Forgotten, But Not Lost

Chapter 69

"Ben?"

Rey whispered his name like she had on the planet Exegol, just shortly before Ben had passed through the World Between Worlds. Rey could feel that their connection that they once held was altered, they no longer were the dyad, merely something else.

Ben wiped his hand over his face slowly, then finally gliding his hand back to remove the hair out of his face. His eyes settled back to Rey's, looking for an explanation.

"Ben, what was the last thing you remember?" Rey calmly asked him, he looked like one wrong thing, would make him run for the hills. Ben's eyes held the fear, like being a youngling who saw a ghost.

Ben looked down at his body and then back to Rey.

"Uh, I thought I died to be honest. I remember coming to Exegol and fighting alongside you. My mind is playing catch up with me. I do recall us kissing, but to be honest those feelings I felt at that time...." Ben trailed off feeling a little ashamed.

Rey instantly knew what he was trying to explain.

"The feelings have shifted, right?" Rey asked Ben.

Ben stared at her right in the eyes and nodded in agreement.

"Don't feel bad Ben, it happened to me as well. Well, rather the feelings were taken from me, they were not my own. To confirm your suspicion, yes, you did pass on. You were saved from the WBW." Rey placed a gingerly hand on his forearm.

Rey felt the surge as quickly as it came, something in the force triggered Ben's memory, almost like he was being filled with all that he had lost. Ben sprang from the bed with IV's still attached to his other arm. Ben grabbed them and yanked them out of his arm.

Rey quickly got up with her hands up to motion for Ben to take it easy. She needed to try and keep him calm. Ben's body seemed to be radiating with heat, Rey could tell he was starting to sweat and become overworked. Rey saw that he was a new man for one, all of his scars that he had once adorned as Kylo Ren were miraculously gone and what was left was a perfectly chiseled chest. One thing that clearly didn't change, was his pure mass he had over herself and Amar at that. Amar was smaller than Rey, she could only imagine how comical it would be to try and reach Ben all the way up there in the clouds in comparison. Rey's attention fell back to reality.

Ben's face fell upon the still unmoving Amar who was a mere few feet away from Ben. Rey could tell Ben's body hesitated, but his mind was moving a million miles an hour. His force was all over the place, so many questions filled his brain.

"Ben? I understand that this is disorienting, but I can explain anything you need me to." Rey tried to soothe Ben, but his body had built up the courage finally to approach Amar's bedside. Ben walked gently over to the woman who must have felt like a dream to him.

When Ben made it to her bedside, all he could do was stare down at her.

Amar had aged slightly since the last time he truly saw her, he remembered seeing the tattoos she donned on her body, but not as Ben Solo. Amar was still as beautiful as ever and the designs that she claimed on her face only amplified that fact.

"My memories are all over the place, I cannot seem to align them in the correct order. On one hand, I feel like she has never left my side, but on the other it feels like I haven't seen her since..." Ben trailed off again and a dark presence filled the room.

Rey could feel Ben's anger rising, clearly that had not left him. Ben was still a troubled man, like he had been as a youngling. Rey rushed over to the other side of Amar's bed and looked at Ben.

"Ben, I need you to calm down, now explain to me that memory." Ben finally met Rey's eyes, but his eyes seemed to be filling with tears as he recalled that memory.