What If...

Chapter 8: Losses

(Art not mine)

Ben's POV

I flung myself at the Sith. We both tumbled across the floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rey gasp and relax, unconscious.

It was that sight, the sight of her near-dead and tortured, that set me off. I didn't even use my lightsaber. I walked straight over to the Dathomirian and punched her face as she struggled to get up. And again. Hard. She stayed down. I nudged her with my foot to make sure she was truly knocked out, and sprinted to Rey, taking her in my arms. She opened her eyes a little.

"Hey," she said weakly. She reached up and touched my face. "Are you real?"

"Yeah, very real," I responded and gave her a lopsided smile.

She laughed softly. "Good." And she fell back under.

I stood up with her in my arms, bridal style. Finn, Poe, and Chewie all entered the hangar, blasters ready.

"Where's the fight?" Poe asked.

"Already done. I'm gonna try to wake her up. Poe, you and Chewie stand outside and watch for troopers. Finn you stay here and help me. Since you have Force sensitivity. No matter how little there is."

Finn glared at me. I didn't care.

I reached out and Finn knelt beside me and did the same. She was hurt. Not just physically, but mentally. What she saw hurt her more than anything ever had. I felt that anger again. At the Sith mere yards away. I ignored it and concentrated on Rey. I brushed her mind with my own. Wake up, I told her. Please.

But it's so peaceful here, Ben. I don't have to worry anymore, She responded.

Rey, it's an illusion. Wake up.

Why?

Because I need you. I love you. Come back to me.

Five more minutes. Pleeeease?

No. Wake up.

Ugh.... Fiiine.

Her eyes shot open. I stared at her, relieved. Then I hugged her so hard, you would've thought I was never gonna see her again. She hugged me just as hard. I could've stayed there forever, but I sensed danger. She sensed it too, I could tell.

We both swivelled around to see Ezaina bearing down on us, lightsaber drawn.

"REY!" An anguished voice yelled, and Finn leaped in front of her, taking a saber blow from his shoulder diagonal to his hip. One look at his immediate blood loss, and I knew not even Force healing would help him. My heart seemed to stop.

Rey stared in disbelief at her best friend, the one who was dying to save us. "FINN!" She screamed. She looked at the Dathomirian, her eyes smoldering with hate. "YOU SCUM! YOU'VE KILLED HIM!" She continued to yell insults and when she ran out in her language, she switched to a different one, one she picked up on Jakku most likely.

Then Rey did something I hadn't seen her do since... Since Pasaana. It was unintentional, I could tell. She yelled and let out an explosion of lightning. The lightning hit Ezaina straight in the chest, and she was sent sprawling. The only indication that she was still alive was a weak groan that escaped her.

Rey scrambled to get to Finn.

"Finn?" She asked him, now too scared to yell.

"Hey," he said, teeth clenched. He was in a lot of pain. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She made a sound that was something between a laugh and a sob. "You just got slashed with a lightsaber, and you ask if I'm alright?"

He let out a weak, breathy laugh. "That's always how it is, isn't it."