《COMPLETE》The TROS ending we never got! The sparse remnants of the Resistance that fled from Crait slowly rebuild, hiding away from the First Order. Rey, accompanied by Poe and Finn, float from system to system attempting to stealthily recruit new r...
Author's Note: All I have to say is...don't panic. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, because it was really thrilling to envision (so I hope it's conveyed well to you as a reader).
Artwork of "Tyrus" commissioned by @hal.issa_art on instagram!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*
The vicious swipe Rey aimed at Ben narrowly missed his shoulder as he side-stepped the blade's path, but she quickly changed grip to reverse the direction and he jumped back to avoid the counter swing.
The emperor's laugh echoed from the top of the stairs, hands clasped together in delight at the spectacle before him.
Ben continued to dodge her, surprised by the intensity and speed she brought. Whatever had happened to her while she was alone had obviously twisted the truth for her.
His mind sought hers out, finding the golden thread that linked them together, but he was effectively shut out; the mental shields they had practiced were a solid fortress he could not penetrate. She had successfully managed to concentrate on holding them while attacking him.
"Rey!" he shouted desperately as she came at him again. "We came here together, remember?"
Couldn't she remember that he pulled her from the water? That he'd nearly wept over her body underground on the death star remains, and joined her to face this threat side by side.
"I'm just a scavenger to you!" she cried. "You said I'm nothing!"
A fierce swipe at his head nearly singed his eyebrows when he ducked at the last moment.
Rey was delirious with rage as she hollered and swept her saber back and forth. It pained him to see her be so wild, like an animal uncaged. It was torture to see the strong-willed woman he had come to care for be transformed this way.
If he could not reason with Rey, then he needed to incapacitate her somehow in order to get to Palpatine before he was fatally injured at some point.
There's only one way to stop this, Ben thought as he jumped backward from her again.
Fingers splayed, he sucked a breath deep from his diaphragm and pushed the force powerfully enough to send Rey flying. Crashing into the far opposite wall, her head bounced solidly off steel before her body fell, leaving the crumpled indent of her petite form in the durasteel.
Ben's heart sunk seeing her limp form on the floor the way it did in the snow when he threw her on Starkiller Base, knocking her out against a tree trunk.
Was it too rough?
A twinkle of life trilled through the bond along with the soft echo of rapid, shallow breathing; she was still alive, concussed momentarily to buy him the time he needed to end this.
Without hesitation, he turned to storm the stairs up to Palpatine. Ending the reign of the dark side would be the last thing he would do.
Barely landing a foot on the first stair, Ben looked up just in time to receive a sharp boot to the chest, toppling backwards to the ground. Surprised, he tried to get his feet back under him to stand again but the loud hum of a saber at his throat gave him pause.
