Chapter Three
"General, the prisoner keeps asking for you."
Finn sighed and stood up. "Has he told us what happened to Rey yet?"
"No sir. But he says that's what he wants to talk with you about."
"Alright."
Finn opened the door to the makeshift cell. Inside was the man who had overshadowed so much of Finn's life. He sat looking at the dirt floor, his cuffed hands in his lap. The Resistance wasn't set up for taking prisoners, but he had made no effort to escape. "Ren," said Finn.
The man looked up. "I am not Kylo Ren. Please call me Ben. Or Solo. Or just 'you there.' Really anything other than that name."
"Okay," Finn said, "whatever. I just want to know where Rey is."
"That's what I needed to tell you, General Finn. She never left Exegol."
"She…" Finn's knees felt weak.
"She's alive, but…it's not that simple."
"That's all I need to know." Finn straightened his back and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Ben yelled.
Finn didn't care. He was going to get Rey.
Ben thrust his arms out and Force pulled Finn back toward him. Finn struggled but he could hardly move. He could feel Ben trying to force his way into his head. Finn pushed back, trying to drive out the foreign mind. And then his vision went dark except there was Rey, looking over her shoulder at him. Then she turned back toward the deformed but unmistakable figure of Emperor Palpatine. Rey drew her lightsaber and slashed through him, his body swirling towards her in a dark steam before she had even finished her stroke. She vanished, but then he could see her a bit farther away, rising from a looming stone throne. And then she was so close that Finn could see the flat yellow and red rings of her eyes. She pushed his chest and he fell back into himself, sprawled on the dirt floor in Ben's cell.
Finn scrambled to his feet to block the swinging open door but Ben was crouched on the floor, breathing hard.
"She turned?" Finn gasped.
Ben nodded. "By necessity, not choice."
"Necessity?"
"She felt that killing the Emperor and taking his place was the only way to save the Resistance. If I had only gotten there sooner…"
"This is bad." Finn began to pace just inside the cell door. "This is real bad."
"I need your help," said Ben. "Rey needs your help. We have to get her back."
Finn spun around the face Ben. "There is no 'we' in this, Solo. I'm going to Exegol and I'm bringing her back with me."
"General," said Ben's gravely voice. "You don't know what she is capable of. She isn't herself. She is ruthless."
Finn's eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're not making all of this up?"
"I showed you what I saw, I can show you again." Ben's eyes were pleading.
"General, if I may vouch for him."
Finn's heart hammered in his chest as he turned toward the source of the soft voice. "Leia?"
The woman's smile glowed faintly blue. "Finn. Let's walk."
Finn grabbed a couple of Resistance fighters to guard the cell and started down a jungle path with Leia.
"Everything he tells you is true," she said. "And I wouldn't advise either of you to go to Exegol alone. You need to help each other."
"With all due respect, General, he's your son. Don't you think you could be, you know, biased?"
"He truly is no longer Kylo Ren."
"What happened?" Finn asked.
"They were fighting." Finn remembered. He had seen the two disappear into the sea spray, hardly a day before. "I managed to reach him. Rey stabbed him at the same time—oh, if it's not too much to ask, please get the boy a new shirt—anyway. He would have died but Rey healed him. I think in doing so she symbolically killed Kylo Ren and healed Ben Solo."
"For everyone's sake, I hope so," Finn said. "I think I have to talk to my co-general before I make any decisions."
"Yes," Leia said, her eyes giving him an odd soft look. "Go to Poe."
"General."
"General."
They were in Poe's room, the only isolated place they could find in the rebel camp.
"So you believe what the prisoner said?"
"Oh Poe, I don't want to. But Leia agreed with him, what more is there to say?"
"I don't know." Poe sighed and looked down. "If Rey is Dark side now, that's bad news."
"We can't just let her—"
"I know."
Finn looked up, catching Poe's eye. "I've never been so scared in my life."
"It's okay." Poe's voice hitched. "Me—me neither." He reached out for Finn and Finn held onto Poe as if his life depended on it. He worked his fingers into the fabric of Poe's jumpsuit.
"General," Poe said at last, and Finn was suddenly reminded that the co-generals of the Resistance probably weren't supposed to be this close, "you're crushing me."
Finn unclenched his hands and pulled himself back.
"Rey's a survivor. She'll make it," Poe said.
"Yeah." Finn nodded. "Yeah."
"Hey." Poe looked at him, one hand on his shoulder. "Bring her home for me. For us. The Resistance." Then Poe leaned forward and pressed his lips against Finn's, and the burning fear flowing through Finn's veins broke and made way for other feelings: shock, joy, desire. They broke apart, and Finn realized he had forgotten to breathe. For the moment, he felt as if everything would be okay.
Author's Note: I'm really curious about how you all are receiving Ben. I definitely feel like I'm writing him as less angsty than a lot of other fics do. In a way I think what I'm trying to do with this is force Ben to find his humanity again for himself—put him in a position where he doesn't have a choice—rather than letting him sit back while Rey tries to turn him to the light.