Star Wars Episode IX: Force Link ✔️ (Editing)

41| Who Could Have Done This?

Rey gasped and clutched her chest. She could feel pain... death. It wasn't far away.

"What's wrong?" Enfys asked.

"I can feel something in the force... pain. I have to go," she replied. "Chewie get them to the falcon. Take them to the residence."

Chewie growled in protest.

"You can come back for me," she answered.

He growled again.

"I'll be fine," she replied, smiling at him. "I promise."

Chewbacca hugged her goodbye.

"Be careful young one, and may the Force be with you," Enfys nodded in farewell.

Rey smiled at her. "May the force be with you."

Rey turned and left the ship, stepping out into the pouring rain.

After Rey had been walking for an hour she came to the source of the pain and suffering that she felt.

It was a sight that she had hoped she would be able to stop. But she was too late. The wet ground was scattered with dead bodies. She could see ruined huts, what had once been a village. Now nothing remained. Nothing but destruction and desolation.

She felt tears sting her eyes. What could have done this? ...who could have done this?

She looked around. She didn't think it was possible for this planet to get any darker, but since she had set out it had. She couldn't see more than a foot in front of her.

She should have used the Force to sense what was around her, but her sorrow got the best of her. All of these people had died, and she felt that it her fault. If only she'd gotten here sooner.

She didn't see the dark figure approaching from behind her until it was too late. She could feel someone push her towards the ground, hard.

She turned and looked up to see the black figure swinging a weapon down towards her. It happened so quickly that she didn't have time to defend herself. The dark figure stared down at her, and though she could not see his eyes. She could feel the hatred in his gaze. She knew that this was the end.

Suddenly a fiery red blade went through the center of the black clad figure. The figure fell to the ground, to reveal a second figure, wearing black from head to toe. His face was masked by a black helmet.

He looked at the fallen figure for a moment, one of the Death troopers who had accompanied him. Then he looked back at her. But not with hate as the first figure. He looked at her with compassion through the visors of his helmet.

It was Kylo Ren, but Rey had come to know him as Ben.

Had he really just killed one of his own men to save her? She stood up slowly, and he only watched her.

Rey was about to thank him for saving her, when she noticed a group of warriors standing behind him. Everyone of them was dressed in black and they all wore masks that covered their faces completely. They were all armed with different weapons.

Everything was so familiar, she was sure that she had seen this before, but she couldn't have.

Rey looked around at all of the fallen beings. They did this, she realized. He did this.

She screamed in anger and pulled out her new saber. She lunged at him, swinging the lightsaber fiercely. He quickly raised his red blade to deflect her's.

The red and blue glow of their lightsabers shown brightly in darkness that surrounded them.

Kylo swung his lightsaber, aiming it at the blue glow of her lightsaber, rather than at her. His lightsaber made contact with hers and he pushed her lightsaber into the ground. It sizzled as it made contact with the moist ground.

With his free hand, he reached out to touch the side of her head. "I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart," his voice whispered in her mind. "I'm trying to help you."

"Help me?" she asked in her thoughts. But she drifted out of consciousness. Even unconscious she could still hear his voice in her mind. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Everything that I have done was to save you. I can't live without you."

The knights of Ren watched as their master carried the unconscious girl onto his ship.

Then they and the death troopers followed Ren onto the ship.

Kylo carried the girl to the medical bay. "Make sure she's okay," he told the medical droids. "Make sure she's not hurt or sick. If she is, treat her immediately."

"Yes, sir," said the one of the droids.

Ben watched as medical droids prepared to examine Rey. Behind his mask, a tear slid down his cheek. He could only hope that she would be safe.

She had seemed fine on Ganeron, but he couldn't get the image of her death out of his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that he would lose her.

Why did he care? He had tried to keep himself from caring about anyone. He had been hurt so many times by those he cared about that he had blocked everyone out. He had built a wall of darkness around himself, but Rey's light had shown through it.

He could only hope that he had become strong enough in the Dark Side to save her, if the droids could not.

He walked away, and made his way down the hall.

Finally, he came to the cockpit of the ship. "Take us back to the First Order fleet," he commanded the pilot.