Rey twirled the Skywalker's sapphire, Legacy lightsaber around in her delicate wrists like she'd been training with it for years. kylo knew she was serious about fighting against him even though he'd already proven it would be no challenge for him to over come her.

Maker, if he didn't admire her for trying. He thought, amused at how spirited his little scavenger was.

"Really?" Was all Kylo Ren could think to say, but the sarcasm in that one word rang through clear as a bell. Flashes of sizzling blue sparks spit through the air as she cut through the heavy rain around them. It was her silent way of telling him she was very serious about their inevitable duel.

"Well, if the lady insists, then I suppose I must oblige." He bowed low, bending at the waist as he spoke, politely taunting her with his response before, igniting his own saber of crimson fire.

She scowled, her muddled brain was quickly overthrown by a mixture of both of their emotions. Amusement was the greatest of the emotions which bled through from his end to hers but there were several others in the mix that she found undefinable. It only added to her frustration and looking at his calm posture, she was guessing her anger was currently the more prominent between herself and Ren. She'd bet a weeks worth of rations that he was still more amused with her, then anything else.

Not her though, not after the last time they'd stood on the same earth together, when he'd killed Han, thrown her into a tree, and cut down Finn. Her eyes darkened with the poison of that memory. When she'd roused they'd battled and he'd trapped her at the edge of the crumbling world which they'd fought on.

With out another thought given to the past, Rey charged at him. Their connection only heightened her emotions, and right now she wanted to finish what they'd started months ago. She rushed him, angrily swinging and pushing out with her Force.

Kylo side stepped, ducked, and easily dodged. His own Force shielded him from hers so effortlessly that he didn't even bother using his lightsaber, not even when she swung feverishly at him multiple times. He had physically dodged most of what she'd thrown at him only using his saber to occasionally parry her strikes. His casual stance and almost lazy movements, were humiliating.

He was so smug, she just wanted to tear that tin can off of his head and beat him with it until she couldn't remember what that haunting face looked like underneath. She froze, shocked by the fresh image in her head. She'd never thought something so horrible, so hateful.

He'd seen her thoughts as clear as day and he was relishing in the anger and hate that fumed off of her. It made his blood hot, watching her lash out at him with that sexy fury in her eyes. He was enjoying being the center of her thoughts until he saw her beating his head in with his own helmet. He wanted to chuckle at the fitting end she'd thought up for him. He knew he deserved it, but that same thought made something inside of his chest tighten.

Her legs were spread in an offensive stance and she was panting in her fury just like she'd done the first time she'd tapped into his Force energy, accept this time it was all hers, well the majority of it anyway. Holding the shinning blue saber in both fists, she presented the weapon defensively out in front of her. Her hands were lined with her hips but the plasma still pointed to the sky. She wasn't done with the fight, but she was taking the time regain control of herself. Ren himself had only recently been able to do this and not nearly as well or quickly as she was able to.

"Fight back!" She angrily, belted at him over the storm.

He shrugged. "I didn't come here to fight you." His shoulders went slack, his response flat and his breathing remained calm.

He looked so out of place in the raging storm around them. The only part on him that moved was his long cape as it snapped and whipped in the wind, favoring the left side of his body behind him. It was a new addition to his attire. He'd lost the long over robe that he'd previously worn over his armor. His new look was more practical as far as combat went, the cape offered his arms and legs less restriction and in turn he'd gained more range of movement. It also left the outline of his body more or less definable. It was harder to find his form through the thick rain and endless night that he blended with so seamlessly, but she'd swear he'd grown in size and stature.

Of course maybe it just appeared that way now because she could see the definition in his chest and shoulders with out the cylindrical robes that previously hide the build of him so well. Her eyes trailed down the length of his relaxed arms. Everything about him seemed to have filled out and she knew physically she was out matched but she was betting she still had him for speed. He wasn't taking her serious and though it brought a red hot heat to her cheeks, she knew she could take advantage of his arrogance.

"Then what are you here for?" Her grip tightened on her lightsaber.

If he thought he was going to come here to kill Master Luke, and she was just going to let him, then she had left him more damaged from their last duel then she'd first thought. Which was saying something because he'd been nearly half dead by the end. It wasn't until days later that she discovered he'd made it off of the planet before it exploded.

He smirked at her behind his mask, his eyes narrowing mischievously and because of his helmet she wasn't privy to any of it. Somehow that knowledge only added to his amusement.

"I'm here..." His hand flattened over his chest and he leaned out to her as he spoke.

She raised the lightsaber between them using it as a ward. As if the saber held between them was going to intimidate him. If she thought it would keep him from moving closer to her, she was sorely mistaken. Still bent down at the waist he took two small steps forward, one for each word that finished his sentence.

"...For you." He finished definitively.

His masked face was inches from her blazing lightsaber but he didn't seem the least bit worried. She swore she could see the blue of her plasma blade reflecting in his eyes from within the blackness of his helmet. She shivered and her hands shook as the blade suddenly became very heavy in her grip.

She ground her teeth and her saber cut through the air very close to his chest. She was charging at him before he could recover, her shoulder catching him in the ribs. His lightsaber flew from his hand and sputtered out somewhere in the mud behind her. He wrapped his arms around her back and his hands latched on to her as he fell, pulling her down with his weight, bringing her to the earth with him. The Force of her body slamming into his had already caused her own saber to retracted and when she felt herself being dragged down in his fall, her hand relinquished the weapon, opting instead to brace herself above his chest. She was to close to the ground to fire the plasma blade up again anyway and now it too was lost somewhere in the darkness around them. If Rey was going down it would be by her choice, of that much she'd decided, and she added more impact to their fall by digging her toes into the slick grass and mud beneath them.

That was it, the last little push that cost Kylo the rest of his balance. His foot snagged along his own cloak and his feet came out from under him completely. Now they slid down the hill together, neither of them realizing how dangerously close to the cliff 's edge they were until it was too late. Still digging her toes into the slick mud and stuck in a half run, Rey flew over Kylo's sliding body. For the second time tonight he was thankful for his helmet because he was still using his Force to navigate the area around them and this was the only reason he was able to see the earth ahead of them just before it came to an abrupt end.

He latched down on the earth and stone around him, brining himself to a skidding halt just before his body could fly over the edge. Using the weakness of only her natural sight and still more focused on fighting him then saving herself— Rey did not. He grabbed for her as she rolled over him, catching her wrist just in time, admittedly he'd been aiming for her arm, and there was an awful popping sound as her body jerked back in his hold. The momentum swung her over the edge and her body slammed hard into the wall of the cliffside below.

Ren clung to her as she swayed. There was a short spans of time where she didn't move, momentarily dazed by the hard hit she'd just taken against the wall of stone. The momentum behind the sudden stop at the end of her propulsion dragged him a few crucial inches closer to the edge, almost sending him over with her but he held on with everything he had. At this moment he was not a fan of his cape. It swung over him, weighing his head down under the saturated mud covered cloth and further hindered his ability to keep both of them from plummeting over the jagged wall he clung to.

His view of the dilemma they were in was limited to the access of his Force sight, which did not provide enough detail for him to get a safe sense of the situation before he tried something as risky adjusting either of their positions. It was hard enough trying to see through the visually limited slot in his helmet before the heavy rain soaked cape flew over his head, now it was obviously impossible. He closed his eyes and focused on unhinging the clasps that fixed his cape to his armored shoulders until it flew free of him, bellowing past them in the wind.

Slowly but most surely Rey's blurred vision was clearing and her senses where coming back. quickly realizing her predicament she startled, which quickly rose to a full panic. She made a grab for his forearm but her fingers slipped against the slick leather folds of his arm guards. When she failed to catch anything that would help support her weight, her dainty wrist strained painfully against his grasp and her full weight with the addition of her frantic struggling.

"Scavenger," His voice entered her panicked mind and her head flew up to his mask.

"You're going to have to work with me." He silently told her through their connection.

She shook her head fervently. She was more then panicked now, she was border line terrified. Her feet kicked against the jagged rocks beneath her as she desperately searched for some kind of foothold that wasn't there.

"Listen to me. Trust me. I won't let you go." He focused on sounding as calm as he could, sending warm waves of comfort to her through his end. He wrapped his voice around her like a blanket and held her tightly to him with his mind.

"Let me help you?" He asked near a whisper.

Even through the drenching rain he could see the tears pooling from her eyes to roll down her cheeks before steadily dripping from her chin. He saw her fears like they were his own. He saw waves crashing against the rocks with her caught in them. He felt the under toe dragging her below, slamming her down against the sand and rocks beneath the black water that endlessly rolled as it trapped her in a watery torment, becoming her ever abusing grave. She was terrified of drowning and her mind was closing itself off to reason, slowly shutting down in a very real, very debilitating fear.

He needed to reach her. He mentally needed to sooth her, not just to save her life, but to provide comfort to her. It was something he couldn't understand any more then he could fight the pull to aid her. And Kylo recognized it as the same desire he'd felt in the interrogation chamber just before he'd taken off his helmet to appease her— again to comfort her.

"Rey, I won't let you go sweetheart, I promise." His voice came like a caress against her turbulent mind and she felt her eyes roll back in her head.

A slight glimpse of some sliver of a memory came back to her then. She was small and she felt like she weighed a ton as she rested on a cot in a dark room. She couldn't see where but she knew he'd put her there for safe keeping. She'd been through an exhausting ordeal and was supposed to stay there until he came back to collect her. She remembered the boy who was always with her, always looking out for her. He had hidden her somewhere she knew she didn't belong, told her to stay put, and even knowing this, she obeyed him with full confidence.

"Shh," He'd coo'd. "Stay here, I'll come back for you sweetheart, I promise." And he did, he always came back for her.

Even when the darkness surrounded him and he blocked everyone else out... he always came back for her. He never shied away from her light and she always welcomed him to bask in it. She woke that night to his still form stretched out on the floor along side her cot.

It was his— his room, his cot. She remembered.

He had let her stay here and she had fallen asleep on it shortly after. He must have been exhausted himself but he had opted to sleep on the floor to keep her comfortable. She climbed down to the floor one small foot at a time and gently covered his sleeping form with the blanket he had provided for her. After she'd fallen asleep curled up beside him, never feeling happier or safer in her life!

"Rey?" He called out her name over the wind and rain trying to shake her jostled brain back into focus, but it wasn't familiar to her in his mechanically cloaked voice and she lost the memory. She lost who the boy was or why it had been important that she remembered.

"Come on Scavenger, come back to me." He pleaded with her when she began to physically shut down.

She was slipping and he needed her cooperation to get a better hold on her. Her eyes flew opened and she stared into his black and silver mask.

"That's right, focus on me. It's just you and me." The words hit the wrong cord and when she saw the mask of Kylo Ren staring down at her, she thought of them together; the image of her in servitude moved to the forefront of her mind.

This brought more panic. After cursing himself for being an idiot over his now obvious poor selection of words, he chose a different route. Using the very personal memories he'd stolen from her during a time when he should have been interrogating more useful and specific things from her, Kylo projected an image of a calm beach. Soft waves caressed along the shoreline of silky warm sand the perfect temperature to burry your toes into. The tranquil water lapped gently at the cliffs and rocks that surrounded the beautiful lush island. He let her feel the warm sun kissing her cheeks as she rested against a gentle breeze that carried the scents of florals and fruits in her direction.

It was more her island then this one. The images of a more seren place that she'd created from piecing together visions she'd had of this very one. He'd only seen this self concocted sanctuary in her mind once when he'd probed the secret escape from the most private of places in her mind months ago, but he never forgot a single detail. He held on to every flash of color and life that he'd stolen from her personal inventory like a starving artist hoarding swatches of color in a black and grey world.

It was the same island she was dangling from now in the worst Force storm he'd ever seen, but he obviously left that part out. Short lived relief flooded through him when her eyes filled with a new shinning light in their irises. Her thoughts quieted and she calmed. His heart jumped into his throat as he watched her staring at him.

She was calm, she stared into the mask of Kylo Ren and yet, she was calm. He internally basked in this stunning knowledge, his own eyes beaming back at her through the dark confines of his helmet.

"Good..." He almost sounded too relieved. "...Good girl." He encouraged. "Now, I need you to work with me ok?" She didn't hesitate. She hurriedly nodded her compliance.

He tugged at her weight with the arm that had her wrist in a death grip and counted to three. On the third count he gave a heady jerk and with her teeth clenched through the pain of her tearing wrist, her free hand shot up and latched firmly onto his forearm. The recoil that followed the tug which allowed her the additional distance to latch onto him, caused him to lose some traction. While his free hand was still firmly locked onto one of the ledges teeth, he lost a few more inches of ground with his body, bringing himself nearly half over the edge.

"Ren!" She yelped, as she dangled a good sixty or so feet above the violently crashing waves below her.

It likely wasn't the height of the drop into the dangerous water below that would kill her if she fell, but the sharp jagged rocks and crushing waves that slammed into the wall of earth that her toes were still kicking against. Fear like he'd never seen before danced in her eyes and he squeezed her wrist so hard he thought he may be breaking it in his hand.

"I've got you!" He promised, through gritted teeth.

Until that very moment she'd forgotten who had her, who she desperately clung to. The words flowing through the helmets vocoder distorted the meaning behind them and made her wince. Her heart hammered against her rib cage and her stomach rolled. Now there was an entirely different fear playing through her head. She could plummet to her doom and end it all by way of drowning or she could rise only to fall into the hands of an enemy who could literally bend her, or worse break, her will into submission, leaving her as nothing more then a shell for the battery that was her power to be harnessed, stored, and used whenever he wished.

"Sorry scavenger, but you'll have to take your chances with me." He replied, more to himself in response to the thoughts she'd had over the situation. "Because, I'm not letting you go!" He announced with a fresh determination and pulled with everything he had until slowly she approached the lip of the cliff side.

Her wrist was not happy about supporting her weight for so long. It was even less happy when his fingers dug deeper into the already bruised flesh and dislocated bone. Now she felt like the supporting muscles around the joint were tearing and there was nothing she could do. Even through the numb of the adrenaline rushing through her, Rey felt the burn and sear of her muscles under the abuse of her weight and his crushing grip. The more he pulled the more the waining solidity of the structure gave out. Rey had his forearm in her hand but she was sure her grip on the slick leather would be to loose to maintain for much longer. She couldn't even wrap her fingers completely around the thick muscle she was grasping at. It was the thickest place of his forearm, the space below his elbow but well above the wrist. She couldn't slid her hand low enough to lock down the hold she had on him with out chancing the loss of her grip on him completely.

As though responding to her concerns she felt the heat of his Force essence wrapping around her wrist along where they were connected. His power heated her flesh everywhere his hand enveloped her. And now she had confirmation that he was in her thoughts. Her wrist was tingling, his energy numbing away the pain that was tearing at her muscles.

Was he trying to heal her? Was that even possible? And all while balancing himself on the edge of the cliff as he strained to pull her up to safety...

Why? She thought, not in control of her mind enough in the moment to keep the question from ringing between their bond.

Kylo didn't respond. His attention already spread to thin while he attempted to accomplish several very dangerous tasks at once, which could ultimately cost him his life should he mess up. His power traveled over Rey slowly. It soaked into her skin and she felt it moving beneath the surface. She almost felt at ease, his Force seeping into her muscles, his heat caressing the aching and damaged tissue beneath.

She felt the feathering ropes of muscles under the protective blanket of her skin pulling back together, reinforcing their elasticity and structure with the strength that he allowed her to pull from his power. She felt the abused and dislocated cartilage at the joint pulling and popping back into place. Rey quickly became unfocused, loosing herself in the feeling of his Force mingling with hers even while dangling over certain death at the hands of her worst fear.

The two Force energies had finally won out and now they were together unrestrained by either of their wielders. She felt dizzy, felt— tingly. She felt everything, everywhere!

Her wrist was warm and she could feel the crushed bones resetting and realigning to their natural places with mind numbing heat.

In her state of panic and fear, she had been easily taken over by their bond. She was intoxicated the second his Force buried itself into her skin. Now it was all over her body. She dangled below him over what would probably be a very agonizing death if she fell and all she could think of doing, was touching him. She wanted to feel his skin along hers. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like if their flesh made contact. It was as alarming as it was odd to think that about someone you were supposed to hate, someone you were clearly on opposing sides of a war with. When Kylo tensed Rey realized she must have been projecting. She didn't think his muscles could tighten up anymore then what the restraints they were already under demanded of him, but to her surprise, they did.

Maker, she appreciated all the work she knew he put into keeping his body so fit. Hoth, it was saving her life! She defended her very inappropriate and poorly timed appreciation.

She understood the labor it took to stay healthy to physically survive in a world that wanted to tear you apart day to day, and for no other reason then because it could. She couldn't help but respect him for doing so without that threat as motivation.

The softest thing about Jakku and the inhabitants who traversed it, was the sand. And no matter how soft, it always managed to burn you if you stilled to long. She didn't however understand why he'd bothered to build up his endurance or to train his physique into the powerhouse that he'd clearly become. His strength in the Force alone made it so he should hardly ever have to exert himself. Especially not over everyday menial tasks and labors.

He could have taken the lazy route and not bothered with the extra physical upkeep he had clearly put into his body. As she drowned in the current of his power she found herself very much in unabashed appreciation of every thing that he was. And all while dangling over the mouth of her worst fear, by only the grace and power of her second worst fear... this couldn't be a more confusing situation.

Still, the angry waves and jagged teeth along the cliff's base below where she dangled, was enough to make anyone appreciate the physique of an enemy who was willing to save them.

There was a crack of loud lightning near by and they both jumped, nearly loosing one another in the startle, and now Ren was half folded over the ledge. The wind crushed out of him via his weight in addition to hers as the ledge cut into his diaphragm.

"Your not going to like this," He gritted through restricted breaths and his strained hold on her. "But I need you to trust me." He groaned out loud, his tone equally as serious as his voice was strained.

She was already loosing her grip on him but he still held fast, his grip slowly re-crushing the delicate bones of her wrist as he clutched her for her dear life. And to him, for some unknown reason that he just couldn't define, it was dear.

Her heart was in her stomach and she just knew, she was about to die. A shaky, "Ok." Was all she could muster in response to his words.

His helmet nodded and his hand opened, all at once releasing her from his grip. Her panicked fingers dug around his arm. She swung below him, trying to keep hold of the arm she was quickly loosing grip of. Despite the rain slicking the already saturated pleats of his armor and her strength nearly fully depleted, somehow she managed to do just that. She clawed and pulled at his extended arm, her eyes were wide in terror and her face paled into a mixture of white and green.

"Scavenger." He tried calling out to her over the storm but she couldn't hear him with all of the blood hammering through her head.

"Let go!" His voice floated through her pulsing head. "Trust me." He soothed her with another image of her island but this time it did little to calm her.

"You... you s-said you wouldn't l-let me go." She pleaded out loud, not stable enough to pass it through their connection.

He knew she didn't have to do anymore then think it at this point and he'd hear it loud and clear, but she wasn't thinking rationally so he didn't bother correcting it right now. This wasn't the best possible scenario to start teaching or lecturing her about their connection.

Priorities! He reminded the dominant part of him that wanted her as his Apprentice.

"And I won't sweetheart, I promise." He soothed through her mind.

"B-b-but you did!" She clung to him, her body shaking as she started to hyperventilate.

It wouldn't be long now, even if she refused to let him go willingly, her body wasn't going to last much longer under these circumstances. Physically and mentally, the odds where against her.

"Trust me!" He reiterated the two words and projected an image of himself in her mind.

She saw him standing in front of her, his eyes were a deep brown. The color of the tree's and earth and the nature she'd fallen in love with since her arrival on the island. She normally found heat and anger clashing with despair and torment in the endless recesses, now there was something cool and welcoming. Like the damp dark dirt that laid just below the surface of the dry earth above it. The soil that was always moist and nurturing no matter how hard and dry the top layer that protected it was. It was "just" dirt here on a planet like Ach-to, but back on Jakku she'd seen men and other species loose their lives over it. On a planet where nothing but cacti and death flourished, growing soil in even a small amount was worth hundreds of rations.

Of course, Kylo Ren couldn't just have plain brown eyes. He had to have the richest brown eyes in the universe... she complained to herself.

Even dangling over the edge of the earth she wanted to roll her eyes at him. She almost laughed at the thought of someone complimenting another by saying they had dirt colored eyes, but with her particular life experiences she was naturally groomed to find the color highly valuable.

Something aside from the endless pools of power that swirled within them caught her attention. It flicker across his face in an unfamiliar expression. Rey didn't know what it was, but it made her feel connected to him in a way that she could no more deny with out damaging herself, then she could refuse to take another breath into her lungs. And then came that feeling again, that comfort that she recognized without truly being able to pin down why.

She swallowed hard. Closed her eyes, and with no further thoughts about it, Rey opened her hand, releasing herself from his arm.

For a lightsecond that seemed to last forever, she fell. She waited for an impact that never came, then she realized there was no falling sensation. She hesitantly opened her eyes for fear that she may already be dead, smashed up against the mouth of the rocks below but she wasn't. She was... floating... no, more accurately levitating... she was levitating! Slowly she rose back up the cliff side. Kylo Ren was standing on the edge with his right hand out using the Force to manipulate her body back up the stone wall.

"See, I told you I wouldn't let you go!" His deep, prideful voice nearly purred in her head and she almost moaned in response.

Instead he got a weak laugh as her heart found its way into her throat in the best way possible. She couldn't have been more appreciative towards anyone more then she was towards him right now. If he'd been anyone but who he was, she would have thrown herself at his feet and kissed his boots the second she touched solid ground. She was still to shocked, terrified and to overwhelmed to speak through her chattering teeth, but she was sure he knew how greatful she felt. She was willingly projecting it through their connection.

Not that she could stop anything from flowing through her right now even if she wanted to. If their bond remained unchecked, left opened and with loose enough restrictions, both could unintentionally pass, easily feel, and even share feelings together, even if they didn't want to. Their bond grew in leaps and bounds the closer they physically were to one another. She still hadn't been taught to control her feelings from projecting without being in a state of meditation. It's not like they'd even been close enough, or willing to practice with one another.

Rey's strength of control was stronger when it came to keeping someone out of her thoughts but not when it came to keeping her big mouthed thoughts quiet. She'd also just figured out that the more traumatic of an experience they both shared the more actively her power pulled for his, like the experience wound them more tightly together or maybe that was because of how desperately she'd just clung to him for her life...

Either way, now Rey felt an overwhelming need to be physically near him. The surface of her skin was almost painfully sensitive, like that feeling you get when your sick; When you have random body aches over the slightest of touches. Anything that makes contact with your skin leaves painful chills or feels like budding bruises on the spot. The closer she got to him the less discomfort she felt or maybe she was over thinking it, maybe it was the ledge that she was feeling drawn to. The ground above her meant there would be ground below her and that was safety after all.

As he raised her higher, Ren stepped back carefully. She was almost there... Just a little further and she could reach the ledge with her fingers... That's when a huge Force wave suddenly slammed into Ren, and seconds after, Rey. It flattened Ren to the ground with such force that his helmet bounced off the stone beneath his feet, twice! He was dazed and his ears were ringing in the heavy metal confines.

What in the kriff was that? He didn't have to search for an answer, his darkness responded to the familiar threat immediately.

His vision was blurred but he was on his feet. Blackness oozed from him in thick violent waves, corrupting the sensitive force storm over the island. He turned to find Luke Skywalker serval feet away. His hand out, shielding his face from the ever growing storm that their conflicting Force signatures had created upon his arrival on the island. Now the storm raged around them, transforming it's self into something of a tsunami. Their conflicting emotions and signatures fed fuel to the destructive force every second they opposed each other.

He didn't have time for this. There was something important that every cell in his body needed to focus on but he couldn't figure out what. His rage was too hot, he was sent spiraling into one of his moods. Red washed over his vision and he saw nothing but his victim through the eye slot in his helmet. Magma boiled and spit out from his orifices. He radiated darkness through venomous fumes that evaporated along his fiery skin to creep through his clothing effectively releasing the toxins of his rage into the air around him. His darkness joined in with his Force to deliver a devastating blow to his former master. Hot blue lighting shot out from one hand in unison with a Force hold from the other. Ren finished the retaliating attack with a huge Force wave of his own and Skywalker flew through the air, the countering blow unexpectedly powerful. His body convulsed under the tremendous amounts of electricity that still surged through it.

Kylo didn't wait to see anything else. He unlatched his helmet, dropped it at his feet and pealed his heavy wet tunic off. He didn't need the extra weight of the body armor that layered the rest of his clothes so he lost everything from the waist up with the exception of his arm guards, pealing those off in the rain would be an unnecessary waste of time. Without a second thought he sprinted out and leapt over the edge of the cliff. His body straightened to a line and his feet stabbed into the water first. He felt little resistance as his body cut deeply into the black ocean around him. He knew she was already beneath the waves. He could feel the crushing weight around her. He could see the blackness coming for her and he could feel her heartbeat slowing in her chest. He searched through the seemingly black water. The night offered no assistance with the stormy clouds blocking the light of the moon and stars overhead.

She was drowning and he couldn't find her. There was to much darkness around them. To know some one is so close they were literally right next to you but being unable to find them is a torture that he's never known before, and torture was something he'd gotten very familiar with. While under his Master's training, through the hand of the cruel practice, he'd been kept near his breaking point most nights. Torture was a relentlessly cruel mistress who love to play games and Ren had become one of her favorite toys.

Rey didn't see what happened. She was so shocked that she didn't even scream as she fell. The air was already gone from her lungs before she hit the water. The sudden impact of a powerful Force wave slammed into her body, stealing the precious air from her lungs before sending her flying further out over the water below her. She was sure that this is what had unintentionally saved her from the rocks and waves below but there was nothing saving her from the watery hands that pulled her down now. She'd sealed her fate the second she awkwardly hit the water.

The first thing she'd done was suck in a deep breath. Her mouth filled with liquid salt and her throat convulsed trying to push the ocean back up her esophagus. For a few brief moments she was able to bring herself kicking up to the surface. She coughed and chocked on a deadly mixture of air and water before finally sinking into the crushing embrace around her.

For some reason she was calm. It wasn't a false feeling of safety or a mental break down. She just decided to stop fighting against something that was more powerful then herself. There was a sense of peace that came from her acceptance. She'd imagined this happening so many times since she'd been on Ach-to that now, she was almost mentally prepared for the real thing. It didn't matter if she was a Jedi, a Sith, a Queen, a Kenobi, or a lowly, little Scavenger. If death wanted her, then it would have her.

A Kenobi! She suddenly remembered. I'm a Kenobi! And she was overjoyed... then she wasn't.

She'd hoped after she found out that her parents had perished, that at least in death she would be reunited... But, she'd never see her grandfather again. He was beyond wherever a spirit went when it passed. She hadn't even made it to a Jedi yet, let alone learned how to preserve herself in the Force after death. She did however find one relief floating with her amongst her depressing thoughts.

At least she didn't fall to Kylo Ren's malefic lightsaber. Even as she sunk to her watery grave she shivered over the thought of that evil blade. She saw it's crimson glow reaching out like demonic hands waiting to collect her soul. The darkness that she saw in that thing made it's owner look like a baby porg in comparison.

Ren... Her thoughts suddenly reminded her that he'd been hit with the Force energy seconds before she had.

Did he end up flying over the edge too? Would he meet the same fate she was? Rey didn't know why that line of thought made her feel so heartbroken.

Maybe it was because if he did die, it was her fault! He'd said he didn't want to fight but she'd egged it on anyway.

He did try to abduct me... She defended herself.

Still, he was only that close to the edge because she put him there and he'd willingly stayed trying to save her life. It didn't matter if she was trying to kill him moments before, only that it was through an act of kindness on his part towards her, that would cause his death. She saw his face one last time before her consciousness gave way to the lack of oxygen to her brain.

Kylo had sent out a pulse of his Force in search for hers. He was pushing through the dark water in her direction as fast as he could. Every time a pulse of his energy passed over hers he found more adrenaline to fuel his endurance. As her presence grew closer so did his speed and strength. His lungs were burning and by the time he reached her, she wasn't moving. Her body was peacefully sinking into the murk below. He reached for her and when his gloved hand made contact with her shoulder it was the most wonderful feeling in the universe. He clenched the thick material of her tunic in his hand and pulled his arm back with all of the strength he could muster.

He simultaneously kicked out with both of his feet putting just as much effort into the power of his legs when he pulled her up. She propelled upward and his arms wrapped around her waist. He'd been wrong before, this was the most wonderful feeling in the universe, but now wasn't the time to linger on that distraction. He kicked out and pushed up with both arms, this time he was able to get lower then her and it granted him the advantage of using his back and shoulders when he forced her much smaller frame upwards.

His lungs started contracting and he was loosing large bubbles of air every time he pushed her through the water but it didn't dampen his determination in the slightest. When he could finally see the rocking waves at the surface above her, he straightened his arms and sent a Force wave out beneath him, his body propelled upwards and he caught and pulled her through the water with him. They broke the surface together and he instantly shifted her above him while he rolled onto his back. He positioned her face parallel to the ocean and tilted it slightly so she wouldn't swallow any additional water that may have splashed into her mouth as he dragged her along with him.

He was kicking and pulling, his focus was so intent on keeping her alive that he didn't even notice how far they were from the shoreline. The edge of the cliff they plunged off of was tightly hugged by a medley of large and small jagged rocks that he had to swim around so they wouldn't be torn apart and smashed to pieces by the surrounding waves.

By the time he'd gotten her to the shore every muscle in his body was burning. When he could finally reach the bottom he'd swept her up into his arms and cradled her tightly to his chest, protecting her from the onslaught of the crashing waves at his back. The rain had calmed to a heavy drizzle but lightning still danced across the sky all around them. He kept looking down at her still form as he wadded through the water. Somehow in between now and when he'd literally fished her up from the depths of the ocean, she'd coughed up the water that had snaked it's way into her lungs. Right now, while Kylo watched her take deep calm breaths in his arms, he'd never been more certain that the universe had granted him a miracle. He didn't know why and he didn't care to contemplate it. Her heart was beating in her chest. She was alive and he fully intended on keeping her that was for as long as he possibly could.

He was still looking down at her when he heard the strike of a lightsaber igniting just ahead of him. The familiar green light made the dark water around them glow eerily. Her smooth, sun tanned skin changed tone under the harsh green of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber. Kylo widened his stance and pulled the girl up towards his right shoulder. He loosened his hold on her legs and her core dropped to hang closer to the water. He needed to be ready to let her lower half go so he'd have the freedom of at least one hand, should he need to fight. The second he heard his enemies lightsaber igniting he realized his own was still lost somewhere on the cliffside above and he called to it now. As he stared through the green haze of his Uncle's shinning Lightsaber ahead, Kylo could feel his own weapon complying to his call, getting closer with every second that passed.

"Hand her over!" His former Master, demanded with a stern threat in his voice.

*Hey guys n' gals thanks for reading! Please comment and ⭐️ you liked it. *
     -DarkGuardian-