Rey was burning, burning, as her mind swirled with the voices of the Jedi before her, her body aching as their power flowed through her. It was all she could do to hold on to her lightsaber as Palpatine's blue lighting flooded her vision, her heightened senses buzzing as she threw all her strength into standing firm, not allowing herself to be pushed back. She had watched as this…this monstrosity before her flung bolts of lightning through the sky, nearly sending her friends to their deaths. The roars of the crowd of Sith in the stands of arena in which they stood were drowned out by the crackle of energy surrounding her. She vaguely noticed that Kylo- the man otherwise known as Ben Solo- was nowhere to be seen, but refused to allow that thought to distract her. There was no one else; it was down to her and the evil Emperor. It was now or never.

Time ticked by, timeless. It could have been seconds or hours, she could not tell. She was tiring, she knew that, but she had to hang on; if she let go, if she failed…well, she could not allow herself down that line of thought. It was too terrible to contemplate.

"You are nothing!" The monster snarled angrily, trying to get inside her head, trying to distract her. "A scavenger girl is no match for the the power in me!" Rey tensed as the push against her eased slightly, sure she knew what was coming. "I am all the Sith!" The Emperor roared, redoubling his efforts, throwing all his power forward.

Rey leaned into the current, pushing against it with all her strength as she called the lightsaber Ben had dropped some time earlier to her hand behind her back. "And I…" she answered, gasping for breath as she ignited the second saber, "I am all the Jedi."

Leaning forward again, she pushed back with a rush of strength she didn't know she had. She took a labored step forward, then another, then another, pointing the man's lightning back toward himself as he staggered back slightly under the onslaught. The monster roared in agony as his body- or what was left of it- disintegrated into a million tiny particles. With one final push, she threw all the energy she had toward Palpatine, the full force of his lightning striking him in the chest. His form burst apart, and the subsequent energy burst was enough to collapse the statues and the arena. Rubble and debris flew everywhere, burying the evil shadows under giant fallen stones. And then, there was only silence.

Rey looked about her, surveying her surroundings with a detached sense of relief in her exhaustion. We've done it, she thought as the darkness began to close in on her, and she fell.

Ben Solo gripped the edge of the cliff, his leg throbbing and his fingers aching as he tried to pull himself back up to the surface. He gritted his teeth against the pain and reached for another handhold. His exhaustion was catching up with him; that…thing had sure taken a lot of his energy, and no doubt Rey's as well.

Rey. He focused on the place inside him where he could feel her bonded to him. He could feel her emotions roiling as he climbed- pain, grief, despair. Then, suddenly, the bond exploded with light. It felt like the sun was shining from inside the bond, and a power he had never before experienced rushed through him. Now is my chance, he thought determinedly, calling on the Force to propel him back up the cliff face in small jumps, using his arms in an alternating pattern with his good leg.

Then, just as suddenly as the light appeared, it vanished…and along with it, everything about the bond that was Rey. No light, no emotion, only blackness.

No! He thought, quickly pulling himself the last several hundred feet and up over the side of the cliff. To his dismay, it was as he had expected; Rey was sprawled on the ground, unmoving, her unseeing eyes glassy.

He hobbled to her side, his injured leg impeding his progress as he made his way to her prone form. He stumbled, falling to the ground, unable to walk farther, but he continued on his path, crawling on hands and knees until he reached…her. The girl who he'd fought against, fought alongside. The girl who knew his pain, as he knew hers. The girl who had nearly killed him by running him through with his own blade. The girl…who had saved him, in more ways than one.

He hauled her up, gingerly arranging his leg as he pulled her into his lap. He looked into her vacant eyes, feeling set adrift. His breath caught in his throat as he glanced around, though for what, he was not sure. The only others within reach of them that could possibly be of assistance were so busy trying to survive, they had no way to come to their aid. Or perhaps he was trying to keep his emotions together, trying to not let himself fall apart in this moment. He had lost his father and his master to his own foolish notions of strength, and just in the last several hours had lost his mother. And now Rey was gone. He was well and truly alone in the galaxy.

He pulled her still form close, hugging her to him, as though he could grasp onto something, anything, that might keep him from drifting away, anchoring him. And then, all at once, the thought comes to him. He knows how to heal her. He has never tried, but in this moment, he is sure. Without her, he would not be here. Without her, he would have been eternally lost to the darkness. Without her, there was nothing left for him.

Pulling all the power and energy he could muster, he closed his eyes as he held her, transferring his life force to her. Keep going, he told himself as he felt his own body beginning to weaken. As long as she wakes up, everything will be alright.

He startled as he felt a hand on his own, opening his eyes to meet hers. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. She was looking at him in shock, as though trying to figure out how she came to be sitting face to face with him, but then she smiled, whispering his name- his true name- as her face lit up at the sight of him.

"Ben," she said softly, and he shivered faintly at the feel of her hand on his cheek, the corners of his mouth quirking upward slightly. He couldn't believe it; she was alive. He trembled as he looked her over, hoping against hope that it was all real. And then she was kissing him, her hands drawing his face toward her, holding him tightly. He relished in the feeling, and when she pulled back to look at him, he was grinning, his face molded into an actual, true smile. Their bond was singing happily within him. Then, suddenly, it was as though all energy had left his body, and darkness rushed to meet him. Ben Solo was gone.

Rey awoke to dark eyes staring into hers. It took a moment for her eyes to focus, but she slowly became aware that it was Ben Solo holding her in his arms. "Ben," she whispered, smiling up at him. He was there, he was alive, and everything was over. She couldn't resist gently brushing his cheek with her fingertips, and then before she had a chance to think, she crashed her lips onto his, holding him tightly, and he was kissing her back. She could feel his exaltant jubilation through the bond, his triumph, relief, and wonder. She pulled back to study his face and watched as a broad smile graced his lips, the first one she'd ever seen.

But just like that, the moment was gone. She only had seconds, a fleeting feeling that something was wrong, before he fell back. She barely had enough time to catch him around the back of his head before he hit the rough stone beneath them, but it was no use. His eyes were closed, his body unmoving. He still held her hand in his.

Rey's eyes filled with tears as she surveyed the man. There was a dark, gaping hole where she used to be able to feel him through the Force. But now, he was gone. There was no doubt in her mind that he had saved her; though she could not remember where she had been before she woke up in his arms, she was sure she had died. But he'd brought her back…and in return, sacrificed his own life. She watched, tears coursing down her face as his body disappeared, returning Ben Solo to the living Force. There was nothing left of him but the black tunic and pants he'd worn to battle.

Carefully, Rey gathered the clothing, folding it and tucking it under her arm as she stood, paying no mind to the blood, dirt, and grime that covered them. She cast about for her weapons, placing them on top of the clothing as she turned and ran to her ship. She wiped at her eyes impatiently as she ran. There would be time later to mourn. Right now, she had to get out of here.

Some time later, Red 5 landed back at the Rebel's base on Ajan Kloss, and some time after that, after all the hugs and congratulations and "well done"s were said, Rey sat outside, the humid air of the jungle and the sounds of the creatures there a background symphony to her thoughts.

Leia was gone. She had been Rey's mentor ever since Luke had died, and Rey had begun to think of the woman like her own mother. Some of her sense of loss was directed toward that, but it was the General's son who was currently occupying her thoughts.

She really hadn't known the man that well, and for most of their relationship, they had been only enemies. It wasn't rational for her to feel as she did, so hollow and…lost. He had murdered his own father, and had had a hand in Luke and Leia's deaths, she knew. He had killed so many others as well, had dug into her own mind violently, had taken her before Snoke, and had meant to destroy her in the aftermath of her rejection of his invitation to join him. So many terrible things, all done by his hand.

And yet, they hadn't stopped her from compulsively running her hands over his torn, blood-stained robe, for she saw the rest of the story. She saw his hurt from his parents' failed relationship and his master's betrayal. She saw the conflicted man, the one who knew that what he was doing was wrong, but did not know how to change, did not believe he could change. And most of all, she saw what called to her the most: his loneliness, for that was one emotion she understood well. The feeling of being always alone, never having anyone to have your back, of being abandoned, unwanted; those feelings ran parallel in her own soul.

So in all, she wasn't sure how she felt, or how she even should feel. All she knew was the deep, gaping blackness of their bond. It was like an ache deep in her chest, a pain so nebulous and yet so poignant that she had trouble focusing on anything else in her quiet moments.

Finally unable to stand it anymore, Rey assumed a meditating position, raising slowly into the air as she manipulated the Force around her. Rocks and leaves circled her as she floated there, twining in twisting patterns around her still form.

"Rey."

Her eyes flew open at the deep voice which seemed to come from all around her and inside her, losing concentration and falling in a heap on the ground as her head swiveled wildly from side to side. She could see no one around her, but she got the sense that someone was laughing at her.

"Who's there?" She called, getting to her feet and looking around uneasily. Getting no response and not feeling a physical presence nearby, she warily resumed her meditating position, closing her eyes. It took some minutes to refocus on the Force, but she slowly managed it, levitating once again with rocks bending around her.

"Rey."

Her eyes flew open a second time as the word echoed through her being, but this time she caught herself before falling out of the air, landing in a ready position on her feet with saber in hand. Reaching out with the Force, she still sensed no physical presence. Yet, she was sure of what she was hearing; such things could not come from no where.

Focusing hard in the Force, she reached out with it, willing her eyes to see. "Where are you?" She asked. Suddenly, a glowing form appeared, stepping toward her slowly. His dark eyes sparkled as he smiled at her. "Ben," she breathed, and suddenly her bond glowed with light and warmth, just as it had before. Her posture relaxed as she sank to the ground, sheathing her saber.

"Rey," he repeated. Then he smirked at her. "Did you miss me?"

Rey stood there, dumbfounded. Was she dreaming? "You…died," she stammered, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. His smirk slipped slightly as it turned into more of a grimace. "How are you here?" She asked when he did not speak.

"You called me here," he said, his smirk back on his face. "Or at least, the bond called me here. Evidently, you weren't aware you were doing it." He lazily took a seat on the ground facing her, and Rey noticed faintly that he seemed much more relaxed than she'd ever seen him while he was alive. Her eyes filled as she took him in, feeling the connection renewed.

"Thank you," she finally managed to choke out. "Thank you for saving me." Ben's eyes widened slightly, smirk disappearing from his features.

"Rey," he began slowly and very seriously, "you were the one who saved me. I was just returning the favor."

She shook her head in disbelief. "I ran you through with your own lightsaber," she emphasized, making sure to stress every word. Tears poured down her face. "And I knew how much you meant to your mother, of course I had to heal you." Now it was Ben's turn to shake his head, leaning towards her to show how serious he was.

"It wasn't just physically. You helped me return to the light. I wouldn't be able to be here if I hadn't. I wouldn't have shown up to aid you against that monster emperor if I hadn't." He must have been able to read the doubt in her expression, because he continued. "Look," he said, "my father came to me, in the aftermath of that experience that day. And it was because of your example and his encouragement that I had the strength to do what was necessary." He sat forward even more, his eyes glittering with intensity as if he was willing her to accept his words. "You showed me that good and evil always coexist. You, the embodiment of light, were angry enough to attempt to kill someone while they were distracted. And if you could do that and then make things right again, maybe I had a chance after all." He smiled faintly. "Maybe, just maybe, I could make a different decision. Maybe it wasn't too late."

Rey studied the dark man across from her. She marveled at how he knew just what to say to her, even though they had fought and misunderstood each other for so long. As she watched him, the light around him flickered slightly. She met his eyes in alarm. He sighed reluctantly.

"I have to go soon," he said, reaching toward her, and she was surprised that she could feel his hand as he wiped away her tears. A pang shot through her at the remembered emptiness in their bond, the emptiness that would soon reassert itself in his absence.

"Will I see you again?" She asked, not liking how clingy she sounded. Ben must have been able to perceive her discomfort because he smirked at her again.

"Missing me already?" He asked, and she let out a choked laugh. He brushed her cheek again with his thumb where a stray tear ran down her face. "Don't worry," he said, more seriously. "I will always be with you. Right here." He touched the spot just above her heart where the bond shone brightly. And with that, he faded from view leaving Rey standing alone in the forest.

But still, as Rey got to her feet and brushed herself off, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hand, she smiled. Because the bond within her—her connection to Ben, the other half of her soul—was singing, warm and strong and bright. And with that she knew she would never be alone again.