Redemption and Ruin
Chapter Twenty
Terror gripped her. She was that scared little girl left on Jakku. That lonely girl screaming and begging for someone to come back. Screaming for him, even though she didn't know it.
She wouldn't lose him. Not again. No one would take him from her.
"No! No! REN!" she screamed as the gathered 'troopers dragged her toward the door. One held her by her hair, keeping her from headbutting or biting. Dragging her like a wild creature.
"Let her go!" he bellowed, pulling against the men holding him back. Straining to get to her. "You lie!"
The general stopped, standing between them. "The Supreme Leader knows of your weakness, Ren."
"What weakness?" he spat.
"Your love for the girl," Hux said simply. "Not just compassion. Love. Love has made you weak. It will infect her. The Supreme Leader will decide your fate."
Love. Was it possible? Could he love her? The woman she was now, not the girl she used to be. The woman giving in to the pull of the Dark even as she still felt the call of the Light? Could he ever love her?
What did love even feel like it? She had no frame of reference for love. No memories of a family. No one but him. No one else who cared. Could affection be love?
She felt the answer through the bond. The quiet, pained response. Yes. Yes, it could. Love had many forms.
She saw flashes. Han Solo and Leia Organa in happier moments. Romance. Leia singing to Ben. Family. Han letting Chewie watch the young Ben, growling playfully at him when he pulled too hard on the Wookiee's fur, never intending to harm the boy. So much warmth and caring. Family. Love.
Ben comforting her after a nightmare. Protecting her. Ren kissing her. Loving her.
"Let me go or I swear I will kill you all!" she screamed.
"Ben! No! Come back!"
Hux looked amused. "Take the girl to her cell. Leave the restraints on," he ordered.
"If she doesn't kill you, I will," Ren said in a chilling voice, his anger barely restrained. "If you hurt her, I will make sure you feel it tenfold before I kill you. You rathtar-fucking, Hutt-sucking slime—"
Another jolt of electricity pried a scream from her lips. It was a riot baton. She recognized it from training. The weapon pressed against her stomach and sent shocks rolling through her body.
"Rey! You son of a rancor, Hux! Rey!"
Fear and worry shot through the bond. His pain at seeing her hurt. She fought for breath, wanting to reassure him, to soothe him, but the baton hit her again.
Rey dropped to her knees, the 'troopers shoving her forward. Hux stepped closer and she caught an inappropriate thought from his head. The general liked seeing her on her knees before him. He liked seeing her this. He wanted—
Her hands curled into fists, drawing blood as she reached for the Force. A scream, powered by anger and fueled by hate, tore from her lips. She felt the room shudder like a landing ship. And then she felt the binders holding her captive shatter.
Her hand flew up wanting to grab, squeeze, choke, kill the man between them. The Force wanted to obey, but there was a sudden, sharp pain in her head and it was gone.
All she heard was the sound of Ren calling her name as she hit the floor.
The power Rey unleashed rippled like a shockwave. Pure power, the likes of which he'd never felt before. The binders were meant to dampen the link to the Force. They could be overcome, but it took skill and concentration. Power.
And Rey… she destroyed hers.
"Rey!"
The butt of a blaster pistol sent her sprawling to the floor. The blow would keep her down but not for long. She was strong in the Force. Hux had woken the Dark Side in her with a vengeance.
He concentrated on his own binders. On the innate flaws. He had to get to her. Before they hurt her again. Before Hux took her from him.
"Take the girl to an interrogation room. Have her sedated. Heavily. I will inform the Supreme Leader," Hux ordered as a Stormtrooper nudged her side with his boot, not so much nudging as kicking the unconscious girl.
"Rey!" he shouted again. "Get away from her!"
He clenched his hands into fists.
"You have no power here, Ren. Not anymore. You'll be lucky if the Supreme Leader doesn't have you executed for your treasonous thoughts."
He tapped into the anger, fear, and sadness between them. Their combined strengths. Their shared ability. He wasn't going to lose her. Not to Hux. Not to anyone.
The binders on his wrists snapped open and his hand flew out, sending the nearby 'troopers flying. He heard bones break and felt pleased. Very pleased.
He stalked forward, shoving Hux against a wall and away from his Rey. The general choked as the air around his neck tightened.
"She's mine. No one touches her."
He bent down to check her, to touch her face, and he felt the blood. On her head from the pistol. Running from her nose. The blast of power she'd used was too much for her. It hurt her.
"You're dead, Ren. You'll never make it off this ship alive. Neither of you."
Ren clenched his hand slightly, exerting more pressure on the other man's windpipe.
"You won't take her from me."
He was too focused, too angry in the moment. He didn't see the blaster until it was too late. Until the bolt pierced his side and he lost his grip on the Force.
Hux regained his composure easily.
Ren touched his side, seeing his own blood coat his hand. The anger welled new in his veins and he reached out for his saber. It was almost to his hand, almost there, when a baton touched his spine and he fell to his knees beside her.
He tried to call the Force again but felt his grip slipping, his control gone, his body weak in the face of the overwhelming pain. Hers and his mixed.
The baton pressed down again and again and he felt blackness at the edge of his vision as a new set of binders were fitted around his wrists.
He looked at her, at his Rey, his last conscious thought of her.
Hux hurried into the chamber. The Supreme Leader was already waiting. He bowed to the hologram stiffly, his throat still sore from the Force-choking at Ren's hand. His uniform hid the worst of the bruising.
"Supreme Leader, the girl… she's stronger than anticipated. I'm not sure we can hold both her and Ren."
"Keep her drugged and secured. They must be kept separated at all costs. The key to swaying her is Kylo Ren. Her feelings for him can be manipulated to serve us. She will do anything to protect him and he to save her. It's quaint. Foolish sentimentality."
"Sir, she destroyed her binders and killed several of my men. So did Ren. They're dangerous."
"They are stronger together. They feed off each other's emotions, General. That is how the girl broke free. She used the Dark Side, she used his powers and her own. They must be kept apart."
"And her training?"
"She will prove her loyalty on Jakku in two days' time. If she fails, Kylo Ren will kill her. The girl is too dangerous to keep alive if she can't be controlled. Without her, Ren can be controlled."
"Sir, shouldn't we just kill Ren? If she's more powerful—"
"No," the hologram snapped. "I have invested many resources in him. Kylo Ren is to be kept alive. Maim the girl if you must, but Ren lives."
He felt his lip twitch in disgust. The girl, scavenger though she was, would be preferable to Ren.
"What about reconditioning?" the general suggested.
A slow smile broke across the scared face. "Why, that might be the perfect answer, general. I will consider it. In the meantime, keep them apart. Inform the girl of my orders. When she refuses to cooperate, hurt Kylo Ren. Use the bond against them."
"With pleasure, Supreme Leader."
Her head hurt.
Rey slowly opened her eyes, expecting a soft bed. Expecting a warm body beside her. Ren.
There was only cold durasteel clamped around her arms and legs, restraining her in a familiar manner. An interrogation bench.
"Ren?" she called hoarsely. "Kylo?"
No response from his voice, but she felt a groggy stirring through the bond. Felt him inside her head. His concern for her.
"Rey… Rey, are you hurt?" he asked in her head.
She felt tears stream down her cheeks. Relief. He was alive.
"I don't know… I don't… where are you? Where are you?"
"Don't leave me!"
"Still on the ship. We're both still here. I can feel you. They're trying to keep us apart, but we're both still here. I'm still here, Rey. I'm not leaving you."
"Don't leave me, Ren… please don't leave me…"
"I'm right here. I won't leave you. I'm right here," he said in her head and she barely choked back a sob.
She felt a pain, not just mental anguish, but real physical pain. "They hurt you. You're hurt…" she said, feeling her anger rise. How dare they touch him. How dare they hurt him. How dare they. "Mine."
"It's nothing," he soothed, but she still bristled at the thought. At his pain.
"They hurt you!" I'll kill them.
His hand against her cheek. His lips on hers. Him pulling her close, into his arms.
"I'm okay, Rey. I'm okay."
No, it wasn't okay. Deep down she knew this wasn't right. He was hurt and it was because of her. Because he wanted to protect her. Because he loved her. Her teacher. Her protector. Her Ren. Hers.
She felt him smile at the thought. He liked the idea. He liked being hers.
"Mine. My Rey," he said back and she smiled despite their circumstances. Despite the pain. They belonged to each other. Master and apprentice. Dark and Light. Good and bad. They were too much alike.
The door to her cell opened and a single man strode in. The general came into view slowly, a sinister smile on his face.
"Good, you're awake," he said and she felt Ren tense in her head. Hatred. Fear. Hurt her and I'll fucking kill you.
"You will let us go," she demanded, straining to push the thought, to put the power of the Force behind her words. The man before her didn't seemed fazed.
"No, scavenger. You are a prisoner of the First Order. You will remain such until a time comes that you prove your allegiance. If you fail, Ren will oversee your execution."
A red saber humming. Pain in her chest. His name on her lips.
"Never. He won't kill me. We'll kill you."
"I thought you might say that." He thumbed a communicator in his hand. "Now."
Pain, unbearable pain flashed through her head. She heard him scream.
Torture. They were hurting him.
Rey struggled against her bonds. "Stop it! Stop it! Don't…"
The general stepped closer, clearly pleased, but still the pain didn't stop. She felt his body tense against wave after wave. His back, his side, his stomach. Pain, so much pain. Her fault. It was her fault.
"Stop," she begged, even as she heard a faint, "Rey, no," in her mind.
Hux considered her for a long moment, a moment that felt like minutes, like hours, as Ren yelled again in pain.
"Don't hurt him… please don't hurt him…"
He hit the communicator again. "Stop."
The intensity disappeared. Ren panted in her head, "No, Rey, no… don't… I can take it…"
But he couldn't. He was already hurt. They would only hurt him more. Possibly kill him. Hurt him to hurt her. She couldn't let it continue.
He touched her cheek, smiling at her tears, the touch a sick mockery of every gentle caress from Ren. Leather gloves against her skin. Her stomach twisted into knots and bile filled her mouth.
"What is it about him, scavenger? What is it that binds you together? Hmm?"
She spit in his face. "Don't. Touch. Me."
His hand left her cheek to wipe off her saliva. She felt triumphant for a brief moment until he pressed the communicator again and issued a command.
The pain began again. A baton pressed against a gaping wound in his side. She could almost see it in her mind.
"Stop! Stop! Stop it, you're killing him!" she screamed, pulling against the restraints keeping her back. Keeping her away from him.
Rey tasted blood in her mouth. His? Hers? She couldn't tell. She just wanted the pain to stop.
"If it stops, will you behave like a civilized girl instead of a beast?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.
"No… Don't…" a whispered, barely coherent thought from Ren in her head.
"Yes," she said, crying. "Just stop… stop hurting him…"
"If I do, you'll behave?"
"I'll do anything you want, just make it stop! Stop hurting him!"
"Rey, no!"
Hux thumbed the communicator again. "Stop. Keep the prisoner alive."
Rey sagged against her bonds. "I'm sorry, I just… I couldn't…" she begged in her head.
"I know," he panted back, exhausted.
She trembled at the hand on her skin. "Tell your lover not to worry. I won't defile you. I like my women willing," he breathed against her neck and she shuddered at the thought.
Wounded as he was, she felt Ren turned defensive. "Mine," he hissed through bared teeth in her head.
She closed her eyes, her body still trembling in fear, trying to think of anything else. Anywhere else.
Ren, moving inside her, his hands gripping her hips. A delicious kind of pain as he marked her skin with his hands.
Her nails scratched his back, pulling him closer. Needing more. Needing him.
"I'm not yours," she said, her tone icy. "I will never be yours."
"We'll see… Rey. First, you have to survive your test."
"I want to see him."
"This is not a negotiation. You have no power here, scavenger."
"I want to see him," she repeated. "I need to see him."
"That is not an option."
"He will be there on Jakku or I won't cooperate."
"Then you will die," Hux said.
"If I die, we both do. You can't break the bond between us," she said confidently.
But it was the ginger's turn to smile. "If I can't break the bond, I will break you. You will forget you ever knew Kylo Ren. You will be reconditioned."
Fear from Ren. He knew that word. It was a bad word. Painful. Worse than what happened to her. Worse than losing her memory. She would lose herself. Her freewill.
"I doubt that bond will work well when you are at separate ends of the galaxy," Hux mused.
"What will it take? What do you want from me?"
"Your loyalty, girl. To me. To the First Order. In two days' we will arrive on Jakku. You will kill Unkar Plutt or be destroyed, mind, body, and soul."
"And Kylo Ren?" she asked, his voice quiet in her mind. Hurt. Tired. Worried.
"Behave and you can say your good-byes."
She lowered her head. "Don't hurt him anymore. Please."
That mocking caress again. "Good girl. Two days. Your choice."
Author's Notes:
I'm taking some liberties with binders. I'm sure they're meant to be unbreakable, but I doubt the First Order worried too much about restraining Force-sensitives and both Rey and Ren are powerful individuals under severe distress at the moment. So in my head, it's possible.
How much do you hate Snoke and Hux after this?
I hope you enjoyed this dark beast of a chapter. No worries, there's still lots of story to come. We might be about halfway through or even less. I've begun to stray from my initial outline a bit. I blame Hux for this. The next chapter will either be Jakku or some memories or a mixture. I'm not sure yet.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? In need of therapy after seeing Kylo Ren being tortured? (I know I do…)
Thanks for hanging in there, guys! I'm away most of tomorrow and honestly, I need to sleep too, so I wouldn't count on a Sunday chapter for sure. There's a chance but it all depends.
2die4u – Thank you so much! Oooh, I wish I could say, but I can't… I will say that I love this couple and I hate putting them through all this pain, but it is Star Wars, so anything could happen and I have about five possible endings ranging from happy to cutmyheartoutwithalightsaberwhydon'tyou. J