Hi everyone! Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! Writing this has been a major task and your love and support gives me the strength to go on, so thank you so much!
I would also like to give a shout out to HornedGoddess, petite-plume-sage, JuliaAurelia, DDLo18, Azera-v, SaintsFan1, Aleta Wolff, Nami Swannn, Sam, tkru, katinkers, ShortySC22, Selphie Ivy, and our unnamed guests who reviewed this story! You guys are awesome and your reviews inspire me to write faster! ; ) A very special thank you goes out to starwars12 for your review! I'm so glad this is your favorite story! You totally made my day!
I was made aware of the fact that some of you were upset with me for killing of Leia. I apologize for upsetting you, as that was not my intention. As a writer, I strive to make my stories as realistic as I possibly can for the setting. War is ugly, and unfortunately, not everyone gets to live. I had already planned to kill off two more major characters in this chapter, and I struggled with my decision to do that after reading your reviews. I would love to let everyone live, but that's just not my style. I also would like to avoid having a lynch mob at my door, so after much thought I believe I have come to a solution that will please everyone.
I will write the chapter as I initially intended, with two major character deaths. Rey and Kylo Ren will both live to see the end of the chapter, but I can't make promises for anyone else. So, if you don't want to read about anyone dying, I will insert 00000000 before and after the scene. If you don't want anyone to die, skip the scene. It's that simple. I will even add a very short alternate version in the authors note at the end where everyone lives and their disappearances will be explained in a fun and non-deadly way. There! Everyone can be happy!
Anyways, get out your tiny violins and buckle your seatbelts, 'cause this chapter has more angst and gets more action than an emo teenager! Enjoy!
Chapter 4: Smoke and Mirrors
Kylo Ren kissed her passionately, his lips taking hers in greedily. Rey could feel the need behind his kiss, the purely animal drive that controlled him.
Control. Something that he had always been lacking, but at the moment Rey found that she didn't care. She had lost control too.
His lips left hers and began trailing down her neck with need. Rey gasped for air, moaning at the feel of his tongue on the sensitive skin of her throat. Her hands trailed down his chest, reveling in the feel of hard muscle. She reached his belt and he groaned as she touched him, his need hard against his pants. She made quick work of both his pants and hers.
Ren pulled her onto his lap, and she straddled him, sinking down onto him in one fluid motion. He moaned her name as she began to move, pulling her close. She could feel his hot breath on her ear, and it only served to make her grind against him faster.
Rey tangled her hands in his dark curls and kissed him passionately, trying desperately to convey everything she felt for him in that one kiss. He was her everything, and the feel of him inside of her was all she ever wanted and more.
His hips bucked up into her, and as he finished he moaned her name once again. Rey finished with him, her orgasm taking her over the edge of pleasure. They laid back on the bed, Rey resting her head on his chest and matching the erratic beat of his heart to her own.
"You are mine Rey, and I am yours," he whispered. "For as long as I live, it will only be you. Please don't go."
Rey could feel tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I won't," she told him. "I promise. I won't leave you."
"The scavenger girl abandoned you Kylo Ren," a strange nasally voice sounded out. "You mean nothing to her."
"No!" Rey argued. "It's not like that! You don't understand!"
She looked to his face, wanting to tell him it was an accident, needing to let him know that she would never leave him like that. Instead of meeting his dark eyes, all she could see was the mask.
"No! Listen to me Ren!" she begged.
She reached for him, but he was gone, leaving her alone in the bed. She could feel hot tears streaming down her face.
"No. Please don't leave…" she begged, but he was already gone.
Rey woke up in a cold sweat. Tears poured from her eyes, soaking her pillow and Ren's cloak. Her body shoot violently as she cried, unable to stop. What had started out as a beautiful dream had quickly spiraled into a nightmare.
It was not her first. She had suffered from nightmares every single night since she had lost him. The dark, confining chamber that she called her room did not make matters better.
It had been two months since Hoth. She had cried until she thought that she was no longer capable of tears, and then she cried some more. The doctor they had forced her to see had diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder, but Rey knew better. PTSD was not the cause of her suffering. It wasn't the after effects of her ordeal, but the loss of him that she grieved.
Rey remembered how lost and afraid she had been when she was late getting her monthly blood. She knew that she and Kylo Ren had been foolish on Hoth, only living in the moment, and she feared the worst. She had cried herself to sleep for a week before she finally bled. It had been a relief to her, until she realized that she had nothing left of him to hold on to. Even his cloak no longer smelled of him.
Rey had spent every night trying to reach out to Ren through the Force. She could feel his presence, though it was very dim. His aura was all rage and hate. Despite her best efforts, she had not been able to communicate with him. She didn't know if he was blocking her from his mind, or if she was simply not strong enough to reach him at such a distance.
She had hoped that he would come for her, but now that hope seemed like the far off dream of a stupid little girl. In Ren's eyes she had betrayed him by breaking her promise. He would not come for her, because he believed that she had made her choice.
Life with the Resistance had not been easy either. She had to give some credit to Finn for trying. He brought her dinner and ate with her in her quarters every single night, and he tried to make her feel like she was a part of the Resistance, but both of them knew that was not the case.
She was a prisoner. The stares and looks from other members of the Resistance were too obvious and too aloof. Ever since she had told the story of how she survived, they had looked at her differently. No one here had any love for Kylo Ren. She wasn't the enemy, but she had fraternized with the enemy, which in their eyes was just as bad.
Rey was restricted to only certain areas of the new Resistance base. She was allowed to go to the mess hall, her room, and a few of the common areas, but nowhere else. It seemed that they did not trust her unless she was in a place where she could be watched. Finn had coaxed her out of her room a few times, but the stares were always present, and eventually she had decided she no longer wanted to leave her quarters.
Her first week on the base, Rey had tried to meet with General Organa. If anyone could understand, it would have been her. Except that she was dead.
Rey had been shocked to hear that she had died on Hoth, and rumor was that Kylo Ren had killed her. One of the Resistance fighters claimed that he saw Kylo Ren standing over her body as they took off.
She should have believed the rumors, should have hated him for the monster that he was, but she couldn't. Every time she dreamed, she saw his lopsided grin and the softness in his eyes. She felt his body on hers, and remembered the way his lips started a fire in her very core.
It was the only way she could think of him now. He was her ally and her lover, not her enemy.
Somehow she had to make things right with him. She had to go to him. Even if he was angry and rejected her, she at least had to try. If she didn't try and she stayed with the Resistance, she would always wonder what could have happened.
Rey buried her face in Kylo Ren's cloak and closed her eyes. She would come up with a plan and she would find Ren. She had to. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally fell asleep again, and when she dreamed, it was of Kylo Ren's lips on hers.
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Poe and Finn had spent the last hour in the command center of their new base on Takodana. They had chosen Takodana, because it was the last place the First Order would look for them.
They had built a small base amidst the rubble of the First Order strike only months before. From the air, the rubble hid them, and it was highly unlikely that the First Order would approach by ground unless someone tipped them off. It was the perfect place for their ragtag group to lick their wounds from Hoth and get themselves back together.
With no real leader at their base, Poe had stepped in and taken charge, but the job was wearing on him. Finn could see dark circles under his eyes, and he had been drinking much more than usual.
The two of them stood around a large holomap that R2-D2 and BB-8 were displaying together.
"I think I've figured out where Luke Skywalker is," Poe announced. "There's a planet right here where the map indicates. It's not on our maps, so I'm not exactly sure of the coordinates, but I think that's where he is."
He pointed to a small dot on BB-8's portion of the map. Finn took in the information thoughtfully.
"Ok so what's the plan? Are we sending someone to look for him?" he asked.
"Actually," Poe began slowly. "I was thinking about going myself."
Finn looked at him skeptically. "Who's going to run the base if you leave? The chain of command is pretty unstable right now as it is."
"I've called our base on Q'Dar and they're sending someone over in a few weeks to run the place." Poe told him. "I'm not leader material Finn. I don't like it, and the job's making me crazy. I just want to fly my X-wings and not worry about the logistics."
"Fair enough," Finn agreed. "You've done a good job running the base, but I understand. I know it's been stressful on you. If you leave, who will be in charge until your replacement gets here?"
Poe looked at him for a long time, and it finally dawned on Finn that he was thinking of him.
"Me?" he gaped. "Why me?"
"I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else here. If I asked you, would you do it?"
"Yeah… I mean… what about Jessika?"
Poe grinned slyly. "Yeah, about that…" he drawled. "Jessika's coming with me."
"What? Did I miss something?" Finn asked perplexed.
Poe just grinned at him.
"You two are seriously together?"
"Had a few drinks with her last night. We finally had our DTR talk. It's official now," Poe grinned.
"Congrats man!" Finn exclaimed, grinning back at him. "I'm really happy for you."
"I really like her a lot," Poe continued. "That's why I want her to come with me. I'm afraid if she stays here, she'll find somebody else, and we can't have that happening."
Finn laughed with his friend. "I get it man. Good for you. Yeah, I'll take over while you're gone."
"I knew I could count on you. You shouldn't have to do too much. Just make sure everyone behaves and keep an eye out for the First Order. If the techs hear anything, they'll let you know. And just in case…"
Poe took Finn over to the command center main computer, and pointed underneath. "There's a battery powered box down here with a button on it. If anything happens where you feel you can't defend the base, hit the button. There's two tons of explosives hooked up underground. This place will blow sky high taking out you and everyone within a five mile radius."
"I'll try to avoid that," Finn joked. "But good to know it's there all the same."
"I really appreciate your friendship," Poe said honestly. "I couldn't have held this base together over the last two months without you."
"Don't mention it," Finn grinned. "You've always had my back, so it's the least I could do. How about you let me buy you a drink before you head out?"
"You know it brother. There's a pod race on this week, and I'm determined to beat Jessika this time. I might just kill myself if I have to spend months in a ship listening to her brag about how she was right."
Finn laughed and clapped Poe on the back. He understood why he had to leave, but he would be lying if he said he wouldn't miss him. He only hoped that he could hold the base together half as well as Poe had. It was certainly going to be a challenge.
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Kylo Ren returned to his quarters only to be immediately enraged. Snoke had sent him a girl.
The girl was young, probably no older than eighteen, with blond hair and pretty blue eyes. She was scantily clad and sitting on his couch. When he walked in, the girl looked at him and flashed him a forced grin.
"Hello Commander Ren," she greeted slowly. "Supreme Leader Snoke has sent me as a gift to you for your valor in battle. You have slain many Resistance fighters, and he wishes to reward you."
He barely glanced at her before he walked to his bedroom. Behind him, he could feel the girl watching him with a mix of fear and interest. He dug through his closet until he found an old black long sleeve shirt and pants that he had worn several years ago. He walked back out to the girl, tossing her the clothes.
"Put these on, you look like a whore. Then get the hell out," he growled at her beneath his mask.
"But… Supreme Leader Snoke gave me direct orders to…"
"I don't give a shit what Supreme Leader Snoke told you to do!" he roared, turning on her. "I said to get the hell out!"
The girl shrank back in fear, and Kylo Ren forced himself to take his voice down a notch. He sighed, and waved his hand in front of her.
"You will put the clothes on. You will leave this room. You will reevaluate your life and find that you want a new career."
He walked away from her, closing the door to his bedroom behind him. He waited until he heard her leave before he let his anger take over.
Kylo Ren grabbed the lamp next to his bedside, and threw it against the door, breaking it into a thousand pieces. He was angry, no, he was furious, though that seemed to have been his mood most of the time as of late. The stormtroopers were terrified of him, hell, the entire First Order was terrified of him right now.
The dark side of the Force had consumed him, and there was no light in him, save for Rey. The memory of their time together was the only good that he had left, though it was fading with each passing day.
He briefly wondered if Rey was with child, and if she was, if she would find some way to tell him, or just merely destroy it. The latter would certainly be the more sensible choice for her. Ren's stomach turned at the thought of Rey destroying their child, and he pushed the thought from his mind entirely. He had been far too careless with both his heart and his body and now he was paying the price.
Supreme Leader Snoke had not been pleased when he had learned of Kylo Ren's treachery. In the end, ironically, it was his mother's death that had saved his life. If Leia had lived, Snoke would have killed him. He even said as much, though the punishment he had received had been almost as bad. The bruise on his neck had faded away a month ago, but he still bore scars across his body from Snoke's Force lightning.
He had been reinstated, but the message was clear. This was his second and last chance. Should he prove to be disobedient in any way, Snoke would not hesitate to kill him.
Kylo Ren growled low in his throat, the sound strained through his mask. He had not taken it off except to shower since Hoth, mostly because he couldn't stand to look at his own face. He wore it everywhere, even in his quarters, and even when he slept, or tried to sleep anyways. He hadn't slept through the night since he was with Rey and it showed.
Dark circles had become permanent fixtures under his eyes and his face lacked any life. His skin was pale and his eyes were cold and hard now. At least that was what he looked like a month ago. He broke his only mirror after that, unable to face his own disgusting decline.
His mother's death and Rey's betrayal weighed more heavily on him than he cared to admit. He had the galaxy at his fingertips and all he could think of was ending his own miserable existence.
A knock on his door brought him out of his reverie.
"I told you to get the hell out!" he growled. "Are you deaf as well as dumb?"
"Commander Ren," a female voice called out from the other side of the door. "General Hux requests your presence in the command center immediately."
Ren opened the door slowly to find the shiny uniform of Captain Phasma on the other side.
"General Hux requests my presence at this hour of the night?" he asked skeptically.
"Yes sir," she confirmed. "He has news of a Resistance outpost."
That caught his attention.
He exited his quarters, shutting the door behind him, and followed Phasma down the hallway. For a few minutes neither of them spoke, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, it was Captain Phasma who broke the silence.
"I didn't know General Organa personally," she began slowly. "We've been on opposite sides of this war from the beginning, but I respected the hell out of her, and I was sorry to hear about her death."
"Any particular reason you're telling me this Captain?" Kylo Ren growled.
"She's was your mother," Phasma replied simply. "And it's okay for you to grieve her, even if everyone else tells you it's not. If you need someone to talk to, I'll listen, and I won't tell anyone."
Kylo Ren regarded her for a moment before speaking.
"I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing Captain Phasma, but I assure you I am fine. I will keep this conversation between us, as I know General Hux would not be pleased by it."
He couldn't see her face under the helmet, but her body stiffened visibly at his words.
"I know all about you and Hux," Ren admitted slyly. "I think everyone in the First Order knows, or at least suspects. It's not like you two are quiet."
Kylo Ren smirked beneath his mask, knowing that he had embarrassed her.
"You can do better, you know?" he added.
"Sure I can do better," she drawled sarcastically. "It's pretty funny to hear coming from you though. Are you really any better than Hux yourself?"
By this time they had made it to the command center. Kylo Ren began keying in the password to go inside. The door clicked and opened with a whoosh.
"No," he said simply. "I'm worse."
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General Hux was waiting for him in the command center, a holomap spread out before him. At his entrance, the General looked up in greeting.
"Kylo Ren, so good of you to finally join me," he sneered. "That girl Snoke sent you too much fun to leave?"
"I believe that my sex life is none of your business Hux," Ren spat. "Why is it that you felt the need to call me down here at this hour? I don't exactly have time for petty pissing contests with you."
Hux smirked before pointing to the holomap in front of him.
"We've identified the location of two Resistance bases, one of which we believe holds the remnants of General Organa's team. We've located one base on Coruscant, and what seems to be the Resistance's main base on Takodana.
For a moment, Ren couldn't breathe, though he tried not to let Hux see that there was a problem. Truthfully, he had known about the base on Takodana for some time. Rey was there, he could feel it through the Force. He had not shared this information with Hux, because he did not want to be forced to kill her.
Yes, she had left him. Yes, she had rejoined the Resistance, but neither of those truths made the task of killing her any more palpable to him. He played his dread off with surprise, hoping to fool the General.
"Takodana?" he asked skeptically. "We about burned that place to the ground. Why would the Resistance choose to return there? What is left for them?"
"Precisely, Commander," Hux drawled. "That's what they want you to think. They've rebuilt from the ground up, and there is now a viable Resistance base there."
"Interesting…" Kylo Ren said thoughtfully.
"We're planning an attack on both bases, mere minutes apart. We're going to use a smoke and mirrors tactic, where one team will hit the Coruscant base, and in the confusion another team will hit the base on Takodana."
"A clever strategy General," Kylo Ren conceded.
"I will lead one team and you will lead the other," Hux continued. "Would you prefer to lead the Coruscant team or the Takodana team?"
Kylo Ren gave it thought. Rey was on Takodana. If he went to Takodana, he would be forced to kill her, and he would succeed. If Hux went to Takodana, he might kill her, or she might best him and get away. The choice was clear to him.
"I'll take the Coruscant team," he said slowly, his voice sounding cold and mechanical beneath his mask. "You take Takodana."
"You would let me have all the glory in taking down the Resistance home base?" Hux asked skeptically. "I assumed that since you missed the last home base strike, that you would want this one."
Ren looked into General Hux's smug face and knew that he was being tested.
"I have already destroyed Takodana once," he replied carefully. "I have no desire to do so again."
Hux nodded, though he could still see suspicion in the General's eyes.
"Very well then. I will prepare our strike teams. Be ready to move out in a few days time."
"I am always ready General," Ren scoffed. "And see to it that you don't disturb me at this hour again, or next time you won't find me in such a good mood."
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"You suck at betting," Jessika said bluntly, laughing as she took Poe's last credits. She was wearing a skin-tight Resistance jacket, and her dark hair fell down her back in perfect waves. Finn didn't fail to notice the way Poe looked her up and down, almost as though she was the last woman he would ever see.
"You have to be cheating somehow!" Poe protested. "No one is that good at choosing the winner of every single pod race."
"You only lose because you choose all of the Hutt's relatives to win. They're all terrible. Haven't you figured that out by now? Your mom races better than those guys."
"I resent you bringing my mother into this," Poe frowned. "She's a nice lady."
"You two fight like an old married couple," Finn grunted. "And I'm really starting to feel like the third wheel."
"Don't worry about that," Jessika flashed him a grin. "I'm leaving so you boys can hang out for awhile."
She gave Poe a quick kiss and a wink, before heading out, leaving him and Finn alone together in the Resistance's bar. Poe ordered them another round of drinks, passing Poe a glass of whiskey.
"You all ready to go for tomorrow?" Finn asked him as he took a drink.
"I think so. Ready as I'll ever be. Keep and eye out for the First Order after I leave. Some of our guys on Coruscant sent me an encoded message saying that they had seen a First Order drone hanging around their camp a few days ago. They're afraid the First Order is going to move on them soon, and they have every right to be. We've lost five different bases over the last six weeks. Completely annihilated. No one made it out. Kylo Ren saw to that personally. The bastard's relentless. He's led every single attack and slaughtered our fighters like dogs."
"Rey claims they have some kind of bond through the Force," Finn said slowly, as though he was very tired. "No doubt he knows where we are. Why has he not come for us? Unless Rey is right about him it doesn't make any sense."
Poe shrugged nonchalantly. "We did a pretty good job of hiding the place, and who knows if all that stuff about Force bonds is even true. I like Rey, but she's different now, and I don't trust her."
He eyed Finn for a moment before continuing.
"I've been meaning to ask you this," Poe ventured cautiously. "But do you think Kylo Ren's controlling her mind somehow? Or do you think she sincerely wants to find him? I'm a little bit concerned for the security of our base if he's been getting in her mind."
"I don't understand why, but I think she really wants to go look for him," Finn sighed. "She keeps telling me about this bond that they have through the Force. I can't compete with that Poe. I'm losing her to that bastard because I'm not 'Force sensitive'." He used his fingers to add quotation marks to the words as though he didn't quite take the term seriously.
"Have you told her how you feel?" Poe questioned.
"No," Finn said reluctantly. "I want to, I really do. It's just that she keeps talking about Kylo Ren. I mean, the way she talks about him… I think she might be in love with him, Poe. It kills me. All I want is for her to be happy, but she doesn't want to be here. Even if I told her how I felt, I don't think it would matter. She doesn't feel the same way."
He frowned as he took a drink of his whiskey, then on second consideration, he downed the whole glass and gestured for another.
"You never know until you ask her," Poe pointed out. "Tell her how you feel. Ask her about her relationship with Kylo Ren. Lay all the cards out on the table, and if she still doesn't choose you, then at least you tried."
Finn sighed. "I guess you're right. The worst she could do is say that she's not interested, and my life wouldn't be any different than it is now."
"Just go talk to her. Either you can be together, or you can get closure and move on."
Poe took a drink of his own whiskey before becoming more serious.
"I never told you this, but Jessika liked you first," he snorted.
"Huh?"
"Yeah," Poe admitted. "She liked you for awhile, but she knew she couldn't compete as long was Rey was around. That's how she ended up with me. You would have been her first choice though."
"I'm sorry," Finn apologized. "I didn't know."
"Don't be sorry," Poe said flatly. "Jessika's hot, and besides, she's over you now and very much into me. I guess I have Rey to thank for that, so do me a favor and go talk to her. I'm tired of you moping."
Finn took one last drink of his whiskey and stood up to leave.
"Thanks buddy."
Poe slapped him on the back good-naturedly, and grinned at him.
"Don't mention it. Now stop talking to my dumb ass and go get your girl."
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Rey packed what few possessions she had carefully, hiding her pack under the bed in case she was interrupted.
Over the past few days she had spent all of her time planning, and with the planning she had found a purpose. She would leave this place today with or without permission from the Resistance.
She dressed in her gray clothes from Jakku, and tied her hair back in her customary three-bun style. They had taken her lightsaber the day they escaped Hoth. When she woke up and asked about, they had claimed it was only temporary, but she did not have her weapon. That would change today.
Rey had been nice about everything, doing as they told her, playing by their rules, but something within her had finally snapped. She remembered Ren's words to her on Hoth, and they rang more true to her now than they ever had.
You always have a choice, even if someone tells you that you don't. You can choose to obey, or not to obey, either way you're making a choice.
She had finally made a choice that was completely hers. She did not want to hurt anyone, and she sincerely hoped that it would not come to that, but even if it did, she intended to see her choice through. She would steal a fighter, kill whoever got in her way, and she would leave. She would leave and she would find Kylo Ren, of that she was determined.
Rey was about to grab her things and leave when she heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" she called out hesitantly. The clock near her bed read midnight, and she didn't know who would be by at this hour.
"It's Finn," the voice on the other side of the door sounded out. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure," Rey answered uncertainly, opening the door to let him in.
When Finn stepped inside, she was surprised by what she saw. He seemed nervous, very nervous. His hands were shaking slightly and he bit his bottom lip as he looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Rey asked immediately, becoming concerned.
"Nothing's wrong," Finn began uncertainly. "I just need to talk to you about something."
"Well what is it?" Rey queried impatiently. She didn't exactly have time to play twenty questions with Finn right now.
Finn swallowed nervously, shifting from one foot to the other. "I like you Rey," he began unsteadily. "As more than a friend."
Rey felt her blood run cold with his confession. She had suspected that Finn had feelings for her some time ago, but it was one thing to suspect and another to know. Knowing meant that she would have to give him an answer.
"Finn, I don't… You're a great friend, but I don't feel that way about you," she told him honestly.
"It's because of him isn't it?" Finn questioned bitterly. "All you want to do is go find him. Well what happens when you do Rey? Kylo Ren is gone! He killed General Organa, his own mother. He went back to the First Order. He's slaughtering our fighters left and right. If he truly thinks that you left him like you said, what do you think he's going to do when you find him? He's probably going to kill you Rey!"
"I don't know Finn, but I have to try."
"Why?" he asked. "Why do you have to find him? Why do you care? You spent a week surviving on Hoth with him. I get it. You had each other's backs in a tough situation, but why can't you let him go now?"
"I told you Finn, we have some kind of bond through the Force. I see him and feel him all the time. I have no control over it, it just is."
"You didn't answer my question," Finn interrupted. "I know I don't understand the Force. I never will, but forget the Force for just a minute. Forget all about this weird bond you share with Kylo Ren. Think about what kind of man he is. He's not a good man at all Rey. He's evil and twisted by power."
"There's more to him than what you've seen," she argued.
"Is there?" he countered. "It seems pretty clear cut to me. You spend a week in a cave with the guy, and you magically forget all of the horrible things he's done, because of the Force. The damn Force. It's nothing but a mystical power that may or may not even exist! I'm right here Rey! And I'm a better man than Kylo Ren could ever hope to be! Do yourself a favor and forget about him!"
"The Force exists," Rey said sullenly. "And believe me, I've tried to forget him. I can't. He's a part of me now. I don't expect you to understand, but I have to find him."
Finn moved to her until he we mere inches from her face. He tilted her chin up with one hand until she was looking him in the eyes. His expression softened at the sight of her tears, but he remained resolute.
"Look at me Rey," he commanded. "I care about you and I want you to be happy, but I also want what's best for you. If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that you're in love with Kylo Ren I'll help you find him, but you better be honest with me. Don't just do this for me, do it for yourself too."
Rey looked at him, taking in the kindness in his eyes. Finn was a good man and a good friend, but she didn't have feelings for him. She knew that she had feelings for Ren, but she had never labeled it as love, at least not until now.
She thought of his handsome lopsided grin, and the mischievous glint in his eye when he teased her. She remembered how his lips felt on hers, and how good his body felt on top of her. She remembered the way he had come back for her, and his promise to never take another. Rey had know him, the real him, in a way that no one else had. She paused for only a second before her answer came to her, as sure as anything she had ever known.
"I'm in love with Kylo Ren," she said firmly.
Finn looked defeated, but he swallowed his hurt before she could see much of it. "Okay then," he nodded reluctantly, letting her go. "I don't understand it, but if you love him, I'll help you."
"I do love him," she admitted, her voice almost a whisper. "Thank you Finn."
He nodded once again. "We have reason to suspect that Kylo Ren will be on Coruscant sometime in the next few weeks. One of our guys at the Coruscant base saw a First Order drone scoping them out. They suspect an attack is imminent, and Kylo Ren has personally led every single attack on our bases as of late. Bad for our people, but an easy predictor of where he's going to be. I'll get your lightsaber and an X-wing loaded up and ready for you. I'll tell our guys in Coruscant that you're headed their way. You can leave as early as tomorrow if you want."
"Thank you Finn," she said gratefully, giving her friend a hug. "Thank you so much."
"Just promise me you'll be careful Rey," he cautioned. "And please don't make me regret this."
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The tie fighter that carried Kylo Ren hurtled through space at breakneck speed towards Coruscant. They would be there in a matter of days, and the current Resistance base would soon be no more.
Kylo Ren could feel the dark side of the Force flowing through him. He needed to unleash all of the hate and anger he had built up inside of him. He needed to kill. He could taste victory before the battle even started, and the blood of his enemies would quell his anger, at least for a little while.
He adjusted the hood of his cloak over his mask and his chest tightened involuntarily as he thought of Rey, the sting of her betrayal physically painful to him.
There would never be another, and he would die hating her for not loving him. He could only hope that his death would come soon.
His comm device lit up to indicate an incoming call, and he activated it without any thought. The image of Supreme Leader Snoke appeared before him, tall and shriveled.
"Kylo Ren," Snoke greeted. "I have news for you."
"Yes Supreme Leader," he replied automatically.
"The scavenger girl called Rey has been spotted at the Resistance base on Coruscant."
His brows shot up at the news, for he had last felt her presence on Takodana. He was glad for his mask, knowing that Snoke could not see his shock.
"Is that so?" he asked dully.
"It is indeed so," Snoke responded firmly. "Your mission is to find her and kill her. Bring her body to me as proof of your loyalty."
Ren felt as though he was being crushed. For a moment he couldn't breathe. His chest tightened, and he felt as though someone had plunged a knife into his gut.
"Yes Supreme Leader," he clipped mechanically, though his voice sounded slightly unsteady, even to him.
"Is there a problem with my request Kylo Ren?" Snoke asked curiously.
"No Supreme Leader. There is no problem," he answered automatically.
"Good. I expect it to be done. Don't disappoint me again Kylo Ren."
With that Snoke cut the connection, leaving Ren reeling at what would have to be done.
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Rey could feel the energy in the base as she ate her dinner. Kylo Ren's cloak wrapped around her as usual. The hall was buzzing with activity, Resistance fighters gearing up for a possible attack. The Force around her was unstable, like a spring storm waiting to strike.
If Kylo Ren was truly coming to Coruscant, then Rey knew that most of these fighters would die. They were good, but they were no match for Ren.
Just thinking of him made her heart flutter with anticipation. She was nervous about seeing him again, so nervous that she had thrown up every single day she had been here. She didn't know how he would react, and that comprised the majority of her apprehension. Would he be glad to see her, or would he be furious with her? She didn't know. Rey was contemplating this when it happened.
People started shouting and running towards the main entrance of the base as the back half exploded into flames. Rey was thrown from her seat as the building shook from the impact.
She heard the sound of tie fighters screaming overhead, followed by the noise of X-wings taking off. She heard shots fired all around, and she quickly jumped up from the floor and ignited her lightsaber, he food forgotten.
Stormtroopers poured in through the main entrance like cockroaches, finding and taking down all Resistance fighters in their path. She saw the Resistance fighters doing their best to hold the stormtroopers back, but the sheer numbers belonged to the First Order.
Rey easily cut down the stormtroopers that got too close to her as she looked for him, but most seemed reluctant to come near her lightsaber. She moved towards the fight, ready to help, when she finally saw him.
Kylo Ren was dressed in all black and he wore his mask again. His crimson blade was out front, and he expertly cut down fighter after fighter, hacking them into pieces with no thought. For a moment Rey was taken back to that night on Starkiller base when she fought him in the snow. A shiver went down her spine as she remembered how ruthless he could be.
She shook the thoughts away, forcing herself to remember him as he was on Hoth. As Ren, who protected her, and as the man she loved very dearly. Kylo Ren cut down two more fighters before Rey found the courage to speak.
"Ren!" she called out.
The mask whipped around to look at her, and he paused for a moment, as though unsure of his next move.
She felt him through the Force even before he moved. Anger, hurt, and a resigned sense of dread.
He ran for her lightsaber in hand, and Rey did the only thing she could think of. She ran.
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Finn sat forlornly at the control panels sipping on a beer. To say he was bored would be an understatement. Sure, he kept busy enough making sure the base was running and everyone was doing what they were supposed to do, but truthfully he felt more alone than he ever had.
Poe and Jessika were gone, and had been gone for nearly a week. They had taken the Millennium Falcon, along with BB-8 and R2-D2, so they could access their holomaps. They had even taken C-3PO, much to Poe's anguish, but the droid had insisted on going to see "Master Luke," and Jessika didn't have the heart to tell him no.
Rey was gone too, having left out the day after Poe. Finn regretted letting her go, but what choice did he have? She had been miserable here, and who was he to keep her from being happy? Even if that happiness meant a life with a man who could never be worthy of her, who was he to tell her she was wrong?
Their absences stung, and he was beginning to see why Poe wanted to leave. Being in charge was no fun at all. Just today he had settled three arguments, decided on two First Order strikes, talked to some of the most boring people he had ever met over the comm link, and sat in a chair, watching blips on a screen for ten hours. It sucked, and he was over it.
The control console next to him lit up, and a beeping noise sounded out. Finn checked the screen, surprised to find a message from the Resistance base on Coruscant. He ran the message through their encryption system, and he immediately feared for Rey when he saw the contents.
Base on Coruscant compromised. Kylo Ren and First Order are here. Any survivors are departing now. Godspeed command.
Finn found himself holding his breath as he read the message, hoping that Rey was safe, and that some of their fighters could make it out alive. Even prepared for attack, they had still been no match for the sheer numbers of the First Order.
He glanced at the radar again, only to see it covered in blinking dots.
"What the…"
Before he had time to take any action, the lights flickered and then went out. Finn barely had time to register surprise before the back half of the base went up in flames. The impact of the explosion jarred him, and he held on to the control console to avoid falling down.
The Resistance fighters on the base ran past him, headed for the main entrance, intending to escape the flames.
"No!" Finn shouted. "It's a trap!"
Blaster shots rang out, and the Resistance fighters started to fall. Finn tried to run to them, but it was already too late. Dozens of men and women of the Resistance lay dying and stormtroopers were already pouring in through the entrance. They had been taken by surprise, and this was one battle that they wouldn't win.
Finn watched the stormtroopers pour in with trepidation, and was surprised to see General Hux among them. The General caught sight of him and grinned.
"FN-2187," he greeted. "So we meet again."
"General Hux," Finn growled.
A stormtrooper stepped towards him, blaster raised, but Hux stopped him with a gesture.
"I'll take care of this one," he said simply as he stepped towards Finn.
"You betrayed us, FN-2187. I certainly hope that the Resistance has been good to you and that it was worth it."
Hux removed his cloak, letting it fall to the floor. He removed his gloves as well, and pushed his sleeves back one at a time. His red hair fell messily over his face, and he smirked at Finn arrogantly.
"Normally traitors of the First Order are punished harshly, or even sentenced to death, but for you I'll make an exception. Let's settle this like men. No blasters, no friends, just you and me. What do you say FN-2187?"
Finn closed the distance between them until they were almost nose-to-nose. His chocolate eyes bored into Hux's blue ones, accepting his challenge with fervor.
"Yeah that sounds good," he agreed. "And my name's Finn."
0000000000000
Finn threw a punch at Hux's face, which he caught. Finn caught the General off guard by punching with his other fist. He made contact with Hux's face, causing him to stagger back.
Finn took advantage and hit him again, driving him back further. Hux threw a punch, catching Finn squarely on the jaw. It hurt worse than any punch he'd ever taken, and his jaw seared with pain.
Hux came at him again and landed another punch to the side of his head. Finn could see stars with the impact, and for a moment he feared that he would black out.
He and Hux took turns throwing punches and missing, both blocking and dodging the hits. Finn faked him out, bringing one fist forward, then hitting him squarely in the nose as he tried to block.
Blood splattered everywhere, and Hux fell, holding his nose in pain. Finn was about to finish him, when his legs were kicked out from under him. He fell to the ground and Hux was on him, wailing away at his face.
Finn turned sideways to avoid the General's fists, when he saw it. The button. He knew that he was going to die today. Even if he managed to beat Hux, he would still be executed, so he did the only thing that he knew to do.
Finn pushed Hux off of him, sending the General sprawling on the floor. He rolled over, and underneath the command center console, striking the button with his fist.
A loud ringing noise sounded out in the base, and Hux met his eyes, confusion written on his face.
"Surprise motherfucker," Finn grinned.
Hux's eyes widened in a moment of understanding, and the whole base went up in flames.
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Rey ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. She took the back door out of the base, sending stormtroopers flying with a Force push. She ran out into the streets of Coruscant, barely missing a passing speeder. The driver yelled at her, but she never stopped.
She ran into a building across the street, hoping to lose him. Inside, neon lights flashed and exotic women from across the galaxy danced erotically. The place was packed with more races and species than she had ever seen in one room.
Rey pulled the hood of Kylo Ren's cloak up and over her face, hoping to hide and not draw any undue attention to herself in the crowd. She could feel him behind her, searching for her, and she knew that he could feel her too.
She headed upstairs, weaving in and out of the crowd. Below, she could hear screaming, and knew that Ren's patience had worn thin. Rey felt him coming up the stairs after her, and she ran for the nearest window.
The glass shattered as she jumped, and she used the Force to soften her fall as she landed in the alleyway behind the club. Once she landed, she turned to see Kylo Ren standing at the window, looking down at her.
She had hoped he would let her go, but her hopes were dashed as he jumped, and she immediately started running again.
Rey heard the thud as he landed and she could feel him chasing her once again. She ran down the streets of Coruscant, dodging speeders and shady streetwalkers. She ran block after block, passing businesses, clubs, and bars.
She was getting tired. She could feel her legs giving out and her lungs burning, but still she ran.
Kylo Ren chased her, staying hot on her heels like a pack of wolves. He was fast and he was relentless. If he caught her, she knew that he would kill her.
Rey tried to send her thoughts to him through the Force, but he blocked her out, unwilling to listen, so she just kept running.
She ran down an alleyway, and let out a shriek of fear when she saw her path was blocked by a twelve-foot chain link fence. She jumped to climb it, but was knocked back by a powerful shock. She fell to the ground, tired and panting. She could feel tears beginning to spill from her eyes.
Rey heard footsteps approach, and she scrambled off the ground and ignited her lightsaber. She saw Kylo Ren approaching her. His lightsaber was also drawn, and his mask stared at her menacingly.
He moved quickly then, swinging his blade at her. She blocked with her own blade, and danced away from him as he came at her again. He struck and she blocked, time after time.
Tears streaked down Rey's face as she blocked blow after blow. She could tell by the way that he swung that he didn't really want this, so she tried to appeal to that part of him by only blocking his strikes, nothing more.
"Fight me," he commanded her.
Rey said nothing, only tried to hold back her tears, and failed miserably. She did not want to fight him. Not now, and not ever.
She blocked his strike once more, their red and blue blades crossed between them. Ren leaned in towards her and spoke, his voice almost a whisper.
"Take your lightsaber and run it through me," he commanded. "Strike me down."
Rey shook her head in shock. "No. I won't."
"You have already wounded me so deeply that I will never recover. You would be doing me a favor by taking my life. Now strike me down and run."
"No."
Rey deactivated her lightsaber and threw it away from her. She had no desire to hurt him, and she needed him to understand that.
"If you will not strike me down, then I must take your life. There is no other option. Do you understand?" he clipped, his mechanical voice strange to her. He held his lightsaber at her throat, though he did not kill her immediately. He paused as though gathering the courage to swing through.
"I once knew a man who I hated at first," Rey said slowly, fighting through her tears. "But we spent some time together, and I realized that I didn't hate quite as much as I thought. In fact, I grew to care for him very much. He told me something once that I'll never forget. He told me that no matter what anyone tells you, you always have a choice. I've come to realize that he was right. Our lives are our own, Kylo Ren. You can choose to kill me, or you can choose to let me live. Either way, you have to make a choice, and that choice is yours and yours alone."
"I don't truly have a choice in this matter," he said tightly. "Supreme Leader Snoke has commanded your death. I must obey, or die at his hands."
"Then if you're going to kill me, at least have the decency to let me see your face," she growled. "I want to see your eyes when you strike me down."
Kylo Ren paused, as if unsure, then deactivated his lightsaber and began to remove his mask. There was a loud pop and hiss as he took the mask off, and when he removed it from his face Rey gasped at what she saw.
He looked terrible. His face was pale and gaunt. Dark circles pooled under his eyes as though he had not slept in weeks. His dark eyes were dull and lifeless, devoid of the mischievous gleam that she had come to love. He was a different person than she remembered, though her feelings for him were not any less.
"You like what you see?" he snorted. "You've destroyed me Rey. You've accomplished what every single person in the galaxy has only dared to dream of. You've brought me to my knees, and you don't even have the decency to deliver a finishing blow. My only hope now is to die in battle with honor, and I hope for a swift death with everything that I am. You made me love you, Rey, and then you left me. So, I'm going to kill you. Perhaps your death will give me some respite from the nightmare that I live in."
"Ren, it's not like that. You don't understand."
"You made a promise to me, and you left me to be with your Resistance friends. I think I understand perfectly," he growled.
He moved the lightsaber to her throat once again, and pressed his forehead against hers in one final gesture of affection.
"Are you going to let me talk?" Rey spat. "Don't I at least get some last words before you kill me?"
He grunted in irritation, so she continued without hesitation.
"You're too stubborn and proud for your own damn good, so I'm going to make this as short and simple as I can for you. I love you Kylo Ren. I've loved you since Hoth, and I will always love you."
Before he had a chance to argue, she pressed her lips hard against his, and sent her thoughts to him through the Force, praying that he would understand.
So I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! For those of you that didn't read the character deaths, let me give you the quick "everyone lives" alternate version:
Finn and Hux get in a fight. Then, just as they're about to destroy each other, they realize that it's not worth it. They both hate Kylo Ren, so they decide to be friends. They fake their own deaths, and move to Tattooine, where they start a rave club together. Finn gets all the girls, and Hux makes the occasional call to Phasma for epic phone sex. BOOM! Everyone lives.
For those of you that did read the whole thing, the decision to kill them off was difficult but necessary. I really love Finn, and I secretly think that Hux would probably be pretty fun out of uniform. I've been looking for some good fics to read for both of them, but most of the fics on here write them as gay, and I'm really not into that. If you guys know of any good ones of Finn or Hux (where they're straight) please let me know! There's plenty out there of Kylo Ren and Rey, but there seems to be a shortage on fics for those guys.
Anyways! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please take the time to let me know what you think! I appreciate it, and your comments inspire me to write faster! Hope you all have a great week! Lots of love!
-Boss
