A/N: No, I didn't manage to incorporate pink hippos on leaf-swings or swooning baboons.

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Kylo pulled away far too late. Turning away, he strode back and forth across his room as the girl, Rey, staggered slightly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking half a step toward him. She sounded worried. Worried. About him.

"I..." he stopped. He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her.

Just say it! he snarled at himself

I only saved you because you know where Skywalker is, and I need to find him.

He turned to face her. Eyes wide, chin tilted up to watch him, concern written all over her expression.

But that's not why you're still here, is it? A different voice. Still his, but snide, harsh.

"I..." Again, the words wouldn't come. What would Hux think if he could see Kylo now? "I have to go," he forced out, turning away, readying himself to withdraw, to retreat across the distance that separated them.

"Wait..."

She sounded so broken, so defeated. So sad. He swallowed, looking away, but even as he readied himself to dive, a blue tinge stopped him, shimmering and solidifying before him.

"Going somewhere, you is?"

Kylo gaped. This wasn't a fleeting feeling in the current, an errant wisp of memory from someone long gone. This was solid, or at least, nearly solid, visible in front of him, glowing slightly blue around the edges. He must be seeing things. He'd finally cracked.

"Uh, no," he said quickly.

The hallucination giggled. "That's what you think," it said smugly, long ears wiggling. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

Kylo was left staring at an empty space.

"Who was that?" Rey asked, suddenly at his side.

Kylo nearly jumped. "Ah... an old Jedi. Master Yoda. He died, years and years ago."

"Hmmm, come on, you follow the dead one, he knows the way."

They both jumped this time, spinning on the spot. The construct wasn't visible this time, but Kylo could feel it, hovering in the current, somehow simultaneously closer to the surface and deeper than he'd ever been.

"The way to where?" Kylo asked, perplexed.

"You follow, you see," Yoda's voice came again, somehow resonating in his ears, not his mind, despite its origins.

"Do we go with him?" Rey asked.

Kylo opened his mouth but had no words.

"Hurry now."

Kylo closed his mouth and glanced sideways. Rey, seemingly taking it as acceptance, grabbed his hand again — the one with the glove on, why had he even taken the other one off? — and dove. He went with her willingly, following the trail, like a wafted scent, down through the current, below the main stream to the quiet depths, where Rey hesitated.

She could feel where they were meant to go, he could sense it in her aura, but she was also remembering what had happened last time she'd ventured too deep.

"Where is he taking us?" she asked, cautious now.

"Special place, it is." The words came from all around them, from the very current itself.

Kylo took the lead, grasping Rey tightly and inching them forwards. She resisted at first but, feeling the surety of his grip, gave in to the movement. Something in Kylo, in a deep dark place that called itself Ben, twisted guilty. She was trusting herself and trusting him.

Yoda's presence led them deep, deeper than Kylo had ever been, until he and Rey were holding onto each other, kept together only by the steady grip of the other and the snaking rope between them.

"Very special place," Yoda's voice was quieter now as if the words were unwilling to disturb the peace of this place. There were no other thoughts here; they were too deep for any non Force user to venture. Privately, Kylo doubted that even Snoke had ever delved this deep into the current.

"What is this?" Kylo asked, and his voice was hushed as well.

Laughter echoed from all sides. Male, female, old, young, everything in between. All laughing, but they weren't laughing at him. They were just laughing, true joy in the mixture of sound.

Kylo threw himself as wide as he could whilst still maintaining his grip on Rey, but there was no one there. He could feel nothing.

And then he could feel everything.

When a single raindrop falls into the ocean, does it cease to exist, or does it become the entire sea?

Kylo panicked instantly. He was losing himself! He would be lost forever. He would never get the chance to—

Rey's composure calmed him a little. Questing towards her, he felt tranquillity and wonder. There wasn't even a shred of fear.

"This isn't losing yourself," she told him, with the surety of one who'd felt the beginning of such a fate, too distracted to be amused. "This is something... else. Just look."

Turning his attention back to the current, Kylo hesitated. There was... colour or something that might have been colour, tingeing everything. The closer he looked, the more form it took.

Master Yoda's presence was still there, as fleeting and incomprehensible as the stories described him, tingled in a stream of different strands that surrounded everything here, swirling through every life and thought.

A familiarity caught his attention and he lunged, reaching desperately for the presence he'd felt once before. Even as he stretched towards it, it was slipping out of his reach and it was gone. Left frustrated and angry, Kylo finally turned his attention to the wide expanse of this place, the details that the long-gone ghosts were encircling, that Rey had been studying all that time.

New life. Unlimited potential. A child born of hope and wishes. The sheer joy taken in the tiny creature. A child born of sadness and pain. Given away. Taken in. Raised with gratitude and amazement and love.

Death. An old one, passing peacefully. A young one, gone before their dreams were realised. One who never lived at all. The effect of them all spreading like ripples. Grief and tears born of love.

Partnership. Long-lasting, nurtured since childhood. Newly discovered, a meeting of eyes in the right place at the right time. Mutual benefits and mutual compromises, strength, support, caring, concern, compassion, love.

Duality. Harsh orders given, grief as they are carried out. Ignorance at the suffering of others, rigorous defence of those close to them. Sadness and joy. Anger and love.

Kylo turned away, reversing his attention inwards to avoid looking any more. The hold on him was released and he was floating upwards again. He'd never been so relieved to feel the familiar tug of the main current. Ascending slowly, he could still feel Rey close by, but at that moment, it was as if they were both immune to the plucking of the thoughts around them.

"What was that?" she asked, her voice awestruck, as they came to a stop close to the surface.

"I think... that was balance," he replied slowly.

There was a moment of silence. Another word hung between them, but neither was willing to say it. It wasn't part of either of their plans.

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In their preoccupation, neither of them noticed another presence watching them, its anger growing. He should never have taught her anything. The boy had been corrupted, and now he was corrupting her in turn. The cycle had to stop.

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A/N: Many thanks to people who reviewed! Even if you're a guest and I can't reply, they are still much appreciated!
Sorry this is late, I was hoping to update last Wednesday, but I've had a hellish week, and only just managed to get back to the place where I can write again. Still, I hope you enjoyed this! Drop me a review and let me know!