AN: Thanks as always to the readers and reviewers!

"Without A Heart"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 18

A small smirk crossed Luke's lips as he shook his head. "Same old Han. Well you try living for years on a planet where you're the only sentient creature and see if you feel like shaving."

Han twisted his mouth. "You got a lot to answer for, kid."

The smirk instantly faded. "You're right, I do." He stepped closer to Han, his eyes growing wider and wider as he did so. "Han . . ." His gaze traced over his handless arm, his footless leg, and finally settled on the tube in his neck. "What . . . what happened to you?"

"A lot," Han said as Chewie gently pushed up his back to keep him balanced.

Luke didn't seem to blink as he moved even closer, close enough to touch his brother-in-law if he reached out. For a moment Han thought of hiding his face in Chewie's chest, then he thought of telling Luke not to come any closer, but he ended up doing neither. He just swallowed as Luke's breath shortened. "Han . . ." he whispered again, barely audible over the sound, ". . . I'm sorry . . ."

Han cocked his head a bit, slightly pulling the neck tube. "You sound like you did this stuff."

Luke's eyes lowered. "From a certain point of view, I did. I taught Ben about the Force and gave him the ability to commit all these horrors, then when you and Leia needed me the most I cowardly ran away from everything . . . even my daughter . . ."

Han held up his stump wrist. "I hate self-pity, kid. Least you're here now – even if you're a few years too late. Hey, my kid just stuck a lightsaber through me and cut off a few body parts, but at least you're here now." He rested his stump back on his waist when he realized Luke was staring at it. "Does Rey know you're her dad, or did you do the whole Obi-Wan thing?"

The Jedi gulped. "Yes, she knows . . . but she's not happy about it."

"Well," said Han, "then we'd better go find her before her daddy issues send her down the same path as my son's did."

. . .

"Where . . . is . . . Han?" This time Rey's words were cold, steady, direct, her glaring eyes as cold as her words.

Their lightsabers crossed again. By now the blades' heat had drawn so much sweat that it was dripping down Rey's face and soaking her hair.

"You keep saying that," said Kylo. "If I didn't answer before, what makes you think I'd answer now?"

Rey ground her teeth, feeling the vibration in her mouth.

"You said you would do anything to help him," said Kylo, stepping backwards onto a tall flight of stairs that seemed to lead up to a large throne. "The father you never had – you would indeed do anything for him. After all, even in those few days he was still more of a father than your real father could ever be."

Rey growled, swinging her lightsaber at him, but he ducked away, prancing further up the steps.

"Who would be so cruel that he would abandon his child?" Kylo taunted, still walking backwards up the steps. "Leave her on a desolate planet where she lives on false hope that he will return one day?"

"Stop it!" Rey yelled.

"Was she not worth saving? Couldn't he have taken her with him when he ran away and left the galaxy to its fate?"

Rey ran up the stairs, madly swinging at her cousin only to be blocked yet again. "ENOUGH! Tell me where Han is NOW!"

Kylo's maniacal grin shone in the saber light. "He is very close to death, so close that he might in fact be dead already. After all, how can you survive with no heart?"

"You seem to be doing pretty well at that," Rey growled.

A slight snicker escaped his lips. "So you have a sense of humor. I look forward to getting to know you better." He took another step further up the stairs, two at a time. "We'll have a lot of time to get to know each other during your training."

"I'll never join you!" Rey spat.

"Really?" said Kylo. "What if it were the only way to save Han Solo?"

She froze in mid-step, her lightsaber still raised in front of her. Her breath shortened as if she were on a ship where the life support had suddenly turned off. "You're . . . you're trying to trick me," she managed to say.

"Really?" Kylo asked again. "And how do you know that?"

"That's what the dark side is – deception!" Rey shouted. "You might have been stupid enough to fall for its lies, but I'm not!"

"So you will sacrifice your dear Han Solo for your own pride," said Kylo, that grin back on his face.

"No," said Rey, climbing up another step. "I'll kill you and find him myself!"

She swung the lightsaber again, again, again, always clashing against his blade. No matter what direction she attacked from, he easily mirrored her moves and seemed to anticipate them in advance.

"You have talent," said Kylo, "but you lack skill. Skill that your father won't teach you!"

Kill him! a voice inside her seemed to cry. Kill him!

She kept swinging at him, though her arms were beginning to tire and the lightsaber was starting to weigh down on them. Kill him! He needs to die!

Kylo still blocked her moves with perfect accuracy and seemed to have plenty of energy left. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Do you think Han Solo wants his niece to be defenseless?" Kylo taunted. "Well she will remain defenseless if she stays with her father!"

Kill him!

The hums and hisses of the two blades swinging and clashing echoed around the chamber, surrounding the cousins, digging into Rey's ears.

"Rey!"

The voice was her father's, but she refused to respond or even look his way – she just kept swinging again and again at her cousin. Sooner or later he would have to miss with his blocking.

"Ben . . . Rey . . . stop this . . ."

She froze again, nearly dropping the lightsaber. That voice . . . it was soft and raspy . . . but still recognizable . . .

"Han . . ." she whispered.

Kylo was suddenly glaring over Rey's shoulder in a disgusted manner. Without taking her eyes off her cousin or deactivating her lightsaber, she slowly stepped backward. One step, two steps, three steps . . . Kylo wasn't following her, but still she didn't look away until she reached the bottom.

There they were – Luke, Leia, Chewie . . . and in Chewie's arms was Han.

With that she ran up to the group, ready to throw her arms around her uncle, but she stopped inches away from him. His left pants leg was knotted up around what was supposed to be his foot . . . supposed to be, but his leg simply stopped before it got to his foot. Her body trembled as her eyes traced his body and stopped on his left arm, where the sleeve was knotted around his wrist, which also stopped before it got to his hand.

"Han . . ." she whispered as her eyes settled on the tube and her ears became aware of that horrible sound, the breath that sounded like a raspy, steady gasp, in, out, in, out, in, out . . .

Han gazed at her, forcing a tiny smile. "Hey," he said in a whisper as raspy as the noise.

"Han . . . what's happened to you?" Before her uncle could answer, she turned back to face her cousin, still on the steps. He was looking on with a cold, unfeeling expression, staring at his father as if he were a dead animal that needed to be removed.

"You did this . . ." she whispered. "You did this." Her voice grew louder and louder as she rushed back to the stairs, once more activating her lightsaber. "You did this . . . you did this . . . YOU DID THIS!"

She leaped at her cousin.