Chapter 4: In Which Sora is About to Throw Hands

Xion rested against Riku's shoulder in a deep sleep. He brushed aside one of her stray locks. Her hair had remained short, but more wavy as time went on. It suited her.

"They knocked us out and moved us to some other pit, just great," Roxas grumbled.

Riku nodded. "Kylo Ren knows how to deal with keybladers for sure."

"Now the question is where are we now?" Roxas said. "You think we're on a different ship or something?"

"If we're on a bigger ship, then trying to escape is gonna be even harder, and dark corridors are unpredictable." Riku looked at Xion, who could easily open one if she wanted to, but knowing where to go or where they're going to end up on was a different matter. She was no Xehanort. Plus, the unfortunate disadvantage of being in a very weird galaxy with its own rules to play by.

Roxas tried his gummi-phone again to no prevail. "No signal. Something has to be blocking it."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

Roxas shrugged. "If Naminé and Pence haven't gotten a signal by now I would be very surprised."

Kairi was in awe, the same way Sora was in awe the first time he heard about the adventures of Luke Skywalker.

Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, was in charge of the Resistance.

She had spotted the familiar braids of Leia and how she had aged gracefully, holding herself like a general who had seen war and knows how to command a presence.

Kairi helped Sora to his feet as she strained her curious and nosy ears to hear what Han was speaking to her about.

"…saw him, Leia. I saw our son."

Kairi whispered to Sora. "Leia and Han have a son."

"Man, how long ago was the war against the Empire?" Sora asked, cranking his neck to hear a loud pop. "If they have a kid now." He waved down Axel.

Axel had landed his glider next to the duo, wiping sweat off his brow. "Whew, that was insane. Where do you think those guys went?"

Kairi shrugged. "The First Order just left. I don't know why, but I saw a guy in black carry away our friend Rey."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Great. I swear it's our job at this point to chase after guys in black. First, the Master of Masters now that Kylo Ren dude…"

"I think I saw him. I could feel the darkness coming off him from quite the distance," Kairi said.

Sora put a finger on his lip. "Sounds like him. We would know if it was anyone else like the Master or Luxu."

Luxu. Another pain in their sides.

"Anyways," Axel began, "The Resistance wants us to join them. I learned a lot on the way here."

"Of course we'll join them," Sora said, stars in his eyes. "Helping out the great General Leia will be awesome."

Kairi agreed. Aiding her childhood heroine was a dream come true.

On the ride to the Resistance Base—D'Qar it was called—Axel explained all the things he learned that happened in the last thirty years including the rise of the First Order in secret, their test of a superweapon that Sora had witnessed in the sky earlier, and how Leia was a senator in the now-destroyed New Republic.

Sora squeezed the hand of Kairi, thinking about how she looked so shaken and pale during the destruction. It reminded him of the night Destiny Islands fell to darkness, Kairi was the same way, a zombie overwhelmed by the mass destruction. At least she didn't disappear in his arms this time.

Finn sat next to Axel, looking down at his feet.

"Hey," Sora said to Finn, getting him to look up. "We'll find Rey. She'll be alright, I know it."

That did nothing to get Finn to perk up. "You don't know Kylo Ren as I do." His expression turned into a glare at Han who was talking to Chewie near the cockpit. "And it feels like Han doesn't care."

Sora shook his head. "Han does care. I remember hearing about when he came back to help Luke blow up the first Death Star. He does care."

It was quite odd though that Han seemed very nonchalant about the fact Rey was kidnapped by the First Order. Sora's gut about Rey being alright, for all he knew, could be way off.

Way, way off.

Kylo Ren was nothing short of stubborn, a trait he carried over from his previous life as a padawan. He refused to let the girl in his arms be dragged away or carried by any of the stormtroopers. No, he would see this task through all the way.

There was no other way for this lovely girl, with a light so shimmering it was causing his own shadow to grow more intense, to be interrogated for information besides the usage of the Force. He remembered the first time he invaded into someone's mind and ripped the information out. It was to spare a man's life, in his own twisted logic.

He didn't want to do it so harshly, taking his anger and frustration out on the Resistance pilot—the man's arrogance screaming so loudly it gave Kylo a headache. No, not with her. Not with this girl, which upon closer inspection had a light dusting of freckles on her cheekbones.

He carried her through Starkiller Base, not caring if he got odd looks from the officers or even General Hux—Kylo could care less about what the sniveling weasel thought about him in this moment. Hux already knew the plans to interrogate her, and Kylo was going to see it through.

In a more gentle manner of course.

Kylo made sure she was restrained to the interrogation chair and then took a step back, puzzled by how her light was strong. Very, very strong. It made his darkness tremble; how the light was calling again.

He waited patiently for the Force-induced slumber to wear off and he could speak to her. There were many things he wanted to ask. Her name perhaps was the best place to start.

Her eyes fluttered and then she jerked awake, panic flowing over her features as she looked around in a mix of fear and disgust before her eyes landed upon Kylo.

Kylo wasn't surprised she looked at him like prey about to be attacked by a predator. Not surprised, but also saddened in a way.

"Where am I?" she questioned, her voice cracking a little to contain her fear.

"You're my guest," he answered simply.

"Where are the others?"

"You mean the murders, traitors, and thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear I have no idea."

He expected relief to wash over her features, but nothing, just a glare.

He wanted to laugh for the first time in years; of course, she had a death glare, she was willing to shoot at him first before he even got within ten-feet in front of her.

"You still want to kill me," he said.

She fired back. "That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask."

This interrogation might just go his way if he played his cards right. On impulse, he took off his mask and shook out his hair.

Her eyes were wide, staring at him. He wasn't that terrible looking… Right?

Setting his mask down with a loud thump, he strode over to her and she averted her gaze, failing to sneak glances every now and then.

"Tell me about the droid," he asked, feeling odd that his voice was no longer hidden by an encoder.

"He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator—"

He held back a roll of his eyes at the obvious jab. She was very resilient to typical interrogation tactics, wasn't she? "—Carrying a section of a navigational chart. We have the rest, recovered from the archives of the Empire but we need the last piece and somehow you convinced the droid to let you see it. You. A scavenger."

She didn't budge at the scavenger remark. He took another step closer and delivered his threat, one he really didn't want to follow through on but left with no other choice. The map to Skywalker was right in front of him and he needed it, now.

"You know I can take whatever I want."

She didn't seem to understand what Kylo meant until he leaned over, his hand hovering over her temple and he pressed against the surface of her mind.

Kylo learned a few things, seeing her world in her eyes.

First, her name was Rey.

Second, she dreamed of an island, full of green.

Thirdly, she was beyond lonely, aching for a family that left her long ago.

Fourth, she was friends with FN-2187 and two teenagers with keys—how many of them were running around at this point?

Fifth, his blood raced thinking about it, her growing relationship with Han Solo of all people.

The irony.

"And Han Solo," he spoke again, "You feel as if he's the father you've never had." His jaw clenched for a moment. "He would have disappointed you."

It was then he noticed the tears that stained her cheeks as he aired out all her pain and suffering, plain as day.

"Get out of my head," she spat out.

Kylo obeyed, pulling back but his hand still hovered in front of her face. Time to change tactics. He could ease into it, go through her memories until he arrived at the one she hid closely, but Rey didn't seem a fan of that tactic—not that he blamed her. "I know you've seen the map. It's in there, and now you'll give it to me."

He pressed into her mind again, Rey jerking back in the chair, but keeping her hazel eyes straight on his.

He had to reassure her somehow. "Don't be afraid, I feel it too."

"I'm not giving you anything," she said, voice strained with defiance.

"We'll see," he retorted, pushing farther and farther, but still holding back. She was very, very resistant for someone who never withstood any form of interrogation.

Perhaps a little too resistant for his liking. His heart felt warm as she leaned forward, her brows tightening as she was pushing back. A presence entered his own mind, slipping past all his defenses and suddenly the world was full of sunshine and color and reminded him of the time he ran around on a sprawling beach as a child with his parents—

"You," Rey spoke, and Kylo is terrified. "You're afraid."

His eyes widened.

"That you'll never be as strong as Darth Vader!"

He yanked his hand back, anger and confusion, and that damned warmth in his supposed stone-cold heart was spreading through his veins.

Just… who was this girl? She was strong, beyond strong, and somehow resisted his own interrogation, invading his mind.

Kylo Ren couldn't figure out whether he was mad that he couldn't get the map out of her head, shaken by how she just had to rub his insecurities in his face, or impressed that she managed, without training in the Force, to push back against him.

Kairi's phone beeped as she left the shuttle.

"Naminé, anything?" Kairi answered.

Naminé shook her head, catching Axel leaning over Kairi. "No, but I'm glad Axel caught up with you guys."

Axel scoffed. "As if you guys can get rid of me that easily."

Sora walked over, catching Naminé on the screen. "No luck with Riku, Roxas, and Xion?"

Pence slid in behind Naminé's seat. "Yeah, we think there's something disrupting our signal. We got an unusually large amount of static whenever we try to contact any of their phones."

Axel sighed. "So much for that."

"Do you think it's because they're in the Realm of Darkness?" Sora proposed. "Maybe they had to escape through there."

Ienzo also popped up on the screen. "Unlikely. Riku aided us in troubleshooting that sort of signal disruption himself."

Pence nodded. "Yeah like, something else has to be in the way of the signal now. Some sort of shield made of something else."

Finn walked over with BB-8 and a man named Poe—Axel had called him that— and stared at Kairi's phone.

"Is that a comlink?" Poe asked.

Kairi and Sora looked at each other for a brief moment of panic before answering together. "Yeah sure."

Poe shrugged. "What's this about a signal?"

"Our friends are still missing," Axel explained. "We're trying to reach them but they keep getting major interference."

Finn's eyes widened. "I know where they are. They're on Starkiller Base."

"What's Starkiller?" Sora asked.

Finn looked up to the sky. "You know the destruction of the Hosnian System you saw? That's the weapon that did that."

Poe's jaw hardened. "That means your friends are in there. It's heavily guarded by the First Order."

Well, that was bad news.

"And," Finn said. "Rey is there too."

Kairi, Sora, Axel, and Finn followed Poe to the command center, where Han was speaking with General Leia before Poe interrupted.

"You must be Finn," Leia spoke, before turning to Sora and Kairi. "And you're Lea's friends, right?"

The two nodded.

Leia gave a wary smile. "I would speak more to the both of you but we are short on time. Thank you for protecting Han, Chewie, and Finn."

"Ma'am," Finn said with urgency. "I need your help. My friend was taken—"

Leia nodded. "Han told me about the girl. I'm so sorry."

"Finn worked on the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System," Poe said.

Leia took this all in stride. "We're desperate for any information you have. We'll help Rey but we need to know what you know."

Poe showed Finn the map in the center of the room. A pilot, Snap Wexley, was sent out to take a reconnaissance report of Starkiller Base. All that was left was to wait.

Even worse, the map from BB-8 gave no direction on where to find the famed Luke Skywalker.

Kairi looked over the wounds Chewie sustained being healed with some sort of patch, Chewie chatting with the nurse examining him. She saw BB-8 in the corner next to a powered-down droid, and talking to him was a golden droid with a red arm named C-3PO.

The general was nowhere to be found. Kairi, curious, went to see where she went when she stopped behind a corner, hearing the low voices of Han and Leia.

"…Every time you look at me you're reminded of him," Han said.

"You think I want to forget him? I want him back," Leia confessed.

Kairi froze, knowing she was eavesdropping and she should really leave but found she couldn't. Her heart ached for them. Something bad happened and she wondered if there was anything she could do to help.

"There's nothing more we could have done. There's too much Vader in him."

"That's why I wanted him to train with Luke. I just shouldn't have…" Leia paused to collect her thoughts. "I shouldn't have sent him away, that's when I lost him. That's when I lost you both."

Was this about their son? Wait…

"We lost our son," Han said, resigned. "Forever."

The cogs began to turn. Didn't Han mention he saw their son in the battle on Takodana?

"No, that was Snoke. He seduced our son to the dark side. There's still light in him I know it," Leia declared.

Kairi tip-toed away, feeling for the once-Princess.

It didn't take her long to figure out the darkness she had sensed was the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo.

Kairi sighed. What more damage could the darkness do to loved ones? It tested her friendship and bonds over and over, and it tore a family apart once more.

The failure to retrieve the map from the girl haunted him. Kylo Ren approached his mentor's hologram, not even bothering to put his mask back on in shock.

Why was his heart burning so?

Kylo braced himself as he explained why the information was not so easily retrieved, how he was confused, and unsure how to proceed. Gently prodding Rey's head would definitely not work.

"The scavenger resisted you?!" Snoke bellowed.

Kylo felt a little pride at Rey for being able to surprise his mentor. "She is strong with the Force! Untrained but stronger than she knows."

Plans began to formulate in his mind. Rey's power was untapped until now, shimmering with potential just like his once upon a time. Maybe he could show her what he knows, prevent his own anguish from being rejected for everything he was, and show her true potential as his apprentice…

"And the droid?" Snoke snarled.

Kylo was brought back to reality.

And that weasel Hux came in to rub it in his face. "Ren believed it was no longer necessary. That the girl was all we need. As a result the droid was delivered into the hands of the enemy. They may have the map already. Their reconnaissance ship was tracked to the Ileenium System."

"Then the Resistance must be destroyed before they get to Skywalker," Snoke declared. "Prepare the weapon."

Panic rushed Kylo's veins. No, not again. Once was far, far enough. He couldn't just stand by this time.

Kylo took a step forward, daring to disagree in front of his master. "Supreme Leader I can get the map from the girl. I just need your guidance."

His tone was shaking.

And Snoke could practically detect his fascination with Rey.

"You have compassion for her."

"No," he scrambled to answer. "Never. Compassion? For an enemy of the Order?"

"Kylo Ren. It appears that a reminder is in order. So I will show you the dark side. Bring the girl to me."

Finn laid out everything he knew. Everything was dizzying. The second friend he made today and she was taken away by the likes of Kylo Ren. He stood, surrounded by many members of the Resistance around a giant holo-map. Sora, Kairi, and their friend with the weird flaming hair Axel stood in the back, straining to hear the discussion going on.

"It's another Death Star," one major said.

Poe tapped in a code onto the holo. "I wish that were the case, Major. This is the Death Star."

A holo replication of the Death Star, the size of a moon appeared.

"And this is Starkiller Base."

The base was the size of a full planet, dwarfing the Death Star.

"Holy sh—" Lea began to say before Kairi slapped her hand over his mouth to cut him off.

"That—" Sora pointed to the hologram, "—is a really big weapon."

"How is it possible to power such a device?" Admiral Ackbar questioned.

Finn cleared his throat. "It uses the power of the sun. Once the weapon is charged, the sun disappears."

"The sun?" Sora said, jaw gaping. Kairi looked very pale next to him, not that Finn exactly blamed her.

"General," a woman with blonde braids in her hair walked over to Leia with a report.

Leia sighed. "The First Order, they're charging the weapon again now. Our system is the next target."

"Oh my!" C-3PO exclaimed. "Without the Republic Fleet, we're doomed!"

Finn agreed with that sentiment somewhat. Taking down Starkiller would require a lot of firepower by itself. Still, was C-3PO always this full of anxiety and doomsaying?

"That weapon must be cold enough to contain that heat without blowing up," Lea muttered.

"He's right," another admiral said.

Lea smirked. "Glad to have someone acknowledge it."

"We'll need to blow up the thermal oscillator of that thing, and then the energy will cripple the weapon," the admiral said.

Finn pointed to one on the base. "There is one." It lit up orange on the holo. "But they have a shield around the entire planet," Finn said. "Unless you have some way to get past the shields and disable them."

"I know a way," Han said. Finn glanced at the odd trio in the back who looked knowingly at each other.

"What way?" Leia said.

"If I told you, you wouldn't like it," Han said. Leia rolled her eyes as if she was used to that type of thing with Han.

Sora stepped up. "We'll go with you. Our friends are inside that base. We'll help out any way we can."

Finn felt a great rush of relief at having backup. Kylo Ren couldn't stand a chance against these three magical mythical keyblade wielders—whatever their powers might be.

When Kylo Ren took off his mask, Rey did not expect the man underneath. She expected a deformed scarred monstrosity, too shameful of his appearance that he had to hide it away.

Instead, no, he was young and youthful and his hair was somehow magical because it just puffed up in full volume when he shook it out. Rey watched as he struggled to keep his face impassive but when she pushed into his mind—she wasn't exactly sure how she did that—the cold chill lingering in her bones for years fell away and she was warm. Pleasantly warm. But she also saw his fears and insecurities, this desperate, dying need to fulfill his legacy as a descendant of Darth Vader and the cold snapped right back over her bones. His eyes were a flat betrayal of his every emotion.

Rey saw everything. How he was pushing into her mind, how he fought, how he manipulated people with a wave of his hand, and especially his panic at what she was doing.

He left her in a huff—serves him right for prodding around in her head—and she saw her only opportunity. The little bits she saw on the surface of Kylo's mind was helpful, she might thank the jerk if she ever saw him again, which she didn't anticipate on.

Straining against her restraints, Rey tried to reach out with the Force to get them to open. Nothing.

Static from a radio alerted her. She wasn't alone, but Kylo wasn't here.

"You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open," Rey said, her voice almost squeaking from the attempt. How did Kylo do it?

A voice obscured by an encoder answered back. "What did you say?"

She tried again, her voice still not one-hundred-percent believing in what she was saying. "You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open."

The stormtrooper marched over to her and she hoped her trick worked.

"I'll tighten these restraints, scavenger scum."

It didn't.

Rey was about to slump and pout over her failed attempts but she felt a chill down her spine. Kylo was approaching, fast.

She surrendered herself to whatever it was that was giving her these small advantages over Kylo. With a completely monotone and released voice, she spoke her command again. "You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open."

The stormtrooper straightened and answered back mindlessly. "I will remove these restraints and then leave this cell with the door open."

And he did just that, leaving the cell in a march.

Rey's eyes widened at the blissful release of her sore wrists. "And you'll drop your weapon," she added hastily.

"And I'll drop my weapon."

Rey scrambled out of the cell, feeling the anger and rage of Kylo Ren as she fled down several hallways and corridors.

"We're making our landing approach at light-speed? " Finn said, wondering just how insane Han was.

The Falcon was speeding through the stars. Finn found the novelty of moving at light-speed was wearing off and he did not anticipate Han Solo's logic and ideas to be this insane and dangerous.

What had he gotten himself into?

He looked at Sora, Kairi, and Lea all acting as if landing at light-speed was just a thing one did.

"Are you guys gonna back me up at how nuts this plan is?" Finn said.

Lea shrugged. "Sounds fine to me."

Sora was fighting to contain a smile and Kairi whistled innocently.

Finn rubbed his temples. Was everyone here just used to overly-crazy ideas?

Chewie said something.

Han looked at the four of them from the pilot's seat. "Chewie get ready. Brace yourselves."

It was perhaps the roughest landing Finn had ever experienced, and he had crashed on Jakku in a TIE fighter. He clung to his seat, his friends retreating in the back to hopefully also cling to something for dear life.

"I am pulling up!" Han yelled at Chewie as they skidded through snow and trees until they slowed to a stop on the edge of a cliff.

Finn was frozen in his seat for a good minute after the Falcon made its stop, unsure whether they were going to fall off the edge of the cliff. He eventually relaxed and jumped up to grab a blaster and prepare to go inside the base and find his friend.

"Well," Lea said as the gang hiked through the snow. "At least we're in one piece. I'll take that over being stranded on Jakku."

"I don't blame you, that place is a junkyard," Finn said.

"And full of more sand than I can admit to caring for," Kairi added.

Sora looked at Kairi with his jaw agape. "Kairi, you were raised on an island full of sand. Do my ears deceive me?"

She ribbed Sora with her elbow. "That has the nice sand silly. Jakku's sand is coarse and terrible for napping in, but I suppose you would sleep on any surface if you could, even the snow we're walking on."

Sora gave a cheeky grin, leaning in and kissing Kairi on the cheek. "I would if we didn't have a pressing rescue mission on our hands."

Finn tilted his head. Since when were those two a couple?

"Save the lovey-doveyness for later will ya?" Han grumbled.

They happened upon an outpost just a few yards away from the lower section of the main base.

"Okay kid," Han said to Finn. "How are we doing this?"

Finn looked at the base. If his memory serves, they were right near the oscillator. "The tunnel over there leads into the base."

Han nodded. "What was your job here kid?"

Finn paused, knowing he would not like the answer. "Sanitation."

Han gaped at him. "Sanitation?!"

"Well, you do gotta keep the place clean…" Sora said, scratching the back of his neck.

Kairi facepalmed.

Han grabbed Finn rather roughly by the jacket and pinned him to the concrete wall. "How do you know how to disable the shields?"

Finn swallowed. "I don't."

"Uhh," Lea raised his hand. "I don't know about you but that would have been important to know before we landed on this very cold rock."

Han was not having it. "People are counting on us! The whole entire Resistance!"

Okay so maybe Han Solo really did care more than he was going to admit.

Finn admitted why he was here. "I'm just here for Rey. Solo, we'll figure it out. We'll... I don't know, use the Force or something."

Han looked incredulous. "That's not how the Force works!"

Sora looked like he was going to burst out laughing.

Finn did not find this situation amusing in the slightest.

There was a knock on their cell. Riku sprang right up, Xion nodding herself awake.

"Morning sleepyhead," Roxas said as Xion rubbed her eyes.

Riku approached the door, ready to kick whoever decided to come in. He tugged at his wrist-cuffs, really hoping he could get these things off.

The door opened and Axel stood there, keyblade slung behind his shoulder. "Hello, guys. Need some help?" Axel pointed his keyblade at the cuffs and within seconds they were fried in small orbs of fire.

Riku rubbed his aching wrists. Having them bound all day was not fun; he swore he was going to lose feeling in his hands at some point.

Xion smiled in relief. She embraced her best friend. "Axel! What took you so long?"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "You know, she is right, what did take you guys so long?"

"Uh, short version no gummi-phone signal, I was stuck in a crappy desert, something about the First Order blowing up worlds, and landing on this blizzard of a rock at light speed," Axel said.

Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his hands. "Let's get going before that Kylo Ren emo pops up to knock us out."

"Oh, so you've met him."

Xion groaned. "Yes. We have. He's about as lovely as Xehanort."

"Which version? The one with a darkness complex or a nothingness complex or an identity theft complex?" Axel asked.

Riku sighed, fingers on his temple. "All of the above. Let's go. Where are Sora and Kairi?"

Axel pointed down the hallway, which was littered with passed out stormtroopers. "They're searching for a new friend of ours. We're to rendezvous with Han Solo and Chewie at the ship."

Roxas' eyes widened. "You… Were not joking, were you Riku?"

Riku crossed his arms. "I find your lack of faith disturbing, Roxas."

"'Lead me into everlasting darkness.'" Roxas coughed.

With a roll of her eyes, Xion grabbed Riku by the hand and began dragging him down the hallway. "Boys and their darkness."

"Said the Princess of Darkness," Axel added.

Riku found himself blushing as Xion held his hand.

It felt good being able to watch as Captain Phasma disabled the shields around the planet at blaster-point. Finn was giddy on being able to take control for once, instead of being controlled himself. No longer would he have to obey mindless orders or listen to demands of slaughter from the likes of Phasma and Ren.

"You're making a big mistake," Phasma said. "My troops will storm this block and kill you all."

"Uh, Han," Kairi spoke up. "What do we do about her?" She pointed her finger at Phasma, glancing at Sora who was watching the doorway with Chewie.

Han smirked. "Is there a garbage chute? Trash compactor?"

Finn returned the sentiment. "Yeah, there is."

"Better hurry," Sora said. "We gotta find Rey fast before this whole place goes sky-high soon."

Finn looked at the monitor. The entire shielding system went down.

Time to implement the explosives in the oscillator.

Kylo Ren was not having a good day.

The smoke and smell of burning steel burned through his mask. The girl, his one hope of getting to Skywalker and exact his revenge and save the Ileenium System from imminent destruction was missing. There was no guard, which meant she was tapping into the Force now. She probably picked up the ability while invading his mind.

He should have never left her alone; he was too shocked and awed by her ripping his fears out of his head.

It didn't help he could sense someone else's Force signature, the one he dreaded confronting, the one he knew he couldn't avoid any longer, the one belonging to Han Solo.

Kylo knew what he had to do.

He ordered all the hangars on lock-down and made his way to the main oscillator, following the Force-signature of his father, trying to block out the shimmering light calling to him, the one he now recognized as Rey's.

Rey turned the corner and nearly fired her blaster in shock.

It was Finn with Han and Sora and Kairi.

"Rey!" Finn exclaimed. "What happened to you? Did Ren hurt you?"

Rey scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Sora spoke up. "We're here to rescue you."

Chewie pointed to Finn with his bowcaster. "It was his idea."

Rey thought she was going to cry. No one ever came back for her in all her life. She thought she would have to steal a ship to escape this awful place and the wrath of Kylo, alone.

She embraced her first friend, tears glistening in her eyes. "Thank you," she said to Finn.

Finn hugged her back, and for once she felt cared for. Affection warmed her heart.

"Wait," he said. "How did you get away?"

Fear trickled down her spine. No one else knew about her situation save for Kylo and Maz. "I cannot explain it," she answered. "You wouldn't believe it."

Han slide over. "Escape now, hug later."

Kairi was so happy to see Rey didn't even have a scratch on her, but something felt different about her. Something had changed, and her saying "I cannot explain it," only served to drive Kairi's concerns farther.

But Han was right. Escape the base, hug later.

Her phone rang as they jogged through the halls to the oscillator.

It was Axel. "Heyo!"

"Oh, now our phones work," Roxas' unmistakable voice grumbled in the back.

"Axel!" Kairi greeted. "You got the others?"

"Yeah, we're making our way to the Falcon. You found Rey?"

Kairi nodded. "Yep! Setting the explosives and we're on our way."

"Gotcha. Be safe you two. I know how much trouble you and Sora seem to get in more than usual."

Sora scoffed. "We do not get into that much trouble."

Kairi glanced at her lovable but very self-sacrificial boyfriend.

"Ah, let me correct myself, Sora gets into a lot of trouble." Axel turned the camera to show Roxas walking beside him. "Exhibit A."

"Axel, I swear I will yeet that phone at that emo with the knock-off Ethereal Blade next time we run into him."

"Is that our nickname for Kylo Ren now?" Xion's voice said off-screen.

Rey heard that. "I was gonna say he's the equivalent of a pompous snake but that works too."

"Don't jinx us, Roxas," said Riku. "I'd rather not run into him again."

Rey held her blaster tighter. "Amen."

"Anyways, meet you guys at the Falcon?" Axel said.

Kairi nodded. "Yes. We should be fine here."

"If you're sure," Riku said off-screen. "Kylo Ren overpowered us three to one."

Well, wasn't that reassuring, but that did not deter Kairi in the slightest. She chanced a look at Han who seemed to be rather quiet. Her heart felt for him; she couldn't imagine how it must feel, having your own son fallen to darkness.

The call ended. Sora looked at Kairi whose smile had faded away to concern. He squeezed her hand. "Kairi?"

"I'm fine," she said.

Darkness approached.

She wasn't used to feeling it so strongly just from one person, even as just a presence. This galaxy worked in mysterious ways.

Reaching the oscillator after trekking through more snow, they set a plan. They split up, Rey, Finn, Sora, and Kairi taking knocking out stormtroopers and hacking open the doors. Moving outside, Kairi and Rey caught sight of the sky. Clouds rolled in and the sky darkened as the sun was disappearing.

"Where's Han and Chewie?" Sora asked.

"We can check up there," Finn said, pointing to a ladder.

The four climbed up the ladder, the sky darkening faster and faster as if sunset fell within seconds rather than an hour.

At the top, Kairi spotted Chewie on the upper levels of the fuel cells and Han was moving on the bottom floor, approaching a figure in black.

"Kairi is Han and Chewie—oh," Sora moved up to her side, taking her hand in his.

Rey moved to climb down the ladder, seeing Han walking but stopped when Han's voice shouted so loud and clear it echoed off the walls.

"Ben!"

Kylo stopped and turned around. "Han Solo," he said, voice very distorted to the point it unnerved Kairi, making her squeeze Sora's hand tighter.

Kylo continued. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

Han took slow steady steps closer to Kylo. "Take off that mask, you don't need it."

"What do you think you'll see if I do?"

"The face of my son."

So Kylo did. All that could be seen at that distance was long dark locks, matching with the black robes he wore. It was hard to see his expression from the distance in the dim red light and the dying day.

"Your son," Kylo said, voice echoing, voice no longer distorted. He was just a guy. A regular guy. "He's gone. He was weak and foolish like his father, so I destroyed him."

Han continued to approach his son. "That's what Snoke wants you to think. But it's not true. My son is alive. "

"No, the Supreme Leader is wise."

Kairi looked to Sora who shrugged, having no clue who this Supreme Leader is.

Han explained to Kylo he was being used and would dispose of him in a flash.

Their voices got softer and softer, no longer echoing clearly.

The darkness flared about the room.

Kairi watched with bated breath, hoping that father and son could reconcile, that Han could convince Kylo that it wasn't too late, that he can be free of the darkness taking a hold of his heart.

Darkness only grew and grew.

Before they knew it, red light pierced through Han's back.

"No!"

A wail from Chewie.

Han fell off the bridge, pushed by Kylo Ren.

Rey was sobbing.

"No…" Sora muttered.

Kairi was stunned. She couldn't move.

Who would do such a thing? Why? But Han went back for his son… Han loved his son.

Chewie roared in anguish and fired his bowcaster right at Kylo.

What had he done?

He did it. He did what he was supposed to, and his heart hurt and ached and it was so painful. His soul was being torn apart.

Kylo Ren did what he was expected to, kill the light within himself, but all he could do as his father touched his cheek one last time was stare with tears threatening to fall once more.

What. Had. He. Done?

It should have made his conflict resolve. It shouldn't have hurt. But all it did was hurt more.

He heard Rey's cries and shouted, her shimmering light dulling as he stood there, numb.

What had he done?

He didn't want this. Kylo Ren held back the lump in his throat as he told himself no no no no…

His own uncle shot at him as he deserved, the bowcaster bolt hitting his side and knocking him to his knees.

An explosion went off in the firefights that ensued and he looked up to the girl, Rey. In his pain, he sensed her shimmering light fading. Why was it fading? Kylo didn't understand any of this.

Perhaps darkness was taking root and maybe she was the push he needed.

He forced himself to move, never taking his eyes off of Rey even as he limped with his lightsaber tight in his grip.

Kylo would not let her get away again.

Sora swallowed as he and Kairi followed Rey and Finn through the forest.

"The Falcon is this way," Finn said. "We gotta get out of here now before the planet collapses."

Kairi stayed silent, and in truth, Sora couldn't really say anything either with what they both just witnessed. None of them really could speak words.

The stories that Sora grew up with, one of his own heroes, was killed in front of him, by his own kid. Sora couldn't even fathom doing that to his own dad or hurting any of his friends for that matter.

Kairi stopped, leaning against a tree. Finn and Rey went on ahead and Sora stopped to tend to her.

"Kairi?"

She looked so downtrodden. "What just happened, Sora? I… I don't get it. I know we've fought the likes of Xehanort before and the Master of Masters is no good but… It doesn't make sense. Kylo just killed his own father who loved him! What kind of a person does that?!"

Sora held her by the shoulders. "Someone with a lot of darkness, Kairi. Remember what happened to Xehanort? He killed his best friend."

Kairi nodded before she saw a black figure in the distance with a red glowing weapon. "Sora look!"

Sora turned around. Kylo Ren was in front of Rey and Finn, and his face up close betrayed a look of pure anger and anguish.

A scream from Rey and a shout from Finn. Rey was thrown against a tree and collapsed in the snow.

"Hey leave them alone!" Sora said, his blood boiling. Kylo Ren was not about to take another life again.

He summoned his keyblade charging forward before slamming right into a wall and falling backward into the snow.

"Nu uh-huh, can't have you two interfere while destiny takes hold now!" a familiar jovial voice spoke in a black leather coat.

Kairi rushed to Sora's side, helping him up before summoning her own keyblade. "The Master of Masters!" the two said together.

"Let us through!" Kairi yelled.

"Yeah, get out of the way!" Sora demanded, Kingdom Key shaking in his grip. "They're our friends and we can't lose them too!"

The Master of Masters laughed. "Oh, you two are so cute together. Always rushing face-first into danger to protect your friends. Now, you're going to sit here in this little dome while the two destined to meet have a little chat with lightsabers, and you're going to listen to me."

Kairi had enough. "No way are we going to listen to you!"

"Ah such a shame Princess, because this concerns you most. See, this galaxy," the Master took a little stroll around the perimeter of the dome, "Is made of both light and darkness in its very pure forms. It has a very weird relationship different from where we're from. It manifests in the Force, and your little Rey of sunshine and supposed enemy Kylo Ren have it." His hands were exaggerating his words. "The Force seeks balance and if there is no balance then you have the issue we have today. Worlds crumbling to dust, hearts flickering out, yadda yadda you get the gist."

Sora relaxed from his stance. "So you're saying there's no balance?"

"Bingo!" the Master said. "Now, there is some weird prophecy that two souls, strong and equal in the Force, will bring balance but it's a bit hmm, how can I explain it, fragile."

Kairi tightened her grip. "Fragile because you're interfering."

The Master laughed. "Ah, feisty Princess. You're meddling in the affairs of all-powerful and great destiny! The Force is a fickle thing and it tethered Rey and Kylo together. Aww, how adorable."

Sora shook his head in defiance. "You're just making stuff up! You don't even have the Force."

"True, I don't have the Force, but Kairi can sense it, can't you? That little bond tethering the two together, doesn't that remind you of something, Princess?"

Sora looked at Kairi, whose keyblade slackened in her grip as she watched two dueling lights in the trees, blue cutting through red.

"No way…" Kairi muttered.

"That's crazy!" Sora stomped his foot. "Rey is bonded with Kylo Ren? He's going to hurt her!" He swung his keyblade, glaring at the Master with all of his anger.

The Master stopped his footsteps. "Oh is he?" He leaned over and put his hand up, peering through the invisible wall keeping them trapped. "Hmm, looks to me, your new friend Rey is trying to hurt him. Dare I saw it; she might even be tapping into her own darkness for revenge."

Sora squinted, watching helplessly as the Master was right. Rey went on the full offensive, and Kylo looked panicked as he parried each of her strikes before being kicked down.

"Now, a little dilemma," the Master resumed his overly long speech. Did this guy ever quit monologuing? "You two meddlers got the entire fate of the galaxy in your hands now, congratulations!" He clapped his hands. "But in all seriousness, if either one of those two dramatic Force-sensitives perishes, then the whole galaxy will basically fall to pieces. Have fun!"

The Master snapped his fingers and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the dome vanished.

"I really hate that guy," Sora said, wishing he could have gotten a round with the chaotic puppetmaster.

In the fall of the snow, and silence, Sora spotted Finn lying down in the snow. "Finn!"

He and Kairi kneeled down in the snow to examine a giant burn down Finn's back, fraying apart his jacket and his shirt. Kairi raised her keyblade up to heal the wound, but Finn did not wake up and it would for sure leave a permanent scar.

"Why is it not fully healed?" Kairi questioned. "And…" She took a look at the two lights dancing in the trees. "Why do I have a feeling the Master of Masters is right?"

That caused Sora's stomach to sink very, very far. "He's just messing with our heads," Sora said. "He does that a lot."

The Master of Masters was right.

Kairi didn't know why, or how, but she just knew every single word he said was true as he saw something as Kylo and Rey dueled.

The darkness in Kylo ebbed away and she saw a light trapped within, and the light in Rey dulled as darkness took over. Rey was trying to kill Kylo Ren out of revenge.

But that didn't mean every word the Master said was right. Right?

She looked back down at Finn's wound, finding he was still breathing but the burn on his back was deep enough. Why hadn't it healed fully? Their magic was always enough, usually.

It wasn't an ordinary wound though; it was dealt by a lightsaber. The stroke looked shaky as if it was clean but the weapon itself was not perfectly formed.

But lightsaber wounds were just burns, it should be easy to heal like any other, like a stray fire spell gone wrong in training or a Heartless fight.

There was so much about this galaxy that none of them truly knew about.

Her heart ached again and she felt very weak. "Nghh…"

"Kairi!" Sora held her up. "You okay?"

She panted heavily. "I don't know. I think this world is falling to pieces too. The heart is dying."

Sora's eyes widened in horror.

Rey felt something sing within her as she struck down Kylo, tearing a wound open right on his face and down his neck. Her aim was a bit shoddy due to the darkness of the forest and the pressure of his strength bearing down on her, so the cut didn't hit deep. She wanted it to go deeper.

He laid there, helpless and wounded farther, the monster before Rey writhing on the ground. Her glare only got more intense and within moments she would raise her lightsaber and finish him off. She would avenge Han's death by eliminating his murderer.

Kylo stared at her, gasping for breath, his expressive eyes… Unreadable for once. Like Rey cared. She didn't care for monsters who murdered their own family in cold-blood.

She stops herself, realizing this was the pull of darkness, and she was inches from crossing the threshold.

The ground shook beneath her feet and she was torn several feet away from Kylo, his life spared by the imminent collapse of the planet and her conscience becoming clear.

She rushed over to Finn, tears pouring down her cheeks at everything. Too much. Everything was far, far too much.

To her relief, Sora and Kairi were there next to Finn.

"He'll be alright," Sora said. "But we need to get out of here."

The light of the Millennium Falcon was a sight for sore eyes, even if it reopened a very fresh, fresh wound.

A/N: Onwards to transitioning into TLJ! (Apologies for the sad at the end of this XD)