The base's shields had failed, the skies had turned black and the star had died. The thunderous crack of lightsabers drowned the earthshattering sound of the Starkiller cleaving apart. Sparks of light formed where the blades met, the searing heat of the lasers crossed between them filling the ice cold air and melting snowflakes into a bitting drizzle. The ground trembled and the soil quaked; trees creaked and cracked in the red and blue light, rocks falling into the void, swallowed by the abyss as a wide chasm tore the Starkiller apart. Rey blinked the droplets off her lashes and risked a glance behind her, the thrill of the fight and fire in her veins washed by an icy wave of realization as he pushed her ever closer to the edge. The blades sizzled against each other, a golden arc crackling between them. A pained yelp of frustration escaped her lips when the flaring hilt of his weapon brushed against her, burning the clothe just shy of breaking the skin, and his blade hovering dangerously close to her face.

"You need a teacher."

Her eyes snapped back at him, his dark eyes gleaming eerily in the game of blue and red lights cast by their fight. There was desperation in his voice.

"I could show you the way of the Force."

The word stirred something within her. "The Force..."

Closing her eyes and her mind, she searched deep in her, craving for a peace, a serenity in which she hoped she could find strength.

'I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing...'

The world around her vanished, the cold crisp air replaced by the salty scent of the sea.

'Close your eyes. Feel it.'

She saw the ocean... And the island. The sky above her. And she felt his presence by her side, invading her senses, pervading her mind, pressing insistantly against the mental walls she had built.

'You're so lonely...'

Her eyes opened calmly, and his smirk vanished as she violently shoved him out of her mind. He lunged forward in retort, his blade only slashing through thin air as she broke free of his hold and swung her blade at his back.

He turned and parried in haste. The strength of her blows unrelenting, she advanced still, forcing him back the way they came. He jumped back just in time to avoid a hit; the blade slashed through his black cloak and scraped the flesh of his thigh, briefly sending him to his knees.

Kylo Ren looked up at her, his hubris shattered for the slightest moment as he struggled to his feet and lashed out at her. She dodged easily and fenced forward, the point of her saber digging sharply into his flesh. Embers sizzling at his shoulder, he backed away from her, his jaw set and eyes burning with anger as she suddenly closed the gap between them, and her blade swept on him. He deflected the strike despite troubled senses, and retaliated with rageful desperation as the squadron of X-wing passing over them in the night sky augured the impending end of their encounter.

Sabers met with a thunderous sound, blades cracked, sending sparks of golden light through the night.

He grabbed her wrist tight, the cold metal of the saber burning like red iron through his leather gloves and she grabbed his, her strong grip pulling his arm away from hers. The gap between them closed until they were tightly entangled, their minds at odds and their bodies dangerously entertwined.

A fleeting moment passed as their eyes met in the bright purple light of their sabers, fighting for dominance over the surrounding darkness. And his lips crashed against hers.

The faint connection he had felt and used against her back in the interrogation chamber opened once more, but just like he had pierced through her defences, he could not keep his guard up towards her. Her memories flooded his mind as his emotions flooded hers.

She felt it all. His pain, the conflict in him.
'I'm torn apart... I want to be free of this pain. I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?'
She heard her own words echoe through his mind, distorted, cold and distant. 'You're a monster!' She felt the burning feeling of rage that they had stirred in him. The rage, the injustice, the sorrow...
The world around her vanished and for a moment there were no trees, no snow, only the darkness of a starlit sky and the comforting sound of a crackling fire.
'Has it ever crossed your brilliant mind that I don't want to do this anymore.', she heard a younger yet terribly familiar voice snap.
She saw him - dark eyes defiant and chin jutted; younger, incomplete yet his presence overwhelming as an unleashed wave of regret washed over her through his mind – but she seemed to be looking through his eyes when he turned to the bearded man sitting to his right.
'Whether it has or it hasn't is irrelevant. Snoke will try to tempt you to the Dark Side, Ben, and it's most crucial that he succeeds.'

The crackling of the fire vanished, the warmth replaced by the searing heat of his lightsaber looming ever closer to her as he suddenly broke the kiss and violently shoved her back.

The blades met with a crack of thunder and she lost her footing for the slightest moment, but it was enough for Kylo Ren to take the advantage and take hold of her neck, choking her.

She gasped for air and let go of his wrist; the furious gleam in Ren's eyes turned to shock when her fist collided with his temple, with shattering force.

He stumbbled back, the flare of his lightsaber failing for a fraction of second before it returned to its full fury, casting an eerie red light into his bottomless eyes.

Rey retrieved her stance, the pain in her mind still blazing, but she pushed it aside, far away. Pain is the way to the Dark side, she remembered as a feral grunt filled the air. Thrown to the ground, Ren straightened, repeatingly punching his wounded flank, his face contorted with anger as he charged at her. She deflected the hit and felt the blade collide with flesh as she tore his weapon from his grip and slashed blindly, sending her enemy to the ground.

A deep red slash crossing his long face, the dark knight looked up at her, fury and rage gone from his features, an indecipherable gleam in his eyes.

Rey tensed, a tempting impulse pushing her forward, blade drawn – kill him, a voice in her head said, kill him now! - yet something stronger held her back. Whether it was his eyes roaming dreadfully from the point of her saber to her eyes, the vivid memory of the brooding boy she had caught a glimpse of in their shared vision, or the vainglorious desire to offer him a honourable death - in the fire of battle and not like this, lying bleeding in the snow at her utmost mercy – something kept her arm still. A fleeting look of relief passed on his face as she reassured her grip on her weapon and withdrew.

A deafening sound broke the suspended silence. The earth shattered between them, rocks and ice falling into the boiling pit that cracked the surface of the planet. Rey took a step back, her eyes still fixed on the man on the other side, a rush of fear replacing the thrill of her victory as the tall dark shape of the knight straightened. His breathing ragged, his face barred with her mark, he stared at her across the abyss, his fiery eyes boring into her very soul.

Adrenaline rushing through her veins like a bolt of lightening, Rey turned and ran into the dark, disappearing between the trees as the chasm tearing them apart widened.

'Be brave, and don't look back... Don't look back.'

Welcome to the trash compactor! ^^

So, here's the first chapter of my contribution to the reylo frenzy! Rating T for now, might go up if things go as planned in chapter 4 ;)

Hope you'll enjoy this! I'm not very much versed in the extended universe and will mostly keep such references out of my fic, for the EU is no longer canon! So, refrences to past events be only related to the OT, and maybe some of the prequel (but not much) ! Please, review! And no hate for the ship, or I'll smack you with my purple lightsaber! :)