***Content warning: self harm, dubious consent of sexual nature (no rape though, no sex for that matter)***
**Last time on WO: Luke tries to teach them mediation tricks to combat force induced visions, but Ben is influenced by the dark. He almost drains Rey's force and her life. Rey just woke up after being healed. **
Rey opened her eyes and she was in the air, she felt so full of raw power. Not the force that she was used to, but it was alluring, seductive. Her body was weak, but she drew from that well that whispered her name. Yes! You are no longer a nobody. Take it, and come to me. You will belong here, not feeling like an outsider. You are only tolerated here because they are his family. I can give you a new family. A purpose. Rey nodded. She'd longed her whole life to have a place, to have significance.
Something gave her pause. Ben. Don't worry. I have plans for him too. But he still has things to learn. One thing you can do to teach him before you leave. Now, take the power.
Rey hesitated but grabbed hold and drew it into herself. It felt amazing, like she could do anything, be anybody-be somebody. She'd never felt stronger, the force never felt so easy to touch. She kept taking until she hit a wall. She did not like to be denied. She clawed at the barrier that kept her from the force she craved. That's enough, for now. We don't want him too weak.
Rey was not happy with this, but she also didn't want to hurt Ben. She let go with a sigh. She dropped to the bed and looked around. There were droids everywhere and faces looking at her with a mixture of shock and worry.
"How do you feel Rey?" the Jedi asked.
She ignored him and focused on Ben. They were still connected and it felt wonderful. She dropped her shields and drank in their connection. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to teach him, but she wanted to touch him and never stop. She hopped off the bed and walked over to him, eyeing him. He watched her warily, but didn't hesitate when she launched herself in his arms.
"Rey, why don't you lay back down? You've been through a lot," Ben whispered in her ear.
She shook her head and pulled him closer. She drank in his scent, and thought mine. He pulled back a bit and looked into her eyes. Rey wasn't sure what he saw there, but he led her to a chair. Be right back, I promise. He whispered over the bond. And he was. He'd gotten a wet towel and came back over.
The other Jedi in the room and the Twilek all made to follow him, but Rey held up her hand. When they kept coming she gave a push with the force, and they were suddenly against the wall on the other side of the medbay. "Just him," Rey growled.
Ben hesitated when she'd thrown them to the wall, but shook his head and kept advancing to her. He wiped her face, and she was surprised to see that the cloth came away soaked with blood. She couldn't remember the exact events that led her to be here, apparently bleeding from her nose and ears. Now that she thought about it, her face had felt wet and she'd tasted the bitter metallic liquid running down her throat. But those were secondary, maybe even tertiary concerns. Rey could feel Ben caress the bond and she shivered. Are you okay? She heard his smooth, seductive voice in her head.
She considered, and nodded. Can we get out of here? She sent back. She raised from the chair and was slightly unnerved by the scrutiny that he was giving her.
Let's wait until you stop bleeding, okay? I'm worried. Can you let them go? He asked hesitatingly.
Rey sighed and released the thread that held them in place. It seemed to upset him, and he mattered to her. She didn't care one way or another really. She just didn't want them touching her, or for that matter near her. "Stay out of my way," Rey looked at each of them in turn, making sure that they understood she was serious. Maybe even dangerously so.
"Ben? Can I speak to you?" Luke asked.
Rey squeezed his hand, and shook her head. Don't leave me.
Okay, Rey. I won't. But he is a much better healer than I am. Let him try and then we can leave. Ben pleaded with her.
"Fine. Luke only," Luke nodded and came their way. "And don't touch anything you're not supposed to or you'll be up against a wall again. I know you've done it before, and you won't again," Rey threatened.
Luke visibly paled, but kept walking toward her. His face was tight with concern, but he answered. "Of course. I'm sorry about that before." Luke turned slowly and spoke to the other Jedi in the room." You know, Ashby, why don't you go and work with the students? I have it under control now." Ashby looked frozen, distinctively uncomfortable. But she tilted her head to the side and listened, closing the door behind her.
Luke put his hands on her temples and Rey felt the icy wave of healing crash over her. Something happened and she felt the blood stop coming out of her nose and ears. She loved the feeling of his force in her, and tugged a little, taking more than he was giving. He jerked away, opening his mouth to say something, then changed his mind. He gave Ben a look, and they seemed to communicate something silently. Not through the Force though, because the bond was wide open and Rey would know.
Rey stood and pulled Ben with her. He only resisted a bit, but then smiled tightly at her when she turned to see why he wasn't following. They walked silently to her room, Rey revelling at the extra energy she had pooled into herself, and she felt that Ben was concerned, fatigued, and feeling a little helpless. She sent comfort to him and that seemed to boost him a bit.
Once they reached her room, she shut the door and put her arms around his chest. She was glad to have him, and she wanted to show him the power she had figured out how to obtain and where she was hiding it. She was sure that he would understand. He could be with her as she figured out how to make something of herself. But she felt like this Jedi academy was not the way to get what she needed. She shifted and pulled his lips down to her and kissed him, pouring her love and desire into their connection, but physical and in their bond.
That's it. Join with him and he will be ready. He will come with you. He can help show you who you are supposed to be.
She heard the whisper in her mind. She wondered how she could have been scared of this voice. It wanted to help her, guide her, and it wanted Ben to be with her. She felt a rush of pleasure in her stomach, then lower. She was wet between her legs, like she got when he touched her. She pushed more of that desire into him, and Ben willing back up until he sat on the bed. Rey took off her tunics and breast band, throwing them to the side. Then she took off her boots and pants, but left on her underthings for now. They hadn't ever taken off her pants in their explorations and Ben's eyes widened, taking in her bare legs and the shadow of her through her white underwear. She smiled at the power she felt over him. Her body was maturing and filling out and she could tell that he liked it. She let him look for another beat, and then climbed on his lap.
She returned to his lips, letting her hands roam over his chest and then his back. He was breathing harder and when she felt he was fully hard, she rolled her hips over him.
"Force! Rey," he said, his voice low and rough. He held on to her hips and moved her over him again.
She reached between them and unfastened his pants. She hadn't touched him yet, even though she had been wanting to. She ran her hand over him. He was warmer there, somehow the skin was so soft, but he was definitely full and hard in her hand. She pumped a few times, experimenting until he gasped and threw his head back. She shoved his pants down more and moved closer to him, and pushed her underwear to the side. She grabbed him at the base again, and tried to line them up.
"Rey?" he said tightly.
"Hmm?" she answered, moving her head forward to suck on his neck as she tilted her hips forward. It was much harder than she thought to get them lined up. She shivered at the thought of sliding onto him. When he put his finger inside it felt so good.
Yes, that's it. Show him how much you love him. Take that passion and share it with him.
She moved over him, not caring at the moment that she was having problems lining them up. Just sliding back and forth like this, no clothing between them, well at least there, was exhilarating.
"Rey? Force! That feels good. But we should stop. You had a rough day and I wanted to talk about it before we took this step. Ughn. Rey. Stop. Please?"
It felt like he poured ice water on her. She stood up, humiliated and stared at Ben. He can't even see what is in front of him. You're beautiful, I would make you feel good. Leave him for now. I promise he will join us when he is ready.
She grabbed her robe from the floor, and wrapped it around her tightly, not bothering with the rest of her clothes. Ben hastily fastened his trousers and hung his head. He surely felt what she was feeling. He got up and made to approach her, but she pushed him back to the bed, letting the force hold him there until she ran form the room, slamming the door as she left. She tightened the bond as much as she could. Blocking out emotions and hopefully even more.
He doesn't find you attractive. He was just using you for pleasure when he didn't have to look at you. We will make him see. Take the power and come to me.
'Where are you?' she asked.
She felt a thread growing, right beside where Ben was, and she felt a tugging. She blindly followed it, and eventually ended up outside, but not to any place that she'd been before. She could feel tears of anger and mortification roll down her face, but it didn't stop her even though her vision was blurred.
Use it. Emotions aren't bad. They can be embraced and used to make you stronger. Jedi are afraid of strength but I see so much in you.
So she embraced everything she was feeling. She directed her anger to a nearby structure, grabbing at the force around it and yanked. It was satisfying to see it crumble. She'd done that, and she felt pride in herself, the voice was right, she was strong. Once the anger was dealt with, she embraced the shame of being rejected from her sexual advances. It bubbled within her, but she wasn't sure what to do with it. She was clenching her fists and her nails were digging sharply into her palms. She realized that it was an outlet, no matter how small.
You can use pain. It will only increase the potency of what you can do with the force, It helps focus you. It whispered.
Then another voice. "Rey, where are you? I'm sorry I hurt you…" Rey shoved the voice away, and tautened the link between them. It was only making her mortification worse. She didn't want to hear his excuse.
Pain. She could do pain. She didn't have a blade, so carving like Ben did wouldn't work right now. Fire. The voice whispered in her ear. She'd never made fire from the force before and had no idea how to do that. She was getting frustrated at the bubbling emotions in her begging to be released. She clawed at her face, and could feel drops of blood falling. She got a sense of how to make fire, and she tried a few times before a little ball of fire formed above her hands. She grabbed onto it and felt a searing pain and relished it. She smelled the burning flesh and it turned her stomach. At the same time she heard 'Stop. We can't destroy those hands. You'll need them to train with me. But that was good Rey. You're learning quickly."
She waved her hands clumsily and the fire disappeared. The emotions had calmed enough to shove them out of mind for the time being. Now, let's go. Time is running out.
She started running, following the tugging. Too late. Kill them.
She didn't like that. She didn't want to kill anyone. She raised her hand, to do what she wasn't sure, when she ran around and corner and straight into Han. "Force, Rey. Where are you… What happened to you?" Han pulled her robe closed, apparently getting more of an eyeful than he wanted of Rey's body. She whimpered when he touched her hands and he looked down. "Oh, child," he said softly. He put his arm around her, careful not to make contact with her blistered and scorched hands.
"Leia?" he screamed.
She came running from somewhere, Rey didn't really care where-but stopped in her tracks when she saw a nearly naked Rey, sobbing into her husband's arms.
"It hurts, it hurts," she said, jerking out of Han's grasp and slumping to the ground. She pressed her raw hands into her temples and screamed. Darkness and light was warring in her head, and it felt like her brain was going to explode.
You can still leave. Get up. Use the pain. You don't have to kill them, I see that you aren't ready. But you can get away. When Rey sat rocking on the ground still clutching her head, the voice became more insistent and loud. Get UP!
Rey pushed herself to her feet. She saw the Falcon in the distance and made to run for it. She dodged when Han tried to grab hold of her. But he wouldn't quit. He had his arms around her, and her vision turned red. She waved her hand and he fell to the ground. Then, almost if it had a mind of its own, she directed power from that same hand and focused on this windpipe. He choked and tried to gasp for air.
Leia stood shocked for a few seconds and then she ran at Rey. Rey lifted the other charred hand, about to do the same thing to Leia. Leia hesitated, then summoned her own power. She wasn't fully trained in it, nor did she practice much, but Luke had taught her a mind trick for when Ben was younger and out of control.
"Sleep," she said, tears streaming down her face. Rey crumpled to the ground and Leia ran to Han. He was on his hands and knees, pulling air greedily into his lungs.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
But before Han could answer, Ben came running over to them, taking in the scene. "What happened here?" he demanded of Leia. His voice was cold and hard.
Chapter 37 Dark Rey
***Content warning: skims over the dubious content from the last chapter. Also a fairly graphic/gruesome description of Rey's burns.***
**Last time on WO: Rey wakes up, under the influence of the dark, and she draws from that power, attacking people she loves. She also tried getting it on with Ben because the voice told her to. **
*AN: We're getting there and the end is in sight. The first part is Ben's POV from the last chapter with some new storyline after. It's not word for word at all but I thought that it might add some insight.*
It was unnerving to see Rey suspended like that. When her eyes opened though, the bond felt strange, wrong. Her force signature was coated black, and he could barely see any of her usually brilliant light shining through. But he kept his wall up like Luke had instructed, and he was glad because soon he felt her banging on the wall between their minds. She had already taken so much power in, and he was afraid what she would have done if she could've gotten through. He had hurt her, he knew. He'd taken her power, her light, and when the cord snapped back into place, most of the darkness had gone into her. Guilt churned in his stomach and his head ached from the sith's voice taking over. But he shoved that down, because there was quite enough going on for Rey.
Suddenly she dropped to the bed, and he felt her side of the bond open up. She was giddy, almost drunk with power. She was also conflicted and a bit confused. She was pushing down the pain and dizziness, but it was so far down Ben wasn't even sure she felt it at all. When she got up and stalked towards him, he was wary. She was so dark in that moment he wasn't sure what she might do. Hurt herself? Ben? The whole academy. He tried to be rational and calm. He needed to balance himself so that she wasn't feeling anything more negative from him.
While, in truth, he was afraid, he didn't want her to know. He hated the look in someone's eyes, calculating, weary of the unstable person in front of them. She threw herself in his arms, and he hoped that he could share the light with her again. He tried to send comfort and love to her, but it bounced back at him. He felt the front of his tunic wet, where her face was buried into him, and remembered how badly she had been bleeding. She wouldn't lay down so he did they only thing he could think of to take care of her, and that was cleaning the blood off her face. If he was honest, it was also because her being covered in blood made him even more afraid of and for her.
He walked across the medbay and grabbed a warm, damp towel and went back to tend to Rey. Luke and Ashby made to follow him, but Rey force pushed them against the wall. He hesitated, not knowing how to approach her much less help her. He considered letting Luke handle her, but shook his head. He loved her and he knew firsthand how it felt to be handed off to be someone else's problem.
She seemed surprised when he took the towel from her face and it was soaked in her own blood but then seemed to dismiss it. He just felt even more responsible. He'd caused this darkness in her because he lost control of himself and then pushed it all back into her. She asked him if they could leave and when she couldn't be persuaded to rest, he agreed and pleaded with her to let his uncle and teacher free. When he talked her into letting Luke heal her, he was relieved for a few seconds, until he felt her drawing Luke's power into herself like she had when they first started to heal her. But they'd thought that was unintentional because of the state her body and mind was in.
Luke jerked away from her, both physically and mentally. He shot Ben a look. He'd somehow cloaked his signature so that Rey was sure not to notice it. She was high on power and the darkness that was swirling within her. She would be razor focused and then distracted, staring into space seemingly not realizing that time was passing. "We need to stop this. Get the light where it's supposed to be. I'm getting Leia, Han and Chewie ready to leave. I don't know if we can snap her out of this. We need to get to Onderon," Luke telegraphed into Ben's mind. He sent back a wave of acknowledgement, but not a moment too soon because Rey snapped out of her trance and searched their bond and the edges of his mind.
When she tried to pull him out of the room, part of him just wanted someone to help him, tell him what to do. But Luke would be helping everyone get ready to go, and he needed to be there for Rey and try to drain the darkness from the source of her force. He knew the light was still there, but it flickered too often for his liking and it terrified him even more when it would blink out for seconds at a time.
When they got to Rey's room, she started kissing him and he wondered if he should refuse. She wasn't herself, and he knew that the sith was in her head. She would get a blank look in her eyes, and Ben could feel the taint from his side of the bond. She didn't seem to be in pain, or feeling negatively affected like normal when the voice invaded.
But he could feel how much she was enjoying kissing him and the stages of desire that she shared with him made his own head a foggy mess. He watched in awe as she shed every last piece of clothing besides her underpants. He swallowed thickly and once again the thought that he should stop her flitted through his mind, but it was erased when she straddled him and then moments later undid his pants. She wrapped her small, hot hand around his length and he groaned. But when she pushed her underwear to the side and tried to slide over him, he knew that this was wrong. She wasn't making rational decisions and he didn't want this to be something she regretted.
But force, the way she was moving, the way her slick heat felt even if he wasn't actually buried in her almost made any reservations fly out the window.
Ben wondered if she would forgive him later on when she was back to herself and he wondered if he could live with himself if their first time happened like this. So he begged her to stop,
Ben's heart dropped and was breaking for her when she jumped away from him. She covered herself only in her discarded robes and stood there in front of him for a few seconds, looking wounded, rejected and lost. He fastened his pants and when he got up to go put his arms around her, to try to explain, he found himself on his back on the bed, unable to move. He lay there unable to move for a solid minute until the force bondage slowly released him.
Ben got out of bed, and felt for the bond- to get a sense of where she was and what she was feeling. But it was shut tighter than he'd ever felt before. He kept trying to find her, to apologize to her, but he wasn't sure if it ever got through. He stood, and debated if he should find Luke first or just go in search of Rey on his own. He finally opted for going by himself, because he didn't know where Luke was either, and didn't want to waste more time.
He ran through the academy, checking palaces she might be. It wasn't until he felt like his hands were literally on fire did the shield lower, and he was able to latch onto her signature and let it guide him to her. Ben found it so difficult to pay attention because now he was getting waves of intense pain in his hands and he didn't know what was happening to Rey, or how she could bear what she was going through while still being conscious.
Ben felt chaos in the bond, conflict mostly and he hoped that she could hang on to the light and let it guide her back. But the inky darkness spread even more through her end of the bond, and Ben was terrified he would lose her. He was getting closer and he dug deep and got an adrenaline powered surge of energy and used it to run towards her.
Nothing really could have prepared him for the scene that he took in when he got close enough. Rey was force choking his father, Leia stood in shock for a few precious seconds before waving her hand and commanding Rey to sleep. Rey hit the ground with a thud. He could tell that she was alive through the bond, no real sense of emotions, only a swirl of mostly dark power.
He demanded to know what was going on, even though it was obvious.
"I didn't know what else to do, Ben. She felt so dark, it was unstable. I thought she was going to kill him," Leia hung her head. "I didn't want to. I never wanted to with you either."
"It is what it is. I know she was out of control. She… well, nevermind. She's not herself. I'm going to get her on the falcon, can you get Luke? Wanna come with me dad?" Ben helped Han off the ground, then picked up Rey. He tried to push light and love through the bond but it just bounced back to him and that had him even more concerned than before.
Leia nodded, and started back to the school. But she turned when Ben called out to her.
"How long should she be out?"
She studied the ground in front of her like it held the answers to life itself. "Maybe a couple of hours? I panicked. Ben, I…"
He clamped down his temper. It wasn't her fault. Not really. Rey would never forgive herself if she came back to the light. When. He told himself. She would probably have a hard enough time with hurting him much less if she'd been allowed to kill him. "Mom, you did what needed to be done." He met her eyes and shrugged his head towards the academy. Ben got Rey settled and dripped his head in his hands. It was his fault, he'd drawn too much from her and made her vulnerable to the dark. He needed to fix this. He had to.
It was silent in the Falcon, tense and thick. Neither man knew what to say. Luke and Leia came in and both went straight to Rey. Luke put his hands on her, and Ben could feel him testing the bond and trying to send healing through.
"She's not accepting it, all of the force just comes back to me," Luke said. "Do you feel anything?"
"No. Nothing. I just feel… darkness, the bond is blocked almost completely. If I try to send emotions it's just like your healing. It just bounced off. I can touch her signature but I can't get in. I've never felt anything like it. I don't know what I did, but I screwed up," Ben said, clenching his fists.
Leia, who had been smoothing Rey's hair, came over and put her hand on top of Ben's. "You deal with the same darkness that she does. Would you blame her if she hurt you on accident? If she weren't in control herself?"
"No. Never. She's only dealing with the darkness because of me though, Because of the bond," Ben said, getting agitated. He stood up and started pacing. He tried again to soothe the bond, he'd help smooth over darkness once before, but the darkness was all encompassing. There were no edges to it, to file away.
"Son. Do you wish that you didn't have the bond?" Han asked.
"What? Of course I want it, but not if it hurts her. Maybe I should see if I could break it. It might be best for her."
"Ben. Look at me," Luke said. He stood patiently until his student, his nephew, turned to look in his eyes. "The force connected you. It wasn't your choice, but you two are good together. We're going to do our best to fix this, to get this sith out of both of your heads. It's not your fault. Do you hear me? Not. your. Fault. And as far as breaking the bond, we have no precedence. What if it kills one of both of you? What if without your help, she can't come back from the dark?"
"You're right, breaking it wouldn't help. But I just want to do something," Ben said. He continued his pacing even though there wasn't much room in his parent's quarters.
You could turn with her. Then she wouldn't be alone and in pain. She could break out of this prison she's in right now and you could be free together.
"Shut UP!" Ben roared. His head was pounding, black spots in his vision. He dropped to the floor and banged his head hard on the wall, one time, two, and three until Han dropped to the floor with him and pulled him into his chest.
"Ben? Are you here with us? Listen, you need to be strong for Rey right now. She needs your light and love, not for you to be in the darkness with her."
Ben nodded into his dad's chest. He'd been getting hugs lately but he couldn't remember the last time that Han had touched him this much. Nausea churned in his stomach, and he jumped up and ran to the fresher as bile rose in his throat. He emptied his stomach and then sat on the floor and tried to suppress his tears. He finally got up and rinsed out his mouth and splashed water on his face. He stared at his reflection and whispered "Get it together Solo. Rey needs you. Han is right. Make a plan, be by her side."
Ben opened the door to find Luke waiting for him. Luke took his head into his hands and pushed healing to him. The throbbing turned to a dull ache and Ben gave him a smile. "Thanks."
Luke nodded and patted his shoulder before dropping his hands to his side and then followed Ben back to Rey. Ben sat on the edge of the bed, and took her hand. That is when he noticed that it didn't feel right. It was swollen, had a leathery feeling, almost saggy feeling and was wet. He cradled the hand in his ad as he turned it over, part of the skin stuck to his own. He was afraid of vomiting again, but swallowed the bile and took deep breaths. Once his stomach was under control he called urgently to Luke and Leia. It was blistered, a slight grey coloring on the outsides of her palms and getting darker as it got towards the middle. He grabbed the other and it was the same, it was like she had grabbed a ball of fire, or struck by lightning on both palms.
"Force! Rey, what did you do to yourself?" Leia whispered.
"This doesn't look good. Especially since I can't heal her. Ben, let's get her to the med bay," Luke said after peering at her hands.
Ben picked her up and tried to be as gentle as he could, but she still jostled. She didn't flinch though. "Is she in pain?" He asked, his voice cracking.
"I don't know," Luke said.
"You used to tell me you didn't feel any pain if I had to make you sleep to calm you enough to be safe," Leia said.
Ben shivered a bit, remembering now that she mentioned that. He hadn't been under like that in years, he usually hid his pain well enough these days. He knew thought that had been a lie he told his mom to make her feel better. It was like he was trapped in his own body. Unable to see or move but able to feel everything, hear everything. Every whispered conversation between his parents or to Luke.
"Rey, I'm sorry. I love you. We're going to take care of your hands. And we are going to cut off this connection to the sith. Maybe find him and kill him. Just hang on, hold on to the light," Ben whispered in her ear. He couldn't decide if he should step gingerly or just full out run to the med center to get her pain meds. They had just left this wing, and he didn't know that she had recovered from her blood loss, much less dealing with a new injury. He wished tht he would stop seeing her in here, because that would mean she was healthy.
Finally they made it and he reluctantly let the doctor place her on a stretcher and scan her hands. "They're deep. We'll submerge them in bacta pools, it will take some time. What happened?" She asked. They all looked at her, not sure how to answer. The doctor huffed. "Different kinds of burns can be helped in different ways. Just spit it out."
Ben bristled at her tone, but checked himself. "She did it to herself, we think. But no one saw what burned her, what she used. Just fix her."
A droid came over with a tray and was just about to give her an injection of some sort when her eyes popped open. She snarled and violently knocked the tray across the room. It had to have hurt her hands, but she seemed oblivious. "Don't touch me again. Next one dies," she threatened.
Ben started towards her, but Han grabbed his shoulder, halting him. "I'm not sure you're an exception."
Ben shrugged him off and kept walking towards Rey. He held his hands up in surrender and moved slowly.
Rey eyed him, considering. "I'm not supposed to kill you, but my master didn't say anything about hurting you." She raised her hand, and Ben flew off his feet and into a cart of supplies. Instruments clattered across the floor, but he pulled himself to his feet, trying to shake it off. The air had been knocked out of his lungs, and he tried to take in a deep breath. He kept his eyes on Rey, and tried to keep his face neutral.
"Let me in, please. I want to be with you, show me what he told you," Ben said carefully. He hoped that she would open the bond and maybe he could help her then. Heal her, give her light.
"Do you think that I am that naive? You're a bleeding heart, I don't know that I saw in you. You cling so hard to the light. You had years of my master to teach you and you wouldn't give in. That's why you're weak. A disappointment. You wouldn't step up and finish what Vader started. Now I will."
"Please, Rey. You know me, you love me. You wouldn't hurt me. Just let me come to you." Ben took a small step towards her and everyone stayed frozen, hoping that Ben could help his bonded.
Rey stood up, not noticing or caring that she was still in nothing but an outer robe and her undergarments. Ben kept his eyes locked on hers as she advanced on him. He couldn't afford to lose focus. They were on a dangerous line, and he hoped that he could bring her back to the light, but he also had to protect his family. And ultimately Rey from herself. She reached for him and Ben couldn't help but inexplicably feel small under her gaze.
She held out her charred palm to him. "Join me," she asked. She was staring at him, weighing some decision. Or listening to the voice. Master, she'd called him. Ben shivered at that.
"I can't," he whispered.
"So pathetic. Your face gives you away," Ben felt her running a hand over the bond. And then she cracked into his mind. It hurt. Agony. He saw everything she was looking at. She flipped through his mind like it was a book. "So soft. Do you really think that you can bring me back to the light? With what? Your love? I tried to give you my love, but you rejected me. Begged me to stop like I was forcing you."
"Join me." she asked again. Her mangled hand still palm up towards him, beckoning him.
She'd withdrawn from his mind and he could somewhat think straight. He used a tendril of force to try to heal her or give her just a little light. He hoped that she'd lost some focus when she'd clawed her way into his mind, left even a crack for him to use. There was nothing.
She seemed to sense that he wasn't going to change his mind, so she held out her other hand. Luke's lightsaber began to fly into her hand, but several things happened at once. Ben threw up a force shield and the saber bounced off it. Ben had forgotten they had an audience until he heard Leia sobbing as she raised her hands and forced Rey to sleep again.
Rey seemed to fall to the floor in slow motion, and Ben tried to reach her before she hit the floor. But her head cracked on the floor and she was a tangle of limbs. His head hurt so badly and he felt like he was on some strange loop that he couldn't stop. Guilt churned in his stomach that he hadn't caught her with the force. He just felt a step too slow, physically and mentally. His emotions were strung out and he just wished that he could turn back time. That she'd never be in this situation.
There was a doctor hovering over him and Rey. He wasn't exactly sure when he picked her up again, or when he'd started crying. "Fix her hands and sedate her. Deeply," he said. Defeat colored his tone as he picked her up and placed her on the bed. He didn't know what she would have done with that lightsaber but given that she would have killed Han less than an hour ago, he didn't want to imagine.
They needed to figure out a way to fix this. Fast.