Rey was gripping onto her arms so tight her nails were digging into her flesh and causing blood to flow down her biceps. She wanted to feel safe in her own skin, but that very feeling was alluding her right now. After completing such a taxing, devious, thought-altering challenge, she didn't feel like the same person. Deep down she felt like a comrade-killer, and even though she knew it wasn't real, she still couldn't believe what she had done.
Ben was her best friend, and yet he was even more than a best friend – he was her lover, the person she would love until the end. He was someone she thought she would never give up on, never in a million years. But in that vision, or alternate universe, or whatever it was – she had seen him at his worst, and she had been forced to give up on him.
She had seen him consumed by hatred, so enthralled by the need for death and destruction that it had terrified her. She had gone with what felt like the easiest solution, which was just eliminate him.
Had it really been the right decision? Could she have possibly come to a different solution, or could his killing intent have just caused her problems?
Her eyes darted over to Ben and she instantly noted how calm he looked. His skin possessed a layer of gleaming sweat mixed with splashes of dirt, and his sweat-soaked hair was hugging his head, but other than that he seemed at ease, completely at peace. Ben's attention was totally transfixed by Luke's presence as he hung on every word the Jedi Master said.
He was bestowing upon them the title as Jedi Knights, but Luke's words passed thorough her like an incorporeal spirit. Being a Jedi Knight had excited her before, to be one of the few who ever held the title was an honor. But now the newly placed title felt heavy upon her shoulders as this overbearing sense of responsibility and duty rested upon her.
If Ben had been faced with a test as vicious as her own, she wondered how he could be so stolid. How could he hold such a facade? Did all those years of being Kylo Ren really teach him how to mask his emotions so efficiently?
"Rey." She was snapped back to reality by none other than Master Luke.
"Yes, Master?" She replied without a moments notice, her eyes meeting her teachers. Master Luke's hand extended out toward her – and in his hand was sandy colored robes and a dark gray cloak – they were the same clothing she's seen her father wear. Rey was unable to stop a small gasp that escaped her lips.
"I have a gift for you," Luke said with a small smile on his face. "I knew your father, he was a wonderful Jedi, in my opinion he was a better Jedi than I am. As a testament to his skill and devotion I thought you might want Jedi robes that were similar to his own."
She took the robes and cloak in her hand – they felt coarse against her fingers, but it mattered not. All that mattered was she could finally look the part as a Jedi Knight of the Republic – an order both her grandfather and father had supported and protected with their lives. Maybe the heavy sense of responsibility would fade with time and she could enjoy the title.
"Thank you, Master," Rey said with such gratitude. Luke seemed astutely aware of her appreciation, and the symbolic meaning of the robes to her. Luke gave her a curt nod before he turned to Ben.
"Ben, my gift to you is a new lightsaber I've been working on," out of his robes Luke pulled a shiny new three prong saber.
The young Solo's eyes lite up with pure excitement, since their arrival Ben had been using Luke's lightsaber. The young Solo had really taken their master's gesture as a serious sign of trust, that the older Jedi would leave himself disarmed so that Ben could train.
"I used the kyber crystal from the lightsaber you had at the Academy," Luke said, a timid, whiskered smile appeared on his face as he observed Ben's expression of awe.
Ben took the metal hilt in his hand and turned the saber on. Bright, green beams shot from the three prongs creating the cross lightsaber that Kylo Ren had once used. The saber mimicked his old blade perfectly, and Ben and was highly enthused by the new lightsaber – she could see it in his eyes as he slowly tested the balance of the weapon before turning off the blade.
"Thank you, Master," Ben bowed to him in respect. "I plan to use my lightsaber only to honor and protect the Jedi code," Ben replied with such sincerity.
"Now that you two are full fledged Jedi Knights, you will no longer need training, and we can move forward with completing our real goal," Luke stated as he pulled his hood over his face. "Meet me here tomorrow, and we will discuss a plan revolving around bringing an end to Snoke."
She didn't want to seem too eager for this mission, but this was the moment she had been waiting for. It was her destiny to bring down Snoke and protect the galaxy from his malicious machinations, and she'd be damned if she failed.
Rey and Ben arrived back at their stone hut with heavy hearts in tow. Ben's tough facade from earlier was becoming more translucent as she noticed he was dragging his feet through the grass. The enthusiasm about being a Jedi Knight had faded, and they were both now faced with the reality of danger and responsibility – as well as the lingering memories of their test.
As soon as they arrived, Rey found herself wanting to sleep, her muscles were exhausted and honestly she didn't feel like interacting much. All she wanted was to forget about how she had been forced to kill Ben. Without hesitation, Rey curled up on her matted sleeping bag and right away closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would take her.
But it was being apparent that sleep would elude her as Rey's mind began to comb over meeting her father and grandfather. They had been so elated to met her, and she couldn't remember a more heartfelt moment in her short life.
She wished desperately that she could have asked a few more questions, just a few more. But her father had promised it would not be the last time she would get to see him – and she was secretly holding her father to that promise. Once Snoke was dead she had also vowed to find her mother.
She had been curious about this mysterious woman that had birthed her. What was she like? Would she be kind, funny, happy? Would they have anything in common even? Would they look alike, or would they look completely different?
But in her heart there was a stark fear stinging her – what if her mother didn't want to meet her? What if her mother rejected her openly and claimed she'd never had the intention to meet her? She could only hope that her mother would be delighted to met her, otherwise it would be a very painful visit.
Her reflects were rudely being disputed as Ben was making rustling noises behind her. From the sound of it he was trying to open one of their dehydrated food bags – the food that had specifically allocated for emergencies. Maybe Ben really was under some crisis, it could be possible after the test they had both endured. Rey was only starting to block out his obnoxious background noise when she felt an unwelcome hand grab hold of her shoulder.
Instinctively, Rey rolled over her hand on the hilt of her blade and her brown eyes went wide. Her heart was hammering in her chest so loud that it was deafening in her ear drums. She didn't calm herself until a few seconds had passed and she was acutely aware that Ben had been the one to grasp her shoulder.
"I was going to ask if you wanted some food," Ben murmured, cautiously. "I didn't mean to scare you, are you okay, Rey?"
"I'm fine," she breathed out. "I'm just... tired that's all." It was obvious the former Dark Lord wasn't convinced – he'd been gracing her with a small, forced smile the whole time, but she watched as it listlessly fell from his face.
"It was your test, that's what's made you so jumpy, right?" His voice was no louder than a whisper. "It was hell, and you had to make a terrible decision, one that made you question who you were."
He must have experienced something very similar to her – she could see it in the twisted expression that was forming on his face. He was in pain; he was suffering from the same anguish she was.
Rey shut her eyes tightly, as she pushed back a tidal wave of tears. In the darkness of her mind she was reliving the nightmare of killing him. The expression of horror that had soaked into his facial features when she'd drive her lightsaber into his chest – the look he'd given her was something she would never forget. Even now it was etched into her mind so vividly, it was as if the whole event was happening all over again.
"I can't believe what I did. I still can't, not even now. I–" Rey whimpered, but before she could continue, she felt a gentle finger being pressed against her lips. Her eyes snapped open automatically and her gaze was met with pools of burnt umber.
"You don't have to tell me what you did," Ben said softly. "I'm sure it paled in comparison with the atrocities I committed as Kylo Ren."
Rey wanted to refute what he'd just claimed, but she was afraid he might start to ramble off some distinct instances in an attempt to comfort her. Instead she remained silent and allowed him to continue.
"I don't care what you did during your test. It doesn't affect exactly who you are inside. It was just a nightmare anyways," Ben replied with such honesty.
She felt him draw her into his arms and before she knew it, Rey was locked in a tight embrace. Rey pulled herself closer to him as she bathed in Ben's warmth and musky smell of sweat and Ryoos. She had missed the feeling of him simply holding her, of his promising everything would be fine. It was always calming to say the least.
Soon she wriggled her way into his lap, and allowed herself to be encompassed by his strong arms again. Rey felt safe in Ben's presence, she had ever since he'd declared to keep her safe from Hux back on Starkiller Base. He had this burning need to protect her, it had been something she'd never experienced before at the time.
Back on Jakku no one had really cared about her, no one had tried to protect her. The person that cared about her: was herself.
Now she could fully comprehend what it was like to want to protect someone – Ben's desire to protect her was something that she reciprocated. She would never allow anyone to hurt him ever again, not General Hux, not even Supreme Leader Snoke. It would be her duty as the Chosen One to stop Snoke and hopefully end Ben's suffering forever.
Absentmindedly, she began to trance circular patterns against the thick muscles of his chest. It was soothing to her, all she wanted to do was block out the negative thoughts that were nagging her in the back of her head.
"I love you, Ben. And I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you," Rey said as she finally laid her head against his chest, allowing the sound of his heartbeat to calm her.
"I love you too, and I know you wouldn't, Rey. I would never hurt you either, you are the most precious thing in the galaxy to me," he replied. Ben's normally robust voice was low and surprisingly coquettish.
She looked up to meet his downcast gaze – the erotic gleam in his eyes made her smile with eager delight. Leaning forward, Rey's hand weaved its way into Kylo's black, wavy hair, forcefully she pulled him to her. Their lips connected in a passionate exchange of unsaid words and lust.
Ben began to take his sweet time as his tongue explored every inch of her mouth until her head was spinning. He broke their kiss to let his lips nip and caress the base of her jaw before moving lower. Rey felt scattered hot, searing kisses over the column of her neck as Ben gave attention to more tender areas, like a particular spot that was at the base of her neck and collarbone. His tongue was manically teasing the ticklish spot, causing a wave of shivers to run down her spine.
With minimal effort she was able to sling her thighs over his hip and maneuver herself so that she was facing him. She quickly put her hand on Ben's chest and pushed him against the hard ground – she enjoyed the new position as she presided over him while straddling his hips. Being subjected to Ben's intense, lascivious gaze was causing a warm heat to swell in her lower abdomen.
"You always like being in charge," Ben said with a wicked grin on his face.
"Someone needs to keep you in line," she retorted their lips colliding again, Rey could have sworn an electrical surge raced down the length of her spine, leaving her tingling and breathless. It felt like this every time she kissed Ben, this fresh, electric connection resurfaced and she knew that would never fade away, never.
From this new position, it was easy enough for Rey to know that her behavior was beginning to affect Ben. The hardening bulge in his pants was pressing intimately against her most sensitive area. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips as he began rocking on his pelvis a little – she could feel his hard member grinding against her sex. The friction was highly addictive and Rey found herself craving more; she even started rocking her own hips just a little to draw out the feeling.
Viciously, Rey started to peel away her own shirt and pants, not wanting to have a single obstacle in her way. Her body was yearning to feel Ben's skin against her own, it was an intimate feeling that she always enjoyed. Rey wasn't shy about helping Ben remove his shirt and shimmy out of his pants. She watched in anticipation as Ben's erect member sprang out. Without hesitation Rey guided the blunt head of his cock right into her silken folds.
Ben let out a soft moan as he placed both of his hands on her hips – which helped to support and steady her. Rey couldn't help but let out a few breathless gasps as her body grew accustomed to this blissful intrusion. She couldn't help but run a hand down the slew of sinewed muscles that rippled under his skin.
"I will still never fathom how you are so shredded," Rey let out an airy giggle.
The animalistic stare Ben bore into her was enough to silence Rey, and instead she started to carnally move up and down his shaft. She could feel herself tightening around Ben, and his breathing became labored. Ben's hands gripped onto her hips for dear life. Before she knew it, he used his hands to slam her down onto his shaft forcing himself deeper, so deep his tip bounced against her cervical wall causing Rey to grit her teeth in pleasure.
She couldn't stop herself from crying out as he repeated the action over and over in a brutally blissful cycle. It wasn't long until she was quickly approaching her point of ecstasy. Ben was close to his limit too as he slammed her hips down and held them there as he pounded up into her hard and fast.
Ben was the first to reach his release as Rey witnessed his jaw clench and she could feel his member pulse within her. Her thighs quivered and her toes curled as she finally reached her peak. Her sex rippled and squeezed him mercilessly as she rocked her hips against his. Flashes of molten white splashed across her vision as she rode the waves of her orgasm with eyes shut and lips screaming soundlessly.
They both went limp, and remained a tangled mess of released desire and bliss for a minute. For a moment neither of them said anything – instead they let the sound of their labored breathing fill the silence between them. Rey was the first to gather the endurance to straighten herself up and took a spot next to Ben's side.
They were both physically drained, and she could already tell that Ben was nodding off. Ben pulled himself close to her, so they were practically attached. Rey allowed him to grapple on to her – it was definitely comforting and she longed for the feeling of his warm body entwined with her own.
Maybe what they had really needed was to just feel close to one another again. She was starting to feel the horror of her test melting away like snow on a sunny day. It was reassuring to know for a fact that Ben loved her and he wouldn't leave her side – and that her vision would never come to pass.
Even though she felt tired, Rey's thoughts soon wandered back to what had happened in her nightmarish vision – especially the thoughts of the family she had never known – they plagued her further. Ben quickly fell asleep, but Rey couldn't seemed to still her mind long enough, instead she allowed her mind to ponder all the possibilities of what her life could have been like if had experienced what family life could offer.
It was well into the early morning before Rey even indulged herself with an ounce of sleep.
It was late morning when both her and Ben arrived at the training grounds as Luke had instructed. Luke was twenty minutes late, but that had become very typical for their slightly cryptic Jedi Master. Luke always seemed so wrapped up in his own thoughts, and maybe it had something to do with them completing their training or what was ahead of them.
"Sorry for being late, I was–"
"It really doesn't matter, we know you make it a habit of being late," Ben cut him off, which both herself and Master Luke were shocked by.
Rey really hasn't noticed until now, but she could tell that Ben was nervous. He was rocking on the balls of his feet, and he had been pacing before – they were the sure signs he was experiencing low levels of anxiety. But talking about Snoke always seemed to have this adverse effect on him, so she shouldn't be surprised.
Ben might have been nervous to talk about Snoke, but she was personally experiencing quite a contrary feeling. She was only too thrilled to finally be approaching the subject of the Vile Dark Lord.
"Well, I'd like you two to follow me to my hut," Luke declared, trying his best to forgive Ben's rudeness.
Luke's hut that was dug in the cliff side had such a warm and welcoming feel. The small fire constantly cast amber colors that danced across the stone wall and the earthy, peaty smell of the place was refreshing. A small cot was pushed against a stone wall, and in the middle was a roaring fire; they were the only fixtures in the hut other than a crudely crafted table. It was hard to believe that the Jedi Master had lived here for many year in solitude.
Rey knew very well how loneliness felt, how bitter and empty it left someone. At least she had been graced with some interactions at the Niima Outpost, but out here there wasn't a single soul for miles. It boggled Rey's mind how Master Luke hadn't gone completely insane.
Her thoughts were disrupted when Luke motioned for them to take a seat around the fire. Ben sat extremely close to her, so close that their elbows were touching. Master Luke gave them a curious glance, but said nothing of their proximity, instead he breached a subject that Rey had eagerly been awaiting.
"Now we can finally discuss where Snoke is hiding, and I know exactly where the Dark Lord is," Luke said vehemently.
"You've known where Snoke was hiding all along and you didn't tell us?" Ben exclaimed with incredulity. "How could you not tell us? I spent months trying to track Snoke when I was part of the First Order and all along you knew where he was and didn't say anything?"
Luke's gaze flickered over to Ben, and the Jedi Master took a deep breath before speaking again. "I couldn't afford to have you two running off on your own to fight him. I wanted to make sure you were prepared."
"You thought we would go out and seek to destroy him on our own?" Ben retorted, in an annoyed tone. "Did you think we were that stupid to go and take him on alone?"
"I've never once thought you two were stupid. I knew for a fact that I couldn't defeat Snoke alone, and I couldn't chance you two leaving to fight him. I only did it as a precaution," their Master replied pragmatically.
"I believe you did the right thing, Master," Rey spoke up, hoping to end the bickering between the uncle and nephew.
It had been a smart choice on Luke's part, especially since he was probably aware that Snoke had killed her father, Anakin Kenobi. It was only natural for Luke to worry that maybe she would seek revenge, or that Ben would want revenge for all the times the Supreme Leader had used him as a puppet.
Luke gave her a grateful nod to show his appreciation for diffusing the situation. Ben was bitter, but he didn't say anything more about the subject, which allowed Luke to continue.
"Have you two ever heard of the planet Raxus Prime?"
"Yeah, it's the wasteland planet in the outer rim and also known as a droid junkyard," Rey chimed in, happy that she could contribute.
Being from Jakku, she had frequently heard of the well to do scavengers making yearly trips there for better loot. They would often times make enough money to last them many months, as the planet was so rich in broken down ships and droid scraps. A few times she had begged other scavengers to take her along on their travels there, but they always refused, claiming she would just be a nuisance and if she didn't have the money to pay for her fare they wouldn't take her.
She heard Ben clear his throat. "It was also used frequently as a hideout by Sith Lords, such as Darth Tyranus. He created the Confederation of Independent Systems on that planet too."
It was obvious that Ben had been reading about Sith Lords and their history – well at least that book on his nightstand back on Starkiller Base had been useful after all.
Master Luke nodded. "So you two have heard of the planet, that's good. I've known for sometime that Snoke has been hiding on Raxus Prime, but I knew I couldn't defeat him alone."
"The Knights of Ren will be stationed there too," Ben included. "I was the only member who wasn't allowed close to Snoke personally, but the rest acted as his bodyguards mostly."
It seemed even when Ben had been undyingly loyal to Snoke, the Master Dark Lord had been distrustful of him – keeping his apprentice at an arm's length. For Ben that must have been disheartening, Rey couldn't imagine how she would feel if Luke expressed constant distrust of her.
"The Knights of Ren, were they the ones who attacked the Academy with you?" Rey turned to look at Luke – she was surprised to hear hints of malevolence in his tone. She had never heard Master Skywalker speak with vengeance or anger in his voice before, but she would could understand why he was so upset. The Knights of Ren had helped slaughter all of his students, but they felt no remorse for their crimes, where Ben was trying to atone.
"Yes," Ben confirmed. "Snoke made me work with them and they were all too excited about the mission."
Rey watched Luke's shoulders tense and he was tightly gripping onto the hem of his sleeves. After a minute of silence, their master finally allowed his shoulders sag, a sure sign that he was releasing his anger. "We will need to know everything about these members, if we are to defeat them," he said with a calm voice.
"Alright, but I can't guarantee that my information will be helpful since I worked with them on rare occasions, most of the information I gathered on them was from reading files I requested to acquaint myself with their skills. In total there were six other members, other than myself," Ben started as he rubbed his chin while contemplating what to say.
"Well, Kutcar-2347 Ren was the first member of the group, it isn't even organic, it's one of General Grievous's bodyguards that was scraped back together after the Clone Wars. It has incredible knowledge regarding how to kill Jedi in its databank."
"Like the the cyborg, Jedi-slayer, General Grievous?" Rey had heard of the man before, well only in the farfetched tales of the Clone Wars. She had been convinced that the story of General Grievous had been a myth, just like Luke Skywalker.
Ben nodded. "Yes, that very one, he was real. The man was a subordinate of Darth Tyranus or better known as Count Dooku."
Rey was having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of some robot that could slay Jedi, but if the story of General Grievous was true, she didn't doubt Ben's information.
"Then there was Kotar Ren, the son of a military titan from Datoonie. He was very cold and unwavering, but he was a weapon specialist and expert military strategist. I often asked for his opinion when I was in the pursuit of targets I thought had information on you, Master Luke."
A dark forbidding look crossed the old Jedi's face, as they were both reminded of the time Kylo Ren had spent hunting him, but Luke remained focused on the task at hand. "Does that mean he isn't good in combat," their master inquired.
Ben scoffed as if Luke had asked an inane question. "All these people were ruthless killers, I would never have allowed someone that was in the Knights of Ren to be soft."
Rey found herself gulping involuntarily – these were the people she were supposed to be fighting, cold-hearted killers? And as Ben listed more members, she found only dread further filling her soul.
"There was also Kajila Ren, the only female of the group, but she was an exceptional tracker, well beyond the level of most expert bounty hunters. She was a Zabrak, which meant she was very arrogant and hard to get along with. Snoke recruited her from a clan known as the Nightsisters, and that meant that Kajila had some very odd magical abilities. In combat she was able to heal herself quite fast."
"Do we have to worry about her sensing our presence? Snoke might sense our arrival, it will be hard to mask three Jedi's presence. But if we successfully hide our arrival from Snoke, will this Kajila sense us? I've heard of some people with mystical powers that have sensory abilities, they can sense people from miles away, that would be important to know" Luke asked.
Ben shrugged. "I don't think she possesses that skill. I think she can only heal herself quickly." Luke nodded, and allowed Ben to continue.
"Kytar Ren was a Rodian, and our tech specialist. His knowledge of ships, vehicles, weapons and turrets was well beyond the aptitude of almost anyone. I would say Kytar's skill is on par with Rey's. He was a little insane though, I was forced to keep a close eye on his odd mannerisms, which always was very disturbing," Ben actually shuddered after mentioning him.
"Lastly, two of the most fearsome members were the twin Maladians that trained together since they were old enough to wield a gun. Kalzuk Ren and Keplar Ren – Snoke is paying those two a nice sum to serve him. They were probably the most skilled in the Knights of Ren – they can kill Jedi barehanded so don't take them lightly. They are not the type of men you want to mess with – even I avoided confrontation with them because of their unruly attitudes."
A heavy silence settled over the group of three Jedi – if they were to face this group alone they would have to fight two of these Knights at once. Rey wasn't certain she could kill even one of these Knights, let alone two. Ben shifted uncomfortably, it seemed he hadn't enjoyed being the bearer of bad news.
"That sounds like quite the tenacious group," Luke muttered humorlessly, as he broke the silence. This was obviously tougher than he'd anticipated.
"What are we going to do?" Rey couldn't help by wonder how they would match such an impressive group of skilled murderers. "We can't face all of them."
Luke sighed. "We will probably need back up to complete such a rigorous feat. I guess we will need to head back to D'Qar," he announced.
"The Falcon is still parked where we left it," Ben recalled. He'd trek down there a few times to check up on R2-D2 and the ship. "Should we use the Falcon to travel back on?"
The older Jedi smiled. "That would be ideal, I don't have a ship to travel on anymore. So that means pack your things, we will be leaving tomorrow morning."
[A/N]: Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and sorry for the long wait, again. Since the chapters about twice as long as they were in the winter, they are taking a bit longer. But I'll have you know that I was looking at my outline yesterday, and I was shocked that there are only seven chapters left on this story! It's almost hard to believe, but I'm hoping to have this story wrapped up in two months.
On another note, I just wanted to give a special thanks to megumisakura, bhut, SaintsFan1, firerosedreamer67, gabysweet10, DaniNatureGirl391, DiamondSapphire, Nila, Hikari216, LovetheKlaroline, LadyRedStar, Sheean Kushiashi, accio-lightsaber, meilimingzi, SaskeIsReading, aparrott, Girlwith100names, MisakiLilia, HogwartsIsOurHome, cmol8806, and all you other guests who have been kind enough to review and give me your feelings and thoughts of the story.
Again, thank you for taking the time to read! Please let me know what you thought of this whole chapter, and the brief introduction to the Knights of Ren. Next chapter will be a reunion between siblings, mother, father and son, as well as returning characters such as Finn and Poe – so pretty much the whole crew. I hope every one has a wonderful week, and I'll update as soon as possible! :)