As always, I would like to thank my beta alikssepia for her discerning eye in beta reading this chapter especially in helping me improve the overall tone of the chapter. Couldn't have done it without you :)

Thank you as well to readers both new and old for reading this fic :) We're getting closer to the end so just stay tuned!

"No." The word was firm on Rey's lips, her voice unyielding even as her fists shook at her side. "That's out of the question."

Ben looked at her, his expression a strange mix of relief and pain. "Rey..."

"I'm not forgetting you just so I could be rid of this...this curse," Rey said, throwing her arms out for added emphasis. There was no way she was going to allow herself to forget Ben. Not even for this. "There has to be another way."

"What if there is no other way?" Ben pointed out. "What if making you forget is the only way to rid you of your powers?"

"Then I'll live with it," Rey said with confidence, even though she didn't feel confident at all. "I'll train. I'll meditate. I'll do whatever I can. Just...don't let me forget you."

Silence fell thick between them, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Rather it was a silence wrought with an understanding that neither of them wanted to go through with the solution.

After a time, Ben released a trapped breath. "Alright, sweetheart. We'll find some other way."

"So...no more secrets?" Rey asked.

"No more secrets," Ben repeated with a small smile on his face.

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe he was being completely honest with her again, but deep down, something was telling her he was still being guarded about something. But she would let it pass for now.

The sun had set by the time they reached the shuttle, and had Ben not brought his tracking device, they might have missed the ship entirely. At least the ship's cloaking device was working perfectly, Rey thought. As for the damage, it would have to wait in the morning, when it's light out and definitely less dangerous.

Dinner consisted of the same rations they had traded with Unkar Plutt earlier. It didn't taste like much but it was filling, and that was the important part.

Ben suddenly groaned and put both his hands in his hair, clawing them into fists.

Rey stood up from where she was seated on a storage box and put a hand on his arm. He flinched at her touch. "Do you still have a headache?"

He didn't answer. Not for almost a full minute. Rey could actually feel a dull ache behind her own eyes and she wondered if somehow Ben was projecting what he was feeling to her, though how that could be possible she wasn't sure.

After a time, Ben let out a deep breath and whispered, "Water..."

Rey nodded and hurried to the 'fresher to retrieve some water from the sink. By the time she got back to Ben, he was sitting upright on the storage box, his face still wan but otherwise he seemed almost back to normal.

He thanked her and downed the glass of water in a few swallows.

"Are you okay now?" Rey asked once he had finished drinking.

"Yeah. Just a headache. Nothing a little sleep can't fix." Ben stood up from the storage box and stretched his arms up over his head. Rey had already returned the cloak to him, and even though he clearly had no need for it inside the shuttle, he still decided to wear it. She allowed herself to be flattered. "Let's head to bed. We still have to fix the ship in the morning. Get out of this hellhole."

"And what happens after we fix the ship?" Rey continued to ask. "Where do we go?"

"I...don't know." He dropped his arms. "Probably to Jedha. There's bound to be some Jedi Lore remaining there. Maybe we can find something to help you with your powers."

Rey nodded. Jedha, from what she remembered in Jedi Lore and History class, was a desert moon considered as the spiritual home of the Jedi Order. Ben was right, she thought. They were bound to find something there.

"Okay now, off to bed with you." He put a palm on her shoulder and led her down a short corridor towards one of the sleeping quarters. "We still have an early start in the morning."

"What about you?" Rey turned to him just as she reached the door. "Where will you sleep?"

"In the quarters next door."

"Oh."

"Well...good night, Rey." Ben nodded and started to walk away.

"Ben?"

"Yes?"

"Will you...will you sleep in my quarters with me?"

She was met with silence. And it stretched on further than what she felt was comfortable.

"It'll be just like old times," she added, trying to insert some light in her voice. "You can sleep on the other bunk."

Ben shook his head. "I...I can't, Rey."

"Why not?"

"Because...you're not my little sister anymore."

Rey's eyes widened, her heart pounding and her cheeks flushing when she saw Ben's face redden. She wasn't sure how to respond. What did he mean by that?

"I'm sorry," he apologized and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm tired. I don't know what I'm saying." He gave her a weak smile. "What I mean is...you're a big girl now. You can sleep on your own. Good night, sweetheart."

Rey watched him walk hastily down the corridor and through the door to the next quarters. Only when his door closed did she enter her quarters, head to one of the bunk beds and slip under the blankets.

Then, she felt something poking from one of her pockets and remembered.

Papa Doll.

Reaching into her pocket, she took out the doll she had hastily fixed and stared at it, her thoughts fastening on the memory of Ben's flushed face when he had said she was no longer his little sister.

She knew he probably meant nothing by it, but for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to indulge, her heart fluttering in her chest and a small smile dancing on her lips until she fell into a deep sleep with the doll still tucked in her arms.

Ben lay awake in his bunk, his hands behind his head. It had been well over a few hours since he attempted to sleep but he had so many things to think about, not the least of which was planning a trip to Jedha. At least that was a start, he thought. A solid plan. They would have to disguise themselves of course, to make sure they won't be recognized in case the Senate did initiate a manhunt for the ones responsible for the massacre at the academy. No doubt his disappearance would be on the news right now, and Rey...she was an orphan. No one knew her beyond those in the academy, so he doubted her disappearance would even make the news.

He turned to his side and bit at his thumbnail. How long could they keep this up, he wondered, hiding away like this, running away together like the fugitives that they were. He'd do this for years if he could get away with it. And time would only make them better at hiding. They'd wear disguises, change their names, eke out a living in some other backwater world. They could survive. Together. Away from the rest of the galaxy, away from—

"Kylo Ren..."

Ben yanked the pillow from underneath his head and buried his head beneath it, trying to shut out that monster—Snoke—from calling him but it would not abate. He could feel those tendrils again—like sharp claws tearing its way into his mind, his head throbbing from the effort of trying to keep it at bay.

"You swore yourself to me, Kylo Ren...and now you must fulfil your end of the bargain..."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Ben repeated in his head, just as he had done intermittently for the past day, but this time Snoke was persistent, probing his mind and reminding him of his promise to render himself to him. But no, he couldn't surrender. Not now. Not when he had Rey to take care of.

Then, the attacks stop abruptly. If it was because of Ben's growing prowess at blocking him out or if it was Snoke himself who stopped, he didn't know. But it left him aching and out of breath as he sat up from bed, shoulders heaving, and sweat dripping down his temples.

He closed his eyes and dragged a palm down his face. This. This was what he hadn't told Rey: Snoke's continued assault on him ever since they left the academy. He didn't want her to worry needlessly, but now he was beginning to wonder how long he would be able to keep the monster out of his head.

Still, what would be the point of telling her? She would only blame herself and her Dark Side powers for Snoke's unrestricted access to him. And the last thing he needed was for Rey to carry more guilt on her shoulders.

"You swore yourself to me, Kylo Ren...and now you must fulfil your end of the bargain..."

Bargain? Ben thought. What bargain was that creature talking about?

And then he remembered.

"Take me. Take me instead!"

"You...you, who now have so much light in you, would take her place by my side?"

"I can shun the light! Just...just leave her out of this!"

Oh maker...he had made a bargain! He had sworn himself in exchange for Rey!

Without thinking more, Ben burst out of his quarters and opened the door to Rey's, where he found his worst fears come to light.

There was nothing on the bed except Papa Doll.

Rey was gone.

"Rey!" Ben stumbled out of the shuttle and into the night. Illumination from inside the ship filtered out to show small footsteps on the sand leading into the desert. To how far, he didn't know, but the only way to find out was to follow it.

Unclasping his lightsaber from his belt, he activated it and used the blade to light the way, running alongside the footsteps as he did. The night was bitterly cold despite the cloak he wore, and he wondered how Rey must be faring out here in only her padawan robes.

But most of all, he wondered why in the world she would leave in the middle of the night like this, on a foreign world no less. That was not like her at all.

Unless...

Ben stopped following the footsteps and closed his eyes for a moment to have a feel through the Force. He hoped and prayed his suspicions would prove incorrect, but when he found her Force signature, he felt his heart sink.

Her Force signature was heavily tainted with Dark Side energy.

He started running again, deeper and deeper into the darkness of the desert, with only the lightsaber to light his way.

Then, he saw a dark shape on the sand. He hurried to the shape and moved his saber over it, only to find a large dead carrion bird, its beak wide open and its throat twisted in a grotesque way.

And there were more dead birds, situated alongside the footsteps.

"Rey!" Ben now followed the footsteps and the dead birds, running as fast as his feet could carry him across the coarse sand until he found her down a dune, on her knees and clutching her head as though in pain. Her body was glowing red as dark shapes—shadowy creatures—emanated from her like wisps of smoke.

Without a moment's hesitation, he slid down the dune and ran towards her, only to have one of the shadow creatures fling him back with a swing of its clawed hand, sending him flying towards the side of the dune.

He sputtered and pulled himself out of the sand. "R-Rey! It's me!"

"Don't come any closer," Rey spoke in a voice that didn't sound like her own. "Get away!"

"No!" Ben refused. "I'm not leaving you!"

"I said get away!" Rey screamed, her red aura intensifying to the point of almost blowing Ben away, but he did his best to hold his ground, even as the light from her aura nearly blinded him, even as the sand nearly suffocated him.

Then, the shadows began to attack. Ben inched forward, slicing the attacking shadows with his lightsaber, surprised to find them tangible. Made of flesh and blood. But every time he felled one, another creature would form and go on the attack. He didn't know how long he could hold them off, but he had to try. At least until he could get to Rey. But how?

He turned and saw Rey, still kneeling on the ground, screaming into the night, her eyes a bright yellow, her body still pulsing with red energy.

Ben closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Perhaps he could reach Rey through the Force, he thought, and so he focused on her, doing what he could to create a bridge to her mind even as the shadows continued their attack.

All of a sudden, he could hear her voice...no, her thoughts. Beyond her screaming, the gusts of wind, the waves of energy emanating from her, he could actually hear her thoughts. And in them, she was...

...crying. And this heaviness in his heart. This burden of guilt...was he feeling what she was feeling too?

"It's my fault...all my fault...Kreio...everyone...I killed them all..."

"Ahh!" Ben cried out as a shadow creature clawed at his shoulder, drawing blood. He immediately dispatched the creature and concentrated once more on his and Rey's connection.

"You're right...Supreme Leader Snoke. I belong to the Dark Side..."

Snoke. Snoke was in Rey's head!

"Rey, don't listen to him—Ahh!" Once again, Ben was flung back with the swing of a shadow creature's arm. He hastened to his feet and watched in horror as Rey stopped screaming. Watched as the glow around her dimmed and she began to levitate, her face expressionless, yellow eyes towards the starlit heavens.

Ben felt the blood drain away from his body as he realized, through his connection with Rey, what Snoke was trying to do. He was trying to pinpoint their location!

Using all the Force Power he had, Ben ploughed through the shadows with his lightsaber, his hands moving almost on their own accord as he swung and thrust his way forward, breaking past the waves of energy that kept him at bay until he finally reached Rey and pulled her into his arms, dropping the saber as he did.

He didn't know how or why it happened, but the instant he had Rey in his embrace, the shadows dissipated and he was left with her weight in his arms, all the turmoil from earlier disappearing and the night was quiet once more.

He dropped to his knees, exhausted from the ordeal. Rey gasped as they fell and opened her eyes. From the light of Jakku's two moons, Ben could see her eyes were no longer aglow, but instead were glistening with tears. And when she moved her gaze over his wounded shoulder, she began to wail and cling to him, as though he were a raft in tumultuous seas.

"Ben...oh Ben...I..."

"Shh, shh...it's okay," he whispered, rocking her in his arms. It was the only comfort he could give, the only thing he could do to help her through the pain, through the memories of Kreio's dead eyes, of death and destruction and the guilt that bled from her to him. Her thoughts were still open to him, and though he could see that Snoke had not managed to get their location from her, he also saw that the damage had been done.

Snoke had gotten a foothold on Rey's mind. Made her completely blame herself for everything that had, happened and made her believe she belonged to the Dark Side, which would give him easy access to her. And that was when he realized they would never truly be free of Snoke's grasp.

Unless he did what had to be done.

Painful as it was, it would have to be done.