Summary: Rey saw the darkness in him, but she also saw the light. She just hoped that when they met again, she would see Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren standing in front of her. Set after The Last Jedi.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any characters affiliated with it.
Cover art by elithien, permission for use was given by the artist.

"Let darkness unto darkness tell
Our deep unspoken prayer,
For, while our souls in darkness dwell,
We know that Thou art there. "

A Prayer In Time Of War, Alfred Noyes

Keep Marching On
06: War

"Ben, please, don't make me do this," Rey pleaded with him. She held Luke's lightsaber in one hand and Kylo scowled at this sight – it should have in his, it was his birthright – while with her other, she held out to try and stop him in his approach as chaos waged on all around them.

He scoffed at the name she called him. Before, it would pain him to hear it, especially from her lips. Now, though, he felt nothing. That part of him, he killed – the Light in him was no more. Snoke would have been proud, he grimly thought before returning his attention back to Rey. "I'm going to ruin you, just like I promised your weak Master!" he roared out, his grip on his own lightsaber tightening.

Luke...Kylo was glad that his uncle was dead. He had been a nuisance from the get-go.

Rey seemed to sense that there was no hope of trying to talk to him and let out a resigned sigh. She looked up and for the first time tonight, he was able to get a clear look at her. With dark circles and a cut that streamed blood, she looked tired – almost defeated, if one didn't look closely – but he knew she truly wasn't because her eyes were still clear. They were sharp with anger and determination, and if he looked closer, he thought he saw a twinge of regret within them as well. He wasn't quite sure though, he had forcibly blocked their bond – he couldn't sense nor feel her anymore.

"It's just you and me now." Kylo raised his weapon and she did the same to hers. "You're going to die today."

They circled each other for a few seconds before Rey made the first move – with a cry, her lightsaber swung down and met with his as the heat from the collided blades radiated all around them. Then, she swung her feet to try and trip him – but he saw this and jumped back out of her reach.

"I don't want to fight you, please." It was pointless, she should be saving her words for her fighting.

Kylo ignored her and shot forward, the red of his saber trailing behind him. He brought it down onto Rey and pushed with all his strength; he was successful as her legs buckled beneath her. However, she retaliated by shoving him away with the Force, returning to stand on her feet while her chest heaving with exertion.

The fight between them continued for what seemed like hours – when she would overpower him, he would find some way to overpower her; it was a deadly dance that proved to them just how equal in strength they were.

But they both were getting tired, and after a cut on Kylo's leg and a cut on Rey's arm, they found themselves in a position that resembled that of their first fight on Starkiller Base. Their arms were interlocked with one another as they both, with all their strength, tried to prevent each of their blades from hitting them. With Rey's lightsaber pointed to the ceiling and his against the ground, it was only a matter of time before one of them slipped and killed the other.

Kylo gritted his teeth as his body ached – he was sore all over and the cut he received from Rey's blade pulsed with pain with wave after wave. He locked eyes with hers and at that moment, he knew what he needed to do to get the winning advantage. He tore down the mental wall he so painstakingly built to prevent their bond from forming and in an instant, all of their emotions connected with one other – his pain, her fear, their sadness – and as a result, Rey faltered. Using this as an opportunity, Kylo used all of his strength and tore her lightsaber from her hand. Then, not truly thinking about he was doing, he stabbed her with the nearest weapon he could summon – a sword.

And just like that, their fight was over.

Kylo let go of her hand and pulled the sword out of her, dropping the weapon with a loud clang. They both stared at it for half a second, and as if a fog had passed, the consequence of his decision came to him in full force. All his anger, his pure, unadulterated rage, were replaced with a feeling of shock and shame.

Rey staggered a few steps back as she pressed a hand against her bleeding wound – she took a second to look at it before turning her head up to meet his. There were tears pooling in her eyes as she let out a sob at the realization that...that she was going to die.

And by the hands of the one she loved.

"B-Ben…" She gasped out in pain and Kylo caught her as her legs crumbled beneath her, his body acting more on instinct than anything.

Staring at her shaking body, he thought to himself in disgust, what have I done? He didn't feel accomplished nor did he feel joy, all he felt was a pain, both in his body and heart. "I…"

Rey began looking around wildly as her breathing became labored. "I can't...c-can't see," she sobbed, her blood now beginning to pool all around them at a terrifying speed. Their clothes were soaking in it and the smell of the blood was nearly overwhelming for them both.

"I'm here, I-I'm right here." Kylo grabbed her outstretched hand and gripped it as hard as he could against his chest. "I n-never meant for this to happen, R-Rey."

Rey began coughing and blood streamed down the side of her mouth. "Then...why did you c-cut me out?" with a soft voice, she asked after her coughing fit. "It w-was so...lonely."

Gulping in shame, Kylo led her hand to his blood-splattered face as he shook his head. "I didn't –"

She lightly traced the scar he had given him so long ago before her head fell against his chest, interrupting him. Her breathing began to slow, something he knew was not a good sign. "I thought...I w-was enough."

Rey truly thought that; she never gave up on him, even after everything he did to the Resistance – to her. She believed that Ben Solo was somewhere in him, despite him cutting his bond with her. She had tried everything after that to reconnect it but...whatever he had done, it had prevented her from sensing him and from seeing him. For the longest time, she wondered what he had done, but now she knew.

He had tried to kill Ben by killing the Light.

It made sense when she truly thought about it – she was bound not to Kylo Ren, but to Ben Solo, and if the later was dead, she wouldn't have a connection with him, plain and simple.

"You are, you are enough." He began rocking her as his crying intensified, much to her sadness.

It truly was ironic – for Kylo Ren to die, she needed to. Ben Solo was in him, she saw right now – she just would not live long enough to see him.

"Ben…" He looked down at her and although her eyes were unfocused, they somehow met with his. He was so blurry, she could now only see an outline of him, but...she sensed how sad he was. "...I l-loved you," she couldn't help but whimper. Memories of lonely nights, crying for him, flashed in both of their minds. Memory and memory after that were like a knife in his heart – and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only helplessly hold onto Rey as he was tormented by all her sleepless nights praying to him to reconnect them, to make her whole.

It broke him, it truly did.

In her last moments, Kylo said the words he longed to say to Rey since the day he realized his feelings for her. "...I loved you, too," he cried as he laid his head against hers. Her emotions, in a blaze of glory, flooded his system as her left arm fell onto her chest and the hand in his own went limp. A second later, he felt her breathing come to a stop. Her body stilled and while her eyes were open, they were glazed over.

"No." Kylo quickly lifted his head and placed a hand on her neck to check for her pulse, only to find none. "No." He began shaking her, not caring that he was getting more blood on his hands. "Rey!"

Her brown eyes remained open and he began rocking her in his arms as he screamed and screamed and screamed –

– And suddenly, he shot up from his sweat-soaked bed, breathing heavily, as he felt Rey's blood all over him. Feeling nauseous, he quickly rushed to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet, the feeling of the blood heavy all over his body. After staying at the toilet for a few seconds, he quickly flushed it and began washing his hands – the blood, it needed to come off now.

"No, no, no," Kylo mumbled over and over again, tears streaming down his face. The blood, it wouldn't come off, it would not come off! He nearly scrubbed his hands raw with the steaming water and soap as the dream – vision – flashed in his mind. He saw her eyes, mocking him and when he began to feel nauseous once more, a voice interrupted him.

"Ben, my dear boy." Whirling around, he came face to face with the one man he never expected to see after Crait.

"...Luke?"

The former Jedi Master gave him a grim look. "If you continue down this path, then Rey will die." He pointed to Kylo's hands; they were dripping with water, creating a puddle on the floor – just like the pool of Rey's blood in his vision – and he couldn't help but see exactly that coating his fingers. "And she will die by your hands," he said, telling Kylo the words that he did not want to hear.

"But...my earlier vision –"

"– Has changed. If she had taken your hand in that moment, the vision you saw in the Throne Room was one that had a possibility of happening. However, she didn't take your hand, ultimately changing the course of the future." Luke, who was nearly a foot shorter than him, still managed to feel like the largest man in the room – it seemed that hasn't changed in his death – as his words darkened. "And you will murder the one girl who can save not only you but the entire galaxy." Luke narrowed his eyes as if he had more to say, but he disappeared, leaving Kylo alone in the bathroom once more.

With a shaky step, Kylo backed into the sink as the words Luke said repeated itself over and over again in his mind. "I...I'm going to kill her?" he couldn't help but ask himself.

But what he saw, that was no dream – there was too much detail and he remembered too much. It was much more a memory of something that the fleeting thoughts that dreams were.

Turning back around to the newly replaced mirror, he truly looked at himself – and for the first time in years, he saw not Kylo Ren, but a conflicted Ben Solo staring back at him.

A/N: Hey guys! This chapter was a lot shorter than the last one but I hope that's okay :) I suck at action real bad, which sucks for me because a lot of the fanfics I write require it but...oh whale, a girl's gotta do what a girl needs to – and that's to write.

A quick note: I'm not going to be posting nearly every day after winter break is over. I'll still write as much as possible, but I'm pretty sure that a daily upload isn't realistic, as much as I want it to be *insert crying emoji face*

Also, how do you guys like Kylo in this story? When I first started this story, I didn't have an end goal. After reading Balance by CaptainArwenPond221B, I got so motivated to do something similar that Keep Marching On happened, and now, I think I know what I want to do with it. Would you guys be on board with an actual storyline? The chapter layout and all that will still remain the same, but it'll just be more connected with one another. So...what do you think?

One last thing, do you guys find the poems/quotes/songs thing I do at the beginning annoying? Just a quick question!

But enough about that. Please please leave a review and a fav/follow if you haven't already :)

Until next time!~

Thank you for the reviews! Y'all are amazing reviewers and I want to thank every single one of you guys! I hope I didn't miss anyone, and if I did, just tell me!

HinaLyka: Thank you 3 I'm glad that I can do all that and not tire you because honestly, that's probably one of the worst things a writer can do! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

SqueakyDolphin6: That's a chapter you're going to have to wait to see ;)

Sage McMae: Exactly! No matter how many stories I read, either fanfiction or published stories, I feel that when a person is asleep, they're at their most vulnerable. And if someone is with the said asleep person, it brings out their true emotion, hence the vulnerable Kylo and Rey.

Gwyn2330: Tbh, I'm not sure, but I'll think of something! I hope this chapter didn't disappoint! And I'm not sure when it's the morning for you but...I hope you get this in the morning so you can have it with your cup of joe! (omg, that was cringy but I'm leaving it here anyway.)

metafizyka: Thank you!

Yami Naty: Thank you so much :) I hope that this chapter had enough action and that you enjoyed it.

cresswellshipper17: Yup! Honestly, though, I just read stuff that was on the wikia and out of pure coincidence, I saw a clip of a lightsaber being assembled from one of the tv shows and it matched what I said! And maybe I am hinting at something, maybe I'm not. But letting you in on a secret, I'm a die-hard Rey Kenobi believer so I'm thinking about exploring that in this story. Also, thank you so much for your reviews, they make me super happy!

duke15atm: I thought that including Anakin might be a little tricky but I'm glad I pulled it off :) And the ending was actually super hard to write, I had to rewrite it a bunch of times!

radagast-brown: *screams* Five reviews?! I'm dying – thank you so much! And yeah, how can you not ship reylo? I mean, come on!

Renica Swavely: I didn't think that my story was worth being recommended for so when I read this, I died inside, but thank you so much for the review! And Disneyland was great, thanks for asking *blushing emoji*

Stardust585: Tbh, I think a lot of people didn't ship them until TLJ, and that the movie really brought out more of the tension that some saw between them :) I'm glad that I can portray the characters realistically in the story too, it's one of my biggest worries!

Guest1and Guest2: Thanks!

metafizyka: Me too! I nearly drown in Reylo feels every day on Tumblr.

Madisonmarie: Aww, thanks so much – I hope that I don't disappoint.

Manwathiel: YES, My exact thoughts! Throughout the entire movie, I was like, this is a perfect scene to play a fanfic off of and...well, I went through with that thought! Thank you :)

MaTcHBoOkPoEt: AHHH THANK YOU!

Silmarii666: Thanks so much!

Limeio27: You are too!