Author's Note: For those of you who've read "Hand of Fate" my other completed Reylo fic, you will find some of the same characters present in "An Order Reborn." However, we are starting over again, this time following the actual ending of Episode VIII.

Let me know what you think of this wild idea and drop a comment!

There was something so final about the look in Rey's eyes as she gazed down at him through their bond.

Despite the disappointment shadowing her face, she stood tall and resolute as she pressed a palm to the Millenium Falcon's door release. And Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order, could only look up at her from his knees.

The ship's hydraulics released an abrasive sound, hissing as the door to the Falcon sealed shut. It could have easily been the sound of a lightsaber carving him in two and it burned just the same.

His father was dead. Luke was dead. Snoke was dead and now he was the Supreme Leader of the First Order.

He'd thought he wanted all of these things.

And yet …

The silence left behind when the door shut between them was so absolute it echoed at the very core of himself. Rey, that infernal scavenger, had carved out a hollowness inside of him so vast, it actually ached. Rey, the girl he had seen in his dreams, the girl at the other end of their inexplicable connection, the girl who was both no one and everyone, had betrayed him.

She'd reached for his grandfather's lightsaber first. Again. Just like she had on Starkiller. But this time she'd done it after everything they'd been through. After he had saved her from Snoke. After he'd offered her a place at his side.

He'd only wanted her partnership. He'd practically begged for it.

Join me. Please.

His own pathetic words rang in his head, stirring emotions he didn't want to feel.

He clenched his fist, gripping tightly to distract from the lingering memory of his father's lucky dice in his hand. He'd held them only moments ago. But they were just another illusion. Like Skywalker. Like Rey's feelings for him.

And the dice had slipped between his fingers, just like she had.

He'd seen it so clearly in his vision, Rey choosing to stand by his side. How could he have been so wrong?

Tears burned behind his eyes but he refused to let them spill.

Instead, he reached for the only thing that ever felt easy.

Darkness.

He let the power of it fill the cracks in his broken soul. He breathed it in, anger and hatred swelling through the Force and he released it in a great wave of energy at a nearby control panel. Metal groaned in protest and wires sparked as they were stripped of their casings and exposed to the air. The burning scent of smolder and electric death was a distracting salve to the useless sentiments taking up space in his mind.

He would not allow the First Order to see his pain, his weakness – only his anger.

Troops approached from behind and he whirled on them.

General Hux stood, lip trembling with rage. His usually impeccably combed red hair was disheveled from Kylo's show of Force on the shuttle. Such things were necessary where Hux was concerned as Kylo Ren had to prove that he would not tolerate disobedience. Especially not in the early stages of his rule when he had a reputation to build.

As Hux leveled an icy blue stare at him, he knew what unsaid words sat lodged behind the general's teeth. Hux surely wanted to remind everyone that Kylo had let his personal feelings get in the way of the First Order's mission. They both knew Kylo's vendetta against Luke had cost them what was left of the Resistance.

But he would not allow Hux the pleasure of speaking that truth, so he gave him an order first. "I want every eye in the galaxy trained on the Millenium Falcon." As he spoke the name of his father's ship, he felt yet another loose part of himself become unhinged. He grasped harder for the shadow, cloaking himself in fear and rage. "Report back to me when it is found."

Hux's voice grated like grinding gears against what was left of his thinning patience. "Yes, Supreme Leader."

In a flurry of robes and darkness, Kylo stormed from the abandoned base and boarded his shuttle.

The day after Rey had helped the Resistance escape from Crait, someone had finally answered their cry for help. It was Leia's old friend, Lando Calrissian. He'd answered their call for safe haven and they were on their way to Bespin, the city in the clouds.

It was Rey's turn to try to sleep on a bunk in the Falcon. She wasn't faring well at the task.

With so many bodies in such a tight space, Rey hadn't been able to sleep at all. Finn had encouraged her to try to rest for a few hours before they landed and she'd retreated to a bunk, mostly to ease his concern for her. As she lay staring at the shabby roof, connecting the stains and dirt smudges into shapes, the bond opened again in a flood of rage.

As soon as Ben had appeared in the doorway leading to the bunks, he'd turned immediately and walked away. She felt his presence slowly fade over the next few minutes but she knew her chances at sleep were already ruined.

Only three hours later, as she stood in the cramped 'fresher to splash water on her face, the bond opened again and this time Rey appeared over Ben's shoulder as he spoke with someone. It was the first time she'd seen and heard another person through the bond. It was an officer she didn't recognize and they were looking over datapads, discussing repairs and supply orders. The muscles of his shoulders went rigid, the only outward sign that he even knew she was there. As they droned on, Rey struggled to follow the conversation, and he didn't acknowledge her presence at all. So, she stood silently, waiting for the Force to take her away from him.

She didn't know what she expected after she'd made her decision to stay with the Resistance. Though she supposed a part of her really hoped Ben would follow her, she was quickly discovering how naïve that part of her had been.

Now she had more to mourn than just the dead heroes of the Resistance. As the bond finally brought her back to the 'fresher on the Falcon, she finished gathering her hair into a tie and washing her face, allowing herself to finally feel sorrow for the loss of Ben Solo. It was clear that only Kylo Ren remained now and though the bond still connected them, she needed to move past it. If she could grieve for Ben, she could get over it, to focus again on what mattered.

So Rey stood looking at herself in the mirror, trying to force the tears, to cry for the loss of Ben.

But her eyes remained traitorously dry.

Too much of her still clung to him. Logically she knew he was too far gone, but a selfish hope had wrapped itself around her heart. As foolish as it was, she still hoped he could change.

Foolish. She spoke the word out loud to herself in the mirror before pushing open the door to the 'fresher. When she finally emerged, Finn was there with knitted brows.

"Is everything alright, Rey?"

Obviously she'd been in there longer than she thought.

Rey hesitated, wanting so much to let someone in. To let him know how much she was hurting, but she knew Finn wouldn't understand the conflicted feelings she harbored for Ben. How could anyone understand when she wasn't even sure how she felt?

"I'm fine, Finn. Just exhausted I guess."

He clapped a hand on her shoulder. "I know what you mean, it's hard to get much rest while we're packed in like this. This is worse than the new recruit bunks in the Stormtrooper academy."

A shadow crossed Finn's features as his own joke soured on him, memories he probably thought he was ready to kid about, but with war so fresh in his mind he found the opposite was true.

She pretended not to notice and forced a smile.

The general's voice pulled them from their conversation. "We are approaching Bespin."

Rey released a sigh. Stifling her feelings, her Force, the bond, all of it would be easier with a little more space. She wasn't ready to tell Leia everything yet, though she knew that time would come soon. Leia deserved to know what had become of Snoke and what had happened between Rey and her son.

But not yet.

Three days passed before the bond opened again. Rey thanked the stars she was alone this time, holed up in an empty hangar, checking for leaks in the pressure manifold of the Falcon. The kriffing piece of junk nearly didn't make it to Bespin.

Rey felt the air around her reverberate with energy, as though someone had plucked a string somewhere inside of her and it vibrated, playing a chord in the Force all around.

Her heart beat faster, her body reacting to his presence like it always did, but logically, she wished it wouldn't. He was never going to change.

Rey turned to look at him as a simultaneous wave of icy Force rushed over her. His fear, his anger, his betrayal was laid bare through the bond and she couldn't have blocked it if she tried. The intensity of it nearly caused her to lose her footing on the step-ladder.

He moved closer, his hooded robe skimming the floor of the hangar as he walked.

"Stop doing this," he said simply, his dark eyes threatening to cut through her carefully orchestrated control.

"You know very well that I can't," and she turned from him, getting back to work, feeling for cracks in the manifold. She knew her will to ignore him would soften the longer she stared into his eyes. Mechanical distractions were much safer.

He was silent for several minutes and if it wasn't for the pulse of his emotions through the bond, she would have thought him long gone.

"You just had to hold on. And for what?" His voice held a tone of disgust, like a spoiled dinner party guest who didn't like the dish he was served. "A handful of rebels on a broken old freighter."

"If you mean my friends, your mother, and your father's old ship, then yes, I did hold on for them."

He was silent then, but the spark of light she'd felt through their bond at the mention of his mother was as clear to her as the scowl on his face.

She let all the rage and disappointment flare through their connection as she sent him a biting glare over her shoulder. "You asked me to abandon them. The people I care about here. The people you care about."

He pulled back as though she'd struck him. "I don't care about anyone who was on that ship."

She nearly choked on a sardonic laugh. "You can keep telling yourself that, but you can't lie to me anymore, not with the bond." Rey descended the ladder, moving within feet of Ben. "I feel your conflict about your mother. I feel your relief that she is alive."

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"I feel your conflict about me," she said.

This was much more dangerous territory, because her feelings about him were just as conflicted. But she'd already tried ignoring him, tried letting go of her hope for him, but the Force seemed to have other ideas.

"We could have had everything," he said, his voice low now. "If you would have just stopped clinging to the past."

"I'm sorry, but if by let the past die, you meant letting all the people I care for die…" She shook her head. "That is not the kind of life I want."

She couldn't believe that after everything, they were back to bickering.

"You aren't happy here," he said plainly.

"What do you know of happiness Ben Solo?" She let the fire in her heart show through her gaze. "You got everything you wanted didn't you? Now look," she said, eyeing him up and down. "You're darker and angrier than you've ever been."

That struck a nerve and he was pressing his lips together to keep from putting voice to the bitter emotions spilling from him. He rubbed his forehead, averting his eyes and his shoulders rose and fell as he dragged in a breath. Then the tide of his anger stemmed, and a subtle change in the Force altered the temperature of the air between them. She sensed a flicker of warmth across her skin, like she'd moved into the sun from the shadows.

"Not everything I wanted," he said. Then the Force shifted and he was gone.

He regretted speaking the words as soon as the bond tore her away. He shouldn't be so honest with her. His enemy.

But he couldn't make himself hate her. No matter how long he had meditated over the past four days with that very goal, pure hatred and nothing more, it didn't matter. He was perpetually distracted by thoughts that he couldn't seem to control.

Thoughts that always returned to moments they'd shared together. Especially that flash of heat he'd felt at the mere touch of her fingers, followed by wave after wave of memories and visions, all fueled by their intertwined Force. He had no idea why the Force had chosen to connect them in this way, but he suspected it was more than just Snoke.

Whatever it was that had bridged their connection, it didn't matter now, because there was no shutting it out.

Force knows he had tried that, too.

His thoughts drifted again. The fiery adrenaline of fighting alongside her. The way her gaze warmed him from the inside…

He growled, staring at the stark walls of his quarters on the Finalizer. They were still in orbit around Crait, repair crews inspecting the Supremacy, reconnaissance missions scouting across the galaxy for the Falcon.

But Kylo Ren needed a different kind of distraction.

He walked to a small comm panel on the wall. "Quinn, ready a bag for my departure."

"Right away, Supreme Leader, sir."

He would join the Knights of Ren on Ryloth. They'd been sent by Snoke to put down a competing spice smuggling cartel that had managed to gain enough of a hold on the planet to choke out some of their business. The rival cartel had caused a notable drop in the incoming First Order funds over the past few months. It was no secret that the First Order made a considerable amount of its money through illegal dealings, smuggling, gambling, spice runs, and the like.

Generally, Kylo didn't get involved with such things, but The Knights of Ren would be glad to have his help and it would get him off of this blasted ship. Most importantly, it would get him away from the swarm of emotions threatening to suffocate him.

He pressed the comm panel again. "Quinn, on second thought, pack a bag for yourself as well."

Kylo's most faithful pilot had died in the last fighter assault on the Resistance and he needed someone he could trust. Quinn Wescott had served him for three years. He was technically part of the hygiene staff, attending to clothing, cleaning duties, and nutrition for the officers of the Finalizer, but he would do. The man didn't grovel and strangely, he'd never shown much fear of Kylo. Most importantly, Quinn had never once broken his confidence. He was no pilot, but if he took a single shuttle, all he needed was someone he could trust to stay by the ship while he found his Knights. Someone to hold onto the other end of a commlink and warn him of incoming trouble.

And since he was running out of people he could trust, his options were limited.

"Sir?" Quinn, ever the dignified servant, was trying somewhat obviously to mask his shock. He had no idea why he would play any part in a mission like this, especially for the Supreme Leader.

"I'll explain on the way to Ryloth."

General Hux found himself restless as he sat alone in his quarters, staring at the datapad in his hand. Four days had passed since the Supremacy had been torn in two and repairs were already in full swing. Repairs that were costing them.

Dearly.

Hux scanned several new work orders, detailing supplies and labor needed for the immense undertaking.

He supposed it could have been worse. At least there was a ship left to salvage.

But these orders were just the first of hundreds to be given. There were so many concurrent missions sapping First Order manpower and resources at this very moment and as Hux stared at the unending stream of expenses, he felt his focus slipping. With each day, new cracks were forming in what used to be a steadfast determination.

Supreme Leader Snoke was dead.

It wasn't that Hux cared for Snoke. In fact, the opposite was true. The man, if you could even call him that, had been a terrifying monstrosity. But Hux couldn't deny that Snoke had been a cunning leader. He'd managed to cement the alliance between the Imperial Remnant and the senate's Centrists, and he'd expanded it into the immense military force it was now. Snoke's work had culminated in the destruction of the Resistance. All that was left was a small band fleeing on a piece of junk freighter to gods knew where. And, Snoke had done it all while holding the leash of Kylo Ren.

But Snoke was dead and Ren, that unhinged, infantile sorcerer, was now unleashed and had managed to pluck up the mantle of Supreme Leader for himself.

He set the datapad onto a side table and glanced down at the ring on his finger. Snoke's ring. He'd insisted on taking it - gold with a gleaming black stone at its center - it was a reminder that, though Snoke was dead, his legacy remained. And Hux was forced to try to pick up the pieces of that legacy.

Suddenly the recycled air in Hux's quarters was far too stifling. He made a mental note to have the techs look at the ozone scrubbers before he headed into the hallway where he stood to take a lung-stretching breath.

A brisk walk was what he needed to purge these impractical thoughts. Focus or no, he had to continue on this chosen path. He couldn't allow his resolve to crumble, because the alternative, failure, was not acceptable.

There was nothing he could do about the fact that Kylo Ren was unfit to lead. At least not yet.

The only think Ren had going for him was fear. The First Order feared him. In fact, with Snoke dead, Kylo Ren might be the most feared man in the entire galaxy. But fear alone is not enough to rule by. The man hadn't the faintest idea about commanding a military. He had no idea the resources it took to keep the gears of the First Order war machine oiled. Hux would bide his time until the moment when Ren's lack of knowledge caught up to him. Until then… well…

Hux would do what he was good at. He would patch the holes in his fleet that others had torn open.

You should inspect the Supremacy, see to the repairs.

Hux wasn't sure where the thought came from. He was a military strategist, repairs were not necessarily his area of expertise. He hadn't even been on board the Supremacy since the day he'd found Snoke's body, sliced in half, with Ren lying unconscious on the floor nearby.

Thinking about that moment heated his blood, regret and hatred mixing into an acidic concoction that brought a sneer to his lips. If only he'd been faster. If he hadn't hesitated, he would now be the Supreme Leader. But he'd been weak and indecisive, and Ren had awoken an instant before he could draw his blaster.

Be the leader Ren can't be. Take charge.

Yes, Hux would go to the Supremacy. See to the repairs. Encourage the crews in person. He would be the leader the First Order needed and eventually, Hux would be rewarded for his work.

Hux didn't know why he'd turned away from the repairs and headed straight to the Supremacy's throne room. Perhaps he needed to make peace with the situation, make peace with the Supreme Leader's passing. Yes, they were planning a grand memorial service and Ren would say some empty words to usher in his reign. Even Hux would give a rousing speech, but speeches were one thing. Finding the steadfast will necessary to continue on this course was another.

So here he was, crossing the glossy black floors, soaking up the power that echoed off the crimson walls and across the vast space, and letting it be the glue to repair his crumbling determination.

He gazed across the expansive chamber as his boots rang out with each hard footfall. The throne beckoned to him, all blacks and silvers and angular lines.

Test it. Feel the power it bestows.

How strange that the throne actually seemed to call out to him.

Hux did not have the will to deny it. He strode to the symbolic seat of the First Order, running fingers across the smooth, polished arms, before allowing himself to settle upon it.

Immediately, he was overcome by a shock of frigid electricity. It coursed through him, freezing his joints, tensing each muscle in his body until he was gripping the arms of the throne so tightly it hurt. A scream locked in his throat as he tried to cry out to the empty room. Then, slowly his very consciousness bled out. He felt each memory trickle through the cracks in his brain until he was empty and the room spun into blackness.

Snoke rose from the throne, testing unfamiliar legs like a child taking his first steps. But only the first two steps were tentative, for by the time he extended his legs for the third stride, he had complete control over his new vessel.

Snoke smiled, testing the way it felt on youthful lips and he couldn't be more pleased. The transfer of his essence had gone just as he'd planned and with Kylo Ren off on a mission to help his Knights, Snoke had time to adjust to his new body before he would face his apprentice. Everything had transpired exactly as he had foreseen and after striking him down, Snoke was sure that Ren's journey to the dark side would now be complete.

With Ren's conflict finally resolved, his apprentice would reach his potential. And Snoke would direct that power, hone it and wield it against their enemies. With their combined strength, they would plunge the galaxy into darkness. The Resistance would be a distant memory and Snoke would watch as each system fell one by one at his feet.