The Final Battle

Prepare yourselves....

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"I heard Snoke!" Finn says, challenging Rey. "He said if you go to Ahch-To, you'll die."

We're orbiting Ahch-To, about to go down for a landing, but Finn is stalling at the controls.

Rey crosses her arms, the look in her eyes is making nervous and I'm not even the one arguing with her.

"I heard him too," she says to Finn. "But I'm choosing ."

"Maybe you should listen."

"You're telling me to listen to "

"I'm telling you to stay alive!" Finn looks to me for back-up but I'm not getting involved.

"We're stronger together," Mom says.

Suddenly a sick feeling washes over me. Mom and I exchange a glance. She feels it too.

"Snoke's got the sword," I say to Rey and Finn.

"What?" They say at the same time.

"We have to go," Mom says. Finn sighs and starts our descent.

* * *

When we land on the Temple island Finn is the first one out of the spacecraft. I'd be more concerned about myself if I were him, than Rey. She's a thousand times stronger than he is. Yet I can't shake his words from moments ago. It only takes a little doubt to give Snoke the advantage, and somehow Finn always seems to find that bit of doubt and hang onto it.

I take Rey's hand before she heads out of the ship.

"Let's do this together," I say to her. I don't add the rest of what I'm thinking, that if she dies, I will not live without her. She reaches up and gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

"We'll end this today," she says, then we run out into the wind together.

* * *

"He's not down here," Finn says from below in the catacombs.

"Are you sure?" Mom calls over the rushing of the wind.

"I feel him," Rey says to me, a worried expression on her face. Or maybe it's fear in her eyes. Was Finn right? Should she have stayed away? If she can feel Snoke then that means he can feel her too. Will he manipulate her again? She unclips her light saber from her belt and runs off ahead of me.

"Rey! Wait..." I run after her. "Finn," I call over my shoulder, stopping for a second. He's stepping up from the opening in the ground. "Stay here with the General." I ignore the annoyed look he gives me and run after Rey. She's fast, especially on stairs, running up an endless path that leads into the fog above. I take three stairs at a time, trying to catch up to her. The ocean rages below us, the waves reaching so high that they splash the steps, making them slippery.

  I call to her. I can tell she's not just going after Snoke, there's something else driving her forward, a worry for Luke I think. She reaches the top before I do and a flash of light blinds me for a second. Rey cries out.

I hurry up the final steps and see Snoke, yielding the red light saber, fighting Luke, who looks injured. Snoke's not hunched over anymore, or even old looking. His eyes glow red and his full height is unnaturally tall as he swings his sword now at Rey. His face is no longer that of a twisted old man but rather the face of one of the Sith Lords I killed in order to strengthen the red sword, as though he's come back to life, in Snoke.

Rey blocks his attack and Luke falls, weak from the battle that had been going on before we showed up.

Rey swings her light saber but Snoke forces her back with a wave of his hand and she goes flying. I stop her fall against the rocks with my Force energy.

She looks at me and gives me the boost signal that we came up with during our training practice on Yavin_4. I nod to her and she runs ahead, charging at Snoke. She signals for the jump and I boost her up high. She goes flying into the air, bringing her light saber down hard toward Snoke's head. He blocks the attack with his light saber and the two crystals spark against each other. Rey is thrown back. She slows her own fall this time and reaches out her hand to me. Snoke is distracted by Luke once again and I run to Rey, taking her hand.

she says.

I nod and we start to run full speed towards Snoke. Luke falls before him and he raises his red sword to finish Luke off.

Rey lets go of my hand and we jump up at the same time, raising our swords above our heads. With a loud cry I slash down just as Snoke turns. His light saber swings up and blocks my blow, but Rey's hits his shoulder. He cries out and force blasts her away from him before she can cut his arm off. I fall too, landing hard on my back. My vision blurs for a second and then I see the red sword, coming down towards me.

It stops as Snoke freezes in mid attack. His red eyes glance past me, glowing with anger. I get up and look behind me. Mom is standing there with her arm outstretched, holding Snoke back. Finn runs to Luke, helping him up. Blood flows from his side.

Mom has Snoke in a Force hold but she can't hold him off for long. I help her, then Rey is beside me too, doing the same thing. Snoke can't move, his red eyes looking from Rey, to me, then Mom. For a second I see a moment of doubt cross his face.

The cry of the Eagle above us pierces through the rushing sounds of wind and waves. My muscles relax. The Eagle's thoughts enter mine, like a message I immediately understand, but not in words. I reach for Rey's hand and close my eyes. She clasps my hand tight and thunder rumbles around us, shaking the ground. I open my eyes again. Dark clouds gather above.

"You will die today," Snoke says to Rey, pushing back against our hold. Mom's strength wavers but Rey holds strong. The wind picks up speed, whipping dust and debris all around.

"Ben!" Mom calls out, but I can't reply. I have to focus. Rey is concentrating too. "The waves are getting too high."

Energy builds around us in the air, sparking off of our swords. 

A bolt of lightning lights up the sky, shooting down at Snoke, the sound deafening.

Snoke cries out as the lighting hits him. He drops his red light saber.

"Ben!" Mom yells. I reach for the light saber just as a wave of water washes up, knocking me over and taking the light saber away from my grasp. The water disappears over the edge of the cliff, back into the ocean below. My heart grips tight as I see Mom being pulled over the edge with it.

"Mom!" I yell, reaching to pull her back with as much Force energy as I can extend out that far. I run to her, tumbling onto my knees on the slippery stone and grab her hand just before she falls into the dark waters below. Mom tries to yell something up to me but the storm rages too loudly around us for me to hear.