Chapter 47: Return

Ok so, sorry I broke so many hearts with the last few chapters, it's been hard for me to write such a rollercoaster for all the characters, as well as incredibly fun from a writers point of view! I'm sorry for the broken hearts, i'll try to fix them, or at least, Hux and Poe might try to fix them. So, without further delay, here's the chapter I think a LOT of view have been waiting for, so I hope you enjoy! As always, thank you SO much for all the nice words some of you have left for me, it's really inspired me to write more and some of the reviews have just been so overwhelmingly nice for me to read, it's really helped me in more ways than you'll know, so thank you again for anyone who has read, commented, followed this story etc. I hope I continue to make you happy with the story.

Ajan Kloss was tough to find. A jungle moon located Cademimu sector on the outer rim. No wonder the First Order hadn't found it, though Armitage had known about it. How that was possible Lyra didn't know, for a moment she worried he might have set a trap for her, but no, Tij had spent his entire life protecting her, he wouldn't stop now.

When she finally landed on the planet, albeit roughly after spending so long away from flying a ship, she had no idea where the Resistance were, if they were even there and breathed a heavy sigh as she looked out at the vast jungle, already scanning her eyes over it to see any signs of intelligent life.

She hoisted her bag over her shoulder and kept the whips she had been training with in her pockets, ready to draw as she began to trek through the jungle, desperate to find the Resistance.

She only hoped she could find Poe in time and he hadn't already done anything stupid.

Ajan Kloss was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Yavin, but twice as hostile. Lyra kept a low profile as various creatures moved through the jungle as she did.

In the distance, she heard the sounds of a waterfall and decided to head towards that. After all, if the Resistance was here, they would need access to running water.

As she drew closer to the sounds of water, she also heard the sounds of people talking, a lot of people and it wasn't long before she ran into a base camp. Her heart skipped as she saw the Resistance, gathering around, decoding messages, fixing ships. Their numbers weren't great, but they were there nevertheless.

"Stars above, Lyra."

Before she could turn to track the voice, a great force crashed into her in a hug. Finn.

"Hi Finn, how are you?"

"How am I? How are you? We, we all thought you were dead. Poe's been, well let's just say he's gonna be so happy to see you" Finn told her as he pulled away from a hug.

"He's safe? He's alive?"

Finn nodded slowly. "Barely, but yeah, he's alive. Acting General of the Resistance now, though you wouldn't know it the amount of times he throws himself into danger."

Lyra smiled as she breathed out a sigh of relief as Rey approached, throwing her arms around Lyra in a hug.

"Hey there Rey" the young Captain smiled against her shoulder.

"I kept having the worst visions of you, crying and tortured under Ren's control, then the visions stopped completely and we feared the worst."

Lyra nodded. "I know, I'm sorry to have worried you all."

Rey shook her head. "It's fine, we just can't believe you're here. We are glad to have you here Lyra."

Lyra smiled at her Jedi friend as Finn rubbed her shoulder.

"Are you here for good now? No 24 hour limits or anything?"

Lyra nodded. "Here for good, I promise."

Finn smiled before looking past Lyra. "Oh, head's up, here's Bee."

Lyra quickly turned around to see her favourite little droid rolling towards her, excitedly beeping as he did so. Lyra threw her things aside and leaned down to hug BB-8.

"Hi Bee, oh stars I've missed you."

BB-8 beeped as he rolled in her arms, causing Lyra to laugh. "I'll tell Poe off for ignoring you, and I'm here Bee, it's not a dream. I'm here to stay."

She kissed his head before standing up. When she turned around to look at the X-Wing hangar, her heart stopped. There, standing by his X-Wing, staring at her in disbelief, was her pilot.

As soon as they locked eyes tears fell from Lyra's eyes as she smiled at him. Poe didn't smile, his eyes wide as he stared at her.

She took a step towards him. "Hey there poster boy."

Poe frowned, shaking his head, looking at her in disbelief.

Her lip quivered as she stared at him. "It's me Poe, I'm really here."

With that Poe ran towards her, locking his arms around her so forcefully she nearly fell over. Her feet were lifted off the ground as he held her tight in his arms.

"It's really you, you're alive, stars, you're alive" he whispered against her hair, inhaling her scent. Her hands found his thick hair as she breathed him in too, remembering how wonderful his very touch was.

He fell to his knees, taking her with him as he wept against her neck. "I thought I had lost you, Hux told me you had died and I didn't want to believe it was true, but I couldn't contact you, my messages, you didn't reply. I didn't know what to think."

She cried with him, sorry he had endured such pain. She stroked his hair gently. "I know my love, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm here now, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm with you now."

Poe drew back enough to stare at her, running his thumb along her lower lip slowly. "It's really you. You're really here."

She nodded, cupping his face gently, his hand resting on hers softly. "I'm here, I'm so sorry I ever left you, never again Poe. I'll never leave you again."

She wiped his tears away gently. "I've missed you so much Lyra."

She held him again, pulling him close as BB-8 beeped affectionately at them both. Lyra reached out a hand to pet him gently. Her little unit was together once more. Her family.

"I have so much to tell you Poe" she whispered as she held him.

"Me too, let's head back to my quarters for some privacy ok" he told her as he stood with her, taking her hand as he led her away.

His quarters were a treehouse, overlooking the rest of base camp. Small compared to what she had become accustomed to living with Armitage, but bigger than Poe's room on D'Qar. Of course, Poe was acting General now. Lyra was just grateful they had space away from the rest of the camp. There were so many truths she needed to tell him.

Poe sat next to her on his bed as he stroked her hair gently. "I've been so worried about you Lyra, how did you escape the First Order? That bastard really did keep you there by any means necessary, how did you get away?"

She cringed at Poe's insults aimed at Armitage.

"He let me go."

Poe frowned. "He just, let you go?"

Lyra nodded. "When I found your messages in his office, he knew he had done wrong so he let me go. He said he loved me enough to let me go, he couldn't stand to see me sad anymore."

Poe grit his teeth. "Not before lying to you for months about me trying to find you, not before telling me you were dead."

"I don't think he meant to hurt anyone. He just, loves me, he wanted me to love him in return. He couldn't stand the idea of me getting closer to you again, so he panicked and said the only thing he could think of to get you to leave us alone."

Poe's frown deepened. "You think what he did was fair? He's a monster Lyra."

"He's not a monster. He's a man in love with his wife and he was desperate. He did the right thing Poe, in the end and besides, I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. He's been protecting me for years, even when I was fighting against the First Order."

Poe raised an eyebrow. "He'll always be the man who took the love of my life from me to me."

She gave him a sad smile, putting a hand on his neck. "You could argue he sees you in the same way. Regardless, I'm here now, I'm not going anywhere Poe, I'm back."

He gripped her to him again, resting his lips against her neck as he took her in. He could tell by the feel of her she had put a little weight on since he had last seen her, but still not enough compared to the weight she was when she was with him. He hoped her weight loss was a choice as opposed to an effect of her depression. Lyra had forgotten how warm Poe always was, not being confined on a cold spaceship all day had its perks. Her fingers found his dark curly hair as she held him tightly.

"A little cruel of you to choose a treehouse, poor Bee doesn't have a hope in getting up here does he?"

Poe giggled against her before turning to rest his head on her shoulder. "He's been spending all his time looking after Rey lately while Finn and I have been out on missions. Besides, since I believed there was a good chance you had died I just needed space on my own, to mourn I guess."

Lyra kissed his hair softly. "I'm so sorry you have been through all that heartbreak alone Poe, truly I am. Things have been so confused these past few months, I should never have believed you wouldn't have contacted me or tried to find me. I was just so, wrapped up in my own problems."

Poe looked up, shaking his head as he ran his finger over her lip gently. "Don't apologise. I've been going through my own shit, I make no secret of that. But I can't begin to imagine what kind of torture the First Order has put you through. I saw those scars on your back, I know what those monsters are capable of."

Suddenly, as if everything that had happened over the past few months came flooding back to her memory at once, Lyra's tears began to fall as she realised the mistakes she had made in betraying Poe, in being away from him for so long, in doubting his devotion to her. It was all too much.

Poe was quick to wipe her tears away, but more fell as he wiped the previous ones from her face.

"Hey sweetheart it's ok, it's ok now, shh, everything's gonna be alright, we're together now, everything's gonna be ok now" he whispered, taking her into his arms before leaning back against his bed and allowing her to lie in his arms.

"Poe, I have, I have to tell you something" she whispered.

"Shh sweetheart. You don't have to tell me anything just yet, we have time for that, I don't want you to relive all the pain you've been through just yet. I just want to hold you. I just want to know this isn't a dream."

Lyra wondered if he would forgive her in the state of mind he was in, or if news of her betrayal would break his heart even further. She was happy to put off the truth a little while longer, even if it was just for a night.

"Your X-Wing looked different, did you paint it?"

He nodded. "Black and orange felt a little too close to the First Order. I thought my mom would appreciate the white and orange combo instead, resistance colours."

Lyra smiled. "It looks good. Shara would be proud of you."

He sighed heavily. "I don't know, I don't really know how to do this whole General thing, not sure how to lead people, kind of just used to managing myself."

She held his hand in her own, running a thumb over his fingertips. "That isn't true. You save people all the time. You saved people when you were part of the black squadron, you saved people against the First Order. You saved me, plenty of times."

Poe's brow furrowed. "I saved you? You've been stuck on that ship with those monsters torturing you for months because I couldn't save you. Hux probably did a better job of saving you than I did."

She leaned up, taking his face in her hands. "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you Poe. I was so lonely, I didn't realise how lonely I was until I found you. Being part of the Resistance, helping you, being with you. It saved me from a life I didn't even know I wasn't destined for. I can't believe I ever lost sight of that fact. I love you Poe, from the moment I saw you I loved you. You did save me. In more ways than one, in ways you'll never even know. Leia was right to choose you to take over her role. There is nobody else who could lead these people to freedom the way you can."

He smiled, leaning down to kiss her lips gently. "You always know exactly what to say. I've missed your words of wisdom."

"You mean you've missed having me as your cheerleader?"

Poe laughed gently. "Maybe. I've missed having you around Lyra. I've missed hearing your voice and waking up to you. I've missed everything about you. Missions have been miserable without you."

She grinned at him. "I don't think the missions are meant to be fun Poe, I mean, running for our lives from a rancor was hardly a picnic."

He shrugged. "You know what I mean. Besides, running from that rancor was fun and it ultimately ended with us in that cave, where I kissed you for the first time. I'd run from a hundred rancors for that day."

Lyra ran her fingers through his hair as she gazed up at him. "Even now, even after all this time apart?"

He frowned. "Especially now."

She turned to kiss his chest, noticing he had gained some weight since they had last been together. It looked good on him, though she was thoroughly convinced the man in-front of her could sprout an extra head or change species and she would still love him.

"I'm not sure I deserve all this devotion Poe" she remarked, his words painfully reminding her of her disloyalty.

"Well, tough shit, you're getting it. I already told you, you're my reason for fighting Lyra. We can't get out of this war now, but at least now we can fight alongside each other again."

She nodded. "What's the situation with the Resistance, even the war? I feel like I've been living in a bubble for so long."

"We've been gathering our strength, getting allies together, we thought things were looking up but then, we started getting these weird signals over the past couple of weeks, messages about a fleet coming, commanded by someone bigger than Ren, bigger than the First Order even."

Her eyes widened, how had Hux kept such a secret from her?

"Who do you suppose it is?"

Poe took a deep breath. "The Resistance think it's the return of the Sith, the voice in the messages, it sounds, it sounds like the Emperor."

She shook her head. "No, it can't be. He died, years ago at the hands of Darth Vader and Luke."

"The Sith deal in powerful magic and dark ways of the force, anything is possible. I don't want to believe it either but we can't afford to ignore such threats."

Lyra's heart sank. If what Poe said was true, if Palpatine had returned, everyone she loved was in even more danger than originally thought. Hux, if he hadn't already been hurt by Ren and Pryde would no longer be granted safety. The First Order would no longer be the biggest threat. Palpatine had done unspeakable things to gain power years ago, even Lyra knew the horrors he would unleash if he were able to rise once more. If Poe was right, there wouldn't be a war between the First Order and the Resistance anymore. There would be outright destruction of the galaxy as she knew it.

"And this fleet that he spoke of, can the Resistance fight such numbers?"

Poe shot her a sad look, confirming her worst thoughts.

"Then we at least fight to our last breath trying to stop such madness."

Her heart sank. She would most likely die in this fight, as would Poe, as would all her friends. If her and her loved ones were to die, she wanted to at least die together. But there was now one person missing from that possible scenario. Hux. If he wasn't already dead, Lyra couldn't stand the thought of him dying alone, believing his life's work and life's mission to protect his wife had all been in vain. Still, how could she tell Poe such thoughts, and Leia was no longer around to listen without judgement.

Poe leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna do everything in my power to keep you and my friends safe, but I need you to know, if we don't make it out of this war alive, I can't think of a better way to go than by your side sweetheart."

"We'll find a way to stop all of this, we always do Poe. We have to. We haven't built our house in Yavin together yet."

Poe smiled. She remembered. "You're right. You're not leaving me or this galaxy until I build you a big walk-in closet for all those dresses."

They laughed. Despite it all, they laughed. Together again. As if no time had passed between them. Lyra wondered if that was the definition of true love. Being able to laugh with someone when the world around you crumbled and not caring if you both went with it…

XXX

On-board the Finalizer, Hux sat in one of the ships meeting rooms, awaiting the Supreme Leader and General Pryde to arrive. His hands shook as he twisted his gloves in them. They had learnt of Lyra's escape and now he would have to do his best acting to convince them he had no part to play in her leaving.

After all, he couldn't protect her if he was dead.

When the two leaders of the First Order finally entered the room, Hux couldn't help but panic, swallowing his fear down as he forced himself to look at them.

"So, your wife escapes us again Hux, strange she should get free twice" Pryde remarked.

Hux looked down. "I am as shocked as you are, I thought she truly loved me, I thought we were happy together again."

Ren frowned. "You know I could just read your mind for the truth if I wanted. But you really think letting her run off to her Resistance friends is going to make her love you? You're pathetic, not even worth killing."

Hux grit his teeth. Everyone was always underestimating him. Fine, he thought. Let them think I'm weak, it will make revenge all that much sweeter when it finally comes. For now, lie for Lyra.

"I didn't have anything to do with this. You think I wanted my wife gone? Things were just healing between us, I never would have helped her leave me. I love her."

Pryde sighed heavily. "You truly think we would believe a girl, untrained in her abilities could make it out of fully armed dreadnought teeming with First Order officers and Stormtroopers without even so much as being spotted without help? I thought you were smart Hux."

Hux thought of dying without being there to project Lyra, he thought of a life without her and of her leaving him and he couldn't help but cry at the realisation of it all.

"I love my wife. More than anyone in this forsaken galaxy, I would never hand her over to those who endangered her life in the first place much less the loathsome Resistance, believe what you will, but I will not have you say I would ever help to deliberately put my wife in danger."

It wasn't a lie, Ren wouldn't need to scan his mind to know that. Hux did care more about Lyra's health and happiness than anything else in the galaxy, even more than his loyalty to the First Order. Which is exactly why he had let her go in the first place.

"Enough. We have more important things to deal with now. Besides, with your wife truly gone now, perhaps you can return to being of use to me, and to the First Order. Palpatine is back. I want him dead. I want any risk to the First Order dead. And you, both of you are going to help me destroy him before he can pose a real threat, then I'll deal with you Hux as I see fit" Ren said.

As Ren stormed out with Pryde on his tail, Armitage breathed a sigh of relief. However Ren's words had instilled a new fear in him. If the sith had returned, if Palpatine had returned, than his wife was in even more danger than he originally believed.