Chapter 3

You're not alone.

Neither are you.

'I'm the best pilot the Resistance has,' boasted Poe.

'No, you think you're the best pilot,' Rey shot back.

'Listen, lady…'

'Rey. The name is Rey. We've met. Many times.'

'Come on you two! We don't have time for this. Poe why don't you just try to get us there in one piece and then Rey can get us back,' Finn suggested.

Rey sulked and threw herself down into the co-pilot chair. Poe settled himself into the pilot seat and smiled triumphantly at her.

Rey gritted her teeth and imagined Force-pushing his head into the window. She did admire Poe a great deal. He was an excellent pilot and a good friend to Finn. It just seemed as if he was somewhat threatened by her and it made their relationship very turbulent. Perhaps it was her close friendship with Leia that offended him? Or maybe it had something to do with her friendship with Finn? Rey shrugged inwardly. She didn't have time to dwell on the whys, she just wished he would learn to trust her more.

Rose and Finn shared a worried look as they buckled themselves in behind Rey and Poe. They didn't have time for another round of bickering between the two Resistance heroes, but they both suspected it wasn't the last they had heard on the repetitive subject. It was especially difficult for Finn who often felt caught in the middle of his two dear friends arguing. Rose shot him a sympathetic smile.

After completing his checks with an air of smugness, Poe eventually took off and they entered the coordinates for the nearest planet with a supply trade post.

'Maybe it's too dangerous to go to the closest location,' Rey worried, as a feeling of unease crept up her spine.

'Relax. We're going to be in and out. We ask a few questions, hopefully get a few answers, then we're outta there,' Poe dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand.

Rey didn't hear Poe's reassuring response. Her heartbeat had become so loud it thumped in her eardrums blocking her hearing completely. He was nearby. She could feel it.

'This is a mistake. He's here,' she said as they neared their destination. She squirmed in her seat as adrenaline surged through her body.

'Kylo is here?' Rose asked, her voice held an edge of fear.

'Yes,' Rey confirmed.

'We should get out of here,' Rose announced.

'What's the big deal? He won't see us. In and out remember?' Poe reminded them as he came in to land.

'I thought I was in charge?' Rey said with annoyance as the ship hit the terrain.

Poe and Rey unbuckled quickly and stood up to face each other. Poe was the first to speak.

'Maybe if you had more experience of leading missions such as this, I might trust your judgement. But this is the real world and let's face it, you don't have much experience out here. Now, if we were heading for a training course instead of a busy market place, I would gladly bow down to your superior skill set.'

'I want to hurt you so bad right now,' Rey reached for her newly acquired saber.

'Okay, lets all calm down,' Rose said, standing up and placing her hand on Rey's arm. Rey let Rose's calming energy flow through her and ease the mist of rage that clouded her vision.

Finn joined Rose beside Rey.

'Look, we're here now. Let's just go take a look round, one sign of trouble? We bail. Agreed?'

They all nodded, but Rey and Poe still glared at one another as they exited the ship.

`It doesn't matter how many times you ask, Poe. I don't know why. I'm telling you, no one knows why. All we know is the First Order Troopers turned up and demanded that all supply runs and trade agreements with anyone from the Outer Rims were to cease with immediate effect. They're still here patrolling the area enforcing their outlandish demands. You better make a swift exit before they see you boys.'

Poe and Finn looked at each other.

'Well thanks for your help,' Finn offered the merchant, along with a few credits for his trouble.

As they left, they pondered the merchants words.

'Maybe Rey is right. Maybe this is all about her,' Poe said with a shrug.

'I don't know. It could be anything. For a large organization of megalomaniacs, the First Order can be surprisingly petty,' Finn replied.

As they walked down a narrow street to the next merchant, Rose suddenly appeared before them. She looked flushed and out of breath.

'What's wrong?' Finn asked, putting a hand on her back.

'Rey's gone. I don't know what happened. We were heading to the merchant on the other side of town, she was right behind me, and then... she wasn't,' Rose said between quick, sharp breaths.

Poe scanned the crowds.

'Okay, well she can't have gotten far.'

'I've looked everywhere,' Rose exclaimed desperately. Finn rubbed her back gently, trying to comfort her.

'Maybe he is here,' Finn said with a worried look.

'Don't panic just yet, she might have just gotten lost,' Poe offered.

Finn frowned.

'Lost? Poe, she had the Force on her side. Rey doesn't get lost. Something is wrong. I can feel it.'

'Maybe she went back to the ship,' Rose said feebly.

They looked at each other. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was all they had.

'Okay, let's go check the Falcon,' Poe conceded.

Rey watched from a nearby rooftop as her friends returned to the safety of the Falcon. A strong sense of relief flooded her worried mind. It hadn't taken much to convince Rose that she had become lost in the crowd and that the best course of action would be to go back to the ship and wait. She hated to lie to her friends, but she knew she was vulnerable with them around. Kylo would surely use them against her to get what he wanted.

'You came.'

Rey wasn't surprised to hear his deep drawl behind her. She had sensed his presence long before he had made himself known to her.

She turned around to face him. Again he was without his repaired helmet. Was it for her benefit that he chose not to wear it? She knew it had been restored, having watched the work be completed through their shared bond. She remembered shaking with anger and dismay as she felt the distance widen between them with every hammer stroke and soldered line. She hated that helmet and everything it represented.

'You did all this just to get me to come to you?' she said, stepping towards him. No point in being difficult. She needed him in an agreeable mood.

'I wanted to see you face to face,' he answered, searching her eyes.

His gaze roamed over her and she tried to ignore the pleasure the small action incited within her.

'Well here I am,' she spread her arms out to her sides.

'Consider joining me one last time.'

He held out his gloved hand towards her and she almost laughed out loud. Had he learnt nothing from their interactions with one another? Apparently not.

'No.'

She felt his anger rise.

'Rey, do you know what we are? Do you have any idea how rare a bond such as ours is? No one can match us. No one.'

He fixed her with a sharp, powerful stare and she tried to avoid his knowing eyes.

'I'm a simple scavenger from Jakku. I don't thirst for power as you do.'

'But you do desire something I can give you.'

'What?' she asked with interest.

'A family. Rey, I feel it as you do. We are more than blood to one another. This goes further than that, we are as one. I know you feel more yourself when we are together than when we are apart because I do, too.'

Rey didn't try to argue. She knew he was right. They were deeply connected to one another and it was tearing her apart. One half of her heart wanted to be free of his dark shackles and the other wanted to extinguish the remaining Light within her and run into his arms forever. Was this a fate better than scavenging until the end of her days? Or did tragedy simple follow her every move like an unwelcome shadow?

She looked up at Ren. The conflict she felt showed on his face. It softened her resolve. He sensed his opening and took a step towards her, placing a gloved hand on her cheek, but she firmly pushed him away. He removed his glove and tried again. This time Rey allowed the contact. She was tired of fighting and feeling her force mate's steady heartbeat run through her soothed her own. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment to cherish the contact. Her heart sang as it felt its counterpart's energy flow through her. Such strength, such confidence, such belief in her, but such a dark path he wanted her to follow, one she dared not tread.

She placed her hand on top of his, looking deep into his eyes. The market place below seemed to fade away and there was nothing but the two of them on the small stone rooftop with the planets trio of suns high above, emitting an almost unbearable heat upon the duo. She heard no noise bar the sound of their heartbeats and their unified breathing.

'Why is this so complicated?' she asked desperately.

'It doesn't have to be. Choose me. Please.'

The final word came out as a breathy whisper, it took her thoughts back to his offer in Snoke's throne room, though she pushed the memory away.

The need in his voice almost broke her resolve. Her eyes moved to his full mouth. She noted how his lips trembled slightly. Could she be the one to still them? Was this what the Force wanted? A thousand emotions flowed through her, and she couldn't stop some from spilling over.

'Don't you see? Don't you see how you are breaking our hearts? This isn't my choice to make, Ben, it's yours. Choose me. Choose me over the darkness,' she pleaded.

Ren removed his hand and replaced his glove. He turned away from her and despite the humidity, Rey felt a cold chill run through her veins.

'Why must you make this so difficult?' he snapped.

'You are asking me to desert everyone I care about…'

Ren spun around to face her once more. His eyes were wild.

'Not everyone, not everyone, I'm asking you to choose the one you care about most.'

There was nothing to be gained by denying his statement. He saw her heart. It always lay open to him.

'I can't.'

The silence between them was deafening. The sky suddenly turned dark as a flurry of gray clouds obscured the strong rays of the planets three suns.

Ren brandished his volatile saber and ignited it.

'So be it then.'

She could feel his anger radiating from him in waves. It grated over her skin like fingernails, making her wince in pain.

Rey unclipped Leia's saber and flipped the switch. The solid blue light of the blade reflected in her eyes.

'Don't make me do this,' she implored.

'You assume it is I who is allowing this? Rey, it is you who are responsible for this outcome. I see now I have no control over your actions so you must bear the consequences of your choices, alone. Always alone.'

He narrowed his eyes as they settled on the saber in her hands.

'I see my mother had chosen to pass on more than just her Jedi knowledge to her promising young prodigy. My congratulations.'

Rey jutted out her chin and took up a defensive stance. She couldn't allow Ren to distract her with his emotionally charged taunts.

Kylo swung his saber in a tight circle and lunged towards her but Rey held her ground just as she had been taught.

Their sabers clashed together. They crackled and vibrated up against one another angrily from the impact of the collision.

Ren tried to use his strength to push for an advantage, pressing his saber roughly against Rey's. She saw the light of his fiery blade reflected within his dark, desperate pupils. Having no other choice but to call on the force, Rey put out her left hand and sent him scrambling backwards.

Fighting with Ren was as terrifying as it was exhilarating. Her body purred as it came alive during their deadly dance. It eagerly reached out for any forms of contact between the two broken souls, unable to distinguish between attraction and detraction, only knowing it needed more.

She heard his voice in her head as they fought, just as she was sure he heard her own in his.

Ren advanced again and brought his saber high above his head, bringing it down heavily towards her, but Rey blocked his lofty attack by switching to a left handed stance. The sabers hummed loudly in protest as they met once more. They stood locked together for what seemed like an eternity.

Ben, please…

Rey, please...

Their thoughts blended together as one single, desperate prayer for one another.

As they looked into each other's eyes through their crossed blades, they saw how easy it could be to just let go, to forget the war and just be with one another. They both watched as faded images of themselves disconnected from their corporal bodies and laid down their arms. The ghost like entities embraced each other tightly. Rey's image reached up and touched faded Kylo's scarred cheek. He felt her sorrow for causing the injury and forgive her instantly. Covering her hand with his own, he melded their wanting lips together as he soothed her aching heart with words of comfort and solace, words of admiration and undying lo…

'Rey!'

Poe's voice broke through the vision and the ghostly pairing dispersed into a cloud of dust. Rey looked up to see Ren still standing before her, their sabers remaining crossed together even now. He looked as devastated as she felt to discover that it had all been a trick of their merged minds.

Rey was the first to pull back and extinguish her saber. The spell was broken and she felt the harsh reality of the very real danger her friends were facing bearing down heavily on her accountable shoulders. She looked down to see them staring up at her from the marketplace and she took a step towards the edge of the building.

'This isn't over,' Ren hissed stepping backwards as he extinguished his blade. His breathing was laboured as he physically prepared himself for her departure.

'I know,' she replied, before jumping down to the street.

Finn, Poe and Rose surrounded her as she landed noisily in the dirt road.

'What were you doing? You could have been killed!' Rose exclaimed.

'No time. We have to go. Now.'

They ran as quickly as they could through the streets back to the Falcon. Ren sent a dozen troopers after them, but Rey quickly dispatched them with a well aimed force attack. They boarded the legendary ship and took off. Rey was too shaken up to focus, so she didn't argue when Poe grabbed for the controls. She let Finn take the co-pilot chair as she concentrated all her energy on desperately trying to ignore the feeling that she had left a part of herself behind in the marketplace.

'Well at least that wasn't a total disaster. We managed to steal some supplies from a bunch of spice runners,' Finn announced as they left the planet's atmosphere.

Rey nodded dismissively.

'Are you okay?' Rose asked, putting a hand on Rey's shoulder.

'No.'

She answered truthfully, but kept her voice low, hoping Poe and Finn wouldn't hear.

'Everytime we meet, it becomes more difficult to tell where one of us ends and the other begins.'

'Rey,' Rose whispered. The sympathy in her voice was almost palpable. It threatened to break her.

Rey took a deep breath to steady herself.

'I'll be fine. I just need some... distance,' she replied. Trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Rose.

'I'm so sorry, Rey,' Rose said quietly.

'For what?' Rey asked.

'I see it in your eyes, Rey. I know how much it hurts...to feel like half of a whole.'

Rose touched her necklace and Rey bit back tears of realisation. She forgot that Rose had already felt the sting of life's unfairness. When Rose held out her hand, Rey took it.

'Rey? I'm not going to pretend I fully understand what this is between you and him, and no one hates the First Order more than me. But if there's even a remote chance that Ben is what you need to feel...complete. Then keep trying to win him over and don't let anyone tell you that it's hopeless. As long as you believe, anything is possible.'

Gathering strength from Rose's unwavering support, Rey sent a message out across the stars as they travelled back to base.

Ben Solo, wherever you are, find your way back to me. Please.