Confronting Fear

Goodbyes

"We'll be miles apart
I'll keep you deep inside you're always in my heart
A new life to start
I may be leaving but you're always in my heart"

Miles Apart - Yellowcard

Time stood still for Rey, her mind reeling with the enormity of what she had just done. She barely noticed the endless maze of hallways Kylo led her through, until they stopped outside a black door, in a white hallway, flanked by two stormtroopers. She felt Kylo release her wrist, she rubbed the red marks he'd left from his tight grip.

"Don't take too long." He warned her.

She glared, as he signaled to the trooper on the right to open the door. She stepped in, trying to mentally prepare herself for the hardest conversation of her life.

The door hissed shut and she was immediately set on by Finn, lifting her off her feet in a strong hug. She vaguely felt a surge of anger in Kylo's emotions outside the door but ignored it for now. He was her first real friend and she was leaving him. She felt a tear form in her eye, but she blinked it away.

The questions started coming so fast she could barely keep track of who asked what.

"Oh fuck, you got captured too?" -Poe

"Are you hurt?" - Chewy

"What are we going to do?" - Finn

"Oh dear, we're done for!" - 3PO

" This really sucks!" BB8

Rey held her hands up to hold them back and addressed them each in turn. "I did not get captured. I am not hurt. We're not done for, yet. You don't know the half of it!." They all looked at her dumbfounded. "Let me explain...."

They were all remarkably silent as she gave a quick recap of events in the hangar, leaving out the revelation of her ancestry and the full extent of the dyad bond, glossing over the details. Their reaction was exactly what she expected.

"No way! No fucking way are we leaving you here with him." - Poe shouted.

"It's a trick! It has to be. Don't do this Rey! We'll figure out another way. We can't lose you!" - Finn pleaded.

"I'll kill him" - Chewy roared.

"I say, this Kylo Ren sounds like trouble!" 3PO as BB8 beeped a string of expletives that made Poe proud.

She noted that the small droid from Ochi's ship had remained silent, rocking back and forth on his wheel. "Do you all have a better idea, because I don't! I don't want to do this but we need to stop Palpatine! We can worry about the First Order later."

Careful Scavenger. She felt Ren's voice warn her in her mind, his presence heavy.

Finn spoke first, a defeated look on his face. " Rey, you can't. You just can't"

"You can't trust him Rey. How do you know this isn't a trick and he and Palpatine aren't working together." Poe, ever the strategist chimed in.

She sighed, "That thought has occurred to me but I don't think so. He could have killed me already by now and hasn't. Also, I can tell through our Force Bond, he's not lying. I don't know how to explain it."

"Let me stay here with you at least. I'll be a prisoner, I'll be able to help if you need." Finn begged.

Absolutely not. That was not part of the bargain.

"He's manipulating you for something." Chewy roared.

"Maybe." Rey replied, with a heavy sigh, exhaustion fully setting in. "The most important thing right now is getting you out of here and stopping Palpatine. That means you too, Finn. None of this means anything without that."

Time's up, Rey. Kylo spoke into her mind.

Rey choked back tears. "Please trust me."

With those last three words they finally realized exactly what she was doing. Rey was a powerful Jedi, their friend, their hero, their last hope. They'd run missions together, bled together, cried together. They had never doubted her before. "We trust you, Rey." Finn spoke for the group.

Poe nodded in agreement. "What's the plan?"

Rey smiled through the tears, wiping them away with her arm wrappings. "I negotiated getting the Falcon and the Bestoon Legacy back. I know it's not much, but you need every ship you can get. I thought Chewy could pilot the the Falcon and Poe the Legacy. Don't expect to hear from me any time soon. Don't launch an attack on the First Order, at least until Palpatine is gone."

Finn came up and hugged her tightly. "Take care of yourself, Rey."

Rey felt a another surge of anger emanate from Kylo. It was not surprising, really. He hated Finn. She ignored it, and instead focused on the feel of Finn's broad shoulders, his strong arms, the smell of his leather jacket. She pictured Rose, who had become like a sister, to whom she would not get to say goodbye. She held on as long as she could, knowing it could be their last moments together. "We'll see each other again. I promise. Take care of Rose."

Once Finn finally released her, Poe put an arm around her shoulder and the other around her lower back, pulling her close, her head resting against his shoulder, his breath on her ear. "We'll leave a spot open for you in the Resistance."

It was then that she felt the full impact of Kylo's rage, barely contained outside the door. She was surprised the floor wasn't shaking. She blocked it out as she drank in Poe's unique scent; wood, metal and fuel mixed with something slightly sweet. The feel of his linen shirt against her cheek took her back to the evenings she and Poe had sat talking and sharing stories. The night they sat on the edge of a cliff drinking from a bottle of wine he had procured on a mission somewhere; the night he had stolen her first kiss. She felt a pang of regret at not exploring him further when she had the opportunity.

There was a million things she wanted to say but all that came out was,"Thanks Poe. Give Leia my full report and tell her I'm sorry. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Chewy picked her up in one of his signature rib- cracking embraces, quietly muttering that he'd miss her in Shyyriwook.

"I'll miss you, too. Thanks again for ripping Unkar Plutt's arm off." She smiled slightly at the memory. Finn was her first friend, Poe was her first kiss, but Chewy was her first protector.

She smiled at the droids. "Keep an eye on these three for me." with a nod towards the 3 organics.

Bb8 beeped back enthusiastically that he would try.

"We're ready." She lied, she could never be ready. The door opened on cue. Three stormtroopers and Ren stepped into the room. The stormtroopers began to cuff the three prisoners.

The two human males and one wookie stared daggers at Ren, much to his amusement. Finn finally spoke up, "You won't get away with this."

"The Resistance will prevail in the end," added Poe.

"We'll see." Was all Ren said, infuriating the 3 even more.

After that, everything happened quickly. The Resistance members were escorted back to the hangar where the Falcon was now settled next to the Legacy. The stormtroopers escorted Finn and Chewy onto the Falcon's landing ramp. 3PO and the cone faced droid followed. The cuffs were removed but the blasters stayed firmly pointed on them until the ramp was closed. Rey's trained eye also noticed every TIE fighter in the vicinity had it's guns pointed at the 2 ships.

Rey choked back tears as she watched the ship that carried her into her new life leave without her. Once it left the hangar, the process was repeated with Poe and BB8 on the Legacy.

She turned to Kylo, determined not to let him see her tears. "What now?"

He took arm, firmly but more gently than before and wordlessly led her away from the hanger. The stormtroopers did not follow. She was all alone, with Kylo Ren, her sworn enemy. The Dark to her Light.