Her smaller frame faced him aggressively in the small and dingy room. Her furrowed brows creased excessively in her small face while her mouth lightly puckered into a pink pout. Despite the anger that radiated from both of their bodies, he felt amusement lurking on the edges of his mouth. His little scavenger had a rather large bone to pick with him. His lips firmed trying to prevent the smirk that fought to emerge.

"Why have you contacted the Resistance? What is your true purpose here?" She asked harshly.

"I've come to help the Resistance. My reasons for doing so are my own, scavenger."

She physically recoiled from him. The way he had enunciated the word scavenger had been too soft. As if the word itself had not meant to insult but to caress. No, not scavenger. Rey. She quelled the physical reaction evoked from the memories of the last time her name had been uttered from his lips. Never again. She would not be weak. Mentally steeling herself, she clenched her fists.

"Why have you had this change of heart? What secret agenda has Snoke sent you on?" She persisted, not believing anything she had been told the day before nor the words that had come from his lips.

"There is no secret agenda. I am here to help," he paused, looking away from her for a moment before quietly whispering, "and to right my wrongs."

She blinked. He turned to look at her again searching her face for her reaction even though he could feel her confusion through their bond. Her brows stayed furrowed, skeptical again of his words. Kylo Ren had known that his turning would have many people in the Resistance questioning his true purpose. However, he would never have guessed that the one person whose opinion seemed to matter most would be the person with the most doubt. He had expected that she along with the others would not trust him so easily. Given his past actions, it was expected. What was unexpected was the level of antagonism that vibrated from her smaller body. Through the force, she swayed in angry waves that alerted his senses.

"To right your wrongs?" She repeated quietly to herself.

If what she had heard over the past month was true, the man standing before her had committed crimes too grievous to name. He was a murderer and his victims were numerous innocents, extending from the Jedi training under Luke to the villagers and the village elder Lor San Tekka. Without a thought, he had murdered innocents. Not once but twice. This was the man that was coming to the Resistance to offer help in exchange for the blood on his hands. It didn't seem believable, especially not after what she had seen on Starkiller Base.

Yet, Kylo Ren's assistance with the Resistance would greatly overcome their odds in defeating the First Order. He had extensive knowledge about the First Orders' plans. Would his assistance be enough to wipe the blood that stained his hands? Rey found that she could not determine the cost of Kylo Ren's redemption. This thought calmed her turbulent anger immediately. She studied the features of the man standing a bit too close to her. His face was the same even the scars did not mar his handsomeness. In fact, it seemed to enhance his person. The scars exhibited the dangerous ferocity that lived within the man. It added greatly to his presence in a way that people often missed in the he held himself. His hair had grown longer but the dark shine had not diminished. His dark gaze still seemed to bore into her mind and soul. Even now, she felt the bond and it disturbed her.

However, she recognized that his return would also offer some consolation to Leia. His mother. Leia, who quietly but deeply mourned the passing of her husband. Leia, who had not cried a single tear since the moment of his death. She had carried on with her tasks in the Resistance but Rey had witnessed the older woman staring off into the night sky with her right hand slightly raised looking horribly lost. In the sadness of the older woman's eyes, Rey had recognized her pain. She had reached out with hand and heart for someone who would never come back to her. Rey blinked back tears at the thought of what she had left on Jakku. How many days would Leia count until she could be with Han again? Han, who had died at the hands of his son. Something dark hissed within Rey, angered and upset at the unfairness of the situation. Han had been nothing but good to her and he was dead. Before her, stood his son, a monster, asking for redemption.

"To right your wrongs?" She repeated more forcefully, "Like murdering your father?"

His face turned to stone at her words while a muscle ticked in his cheek. Unwilling to feel any guilt for how her words might have affected him, her gaze never wavered as she felt his volatile anger swirl in the air around them. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides before she felt a pinch of pain at the center of her forehead. She took a step back at the unexpected intrusion but her gaze never wavered as she pushed him out of her mind. The force wrestled between them for long moments as both were lost in the tug of war. He pushed forward and she pressed back not willing to go down without a fight. She was stronger now than she had been the last time he had interrogated her.

While he hovered on the outreaches of her mind, he had gathered enough of her thoughts to determine what she truly thought of him.

"A monster," he murmured. "This is still what you think of me?"

For a moment, Rey tried to swallow the hateful words that fought to come out of her mouth but anger hissed again much stronger this time.

"Yes, something that only brings pain and destruction to those around it."

Arrested by her words, he could only stare at her in shock before slowly turning away.

"Yet you've allowed this monster to touch you in ways you've allowed no one else." He scoffed before pulling away from their connection.

Kylo Ren returned to the sterile space in the First Order base solemnly. He slowly sat up and unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair tugging harshly in certain places. His dreams, or more correctly, his force bond was giving him a headache. Finding the steel of his floors compelling, he stared as he reviewed what he had learned about his scavenger girl.

She was still deeply upset by the events on Starkiller Base. His change did not matter to her right now. After months of her avoiding him through mental blocks, he would have thought she would have been somewhat touched by his change. When he had seen her again in their shared dreams, a relief so strong had rushed through him like a ray of sunlight infusing his soul. A small piece of him had hoped that she would have also felt the same but he had been greatly mistaken. In their months a part, she had grown to hate him while he had craved her presence like a drug. Monster, the word echoed in his mind.

She truly saw him as nothing more than that. A monster who had committed unspeakable evils. As if agitated from his thoughts, the scars that ran across his chest stung with pain. He shifted uncomfortably in his clothes as the stinging increased. With his fist, he beat against his chest trying to overcome the pain with pain. The rhythm of his beating quickened and became more forceful as the pain of scars doubled. He finally stopped when he felt bruises developing between his breast bone. Standing quickly to his feet, he paced rubbing the area that brought him pain. Unsatisfied, he crossed the room suddenly. Grasping his lightsaber, he swung the electric blade against the metal furniture in the room. The pain persisted in his chest but the destructive actions brought him some satisfaction.

Finally throwing his saber onto the floor, he stumbled to his bed again resigned with the truth. His scavenger girl thought he was a monster and the scars had not caused his pain.

Rey jerked awake finding herself in a bed on the Resistance base. Fire quickly infused her veins as she recounted the words Kylo Ren had uttered before pulling away from their connection. She became more furious as she realized that he had managed to slip in some choice last words before leaving. Moreover, his last words had been a low blow one meant to hurt her as she had hurt him. She kicked her blankets away from her feet. He had deserved the hateful things she had said to him and much more. For Han's death, Kylo Ren deserved much more than hateful words. The only punishment equal for Han's murder was Kylo Ren's death, she thought darkly. Sometimes dark and conniving hissed in approval within her. It thirsted for blood, vengeance, retribution for the innocents.

Rey took a deep breath pressing her palms into her eyes to still the angry tears. She was becoming conflicted too. She wanted revenge for Han but she also wanted happiness for Leia and peace for Luke. She wanted to stop the anger that pulsed within her every time she thought of Han and Kylo Ren. The more she tried to bury it, the stronger it seemed to strike when it escaped.

Trying to calm herself, she focused her emotions regulating her breathing and centering her thoughts. The force, stringy and tangled, slowly smoothed and melded into the space around her. The hissing stopped and Rey felt her equilibrium restore itself again. Breathing in deeply, she reflected on her dream with Kylo Ren. Guilt suffused her as she remembered the way his eyes had cringed in hurt before shock suffused his face. In her anger, she had only wanted to wound and destroy. She had not considered what her words would mean to him as she usually did with others. Shame filled her as she realized that Kylo Ren seemed to bring out the worst in her and she had allowed it every time they had met since Starkiller Base. No more, she decided. If he really was choosing to help the Resistance, then she would be thankful.

A swift knock on her door roused her from her thoughts. She opened the door to reveal Poe's smiling face.

"Hey! You're awake early." He commented enthusiastically.

"I had some trouble sleeping." She shrugged.

"Is anything wrong?" He asked concerned, looking her over more thoroughly.

"No, no. What brings you here so early?"

"I was going to see Finn and wanted to see if you wanted to come with me."

"Of course." She replied, grabbing the items she needed before heading out with Poe.

"Follow the back route through the main rooms and you will stumble into five pathways that will make infiltrating the base much quicker." Kylo Ren's deep voice rumbled as he detailed the outline of the First Order's new base. For 30 minutes, he had slowly and confidently described the structure of the new base often mentioning major weakness in building structure or where extra weapons were stored. For 30 minutes, Rey had been lulled by the sound of his voice until her body felt pleasantly warm. Even when the others in the meeting room asked him to repeat some of the information more than once, his voice had not changed though she could feel his impatience through their bond.

"Are you sure this is the best possible method to infiltrate the First Order's base?" one of the officer's interrupted.

There was a pause as Kylo Ren shifted to look at the man not missing his superior look. Even through the holographic image, Rey saw how his right hand twitch toward his light saber.

"I am sure." He answered, slowly pulling his fist away from his waist.

"What happened to your hand?" Leia asked suddenly, motherly concern evident on her face. His movement had drawn her gaze to a bandage that peaked out of his black gloves.

Kylo Ren felt everyone's eyes shift to his right hand as strongly as though these people had been in the room with him. He didn't have to look down to know what had devoured their attention. It had been a struggle all day to keep his gloves secured around the bandages that bulged under the leather. He wasn't surprised it had come undone again. Captain Phasma had warned that it was better to let the wounds heal in contact with the air but he had not wanted to forgo the gloves. He would not seem weak in front of the Resistance. They had already questioned his authenticity enough for today.

"It was the result of an argument." He replied as his eyes drifted toward the small figure standing next to his mother.

Rey met his gaze without flinching feeling her lips pull downward in a frown. What had he done to himself?

"Please Ben, be safe until we can bring you home." Leia pleaded dragging Kylo Ren's face away from Rey.

At his mother's request, his face seemed to soften.

"I will, mother."

Suddenly, his body shifted toward his left.

"I have to go." He muttered quickly before signing off.

The image of Kylo Ren disappeared leaving the people in the room a bit baffled. Quelling the sudden change of plans, Leia ushered the people toward the tables so they could continue to discuss preparations. Rey stayed where she was uncertain why she felt a strand of fear from his side of the bond. What was happening? Closing her eyes, she sent a quiet prayer to the force that he was okay.