The first thing that happened when Kylo Ren opened his eyes was a sense of panic. Luke was still linked to him? He had explored that connection extensively over the years, testing to see if he could exploit it to locate his former Master. Snoke had even administered some intense pain stress to his brain to see if the bond was still lurking in his subconsciousness.
Despite the torture, it wasn't.
Again he had the nagging feeling that there was something alive inside him that wasn't there before the girl had thrown herself at him.
He sat up. A sheen of sweat coated his neck, and his mouth was dry. Raking long fingers through his tangled hair, he frowned. How had he ended up in Rey's dream?
And perhaps more importantly, why the hell had she been dreaming about that?
There was no fear in her dream. She hadn't been remembering it because he had terrified her with his mere presence- which was what he usually aimed for.
This was ridiculous.
His musings were interrupted by the nagging feeling at the back of his skull that meant that Snoke was using the Force to summon him. Hoping that Snoke hadn't also been an audience member in the girl's dream, he hurriedly got dressed and slid his helmet on before heading to the comms room.
The conversation was brief.
"I require your return to me at once," Snoke instructed simply, the hologram flickering eerily in the half-light.
"I believed the plan was for me to wait here for the girl, Supreme Leader."
The white face twisted cruelly. "We have located the Resistance base. The girl will be in our custody shortly. I require you to aid with her interrogation."
The Resistance base. General Organa was there. Skywalker was presumably there too. And the girl. An emotion he didn't recognise flooded him, and he was glad again he was wearing the mask. "Allow me to go and assist our forces."
"Unnecessary. They are unaware that we know. It will be an easy victory." Snoke paused, eyes glittering. "I plan to bring both Skywalker and your mother into custody, but it may prove simpler to just kill them. Our forces have been instructed that your mother is expendable."
"She is no longer my mother." He had said the words many, many times before. For a second, he pictured the smiling face of Han Solo, but then it was gone. He would resist the call of the light side.
"A crew of four have been assigned to your command shuttle. You will depart in two hours." Snoke flickered out.
Kylo Ren stood very, very still. He felt numb. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, and he removed his helmet to take a deep gulp of air.
Your mother is expendable.
He hadn't seen her for so long.
Would he be feeling like this if it wasn't for all this nonsense with the scavenger? What had she done to him? Was she poking around in his brain, planting feelings and thoughts that didn't belong to him?
It seemed unlikely.
Suddenly compelled, he closed his eyes and focused on the girl. There was nothing. He couldn't feel her.
Please, he thought.
A sudden earthy smell. He was seeing through her eyes, wandering down a corridor towards a door. It opened, and General Organa was there, smiling out at Rey. She looked old, and exhausted. He felt Rey's sympathy.
His mother's eyes were red-rimmed, with deep shadows below them.
The wave of guilt that washed over him severed the connection. He was only vaguely aware of the anguished cry he gave as he sank to his knees. He wasn't strong enough. He was failing.
Rey felt the flutter of something foreign in her mind as she approached General Organa's office, and she knew it was Kylo Ren. The feeling vanished as quickly as it came. Was he experimenting with their apparent connection? The idea of him being in her head was terrifying.
General Organa and Luke were both looking very serious as she sat down opposite them.
"We have been discussing the idea of you returning to get the intel," General Organa began. "If it wasn't for… Kylo Ren's presence, it would be an easy decision." She swallowed, and glanced at Luke.
"I have to go back," Rey said.
"I know," Luke replied, in a gentle tone. It wasn't what she had expected. "There's something we must discuss first."
"He's been inside my head," Rey told him. She had been undecided about whether or not to tell him, but the words came out easily.
Luke smiled softly. "Thank you for telling me. I already know, Rey. The truth is that you have a Force bond with Kylo Ren."
"A what? A bond?" She felt cold. "How can I get rid of it?"
"With great difficulty. The loss of the bond is painful, and unnatural. It gets harder to break the longer it is present. Often, breaking the bond drives both partners to great unhappiness and despair that never leaves. Very few have ever managed to break the bond. It normally only occurs at the moment of death."
Rey couldn't speak. She looked between the Skywalker siblings with panic. "I don't want any sort of bond with that monster." She ignored the nagging memory of that kiss. He was still a monster. He had done unforgivable things.
General Organa sighed and closed her eyes. "Rey-"
"I'm sorry," she said instantly. "I know he's your son."
"You're right," Leia replied sadly. "He is a monster. He's done things I don't think anyone can forgive. Nor do I expect them to. However, there is light in him. I know you have felt it, Rey."
"Does it matter if there is light in him if he spends all his time fighting against it?" Rey asked.
"It matters greatly, Rey," Luke said.
"I'll be honest. I'm hopeful that the fact you have bonded with him means that you are supposed to bring him back into the light."
Rey had been surprised a lot in the past few weeks, but nothing had ever shocked her as much as this idea. "You want me to bring Kylo Ren back into the light?" she repeated incredulously.
"No. I want you to bring my son, Ben, back." General Organa gave her a desperate look. "Rey, I wouldn't ask if I thought there was another way."
"It seems it is your destiny," Luke said.
Rey frowned. "I refuse to believe that my destiny is to redeem Kylo Ren."
"The bond has profound meaning. He needs you, yes- but you need him too."
Leia nodded encouragingly. "There's something you need to know about him. You see-"
The alarms went off. Rey felt her stomach twist. There were a great many innocent people here on this base. If the First Order was here…
She held the lightsaber out to Luke, already knowing he would refuse it. He had told her he didn't wish to handle it again, even after returning with her. As she predicted, he shook his head.
"It chose you," he said.
General Organa was grabbing a blaster. In the distance, they heard an explosion.
"Status report," the General ordered into her comlink.
Poe's voice crackled back. They heard blasters. "First Order is here, General. About two hundred, I think."
"Begin evacuation," Leia said.
The three of them tumbled out into the hallway, heading towards the outside exit and the sound of fighting. Rey's heart was pounding and she tried to concentrate on not feeling afraid ("Fear is the path to the dark side," Luke had told her) but these seemed like impossible odds. She reached out tentatively across the bond that apparently linked her and Kylo Ren but she couldn't feel him.
He wasn't here.
Bursting into the sunlight, Rey deflected a blaster bolt with the lightsaber reflexively and heard the Stormtrooper who had fire it groan as the energy pierced his armour. He tumbled and Rey had a moment to take in the carnage. The Resistance were being intercepted as they headed for the ships, many already lying dead on the ground. An X-wing was aflame.
A large cluster of their men were crouching behind some storage containers to their right. Rey could see Finn firing at the Stormtroopers from cover. There was a deep gash on his forehead and blood running down his face. He was weak; he didn't seem to have the strength to pull himself up properly to aim.
Luke ran to that group, using a powerful Force push to send the Stormtroopers nearby staggering.
There was a cry from behind Rey and she turned to see a Stormtrooper come out of the door they had just exited and grab the General from behind. Leia couldn't get purchase to struggle free.
Rey reacted without thinking- she used the Force to send both the Stormtrooper and Leia sprawling into the corridor. As she twisted free, Leia shot him in the chest and sat up shakily.
"I'm sorry," Rey said, bending to offer her hand to Leia. "I just-"
White hot pain erupted in her shoulder and she cried out, dropping to her knees. She hadn't been focused; she tried to centre herself now, but she couldn't concentrate on anything other than the searing blaster wound.
The lightsaber had toppled to the ground.
She heard the General scream her name before something hard and blunt collided with the side of her face. The end of a blaster.
The pain was enough to make her lose her temper. Fuelled by anger, tasting her own blood, she pushed blindly with the Force. The Stormtrooper behind her flew back and she heard clearly the sickening crunch of his back breaking.
The world cleared again and Leia was helping her to her feet. All Rey could feel was a sense of satisfaction as she glanced back at the mangled body. Leia tugged her inside the corridor so they had some cover at the side of the door.
"You need medical attention," the General said. "We have to get you out of here."
"I'm fine." The words came through gritted teeth. She wasn't fine. Her head was stinging, the pain blinding.
She wasn't focused, couldn't clear her head; the Stormtroopers coming up the corridor behind them were practically on top of them before she heard and reached for her lightsaber… which she had left on the ground outside.
Cursing inwardly, she reached for it as she had done once before, coaxing it towards her hand with the Force. She could feel it twitch, feel it respond, as she turned to face the incoming enemies.
Her mind exploded.
It was Kylo Ren. He was in her head. It wasn't subtle- she was blind, only able to see what he could see… flaming X-wings through the smeared cockpit of a stolen TIE fighter…
He was here.
Then he was out of her head, and she felt bereft. She was lying on the ground, the Stormtroopers surrounding her. Two had grabbed Leia.
Rey tried to scrabble to her feet but she couldn't. Her arms and legs were trembling.
She sent a single, desperate word across the connection she shared with her dearest enemy.
Help.