Two Sides

Interlude #11

Rey gripped Ben's arm and walked silently behind the guarded escort. Ben didn't seem the least bit troubled. They were both dressed from head to toe in red, adorned with glittering red rubies. Any chance of avoiding detection on the tan sand was gone. Ben had wrinkled his nose at the garments in distaste. They were garish. She wondered if Carias had chosen the color to hide the blood that would surely leak from them in short order. 

It took twenty minutes to wind their way through the spiraling perimeter passageways down to the bottom of the structure. They both kept their eyes open of any information that would help them escape. It was dark, and there were lots of closed doors. The escort parted and they pressed on, entering a room with a variety of weapons hanging on the wall. Three small children stood in the center, eyes wide. As they passed through the door, it slid closed and the locking mechanism thunked into place. 

Ben moved toward the weapons, and Rey toward the children. 

"What are your names?" she said, squatting down to bring herself level with their eyes. 

They watched her, but didn't answer.

"Maybe they don't speak Standard," said Ben, pulling a spear from the wall. "Do you see any lightsabers, by chance? That would help." 

Rey glanced around and decided to leave the children for now. It wouldn't do any good if she knew their names but didn't manage to arm herself. Or them. She considered, and figured it wouldn't hurt.

"Do you want to choose some weapons?" she asked.

The oldest of the three, a little girl of about seven, frowned, but her eyes flicked toward the wall. So they could understand her. 

"Look, I don't know what Carias told you, but you might need weapons in there," said Rey. "We'll try our best to keep you safe, but you might have to fight. Do you understand? Go ahead and pick out some weapons." 

She stood and walked away from them, allowing them space to move if they decided to arm themselves. She was shocked to see the detached efficiency they displayed at their task. This wasn't the first time they'd been asked to pick weapons. They returned to their positions in less than a minute, all of them heaving weapons that were much too large for them. The girl glared at Rey, but remained silent. Well. 

A loud horn sounded outside of a door at the other end of the room from where they had entered, and a crowd roared in response. Ben stepped up beside her and kissed her cheek. He bent down in front of the children, glancing over their selections. She wasn't sure if he registered them as anything besides weapon caddies. 

"Stay out of my way," he said to them, slipping back into Supreme Leader mode. Rey shivered. She hated that persona. "Stay with Rey, and don't lose your heads. Got it?" 

Rey opened her mouth to object, but Kylo Ren preempted her with a withering look. 

A door lifted from the floor, and a vast arena of sand waited for them on the outside. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to get away from sand. She ushered the children out behind Ben - Kylo - whatever, and took a moment to get her bearings. The arena was enormous. From down here the glass walls seemed to stretch to the ceiling. Faces leered behind that glass, but Rey couldn't make out any particular features. 

"Ready?" said Ben, some of his anticipation leaking through their bond. 

"Are you excited?!" 

"Of course." He looked at her in confusion. "It's battle. I love battle." 

She pressed the weapon covered children against a wall and worked to settle her breathing. Whatever Carias had done to them, they didn't seem concerned. She was so nervous she worried she'd puke. An announcer spoke into a broadcast system, and the crowd hushed to hear him.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted. "Prepare to witness a battle unlike any you have ever experienced!" The crowd roared. "Our Savior Squad will face not one, not two, but THREE blixus males!" The sound was deafening as the audience surged to their feet.

"Blixus?" said Rey, holding a set of sharp daggers in her hands and trying not to shake.

"Savior Squad?" said Ben. "He did not just call us squad."

Another, larger door opened, and three of the creatures scuttled out into the arena, their sharp legs stabbing sinking into the sand. They stood at least three times her height, their tentacle-like arms whipping about in front of them. The hard carapace that protected their bodies shined in the lights of the arena. 

"Begin!" bellowed the announcer. 

To Rey's horror, Ben stalked out toward the first creature, a spear in one hand. 

"How do you think you're going to kill that?" Rey said, but he ignored her. 

Rey started running as Ben allowed the monster to wrap an arm around him and lift him, bringing him toward it's maw. She stopped, suddenly frozen in place. Straining against the invisible bonds, she watched as the creature drew Ben right up against it. Then he snapped his spear forward, shoving it up through the creature's mouth into its brain. He dropped down to the sand, rolling away as the creature lumbered and dropped to the side, causing its fellow to shuffle to the side, avoiding its fallen comrade. 

"If Skywalker could kill these, so can we," said Ben. 

"Did you FREEZE ME?" 

"Yes, and I'll do it again if you come close. Focus. Two more nasties to go. Then your precious children will be safe for another day." 

The other creatures were much harder to kill, having learned caution from their dead friend. In the end, Rey killed the third, just after it stabbed its razor sharp foot through Ben's calf and pinioned him to the arena floor. He grunted his thanks, and she helped him stagger back out of the arena, a trail of blood leaking in his wake. The children followed behind them, their weapons abandoned on the sand, their faces pale. 

"So much for not needing me," she said. 

He shoved her against the wall of the corridor, headless of the guards standing around them, and kissed her, hard and long. The adrenaline rushing through them both was still raging, and Ben's wound didn't seem to bother him when he was wrapped around her.