Chapter 10: Voices

Rey woke up and realized she was still inside the small pod Ben had placed her in. She unbuckled herself from the chair and pressed one of the larger buttons on the control panel. The door unlocked and automatically opened. As Rey emerged out of the pod, she took a look around and noticed she was back at Takodana. The pod conveniently landed in front of Maz's Castle.

Rey tried to recall the events that happened earlier. Ben apologized for sending her off, but also mentioned that the next time they will see each other, he won't remember her at all. She was overcome with great worry. Why won't he remember? Is someone going to erase his memories? She then tried to recall the place they landed at. She remembered seeing the icy white landscape and the large trees that surrounded the base. That's right; Starkiller Base was the name of it. But how can she convince Finn and Han to go to this planet? Especially since Finn wanted nothing to do with the First Order? She tried to conjure up a story as she took careful steps entering Maz's Castle.

While there were usually people and aliens crowded inside, instead there were only four figures. Sitting around the large table in the back was Finn, Han, Chewbacca, and Maz. As Rey's footsteps were heard inside, Finn looked over in Rey's direction right away.

"Rey! Where have you been?" Finn asked with concern as he got up and walked over to her.

"I'm sorry, I passed out in the forest," Rey replied.

"We've been waiting for you all day!" Han complained, "I said we'd be leaving in the afternoon to get to the Resistance base."

"I'm aware of that, it's just I had a Force vision earlier," Rey lied, "It concerns a place called Starkiller Base."

Everyone began listening attentively. Rey noticed Finn's eyebrows furrow for a moment.

"I had a vision they're going to destroy five more planets with their new super weapon," Rey explained, "We have to stop it."

"Oh no, I don't think it's a good idea to go there," Finn cut in.

"Why not?" Maz questioned as she adjusted her spectacles, "There will be more lives lost if we don't follow Rey's vision. I think it's time you stopped running away."

Finn kept his mouth shut and looked away, avoiding eye contact.

"All of you must inform the Resistance right away and deliver BB-8," Maz ordered, "the longer we stay here chatting; the quicker the First Order will destroy all of us."

As Rey rested on the small bed inside the Millennium Falcon, she did her best to rest her eyes and think of a dream that would connect to Ben. But her hopes were quickly drawn, as Finn woke her up to tell her they arrived at the Resistance base. Rey noticed she did fall asleep, but couldn't recall any sort of dream. She heaved a sigh and wondered if Ben was all right.

The meeting with General Leia Organa and the rest of the Resistance group was a quick one. Everyone had already been informed of Starkiller Base and with the extra forewarning of Rey's vision, helped them to steer quicker into executing plans. Although Rey had the opportunity to meet General Leia, she didn't get a chance to speak to her privately about Ben. Instead she received her orders, along with Han, Finn, and Chewbacca in infiltrating Starkiller Base.

After landing on Starkiller Base, sneaking past the Officers, confronting Captain Phasma to lower the shields, and knocking a few extra Stormtroopers that patrolled the area, the group was ready to plant the bombs inside.

Rey and Finn assisted Chewbacca in installing the bombs in various areas of the base. When they had finished installing and regrouped, they heard a distant conversation at the bridge nearby. As they peeked over the balcony, Rey recognized Ben standing across from Han. Her heart fluttered after seeing him, but her celebration quickly drew to a close as she witnessed Ben stab Han in the chest with his lightsaber. Now broken hearted, Rey could see Ben turned back to Kylo Ren. Chewbacca quickly shot Ren and ignited the bombs. Rey and Finn then fled outside, running towards the trees to reach the Millennium Falcon.

Half way to the ship, Rey and Finn were stopped by Ren, who demanded the lightsaber Rey carried at her side. As Finn talked back at Ren, Rey felt her body freeze for a moment. She then felt herself rise up into the air and flung backwards, hitting the tree from behind. The impact to her head blackened out her vision. She then passed out.

"R…"
"Re…"

"Reeeyyy!"
She recognized the voice instantly.
"Ben?" she called back.
Rey opened her eyes and found herself in a large room with a giant throne chair. In the middle of the room, she could see Ben levitated in the air. Right across from him stood a tall sagged and scarred looking man in golden robes. He was raising his arm towards Ben.

"Every last bit of your memory gone," the man spoke, "I hope you don't recall any of it!"

Ben collapsed onto the floor. He began to wheeze and cough as he tried to breathe. Rey tried approaching him but as she got closer, everything faded to black.

Rey woke up and heard Finn scream in the distance. Picking herself up, she then saw Finn collapse onto the snow and Ren behind him recoiling back his lightsaber. She hoped Finn was still alive, but knew with Ren present, she wouldn't have a chance to check up on her dear friend. Rey had to also consider this was an opportunity to speak with Ren.

As she ran towards Ren, she noticed him trying to use the Force on the lightsaber, Maz gave her. It was stuck in the snow. Rey raised her arm towards the lightsaber and called out to it with the Force. Instantly it flew into her hand. Ren took notice.

"Ben, do you remember me?" Rey asked as she ignited the lightsaber.

Ben shot her a glare.

"How do YOU know that name?" he demanded as he brandished his lightsaber too.

"He doesn't remember," Rey sighed. But before she could say anything else to him, Ren took a slash at her.

As Rey and Ren fought through the snowy terrain, she tried to find an opening for a conversation.

"Ben, please remember," she begged as she held up her lightsaber in defense.

Ren ignored her plea.

"How do you know that name?!" he demanded throwing a slash at her again.

"Remember Jakku! You met me there in a dream," Rey tried to explain.

Before Ren could speak, he grabbed the back of his head. His face scrunched up and it looked like he was having a painful headache.

"Ben, do you remember now?" Rey asked hoping her statement jogged back some of Ben's memories.

"SHUT UP!' Ren screamed as he threw a couple more attacks at her.

Rey realized if she tried to bring up a memory, the more headaches it gave Ren. She felt conflicted. She wanted him to remember, but she didn't want to hurt him at the same time. There wasn't much time left. She could sense the Resistance getting closer to their victory in destroying Starkiller Base.
Rey dodged, attacked, and did her best to throw a few more hits at Ren. Eventually he was knocked into the snow, tired and defeated. He took one last look at her before closing his eyes. Rey carefully walked over and knelt beside him. She held his face and felt her eyes tearing up. She remembered all their dreams and moments together. Although it was short amount of time, it was enough for Rey to cherish. She placed her forehead against Ren's and whispered, "I'll come back for you. I love you." She then gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
The ground began to shake. Rey stood up right away and took a few steps back. She noticed the ground split beneath her feet. As she moved to one side of the split, the ground began carrying her away from Ren, leaving a large gap between them. As the ground stopped shaking, Rey took a deep breath and looked back at Ren one last time. Wiping away her tears, she turned away and began walking back towards Finn.

Ren opened his eyes and noticed he was back inside the meeting room at Starkiller Base. He could hear a faint voice echo in the distance. He couldn't make out the words. As he turned his head to the right, he saw a brightly lit hallway up ahead. Inside the hallway, he could see a figure of a girl. He recognized her silhouette, but he wasn't sure if he knew her or not. She felt very familiar to him. As he tried approaching her, she moved further away. Pain then entered his heart. He felt like he needed her greatly, but couldn't form the reason as to why. He stopped walking towards her.

"Who are you?" he asked as the figure stopped in the middle of the hallway.

The girl slowly turned to him and replied, "I'll come back for you. I love you."

End of Impulse

Author Note:

Thank you to everyone who supported this fanfic! I did my best to finish the story before The Last Jedi released in theaters. Be on the lookout for a second part of this story sometime next year ;) Until then, let's see if this Reylo ship sails in the sequel trilogy!