What happened on Starkiller seemed to be a distant memory to Rey. She recalled brilliant sparks of red clashing with vibrant blue, melting the snow with each fiery contact. She recalled the burning determination in his eyes, and how certain she was that she would die by his hand. However, even with that certainty in her heart, she still fought intrepidly, dodging slashes and swinging her saber at just the right moment to leave a jagged scar on Kylo Ren's countenance.

It had been two years since then. From the moment she arrived on Ahch-To, she trained from dawn until dusk waiting for the day she could enter combat with Kylo Ren once again. She yearned to pull him away from the Dark he enveloped himself in. The idea of entering a battle with Kylo and leaving the battle with Ben kept her motivated in her studies.

And now here she stood, her resplendent double-sided saber shining purple on the trees around her. He was standing not one hundred yards away, feet balancing effortlessly on a boulder, standing in a position that let her know he was not there for friendly discussion. His blade still crackled and spat crimson from the hilt. There was tension in the air—but there was also something else, something deeper. Neither of them drew the first move. They watched, waited. Rey's breath almost hitched in her throat before she spoke.

"Ben." It was less than a whisper. "Ben, please. Your mother misses you. Do you feel no remorse for what you've done?" Even from this distance, his discomfort was visible. His feet shifted gently. It somewhat surprised Rey that he was able to hear her.

After a moment of what seemed to be hesitation, he responded grimly, his voice fuzzily relaying through his helmet. "Ben Solo is dead; he was weak, pathetic." After stating this, he jumped down from the boulder, landing expertly on his feet. "I have done what… what must have been done. For the Order." Rey noted that his voice faltered ever so slightly.

"Is that what Snoke tells you?" Rey replied, slowly inching closer to him. She remained in a stance with which she could deflect or attack if necessary, but part of her felt it wouldn't be.

"It's what I tell myself." At first she thought it to be a poor choice of words, but he continued. "I am loyal to the Dark side of the Force. However…" He began to approach her as well, also standing in a way that suggested he was prepared for any incoming blows. "…The Light tantalizes me."

"Then why don't you return to it?" Rey asked, allowing him to see the concern she felt for him, for Ben. At this he winced, and repositioned himself so that he may point to her with his saber.

"I have told you too much, scavenger." There was a newfound callousness to his voice as he drew closer at a faster pace. Rey tensed, her knuckles white as she gripped tightly to her lightsaber. "Even now, you taunt me with the Light."

He swung at her with brute force, but he was not quick enough to slip past Rey's defensive movement. "Ben, please," she called over the harsh collision.

"Do not call me by that name!" He growled, spinning and swinging at her calf. She moved to block him again, this time faltering ever so slightly, a motion that did not go unseen. Rey mentally cursed herself for allowing a mistake. She backed up against a tree to block his next attack, paying close attention to the exhaust vents on either side of his saber. With a deft movement, she kicked him back and spun around the tree, causing him to slice it in half.

"Do you know what you have done to Leia? To your mother?" She nearly screamed at him, deflecting another blow aimed at her waist. Tears stung around her eyes and threatened to spill over. Rey's feet danced expertly around him, but her eyes remained locked on his helmet. "Is this how you want her to feel? You want her to feel like she's lost everything!" The speed of his attacks grew and she could feel his anger sprinkling the air around her.

"I didn't ask for this!" He bellowed over his rapid flurry of movements. "I didn't ask to be who I am! What I've become!" For a moment Rey heard Ben instead of Kylo Ren. Her heart felt reinforced with hope. She did not dwell for long as he stung into her forearm. Even a mere swipe like this burned deep and she yelped, pulling her arm back and kicking him away once again. Her tears trailed down her cheeks, leaving lines in the thin layer of dirt.

Their sabers clashed once more as they pushed desperately into each other, Kylo's attack out of desperation, fear, and anger. Part of Rey felt that he did not want to hurt her. They stayed locked like that for what felt like centuries, Rey staring into his helmet and feeling his eyes on her. The air hung heavy with their cumulative emotion and the heat of their blades.

After an eternity of tension she finally spoke. "Listen to me, Ben." Her voice was gentle, consoling. "You know you aren't evil. Look inside yourself." She could feel the press of his saber against hers lift ever so slightly and she spun out of his range once more. He did not pursue her. Instead, he reached a gloved hand up to unclasp his helmet. As the dark façade fell from his hands and rolled onto the grass, her eyes fell upon the deep scar he left on his face. She felt a pang of guilt as he returned the stare.

"I cannot tell you if this scar was given to me by the Light or the Dark." His voice was notably softer without the scratchy filter of his helmet. He stood with his saber at his side. "It was the Dark that coaxed me to fight you. It was the Light that coaxed you to respond." Rey heard the sound of blasters ringing in the distance more audibly, the sound of their sabers clashing now absent. "Which do you think it was?" Rey was practically stunned as she watched his saber retract into its hilt.

"I don't think it was the Force," she mumbled after carefully choosing her words. She, too, retracted her blades. "That was simply…us." She dwelled on that for a long time. "Our pent up aggressions, our fears, our dedication. Dancing together on that battlefield as one." He seemed to ponder her words for a long time before lifting his helmet off the ground, brushing the dirt away.

"Perhaps you are right." His words hung heavy with what seemed to be a newfound appreciation for what transpired that day. His eyes traced the scratches and dents on his helmet as he spoke. "Maybe one day I will be able to return." He lifted the helm over his head and clicked it into place, sealing his face away once more. "However, that day is not today."

The Force weaving around them surged with a completely different energy than it had when she first saw him standing atop the boulder. There was no fear from Rey, no anger from Kylo Ren. Whatever this energy was, it felt much less sharp.

Ren turned without a word, weaving between trees and stepping over rocks. Rey simply watched his cloaked form grow smaller and more obstructed the farther he grew from her, dumbfounded from what had just transpired.

Even though he had entered the battle as Kylo Ren, something within Rey told her that he left it not quite the same. He wasn't Ben, but he was also no longer Kylo Ren. Rey looked to the sky, watching TIE fighters and X-Wings dance through the clouds.

One day, Rey would pull Ben from the claws of the Dark. She would bring him home. And she was damn sure of it.

A/N: if you enjoyed this story or you feel I need to write another chapter, please let me know with a review! Thank you for reading.