The Broken Ones | REYLO [Complete]

26. Before the Light Takes Us

--BEN--

The haze clears from Rey's eyes as she stares at the pool of blood forming under the dead general's head. Deafening silence falls over the troops, and I sense their confusion and trepidation over facing down the woman who so easily overpowered their leader.

Another tense moment passes before one stormtrooper bearing the red pauldron of an officer steps forward and raises her blaster.

"Drop your weapons!"

Rey creeps forward until she's at my side. We lower our lightsabers to the ground and raise our hands.

"Now would be a good time to do that blast thing," I whisper to her.

"What?!"

"The thing you did on me, that...that mind blast thing!"

"If I knew how to do it, don't you think I would have done it already?" She hisses back.

"Just try!"

Rey glares at me before closing her eyes. There's a tug in my mind and the bond flares to life, instantly sharpening my senses and my connection to the Force.

"Supreme Leader, you are under arrest for treason against the First Order," the officer calls out. "Surrender now or we will kill you."

A slight wind picks up, bringing with it the unnerving static sensation that pricks your skin in the tranquil moments before a lightning storm; though instead of trepidation, I feel elation. I feel free. The last remnants of Kylo Ren fall away like leaves off a tree, making way for new life, new growth.

"Your Supreme Leader is dead," I tell the officer, using the Force to summon my lightsaber as I stalk toward her. She takes a step backward. "He was weak and foolish like Snoke, so I destroyed him." The smile on my face grows, and the Force flares around me in a great surge of power. "My name is Ben Solo, and I will finish what my grandfather started."

My blade ignites at the same time as Rey's. Row after row of stormtroopers raise their blasters in unison, awaiting the command to fire. "Get ready," Rey commands, raising her lightsaber.

I nod and brace myself for the blast, but it doesn't come.

"FIRE!"

Time seems to slow in that moment. Rey looks up at me, eyes wide and shining with unshed tears. I nod, letting her know it's okay; I'm here, and we're together. Nothing else matters. We'll fight our way through.

We turn to face the army as the first shots are fired off and my lightsaber comes up to deflect them. Adrenaline courses through my veins, lighting a fire within me that's only amplified by the strength of the Force as it guides my every move. I don't need to look at Rey to know she's okay. I feel her so completely it's as if she's an extension of my own body. Two that are one.

Blaster fire rains down on us, the thrill of battle consuming my senses. I'm stronger than I've ever been, blocking each shot more swiftly than the last; never have I felt a high like this. My brain is on autopilot. Red sparks fly left and right as our sabers arc through the air, hands no more than blurs as they toss stormtroopers with the Force like they weigh nothing at all.

I feel them long before I hear them. By the time I see them it's too late.

Three TIE fighters come screaming from behind us, tearing through the air with a fury that shakes the ground. Rey grabs my hand and we sprint for the nearest dune, throwing ourselves behind it as the sand around us explodes in flashes of green fire.

"Well that didn't work!" She shouts over the sounds of battle. "What now?"

The TIEs circle around and begin their second approach. "We need to move. They're coming back."