--REY--

I decide to keep my new lightsaber hidden from Luke until we reach our temporary base. I'm not ashamed of it, I just don't want him questioning me about where I got the crystal, or how I even learned how to configure a lightsaber without training. He also doesn't need to know I acted somewhat civilized toward my enemy. Or that my hostility toward said enemy appears to be diminishing by the day.

I haven't seen him at all in the five days since he helped me build my lightsaber. We're still aboard the cruiser, still looking for a new planet to call home. We've made several stops, refueling the cruiser and checking more old Rebel bases than I thought even existed. Still, nothing seems to suit Leia. She knows almost immediately that "this one just won't do."

Kylo Ren and I are staying on opposite ends of the cruiser. He is in quarters near his mother, likely so she can keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't try anything stupid. I, on the other hand, am with the soldiers in the working quarters. No more than cramped closets with small cots on the floor, these rooms were designed for the crew of the cruiser. No comfort, only the necessities. I like them.

To say that we haven't been together, however, would be a lie. Our force bond has never been stronger, much to our dismay. I can't sleep without seeing the bloody idiot in my dreams. Anytime we're both asleep or meditating at the same time, we stay connected during the entirety of our rest. The location is always the same: a planet, similar to the one called Naboo, but even more beautiful. Ren calls in Yavin 4. The planet on which Poe told me he was born and raised.

At first we argued and insulted each other constantly. Now, we know it's pointless. Fighting makes us more tired, which in turn makes our time together last longer. So, we have resorted to sitting in silence while staring one another down. It doesn't accomplish anything, but neither does a conversation.

This time he's waiting for me, a peaceful and non-threatening expression on his face. I'm more concerned about that than I would've been if he was scowling or throwing a tantrum.

"Rey?"

"What?"

He pauses. "Why are you so drawn to the Dark Side?"

"Excuse me? I don't see how that is any of your concern."

"Just answer the question." There's a hint of impatience in his voice, but no malice.

"I'm not 'drawn to the Dark Side' or tempted in any way," I explain. "I'm simply not inclined to follow rules that prevent me from going after what I want."

"So you disagree with the Jedi code, then?"

I shake my head quickly. "No. I just think it's a bit extreme. There's no gray area where the Force is concerned. Why can't there be some neutral middle ground that incorporates values from both sides?"

He nods in agreement. "It's almost inhuman, the expectations they put on Jedi. How are you supposed to suppress so much of what makes us who we are?"

"And then if you break one rule or refuse to follow another, you're branded a traitor and hunted like a Sith," I add.

"Exactly!" His eyes are bright with excitement, and there's a sense of peace and contentment about him. Like someone finally understands him. "All I want is to be able to use the Force my way. No more good or evil, just me. It's time for all of that ancient history to end. Those institutions are outdated and irrelevant now. It's time to let the past die."

Suddenly his words don't seem so crazy. Maybe all this time he was just looking for someone to see the world the way he does.

"The war between good and evil will never end, whether it's between the Sith and Jedi, the Resistance and the First Order, or something we've never encountered before. It will always be there." He steps closer to me, and I don't step back. I want to hear what he has to say. "But Rey, you and I? We are above that. We don't have to be involved in the war. We can rule the galaxy from the background, without taking sides. Let them fight their own battles."

"No. I don't want to rule anything. I just want to find my family." I take a step back.

"Don't you get it?!" He yells. "You have no family. They abandoned you, you are nothing to them. They don't deserve you!" He lowers his voice. "But Rey, you matter to me. We are two sides of the same coin. Together, we could be unstoppable."

"Why should I trust you? How do I know you're not just tricking me into joining the First Order?"

"The First Order is doomed, just like the Empire," he growls. "Snoke will fall just as Vader and the Emperor did at the hands of my uncle."

He's lying to you.

Chills race down my spine, igniting every nerve ending along the way. It's that voice again, the one I haven't heard since Ahch-To. For the longest time I believed it was Ren, but now I know it has to be Snoke.

I look up at Kylo, filled with the sudden urge to strangle him for bringing this curse upon me. I stalk toward him and he takes a step back. "What are you doing?" He asks.

"What am I doing?! Look at what you've done to me!" The ground beneath us rumbles and great cracks erupt in the surface. He stumbles again as I advance on him. My voice isn't mine. At least, it doesn't seem like it. Fear is in his eyes as he takes another step away from me.

"I'm going to kill you for what you've done," I hiss. "You deserve nothing but the slowest, most excruciating death. And I'm going to give it to you."

"Your eyes..."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"...they're red."

A menacing laugh reverberates in my head and I see the ground rushing up to meet me as the world goes black.

--KYLO REN--

I wake up with a gasp, my body dripping sweat and trembling the way it always does when these connections end. The blankets on my bed tangle around my legs, sending me tumbling to the floor in a twisted heap. My feet scramble to get under me and I run as fast as I can through the corridors. Snoke's presence is heavy around me, but it's not my mind he's inhabiting.

The lower quarters come into view and the Force is rippling in the air around me. I think about using it to hunt down the scavenger, but suddenly I don't need to. A panicked scream echoes off the white walls, and I race toward the source of the anguished voice.

"Rey!"

I hear another voice yelling, followed by what sounds like a fist pounding. Someone else is already at her door when I round the corner. It's the pilot, looking like he just rolled out of bed. And, given the open door directly across the hall from Rey's, I assume he did.

Something about it irks me, but I'm not sure why.

"Move, pilot." My voice booms through the hall and Poe obeys, startled by my unexpected presence.

"Don't you dare hurt her, you-" he's cut off as I briefly restrict his airways and push him against the wall with a wave of my hand.

"Stay out of my way," I command him. He tries to shove off the wall, but I hold him still with nothing more than a subconscious thought.

The locked door opens easily for me. As soon as it does, though, I wish it hadn't. The overpowering darkness that drifts out of the room sends me staggering backward, but I push against it as the scavenger screams again.

"Please," she sobs, and I finally get close enough to see her body hovering above the bed, back arched, head thrown back in agony. Her legs spasm in time with the trembling of her hands, and her eyes are squeezed shut. The rapid rise and fall of her chest is accompanied by the sound of harsh, labored breathing.

"Ah, Kylo Ren. So nice of you to join me."

Snoke.

The voice is Rey's, but the words aren't. I take a step toward the bed but am immediately pushed back into the doorway.

"Did I not warn you of what would happen if I had to do the work you were instructed to carry out?" A coy smile appears on the scavenger's face, but her eyes remain closed. "I told you to eliminate the problem. Kill the girl. You have had many chances to do so, yet here she is, alive and well."

"I was a prisoner, there was nothing-"

"SILENCE!"

His voice echoes in my brain and sends tendrils of icy-hot pain through every nerve in my body. I grit my teeth against the agony, refusing to bow under his power.

"She is weakening you, my naive apprentice," the Supreme Leader croons in Rey's voice. "Let me help you destroy what is holding you back."

Another spasm rocks her body and she lets out a blood-curdling scream. I can hear the pilot in the hall, yelling and thrashing against my hold on him.

"I will tear her apart from the inside out," Snoke growls, his voice now only in my head.

"Do with her as you please. Her life is insignificant and meaningless." My voice is emotionless, empty. But I know I'm lying. She intrigues me, and the darkness in her heart calls to me like a beacon in the night. Who knows what we could be capable of together.

A hollow chuckle. "Very well."

Suddenly she's seizing, the spasms taking over her entire body. Her eyes open, staring in horror at the ceiling but seeing nothing. Blood streams from her eyes, nose, and ears. I turn away as she utters one final plea that stops me dead in my tracks.

"Ben, please."

A broken whisper. That's all it takes. I face her once more and reach out, using the force to dig into the healing wound in her leg. Blood blossoms on the plaster cast and she cries out, eyes closing, a different pain now taking over. I twist my hand and she screams again. Why isn't it working?!

"Rey, you have to wake up!" I shout. "He can't reach you when you're awake, you're too strong. He's going to kill you if you don't stop him. WAKE UP!"

Her eyelids flutter but she doesn't wake. I reach out again, this time into her mind, and send enough power through our bond that it would stun most people into unconsciousness. For her, it does the opposite. Her eyes fly open and she gasps, arms flailing as she falls back onto the bed.

I hear a thud followed by scrambling footsteps, and suddenly the pilot is leaning over her, touching her everywhere to make sure she's okay. Sobs rack her petite frame, and she clings to him like he had just saved her life.

"Get out."

My gaze snaps to Poe's and he's glaring at me, rage written clearly across his face. "Now. Or else," he snarls.

Rey looks up, finally noticing my presence in the room. "Why?" She croaks. "Why would you do this to me?"

"I just saved your sorry life," I snap, appalled by her lack of gratitude. I just saved her, despite the fact that she despises me.

"You call this saving?" Poe points at the blood dripping from the scavenger's leg. "Get out before I forget the General's orders not to harm you."

Rage bubbles up inside me and I clench my fists, trying to hold it back. The overhead lights explode in a shower of sparks, and even the corridor goes dark.

"Next time Snoke invades your mind, don't call for me. I won't waste my time on you again."

I turn on my heel and storm out of the room, feeling my anger like burning hot static crackling all around me. The last thing I see is the pilot wiping tears from the scavenger's face, and her returning smile.

Fuck them both. They'll be dead soon, anyway.

* * * * * * * * * *

--REY--

Pain consumes me in tendrils of fire. My skin is gleaming with sweat as Poe carries me to the infirmary.

"I'm going to kill that little prick," he mutters under his breath.

"Don't waste your time," I pant breathlessly. "He's not--" another shooting pain erupts in my leg and I hiss, trying not to cry again. "He's not worth...your time."

"He will kill all of us if we don't eliminate him first," he argues. "The General believes he can be redeemed, but there is nothing worth saving in that monster."

I'm about to reply when we arrive at the infirmary, two medical droids already waiting outside to take me in. Poe reluctantly hands me over, following behind them as they carry me to a cot.

"Go get some sleep," I tell him. "I'll be here when you wake up."

He nods, and I think he's going to obey; instead, he heads to the chair in the corner of the room and sits down. "I'm not leaving you alone. Not right now." His voice makes it clear he won't budge, so I don't bother arguing. Sometimes it's scary how similar we are.

An hour later I'm laying down, floating on pain medication, lazily tapping against the fresh cast on my leg. Poe is still in the chair, looking exhausted but refusing sleep. "What did he mean earlier?" I ask after a long period of silence.

"Hmm?" Poe looks up from the floor.

"Kylo Ren. He said, 'next time, don't call me,' but I didn't call him. Why would I?" I'm disgusted by just the thought of needing him.

Poe is quiet for a moment. "You did, though. Call him. You called for Ben."

"When? Everything is fuzzy but I'm pretty sure I would remember that." I rack my brain but nothing surfaces.

"Right before he stopped whatever Snoke was doing to you."

My blood runs cold. "He helped me?"

Poe nods. "But he didn't have to hurt you like that. Normal people don't wake someone up by ripping open a healing wound."

But I remember the dream, the vision. It had been so real, so vivid that I didn't even know I was unconscious until I felt searing pain and could hear someone shouting my name. "Why didn't he just let Snoke kill me?" I wonder aloud.

"Maybe he's planning to use you as bait," Poe mumbles. I feel the hairs on my arms stand up, and fear fills my chest with ice.

"What?"

"I said--"

"No, I heard what you said," I interrupt impatiently. "I meant what do you mean?"

Poe's gaze meets mine, full of pity and anger. "Snoke still wants you. Maybe Ren realized he can use you to lure Snoke into a trap, so he can kill him and take his place as Supreme Leader. Or he can bargain with Snoke. You, in exchange for his freedom."

"You really think he's done with the First Order?" My tone is skeptical.

"They tried to kill him," Poe says slowly. "He'd be stupid to go back to them. That doesn't mean he's going to join us, though. Nothing can change the fact that he's evil."

I nod, mulling this over in my head. Poe is right. Just because we have mutual enemies doesn't make him a friend. We have to be careful about letting our guard down around him.

Still, I can't help but wonder if I imagined the concern in the eyes of Kylo Ren. He hadn't appeared angry or hell-bent on destruction when I first woke up. Was he trying to help me in his own weird, twisted way?

All I know is I no longer feel Snoke's presence in my mind. I feel free, like a weight has been lifted from me. The last thing I see before my eyes close is Poe watching me like a guardian angel, and I know I'm safe. He won't let anything happen to me.

My eyes close and I float into oblivion, letting the darkness envelop me like a warm blanket. It's the best sleep I've had in a long, long time.