fulfillourdestiny | After the Fight [for jakkujedi]

Hux, it would appear, was apparently lacking in some sense of self perservation.

"Ren!" The ginger snapped. "Our leader is dead and you swan off?"

"I am taking the prisoner," a tug on Rey's wrists, "to my Knight, General," the word was sneered, "in order to make sure the spark of the Jedi is fully extinguished."

His voice was low, dangerous, and ... entirely convincing.

"I would advise not being in my way."

Rey really wanted to hit Hux. Like she wasn't sure she'd ever wanted anything more. He was what needed to be extinguished.

But she continued to struggle with Ben, as he dragged her along. Hopefully it would be enough to convince Hux to leave them be.

Frankly, Kylo's own feelings on Hux were very similar. The man was exactly what they needed to scorch off every planet face. Still, the General was a necessary evil... or at least he had been compelled to think him so. Right now, he was just an annoyance.

"You think your Knights can really do the job? You don't keep them around."

"The Knights of Ren," Kylo's voice cut through whatever rant Hux had started, "are not to be commanded by some boy who plays at armies. If you don't mind, General," he tugged Rey's wrists again, "leave the Force users to the Force users."

Damn, he was really selling it. Rey could sense that Ben wanted to take Hux's head off, but he wasn't going to do that. He was just trying to get them out of there.

There was so much she wanted to stay, but for now she stayed quiet. Once Ben got them out of there, then there would be time for talk. Besides, it was like she could feel his anger. Maybe the bond was still there, even with Snoke gone.

The threat seemed to work, and Hux stormed off in a rage. Kylo did not give a breath of relief, his jaw tightening, and continuing to storm forward in his angry manner until they were confined on his own ship.

He let go of her wrist and flexed his fingers, breathing deep.

"You really sold that." Rey told him when they were finally alone. "I almost believed you." She was glad that Hux had. But she didn't know where they were going from here. There was so much uncertainty. But one thing she was certain of was that she was glad they'd stayed together.

He gave a stiff nod, still feeling a bit wound from the act. It was easy to bring forth the anger when around Hux, and half of him still felt the need to stay. If only to stop the madness that would undoubtedly come. But... And that was the issue, that his mind would automatically go 'but'.

He believed fully in the need for change in the galaxy, for a better way of running things. He was just unsure that the First Order was the right way to go about it.

"What now?" Rey asked. She was glad they could finally breathe. And she just didn't want to leave Ben. She wanted to bring him home, to his mother. They could figure out the rest later.

Kylo stood awkwardly for a moment, looking around himself before seemingly coming to a decision. He strode off in the directions of the cockpit, before stopping and turning back to face Rey.

"... I don't know where to go."

"To the Resistance, Ben. We must help them." Rey said. She was certain of that much. So many of them had been lost, but as long as one of them remained alive...so did the movement.

The Resistance... who would very likely kill him on the spot. So would Hux, if given half the chance. Stuck between two evils, it just came down to deciding which one was lesser.

Another nod, and he went to sit in the pilot's seat. Resistance it was.

Rey believed he would be safe. She would not let the Resistance harm him. That was just something that she could not allow to happen. And Leia wouldn't allow it either.

"It'll be alright, Ben. You'll see."

"If they have any sense, they'd kill me where I stood," he commented lightly, setting in the coordinates Rey had told him. There's no emotion to the words, they're stated in a matter of fact manner. He believed it.

Always the monster.

"They won't." Rey said, putting her hand over his for some offer of comfort. "We're in this together." She told him. Ben had been conflicted, but he had finally chosen the side he belonged on. The Resistance was far from perfect, but it was better than the First Order could ever be.

In this together... The words left him with a warmer feeling than he suspects they should have done, but he didn't want to think on it too closely, not when he had to try to get them down to Crait before Hux spotted where his ship was headed. If anyone else spotted it, they would likely assume he just went to take care of things himself - they knew his power, after all. What were blasters compared to the might of the Force.

"There was a base on Crait," he said to Rey. "In the days of the Rebellion against the Empire. That's where they'll be."

"We'll go there." Rey said. She didn't know what their reaction would be, but there was no way that Leia would allow her son to be killed. And Rey wouldn't allow it either. There had been so much conflict in him, and Rey knew she could reach him. And now here they were, heading to the Resistance. Snoke was dead. The times were finally changing.

There was a stiff nod of his head. "The Resistance... it's where they would likely be." He thinks he had been taken to the Crait base, once, when he had been very young. He can remember the white of the planet, and a red that bled through from the mines below. It had been a strong visual, if he could remember it even now.

"...There's a back way in. I think." He frowned, trying to remember. He had been playing, hide and seek. It had been hours and they hadn't found him, but he had found his own way out. He can remember flashes of anger and relief.

Rey nodded, putting her hand over his. "It's going to be alright, Ben. Somehow." He had chosen a side. The Resistance had a new powerful ally. With Ben's help, they had more of a fighting chance.

He glanced down at the hand, fingers twitching under her touch. Did she really think that it would be alright? All he could see was things going so badly wrong. If he wasn't shot on sight - and he was expecting it, and doubted he would stop the blasts - then it was likely he had inadvertently brought the First Order to them. While he didn't really care about the Resistance in general - why should he - there were... he didn't want to cause Leia any more harm than he already had.

And Rey, his eyes flickered up to see her face before looking down again. He never wanted to hurt her. It was a deep assurance within him. He would never hurt her.

They could just sit in silence, she didn't mind. She was just glad it was finally over. Or at least it was going to be over soon. She didn't know what would happen when they got to Crait but Leia would be happy to see him. And in time, everyone else would accept him too.

The silence was... odd. Not uncomfortable, which was strange. He had never had silence, ever, in his life. There had always been noise of some sort, even just in the form of Snoke's dark mutterings in the back of his mind. To have his mind to himself again was... It was something he was getting used to a lot faster than he had thought possible. His eyes flickered back to the girl beside him, down to where their fingers touched, and then to her face. As sure as the knowledge was in his own mind that he would never hurt her, he wondered why.

The Dark rose, and the Light to meet it.

It was a lesson that had been well taught by Skywalker and by Snoke. They were enemies, they should be tearing at each other's throats. One trying to strike the other down before they got too powerful. It was what had happened throughout the history of the Dark and Light sides of the Force, and their users. It was what was supposed to happen.

But he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to hurt her. He wanted to hurt a lot of people, just not her. He frowned, trying to process this information when the controls of the ship beeped. He looked up, and a grim readiness settled on his face.

"We're coming into land."

Rey didn't know what was going through Ben's mind. She couldn't know that. But she did know how he was feeling, in a way. She could sense it. Maybe it was the bond, or maybe it was just that she was sitting right next to him. She knew he was in pain, and she knew she'd do anything to help him get through that.

Despite everything Ben had done, he'd also saved her life. She owed him. He'd killed Snoke before Snoke could make Ben kill her. But it was more than that, she genuinely cared about him and his well being. And it wasn't just because of Leia either. Ben had been a big part of Rey figuring out who she was and who she could be.

She nodded. Soon, they'd be surrounded by what was left of the Resistance. She didn't know when she would be alone with him again. So she needed him to know that somehow it would be alright. She gave his hand a light squeeze and then smiled.

"Here we go."

All of this felt... far too quick. Only hours before he had been prepared to hand Rey over to Snoke as a way of proving his loyalty. Except... No, now he wasn't sure if he had been preparing to do that at all. He had just been following orders, hadn't he? Had he had an independent thought of his own? Had anything he done up until now been of his own regard? And what about now? Was he just following Rey because it was easier than staying where he knew he would be killed?

His hands tightened on the controls, and there was a noteable twitch in his jaw. Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, whichever one he was. Both were just mindless followers, in the end.

"You ... have a way of contacting them? To let them know?"

"They'll know." Rey said simply. She was following a sort of beacon, a signal. The Resistance would know they were nearly there and somehow they'd escape. Hux had to be satisfied for now. And they'd need to deal with what happened to Snoke. With the First Order distracted, the Resistance could escape and live to fight another day.

"Finn'll know." She smiled, thinking of her friend. Ben would need to make amends with him, of course. But there would be time for all of that. Or maybe Rey was just being optimistic. She was taking Ben turning as a sign though, a sign for the future.

His eyes had flickered towards her face on the mention of Finn, and the sight of the smile had cause a tightness, and a flare of anger to rush through him. Finn. FN-2187. That was what she called the traitor. Np, he couldn't call the other man a traitor anymore. Not when he was doing the exact same thing. He supposed FN... Finn may have had noble reason his his betrayal, Kylo is well aware of what his own looks like. But that smile... It causes white hot anger and the clenching of his hands around the controls, more than they had been.

If he weren't wearing his gloves, he would be sure they could see his white knuckles.

"Of course," he managed through gritted teeth, turning the ship around to try to find a better landing spot. There, out in the open in front of the cave... No, there would be where the First Order would lead to, an offensive attack. Behind the mountains, there had to be somewhere there.

"We'll need to find a way in."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject