Chapter 16

Finn climbed up the side of the cliff, the ocean waving like a thousand screaming demons trying to eat him alive. He could sense Master Ren reading one of the Jedi texts in the class area, and the temperature drop. It was going to rain again, meaning he had to hurry up. He grunted, pulling himself up, his fingers screaming as they gripped the rock. He pulled himself over the edge, panting. There he was, reading peacefully. The assignment was simple, tap him on the shoulder. That was literally it!

Finn swung his leg over the side, trying desperately to pull himself over and not fall like Rose had about a half hour earlier. Falling meant running a lap around the island, and those laps were starting to add up on the thighs. He rolled onto the precious rock, his entire body tired, and exhaled. Slowly, he heaved himself to his feet and moved towards Master Ren.

He had barely lifted his hand to cup his shoulder when Master Ren said, "I heard you the whole way up. Try again."

An invisible hand gripped the collar of his robes, almost cutting off his windpipe, and wrenched him over the grassy rock, launching him back into the ocean. Thankfully, he had gotten used to the cold water stabbing him, allowing him to scream muffled curses into the water on his way to the surface.

SWSWSW

Seriously, how hard is it to tap a guy's shoulder? After coming from her run around the island, Rose trudged slowly up the path to where Master Ren sat cross legged and reading. Rey was at the erect rock, twirling her staff on either side of her, doing her best to ignore Rose.

Rose exhaled, moving despite her aching calves, to Master Ren.

"Nope," He said, not bothering to look up. "Not even close."

He waved a lazy hand and Rose went flying over the cliff, the image of Finn staring at her from the beach as she descended.

SW

"What are they supposed to do?" Rey asked, feeling hard for Rose's resurface.

"Not sound like they're dying, for starters," Ben muttered. "Secondly, use the Force to guide them up here. There's twelve different ways and they honestly think two will do?" He shook his head and turned the page. "I can wait all day."

SWSWSW

Rey was a born teacher, Rose had to admit. Not only was she patient, she was full of practical knowledge that was reinforced by Master Ren. Rose had never been one for fighting, but with Rey, she learned to throw a proper punch, how to breathe when fighting, and even which parts of the body worked best.

Master Ren had to teach all three of them proper fighting techniques, though Rey was much farther along and aided in fixing Finn's and Rose's form. Jabs with the elbows and knees, proper punches, kicks that wouldn't displace joints, close hand-to-hand combat, all of it had to be broken down, and in Finn's case, rewired to work afresh (he knew standard Stormtrooper combat and Master Ren already proved that that could be beaten). Every six days, they would have a showcase day in which Master Ren would choose fighting partners and see how they would take each other out using everything they had learned that week and the weeks before.

Rose hit the rock, her jaw stinging from where Finn had hit it. She panted, watching him bounce from foot to foot in front of her, eyes flicking all over her body in anticipation for her next move. A deep bark echoed from the corner and Finn dropped his hands, retreating quickly to his corner where Rey waited with a flagon of water and a small footstool. Rose clamored to her corner, Master Ren's face immediately coming into view.

"Where's the Force?" He demanded, shoving her flagon of water to her lips. She drank greedily, her entire body hot enough to boil a giant gooberfish. He ripped the flagon from her and set it down. "You're not using the Force! He's too big for you and his muscles are too used to combat, you've got to rely on the Force." He grabbed her hand and tapped the heel of her palm twice, "This is how I want you to punch. Open hand, hit him here." He tapped her again. She nodded, panting.

Across the way, she could see Rey smiling, encouraging and coaching Finn with words lost on the wind.

"Don't quit," Master Ren commanded, "Don't quit. You can beat him."

His face moved out of the way and his bark once again resounded overhead. Rose jumped from her footstool the same time Finn did, the two of them meeting in the center. If there was one thing she had gotten right more times than fighting, it was latching onto the Force in a second. It told her to duck and she obeyed, swooping down to the grass the same time Finn attempted a full side kick. She jumped to her feet, latching on to his leg and whirled around, bringing him down with an abrupt scream.

Rey shouted at him to get up, she herself kneeling to the ground with anxiety. Rose rolled on Finn's body and whacked his chest with her elbow, barely registering that she still had his leg in hand. She scrambled to her feet and flipped him over, twisting his leg then shot her leg behind his knee and bent his leg forward, making his screams echo through the space.

"Enough!"

Rose dropped Finn's leg and scampered back, panting heavily and smiling.

She felt Master Ren's hand take hers and waited for Rey to finish turning Finn before raising her hand above her head and declaring, "Winner!"

Rose smiled, feeling the joy seeping to her toes as he placed in her hand the flagon. She took it, and drank, her feet propelling her forward. Finn did likewise, except he moved with a limp.

"Good job," He breathed, smiling before pulling her into a warm hug.

"You too," She told him, exhaling into his ear and inhaling the sharp pungent odor of sweat.

Suddenly, the Force surged around her, informing her of strong feelings surging. It wasn't her feelings for Finn (or even a flicker of jealousy from Rey), but came rather from Master Ren. He watched them congratulate each other, feeling for himself the genuine love that they shared even if in friendship. The Force told her of a hole in Master Ren's feelings, a hole that ached at the sight of them. They would support each other, look out for one another. But him, he had never felt this before. This was an ache he didn't know existed until this very moment.

They separated, their breathing slowing as Rey joined them. "You did good," She told Rose, her smile subdued at the loss of her team.

"Rey,"

They turned to Master Ren, seeing him sauntering towards them, his own combat gear of black tank top and usual high waisted trousers marking him ready. Immediately, Rey moved to stand just before him, waiting for his command.

He smirked, that smirk that was rarely seen. "Take position," He told her pointing to a place in front of him.

Rey grinned, almost dancing towards the middle of the grass, very close to him. Finn cast a tired look at Rose, followed by a half smile. At least as trainers, they could get a-

Rey and Master Ren bolted towards them, the Force blaring alarm at Finn and Rose.

SW

"I say," C-3PO told a young Caretaker, "Have you any cats on this island that make such a scream?"

The Caretaker, Noniga, shrugged.

"Oh what use are you, then?"

SWSWSW

Rey twirled her staff, savoring the moment of peace to herself. Rose and Finn were coming up in fighting training, but she would always be master of the staff. They had made a dummy of rocks stacked on top of each other, and Ben had given strict instructions that they were to treat that stack like a living person, so no pulling punches. She thrust the rear of her spear into the right side of the stack, causing a trickle of rocks, then the top to the left, felling more rocks, then lanced the whole thing sending the remaining rocks over the grass.

She smiled, her chest panting slightly, and began to stretch her hand out to the pile to reset them. Her hand recoiled, and she turned. She felt it, that silent pull that called to her when she first met Master Skywalker. It was still here.

Rey picked up her staff and turned, heading down the class area to where the Library was. She had pointed it out to Finn and Rose during one of their runs around the island, but she hadn't stopped to explore. It was black, the place where the great hollowed out tree once stood. Black, while around it green and avian life grew.

"What was this place?"

Rey looked to her left and saw Ben standing next to her, his eyes focused on the great burned stump.

"It was the library," She told him. "It's where I took the Jedi textbooks from."

He swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing. "Why is it calling us?" He breathed. "Why now?"

"I don't know. I don't even know why it was destroyed. It was… big. Solid, when I was here. Three people could walk into it."

They stood, shoulder-to-shoulder, looking at the ruins of the library, until a rough flicker brushed Rey's arm.

"Here," Ben told her, holding out a worn, ancient book. "I finished reading this one."

"Ben, do you think the Library is telling us to put the book back?"

Silence echoed between them and they looked at each other, then at the delicate, white paper book in Ben's hands. The corners of Ben's mouth twitched upward. "It would be like the Force to be a pedantic librarian."

Slowly, he turned his heel and made his way up the side of the charred tree trunk, looking around at where hundreds of students before him must have walked seeking knowledge from their masters. From where Rey stood, a small alcove within the burnt rock had formed, allowing Ben to gently slide the text into it, spine facing the wind, and step back.

At once, the Force-pull faded, prompting Ben to return to Rey's side. "Libraries are meant for sharing knowledge," He said, looking for a moment over his shoulder, as if checking to see if was still there.

SWSWSW

This was the routine of Kylo's apprentices for the next month. They awoke -eventually on their own- before dawn, then meditated on the Force for three hours. After meditation, they attended to the various sorts of chores the Caretakers presented them with. Finn was deemed the layer of stones and so was called upon to lay out new paths or to replace the walking stones that had come loose over time. Rose was an exceptional digger, having been raised on a mining system and so treated well the valuable oyster beds and various underground spices such as onions and garlic and even some root that when chipped apart made up their breakfast. Rey on the other hand had earned for herself a reputation for being messy and destructive, and so only did chores that could be supervised by one of the Caretakers or C-3PO.

Kylo himself was given task of fishing. The Matron had directed him to a cliff where Luke had been seen many times spearing giant carp and other fish from a thin ledge against a rock face. Half of his catch, Luke gave to the Caretakers, the other half he kept for himself. At once, Kylo took the impossibly long spear and pole vaulted to the ledge, his innards seeming to fall from him the moment he flew over open air and sea until he crashed, knee almost scraping the rock face, and lifted the spear, waiting patiently for a fish. He was, however, a far cry from prodigy spear fisher. The first few days, he only managed to spear salmon about as long as his arm.

There has to be a trick to this, He thought to himself, lifting a skewered salmon to rip it from the toothy tip.

Thunder ripped across the sky suddenly, the startling jolt causing the spear to slip in his hands. Kylo clamped down on it, the movement shaking the dead fish. Carefully, he moved his hand down the spear, clamped it firmly, then brought it up, doing the same with his other hand until he could safely wriggle the salmon off the end.

Walking back to the village with his catch, Kylo heard nothing. The wind ruffled his black cloak, and the spray of the ocean had dampened his borrowed dark brown robes, but he heard nothing. He thought he had gotten used to such peace, a newborn calm birthed when Snoke's voice in his head abruptly silenced two years ago. But, since being on this island that familiar, unnerving calm settled over him. It was much like a chill settling into the bones that couldn't be shaken by an ordinary blanket.

The wind rushed over him, bringing with it a new smell: jet fuel. Kylo exhaled and adjusted his grip on the salmon. Poe Dameron and Chewbacca. Great.

He took his time walking to the village, noting that the shy Caretakers were making a hasty retreat to their stone huts, leaving Rey standing in the middle of the village, a basket of wet laundry in hand. At once, she turned to him, her mahogany eyes glimmering with joy.

"Poe and Chewie!" She smiled.

Kylo smirked, looking at the laundry in her hands. "Better not get into more trouble with the Caretakers."

Rey glanced quickly at her basket. "Oh, right," She said before scampering to the washbasin and setting the wicker basket down. All Kylo saw of Rey was a blur of charcoal robes running past him to where Finn and Rose were undoubtedly gathering as well. Kylo, on the other hand, sauntered to the smoke house where the filleting knives were kept and seated himself, tossing the salmon next to the pile of fish yet to be prepared.

He concentrated on the older pile of fish, listening to the knife as it shinked out of the sheath, and coughed upon the whetstone. It was an obsidian blade, black as his cloak, and cut nicely into the small carp's flesh. This fish didn't make a squelching sound as the salmon did. This one made more a leathery sound, one that intensified when he hit the bone.

A wail sounded over him, the grey sky darkening for a moment. Kylo looked up, his grip on the knife tightening as his eyes locked with the brown tenderness of Chewbacca's gaze.

For a moment, Kylo was Ben again. Ben hiding in a compartment in the Millennium Falcon, Ben begging Uncle Chewie to keep quiet and let him fly with his father. Ben, kicking and screaming as Chewbacca lifted him from the compartment before pointing to the dangerous heating wires that would make his first ride a short and painful one.

He lifted a fillet of fish, "Couldn't resist?"

Chewbacca looked at the fish, then at him, a betraying purr rumbling from his throat. The Wookiee shook his head.

"They're alive," He told him, returning to his work "They keep getting back up and asking me to teach them things." He tossed the fillets onto the pile and discarded the carcass in the mulch pile.

Chewbacca wailed.

He flicked his eyes up at him, "I am not, controlling Rey. She's here because she wants to be. And believe me, I've been tried in her courts for Han more times than I can count."

Chewbacca growled, then turned his heel and marched off. He watched him go, remembering when Uncle Chewie would turn around and give Ben a playful wink.

Kylo flipped the filleting knife, and continued working.

Poe Dameron's trip was a short one. It seemed more a welfare check than a supplies drop. The Master and the Commander exchanged cordial greetings and updates in short, polite sentences. Kylo knew what Dameron was looking for, however, and he was unwilling to give it just yet. He knew, just as he suspected Rey guessed it, that the first blueprints for the half completed First Order ships had finished downloading and Dameron wanted to get them. Kylo would not give him the satisfaction, not just yet. At two months, his students were very much like babies, still trying to discern their own voices as well as walk.

"When do you think they'll be ready?" Dameron had asked, watching Kylo fillet his last salmon.

Kylo took his time glaring at him, "When I say so."

With that, Dameron turned his heel and took off to interrogate C-3PO. Kylo didn't care. He simply stood, brushed the flecks of fish off his robes, and took the bucket of water to begin filling the giant stew pot for their dinner or drinking water.

SWSWSW

Rey awoke with a start. Immediately, she looked to her window, hoping the sun hadn't yet risen. She frowned at the pitch darkness, rising slightly on her palette. She flung the blanket off her and found her shoes, listening all the while for the screeches of porgs and…

"Captain Rey! Captain, are you awake?"

Rey felt her way to the door and pushed aside the curtain, "Threepio? What's the time?"

"I cannot say for certain Captain Rey, but it appears to be sometime after midnight."

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking at him for signs of injury, then over his shoulder.

"Well, I cannot say, Captain, only… Master Solo, I mean, uh, Kylo Ren, seems to be sleepwalking."

"What?" Rey's frowned deepened. Suddenly, she looked up and saw a beautiful, round silver moon casting an irresistible bright light over the island of Ach-To. The moss and grass waved gently, cast in a hue of green she had never seen before, the rocks dusted with moisture glittered, and even C-3PO looked different in the luminescence.

"Oh no," She breathed, her heart sinking to her knees. "Where is he, Threepio?"

"I last saw him going north of the island, towards an area the Caretakers call the 'Temple.'"

At once, she bolted, running to the stone temple within the cliffside, the place where she had gone to find her parents. She felt it again in her chest, that pulse of the Force that awoke her, and she increased her pace, head turning every which way for him.

A scream ripped through the calm, a deep voiced, agonizing wail that resounded over the rocks and sleepy nests. Rey sent out the Force, feeling for Ben. He was in pain, a deep pain that she felt when Han Solo died.

"Don't you do it!" She screamed. "Don't you dare leave me Ben Solo!"

She bounded up the hillside, using all fours to pull herself to him, seeing him stand at the farthest ledge of the pointed outcropping where she had first learned to use the Force.

"Stop!" She shouted, shooting out her hand and yanking him from the getting shorter ledge and hurtled him into the cave. He rolled shoulder over shoulder, until he hit the back wall, his eyes wide and gasping. Rey, fueled now by pure adrenaline, trotted to him, her eyes searching his body.

He tried to rise, but she stopped him, shooting his body rigid from the panicked clawing he had just attempted.

"Ben, calm down."

He panted, eyes searching the roof of the cave, his panic rising.

"Ben," Rey told him, forcing her voice to be softer. "It's alright." She sat down behind him, and lifted his heavy body until she could position each of her legs on either hip, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "It's alright," She breathed into his ear. "I'm here. Listen to me, focus on my voice."

In the darkness, his eyes were onyx grenades, his whole being ready to explode. Rey whispered into his ear, shushing him, rocking him even. He was cold to the touch, a stark contrast to when he had held her on the Nest.

Rey kissed his earlobe and sighed, "On Jakku, we called it the 'silent scream.' In the desert, there was no one for miles. Nothing between neighbors but silence." She swallowed, and when she blinked she saw the vast dunes of Jakku tanning in the relentless sun.

"We would see them in the distance. Sometimes we could see them before they started the Walk. They had a glazed look on their faces, the perfect image of hope lost. That's when we knew that the silence had gotten to them. The quiet… nothingness."

Ben continued to pant, but his body melted into her, accepting her soft medicine. Rey continued:

"First, they would stare, but not see anything. Then, they would start to scream. It's not in anguish, or anything in particular. But a hope of ending the silence if even for a moment. Some even called it hope's dying bell. After that, after the last ability to scream is gone and all is left is a hurt throat, comes the Walk. The Walk was the most dangerous thing, because the screamers were beyond caring. They knew they were seeking water, some semblance of preservation, but it didn't matter to them, really. They would walk through the desert… and they wouldn't come back."

She swallowed, Ben's breathing slowing beneath her open palm.

"I never made it to the Walk. But I screamed. I screamed, so I could hear something else. So I could stop waiting for the Teedos to make life interesting, or for Ankar Plutt to stop eyeing me for one of his harems. I screamed, hoping my parents would hear me. That they would come for me and take my hand, even if they did nothing but just, stand there, someone would be there."

Ben stopped panting, but his heart still raced, the last runner of his deadly race.

"A voice always came to me, though. A soft voice from a man, he would always come. Always tell me to come inside, to get out of the sun, or to go to the known watering holes. I thought that would be it for me, but he was so kind to me. My moment in the Silence passed, and I began to feel myself again."

She trailed off, Ben's heartbeat slowing to the point his head lolled to rest in her stomach, the pressure an uneasy welcome.

"You don't hear voices, do you, Ben?" She asked, "Not anymore. You're completely alone now, your own thoughts are safe, now. That's why you've been restless, lately? You haven't heard anyone's voice in your head that you haven't put there yourself. No one policing you for weakness," She kissed his temple, "No one manipulating you to do anything you don't want to do. For me it was the opposite. I was alone, and so never had the problem of other people's thoughts."

"You're not alone," Ben's voice rasped.

Rey smiled, warmth spreading through her. "Neither are you, Ben."

SWSWSW

Rey didn't return to her hut, that night. She waited for Ben to sit up from her lap, and move beside her. Then his hand covered hers as they talked in the still night. Then they moved to their sides with the intent of sleep, but how could she sleep at a time like this? How could she ignore the first confession of hearing Snoke's voice in his head when he was a boy, hearing it particularly loud when Han would neglect him for some far off mission. Then hearing it whisper in the darkness when his mother would watch him from the corners, always with suspicion, always with a spiteful, "Just like your grandfather."

As their talk faded into small whispers, she couldn't help but study him, absorbing the sight of him in the darkness. He was so handsome in these moments! His hair, always wavy, always tamed and untamed at the same time. His brown eyes, dark in the moonlight, but inviting like a cup of warm tea. She studied him, admiring the scar across his eye, how it seemed both wicked and perfect in an imperfect manner. His nose, just the right size, and his lips, oh his lips so plump and kissable it should be a crime!

He too studied her, moving his eyes from hers to her nose, then to her lips. When his voice finally told him that it had had enough expression, he resolved to listening, hearing her as she told him of life on Jakku and how vastly different it was to life with the Resistance.

"Have you ever seen the sunrise, Ben?" She asked suddenly, noticing the shades of purple lighten around them in the cave.

He nodded. "Once," He rasped, motioning to touch his throat. "But, I was wearing my mask. It seemed a nuisance rather than a spectacle."

"I've seen four on Jakku, and at least a dozen on a star ship. It still amazes me each time."

"Will we get a sunrise, today?" Ben asked, shifting to look out of the cave.

Rey moved, too, and sighed. Clouds were moving in, and the usually cool temperatures dropped more. "Perhaps not today," She told him, turning to face him as he did the same. "Someday, though."

"Will you watch the sunrise with me, Rey?" Ben asked, looking at her, his whole body tuned to her. "Someday?"

Rey smiled and moved her hand to the space between them, "Yes, Ben. Someday."

His hand glided over the rock and covered hers, squeezing gently as he smiled at her, his face with such a delicate softness it seemed as though his scar had always been there, and he had always loved her.

Rey studied him, her body hungry for more of his touch. She lifted her head, wondering, if he would accept a kiss from her. Just one kiss, even a little peck was all she wanted.

"I called it!"

Ben and Rey jolted, Ben whirling immediately to his elbow to look out the cave entrance. Rey followed suit, her body freezing at the sight of Finn's face flushed in betrayal. Beside him, Rose stood, her own face chiseled with shocked pleasure. Finally, she had found the crack in Rey's blockade around Finn's heart.

"Good morning," Ben grunted, though his tenor of voice found nothing good about the morning.

"Good morning, Master Ren and… Rey," Rose answered, looking from one to the other, then back again. "Nightmares, C-3PO said?"

"Shut up, Rose." Finn managed to say, his eyes locked on Rey.

"Finn," Rey cried, scrambling to her feet.

He stared at her, his head nodding slightly, then turned his heel, and walked away.

"Finn!" Rey yelled, her voice echoing in the cave. She hurried after him, her footsteps echoing in the cave. "Finn!"

He could really move when motivated, the small voice in her head observed. He cleared the steps leading downward to the old temple, not stopping.

"Finn, wait!"

Rey picked up her pace, calling to the Force to help guide her. She met him just before he started his descent into the village, able to reach out and touch his top robe.

He whirled around, his face unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Him?!" He demanded, "Him, Rey?"

"Finn," Rey pleaded. "Please, let me explain."

"He kidnapped you!" Finn shouted, his voice echoing off the rock cliffs, silencing the porgs. "He kidnapped you, twice! He murdered his own father! He murdered members of the Resistance at his own mother's funeral! He tried to torture you, he tortured Poe and so many others! And you love him?!"

"Finn, calm down." Rey told him, "I know what he's done. He's not apologizing for any of that, but he is remorseful for what he did to his father, I feel that he is."

"Why him?" Finn demanded. "Why… Rey?"

Rey lifted her palms to him, her words lost for a moment. "We're… connected, Finn. I can't explain it. Snoke bridged our minds two years ago when I was here seeking help from Luke Skywalker. We didn't know it at the time that it was him, but he forced us to talk to one another, connect with each other. After Snoke died, the Force connections, they kept coming only we weren't talking to each other."

"That's how you invited him to Naboo," Finn said, nodding his head and eyeing her like she was an enemy.

"Yes. We have a connection, Finn. We are each other's light and dark-"

"If he wasn't in the picture, would you love me?"

Rey leaned away, "What?"

"If Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, had somehow -I don't know- died during his training-"

"Then Snoke would have come for me!" Rey shouted, her voice echoing in the still wind. "I need you to understand that, Finn! If Luke Skywalker had killed his own nephew, or Poe had successfully killed him, then Snoke wouldn't have batted an eye, he would have come looking for Ben's equal in the light and corrupted me. Me! I would be Mistress of the Knights of Ren, I would have been Snoke's apprentice, maybe even Empress of the Galaxy! Do you get that, Finn?"

Finn stared at her, a feeling washing over Rey like he wasn't reading the same chapter of a beloved book, he was in a whole new galaxy seeing the stars for the first time.

"If I had never made it off Jakku," He nearly whispered, "If I became a scavenger like you, would you have loved me then?"

Rey inhaled, that backing away feeling making sense now. She backed away because he loved her and she knew it, just like she knew she was meant for someone else.

"Yes," She answered. "If we were simply a pair of scavengers on the wasteland of Jakku, then I would have loved you as you want me to."

She took a step back, away from him.

"But we're a long way from there now, aren't we?"

She turned away and headed back up the steps, feeling Finn's heart speak for him a thousand tears of protest. Her eyes flicked up the path and she saw him, tall, dark cloak billowing in the breeze, his eyes focused on her like she were the sun. Rey shivered, a cry catching in her throat.

Please be worth it, She thought. Please be the man I hope you are. For him if not for me.

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