14. Chapter 14

I swear it was 11 only 10 minutes ago... sorry, lost track of time, here is your update for the 5th. Thanks again for the huge turnout. I'm getting hundreds of hits and so many reviews. I really appreciate it.

Chapter 14

Help! Please! Kylo is being attacked! Rey called out with the Force, unsure if anyone could hear her. Maybe Luke and Anakin? She didn't know and she didn't have time to ask. Rey flew the speeder past its top speed, and didn't answer any of Achyls probing. She was too busy thinking about how she was to save her cousin. She had to save him. He could never turn back to his family if he died. Rey could not lose him, not when she was so close.

The speeder hadn't even fully landed when Rey jumped out, running towards Kylo. It didn't even cross her mind to stop and ask someone for help; she just ran. She would save him. She had to save him.

When Rey arrived, Kylo was rolling away from a red lightsaber blade. Rey ignited her own blade and attacked, using the Force to push Kylo out of the way. The attacker seemed surprised by Rey's intrusion, but quickly turned on her.

"Who are you?" Rey hissed, slashing at the attacker with everything she'd learned. He returned each movement skillfully, and attempted knocking her away with the Force. She was immovable though, stronger than him when it came to the Force. "Why do you want him dead?"

"He is a threat to my master," the man replied. He seemed to be the same species as Achyls, but was far uglier. It seemed the Dark Side brought disfigurement to all its users.

"Rey!" Kylo cried out from the corner where he was cowering-useless without a weapon or the Force. "It's Snoke. That is Snoke!"

Rey was so surprised that she faltered, and felt a lightsaber singing her arm. She quickly refocused, striking back with a renewed fervor. This was the man who'd turned Ben. This was the man responsible for all those who lost their lives to the First Order. Rey could save them all by ending this now. She could save Ben.

But she knew she was dangerously close to the Dark Side. A large part of Rey wanted Snoke to die so he could pay. She wanted revenge for all the things he'd done. She hated him for turning Ben into the monster Kylo Ren. Rey knew she had to bat away her anger, her hatred, or she'd be consumed by it, but it was so hard. What if she didn't have the power to save Ben? What if Ben died because Rey was afraid to use the Dark Side?

No! Rey couldn't think like that. Falling herself was not going to save Ben! She had to focus on protecting her cousin, not destroying this foe.

With her renewed sense of calm, Rey stuck out, moving expertly as she had on the Starkiller base with the added bonus of her training. She twisted and moved with deft certainty, knocking Snoke back with each move. The future Supreme Leader quickly realized he wasn't facing some ignorant padawan. He was facing a progeny of the Force, a Skywalker. Rey did not need years of training and immersion in the Dark Side to fight Snoke. Rey only needed to trust herself and move without question.

The battle shifted quickly. Suddenly Snoke realized he had to escape if he had any chance of living. He was going nowhere if Rey was still fighting though, and so he made a dumb move. Without any care, he jutted forward, cutting off Rey's lightsaber hand. The blue blade burned his face, cutting a deep gash in it, but the move did the job. Rey screamed out in pain, and fell, unable to fight on. Snoke took the opportunity to escape back out the whole in the cell, and into the speeder hovering outside.

Luke and Anakin Skywalker had been on opposite sides of the Temple when they heard Rey's cry for help. Neither of them took a second to contemplate her words, but set off at a run towards her. Along the way, they were met with a terrifying sight-Jedi Knight Achyls standing in the corridor, the bodies of other knights who'd come to Rey's aid at her feet.

"I would have liked to see my new apprentice kill her family herself," Achyls's smile sent chills through the Force. "But I cannot risk you getting there before Snoke's work is through."

Neither Skywalker cared to wonder how the betrayal was possible; they just ignited their lightsabers. Sith lords were, after all, their specialty. Anakin attacked first, moving with skill and a fury unbefitting a Jedi. Luke followed his father's lead, taking on Achyls with a calm manner, moving in harmony with his heartbeat.

The two were a force to behold, but Achyls had an advantage. She was trying to kill them. They were just trying to get past her to save Rey. She only had to hold them in battle long enough for…

Curses! She realized with horror. Snoke has fled with the foolish boy still alive! Achyls plan was ruined by her apprentice's incompetence. There would be no turning Rey today, not if she was unconscious as the Force said. She'd failed, for now.

The former Jedi Knight Force jumped past her opponents, fleeing into the night. Luke and Anakin knew they should follow her, stop the Dark Side user before more harm came. They turned in the other direction and fled towards Rey instead.

Rey was unconscious in Ben's arms when they arrived. It didn't take long for either of them to realize that Rey had suffered from the Skywalker curse and was now missing a hand. A burst of uncharacteristic fury spread through Luke, who realized with a start that there was still a presence outside the window.

Achyls, infuriated by her apprentice's cowardness, had sent Snoke a curse through the Dark Side. His speeder was stalling, and it gave Luke enough time to jump in. Anakin cried after his son as Luke hung from the speeder, which suddenly started throwing Luke off the side. Anakin did not have time to think; he could only act. Calling upon the strength of the Force, and his sheer love for Luke, Anakin Skywalker lifted the Jedi Knight from his decent, and carefully returned him to the safety of the temple.

Luke looked shocked, and more than a little embarrassed. Anakin, sure that they would all live, was furious. "What was going through your Force-forsaken mind!" Anakin bellowed. "You're lucky you weren't killed!"

"I had to stop him before he hurt anyone else's daughter!" Luke cried, his usually calm tempter frayed by the recent events.

Anakin's temper was never calm, and this was not an exception. Still, his voice cracked as he spoke, "What about what he could do to somebody's son?"

The words shocked Luke. His anger disappeared, his light returned. Suddenly he realized why Anakin was so upset. Anakin was terrified. He'd been absolutely terrified for Luke, for his son. "I didn't think you were considering me your son."

"I don't want to consider you my son," Anakin spoke softer now, but the force behind his voice didn't disappear. His heart beat a thousand miles an hour as he imagined what would have happened to Luke if he hadn't been able to save him. His son could be dead. "Look what happens to my family!" Rey was still unconscious, knocked out by the horrific pain. "I don't want to have anyone else to lose!"

The fear of loss drove Anakin's every action, and it was a terrible thing. Darth Vader sprung from that fear with the hope of saving his family. Anakin still breathed while his son did, but if Luke had died…

Luke bent down next to Rey, carefully picking her up. She was too light for someone her age, probably from years of malnourishment on Jakku. He felt a twinge of guilt, knowing he was responsible for that neglect. There was nothing he could do now though, except get Rey to the med bay.

"Even if I die, you will still have me," Luke promised thinking of his pregnant mother. "But I cannot lose Rey. I cannot lose my daughter. You can't understand."

Anakin didn't know the weight his words held with Luke when he whispered, "No Luke, I am your father, of course I understand."

AN part II: I'm sorry about that last line but I just have no self control so... Hope you enjoyed