Rey caught up to Finn who was still steadily making his way to the refreshment table.
"Finn? Finn!" Rey called his name but he never looked at her. He just kept walking. She knit her eyebrows together in concentration and said, "Finn, stop and look at me."
Finn stopped. He looked at her, blinking. Rey waved her hand in front of his face a few times. Eventually recognition filled his dark eyes and Finn gave her a bright smile, "Rey! You look...wow. I mean, wow," he said looking at her up and down.
"Uh, thanks. Are you okay?" Rey asked, concerned.
"Why wouldn't I be? What's the matter?" Finn answered.
Rey turned back to look at Ben, but he was gone. She wondered briefly if she should go after him… immediately her mind snapped, are you crazy? She sighed and shifted her attention back to Finn.
"Nothing. I guess… I just wanted to ask if you, still wanted that dance? I mean, if you still want to." A small part of her was wishing he'd say no. She liked Finn, but she knew she didn't want to be more than friends and he just seemed too eager to explore their relationship further.
"Of course!" His face lit up, but then he frowned. He lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head self consciously and gave her a timid smile. "I guess I didn't really think this through. I, uh...don't really know how."
Rey flashed him an encouraging smirk. "They're playing slower song. Those are easy. Put your hands on my waist," she instructed. Finn did as he was told, but when his hands started shaking detectably, Rey asked him again if he was alright. He only managed to nod, he didn't trust himself to speak. He never in a million years would have thought he'd ever be this close to a pretty girl. And with his hands on her… Finn gulped nervously and stopped that line of thought before it got him in trouble. Rey lifted her hands and interlocked her fingers behind his neck.
"You sure you're feeling well?" She asked doubtfully. He looked like he was about to be sick. Even the dark skin of his cheeks seemed on the grayish-side. She hoped all the Force pushing on his mind hadn't addled him in some way. Finn nodded again, trying very hard to keep his eyes on hers and not on her gowns 'v' neckline.
They moved in a small circle, rocking from side to side. Rey felt her mind drifting to back to Ben, and where he could have gone. Back to their kiss… She unconsciously wet her lips with the edge of her tongue and pulled her lower lip in, biting it gently.
"You know, I wish I could take it back," Finn said, breaking her inner thoughts.
Rey looked at him confused, "Take what back?"
"Me leaving. Running from the First Order on Takodana. Running away from my only friends. From you…"
He swallowed and continued, "Maybe if I had stayed, Kylo Ren never would have gotten his hands on you." His grip on her tightened. "There isn't a second I don't regret it. It was the biggest mistake of my life. Lying to you, saying I was resistance, trying to be something I'm not. Letting Ren take you."
Rey stopped and cupped Finn's face with her soft hands. "But you came back for me. You, Han and Chewie, against the whole Starkiller Base! We helped save everyone here. Look around Finn! All these smiling people, they're alive, because you were brave enough to face them. You are Resistance, Finn. You were from the moment you decided you weren't willing to kill for the First Order, defying everything they taught you...to do what was right." She smiled and let her hands fall back behind his neck.
As Finn took in Rey's words, hope swelled in his chest. He was the happiest he'd ever been in his whole life, up to that moment. He never wanted to let her go. If only he could tell her how he felt. He finally mustered up enough nerve to at least say, "I didn't realize before, but you...you make me want to be a stronger person. A better man."
Rey's cheeks reddened. This was getting way personal, too fast. She said, "I'm… I...guess that's good," she replied awkwardly.
Finn kicked himself inwardly for being an idiot. He didn't mean for their conversation to get so, uncomfortable. Trying to fix it, he changed the topic. "So, we have the map to Skywalker now. I mean, if R2-D2 doesn't wake up soon, we still have…" Finn paused. He hated to say that creep's name, "...Kylo Ren's old empire archive notes. I never asked, but what will you do now?"
"I haven't really thought about it, or decided yet," Rey said truthfully.
"If anyone could teach you how to use the Force, who better than Luke Skywalker?"
Rey shot a glance at the stone pillar where she had first seen Ben tonight, then back to Finn. "I suppose I won't decide until after the General's war council tomorrow morning. I think Ben had some intel he was going to release about the Order. I'll hear what he has to say, and then… I don't know, maybe you're right. But could someone like me train with the last Jedi? I'm just a scavenger," she smiled, embarrassed.
"You're the best person I've ever known, Rey." Finn said without hesitating and with total sincerity. "If you don't have what it takes, I can't imagine who would."
Rey cast her eyes down sheepishly. She wasn't used to so much flattery.
The band started playing another song. A much louder, faster one. Finn looked at her for guidance but she shook her head and said, "I'm not sure how these go." They stopped and watched everyone else for a little bit before they too, both started moving to the quick beats. Finn tried his best to copy the other dancers but was hopelessly lost. Rey on the other hand was very graceful, and fluid. The smallest jut of her hips made the bottom of her dress flare outward nicely and more of her chestnut hair escaped from her top bun, curling delicately around her face.
Suddenly Rey stopped, causing Finn to almost crash into her. She felt a huge disturbance coming from outside. She didn't know what she was feeling exactly, only that something...something was wrong. Finn looked at her troubled features and asked loudly, overcompensating so he could be heard over the music, "Everything alright?"
"I think...I think Ben's in trouble," Rey said uncertainly.
"How do you know that? I don't even see him in here. Besides, I'm sure he is the trouble, if there is a problem," Finn said, shrugging.
Without warning Rey gasped as she sensed a huge wave of the Force being channeled. Her instinct kicked in and she grabbed her alabaster gown in her hands and bolted for the exit.
"Wait! Rey!" Finn shouted after her. He ran, chasing her but she was too fast and he was hard pressed to just keep her in his sights. He only managed to catch up when she paused, just outside the building. Finn huffed and puffed, catching his breath. "W-what's, going on?"
Rey didn't answer him. She had her eyes closed tight.
Ben? She tentatively reached out with her mind. No answer. Just a quiet hum of energy coming from the trees ahead. She went to free her lightsaber from her inner thigh holster before delving into the woods to investigate.
"Where were you hiding that?" Finn asked brazenly, eyeing her lightsaber.
Rey blushed from embarrassment and glared at him before saying, "None of your business!" She started moving towards Ben's energy.
"Where are we going? Into the woods? I don't see or hear anything…" Finn grumbled. Of course Kylo Ren had to be causing some kind of dilemma, ruining his night with Rey. But what disturbed him the most is that Rey somehow knew...like Ren and her had a connection. He didn't like that. He didn't like that at all.
Ben had left the cheerful room of partygoers and walked briskly towards the building's exit with his fists still tightly curled. If the mere fact that he was Kylo Ren wasn't enough to scare the random people in the hall, his fierce scowl would've done the trick. They scattered like roaches exposed to the light in their haste to get away from him.
He extended his hand and thrust the doors open without touching them. The cool outside breeze made the tails of his outer red robes swish around his legs as he continued his violent pace.
Without breaking a stride he used the Force to launch a heavy nearby rock into the sky. When gravity presented the stone behind him, Ben activated his lightsaber rapidly and cleanly sliced the boulder in half with pristine precision. The two halves hit the dirt with a soft thud. He strode further until he met a cluster of thick trees. He slashed vehemently at them until he had several stumps surrounding him, their tops all varying degrees of flat or uneven edges. He Force-flung more rocks high into air.
He closed his eyes. He felt and located every stone, calculating when each would be within striking distance. There was a few seconds of peace where Ben just stood still, holding his weapon, and waiting. With the Force flowing through his body, time seemed to compress...to delay.
Then he sprung into action, jumping on the first stump. He spun and pirouetted from tree to tree top, slashing and whirling his saber as the rocks rained down all around him. He flipped backwards and landed. Moments after his boots hit the dirt, the small pebbles and dust began to fall, encompassing the immediate area with fresh gravel. The small exercise had helped to soothe his burning rage. He normally would have liked to decimate a slew of training bots, but the stones had done well in a pinch. He began looking around for more things to destroy.
Someone from behind Ben began to clap a series of slow, unimpressed claps.
Ben didn't need to turn around to know Poe Dameron was there. Poe stopped his lackluster applause and drew his new blaster from his hip holster and pointed it at Kylo Ren's back.
Ben straightened. Without turning to face Poe, he said unconcernedly, "Mr. Pilot..."
Poe Dameron wasn't alone. Ben reached out with the Force and felt five other hostile souls hiding in the shadows, all in a line with Poe in the middle. That made six enemies total. Hardly a challenge.
"Have you come to kill me?" Ben asked disinterestedly, trying to keep the amusement from his voice. He rotated and twisted his activated lightsaber before defaulting to a relaxed stance. His posture was meant to lure his enemies into a false sense of security. Ben may have looked casual but he was poised to strike, like a viper waiting to pounce upon unsuspecting prey. His back remained exposed as he waited for Poe to respond.
"You may have fooled…" Poe paused, trying to form a complete sentence. "Shome people here, but we both know what you are. A traitor! And a murderer!" Poe snapped viciously. "You! You don't belong here. Your presence ish...a slap in the face of every...noble...Resistance fighter who've died because of you!"
Ben shifted so that he now faced his assailants. They each had their weapons pointed at him. "This scenario seems vaguely familiar," Ben said, tapping his chin thoughtfully with his left index finger. "Oh yes, if I recall correctly...it didn't end so well for you before. Don't tell me you are foolish enough to try again. Even with help," Ben dropped his left hand back to his side and looked at the Resistance men with a condescending smile. He could feel their fear and doubt building. Most of the men weren't as drunk as Poe, and they shifted uneasily. They did however, stand their ground with their leader.
Ben continued, "Do you really enjoy tempting fate so? It must be an extreme trait you pilots share. Your boldness is however, slipping dangerously towards stupidity."
Poe growled menacingly, "I know you can shtop one blaster bolt, but six at once? I think the odds are...againsht you." He raised his gun to level with Ben's head. Poe's aim was unsteady and wavered dramatically.
"That sounded almost like a threat. Go back inside before you hurt yourself. I would sooner kick a puppy than fight you," Ben said coolly.
"That'sh hard to imagine...you kicking a puppy," Poe retorted sarcastically. "I think," he hiccuped audibly, "a more accurate de...description would be, 'You would sooner shlaughter an entire litter of puppies'."
Before Ben could respond Poe shouted for his friends to fire, and they did, launching six green bolts straight at Ben simultaneously. Ben easily deflected all the bolts with his red lightsaber, careful to redirect them away from his attackers. The last thing he needed was a bunch of dead rebels. He Force-pulled everyone's blasters out of their grasp but Poe's, who had a death grip on his gun with both hands, prepared this time against Ben's disarming attempt.
Poe fired one more beam that Ben froze in the air between them. It was an intense recreation of their first meeting on Jakku. A blazing green laser instead of the blue, but no less dangerous as it hovered, stationary. Ben clamped Poe's limbs together preventing him from moving.
"That. Was ill-advised," Ben said softly. His patience was wearing thin. It was time to teach these idiots a lesson. He deactivated his saber, and clipped it to his belt. Before they could run, Ben extended his hands out and choked the five other men until they collapsed from lack of oxygen. Ben turned his deadly stare to the last standing man, Poe.
"You would do well to remember…" Ben said as he lifted Poe until his toes barely touched the ground. "...That even though I'm no longer a Knight of Ren, I'm no Jedi. There is only one reason I don't kill you." Ben slowly pulled Poe closer toward him, and inevitably, closer to the suspended green blast. "And I don't need to disclose my reason to you. You are no real threat. Believe me, if you were, we wouldn't be having this conservation. I eliminate real threats to my being. And lucky for you, we share a common enemy at the moment. Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order."
Poe was gasping for air, and his eyes darted fearfully towards the heated green beam, which was now only inches from his body. The immediate threat of doom was very sobering and Poe realized too late his deadly mistake of provoking Kylo Ren a second time.
The glowing edge of the blast's end was now next to his shoulder and Poe released a muffled groan of pain as it pierced him.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Screamed a female voice.
Ben released Poe, who collapsed into the dirt beneath his feet. The pilot whimpered as he tried crawling away from Ben, clutching his injured shoulder. Rey launched herself at Ben with her blue lightsaber activated and began slashing furiously at him. Ben dodged her attacks and retreated, finally letting the green bolt loose, which whizzed by him narrowly. Finn rushed to help pull his friend Poe away from Ben, staring wide-eyed at the rest of the unmoving men on the ground.
Ben didn't draw his weapon against Rey, instead he held his hands up in a non threatening gesture. She didn't buy it for a second. But she did stop slashing at him. She held her saber steady, willing to fight Ben again at the drop of a hat. Her shoulders heaved as she breathed angrily. "I knew it. I knew you were nothing but a two-faced, scheming liar!" She snarled at him. However angry she was, she couldn't bring herself to kill Ben while he stood there, not drawing his weapon to defend himself.
She didn't understand why Ben's actions caused her to be this dismayed. She should have been glad he had revealed his true colors at last. Instead she felt...betrayed. It was irrational, he owed her nothing. No loyalty. But she found that she had wanted him to be an ally...she had wanted to trust him. And now...these men were dead.
A strange woman emerged from the shadow of a tree she had been crouching behind and walked past Finn and Poe. She apprehensively approached Rey and Ben. Finn tried to grab her and pull her back, but she dodged him.
"Hey, lady! What are you doing?" Finn called out to her.
Although she was shaking like a leaf, the woman moved between Ben and Rey, and turned to face the lady in the white dress.
"Get away from him!" Rey called to the woman, trying to warn her. Then to Ben she shouted, "That's a new low even for you! Release her, you scoundrel!"
Ben recognized the woman instantly. She was the mother of the falling boy. He looked from the mother to Rey, who apparently was under the impression he had used the Force to compel this woman to use herself as a human shield.
Ben, whose hands were still up, said to the woman gently, "There's no need for you to be in the middle of this mess, you should leave."
"N-Not until I do what I came here for," the woman said timidly, still eyeing Rey's saber. She then faced Ben and continued, "I wanted t-to...thank you for saving my son." She practically squeaked the last sentence.
Ben's eyes flickered to the mother's briefly before returning to Rey's. "It was nothing. You should go back."
The woman nodded before backing slowly away from both of them. She gave Rey one final glance. "You should know...they," she gestured to the bodies, "...fired first..." With that said, the lady ran swiftly until out of sight.
Finn, who had stayed silently behind Rey, stepped forward, glaring at Ben. "Even if what that woman said was true, which it probably isn't, you still killed five people!" he pointed to the men lying in the dirt..
Ben didn't bother addressing Finn. He kept his gaze fixedly on Rey. "I didn't kill them… They're drunk. Use the Force, Rey. You can sense their hearts still beating… For now," he added with contempt.
Rey held her lightsaber tightly, not willing to fall for any more of Kylo Ren's tricks. Then one of the alleged corpses let out a moan. She released a tiny gasp in surprise. She did reach out then and found what Ben had said was true. The men were alive. She lowered and deactivated her weapon.
Ben relaxed too. He didn't want to fight Rey. It would be counterproductive to his ultimate goal of swaying her to be his apprentice.
"You still attacked Poe!" Finn scowled at Ben, as he helped Poe to his feet and tucked his head under Poe's arm to help his friend stand.
"I won't deny teaching him a him a small lesson. Perhaps this one will finally sink into his dull head. That I am not your enemy...not anymore." Ben shrugged and left them all in the clearing.
"Can you believe that guy?" Finn said, glowering at Ben's back as he returned to the base.
"Maybe. I don't know." Rey turned to Poe. "Did you guys attack Ben?" Rey watched Poe Dameron carefully.
Poe sighed heavily. He had no reason to lie to Finn's girl. "Yeah, we followed him… But everyone here is blind! If you believe Kylo Ren is an ally, you're wrong. If you think that monster can be trusted...you don't know him. Not like I do." He shuddered. "And what about the things he's done?! And now, because he's the General's son, he's just welcomed back with open arms? I won't forget what he did to me. He took...he took from me..." Poe's rant trailed off and his breath was hitched from emotion. "Do you have any idea what that feels like? To have someone dig into you? Everything laid bare, nothing to hide behind. Like some kid tearing off the wings of a small insect and watching it writhe. You don't know…" Poe whispered.
"Yeah. I do." Rey looked to where Ben had disappeared. "I do…"
Author's Note: I wanted to make a little note thanking everyone for their positive feedback! Your words help keep me motivated and inspired. So thank you readers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for more! The plot is just about to thicken...