Chapter 5

Rey raced through the woods, desperate to get back to the small camp the Resistance had built. She cursed herself for training so deep in the woods.

As soon as she rushed into the camp, she began yelling.

"POE! FINN! ROSE! WE NEED TO GO, NOW!"

Everyone jumped up, looking startled.

"What's going on?" Finn asked.

"I know where Saya is! We have to get to her before the First Order does! Before Kylo Ren does!"

Poe jumped up from under the tree he was sitting on.

"Where is she!?"

Rey turned to Leia. "Where was Luke's training temple? The one that was destroyed?"

Leia thought for a moment.

"Yavin 4"

Rey turned to the others.

"That's where she is! Kylo Ren knows too! We need to leave, now!"

They all scrambled up.

"I'll fly the falcon!" Poe said, scrambling to put on his gear.

Leia cleared her throat. "Perhaps Chewie would like to fly it. He has missed that ship the entire time he's been gone."

Rey's head snapped to Leia. "Chewbacca is back!?"

For several months, Chewbacca had gone with a small team in an attempt to gather resources on the outer rim. As if right on que, a roar was heard from behind Rey and Chewie came crashing through the brush. Rey ran and gave him a quick hug.

"Chewie! I'm glad you back but we need your help!"

He grunted and quickly made his way to the falcon.

"Rose, grab some food and canteens of water! Saya needs it!"

She fumbled around but grabbed a couple of portions of food and two full canteens.

"LET'S GO, NOW!" Poe screamed.

They all ran into the millennium falcon.

"Bring Saya home!" Leia called out to them.

They wasted no time in starting the ship and blasting off into the sky.

-!-!-!

The sun was going down and the planet went from being a burning wasteland to freezing cold. At least it gave her burnt skin some relief. Her lip was still stinging from pain but the cold was helping numb the pain.

Saya looked up to the stars and smiled. The last time she was under this tree she was looking up at the stars with Ben. She wished he was there now.

With no warning, a small black droid appeared in front of her making her jump in surprise. It made an odd beep then she saw a flash of light and it whisked itself away into the sky.

Was she seeing things? Perhaps she was. Hallucinations can be caused due to dehydration. She leaned back against the tree and took a breath, trying hard to stay awake.

Saya was scared that if she fell asleep, she may never wake up again.

-!-!-!

Kylo Ren stood at his command post and waited, his patience wearing thin. He was finally approached by a Stormtrooper and the small spy droid.

"Supreme Leader, we have confirmation of a life form down on the planet. The droid has an image"

He turned. "Show me"

The droid quickly released the hologram of the picture it took. It was Saya.

"Are there any other lifeforms on the planet?"

"None were found sir."

Good. There was no need for any unnecessary battle with the Resistance.

"Prepare the command ship for my departure immediately"

Finally, he was getting her back.

-!-!-!

Saya fought as long as she could to keep her eyes from closing. She had no idea if she was asleep or if she was awake. She was already hallucinating and seeing droids so it was perfectly possible she was dreaming. Or even dead.

She couldn't make her body stop shivering from the cold. And the wind picking up didn't help. She forced her eyes open and looked around. In the distance, she swore she saw a large black ship land.

Maybe someone had heard her plea for help?

A large figure was walking towards her and his presence filled her senses.

It was Kylo Ren.

Saya felt a couple of tears run down her face. It was almost poetic. He was here to kill her under the very tree where they fell in love. She forced her eyes to stay open as he got closer and closer to her. She wanted to be strong, even in her final moments.

Finally, he stood a few yards away and they looked into each other's eyes for the first time in over a year.

Despite the fear she felt, she still felt so happy to see him. No matter what he did to her, Saya knew she would always love him.

Ben…

He took a step towards her. He didn't seem to quite believe yet that he was truly looking at her. She was grateful he wasn't wearing his helmet. She needed to see his face.

"Saya"

She loved it when he said her name. Cold tears trailed down her face. Part of her wished this was real while another part wished this was just an illusion.

She stared into his face, still crying.

Can we go back, Ben? Back to when we could just lie under the stars and forget about everyone else? I don't even care about seeing the ocean anymore… can we please go back?

Kylo slowly looked up at the now lifeless tree.

"I wish we could Saya."

She believed him when he said it. Saya slowly closed her eyes and when she opened them again, he was kneeling down in front of her. He removed the glove from his hand and slowly reached out to touch her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.

Is this real Ben? Are you really here?

"Yes I am"

She nodded and dropped her head, ready for everything to end.

Please just make it quick… please…

He withdrew his hand. "What are you talking about?"

She sniffed but didn't raise her head. She couldn't meet his eyes.

Please just kill me quickly. Please do that, at least. I know how much you hate me.

Saya felt his rage flare up within seconds.

"WHY WOULD I-"

He didn't finish. Out of nowhere, blasts started coming down from the sky filling the air with dust and sand. Saya felt herself suddenly rolling down the sand dune and heard yelling.

She groaned and looked up into the sky. It wasn't a First Order ship or a Resistance ship.

It was Torin's ship. He heard her distress message as well.

She gritted her teeth and used as much strength as possible to raise herself up. As soon as she stood and looked up, she wanted to scream and cry.

The tree was gone. It had been blasted into several pieces. Saya and Ben's tree was gone.

She glared up at the ship that was making another descent into the planet, preparing to shoot again.

YOU COWARD! She genuinely hoped he heard her.

"SAYA!"

She turned and saw Kylo running straight for her. Saya had no idea what to do.

More blasts came down from the sky, separating her and Kylo with more dust and sand in the air. Saya realized then that Torin wasn't trying to kill her. He was trying to kill Kylo.

She coughed and heard more yelling from Kylo.

"ALL TIE FIGHTERS, DESTROY THAT SHIP! NOW!"

He must have been using a communicator. She was dizzy and once again lost all sense of direction. How she was even still able to stand, she had no idea.

Saya ran in what she hoped was away from the blasts from the ship. She had to find a place to hide or she was either going to be killed by the one she loved or kidnapped and be used to have children for the rest of her life.

She ran until she had no more energy. She collapsed into the sand and saw several TIE fighters make a decent onto the planet, trying to shoot down Torin's ship. Several others began landing and exiting the ships. Kylo must have given orders for them to hunt her down.

With a cry of pain, Saya forced herself to stand and tried to begin walking again.

The sudden feeling of arms wrapping around her made her believe it was all over for her. When she looked up, she wanted to cry in relief.

It was Poe.

He swiftly picked her up and carried her over a sand dune and ran straight for the rotting temple. She cried with joy when she saw Rey, Finn, and Rose.

Poe gently lowered her to the sand and they all scrambled to give her hugs.

You came for me… you all came for me!

Rey gripped her in a tight hug.

"Of course we did!"

"Saya, here!" Finn thrust a canteen at her. Saya snatched it and began chugging the water out of it. When it was halfway gone, she finally stopped and took a breath.

"Can you heal yourself?" Rey asked.

Saya closed her eyes and concentrated. She was still very weak but felt most of her injuries heal.

She sighed

I'll be ok… I just need more time-

"We don't have time! We need to leave, now!" Finn yelled.

Everyone quickly shushed him.

"Stop yelling!" Rose angrily said to Finn. "Were trying to hide!"

Wait… how did you guys get here?

"The millennium falcon. As soon as you're able to, we have to make a run for it! The First Order can find the ship at any time! They seem distracted right now." Rey said

I know why they are- wait, you left the ship alone!?

"No, Chewies back! He's with the ship now. He's ready to leave the moment we get to him"

Saya nodded, chugged down the rest of the canteen and sat up.

I think I can make it.

They all slowly stood and Poe went first, checking to see if everything was clear.

"Shit! We have Stormtroopers landing a few yards away!"

"Can we sneak around them?" Finn asked.

"…Maybe in a moment. Let's wait it out."

How far is the ship from here?

"It's not far so I'm really praying they haven't found it yet. That other ship they are going after is really distracting them."

Rose looked over to Saya. "Why are they trying to destroy that ship?"

It's a long story… I'll tell you all later…

They waited a few minutes before Saya's eyes went wide in realization. Kylo Ren was closing in on their location. She could feel him getting closer to her.

Guys, we need to run now! Kylo Ren is coming!

They all looked at Saya.

"How do you know?" Poe asked.

I… I can feel it! He can feel my power too! It's now or never! We need to run!

Poe took a breath, withdrew his blaster, and looked to everyone.

"Everyone ready?"

Finn and Rose also withdrew their blasters while Rey withdrew her lightsaber.

"Everyone, make a break for the Falcon! NOW"

All at once, they took off running. Saya followed behind them to ensure she would follow the right path to the Falcon. If it wasn't for the water she drank, she never would have been able to run.

"OVER THERE!" She heard coming from the right. The Stormtroopers have spotted them.

Poe stopped and started blasting. Their position had been compromised.

"KEEP RUNNING!" He screamed.

They all kept going, trying to hurry through the sand and freezing cold. They could hear the TIE fighters changing direction and heard them closing in. And Saya could feel Kylo Ren closing in on them.

Over another large sand dune was the Falcon. Chewie was outside with a blaster and was fighting off Stormtroopers. They must have found it shortly before they could reach the ship.

As he blasted the last one, Rey called out to him as they all kept running.

"CHEWIE! START THE SHIP!"

He gave a loud growl and rushed inside. From behind them, she heard shouting and yelling.

Saya stopped and looked behind her.

WHERE IS POE!?

They all stopped in time to see Poe being hurled over the sand dune and rolled down to the base. Quickly, they all turned and grabbed him. Finn hurled Poe over his shoulder and began to run back to the Falcon.

He wasn't dead but there was blood coming out of his head.

"Damnit, I can keep fighting!" He yelled to the group.

"Shut up! You're no good to us dead!" Finn screamed at Poe as he kept running

Just before they were within reach of the Falcon, Saya froze in her tracks. A new blast of power seemed to flow through her and the hunger and thirst from earlier was completely gone. She glanced over to the left and saw an empty TIE fighter. A Stormtrooper must have landed there and left to hunt them down.

"Saya… It's time…"

Yes. It was time. She could feel it.

A sudden grab at her arm brought her out of her thoughts.

"SAYA! WE NEED TO LEAVE, NOW!" She screamed over the roaring engine of the Falcon.

Saya smiled and placed her hand on Rey's.

Rey… it's time… I need to go…

Rey looked over to the empty TIE fighter and understood. She gave Saya a tight hug.

"COME BACK TO US! YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO US!"

I will! I swear to you I will!

Rey thrust a small bag into her hands.

"WATER AND RATIONS! GOOD LUCK!"

The women gave each other one last smile before taking off in different directions. Rey ran to the Falcon and Saya ran to the TIE fighter.

Just as Saya approached the fighter, she heard the screaming.

"SAYA!"

It was Kylo Ren. But he hadn't seen her run for the TIE fighter. He thought she had entered the Falcon. Saya quickly took advantage and slipped into the TIE fighter just in time to see the Falcon take off into the air.

Saya smiled up at them.

I'll be back and see you all soon!

-!-!-!

Kylo Ren felt rage once again take over when the Falcon took off into the air. He didn't even need to command the TIE fighters to go after it. They were all soaring after it across the desert, trying to catch it before it went into space and entered light speed.

Kylo froze. Saya's presence wasn't gone. She was still on the planet. He frantically began looking around desperate to find her.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of his TIE fighters begin to lift off the ground. Were they going after the Falcon?

As it lifted more and more off the ground, he realized Saya's presence was slowly drifting away.

She wasn't on the Falcon. She was in the TIE fighter.

In a flash, he lifted his hand tried to force the ship back down to the ground. It seemed to stop ascending into the air but she was clearly still fighting his power.

"SAYA, PLEASE!" He yelled. He didn't think she had heard him.

Then, with no warning, he saw her. Right in front of him.

He knew she wasn't really there. She was projecting herself in front of him, similar to how Skywalker did over a year ago.

Just how much power did she gain in the year they were apart?

She gave him a sad smile.

Ben… I know you hate me… but before I die, please let me go and find what I'm looking for…

His breath caught in his throat and his anger soared. She truly believed he hated her and wanted her dead.

"SAYA, I DON'T-"

I love you Ben. I will always love you…

Then she was gone.

His surprise at her words was enough to break his concentration and the connection broke. The TIE fighter took off into the air and was gone within seconds. The other TIE fighters were distracted by chasing the Falcon so there was no one to follow her.

Kylo took a deep breath, then screamed his frustration into the night sky.

-!-!-!

Saya flipped several switches and sighed in relief. She was safely away. She was grateful the TIE fighter controls were similar to the X-Wing ships. She easily dismantled the tracking device.

She sighed

Thank you for helping me speak to him.

"Soon you will be able to do so much more…" The voice responded.

Saya sighed and quickly ate one of the portions of food that was in the small bag. Once she was finished, she sat forward and looked to the controls.

Alright, I'm ready. Where do it go?

Saya could almost swear the voice was smiling.

It was time to finally find her answers…

-!-!-!-!-!-!

Hope you are all enjoying the story so far! Please review and let me know what you think!