CHAPTER 53
THE HOSTAGE

RAENA was vibrating with nerves as the shuttle landed roughly on the grassy terrains of Kef Bir. She was sweating. It felt like a thousand suns were beating down on her as she was pressed closer and closer to the rest of the stormtroopers around her. Perspiration dripped down her face. She was going to throw up. Another voice came through the loudspeaker: "We've just landed on Kef Bir. Rebels have been located a mile away. Soldiers, have your weapons ready. Doors open on three."

Her breathing became erratic. The voice blasting through the speaker started to count down, and she couldn't even focus on that, due to the ringing in her ears. The troopers crowded around held their blasters close to their chest. Raena instinctively followed their lead, but her movements were more sloppy. Helmets were turning in her direction for a short second. They could just tell she wasn't one of them, but no one had enough time to talk. Raena took in one deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, but nothing was ever enough. She had no plan and she was stuck in this stupid, fucking suit of armor. She just needed to do something. She needed to follow Kylo and end this before he could –

The doors flew open, welcoming in a huge gust of wind that almost sent everyone back. The troopers burst through the exit, running down the ramp as it connected with the ground. Raena fell back when the wind hit her and crashed onto the floor of the shuttle. She shouted expletives, but no one could hear as every stormtrooper departed the shuttle and ran for the rebels. Placing her hands on top of her helmet, Raena did her best to shield herself until every trooper left the shuttle. Someone had stomped their boot into her side, but besides that, she was in the clear.

"Ow," she groaned while getting to her feet. Huffing underneath her breath, Raena slowly stretched out her legs and lingered by the shuttle exit, watching the stormtroopers race for a large group carrying old Imperial weapons and mounted on wild orbaks. Within an instant, the group was running for the young and inexperienced troopers, and they were trampled over before they had a moment to scream.

She turned her head to the left. Kylo was driving off towards a mountain of wreckage on a speeder. It looked like the ruins of the second Death Star, and she prayed to the gods to be wrong.

She needed to take off this armor. Raena yanked off the helmet first and wiped away the thick coat of sweat trickling down her face. Pulling off each piece of armor was almost as hard as putting it on, but soon enough, Raena was left in a black t-shirt, pants with built-in knee pads, and her favorite pair boots. She looked down and noticed her shirt had a First Order patch on the sleeve. Raena ripped it off before heading to the cockpit.

Blowing a few tangled pieces of hair from her eyes, Raena half-expected to find someone in the pilot's seat. Her hands formed into fists as she pulled back the doors that led to the cockpit, but found no one there. At least, no one conscious. Laying across the first officer seat, blood dripping from his nose, was Major Sawyer. He was the one talking through the loudspeaker while Kylo had been piloting. He must've knocked Sawyer out before escaping towards whatever wreckage was ahead.

If those ruins were so important, that could only mean one thing ... Rey was there.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." She couldn't stop the obscenities tumbling from her lips. Raena hopped in the pilot's seat and tried looking for the engine start. When she finally spotted it underneath the wheel, she noticed that she needed a key, but there was no key around.

"Gods!" She shouted, hitting her palms against the wheel. "When will this get easier?!" Raena stood and looked on the seat. No key. She bent down, looking under the seat and scanning the floor. Still no key. She looked through almost every compartment she could find around the cockpit. No. Fucking. Key.

She was ready to give up. But then, something shiny glinted against the corner of her eyes. Clutched tightly around Major Sawyer's right hand was a circular ring with one silver key dangling off the edge. Raena's lips pulled upward as she snatched it, plopping herself back down into the cockpit.

She licked at the corners of her lips. As her hand inched towards the engine start, the last thing she expected was the door on her left to fly open. Then it did, and of course, her blaster laid two feet from her. Raena through her hands up in surrender.

A weapon was pointed in her face. Raena opened her mouth to ask for a name, but they were lifting up their goggles, revealing a familiar seat of warm, brown eyes.

"Raena," Indira Beren sighed, "what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Poe pushed through to see who the pilot was. "Nhagy? What are you doing here?"

Indira narrowed her eyes towards him. "I literally just asked that."

Raena still hadn't set down her hands. "Um –"

"Wait ..." Gerardo appeared behind the rebels with Pacey at his side. Raena couldn't stop the smile tugging at her lips once she saw them. "Ren actually let you come with him on a mission? That's surprising."

"Guys, guys! I don't think I have time to chit-chat," she explained. "I stowed away on the shuttle and I need to find Kylo before he kills Rey. He's already heading towards the ruins over there."

Pacey turned his head where Raena was pointing to. "That's not just any ruins, Raena." He jabbed his finger in the same direction. "That is what's left of the Second Death Star."

"And where the only other Sith Wayfinder resides," Indira added.

"Why do you care about Rey so much?" Poe asked, brow raised. "You may have helped us once or twice, but that doesn't make you a good person, Nhagy."

Indira nudged his side, but it was Raena who surprised them all when she replied, "You're right, Dameron." Poe and Indira turned in her direction, pursing their lips with concern. Raena released a soft sigh, "But I'm trying to be. Best you do the same."

Shoving the key in the ignition, Raena sent them a wide smirk. "Mind closing the door for me? We should probably get back to ending this war."

To his own disbelief, Poe found himself smiling her way. Indira shut the door on the pilot's side with a hard slam, and after waving her fingers goodbye, Raena lifted the shuttle in the air. She didn't look down, too afraid that she would go back to her friends and hold them tight. But she kept her vision straight, and it wasn't long before Raena was zooming through the air, heading right for the wreckage of the Second Death Star.

Rain poured down from the sky and onto her windshield, blurring what little she could already see of the ground. She was flying over an ocean. The waves were violent and hurtling against each other as if they were at war. Raena had to dodge the water's wrath whenever it got too high, but it was too powerful. She couldn't see. She had to land or she'd end up crashing right into the cold ocean below. But where exactly?

Looking to her left, Raena finally spotted Kylo and Rey battling it out on one of the wrecked bridges floating in the water. Their sabers collided. Their foreheads glistened with sweat. Rey looked like she was losing strength. But Finn was running across the bridge, ready to help. She pushed him back with the Force, and Finn was sent flying through the air. The anger on her face was terrifying. Something about it was so familiar.

Rey kicked Kylo in the chest. He slid across the ruined metal, almost slipping off the edge of the bridge. He held on, though, even as Rey advanced towards him with such hatred that she could make a thousand armies bow at her feet. She held her lightsaber above her head, panting, preparing herself to land the final blow. All she had to do was ram this right in his chest. All she had to do was this one simple thing in his moment of weakness, and everything would be okay again.

Raena, without thinking, dove the shuttle towards the bridge. She focused in on Rey's eyes. Anger reflected against her dark irises, so much that Raena could swear they had turned red. Rey was going to stab Kylo. She was going to kill him. That was the darkness calling out to her, and the last Jedi could be anything but dark. She had seen the same darkness in Rey when they had killed Snoke, and Raena knew the feeling of that very well. Her heart was beating hard against her chest. If she didn't stop this, Palpatine would find another heir in Rey, and her own lineage gave her even more of an advantage than anyone else. The darkness would take over the galaxy if Rey landed this final goddamn blow.

The shuttle skidded across the surface of the bridge. The wind was so fierce that her door flew open, splashing rain all over her face. Raena huffed, hardly finding air to breathe, as she held her hand out. She shouted, "NO!," and suddenly, the world seemed to stop.

Rey's eyes flickered. They met Raena's across the bridge, and no matter how hard she tried, Rey couldn't move. As long as Raena's hand was out, her actions were halted. Her whole body felt frozen in place. Not even Kylo could bring himself to his feet. Raena was paralyzing them in ways she couldn't even explain.

Her mouth felt hollow. Raena glanced at her hand for a split second, and then back at Rey. "RUN!" She screamed in the brunette's direction. "REY, RUN!"

The Force Stasis lifted suddenly and Kylo found the strength to move his head. He looked over his shoulder from the ground, spotting Raena hanging off the edge of his shuttle. His brow furrowed. "Raena?!" He shouted, but the wind drowned him out.

Turning back to Rey, Kylo knew he had lost again. The scavenger began to sprint off the bridge, heading for Kylo's abandoned speeder, but not before glancing behind and meeting Raena's stare with a warm smile. Despite the violent storm raging around him, that was the first time Raena felt her cold heart crack in a very long time.

But that moment all came crashing down.

In an instant, a crack of lightning was sent from the sky, sizzling down into the deep blue. Raena felt a gust of wind push her back, and then a shudder. The Force imploded in on itself and everyone felt it. Rey had managed to run from it, but Kylo and Raena were stuck in the cataclysm of their own ruination. A heartbeat echoed in their ears, and soon slowed down to nothing. Soon enough, the two could only hear the echo of the violent waves around them.

Someone had died. Someone close to them.

Raena finally allowed herself to breathe. She took in a deep inhale and looked out from the shuttle. Kylo slipped and his back collided against the wet bridge. His saber skidded against the slick surface, teetering over the edge of the bridge.

She took one step off the shuttle, already feeling the rain drench her entire body, but Raena didn't care. She searched for a voice within the Force; she hunted for a familiar tone, but came out with nothing. There was no one. At least, no one she recognized, which could only mean one thing.

Leia Organa was gone.

It felt like the world was caving in on her, crushing her between two thick plates. She watched Kylo's chest rise and fall as he slumped against the bridge, and found her own breathing matching his. He felt it too. He felt his mother's last remaining breaths before she faded away like ashes. Raena, for some reason unbeknownst to her, began to walk towards her former lover, as if the Force was closing in on them, bringing their bodies together like magnets.

From up above, Rey zoomed through the sky on Kylo's combat speeder. The rebels followed her lead on their own ship. Raena and Kylo, however, focused on each other, as the ocean continued to whip across the abandoned bridge.

Kneeling down, Raena placed two fingers on Kylo's wrist. He was still breathing, and she suddenly didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Their eyes connected for a long moment, and Kylo propped himself up on his elbows. Raena leaned away as he turned to the fierce water licking the sides of the bridge. She looked in the same direction, hoping to find the same solace he saw, but there was nothing.

"She's gone," he breathed.

Raena tugged strands of wet hair out of her eyes and nodded. "I know."

Kylo struggled to get up, but soon enough, he was on his feet, walking away from her. He didn't even blink twice that the one girl he was supposed to eliminate got away again, or that Raena had disobeyed his orders. His expression was hazy, something she only saw in times of panic. Kylo was losing his grip on reality, and she'd have to witness it all.

Raena narrowed her eyes as he paused on the edge of the bridge, looking out into the sea. A large wave whipped against the bridge and sent water crashing onto her boots, but Raena didn't move away. It triggered a memory. She remembered the look in Rey's eyes again – the anger, the conflict. The once light-hearted girl had let the darkness in, and Raena didn't know if she could pull herself out. She didn't want to watch her downfall. She didn't want to see her own past reflect into Rey's future. She'd be damned if she let someone so good fall to the dark.

And maybe – just maybe – that was it. Raena once believed her purpose was to bring Kylo Ren back into the arms of his loving mother, but that wasn't true at all. Her purpose was to save Rey from the impending darkness that would soon consume her whole.

Why had she been so insistent on saving Kylo's ungrateful heart? Of course, she wanted to repay Leia, but there had always been something hidden underneath the surface, something she didn't want to admit. Why was her life tied to a man that has kidnapped, tormented, and gaslighted her to no end? It didn't make any sense. Why was she to bear the burden of Kylo Ren's corrupted soul? Why was she chosen to clasp his heart, and he for her, only for him to shatter them both into a million pieces? So many questions, yet so little answers.

But Raena Nhagy had made her choice then. Death had brought them together, and death was the way to end it.

Her hand landed on the hilt of her blaster. Raena's fingers twitched, itching to grasp the handle, as her weapon sat comfortably in a holster on her hip. She walked forward slowly, hardly being able to breathe, and wondered what to do. Could she shoot him in the back when he wasn't looking? Push him off the bridge? There was a realm of possibilities, but every single one he could sense off of her. He was always one step ahead. Raena was determined to change that fate.

She stopped abruptly when Kylo walked a little further back, plucking his saber from where it was skewed on the bridge. He grasped the hilt tightly, looking down at it with a furrowed brow, before he walked back to the edge. Kylo took in a deep breath. Raena gripped the handle of her blaster, expecting him to turn back, to point the blade at her. Instead, Kylo had raised his arm and threw his crackling lightsaber into the deep blue below.

Raena staggered, unable to form a coherent thought. Her hand fell from her blaster. She suddenly found her voice forming the name, "Ben ..."

Kylo turned, dark eyes narrowed in her direction, as he watched her from over his shoulder. His hands formed into fists, and before Raena could take another step towards him, he spun on his heel. Raena's brow knit together. He was advancing towards her, becoming quicker as the seconds passed on, and she could do nothing but watch. She was frozen. His gaze was piercing and violent and even more paralyzing.

He latched a hand on her arm. His fingers clasped onto her wet shirt, digging into her skin. Raena tried yanking her arm away, but Kylo would always be stronger than her. No matter how much she trained, or how muscular she got, he was taller and stronger. He had never handled her this way – so tight and filled with aggression – and Raena was terrified.

"STOP IT!" She screamed over the howling wind. Raena tried pulling away again, but he was already dragging her towards the shuttle. "Why are you grabbing me? Let go!"

"You were right," he seethed, stopping abruptly and leaning in close to her face. Their noses were brushing and Raena could feel his breath on her cheeks. Her heart was beating so fast. "Back there on the ship. You were right. I am going insane. But part of that is because of you. If Hux had never given you that serum ..."

Raena was biting her lip so hard she drew blood. Kylo closed his eyes, pausing for a moment, before dragging her to the shuttle again.

"If you want to act like a hostage, Raena," he laughed darkly, "then you're going to become one. We have to go to Exegol."

•••

A/N: ONLY 3!!! CHAPTERS!!!! LEFT!!!!! (including an epilogue 🤭)