Author's Note: This chapter was super difficult to write without it becoming twice as long as the regular chapters! I wanted to let the rest play out but I'm sticking to releasing one chapter per week right now to keep the story going. Thanks to all the new readers who have discovered this fan fiction recently and all who have continued to vote - this story will definitely be finished in the beginning of December before TROS is released.
*
Dreams intermingled with nightmares as Rey slept alone in the ship's quarters. The grinning faces of Poe Dameron and Finn at the base, Rose Tico laughing beside Rey as they watch the men in training sessions.
The dream became intertwined with nightmares, fleeing Kylo Ren in the forest, assailed relentlessly with blows from his saber. It changed again to being in the presence of General Leia, kind words of affirmation being spoken and a motherly glow surrounding her.
Finally, Rey is the one dressed in black again. The delicious feeling of power travelling down to her fingertips; a limitless energy flowing through her veins, and a strange voice speaking out of the darkness to her, fuelling the fire inside her.
The sound of her own snoring awakened Rey, reverberating loudly against her own face, her mouth and nose buried in the stiff pillow. She took a deep breath and started coughing and hacking, mucus loosening in her chest with every forceful bout of air. It slowed down, finally allowing Rey to catch her breath; she groaned loudly as she rolled onto her side, clutching at her chest, the soreness threefold from the day before.
The water in her lungs had done a number on her.
Refusing to rise just yet, she drew up the gray blanket tightly around her. There was no way to tell the time or day within the small quarters, but she was alone and safe for now, and preferred this moment to last.
Thinking back to before she had fallen asleep, Rey remembered the force bond with Kylo Ren that had curiously opened up again with him not fully dressed.
The look in his eyes as she touched his facial scar still haunted her; the eyes of a man who longed for something more from her. She had never been looked at like that by anyone other than him. A look that conveyed she was something of value to someone, and that someone was him.
Kylo Ren.
The Supreme Leader of The First Order.
She rubbed her forehead hard, squeezing her eyes closed, ever thankful for this moment where she was not in close proximity to him. The longer she lingered in his presence, the less he seemed like Kylo. His resolution continued to flicker the closer they were all through the previous day, and then there was that intense hunger his eyes held as he gazed at her mouth, his offence to her retort fading quickly. The man inside Kylo hungered for her.
Ben Solo.
The son of Princess Leia.
She opened her eyes to see the wall beside the bed, plain steel staring back at her.
When they were together, the feeling of uneasiness crept in. Was she afraid? Was it because he was so intense? So sure of what he wanted that he pursued her relentlessly and spoke so directly?
A number of voices talking outside her door stole her attention and reality set in.
Sighing, Rey sat up from bed, not yet prepared to face another eventful day.
*
Ren exited the cargo hold, his side bruised and sore from the new staples in it. He'd lifted his tunic before opening the door to view the flesh, puckered and purple around each staple, the skin red and inflamed.
Freen was seated in the common area, and turned to see him as he passed through to the pilot area.
Tyrus stood to the left of Vurdan, who was just rising out of his chair to flick a switch on the navigational controls into the upward position. He turned a dial three clicks to the right and nudged Alwick who was passed out with his head back in the chair. He stirred, and seeing Ren standing there, bolted out of his chair and stood upright, dark bags underneath his eyes.
Ren looked out the porthole to see the planet of Takodana, still scarred from the attack on it from the First Order when he had first acquired Rey.
"How long has it been?" he asked.
"About seven hours" Vurdan answered. "It gave us a chance to make the journey. We've been sitting just above the planet's atmosphere for thirteen minutes now."
Ren nodded, slowly looking back over his shoulder at the door to the quarters. The bond gave away nothing in that moment.
Vurdan followed his gaze. "Lass is still sleeping, and hasn't hardly stirred either from the sounds of it."
There was a rustle as Freen left the common area to join them at the head of the ship. Drawing his dark hair back behind his shoulders, he moved to stand at Kylo's side, the height difference showing a few inches between them.
"There's something different about her; I sensed it when she boarded. Her force signature has shifted. But the fatigue..." he shook his head as he trailed off, his eyebrows furrowed in thought, "it's like there's a slow drain."
Ren looked back out the porthole. "I'll need you to take a look at her hand. She has a peculiar puncture and was unconscious when I finally found her in an old Sith command chamber down there."
Tyrus shifted his weight to the opposite hip. "Why would he bring her there of all places? I'd never heard of that place before."
"All Sith have their secrets" Freen said with his cocked at an angle.
Ren put two fingers to his temple. "I dispatched two Clawdites posing as her parents. They said something was 'finished' so that is eluding to a procedure or ritual perhaps."
The group was silent, each one working through their own theories on that piece of information.
Alwick raised his hand timidly, before saying in a low tone "I think...he wants her power for himself."
Vurdan leaned back to stretch his back, adjusting one of his head tails thoughtfully. "Grooming a new apprentice doesn't follow that procedure, Alwick."
"No, not as an apprentice. I mean what if he is going to need a new body when he's done with Hux?"
Tyrus and Ren both turned to each other. "The kid might be on to something" Tyrus said with a shrug.
"Hey! I'm the same age as Free-"
"Palpatine mentioned something" Ren continued over Alwick's protesting, "he said there had to be a blood transfusion between his old body and Hux."
Tyrus cupped his chin in thought. "But Hux isn't a Force-user, so maybe that was the only way in that circumstance. It could be...easier with Rey."
The images of the bodies in the abandoned medical room underground came up in Ren's memory. Rey's father had been much more recent than her mother. She'd passed away at least a decade before Rey's father. Perhaps her father had been the force-sensitive one. He decided to keep his knowledge of the bodies a secret for the time being.
"Or" Ren's words came slow as he spoke "it just takes longer to get a hold of the Force-user's body, but then lasts far beyond the capacity of a normal humanoid."
"...a slow drain" Freen repeated.
There was the sound of a cupboard closing in the quarters Rey was staying in. They all turned their heads to the door, but she did not emerge at that moment.
Tyrus lowered his voice with his words. "If Palpatine inhabits Rey's body, he'll get access to her raw strength. She's not strong enough resist it. Who knows how powerful he'll be then, and what that entails for us now that we are enemies of the First Order."
"So what are we to do then?" Alwick whispered loudly. "Do we just keep her away from him?"
"More importantly...do we tell her?" Vurdan finally asked, looking directly at Ren.
Ren did not have a chance to reply as he detected Rey's alertness through the bond.
A metal clunking sounded as the door to the personal quarters opened to reveal a tired-looking Rey; her hair was tidily set back in its three buns, and her dry robes were redone in an appropriate fitting. Her expression was calm, but it was easy to see she was not entirely refreshed. Her eyes found the tray of sustenance the Knights had finished with, some nutritional bars and water remained. She snatched one up hungrily, about to bite into it when she noticed them staring at her.
"Were you talking about me?" She sharply accused, walking closer to the group of knights.
"Who wouldn't be talking about you is the real question" Freen smoothly replied, flashing his sharp teeth as he extended one gloved hand to her. "May I see your hand, my dear?"
Rey halted her steps halfway across the common room, her right hand noticeably clenching at her thigh. Her eyes narrowed at him before looking at each of them briefly.
There was a dark, resonant ripple in the force bond Ren picked up on; a feeling he'd never received from Rey's side before. It swelled sharply in the air between them as he noticed her breathing picked up slightly, nostrils flaring once, and a muscle spasm in her cheek was detectable.
He knew the feeling well.
The Dark Side.
He watched intently as her skin paled slightly, taking on a clammy sheen momentarily before she concentrated on her breathing. In three breaths she slowed her heart rate down, and her skin regained its colour again as her eyes refocused. The hand at her side relaxed and she wiped the palm hastily on her trousers before taking the last steps toward Freen and presented it to him.
Freen turned her hand over in his, peering closely at the puncture area. He applied pressure to the palm around it, watching the colour change as Rey muttered curses under breath.
"Hmm" he hummed to himself as the knights watched. "It appears to be from an instrument, most likely a needle with an average bore size."
"I tried to heal it," Rey said, discouragement in her tone "but it was like I couldn't access that part of my ability at all this time."
Freen extended her wrist to follow the redness of the skin that was hidden beneath her arm wraps, but she prevented him as well from undoing the weathered fabric. He was unfazed by her actions.
"Something appears to have been injected into your system, my lady".
"Like what?" she whispered.
"Impossible to tell without an analysis from a medical unit, but the evidence is pretty clear. Are you feeling alright?"
Rey clutched at her forehead, eyes squeezed shut in stress at the news. "I'm fine as far as I can tell. Still have some weakness from the water yesterday is all..." her words trailed off as she looked past Freen to see the view of a planet below them. Her expression became fearful as she nearly stuttered asking her next question.
"Is that...Takodana??"
*
Rey paled as she looked down at the planet surface, lush trees and pockets of rubble were a painful and familiar sight fast approaching through the window. The ships's engines made a long whine as they slowed the descent.
"Why...are we here?" she trembled asking her question.
"To visit an old friend" Ren simply answered, as he turned toward the exit. "Come."
Rey was stunned as she awkwardly followed behind him. Shielding her mind, she panicked internally. Did he know this is where the rebels were hiding? Was he bringing her here to bargain with them for a surrender? Did Finn and Poe make it back after she had disappeared on Tatooine or were they still searching? All the questions were dizzying.
Tyrus spoke up. "I take it we are exempt from this trip?"
"You and the others will stay with the ship." Ren looked directly at Alwick. "Get some more rest."
"You'll need this" He turned to her suddenly, handing her the hilt of the amber lightsaber. Rey hesitated as the shameful memory of how she used it on Jakku disturbed her spirit. She could almost smell the burnt flesh again as she stiffly accepted it.
The ship rumbled on its landing and the engines powered down loudly, the hissing of steam audible from within the ship itself. As the planet got closer, as well as the location of her friends, she couldn't help feeling nauseated after eating the nutrient bar.
*
"I didn't know there was this much green in the whole galaxy."
Takodana certainly still captivated her to the same extent as when she had landed here on the Millenium Falcon. Green was quickly becoming Rey's favorite color after seeing it in so many tones on the planet.
Vurdan had landed their ship a distance from the rubble of what remained of Maz's castle next to a forest; the rubble surrounding the diminished structure was visible from the air as they made their descent down through the atmosphere. Ren lead them through the thick trees in the direction of the castle remains.
Rey followed a few steps behind Ren, whose long strides made for a quick pace to keep up to. They were on a beaten trail covered in dry, rust-coloured dirt, its hue amplified by the sunrise peeking through the trees. Rey watched her feet and how it started to accumulate on the toes of her boots and dusted the skin of her ankles. Her thoughts were still racing in regards to the rebel base.
Not a soul was in sight on the ground, but that was to be expected. The crew was not permitted to leave the base without explicit instructions from General Leia. With Leia now gone, she wondered who would now be mandating the missions of the Resistance.
Rey focused on the dark hair curling at the nape of Ren's neck ahead of her, and she was curious if his thoughts were open.
Her steps slowed just slightly in their pace as her eyelids became half-closed and fixated on the back of his skull. Imagining a door to his thoughts, she pulled with the force to open it gently, tugging and nudging it carefully with control.
She was answered with a forceful wave of energy that pulsed against her, pushing her back from the door in his mind.
"Don't, Rey."
She hated it when he used her name, the low rumble in his voice giving it a pleasant sound she couldn't ignore. Rey decided to make conversation.
"How does Hux know so much about the Jedi and the Force?" she inquired.
"Because he's not Armitage Hux. General Hux has always been a loyal but self-serving officer in the First Order, with no history of force-awareness up until recently."
Ren stopped in his tracks, turning to face her. "I tried to explain when you opened the bond in the cells, but you took that time to heal me. A Sith Lord, once thought dead, has now taken over the body of General Hux, and therefore the First Order."
Rey's heart sunk as the words of Luke Skywalker echoed in her memory.
"You went straight to the dark" Luke stared at her in shock.
"That place was trying to show me something" she sputtered, her clothes soaked as she clung to rock.
"It offered something you needed and you didn't even try to stop yourself."
When Hux had offered her the information regarding her parents, she hadn't hesitated. Her decision had been fuelled by a few factors, one them was hoping Kylo was wrong about her parents, and she'd held on to the idea that he was only using the information to sway her.
But he had never lied to her.
"Emperor Palpatine is who inhabits his body...the master of my grandfather, Anakin. That is who you followed to Jakku yesterday. If you thought the First Order was merciless before Snoke, he was nothing compared to Palpatine's reputation." Ren said as he started walking again, ducking under some low tree branches overhanging the trail.
Rey had the urge to defend her naivety. "In my defence, he didn't try to break my mind and threaten to kill me the way Snoke did" Rey tried to explain. "It was like...he knew me" she shuddered finishing her sentence. Ren's steps lost their rhythm momentarily as he listened.
They were closing the distance on the castle, and Rey could see over the next hill they would be even closer to the Resistance base hidden from sight.
"We're wasting our time here" Rey accused suddenly, attempting to discourage travelling further. "We should be going back to the First Order to stop Palpatine."
"Save it, Rey" he said with indifference. "I know you're trying to protect the location of the Resistance Base, but I already know it's here."
Rey balked at him. "If you knew the whole time that we were on Takodana, why didn't you just come to wipe us out?" she shouted, stopping on the trail.
He turned swiftly to her, his mouth quivering as he tried to control his annoyance. "It wasn't worth it, they were hardly a threat."
"Then why did I overhear them talking about looking for the Resistance base when they captured me?" Rey stepped closer. "They told me YOU sent them."
He inclined his head forward to look her right in the eyes as he answered. "As the Supreme Leader, believe it or not, I can't just drop pursuit all together on the Resistance. There would be a quiet mutiny to have me killed on an Outer Rim tour, and that would be the end of that."
"Then why send them for me?" she whispered, watching him carefully for his response.
His answer was softer than she expected. "I just wanted to talk about things in less dire circumstances, and clarify our last conversation that ended rather poorly."
Rey couldn't believe it. After the way things had gone in the throne room, after they split the lightsaber and she'd disappeared on a ship...
He still wants me to join him.
She was about to call him that name again. The one she'd said many times before; the name that meant something to her, but she didn't. Another voice, small but powerful, shouted it for her.
"BEN...SOLO!"
Rey knew the voice instantly. She watched as Ren's lips closed tightly and his jaw flexed apprehensively as he turned away from her to the direction of the voice.
She followed his gaze down the rusty dirty trail, and between two trees at the crest of the hill before the ruins with a hand on her ocular frames, stood Maz Kanata.