Rey started.
At first, she thought she had gone blind. Her eyes were no longer functioning, and all she could see was black. But then she realized the environment around her was the cause of her lack of vision.
Her head pounded like crazy. It throbbed and pulsed, and she couldn't help but wince at every ache that shot through her brain.
The surroundings were still pitch-black and she let her eyes grow accustomed to it. Shadowy outlines of immovable objects loomed around and over her. It almost looked like she was in a storage room.
The only distance she could see up to was directly in front of her. The small tunic she was dressed in scarcely suppressed the cold, bare press of the metal of her seat against her back. Her wrists were locked in equally cold armrests on either side of her, and her ankles were of the same status. The chair was similar, but she knew by her environment that the room she was in was different from the interrogation room she was placed in the first time she was captured by him, on Takodana.
Hopefully, there would be Stormtroopers again this time. But she heavily doubted it. Her captor was smart. It wouldn't have taken much thought process to realize how she had escaped the first time. And the poor Stormtrooper that had fallen for her mind control…she gulped. From what Finn had told her, reconditioning was a nightmare.
The temperature in the room was freezing, and she shivered. Her usual clothes usually provided enough warmth to sleep outside on Ahch-To, but for some reason her usual taupe pants seemed awfully more comfortable.
Her head tilted down to see that her pants were gone. Instead, a darker piece of clothing had replaced hers. Confused, she quickly pondered that it was because of her injury, and she took a chance and flexed her left hamstring to test whether it was at least patched.
Her mouth dropped open. Even though her legs were covered, she could feel her hamstring functioning. Sure, it was sore, but she could feel the muscle grating against the other muscles. There was an aching sensation like she would sometimes get after a strenuous workout on Jakku, but the pain was nowhere close to the pain she experienced on Crait.
She was so preoccupied examining her leg that she didn't notice the figure in the corner until he spoke.
"You are awake."
Her head twisted and she stared off to her left.
What she originally thought was a pile of something draped over by a cloth was actually a solid mass of man sitting down in a chair too small for him—a chair that would fit a small kid in an even smaller classroom, but nothing larger; Rey knew this from the educational holovids she had once traded two weeks' portions for.
"Where am I?" she asked. She subconsciously yanked her hands to try to defend herself, only to remember that they were latched in when she felt pressure instead.
The man in the chair stood up to his full height. He was taller than she had assumed, given his slightly slouched stance when he battled. She had to resist the urge to shudder and shy away.
"You are aboard the Finalizer."
The Finalizer…Rey racked her memories, but came up short. She could only assume it was one of the First Order's ships.
As if Kylo Ren read her mind, he said, "It is one of the very few ships we have remaining in our armada."
Rey stared at him incredulously. "Few ships? You realize you're giving me helpful bits of information that I could feed to the Resistance."
Kylo Ren waved his arm nonchalantly.
"I don't anticipate you making contact with the enemy anytime soon. Your body was searched. There was a tracking beacon that you had in your possession. It has been removed for your safety."
"For my safety?" she asked incredulously. Then, pouring back over his words, she flushed a crimson shade of red. Secretly, she was glad the room was dark, so that he didn't see her blush.
"You searched me?"
"The medical droid."
"Oh."
"Who else do you think fit you into those pants?"
"I don't know…" Rey looked away from his unwavering stare.
"Do you really think I could force myself on you? You may see me how you wish, but I would never stoop that low."
"I don't care what you have to say," Rey spat, her demeanor instantly changing. "There is no way I would ever let you touch me with your murderous hands."
She didn't have to see to know that the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk.
"You seemed all too willing to lean into my touch on Crait."
Rey laughed, and it seemed to stupefy Kylo, if only for a moment.
"You seem to think that I willingly allowed you to touch me," she said in disbelief. He really was deluded. "I only did what I needed to do to keep preserve the Resistance."
She felt the temperature in the room drop ten degrees.
"That is a lie," he hissed. "That is a lie, and you know it."
He closed some of the distance between himself and her.
"No," Rey retorted, wishing that her movements weren't restricted. "It's not. My interests lay in the getting the Resistance to safety. I was just a distraction."
"No," Kylo repeated, but his denouncing was full of uncertainty, whereas Rey's was full of conviction. "You're lying. The connection between—"
The Force inside of her told her to step away from the scenario, to just shut up and stop taunting him, but she couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth.
"I'm sure the rest of the Resistance already escaped from Crait in the Millennium Falcon. You have no way to track them. Poe, Finn, Leia—"
"Be quiet!" she heard him snarl.
She realized her mistake too late, when the room turned into a dark red brightness after Kylo Ren ignited his lightsaber. He took a step forward in her direction.
"You know nothing!" he screamed, brandishing his weapon in the air. "Do not say that vile woman's name! You know nothing about her!"
Rey was suddenly filled with a false sense of bravado at the man steadily approaching her. Even though she had hurt Leia, she couldn't help but be surged with an overwhelming touch of pride at the General.
"Leia has done more for me than anyone in my life! I owe her everything, and yet you, her son—"
"I am not her son! Everything she has engrained in your feeble mind is the product of her lies and deceit!"
"Oh, I forgot," Rey sneered. "You killed your uncle! I don't think you would hesitate one second before slaughtering your own mother!"
"You will stop!" he screamed, his voice crackling. He was now at the foot of her bed, lightsaber by his side.
"Are you going to kill me too?" she asked. "Slaughter me as easily as you thoughtlessly slaughtered countless number of innocents?"
He took his lightsaber over his head. She brought her head up to meet his, and she could see the grip on his hilt tighten.
"Yes, show me who you really are!" Rey snarled, shaking her hands in her binders. She could feel the contraption dig into her flesh and pinch her skin and nerves. "Show me who you really are, Kylo Ren!"
She was fully prepared for him to end her life. After all, her purpose had been used up. Now that she turned herself in, there was no doubt that she would never be able to leave.
But, to her surprise, Kylo Ren let out an exasperated roar and left her side. The warmth of the blade disappeared, and the cool temperature of the room returned to her. She craned her head to where he vanished, and saw him furiously slashing away at one of the walls.
He let out an enraged scream and hacked away at the interior. Bright orange slash marks appeared as the result of the destruction of any supplies that were in his way. Clangs and smashes permeated her ears, and Rey could do nothing but watch the spectacle—watch as he dug deeper and deeper into the hull of the ship.
"Kylo, stop!"
All Kylo did to acknowledge her cries were to scream even louder and hack away at an even faster pace, if possible. Rey was sure he was going too far—judging by how much metal had melted from the infrastructure, it wouldn't be long before this quadrant of the ship would have to be evacuated.
She was filled with sudden concern, but whether it was at the inhabitants of the ship's safety, including her, or because of his unhinged emotional state, she didn't know. "Kylo!"
Rey really wished there weren't binders keeping her strapped in.
"Kylo!" she shouted one more time, this time the loudest. "Stop acting like a spoiled child!"
At the sound of her raised voice, he hesitated. She could tell that something inside of him had changed. Before, whatever connection that linked her to him was uncontrolled and rabid. But her voice was like a flicker of light inside of him; she could feel it, if only for a second. It was enough to stop him in his tracks from the undergoing onslaught.
Rey was filled with sudden unknown worry at how still he was, a drastic contrast with his demeanor a few seconds ago.
"Kylo?" she tentatively asked.
She could see the man on the other side of stiffen at her voice.
"Scavenger."
Rey bristled. His voice, although still half-filled with anger, was back to its usual callous tone.
"Are you done throwing a temper tantrum now, or are you going to continue and let everyone on this ship, including me and you, die a grisly death in space?"
She could sense him look down at the hand that wasn't holding the lightsaber, and him flexing it. He refused to move to her, but rather ignored her reproach by continuing to speak to her from his secluded corner.
"The First Order's infrastructure is more than enough to withstand a few strikes of my blade."
Rey wanted to laugh.
"This point is moot. Take a look at the damage you caused," she said.
She saw him take a look at the damage clearly for the first time, but he quickly lost interest in it.
"Do not ever speak to me of that woman ever again."
Rey bit her tongue. She was tempted to start chanting General Organa's name over and over again just to spite him, but thought better of it and kept baleful side at bay.
"Fine. So, where are we? And how long am I going to be kept here for?"
"You are to stay here as my guest."
"What do you mean, guest?" Rey scoffed. "It's obvious by these chains that I am more like your prisoner."
He raised a hand in her direction, and she flinched. But he made no move to invade her mind. Instead, she heard the soft clinks of her binders detach, and her wrists slipped out. She stared at him in disbelief. When she came to the conclusion that Kylo Ren, her captor and archenemy, had let her free from her shackles, she came to and hastily climbed out of her seat.
He seemed to read her mind.
"Do not take my leniency for weakness. There is nowhere for you to turn. Nowhere for you to run."
Rey sighed, more exasperated than intimidated. He was still in his little corner, his face turned away from her and facing the wall. Even with his activated lightsaber, she could sense by the swarm of emotions brewing in her that he was still in inner turmoil.
She slowly moved toward him, making sure to keep her balance steady. Her leg was working, but it was sore and she lost control a few times, almost tripping.
Finally, she approached him.
"Kylo," she murmured, aware of what she had done to put him into this mood. She reached out with her hand, and hesitated only for the smallest of seconds before she let her fingertips run over the gloved hand not holding his lightsaber.
She could feel a sharp intake of air and him begin to recoil, but she didn't say anything. Even with the leather separating their hands, the electricity still crackled like madness between the pair. The sensation was unlike anything she had ever felt—it was like an enhanced version of what she felt on Crait. Fear and anxiety and emotions she didn't know mixed around inside of her until it formed something greater—something corporeal. But it was something she couldn't pinpoint.
And as quickly as it had come, it vanished. Guilt washed over her like a bucket of ice water, and her fingers twitched.
Perhaps he detected a shift in the Force, or in their connection. Whatever it was, he knew better than to question it, and he let her go.
Rey's fingers moved from his hand and to the hilt of the lightsaber in his other one. He let her gently brush his finger away, and Rey had to remind herself yet again that this was her captor. Her enemy.
Turning it off, she took the lightsaber away from him, and he let her.
Kylo Ren turned around and Rey was hit with how his eyes were eerily calm. There were no flashes of anger, or desperation like he held in Snoke's throne room. There was only emptiness.
She debated on securing the lightsaber to her side, but thought better. The swap in Snoke's throne room was a mistake on both their parts, and Rey was sure Kylo that would be unwilling to depart with it this time, willingly. Filled with a trust that might have been false, she held the hilt and extended her hand to him.
Rey was suddenly hit with an all-too familiar memory of Starkiller Base, one that she had struggled to suppress. She remembered standing above, high over the stairwell of the fortress with Finn and Chewbacca, watching Han Solo tread his steps carefully toward Kylo Ren. She remembered the silent exchange of words between the pair which led to him taking off his helmet. And she remembered how Han held his grip on the lightsaber but Kylo was unwilling to depart with it, right before she heard the monstrous roar of the blade as it came to life and pierced his father right in the heart.
Jerking out of her memories, she looked down to see their stances in a very similar fashion. Her hand rested, outstretched, and Kylo Ren stood across from her, staring at the lightsaber.
She was the one who held all the power, and all Kylo could do was extend his hand and try to accept her offer. The position would leave him vulnerable.
Capable for her to do what he did to Han.
A pool of hatred manifested in her and she tightened her grip on the handle. Kylo, whose hand had already latched onto the hilt, tried to tug it toward him, but was met with resistance. His eyes darted up to meet hers, filled with acknowledgement at the danger that would manifest if Rey lost control.
Beads of sweat were beginning to pool on her face. Rey blinked back furiously, fighting the inner demon inside. Fighting to suppress the dark, rotten pit inside her and banish it into its slumber. She could imagine it—the ferocious bare of her teeth as she pressed the button and obliterated his life. The hilt began to shake from the pressure the two of them exerted on it.
"Rey." It was just one word, but it made all the difference in the galaxy.
Rey gasped. She couldn't do it. She was no killer. Stripping someone from life would make her no better than the First Order. No better than a murderer. That's what she told herself.
She relinquished her grip.
Kylo Ren took control of the lightsaber. He looked at her, almost strangely, but clipped it into his belt nonetheless.
"You never called me by my name before," Rey said, her name dimly echoing in her eardrums.
"And yet, why does it sound like you are accusing me?"
Rey avoided his gaze. "I'm not accusing. It just took me by surprise, that's all."
Kylo gave her a small smile, entirely opposite of his usual pernicious smirks.
"Can you walk?" he asked. "Because we have quite a ways to go."
Rey was slightly overwhelmed by his question. She rolled on the balls of her feet. The hamstring gave a little groan, but she could support herself.
"Yes, I can. Why do you ask?"
"I was expecting you to be out for half a day more. The sedatives wore off quicker than I would have liked them to."
"You sedated me?!"
"Would you rather have felt every prod the medical droid gave you at the medical bay?"
"Oh." Once again, she was at a loss for words.
Kylo Ren waved his hand and a door off to the side slid up.
"Come with me," he said, extending his hand to her.
Rey bit her lip, unsure of whether what she was doing was right. But one tap into her logic, and a second later, her shook her head no.
Kylo Ren looked at her and she could feel his gaze intensifying. She quickly began to backtrack before he lost control of his anger again.
"It's not that, Kylo," she said, quickly shaking her head. "I—"
"What?" he interrupted.
"I don't know!" Rey threw up her hands. "These feelings I get when I'm touching you! It's all because of this connection or whatever it is we share! You know, the first one where I was on Ahch-To and you were on your ship, and we both managed to somehow see into each other's heads?" She pressed on before giving him the chance to nod his head. "I don't know what to make of this! I had almost managed to convince myself that what we had was unique until Snoke confessed that he was the one who manipulated them."
"All Snoke did was exploit us. It does not mean that without him, we no longer share a connection."
"And I know that, Kylo," she said, putting her hands to the side of her hips. "I know that from the Force vision I had in the throne room. Maker, I know that from just touching you. And that's why I can't take your hand. You need to understand that."
"It is not a bad thing."
"It doesn't matter. I need answers, Kylo. I don't care if you have them or not, but I need to find someone who does, and more importantly, I need to find what this means."
They walked in silence out the door.
"You mentioned Ahch-To."
"Yes, and I see no harm telling you where I was, training with Luke, seeing how—"
He waved his hand intrudingly in front of her face and she fell silent.
"Enough."
Rey bit her lip again and focused her attention to her surroundings.
There was no one else along the lengthy hall except for the two of them. Rey wondered if it was because most of the First Order's army had gone down on Snoke's ship, or because they were in an isolated area of the Finalizer. Or maybe, it was even because Kylo requested them to be left alone.
"How long was I out for?" she asked, when she could no longer stand the static silence.
"Just under twelve hours," he responded.
"The last thing I remember…" she ignored her headache and racked her memories. Ignoring the dark gloom manifesting from within at how she couldn't sense Luke's Force aura anymore, she said, "Was passing out from our battle."
"You will be pleased to know that I have left the Resistance alone, no doubt giving them time to tuck tail and flee."
Rey ignored his verbal attack. "And since then?"
"I have ordered the First Order to fall back and stand down. You were taken to the medical bay and placed in a bacta tank while my medical droids operated on you. Your injury was not critical, but still in need of medical attention."
"The First Order isn't pursuing the Resistance anymore?" she asked, making sure what she heard was indeed accurate.
"Correct," he said. "For now."
Rey clenched her fists. "You're not going to give up, are you?"
"No. Do not believe you are their salvation. All you did was buy time."
Rey didn't know how to respond to that, and just stared straight ahead. Even though the passageway had more light than the interrogation room, the walls were still coated with a sickly gray and black combination of colors. That, and coupled with the unpleasant conversation she was having, made Rey feel ill and a little despondent.
That all changed when they rounded the corner. Even with the way their stilled conversation left a bout of unspoken tension, Rey couldn't help but let a little squeal of excitement before rushing over to the window.
"I take it that you appreciate the view."
Rey placed both of her hands on the windowpane, her palms pressing against the cold glass. "Very much so."
On her left, almost out of reach of her vision, was another Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, but her attention quickly faded from the constructed spectacle. Instead, her focus centered on the rest of her focal field.
"It's beautiful," she murmured. She felt Kylo Ren approach her. There was plenty of space for him to stand and gaze out into the abyss, but he did so right by her side.
"That it is," he agreed.
Rey turned around and looked at him before returning her focus back into the stars.
"No, you don't understand," she said. She quickly explained before he lost his temper. "All my life I had been living in a junkyard on a desert planet. Every bidding night I would look to the stars and imagine a life out there, not one where I was trapped scavenging pieces of junk and selling them. The portions weren't enough," she sighed. "I always felt that if I made it out to the open sky, then I was free. There's something liberating, something ethereal about the cosmos, and being trapped on a grainy surface made me want that dream all the more. And now, I'm here. Standing on the other side."
"Now you're off that wretched planet."
"Yeah," she whispered, a sad smile stretching across her features. "I guess there's no reason for me to ever go back, is there?" she asked, blinking back tears. "After all, my parents were nothing but junk traders."
"I would not say never," Kylo responded. "There's a being on that planet I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate to pay a visit. I'm talking about Unkar Plutt," he explained. Instantly, Rey's confused expression hardened into a cold one.
"No," she said flatly. "No."
"You do not even—"
Rey pried herself off the glass and stood sentinel in front of Kylo Ren and faced him.
"Oh, I know what you have in mind," she interjected. "The same thing that you've always wanted."
"And what's that?" he sneered, angry at how she interrupted him.
"The answer is no. I won't acquiesce to your desires to have me kill Unkar Plutt. I already said it before, you are not going to be my teacher. I have no desire to learn the dark side."
"Your obvious denial is frustrating. Imagine how much stronger you could be if you accepted my offer. I can sense conflict in you. You have power, but have no means to harness it. You fight with passion. With emotion."
Rey wanted to argue, but he had a point.
Kylo took advantage of this. "Your silence confirms it."
"Just because I may agree with you doesn't mean you're right," she stubbornly refused.
"I can sense it in you too."
She couldn't help her curiosity. "Sense what?"
"You and I are not so different. Even before you went to Skywalker for your training, I knew," he said. "I knew he would refuse at first."
Rey stiffened. "How did you know that?"
"Skywalker initially refused to teach me as well. He did not say anything, but I could see it in his eyes. He could sense it. The dark."
"You're wrong," Rey denied. "I am nothing like you."
"You have the same darkness in you, just as I had it in me. That is how I knew when you first went to him, on Ahch-To, he rejected your pleas. And when he did start teaching you, he was sure to teach in moderation. To cover only the fundamental basics."
"No thanks to you and the First Order."
"It is not I who is regulating your potential. It is yourself," he continued, ignoring her. "You are afraid."
"I am not afraid!"
"I was in your head on Snoke's transport vehicle toying with my lightsaber. I witnessed your eyes. The fire in them was not from my blade, but from within you." At her quietude, he continued. "Passion. Devotion. Aspiration. Red suits you."
"I cannot believe we are talking about colors!" Rey shouted, getting provoked. "Just because I like the color red does not mean that I have a desire to follow in your footsteps."
Kylo scowled. "And what are my footsteps?"
Rey growled. "Okay, fine! Maybe I do have darkness in me, and maybe I do get the urge to strangle you sometimes, but it is how we choose to act on our emotions that determines whether we are light or dark. You have made your choices, and I have made mine."
She suddenly felt her feet lift off the ground. A cry escaped from her lips when her back rammed against the wall. Her hands lifted from her sides and shot to her throat.
"Desert rat," Kylo Ren hissed. "You think you have the right to make your own choices? Your choices are mine to make. You belong to me, or have you forgotten?" His Force grip on her windpipe tightened.
Rey made a feeble strangling noise.
"You right to exist ceased the moment you surrendered. I have been far too lenient in the past hour. Starting now, I will move on from my mistakes and treat you how I see fit. Do. You. Understand?"
Rey wanted to reject him, but she was beginning to lose focus. Her vision was becoming blurry and the room was beginning to darken. She mustered up whatever energy she had left in her and motioned a tiny head jerk.
The grip around her jaw loosened and then disappeared. Rey collapsed down to the ground and began wheezing.
"Stand up," he commanded.
She shot him a thunderous look before crawling to her feet.
"We are outside your quarters," he explained, turning to a black door imprinted into the side. The only thing that suggested this area was not part of the wall was by the control panel installed waist-height. Kylo Ren placed his hand on the panel, and after a quick scan, he gestured to Rey.
"Your hand."
She narrowed her eyes but obeyed. The lasers underneath the panel scanned her handprint and beeped, opening the door.
"This room is where you shall be staying," he gestured to the dark, invisible space inside. Even with the low light illuminating part of the entrance of her room from the outside hallway, she wouldn't be able to see much without turning on the lights inside first. "In three days, I will come and collect you for training. Be ready at the brink of dawn."
He looked to Rey for her response.
"Busy?"
"Quite," was his only reply.
"Entertain me," she spat.
"With the Resistance gone, the First Order's next objective is to restore peace within the galaxy. There is much to be done. New chain of commands must be established, and I need to discuss over important matters with my Knights." He lifted his hand and gestured to the room.
Rey took one step in then paused.
"You know, when I asked how long I was going to be here, I meant the interrogation room. Not the ship," she said. "Not with—" she couldn't finish her sentence.
"As I mentioned, you are not a prisoner but my guest."
"Right," she said sarcastically.
He ignored her and continued. "You are to remain untouched the hands on this ship."
And will the First Order even listen to you?" she asked.
He lifted one of his eyebrows. "I have instructed everyone to leave you be. I wish you no peril, but many people on this ship and the others do. I recommend you stay in your room until we begin your training."
Rey paused. "Maker, I forgot…you're Supreme Leader now."
"Does it terrify you?"
She thought to herself. "Terrify, no. But it does fill me with a sense of angst."
"You do not view me as a threat."
"Maybe," Rey said, her hand going up to her throat and massaging it. "But I see you as a better person than Snoke."
"You seem to be sorely mistaken, scavenger. You are here because your life is forfeit. The Resistance has lost all of their army and their Force-sensitive users. There are no sides anymore, and even if there were, you and I would not be on the same one."
"So long as one person stands up and fights, The Resistance will always be there," she countered.
"All they are doing is delaying the inevitable. Is it too much to ask for them to concede defeat? There would be no more loss of life."
"Don't even begin to talk to me about saving lives!"
"You fail to understand that some measures are necessary in war, for they will lead to the greater good. When the First Order has conquered everything in its path, there will be no more war. There will be no more strife. The First Order will be the sole provider of the galaxy, and its people will live in prosperity."
"You really are deluded, aren't you?" Rey scoffed.
Kylo slammed his fist against the wall and she flinched.
"It is you who is deluded, scavenger. Blinded by the very lies the Resistance has fed you."
"You know what? I'm done with this conversation," Rey glowered. "You will never see the rationale behind my words."
"And you will never to mine."
Rey moved the other foot inside the room and turned around to face him again.
"Well, I suppose I should thank you."
This was another rare moment, for she saw Kylo Ren's eyebrows scrunch and his face turn into one of mild surprise at her sudden change in demeanor.
"For what?"
Rey lashed out with her left foot and kicked Kylo Ren right where it would hurt the most. "I wouldn't have been able to do this if I were still incapacitated. But thanks to your hospitality, I can."
Even the thick clothes that Kylo Ren wore didn't help to ease any of the pain. The new Supreme Leader fell to one knee and gasped, using both hands to clutch his pelvic region.
Rey edged a toe out and prodded his boot. "My apprentice," she mocked.
Kylo Ren's hair bobbed up and down when he lifted his head and snarled in unbridled vexation, but he didn't move. It seemed like her attack had left him in temporary paralysis.
A multitude of emotions swirled around her. Part of her relished the dominance she held over him, whereas another part felt concerned at his pain. Another part of her felt elated that she finally had a means to vent, but guilty at the same time for forsaking a little more of her soul. But in the end, it didn't matter. Rey, albeit towering over her enemy, shut herself down, deleting all emotion except one: anger.
"See you around, Kylo," she sneered.