A/N - Welcome back to the story!

ldsrsc - Me too! I really liked the idea of Ben getting a lightsaber that reflected his conflict between the light and the dark.

.xo - We're almost there!

Kristydawn - I'm glad to hear it! Thanks for reading :)

ISithedMyPants - First off, I love your username. Secondly, thank you!

rissbenzo - I'm happy you're enjoying the story!

oldestj1 - Here we go indeed!

Muffled shouts echoed from above as the sound of running feet pounded over the ceiling above her. Rey's head followed the sounds, and her heart did an odd little skip in her chest as her throat went dry. Moving to the front of the cell, her cuffed hands curled around the bars as she strained to hear what was going on.

She'd never hated the cuffs more, and she wished she could rip them off so she could use the Force to bend the bars out of her way and crawl free of this awful place. She had to fight the urge to stomp her feet and scream like a two year old.

"What's going on?" the disembodied voice floated through the darkness from the cell to her right.

"It's Ben," she whispered. Even with the cuffs dampening her abilities, and Snoke's invasion of her mind weakening their bond, she could still sense him.

Saying the words aloud made them true. Saying the words aloud confirmed the bubble of hope that had been building inside of her, at the same time that apprehension swelled within her. He was here, he was in danger, and she was trapped, unable to break free, and of no use to him. If she was there, if she was with him, she would be able to help.

"I'm sure you want that to be so, child…"

"I'm not a child!" Rey snapped. "I know it's so. He's come, he's here."

"Do you really think so Rey?" Paige whispered.

"Yes."

There was a collective inhalation of breaths. Rey moved away from the bars, peering up at the dark roof as she followed the running as far as she could. She felt like a caged animal as she paced within the small confines of the cell. If he was in the palace already, he would find her here soon. Though Snoke had weakened their bond, he had not broken it.

Rey flew back to the bars as the door at the top of the stairs creaked open. Anticipation hammered through her, and she longed for it to be Ben. She ached to touch him, to feel him, to have him ease the awfulness of these past few days. She needed him nearly as badly as she needed air at the moment. She clung to the bars and tried to peer up the stairs as a man stepped forth.

Her hope quickly dissipated. For it was not Ben, but rather Hux who had come for her. The dim lighting played over the planes of his face as he studied her with a malicious gleam in his eyes. She tilted her chin up and glared at him.

"Looks like Kylo Ren came for you after all," The general smirked. "I'm going to enjoy the look on his face when we kill you in front of him."

Hux pulled the cell door open.

"Don't make me come in there after you," he growled.

"I wasn't going to."

Drudging up every bit of courage she had, Rey stepped from the cell. He stepped forward to grab her by the cuffs, and it became clear that there would be no waiting for the opportune time, no trying to get her hands on her lightsaber. It had become apparent that now was the only time she would have to try and escape.

Hux was reaching for her when she seized hold of his arm with her cuffed hands. He hadn't expected the movement, nor had he expected her to roughly jerk him forward. While off balance, Rey lifted her knee and drove it into his groin with as much force as she could muster.

She had learned to fight dirty on Jakku, and she sent a silent thanks to her former home as Hux released a low grunt of pain, instinctively grabbing himself and hunching forward. Before he could recover, she fisted her hands and slammed them into his back. A hollow echo resounded through the dungeon as he fell to his knees.

Rey wasn't going to give him even a moment to recover as she leaned back and delivered a solid roundhouse kick to the side of his face. His head snapped to the side with a loud crack. She didn't hesitate as she turned and fled down the aisle of the dungeon.

"Run, Rey!" Paige screamed, the hysteria in her voice alerting her to the fact that Hux was already starting to recover.

Rey hit the stairs, taking them two at a time as she ascended rapidly. She was dismayed to realize she was already breathing heavily and her heart was lumbering from the effort. The loss of blood, lack of food, and brutality she had endured had taken far more of a toll on her than she'd thought. A toll she was going to have to do her best to ignore if she were to have any chance of surviving this.

Reaching the top of the stirs, she grabbed hold of the knob on the heavy metal door at the top and swung it shut. Even though she was sure Hux had the keys, she was still reassured by the loud click of the lock as she slid it into place and spun away from the door.

Rey didn't look back as she bolted down a lengthy corridor, completely unaware of where she was going as she fled into the bowels of the palace.

A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)