A/N: Hey everyone! *waves and smiles* Hope you all are doing well and staying healthy:)
I know I was a bit longer in posting this chapter, so thanks for being patient. Hopefully it's worth the wait *crosses fingers*. Thanks for the favorites/follows and reviews- you all are so good at making me smile, so thanks for that too!:D
Special kudos this week to FenrisInside who has been a huge help with all things military related and for the useful references and advice on battle tactics, and Leona2016 who continues to be a huge encouragement when I'm struggling through a chapter that's being particularly stubborn as well as for the crazy rad beta-ing skills. The both of you are fantastic, thank you!
Take care of yourselves until next time:)
-Emmeth
Someone was screaming.
Ben could hear it echoing through the corridors of the starship, reverberating around him until the air was full of the sound. It was a noise of mingled pain and grief and rage, and the creature that made it seemed barely human. It was a noise he himself had made long ago on the night he'd turned his back on the light side.
The noise both drew and repulsed him, so that Ben crept forward with curiosity and terror in equal measures. He didn't know how far he traveled with the agonized screams tearing at his insides. He didn't care. His only goal was to find the source of those terrible sounds.
He rounded a corner and froze, nearly falling over himself. Before him, a table rose in the middle of a room. Bright lights shone from both the ceiling and the floor, illuminating the sea of activity going on around it. He couldn't make out clearly what was lying there, but by the soft noises of pain it was making, he could tell it was alive. In the same instinctive way, he knew that this was the creature whose cries had sliced through his mind and pierced his dreams.
One of the droids touched the man's shoulder and he screamed again, back arching from the table as his lone cybernetic arm grasped uselessly at the air.
"Padme…" the name was a guttural moan that pitched higher until it became another wail. "I want to die. Oh Force…let me die!"
Ben crept closer, pushing aside the droids until he was looking down at the wretched heap of burned and bloody flesh. His stomach lurched when he saw the full extent of the man's injuries.
"Who are you?" he gasped.
The man turned blue eyes shot with yellow towards him, his ruined face twisted in his anguish.
"Turn back," he whispered. "Turn back now, before it's too late. He'll take everything from you. He'll kill you like he killed me."
"I don't understand," Ben said. "I don't know who you're talking about. Who are you?"
The man struggled for air, mouth open and breath wheezing in his chest.
"You know…who I am…" he rasped.
The man vanished and Ben felt something pressing against his face. There was a hissing noise in his ears, like that of air escaping under pressure. He couldn't breathe. Whatever it was, was smothering him. He clawed at the thing, fingers at last locating a mechanism on the side. The helmet came away in his hands and he looked down at it, half expecting to see the mask he'd both made and destroyed. But it wasn't his mask. It was his grandfather's.
It was Vader's.
"NO!" he shouted, throwing it as far away as he could. "NO!"
Another scream cut the air as he shouted, blending with his cry. It was Rey's voice- a solitary word in her desperate wail.
"BEN!"
And then he was falling. Ben landed hard and his breath rushed from his chest in a single sharp exhalation. He got to his feet, struggling for air and trying to get his bearings. It was a futile effort. Everything was dark about him.
"Hello?" he called, stupidly. "Rey? Where are you?"
Out in the blackness, someone started to laugh. He knew the sound. He'd heard it too many times to be able to shove down the icy cold of the terror it raised in him. Somewhere beyond his sight, Snoke was laughing. But it wasn't quite Snoke. It was like, and yet it wasn't like.
"Foolish child," said a voice in his ear, both foreign and familiar at once. "Do you think you can stop me? Do you think you can save them?"
Ben spun, expecting the find the speaker right behind him. There was nothing but darkness, but it did not ease his anxiety.
"Show yourself!" he shouted, turning in a full circle.
"I don't think so," the voice chuckled coldly. "You are no worthy opponent. Your grandfather's weakness runs true in you."
"Vader was not weak!"
"And yet Vader is dead. But perhaps there is still hope for his bloodline."
Ben flinched at the cunning thought he sensed behind the words. His mind flew instantly to Rey. The voice laughed again, harder than before, a high-pitched, slightly mad sound now that was rapidly losing its strange likeness to the laughter of Snoke.
"Your thoughts betray you, boy," said the voice. "Your love will be your downfall, as it was your grandfather's. Rey will die and you will follow her."
Ben turned in a circle, helpless in the freezing darkness. There was nowhere to go. Nothing to strike at. The voice gave one last, low chuckle.
"Long have I waited, and now your coming together is your undoing."
Ben bolted upright in his bed with a strangled cry. His heart raced behind his ribs and his sweat-soaked blankets clung to him, twisted and pulled free from the foot of the bed in his struggle. He sat there, panting, dragging his mind out of the nightmare and back to reality. It had all been a dream. Just a dream. One like so many before it. He buried his face in his hands and focused on the pounding in his chest, waiting for it to slow.
He wished Rey was next to him. The comfort of her breathing and the soft sleeping noises she made were infinitely better than the terrible, echoing silence that surrounded him. But Rey was asleep in her own room, as they'd both decided was best while Hux was a threat. It had been this way ever since Jakku, and he hated it more with every night that passed.
Sometimes the bond would open, and she would lay with her head on his chest, one ear pressed over his heart, until he fell asleep. But she was always gone when he woke with nightmares, the bond having closed and pulled her away from him again. Somehow, those nights were worse than the nights she wasn't there at all.
He let out the breath he'd been holding in a long, slow exhalation and laid back to face the dark ceiling. The strange laughter still rang in his ears, mocking him and setting his heart back into a frantic rhythm. His dream flickered behind his eyelids and he saw, again, the strange man on the table and heard Rey's scream. He could talk to Mela. She might know what it meant, if it meant anything. He prayed that it was nothing- that it was only the product of a mind plagued by doubt and fear, as had been so many before. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't.
...
Five hours and four large cups of caf later, Ben strode down the corridor toward Rey's room with the dregs of his fifth cup clutched in his hand. His mind was on everything but the path his feet were taking. Not long after waking, a call had come through on his holopad. It had been Cy, reporting that another day had come without a sign that Finn would carry out his threats.
He couldn't say it surprised him, but the knowledge was still a relief. It had been the same for the two months since the battle on Jakku. In that time, he and Rey had neither heard nor seen any sign of Snoke, and Hux was behaving suspiciously well after Rey's second threat on his life during the debriefing. But with the relative quiet came a growing sense of something hanging over their heads, making Ben feel as if he were always watching over his shoulder.
The strain was taking its toll on Rey too. While her skills grew daily, both with her saberstaff and in her new strength in the dark side, she was often ill, and he knew she wasn't sleeping well. The attack on another pocket of the Resistance four weeks before had actually come as a welcome relief for them both- a way to release frustration and a way to prove that they weren't completely powerless. But now it was over a month later, and the feeling had long since vanished.
Ben let out a long sigh, mind coming fully back to the present. At least his knights and their charges were safe. That much, he was grateful for. He glanced up to see that he'd reached Rey's apartments without realizing. He scanned his palm and stepped into the room beyond as soon as the door opened. Rey was nowhere to be seen, but it only gave him the smallest twinge of worry. He could sense her presence in the Force somewhere nearby. She was probably trying to get in a last few minutes of rest. He took a sip from his cup, looking toward her bedroom.
"Rey?"
"Over here." came a faint voice.
A second later, Rey's disheveled head rose above the back of the sofa. He smiled at the tangle of her hair and went around so he could see her face. To his dismay, she was pale and drawn with a weary expression that spoke of another long, sleepless night. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as he drew closer and he thought he saw her go a shade whiter.
"What is that smell?"
"You look like death," he said. "Have you been sick again?"
"Yeah," she said. "I had a rough night. What are you drinking?"
"It's just caf."
Rey made a face.
"That's what they claim it is anyway," she muttered, lying back down and closing her eyes. "But whatever that is smells too horrible to be caf."
"I don't smell anything different," Ben chuckled. "Your nose is off, as usual."
Rey ignored him and curled a little tighter under her blanket.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked.
"No," she said. "After I got sick the first time, I got really dizzy and couldn't make it back to my room, so I've been here since about 0300. My stomach still doesn't feel right."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"Didn't want to wake you if you were asleep," she said, eyes squeezing a little tighter shut. "Besides, it would have looked suspicious if someone saw you coming into my apartment in the middle of the night. It'll go away. It always does."
"Rey-"
"I'm fine, Ben, really. I think it's just something that has to run its course."
"But this has been going on for weeks. What if it's something serious? I know a few troopers in the last landing company came down with the Cardooine chills and they're still recovering. You could have something like that."
Rey gave the slightest shake of her head.
"No cough," she said. "And I'm not hungry at all. Besides, if it was the Cardooine chills, you'd be down with it too by now."
Ben sat down on the floor next to her and stroked her hair back from her forehead. Rey leaned into his hand and let out a long sigh, burrowing herself a little deeper into the blankets. He kept running his fingers through her hair, patiently unknotting the strands until they lay, straight and a beautiful rich brown, in a curtain across her shoulders. The discomfort in her expression eased as her muscles went slack and her breathing turned deeper as she drifted into sleep.
Ben smiled down at her peaceful form and leaned in to kiss her. In that moment, Rey's eyes snapped open and her face went suddenly gray as she bolted upright, sweat starting on her forehead. Ben nearly fell backwards as her head missed cracking into his by a hairsbreadth. She was off the sofa and stumbling for the refresher before he could right himself. A moment later, the sound of retching reached his ears. He got to his feet, his cup of caf still in his hand, and went to the doorway of the refresher to peer in at Rey.
"Rey?"
"What?" she gasped, one arm propped on the rim of the toilet to push the hair back from her forehead.
"Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not," she groaned, lowering her head until it rested against her arm, her exhaustion scrawled across her face. "When is this going to stop?"
"I'm sure it'll clear up soon-" he said, trying to reassure himself as much as her.
As if to prove him wrong, Rey lurched forward over the toilet and vomited again. The sound of her gasping and coughing unnerved him. This had been going on for too long. Something was wrong.
"Why don't you get checked out by one of the med-droids today?" he asked. "I'm sure they could give you something for it. I know we already tried bacta, and it didn't work, but they might have something else."
"And have whatever's wrong with me get back to Hux?" she said, rinsing her mouth with water and spitting it out into the toilet. "He already has enough on us without knowing I'm not well. Besides, I can take care of myself. I've had worse."
"Really?"
"Well…no. That was a lie."
"Rey-"
"I'll compromise. If I'm not better by the end of next week, I'll go to the med bay."
"Why not the end of this week?"
"Next week," Rey repeated. "If I die, you can take me sooner."
"I guess you want me to be content with that?"
She nodded.
"I'm not, you know."
"I know."
Rey's head drooped, misery and fatigue evident in the slope of her shoulders and the lines of her pale face. Ben settled in beside her on the floor and carefully put an arm around her, easing her down so her head was lying in his lap. She made no move to resist him and settled close against his side, shivering a little on the cold tile of the floor.
"What did Cy have to say this morning?" she asked, voice little more than a whisper. "I know you've been worrying about all of them."
"They've heard nothing and seen nothing, but he just wanted to give me updates. They're moving the ships again today to avoid being traced. We still don't have any idea how the Resistance managed to find out about the younglings, but I can't take any chances. I had Taryn working on reconfiguring the communications system and Cy said he's finally figured out a way to prevent messages from being traced or intercepted by the Resistance."
"Good," Rey mumbled. "Any news on Snoke?"
"Nothing."
"And how about Hux?"
"I haven't spoken to the man yet today. I'd rather not, if I can help it."
"Avoiding him won't do you any favors, Ben. He'll undermine your power even further if you're not around to stop him. It happened all the time on Jakku."
"I know."
Rey reached up a shaking hand and traced her fingers over his cheek, letting them rest against his jaw. Ben turned his head and pressed a kiss against her palm.
"I just want you to be safe," she whispered. "I can't lose you too."
"And you're not going to," he said. "But I have to walk this line. If it was only me, I wouldn't care. I would have killed him a long time ago. But you know that I can't risk you."
"You act like I can't hold my own," she said.
"I know you can in a proper fight. But Hux is devious. I wouldn't trust him to fight fair, and I don't trust any of his cronies to either."
Rey snorted, but she didn't make any argument. They were quiet for several long minutes, thoughts drifting between them.
"And the troopers?" Rey finally asked. "Do we know where their allegiance lies?"
"No. I can only guess whether everything we've done has made a difference," he said. "I hope, but I don't know for certain if they'll stand with us. Tal and Sim are still wary, and I haven't heard anything from any others."
"Lita hasn't told me anything either," Rey said. "But I haven't pushed her for information. I don't want to scare her off."
"Probably wise," Ben said with a chuckle. "She's more skittish than you are."
Rey gave him a half smile and sat up; fingers pressed to her temples.
"Better?" he asked.
"Maybe a little, but it's hard to tell. I'm going to try eating something."
She got to her feet, face white and legs shaking beneath her as she stumbled out of the refresher. By the time he'd gotten to his feet and followed, she was heading back to the sofa with one of the packs of biscuits she'd stolen from the mess in her hands.
"They're going to start noticing when those go missing," he said.
"No, they won't," she said around a mouthful. "They had more than half a pallet of them left."
She settled down in her cocoon of blankets, tired eyes closing, as Ben sprawled out beside her.
"Did you dream again last night?" she asked.
"Yes."
"I felt it," she whispered. "What frightened you so badly about it? Was it Snoke again?"
"I think so, but I'm not sure. I heard his laugh, but then it was different, and I didn't recognize it. There was another voice too, one that I didn't know, threatening me and telling me that I was going to die."
"Do you think it means anything?" Rey asked with her brow creased in worry.
"I don't know. I need to ask Mela."
"And what do you think she'll say?"
"I have no idea," he said. "But she's the best of us when it comes to dreams. If anyone would know, it would be her."
Rey's fingers found the black band of cloth around her wrist and began to twist it absently in her fingers. Ben sighed and laid his hand over hers, stilling the nervous movement.
"We'll be alright, Rey. It was just a dream."
"But what if it's not?" she asked. "What if it's a warning?"
"Then we take it as such. But it might just as easily be nothing. Would you feel better about it if you came with me to ask Mela?"
"Depends on what she has to say."
Ben tried to give her a smile, but it was only a half-hearted attempt.
"I suppose we'll find out. Are you sure you're feeling well enough to come along?"
"I'm fine," Rey said, shoving the pack of biscuits at his chest and getting up from the sofa. "And even if I wasn't, I'm coming anyway."
He watched as she disappeared into her room, marveling at the way she could pick herself up again and again and keep going, even when she was exhausted and sick. Had she always been so stubborn, or was it a product of all the lonely years she'd spent looking after herself? Whichever it was, it would seem that the Force had prepared her for her role in the galaxy long before she'd awakened to it.
Rey emerged a few minutes later, knotting her belt at her waist with a look of concentration. Her fingers left the worn leather and traveled to her hair, quickly binding the long strands up in the usual three buns. She glanced up just in time to catch him watching her.
"What?"
"Nothing," Ben lied.
Rey gave him one of the sly grins she reserved only for him and slung her arm around his waist, planting a kiss on his jaw.
"Liar," she grumbled, good-naturedly.
"And what if I am?"
"Then you're a bad one," she said, staring up at him with her beautiful brown eyes that were so comfortable to get lost in.
He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She returned the kiss and he felt her fingers traveling up his neck to run through his hair. He started to chuckle, drawing away from her.
"Better stop there, or we won't get off the ship."
"Don't tempt me."
He took another step back with a growing feeling of disappointment that was reflected in Rey's eyes.
"You ready?" he asked.
"As I'll ever be."
...
Mela's shout of greeting rang out through the hangar even before their feet hit the ground. Ben couldn't help smiling at Rey's flinch. She'd have to get used to Mela. The knight had made it clear over the years that she hated being the lone female of the group, and Ben suspected she wasn't going to rest until Rey saw her as both a friend and a sister. At least she'd announced herself this time. She'd learned from their last visit.
"What are you both doing here?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around Rey's shoulders, "Cy said you'd mentioned you were coming."
"Ben had a dream," Rey said, before he could answer.
"What dream?"
Ben saw Rey's face slide into uncertainty at the concerned tone in Mela's voice. He swore inwardly and felt again the urgent desire to shield her from what they faced. But she had come along wanting answers, and she wouldn't listen if he tried to send her away. He couldn't really blame her. If the situation were reversed, he supposed he would feel the same way.
He described the dream, from beginning to end, darting glances toward Rey as he did. The more he said, the more frightened she became. What had started as a sense of vague anxiety emanating from her was now a full-blown storm of fear and anger. She was seething.
Mela didn't seem to notice, nodding as he spoke, taking in everything. Her expression stayed somber, but never once did her eyes stray to where Rey stood, arms wrapped tight around herself, muscles stiff and tense.
"I want Cy to hear this too," she said. "He's in the middle of teaching a class, but he'll be fine with an interruption."
She whisked around and started walking across the hangar, beckoning for them to follow. Ben followed at a distance with Rey stalking along at his side. The freezing shards of her anger had all but crystallized around her, keeping her at a distance. After a minute their connection went utterly silent as Rey seemed to vanish from the Force. He staggered at the loss of her, then suddenly remembered that they were supposed to be shielding. He quickly wrapped the Force around himself, concealing his presence within it. But he didn't need the Force to tell that Rey was still angry.
"You didn't tell me any of that," she whispered. "How am I supposed to help if you don't tell me anything?"
"I was just trying to-"
"You'd better not be about to say you were just trying to protect me."
"Well…"
"I can take care of myself," she said, indignation thick in her voice. "I don't need you to protect me. I never needed you to protect me."
"I know," he hissed back. "But is it a crime if I want to? You've never had that."
Rey paused, taken aback. Her shoulders sagged a little and her eyes turned down to the floor.
"I just want to be there for you like you are for me," she said. "You take my load as your own, but you don't let me help you with yours. You shouldn't have to bear all of this on your own."
"You are there," he protested. "Every day that I wake up and know you're there is a day I can face. You give me courage, Rey, and I know I can trust you to stand by me. It's for that reason that I try to shield you. I don't want you to have to bear what I have to."
Rey let out a long sigh and her hand reached out for his.
"You promised that you wouldn't hide things from me. I took a vow, Ben, to stand strong at your side when you were weary. I know you're tired. Can you trust me enough to let me be what I swore on the day I bound myself to you? Can I trust you to be honest with me?"
Rey held his gaze with her fierce, steady eyes and he found he could not look away. She meant every word that she said.
"I promise," he said. "No more secrets."
She smiled and some of the tension lining her face eased away.
"Thank you, Ben."
Mela glanced over her shoulder. "Keep up, you two."
Ben obeyed, lengthening his stride, and Rey picked up her pace until she was trotting along at his elbow. They caught up with Mela just as she pushed open the door to a large open room. A group of perhaps twenty younglings formed a great circle around Cy, who was sitting in the exact middle. At the sound of the door opening, twenty small faces turned toward them. Several lit with grins when they saw him and Ben took an instinctive step back, anticipating what was about to happen.
"Master Kylo!"
The shriek split the air, and there was a flash of blue as a Twi'lek girl ran as fast as she could toward him, arms stretched out. A moment later, she was clinging to his legs and laughing. Rey stared down at the girl.
"Ben?"
"Rey, meet Nanni."
"Master Kylo, you're back!" cried the girl from where she now sat on his feet, pressing her cheek against his knee and giggling harder. "You were gone for a long, long time."
"It's good to see you too, small one," Ben said as he took a clumsy step toward Cy, dragging Nanni with him.
Cy was already chuckling as he got to his feet, herding a small group of children out of his path.
"I see your orbalisk has attached herself," he said.
Ben glanced down at Nanni, only to find her gazing up at him with a smile that lit her whole face. A rush of affection for the little girl swept through him and he smiled back at her.
"It appears she has."
"So, what brought you here?" Cy asked, expression falling into concern. "Do you have news about the Resistance?"
"It's not anything like that," Ben said, shaking his head. "I had a dream last night that I wanted to talk with Mela about. She wanted you to hear it as well."
"I don't know what I'll be able to tell you if she doesn't have anything."
Mela waved a hand through the air as though to brush aside his words.
"I just wanted you to hear what he has to say," Mela said. "I don't know what it means, but I've got an odd feeling about it."
Cy nodded for Ben to start, a worried frown forming lines around his mouth, and Ben began to recount his dream for the second time in as many hours. The telling did not make it any less confusing or frightening. If anything, the images and voices drew closer in his thoughts. Cy's face seemed to age years as Ben spoke, but he remained silent until he'd finished.
"Do you know who the dying man was?" he asked quietly as Ben's voice drifted off.
Ben shook his head.
"And you say you recognized Snoke's voice?"
"At first, yes."
"And he threatened you?"
"What else did Snoke ever do?" Ben asked, letting out his frustration in sarcasm. "He told me that I would die like Vader did."
"Master Kylo?" interrupted a small voice at his feet. "Who's Snoke?"
Ben looked down to see Nanni with her arms wrapped around his shins and her head against his knees. There was a worried crease starting between her brows. Guilt curled through him. In his absorption with his dream, he'd forgotten that she was there.
"Is he mean?" asked the youngling.
Rey knelt next to him and gently extricated Nanni from his legs. The child got up and stood before Rey, shuffling her feet and staring down at the floor. Rey took the little hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
"You're safe right here," she said. "You know that, right? Nobody can hurt you while you're with Mela and Cy."
The youngling nodded, sniffling as a tear slid down her cheek. Ben winced, knowing what tears meant. Nanni took a great breath and then a noise that seemed too loud to have been produced by such a small set of lungs escaped her.
"But what about M-Master Kylo?" she wailed. "What if he g-goes away like my Ada and Ama?"
Rey looked to him with an anguished expression, before she smoothed it away and turned back to the girl that had released her hand in favor of wrapping her arms around Rey's chest and clinging there.
"He won't go away, like your father and mother," Rey said, stroking a hand over Nanni's lekku. "He's big and strong and he's got us to help him, right?"
Nanni hiccupped and nodded miserably.
"So that means he'll be okay," Rey said. "I promise. We'll all be okay."
Ben wasn't sure if she were reassuring the youngling, or herself, but the words seemed to calm the little Twi'lek. Her sobs turned into quiet whimpers and she scrubbed at her eyes with a fisted hand.
"You promise?"
"Didn't I just say so?" Rey smiled. "Now, Master Kylo and I have to talk with Master Cy and Mela. Why don't you go play with the others? When we're done, I'd bet Master Kylo would love for you to show him what you've been learning."
Nanni gave Rey a watery smile before looking hesitantly to Ben. He nodded at her and gave her a little nudge.
"Go on," he said. "I'll stay right here."
The youngling walked off to join a group that were bouncing a small ball around the circle using only their feet. Ben saw her glance back at him several times as though to reassure herself that he was still there.
"How did she get so attached to you?" Rey asked, getting to her feet.
"I rescued her from a smuggler," he said, eyes still on the child's back. "Her father died, and her mother was sold. The smugglers found her pretty fast and figured they'd make a few extra credits. She's a Rutian Twi'lek, so the Core World entertainers would have paid a higher price for her. They start them early in that line of work."
He felt a sudden urge to spit. What the First Order, and all the governments before it, allowed disgusted him. He'd tried time and again to stamp out the slave trade, but there was no way to enforce it without the backing of Hux's army, and that didn't look like it was going to happen any time soon.
"So, you took her?"
"Yeah. I could tell she was sensitive the minute I found her in the hold. She's been here ever since."
"And the child can't stay out of trouble," Mela muttered at Rey's side.
Rey chuckled and the two began to talk quietly together as they took a few steps away. Ben's mood lifted to see Rey smiling and chattering with Mela, but in the next second it plummeted back into the all too familiar anxiety as Cy spoke.
"I know you came here looking for answers, Kylo, but I don't have any. You ought to know by now that Mela's sight doesn't always give her the power to interpret the things you see."
"I know, I just want to know if either of you have seen anything yourselves."
Cy shook his head.
"I haven't. And Mela hasn't said anything about any visions. You and I both know that she doesn't keep things like that quiet."
Ben sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, fighting his frustration.
"I do know. I had just hoped for some answers."
"Well, the only advice I would give you is to treat it as a warning, whether it turns out to be one or not, until we can learn more. Have you found any more signs of Snoke?"
"Nothing. He jumps and the only thing we have to go on is a missing trooper, nothing more. It's impossible to trace him until he reveals himself. At this point, he holds the cards."
"Then watch your back."
"What do you think we've been doing?"
"I still wish you would change your mind and let one of us come back with you," Cy said. "You and Rey shouldn't be left without guard."
"I've ordered you to stay here, Cy, and I mean what I say," Ben said, shaking his head. "Rey and I are managing."
"If you won't take my offer of protection, then swear to me you'll take care of yourselves. None of us want to have to bury either of you."
"You won't have to," Ben said, with more confidence than he felt. "I swear to you, that as far as it's within my power, Snoke will die before us."
Cy crossed his arms and met Ben's eyes without flinching.
"Then make sure it is within your power, because I guarantee your deaths are within Snoke's."
Rey's voice broke through Ben's brooding thoughts, sharp and frightened.
"Mela? What's wrong?"
Ben's head swung toward the sound in the same instant that Cy's did. Rey was standing before Mela with her hands on her shoulders, peering into her face. It had gone blank and she stared straight ahead, seeming to look past Rey and into empty space. Ben strode forward to investigate but froze when Mela began to speak.
"A warning, Kylo Ren," came her voice, soft but without inflection or emotion. "The past and the future entwine as strands of a rope and they cannot be undone. Be on your guard. Past enemies rise again to threaten a new generation. It will perhaps fall to you to combat a greater evil than we have yet known. Learn from the mistakes of your forebears. Be watchful. Do not shut your eyes in fear of what still lies hidden in darkness."
"Mela," Cy said, concern drawing lines in his brow as he gripped her shoulder. "Mela, come out of it."
Mela flinched, but her eyes slid toward Rey and widened, as if she saw something in the empty air. She held still, head on a tilt as if listening, for several long seconds during which Cy shook her in an attempt to bring her back to herself. Her mouth opened and she spoke again, her dull stare gazing out past them.
"And a warning for you as well, Rey of Jakku:" Mela said, her voice still coming in a low monotone. "I see within you a great potential for light, but also one for darkness. You hold a power that may lift the galaxy into a new peace or bring it, razed and burning, to its knees. There are many paths before you, yet it is already too late to choose the one you walk. But there is still time to change your allegiance. Turn back to the light before the darkness takes from you what you do not yet know you have."
There was a moment of utter silence and then Mela blinked. She winced and clutched at her head, staring about at their stunned expressions with slightly glazed eyes.
"Oh Force," she mumbled. "I've got a bad feeling about this."