You were staring right at Luke Skywalker's face - for the first time in years.

"I came to face him, Leia. And I can't save him."

"I know," she said. "I held out hope for so long, but... I know my son is gone."

She looked at you. Slowly, Luke did, too. 

You glanced between the two siblings, feeling your heartbeat quicken.

Luke stood. "Rey told me you were with him. I didn't want to believe her."

"Why?" you whispered, your voice full of hatred. "You'd hoped they killed me all those years ago, huh? You blame me for dragging your nephew down with me. Maybe I was the reason he decided to completely flip, but it wasn't my plan to make that happen. We were just kids." Tears were in your eyes. "I never asked for this life. Ben didn't either. The Force willed it this way. You want to blame me for this? Fine. You want to kill me for it? I have no power to stop you."

He didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to his sister and said, "You say your son is gone. But Leia... no one's ever really gone." He then pressed something into her palm and then pulled his hand back. Then he stood and kissed her head gently.

When he turned back to you, he waved his hand. "You're coming with me," he said. 

You followed him as he headed towards the outside.

Everyone watched as Luke left, you following several feet behind him. He held up a hand, telling you to wait - before he stepped out of the mine himself, standing before entire First Order.

/ / /

Kylo couldn't believe what he was seeing. 

It was bittersweet, seeing Luke Skywalker standing in front of him. In a way, it was freeing. Finally, he had his chance. Everything he had been waiting for was about to play out. Luke had given up. 

But Kylo didn't have you by his side to see it happen. Everything you had worked for and dreamed of was dashed just minutes before what could've been your victory. 

After all you had endured. The abuse, the fighting, the struggle-

And you were killed anyway.

That fueled him to be full of such strong hate that he shook. 

"I want every gun we have to fire on that man," he said, jaw tight. 

"Are you out of your mind?" Hux questioned. 

Kylo ignored him. As strange as the order seemed, he knew how dangerous Luke Skywalker was. And he was so overcome with grief that all he wanted was to see his uncle perish in front of him. 

"Do it," he said. 

One hit. Two hits. Three. 

"More!" he shouted, hands balling into fists. 

Salt flew up into the air, red and white flying upwards. As the ships fired rapidly, through the explosions of salt, he saw someone else.

He sucked in a sharp intake of air and staggered forward. "Wait!" he shouted, throwing out his arm. "Stop! Hold your fire!" 

"Would you make up your mind-" Hux started. 

"Hold you fire I said!" Kylo shouted. 

They obeyed. 

The red dust settled-

He held his breath-

Did he really see-

Yes. There you were. 

Just behind Luke, in cuffs, you stood.

"She's alive," he said, and then he whispered, "You're alive."

He felt you calling to him.

His grief was replaced with anger. He felt it surge inside of him. 

"Let me off," he said, teeth clenched. "Now."

/ / /

Kylo's ship landed. You didn't move as it did, nor did you as the ramp dropped and you saw him walking down it. 

But you wanted to.

You wanted nothing more than to run to him.

He stood several feet away from Luke and stopped. His eyes were on you, and you knew that he was checking to see if you were okay. You nodded to assure him that you hadn't been touched or harmed. He nodded in return, and then shifted his eyes to Luke with the coldest glare.  

"Did you come to say you forgive me?" he asked. "To save my soul?"

"No," Luke said. 

"Then are you going to kill her in front of me?" he asked, voice shaking with anger. "So I can pay for what I did to Han Solo?"

"No, Ben," Luke said. 

Kylo took out his lightsaber and ignited it. He was seething as he stared at his old master. 

"You'll let her come back to me now," he said. 

Luke held up a hand. "I want to apologize to you both, Ben. I failed you two. I'm sorry."

"I bet you are!" he screamed. "Give her back."

"Listen to me-"

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you now," he said. 

"I know you are planning on killing me anyway," Luke replied, shaking his head. 

Kylo's eyes flashed. "You deserve it. Do you have any idea what you put her through? Oh - yes, you did. You knew. But in your eyes, she was just a monster that didn't deserve anything but what waited for her at home."

"I was wrong."

"Yes," he said. "You were. She is no monster."

"I know, Ben."

"And yet you treated her like one," he hissed. 

Luke kept pressing. "I didn't think-"

"You'll let her come back to me now," Kylo said for the second time. When Luke hesitated, he said louder, "I told you to now."

"You both deserve better than this life, Ben," Luke said, softly. "You love her."

"Of course I do," he said. "She's all I have left."

"That is not true, you know that." 

"She is all I want. All we wanted is to be together," he said. "You knew that. And you tried to take her from me. Not again. I won't let it happen again." 

With a cry of anger, Kylo ran forward, swinging his lightsaber at Luke.

Luke ducked easily, and then stepped around. He and Kylo swapped places. 

When Kylo was next to you, he grabbed you by the arm and pushed you behind him. He held up his weapon again. 

Luke ignited his lightsaber. 

You wished you weren't still locked in your cuffs; as Kylo and Luke faced off; your husband sprinting towards his enemy, weapon raised, movements wild and chaotic, you could only watch and stagger out of the way. 

Luke dodged every single hit.

"The Resistance is dead," he said, "The war is over. And when I kill you, I will have killed the last Jedi." 

"Amazing," Luke said. "Every word of what you just said... is wrong. The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi."

As he spoke, you felt someone else. 

"Rey," you whispered. You turned around, hands still cuffed in front of you, and saw her-

She was on the same planet as you-

But you could see her. 

Her eyes shifted to look at you, and then she vanished. 

Kylo was shaking. "I'll destroy her... and you... and all of it."

Luke put his weapon away. "No," he said. "Strike me down in anger and I'll always be with you. Just like your father." 

You jumped out of the way as Kylo ran forward, shouting, weapon raised again. He brought it down on Luke and went right through him. Shocked, he glanced down at his feet, seeing the trail of red that only he had been leaving in the salt. He turned and looked at Luke, who turned around, untouched. 

You walked over to your husband's side quickly, both of your bound hands grabbing his single free hand. He didn't look at you while you stared in shock at Luke, who was not affected as Kylo touched his chest with the tip of the lightsaber. 

"No," he whispered, taking his weapon away. 

"See you around, kid," Luke replied. 

You turned towards the now empty mine directly behind you. "They tricked us. They tricked us."  

Kylo looked at the entrance and his eyes widened in realization. He let out a loud, drawn out scream.

And you felt Luke's presence in the Force vanish - not painfully, agonizingly, like you wanted - but peacefully and quickly.