A Dyad in the Force

Just when Rey thought things couldn't get any worse, the Emperor opened his mouth again to speak.

"The time has come," he declared, his voice thundering through the hall.

Ethereal chanting from thousands of Sith acolytes reverberated through the hall as they simultaneously fell to their knees. Lightning screeched erratically against the walls, briefly illuminating the amphitheater.

The language was one Rey had never heard, but she didn't need to understand it to know there was a dreadful meaning behind it. The voices sent shivers down her spine and her hair stood on end.

Rey's eyes were wide with fear as her gaze flitted around wildly. She could feel a rising sense of panic and her body was trembling. Her fight or flight instincts were screaming at her to run. But she made herself hold her ground. She had to.

Rey whirled around when Palpatine spoke again.

"With your hatred, you will take my life," his rotting lips were pulled back into a triumphant sneer. "And you will ascend. Just as I did when I killed my master, Darth Plagueis." His sneer showed oozing, grey gums, and rotted teeth. "Now. Take your saber, and strike me down." He continued, delighting in her discomfort. "It is your destiny."

Rey shook her head. She was done with people telling her what her fate was. SHE was the one who got to decide that. Not anyone else. Not Luke, not Palpatine, not even her friends. She was her own person. She was Rey. Just Rey.

She almost laughed bitterly before she spoke.

"All you want is for me to hate, but I won't. Not even you." Despite her attempts to remain calm, she could hear the harshness and the bitterness behind her words. She tried to tell herself she wasn't angry but it wasn't showing.

Her grandfather sneered in disgust.

"Weak. Like your parents."

Rey shook her head again, knowing he was baiting her. She raised her chin defiantly.

"My parents were strong. They saved me from you."

The Emperor leered mockingly before saying, "Your master, Luke Skywalker, was saved by his father. The only family you have here, is me."

His corpse advanced closer to her and Rey flinched, hating that what he said was true. The corpse stopped a few feet away from her, close enough where she could smell the rotting flesh.

The Emperor smiled lifted his gaze above, and a thunderous boom shook the cavern. Rey turned around, looking upward to see the ceiling opening. The sound of stone grating against stone shook the entire room as they opened to reveal the battle above.

There were large silhouettes of Star Destroyers, Resistance ships darting in and out, but they seemed like gnats in comparison to the enormous firepower of the Final Order. Explosions lit up the furious sky which threw down bolts of lightning at random. Rey reached into the Force and flinched violently when she felt each and every death as their life winked out of existence. Her friends were dying.

Her vision blurred with tears as she inhaled shakily watching the sky above.

"They don't have long. No one is coming to help them," the Emperor said. "And you are the one who led them here." A final taunt to seal Rey's despair.

He was right. She knew the Emperor was manipulating her, but it wasn't entirely without truth. It was her that had led them to Exegol. And now they were paying the price for it. The Resistance was hopelessly outnumbered, outgunned, out of time. People were dying, and it was her fault.

"Strike me down, take the throne! Reign over the new empire and the fleet will be yours. Only you have the power to save them," the Emperor's voice lowered before taunting her one last time. "Refuse, and your new family dies."

Ben Solo finally landed his ship beside the old Rebellion X-wing. He couldn't help but pause to stare at the 2 ships. Old enemies, side by side.

A familiar tingle at the base of his skull called his attention, that familiar awareness… Rey! She could feel him. He felt her confusion, then her relief, her joy, but only for a moment. The connection between them was cut off abruptly, and he could feel nothing of her.

Something was wrong.

Ben didn't hesitate for a moment to sprint towards the monolith. Armed with nothing but a blaster, he ran to the opening, and with no hesitation whatsoever, he launched himself into the chasm.

He caught himself on one of the massive chains hanging from the ceiling, landing heavily. It knocked the wind out of him and he took a moment to wince at his, now likely bruised, ribs.

"Ow," he said, grimacing. It was maybe the first time in years since he had let himself feel pain. Without drawing hatred from it. He let himself feel.

He glanced down over his shoulder. The floor was so far below him that he couldn't see it in the shadows. It would take too long to climb down. It was probably too far for him to jump down safely. Probably.

The only thing that mattered was getting to Rey.

Ah, what the hell, he thought. Ben Solo called on the Force, and let go.

Rey wanted to collapse. Finn was up there, Poe too. Rose, Kaydel, and everyone in the Resistance were up there, dying. Because of her.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. Then she thought about it. Empress. Would it really be so bad? Would it be worth it? To save her friends? To bring peace? The whole galaxy would have no choice but to be saved. She could have the power to make real change. Maybe this was the only way.

Rey stared up into the sky, watching the battle agonized.

"Very well," Palpatine said. "Finish them."

"No! Wait!" the words were out of her mouth before she'd even realized she'd spoken them. "Wait…"

She froze as she recognized a tingle at the base of her skull. A presence of light, even amidst the evil, rage, terror, and darkness infused within this place. She reached out, searching, and then...there!

She quickly shielded her thoughts and filled her head with thoughts of surrender, hopelessness, and defeat. Resignation to her fate.

She turned to face her grandfather and nodded helplessly.

His expression morphed into one of triumph.

"Good," he said. "Good."

"The ritual begins!" the Emperor declared. The acolytes responded with a loud, ceremonial chant. The mechanism holding his body began to lower the shell of her grandfather towards her. "She will strike me down, and pledge herself as a Sith."

Rey glanced around anxiously, waiting, daring herself to hope that what she had felt earlier was real.

A red blaster bolt took a red guard down. Ben ran about the corner when another bolt streaked nearby. Without looking, he aimed and pulled the trigger, shooting the guard behind him.

There was a time where he would have enjoyed this, the intensity and rage of a battle. But he was calm, blasting the robed figures easily. He had 1 goal, 1 all-consuming desire: help Rey.

He emerged from the corridor and had his blaster ready, his momentum causing him to slide a little bit. He started running again but stopped short when he saw 3 shadows coming towards them. The dust cleared and he saw 3 familiar figures. The Knights of Ren.

Vicrul with his scythe, Kiruk with his blaster, oh, there was Ushar with his staff. His Knights of Ren. He turned to see Trudgen, Cardo, and Ap'lek.

For a split second, Ben thought they were there to help him. But no, he could feel the waves of hate and rage roiling off of them. They belonged to the Emperor. Ben scoffed inwardly, of course, they have.

Another betrayal. The men that he'd considered his comrades, his brothers, were now circling him like predators stalking their prey.

Ben grimaced inwardly. The odds were not great. He could take 2, maybe 3 of them at once, but he didn't stand a chance against all 6 with nothing but a blaster. He'd trained with these men, fought with them. They could even touch the Force in some small way.

Shit, maybe he shouldn't have thrown his lightsaber into the ocean. The odds of him winning this fight were very much against him, but Ben smiled slightly when another line from his father came to mind: Never tell me the odds.

"She will draw her weapon," the Emperor announced.

Rey forced herself to remain calm as she unhooked Luke's lightsaber and ignited it, the blue blade illuminating the ground.

"She will come to me," he continued, the crowd chanting in the background.

Nearly against her will, Rey stepped forward, glancing around nervously. It was as if she no longer had control of her body. She shut her eyes for a moment to try to calm down and focused on that bright spot in her mind.

Ben called on the Force to push Kiruk out of the way and dodged a blow from Vicrul. He turned to face Ushar but was struck in the face with his staff. Before he could recover, he received another blow on the other side of his face before being hit again, knocking his head backward.

Without giving him any time to recover, Ben was winded by a blow to his abdomen, falling to his knees and gasping for air. He glared viciously at his attackers but was struck in the back of the skull from behind, knocking him to the ground.

Rey stepped forward as if in a trance, breathing heavily.

"She will take her revenge!" Palpatine said.

Rey continued to step forward even though every part of her being was screaming at her to run. She swallowed hard. The saber felt heavy in her hand, but she tried desperately to keep her face expressionless.

Ben clambered to his feet and glared at the Knights, who in their arrogance had backed away to give him time to recover. They must have never really respected him to give him space now.

Breathing heavily, he glared at Trudgen and Ap'lek as they hefted their weapons.

"With a stroke of her saber, the Sith are reborn!" Palpatine boomed.

The power he exuded was intoxicating and Rey couldn't help but step forward. With trembling hands, she slowly raised her saber as if to prepare to strike.

"The Jedi are dead!" he spat and Rey was close enough to see his grotesque features clearly and she nearly wanted to scream at the horror of it.

She didn't want to, but the saber was in her hands at ready. No, she shouldn't, she couldn't! But her body was drunk on power.

Rey took a trembling breath and then stopped short…

A familiar awareness crept over her, the noise around her suddenly became muted, the thunder no more than a distant boom in the background. Suddenly, a figure that was not her grandfather came into view.

Ben.

Rey suddenly appeared in Ben's vision and he breathed a sigh of relief that she was alright so far.

Her lips parted in surprise and Rey wanted to cry with relief and happiness. Lightning flickered in and out, illuminating his face. A sheen of sweat covered his face, his hair was disheveled, he had a cut on his cheek and a split lip, but Rey had never seen anyone more beautiful.

His face relaxed when he saw Rey. She was bathed in blue light from her saber, and Ben couldn't help but think she looked angelic. She was...happy to see him. She understood that he had abandoned Kylo Ren. That he had come back as Ben Solo.

Tears filled Rey's eyes as she looked at him. He had come back. He had come back for her in a way that no one had before. He'd come back for her. There was nothing that would benefit him to come here, he was risking his life, and yet here he was. Staring at her as if she was the most enchanting thing in the galaxy.

She shook with emotion as their gazes met and just for a moment, she let herself bask in their connection. It felt...good. Right. It was like coming home.

Ben also let himself feel the depth of their bond and was similarly stunned.

Together, they wasted a precious moment reveling in their connection. The way it should have been all along. A true dyad. Together. Whole.

The Emperor and Snoke had taken this from them. Circumstances had robbed them of this. A sense of belonging. A sense of home.

Rey no longer felt the need to step forward. She didn't feel the temptation to succumb to Palpatine's manipulations. Because he was here.

Rey no longer felt like she was incomplete. Like that one piece of her heart had finally been filled. Rey wanted nothing more than to embrace him in that moment, but then she was reminded of the situation at hand.

She looked behind Ben and grew concerned when she saw his Knights surrounding him. He had no weapon. Concentrating, she projected an image at him and blinked, giving the slightest nod of her head.

He nodded back, holding her gaze. Rey took a deep breath and focused on Palpatine once again.

"DO IT!" Palpatine commanded. "MAKE THE SACRIFICE."

Inhaling deeply, Rey lowered the saber behind her back as if to ready herself for a killing blow. She reached for the Force. She reached for their connection. She reached for Ben. The effort made her shake and tears stung her eyes.

Then she felt something touch her hand. Something warm. A wonderful thrill went down her spine as Ben's fingers touched hers. He grasped the saber and Rey let go.

The Emperor closed his eyes in triumphant anticipation.

Rey raised her hand to reveal...nothing. Her weapon was gone.

There was dead silence in the air as Rey watched her grandfather's dawning horror in realization. He reached out and sensed another. He had allowed Rey and Ben to come together. He had not anticipated the strength of their connection.

Their bond, forged by mutual searching, shared grief and trauma, rage, fear, but also of compassion, empathy, hope, belonging, understanding, and dare she say it? Love. It was the one thing Palpatine had not foreseen.

Ben wrapped his hand around his family's lightsaber and it felt right. It belonged to him, it felt like an extension of his arm. He raised it slowly, relishing in the feel of it.

The Knights stepped backward, startled and confused.

Ben smirked and gave a small, nonchalant shrug. He imagined his father saying, Surprise!

He smirked at his former Knights, and then he raised his saber and attacked.

Author's Note: Hello my dear readers! I am so so so so so so so sorry with how long it's taken me to update. I've been procrastinating but also school with COVID has been difficult. I DID promise that I'd get it done before the end of 2020, so here is my Christmas present to you all. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope it was worth the wait. I can't promise when the next chapter will be up, but I want to finish it before the end of winter break at least. Again, I am SO sorry for my long absence. I love and appreciate every single one of you. Thank you so much for reading and for being so patient with me. I hope you guys enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated! Happy holidays and Merry Christmas!