Rey hears the buzz from Kylo Ren's lightsaber behind her but does not turn around. Instead, she holds up Luke's blue saber and turns to face the three Praetorian Guards in front of her. She hears Ben step back after swinging quickly at another Guard as it launches at the traitor. Rey quickly ducks underneath the blade when a Praetorian Guard swings it at her. After it passes safely past her, Rey takes a step back and ends up back to back with Ben.
Ben uses Rey's strength to stay standing when he is attacked, and Rey helps him stay upright. As the guards continue to launch themselves at the two, they fight as one force, using each other's momentum to put down their attackers.
Rey suddenly opens her eyes and looks around the room. She is panting hard,with Ben standing a couple yards away, leaning down to grab his lightsaber off the ground and clipping it to his belt, Luke's lightsaber in his left hand. The Praetorian Guards' bodies are spread across the floor with the two standing in the middle of the carnage. Ben walks over to her and Rey meets him. Ben stops a couple feet from her, and they stare at each other in silence. A feeling of content passes between then but she can no longer sense what he thinking.
Rey smiles slightly at the feeling of safety that suddenly overwhelms her but stops when she spots Snoke. The top half of his body is laying on the ground but his bottom half is crumpled over the edge of the chair. Ben follows her gaze and takes a deep breath at the sight of his dead master. Feelings overwhelm her; guilt for ever doubting Luke, hatred for Snoke, sadness for Han, but most of all, confusion towards Ben.
From the moment their minds first connected, Rey knew there was good in him, and the proof is right in front of her. Ben turns back to her and everything except for the confusion disappears. She wants to feel hate towards Ben for Han but no matter how hard she tries, she cannot. Ben smiles slightly, the weight of Snoke's demands lifting off his shoulders, giving him the courage to speak.
"What are you planning on doing now?" Rey is not prepared for the question. She is startled and does not know what to say so Ben hands her the blue lightsaber. She smiles again and he does the same, knowing what she is thinking. "I know. I feel the same way. There is nothing left for us to do; this is it, the end of our usefulness in the Resistance." This gets Rey's attention more than anything he had said before.
"You are part of the Resistance?" Disbelief fills her features and Ben laughs slightly. In this instant, his demeanor changes from dark and lost to light and free. Her heart lifts and fills with happiness.
"I have been, in a way, from the beginning. I would place myself in charge of the attacks on the Resistance and would do something to let them know we were coming. It became an even bigger priority after my father…" Ben stops and the guilt is evident on his face. Ashamed, Ben turns away from Rey and sadness spreads to her. All of the emotions nearly make Rey cry but for once she tries to hold the tears in. Ben turns back to her and his eyes are filled with tears but he too refuses to let them fall.
Knowing how it feels to lose a parent, Rey steps closer to him until their faces are almost touching. Even though it was Ben who killed Han, she cannot help but think he had no choice. Ben stares into her eyes and Rey stares back, unable to look away from the man she has only truly understood for a couple of minutes.
"We need to leave. It is not safe here, especially for a 'traitor' such as yourself." Ben sighs and starts walking towards the door. Rey follows close behind him, still clutching Luke's lightsaber.
"You are not going to question me about my father?" Rey tilts her head slightly and Ben continues. "You never asked me why I… why I killed him." After a confused look from Rey he continued. "I mean, you did but I kind of skirted around the question and yet you have not asked again. Why?" Rey smiles gently.
"I am sure you had a good reason for what you did. Anyway, you can tell me when we get back to the fleet… or what is left of it at least." Ben stops walking and Rey turns to him a couple feet away, his question weighing hard on him.
"Rey, is my mother ok? I cannot sense her anymore." Rey sighs and takes a step toward him as she nods.
"I cannot sense her the same way you can, but I can sense you and I can tell that you still have some connection with her." Rey steps closer to him and smiles gently.
"You can still sense me?" Ben questions her about the bond between them that mysteriously appeared just days ago. Rey starts to shake her head but ends up nodding.
"I don't know. Directly after the fight, our bond was completely gone but now… I think it might be returning in fragments." Ben nods after a couple of seconds of silence and smiles slightly.
"I don't know how but, even after Snoke's death we are still connected. Our bond is stronger now. I don't know what happened, but I can feel everything you feel more intensely than before." Rey smiles happily and nods in agreement. Suddenly a thought comes to mind as she stares at Ben again.
"Wait a minute! I know how we can test it!" Rey's sudden excitement makes Ben step back from her. After his surprise settles somewhat, he is filled with questions.
"Test it? What do you mean?" Rey barely waits for Ben to finish talking before she answers.
"If you take one Tie Fighter and I take another, we can meet up at the rendezvous!" Once again, her excitement startles him but this time he does not back away. Instead, he steps forward.
"And how would that help us test it?" Ben continues to question her plan but this time prepares for her enthusiasm.
"Well someone needs to go meet up with your mother and tell her what happened!" She does not need to say who but before she continues, he vigorously shakes his head.
"No. I cannot go: you should. If I was to attempt to dock on their main cruiser, they would shoot me on sight. You on the other hand, they trust. Get in there, tell my mother what is going on, and then I will meet you at the rendezvous." Rey's smile vanishes.
"Ben, you mother…" Ben does not wait to hear what she has to say next.
"My mother has enough to worry about without having to explain all of this to the Resistance. No listen to me Rey. I will stay here until you tell me and then I will take a Tie and meet you." Rey sighs defiantly but can sense that it is useless to argue with him. Ben takes a step forward and puts his hand on her cheek. Rey leans into his hand slightly and looks up into his eyes.
Suddenly, the door beside them opens to reveal the elevator. They both step back and rest their hands on their lightsabers. When they realize that the elevator is empty, they loosen their grips on the sabers and turn back to each other.
"Well," Ben starts, "I guess that means it is time for you to go." Rey looks up at him and nods sadly. She steps into the elevator and watches as the door starts to close. Before it does however, she calls out to Ben.
"Remember to tell them that I killed Snoke and then escaped!" Ben smiles and nods before the door shuts in between them. In the throne room, Ben smiles to himself, feeling something change in him. Just hours ago, he hated the girl who defeated him on Starkiller Base but now, he knows something has changed. Perhaps this feeling was always there, in fact it probably was, but it is out in the open now and perhaps, that is how it was always meant to be.