First Star Wars fic ever. I hope someone enjoys...

A long time ago in a galaxy far away...

STAR WARS: Counterbalance

After the demise of the Starkiller Base, the First Order has regrouped in a distant sector of the galaxy. Hoping to strengthen their position, Supreme Leader Snoke has made sure Kylo Ren completed his training in the Dark Side of the Force. On an island in Ahch-To, a remote water planet, Rey has begun her own Jedi training as Luke Skywalker's padawan.

Traveling back from an official visit to Resistance's headquarters in D'Qar, Rey's craft, the Millenium Falcon, was intercepted by a First Order recognizance ship. When Resistance pilots detected the enemy intrusion inside a protected quadrant, they didn't hesitate to shoot it down, forcing a handful of its passengers to escape in a short range shuttle. Unaware of who was aboard the ill-fated ship, the Resistance deemed their mission a success...

There was nothing in sight but thick darkness. A pool of unsettling black that engulfed the cold and eerie surroundings. No sun could be discerned in the barren sky. There was no concept of space or time or anything remotely grounding from which to find a shred of solace. Only the frigid temperature of the rim, far from any star that might lend its warmth, its light, its vague familiarity…

Rey blinked several times in a futile attempt to see past the impenetrable curtain of night as fractured memories sliced through her mind, disjointed snapshots, piercing shards of imagery that made no sense.

Dawn on D'Qar, a First Order transporter, Resistance fighters in close pursuit…

Awareness descended upon her like a cloak, draped around her muddled mind with unsettling slowness. The first thing she noticed was the sharp pain in her right knee, the sticky moistness around it, and the coppery scent of her own blood. The second thing she noticed was the uncontrollable shivering that had taken over her body, the dull ache that accompanied it, how difficult it was getting air into her lungs.

She made a conscious effort not to moan, willing herself to become invisible, not that darkness wasn't doing a fantastic job at concealing her whereabouts.

Gaining control of her own breathing, Rey grew a bit more aware. It was only after she had regained consciousness of her physical self that she felt it. At first, it was just a faint rumbling somewhere deep within her, as ethereal as the morning mist in Ahch-To. A dreamlike sensation that soon began taking form, becoming stronger, unmistakable, terrifying...

Yes, she had felt it before. Several months ago. The day in which a bizarre twist of fate had altered the course of her mundane existence in Jakku, and had sent her life on a wild, forever changing spin. Rey swallowed hard, realizing that what she was sensing at that precise moment was the unmistakable icy fire of his presence.

Kylo Ren.

She could tell he was close, a few short paces away, just as aware of her as she was of him, perhaps more. Her best bet was to remain motionless, pretend to sleep, void her mind of any thought or sentiment.

Fear, rage, despair… Free yourself from all emotional burdens and open your mind to the Force.

Master Luke's words flowed through her, infusing her with the serenity she was so desperately seeking. Rey closed her eyes and tried her best to keep the clutches of fear at bay.

"I know you're awake."

His voice broke the still silence—rich and smooth and free from the distortion of the ominous mask. It sent a shiver up Rey's spine that had nothing to do with the freezing temperature that was slowly consuming her. She drew her knees closer to her chest in a silly attempt to become smaller, only to make her leg protest in excruciating pain. Jaw clenched, she bit back a scream and turned her focus to him instead. She had managed to sneak her way into his mind once. She was sure she could do it again, so she took the plunge in a desperate attempt at self-defense.

Just like last time, she encountered the cloud of thick, red fog. And, just like last time, she glided around it trying to find a way in. It was proving to be more difficult now despite her Jedi training. The jumble of raw emotions that had made it possible for her to gain access to his psyche during her captivity had vanished, fortified by a dense cloud as thick and impenetrable as a fortress.

It had been light what had pulled her into Ren's thoughts back then—a light that he had failed to dowse when they first met. That light had been extinguished, replaced by a deep vacuum of incandescent red and opaque black.

A powerful wave of crimson pushed back, thwarting her effort and depleting her strength in one dominant swoop. Overwhelmed by the intensity of his retaliation, Rey was left gasping. Nausea rose from her stomach, rolled up to her throat, but she trampled it down, refusing to give into it.

Calm down... Breathe…

Panic snatched a hold of her when she felt a gloved hand clasping her injured leg. A tight whimper escaped her throat, and she tried to scurry away from his touch only to realize that she could not move, she couldn't even blink. Her eyes had gotten used to the dimness just enough to recognize his shadowed form kneeling beside her, his free hand hovering closely over the wound.

Searing pain exploded around the tender flesh a second later, a deep burning that would have made her cry out had she been capable of uttering a single sound. Her eyes began to water, a single tear rolling down her cheek in slow motion, her gaze steadfast on the menacing shadow looming over her. Then, gradually, the pain began to fade into a dull ache, and the agony she'd just experienced just seconds before became an intangible memory.

Ren stood up, his tall frame stretching high above her, and she felt the weight of his spell lift off her body in an instant. She tentatively sat up, surprised to experience perfect mobility on her right leg. Using her fingertips, she lightly brushed the tender flesh where the wound had been seeping ever since she'd woken up in that desolate place. It had somehow been cauterized, and all that was left was a palpable ridge on the skin in the form of a fresh scar—one branding that spot as a reminder of that frightful moment of impotence.

"What is this place?" she ventured to ask.

"Savoy canyon," he answered dryly.

"Yavin's moon?" Looking past him and over the dim landscape that surrounded them, she tried to puzzle through the possible reason why he might have picked that particular place. "Why did you bring me here?"

He was looking down at her and, though Rey could not make out the expression on his face, she sensed his reluctance to engage in conversation. She was a little surprised when he finally spoke with that perfect diction that had almost hypnotized her during their first encounter. "Our ship was hit by the Resistance. Apparently your friends were not aware of our precious cargo."

At that, all the gaps in her memory were filled and sealed at once. She had been captured by the First Order, was on her way to be brought before their supreme leader, when the fight broke out. The ship that transported her had been hit by the Resistance, downed in this forsaken moon on the outer rim.

"Where is the rest of the crew?"

He walked a couple steps away from where she still sat on the ground before saying, "A true Jedi would know the answer to that."

"They're dead," she answered.

It had been a wild guess. She couldn't feel any other life form in their proximity but, then again, Ren's presence was so overpowering it might have clouded her perception.

"My leg…" she said through clenched teeth. "The injury made me more manageable. Why did you do it?"

"Don't read too much into it," he said impassively. "I need to deliver you to my superior alive. You are of no use to me if you bleed to death."

Rey understood his pragmatic reasoning, and was in a way glad not to owe him any courtesies. Feeling a trickle of cold sweat down her temple, she struggled to stand up, using the wall of the canyon for leverage and making sure her recently injured knee was able to support her full weight. To her surprise, her leg was perfectly steady and free of any residual pain. Satisfied, she patted the belt around her waist, only to find its holster empty. Luke's lightsaber. It was gone.

"You won't need it here," she heard him say.

Fury bubbled like hot lava inside her chest, sharply awoken by the thought of him wielding that weapon.

"Give it back," she hissed.

Rey sensed an evil smile curling his lips and her rage grew deeper. She felt the exquisite pull of the Dark Side, so enticing, so real, the temptation luring her to the edge of the cliff. Kylo Ren approached her slowly, like a predator would stalk a dying prey, until they were just mere inches apart.

"Can you feel its power?" he whispered.

"I will never give into it," she assured him, trembling with unadulterated anger.

A gloved hand brushed her cheek. Disgusted and terrified in equal measure, Rey quickly turned her head away from his touch. She could feel his warm breath near her ear when he said, "Trust me, you will."

The tone in his voice made the hairs in the back of her neck stand on end. Fists pressed firmly against his chest, she gave him a harsh shove that only managed to send her stumbling a few steps back while he remained bolted to the ground, unmoving.

"Don't get near me again, or I swear I'll—"

"Sshhhh!"

Rey was hushed by his rude request, noticing how his stance had gone from imposing to alert.

"Did you sense that?" he asked quietly.

She was about to respond when she heard, more than felt, a faint rustling emerge from the shadows. An oblong sound sparked Ren's saber afire, its red glow illuminating the space around them. And, for the first time since their encounter in the snow, Rey was able to see Kylo Ren's face.

His skin was as pale as she remembered, his wavy dark hair in such stark contrast to it the loose strands across his forehead appeared impossibly black. A visible scar, stemming above his left eyebrow and crossing down to his right cheek and jawline, marked his otherwise oddly attractive features. It was a grotesque reminder of their last duel.

But it was his eyes what made her soul shudder. They had grown darker, more menacing.

Not a trace of light in them.

If there was one thing that had haunted her dreams these past few months had been the passion in those same eyes when he had offered himself as her mentor. Foolishly, she had briefly wondered if she might succeed where Han had failed. Her heart ached for the loss of the only father figure she had ever known, and her hatred towards the man who killed him in cold blood intensified tenfold.

Control…

Rey let out a long exhale and reeled back her anger, the pull of the Dark Side weakening with every breath.

Another sound, this time an impossible to ignore thumping, kept getting closer from the far end of the canyon.

"Get behind me," ordered Ren.

"Give me back my saber," she countered.

Kylo Ren's grip tightened on the hilt of his own lightsaber. "I don't think so. Now, do as I say and get behind me!"

"If whatever is out there takes you out then I won't stand a chance!" she reasoned. "Please, just—"

Rey didn't get a chance to finish her plea. Ren's saber swung around her as a thundering roar echoed through the gargantuan chasm of the canyon and a massive beast charged them.

Acting on instinct, Rey pressed her back against the cold stone wall. Her eyes were trained on the gruesome scene unfolding before her. Watching the flashes of red slashing through the darkness, she couldn't make up her mind as to which of the two monsters she would rather see come out victorious.

[TBC…]