Chapter 5

Rey sat, staring at nothing for several minutes, her emotions flipping between anger and despair as she mulled over her conversation with Leia. Though she understood, and in fact believed in, keeping her people safe, Rey couldn't understand Leia's refusal to help her son.

She sat up suddenly, a thought occurring to her as she replayed their conversation yet again. Leia said they needed information and she knew of Rey's bond with Kylo. Could she have been hinting at Rey using that bond to gain intel?

Rey took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart so she could concentrate. Closing her eyes she tried sensing the thread she had found the last time, that she had used to end her bond with Kylo. Many moments passed until she finally sensed it, like a fine wisp of thread connecting to her and leading elsewhere. Through the force she gave the thread a tug. The sound around her faded until all she could hear was her own breathing. Then almost as if fading in, she heard the breath of a second person, sounding ragged and shallow.

Opening her eyes she saw Kylo, his hands on either side of his head, as if he was restrained. He appeared to be unconscious. Rey wished she could see his surroundings more clearly. She stepped forward, her heart constricting as she made out what appeared to be several untended blaster wounds. Without realizing she was doing it she crossed to him and knelt down. Swallowing, she reached out a hand slowly to brush back his hair, frightened of what she might find. Why was he unconscious? As her skin made contact with his, suddenly her own surroundings seemed to disappear and his appeared around her. This was new. Her guess that he was shackled proved correct. Her hand still on his cheek, she looked around carefully. He appeared to be in a cell of some sort, small, barely large enough for him to stretch out fully had he been allowed to lie down.

Beneath her hand Kylo's jaw began working. Her head snapped forward and she dropped her hand, his surroundings fading away as she did so. Groggily he raised his head, wincing. He stared at her, confused, for several moments. She returned his gaze, thoughts racing with questions. He blinked slowly once.

"Are you really here?" he rasped.

Rey pressed her lips together to hide the ache she felt at seeing him so hurt. She nodded first and then shook her head.

"I'm here through our bond," she finally replied.

"Why?" he asked sharply.

Rey winced at his bitter tone. "I felt your pain," she explained softly. "I…I wanted to make sure you were ok." She frowned. "What happened?"

Kylo looked away from her then and when he replied, she sensed his anger and frustration. "Hux. He knows I killed Snoke and that I was looking for you. I was ambushed when I returned to the ship."

She frowned. "How did he find out?"

His eyes returned to hers then, blazing anger evident in them, "One of my own Knights betrayed me."

She glanced at his hands. "Can't you…Are you not able to use the force?"

He didn't answer for several moments and Rey sensed the war within him. Her frown deepened as she sensed anger, betrayal, and embarrassment all fighting for dominance.

"Ben?"

Kylo swallow then, eyes averted as he finally said "Every time I try, this collar," he spat the word, "electrocutes me."

Rey's heart broke for him. "Ben." She started to reach for him, but he flinched away.

"Don't!" He glared at her. "I don't want your pity."

Rey shook her head, "That's not – "

"Don't try to lie," he spat. "I can sense your emotions easily." He looked away. "Just go."

Rey shook her head again. "No. Ben. Tell me where you are. If I have enough information, we can come rescue you."

Kylo's eyes snapped back to her, but when he spoke, she was surprised at the self-loathing in his speech. "And do what? You think the resistance will just take me in? That I'll join you, all forgiven, in taking down the First Order?" He looked away again. "You're a fool if you think it."

His words ignited her anger. "I'm the fool?" She stood up, paced a few steps and then turned back around. "I'm not the one who stubbornly refused to give up power. If you had just tried to help the Resistance when you had the chance instead of becoming leader of the First Order and trying to erase them all then you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

Kylo said nothing.

She shook her head. "Fine. Have it your way." Finding the thread easily this time, Rey snapped it. The last thing she saw on Kylo's face before he winked out of view was relief.

Rey sat alone in her room, staring down at the broken lightsaber in her hands when there was a knock at the door and Finn strode in.

"Rey." He walked over and sat down next to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rey, still looking at the broken saber, cut him off.

"I have a bond with him."

Finn's mouth opened and closed several times before he responded. "What does that even mean?"

Rey sighed at sat back, closing her eyes. "It means…" She shook her head, opening her eyes to look at him. "It means that sometimes he appears in front of me – we appear in front of each other, and that I can sense his…emotions."

Finn brows flew up in shock. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered. "You can sense his emotions?"

"I know how it sounds," Rey said, her tone pleading for him to understand, "but he's not what you think. I've sensed the conflict in him. I –" She cut off abruptly, swallowing.

"You what?" Finn prodded, frowning in confusion.

A crease appeared between Rey's brows as she responded. "I saw his future. Before I went to him on Snoke's ship. He's the one who killed Snoke."

Finn's eyebrows rose higher, but he said nothing as Rey continued. "I know if he can be turned then the war can be finished."

Finn shook his head, opening his mouth to speak, but Rey cut him off. "I know! I know how it sounds, like the silly fantasies of a little girl." She leaned forward, gripping the saber parts so tightly her knuckles whitened. "But Ben Solo still exists in him. I've felt it. I've seen it."

Finn regarded her for a moment and then nodded his head. "Then what are we doing?"

Rey leaned back, shocked. "You believe me?"

He shook his head. "I don't know that I believe Kylo Ren can be changed, but if I've learned anything these past months it's that someone can change if they really want to." She sensed that he was talking about himself. "And if you believe you can change him, then for the good of the galaxy it's worth a shot." He patted her shoulder. "So what are we doing?"

Rey sighed. "Right now? Nothing."

Finn frowned. "Nothing? What do you mean nothing?"

Rey shrugged one shoulder. "I've already talked to Leia and she said we don't have the resources we need." She leaned back against the couch. "And she's right. We only have a couple dozen people and no one left willing to help us."

Finn shook his head. "No. There's got to be something we could do. Rose and I snuck onboard Snoke's ship. You don't need an army."

Rey regarded her friend. The first and best friend she's ever had. "But do you think anyone will agree to help us?"

Finn put a hand on her shoulder. "You leave that to me." He pointed at the broken saber. "How close are you to making another one?"

Rey looked at the parts and then him. "I've translated everything. I just need to start working on it."

"Then start working on it." He got up and walked out.

"Finn!" Rey yelled after him. He stopped and looked back. "Where are you going?"

Looking over his shoulder her replied, "To develop a plan."

Kylo's head snapped up as the door to his cell opened. Hux waltzed in, a smile on his face, with Jesmaae trailing behind him. Kylo burst forward, his shoulders burning with the effort to get at the man. On instinct he opened his hands in an attempt to use the force and was met with almost instantaneous pain, coursing once more through his every nerve ending.

When the pain receded his head fell forward, sweat dripping of his brow as he tried to catch his breath.

"Smart as ever," Hux said, clearly amused.

Kylo forced his head up, glaring at the man. He should have disposed of him when he had the chance. His eyes traveled to his traitor, who returned his gaze evenly.

Speaking to her he asked, "What of the rest of my Knights?"

Hux answered before she could, clearly delighting in the situation. "Ah yes, the noble Knights of Ren." He laughed and folded his hands behind his back. "You'll be happy to hear that only Knight Krye here had any sense. They are currently locked up in various stages of torture as we speak."

Kylo's hands fisted and he again pulled at his restraints. "You'll pay for this General."

"Ah." Hux's grin grew. "I believe you have your facts wrong. You see, I am not a general of the First Order anymore. Please refer to me as Supreme Leader from this point forward."

Kylo bared his teeth at the pair of them. Hux merely lifted a hand and snapped. The door opened and several storm troopers entered, carrying a table covered in a variety of tools. Kylo's heart rate sped up as he considered the instruments and what Hux surely had planned for him. He looked at Jesmaae and found her looking at the table, her face paler than usual.

Hux walked over to the table picking up various instruments, regarding them, and setting them back down. "It has come to my attention that you know the whereabouts of the Resistance." Selecting a sharp, serrated knife he walked over to Jesmaae, who looked at him in alarm. Holding out the tool Hux looked back at Kylo. "I believe I'll let your former Knight here do the honors." Jesmaae looked between Hux, the knife, and Kylo before slowly reaching out to grasp it, walking over to stand before him.

"Now then," Hux said, "let's get started."

Rey felt a ripple of dread and panic hit her, sending her heart racing. Putting a hand over her chest she wondered why the bond seemed to be growing in strength, sending her Kylo's feelings.

Barely had she had the thought when the shadow of pain rippled through her, taking her breath away and forcing her to cry out. Poe, Chewbacca, Finn, and BB8 all raced over to her table.

"Rey?" Poe asked, worry on his face. "What is it? What happened?"

BB8 beeped frantically at her.

Rey rubbed a spot above her heart, trying to catch her breath. "It's nothing."

"hnnnhrrhhh aarrragghuuhw aaaaahnr raaaaaahhgh huurh," Chewie responded.

Rey looked at Finn, widening her eyes slightly trying to convey what was happening. Finn nodded slightly in understanding and walked over to her side.

"I'll take her to her room, make sure nothing's wrong," he said to the others, putting a hand on her elbow. Rey gathered all the light saber parts scattered around the table, holding her breath to avoid crying out again as another phantom pain hit her.

When they reached the room and the door closed Rey dropped the saber parts on the table and fell into one of the chairs, breathing heavily and rubbing again at a spot above her heart.

Finn walked over and sat next to her. "Is it him again?"

Rey nodded, feeling panicked, but unsure if it was her own or Kylo's.

"What can we do?" Finn asked, clearly hoping for a way to help her.

She shook her head. "I don't understand how it works. I'm not sure what I can do other than feel it."

Finn frowned. "Do you feel what's happening to him?"

Rey frowned as well, trying to think of how to describe it. "Not exactly. I can't tell what's being done, and really I feel the emotions more than anything. It's like…I can tell where they're hurting him, but it's not quite a physical pain." She looked up. "Does that make sense?"

Finn looked at her, confused. "Not really."

She looked around, wincing as more pain filtered down to her, trying to figure out how to make Finn understand something she barely understood herself. "Have you ever hit your knee and even after the initial pain is gone there's still an ache?" He nodded. "It's more like that. I…I think I only feel a degree of what's happening." The thought of what Kylo must be enduring had her swallowing down more panic.

She looked at Finn again. "It's like the bond - link, connection, whatever it is - is getting stronger. When we fought the guards in Snoke's throne room I didn't feel anything. And all these months afterward it was like I could almost forget that the bond existed." Almost, but not entirely. "And now?" She shook her head. "I don't know what to do."

Finn frowned at her, clearing absorbing the information she had just fed him. Suddenly, he perked up. "Wait. The connection goes both ways right?"

A wrinkle appeared between's Rey's brows. "Yes."

"Then couldn't you send something his way?...Or go visit him and find out what's happening?"

Abruptly the phantom pains ceased. Rey sat up straight, eyes widening in alarm at the implication. Her eyes darted around, seeing nothing in her panic to figure out what was happening to him. Surely if something truly awful had happened she'd be able to sense the connection breaking, wouldn't she?

"What is it?" Finn asked. "What's wrong?"

"The pain," she replied, almost to herself. "It's stopped." She looked up at him, swallowing. "I can't feel anything."

Finn looked at her with sympathy. "Well…that's a good thing right?"

Rey glanced around, her eyes finally stopping on the saber parts on the table. "I've got to finish making this so we can figure out a plan for getting him out of there and stopping the First Order." She looked at Finn. "And you've got to make sure we have enough people to help us."

Finn nodded, getting up. "I'll talk to Rose and Poe and see what we can figure out."

Rey looked up sharply. "Are you going to tell them everything?"

Finn looked down at her. "Do you think keeping secrets is the best thing to do right now?"

She gave him a pleading look. "I promise we'll tell them, but please for now just keep the bond between us."

He considered her a moment before nodding his head sharply once.

"Thank you," she breathed. The corners of her lips turned up. "You're a good friend."

He smiled back at her and left.

Many hours later, long after everyone had retired to their quarters, Rey worked on her light saber. Despite the instructions, it wasn't easy work and she was becoming frustrated. She was alone in the common area, having returned there when Leia decided to go to sleep. She rubbed her eyes, exhaustion clawing at her.

"Looks like you're having some trouble there."

Rey's head snapped up to see Luke standing before her, outlined in blue and vaguely transparent.

"Need help?" he asked, pointing to her saber.

"Luke," she said, merely blinking at him. "What…How are you here?"

He walked over to sit next to her. "Oh, I have my ways. As my master told me, death is just a way of transforming into the force."

"You're the force?" Rey asked, confused.

Luke shook his head. "No. I'm me. But this is a conversation for another time. What are you trying to do there?"

Rey looked down at her progress. "We haven't stopped anywhere where I could locate another kyber crystal, and the one from the other saber is split down the middle. I know how to fight with a staff best, so I thought I might try to create a staff-like saber with each half." She looked down at her work. "But I can't figure out how to do it." She gestured towards the book. "This book doesn't exactly have a step by step instruction."

Luke leaned over her work to examine it. "That's an ambitious plan." He looked over at her and she discerned he wasn't talking only about her saber plans.

"I can't leave him to be tortured," she said softly.

He sat back, considering her. "You were right. I gave up too quickly on him, at the academy."

Rey recoiled in shock, her eyebrows reaching towards her hairline. "This is a change."

Luke shrugged. "Death will do that to you." He nodded towards her half finished light saber. "Now. Let's get this thing built so you can go rescue my wayward nephew."

A/N: As always thanks for reading and please let me know if you are enjoying the story. :) For those interested, Chewbacca said "It doesn't look like nothing."