The World between Worlds

Chapter 1- He is dead

Rey felt cold; she was drifting, floating, no longer in the Sith cave on Exogol, but it was so dark. She felt heavy, as though she was sinking lower and lower, darker and darker, as though she was being dragged down. It felt like the ominous cave she'd fallen in beneath Ahch-To. Just as cold and just as dark but not as frightening. The darkness felt like an undertow; it felt peaceful, and she didn't want to resist it. She had accomplished what she had sought to do. Darth Sidious, Palpatine was defeated. The ancient Jedi of old had been with her, helped her after Palpatine had drained her and Ben of their combined power, and she'd dragged herself off the floor. She wished she could see her friends one last time, but it had taken what power had remained to her and the help of all the Jedi past to defeat Palpatine. She had nothing else to give.

"No, no, no, no."

She recognised that voice whispered as though far away; it stirred her from the darkness in which she drifted. A light began to fill the darkness. Her body no longer felt as though it were drifting. She could feel an ache in her muscles on the cold stone floor on which she lay. Awareness crept through her, and warmth, warmth on her stomach. She fought against the dragging darkness. The warmth on her stomach was a hand, and with all her might, she reached for it. As she touched the hand that lay upon her, she became aware of the other cradling her neck, of the strong arms holding her body. Dim blue light filled her eyes as cold, dusty air filled her lungs. She could see once more, and there was a most welcome sight before her eyes. Underneath her fingers touching his hand, their bond sparked and surged.

Rey sat upright in his arms as his face searched hers, both concerned and relieved. She was as shocked as she'd been when she'd sensed him on Exogol in the first place. When he'd stood at her side to face Sidious together, was he really here? Was this a dream? It hadn't been before, but he'd be thrown into the chasm. Had he returned once more? She searched his face. She had so many questions, but she knew the answer to the main one. She touched his jaw tentatively, his face, his hair, lingering upon his cheek as his hands held her firmly.

"You're here. You came back for me."

A meek smile touched the corners of his face.

"Ben."

It was Ben; Kylo Ren was gone, and Ben Solo was here, at her side.

Rey leaned forward and kissed him. As their lips met, Ben's arm held her to him, almost desperate. The kiss was sweet and gentle, and as it lingered, it deepened and said everything they had wanted to say to each other but had denied out of fear. He had always wanted her at his side as Ben Solo and as Kylo Ren. She had always wanted to join him, to take his hand, and now Ben had returned she could. The kiss ended, and she pulled back to look at the man before her, holding her close. She'd waited so long to belong, for Ben Solo, and now he was here. They were together; they were one. She smiled at him, overjoyed, and she saw Ben laugh, a smile that lit his face up in a way she could never have imagined possible. Almost as quickly as it had happened, however, Ben's face changed, the smile faded, and the strength of his arms around her diminished.

Concern etched her face as she felt him weaken and grow cold beneath her fingers, and she tried to hold him as he fell to the ground. She grasped his hand tightly, the hand he'd offered to her so many times.

"Ben? Ben?"

He seemed utterly peaceful, his body completely relaxed, and just as she had with Luke, she could feel what was coming before she saw it.

"No, Ben. Ben. Stay with me. Please."

She watched Ben Solo fade into the Force. She squeezed his hand, desperate, not wanting to lose him, but ultimately, her hand tightened around empty air as his body faded to blue starlight in front of her eyes and disappeared. Only his clothing remained, and Rey sat, a hand upon his shirt. A shirt with a hole in it, a hole she'd created after she'd wounded him with his saber. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't cry out. She just sat disbelievingly at the place where he'd lain. She looked up to the sky, desperate, as she watched the Star Destroyers fall towards the planetary surface. Surely, surely, this hadn't been the will of the Force. She allowed silent tears to trickle down her face as she reached a hand to her chest at the fresh agony residing there. Her other half in the Force was gone.