A/N: The picture above is a brief description of the situation they are in this chapter. Well, Ben as anakin (also, those are the clothes he wears in this story) and Rey as Padme (with the clothing from tlj) .

After a night spent in that damp and cold cell, a bit of light had been a blessing in the morning. But now its burning rays were lashing mercilessly across their faces as they struggled to squint in the distance across that flat sand surface spotted with patches of grass.

Commander Tieren had tied them to some high rocks to roast in the sun after long debates with his commanders, until the Final Order troops would come to close the deal.
Rey and Ben were in the middle, Chewie and Annika at the sides. And two feet distance between them at least. Their hands were tied tightly above their heads, and as high on the rocks so their feet could not touch the ground.

A strong wind blew from the west, pulling all the dust into their faces and making them cough. Rey squeezed her eyes as she sneezed, drawing all the eyes on her.

"What?" she tilted her head up and asked Ben as he looked upon her. Her voice was a bit too harsh than she had intended, yet both him and Chewie looked as if she had said the biggest joke in the world.

He rose his eyebrows in response and said nothing. Just smiled.

"Rawrgh?"

"Yeah, I love it when she sneezes." Ben's eyes turned to his wookie friend as he smirked, and Rey rolled her eyes.

It was getting harder and harder to stay there in the sun, with the sand in your nose, unable to move anything. Why couldn't they come at once and get them and be done with it? But that wasn't what Rey had in mind. She was the hope out there. And the other one was Ben. They couldn't just step out of the the way, and leave the people alone to deal with this new menace. Ben wouldn't want it either.

And there was Annika to think about. She was a Force-sensitive being who desperately needed guidance to find her way, to find the light. And Rey could see the bond that had begun to weave between the little one and her other half in the Force. And worse, she had just found out that the child was targeted by the Final Order.
That poor little being was needy of her and Ben's guidance. And needy of their love.

She sighed out frustration. "Well, you'd better help me think a way to escape this damn shit." And she threw Ben an annoyed look, raising an eyebrow as she pursed her lips.

Oh, right, the bond. I forgot about it.

Well, you'd better not, she shot back.

But then an idea flashed in her mind. Maybe if she could somehow wriggle her hands out of that coarse rope that bind her hands, then she would free her legs and get to the small knife she kept hidden in her left boot.

She tried. At least she was willing to know whether it worked or not. Her face twisted in pain as the rope cut into her skin and the tense position of her body made her muscles feel sore.
She tried, and managed nothing but a great amount of tiredness wash her like a bath. Her arms ached and she was panting worse than she would have if she had ran a mile, by the time she gave up and let her head fall back against the hard rock. She squeezed her eyes and took a sharp intake of breath as her chest rose and fell fastly and irregularly.

Rey, she heard Ben's voice through the bond. And as she turned her head around, sweat beading her forehead and cheeks and nose, she met Ben's eyes.

What? She shot. Yet her question was but a mere whisper of the yell it was meant to be.

You'll need that strength when the time comes for us to escape.

The time never comes, Ben! Not unless you make it! She was getting angry again.

And gritting her teeth and bracing as if for an upcoming fight, she managed to swirl the rope around her wrists and grasp it in her fists. She swung her legs up, entangling them around her bound hands, head downwards.

Her brows were furrowed, as if she was concentrating over repairing the engine of a ship. Her face was growing read from the effort and from the blood that flowed down to her head, and a vein pulsed in her temple.

Chewie let out a roar as he saw her perched up there, not understanding what in the galaxy she was doing.

"Ben, tell your wookie to be quiet!" she managed through gritted teeth.

Rey grunted as she could feel her arms giving up. Her limbs felt like two useless, sore things that held her from falling and breaking her back on the hard stone ground beneath. She was lucky though for the climbing skills she had learned as a scavenger.

Almost there, she thought as her bound hand reached her booth. But now came the difficult part; her fingers were either too short, or it was her legs that gave in to soreness and began to slip back down.
Just a little more, please, she pleaded with her strength as her brows furrowed even harder and her teeth clenched to the point of breaking.

Her fingers stretched into her boot, and she could feel the hilt of the knife there. A wave of happiness and satisfaction surged through her, making her realize all the effort was worth it.

Her head was pounding, a curse halfway to her lips, when she grasped the thin wooden surface between her middle finger and the index one. Then as she got a hold strong enough on it, she slid it out and lowered her legs back and sighed out exhaustion.

Closing her eyes and letting the satisfaction and the happiness that she finally had a way to escape this mess settle, she smiled.

"Thank you." Ben said, gratefulness in his voice. "What would I do without you, Rey?"

She parted her lips to heave another puff, and slowly turned her head toward him, slightly tilted up against the pointy rock. When her eyes flashed open as if she were waking up from a beautiful dream, they found Ben.

"You'd be dead by now if it wasn't for me." her voice sighed past his ears like the desert wind. Warm, yet deadly like an army of daggers. Then she tilted her head back up to the rope that bound her hands.

Come on, once more, she tried to pull the strength back into her lungs. But the heat made her want to do otherwise; to hang there in the air and wait until it would all be over. And to sleep.

Yet it all depended on her now. And somehow, through some sheer force of will and desire to be free at once and be done with it, the same pull that had driven her out of the Jakku dessert, she managed to wriggle the knife in her hands and felt one rope tear. If she managed to free at least one hand, then it would be much more easier with the next.

And that tiny string broken was enough of an impulse to make her go on. Harder this time, and gritting her teeth from the effort, she began to hack wildly at the coarse rope.
The two fingers between which she gripped the hilt were aching in pain, and her skin was on the point of breaking and forming blisters.

"Keep an eye on those rocks-" She hissed at Ben and Chewie, and her voice faltered from the effort.

"Sure."

One last cut and one of her left hand was free. But the knife slipped through her fingers too sore to hold it anynore as she dangled against the hard rock. Out of sheer luck, she grasped it right when it passed her wrist.

Rey let out a sigh of relief before winding the rope around her still-tied wrist to reach it with the knife.

This time it worked faster. Not only because she was hacking it with an unbound hand, but because now she had seen it was possible to escape. She had seen they still stood a chance.

When the last string of rope tore, and her head was still tilted up concentrated on her work, the fall took her completely by surprise. "Aa!" she let out a yell, but still drowned it quickly enough as she remembered the circumstances. The distance was not big, yet her breath stopped and her heart ceased to beat for a moment before her feet hit the ground with a thud, legs bent as if in a stance for a fight, the force of gravity combined with the sudden fear of falling threatening to push her forward to her knees.
She was down and free before her instinct could even tell her to grab something, a sharp rock, to prevent the fall.

At first she took a sharp breath. Then the new feeling took over. And it was running away across the sand dunes what she dreamt of in this moment. Running and finding the Falcon and never look back.

But as if something invisible turned her head around, a force, a realization to reconsider her plans, her eyes met the ones she wanted to save. Was it madness that had taken over her only a moment ago? How could she forget so quickly?

Without thinking twice, she sprinted back to them. No words, no explanations, she clasped the knife in her teeth and climbed the steep rocks that itched out of the wall until she could reach the height Ben was tied at. Her feet were sure on the unstable stone that crumbled and rolled to the ground in tiny pointed pebbles. Climbing was something she liked, something she was best at, except for wielding a staff or a lightsaber.

Ben was looking at her as she was now looking down at him. Her face was stern and determinate, showing no doubt. One hand grasped a sharp rock, the other grasped the knife. She seemed so caught up with her task, that she didn't even notice Ben's stare on her. Or maybe she had taken notice and she just didn't want to show it.

But just when he'd given up, she lowered her eyes to catch his gaze and smirked. It was that smile that was yet mocking but in an affectionate way. Or maybe it was just him who saw it like that.

"Ready to be free, Solo?" she asked as she placed the blade against the rope that bound his wrists.

Her eyes snapped to the ties again. And first she noticed his blisters, and how the sun was making them burn. She could feel it through their bond, she could feel all his pain. In fact they both bore blisters. And she wasn't sure whether it was a mingled pain they both felt, or if it was only hers or his.

"Rey?" he asked as he saw that nothing happened.

"Yeah, now." she seemed to land back on steady ground from a faraway place. And with a strong slash, he fell in the sand, where she jumped right next to him in a matter of seconds.

His hands were still tied between them, and Rey quickly hacked that string that glued them and set them apart.

"I'm sorry for those." She said as she looked at his wounds.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He suppressed a laugh. "You had no part in this. And... I think I owe you some good thanks...for keeping us alive."

Rey's eyes darted back to Chewie and Anni. "You take the wookie, I take the girl." She decided. He nodded, and did as he was bid. It was still a bit odd for the former Supreme Leader to receive orders from a former scavenger, and even obey them without questioning. But she was the one to lead the operation now, she was the one due to they were alive.

She heard Chewie roar in frustration behind her as Ben freed him. Deftly, her knife bit hard at Anni's ropes and caught her in her arms before she placed her on the ground.

"Thank you, Master Rey."

Rey smiled as she squeezed the girl's shoulders. "Let's get out of here now. And... where did "Master Rey" come from?"

"You and Ben are the last jedi. So... I can only see you as masters as well."

Rey smiled. A smile that hid both amusement and regret. If truth be told, she had never thought about that. Were she and Ben truly going to be masters? She had never seen herself one. As for him...he wasn't even accustomed to the idea of being a jedi, he hasn't even forgiven himself. And were they going to live so much as to become ones?

"Rey!" Ben's voice jolted her up. And she understood the meaning behind Chewie's fretful roar only when she caught a loud whistle of metal singing through the air. She cut to the side, pushing Anni to the ground as a knife buried itself in the ground where she had been a moment before.

And suddenly they were not alone anymore. At least a dozen warriors appeared from behind the rocks, blocking all the ways out of the crate.

At least I tried, she thought as fear was seeping through her bones like a disease.

Commander Tieren was with them, his shiny armor glinting in the sun. And his voice rang clear and strong in Rey's ears as he said "So you have chosen to play dirty." and then, turning his head to his men "Kill the beast and the woman. But leave the traitor and the child alive."

Ben was standing tall and straight, hatred for that man all over his face. They had nothing to defend themselves with, except for Rey's knife that had been their salvation.

She had always been brave. Yet those feelings have deserted her now. She felt small and scared, the same way she did when she was just a little girl on Jakku, threatened by a dozen unknown men that wanted to do bad things to her.

Involuntarily she took some small steps back. And her hand brushed slightly against another.
She was jolted at the contact, seeing enemies even in her friends. But Ben's presence made her relax in the instant she knew it was him, and not anyone else. As a warm bath relaxes you after a day of stress. His fingers were bolder as they intertwined with her numb and trembling ones. And she clasped her hand with his as if a horribly strong hurricane was pulling them apart.

"I won't let anything happen to you." he whispered as he squeezed her hand and stroked her fingers with his thumb.

She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. And he was telling her to believe.

"We do it together." he said, as he squeezed her hand one more time before slowly letting go.

She nodded in response. And it was like all her strength was back in her lungs, in her mind, in her heart. Ben always had that effect, to make her believe in herself, to give her hope. Although for him it was hard to find it within himself and for himself, he briefly offered it to the others.

Taking a stance, she positioned herself back-to-back with Ben and Chewie forming a triangle, Anni in their middle.

The wookie let out a roar as the first two warriors lunged for him with their spears pointed forward.

The pointed tip of one long lance glinted dangerously close to Rey's side, and she barely had time to jump from its way. It grazed her side, and the wooden shaft brushed against her tunic. She rose her knife-hand, and thrust it in to the hilt in the man's flesh. Blood spilled on her face and hands, but with a fast move her hand grasped the spear and yanked it with all force from the wounded warrior's hands. Great! This weapon was what she was looking for: something crafty, to resemble her old staff.

Ben bent back and the sharp, long, curved blade passed right above his face, grazing the tip of his nose. He heaved a breath of relief while ducking and tumbling fast in the sand before the blade could hit the back of his head. He heard the sword hiss in his wake as it slashed at the air.
When he jumped back to his feet, carefully glancing this way and that, the butt of a long wooden staff hit him in the temple. He stumbled backwards as his head spun. He had to grab hold of a weapon. There were already three warriors on Rey, four on Chewie and Anni and another three were now cornering him from all sides. But Commander Tieren was standing aside on a high rock, watching contently the slaughter before his eyes.

Coward! Ben wanted to shout as he rose his eyes up at his old comrade only for a brief moment. Come down here and fight me!

But the loud roar of an armed man brought him back to where he was. He spun around in time to avoid his spear, when another sharp blade slashed across his chest. He didn't see that one coming. So he got away with a cut on his leather tunic. But the next time, he was up to his senses as he grasped the shaft of a spear that grazed his side. Gritting his teeth and bracing, he tore it in half, leaving the man before him with a stub.

Having a new weapon in his hand, even though it was just a shortened spear, fueled his strength to fight. He looked his adversaries up triumphantly, challenging them to attack him. He could almost see them laugh at him, even though they didn't. But nothing compared to his will to fight when he had to protect his loved ones.

The first one to charge at him was the second spearman. But Ben barred his shaft with his own short one he used as a sword and flung it from his grasp. He could have taken the spear from the ground. But it wasn't what he was looking for; he wanted that sharp blade of the other's.

Yet he kicked it away so it would be within the man's reach as another one flung at him from behind, ready to thrust a sharp knife between his ribs. He turned around, grabbed his wrist right when the knife was inches apart from his skull and thrust the spear in the opponent's stomach. He looked the man in the eye before he pulled the shaft out of him, blood dripping on the ground. He took the knife and attached it to his belt for later as the man fell limp in the sand.

Then there was only one to go, the one with the bronze blade. The light that danced off the edge cut his eyes way before the edge could find his throat. In a matter of seconds he drew to the side and plunged his spearhead in the man's side, with the other hand yanking the sword from him. He kicked him and made him fall on his knees in the sand, before landing the final blow.

Ben looked down at the crimson blood that had begun to pool around the corpse, letting out a sigh of relief as he straightened his back. And as looked up, he could see worries coming from Tieren. He was losing. He was losing a war against three unarmed fighters.

"Ben!" he heard a cry somewhere behind him.

At the sound of Anni's high pitched yell of his name, his head snapped around in a moment. His eyes widened in fear and anger as he bolted straight toward her, heart hammering in his chest.

Rey
And then she glimpsed them; two hilts, one silver, one made from wood, hanging from Tieren's belt as he looked upon them. Their sabers. They were saved, the only thing they needed to do was somehow manage to bribe the commander into a trap.

Ben, Rey sent the thought into his mind to catch his attention as she blocked one upcoming blow with her forearm. But she only took a tiny glimpse of him. And he was caught in a fight. Ben! She tried again.

And she knew he had heard when a wave of fear and anxiety came from his direction, and she could feel his distraction from the fight. She had forgotten to do one essential thing; to assure him she was well.

I'm fine. But look at Tieren's belt.

The connection broke off as she had to parry another attack. A man was running toward her with a long curved knife. But she was fast enough to duck it. When the blade passed past her head, she grasped his wrist with one hand and his forearm with the other and twisted brusquely. He let out a yell and the dagger fell directly in her outstretched palm.

With another fluid motion, she backstabbed him.

The lightsabers, she tried to tell Ben again, now that she was free. But not for long. They might have defeated the ten men Tieren had set on them. Yet he had many more than that.

Ben was fighting three new ones now, as they wanted to seize him and Anni. He was beginning to tire. Slowly, yet soon he would not have the strength to fight back.
And the little child kept hiding behind his legs, trying to help with a knife in her hand, yet she was more of a burden.

But Rey aimed straight for the top. Her eyes rose up and locked on Tieren's cold, gray ones. And his penetrated hers as if he was looking deep into her soul. She put on her armor, and shot back the same hard stare before a battle cry escaped her mouth as she held up the spear in her hand, parallel with the ground and bolted toward him.

He did not see that coming. So sure on himself he had been, his eyes widened open in surprise and fear as he slowly realized there was no soldier between himself and the girl.
She was storming like a hurricane preparing to smash a building, like a beast ready to attack its prey.

And she fed on that fear she could see in his eyes. That fear that was clouding his vision. That fear that made her feel strong and that made her lash out with a roar at him.

The bronze point of the shaft rang against an iron lance as he barred her blow. But she wouldn't stop. Drawing a pace back to increase the speed and strength, she aimed again, this time to his armpit, one of the few places that wasn't shielded by armor. Her blows were chaotic, ruled and fueled by anger and desire for revenge.

"You're a feisty little one, I must say!" he tried to distract her.

But she was smarter than that. Instead of thinking about a reply as her eyes were locked with his in an angry stare, making him think she was actually playing his game, she ducked her hand and seized her Saber form his belt.

" Ha! " she let out a triumphant cry as she ignited the golden blade and began to twirl it in a blur of motion.

She blocked his attack, and impaled him with the lance. And as he let out a yell of pain and surprise, she snatched Ben's saber.

Rey gasped, and her lips remained parted. She had felt it. A tingling in the back of her skull. Their escape was near, she could feel the Falcon.

"Ben!" she shouted across the pit. For a moment between blows, his head snapped to her.

And she used it to fling his lightsaber to him. He held up a hand and nodded gratefully.

Her own blade was still ignited when she saw the free way across the vastness of sand and earth and grass. And something more in the distance. A small spot that represented the Millennium Falcon itself.

She was preparing to direct the thought into Ben's mind, when a strong, metallic arm caught her from behind, in a headlock.

"Ah!" a scream had begun to form in her throat, but was drowned by the strong pressure that blocked her windpipe.

Her teeth gritted and her face contorted in pain as the air was running out of her lungs. And the shock had been so sudden, her hand had let go of the grip on the hilt that was now rolling on the ground, within her reach. The fingers of her locked hand remained splayed toward it, as if she still had the force, as if she could summon it back.

She whimpered, trying to yell for help. But how could she do that, when there was no air left inside her? And Ben was with his back on her, trying to fend off both for him and Anni.

She caught a glimpse of the blade glinting in the sun out of the corner of her eye as Commander Tieren rose it up to strike.

"I have never thought I'll be the one to finish you off!" he whispered in her ear.

"No..." she managed a faint whimper as her heart hammered against her ribs.

And he placed a hand on her left breast. "I thought you were not afraid to die, girl." he snarled.

And what she felt next was a sharp, excruciating pain as he plunged the long blade in her belly, its tip almost touching the commander's armor as it got out through her back. And she cried. Cried with such force, and tears streaked her cheeks and mixed with the blood that stained her face, everyone stopped for a moment.

And Ben's eyes filled with shock and rage as his head snapped back at the well-known sound. Rey's vision began to blur, she never got the chance to see him unstrapping his knife. She only heard it whistle past her ear, and a moment later the commander loosened his grip around her throat. Weakly, she tilted her head up as his blood poured on her shoulder, still in his iron grasp, only to see the thin hilt itching from his eye socket.

He groaned as he fell limp to the ground, ordering for help. And for a brief moment, Ben's eyes caught hers, before he ran desperately to her side.

She collapsed on the ground with her knees folded beneath her before he reached her, a trembling hand clasped on the leather hilt as she tried to draw it out.

In a moment he was on his knees next to her, his warm hand over hers. "We do it at three, ok?" he asked her gently, yet he was making haste.

She managed a weak nod.

"One, two, three!" and he helped her pull the blade out.

"Aaah!" she groaned as she squeezed her eyes tight.

She had showed some resistance, as he could feel she was not ready to experience the same pain once more, yet he had made one good pull and threw the blade aside.

Commander Tieren was somewhere farther, with a dozen men fretting around him.
Ben felt wet and slick fingers touch his cheek, as Rey whispered "The Falcon..." and his eyes fell down in hers.

Chewie was still in a fight. But Anni was running toward them, yelling as much as her voice would hold, "Master Rey".

But after her there were at least five warriors. And Ben couldn't leave Rey there, wounded and defenseless. And Chewie was to far to reach them in time, busy with another five.

Yet what happened next was one miracle, it could be said. As Anni reached Rey, she turned around and held her hands out, big blue eyes glaring at the coming fighters.

Anger. Hatred. Confidence. Courage. Love.

All those feelings mixed into one.

And what they made was a disaster. Five heads snapped with a loud crack, and blood spilled all over in pools. It reached Rey and Ben too, spraying their faces with red drops.

And Ben realized; Annika had just used the force. But not that he knew about, but a new one. A new one that he thought he had a vague idea about.

"Anni." he held out a hand. But the child was in shock. It was like she didn't mean to do that. She looked as if she were on the verge of tears.

"No!" she cried as she went over and grabbed one dead man's shoulder, shaking him back and forth.

Rey whimpered as Ben scooped her up. He couldn't bear to look at her like that, so he kissed her forehead in a soothing manner. "Shh, I got you. Just preserve your strength."

She placed her head against his chest as her hands clutched at her belly. The blood was beginning to seep into the cloth of her tunic, forming a crimson patch.

As Chewie came over, Ben set Rey in his arms.

"Please be careful with her." he instructed, his faked hard voice betraying the close bond he had with the wookie. "I'll be right back." he kissed Rey's head before he went off.

"Anni... We have to go. They're dead, but there are others to come after us." he spoke softly as he squatted down next to her.

"What have I done, what have I done?!" she lamented. And her blue eyes glistened with tears.

"You've saved us. Rey would be dead it if wasn't for you." his eyes searched hers as he spread his arms to welcome her in a hug.

And as she buried her head in his chest, he took advantage of the moment and scooped her up.

With a discreet gesture of his head, he motioned to Chewie in the direction of the Falcon.

And it was not as far as it had seemed to be. As they ran, Ben kept glancing back, only to see the same three remaing warriors chasing them. It was hard to keep up with the wookie, especially that now he had Anni in his arms.

But they made it in time. The shuttle opened, and the rampart spread in welcome. Chewie went in first with Rey, then Ben with Anni.
He looked once more at their pursuers, twirling their weapons in the air as he was panting heavily, before pressing the button and the shuttle rose like a wall between them.

Ben heaved a breath.

They were finally safe. Yet as he looked around, he realized they were not alone. Of course they were jot alone, someone had to have piloted this thing.

Four people aside from BB-8, two men and two women, were standing in the way. Rey opened her eyes slowly, and suddenly the blur became clear. Those were her friends.

All of them stared at Rey, Chewie, and their two odd companions.

"Who's the child?" Finn gave her a puzzled look and asked.

But Poe could barely hold off his disbelief as his lips were parted, and the wonder slowly gave way to anger. "And that man must be..."

His hard voice settled a deadly silence across the quarter, as everyone turned around to face Ben.

~Thanks for reading! ~

A/N: What do you think Rey feeding upon her enemy's fear means, given that fear leads to the dark side?

Did you notice the swap between Ben and Rey's personalities as they were fighting?

What do you think will be the next reaction of the resistance members to seeing Ben?