A/N: Hello everyone! Here is the promised Monday update! I go in tomorrow at like 6 am, so no idea when the next update will be, but here you are!

Thank you guys all again for the amazing well wishes! Love you all so much! Enjoy, and until next time, Happy Reading!

The light was brighter than what Ben would have liked when his eyes finally opened. He inhaled sharply as if he hadn't been able to breathe for the last thousand years and sat up swiftly. His hands clutched either side of the cot he was on and he looked around at his strange mechanical surroundings.

A ship?

Ben slowly rose to his feet and took a careful step. He wasn't sure why his body hesitated, but at a dull ache in his leg that made his knee give out he finally remembered. He was injured. He glanced down where his left leg strained a little more against the fabric of his dark colored pants than his right leg, the fabric of the bandage suddenly feeling itchy against his skin.

With shaky steps, he made his way towards the front of the ship and found himself in the cockpit of the shuttle. The back of a head could be seen over the captain's seat, hair long with a slight natural wave to it.

"Emila?" Ben asked, voice rough from lack of use.

The young girl glanced over her shoulder and at the sight of Ben, got to her feet. She stepped over, eyes looking him up and down. "You look like you're feeling better," she commented. "I told you, you needed to rest, idiot."

"Nice to see you too," he whispered, trying to make his tone as sarcastic as he could. His eyes left her young face and went to the transparisteel ahead of them where stars were flying past in long white streaks across a black backdrop. "Where are we?"

"We're at the Unknown Regions," she replied, turning to follow his gaze with arms crossed over her chest. She tipped her head to the side before glancing back at him through her curtain of hair. "I think I'll need help finding the moon or planet or whatever it is. I'm assuming you've been there."

"Once," Ben replied. He limped his way to the captain's chair and took a seat, eyes moving over the controls in front of him. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to get his mind to focus on what he needed to do to fly the shuttle, but coming up foggy. "What did you give me?"

"Pain pills," Emila answered nonchalantly, coming to sit beside him in the co-pilot's chair. He gave her an incredulous look and she rolled her eyes. "They were heavy duty sleeping pills. You were a wreck."

"I still have both of my kidneys?" Ben shot back, tone somewhere between serious and teasing.

Emila stuck out her tongue at him. "Ha, ha, ha," she answered dryly. "Aren't we funny?"

Ben turned back to the controls and rubbed at the back of his neck. His new fingers were icy and made him jump. It would take a while to get used to his new shiny hand, that was for sure, and Ben wondered if that was why his uncle had worn gloves so often.

"How long was I out?"

"Nine hours maybe?" Emila replied.

"Nine?" Ben groaned at the thought. It was probably the most sleep he had gotten in weeks if he were honest. And oddly enough it was all thanks to Emila, though something deep inside him told him to still have his guard up.

The shuttle eased out of light speed and Ben glanced around at the now still star systems. Yet again, Luke's smug smile came to Ben's head at the thought that his uncle again was correct in forcing him to learn the star systems.

Emila pointed out which control to use and Ben easily guided through the surrounding darkness until the moon slowly, but surely came into view and they were eventually dropping through the atmosphere.

The dark blue ocean that always looked like it was in the middle of a storm greeted them and Ben led the ship down to the ocean waves, following the curve of the moon until they came upon a small cluster of rocky islands.

Ben circled them until he found the Falcon sitting where it had been the last time he had been on this island, on a rocky beach. His heart leapt at the idea that Rey was here. She hadn't come back to the Finalizer but she had come after him after all. A back and forth dance that he was positive they would continue until they won out against the universe, until the cosmic being got tired of their fight to stay together.

Ben landed the ship less than gracefully on the beach, sending both of them almost tumbling from their seats.

"Smooth landing, jackass" Emila shot at him, straightening herself in her chair and pushing her long locks out of her face.

"Just woke up from being drugged. I'm sorry if my motor skills aren't what they normally are, your highness," Ben answered back, just as annoyed. There were more pressing matters than fighting with a want to be queen.

He got from the chair and carefully walked out and towards the loading dock. Emila opened the door, letting it drop fully with a crunch against the rocks before heading down to the beach without so much as a helping glance towards Ben.

The downward slope pulled on tight muscles and made him wince, but the pain was extinguished as soon as his feet touched the rocky shore. There was that pull behind his ribs, a feeling he had almost forgotten. The tug was strong, trying to drag him towards the island and, he was sure, to where Rey was.

"Where do we go from here Solo?" Emila questioned, looking a little cold in the mist that clung to the air from an already passing or just forming storm.

"Up that path are the huts. They might be up there," he offered, pointing in the direction that led up a hill.

Emila sighed with one hand resting on her hip, the other resting on the butt of her blaster in a holster at her side that Ben hadn't noticed, as she looked at the incline. It would be nothing for her but with Ben hobbling at the pace of an ewok Emila knew it was going to take some time to make it to the top. With reluctance, she moved over to the giant of a man and took her new position in supporting him and they began the long trek up the hill.

Rain was beginning to fall, lightly at first but in harsh sheets when they had finally reached the huts. They were soaked through, hair clinging to faces, clothes heavy and difficult to move in.

Ben glanced around the empty looking area and gave a small nod to himself. The lights were out in each of the huts and looked as though there hadn't been anyone here for quite some time.

"Now what?" Emila questioned, her voice louder now to be heard over the rain.

"They'll be in the cave," Ben answered, hand wiping the rain from his eyes.

"Cave, great." Emila gave a nod, glancing around. "You mind telling me where to drag your ass?"

"That way." Ben thrust his chin away from the circle of huts and Emila grumbled, voice drowned out by the rain.

The walk to the ledge was a decent trek and when Emila saw the drop they had to make, she glanced at Ben with furrowed brows that asked if he was being serious. He didn't reply, simply pulled from her helping hold and sat himself onto the edge of the drop before lowering himself as far as his arms would allow him.

With a determined breath, he let go of the edge of the rock and fell the last few feet to the rock beneath him. His leg cried in dislike at the sudden pressure, but he stayed upright, stumbling slightly. Once he had his balance back, he held out his arms to Emila who still stood at the edge.

"I don't like heights," she finally said, arms folded over her chest.

Ben chuckled. So there was emotion under the jerk. "I'll catch you. Come on," he called over the rain to her. She shook her head and took a small step back. "Emila, come on." He motioned with his already upheld arms and she sighed heavily before lowering herself in the same way she had seen Ben do. She dropped and Ben's hands took her waist to guide her to the ground. "See? That wasn't too bad."

She didn't reply, just moved to the next opening in the ground where dark vines were clawing themselves out in a mass of tangles.

"How did you know where to go?"

"Rey showed me," Ben replied, following Emila to the hole. He glanced over at her and found her with an apprehensive expression. "There's water at the bottom," Ben explained.

"Good thing we're already wet," she muttered before using her arms as momentum and throwing herself down into the darkness that awaited them.

Ben followed, a shock flowing through him at how cold the water was when he hit it and the oddity that one of his hands didn't feel anything at all. He broke the surface with a gasp, pushing his hair out of his face, rain still falling on him. He swam over to where Emila was treading water and sputtering. With her attention now on him, he nodded towards the shore where a large mirror like wall waited from them.

Ben pulled himself from the water, glad to be out of the rain. He reached out a hand to Emila and pulled her up as well, before getting to his feet shakily. He glanced around, breath hanging deadly in the air.

The pull in his ribs was undeniable, but there was no one else here. Or not that he could see anyways. He took a few steps towards the blurry reflections and stopped at a nagging feeling in his chest, something more in line with the force than his own gut feeling.

His hand went instinctively for Rey's saber at his hip and he turned to find Emila with her blaster trained on him. He pulled the saber free, ready, but didn't ignite it. His eyes were tightly on Emilia's, hoping that maybe this was a misunderstanding.

"What are you doing?" he asked, taking a defensive stance despite the pull in his leg. "Put that away, you're going to hurt someone."

"Don't move," she instructed, voice somehow more firm than what she had been using before. There was something regal behind it and Ben supposed it was from filling in for Cordella when the time occurred.

"Emila-"

Ben was cut off at a loud ringing sound from the blaster going off. He could feel the heat of the bolt as it passed by his hand, grazing at his wrist that held the saber.

"That was a warning," she informed him before stepping closer. "Turn around." Ben glared at her darkly, unmoving. Her next words were loud and piercing. "I said turn around! Now!"

Ben could have fought. Under any other circumstances he would have. Klo Ren, no matter the state, would have. Ben was taller, larger and had a weapon, not to mention years of training in the force, but he knew he was in no condition to fight her. With his leg the way it currently was and his arm stiffening from all of the work he was putting on that older blaster wound, he had to save his energy.

He clenched his teeth, breath hot from his nose, but obeyed, turning his back on her. In moments the barrel of the blaster shoved roughly against his spine, Rey's lightsaber being ripped from his hand as the motion made him tumble forward a step.

"What are you doing?" Ben questioned. Maybe he could buy time. For what, he wasn't sure, but he could feel Rey's presence now closer than it had been before. She would do something.

"Getting rid of you and then the Resistance," Emila answered, keeping the blaster pressed hard enough into Ben's back to keep him off balance so she could force him to the ground if he decided to turn on her. His arms were out to help stabilize him. "And then Cordella."

Ben gave a confused look. "Why?"

Emila grinned. "You brought war to Naboo. The way I see it, if the problem is removed- you being the problem of course- then Naboo will be back to the way it was. The way it is supposed to be."

"And you get to rule it?" Ben questioned, looking around the dark edges of the cave for any form of purchase on Rey, her light almost blinding his senses, the tug in his ribs unbearable.

"Naturally. No one can tell the difference between us anyway." There was a smugness in her tone. "I just didn't have the means to pull it off until I met Irwilig."

Ben's eyes widened and he tried to glance back at Emila, but a jab to his back made him stumble forward once more. "You were the spy."

"I thought that would have been obvious. I didn't think you would buy the story about a funeral. I had gone to see her. And she was right about you, you know," Emila taunted. "You're blind to everything you don't want to see."

"You really think she will help you?" Ben demanded, desperate to try to somehow make the teen see the mistake she was making.

"We have a deal, her and I. Bring you to her, I go back to Naboo and she ignores us for the remainder of the war."

"And you don't think she'll come after you in the end?" he pushed, eyes finally falling on a shape in the shadows. "Wayzac will burn your planet to the ground just like she will the others." Ben's words were hushed now. "She will not rest until everyone is as miserable as her, and that includes Naboo."

"I don't need you to tell me what the future holds," Emila nearly shouted. "I know what the future holds, and you are not going to mess it up for Irwilig, Naboo or me." There was a pause in her words and she exhaled deeply, pulling herself back together before speaking again. "Open the door, Solo."

Ben blinked at the words, caught off guard by them. "What?"

"The texts from your mother's room said that without those damn broken keys, only force users can get into the Vergence Scatter," Emila explained. "Now open the door."

Ben scrambled for a way out, any excuse he could use to stop this, stop her, stop everything. "Listen to me, there's a monster in there-"

"Yeah, yeah." The interruption was sharp and harsh. "Only you can see and hear and that's because it's only after you. It will leave the rest of us alone. You're the bait. Isn't that sweet?" Ben couldn't help but shiver at the sick tone her question held. "Open it."

The rest of us?

Ben's eyes trained harder into the shadow and he could finally make out more than one shape. He understood. They had planned this all along. Wayzac had this thought out from the beginning. Letting him escape, leaving a ship for him, having him land in the hands of her spy. It was to get him here, to have him lead her here. Only, Wayzac hadn't been expecting Rey to see his confession. Rey was now just a bonus to her plan. A means to an end.

"Benny, darling," came a voice from the shadows. There was a struggle and a whimper and Ben watched as Wayzac entered the dim lighting of the cave, a handful of Rey's hair pulled snug and a blaster pressed against Rey's chin.

Rey's bottom lip was busted and black and blue, her arms were tied in front of her and her head was pulled at an odd angle. The neck of her shirt was stretched out like it had been tugged in multiple directions and she looked like she was favoring one leg over the other, the same leg as Ben.

Wayzac towered over Rey and in the small illumination she was looking like half a corpse and half a goddess. Her face was taut, skin stretched over her cheek bones. Her skin was sickly creamy pale white against the blackness of her clothes. The scar over her cheek was pink and looked just as fresh as the day he had given it to her. Her scorching red hair was down for once, in all of its natural curly glory, hitting down at her thighs. Her normally crystal clear eyes were cloudy and dark, something swirling deep inside of her. She was unnaturally beautiful and terrifying to take in.

"I am certain that the situation is perfectly clear here, don't you think?" Wayzac continued on. She gave another violent tug on Rey's hair and Rey's eyes closed tightly, another whimper escaping her lips that were now sucked between her teeth. Ben's heart twisted, his body wanting nothing more than to race forward and snatch Rey free. "Either you open the door or I shoot her. Now let's be adults and do the smart thing."

Ben glanced over to the mirror, stomach churning. He licked his lips as his mind battled over what was logical and what his heart wanted. He couldn't win either way and he knew exactly what Rey would want him to do, but he wasn't sure he had the strength to bring himself to do it.

Ben must have waited far longer than what was wanted because Emila didn't hesitate kicking out the back of his knee. His knees buckled at the assault and he tumbled to the ground, catching himself on his hands and knees. A pained moan escaped him at the jolt that went through the stab wounds. His eyes watered and his breath hissed through his teeth as he tried to suck back in the air that was lost to him.

"I guess I didn't make myself clear, Ben," Wayzac hissed somewhere off to the side of him. "Open the door or I will kill all of them." There was movement and Ben blinked away the tears to find Poe, Finn and Cordella, each being held captive by two stormtroopers, one on each arm. Cordella was the next closest to Rey, Finn beside Cordella and Poe on the other side of Wayzac.

"Don't do it Ben!" The voice that called out to him surprisingly wasn't Rey's. It was Cordella who had spoken. There was a swift, blurred movement and Ben's eyes widened, trying to take in what had happened. Cordella dropped to the ground and Wayzac placed the blaster that had connected with Cordellla's head back under Rey's chin.

"Hey!" Poe shouted, trying to race for the girl. He struggled against the two that held him, the sound of armor loud in the cave. "You touch her again and I'll-" His shouts were quickly silenced at a bright beam of light from behind Ben. Poe moaned through clenched teeth, body falling slack in its fight at a bolt from Emila's blaster. A deep red seeped into the fabric of Poe's shirt from somewhere around his collar bone.

Wayzac laughed, something unhinged. "That was fun, wasn't it?" she asked, nodding to the troopers to pick Cordella back up. She was dragged back to her feet, a trickle of blood coming from her hair line and down her cheek as she was held back at attention. "Let's not make this too exciting just yet. Ben, open the door. I'm not going to ask again."

Ben inhaled deeply and unsteadily rose back to his feet. He took several limping, barely supported steps until his hand was pressed against the cold face of the rock. Panic was beginning to set into his blood, racing to every inch of his body.

He didn't know what to do. He had no idea how the others had opened the door before. He didn't know if it had taken all of them or just Rey and he didn't know what the big black, swirling mass of ancient monster would do to him once the pathway was opened again.

More worrying than the creature on the other side of this rock was Wayzac. She had never been quite right, but this wasn't her. There was something so primal about the way she held herself now. Something had snapped inside of her and he really didn't want to find out what.

There was also no telling how long she would keep all of them alive once the door was open. The plan was to leave them for dead, wasn't it? That was what Emila had implied and Ben wouldn't put it past Wayzac to kill them the moment she had what she wanted. Her restraint was nearly extinguished.

Would it be better to end it here and now? If they were bound to die once the door was open, it would be more logical for him to keep the way closed and they would all die here, Wayzac with no more leverage and no more options.

There was a cry and Ben's head snapped back to see Rey desperately trying to pull away from Wayzac's grip, but Wayzac's hold on Rey's hair kept her tightly in place with tears running down her cheeks. "Ben," Rey gasped out. "Please."

Ben didn't have to second guess the meaning of the words. He turned his attention back to the wall and closed his eyes, focusing as hard as he could on letting the force flow through him. Whatever the reason, be it making the pain stop, protecting her friends or possibly having a better advantage once the path was open, Rey wanted Ben to follow Wayzac's orders and he wasn't about to go against her wishes. Maybe she knew something he didn't. Whatever the reason, he had to try.