Disclaimer: I own nothing here, but impossible to see, the future is...
Point of Light
AN: Hey, this chapter actually has a scene that matches the cover art! It only took 25 chapters to get here, ha! Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Five – Reconcile
The crowded, bustling street suddenly grew very quiet as everyone in the immediate area cleared out at the sound of Chewbacca's thunderous roar. Traitor! The Wookiee's blue eyes were pinned on Ben and the words spilling out of his snarling maw sent a shiver of dread down Rey's spine. It's time we settled matters, boy!
Rey felt her body moving to intercept him before she really even realized it. "No Chewie, wait!"
I won't! Chewie snarled. He has to pay for what he's done!
"I won't let you hurt him, Chewie!" Rey shouted back at him, though she added in a much more subdued tone, "...I love him."
That's unfortunate for you, Chewie grumbled at her but kept forcing his way forward, as if her mass had no effect at all on his stride. He must still pay.
"No, Chewie, this won't solve anything!" Rey whined with frustration at her vain attempts to slow him down. "This won't help me!"
Chewie froze mid-step in response to her words and he looked down at her, blinking with astonishment for some reason. He huffed at her lightly. I know.
"Rey," Ben called to her from the same spot she had left him; he hadn't retreated a single step despite being the target of a Wookiee's ire. "Come here."
With Chewie momentarily abated, Rey obeyed his call and stepped back over to her dark clad companion, shooting him a quizzical look.
"I know you won't understand, but he has to do this," Ben told her as he reached out a hand to cradle the back of her head, pulled her close and placed a tender kiss to her forehead. "And I suppose I deserve it..."
"What?" Rey snapped and pulled away from his hold, indignant that he was going along with such madness. "Ben, no. This is stupid!"
"Maybe it is," he replied calmly, too calm in Rey's mind. This was a Wookiee they were talking about! "But after what I did, I owe him this, at the very least."
"Ben," Rey whined and grasped at his shirt, resorting to pleading with him. "He could kill you in a fair fight!"
I won't, Chewie rumbled from his place, also not having moved as he handed Maz his bag and bowcaster. This is reconciliation, not revenge.
"Well can't you find a more peaceful, bloodless way to reconcile?" Rey asked the Wookiee in aggravation. This was not at all how she imagined her reunion with her former co-pilot would go. She didn't realize until now how much she had missed the huge furball's company and she desperately wished the violent tension in the air would somehow just miraculously dissipate.
"No such thing in Wookiee society," Ben told her as he unclipped his lightsaber and handed it to her. He gave her head another fleeting kiss as he murmured through a breath of rare apprehension. "I may need some help walking back to the shuttle after this..." He stepped forward to face the big hairy beast. "No weapons, no Force, no claws or teeth."
As it should be, Chewy grumbled lowly.
At a complete and utter loss, Rey found she could only watch uselessly as her fiancé moved away from her to face the Wookiee's judgment, portraying a fearlessness that she herself could not reflect in that moment. She looked to Maz for assistance, only to see the elderly female staring right back at her with a narrowed, knowing gaze, obviously having noticed Ben's uncharacteristic affectionate gesture. Rey didn't care, she could explain her and Ben's new relationship later. "Can't you stop them, or something?"
"Me?" Maz laughed outright as she skirted the posturing males and drew near to the young Jedi. "I make it a point to stay out of family affairs of this particular nature. Especially when it involves a Wookiee." She grinned up at Rey, somehow sending a wave of calm through the Force as she seemed to notice the children just then. "Oh, hello younglings, you're in for a real treat, Wookiees are usually very docile."
Rey blew out a frustrated sigh as Maz suddenly became enamored with Tom and moved to fawn over him as if a savage brawl weren't about to break out just a short distance away. The former scavenger wanted to argue back about how very deadly Wookiees could be if provoked, an incident involving Plutt and a bloody, sundered arm came to mind... Her rapt attention was drawn back to Ben as he stepped into a defensive stance; he wouldn't be the one to initiate the fight.
For Han! Chewie roared and lunged into a fierce assault, his fists flashing blurs of movement. Ben managed to dodge or block the first string of blows but Rey could sense that he was trying not to use the Force to guide his movements, which meant he couldn't predict the Wookiee's attacks like he normally would. He also wasn't fighting back much, focusing mostly on defense and damage control.
Chewie was not to be deterred by his opponent's lack of aggression. He continued his onslaught, swinging, swiping and grappling until he was able to land a smart thwack across Ben's right shoulder, knocking him back with a sickening snap.
Ben dropped to one knee briefly and muffled his cry of pain into a grunt but Rey cringed for him, hating how she was so unable to assist him. The whole situation was like a terrible joke. She didn't want either of them to get hurt but she could see no other outcome for it.
Get up, Chewie growled dangerously and Ben obliged, regaining his stance and scowling against of pain. The Wookiee attacked again, but without the Force to manage his pain or feed his movements with rage, Ben was much less capable at defending himself. The second blow was to the head, a third to the stomach, the fourth and final landed on his back, which sent him thumping face first onto the ground.
Rey didn't realize she was biting the knuckles of her fist in nervous suspense until Chewie let out a rolling grumble at his victim. Now you can stay down. The Wookiee paced towards Maz and gave Rey a pointed nod, as if granting her permission to approach.
She didn't need a second prompt as she darted over to the crumpled man on the ground. He was groaning in pain and feebly attempting to lift himself when she knelt down beside him. "Hold still a minute Ben, you just took a beating from a Wookiee. You're entitled to lie still for awhile." She placed a hand on his battered head gently and smiled sadly as he leaned into her touch as if it relieved some of the pain; maybe it did for all she knew. The thought gave her an idea. "Tell me how to split the pain with you."
"No," Ben ground out through clenched teeth and stubbornly managed to push himself up on his hands and knees. "I deserved this, I'll bear it myself."
"Ben," Rey grumbled with annoyance. "I respected that pointless brawl, now at least let me help you stand up and walk."
"No," Ben replied and hissed against the pain of his movements.
"Yes," Rey insisted through a thoroughly aggravated glare. Against her better judgment she gave him as gentle a shove as possible, sending him sprawling onto his side with a brief string of curses under his breath along with an extremely confused expression. "I help or you don't get up. Simple."
Their gazes locked in a silent feud before Ben finally conceded with a sigh. "Fine." He raised his good arm to grasp her hand in his. "Just close your eyes and concentrate on what you want to accomplish, the Force will do the rest."
Rey did as he said and sent a silent petition to the energy around them, seconds later she was met with a fierce, sharp throbbing on the side of her head, followed by an equal ache at her back and stomach that seemed to meld into one agony, though the worst was the wrenching, broken feeling in her shoulder, Ben's shoulder.
"Good," Ben coached, his voice less strained as he sat up. "Now balance it out, only take what you can handle, then imagine locking it in place between us."
"Ugh," Rey moaned as she fought off a wave of nausea before the pain equalized. She felt the Force responding to her requests and opened her eyes to see her fiancé staring right back, his expression somehow both guilty and grateful at once. "He really did a number on you."
"He was holding back," Ben replied as he moved gingerly to stand and pulled her up with him. Once upright, they had to lean against each other to remain that way, the immense pain split between them was bearable but still inconvenient. "According to galactic opinion, I'm lucky my arms are still attached."
Rey is the only reason I don't kill you where you stand, Chewie growled as he and Maz drew close. The Wookiee's gaze darkened considerably as he pinned Ben with a sharp glare. So you had better keep her safe.
Ben nodded soberly in reply as Rey shifted her attention between them curiously. If she didn't know any better it almost seemed like the entire ordeal had been about her to begin with.
"Oh enough with the threats, Chewie," Maz cut into the exchange as she gave her companion's arm a bossy, playful thump. She turned her cunning attention to Ben and Rey. "You two have quite the story to tell, don't you?"
Heat began creeping up Rey's neck at the inquiry and she suddenly felt conspicuous as her awareness of their surroundings came into focus. Maz and Chewie's careful scrutiny, the three kids she had just liberated loitered nearby with obvious uncertainty, the crowd's cautious attention as everyone slowly began returning to their business. Thankfully she didn't have to answer the long winded question as a squad of local law enforcement marched onto the scene.
"What's going on here?" the lead officer asked gruffly. "Someone reported a disturbance in this sector." None of them seemed to notice the Supreme Leader of the First Order was standing in front of them, or they simply didn't recognize him without his infamous black helmet.
"Oh, just a trivial family dispute," Maz supplied with a casual wave of her hand. "No trouble here."
The officer seemed to take her word for it and led his squad away without another word, making Rey wonder if Maz wasn't using the Force despite her apparent inability to do so. "What are you two even doing here?" she asked, turning from the pirate queen to Chewie. "Why aren't you with the Resistance?"
"We were here to recruit a crew," Maz answered when her large, furry companion hesitated. "Chewie was getting worried about you and was planning a rescue mission." The elderly female shifted her sly gaze between Rey and Ben. "But it doesn't really look like you require one, anymore."
Rey opened her mouth to reply but a sudden, dangerous spike in the Force caused her to flinch only an instant before Ben grabbed her around the waist and dove for cover just as blaster fire erupted right where they had been standing. They hit the ground hard, their shared pain from Ben's injuries igniting anew as the crowded street descended into chaos and frantic screaming.
Rey wasn't sure how they managed it with all the agony surging through their bodies, but both she and Ben were on their feet in the next instant, adrenaline pumping madly as more blaster fire peppered the ground towards them. Crimson and purple blades sparked to life and the pair wordlessly moved in tandem, deflecting the red bolts as they honed in on their assailant's location.
High up on the roof of one of the tallest buildings, Rey traced the line of fire to the shape of a dark figure lurking between two shipping crates for cover. The sniper was too far away to deal with while deflecting the bombardment, but thankfully it seemed that she and Ben were the only targets, which meant Maz, Chewie and the kids were relatively safe. She chanced a glance their way and noticed that the Wookiee and pirate had taken up defensive stances around the children even though they had no reason to except that they were there and they were defenseless.
"No!" Ben's frustrated snarl drew Rey's attention as she struck another bolt harmlessly into the ground. "Not now! Why didn't I sense them sooner?"
Rey sent him a puzzled glance but didn't pause in blocking the continuous assault from above; just how much ammo did this assassin have? "You were a little busy getting pummeled by a Wookiee, remember?"
Ben didn't reply but instead let out a string of expletives that brought an amused smirk to Rey's mouth despite the dire circumstances. "You'll have to take this side on your own!" he shouted to her as he spun and pressed his back to hers in order to face another attacker that had apparently flanked around behind them, also in a high vantage point and seemingly too far out of range to land a counterattack. Their stances felt achingly familiar to her as she remembered their brief coalition against Snoke's red guards only a few short months ago.
The difference was the pain they were both enduring and the rapid rate at which those blaster bolts were firing. "We can't hold out like this forever!" she shouted back at him and drew on the Force for more speed in her muscles and more clarity for anticipating each bolt.
Ben's only reply was a distracted grunt, his assailant's shots apparently required all of his focus to deflect. Thankfully, a much needed reprieve came when the local authorities from earlier began returning fire towards the attackers, causing them to break off from their onslaught long enough for Maz to toss a couple grenades into the air, which began hissing out a thick, gray smokescreen. "Come along kiddies, I think it's time we made our exit!"
Rey moved to converge with their new allies, but that was her first mistake; thinking that they were safe simply because they couldn't be seen. Her second mistake was thinking that Ben would be right behind her; he wasn't. Her third was forgetting that their pain-link was dependent on physical contact or very close proximity; his pain in her body had ebbed to nothingness.
She felt her blood turn to ice in her veins as Ben roared in sheer agony, determination and fury. Time seemed to pulse and crawl around her as she turned to see two blaster bolts, from two different trajectories, frozen in space only a few feet away and aimed for her own head and chest.
Rey blinked in dumbfounded astonishment, that even in his weakened state, Ben still managed to wield the Force with such authority that even blaster fire yielded for him. "Move!" he barked at her with a new sense of urgency and she obeyed instantly by lunging back towards him, the frozen bolts sizzled through the air where she stood only a second earlier.
Unfortunately, it had taken all of Ben's concentration to stop them and he was too distracted to respond to a third energy beam as it lanced through the smoke with uncanny accuracy and found its target in his lower back. Even through the smoke, Rey had drawn close enough to see his strained expression before he collapsed to the ground in an unmoving heap. Satisfied, he was satisfied that he had been able to protect her.
Rey's gaze hardened as she slide into a defensive stance above him and raised her shocksaber with her right hand. She called his lightsaber to her left and ignited it in the same instant while simultaneously shooting piercing glares through the smog where she sensed their attackers. It was her turn to protect him now.
She couldn't fathom how they managed to aim their blaster fire so accurately through the smokescreen, but strangely, it no longer mattered. Nothing really mattered to Rey anymore, except the unconscious man lying at her feet. The Force swirled and pulsed around her like a mighty, living creature, as if a new entity within the cosmic energy had suddenly been summoned beside her for the first time, snorting comfortingly over her shoulder and growling menacingly towards her enemies.
The first of the next round of blaster bolts came from both directions, but she was more than ready for them, blades whirling masterfully, as if an untapped technique had just been unlocked in her mind. Spinning the purple and red shafts so quickly, she was briefly transfixed as the colors melded into a deep magenta-like shield as the volley of blaster fire continued to deflect away uselessly; she idly hoped none of it hit an innocent bystander.
Now, the non-creature seemed to breath into ear, giving her a future sight beyond the smog. Rey could see the red bolt before it even left the blaster's muzzle. It came from the left, as if in slow motion and she struck with a savage, purple swing. The red projectile was deflected and sent back to its source with what seemed like twice the velocity than its original discharge. Rey allowed a sardonic corner of her mouth to lift slightly at the satisfying sound of a ping followed by an explosion; the sound of blaster exploding.
Not a second later, the next laser beam came from her right, as expected. She dealt with it much the same way but slashed at it with Ben's crimson blade; another ping, another explosion. The invisible Force beast beside her seemed to growl approvingly, though it also seemed to project a warning: escape now.
Rey wasn't about to ignore the non-voice of a thing that just saved her hide, not to mention Ben's. With their assailants momentarily disabled, she deactivated both sabers and was about to bend down in the hopes of rousing her hefty companion when Chewie's mass invaded nearly the entirety of her vision. After a soft grumble and a nod, the Wookiee scooped up Ben's unmoving body and lugged him over one shoulder before lumbering off, leading the way to the others.
Rey followed behind him, lightsabers held at the ready and casting cautious glances through the smoke where she guessed the snipers had been; she somehow got the sense that they hadn't been badly hurt by their imploding weapons and that they were regrouping for another assault.
"Hurry up you two!" Maz barked at them as she seemed to be herding the children along. "The kids say they know a hidden passage through the sewers. It won't smell so good but at least we'll get away from those gunners."
It occurred to Rey that Maz wasn't herding them at all, but that the kids were leading the way. They turned and darted down a deserted alleyway that eventually descended into a canal where various drains emptied liquid of one sort or another. The path eventually ended, or so it seemed, by a sewage tunnel with durasteel bars encasing the entrance. Temiri and Oniho stepped forward, and together, they shifted a couple of loose bars out of their concrete housings, creating enough of an opening for even Chewie to fit through, albeit it was a struggle with an unconscious Ben hanging from his shoulder.
Rey was the last to enter, nose wrinkling at the smell that greeted her, but the blaster bolt that sizzled past her face quickened her steps; their pursuers had caught up sooner than expected. Activating Ben's saber, as it was easier to wield one-handed, she walked backwards with the group further into the sewer, prepared to defend their rear flank.
The blaster fire ceased for the moment as the attackers no doubt converged on the opening. The tunnel's lighting was scant, the red saber in her hand throwing off a flickering, crimson glow along with its feral, unstable growling. If Rey truly believed each lightsaber crystal had a will all its own, she would have guessed this one was angry for what had happened to its master.
Or it was simply reflecting her own emotions. Or they were feeding off of each other. A bad combination, she sensed. With a rising urgency, she decided they needed to get back to Ben's shuttle as soon as possible. The thought only compounding in her mind when she chanced a quick glance to Ben's condition. He began groaning miserably, his blaster wound flooding his uniform with blood and turning the entirety of his back a darker shade of black at being jostled around by Chewie's jarring gait.
"Does this lead to the port?" Rey shouted over her shoulder to the kids. "We have to get Ben back to our ship, now!"
"It does!" Temiri shouted back as he took charge of leading the way down a tangent, his confident voice in that moment gave Rey a sense of relief amid the stressful storm. "This way!"
Rey was only partially aware of Chewie transferring Ben's weight to the back of the frantic Fathier that Temiri had still somehow managed to pull along with him. The Jedi's attention was promptly stolen back to the tunnel's entrance, where two figures stepped into view against the daylight backdrop. One fired at her and she swiped at it in both annoyance and anger alike, the red saber snarling in response as it sent the plasma beam back at the shooter. Only, the other attacker moved to deflect it, with a... a red lightsaber!
"What?" Rey barked in both surprise and indignation as the first enemy began raining more fire upon her. She didn't bother trying to redirect the shots back at them, now that circumstances had shifted out of her favor. She moved to follow the others down the side tunnel, blaster fire zooming past like a horizontal, red hailstorm. She had hoped to slow them down and allow the others to gain a healthy lead, only now, matters were much worse and suddenly, Ben's words earlier began to make sense. He should have sensed them earlier; two of his very own knights.
Rey berated herself for the oversight now as well. She could sense them clearly now, The Force rumbling and darkening in their location, their killing intent. It also explained how they had managed to fire with so much deadly accuracy even through a thick cloud of smoke...
She was shaken out of her deliberations when a large, furry hand gripped her shoulder and pushed her towards Ben and the children. Go! Chewie growled as he brandished his bowcaster and began firing furiously around the corner at their pursuers; it slowed them some, but all the shots were swatted away uselessly. We'll hold them off until you're clear!
"Are you crazy? They have lightsabers!" Rey screeched back at him as a cold fear gripped her heart like a hawk's talons. Chewie had been her guardian and amiable companion for months on end. He had accepted her as if she was family, despite being a completely different species. She was not ashamed to admit to herself that she loved him the way she imagined she would love an elder brother. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him to a pair of saber jockeys on the wrong side of madness. "You won't last five minutes against them!"
Wanna bet on it? Chewie barked at her curtly before resuming his onslaught and rumbled out an afterthought. Ten thousand credits say they retreat.
"Go on dear," Maz added gently despite the dire circumstances.
Rey regarded the old alien with a frown. She didn't like the idea of losing Maz to this chaos either. She didn't feel nearly as attached to the pirate queen but... Maz was Maz. "I can't just leave you!"
"Don't worry," Maz replied pressingly and pushed a device into Rey's belt pouch. "We have some very reliable backup on the way. Here, take this communicator. It's programed with my personal code. Call me if you ever find yourself in a tight spot." The elderly smuggler's expression softened with a grin as she made a shooing motion. "Go on now, take your wounded prince and get out of here."
The enemy's blaster fire was getting closer and Chewie roared an urgent, unrepeatable curse. "But they're Force wielders!" Rey insisted stubbornly.
"And we have contingency plans for that!" Maz snapped, having finally lost her patience as she gave the young woman a shove. "Now get going before you get caught up in it!"
Rey felt as though her heart were being torn in two as she staggered backwards, eying Chewie and Maz apprehensively before reluctantly tearing her gaze away from them and lunging for Ben and the kids. She tried to reassure herself by how confident Chewie and Maz sounded. If they really did have backup arriving with a counter to a pair of Force wielding lightsabers then maybe they would be alright after all and she was just being overly dramatic about the whole thing... Even so, she willed herself not to look back. If she did, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave.
Ben was partially awake by the time she drew beside him, though he was still draped over Tom's back like a sack of spice. "What is that smell?" he grumbled, almost incoherently under all the noise from the battle raging on behind them.
"Hang in there Ben," Rey replied, ignoring his inconsequential query. They were in a sewer and he was riding a creature that was well known for its odd odor, he could be smelling any number of things, really. She knelt down briefly and placed both her hands on either side of his face. He felt clammy to the touch and his eyes couldn't seem to focus on her; neither were good symptoms.
She could sense his imprint in the Force fading and felt her voice crack as panic began to settle in her throat. "Stay with me, love." She couldn't lose him now, not after they had come so far together, promised so much to each other.
"Rey!" Temiri shouted at her as if he had already called multiple times without being heard. When she popped her attention to him he pointed and tugged on Tom's leash. "The port is this way!"
Shaking herself out of her momentary daze, Rey mentally slapped herself for getting so distracted. She stood and nodded, following closely behind the kids and Fathier, lightsabers held at the ready but still determined not to turn back. The sounds of battle raged on, but she could not look back. Tears welled in her eyes as she fought back the heart-wrenching images that flashed through her mind, the possible outcomes her friends, her family might face if things didn't go the way they planned...
They told me to go, she had to keep repeating to herself. They'll be ok. She focused her gaze on Ben's limp, bleeding form and scowled deeply, praying, willing her thoughts to be true. Everyone will be ok.
AN: I deliberated long and hard over what nickname Rey might come up with for Ben. Nothing really sounds perfect for some reason, as she doesn't seem like a "nicknamey" person. Admittedly, "love" still doesn't sound ideal for her to say, but with her accent I guess it sort of makes sense, maybe? xD