Chapter 14

This was turning out to be one of the worst days of his life. His cantina had been blown to smithereens, according to a Twylek customer he had bumped into on his way to the Senate Hall. He had lost his blaster through his patched up pocket and now he was coming to realize that he was out of shape, and apart from quitting on his smokes, he also had to start jogging or something close to that. Maybe go back to some of those Jedi training forms he used to despise.

Nyxx took in a couple of deep breaths and looked around the room. A few bodies were strewn on the floor and hacking marks decorated the walls and marble floor. What a mess. And was that a broken statue on the floor? Where did its head go?

And what the hell happened here?

Ben and Rey were staring at him funnily, but who cared anyway.

"What did I miss?"

"How the hell did you get here?" Ben frowned, as whatever haze he was in dissipated, and recognition flickered in his eyes.

"Hey, Ben."

"He's with me," Rey stepped in to inform him, looking up at Ben sweetly with a small smile.

But his buffoon of a friend was already getting worked up.

"You two know each other?" he spat incredulous, his emotions spiking in the blink of an eye.

"He works for Leia."

Crap.

Maybe Rey shouldn't have said that.

Ben turned, wearing one of the most thunderous expressions on his face that Nyxx had ever seen. This guy always took things way too seriously.

He stormed up to him, working his jaw and clenching his fists.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch you in the face now, Nyxx. And don't you dare say because you're my friend."

"I've been looking after your girl."

That should do it.

Ben blinked, taken aback for a moment, before staring daggers at him again.

"Did you make a move on her?"

He swiveled to stare at Rey, who was looking at them like they were the oddest two people in the galaxy. Which wasn't far from the truth. "Did he make you feel uncomfortable in any way?" He asked incensed, pointing a thumb back in Nyxx's direction.

"Will you relax? No. It's just Nyxx. Apart from a headache because of his ceaseless chattering, he's never done anything to hurt me. He's actually helped me out a great deal."

Thank you very much.

Ben slid a suspicious eye in his direction contemplating her words, before nodding grumpily in acceptance. "When this is all over, you and I have some talking to do," he added with a glare.

Leave it to Ben to never drop a single misconception. So he had never mentioned spying for Leia. It was his mother, for Maker's sake. What was the big deal?

Nyxx sighed.

"Come on, we have to go," Rey said, reaching for Ben's sleeve and tugging on it.

"Wait," Ben stilled her, grabbing her forearm. "I can't leave Neesha behind. If one of them wakes up first, they'll kill her."

Neesha?

"Who's Neesha?" Rey pouted.

"One of my knights," he answered as he stepped further into the room, looking for her body. "She helped me in the fight against the others."

Nyxx shifted his eyes at a stirring form at the other side of the room, recognizing who the figures laying before him were.

"I suggest we hurry then, 'cause we won't be gettin'far." Nyxx pointed at a platinum head amidst the black clothed knights.

All three broke into a trod, heading towards the woman's body. She seemed to be regaining consciousness.

Nyxx stepped over Aryn's body, tugging his saber from his limp grasp and patting his overcoat in search of a blaster. He switched on the lightsaber, studying the smooth red blade and circled it once in the air. It had a good balance. He turned it off and shrugged, pocketing the two weapons. No one ever knew when they could come handy.

"I'm contacting Finn and Chewbacca," Rey stated as she stepped over the broken statue. "We can take the Millenium Falcon out of here."

Ben came to an abrupt stop.

"No way."

Rey turned and glared at him.

"We don't have the luxury to pick a transport!" She raised her voice at him. "We need to get off this planet, now!"

Movement caught Nyxx's eye.

"I am not running to the bloody Resistance," Ben dug in.

"What do you mean?" Rey stepped closer to him. "Your mother is waiting for you. Where else would you go?"

"Anywhere in the galaxy, except back to her." He shook his head, pressing his lips together stubbornly.

"Are you serious? What ever happened to letting go of the past?"

"It definitely does not apply on my mother."

She huffed crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You need to get over yourself!"

"I need to stay alive, is what I need!" He leaned in, bringing his heating face directly in front of hers.

"You're just too scared to face her!"

"Too scared to face…" Ben parroted, steam practically coming out of his ears. "You know what? You presume too many things about me."

Nyxx could swear that was Valek moving around.

"You have helped us this far, the Resistance will take that into consideration. And your mother is the General, she'll tell them what to do." Rey's lack of conviction made her protest sound almost amusing.

"She'll be the one to order my execution when the time comes. Or have you forgotten who I am and what I've done," Ren snapped, enunciating his every word.

Nyxx scratched his goatee. That was definitely Valek's leg bending.

"Guys…"

"I'll testify or swear that you helped us. Or…" she sniffed as her eyes turned misty. She brought the back of her hand to rub at her nose and looked away from Ben. His friend deflated and came to stand directly in front of her, setting a couple of fingers under her chin tenderly and lifting her face to look at him.

"Rey, if I go back there I'm a dead man," he explained to her softly.

They gazed at each other.

Nyxx rolled his eyes.

"Ok, lil' lovebirds. Hate to break whatever this is, but we need to run," he pointed a thumb at the direction of the waking knights.

They simultaneously twisted their heads to look at the shifting men. They settled Neesha on top of Ben's shoulders, because no way was Nyxx lifting her. He could barely drag himself across town, he conceded. She had grown muscles during these past few years, Nyxx couldn't help but notice, and she didn't exactly seem feather light.

Rey carefully looked outside the hall for incoming Stormtroopers and signaled for them to follow her.

Nyxx glanced over his shoulder at his younger brother, as he was about to exit the room. His eyes remained trained on him for a long moment, nails digging into the wood panel of the door. He shook his head and stepped out with a heavy heart.

Rey couldn't help herself steeling glances at the beautiful woman sitting with her back to a wall and cradling her head in her hands. Ben was kneeling next to her threading his fingers through her blond tresses inspecting the wound that seemed to be bleeding still.

Nyxx was keeping watch at the entrance of the small room as footsteps came and went outside in the familiar march of Stormtroopers. His features looked extremely bored as he picked the dirt from his nails with the tip of a pocket knife

Rey paced the room feeling like a caged animal. They had to move and soon. Couldn't understand why they had to drag the she-knight along. She was perfectly able to defend herself. Even with all that blood gushing from her head.

Ben had torn a piece of black cloth from her cape tying it snugly around her head.

"Are you almost done? We need to get out of here," she observed.

The woman looked at her with those pale cold eyes, sizing her up. Rey just stared back as defiantly as she could.

"She's the Jedi. You really are defecting to the Resistance. Valek wasn't lying," she stated accusingly, turning to Ben and trying to decipher his feelings.

"I told you earlier. I am leaving everything behind. I'm not going to the Resistance," he answered calmly, shifting his eyes to look at Rey.

His gaze made her feel uncomfortable and Rey glanced back at Nyxx, who was peeling layers of clothing from his back and adjusting them to make his movements more comfortable. His sense of style was a bit too much for a day like this.

"What will you do?' The knight asked reaching her hand to take hold of Ren's as he finished tying the ends of the cloth in a knot.

"I don't know, yet," he answered dismissively, getting up from his crouched position as her hand fell away in defeat. He headed for Rey.

The blond woman looked at her icily and Rey felt oddly smug.

He stood right in front of her, intruding in her space as always and held out his hand. A shiver ran down her spine at the prospect of taking his warm hand in hers and wrapping her arms around his solid body. A part of her she did not wish to acknowledge ached to feel more than just a touch.

"The crystal," he said. "Give me back the kyber crystal. You don't need it anymore."

She blinked up at him and he gazed steadily back.

Is he serious?

"Of course, I'm serious. I don't want you carrying such a relic around in a torn pocket."

"I've kept it safe this long…"

"You conjured Force lightning because of it. I can sense it on you. Don't make me search."

Rey huffed, catching Nyxx's amused smirk out of the corner of her eye and she fished it out of the left breast pocket of her jacket. Ren's eyes remained trained there a heartbeat longer, before dragging them up to her face with an affectionate expression on his face. Her stomach fluttered in response reminding her that she had skipped a meal again.

He took the crystal from her outstretched palm, squeezing her hand lightly. A bit like how her chest felt when he was this close. He glanced down at the kyber crystal with a frown before placing it carefully on one of the external pockets of his overcoat.

"All right everyone," Nyxx rested his hand on the hilt of his stolen lightsaber. "Now that dark stuff are back to their rightful owner and we're not leavin' a trail of blood behind us, let's get movin'."

Neesha was the first to get up, all muscles and curves accentuating her stride as she followed a tip toeing Nyxx out the door. Rey decided that she didn't like her one bit. Ben raised a hand in an ancient gesture of precedence to her, as a tug of amusement graced his lips.

But Rey didn't move.

"Where will you go?" The she-knight's question was looping anxiously in her mind.

"This is hardly the proper time to discuss this," he replied, his hand dropping to his side in a fist.

"I know. But we still have a lot of ground to cover. And you are obviously not taking the Falcon out of here. What if I lose you at some point?"

"We both know that can't happen."

The thread of energy unifying them hummed its presence, but not even that was enough to hush the dark susurrations whispering in her heart.

I've seen his death.

"Ben, I don't want to be parted from you again."

He sighed, closing his somber eyes for a moment or two. His rigid posture softened and when he opened them again Rey could read the sorrow and fear and insecurity that had taken residence deep inside them. Feelings that so achingly bled through their bond for weeks now.

"I don't know yet. I haven't thought it through," he concluded, resting his gaze upon her. "I might go from world to world at the beginning, forge some new identity perhaps. Either way I wouldn't want that kind of life for you. It wouldn't be safe."

"Whereas staying in the First Order would have been safe for me?"

A small smile broke on his face that he tried to contain. But it quickly formed a wide grin, dimpling his cheeks and crinkling his eyes. He shook his head, laughter momentarily bubbling from his chest. He looked back at her, brown eyes gleaming with a lightness that stole her breath away.

I've never heard him laugh before.

His mirth was contagious and she too smiled widely in response.

"You're stuck with me," she said, arching her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

She stepped up to him and laced her fingers with his as his features fell back to a more solemn expression. His gaze remained trained on hers as he studied her face. And she looked back at him steadily and unflinching. She didn't know what it is that he found, but he leaned in pressing his lips tenderly onto hers once again. Their softness threatening to wipe away all sense of reality as they lingered on hers with yearning.

It didn't last long because good things seldom do.

He broke away, color tinging his pale cheeks and a hint of a smile tugging on his lips.

It was time to go.

Their hands remained clasped and fingers tangled as they stepped out of the room.

The Prometheus shook indicating another hit starboard. Shield levels were down to thirty percent according to some blinking number in Connix's console. With this rate the ship would get incinerated before landing any real blows on the Finalizer. The Cassandra seemed to be in better condition aided by a Mon Calamari vessel, from what Leia could tell from the readings, but things were still looking rather dim in this corner of the dog fight.

The viewport was lit up from blasters and ion canons being fired from all directions and was impossible to make out which ship was taking out what. All she knew was that the damned Dreadnought was gunning up aiming at the planet's surface.

"Dameron," she demanded over the intercom. "You were supposed to be dealing with the Dreadnought. Not sashaying you X-wing around the Star Destroyers. Report!"

Leia gripped her cane, her patience having run out when the shields of the ship were at fifty five percent.

Static filtered through and a very pissed off Poe soon followed, along with BB-8's alarmed shrill.

"We have scored hits with the bombers," his graveled voice came through. "But not enough to sustain any major damage. This beast is massive and we can't find a weak spot." A rattle and a curse shook the connection. "We need more firepower!"

Leia banged the palm of her hand on the desk in front of her in frustration. The Dreadnought would level the capital with just a few strikes. Everything would be lost.

Rey and Finn are down there.

She snapped her gaze at Connix. "Inform our ships that we're changing target. We have to take this Dreadnought out of the way."

Chewbacca is down there with the Falcon.

"And ask whatever ship the Mon Calamari have to spare to send it in support. We are on our way!" Leia informed Poe, eyeing the battle in front of her as if she could spot her pilot amongst the zooming ships.

"Leia, I don't believe we can…"

"Don't you dare tell me it can't be done, Poe. Not you." Leia shook her head. "For Maker's sake, my son is down there!" she rasped, her voice giving out on her.

A pregnant pause followed her outburst as everyone on the bridge fell silent.

Leia did not take her eyes away from the viewport.

"Understood, General," Poe answered a few moments later. "Let's do this."

Rey felt his warm palm on the small of her back as the party treaded silently down a corridor. She tried to mimic Ben's cloaking in the Force, in their attempt to avoid running into the knights that undoubtedly roamed around in search of them. Nyxx was already at the end signaling for them to continue.

Did I really run all this distance inside?

Somehow unraveling her way back seemed a lot more tedious.

She looked up at the man walking in tandem next to her, eyes focused ahead and senses on alert. The bond fused her to him, enhancing her perception of their surroundings. He smoothly lit his saber cutting through an unfortunate Stromtrooper turning a corner, before he was able to alert anyone else. It was off in a blink of an eye and his arm snaked around her waist again. It gripped her side possessively and it made her chest expand with a fullness that made her throat clench. She stared at him again, and he caught her gaze with a softness that made it hard to tear her eyes away. Rey threaded her fingers with his, settled on her waist, in a silent promise.

We will.

They would make it out.

They would live through this.

He nodded in agreement as he pulled her close to him, liquid eyes speaking what his lips would not part to say.

It felt so right having this man by her side. His strength becoming hers and her determination his. Their bond thrummed in peace and contentment and she knew all in the world was as it should be. Everything would find a way to fall into place like a puzzle, just the way their pieces were now locking together in a perfect fit. Intertwining in a way that would alter their world.

Ben tore his eyes from her and swallowed. She sensed an anticipation rising from him, but it wasn't for the battle ahead. And along with it a feeling that she had never caught emanating from him. It felt light and flickering, as if it could get snuffed out with just a whisper.

Hope.

The corridor ended in a cavernous room with a domed ceiling supported by thick columns. Inside it numerous Stormtroopers stood guard and a bunch of prisoners sat with their backs on the walls. Rey vaguely remembered passing through it on her way in. On the other end of it, open doors allowed the grim light of day reflect off its polished floor.

No one moved for the span of a breath. She could feel Ben assessing the Stormtroopers' intents with the Force. His brows creased and he mumbled in his deep voice.

"They have orders to stop me."

Ben ignited his crossguard and the rest of them took that as cue to follow his lead. He twirled it in front of him throwing his arm out to wrench away as many weapons as he could grasp. Rey crouched next to him in an offensive stance that mirrored his, as the first blaster fire rained their way.

So he hadn't held a lightsaber in a while. So what. Chances were he'd cut off a limb or something. But preferably not his.

Nyxx kicked a Trooper in the chest holding his saber above his head. That would probably be the safest position for all of them. He pulled out his loaned blaster with his other hand and emptied a few shots towards a couple of them circling Neesha. She was fending for herself smoothly despite the probable concussion in her brain. She was always tougher than she looked from what he recalled, her angelic features distracting her opponents long enough for her to strike lethally at them.

This lightsaber is gettin' in my way.

He concluded, disengaging it and setting it in his pocket.

And a little cover would do as well, he figured as he shielded himself behind a column. Ben and Rey were taking care of themselves pretty impressively from what he could tell, working together in a way that make them seem like they were one mind.

He'd never seen anything like it.

Damn they're good.

Just a few more Stormtroopers remained and they were all free to go.

Or so he thought.

"Traitor!" Valek bellowed from the steps of the entrance to the massive hall, pointing his lit saber in the direction of Ben. Aryn and Thone circled around Valek, walking leisurely down the few marble steps.

Ben had snapped his gaze at the knight, under messy strands of hair clinging on his face, while Rey was holding off a strike from and electro sword aimed at her man.

Valek stomped down the steps slowly in an arrogant show of power, saber lit at his side. The two knights were awaiting his orders and Aryn signaled at the remaining Stormtroopers to step aside. Holding his hand up, the electro sword flew to his grasp.

"This man," Valek spat pointing at Ben. "Is to be taken into custody, tried and executed for his treason." He said looking around at the Stormtroopers as if to emphasize his words. The men shuffled around uncomfortably. Then a snicker appeared on his face. "If he makes it alive that is."

Valek's eyes landed on Rey in recognition and a wide grin broke on his features. "As for the Jedi… she dies here while he watches."

Aryn and Thone moved towards her and Ben slid protectively in front of her.

"What do you think you're doing? I can…"

"Shhh…." He rested his left hand on her hip setting her right behind him. His crossguard was sizzling in front of him impatiently.

Nyxx watched Neesha, from his hidden position, as she slowly approached, relighting her saber and standing next to Ben and Rey. Valek's face fell into a scowl. Her apparent choice of sides was tipping the balance of the fight against him.

"Neesha," he offered his hand out. "Step away from them and we'll consider this whole incident forgotten." He warned her. There was a tremble to his voice, Nyxx noticed and a desperation in his eyes that spoke volumes about his concern for the knight. But the woman just eyed him coldly.

Valek's hand turned into a fist as his ire rose.

"Move away! There is no reason for you to die here today," he exclaimed.

Aryn and Thone exchanged wary glances as they circled the company in the middle of the hall. Thone tested the waters by striking at Rey but he earned himself a regal Force push by Ben, landing half way across the hall. Aryn continued his measuring pace twirling his saber and Rey turned a fierce gaze over her shoulder to gauze his intents.

Nyxx, closed his eyes setting his forehead on the cool stone of the column and banging it lightly a couple of times. It was now or never. He set his bag on the floor, removing his trench coat and adjusting his bandana firmly on his head. Didn't want that one sliding down in the middle of a fight.

He stepped away from his position and out into full display, lighting the stolen saber on his side.

He could do this. He used to kick Ben's ass for fuck's sake.

Well, occasionally.

Ben was the first to see him. His friend's face fell into a silent plea asking him to remain hidden, but it was too late. One by one the knights all turned to look at him. Valek was the last one to do so, and his initial surprise morphed into a threat.

"You shouldn't have come," he stated plainly.

"Hi there, little brother."

"If you leave," Valek grasped him from his shirt, as they stood behind the shuttle prepping up secretly in a hanger bay. "If you walk away from me now, don't ever come back! I will hunt you down and kill you. You hear me?" He seethed between clenched teeth, unable to control the pain of his brother's betrayal. "I will kill you!"

"I warned you!" Valek exploded. He took the few steps that remained down to the blood-stained floor and approached Nyxx.

He saw out of the corner of his eye, Rey looking up at Ben curiously as he straightened his back and disengaged his crossguard. Thone and Aryn matched him, shutting off their weapons as well and watching the scene unfold with unflinching eyes. The Jedi's blue saber remained lit, as Rey stubbornly refused to shut hers off.

"This isn't your brother's fault!" Ben called out, in an attempt to temper down Valek's wreath. Nyxx appreciated the valiant gesture anyway. "Snoke used us all, turned us against each other to control us," he continued. "Nyxx was the first to see that. We were too dangerous if we remained united."

But his words fell on deaf ears as Valek brought down his saber in a vicious strike that Nyxx was able to parry in the last moment.

"You don't have a say in this anymore," Valek pointed an accusing finger at Ben. "We all trusted you and followed you without question. You and your mighty bloodline."

"Ben is strong with the Force, no one questions that. But he is too conflicted and driven by his emotions. Doesn't always think clearly when he makes a decision," his young brother had once confided in him, after a hearing with their Master. "Snoke sees that!" He supported vehemently. "He says I have focus. That I can achieve great power with his guidance."

"Come on, Valek! You have to stop obsessing so much over Ben!" He couldn't believe how quickly Snoke had picked up on Valek's antagonistic emotions towards Ben and was already taking advantage of them. Nyxx was getting pissed off. "Snoke doesn't care as much about us as he makes us think. Don't believe everything he says."

"No. You're wrong. He sees the potential in me…"

"He sees the potential of us turning on each other!" Nyxx rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "Open your eyes!"

Nyxx shook away the memory as he evaded a hit aimed at his side and brought up his own weapon to land on one of Valek's double blades.

"You fucking idiot, you'll get us all killed! And for what? So that you can say you were a good pet to Snoke?'

Valek hissed in answer and brought down a series of strikes and blows that Nyxx surprisingly was able to handle as muscle memory and instinct kicked in.

"We all chose to follow Ben that night. We all felt Skywalker was holding back knowledge. And we all have made mistakes!" Nyxx locked green eyes with those of Valek, as their weapons tangled together, bringing the two brothers close enough to touch noses.

"You left!"

"I did and I regret it. I should have found a way to take you with me,"

"An apology won't cut it for you anymore, brother."

Valek swept his armed hand in an agile move bringing the saber to Nyxx's throat.

Ben was there in an instant holding Valek's arm from slicing down on it.

"Ben, no!" Nyxx stopped him with wild eyes. "It's his choice to make." Ben clenched his jaw as Nyxx set a hand to his wrist tugging at it pleadingly. "It's his choice to make…" he repeated.

Hux stared at Organa's Resistance ship as it broke away from the siege on his Finalizer, tearing the other two ships along with her.

Good riddance.

There were only three ventral canons left functional on his Star Destroyer and shield power was fluctuating to dangerous levels. Those pesty ships knew where to aim.

He tugged nervously on the sleeves of his impeccable overcoat and sniffed his relief. This little reprieve would give him the time needed to collect himself and give the Finalizer a chance to work on some malfunctions.

He took in the battle sprawled outside his viewport. The ally ships were giving his fleet a hard time. Two of his Star Destroyers were already in ruins and the commander of the Absolution was barking for assistance over the intercom. Amongst others.

A decisive blow would have to be struck against Coruscant. One that would tip the scales of this battle to his favor permanently. On more than one way.

Hux turned his stiffly clad body away from the large viewport and marched his way to the closest officer.

"Where is Kylo Ren?" He clipped at the young man staring at a holoprojection of the capital city airing over his desk.

"Sir, his coordinates seem to be coming from the Senate Hall, along with the rest of the knights'."

"Are they all gathered in one building, you mean?"

Could this be the chance he had been waiting for?

"Yes, sir."

"Contact Captain Phasma. I wish to speak to her."

He had given the Dreadnought an order to warm up its orbital guns a while ago. Everything should be prepped by now.

"General," Phasma's characteristic drawl came through the intercom slightly more alarmed than usual. "A number of enemy ships have surrounded the Dreadnought and we have been sustaining their fire for a while now, but a bomber has inflicted direct damage to the portal side of the ship. Their ships are too quick and small for our canons to properly…"

Phasma paused as rattling came through the speakers along with a beeping alarm that she demanded to be silenced.

"The Cassandra and the Prometheus, General Organa's ships have considerable firepower and are already locking on to us as we speak. I will need assistance, sir!"

This is precisely why he should have been there.

Damn that Kylo Ren.

"We will all need assistance, if we don't change our strategy, Captain. You will fire at Coruscant as was the initial plan. The Senate Hall will be your first target. We are sending coordinates now!"

The young officer looked up at him pale-faced and wild-eyed.

"Sir," he stuttered. "Isn't that where…"

Hux silenced him with an icy glare.

Yes, time had come to rid himself and the galaxy of these unstable and unpredictable Dark Forcers.

General Hux narrowed his eyes at the viewport and clenched his hands behind his rigid back. He inhaled deeply.

"Captain, fire at will," he commanded with a curl of his lips.

Author's note: The next chapter will be hard. Stay with me.