Darkness rises… and light to meet it.
The statement meant more to both of them than either could begin to understand. Snoke didn't even realize it's real implications. Darkness would indeed rise, and light to meet it, but not how either would expect.
Rey exhaled slowly, attempting to center herself. Meditating was now a stressful task, it was no longer the peaceful escape it once was. She now felt paranoid, afraid that if she let herself sink too deep, she would feel him, and he might feel her also.
It had been a few months since the battle of Crait, one hundred and two days to be almost exact, it was hard to tell when jumping from planet to planet. She wasn't sure why she started keeping track, maybe it was a form of comfort, yet Rey didn't know why she felt the need to since that day. Was it Luke's death? Was it being back with the resistance? Or was it because it was the last time she saw him? No, that wasn't it; she wouldn't let him be the reason she did anything. She had already done enough for him. Gave him too much, she believed in him, gave him the chance to change it all. Instead, he chose to rise to Supreme Leader, making him the ultimate enemy.
It should make their relationship simpler, he made his choice, and she made hers. But of course it didn't, it was all still hanging there in the force between them, the hurt, the anger, and the disappointment. She could feel it flow between the bond, sometimes just a twinge, and others a wave crashing down, threatening to drown her. She was just grateful the bond hadn't acted up as it did in the past. Rey swore she saw him out of the corner of her eye a few times or heard his voice, but she chalked it up to exhaustion.
The weeks following the battle were difficult for the resistance. Apart from the emotional toll it took on the group, they were down to as many people could fit on the falcon with nowhere to go and dwindling supplies. The mourning of lost ones increased the decline of hope they so desperately needed. Rey could feel the sadness and despair radiating off of everyone, herself included. It fell on Leia to keep the group together and with at least some spirit. The old general had a lot of practice, too much practice. It wasn't fair for all of this to befall Leia; she herself was dealing with an enormous loss. It wasn't too long ago she lost Han, and now she had to mourn the loss of her twin as well. She had officially lost her family, Ben included. The first week or so she seemed to be almost completely broken from all that occurred, but in true Leia fashion, she picked herself up and got back to work, once again putting the galaxy before herself.
After weeks of jumping from this old rebel base to that one, recruiting a few new members, the resistance finally picked a more long term location. Ajan Kloss sat in the Cademimu sector of the Outer Rim far and hidden from the First Order. The moon was covered with thick jungle, and humidity continuously sat in the air. The only place Rey could begin to compare this moon to was Takodana, but she tried not to think about that day.
Rey spent most of her day either training or helping repair the old, rickety ships they've managed to collect in the weeks following Crait. Keeping busy was good for her, she still wasn't used to the constant buzz of others around her or the responsibility of being the supposed "last Jedi". Although she wouldn't deny being back with Finn or meeting new friends like Poe and Rose wasn't great, she started to feel like she belonged at least a little bit, but also she felt guilt for not being completely honest. Rey still didn't tell Finn or anyone else about the bond, or anything else that happened that day, it worried her, knowing it would most likely ostracize her more. So she kept it to herself, no one would ever know what transpired between her and Ben, or was it Kylo for sure now?
As the resistance struggled to find stability again, so did the new Supreme Leader. Kylo spent most of his time in his quarters or in the training room, avoiding the repaired throne room as much as possible. This wasn't just because he didn't want to be anything like Snoke, but also because of her. The energy of the room its self was too much for him to bear. At times it felt that he could still feel Snoke's presence, the anger, hatred, and disappointment, but soon it became evident that those emotions could be his own projections. But none of it mattered now, he was the most powerful man in the galaxy and had other matters to attend to. He wouldn't let the thought of her cloud his mind any more than she already has. She chose that ragtag group of rebels over him, and the power they could have shared, and now she was his enemy, more than ever before. He could only be thankful their bond seemed to die with Snoke, the connection when she shut that damned ship's door on him appeared to be a fluke, some leftover remnants in the force. It was hard enough to be haunted by the memories of her that he didn't know what he would do if he saw her again. Of course, he did though, in dreams she was always there, sometimes fighting him with teeth bared, in others, they engaged in things even more frightening to him. The worst ones were the most subtle, her sleeping, occasionally uneasily, others peacefully right next to him, as if she was right there in bed with him, her soft sounds lulling him to sleep. He always woke up from these in a rotten mood, they left him feeling alone and regretful. But of course, he channeled these feelings into anger, lashing out at anyone who came across his path, and occasionally destroying something with his lightsaber.
Apart from this, another problem was starting to eat at Kylo, Hux. The ever-diligent general seemed to be everywhere Kylo turned, pressing him about this or that. Little did the new Supreme Leader know, Hux was slowly but surely planting seeds of doubt amongst the ranks. Sooner or later, the sneaky red-head would bring him down one way or another. He couldn't stand to see Kylo take Snoke's place just because of some stupid abilities he was granted at birth, Hux had to work for where he was today.
"Supreme Leader, there have been no new developments on the location of the resistance, it seems they have gone underground."
"Stop wasting my time Hux, unless you have some useful information, get out of my sight." Even though the mechanical growl of the mask, disdain could be heard in Kylo's voice.
"Don't you think we should expand our efforts on finding them before they have an opportunity to regroup?"
"Then, I'll leave that to you."
Kylo spun on his heel, strutting away before Hux could get another word in. He doesn't have the stomach for it, he thought, killing his mother would ruin him more than his father. If everyone in the First Order knew this, they would surely follow Hux over him. Plus, they had the scavenger girl, the one who somehow single-handedly took down both Supreme Leader Snoke and his sad excuse for an apprentice. He didn't know why, but he felt as if Kylo had a weak spot for her as well. It seemed he had many.
He entered his quarters, slamming his reconstructed mask on his desk. Where could they be? Hiding out in some distant hole in the galaxy, his mother, her band of rebels, and of course, her. They would find them eventually, and when they did, all of this would come to an end. Easier said than done. He knew deep down he didn't have it in him to kill Rey, she would have to kill him first.
It was then he sensed it, the sound seeming to be vacuumed out of the space around him, the energy shifted, he never thought he'd feel it again. His heart sped up, and his hands clenched, he knew that sound, and he knew what followed. Rey.