With Rey in his arms and a new lightness of soul to marvel over later, Hux was oblivious to the sudden appearance of Kylo Ren. Absorbed in the glow of their enchanting interlude, Hux relinquished the battle against succumbing to Rey's seduction. He accepted the utter defeat.
Surrendering fully, Hux lowered his head to tenderly kiss his rebel wife. Rey, shining like a sun, rose up against him to meet his lips with her own. It felt like a new beginning. Then a screeching howl pierced his ears and Hux instinctively froze in fear. Alarmed and disoriented, he was slow to register seeing Kylo Ren near the foot of their bed, bathed in the red of his lightsaber.
With eyes of molten lava and voice thundering in murderous fury, Kylo screamed "I will kill you for this!"
When Ren raised his weapon to strike, Hux finally reacted to the terrifying threat of Kylo's intrusion. "No!," he cried, pushing Rey to the side as he flung his arm out in front of her.
Stunned by Hux's panicked shove, Rey fell backwards. She was lying, her torso propped up on her elbows, across Hux's legs. All she could do was gasp in horror as Kylo swung his crackling blade through Hux's neck to slice his head off.
Hux clutched his throat, his face blanched white in shock. Rey felt the galaxy spin in on her, imploding. She looked up at Hux in terror, watching for his head to fall right into her lap.
A black, burning glory filled Kylo Ren's being at the violent death of his rival. Not even the anguish on Rey's face could dampen the rush of dark triumph. He waited in satisfaction for the general's severed head to drop.
It was only when Hux's bulging eyes flickered in frightened confusion that Kylo realized he felt no resistance when his lightsaber sliced through the man's neck. Livid over the loss of his kill, he roared in rage and frustration.
At the same time, it dawned on Rey that Kylo Ren was not actually in their room. Like her laser-bolt before, his blows could do no harm. Rey's gaze locked with Hux's. He stared back at her, his blue-green eyes of ice wide in disbelief. His expression morphed from horrified shock to dazed astonishment.
"I'm coming for you," Kylo growled menacingly. He turned and stalked out of their sight.
Rey jumped out of bed, dragging Hux along with her. "You need to go. Now!"
Hux was still reeling. "What the f**k was that?"
Rey ran and grabbed the general's uniform from the closet and threw it at him. "Put this on, quickly."
Hux's higher brain function was returning. He caught the clothes and put the trousers on in haste. His ire growing, he spoke accusingly, "What have you not told me?"
Rey wrenched open a drawer to get her lightsaber. Frantically rooting around for a comm device, she explained, "It's a force bond. Sometimes it just suddenly connects. Then we can see and hear each other over a kind of bridge that Snoke created to lure me in. But it hasn't happened in a long time. I thought maybe it was dormant or gone, now that Kylo and I are in close proximity. Obviously, I was wrong."
"This has happened before?" Hux questioned, incensed, zipping up and buttoning his waistband hurriedly.
Rey found what she was looking for and rushed to open the door. "You and I were touching, or Ben wouldn't have been able to see you, and vice versa. Everything happened so fast, I almost forgot he wasn't really there. But Kylo knows where we are and he'll be here any minute."
"You didn't think to tell me this earlier?" Hux said angrily as he went for his shoes and a shirt.
"No time," Rey gripped his arm, tugging him out of the bedroom.
Hux lunged for his military tunic and managed to pull it on, wearing it open like a jacket, while Rey was pushing him out of their quarters into the corridor.
Glancing worriedly over her shoulder, Rey handed Hux the communicator and instructed, "Get to your shuttle and jump away, far from here. I'll comm you when it's safe to come back."
"I am not leaving you with that madman," Hux informed her, his brows deeply furrowed.
"He's going to kill you. You have to go. Now," Rey insisted.
"You are coming with me," Hux demanded, reaching for her hand.
Rey brushed his hand off with fearful irritation. "It's safer for me if you're not here. I'll hold him back until you escape. I'll be fine. You have to trust me."
"Rey…," Hux begged, his voice deep and painfully strained. The sound of his plea matched the look on his face.
She took a steadying breath and looked directly into his eyes. "Armitage. If you care for me, at all, leave right now. Please."
"That's not fair," Hux protested.
"He's here. Go!" Rey turned to confront her opponent and ignited her weapon.
Though she was already facing away from him, Hux raised his left hand to hold the side of her head and quickly pressed a hard kiss above her right temple. Resolute, despite his extreme reluctance, Hux ran towards the hanger.
Kylo Ren stomped down the corridors in swift, long strides towards the general's quarters. One glance at the menacing figure looming towards them sent stormtroopers scurrying. Anything and anyone still in his way was cut down by Kylo's saber. Sparks, steam, and screams echoed in the halls behind him as Kylo rounded the corner.
Rey stood in front of the entry to the Hux living quarters, her stance wide in a fighting position, her lightsaber drawn above her head. She was ready for him, waiting.
"Where is he?" Kylo's voice boomed.
"Don't do this," Rey said, shaking her head. "You're totally overreacting. Nothing happened."
"You dare to call that disgusting display with that slimy, piece of s**t, weasel nothing?!," he yelled, his arm flung out in the direction of their bedroom. Kylo's face contorted in an ugly grimace, his eyes squeezed shut as if to block the scene from replaying in his mind. "I will kill him. I should have done it a long time ago."
"Ben," Rey entreated, purposely using his true name.
Ren clutched his head like he was being tormented by demonic voices. Rey tried reassuring him. "I did not sleep with Hux. We never have; you know this."
At that, Kylo met her gaze. He burned with rage. "I would rather have seen Hux forcing himself inside you than what I did see - that scrawny, scheming, naked mole rat f**k, worming his way into some kind of perverted little domestic scene with you."
Rey recoiled in horrified shock. "You would prefer he rape me?"
"At least then you wouldn't be complicit," Kylo said, fuming.
Rey was stunned by the depth of evil spewing from Kylo's mouth. He must have read it on her face. His dark look faltered slightly as he added, "I meant I would rather have seen him thrusting himself into you forcefully, than seeing that sham of s**t."
Rey continued to look aghast. He clarified angrily, "As in,…vigorously."
"Oh," Rey said, still very much disturbed. "Well, that's still an incredibly repulsive thing to say."
"What I saw was repulsive. It was…an abomination," Kylo countered, struggling to find the right word. At the memory of Rey smiling and kissing a laughing, happy Hux, his fury returned in full. "You are mine, not his."
"Ignoring the offensive issue of possession," Rey replied, indignant. "You have no right to feel betrayed. Hux opposed this marriage. You didn't. You just stood there, letting Snoke give me away to someone who didn't even want me."
"He clearly wants you now," Kylo interjected, with a look of revulsion.
"You didn't fight for me!" Rey's eyes filled with hot tears. "Hux fought to the point of death over his objection. You wouldn't even look at me. All you said was 'the supreme leader is wise'. It was you who betrayed us."
"I killed my own father to prove my devotion to the dark side," Kylo replied, with little emotion. "I had to sacrifice you, too. You made me even weaker than he did."
If Rey's heart hadn't been broken by Ben before, it was shattered now. He had already chosen the dark over the light. That should have been enough for her to give up on him, but she hadn't - not really. Now he confessed to choosing the dark over her, personally, and over the possibility of them ever being together. Deep down, Rey knew this already. But with his admission, she couldn't fool herself anymore. The tears in her eyes spilled over.
"I was wrong to give you up. I didn't need to," Kylo told her. "We will be together; I have seen it. Snoke misled me. I will no longer deny myself our destiny. I will free you from this foul farce of a marriage. Then I will overthrow the supreme leader and take his place. It's time for the apprentice to kill his master. It is the Sith way."
Ben Solo was no more. Rey held out hope in vain but there was no doubt. Kylo Ren would never choose her over the darkness. He wanted her, but not if it meant giving up the power of the dark side. This was not love. It was selfishness and obsession, just like Armitage warned. Rey wiped her tears.
The golden, blood-red eyes of the Sith glowed in Kylo Ren as he addressed her, "Now, tell me where General Hux is and I will rid you of him."