It was like Rey could feel a snap, and everything was suddenly right in the universe. Ben stood there, one arm reaching out with the Force to keep the door closed. He stared at her for a moment, almost in disbelief, taking her features in before his brow furrowed in concern. They both knew they didn't have the luxury of time for a reunion or explanation.
"Wherever we are we're in trouble. This place is crawling with Sithspawn. Do you know the way out?" His deep voice was like water in the desert. "Yes, but I need you to carry her." she motioned to the collapsing body in her arms.
Ben nodded and made his way over before he stopped sharply. Kriff! Rey had forgotten about their shared history, and he had no idea why she was here now. His shock poured through their connection and Rey tried to push back with assurance. "I know," She said quickly, meeting his gaze again. "but she's the reason you're here so we can save the explanation for once we're out of here."
She felt him push his feelings aside as he gave her a curt nod and put Jarda's body over his shoulder. She moved to continue holding the door and sensed him look over the room. "Over there." She motioned to the sabers on the wall. "Take your pick." She felt his subtle appraisal as he made his selection and made his way back over to join her. The door had gone suspiciously silent, and Rey and Ben sensed the incoming explosion as they shrunk back to the corners of the room.
Sithspawn are dark hybrid creatures the Sith have made in secret for centuries. They're abominations. Watch yourself, they will be made from many different species with varying strengths and weaknesses. I'll do my best to watch your back but keep focused. Ben's voice echoed in her head. Rey took a brief moment to savor the feeling of their connection. For the first time since he had left her, she felt whole.
They winced as the doors blew open and the room was filled with the dark, twisted forms of the Sithspawn. Ben had been right, each one seemed to have been a cursed abomination of several different races. Their skin was rough and yellowed, covered in festering wounds. The mutants flung themselves at Rey with rage. She and Ben quickly slashed through the frontline and cleared the room. Dark purple blood ran thickly from the severed limbs that littered the floor around them.
Rey didn't need to look at Ben to know it was time to press forward. They exited the room, meeting with another large group of the mutants and quickly fought through the horde.
There's a secret passage that way, or we can try the entrance? Rey pressed the question to him as she took out a large Gamorrean Spawn. She felt him ponder the two as he cut down a bony bird-like creature. If this was a trap then they'll be waiting with more guards. The front is the only option. He drove his newly acquired saber through the torso of a spidery looking beast with ease. Rey didn't need to ask twice, she drove off the few on his flank before sprinting down the hall. She could sense him just behind her, his long legs keeping up with her smaller strides.
Each corner they turned they found more Sithspawn awaiting them. They would pause only for a moment to fight them off before continuing their flight out. Rey could hardly remember the holo she and Jarda had poured over, and tried to let the Force guide them out when she couldn't make up her mind. Ben followed her lead quietly and unquestioningly as they made their way to the entrance. They finally came to a large opening in the side and were met with the largest group of mutants.
Rey felt her stomach drop as Ben's emotions reached her, and she moved her gaze to find what he saw. The ramp exiting the fortress was flooded with dozens more spawn, larger and more twisted than the ones they had already fought. At the bottom, two large scorpion-like mutants stood tall behind the horde, hissing and twitching with anger and excitement.
Ben had begun to fight the few smaller mutants that began to charge at them, but made no move to press forward. Rey stood for a moment and reached out with the Force to assess the masses before her. They were covered in black scales, almost like the obsidian walls of the fortress. They paced back and forth as their companions were cut down from Ben's saber.
Rey had no choice but to jump in then, as a few of the larger ones had tried to come up and flank Ben again. She knew he sensed them, and set her sights on them to let him know she had his back. It was strangely like the fight they had after Snoke's murder. She sensed his memory parallel with hers as they fought and sliced their way to the Scorpion mutants.
Rey and Ben could sense the growing rage from the scorpion mutants as they neared. Their pronged tails flicked nervously as they stomped and hissed. Rey closed in first, knowing she had the advantage over Ben. The first scorpion flung it's stinging tail at her and she dodged, spinning around to strike it down but felt her saber connect with the tail and seemingly bounce off.
She could feel Ben's fear and irritation as he realized what happened. You won't be able to get through that easily. Search for a soft spot. On the head or the underbelly. Rey searched but couldn't see any distinctive difference on the monster's skin. It hissed at her, almost laughing, and she could feel its malicious pleasure at her failed attempt. She readied herself again as she lurched out of the way of the stinger. The second one remained close by, almost watching both her and Ben struggle to remain in control.
Rey tried to check the monsters underbelly, but it was kept firmly to the ground. She'd need a distraction if she was going to be able to get it to compromise itself. Ben cut down the last few monsters before coming to her aid. He still had Jarda's almost lifeless body over his shoulder. Rey narrowly dodged another blow, but felt her leg give out underneath her. Her body was exhausted, mind and muscles fatigued from the power drain and relentless fighting.
She regained her footing and looked up to find Ben pushing the creature away from her momentarily before his concentration broke with the sight of more spawn pouring out from the entrance behind them. Rey dodged another spike and jumped backwards. Ben busied himself with the newly arrived troops but stayed close-by as Rey pulled her body close to the ground.
She held that position for a short moment, catching her breath. She could feel her body shaking beneath her, struggling to fight exhaustion but pulsing with Force energy. Rey closed her eyes for a moment. She felt the familiar pull in her stomach and before she or Ben could change her mind she raised her hands up and willed all of her energy to the beast before her.
Electricity crackled out of her finger tips and hit the scorpion. It writhed in pain, curling its tail and legs into its torso in quick, rough twitches. The second beast made no move towards them, and instead watched quietly as Rey began to scream and shake. The lighting moved targets to the nearest spawn, but forked and simultaneously moved to the next creature.
Rey barely took notice, screaming at the sudden release of power she hadn't realized she held in. The electricity from her fingers branched out until all of the sith spawn surrounding them were jolting and shaking to the ground. Like Rey had reached the end of a long exhale, it stopped, her hands dropped limply beside her. She took a sharp breath in, starved for air, but choked when she realised what she had just done.
She looked down at her shaking hands, they looked just as they had before. Her head jolted up when she sensed Ben's thoughts. Bodies littered the walkway. A few twitched around her, but the damage had been done. She bit the inside of her cheek as she finally looked at Ben, who had been waiting patiently a few yards away. "I didn't know you could do that." He noted dryly.
"Neither did I." She said quietly. There had only been one other Force user they knew of that had been able to do that, her grandfather. Rey felt her lip tremble at the thought of it. She knew there was great power in her bloodline, so many things came naturally for her, but this.. She shook the thought out of her head. This was not the time or place for these thoughts.
As if he heard her, Ben gave her a curt nod and looked out to the dark forest. Rey followed his gaze and acknowledged his unspoken thought. They didn't have time to stick around. Lead us the long way. We don't want to be followed. Rey nodded and began to trail them through the thick forest. They waded downstream through a small river before exiting and backtracking, trying their best to keep their tracks hidden.
They walked in comfortable silence, both of them exhausted from the flight. Rey could hardly think of anything besides the way back or her body would begin to crumble beneath her. She sensed Ben's consciousness through their bond, though she didn't have the strength to address it. It seemed they both were at peace with the knowledge that it was back in the first place, and they were near each other. The rest… would have to wait.
They sensed the Falcon as they drew closer. All of the lights had been shut off to keep it hidden. Rey approached the landing and pushed the button to open the hangar door. It opened with bright lights, blinding Rey and Ben. "What the hell happened?" a sharp voice met them as they made their way into the ship. Doj and Theo had rushed to Jarda's limp body as Ben set her carefully onto the bench seat.
Doj was silent as he looked over her form, brushing the hair out of her face. "Who the hell is he anyway?" Theo eyed Ben angrily, arms folded over his chest. She sensed the irritation welling up in Ben and watched his hands curl into fists. Doj was silent, waves of fear and anger poured off of him. He made no comment as he gently took Jarda into his arms and moved towards the hold they had been sleeping in. "He-" She motioned to Ben "Is the reason we came here." She threw a dirty look to Theo who's snarled face relaxed for a second before he turned questioningly to Jarda.
"There was another Sith trap. I wasn't going to be able to absorb it on my own, she helped me, but was knocked out in the process." Rey said softly, looking over at Doj as he left the room. She could feel Ben's suspicion and confusion growing as she spoke and decided to stop short. "She's going to need to rest, like I did, but she should be fine." she hid the uncertainty from her voice, but felt Ben eyeing her.
"We have to get out of here." He said simply, turning to make his way to the cockpit. Rey started after him but turned back. "Go take care of her, we'll get out of here and then we can discuss everything once we've all gotten some rest." She turned on her heel without waiting for a response and stepped quickly to catch up. Ben had already gotten most of the pre-flight setup ready. He looked over to the nav system. Ronu II, so you made it.
She nodded. Rey sensed his thoughts flicker back to when she had told him about Harmaa's appearance and aid. He didn't wait for any response before he plugged in new coordinates. Rey moved silently into the co-pilot's chair and made sure the ship was ready as they moved the ship up into the atmosphere and readied for the jump to lightspeed. The ascent was silent as they moved into the familiar blackness of space. Rey and Ben moved simultaneously as the ship readied and the stars flew back. Rey let out a sigh of relief she hadn't known she was holding.
Ben stared out the window as the stars flew past, an awkward tension hanging in the air. Rey knew the sight of Jarda had upset him, and he hadn't had much time to process anything since coming back to life. Rey reached her heavy arm up and tugged gingerly at the grey robe he wore. "I like the grey. It suits you." she said quietly with a teasing voice. His mouth curved as he caught her second meaning and he turned to look at her for the first time.
"I suppose I should just be glad to have come back with new clothes at all." he said with a hint of bitterness. His old clothes had remained where his body had left them on Exegol. Rey gave a small giggle at the thought of him coming back to life without anything to wear. Ben shot her a curious look and she felt her cheeks blush a bit. His gaze softened and she felt his mind admit defeat as he reached out to pull her to his lips.
His kiss was gentle from fatigue. She could feel the uncertainty he was trying to hide, although she wondered why he would feel uncertain when it came to this, it was the only thing in the galaxy she felt certain of. He pressed harder into her in return, wrapping his hands around her head, pulling her closer to him in desperation.
Rey broke the kiss when she needed to escape for air. Pulling back slightly to rest her forehead to his. "What is it?" she breathed, still trying to catch her breath. She felt him pause in decision for a moment before the corners of his mouth turned again into a small smile. "I missed you." he let out a large breath and relaxed in her arms.
They held each other close, minds meeting together in shared relief and gratitude. Ben's thumb stroked her arm thoughtfully as he held her close to him. Her thoughts were muddled as she began to fall asleep. He moved his arms to support her weight as he made his way back to the main cabin and laid her gently on the bed. He helped remove the belt she hung her saber on, and placed it next to the one he was using on the bedside table.
It had been interesting to wield another Sith user's saber. The malice that it held seeped off of it, and made it difficult to wield. He wondered if his own saber would have felt that way now. It didn't matter, he was never going to see that one again. Come to think of it, he'd rather get a new saber altogether sooner rather than later. They could pick that up once they reached their destination. He moved to take Rey's boots off and set them at the end of the bed before reaching up to tuck her in.
He sat there for a moment examining her face. He had seen it in many of the visions during his time away. Rey stirred in her sleep, pulling the blankets closer to her chin. Ben chided himself for a moment when he realized that he was avoiding getting in bed with her, they were obviously together, but sleeping together seemed… But where else would he have to go? There wasn't a lot of space on the ship and he certainly didn't want to risk having to go see them again. His heart pounded nervously at the thought and he steeled his gaze to the bed beside Rey's sleeping form.
He sighed in irritation and moved to remove his boots, setting them beside Rey's, and slid next to her. His body ached to hold hers, but he resisted the urge and kept a small distance. He was not inexperienced with sleeping with women, but this was different, he wanted to make sure he did this.. right. There would be time for that later. He shifted to his side, back to hers and turned the light out.