Rey pulled herself to her feet, and took a quick glance over her shoulder. She had felt the presence of something that should not be there, and it worried her.
It had been months since she had fled from the First orders ship after she had faced Kylo Ren, and she had been hiding from him ever since. He frightened her.
Now Master Luke had sent her out on a mission to learn on other planets, and she had ended up on the planet Hai-Jhan. The climate here was cold and hostile, and she was grateful that she had brought along warm clothes.
Her feet hurt after walking the whole day, and she was headed back to her ship, when she heard something, and felt it equally strong in the same moment. The presence of her enemy.
She quickly looked around for a place to hide, but reminded herself that it was useless. He could find her, even if she hid here in the cold terrain, filled with ice blocks and snow. It was beautiful in its own, scary way. Kind of like Kylo Ren, with his black hair, and dark- stop.
She hated him after what had happened, but a part of her still denied the thought that he was completely lost. He couldn't be. The heart of Ben Solo was in there, and begged to be set free, she was sure of it.
In one motion she drew and ignited her lightsaber, and it was just in time, to see Kylo Ren drop down in front of her. He looked exactly like he had done when she had seen him last, thought his eyes were changed. It was as if the war that she had been lucky enough to detect in his heart, now had risen to the surface, and threatened to explode. He stood there, completely still, with his cloak dancing in the wind around his body, and his mask, that had been repaired, were covering all of his face, except the eyes. The dark, dark brown eyes were visible, and terrifying.
She inhaled sharply in fear, and she saw the glimpse of a mocking grin in his eyes. There was no doubt - he had come here to kill her.
"Kylo Ren" she said with hate and fear dripping from her voice.
The metallic voice of the mask sounded loud and lonely over the open landscape "Rey. At last, I found you."
Suddenly, she felt something. Something so strong, she had trouble staying on her feet, and she knew with all her heart that he felt it too. It was not something created by either of them: it was an ancient force that had woken up from a deep sleep because of their meeting here. The Light and the Dark side of the balance. The balance. They were each other's opposites, and they were in conflict, which meant that the balance was too, and that had woken a force of destruction, that neither of them had felt before now.
Rey felt the urge to scream, from the sudden pain in her head. It absorbed all senses of reason she had, and Kylo Ren watched as she fell down on her knees, screaming in pain, while pressing her palms to her head.
For a reason he never thought he should give into again, or even sense the presence of, the rushed to her. Just before taking off the mask to see better, he changed his mind; it would make him vulnerable.
"Rey, what is wrong?!" he growled, and shook her shoulder violently. Suddenly he felt the sting of something that was wrong, and saw a picture of him and Rey; the last fragment of a balance that had to be restored; even he knew that. Then picture of them was replaced by another one, that had made him feel cold all out of a sudden: the balance, destroyed. Rey, dead on the ground, and him in chains, being tortured by memories and by a dark matter that must have something to do with the Force. Then there was the voice; Kylo Ren - you shall bow and die, and so shall your companion. If not, you will both suffer a much more painful death. You will have 2 hours to decide. It was consuming them and it was filled with darkness; a darkness so great, he had never felt anything like it; and in that moment he knew with every cell of his body, that a force so evil could not win. Something so dark and all-consuming could simply not rule the galaxy, not while life still existed. The moment that creature won, all hope would be out for all lifeforms.
He suddenly knew, that he had to put aside his hate, and if needed let go of his darkness to save everything; and he could not do it alone.
Rey's head was slowly clearing up, and the pain was disappearing as quickly as it came. Left behind was only the sharp pictures Kylo Ren had just seen. She turned her head to look at Ren, and a tear slipped down her face, when she saw the boy that she had put all her hope, and love into, right in front of her. She looked straight into the eyes of Ben Solo.
"B-Ben?" she whispered in confusion, afraid to break whatever was happening. At first he sat completely still by her for a solid 30 seconds, but then he nodded.
She inhaled sharply, and without thinking, she unclasped the helmet, and pulled it gently off his head. Underneath, his hair was wild and looked awful, and his skin were paler than ever.
But there was no doubt; something had changed. She didn't see the look of rage and violence, but the look of a lost boy who had been affected by darkness. It was Ben Solo, but his soul still wore the marks of Kylo Ren.
Rey could not help herself, but cover her mouth with her hand, and cry. It was really him. She had no idea how, but it was clear that Ben had returned, and she had a feeling that he could finally, after all this time feel the peace of the light.
The world of Kylo Ren had been broken in a couple of crucial seconds, and gone was he. It was as if the icy wind had gotten a hold of a crack in the shell of the cold, cynical man, and torn him away, so that back was a new person; the mix between the boy Ben Solo, and the knight Kylo Ren. And it frightened him, but he also felt something that he hadn't felt in years; sincere joy and peace. It was like the storm of the darkness had been slammed to quiet, the moment he had opened himself up to the light. Now he felt nothing but the two worlds of light and darkness uniting in him, and making him… Grey?
He looked at Rey, and realized something; his helmet was gone. She had removed it, and now she was lying there, still on the ground from the pain, crying off… why was she crying? But then he realized - of joy. She was genuinely happy that he had let go of the dark side. Suddenly a memory overwhelmed him, and a tear left the corner of his eye; his mother and father hugging each other and kissing, before going to sleep. He was sitting on his father's back. He had locked eyes with his mother, who had winked at him, and smiled. The little boy Ben had laughed in response. His mother.
Suddenly everything in his body ached, and he groaned painfully. Every happy memory he had ever had seemed to flood his mind, and threatened with exploding his head. "Ben? Ben are you alright?" he felt her cool fingers brush over his forehead and cheeks, and he saw the worry in her eyes as she examined him for wounds.
Suddenly, he felt something; he was crying. The tears streamed down his face, and he could do nothing to stop them; for in every little tear was a piece of regret being washed out. And gradually the tears stopped coming, and he was left behind with a feeling of relief, and something he hadn't felt in a long, long time; love. Love for his mother, and for his dead father and for the childhood he had had. And strongly for something new; Rey. It was so wild after being oppressed for so long by the darkness in him, that he could not do anything but reach up and kiss her.
Their lips crashed together in a mix of feelings; despair, confusion, remorse, lust and love.
She gasped a little, then she kissed him back, and she tangled her fingers in his hair. His lips were warm and soft, safe. His large hand lied on her waist, supporting her, and after a long while, she broke away.
They were both out of breath when Ben realized something; he felt whole. With the memories of Kylo Ren and Ben Solo, he could finally be whole.
She realized that he wasn't just Ben Solo. He was also Kylo Ren, and he was all of his actions. But it didn't frighten or disappoint her. She knew immediately, that if they survived, they had to return to Leia. Her son had returned.
Violently, something burst their little bubble, and they both got up as fast as they could. Ben, strong and tall, and Rey, small and agile. Before them stood and figure of pure darkness.
They both recognized the creature as the one who would destroy the galaxy - all life. "Name yourself" growled Ren.
The creature laughed a small laughter, and opened its mouth; "my name is Alrak-jar. And after thousands of years of waiting, the balance have finally appeared in this galaxy. All that stands in my way of pure darkness, are the two of you. So, beg your pardon little people, but prepare to die!" its wild voice shook them, but they stood their ground.
Rey and Ren locked eyes for a second, and there were no doubt; they knew what they had to do.
As if they were one, they drew their light sabers, and with their fingers tangled together, they charged forward and as they crossed their sabers inside the Alrak-jar, it vaporized, leaving them with nothing but pile of disgusting, wet swamp-ish looking dirt. Gone.
They both breathed, and Rey withdrew her lightsaber. Hesitantly, she looked up at Ren. "We did it. we really did it." she smiled, and grabbed his hand. It was warm and big, and she leaned into him. he exhaled, and wrapped his arms around, also unable to believe it. Then he cupped her face, and turned it up towards him. "we really did it" he repeated, and kissed her again. This time it was different; softer. Her hands were on his shoulders, and he had his arms wrapped around her waist, as they eagerly pressed their lips together.
After a little while, she suddenly noticed something; it was getting colder. "Ben, come on. We have to get out of here. Its looks like the weather is turning bad shortly, and we cant risk staying here. My ship is nearby, lets go there." She hesitated before finishing her sentence "lets go see you mother. She will be so happy to see you!" Rey's eyes glowed with excitement. An excitement she hadn't felt in a very long time.
He just stood there for a few moments, studying her with his dark eyes, then he spoke. " I promise you I will see my mother, but I cant promise you that she will be happy". Rey looked at him with a little less excitement, then she nodded. She knew that his mother would be overwhelmed with joy to see him back, and they began walking towards her ship. It was parked in a chasm, and she turned towards him before making the small hike to the ship. "wait here, I'll just go fix up the ship, and check that everything is alright." He nodded, and kissed her once more, before letting her go. She smiled a genuine smile at him, and started walking.
As she entered the ship, something caught the eye of Ben Solo. A splotch of darkness was sitting on her, ship and an icy cold feeling ran down his spine. He realized to late what was happening, and started running towards her.
" REY LOOK OUT!" She was in the beginning of the small hallway, and as he screamed her name, she turned around to look at him with confusion her eyes. Then the ship exploded, and she was hurled out of the ship, and up on the ground.
Sincere, cold fear pierced him, as he fell down on his knees beside her.
"Rey! Rey look at me!" he begged. At first there was no reaction, but then she coughed once, and turned her bruised face towards him. "Ben? What happened?" her voice was raspy from the pain, and her eyes full of misery. Before he spoke to her, he lifted his hand, and held it a couple of inches over her body, examining it with the Force, and healing her injuries. With the other hand he caressed her hair, and gave her a small smile. "its okay, just lay still." His eyes were tearing up, but he managed not to cry. Suddenly, the Force alerted him that there was an injury it couldn't fix, and he closed his eyes for a second, focusing on what it was. Then he realized something - Rey wasn't speaking anymore. His gaze shifted to her face, and he saw that her eyes and he saw that they were closed. "no, Rey, don't close your eyes. You are going to be fine. Please…" he bowed his head in a quick motion of frustration. Then she opened her eyes once more, this time it seemed more difficult for her than before. She lifted her wounded hand, and put it on top of the one he was using to heal her. "stop. Ben, its no use and you know it. please, just stop." She found his gaze and held it. her breathing was unsteady, and when she spoke again, it was for the last time. "let me go, please. But Ben.." she inhaled and exhaled deeply, having trouble to breathe "promise that you will find your mother. Don't go back to the dark side. Promise me." He squeezed his eyes shut for a couple of seconds to keep the tears from streaming. "I promise. But Rey, let me save you."
She sighed with relief, and smiled a little. Then she reached up, and kissed him.
Her lips were warm, chapped, and tasted like blood, but he could not care less. He just gently wrapped his arms around her torso, and let the tears fall.
When she suddenly stopped kissing him back, he let her lips go, and looked at her closed eyes, with panic spreading through his blood like acid.
"no, no, no Rey. Please, wake up. wake up Rey. There's so much I need to tell you, to show you. Please. I love you." The last words were broken from his tearful voice, and he grabbed her small, cooling hand. He wrapped it in his own, and bended in over her to kiss her goodbye one last time. Then he closed the eyes of the last Jedi, and scooped her up in his arms like he had done it so many times before. Then he walked back to his ship with the body of his dead love. The darkness had taken everything.
Feeling sick just from the thought, but needing to do it, he tracked where the Resistance had their base, and lied her down on the bed in his ship that was in the cockpit. He covered her with a blanket, and flew off to their base.
The flight took a couple of hours, and every single minute of the trip hurt like a thousand knives stabbing him continuously repeatedly. It hurt worse than anything he had ever experienced. Worse than when he had killed his father, worse than anything the Supreme Leader or Luke had ever done to him. Nothing was more painful than losing Rey.
When he arrived, he send a code to the base, telling them that he wasn't a hostile ship, and that he had something important for them. He also sent an urgent request for the General in a private room.
He landed on the ground, and got up. Every part of his body hurt, and his eyes threatened to betray him every minute. He picked up Rey, and placed her lightsaber in her hands. Then he inhaled deeply and opened the doors. Before he could step outside, a male voice yelled "identify yourself!" he breathed in, and he yelled the loudest he could "this is Ben Solo. I carry one of your own." At the last words his voice cracked again. He could die now - they could him just because he identified himself.
After a couple of moments he heard the same voice yelled again "who do you carry?"
Ben exhaled painfully before yelling "Rey from Jakku. The last Jedi." And without being able to
control it, tears started runny silently down his face, as he carelessly stepped out of the ship. He
no longer cared whether they shot him. At least he'd be with her then. But no one did. Instead of a
cavalry, stood his mother. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, and when she saw Rey,
she covered her mouth, and a silent tear left her eye.
"Ben? What happened?" she asked him. He stood completely still, as he told the story from
beginning to an end. From the hatred to the love. And he saw in his mothers eyes that she
believed him. At last, he mumbled "I promised her. I promised her I would go see you." He looked
up and met his mothers eyes. "She saw me mother. She saved me." Then, as the last of his energy
was gone, he fell to his knees once more, and cradled the dead body one last time. "I'll leave her
here. I do not think that her friends want to see me associated with her, so I will just leave her
here, and ill be gone. But know, Mother, that its me. Its really Ben." Then, without caring, he
kissed Rey the last time forever, and rose up into his full height. Slowly, he turned his back on her,
and started walking every painful step, before he heard it. "Stop. Ben, don't go." 'His mothers
voice put an end to his escape.
"Stay".