Breaking Out - Part 2

We walk through the narrow passage lined with pipes and electrical wires. Finn leads the way to the ship's core. My strength has returned now and Mom seems a lot better too. We move fast, the heat of the core reactor reaching down through the long passageway to us. I wipe the sweat off my brow.

"Almost there," Finn says in a loud whisper over his shoulder. I'm grateful to him. He knows the layout of the service areas on the ship that I'm unfamiliar with. We've avoided all the guards above and will come out at the warp core, at the bottom of the drop from the throne room.

Finn steps into the core reactor chamber first. He wipes his forehead, the bright light from the reactor bathing him in white. I squint ahead. The warp core is massive. I look up and see the pathway bridge between the throne and the entrance up high. It's impossible to hear anything over the loud hum of the warp core.

Finn waves his hand at me, trying to get my attention. He points to a metal ladder leading upwards. I rush over and start to climb.

The ladder goes up so far that I can't even see to the top of it. I look down again. Finn is making his way up after me. I jump off to the side. He gives me a questioning look. I point up. "You go first," I say, although I don't think he can hear me, but he gets what I'm saying. BB-8 bumps my leg. I lean down and scoop her up into my arms. "Can you hold onto me?" I ask her.

She nods and extends some clasps from her doors, then clips the fabric of my shirt tight. Finn is already far up ahead. I grasp the ladder with both hands and start to climb. Mom follows after me and we continue on in silence, my heart beating faster with each rung I climb. Rey has to be okay, she has to be.

Finn slows near the top, looking over his shoulder at the throne room entrance. We are directly beneath the passageway. He gives me the quiet signal with his hand. As I near him at the top I begin to hear voices.

"We tried, Your Supreme Leadership..." Hux says.

"It's made of stone is it not?" Snoke asks. "Then open it!"

BB-8 weighs heavy on me as I hang onto the ladder, waiting. I can feel the dark blue crystal energies again. There's more up there somewhere.

"Don't say anything," I whisper to BB-8.

"We tried everything," Hux says from above. "It's under some kind of spell."

"And Skywalker?"

"He wasn't there."

"Enough!" Snoke yells, then begins to cough. "Must I do everything? How soon before the crystal beam reaches Ahch-To?"

"About two days, Your Supreme Leadership. Had we known the sword was there-"

"It's enough time."

I look up, past Finn, but I can't see Snoke's throne because of the bridge right above us.

"Girl..." he snarls. "Tell me how I can get the red light saber out of the tomb."

"I don't know." It's Rey. She speaks with much effort, sounding weak. She's alive and she's still up there.

"Shall I search your thoughts further?" Snoke says.

"You won't find the answer," Rey replies. "All I know is that it was sealed by the Force and can only be opened using the Force."

"Then I'll do it myself."

I take deep breaths as I wait, my palms sweating. I look down to see how Mom is doing. She's holding on.

"Go!" Snoke commands in a loud voice. "Prepare my ship." He's now speaking from halfway across the bridge and I hear the shuffle of his walk.

"What about her?" Hux says.

"She's more trouble than she's worth," Snoke replies. "But I need her alive." He coughs again, before continuing. "If she goes to Ahch-To she will die there."

"Shall I take her to the crystal prison cells?"

I catch a glimpse of Snoke's back as he walks towards the throne room doors. He's hunched over and moves slowly. I feel the familiar hate for him growing inside of me, then it's replaced by something else. He's nothing but a lonely, bitter old Sith Master, twisted with evil, finding pleasure only in the pain and suffering of others. But our plan is set into motion now. He's heading for Ahch-To, right where we want him.

The entrance door closes with a loud clang that echoes through the chamber. Then there is silence. Finn looks down at me and I nod for him to keep going. He continues up then stops, having trouble climbing over the bottom of the bridge path. I reach my hand out and use my Force energy to give him a boost. My other hand begins to slip. Finn gets over the side and I quickly grasp the ladder with my other hand again.

"Rey!" Finn says, sounding shocked. I climb faster. I can't pull myself up either once I reach the ledge, it's too slippery and there's nowhere to get a good grip.

I feel my body rise and I look down. Mom has her arm outstretched towards me, lifting me up. I climb onto the bridge and set BB-8 down. She unclasps from me and I look up. In front of us is Finn, holding a limp Rey in his arms. She's covered in a shining blue outfit, metal straps clasped around her body. Finn is trying to remove them but can't seem to figure out how.

"Rey!" BB-8 beeps. She rolls over. I can feel the blue crystal's energy from where I am, the pain starting to settle into my bones again. I want to go to Rey, but don't know if I have the strength.

"Kylo," Finn says. "Help me!"

"Ben!" Mom calls up from below. I lean over the edge of the bridge and reach my arm down to her. She grabs my hand and I pull her up. We sit on the pathway, catching our breath.

"I can help," BB-8 says. She takes out a small screwdriver and begins to unscrew the tiny hinges of the metal strap that's around Rey's wrist.

Mom puts a hand on my arm. "We need to move back," she says. "Away from the dark blue crystal."

She's right. It's making me light headed and the bridge is dangerous. We get up and walk down the narrow path to the other side. I pull Mom into a hug.

she says to me.

I watch Finn and BB-8 work together to remove each band around Rey. I let go of Mom. If Rey was meant to be with Finn then I won't stand in his way anymore. But in the end, it's her decision. I want to go help them, their progress seems so slow, but I can't. Finn removes another band around Rey's knee and ankle, his movements are unhurried and gentle. Rey watches him work with a glazed look in her eyes, her head resting on his shoulder. She's breathing heavily and I'm all too familiar with the pain she must be feeling. I clench my jaw, wishing she wasn't feeling that pain right now. Her head turns and she sees me.

"Ben?" she says. Finn and BB-8 remove the thick band around her waist and she crawls forward towards the bridge.

"No, wait!" Finn says. She stops and tries to help him remove the bands faster, but then suddenly draws her hand back when it touches the blue crystal.

"Almost done," Finn says. He pushes the removed pieces over the edge and they fall down the steep drop. There's one left on her ankle and the moment it's off Rey kicks it over the edge too, then scrambles to get up. I run to her across the bridge, and slide onto my knees in front of her, throwing my arms around her waist. I don't care that Finn and Mom are watching. I bury my face in her chest and she wraps her arms around my head to hold me close. Then she lowers down and kisses me on the lips. I kiss her back and the ship rumbles. It's our love that makes us the strongest I realize, not the hate I always thought made me strong in the Force.

I cup Rey's face in my hands. "Rey. I love you. I don't want to lose you. I want to protect you forever."

"We'll protect each other," she says.

I shake my head, swallowing down the lump in my throat. "If you were meant to be with Finn then-"

"You're the only one I'm going to be with Ben. I don't care what Snoke says. He's a liar. I know what my heart says, and it's that I love you." She hugs me and I close my eyes, savouring her warm embrace.

"Rey?" BB-8 beeps. "Are we done with the mission now?"

Rey lets me go and turns back to BB-8. "We're not done yet," she says. "But as soon as we are, we're going to play that constellations game you liked so much, okay?"

"With my new star chart holograms?"

"Yes."

"Okay!" BB-8 spins in a circle and Finn smiles. "Can Finn play this time?"

"Yes, of course." Rey walks over to Finn and gives him a hug. "Thank you," she says to him. "For coming on the Away Team, even though we told you not to."

He blinks, hugging her back, but can't seem to answer. She lets him go. Mom comes up behind me and for a second I'm worried that she'll fall off the narrow bridge.

She takes my hand and Rey walks over to us and takes my other hand. Mom reaches for Finn and he joins us, taking her other hand.

"We're almost there," Mom says. "I may not see into the future but I see the faces before me, those of the most powerful Jedi's in the Galaxy." Finn shifts his weight on his feet. "You too Finn. You're as brave as any Jedi I've known, and you'll join us on this final mission. We're going to take down Snoke once and for all."

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