Force Dyad

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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Sixty-Three-Like Home

Somehow, in the chaos, he'd become separated from Rey. Ben's stomach churned as he sought to find her through the gloom. Up above the Tie Fighters kept up their constant bombardment.

Come night time, the golden glow and heat given off by the burning fires that had razed the ancient jedi temple ruins to the ground, were the only continuing source of light. Nightfall had also brought an impenetrable blackness with it that seemed to suck the very life out of the atmosphere.

Masking fear was an essential part of survival. Ben had become adept at it over the years-protecting Rey was always his biggest motivator. He had become so good at it that he didn't feel fear as others do. The only thing that could hurt him was Rey.

If anything was to happen to her….

Ben shut that line of thought down quickly. Rey was a grown woman now. She didn't need protecting in the way she once did. A lifetime of training had forged her into a fighter. She was highly skilled in close combat, when she fought her lightsaber was almost an extension of her. She had an integrity, bravery and nobility of heart that made her a skilled warrior. He needed to trust that she would be okay…still…. he wished he could see her, just to put his mind at ease….

A row of dark figures manifested in front of him. Hate rolled off them in waves like fetid air. Ben recognised who they were at once-The Knights of Ren-Snoke's bully boys. He stilled, watching the knight closest to him raise his weapon, some kind of scythe. Another aimed a plasma blaster at him and quickly fired. Ben's eyes narrowed as he tapped into the Force. He stopped the blaster bolt in mid-air, it quivered momentarily, before he released it, sending it right back to the knight who had fired it.

There was an angry yell as the blaster bolt hit its target. Ben raised his own weapon protectively in front of him as the knights began to surround him slowly, like predators stalking their prey. Ben knew he could take two or three at a time, he wasn't sure how highly trained the knights were. He sensed they could touch the Force in a small way, but they were nowhere near his level.

Ben launched an attack on the knight closest to him, the one who had already been injured by his own blaster bolt. He thrust the shimmering blue blade of his saber right through the man's gut, ignoring the howl of agony that bled from his foe's lips as he dropped heavily to the ground. Another one of the knights was stealthily trying to creep behind him, Ben thrust out his hand and swept him away with the Force, before quickly spinning to face a third….

After a few minutes of furious battle with the knights, their leader, Ren, called them back so they could regroup. So far, they hadn't managed to make any headway against Ben. He seemed like he was everywhere at once, he used his weapon like it was an extension of his very own self. They had only fought an enemy as highly skilled and experienced as this one only once before-Luke Skywalker.

Ben had easily despatched Kuruk with the blaster bolt from his own plasma blaster and a stab through the gut. Ren decided their best recourse of action was to wear Ben down. They knew he had to be nearing exhaustion, he had been fighting for hours before they arrived on the surface. With one motion from his hand, he ordered the other knights to fan out, to keeping feinting an attack and then quickly withdraw to exhaust Ben's energy reserves enough so that they could launch a multiple attack.

It didn't take Ben long to work out what the knights were trying to do. His anger and frustration knew no bounds They were deliberately keeping out of weapon's range, taunting him deliberately and trying to drive him into total exhaustion. The one carrying the vibrating scythe laughed arrogantly, it came out muffled from under his intimidating helmet. He wasn't laughing for long. With one sharp sweep of his saber, Ben decapitated him.

That now left six.

Another of the knights fell to the ground, but Ben was tiring. As he spun around to face the next, his foot slipped on the muddy ground and he stumbled. Something cracked the back of his skull, sending him to his knees. He gasped as pain ricocheted through his head. Another blow crushed his abdomen, and he bent over gasping. His saber slipped from his hand and one of the knights quickly kicked it out of his reach.

Ren, in his supreme arrogance, assumed his plan was working. Ben suddenly seemed defenceless to him. He heard Ben draw in air as he ordered the other knights to draw back.

"Supreme Leader Snoke will be displeased if you kill him, Ren." One of the other knights reminded him uneasily. "Our orders were to bring Solo straight to him."

"As Voe pointed out, he didn't say in what condition." Ren snarled as he raised his saber to strike.

His blow never landed. With one quick movement, Ben called his lightsaber back into his hand. He ignited it, the blue blade humming wickedly as he thrust it upwards, right through Ren's cold, black heart.

Rey looked down at Voe's corpse, the cadaver, was missing the soul spark that made it a person. Rey wondered dully what had happened to Voe's spirit. Had it gone to some higher plane, to face judgement by some high power? Everyone passed on at some stage, she knew that, knew that everyone eventually moved from being a person to a cadaver, the tragedy was not death but when, where and how? If the life was one of joy and love it is a time of celebration and thanks. If the life was lived in suffering and struggle, or cut short by violence, then it is nothing but a tragedy. And that's how Rey regarded Voe's death-a pointless tragedy, a life cut short because of her innate envy and wickedness.

Skywalker had fallen to his knees. He was openly sobbing as he reached out with one trembling hand to close Voe's eyes, that seemed to glitter with harsh judgement, even in death. "I failed you, Voe. I'm so sorry. I hope you find the peace you couldn't find in life, my child."

"I need to find Ben." Rey mumbled. She was still feeling shell-shocked. Carnage lay all around her. She couldn't comprehend that she was responsible for so much death, but the fallen bodies of the fallen stormtroopers and Voe herself were testament to that. "We should go."

"Yes." Skywalker pulled himself wearily back onto his feet. His complexion looked as grey as Voe's corpse. Her death had hit him hard despite everything she had done. He looked on her face one last time. "I had hoped she would find redemption, just like my father."

"She was no Vader!" Rey said tartly. "You have let your fixation of what happened to Anakin Skywalker cloud your judgement and Ben paid the price for it too many times. And in the end, so did she."

Skywalker's blue eyes turned icy as her verbal assault hit home. His lips thinned momentarily, his whole-body tensing. Then, slowly, the muscles in his face sagged and he looked nothing more than what he was, an old man who had lived the majority of his life with regret. "You're right." He murmured.

Rey was already walking away. She concentrated hard, utilising the Force to guide her straight to Ben. She no longer cared if Skywalker followed her or not, she regretted none of her harsh words. He deserved to hear them. He wasn't her master anymore. She was her own master now.

Rey reached for the connection she shared with Ben. Showed him, that despite everything, she was okay. He acknowledged her, and Rey's lips parted in a relieved smile. For some reason, it felt different now, the connection. It was perfect, pure, like the shining sun. The acknowledgement of their love for one another made their bond burn brighter, stronger than ever before. He was her home, just like she was his.

Ben was equally as stunned, and together, they wasted a precious moment revelling in this new feeling.

His concentration on her lovely face glowing in his mind's eye was broken as one of the knights took a swipe at him. Angered by Ren's death, his knights came together in a last concerted effort to drag him kicking and screaming to Snoke. Their efforts would be in vain. Reenergised by their bond, drawing on the strength of their love, Ben attacked the remaining nights with renewed vigour.

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review.