Rey stood wide eyed, staring beyond the already imposing form of Kylo Ren. Just past the thick retracting doors which lead to a space containing a world that seemed separate from anything else that could possibly be ongoing aboard this battle cruiser, were warriors cloaked in multiple layers of gear and an even wider array of mixed weaponry. Their armor was as ebon as his, their presence as engulfing. Their masks, from what she could see through the quick blur of their motions, were all different. Unique, if she had to describe them.

Though this was not the first time Rey had seen his Knights, well, only two of them in person, she still had the instinctual feeling of familiarity but she didn't linger on that. Instead she focused on the alarms going off in her head. Every warning signal in her was urging her to run. Her fight or flight sent the message coursing through her brain faster then striking lightning and yet her feet, against her better judgment, remained steadfast, as though welded in place.

It only took her seconds to process the situation she was in; trouble. Rey knew she was out powered, under armed, unarmed in fact, and out numbered. She recognized these warriors from her first full mind breach with Kylo Ren, the one where they'd nearly destroyed all of Nima Outpost, and she'd witnessed first hand as their master severed a man in half. While she had seen them there she had no real detail to describe them by, the warriors all cloaked in the colors of the shadows they moved through, blended to seamlessly to the night that surrounded them.

Until now and with the exception of the two that had been assigned to baby sit her when she'd first woken in the med bay, and she was still pretty shell shocked then to really remember much of that first day with good clarity, there was never an instance that she'd seen these Knights as clear or solid as the first time she held the Skywalker legacy Lightsaber in her hand. That was when it all really began, at Maz's castle, with a whisper through the Force guiding her to that saber, pushing her towards her destiny and eventually landing her face to face with Ren within that same hour.

Somewhere along the showing of that first jumbled Force vision, she'd appeared in an open area, maybe a landing strip or an out of season field of some kind. The earth was mostly leveled flat and slick with rain and mud from the downpour around her. Rey remembered with perfect clarity the bodies that were scattered everywhere. Spread out in a wide circumference around the small group of warriors. And at the head of the group, having just finished running through the last of his victims, was their Master; Kylo Ren.

Now as his Knights moved towards she and their Master, Rey wondered how she'd ever forgotten what the Force had shown her. Most of the vision was a jumbled mess but each time Kylo appeared it was clear to her that he was dangerous and already, always pursuing her.

Before she even knew his name he watched Kylo Ren skewer a man straight through, his fiery Lightsaber stopping just inches from her face before she stumbled back. And then, somehow, he noticed her. Rey's heart skipped a full beat as the memory slammed full force back into the forefront of her mind. She recalled the exact moment his helmet snapped to face her, lightning only a short distance away striking just as he locked her in his sights. The white heat crackled up from the earth in illuminating streaks which forked out across the land, frightfully lighting up the shining outline along his carbon and steel persona.

Kylo moved quickly, his legs carrying him in long, determined strides in her direction, much like yesterday when he'd entered her quarters on what seemed to be an unknown mission. It was in that moment, when he was stalking towards her, that Rey lost her composure, slipping in the squishing earth under foot in her haste to put distance between them. In this vision she knew if the Master Knight caught her, she'd meet the same fate and her terrified eyes flashed to the flickering plasma sword in his hand, then back to his eerily red silhouetted mask. It was just a Force vision, just a slice of memory, but she felt like she was loosing her footing all over again, falling again.

And just like then, he was approaching. His knights were moving in from behind him to stand by their leader's side and Rey, was helplessly falling while he drew closer. His right hand still gripping his ignited crossguard saber, which swayed more like the swinging of a pendulum with each long stride he took towards her, each second that ticked by, was another swing that threatened to cut the string of her life force in two.

She may have heard a voice, somewhere next to her, possibly say her name, but all Rey could focus on where the Knights who'd stopped their sparring to gather before her. Now they moved in, drawing closer as her heart sped up faster. The first time she'd come into contact with just two of his Knights she hadn't reacted this way, hadn't been so consumed by this paralyzing fear.

The knights of Ren were closing in and their Master was reaching for her. Rey was loosing her breath, unconsciously holding oxygen in her lungs until they began to spasm in their need of release. She was stuck in her fear like a nightmare she couldn't escape and the harder she tried to fight the hold this force had on her mind, the more imposing it felt. The more she struggled to close herself off from the weight that pushed against her mind, the faster she fell into the embrace of that past Force vision.

Slipping in the mud amongst the field of death and carnage, Rey was inches from hitting the ground, Kylo Ren still reaching out for her as his knights circled in on them, silently moving, stalking through the darkness and awaiting their Master's command.

But then, here, in the now, there was a strong, stabilizing hand along her back. The effect of the familiar contact broke the cycle that kept her in the nightmare. There was a strong pulse, a jolt of heat and power that simultaneously ran through her body starting under his hand. Of course, it could only be from his touch.

A calming sensation accompanied a gentle pull as Kylo slid his arm behind Rey's body. He pressed his hand flat along her spine. The foreign pressure of the innocent touch mixed with his lingering Force essence, both shocked her mind out of the violent Force endured memory and somehow set her back on her feet. There was a reassurance over the knowledge that the Kylo she was growing to know him as, was with her now. Comforting her, standing beside her both physically and in the Force.

It was like all of the air around her had been sucked out of the room. The Force vision streaked by her in the blink of an eye and when next she was able to see, Rey was standing in the battle cruiser again. Her feet were wide apart, a stance she'd taken in preparation of defending herself. Even her hips were turned away from the open door she stood inches from, as though she were going to flee the second the opportunity presented itself. She was breathing hard, but it felt like she couldn't get enough air into her starved lungs to counter the rush of adrenaline that was surging through her.

And Kylo had seen what she had. It was such an intense image in her mind, such a degree of fear and then sorrow had washed over her, that he couldn't help but get dragged in by the wave of her corresponding emotions. His hand slid past her back, stopping out to her side until his fingers bent around her hip bone.

The contact was more then Rey was prepared for and her breath hitched. Her body snapped straight and she nearly jumped out of her skin when his fingers lightly gripped along her left side, fingertips gently pressing into the bone of her hip.

Her head immediately shot up and to the right to face him. Large hazel eyes, still glossy with her emotions, settled directly over the shadowing of his silver lined visor and they frantically searched as though hoping to catch a glimpse of the deep brown eyes hidden beneath the shield of his mask.

Rey unconsciously began holding her breath again, but Kylo was having none of that, and when his grip on her hipbone tightened and he curled his arm around her, bringing her into him until her body was turning towards his, Rey surprised him with a delightful little squeal. He closed the bend of his elbow, using his forearm to pull her closer to his chest by the back of her ribcage, forcing her booted feet to skid along the shiny polished floor underfoot until she was nearly pressed against the front of his body. Her hands came up and in a weak attempt to push away from him, her small palms planted along his biceps.

His poor little Scavenger, so caring it made her weak. She was frightened and hurt, her head shaking side to side in defiance and grief for the lives she saw lost in the memory of a vision.

Kylo raised his right hand until his gloved fingers were nearly skimming along the side of Rey's left temple. Un effectively, her hand slid down to his wrist in protest. She wrapped her fingers around the joint and tugged, trying to halt his approach, but Ren ignored the meager attempt to redirect his hand away from her face.

"Calm yourself, Scavenger." The hum of his deep voice reverberated through her mind and Rey instantly stilled before him, nearly leaning against the arm around her back.

"They—" She shook her head fiercely. "You, you killed them all." She bit back her hurt, changing her stance to one he was so much more comfortable with. Even while tears still filled them, her eyes hardened. She showed her disapproval of his actions through her now anger filled glare and the strength with which she spoke.

For such a fierce little thing, she was filled with so much compassion— and for strangers that she'd never even seen beyond that vision. It was as beautiful as it was dangerous to witness.

She bared herself to openly, always laying her emotions on the table for everyone to see. Her need to help and protect total strangers would be read as a weakness, an exploit that would be used against her, if she wasn't careful. He admired the light in her, the ability to care so deeply, but from his experience, here amongst the Order, and when in war, such emotions are a death sentence— these things make you a victim, not the victor.

"Yes, I did." He admitted flatly. His right hand raised higher and Rey flinched.

He scoffed behind his mask. "You would have me grant immunity to the whole Galaxy."

Rey pulled against his wrist again. "I would have you not kill everyone you come in contact with." She countered.

He leaned in closer and she arched her back to keep some space between them. She was becoming more aware of his immediate effect on her and she didn't need the confusion of their bond and his touch wracking her brain anymore then it already was.

"I've come into contact with you several times, and here you still stand." His left arm halted her back from arching any further and his helmet crept closer to her face.

Rey craned her neck, turning her face away from his steel and carbon profile. kylo's thumb passed over the side of her mouth, nearly touching, but still effectively leaving behind a slight tremble on her lips. Pleased with her response, he moved on.

Putting up no pretensions, "Rey, I'm not a nice man." Kylo reminded her through the confines of their bond. "I don't have a bright past, and likely, not a even a grey future. —But those fallen..."

kylo's voice darkened. "Were enemies." There was a sharp edge to his tone, yet still he managed to ease his words into her guarded mind without damaging the frail sense of privacy that even in her vulnerable state, she was striving to hold onto.

Making his way to her temple, Kylo skimed his fingertips along the peek of her cheekbone, and in response to the simple contact, Rey shivered. As he watched her reaction to their mixing Force under his touch, one hand still enveloping her slim hip and the other barely touching fingertips to the side of her face, his head tilted ever so slightly. If she only knew the satisfaction displayed proudly on his lips right now...

He could feel his knights responding to his emotions, his desires, and it brought them gathering closer to he and Rey. In turn, the spans of his left hand moved to cover every inch of her slender waist that could fill it, effectively and possessively caging Rey in by her hip line. Then his Force grew around him until the mass of it took the girl into its folds just as protectively as it did with its conduit.

It was a dominant show of his Force. A challenge to anyone brazen enough to accept it, but also an unnecessary one. Kylo knew his Knights wouldn't dare... not these warriors. These four of his most loyal six, two of which were currently, and purposely, elsewhere.

Rey continued to silently vent grief and anger for the lives of the many she'd seen scattered around the boots of these knights. And by order of the man who was now accosting her so carefully, so gently. Furious with herself for so quickly forgetting just what kind of man this was, she shook her head again and her feet arched until she was lifted to their pads, allowing her to push with her weight against the light grip her newly founded Master had on her.

Kylo squeezed until his gloved fingers were gently kneading into her hip bone. Surprised with the immediate jolt that shot through her insides, Rey dropped to the flats of her feet again, her face scrunching out of the embarrassment of her knees quaking, more then the discomfort of his fingertips pressing into her flesh. Rey was now squirming against his grip, her face heating so furiously that she had to look away for fear of him catching her inappropriate response.

Kylo was biting the corner of his bottom lip. Sucking the tender flesh into his full mouth to toy with it between his teeth while he watched as much as he felt, Rey squirm in his hands. His right palm moved to cup the entirety of the left side of her face, and he forcefully drew her gaze up towards his. The color on her cheeks was enticing to say the least. He was already in her mind when she'd looked away and he'd felt the shudder he sent through her when his fingers tightened over her hip. Perhaps it was to intimate of a place for him to be touching her, controlling her by, but he couldn't care less.

He liked the way it felt to possess her. Almost as much as he liked the response she gave him when he did. Even while her mind was reeling between what she thought had transpired the night she had inadvertently flickered into his reality, and what his touch was doing to her now.

And judging by her response to the vision she had, Kylo knew she didn't remember the first time it happened, the time when he and his knights were actually there. She was likely dreaming then. It would explain why she didn't remember the encounter as it happened, but she remembered the vision granted by his families legacy saber there after.

He imagined she couldn't remember any of the times her consciousness had popped into his reality... but he did. He just didn't know it was her at the time. He could never see her face. Never make out the details of her features. That's why he so aggressively pursued her when she'd popped in on him.

The man she'd seen him run through, he'd been about to interrogate him, find out if there were others of a similar faction he had to worry about. The man had turned to flee and in doing so he'd seen  what Ren had, some how their connection had been strong enough that night that Rey had literally appeared before them, including the man and Kylo's own Knights. In his panic the clansman was going to cut her down to flee, and though Ren wanted to pull the information he needed from his mind first, in his need to protect her, to save her, he'd instead been forced to react. So without a second thought, he ended him.

All for a girl he didn't know. A presence in the Force that he'd been forced to lock away with his memories of the girl Kira. All the times he'd ever glimpsed her, felt her through his dreams and Force visions, and he'd never known her as anything but another way he could be tormented.

Kylo pressed the pad of his hand along Rey's face and closed his eyes. He showed his Scavenger the memory of that night from his point of view. Showed her the clan of raiders who were brazen— and dumb enough— to attack what was First Order territory. They'd successfully raided several other provinces before Ren and his knights had cut them off. Baiting them was as easy as setting up a small settlement and waiting within one of the temporary holdings. The ambush, as Rey had witnessed in it's final moments, was a great and quick success. The foolish clan had encircled them like prey, but Kylo and his knights had quickly proved to be the opposite.

By the end of witnessing the memory Ren had shared with her, Rey's eyes flew open. Tears now cascaded down her cheeks. This was not how she wanted to face down his knights, as she assumed after encountering the first two in the med bay, she inevitably would. But now here she was, guilt ridden and whimpering. Ashamed like a scolded child.

Kylo's hand smoothed down the side of her face, catching and erasing the liquid proof of her confused emotions as it escaped her eyes. Their Force crackled and hummed beneath the friction of their contact and Rey couldn't help but lean into his touch. His thumb ran across the curve of her jaw, and his index finger crooked, hooking the underside of her chin and lifting her face once more upwards.

"You grieve for murderers, rapists and thieves." His thumb caressed the shallow of her cheek as he spoke soothingly through their connection. "I may be a monster, Rey, but never forget, there are men and women out there who are far worse then even me."

Rey's hand had stopped tugging against Kylo's wrist. Instead she gripped the joint tightly, and when that wasn't enough contact, she moved to overlap the top of his hand with her own. She was still sobbing, but relief had replaced the sorrow that had overwhelmed her moments ago. Somewhere in between when he'd shared his memories with her and when he'd lifted her face upward, her right hand had left his bicep to plant firmly over the broad width of his chest. Realizing this caused Rey to blush and jerk her hand back. The startle she gave herself had prompted her into removing her left hand as well.

Even while her thrumming pulse distracted her mind from coherent thought, and with Kylo Ren dominating her once again overwhelmed senses, she recognized that they weren't alone and for a reason she couldn't currently remember— this intimacy was inappropriate. She could only imagine how this display must have looked to the knights who were now likely gathered somewhere at her back.

While Rey moved to withdraw from him, Kylo made no such venture, nor did he appreciate her attempt to retreat from him so soon. She carefully brought her hands to her sides, as awkwardly as she was cautious, to avoid touching Kylo's arm or hand as it still snuggly kept control over her torso through his grip on her left side. Rey lowered her head submissively. She wasn't conceding to him by any means, but the gist of their terms echoed between the space of her ears, prompting her on how to rectify the situation she found herself in. She couldn't very well deny or fight him in front of his knights...

In front of others, you must appear loyal to me. Her mind subconsciously paraphrased, but it was close enough.

"Forgive my petulance, Master." Rey's voice was shaky and raw with emotion but accurately fed into the show of her bowed head. "Everything has changed so quickly... I momentarily became overwhelmed by it all. It will not happen again." She obediently added.

Momentarily stunned from the sudden change in Rey, with a well executed act that left him bewildered, Kylo simultaneously released her hip with one hand while his other drew back from her face. He blinked at her several times before everything sunk in. Over the long length of a hard life measured in struggle and strife, Rey had learned to adapt to whatever role she thought she needed to play to survive, but witnessing this skill first hand, left Kylo feeling the effects of mental whiplash.

The way she'd skillfully camouflaged her independence... It was as though she'd always belonged in this environment, this world of Master and Apprentice. It took him a solid moment to clear the rolling fog from his head. He had to remind himself that she was no longer as ignorant to this world as she had been only a few days ago, before her memories of their time as apprentices under Luke Skywalker had returned to her.

After retrieving those memories so clearly and all at once, the lessons of their past must have seemed quite fresh to her mind now. He had guessed that upon first returning they must have been a bit of a jumbled mess, but she was clearly sorting through them quicker then he'd anticipated.

From his current position, bewildered by her ability to conform quicker then water in a glass, her talent to adapt, or to pretend to, it was shockingly impressive. Not to long ago she'd known nothing of the Force. Not even the fact that she'd been sensitive to it since she was a child or that she'd belonged to the only Jedi academy that had existed since the fall of the Jedi council.

This false display of submission and approval seeking was familiar to him, because he immediately understood where it came from. Based off of what she'd witnessed between his own Master and himself, he was certain this show was what she perceived to be expected from her while in their current roles.

Kylo executed this practice often enough to instantly recognize it in action. His own Master was never pleased, not really. And that knowledge had only confused him more after the Supreme Leader had recently granted him this girl, obviously knowing she was Kylo's prime desire, and praised him for the action he'd taken against his uncle. Snoke never praised, and he never rewarded!

That is... not until Kylo had killed his father... And yet, no matter how Snoke tried to praise him, Kylo knew something was off, is still off, about his Master. He knew he was being played but he still hadn't figured out to what end. Likely he wouldn't figure it out until it was too late or until his Master was ready to let him in on whatever his motives were. That was extremely frustrating knowledge to have.

Pridefully gazing down on his own apprentice, a slight smile just powerful enough to tug his lip free from the grip his teeth had on it, pulled at the corner of his mouth. He was relieved with the comforting knowledge that for the most part, he could easily read Rey, and he was thankful for it. The second her survival instincts kicked in he sensed the spike of her adrenaline surging up from with in her and he recognized her reaction. She was subjugating herself for protection and nothing more. A survivor through and through, his Scavenger.

And though she doesn't see it, he knew her experience as just that, was a very valuable tool. The knowledge she gained through a hard life, an invisible weapon that very few would see it as until utilized by her skillful hands. Hoth, when he'd first met her, discovered her role as a scavenger, he'd only seen the class value of the title, not the real worth of it and because of this he'd underestimated her. She'd taught him quite the lesson, and he'd never forget.

Her instincts were just one of many of the useful tools in her sharply honed survival kit and she was on full alert now. He could see how his Knights were effecting her. The discomfort that was causing her to play it safe. She was feeling their manipulation...

"You're supposed to feel this way in their presence." Kylo stepped back from Rey. "If you close your eyes— focus, you'll feel the disturbance." He calmly informed her while motioning Rey's attention to the space behind her.

She did as she was told. Gulping a big swallow down as she closed her eyes, took several steadying breaths and searched through the Force for what Kylo spoke of. Carefully she released small amounts of her Force into the space around her, not sure how to use her power in any other way yet, and sure that if there was something to be felt, this would be the quickest way to accomplish results.

The shock of what she felt came instantly. The fine hairs along her neck and arms rose in response to the microscopic ripples that manipulated her instincts through the power of a Force that was not her own, but strangely seemed as familiar as Ren's to her. It was then that Rey turned to face the Knights at her back, her eyes flying open to land directly on the source that disrupted her senses. It was one of them, one of the knights. She was sure of it!

She peeked back at Kylo who remained stationary at her back and when he saw the look of hesitation on her face, he tipped his helmet forward in silent encouragement.

Rey was sure that even without the manipulative tactics the knights were utilizing to set her instincts on edge, she would have still been on high alert. They were after all, dangerous. Still, confident that Kylo wouldn't allow them to harm her, she cautiously approached the lethal array of warriors.

When she had first turned from Kylo to face his Dark side Knights, she hadn't expected to find them kneeling before her. She also couldn't understand why they'd remained still while she circled them, analyzing and weighing them as best as she could while she had the chance. The way they kept motionless... not a single movement even as she stepped around them. Not one twitch or even the rise and fall of their arched backs to indicate that they were still breathing. They were just —obedient statues.

It was... unnerving.

She'd been lost in her Force induced memory when the knights had gravitated towards their Master, but even then, she'd felt when they'd closed in. It was likely what triggered the memory in the first place. The pressing weight she'd experienced as they drew near her and the feeling she was getting from their different, yet strangely familiar Force signatures.

Their presence had been like damp heat. The power weighed heavily in the air around them and now clung to her own essence like moisture to her clothes. It reminded her of when Ren had threateningly let his own signature linger around him, except for him, the air would fill with what felt like static electricity, warding off any one who would have otherwise dared to challenge him.

While he was holding them back, Kylo's unkempt emotions, like the live wire they were, could easily spark the fire of his Force around him. Often this was when he'd become most dangerous, most unhinged. She was beginning to realize that the longer he kept his Force confined the more unstable his already edgy emotions became. The containment only seemed to heighten the emotions that already effected his power. It was a vicious cycle, his power affecting his emotions and his emotions effecting his power. Knowing how Ren secured his energy to maintain what control he could over himself, made Rey wondered if the Knights were allowing their Force free around them for a reason unknown to her, or if it was due to the lack of their control over that power.

Did they suffer from the same affliction? Would the containment of their Force energy make them as unstable as their Master?

Cautiously she continued to patrol around the Knights, and as she did so, she made it a point to inspect as much of them as she could. Like foreboding stone statues, their bodies remained still and their heads all bowed, even as she scrutinized every inch of them. Before she'd left Ren's side to inspect them, they'd positioned themselves in the form of a waining moon, a crest around the space she and Kylo Ren had filled.

The one Rey felt setting her nerves on fire, the one who's Force was vibrating painfully around her, wore what looked like a long, heavy cloak complete with a hood that dropped smoothly over the dome of his helmet. The material was obviously dark, and thicker then anything she'd ever have enough credits to own. With his almost human skull shaped helmet, he'd caught her attention first. His mask was the most face-like in physiognomy, so even before she felt him there, her eyes darted to the familiarity of the masks features.

There were actual eye sockets, but of course she couldn't see beyond the set of how deep his eyes resided within the helmet and whatever material covered the phantom orbs concealed beneath. The rest of the Knight's body was hidden beneath the mass of the black garb too, but her scrutiny did reveal one thing stranger then usual about him. Rey didn't see much for weapons; at least, not like the other Knights. Maybe, with the rest of his outline, they were hidden by the cloak that concealed the better part of his form.

Rey continued to walk around the kneeling group until she'd fully cleared the circumference around them. As foreign as it was to have so many different Force signatures around her, that is, from other living beings as she was familiar with the way the Force as a whole crowded Ach'To, it was also exciting. Thrilling to know there were others amongst her that also had access to the Force. Though she had to admit, somewhere in these signatures she got the same feeling as she had when she was within both the ancient Force tree and the accompanying Jedi temple. Come to think of it she'd also felt this at the Jedi academy she recently lost Luke at.

It was a feeling, she realized with a frightening chill, that came from dead things. —

*Ok guys, so I know this chapter took a while to get out, but hey you get two for the price of one and hopefully soon, I'll post the third part of this update (which I'm currently in the process of writing). I apologize for the wait, I know it took longer then I've ever posted. This is actually the second version of this chapter as somehow I managed to loose this work the first time I wrote it. I'm not going to sugar coat it, I was very upset and it took me the better part of a week to give rewriting it another crack. But, here we are, finally the rewrite is here and I really hope you guys like it because I was going to wait until it was completely finished to publish it, but I thought it's been long enough and I had to just cut these in half and post them.*

  Love y'all! ⭐️Vote⭐️, comment and enjoy,

   -DarkGuardian-