I am not a fan of TLJ solely because of the gaping plot holes. Here's one of my ideas of how it should have ended- enjoy!

Reviews would be appreciated! I'll update soon!

Chapter 1: Awakening

A distant roar and a bright light-

An explosion of blue-

Rey brought a hand to her head, groaning as she tried to blink away her blurry vision. Her ringing ears were not helping, but she rolled over so she could look at something other than the burning ceiling.

The ship was dying- she could feel it in how the entire room shuddered, how groans echoed through the vaulted ceiling, adding to the crackle of the small fires that littered the throne room. Out the windows she could see debris and soldiers floating past, getting sucked into the nothingness of space.

The Resistance's ship was nowhere to be seen.

She could not think about that yet.

Snoke's ship was doomed- she could feel the Force pulling her out the door, urging her to leave, to rejoin the Resistance-

There is still conflict in him.

Struggling to push herself up to her hands and knees, Rey surveyed the room, unable to move as quickly as she wanted because of nausea rising in her stomach. He had to be close by- there was half of the lightsaber they both wanted so badly, that he had claimed as his own all along- if she found him she would find the other half-

Ben was sprawled to the left of the throne, and Rey stumbled to her feet and dragged herself to his side.

Still breathing. Unconscious, but alive.

There is still conflict in him.

She heard the voice as clearly as she could see him laying in front of her.

I know what I need to do.

You are nothing- but not to me.

If she left him, he would surely fall further to the Dark Side.

She grabbed his lightsaber from him, just in case she met trouble along the way. It was inevitable, really, and the more she thought of the troops that were surely outside the door the more she could feel blood pounding through her veins. The cut on her upper arm was still dripping; she decided tending to it could wait for another day.

When was he Ben, and when was he Kylo?

She tucked both halves of the blue lightsaber into her tunic; he would have to teach her how to fix it.

She would have to learn how to strengthen Ben and suffocate Kylo.

Surely Snoke's death would help? Surely, if he was away from the First Order, and around people who could be his family- she would make them his family- he would see that he belonged with the Resistance? Surely, if he and Luke could make amends- she would mediate between them, although she did lean with Ben on their fight- they could rebuild the Jedi together? They could create a new order, her and Ben working side by side, so Luke could see healing and hope before his eyes…

Ben groaned, and Rey immediately crouched next to him; at least his scar had not opened up again in the blast. She grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Ben?" She whispered. "Ben, I saw you turn. Come with me… please."

The push to leave swelled in her mind, and Rey leaned over so she could press her forehead against his, as if doing so could move the hope and the visions of a happy future from her skull to his. "Ben, we can end this together. We can call off the First Order. We can stop the Resistance. We can end the war. We can be the ones to rebuild this world. Ben, I can see it- I can see you and I working side by side, healing the hurt of the past. Let it go, Ben- you always tell me to let it go. Help me. Help me let go. Help me create a new future, please."

His shallow breathing mingled with hers, the warmth spreading across their faces. She pulled his hand to her face and pressed it against her cheek.

"Ben, I don't want to be alone. You don't have to be alone. Come with me. Let go of this- of Snoke, of the First Order, of this place- and come with me."

He stirred, but she had no idea if he heard anything she said, so she clung to his hand tighter.

"Ben. Come with me."

A clatter from the direction of the door- elevator?- distracted her, and in a moment Rey realized they were about to have company.

"Don't move. I'm not leaving you." She whispered to Ben, before clambering over him and laying down behind one of the dead Praetorian Guardsmen.

A moment later, General Hux's pasty white face appeared in the elevator door as he pried it open and stepped into the throne room, any color draining from his complexion as his hands started shaking. His first few steps were slow, like he thought he was in a dream and had to move slowly, but the further he came into the room the faster he moved, his steps growing louder as he stomped towards the destruction.

Hux surveyed the damage, and Rey realized his arrival could only help her situation.

He wandered through the carnage, but Rey could not watch him; she kept her face close to the ground, almost tucked into the Red Guard's side, to try to hide how her breath was fogging up the floor. She could feel the red lightsaber digging into her side as she laid on top of it; while she doubted Hux would notice she had it at all, part of her wished she would have hidden it more.

She could feel Hux's every step reverberating through the floor, and as he wandered closer to her, she called on the Force to calm her pounding heart.

Play dead play dead play dead….

Hux wandered through the carnage closer to the throne, and Rey realized she had been a fool to hide so close to it. She had no clear wounds, but surely he would think she had died from something else? From a Force choke, perhaps, or simply getting dropped and dragged along by Snoke.

"Supreme Leader..." Rey barely caught the words as Hux whispered them in shock. "What happened?"

She heard a squeak as he turned, his shoes protesting against the slick floor. She could just imagine his mind whirring, trying to piece together what had happened, trying to understand how this catastrophe had come about. She knew he would first put the blame on her- did he even realize Ben was there yet?

What could he be thinking? That she had killed Snoke, and that the Red Guard had killed her? Or that Kylo killed her and then left? But that didn't explain the Red Guard.

She felt his eyes land on her, slick and heavy like a vat of boiling grease. She suppressed the urge to shudder.

A dark chuckle echoed through the room as Hux came closer to her. Stepping over the Red Guard that she had hidden next to, Hux loomed over her, using his foot to nudge her.

"At least some good has come of this mess." He murmured, nudging her again. "Pathetic girl, thinking she could survive an attack against the First Order. It is a shame that she was pretty. Supreme Leader, if you don't mind, I think I must shoot her a few times for good measure. Avenge your death, and all that business."

Wait. She felt the guidance resonate through her bones. There is no need to panic. He is unarmed.

She thought to when he had entered the room; it was true, now that she considered it. He had not carried a weapon in with him, which meant that he would have to find something to hurt her with first. Hux stepped back toward the throne, and Rey had to bite her tongue as he stepped on her fingers as he moved over her.

"Oh, and Kylo is here too, dead as he always should have been. He was not loyal like I am, Supreme Leader. I will not let you down… Supreme Leader Armitage Hux of the First Order. It does have a ring to it."

Ben had to be unconscious. He would never tolerate this talk.

Rey heard the whir of one of the Praetorian Guard's Bilari electro-chain whips and took a steadying breath. A clatter surprised her; he must have dropped the whip and decided on using something else. A moment later, he took a heavy step, then another, and another- Rey felt her stomach twist as Hux's steps came closer to her-

Ten feet-

Seven feet-

Was that the click of a gun?-

Four feet-

NOW-

In the same moment that she heard a shot from a blaster, Rey rolled over and away from the Praetorian Guard, reaching for the red lightsaber and igniting it as she outstretched the weapon to block the shot-

Hux's eyes were wide, but he was not looking at her. His attention was fixed on the red blast that was halfway between him as her, trembling in mid-air.