Sorry for the long wait on this chapter! I think I rewrote it about a hundred times too.
I really wanted to make the meeting between these two perfect and this chapter just kept getting longer and longer.
Shout-out to giugiuni for making me laugh, and to JWolf28 for your lovely comments.
I dedicate this chapter (and Kylo Ren's temper tantrum) to sakuras . horcrux
I don't want to keep you waiting any longer, hope you enjoy!
"Kylo Ren, I am waiting. If you believe you can defeat me, then let us end this."
Finally.
Kylo Ren had finally done it; he had managed to track the scavenger's force signature again and had received a response.
After commandeering a TIE fighter to search the area south of the fortress, the girl's force signature had retuned. She could not escape him this time - this was his land after all. Before handing it over to the First Order, he had used this small planet for training after abandoning his past life. The planet's lack of natural fauna and the covert location of the island had proved it to be an optimal location to hide prisoners from the rest of the universe.
Despite the shortness of the nights, Kylo Ren had found pure darkness in himself during his time spent alone in this place. The wintry landscape still held the raw memories of his turn from the light side. Memories he could call upon in an instant.
On this planet, I hold the upper hand.
He was frantically navigating the aircraft across the lake, feeling her force signature drawing closer and stronger. Their close proximity caused a slight smirk to crawl across his lips. He scanned the area below him, to anyone else this section of the lake-edge looked very much like the rest, but Kylo Ren was all too familiar with his surroundings.
Landing the craft just passed where the mountainside met the water's edge, Kylo Ren scurried out of the flight cabin in haste, taking nothing but his saber with him.
A blast of chilled air hit him as he left the craft. Darkness had almost completely descended upon the small planet; however, it caused no hindrance to Kylo Ren as he began stomping through the powdery snow with a clear destination in mind.
She was sitting within the far recesses of a large alcove. It was as spacious as a hangar, crystalized minerals decorating the looming ceiling but still protecting her from the growing wind outside.
As he walked towards her crouched form he noticed how peaceful she appeared. Steady breaths, closed eyes, she could almost be sleeping. However, as he approached within a few metres of the scavenger, her eyes shot open, nostrils flaring.
She held her light saber tightly in her hands but made no attempt to light it. Ren peered into his enemy's hazel eyes, attempting to hide his thoughts and avoid shifting his gaze to her long lashes or to the escaped brown tufts of hair on her forehead. Staring into each other's eyes, they held an invisible battle, each trying to elicit emotion from the other: fear, uncertainty, doubt… but neither faltered in maintaining their facade.
Slightly aggravated by the prolonged wait, Kylo Ren cleared his throat with a rough cough escaping his onyx mask.
"So scavenger, are you finally ready to join me?" He offered his hand out to the girl, her pause bringing false hope to Kylo before being broken by a spiteful chuckle.
"Are you so blind?" Kylo was momentarily taken aback by her assertiveness, "I'm sorry I was not clear enough when I left you bleeding to death at our last encounter, but I am not interested in anything you have to offer me" her face twisted into disgust as she took a deep breath - preparing to make her next statement clear, "and I'll be damned if I do not refuse to ever be in your thrall again."
Kylo Ren - unaffected by her words - merely smiled at the scavenger, although she would not be able to tell.
"You stopped running for a reason." He cooed to her, for a second Kylo thought he saw something flicker in her eyes, but he couldn't quite catch what it was.
"You wouldn't stop chasing me," She replied, holding her stern pretense. "Running away only proves more arduous, so I thought we might as well get this over and done with now."
Kylo Ren's free hand curled into a fist. The leather of his gloves pulled tightly between his fingers.
"Get what over and done with, scavenger? How do you see this ending? Either you join me, or I will kill you."
"Is that the only intelligent conclusion you can come to… this childish ultimatum?" His adversary scoffed. "You really are a boy who fancies himself a man."
Heavy pants began to hiss from his helmet, causing the edges of the scavenger's mouth to twitch into a pleased expression before quickly dissipating. This, however, was not unnoticed by Kylo Ren and without warning he ignited his crackling light saber.
"Did Luke Skywalker tell you that?" He asked, seething.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Kylo Ren flexed his free hand, pacing side-to-side and watching the calm force-sensitive.
"You still think I am weaker than you!" He spat in fury, stopping in his tracks and reaching out his hand. Too far to touch her, she made no response, until Kylo tried to will the force to make her unconscious. The padawan dodged his attempt, coaxing her to let out a disgruntled sigh.
He pushed harder now, attempting to enter her mind. They both pressed back at each other through the force and Kylo felt his heart thud harder in his chest. Why is she being so difficult? This filth! She still believes she can match the power of the dark side.
They continued fighting off through the force, each trying to grab a foothold on the other. Finally Kylo Ren was pushed back, withdrawing his hand. His opponent let out an exasperated gasp, both panting and neither holding their earlier fronts.
"You will never get within my mind, monster." She spat back at him as she shakily stood up, exhaustion obviously beginning to take her over.
Striking a nerve, Kylo Ren lunged forward bringing his saber down upon the girl, whose own saber had ignited and deflected the blow. They held their weapons there as Kylo tried to use his weight to push down upon the scavenger. She bared her teeth at him and he saw the way the blistering heat of the sabers caused sweat to coat her skin – the mix of blue and red hues reflecting off her face. This moment of distraction allowed the woman to retaliate, pushing Kylo back and barely giving him enough time to deflect her barrage of blows.
She was not holding back, forcing Kylo to take the defensive. The constant clash of their sabers echoed in the alcove, competing with the howling wind outside. As a particularly strong gust broke into the cave it managed to throw the lighter female opponent back a few feet. Taking advantage of this moment of freedom, Kylo Ren jumped onto a large rock, stealing the higher ground. Wasting no time, his opponent raced after him attempting to throw another strike at him; however, Kylo threw his saber forward first, meeting hers with another loud crackle.
He stepped forward as he swung at her again. Step, swing, clash. Step, swing, clash. Step, swing. SMACK!
Finally managing to land a blow on the scavenger, Kylo Ren was surprised to find himself retracting his weapon as she yelped in anguish. A tear in her garment revealed a small gash over her left shoulder. Her sharp cry had struck something within Kylo, his hair standing on edge. He felt her pain as if it were his own, when he had imagined their face-off he had thought her cries of pain would bring him immense pleasure, but now her agony made his stomach turn. This isn't right. Kylo took a step closer to offer assistance for his opponent. All the while, alarm bells sounded in his mind. What are you doing Kylo?
As she quickly looked over her wound, Kylo reached towards her. On reflex, she swatted his hand away and drew her saber up for protection. She scooted further back, fear and anger besting her focused demeanour. However, the woman's pained expression turned to one of surprise and confusion when Kylo Ren lowered his weapon, allowing his hilt to claim the extinguished saber.
He reached again, not caring about the continuing hostility emanating from the other party. Though, before he could touch her she had snatched his wrist. He met her gaze, shifting on his feet in brief annoyance. Her eyes were wide, pleading for an explanation.
"You held the advantage, why would you surrender?" She gaped. He allowed her small yet rough hands hold onto his, making no attempt to break free.
"I told you. I'd rather have you as my adversary and friend." He admitted sincerely. Of all the times he'd dreamt of the scavenger, not once did he not see her join him.
Her grip tightened on his wrist, as she furrowed her brow.
"You think you can have what you want… just like that?"
"Yeah?" He replied, astonishing the woman. He sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds. What are you doing Kylo? He thought in dismay. He opened his eyes again, glancing at her oozing wound. "Here, let me heal that a bit."
She scoffed again, but did not stop his other free hand from softly covering her wounded shoulder. At first she winced, but she released a deep sigh which informed Kylo Ren that he was on the right track.
"You really are a child." She repeated, not looking up at the man.
"You'd be surprised at the lengths I'd go to achieve the deepest desires of my mind."
Her eyes widened and she released his wrist. Hastily pushing his other hand off her shoulder.
"That's enough." She shot, turning away from the masked man. Kylo Ren was glad he had worn his mask, a million emotions were running over his face and none of them he'd want the scavenger to see.
Wanting desperately to break the silence, Kylo cleared his throat.
"Y-you know you fought pretty badly." Smooth Kylo. Real Smooth.
She fiddled with the extinguished saber in her hands, picking at the little juts and clefts.
"Uh… yeah. Escaping isn't always easy, especially since I had to fight a lake monster before this."
"Lake monster?" Ren asked puzzled, recalling the planet's usefulness in its lack of natural fauna.
"Yeah… the monster in the lake. It was a more challenging opponent than you." Kylo was too confused to be offended by her remark.
"But there isn't any…" Over the sound of the howling wind came a loud clank and crunch which turned Kylo Ren's blood cold. Mortified, he fled from the deep recesses of the alcove and sprinted towards the area he had left his ship.
He could hear a second set of footsteps as the scavenger followed closely behind. Exposed to the elements, Kylo's long cloak flapped about in the harsh winds. They only briefly arrived at the lakeside before catching a glimpse of the large black beast pulling the First Order ship into the watery depths.
"Force." Kylo Ren cursed.
I think this story will go for a few more chapters than earlier anticipated.
So Kylo Ren has finally realised he wants Rey as an ally more than he wants to kill her... but how does Rey feel?
If you hadn't already guessed, the next chapter is Rey's POV!
Don't forget to let me know what you think!