'Like I said, I'm sorry.'

Kylo could hear the deep regret in Rey's voice as he bowed his head. He had known from the moment she had met his eyes after talking to Dameron that she had decided.

It was there in her pain-filled eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.

In his 30 years, Kylo Ren had known torment. He had ended lives, tortured beings, and pushed those who were closest away from him - but to see the agony cross Rey's face, to see her hand shake under the weight of her decision as she held the blaster... That was a new level of torment.

She was too pure to do this. It was too much too soon. When she had taken his hand on The Supremacy, he knew he was going to have to ease Rey into his world. There was a darkness that couldn't be accepted straight away.

Making hard decisions and sacrifices came like breathing to Kylo now. But not to Rey.

For the first time since feeling her soft hand in his in the Throne Room, he felt the uneasy twinge of regret.

When he asked her, Kylo hadn't thought about what giving the Resistance up would mean to Rey. How that was the only family who had ever accepted her. Or how she had finally started to find her place in the world.

He had begged her to join him for his own selfish reasons.

But it was clear that it wasn't enough. Their bond wasn't enough.

Rey was going to shoot him and re-join the Resistance. He knew that. And he accepted it.

And Kylo's last thought before the blaster went off, was the smile of the sweet scavenger that stood before him.

The ripping sound of the gunfire tore through the air, and with a loud yell and string of blistering swear words, Kylo's eyes snapped open.

He jerked in surprise as he saw Poe Dameron collapse to the ground, clutching his knee.

With a sharp movement, he turned his gaze back to Rey. The scavenger was standing over the fallen pilot, the blaster pointed at the soldier and her face expressionless.

With a twitch of her head, Rey's gaze landed on him, and Kylo felt something hot pooling in his lower stomach.

He couldn't see any uncertainty in her eyes anymore. She had made her choice.

She had chosen him.

Desire and possession coursed through his veins as he stared back at the scavenger. For the first time since their bond had been severed, he was glad she couldn't sense the emotions that flooded through him.

Rey broke their gaze first, and lifted her head to where the Rebellion members stood behind them.

Although it felt like an age to Kylo, he knew that in the time between shooting Poe and looking up to the extermination squad, it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

And now Rey was in danger. A significant amount of danger.

'DAMERON DOWN! Take out the girl!' A furious shout rang out from the crowd.

Kylo took a deep breath in as he saw Rey close her eyes and raise her hand to the Knights.

With a click and a heavy clunk, their manacles fell to the ground and their gags were pulled from their faces.

She's still connected to the Force.

A wide smile broke across his face as he watched the scavenger spin around and throw one hand up to the firing squad, whilst the other hand made a beckoning motion towards the other side of the room, the whole time her eyes closed.

'How is she doing this?' Cardo asked from beside him.

'Now's not the time to ask questions,' Trudgen said.

'Back into formation!' Kylo snarled, his hands clenched into fists as the Knights moved in unison, forming a tight circle with their backs pressed together. 'They haven't forgotten about us.'

'Make sure you set your blasters to kill. The girl has made her choice.' A second call rang out from the ranks, making Kylo turn his head towards Rey. The scavenger still had one hand pointed towards the guards, but it was clear to him that her concentration was somewhere else.

He could see her free hand moving, grasping and pulling towards something in another room.

Concentrate, Rey.

'I haven't had a good fistfight in a long time,' Vicrul crowed. 'And I'm going to start with that one.' Out of the corner of his eye, Kylo saw Vicrul point at the soldier that he kicked him in the stomach.

Kylo glanced around the room, gnawing on his lip as he watched Poe Dameron get quickly pulled behind the ranks of soldiers.

Even with the Force, he knew that Rey was easily outnumbered. She may be able to deflect the blaster fire and push the masses back, but for how long? When they had duelled before, she had tired fast.

And with the Knights Force-less and weapon-free, how much help would they actually be?

'Heads up!' Ushar shouted.

From out of the crowd, shouts rang out as something large and heavy skimmed the heads of the soldiers and customers, its movements unwieldy as it careered side to side.

'Maker, what is that?' Kuruk exclaimed.

Kylo felt the Knights shift back, their muscles tense as they watched the unknown object fly towards them.

As it got closer to the Knights, Kylo frowned as he saw it was a large metal chest, with the lid bolted shut with a heavy padlock. Kylo glanced at Rey, watching as she used the Force to lower the chest to their feet.

With a loud bang, the lock shattered and the lid was tugged open. Nestled inside, Kylo instantly recognised their lightsabers and blasters.

'Smart girl,' Vicrul muttered, the grudging approval making Kylo smile.

A single lightsaber flew out from the chest, its handle flying to Rey's outstretched hand. With a flick of the button, Rey ignited the blade and brought it close to her face.

Kylo felt his stomach flip as crimson light bathed her skin. Rey was holding his lightsaber, moving into an aggressive stance with her weapon pointed at the Resistance members.

She had chosen him.

Desire raced through his veins once more as all the sound seemed to drain from the room, his eyes moving on the fluid motion of Rey easily deflecting the gunfire, her body twisting and spinning around. He could tell that the dress was hindering her movements slightly, but her manipulation of the Force and her skill with a saber was magnificent.

Not for the first time did Kylo smile, knowing he had made the right choice.

She was glorious.

She was his.

'Less staring, more helping!' Vicrul's warning cut through his thoughts, and he nodded, ripping his eyes from Rey and back to the battle at hand.


'How are we doing?' Kylo asked, sweat pouring down his brow as he fired his blaster, the gunfire hitting a Resistance member right in the chest. In his other hand, he was holding a borrowed lightsaber, the weapon's grip and weight unfamiliar to him as he brought it up defensively.

'We've made a significant dent, but not as many as I hoped. We're still weak!' Vicrul snarled.

'What did Meione do to us, and not Rey?' Cardo called, swinging his lightsaber up, cutting through the makeshift armour of a Resistance member like a hot knife through butter.

'I told you, we'll sort this out later. Now we've got to help her,' Kylo called.

Through the battle, they had split off into smaller groups, each focussing on a particular battalion of soldiers. They didn't need to check if the rest of the Knights had their backs; they just felt it. Years upon years of training had prepared them for situations like this.

It almost felt good to Kylo, his muscles getting a lengthy workout and stretching as he relied on just his weapons and memories. Using the Force sometimes made it too easy.

Kylo spun around, his eyes sweeping the melée to lock onto Rey.

There she was.

But something was off. He could see his lightsaber in her hand, but she had moved it to her side, letting it hang as she used the Force to push back any soldiers.

It was true that with a flick of her wrist she was making the soldiers go flying, but what he hadn't noticed before was how they were floating and landing safely away.

She wasn't trying to hurt anyone.

He braced himself, waiting for the overwhelming feeling of disappointment wash over him. Her refusal to engage, even in battle, was precisely against everything the First Order stood for. Crushing your opponents was the only way to show power.

But as he waited for the disappointment to sweep over him, he was surprised to feel relief pour over him. It made him frown.

Why did he feel that way? Rey wasn't acting like she was meant to, her obvious and deep-founded love for the Resistance was still there, despite her show earlier. She was just being so… Rey.

With that realisation, he started to smile.

Her stubbornness, her refusal to hurt anyone unless it was completely necessary, and her gentle spirit was exactly what drew Kylo to her.

She was still his frustrating scavenger, despite completely surprising him.

And his scavenger needed him.

'Cover me, I'm getting Rey,' Kylo shouted at Trudgen. The Knight nodded once, moving to shadow the Supreme Leader as they fought through the battle.

As he got closer to Rey, he could see the gleam of sweat covering her back and sticking her borrowed dress to her skin. She was breathing heavily as she manipulated the Force to deflect the bullets but also move the soldiers away from the lightsaber.

'You're exhausted. Rey, stop!' Kylo called, grabbing her arm.

'I can go on, I can -' Rey flinched as Trudgen moved in front of them, his blaster and lightsaber cutting through the lines of soldiers.

'You're tired. And you're going to get sloppy. This isn't working!' Kylo argued back. It was true what Vicrul said, they had made a dent, but Kylo knew that Dameron would've called reinforcements. And no matter what his team argued, Kylo and his Knights weren't a match against the whole Resistance.

They needed to think tactically.

Kylo looked up, his head swinging side to side as he took in the high, open windows. If he had been connected to the Force, he knew he could easily clear the space in a single leap. But as he stood, he was grounded.

Grounded.

An idea sparked in his mind as he spun around to catch sight of his Knights. They had spread out, their glints of sabers and shouts making them stand out amongst the many Resistance members.

He ground his teeth as he tugged on Rey's arm, making her drop a Resistance member and face him.

'Can you pull the roof down?' Kylo asked, pulling the scavenger closer as he deflected blaster fire away from their discussion.

Rey's expression changed from surprise to disbelief as she stared up at the Supreme Leader. And not for the first time, Kylo felt his stomach flip as he locked eyes with the scavenger in front of him.

Her appearance had been better, that was true. Her dress was stained and covered in sweat marks, and her hair was limp to her face, but in this moment, Kylo didn't properly see any of this. He didn't see the girl who had taken his hand on the bridge of The Supremacy, or the figure who had brought her lightsaber down on his face in the frozen forest of Ilum, or even the orphan on Jakku with sand in her boots.

All he saw was his equal. His dyad in the Force. His true companion. Just Rey.

He was sharply brought back into reality as Rey slapped his chest with her hand, her face furious.

'Are you crazy? We'll get crushed,' Rey countered.

'Not if we pull the Knights together. I've seen your power Rey, you can bring this whole building down around us, but not on us,' Kylo said.

'And then what, leave my friends to die? Leave Poe to die?' Rey argued.

'They're going to shoot us! You heard what they said, you've made your choice. And if it's up to me, I'd rather not die in the middle of a brothel!' Kylo snapped, his temper rising.

'I can't promise the building won't crush us. I'm too tired, I don't know if I'll be able to control it,' Rey snarled, snatching her arm out of Kylo's grasp.

'You've changed your tune. A moment ago, you were fine to carry on. Now you're too tired. It's time to stop dancing around, and make a choice,' Kylo argued back.

'I did make a choice. I shot Poe. Or don't you remember that?' Rey hissed back.

'Then prove it. Help us escape, and show you believe in this. Or... believe in us, Rey,' Kylo's voice went quiet as the fight went out of him.

He was so tired of arguing with her. He knew she was making sacrifices, but couldn't she see that being around her was making him change too? He didn't know who he was anymore.

His eyes tracked her face as her expression softened as she stared at him.

There were so many unsaid things in their relationship. But in that single moment, as the battle raged around them, they felt as connected as the moment they had touched hands on Ahch-To.

'I trust you Rey. You can do this.' Kylo murmured.

'I'll try. But don't blame me if we die,' Rey retorted.

'Wouldn't dream of it. I'll get the Knights,' Kylo smiled, his grin widening as he saw a ghost of a smile steal across Rey's lips.


'Are we really going to trust her to do this?' Vicrul muttered, shifting as he surveyed the room.

'I suggest not annoying her whilst she holds your fate, Vicrul,' Kylo answered drily.

The Knights had grouped together, their backs pressed as their weapons were held aloft. Their sudden change in tactics had made the Resistance wary, and were quickly reforming into ranks, circling the members of the First Order.

'Rey, are you ready?' Kylo asked, looking over his shoulder at the scavenger. She had sandwiched herself into the middle of the men, and had her eyes closed.

'I think so,' Rey muttered.

'Very reassuring,' Vicrul sighed.

'I can leave you here, would you prefer that?' Rey retorted, her eyes snapping open and glaring at the lieutenant.

The blonde Knight laughed, turning his head to smirk at the scavenger.

'Oh little Empress, I'd like to see you try,' he sneered.

'Focus Rey. Ignore him, and focus,' Kylo said.

Rey took a deep breath in, and threw her hand into the sky. She looked up, and Kylo could see the determination and concentration in her face.

I believe in you Rey. I know you can't hear me, but I do, he thought, pushing his thoughts out to the scavenger with all his might.

A loud crack and bang made Kylo look up. The ceiling had splintered, making dust and sand rain down on them.

'Ha, look at their faces. Stupid Resistance won't know what hit them,' Cardo laughed.

And as the world started the crumble around them, Rey's eyes found Kylo.


Author's note: This is an important read.

Thanks to the fact the story is about to get a lot more complex, my editor and I have decided that I'm going to update this story every 2 weeks from now on. We both need time to get the chapters right for you.

But a huge thank you to our recent reviewers who have expressed concerns for me. I'm well, and I'm not abandoning this story.

But please keep sharing/reading/reviewing.

As usual, a huge thank you to my editor 'Across the Stars'. I miss you.