The closing Gate

A continuation of Star Wars - The Last Jedi.

Chapter 1

Rey felt Kylo Ren's astro projection standing before her ship, watching her as she boarded.

With great satisfaction she pressed the button and waited until the gate started closing.

His expression was bleak but somehow filled with anger. His emotions radiated to her in hot waves. Rey could feel his fury glowing red hot beneath his black mask desperately trying to conceal other emotions.

Ben Solo was in there somewhere, Rey knew, but Luke Skywalker had given up on him and so would she.

You are not a Jedi and you are no Sith Lord. People would still forgive you if you changed but they have given up on you. I had hope but you crushed it when you killed your master, she whispered into his mind and watched the gates shutting.

Inside the ship, a huge commotion was at play but Rey couldn't concentrate on them. She was drained physically and mentally and she could still feel the salty dust from the planet they were in, a remnant of Kylo's surroundings.

It was not I who killed your Hero. He was the one who swung the sword first, his dark voice whispered in her mind.

She pressed her lips together in annoyance. Yet you caused the deaths of countless others and you murdered your father. It may not have been you who ended Luke Skywalker's life but had your choices been different we would not be in this situation right now.

There was silence for a bit and Rey thought the connection between them had shattered but she could still feel the salty tang at the back of her throat and the heat of the desert.

You denied my offer, he said slowly and in a dark manner.

His anger pulsated; the strongest emotion of his, but at the back of it there was a disappointment, sadness and a sense of abandonment.

Are you trying to manipulate me, again?, she asked caustically. Or gain information on my surroundings? Unfortunately for you, I am in a closed room.

I cannot deny that I once tried to force my will on you to gain information on Skywalker's whereabouts but I have never tried to manipulate you. I have given you a choice in every matter. Yet, you still chose to side with my enemies, he said and the feeling of rejection was present in his emotions.

Rey's heart flattered as it had done so before on the countless times they had spoken.

They are your family, not your enemies. If only you could see this.

Their choices make them my enemies. The question is… Are you my enemy?

Rey could feel static electricity in the air. She blinked and Kylo was in front of her, kneeling on the salty red ground, his head resting between his hands and freshly cut wounds residing on his body. He was naked from his torso upwards and his trousers had been ripped to shreds. Using an old traditional method he was knitting his wounds together, his lips pressed into a thin line of pain.

Despite herself, she kneeled forward and almost touched his chest where an angry red line was gleaming under the twilight.

Stop it, he warned and brought his gaze to her.

Her heart beating furiously inside her chest Rey was unable to move.

Get out of my head! He screamed at her and rose into the air with fury and intent glowing in his eyes.

Rey pressed back onto the cold metal of the ship, the tubes pressing against her ribcage.

You are the one controlling it, she said silently and closed her eyes trying to push him out of her mind but when she opened them again he was still standing, the red salt rising in the air, the force a slave to his emotions.

He was breathing deeply, his chest heaving from the effort of exertion.

You are not, Rey whispered in realization.

She had thought after the death of Snoke they would have both been freed from the connection but the opposite had occurred. During their fight against Snoke's minions a buzzing energy had surrounded them both, their movements in coordination as if they were one mind, one soul, one body. Instead of the connection being shattered altogether it had only become stronger.

And this would be Kylo's downfall.

You need to learn to control your emotions and the force better. I can feel everything you are feeling, she told him as a warning but mostly because she wanted to get rid from his thoughts inside her mind.

His gaze back at her was full of hatred. You underestimate me. I may not be able to control it fully but in time I will learn. And then… Then you will have no choice but be my slave.

Get out! He screamed at her but Rey could feel another force upsetting the balance between them as Leia knocked on the door loudly.

"Everything okay?" She asked in her, knowing it all voice.

Just as quickly as their connection had formed just as quickly it was severed and Rey was left with emptiness, staring at the cold white wall opposite her dumbfounded.