Author's Note: I apologize for the hiatus I took between updates! Responsibilities got in the way. The good news is that I'm several chapters ahead and nearing the end of this story! :D This is new for me, because I tend to write the story in its entirety before I even post the first chapter. I tend to like all the kinks worked out and the story solid. But I think this time, I'll continue posting and have you guys help me guide where this story should go!

Please remember: this is an AU that marries the stories of TFA with the movie Hancock. While you'll recognize concepts, it is operating in its own universe.

To answer some questions some of you have had and bring everyone up to speed, here's what we know so far:

Ben Solo is believed to be the last and only force user; the rest have been eradicated by the First Order.

The Battle of Chandrila was the first huge showdown between the First Order and the force users. This was the turning point of the people going from following force users to being indoctrinated into following the First Order out of fear, due to the First Order's supposed victory.

Rey has been told that her parents died in the Battle of Chandrila. She has no memories of her own and only has what Luke and Leia have told her.

Leia and Luke are Rey's "guardians." They claim to have found her in the battle of Chandrila and took her in to the Resistance. They have been training Rey as a mere member of the Resistance. Leia wants Rey to step up, while Luke seems to be hesitant to that idea.

Luke and some other familiar faces are on their way!

It is unknown if Snoke is real or not.

Very important: things are meant to change, and the truth about everything will come out eventually. ;) So, on we go with the next chapter! Special thanks at the end.

Hero

Chapter Four

That night, Rey tossed and turned beneath an inundation of visions. In the darkness, she was sure it was the same dream she always had, but oh, how real it seemed.

The only memory Rey had of the Battle of Chandrila was the aftermath, and that is what she thought she saw, now. Miles and miles of rubble spanned onward and outward as far as she could see. Demolished buildings, a sunken port, and broken, smoking fighter ships littered the land to the point where it was impossible to tell what once had stood there. If Rey were in her right mind, she'd remember it was once the Senate Plaza – now rebuilt in the First Order's image. But there, in the dream, all Rey could focus on was the desperation and terror she felt, walking amongst the countless corpses. At first, they all were indiscernible from each other. Upon closer inspection, Rey could tell through sheer horror who was First Order and who was force user. While the soldiers did not bleed, their wounds cauterized by the force users' weapons made of light, it was the force users who lay, drowned in their own blood.

The smoke from the smoldering structures choked the air, and Rey could not see for miles ahead of her. She cried out just as she did in every other instance of the dream: for help, for her parents, for someone to find her. No one ever came, and Rey almost wondered if she'd survived or if this was what the afterlife looked like. Alone and forgotten.

But something was different this time. Something in the distance disturbed the wafting smog… no, many things. One was ahead of the other, his weapon held high above his head and his legs carrying him straight toward Rey. She couldn't scream; couldn't bring her voice to rise above the smoke choking her. Just before the strange man could land his blow, a chaotic, red beam speared him through his chest, rendering him lifeless save for the silent howl on his lips. When his body crumpled to the ground, Rey was left standing alone with a towering effigy: masked and clad in black armor, the unstable weapon of light in his hand. Six others who looked just like him, yet different, flanked his sides. One by one, the six disappeared until she and her savior were the only ones left standing, and Rey was not afraid. Somehow, she knew not to be, even as he reached for her, touching her face. It felt so familiar…

Rey bolted upright in her bunk with a gasp, but she was not the only one startled awake. On the opposite end of the room, her best friend, Finn, conked his head on the low-lying ceiling. As flustered as she was, Rey couldn't help but giggle – that's what he got for insisting on the top bunk.

Shushing her, Finn gestured to the bunk below where Poe, the best pilot in the Resistance, turned over in his sleep. Nodding in exasperation, Rey did the same but toward the door. Finn obediently followed her out with an imperceptible click of the door.

"Some of us need our beauty sleep," he scolded, his voice still hushed even though they were in the barracks hall. Rey rolled her eyes. "What's up? Another nightmare?"

"Same one," Rey said, chewing her lip. "Except it was… different."

"Oh? How so?"

"Someone found me this time." She was beaming. It was everything she'd hoped for in the last decade: for someone who truly knew and wanted Rey, to find her. As the years passed, she resorted to wishing for anything. Even their remains – proof that she'd belonged somewhere before losing her memories. Oh, how she wished the vision had been corporeal.

Finn's eyebrows shot up and there was unbridled excitement in his voice. "You think it's a memory?" Rey shrugged, unable to quell the smile on her lips. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but Finn had hit the nail on the head. He was good at getting his hopes up for her, because he had none of his own left. Finn was special, especially to Rey. A First Order defect, he'd come to the Resistance vowing to help them. He wanted to extinguish the First Order as much as they did, if only to avenge the family he was taken from. His family that was murdered, because again, the First Order didn't believe in witnesses.

Waving her hand, Rey changed the subject. "You were already sleeping when I got back, but there's something I have to ask you. I need your help, Finn."

Finn squeezed her shoulder. "Anything," he said, his smile brighter than the dim overhead lamp.

Finn was a definite undercover project. The First Order knew his face and his name, so the best place for the "traitor" was below ground on-base. His extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the Order was the perfect fit as a strategist for their communications team. If there was anyone who would do what Rey needed done, no questions asked, it was Finn. Or so she thought.

"We found one," she hissed, leaning close to his ear. "A force user."

"Are you kidding me!?" Finn jumped, and it was Rey's turn to shush him. Nodding, she gripped his shoulders in an attempt to calm him, but Finn continued frantically. "You had better be kidding. If there was an actual, real-life force user here, we'd all be sitting ducks."

Rey shook her head emphatically. "No, it's fine. I swear it. He's good, and he's going to help us. We just have to –"

"No, it's not fine, Rey," Finn insisted, and the apprehension in his eyes made Rey doubt herself for the first time in a long while. "You don't understand… they'd be able to find him here. Snoke –"

"Is only a rumor. There's no proof he's even real."

Finn shook his head. "He is real, Rey. I know he is, and it is an absolute fact. That's what we've been bracing ourselves for – we're not operating on a whim. Snoke is real, and he knows the force."

Rey's eyes dropped from his, darting back and forth as she tried to recall what she'd read. The list of abilities… they'd said that force users can sense one another. That it was difficult to suppress a force signature – what alerts other sensitives to your location. But also, there was suppression. The ability to stealth oneself, just like she'd done with the speeder. "H-He can hide it. He has to. He's the last chance we've got…"

His lips forming into a solid line, Finn drew Rey into a hug just as frightened and frustrated tears spilled down her cheeks. "I hope so, peanut. I really, truly hope so."

Rey didn't sleep for the rest of the night; in all honesty, she didn't even try. There was no use against all that was on her mind.

Rey and Finn had to move quickly. If what Finn said was true, Rey figured they might as well follow her plan through… at least before filling anyone else in. If anyone knew Snoke could find and track the force user to the base, the only sitting duck would be Ben against an entire Resistance. In a matter of hours, she and Finn finished their first broadcast design. Simple and to the point, it was more a telegram than an advertisement. It read: "Force Users not extinct. Proof lies with The Resistance." Gauging the rabble would guide the complexity of their next broadcast, but for now, Ben's identity would remain a secret.

"Run it," Rey instructed, but Finn didn't move.

"Shouldn't we wait for the General's approval?"

"She wanted me to step up. This is me stepping up. It's a good plan, Finn. Trust in the plan."

Finn wasn't the only one who needed convincing. But then again, if they were already in danger, then one, vague broadcast wouldn't change much.

Giving Ben Solo all the courtesy she could muster, Rey waited until daybreak to return to Leia's quarters. Having her own key, she invited herself inside, anxious to start up the datapad and research just what it took for a sensitive to learn force suppression. They had no time to waste.

He'd left the door to the bedroom open, and when Rey crossed the room to the lounge, she caught a glimpse of Ben. He slept on his side, his chest bare and his bottom half precariously covered by a thin sheet. In the dim of the morning – barely visible through the rare ceiling portholes only select rooms had – his pale skin seemed to glow. He was mesmerizing, somehow, impossibly, more beautiful in his docility than he was in consciousness.

Against her better judgment, Rey crept inside the bedroom. She reasoned with herself – it would be better to ask him outright about the abilities he possessed, rather than waste time researching. That time could be put toward other important things if by some shred of grace, Ben already knew what he was doing. Settling one knee on the edge of the bed, Rey reached to gently shake his shoulder…

When her fingers were just a hair away, Ben startled awake, his arm jutting out ahead of him. Rey froze, but it was not of her own doing. Every muscle in her body locked up, rigid. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move; couldn't break free from whatever invisible hold Ben had on her. She beseeched him with panicked, desperate eyes, and when the sleep-induced fog lifted from his, his arm fell away. Rey clutched at her chest, drawing deep, ragged breaths and trying her best not to scream.

"Oh, no…" Ben breathed, and he was pulling her into his arms. Rey didn't protest – her body felt like jelly in his hold, one hand in her hair and the other between her shoulder blades. He pressed her tightly to his chest, whispering, "I'm sorry. I didn't… I'm sorry."

She fit so perfectly in his lap, and instinctually, Rey wrapped her arms around his waist. His body shook, every inch of him in unrest, and it was Rey who had to comfort him. She felt so stupid. He was a hunted man. How many times had he been ambushed in his sleep? And here she was, creeping up on him in his most vulnerable state. If it were her, Rey wasn't sure if she'd ever find sleep. Mere nightmares kept her up at night.

Rey hated to do it, but she had to disentangle herself from his long, vice-like limbs. The Resistance was in danger, and she had questions needing answers. "We have to talk… about Snoke."

The blood drained from Ben's face and he abruptly stood from the bed. Thankfully, he wore regulation Resistance drawstring pants – the kind every man was supplied with, for sleep or comfort. Rey idly wondered whether someone had dropped them off or if Leia kept stock in her room, but was instead distracted by the sight of the half-naked, disheveled man in front of her. His back faced her as he scooped up his discarded shirt from the floor and fiddled with it, turning it right-side out.

"What about him."

"So he's real… and you know him."

"Of course I know him," Ben muttered a bit too roughly, and Rey winced. Ben must have noticed out of the corner of his eye because he softened just enough for his shoulders to drop. "He sends his men after me every chance he gets. He talks…"

When his words trailed off, Rey jumped up to join his side. Moving to touch his elbow, she dropped her hand away at the last second, deciding against it. All of a sudden, Ben seemed so volatile, reminding Rey just how little she knew about him. "You've met him?"

Kylo shook his head but wouldn't look at her. Closing his eyes, he winced, his words coming out strangled. "He's in my head. All the time…"

Rey stiffened, stepping back. If she were honest with herself, Rey already knew Snoke was real. She'd believed the rumors all along. But now, she'd wanted to be wrong. Because Finn was right about everything. Snoke would find them, the base, everyone.

"I have to warn them," Rey yelped, putting motion to her legs no matter how weak they felt. Before she could run from the room, the door in her sights, Ben caught her wrist. Rey writhed against it but his grip held strong. "What are you doing? We're all in danger because of you!"

Ben's face blanched and he pulled Rey close. "No. You're not in danger, I swear it." Rey was visibly unconvinced. "Snoke may be haunting me, but he won't get anything out of it. What do they say – 'keep your enemies close'? I won't let him get to me, Rey… and I won't let him get to you. You have my word."

It was the first time he'd said her name, and Rey felt a heat ignite within her. From her quick, bated breaths to the flush in her cheeks, she felt the warmth overtake her. Fill her entirely. She wanted so much to believe him.

"You can trust me," he murmured, relinquishing his grip on her wrist to instead take her hands in both of his. Stepping closer, he leaned in, stooping just a bit so that his forehead could rest against hers. When his eyes closed, Rey's followed suit, and she could feel nothing but the swell of his breath on her cheeks and the light touch of his fingers tracing from her temple down to her jawline. It was like his touch spurred the darkness to life behind closed eyes. Nothing materialized, and yet, the black quivered as if it were alive… when Rey looked again, she could see – something was there. Athin, red string, too long to see what each end connected to. It glimmered, beckoning, and Rey wanted so badly to reach for it. To hold on and follow wherever it led…

Beginning as a hiss and growing in strength, a voice rose from the darkness. It was laughing. Taunting Ben for his weakness and his loneliness – he was nothing in the force; nothing but a blip on the radar. Threatening to destroy him, once he was found – the world would be better off; he had nothing to live for. Offering him a purpose, if only he'd submit – there was victory and power to be had, if he agreed to kneel before the Supreme Leader.

Wrenching herself from the strange connection, Rey stumbled back and away from Ben. When she opened her eyes, she saw that he was just as bewildered.

"Did you see that?" she whispered, her voice caught in her harried breath. She wasn't sure if Ben hadn't heard her, or if he couldn't respond. He simply stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost from his past.

He had seen the red string. She was sure of it.

An abrupt buzzing sounded from the sitting area, causing them both to jump and snap from their reverie. Leia's comm – a call was coming in. Dashing to it, Rey went to answer the call only to reel her hand back in as if she'd touched a burning ember. No one should know she was there, alone in the too-early hours with Ben Solo.

Ben must have been on the same wavelength, because he was at her side a moment later, accepting the call. Leia's voice sounded clearly over the channel.

"Good morning, Ben. You're requested in the strategy room. You as well, Rey." Rey winced. Leia either knew her too well, or knew more than she let on. "See you in ten, yes?"

"Yes ma'am," Ben answered for the both of them, ending the call.

Special Thanks: Thank you so much to all those who have commented! From AO3, special thanks to tasu7, Jinga, kyloxretfa, and No_Name_500. I appreciate your comments so much and have replied to them all. From FFdotnet, special thanks to artvandelay5001! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far! Thank you for reading and reviewing.