...My friend at work got me into Star Wars. Thus, I got hooked up on Reylo (Kylo Ren/Ben Solo x Rey)... I ended up doing this Star Wars AU story... Might end up doing more...
...Sorry, you guys...
Hopefully, you'll enjoy it. To see more information about this story, check it out on my AO3 account.
And now that's outta the way, on to the show!
It was over.
Snoke has been killed. Fell by the hand of the one he thought he succeeded at manipulating, and groomed to be his obedient puppet.
Kylo Ren. Once, known as Ben Organa-Solo.
Her enemy. Her General's son... Her soulmate. Her other half... Her Dyad.
Snoke's guards, the Elite Praetorian Guards, were also brought down. By both of them, fighting side-by-side. Back-to-back... Together.
When they fought, they were in sync with each other. They moved together, in harmony and such strength. In perfect balance. As if they were dancing.
Each held their own, but always sought out for each other. Looking out for one another. Ensure that their companion is safe.
Rey, a scavenger for over fourteen years, never been trained to follow the ways of the Jedi and only held a lightsaber twice in two battles, held her own and showed to being a natural. That, Ben had no doubt about.
Before their first encounter in Takodana, when he heard about a girl accompanying Beebee-Ate, he thought only to kill her. She was an obstacle, a roadblock that was in his way on finding Luke Skywalker and ending his life.
...Then, when he first saw her, aiming an NN-14 blaster pistol at him, something inside of him changed.
When he could easily parry the blasts she shot at him and reflect it back towards her, use the Force to choke her or to immediately freeze her, as if it were a game, he played along and walked towards her. Like a Pon-hopper, she tried to run, keep distance between the both of them and continued to shoot at her target, before he used the Force to freeze her in place and stand before her. And then, rather than force his way into her thoughts to know where Beebee-Ate is, he made her faint with the Force and carried her to his ship.
When he held her in his arms for the first time, did he feel how light she is. He was able to feel her ribs and part of her back through the thin materials that are more like rags than proper clothing. She truly is a scavenger, if she has to resort wearing weak, scratchy materials to survive the treacherous terrains of Jakku. Even when wearing gloves, the material did rub against the hard material of his armor and leather.
His heart felt lighter, pounding faster, when her head rested against his chest. And when two stormtroopers came to take her away, he practically threatened their lives if they so much as lay a finger on his precious cargo.
Of course, when she woke up, she wasn't anywhere near happy to find herself strapped to the chair and having him probe her thoughts to see the map. What he never expected, was for her to resist him and be able to fight back... Then, when he went back to the interrogation room and found her gone, he went ballistic and annihilated the whole room with his lightsaber. She wasn't supposed to be gone and he wanted her to be found, immediately. And, in the back of his head, he was going to kill any fool who dare to leave a bruise on her skin and find the fool who was responsible for taking her out of the room.
When he killed his own father and saw her with FN-2187, he ignored the fact that the Starkiller Base was being destroyed and chased after her. He needed to capture her, to take her with him and teach her the way of the Force... To fight by his side.
His attempt left him fighting with the girl that caught his attention, injured by her attacks and left to bleed out in the snow, after she left him with a scar over his face.
...He'll never admit it, but after that moment, he knew that she ended up capturing his heart. And after what they went through and fighting against the Elite Praetorian Guards, he has fallen for her even more.
And that's why he knew that he has to have her, for himself. They are both Dyad, two that are one, bound to each other by the Force, itself.
Destined to bring order and balance to the galaxy.
"The fleet!" She cried, heading for the viewpoint. "Order them to stop firing! There's still time to save the fleet!"
Ben didn't seem to hear her. Even at afar distance, she can see the disturbing calm in his demeanor, as he slowly walked a few feet towards Snoke's throne. Having no concern for the fleet, and not making a physical movement to come over and call off the attack.
His breathing grew heavy, as if waking up from a nightmare, mesmerized by Snoke's body being cut in half. His brown-eyes a bit large.
He didn't think that it would work. That he wouldn't be able to attack Snoke, without him knowing what his plan was going to be in his head. After many years of hearing his voice, the torment he underwent four so long, he never could hide anything from his master, when he could so easily probe his thoughts.
And now that he's dead, a realization came to mind.
In order for them to truly move on, and end this war... They need to let it all die. Destroy the past. Let it all burn. Fade into the void of the Force.
And, from the ashes, a new order will rise. To rule and bring order to the galaxy. With him, as their emperor... And Rey, by his side, as his empress.
"...Ben?" Her voice, confused and worried, brought him out from his thoughts.
He still breathed heavily, staring at the half-body of his former-master.
"...It's time to let things all die. -He turned to face her. He needs her to see he was serious.- Snoke. Skywalker. The Sith. The Jedi. The Rebel. -As he said those things, he walked towards a disbelief Rey.- Let it all die."
Once history has been written, it can't be brought back and it shouldn't be tempted to be brought back. What's done, is done. And those who died, are to remain dead. And that includes sins that were made to hurt others. And any traumatic event that took place, that made those who they are now, while it may linger and remain a piece of themselves, is to be put behind them.
In Kylo Ren's case... In Ben Solo's case, what he says is the truth he embrace: Let go of the past, because it's the only way to move forward.
And it was time for him and Rey to move forward, to what their destiny is.
"Rey. -Slowly, he held out his right-hand towards her.- I want you to join me."
When they touched hands through their Bond of the Force, he saw it. He even told her, revealed it to her in the elevator, that she would stand beside him.
She will rule at his side, and he intends to have it happen. To have it start, right here, right now.
"We can rule, together, and bring a new order to the galaxy!"
He knows that they will. For this is why the Force has brought them together. This connection they developed. How they're able to see each other's memories.
And since their first encounter, he has finally understood what it was that he felt for her.
...It's love.
He, an ex-Jedi, a tool of Snoke and the First Order... The son, a Prince of noble birth, to the General of the Resistance and Princess of Chandrila, Leia Organa-Solo, is in love with a scavenger of Jakku.
She, who never been trained in the way of the Force like he was, to resist him. She, who gave him the scar on his face, in their first duel with each other. She, who understood the pain and suffering that he went through, maybe even worse.
...She, who stood up to Snoke, believed in him and fought alongside him against Snoke's Elite Praetorian Guards... Has stolen his heart, and is going to be his future. A part of his world, for the rest of their lives.
All she has to do is take his hand, and accept that the Force wants her to join him. He may, even, not have to turn her over to the Dark Side, in order to be with him.
He never, truly, intends to have her turn, for it was her Light that called to his Dark and bring a balance to each other. To the Force. For they are Dyad.
...What he didn't expect is the look she has on her face and, immediately, shake her head.
"Don't do this, Ben." She begged, her tone a bit wobbly and shaky. "Please don't go down this way."
He can tell, just by the look in her eyes, that she's still holding on to the past. Clearly, she didn't truly listen, when he told her that they need to let it all die. Refusing to do so, like he does.
"No, No." He told her, his voice normal but started to raise, out of his frustration that she won't let her past go. "You're still HOLDING ON! LET GO!"
Rey took a slight step back from him, a bit startled of his raised tone, but still stood strong... Even when her heart started to grow heavy.
Ben, seeing her physical response to his yelling, didn't mean to scare her. He doesn't want her to be afraid of him, but he needs her to hear him. To see that he's right, and needs to realize the both of them ruling the galaxy, together, is what they're destined to do and save the galaxy.
...He knew what he has to do, to give her that push.
"Do you wanna know the truth about your parents? -He didn't wait for her to respond... He knows that she knows the answer to the question.- Or have you always known?"
He took a few steps closer to her... He saw the pain in her eyes, with the hint of tears starting to form in her hazel-orbs.
"And you've just hidden it away... You know the truth. Say it."
Rey remained silent, but the slight shiver in her breathing left her lips. She's hesitating to tell him what he already knows about her parents... Like he already did, back on Ahch-To.
"Say it." Ben repeated, pushing her to admit the truth.
...She sniffled, before she obeyed his words.
"...They were nobody."
A tear ran down her left-cheek.
Ben didn't need to get her to say more, unlike he needs to say to her.
"They were filthy junk traders." He stated, plain and calm, not hesitating to open up the wounds in her heart. "Sold you off, for drinking money. Left you, abandoned you to be a slave, in exchange for temporary relief of their miserable lives."
Rey sniffled again, as the pain in her heart grew. And still, he continued to tell her the truth about her parents.
"They're dead. In a pauper's grave, in the Jakku Desert."
...And what he said next, would be one of the greatest mistake he would ever make.
"You have no place in this story. You weren't even supposed to exist to begin with. Your own parents didn't even wanted you, and hoped you would die off. You came from nothing. You're nothing."
She already knew that. Yet, to hear him say that to her, nor having any consideration to her own feelings and knowing how much it hurts her.
...It completely crushed her on a whole new level.
Her gaze fell to the floor. Two more tears came down her face.
...She looked defeated. Lost... Numb.
Ben had hoped his words has finally made her admit to the truth she hid away for so long, and can finally let it go. To die in the past, and no longer hold her back to the future.
Then, when he saw the look on her face, after he just told her that she's nothing, he realized that his words had a much more deeper impact on her than he thought.
He knew that he isn't one that's good with words; Snoke isn't really the best teacher to turn to, when it comes to learn how to say what he feels towards others.
And seeing the hurt her than he meant to, he knew it was a mistake to stop there when she's so much more than nothing. How much she's something to him.
"But not to me."
Rey looked back up at him. A small glimmer, a light, within her hazel-gaze, caught his attention. It's faint, but easily noticable for him to find.
It was the same spark that she had in her eyes, when they touched hands for the first time... When he saw the vision that the Force showed him, and gave him a path to follow.
He truly didn't care if she was born from royalty, like himself, or came from absolutely nothing, like she, herself, came from. She isn't strong in physical strength, but she is strong by the Force and her will rivals to his own. Even his own knights, the Knights of Ren, will see her strength and will accept her as their leader's empress.
Two steps forward, and he held out his right-hand to her, again.
"Join me." He said to her, ignoring the sparks falling all around them. Only having his attention on the girl that captured his heart, and is part of his future.
All Rey could do was stare down at the hand held out for her to grab. To accept her place beside him, as his equal. His other-half.
...His empress... His soulmate, and future mother of their children.
She remained still, frozen in place.
Ben took three more steps to her, almost closing the distance between them. The longer she doesn't take his hand, the less time they have left to get to the escape pod and flee the damage vessel.
He needed her to take his hand, now, and accept his offer. To stop fighting what the Force wants them to do, and embrace her fate.
...To give in to the bond she has with him and allow themselves to be together, never to separate from each other.
"Please." He whispered, the urgency, the desperation and plea can be picked up in his tone.
Rey could only stare. As much as she wants to take his hand, to stand by his side...
...She knew that she can't. Not when he made her see the truth. To the fact that she never wanted to admit.
...That she is, in fact, nothing. That her parents, purposely, left her behind and were never going to comeback for her. How she'll only be known for as a Scavenger of Jakku, who became the Last Jedi.
...And that she'll always be a tool, for others' benefits.
She isn't stupid. She's known. Like Ben just said, she had always known about her parents.
And because she's nothing, why would he ever want her to join him? What could he possibly gain from her, should she accept his offer?
...Unless, it's for the same reason to why she left to get Luke Skywalker. Why the Resistance even acknowledges her, despite hearing she's some lowlife scavenger from Jakku, a planet that's practically nowhere.
To be used as a tool, for his benefits.
He told her in the elevator, when heading for Snoke, that he saw a vision, from the Force, when they touched hands on Ahch-To, that she was going to stand beside him and claim that he was going to turn her over to the Dark Side. And yes, she did said that she saw his future and that he would turn against Snoke, she didn't tell him that she would force him to turn to the Light and even offered to help him, like he described he would do to her.
And for the fact that Luke only taught her two lessons about the Jedi Order, makes her an ever bigger prize for anybody to keep in their possession.
He has no reason, whatsoever, to wanna have her join him, when he's already powerful and far stronger than she was. He's had training from Luke, his uncle, and from Snoke. Even when she beat him and injured him in their last battle, it was sheer luck that she won, let alone tap into her power to get the upper-hand on Kylo Ren.
He is a somebody, that many acknowledge, respect and fear... She is a nobody from Jakku, that wasn't supposed to exist at all and put in a spot that the Force, itself, decides to shove her into.
...She's a nothing, who fell in love with the enemy of the galaxy and believe would see her as an individual. That she truly is meant to exist... To belong.
But, in the end, that hope is stripped away and replaced with despair and loss.
Still, she has others that are counting on her, their lives, strangers and friends, resting on her shoulders. Finn, Beebee-Ate, Chewie... General Organa.
All of their lives, she needs to save... And sacrifice whatever hope she has to be with Ben, Kylo Ren, who she sees to following the same path as his grandfather.
So, she extended her right-hand out... Just like how she and Ben reached out for each other, when they first touched hands.
Then, she used the force to try and take the lightsaber from Ben, calling it to her hand.
Ben, immediately, used the force to call it back to him, and the two ended up in a tug-of-war battle with the lightsaber. It felt like hours, days had passed, as they continued to call for the lightsaber to come to their hand.
Ben is very strong, but Rey's powers, untamed and raw, is just as powerful... Both of their power of the Force are equal to each other.
...Then, the lightsaber broke in two and a small explosion, caused by the Kyber Crystal, thrust the both of them back from each other.
Rey ended up slamming against the viewpoint, while Ben was shoved to the small steps leading to Snoke's throne. Unfortunately for him, he was rendered unconscious when he slammed the side of his head against the bottom step.
Rey scrambled to her feet, waiting a few seconds to see if Ben would get up, before she cautiously walked towards him. He didn't stir in the slightest by the time she reached him and remained laying when she kneeled beside him and laid two fingers against his neck, feeling a strong pulse and steady breathing.
If not for the fact that his head hit the floor, he could've appeared to be sleeping.
The nineteen year-old stared down at the unconscious twenty-nine year-old... Her heart beating heavily against her chest and ribcage. She sniffled, as she laid a hand to rest at the back of his head, feeling the thickness of his hair.
A violent rumble shook the ground, alerting her that she needs to escape, now.
Rey didn't want to abandon him, but knew that she must. Though, her heart desired to do one act of selfishness, before she leaves him.
Slowly, she leaned forward... And laid a light, butterfly-like kiss on his cheek.
When she pulled back, a tear from her left-eye rolled down her cheek and landed on Ben's, gliding down as if he's the one who made the tear.
"You're right," she whispered. "I am nothing... but at least it allows others to be something, rather than being nothing."
Another rumble ran through the floor, acting like another warning for her to leave.
A few feet from where she kneels, she sees the half pieces of the lightsaber tapping and shaking with the vibration. Rather than getting back to your feet, Rey crawled towards the pieces and gathered them into her arms, clinging to the metal as if her life depended on it like she would hold on to the junks and trinkets back on Jakku.
It was then she noticed, as she felt the stinging in her hands, that the Kyber Crystal was, also, broken. Shattered into pieces. Her grip tightened, ignoring the pain building up in her hands, as she got to her feet and, looking behind her and seeing a direction to an escape craft, ran for it.
She hit the button next to the escape craft, opening its door. She took a step into the craft, leaning in to the seat... When she slowly turned to stare at Ben, one more time.
Rey's face went blank, as two tears ran down both cheeks.
"...I love you, Ben." She whispered, knowing he won't hear her farewell. "If this is the path you choose to follow, then I only hope that you don't follow the same path Snoke or Darth Vader went... And may the Force be with you."
A third shaking was the final push for Rey to make her escape from the First Order. Leaving behind a man, groomed from a boy, to play the role of a monster. A kindred soul, who suffered as she.
...And her hope, dream and love, who made her see the reality of her existence is just as she always known it to be: A mistake, a tool... A Nothing.
TBC
As you are aware, this takes place in The Last Jedi. And, because of a change in event, The Rise of Skywalker doesn't happen (Since the makers chose not to reveal Palpatine in the end, for a cliffhanger, in Last of the Jedi, then it shouldn't really matter ). Instead, something else comes in.
Because this is an alternate, there will be some other changes that'll take place. First off, in this version, Rey's parents did abandoned her. Not to protect her, but as Ben stated, for drinking money. Since, as the additional tag stated, TROS doesn't exist and Palpatine isn't going to make an appearance. He's dead.
I'll reveal to more changes/information on what'll take place, in future chapters.
And one more thing:...I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars, so I don't truly understand their philosophy on how they live and/or operate. I, finally, watched Episode VII and VIII, but I need to lookup some things on the wiki for intel and will watch the two movies a couple more times. So, I may not be up to speed and/or make some errors... So, yeah. Just giving you a heads up, the story will probably suck. But, if it does spark an idea for you guys to do your own version, I encourage you to do so.
R&R