[ That-... Somehow, that still shocks him, after everything. He's even silent for a second, processing those implications. And the abilities...
But once he does, Finn shakes his head. ]
Then that was his choice.
[ He wants to say that he's glad in a morbid way. Ben gave everything to save her. That was worth something. But he can't say that. He doesn't know how without being a jerk about it. ]
[ Rey sighs, running her hands over her face then rubbing the back of her neck, not at all appeased by that reasoning. ]
He shouldn't have. I'm not... I served my purpose. I ended things once and for all. He lost his entire family, he shouldn't have had to give up his life for... for a Palpatine.
[ It makes her sick to say it, but she'd kept it from Finn when she'd found out the truth. She couldn't keep it from him now. ]
[ He reaches out for her hand, shaking his head. ]
Rey, I can't imagine what you're feeling, but you can't-
[ And his hand barely touches hers when he freezes, eyebrows bunching, confused. ]
A-... What?
[ The small admission of Leia's death doesn't even register. (He lost his family long ago, right?) It certainly doesn't stay in his mind as he tries to understand this new piece of information. ]
[ She repeats the name like it's a bitter taste in her mouth, her shoulders hunched as she crosses her arms over her stomach, as if she can make herself small enough that the truth won't be what she's so recently come to learn it is. ]
I'm Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter. My parents hid me when I was a child, because Palpatine didn't die on the second Death Star. He survived, and has been manipulating the First Order from the beginning.
At least twenty full seconds pass of Finn staring at her with wide eyes. It's less about the relationship thing and more about... the rest of it, but the grandfather stuff is definitely part of it. ]
[ Weirdly enough it actually helps that Palpatine being alive is the thing that's freaking him out the most at the moment. She lets out a short laugh, shrugging her shoulders. ]
I don't know. I didn't ask while he was trying to kill everyone I love.
[ Finn winces and tries to think before he speaks again. ]
I'm sorry, ah-...
[ Excuse him. This is a lot. He leans back in the couch, running a hand through his hair. And Palpatine's her blood. It makes no sense... at first. But it's slowly making more sense the more he thinks about it. Not exactly something he would have guessed at, though.
But that just brings him to another question. Finn's brow furrows. ]
Your parents... Are they-? [ They must be gone but if they aren't- ]
[ Rey shakes her head, resigned. She'd known all along, her parents were never coming back. ]
They're dead. Palpatine wanted me, because he knew I was strong in the Force. He had them killed when they wouldn't give me up.
[ It doesn't change the years of hardship she'd suffered under Unkar Plutt, but it's a small consolation, to know that her parents did love her. As misguided as they had been. ]
[ Well-... Finn leaned forward again, pressing the heel of his palms to his eyes. What a situation.
He wanted to give some sort of words of comfort, something about how good it is that she knows now, but is it better to know when it's something like this? Finn thinks so, but Rey may not agree. ]
I'm sorry... I'm sorry. This is such a mess. [ He moves his hands away and sighs. ] He's gone now? For real this time?
Answers to some things. I always knew it wouldn't end well. I'm... there's something else, that I kept from you. Ben and I... we didn't just get together here. Or, we did but there was... previous communication. A lot of it, actually.
[ Chewing her lip she doesn't quite meet Finn's eyes, because she knows things are so tenuous when it comes to Ben. She also doesn't want to dump more on Finn, but she had swore she was going to tell him everything. ]
We're connected in the Force. It's... called a dyad. Two halves of one complete whole. It's practically unheard of, the Jedi texts only briefly mentioned the possibility of such a connection. But it made it so we could communicate across the Force, no matter where we were. It began on Ahch-To, though there's things I remember from when I was a child that makes me think that maybe we've been connected our whole lives.
[ She presses her lips together, exhaling heavily through her nose. ]
That's why I was really on the Supremacy. Not to kill Snoke like people think, but... because I thought Ben would leave the First Order if I went to him. He's the one who killed Snoke.
Finn stares at her for a moment, his initial reaction being fear about the Resistance's security. If the Supreme Leader can see them at any time-
But, he reminds himself, that's clearly not a problem since they won the war. So he swallows that down and focuses on the actual problem.
Or is there a problem? ] But he didn't leave the Order. He killed him and took his place. [ So something didn't go well. ]
... But what does that mean for now? With him gone- Are you... okay? Physically? [ Emotionally, probably not. Mentally, he isn't sure. Look, it's going to take at least a week for him to process this. He has to get the important things out of the way. ]
[ She frowns, shaking her head. She'd explain what had happened on the Supremacy, but it doesn't seem so important, now. ]
It wasn't very long between when he... died, and when I returned. It felt like a piece of me was missing, but I also felt like... it was something I could maybe find again.
[ That pull, that faint echo, had given her the hope to drag herself off Exegol. ]
Here, since he's here, it feels like it did when we were together. We're strongest when we're together.
[ This is going to be a lot for Finn to get used to now. Yet, it's also somehow easier? To know that they had been connected for a long time, that the Force put them together, made it a lot better to understand for him, surprisingly. ]
You know I'm here for you if you need me.
[ Well, he is here. Back home may be a different story. Which reminds him- ] Rey... What about Poe and Rose? The General? All of them?
[ Apparently, as much as a shock it all is, the Palpatine thing and Dyad stuff doesn't bother him. ]
[ Rey looks at Finn finally, her eyes softening as she realizes that all this that she's kept from him isn't as big a deal as she made it out to be. At least for him, the most important thing is their friends, family. ]
We had losses. Leia... She sacrificed herself to get through to Ben. The way Luke did. You and Poe are the new generals.
[ Rey smiles a little as she says that, a little proud of them both, even though she'd been missing for most of that which had transpired. Leia had been trying to teach Rey to lead, but she'd never been a great leader. ]
Rose and Chewie are both okay, too. I... don't know who all the casualties are. Poe lost a few more of his Black Squadron, I think.
[ Oh... He hadn't really known Leia well but the loss still hits him. To him, she was still more of a symbol than a being and her loss meant a lot more to him than just losing a person. But the still won.
Then his brow furrows in confusion. Poe as a general? General Dameron? Yes, that makes sense. Finn?
But knowing that he, Rose, and Chewbacca are all also okay allows something in his chest to lift. It hasn't sunk in yet, that the war eventually ends and his friends live through it, but that probably won't ever really settle with him. ]
That's-... That's good. I- That's a lot, but I'm glad you're all okay. It's bad that Poe lost friends, but-
... That's a lot. How did I ever make General? Do you have a rank?
[ Seems like such a small, pointless thing to ask about in the wake of all this. It was just something easier for him to understand, really. ]
[ Rey shakes her head, smiling a little at the focus on a small thing. It's easier to talk about the small things for her, too. That compartmentalization is how she got through most of her days on Jakku. ]
I don't know, I wasn't there when Leia... I wasn't there. And I'm not Resistance leadership. I was never going to be.
[ She smiles a little more, grateful for her friend. There were a few people here she'd struck up friendships with, but no one compared to Finn. He had been her first real friend, the first person in her life since her parents that had cared whether she lived or died. ]
It's okay. It's enough that you're here. That I can tell you everything, now.
[ Ah, yes, there's a little more guilt to put on top of what he already has. Even if this whole thing did wear down his defenses enough to want to tell her things, this is hardly the time. So that was fortunate.
He reaches his hand over to hold hers with a tiny smile.
But then it withers a little. ]
Ben... What's going to happen between you two here?
[ Holding his hand is a simple thing, but it feels normal, natural. Once she'd yelled at him for grabbing her hand, but now it's welcome. Talking about Ben Solo feels a little less natural. ]
We're... going to move in together. Find a house. Try to live our lives. I've got the Jedi Texts, I have plenty of time to research a way to bring him back if we end up returning home.
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But once he does, Finn shakes his head. ]
Then that was his choice.
[ He wants to say that he's glad in a morbid way. Ben gave everything to save her. That was worth something. But he can't say that. He doesn't know how without being a jerk about it. ]
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[ Rey sighs, running her hands over her face then rubbing the back of her neck, not at all appeased by that reasoning. ]
He shouldn't have. I'm not... I served my purpose. I ended things once and for all. He lost his entire family, he shouldn't have had to give up his life for... for a Palpatine.
[ It makes her sick to say it, but she'd kept it from Finn when she'd found out the truth. She couldn't keep it from him now. ]
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Rey, I can't imagine what you're feeling, but you can't-
[ And his hand barely touches hers when he freezes, eyebrows bunching, confused. ]
A-... What?
[ The small admission of Leia's death doesn't even register. (He lost his family long ago, right?) It certainly doesn't stay in his mind as he tries to understand this new piece of information. ]
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[ She repeats the name like it's a bitter taste in her mouth, her shoulders hunched as she crosses her arms over her stomach, as if she can make herself small enough that the truth won't be what she's so recently come to learn it is. ]
I'm Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter. My parents hid me when I was a child, because Palpatine didn't die on the second Death Star. He survived, and has been manipulating the First Order from the beginning.
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At least twenty full seconds pass of Finn staring at her with wide eyes. It's less about the relationship thing and more about... the rest of it, but the grandfather stuff is definitely part of it. ]
He... survived... That's not-...
Ha-... How?
[ Sorry, Rey. He's trying. ]
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I don't know. I didn't ask while he was trying to kill everyone I love.
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I'm sorry, ah-...
[ Excuse him. This is a lot. He leans back in the couch, running a hand through his hair. And Palpatine's her blood. It makes no sense... at first. But it's slowly making more sense the more he thinks about it. Not exactly something he would have guessed at, though.
But that just brings him to another question. Finn's brow furrows. ]
Your parents... Are they-? [ They must be gone but if they aren't- ]
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They're dead. Palpatine wanted me, because he knew I was strong in the Force. He had them killed when they wouldn't give me up.
[ It doesn't change the years of hardship she'd suffered under Unkar Plutt, but it's a small consolation, to know that her parents did love her. As misguided as they had been. ]
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He wanted to give some sort of words of comfort, something about how good it is that she knows now, but is it better to know when it's something like this? Finn thinks so, but Rey may not agree. ]
I'm sorry... I'm sorry. This is such a mess. [ He moves his hands away and sighs. ] He's gone now? For real this time?
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I destroyed his body. The only way he could have survived is if he preserved himself in the Force somehow.
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And you-... How long has it been since you found out? About the... blood relation thing.
[ He really hesitates to use the word 'family.' ]
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Not long. A few days, counting how long I've been here. Palpatine told Ben because he thought it would make him want to kill me.
[ Boy had Palpatine played his bets wrong on that one. ]
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Good thing it was just crazy. ]
Well, I'm glad things didn't go that way.
[ Aside from all that, Finn leans forward on his elbows to face her again. ]
I'm... glad that you've found some answers. I'm just sorry it was like this.
[ Really, he didn't expect the answer to either of their families led to a happy story. This was just a lot worse than originally imagined. ]
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Answers to some things. I always knew it wouldn't end well. I'm... there's something else, that I kept from you. Ben and I... we didn't just get together here. Or, we did but there was... previous communication. A lot of it, actually.
[ Chewing her lip she doesn't quite meet Finn's eyes, because she knows things are so tenuous when it comes to Ben. She also doesn't want to dump more on Finn, but she had swore she was going to tell him everything. ]
We're connected in the Force. It's... called a dyad. Two halves of one complete whole. It's practically unheard of, the Jedi texts only briefly mentioned the possibility of such a connection. But it made it so we could communicate across the Force, no matter where we were. It began on Ahch-To, though there's things I remember from when I was a child that makes me think that maybe we've been connected our whole lives.
[ She presses her lips together, exhaling heavily through her nose. ]
That's why I was really on the Supremacy. Not to kill Snoke like people think, but... because I thought Ben would leave the First Order if I went to him. He's the one who killed Snoke.
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Finn stares at her for a moment, his initial reaction being fear about the Resistance's security. If the Supreme Leader can see them at any time-
But, he reminds himself, that's clearly not a problem since they won the war. So he swallows that down and focuses on the actual problem.
Or is there a problem? ] But he didn't leave the Order. He killed him and took his place. [ So something didn't go well. ]
... But what does that mean for now? With him gone- Are you... okay? Physically? [ Emotionally, probably not. Mentally, he isn't sure. Look, it's going to take at least a week for him to process this. He has to get the important things out of the way. ]
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[ She frowns, shaking her head. She'd explain what had happened on the Supremacy, but it doesn't seem so important, now. ]
It wasn't very long between when he... died, and when I returned. It felt like a piece of me was missing, but I also felt like... it was something I could maybe find again.
[ That pull, that faint echo, had given her the hope to drag herself off Exegol. ]
Here, since he's here, it feels like it did when we were together. We're strongest when we're together.
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You know I'm here for you if you need me.
[ Well, he is here. Back home may be a different story. Which reminds him- ] Rey... What about Poe and Rose? The General? All of them?
[ Apparently, as much as a shock it all is, the Palpatine thing and Dyad stuff doesn't bother him. ]
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We had losses. Leia... She sacrificed herself to get through to Ben. The way Luke did. You and Poe are the new generals.
[ Rey smiles a little as she says that, a little proud of them both, even though she'd been missing for most of that which had transpired. Leia had been trying to teach Rey to lead, but she'd never been a great leader. ]
Rose and Chewie are both okay, too. I... don't know who all the casualties are. Poe lost a few more of his Black Squadron, I think.
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Then his brow furrows in confusion. Poe as a general? General Dameron? Yes, that makes sense. Finn?
But knowing that he, Rose, and Chewbacca are all also okay allows something in his chest to lift. It hasn't sunk in yet, that the war eventually ends and his friends live through it, but that probably won't ever really settle with him. ]
That's-... That's good. I- That's a lot, but I'm glad you're all okay. It's bad that Poe lost friends, but-
... That's a lot. How did I ever make General? Do you have a rank?
[ Seems like such a small, pointless thing to ask about in the wake of all this. It was just something easier for him to understand, really. ]
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I don't know, I wasn't there when Leia... I wasn't there. And I'm not Resistance leadership. I was never going to be.
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His hands move over his hair and down to the back of his neck where he pauses and sighs. ]
I'm sorry I haven't seen any of this. I'm sorry I can't... understand it as well. But I'm here.
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It's okay. It's enough that you're here. That I can tell you everything, now.
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He reaches his hand over to hold hers with a tiny smile.
But then it withers a little. ]
Ben... What's going to happen between you two here?
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We're... going to move in together. Find a house. Try to live our lives. I've got the Jedi Texts, I have plenty of time to research a way to bring him back if we end up returning home.
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Is something like that even possible?
[ Finn doesn't have a great opinion of the idea, not concerning Ben, but he's not going to mention that. ]
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