A/N: Another failure with the page breaks. Sorry once again! I'm going to try something new this chapter, and I hope it's obvious enough when it's a new character's POV. Also, we get some Finn in this chapter! Yay! I didn't include him in the previous chapters because he wasn't awake yet, something I could've overlooked but decided not to. Additionally, I want to thank Anna Skywalker 15 again for reviewing this. Make sure to review if you can! It really helps me stay motivated and get ideas for future developments. Also, thank you to Night for editing this chapter for me! And as always, happy reading!

(Sorry for the really long A/N.)

"Hey... Rey?"

Rey's eyes open quickly, and she sits up so fast she hits her head on the ceiling.

"Ouch..."

She rubs her head on the affected spot, and eventually looks up at Kylo. He looks uncomfortable.

"Um... we've got kind of a problem..."

Rey scrambles to her feet.

…

"You call this a problem?" She gasps, marveling at the beauty of their prisoner. "It's so..."

"So I guess it's a no on killing it?"

Rey's head whips around to face him. "Are you insane?" She yells. "Wait, no, scratch that, I don't want to know."

She resumes stroking the amazing, though unconscious, creature.

"Well? What do you think we should name it?"

She's grinning. Kylo shrugs.

"I think we should name it Han Solo." Rey proposes.

"How about we name it anything but Han Solo."

Rey smiles. Exactly the response she wanted. "Okay, then, I want to name it Finn."

"Finn? Do you have any idea of how big of a Nerfhearder he is?"

Knew it.

"Well, I know you don't like him, but—"

"We're not naming the creature Finn."

Rey rolls her eyes. "Whatever. We said we'd get our supplies out of the ship today, didn't we?"

"I know you did."

"Well, I still think we should."

"I guess it'd be better before they inevitably explode."

"And when they do, we should probably get inside that crack so we don't get affected."

Kylo nods. Rey's surprised they've actually agreed on something.

The morning passes by relatively quickly, and they empty their ships of anything that may be of use to survive or help build the beacon. The creature remains unconscious.

Eventually, Rey pauses to wipe sweat from her brow. "We're almost done!" She gasps.

Kylo frowns. No surprise there.

"So are the ships. We should get to shelter."

Rey sets down the crate she's been carrying. "But... not all of the things we need are out."

"The ship doesn't care about that. Our ships will spontaneously combust when they want to."

"Yeah, but—"

He throws his hands up in the air. "Look, if you want to blow up with the ship, be my guest. I don't care. But I'll be over there, where it's safe, if you need me."

And with that, he storms off.

Rey looks at his retreating figure, then the unconscious creature, then the supposedly-dangerous ships.

She hears a faint tapping noise.

Time to go.

She picks up the limp creature and charges for the crack. She can hear the ships collapsing behind her.

Come on, come on...

She's too far away. She's not going to make it. Loud scraping noises ensue.

"Hurry!"

Rey glares at Kylo.

You're not helping.

She makes a wild dive, and rolls past Kylo into the crack. "Well? Close the crack!" She shouts at him over the noise.

Too late.

Rey and Kylo press their backs against the sides of the crack as a wave of fire and smoke flood through the opening. Rey tries not to cry out at the intense heat singing her face.

And then it's over.

Rey's coughing.

Next, she checks to make sure the creature is all right.

Her overworked ears don't notice the faint rumbling sound or Kylo's "Look out!".

When she does notice, it's too late.

The force of the explosion had caused a collapse of the crack.

She's frozen to the spot.

Her eyes sting from the salt in the air.

Her knees buckle. She can hear things crashing around her, mountains of salt collapsing. She knows it's only a matter of time.

But that time never comes.

The crashing gradually subsides, and she dares to look around. Her eyes burn and water.

She is the only object that is not completely covered in salt.

Except for Kylo, and...

The creature.

Rey brushes some salt off of her shoulders, not daring to ask what caused the strange miracle recovery.

They have more pressing issues.

For example, the entrance to the large crater where their ships were, or used to be, was completely sealed.

Rey cringes. She has no idea of how to get back. Plus, she's cut up all over; it's literally salt in the wound.

"Come on."

She looks up at Kylo. There's no way he's not hurt too. And yet he's ready to go again, taking control. She manages to nod, and picks up the creature in her arms.

Rey takes a glance up to the sky, but there's still no way to exit the cavernous crack.

Their feet sink in the powdered salt, making it hard to reach the lagoon. Neither of them says a word during the entire trip. Rey's still in shock.

They encounter a problem when they reach the entrance; Rey assumes she won't be able to get through with her various scrapes, and she knows Kylo won't.

Kylo makes to ignite his Lightsaber, but she catches him.

"Don't," she hears herself saying, "remember what happened last time?"

You know, the last time the salt was disturbed and ended up crashing up around us.

Instead, she takes a solid-looking rock and begins hacking at the ground. Her aching muscles cry out in protest, but years on Jakku have taught her that she can't give in to such pleas.

When she thinks she's made a big enough hole, she stands back. Kylo, who's been sitting down, looks up. Rey can't make out any emotion on his face, and tries not to feel disappointed for her efforts.

Instead, she silently ducks under the enlarged entrance and enters the lagoon.

She takes in a huge breath. The air here doesn't sting her nose like the air in the crack does.

She takes off her shoes and dips her feet in the water, marveling at how much better she feels instantaneously. She looks over to see Kylo reluctantly doing the same thing.

That was close.

She's lucky to be alive, she knows.

She's survived against all odds. Not just now, but ever since a young man named Finn crashed onto the desert planet of Jakku.

Even before that, she's resisted arrest and abduction by thrives, pillagers, and smugglers. She's a survivor.

She smiles, and wiggles her toes deep into the salt sand. The edges of her mouth ache with the effort, but she does it anyway.

Now she meditates.

She sits down right there in the water, folds her legs in on themselves, closes her eyes, and listens to the Force.

She can feel it flowing through her, through the planet (which she knows is very Force sensitive), and though she wishes not to admit it, through Kylo.

Then, she feels herself rising.

She almost loses concentration out of pure shock. No! Keep going! Nothing is wrong! Her eyes squint. She doesn't remember any conventional Jedi accidentally lifting themselves in the air.

Well, maybe I'm not a conventional Jedi.

She smiles to herself. She doesn't know why, but this comforts her. It comforts her to know that she may not turn out to be exactly like Luke, or Obi-Wan, or Yoda.

Boo.

Rey shrieks.

But it's soon silenced with her mouth coming in contact with harsh, cold water. She forces her legs to move and push her to the surface, and to fulfill her sudden but desperate need for air.

She gasps out, gulping as many mouthfuls of air that her lungs can handle. Once she's sure she's not in danger of running out, she emerges, and glares daggers at Kylo Ren.

He's smiling, a rarity Rey's sure she'll never see again.

Unless it's at my expense.

"Very funny." She manages to choke out.

She shakes the water off her arms and legs, and realizes with a start that her scrapes... feel better than when she fell. Her eyes widen, and she checks her skinned knees.

They're healing.

"What...?"

"Sometimes all scratches need to heal is water. Of course, you lived on a planet where there wasn't any water, but it's helpful now."

"Couldn't you have told me that in any other way?"

"I figured you wouldn't listen to me."

Very true... Rey can't help but agree.

"Okay, fine, you win. What're we going to do now?" Rey asks.

Kylo shrugs. "Recover, I guess. It's afternoon. We'll need all day tomorrow to remove the debris and regain our crater. After we finally get a stable shelter, we might be able to start thinking about rescue."

That was a much bigger explanation than Rey bargained for. But it comforts her that at least someone has a plan.

Rey unwraps her armbands and wrings then out, still mulling over the plan. "Okay." She finally agrees.

"Okay? That's it?"

Rey nods, wraps her armbands, and contents herself with caring for the creature.

"We never decided on a name." Kylo notes.

"I didn't think you cared so much."

"As long as it's none of your Resistance friends, I don't."

"So you're fine with the name 'Windu'?"

"Who?"

"He tried to stop the Emperor, when he was rising to power. He failed deeply and fell off a skyscraper. Isn't that how you and the creature met?"

"More or less."

Rey continues to talk throughout the afternoon, about her life on Jakku to the adventure with the Rathtars, to the full story of Windu and Palpatine (which she'd heard from Unkar Plutt for as long as she could remember). Kylo listens, or at least looks like he does.

For Rey, talking is a way of relieving her stress, even though she's well aware that Kylo could simply read her mind and find out whatever he pleases. But since she has his attention, she brings up his killing of Han Solo, and how she'd beaten him at a Lightsaber battle. She considers herself a good storyteller, and tries to make it as dramatic as possible, at some points even forgetting that her opponent in that very battle is sitting not ten feet away, listening, not saying a word.

Not even complaining.

Rey appreciates his gesture, if there is one, of politeness. When Rey finishes this particular story (ending up with her giving the Lightsaber to Luke on the "mystery planet"; Rey still won't give its location), it's almost dark.

She finishes with a simple "The end," and with that, turns to care for Windu. She looks up to hear a repetitive and new noise; she realizes it's clapping. She tries for a smile, stands, and uneasily takes a bow.

For someone who's only talked to herself for fifteen years, I do pretty good.

Rey sits back down against the edge of the crater, and strokes Windu's harsh fur. It's a very strange feeling. Rey imagines it's what stroking a bed of nails feels like. She's determined that the crystals on Windu are— surprise — salt.

"Can I tell a story?"

The voice surprises her, and she looks up to see Kylo sitting across the crater from her, looking up at the stars.

"I suppose," Rey replies, trying to sound conversational. Inwardly, though, she's worried.

She puts down Windu as he begins.

"Once upon a time, two very well loved people gave birth to a baby, who they, too, loved very much. A war had ended not ten years previously, with a great Sith Lord destroyed in its wake. It was up to the two parents to restore order and peace throughout the galaxy."

He looks to make sure Rey's listening. She is.

"As you can probably imagine, it was a very hard job, especially with the particularly... sketchy parts of the galaxy. So the two parents left often, and often brought their son with them. They visited so many amazing places it was hard to keep track, each time leaving with smiles on their faces and a planet full of happy, loving people waving them goodbye as they departed."

Rey smiles.

That sounds nice.

"Then a friend of theirs caught wind of a new organization that was planning to overthrow the new government system. When the parents heard this, their peaceful missions ended immediately and they shut themselves in planning rooms for hours, even days, at a time. For awhile, they totally and completely forgot about their son."

Kylo's looking down now. Rey's brow furrows.

"When they finally remembered him, it was for a brief time. By this time, the boy was... four? Five, maybe. And he was beginning to show signs of being Force sensitive. At this point, the stress of the new organization's rise had cracked the parents, and they argued and threw things at each other. Sometimes the objects hit the son, who learned to deflect them using a variation of the Force. Finally, the mother came up with an idea to send the son to train with a Jedi master. Though the parents didn't say it aloud, the son knew it was just so they could focus fully on their efforts."

Kylo's voice hardens. Rey tries not to let on how horrified she is.

"At the Jedi master's academy, the son tried his best to please his new master, but he missed his parents. They never visited, even though they promised they would. The son grew powerful, but he also grew sad and cold. When he was about nine or ten, a voice in his head spoke to him. It was beckoning him, urging him to give in to his feelings and join the Dark Side. This scared the son so much he didn't sleep for a week."

Rey's eyes widen. Kylo still looks uncomfortable.

"But when he does, the voice came back. Again, the boy screamed for the master and was too scared to sleep for a long time. But the third time, the son listened to the voice and began his path to the Dark Side."

This is about... him. But how could Han and Leia...?

"Eventually, when he turned fifteen, he'd fully completed his path to the Dark Side, still even over the watchful eye of the Jedi Master. When the voice in his head told him to do something, he obliged. And that included slaughtering the students of the Jedi Master's academy."

Kylo pauses, apparently deep in thought.

"When the deed was done, the voice in his head materialized to form a humanlike figure, that came to meet him and get him. The son joined the Dark Side, and didn't see either of his parents for ten years."

I know what's coming next.

"Until one day, the son was looking for an escaped prisoner, when he sensed not only the Force sensitive escapee but also his father. He remembered what his new master had told him about this particular scenario, and did as he asked. He... he murdered his own father because of his master."

Does... can he possibly regret it?

"It was the worst mistake he ever made. His father's sidekick adequately punished him, but more than that, he extinguished a light that had brought him to life in the first place. Since then, he's been asked to murder two people. He has killed neither, and refuses to anyway. However, he continues with the practices of the Dark Side because he knows the Light Side isn't much, if at all, better. The Light Side is what turned his parents against him. The Light Side is what caused his master to hate him so much. The Light Side is just as flawed as the Dark."

There's a long pause. Rey swallows.

"The end."

I can't believe I just did that. Supreme Leader Snoke is going to kill me.

Kylo looks across the crater at Rey, still sopping wet, and thinks he can see tears in her eyes.

Nah. I was just talking.

I hope she doesn't think that was a big ploy to turn her over to the Dark Side or something.

He shrugs. "Anyway. Let me know if... er… Windu wakes up. I'll be over here." He says, motioning over to a large boulder that, in his opinion, doesn't look like it's made of salt.

"Y-you're right."

Oh, Force.

"About what?"

Her eyes are as wide as... no, not Death Stars... Starkiller Bases.

"The Light is just as flawed as the Dark."

"Don't get any ideas about joining the Dark Side or anything, Scavenger."

"I have a name. I've heard you use it."

"Whatever."

"And I'm not joining the Dark Side. Nuh-uh." She verifies, shaking her head so violently her buns come loose.

"Okay, okay. Good night."

He can feel Rey's gaze on his every move as he tries to climb the boulder. He doesn't see what's so interesting.

Probably just the Nerfherder waste about the Light and the Dark Side.

"Don't read too much into it. I was just talking." He says, just to make sure.

"Yeah, okay. It's just... the Light Side is obsessed with keeping in and suppressing their feelings, right?"

"Uh, yes."

"But the Dark Side is all about expressing those feelings, but also... getting power from pain. Is that correct?"

"More or less."

"You can't win!" Rey exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Yeah, well, that's life, so I guess you'll just have to... pick a side."

"That's not fair."

Kylo smiles.

"Life isn't fair, Scavenger."

"Ha ha."

Kylo's made it to the top of the boulder, and is propping his head up on his arms, looking up to the stars. He remembers star systems he did when he was younger, and tries to think if he did this particular system or not.

"Hey, Ach-To's in this system, isn't it?"

"What? Um... I don't know! Maybe!" Rey's voice is strangely high pitched.

That's odd. I was just asking about— Wait a second.

She knows he knows.

"Please don't... Snoke would..."

"There's absolutely no way for me to get any information to Snoke anyway. Calm down." Kylo mutters, knowing that even if he did have access to Snoke, he would never contact his master.

It's been a nice break away from the super-controlling maniac.

He hears shuffling, and realizes that Rey must be laying down too. If he squints, he can just make out Windu from the light bouncing off his crystallized fur.

And even though he's laying down on a boulder in the open air with his sworn enemy just across the lagoon, Kylo can't think of a time recently when he's been more at ease.

Finn feels terrible.

Today has been the first day he's been fully conscious, and the first news he received is that Rey is missing in action, and still hasn't been found.

Not exactly what he wanted to hear, especially with what happened last time with Kylo Ren.

Although, from what he's heard, Rey dominated over Kylo Ren so amazingly he wouldn't be sensible enough to show his face around for the next few decades.

Probably an exaggeration, but Finn likes hearing the stories anyway.

To make matters worse, the Resistance shot down a TIE-Fighter two days ago that was apparently heading directly for their base.

Not long before that, a very damaged X-Wing was rumored to have been sighted going along the same path.

Finn is hoping against hope that neither of the ships contained the likes of Rey, especially because the Resistance gave up looking for survivors days ago.

They suspect that both ships crashed in a crater less than two hundred miles from the base, but there's so little a chance that survivors exist that the already shorthanded staff has found better ways to occupy their time.

Finn has found this extremely irksome.

The only one who will listen to him is Poe.

Ah, what would Finn do without Poe?

Poe Dameron was the only one who agreed to go with him tomorrow on a prohibited excursion to find the wrecks. Poe was the one who helped him get through his injury. Poe was the one who helped him talk to Luke about Rey when he arrived (and quickly departed for unknown reasons) yesterday.

Finn and Poe were going to find Rey. He just knows it.

And if they find Kylo Ren along the way?

So be it.

Finn is better now.

And ready to fight.

Kylo is woken up by a very scary looking snout in his face.

"Ow! What the-?!"

It takes him a moment to shake off the culprit.

Oh. It's just Windu.

Wait! Windu's conscious! This is big news!

"Um, R—"

He stops himself when he looks down at her. She's still fast asleep.

He wishes she wasn't. Windu obviously hadn't warmed up to him.

How on Alderaan has she not been woken up by it yet? Look at all the noise it's making!

As if on cue, Windu scrapes its sharp claws on the boulder as if preparing for battle.

It's not like there was much noise on Jakku or anything. She didn't have any neighbors for hundreds of miles.

And yet...

I guess Jedi are good sleepers... maybe.

Windu charges off the boulder into the lagoon, making an enormous splash and drenching Kylo.

But remember what happened a few nights ago? She was dreaming about... something.

I suppose that's normal. I have bad dreams, too.

Windu's back on the boulder, readying himself for another jump, but Kylo holds him back. The creature struggles under Kylo's wrath.

Windu.

Of course he's heard the name before. He's memorized the legend: how poor Anakin got seduced by the Dark Side because of true love or whatever, but how Windu stood in the way.

Poor Windu.

Windu was hurled out the window, purple Lightsaber and all.

Anakin became Darth Vader, and terror reigned across the galaxy.

He's heard the story so many times before.

How his precious uncle had come to save the day. How he'd just barely missed the chance at saving his father's life, all because Palpatine tortured him.

Please. On a regular day, I get tortured twice or three times. More, lately, because Rey beat me at a Lightsaber duel.

Well; not lately.

Lately has been completely torture-free.

Well, maybe except for yesterday.

When the very world was collapsing around them— that felt like torture.

Yesterday had also marked the first time he had ever successfully produced a Force shield against the collapsing cliffs. He'd protected himself, Windu, and Rey in a split second of complete panic, and all it took was him to raise his arms.

Maybe that's what made Luke hate him so much.

His power.

He knew he had more of it than Luke.

Luke knew it too.

He was able to read minds and freeze things in midair before he could really climb stairs.

And new powers always seemed to come to him in the toughest of times. Like this one.

He was grateful for it, though. It allowed him to protect himself, the stupid creature (which was now vainly attempting to escape the crater), and Rey.

He didn't know why he'd saved her. Perhaps it was because she hadn't killed him when she'd found him wounded beside his ship.

Perhaps he was repaying the favor.

But he knows that she discovered something last night.

He doesn't know what it is, or what significance it has, but he knows that she now knows something he doesn't.

And that makes him anxious.

She seemed to want to share it last night. She'll probably want to today. And maybe it's a good thing. As long as she doesn't suddenly want to turn to the Dark Side...

He can't give himself a good reason why he doesn't want her to turn. Maybe it's just because he doesn't want her to go through the vigorous training and mind torture that he's been through. Maybe he doesn't want her as an ally in general.

Or maybe it's because with her on my side, we'd be unstoppable.

And try as he might, Kylo can't seem to make himself see that as an advantage.

"Lost in thought?"

Kylo looks up. Rey's standing now, albeit a little drowsily, and she has Windu in her arms. Kylo looks around himself. He can't remember ever witnessing Windu ceasing his attempts.

"Sort of. Um... are you ready to head back?"

Rey shakes her head.

"What, then?"

She jumps up, and begins clambering over the various rocks and brushes of the lagoon. Eventually, Kylo thinks, she finds what she's looking for and picks it up.

Oh, no.

It's a leaf.

A hard, stiff, tiny leaf.

"I'm not eating that."

Rey looks at him curiously. "I won't make you. But I think if you don't you'd starve."

That's true. Kylo's stomach has been growling for days and he's ignored it.

"Get down here and I'll show you what's edible."

Kylo frowns. Picking leaves to eat isn't his idea of fun, nor sophistication. But when Windu scrambles up his rock to do another dive, he decides it's time to go.

It takes him longer than it took Rey to get to the spot she's at. She has a small pile ready to eat, and is moving on to the next bush. Kylo notices she leaves about three quarters of the plant still on the bush.

I see. That way it can stay alive if we ever need more.

After watching Rey's technique, he decides he's ready to try it on his own. To his surprise, the leaves take a good amount of effort to be pulled off their branches.

Eventually, after much struggle, Kylo obtains a decent amount of the tough, tiny leaves. Rey's covered much more ground than he has.

Now she's on the ground, untying her arm bands again. Kylo wonders why.

He finishes on the plant he's on, gathers his collection of leaves in his hands, and slowly makes his way over to Rey, being careful not to spill.

Her arm bands are laid out on the sand, and she's piling the leaves onto them.

"What are you doing?"

She doesn't look up when she responds.

"It's better if we soak them. They'll become less tough that way."

Without thinking, Kylo says, "How do you know so much about this plant?"

She ties the corners of her arm bands together, forming a knot and trapping the leaves inside. "They're called No Man's Plants. They're supposed to be inedible, but they're actually a good source of nutrition. I used to eat them all the time before I got good at scavenging."

Impressive.

How could you trust your enemy with eating an inedible food? Don't eat it!

Kylo's stomach says otherwise.

"How long do they have to soak?"

"I dunno. An hour would be best, but half an hour would probably be fine."

Kylo frowns, but Rey seems to be one step ahead of him.

"I think you can survive another half hour." There's humor in her voice.

"Of course I can."

She raises her eyebrows as she turns away. "Whatever you say."

She appears to look around for Windu, locates him in the center of the pool, and laughs. Windu does a somersault and resurfaces, obviously pleased at the attention.

"Did they come last night?"

"No." Kylo's just realized it himself. There was no need to guard last night; no animals had come.

"I wonder why."

"Maybe your pet here was just the stupid one." Kylo offers.

Rey laughs and shakes her head. "If anything, he's the smart one."

She steps into the water, letting it go up to her knees before stopping and making sure the bundle is okay.

"Hey, pass me some salt." She abruptly requests.

"What?"

"I think it'll add flavor! Am I not genius?"

Flavor? Who cares about flavor? First Order food is bland, and that's the way most people like it.

Rey grows impatient. "Come on."

"Fine." Kylo grabs a chunk of salt and throws it at Rey. She catches it one-handed. "Just don't add too much."

"Wasn't planning on it."

She pulls out her Lightsaber and slices away a small sliver of salt, then sprinkles it over the bundle like an expert chef. It takes all Kylo's willpower not to laugh.

Some Knight of Ren.

Kylo resumes his usual seat against the crater, sits down, and mindlessly fiddles with his Lightsaber.

"Is that why you came here?"

"What?"

"To fix your Lightsaber."

Kylo scoffs. "It was never broken."

"To complete it, then."

Kylo pauses. "Yeah, pretty much."

"It's always been pretty unstable."

"I don't need someone criticizing my Lightsaber, thanks. Someone murdered thirty kids with yours."

"What? You mean Anakin?"

"Darth Vader, yeah."

"Pretty sure he was still Anakin when he did that."

Kylo shrugs. "Right, sure. Anakin."

Rey pulls out her own Lightsaber and sighs. "Why do they always have to have such a wretched past?"

"What do you mean?"

"Used Lightsabers. This is the Lightsaber that killed thirty kids, Tuskan Raiders, and the Lightsaber that fell into the abyss seconds before Vader told Luke that he was his father."

Kylo struggles to answer.

"Well, to start, Lightsabers usually aren't used."

"What are you implying?"

Oops.

"Nothing, just stating a fact."

He can almost hear her mental gears working. He knows she's probably trying to find the supposed hidden message in his words.

Apparently her efforts are fruitless, for eventually she seems to give up and resume tending to the bundle.

It's then that Kylo realizes that he really did hear her mental gears clicking. Or something like it. Because now they've stopped.

Kylo finds his ability to sense this extremely unnerving.

A/N: There you have it! This chapter was really long, so do excuse me if I don't post another chapter tomorrow. I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Please make sure to leave a review if you want to, and if you really like it, please follow and favorite. Also, sorry I sacrificed Rey's POV for Finn's in this chapter— you'll get more of Rey soon enough, though. Additionally, in case you haven't noticed, I figured out the page breaks. Hope this makes it more enjoyable for you guys! Sorry once again for the issues with chapters 1-2 in terms of those. See you soon!