The seasonal Hoth blizzards had started early this year.

It was almost as if the icy planet was expecting Kylo Ren's visit and had altered her climate to match the bitterness within his heart. The wind was unforgiving, the cold was all-encompassing and the haunting loneliness of the barren world could not be denied.

The driving snow was whipping around the rocky outcroppings of the nameless frozen plateau which Ren had managed to land his shuttle upon. He now stood just outside of the hatch with his thick black robes wrapped tightly around his strikingly tall frame; a menacing dark figure in the white wilderness.

It had certainly been a difficult descent through the turbulent atmosphere and without a co-pilot or crew, he'd been forced to draw on his skills with the Force as well as his piloting prowess to fly the transport down safely. It struck him suddenly that the two talents which had preserved him were developed from the teachings of both his uncle and his late father. "How ironic" he thought ruefully.

He casually walked around the sides of the shuttle to survey whether he had sustained any critical damage.

There had been problems with deploying the angled wings of his craft due to the extreme temperature fluctuations, and this had caused some of the mechanical gears to freeze up during the final stage of the landing procedure. It'd been a bumpy ride to say the least!

His black, elongated helmet, with its shimmering chrome trim, protected him from the biting cold. The electronic filters in the visor also allowed him to see through the flurries of snow and white haze that hung over the landscape. He smiled sardonically to himself. Most people who interacted with Ren did not realise that his mask had more uses than simply frightening his enemies. He'd lost count of the times where it had shielded him from lethal blaster bolts or allowed him to see some subtle detail in the battlefield which had been invisible to the naked eye.

Ren carefully examined the titanium bodywork on the wings. Some of the joints had indeed been stressed and a few were entirely broken. One wing would definitely need to be replaced before any further long-haul flights. Despite this, he was confident it wouldn't hinder him leaving the planet once the current blizzard had ebbed away and his personal mission here on Hoth had been completed in full. It was a relief that the special holding cell arrangements assembled within the ship were still intact after the crash-landing. There was 'precious cargo' to collect on this planet and it needed careful transportation.

The appropriate 'restraints' were also on-hand should they be required.

The shuttle could be repaired when he returned to the Star Destroyer Finalizer, but he knew only modern parts would be available and that it would never be the same again. He found that he did not care in the slightest.

"When had that happened?" he questioned to himself.

The vintage Imperial craft had been gifted to him by Supreme Leader Snoke over a decade ago upon his initiation into the First Order; where he'd formally pledged his allegiance to his Master and the Dark Side of the Force. Back then he would've been livid if his shuttle had suffered so much as a scratch. He had dismembered his own careless technicians for less... but not anymore.

He sighed into his helmet's breathing apparatus and squeezed into a sheltered alcove underneath the hull, the heat of the engine had melted away the snow, and there was a pleasant warmth within. He needed to calm himself and be focused for the long-awaited confrontation that lay ahead of him; but his self-doubt continued to eat away at him.

Of course he knew when it had happened. He knew the exact day!

It was the same day he'd lost his way in all the things that had seemed important to his existence up until that point. Thereafter the mental stability of Kylo Ren had spiraled downwards into an abyss. He acknowledged that he hadn't been exactly 'stable' beforehand, but recently he felt as if he truly was going out of his mind. His psyche was a howling wilderness akin to the blizzard raging all around him.

"It will end soon, one way or another," he promised himself.

"That accursed day!" he started to reminisce.

It'd been the final day of life for the First Order's terrifying Starkiller Base… and his father Han Solo. The latter ended at Ren's own hands... However it was not these traumatic events that lingered most in his memory.

Instead he now almost exclusively associated it as the day when Kylo Ren, the most feared Dark Knight in the Galaxy lost both a lightsaber duel and his heart to a beautiful angel of The Light who simply named herself as… 'Rey.'

Since that day he had been tormented by her constant presence in his thoughts and dreams. This torture was driven by his pre-existing loneliness and obsessive nature. But his affinity with the Dark Side had only escalated the intensity of his need for her. His Force visions were violent and passionate in equal measure. The two of them fought in single combat with and without weapons, tearing at each other like wild animals. Yet conversely he would also see himself and the scavenger wildly embracing, drowning each other in deep, sensual kisses as well as engaging in wanton sexual acts that caused his conscious self to sweat and groan with agonising ecstasy!

The pull to the light which should have irrevocably been extinguished within him when he'd bloodily sacrificed his father to the altar of the Dark Side; was now stronger than ever. Rey shined like silver moonlight within his head, blinding him with her celestial power. Then, just as quickly; the unholy depravity of his desire to possess her would seemingly pull him back into the pit of darkness. It was a never-ending tug of war and his sanity was literally being torn to shreds.

"I cannot manage the pain any longer… it ends today." he reiterated to himself once again.

Ren was as fervent as ever in his fanaticism to bring order to the chaos of the New Republic. He would be the messiah who brought balance to the Force. He would grow to fruition his grandfather's dream of the Skywalker clan ruling the Galaxy… Yet he was also drawn to her like a moth to a flame and it was a crippling distraction to his other goals.

The hunt to find the scavenger girl had started almost as soon as he had recovered from the injuries she had inflicted upon him in the duel. Kylo Ren had stopped at nothing to track her down and his master had encouraged him to be ruthless in his pursuit. The First Order spy network had been given her profile and made it their top priority to alert the Knights of Ren of any persons matching her background and description across dozens of star systems. Of course with such a large search operation there had been many cases of mistaken identity. It had led to a number of human brunette girls being captured, tortured and in several cases… killed. However it was all for a greater purpose and Kylo Ren had long-since stopped feeling guilty for the suffering of unknown civilians… The pain and murder he caused to those nearest and dearest was sufficient enough to occupy his conscience.

At first it had been fairly easy to predict her movements and destinations. As a child of the Light she'd naturally joined the so called 'rebel-alliance' and started training with Luke Skywalker whose whereabouts had been a mystery for years until a the rebels themselves had pieced together a map which pinpointed his location. After that it was simply a matter of capturing and personally interrogating a couple of rebel A-Wing pilots from the D'Qar base in the Ileenium system. Under his well-schooled ministrations they had spilled the information he wanted without too much effort on his part. Ren had quickly learned that Rey and Skywalker were on Ahch-To, living frugally in a ruined Jedi Temple.

He'd wasted no time in travelling to the scenic ocean world only to discover that Rey along with his former master had already escaped him.

Ren had concluded that the crafty Tatooine Jedi had sensed his presence when the raiding party had come out of lightspeed above the planet. Yet another example of his uncle turning away and running from responsibility rather than facing up to his former apprentice. It was cowardly and pathetic, but admittedly would not have bothered Ren too much if it weren't for the fact that Luke had whisked her away from him as well!

After that failed attempt, it was clear that the Rebellion was using their contacts and influence to help keep Rey hidden away. Ren suspected his mother General Leia Organa also had a strong hand in keeping the girl concealed from him. It was true that the false leads and rebel guerrilla raids on his troops and Knights had delayed the search… but Kylo Ren had always been as relentless as a rabid rancor and he fervently believed the Force was with him in this matter. He could feel Rey's light in the ripples of the Galactic life stream and it was calling to him. Sooner or later, he would claim her.

Several times he had been so close to apprehending her, but somehow she always slipped just out of his reach!

He recalled chasing her in an exhilarating speeder race on Coruscant, her pretty silky hair and pure-white wraps of clothing streaming out behind her like a bright beacon for him to follow. She'd used the Force to accelerate at neck-breaking velocity, navigating dangerous chicanes and ramps with a skill that even he couldn't match. She'd turned her head around to look at him with fierce hazel eyes before disappearing into the endless metropolis. He'd subsequently run out of fuel and lost her trail. Gods, she was a good pilot!

"When will I learn that I should never underestimate this girl?" he thought, clenching his fists in self-deprecation.

Another time he'd had her cornered within an abandoned Imperial Star Destroyer on her home planet of Jakku. He'd reached out to grasp her small wrists, wanting to pull her close, but she'd wriggled away from him with a snarl and instead doggedly force-leaped into the nearby venting system. Rey was very familiar with the internal ship layouts of these rusty relics due to her former years of scavenging them for sellable parts. She'd proceeded to shimmy along yards of claustrophobic ducts and narrow tubing until she had finally exited the aging hulk of scrap metal and escaped into the desert sands she knew so well. There was no way he could've followed her, even if he'd been small enough to fit into the vents. She had beaten him once again… and it was infuriating.

This constant game of cat and mouse had consumed his life for the better part of nine months.

Although the fates had set their destinies towards opposing paths, their origins were so similar it could nary be coincidence! They'd both been hardened by solitary upbringings with little parental guidance. They both possessed precocious intelligence and were passionate to their respective causes. But most importantly of all her relative strength in the Force equaled his own, perhaps even exceeded it.

She had the potential to utterly destroy him body and soul. This fact was both frightening and intoxicating to Kylo Ren. He harboured mixed feelings of love and hatred towards Rey that he could not explain or control.

The Supreme Leader had sensed his conflict immediately after his first encounter with the scavenger and his wise master had identified Ren's compassion for the girl at once. Snoke had openly shamed him and let it be known that this weakness would not be tolerated in his apprentice.

Further to this admonishment, Ren had prayed for guidance from his revered grandfather Darth Vader, beseeching his intercession as he desperately sought clarity via the former Sith Lord's relics. He'd also put himself through physically punishing training routines, even going so far as self-flagellation in an attempt to purge the Light out of his body. It was to no avail though… the moon still glittered in the darkness.

Ren brought himself back to the present. The blizzard was starting to ease and the gusting wind had now dissipated to a slight breeze. Snow was falling in slow, soft flakes… It was time to go.

He emerged from under the shuttle and took in the surrounding environment which was now much more clearly visible than it'd been before.

The nav-computer had confirmed that he'd veered away slightly from the site where he had originally intended to land. However, when he saw the snow-capped evergreen forest less than a mile away from his present location; he knew the Force was still with him… the heart of those woods had been his ultimate destination… It was not far now.

He started to trudge forward through the drifted snow travelling onwards to the skeletal-looking forest and towards what he predicted would be the greatest challenge he had yet to face in his melancholy and twisted life.

"It ends today!"

His long-legged stride allowed him to make efficient progress and he left a trail of large evenly-spaced footprints behind him in the perfect blanket of snow.

Ren was determined to mitigate any risk of failure this time. He'd made sure that the tailored leather boots he wore were suitable for the harsh terrain before setting out on this mission. Underneath his normal robes, he'd also dressed in high quality black woollen combat gear, which allowed for ease of movement as well as providing the necessary thermal protection.

This unusual advantage of preparation had only been possible due to this particular meeting (unlike his previous encounters) having been planned in advance. In fact it had been Rey herself who had instigated this outing to Hoth.

It had surprised him greatly when he had received her digital message on his personal communication channel. She'd grown weary of running from him it seemed and had openly challenged him to meet her alone at a secluded location, where they could settle their unfinished business once and for all. The co-ordinates had been attached to the message.

She'd barely written anything to him, but that had not stopped him pouring over her words again and again to try and fathom their exact meaning and the motive that may lay behind the message. Ren had attempted to identify where the transmission had originated, but experts in the First Order had confirmed that the signal had been rerouted several times to mask the location of the sender. His gut told him that it was genuine though, he had faith in the divine will of the Force.

It was not long before Ren came to the tree-lined edge of the frigid forest, where this arranged rendezvous was to take place.

"It looks just like the snowy woods on Starkiller Base," thought Ren warily "Did she select this location on purpose to rattle him?"

If that was the case, then he had to admit once again she was a cunning little thing.

Ren ran long black-gloved fingers over the harsh metal hilt of his constructed lightsaber. He unclipped it from his belt and flicked the ignition. The powerful crimson plasma blade hummed into life and the cross guard vented out twin jets in a matching hue. He felt a familiar thrill as the vibrations of his weapon thrummed over his skin and through his veins. He tested his grip in the icy air with a few powerful swinging arcs. He gracefully twisted the blade using his preferred sword-arm. The sound of crackling energy was loud and mechanical. It was the last sound that many of Kylo Ren's past adversaries had heard before they drew their last breath.

He had waited a long time for this day of reckoning. Whether it be with words or by the sword… he would take her this time. He couldn't imagine any other outcome that he would tolerate.

His private shuttle was ready and waiting for her to board and the Supreme Leader had made very special arrangements to welcome her as well.

"I'm here for you Rey… " he projected his thoughts, confident that she would hear them.

"I'm giving you fair warning my sweet scavenger… prepare yourself!"