Battle

"I think it's time we meet again." His voice was coarse and void of emotion. Her defenses stood on edge, clearly startled by the words she had said many times before, but were just now being echoed by him through the Force. It made her uneasy.

"What made you change your mind?" Rey retorted, unable to understand her own hesitation. Wasn't this what she wanted?

Ben's black eyes searched for hers and held them captive. "You know why." His eyes were so warm and so close. She could feel his calm breath on her skin. Closer still, yet never touching. The tension was about to break the world in two. Rey's heart sank and tore again because she knew the words before he even said them. "We need to put an end to this. It has to be you and me."

The warmth in his eyes sharpened into a perfect blade and he became savage again. The darkness eyed her with hunger, ready to hunt and leap and devour. The light was gone and there was only Ren. But she had already learned to look past this barrier and push him through. She knew which buttons to push. "You'd better survive today then, so we can meet after the battle."

The black orbs wavered for a second, as both their hearts faltered. Her brown eyes remained steady and strong, and he felt his hands begin to shake in a rapture of passion. He knew what would happen if their skin touched, as it had happened every time before. Feelings would overflow. Walls would crumble. Their worlds would inevitably change, as happens when staring out into the horizon too long. Glimpses into a possible future before a life-defying battle was the last thing either of them needed. Their minds required to be balanced and clear. It was the only way to survive.

"Rey."

But by now they had already let their minds go, and both their hearts were racing ahead of them. Across the stars and beyond the reaches of the galaxy, they closed the space between them, and as their lips touched for the first time, they witnessed the outcome of the battle from the other's perspective.

Rey's skin was in flames. Her ship tumbled and burst aimlessly through space. A direct hit. Unless she got the ship under control, she was done for. She reached frantically for the controls, only to realize in horror that not only half of the ship was missing, but she no longer had a left arm. She regarded her large, manly frame, draped in black and stained with red. It wasn't just her, or rather, his arm, that was gone: A large portion of the left part of Kylo's body had been blasted into nothing.

Another explosion. They were still firing. As the blast flooded what remained of the chamber with green light, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. Any fear, any doubt or any pain that he had been subject to shadowed completely after this. Half of his face had been erased entirely by the fire and he had no idea how he was still alive, or how what was left of him had not just been swallowed by the vacuum of space. What was holding him together? What had sent his body colliding out of control? How much longer could he endure this pain?

Then, he saw it. Still inside, still beating, completely exposed. Unwilling to give in, but tattered and tired. Raw to the very core. His weary heart. The beats weakened, slowed and began to become silent. The remaining charcoal eye turned and looked straight at Rey, before fading completely into darkness.

"No!" she screamed, as she pried away from him, breaking the connection and pulling back into their lonely corners of the galaxy. Her skin still felt hot from the fire, despite the coldness of her empty room. For just a moment, she allowed the fear to control her. It was like taking a dive in a dark, cold pool, where she didn't know what may lurk underneath. The mere sensation of the icy cold engulfing her was enough for her sanity to waver. Rey allowed the panic to overcome her, but then pulled herself together again. The warmth within her began to spread swiftly, driving away the terror. She found a memory, and clung to it, as she had done so many times before, in order to awaken the power inside.

She found the spark of hope she needed in a lesson she and Ben had learned together, on those long, not-so-lonely nights, when the Force had intervened and had imposed each other's company. They had been discussing an apparently straightforward phrase found in the ancient Jedi texts she had been translating: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. She had always been taken by surprise by the clarity in Ben's voice as he discussed the ways of the Force.

"We need to be careful not to confuse knowledge with the Truth. These visions we see when we touch are not the Future, but possible outcomes in the future. They are true, but not the Truth. Nothing is set in stone, not even our will. I believe we see what we need to see in order to make a choice. We can either accept this future and push towards it, or do whatever is in our power to make sure it doesn't come to be."

Rey had run her fingers over the Jedi text as he spoke, letting his interpretation sink in and shift her balance. At the same time, she imagined that the withered parchment was young, strong, pale skin. Inches away, and longing to feel her too. This knowledge was the power she needed to gather herself.

She finally caught her balance and steadied her breath. Little could be done with her heart's rhythm. It bashed unsteadily in her ribcage, full of feeling, but without a trace of fear. She knew she could still save him. The Light was calling her, and the path was open and clear. It all came down to a choice.

Ben understood this, yet he clung to the Dark Side. This was a seemingly contradictory election, but the Dark Side had given him the thing he needed and could find nowhere else: a place to hide his secrets. A place to hide his motives. A place to hide himself. And now the Force had linked her to him, feeding the idea that he was following the right path. He had to be. She was there with him as well.

Her taste lingered on his lips, along with the feeling of her warmth against his. Ben's skin had burnt too, but it was a different type of heat. He could still feel how his heart had raced and sweat had trickled down his face and onto hers like tiny flames. Their breaths had become rasped and deepened while their bodies collided. Harder and deeper, as the connection began to reach its breaking point. His eyes hunted hers, urging her to stay focused. Together, they found balance and the universe burst within.

"Ben."

In an instant, he was her and himself, and everything made sense. She brought him peace, despite how much he'd fought it off. He would succumb to her. All was already lost.

Buried deep in the Dark, silent yet present, lurked a truth that was more powerful than any allegiance, than any desire, than any hope. It was always meant to be his downfall. Kylo had known this for a long time, but now it had decided to peek out, spreading the total darkness it was tinged in. The Dark rushed forward, out from within him and then into her. It was consuming her, filling her with the same anger and hate that had turned him into the monster that he was. It threatened to destroy the light that shone within her, so she could meet with him in the darkness. But only if he were to survive…

This possible future loomed before him like a beautiful nightmare. Despite the outcome, his mind lingered on how they had both smiled and welcomed life, if only for an instant. How dare he believe he deserved this? How could he possibly think she did? It was just a sad truth built on lies. It would simply crumble in the end.

Like everything else had, after Charlie…

Kylo Ren let the rage overpower him. He had dug deep and touched a very tender heartstring. He needed the power that his pain bled back to him. He had to find the strength only his anger could provide. He had to concentrate. He had to lead and fight. But most of all, he needed to survive.

Wasn't that what she had asked of him?

With embers still caressing both their skins, they pursued sleep, but it was elusive and unforgiving. Always the same dream. Always burning skin, and a feeling of hopelessness at the end of the battle.