I took a sweeping dive down as the first TIE fighter was coming after me head-on.
I swerved to the right, trying to get if off my tail long enough so that I could find a maneuver to get rid of him. The others were in the same boat too, these TIE fighters were fierce compared to the time before. I could tell they wanted to kill us, maybe because knew where their star destroyers were being held and this was a matter of seconds. We were in for a real dogfight this time, I could feel it behind my hands and behind my neck, as I was dived and dodging other fights and pilots there were doing the same thing as me.
"Gotcha!" I said as I shot down one TIE fighter that was trying to get me from the side, but as soon as I shouted that victory, another TIE fighter was shooting at me hard, having me once again go into fi=light more and try got find a moment to get another one off my tail. The skies were filled with TIE fighters, ships from the Resistance, and X-Wing pilots and they were all melting together in a mess of blasters and a blazing fire. I swooped down for a brief moment to see if I could find some kind of tower that Finn told us about from the D-O device, but since everything else was moving around us and making it too chaotic to look at once spot, it was harder than I thought it was going to be.
"We need to get these guys away from the tower so we can get the ground team ready!" I heard in the intercom. I loved past another bunch of TIE fighters, I could see one of the ships that had both Finn and Janna lower down on one of the main destroyers, along the surface and I could tell they found the tower to start the second part of the plan.
"Make sure no one touches the ship as it lands, we need to buy them time," I informed the Resistance group in my intercom, 'We need to buy them time so they get to that tower and destroy it."
"We're way ahead of you, Neyli." I heard Jencon's voice on the intercom, "We're ready with the ground team."
"Didn't know you were in the ground team, Jencon," I said to him in a casual grin as I got another TIE fighter shot down before dodged another near shot on my right.
"Figured they needed some more help down here and you guys have it all taken care of in the sky," Jencon reassured me as I could hear their ship landing in the background, "Don't worry, Captain. We have it handled from here."
'We'll take care of it," Poe said on his line, having me grin as I saw his Black X-Wing fly through the sky with his TIE fighters to deal with, "You guys take care of that tower.'
"You got it, General," Jencon answered back to him.
"How are we doing up here, Neyli?" Poe asked me as I narrowly dodged another blast from TIE to my left.
"So far, we're flying around like it's our first time in an X-Wing," I said truthfully, "These guys really don't want us to touch that tower,"
"No kidding," Poe commented back as I could see him taking out one TIE fighter on his own on my left, "As long as we buy them time, then we have a chance."
"Not gonna lie to you, there's way too many of them, and one of those Destroyers could be active and take a bunch of us all at once," I advised him, "Let's push it and make this go faster before we lose any more of our own." I was right when it came to these fighters, there were may more of them than there were any of us. This was going to be beyond tricky, and almost on the brink of pure death for us, and yet here we were.
Of course, after flying for mere minutes in the haze of a battlefield in the sky, I felt the Force Energy now within my chest, knowing that something intense was happening below me on the surface of the planet. I was still trying to concentrate there amongst the flying ships and fighters, but that tug was getting violent and threatening to me since it was getting worse and worse with the seconds going by.
It was Rey. I knew she was already down there and she was somewhere that was not safe at all. it was dangerous where she was, surrounded by something dark and almost sadistic. I felt the Darkness around there, almost like the Dark Side of the Force was seeping through the holes that were left open.
I cringed in the cockpit, taking in a shaky breath since the Dark Side was indeed here on the planet. It was trying to be contagious and spread out like veins within the area. I tried to focus back on Rey, but her own Force Energy was almost being thrown over by the Dark Side as if the Dark Side was trying to mask and hide her won't Energy from me. Maybe it was, but then again I knew we were all here to defeat the First Order.
But then, I felt another energy shift in the air, and I felt my breath leave me. Ben, Ben was there on the surface like Rey. His Energy shocked me though, having me almost lose my grip on my handles. His energy was different from before, way different, almost a complete 180 degrees from what it was in the past. I couldn't feel or sense any Dark Side within him anymore, having me realize that it slipped out of him when I left him. Even then it was better from him being all Dark Side, it must have been some kind of process for him to go through.
Ben….Ben, can you hear me?
I didn't get a response from him as I dodged another set of attacks in front of me, shooting down one more TIE fighter before I made a major swoop around the area to see if there was some kind of sign from him. This was now scaring me since if Ben was down there, he too could be in trouble. There was in Dark Side of him anymore, but who knew if he was once again vulnerable to it since he recently just came out of it. Anyone could be vulnerable to the Dark Side if it was close and tempting enough, I learned that from my Uncle. With this magnitude of it all over the planet, even Rey and I could be tempted into it.
Neyli…
Ben! Where are you?
Rey's in trouble. I need to get to her…
There was nothing else said, but he sounded desperate. I did what I knew was risky, and though I promised Poe to be careful, somewhere deep within the pits of my soul and stomach I felt the need to help him. So I made my choice.
"Poe, can you hear me?" I asked in the intercom, getting my X-Wing lower to the ground and seeing the Star Destroyers getting bigger all around me.
"What is it, sweetheart?" Poe asked, having me hear him grunt and shoot some of his blasters. I took in a breath now as I knew this could go from bad to worse.
"Remember how we had that talk about trusting me with any decision I'll make?" I asked, hearing nothing from his end for a few quick seconds, "Well, this is one of those times. And since we talked of coming back none piece, I promise to do the same thing right now. You need to trust me on this one."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Poe asked, almost sounding a bit out of it from what I was telling him. I cringed inwardly now as I was seeing the dark surface right below me.
"Poe, Rey and Ben need help. There's something down there, it's dangerous and Rey's in the vulnerable state," I explained to him.
"Neyli, wait for a second on this one, please—" Poe tried to talk me out of it now but I knew I was pushing it from not going down there sooner.
"Poe," I said his name once, no longer hearing anything on his end since I made it quieter, "I know what I am about to do, and I can do it. Trust me on this one, please." It was sounding desperate on my end, but this was the last attempt of me trying to convince him to let me do what I need to do to help end this.
"You know I trust you, Neyli," Poe said to me in a reminder, taking a shaky breath as I felt like I was waiting to hear one more thing from him. Maybe I was, and yet it almost felt like every time we would talk about this I was almost drawing him out to say what I what him to say.
"Remember what you promised," Poe reminded me, having me feel as though I was about to hop off the deep end now. He even sounded sure and true about it, having me nod my head knowing that he wasn't going to be able to see it.
"I'm gonna keep that promise, Dameron," I replied to him as I dived my X-Wing down and was aiming to find something there along the surface. There was a large mass structure, it almost resembled a building that was dark and ancient-looking, showing no sense of a soul or warmth there. It was almost terrifying to seeing as I got closer and closer to the ground.
A bit away from the structure, landed right on the top of the dusty and rigid surface, there was a ship, there was already parked. I could see that it was a TIE fighter, having me eventually find a spot next to that one and land there with hesitance. Once I popped the top of the X-Wing open, I felt the wind whipping around me and almost sounding like howling animals. Lightning was striking everywhere along the surface, making the flashes of light almost unbearable to try and see.
Q2 chirped at me frantically now as I was taking off my helmet and placing it on the seat.
"I know what I'm doing, Q2. I need you to keep in contact with R2-D2 in Poe's X-Wing in case something happens," I said to the droid as I stood up completely, trying to get my bearings on where I was and where I needed to go. I stripped off the Resistance Pilot jumpsuit, being in my regular clothes and I grabbed my saber that I tucked in the cockpit to but in my holster. I hesitated to get my father's blaster because if there was one thing I wanted left thing if anything were to happen to me, I would want it to be his blaster.
"Keep this safe for me," I advised the Droid as I was about to hop out of the ship and land on my feet on the rigid ground, pausing before I did and I looked back at my beloved droid. This droid was with me all this time since the moment it was given to me as a Resistance pilot. There was no other loyal droid just as personal to me as Q2, and now I was once again leaving him behind, "I'll come back."
Q2 beeped back at me, almost in a sad tone now as I gave him a reassuring now.
"I promise," I said to him, then gripping the edge of the X-Wing. I launched myself over, failing for a brief moment before I landed on my feet there along the surface. Several more lightning strikes hit the ground as I could see the mass structure in front of me I took in a shallow breath, instantly remembering the dream that I had some time ago back before we were trying to find the Wayfinder. It was dark, just like now, the wind picking up around me, and I thought I saw someone there too. It was Ben, but in my dream, he had his cape and his saber out at the ready.
But this time, it was once again Benn.
He was stripped down in black pants and a black sweater, a blaster in hand now as he was bolting towards the structure. I knew this, I saw it before. But this was different too, and I could feel the tug he had within him as he was running full speed now, not even seeing him since his ship was parked a bit farther away. Maybe he meant not to see me, he was focusing on helping Rey, or maybe he just didn't see me in general.
"Ben," I softly called to him, already starting to run after him though he was already way too far away from me for me to catch up to him. But I was determined, seeing closer and closer to the structure now as Ben was almost disappearing into the darkness. Above me, though the sounds of the winds and the lightning strikes, I could hear the battle raging on and the blasts coming from high in the air. It made me worry about the others, and yet I was down here on my own.
Literally on my own.
The small opening at the bottom of the structure was small enough for me to run through and try to avoid slamming my head up, but I was still going as fast as I could to follow Ben and see where he went. I could see far off in the distance that there was some kind of opening in the ground where Ben was, having me watching him jump and fall through the opening that seemed to resemble a hole. I sprinted now, in hopes that I would lose him if he was going in a direction where I couldn't follow. As soon as it was close enough, I stopped abruptly and I looked down, seeing that it was a fall itself was a bit much for any else. But I knew I could make it on my own with no help. I then heard a blast coming from down there, one blaster blast as I got nervous.
It might have been Ben.
I finally jumped, seeing a massive chain with each link the size of my own body over at the side. I slid down what looked to be a massive chain with my feet before I jumped off and landed on my feet in the lower level. It was darker, envier with the aurora of darkness all over, and what looked like high pillars and status. I didn't know any of them were, but they looked ancient and menacing, being so high up and the lightning strikes making it worse. But then I heard more movement over to the left, having me now take out my saber off my hip and held it in my hands as I started to run towards the sound.
In front of me to the side was one body already dead on the ground, I noticed it as I was running by it was a blast wound to the chest. I turned the corner at another massive opening, seeing another being on the ground dead right behind me some ways away. But then I was skidding to a halt now, seeing what looked like am ambush happening some way away in the opening.
6 beings, all dressed in black armor and with various black weapons, were making a circle around Ben right in the middle. He was holding one blaster at his side, waiting for them to make some kind of move as he was so still and so precise. My heart lurched, seeing the size of these beings around him and they made him look so small. For a brief moment, I was frozen now as one of them dove to get him, he was trying to outmatch them all and fight them, but by the time I was getting my head together he was beaten down to his knees in the middle and the others were wielding their weapons ready to kill him off.
I had to act.
Taking a deep breath, I ran over to the side larger wall, scaling the side of it with my feet and then kicking off to fly high in the air, aiming to land right there with Ben in the middle. I threw out one hand, seeing one of them fly up and slam to a hard left into the wall with a grunt. The others looked confused, thinking that it was Ben, who was almost confused. But he looked up just in time for me to land right next to him and stay crouched low with him by my side.
I looked over at Ben briefly, seeing him look at me both in shock and amazement. Blood and grim were on his face, but in comparison to before, when he was still in the Dark Side, now he looked ever lighter. I saw it in his eyes, the color back on his face and cheeks, he was back to being Ben Solo. We locked eyes with each other, having me give him one single nod.
Ben had his hands behind his back now as he was now looking dead ahead as if he had something hidden up his sleeve as I clicked on my lightsaber, both ends blazing in energy and power. Out of nowhere from behind Ben's back, Uncle Luke saber appeared within his hand and he was in his own ready stance. The only person I knew would have Uncle Luke's saber was, in fact, Rey.
She sent that to Ben.
We instantly fought them, I went off on two of them as Ben took on three at the same time. They were strong, that I could give them credit for, but we were after and we knew how to fight thanks out training. I was light on my feet as I dodged one blaster and struck down another being that almost got me against the wall. Ben was doing just fine on his own, launching off the wall with his own feet and then taking down two at the same time as I threw out my saber to strike down my opponent before I drew it back with the use of The Force.
One, in particular, was sparing with me and almost got me pinned down with his foot. But I grasped the middle of my duel saber, twisting the handle in one fluid movement as the dueling saber became two separate sabers. I grinned, wielding two sabers how in a tint of yellow and I struck back with both of the sabers, having him keel over in a heap now.
Within a minute or two, we won.
Ben and I breathe heavily now, holding our sabers in a death grip. and staring at the bodies around us. I took in a deep rebate, bringing in the ends of my two sabers back to the middle and clicking it back in place before I clicked one side shut. I then moved my hair from my eyes, trying to re-channeling my energy and breathing now as I heard a movement of steps.
"Neyli..." I heard him say my name, right next to me now and no longer in my head. I froze, my saber still in my hand and out on one side now as I was seeing him out of the corner of my eye now look at me with curiosity. There was no more hate on his face, nor was there any in his eyes. Finally, I looked over at him now, seeing him stand right in front of me with Uncle Luke's saber within his hand too, breathing heavily from our recent battle. It took us a few long moments now before we both clicked out sabers shut and faced once another.
He instantly ran over to me and we hugged.
It was a soothing sensation that I was feeling from embracing my twin brother again. It felt two lost pieces were melding back together since we were once reunited and not wanting to let the other go. I sighed in relief as we were clutching each other, both of sabers in our dominant hands and the other hands were wrapped in one another. I waited all this time to e next to my bother again, and it was a beautiful moment that we were sharing.
"I told you I would come back for you," I said to him as a reminder, hearing nothing from him for a moment or so before we pulled away from each other and I gave him a serious look, "I thought I lost you once and I won't lose you again. I'm here until the end, whatever it takes."
Ben nodded his head, reaching down to clench out hands together. His black-gloved hand in my gloveless tan ones, the both go us agreeing now as we knew what we needed to do next.
"Let's help Rey."