The 'look before you leap' business turned out to be a little more stalkerish than Rey would have preferred. The first thing she did was sift through scene after scene in Kylo Ren's past for the perfect test scenario. She needed him unconscious. That thought made her feel even more skeevy. She needed him unconscious, and preferably drunk, so there was no risk he'd wake.

How many times had he done this to her? Just peeked in whenever he felt like seeing her without her notice? That made her feel a little better. All's fair.

She knew he drank. He'd given her wine himself. But he apparently never did it in excess. She settled on a scene where a very tired, bruised, and bloodied Kylo Ren dropped onto his bed, clothes still on. He seemed exhausted enough not to wake as soon as she stepped into the room. She tested it, just for a few seconds, and he remained where he was, deep in sleep.

Little Yoda and the Mandalorian had been busy. When Rey joined them outside, the boy waved to her and held up a strip of cloth.

"I'm done with the harness," said the Mandalorian. "It looks good. Are you ready to try?"

"Yes," said Rey. "As long as you are both still sure."

"I'm sure!" said Little Yoda, hopping back and forth in excitement. "This is gonna be awesome!"

The Mandalorian reached down and lifted his son, placing him on Rey's back. Then he began the process of wrapping the boy to her. He still had use of his arms, and could move his head. If he stretched, he would be able to see over her shoulder.

"Do you remember our rules?" said Rey.

"Rule number 1:," said Little Yoda, "No use of the Force. Rule number 2: Stay veeeeery quiet. Rule number 3: Keep us both invisible, no matter what."

"That means no Choking," said the Mandalorian, and Rey felt Little Yoda's chest bump into her back as he laughed.

"Yes, Papa."

"He seems to think that if they don't know where a trick is coming from, it will be OK," said the Mandalorian.

"When you play games with the other children," said Rey, "that's just fine. But not now. We will be in terrible danger. We cannot do anything that will draw attention. We have to be sneaky."

"OK," said Little Yoda. "I'm sneaky."

Rey nodded to the Mandalorian, and he saluted them.

"We're Cloaked," said Little Yoda.

Rey had never practiced taking someone with her through the Bond. It either worked or it didn't. They were about to find out. She stepped out into Kylo Ren's room. He was still passed out on his bed, his breath coming in deep, even intervals. Little Yoda was still fastened securely to her back.

"Let's read the stuff on his desk," whispered Little Yoda.

"Rule number 2!" whispered Rey.

He laughed again, but it was a silent laugh made of body shakes alone.

She thought about leaving, but she had to know for sure. She walked over to the desk, and pushed a book off onto the floor. It hit with a loud crack, and Kylo Ren was on his feet, weapon drawn in the span of a heartbeat. He was inhumanly fast.

He looked around the room, focusing on the book. Not on them. Rey held her breath. Kylo walked over, picked up the book, and put it back on the desk. He retracted the lightsaber, clipped it back to his side, and lay down again to sleep.

Rey took them back to Ahch-To. A tight spool of anxiety slowly unwound itself in her chest. It had worked. Little Yoda was safe, and they were back.

"Success?" said the Mandalorian when Little Yoda released the Cloaking.

Rey nodded.

"Papa, we were on a space ship in the bad man's room whilst he slept. He didn't even know we were there!"

"Are you ready to go to Exegol?" asked the Mandalorian.

"No." She was afraid. And she wasn't too proud to admit it. Exegol was a nightmare.

"Phase 2 must be completed before Phase 3," said the Mandalorian, likely the most unhelpful thing he had ever said to her.

"I know. I do. I just need a minute."

Rey had found Ben on Exegol. Just once. She hadn't looked at anything around him, but now she did. The bodies. Sith bodies, everywhere. And so much blood.

"It's going to be scary," she said to Little Yoda for the fiftieth time that day.

"I'm brave."

"I'm brave, too. But I'm still scared. OK, let's go. This time, we're just observing. Let's see what happens."

"Phase 2, ready," said Little Yoda.

Rey had to keep a tight hold on her panic as they stepped into the Sith arena. It was darker than she remembered. And her grandfather - what a horror. She wanted to shield Little Yoda from all of this, but at the same time, Palpatine made an excellent case in point for not using the dark side.

They were a good distance from the throne. Ben had just entered at the end of her fight with the Sith. She watched it unfold, worse than she had remembered. So much time lapsed between Palpatine using the Force to Push Ben into the crevice. She watched her battle with Palpatine, watched herself struggle against him, and kill him, and watched as she died. Watched Ben crawl out up and out. Watched him hold her, and then place his hands on her to heal her. The kiss. And his death.

She stood rooted in place, tears slipping down her cheeks. This was awful. The fewer time she had to see it, the better. When she finally had control of her breathing, she returned them to Ahch-To.

The Mandalorian waited patiently, as if she hadn't just taken his child into mortal danger.

"Plan change," said Rey.

"It was bound to happen," said the Mandalorian.

He unstrapped Little Yoda and they all returned to her drawings on the table in the Razor Crest. Mando placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Can it be done?" he asked.

"Maybe," she said. "But I cannot get close enough to take the life essence away from Palpatine. I cannot tolerate the risk."

"Is that not a critical part of the plan?" asked the Mandalorian.

"I don't think so," said Rey, thinking hard. I don't think it is. At least I hope it isn't.