"Where did you get that?"

His piercing blue eyes were weathered and worn, but his voice was hard. It had a raspy quality to it, as if he hadn't spoken aloud in years.

Rey hadn't known exactly what to expect, but this man—this legend—didn't sound happy to see her at all. She lowered the lightsaber slowly. "It—it was on Takodana. Maz Kanata had it in her castle."

"You shouldn't have come," the Jedi said, somewhat more softly. "I have nothing to offer you."

Without waiting for a response—without making any move towards the saber—he walked away. Rey blinked at the empty ruins a moment before her feet were moving—running—to catch up. "Wait! I came all this way to find you."

The man ducked into a low cavern opening on the side of the island. "A journey made in vain, I'm afraid."

The room was small and sparse. Spartan in its furnishings, there were few items that didn't look like they belonged. There were no chairs, only outcroppings of stone. A meditation mat lay in the corner by some knickknacks. Rey spotted an old holoprojector and what appeared to be a lightsaber, albeit of different design than the one she still clutched in her hand.

"You're Luke Skywalker," she said at last. It came out part question and part accusation.

He sat on a stone seat by the area that appeared to be where he was living. "Luke Skywalker is dead."

Rey frowned. "But the map—it was a map to Luke Skywalker and you're the only one here."

"He died a long time ago. I'm sorry, but the man you're looking for isn't here." He pointed at the cave opening. "Please go away."

Growling, Rey took a step forward. "I didn't go through all this to give up now. The lightsaber—it called to me."

"That doesn't mean you have to listen to it," he said coldly.

"I can feel you. I can sense you're not just an ordinary man, despite what you want me to believe. You are a Jedi."

"And if I was, what would it matter? The Jedi are gone. They aren't coming back," Skywalker—for Rey knew it had to be him—looked away in disgust. "They never should have tried."

"I'm here to learn what it is I have inside me. I need to know." He had to understand. If he didn't, then who would?

"The Force," Skywalker looked back to her and the hardness to his eyes had returned, "is cruel and capricious. Go home and never look back."

"I have no home to go back to," she snapped, louder than the meant. "I don't know what else I can do. I tried to run from it, but it won't stop. I can feel it pushing me towards something."

"Yes, it pushes you and then it takes and takes without remorse." He looked over at the holoprojector.

"How can you say that? You're a war hero!"

"Wars do not make one great," he said automatically. "They're filled with death and destruction—and for what? Nothing changes."

Rey shook her head. "What happened to you?"

Skywalker reached out to take the holoprojector. "I became a Jedi," he said simply, as if that explained it.

"The galaxy needs you—"

"The galaxy got along fine without me."

"The Resistance needs you—"

"It never needed me before."

"General Organa needs—"

"She doesn't need me. She shouldn't want to see me ever again. I failed her as much as I've failed everyone." Skywalker ran the pad of his finger over the smooth casing of the holoprojector. "That's my legacy: failure. Why would you ever want to learn from someone like that?"

"I don't know. I sure know I wouldn't pick you on my own," Rey said exasperatedly. "The Force sent me here."

"And if you keep listening to the Force, you will lose everything you have—"

"I don't have anyone to lose." That was a lie, she thought suddenly. Finn was her friend. She had him.

"We both know that's not true. Do you have any idea how painful the experience is? To be able to sense when someone dies?" His knuckles were while as he gripped the projector. "To be able to feel when she—they die?"

"Yes." Skywalker faltered slightly, a brief look of confusion passed his face. Rey started speaking before she really thought about what she was saying. "Han Solo—he helped me. He was someone I cared about and I know exactly what it feels like to be there when a friend is killed."

The look on Skywalker's face brought her up short. He hadn't known. She should have realized—he was out in the middle of nowhere and clearly didn't have any interstellar communication devices in here. He stood abruptly, dropping the holoprojector on the soft meditation mat. Rey caught the glint of tears in his eyes as he stumbled out the entrance.

"Wait—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you like that," she called after him.

He hadn't gone far. The pathway outside the cave curved around the side of the island. It looped around to overlook the spot Rey had landed the Millennium Falcon. Skywalker was leaning heavily on a natural railing as he looked over the freighter. His body was tensed a brittle. He looked like he was about to collapse.

"Is this my punishment?" He shouted to the open air. "Why do you keep taking them and never me? Haven't you taken enough from me?"

The right hand gripped the edge of the rock until Rey could hear a series of cracks before it crumbled.

"Is this what you want?" Skywalker said brokenly without turning. It took Rey a moment to realize he was asking her. "The Force took my father from me, my mother before that. It took my Aunt and Uncle. It took both of my masters. It took my family and friends. It took my—that's all it ever does—it takes and leaves nothing but pain and regret."

Rey wasn't sure what else she could say. She bowed her head, "I'm sorry."

There wasn't anything she could say to him now. That was clear enough. She didn't know exactly what he was talking about, but she could figure out some from the legends she'd heard of Luke Skywalker. Rey headed back to the cave. She might be giving him some time, but she sure wasn't retreating. Going back to the Falcon now would be admitting defeat, and she wasn't about to do that. She had to be here, that much was certain. What she wasn't so sure about anymore was if Skywalker was supposed to help her or if she was supposed to help him.

Pulling out her comlink, she opened a narrow band to the Falcon's cockpit. "I'm alright," she said in answer to the Skyriiwook growl. She had no idea what he was saying, but she could make a pretty good guess. "Better hunker down, this might take a while."

Another growl, although this time it was more inquisitive. "He's here, but he needs a little time alone. Rey out."

Crouching down to the fallen holoprojector, Rey picked it up. The casing had been worn smooth and glassy, but it had clearly once been a brushed Bronzium finish. She'd seen enough cheap models to know a quality unit when she saw one. This was older—perhaps decades—but had been meticulously maintained and kept clean.

In a moment of insatiable curiosity, Rey depressed the activation nodule and a single image flickered over the unit. It was a woman. She was quite beautiful and had a mane of fiery red hair. There wasn't anything else, just this smiling woman looking like it was the happiest day of her life. Who could she be? She clearly meant a lot to Skywalker. This was one of precious few things he kept. Shaking her head—she probably would never find out—she set it beside the lightsaber.

Dropping the bag she'd brought with her in the far corner of the cave, Rey started unpacking. She was going to be here for a while. Might as well get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Author's Note: Well, I saw the Force Awakens and while having some issues with retreading the plot for A New Hope, I did like it. They also appear to be using some of the Jacen Solo storyline for Kylo Ren. Things certainly didn't turn out as well for Han, Luke, and Leia as it had in the EU. No happy endings here, I guess. With the new canon, I imagined a pretty bitter Luke. And yes, I think we all know who the redhead is supposed to be. We might lose a lot of the EU characters, but they had better not drop Mara Jade.