"Sorry to wake you up, General-R2 said it was urgent-" Poe hurries along after them.
"What did you see?" Leia barks.
"Ren was sleeping, or so it looked like, then he like got up and fell to the floor, and then he started punching and kicking things," Finn supplies.
"What he said," Poe confirms.
"Oh, dear!" C-3PO follows. BB-8 blips. "Yes, I can come, BB-8, if you can! It's unfair to say otherwise! I look more human than you do anyways!"
Leia and Luke rush down the stairs. Poe taps his blaster, exchanging a glance with Finn.
"Game over?" Finn suggests.
"We'll find out." Poe punches in the code, and they all troop inside. Ren paces, dragging his hand through his hand so hard strands cling to his hand when he pulls his it away. With his face covered in sweat, his scar sharp against his pallid skin, Poe's never seen him look more disheveled. Even when he needed treatment for that infected blaster wound.
"Ben, what's going on?" Leia cries.
"Snoke."
"What about him?" Finn demands.
Ren-Ben-hesitates, as if trying to force words out of his mouth. "He was-in my head."
"Oh dear!" C-3PO laments.
Poe remembers when Kylo Ren ravaged his own mind, tearing through to find the information he wanted. He glances down at BB-8 and remembers his betrayal of the Resistance. At this man's hands. "What did you give him?"
Ben shakes his head. "Nothing! He-he wasn't looking for very much."
"What about Rey?" cuts in Finn. BB-8 whirs.
"He let me see her." Ben's jaw works as if he's deciding what to say. Well, he'd better decide soon, because Poe is sick of waiting and sick of watching Finn's face melt in terror. "She's... okay. For now."
"Is he hurting her?" Luke asks.
"Not physically," Ben mutters.
Leia grips her son's arm. "Meaning-"
"He'll play mental games with her." Ben hesitates again, as if he wants to say something else, but can't. His face is ravaged with even more fear than Finn's.
"Shit." Poe watches R2 bleep sadly.
Ben swallows. "If Snoke can get in my head, he might try again-he might-"
"So killing him is our safest option?" Finn whispers to Poe. No one hears the comment except BB-8, who nods its head, but Ben still glances at both of them. Poe scowls.
"We'll be careful," Leia says. "Could you sense anything about where he is?"
Ben shakes his head. "Not this time."
"Next time, though," Luke says quietly. "If he comes again, you must try to push back."
"Against Snoke?" Ben's eyes are wide. "I will try. But it's practically impossible."
"So, wait," Finn says. "If he can push into your mind from somewhere across the galaxy, can't you push into his mind? Like right now?"
"That's not how the Force works!" Ben snaps.
"How would I know?" Finn throws up his hands.
Ben frowns at Finn like he's studying him, and Poe does not like it. "If you try anything-"
"I'm not! I'm telling you Snoke's communicating with me! I don't want to hide anything!"
Something clouds Leia's face. "Ben, we know." She takes her son in her arms, and Poe's heart aches for his own parents, long dead.
"I'm such a-I'm such a-"
Murderer? Liar? Egomaniac? Poe could have supplied a whole list, but Ben can't finish, and despite himself, Poe's starting to feel sympathy for him and he doesn't quite know why.
"This is all my fault."
"We can make it right," Poe says. "We'll find her."
Ben laughs. "We can't."
"Yes, we can," Luke soothes.
Ben shakes his head. "Snoke is far more powerful than any of us. He'll only let me into his mind if he wants me there, or if I can push into it when he's already there."
"Ben, do you and Rey have a connection?" Luke inquires. "Through the Force?"
Ben flinches. "I don't know. Maybe. I think so. But if we do, Snoke's not letting me access her. Believe me, I've tried."
Finn presses his lips together. Clearly, he's not liking the way Ben talks about Rey. Poe's suspicions rise as well.
When they troop out of the cell, Chewie is waiting for them. He roars.
"It's all right, Chewie. We think," Poe says.
"He saw Rey. She's alive," Finn adds.
Chewie nods, staring at the closed door.
"He's keeping something from us, isn't he?" Leia asks Luke. Poe stops and stares. It's what he suspected too, but he doesn't say it.
"He was telling the truth," Luke replies. "But yes. There's something he isn't telling us-from shame or fear, I can't tell what."
YOU ARE READING
•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•
Fanfic*WRITTEN PRE-TROS, POST TLJ* When a ship crashes near the Resistance base, Finn and Poe are shocked to discover Kylo Ren. What does he want? And where is Rey? And as for Kylo, he must decide how much he can trust them with what he knows about Snoke...
