Under the cover of darkness, Rey made her way down the infinite stony steps, following Luke's hooded figure as he walked towards the ship landing far below. She wondered if Master Luke could sense her presence behind him or the sharp panic in her chest when she missed a step.
Smoke blasted out of the ship's exhausts and the landing pad slowly came down. Masked men dressed in black robes from head to toe came down with it. The Knights of Ren.
There were six of them. Tall, built, and menacing. Each carried a different weapon in their gloved hands. Their sharp edges gleamed with anticipation. Luke stood drenched in rain with his head high to face them, the hilt of his saber shining in the palm of his robotic hand. Rey hid behind a boulder close by, keeping a careful watch on the men. She expected to see Ren come stomping out of the shuttle behind them, his chaotic red saber glowing in his hand. But he didn't.
The Knights were alone, their attention focused solely on the old man in the brown robe standing proud before them. Water splashed in the grass and mud beneath their feet when they came forward. The Knight with a checkered steel pattern on his mask was the first to speak over the thunder.
"I have to say. I expected to find you in better conditions, my old master," he chuckled at Luke beneath his mask. "Seems the years have aged you."
"The older, the wiser, Phillip," Luke croaked. "The years have aged you as well, but your mind remains as childish as the day I first met you. Where is Ben?"
"Phillip? Ben?" spoke another. "We don't know anyone by those names. We're Knights of Ren. Not Jedi scum."
"I told you to leave." Kylo Ren's voice slipped into Rey's mind again. It was louder, closer. She whipped her head around, her eyes scanning the darkness around the moss-covered boulders and mounds of grass behind her.
"Where are you?" she demanded, her wet skin sprouting in goosebumps.
"Unless... you've changed your mind about joining me?" There was a bud of curiosity in his tone, excitement. It disgusted Rey to her very core.
"Only if it meant slicing your face in half again before I kill you," her nostrils flared, blood warming her face.
Master Luke would not approve of her speaking like this. It wasn't the Jedi way. But just the thought of Ren was enough to make her forget about the rules completely. Beating him to the ground at Starkiller Base had satisfied her too much to deny.
She felt the corners of Kylo's lips curl at her thoughts. "The darkness is strong in you. It was strong in you then and it's strong in you now. It calls to you. Let me teach you to embrace it. Come with me."
"I won't leave him," she scowled. "I won't let you hurt him."
"He won't be the one I'll hurt," he mumbled, shame dangling from his words. All at once, she felt his soothing voice gone from her thoughts.
But he was still here. Somewhere. She felt him.
"Take us to the Jedi temple, old man," one of the Knights growled. "Don't make us ask you again."
"Jedi Temple? On Ach-To?" Luke snorted. "No such thing."
"Don't play stupid with us! We know you found it. It's the only reason you're here. And now you're going to show us where it is."
"That's where you're wrong," Luke said, igniting his saber. With a powerful swish, it cast a green glow all around them. "The only thing I'm showing you is your way off this island."
The Knight with the checkered mask chuckled at his words and raised his weapon up high. "So be it."
With a chilling howl, he ran at Luke. The Jedi raised his saber just in time and blocked the blow, striking back at him. The others gripped their weapons tighter followed suit. And Luke, outnumbered, took them all on. He moved in strides. Blocking, striking, slashing his lightsaber at any part of them he could reach. A look of anger masked his own wet face. In all their training sessions Rey had never seen him fight like this before. He was usually so calm, relaxed, in control. Now, he was ferocious and powerful. Darker.
One of the Knights fell back behind the others, sneaking around to strike Luke from behind. And the Jedi, too distracted by the other's blows, was walking right into the trap. Rey gripped the cold hilt of her saber and bared her teeth. A blast of thunder roared in the sky when she bolted from behind the boulder. The blue glow of her saber lit her way towards the kill. But the Knight of Ren was quicker. Hearing the sloshing of her boots in the mud, he turned before striking Luke, blocking Rey's swing with a furious grunt. He shoved her away. Rey's boots slipped in the mud but didn't let herself falter, glaring at him through the rain.
"Rey!" Luke shouted from behind the mob of Knights surrounding him. The panic in his voice chilled her spine. "Rey, go! Now!"
"Looks like you'll be needing a new master, pretty girl," said the Knight, flipping his iron weapon in front of Rey. She could feel the repulsive leer beneath his mask. Feel his eyes feasting over every inch of her. "Come here and kneel for me, and I won't slice your neck open."
Her heart pounded in her throat. She looked back to Luke fighting off three knights at once, one dead in the mud. The Jedi's armed shook with every blow he blocked. If she didn't help him now, she never would again.
My friend in trouble and a masked monster in my way. Child's play.
She blinked away water from her eyes and lunged forward. He raised his weapon as quick as the lightning in the sky. Clash! Rey gasped and trembled at the brutal force. She swung her saber towards his legs, but he blocked it with a chuckle, knocking her back into the mud. The saber slipped from her wet hand and she scrambled to retrieve it. Failing. Her hands and arms coated in mud, she looked up at the Knight looming over her. She wiped the water from her eyes but only smeared dirt on her cheek. Through the blur, she caught sight of Luke's saber in the distance. Still fighting them off, still glowing green, still hoping.
Raindrops dripped down the Knight's shining mask. He raised his weapon high with both hands before her, and she rolled away from beneath him. His blade cut through the lake of mud she'd been sitting in. Beads of icy water dripped down her back from the buns in her hair as she reached out her arm. Her silver saber flew out of the mud and she reached out further to catch it.
It passed her waiting palm. She frowned in confusion, panting, turning to see where it had gone. She choked at the sight of it.
Kylo Ren's hulking, hooded figure stood a few steps behind her. Rey stared at her own nervous reflection in the chrome lines of his mask, the hollow eyes. He looked over her saber as if it were an old toy he had found and then stared past Rey at the Knight, his mask menacing.
"Go bring me Skywalker," Kylo said to him. "You're finished here."
"Master, she's still standing," the Knight protested. "Let me finish properly -"
"Did you hear me?" Kylo growled. "She's mine."
With a frustrated grunt, the Knight lowered his weapon and sauntered off to find the others. Rey looked back at Kylo and saw he was already looking at her. Without a word, he tossed her the saber, and she caught it in her left hand, igniting it as he did his. She didn't ask why. Only pointed it at him and swung. Red collided with blue. A violet glow encircled them.
She swung to her left, and he was quick to catch her, returning the favor. With brute strength, he swung at her until she was walking backward, leading her away from Luke and the fight. Around boulders, rocks, trees, and mud, they danced under the thunder and lightning. Sweat trickled down the sides of her face as she heard the sound of waves crashing against rocks, getting louder and louder. He was leading her towards it. To another cliff where he planned to trap her again. She called to the Force for guidance as she stepped back from him some more. She felt the ground getting steeper, the grass getting taller. Itchy, wet strands of it stuck to the exposed skin of her legs. But the Force remained silent.
It was he who spoke. "No," he said, wind sweeping up his cape. "Keep your left foot forward. More support."
Rey blinked. What in Maker's name was he doing?
"Keep it raised at all times. Both hands," he nodded, demonstrating with his own massive saber.
She mimicked his grip and stance, and she lunged forward again. Anticipating her move, Kylo blocked her with ease, parrying her back until she was right on the edge of the grassy cliff. Black waves smashed against the island below. A nervous Rey held her weapon up as he had told her, but there was nowhere else to run.
Kylo lowered his saber, a quiet hum cutting the space between them. "You've lost," he said, unmoving. "Surrender. Join me."
"Never!" she shouted at him and closed her eyes as she had done before, but nothing filtered through. The Force was grave and silent, twisting anxious knots in her stomach. She hoped to see Luke's green saber running up just in time, but there was only darkness behind Ren.
"You'd rather die than come with me?" he asked.
"I'd rather die than follow a monster like you!" she spat back.
For a moment, he said nothing. The red of his saber retracted and he hitched it back onto his belt with a click! His gloved hands reached up to touch his mask and it came off with a quiet hiss. He shook the sweat away from his long, black hair and breathed heavy as he took her in with his own eyes. A drop of rain slipped from his full lips. Rey's chest warmed the way it had when he unmasked himself the first time. The first time those dark eyes had set on her.
Now, she felt the warmth spread to her cheeks against her will, and it made it her grip the saber tighter. "Stay back. I mean it," she said.
Kylo dropped his mask into the wet grass. "I am a monster. But the Force has been connecting us for a reason. You know it too. You're meant to stand with me."
She had no idea why the Force connected them. No idea why it bridged their minds and allowed him to see and explore the most intimate parts of her. But it certainly wasn't so she could join his league of murderous snakes.
He took a step forward. Her saber rose higher.
"Don't," she warned, but felt the threat weaken, looking into his softening eyes.
"Don't be afraid," he said gently and took another step, reaching for her hand.
Blood burned her freezing cheeks and she took a step back, not remembering there was nothing left to stand on. She gasped at Kylo's eyes widening with shock before she realized what was happening. She let out a scream at the sight of the island being pulled away from her and the waters waiting to claim her below. Panic shot down her spine as she fell backward, knowing she would crash into the water. Knowing she would drown.
Kylo Ren lunged forward and caught her arm as she fell over the edge. She dangled in the chilly air and looked up to see his determined expression, straining to hold them both. Relief surged through her. The warmth spread as she looked up at him. He stared back, holding her hand tighter as if to say he would not let go.
With a loud grunt, he began to pull her up. Rey kicked up her feet to find ground and help him, but his glove was too wet and slippery. She felt her hand sliding away from him, his eyes widening one last time, wider than they had been before.
Their hands slipped away from each other. Rey fell, Kylo screaming her name.