Rey had just begun her descent through Dantooine's atmosphere when she sensed it. Ben was in pain. Then his pain exploded in her skull, like it was being squeezed from all sides. She cried out in pain, and her hands left the controls to hold her head. In her mind's eye, she reached for the connection between her and Ben and shut it down as best she could. The pain ebbed just enough for her to open her eyes. Frantically, she yanked up on the controls as the belly of the X-wing brushed the tree tops. The nose swung up just as another wave of pain hit her. The X-wing veered to the side as she lost her focus, and one of the bottom wings smacked into a tree trunk, sending her spinning out of control. She fought to keep her grip on the controls as the pain intensified and as the trees whirled around her. Her shoulder smashed against the glass of the cockpit, and then her head, and her fingers slipped from the controls as she blinked to clear her vision.

The nose of the X-wing plowed into the soil, and it began to tip forward, but Rey threw her hands out and used the Force to push it back. It landed heavily on the ground. Rey sat there for a moment, stunned and shaking. Another wave of pain washed over her, and she clutched her head in agony, tears gathering on her lashes. Then it subsided at last, and she gasped for air, leaning back in her seat. With trembling hands, she undid the buckles of her harness and pushed the cockpit open. She leapt to the broken ground and nearly lost her footing, but steadied herself against the ship. Taking a deep breath, she stood straight and assessed the damage to the X-wing. The nose was crumpled, and the bottom left wing was dented badly by the tree trunk. The glass of the cockpit was cracked, and the screens inside were flickering. She doubted she could get it off the ground in that shape, and in any case, it only had space for one passenger. She would have to call for a ship to come pick them up.

But first, she needed to find Ben. She shut her eyes and threw a mental net over the area, searching for his familiar presence. There. She sensed him, along with a group of beings whose signature in the Force was different from anything she had ever encountered. She opened her eyes and took off running through the trees, knowing there was no time to waste. Ben needed her.

She slowed as she approached the area, unclipping her saber from her belt. From behind a tree, she observed a ramshackle collection of structures: tents, cabins, and huts all surrounding a larger building in the center. It was constructed of smooth timbers, golden-red in hue, with a rounded roof. Slowly, she approached it, her gaze darting around for any sign of life. When no one appeared, she darted around the side of the cabin and found the door. She ignited her saber, took a deep breath, and attuned herself to the Force, then tore the door open. Sunlight flooded into the dark, smoky room, and every head turned in unison to look at her.

Every figure but one was hooded, and the bare-headed one held a blade in claw-like fingers, a blade resting at Ben's neck. Rey summoned the Force and pushed out, knocking them all back. She ran to Ben's side. The blade had drawn a thin line of blood on his jawline as the leader had been thrown back, but he seemed otherwise unhurt. His eyes met hers with a mixture of confusion and an emotion she could not name. Without a word, she deftly cut his wrists free, and then his ankles. He sat up slowly and then swayed as his face paled.

"What have they done to you?" she asked, her brows drawing together.

He shook his head, his eyes hollow, and said nothing. There was a sound almost of slithering, and Rey looked over to see the hooded figures crawling towards their leader, grabbing onto each other, seeming to draw strength from the contact.

"We have to go," she said, and summoned his lightsaber from the corner of the room. "Here." She shoved it into his unwilling grip and turned to face her opponents, who were rising to their feet, the leader at the center. The female's silver eyes caught the light from the open door as she stared Rey down. Rey raised her lightsaber. "Go," she murmured to Ben. "I'll follow." When he didn't move, she took her eyes off of the female just long enough to shove him off of the slab of wood. He stumbled when his feet hit the ground, and she steadied him.

That split second was ample opportunity for the female. She lunged forward, her followers fanning out behind her, and slashed at Rey's saber hand with her knife. Rey sensed her movement and turned just in time to parry, her saber slicing straight through the stone knife and sending the blade clattering to the wood floor.

Ben still stood behind her, wavering. "Go, I can handle this!" Rey growled at him, giving him one last shove towards the door, but not taking her eyes off the female. The female glanced after Ben's retreating back as he staggered to the door and out into the forest, and then her gaze returned to Rey, eyes narrowing.

"You had no right to free him," she hissed. "We were about to deliver justice to the galaxy."

Rey scowled. "I had every right. You don't know the man you almost killed."

A hiss arose from the entire group, but only the female spoke. "Perhaps it is you who do not know him."

Rey raised her saber, preparing to fight them all off, but then they each raised a hand in unison and she found herself rooted to the floor, totally paralyzed. Just like what Kylo had done to her in the forest. Her breaths quickened as she struggled to move. Slowly, they circled around her, the female directly in front of Rey's gaze.

"You see, we are not helpless against you," the female said. "The strength of many is greater than the strength of few."

Rey's eyes darted around the circle at each of her captors, panic rising in her throat. They shared some kind of bond in the Force, it was the only explanation. And only through understanding it could she defeat them. So as they tightened the circle around her, she closed her eyes and breathed, reaching out for the threads of the Force that wove them together. She sensed it flowing through each of them like sand blowing in the wind, binding them together. Each individual was weak in the Force, but they had found some way of combining their power and using it as one, focusing it through the female, who seemed to glow in her mind's eye.

Gathering the Force into her grip, Rey focused into a ball of energy in her chest, then pushed it out, targeting one of the figures on her right. She opened her eyes in time to see him fall to the ground, and his absence in the circle was enough for her to break their grip. She lashed out with her saber, cutting two of them down in quick succession. Thud-thud, they hit the wooden floor. The rest scuttled away from her to gather around their leader, the one she had knocked down crawling to them.

The female's teeth were bared now, her silver eyes narrowed to slits. They all raised a hand again, but Rey was ready this time, raising her own hand to block them. Their power met in the middle, thrumming and crackling with energy. Rey pushed harder, allowing the Force to flow through her freely. The female scowled in concentration, and her breath grew heavier. Both let out a feral scream, and then they were blown back as the energy exploded between them, tearing the roof to pieces and sending beams raining down on them.

Rey raised herself a little and looked around to see the walls wavering. She got to her knees and pushed out with the Force to protect herself just as they collapsed inward. Slowly, she lowered her hands to her sides. The air was filled with dust, but she could just make out the crumpled pile of bodies and cloaks across the room from her, nearly buried in rubble. All was entirely silent, and none of them moved. She sat back on her heels, becoming aware of her parched lips and dust-coated arms. Her entire body ached.

"Rey!" It was Ben, calling her from behind. She whipped around to see him stumbling through the wreckage of the cabin, his limbs weak and uncoordinated. She stood to meet him, and they fell into each other's arms, slipping to the ground.

"I'm so glad you're all right," he murmured into her hair. "I thought when it blew up…"

"I know," she replied, nodding against his chest. They sat like that for quite some time as their heartbeats and breathing slowed, just drinking in the other's solid presence. Ben felt whole with her there, as though part of him had been missing and had just returned to him. He held her closer, realizing he never wanted to be parted from her again.

It was Rey who leaned away first. She tilted her chin to look up into his face and said, "We should go. I've no idea if they're actually dead, and there might be more of them." He nodded, and they stood. His vision went black for a moment, and he swayed. Rey steadied him, and he found himself looking into her concerned face.

"Are you all right, Ben?"

He nodded, avoiding her eyes. "Let's go." They made their way out of the rubble, Rey's arm around Ben's waist to help support him.

The trek back to the X-wing took much longer than she expected. It had been a blur when she'd come that way before, and now she had Ben, who was not all right no matter what he said. At last, they made it, and Ben collapsed against its side, totally spent. Rey eyed him with concern before climbing into the cockpit, powering up the communication systems. She calibrated the signal to reach as far as possible and put the headset on.

"Base One, this is Red Five, calling for aid." She waited for an answer, then repeated herself. "Base One, this is Red Five, calling for aid."

A cough of static, then an answering voice. "Red Five, we hear you. Securing transmission." There was silence for a few moments, then the voice crackled through again. "Transmission secured. What is your location?"

"Dantooine," Rey replied. "I crashed the X-wing and we need emergency evacuation services."

"Command will be notified immediately."

"I'll transmit our exact location to you."

"Standing by."

Frowning in concentration, she stared at the control panel. She'd never actually had to do this before.

"Here, let me help." Ben hoisted himself over the side of the cockpit and reached over her to press a few buttons. "There."

"Location received. A rescue mission has been dispatched. Base One, over and out."

There was a click, and silence fell again. Ben slumped to sit against the ship again, and Rey climbed out after him.

"Suppose there's nothing left to do but wait," she said, sliding down the ship's side to sit beside him, knees to her chest. He nodded, eyes closed, face pale and drawn. She eyed him for a moment before reaching over to him. "Come here," she said, stretching her legs out and gently pushing his head onto her lap. He didn't resist, his legs curling into his chest as he lay down.

She brushed his tangled hair from his face and rested her hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it with her thumb. They sat like that in silence for so long she thought he'd fallen asleep. Then she felt his shoulders shake, heard a gulp in his throat. Then a tear splashed onto her leg. She put her arms around his broad shoulders and rested her forehead on his shoulder, wishing more than anything to be able to free him of his pain.

His sobs grew more pronounced until they shook his entire body. His face was turned away from her, but she could read his pain in his tightly curled body, his shaking shoulders, the broken sound of his sobs. She squeezed him a little to remind him he wasn't alone.

At last, the tears slowed, and his body began to relax. Then he did sleep, his weight sinking into the ground. Rey sighed and leaned back against the ship, absentmindedly rubbing his upper arm and wondering what had happened to shake him so deeply, what that cult of Force-users had done to him. She glared out into the darkening forest, daring one of them to come fight her so she'd have the pleasure of slicing it in two. But all was silent except for the rustle of the breeze through the undergrowth. She found her eyelids growing heavy, her head bobbing.

Ben's body twitched violently then, startling her awake. She bent over him to see if he'd awoken, but his eyes were still shut. She could see his eyeballs wandering restlessly under his lids, his brows drawing together. He jerked again, a breath stuttering through his lips. A nightmare. He cried out then, a broken, piteous sound. Tears pressed at her eyes. No one should have to go through this much pain. Then she took a calming breath and closed her eyes, reaching out for Ben's consciousness. She sensed its unrest, even saw glimpses of what he saw. Kylo Ren. A burning building, one she had seen in vision. She heard screams that chilled her to the bone. Then, pulling back a little to gather herself, she reached into his mind and breathed her presence into it, smoothing the nightmare away. When she returned to awareness of her body, he was still again, his breathing deep and heavy. Please come soon, she thought as she looked up to the sky, rosy with the setting sun's rays.

To her surprise, she heard an answering voice. Rey? Is that you?

Finn?

Rey!

You can hear me?

Yes!

She couldn't help but smile. Are you almost here?

Yes, we're just about to leave hyperspace. We had to take a roundabout route, remnants of the First Order have started to band together and we had to stay out of their way.

There was a pause. Then, Thank you, Finn.

Of course. His tone was warm. Another silence. Then, Is Ben with you?

Yes, she replied. He's the reason I came back here. He was captured by a group of Force-sensitive fanatics, they really did a number on him.

She could sense his discomfort with Ben's presence, but all he said was, We'll be there soon.

Rey could hardly believe it. She had sensed the Force in Finn before, but they had never connected through it like that. Perhaps he was strong enough in the Force to be trained as a Jedi, once she and Ben had sorted all that out. She sighed when she thought of that. She had lost nearly an entire day of guidance from those who had gone before in rescuing Ben. Impatiently, she wished he'd just come with her to Tatooine in the first place. Then none of this would have happened.

She heard the rushing and growling of a ship's engines overhead, and she looked up to see the Falcon descending towards them. It landed with a bump in a clearing a short distance off. Carefully, she extricated herself out from under Ben, her pants damp with his sweat and tears, and jogged over to where Poe and Finn were descending the gangway.

The three embraced tightly, and when she pulled away, she said, "I didn't expect to see you here, General Dameron."

He chuckled. "You think I'd let Finn have all the glory of rescuing you? Not a chance."

She smiled and shook her head, then quickly sobered. "We need to get out of here. Ben's not well, and there's an entire cult of Force-users out for his blood."

They followed her over to where Ben lay. Rey knelt next to him and gently took his shoulder to wake him. "Ben," she said.

He drew a sharp breath in as his head came off of the grass, his eyes blinking open slowly.

"Come on, it's time to go." She looked up at Poe and Finn. "Will you help me get him up?"

Ben hardly seemed aware of their grip on his arms as they helped him to his feet. His eyes were unfocused, staring into nothing. The four of them made their way back into the Falcon, Ben hardly able to lift his feet high enough to step onto the gangway. They laid him in a cot and Rey pulled a thin, scratchy blanket over him before following the other two to the cockpit.

"What happened, Rey?" Poe asked as soon as she joined them.

So she told them. How she had communed on Tatooine with Master Yoda, how Ben had appeared to her and then suddenly vanished, how she had sped to Dantooine, how his pain had bled over to her, how she'd crashed the X-wing, how she'd fought off the cult and rescued Ben. They listened intently, Poe's hands effortlessly making preparations to take off. They rose from Dantooine's surface and entered hyperspace as she finished her tale.

Finn glanced back at Ben's still form. "He doesn't look hurt."

Rey shook her head. "I don't think what they did to him was physical. He's hardly spoken since I found him, and he's almost completely withdrawn. Whatever they did to him, it affected his mind more than anything else."

"I think we all know what that's like," Poe said grimly, and the three fell silent, each absorbed in thought.