Kylo Ren sat masked and patient in the corner of a cold and dark room, watching the rise and fall of Rey's chest as she slept, waiting for her to awaken from the force spell he had used on her mind and body as well as the drugs that had been used to maintain her slumber as he recovered from his own injuries. It had been just over a week, and while the scar she'd left on his face had healed, the bowcaster injury still caused him pain when he over exerted himself; lingering damage in the surrounding nerves sending shockwaves of hurt throughout his body.

He had to be ready when she awoke, he would not allow anyone else to deal with her; partly to ensure that she did not escape again, but also because she intrigued him. She who could not sentence to death the man that had killed her friends and countless others. Mercy was a Jedi trait, to disable and not kill whenever possible; but she was no Jedi. This girl was new to the Force and its ways, so new in fact that any decision she had made to spare him came from her and her alone. Disturbed to find himself strangely fascinated with the idea he returned his attention to the unconscious being in the center of the room.

He could feel it now, she had pushed past the spell and the drugs and her sleep was now her own. He contemplated waking her himself when he felt a shift in her emotions. Pain, hurt and loss all flooded through him as he was hit with images of endless sand, an aircraft flying away, and a young girl left alone in the dunes. He felt her tears more than he saw them, and the great loneliness and fright that she felt, being transported to this place in her dreams. A young Rey, he thought as he observed, young and abandoned – not unlike how he felt sometimes. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and was accompanied by the sound of her gasp as she awoke with a start. Her eyes flew open, searching every which way until they locked on him, it didn't take long after that for her mind to swipe the nightmare away, clarity taking over as she realized where she must be.

He decided to remove any doubts she may have had,

"Yes Rey, you're back where you belong." He spoke calmly

"Back where I belong? Are you crazy?" she spit at him as a wave of Deja-vu overcame her. She'd just escaped from his grasp and now, somehow, she was back in it. Cold cement walls glared at her from every angle, a thick metal door set into one of them. The room was not unlike where she had been held on Starkiller base – but she knew they couldn't be there. Of that much she was certain – the resistance had destroyed the First Orders planet - she remembered the ground splitting apart to reveal dark chasms and the heavy tremors that had rocked the ground beneath her as she battled with Ren. So where were they now she wondered as her gaze slowly returned to the pensive mask, studying its chrome colored slits and the hollow black pits where his eyes should be.

"Letting you escape was a mistake that will not happen again and I, personally will make sure of that." He sneered under his mask. "You will submit to the First order, and your power will be for the supreme leader to use as he sees fit."

Rey couldn't believe the position she was in, tightly bound in some cell in the First Orders base when she was sure that she had escaped Ren and was going to save Finn. Finn, she thought – was he still alive? Doubtful, Ren had probably killed him when he captured her again, one more threat eliminated.

"You'll be pleased to know that I left the deserter where I found him, almost dead and freezing in the snow" Ren said, interrupting her thoughts, and alerting her that he'd been in her mind this entire time.

"Stay out of my head!" she replied angrily, but she couldn't help the relief that flooded over her at the news that Finn might still be alive. She had seen the Millennium Falcon through the trees, so she could only hope that Chewie had found Finn after she'd been taken, but that thought had her wondering; if she'd seen the Falcon, there's no way Ren would have missed it – so he knew that help was coming for Finn, yet he chose to let him live anyway, but why?

Kylo continued to watch her as she disappeared inside herself, he tried to see what she was thinking, but this time it was obvious that she was guarding her thoughts from him. He wondered what could have her so absorbed in her own mind when her enemy stood but a few feet away from her, but he could not fathom it. It was then that she returned her eyes to him and with a piercing stare she asked,

"What do you want with me?"

"I already told you," he replied, "you will become a tool for the first order and the supreme leader to use as they see fit." Even as he said the words, he felt uncomfortable. Describing her as a tool felt like he was describing himself. After all, if he succeeded in training her and converting her to the dark side of the force, then there wouldn't be much difference between them. But, he assured himself, he was the supreme leaders apprentice – he would never, could never be a tool, surely?

A smirk grew on her face as she interrupted his inner rambling, "You're worried that you're the tool, that you have no greater meaning than to carry out the demands of your so called supreme leader." Her smirk grew wider as she watched the shock register in his eyes as he realized that he'd allowed her into his thoughts. It was too perfect a replay of the last time he interrogated her like this, dropping his guard and allowing her to see his insecurity when measured up to his grandfather – when compared to Darth Vader. He instantly regretted not warding himself from her mental curiosity for the second time – it was inexcusable – he'd known she could do it, yet it didn't even begin to register in his mind that she'd try such a move again.

Anger flared up in him at her disobedience- she lay there, shackled at the hands and feet, completely defenseless and yet she was bold enough to provoke him – well it worked. He never really had control over his temper and there were many walls and pieces of machinery that had been run through with his saber that could attest to that. He stalked up to her, slamming a gloved hand on either side face so he could lean in close and whispered,

"You will learn to be obedient or you will suffer by my hands". He said those words with no emotion, only a cold and uncaring tone yet she still stared directly back at the pits in his mask where his eyes would be. She was unflinching and defiant, unwilling to back down or concede.

"I once called you a creature in a mask, but I think it would be more appropriate to call you a coward." She spoke in a mocking tone as she sneered at him. "You're a coward Kylo Ren, hiding behind a mask, hoping it will intimidate your enemies for you, but it won't work on me." Rey told him angrily.

He wasn't a coward, and he wouldn't let her call him one so just like before he reached up and removed his helm, placing it on the small table in the room. "Are you satisfied Rey?" he asked her as he moved closer again. This time though, she wouldn't meet his eyes, and did all she could to keep from looking at him.

Part of her instantly regretted goading him because she really didn't want to see Kylo Ren without the mask, because, without it she couldn't deny that he was like her, human. It didn't seem like he was going to give her a choice though, as he slid his gloved hand under her chin and forced her face to meet his. The first thing she saw was the scar that ran from his left eyebrow to the right corner of his mouth – the scar that she had given him. Part of her regretted not finishing him off and another part knew that she wouldn't have been able to do it, something about him still seemed human and she couldn't snuff that out – no matter how much she hated him.

It had come as a shock to hear Han refer to the now unmasked man as his son and it felt like she was being torn to shreds as she watched Ren pierce his father's chest with that ruby colored three-pronged lightsaber. What affected her most in that moment though was the look of utter fear, loss and remorse on Ren's face as he crumpled to the floor – the bowcaster wound only helping his descent go faster. She could see it on his face – that he immediately regretted his actions, and even though he'd taken away the only person who'd ever acted like a father to her – for however brief a time it may have been – she still couldn't escape the raw realization that he was human. Somewhere underneath the cold and callous exterior of Kylo Ren was someone else – someone who felt, who hurt and who knew loss.

Ren's eyes were unflinching as he stared at her and she could feel his conscious trying to reach into her mind, but she wouldn't allow that – not anymore. "You're a curious creature indeed, so new to the force yet able to keep me out when you really want to." He muttered. He hadn't really meant to give her a compliment but even he had to admit that keeping him out of her head was an impressive feat indeed, especially for one with no training – just raw potential.

With that he stooped down to the table and replaced his helmet on his head of dark hair before striding to the metal door and punching a series of codes in the pad. He was being a lot more careful with her security now and as such no-one but him would be allowed into her room alone. He hadn't expected her to be able to bend the will of others before, but he would not make the same mistake twice. This time she wouldn't be able to use the force to escape, he would make sure of that.

"Where are you going?" she asked almost timidly – so uncharacteristic for this scavenger girl who grew up alone in the deserts of Jakku that she winced internally. Hating that she sounded weak and almost frightened at the prospect of being abandoned again.

He smirked a little at that, "Don't fret Rey, I'll be back."