Halo

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.

A/N-thank you very much for the kind reviews on the last chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Four-First Lesson

Rey gathered up the rest of the food and stored it away on the Falcon. She had never been so full-her hunger had been totally sated-but she was now feeling guilty because she had overindulged. She knew she was being ridiculous, but couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something wrong. Up to that point she had been enjoying herself, but now remorse was kicking in, her mood plummeted. Kylo felt her change in mood, even if he wasn't sure he understood it. He remained silent while she packed everything away, watching her thoughtfully as she carefully wrapped up the remaining food and placed it back in the bag.

Afterwards Rey curled up in the co-pilots seat and looked miserably out through the viewscreen at the lush vegetation that covered D'Qar's surface. Even this picturesque scene couldn't lift her mood. She remembered Ben teasing her about stealing the food and she had corrected him by saying 'scavenged' and not 'stolen.' Even though his comment had been in jest, he had been right, she had stolen the food. These were essential rations to the Resistance and she had snuck in and taken them without permission, and worse than that, she had wasted the precious food in a childish blind taste game. Rey felt totally ashamed of herself.

Kylo, sensing her need for privacy, waited a while before he joined her in the cockpit. He settled his long body in the pilot's seat next to her and sighed when she turned her head away so he couldn't see her face. He was so attuned to her now, that he could feel regret washing over him through their bond like the long slow waves on a shallow beach. How she longed to go back and take a different path, but now that was impossible. There was no way back. There was no way to make it right. The remorse would eat at her everyday of her life. She would never shake it. The memory of her years of hunger and near starvation would haunt her forever as well as the residual guilt of giving into her own desire to satiate it.

"Rey."

The way his voice wrapped around her name like a warm blanket made her turn toward him despite her deep feelings of shame. It was only when she saw the empathetic look on his face, that she realised he hadn't actually spoken her name aloud, but instead had spoken to her telepathically inside her mind.

Curiosity piqued, Rey decided to try and respond to him in the same way. She pushed her regret away, tired of thinking about it, no amount of analysis was going to turn back the clock. She tentatively said his name in her head and stared at him intently, waiting out his reaction. "Ben."

"Yes?" His response was immediate and took her breath away.

"What is this connection between us?"

"It's the Force connecting us."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Rey focused on Kylo's face, her curiosity building, her need to explore this strange phenomenon overriding her original fear. "You said you would teach me how to use the Force."

"I meant it." Kylo replied fervently. He felt like he was standing in the edge of a high precipice waiting to fall.

"Like a master?" Rey asked cautiously.

Kylo frowned at her question, shaking his head slightly. "No" He said. "As an equal."

That wasn't the answer she was expecting. Rey gazed deeply into his eyes, searching for any sign of duplicity, but could find none. Rey realised he actually meant what he said. He was being completely sincere. The fact that he saw her as an equal blew her mind. No one had ever regarded her that way before-her whole life she had been delegated as a nobody, a worthless scavenger-but here was this man, this dark prince with the supposedly fearsome reputation, claiming her as his equal.

"Okay." Rey finally agreed. "I'm in."

Despite Kylo's promise to Han that he would wait for him on the Falcon, he was so eager to begin Rey's first lesson, that like an over excitable little boy, he had convinced her to 'borrow' a pair of the Resistance's speeder bikes to find a more isolated location where there was less chance of being disturbed. All speeder bikes were capable of high-speed travel and required skill and fast reflexes to steer. Rey, already a skilled rider, after building and maintaining her own version on Jakku, easily outpaced Kylo as they engaged in a playful race through D'Qar's lush jungle terrain.

The wind whipped through Rey's brunette hair, liberated from its usual three bun style, it spiralled around her face in shiny waves. She wasn't used to wearing it loose and it somehow made her feel more carefree, as if she had broken the tight bonds with her past on Jakku. She glanced behind her to find Kylo hot on her tail. A sly smile lit up her face as she put her foot on the pedal, increasing speed in an attempt to outrun him.

Rey continued to swerve through the trees, she couldn't move without some type of plant touching her skin. There was so much green and she loved it. Everything she loved about this rainforest was elevating her heart rate and killing her logical thinking capacity. The sheer denseness of the foliage made her feel cozied, like in all this space she could still be snug. The thousands of noises made by the flora and fauna was as refreshing as any waterfall, overriding all her senses. Rey was so focused in drinking in everything around her that she forgot to check the path ahead. An overhanging branch became an obstacle in her path. She managed to dodge it, but the extra momentum from her increased speed sent the speeder bike swerving out of control. Rey lost her balance, landing heavily on her butt in the dense foliage with the sound of Kylo's amused laughter ringing in her ears.

"One thing you must learn if you want to use the Force properly is to never lose concentration." Kylo teased as he held out his hand to help her up.

Rey gave him a sour look as she ignored his proffered hand and pushed herself back onto her feet. She brushed the dirt off her clothes irritably, feeling embarrassed that her overconfidence had been the result of her downfall. "It was just a slight lapse, that's all."

"You were showing off and it backfired." Kylo pointed out reasonably.

"I was not!" Rey refuted hotly. "I am the better rider."

"Yet you were the one who fell off." Kylo gave her a mocking smile and she glared up at him, feeling annoyed that she had to crane her neck to look up at him. He was ridiculously tall and well built, the result of a strict exercise regime. For someone so big, he had jumped off the back of his speeder so gracefully, that she was beginning to wonder if he hadn't tapped into the mysterious Force to assist him into floating so elegantly to the ground.

"Are we doing this or not?" She muttered resentfully.

Kylo's expression turned serious. He could feel her resentment coming at him in waves. "You are the better rider. I was just teasing. I'm sorry if it upset you." His honest eyes bored into Rey's as if trying to convince her he wasn't lying. A stab of guilt bit into her stomach, she knew she was overreacting. She didn't know why she was having so much trouble accepting it was all just light hearted banter. She gave him a resigned smile and he returned it. "Ready for your first lesson?" He asked.

"Yes." Rey nodded, reaching for the lightsaber attached to her belt.

"We're not using those today." Kylo told her. Instead he dropped to the ground, curling his legs underneath him. He patted the spot opposite him. "Sit here."

"We're not?" Bewildered, Rey knelt down and looked at him curiously. She was even more confused when he directed her to place her hands on the soft earth in front of her.

"Now close your eyes." Kylo urged her softly. Rey looked at him oddly before her eyes slowly fluttered closed. "What do you know about the Force?"

Rey huffed in frustration and opened her eyes again, raising her hands. "It's a power that Jedi have that lets them control people and make things float." She answered sarcastically.

"Every word in that sentence was wrong. But you knew that already." Kylo gave Rey such a stern look that she felt her cheeks grow warm in embarrassment. "The Force is not a power you have. It's the energy between all things, a tension, a balance, that binds the universe together." He grabbed her hand and pushed it back to the ground. "Now close your eyes and breathe."

Chastened, Rey pressed her fingers back into the earth and inhaled deeply-once, twice, three times. She felt a calmness wash over her and the tension oozed out of her body.

"Now reach out with your feelings." Kylo's sultry voice was hypnotic as he spoke, drawing Rey further under his spell. "What do you see?"

Rey's brow furrowed as she concentrated hard. A series of confusing images began to form in her mind, some she recognised, some she did not, until they all blurred and merged into one. "I see you. I see me."

The sound of lyrical birdsong filled her ears, she could feel the soft earth wrapped around her questing fingers as she dug them deeper into the lush soil. "Earth. Death and decay…that feeds new life." The humidity coming from the rainforest made perspiration break out on her skin. "Warmth." She whispered in awe, until a cold shiver ran down her spine. "Cold." Rey shuddered, the perspiration on her brow suddenly freezing like ice. Then the chill receded and her face relaxed. "Peace." Then a heartbeat later. "Violence." She shuddered again, her heart racing along with her fear.

"And between it all?" Kylo coaxed her gently.

"Balance…. energy." Rey murmured, her frown deepening. "A Force."

"And inside you?"

"Inside me…. that same Force."

Rey's elation at feeling the awakening energy inside her, soon turned to terror as her world was suddenly plunged into night. "There's something else…"

Her fingers clawed at the earth as she tried to wrench her eyes open, but they remained glued shut. She was losing control of the Force, it became chaotic, the darkness thrumming through her veins like poison. The darkness kissed her skin closer than a mother and whispered excitement into her ears, urging her to give into its gentle, loving caress.

"A place. A dark place. It's cold."

"Rey…. Rey…" Kylo's voice seemed to echo and fade in her ears as she tried to resist the call and fight her own spiralling emotions. It was like she was falling into a dark abyss of her own making. Her panicked screams rang loud in her ears as she tumbled into the dark void.

"Resist it, Rey. Focus on my voice." Rey felt Kylo's warm hands cradling her face. She let out a frightened whimper as she did as he bid her and latched onto the soothing sound of his voice as he coaxed her back from the edge. Rey stopped spiralling and she found the energy to open her eyes to find Kylo's handsome face suspended just above hers. His dark brown eyes were glistening with suppressed emotion as he let go of her and sat back on his haunches.

"Ben." Rey whispered tremulously. She had never felt darkness like that before, not the kind that that robs you of your best sense and replaces it with a paralysing fear. She sat, shaking badly, muscles cramped and unable to move. "What was that?"

"Its what I feel every single waking hour of my life." Kylo replied bitterly. The darkness surrounded everything. It ate up everything in its path. It did not give any mercy as it attempted to destroy him all over again. Rey had just experienced a small part of it in her quest to understand the Force. He never wanted her to go through that again. "The lesson is over for today." He said abruptly as he pushed himself back onto his feet and walked away in the direction of their speeders, effectively putting an end to their conversation.

BB-8 examined the dust sheet covering R2D2 for a moment. He had nearly missed Skywalker's astromech hidden in a darkened corner of the base. When Luke had gone into lonely exile, he had left his faithful droid behind. Heartbroken at his master's abandonment, R2 had powered down, essentially cutting himself off from his surroundings. Even his old friend C-3PO couldn't get him to reverse his decision. Instead, he had become nothing but an ornament to Skywalker's failure, gathering dust as the months turned into years and Luke never came back to claim him.

A small pincer like tool shot out from BB-8's round base. He used it to grab the end of the dust sheet in a claw like grip, before yanking the sheet backwards, sending thousands of dust motes flying in the air. BB-8 discarded the sheet and rolled forward, letting out a series of curious beeps as he examined R2's statue like figure. The little astromech waited hopefully for a response, but when nothing was forthcoming from R2, he grew impatient and knocked into R2's base over and over in an attempt to wake him up.

Still nothing!

With growing frustration, BB-8 rolled backward, his dome head doffed at a curious angle as he let out a high-pitched whistle, expressing his disgust with the older droid, essentially calling him a coward. Even this didn't elicit any response, so BB-8 decided he was going to have to wake R2 up the hard way. With another series of what could be termed as expletives in his binary language, another tool shot out from BB-8's base. This one was much more sharp and wicked looking. With one forceful jab he shoved the pointed end in R2's circuitry, giving him an electrical shock.

There was a faint shudder from R2. BB-8 whistled loudly again, trying to gain the bigger droid's attention, but after another few parsecs, R2 remained stubbornly mute. BB-8 shoved the tool into R2's circuitry again, giving him the benefit of another huge electrical surge. Suddenly R2 jolted back to life, blue electrical flashes sparking off his outer casing. Satisfied that his job was done, BB-8 commanded R2's attention, eliciting a high intensity of beeps and bell like whistles as he pleaded with him to help.

The estranged husband and wife were still fighting, when BB-8 and R2's unexpected interruption broke through their deadlock. Leia was rendered breathless at the sight of her brother's faithful astromech suddenly coming back to life after years of hibernation. It took a while for her to make sense of the garbled beeps and whistles coming from Dameron's jittery little orange and white droid as BB-8 tried to make himself heard above Han's gruff complaints at the unwanted intrusion.

"What's it saying?" Han demanded impatiently.

"Map." Leia murmured as she tried to sort through BB-8's babble. "R2?" She questioned breathlessly as she gently pushed BB-8 to one side and focused all her attention on R2D2 instead. "Is it true what he's saying?" She pleaded, referring to BB-8. "You hold the rest of the map."

R2 let out a low whistle, which sounded rather like a human's weary sigh. He slid backwards and tilted his holographic projector upwards. Suddenly the bridge was lit up with a holographic star chart, with one vital piece missing. R2 had searched his records after listening to BB-8's pleas for help. He found he had previously downloaded the map while upon the first Death Star.

BB-8 used his own holographic projector to add the missing piece to the main star chart. Leia stared up at the glowing map revolving above her head with tears in her eyes. The tension that had been building up inside her since Han's horrifying revelation about her twin's alleged attack on their son, drained away and relief took over.

"This is where Luke is, Han." She said breathlessly as she turned her beseeching gaze on her husband. "We've found him!"

"Great." Han sneered. "Maybe the coward can finally grow the balls to explain why he tried to murder our son."

A/N-thanks for reading! I'm not sure that last statement from Han is very Han-like?! But he is angry, so…. sighs. Please review.