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Chapter One: The Collapse of It All

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The electric blue glow of Luke's lightsaber illuminated her delicate features set in grim lines, and in that moment, Kylo Ren knew for certain that he wanted her.

He could feel the life leaving his body, his Force signature flickering an angry crimson, and he beat at his abdomen in an attempt to clot the profusely bleeding wound. He wanted nothing more than to subdue her and make her his, control her fiery will that burned with the light of a thousand suns; he wanted her to shine for only him, but mostly, he wanted her to want him. He coveted her more than he ever coveted anything in his entire life, and that made him feel vulnerable. He shook his head to clear it of the distracting thoughts, igniting his temperamental blade, the bright red making his tall figure all the more menacing. He charged at her then, angry with himself for letting it come to this, for letting his desire make him weak.

Rey hesitated for a split second, her hands trembling on the cool metal hilt, but brought up her saber to block his assault. He slashed at her with such an intensity that it was hard for her just to keep up, twirling his lightsaber expertly left and then right. The base of her skull and her back throbbed from where her body made contact with the tree trunk, but the cold, bitter wind gave her shocks of strength. She could not be defeated here. She had to survive: for Finn, for Chewie…for herself. She was good at survival; it was all she knew. She let that notion urge her on.

Their lightsabers zapped and sparked as they connected over and over, but soon it become apparent to Rey that Kylo was too powerful to fight like this, even wounded badly as he was. Her right leg slipped a little, and she gasped, frightened. The frozen air gushed upwards from the jagged chasm behind her, chilling her veins. Kylo locked blades with her with a sense of finality, blue and red clashing defiantly in the night. He slowly began to apply pressure, and her body tilted backwards towards the void.

The sight of her there on the precipice, terrified and vulnerable, made Kylo's heart clench painfully in his chest. He realized suddenly that he did not want to kill her. He did not want to be the one responsible for snuffing out her incredible potential.

Unbidden, words spilled from his traitorous mouth, coated in desperation, "You are strong with the Force, Rey, but untrained. Surrender now, and I will not harm you. Let me teach you, and you may live."

'Come to me. Be mine.' His unspoken words came to Rey like a sensual caress across her mind, and she shivered, for once not from the cold.

How had he done that, she wondered in awe, her petite mouth falling open. Suddenly, she came to an epiphany. She could use it, too.

"The Force," she breathed out, grateful for her strange connection to this unknown concept more than anything in this instance.

She closed her eyes, and Kylo, to his dismay, let her. He was hopelessly enchanted by how beautiful she looked against the backdrop of the falling snow. A moment passed, and Rey opened her eyes again, but Kylo noticed a boldness in them that wasn't there before. He felt her aura flaring to life with his connection to the Force, and he could do nothing but stumble backwards when she pushed him away from her with newly untapped, raw power. She swiped at him with her blue blade, determination hardening her jaw.

He took up the defensive, blocking her assault deftly with his lightsaber, but his wound throbbed suddenly, faltering his concentration. Rey took advantage of his brief moment of weakness, and slashed at his arm. He hissed in pain, backing away from her quickly like a wounded animal.

Rey's teeth clamped down hard on her bottom lip, the copper of her blood filling her mouth and lending her clarity. His handsome face twisted in pain made her feel like the villain. Hurting him brought her no joy. She should hate him for gravely wounding Finn, one of her only friends. She should loathe him for all that he's done, but especially for murdering Han Solo, the only father figure she ever knew, however brief. But for some unfathomable reason, the memory of Han's hand resting tenderly against Kylo's cheek flashed before her. Ben, he'd called him, his son. The recollection of Kylo Ren's true name made her throat tighten with an unnamed emotion. She did not want him to die, she realized. She wanted him to live.

Kylo thudded his fist harshly against his abdomen again, ruby droplets from his wound spattering onto the ground. The sight of his blood on the white snow made Rey unbelievably nauseous, but she steeled her will as he ran at her and locked sabers once more. He was much weaker now, she could feel it through her recent connection to the Force, and it wasn't long before she pushed the tip of his blade into the ground, sizzling as it melted the surrounding snow. She summoned all of the strength she could muster and wrenched back her saber, swinging down and slicing at his face when he failed to block. Abashed at her own audacity, she used the Force to hurtle him across the clearing. His body soared through the air and landed with a heavy thud some distance from her.

As Kylo's back connected with the snow, his life flashed before his eyes, and for the first time, he was awash with agonizing regret. He would die here against the hands of this slight woman from Jakku, the only woman he had every truly desired, and that thought alone gave him a strange sense of peace.

The ground beneath them rumbled violently, and it brought them back to the reality outside of their fight. The planet they were on was collapsing rapidly, a rift beginning to open between them. Kylo's coal black eyes were filled with fear as he looked at her, and Rey had but moments to decide what to do. He could not fight her anymore; he had been defeated, but yet she could not bring herself to leave him to his doom. Not to mention Finn was lying injured on the other side.

She tensed her legs and jumped with all her might across the cracking surface, reaching Kylo just moments before the rift opened completely. Her feet hit the ground hard, and she stumbled next to his prone form, just barely preventing herself from tumbling forward. She did not know how she could help him for she perceived him too heavy to carry, and he could barely stand let alone walk. The planet beneath them started to crumble, but then a blinding light fell across them. She panted in relief, her warm breath coming out in puffs, as she saw Chewie at the helm of the Millennium Falcon. They were going to be saved!

The hatch to the ship fell open, and out came a very unlikely figure: a metallic female Stormtrooper. But instead of moving to blast them, she approached Finn's unconscious form and scooped him up, motioning for her to do the same with Kylo. She glanced down at him, noting he had passed out from the loss of blood. Whether it was from pure adrenaline or the miracle of the Force (perhaps both), she did not know, but she was able to lift Kylo's tall, muscular body and manage the short distance into the ship moments before the ground where she had been standing fell apart. The hatch to the ship closed abruptly as the planet began falling into itself. She only had a few seconds to place Kylo on the floor before Chewie roared at them to hang on and activated the hyperspace drive, hurtling them towards D'Qar.

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Author's Note: I realize some of the positioning of their altercation was rearranged, but I did so for the purpose of this story. I have a very interesting theory about Rey myself, but Disney is probably going to make her and Kylo related somehow, so I'm probably going to Hell for writing this hahaha. Anyway, please review! Suggestions and comments about how I should proceed are definitely welcome, but I kind of already have an idea of where I'm going with the plot.

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