Chapter 9

"No, Rey, no. This isn't you," Ben whispered over and over again as he stared at Rey. "Oh, but it is Ben. I can't believe I never saw this before. The power of the darkness. You were right all along," she replied, pulling his face close to hers as she stared hungrily at him. "Now I see what true power the Darkness has. It resides in both our bloodlines and we must continue it."
"Rey, no. We can't. We won't," he responded as he kissed her fiercely. Rey tried to fight him off and summoned her lightning powers as she had on Pasaana, but to no avail. Ben kept his hand firmly on top of hers as he continued to kiss her. He sent her images through their bond of the light and of her - how much she meant to her friends, to him. Through these images Rey saw how the family she had been seeking to find was the same family Ben had been searching for all along. The darkness inside her continued to try and fight but Ben was stronger in the light. Rey gasped against his lips and then went limp in his arms. She was so still.
Ben pulled her close and carried her off of the throne and back out to the platform to get back to the Falcon. He held her tightly against him the whole way. As the platform brought them back up to the entrance, he ran with Rey in his arms back to where the Falcon lay waiting. But it was no longer there. It was pulled into the battle in the skies above. The Resistance was taking out all of the Star Destroyers. Ben sank to his knees and reached out to Chewie, to Poe, to Finn, really to anyone who could hear him. He looked down at Rey and pressed his lips against her forehead.
"Please, Rey, come back to me," he whispered. Tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes. He couldn't lose her. She was the only family he had and the only thing that mattered in the entire galaxy. It was always her. Ben held her close and let the tears stream down his cheeks. His ears perked up when he heard the familiar engines of the Falcon. Without any further thought, Ben sprinted towards his father's ship and bounded up the ramp quickly with Rey in his grasp. He laid her down gently on the cot that was in the sleeping quarters and felt the ship take off. Over the ship intercom he heard joyous shouts for the victory they had achieved, but it was all just murmurs to Ben. He laid down next to Rey and pulled her close, reaching into her mind through their bond. I'm here, Ben. I'm here. Flashes of what happened within her were sent into his mind. Rey had been battling with the Emperor's spirit and almost let him take hold had it not been for Ben. She wasn't gone but needed rest from her inner battle she had fought with the Emperor. Ben pulled her closer to him and he kissed her forehead once more. He fell asleep holding her in his arms as the Falcon sped back to the Resistance Base.