Author's Note: Thank you to each and every one of you that has reviewed, followed or favorited this story. I'm glad to know there were others who were also unhappy with the ending of the Skywalker saga.

Chapter Five

Broken Bonds

Staring down at Rey, Ben wondered if the Force would allow him to pass his lifeforce to her. He just wanted to offer her the same thing she'd given him after nearly ending his life on Kef Bir. For all the things he'd learned, Ben had no idea how that worked. But if there was even a small chance that he could save her, then he would pay any price. Ben's eyes to drifted down and a lump of emotion nearly choked him. Please let this work. He pleaded with a power that he wasn't sure would grant him anything. Not after he'd turned his back so fully on the Light. But hope is a dangerous thing…and Ben found himself hoping.

His hand shifted to her abdomen and he suddenly was struck by how small she was compared to him. There had been so much strength packed into such a small package that he'd never considered that, her size. Rey had always seemed bigger than life; she filled every room she entered in a way that had nothing to do with her physical presence.

Ben hadn't understood what that meant until now. He supposed he probably shouldn't have been that unnerved by that, after all, his mother had been that type of presence too. He found himself wishing he'd seen the two of them together. What a team they would have made. That thought hurt and he swallowed back the emotions threatening to spill over.

Rey was everything he wished he'd been. The person that his mother had believed he could be. Not now. He instructed his wandering memories. He could fall apart later; if there was a later.

Slowing his breathing, he called upon the ever-present power of the Force. Ben had never been trained in the healing arts of the Force. He hadn't needed that type of training. The sum total of his training had been offensive and defensive physical maneuvers and manipulation of the mind and matter.

And that had been fine with him, Ben had used his overwhelming anger and bitterness as a foundation for his training with Snoke. But none of that could help him now, because it wasn't anger or bitterness that were driving his current actions; it was love and desperation. He tried to grasp the connection between their bodies since it appeared as though the bond between their minds wasn't answering him.

He had no idea how long he strained and called to the Light, but the result was exactly, nothing. Rey didn't stir, she didn't reach up and take his hand, intertwining their fingers and healing the overwhelming loss he felt. Ben's breathing hitched and his head ached with the effort, he opened his eyes, and Rey was still dead. A single tear worked past his tenuous control and dripped along his cheekbone before rolling off his chin. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried.

This wasn't how everything was supposed to end. It couldn't be. Why would the Force have bridged their minds if they had no chance of being together? Had it only been to destroy the Sith? If so - Ben felt the familiar rage build inside him at that possibility.

As soon as the thought occurred to him, he felt guilt wrap around his heart.

In truth it didn't matter, Ben couldn't go back to the who he'd been before Rey. He couldn't allow the uncontrollable anger to drive his actions. If he did it would mean that every person who'd sacrificed their lives to save him had done so in vain. It would make Rey's sacrifice worthless; and he would not allow her brave actions to mean nothing. He could never be Kylo Ren again. His blurry eyes dropped down and he looked at Rey, even if I can't save you. I can't go back.

She'd saved the whole of the resistance, and that was after she'd saved him from himself. A sob curled inside his chest; he ground his teeth together to keep it from finding a voice. He shifted and his body complained with spikes of pain.

Ben's head spun as a wave of nausea washed over him; his stomach flipped dangerously. Carefully, he wrapped his long arms around her and sought a sense of balance he wasn't sure he'd ever find again. A jagged pain knifed through his head and Ben's vision narrowed dangerously. He knew he was on the verge of losing consciousness. The Force rippled with the instability of Exegol and he couldn't find it in himself to care.

The soft blue glow of afterburners lit up the air above him. Ben tried to position Rey in a way that would protect her body from whoever had just landed. He didn't know who it was or whether they were friendly or part of the remaining First Order…or worse, the Final Order; does it really matter? He suspected not. Rebel, First Order or Empire, they all wanted his head on a pike.

His world blinked once, and a disembodied voice called out from somewhere beyond his ability to sense. Ben thought it sounded like a desperate cry of his name, but he couldn't be sure. The world around him started to spiral down and he never got the chance to try and answer before his body gave up and he slipped past awareness and into the waiting darkness.

XXXX

Finn bounced at the cargo door, his anxiety needing somewhere to go. He had to know what had happened to Rey. There was no scenario he could think of that he wouldn't find her and bring her home. Even if it was just to bury her among friends. The mere idea of her death was too much and he bit his lip to keep the broken sob from slipping out. Rey had been the first person to look at him with something other than contempt. She'd seen him at his worst and hadn't judged him for it. Poe had needed him in the beginning, but Rey had chosen to stand with him.

Jannah and Chewbacca were standing just behind him, weapons at the ready; their impatience nearly bowling over his limited Force senses. Lando had agreed to remain on the Falcon to ensure a quick getaway if it was needed; which was likely. Finn's heart hammered inside his chest. He kept trying to find Rey's light, but he still couldn't feel her distinctive presence in the Force. And that was scaring the hell outta him.

As soon as the stabilizers had whined down Finn's palm slammed against the actuator for the ramp. It dropped heavily and he was immediately running out into the darkness. He could hear Jannah yelling from somewhere behind him, but he had no intention of slowing down. His boots hit the stone and he scrambled over the dust-covered floor in one direction only. He wasn't even sure where he was going, only that a feeling was driving him forward. Crumbled statues surrounded the large amphitheater he was running toward and bodies were strewn throughout the area. His eyes widened when he recognized one of the Knights of Ren.

Vicrul lay stone dead, a charred hole in his back. A hole that only a lightsaber could have made. Whatever had gone down on the surface, it had been bad, very very bad. A small piece of him wondered how Rey could have defeated so many opponents. She was strong and very good, but the sheer number and the small fact that many of them were also Force sensitives sent a tremor of doubt through him.

The high walls and strange apparatuses pulled his attention, momentarily. His eyes were drawn to the enormous scar running the full height of a vertical wall of stone to his left. Shaking his head, Finn refocused his efforts and then he stumbled to a stop. Fear climbed up his throat when he saw two crumpled bodies just ahead of him. One was distinctly dressed in battled-torn white and the other, larger body, wore tattered jet black. And neither one of them was moving.

Finn swallowed the thick knot of emotions that welled up inside him. Rey. His head identified her before he'd even gotten close enough to make out the faces. Anger pounded through him when he realized it was Kylo Ren's body wrapped around Rey's like a security blanket. He skidded and then dropped to his knees; Finn tried to extract her. But even unconscious Ren's arms only wound tighter around her inert form. The act confused Finn, weren't they enemies? Rey hated him, didn't she?

Ignoring what he couldn't understand, Finn finally looked down at Rey and his heart shattered. Her eyes were open and unseeing. Her body was rigid and unmoving. And her presence in the Force was completely absent. No Rey…not you. His mind cried. "Rey." He whispered.

Kylo Ren moaned softly and his arms tightened around his burden. But he didn't wake, and it was obvious he was trying to…what? Protect Rey? What the hell happened down here? Finn questioned silently.

Chewbacca and Jannah caught up to him in that moment. It only took a fraction of a second for them to grasp the situation. The guttural cries from the Wookie were the perfect vocalization of how Finn felt. Those cries were rife with every ounce of pain and loss they'd suffered in the last few months; too many losses.

Lifting her blaster, she aimed it at Kylo's head. A quick shake of Finn's head had her lowering the weapon.

Kneeling down next to Finn, Jannah said nothing. Her expression one of support and something indescribable. As a former stormtrooper, she would have every bit as much reason to hate Kylo Ren as Finn did; and that anger was there, resting inside her dark eyes, but she didn't move against him. Because Finn didn't want that, and she respected him more than she hated Kylo Ren.

A juddering from inside the planet core reminded them that they didn't have much time. Whatever had caused the scarring along that wall, it had also destabilized the atmosphere of Exegol. It was definitely time to go.

Carefully removing Rey from Kylo's arms, Finn began moving back toward the Falcon. She was cradled against his body, her arms hanging down and her head tipped back. It was horrible. Finn couldn't recall how many times he'd thought about holding Rey in his arms, but it had never like this. She'd always returned his embrace, now…she never would.

"What about him?" Jannah called out, pointing at the unconscious man in black.

Chewie roared out something guttural and angry. But as his eyes dropped to Kylo's pliant face, and he really looked, all he could see was Han and Leia's only son. Pity rang through the Wookie and his roar turned to a soft growl of frustration. He vividly remembered the quiet black-haired boy that had followed Han around the Falcon learning every circuit and actuator on the freighter. Before Kylo had fallen, Chewie had loved him like his own son. But watching as Ren had driven his lightsaber through Han's chest had nearly destroyed any feelings of love.

And yet he still couldn't leave the last remaining Solo or the heir to the Skywalker legacy to die like this. He took a deep breath and gathered Kylo up, tossing him over his shoulder like a piece of rolled cable. There was nothing gentle in the way he handled the young man. The Wookie didn't have any kindness left inside him; not for him. But Chewbacca wouldn't let him die. That was truly a coward's way out. And the Wookie was a lot of things, but he wasn't a coward. A small part of him knew that Han would never forgive him if he walked from Ren now.

Jannah groaned. "Wonderful. We'll just take the leader of the First Order back with us, shall we? It's not like he could…oh I don't know, KILL all of us with nothing but a thought." Grumbling, she hit the lever to close the bay door. "That's not crazy at all."

Finn tossed her a peeved glare.

Shrugging she asked, "What? It's not like it's not true."

Lando glanced over his shoulder toward the bay and activated the commlink, "Everyone on board?"

"Yeah, please get us the hell outta here." The ex-stormtrooper said softly. His eyes were glued to Rey's unmoving body. She wasn't breathing, which meant…Hell, I know what it means, but that doesn't mean I accept it.

Calrissian's voice echoed through the speakers again. "Finn? Poe's haling you."

Finn carefully laid Rey's arms next to her sides and then grabbed an old blanket. It was stupid, he knew that, but he couldn't help himself. Tucking the material around her, he gently caressed her hair before turning toward the cockpit.

"Coming." He didn't have a clue what he would say to Poe. How did he tell his friend that they'd lost Rey but saved Kylo Ren? That wasn't something that anyone in the resistance would thank him for. But that strange feeling had warned him that leaving Ren behind would make him no better than the First Order; no better that Kylo himself.

It had been pretty obvious that Chewie felt the same way since it was him that had actually brought Han's estranged son on board the Falcon. Shaking his head, Finn moved to answer Poe's inquiry.

Chewbacca grabbed the suppressor cuffs and quickly wrapped them around Kylo's wrists. A small fluid tank inside the cuffs sloshed with a yellow liquid. As soon as the cuffs were attached. he depressed the small lever and twin needles sank deeply into the underside of the prisoner's wrists. The drug was something had been used to forget reality, but in the case of a Jedi it would scramble their ability to access the Force. There hadn't been a need for it since the downfall of the Empire, but Han had always kept some on board.

The Wookie wasn't even sure where his friend had gotten it or what went into making it. But he knew that as long as those cuffs were attached to Kylo's wrists and there was a steady stream of the drug passing directly into his brachial artery, they were all safe from his dark power.

XXXX

She still didn't know what exactly had pulled her soul back from a peaceful rest.

Rey had felt it the moment her essence drained away from her mortal bonds. And the next thing she knew she was watching Ben hold her like his life depended on it. His dark eyes frantic with fear and denial as he'd twisted, looking for anyone that could help him.

A distant voice had had called to her. She thought it sounded like Master Skywalker, but she couldn't be sure. How could she leave Ben alone? Everyone that believed he could be turned back to the light was dead. No one would give him the second chance he'd earned on Exegol.

Ben's hand dropped and she knew what he wanted to attempt. Tilting her head and frowning, Rey made a decision. When he tried to pass his lifeforce to her through their bond, she'd stepped between their bodies and blocked the action. The two-way connection was fading, and Rey clamped her mind around it like a tourniquet. She could not see him dead, not now and not for any reason. Which included saving her own life. She'd worked too hard to save him and…surprise send a ripple of warmth through her, she loved him too much.

But watching the pain and agony wash over and through him at his perceived failure had been terrible to witness. It had felt like someone had ripped open her heart and laid it bare. Because those were the black emotions rolling off him in that moment. Loneliness. Despair. Sorrow. Loss. Regret. And the list went on and on. Rey felt every one of his emotions because they were the same ones she would be feeling if their positions were reversed. And yet she couldn't contact him through their bond, not after she'd intentionally blocked his actions.

The only thing she didn't understand, was why was she still here? Why was she tied to her physical body? Everything she'd read about the She had no answers and for all the Jedi's words that 'she wasn't alone', there was no one here with her. Just Ben.

Rey watched with a sinking feeling as Chewbacca attached two etched cuffs to Ben's wrists. He strung a linked chain between them and then snapped them shut. The silver cuffs were sealed in place by a Lumarian steel lock and she felt her heart go out to the other Jedi…Sith? She wasn't really sure what Ben was now. He was something different than either ancient religion had intended. Ben was a combination of both the light and the dark sides of the Force. He walked a line that no Force user ever had before him. And because they were a dyad, what did mean for her?

Watching Ben's grief had been the worst kind of torture. Because he'd finally come back to the light and then he's been punished by powers far beyond their comprehension. And now her friends had him and there was no telling what they would do. She believed that Finn could be reasoned with, if she was there to reason with him. But Poe? He was a stubborn man and Ben had tortured him.

He tortured you too, remember? She huffed before sinking down next to her body. Her eyes were trained on Ben's unconscious form. His forehead was now wrinkled in pain and his right leg was twisted under him in an awkward position that had to be agonizing. He was injured, badly and no one seemed to give a damn about that.

Rey lifted her eyes when Finn walked back into the bay. Drawing on something deep inside she moved to whisper in his ear.

"He's hurt, Finn. Please help him."

Finn jerked at the intensity of the Force. His gaze dropped to the unconscious man slumped on the grating at his feet. He had an odd sensation that he needed to help Ren. To ensure he was cared for, at least medically speaking. There was only one person in the galaxy that would care if Kylo Ren lived or died…

"Rey?" He said softly.

TBC…

Author's Note: And…we're off and running. I thought it would be interesting to see how Rey would react if she could see everything but was unable to stop it. (Sorta). So now they're going to have to figure out how to fix Rey and see if the bond can be unbroken. Thank you so much to all of you that are now reading this story. I really didn't like the ending of the film, so this is an attempt to adjust that.

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