Meant To Be »Reylo

| Part Eight |

     "I'm not dead." Rey looks around the med bay, a look plastered to her face that makes me think she isn't sure whether she should laugh, cry, or kick something into next week. She jumps up from the cot with a newfound energy. "Ben, you didn't kill me. I'm alive!" Her arms wrap around me, and she nuzzles her head into the crook of my arm. "There's so much light inside you. It's flowing through your veins, I can feel it. You'll help us bring the First Order down. You'll take back the galaxy for the Republic!" She's ecstatic now, eyes shining like brilliant diamonds in the night sky. Her lips are frozen in a permanent smile. I'm receiving a look from her I've never gotten before, and her enthusiasm is contagious. I feel something inside my body that was never there before.

     In all the commotion, I've forgotten that my mother is still here. I turn to face her. "Thank you," I whisper softly, letting her step into my arms. The embrace lasts only seconds before Rey dashes between us and tackles my mother in a bear hug. "Thank you for saving me," she smiles widely, "thank you for everything." The two hold onto each other for so long, I begin to feel awkward and uncomfortable. I clamp my lips shut to keep from ruining the moment. After all, it's well deserved.

     "Have a nice talk?" A nasal voice suddenly breaks the silence of the quiet room. Rey undoes herself from Leia in surprise, whirling around to see Hux and his cronies sneering. "Oh, Ren, we've got you now," he whispers maliciously, venom dripping from his words and overflowing into a pool of dangerous emotion. "You're done for. Your reign as Supreme Leader is over, and you're going to be executed for high treason, conspiring against the First Order from your inside job."

And then the walls keeping the med bay separate from the rest of the ship explode.

—————♱—————

Oh, great. I'm back.

     My eyes take in the familiar sight of an island. My prison for what I thought was going to be an eternity when I was stuck inside the hellhole of my mind. As I was later informed, my time spent wallowing in my own misery only lasted about 15 hours. But I couldn't think of a worse way to spend that time.

     I look at the small land before me, wary eyes flickering to take in the sights- the familiar ice cold water lapping at the shores like a deprived canine. Small, red stones speckle the sand, like blood droplets in the snow. Like Ben's red blood in the snow so many months ago. Like the bloodline that I have utterly no connection to. Nobodies, that's what they all were. No family. Just Ben.

     This train of thought leads me to stare towards the slashed up tree, scarred with lightsaber burns and strikes. I spent countless hours burning through my anger and taking it out on the tree that symbolizes Ben. Still a part of me, through everything.

     I'm back to this island because it used to be my safe place. And, in a way, it still is. I need all the comfort I can get. Being almost blown up by Hux can do that to you. As soon as the walls crashed down, I remember seeing an entire legion of stormtroopers, blasters pointed on us. And then I blacked out. I'm sure I'm currently being taken to my death, but I'm not allowing myself to wake up. Hux has the flair for the dramatic- he won't kill us unless we're fully aware of his newfound power.

     How are we going to get out of this one? I muster all the force possible and channel it into a message, launching it into the space I know Ben and I share- "come." Immediately, I feel his presence latch onto the command, using it to pull himself to me. Before I'm aware he's there, he's pulling me into his arms. "Rey, whatever you do, don't wake up," he warns. "Leia and I are trying to find a way out. But Hux is watching us like a hawk. We're currently in the hangar, and the entire army of stormtroopers is trained to fire on us if we so much as blink. I've tried explaining that I'm the Supreme Leader now and that everyone in the room is under my rule, but it's no use. They have the security tapes of me staying by your side. They question my authority. Think I'm weak. That I'm not fit to be Supreme Leader. And therefore, we're being executed for high treason."