Author's note: Y'all. I'm so sorry this update took a while. Stole some Shakespeare here, hope you catch it ;-) Thanks for reading. xx
Field of Vision
Chapter Nineteen
With the gang safety sealed inside and using an escape tactic that Han Solo would be proud of, the stolen First Order shuttle shot out of the Finalizer's hangar bay at light speed, leaving an explosion of chaos and sonic waves in their wake.
Ben carefully arranged the injured Poe sitting up against a wall while uttering uncharacteristically warm reassurances that the injured man was going to be just fine. At the same time, the scavenger girl and the former stormtrooper exchanged saccharine looks of joyous triumph and started to laugh hysterically with a sense of shared relief over their miraculously successful mission. Hux lay exhausted on the grated floor opposite the party, leaning up precariously on one elbow, and watching the whole sickening scene unfold. Apparently, this was how the other side lived. Hux was jealous of what these people clearly shared together—naked hope and a sense of camaraderie—something Hux never thought he would possess because he never knew what these things were in the first place.
Finally face to face with his former rival, Hux threw Ben a dirty look, clearly not pleased to see him again after all this time. It was all part of the deal, he knew it, but still wasn't thrilled to have to be around him again. There were too many years of bad blood between them.
Filled with an alarming amount of contempt towards his rescuers, Hux eyed Ben's new look—the long black cloak and menacing helmet were gone—replaced with Republican casual wear and a damn goatee. At least he still carried that same annoying air of overconfidence wherever he was. He could work with that.
"Ren."
"Hux. Still walking around with a stick up your ass?"
"Alright, knock it off—," Rey sternly interrupted before their shared unpleasantries could escalate any further.
"Save it for later. We've still got to get out of here in one piece," she turned and left for the cockpit without a second glance at them.
Stunned that the scavenger girl had the nerve to speak to him that way—Hux forgot himself; he wasn't a general here, not anymore. He was, all things considered, their prisoner. He closed his eyes in pain as he sank back to the floor.
Ben's gaze trailed after Rey, fully aware he was in the doghouse and needed to apologize to her. Again. But he knew he could do no such thing under Hux's spiteful watch.
They arrived at the rendezvous point within minutes, relieved to find the Falcon still waiting for them. The ships docked together and began the transfer of crews, with Leia waiting expectantly at the joint hatch.
Rey and Finn crossed first, eager to see Leia again while Ben carried Poe across the dock exchange with the help of a few other Rebel medics. Leia seemed concerned for the sorry state of her most loyal and rebellious pilot, but not nearly as concerned as she was to finally meet the next First Order defector, General Hux. She peered through the empty hatch, expecting to see him trailing behind the others, but he wasn't anywhere to be found.
"Armitage?" She called down the metal crossway, when she heard a sharp hiss and a thud echo back.
Leia hurried across the dock exchange to find Hux laying on his side and struggling to stand. He had tried to get to his feet at the call of his name, but a searing pain in his side prevented him from moving any further. Reaching forward to help, Leia turned up the flap of Hux's great overcoat to find a bloody mess underneath, just above his hip. He'd been bleeding out during the entire escape, but all the blood had drained unseen through the grated floor rather than pool out beneath him.
Immediately, Leia hollered for the medics and Force lifted the boy off the floor. She ferried him across the dock exchange and into the Falcon's hold before letting the Medics take him from there. Hux wasn't familiar with this side of the Force and through his immense pain, found himself amazed that it could be used for purposes other than flinging people around and choking them to death.
Drawn by the sounds of the unexpected commotion, Ben wandered over with a look of genuine concern on his features as he watched the medics tend to his former rival. But Hux threw him a loveless, bloody smirk out of spite.
"Don't give me any of your pity, Ren," said Hux in between coughs, "Give your concern to someone who actually wants it."
Without waiting for anymore of Hux's bile to spew forth, Ben walked away before he himself said or did anything he would regret later. For all Ben cared, someone else could take care of Hux.
xx
Away from the noise and the bustle of the crew, Rey sought a rare, solitary place on the Falcon to decompress. She needed to concentrate before it was time they were shipped out to Exegol, which she knew would come all too soon. She sat crosslegged on a bunk in an empty cabin, her eyes shut and trying to breathe evenly to meditate. But, Rey sensed Ben's restless presence lingering nearby—he had apparently decided his apology couldn't wait any longer.
"I went too far again, didn't I?" He asked, sulking in the doorway of the cabin.
Rey's head popped up from her meditating. He waited for Rey to allow him near.
"You did what was necessary… they would have tried to kill us if you hadn't…" she refused to finish her thought; there was no need to dwell on what could have happened. Harboring fears only held her back.
Ben rushed forward into the small room, kneeling down beside her on the floor as his guilt surged out in waves. He reached up and took her smaller hand in his, turning it over to kiss her palm.
"No, I forgot to keep you in my balance; I realize how it works now. When I delve back into… that part of me that keeps me angry; that fuels my strength. I should've been more careful to keep your light in balance with…" he sighed, sounding exhausted. He didn't like admitting he still clung to his darkness, even if it was only used sparingly.
"I'm sorry."
This newly developed ability to apologize was still foreign to Ben, but he'd learned quickly when he needed to use it. His grip on her hand slackened, but he didn't want to let go.
Rey's heart ached. She searched his feelings and he let her in without hesitation. Rey realized that he really meant it this time; he didn't mean to lose control so easily. Ben's darkness would likely never leave him, but with her help, he knew he could do anything.
Still holding his hand, Rey stepped off the cot and settled herself on the floor opposite him. Their bond always felt stronger when they touched.
"I forgive you."
A shy smile appeared on his face as his entire demeanor shifted from tense apprehension to that of immense relief. Rey returned the smile and indicated she wanted to meditate with him.
Ben arranged himself in a comfortable sitting position, a mirror image to Rey's as they sat holding hands between their folded legs as they meditated. Together, they focused their dyad energy into a singular point. It filled them and warmed them, revitalizing their worn-out bodies. Rey felt her innermost desires surface and as though they were engaged in lively spoken conversation already, felt Ben respond with a wave of his own. They traded wordless thoughts back and forth, learning and knowing one another. Finally, on the brink of being breathless from all the energy of their mental exchange, the dyad truly became one and crossed a final unknown boundary to their shared abilities.
Ben opened his eyes first with a wild and unrestrained elation reflected on his features. His broad chest heaved with the effort of their mixing, like they had run miles without lifting a foot. Rey grinned in response, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
"I don't know why we haven't thought to do that sooner," she said joyfully.
xx
"How did none of you realize he was bleeding?" Leia hissed.
The gang sat gathered around the holochess table, crammed shoulder to shoulder as Leia scolded them. Her anger was a palpable force, making each one of its recipients wince and shy away from her harsh glare.
Ben leaned back and crossed his thick arms over his chest, a deep frown marring his features. Gently, Rey nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, knowing exactly what he was thinking, but he continued to scowl unfazed by Rey's or his mother's scolding. Turns out, he was not appreciative of the wide array of emotional twists and turns this day was presenting. He just wanted to rest and enjoy the immense high he and Rey had just experienced together from their newly discovered dyad meditation—and ride it through into Exegol. He didn't want to be reminded of his failures.
"Not once did he give any indication he had been injured," said Ben flatly, refusing to be blamed for Hux's condition. "And believe me, he loves to complain…"
Finn piped up next to support Ben's statement.
"That's right. He didn't even flinch when we all piled inside the shuttle. It was absolutely chaos getting outta there."
"Escapes like that are always chaotic, trust me I know," Leia rebuffed, unimpressed. "Still doesn't excuse you not checking on each other to make sure everyone's alive."
Poe, now fully healed thanks to a major dose of Rey's Force-healing abilities, gave Finn a loaded sideways glance.
"Honestly, General, we weren't paying attention to anything other than gettin' outta there. And I was pretty beat up, too. I think they were more concerned with an obviously injured friend than checkin' on the—,"
Leia raised her hands, palms out as she silenced him.
"That's enough."
But Rey was the brave one. She did feel guilty for not noticing Hux's injuries sooner—regardless of who he was.
"I'm sorry Leia. We have no excuses. I… we," she corrected herself and pointed between herself and Ben, "should've sensed that something was wrong. I was just so upset from…" Rey shook her head as though she were denying a bad thought from continuing, "I'm sorry I didn't notice," she rushed out.
Leia's irritation softened at the young woman's sincere apology. Perhaps she had been a little hard on them, given that she was all too familiar with how chaotic close escapes like theirs could be. Where your only focus is getting out alive and everything else could wait.
The pause in conversation filled the air around them, letting the seriousness of the impending situation sink in.
"Alright then. Exegol is next on our docket. We still have an hour before we arrive. Poe," Leia turned her attention to her recently healed, ace pilot.
Promptly, Poe looked up from the table upon being addressed directly, ready for whatever assignment his general would give him.
"I need you to pilot the Falcon—and don't—do anything stupid with her, alright?"
Poe grinned, eager for the task.
xx
The remaining hour before they arrived on Exegol disappeared in between final preparations and the nervous, but brief conversations held in passing. Rebel command had come up with a plan before their troops had even left the jungle base, but now they were going over it again with a fine tooth comb, making adjustments as needed. Rey and Finn were engaged in small talk with the copilots that had enabled their escape from the Finalizer. Hidden away in the cargo hold to focus his energies, Ben certainly didn't hold any sentimental desire to speak to anyone before this final, massive incursion, nor did anyone else feel the need to address the Bantha in the room.
Hux had been healed of his injuries and was finally up and walking around the Falcon. He made the unfortunate mistake of wandering into the cargo hold and literally bumped into Ben while he was meditating, hidden behind a crate. Not paying attention to where he was going, Hux had walked right into Ben's bent knee and tripped, falling face-first onto the grated metal floor.
Ben stared harshly down his nose at Hux, who was still lying prone on the floor.
"Ow," said Ben flatly and without any sense of pain actually having been inflicted on him.
"Watch where you're sticking your enormous feet out," Hux berated him, stumbling to stand again and checking his mouth for blood.
Ben noticed the general wasn't wearing his enormous black overcoat or anything from his sleek (and often padded) First Order issued uniform. Instead, Hux was wearing a spare flight suit from an equally slim-built pilot in the Resistance, making him look incredibly different from what Ben was used to seeing. In Hux's case, the uniform really made the man. And now that the uniform—and everything it stood for—was gone, Ben wondered what Hux had left.
"You tripped on my knee, you inattentive kaadu."
Hux's scowl tightened his already screwed up face at the insult. The entire right side of his face was pink from where he collided with the floor, but Ben chose to keep his gloating to himself and returned to the pretense of meditating.
The following moments were uncomfortable, with Hux clearly clueless as what to say next. They'd spent years programmed to hate each other, trying to usurp each other while vying for their Supreme Leader's personal affections and approval, if you could even call it that. Ben continued to sit crosslegged and without movement, choosing instead to focus on behaving rather than giving into his baser instincts to pummel the redheaded idiot until he decided Hux'd had enough.
"Th—thank you," started Hux awkwardly, "for getting me out of there."
Ben glanced up at the slight man, studying him. Hux looked grimly uncomfortable as he stood there, looking physically smaller than Ben could ever remember before, but finally surmised his rival was using an Imperial tactic; gain favor with your captors so you could use their trust to your advantage to escape. But, Ben remembered the old score that lingered between them, and finally addressed unsaid things.
"You're welcome. We're even, now."
The understanding hung heavy between them as the score was settled at last. Over a year ago, Hux had indeed pulled him from the destruction on Starkiller Base, and now, Ben participated in Hux's liberation from the First Order. The consequences from Hux's spying would have ensured a death sentence had he stayed and anyone found out.
With that rather awkward exchange now out of the way, Hux decided it was time to leave.
"I wanted to kill you… when I had learned you were the one who tampered with my lightsaber. You can fool the others, Hux, but you can't fool me. You're up to something," said Ben mirthlessly.
Hux practically trembled as he stood, waiting and listening to the threats he knew Ben was more than capable of fulfilling. Hux was powerless here and it terrified him.
"I stole and bugged your lightsaber out of spite, yes. I'll admit it. Kill me if you want; it would be what I deserve," said Hux with naked honesty. It caught Ben off guard to hear him talk like that.
"But after a while, I genuinely wanted to help the Resistance… your mother is a very convincing person, Ren. I'm not going jeopardize anything."
Hux paused, emitting a small and humorless chuckle as he continued, "Even after all our years together serving under Snoke and backstabbing each other at every chance we got… when you left… I was all alone. So, I hated you even more until I realized I was actually envious of you… Envious that you had escaped from it all."
Sensing Hux's anxiety ran deeper than what he showed on the surface, Ben decided to let up a little. Though, he still didn't trust the redheaded weasel.
"Well, now you're out, too. And, it only gets easier from here," admitted Ben, surprising even himself for attempting to reassure his former rival.
"Maybe for you."
Hux shook his head somewhat neurotically and turned to leave. As he watched the former general finally leave the cargo hold, Ben reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his father's golden dice. He turned the dice over in his hand, appreciating the slightly tarnished and weighty baubles. Once again dwelling on the wisdom from his ghostly father during that unforgettable night aboard the Falcon, Ben remembered only too well how difficult his own transition was from being Snoke's pawn, to turncoat, to Rebel.
Ben could only imagine how difficult it was for Hux, who now had to reckon with the fact that he would soon be facing the relatives, friends, and allies of all those he had ordered destroyed during the Starkiller attack on Republican systems. Millions upon millions of lives were cut short, all because General Hux wanted to give a demonstration. No wonder Hux was on edge; despite all his cooperation with the Resistance, he knew his life was forfeit.
xx
The Millennium Falcon jerked a little as it exited hyperspace; their journey nearly concluded. The Resistance had arrived on Exegol at last. Thousands of other fighter vessels had arrived alongside the Falcon to join the final fight, but they were not alone; the First Order had come to meet them and the crew needed to break through the blockage if they wanted to land on the planet.
There was a reason Leia put the two Force-users on the Falcon; this ship was the fastest out there, and they needed to speed through the final barrier to their mission. There was no one Leia trusted handling the Falcon more than Chewbacca and Poe Dameron, who was becoming more and more like a second son to her. She trusted Chewie and Poe to break through the First Order's blockage and onto the planet's surface.
With several X-Wings and a handful of other Rebel frigates coming to their aid to distract First Order defenses, the crew was able to make a successful landing on the surface of Exegol. It wasn't smooth, but they'd made it.
xx
Side by side, Ben and Rey descended the ramp exiting the Falcon. Their energies were high as their feet hit solid ground and together they launched into a sprint heading towards the ominous temple. This planet was dark and not simply due to the presence of a Sith Lord's long-hidden lair; there was no nearby sun to bring light or warmth to it, but an endless and cursed lightning storm carried on high above in the atmosphere, jetting out frequent and enormous bolts of lightning that could shred an X-Wing if their pilots weren't careful. The sporadic flashes of lightning were bright enough to blind, but the equally blinding after-image left in the lighting's wake was an even greater threat to the crew's visibility.
Leia stood at the top of the ramp, intently watching her son and the girl from Jakku run ahead into the darkness.
"They'll signal when they're ready for pickup," Leia said calmly, her eyes still on the dyad until their figures were engulfed in the surrounding smoke and shadows.
Poe appeared around the corner awaiting his general's next orders with Chewie close behind.
"You ready for this fight, kid?" Leia asked him.
Poe nodded obediently and for once, didn't have a snarky answer ready for her. Chewie roared in agreement, playfully shoving the young man's shoulder and nearly knocking him over from the force of it. Then, without missing a beat, Poe smirked and returned to the cockpit to ready the Falcon for launch and into the fray.
Leia reached out for the Wookiee's hand expectantly.
"C'mere you big, walking carpet. We've had a good, long run, haven't we?" Leia said lovingly to her favorite Wookiee.
After surviving a few wars together and several decades of getting to know one another's little expressions, Chewie hummed appreciatively, tucking her into his furry side for a brief hug. Leia paused to enjoy being held by the Wookiee, tapping the middle of his furry chest with her wrinkled and slightly arthritic hand.
"You know what to do. Take care of my boy, will ya?"
With a singular roar and a furry shake of his head, Chewie nodded in understanding and headed back inside to join Poe in the cockpit.
She pulled the long shawl from around her shoulders and let it drop to the ship's floor. Descending the ramp after her children, Leia pulled out her lightsaber from a hidden pocket and held it tightly in her hand.
Ben and Rey would not be entering the Sith temple alone.
xx
The swirling, dense fog surrounding the dyad made it difficult to navigate towards the center of the Sith temple. They held hands, not exclusively out of affection, but so they wouldn't be separated from each other as they traversed deeper into the darkened and unstable temple grounds. They heard little noises that grabbed their attention, but when they turned to look for the source, could find nothing beyond the swirling smoke and fog that permeated the area.
Afraid of being caught off guard, Ben tuned out his bodily senses for a moment to focus only on what he could feel through the Force. With Rey's hand safely tucked in his, he felt safe enough to linger in his meditations to try to determine if other beings might be in this eerie and forsaken place. The presence of the Dark Side of the Force was unquestionably the strongest pull on the dyad's senses, and Ben took advantage of soaking it all up like a sponge. Aware of keeping Rey's light in his balance, Ben pushed himself to go deeper through the Dark until he thought he found what he was looking for.
The Emperor was indeed here.
Acutely aware of the presence of several familiar and hateful beings closing in on them nearby, Ben stirred from his meditations to warn Rey. They were not alone in the temple.
"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here," said Ben bitterly. It had been a long time since he'd felt their presence, but he no longer feared them.
He squeezed Rey's hand tighter before letting go completely. With their minds connected, there was no need to dictate to the other what they ought to do. Swiftly they turned and stood back to back against each other, igniting their bright blue lightsabers in the sheer darkness. Six bulky figures lurking in shadow were suddenly illuminated in the blue glow, rapidly closing in on the dyad.
Sensing their hatred for him, Ben's own measured rage filled like bile in his throat. He needed to end this once and for all, and he needed to protect Rey.
"Kylo," said one of the masked creatures.
The filtered, mechanical voice uttered Ben's former name like an accusation. It reminded Rey of the first time she met Kylo Ren and how unnerved she felt from the sound of his eerily calm, filtered voice through the mask. But, once he'd revealed his face, her fears were minimized because Kylo was just a man beneath the mask of the monster.
Ben said nothing to his former knight in return, only raised his saber in an attack stance ready for whatever they could dish out. He had learned a long time ago that their allegiance to him had been unreliable at best, but also that they were not very capable against one-on-one combat with a lightsaber.
Do not fear them, they're only men, Ben said encouragingly to Rey through their shared bond. He'd heard her thoughts about his old mask and smiled at them, remembering that even then, she was more than a competent fighter.
The six knights had closed around the pair in a tight circle with all weapons poised for battle. One of the knights stepped towards Ben, testing their attack strategy. Ben retaliated by Force-pushing him backwards for several yards beyond the fog until the body met with an unmovable object; likely a wall. Ben tweaked his claw-shaped hand and instantly crushed the knight's windpipe. The Dark Force energy that filled this planet also filled Ben, amplifying his powers in a way that made him feel uneasy. He relied heavily on Rey to keep him in balance.
Two more knights launched towards Rey, their swords and battle axes raised high, but Rey mimicked Ben's strategy to push the enemies away while using her saber to deflect blaster fire from a third knight.
The five Knights of Ren came at the dyad all at once and without pulling their punches. But so did Ben and Rey. The dyad was ready and did not have time to dally with the Knights of Ren when the Emperor himself was sitting on his throne only meters away.
Switfly, Ben cut out the legs of one of the knights lunging towards him and then thrust upwards with his saber splitting through the chest cavity. Rey was caught in a duel with the one knight who held a range blaster, trying to pick her off from every angle he could before Ben reached out and Force-squeezed his windpipe until it crushed.
Rey wasn't waiting for an invitation from the last three knights before finishing them. She leapt wide into the air spinning head over heel, grabbing the tallest knight by his cowl and yanked down as she landed on her feet behind him, swiftly stabbing him in the back with her saber. She hated doing it, but couldn't feel sorry for the knight for long.
One of the knights grabbed Rey from behind, yanking hard on her hair. She yelped as she struggled, but the knight didn't have long to decide what to do next before Ben seized him through another choke-hold and forced the knight to drop his hold on Rey. She heard a sickening crunch of bone as the knight's fingers were bent backwards, making him bellow in pain.
"Don't touch her," said Ben threateningly. He was blinded by his fury as he crumpled the knight's body like one crumples up used aluminum foil.
The last remaining knight dropped his axe and started to flee like a coward, but Ben seized him before he could escape into the fog. Kicking and screaming as he was Force-pulled back towards his fate, Ben dragged the knight face-first through the rocky terrain until he was brought close enough to skewer with his saber.
It was finished. Ben's chest and shoulders heaved with the effort of battling the darkness within himself from taking over. He quickly reached out for Rey's hand, dirty with blood spilt from the knights. Rey grabbed his hand without missing a beat and instantly felt their energies reset and balance as they were intended. Ben closed his eyes and cut off his lightsaber, relieved that he hadn't spun out of control yet. Rey was still with him.
"I thought that would be harder," said Ben.
Rey tilted her head curiously at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
"I spent the better part of the last decade with the Knights of Ren. When I left Luke… they found me, took me in. Once I rose in their ranks, they became my personal guards following my every command and—what was it you said—'terrorized the galaxy'… I just thought it would be harder to face them."
He shook his head and led her by the hand through the stone colonnade, which no doubt, would lead them to the Emperor's throne room. Rey wanted to feel relief at his words, but the growing sense of dread surrounding her halted all positive thoughts. This planet was suffocating her ability to keep hope alive, and the longer she stayed here, the more it drained her. The Light Side of the Force struggled to survive here, and young Rey felt it more and more each hour they remained here.
xx
Their journey to the Sith Lord's throne room, which was more like a wide open arena, did not take long. The dyad was ready—as ready as they were ever going to be—to face their destiny. They were met by a unit of Praetorian guards on their way into the throne room. The bold red color of their uniforms stood out like a beacon in the dark and lifeless arena, drawing the dyad in. They would have to break through their well-fortified lines before they could even look at the Emperor.
Ben charged forward first, unwilling to wait for them to make the first move, especially when he was already so riled up from facing his former Knights of Ren. The Knights were the opening act, thought Rey, as she prepared for another fight. But, the Praetorian guards marched readily towards them. The front two guards charged towards Ben in a collision course until they met, their weapons clashing noisily against each other. Two others followed suit towards Rey.
The Praetorian guards were formidable opponents to the dyad, fighting them with a type of strategy and fearlessness that neither the Death Troopers nor the Knights of Ren possessed. And while Rey was more than brave enough, she didn't have nearly as many years of training or experience as Ben did against enemies of such caliber.
As the dyad fought in formation against the six tall and faceless crimson figures, another player emerged quietly in the arena.
xx
The Praetorian guard were giving Rey the struggle of her life. Their strategic and heavy strikes made her stagger backwards after each blow, hurting her already straining arms and wrists as she held her ground against them. Ben, on the other hand, had plenty of experience surviving multiple enemies at once. In fact, this was a Dark Side speciality he had learned to conquer years ago under Snoke's tutelage. The irony was not lost on Ben that he was now using the Emperor's training against him, but no self-respecting Sith Master would ever teach their pupil anything that they could then turn and use against their masters. The Emperor still held his best tricks up his rotting sleeves.
Rey's defenses slipped, leaving herself vulnerable for only a moment—which was all that one guard needed to land a successful strike against the novice Jedi. The guard was able to wound Rey, drawing a sharp cry from her as he slashed the edge of her thigh.
After a substantial fight against only the first wave, Ben felled his two opponents. But he didn't have time to rush to Rey's aide before three more guards swarmed him. At the sound of her sharp and pained cries, Ben grew anxious, afraid that she couldn't handle this after all. Without a second's further consideration, Ben fully delved into his tightly-restrained rage and let go everything that was holding him back as he fought three guards at once. Two guards were locked in a weapons battle against his saber, while Ben held the third back with his free arm outstretched in a Force-hold. Already imbalanced, Ben's anger broke through his threshold and felt his strength surge. He quickly felled the nearest two opponents, crushing their armored bodies with his anger through the Force, and looked to square up against the third guard.
But, Ben looked up just in time to see his last remaining opponent snatched backwards from in front of him. As the third guard fell, he saw the distant image of his mother walking through the fog in the arena and his gut instincts twisted into greater imbalance. Fear quickly replaced his anger at the sight of Leia emerging into the vast throne room, but he had no time to react before he saw the two guards fighting Rey being forcefully pulled back from her as well. The sixth and final Praetorian guard rushed fearlessly at the new threat, but Leia was more than prepared as she aided his battle charge, Force-pulling him through the air at speed towards her before igniting her own lightsaber and slicing him straight through just as he came within reach.
Leia made this look easy and Ben was suddenly in awe of his mother. He'd never known her to keep a lightsaber before, let alone witness her wield such power. This must have been what she was keeping from him all this time, and he craved to know why she kept it such a secret.
Watching her master's arrival with giddy astonishment, Rey staggered where she stood, finally collapsing to her knees from the pain and Ben felt it. His rising carnal rage withered and died as he rushed to Rey's side to assess the damage. Leia quietly marched past the bodies of the fallen Praetorian guards towards the throne while an unnatural laugh echoed throughout the arena. The dyad looked up in sync at the sound of the spiteful laugh reverberating off the cold stone walls to find Leia heading directly towards the center, her lightsaber still activated. She'd arrived seemingly out of nowhere into the vast arena, but Ben and Rey were grateful for the support.
A deep and hollow sound murmured through the arena. The Emperor was speaking directly to Leia as she approached his throne. His taunting and gravelly voice spoke of false praise for defeating his guards.
"So arrives the last of Skywalker's offspring to challenge me. Haven't you learned by now what happens to those who oppose me?"
The Emperor's voice thundered through the arena. Ben and Rey watched Leia stand her ground, her balance and strength in the Force something to be marveled as the Emperor threatened her. But, Leia was a war-hardened General of legions, a Jedi Master, and daughter of the Light, unfazed by his taunts.
"Princess of Alderaan, where is your army now?"
xx