Kylo rummaged through the small cabinet, silently cursing Poe for his lack of organization. Two small blasters clattered to the floor, and he held out his hand to put them back with the Force. He let out a string of colorful Wookie curse words as they remained motionless. Crouching down, he snatched the weapons with unnecessary strength and threw them back onto the lowest shelf. A cartridge dropped out of the storage unit as the blasters tumbled into the cabinet.

"Kriff." Kylo reached out his hand and picked up the cartridge, recognizing it as a power cell. "Finally."

He snapped the power cartridge into his blaster pistol as he stalked toward the middle of Poe's landing bay. He rolled up his sleeves and checked the blaster's settings. The cuff locked around his wrist glinted mockingly in Coruscant's sun.

Without his Force abilities, he found that he could not control his lightsaber well enough to accurately fight. He could still physically wield it, but the Force helped him control the blade and augmented his reflexes. With his power suppressed, the lightsaber was nothing more than a blunt tool.

He raised the blaster into a familiar stance, hating the weight of the cuff around his wrist. He took only a moment to aim at the target board before he began rapidly squeezing the trigger.

How could he have not sensed the Dark growing in Eeth? He had been through the seduction of the Dark. He knew the signs, knew how tempting the nearly unrestricted power was. Luke had entrusted him with the Padawans, and one had slipped away, betraying everyone that Kylo cared about in the process. Why had he allowed Luke to convince him to teach? He had initially refused the position on the basis that his own irreparable damage would do nothing but harm to young Force sensitives.

Rey was the only reason he had stayed. And now he could barely sense her through the bond he had become so dependent upon. He could still see and hear, but he felt trapped, alone inside his own body without the Force and without Rey's constant, soothing presence nearby.

Once the cuff was removed, he would need Rey to keep him from using the Force to choke Eeth.

The bolts created smoking craters in the target board, and Kylo tightened his hold on the blaster as he studied the craters. They surrounded the center of the target, but none had actually hit his mark. He raked a hand through his hair and threw the blaster on the ground as the heat of frustration built in his chest.

"Now, what did that blaster ever do to you?" Kylo jumped as Finn's voice rang across the landing bay, and the frustration gnawed further through his body. He had not realized how much he relied on the Force for even simple things like sensing others approach.

Kylo bent to pick up the blaster as Finn approached. The former Stormtrooper followed his movement, and his eyes remained focused on the cuff. Several scratches marred his skin around the metal; Kylo had woken that morning to find himself pulling at the cuff in his sleep. "Do you have nothing better to do but watch me shoot?"

Finn's arms crossed over his chest. "Well, yes, actually. But Poe messaged saying he and Rey are on their way back."

Kylo let out a long sigh and snapped out the power cartridge as a safety precaution before he followed Finn back into the house. "I'm assuming the Padawans didn't listen to me when I told them to meditate?"

Finn's teeth flashed white against his skin with a laugh. "Of course not. They're in the kitchen researching again. Although I'm not sure what they're hoping to find."

Kylo ducked his head to enter the kitchen, and four pairs of eyes greeted him as the Padawans looked up with alarm. Jessika flicked a hand, and their datapads flipped over to obscure the screens. "Master Ren."

Suspicion laced through Kylo as he took a seat next to Teela. The Padawan cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry, Master. It's just that we can't really sense you."

"Well, we can sense that cuff but not you," Sonzy added as he picked up his datapad.

Kylo paused for a moment and looked down at the cuff, once again feeling the frustration at his disconnection to the Force. He would not even be in the situation had he not wanted to harm Eeth with his saber. Stars, he wanted to break something, to scream and yell at the galaxy for never letting him have a moment of peace. "What does the cuff feel like?"

The Togruta frowned as he thought for a moment. "Dark, which is what's alarming considering we're used to your balance."

A strange look slipped over Jessika's face, but Kylo looked away as the sounds of Poe's voice preceded his entrance into the kitchen. Rey trailed after the pilot, and Kylo watched her slight limp interrupt her gait. She sat next to him, and Kylo pulled off his glove to intertwine his fingers with hers. The ire inside of him waned as he vaguely sensed his wife through their weak connection. They tightened their grip on each other as if it would strengthen their faint bond.

Poe set a datapad on the counter, turned on the water heater, and pulled out a mug before stuffing a small piece of fruit in his mouth. He chewed for a second before speaking around the food, "One of the patrol squads intercepted a First Order fleet aiming for Agamar. There's a few other former officers being held there, but we're not really sure why they would try attacking again now that they have Hux back."

Kylo pulled off his other glove with his teeth and rested his hand on Rey's arm, desperate for the extra contact with his wife. "Knowing Hux, it's a diversion. Their main target is probably getting Eeth back so that they have a Force user in their ranks again."

Finn picked up Poe's datapad and flicked his finger over the screen. "Are these reports accurate? Stormtroopers have been sighted?"

A cold chill settled into Kylo's stomach as Poe nodded gravely. "Not many, but yes."

"That means we didn't get them all…" Finn sighed and set the datapad down, shaking his head. "Some of the members of my program didn't return when the funding came back…"

A hazy feeling of concern slid through Kylo, and he recognized after a moment that it came from Rey. "Perhaps we need to go to Geonosis." She tapped the cuff around Kylo's wrist. "It's likely that's where this came from, especially since that's where those explosives were from. The Republic hardly ever sends patrols there, so it's worth a shot."

"A big operation like that, you'll need Ren at full force," Finn frowned at the cuff and then added, "Pun intended."

Poe dumped some powder into his mug and plopped down at the table. Kylo caught the familiar scent of chav as he took a deep drink. "I'm out of ideas. My tools don't work," Kylo winced at the memory of Poe's sparking tools whirring next to his hand, "and all you Jedi tried your Force mojo at once to take it off, even with Skywalker. I don't know much about the Force, but shouldn't that have worked?"

"Thanks for your vote of confidence, Poe," Rey rolled her eyes at the pilot and ran the tips of her fingers over Kylo's arm as hopelessness sparked through him.

Poe shrugged and licked chav off his lips. "Just speaking out loud."

Jessika spoke up quietly, her gaze distant. "What if it's not the amount of the Force we're using, but the method?"

"Like different gestures?" Kaydel raised an eyebrow at her fellow Padawan in disbelief. "I don't think there are many other ways to open something with the Force."

Jessika shook her head and chose her words carefully. "No, not the gesture. I thought I read about something that talks about how different techniques can only be accessed through different sides of the Force. Like healing is a Light technique, and only Dark users can produce Force lightning." She finally met Kylo's eyes, her expression brightening. "We're all Light Side users. What if the way to open the cuff is by using the Dark Side alone?"

The room fell quiet as everyone stared at the cuff. Kylo did not need the Force to tell him they all accepted Jessika's theory.

Poe broke the silence by clinking his mug against the table, and Finn spoke up slowly. "So they either want Ren to be out of commission by deadening his Force powers, or they want him to have to find a Dark Side user to take it off."

Teela chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Or they want Master Ren to have to use the Dark himself to get rid of it."

Panic rose in Kylo's chest. He had fought for so long to leave the Dark Side behind him; he did not want to succumb to it again. Rey's hand squeezed his reassuringly. "We should talk to Eeth first. Maybe we can convince him to return to us."

Kylo's mouth twitched at his wife's optimism. "The Dark won't relinquish him that easily, especially if he doesn't want to leave it."

"Something happened to him," Sonzy said in a voice barely above a whisper. "He said he wanted to dispel the negative connotations surrounding the Zabrak people since most think of Darth Maul when they see him. I don't think he fell willingly."

Kylo studied the Togruta's face, silently wishing for the Force to help him read the Padawan's emotions. "At this point, I'm not sure how much we can trust what Eeth told us. We don't know when he started down the path to the Dark Side."

Sonzy nodded with a grim expression, and Kylo glanced at the datapads in front of the Padawans. "What are you four researching?"

The light green of Teela's skin paled, and she picked at the corner of her datapad without looking at him. "Well, we started looking at Force suppression, but now we're looking at past followers of the Dark Side."

Kylo let out slow sigh and clasped his hands in front of him. Rey kept her hand on his arm, and he felt her comfortable presence faint in the back of his mind. "Understand that people have gone to the Dark Side for different reasons. Vader did it for the power to save his wife." Rey's hand tightened on his arm, and Kylo took a deep breath to steel himself. He had only ever told Rey about his path to the Dark. "I did because I felt I had no other choice. My family lied to me about my ancestry. I was alone except for Snoke constantly in my mind. The Dark Side welcomed me more than anyone else had. It… felt right for years."

He wanted to add more to not appear as weak as his words felt, but he could not find the words. Rey ran her thumb over his skin as she added, "Your bonds with each other are important. Just know that you can tell us anything." Kylo watched her lips spread in a beautiful smile. "You all know the history. We've been through a lot. We'll understand."

The Padawans nodded solemnly, and Kylo avoided the eyes of Finn and Poe, who both stayed uncharacteristically quiet. Rey pressed a soft kiss to Kylo's jaw. "Let's go talk about this."

Kylo allowed his wife to lead him from the kitchen and shot her a grateful expression as they walked slowly to their bedroom. Rey held onto his upper arm, and he felt her lean against him as she slowed down with a limp. "Didn't the med droid give you pain tabs?"

Rey sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Worry spiked through Kylo as he watched an expression of pain wash over her face. "Yes, but they block the little connection I can feel with you when we're touching." She shook her head, and her face turned fierce. "I hate this, Kylo."

"I know you hate being wounded – "

"No. Well, yes, I do, but I hate not sensing you." Rey limped into their room and turned to face him. "You had nightmares again last night, and I only woke because you were moving. I couldn't figure out how to help."

Kylo ran a hand through his hair and looked away from his wife. "I've been Force sensitive my entire life. How do you think this… thing makes me feel? I can't sense anything, Rey. Not you, not the Padawans, not Arian. I can't even let out my anger."

Rey placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down so that their lips met. Kylo felt their connection as their lips moved together and tasted some sweet on her lips, but it did not seem the same. His senses felt dull and scattered without the Force.

After several long moments, Rey pulled away from the kiss and rested her forehead on Kylo's. "You can use the Dark to remove it. Please. For me. You've gotten out of it before." She kissed the tip of his nose before grinning up at him. "And I'll be here to help."

Kylo straightened and clutched Rey's hand. "The First Order wants me to use the Dark, though. I can't decide why." Theories raced through his mind, of Snoke's return or the emergence of something worse. "I might not be able to get out of it…"

"We'll still have our bond, and I'll be your Light. Like always." Rey gave a dazzling smile and pulled him over to the bed. "We'll tackle that blasted cuff tomorrow."

Kylo sank down into the bed, feeling his worry weight down at his shoulders. Rey curled up close, and Kylo almost tried using the Force to pull the covers over her body before he grabbed them with his hand. She smiled at him and pulled him close, keeping her hand on his arm. "Tell me something about your childhood."

Kylo frowned slightly and rested his head against the pillow. "It's not terribly happy, so I don't think it would make a good bedtime story."

Rey rolled her eyes and adjusted her own head on her pillow. "I know there were happy moments. How did you learn to speak Wookie?"

Kylo allowed his wife to distract his mind and sighed softly. "The official name for their language is Shyriiwook."

"Skriwok?" Rey pronounced the word awkwardly on her tongue and grinned. "Shyriiwook?"

"Shyriiwook, yes." Kylo moved to clasp their hands together again. "Chewie was always at my parents' flat when I was young. I think I picked up most of the sounds as I was learning Basic, and he taught me how to actually speak it when I was around five or so."

"Do you know any legends from the Wookies?"

Kylo began telling Rey a tale of a great war and the trickery of the Wookies using a constructed Kashyyyk bantha to secretly enter a city. He drifted to sleep before he finished.

AN: Brownie points to you smart people if you know what the Wookie legend references! Let me know what you think!