Okay guys, I'm going to try a bit of a different fandom right now. Got the whole Kylo/Rey thing stuck in my head (also in my fandom they aren't related, as this is going to be a horror/romance type story). I've got to say, I've never written anything for Star Wars before, nor have I written a continuation off of a movie, so this is a little bit different for me, so if I don't use some Star Wars terminology exactly correct, or I misspell a planet name, don't shun me form the Star Wars universe forever.
Okie doke, I hope you guys enjoy this and please let me know what you think!
She stood in the middle of a field. It was night, nearly pitch black, save for a moon shining brightly from above, casting everything around her into shadows, even as its gentle beams surrounded her in light. Always the light.
Glancing around, she took in the long wheat grass that brushed against her bare arms, the starless sky above and the breeze that moved her two loose curls gently forward, almost as if the wind itself was attempting to push her ahead, urging her onward. Staring ahead of her, she took a step forward and then another, before shaking herself out of the trancelike state she'd found herself in. The allure to press on was great, greater than she could have anticipated. It made her feel weak, but oddly, she wanted to rush headlong into the night until she came upon what her mind found so alluring. So captivating. Instead, she stilled her movements, closing her eyes and trying to think logically, to use reason instead of passion to aid her next move.
Deep down, she knew going forward was wrong. Something sinister lay ahead of her, she could feel it. It was dark and frightening, yet intriguing and mysterious, only because she knew, she knew, that she had encountered the presence ahead of her on more than one occasion.
She knew who lurked on the edge of the field, who awaited her in the clearing. She'd felt the touch of his mind, and even if she hadn't, she would still have sensed him, felt him with every fiber of her being. It was him.
Kylo Ren. Ben Solo. Or what was once left of Ben Solo, son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. After having witnessed him murder his own father to gain better access to the dark side, Rey knew there was nothing left of Luke Skywalker's old apprentice. There was only Kylo. Only darkness.
Shaking her head in excess, she knew she couldn't go where he was, she wouldn't make her way to him. She would turn and go back, back to where she knew safety was waiting for her. Back where the temptation to speak with him was lessened, where her feelings were greatly diminished. If she could only turn back, back the way she'd come, she was sure her emotions would no longer cloud her judgment. That she could breathe again and think with reason.
When she turned, her eyes widened in disbelief as the field was transformed and she found herself now standing in the middle of the woods. Snow began to fall lightly around her, blending in with the already frozen ground on which she stood. It was still dark, but the chill in the air made her gasp with the sudden realization that she was back on Starkiller Base. Back to where she first faced off against him, lightsaber against lightsaber. The dark against the light. She could almost feel the steady pulse of her lightsaber, as if she were holding it ready in her hands.
It was an odd sensation as Rey knew she was without her lightsaber and all but defenseless in this place. Where the Force should have filled her and guided her, she felt a void, almost as if it had never been with her, never called to her.
But she knew that Starkiller Base had been destroyed well over four months ago. Nothing was left now but an emptiness that was once a large planet.
'A dream, then' she thought to herself. When her shoulders drooped, she looked down, noticing she was wearing the same clothes from that night, although in reality she'd thrown them away when she received different garments shortly after the planet had exploded from the attack from the Resistance.
Rey stood facing the broken earth, torn apart by the collapse of the planet. She should have been on the other side of that gaping hole, over by Finn and the Falcon. Instead, she was on the same side as Kylo Ren. Hoping it wasn't some sort of twisted metaphor for future events, Rey closed her eyes briefly and focused on the person moving steadily towards her. Turning away from the large hole spreading on the ground, she caught sight of a black mass walking through some low hanging brush, shrouded in darkness while she herself was being bathed in the moonlight.
Before she knew it, Kylo Ren, face covered with his personalized helmet stood before her. Less than a foot away, his robe billowing around him like a snake preparing to strike. It was impossible to know what he might have been looking at, but she could feel his eyes on her face, almost as if the heat of his gaze could stave off the cold she felt coursing through her body at the sudden temperature change.
Rey took a hesitant step back, almost forgetting the gaping hole lurking behind her. Almost.
What was she to do? Fight the monster in front of her or face the deep, vast darkness below her?
Either way, she was surrounded by darkness. Choking on it, being smothered by it. The darkness was everywhere, all around her. Like a moth to a flame, Rey looked up and began reaching for the moonlight, almost as if she could capture it to her and hold it closely. To her utter dismay, the light from the moon began to fade, to wither away and die, right before her very eyes. She was well and truly lost.
Closed off, Rey felt the breath leave her body in a rush. She coughed, sputtered, forgetting the murderer in front of her and trying to focus solely on finding the light, the Force, to help guide her in what to do.
Kylo Ren reached out, his gloved hand cupping her cheek in almost a soothing manner before he spoke, his voice distorted due to his mask. "You need a teacher. Let me train you." His words were like a caress, almost seductive in their intensity. His fingers brushed along her cheekbone, oddly soothing her and steadying her resolve. All at once Rey could breathe again, she could think.
Grabbing ahold of the hand touching her face, Rey gently pulled it down, her fingers lingering longer than necessary before she let go, glaring at the mask before her, summoning the courage inside of her that had gone into the hiding the moment she'd faced Kylo Ren.
"There is no place for me in the darkness, nor with you, Kylo Ren. I won't be seduced by the darkside." Nor by you, the words floated between them. A warning or a promise, it was hard to tell which.
Then she felt it, his immense anger, boiling over like a volcano that was erupting. His hand reached up again, lightning fast as it closed around her throat and dragged Rey as close to his mask as she could get.
"I'll show you the darkside." He hissed down at her.
Rey awoke with a start, beads of sweating rolling down her forehead as she sat up on her cot, wiping her face with her forearm. Her hands shook when she placed them back on her blanket. Closing her eyes, Rey pictured a waterfall, urging herself to listen to the way the water crashed down in a rhythmic motion, letting herself feel the cooling mist that gently flowed around her. She could almost touch it, almost taste it. With every breath she took, the image in her mind grew stronger, allowing herself to feel the calmness as it seeped into her skin, relaxing her muscles and halting the turmoil in her mind.
It was a trick Master Luke had shown her once she'd told him about the dreams she'd been having. The nightmares. It always ended the same way, with Kylo Ren asking her to join him and her refusing, only to face a brief moment of his wrath before finding herself sitting up in her room, panting heavily as if he'd truly been choking the life out of her body. As if he'd been there with her, his hand at her throat and his body pressed along hers.
Generally it was easy for her to determine the dream as it was occurring, yet this time... This time she'd been confused from the very start and his presence had been so strong in her mind, Rey was nearly positive he'd been there with her. As if he had crept into her mind and taken the place of the shadowy figure her mind had created all those months ago. Master Luke had informed her that it was normal after enduring such a traumatic experience to have nightmares about her captor, but after tonight, Rey was uncertain.
Could Kylo Ren have been haunting her dreams all of these months? And if so, what did it mean now that the dream was getting stronger?
Unsure of the time, Rey stood up and wrapped a thin robe around her body before stepping from her sleeping quarters and moving steadily towards Master Luke's own room. Not wanting to intrude to deeply, Rey sent out a tiny pulse with the Force, gently nudging her Master's mind as she made her way down one hallway and then the next, steadily coming closer to him.
As Rey reached the door to his quarters, it opened slowly and the friendly face of Luke Skywalker looked down upon her.
"I could sense your troubled mind as soon as you awoke. Come," he beckoned her into his rooms, shutting the door smoothly behind Rey as she stepped inside.
Not seeing the need to beat around the bush, Rey spoke up.
"Master Luke, have you ever known the Force to be used to invade dreams?"
He didn't even blink before answering. "The Force can be used for many a great things, Rey. It wouldn't be farfetched to assume one might be able to enter another mind while it dreamed. After all, if we can use a Jedi mind trick on the conscious, it would only be a step further to project ones self into another's mind."
Rey nodded her head, having already known the answer. Her feelings had already urged her to listen to the truth, but Rey had stubbornly refused this once, hoping she had been wrong or misled.
"Rey," Master Luke said gently, placing a light hand on her shoulder. "What troubles you?"
"I think I've been manipulated by Kylo Ren the last few months. I thought..." She trailed off for a few moments before continuing. "I thought perhaps at first it might have just been my own mind, creating his likeness and mannerisms. But... Tonight it was far more real. He was more real and stronger than ever before. He felt... Closer, more sinister and more determined than ever to take me with him." To where, she had no idea, but Rey knew wherever he took her, it wouldn't be good.
"Rey, are you certain what you've sense is true? That Kylo Ren is closer? Do you believe he's tracked you down to this planet?"
Her first reaction was to adamantly deny that Kylo Ren could be near them, near one of the secret locations of the Resistance. However, the more she pondered his question, the more she felt with a dreaded certainty that he was nearby, waiting.
Rey closed her eyes, letting the Force guide her mind as she felt herself drifting away from her body and floating through the universe, seeking any sort of connection she might have with Kylo Ren. Perhaps she could find a trace of him left behind from when he had searched her mind all those months ago. Maybe if her conscious could find his, she would be able to follow it back to him, or at least as far as she could get without making herself known. If she didn't sense him near their hidden base on Tatooine, or even in the same system, then she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
As her mind wandered out into the vastness of the universe, it took only a moment before her mind connected with the darkness that was Kylo Ren. Rey dropped the connection in an instant, almost falling back and out of the chair Master Luke had seated her at earlier. Her eyes whipped open and without missing a beat, Rey spoke. "He's here, Master Luke. How did he manage to mask his presence so thoroughly?"
She stood hastily, nearly knocking over the chair that only moments ago had been supporting her weight.
"It seems since the death of Han Solo, he has been completing the rest of his training. The more powerful he grows, the more he is able to conceal himself from those who use the Force."
Since he murdered his father, Rey wanted to shout. Instead, she searched within herself for the calmness she always kept close, mentally dusting it off and placing it around her shoulders like an old friend.
Becoming upset and angry would not help the situation they found themselves in, only logic and reason could save them now.
"Do you think he's here to attack the Resistance?"
Master Luke focused, his lips pursed slightly under his long beard. "I sense he has only one purpose Rey, and that purpose is to obtain you. To mold you into the perfect apprentice. You must not fall."
"My faith in the Force is absolute, Master." She whispered the words, although knowing Kylo Ren was near, she found herself for the first time truly doubting herself.
She should have known he was nearby, should have sensed his presence. Instead, she had fallen victim to him, yet again. She had let him invade her mind, to take over and fill herself with images and thoughts of him, every single night. In a bizarre way, it was almost as if she knew him, as if they were close.
"Please Master Luke, what do we do?"
"Luckily this base has been all but cleared out of Resistance fighters." They had been preparing to move to a new location in another system, however, Rey and Master Luke had stayed behind to train for a few weeks on his home planet. Rey suspected Master Luke had missed his home planet and wanted a few weeks to relive the teenager he'd once been. "We will alert the remaining crews, urge them to leave this planet with only whats necessary and to be hasty in their departure from this planet." Rey nodded in agreement, knowing that he was giving her the correct solution. "You and I will grab our X-Wings and follow them out. We can protect them as well as we can."
The crew had been awakened, notified of the possible threat and urged to use any means necessary to ensure a speedy exit. Knowing their cover was blown, Master Luke saw no need to use stealth to aid in their escape. The First Order had practically set their sights on the rebel base already.
Rey had gone back to her quarters, grabbing only a grey top, a matching pair of grey capris, her boots and grey wraps that covered most of her arms. Next came her brown leather belt that she wrapped twice around her waist before placing the tiny blaster Han Solo had given her in the strap on her back and also clipping Master Luke's old lightsaber onto the right side of her belt. The weapons pulled down heavily on her belt, but after a few weeks, Rey had grown accustomed to the feeling.
She no longer needed the blaster, having made herself well acquainted with the force, but she held on to it anyway, as a reminder of all she had lost and all that had been taken. Retracing her steps, Rey found herself outside of Master Luke's living area, pacing restlessly back and forth, ignoring the gentle sway of her lightsaber with every move of her hips.
Her Master came towards her from the opposite end of the hallway, using a much brisker pace than Rey was accustomed to seeing him use. "The crew is departing in a few moments. Are you ready?"
With a slight nod, Rey followed him down the hall, through a set of double doors and out onto the loading bay. A few more steps and she was at her X-Wing, checking over the mechanics to ensure it was all in the condition she had left it in. It would have been a lot easier to know if her ship was in tip top shape had BB-8 been present, but he'd left with Poe Dameron over a week ago with one of the last fleets to depart for the new base. Which was good he was gone, having taken Finn with him. Rey didn't know what she would do if they were taken prisoner by The First Order.
Rey continued her quick perusal before looking towards the ship that was being filled with the last of the crew to be on this base. She could feel their worry, and their fear. It filled her with a wave of unease before she brushed it away with her mind, sending out positive thoughts to the ones boarding the ship. Waving assuredly at the departing crew, Rey turned toward Master Luke and smiled at him sadly.
Rey had a feeling they wouldn't be seeing much of each other after this, although she had a hard time understanding why she felt that.
"What do you sense, Rey? Search your feelings."
"I feel this is the most logical step we could have taken, Master, given the circumstances." With a curious look at his student, Luke Skywalker hopped into this X-Wing fighter, flipping all the switches necessary to start up the air craft. Rey followed suit, resting herself comfortably in her seat, placing her hands on the steering console, Rey followed behind her Master, who was doing his best to protect the group of people in the ship before them. She barely remembered to put on her fighter pilot helmet, knowing she would need it to communicate with the ship they were currently protecting from The First Order.
His best will be enough, Rey could sense that. She could also sense the impending doom that lurked before her. Was there any way to avoid it?
As they flew upward, exiting the planet and entering space, Rey noticed a First Order ship off in the distance, coming closer.
"We should be able to make it safely. Enter into light speed on the count of 3."
"Roger that, Gold Leader." Echoed in the helmet Rey was wearing. She made sure to flip the tiny container on her up, allowing her easy access to the button necessary for light speed.
3..
2..
1..
Rey watched the other two ships disappear right before her very eyes. Wasting not a moment more, Rey hit the button in front of her, hands clenching on the steering console almost painfully. When nothing happened, Rey's heart leapt into her throat even as she tried to determine the reason behind the X-Wing's failure to jump to light speed.
She felt The First Order creeping closer to her and before she could try to figure out the malfunction of her craft, the dash went black, the engine switching off as well. Then she was being pulled backward, at a slow but steady pace.
Rey could feel the Force dragging her and her X-Wing with almost no hesitation, no struggle. She was being pulled backward in space towards the large First Order ship that was opening its loading bay, preparing to capture her. At least she would be awake this time when she entered the ship, unlike the first time Kylo Ren had carried her aboard. Perhaps this time she could figure her way out before she'd even docked in their ship.
Rey still couldn't quite grasp how Kylo Ren was exuding so much power.
Master Luke was right. Kylo Ren was becoming more powerful than they could have foreseen. Much more powerful.
Rey closed her eyes, using her own power, her own bond with the Force to influence the movement of the X-Wing. Perhaps if she could remove it from Kylo Ren's dangerous grip, she could control the fighter herself until she was safely away to attempt light speed once more.
Just as her mind reached out, brushing against the force that was Kylo Ren, she felt him startle and then become excited before he reached out as well, gripping her mind in a vise and squeezing painfully.
Feeling doomed was the last thing Rey remembered before she passed out.
Thanks for reading! I'm really hoping you like the story so far and are wanting to see what happens next. Please make sure to comment/follow or favorite the story if you want more of it! I'm planning on updating a few time a week, at least 3k words in each chapter until this is over, so I hope you can stick with me for the rest of this story.
Much love,
Mo
