Star Wars: The Dark Side Unleashed

Prologue

"Pathetic," Snoke thought to himself. "Oh, sure, he's trying." His hands clenched into fists as his anger boiled. "Trying. Hah. What good is that?"

He paced around the room a couple of times, his cape swishing behind him. "Tears in his eyes. He knows he's failed."  Snoke paused and sat back down on his seat, recalling the conversations. "And now he's fled. Fled! He's afraid, that's what. And rightly so."

Kylo Ren. Such a coward. Snoke growled at himself. Once strong with the Dark Side of the Force, Kylo Ren had been struggling with the light side shining through him. It must have been the fact that his grandfather had been Darth Vader. Vader, too, had initially been strong with the Dark Side of the Force, but at the end of his life, had been converted back to a Jedi. That must have leaked into Kylo.

Granted, he had taken care of his father. Snoke smiled gleefully, thinking about it. "Very masterful, very masterful," he crooned to himself. "Deceiving your father like that. Pretending you needed help to return to the light. I was proud of you there, Kylo." His fingers absently stroked the arms of his seat as he thought about Han's shocked face as the lightsaber ended his life.

Or was it deception?

Snoke sat up straight. Had Kylo Ren been acting when he had asked his father for help? "You weak fool," Snoke murmured.

Toying with the idea of the Light Side? Snoke shuddered. No true Sith or First Order would even think once about going to the Light Side. Why, then, was Kylo struggling with it? Kylo! The strongest of his First Order!

He had grown weak. That was for sure.

Snoke mumbled something. There was no way to turn him fully back, now, was there? Not with his family history. Once the Light had a hold on him, he was going to lose all his power. "All that strength, all that anger, all that power," Snoke grumbled. "For waste."

All of a sudden, an idea hit him. There was that option, after all. That option.

But could that option be contained once released? Or did it really matter? Once Ren was taken care of, did that option need to be contained? Really? If that option was successful in turning Kylo Ren back to the Dark Side, Ren would then destroy it with new-found power. Surely. Because that option was the Dark Side condensed into a living creature, surely it would enrage Kylo enough to cause an end to that option. Completely destroy it. That was the Dark Side: use something, then annihilate it once it was used. So there was that. If Kylo was turned back, he would crush that option.

If not, well. If that option could not turn Kylo Ren back to the Dark Side, it would be Ren himself who was destroyed. And then would come the tricky part of luring that option back to Snoke so that either it would be contained or destroyed. Granted, though, if it weren't for ultimate guarantee of that option's betrayal, Snoke would have made it his second in command long ago. Instead of Kylo Ren. Kylo had strength, but not strength enough.

"I didn't want this," Snoke muttered.

That option. He shuddered.

An attempt to recreate the Chosen One, that option had been conceived using the Force. While both Anakin Skywalker and that option were made using the Dark Side, that option had come out more sinister. There was no promise of "bringing balance to the Force" with that option. No option of turning to the Light Side whatsoever. None.

The Dark Side had created something eerily beautiful in that option, though. Delicate features. Long black hair. A smile that could break hearts. Breathtakingly gorgeous. Shockingly evil. So strong with the Force, that option had to be kept in carbon freeze when not in use, because otherwise, knowing how completely in tune with the Dark Side it was, the whole galaxy was in danger. Snoke himself had difficulty controlling that option.

Risky.

Then Snoke remembered Kylo.

There wasn't really a choice, was there?

Snoke slowly reached for his communicator. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the on button.

"Yes, sir?" a voice replied subserviently.

"Bring Via Dolorosa out of carbon freeze," Snoke commanded imperially.

There was a slight gasp. "Y-yes, sir," the voice replied, with an audible shake in his voice.

That option. Summoned. Via Dolorosa was going to be awakened. And sent after Kylo Ren. Snoke shivered. The battle that would take place when she--that option--caught up with Ren would probably destroy half a planet.

Well, it had been done. And soon she would stand before him. Snoke knew he needed to up his security. The other times, Kylo Ren had been with him. Now?

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Prologue. Well. Off we go.

-Reagan xx