Rey sat beside the fire pit watching the crackling embers pop as they gnawed hungrily at the wood they were fed. Leaning in closer to the flames, she savored the warmth over her skin and closed her eyes to bask in the blanketing heat. She was still getting use to the chill that came with the constant wind of the surrounding ocean that encircled island. Wrapping her arms around herself, Rey tried not to think. Her mind and emotions were justly overwhelmed by everything that had happened these last few days.

In an attempt to fortify her mental shields, she had been pushing herself extra hard and it was exhausting but to avoid another dream like the last, the effort would be well worth it. Since Rey had somehow connected to his mind while she slept, Kylo Ren had become a reoccurring thought in her head. He was an anomaly; One minute he was threatening and murderous and in the next he was kissing her, palming her hand in his.

What the kriff was she to do with that? She shook her head releasing the thoughts from it's grasp.

Ren was her enemy and she wouldn't forget that. He was the Master of the Knights of Ren and the apprentice to the enigma known only as the Supreme Leader Snoke. There were so many things that had to be taken into consideration and to prepare for. She didn't have time for the confusion that was Kylo Ren.

Maybe that was his plan all along, to confuse her, keep her unfocused and off balance. It certainly would explain a lot and give him the upper hand.

She knew that the next time she saw him in the flesh, one of them was expected to die. Rey had been lucky at best the first time they fought. He was wounded on multiple levels and hesitant to kill her, most likely since she had rejected his offer to become his student, that would not be the case next time. He had no use for her now, she was just an object in his way. On the plus side, Master Luke had recently started training her in combat with a Lightsaber.

He had let her keep his fathers lightsaber stating simply that, "It had chosen her as it's wielder." She'd asked him about his father and the other Jedi on many occasions but each time she mentioned them, he would misdirect her. Rey had been right about him changing in the last few weeks. He didn't try to hide his feelings now. He trained her but it seemed only out of necessity and nothing else. He was becoming more hostile with her daily. She was new to the Foce but she could feel it pulling at her. It was telling her to pursue the cause of his ailment, and Rey didn't intend to disappoint.

Tomorrow. She decided.

After training she'd follow him, discover where it was that he was going and why. Her heart felt heavy with betrayal but she knew it was what had to be done. She stood up then and doused the flames out, watching the fire die, it's glowing orange embers sizzling to death as it gushed it's last smokey breath.

~Somewhere in the outer rim aboard the Mega Star Destroyer~

Kylo Ren paced back and forth along the length of the long window in the meeting room. He was restless again. It had only been a few days since he'd last felt her and already his skin was itching. His hands flexed and crushed into fists repeatedly. General Hux ran his mouth about one thing or another as he usually did. Ren hadn't been paying attention before the General had snipped at him, effectively disrupting his thoughts.

"Ren, did you hear anything I just said?" He pried.

His voice sounded extra winey today but that could have been a side effect of his own lack of patience.
He did however, happen to notice the undertone of annoyance in the General's words, but at least he knew better then to antagonize him when he was already on edge. The Dark sider stopped in his tracks, turning slowly in the direction of the redhead as he tilted his helmet to glare at him through the slits of his mask.

While nervously clearing his throat, the First Order General shifted in his seat uncomfortably before speaking again. "We've taken two more Resistance bases and located a third." He announced snidely as he placed his hands flat on the table in front of him. Now steadied in his chair and fresh with pride over his small tactical victory, he mustered up the courage to foolishly poke at the Master Knight.

"What progress have your Knights made?" A smile weaseled across his arrogant face.

The air instantly thickened. There was a tension between the men that threatened to snap at any moment. Every one in the room stiffened. Some eyes watched Hux, others Ren. It was a blatant challenge directed at his Knights competence and his own.

"Get out." Kylo's words came clipped and concise.

The command was not a request, nor a suggestion, not even an order. Those were all things you could follow or deny. Ren gave the men no choice. He was in their heads and compelling them to leave via a mass mind trick. He had grown so powerful that all it took were the two simple words and a slight push of his will.

They all rose, all but one. The General looked around himself surprised at first, then stunned and finally, fearful. He had tried to stand as the men around him left but his body wouldn't move. All he could do was stare at his Commander's masked face. He hadn't seen Ren's face since that night on Starkiller. He wondered if what remained still looked like a man.

Since the destruction of their previous base, The Supreme Leader had spent every moment of every day grooming and training Kylo Ren. He wasn't sure how much that had changed the boy behind the mask. It didn't matter either way, Hux knew that he still hated him. He'd done everything in his power to meet the needs of Snoke, just as his father had before him. Still, the Supreme Leader doted on Kylo Ren, yet Hux knew he was weak! He chose alternative routs over destruction at nearly every turn. His upper lip curled into a near snarl as he remembered how the "ruthless" Dark Prince had tried to reroute his plans to use the Starkiller on four of the identified Resistance support planets. Hux had been dying to use the weapon. He reveled in the terror he knew it would bring. He could still see the massive sun melting from the sky as it was harnessed into the planet sized weapon. He watched the world around him glow red as it was fired and he'd never felt so satisfied in his entire life.

Ren wouldn't even stay and join the rest of his "comrades" in the victory, instead he chose to hide on his destroyer as the weapon dealt the massive blow to the resistance. He couldn't shake the feeling that the First Order was a means to an end for the recently achieved, Dark Master. Hux knew the way to control was through fear and subjugation.

Ren was only as good as his Force ability and unfortunately he had grown in his powers... at a startling pace. The General sneered in his thoughts.

He envied Kylo Ren for everything he was, everything he had and everything he could have. They were close in age, young enough to have anything and everything they ever wanted but while Hux reached for such things, Ren turned his back. Always denying himself all of the luxuries that could come with only the kind of power he possessed.

Hux thought if he had the kind of power and the backing that Ren did, combined with his own ability to be cold, viscous, and tenacious, there would be nothing that could stop him.

He would be a god. What— A— Waste! He digressed ambitiously.

The Generl narrowed his eyes at Ren. Hux had made it a point to undermine and harass his Leader's pet since the first day he'd joined their Order almost seven years ago, and he was doing it again now, purely out of habit. It wasn't something he thought about anymore, it just sort of happened.

"There is no need to show off, Ren." Forgetting for a moment who he was talking to, Hux spit the name of his rival out as he said it.

Kylo Ren said nothing as his Knights joined him in the room. Hux was beginning to sweat now. His white forehead glistening with fear. Each, like Ren, wore their masks and armor at all times. They were a dark shadow in the well lite room. Their bodies made little to no sound as they moved even though they were clad head to toe with their specialties; Blasters, swords, staves, explosives, even dark magic, where all his to command and that was just to name a few.

Ren was enjoying himself. It was an unnecessary show of power, one he hadn't even intended to display, but it was effective non the less. His Knights stood side by side just ahead of their master. In one swift motion they dropped to one knee and lowered their heads. They didn't need to see Ren nod them away, though he did anyway. They felt their masters will and they obeyed with out hesitation. They turned and one by one, took a seat at the table.

"I believe you had a question for my Knights?" Ren smiled behind his mask. All at once they looked at Hux.

The newest Dark Side Master, conveniently let the General loose from his hold at that very moment and Hux jumped in his chair. Faces with out faces stared at him, waiting for him to do something. They didn't move, didn't even seem to breath. Their masks of death and power, with out eyes, bore a single hole through the wormy General. His skin crawled and his stomach tightened. He felt the darkness around them. It was staggering. It left him struggling to breath. He pulled at The collar of his uniform as though it were to tight and it aggravated him when he felt the tickle of beading sweat at his temples.

Hux had a choice, he could stand his ground and ask his question again, or he could bite his tongue and admit defeat to the man he hated most in the universe. Reluctantly, he ground his teeth, clenched his jaw, and flared his nostrils. Then he stood slowly, cautiously. Hux had no intention of fully surrendering to the Force spoiled brat that was Kylo Ren. He would bide his time and some day in the near future, he would strike.

With a fake smile on his face, General Hux stood as he replied to his nemesis in a calm mannered tone.

"I'll leave you to oversee your... " He eyed the faceless mercenaries of death before he finished, "Men. I'm sure you're capable of leading the few you have to command. I do not question The Supreme Leader's judgment." He turned and began walking to the exit. "Not his." The General smirked leaving his shots out there confident they had not been significant enough for Ren to respond with force. He was good at that. Invoking and nagging without pushing Ren's anger over the tipping point.

"General?" Ren called out to him calmly.

Hux froze, his fists balled at his side not in anger but in an attempt to control his sudden fear. He half turned to face the man but said nothing in reply.

"Have you or your armies located any one of the top priorities that you have been tasked with?" Kylo wanted to smile when he asked the question. He knew it was a very good slam to the General's ego and that he would take it personally, especially  under his Knights watchful eyes, but it was too serious of a question to make light of.

The General clenched his jaw tight.

"No." He lowered his head to Kylo Ren for only a second and left the room.

Kylo could feel his anger creeping up. He sighed trying to release some of the tension in his chest. It didn't work. He closed his eyes and though of her fingers on his face, tracing his scar. The heat from her other hand searing into the center of his chest as it was pinned between them in their closeness. Heat rose from his core and spread through out him. It traveled through his bloodstream until no part of him was left unaffected. It buzzed through him from his fingertips to his toes, leaving his appendages tingling and sensitive. He was melting in his armor now, but at least he had a good hold of himself.

When his eyes opened his Knights were staring at him. He heard himself swallow in his ears. There was no point trying to hide anything from them. They trained so closely in the Force and in combat, that they may as well have been one unit. They were the elite of the Acolytes of the Beyond. They were a group only heard of through dark whispers, amongst even darker company. They had been his grandfather's guards, hunters, assassins, scholars, personal army and anything else he required them to be.

Now they were Kylo Ren's and these six were his closest allies. They were his Knights and they would follow him through whatever or where ever he led them. Something darker and far more dangerous devoted them to him. They practically worshipped him, just as they had his grandfather before him. Along with their obsession with his Darth Vader and the darkside, they shared the same desire to see his grandfather's vision complete. The same as Ren's vision. They would help him restore balance to the force. Most who'd heard of the Acolytes had thought them to be soulless worshippers of the darkside. But they weren't.

It was a fact that they hunted dark relics. It was also a fact that they hunted relics of the light. A little known fact, but a fact non the less. They were devoted to knowledge and that knowledge brought them a great deal of power. They leaned closer to the darkside for the simple fact that the light had to many restrictions. They could hunt for, obtain and use any knowledge they acquired without limitation among the ever encouraging Darksiders. The light had spurned their society decades ago and it had left them separated and exiled from that side.

In their eyes, Kylo Ren had become just as significant as his grandfather was. He was the blood and power of Darth Vader incarnate. His grandfather had been known for many things but little was known about his true intentions. Kylo Ren would need to become a master in both the light and darkside of the Force to obtain the power needed to bring about a balance, but he would, one day at a time he would. There would be many sacrifices along the way. He had made too many already, but that only ensured that Ren would not turn back. To give up now would make everything he had done pointless. A waste.

He thought of his fathers face then, his hand gently resting on his son's cheek before the the light in his eyes faded. Ren's fists clenched. He viewed over his Knights in one panoramic look. They were his greatest pieces in this game and would literally sacrifice themselves for their king in the end. As their leader it was Ren's responsibility and duty to protect and serve them, as well; to make himself worthy of what they had so freely given to him. He would not fail or everything would have been for nothing.

Kylo was momentarily embarrassed by his weakness when she became the forefront of his desires but it faded when he realized how responsible the Force was for putting her there. She had surpassed everything else in queue until she was at the top of his priorities. After all of his past visions of her, he had never known her face, rarely ever had they even been in the same solar system, and then suddenly they lined up simultaneously, on the same path. How could all of these things be coincidence. No, the Force had been leading him to her. He knew it the second he discovered their bond. They were meant to be here together. The Force had set them on the same path, she just didn't know it yet.

Her face flashed across their eyes when their master pictured her in his head. They knew what he wanted most and they would help him obtain it. The dark relics they wore on their heads connected them all through the force. They were imbued with the abilities of a Master and their apprentice. All linked in the dark side by the dark powers that resided in their helmets. They felt with him, craved with him. What he wanted they wanted. They were linked by blood and darkness. By oaths and other chains that could never be broken.

He should not have thought of her so near to them but he wanted her so badly, that he doubted any amount of  distance made much of a difference. The third of his closest six Knights shifted as though she were uncomfortable. He couldn't help but smile, though it was wrong of him. It had to be strange, being filled with the desire for another woman. Something childish stirred in Ren's stomach but he pushed it away immediately.

"Tell me you have something." His voice filled the silence in the room, the vocoders adding an extra tone to his already deep voice.

His first stood, then lowered his head to his master and waited for his consent before speaking. Their Master's anxiety got the better of him and he impatiently ushered his follower on.

"Speak." He snapped.

His Knight responded without hesitation. "We have determined the whereabouts of the defected storm trooper, FN-2187."

Kylo stretched to his full hight, his shoulders straightened and his chest rose. His interests were fully peeked.

"Our sources believe that he may know the location of the main Resistance base." The Knight waited for his Master to respond.

Kylo thought deeply for a moment. "Does Captain Phasma know you have this information?" He questioned curiously.

The knight shook his head. "No master, we thought it best to come straight to you."

"And your sure it's him, the traitor?" Ren hadn't noticed when he'd sat down not even after the Knight he spoke with followed his lead.

They always tried to keep their heads just under their master's when speaking with him. It was a sign of submission and respect and his Knights were unmatched in their show of respect. At six foot, three inches, this wasn't a hard task for them to achieve. Ren stood above most men from an early age. He'd gotten so use to his Knights mannerisms that he didn't even notice things like this anymore.

"Yes, Master. With out a doubt." The unmoving mask replied to it's superior.

Ren placed his hands flat on the black table between he and his Knights and leaned into his elites, then. Without saying a word he instructed them through their unique chain of telepathy.

"No one beyond our bond will know of your discovery. Waylen and Terok you will watch FN-2187 from a distance. Track his movements, who he meets with and where he travels. No one must discover this. We need to know what he knows and more importantly who he knows." He stood up from his chair and his Knights rose following his motion.

"The rest of you keep on your current tasks. You have done well. I am very pleased." He knew he didn't need to tell his Knights this last part aloud or at all, but he felt it was deserved. Bowing his head to his Knights, he  dismissed them from his company.

All returned the bow and turned to leave, except one. Ren hadn't noticed his Third, at first. His back had already turned to the long window, his mind in deep thought as he stared out into the open galaxy. He was already devising and planning when suddenly he realized he was not alone. He didn't need to look back, he could see the knight through the Force but he did so anyway. His face moved first and he held a slight pause before he let his body follow. Saying nothing to the lone Knight, his helmet leaned to one side and he glared at her through the mask. He felt her discomfort, her anxiety... and her fear. His eyes narrowed.

His Knights had no reason to fear their master. Not them, never them. Unless they had given him a reason to be feared...

She bowed her head low to him. "Master." Was all she said before he was in her head. She stood her ground through the assault. Ren had noticed something was off during the meeting but he had dismissed it as something else entirely. Now he was seething. He stormed past her leaving her panting on the floor behind him. He hadn't meant to be so forceful with her but what he found in her head was unacceptable and it enraged him.

The angry Master of Ren, marched to the holo chamber to meet his own Master. The Supreme Leader had already returned to the vast recesses of space. He was always on the move in his personal shuttle. Never staying in one place for long. It made him untraceable. A whisper on the lips of the endless expanse of space. Normally Kylo would wait to be summoned by his Master. He preferred avoiding such transactions entirely when he could but now, with his fury empowering his bravery, he was seeking the Supreme Leader out.

He stood in the room a mere few seconds calling to his master through the Force before Snoke answered. His larger then life hologram appeared before his apprentice as it usually did. He wore his cloak of cloth and shadows as he sat on his thrown of darkness. He eyed his apprentice calmly. Those blue eyes seem to smoke with the coldness they gave off. Ren lowered his head to his master but he didn't kneel and he hadn't even noticed this since his Master said nothing of it.

"What is it my apprentice ?" His voice was level and calm as it usually was.

"You called for one of my Knights." Ren informed his master as though he didn't already know what his past actions were.

His master's eyes continued to vapor like a wispy mist made of frost. He looked on his apprentice as if he had said nothing at all. He was mute, expressionless.

"What you have asked of my third, it is inappropriate and unnecessary." Ren spoke levelly with his superior and he didn't know what encouraged him but he didn't waiver either, even when he realized what he was doing.

His master rose from his thrown and stepped calmly towards the smaller form of his underlining.
Ren thought he would assail him with that unrelenting lightning or shred and tear at his mind with the brutal claws of his own. Decidedly he thought his insolence had earned it, but instead his master only spoke to him in a quiet, low voice.

"My son, there comes a time when a boy must become a man." His masters eyes never wavered and his tone never faltered. "You have been secluded and denied your entire life. The light inside of you wars with your true nature and you listen to it because as a boy you were taught that it was wrong to long for the things you burn for now."

Kylo went to speak in his defense but his master silenced him with the simple waive of his hand.

"I am not the light Kylo Ren. I will not deny you, but I will not lose you to yourself either. I have seen in your mind, I have glanced over your latest encounter with the girl." His voice darkened. "I have seen how she responds to you. The power you can hold over her is greater then you know."

His master held his hand out, palm open. A tiny blue light appeared above it. The energy glowed and danced brightly over his starved, taut skin and Kylo's eyes widened in awe at the beautiful sight.

"She can be forced to the darkside through your bond. You can overpower her and bend her will to your own, if you need to." His hand crushed the light in it's grasp and he paused as he watched his apprentice take that information in.

Kylo hadn't previously known he could do such a thing. He hadn't seen anything about it in his research but he knew if his Master said it, it was true.

"Initially, I thought this would be our path, if she denied our summons to the darkside." He said.

Then he opened his hand once more and there shackled by glowing red chains was the little blue light. Though still bright it was dim compared to before. Instead of dancing it weakly fought against the unbreakable chains that bound it to his hand. His master carefully covered the little light with his other hand trapping it between his palms.

"After watching your last encounter with her though, I think there may be a more gentle solution." Again he paused giving the young man time to process.

Kylo's brow furrowed at the word gentle. Why would such an ancient and powerful being like, The Lord Snoke care about such things.

The Supreme Leader smiled down on him. It was crooked and wicked in nature. Slowly he spread his fingers so the light could be seen creeping through the cracks. The shade of the blue darkened into a rich purple as his Master continued to speak.

"Because my boy, with women, it is always easiest to take the path of least resistance."

Lord Snoke lifted his hand from the light and it smoldered, turning from purple to a bright burning red in his palm. It's glow grew and kylo squinted as he carefully studied the now vibrant ball of power. It shone over his master's face casting his already grim features in red. Ren could feel it dancing in his own eyes as he watched it's playful alluring nature burn and grow. Barely pealing his eyes away from the intoxicating power, he locked them with his master's suddenly dark blue orbs. There was something new in his eyes. Something unfamiliar.

"You have grown much in your powers and you continue to grow still. She motivates you in great ways, just as Padame did to your grandfather." Snoke watched kylo's eyes widened and glow at the mention of his grandfather.

"I am your all father, and you are my son. When you please me, I will dote upon you..." He held the vibrant light out to his apprentice.

Kylo lifted his hands and received the brilliant orb from his master. It glowed brighter in his possession. It bathed the blackness of his gloves like a growing red dwarf burning in the blackness of space. It swirled and danced above its new home thriving and growing like a super nova. Color splashed out in every direction casting beautiful, tiny stars out to rain down around him. Kylo stared at it with wonderment and fascination. The exuberant illuminations shone over his mask, penetrating through the slit to reflect in his eyes like fireworks in the night.

"And when you disappoint me," His master moved his hand above the light and it seemed to retreat from the un-welcomed presence like fire under water. He opened his palm flat, and the light froze.
"I will severely punish you." He crushed his hand closed.

The suffering light darkened above kylo's palms until it matched the shade of his gloves. Then it burnt out and dusted into ash in his hands. A darkness, Kylo Ren had never known crept into his mind, burned in him consuming everything else around it like a black hole. His master smiled inwardly at his apprentice.

"Never forget this, Master, Knight of Ren."

Without hesitation Kylo took to his knee, succumbing once again to the temptation presented by Lord Snoke. His master's hand rested gently on his head and even though it was only a hologram, kylo felt the weight of it upon him.

"I am going to give you a gift my son. Knowledge is the most valuable tool you will ever possess. It is the sharpest blade and the hottest fire to ever burn." His master nodded past Kylo.

He peered over his shoulder at the figure who now entered the chamber. Ren quickly stood as they approached.

Kylo Ren's third, obediently followed his master's summons. He swallowed hard as he watched her stop only inches from him. Aside from their training or combat and the oaths they spoke upon bonding as Master and student, they had never stood so near to each other. Kylo's eyes ignited behind his helmet. They traveled between his Master and his student. His masked warrior stood before him in complete silence, with obedience and eager compliance.

"You will begin your training immediately." His master turned and began walking away. "You will learn the most deadly of arts, the most manipulative and dangerous forms a Master could ever know. You are already familiar and skilled with many of the weapons within the arsenal of this art but you have yet to learn the most difficult... You Kylo Ren, will master the art of seduction." He said, his holo projection faded but his Master's words were clear, solid, and weighed heavily on him.

Kylo Ren stared for a long time at the open space where his Master had previously been. Finally he looked down at his Third, instantaneously cutting her off from the connection that allowed he and his closest Knight's access to each other's thoughts, and he guarded himself with an impenetrable mental shield. He said nothing before turning and walking out of the dark chamber, leaving his warrior standing alone in the silence of the darkness around her.

Kylo Ren moved through the base like a storm. Anything foolish enough to stand in his path he tossed aside with the simple flick of his fingers. He couldn't breath. He'd tried but there was just no oxygen. He was dizzy. His head was spinning as he replayed the entire conversation in his mind over and over. He wasn't sure what to feel or what to think. He had begun by standing up to his Master. He was lucky not to need a med bay. Instead Lord Snoke had spoken to him, rather then down on him.

He knew what seduction was but not how to apply it to women. While training with Skywalker it had been forbidden to travel down that line of thinking, let alone act on it. For the darkside it was a distraction that he didn't have time for. He never expected his Master to encourage it. Passion was a welcomed thing, encouraged and fanned like a burning fire. But passion for a woman... never. Lust was one thing but lust was fleeting. It wasn't a threat.

Lord Snoke had been speaking in long term. Seduction could lead to passion just as quickly as passion between two, could lead to compassion. Passion was forbidden to the light as it was a gateway to the dark. Just as compassion was forbidden to the dark as it was a gateway to the light. His Master had referred to it as a gift. Kylo knew that this was true. He himself had been seduced to the darkside with the promise of power, though it hadn't really been that simple, but he didn't have time to reminisce over his fall from the Light at the moment.

He understood that manipulation was a form of seduction. He even understood how seduction through pain could be used to bend the will and mind of even the strongest of foes. Seduction was no more then finding what your victim wants most and tempting them with it until they break. He was no fool when it came to the destruction that seduction left in its wake. He couldn't help his thoughts then as they jumped back to his time with his parents.

As a boy he would watch his father sweet talk his mother into anything. They would be happy for a short time and then his father would leave again, breaking his mothers heart over and over in the process. He would always come back and it would start all over again. They fought about many things. Ben would be at the forefront of most of the arguments. His mother would list his fathers shortcomings with his son,

"You don't spend enough time with him." She'd say. ''—He's struggling, he needs your guidance, I sense the darkness in him, your never around..." The list went on.

He'd fight her off with his charm calling her things like, sweetheart and princess, though she hadn't used that title since she became the General. She hadn't realized that she was just as bad as he was. She was a powerful woman with a powerful title and loads of responsibility. She didn't have time for her son and when she did, Ben got dropped like a hot plate the second his father came home. There love tryst would start all over again until it soured over one thing or another. The two would part again and Ben would be left alone somewhere in the middle.

As the boy, Kylo had used the term sweetheart once or twice before but it was never for the purpose of seduction. She was very young and it had all been very innocent, but Ben had genuinely cared for the girl. She was special. Not something to be used and thrown away when one became bored with the others company. She was his first real friend. Her age meant that she wouldn't try to manipulate him or over analyze what ever it was that he was going through, though she had been an insightful little thing. Her knowledge and ability to listen and comfort went well past her years.

He simply enjoyed her company, and she his. They played together, trained together and at one point he had even began to train her himself. She was so young that training her in the Force was forbidden by the masters and though he shouldn't have, it made him feel more connected to her. She was his light in an ever darkening world.

He and his uncle had been close at one point. Until he started going on his relic hunts. Still Ben would go to him for guidance with the Force but he was no help. He only made the young boy feel guilty and ashamed. After a time his uncle stopped training him all together. Ben had known his uncle feared what the boy may become. Fear was against the Jedi code yet he saw it every time he looked into his uncles eyes. He started warning his nephew away from the girl eventually too. Scolding him about how attachments were not permitted. About how they led to darker things.

When she had disappeared one day Ben had known what had happened. Luke Skywalker had taken her away from him like she was some toy. Like he needed to be punished for letting his darkness creep out every once in a while.

This made him think about his scavenger, Kylo now understood what his former Master had meant. He had started off curios about the girl. From there he became intrigued, then awed. He hadn't had a chance against her. His darkness claimed her before Ren had even had a second to object. It was violent in it's need to have her. He hadn't even known her name yet and he was obsessively seeking her out. His reactions had been possessive since the moment he first saw her next to another living being.

Hell, he had bridal carried her to his ship, not even allowing his troops to touch her. He kept her close from day one.

What a nerf herder to think he stood a chance against the darkside. What would he have done if he did accept his father's offer to go home? She would be there... tempting him back to the darkness that so fervently demanded he have her.

He paused in his thoughts, a sudden realization distracting him, freezing him right where he stood.

If he had given into the light, they would have been allies. Perhaps that would have been his chance to have her.

A cool sweat formed over his skin, gelling along his forehead and neck.

No, she would have pulled away. Your darkness would have shone through the second you touched her. A voice in his head told him.

He shook free from his foolish thoughts. This is where he belonged. He had no home in the light. He was alone and secluded here by his choice, not through their rejection. Even his uncle who he had idolized, had turned his back on him when he had needed him the most.

He thought back to when Skywalker started disappearing for months at a time just like his father used to do. It was around that time that his acolytes had tracked him down and presented him with his grandfather's helmet. He understood his uncles fear after he learned of his family history from the acolytes. Ben had started talking to his grandfather's helmet, only seeking guidance, never expecting it to respond. He told it his deepest fears and doubts. Spoke of the fear and loathing he had felt from the others who had already know of his lineage.

One day, much to his surprise, his grandfather did respond. He encouraged him to stay strong, to follow his own path and to train himself when others had refused after Skywalker had stopped and disappeared. He kept his new training and interactions with his grandfather and Acolyte's a secret. Especially from the little girl. Even after he began training her he'd kept it from her. He wanted her to grow in her power. He wanted to help her thrive and develop but he could feel himself slipping into the dark and he couldn't imagine her there. The light that she had was too bright.

He knew the power of his influence would weigh to greatly on her. Still, fed and consumed by his selfishness, he kept her close. He would train her in the force without bias, not leaning more to the light or the dark and when she were old enough, she could make her own decision as to which side she belonged.

His grandfather had warned him of Skywalker's impending deception. He had told him of Luke's jealousy towards his closeness with the girl. Luke had treated her like a daughter, after all. But when it came to choosing, she always picked Ben first. By the time the boy was convinced about his uncle's true nature, it was too late and the girl was suddenly gone. He hated Skywalker after that. It had been his breaking point. The moment he decided to give in to the darkside. Before they were his Knights, some of them had been his instructors, his darkside teachers and then his comrades. His grandfather had encouraged him to join their order as one of them until he could find a master worthy to send to his grandchild. His grandfather had shown devotion and compassion to him like only the girl before him had.

His mother and father had showed him love when he was around her age up until the second they sensed the darkness in him. It was a persistent darkness that he had always tried to hide and fight. It had always whispered and pulled at him and they had turned him away. Sent him to Skywalker, the false Jedi.

Ben had his first taste of seduction as a youngling. Through stories of valor and hope. Mostly circulating around his uncle. He loved when his uncle would come and visit and when he was told he would be leaving to train with him he was delighted. He told him stories of great Jedi and his father Anakin Skywalker but he would lead his gullible, ignorant nephew into thinking that Darth Vader was some horrible, inhuman monster. Never disclosing the fact that Anakin and Vader, were one in the same.

One could plant the seeds of seduction and like a tree, it would grow. It would sprout breaking free from the top soil and bloom so large that it could block out the light over head if one didn't know how to see beyond. If you couldn't see through the gaps in the leaves or past the colorful fruits and buds that distracted and misguided ones eyes, you could be overshadowed by the lies before you. It's not until you discover the truth that the beautiful lie wilts before your eyes.

By that time it's too late, the damage has been done. Roots have already sunk deep, destroying anything in their path. It would feed and drink from the soil until its soul was left starved and thirsty, dry and Barron. He only knew seduction as a weapon to destroy with, and he didn't want that with his scavenger. The disappointment and hate he felt for Skywalker would never be acceptable coming from her.

He sighed, in his head he already knew that he was planning on seducing her. After their last encounter together he wouldn't pretend he had the strength or self discipline to play by the rules and no one expected him to. She especially didn't. He knew she must have thought he was manipulating her with every word and every touch from the start. It was the nature of the dark side. He couldn't blame her for her thoughts. But he never found that to be the case. From the beginning his actions and words were spur of the moment. He gave himself little time to think or respond around her and that hadn't been on purpose. When he decided to pursue her through seduction it had been of a pure desire to have her and yes of course her power, but he would settle with what he could get and he undoubtedly wanted her more then anything else.

No one seemed to notice that as Kylo Ren grew in his training with the force, he also grew in mind. They only measured his growth by the level of power and physical strength he obtained. Since the death of his father, he began to see through the shadowing tree that his master had planted so many years ago. Tiny beams of light began piercing through the full, thick foliage as Kylo began his ascent to the top.

His thoughts moved away from his boyish insecurities and doubts. He was harder to manipulate now. His mind had grown in strength and maturity. He knew after his father's death, when he had felt an even stronger pull to the light side and not the dark, that he himself had been seduced and manipulated at every turn.

He trusted his grandfather's wisdom to lead him down the path that he needed to follow and he didn't want to undermined him, but he also knew that Snoke was no more then a Snake in the grass. Ben's father was a foolish man but when it mattered he was usually right. His words echoed now in kylo Ren's ears.

"Snoke is just using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you,'' had been some of the last words the man had ever said, and he was right.

His Master wanted him to seduce her to the dark side. He wanted to use her, like he'd used kylo all his life. He had seen past the blossoms and fruit that his master held before him. The second he had snuffed that brilliant light out from in Kylo Ren's hand. he knew then that his master had felt him slipping from the darkness. He didn't know how, but his master knew that he was faltering. And Kylo had seen the truth behind the seduction that his master had used, though it was so tempting and accurate a weapon, he almost hadn't. His master was planning on using his weakness for the girl against him. He would win either way. He expected Kylo to force her to the darkside by whatever means he chose to do it with. If Kylo did convert her to the Dark she belonged to his master as much as he did. If he failed, then Snoke would destroy her or Kylo, himself. That depended on which of the two he thought was more powerful or useful at the time.

That was a best case scenario. Worst case he would use her to manipulate Kylo Ren further to the dark. He would keep control of his ever growing apprentice one way or another. He had been such a child in thinking that he could have this girl for himself. But Kylo was privy to the game now. He had shown his Master a glimpse of the darkness that resides within. He had done it so his Master would believe that his darkness was ablaze for the girl and while that wasn't entirely a lie, it wasn't a whole truth either. He'd never denied how bad his darkness wanted the girl but what it burned for in the moment he revealed it to his Master, was rage, hate and defiance.

His demons were furious that she had been threatened. That Snoke had even implied that she could be used by him in any way for any reason, infuriated him. She was his, and he would have it no other way. Kylo Ren wasn't stupid. He understood that he wasn't nearly powerful enough to stand toe to toe with the Supreme Leader... not yet. But he would be.

Still he trusted his in his grandfather's wisdom and he would not stray. His guidance had already led him to her. Kylo Ren was correct when he told his father that the Supreme Leader is wise. There was much Kylo could still learn from him but he was also weak. Kylo saw it now. He feared Luke Skywalker and the future he could bring to the Force, and now he was beginning to fear Kylo too. He should have seen it sooner. He moved place to place so that he could never be tracked by pursuing enemies like Skywalker, not that his uncle intended on doing anything but tucking his tail between his legs.

And now he would use this girl in an attempt to control Kylo. He wouldn't need to control his apprentice if he didn't fear him. Lord Snoke had an unmatched power in the Force, but Kylo was betting his physical body was weak and brittle. The Supreme Leader was only as strong as his mind. Kylo Ren had a great power of his own but he had previously been to weak mentally to utilize it properly. He was learning quickly and his master was a better teacher then even he understood. lord Snoke was right, it was time he learned how to wield more powerful weapons in the game he played. Not just against the light side which was slowly becoming less threatening to him, but for the endgame battle. Like every apprentice before him, there would come a time when it would be Kylo Ren against the great lord of shadows himself and Kylo was determined to survive.

He would allow his Master to guide him further. He trusted his grandfather to keep him on the correct path to achieve their goal. The girl had purposely crossed that path, he was sure of it. Ren would seduce her after all. But he would do it they way he had originally intended. There would be no deceit between them. As he'd said when they first met, he would rather be honest with her from the beginning. It was something he himself, was never granted.

He mentally sighed. He had know idea where to start with her. What could he offer her that could possibly lead to her seduction? Maybe power, though she didn't strike him as the type. Most creatures craved it and easily fell to that offer. He had, although for him, it was a means to an end. Something he needed for the bigger picture, not out of desire for himself. Maybe she could want riches, she had come from nothing but he didn't see her as that type either. She was an anomaly. He had no idea what she fought for, what motivated her.

Perhaps he could use the insight of a woman after all...

He really wished it wasn't through one of his Knights. The very idea left a bad taste in his mouth. It just felt like an abuse of power. A break in the chains of their shared respect and loyalty.

Use her, she's at your disposal. The darkness whispered, coaxing his guilt away.

Ren felt sick at the pang of pleasure the idea put into his head. He truly was torn between the dark and the light.

"Don't you have something more productive to do with your time Ren?" The sniveling voice of a pestering bug flying around his head removed him from his thoughts for the second time today.

In response Kylo didn't think, he just acted. His arm lifted and his hand reached until he was Force choking the life out of General Hux, lifting the man from the ground with no effort. His anger fueled his power and he had buckets enough to fill a galaxy. He slightly crushed and the annoying man's face began changing from red to purple. Captain Phasma rounded the corner at just the right moment and she called out to Ren just in time.

"Lord Ren, Put him down." She snapped.

His helmet shot to her direction.

She flinched back but didn't retreat. "Please." She said in a less scolding tone.

Ren tossed the General to the side, his helmet never leaving her direction. The First Order General's body collided with the wall and he slide down to the floor, painfully gasping for air. Phasma nodded to the crumpled up General and two storm troopers moved from behind her to aid him.

Thank you... She didn't say it out loud but a prying Ren had heard her as though she had. He lowered his arm and his fists clenched at his side. He nodded and turned down the hall again.

"You're a stupid fool Hux. Are you trying to get him to kill you?"

He heard her scolding voice as he walked away. —It made him smirk.

*Hey guys n' gals thanks for reading! Please comment and vote if you liked it. *

      -DarkGuardian-