"You," Rey huffed warily as she pointed her bright blue lightsaber at Kylo Ren's chest. "Don't try anything."
Kylo blinked up at her disorientedly. He remained sitting against the control panel desk, his long legs jumbled out in front of him. He was clearly in a state of shock to see her standing before him.
The two stared at each other for several silent moments before Rey slowly lowered her lightsaber to her side, unengaging it with the assumption that the situation was not hostile.
Rey tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the sides of Kylo's neck appeared to be matted with dried blood, trailing down from his ears. His temples also looked purplish, bruised.
"How...did you find me?" Kylo blurted. He seemed to notice the line of her gaze, as he scowled and rubbed a hand against one side of his neck. He observed the dried blood that was now smeared across his palm. He fixated on his hand as if in a shocked stupor.
"You attacked me," Rey snapped, stepping towards him. "You broke into my head, and I felt...I felt your presence, so strongly that I could sense it lightyears away. From that I was able to track down your location," she explained, her face growing red. "Was that your way of trying to contact me? By trying to kill me?"
Kylo's dark eyes flickered back up to hers, his now trembling hand still held before him. His gaze was darkly serious, but not angry. "That was not me," he said slowly.
"What? That doesn't make any sense."
Kylo ignored her puzzlement. "How did you get here? Who are you with?" He asked, alarm flashing across his features.
"I came here alone, I overrode your security system to dock my ship to yours," she explained quickly. "Why did you contact me?"
"I didn't," he urged.
"What do you mean?"
"It was Snoke," Kylo said, his voice quieting. His eyes searched her face for recognition.
Rey squinted at the floor, taking a moment to think. "How did Snoke get into my mind?"
"He didn't, he broke into mine," Kylo stated, shifting his weight on the ground as he sat. Rey noticed he flinched as he did so. "Perhaps because our minds are, well, bonded, you felt it too," he postulated.
Rey closely observed Kylo's exhausted expression, the blood, the bruised sides of his forehead. It seemed that he had experienced something far more intense, more painful than she had. "So, what you felt because of what Snoke did...that transferred to me?" She questioned.
He nodded slowly, closing his eyes as if to rest momentarily.
"How do you know it was Snoke? I thought you weren't working with him anymore."
Kylo opened his eyes and looked abruptly up at her, shaking his head. "I'm not," he said, searching her eyes. "How did you know that?"
"Well...Leia told me," Rey said cautiously, watching his expression. He stared at Rey for a silent moment, his eyebrows subtly raising. She sensed that he was about to inquire more about this, but then he frowned, shifting his gaze as if suddenly realizing something.
"Where are we? How far are we from the Drodoc system?" He asked, a note of apprehension in his voice.
"The what?" Rey asked, confused.
Kylo ignored her and turned his body. He slowly, awkwardly stood, gripping the edge of the control board for support to pull himself upright. Rey observed that his strained movements suggested that he was very weak. Kylo began to survey the control screens as he hunched over the desk.
"So Snoke did this to you?" Rey asked, still astonished, but Kylo didn't respond; he appeared to be engrossed in logging in coordinates on the main control screen. "What exactly did he do to you?"
"Nothing permanent," Kylo said flatly, continuing to type onto the screen. Rey watched him as he continually rubbed his head. He must still be in pain, she thought.
Kylo turned his head over his shoulder and looked at her. "Who knows you're here, with me?" He asked, his voice concerned.
"No one. No one knows. I left without telling anyone," she said, looking at him seriously. What she told him was almost true; she hadn't told anyone before she'd left the Azalea system. Only Maz knew where she had gone.
Kylo's thoughtful gaze remained on her a silent moment, as if deciding whether or not believe her, and then he turned back to the control board. "I'm undocking your ship," he declared.
"Wait, what? You're just going to dump it out here?" Rey asked, and she subsequently heard a faint thud, the sound of the command shuttle's docking system releasing from her ship. "That is property of the Order of Organa, it —"
"I don't quite care," Kylo snapped, shooting her a dark look. "It's not as fast as this ship, it's useless."
Kylo set the engines on the ship, and the shuttle began moving speedily through space.
"Where are we going?" Rey asked, stepping towards him.
"Away from here," Kylo said without looking at her, and he began walking slowly but determinedly out of the small control room.
Rey shot his back a heated look and stepped up to the control panel, studying the coordinates he'd logged into the system. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized them immediately. "Wait—no, why are we going to the Azalea system? That's where I came from!" She exclaimed, following quickly after him into the central area of the ship.
"Precisely," he said, looking back at her as he stopped. "I'm taking you back."
"No, you aren't, I'm not going back," she insisted.
"You have a job, don't you, Senator?" He taunted, turning his body to face her.
"It's useless for me to stay there. I don't want to go back."
"Then where do you propose to go?" He asked haughtily, crossing his arms.
Rey hesitated before speaking. "Well, with you," she said frankly, her voice lowering.
Kylo's eyebrows quivered. "What? You can't stay with—why would you…" His voice trailed off in his state of confusion, his arms dropping to his sides.
Rey sighed, folding her own arms across her chest and avoiding his gaze. "I...I need your help," she said. She looked back up at him, judging his reaction closely.
His brows furrowed together, his dark eyes focused on hers. "Help you? You want me to help you?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"And how—why would I do that?"
"You've done it before," Rey said matter-of-factly. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to snap back at her.
Kylo clenched his jaw as he stared down at her. He sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. He looked as if all of his energy had been drained out of him.
"I want to learn more about the Force...everything. Luke's refused to teach me anymore, and...I have to learn."
Kylo watched her silently, his gaze shifting.
"I don't want to be a Senator," Rey said, shaking her head. She looked up searchingly into his dark eyes. "I need you to help train me."
Kylo's eyebrows raised slightly, his mouth opening to speak, but he hesitated. "I can't.
"Why not? Are you retracting your previous offer?" She asked, remembering their first lightsaber fight in the snow on the frozen Star Killer base.
"That was—things were different," Kylo stammered, shaking his head.
"You could teach me about both sides of the Force," Rey said, her eyes growing bright as she thought. "You've had training in both, you could show me—"
"No," Kylo stated, rubbing his temples frustratedly. "I'm taking you back, this isn't going to work." His voice seemed more level, and Rey sensed his willpower might be cracking.
"Why not?" She demanded, stepping towards him. She was surprised as he took a slight step backwards, his mouth opening.
"It's too dangerous," he said, his expression revealing his obvious unease.
"Dangerous? How so?"
"Dangerous for you," Kylo said. His brows lowered, shadowing his dark eyes. "If you're with me, it will just make it that much easier for Snoke to find you."
"Snoke's...looking for me?" Rey asked, puzzled.
"Yes. For us both. He wants to use us for our power, harvest it. I realized this a long time ago, I just never could bring myself to accept this," he said, his gaze drifting. For a moment he seemed lost in his own thoughts, until he brought his dark eyes back to hers. His gaze seemed to have softened. "You have to go back."
Rey stared up into his eyes, intrigued at the expression on his face. Was it concern?
Kylo stepped towards her and swiftly lifted his hand towards her head, but Rey lifted her hand just in front of his to block his Force move. "I told you not to try anything," she snapped, her other hand gripping the hilt of her lightsaber at her hip. "I'm not going back there, I don't belong there."
Kylo's eyes focused on her hand on the lightsaber as he dropped his hand back to his side, letting out a short breath. His expression grew flat once again.
"You will train me. It's our only hope against the First Order, against Snoke," Rey urged. She narrowed her eyes. "Don't you want to see his influence, his power taken away?"
Kylo scowled at her. "Don't be so sure of where my loyalties lie, Rey," he snapped. "And even if I were to train you, I don't know what makes you think you'd be powerful enough to take down Snoke."
"That's why we'd both do it...together," Rey said tentatively. Kylo looked at her skeptically, but she kept firm. "Our bond has to mean something, and I think it might have to do with taking down Snoke."
Kylo furrowed his brows, his gaze shifting to his side as he thought for a few moments. He sighed, hanging his head and running a hand slowly through his dark hair, distraught.
"If you don't turn this ship around, I will," Rey declared, and was about to turn back towards the pilot control room when Kylo spoke up.
"I'll do it," he said. "But I'm not training you in the Force," he said as he walked past her.
Rey's eyes remained on his back until he had turned the corner and was out of view. We'll see.