The Bond

Rated T for language, violence, and non-descriptive thematic elements. Yay!

TFA spoilers. Reylo!

Kylo Ren's intrusion unto Rey's mind to divulge the map has led to an unforeseen consequence; the pair seemed to have performed an extremely rare Force bond, and everything is open upon the table.

A/N: It's done!

Chapter 13: Epilogue

"Sir, we've got a hit on a ship that matches the description of Kylo Ren's command shuttle."

"Show me."

The nervous worker pulled up a picture of the dark ship taking off from some unfamiliar planet. "We intercepted an anonymous message from someone wondering whose ship it was."

"That's definitely them," Hux said, grinning madly. "Find out what planet that is and scan all ships in its proximity for Ren. Track them down. I'll go prepare a tactical fleet for immediate departure as soon as their coordinates are confirmed."

"How much time do we have before they arrive?" Rey paced back and forth in front of the small computer station in the middle of the base. It was a nervous habit she had picked up subconsciously from Kylo. Three worker droids were furiously interacting with the systems, hastily throwing up shields and activing the mechanics around the base.

"Less than an hour," General Leia replied, shoulders hunched as she scanned a virtual map of the approaching fleet.

"How did they find us? I thought you disabled the tracking system!" Kylo spun to face Rey, furious.

"I did!" Rey shouted, eyes burning with anger and stress. "They must have found us another way."

"It doesn't matter now," Leia said calmly. "We need to prepare for the encounter." She leaned over to the loudspeaker and started issuing commands for the Resistance to prepare for lethal combat from the First Order.

Finn came over to stand beside Rey. She looked over to see him holding a short but thick metal device. "Here," he said, and thrust the weapon into her hands. "Maz wanted you to have it. Now it's time to use it." Rey sighed and held the lightsaber out in front of her. She activated it, taking in the vibrant blue glow and distinct Force energy that radiated from its core.

"Thank you," she said to Finn, who nodded and walked away. Kylo stared at the apprentice Jedi before him, heart aching a little at the serious expression she wore and the powerful weapon she gripped in her hands. She turned to face him, saber still on, pointing slightly at him. He withdrew his own fiery armament, activating it and crossing it with Rey's.

"Are you ready?" he asked, voice heavy.

She nodded. "Whatever happens, we'll come out of this together, one way or another."

Rey and Kylo Ren had been fitted with armored breastplates and arm bracers, lightsabers held firmly in their hands. The two made a menacing duo, the Dark and the Light joining forces for a cause they would realize was greater than them. The pair stood at the front of the ragged battlefront, flanked by their friends and family and backed by the hardy and stubborn crew of the Resistance. The first ship came into view just then, followed by four more following closely behind. Ren narrowed his eyes.

"I thought they would have sent more," he muttered to Rey.

"They tracked us here, but I don't think they know what else is here. I think they've come just to retrieve us; they don't know the location of the Resistance base."

Kylo swore. "We've led them straight to the heart." Rey frowned up at him.

"But you're part of the First Order. Technically this is a win for you."

Ren looked flustered, replying under his breath, "Yes, but this is not the way it was supposed to have happened. I wasn't supposed to become bonded to you, or reunite with my parents, or be straddled on the line separating the two sides. Now I've become a renegade, my future is uncertain and my destiny has been changed. The only sensible thing I've concluded is to follow my heart; to follow you, Rey. That's all that I can do."

Rey blinked, realizing the validity of his conclusions. The young commander had essentially forfeited his position, that much would be certain when the First Order landed and discovered exactly where the pair had traveled to. The five grey ships began to descended, the angry red symbols becoming visible from underneath the wings. The ground soldiers tensed, weapons readying as the five doors of the ships opened simultaneously. Rey and Kylo activated their weapons together, minds syncing and energy radiating off of the pair. Several Resistance fighters behind them stepped back nervously.

General Hux stepped off the lead ship, black cloak flaring around his legs as he walked towards the Sith and Jedi, stopped about twenty paces from them. He wore an angry smirk on his face that twisted his features into something dreadful. "Come quietly Ren, and I won't hurt your little friends." Stormtroopers began to emerge from the other ships, forming precise columns behind Hux.

"No," Ren said, his voice without emotion as it rang through the clearing. Hux's face morphed into an ugly snarl.

"You've had your fun, and now it is time to return to business. You had better put yourself and the girl back on that ship and leave before I have your rag-tag supporters eliminated."

Kylo took several steps towards the angry red-head, face both defiant and indifferent. "I will do no such thing, and neither will you." And with that, he swung his lightsaber at Hux's torso, who jumped out of the way and withdrew a plasma gun. The Resistance roared into action, charging forward to meet the enemy Stormtroopers on the sides of the clearing. A wide berth was given to Ren and Hux, who stood engaged in the middle of the chaos, lightsaber and plasma gun slashing and firing. Rey ran to protect Kylo's exposed back and left side, the right side firmly guarded by General Leia. For a middle-aged woman, she held her ground with minimal difficulty and seemed unfazed by Ren's furious saber battle. Rey slashed at Stormtroopers that got too close, also trying to deflecting shots that came from afar.

Han Solo and the ever faithful Wookie came up next to Rey, taking their place on the left of Kylo Ren. Rey moved to guard her Sith's back, yelling obscenities at the emotionless soldiers clad in white. Her saber was an a constant arc of blue as she slowly became closed in. Resistance troops began to fall, lacking their usual air support even though their numbers were matched to the Stormtroopers.

After several minutes the drone-like army had completely enclosed the force in the middle, surviving Resistance members held hostage at the edges of the field. Hux suddenly stopped firing and looked triumphantly at Ren, who was panting with exertion. He still held his lightsaber out in front of him, eyes reflecting the red blaze. The battlefield became eerily quiet as the fighting stopped. Han Solo, Chewie, and Leia had their weapons confiscated and were silently watching the exchange of the two commanders. Rey backed up against Ren, her shoulders brushing his back as she tried desperately to ward off the enemy.

"You've lost," General Hux hissed, voice mocking and cruel. "Let's go."

'Stand next to me,' Kylo's voice said to Rey. She moved to stand on his right without hesitation, mimicking Kylo's lightsaber position.

"What are you and your petty little apprentice going to do?" Hux sneered, fingering his gun.

"She is not an apprentice anymore," Kylo breathed. A flicker of doubt appeared on Hux's face. "She is both my equal and my superior, the Light to my Dark. We are connected through the Force in a manner you cannot understand."

It was in this moment that realization clicked within Han Solo. His son and Rey were lovers. It explained everything and yet nothing, but most importantly, it enlightened Han about that piece of Ben he had noticed seemed different than before.

"We cannot be stopped," Ren said threateningly, dark eyes piercing the confused General in front of him.

'Join your Force with mine,' Kylo mind-spoke to Rey. She immediately understood what he wanted to do. They threw out large auras of their Force simultaneously, the combined reaction producing a massive golden dome over the field that threw everyone but Rey and Kylo to the ground. The golden half-sphere disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving some unconscious but others just dazed and stunned. General Hux lay sprawled several feet from where he had been standing, eyes rolling in his head. Kylo walked over to the black-clad leader and stood over him, saber hanging at his side. Without warning Hux lifted his gun-hand slightly and fired without taking aim. A searing pain coursed through Kylo and he abruptly lifted his lightsaber and stabbed it through Hux's heart.

Ren turned to look back at Rey, whose face was also contorted with agony. He realized that she had been the one to get hit, not him, even though he could feel her pain as if it was his own. She dropped to the ground, clutching her right leg. Kylo ran over and kneeled at her side, glancing at the wound and determining that it was not fatal. He suddenly remembered the leaderless Stormtroopers and stood back up. His face twisted with anger and he bellowed out loud, "Take your bodies and leave. Return to the ship." He reactivated his lightsaber, which had turned off when he had run to Rey. "Tell Phasma we were killed, and don't try to find us again."

The Stormtroopers looked at each other hesitantly, then shrugged and began collecting the bodies of their own. It mattered not who led them, so long as someone was.

Kylo Ren knelt down again at the side of his bonded one. Rey's face was stilled pained, and she clutched at a section of her leg just above the knee. Ren grit his teeth against another wave of pain coursing through the bond. He slid his arms under her shoulders and knees and gingerly lifted her into his arms, Rey groaning at the shifted position. He began walking back toward the base, her head lolling against his shoulder.

The clearing was now devoid of white troopers and the First Order ships had already departed. General Leia was shocked by the events of the battle, mind churning as she slowly spun around, taking in the sight of fallen friends laying on the ground. She did not understand the Force enough to comprehend what exactly Ben and Rey had done, but she knew it was powerful and deep. She headed inside somberly to check in at the medical bay, where Rey was currently being attended to. Although the blast from the gun had made a cauterizing wound, the hole was still deep and ragged. A medical droid informed her that a major artery had been nicked and Rey would need to be scanned to check for repercussions. Kylo sat next to Rey on a stool, holding her hand and looking into her face. The two looked like they were having an entire conversation within their minds. The Force must be extremely strong in the pair.

The droid finished scanning and moved to stand next to Leia, looking down at Rey. "The diagnostic has shown that the wound was an isolated event and will cause no damage to the rest of your body. The wound should heal in approximately one month." Kylo breathed out a sigh of relief. "However," the droid continued, "the scan has also revealed that you are with child."

Ren's eyes went wide as he looked up at the medical bot. Rey gasped in surprise, and Leia clutched at her chest. "I am going to be a grandmother," she whispered to herself. "I wonder…"

"What is it?" Rey asked, turning her head to look up at Leia.

"There was a prophecy I heard many years ago about an awakening in the Force. It mentioned the final balance of the Forces, the combined energy of the Dark and the Light finally setting the universe at rest. I wonder…if the child you now carry is the Awakening."