[ The rage that roars to life within him gives him more power than she had planned, and he gets a grip on her that has her raising her saber, ready to disarm him quite literally, only for him to kick her away and follow-up with a slash that sends her careening to the ground and shutting down the lightsaber that skids away from her.
Agony shoots through her as the first lightsaber injury she has ever sustained cauterizes on impact, a mixture of stabbing pain as it rips her open and steady burn, simmering her flesh. She holds her pain to a low groan, pressing her forehead into the damp earth below as she clenches her jaw to suffer it. Years on Jakku taught her to mask her pain when it came, and remember the times it had been worse—as it turns out, she's never had it worse.
She works her jaw for just a few seconds, but they feel like a lifetime, time slowing and thickening the air around her as she waits for the inevitable downswing of his saber across her spine before she can recover. Concussion missiles and proton bombs flash on the horizon like a lightning storm, bright whites and blues sparking through the darkness, but the thunderclap of their combustion is deafened by the pain and by Rey's search for center.
One hand reaches out, pale against the dark topsoil, grasping clumps of dirt as she fails to reach far enough for the saber that trembles under her beckoning, too weakened by distractions.
Her eyes shut, and she finds silence, peace within herself in the form of the dusty inside of a wrecked imperial star destroyer. Cold clarity fills her, bringing the chaos into focus, muting the pain, and she clambers to her feet in time with his advance, real time returning steadily to the battlefield.
In another instant, she swipes the hilt off the ground, brandishes the saber, and spins to deflect another blow, digging her feet in. Purple light flashes each time their blades hum in concert, pinging off one another in a frenetic exchange of swipes. She comes back swinging, turning quickly from defense to offense, and gets just enough breathing room to pinwheel each slash, across from alternating sides, in an attempt to drive him back. ]
As long as that name holds power over you, you are still within the reach of the Light. [ Through gritted teeth, she shouts over the cacophony of war, ] Don't turn away from it.
give them to meeeee
Agony shoots through her as the first lightsaber injury she has ever sustained cauterizes on impact, a mixture of stabbing pain as it rips her open and steady burn, simmering her flesh. She holds her pain to a low groan, pressing her forehead into the damp earth below as she clenches her jaw to suffer it. Years on Jakku taught her to mask her pain when it came, and remember the times it had been worse—as it turns out, she's never had it worse.
She works her jaw for just a few seconds, but they feel like a lifetime, time slowing and thickening the air around her as she waits for the inevitable downswing of his saber across her spine before she can recover. Concussion missiles and proton bombs flash on the horizon like a lightning storm, bright whites and blues sparking through the darkness, but the thunderclap of their combustion is deafened by the pain and by Rey's search for center.
One hand reaches out, pale against the dark topsoil, grasping clumps of dirt as she fails to reach far enough for the saber that trembles under her beckoning, too weakened by distractions.
Her eyes shut, and she finds silence, peace within herself in the form of the dusty inside of a wrecked imperial star destroyer. Cold clarity fills her, bringing the chaos into focus, muting the pain, and she clambers to her feet in time with his advance, real time returning steadily to the battlefield.
In another instant, she swipes the hilt off the ground, brandishes the saber, and spins to deflect another blow, digging her feet in. Purple light flashes each time their blades hum in concert, pinging off one another in a frenetic exchange of swipes. She comes back swinging, turning quickly from defense to offense, and gets just enough breathing room to pinwheel each slash, across from alternating sides, in an attempt to drive him back. ]
As long as that name holds power over you, you are still within the reach of the Light. [ Through gritted teeth, she shouts over the cacophony of war, ] Don't turn away from it.