Chapter Two: Visions

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, and Biggs is right, I'm never gonna get out of here...

Mind still reeling from all the new developments, Rey found herself numbly following Kylo as he led her across the hangar bay, the two lines of stormtroopers from earlier finally dispersing to other tasks in the area.

The Supreme Leader hadn't said a word for some time and Rey desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. Was he still sore at her for rejecting his offer two months ago? Did he just intend to kill her and her friends later, while deriving some sadistic joy by toying with them first? Did he even feel anything except anger anymore?

Was Ben Solo even alive anymore, buried deep inside that dark, titanium shell of Kylo Ren?

Almost as if he sensed her thoughts, Kylo halted and turned his head to regard her briefly. "What I'm about to say might sound strange, but you are to remain silent. Understood?"

Rey couldn't wipe the confusion off her face, but she nodded compliance just as the door in front of them opened with a hiss, revealing a very complacent looking General Hux.

"Ah, Supreme Leader, I see you've apprehended the fugitive yourself," the red haired general greeted amiably, though his brows quickly furrowed with concern. "Why isn't she in binders?"

"General Hux," Kylo replied but ignored his other comments. "Perfect timing. Allow me to introduce my new apprentice."

"Uh-" Hux's reply apparently got caught in his throat as he swiveled his gaze from Rey to Kylo and back again. "Huh?"

It took all of Rey's willpower not to have a similar reaction, though as it was, she had let her mouth drop half an inch before promptly clamping it shut again and feigning a neutral expression.

"A-Apprentice?" the general sputtered, suddenly indignant. "Have you lost your mind? She killed Supreme Leader Snoke!"

Surprisingly, Kylo didn't rebuke the insubordination, though his tone darkened considerably. "Which is precisely why she qualifies to be my apprentice."

"What- But you-!" The general was obviously at a loss for words as his face became redder and redder with rage. "That doesn't make any sense! She ought to die for her crimes!"

When the redhead's hand began to gravitate towards the blaster at his hip is when Kylo seemed to have lost his patience. "Remind me again, ," the Supreme Leader hissed through clenched teeth as he raised a menacing hand to paralyze the other man. "Which one of us decides who lives or dies on this ship?"

"Y-You do, Sir," Hux wheezed with great effort through the invisible grip around his throat.

"Indeed I do," Kylo said darkly, though his temper seemed to ebb as he dropped the general and continued on his way through the doorway, not hesitating to make sure Rey was following behind or caring to see Hux's venomous glare sent in their wake.

After a silent moment of striding down the wide and brightly lit hallway, Rey finally allowed herself to smirk despite her dire consequences. "Your anger management seems to be improving. You didn't toss him across the hangar."

She wasn't sure what sort of reaction such a joke would get out of him, but she hadn't really expected the sidelong smirk he sent back either. "And you're still as gullible as ever."

Rey bristled at that, though she didn't slow her pace behind him. "Hey, my friends were in trouble, what did you me to do?"

Kylo merely shrugged but kept focused on his path. "Didn't say you were a coward."

Not knowing just how far she could press an argument without overstepping their "agreement", Rey chose to drop the debate and switch gears. "What's this business about being your apprentice anyway?" She noted idly that any officers or troopers they passed in the hallway either gave the pair a wide berth or hurried by as if there were a fire somewhere.

"It's the only way I can justify keeping you alive," Kylo replied, barely tipping his head her way.

"Why you keeping me alive?" Rey genuinely wanted to know. She didn't see any reason to continue on with some false sense of hope if he just planned on having her and her friends executed next week. "Why go to all this trouble?"

For the first time since Hux confronted him, Kylo stopped in his purposeful stride and half turned to look at her, a flash of sincerity in his eyes. "Because... I had another vision."

Rey halted in tune with him, suddenly feeling a strong curiosity for his explanation that she was beginning to forget about all the atrocities he was responsible for. For betraying her trust. For crushing her heart when she had held out so much hope for him. She didn't realize she was nodding for him to continue until he started speaking again. "At some point in the future, you help me conquer an outer rim system. You stand beside me, as my equal, in victory."

Rey suddenly caught a glimpse of that vulnerable, gentle spirit that she was so sure he still harbored somewhere deep inside. So overcome by that flash of familiarity, she was unable to stop the name that spilled out in reply. "Ben, you know that would never happen."

The glimpse of Ben vanished in that instant, replaced by Kylo's hard scowl as he turned back to his path ahead. "We will see."

A strong sense of déjà vu came over Rey as she once again found herself alone in an elevator with Kylo. She wasn't in binders this time, but the silence between them was the same, and much like last time, she felt like a prisoner.

She wanted to break the quiet, to get to the heart of his intentions. She was tempted to ask him when exactly he'd had his vision, but she didn't want to give away the fact that she too had seen a vision about a month ago, during that fateful moment when she touched her new lightsaber crystal for the first time.

She was also somewhat afraid to find out if they'd had their visions at the same time, because what would that mean? That their bond through the Force had reconnected with a vengeance? That their futures were inescapably intertwined? That maybe somehow of their visions turned out to be true? There were just too many variables and Rey decided that she just couldn't think about it anymore, a headache forming between her eyes from all the stress.

The elevator door opened with a hiss and Kylo stepped out into the short deserted hallway which only seemed to lead to one door on the other end. Rey followed without a prompt and watched him stop in front of the door's apparatus to input various commands into the system. He stepped away and motioned for her to move closer. "Stand here and say your name and a long phrase."

"Any phrase?" Rey turned a quizzical look from him, to the panel and back again as a red light scanned over her body. "Rey."

"said the computer terminal.

Kylo nodded and Rey wracked her brain for a long phrase without just blurting out random words, though it occurred to her that it was just a stupid computer and it didn't really matter what she said. But then she remember something she read in one of the Jedi texts she had been studying and thought perhaps her favorite points would summon Ben forth again, even if just for an instant. She took a deep breath.