Like a poor man stood before the Queen, I tripped over my tongue before I spoke.

Leia walked toward him and got to her knees, taking his face in her hands, lifting his chin so he would look at her 'Ben, my dear Ben. You're back. You did it!' he saw his own eyes looking back at him. There was only one difference, his mother was a Force ghost, he was not...

Suddenly he felt like a boy again, longing for his mothers' comfort. He flung himself toward her as his long arms wrapped around her, burying his face in her lap, and sobbed. 'I'm so sorry!' he uttered between sobs. He felt his mother carressing his hair and rubbing his back, just like she used to do when he was a child.

'I'm so sorry, about everything!' he uttered again.

'If someone needs to be sorry, it's me. I failed you greatly. I should have known it was Palpatine all along, poisoning your mind with his whispers... Ben..' She said while shaking her head. 'Ben, my son, listen to me.', the concern in Leia's voice made the hair on his arms stand upright.

He lifted his head to face her, his eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying. He resented himself. The once mighty Kylo Ren reduced to tears... He immediately pushed the thought away with vigor, that wasn't who he was anymore. His mother cupped his cheek, wiping away his tears.

'Ben, she cannot hear you. You are in the World between Worlds.'

Leia could sense the confusion radiating from her son. He unlocked himself from their embrace and remained silent for a long time. He sat himself down, crossed legged, facing his mother. All the while he hadn't made eyecontact with her. He rested an elbow on his knee and rubbed his chin.

'Am I not dead then?' he asked hesitantly, finally looking Leia in the eyes.

She shook her head and he became even more confused. 'But, how? I do not understand. I felt myself fading away!' he said with a raised voice. He stood up and briskly started pacing. A habit he had picked up in his time as the leader of the Knights of Ren, where doubt, heartache and the pull to the Light followed him wherever he went. Though this time, that wasn't the reason for his anxiety. He couldn't quite put a finger on it.

Leia folded her hands in her lap, her eyes facing the ground. Now it was her turn to remain silent. As if she didn't know how to formulate what she was about to say.

Ben stopped pacing and looked over his shoulder toward his mother, awaiting response. He was about to explode. Patience had never been one of his strong suits, a trait he had inherited from his father. A trait which had proven highly combustable in Ben. He took a deep breath in attempt to calm the storm within, with no succes.

At long last his mother looked up to find his eyes. She had a sad yet determined look on her face.

'When you.. passed, you heard someone, didn't you?' she asked.

'Yes' he answered curtly, clenching his fists. How was this supposed to help him understand?! Fire burned within him. She better have a good explanation!

'It..' his mother started, 'It was me.'

That's it. He was done with her speaking in riddles. 'I KNOW!' he shouted, 'Speak plainly, woman! How am I to understand all this?' fire shot from his eyes as he felt the Dark Side creeping up on him and greeted him like an old friend. He was losing control.

'Will you SIT DOWN and ZIP IT! I'm still your mother!' Leia looked at him with a fire that matched his own. Her voice laced with the strength of the Force. Ben snapped out of it and refrained himself, immediately regretting his outburst. He sat back down. 'You done?' she asked, one eyebrow raised.

What? How? How did he just lose himself like that? He shook his head in disbelief. He wasn't unfamiliar with losing himself in his rage, though this time it was vastly different. This time, he hadn't been in control. As he finally started to feel more like himself, it began to make sense. Who wouldn't go mad in a place like this?

'Sorry mom, it's this place.. I feel it consuming me, bit by bit. It.. It's getting to me.' he confessed at last.

She looked at him with understanding in her eyes. 'I'm sorry, too. I'm not sure how to explain all this.' She took a deep breath. 'When Rey saved you, you both heard me, didn't you? That's why Rey healed you. I too was very weak, but the action didn't cost me my life. Not yet.' she looked at Ben, trying to gauge whether he still followed. He nodded.

'Now, when you saved Rey, you actually DID give your life. As you were too weak and injured to keep both her and yourself alive. I was close to dying, too. I used the very last of my powers to save you, Ben. To keep you from dying' Leia paused. 'But I was too late, you were already fading... That is why you ended up here, I am so, so sorry.'

She looked down again, her head hung heavy with sorrow.
'I do not know how to get you out of here. But there are people here who do. Find them, Ben, find them and get back to Rey. She needs you. You need eachother.' and as she uttered those last words, she started fading. ´May the Force be with you, my son.'

Ben jumped up 'NO! Don't go, mom! Stay, please! I need you! I.. I..' his mother had dissapeared. 'I know.', he heard his mothers voice in his mind. He could hear the smile in it.

Once again he found himself alone, confused and heartbroken in the void that called itself the World between Worlds.

Author's note: Bring out the tinfoil hats! I have a theory!
Though Leia's death-scene was beautifully done and a worthy homage to a great actress, Carrie Fisher, may she rest in peace, I don't believe that was the actual end of Leia. Keep in mind, she was a fully trained Jedi, so her death should result in her disappearing on the spot. She didn't though.
Anyway, I strongly believe she wasn't actually dead. In the film, she only disappeared when Ben did, so here goes:

I believe she mustered the very last of her powers to save him from death, then Leia ACTUALLY died and disappeared. (there, I've said it)

Ofcourse it was later explained by the filmmakers Leia was waiting for Ben so she could take him home, but I choose to omit that. This is my take on the story, so canon can blow me, dammit! xD

p.s. I've put this note in later than the chapter was actually released, so early readers might not have read this. Sorry ^^' ENJOY!