Authors' Note: I can apologize all eternity for this long delay, but work and studies even in the summer took over my time. But I never stopped writing. I have the next chapter almost done and a couple of others down the line complete, so I never abandoned don't worry! I am still in love with this plot and obsessed with Reylo :D Also this is the longest chapter I have ever written! Thanks to my amazing friend G. for beta-ing again! Thanks to merbirdgirl for the amazing corrections!

Please let me know what you think, all constructive criticism is welcome :)

She didn't panic or run this time, she stayed right at the spot she ended up after falling from the cot. Where the end of the dream found her. Her lips were still tingling, her mouth still open. She wiped it with the back of her hand.

What kind of dream was that?! Why on Earth would she dream of such insanity? She has had nightmares before, especially since Starkiller Base, after her training started. But they hadn't been that many and they always involved being chased through endless deserts and forests, on the morning she would remember nothing but the paralyzing fear and helplessness she had felt in the real world.

But this, THIS had never happened before. And it hadn't felt like a dream exactly. She would be lying to herself to say that it had. She remembered everything, to begin with, everything... oh Stars! Everything...

Rey pulled her knees to herself hiding her heated face in between, a childish habit she had sworn to abandon.

No, no, no she hadn't really... he hadn't... the kiss... it must have been a hallucination or some kind of manipulation. Yes, that must have been it. He had planted something in her mind that day, she felt it, allowing him to access her thoughts. A plot to discover Luke's location. He and his master... they were calculating bastards.

But as much as she reasoned with herself, the idea just didn't piece together. Her instincts were telling her otherwise. That this dream didn't even come from them - the dark users, the Sith impersonators, no they couldn't possibly be this powerful as to induce life-like visions through space and time. Also, this dream just didn't make sense. Why would Kylo Ren not notice her, then attack her, be surprised to see her there, try to sacrifice her and then do that... okay enough of that now.

One thing at a time. Think Rey.

So if he didn't initiate the force vision as the force was clearly involved, who or what did? It couldn't be... herself could it?

Judging from the sudden flip in her stomach she decided she was on to something there. Was it another outburst of her untrained abilities? Was it the force exhibiting strange phenomena so close to the temple?

She tried to remember... she had been lonely again, desperate even, to belong, to find someone who understood her. And then, just after falling asleep, she had appeared on that hill staring across the cyclopean marble complex, sinking in its lava-hidden cavernous cocoon. She hadn't been able to control the environment then, so that wasn't it. But she did have strange powers like teleporting, and could use the force to some extent, but had been left so powerless still, clothed like she had been: weaponless, barefoot, almost naked. Then she had felt his presence, sought him out, spied on him. She fought her thought process going forward as it kept getting stuck at inappropriate moments, like when he was undressing, swinging and pirouetting, slamming his fist against the column, his gloves on her naked arm, the heat of his gaze, the heat of his mouth.

Oh, why... it was horrible, shameful... why would she remember this, why hadn't she felt the disgust and hate that befitted. Why hadn't she pushed him away... She remembered it so clearly still.

What a mess!

Rey just didn't know enough about the force and her abilities yet to analyze what happened in her usual way. When her speeder broke, she would check the instructions from the electronic databases she had collected from the simulators. But she didn't know about any of this. She couldn't solve this puzzle, couldn't put the pieces together. She needed help.

Luckily there was exactly one other being on the planet knowledgeable enough to be of assistance. But she would rather eat a pile of sand than explain to him how her strange power had made her meet his darksider nephew in a dark force temple. Oh yeah, and how he kissed her out of the blue and... she... she…

She couldn't even get her own mind to admit to it then, less alone to actually explain it to someone. Particularly someone who happens to be Master Luke. Stars, he would either kill her for conspiring with the enemy or banish her off the island and himself forever. And he would be well advised.

Maybe this was the beginning of the transition to the dark... was this how it happened? Having visions, seeking the enemy, being corrupted? No! She was a good person... good enough. It wasn't on purpose she knew, she hadn't meant it to happen, and she didn't feel any more evil or dark. No… something was different in her force signature, like a presence always ready to join in. But it didn't feel malignant.

There was only one other way to confirm she was not going insane. Her forbidden Jedi temple. The only place that made her feel safe and serene. She cherished its ruined wooden halls and sunlit library, she almost felt the phantom presences of long lost souls still practicing and studying the mysteries of the force. Who had they been, what have they discovered? Somehow she had this vague feeling of knowing the place. Did Master Luke feel this way as well? As it was she would use its resources yet again.

After closing the hundredth volume, she was dead hungry, exhausted and developing a headache. She had let Luke know she was going to the temple and they had to postpone the morning meditation. He hadn't said anything, as if expecting this to happen for some time. He hadn't looked particularly happy either. She must still be unprepared in his eyes to face the knowledge of the Jedis. Rey had been so scared he would see right through her lies. Each gesture of his was bathing her in cold sweat, making her ramble. But whatever he knew he never let on, the eternal enigma of Jedis. Rey even felt like telling him her dream if only to see his stoic expression break. Even to see the fear and disappointment in his wise eyes.

She was getting nowhere, the volumes and scrolls in the temple were well organized but half of them were in foreign languages and the other half, well... It's not like there was a category for: a strange dreamlike vision or hallucination maybe real maybe not involving your enemy kissing you. Maybe she should look for one named: 10 signs to look for when a Jedi turns insane.

Rey chuckled at her own silliness and kept flipping through the pages. Force techniques, force elements, force signs, force methods. If only the HoloNet worked in the library. But even there. She doubted her key words would produce much. She sighed and laid on the stone floor amidst the nest of books. The stones felt cool and the light streaming through the dust was beautiful.

How would she ever find about it, this mystery? Her stomach grumbled loudly. Just as she was thinking of getting some food in her belly she felt the pain.

-Ouch! What the...

The hollow sensation of stabbing in her ribcage on her right side dissipated quickly, she stood up holding her hand to her side, but it was gone just like that. The next breath she took it stabbed again, harder. She doubled over. What? What was that?!

Cramps? Broken bones? No... calm down.

Let's try to see with the force. Maybe she could heal herself. She concentrated on the pain and imagined it going away. It didn't. She tried again and again.

An hour later she had panicked enough to think of the stupidest idea ever, even by her standards. Remember that time you risked your life for a droid Rey?

She would attempt to bring forth the vision again. This pain must be somehow connected to it, must come from outside. She would find the answers in the dream, her gut told her and she always trusted her gut. Tonight it was then.

After a session of training in lifting boulders, piling them on top of each other, then meditating on how to keep them up, she felt useless. And with Luke's silent judgment of her impatience, she returned to her alcove exhausted and morose. She hadn't felt like play pretend family supper with him. He was getting more and more critical of her desire to learn. There was so much knowledge out there, so many mysteries to uncover in the force. And she was lifting stones. Rey was just so tired. The pain had subsided after a while and there was still no visual or internal sign of damage on her body. Maybe attempting to summon the dream again wasn't such a good idea after all. Her head had cleared after her training and she wasn't so certain of her plan anymore. As she was gobbling all her pieces of fish and boiled roots not leaving a crumb behind, another thought dawned on her. So, delicious! She realized how lucky she was.

She could get all the fish she wanted now, with the force. She scarcely realized it, all the food she needed to survive right here! How amazing to think she had always had this power to be fed and safe, but never knew it. Back on Jakku, she could have hunted easier, defend herself better, maybe even defeated Unkar Plutt. She could have manipulated him and his thugs and escape on some ship. Escape somewhere far and become a famous pilot like Han. But she wouldn't have done that, she had been waiting patiently for her family, hoping they would return for her. With or without this power she would have stayed if she never got meddled in this galactic war in the first place. But maybe she could have made a difference on Jakku then, helped the poor wretches like herself, the slaves, the scavengers. Too late to think about that now. She hadn't had the power. Her parents hadn't come back for her. She had done what she had to survive, anyone in her place would have done the same, never turn around or think about this desert hole twice. That's what old Lina would have said. Poor old Lina, how was she doing? The rest of the scavengers had probably forgotten all about her and continued with their lives. Or maybe not, after all the ruckus the First Order had caused to Niima Outpost, no thanks to her.

Her bad mood after Luke's cold scolding somehow improved with the realization she didn't have to go back to Jakku and be hungry ever again. Thanks to his training.

It was getting dark outside; it did so late at this time of the year. Rey cleaned up her plate as she was chewing on the last piece of goma root. Then she lied down on her ragged berth, let her hair loose and curled up. You can do this Rey. You can deal with it.

Okay breath in, breath out, count to then, repeat, feel the force flow around, pull it through, think of last night. Think of... him… his force signature.

Some time must have passed, Rey imagined, as she appeared in the darkness, hitting against a glass wall too opaque to see anything but shadows. Were the moving shadows fighting? She shouted and kicked and pushed with all her strength but she was stuck outside. She knew he was there somewhere, still awake. So she waited and waited, weary and fatigued.

Finally, as if a string pulled at her, she sat upright watching the barrier dissipate, only to unveil the almost pitch black alcove of a tiny room, carved in marble. Red glowing carvings and a couple of tinted crystals on the wall were the only objects illuminating the Spartan quarters. The space was truly lacking of any personal belongings or decoration but still contained a bed and chest next to a table with a chair which led Rey to believe someone must be staying there. Not that she was used to seeing normal people's homes, but she knew enough to get the idea that it looked almost like a prisoners' cell, rough sheets, no windows or light. Unless the person was a scavenger or prisoner it looked right out bleak. It was also unoccupied, the only door closed.

As she explored and touched the walls and floor, she realized the marble looked a whole lot like the one in the temple on the previous night. Was she there again? The faint whiff of sulfur paired with the oppressive impression of foulness and death matched sure enough with her impressions. Rey took the advantage of her good timing to access her situation. Her clothes were decent enough this time she thought, relieved as she examined the gray pants and tunic similar to her Jedi training garb. They could be beige but she couldn't distinguish colors in this dim light. No weapons though, that fact she didn't like. Whatever this place was, she didn't want to risk finding out what would happen if one gets killed. Not that she had come here to fight. She had to figure out what was happening to her, the reason why Kylo Ren appeared in that dream, why she had felt like being stabbed from galaxies away. The part about how to find that out was so far unclear.

Well, Rey, you are a scavenger, so explore, scavenge. She looked around; there were some strange mechanical parts on the table and what looked like rations. The bed was clean and empty. Nothing too revealing. She reached and opened the drawers of the only chest. Rows of black cloth in one of them, bottles and pots and brushes and shavers in another and the bottom one...a piece of brown leather with dried blood on it and a hologram container. So strange, what was that? She almost felt the answer on the tip of her tongue but dared not believe it.

Her skin became gooseflesh as she turned on the hologram. Two see through people getting ready for a picture a mom and a kid. It was dark and she couldn't see well. When the dad came to join them, he shouted -–"Sorry sweetheart, that son of a... oops sorry took too long, am I late again?" She could see the woman turn around, she was dressed like royalty, and start yelling at the man. The little kid was looking up at them holding its mom's hand saying – "Mom, can we stay longer... can we stay longer... can we stay longer?..." the small voice was on repeat as the hologram fizzled out. Rey didn't find out what was going to happen after because a very real voice interrupted her:

- No one taught you not to spy through private belongings, scavenger?

Even his mechanical voice sounded sullen as it resonated through the tiny room. Rey slowly put the hologram back inside and closed the drawer before turning to face the owner of the voice. She opened her lips to fire a comeback but seeing him there impossibly tall and intimidating made her lose her words. She was also still under the shock of spying on what she was sure were his private belongings. He was just as she remembered him last night, but clothed and masked in his usual attire. That horrible mask, expressionless, glinting with the sharp glimmer of the crystals, reflecting their shifting shapes dancing on the scratched metallic surface, was fascinating her. He was still, but the stillness of contained anger that she remembered from the interrogation. This was not the lost, babbling man she had encountered the night before. And somehow this one scared her more.

-I... um... was the only thing she managed to get out facing the conflicting memories of this creature.

He didn't say anything further though but started pacing the small space, his hands behind his back. His short cloak was following his every movement in the darkness. She glimpsed the saber clipped on his belt. She gulped down.

-Hey, you... are you real? - and the award for the dumbest question goes to... Get yourself together Rey. He is only human after all; you have seen his face. And it was time to start investigating.

Rey carefully turned to face him completely, eyeing the exit and his weapon.

He stopped pacing then and stared through her or at least it looked like it.

-Real? As real as you I suppose... he trailed off then slowly advanced on her, his arms at his side, swinging close by. Like an approaching predator. She backed off preparing to force push if he did anything suspicious.

-I need to test something - Ren stated as he raised his hand. Rey felt the cold chill of déjà vu.

-Don't! –she shouted

He ignored her and she waited for the pain, but instead she watched in disbelief as her clothes shifted back to the white dress from the previous night. She felt acutely the frozen floor underneath her bare feet.

- Stop it!

He seemed as startled as her, tried waving again and she felt the force move around as the environment shifted momentarily but returned to its original state. Rey was mesmerized by the phenomenon, like a shimmering mirage.

-Why! Why can't I change it...-his modulated timbre sounded aggravated.

-How am I supposed to know? How did you do this? What is this place? –she demanded, crossing her arms over her cleavage self-conscious of her barely dressed state. He turned around for a moment, then reached out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door.

-Not here. Follow me.

She stumbled at first then pried his fingers off annoyed. Why did guys always try to drag her around? She was not some animal on a leash. His touch had felt so real again, the same cool leather on her naked arm. She felt the force tingle where his fingers had grasped.

-Who do you think you...- she was stopped by the force keeping her lips sealed. Kriffing sithspit asshole!

As if he could hear her he opened the door with a wave and released his control on her muscles. She cursed again and followed. It's not like she had a choice. She wanted answers and he seemed to have them.

After walking briskly for five minutes through oppressive red glowing corridors that she recognized more and more, they finally reached an enormous circular hall protected by thick marble and metal walls. Solid engraved with red metal tables spread around the middle as rows of bookshelves continued as far as her eyes could see. It was so cold, so claustrophobic; the dark energy emanating from the shelves almost choked her. At least there was more light than in his quarters, crimson glowing engravings and strange purple flames were drowning the hall in poisonous nauseating tints.

As he stopped she realized she had been staring at his back, fascinated by how flawlessly his robes trailed after him. He was playing his part well, a true machine moving and breathing. Not a trace of the insanity of the night before. But his mask was on again. Oh, how it pissed her off. He could change her clothes and play with her, and if she could only do the same... A thought struck her. As he was just getting comfortable by one of the tables, she concentrated, saw him in her mind and tada! The mask was gone. Success!

-You learn quickly - his deep voice stated. In between his high cowl and his pitch black strands, his face was a white triangle. Disproportionate and colorless features, slanted feverish eyes peeking under those aristocratic eyebrows.

-You don't know the half of it. Now give me back my clothes... or you'll regret it.

Speaking to him made her tremble, it felt... too friendly, intimate. Seeing his face felt like a hammer smashing her insides. Must be disgust… right? Oh, who was she kidding, there were thousands of bad things to say about him, but his face… and his body... and voice were not amongst them. Of course, she pondered considering who his parents were.

-Get them back yourself- he looked down at her, his face was expressionless but his darkened eyes were flashing in defiance. Rey pressed her lips together. Challenging her then. He'll see. She concentrated again with the same force pattern as earlier, bent on changing her appearance. And it sort of worked. For some reason, she had her arm wraps and soft boots on but the dress was still clinging on her, white and flimsy.

-I see you are still untrained. Is my uncle still as bad a teacher as he used to be? - It looked like he would almost chuckle but stopped himself in time.

Rey's level of aggravation was mounting, her sudden lack of confidence from his insults reawakening her dislike for the asshole.

-Are you still as bad a student as you used to be? Oh no, wait, bad is an understatement, as sick and depraved student as before? Don't answer, I already know. Now can we stop with the enigmatic bantha shit so you can tell me what's going on?

She observed him carefully as she expected his temper to explode and he did detach his saber. But to her surprise, he swiftly clipped it back and started pacing again.

Due to the lighting, he looked like a blur of purple fabric going back and forth on the mosaic floor of the library.

-I will tell you if you show me where you are... Rey.

She was left speechless again. The grit of him!

-You see, Rey. I know things, things you need. Until you give me the information I want, you won't learn anything. You will see me here every night, feel me every day and I will be in control until you give in. I will gladly watch you crumble and beg to join us by the end of it.

Rey fought a hard shiver as his words hit home. He must be bluffing, how could he control this, make her feel him? It was madness. But there had been that pain. Had it been real? Was it his own? She had to know.

-You tried to kill me last time in real life and in the dream, why would I believe you?

She stalled as she concentrated on his clothing. A second later as if by magic his front layers had disappeared. There he was standing naked above the belt under the short cape. She would have been deadly embarrassed any other time, but she had to make sure. The sight she was faced with came so far from her expectations, she took a step back. There was none of the flawless skin she remembered from the previous night. Instead, gushing through his side was an angry red wound. His chest, she couldn't believe it, she clearly hadn't seen it back then in the dark. The multitude of slashes bruises and gashes colored his pale skin blue and red, the biggest painful spot right under his pectoral. That same spot.

Before she could look closer his undershirt reappeared hiding its owner's flagrant secret. She looked down momentarily taken by a peculiar sense of shame, uncomfortable to see his reaction. He must have expected something since there was no outburst. She looked up at him. Had she really experienced his pain… how… why?

-Tell me, was it you I felt earlier today? This... wound... I felt it...

His gaze went to her ribs, avoiding her face, his fists were clenched. His hood suddenly reappeared hiding everything but his lips. But they uttered nothing. She had her hand unconsciously placed over her side, feeling the ghost of leftover pain. Her patience was running out with this game.

-If you won't tell me anything, there is no point in my staying here anymore. I don't believe a word you say. If you think I am this naïve, you've got it wrong, monster! You won't find Master Luke, ever! Stay and hide here in your prison of a temple and rot in it! Most of all, leave me out of your little mind tricks. They didn't work before and they won't now!

As she finished her part, she knew she had to get out. Spending any more time with her enemy on his territory was dangerous. And she felt the anger reach her more and more, she was becoming too affected. Rey concentrated on waking up, pushed herself through the transparent barriers of the vision.

Her last images were of his frozen frame and lifted arm. His words bounced in her head.

-I will find you.

She didn't wake this time. The land of real dreams had claimed her. Dreams of rivers of blood, flashing duels, a weeping child terrorized her.

She awoke with a headache, with the vague feeling of having missed something.

Rey spent the next days mulling over, debating in anxiety. She was so distracted even master Luke took notice. He asked her a couple of times what was on her mind, and each time the crease between his brows deepened. He was getting persistent as to what was worrying her. It was almost as if he cared.

But no one could help her; yet again she had put herself in this vexing situation. Having confirmed the truth behind this strange connection between her and Ren haven't calmed her spirits. It hadn't solved anything. It only raised so many more questions. She felt more vulnerable than ever.

As the days passed by rainy and tedious, she would train and try to ignore her nagging concerns. But she kept feeling this pressure in her head that she would get to know like the back of her hand later. Her trained survival instincts combined with her new sensitivity to the force hinted at someone trying to get into her mind. Remembering a certain interrogation, and his threats she had a good guess as to who it might be. She would still feel the pain in her side from time to time, sometimes in other places as well. And there were the random outbursts of anger that shook her. Just as he had promised.

At night, even more afraid to end up in the same dark universe he controlled she tried to stay awake as long as possible. Even when napping for short periods she weaved the force around her like a cocoon, she had read that in a scroll about mind protection. It seemed to work... for now.

Speaking of scrolls, she had returned every morning to research what she could about the visions. There was almost nothing in the archives, just like before. Apart from the temple. For that oppressing darkness seeped fortress was a temple indeed. An ancient Sith temple on Moraband, forbidden and forgotten for millennia but for the dark force devotees who would seek ancient artifacts and enlightenment in its dark secrets. It was said the legendary master Yoda sought the secret of eternal consciousness there and won the mental battle against Darth Sidious's traps of seduction. The ghosts of the most powerful darksiders inhabited its frigid marble halls, untouched by the devastation on the surface of the planet as the temple was hidden underground. Their tombs kept guard over its secrets. Some of the most dangerous artifacts ever created with the force were collected on Moraband and many a Jedi had taken the perilous journey to destroy them. There were few who had returned.

In ancient times the apprentices would train, be tested and punished at the Valley of the Dark Lords: a place of sacrifices and bloody rituals. Lightside users had their force weakened; therefore, it was absolutely prohibited for any Jedi to venture there but on exclusive orders from the Jedi Council.

Rey would have sworn she recognized the great hall she had been in the first vision over an illustration, the description followed in a language she didn't comprehend. The other drawings shocked her and she had hurried to close the book and hide it in a remote corner.

So she had guessed right about the temple. This premonition she had had while roaming the empty corridors. The whispers that spoke to her. The stench of evil, that disturbing aura, a place of suffering build for the sole purpose of death. Why had she of all people been able to penetrate its abodes, though in an ethereal way? She wasn't even a real Jedi! Was it because he had been there? Had she sought him out somehow? Why had he been there? Were those his quarters, his belongings? The place he lived in, trained at, was that the air he breathed the halls he roamed, the ghosts he spoke to? The place he called home.

Her eyebrows furrowed. What kind of person would willingly remain in this place? And the wound… how horrible it had been, who did this to him… the ghosts, his master, himself? Not that she cared of course; he deserved all the pain he suffered and more. Then why had she felt so bad, why was her stomach twisting even now, her fingers returning to the spot under her ribcage. Could she really feel his pain? She had already healed him once. Hadn't she done it for the sole purpose of having a fair rematch, where she would defeat him once and for all? She hadn't wanted to give him an easy way out then, on Starkiller. She had to make him pay. Finn... Han... One day this time would come. I promise you, my friends. It had to be sooner than later. The longer she took with her training, the stronger he'd become in his temple, the bigger his graveyard of victims would grow. There was no one else to kill him now unless she convinced Luke to leave. But she felt it cruel to make him face his nephew again, and he didn't seem to want to. No, it had to be her. All the events led to it, it was her destiny, she was the one to destroy Kylo Ren.

The dreams, the connection, their childish bickering, it meant naught, he meant naught.

Rey kept thinking and analyzing every detail of the last encounters, purposefully ignoring the end of the first one. What advantage could she gain from this so-called bond? Details of his life? Spying on his current location for the Resistance? What would give them an edge in this war? He was one of the main figures in the Order. What could destabilize him? She knew of his short temper by now, this senseless rage caused mistakes. She could drive him so mad that when they finally met, she'd have the upper hand, at least mentally. He was way too powerful to underestimate though. Yet his recklessness was his only weakness.

Exhausted by some real training in the Soresu Form, Rey laid prostrate in her cot, the sun had long since set beyond the horizon and only the screams of the last birds were heard. She had fallen asleep thus, with her clothes on, her hair undone, dreaming of duels with Luke, getting faster, smarter, better, defeating her master easily. But someone was coming for them, her head was spinning.

She woke up, seeing the stars through the cut-out stone hole. It was still pitch black outside. How long had she slept? Why was she up so early? Something compelled her to go out. She was so tired, still wobbly, but she managed to get out of the hut slowly, leaning on the stone walls as her dizziness subsided. Something was off. She scratched at her disheveled strands, placed her vest. Rey stared outside at the small clearing. The embers had almost died out, it was quiet. Too quiet. She looked ahead and saw the new silhouette cut out against the usual moonlit horizon.

-Master Luke? She barely whispered, afraid to break the strange silence.

But it wasn't Master Luke. Rey took a step back instinctively reaching for her back, seeking a staff she didn't carry anymore. She shouted trying to scare the intruder:

-I see you! Who are you! What do you want?

There was no response, but the figure approached flawlessly, its cloak whipping in the cool breeze. Rey started reaching down for a stone, then she recognized him.

-Master Luke! Come right away! He is here!

Rey was trembling, where was her resolve now? Wait how was this even possible? Wouldn't they have sensed him, heard his ship arriving?

-No one is coming scavenger. I told you I'll find you. –his smooth voice carried over

He had approached enough for her to see his maskless but hooded visage, leaving visible only pale moon white chin and lips.

Rey's only thought was of Luke now. She rushed backward into his hut keeping maximum distance from the dark intruder. He wasn't there, but his saber was. Rey came out of his hut holding the saber tightly in her fist.

-Another vision then? How did you do it? How did you find this place?

He was staring at the stars, mumbling under his breath. Then he stared at her, a half smirk plastered on his plump mouth.

-Easy enough. I told you, the dark side is strong, stronger than the light. Nothing is impossible for me. I see uncle has finally found the temple. A rather nice discovery I would say, I commend him. Now you need to keep quiet.

He turned to look at her for a long moment and looked back up, mumbling. She could hear numbers.

She rushed him, realizing too late what he was up to. Lighting up the saber midway, she force jumped and pressed its green laser to his hooded neck. The fabric ignited and teared up filling the air with smoke.

-Stop right now! Get out, get out of my head, leave now, monster! – She was gritting her teeth, her palms sweaty. Another centimeter and his neck would scorch.

He lowered his head maddeningly slow then removed his hood, his gloved hands flicking the flames away. Rey was but a mere foot away from him, his stare pinned her motionless.

There was no fear in that gaze, he had never been scared of her. There was no anger either, nor the usual scorn, haughtiness, and rage that she was used to. They were replaced by that haunted, tortured look he had given her while seeping blood on Starkiller base. It was the single most disturbing expression Rey remembered seeing. It didn't express naught yet it said all. His eyes were swimming in seas of despair, begging oh begging for something. She recognized the loneliness. These eyes had seen too much, so much pain. Rey almost choked on the huge lump in her throat. Unwittingly she had turned off the saber, her arm limp at her side. Her traitorous instinct took over and she took a step closer. She took his hand. His pupils dilated, his body leaned back but he didn't move away. Rey placed both their palms over his clothed chest. She closed her eyes and let the light flow through her, through the bond, let it seep in the ragged broken tissues. Such a broken body, how was he even standing? It was so strange, like slipping through layers and layers of dimensions, like hyper drive activation. Underneath the virtual flesh, there was the real one, frozen and aching left in its stone bedstead. She pushed with all her force to reach it, to heal it. As she went further in, the marble hall she saw when she first pierced his mind was there again. On the surface strands of admiration and excitement flowed but underneath it, Rey's light barely reached. A maze so dark and endless lay there, death and hate crusted deep around a still warm beating heart.

She was quickly pried off of this reality and felt suddenly extremely weak. She felt her body collapsing in the dream. But it didn't hit the ground, she was held in his arms again, laid on her virtual cot. He moved her head to face him, and as she was losing the rest of her consciousness she heard him

-Why? Why do you care? Why don't you hate me...Sleep now...Rey.