•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•

EPISODE XL - THE EIGHT YEAR OLD MURDERER

He's screaming out loud. He's screaming in his head, and Snoke laughs and laughs.

I mean it, Kylo Ren. She goes to the Dark Side, or I will kill her and raise the child. I think it's a lot more likely to follow me, don't you? Your child will achieve levels of power you never could, because your child will not desire the Light—it will use the Light, but never allow it to corrupt him. Or her.

"No! No, please!" Take me, take me instead, he pleads. I'll go back to the Dark Side. For love. For Rey. For their child.

That's an interesting proposition. But I've seen what you can offer me.

Something crashes. Mother. Mother and Luke are here, and Ben catches sight of Luke stretching his hands out towards Ben, who writhes away, tears leaking from his eyes as he sobs.

A distinct pressure enters Ben's brain, far more powerful than just Snoke's probe. Snoke's voice lessens, but Ben can still hear it.

You're weak, pathetic, ungrateful for all the power I have shown you, for all the help I've given you! I ordered Tygo Ren to help you burn Xin's body, remember? The Knights of Ren have always been looking out for you. I thought you were the perfect apprentice after killing him. And the perfect secret-keeper.

The other presence seeps closer, but it can't shut out Snoke.

Try to run away, Kylo Ren. Keep running. But you'll find that the Light Side will spit you out, because you'll never be anything but a murderer. You've never been anything else since you were eight years old.

Murderer.

And then he's gone, and Ben can breathe. He cracks his eyes open again—when did I shut them?—and tries to push out the echo.

Murderer.

Murderer.

And then he sees the look on Uncle Luke's face, and he realizes what the other presence was.

Luke was in his head.

Luke knows.

Ben's hands fly up to cover his face, and he doubles over, inconsolable.

"What was he talking about, Ben?" Luke whispers.

"Murderer. I'm a murderer."

"We know that," Poe says drolly.

"Poe!" Finn chastises him.

"No, but Ben—we know that. And we're all still here, and you're helping us, and we're helping you—it's not that we don't care, but more like we're—we're moving past that. Slowly. At our own paces."

Something snuffles. Ben lifts his head to see Chewie ducking under the doorway, Poe looking at him with an almost pleading look on his face, Finn's brow knotted with concern, and Mother clutching his hands and Luke watching him with an expression Ben can't quite read—horror? Sorrow? For what Ben's done, or for Ben himself?

BB-8 blips and rolls over, leaning its head against Ben's shoulder.

Murderer.

I don't deserve this—none of them.

Behind Chewie, Lando enters. "Heard Snoke was back..." His voice falters.

"You were in my head," Ben says to Luke. "How?"

"I learned how at the Jedi temple. I didn't want to—I've never done that before. Used it."

"You were screaming so loudly, Ben," Mother cuts in. "I told Luke to help you."