•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•

EPISODE I - KENOBI

Almost three months earlier

"You disappoint me."

Gasping for breath, Kylo Ren scrambles back to his feet. "Supreme Leader-"

"Killing your father should have made your stronger."

"It did," Kylo pleads, even as the anxiety climbs him, tearing him apart from his toes to his brain. It didn't. It weakened you. "I passed-I did the one thing even Darth Vader could not do!" Make your voice formidable. Sound strong. You are strong.

I'm not.

"Then why are you not progressing in your training?" Disgust oozes from the Supreme Leader's voice. Disgust with him.

He'll crush you. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you.

No! Kylo pounds himself in the side. The bowcaster wound from Chewie-not Chewie, the Wookiee, he means nothing to you-has long since healed in the months since the Starkiller's destruction, but Kylo's punched himself enough times there to have an always present bruise.

"Good," Snoke encourages. "Focus on the pain. Let it consume you. Let it motivate you."

The Starkiller... Guilt worms its way in. All those people, loyal to the First Order, dead. Dead because of your father. You did nothing but kill a man who might have killed you.

Ben Solo is dead. I destroyed him.

No, my son is alive.

Kylo slams his fist into his side so hard he feels his rib crack. Grunting in pain, he looks up to see the Supreme Leader shaking his head.

"It's not Han Solo's death," Kylo bursts out, mostly to keep the Supreme Leader from dismissing him from yet another session with only a look of disappointment, a familiar look that only fuels Kylo's memories on Han Solo.

The Supreme Leader cocks his head. "Oh?"

"It's just-I worry. After what happened on the Starkiller, more people might be persuaded to join the Resistance-"

"Then let that fear motivate you!" Snoke bellows.

Kylo feels tears biting at the back of his eyelids and blinks them away. Useless. Worthless.

"If you ever want to finish what Darth Vader started, you must concentrate!" Snoke roars. "Or else the Jedi will rise again."

The girl. The scavenger. "The Dark Side is stronger," Kylo says, fighting panic. He cannot fail. He cannot have sacrificed so much to fail. "We will not let that happen."

Thank you.

The moment he fell, you failed.

"We?" Snoke scoffs. "Your training is still not complete, and at the rate at which you're progressing, we both might be dead before it's complete."

Kylo's eyes are burning now. He doesn't understand. He never cries.

At least, he hadn't in years, until...

Snoke rises abruptly, pacing. The man is smaller, far smaller, than Kylo Ren. "Perhaps it's the girl."

"The scavenger?" Kylo inquires. The scar on his face twinges as his hand rises to touch it.

"Yes," Snoke hisses. "The Light Side. It's been getting stronger since the awakening. Because of her." He stops in front of Kylo, reaching out and lifting his face. His hands are cold and his skin moist and frail, as if it's already decaying. "Perhaps that's why it's still tormenting you."

The Supreme Leader's voice is gentle now, and Kylo relaxes. "What can we do about it?"

"Show her the power of the Dark Side."

"I already tried that."

"Yes, but that was not under my orders, was it?" Snoke pulls Kylo's face closer to his own. "I told you to bring her to me."

"I-"

He releases Kylo. "She is now training with Luke Skywalker."

Sucking in air, Kylo shudders. "Without that piece of the map, we can't-"

"I've stationed a great many spies in the area. We may hear from one of them soon. Wherever Luke Skywalker is now, he will soon leave. With the girl."

Kylo presses his thumb against his side and cringes. "Why?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi's granddaughter is going to want to learn more about her past, isn't she? And when she leaves, you will take her, and you will bring her to me."