Where was he? He had gone to sleep in the room they had rented at Maz's castle. Now he's freezing. And he's on something hard instead of a bed. Kylo opened his eyes. He was lying on a cold floor of black tile. He lifted his head cautiously. Wherever he was was dimly lit but he could make out ... blood red walls? He couldn't be in Snoke's throne room, could he? Wasn't that destroyed with the Supremacy? A dream - it has to be a dream.

At the far end of the room is - something. He squints, trying to focus. Black, massive. A throne? Yes. That figure sitting on the throne, wrapped in a gold robe. It can't be ...

"Kylo Ren."

The voice of Snoke reverberated through the room, shaking Kylo to his core.

Kylo pulled himself to his knees. "You're dead!" he yelled. "I killed you!"

"My dear apprentice do you think you can be rid of me so easily?"

"This isn't real! This is a dream!"

"Is it? Foolish boy. You may think you're done with me but I will never be done with you."

And then the pain began.

Kylo gritted his teeth as his muscles spasmed and his body twitched. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't …

His head started throbbing. The pain felt like knives going into his ears. He couldn't help himself. He started screaming, kept screaming until his throat was raw and burning. He curled into himself. The pain was so intense …

Kylo! Wake up Kylo! Wake up! Wake up Kylo! Please wake up! Wakeupwakeupwakeup!

He heard the voice of Snoke again, booming, gloating. "You are mine, Kylo Ren, to do with as I choose."

He lifted up his head and squinted at the figure on the throne. It's left hand is raised, a ball of energy forming in the palm.

Oh Gods, Oh Maker, thought Kylo in horror. Not Force lightning. Anything else.

The arm whipped back and then forward in a throwing motion. The ball of energy was heading right towards him. Before it reached him the lavender blade of a lightsaber moved in front of him, connecting solidly with the energy ball and lobbing it back at the creature on the throne. It connected with explosive effect. Rey stepped in front of him, facing the throne. After a few moments she deactivated her lightsaber and turned back to Kylo.

Kneeling in front of him, she grasps his shoulders. "Kylo, you need to wake up. Please love, wake up!'

His eyes open. He's laying down in a bed. Rey is kneeling next to him.

"Kylo, you need to wake up." he hears her saying. "Please love, wake up!"

He sits bolt upright, breathing heavily. He leans his elbows on his thighs and puts his throbbing head in his hands. "Gods Rey, that was awful." His body is still shivering and he is covered in sweat. Rey wraps her arms around Kylo and holds him tight.

"I heard you screaming through the Bond" she said, her head buried in his shoulder. "I tried to wake you up … you wouldn't wake up … so I tried to touch your mind through the Bond. The Bond kind of expanded and allowed me to enter your dream." She looks at him. "Was that real? It wasn't just a dream, was it?"

"I really don't know. Snoke was whispering in my head most of my life. Maybe this was something similar."

"All that pain. Did that really happen to you?" asked Rey.

"Yes." replied Kylo. "For years. That was a good portion of my training under him."

"That's horrible. Abusive."

"You're right. But he had me convinced it was the only way to train me to embrace the Dark."

"He shouldn't be in your head." said Rey emphatically. "Snoke is dead. I saw you cut him in half with my lightsaber."

"I just don't know!" he growled, looking at Rey. She looked back at him, unfazed.

"Sorry. I shouldn't yell at you." said Kylo, ashamed at his reaction. "i'm still shook up."

Rey stood up and lifted the covers. "Move over." she commanded. "You're not sleeping alone tonight.

"I'm fine." protested Kylo as she climbed into the bed.

"No you're not." replied Rey as she scooted up next to him and wrapped her arms around him. She reached out to him in the Bond, letting her Light and calm soothe his jangled nerves. "I'm not letting that monster crawl back into your head."

They lay there in the dark, their breathing slowly syncing. Their hearts beating at the same cadence. The Bond wrapping around them, Light and Dark weaving a cocoon of Force.

'Kylo," said Rey after a while. "I want to go to Ahch-To after we get our new ship at Cloud City."

"We can do that. Why do you want to go to Ahch-To?"

She adjusted her head on his shoulder and got more comfortable. "I want to see if any of the departed Masters would be willing to talk to us. There's too much we don't know - about Snoke, the Sith and the weirdness with Palpatine. Maybe they know something that would help."

"Maybe. But I really don't want to talk to Luke."

She chuckled. "Then I won't ask you to." She stretched up and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight love. I'll guard your dreams while you sleep."

Rey drifts off to sleep. Kylo takes a bit longer, thinking about how she called him 'love.'