Hello guys! Thank you to the ones who have left such encouraging reviews! As usual, please leave a review, whether it is just a comment on what you liked or something you think I need to work on...I welcome them all!

Also, I won't be updating next week since I have finals next week and won't have time to write/edit/proofread a chapter. Don't hate me. Next update will be on May 16th.

Alright, that's enough from me. Enjoy!

I'm not calling you a ghost

Just stop haunting me

I'm Not Calling You a Liar by Florence + The Machine

Rey tried to refocus the next day after the…alarming…no that wasn't quite the word. She struggled to find the right word to describe the hurt, anger, and frustration at Ben…at herself. She shouldn't have let herself open like that. She knew he only knew how to push people away. But still, it hurt that he would lash out at her. She thought this bond affected him like it does her. But Rey saw that was not the case. She felt his anger rip her dreamless slumber. He was so consumed by it. His aura was cold and harsh. All she knew was that he needed her, so she reached out for once. Rey could still picture hearing the crack of the chair breaking on the wall. She was there to pull him out of the Darkness. She could still vividly see the scars that riddled his back, a warm red peach. She wondered how many were because of her. Guilt threatened to emerge and she closed her eye and just focused. Now was not the time for tears. Right now though she needed her head in this fight. Finn had come knocking a few days ago about a mission for them, it would help with her quest to rebuild a lightsaber. What was left of the Resistance was currently on some moon somewhere. The Falcon was currently fueling up before heading to Rodia. Leia would talk with Rey, in fact, it was apart of Rey's schedule. Rey expressed how her saber was broken…the kyber crystal was unusable now. So Leia said she would do some digging. Luke once was on the hunt for kyber crystals as well, however, it has heavily mined back in the Clone Wars. "I can't promise anything, but I'll put out some feelers to some old friends." And she held up her end. The old general managed to find an old guardian of Jedi temples. She was intrigued to meet this Last Jedi. And like any good hermit, she was hiding out on Rodia. A once popular planet with cities inside domes now is nothing more but an outpost like where she came from. Funny how planets that were once sites of huge battles became nothing but graveyards. Then the thought hit her, past the Graveyard on Jakku lied an old base. She ran over to the Falcon needing to find Leia before they left. Chewie greeted her and then proceeded to say that they would be taking off soon.

"Alright, Where's Leia?" After another scolding that they were leaving soon and now was not the time for a long goodbye.

"Just have something for her to do while we are away." She called over her shoulder while navigating the halls on the ship. Rey found Leia in the general area of the ship, she appeared to be meditating.

"Um…General?" The woman that Rey has come to respect slowly opened her eyes. "I have something for you to look into…back on Jakku…there was an old base…beyond the Graveyard. No one ever looted it because the rumor was it was still active, the defense systems at least. But-"

"I'll look into it. But would you be comfortable going back there? Will they guess that's where we are?"

"I'll be fine…and it's an old Empire base. So I'm guessing they would assume we'd try to find an old Rebel base somewhere." Leia nodded as she was getting up.

"I'll look into it, Rey. Thank you. Be safe." The old general had been through, well, hell. She smiled at Rey and wished her luck in finding the answers she sought. Chewie found her soon after Leia left the ship, tasking her with helping with the final preparations for taking off.

"Buckle up, we are preparing to land," Rey announced as the dome opened for the Falcon to enter. "I'm hoping they are friendly." Rey glanced at her friend, who roared in agreement. Rey was feeling anxious, it had been a long time since she battled. If the First Order do find them, her trusty staff would be rather useless against blasters. "Once we are safe, go move the ship to a more hidden landing, just in case someone snitches on us." Chewie then glanced over and nodded. She climbed to the landing ramp and waited for it to lower, Finn and Poe flanking her. There was a woman waiting on the other side. Pink hair and grey skin. She was not what Rey had in mind when Leia said an old Jedi Temple Guardian.

"Jedi. And friends. Follow me. Come quickly. And have the pilot move this ship to a hidden bay." Chewie roared from behind and the girl then told him where. They parted ways and followed the girl. Finn was next to her. Rey was taking calming breaths, hoping to slow her racing heart. Some buildings were still in good shape, others were starting to crumble. Rey didn't like the feelings she was getting from the Force, the eyes of everyone they passed followed them. The only people she definitely could trust were Poe and Finn. Finn echoed her thoughts, snapping her from them.

"I don't like this Rey…seems like a trap." Rey had her staff gripped hard but nodded. The woman quickly ushered them inside a building.

"I'm sorry for being like that. Many fear the First Order…and you three are on the top of their hit list. Now I hear you, young Jedi, need information of kyber crystals." The woman trained her black eyes onto Rey. Rey smiled weakly and nodded. But Poe spoke first.

"Is there people who would rattle our location to the First Order?" The woman dragged her eyes to Poe, tilting her head as if she didn't quite understand what Poe had asked. A solemn sigh escaped her lips.

"Our little town is torn…the money for your heads and the Jedi alive is…enough to get off this dome and build a new life. Enticing to many. Many more than during the time of the Empire." Rey sensed the sadness of the woman. But her answer was all Poe needed to hear.

"Chewie, be on the lookout for some First Order scumbags. Seems like not everyone is singing around the campfire here. We are safe for now. We will get the info Rey needs then head back to you." He quickly reported to Chewie over the small communication device that was as old if not older than the Falcon. "Finn stays by Rey, I'll be on the lookout by the door." The trio all nodded, knowing how this will go if things take a turn for the worse. Rey watched as Poe leaned against the wall, surveying the outside for any danger.

"What's your name?" Rey now looked back to the woman, who smiled at her.

"Niska. Leia has told me much about you Rey." Rey was taken aback by the woman already knowing her name. "So kyber crystals?" A smirk appeared on the woman's face.

"I need a new one…this one is busted. Beyond use." Rey then slid the broken saber towards Niska.

"A great tragedy happened…yes?" Rey didn't know how to answer. She opened her mouth then closed it. "It is alright my dear. I can feel the confusion in you." Rey then turned red. How could she sense THAT confusion in her? She had only just told Finn of the Darkness lurking below. Finn gave a firm squeeze to her shoulder sensing her unease at the woman's words.

"We fought for it…both trying to will it to us…then it just ripped…that caused us to fly back. I woke first and grabbed the broken pieces. But I couldn't feel the crystal calling me anymore." Rey figured that would be the best and least complicated way to describe what transcribed in the Throne Room that day.

"You are very strong in the Force. It flows around you like a protective aura. Yes, this crystal is beyond repair…why do you need to have a saber? If you don't mind me asking." Rey gulped then. She would have to say what she refused to face. That as much as she wished and wanted to, Rey couldn't trust Ben to not be Kylo Ren.

"To defeat the First Order." Niska quirked an eyebrow. "To bring peace to the galaxies."

"Until you accept your mind and heart youngling…no crystal will bend solely to you." They met eyes and stared at each other for a moment.

"To find peace between the Dark and the Light…for both of us." Niska smiled finally at that answer and Rey could feel the confusion in Finn. Great, she will get asked about that later.

"Yes, my girl. You will need to find a crystal. They are clear when not attuned to a Force user. Once you find one…you hold it as you meditate. But this meditation is different than what you were taught. You MUST let the Force control you…it will learn you desires and hatred. Only then will the color show. In the old days, they were worn as necklaces, indicated one was a Grey Knight…the first Force users. But like all orders, there were those who found the power of the kyber…and wanted to use them for weapons…the Sith were born. The others who relied on the Force only and sabers out of necessity became the Jedi Order. Anyone who did not align with one or the other tried to maintain the true Knights. But they were quickly disposed of by the Sith or they eventually chose a side." Rey was engrossed in the story. Grey Knights? Necklaces of kyber? She needed to look in her books for that order.

"Do you know where I can find kyber?" Niska sighed and looked away as if recalling a very dark time for her.

"Unfortunately my dear, there were only three planets with such crystals. Jedha was destroyed long ago. Ilum will kill you before you could find a cave that still had some kyber, back when the Jedi were in the height of rule, we would send young padawans there to find their kyber. I'm afraid that is also the planet the Sith used as well, I highly doubt there is much left on that planet aside from ice and bitter cold. Christophisis however, has never been heavily looted. But there is a danger, it has always been a source of strife in the galaxy. Much like where you hail from, and here, no one can be trusted. I cannot tell you if the planet is neutral or affiliated with the First Order."

"What do you know a-" Rey stopped talking. She could feel him. He was here. Ben. His solid aura crashed into hers.

"We GOT TROUBLE!" Poe came running in.

"Rey, this is a journey YOU have to take alone. Do you understand me?" Niska didn't even flinch at Poe but she was up and digging through a chest. Suddenly armor was shoved into her hands. "Take my old suit. My time has come. To save the Last Hope we have." The doors were kicked open and she could feel his aura consume the room. It was heavy, cool, but not dark. Rey shoved her friends behind her, eyes on Ben. Niska stayed by the chest but charcoal eyes were trained on Ben. His dark amber eyes were on her, like always.

"Rey." The sound of her name falling from his lips, was torture. She clenched her jaw. This was it. The moment that would decide if there was still hope to save Ben or if Kylo Ren has truly taken him from her.

"Ben. How did you find me?"

"I'll always find you." Simple, yet not simple. His answer reflected him perfectly, it aggravated her. Both Finn and Poe growled at that. Niska was now watching the two Force users with great intrigue.

"Well, what are you going to do then? Finish me off like Snoke ordered?" The anger threatened to seep out, like always, the Darkness was bubbling close to the surface.

"No. You know I can't." Rey knew he meant it, his eyes always gave away more than Ben liked. He looked away and landed on Niska. "Who is this?"

"A trader." Rey wasn't lying technically, she was trading information. More commotion came from outside. Ben quickly went to the small window.

"You need to leave now Rey. I can't keep them off of your trail long, they will notice I'm not coming back out of this hut." Ben's words astonished everyone in the room. Rey felt like she stopped breathing. She studied his face as he glanced back at her. He looked like Han more than anything now. Though he did have Leia's kind eyes that always showed her emotions readily.

"WHAT?" Poe yelled and snapped her out of her study of Ben. Both Finn and Poe looked at her. She shoved the armor in her rucksack. She needed to get them to safety.

"Is there a back way out?" Rey addressed Niska calmly. Niska looked at her and nodded.

"REY, NOW!" Ben growled at her and marched over to the two boys. "If she dies because you two morons can't protect her. I will spend my last dying day hunting you to kill you. And trust me it will be more painful than any torture I have done before." The anger dripped off of every word Ben said. Poe and Finn just nodded quickly and followed Niska. Rey went to follow her friend when she felt him grab her arm. Tiny sparks jolted up her arm at his fingers on her skin.

"Let go, Ben." It took every ounce of control to say that calmly to him without giving away how easily she was affected by his touch.

"Look at me." Rey sighed and turned around. Amber warmth met her hazel eyes. "Please be safe Rey…I can hold them for only so long until they notice…you running about. Be smart." Then he let her go and heading to the front while she ran to the back to catch up with her friends and to gain some distance from Ben. Niska had kicked out the boards on a back window. Rey climbed out first, then helped Finn get through and Poe soon came out after.

"Go, I will go with…the other boy." Niska's head vanished and Rey sensed that would be the last time she would see the old Guardian.

"Alright follow me, keep your heads low and shoot straight Finn. Rey is defenseless minus the Force." Kriff, she left her staff in the room. It was too late to go back. Poe was right, she was going to be the easiest target and the one with the highest price on her head. The trio slowly started to move through the alley. Shuffling every few feet, glancing down the sides of buildings, peering over old boxes and trying to get to the Falcon.

"Poe…do you know where we are going?" Finn raised a very good point. Rey didn't know where the Falcon was and highly doubted Poe knew. Though he had always seemed like a 'make it up as I go' sort of person.

"Yeah, the pink haired lady told me." Rey rolled her eyes at him but continued to follow him. And then ran right into Finn because Finn ran into Poe.

"Finn get to the other side of this alley. We got to shoot our way through this alley." Rey took the chance to feel for the troopers. If she can find Ben, she should be able to sense them. How clear their beings came into her mind actually startled her.

"There's four in two pairs. One leaving the building up from ours and the other pair is in the cross-section of the alleys." Poe looked back at her with awe. He quickly regained his composure.

"Right. Alright, Finn. Let's shoot some Stormtroopers." Finn fired first and landed a shot but that only alerted the other three. Soon laser blasters were firing. Rey felt completely useless and wished she would've snagged one of the blasters they had on the Falcon. More troopers came over to check the commotion. Rey would kill for a usable saber right now. You have the Force. Be smart. Rey needed to get closer to a trooper. She started to move and was soon getting yelled at by both of the boys. But she was on a mission. Her eyes trained on one trooper, she quickly came up behind him. Taking a few moments to control her breathing before enacting her plan.

"Protect me. You are mine now. You will only listen to me." With all her will and conviction she tricked the trooper. Who soon was opening fire on his own which provided cover for Finn and Poe to take out more troopers. Rey slunk down behind a crate. She felt sick contorting someone's mind like that. She has dismissed thoughts but never planted her own. She knew that she had just given a small part of herself to the Darkness. Poe and Finn soon moved closer to her position. She felt the trooper she twisted get killed, which didn't make her feel any better.

"How close are we?" Rey quickly asked.

"A few more blocks. Neat trick…can you do it again? It would help give us cover to move faster." Poe was popping up and blasting at the tops of hidden troopers.

"I can try." Rey didn't want to tell them the cost of giving in to the Darkness, nor did she want to think about how right it felt letting it out of its cage.

"That's my girl." Finn smiled and they looked at their next path.

They could finally see the Falcon. Everyone was looking ragged and breathing hard. They dodged a few close calls getting to this point. Only to find General Hux standing between them and their escape. Ben was approaching him, his black cape flowing behind him like a force to be reckoned with. Rey, Finn, and Poe were no more than 100 yards away…an easy but deadly dash to the Falcon.

"Chewie when I tell you too, you drop that landing and get ready for the fire," Poe whispered into the communication device.

"How do we know Ren won't kill us now he's in front of the others?" Finn and Poe looked at Rey after Finn asked her the question. She didn't and this is beginning to shape up to be like a nightmare that keeps haunting her. He keeps haunting her. She was tired of it all.

"We don't. I'm sorry…I wish I had a better answer but I don't know…if we can think he will help." There were dozens of troopers. Ben was motioning to the town again. General Hux did not seem to care. Rey was hoping Ben was trying to get more troopers away under the guise of searching the town for them.

"What's the plan, Poe?" Poe peeked up again and quickly came back down.

"There's a lot of troopers…can you knock out people Rey?"

"Uh…I don't know if…how…like a push or mind?" Rey was getting worried, this battle was already taking a toll on her. She can't even protect herself without a saber. Focus Rey…Niska said they used to only rely on the Force. No sabers, just the Force. "Give me a target and let me try from here." Poe and she peeked up this time and found a trooper close to them but a distance from the others. That was her target.

"That one seems rather tired…it would be a pity if he just blacked out." Poe looked at her and Rey was already focusing all her power. Focusing all her mind on the image of the trooper just collapsing to the ground. She gasped quick, she was in his mind and then suddenly she was out of it.

"Brilliant REY!" Finn whispered as the thud of the body hit the floor, Rey didn't know if he was knocked out or dead. Rey needed to refocus because soon it was going to get crazy. She was right, as soon as the body landed, Hux was yelling.

"SHE'S HERE. FIND HER."

"Well looks like it is show time," Poe smirked before standing up and just unloading his blaster. Finn soon did the same. Rey peeked out and saw Ben standing there. Their eyes met and she felt angry. Both her own and his. Soon she was up on her feet. She got to where Finn was and was pushing back troopers.

"ARE YOU INSANE REY. IF YOU GET SHOT-"

"JUST FOCUS FINN." She pushed a trooper into a wall that was sneaking up on Poe. He looked at her and nodded thanks. They were slowly gaining ground. She flicked General Hux out of the way.

"DO SOMETHING KYLO-REN." yelled before standing then falling down again, Rey pushed him into a wall on purpose. Ben looked at her and reached his hand up. Rey was angry and felt betrayed. Before she knew what she was doing, she held her hand up and just focused on stopping Ben from touching her or her friends. Ben screamed in frustration as she soon had him down on his knees. This felt good, letting the animal out of its cage. She barely heard Poe yell into the transmitter at Chewie. But she heard the Falcon's landing start to lower. Which pulled her focus from Ben, snapping her Force hold on him. It was now or never. She locked eyes with Poe and soon all three were making a mad dash. Finn and Poe shooting as they went. Rey just hoping the blasters would miss her. And funnily enough most did. She sensed a trooper fire that Finn didn't see. Time seemed to freeze as she saw the blast was heading right for her dear friend. So she pushed him out of the way. She then felt the Force push her, but not in time. The blaster grazed her side and a searing pain erupted. She grabbed her side and felt Finn pull her up to her feet. Rey was wincing as she ran the last few feet. She saw Ben staggering his way into view, their eyes met once again. She already missed seeing them in person, knowing the next time they will meet will be through their connection. Just a whisp of the real thing.

"CHEWIE CLOSE IT NOW." Poe just snuck on and was blasting the ones trying to still get them. Rey fell down and Finn was right to her side.

"Poe, she's been hit…POE." That got his attention. Rey looked at her hand, red.

"Get her to a bed! Let's go. Chewie we need to head out NOW." A familiar roar sounded.

"Rey, can you hear me?" She nodded at Poe. But she didn't feel Finn pick her up nor place her on the bed.

"Rey. We are gonna put a bandage on it okay? Once we touchdown our medic can really dress it up okay?" Another nod. She knew that they felt guilt for her injury. But not the same guilt or anger that will undoubtedly ripple off Ben if he forces his way through and catches a glimpse of the scene before him.

"Is it bad?" She could sense the apprehension to answer.

"Um…well there's not that much blood…" She snorted at Finn.

"Someone get me something for this-OW POE-damn pain." Finn quickly scrambled and returned with a small glass of blue liquid. She downed it happily. And soon she couldn't feel Poe removing the bits of her top around the wound. She vaguely remembered someone telling her to rest though.

"Get some sleep, Rey. I'll help Chewie pilot to the new base. Finn, she'll be fine." She willingly obeyed the voice, letting the urge to sleep overcome her. She only hoped that it would be dreamless.