Captured Hearts

by Sarah Bush

Takes place between the Throne Room scene from The Last Jedi to the battle of Crait. Rey captures Kylo Ren when he was passed out in the throne room after the death of Snoke and brings him back to the Resistance base as a prisoner. General Leia and others put Rey in charge of his interrogation. VERY angsty, but true to their characters! Rated M just in case!

Chapter 1: Kylo's POV

Kylo woke with a start, bolting upright. His chest burned as it heaved for oxygen in the humid air. His head throbbed and as he tried to raise his hand to comfort his aching head, he was stopped by an agonizing pain in his wrists. He seethed with pain and looked down at his hands to find them bound in metal cuffs. He shook the cuffs but the more he shook, the tighter they got, twisting the skin of his wrists. He screamed in pain and frustration as his foggy mind became more clear with the realization of what was happening.

He settled himself back down on the lumpy bed in the corner of the room and let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the humid room. From what he could make out, he was in some sort of containment cell. It was made of stone and had thick black barred windows, which were boarded up with rotting wood. Anger ignited his soul as he recollected the events prior.

He had been on the Destroyer, in the throne room, his Supreme Leader dead. Flames and debris slowly fell in the background as he had reached out for her- a gesture of weakness. She had begged him; pleaded with those hazel eyes to follow her to the light. He tried again to extend the invitation to her, not without pointing out that her whole life she had searched for meaning and purpose and the cause she thought she was fighting for was almost obliterated; she would have nothing to live for; was a nobody from that filthy desert planet. But he emphasized that he thought of her as so much more than that. She was annoyingly loyal and stubborn, and left him in his own destruction as everyone else in his life had, but something about her was… different. Her raw and untamed powers were dangerous and exciting to him; made him want to guide her and have her by his side. Their connections through the force; even if Snoke had been the puppetmaster behind it all, it still felt like something more; something exciting and new that almost gave him something to look forward to in the boredom of meeting after meeting. The consent on-edge feeling of never knowing when she would appear before him had intrigued him.

Just as she had started reaching her hand ever so slowly towards his outreached hand, he had had a flicker of hope in his life for the first time since he could remember. He remembered his heart hammering against his chest. Just as hope resurrected in his life it left just as quickly as he felt her tug on the force, grabbing hold of his saber. Hope was replaced by anger and feelings of deceit as he clung onto the force to pull his saber back to him. He used his anger to guide the pulsing force towards him, only for Rey's own hurt to fight back harder.

The last thing he remembered was the splintering of the saber and the mass force that sent him flying backwards away from her. Then everything was black.

Anger and hurt flooded through his body. He could feel his blood boiling beneath the already burning surface of his skin. He raised his bound hands and punched the wall beside him as a raged fury escaped his cracked, dry lips. The noise was cut short by the dryness of his throat, making him cough to catch his breath. He forced himself to swallow as he caught himself on the bed, palms down holding his weight as he panted for air, allowing the sadness to overtake his anger. He felt himself shaking underneath his own weight, watching blood slowly seep from his knuckles. He flopped onto his back and stared at the dark ceiling. He felt wetness stream down his face. Rain? No, it wasn't rain; it was tears. He had almost forgotten what they felt like. The hot tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his warm cheeks, somehow creating a shiver that travelled down his spine. He wanted to reach his hands to his face and rub away the tears but the sting and burn the cuffs provided as he moved made him lay in defeat as he let the salty tears continue to fall.

He had trusted her. He had let his guard down in a moment of weakness, trusting she wouldn't take advantage of him like all the others in his life- Luke when he had been sleeping that one night at the Jedi camp, Snoke whenever there was conflict in him, and Hux everytime he made not the most strategic plan to take down the Resistance. It was all for her; to protect her from their lack of mercy as he devised a plan for them to restart the galaxy. He had done all this with the idea that she was different, but this proved she wasn't. She had planned on taking his saber from the beginning if he hadn't agreed to go back with her to the Resistance. She had planned on him fighting back as soon as he refused to stop the attacks on her friends until she took his hand. And when they destroyed the saber and he was unconscious, she had gotten her perfect chance to bring him back as a prisoner to corner the First Order into a wager. The Resistance now had the upper hand, and it was all because of her.

Kylo closed his eyes to focus on the force. He tried to calm his shaky breaths as best as he could, reaching out for the force. He felt nothing; no familiar hum, no static; nothing from the force. It occurred to him that the cuffs were probably force resistant.

Like with the force, he internally felt nothing. His switch between anger and sadness and pain; from Kylo Ren to Ben Solo to a perfect mix of both, became evident and he no longer cared. His whole body felt numb and his body was weak from struggling against the restraints. Kylo Ren- Supreme Leader of the First Order, finally allowed himself to feel defeat and surrendered to it.

Chapter 2: Rey's POV

The heated meeting raged around her but Rey heard nothing. It was all a white noise to her. Her eyes stared down at the wooden table and focused on a single knick in the wood, not daring to meet the eyes of anyone in the crowded room around her. She couldn't help but feel guilty for her actions, regardless of how much it helped the Resistance. She took advantage of the broken man in front of her in the throne room; manipulated him just as Snoke had. She had given him hope then crushed it right in front of him. All those times of her calling him a monster, she began thinking she was the true monster.

Since the first force connection, she had stopped at nothing to try to bring Ben Solo back to the light and once he wakes up and pieces together that she had taken him with her back to the Resistance base while he was unconscious, there would be no Ben Solo left. There would just be the anger and resentment of Kylo Ren awaiting her.

"I think it's fair enough to say the 'an eye for an eye' theory is the most fair and just way- he should be executed for his actions."

Rey snapped out of her thoughts as the words left Poe's mouth. Her eyes flicked upwards to meet his eyes in a scared and angry glare.

Finn shook his head. "Instant death is too easy a punishment. They need to suffer, as he does. They are nothing without him calling the shots for as far as we know. We need to keep him here, alive for now, and make them squirm. But a taste of their own medicine would be nice… maybe we could torture him until he agrees to make the First Order surrender."

Rey's heart stopped cold. Death? Torture? This was madness. This was the opposite of peace; this was destruction.

"Enough!" a weak and strained voice bellowed from the crowd.

The room went silent as everyone turned towards the voice- Leia Organa: The General, the mother of the prisoner.

"Those actions are the opposite of what we stand and fight for and would deem us no different than the First Order. If we do not play our cards right they will plan their attacks on us regardless. We cannot pose a threat to them or their cause more than we already are. Instilling fear is their tactic; we are to implement hope. We are to make them see that we have something they want and from there come up with a negotiation and compromise."

Finn stood straight, his shoulders tensing. "With all due respect General, I have been in their world. The things they do… are horrifying and twisted. If it was the other way around, as it has been before-" he glanced at Rey. "They wouldn't, and haven't, done the same. They show no mercy and dangle living breathing things as bait to get what they want. Maybe if we do it back-"

"He is a living breathing thing too, and he is my son." her voice was sharp and pained.

Rey looked at Leia. She was standing over the table with her hands pushing into the table to balance her. The physical and mental exhaustion of this war was taking its toll on her, showing evident black and purple bags under her eyes and half open eyelids. Her form was still strong, but a bit more crumpled than usual. The metaphorical weight of knowing her son was here, locked away like a feared monster, was slowly killing her. The comments of torture and execution didn't help.

Rey couldn't begin to imagine what Leia was feeling, but yet, in some way, it felt all too familiar to her. A few times throughout the meeting, Rey had found herself trying to reach out to the force and sense his life force, forgetting every time that the cuffs he was bound in blocked any force waves that came his way. Something about their bond always scared and intrigued her but now that she knew it was blocked, she had come to the sad realization of how much she had utilized their bond; to sense him coming, to sense his struggle, and just to sense his presence sometimes when she felt alone. Knowing that someone was out there, feeling the same loneliness as her, had comforted her. She had finally found someone who understood her, and she turned them into his inevitable personal hell… dragging her down with him.

Leia sighed heavily and looked out into the crowd once more. "He will remain in the containment cell but he will be treated with fairness and just. He will be fed and provided with fresh clothes if he pleases."

"And how do you plan to give him these amenities, General? He will see any one of us and surely try to attack, even with his restraints." Poe asked.

"There's one of us that he won't try anything with." Leia answered.

"General, you are far too vital to this cause for us to let any chance of harm come your way. I understand he's your son, but-"

"I wasn't referring to me, Dameron." she answered flatly.

All eyes were on Rey, but her eyes were focused on the table again, trying to change the discussion back into white noise. When she realized the room fell silent she looked up and saw all the eyes staring at her cautiously. She leaned back, her eyebrows knit in confusion.

"What, me?" she asked.

Leia nodded, her leveled gaze meeting Rey's. "You were taken to his ship and he spared your life- twice. That can't just be luck."

Rey's mind wandered to the first time he had used the force as an interrogation device against her. Despite her escape, he could have tortured her more than he had. He even went as far to say that she was his guest. Whether it was sarcasm or not, she had gotten out far less harmed than Poe apparently had. The second time was when Snoke had instructed him to strike her down to complete his destiny. She had known as well as anyone that he seeked purpose and belonging, much like her, and he could have easily gotten that peace of mind by the title had he struck her down. But he didn't. He struck down his own Master; the only person who gave him a sense of direction and purpose. He had not only spared her life and killed his Master, but continued to fight his own men alongside her. When she told the Resistance this in the beginning of the meeting, no one seemed to believe her, except for Leia. Rey could've sworn she saw a glint of hope in her eyes.

"I don't think he will want to see me…" Rey stammered, recalling the memory of her deceiving him.

"It's not a matter of him wanting to see you, it's a matter of safety, and time and time again he has exhibited a special connection to you…" Leia explained.

Rey's heart thumped in her chest. Had Leia known about the force connection? She was sure she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. She straightened her posture to make herself appear more confident. "If this is what the Resistance needs from me, I will do it."

Leia smiled. "You have trained well for this. You are the only one I know strong enough to face him, and maybe even find out what's really going on. If and only if you feel comfortable, try using your training to get some insight on what the First Order is planning, or see if they had a protocol in case their leader was taken down."

Rey nodded, but felt an uncomfortable pull in her gut when she realized what Leia was asking of her. She wanted her to feed and cloth him then invade his mind. She had done it when he interrogated her, but knowing he is weak with the force with the cuffs and otherwise defenseless, it felt more like torture than persuasion.

Finn stood up in protest. "What if he tries to hurt her? She's the only force-capable person this Resistance has; she's the most powerful piece we've got."

Leia put her hand out in a 'stop' motion to silence Finn. "Rey can hold her own, and besides, I have a feeling he won't."

The look on Leia's face as she stared at Rey made her aware that she definitely sensed something more between her son and her. Rey couldn't blame her for being suspicious; the man had killed his own father but couldn't kill a scavenger girl he just met.

"I will find out what I can; for the Resistance." Rey stated as she stood.

Leia bowed her head in appreciation and handed her a bundle of clothing and some food. "The clothes were Han's… they were the closest thing I had, but I will see what I can do about getting more clothes for him."

Rey sensed the worry in Leia and put her hand on Leia's and looked into her eyes. "They're perfect."

Leia smiled sadly and patted her hands around Rey's. "When you see my son… tell him…" Leia trailed off, not being able to find the right words.

Rey looked at her sympathetically. "I'll let him know." she said, sensing what she had hoped to say.

Rey turned on her heel and walked towards the exit, but was stopped by Finn's hand on her shoulder. He stared into her eyes as if it was the last time he would see her. Rey gave him a forced smile, letting him know she was alright. She had no clue how Be- Kylo, would react to seeing her, but she had to have hope that after the killing of Snoke his mind would be a little clearer.

She pushed past Finn's shoulder and walked towards the containment cell. Upon arriving, she entered the stone stairway and listened to the echoing of her footsteps. Her heart was beating hard against her chest. Knowing he- her enemy, yet the person who knew her better than anyone, was right behind this door…

The door clicked open and Rey immediately felt the humid air hit her. Her eyes searched the room for him, but they took a moment to adjust to the darkness. She finally spotted him, bolted upright in the corner of the room on top of the bed. His eyes darted at her and made Rey wish she hadn't been looking back at him. She watched the rage fill his face and his fists clench within the restraints. Rey's eyes looked down at the ground briefly as she swallowed her guilt and took cautious steps towards him until she reached the opposite end of the bed. She set down the clothes and food and took a few steps back, her eyes never leaving his. She was about to leave the cell when she heard his voice.

"Why did they send you?"

His deep voice made Rey freeze in her tracks. "It was your mother's idea."

Kylo sneered and rolled his eyes. "Some mother she is; so scared of her own son that she sent someone else to do her bidding."

Rey shot her body to face him in one swift, fierce movement. Tears of anger were whelming in her eyes. "She loves you and you know it!" Her voice was scratchy from the anger filling her.

"No, Rey, she doesn't. She sent me off to Luke when I was a child because she feared me even then. She could've talked to me; asked me about what she suspected, but instead she assumed I was this blood-thirsty monster and got rid of me so I was no longer her problem. Just like Luke, and just like you." he emphasized his last word.

Anger and pain stirred around Rey. She slowly felt the force radiating off of her, the man before her igniting it.

He seemed to smirk at her uncontrollable emotions; it ignited his confidence. "You still think of them as your own parents. You want them to care so badly about you; my father, my mother, Luke; you have tried to use them to fill the void of your true parents- the ones who sold you out for drinking money."

Tears fell down Rey's face. "Stop." was all she managed to let out.

"If anyone should know about the fakeness of my parents it should be you. My father wanted to use you to get his ship back. My mother has decided to use you as a pawn in the Resistance and in her own little game of trying to get answers out of me for the benefit of her precious Resistance. They used you, Rey. You know it."

"Enough!" she screamed, the force igniting in her hand plucking him from the bed and throwing him against the opposite corner of the room.

His back slammed against the wall before he crumpled to the ground. The 'thunk' of his head and spine echoed through the otherwise empty cell. His shocked eyes darted to Rey, who looked equally as shocked.

Rey looked down at her trembling hands then back at the shocked man on the floor. Her mind was racing. She had just used the force against him when he was defenseless; she had tortured him, and it felt terrible.

She gasped for air as she struggled to swim in the ocean of her own guilt. She put a shaky hand in front of her and watched as the now standing man before her darted his eyes at her. Seconds later, the restraints clattered against the stone floor.

Rey watched Be- Kylo as he rubbed his wrists and stared at her with confusion. She glanced down at his wrists and saw the bright red parks and dried blood from him struggling against them. Tears filled her eyes as the guilt consumed her. This was all her fault; she just hoped removing the restraints was enough of an apology for now, and that he wouldn't take advantage of it. He had every right to after she abducted him and brought him here; after giving him false hope and taking it away just as fast, but she hoped he would spare her… again.

Rey was halfway out the door before she heard his voice.

"Don't think this makes up for what you did."

Rey turned back towards him, closing the door and once more trapping herself with him. She was letting him get to her too much.

When she faced him again, his hand was extended, the force radiating through his hand right to her head. He was invading her mind again. Anger and hurt flooded Rey's veins.

"Ah, you feel it, too. You know they are using you." He moved closer, probing deeper in her head. He saw the memory of the meeting in her head as his own mother asked Rey to find out all she could. "She's baiting you for information. And Luke…" He twisted his hand, going further back in her memories. He inhaled sharply and his focus faltered. "You left him after I told you what he did. He didn't want to teach you; he wanted the past to die, just as I did."

Rey's head leaned closer to Kylo with every poke and prod from the force. Her face twitched as he dug deeper and her core shook with anger. She tapped into the force through her damaged mind and tried to put up barriers to protect herself.

Kylo's fingers twitched at the resistance from her mind. He took another step towards Rey, challenging her. "I can feel your guilt. You have felt it since the throne room. You regret taking me as a prisoner. You realize it makes you no different than everyone else who has betrayed me."

Rey saw he was breaking his focus the more he dug into her thoughts, as they often brought up memories from his past. He had backed her up against the stone wall with his other hand on the side of her head, trapping her. She turned her head away from his surprisingly close face. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her turned cheek. Their chests were so close she could feel the heat radiating between them, yet she shivered at his touch inside her head. They were so close to each other… she had to take back control of the situation.

Rey's sympathetic eyes met Kylo's determined glare."You betrayed yourself, Ben." her voice was soft but confident,

Kylo growled at his birth name and looked away from Rey as he pushed himself off the wall and paced the room. Rey took a shaky exhale of relief as he created distance between them and let her tired mind recover. The humidity in the room seemed to disappear and she felt cold without his impending presence so near to her. She watched his every move as he paced. His guard was down. If ever was a good time to read the mind of the Supreme Leader of the First Order, now was the time.

Instead, she decided to let him wallow in his thoughts, and what he captured of her own. He had captured her thoughts and memories as she had captured him and in a twisted way, she almost saw it as a fair trade.

She caught a glimpse of his distant glance before he was blocked out of sight as she closed and locked the door on him. Her fingers lingered on the door handle after the door clicked shut as she thought of their encounter. Her chest felt heavy as tears filled her eyes. Her attempt to bring Ben Solo back had failed again. And just as bad she hadn't found out anything about the First Order for Leia.

As Rey walked back to her tent on the Resistance base, she couldn't help but think about what Kylo had said about Leia using her as a pawn in this plan. She had felt anger when he said that, but now she was unsure if it was because he was pushing her or if it was because a part of her actually felt it was true…

"Rey!" Finn ran over to meet her. Once looking at her distant expression, he tilted his head in an attempt to meet her gaze. "Hey, what happened in there?"

Rey reluctantly met his gaze. "Nothing, it's just…" she saw the worry in Finn's eyes and decided not to worry him more. "I'm just really tired."

"Oh… well, you better get some rest then." he said with suspicion.

"I'm heading to my tent now, don't worry." she started to walk away and felt Finn's hand once again meet her shoulder.

"Rey, you can trust me."

Rey nodded, holding his gaze before walking past him and to her tent.

She curled up in her sleeping bag and nuzzled her head into the pillow. She found sleep hard to come by; even after the exhausting invasion from earlier, her mind was still very much so awake. She felt a familiar pull in her gut and like an ocean wave crashing to shore, she felt all of Kylo's emotions through their force bond: anguish, anger, fear, regret, and as always, loneliness and conflict. Despite all his negative emotions flowing through their bond and crashing into her like a tidal wave, something about it comforted Rey enough for her to drift to sleep.

Chapter 3: Kylo's POV

Kylo couldn't relax. He was angry with the scavenger girl for capturing him and for invading his mind, and he was mad at himself for allowing his weakness to show enough for her to take advantage of it. He was- is, the Supreme Leader of the First Order; the feared Kylo Ren. He shouldn't have any weaknesses, and it most definitely shouldn't be for a girl that was the face of his enemy.

Beneath the anger lied something he hadn't felt in a long time- fear. He feared the bond they had, and the effect it had on him. He feared her untamed powers and even more her untapped powers. He could feel the unbalance in her force; she possessed power unlike he had ever seen before. He was fearful of how intrigued he was by her and how much of the First Order's time he had stalled and given up because of her.

Fear was replaced by anguish and regret. It was all her fault. If it wasn't for her, the Resistance would've been obliterated far before now. If it wasn't for her, Snoke would still be alive. If it wasn't for her, so many lives would've been spared and he would have been ruling alongside Snoke's guidance to fulfill his concrete destiny. If it wasn't for her, he would not be feeling all these things.

He regretted ever venturing out in the forest to find her. He regretted taking her alive. He regretted feeling conflict because of her, causing Snoke to create the bond they had. It was all too much. It was all her fault.

His fists clenched and unclenched as his chest heaved with anger. He had no weapon; nothing to destroy. He glared at the plate of food she had brought him. Hunger was the last concern on his mind, as were clean clothes from the Resistance. He would accept nothing from them; nothing from her. He picked up the plate and smashed it against the wall across the room, letting out a yell of frustration. The shatter of the glass smashing and falling on the stone walls and floor echoed until all that was left to hear was his own heavy breathing.

Surrounded by broken glass and scattered food, Kylo's eyes darted at the door, then at his wrists. He could use the force to leave. She had left him unrestrained; stupid girl.

Or a very intelligent girl… Kylo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he realized she had played him yet again. She left him unrestrained on purpose so if he were to escape, she could feel it through the force. No amount of mental boundaries could stop him from severing the connection to the point of where she could not feel him through the force. This was purposeful; tactful, and pure manipulation. She was challenging him; daring him to defy her and leave, just to be confronted by her and her heavily armed and vengeful friends of the Resistance.

A large shard of the severed plate caught Kylo's eye. He stepped over the other broken pieces, making the crunch of the glass under his boots echo and fill his ears. He bent down and picked up the severed piece. He flipped it around in his hand as he examined it from every angle. The bottom of the shard had a somewhat rounded edge from the edge of the plate. The tip was triangular and jagged. His eyes glinted- it was the closest thing to a weapon he was going to get. He smirked and tucked the shard into his belt at his ribcage. If it was a challenge Rey wanted, it was a challenge she would get.

He lay on his back on the bed with his knees in the air and his feet planted. He pulled out the shard of glass from his belt and flipped it around in his fingers out of boredom, lost in thought. What was the First Order doing? Without a doubt in Kylo's mind Hux had taken over. He hated that man as much as the existence of the Resistance, but he was ruthless and persistent and the First Order needed that kind of leadership in his absence. It was just a question of if Hux would allow them to waste the time to negotiate like the Resistance was hoping would happen. Would Hux even come for him? They despised each other and this was the perfect excuse for him to overthrow Kylo without a fair fight. His disappearance at the exact time of their Supreme Leader's death probably seemed like more of a coincidence for Hux and the rest of the First Order, especially since the girl was gone as well. They would suspect that he joined alliances elsewhere, making him a traitor, no different than FN-2187.

Isn't that exactly what he had done? Killed his Master for the chance to join Rey? Not exactly the Resistance but how were they supposed to suspect any different? Rey had thought the same thing: that he would just drop his weapon and offered his hand not to her, not to a new beginning without loneliness, but to the light. That was the last thing he wanted; for the same story to happen time after time. They were capable of so much more than just dark and light; he could feel it long before Snoke created their connection, and it was even stronger now.

As much as he hated her; loathed her, he knew they were meant for something bigger than the both of them. Their meeting in the forest was no coincidence; she was a part of his fate as much as he was a part of hers. They were each other's rivals but also each other's weaknesses; trying to turn the other towards sides that didn't even matter since they were more than either of them.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pull in his gut. She was near. He hid the broken piece of plate in his softly clenched fist, careful not to cut his hand and give himself away.

She entered the room holding a few pieces of fruit. His eyes darted to hers. She looked relatively calm, but he could sense her pulse quicken. She was scared.

She looked at the ground and back at him. He could've sworn he saw her slightly shake her head.

"You came back. That's new." he said bitterly.

She rolled her eyes and stared down at her feet. "You need to eat."

Kylo scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't act like you care what I do for any other reason than to benefit your precious cause."

She shot him a wounded glance but kept her eyes low in the darkness.

It was then Kylo came to the realization he never saw coming. "They didn't send you this time. You're here on your own accord."

She nodded but said nothing. The tension was growing between them through the force.

"Why?"

"Because they've given up on you. I won't." Her strong gaze met his.

Kylo scoffed. "You already have. You tried to kill me, then deceived me; abducted me and brought me here against my will. Your actions speak for themselves. You're not fooling anyone, Rey. Not them, not the First Order, not me; the only person you are fooling is yourself." he scowled and turned his back to her, his hands clenching into balled fists and digging into his skin.

"That's not true." she growled.

"Ben Solo is dead. He died when he took pity on you and spared your life at the hands of Snoke."

"Part of Kylo Ren died that moment, not Ben Solo. I know you're still in there, Ben…"

Instinctively Kylo reached out with his empty hand and pushed her against the wall with the force, choking her. Her nostrils flared with disgust and her loathing yet hopeful eyes burned through his death glare. His mouth twitched and his heart raced, his skin hot. She was not like the others he did this to; she did not flail, or kick or even twitch. She just glared at him defiantly, once again challenging him.

Kylo walked up to her until his face was a matter of inches away from hers. He lowered himself to her level and stared at her, tightening his grip. "You should have died along with that name."

Her breaths were staggered and she sputtered against his strength. "You can't kill me."

Rage filled Kylo. "I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order. I know the force better than anyone in the galaxy and can and will bend it and you to my will."

It was then Kylo felt that familiar headache and lurching of the force between their minds. She managed to slip in his head, right through his unstable mind and thoughts.

"You can; but you won't."

Kylo bellowed in fury and sliced the broken glass shard across her cheek before throwing her against the wall, disconnecting the force between them. He dropped the piece of glass and paced the room before remembering that he no longer had the cuffs on; he could storm out of there now and find a means of escape. He was sure he was at the Rebel base, which meant there were loads of ships and firearms nearby. He had more anger and power than anything that would come his way would be as miniscule as a fly. He bolted towards the door, about to make his escape, when he felt something through the force. It was her. But she wasn't manipulating the force to keep him in place, or keep the door shut; she used it to transfer her feelings. Her feelings of desperation, exhaustion, and that oncoming feeling of loneliness returned as she watched him try to leave. Above all else was the most gut-wrenching emotion that Kylo had felt far too many times before: disappointment.

He made the mistake of looking at her as she was doing this. She was in a curled up ball propped against the wall with her knees to her chest. She had landed hard against the stone; hard enough to draw blood where she landed on her knees and also on the palms of her hands. There was a gash across her cheek that was bleeding slowly, but she seemed unphased by it. Seeing the blood of his enemies usually ignited his power as he thrived on it, but something about this felt… wrong. He was gaining nothing from this; she had nothing he didn't already possess. It was a waste of energy and a waste of his training on something that could offer him so little.

Her eyes and turned up chin still kept that staple defiance he despised, but there was something else in her eyes: pleading.

It was then he realized he had no clue what laid outside that door, but she did. Was she protecting him? Or was this all part of her plan to keep him here? Was she pleading for him, or for the person she wanted him to be?

He turned his back to her and placed his against the wall in front of him to balance himself. The silence lingered far too long between them.

"What's your next move?" his voice was low. He kept his head down and his gaze at the floor but slightly turned his head over his shoulder so she could hear him.

He heard her slowly stand and gently sit on the edge of the bed with ease. "You are just going to find your way back to the First Order and tell them and you will send orders for our destruction."

He pushed himself off the wall and faced her, looming closer to her. He could feel her unease through the force and watched as her hand traveled to her side where a lightsaber should have been. She was completely unarmed.

"Exactly. This whole cycle- good and bad, light and dark; it will all repeat itself time and time again if nothing changes. That's why I offered you my hand." The pained look in her face and her sudden interest in the floor let him know he had struck a nerve. "You wanted to take it. I could feel it, too. You can't hide anything, Rey; not from me."

She took a shaky breath and reluctantly met his eyes. He could see the resentment dance across her irises. He could feel her hatred of lack of privacy of her own thoughts and emotions, but buried far beneath that he felt a sense of contentment that she was not truly alone.

"What did you expect to happen? Did you honestly think I would turn to your side after a little mind torture by an untrained force user? Then what? Everyone would try to kill me regardless, and if they did as much as threaten me, the First Order would pulverize this entire planet's existence. And if we keep going the way we are, one of us is going to win and one of us is going to lose; that's an eternal sentence. I pledged my soul in preparation for that event. Have you?"

Tears filled her eyes and Kylo's heart clenched. Things didn't have to be this way; he offered his hand to her twice now but she was too stubborn and ignorant to know what was best for her; for the both of them.

She stood and kept as strong a composure as she could before him. "What do they do without your leadership?"

The question threw Kylo for a moment, until he realized that was her way of establishing her place in all this. She was still prying information from him- her enemy. She chose the Resistance- again.

Kylo's shoulders tensed and he kept his burning eyes locked on hers. "I guess we will have to find out, now won't we?"

"Ben…"

Rey walked close enough to him that when she reached her hand out, she could have touched him. She came close; too close, and the worst part of it all was that Kylo felt a sense of curiosity of what her touch would feel like outside of the force, and he felt himself starting to lean towards her touch. When he realized that the pull to the light was coming back, he quickly reached out his hand and wrapped it around her outreached wrist, gripping hard. He could feel her pulse in his fingers and the coolness of her skin against his own flushed skin. He held her there in that moment as if they were frozen in time. She strained slightly against his hold on her but she didn't seem to struggle against it, much to Kylo's surprise. They stared at each other and let their thoughts and emotions dance across their close faces. At the end of it all he could feel one emotion similar between them: acceptance. They had chosen their paths, each just as loyal to their chosen sides.

Except they weren't, Kylo thought. He had killed his master, the only person who saw what he could be; the only person who made him understand his emotions and powers without fear- all for her. To spare her life, to spare himself from the painful moments of feeling himself being torn in two, to spare history from repeating itself; to fulfill what no one else had ever done before- all because of her. And she shot him down- twice. And took him prisoner. He sacrificed his title, his position, AND his life for her. If the First Order ever found out it was him who killed their Supreme Leader, and for a scavenger girl…

He looked his opponent up and down, his grip still solid on her. "You should have killed me when you had the chance."

He threw her arm away from him and strode towards the door, ignoring her confused looks and ignoring the fact that he had no clue what laid outside that door. He didn't care. He needed to find a way back to the First Order. He needed to end this once and for all.

Chapter 4: Rey's POV

Rey watched as he left the room. She wanted to run after him; put him back in the restraints and forage his mind for answers. But she couldn't. He was her equal; her every move was mirrored by him. It was then she realized there was no defeating him, and no curing him from the evil mind tricks- she had to leave him to make his own decisions and hope one day he would have the same realization.

Or had he already had it? Is that why he left…?

The guards of the Resistance came running towards the cell and Rey put her hand up to stop them before they could even say anything. "Let him go." The words tasted bitter and sad.

"But-"

"Inform the others I am calling a meeting. Have them in the meeting hall as soon as possible. There's much to discuss." Rey walked out the door and past the guards and made her way to the meeting hall, ignoring the mortified looks of the guards and those who saw Kylo Ren 'escape.' Her eyes scanned the surroundings for him and by the lack of screams and action, she had assumed he was far gone already. She could still feel him, though; he was always there.

"You WHAT?!" Finn and Poe screamed at the same time.

"He had no information to offer; there was no sense of keeping him here." Rey spoke honestly and tried to hide her muddled emotions.

"Rey, with all due, respect…" Leia started to speak.

Rey cut her off. "With all due respect to you and the cause, keeping him here was taking up space and time for our resources and our numbers. It was a distraction."

Leia sighed and began speaking to the murmuring crowd. "She's right. None of us have been in our right minds since his capture. It has already been 2 days and we've gotten nothing from the First Order; not even a transmission or a signal. They may have had alternative plans set in place for this event so they would not be in direct contact with their opponents, and if Rey could not get him to speak, then no one could."

Rey's heart clenched and she fought back tears. She still had hope for him; he was there, somewhere, just as lost and scared as her. He had to be…

"General, we are picking up an unknown signal of a ship entering the planet." a male officer spoke.

Rey's pulse picked up. They were here. She felt a pull in her gut, and their force connection buzzed and hummed until he was in sight, across the room. He was in the back of the room, looking at her as stunned as she was looking at him.

Rey started panicking. She couldn't tell people about her force connection with him; she couldn't even begin to think of how terrible of an idea that would be. She closed her eyes, which were still moving rapidly under her eyelids, and tried to force him away. Even with her eyes closed she still knew he was there; she could feel him. She opened her eyes and her panicked glance met his confused expression.

"They must be here to get him…" Leia whispered. Her posture straightened and her expression firmed. "We need our defenses up at the estimated landing spot, but do not get too close. They could just be here to get their leader and leave. Poe, gather the troops and head to the landing site. Do not shoot first, but let them know we are here and ready."

"On it." Poe picked up his blaster and rallied up some of the crowd, shouting orders as they walked out of the meeting room.

Run.

She didn't mean to, but she communicated to him through her thoughts. His glare turned from questionable to realization before the bond broke. Right before it broke, Rey was able catch the fear and anger in his eyes. He had thought she had sent the signal out to get him; he couldn't see or hear anyone else in the room, as far as she knew. He stayed quiet the whole time; he had known she was around others. He was waiting.

The room had erupted into madness and Chewie bellowed loudly and people started to settle down into a tension-filled silence.

"Enough! The rest of you- prepare your ships. Our location has been compromised and we are no longer safe here."

"General, where do we have to go? We have reached out to all locations once associated with the cause and none of them have sent any signal back."

Leia looked in the direction of the member of the Resistance. "Crait. An old planet, hidden from most space systems. There is an old Rebel base with limited equipment there. We will have to try to send another signal there and hope there are people out there that still believe."

"So that's your next move."

Rey jumped and gasped, realizing the force had connected them once more. She hadn't even felt it open their connection. She could see some of his surroundings; a fraction of the scene was trees and it appeared the background behind him was dark and elevated, a hissing sound erupting through their otherwise silent connection.

He was boarding his ship. The First Order had come to collect their Master. Nausea hit Rey when she realized he was able to hear what Leia, his mother, had said, and knew their next line of action. They had no other option; no other place to go.

Rey's eyes filled with tears as terror took over her. Her body began to shake as she heard shots fire behind the image of Kylo Ren, causing him to duck, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Draw back. We have everything we need." Kylo said through their connection, his power crazed eyes looking at Rey, a sickening glow of power radiating through them.

The force connection ended with the closing of his ship's door, his back turned to her, his cape flapping behind him.

Leia put her hand on Rey's arm and shook her back to reality. "Rey, what's wrong?"

Rey looked the General, the grieving General, in her eyes with a serious expression framing her face. "We need to get to Crait; fast. I… I have a feeling they know our next move."

A horrified look crossed the General's face before she turned to the remaining crowd and shouted urgent orders. It was all white noise to Rey; time seemed to slow and she could only hear the heaviness of her own breathing as she observed the blurred chaos. The image of him was ingrained in her brain- his pained and power-hungry crazed look in his eyes, his strong, brooding structure; the conflict flashing across his face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

Rey's head throbbed as she let tears of pain and realization wash over her. Kylo was right- one of them would win, and one of them would lose. She was not ready for this war; not even close. It would be far easier for her to hate this man; give up hope on him as he had done with her, but she couldn't. She had seen his future when they touched hands; he would turn- she was sure of it. But for now, his path was chosen and hers was determined for her. Looking at all the chaos, she had to be the leader in this mission against her enemy; that's what everyone expected of her- to be strong. If that is what she needed to be to keep their hopes up, then that was the role she would play.

Rey helped direct people to their ships before boarding the Falcon with Chewie. She closed the ship door and took her position as not pilot, but fighter. Chewie bellowed instructions to her as they jumped to light speed in preparation of their arrival. They were the last to leave the base, and Rey had just hoped they weren't too late. Her thoughts fleeted to her training with Luke, to visions of Kylo telling her to let the past die, to the current situation. As they jolted out of light speed, Rey saw the scene before them. Blasts of light streamed across the sky and plumes of dust clouded their vision as ground shots were made. That familiar gut feeling hit Rey like a blaster- in the distance she saw their AT-AT's and a large ship- his ship. She could feel his anger burn inside her as if it were her own. As if the feelings had reflected through her, her own anger grew to meet his as she saw how mercilessly he was attacking the vastly outnumbered remains of the Resistance. He wasn't using that much power because he needed to defend his First Order; he was doing this out of revenge and spite. This was his game-set-match, and he was prepared to make it hurt.

"Chewie, swipe across the side of their ship. We need to draw their attention away from the Resistance."

Chewie growled and mumbled but obeyed orders. As they quickly swept in front of their field of view, time seemed to slow enough for her to make eye contact with him. Their eyes locked, challenging each other. When time caught up, shots immediately started firing at the Falcon and Rey met their shots with her own. This was the beginning of the end, and she finally felt ready.

Chapter 5: Kylo's POV

The Falcon swiped into view and his eyes met her, feeling the force connection between them. She looked at him with such confidence; challenging him, that he lost his focus on the rest of the Resistance.

"Blow that piece of junk OUT OF THE SKY!" he bellowed with fury, his core and balled fists shaking.

"Need I remind you of our mission at hand-" Hux began to speak before getting thrown by the force across the ship.

Anger rippled through Kylo's very soul. He knew it was a distraction, but the anger and hatred he felt for this girl- this scavenger, this nobody, his captor, his downfall, was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was pure rage, yet it was deeper than that he felt for his parents and his uncle. This was far worse- it was false hope she had made him reach after, then took it away from him, over and over again. This was it- this was the last time she would get away with it.

He gave the orders and shot fired after her, but he could not be the one to shoot. He wanted to; to prove his worth, to prove to everyone he has no weaknesses. But he couldn't. Something was stopping him- her light. She had gotten into his head.

The battle was over, and he had lost. He had wasted too much time focusing on Rey and his uncle; he had let his anger get the best of him, in an untamed, errotic way that Snoke was not there to help tame and guide it to their advantage.

He and his stormtroopers searched the base they had retreated to on Crait. In the darkness and shadows of the room, something glinting in the sliver of sunlight left outside that streamed through the entrance caught Kylo's eye. He squinted and walked in the direction of the object, bending down to retrieve it as he got close enough. When he picked it up, a shiver went down his spine- it was his father's golden dice, the ones he had seen so many times in the Falcon as a child. The shiver was met by the pull of the force, the connection humming to life.

Kylo picked up his head to meet Rey's glance, who stared down at him. Shock flashed crossed her face, then her expression hardened into that of anger and defiance. She closed the ship door on him, ending the connection, just as he had done to her just a few hours back.

Kylo's gaze looked back down into his gloved hand where the dice seemed to have disappeared as she had. He clenched his fist and stood.

"They left no evidence of where they were going, but they have nothing other than what we saw. No one is answering their distress calls. They may have ran away, but they can't hide for much longer. Their resources are scarce and their numbers are minimal. We've got them cornered right where we need them. Prepare the ship for takeoff."

Kylo strode away, fists clenched, teeth gritted as he boarded his ship.

This would be the last time he was rejected by her. This would be the last time she could run from him, and they both knew they couldn't stay hidden for long. They couldn't; they were a dyad in the force.

THE END