Author's Note: I cannot express how blown away I am by your reactions to the last chapter! I am so glad you are enjoying the story (and the beautiful illustrations - check Tumblr erickawrites) Thank you so much for continuing to share your thoughts on this story!

Due to work continuing to be insane, updates will now come weekly on Wednesdays! Thank you amazing readers, you guys are the best!


Rey's blades sparked as she crossed them in front of her, pressing them closer to Darth Malak's neck. The spitting sabers reflected in Malak's cold, grey eyes as he stared back at her from where he'd fallen at her feet. He didn't speak, but dragged the back of his hand across his forehead to wipe away the sheen of sweat that stuck to his tattooed skin.

Next to her, Ben's blade shone like starlight, holding back the ghostly shadow that was Darth Nihilus. Even two of the most powerful Sith Lords in history couldn't match the strength and speed provided by the Bond.

They'd been so close to victory.

Until the arrival of the third Sith Lord had thrown everything into chaos.

Closer to the gateway, Darth Maul held Finn by the neck, brandishing his saber staff threateningly across his body. It seemed that not even Malak or Nihilus knew what Maul's next move would be as they all stared in Maul's direction, waiting for him to speak.

The tension of the moment hung heavy in the black void that was the World Between Worlds and Rey was finding it very difficult to breathe, her chest heaving with each shallow breath.

It was Finn who moved first, wrenching himself from Maul's grip with one unexpected twist of his shoulders. He was free only briefly before the Force knocked him back and he received a vicious Zabrak elbow to his side. The blow was delivered with such force, Rey was sure she heard ribs crack.

As Finn stumbled, Maul captured his arms behind him, twisting to keep him pinned. Holding his scarlet saber across Finn's chest again, he waited for him to still. It was only then that Maul finally raised his commanding voice to address Malak. "I'm not in this for you. I'm not interested in being a puppet of another Empire. I just want outof this horrid purgatory."

"I assure you," Malak said between rasping breaths at her feet, "I have no desire for puppets. And the gateway is open to you. Thanks to Darth Sidious' granddaughter and your well-timed capture of her friend there, you are free to cross over."

Rey didn't miss the dark ripple in the Force and the way Maul's eyes narrowed with the mention of her grandfather.

Malak's shrewd eyes settled on Rey's face and she yearned to slash her saber across his throat, to slowly erase that self-satisfied expression as he bled out at her feet. But then, Maul tightened his grip on Finn and she realized she was not the one controlling this interaction.

"But if we can discover the key to open every gateway…" Malak split a gaze between she and Ben, making clear the role of the Dyad in his plan, "we will have free reign over the World Between Worlds, control over all space and time. And though it may be a little crowded in the present for all three of us, there will be plenty of room in eternity for more than one Lord of the Sith."

Maul seemed to consider this as Malak spoke again. "Our Acolytes are the reason your spirit found corporeal form once again."

Maul's yellow eyes blazed brighter than Rey's saber. "And if I don't help you?"

"The Sith Fleet is orbiting Lothal now. Our Acolytes are on board the Derriphan. You may consider those implications."

Rey's heart lodged itself in her throat. If the Sith Fleet was near, there was nothing stopping them from destroying her friends as they waited oblivious outside of the gateway.

A pulse of soothing energy, warmth and peace, leaked across their connection. She sent Ben a pointed glare and enclosed herself tighter, behind her icy walls. Didn't he understand? She didn't need peace right now, she needed power if they were going to make it out of this. They needed to be faster, stronger, they needed to harness the Force like they never had. There was no room for calm in that.

Rey leaned forward with her sabers, letting Malak feel the heat from the plasma blades. She basked in the spike of fear it caused, enjoying his slight flinch and the way his pulse jumped a little faster in his temple. "Tell him to let Finn go," she said, her voice a low growl she hardly recognized.

"My dear, were you not listening? He is not obligated to follow my commands. And if you cut my throat, there will be nothing stopping Darth Maul from separating your friend's head from his shoulders." He ignored her weapons buzzing inches from his skin and pushed himself to his feet again. "Or from stopping the Derriphan from repeating the tragic obliteration of an innocent planet. Let's not be hasty here."

"You do not get to bargain with us." Ben's voice was absolutely lethal, his muscular body poised to strike as he gripped his saber tight in one large fist. Rey felt a spark of heat ignite in that place deep inside of her and she wanted to ravage that body right here, feel those fingers against her flesh…

She shook her head. Kriff, what was happening to her?

But there was no tamping down the emotion spilling out of her through the Force, dark passion and desire continued to mix with her fury, enveloping her in their shadowy embrace. That's right, that's what this was... this was darkness, this was power, this was what she needed. And instead of shying away from those passionate thoughts, she drew them into herself like oxygen to fuel her body…

Meanwhile, Malak responded with a casual tone as though the three of them were discussing dinner plans.

"On the contrary," he said. "You'll find that if this were a game of Sabacc, I'd have all the chips to bargain with."

Rey felt like a CryoBan grenade, ready to explode her frozen wrath on everyone around her, and Malak was foolishly playing with the activation pin. She nearly jumped at him then, feeling every muscle tense as she readied an opening slash of her weapons. But then, Ben's light touch came through the Force, trying again to offer warmth. She slammed her cold walls down hard again. Power, she had to focus on the power. Why did he keep trying to distract her?

Nihilus spoke for the first time, his voice scraping through the air in a dry hiss. "There will be no bargain. You're already too late. You will offer the strength of your Dyad or you will die."

Ben's voice rang clear in her mind from across the Bond. On my count, we get Finn through that gateway.

She nodded, barely perceptible, but she felt his acknowledgment through their connection.

Nihilus rose to stand shoulder to shoulder with Malak, and Ben pressed his blade closer to where the Sith's neck should be. The glow of Ben's saber gave Nihilus an otherworldly glow, and Rey wanted nothing more than to stab through each eye socket and twist, laying waste to the creature hiding behind the mask.

One.

"I wouldn't do that," Nihilus rasped. "The spirits of the other Sith are close, and the gateway is already open for us."

Two.

"You are powerful, but you are no match for the entire might of the Sith," Malak warned.

Three.

Rey sensed Ben's intention, using the Bond to help fuel his leap toward Darth Maul. He soared farther than any of the Sith expected, taking them off guard. Maul was forced to sidestep to block Ben's attack, sliding away from Finn who found himself suddenly freed. Ben's face hardened with concentration as he raised his blade to meet Maul's counterstrike.

"Go!" Ben ordered, waving Finn toward the gateway.

Finn hesitated for a moment, sending Rey a worried backwards glance before he scrambled to the portal clutching his injured side. He stumbled at first but recovered quickly, pushing himself to stand again before he was suddenly frozen in place. His limbs shook with the effort of trying to escape the invisible grasp of darkness anchoring him down.

Malak's outstretched hand clenched the Force itself as he willed the dark energy to do his bidding, keeping Finn immobilized. And with that touch, with that last obstacle laid in the path of freeing Ben, Malak had pulled the pin on her explosive rage. She felt her control collapse and Rey charged, using the added momentum given by Ben through the Bond.

Malak held Finn frozen with one hand while he pulled his saber to him with the other. Rey was sure his parry would be too slow, and she was right. Unfortunately, Nihilus was there with his saber to block what should have been the killing blow against Malak.

She roared. Anger flared everywhere in her mind and a new wave of darkness surged through her body like a rushing tempest. She didn't even try to stop it this time. Lightning coursed from her fingertips, wrapping its ruinous tendrils around Malak. It was a sweet release, passion and anger surging through her. It sated that desire that had been winding itself tight in her belly. She curled a lip into a smile as she watched her Dark Force strangle the life from Darth Malak.

But Malak was a Sith Lord. And as his anger and pain intensified, so did his own power. It opened up before her like a black hole in the Force. Lightning exploded from his hands, meeting Rey's and pushing it back. This was a battle of darkness and Rey was not going to lose.

Electricity arced between them, snapping and hissing, but neither gave any ground to the other. She thought she heard Ben's voice in her mind, a warning, but the darkness was ripping through every cell in her body and she couldn't stop, wouldn't stop until Malak was destroyed.

It was almost too late by the time Rey saw the glow of a red saber from the corner of her eye, but Ben's energy surged through their connection with a heat that burned through to her frozen core. It sped her reflexes and she slammed an icy flood of Force in Nihilus' direction, sending him sliding across the floor away from Malak. She couldn't waste too much time thinking about how close that blade had been to her neck.

One last heave of energy from Ben down their connection and electricity arced furiously, writhing and twisting, finally overpowering Malak and he stumbled to a knee.

With both Sith Lords down, Rey took the time to look back to where Ben battled Darth Maul closer to the gateway. Ben was holding his own, pushing Maul back in an attempt to keep him away from the portal as he barked more orders to Finn from over his shoulder. She couldn't hear what he said over the crash of sabers, but Finn nodded, sending her an anxious glance before he sprinted through the gateway.

Maul saw an opening caused by the distraction and sent an underhanded blow toward Ben's flank. Rey used the Bond to speed Ben's parry and though Maul's staff struck hard, Ben was able to guide it down toward his crossguard. Using the leverage, he wrenched the saber staff free of Maul's hand.

Maul snarled as he was disarmed, and the saber staff skittered down the dark path behind him. A wave of Ben's palm sent the weapon clattering even farther away and Ben bore down upon the Sith wielding a Force so bright and hot, he was like a star in this sea of blackness.

The glare Darth Maul gave Ben in that moment would have sent a lesser man running in the opposite direction. But Ben Solo straightened and stepped forward, giving Maul a chance to retreat.

"Rey and I are leaving," he said, looking down at the Zabrak with an air of finality in his voice that did not invite argument.

Rey crossed the space toward Ben. He turned his eyes to her, offering a smile that didn't touch his eyes, and she noted the way his brows wrinkled, the way he drew back from her just slightly in the Force. What was wrong, why was he looking at her like that?

Just then, a sickly fog descended, choking the light from all around them. Even Ben, who still blazed bright in the Force was smothered, like the Jakku sun during an eclipse, as shadows descended on this strange realm between time and space.

The intensity of the warning that sounded in the back of her mind overpowered every other thought.

As she looked around to find the source of the danger, she realized that even the incoming shadows couldn't douse the fire that burned in Darth Maul's eyes. It wasn't long before the Zabrak sprang at Ben again, calling Malak's fallen saber to his hand and flipping into the air, heedless of the fact that the angle was all wrong. Ben blocked the incoming attack with the Force out of pure instinct, reflexes sharper with their Bond still pulsing with power between them, and Maul was thrown back again.

It was when she turned her head to see Maul's body hit hard against the ground, that she saw them.

The spirits of the other Sith had emerged from that suffocating mist, their poisonous glares peering through a veil of liquid darkness. Shadows dripped like oil down their forms, giving them the illusion of movement though their positions didn't change. They weren't solid like the other three Sith Lords, but she could sense their power.

The Sith will not be defeated.

It was Malak's voice in her mind, each word scraping against her nerves and leaving a trail of raw violation in his wake. Gods. His power of mind control was strong if he'd forced through her mental shields that easily. She pulled strength from the Bond to keep him out and felt his shadowy fingers uncurl reluctantly from her mind.

When she finally shook away the shock of having her mental shields breached and looked up to find him, Malak had already reached the gateway.

Cold rage pricked threateningly at her fingertips again. He'd done it to distract her. He'd reached into her mind to buy himself time. She was stupid to become so easily unfocused. She sprinted after him knowing it was too late, he was already so close to crossing through...

She released another wave of Force lightning toward Malak in a last-ditch effort to slow him, feeling Ben strengthen her through their connection. She was the Shadow itself as her passion and pain swelled in darkness and grabbed for Malak, lashing and licking at his flesh.

But as quickly as she had unleashed that Shadow, the floodgates of her Dark Force were sealed and her emotion was bottled up again. The hairs on her neck stood straight as the Force issued another warning and she knew what had happened. She turned to see the spirits of the Sith standing behind her, choking their Bond and creating a Force barrier of their own around Malak.

She sensed Ben's fear as he realized the Sith were intent on passing through to the physical realm. His white-hot Force surged once more and Rey gave what power she could, feeding his strength to push Maul back from the portal and cut off Nihilus' approach.

Rey used everything she had left in that moment to stop Malak from leaving the World Between Worlds. He was so close, mere feet separated him from the physical realm and her friends on the other side.

Power became the chant she spoke as she pulled from every last angry feeling to fuel her attack.

Memories churned through the blizzard in her mind. She was a little girl again, being tugged roughly from her parents by Plutt. She was alone and starving after a day of exhausting, fruitless scavenging in the desert. She was close, so close to striking down her grandfather, giving in to the darkness completely to be rid of this weight she carried.

She used all of it, pain to fuel her power, and Malak was trapped for a few glorious seconds, mired in her frozen Force and unable to cross through the gateway.

It bought her enough time to sprint for Ben. His eyes widened slightly as he met her gaze, but his steadying arm was there to capture her around the waist, a reminder that she was not alone. Standing beside him again, feeling his warmth and his supportive frame against hers, it corrected her wandering path through the black night of her own emotions. She let his light in, let it soothe her frozen limbs, let it center her again.

She had to fortify his position before the gateway. She could not let herself fall before Ben Solo was safely through that portal into Lothal. He was her only anchor in an ocean of darkness and she was not letting go.

That was when the shadow of the Sith choked harder around the Bond. Muscles wrenched painfully in her belly, like a puppeteer was orchestrating the pull of strings attached to her core. It lifted her into the air and something snapped, like one of those precious golden cords had been cut through, before she fell to her feet again.

The Sith were snipping away the threads of the Bond.

Panic was a shared emotion through what remained of their connection and Rey felt her control over Malak evaporate. His grey eyes overflowed with arrogance and he shot her a smug look. It pulled a murderous scream from her lips and she could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Sith Lord stepped calmly through the gateway to Lothal.

She thought to run, to grab Ben's hand and sprint for the gateway before the Sith spirits ripped at the Bond again. But Nihilus had cut off their path toward the portal, and Maul had retrieved his staff and begun his own approach from the opposite side. Even the spirits of the Sith were now close enough that Rey could make out their features through the shadows. She could feel their Force, like weights pulling her down and slowing her movements.

Before she could get over her shock and decide which threat to handle first, Ben was taking her face between his hands and pulling her into a kiss. Confusion clouded her mind with questions, why was he kissing her now? But when his lips pressed against hers, fast and urgent, she melted into him as she always did. She knew he was telling her something with the way he pulled away gently and gazed at her. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but his eyes, luminous and penetrating, trapped her completely for the duration of that gaze.

She scrunched her brows and sent a question down the Bond. Ben?

He brushed the softest caress against her cheek and whispered a mysterious promise. "I will never leave you, Rey."

"What? What's going on? Ben?"

But instead of answering, he turned from her to face the Sith. His lightsaber flared to life again in a surge of white as he Force-pulled Nihilus away from the gateway and into the path of his blade. Their sabers crashed together violently. Rey didn't have much time to contemplate Ben's strange actions before the Bond pulsed urgently, demanding more power through their connection. She obeyed and the intention behind Ben's next move became clear in her mind - a massive Force push. And with Maul approaching, she knew the push was meant for him.

It was only when Rey's body was hoisted into the air that she realized she was wrong.

She cried out as her head snapped forward, stomach lurching from the strength of the push. She hurdled towards the gateway, flailing and clawing at Ben's Force, commanding it to release her. Eventually she did break free, crashing awkwardly to her hands and knees, and raised her head to see that she had already crossed over into Lothal.