Kylo's crackling lightsaber spun and hissed as it met Snoke's time and time again. The Knight was brute power, and Rey could see the Supreme Leader's skinny arms vibrate through the dark clothing every time their blades met. But Snoke's tall, thin frame was faster than Kylo, and he forced his apprentice to continuously turn and back away to avoid and counter the well-aimed attacks.
Asarla soon joined the fight, her white lightsabers smashing against Snoke's as he warded off both the Togruta and the Knight. Kylo began a quick succession of blows that he had once used with Rey in a duel that kept Snoke occupied while Asarla's small frame darted low underneath the crashing red blades. She slashed her right lightsaber forward, managing to cut a deep laceration to the Supreme Leader's lower leg. He howled in pain and shoved his hand forward, throwing Kylo backwards with the Force.
Kylo landed several feet away, and Rey heard the air leave his lungs through his mask. She began to move slowly toward him, her limbs still heavy and uncooperative. Distantly, she realized she was probably going into shock, but her thoughts were only of Kylo and her want to protect him.
She was halfway over to him when she heard the clatter of a lightsaber hitting the ground. Her eyes darted over to see Asarla fighting with only one of her lightsabers. She held the limping Snoke off fairly well, but she was clearly uncomfortable fighting and beginning to panic at having to face the Supreme Leader alone. Red and white blades locked together as they both pointed to the ground, and Snoke hissed something that Rey could not hear. His sickly pale hand lashed out and touched Asarla's forehead. The Togruta's eyes rolled back in her skull, and her small body shuddered before she dropped to her knees.
Rey could not figure out why Snoke did not finish her friend off as he stalked toward Kylo, who had gotten to his feet. His hood had fallen from his helmet, and he held out his right hand for his lightsaber. Rey watched his gloved fingers close around it, and he backed away swiftly as Snoke attacked. He had to dodge several wild sweeps from the red lightsaber before he was able to unsheathe his own. Rey started to move to help him when a white lightsaber obscured her vision.
Its light blinded her for a moment, and she blinked down at Asarla, whose eyes were the eerie gold once again. The Togruta slashed at her neck furiously, and Rey barely ducked underneath its sweeping arc. She held her left arm close to her body as she took several steps back on heavy legs. Her vision blurred at the sudden movements, and she dropped to her knees before she could steady herself. Her lightsaber rolled away as she caught herself with her hand. She looked up to see Asarla standing over her, and her hand shot out to grab her small ankle. She yanked with as much strength as she could muster, and the Togruta fell to the floor with yell. The second white lightsaber dropped from her hands.
Rey pinned Asarla down with her body's weight, placing her right arm over the thin orange-red throat. Asarla kicked at her angrily, but Rey's dense scavenger muscles were too heavy for the petite woman to dislodge. She held down her possessed friend and pressed her weight against the Togruta's throat almost too harshly as she looked up to keep track of Kylo.
The Knight and Snoke were almost evenly matched, and Rey could not distinguish whose blade was which through the red blur between them. Kylo had claimed he was not fully trained, but he was immensely skilled with a lightsaber, and any lack of training he might have had was made up for by the fact that he, unlike Snoke, had something – someone – to fight for.
"Rey…" Asarla's soft voice croaked up from underneath her. She tore her eyes away from the battle and quickly removed her arm from the Togruta's neck as she realized she had been choking her. Asarla gasped for air for only a moment before she shoved Rey off her and picked up the blue lightsaber, her golden eyes narrowed in hatred.
Rey kicked out at Asarla's shins before she had a chance to activate the blades and tried to pin the Togruta again, her basic survival instincts taking over. The two wrestled on the floor for several minutes until Asarla scratched the end of her left arm. Fiery agony burned up from the stump to her neck, and Rey screamed, allowing Asarla to press her to the cold metal floor.
The pain seemed to focus her mind, and she grabbed Asarla's throat, forcing her way into the Togruta's controlled mind with the Force. Snoke's darkness met her instantly, and Rey forced herself to think of saving her friend, of keeping Asarla from the Dark, and of her affection for Kylo. Her pain and anger at Snoke for controlling Asarla and manipulating Kylo crept into her focus. Her mix of emotions and selfness need to help her friends drove her control of Force, and she could not identify if she was commanding the Light or the Dark as she shoved Snoke's influence from Asarla's mind with a loud yell.
The Togruta's hold on Rey weakened, and her now blue eyes fluttered closed. Asarla dropped to the floor, her chest rising and falling gently. Rey pulled herself to her knees and shook the Togruta lightly. When her former assistant did not move, she looked over her shoulder at the ongoing battle.
To her shock, Kylo no longer held his lightsaber. He was ducking and dodging Snoke's attacks, his gloved hands raised to defend himself with the Force. His right glove was ripped open on the side, revealing raw, burnt skin from his small finger to his wrist. Rey's eyes dropped to the floor, and she saw the cross-guarded hilt lying in two pieces. She took a moment to realize that her scream had probably distracted him long enough for Snoke to cut through his lightsaber.
Rey sensed that a mental battle raged between them in addition to the red lightsaber that Kylo continuously evaded, and she could feel the Dark Side thicken further in the air as the two pushed at each other for dominance. The Knight ducked under another swipe toward his mask, and his left hand closed around one of the white lightsabers Asarla had dropped. It activated in his hand, and he twisted it expertly as he fought back against Snoke's furious attacks.
Rey stood frozen in her spot for several long moments as time seemed to slow. Kylo spun on his feet to gain momentum for a blow that she could predict would inevitably land on exposed Snoke's side when he let out a cry that distorted through his mask. He brought his left hand to the silver on his mask, and Rey sensed the mental anguish through their bond as he inadvertently left his back entirely exposed to the Supreme Leader. He took several steps forward, which was the only thing that saved his life as Snoke's lightsaber grazed through his lower back.
Both Kylo and Rey roared in pain and fury as the Knight dropped first to his knees and then forward onto his stomach, his mask clanging against the floor. Rey ran toward him, her injuries forgotten as her vision was only focused on Kylo and the angry red, smoking incision that marred the Knight's back.
She dropped to his side, not caring that she did not have a lightsaber to defend herself. His sides expanded quickly, and she could hear his swallow breaths through his mask. She pressed her thumb and middle finger to either side of the helmet, and it hissed as it released. She pulled off the mask to reveal Kylo's pale face, his black hair matted to the sweaty skin. His eyelids flickered open as he tried to focus on her.
Snoke strode toward them leisurely, and his tone told Rey he believed he was the clear winner of the battle. "I spent years molding Kylo Ren into the perfect weapon, only to have all my work undone by love." His snide words cut through Rey as she brushed Kylo's hair from his face. Luke was dead. Asarla unconscious. Kylo dramatically injured. She was one-handed and unarmed. They had wasted all of their lives to save one man from the darkness. "It is a shame to have to start over again, but I am nothing if not patient. The last Jedi is gone, and I do have the lovely little granddaughter of the great Ahsoka Tano to take his place. She's not as powerful as descendent of Lord Vader, but she'll do for now."
Rey's ire blossomed in her chest as he spoke so causally about disposing Kylo and using Asarla for his own purposes. She looked up at Snoke's tall form, her eyes narrowed as she realized how close he was. There was not time for her get one of the discarded lightsabers with the Force, but she would not go without a fight. She prepared to lunge at him, but Kylo's gloved hand closed around hers. He shook his head minutely. She stared at him in confusion and then looked back up at Snoke as the skinny man bellowed in rage.
The long red lightsaber clashed against the blue blade of Rey's staff lightsaber. Asarla swiftly pushed up the other end, and Rey smelled burning flesh as it seared against the side of Snoke's face. The blue blade melded against the ugly scar running down the Supreme Leader's forehead as he backed away, his black eyes narrowed in fury. Asarla brandished the lightsaber and jumped toward him aggressively. Snoke seemed surprised to see such hostility in his supposed pawn, and he was forced to defend himself against Asarla's agile attacks.
Kylo's hand tightened on Rey's, and she looked down at him as he whispered softly, his voice urgent and strained. "My grandfather started to bring balance to the Force." He grimaced in pain and licked his dry lips. "I need your Light, Rey."
She knew immediately what he meant as his gaze moved to Snoke, who was quickly gaining ground on Asarla. They both pushed forward mentally with the Force into each other's minds. The slice of darkness she always seemed to feel among the Light melded perfectly with the small glow of Light that pulsed within Kylo's Dark. Together, they shoved their way into Snoke's mind. The Supreme Leader's incredible power almost overwhelmed Rey and would have easily beaten her back individually. Combined with Kylo's strength, however, their flawless balance of the Force began chipping away at the darkness in the Supreme Leader.
Both of their hands raised as one, and they extended their joint control of the Force physically to shove Snoke onto his back as they continued their mental assault. Asarla kicked away the curved hilt of Snoke's lightsaber. The Supreme Leader snarled up at her through his twisted lips, and she held one of the blue blades to his skinny throat. Before the Togruta could do anymore, Rey and Kylo surged forward further with the Force in Snoke's dark mind.
Rey would not have believed it if she had not been present to see a strange dark glow envelope Snoke's tall, gaunt frame. The black glow radiated off him so intensely that Rey could not see the Supreme Leader through the dark for a moment before he shattered into thousands of pieces, as if the power of the balanced Force had smashed Snoke apart from the inside.
The room fell into silence as the three stared at each other in astonishment. Asarla slowly crossed over to Rey, a laugh of disbelief escaping her dark lips. The Togruta dropped to her knees next to them, and Rey felt a similar laugh rise up as she grinned and hugged her friend tightly. "You… You were amazing!"
She looked down at Kylo, ready to hug or kiss or do something to celebrate with him, but paused as she noticed he had not gotten up from where he had fallen. "Kylo?"
His dark eyes closed for a moment, and his gloved hands tightened into fists. "I can't feel my legs."