Chapter One

It was the worst landing Ben had made since learning how to pilot. The TIE fighter he had borrowed from the wreck of the Death Star bounced and crunched. It wasn't made for being dropped into the ground, but Ben didn't have time for a graceful landing. He felt the Force bond open, just a bit, and heard, or rather felt, Rey whisper, "save me. Save us. Kill me if you must." Ben's feet pounded the stone floor as he leapt from the TIE fighter and ran harder than he had in his life. He could feel Rey's presence as the bond opened fully and allowed him to see her, still so far away. His feet stopped at the sight of her and he gulped air. "Rey!" he shouted. "Rey! NO!"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "They don't have time," she said softly, and though, even through their bond, she was far away, he heard her voice as close to him as if she had whispered in his ear. Palpatine's words echoed through their connection: "make the sacrifice." Then Rey turned, and with a single blow from Luke's blue lightsaber, struck down the Emperor. Their contact broke, and Ben was left standing in an empty cavern on Exegol. He felt as though part of him he always taken for granted had suddenly calved off when he most needed it, and he had no idea what…or who waited for him.

Tentatively, he reached out with the Force. He realized that Rey had always been there with him, even long before they had met, he had felt her existence, and now it was gone. Ben had never felt more alone. He nearly gasped with relief when he found her, but she felt wrong, her energy more distant, and drenched in pain.

He ran through the cavern and burst into the arena he had seen moments before. Only now, it was empty. One figure remained: Rey, rising from the dark throne in time to reach out and pull the entire fleet of Star Destroyers into the ground with the Force of a thousand generations of Sith. Explosions bloomed in the opening above the throne room and Ben was forced to his knees by the shaking of the earth. A chunk of the ceiling cracked off and fell toward him. He caught it with the Force and just barely managed to hold it up as the cavern roof gave way and piled above him and around him. He shuddered with the effort.

As the thunder of burning Star Destroyers died down and the floor and walls settled into place once more, Ben heard the sound of footsteps pacing closer. Sweat rolled down his face as he tried to hold the tons of rock above him. He didn't have the strength to clear it, but there was nowhere to set down the one he held. He realized Rey's power had often bolstered his own, but now, that was gone.

The footsteps stopped and Ben heard Rey's voice echo through the rubble. It was colder somehow, and piercing. "Kylo Ren, a game of hide and seek seems far below your dignity. Playing hard to get, are we now?"

And then the rocks blasted off of him and Ben's shoulders sagged with relief, but only for an instant because there she was.

"Rey!"

She sneered. "I am Empress to you, Ren."

Ben stood. He was at least a head taller than her but he didn't feel it. Those yellow eyes bored into him. He felt as though they could see his soul. He couldn't tell what he was more afraid to see in them: approval or hatred. He had never felt so thoroughly alone in his life. His father—dead. His mother—dead. His Jedi master—dead. His Supreme Leader—dead. His First Order—smashed into the earth of Exegol, scattered among the remains of the Final Order. And the woman he loved was staring into his soul with eyes that weren't her own.

Rey must have sensed his thoughts, because she asked softly, "and whose fault is that?"

"Mine," Ben said. He looked up at her. "My fault. All of it."

"That's right, Kylo Ren, you are despicable, irredeemable, and we are one and the same."

Ben swallowed. "Kylo Ren is dead. I killed him."

Rey leaned closer to Ben. Something about the way she looked at him, raising her chin to stare him down, made him feel small, like a broken, abandoned child once again. Her face was inches from his now, one hand against his chest, the other on his waist. "No," she hissed, her lips nearly brushing his. "Kylo Ren is alive."

She shoved his chest and he stumbled backwards with the power of her Force push. She was right. Kylo Ren was alive. Somewhere inside him, Kylo Ren would always be alive. But his mother's sacrifice couldn't be for nothing.

"You're right," Ben said, staring into her cold, inhuman eyes with as much confidence as he could muster. "Kylo Ren is alive. No one's ever really gone. And that means Rey is alive too."

The Empress glowered at him.

"I'll come back for you."

Ben fled through the caves, back toward the stolen TIE fighter.

Author's Note: Hey all, welcome to Binary Sunrise! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!