(Rey is running through the forest, away from Maz's castle when BB-8 catches up to her and enemy ships appear overhead)
"BB-8, get as far away from here as possible," Rey whispers urgently. "Go!"
The frightened droid hesitates momentarily, not wanting to leave the scavenger girl behind, but follows her orders.
As the white head of an enemy trooper comes into view, Rey fumbles with the small hand gun given to her by Solo. Still hidden, she takes advantage of her position to take the trooper by surprise. Her hand trembles and she struggles to keep her aim, sending the first shot a few feet to the left of the trooper. Damn! She swears and takes aim again, shooting clearly the second time and sending the storm trooper flying into a tree.
The commotion grabs the attention of two nearby troopers who immediately radio that the girl has been found and is being pursued. Rey, her heart beating out of her chest, shoots one quickly before turning and fleeing deeper into the cover of the forest.
The sounds of the battle begin to fade behind her and she slows to a jog to catch her breath. BB-8 must be miles away by now, relief flushes through her. As long as he is not in the hands of the First Order, the Resistance has a chance. If only I could get to the base with BB-8, then this would all be over.
A loud blast from the distant battle brings her back to herself and she is reminded of the people she left behind when she plunged into the forest. Han. Chewy. Fin. I hope they got away. How could I live with myself if—
Pulled from her thoughts, a black hooded figure approaches her through the forest, the leaves softly crunching under his slow steady tread. She turns and flees before the figure can get close enough and finds that the only path is through a passage between rock walls. Shaking off her bad feelings about what lays ahead, she runs into the pass.
She doesn't remember taking her gun out again, but before she knows what she's doing, Rey glances over her shoulder and shoots, hoping to slow down her tail. In the short period, the figure has gained a significant amount on her and her attack does nothing to slow his pace. It doesn't even come close. It's almost like he has a force field around him.
The stone walls up ahead are a bit deteriorated, and after throwing one more shot over her shoulder—that no doubt missed again—she launches herself up the less steep portion to higher ground. Once at the top, she runs a few steps before hearing a loud thud behind her. Instinctually, she stops for a few seconds and turns. The figure has jumped straight up the passage and landed a few feet from her.
In a moment of panic, Rey raises the gun and fires three more times. All three stop in midair for a second before changing directions and flying into a nearby tree.
Her breath hitches and she stumbles backwards, her eyes wide as she falls to the ground. Before she hits the ground, her body freezes in place. She tries to move her arms, but find them stuck to her sides.
"So, you're the girl I've heard so much about," the figure coos softly, as much to himself as to her.
Now that she sees all of her pursuer, she finds that a black mask covers all of his face, and a black cloak his body, no portion of his body seen. What is he?
"I know you know where the droid is," he speaks again. "You will tell me."
Rey purses her lips in defiance, and the man-droid-whateverheis steps up to her and raises her up so she is standing in front of him, still frozen.
Despite the mask, Rey can feel the thing's gaze piercing her mind. It's like nothing she has ever felt. It feels intrusive, like he is forcing his way into her thoughts. She tries to empty her mind and returns his stare defiantly.
There are footsteps approaching behind her but she cannot see who they belong to.
"The Droid is nowhere to be found," presumably a trooper reports.
Silence from under the mask. He is still staring into Rey's soul.
"You've seen what the droid carries," he says softly so just Rey can hear. "Leave the droid," he returns to a normal volume, "we have what we need right here."
After throwing orders at the waiting troops, he turns his attention back to the scavenger. She feels his mind extract itself from hers, making Rey relax a bit now that her thoughts are her own again.
Before she can dwell on her predicament, the man's hand comes up to her face and touches her temple. He catches her as her body goes limp, her eyes close, and her mind gives in to the darkness
Rey jerks awake, her eyes instantly scanning her surroundings. The room she is in is dark but for one beam shining over her head. True, she had been in sticky situations many times and had always managed to find her way out, but this was a whole new level of sticky.
Assessing the situation, she finds that she is being held mostly upright with her arms and legs restrained by frigid, metal cuffs. Her head, however, is allowed to move freely, and she moves it as far as she can in each direction to get a better look at her surroundings.
After giving up on the restraints, and letting her head fall back on the tilted slab, a figure emerges from the shadows. The man, or whatever he was stands at the edge of the light.
"You're awake," he states, his face still covered by the mask.
"What happened to the resistance?" Rey didn't hold back the question that suddenly tore at her heart.
He was silent for a prolonged period, making her fear the worst, and then answered.
"You will be happy to know that I do not know where they are."
Rey flooded with relief as the faces of her friends, safe with the resistance, flashed through her mind. Solo. Chewy. BB-8. Fin…
Another span of silence began between them that seemed to last for eternity.
"I'm not going to give you what you want," Rey proclaimed suddenly, more to break the silence than anything
"You know that I can take whatever I want," he replies calmly. At this, her blood runs cold and she remembers the feeling of him in her head, sifting through thoughts and memories like a slideshow. A shadow of fear passes over her face before it falls back into the careful look of calm and control.
"You're afraid," he states plainly.
"Maybe I wouldn't be if I could see the face of my kidnapper," she replied coldly.
He stared at her for a moment longer before bringing his gloved hands up to his mask and ceremoniously lifting it from his face, revealing a young man not much older than Rey herself.
She stared in shock, seeing that he there was no physical reason for him to wear the mask. In fact, he could be considered handsome by some. Sharp features framed eyes that have seen too much. Too much pain, hurt, loss. But above all, anger. So much anger.
"What is your name, scavenger?" the man asked, but was met with silence. His eyes bore into her skull with a fierce gaze and she found her mouth opening before she could stop it.
"R-Rey. My name is Rey." Why did I say that? She thought to herself.
"Rey…" her name tasted sweet on his tongue. It reminded him of the sun and flowers back… Home. No! Don't let yourself go soft! Remember your training Kylo. "Show me the map to Skywalker. I know you've seen it," Kylo commanded.
"You're wasting your time," Rey practically spat in Kylo's face. "I am never going to let you have it." She held his stare until she felt the intrusion like she had in the forest on that planet. It felt as if his eyes bore into her mind, and she tried to look away but he held her there.
Kylo brought a hand up in front of him, seeming to reach out to her. He closed his eyes and set his jaw in stubborn rigidity. He could feel the immersion of his mind into hers and heard the girl gasp in surprise at the unwelcome guest.
Flashes of images appeared in her mind. A planet of sand, Jakku. A life of scavenging in exchange for food. Monotony for 16 years until…
Kylo lingered on the image of a small, circle, orange and white droid. This is the droid I'm looking for. With the droid comes the betrayer. The deserter FN-2187. They flee together on the Millennium Falcon. The ship is found by Han Solo.
While Kylo sifts through Rey's mind, he speaks softly. "You are lonely. So lonely on that planet. Just waiting for a family that will never come back for you." Rey tries to clear her mind, but finds it impossible to stop him from pushing in deeper. "You finally feel at home with your new friends. You see Solo as the father you never had." He pauses momentarily, contemplating how to respond to this information. "Take it from me; he would have disappointed you."
He is pulled from his mind probing by a whimper from the girl before him. Kylo had not noticed how intensely he had been piercing her mind. The image of Han Solo had sent him spiraling into a fit of anger.
(Rey's perspective)
When the man's hand comes up, Rey feels the same pressure on her mind as she did in the forest. This time, however, the he is far more pointed in his probe of her mind. He is searching for something. He pushed deeper and deeper. Rey's breathing hitches and becomes labored as she struggles to breathe through the onslaught of pins that seem to force their way into her head.
He sifts through her memories of Jakku, and how she managed to survive on her own. He lingers on the day when she found BB-8 and met Fin, starting her intergalactic adventure that led her to Han Solo.
When he reaches the memory of Han, Rey feels a distinct change in his demeanor. Sweat beads fall from her brow as she endures a sudden hammering in her mind. A whimper slips from her mouth before she can stop it, and the man immediately retreats from her thoughts, lowering his hand.
The retreat from Rey's mind is like a thousand splinters being pulled out at once, and she cries out before her eyes slip closed and her head lulls to the side of the slab
He hadn't meant to go that hard on the girl. The image of his lack luster father actually acting like a father to this girl ignited a fury inside Kylo.
He looks back at Rey to find her unconscious before him. Not surprised. That probe would have taken down men twice her size. It is quite impressive she lasted even that long. He observes her easy breathing as she sleeps, and wonders if she is dreaming. He tentatively prods his way back into her mind and freezes.
He can't see anything. She has blocked him from her unconscious mind. How is she doing this? He pushes harder, but still cannot pass through the barrier around her consciousness.
(Rey's dream)
Her hand reaches towards an old, dusty chest and unlatches the rusted handle. With a creek, the lid rises, revealing a metal cylinder that seems to radiate unimaginable power. Her hand wraps around the metal and her mind is overcome by memories that are not her own.
The force is strong with this one. She hears a man's voice speak and wonders what he is talking about. The force? I thought that was a myth. Rey thinks back to the man that captured her and the strange power he had of reading her thoughts and memories. Was that the force? It must have been. Flashes of scenes she doesn't understand play before her. She has seen this before. In Maz's castle, in the dungeon. What did Maz say to me? She sensed The Force all around me… Does that make me like him? She dismisses the thought. No! He is evil. I am nothing like him. Even so, an idea began to form. Maybe she could use the same power he had. Maybe she could use it to escape.
After a short period, Rey shifts in her sleep, alerting Kylo that she is close to waking. He is still mystified about how she blocked him when she was unconscious but not when she was awake.
Rey groans, and her eyes blink rapidly as she adjusts to the light again.
"Are you ready to show me the map?" Kylo questions without delay. Rey replies by shooting daggers at him and spitting in his direction. "Wrong decision, girl. That map is mine!" and with that he raises his hand to start another probe. He doesn't bother easing himself in this time, and launches a full attack.
Rey cries out at the onslaught and fights to keep conscious so she can fight back. The pounding in her head gets louder, more persistent, as he makes his way to where he left off. She closes her eyes and breaths through the pain, concentrating on fighting back. An image of an impenetrable wall appears in her mind.
Kylo gives a grunt as he feels the wall form and solidify in her mind. This is not possible! She's just a girl! He tries to push forward and finds the way blocked, then attempts to withdraw himself, and finds again that the way is blocked. What is happening?
Rey feels the panic that overtakes her captor as he is immobilized. His panic calms her, and she begins to explore her new situation. She reaches out with her mind and feels a seemingly tangible line connecting her mind to the man in front of her. She inches her way along the connection until she feels the pressure of his mind. Before he can tell what she is doing, he doesn't have time to shield himself. His eyes open is shock and fear.
She claws into his mind to answer her own questions.
For a while, all she sees is visions of training with clones and storm troopers but catches one that addresses him. "Kylo… your name is Kylo." She pushes deeper and sees a younger version of the man in front of her, being carried by—
"Han Solo is your father? Then why are you with the New Order?" Another image appears. A melted black mask, much like the one Kylo wears. He is speaking to it, asking it for strength. "Your grandfather. He was Darth Vadar. You look up to him—no—you are afraid of him." A look of horror passes over Kylo's face. "You're afraid you will never be as powerful as him." A flare of anger rises up in Kylo and he bursts out of his cage, regaining control of his mind and body. Rey lays before him, panting from the effort of invading him. He holds her gaze for a moment before he throws his remaining strength into one last mind trick.
Rey screams as an onslaught of not mind reading, but pure intense pain overtakes her. Her body tenses as she tries to fight back against the psychological attack and after a few seconds she loses again, her head lulling to the side once more. Kylo hears a single, low moan before she faints and he storms from the room with his cape flowing behind him.
That little bitch! Kylo cursed for allowing himself to seem weak in her presence. How is was she able to overtake me so easily. Too easily.