It was a struggle to get to the wreck. The waves were ruthless. They crashed against the skimmer, threatening to throw it right into the depths of the sea. You were soaked to the bone and shivering from the cold as you crawled into the wreckage. Finn had a bad feeling about the entire place, and the feeling only grew when he heard the sound of clashing lightsabers. 

"It's Ren," he said, and you wasted no time to run up to the top of the wreckage. The water rained down on the surface. It was foggy and grey; you almost felt blind. "Rey! Rey!" He ran faster than you could as he went straight to Ren and Rey. 

"No!" she screamed, throwing her hand out. Finn flew backwards, his back skimming the ground. He let out a cry of pain and you rushed to his side. 

"Finn!" you said, your hands on his shoulders. You helped him up. Jannah knelt behind him, her eyes wide on the fight in front of her. As a wave washed over their section of the wreck, they jumped out of sight, landing on some other chunk of metal and steel. "Finn, we need to go." 

"Not without Rey," he said, shaking his head. He got up and ran. 

You grabbed his hand tightly. He nearly pulled your injured arm completely out of socket as you held on as tight as you could. You cried out, "Finn, no! Don't---"

"I can't leave her!" he screamed. 

"We can't follow them!" Jannah was in front of him, pushing his chest back gently. "We can't!" 

"Rey!" Finn cried out. He dropped your hand and you managed to get back on your feet. You stood in front of him now, your hands on his arms. 

"We have to go back," you said, shaking your head. "Come on, Finn." You kept your arm around him as Jannah took you back to the skimmer. Thankfully, it hadn't yet been torn apart by the cold waves that were only growing stronger. You helped Finn onto the skimmer. He was trembling, and you were surprised that you weren't too. Jannah held out her hand to help you back onto the skimmer, and---

And then you felt it. You felt her.

"___, let's go," Jannah said, tugging gently on your hand. "C'mon!"

Finn's eyes met yours as the rush of pain went over you. You looked at your friend and choked out, "Leia."

And then a wave crashed over you, washing you underneath the water and underneath the wreckage. Finn screamed your name, and all you could feel was the absence of Leia, so real inside of you that it was like you were standing right next to her, holding her hand as she went to rest.

*  *  *

Finn and Jannah pulled you out of the water. Your head rolled on Finn's shoulder as he pulled your lower half out. He laid you back on the wreckage. The skimmer had been destroyed after the wave crashed into you. You were dropped on the flat surface and Finn worked on pressing his hands at the center of your chest, trying to work the saltwater out of your mouth. It trickled out until a long string of coughs burst out of your chest. Finn was vaguely aware of the Falcon behind him. 

"Is she alright?" As soon as it opened, Poe was running out of it, panicked. "Finn! Is she okay?!"

Finn lifted you off of the wreck. You were limp in his arms as he turned. "She's okay. She's breathing, she's just---"

"Oh jeez---" Poe took you from Finn and you coughed again. Your eyes fluttered open and you looked at his face. "It's okay, you're okay."

"Poe---" you wanted to tell him, but you were exhausted and your throat burned. 

"Get some rest," he said, bringing you onto the Falcon, "and I'll wake you when we get there."

But Leia, you wanted to say, but you couldn't find your voice anymore.

* * *

When you woke up, your eyes shot open. Right away you panicked, thinking of the water and of Finn screaming and of the lightsabers clashing as Kylo approached Rey, ready to kill her with one final blow---

"Relax." Hands were on your shoulders, pushing you back gently. You were on the floor, on a rough blanket. In the Falcon. And they were Poe's hands that were on you, now moving through your damp hair that lay on your shoulders. "You're alright. You're safe."

"Poe," you croaked. 

"Hey beautiful," he said, a slight smile on his face. "You scared me pretty bad."

You groaned. Your throat was on fire. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean---"

"It's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I was angry and I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that, because you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry too." He kissed you. "We've just landed."

"Landed where?" you whispered. 

"On base," he said. "I need to talk to Leia. I'll meet you out there."

He kissed you again and then stood up. As his heavy footsteps faded away, you remembered why your heart was hurting so badly even when he mentioned her name a moment ago. You shot up quickly and got on your feet. You kicked the blanket away as it twisted all around your ankles. "Poe. Poe, wait! Poe!" You rushed out of the Falcon, squinting against the sunlight. The sight of the green forest you'd called home for so long now would've been warming if only you weren't panicked. "Poe!" 

But you were too late. You saw him right away, his face reflecting straight pain. Finn's eyes grew red and teary. Chewbacca started to cry. And you approached slowly, feeling the loss directly in your chest. Poe was speechless. He opened his arms for you and you walked directly into them, your face against his shoulder. He held onto you tightly. 

"That's why you... that's why you froze up," Finn said in realization. You looked at him and nodded. Chewie fell onto his knees. He pushed away the three of you as you reached out to him, and so you only stood there, holding onto one another, weeping all together as Chewbacca called out in pain. 

*  *  *

Her body was right in front of you, covered with a white sheet. You sat beside Poe in the darkness, watching her. "I felt her go. She was calling out to Kylo and Rey. I think Kylo was about to kill her. I didn't see it, but when I woke up, it felt like I did. I dreamed about it, I guess." You swallowed hard. 

"Is Rey gone?" Poe asked. 

"No," you said. 

"Is Kylo?" 

"No." Your eyebrows pulled together. "She let him go. I guess that's what the General wanted this entire time, isn't it? To save her son from the dark?" He looked at you and nodded tightly. Your fists balled up in anger. "Only he won't be forgiven. Whatever redemption he believes is in store for him... it's all in his mind."

"Poe." Connix rushed into the tent. "We need you. Now."

*  *  *

"Kijimi. How?" 

Your hands trembled as the news set in. The planet that you were just on --- full of innocent people under the harsh hand of the First Order --- with Poe's old friend's and several people who had offered you help only hours before. Dead. Gone. 

"A blast from a Star Destroyer. A ship from the new Sith fleet. Out of the Unknowns."

"The Emperor sent a ship from Exegol. Does that mean every ship in the fleet---"

Poe closed his eyes. "Has planet killing weapons. Of course they do. All of them. This is how he finishes it."

Rose gasped. "Listen! It's on every frequency."

"The Resistance is dead. The Sith flame will burn. All worlds, surrender or die. The Final Order begins."

Rose looked at Poe. "Leia made you acting general. What now?"

"What now?" he repeated softly. He took a step back and shook his head, and then he looked at you. You took his hand. His eyes met yours and he nodded for a moment. "I need... I need a moment. With her. With..."

"Go on," you said. "You can spare a moment."

He nodded, teary eyes, and pulled his hand from yours. You watched as he disappeared into the tent. You turned and looked at Rose, offering a sad smile as she turned back to the equipment in front of her. "He'll be okay."

Inside of the tent, Poe sat in front of Leia's body. He let a few tears fall and then worked on his thoughts. He wished desperately that she were here to help him through this. "I gotta tell you... I don't really know how to do this. What you did... I'm not ready."

"Neither were we." Poe stood. Lando stepped out of the shadows, a smile on his face. "Luke, Han, Leia and me... who's ever ready?"

"How'd you do it?" Poe asked. "Defeat an Empire with almost nothing?"

"We had each other," Lando said. "That's how we won." 

Poe nodded. It seemed that the answer, as simple as it was, was enough. Leia, Han, Chewie, Luke, Lando. Their friends. They never left one another. Just like Poe wouldn't leave Finn or Chewie or Rey or you. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw your shape as you walked by the tent, arms wrapped around yourself.

Outside of the tent, you weren't really sure what to do. You paced in front of it, your hands wringing together. BB-8 followed you on your heels, beeping his concerns softly. "I know," you said, sighing. You couldn't even give him comforting words. "I'm worried too. But we must---"

"___!" Poe exclaimed. You turned around. He grabbed your arms and leaned down to kiss you quickly. "I can't do this without you."

"You weren't going to," you said, blinking in surprise at the sudden kiss on your lips. "What... what is this about?" 

Finn ran up behind him. Poe smiled. "I made Finn acting general with me."

"Oh. Congratulations, Finn," you said to your friend. You smiled. 

"Thank you." He nodded. 

"But Finn discovered something. D-O has a ton of information about Exegol. He was Ochi's droid. He was going to Exegol with him! He was going to bring the little girl the Emperor wanted. The little girl from Jakku. He wanted her alive."

"Rey?"