Ben

He wasn't sure how long the screaming lasted. It could've been hours but more likely it was minutes, stretched out by the agonizing pain Rey would be experiencing. At first Ben had lifted his head and looked up at her as she hung suspended in the centre of the throne room, limbs splayed out like a marionette puppet held by invisible strings. Then she began to scream and he'd bowed his head once more and closed his eyes. She would have to endure this alone. He felt numb.

He still could barely believe that she'd come to him. After their last encounter through the Force bond, when their hands had touched and Master Luke had found them together in the hut he'd thought he would never see her again, that Luke would've made her sever their connection or block it out. Instead she came to me. He'd known it was her the moment the troops had informed him that an escape pod had been launched deliberately into The Supremacy. His heart had thumped in his chest, so many thoughts and feelings had rushed through his head. He had been scared. Scared for her.

There was a loud thud as Rey fell to the floor, the screaming finally over. Ben took the moment to rise and stand upright. He regarded her, limp and twitching on the floor. He knew the pain she would be feeling and he also knew that she would be strong enough to overcome it. Snoke was speaking again, although more to himself than anyone else it seemed. Ben glared at him on the opposite end of the throne room. He began feeling his emotions again. Cold fury.

"Skywalker is wiser than I could have ever imagined!" declared Snoke, apparently he was delighted by what he'd seen in Rey's mind. "We shall grant him the death he desires, after the resistance has been destroyed we shall go to him and annihilate his entire island. Along with the remains of the Jedi order."

Rey had forced herself to her feet, though it appeared every motion had caused her pain. Ben knew her well enough to know that the fire in her was far from out, she extended her arm at Snoke and the lightsaber hilt at his side had shot forwards but just before it reached her grasp Snoke gave a lazy flick of his hand and the hilt swung away from her, flew in a semicircle around her head then smacked against the side of her skull. Rey ducked down and cried out in pain, gripping the side of her head in her hand. The lightsaber hilt flew back over to Snoke who replaced it down at his side. Only in his blindest rage had Kylo Ren ever dared to raise a hand to his Master, not the cold, calculating anger from which he drew his strength but in uncontrolled fury. It always ended in his own pain and humiliation.

"Such spunk!" declared Snoke, mockingly.

Before Ben could react Rey reached out towards him, his own lightsaber shot forward from his belt and into her open hand. She grasped it and ignited the crucifix, crimson blade. The guards on either side of the room sprung forward but before they had time to raise their weapons Rey was moving, not by her own will, paralysed, tense once more. She slid along the floor right up to the looking-glass mounted on the right-side of the room.

"And still that fiery spit of hope! You have the spirit of a true Jedi," proclaimed Snoke. "But see, child."

Rey looked down helpless into the looking glass still holding his lightsabre two-handed at her shoulder. From where he stood Ben couldn't see what the looking-glass showed her but he could guess. Even at this very moment the resistance light-craft were making a desperate escape from their crippled flagship and being blown to pieces as they did so by General Hux. She cares too deeply for her friends, that could break her. Ben suspected that Rey would give her own life to save the people she cared about. Suddenly he pictured his mother, as clearly as he'd seen her on the bridge of the rebel flagship seconds before it had been split open by a proton torpedo and thrown her out into the vacuum of space. For me there is no one left to save.

"All is lost, the resistance is finished," declared Snoke.

Rey turned to face Ben suddenly. He stared back at her impassively.

"Don't let him do this, you can save them Ben, you can set things right- arrghhhhh!" Rey was cut off as she was yanked into the air and thrown back down into the centre of the room. The lightsaber fell from her hand and slid, along with Rey, across the floor, coming to a halt feet from where he stood.

Ben stared down at her, frowning. She deserved better than this. Rey was the most naturally-gifted Force-user he'd ever encountered, maybe even stronger than himself and Master Luke, whereas Snoke had had hundreds of years to hone his own formidable power. He knew what he had to do. He reached down and picked up his lightsaber.

"You think you can turn him? Pathetic child! I cannot be betrayed I cannot be beaten. I sense his clear resolve. Son of Darkness, heir apparent to Lord Vader, where once there was conflict I now sense clarity, where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training and fulfil your destiny."

There was a time when he would have been elated to hear his master bestow those titles upon him. Now he felt nothing. He looked down at Rey as she turned once more to look at him. There was still such a fire in her eyes, her deep, hazel-brown eyes. They were the same colour as her hair. His heart started to thump in his chest, he could feel the goose bumps spreading all over his body. Does she know what comes next? Ben's eyes flicked up and glared at the supreme leader, he moved toward where Rey lay defenceless on the ground and at the same moment the lightsaber hilt on the arm of Snoke's throne began to spin round slowly, as if by an invisible hand.

"I sense his mind. I see his every intent. I see him turning the lightsaber, he ignites his blade and STRIKES DOWN HIS TRUE ENEMY!"

Snoke's prophecy came true the moment he finished speaking it. The blue blade at his side exploded into existence, turned so to be igniting into Snoke's side. The lightsaber burst through corrupted skin, organ and bone, searing through vertebrae and muscle. Snoke's body tensed, his eyes widened in shock, mouth open in silent disbelief. Slowly his head turned to look at the blade that ran through his body above the waist. Rey had turned to look too, she stared in stunned silence as the blade moved forward in a perfect line, as it moved it shredded through Snoke's abdomen and arms still resting on the throne.

The supreme leader's dismembered body fell to pieces at the foot of his throne as Ben willed the lightsaber forwards. As it reached her Rey lifted an arm and grabbed the hilt from the air and turned to face him, gripping the lightsaber in her hands. Her face was shock at first then comprehension. She looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. Ben couldn't tell if it was killing Snoke or the way Rey looked at him in that moment that made his heart thump in his chest. He held out a gloved hand to her, still lying on the floor before him. She grasped it, pulled herself up and stood facing him. He ignited his blade, heard it crackle to life and then they just stared at each other; she holding her blue lightsaber and he his red. Their eyes locked once more, connected by the Force itself, both knew what came next but in that moment the only thing that mattered to each of them was the person standing in front of the other.

The guards had sprung to life the moment the lightsaber had sliced through their Master. To Ben it seemed like time had stood still as he and Rey stared at each other and the guards had seemed far off, never getting closer. Now they were bearing down on them fast; blades, staffs and nunchucks raised. Ben and Rey broke their gaze simultaneously. Spinning round they both took a step back so that they were almost back to back, only a few inches separated them as the guards closed in, six on two, three on Rey's side and three on Ben's.

One guard reached Ben ahead of the others, seconds before the first to reach Rey. He swung his lightsaber through a semicircle one way then the other then struck down once the guard was unsure from which side he meant to attack. With lightning speed the blade swung down on the guard, searing through his raised staff and burning him from shoulder to hip. Maintaining the blade's momentum he swung it round in an arc and plunged it into the black onyx of the floor. It exploded in a flash of blinding red-white light, molten stone screaming around the blade. The other two guards leapt back in fright and for a precious few moments he had time to regroup, to check their positions and his own. In another plane in his mind he saw Rey fighting the other three guards behind him, initially she'd gone down to one knee as they approached, striking at their waist and legs, throwing them off for fear of being caught by the unstoppable weapon.

Now she turned quickly and saw the second guard approaching Ben, he'd known they were both coming at once from either side, trying to force him to focus his attack on one side and leave himself open on his other. Now he knew he was protected. Focusing on the guard to his left he swung his lightsaber up over his head, blocking the staff that was swinging down on him, meeting it with his saber horizontal above his head. At the same moment Rey thrust her own blade forward and it seared through the chest of the guard on his right, the blue light exploding through his crimson armour, through his abdomen and out through his spine. The guard went down as Rey yanked the saber out from him and turned again to meet her own attackers who were reeling towards her once more.

Ben was glad she'd made the first kill defending him. His heart was beating twice as fast now, adrenaline was soaking through his body, it was on. As he thrust forward to break the stalemate with his guard he grabbed the staff with one hand, pushing it off with his lightsaber in the other and pulled the guard off balance. The guard tried to pull his weapon back but Ben leveraged the staff so it twisted round to horizontal then swung down on it with his own weapon. The metal of the staff splintered but didn't fully shatter, nonetheless the guard lost a grip on it and fell backwards barely holding on to his weapon with one hand.

As he'd twisted the staff horizontally he'd felt Rey's body pressing against his own. In another plane in his mind he saw that all three guards were bearing down on her, forcing her back behind him, one spun round from the side to land in-between the other two bringing his weapon down with him. Rey managed to meet it with her own blade but left herself exposed to the other two. As the guard pressed her down she'd leaned against Ben's back for support. As Ben had brought his lightsaber down to smash his guard's staff he swung it on in an arc and conducted a force-thrust through the blade. As the saber swung to his side the thrust swung off in an arc behind him and caught all three of the guards in front of Rey and they were pushed back violently by the invisible force.

Rey launched a front kick at the centre guard as he spun away, sending him crashing backwards to the floor. She'd already been pressed against his back so to steady herself and thrust forward she grabbed Ben's thigh, and as he swung his body down with his saber she'd kicked forward. It had all happened in seconds, the guards careering off, the staff breaking, Rey using his own body to push forward. Fighting was an art, a dance, and they moved with close to perfect synchronicity. As well as their natural fighting talent somehow they were bonded, they could anticipate the other's moves, positions and vulnerabilities. Ben couldn't understand it but he knew, didn't have time to think about it, he was perfectly in the moment focused on his surroundings and the here and now. But in the back of his mind he knew one thing: Snoke had overestimated his own power, he hadn't created the bond that existed between him and Rey.

His thigh was still smarting from where Rey's hand had been. She'd grasped his thick quad and calf muscle and he could still feel the tight squeeze she'd given it to steady herself. It was such a good pain. It seemed to give him more strength as he leapt forwards and attacked the guard closest to him, the one whose torso he'd previously sliced down on. The battle took Rey and Ben to opposite sides of the room, the guard that Rey had kicked to the floor had pushed himself back up into a fighting stance and joined the fray fighting Ben; one of the guards battling him had already been wounded badly and between himself and Rey the guards had judged that he would put up the stronger fight. They were probably right, Rey had bested him in single combat before but he had more experience fighting multiple skilled opponents at once, it wasn't as though Master Luke could send several fighters against her at once, in this meleƩ he was glad to draw some of the guards away from her.

Snoke's personal guard were a group of the most skilled fighters in hand-to-hand combat, their discipline was unmatched and they were utterly without mercy. But they weren't force users and Ben was a superb fighter himself, violent and composed, brutal and intelligent. The three guards closed in on him, two at his side and one at his front. Each of them brandished long staffs tipped with blades of cortosis, one of the few lightsaber-resistant substances in the galaxy, conducting crackling, angry, orange sparks through them. Like their armour each guard's weapon was slightly varied, one that appeared to be a two-handed sword, one with several barbed blades, one that could split into two smaller twin blades.

He lurched towards the guard ahead of him, forcing the other two to close the distance between them. He swung his lightsaber wide from his left side, the guard caught it with his sword and through it off, swinging his own blade, one handed towards Ben. Ben stepped back, spun round, turning kick to the guard on his left, attacked the other with his lightsaber, their weapons crashed together once, twice, three times, neither landing a blow on the other. Stepped back. Took in his surroundings. From another plane in his mind he saw a different guard swing an electrically-charged whip at the blue lightsaber before him, somehow it coiled around the blade and the guard slowly began dragging the weapon and Rey closer to him.

He snapped back to his own surroundings, the guards were on him again. He lashed out at them, diving in close with deadly swings of his saber then ducking out, always moving, always looking for a space. Never allow them to form up or work together. Break them apart then look for an opening. Strike. Back off. Break apart. Opening, strike, away. The immaculate throne room was transformed to a violent hellscape, the floor burning from constant clashes with lightsabers, flames growing and engulfing the surrounding fixtures, dead guards thrown down, blood pooling round their broken bodies from grizzly, instantly-cauterizing lightsaber wounds.

The three guards had finally manged to surround Ben once more, he raised his lightsaber to head-height and held it two handed, pointing it threateningly at each of the three guards as he circled around his own compacting space, daring them to approach him. He heard a yelp of pain from his right and turned to look at its source. Rey had wasted one of her guards but the other was pressing in on her, holding two twin blades in each hand he had caught her lightsaber with one of his blades and sliced viciously into her bicep with the other. The cut was deep and instantly flared as blood seeped from it.

The sight of her blood, the sound of her scream, suddenly the only thing that existed to him in the throne room was the girl on the other side of it. His body became hypersensitive, he didn't need to look at his attackers, he could sense them moving through the fabric of the universe. His mind calmed, cold clarity. Pause, calm. Vaguely he was aware of a burning cable hanging from the ceiling nearby. He reached out through the force, it swung towards the guards, distracting them for a fraction of a second. It was all he needed. He swung his lightsaber over his head, took two strides towards the nearest guard and clashed their blades together, pure crimson light searing into unbreakable, scorched metal. Barely pausing he threw off the guard's weapon in one violent jerk then swung his saber with lightning speed and thrust it up through the guard's torso. In a second he went limp, dead weight falling on the lightsaber, Ben pulled the blade out of him in a single, sharp yank then turned to face the other two, who hadn't dared to approach.

He came at them, focusing his ferocity at one, whilst keeping the other at bay by setting the burning cable on him with his mind. The guard was fast, deflecting his unrelenting strikes with superb efficiency, Ben had to admire his speed, strength and stamina. But still he pushed the guard closer to the raised control panel on this side of the room. Distracting him with relentless attacks from his lightsaber, Ben suddenly wheeled away from the guard sending him spiralling to one side. The guard lost balance, fell sideways into one of the exposed ventilator shafts, disappeared down it then reappeared momentarily in a gruesome spurt of red gore; a mix of armour, blood and guts.

His last guard had managed to creep up behind him and in one fluid motion threw his staff over Ben's neck and squeezed. Ben went down to his knees, thrown off by his own erratic motion, he lost his grip on his lightsaber as he struggled to wrap his fingers around his enemy's weapon with his free hand. He pulled desperately, gasping for air, using all his strength just to allow a small stream through. He struggled but the Praetorian guard was unflinching, he pulled his weapon up into Ben's neck with all his body strength and dug his knee into the small of Ben's back at the same time. The pain in his back was throbbing and getting worse, Ben clenched his teeth trying desperately to throw off the staff across his neck. His vision was starting to blur, his windpipe was crushed, and then from far off he heard a girl call out BEN! Something silvery flew towards him. He released his hand from the staff around his neck and reached out, putting all his faith in the girl who had shouted his name.