Everyone's heads were down. Maybe it was them showing respect or maybe they were too afraid to look at what was happening. The silence dwelled on, the only sounds to be heard were the occasional small sniffle, the crackling of the flames, the ocean waves and the wind that brought with it a steady mist of rain that was threatening to only worsen in mourning.
It wasn't often that Naboo saw rain, but it was fitting. Most of the city was gathered along the beach for her. The three stood hand in hand, unable to look away from the flames that sent sparks fluttering away into the dark sky.
Soon the people left, one by one, the service shrinking smaller and smaller until all that was left were the three, hand in hand with a smoldering fire that was being put out by the now heavy rain. Rey stood between both Finn and Poe and despite the fact that she had both of them to hold onto, she still felt unbalanced and wanted nothing more than to collapse into the wet sand.
Finn had been kind enough to heal her on the Falcon, only nicks and scratches left, but neither of them had had the strength to help Rose and the guilt that was wrapped around the three of them was tighter than anything any of them had felt before. Failure to save a friend.
Rey's heart pounded in her chest as they finally decided to head back to the palace without a single word, just a known feeling around them.
The suite was gloomy when they arrived back in it. The windows that normally let in the warm morning sun were fastened shut with thick drapes pulled closed over them. The two large couches around the coffee table were unwelcoming next to a cold and dull fireplace. And the normally bright and happy flowers that were strewn on every surface that was possible to put a vase on, were sad and beginning to wilt.
Rey retired to her room with the large four poster bed, its own fireplace and window seat. She dried her wet hair with a towel that was draped over a chair next to her private bath. She changed into warmer clothes, the sleeves of one of Ben's sweaters hanging over her wrists, and one side of the collar was dipped over her right shoulder, too big to stay on right. She wandered back out into the main room of the suite and took a seat on the couch next to the other two who had changed out of their wet clothes as well.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and held the hems of the sleeves in her fists. The room was silent for a long while, Rey afraid was to speak. She knew that they didn't want to hear it and definitely not now. But she was worried sick and it must have been plastered over her face because Finn cleared his throat.
"We'll get him back Rey," he assured. "We just need to get our resources back together-"
"Is it good to risk that?" Poe asked absently, eyes glued to the unlit fireplace and a hand over his mouth. "I don't want to lose anyone else."
"She'll kill him" Rey said softly, afraid to disturb the heaviness in the air. She wasn't sure how far to test the waters. Everything was so unbalanced now. "If we leave him there, she's sure to kill him."
"It would just be us three," Poe muttered.
"Jannah, Lando and Chewie were planning to head back out unless something monumental happened again," Finn agreed. "They're still looking for her family apparently, and there was a good lead that they'll miss if they wait around here for much longer."
Rey understood that feeling extremely well. She had spent endless nights staring at the stars and hoping someone would hear her silent prayers to be found. Jannah deserved the feeling of finally being complete, even if it was never what you would expect.
"Does anyone else get the feeling that Lando..." Rey trailed off and traded glances with the others, sure they understood what she was referring to.
"No," Poe shook his head with a smile.
"She is!" Finn all but shouted.
"Maybe we should just let the two of them figure out they're father and daughter on their own. It'll be much nicer for them to find out on their own," Rey said with a small laugh. "It'll be sad to see them go. It was nice to see them for a bit."
"So, what is the plan?" Finn pushed.
"Well, if Wayzac is smart like everyone is saying she is, she's going to have moved the ship." Poe pushed himself up from where he was leaning against the couch and sat up. "But Finn had a brilliant idea."
"We hid the armor we stole on the ship and then Connix was able to get the tracking signal to turn back on. So we should know where The Finalizer is headed."
Rey smiled. "That is genius Finn. When do we leave? I can get Ro..." Rey trailed off, her spirits immediately falling. The room shifted back into its gloomy haze and they all wore frowns. Had she really not accepted the fact that their friend was gone? "Uh... When can we leave?"
"Let's make sure all of our resources are pulled together first. We also need to do some maintenance on the Falcon before we take her out again," Finn offered, trying his best to pull a lightness back into the room.
"Are you sure-" she began.
"Rey," Poe interrupted, with a kind smile. "Rose would not be upset for you wanting to go after Ben. She was trying to protect him after all. I'm sure she would want you to get your boyfriend."
Rey's cheeks grew red at the word and she hid her face deep in the fabric of Ben's shirt that still had his scent clinging to it. It made her feel a bit safer than she had for a while, but it was nothing compared to his arms.
"We'll discuss provisions with Cordella and then figure out our game plan," Finn instructed, getting to his feet. "I'm going to go find Connix and see if she can pinpoint where The Finalizer is. And maybe we can get that lightsaber back that you've been so worried about." He swiftly left the room, a warmth staying behind him. Rey stared after him for a moment, having forgotten that her weapon was still back on the Finalizer. She was more concerned about the person still there over a weapon that she could remake if she truly needed to.
And they were right. Rey knew that the two men were. The sting of losing Rose was going to be difficult to work through and they would each need to do it in their own time, but Rose wouldn't want them sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. She would want them doing what was best for the universe, saving what they loved and Ben was absolutely one of the many things that Rey had come to love.
As kind as Poe's smile was, there was still some form of resignation behind it that Rey had noticed, but couldn't exactly place. She had never been able to find the right time to ask him about it, but maybe this was it. She wanted to understand the wall between Ben and Poe. Everyone else had seemed to accept him as fully as they were currently capable and Rey knew it would take longer for everything to fall into place, but it would happen. With Poe it was different.
"Why do you hate him?" she blurted out, calling Poe's gaze to her. He was quiet for a long moment, his eyes dark with swirling emotions that made Rey want to shrink into the couch. "You don't have to tell me," she finally said, trying to fill the silence that was between them.
Poe sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before finally speaking. "When I was younger, I was on a raid and my brother was killed. He was a Knight of Ren and I guess he upset Kylo and Kylo took care of him." His voice was solemn, sad, but not pointed at Ben or angry. It surprised Rey. She had been expecting Poe to be seething, but the story was simple and matter of fact. "Zorii helped me put it into perspective while she was here." He wrung his hands out, unable to keep them still. "I am still upset, and..." He paused in thought and Rey let him finish whatever he was trying to complete in his mind before saying it aloud. "And I'm not sure I can forgive him for what he did, but he has changed. He saved Finn and I during that initial raid at the base and he helped us escape when we came to find you. I can... help you get him back and then maybe we can talk through it."
"That's quite mature of you," Rey muttered, looking over the pilot before her. He had changed. They had all changed since the battle on Exegol. She had been waiting for the same hot headedness that had manifested on Ahch-To, but this was a pleasant surprise. "Thank you for helping."
"Anything for you." Poe rose to his own feet, stretching his arms over his head. He exhaled deeply, hands lowering to his hips. "I need to speak with Cordella. She's going to try to sneak onto the Falcon and come with us again if we don't stop her."
Rey smiled. "So that's how you let her come along."
"She was already there, what else was I supposed to do?" Poe asked with his own smile. "I'll be back in a while. You should get some rest. I know you haven't slept since we got back yesterday." It wasn't said in suggestion, more orderly.
Rey nodded and watched as Poe left the room, leaving her alone with only herself. She rose from the couch and went to her room, sitting on the edge of the four poster bed, eyes closed.
She willed her breathing to steady and become long and slow, reaching out as far as she could with the force. It had been a long while since she had sat and meditated and tried to be one with the force, and the feeling of the aurora around her was comforting.
"Be with me," she breathed out. She had chanted those words for hours on end before, hoping for something, anything to come to her. Any advice, any form of wisdom, anything at all. "Be with me. Be with me."
"Rey...?"
Rey's eyes shot open at the gravelly voice and her gaze rested upon a battered looking Ben. He sat, slumped forward, against the wall by one of the bedside tables and Rey got to her feet to move over to him. She knelt down and reached out to carefully take his cheeks in her palms.
His normally crooked nose looked like it was busted once more, dried blood in a trail down his face. His eye was black and swollen, his brown also cut deeply, another trail of deep red liquid down the side of his face. One arm was limply at his side, a blaster bolt wound very present, and his other...
Rey fell backwards at the sight. "Ben," she gasped out, one hand reaching out for the mechanical fingers that had taken the place of his flesh and bone. "What happened?"
"Wayzac." He gave a chuckle, but it immediately turned into a cough. "I guess it's fitting, isn't it? First my grandfather, then my uncle. It was bound to happen to me sooner or later."
Rey's hand trembled as she reached out to it, jumping at how cold it felt to her touch. She caressed the silver plated knuckles of his new hand. "Does it hurt?" she asked softly.
"Not much anymore."
Rey returned to her knees, eyes meeting his. "I'm coming to get you."
His eyes widened in fear, something she had never really seen from him before. There were variations of it in his worried or concerned expressions, but never any of straight fear. "No," he said sternly. "I will come find you. Do not come back to this ship."
"But Ben-"
"Promise me Rey!" he begged, choking on his words. Rey could see the tears at the corners of his eyes. "Please promise that you will not come find the Finalizer. Do not come find me."
Rey was silent, her jaw set tightly. She couldn't just sit here and wait. That wasn't her. Even when he had been trapped between the worlds, she hadn't sat still. She was always searching, always doing something to find him. She was going to find him. She needed him safe, wanted him safe. Wanted him here with her until the day they grew old. Until she was 12,983 and he was 12,993.
"Rey, please," he begged.
She released the tension in her shoulders and nodded, lowering her eyes to the mechanic hand that she now held tightly too, the metal no longer cold against her skin. This time she would listen. She wouldn't go back to the Finalizer. But she wasn't about to stop looking for him. Not in the slightest. She would find him somehow. She would always find him. Chase him across all of time and space if she needed to.
Time and Space... She pushed the idea aside as another cough came from Ben.
"I promise," she whispered, slowly moving so she could sit beside him. She rested as close as she could, hoping that she wasn't hurting him when she leaned against his shoulder.
"You are swimming in my shirt," he muttered after a stretch of quiet. He chuckled, but again coughed roughly, making Rey sit up until the fit was finished and she could lean back against him. "It's cute."
Rey wanted to smile, wanted to pretend that this was a normal day, but she could feel this moment's bond between them fading, She desperately tried to hold onto it, onto him. She didn't want to leave him alone. Especially when he was hurt and within reach of that woman.
"We'll talk again soon," he promised her as he noticed her struggling to keep their pathway open. "I'll be back with you in no time."
She tilted her chin up and he took in the worried look in her big and beautiful eyes. They would keep him going until he saw her again. That warmth of love that flooded through him would keep him strong no matter what Wayzac threw at him.
He kissed her and she pulled him close against her body, as close as she thought his aching body would allow him to. He did his best to imprint this into his memory, making this a moment that he could escape to if things got bad before he could get out. And he was certain that they were going to get bad.
She clung tightly to him and Ben smiled into the kiss. It felt good to be wanted, to be loved by even just one person in this universe and he was glad it was Rey. Kind, beautiful, stubborn Rey.
The warmth of her body abandoned him in a moment and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in that room. The one where the light shining in his face made it so that he couldn't see past an arm's length ahead of him. But he knew what lined these walls and he knew what instruments Wayzac favored above the others. He didn't bother to pull at the restraints, even if he used the force he was too tired to get out and he was sure she was watching him intently while he sat alone in this room.
He wasn't sure how long he had been strapped to this chair, only knew that Wayzac had been generous enough to find him a new hand, but still left his bolt wound wide open. He wasn't sure what her plan was, but he had an idea it would be about where to officially find the Resistance and those keys that she was so obsessed about. Those keys that Rey couldn't explain why they had snapped in half. Those keys that his uncle had been searching for along with the wayfinders. Those keys that had been in his mother's possession and he didn't know why she had found them so important to keep.
Ben pulled at his restraints to see over his shoulder as the airlocked door opened and a single pair of footsteps that he knew far too well entered the room. He watched as Wayzac came around his side and took up the extra chair in the room that was across from him. She leaned forward, her knees brushing against his from how close she was.
"You have no idea how long I have been wanting to do something like this to you," she said so softly that Ben had to strain to hear her. "Snoke's little perfect project. Well, not anymore." Her eyes were harsh in their clarity and her jaw was set. The mark he had made down her face looked like it hadn't been tended to yet and he couldn't understand what was so important that she had to risk a larger scar forming over her otherwise perfect face.
"Ben, I believe that you should absolutely know how this works. If you lie to me, I will hurt you." He could hear the smile more than he could see it. "And I might hurt you for fun, but please don't let that dissuade you from telling me the truth. Now," She got to her feet, forcing his knees apart so she could stand between his legs, far closer than what he was comfortable with. "Benny darling, what were those keys for?"
Ben ran over the various options he had to go with in his head. He wasn't sure which was the best option. He could admit that he had lied and give her a new lie to work with or stick with the same story. He couldn't tell her about Nether. There was no telling what she would do with that type of power in her hands.
He must have taken far too long to speak because he quickly got an answer as to why the blaster shot was still fresh and open in his arm. His breath was stolen from his lungs as her fingers invaded the open wound, an unnatural sensation shooting through to his brain, telling him to run because no one was ever supposed to be able to touch the inside of his arm like that.
"Camtono," he got out through clenched teeth.
Wayzac laughed. "Don't give me that bull shit, Benny." Her fingers drove further into him and he swore he could see stars as he gasped for the air that evaded him. "What are the keys for?"
"The camtono!"
She pressed firmly before removing her fingers from his wound, leaving Ben gasping. His head drooped forward without his say so and he held back the tears that threatened at the corners of his eyes. Some spilt down his cheeks of their own accord and he inhaled shakily.
Wayzac's hand took a firm grip on his chin and pulled him up to look at her. His own blood smeared across his jaw and cheeks, warm and sticky against his skin. Her eyes wandered over his face and she snarled when she finally spoke.
"You were made a weapon Ben, and weapons don't weep."
She released her hold on him and stepped back, looking over the boy before her. She had never seen Ben this broken before. Sure, he had come back from training bruised and bloodied and needing to be patched up, and he would be gone for days at a time where he had told her he hadn't slept at all. He had strictly been doing strength and endurance exercises for days on end. He had limped back into her arms, nose smashed to pieces and needing to be rebuilt. He had dragged himself into Snoke's mansion with Snoke's biting disappointment being lashed at him. He had collapsed on the steps of temples across the galaxy with orders to not be helped more times than she could count, but he always got back up. He always rose again. So where was that man now?
She watched his chest rise and fall as he gained a steady breathing rhythm again, dark eyes dull and hidden behind unruly curls. His robotic hand glittered in the dim light of the room and Wayzac was curious why he hadn't used it to get out yet. He could easily break the restraints holding him even without the new added strength. The Force alone could send her flying across the room and leave him enough time to race away and back to the Resistance. He could even kill her, obstruct her airways. She had seen him do it many times before. So why wasn't he?
Wayzac reached out a single, blood covered finger and tilted his head up so his eyes could be seen from under his hair. There was a distance in them, the same distance that she had seen in her brother's eyes when her hands finally released their mother's throat. A shield. A protection. Hiding within themselves to make sure they survived. She hated it.
"All that blood looks good on you," she muttered. She stared, a thrill filling her as the distance in his eyes faded and he was brought back to where he was. Strapped to a chair in her scream stained room. "It brings out your eyes."
He blinked several times in surprise and she released him, removing herself from between his legs and moving to one of the walls that had tools set across it. Some were simple items and others had gadgets and gizmos to make them function. Her fingers trailed across one especially nasty looking item, but it wasn't personal enough.
"Why are you so obsessed with those keys?" he asked somewhere behind her as she moved onto the next wall to look at the toys there as well, disinterest in her features.
"I need them," she replied simply. He didn't need to know. She wasn't even sure if they belonged to what she was looking for, but if that stormtrooper reject had been brazen enough to sneak into her own quarters to take them, then she had a pretty good idea that she wanted whatever she thought was connected to them. She was just searching for confirmation. A yes that told her she was moving in the right direction.
"Aren't you more concerned with where the Resistance is?"
His nose wrinkled as she contemplated her answer and how much she should give him. "It's no secret that that child is hiding them on Naboo. But I know my fights and that is not one that I want to take on yet. I have more important things to attend to." She stopped in front of another tool and tipped her head to the side as she looked over its sleek outline. "And my brother may have been your little spy, but I have my own that's with them now."
"Who?" – He asked.
Wayzac couldn't help but laugh at the question. "Do you really think that I would tell you? You seriously underestimate me if you think I would."
"Why the hanger?"
"Hmm?" she asked as if she hadn't been paying much attention to him. "The hanger?" Ben could make out the teasing smile that oozed from her voice. "I just thought that it would be a fun thing to watch if they didn't happen to get out in time." She finally decided on her tool of choice and flicked on the arch welder, the blue contained lightning crackling. "Do you think it hurt?'
"That what hurt?" he asked as a reply.
"When your friend died. Do you think it hurt? I've never held a lightsaber before. I'm in no way force sensitive, so there was never a need. I've also never been stabbed with one."
Ben was quiet for a moment and Wayzac finally turned around to face him again. His shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed forward. She moved over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look up and back at where she stood behind him.
"Yes, it hurts," he muttered quietly.
She gave a curious look, coming to stand in front of him. He sounded like he spoke from experience and his eyes told her that he didn't like the memory the feelings were attached to.
"Because I have been burned with this." She held out the welder and let the electricity crackle in her hand. "And it's a bitch. You'll be a dear and tell me how it compares, won't you?" Ben's eyes flickered between her face and the handheld device in her fist several times. "Now, let's try this again. What do those keys go to?"
"We're not going back to The Finalizer," Rey announced early the next morning, causing both Finn and Poe to stop in their rapid inhale of food from the lavish dining table that stretched the full length of the room and stood quite bare towards the end no one was seated at.
"What do you mean?" Finn asked through a mouthful of Meiloorun.
"I've thought it over. It's not safe to try to find the Finalizer again," Rey explained, her fork pushing at the royal jelly roll on her plate.
"Then what would you like to do?" Poe questioned, lowering his fork and knife back to the table top and folding his hands under his chin to turn all of his attention to her. He gave a kind half smile. "We're going to get him back Rey. Finn and I can just go if it would be easier for you-"
"No, that's not what I meant," Rey interrupted with a shake of her head. She leaned around the large flower centerpiece to better see her companions and continued. "We're still going to save him, but we need a safer way to reach him than just sneaking back on that ship. We were lucky the last time to get away so freely. It was like she didn't even try to stop us. Like she let us go."
"So how do we find him if we don't go on the ship?" Poe questioned.
Finn's eyes widened and he quickly swallowed his mouthful. "We could use the Vergence Scatter," he said.
"I was thinking the same thing," Rey nodded.
Before she could say anymore though. Finn jumped to his feet and then Poe quickly followed. Rey glanced behind her and rose to her feet at the sight of first the queen's headdress and then the teen herself. The Queen sat herself down and nodded to the rest of them and they all returned to their seats.
Rey's eyes flickered over the teen who looked tired even under all of her make up as if she hadn't been able to sleep. Just behind her right shoulder stood one of several handmaidens in the room that Rey had never seen walking about the palace before, but she had a striking similarity to Cordella. The girl's own headdress covered up most of her head and hair, but the two shared similar facial structures. The nose, the cheek bones, the lips, the chin. The only real difference was the color in their eyes, but from far away, no one would be able to tell. Rey tipped her head to the side in curiosity and Cordella must have noticed because she spoke as her food was served to her by some other staff.
"This is Emila. She is my double," the Queen explained.
"Your double?" Rey questioned through the silence that again seemed to have accomplished the table as the two generals looked up at the new girl.
"It is customary for the appointed ruler of Naboo to have someone who can take their place if there is a threat," Cordella explained to Rey with a kind smile. "It's also quite useful if there are meetings that I don't wish to attend." This caused Rey to smile. "I believe you may have met here when The Finalizer Attacked here. I was away on business. She has been away, but I must say that I am very glad to have her back with me again. She is a dear friend."
Rey gave a curious look over Emila. How had she met her and not realized a difference?
"You're too kind, M'lady," Emila said in that same monotone voice that the Queen used. Rey stared for a moment longer at the girl. Emila sounded just the same as Cordella when the Queen spoke plainly. Maybe that was why they spoke in such a way, so you couldn't tell them apart. "I am just attending to my duties."
"Don't be so modest," Cordella said with a hint of sweetness to her words. She glanced around the table. "I did not mean to interrupt the earlier conversation. Please continue. It quite piqued my interest."
The three traded looks before Rey spoke up. "We were wondering if maybe the Vergence Scatter would be a safer way to track down Ben."
"And do you know how to access the Nether?" The Queen asked before taking a sip of her drink, but otherwise not touching her plate.
"Yes," Finn answered, a tone of caution lacing his voice.
"I would prefer if we didn't discuss this over breakfast," Poe pressed, just as careful as Finn had been.
"Of course general," the Queen smiled. "We will discuss it later then."
A/N: Hey all of my wonderful peeps! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy!
I finally have an ending chapter. I am writing it out right now! I am super excited. Together there should be 38 chapters unless my characters or mind decide to write mroe. My beta is trying to work through my chapters are quickly as she can while working and so we will probably continue with a chapter a week until the end, which will give me more time to work on my next Modern AU story. I will tell more about that when this story is completely finished.
And thank you all for all of your amazing comments! I always look forward to reading them. Until next chapter, Happy Reading!
Thanks again to my sister and my wonderful beta, PitaGonzalezMe on twitter.