A/N: More than a thousand views on this thing! Can you believe it?! I just wanted to thank you once again for sticking through with me as we get closer to The Last Jedi. I know it's not the most views anyone's ever seen, but it's still infinitely over my expectations. You guys're the best!

Please remember to review, follow, and favorite if you enjoyed (and tell me what I need to improve on if you didn't), and as always, happy reading!


Rey feels better than she has in days. Weeks, even. She's covered by a soft blanket, and bright light shines through her eyelids, making her flinch. More important, she's conscious, which means she's been hydrated. She wonders if Kylo's finally found water, and if so, how far out of the way they had to go.

Then she opens her eyes.

She's in a spotless white room, surrounded by medical droids, with no windows to indicate where she is. There's no living being in sight. There's something connected to her arm: Rey guesses it must be some sort of tube.

She screams.

"Please quiet down, Miss." a mechanical voice intones. Rey thinks it comes from the droid's chest. Bad design.

"Where am I?"

"The Resistance. We rescued you three standard days ago."

Three days? Force.

"Where...where's Kylo?"

Silence. The droid continues its work, pumping something nasty into Rey's arm that looks disgustingly like X-Wing fuel. She cringes.

"Answer me!" She orders.

"Why, he's in the detention block, of course, Miss." The droid finally responds. Rey jumps up, but another droid, a larger and stronger one, slams her back down.

"Hey-!"

She shoves the droid off, but lies back down anyway. She's not ready for a fight— yet.

"What do you mean, the detention block?" She croaks.

"Why, he's up for trial, of course. Political treason and patricide."

"Well, I can't say he doesn't deserve that, but... isn't it going to be slightly unfair? Everyone here hates him."

"Why do you care?"

Rey glares daggers at it, challenging it. She doesn't dare answer: she doesn't have a logical response to that. She knows that now she's at the Resistance, she could abandon their Gray Jedi plan, and think of him as her enemy once more. But she feels the need to prove herself trustworthy, however dangerous and irrational their plan may be.

The droid calmly continues with the procedure, not seeming to care weather or not she answers. Rey looks down at the syringe-like needle in her arm. "I think that's quite enough," she says coldly.

"Not if you want to live more than a few minutes."

Rey rolls her eyes, even though she knows the droid can't detect such subtle gestures. "What happened, anyway? Did the terrifying Kylo Ren try to kill me? Again?" She asks dryly, knowing it's anything but that.

"Unfortunately not. Severe dehydration and exertion."

Makes sense.

"You're the ones who're supposed to give a fair trial! But you're not even trying, if even the droids are so opinionated."

If droids could scowl, this one would've won the grand prize. It starts to say something, likely demoting both Kylo Ren and herself, but Rey reaches over and punches the mute button, albeit a little harder than necessary.

That stupid droid was probably right. I wouldn't last more than a few minutes, dehydration or not.

Leaning her head against the wall, she looks to the door and sees Finn standing in the frame, staring at her. When their gazes meet, he gives a timid wave, his lips barely curled into a shy smile.

She ignores him, wondering how long he's been watching.

I hope he's been here the whole time.

Smirking to herself, she tries to wait patiently for the fluid to run out.

And when it does?

Let all of Scarif run loose.


The minute the medical droids thought there was a chance Kylo was going to live, however small, he was thrown into a holding cell.

Two days later, the only Resistance member he'd seen yet was to deliver his food and tell him that his trial was in five standard days.

Trial?

They hadn't planned this.

It wasn't like Rey'd expected Leia to welcome them with open arms, but they hadn't expected this. Especially after all the Nerfherder waste about Darth Vader being redeemed, despite murdering something like a hundred Jedi younglings.

Of course Darth Vader gets all the luck.

Every time that poor Resistance pilot shows his face (Kylo assumes it's some sort of punishment), he inquires about Rey and the supposed trial: is she being trialed, too? No. What am I being trialed for? I think you know that. What's in this food? You don't want to know.

An alarm blares somewhere in the distance. Kylo tiredly pokes his newly delivered food with a spoon, bored out of his mind. Remembering teaching Rey how to use such a simple utensil, he smiles to himself. The food itself tastes horrible.

He hears footsteps.

Setting down his spoon, Kylo listens carefully to the rhythms he can detect. From what he can tell, the feet belong to someone hurried, someone who doesn't belong in Detention Block 48579.

He's right.

"Oh, Force, Rey!" He yells, thankful the walls are soundproof (he checked on day one by yelling maniacally at his messenger, partly for fun). She's dressed in an oversized hospital gown, with something sticking out of her arm. Her hair looks like it's been hastily cut and brushed. But she's smiling.

Her lips move without uttering a word: Kylo realizes it must be soundproofed on his end, too.

The code is 473994.

He's known it since that idiot pilot first entered the detention block. He'd read his mind, and knew it... but had no way of using it to his advantage. On the other side of the glass, she frowns and stares at the keypad. He thinks he sees her enter the code, and leans to his far right to watch. Eventually she stands back.

The cell opens with a harsh hissing sound, and there's Rey, with a triumphant expression on her cut-up face.

"Hey, Scavenger."

She dashes forward and embraces him, grinning ear to scratched ear. Being careful to avoid the mysterious and painful-looking cord attached to her arm, Kylo awkwardly hugs her back. She only comes up to his chest.

"What on Alderaan is that... thing on your arm?" He asks when she finally steps back, still beaming.

"Oh! That's my lifeline. I think. The droid wasn't making much sense. I cut it off, and I'm still fine, aren't I? I don't think I'm really supposed to be here..." She says thoughtfully, glancing around. The other cells are empty, to Kylo's knowledge. Guess I'm too dangerous for the white-collar prisoners.

"Neither do I. I'm supposed to be—"

"On trial. I know."

"Wait. You disconnected your lifeline?" Kylo suddenly shouts, her first words finally sinking in.

She shrugs, unconcerned. "Sort of."

"Rey! That's a pretty big deal!"

"Is not! I'm going back, anyway! This is just the planning process, Kylo! I don't think I'm quite ready to escape yet, seeing as I have to have this thing!" She defends hotly, gesturing to her arm cord.

Kylo can't believe what he's hearing. "I'm going to be executed before the planning phase is over!"

Rey shakes her head. "I've consulted the medical droid. We have a little less than a week. I'm going to get most of the planning done today! I've had a lot of time to think about it," she adds, "it took me an hour and a half to get away. I was going to wait until the brown stuff ran out, but then I got bored."

Kylo tries not to laugh. The Resistance won't know what hit them. A prisoner breaking out before her life is secured? Probably news to them.

Rey continues. "Okay! So, the planning phase, right?"

"Sure. But you need to get out of here soon unless you want to be chucked into the next cell over."

She clumsily sits on the metal square that's serves as Kylo's bed. He can tell she's not used to wearing a hospital dress (which could also double as a tarp to cover an X-Wing).

"We've got to escape before the trial."

Kylo nods. "How?"

She frowns, playing with the cord on her arm. It doesn't seem to bother her much when it's not pumping fluid through it.

"On the way. We could break away and steal a ship."

Kylo scoffs. "Fat chance." He sits down beside her, trying not to feel the utter hopelessness if the situation. It's the last thing he needs.

"Finn and Poe."

He stiffens.

"What about them?"

"I already said I wanted to get them on our side. They're our only hope."

Are not.

"They'd betray us."

"They're my friends."

"They were." Kylo corrects.

"No, I think they still are." Rey says cheerfully. "I could ask."

"Are there any other options that don't involve Finn and Poe? And Leia," he adds when she brightens.

"Not really." She sighs, crestfallen.

"There is absolutely no way—"

"Look," Rey interrupts, "you're getting the death sentence. There's no way around that."

"Thanks a lot."

"It's true!" She cries, throwing her hands up in surrender. "I don't know why, but Leia doesn't seem to give two credits about you. It's not going to be a fair trial, no matter what they say."

Kylo jumps at her sudden outburst. "I know."

Silence. Kylo looks down at the cracked floor. "Fine. But Finn and Poe're going to try to kill me."

"They all will." She shrugs.


Shortly after Kylo gives in, Rey hears distant footsteps, and decides to return to the hospital. After withstanding his criticism about her life support being removed, she closes the cell door, enters the code, and sneaks off. She slips past the guards, casually knocks on the door to her hospital room, and smiles weakly when the snotty medical droid comes to answer.

She feels something injected to her good arm, and has just enough time to think, What's it doing? beforeshe's plunged into darkness. When she wakes again, the needle is injected to her arm again, and the medical droid has double the support it had last time.

Also, she's cuffed.

She hisses in agitation, flexing her wrists against the metal restraints.

"Hello, Miss."

It's the rude droid from before. Rey glares furiously in its direction before facing the wall.

"You have visitors."

She turns around, against her better judgement. "Who?"

"Sir Dameron and Sir Finn."

Just the people I need to see.

"Let them in."

She hears a blast door opening, and two sets of feet make their way to her hospital bed. She looks up to see the faces of her old friends, both smiling at her kindly, if a little reserved.

"We heard about your escape." It's Poe. He's still smiling softly, even if his voice sounds a bit accusatory.

"Yeah." Rey mutters, looking at her hands.

"Where'd you go?" He asks. Rey can tell he's trying to be nice.

"Um... the hangar. To see the ships." Rey lies wildly. Will they fall for it? We need to talk about something else now!

"Liar." It's Finn. His voice is quiet, but ice cold. Rey stares at him, into his dark eyes, unblinking, challenging him.

"No." She says defiantly.

Poe looks at Finn as if saying, let me handle this.

"Why'd you visit Kylo Ren?" He inquires.

"Well... we... we're friends now. What do you expect?" She cries. "We went through Crait and back together— we wouldn't be here today if we'd been Lightsaber fighting for our lives the whole time."

"But now that it's over, can't you just let the General continue with her plans and stay out of it? You've gone through enough already." Poe's voice is consoling.

"No. It's not that simple. We... we've sort of come up with a plan," she says awkwardly. She notices Finn inhale sharply, and Poe perks up.

"What sort of plan?"

Glancing at the medial droid, she mutters, "I don't think it's very good to talk about controversial plans here."

The droid instantly rolls itself out of the room, making sure to let her know that it's not pleased about the arrangement. She hears the lock click behind it, and looks back to her friends.

"Okay, don't write this off immediately. I really need your help."

The doubtful looks from her peers cast her into unease. I can do this. I hope.

"Right, so..." She tries to find an opening statement. "Surely you've heard the legend of Thorin Plagueis."

She receives a resounding no from both parties. I can do this.

"He was a great Jedi, brother of Darth Plagueis. Surely you've heard of him."

Assent from Poe, but Finn still shakes his head. Poe leans over and briefly informs Finn of his identity. Finn stiffens.

"Rey... what's Kylo been getting into your head?"

"He's not been getting anything into my head! It was just a story, honest, all my idea!" Rey protests. She receives nothing but a that's what he wants you to think look in return.

"Well, after Darth Plaugueis turned all Dark and basically discovered the antidote to death itself, Thorin sought something... more than the Jedi and the Sith. He loved his brother very much, but the Jedi forbade him to love."

She hears Poe make a tutting sound, and hopes he's even remotely open to her idea.

"So he created the Gray Jedi. They're the balance of the balance. A perfect combination of Dark and Light. The Gray teaches apprentices to love, to embrace emotions, to control power, and to seek justice." Rey doesn't know where her words are coming from, but she keeps talking. "I... I was the one who wanted to restore the Gray. Kylo had nothing to do with it! But... can't you see? The Light is flawed. The Dark is flawed— obviously. And..." Rey takes a breath, and before she can begin again, Poe interrupts her.

"This is a complete suicide mission. Snoke, Leia, Luke... Luke'll kill us."

Rey tries to look haughty as she replies steadily, "How many suicide missions have you partaken in before, then, Mr. Dameron?"

Poe falls silent.

Finn speaks up now. "But... it's Kylo Ren."

"I know! Unbelievable! Crazy, right?" She says sarcastically. "When on Alderaan are we going to get over the fact that—oh no— I've sided with Kylo Ren?" Rey feigns a dramatic gasp. "No, Rey, say it isn't so! Well, I have, so you can come with us or stand in our way and get killed."

A pause. Poe and Finn are looking at each other, panic showing on their features.

"Impaled, probably." Rey muses. She sees Finn's eyes widen, and adds: "Yes, Finn, I'm not going to pretend Kylo didn't kill his father. But although he hasn't come out and said it, I know he regrets it. Sometimes," she admits, "I can sort of... feel his emotions. It's a side effect of being a Force user."

Finn groans. Poe looks extremely shocked. Rey waits.

Eventually, the medical droid strolls back in, announcing, "Time's up. All visitors out. Now."

Rey looks for any sign of acceptance on her friends' faces as they pick themselves up and make for the door, but she can't detect anything. It unnerves her. She hopes they have the sense not to tell Leia the minute they have the chance.

I tried. I'm sorry if I failed, but I tried.

She makes sure to show her hatred towards the medical droid as he prepares for another unknown procedure. The droid pays no attention, however, and Rey closes her eyes as another needle is injected to her arm and the world fades away to black.


A/N: And so begins Part Three! This part lasts longer than the last one (i.e. Rey and Kylo traveling across the salt flat), I hope you enjoy! Make sure to review, follow, and favorite, and if not, the next update will be out tomorrow if nothing comes up. May the Force be with you! (Is that my new sendoff?)