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The inferno rained from the sky as Rey watched in complete horror. Her throat burned as her dry throat screamed for Chewie in an octave she's never heard herself reach. She was still in shock, really. One moment she was in a grand tug of war with Kylo Ren-- Ben, the next, a burst of lightning shot from her fingertips. The crackling of the energy still rang in her ears as it sent the whole ship plummeting in smokey, fiery bits.
She didn't know how she did that, or that it was even possible. It was like she was taken over, and something deep, visceral inside her came out. However, none of that mattered now. Not how or why, it was all meaningless. She just killed Chewie. He's gone, reduced to ash or worse, and it's all because of her.
Her gaze, only for a second, flicked to Kylo Ren, who was several meters away from her. His eyes widened at the blaze above them, his lips parted in surprise. Their eyes met for that brief moment, and the surprise left, only a knowing gaze remained. Rey tore her eyes away from him to look behind her, only to see Finn running back up the hill to the ship in fear. He had seen everything. He knew she killed Chewie. She tried to plead for him to stop, to say she didnt mean to, although she knew they would fall on deaf ears. Rey, her face contorting in grief, crumpled to her knees on the sand, scream-like sobs racking her body.
"I didn't mean to-- I didn't, I dont--" she was unable to finish a thought as she repeated herself.
As Rey cried, she heard slow, soft footsteps approaching her. She lifted her head to see the black boots of Kylo Ren stepping toward her. Rey jolted back, crawling away from him as she continued to face him. Her tears stained her cheeks, making streaks of mud from the dirt on her face.
"Keep away from me!" She said, her voice trying its hardest to sound malicious, but all he heard was fear.
Ren stopped walking, his eyebrows furrowing as he towered over her. The sweat on his brow made his dark locks stick to his scarred skin.
"I don't want to kill you. You know that." He said, his voice quiet.
There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other.
"That was quite a surprise, I can't lie." Kylo finally continued, "but then again, you've never ceased to surprise me."
"This can't be happening..." she said, more tears falling from her cheeks.
"Don't deny this," he crouched down to meet her, "That was incredible. Like nothing I had ever seen... What happened, what you did.. that was real. This power you possess is real."
Her eyebrows furrowed, her gaze falling to the sand beneath her as she tried to process the last few seconds, "I just killed him... I just killed Chewie and everyone on that ship... He's gone and its all my fault..!" Her words caught as a sob escaped once more.
Kylo watched as his counterpart's breath hitched and more tears fell. He bit the inside of his cheek, knowing that this might be his only chance-- his only real chance-- to convince her to join him. She wont have anywhere to turn now, and he might be the only one in her corner. He tentatively reached his hand to her face, his movements slow and gentle. The action alone was foreign, as he had known nothing but hard, harsh, rough. Tenderness wasn't in his nature, not anymore. Still, he let his eyes soften as he tried to catch one of her tears.
"I can feel your grief." His words were quiet, barely ghosting his lips, "it feels heavy--"
"-Don't touch me!" His finger barely grazed her cheek before she shot back, and in the blink of an eye her lightsaber was at his throat.
Kylo didn't flinch. Instead, he stared into her eyes, which stared back at him without blinking.
"And yet I can see the rage... the hate in your eyes." He continued.
"You made me do this!" She cried, narrowing her glare, "I don't know how. But you're behind this, aren't you!"
"You know that's not true." He replied, his calm, rigid demeanor unbothered, "I had no part in that. It was all your doing. That was the dark side, flowing through you. You felt it." He raised his eyebrows, "It suits you well."
Rey's eye twitched at the last statement, "you don't know a single thing about me!"
"On the contrary." He said, "I believe we are the only people who truly understand each other."
Her eyes widened, causing the blue of her lightsaber to reflect in her eyes. There may have been some truth to that, but she didn't want to accept it. That Kylo Ren was the only other person that really understood her. She sheathed her lightsaber, scrambling to get on her feet.
"You're wrong! Stay away from me!" She yelped, beginning to trudge quickly through the sand to the ship.
"What will you do now?" He called to her, rising to his feet effortlessly, "Are you really going to go back? Report to your General that you just killed Chewbacca?"
Rey stopped, her back to Kylo as she took a large breath. What was she going to do? She can't go back to base with this news. It would surely break her. She couldn't bear the thought of putting her through that pain. Would she even understand it was an accident?
"You know you can't go back." He continued, "Just like I can't."
Rey drew a shaky breath. Her thoughts cutting off at the sound of an engine starting up. Before her, she saw the ship Poe had been working on begin to take off. Her eyes widened at the sight, trying to run to the top of the hill.
"It's too late!" Kylo called, watching her stop as the ship began to fly away, "they're already gone!"
The sight was all too familiar to Rey. A ship with her friends-- her family -- flying away, and her stranded on some forsaken desert planet. She was abandoned again, scared and alone. Rey dropped again, sitting in the sand in defeat as the roar of the engine faded.
The wind gently lapped at the stray hairs on Rey’s face, cooling her tear stained cheeks as she sat in silence. Again, she heard the soft footsteps of Kylo Ren approaching her. This time she did nothing as he continued to speak.
“They abandoned you. They left you here with me, the enemy of their cause. They saw your power and they feared you enough to leave you. ”
A painful exhale left her lips, trying to let herself breathe again.
“But I don’t.”
Kylo Ren kneeled once more, his voice lowering as he stared at the girl. His gaze only left her for a second, staring at the sand, he gathered his thoughts before speaking again.
"They don't-- they could never understand the power you have. The burden it is on our shoulders. But I understand." He looked back to her, fighting the surprise on his face as he saw her eyes locked on his, "I've lived it. I've lived with the weight, the fighting against it, the struggle to hold on and keep yourself in the light."
"Rey," the name ghosted his lips again, the tenderness, sadness in his tone almost surprising her, "aren't you tired? Tired of fighting it? Of holding on?"
Rey drew a heavy sigh, biting her lip as more tears fell, "There's nothing to hold onto anymore." She muttered to herself.
Ren rose to his feet silently as a small smile threatened to grace his lips, "Then let go."
He slowly extended his hand, his fingers outstretched towards Rey. Her first thought was to jolt away, to run from him. However, she sat there, her eyes fixed on his. Her training taught her to fight this with all her being. She remembered how mortified Luke looked when she went to the dark the first time. Had he been right about her all along? Was this the reason he had been so frightened? Did he see she had this potential all along?
Rey trailed her gaze down to his hand. She wondered if he had been the only one to offer her a hand like this. To think, her whole life she had been reaching-- Reaching for her parents, reaching for Luke, reaching for something . And, finally, here someone was, reaching for her. For so long, Rey fought against it, shrunk away from it. However, Kylo was right; she was tired of it. As she stared, Kylo's words from over a few hours ago played in her mind.
"The next time I offer you my hand, you will take it."
She drew in another sigh but held it. She might regret this, but it's not like anything mattered anymore. She let go of the breath she was holding as she slowly reached.
And she took his hand.