20. Where Do We Go From Here?

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REY

I can't see anything. That's the first thing I notice. The second is searing pain like a vice around my head, thumping painfully in time with my heartbeat. Every inch of my body aches like a happabore had stepped on me, then sat on me. Then stepped on me again.

I'm vaguely aware of voices arguing somewhere near me, but I can't make out what they're saying. It's muffled, sounding as if someone has their hands over my ears. I feel my toe twitch, and slowly my senses return, along with a sense of déjà vu. Except this time instead of being tied to a torture chair inside an interrogation room, I'm cuffed and lying on my side on a cold floor.

"I knew it was bullshit! We never should have let him out of his cell." That sounded like Poe.

"Who's the traitor now, Ren?" Finn. I fight to open my eyes, and a throne room comes in to focus. The walls are bathed in vibrant red that reflects off the polished obsidian floors, casting a scarlet hue on the faces of the room's occupants. In the center of the room is a throne, atop of which sits a disfigured, spindly form in resplendent golden robes. Snoke.

His beady eyes find mine across the room and fear immediately seizes me. "Ren, I do believe your protégé is awake," he croons in a deep, gritty voice. The same voice I'd heard numerous times in my head.

I try to sit up and the world spins sickeningly around me. Fear coats the room like soot after a fire, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. The room finally comes into focus and I see Finn and Poe, bloodied and bruised, on their knees several yards to my right. Their hands are cuffed behind their backs, and two guards dressed in red stand to either side of them, wielding weapons I've never seen before.

Poe looks over at me and gasps. "Rey! Are you oka-" He's cut off by a boot in his back, knocking him to the floor. His pained groan fuels my fury, and I fight to stand.

"Don't move, I'll get us out of this," I growl, looking around the room for Ben. Maybe he's already working on a plan to free us. Maybe he-

But he's not. He's standing at Snoke's right hand, the red of the walls reflecting off the silver and gold of my lightsaber in his uncuffed hand. "Ben?" My voice is weak and pleading, but I can't help it. He couldn't have betrayed us. He wouldn't. Not now.

His gaze snaps to mine and something akin to regret flickers in his hazel eyes. It's gone as quickly as it appeared, and he looks down at my saber in his hands. "I made a deal. It was the only way for us to live. Both of us," he says, quieter than I've ever heard him.

My stomach drops and the room spins furiously, sending me crashing to my knees with an agonizing thud. This has to be a dream, it has to be a dream. I would have seen this coming. The claws of betrayal dig deep into my heart and I can't breathe, I can't breathe. "What kind of deal?" I pant hoarsely.

"He came to his senses, as I knew he would. Your little plan to, how do you say, restore the light in him?" Snoke lets out a vicious, grinding laugh. "He is beyond redemption. His destiny lies with me."

Ice creeps up my spine and sends chills through my entire body. I've never felt so many conflicting emotions at once, and it's paralyzing me. "He would...he would never--" I gasp for air, feeling panic setting in. "You betrayed him, tried to kill him! He would never return, I know it!" I look at Ben, at the uninterpretable expression marring his handsome face, feeling desperation clawing its way to the surface. "I know it."

Snoke gasps, feigning shock. "Have you seen something? A weakness in my apprentice? Is that why you came?" He pauses and the shock turns to a vile smirk. "Young fool," he laughs, "it was I who bridged your minds." Ben's head snaps up and he looks at me, but there's no surprise in his expression. He knew. "I stoked Ren's conflicted soul. I knew he was not strong enough to hide it from you, and you were not wise enough to resist the bait."

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