slept well since she was a child, and tonight is no exception. She wakes with a start to the sound of rain pattering on the window of the room where she's been staying for the past couple of days, the past bleeding into the present in such a way that she knows she won't be getting back to sleep, at least not for a good while. The noise is what did it, she thinks. It's not that she's a light sleeper, although that is the case too. It's the weather, rain bringing back memories of the landing platform on Eadu, her father's face still seared behind her eyelids. As stupid as she thinks it is to be thrown by a little storm, she thinks there's no sense in pretending she'll be getting any more rest, so she changes out of her pajamas, stuffs them back into the duffel bag she keeps her belongings in, and decides to head back to the Falcon. Even out in the rain, a little fresh air might do her good.

She's hunched in her too-big raincoat when she makes it back out to the countryside, raindrops dripping off the top of her hood. As she nears the Falcon, though, a flash of light from out past the treeline, bright and shooting up from the woods, catches her attention, and while the safer thing would probably be to ignore it and get inside, Jyn has never been particularly good at choosing the safer options. Whatever's going on, she ought to see what it is.

Her boots crunching over wet leaves and twigs, she makes her way into the forest, cautious but sure. She has a knife in the side of one shoe, another sheathed against her forearm, hidden by her sleeves. They aren't much, but they'll do in a pinch if necessary.

When she steps into the clearing and sees Rey there, the bursts of crackling light coming from her, Jyn immediately reconsiders that assessment, and hopes it won't matter anyway.

"Rey," she says, her voice lifting almost into a question, eyes wide and voice wary. She keeps a bit of a distance, staying at the edge of the clearing, taking in the sight in front of her. Most likely, she ought to be a little more worried, but her main concern for the moment is her clearly distraught friend. "What's going on?"

[strongerthanblood]

It takes a moment for Rey to register that someone is speaking to her, and not from inside her head. When she finally does, she drops her hand and the lightning stops, crackling way to nothing, and the throne remains unchanged.

She rises up onto her knees and looks over her shoulder to see Jyn, blinking away the rain and the tears as she takes in the look on her face. She wonders if Jyn is afraid of her. She wonders if she should be.

"This just arrived," Rey says as she rocks back onto her haunches, suddenly exhausted as she stares at the throne. She doesn't expect Jyn to know what it is. "It's Sith, and I want to destroy it."

[nextchance]

A chill runs down Jyn's spine as she takes that in, and not because of the cool autumn rain that's falling. She only knows a little about the Sith, and it's hazy now, faded now with the stories her mother used to tell her about the Jedi when she was a child. It's enough, though. Even if it weren't, Rey's reaction would be. She's still tense and on guard, old survival instincts having kicked in, but she trusts her friend. As strange and unsettling as the scene may be, if Rey wants it gone, then it's with good reason, and at least Jyn doesn't have to worry now about startling her.

She takes a step closer, then kneels so they'll be on the same eye level, looking from Rey to the foreboding chair. What, if anything, she might be able to do about it, she has no idea, but she won't just leave Rey to deal with it alone.

"We'll get rid of it, then," she says, quiet and sure. "I don't know how, but we will."

[strongerthanblood]

The quiet, steady reassurance Jyn gives her makes Rey smile, just barely, and she looks up at her friend. She and Jyn have gotten close, and Rey doesn't think that Jyn will care where she comes from.

Rey stands up and sniffles a little as she holds out a hand to help Jyn to her feet. She puts her hands on her hips and takes another long look at the throne.

"Does the name Palpatine mean anything to you?" She asks quietly, turning her head slightly without turning to look at Jyn.