Poe was right. Upon exiting the casino, Rey could see three warships hovering high above the planet's atmosphere. Already there were fighters attacking the town and people running as they attempted to escape.

"You have to leave." Zavroc had followed them out, and stared up at the warships with fear in his eyes. "Will you be able to get to your ship? My men will not be able to join your forces if they die today."

"I understand." Leia answered with a smile, pulling a blaster from somewhere within her dress. "We will be fine. Get yourself to safety."

Zavroc nodded and retreated back inside the casino.

Rey pulled one of her lightsabers from its holster and held it firmly in one hand, reaching out with the force to try and locate Ben. He was on the ground already. That much she knew. "Poe, get the General to the ship." She commanded as she activated the lightsaber and stepped forward.

"What about you?" Rey turned to meet his eyes with a determination he likely wasn't used to seeing. Very few ever had.

"I am going to confront Ren." That answer didn't seem like enough. Rey had to find him before anyone else so she could try to get through to him, but she couldn't very well tell Poe that. "I need to engage him away from the Falcon. Otherwise we leave ourselves open to ambush. Get her to safety."

She left without another word, leaving Leia in Poe's hands.

The city was already swarming with Stormtroopers, engaged with city guards. That coupled with the fighters firing down at the streets meant progress was slow. Not that it mattered. Rey hadn't the slightest clue of where exactly Ben was. Only that he was near, and he felt different than before. Less soft. More angry.

Rey had been practicing fighting with one lightsaber, so she was able to hold her own without activating both. She even managed to deflect a few blaster shots aimed at her, and saved several guards from losing their lives amongst the chaos.

This wasn't fair. They were attacking and killing an entire city, just because Rey and Leia happened to be there. These were not the acts of Ben Solo. He was Kylo Ren again.

Eventually, Rey started to see scorch marks on the ground and sides of buildings. Marks that could have only been left by a lightsaber. He had been here.

A group of four stormtroopers rounded the corner. One of them started to shout that the Jedi was there, but Rey had lunged forward and cut him down without a second thought. She swung her lightsaber at the second, catching him across the chest and sending him tumbling to the ground.

The other two put up more of a fight. One continued to fire their blaster, while the other engaged her with the Z6 Baton that Finn had told her about. He hadn't been wrong when he said it could deflect lightsabers.

Her saber bounced off like it was nothing more than a metal rod and the trooper was well trained. Every attempt Rey made at breaking his defenses failed. She was not experienced in battle. That much was sure.

Rey was finally able to get the advantage when a shot from the other trooper distracted her enough for the first to knock her down, sending a bolt of electricity through her body.

With a cry of pain, Rey instinctively reached out to the force, and flicked a piece of debris from a nearby building as the trooper, crushing him instantly. The act surprised even herself, but more importantly, the trooper with the blaster.

Ignoring the residual pain left from the electric shock, Rey jumped to her feet and used force moved a small piece of debris towards them. The act knocked them to the ground and soon she was on them, fully intent on ending the small fight with one blow.

Something stopped her.

For just a second, Rey saw Finn's face flash across her vision. If he had never defected, it could have been him pinned beneath her foot.

Though she couldn't see the troopers face behind their mask, Rey was reminded there was a human back there, and sighed, deciding to merely point her lightsaber at them menacingly. "Kylo Ren. Where is he?"

The trooper hesitantly pointed to their right.

Rey lifted her foot to kick the blaster away, as she deactivated her lightsaber. "What's your name?"

"FN-311." Again the trooper hesitated, but gave their name eventually.

"FN-311." Rey repeated and stepped back. "Do me a favour. Don't die today. Too many have already." She ran off without giving FN-311 a chance to respond, right in the direction that had indicated.

FN-311 hadn't been lying. The further Rey went, the closer Ben felt through their bond. She had to take down a few more stormtroopers along the way, but mostly trying to knock them aside rather than kill them.

Eventually, Rey made it to what appeared to be a hangar, and paused only momentarily when she heard a scream before charging in. She charged inside just in time to see a ship lift from the ground, and Kylo Ren shove the blue Twi'lek girl from Zavroc's casino aside. Somehow she knew the girl was still alive, just unconscious, and hoped that Zavroc had made his escape on the ship.

Luckily, her appearance seemed to distract Ren from attempting to stop the ship from leaving, as he turned to her as it took off.

"You think you can save me, Scavenger." He said as his form of greeting. His eyes were darker than before. Somehow, the darkness was growing in him again. "You think you can save Ben Solo. You're wrong. It's too late. Ben Solo is dead."

Rey frowned at him and activated her lightsaber. Even through the darkness in his eyes, she could still see the conflict in him. Even if he had cut her off through their bond. "So what you are saying then, is that Kylo Ren is the one who kissed me? Kylo Ren is the one who let me go on Ilum? Kylo Ren is the one who cried in front of me multiple times about how he killed his father and refuses to come home because he can't bear to face his mother after what he did? Is that what you're saying? Because if so, then Kylo Ren must be a better person than he wants everyone to believe."

Ren gave a frustrated growl, and activated his lightsaber before running at him. But Rey was ready. She countered his attack and twisted out of his way, internally preparing herself for a fight.

This was it. This was the moment that would finally decide their fate. Would she be able to save him, or was Ben Solo truly gone forever?

Ren huffed angrily and came at her again, this time ready for her to dodge and reacting accordingly. He almost got her in the arm, but Rey allowed her survival instincts to kick in full throttle and fell backwards, kicking out her feet and knocking him over.

Then she had the advantage, aiming another lick at his side and using her lightsaber only to block his attacks. While Rey had her survival instincts, Kylo Ren had his strength, so after a second he was able to shove her off and jump back to his feet.

Their lightsabers collided with each other as they both went in for an attack. Red against purple. Him against her. But not for long if Rey had any say.

"How did you find us?"

Ren glared into her eyes. "I saw the view from your window yesterday, and followed the trail. You left yourself vulnerable."

"Oh. You mean right after you kissed me? Right, I remember that."

Rey could see the anger building in his eyes. But even as that grew, she saw light rising to fight it. It reminded her of something Snoke had said. Something about Kylo Ren's equal in the light rising to fight him.

"Shut up." He growled at her and pushed hard against their lightsabers, forcing Rey to grit her teeth and kneel against his strength.

"What are you planning to do here?" She panted against the effort of holding him off. She would not give in.

Kylo Ren scoffed at her, as if the answer was completely obvious. "I will destroy the Resistance! Starting with you. And then precious General Organa."

Rey narrowed her eyes. "You mean your mother? Can you do that, Ben? Can you?"

"Don't call me that!"

"I don't think you can. I don't think you can kill either of us." Rey kicked her leg out and knocked him off balance enough for her to shove him off and twist away.

When she did, she faced him and frowned. "You won't hurt me. I believe that." Taking a breath, Rey deactivated her lightsaber, and hooked it back into her holster.

He only glared at her as he stood again. "You're wrong."

"Am I?" A single beat of silence passed between them, with Rey returning his glare as a challenge. "Prove it."

Kylo Ren let out a war cry as he ran at her, swinging his lightsaber as if to slice her neck. She heard the woosh as it neared her, then the crackling as it stopped, hovering beside her ear instead of making contact.

Rey didn't even flinch. She didn't look away from him. Just kept gazing into his eyes determinedly. She would make him understand that she was never going to stop trying to save him. Never.

Ben stared at her for a long moment. Seemingly torn between all the options laid out before him. Rey realized how much conflict she caused in him. He had come here to destroy them, but now facing her, he was unsure again.

He caught her by surprise again, grabbing her shirt and pulling her forward to press his lips to her in a desperate kiss. Kissing in person felt different than through their bond. More intimate, almost.

It took Rey's breath away immediately, but it didn't last nearly long enough. Ben pushed her away just the same as last time and walked a few feet away to stand with his back to her.

"You would have let me kill you?"

Rey sighed at his question. She supposed, by offering her life to him, she was similar to Han Solo. The only difference being that Han Solo had offered himself knowing Ben would kill him. She did so knowing he wouldn't. "I knew you wouldn't." After a moment, she added, "I trust you."

"Why?" His words were laced with pain again. "Why do you trust me? After everything I've done to you?"

That was a very good question. Rey already had the answer, but putting it into words wasn't easy. "I guess because… you're the only one in the universe who really… understands. What it's like to be alone. Abandoned. And when I'm with you… I don't know. I guess I just feel… free. In a way that none of my friends make me feel."

Ben didn't respond at first. Simply standing with his back to her until he took a deep breath. "Coming here was a mistake. I'll call off my troops." He said as he turned and moved to walk past her towards the door.

But Rey wasn't done with him. Not yet. They would decide once and for all today what they were doing and he wasn't leaving until then. "What? No!" Rey side stepped to block him and pressed a hand to his chest in an attempt to stop him from leaving. "No you don't get to do that! You don't get to kiss me like that and then go running back to the First Order!" He stumbled backwards and fell when she force pushed him away from the door and narrowed her eyes. "Neither of us are leaving until we've settled this."

"Settled what!?"

"This!" Rey motioned between them. "Whatever… this is between us. We need to talk about it and figure it out once and for all!"

Ben climbed to his feet and glared at her again, this time not with the hard eyes of Kylo Ren, but the soft ones that she loved. "Why do you care so much!? Just leave!"

"Because everyone gave up on you!" Rey screamed these words back at him and watched Ben fall into silence as she placed a determined expression on her face. "Your father. Your mother. Even your master. Both of them. They all betrayed you in some way and I will not be like them! Because I… I need you!" It felt strange admitting that, and Rey felt her eyes starting to sting. She turned away partially to wipe at her eyes and her voice softened when she spoke again. "I can't give up on you because I need you. And I think you need me too."

The silence that passed between them seemed to last an eternity. Both lost in thought and waiting for the other to say something. Rey hoped that maybe one day, these silences would become comfortable, rather than awkward.

She did need him, she realized. He made her feel more normal than anyone. Even Finn. Maz had been right. The belonging she wanted had not been behind her. It was ahead. She had assumed it was in her friends in the Resistance, but it was him. Ben Solo.

Maybe he was right. Maybe it was time for it all to end. In what world could a Sith Lord and a Jedi be happy together? Only one where none of them existed. And if it all ended, so would the fighting. So would the death.

FN-311 flashed through her mind again. The enemy she had spared only because she had remembered they were human. Like her. The Resistance and the First Order. All of them were just people.

"Right. I've come to a decision." The determined expression had returned to her face.

"What decision?"

Rey turned her head to look at him. "You're right. None of this can survive. The Jedi went on and on about balance, but how can balance be achieved amongst all this chaos and violence?" She wasn't going to hold back now. Rey started to pace, intending to let her words run free to help make sense of the thoughts in her head. "The Sith fight the Jedi. The Empire fights the Rebellion. The First Order fights the Resistance. It never stops. And maybe it does all need to end. Snoke said that as your power grew, you equal in the light would rise as well. Maybe that wasn't so that we could fight. Maybe it was so that we could end the war together. I don't care about this fight. I never wanted to be a part of this war. All I care about is keeping the people I love alive and now… now you're one of them." Rey stopped pacing and faced him. Even with their bond, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. She held out a hand for him to take. Like he had on Snoke's ship. "All of this has to end. The First Order and the Resistance. Otherwise they'll just keep blowing each other up and there will never be balance. At the end of all this, it will be just us standing together. I see it now. That is our destiny. Not to fight each other. But to stand together."

Ben stared at her hand with a frown. Rey could have sworn she saw a flash of longing pass over his face, but it was gone before she could tell. "I made the same offer to you once. You rejected me."

Rey frowned as well. "And now I am extending that same offer again. I should have said yes. Join me."

His eyes flicked up to meet her own. "I will not join the Resistance. I can't."

She sighed and dropped her hand slightly. "You're not understanding. I'm not asking you to join the Resistance. I'm asking you to join me."

Another silence passed between them. Rey could sense the gears turning in his head as he thought.

"Ben please."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward suddenly. In that split second, Rey realized there had been a strange whizzing sound she hadn't noticed until it was too late.

Wrapped in his arms protectively, Rey heard the explosion around them and felt the hangar collapse on top of them.

There was no pain. Rey only felt the blackness press in around her as she lost consciousness.

A/N- Oooooo those jerks. Rey was making such good progress and then the building just had to go and blow up didnt it? :P I'm so excited right now! I've been planning this part since I started this crazy journey! I'm so glad all of you are excited too! Love reading the comments! They make me so happy :3 -Ash