It was always meant to come to this, Rey thought to herself. The Last Jedi meets the Jedi Killer on the battlefield. One strikes down the other. She'd spotted him from across the fighting almost immediately. He was electric, black cloak whipping as he parried blaster bolts in a manner that made it look effortless. Drawing in a deep breath, Rey drew her sabre and ignited it.

"Kyo Ren!" she shouted. He turned towards her, brushing off the resistance fighter who'd charged him. The locked eyes across the smoke. He broke her gaze, looking around him for a brief moment, then he nodded his head toward a small grove away from the fighting and walked towards it. This was how it was meant to be, Rey reminded herself. Just the two of them: kill or be killed. He disappeared into the woods. She waited a moment, then sprinted after him while dodging blaster-shots from errant stormtroopers.

He waited for her in the clearing. His face was turned to the sky, blood red lightsabre crackling at his side. Surrounded by lush green, he almost seemed peaceful. The absurdity of the notion almost made her laugh. He met her gaze as she approached him.

"So this is it," he broke the silence. His voice was softer than she'd expected. Rey lifted her sabre defensively.

"It doesn't have to be," she spoke, although she knew it was pointless. He chuckled darkly.

"We both know how this ends," he replied, spinning his sabre around his hand. Rey nodded. She would not make the same mistakes again. Her foolishness was the reason Kylo Ren stood before her today, Supreme Leader of the First Order. A silent understanding passed between them.

This is the end.

Taking a deep breath, Rey gripped her lightsabre tightly in her hand and charged him. Expecting her assault, he brought his own sabre up and met her strike with ease. He twisted their joined sabres and spun, bringing his own sabre around to swipe at her midsection. She jumped back, neatly avoiding being cut in half. She continued her barrage, striking at him only to be met with a clash of sparks at every turn. They were too evenly matched, too connected. She could sense his every move, and she suspected it was the same for him. Her suspicion was confirmed when she feinted to the left, but he met her on the right without hesitation. He knew where she was going to strike. Their eyes met over locked sabres. He looked...anxious. She blinked in surprise.

"Rey!" Finn's voice called out from behind her. Rey turned her head in shock to see him rushing towards them.

A fatal error.

Kylo Ren sensed that she'd been set off-balance and swept her legs out with his foot, sending her down on her back. She hit the ground, hard, and her lightsabre rolled out of her hand. Panicking, she reached out for it.

"Don't."

Rey stilled as the point of a sparking red lightsabre was pointed firmly at her throat. Kylo Ren was leaning over her, eyes storming. The red light reflecting off of his face made him look even more menacing than the mask ever did, she thought dryly. It reminded her of the forest.

He still had the scar.

"Rey no!" Finn cried again, and this time she did not look, keeping her eyes locked with the man standing over her. He waved an arm impatiently and she heard Finn collide with something to her side. She winced.

"Get up," he commanded her. She did not move. Defying him when he had a lightsabre pointed at her throat probably wasn't a good idea, but what was it to him if she died on her feet or on her back? She'd just as sooner face her death here, in the grass. She said nothing, and he seemed to sense her line of thought. Sighing, he took a small step back and lowered his lightsabre to point idly at her chest. Rey repressed a shiver at the heat loss.

"Get up," he repeated, softer. Heart beating wildly, she slowly pushed herself up onto her knees. She looked up at him, and he flicked his lightsabre upwards impatiently. Trembling, she stood the rest of the way up. There wasn't much of a point in resisting.

This would be the first time she'd faced Kylo Ren in person since their ill-fated adventure on the Supremacy. His hair was longer, she supposed. The dark circles under his eyes had worsened, demonstrating a lack of peaceful nights. She was astonished to realize that she no longer sensed conflict in him. He was resolved. Perhaps that would make her death easier, for both of them. A long, awkward pause passed between them. She looked into his eyes again, and realized that she had been.. waiting. Waiting for him to strike her down. A storm of emotions cascaded over his face as she examined him. Despite his resolve, he still looked anxious. Looking into his eyes, Rey understood why he'd worn the mask; a face as expressive as his was a liability.

It was that expressive face that had allowed her to recognize conflict in him in the first place. She was so certain in what she'd seen, she'd shipped herself to the Supremacy, straight into the hands of the enemy, to turn him. She saw no traces of that conflict now. He was anxious, but resolved. Perhaps it was a sign of her weakness that she still saw the face of Ben Solo, hesitating to kill someone he… cared about?

"Ben, please," she whispered. She saw his hand tremble slightly at her voice. Rey could hear Finn shouting for her in the background, but she forced herself to stare straight ahead, into the eyes of the man who she was pretty sure was going to kill her. She could see the determination in his expression. So why was he waiting?

Resigned, Rey closed her eyes. She did not want to look into the Jedi Killer's eyes as he struck down the last Jedi. A single tear trickled down her cheek. She wanted to remember him as Ben. Rey stood in silence, waiting for the final blow.

It never came.

She opened her eyes in surprise when she heard him power down his lightsabre and click it to his belt. She'd only had a moment to meet his fierce gaze before he strode forward purposefully, closing the small distance between them and pressing his lips firmly to hers. His mouth was so warm, the caress of his lips softer than she could have imagined. He kissed her fervently, cradling her face as if he was afraid she might shatter in his arms. The world around her fell silent. Beyond the shock, something just felt right. Before she had a chance to respond, either to pull away or to lean further into him, he withdrew slightly. He sighed, resting his nose against hers.

"Go," he whispered, lips nearly brushing hers again. Rey once again opened her eyes, unsure at what point she had closed them. This man was not Kylo Ren. Surely the man cradling her reverently to his face with tears caught in his eyelashes could only be Ben Solo. She felt hope surging in her chest.

"Ben?" she breathed. Loudly and without warning, an explosion in the distance broke the spell. Ben pulled away from her sharply, reaching his hand out and calling her lightsabre into his hand.

"Go!" he shouted. He thrust the sabre into her hands and pushed her in the opposite direction. Stumbling, Rey took one last look at him. She could feel her heart pounding, not quite understanding what happened. His eyes met hers with vast, unspeakable emotion. Flushed, she nodded her head sharply and then turned and ran towards where Finn was lying.

Kylo Ren (Ben?) had thrown him into the wreckage of a TIE fighter, where his leg was trapped under a large piece of the wing.

"Finn!" Rey shouted when she neared him, "are you hurt?" She reached her hand out and moved the wing off of her friend's leg, nearly startling herself with the ease at which the Force came to her now. Finn groaned as his leg was released. She noted that, aside from some light bruising, he was uninjured. She'd never known Kylo Ren to be so merciful. Had he spared Finn because he was her friend?

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he assured her shakily. Rey helped him to his feet. He fixed her with a gaping stare.

"Kylo Ren… he…" he stuttered, "has he done that before?" Rey reddened as she realized that Finn had seen the entire encounter. Scooping up Finn's blaster, she shoved it into his hands.

"Of course he hasn't ever done that before!" She retorted testily. She glanced warily behind her, but of course, Ben was already gone. "We have to go," she told her friend, who was looking at her like she'd grown two heads.

"Right," he replied. He snatched her hand up in his and began dragging her at top speed back towards the X-Wings in the distance. Stumbling behind him, Rey let out an exasperated shout:

"And stop holding my hand!"