|sixteen|

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"Ben. Give up! You're outnumbered! We don't want to hurt you!" Rika shouted at the insane Sith-in-training in front of her.

"How many times must I tell you? I am KYLO REN! AND I WILL NOT FALL TO THE JEDI! I WILL END YOU!" With that, Kylo Ren pounced on them. He first Force pushed them to the tree, only Rika managed to block it, while Rey slammed into the tree but recovered quickly. But Finn.

Oh, Finn, it hurt Rika's heart to see the younger man lying face to the ground in the icy snow, he wasn't even sure he was still alive -- his presence was faint in the Force.

Kylo Ren laughed. "That is your ultimate mistake, Leriana! You feel too much!" He continued laughing.

"Well, I wonder," Something in her tone stopped his laughter. "Is it worse to feel too much. Or not at all?" Rika drew out her other lightsaber and lit it, then with a scream she jumped at him.

"Yes," He laughed again. "Embrace the anger, the fear of your lover dying. Join me on the Dark side, sister!" They battled on.

"You will never be him," Rika hissed through her teeth, by then, the both of them could've been labeled as insane. She shook her head. "You will never be him."

"Liar!" Kylo Ren roared in anger. "Liar! You're just envious of my power! You are just envious that while everyone in your life has left while I left the ones in my life. Rule beside me, sister! And we will make them PAY!"

"You will never be as powerful as Darth Vader." Rika whispered to him.

"I will be!" He cried in return.

"No, you will not be!" Rika shook her head, her eyes watered. "You will not be!" She knew what she had to do.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Rey carrying in Finn, with the help of Chewie. But there was no Han. But she had to do what she had to do.

"I AM!" Kylo Ren screamed at her as his blood red lightsaber began its decent in a deadly flash of ruby.

"You will not!" Rika screeched back. "Because Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker. And Anakin Skywalker chose the Light!" With as much strength she had in her broken body, she pushed the deadly icicles and the icy snow off the mountain with a powerful blow of the a bitter wind.

The last thing she saw was Ben's face. The lost and betrayed look he had had on that terrible day she refused to join him.

And then the snow fell upon them in a deadly blanket.

Before the explosion.

-----

Poe watched as the base exploded in triumph. But something felt wrong. The comm link crackled. "Dameron?" General Organa asked tentatively, but Poe didn't notice.

"Yes, General?" He asked, thinking of his fianceé.

"Is Leriana, by any chance... With you?"

"What?" Poe nearly shouted. "You mean, she's not on the Millennium Falcon with Finn and Captain Solo?"

Leia gave a choked sob. And that was all he needed to know.

-----

Poe jumped out his X-Wing in a rush, he stormed directly into the Command Room, where a tear-streaked girl (whom he assumed was the infamous Rey), a Finn with his head in his hands, and a Wookie -- Chewbacca that looked to be on the verge of ripping on of his comrades' heads off. He noticed that Han Solo wasn't there either.

General Organa immediately got up when she saw him. Her face was streaked with tears. "I'm so sorry, Poe." She choked out. "I'm sorry that we couldn't find her." Poe enveloped the older woman in a hug, which the General gratefully excepted. But soon, the Wookie came and took her out of his arms, he let Chewbacca, as the two of them had lost two dear to them

But Poe was still in shock.

He was in shock when he walked outside. He was in shock when he walked into his tent.

Was this the price? He wondered. Was this the price they had to pay for the victory of the destruction of the Starkiller? To sacrifice even the most beloved ones to the Galaxy?

To sacrifice one life for countless others. Lil had told him once, it was like she had always known. Then Poe realized.

She probably did.

"You promised me!" He shouted, then lashed out at the nearest thing to him; Lil's toolbox. For a brief moment, he remembered that Lil would've thrown a bitch fit at him scattering all her precious tools until he remembered that she wouldn't be back to yell at him about it. Anger consumed him again. "You promised me you would come back! That's you would've been safe!" He cried, crashing more things around him.

"You promised me!" He roared, then something shattering stopped his rampage. Poe looked at what he had almost destroyed. It was the damn recording thing that Lil worked so hard on. And now, it was one of the only things he had left of her. He sank to his knees cradling the broken prototype and let the bitter tears flow.

-----

"You didn't tell me you knew General Organa," A younger Poe raised an eyebrow at a teenaged Rika.

"Psh, I didn't have to tell you anything." She retorted.

"Well, don't you think it's suspicious that a Jedi, after Luke Skywalker's disappearance just suddenly appeared in the rebel base after the only known surviving Force user works for the First Order?"

Rika rolled her eyes, "Well, Poe Dameron," She spat, using the words like an insult. "Like I said before, I didn't have to tell you anything. Besides, it's not my fault that Leia doesn't trust you enough to you about her family--"

"Since when could you call the General by her first name?"

"Jealous much, Dameron--"

"Bickering again?" An amused voice asked. Leia stood at the doorway of the tent.

"He started it!"

"She started it!"

They replied in unison.

Leia laughed. "I don't care who started it, but what I do care is that it's lights out and you guys aren't in bed sleeping and are bickering." She crossed her arms.

"Buuut, Leiaaahhhh," Rika whined. "I'm eighteen! Besides, both of us are adults!"

Leia only rolled her eyes. "So start acting like it."

------

I'M SORRY FOR YET ANOTHER CRAPPY CHAPTER

I SWEAR.

I MAKE THINGS SO MUCH MORE FUCKING COMPLICATED THAN IT NEEDS TO BE.

Whoops?

Anyways, Turquoise/Copper seems to be pulling ahead with 3 votes while Mahogany/White is 2 votes. These aren't official, but please to vote at the end of the book. Now I will RUNNNNNN

BAIIIIII

QUEEN OF I'LL SEE YOU IN |seventeen| AND |after|

-ALEXIS L.

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