Cyra let the Force guide her to Ben rather than the navigational system. It wasn't long after she left the planet's atmosphere that she saw a dark shadow blocking the stars ahead of her. She flew upon the Resistance craft first, wherein she felt Leia's presence, though she could not see the woman. Her connection through the Force was weak and faint, guiding Cyra to no longer undermine the severity of Rey's call. All of those ships back on D'Qar, all of those Resistance fighters, were now down to one craft. The Resistance was alive on a single ship.

She flinched as she saw a green beam fire at the Resistance craft. It came from a ship that was undoubtedly of the First Order. She inhaled a breath as she saw its size, so largely spread over the space that it blocked out miles worth of stars across its hull. She desperately hoped Ben had told them to not fire at her puny ship, before she pushed the X-Wing forward, entering into territory where the ship could blast her easily.

As the distance between her and the ship closed, she saw the force field of a hangar on the upper deck of the ship deteriorate. She entered into it. It closed behind her. She watched a legion of Stormtroopers, guns in their hands, march towards her ship. Cyra tried to suppress her nerves as she scanned the oncoming crowd for him. He was nowhere to be seen.

Cyra adjusted the lightsaber to her hip and ensured once more her blaster was on her thigh. She wiggled her backpack over her shoulders, popped the lid of the X-Wing, then jumped to the floor of the ship. Her eyes froze on the black shoes in front of her.

She raised her eyes, lifting her body from its crouched position, and saw him. Any barrier over her mind melted. She was mere feet away from him and could not be bothered to think of the things he had done, the situation they were in. She saw Ben and felt the world wash away.

Ben's face lightened when he saw her. She watched his eyebrows settle, the scrunch between them ceasing to exist. He blinked slowly, as if he could barely believe who was standing in front of him. As his eyes fell to his suddenly outstretched hand, Cyra's followed, and she slipped her hand into his gloved one.

He turned on his heel and started to march past the Stormtroopers. Cyra wiped any look of confusion off her face as he led her away. She noticed his hand wave away the handcuffs offered to him.

Cyra remained silent. She kept ensuring her shoulders were back and her face clear of any emotion. She wanted to look strong in the face of the Stormtroopers, in front of him.

Ben led them into a hallway. Anyone in his way immediately fled to the outskirts of the hall to allow him the full path. Cyra's eyebrow raised. People feared him, and yet he was holding the hand of a random girl. She wondered his decision for such a careless action. It would show weakness to his followers.

"I don't care," he muttered.

Cyra looked at him. She felt her face flush. Maybe she should have masked her thoughts better, she thought, and then started to project a barrier around her mind.

Ben released a single chuckle as he felt himself slip out of her mind. He came to a stop in front of an elevator. He pressed the button. She stood beside him. He led her into the elevator, releasing her hand as they turned to face the door.

As the elevator doors closed and it began to fly upwards, Cyra started to tap her fingers against her leg. They used to sit together without any ounce of awkward silence, but that was long gone. Both of them were thinking about the other, though they continued to stare at the door in front of them.

"So..." said Cyra quietly, rocking between her feet. "Big ship."

She yelped when she felt Ben's hands grab her face. She fell, already having been shifting her balance, onto him, and their lips crashed together. She tried to pull away, wanting to emit a small, "Ow," but he kept their faces close. He kissed her feverishly, letting her know she had been on his mind for the last six years. As they continued to kiss, Cyra's hands running up his chest, and Ben's running through her hair, her mind succumbed to him, and his did as well.

Cyra saw it all--every moment of the last six years apart. It came in brief flashes, telling her snippets of a long story. She was being caught up on his life because he was opening himself for her to know. They continued to kiss, as she watched, and he held her in his arms for as long as possible.

She watched his sorrow from losing her, how he replayed their last moments together over and over, how Snoke was cold to his feelings for her. She saw his training with Snoke, the rise of the First Order, the crafting of his mask, the decision behind his clothing. The tip-off to Luke's location, the decision to build a super weapon on Ilum, the Resistance attack, and then Ben pulled his lips away from her.

Cyra's eyes opened. He was there. Their faces were not close, not even as she had stood on the tips of her toes to reach him, or as he bent down to kiss her. But they stood together, Cyra leaning on him, and his gloved hands settling to sit at her waist. He continued to stare at her, his face curious. She watched his eyes move from her own to peer at her face, her freckles, her flushed cheeks, her lips. He was studying her.

She didn't have to. She watched him, because he had showed her everything she needed to know. She broke his heart by leaving him on Mandalore. He suffered through coldness, darkness to be trained as an Apprentice of the Dark Side. He was alone more now than he had ever been before in his life, he was angry, and yet, he still wanted just her. Cyra felt her heart yearn for him, break for him, after what he had been put through.

No, she corrected herself. Not 'put through'. It was what he chose to do. And how could she feel bad for him, when he had been given other options besides turning to the Dark? But despite it all, she did. She wanted to answer his clear call for her, but what he had also shown her was the killing of innocents by his hand. He showed her it all, unfiltered, because he wanted her to know the reality of their separation. He wanted her to know how far he had gone...

Feeling the conflict in his heart through six years told her everything she needed to know in that moment. In Cyra's fleeing of Mandalore, not choosing the Dark or the Light, it created a reality where Ben could choose her, now. He called for her, showed her everything of what he had done, not to scare her into submission of the Dark Side, not to ask her to join. He called for her as a cry for help. An end to the battle of his mind and his heart. In asking Cyra back to him, after six years, Ben wanted to take her hand and flee it all. He would not say this, for fear of Snoke's intrusion in his mind, but he didn't need to express it beyond his feelings for her to gather that asking her back into his life was his first step.

Cyra's lips split to speak, which promoted Ben's eyes back to her lips. "I won't leave you," she whispered to him. Her hand fell to his face. Her eyes fell saddened as he noticeably leaned into her hand, almost craving the touch. "I won't leave you.."

"Don't be brave," he told her, in return. "I will protect you from Snoke, but don't do anything stupid. Follow my lead, his orders. We'll be fine."

She froze. "What are you talking about? What are we doing?"

Kylo knew then that his few quiet moments with Cyra was over. He quit leaning against the panels of the elevator, forcing her to stand on her own. He moved to stand beside her. "I'm taking you to see Snoke. We are going to show him you aren't a threat to the First Order, nor an ally to the Resistance. I'll tell him I'm taking you under my wing."

"Seems like a weak argument," said Cyra, raising her eyebrows at him. She was now entering a state of panic as she realized she, Rey, and Ben severely under planned the rapidly approaching confrontation with Snoke.

"It will work," he told her.

"This is not exactly the time to get arrogant with how much he trusts you," snapped Cyra. He turned his chin in her direction, his eyebrow raised. He was not threatened in the slightest by her tone, but rather amused by it.

"Rey is here," he told her, resuming to face the elevator doors. "She is my equal in the Force. An enemy to Snoke. You've both come to save me."

Cyra said nothing. She was hoping, as she guessed he was, that the three of them together could overpower Snoke. Ben made it clear in their recent conversations that his relation to his Master had been weakening from the minute Cyra was discovered as alive.

Kylo could not deny the coincidence in the timing of it all. Cyra's return, his fall out with Snoke, his hesitation in killing his mother, Rey's utter assurance that he would be the one to turn. What they were saying about him was mot of importance to him in the moment. He was not sure how the confrontation with Snoke, Rey, and Cyra was going to conclude. All he had was a feeling, a premonition, that recent events were important in leading him in a direction the Force wanted to guide him. Kylo was trusting in the Force for the upcoming confrontation. He trusted that, if anything, Cyra would remain by his side.

The elevator stopped. Ben placed his hand on the small of her back, Cyra flinched at his touch and glanced up at him, but he paid her no attention. His eyes were forward, to the opening doors of the elevator, so she followed suit.

The room was overwhelmingly red, yet somehow still dim in lighting. Eight guards dressed in all red stood along the length of the room, standing at the ready with individual weapons. They were placed evenly on opposite sides at the center of the room, where a tall grey block with an indented seat was situated.

In the throne was a being unlike any Cyra had seen. She assumed he was barely considered a humanoid, though he had a pale pink comparison similar to human. His blue eyes were so deeply carved into his face. The right side of his face was straining to maintain the skin over it; his face held deep scars in his cheek and crawling down below his neck. He sat lopsided in his throne, his elbow situated on the arm and his wrist bent outwards, unimpressed by the girl his apprentice had brought to him.

It was silent besides the sound of Cyra and Ben's boots clinking against the floor. She maintained eye contact with Snoke, her face unchanged. She was focusing solely on maintaining a barrier in her mind.

Ben's fingers grasped her loose shirt to guide her to a stop in the center of the room. He stopped beside her and bowed his head. Cyra watched Ben do so but did not do the same.

"So, this is the girl I have seen so much about," drawled Snoke. His voice was slow, but booming. "Ren told me you were not as strong with the Force as him. I sense this is true, but I do find myself wondering how you were able to disappear from the Force for all these years, if you are so weak with it."

Cyra clasped her fingers together in front of her. "Well, uh, I wouldn't say so weak, but the Caves on Ilum masked my presence in the Force. It's so powerful there I was able to hide under it until I learned to shut myself off from it, or at least enough for him to stop feeling me."

Snoke hummed. His eyes fell to the boy next to her. "You feel her incompetence, compared to the girl, don't you, Ren? Her power is nothing compared to the Scavenger."

Ben raised his head. "Supreme Leader, she merely needs a teacher. Her power is weak because it has not undergone training; it's been dormant for six years," he said. When Snoke showed no signs of interest--more interested in inspecting the folds of his hand-- Ben inhaled a deep breath. "I had a vision."

Cyra's head flinched, wanting to turn to Ben for an explanation, but she caught herself and released the tension in her neck. She had to maintain her posture, her facial expressions. Ben needed her to trust him to ensure her life and as such, she could not question him in front of Snoke. She remained complacent.

Snoke's eyes raised to him. "You had a vision and did not mention it to me?"

Ben ignored him. "She and I will be powerful with the Dark Side with continued training under you, Supreme Leader, we'll turn the tide of the war, ensure First Order reign. We do that not only by our power in the Dark Side, but a child born of the Dark."

Cyra could not help the speed at which her head snapped to Ben. He and Snoke glanced at her shocked reaction, which she could not hide, before she pulled herself together and brought her wide eyes to the floor.

Snoke's interest piqued with Ben's vision. "Has she shown allegiance?"

"She came here on her own," said Ben immediately. "Supreme Leader, she was with my mother because she tried to survive the fall of Ilum, but she left her. She has now come here, of her own volition, and chosen us over the Resistance. She's no threat. She will stand by my side."

"Will you?" asked Snoke. He rolled his eyes to meet Cyra's, and Ben turned to stare at her, which she did not acknowledge. "Will you turn to the Dark Side for him?"

Cyra remained quiet. She felt a pulsating on the right side of her head, a repeated knocking. It was Ben, pushing his way into her head, and she allowed it.

Please, he was begging.

Cyra said nothing to him. She feared if she so much as looked at Ben, it would give away their mental connection to Snoke. He doubted her strength in the Force, she hoped, and would not search their minds for collusion. It would compromise their mission, for Snoke to find out that she was able to pursue heightened Force abilities with Ben.

Snoke raised his brow. He looked bored. "If you refuse this offer, you will not leave here alive."

Cyra saw right through his words. He did not mean the Guards would kill her, or that Snoke himself would be bothered with it. All he was demonstrating was his power over Ren. His threat entailed Ben demonstrating his allegiance to the Dark by  continuing the trend of killing the people he once loved. What Snoke did not know was that she saw all of it, through Ben's eyes. He killed his father, but it did not mean regret wasn't alive in his heart. He hesitated to kill his mothe. He would more than hesitate to kill Cyra--she could guarantee that.

"I could not win in a fight against you, or your guards. I'm not foolish enough to try. But he wouldn't kill me," she told him.

"Why, because he loves you?" sneered Snoke. "How did that turn out for Han Solo? Kylo Ren is the Son of Darkness, he is my Apprentice, he will do what I tell him—"

"Did you know I would be standing here in front of you today?" interrupted Cyra.

Snoke was appalled. His nose was scrunched with fury. "You dare interrupt me?"

"I do," said Cyra. Snoke seethed at her, and when he opened his mouth, she continued, "He sensed me through the Force and brought the invasion on the Resistance through me, so, essentially, I've already done you one favor. But I'll be gracious and give you another: my allegiance."

"Why do I need a petulant little girl among my ranks?"

"Because you and I know I'm his last tie to the Light. His father is dead, his mother is graciously protected, otherwise, I'm sure she would be, too," guessed Cyra. "I'm assuming it's poor apprenticeship to go behind your Masters back, which he just did by asking me to join him, and you had no idea of. So his previous statement, of me not being a threat to you, that's not really true, is it? He loves me enough to go betray your trust, it seems."

She felt Ben punching into her head. She ignored it. He was barely in the room, the Guards were barely noticeable. It felt as if she and Snoke were in their own pathway, zoned in on each other, maintaining desperate dominating eye contact, and the tension more than infiltrated both of their bodies. He wanted to kill her for her disrespect, everyone felt that. But Cyra wasn't wrong. Where Ben did not go in his plead was tarnishing his own reputation to his Master, which Cyra deemed as the only necessary leverage she held over Snoke. Losing Ben, as powerful as he was, was a threat to be taken seriously.

"But as I said, I'll do you a favor. I will stay here, if only to make things easier on everyone. With me here, his last tie to the Light, you no longer have to worry about his allegiance to the Dark. He serves you with his full range, unbroken, and loyal," promises Cyra.

Snoke turned to Ben. Cyra followed and smirked slightly to assure him, but he was not having it. He was staring at her, appalled by her arrogance in front of his Supreme Leader. Noticing they were looking to him for a response, he issued a nod, though he held eye contact with Cyra for a moment, warning her, before she turned around.

"And what do you get?" Snoke was quick to inquire.

"Well, my assurance on my life, for one," said Cyra, shrugging. "Always better to stay on the side that's winning the galactic war, isn't it? So, see. He gets me, I get my life, and you get him. We all win here, because of my decision to stay."

"You, Ren, and your future child," corrected Snoke hastily.

Cyra inhaled a sigh, but nodded. "I would say you're welcome, but—"

Cyra suddenly felt a sharp crack of energy freeze from her feet and shoot up her spine. She yelped quietly, stumbling back a few feet before she regained the feeling in her body. Her extremities were tingling, to which she shook out her hands, squinting at Snoke, who smirked, pleased.

"Your arrogance does not go unnoticed," he told her. It was ubiquitously clear Cyra's disrespect was causing him anger. He grew tired of her, fast, and made his decision then. "You will do well to teach her to watch her mouth, Ren, or I will do more than simply shocking her."

Ben nodded. "Thank you, Supreme Leader."

Snoke said nothing. He pointed to his two nearest guards. "Bring me the girl. It is time to turn another to the Dark Side."

As two guards marched past Ben and Cyra, the two stole a look at one another, and they shared a breath. They secured their time together. For now.

The tense silence finally came to a close when Cyra heard the elevator door open behind them. She and Ben had made no moves from the center of the room, but they were forced apart when they heard the marching guards approaching behind them.

Rey passed between them, her hands cuffed in front of her and her arms grasped tightly on each side by the guards as they guided her forward. As she passed, her eyes parted from Snoke, glancing to Ben, and then Cyra, to which her brow furrowed.

"Cyra?" she mumbled, resisting slightly against the Guards to speak with the woman. "Cyra, what are you doing here?"

Cyra shrugged, seemingly unbothered in Rey's disappointment. "Sorry, kid."

Rey ripped her arms from the Guards. They returned to their post. Cyra could not see her face, but she had no doubts she was staring defiantly at Snoke..

"Young Rey. Welcome," greeted Snoke. He waved his fingers at her. "Come closer, child. So much strength...Darkness rises, and light to meet it. I warned my young apprentice that as he grew stronger, his equal in the light would rise."

Snoke pulled the lightsaber from Rey's belt and into his hand. He studied it. "Skywalker, I assumed. For a moment, her, too, but I was wrong," he noted, tilting the lightsaber in Cyra's direction.

Don't watch him, Ben said, entering her mind.

Cyra glanced at him, squinting her eyes to challenge him. She owed Snoke no respect. She followed Ben, not Snoke, not the First Order. She wanted to see what was going on. Ben dropped it with a soft roll of his eyes and exited her mind.

"Closer, I said," ordered Snoke. When Rey remained still, he grasped her within the Force and dragged her across the floor until she was in front of his throne. He broke the handcuffs from her wrists. They didn't matter, when he grasped control of her body through the Force.

"You underestimate Skywalker, and Ben Solo, and me," said Rey fiercely. She struggled against his grasp. "It will be your downfall."

"Oh, have you seen something? A weakness in my apprentice? Is that why you came?" chuckled Snoke. "Young fool. It was I who bridged your minds..."

Ben raised his head from the ground. Cyra looked at him. When Snoke looked in their direction, their heads lowered once more.

Does he-- Cyra asked as she pushed herself into his mind.

No.

They paused and waited for Snoke to speak. He continued, speaking only to Rey, and not noticing Ben and Cyra. "I stoked Ren's conflicted soul. I knew he was not strong enough to hide it from you. You were not wise enough to resist the bait. And now, you will give me Skywalker, then I will kill you with the cruelest stroke."

"No," snapped Rey.

"Yes," hummed Snoke.

Snoke's fingers extended as he tried to enter Rey's mind. She was strong with the Force, as strong as Ben, and she resisted him for a long moment. If Snoke was able to infiltrate Ben's, though, Cyra knew it would not be long before Rey succumbed as well. She was right. Snoke pushed his hand at Rey, suspending her into the air above their heads.

"Give me everything," snarled Snoke.

Rey screeched. Her body was trembling, trying to resist. "No! NO!"

While Snoke was preoccupied with infiltrating Rey's mind, scoping it for any information regarding Skywalker, Ben took a step closer to Cyra and touched her hand. He felt her horror as she watched Rey struggle and he told her, without having to say anything, that she needed to pull herself together. Cyra tore her eyes from Rey and stared at the floor, trying desperately to blink away her wide, horrified eyes.

I'm following Ben, she kept repeating to herself. Not Snoke. Not the First Order. I'm in this for Ben. For Ben.

Rey's body hit the ground with an echoing thud as Snoke dropped her body from the sky.

"Well, I did not except Skywalker to be so wise. We will give him and the Jedi Order the death he desires. After the Rebels are gone, we will go to his planet, and obliterate the entire island," planned Snoke.

Rey raised herself from the ground and extended her hand, trying to bring the lightsaber to her hand. She was not successful. Snoke claimed control over it in a moment and sent it to knock her in the head, prompting her to grunt with pain. He allowed the lightsaber to sit once more on the arm of his chair.

"Such spunk," he noted. He pushed her across the room, forcing her to look through a telescope to the stars outside of the ship. "Look here, now. The entire Resistance on those transports. Soon, they will all be gone. For you, all is lost."

Cyra and Ben could no longer stare at the floor when Ben's lightsaber was ripped from his hip and flew across the room into Rey's hand. She ignited it immediately and the Guards took fighting stances. Cyra's hand fell to her own lightsaber but Ben smacked her hand away from it. Again, she had to loosen the tension in her body. Stay neutral, she tried to remind herself.

"And still that fiery spit of hope. You have the spirit of a true Jedi," said Snoke.

Rey elicited a cry and ran at Snoke. She was blown back with a swift motion of Snoke's hand. Both Rey and Kylo's lightsaber landed in front of Cyra and Ben's feet.

"Because of that, you must die," demanded Snoke.

Rey was not granted a chance to stand on her own. Again, Snoke demanded control over her body, lifting her to her knees, and turning her to face Ben.

Cyra could not react. Her heart was punching against her chest as she and Rey stared at each other. Rey saw Ben turning, Ben saw Rey turning, and Cyra had no inclination as to whose vision was going to be true. She could not risk standing up for Rey and ruin her chance to save Ben from all of this. But could she watch Rey die and do nothing?

"My worthy apprentice," drawled Snoke, shocking Cyra out of her head.

She glanced at Ben, who had captured Rey's eye in a blank stare. He knew exactly what Snoke was going to ask. Their minds were not linked in the moment though she did not need to be inside to know his thoughts were loud, debating quickly what his next move was going to be. Snoke underestimated that Ben had options; he was not fully on one side over the other, at least, not anymore.

"Son of Darkness, Heir Apparent to Lord Vader, where there was conflict, I now sense resolve. Where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training. Fulfill your destiny."

Ben picked up his lightsaber from the ground.

"I know what I have to do," he told the women surrounding him, sparing glances to both of them. His gaze lingered with Cyra. His eyes read clear to her. Again, he was asking her to trust him.

Cyra turned her head. She lowered her chin, appearing complacent in Rey's apparent killing.

"Ben," pleaded Rey softly. Desperate, she looked at Cyra. "Cyra?"

"You think you can turn him, now, after his last call to the Light has joined him? Pathetic child. I cannot be betrayed. I cannot be beaten. I see his mind, I see his every intent! I see him turning the lightsaber to strike true, and now, foolish child, he ignites it, and kills his true enemy!"

Cyra's head snapped up as she heard a lightsaber ignite. Snoke's eyes were wide, his jaw was opened, and yet no noise was heard from him. A blue light was seen through his right side and ending through his left. The lightsaber suddenly was yanked through Snoke's body, summoned towards where they stood. Rey's hand raised to catch it.

Rey's wide eyes looked up at Ben, who was staring between Rey and Cyra, seemingly unsure of the move he just made. Sudden cracking of weapons being unsheathed pushed the three of them from their shock, enlightening them to the reality they were now going to have to face. Eight Guards, eager to revenge the death of their Supreme Leader, and three Force-users, just barely confirmed as allies.