Redemption: A Reylo Story

Serpents in My Mind

FINN

"I have the fleet mobilized.  We just need the coordinates," Lando states through the transmitter.

"Chewie is sending you the lock on the Falcon now.  The wayfinder is connected and you will be able to follow our trail," I reply to Lando, then, "Lando, what about Poe?" I ask softly.

Ren, Ben, or whatever he's answering to now, is sitting directly behind me in the Falcon's cockpit.  I know he has heard me ask about Poe.

"He's coming to terms with his actions and Leia's death.  He's a proud man, but he realizes he acted out of personal revenge and anger.  He doesn't want this to define him for the rest of his life.  And since he is one of the best pilots we have, I do not think it wise to ground him in the biggest battle of our lives," Lando answers.

"I understand."

"Gaaraaaaawar!"

"But Chewie says he's going to pull his arms out of socket when he sees him.  You may want to warn him." I chuckle nervously, not sure if Chewie is serious or not.

"Oh , Lando, after you see the Falcon enter Exegol's airspace, you will see us land," I try to say matter-of -factly.

"Why do you need to land on Exegol?  Do they have some kind of ground defenses we need to eliminate?" Lando asks.

"You can say that.  Mainly, we just need to drop off...a friend," I say, glancing at Ben.  He's looking down, but takes in a deep breath of acknowledgement. Has anyone ever called him friend?

Lando doesn't ask questions about my statement. Instead, he says, "We are locked onto your coordinates and look to be approximately forty minutes behind you...Take care of that ship Finn.  Don't let Chewie crash it.  It holds a lot of memories for me."

"Garaaawaaarrrwaaarr!"

Laughing at Chewie's remark, "And may the Force be with you," Lando adds.

We have approximately thirty minutes before we enter Exegol's atmosphere.  Examining Ben, he looks pale and dark circles have formed under his eyes.  "You OK?" I ask. "You don't look well."

He pierces me with his dark eyes.

Healing someone that near to death takes a large amount of life-force.

It takes just a beat to realize that his mouth  didn't move, yet I heard him loud and clear.

"Wwwhat just happened?" I ask shakily.

Because I gave you so much of my life-force, we now seem to be bonded.

"All right, first, stop speaking to me in my mind and second, what do you mean bonded?  Bonded like in you and Rey?"

"No!" He scoffs. "Not like me and Rey. Our bond goes much deeper. If you get into danger during the battle or experience any strong emotions, I will know and you will be able to sense the same in me."

"How long will it last?" I ask.

"I don't know. I have never healed anyone like that before," he answers softly.  Reaching into his pocket, he takes out a small wooden box, looks at its contents for a moment, then puts it back in his pocket.

"Ben, do you think you will be able to save Rey from the dark side?" I ask quietly.

"I'm not sure. You can read my emotions like I read yours. Whatever happens, you will know."

After navigating our way through Exegol's treacherous outer atmosphere, we circle around the planet, hiding from Palpatine's  Star Destroyer fleet.  Landing the Falcon in front of the Citadel, Ben quickly exits the ship with Leia's lightsaber attached to his belt.