Haunting Memories

Chapter XXIII

Your POV:
"My lord, I apologize for having taken so long to return, but when I realized that Ben and I were not going to win against Skywalker and Rey, I knew that I needed to formulate a different plan," I informed him, watching as he dismissed the stormtroopers who had been our guards. "It took a while to gain their trust and I fear I was unable to save Ben, but without the Jedi I do believe the Resistance will collapse and Ben will have gotten what he wished."

"With the loss of your loved one, I am sure then that you would like the pleasure of eliminating the final Jedi once and for all," he replied, holding up my lightsaber. "You may rise, (y/n), and avenge your master's death."

I stood and summoned my lightsaber, causing Rey to cry out, "traitor! You lied to us!"

I gave her a smirk as I walked to Snoke's side, "did you seriously think you could turn me? I have pledged my allegiance to the dark side, that sort of pledge is not easily broken."

"But what about Ben, I thought you loved him? When the Resistance finds out what you've done, they'll kill him! You have the chance to save him, why are you wasting it?"

"He has been unconscious for weeks now, the chances he will wake up either way are extremely slim. Besides, he would much rather me remain loyal to the dark side then turn weak because of him. Yes, I loved him, but I must confess that I love the power of the dark side more," I informed her as I used the force to bring Luke to his knees before me. "And you, you haven't said a word to me since we arrived, did you seriously think that you had made me change my loyalties just because you informed me of my past?"

"I know that there is still light inside of you and eventually you will find the strength to return and that is enough for me," he replied calmly, causing me to sneer at his apparent passiveness.

"Well, even if that is so, you won't be alive to see my big redemption," I spoke, igniting the fiery red blade of my lightsaber.

Instead of bringing the blade down upon Luke, I turned slightly so that it struck down upon Snoke's right shoulder, following a diagonal line down to his left hip. His smug expression turned to a look of betrayal as a shocked gasp left his lips, the life leaving his hatred filled eyes as the top half of his body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

~

Ben's POV:
Pain. Hatred. Sorrow.

That's all I had known for what felt like an eternity. It was as though I were trapped in a nightmare that I could never awake from. But unlike a normal nightmare, there was no scene playing out before my eyes, instead all of the feelings that arouse in me came out of pitch blackness, suffocating me with their intensity.

Every now and then those feelings calmed and I felt a sense of warmth and peace through flooding my veins, but those periods of happiness were too short and infrequent. I craved for those sweet moments of bliss, to finally be freed from the pain that tortured me, but all I was left with was the suffering.

I didn't know how long I remained in this state; perhaps it was hours, weeks, months, or even years. All I had remembered was fighting against Skywalker on Ahch-To, having to endure his apologies for having failed me and his feeble attempts to bring me back to the light. He was a fool to think that doing so would be easy for me, not when the dark side had such a hold upon my body. Even if I tried to turn, Snoke would see to it that I would be more miserable than I had ever been before.

Unfortunately, I didn't know what the outcome of the battle was. All I knew was that (y/n) seemed to be holding her own against Rey, I could only hope that the battle had turned out in our favor. What worried me was that I was not able to match Skywalker's skill, I knew that I must have lost to him. Perhaps this suffering that I was experiencing was death? If so, would I be cursed to endure an eternity of this agony?

What scared me the most was when I heard (y/n)'s voice in my head, her suffering. It was one thing to hear unknown of voices crying out in pain, but when it was the woman I loved it was as though a million daggers were stabbing into my heart. And now it was the worse than it had ever been, the agony that she was enduring more painful than I could endure. I wished that I could be there for her, to take away at least a small bit of that pain.

"(Y/N)!" I cried out desperately, suddenly opening my eyes only to be blinded by bright lights.

Her cries immediately cut off and my surroundings began to take shape. I sat up in the bed I was in, noticing that I was chained to it, and looked around me in confusion. It seemed that I was in some sort of med bay, but it certainly was not one of the First Order. A med droid came over to me and began asking me questions, but their words were lost on me.

"Where am I? Where is (y/n)?" I demanded to know, trying to break free from the cuffs that bound me to the bed. "And why the hell am I locked up?"

"You're at the Resistance base, you've been locked up for obvious reasons. After all of the work that we've done to stabilize your life, the general didn't want you destroying everything when you woke up. As for (y/n), I believe she is away at the moment, but she will be back to see you soon, she never leaves your side for long," the droid replied, only adding to my confusion.

"Why am I at the Resistance base? What happened on Ahch-To?"

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know, sir. You were brought in along with Luke, Rey, and (y/n) and placed under our care. You've been in a coma ever since, although seeming quite healthy. Honestly, we're still uncertain as to why you weren't waking up and what has made you regain consciousness now."