Bond (Kylo Ren x Rey)

Battle

Ben took in deep gulps of air, choking on the dust that had flown up around his squadron. Looking over at the source, he saw one of their AT-ATs collapsed on the planet's rocky surface. Its cannons had been twisted in knots as if by giants. Rey. Only Rey could have done that. Despite Ben's current allegiances, a bolt of pride ran through his body at the power that she could and did wield. She was unstoppable.

"Sir!" a trooper called out.

The Supreme Leader realized he had stopped in his tracks, distracted from the battle. His company had come to a halt behind him wary of what their next order would be. Ben blinked, breaking the trance and turned his attention back to the troopers. He reached deep into the well of anger housed inside his heart to draw inspiration to continue the fight. It was shallower than before. Brushing the errant thought aside, he addressed his company.

"Most Resistance squadrons seem to be coming at us directly. I'll take the middle; you fan out beside me, going for the edges of each group that approaches us. Am I clear?" Ben glared at the white reflective masks of his legion, trying to strike fear of failure into their bodies.

Short "yes sir"s of affirmation echoed back to him. Nodding, he turned again to the battlefield and broke into a sprint.

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The blazing red lightsaber crackled in response to the impact of laser fire. As Ben approached the enemy ranks, he almost lazily deflected the shots of Resistance fighters. A soldier broke out from the group, feeling brave enough to confront the Supreme Leader with only a blaster in hand. He had made a grave mistake. With a yell, the Resistance member fired his weapon, but the bolt stopped inches from the blaster end. With the deadly bright shot wavering, Ben stepped forward, black cape flapping behind him. A slight breeze blew his dark hair away from his eyes as he reached into the well again. A meager drop of anger boiled to the surface. Where was his unlimited supply he had constantly drawn from throughout the years?

Ben looked into the eyes of the doomed man in front of him and knew what he had to do. With a push of his hand, he guided the bolt with the Force. The deed took only seconds. The soldier's eyes glassed over as he crumpled to the ground. The satisfaction in death that Snoke had bred within him was nowhere to be felt. That revelatory beast was dormant. Sleeping. Instead, a new creature had curled into his stomach. It was faint, but he could detect what it was. He had felt it before: Guilt.

He stepped over the body, the deflected fire from Resistance members now in much closer proximity. With a clenched hand, Ben took hold of the tendrils of the Force around him. His hand jerked up, prompting helpless enemy soldiers meters away to be thrown up into their air, and land on their fellow troops. He repeated the action, this time holding the enemy in the air long enough for his stormtroopers to fire on them before letting them fall back to the earth. The strategy was working: They blew through the ranks of soldiers, creating a pocket in their defenses.

Was he the Supreme Leader? Yes. Was his goal to defeat the Resistance? Yes. Wasn't it supposed to feel good crushing the enemy underfoot? Yes. Unfortunately, Ben thought, this wasn't the reality. Something had changed. That creature, that guilt had reared its ugly head. He had killed before, so what was his problem? Goddamn it, Rey. It seemed that she had invaded every part of him. Punched cracks in the darkness; let small shards of light through. Ben had to get through this battle. He assured himself that the people doing the actual killing were the stormtroopers. He was just rendering the enemy immobile. He wasn't giving the death blow. With an exasperated huff, the Supreme Leader accepted his feeble attempt at rationalization and unclenched his fist, dropping lifeless bodies to the rocky surface below.

Soon enough, new Resistance soldiers filed in, bearing not blasters but plasma staffs. They must have had interplanetary financial assistance for those, Ben mused. Game for some real action, he took his fighting stance as they approached him. Something in him glowed at the clash of saber against staff. With a wild grin, he began his deadly dance. These troops were no match for him. Not when he had come up against her. But in lieu of the Jedi, he would take on these men. With a few swipes at each, Ben was able to disarm and injure most with ease.

When a larger man lumbered up, the Supreme Leader wiped the sweat from his brow and measured himself up against an enemy seemingly more adept than the last few. He dug his feet in to the rocky soil for more stability and impatiently struck out with a swipe of his saber. The Resistance soldier parried the strike comfortably. Ben made a mental note of his enemy's relative skill as he blocked an overhead blow. Plasma staff was met with the red sparks of his own weapon as he pushed forward to gain more ground. With a grunt, the soldier ceded territory, leaving Ben a chance to pull back and swipe low. The man let out a howl as the saber burned through part of his shin. Ben smiled. Now that his enemy was blindingly mad, he would make more mistakes of that nature. Seconds later Ben was bombarded with strike after strike from the plasma staff, blocking the messy advances easily before making a few more efficient ones of his own. Seeing a hole in the bulky man's defenses, Ben lunged forward, striking at the torso for a fatal blow. His saber hit its mark, silencing the great beast forever.

Ben was alerted to a burning sensation on his hip, looking down to realize that a stray blaster bolt had made a significant dent in the skin there. Trying to block the stench of singed uniform and skin from his nose, he turned his attention to the onslaught of Resistance troops always moving forward to take the last ones' places. As Ben fought, smoke curled around him, making his eyes itch and nose water. Through the daze and din of dust and blaster fire, he spotted a beam of blue light. It couldn't be anyone else. It had to be her. Immediately immobilizing the soldier he had been locked in a fight with, Ben focused on the Force surrounding him and picked her out of the chaos. Rey. He would know her signature anywhere. His heart leapt in his chest as his limbs began moving of their own accord. Grasping the Force around him, the Supreme Leader leapt past enemy soldiers, blasting them out of his path with a bat of an eye. He entered a clearing. The only thing separating Ben Solo and Rey of Jakku was meters of scorched earth. She was locked in combat with one of his stormtroopers, but that was easily dealt with. Ben threw his own man against an outcropping of rocks with the Force. Rey glanced around to find the source of her savior, only to lock eyes with the Supreme Leader of the First Order.

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Hey guys! I am SO sorry I've been absent lately! I've been trying to figure out how to write my masters dissertation while also keeping this up. I PROMISE to do better in the future, especially since we only have around five more chapters left! Y'all deserve the world for sticking with me...or at least a Ben Solo redemption in the real episode nine. Let me know what you think, your comments are always so helpful and uplifting!:)