Author's Update: Double update! I know I'm getting ambitious. Less talk, more reading! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Never have, never will. I simply play in their world.
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"She stood before him just as she was made to be, no
lies, no judgment, no fake smile. She showed him the
storm that raged within her, the strength of her heart,
the stubbornness of her will and the soul that burned
like fire and he..."
-Mary Huber
Rey
The tunnel has become an incline. The other's are far enough ahead of me that I can't see them anymore though I can still hear the faint whistles of BB-8 in the distance.
The air is warmer as the scent of moldering sand and musk falls away and I know I have to be getting close to the exit.
My heart is beating against my ribs and its not all from the climb.
I'm going to see Ben again. Not just a phantom in my dreams or the projection of the Bond, but flesh and blood.
My pulse kicks up another notch and I wish I could believe that it is only adrenaline setting off the wings in my blood.
I'm nearly to the entrance and I hear strange noises, muted and distorted as they reach the tunnel.
A brush along my skin, echo's of emotions that are cold and malicious and my stomach tightens in response.
Something is wrong.
I pick up the pace and as I get closer I finally understand what I'm hearing.
Blaster fire and the sound of screams.
My friends are in trouble.
I pull the saber that I took back from Finn and ignite it, running full tilt out the tunnel.
Sunlight hits me in the face and my eyes water from the strong light, momentarily blinded.
A tightness between my shoulder blades, the screaming of my Force-sense and I turn instinctively, my training with Ben and Leia taking over as hot plasma misses me by inches.
Eyes streaming I come out of my roll and brush away the tears but my Force-sense is like needles beneath my skin and I whip the saber across my body, the deadly shot bouncing off harmlessly instead of hitting me directly.
A howl of rage cutting through the air and I turn to see Chewie fire his bowcaster but his black-clad opponent hefts a massive blade and I watch in dismay as he blocks the deadly shot.
Needles turn to knives in my blood but it's too late. Burning ozone and scalding pain blooms across my cheek even as I twist to avoid the shot from the unknown assailant.
I land heavily on my feet and I feel the laceration across my skin, warm blood seeping from the cut.
Another shot that I manage to block as I scan my surroundings quickly...there! A glint of metal in the sun, high on the cliff overlooking the desert.
A sharpshooter that has me in his sights and I dance away from another of his bolts, my saber flinging the blast back at him and he rolls in time to avoid getting hit by his own weapon.
I use those precious seconds to look for my friends.
Poe in the distance, his gun firing shot after shot with another masked figure, an arsenal of weapons strapped across his chest as he uses a war club to fend off Poe's attack.
He's being pushed back and I snap my head to find Finn and he's also engaged with a masked opponent, this one using some kind of long-bladed weapon I have never seen.
He's too close and Finn has to keep dodging him otherwise he risks being eviscerated.
My Force-sense twinging, knives in my bones and I drop to the ground, the shot aimed for my head flying past me.
I return my gaze back to my own adversary.
There was something off about the way he was firing at me.
As if...he was trying to keep me distracted.
Several more shots to the sand and I'm back on my feet. Every time I try to break away to get to my friends he keeps me pinned and I have to concentrate on not getting hit.
I don't know who these black-clad monsters are but we walked right into their trap.
They had been waiting for us.
I snarl as another shot comes close and block it with my saber.
I had to get to Finn and Poe!
A roar that shakes the air and I whip my head around.
Chewie is on his knee's, clutching his arm as his bowcaster lies useless in the dirt.
The one with the massive blade stands over him and I see a smear of red on the edge.
"Chewie...argh!"
I see Poe take a shot to the shoulder, dropping him where he stands.
"Nooo...stop...STOP!"
Finn was screaming as I have never heard him, his fear coating the air that I can taste even as far away as I am.
The one with the pole-blade stands over him and I can hear his cruel laughter as Finn has his head covered in his hands, nearly bowing at his feet.
His body shaking, his shirt darkened by his sweat and he no longer tries to defend himself.
Rage like nothing I've felt courses through me and my vision tinges red.
The tips of my right hand are tingling and the sound of thunder is in my blood.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
I thrust my hand out to the one with the massive blade held over Chewie, ready to deal him a death blow.
Blue lightning arcs from my fingers and it slams the monster off of his feet and away from Chewie
I scream again, my blood burning and my anger a furnace as the lighting I now wield splits in half, racing towards the two men standing over my friends.
The one who laughed so cruelly at Finn is lifted and thrown into the cliff wall. The other who turned to face me now lies motionless on ground, lighting crawling over him as his body convulses.
Satisfaction follow on dark wings through me and I look to my friends.
Chewie is staring at me as if he doesn't know who I am. Poe and Finn wear expressions of horror and revulsion.
Not at the men who were just about to end their lives.
At me. At what I was doing.
I slam my fist into the ground and the lightning ceases to exist.
"Poe! Finn! Run now! Get Threepio and get away from here!"
My heart is slamming against my ribs so furiously I swear I will have bruises on the inside. I can feel the lighting coursing through my blood, my fingertips tingling as the power whispers through my veins, begging to be used.
"Rey!" Finn screaming for me, wasting precious time. Those masked warriors are only stunned and even now I can see them shaking off the effects of my attack. "We're not leaving without you! Come on!"
He doesn't understand. If they stay they will die or end up as prisoners of the First Order and the mission will be over.
Without the wayfinder there is no way to get to Exegol.
"I said run!" Rage and frustration, the terror that all my friends could die while Finn tries to play the hero comes rushing over me and I snap my hand out as though to push them away and instead the lighting roars to life and arcs from my fingers straight at them.
Fear crawling over their faces as they look at me seconds before trying to avoid the deadly blast.
"NO!"
The bite of frost-covered rain inside my mind, a caress of darkness across my soul.
Ren is here and my attention is diverted by his sudden presence and the lightning follows the path of my thoughts.
"NO!"
I can't control the power, the lightning has a will of its own and instead of hitting my friends it goes after Ren.
He's moves like a black shadow across the sands, planting his feet and I watch helplessly as he thrusts out his hand as the lightning slams into his open palm.
It goes no further as he holds it in stasis.
The rage that gripped my mind only seconds ago is nothing but smoldering embers that leaves me in ruins.
I clench my fist hard, nails biting into my palm until blood drips down my wrist and the lightning is caged back inside of me where it belongs.
I can barely stand, my legs are shaking. Exhaustion lies heavy in my bones.
The lighting saps my strength with a ferocity that I can barely comprehend.
"You've gotten stronger."
His hateful mask is in place, his voice distorted and yet I can hear the open admiration that makes my heart flutter with traitorous pleasure.
Ren speaks to me with respect, even approval.
My friends looked at me as though I am a monster at this new manifestation of my power.
I keep my saber lit but at my side.
"So have you."
I don't remember him being able to do that particular trick before.
Of course I never had lighting crawling out of me either.
The masked warriors are back on their feet and I am encircled by them with Ren walking slowly towards me, his long cape swirling around him in the slight breeze.
I am disturbed to see the resemblance between him and my adversaries.
Just who are these men to him?
The one with the massive blade who held it over Chewie's head only minutes ago takes a step closer to me and I pivot, my saber flashing as I cross it over my body.
"Come any closer and I will drop you where you stand."
Fatigue was causing black spots in my vision and it was all I could do to stand but I will never let them see my weakness.
A harsh laugh emanates from beneath his mask and I watch with wary suspicion as he hooks the blade across his padded shoulder.
His helmet reminds me of a death troopers that I once found in the Graveyard of Jakku.
"Trudgen. She's mine."
The one that Ren calls out to backs away from me without argument and again I have to wonder just who they are to obey him so completely.
"You're a difficult woman to find Rey."
Only a foot of space separates us and I am surrounded by his men and yet his voice is low, intimate as though it was just the two of us out here in the desert.
I hate his mask. I wish he would take it off so I can see his face. I want to look into his eyes when he speaks to me.
"What did you expect? I don't give in easily."
"No you don't but now there is nowhere for you to run. I have the Falcon and your friend can't save you."
I move closer to him, dropping my saber to my side and his guards react, drawing their weapons.
Ren snaps out his hand and they sheath their weapons.
I lift an eyebrow to him and allow a smirk to come to my lips.
"Who said anything about my friends saving me?"
The roar of engines rolls through the air like thunder and Ren and I turn at the same time to watch Ochi's ancient ship lift from the ground.
I knew Poe would do the right thing.
Leave me behind and get the other's out of here and continue the mission to find the wayfinder.
I have the Sith blade but they have Threepio who has already translated the runes.
They were locked in his memory banks but if I know Poe, and I do, he'll find a way to get that information.
Ren lifts his hand as if he would pull the ship from the sky and I don't think about what I do next.
I grab his hand, locking his fingers with mine and yank it down. I should have felt the heat of his body, he is in the desert dressed in black, but all I feel is the cold touch of space emanating from him.
A shiver runs through me when he looks at me. I can see where they fused his mask back together. Crimson veins that hold the shattered pieces together, the silver gleam that frames the eyes but only hollow darkness stares back at me.
"If you want them," a soft murmur for him alone, "you'll have to kill me. It's the only way I'm letting go of you."
His fingers tighten around mine briefly and I have the sudden urge to just lay my head on his chest and let him hold me.
I am so tired and this conflict between us isn't over. In fact it's just getting started.
"Ben," I whisper, "choose. What do you want more? Me or the Resistance?"
"I have what I came for," I gasp when he shoves me away from him and into the waiting arms of another, "your Resistance allies will not get far in a derelict ship. Ap'Lek take her back to the Night Buzzard and rendezvous with the Steadfast."
He looks at me and for a moment I swear I can see his dark eyes in the hollow of his mask.
"You're mine Rey and this time you will not escape me."
His words were meant to sound ominous, a warning perhaps but all I heard was the dark promise in his voice and I could not stop the flutter of my pulse, the catch in my breath.
I have no intention of telling him that I am right where I want to be.
I never intended on leaving with Poe and the other's.
