Paralyzed

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A/N-thank you very much for the kind reviews.

Chapter Thirty-Six-Guardian Angel

Remorseful. Guilty.

The feelings just wouldn't go away. Rey wished she could turn back time and rectify her mistake. However, it was impossible. She had to live with it. But she couldn't. Remorse etched at her heart. Guilt gnawed at her stomach, the waves of nausea making it impossible to eat. A tear trickled down her cheek, the same old memories continuing to torture her.

When she had seen Hux pointing the blaster to the back of Beaumont's head, her first instinct hadn't been to negotiate, but to attack. Burning rage had hissed through her body like deathly poison, screeching a demanded release in the form of unwanted violence. The Force had swept through her like a volcano erupting; fury sweeping off her in ferocious waves.

"You need to stop thinking about it, Rey." Ben hated seeing her beating herself up like this. "Hux will be fine."

"But I could have killed him. I was totally out of control. If you hadn't stepped in to stop me…."

"You were acting on instinct, Rey. I felt it. You felt threatened and the first thing you did was act to protect the babies."

Ben could feel the pain swirling in her brain, she was mentally torturing herself. Her thoughts going around in endless circles. She was going to drive herself crazy if she didn't give herself a break. "People do things because their emotions are driving them that way... you thought he was going to hurt someone, sweetheart. You are hyper emotional right now. Stop blaming yourself."

Ben wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling Rey calm down instantly at his touch. The simple touch sent a wave of butterflies coursing through her veins, their fluttering wings easing the dread that had settled inside her stomach like a heavy weight.

"Ben, I'm afraid." Rey admitted as she tucked her head under his chin. "What if its something in my genes. Something I inherited from Palpatine…."

"No, you are not going down that road, Rey. I was right there with you. I felt what you felt. It was a mother's instinct to protect. Nothing more." Ben insisted.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to make me feel better?"

"I've never lied to you. I wouldn't do that now. Not over something as important as this." Ben tipped her chin up as he leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers. He felt her body loosen further, her arms finding their way around his neck. After a moment he pulled back, their faces hovering close, quite soundless for so long, simply finding comfort in each other's presence.

"How is she?" Poe asked a little while later when Ben joined him on the command ship.

"She's sleeping now." Ben said wearily.

"You look like you could do with some sleep yourself." Poe looked at Ben's tired face in concern. "We can do this later."

"No, I want to get this over with." Ben's eyes glinted with determination. So far no one had been able to get anything out of Beaumont. The guy was locked in a cell, refusing to speak to anyone. The traditional methods of extracting the information they needed from him weren't working, so Ben was going to probe his mind. "You can leave if you want." He said to Poe. "I'll be as gentle as I can with him…. even though I want to be the complete opposite." He added darkly. "But this might bring back painful memories for you."

"I'll be fine. Do what you need to do." Poe said grimly. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of Ben using the same technique to telepathically extract information from Beaumont's mind that had been used on him, but with Rose struggling to crack the encrypted code that had Hux had been able to download onto the flash drive, they were running out of time and options. Hux was unconscious in the med-bay under the watchful eyes of Harter Kalonia. No one had any idea how long it would take for him to come around again.

"Let's do this." Ben activated the control panel outside of Beaumont's cell. The door slid open, revealing the prisoner inside. He exchanged one last glance with Poe before crossing the threshold.

Ben tried to stay calm as his eyes met Beaumont's slumped form. He wasn't moving and he was bleeding profusely from a cut on his head from where he had fallen to the ground. Ben narrowed his eyes. He knew Beaumont was faking it. He stepped forward, only stopping when he was a few inches away from the guy. Ben extended his arm, reaching out with the Force, his fingers hovering close to the traitor's face.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Its up to you."

Beaumont's eyes slowly opened. He ignored Ben as his frantic gaze found Poe's. "Are you really going to let him do this, Poe? General Organa would never have sanctioned anything like this. Don't you see he's already corrupting you? Corrupting everything the Resistance stands for!"

"Tell us what we need to know then." Poe snapped. Beaumont's words had found their target. It was true. Leia would never have authorised anything like this, no matter how desperate the circumstances were. "Answer me, Beaumont! How could you betray us all like this?" He demanded, fists clenching at his sides.

Ben shot Poe a warning look. Poe's lips thinned as he held Ben's stern gaze for a moment, before jerking his head for him to continue. Ben focused his attention back on Beaumont, knowing this was what the traitor was aiming for. Hoping to divide them. He raised his hand, using the Force to push his way into the man's mind. It was surprisingly easy. Most individuals always put up some semblance of a fight, a natural reaction as they tried to protect themselves from the unwanted intrusion. It was almost like Beaumont wanted him to see….

The backlash drove Ben to his knees. A powerful wave of evil rocketed toward him, freezing him in place. He couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't want to anyway. He had never experienced anything like that even in his worst nightmares. But that was only because his brain always woke him up before such a horror covered his mind. The adrenaline flew over his veins like a fish through a river, but he couldn't move a single muscle, not even to scream. The absolute horror completely paralyzed him.

"My boy!" Sidious crooned as he tried to bridge his mind with Ben's using Beaumont as a willing vessel. Ben didn't remember being this scared in his life. And this was just the beginning. That idea only made it worse. If that was even possible. His mental anguish was indescribable as Sidious tried to pull him further into the void, sucking his soul dry. "Did you really think you could betray me?" Sidious' evil laughter rolled around his head. It felt like his brain was splitting apart as he tried to resist the evil Sith Lord's machinations.

Sidious' manic laugher eventually died, his voice turning more sinister and threatening as his patience began to wane. "You are not strong enough to defeat me, boy. You will tell me what I need to know. Now you will experience the full power of the dark side!"

Ben screamed in silent agony as Sidious unleashed the full extent of his power, drawing his most precious memories of Rey from the deepest recesses of his mind. The dark Emperor's exultation increased as he felt Ben's will begin to crumble….

A strange orb of pulsing light began to form, growing brighter and brighter with every passing minute. It wrapped Ben in its comforting aura. He could sense Sidious' rising frustration as the glowing light created an impenetrable shield between their minds, slowly separating them. The pulsing light began to take sentient form in Ben's mind until it coalesced into a familiar shape of his mother. Leia was dressed all in white. She looked like an angel.

"Mom?" Ben sobbed as he mentally tried to reach out to her.

Leia smiled sadly, her mouth forming words he couldn't hear. Then he saw her turn her head, her eyes opening wide in fear as the rolling evil began to pierce through the protective shield she had placed around her son. She turned back to face Ben, her face a picture of determined resolution. As the darkness reached out to snare her, she sacrificed the last of her spiritual energy to break the last of Sidious' frenzied hold on Ben's mind, releasing him.

Ben woke up to find Rey and Poe staring down at him. His first instinct was to reach for Rey. She pliantly melted into his form when he wrapped his arms around her. He didn't care that Poe was right there. He didn't care that Beaumont was lying dead in the corner of the cell, the effort of being the vessel for his master's sick games having killed him. Ben's hands folded around Rey's back, drawing her closer. He could feel her body shake, the slow release of her tears wetting his skin.

"I felt all of it." She sobbed against his neck. "I tried to reach you but I was powerless to do anything. Then I sensed Leia…" She paused, fighting for breath. "She saved you Ben. She saved you."

Ben pulled his head back and wiped her tears with a calloused finger, his touch bringing more relief than Rey's heart could hold. He was eating her with his eyes, running his hand through her hair, as if he couldn't quite believe she was not part of an almost forgotten dream. When he kissed her it was sweet, gentle, and it tasted of her tears.

Ben wanted to hold Rey in his arms forever, but he was very aware that Poe was still in the room. He pushed himself to his feet, pulling her with him. He was surprised he could still stand. He noticed Dameron standing a few feet away, his skin paler than normal.

"I have never seen anything like that in my life before. And I never want to again." Poe ran his fingers agitatedly through his hair. "What the hell just happened? You were frozen like a statue, your face….and Beaumont…." He fell silent, shaking his head to try and clear it of the horrific memory.

"Beaumont was a trap to reel me in. Sidious used him as a vessel to try to bridge our minds and nearly succeeded." Ben explained hoarsely. He folded Rey in his arms again, needing to feel her comforting warmth.

Poe's dark brown eyes widened in horror. "You can't be serious?"

"I am." Ben felt completely drained of energy. He swayed on his feet. If not for Poe reaching out to help him, and Rey steadying him against her side, he would have collapsed to the ground.

"Come on, Solo." Poe said, taking some of Ben's weight as he helped Rey guide him out of Beaumont's cell. "Rest first. Talk later."

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review if you have the time.