A/N: Let me just take a quick moment to let you all know that you're the best readers! Nearly 1,000 views after the last chapter, that is incredible me! And thank you for all the comments I appreciate those always they really help keep me writing and motivated. This chapter is a little darker than the last but no darker than the movies, I hope you enjoy this one.
Chapter 9
Rey sat in her room on the floor and the dinner she picked for herself. She didn't like being left out but figured it must have been important to Ben since he asked her to leave. Rey found herself getting bored so she left her empty tray on the floor and laid on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She thought back to Garvin and how Ben had described his gift in the force, emotional manipulation. If she dwelled too deep on the subject she could still feel the cold pit of darkness the knight had push her in, so push him quickly from her mind wondering about the new knight.
He was a friend of Ben's had been sense they were in school together. Rey couldn't imagine Ben in school, she couldn't really imagine school to be honest. She wondered what Ben had learned in school, what it was like to have someone teach you the way of the galaxy. She let her imagination run back to the tree's in the forest she had seen. They were so big how could something grow to be so gigantic and she could feel through the energy that they were still growing. How did this planet produce water from the sky back on Jakku there was hardly enough water to go around and here it just fell from the sky. Rey wished her room had a window so she would be able to see the frozen water fall from the sky.
Rey decided it was as good of time as any to keep practicing her force control, so she started by levitating her food tray from the floor. It was already easier than it had been the day before so she kept her focus and on the tray and stretched her ability further. She focused on steadily opening the door to her closet and then on opening the drawers on her desk.
"Yes child, control is everything" A voice whispered in her mind. The voice stole Rey's focus and all the drawers and doors she opened slammed shut and her tray dropped to the floor. Ben was in her room two seconds later looking concerned.
"What is wrong?" He seemed both concerned and annoyed with her.
"You didn't hear that?" Rey was confused, she thought surely he would have heard that voice too or at least sensed the presence seemed to float in the air of the room.
"Of course I heard that, what were you doing?" Rey shook her head, no he couldn't seem to sense the extra presence in the room it was just her.
"My nephew doesn't need to know I'm with you" The voice instructed. Rey really didn't like the idea of lying to Ben but she didn't think he'd take the presence of Luke Skywalker very well.
"Sorry, I was just practicing and I lost focus" Kylo seemed happier to know she was using the force.
"You will get the hang of it, just keep trying" Ben gave her the kind of encouragement he wish he'd had growing up. Luke wasn't a particularly warm instructor and Snoke was straight up abusive. Ben decided he would be better for her.
"I'll keep trying" She whispered looking down at her hands. He was being kind to her and she felt guilt over lying to him.
Kylo left her to her room again and Rey made an effort to reach out in the force to communicate with Skywalker.
"you can't stay there with him, you know his mission" Rey didn't have to look far before his voice found her again.
"I can't leave him, he won't give me to Snoke" She was confident she was right.
"Don't be so naïve child, he will do as his master demands. He always has" Rey thought she could hear a tone of disappointment in his voice.
"I believe in him" She wasn't going to give up on Ben, she couldn't do it.
"I know you see the good left in him, but he is trying to destroy that part of him. He will take you with him" Rey shook her head refusing to keep arguing with him. "Come to me Rey, let me teach you. I can give you a better chance to help him" Rey knew that wasn't what Luke wanted to train her for but he was right, being trained properly in Luke's way would give her a better chance at helping the light in Ben grow. "When the time comes to make the decision that will lead you to me, you will know what to do, the force will guide you" Luke Skywalker's presence vanished after that.
Rey threw herself back onto her bed with a groan. What was that supposed to mean? Rey decided practice reaching out with the force, she wanted to feel the tree's again so she extended herself out letting her mind run through the energy of the tree's. There was no light or dark among them they just were, why did there have to be light in dark everywhere else.
Rey was woken by Ben shaking her shoulder sometime later. It was to dark in her room to tell if it was day or night now.
"We have to go" His voice was urgent and pleading and Rey was startled. What would bother the great Kylo Ren so much that he planned to get up and run away. "just get dressed as fast as you can" Rey did her best to move as fast as she could but she was so tired her body didn't want to cooperate. When she entered the living space of their room Ben was gone.
"Ben?" She called, she couldn't feel his presence in the room at all. Reaching out she found him back in the hanger of the base. What was he doing? As she reached out she noticed another familiar presence. "Finn"
Rey let her happiness get the better of him so she left the room to go to him. As she rounded a corner she was excited to see him walking towards her.
"Finn!" She nearly shouted as she ran to him trapping him between her arms.
"Little peanut!" He sounded happy to see her, but she could tell he was distracted by something.
"What's wrong?" Rey asked feeling his anxiety.
"Okay Big Deal we have to move" A man with a gruff voice came around the corner was leading Finn in the opposite direction. "Who's this?" He seemed confused to see a child but Rey knew who he was and her happiness to see Finn faltered.
"Why did you bring him here?" She asked Finn seriously as she took a step back from the two.
"Actually he brought me. We're here to destroy this weapon Rey. What are you doing here?" Finn had still hoped he would be able to get her away from the first now but he hadn't expected her to be on the Star Killer base.
"Training, Ben lets me go outside here!" In her excitement she had forgotten the formality of calling him Kylo Ren.
"Ben huh?" It was the older man who again and Rey gave him a weary eye. "He lets you go outside" The man said it so quietly Rey almost hadn't heard him.
"We have to get you out of here Rey, the resistance is going to destroy this base. The first Order used it to destroy the Hosnian system." The more Finn explained the more confused it made Rey.
"What weapon?" Finn sighed.
"Look kid we have to keep moving if we want to make it out of here" Han interrupted, he looked down at Rey. "Walk with us he'll explain as we go" Rey just nodded and followed them.
Finn explained what the Star Killer base really was and what it had already been used for. Rey was appalled and angry. How could they destroy so much? How could they kill so many people? The thought of all the lives that had been lost made her feel sick to her stomach.
Rey's mind was feeling fuzzy with all the information Finn had given her. She had felt different types of darkness from Ben's to Snokes, but destroying so many lives left a different feeling in her. She was angry she wanted to avenge those people. Rey couldn't help but wonder how many orphans the First orders attack had created. She was having a difficult time keeping up with Finn and Han.
She followed them to part of the base she hadn't been to before, she was so far trapped in the depth of her mind she hadn't even registers that they'd gone outside. Han was speaking to Poe and put some black orbs in his hand as well as Chewie's and the two of them had run off but Han turned to her and knelt down to her height putting a heavy hand on her shoulder. That did the trick of breaking her out of her stupor.
"Is there any good left in him?" His voice had gone deep and serious as he gave her a stern look in her eyes. She could see Ben in him, that strong gaze but Han's eyes held a deeper sadness. Han looked worn like he'd survived a hundred years of war and was ready for it to end.
"I thought so" Rey was questioning herself now, she looked away from him not being able to stand the serious look he was giving her. "I, I didn't know about the attack. He doesn't, he won't talk about some things to me" Rey felt betrayed by Ben more than anything else she felt. "I think he can be good he just doesn't think he can"
Han did something then that surprised Rey, he smiled and in that moment, she could see where Ben got his handsome looks from. "I thought he still had it in him too, but I can't feel the force the way you can" Han poked her nose and she smiled a little bit and he seemed relieved. "He can still come back, now here take this and go stick it to the support up there" He pointed to a beam that was several floors up and she nodded. This man he was good, broken like Ben was but still good and she would have done anything for him if he'd asked.
Rey placed the explosive right where Han had pointed and climbed down a floor to stand by Finn, that was when she noticed Kylo Ren had entered the building and was walking across a catwalk that stood over a pit.
"Ben!" Han was yelling to his son who turned around to look at him. Rey felt a sinking darkness setting across her chest. She had a bad feeling something was going to happen.
She witnessed the two men speak for a few moments walking towards each other Ben removing his mask and dropping it on the walk coming to stand right in front of his father.
"No" Rey whispered and before she even registered her thought she was running and climbing, jumping down as many steps and she could. She had to get to Ben to stop him from what he was planning to do and as she made it to the last floor she heard Kylo Ren's light sabre.
Rey heard Chewie cry and she screamed "No!" Her scream quickly turned into a sob. The light sabre had gone through Han Solo. Rey felt empty like the soul in her had been sucked out, she felt like she was floating rather than standing. Han Solo fell into the pit below the walk, Ben no Kylo Ren had killed him. A shot rang out and Rey couldn't even pull her mind to attention enough to realize that Chewie had just shot Ben in the side with his bow caster.
Rey let out a startled yell as Finn put a hand on her shoulder from behind pulling her away and this time she followed him. They were running away together now.
"Come on the Falcon is this way" He could see she was in shock so he helped guide her as much as he could but they had to move fast.
The sound of a light sabre igniting before them buzzed and they were both forced to come to a stop as Kylo Ren stood in front of them menacingly.
"We're not done yet" It came out as a threat to Finn. Rey swallowed hard and took a few steps forward.
"B-ben?" Her voice shook, none of his previous fits of anger compared to this.
"It's just us now, Han Solo can't save you" Rey shook her head in disbelief. Her mind was screaming at her that they had to get away, he was going to kill them. 'Luke was right' The thought crept into her mind against her will. Rey reached out to him in the force but the stars of light she had seen in him before were nearly gone.
"Ben stop" She was pleading the tears still running down her cheeks as she took another step forward, but Finn put a hand on her shoulder. That was when Kylo Ren pushed her away, tossed her into a tree leaving her to crumble to the ground as her mind phased in and out of consciousness.
"You're a monster" Finn called pulling something from his jacket, and in an instant a sword of blue light appeared.
Rey heard the clashing of the sabre's but her mind was to fuzzy to be able to get a good focus. It wasn't until she heard Finn cry out in pain that her mind was able to sober up and come back to her control. Her head was pounding but she looked up from where she lay in the snow and saw Finn on the ground light sabre out of his hands.
Rey saw Kylo staring away at the holding his hand out when she realized he was calling to the light sabre that Finn had been fighting with, as she made it to her feet she was able to see the large cut along Finn's back.
Anger echoed through her. Finn didn't deserve that, Han didn't deserve what happened to him either. Rey reached and called to the light sabre herself, she swore she could almost hear it whispering back to her and then it flew across the snow past Ben and into her hand.
Kylo Ren was in shock, his grandfather's light sabre ignored him and went to Rey instead. They stared at each other for a moment Rey pleading with him to stop this, and for the first time she realized it was snowing. Rey refused to take her eyes off Kylo as he took a step towards her and she took a step back in response.
Rey took a brief glance down at the weapon in her hand and looked back up at Kylo Ren. Holding the holt to her right side she ignited the blade. Her first time holding a light sabre and she was standing before Kylo Ren preparing herself to do what she needed to so she could save her friend.
"Don't do this" He whispered to her igniting his own sabre again.
"I won't let you kill him" Was all she could say and it seemed like they both moved towards each other at the same time. Rey kept reminding herself this is different than the staff but I can do this. She didn't know what she could in truth, she didn't want to hurt Ben but Kylo Ren wasn't going to let her off easy.
The sabre's clashed against each other and Rey found herself running away more than pressing towards him. He was bigger than her, stronger than her had a much better advantage even with his injuries. The ground broke behind her and Rey found herself standing on a cliff her sabre against his using all her might to keep him back. He was fighting hard but he was still holding back, she knew that.
"I am your teacher!" He yelled at her, and in that moment all he did was remind her that she had another weapon in her arsenal no matter how untrained she was to use it.
She let her mind leave Finn, Han and Ben and focus to the force. Luke told her it would guide her to make the right decision and if she ever needed help now was the time. She managed to duck away from his blade and swing herself around away from the chasm behind her. The force flowed through her but somehow it brought back her feelings of anger but that was making her even stronger.
She was attacking Kylo now even cut his leg and his arm. He must have felt the change in her he was trying harder now too. Blocking her attacks and but still not moving to really hurt her a strike to his shoulder knocked him back and as he moved to get up he swiped his blade up towards her but she struck it down into the ground extinguishing it and in thoughtless move she brought her blade back up cutting him across the face.
Kylo Ren stared up at her as she looked down at him. She looked like warrior a tiny little child warrior. Ben could see how her body was shivering and panting from the exertion she was putting on her body. She was fighting hard and he couldn't help feel some sort of pride as he realized his untrained scavenger had bested him already. Snoke had predicted it but Kylo never thought she would manage to fight him like she was so soon.
The grown quivered beneath them and broke between them. The base was collapsing on itself it wouldn't be long now before it imploded entirely. 'Finn' Rey thought and she turned and ran to him. He was hurt, severely and she didn't know what she could do to help him. She brushed her hand against his forehead gently. And as if by some miracle a ship appeared to save them, it was Chewbacca. She was so grateful when he picked Finn up and put him on the ship. He turned on the ramp and motioned for her to come too. She felt surprised, he was inviting her along with him. She gave a brief look back Ben, Kylo Ren no longer in sight and she hopped aboard the ship. Finn needed her right now, she felt responsible for him even being in this mess so she was going to do what she could to help him. As for Ben, Rey had hardly even been able to find the light in him now.
