Redemption: A Reylo Story

What If

KYLO/Ben

The battle for Fortress Vader lasts only fifteen minutes. The Alazmee colonists of Mustafar are loyal to the Sith, especially Darth Vader. My Knights of Ren and I cut through them with ease. At one point, I am surrounded by over one hundred of their best warriors. After killing two of them, I feel my blood lust rise and proceed to impale, dismember, and behead each and everyone of them.

The Sith wayfinder is in a case, in a pile of rubble inside the fortress. It looks to be the personal quarters of Vader himself.

Sifting through the rubble, I find an old picture. The image is of a shaggy haired young man with a big smile, wearing the garments of a Jedi, and a beautiful woman with big dark eyes. His arm is around her waist in an intimate gesture. They appear happy. The picture nags at something in the back of my mind.

Lying next to the picture is a neatly folded letter that has Vader's personal wax seal. I can't stop to read it now. The fortress is being surrounded by thousands of Alazmee. Even I don't like those odds. I slip the picture and letter into a pocket behind my breastplate. Eager to get back to the ship, I feel a strong pull to contact Rey.

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REY

Sitting at the table reading again, I feel the Force-bond connect. This time when he speaks my name, I look up and acknowledge his presence. When we make eye contact, the bond opens wide on its own.

Initially, I am pummeled with all of his chaotic emotions. A battle for dominance rages inside of him before the emotions settle into memories. Some memories I am familiar with while others are new to me. I see him dream about me every night. When he awakes, he throws tantrums out of frustration, destroying everything near him. Seeing him with the other female, I hear him thinking of me. He sends her away and I hear his mind refer to me as, my scavenger. I feel his body's reactions to my own Force tantrum, his reaction to my pain.

Although the dark side still has a firm grip on him, the light has surged. I can sense the final battle for Ben Solo's soul is on the horizon. It will be a winner-take-all battle. Either Kylo or Ben will be completely destroyed forever.

I vaguely wonder if my love is enough to tip the scales in favor of Ben being victorious. Startled out of my reverie to the look on Ben's face, he is experiencing the same flood of memories as I. Slack-jawed and pale, his eyes stare off at nothing as clouds of emotions billow across his face.

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KYLO/BEN

Overwhelmed by her memories, I nearly bolt. I hate seeing and feeling the anguish she felt that day in the clearing. She truly loves me, and I broke her heart. Her memories of grief assail my spirit reminding me of a great black sea rolling and crashing in a tempest. Then I see her pale body sitting in a puddle of blood. The pain she feels is excruciating. Her memory
quickly flashes to a conversation with my mother, and her dark despair rolls over me at the news she is given. I barely have time for my brain to register what happened to her, when I am thown into another one of her memories

Seeing me with another woman, her despair turns to anger. Wanting to tell me about my lost children and needing to share her grief with their father, she hopes the event will spark some emotion in me. Instead she is met with my carnal lusts on display. I feel when her heart rips open, spilling out all of her pent up rage. I know when the dark seeps into her thoughts making them similar to my own.

What have I done?

This is all Kylo Ren ever wanted, but seeing it on her, feeling it within her fills me with guilt. I grieve for what she has lost of herself. I have broken her and so begins her seduction to the dark side. My plan from the moment our first connection was made, is coming to fruition before my eyes and I am having doubts.

Taking two long strides to her, I pick her up in my arms. Sitting on the edge of her bed, I cradle her in my lap as she begins to cry.  Removing my gloves, I gently run my fingers along her arms.

Holding her head tenderly with my hands, I feel a rough area on her scalp. The hair here is short and prickly. I realize my fingers are grazing a scar, the scar I gave her when I left her in the clearing.

I eventually lay her down on the bed and hold her tight against me. Feeling her emotions begin to calm, mine follow. I lay beside her  with wishful thoughts of placing my hand on her swollen belly and watching her smile. What would it feel like to be a father? My children are gone before I even know of their existence. As I drift off to sleep, all I can think is, What if?

Awakening the next morning in my personal quarters after sleeping the entire night, I don't know how long the Force-bond lasted after we both fell asleep, but I feel more rested than I have in a couple of months. I will need it. Today, I travel to Exegol to confront the Emperor. I will not allow him to usurp my power.