Rey, Ben, and a mixture of the Knights of Ren and the Gray Order of the Jedi Knights burst through the front door of Vader's old Vjun castle. Their clothes were singed and hole-ridden from running through the acidic rain, but that made them all properly angry and ready to kick ass.

Several people in ragged black robes with masks turned, drawing their weapons on the intruders. Rey ignited her double-bladed lightsaber, and didn't even need to look at Ben. The Battle was like a dance, and they were ready to win it.

"Follow my lead," Rey said. At once, the Acolytes of the Beyond rushed at the combined Knights, and the sabers spiralled into wild colorful arcs of kicking, hitting, and slashing.

She and Ben slashed through them as if it were a foxtrot, waltz, or tango, rather than the battlefield for their children's souls. With the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Rey was reminded of the first time she and Ben had ever teamed up.

That was when she knew in the deepest part of her soul that Luke was wrong about Ben. How could something Luke thought was wrong have felt so right?

This. . . This was more natural to her than breathing, fighting alongside Ben. She knew he felt it too. They were a planet and moon in orbit to each other, and they had come together in an eclipse.

Too quickly, the fight was over. Their combined Knights were masters with lightsabers. As the adrenaline wore off and Rey peeled the masks off of the corpses, she realized that the Acolytes couldn't have been. Most of them looked to be scared teenagers or young adults, fools who had been given powers through the mask that couldn't handle it.

She could sense Ben's empathy, his sense of tragedy. After all, Snoke had used and discarded him, too, like those poor people.

"We'll build a funeral pyre for them," Rey said. "They deserve a Jedi death."

Sorscha Martigan scoffed. "They're enemies of the Jedi."

"That might be," Rey admitted. "But they're victims of Snoke, too. They deserve our empathy and mercy."

Siri Tachi nodded, her expression serious. Sorscha bit her lip, unsure of what she was seeing.

"But we've got bigger problems," Rey said, standing up. "We need to find the kids, and fast."

That was when Freya D'Arctan stumbled backwards out of a hallway, lightsaber in hand. A blaster bolt grazed her shoulder, and she just barely hit the balcony railing of the floor above in the entryway.

Jaina stepped out, her aim steady and her expression scrunched up, just like Rey's when she fired a gun.

Following her was Jacen in a swimsuit that barely covered more than underwear, carrying a lightsaber, and Kyp wearing the Acolyte uniform and wielding his own saber.

"Please! I'm sorry!" Freya cried, dropping her saber. "I'm sorry Maia died!"

Something dark flared in Jacen's eyes, and Rey knew what kind of path that Jacen was on. Even Jaina faltered, as if she knew what Jacen was thinking.

Rey exchanged a glance with Ben, and they raced up the staircase. But they were moving too slow, as Jacen stepped forward and swung—

Then he stopped, frozen. Freya looked to see Ben's outstretched hand, as he struggled to keep his son in place.

Jaina reached out to turn off her lightsaber and put it on her belt.

Ben let go of Jacen as he and Rey finished running up the stairs. A Knight of Ren followed them, holding the electronic cuffs that the First Order used. Jacen dropped to his knees, eyes wide, as he realized what he'd almost done.

"I'm no better than him," he whispered.

Rey grabbed her cloak and draped it over her son as Ben handcuffed Freya D'Arctan.

"It's okay, Jacen," she whispered. "Everything is going to be okay."

She then looked up to her daughter and apprentice.

"Where's Snoke?" Rey asked.

"In Vader's old bacta chamber," Jaina said. "Fighting Anakin's ghost."

Rey blinked. That hadn't quite been what Rey had expected. But it didn't phase her, perhaps as much as it should have.

She stood up. "Stay here."

But before she could go, Ben grabbed her by the shoulder. "No, we can't face him alone."

Rey burst out of his grip. "He threatened our children. I'll kill that ghost myself, I'll find a way—"

"We need to get the twins out of here, and into the Imperial Palace on Deyer," Ben said in a low voice. "Where they can be far away from Snoke's reach, and can recover from all of this. So we can all try again."

"The longer we put this off, the stronger Snoke will get and the more people he will hurt," Rey snarled. "We have to fight him! We have to kill him!"

Her anger was like a tempest, building unnaturally high and fast. She felt angrier than she ever had, all ideals forgotten. She was so angry she couldn't think straight.

Ben frowned, and his dark brown eyes widened. "Rey, I'm sorry about this."

She snarled at him, and he grabbed her around her waist, before using the Force to cause her to pass out. He swept her into a bridal carry, and looked to his children.

"We need to get out of here, now," he said. "Snoke is manipulating all of us."