Us Against the World

17

"How naive." He spat as I fell to my knees. My breathing was ragged as I was ripped from the memory, a sharp ache in my throat revealing I had been screaming. What had felt like a memory lasting forever had been seconds of my tortured screams as he burned his way into my mind, tearing into one of the most blissful memories I had. In the memory I hadn't felt the pain, but now I felt the relief. I didn't know what had happened in the time I spent out, but I felt the presence of Ben standing behind me. "If only that spirit could be turned. Although I sense that would be impossible." Snoke forced me above the ground, back now straight so I could look at him. I grunted as I tried to fight against it, but the emotion of the memory was making it virtually impossible. "You must die."

Snoke turned me around. I saw Rey being held by an invisible force off to the side slightly, frozen in place as she watched. I was now facing Ben directly. From his eyes, I knew he had seen exactly what I had, seen the memory that had been viewed by his master and mocked.
"My worthy apprentice, son of darkness, heir apparent to Lord Vader," It seemed that people on this side of the war chose what history they looked at. The fact that in his final moments, Anakin had turned away from the dark and towards his son, realising what he had lost by following his path, all seemed to be ignored. I was yet to bring this up to Ben, feeling as though he already knew and chose not to remember it. "Where there was conflict, I now sense resolve. Where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training, kill the light and fulfill your destiny."

Snoke was a voice that demanded to be heard and wasn't to be ignored. His command was absolute, no room for negotiation. He could see inside Ben's mind, so any way he tried to get out the task would be seen before Ben had a chance to act upon his thoughts. Unless Ben had a trick up his sleeve or hidden in his ridiculous cloak, I had to accept my fate.

With his saber in hand, I looked to Ben, trying to bite back the tears as he stepped closer to me. His eyes never left mine.
"I know what I have to do." For a moment, just a second I felt like I was dying, like there was no hope for me. It was something behind his eyes, an anger not directed at me that stopped me.
"Ben." I whispered. To Rey and Snoke, it would have sounded like a plea, begging for my life. To both Ben and I, it was a question and a warning. Whatever he was about to do, if he wasn't careful, would result in his death and my slaughter.
"I cannot be betrayed, I cannot be beaten," Bragged Snoke, laughing at what he saw as a pathetic attempt to appeal to his better nature. He saw it as my final stand to bring back the man I loved. "I see his mind, I see his every intent." Ben kept his eyes fixed on me as he brought his saber up so it pointed directly at me. Looking at the metal now, it was the same as before, just changed to suit his new environment, changed so it would appear new. He had fashioned the hilt beside me, so I knew exactly what it looked like and every reason why he designed it like he did. "I see him turning the lightsaber to strike true. And now, he ignites it and kills his true enemy!" Snoke shouts.

The ignition of a weapon sounded. I was still. A change in the force alerted me back to the present. I was looking to Ben first, seeing no regret or sadness in his eyes and feeling no pain. When me knees hit the floor, falling from the small height Snoke had held me, I turned to Snoke. The man looked down in shock, seeing the lightsaber of Luke cutting through him. The weapon cut through Snoke, flying towards Rey who caught it.

I stood quickly, feeling Ben's arm supporting me as I stood, processing the fact Ben had used the force to kill his master, comprehending the fact I was still alive. The moment Snoke's body fell to the floor, I saw the Praetorian Guard members closing in. I raised my hand, calling my weapon and igniting the white blade the second it was in my hand. With one final look at Ben, us both looking at Rey who nodded, we turned to the red armoured men, ready to begin the fight.

Block. Attack. Spin. Dodge.

As I fought the guard members, I couldn't help but remember fighting with Ben. It wasn't the last time that I remembered as I pushed the staff of one guard member away. In fact, it was one of our last stick fights in the garden. He had been telling me to attack more, to push back harder. When I was out of breath, he would come at me harder, pushing his stick against mine with more force, telling me that if he wasn't around, I needed to be able to fight off anyone. He told me that an enemy wouldn't back down. That's where my mind went before it cleared, reminding me of an innocent time where Ben had given me some surprisingly brilliant advice.

Our small group was fighting back to back. Sometimes Ben would block guards trying to get to me, and it seemed myself and Rey were doing the same. We moved in unison, as if we had done this before. Every move was rehearsed and calculated, expect it wasn't. Each technique I used and recalled had been practised a thousand times before with Ben standing in front of me with a stick or with a rock standing in front of me weaponless, or with students surrounding me, watching Luke as they tried to copy his position.

Slowly, we had managed to halve the guards we were facing. Ben was fighting two of them while Rey and I had one each. The ones left had the better weapons, the ones that didn't fall to the ground in pieces when they collided with the laser. The one I was fighting had just thrust the weapon forward, catching my waist when I heard Rey fall to the ground. My dress was ripped at the side now, a hole exposing the wound. I quickly backflipped over him before he could land another hit, removing his head as I did so.

I surveyed the fight, seeing Rey back on her feet only to find Ben without his weapon and being restrained by a guard. His eyes were on me as he pushed the weapon away from him, trying to keep it away from his neck. I deactivated my weapon and threw it at him, watching him catch it before igniting it at the head of the guard.

Breathless, we looked around us. We had won.

I watched Ben. Rey was shouting about the fleet, and I guessed that the ship was currently firing at the resistance in hopes of destroying them. Ben wasn't listening, nor was he looking her way. His eyes were focused on the empty throne.
"Ben?" I asked gently, stepping closer to him and resting my hand on his arm. There was fire around us, and debri from the fight. The once pristine throne room was now a warzone, reflecting Ben's mind perfectly.
"It's time to let old things die." He announced. At his words I stepped away from him, appalled. The boy that had just willingly saved my life, risked his own for me and Rey, was now staring at the throne with the exact power hungry look that I had spent years trying to erase. He was considering allowing his mother to meet her end by exploding a ship.

"Snoke. Skywalker. The Sith. The Jedi. The Rebels. Let it all die." Ben moved closer to me. Standing directly in front of me. I felt Rey move to my side, slightly away from where she was standing by the glass, watching ships get shot at. The man looking at me was my Ben, but he sounded nothing like him at the same time. "Rey, Lowla, I want you to join me." He told us, reaching a hand out to each of us.