Star Wars: Division

Okay - this will be one of those 'thank you so much' openers. Because it has been a while and I gained some really great followers and favorites and such, and so - we give thanks!

New Story Followers (and some who also favorited): TamSibling, Ca8E8ac, FEFO3325, hartryan430, Impulse53669, TheSecretNovelist, , Miyoro, lalalerah, SWE-DNK, MythStar Black Dragon, badrevolution, fanaticalfangirl, merlinsaprentice, onyxpass, MortyM, AvalonTheLadyKiller, FrancesOsgood, , BrownEyedFluffyOwl, HarllowHollow, ajacks720, alec221b, spacewoman, EspritLutin, and Revenger Tigger! What a list! Thank you, you beautiful people, for the follows (and favorites).

Folks that favorited the story but aren't on the above list that I don't want to leave out: BadAssMaroo, Violet-Black'1, and aliana bishop.

People who followed me (because they're crazy, I dunno'): pattysue5, Meshale.

And a special shout-out to MortyM (even though they're already mentioned) for pretty much doing it all - Followed and favorited the story, followed and favorited me, AND left a review. I was honestly pretty floored. Haha. Thanks so much for the appreciation and the comment - really nice of you.

And to all my other reviewers - you're awesome! Thanks so much for the feedback. It's really great, and I'm pretty sure that's obvious because every writer says it. But some of the recent feedback has been really nice to receive because I know my story has a much slower pace than A LOT of the other Reylo fics on fanfiction (I'd say 98% of them - eeeek!), so it's really easy to find it boring and tedious. So, to hear from some of you that it's quenching your slow-burn cravings and it's making the experience worth while, that just really really warms me. It makes the writer in me get all giddy and childish. Haha. Thanks guys! Truly.

To all my readers - enjoy. And I hope you are had a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year!

Chapter Seventeen

With the same sickeningly surreal out-of-body sensation one experiences in the slow motion enactment of watching a loved one die, Poe followed the pathway of Finn's body as it was pulled directly into Kylo Ren's awaiting hand; there was a moment - the briefest of moments - in which his stomach fell out of his body entirely and he thought his best friend was dead. Finn's legs kicked wildly as he struggled in Kylo Ren's hold, the life squeezed out of him while the assembled rebels and Resistance fighters alike stood in dumbfound terror, unsure of what to do. Poe had enough sense to fire at the leering Kylo Ren as he mercilessly squeezed, but with his lightsaber he deflected the shots easily. The stormtroopers accompanying their Supreme Leader on the field acted as both offensive units and bodyguards, shooting all across the camp's frontline indiscriminately, aiming at nothing in particular but keeping them pressed down to avoid the dangerous spray of blaster fire. As Poe ducked behind the barricade to keep from getting shot, the overwhelming fear that Finn was going to die, and he could do nothing to stop it, gripped his gut like a vice and twisted. The rebel Commander met his gaze as they both crouched, and his eyes were sad, empathetic, and knowing. Your friend died a hero, his eyes told Poe. There was nothing you could've done.

Sometimes war was like that - it backed people up into corners they couldn't escape from, situations that didn't present them with any good options. And often, involuntarily, one's own survival instincts kicked in and gave them no real say in the matter; it had been save himself, or charge Kylo Ren in some foolish attempt to save Finn, and end up with them both dead. It took immeasurable feats of courage and bravery to overcome one's own sense of self-preservation; it was the kind of thing he'd witnessed Rey do many times over. She never turned away from an ally in need. She always put herself in harm's way to save others. Like on Crait. Vrogas Vas. Shu-Torun - he'd seen it so many times. Nothing would convince him otherwise that she was the hero the Galaxy needed. A Jedi, through and through. That's why he had to get her to safety, even if it meant Finn's life.

Then, in a sudden eruption of rock, fire, and molten lava, the spot where the First Order forces had been burst open. Smaller rock chunks, fine dust, and grit covered Poe completely, even on the other side of the barricade, and cascaded its way across the entire expanse of the camp. It had been a huge explosion. The pilot gazed skyward, entirely perplexed, and then saw the bomber - some 400 feet up - close up its bomb bay hatches. It had forgone a second pass on the First Order headquarters to drop them directly on the Supreme Leader and his entourage, and the three X-Wings that had been by its side had followed up as insurance, peppering the ground with bullets just in case some bombs didn't explode on impact. The explosion had been massive - the ground beneath the First Order had been ripped open to reveal a layer of molten rock beneath, and the remaining parts of solid rock were quickly dissolving as the lava bubbled up and burned it away.

Poe surveyed the area, frantic. There was a chance - there had to be a chance. His eyes fell on the dark outline of Kylo Ren, which stirred from its sprawled position across the ground. Shit, he swore mentally. Why wouldn't this bastard just die? He'd be back on his feet, soon; there wasn't much time. Poe kept scanning the field, hoping to find a tell-tale sign of his friend - hoping to even find his body. Finally, he spotted Finn face up only some thirty feet away, and with relief he saw his friend's limbs begin to twitch. He was alive.

That was all Poe needed to know. Without another second of hesitation, he vaulted the barricade and dashed towards his friend. "Come on, buddy," he yelled as he crouched and grabbed Finn's arm, trying to encourage him to stand. "On your feet, let's go," he urged.

Finn's head rolled from left to right as he groaned, and then his eyes fluttered open. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words quickly fell away as he began to cough. A hand came up to rub his throat. Instead of another attempt at speech, he assisted Poe and hauled himself to his feet; his friend threw his arm around his shoulder, and they hobbled their way back to the camp as fast as they could. Which, given Finn was half out of it, wasn't very fast. Still, with help from some other Resistance fighters, the two managed to get back on the other side of the barricade safely.

Poe passed Finn his canteen. "Take a breather," he told him. "And a drink."

Finn said nothing and did what he was told.

"Listen," the rebel Commander yelled, taking Poe by both shoulders. There was a smear of blood across his nose. "The ground has become unstable after the blast. We have to pull back our line. If you're going to get the Jedi out of here - now is the time!"

The Commander was right, of course. Nothing too serious had happened yet, but already cracks were forming in the ground where the lava underneath the surface was beginning to burn its way through, now that the surface's integrity was so greatly compromised. He'd seen something like it before on an ice planet - a frozen lake which had begun to splinter after a crack had begun at its edge. It had spread to half of the lake, and caused a massive hole to form when the ice split apart, fell into the freezing cold water, and got carried away under the other half that remained intact. Something very similar was happening now. The upside was it had sent many of Kylo Ren's troopers to their doom, as they slowly caught on fire and sunk below the roiling, tumultuous lava and got carried away. The down side was soon the path between the camp and the landing pad would be the same, making it impossible to traverse. The Commander was right - now was the time, and there was no room for error.

"Give her to me!" yelled an inhumane voice behind Poe, who had been looking at the command tent while he tried to figure out how to get both Rey and Finn safely to the transport.

He turned and saw Kylo Ren standing up once more, his lightsaber again in hand, again ignited; though, Poe noticed with satisfaction, with a slight hunch in his posture. While his troopers screamed and yelled in violent pain from the molten rock, Kylo Ren eyed his enemies with pure hatred.

It was true, the ground beneath the Supreme Leader's feet lurched and jolted, threatening to throw him into the lava flow like his men. But Poe hardly expected Kylo Ren to let himself lose to some rocks and lava. And, true to form, the bastard was already using the remaining pieces of topsoil to create a path of stepping stones that bridged the distance between where he was currently marooned and the rebel camp. Poe swore and gripped Finn by the shoulder, who was still looking worse for wear, but improved from a few moments ago. "Finn," he said, giving his friend a gentle shake. His friend fixed his eyes upon the pilot and nodded. "Kylo Ren is coming," Poe continued breathlessly. "If we're going to get out of here with Rey - alive - we have to go now. Go to the tent, and - "

"Look," Finn interrupted. He pointed to a spot up and above Poe's shoulder.

He turned and saw, hovering above the camp, which was quickly being emptied by Shu-Torun soldiers, the transport. As if to check if his eyes deceived him, he glanced quickly over at the landing pad, which was vacant, and had a large crack running through its concrete. His mouth slightly agape, he looked up to the transport again. Bless you, Mace, he thought gratefully.

There was no time to waste; Poe helped Finn to his feet and they ran for the tent, for Rey. A Resistance member aboard the transport was already lowering down the lift cable.

Beneath his feet the rock he stood upon wavered and weakened. If he didn't get to more solid ground, the lava would burn up his sanctuary completely, taking him with it. And even if that didn't happen, the lava flow was slowly carrying him away, down stream. Eyes locked onto the annoyingly defiant face of the Resistance pilot, he reached out and aligned any and all remaining pieces of solid rock into a path of stepping stones that led right up to the rebel barricade. He didn't hesitate; as soon as the path formed, he began moving. With satisfaction, he noted the look of alarm on the pilot's face as the leering figure of Kylo Ren drew nearer. Good - let him be afraid.

As he drew nearer, Rey's presence became stronger. She was nearby, very close. He watched the pilot and ex-stormtrooper run into a large tent in the foreground. Ah, so she was in there. He made it to the barricade just as they emerged, carrying Rey on a simple stretcher made of cloth.

"Give her to me," he repeated for the third time. The trouble he was going through because of that blasted General and his new pet.

The pilot looked particularly protective as he eased his end of the stretcher down, and moved between Kylo Ren and Rey. "You can't have her!" Poe's face was scrunched in concentrated anger. He fired off his blaster several times as Finn knelt down next to Rey and began fastening her to the cable harness.

It was easy to deflect the bullets with the Force coursing through his enraged veins. He howled with a wild, wolf-like laughter at the imbecile's words. "I can't have her? She's already mine, you fool." He fixed a diminutive stare at the Resistance pilot, trying to reduce him to ashes through sheer will alone. Behind him, FN-2187 was already attaching the lift cable to the harness around Rey's torso so she could be pulled up into the belly of the hovering ship. Like an animal, he growled. Through the Force he reached and pulled on the cable, which came swinging out of the ex-stormtrooper's hands.

Confusion replaced the anger on Poe's face. Already yours? He questioned mentally. What could Kylo Ren possibly be talking about?

The man opposite him was gesturing, and his fist shook with emotions he was clearly trying to keep clamped down. "Rey and I have been communicating through the Force for weeks. It's something the likes of you would never understand."

Poe's eyebrows shot up. What? But that couldn't be true.

"You're a liar," Finn raged to Poe's left, on his feet next to his friend, the cable and rescue mission temporarily forgotten as he seethed. "Rey would never betray us!"

"You would know about betrayal, wouldn't you," Kylo Ren jabbed.

"You just want to torture her again," Poe fired back aggressively. He remembered how Rey had looked when recounting the story of her time on the Starkiller base in Kylo Ren's custody, and then again on the Supremacy. She'd touched briefly on the torture, and did her best to appear strong and unfazed, but there was the smallest downturn to her mouth that revealed just how much that time had affected her. He didn't want her to go through that again. He had been on the receiving end of Ren's mind manipulation powers, or whatever they were, and he certainly never wanted to experience it again. To think Rey had suffered it multiple times made his stomach queasy in empathy.

"Finn," he yelled, and took the man by the shoulders. "Get her hooked up to that harness! Let me distract him!" With a nod, he got back on his knees and went about fastening it around Rey's torso.

He frowned, watching the pilot. There was something there, something he could just barely glimpse through the Force. Underneath layers of other emotions and other thoughts, it lay like a stone in the man's center. Guarded. "You want her," he said, eying the man suspiciously. There, deep in the man's being, lay a coveted attachment to Rey he hadn't let anyone in on: a secret. An unrequited love. He didn't like it. It didn't sit well with him.

"She's my friend," Poe answered defensively. "I want to protect her." But the hand gripping his blaster was shaking just a bit, anxiously. And by then, it was far too late - the truth was written on Poe's face for anyone to see, anyone that took a careful look into his eyes and saw that tiny touch of sadness, and loneliness, that marches hand-in-hand with an unrequited love.

"No," Kylo Ren shook his head, denying the friendship facade. It rankled him that this pet project would-be hero of his mother's would think himself worthy. The Resistance may think him some hero - an ace pilot brought up under the General's wing who rose in ranks up the chain of command - but Kylo Ren had seen inside his mind, back when he was trying to torture the location of the map from its depths. There were some messy, cowardly things he would definitely rather hide. He scoffed. "You?" he said with a sneer. "She's far too good for you."

Poe bristled, rising to Kylo Ren's taunt. "Well, I don't care what you think is going on between you, but she's definitely too good for you," he pronounced stiffly through sealed teeth.

There was no reason for him to react the same way. The pilot was insecure, but knew the bond between him and Rey was unique, and something the simpleton flier would never understand. "That may be," he admitted. "But she chose me."

"If that's true, why did she stay with the Resistance? Why did she rescue us from Crait?"

His feeling of smugness was quickly squashed. Working his jaw from side to side, he scowled within his helmet. "That's none of your concern."

Poe huffed mockingly. "She didn't choose you. You're delusional."

Countless times, since the moment he'd first arrived at Snoke's feet and knelt to swear his undying allegiance to a new, dark Master, Kylo Ren was mocked and belittled, torn down so Snoke could build him back up as some perfect image of a true Sith Lord; a replacement for the great Darth Vader. And he had endured it in order to slowly and carefully move his way, bit by agonizingly small bit, work his way towards his own vision of the Galaxy's future - of his future. But to be mocked by this know-nothing Resistance fighter - that he couldn't tolerate. And the fact Rey's rejection was still an open wound, raw and tender and throbbing, certainly didn't help the matter. His rage reached new heights, fueled by his wild, animal-like yell.

It wouldn't be so bad to just kill him, right? Rey might be upset when she found out, but he was confident it wouldn't drive a wedge between them for long. He'd prefer not to, honestly, because he didn't want to hurt her, but the impetuous smirk on the pilot's face as he taunted him - he could get rid of it so easily. Hand outstretched, he pulled the pilot into his grasp same as he had done with the ex-stormtrooper. Poe Struggled in his grip, but Kylo Ren hardly noticed as he drew their faces close together. "I may not be worthy," he said to the pilot, as the man's face turned a bright red and his eyes rolled around in his head, "but I understand her in a way you never will."

Poe made some indistinguishable noises while his hands fought desperately - and futility - to loosen the hand around his throat. He kicked, and he struggled, but he may as well have been fighting against a brick wall; there was no give, there was no chance. Lights started popping in his eyes, and Kylo Ren's helmet leered at him, taking in every last second as he choked him to death.

"I'll take good care of her," Kylo Ren said menacingly, and then the bastard laughed. He laughed. He'd never heard the likes of Kylo Ren laugh before, and yet here he was, with his hand tightening mercilessly around his throat, taunting him with a laugh. The edges of his vision blurred. His face, his head - things began to feel cold.

Pew, pew, pew-pew-pew-pew!

The dark Force-user cried out and recoiled, and Poe dropped to the floor. There were a second of delay, and then he gasped hugely and hoarsely and felt air coming back into his body. Coughing and hacking, Finn took him under his arm and dragged him to the harness cable; Rey was no longer on the ground, Poe noticed, and hoped he was safely on board the ship. Above, one of the transport's guns had been turned towards the Supreme Leader, and had blasted him. Couldn't've done that sooner, Poe thought sarcastically, rubbing at his neck while he continued to gasp and struggle for air. The two friends made it to the harness and wrapped an arm around each end, doing away with the safe, conventional method. There was simply no time to go one by one; they needed to escape the planet and Kylo Ren - now.

"Pull us up!" Finn yelled skyward. The Resistance fighter who had manned the gun nodded over the edge of the ship, and then disappeared again. The crank came to life and began pulling them upward.

Somehow, they managed to get aboard safely. They untangled their arms from the harness, and Poe saw Rey, lying on a cot, still completely still and at peace. He drew a shaky hand across his brow, and exhaled roughly. This had certainly turned into quite the rescue, hadn't it? He certainly wasn't looking forward to facing Kylo Ren again, or having the life squeezed out of him. Finn gave him a few quick pats on the back, and a small smile began to form, the kind that comes with a sudden burst of happiness and adrenaline. "We did it," he said, half disbelief, half jubilation.

"Everybody ready? Seat belts on," asked the pilot over the comm system.

"Just go, Mace!" yelled Poe. "What're you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting to make sure everyone is safe before I fly us into the atmosphere and you fall out the side door, you idiot," she threw back at him, unperturbed, as she flipped some switches and hit some buttons. The thrusters powered up, and they started to move.

From the ground, there was a terrible sound, something Poe couldn't describe. It was wild and primeval, like the guttural cry of a beast, except that beast was enraged and maddened and ravenous for blood. And then the transport came to a jerky hault. Poe and Finn exchanged looks, and then hurried to the side door; down on the ground, Kylo Ren was holding their ship - pulling their ship - back down to the ground with as much strength in the Force as he could muster. Poe swore, Finn swore, Mace swore, and yelled over the comm system, "What the hell is going on?"

"It's Kylo Ren," Poe yelled back. He searched around for a blaster. "Get on the gun," he told the other Resistance fighter. "Shoot him off us."

The man nodded and hurried down a ladder to the lower level where the gunner seat was located.

"Why aren't there any blasters in here," Poe said panicked, frantic, rummaging to and fro and coming up empty-handed. He widened his stance with the transport jerked suddenly, doing his best to maintain his balance. Finn was holding on to Rey's cot to keep it from jostling free.

Outside, that same primal voice wailed, "Rey!"

"God, Mace, can't you punch it out a'here? Let's move it," Poe shouted at her.

"I can't! The ship won't go!"

Instead, the ship jerked in the sky, sometimes pulling forward, and then sometimes pulling back, caught on an invisible string.

"Rey!"

"Someone start shooting him," Finn screamed.

"What's that gunner doing," Poe yelled.

"He twisted the barrel," the man yelled back to them over the comm system. "The gun's no use anymore!"

There was another round of swearing from all crew involved. Finn wiped the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead, and his bottom lip had a slight quiver to it. Poe couldn't keep his hand from shaking. How the hell were they going to get out of this? Wait it out until the bastard got tired and ran out of juice?

It was amidst the chaos and panic that something even more unexpected happened, something that completely chilled him to the bone. "Kylo," Rey whispered. Poe turned, mortified. She didn't just say what he thought she'd said.

"Kylo," she muttered again, louder this time, tension lines between her brows. But Rey would never - He couldn't believe it. It was like she was… answering his call. Reaching out to him.

"Rey!" Came Kylo Ren's savage yell from the ground. Poe quickly stuck his head out the open door, in complete shock. Rey had spoken his name barely above a whisper, and yet the ferocity and desperation in his voice suggested he'd heard it - heard her. Were they really connected through the Force?

"What the hell," said Finn. He was in shock, too. Disbelief had cut a swath across his face. He was staring at Rey's still unconscious body as if she were a stranger, or some bizarre creature. When he looked up at Poe, his friend barely recognized his expression. "What's going on?" Though it was a simple question, the look on Finn's face was complicated - a splash of every negative emotion humans had the ability to feel and emote, and then some.

"Rey," came the rage-filled roar once more.

It was agitating her; she was starting to move her body, even though the IV still administered a steady drip of sedatives. Her hand was twitching - fidgeting beside her. "Kylo," she yelled, and she lifted up off the cot for a moment before falling back. It looked like she was struggling against shackles, though absolutely nothing bound her. Quieter she said, "No, stop - " and then her eyes came open. When her eyes came open, she regained consciousness, which also meant the pain inflicted upon her by the Devaronian edge returned. She cried out with a deep, guttural shriek of torment.

"What's going on," Finn said again, but this time with a desperate form of panic as Rey contorted in pain right in front of him.

Poe gripped her legs to hold them still. "She's overcoming the medicine or something. Hold her down," he yelled, and Finn quickly forced her still by pushing down on both shoulders. Her screams continued.

Poe pulled a syringe from his pocket and jammed it into the flesh of her thigh and pressed down on the plunger. "It was an extra dose of the sedative," Poe said after glimpsing the questioning look on his friend's face. "The doctor gave it to me in case of an emergency."

"We need to get out of here!" Finn yelled. "Shoot him again!"

"We have no gun!"

The pilot door opened just wide enough for a blaster to be tossed out. It landed at Poe's feet and he scrambled to pick it up. He took only a brief second to make sure it was ready and loaded, and then went to the open side door and began shooting, shooting - crossed his fingers, muttered a prayer, and hoped one of the bullets hit the bastard. One did actually hit Kylo Ren in the thigh, but he didn't even flinch. "God dammit," Poe muttered, concentrating with a furrowed brow. He shot again and again and again.

Their saving grace wasn't the blaster, but the planet itself, as the ground beneath the Force-user's feet began to shift and give way. His options were either stay and continue to fight against the ship and inevitably fall into the lava, or else let go and retreat and save himself from burning alive. The man certainly hesitated, perhaps because he thought he was powerful enough to overcome his odds, to do something spectacular, but when the crack in the surface split down the middle of his stance, he realized there was nothing he could do. He let go of the transport, filled with impotent rage. As soon as the transport was free from his grasp, it shot up, and away.

He watched it go, twisted with emotions beyond rage and fury.

Someone was going to pay for this.