AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

"The Pull to the Dark"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 17

Snoke.

Ben felt himself shivering. Previously, he hadn't been sure if the shadowy leader of the cult that called itself the "First Order" existed, though he'd heard rumors that the man gave himself a name that sounded like "smoke" to demonstrate how he couldn't be caught, yet he could strike out of nowhere.

"Snoke . . ." he whispered. "So you don't just want me. You want the galaxy."

"Our . . . our daughter's a baby!" Ara spat, her voice raspy but full of venom. "How the hell can a baby help you take over the galaxy?"

The man – Snoke – burst into laughter. "You little fool. I am a patient man." He stroked the baby's head with slow, deliberate motions, as if he delighted in taunting her parents. "Yes . . . Skywalker may have meddled with my plans for your husband, but your daughter . . . her potential will be fully realized."

"You'll die first!" shouted Ara, pushing herself out of Ben's arms, though she immediately gripped her head after doing so, swaying slightly. "I won't let you hurt her . . ." Her voice remained full of venom even though her body collapsed back into her husband's arms.

There was a twitch in Ben's senses, a feeling that someone or something was missing. "My . . . my family," he whispered, realizing that they should be here, though he wasn't sure why. "What did you do to my family?"

"They are distracted," the dark Ben said, his voice again made harsh and robotic by the mask.

Snoke ran his finger over the baby's forehead. "The mind, such an easy thing to penetrate, to manipulate. Give people a few glances of their own fears and they will fall victim to them, just like you did."

"We beat you before," Ben growled. "We'll do it again."

"Yes," Ara called, resting her head on Ben's shoulder but still glaring up at the throne. "You know what his family's capable of."

"His family just needed a few memories to become distracted." Snoke was scowling at her as if she were a disgusting pest. "They don't remember what they're doing – they don't even remember where in time they are."

"What did you do to them?" Ben demanded.

"I did very little. I merely activated some memories and fears. Their minds did the rest."

Go find them! a voice in his mind screamed, but how could he leave his wife and child with this . . . this monster? With a gulp, he looked at the dark version of himself, imagining his own eyes behind that expressionless mask. "You," he said, struggling to keep his voice steady, "if you're really me, then you should help them."

"They are weak," was all the dark Ben said.

Weak, the word Ben had heard so much when the voice was still in his head. There was a time long ago when he believed what the voice said about his family being weak, how they couldn't protect him from the nightmares that invaded his mind. He once thought the voice was the only thing that would make him strong enough to banish the dreams.

"You're wrong," he said in a steady voice. "They're stronger than you or your master will ever be."

"You can say that all you want, but it doesn't make it true," said the dark Ben. "If they're so strong, where are they now?"

"They can get out of whatever your master trapped them in."

"You think they'll come save their little boy from the big bad monster? How can they do that when they're trapped inside their own nightmares?"

"Don't listen to him," Ara said, her voice still weak and raspy but still full of determination. "He wants to frighten you." She slowly raised her hand, pointing at the baby in Snoke's hands. "Our daughter, we need to focus on our daughter."

Ben knew she was right, though he couldn't deny the iciness in his stomach. He turned his focus away from his double and shifted it to his daughter, lying contently in Snoke's arms as if he were her father, which caused a seething rage to build up inside him. "She's not yours," he muttered.

Snoke gave a twisted, wicked smile, as if he just found the whole thing amusing. "I will give her the power to rule the galaxy. What can you give her?"

"Love."

The word sounded weak and pathetic the instant it came out of his mouth, but it was the strongest thing he could think of.

"Love," Snoke repeated as if he'd never heard of the concept. "You think you can love the child back to you?"

"She's NOT YOURS!"

With that, Snoke flicked his fingers, sending Ben flying with the Force and slamming him against a wall that he hadn't even seen before. The invisible hands of the Force pressed him to the wall, compressing his chest and making it hard to breathe.

"BEN!" Ara screamed, struggling to her feet but only getting halfway to a standing position before Snoke pushed her against the wall across from him, her body twitching like a bug caught in a web.

"Ara!" Ben's voice came out in a gasping whisper, the pressure on his chest preventing him from shouting. "Ara . . ." Now there was pain, as if his chest were in a vice that was slowly crushing it.

"See how weak your parents are?" It took Ben a moment to realize that Snoke was talking not to him, but to the baby. "They cannot even protect themselves, yet alone you."

"You leave my daughter alone, you BASTARD!" Ara screamed, after which her face scrunched up in pain, her throat tightening.

Ben closed his eyes, trying to call on the Force, but he couldn't concentrate. The invisible grip seemed determined to embed him into the wall. By now his breath was so shallow that his head was spinning – maybe he was only seconds away from passing out. The only motion he could make was a slight twist of his hand.

And his fingers brushed something familiar in his pocket.

Dice . . .

The golden dice . . .

The lucky dice . . .

Dad's lucky dice.

All his focus went to the dice as if they were the key to escaping. Dice. Dad. Dad's dice. Something . . . his family . . . they were supposed to do something. His family. Stuck somewhere. Their memories. Their minds. His mind. Minds.

Minds . . . connected.

He inhaled, his lungs painfully colliding with the invisible force. Mom. Dad. Rey. Uncle Luke. As he exhaled, he filled his mind with their faces, feeling their presence as if they were all holding hands.

Mom, Dad, Rey, Uncle Luke . . . hear me . . . He pinched the dice like a lifeline. Hear me . . . wherever you are . . . you're not alone . . .

We're all together . . .