After leaving Stoltara, Kylo and Rey had both wordlessly gone to sleep in the same spots as before, in the two separate sections of the command shuttle. When Rey finally awoke, her back was sore after having fallen asleep upright in the large pilot's chair.

She woke to seeing Kylo across from her, silently adjusting the control board. He seemed to have returned to his usual stoic and hardened self.

Rey zoned out as they sped past the bright stars. She snuck glances over at Kylo, studying him with interest. She wished that she could break through to him again, to Ben. I wonder if he'll just dump me into space if I pull that again, Rey thought.

She wondered if he only felt hatred towards his father, if he felt even the slightest remorse at having killed him. Considering his emotional profession the night before, Rey was leaning towards the idea that in fact he did. Even so, no matter how civil she and Kylo would become, Rey felt that she would always feel resentment towards him for having killed Han.

Rey watched Kylo closely, studying his dark features, the way his hair hung off of his face as leaned over the controls. He was incredibly focused, as if she weren't even there, in a world of his own.

She pictured him in the ship alone, without company, as he must have been for quite sometime. How does he stand being so isolated? Rey wondered, but then she thought of growing up on Jakku, the extreme loneliness she herself had experienced for most of her life. We are both accustomed to being lonely, she realized.

Kylo turned his head and looked at her, and Rey feared that he had heard her thoughts. But she knew he hadn't; she would have sensed him reading her mind.

"Are we still headed East?" Rey asked, not expecting him to tell her exactly where they were headed.

Kylo nodded, breaking his gaze from her as he tilted his head to either side, stretching his neck.

"How do you stand to sleep in these chairs?" Rey asked, slowly standing and stretching her own neck.

"You get used to it," he said, glancing at her.

Rey leaned her palms against the edge of the control board, shifting her weight. She yearned to break the persistent silence.

"Why do you like this ship so much? Have you had it for a long time?" Rey asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Kylo lowered his brows, shooting her a vexed look, but his then features softened slightly. "Yes. And I helped design it."

"Ah," Rey said. "And what exactly did you design?"

He seemed to think about his answer for a moment, sitting down in the chair behind him across from Rey. "I added the extending wings, extra security features, the Kyber cannons."

Rey squinted as she thought for a moment. "Kyber? As in, Kyber crystals?"

"Yep."

"Why Kyber Crystals?"

"They're much more powerful than your standard ion cannons. They can hit a target twice as far as the technology the old Empire was using," he said, raising his eyebrows for emphasis. "Using the Force, they latch onto their target and follow it. It's pretty much a guaranteed hit. I mean, if you do the math on...well, I won't go into that."

Rey could tell how much Kylo was interested in the topic. But she was curious about the Kyber crystals, astounded that Kylo was using the same power source for his ship's weapons as was used to power a lightsaber.

"Wait, Kyber crystals are connected to the Force," Rey said, tilting her head.

"That's what I just said, they use the Force. So the whole ship does, really," Kylo said, leaning back into the chair.

"But I thought Kyber crystals were just used for making lightsabers."

"Well...now they're not," he said smugly.

"Does the rest of the First Order use this to make their weapons?" Rey inquired.

Kylo's brows knitted together, his gaze shifting. "I'm no longer a part of the First Order, but yes. Essentially they've taken my ideas and many of their larger weapons use Kyber crystals."

"They're looking for you, aren't they?" Rey asked. "And Snoke...that's why he attacked you?"

"Yes. They've put a generous bounty on my capture. I'm almost flattered," he said, raising an eyebrow. He blinked at Rey, seeming to study her for a moment. "And you," he said, "why did you leave your Order?"

Rey was amused that he had picked up on the similarity in the names of the two factions. She looked at the ground and breathed a small chuckle as she remembered Poe's suggestion that the Order of Organa rebrand itself under a different name. Oh, Poe, she thought.

She looked back up at Kylo's perplexed expression. "Well, first off, I didn't like being a Senator. It's not that I wasn't good at it, I just don't feel that it's really for me. It was mainly dealing with minor problems, and...I didn't feel like I could really make a difference in the Order by being a Senator."

Kylo seemed to consider this. "I see." He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"I—well...Luke wasn't going to teach me anymore, about the Force. Leia had never received any real training, so she couldn't teach me. I mean, the only way...the only choice I had was to come to you," she said, searching his dark eyes.

He tilted his head slightly, searching her face.

Rey leaned forward, her expression serious. "I need you to teach me everything you know about the Force. It's the only way I know that I can help the Order, my friends...your mother. They're all in danger, I need your help."

Kylo straightened his posture, considering her appeal. He stood, looking down at her with a focused expression.

"Please," Rey said quietly, looking up at him imploringly. She thought of Leia's growing fragility, as well as the potential for Finn and Poe to be sent to the front lines of battle against the rising enemy, presumably the First Order. "You're my only hope."

Kylo's eyes seemed to soften, and he shifted his gaze to the side, thinking for several long, silent moments. His shoulders then dropped slightly, and he looked back down at her. "I cannot—will not train you as a Jedi. And as you must know, these things can't be learned quickly, they take time. Most of the skills are acquired through experience, it's—"

"But you'll show me?" Rey interrupted, rising from her chair.

"That which I can," Kylo said. He took a small step in her direction, raising an eyebrow. "You do realize we wield opposite sides of the Force."

"Yes, of course," she breathed, the memory of Kylo's lightsaber bursting through Han Solo flashing into her mind. She winced as she remembered Han falling down the deep, empty chamber on Starkiller base. Her breathing quickened, suddenly hit with emotion as she sat back down in chair behind her. Rey froze momentarily in thought, her eyes slowly raising back to his. "Are you now a Sith?"

Kylo seemed to balk at this question, his dark gaze searching her face. "Not formally," he said.

"'Formally?' Rey asked, puzzled. "How, then, would you formally become one?"

"You don't even understand what it means to be a Sith," he said firmly. Kylo seemed bothered, his arms tensing.

"Okay," Rey said calmly, wanting to mollify his sudden agitation. "I don't understand. But these are things you'll have to teach me about. I can learn all of these things."

Kylo cracked a wry smile. "Doubtful," he said, sitting back down in the chair. "But...we'll see." His eyes flickered back up to hers, squinting slightly, his gaze focused. A challenge.

There was something Rey perceived in his dark, expressive eyes. A toying nature, coquetry. Rey found that she could not break her gaze from his. She felt as if the very air between them was alive, zoetic. The Force bond, Rey thought, blinking.

Rey suddenly broke her gaze, her eyes downcast. She was reminded again of Han, having seen his features in the face of his very son. She crossed her arms over her chest, unable to grasp how Kylo could have killed such a man, his very father.

"What is it?" Kylo asked. Rey felt him press into her mind, but she blocked him out, keeping her gaze to the side. "Something afflicts you."

Rey met his eyes again, a coldness seeping through her as the murder of Han Solo repeated in her mind. "How could you have killed your father?" She asked.

Kylo shrunk back into his chair as if he'd been slapped. He looked strained, his eyes shifting to the side as he set his jaw.

"Didn't you ever love your father?" Rey asked, her voice beginning to tremble. "Could you not have at least been satisfied with having a father?" Her voice raised.

Kylo stood, his hands rolled into tense fists at his sides. His expression was pained as he looked down at her, his mouth opening but no words escaping.

"How...how could you do it?" Rey breathed as she looked up at him, feeling as if she were on the brink of tears. "And poor Leia...why would you…"

"Don't speak," Kylo said, his voice unstable, his shoulders lifting with each breath. He blinked hard. "You don't understand."

"Then show me," Rey said firmly, anger flowing through her. "I know you can. I want to see all of it." She stood, stepping towards Kylo, who leaned slightly away from her. "Show me," she demanded. She grabbed his reluctant wrist, yanking it towards herself.

"There are things you cannot unsee," he said, his eyes flaring. He shook his head. "You don't want this."

But Rey only yanked at his wrist again, pulling it to her forehead as she glared up into Kylo's dark eyes. She thought she sensed a fearful apprehension in his eyes, but he took in a large breath, pressing his palm on her forehead and closing his eyes.

Rey shut her own eyes, beginning to feel a rich energy coursing through her veins, a haziness forming in her mind. She began to shake slightly, suddenly overwhelmed with the Force energy accumulating within her. She felt Kylo grip her upper arm with his free hand, presumably to keep her still.

The haze in her mind turned to a dull light, and Rey sucked in a breath as she suddenly saw Han's face right before her, albeit a much younger version. A young, beautiful Leia also flashed into her mind. An image of Han kissing Leia, Leia tossing her head back, laughing. Various happy memories of Han and Leia flashed into Rey's mind, accompanied by feelings of comfort, warmth. Love.

These images vanished suddenly, as did the feelings attached to them. "He's not going to Luke," Han's voice flashed in Rey's mind. "He's a Skywalker," Leia snapped.

Suddenly Rey was exposed to a flash of confusion, despondency. Leia was crying, hunched up against a door. A small child's hand reached out towards Leia—Ben's hand—and Leia looked in Rey's direction, attempting to force a smile, tears rolling down her red face. "Daddy's coming back, he'll be back," Leia said, her voice cracking. Several similar images of Leia flashed in succession, all while Leia's voice repeated in her mind, "he'll be back, he'll be back," the words sounding less and less hopeful each time. Rey was filled with a growing discomfort, a yearning to console Leia.

Rey's mind was blank again, a hazey slate. A different image began to take shape in her mind. A silver lightsaber hilt was handed to her by Luke—Luke's lightsaber, now her own—and Ben took it into his grasp. Rey shuddered as her mind was immediately filled with a powerful rush of the energy of the Force. She saw images of lightsaber duels, a flash of Maz Kanata, a flash of herself, the insignia of the First Order on a waving flag, stormtroopers, a cloth being unfolded from Kylo's helmet, and, unmistakably—an image of Darth Vader.

Rey was filled with shock, fear, raging turmoil as she saw the lightsaber before her, this time ignited. She watched it flare and clash against a green lightsaber, against a young blonde boy. Ben knocked the saber out of the other boy's hand, who laughed as he went over to pick it back up. Rey felt intense excitement pulsing through her, only the kind that a child could feel.

Suddenly, a dark haze began to overtake Rey's mind. Fear increasingly gripped her. A deep voice hissed in her head, but she couldn't make out all of what it was saying. She could only understand staggered chunks of speech: "great power," "left your mother," "betrayal," "traitor," "your destiny," "purpose." A growing sense of determination coursed through Rey, along with a sense of apprehension.

Luke appeared before her, talking to Leia. "...Too powerful for his own good...I sense a darkness within him. I fear he may become a danger."

"He's my son. Your nephew."

"That's exactly why I'm worried. He is also our father's grandson."

"But If you only teach him the ways of the Light, he will not stray. He is a good boy, you know this."

The images Rey saw next flew by in rapid succession: stormtroopers shooting at children and teenagers, at the very child Ben had been previously dueling. Luke sprinting away, a small child in his arms. A fleeting image of the dead younglings all around, accompanied by feelings of heartbreak and tumult. She saw Ben's more mature arm reaching down into a foggy mire, using the Force to lift out a glowing, crackling red stone. A Kyber crystal. A great sense of loneliness, isolation, a yearning for companionship, physical contact. Practicing telekinesis, mind reading, and other Force skills on trembling victims. A giant figure with a booming voice, followed by feelings of anxiety, internal conflict. The pull of the light, she felt Ben think. My family...

She felt Ben's curiosity as she saw herself traipsing through the woods, then wildly shooting at Ben as he approached, who deftly deflected the blaster bolts with his crackling saber. She saw as Ben carried herself onto this ship, a seeming excitement running through him. Is it her?

Rey sucked in a quick breath as she saw Han Solo at the end of the precarious metal walkway, her vision of the scene expanding as Ben took off his helmet. She felt Ben's dread deep in his heart, but also a painful ache of love. I have to do it, Ben thought. I must do it. I cannot fail the Supreme Leader. The memory jumped as Han stood directly before her now, both Han and Ben's hands tightly gripping the lightsaber. Rey felt that as Ben looked at his father, all of his memories flooded back to him, so real, so close. His motivation had suddenly been wiped out of him. I can't do it...I don't have the strength. I give in. Ben tried pushing the lightsaber towards Han, expecting him to take it away from him.

But a growing confusion filled him as Han maintained a firm hold on the lightsaber, keeping it in place between them, causing it to shake between the two opposing forces. Ben realized what Han was doing too late.

Han ignited the lightsaber, shock filling them both as the crackling red plasma shot through Han's body, impaling him. Han's face contorted in physical pain and in despair at seeing his son for the last time. Rey felt how Ben was rocked emotionally. As Han touched Ben's face, tears came to Rey's eyes as she felt how Ben experienced such love, such devotion for his father, especially in this moment.

Han had committed suicide. And Ben understood exactly why he had done it.

Rey gasped, choking out a breath as she opened her tear-ridden eyes. Ben's large hands dropped from her forehead and arm. Tears fell down Rey's cheeks as she looked up into Ben's troubled eyes, her gaze following a tear sliding down his own cheek.

Rey took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to wrap her mind around everything she had just seen. "You...you didn't kill him…" she breathed in disbelief.

Ben closed his eyes, his mouth quivering.

"Han sacrificed himself...so that you could never fully turn to the Dark side," she said, putting the pieces together.

Kylo's shoulders dropped, shifting his gaze and hanging his head slightly as another tear rolled down his face. Overwhelmed and overcome with having been exposed to so many intense mixed emotions, Rey met Ben's teary black gaze for a long moment. Then, closing her eyes, she stepped forward into his chest as she let out a sob.

She gripped at the sides of his shirt as she clung onto him, never having experienced such remarkable pain, such deep love. She buried her face into his shirt, her body wracking with sobs. She felt Ben's arms slowly wrap around her as he hung his head next to hers, his silent tears dripping onto her shoulder.

That was dark, fam. What do you think of this revelation? How does this place Kylo/Ben's character? On a side note, I throw quite a few references to the original trilogy & prequels throughout this story, so I wonder if you've been picking up any of those (more to come). As always, thanks so much for reading and commenting! Glad to see there are so many other Reylo shippers (I for one will go down with this ship).

PS I got a new Betta fish. His name is Betta Fett, greatest bounty hunter in all of the seven seas.