Turning the Tide
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A/N-this is set after the fight in the throne room in The Last Jedi. After the legacy saber is destroyed, Ben and Rey lie unconscious. She is the first to recover, and after gathering up the broken pieces of the saber, instead of fleeing right away, she makes a surprising decision. If Ben Solo won't listen to her, then maybe he'll listen to his mother….
Chapter One-The Decision
Rey climbed to her feet and slowly spun around in a disorientated circle. It was like she was in a dream. Remnants of the small fires burned all around her, creating an eerie effect in the throne room. She tried to avoid looking at Snoke's severed body, cut in half, and lying dead at the base of his throne. Surrounding her on all sides were the broken bodies of the Praetorian guards. Rey groaned, one hand rising to touch her throbbing temple. After all the violence the throne room was eerily quiet. Instinct told her to flee, to get away as fast as possible before she was discovered and became trapped on this damn ship. Chewie was waiting for her in the Falcon. One signal from her and he would come riding to her rescue.
Except….
Rey's hazel eyes fell onto the only other living being in the throne room. Kylo Ren lay unconscious on the cold floor. His hair, so black against skin so white, only served to make him appear all the more ghostly, more haunted. His eyes were closed, his breathing gentle and even. No one would have believed he had been involved in a desperate fight for survival only moments earlier. His face was relaxed, too innocent in repose. It angered Rey. He should be hurting. Just like she was. The pain of his betrayal tasted bitter in the back of her throat.
"Ben Solo will turn!"
She had been so sure that would happen, so convinced in her righteous arrogance that he would follow where she led. Instead the opposite had happened. His hidden agenda had only been revealed after she helped him defeat the cursed guards. Rey's eyes moistened as she remembered the feeling of pure joy that had flooded through when she had beseeched him to save the resistance fleet, only for it to die just as quickly when he proposed that they should join together and 'let old things die,' including the Resistance, and bring a new order to the galaxy. Despite her entreaties he had resolved to continue down his dark path and no words of hers were going to change that.
Kylo Ren had offered his hand, pleading with her to stay with him so that they could rule the galaxy together, to destroy the past he hated so much. She had been tempted, so tempted. And she hated herself for it. Hated him, too.
"Why?" Rey yelled at his fallen figure. "Why did you have to go this way?"
Her only answer was the gentle cadence of his breathing as he remained in an unconscious state. His lack of response bothered her, even though she knew she was being ridiculous. Hunkering down next to him, she was close enough now to hear his heart thump in accordance with his slow, shallow breaths. Serenity was plastered across his face, a peace that he shouldn't be allowed, she decided, in his obliviousness to the physical world.
"I won't let this happen." Rey snapped at him. "You were our last hope. You were my last hope." She couldn't hold back the choked sob that threatened to overwhelm her. Sucking in a sharp breath she went to slap his face, but when her palm came into contact with his skin it turned into the gentlest caress.
Scowling, Rey snatched her hand back as if it had betrayed her. "I won't let you get away with this." She muttered resentfully. "If you won't listen to me…then maybe you'll listen to the one person you're afraid to face…your mother." Her eyes closed briefly in pain as she thought of having to tell General Organa of her failure to bring Ben home. No, she couldn't bear it. She would bring Leia's son home, even if she had to drag him there kicking and screaming.
Resolved on her crazy new plan, Rey rose to her feet and hunted for the cuffs that had once been wrapped around her own wrists. She needed something to bind him in case he regained consciousness before she got him to the Falcon. After a frantic search, she found them discarded just a few feet from Snoke's dead body. Ignoring the horrific sight of the fallen Supreme leader, Rey picked up the cuffs and rushed to secure them around Ben's wrists.
Now she just had to figure out how to move him. Rey gritted her teeth as she bent down and took hold of his boots. She stepped back, trying to drag his comatose body along with her, but it was too much, he was too heavy. She scowled in frustration as she tried again and again to drag him along with her, but she was soon sweaty and out of breath.
"Ugh!" Rey wanted to scream. "Think, Rey, think!" Angry tears welled in her eyes as she glared down at him resentfully. Her fingers twitched by her sides in aggravation as she focused all her attention on Ben's comatose body. She could feel the Force swirling around her, strong in its intensity…
The Force!
"How can I be so stupid!" Rey chastised herself in annoyance at the obvious answer. She extended her arm, her fingers outstretched as she summoned the Force, manipulating it to help her move Ben. And slowly, to her delight, just like the rocks she used to practise on, his body began to rise off the floor.
The Supremacy was still in chaos. After Rey had used the Force to summon the Skywalker lightsaber to her grasp. Ben, his entreaty rejected, had raised his own hand to harness the Force around the lightsaber, causing it to stop mid-flight. Neither Ben or Rey had relented as both continued to call upon the Jedi weapon with equal determination. In the midst of their standoff, the lightsaber's kyber crystal wailed through the Force, seeking resonance and harmony where there was nothing but dissonance. The crystal ultimately sheared apart, unleashing a wave of energy that tore the lightsaber in half before consuming the throne room in a flash of brilliant, blinding light. In addition to rendering both Force users unconscious, the shock wave of Force energy coincided with the sacrifice of Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, who crashed the Raddus into the Supremacy at lightspeed, splitting the First Order flagship in half before it could destroy all of the Resistance transports.
With the Supreme leader dead, no one was taking control. Rey used this chaos to her advantage. She had contacted Chewie. He was already on his way. She had deliberately kept him in the dark about her mad plan to kidnap Ben and hold him hostage. If she had allowed herself time to pause and consider what she was doing, the rational part of her would have abandoned the crazy idea, but she didn't allow herself to think. Thinking was overrated.
Rey reached the docking bay without consequence. She watched as Chewbacca crash landed the Millennium Falcon, causing the ship to swerve across the bay, destroying enemy Tie fighters in its wake. Rey saw the tall Wookie waiting for her on the opened ramp. It was now or never. Making a mad dash toward the Falcon, she drew Ben along with her with the power of the Force. She saw Chewbacca's eyes widen in surprise at the strange sight, before they darkened and he emitted an angry roar.
Rey felt the full force of Chewbacca's anger at the sight of Ben. She knew he was reliving the moment Han had died, killed mercilessly by the hand of the boy he had once held great affection for. Rey looked at him pleadingly, begging the Wookie's forgiveness. Chewbacca roared again, but he didn't stop Rey as she switched positions and propelled Ben's unconscious body up the Falcon's ramp ahead of her.
"I'm sorry, Chewie." Tears pooled in Rey's eyes as she apologised to the anguished Wookie when she reached him. "I failed. I failed badly. I didn't know what else to do."
Chewie whined sadly as he stared down at Ben with haunted eyes. Rey was exhausted with the effort of using the Force to carry Ben's body through the ship. As the ramp closed, her arm fell back to her side, and she fainted. Chewie caught her before she hit the floor. The same couldn't be said for Ben. A groan escaped his parted lips when his body smacked against the hard metal walkway, winding him. He was beginning to regain consciousness. The tall Wookie growled his frustration as he was forced to put Rey down so he could deal with young Solo. He yanked Ben up into his arms none too gently, before carrying him swiftly down into the belly of the ship so he could imprison him in the cargo hold. Ben groaned again as Chewie dumped him unceremoniously on the floor and locked him inside.
A/N-thanks for reading! Just a crazy plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. I always wanted Leia to have a chance to see and talk to her son…. please review.