Rey grew closer to Dantooine, feeling exposed. She had a gut feeling that they knew she was there, and she couldn't tell if it was her paranoia or the force.
Once she landed on some solid ground, she spoke into her hand, pressing down on a point so that they could hear her.
"Okay, I'm on Dantooine. Where do I go?" Rey asked, looking around the fairly green area with little trees.
"Explore a little while we figure that bit out," she heard Leia perfectly in her ear.
Rey did exactly as she was ordered to. She walked around with nothing but her new blue saber, a small satchel with a meal, and a few bottles of water in it. She touched some plants gently, feeling the smooth leaves touch her pale skin.
Rey used to be a little bit tan from the sun, but now that she'd been sheltered more, her skin was growing ghostly. Thankfully, her skin was more like peaches and cream. Unlike Kylo's, which was just pale and unhealthy.
Rey walked for a few miles before seeing tracks. These tracks looked human. She reported the observation to her hand.
"Good. Now follow it," Leia ordered.
"Be cautious," she heard Luke say.
She scoped around as she followed the trail of footsteps in the dewy mud, making sure she wasn't being tailed. Dantooine was known for people hiding out there, from Rebels, Bandits, to the First Order. If they go to a whole other planet to hide, they're going to make sure they're hidden.
The track she was following led to tracks of many, which gave her a clue that she was incredibly close to the First Order. She reported it in, and Leia just told her to keep going.
Rey did as ordered.
She found a rotten garden, flowers, and bushes dead. There was a cracked stone bench in the center of it, as if the little garden once had life.
Sitting in the middle was Kylo Ren. His mask was on of course.
"I sensed you coming," was all he said, before turning his head slightly.
Rey took a heavy swallow, stepping closer.
"That's close enough," he warned, forcing her to stop in her tracks.
She was frozen in place, struck with fear and the power of the force.
Kylo stood from the bench before walking along the cracked pavement, up to the skinny defenseless girl.
Kylo swiped his finger near Rey's ear, peeling off the camouflage piece. He tossed it to a nearby dead bush.
"I don't think you'll need that anymore," he spoke. Kylo was completely confident with each move he made, no matter what the outcome might be. That was what he believed led him to success. To Kylo, it was a success. To Rey, it was rock bottom.
Kylo glanced around to make sure there weren't any stormtroopers around before he took off his mask. The mouthpiece of his mask moved towards Rey, making a steamy sound.
Kylo pulled off his mask, revealing his face.
"I wouldn't want you to be speaking with a creature in a mask now," he told her, almost mocking her words from a week ago.
Rey remained silent, not knowing what to do. She was already trapped and she felt like it was game over already. She wondered why she even agreed to do this. Was it worth throwing away her life? She was about to find out.
Kylo tried to sweep through her mind, but Rey pushed him right back out, like an unwanted guest.
Kylo cocked his head to the side in curiosity and frustration. He hated the fact that Rey was a challenge. She was like a puzzle without images on the pieces.
"What are you doing here? I am under the impression of you making a suicide attempt or a plan to bring me back to my mother," Kylo interrogated her.
"Neither," Rey lied. A trick Luke taught her was to believe her own lie, so Kylo wouldn't be able to tell.
Kylo narrowed his eyes at her, trying to read her. "What is it that you want then? To kill me?"
"No. Not that either. If you let me go I can tell you. Your grip is… uncomfortable," Rey looked down at herself.
Kylo sighed, before making a hand movement. Rey found it strange that he believed her and let her loose. She could run if she wanted to. That would be foolish because he would stop her again anyways.
"If you recall, when we were on the Starkiller base and we fought, you offered to help me learn more about the force," Rey led on. She didn't know if Kylo knew that the Resistance had found Master Luke. She was hoping he didn't.
"I do recall my proposition, and then you gave me this wound," he pointed to the obvious wound on his face, going from his cheekbone to his brow. It was flaking, showing that it was healing properly and starting to scar over.
"To be fair, you hurt my friend at the time and I got… angry," Rey tried to make an excuse.
Kylo observed everything about Rey. Her breathing patterns were sharp, her fingers were twitching, and she was changing her standing poses.
"I perhaps…" he reasoned with her a little. It slowly started to rain, and Rey was shivering already from her crippling fear and the cold temperatures.
"Let's take this inside. We don't need sickness in the First Order," Kylo said, before waving his hand in front of Rey's eyes, having her fall to the ground. He caught her by her arm before she could even touch the ground.
Kylo lifted her up and brought her inside.
Leia was frantically trying to reach Rey, speaking rapidly into the microphone.
"She's found Kylo," Luke simply told Leia.
"Oh no…" Leia fretted. "Oh no, no, no… This is all my fault…" she shook her head.
"I'm almost certain she'll be fine. I would've felt it," Luke assured his sister, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Finn was overhearing every last word between Leia and Luke. He came close at some moments to yell at both of them, but he knew that would be rash and unnecessary. Taking out his worries and aggression onto Leia and Luke wouldn't bring Rey back. Instead, he started drinking. It made him feel less tense about the whole thing.
Rey awoke in a room. This time, she wasn't chained down to a chair. Kylo was right beside her, mask still off. He wanted her to stare at what she had done to him.
"Hello," he welcomed her.
"Hi," she replied, looking around the room. It was mostly metal and white, and surprisingly incredibly spacious.
"There is a uniform in the closet right over there," he pointed to the closet near the foot of her bed. "If you attempt anything, you will be executed. I believe you already knew that," Kylo said to her calmly, before standing up. "I must speak to General Hux for a brief moment. Feel free to clean yourself up. Maybe take a shower…"
Rey's eyes widened, eyebrows raised.
"Did he just say that?" She thought, slightly offended.
Kylo put his mask over his head, revealing a mischievous grin. He had obviously heard that thought.
Kylo walked down the hallway, the satisfying dominating noise of metal with each footstep echoed down the hall, letting the storm troopers know to move out of the way.
Kylo walked into the commanding center to find Hux looking over a storm trooper, arms crossed.
Kylo didn't like Hux all that much, but ever since he'd finished his training with Snoke, Hux had warmed up to Kylo for some odd reason. They acted like brothers that fight all the time, but secretly like each other.
"Hux," Kylo addressed him.
Hux turned around, his icy blue eyes piercing through Kylo's mask to look into his eyes.
"Yes, Kylo?" Hux replied with a welcoming smile.
Kylo took a deep breath, knowing Hux wouldn't like the news.
"Remember the girl from the Starkiller base?" Kylo questioned.
"Small girl? The one with your father and the traitor? The one who escaped?" Hux listed off, an attempt to make Kylo feel guilty. It was an unsuccessful attempt.
"Yes. She's arrived here, on Dantooine-"
"Did you kill her yet?" Hux asked, almost excited for Kylo to confirm the kill.
Kylo shook his head. "On the Starkiller base, I gave her an offer. I tempted her into learning the force. At first, she denied, like people would normally do. However, she came here so I could teach her the ways of the force," Kylo tried to explain to Hux.
The general coldly looked at Kylo, who braced himself for backlash.
"This is not our main objective, Kylo Ren. This isn't an academy, this is an army base. Now if you can't get that through your mind then perhaps you need more lessons from Snoke himself," Hux snapped at Kylo.
"This is exactly our objective. If I train her well, and hold her on our side she can give us information about the Resistance and Luke Skywalker. She's a strong girl and I believe she will help our side," Kylo defended his own actions, stepping up to the General.
Hux was breathing sharply, now frustrated. He gave a scary grin. "We'll discuss this matter with you, myself, and Snoke."
Hux bumped into Kylo's shoulder with his own before storming off. The men in the command center stared at Kylo.
"You all have jobs, don't you? Get back to work," Kylo spoke in his heavy toned voice. In fear, everyone went back to work.
After Kylo had exited the room, Rey walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She hid in the bathroom just in case she was being monitored with cameras in her room. She pressed her finger down on the back of her hand to speak to Leia. Once she saw the red light glow through her skin, she started to talk.
"I'm alright. Kylo took my ear piece, but he didn't see the thing in my hand. I won't be able to actually hold a conversation or report as quickly, but I will tap every now and then to let you guys know I'm ok," Rey spoke rapidly, before releasing her finger.
Rey turned on the shower and let the water warm up. She took a white training suit and saw that it fit her.
"How long was I out? Did Kylo just happen to have this in my size?" Rey questioned in a low mutter.
Nonetheless, she brought it into the bathroom with her. Halfway through her shower, she heard a hard couple of knocks on her door, she immediately covered her body.
"Who is it?" She replied, looking around for a weapon. She quietly chose the body wash.
"It's me," Kylo spoke. Rey still held the body wash tightly. "I just wanted to tell you that once you're finished cleansing, I wish to meet you outside in the garden. Take a left and go straight. There shall be an elevator there to take you above ground. The area will look familiar to you," Kylo described, already giving her orders.
"Okay. Thanks," Rey replied before hitting her head with her palm. Why did she say it like that? What was she even thanking him for?
She heard Kylo's metal footsteps clank until she heard a door slam.
She put down the body wash and continued to lather her hair.