A/N: Sorry for the delay guys. Real life started taking a toll and some not cool things happened. Hope you all are doing alright out there!
Summary: Two years following the destruction of Starkiller Base, the New Republic has gained ground in their fight against the First Order. With Jedi in training Rey and Finn striking against the dark side user Kylo Ren, they are taking the Resistance to new heights, but this war is far from over. The Force surrounds everything and it has chosen two conduits to restore balance
PART TWELVE
Over the past two years Rey had felt the Force connect her to all sorts of things, but never had she felt so in tuned with it than she did now fighting these guards with Kylo so close to her. The Force hummed around them, she could feel where he would strike next and she knew he could feel the same. They were a well oiled machine, moving around each other in near perfect unison. One would have guessed they had been fighting together for years rather than this being the first time they ever fought side by side. Until the remaining guards had forced them apart to different sides.
Rey split apart her lightsabers to hold off two guards that were starting to wear her down. When she went to stab one, the other got a clean cut to her arm making her gasp in surprise, but she quickly ignored it. Now was not the time to let such a small cut get in the way, yet suddenly she felt as if it was getting harder for her right arm to move. Some panic did flood her then, but she called on the Force and she found she was able to move it better now, she needed to focus on the task at hand. It also didn't help matters that she feel and almost hear the cries of fighters lost. Snoke had said that her Resistance fighters were barely getting away, but she had wanted it to be a trick. Momentarily distracted, she narrowly dodged the guard that swung at her almost hitting her arm again.
Kylo had felt Rey's flicker of pain and some panic in her, he dodged an incoming swing, followed by another before he went on the offensive. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rey fending off two guards. To an outsider it looked like she was doing fine, but Kylo could feel that something was wrong and not so much with the injury. The Force around them was humming, it had expanded further out than before and if he concentrated, he could feel it to. The Supremacy was closing in on the Resistance fighters, soon enough they would all be gone.
Kylo couldn't say he cared about them, but he did care about one person who was aboard those ships and as much as he wanted the Resistance snuffed out, he didn't want her dead. Kylo shook the thoughts away, he went back to fighting and took out another guard with his lightsaber. He lifted it up to eyelevel, pointing at the remaining guards. He was sweating heavily, but not as much as he did during his trainings and he was for once very grateful for the rigorous routine Snoke had placed him on. Kylo swung his blade around him, effectively taking out one guard. He glanced at Rey.
One guard with a chain had managed to snag one of Rey's lightsabers, but with a battle cry she pulled him forward and stabbed him with the free one. Kylo gaped at her for a moment, impressed and in awe. He brought his attention back to the guards, they had forced his lightsaber down and were trying to back him away for a third guard to try and take him out. Kylo was more than aggravated. It seemed as if as soon as one was taken care of more of them appeared ready to fight. Or perhaps he had just miscalculated on how many these guards Snoke actually had. Regardless, he quickly broke out of their hold, forcing them back and lunging at the guard who was meant to stab him.
Instead it was the other way around, he was dead by the time Kylo pulled his lightsaber out. His saber was eye level once more, he caught sight of Rey and immediately saw her injury was bleeding too much, it was going to slow her down soon, especially considering she relied on both her arms now that she had her saber staff back. Kylo spun around ferociously, he took down one in the motion and managed to take the other's weapon. He used this to his advantage and killed another guard leaving only one. Though in killing the other, he had been forced to drop his saber and was narrowly dodging the swings of the guard.
Rey was caught in a hold by the guard behind her, the pressure on her injured arm making it throb more. Her eyes found Kylo was struggling against a guard of his own and she felt a rush of determination pulse in her to help him. With as much force as she could muster, she got the guard to release her and split her staff back in two. In two swings, she had disarmed him and killed him. Rey's hazel eyes met Kylo's brown ones, she threw one of her lightsabers to him and he caught it with ease, turning it on again to kill the guard that held him.
Once the red body fell to the ground, leaving only the two of them alive in this room with fires everywhere did the pair feel as if they could settle. Standing on opposite sides of the burning room, Rey and Kylo stared at each other, taking in the moment, letting it reach them. Rey looked out the scope that Snoke had forced her to watch through, she saw that the cruiser had entered the planets atmosphere far from them, but that wouldn't last forever. The distance was only temporary, they needed to leave and help them now.
"How's your arm," Kylo asked, his tone strained and out of breath.
Rey turned from the scope to look at Kylo, no to look at Ben Solo. His shoulders were more relaxed, the expression on his face showed his concern and she could feel it to. While she hadn't seen this in her vision, she knew this had to be leading to it, right? However she realized he was waiting for answer and looked down at her bloodied wound. Now that the adrenaline of the fight was wearing off, she was left to feel the throb and ache it provided. It also felt… muddy, but that wasn't right. She would have to deal with it later. Best she could do now was stop the bleeding. She pulled off some of the wrapping around her arm and brought it up higher. After a moment, she it tightly bound that should hold long for her to get some medical attentions .
"It'll be fine," Rey said as she started to walk over to him, "But for now we should go."
Ben looked from her wound to the throne where Snoke's body lay, in a voice that was more than certain, he spoke, "It's time to let old things die. The Jedi, the Sith, let all of it just, just die."
Rey was uncertain as she spoke, "All of it?"
"Rey," he said, his voice raspy and after a moment, he extended his hand to her, "I want you to join me Rey, rule with me here and now. We can bring a new order to the galaxy. Take control, make things better."
Rey felt her heart crack, "Please don't do this, don't go this way."
A burst of anger went through Kylo, "No, no! You're still holding on, let go! Let go of the past Rey."
"I can't do that," Rey snapped at him, her eyes shined with tears, "I won't."
They had, had this conversation once before. When Rey had been alone in the forest and screaming about something she could hardly remember, but she remembered Kylo appeared. The subject of the past had come up after he had calmed her down. It was something she clinged to when everything else was so unknown. The past was set, it couldn't be changed, it just was and everything that had happened, was already past. It was solid, it was clear, it was there. The future wasn't, it was uncertain, uncharted and unknown. More often than not, when she didn't know something it left her frightened and uneasy. While some things in the unknown excited her, there were others that left her feeling sick.
"Because of your heritage," Kylo asked her as he walked over to her, leaving only a few feet between them, "Do you know who they all are?"
Rey swallowed, "I don't see why that has anything to do with what we're talking about."
Kylo refrained from rolling his eyes, "It has everything to do with what we're talking about! You can't let the past go in any regard, you cling to it like it's the only thing keeping you together."
"You're one to talk about letting go of the past when all you've done is let it's pain consume you," Rey replied, her tone cold.
There was a glint in Kylo's eyes as he said, "You're right, but I am willing to let it all die now. Let it all be lost and destroyed. You can to, let it all be gone Rey."
He extended his hand to her again, she noticed it was trembling slightly. Kylo needed her to say yes, he needed her to join him on this because he couldn't do it alone. For the past two years she had been in his head and him in hers. Together they would be unstoppable, they would be strong, they would start something new, they could build something better.
The Force told him that she wanted to join him, but she was hesitating for reasons he didn't truly know. While he couldn't deny part of him was hesitant about his own offer, but he was certain it was the best option. From here, ruling the First Order, they could truly enact change. There was little the band of rebels was doing besides being a nuisance, but from there seats here on the throne, they could do so much more.
Desperation coated his voice as he spoke to her, "Join me….. Please."
For moments, Rey could only stand there and look at his hands. Part of her, a strong part of her, wanted to say yes. To grab his hand, to start over, but she felt that this wasn't right. To rule over the galaxy, to send it down another war path and destroying everything of the past was not the answer. Yes, she clung to the past more than anything because it was solid and it was useful, knowledge was power and she could use the past going forward.
Yet… yet maybe he was right. Maybe together they could do something different, maybe together there was a chance that they could fix all the mistakes of the past. The First Order and the New Republic could merge, build something new, something better and bright. Maybe the two of them would bring about a new order of force sensitive warriors different than Sith and Jedi. But she knew this wasn't the right way. Something deep within her, told her this wasn't the way.
Rey took a deep breath and she let the Force wrap around her and Kylo, their minds weren't exactly open to the other, but they were connected more strongly than usual. Yes, she did want to take his hand, she wanted to join him and just be at his side. Because for months she had been lying to herself, for months he had been lying as well. The feelings they had for each other wasn't something they could really touch upon, it wasn't something they could even fully discuss when they couldn't admit it to themselves let alone each other. But here those feelings were, laid bare in their minds now.
Compassion for the other, their strong feelings weren't hateful or angry, they were caring, passionate and at some point, there was love. Somewhere along the way, love had come to play. He cared about her and she cared about him, but they were still on opposite sides of this war. Even as Rey's hand lifted to grab his own, understanding had settled him along with deep sorrow and a flicker of anger. He wanted her to stay and she wanted him to leave with her.
It was a flurry, neither was certain who drew their saber first, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that his red blade was locked with her blue ones. The Force screamed in protest in tune with their own crying hearts and the world was lost to them.
Finn was a little more than astounded that their improvised plan was working. Granted they had nearly gotten marched to their execution, they had managed to get away by the literal skin of their teeth. Luck had been on their side, they had been leaving the engine room when stormtroopers caught them, Phasma was there as well which had been more than uncomfortable for Finn. That wouldn't be the last time he would see her, he had a feeling one of these days he would have to face her.
But today wasn't that day.
During their little walk, BB-8 had been able to set the bombs off allowing Finn and Rose to get away from the troopers and disrupt the real question on their half baked plan would be whether or not it was enough. Chances are, it wasn't, but for now it was all they had. So the pair of them had taken off running, Rose headed back to the hangar to find Anakin while Finn went after Rey. The Force had been more than alive around, he could feel that it was waging some kind of fight that he didn't understand. He called out to it, searching for Rey's signature until he locked onto it.
The alarms blaring overhead reminded him he needed to move as fast as possible. The Resistance was waiting for them, he needed to get Rey out of here. He followed her Force signature, running as fast as he could and no one paid him any attention which was great. It took a minute, but he made it to the room where Rey was, where he could feel her presence was inside. Yet her signature felt off. It was still the same, but there was a lot of pain and aching there that he didn't understand. Something must have happened, something bad.
Finn rushed inside the room to see several red armored bodies lying on the floor and… Snoke's body cut in half. The shock of it jarred him, making him halt in his steps, but he quickly pushed that aside. There on the right side of the room, he spotted Rey's limp body and fear pulsed through Finn. The Force told him she was alive, but that didn't stop the worry from wrapping around his heart as he slid onto his knees beside her.
"Rey," he said shaking her shoulder, he spotted a nasty gash on her right arm, "Rey, Rey come on wake up."
Rey's eyes snapped open, she gasped for her air and sat up right. Panting breaths left her as she looked around a bit frantic, her eyes wild. When she realized it was Finn, she was both surprised and happy to see him.
Relief reached Finn, "You're alright, it's okay. Come on, the ship is going down and we need to go."
Rey stared at him for a moment, "What are you doing here?"
"I'll explain later, for now we need to go," Finn replied getting onto his feet, pulling her with him.
Finn started to jog out the room, but Rey hesitated. Her eyes fell on Kylo who was still unconscious on the left side of the room. The sight of him lying there sent a pang through her chest, even if she knew he was alive and unharmed, she couldn't fight the feelings she felt at seeing him like that. A bit absently, she walked over to him and ignored Finn's question that she barely heard. Once she was standing over Kylo, she fell onto her knees and just looked at him. Maybe she could drag him out here with Finn's help. Maybe she could stay behind and help him. Both options were tempting, but there wasn't time. Her eyes burned at their final conversation, her heart ached and the Force seemed to cry around her.
"This isn't over," Rey whispered to him, one of her tears falling onto his cheek where his scar was, "Not yet."
Rey jumped onto her feet, she jogged past Finn and he came in step beside her. Though he wanted to question what that was about, the feelings she was projecting told him now was not the time to ask. Soon as they were safe and had time, he could find out more on what was going on. In the meantime they just needed to run. After racing through several corridors, they made it the hangar where the ship Anakin found for them was. The pair of them got in quickly, not bothering to waste anymore time. Once there, Rey rushed up to the cockpit already knowing that Anakin would need a co-pilot.
Finn watched her go, his expression more than worried. Something was really eating away at her and he knew it had something to do with Kylo Ren. She had kneeled beside him back there, the Force told him that the man was alive, so she had no idea what she was checking for. Again, he knew it was best not to ask now and would another time. That didn't stop his curiosity though. The ship launched out of the hangar, Finn held onto the wall to steady himself with the force of it. He made his way up to the cockpit when the ship leveled out, he found Rose was there as well standing in the doorway.
"Glad to see you in one piece," Rose said to him with a breath, "Let's hope we can all stay that way."
Finn sent her grin, "You and me both Tico. Pilots, how are we looking?"
Through the wind shield, Finn could see they were descending to the planet, but he didn't see the cruiser anywhere, not even a trail of smoke which meant it had already made it to the ground. Anakin answered him and touched on his thoughts.
"I got word that the cruiser crashed, luckily no fatalities and everyone made it to the old rebel bunker on this world several minutes ago," Anakin told him as he flipped some switches, "We'll get to them soon."
"Will they track this ship there," Rose asked, concerned about leading the First Order straight to their friends.
Rey answered her, "No, we're cloaked so they shouldn't be able to see we're here."
"And speaking of being here," Anakin commented, he glanced to his co-pilot, "What were you doing on the Supremacy? I thought you were with Poe going to Mandalore."
Finn watched as Rey's expression flickered to the most heartbreaking look he'd ever seen in his life, the Force confirmed her pain, but he didn't need it to know how hurt she was.
"A long story involving Force visions, but that doesn't matter now," Rey told him, struggling to keep her voice even, "Snoke's dead, the First Order is just behind us and will be more than ready to destroy us. Does General Organa have a plan?"
Anakin's brow scrunched slightly, he was considering pushing the subject, but decided against it when Finn shook his head, "She's sending out a signal for someone to get us. We're basically sitting ducks until someone answers."
That didn't sound very promising, but it was all they had. Soon enough their ship landed in the bunker, though all the Resistance members there raised their weapons ready to fire at them which was expected considering they had escaped in a First Order ship. However, soon as they had exited the ship everyone could see it was just Finn, Rose, Anakin and Rey. Most people brushed off Rey being there, everyone knew she had gone off on the mission with them, but it was Leia who knew otherwise.
Out there, the Force had been trying to tell her something important. She had felt something... Strange. The Force itself was still a mystery to her at times, but she did knew somethings about it very well thanks to years of practice. However the hum she had heard and felt, the strength of it's song almost had shaken her. At the center of that storm, she had felt Rey and she felt her son. The connection the two of them shared was beyond her understanding, but she knew it was powerful and raw. As the group of four came out of the ship, Leia approached them.
"Things didn't go quite as planned," Anakin said first, his expression was lighthearted and strained.
Leia offered him a wry smile, "When do things ever go as planned? I'm just glad to see you all safe. But our work isn't done. We've sent out a distress signal, but we can't just sit around and wait."
Finn spoke next, "I know this place has some half gutted skim speeders that should be functional for us to have some defenses if they decided to send walkers."
"Yes, I imagine they will, but we'll need air support as well," Leia pointed out, her eyes fell to Rey and Anakin, "We have this ship you brought to us and the Falcon is on it's way to provide some cover."
"Dibs," Rey said suddenly, her gaze triumphant when she looked to Anakin.
He groaned in response, "Unbelievable, every single time."
That lightened the mood for a moment, the running joke between the pair of who would get to take the Falcon as their own when Han let it go. It was a tie between the pair and it was coming down to whoever, in Han's opinion, flew it better which meant they had to constantly fly it or at the very least be on it more firing the turret and gain the older man's approval. Han had been out of the field for awhile now, but he wouldn't deny a request from Leia. However this glint of light couldn't last There was a lot of work to be done still and a battle on the way.
A signal had been sent out, the Falcon and maybe two other ships would arrive for air support, but that was all the the superior officers could agree to bring to their aid. While they could call more force from the Resistance, that was something Admiral Holdo was strongly against, but they didn't really have anymore options. Not to mention that would take time, time they didn't really have. It would be up to them here and now to by time. So they needed to make the most with the least. And as the ground began to shake, the attack here, did someone answer the signal.
Anger wasn't quite the word Kylo would have described as he stood in his ship, watching through the window as the bunker came in sight. When he had awoken on the ground, every part of him hurt despite not being physically injured anywhere. He knew it was from the Force, from Rey. He couldn't remember what exactly happened, only that they were reaching for each other, their lightsabers came in contact and then nothing. As if… he blinked in surprise and confusion, as if the Force had ripped them apart.
The explosion hadn't occurred until they were unconscious, Kylo knew that because he didn't feel it when he and Rey had their lightsabers drawn. Or perhaps the explosions had occurred in that moment as well and he had been oblivious to it. Regardless, it didn't matter now. What did matter however was that he was now leading an assault on the Resistance as the new Supreme Leader. The memory of it was fresh in his mind.
Kylo jerked awake when the Force warned him of a flicker of danger, he pushed himself up slightly and reached out with his senses to realize it was Hux. Likely the General had intended to fire at him while he was down, but that didn't quite matter in this moment. Rey, she was gone. He couldn't remember what happened exactly, only that when their sabers had collided, the Force seemed to scream in protest. Though he didn't understand why. They had clased blows dozens of times in the past two years, but never had the Force reacted so negatively and viscerally to their conflict. That only confirmed to Kylo Ren one thing, Rey was not destined to be his enemy.
"What happened," Hux asked flatly, his tone had underlining of fear of the answer.
Kylo pushed himself off the ground, "The scavenger killed Snoke. Where is she and the rebels who snuck on board?"
Hux answered sharply, "Gone, they've taken a shuttle off."
Kylo inhaled, in a curt tone he replied, "We know where they're going. The Resistance base down on Crait, gather our forces. This ends today."
"Finish this," Hux questioned as Kylo walked past him, "Who do you think you're talking to? You presume to command my army? Our Supreme Leader is dead! We have no ruler! We-"
The air was cut off from Hux as strong invisible hands put heavy pressure on his throat and he was lifted slightly off the ground. Kylo's back was still to him, but after a moment he turned around and his hand was raised, his fingers bent. Sparks flew in the back ground of the dark throne room behind Kylo who's gaze was menacing, enough that Hux truly felt fear of him in that moment. Over these years the only reason that Kylo did not kill Hux was because of Snoke, but now there was nothing holding him back and he wanted Hux to know it.
"Supreme Leader Snoke is dead," Kylo spit the words out, venom coating them, "As his second in command, I am now the ruler of the First Order. If you are not of use, if you dare to defy such a rule, I will dispose of you."
Hux let out a choking sound, "Long live Supreme Leader Ren."