"Mother!" Kylo Ren gasped when he woke up.
"Not your mother. Just Dex."
Kylo looked at his surroundings. "This place is … strange." He was definitely not on the Falcon. It appeared to be some sort of private residence. Some of the items looked very familiar; others he could not begin to guess as to their function.
"I don't think it is a place, technically," the young man sitting beside him said. He was not as tall as Kylo- but then not many people were- he was probably a few years younger. With brown hair and some sort of optical aide device on his face that reminded him of the lenses that his father's old friend Maz Kanata wore. "I think we're still in your mind."
"What makes you say that?"
For answer, Dex walked over to a curtained window and opened it.
"This is my apartment. That's not my city."
"It's where I grew up," Kylo said with barely a glance. "But I've let my past die."
Dex rolled his eyes. "Dude, you practically scream your past out every other sentence!"
Kylo reached for his light saber … but found nothing. "I want to know who you are and how you came into my mind."
"I'm Dexter Ferris. I died. And I wound up here."
"That's impossible. I sense nothing of the Force about you."
"I can only tell you what happened. I don't know how or why."
Kylo walked over and grabbed Dex's forehead. "I will have my answer."
"Go ahead," Dex said calmly. "If that's what you need." He smirked. "Though you might be the one who actually feels the pain since I don't technically have a body."
This made Kylo pause. Then he frowned. "I will try to be … subtle."
"Oh now I'm worried ..." But Dex did not try to break free. He knew there was no point to it.
For a long moment, Kylo Ren peered into his mind. "This girl that I see in your mind …"
"Amy."
"You can't stop thinking about her. Regret. Longing. And something more."
"You can say it, Kylo. You know the word. Your parents taught it to you."
"Love!" Kylo roared, suddenly roared. "You loved the girl but you never told her! She chose another and you did nothing! You said nothing!"
"Yes."
"How could you do that?" Kylo demanded. "She was your world!"
"I was afraid. I didn't think she would want me. I didn't think I was good enough for her. That she deserved better." Dex paused. "Sound like someone else you know?"
"I don't love Rey."
"I see denial isn't just a river in Egypt."
"I have no idea what that means."
"It means you're trying to deny your true feelings. You're just in love with Rey as I was with Amy."
"I offered her a throne!"
"She didn't want it. Did you ever think about asking her what she did want?"
"She wanted me to join the Resistance." Kylo scoffed. "She didn't care for me at all."
"We've had this conversation." Dex sighed. "Kylo … I can't promise you that Rey loves you. It would be nice if I could. I can't tell you what to do to make her like you. I can't show you how to make her fall in love with you."
"What can you do then? Why have you disrupted my life if not to help me obtain what I desire?"
"You could have stopped me, Kylo. I can speak and do things- but only when you let me. You knew that Rey wouldn't join you. I just gave you the excuse to let you find another way out of the situation with your pride intact." Dex paused. "You want Rey. I think you love her. Neither feeling gives you an entitlement to her. But ..."
Kylo glared at him.
"I'll help you tell her."
"What if she doesn't feel the same?"
"What if she doesn't? Life goes on. You feel horrible. You feel mortified and embarrassed. But you at least knows you didn't die without ever having said those words to her. Worse comes to worst, we find you some stuff to break."
Kylo was silent for a moment. "Why are you doing this for me?"
"Because I don't want to see you live with my regrets, Kylo."
Kylo walked towards the door of Dex's apartment. "Then I guess it's time we wake up."
"All right," Dex agreed.
"Dex?"
"Yes?"
"If this is some kind of trick, I will destroy you even if it rips my mind apart."
"And there's the Kylo we all know and love."
Kylo snorted and opened the door.
And awoke to Rey.