A Scavenged Heart
A/N: Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read my Reylo-ish fanfic 3 I apologize if it's a bit confusing. As you will soon see, I completely ignored any real plot possibilities for the upcoming episodes VIII and IX. And the setting might seem a little vague but hey, it's a one-shot. I just wrote this for fun because this image of Ben and Rey was stuck in my head. I hope you enjoy it!
Ben's vermilion lightsaber was at the ready. He and Rey had fought again for the second time. With Ben's extensive training with Snoke and Rey's with Luke, there was no doubt that they were finally equals. But Rey had ended the fight abruptly. After she had injured Ben by stabbing his left side, she jumped about fifteen feet away from him and suddenly put her lightsaber away in its holster. Ben recovered himself and charged at her but stopped when he noticed her weapon was gone. She stood with open arms, completely defenseless. "Now is your chance," a strange, twisted voice in his head told him. "STRIKE HER DOWN!" Ben screamed and charged again but Rey only moved closer to him, slowly. The tall, looming trees of Endor mostly shaded them from the stars but Rey's face seemed to glow.
"Run away..." Ben's thoughts were suddenly soft as he charged for her, like a hungry beast. "Please, run away from me..."
Rey continued to move closer to her attacker. She was not afraid of him. Not anymore. When Ben reached Rey, he held his lightsaber above his head, ready to finish her life... "That lightsaber belongs to YOU!" the voice in his head overpowered him.
But still something stopped him.
Ben could feel her power; it was incredible and addicting. He began to feel a weight on his chest as Rey lifted her hand towards his face. There was a lump in his throat and he could feel all of the color and warmth in his body flush. He was nothing compared to her but still...
He wanted her.
Ben lowered his lightsaber but it continued to hum its desperate song for blood.
"I know," said Rey, she placed her hand on Ben's face. It was cold and wet, like a corpse that had just resurfaced from it's watery grave. He was such a pitiful creature; so sad and angry. He had killed so many while consumed by the dark side but she had sensed the light in him still. However, the conflict within him remained strong even now with her being near him. She had felt conflicted too when they first confronted each other in the snowy forest. She wanted to kill him for hurting her dearest friend, Finn.
The Force... Ben had mentioned the Force. It was her ally and a powerful ally at that. It gave her the strength to defeat him then; it would give her the strength to defeat him now. "I know you are suffering, Ben. Let go of your hate."
Ben looked at Rey as if he had never seen anything like her before. He placed his hand on hers, pressing it closer to his face. He had been hoping to feel something, anything besides hatred for so long but he couldn't...not until now. Her hand was rough and calloused from her years of scavenging and just recently, her Jedi training with her new master. To Ben, it was the softest hand he had ever felt. He shut off his lightsaber and collapsed to the ground, falling on his knees at her feet. He began to cry hard, sacred sobs that had been tightly locked away. He was completely numb.
I am nothing. I am nothing.
"I know, you feel like you are in the dark," Rey said and Ben, still on his knees, hugged her as she spoke. "You can't see your hands in front of you. You feel like you don't exist." She placed her hand on his head. He could kill me, she thought, he could kill me right now if he really wanted to. I must be brave, like Han Solo, I must be brave. Master Skywalker, help me stay in the light.
Ben continued to sob and images of his mother, father and his uncle visited his mind. He had left them all for the power that the dark side had promised. Power; something he never thought he would have in his broken home. A power that was promised to him by a monster that could create life! It was promised to him that he would learn this power. Lord Snoke promised he would bring his father back to life if he would only prove his loyalty... but his master had lied and in the end, Ben was the fool.
Ben held Rey closer, his head gently resting on her stomach. She was warm and filled with love. He wanted to...
KILL HER.
The strange voice entered his head and wiped away all beautiful images of his family and Rey. Her body pushed against his own began to feel cold and lifeless now. He might as well be holding a fragile, glass doll. He felt his own body became ridged as he tightened his grip on Rey. It would be impossible for her not to notice his strange behavior so he tried to relax his body but it was futile.
"No..." Ben said aloud, tears still streaming down his face. The pull to the darkness was strengthening. He was a failure. He couldn't decide between the light or the dark and now one of them was pulling so hard that he could almost feel his heart failing, his lungs collapsing; his whole body splitting in two but he wouldn't kill her...he couldn't kill...her.
Rey sensed Ben's intense misery and bent down to hold his head, like a mother holding a child having a deeply disturbing tantrum. She wanted him to know, even with the darkness pulling him under its spell, that she was there and she was real.
"Ben," she whispered, her voice cracking. "It's me." Tears began to form in her eyes. She knew who she was...dare she tell him? Luke had revealed her true Self to her, she had found it in her training. She discovered the reason why she was hidden away from civilization. The reason why everyone seemed to know her but looked at her with a hint of fear in his or her eyes. She might not have to tell him, she thought; just hold him close, Rey. Hold him close.
"I..." Ben managed to say, tightening his grasp on Rey. His chest was tense and the pain was beyond comprehension. "I want to...go back...home..."
"I can..." Rey started to speak but she gasped as he held her tighter. "Ben," she gasped again. "Please, let me help you. I can help you...I know what it's like to..." another gasp; her breathing became shallow but still she remained unafraid. I know who I am, she said. I am the chosen one. I always have been.
"I forgive you," Rey was able to say and Ben's grip suddenly softened.
"You are done here," Rey said, she was still holding him tight. "You are done."
The voice in his head was gone and Ben's body felt numb again. His arms fell to his side and Rey crouched down to his level, now holding his head in both of her hands. She sensed his heartbeat slow down to an unhealthy level. Ben looked into Rey's eyes, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion.
"I...wish I could have known you," he said.
Rey smiled and the tears lingering in her eyes escaped down her cheeks. She knew that Ben was dying. The darkness had swallowed too much of him already. It had captured him like a rabid animal in a hunter's trap and it had left him there to die.
Rey lay Ben's body on the ground and lifted his head onto her lap as she sat on the very green, damp grass of Endor. As she ran her hands over Ben's dark hair, she began to hum a haunting melody that she had made up while on Jakku; whilst sliding down the sand dunes. Ben's tired eyes closed and his chest sunk and Rey, looking up, noticed a clearing in the tree branches. She could just barely make out the white, shimmering sparkle of stars in the deep, black sky.
Without darkness, Rey thought, there will never be any light. And with that, she sensed Ben's soul become one with the Force.
A/N: T^T BEEENNN! Okay so I also decided to add my absolute favorite fan theory about Rey: She's a reincarnation of Anakin Skywalker! What What!? I love this ship but I also love this theory so I sort of used the best of both worlds I guess. LOVE & PEACE