A/N: The first chapter got a little bit of attention, so here's another.

Kylo Ren stomped furiously through the verdant scenery around him, paying no mind to the clash in the skies above. Every few moments a beam from a blaster whizzed past him, occasionally nearly scuffing him. He boiled with rage at himself for revealing so much to Rey. For the first time, however, he was not brimming with pure anger. There was a strange tickle at the bottom of his heart that deeply confused him. It was a warm feeling, and it somewhat lifted his spirits; he could only assume it was something along the lines of hope.

He nearly tripped over a tree root when he came upon a wide clearing overrun with Storm Troopers and Resistance fighters. Blasters raged and sent lethal beams back and forth through the air.

So this is where they were coming from, he noted, unsheathing and readying his saber as he stepped out into the clearing.

The Resistance visibly hesitated at the sight of him but did not completely retract. As the battle went on, he weaved about the warriors around him, deflecting blaster shots and commanding his troops' movements. He managed to get in a good cut or two, but something about it felt… off. That tickling at the bottom of his heart nagged at him each time he went for an attack, and many times caused him to cease his advances before he landed the killing blow. This simply made him more infuriated with himself as the battle dragged on, and he soon realized that he had been holding back against Rey as well.

What in the name of the Maker is wrong with me?! Screamed through Kylo's head as he continued swinging his blade with staggering force. He increasingly caused more and more injuries but very few fatalities, something uncharacteristic of him entirely. His men began to notice and gave him questioning looks, but their loyalty did not quiver.

Ren saw a glimmer of purple in his peripheral vision and cursed himself. There she is again. Rey. He could tell by the rapid movement of her lightsaber that she was running and deflecting blaster shots at the same time. The Resistance picked back up into the pace it was at when he first arrived. Her presence alone was enough to reinvigorate them; what happened when she began to fight?

He looked away from the Resistance fighter he was toying with to steal a glance at her and found that she had her eyes on him as well. The look in her hazel eyes was certainly not harsh; it was almost amicable, and yet tinged with reluctance. He was grateful that she could not look upon his muddled features as he fought on.

The sound of an ear-shattering explosion above them turned most heads to the sky; a single X-Wing had taken out four TIE Fighters in a fell swoop, sending debris to the battlefield below. The Resistance pulled back into the trees for cover, Rey ushering them out and deflecting whatever shots she could manage to as they retreated. Kylo Ren commanded his men to retreat as well as a Fighter collided with the soil where, just a few moments before, Rey had stood. This sent chills up his spine, but with shards of glass and metal raining from above, he had no time to muse over what may have happened to her.

Again he found himself feeling anything other than pure hatred for her, and chastised himself once more. The Light was tempting him once again. He decided he would have to consult Grandfather soon, as he did whenever he doubted himself. And yet that tickle still chided him for thinking that how he felt was wrong.

He led his men through the endless maze of trees to another clearing by a crystal-clear pool of water. On the banks of the small lake sat their escape; a troop carrier, scuffed and rusted from years of use. He commanded that the highest-ranked Storm Trooper pilot them off of D'Qar. He was willing to admit attacking the rebel base with little more than one or two batallions was brash and he had lost many soldiers to the Alliance. Although remorse was a feeling foreign to him, it brushed the back of his mind for a moment.

"Captain, take these troops out of here. Return to Command, tell them I remained to ensure minimal casualties." He almost immediately felt like remaining on D'Qar would be a terrible idea, but as the Trooper nodded and swiveled on his feet, he decided to stay regardless. He watched as the ship lifted away from the ground, spraying pebbles and dirt around the area. Once the carrier left the atmosphere and the air again hung heavy with silence, he slunk away into the trees once again.

Kylo Ren had no intention of overseeing the remaining Storm Troopers on D'Qar. That much was certain. He knew Phasma was also present somewhere within a few hundred klicks with her own, larger assembly of men, and rationalized they would regroup there. It would be a few days before the battle ended, and he was essentially alone in the wilderness on a planet belonging to the enemy.

He recalled piloting a standard TIE Fighter into D'Qar's airspace, not willing to risk being singled out in his personal ship. He touched down about five klicks to the East, a little farther from the rebel base than he was currently.

He told himself that he would recount the mission as follows: that he stayed to collect any remaining fighters; that he killed dozens of rebels and mowed a path for them to regroup with Phasma; and most importantly, that he did not see any high ranking Alliance personnel. Snoke wanted something with Rey. Unfortunately, so did Kylo Ren, and in this situation he put himself before the Order—quite notably—for the first time.

Ben and Kylo Ren fought for control of his mind as he trudged through thickets and tall tufts of grass. He had two options. Head for the TIE Fighter and return to the First Order in orbit, or head in the direction Rey retreated into. He weighed both options carefully. If he went for his ship he would avoid any repercussions from Snoke for not following orders, but so many questions would be left unanswered. If he traveled to Rey there was a high probability that she or one of her rebels would quickly turn hostile toward him, perhaps attempt to kill him.

However, on the off chance they didn't…

He had subconsciously decided before he even began his trek. He traced the trail his men left behind in the dirt back to the clearing. Smoldering piles of ashen metal and shattered glass was strewn throughout the place, and many patches of grass were on fire. No large fires had started yet. With a small exertion of effort, he used the Force to extinguish the already-dwindling flames, and then headed toward the opening in the trees through which Rey had traveled.

Instead of traveling on the beaten path, he strayed away from it a bit, ducking behind trees and bushes whenever he heard movement. He knew they must have been a ways up the trail by now, but he was still considerably paranoid. Each rustling of leaves or even snapping of branches under his feet caused him to stop completely and prick his ears, listening closely.

After repeating this for quite a while, eventually the snap of a twig was not under his feet, but under the small troop of rebel soldiers ahead. There were perhaps eight or nine of them; and of course, leading them was Rey, her lightsaber now sheathed. She was talking to them as they strode about where the other soldiers had gone. Apparently, she had sent them to join the struggle against Phasma's legion. Ren admired her decision, as Phasma had far more soldiers under her command for this battle than he did; and his were all either dead, back in orbit, or regrouped with the others.

Mulling over this briefly caused him to not notice immediately that Rey had stopped. She silently directed with her hands for her party to continue moving along this path until they reached a fork, and then follow the river from there to join the others. They looked on her with concern but agreed with her command, and began jogging at a brisk pace down the road.

He did not move a muscle in his body. He dared not even breathe. Rey had not moved since she commanded for her men to go on ahead; she simply stood, motionless, stray locks of hair drifting gently in the wind, watching them as they left.

"Ben." Again she was quiet, perhaps even quieter than before. His heart began to thud rapidly against his chest. She was Force sensitive. Of course she could sense his presence.

"Ben. Come out." Now she was a low mumble, shifting on her feet slightly to aim her gaze at the tree he was crouched behind. He remarked to himself that she had not turned hostile immediately, and some form of relief clutched him briefly. Emerging from his somewhat sub-par hiding place, he slid down the cascading rocks that had given him the higher ground. He now stood no more than five feet from her, arguably the closest they had been out of combat since he interrogated her years ago.

Neither of them said anything. His inner conflict would have been perfectly obvious on his face, his brows now knit together in confusion at his feelings. Rey's countenance was painted with a look that didn't even closely resemble the one she wore during their earlier encounter. She looked the same way Leia looked when she sent him to train with Luke, her pain obvious and twisting her features.

Both of them turned when they heard heavy footsteps approaching rapidly from where she sent her men. They decided not to leave her behind after all. He attempted to make an escape, but they had already laid eyes on him, aiming their blasters at his head.

Was coming to Rey truly the right decision?