𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐌 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐅𝐓 ▹ KYLO REN [1]

𝘷𝘪𝘪𝘪. 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘺

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THE WHITE WAS INFURIATING. It was the first thing that Ren saw when he finally regained consciousness and it was all that filled his vision: seamless and spotless white. Perhaps it was the purity of the walls contrasting with the impurities that they held that bothered him. But surely any changeless scenery would drive one insane after a few days.

Granted, he had not spent many of those days awake. As soon as his eyes had opened, he fought, fueled by pure instinct. Reaching to his waist, he had realized with fury that his lightsaber was gone. So he lashed out with his fists and the Force, throwing guards back and toppling anything that was not secured.

But this did not last long before someone got close enough to cuff him. Instantly, the searing pain of electricity surged through his system, effectively incapacitating him. The voltage was likely proportional to the strength of Force he was using because the shock immediately knocked him out.

He then floated back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness for the next few days. At first, his automatic response was to attack with the Force, but the cuffs would instantly respond with a severe shock. Once he realized this correlation, he physically struggled against his captors until a sharp jab him of an electrostaff would make everything go black.

This pattern continued. Wake. Fight. Black. Wake. Fight. Black. His mind was unable to process anything properly, running on pure instinct.

But something interrupted this schedule, cutting through his confused and frantic mind. Just as he swung a fist at a guard, a voice called to him.

"Ren."

He whirled around, looking wildly.

"Cassus," he called out-loud, his voice hoarse from screaming in defiance.

But then a jolt hit his back and he was once again thrown into the unfeeling dark. His surroundings changed slightly each time his awoke—a cell, an office, the original interrogation room, another cell—but the past couple of times it remained the same.

When he first woke up in this new room, his mind was swam lazily, only barely able to process things. He squinted at the bright light and lazily turned his head to look at his room. It was a small, white room. No windows. No cot. Just a poor excuse of a toilet sat in the corner. The room was empty; he was alone.

Kylo Ren stopped immediately at the thought. His mind was sluggishly able to know that this was not right. He usually was not alone on missions.

But then he frowned, fighting to connect the thoughts that struggled to form. Why am I not alone? Who else is there?

Then he sat up so abruptly that he nearly fell over, his mind spinning and vision filling with stars.

Cassus, he realized. He had Cassus. But Ren had not seen him since the ambush.

How long had it been since then? A few days? The moments of consciousness blended together obscurely in his mind with no true passage of time.

A bubble of panic rose in his chest at the thought of something happening to his friend in that time. If Fett was gone, then Ren was truly alone.

Glancing down at the shackles on his now wrists, he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He had to do this; he had to reach out to Cassus.

Hesitantly, he focused on his friend and spoke.

"Cassus."

He nearly flinched at the weak sound of the word. What was once a confident call now sounded like nothing more than a croak.

However, almost immediately, a burst of alarm and relief bloomed in his mind. "Ren."

A heavy sigh of relief escaped Kylo Ren's lips and he leaned his head back against the wall. He was alright; Cassus was alright.

"Where are you? Are you alright?" Fett's words came in a rush.

But the door to Ren's room burst open with two guards. "Oi! What are you doing?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but only a small breath came out, the communication with Fett having taken most of his energy.

"Cassus..." he attempted, but whatever connection they had briefly held was gone. An emptiness filled him at the thought.

Ren eyed the electrostaff gripped in the guard's hand and simply shook his head in defeat. "Nothing," he croaked.

The guards looked taken aback. Blinking, they simply nodded and backed out. As the door closed, a distant voice said, "Notify the warden."

After only a few minutes, the door opened once more to reveal Sol's smug, blue face.

"Well," he said, stopping in front of Ren with his hands behind his back, "I heard that you're finally reasonable."

The Force-wielder scoffed. "Are you going to reward me for my cooperation?" he asked dryly.

It was the warden's turn to scoff. "I don't think 'not attacking guards anymore' counts as cooperation."

A heavy silence fell as Ren watched Sol adjust one of his cuff links.

"Where is Cassus?"

"What do you care?" Sol asked with a raised brow, "You're the Supreme Leader's right hand. Fett is your hired gun, and an annoying one, at that."

Ren clenched his jaw. "He is my right hand. My brother."

A cruel laugh twisted Sol's face. "Such sentiment from a Sith," he shook his head and started towards the door, "You obviously don't know your brother well enough."

"What are you talking about?" Kylo gritted.

"Don't worry," Sol said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he stepped out of the room, "Fett will be off of your hands soon enough."

With that, the door slammed shut with a final thud. Ren huffed, staring at the door.

In one motion, he jumped to his feet and whirled around to the wall. The sound of his fist striking the wall echoed through the small room. A small sting at his wrists gave a silent warning.

Breathing heavily, he glowered up at the camera in the corner. Rage bubbled within him and he started prowling about the room like a caged animal. What had Sol meant?

And where was Cassus?