bakerstreet | Monster Transformation Meme

{is it strange to think she does, in some small way, care for him? She wasn't about to abandon him while he was in pain. They weren't fighting, they weren't trying to kill each other. There was no one to help him, but her.

Rey can see the bones on his back growing skin. She wasn't sure what he was becoming, or if she should fear him more because of it.]

You've told me that....twice already.

[There was a flare of anger for talking about her friend, now deceased, but...it wasn't worth bickering about.]

I felt a connection with you, and I'm not sure why.

[When he tried to invade her mind the first time and even now. The sensation was faint before, but was growing stronger.]

[ He lifts his head at that, black eyes looking into her own. He'd felt the connection too. Something familiar about the way the Force flowed through and around her. The more time they spend together, the more sure he becomes that this is no coincidence. ]

I think... Have we met before?

[ A long, long time ago. In another lifetime, under a different name. ]

No...we haven't...

[Not to her memory, not for her to recall. She remembered bits and pieces of her childhood before Jakku, but nothing else. She only remembers waiting for a family that may or may not come back to her, but she stubborn enough to believe they would.

The connection between them is strong, making her look at him without fear, without worry. His eyes may have changed, but she knew them...from when, she wasn't sure. But her hand rose up to place itself on his cheek.

Who are you?

Not Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren...he was someone else, someone who made her want to reach out to hold him like this and care for him.]

We haven't, but... I know you.

[ He leans into the touch at his cheek, skin clammy and cold. The fire within him is dying down, calmed by her presence. His own hand raises to tentatively curl around her back, holding her close. ]

Don't.. leave me.

[How? A simple question that could have thousands of answers, or none.]

I won't.

[It was foolish for her to say such a thing. She would have to leave him, if she wanted to find Luke, if she wanted to put an end to the First Order. Yet, she sounds so sure of mind when those words fell from her lips.]

Are you feeling better?

[ Such a simple question. And perhaps the answer is simple as well. Because as Ren takes stock of himself, of his connection to the Force, of the changes to his body... He finds that yes, he is feeling better. The pain, the fire, he can't feel them anymore. ]

Yes.

[ His gaze drifts off to the middle distance as he experimentally flexes his new wings. ]

I feel ...whole.

Good.

[No more pain, none that she can sense anyway. However, now that he was feeling better, what would he do with her? Rey isn't afraid of what he's become, if the circumstances were different, she would be curious about his new body, but now...

What would he do with her?]

Ren? Ren...

[He was gazing off somewhere...was that a good sign or a bad one?]

[ The muscles that control his wings are stiff, but strong. He thinks maybe they could carry him, should he try to fly.

But she's speaking, and it grabs his attention, once more pulling him back from getting lost. ]

Hm? What.

Do you want to stand?

[To get his barrings? Or should she try to let him go? No one else was coming for them. They were still isolated from everyone else. The Darkness was strong within him now, so much it starts to send chills down her spine.

Perhaps she should let go of him. Perhaps it was time to go back to being enemies.]

I want... [ Power. Yes, now he can feel it. The need to grow stronger. He wants the power that Snoke has. He wants to control the Force in himself and others. He wants an apprentice. He wants her.

But as he looks at her, black eyes searching her face, he thinks maybe standing will be good enough for now. ]

Yes. I believe I can stand. With your help.

You want..?

[There was something going on inside him. Something he wanted, but wouldn't give a voice to. The longer he stares at her, the colder she begins to feel. It's all in her head, she tells herself. She's just trying to stay calm, that's all.

He wants to stand and she'll help him. After that, it would be best if she distanced herself.

There's a nod of her head, pulling away from him to kneel and steady him as they both try to stand.]

[ Slowly, on knees weakened by pain but made strong again by Darkness, he stands, still holding onto Rey's arm. Now that the storm within him is quieting, he must think how to proceed. How to make her follow him so that together they may overtake Snoke.

Tentatively, he reaches out for her mind again, supplying her with messages of gratitude and a debt now owed to her. ]

[The idea to overtake his Master is one that's far from her mind. Rey is thinking of how to survive, how to get out and continue on with her mission. The potential for her to be so much more is there, easy for the Light to claim and now, the dark too.

At first she doesn't want to let him in, considering the pain he brought to her last time, but she accepts it. The 'debt' part is scoffed at, not thinking she did much.]

..I don't think you'll need your cloak anymore.

[Talk, she needed to keep talking and to edge him out of her mind. He didn't need to know what she was thinking or feeling right now.]

Will you let me go or will you keep me as your prisoner?

No, perhaps not. [ He finally lets go of her (physically, if not mentally), and removes his cloak, revealing his shirt, torn and bloody both from their duel and from his transformation. ]

You are my guest.

[ But that's the whole point of reaching out, to gauge her reaction to him now. What is she feeling? Does he disgust her, like this? Does she still think he is a monster? Does he have any chance of convincing her to join him as his apprentice? ]

[For a moment Rey can't help but stare, his clothing a testament to the hell he just endured. Part of her wonders how his wounds from their last duel were doing. Were they healed now? His body, changed as it was, seemed fine. No scars or marks, at least not from what she can see.]

I didn't feel like a guest earlier.

[They were going back into familiar territory for her. Bantering back and forth, though the tender moment they shared earlier was haunting her mind. He doesn't disgust her, but overall he confuses her. The connection, what she felt towards him and if she was going to live to see another day.

The Darkness he sent through her is there, digging itself deeper into her being, waiting for him to draw it out.]

[ He can feel it, the Darkness inside her. Beneath the Light, laying a foundation. Good. Let it grow strong. He then turns his focus to himself, to take stock of his body and mind. Like he'd said, he feels whole now in a way he didn't before. His wounds, though not completely healed, have stopped bleeding. If he doesn't seek actual medical attention soon, he'll have nasty scars across his face and along his side, but he's in no rush to leave this room. Not when there's work yet to be done.

He paces away from her, still looking away but using their connection to sense her reactions. ]

That's unfortunate. There was no time, earlier. There is very little time now. The Resistance will have the map soon, if they don't have it already.

[ Finally, he faces her, not severing the mental connection, but keeping it at low level for now. ]

Which is why I need you to tell me what you know.

[Now they were back to being themselves, back to standing on either side of a line that was drawn in sand years before they were born. It was stupid of her to think of him as anything else other than a hunter with a mask. She scoffs at herself, pulling away as well to put enough distance between him and her. Rey loosely crosses her arms over her chest, unable to detect the low connection they still had. If she were trained, she would still be able to sense he was still in her mind.]

I could tell you plenty...

[She draws out the words carefully, glancing at him, but then looks away.]

But I won't. We played this game before, remember?

[Rey's words are sharp and strong. She wasn't going to tell him where his Uncle was.]

I don't want to hurt you again.

[ NOT his uncle. Ren wanted Skywalker because he was a threat to the First Order. To Supreme Leader Snoke. To... his own ascension into power, if possible. ]

You won't. I'm different now. Stronger than before.

[ He steps towards her, calling on the seed of Darkness within her to rise. ]

You couldn't hurt me if you wanted to.

[Rey turns to glare at him, wanting to verbally lash at him, but the words die on her lips. There's a pull a tug that makes her feel sick and dizzy.]

I don't want to. I don't want to come to blows with you.

[She had the opportunity, had the chance to try and do more harm to him than before. Yet, she didn't. She held back from it, but to know she had the chance, it flares up some anger in her for not taking that chance.]

What are you doing? I was fine before.

[ Not only can he feel the Darkness strengthen, he can see it in her response. Her resistance is to be expected; he would not want her without a little fight in her. ]

All I'm doing is showing you what could you could be, if you would only let me teach you.

[ He spreads his arms, and wings, wide as a display of what exactly lies before her on the Dark path. Isn't it glorious?

These are the first steps. ]

[Stop it!

Rey was pushing him out of her mind, forcing him out and away from her emotions. He couldn't see the vision she had, of her awakening to the Force. She was meant to do more than serve for the Dark Side. She couldn't let the First Order win. She couldn't let her friends suffer.

Who says they have to? The Darkness whispered, spreading further in her being. Her Light continued to fight, to keep that seed from growing.]

You have nothing to offer me. I don't want to be like you!

[Power didn't interest her, but there was something else. The connection they had before, that was the key. She had been waiting, wanting to be with her family. To not be alone. He only had to tug on that.]

[ The connection is broken, but he smirks, knowing that his work will continue without his influence. He only has to find the right angle and she would come to him willingly again. ]

But you do. So lonely, at night. Who have you been waiting for, all this time, if not someone to take you by the hand and show you who you can become?

[He's trying to take advantage of her feelings. He's twisting her emotions to his benefit and as badly as she doesn't want to believe it...there is a part of her that wants it. A small, tiny part is enough for the Darkness to cling to and feed off of.

Rey tears her gaze away from him, trying to smother the feelings inside of her.]

That won't be you.

[She wants him to stop, stop talking, taunting her and tempting her. ]

[ His wings fold in, as in an effort to make himself look smaller, he kneels before her.

She liked him on his knees. ]

It could be.

[ He holds out a hand to her, echoing their actions of only a few minutes before. ]

If you would let me in.

[Rey didn't like to see him on knees, in pain, but now it seemed to be a mockery of what she had done for him. He was twisting what she did to comfort him and she was starting to hate him for it.

Hated him for making her care about his well being. Her hazel eyes convey her emotions, so easy to read and show how conflicted she was. Yet...when she looked at him, she felt that connection again. That tug, the push of the Force to go to him.]

It shouldn't be you.

[The man she was supposed to fight. The man she saw as an enemy, but she found herself reaching out to take his hand and pull him up.

Why should I trust you?]

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