Rey hadn't expected Ben to respond to her slight taunt with such ferocity, so she was caught off-guard by his sudden face-grab. His fingers were gentle as they wrapped around her skull, but surprising all the same.

For a few short seconds Rey allowed herself to take in the sensation of his hand on her skin; it was so utterly overwhelming and terrifying to be grabbed in the face, but the way his fingers pressed against her eyes and lips was almost driving Rey to madness.

For a few brief moments Rey allowed herself to taste his skin and touch, before the force took her, and Rey lost herself in his mind.

As he had expected, the girl's mind was vast and tempest. Immense waves crashed upon Kylo Ren and nearly captured him in its stormy depths, and the wind howling around him blew strong and hard.

Kylo Ren walked along the beach, seeking answers… and perhaps something more, though he would not admit it.

That's when he noticed the sound. There was something high-pitched and ominous hiding behind the roar of waves and the howl of wind. As Kylo Ren continued walking the louder it became.

Give another few minutes, and Ren realized that it was screams he heard. Rey's screams.

But where was she? Ren saw nothing but wind and water and spiraling sand.

He tried shouting her name into the ravaging chaos.

"Rey!"

As Ren's voice tapered away to silence he found that the scenery around him was changed; Kylo Ren now stood amongst endless sand dunes and dead silence.

He looked around for a few minutes before realizing he recognized the landscape; Kylo had been there before with Rey.

It was her home planet, Jakku.

Thinking of nothing else to do, Kylo Ren wandered aimlessly around the desert, looking to see what he'd find.

What he discovered was interesting indeed. It was a ship. His ship, the Silencer.

Kylo Ren looked inside and found no one, but leading away from the Silencer he discovered footsteps. They were obviously Rey's, because they were small and left light prints in the sand.

Having nothing else to do, Ren followed the trail for what seemed forever.

At some point he arrived at a house; a small colony. Kylo neared, and soon began to hear Rey's voice once more.

Only this time she was crying. Soft sobs echoed across the soundless desert, becoming only louder as Kylo approached.

With cautious steps he entered the building, to find Rey crouching on the ground. There was an emptiness around her, and Ben knew immediately that it was the absence of her parents she grieved for.

Ben walked up to Rey but she didn't react. When he was close enough to see the tears streaking her face, Kylo Ren spoke.

"Rey."

No answer.

"I need you to tell me something."

Kylo ventured to place a hand on her back. The moment he touched her Rey let out a strangled gasp and pulled away.

"Don't touch me," she choked.

"I won't hurt you," Kylo Ren said softly.

"Lies. I know exactly what you want with me," Rey spat at him, edging towards the doorway. "I won't tell you anything!"

And the next moment Rey was out the door and gone. And Kylo Ren was chasing her.

Across the sandy dunes they ran, but Rey was weak from grief and Kylo gained on her until at last they reached the edge of a cliff and he caught her at last.

He launched himself at Rey and ensnared her in his arms. She resisted, and they fought. Ultimately, Ben was the one to win but Rey still screamed as loud as her lungs would take her.

That's when Ben took one step too far, and when the two found themselves tumbling down the high-up cliff, Ben screamed too.

For the longest time the two fell into nothingness, and if there had been any ground they would've hit it a long time ago. But it was Rey's mind they were in, and god knew how far she could send him falling.

But no matter what happened, Kylo Ren made sure to hold on to Rey. She was his prey, and he needed answers, desperately.

After a while, Rey stopped clawing him and became silent. Kylo thought the air became only the slightest bit colder around them.

He didn't want to startle her by speaking loudly, so Ben leaned in close and whispered into her ear:

"Rey."

Silence. Tension.

"Please, just answer one question, and I'll let you go," he pleaded.

Rey bit her lip. "What do you want?" Her lips moved against Ben's neck as she spoke, and he thought he saw a dark substance seep from her mouth and stain his shirt.

"I want to know if I can trust you," he answered.

Rey finally lifted her gaze to meet Kylo Ren's. He saw her eyes for the first time, and they were beautiful. Beautiful, haunting, dead.

"I belong to no side" she raspedThe answer was final.

"Then how do I know you won't betray the First Order?" he asked. How do I know I don't have to kill you?

"You don't," Rey scoffed, a dark mist flowing from her mouth and eyes.

"You're lying," accused Ben. She had to be.

Rey shook her head. "I belong to myself, and no other. That's who I am."

She paused for a moment, and whispered: "It hurts, doesn't it?"

Ben tried to shake his head but couldn't. Rey slipped out of his arms and he let her.

They had stopped falling, and the air was light around them now. Ben hadn't even noticed, his eyes were glued to Rey's back as she walked away.

Her gaze was distant and covered in dark air as she spoke one last time.

"I don't belong to you, Ben… and you hate that, don't you?"

… Yes. Yes I do.

But it was useless to answer. Rey wasn't listening as she walked off into the light. She turned to look at him once more, and offered him one last, strained smile. A smile Kylo Ren couldn't return, no matter how hard he tried.

And with that Rey escaped into the blinding brightness and was gone. Erased.

Ben was gone, too. Returned to the cell where he had first started off.

Reality felt so strange, now that Kylo Ren was back in it. Gravity was the same everywhere and it didn't change after your mood. Colors didn't turn under your gaze.

In fact, there were no colors at all in the cell. Just black.

It took Kylo another moment to realize that there was no Rey, either.

She was gone.