Star Wars Episode IX: Duel of the Fates

Chapter 6: He Was Weak and Foolish

When Kylo Ren opened his eyes, they were met with the familiar blue spiral of hyperspace travel. His eyes gazed over the scene in front of his windshield. It was always so strange to him how he was looking at an entire galaxy in mere seconds as his ship hurtled through space. A faint memory of himself, his father, and Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon as they went on an adventure appeared in his mind as he let his eyes fall shut. He wanted to hold onto the memory even for just a moment. Soon he felt the familiar feeling of guilt and mourning, the pull to the Light and he quickly shoved the memory from his mind and opened his eyes. Kylo Ren clenched his jaw tightly as he forced his plan into the forefront of his mind. He was to train the girl and then use their collective power to kill Palpatine and rule the galaxy together and finally surpass even Vader.

He let his eyes trail over to the scavenger as she continued to sleep softly in the chair next to him. His eyes studied every detail about her as she slept from the way that her eyelashes caressed her smooth skin to the slight part in her pink lips as she let breath flow through them. The pain and anger she felt and he saw earlier in the day was nowhere to be found, instead replaced by a serenity and peace. Kylo Ren sympathized with her. He knew the amount of pain and betrayal she was feeling now. He knew all too well what it was like to have someone who was family try to take his life. He knew what it felt like to lose a parent. He also understood how the rage and frustration led to a pain and anger that is inescapable. Once it grabs a person it wraps its black tendrils around their body and drags them below into a void of darkness that is nearly impossible to escape. For the longest time, Rey was fighting against that pull. She was clawing and climbing out of the pit even as more darkness wrapped around her body. But it was only when it wrapped around her heart that she gave up the fight. It was that strength and that fight that Kylo Ren knew she could use to her advantage. Once she used her fire to find her power instead of trying to deny it, she would be ready to take on her grandfather.

Kylo Ren's body lurched forward against the seating restraints as the ship exited hyperspace. Instead of the blue swirl of hyperspace in front of his windshield, he now saw a dark grey planet before him. Zuffarim was an ancient volcanic planet that has since cooled down. He found this planet originally because of the hunt for his kyber crystal and he had found a home here ever since. He had been coming to train here whether that be by himself or with his Knights and now with Rey.

Rey awoke as he brought the ship down to land on the rocky surface of the planet. "We're here." Kylo murmured as he began to flick off the many switches and buttons that are involved with landing the ship. Rey reached out her arms to stretch them and roll her muscles out as she glanced around the barren landscape. "What's the plan then?" She asked as she stood up and followed Ren off of the ship. "First you train with the Force. Then you train with fighting." He explained stoically as he began to grab supplies from the ship to take to the camp he had previously built with his knights. " How am I supposed to fight? I have no weapon." Rey didn't even have her staff. She could manage without a lightsaber but without a staff she was all but helpless, at least against an opponent like Kylo Ren. "You're going to build a lightsaber." He stated simply. Rey's eyes widened as she thought of it. "I never thought I would earn one." She admitted. A small part of Kylo felt pity for her as she said that. He could imagine what it must have felt for her to feel so small and out of place in this world she was just recently thrust into. "You haven't. Not yet. But when you do earn it, you will make it." Kylo Ren stood and grabbed his own saber, igniting it as the harsh crackling plasma shot out from the emitters. His eyes remained on his blade as he recalled what it was like to find his.

"Good... Good young Solo. Your skill in the Force is improving rapidly." Snoke's gravelly voice vibrated through every bone in his body as he knelt before the Supreme Leader. "It is time you become who you were meant to be. Rise." Snoke commanded. Ben Solo was only around twenty as he rose to his feet in front of the Supreme Leader. It had been three years since he found Luke above his bed ready to kill him, three years since he destroyed the temple, three years since he saw his family. It had been three years since he had begun to train under the guidance of Snoke and he was growing more powerful every day. "You will no longer share the name of your family. Those traitors will only cause your undoing. My young apprentice, you have grown more powerful than I have ever imagined and you haven't even completed your training. But now, there will be nothing holding you back." Snoke rose from his throne and loomed above Ben, staring into his deep brown and pain filled eyes. "From this day on, you will now be known as Kylo Ren. When you become a master of the Dark Side, you will become the Master of the Knights of Ren. Ben Solo is dead. He was weak and foolish like his father. From his ashes rose Kylo Ren, more powerful and ruthless than ever before." Snoke declared. Kylo Ren's eyes lifted to his master as his face became locked in his anger filled expression. "Thank you Master."