Chapter 10

Rey could still sense the connection between her and Kylo. It was a strange feeling as she felt force power traveling between the two of them, light mixing with dark.

Kylo looked at her, sensing the same, and said, "Don't let the connection break."

She nodded and he turned his head forward, bringing his lightsaber up, battle ready. She mirrored his stance, bringing her own lightsaber up as the commotion drew nearer.

"Rey," Kylo said, glancing back at her. "We have to free my Knights."

Rey shook her head rapidly. "We don't have time."

"I won't leave them," Kylo replied softly. He faced front again. "They are in here because of me."

"Ben-" Rey began.

"They can help us," Kylo interrupted.

Rey breathed deeply and then nodded. "Fine. You work on freeing them and I'll handle the guards."

There was shouting on the other side of their door and the sounds of battle. Rey hoped that meant that Finn, Poe, and Rose had come to find them with a large retinue of stormtroopers.

"No," Kylo said. "We go together."

Rey shook her head. "We don't have time for that."

"I'm not leaving you to fight alone," he replied.

Before she could respond the door flew open. They both immediately raised their lightsabers to attack.

"Whoa!" Poe raised his arms in defense. "It's me! It's me!"

Rey lowered her lightsaber, though Kylo still kept his raised.

"Poe – " Rey began, before Poe pushed her back into the cell, using the wall as cover from the sudden rain of blaster fire.

"What are you doing here?" Rey continued. "How'd you find us? Did Finn get any of the stormtroopers to turn?"

Poe leaned around the corner and began shooting.

"Yeah, we hit a little snag," he said as he continued firing. "He managed to convince a few, but most just turned on us."

"How many?" Rey asked. She looked at Kylo. His lightsaber was still raised as he faced Poe.

"Uh…" Poe looked at her quickly. "About 10-15?"

"That's it?" Rey asked quietly, feeling stunned that so few had turned.

"Rey," Kylo said, gaining her attention. "We need to get the Knights."

Rey nodded. "Poe can you cover us?"

"What are you going to do?" Poe asked, turning around briefly, before sticking his arm out and firing.

"Kylo's Knights are all locked in here as well. If we free them they can help us."

"We need to get out of here," Poe shouted as he ducked back to avoid another volley of blaster fire.

"If we don't save them first then we stand no chance of making it out of here alive," Kylo replied.

"POE!" Finn shouted from somewhere out in the melee. "What's taking so long? We need to get out of here!"

Poe looked at Kylo, doing a double take as he realized the Kylo was blind.

"And how are you gonna make it out of here like that?" Poe replied.

Rey grabbed Poe's arm. "Don't worry about that. Just cover us so we can get the rest of Kylo's team out here to help us."

Poe sighed. "Fine." He looked over at Kylo. "They'd better be worth it."

Kylo didn't respond, though his knuckles turned white as he gripped his saber harder and Rey felt a wave of dark force power hit her through their bond.

Poe looked back at Rey. "Ready whenever you are." He looked over at Kylo again. "Any chance you wanna do that little trick to stop the blaster fire from hitting us?"

Kylo didn't answer the question, instead holding his hand up and closing his eyes. Rey could feel his concentration on the battle ahead of them. The rain of blaster fire stopped in the air as it entered the room. A moment later he pushed his hand forward and the bolts flew back out the door. They heard several shouts as the fire hit its mark.

Poe looked at Rey and tilted his head. "I've got to admit, that's a handy trick." Then he held up his blaster and ran through the door shouting "Finn! Rose! Help me cover them!"

Kylo nodded at Rey quickly. "You first. I'll follow. They should be in the cells on this block."

Rey nodded back and ran through the door. She was met with complete chaos. It was difficult to tell who was on which side as she ran to the next door, Poe next to it firing rapidly from the doorway. Rey swung her saber down to break the lock and open the door. Running in, she raced over to break the chains. Looking back she saw Poe in the doorway firing and Kylo blocking blaster fire with his saber.

When the Knight was free, she simply ran back to the doorway.

"Sir?" the knight asked.

"We fight with the Resistance," answered Kylo. "Help us free the rest."

"I don't have – " the knight started to say, when Poe tossed him a blaster.

"Hopefully you know how to use this," he said.

Without waiting to see if he did, Rey ran out the door, Kylo following closely behind. They hurried into each room, freeing each Knight as quickly as possible. There were half a dozen of them. When they reached the last room, the woman inside gasped when she saw Kylo.

"Sir!" she said, taking in his weathered appearance and obvious blindness. "What's going on?"

Rey ran over to her, breaking her chains. As the woman scrambled to her feet she said, "I swear I didn't know what Jesmaae had planned. Before I could resist they knocked me out and I woke up here. I could hear your screams from here." She raced over to Kylo, putting a hand on his arm. "What did he do to you?" she asked.

Rey blinked rapidly as she watched them, wondering what sort of relationship the pair had.

Kylo whipped his head towards her and Rey cursed herself for not properly blocking the thought from him.

"Rey, this is Zira. My second in command."

Zira looked Rey over with interest. "So you're the one we spent so much time to find."

Rey sensed bitterness in the woman and didn't reply. She looked at Kylo.

"We need to go." She quickly ran back out the door. Now that there were half a dozen Knights of Ren helping them fight, each having grabbed blasters off downed stormtroopers, they were starting to make headway down the hallway.

"Finn!" Rey shouted, running over to him, deflecting blaster fire with her saber as she went. Kylo followed behind, using the force to throw several stormtroopers backwards, knocking others down as they went.

"We need to get out of here," Rey said.

Finn nodded. "Back this way. I know a short cut."

Rey nodded as Poe yelled out "Fall back!"

They raced down the hallway, following Finn's lead, stopping every so often to fire back against the rain of blaster fire following them. Rey was glad Finn knew where he was going because with each twist and turn she found herself completely turned around. Finally Finn opened a door leading to a stairwell.

Finn yelled, "Everyone through here!"

Poe waved people through, as he and Finn continued firing.

"It'll be like shooting water in a barrel down there," Poe said.

Finn shook his head once. "It's the only chance we've got. We can't all fit in a lift."

Rey ducked through the doorway, but stopped, using the wall as cover to continue firing. Kylo followed her, ducking on the opposite side of the doorway. He closed his eyes, concentrating before sticking a hand out again and using the force to stop all blaster fire in mid-air. Finn and Poe both looked back at him, nonplussed.

"Go!" Shouted Kylo, his hand beginning to shake as more and more blaster bolts headed towards them.

Rey closed her own eyes as Finn and Poe rushed by, the Knights not far behind, feeling for the connection between her and Kylo and sending as much force power as she could down it to help him hold back the barrage of blaster bolts. When the last Knight ran through she grabbed Kylo's hand.

"Come on!" Rey pulled Kylo down the first flight of stairs, trying to drop his hand as they descended. He gripped her hand hard and she realized that with the connection he would be able to see his way down the stairs.

"Don't let go," he said as they raced down one flight after another.

She shook her head, breathing heavily. "I won't."

She could hear the sounds of footsteps above them as a blaster bolt whizzed past her, burning her cheek. She cried out and Kylo stopped, suddenly raising his hand above them. Rey could feel the dark force gathering to him, felt it when Kylo released it and several storm troopers cried out, falling through the gap in the stairwell.

Before Rey could respond Kylo pulled her forward. "Come on."

She felt dazed as they continued their descent. The power coming down their bond was black as night, but also extremely potent and powerful.

Rey's legs began to burn as they descended further and further down the seemingly endless stairwell. Finally she heard Finn below her yell, "Through here!"

As she and Kylo drew near the doorway she heard shouting and the sound of blasterfire ahead.

"Great," she breathed. Now they would be all but surrounded. When she and Kylo flew through the doorway she once again saw complete chaos. There was nowhere to run as ahead of them where at least 20 stormtroopers and behind them more troopers came filing out of the stairwell.

She glanced at Kylo, trying to free her hand as her other gripped her light saber.

"Don't let go," Kylo said again, his own saber in his non-dominant hand.

Rey swallowed. "We can't fight one-handed."

"No," Kylo agreed. "But we can fight as one." He glanced around at the chaos.

"KNIGHTS!" he screamed. "In formation!"

Rey became distracted as a blaster bolt flew past, much too close for comfort. She glanced back, trying to use the force to sense those around her. It was impossible. She sensed the signatures of her friends, but couldn't discern which of the troopers were on their side. She held her saber up, using it to deflect the blaster fire. She felt Kylo drop her hand and glanced quickly at him. He turned around, grabbing her hand again as he switch his saber to his dominant hand. Now they were facing opposite sides of the battle. Then she noticed that the Knights had lined up on either side of her and Kylo, those next to her facing the same direction she was and those next to Kylo facing opposite. She felt the force swell around her and watched in amazement as the Knights raised their hands in unison. It was as if they had created a wall on either side of the hallway. No blaster bolts could penetrate it.

"Have our allies stay within 5 feet of our line," Kylo said to Rey.

"FINN" Rey shouted. "ROSE! POE! Get close to us!"

"How are you doing that?" she asked Kylo as her friends and new allies all grouped together on either side of the line.

Rather than answer her, Kylo turned to Finn. "We need to get out of here. Head towards hangar bay."

Finn nodded, pointing ahead of him. "Follow me," he shouted at everyone

As one unit, Kylo, Rey, and the Knights of Ren walked towards the direction of the hangar bay, their allies keeping close to them. Despite their best efforts the other stormtroopers could not penetrate the barrier the Knights had created. Rey did her best to sense the wall, making sure there were no weak spots, but found it completely solid. As they walked forward, the stormtroopers in front of them were pushed backwards, some falling and being pushed forward as if by a broom.

"What are we going to do once we hit the hangar?" Rey asked.

Kylo looked over at her. "Run."

He turned to Poe. "We'll have to take two transports. Can you fly one?"

Poe barked a laugh. "How do you think we got here?"

Rey sensed Kylo's annoyance, saw his lip curl, but he merely replied. "Good. They're on the left of the hangar. When we get there we'll be fighting more than just stormtroopers. My Knights and I won't be able to keep all the fire at bay."

Poe nodded sharply. "You just take care of getting to one of those transports and I'll get to the other. Then follow my lead out of here. They're not going to let us go without a fight."

Kylo nodded as they reached the hanger bay.

"Alright people, here we go!" yelled Poe. He raised his blaster and charged forward.

Rey started to move forward, but Kylo gripped her hand, stopping her.

"Not yet," he said. He looked down the line of Knights. "Once they're all in the hanger, we go."

Rey took a deep breath as she watched her friends run out into the hangar, firing their blasters in every direction while Kylo and his Knights held off the troops behind them. As if sensing her apprehension, Kylo squeezed her hand, sliding his eyes towards her. The corner of his mouth lifted subtly. The smirk reminded Rey of his father and was gone so quickly she wondered if it had been there at all.

"We'll have to let go," Kylo said. "Make sure you keep a tight hold of the bond. I'll follow you into one of the transports. You'll have to fly it."

Rey blew out a breath and nodded, her heart rate picking up as Kylo dropped her hand. As one, the rest of the Knights dropped their hands, turning and running into the chaos of the hangar bay.

Rey ran forward, making sure she could feel the bond connecting her and Kylo. The last thing they needed was Kylo running truly blind, though how he would avoid tripping over the downed bodies, she wasn't sure.

Blaster bolts whizzed by, some close enough that she could feel their heat. Rey wished she had a blaster to fire back with. Instead she raised her light saber, deflecting as many bolts as she could, jumping over downed bodies and slashing at anyone who got too close. She glanced behind her and saw Kylo had lagged behind her. He tripped over bodies but managed to stay upright.

"Rey!" he shouted. "Keep going!"

Rey nodded and turned around, just in time to deflect a blaster bolt from hitting her square in the chest. She charged forward, taking out the shooter with one swipe of her saber. Up ahead she saw the transports they needed, Poe already boarding one and several people following. In all the chaos Rey hadn't been able to see how many of their side they had lost on their way here.

Just before she reached the other transport she felt a sudden burning sensation in her leg and dropped to one knee as she cried out. Looking down she saw a gash burned through her thigh. She tried standing as she deflected blaster fire. Her leg nearly buckled, but held as she tried putting most of her weight on her other leg. She tried taking a step forward and stumbled, feeling another shot hit her left arm.

Before she had a chance to react a hand grabbed her right arm, pulling her up and forward. When she looked, she saw Kylo.

"Come on," he said, dragging her forward. Holding her arm, he would be able to see where he was headed. She stumbled several times as they ran forward, trying to deflect as much fire as possible, and made it to the transport.

Once inside, Rey grabbed the side of the wall, breathing heavily. Kylo, also breathing heavily as his Knights boarded behind them, looked her over.

"Can you still fly with those wounds?" he asked.

Rey nodded, swallowing as she forced herself to walk quickly forward, towards the ships controls. When she reached the controls, she sat down, powering the ship on.

"Someone is going to need to man the blaster canon," she said. "They're not going to make it easy for us to get out of here."

"Ely," Kylo gestured to one of the Knights, who nodded his head and headed back towards the blaster canon.

Kylo took a seat behind Rey, putting a hand on her shoulder, likely to make sure he could still see. Rey breathed deeply as her hands flew over the controls, preparing the ship to depart. Just as she got everything in place there was a loud boom and the ship lurched sharply.

"Go!" Kylo shouted at her. Immediately she pushed the throttle forward and the ship lifted off and headed towards the open hangar bay door. Another boom hit their starboard side and the ship listed sharply to the left. Rey did her best to course correct. Unfortunately, though equipped with a blaster canon, transport ships weren't exactly combat ready. Another transport ship moved in front of her, likely Poe's, as they cleared the hangar bay doors, both ships' blaster canons firing rapidly.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Kylo shouted at her as another boom hit their port side.

"I know that! Hang on!" Rey shouted. She turned the ship sharply to the left and downwards, a smile breaking out on her face. One thing she'd learned in her recent travels was that it was incredibly fun to test a ship's maneuverability.

Several TIE fighters flew overhead and down in front of her, shooting as they went. Rey barely evaded their fire.

"I'm going to try something," Rey said, swallowing. Here's hoping it worked.

She maneuvered to the right, drawing several TIE fighters with her. She swerved around to the left and upwards, drawing more towards her as Ely fired their canon. Then she flew straight. Several more TIE fighters darted past her, swinging around in front, firing. She moved the ship sharply down towards the planet, causing the fire to hit several of the TIE fighters following behind, the rest crashing into the remaining ships.

Rey whooped for joy that it had worked, continuing her downward descent towards the planet. She put the thrusters at full speed.

"You can't enter the atmosphere at this angle and speed," Kylo warned.

"I know," replied Rey, not changing her trajectory. She sent a wave of trust down their bond.

As they began entering the atmosphere the ship shook so much Rey could barely control it.

"You have to pull up!" Kylo yelled.

"Trust me!" Rey yelled back.

Kylo opened his mouth to say more, before closing it again, squeezing Rey's shoulder as he likely realized what she was up to.

Just a little further, Rey thought. Behind them there was a sudden explosion, jolting them forward. Rey let out a breath as the remaining TIE fighters exploded trying to follow her sharp trajectory. She pulled up sharply, correcting their descent so that their own ship wouldn't blow apart.

She looked back at Kylo and smiled. His mouth turned upwards as he replied, "That was a smart move."

Rey faced forwards again, still smiling. On to phase two, she thought as they headed towards where Chewbacca was waiting.

A/N: Phew. Man, writing battle scenes suuuuuck. XD Hopefully it all makes sense! Haha! Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!