Chapter Ten – Ben

Ben knelt down on the rocky ground beside Rey. She sobbed into that black shirt, the one that still had the hole in it where she'd impaled him with his own lightsaber. It was all that was left of him on Exegol. Ben longed to take her into his arms, had even tried, but he just slipped right through her. This was a memory, and he was just a spectator.

He'd seen so many of her memories, images that jumbled up in his head and would need to be more carefully examined later. He'd even seen beyond this point of his death, including her discovery of the ancient Jedi time machine. What an immensely powerful device with the very real potential to be used as a weapon! He was convinced a weaker person, or one not so pure of heart as Rey, would've perished when attempting to use it.

Yet, he ended up back here in her memory of his death again. It obviously figured strongly into everything that had happened to her since. He'd seen her magnificence as she defeated the Emperor, but then it went black with her death. The first time he'd experienced that memory, he'd almost had a mental breakdown. Her dying was infinitely more painful than his own death.

His other self had revived her, giving every last bit of the life force left in him to her. She'd awoken in his arms, and Ben couldn't help the twinge of jealousy when she'd kissed him. That jealousy had quickly changed to horror when his other self lay down in death and disappeared a moment later.

A tugging sensation bothered at the fringes of his awareness. He pushed it away, not ready to depart, but it became more insistent. Pressure built-up around him despite him fighting to stay. Then it tugged him so hard he flew out of Rey's memories and back into himself.

He swam upwards through his own consciousness. Soft caresses along the skin of his cheeks and forehead lured him further back into himself. His head rested on Rey's legs, definitely a place he liked being. Finally, he opened his eyes.

Rey looked down at him, her head upside down from his perspective. She chewed her bottom lip adorably and he could feel her concern for him.

"I'm alright," he assured her.

She didn't look convinced.

Reluctantly, he rolled away from her and stood up. "I need some air." He held out his hand to her. "Will you walk with me?"

She nodded and clasped his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She didn't let go of his hand as they soundlessly left the ship and walked through the streets of Remiton. He liked that too. Twilight settled on the place, shadows lengthening as they strolled randomly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she ventured.

So many thoughts flitted through his mind that he could barely separate them out. The murder of his father came to the forefront, but he definitely didn't want to acknowledge that memory yet. Too painful. He shoved it back down. "I'm still just processing it all."

"Can I..." She hesitated then started over. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"When you were in my memories, I somehow ended up in yours. I didn't mean for it to happen. I just kind of woke up there. I inadvertently invaded your mind." She rushed through the words, obviously worried he'd blame her for the intrusion.

He stopped, angling her to face him. "Tell me what you saw," he asked gently.

"Snoke torturing you inside your head while your body lay comatose in a hospital bed."

Ben sighed. It would be that memory she'd see. "Snoke attacked me through the Force on my eighteenth birthday. He was determined to have me for the dark side."

"But you resisted him."

"I almost gave in, mostly to stop the pain and the threats to my family. But I admit part of me wanted the power he described. I think that's why the lightsaber I eventually built turned purple."

"I saw your mother and Luke leaving to kill Snoke. Did they?"

"Yes." His head tilted, brow furrowing. "I could never figure out how my uncle knew about Snoke. I'd never told him about the voice in my head, which had disappeared when I told it to leave me alone at nine years old. You told him about Snoke, didn't you?"

"I told him everything I knew that could steer you off the path you originally followed. I didn't actually know about Snoke's voice in your head as a child until you told me about it, right before I got pulled back here. How did they find him?"

Ben shrugged. "I don't know how they found him and I never asked, but they did kill him. Unfortunately, they didn't come away unscathed."

Rey's eyes widened. "What happened?"

"My uncle lost his eye and my mother was run-through by a lightsaber. In his weakened state, my uncle was only able to heal her enough to keep her alive until she could get home. Alkos further healed her enough to stop the internal bleeding, but the amount of damage was so great she still needed surgery. She lost a kidney, her spleen, and was told she'd never have any more children. I've struggled with guilt for so long over what happened to them for my sake."

Rey stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. "That wasn't your fault. That was Snoke."

"I know," he whispered. He embraced her, burying his nose in her hair. Her scent intoxicated him. Her breath tickled his neck. His heart thudded inside his chest as his crept down her back. He wanted to experience more of her, a forbidden desire.

The tripwire flew out of nowhere, wrapping sharply around his and Rey's legs. Rey cried out as they lost their balance.

Ben couldn't stop the fall without the use of his legs, but he angled himself so Rey would fall on top of him rather than the other way around. The ground came up fast and hard on his back and Rey landed on this chest. The combination knocked the breath out of him. He gasped for air.

Hands from above grabbed at Rey, lifting her off him as the rope binding them was cut. He sees hand shove a bag over her head.

Panic

"Kill that Jedi! Get that sedative into the girl!" A craggy voice yelled.

Despite barely catching his breath, Ben's training kicked in. He sat up, his arm out to rip the bag off Rey's head using the Force.

Rey wriggled her arm away from one of her captors just in time to Force knock the shot full of sedative out of his hand.

Ben rolled quickly to his feet, dodging the blaster shot that hit the ground right where he'd been sitting. He unclipped his lightsaber, igniting the blade in the growing darkness. Purple light illuminated five assailants surrounding them.

Rey slammed her elbow into the man holding her from behind and danced away as he doubled over. Her hand hit her hip, and Ben realized she reached for a lightsaber that wasn't there. He'd seen her yellow lightsaber in her memories, but now it didn't exist.

He had to look away as the guy with the blaster unloaded on him. He deftly maneuvered his lightsaber, deflecting every blast. When the charge ran out, the guy whipped out a knife and lunged at Ben. Dumb move. Ben slashed him with the lightsaber, dropping him dead to the ground.

Another guy flew through the air past him, crashing against a wall, and slumping into unconsciousness. He glanced back at Rey, smirking as she pulled another one of them over her shoulder.

Unfortunately, it distracted him for a moment too long. A hulking figure slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. His lightsaber sailed out of his hand and skittered across the street. A huge hand closed around his throat and hefted him up in the air. He came face to face with an angry Devaronian.

Ben knew he was fairly large for a human. He often used his superior height to his advantage. So when this massive being lifted him off his feet, it took him aback for a moment.

The red-faced, black-horned alien growled at him. His breath smelled rancid, making Ben cringe.

Sticking one hand out to call his lightsaber back, he used his other hand to try to dislodged the thick fingers from around his throat. The irony of him being choked now and him Force-choking Plutt earlier that day was not lost on him. He lashed out with his foot, connecting with the creature's middle. It was like connecting with a brick wall.

The Devaronian barely winced. In retaliation, he smashed Ben to the ground.

Pain lanced up Ben's back and he hoped nothing had been broken. He gritted his teeth and doubled his Force effort. Finally the lightsaber landed in his hand. As the Devaronian leaned down to snatch him back up again, Ben ignited it. His would be assassin couldn't stop his forward motion in time. The purple blade pierced through his body as he impaled himself.

The Devaronian's eyes widened then rolled back into his head. He let out a deep groan as his hands fumbled near his wound.

Ben extinguished the blade and tried to scramble out of the way. He moved a little too slow. The giant Devaronian landed on top of him. With a huff of frustration, Ben threw the body off him using the Force. His strength sent the dead alien halfway down the street.

Before Ben could do anything more than sit up, he heard Rey screaming from behind him.

"Nooooo!"

Ben whipped his head around in time to see Rey's arm lash out. Blue lightning erupted from her hand. The crackling electricity spiked through the air. Ben rocked back from the overwhelming force of it.

It struck one of the attackers who'd climbed up on a balcony across the street. His blaster had been aimed right at Ben. The man convulsed as the lightning spread over his body. Then it was gone. He wavered on his feet, hit the railing and toppled over it. He got lucky falling into a wagon of grass bedding.

Surprise

Rey stared at her hand, mouth gaping. She must not have realized what she was doing.

The slightest flash of one of Rey's memories surfaced in his head. Rey standing in the desert, blue lightning exploding from her hand and striking a shuttle attempting to leave the planet. The shuttle blew up in a surge fire and smoke. This wasn't the first time she'd used the lightning.

"Rey?" Ben asked, hearing the confusion in his own voice. Never had he seen Force lightning, only ever heard of it being used by the Sith. By Emperor Palpatine.
His eyes met hers.

Alarm

"Ben, I can explain." She reached for him. Then she cried out and grabbed at her side, her face going pale. Blood squeezed out between her fingers, dripping on the ground. She stumbled, almost falling.

Panic seized him at seeing Rey's blood. Ben leapt to his feet and lifted her in his arms before she could hit the ground. She clung to him with one hand while the other still pressed at her wound. He weaved around the four dead bodies littering the street and took off for the ship. While he ran, he pulled the comm unit free.

"Alkos!"

A cranky voice answered. "You better be calling to tell me dinner's ready because I am starving!"

Ben wanted to Force choke him. "We just got attacked, two blocks north and one block east. Rey's hurt. I'm bringing her back to the ship for healing in case there's anymore of them looking for us. Get the local authorities to take care of the dead ones, but there's one I'm fairly sure is still alive. We left him in a wagon. I want him."

"You got it, Boss. I'll take the speeder." The comm unit disconnected.

Ben ran, disturbed to see more blood seeping through Rey's fingers. Half of her white shirt was now stained red. He used the Force to speed his steps. Rey wasn't going to die in his arms.

The speeder flashed past, Alkos nodding his head at Ben. Ben trusted Alkos would secure the scene and bring back the man Rey had hit with lightning. Unlikely the local authorities would give Alkos a problem, if they even bothered to show up before he left to return to the ship. Ben had the impression the local authorities were as incompetent as they were corrupt.

He finally reached the ship and silently thanked Alkos for leaving the ramp down. He clambered up it and ran right to the med bay. Gently, he laid Rey down on the bunk to the side.

She winced in pain. Her pale skin gleamed with sweat. She squirmed as he pressed a thick bandage to the wound to stem the bleeding.

"Rey, I'm going to heal you. I just need you to sit still."

"No!" she screamed and pushed him away. "Just use some bacta spray on it!"

"Bacta spray isn't going to stop that level of bleeding! And you'll still need to recuperate for days after that. You won't need that if you let me heal you. I've done this a lot. I promise it won't hurt." He stepped back to her.

She pushed him away again and tried to crawl off the bunk. She openly wept now.

"Rey, stop! You're making it bleed more!" He couldn't understand what was wrong.

Then she turned and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into her. She sobbed heavily into his shoulder. "You can't leave me again! You can't!"

He suddenly realized that the last thing his other self had done before dying had been to heal her back to life. His hands went to either side of her head, forcing her to look at him. "Listen, please! I'm not going to leave you. I will never leave you." Even as he said it, he knew it to be true. This woman had touched every fiber of his being and he would forever be by her side.

Her eyes remained down with tears flowing from them. She shook her head inside his hands.

He blew out a breath. He didn't like doing it, but he searched through her memories inside his head, trying to find something to help him convince her before she bled out. Then he found it. "Rey, look at me."

It took a moment, but her eyes rose to his.

"Do you remember when we fought on the ruins of the Death Star? You impaled me with my own lightsaber."

She stilled.

"You healed me. In that place, alone, it would have been a mortal wound. But you healed me, and then you stole my ship." He paused before continuing. "I am healthy, and strong, and have not been drained of my life force. Let me heal you, and I promise, I. will. not. leave. you."

Finally, she gave him the slightest nod and lay back on the bunk.

He laid his hands on her wound, suppressing a shudder. Usually gushing blood didn't bother him. He'd done a lot of healing, sometimes on grotesque wounds that would have been fatal otherwise. He could only conclude it was because this time it was Rey's blood.

Concentrating, he examined the wound through the Force. The knife had ripped through several muscles, severed one of the arteries and nicked the edge of her hip bone. Thankfully, it didn't penetrate into her abdomen. He meticulously mended all of the torn flesh and bone. Once fixed, he sent an extra signal to stimulate her bone marrow to produce more red blood cells faster. It was a trick he'd figured out to speed recovery time.

As he sent that last signal, Rey drew in a sharp breath. Then she moaned quite loudly.

Ben frowned. For one moment, he worried he'd inadvertently caused her pain. Then it hit him, hard.

Arousal

His body responded instinctively to her response. His heart raced and heat pooled in his lower abdomen. Muscles tensed, his fingers gripping the edge of the bunk. He desperately clung there, fighting his base urges.

She stared at him. Then just the tip of her tongue licked her lips.

It set him off. He couldn't control himself any longer. His lips crashed into hers. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him down on top of her as she lay on the med bunk. Their mouths moved together, the scraping of their lips creating a delicious friction that shot fire through his body.

"Umm, Ben? Rey?"

Alkos' voice from the doorway broke them apart.

Ben cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. Heat spread over his face. How embarrassing for his friend to find him like that. Yet, all he wanted to do was go back to kissing her.

Rey remained laying on the bunk, her eyes buried in the crook of her arm.

"I've got that guy you wanted. Still unconscious." His blue-haired friend hooked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing down the hall.

"Right!" Ben had almost forgotten about that in the heat of the moment with Rey. He followed behind Alkos and he heard Rey slip off the bunk to follow along behind him.

They stopped in front of the door to the lone holding cell on the ship. Ben opened it, revealing a dirty, bearded man in shabby clothing. He lay slumped on the bed, his mouth open and drooling on the blanket.

Rey pointed at him through the doorway. "I'm sure he's one of the thugs Unkar Plutt uses. He's here to drag me back to Niima Outpost. It's a day earlier than I thought, but he always says I am his best scavenger."

"Unlikely it was Unkar Plutt. Not after what I did to him." Ben pulled the pad out of his pocket and handed it to Rey.

Rey examined it closely.

Shock

She looked back up at Ben. "You bought me?"

Ben disliked how that sounded, like she were his slave now. "No! I bought your freedom. You'd never have to worry about anyone ever coming after you."

She stared at him for a moment in awe. Her voice choked with emotion. "Oh, Ben, that's the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me." Tears welled up in her eyes, but before she started crying, she took a deep breath and blinked them away. Her voice steadied. "If you frightened him, he wouldn't have sent anyone. Plutt is a coward at heart. Plus, I've never seen anyone as high priced as a Devaronian working as a thug for him."

"So back to the original question: who is this guy and why was he after you?" Alkos asked.

"Let's find out." Ben crossed the threshold into the cell. "Wake up," he simply said. Force suggestion laced his words.

The man stirred. He squeezed his eyes shut and smacked his lips before opening them. Then, as if realizing he wasn't waking up in his own bed, he snapped upright. He leaned away from Ben's imposing figure. Then his eyes fell on Rey. "You electrocuted me."

"What?" Alkos glanced at Rey.

"We'll deal with that later," Ben answered quickly then turned his attention back to their prisoner. "Why were you after her?"

"She's got a bounty on her head."

This disturbed Ben very much. "Why?"

The man shrugged. "Don't care why. She's worth twenty thousand credits dead and eighty thousand credits alive."

It was Ben's turn to be shocked. He looked at Rey. "That's a lot of credits."

Fear

Her face had gone pale again. "It's him. He's looking for me. He knows I'm here!" She backed away from the doorway and took off down the hall.

Ben ran after her. "Secure him," he directed Alkos as he passed by him. He caught up with Rey in the living area. "Rey!"

She whirled around. "I have to get out of here before he kills you again!" she screamed.

Ben wracked his brain and suddenly realized who she spoke about. "The Emperor?"

"He's still alive here!"

"If you call what I saw alive," Ben scoffed. "Why would he be looking for you, willing to spend so much money to get you alive? Is this connected to the lightning?"

She didn't answer, but now the tears she'd held back before came with a vengeance.

Ben stepped forward to gather her in his arms, but she backed away from him. She held up her hand to keep him from coming closer.

Alkos paused in the doorway. "What's going on?"

Rey took a breath. "Does he know? About you and Darth Vader?"

Ben blinked. Where did that come from? "That I'm his grandson? Yes, Alkos knows."

"Do all the Jedi know?"

"No, very few people know that. Alkos I trust."

Rey nodded. Tears flowed freely. "If you trust him with that, then I trust him as well." She took a deep breath and almost seemed to be fighting with herself as she said the next words. "I am the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine."

Shame

A/N: Wow, that was a long one! There just wasn't a good spot to split it up into two chapters. Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading and your comments are so appreciated!