This is my first time publishing fanfiction. I wrote this 3 years ago.

A reimagining of the end of TROS with a focus on Ben's redemption and relationships.

More chapters on the way.

Star Wars is owned by Disney and all familiar characters in this story are owned by Disney.

Section 1:

Ben struggled to his knees. His concentrated effort to pull himself from the floor distracted him from the sinister undead figure above him.

"As I once fell…" hissed the Emperor as he lifted Ben from the ground to the air "so too falls the last Skywalker" and with aggressive force Ben was thrown backwards. His body was flung into contact with hard rock before plummeting into a deep pit.

With the strength he had left, Ben used his force powers to hover himself from the floor of the chasm just before impact. A trick he had unfortunately learned from the diabolical Supreme Leader Snoke in his early days of training in the Dark Side. A past that Ben had tried so hard to bury, now came in handy. He lowered himself to his chest, and laid there for a moment. He willed himself to get back on his feet, but his body wanted so much to give up. He had to help Rey, but he didn't know if he had the strength. He had made it to Exegol. He had made it back to the light. But frustratingly he felt he had only made a porg-sized dent in Palpatine's plan to conquer the galaxy. For a moment the young Solo wondered again if the light was worth facing all the pain. His face squished to the cold rocky floor, he closed his eyes. He reached out, like he had as a young padawan, for guidance and for the power to try again. Frustrated tears fell freely from his face. Years of feeling neglected, reaching out to his ancestors without answer, and years of witnessing his family fear him, suddenly bubbled back into his memory. Yet, in that moment, instead of the anger he had once associated with those experiences… he felt... hope. The only thing he could mutter to himself... and to whoever was listening, was… "Please…"

And soon...

"Ben…" Solo heard someone whisper tenderly. Leia he realized…

...his mother. Ben opened his eyes, still shining with sorrow.

"Mom" He gasped out loud.

In a more humorous and strict tone he heard Leia speak again, "Somebody has to save their skins!"

In disbelief of this opportunity, Ben rolled himself onto his back. He looked up and saw a wall of stone. And above that, thousands of ships being electrocuted out of the sky. "You will not be the last Skywalker!" She stated firmly.

"Yes…" Ben's voice shook with emotion "...ma'am." A small smirk on his face which faded into a determined line as he turned over onto his elbows. With renewed energy he rose from the ground, limped to the jagged wall and began to climb. Leia's voice now fading… "May the force be with you...my little prince."

Meanwhile, Rey had been lifted to her feet by the power of all the spirits of past Jedi, now with her. She was standing in front of her evil grandfather with Leia's lightsaber in her right hand, shielding her from his lightning. The ships in the sky, now free to finish their mission. "I am all the sith!" Darth Sidious proclaimed with confidence.

"And I…" Rey began to say. Her left hand behind her back, searching for Luke's lightsaber.

In surprise she found herself holding onto something else. A hand…

She quickly turned her head and saw Ben standing beside her once again. Looking into her eyes and ignoring the old man in front of them. He had Luke's saber in his unoccupied hand. His eyes filled with hope and determination and Rey felt it. They both turned their attention back to Palpatine. "We are all the Jedi!" Rey finished and Ben brought Luke's saber to Leias. Palpatine screamed in agony as his flesh was torn apart by his own power. Ben and Rey using all their strength to destroy him. Their hands still interlocked. The power of their bond obliterating the last of the Empire.

When he was finally gone, Rey and Ben retracted their sabers. They looked at each other. Ben observed Rey's fatigued but smiling face. "Ben!" She said with relief. As soon as she had said it Ben watched her eyes fall back into her head and felt her body begin to fall. He quickly dropped the hilt of Luke's saber and caught her waist with his other hand. Her weight pulled his own weakened body to his knees. He looked at her sleeping face and his chin began to tremble. He brought her into an embrace. Reaching out to the force in agony. Asking for help with every fiber of his being.

A man's voice he did not recognize filled his head. "Finish what I started."

He felt the Force overtake him, and he suddenly understood what he needed to do. Rey was not gone… not yet. His presence in defeating the Emperor had saved her from death. He only had to heal her, like she had healed him before his journey to Exegol. He placed his hand on her stomach and reached out for the force. He looked back at Rey's face and saw the cuts on her head begin to close. He felt a hand and looked down to see Rey's fingers crawling over his. With half-lids Rey looked up at Ben. Her hand leaving his hand and finding his face. She opened her eyes completely to take him in. Remembering the moment she delivered herself in an escape pod and had seen the face of Kylo Ren's true self, Ben Solo.

Ben shared the same memory. The admiration he had felt for her then, when he had looked at her stare up at him. A look that conveyed an understanding of him that nobody ever had. He acknowledged the love he felt for her now, and through their bond, Rey felt it. Ben lifted Rey from the ground and Rey brought herself to him. She kissed him passionately, and Ben clung to her as if she would disappear at any moment. When the kissing was over, Rey looked up at Ben. Ben let himself smile fully for the first time in years. Rey smiled brighter, knowing that he was finally with her.

She leaned her head onto Ben's chest and passed out. Ben, feeling that it was safe, finally let himself collapse as well. He laid on the ground with Rey asleep on top of him. The war finally won; he saw the stars above him fade into complete black.