Some Notes: I am aware that the Sith can't become force ghosts. Take it as poetic liberty. Also, dark side users who aren't sith (Savage, Ventress) will be appearing in the chapters to come.

Kylo couldn't believe his luck. The Supreme Leader had just taught him how summon force ghosts to continue his training. It had all started when Kylo had attempted to learn the ways of the Force Choke, to continue his legacy as "Vader 2.0!" Somehow, it had ended with Kylo choking himself while Snoke buried his head in his palm. After that... incident, Snoke had always been mysteriously busy with the running of the Order whenever Kylo's lessons were to take place. Until today.

"Now, my apprentice. You will only use this power when in need of training. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, supreme leader." On the outside, Kylo was the picture of contrite seriousness. On the inside, he was already preparing a list of things to shout at Darth Vader to convince him that Kylo was his biggest fan.

"If you are to use this power wantonly, there will be... complications." Mostly for me, Snoke muttered to himself.

"Yes, supreme leader." Kylo wasn't even listening at this point. All he wanted was to finally meet this figure of legend. Darth Vader.

As soon as Kylo had entered his room (which was modelled the exact same way as Vader's, minus the bacta tank and spinning chair), he immediately opened himself up to the force. Summoning the spirits of the force, he heard a voice calling to him in the physical realm.

"Grandfather...?"

"Grandson." Vader stood before him, grim and badass. Before Kylo could open his mouth, several voices rang out.

"Nephew!" Sheev Palpatine, Darth Tyrannus, and Darth Maul shimmered into existence behind Vader. Palpatine was wearing his customary hood, while Dooku and Maul were in their traditional sith attire. Palpatine looked extremely excited, for some strange reason.

"Grandfather... Who are these people?" Kylo, of course, knew who they were. He just hadn't paid attention to their legends as much as Vader's stories, because how could anyone ever hope to compare to Vader?

Vader sighed. "I... suppose... that these are your honorary uncles in the Dark side. They share no blood with you, but are linked through destiny and the force." Palpatine nodded, then quickly sidled up to Kylo, then put his arm on Kylo's shoulder.

"My nephew! Look how old you've become! Already grown into a strapping young man, I see! But" and here, Palpatine made a pretend sour face and crossed his arms "why haven't you taken up the name of the Sith yet?"

Kylo quickly put some distance between him and Sidious, then rushed to think of a good excuse. "Snoke told me the Sith were too respectable a name for us to take..."

"Now, that's just ridiculous! No grandson of mine is going to be a mere Dark Side user if I have any say in the matter! Quickly, Tyrannus, we must think of a new name for him!" Both Darth Tyrannus and Darth Maul had quickly faded into the other side of the room, and were studying Vader's helmet.

"My child has not decided on his path yet." Vader had placed himself between Kylo and the rest of the Sith. Is he... trying to stop me from becoming a sith?

"Fine. I'm sure that with time, my nephew will learn to see... reason." Palpatine's face clouded, but quickly turned excited again. "After all, there's so much to teach you! How to use Force lightning, how to Lie well, how to-"

"How to use a lightsaber properly." Tyrannus had spoken up from the other side of the room. Maul, on the other hand, was doing his best to not seem interested in the conversation.

"Yes, Yes, I suppose. Now, where shall we begin your sith" Palpatine glared at Vader for a moment. "training?"

Lesson 1: Appearances

It was the middle of the night. After Palpatine assured Kylo that there was to be no training today, Kylo had returned to sleep in his personalized sleeping pod (Really just the same as Vader's, except there was a bed instead of a chair inside.) Kylo Ren was sleeping peacefully in his pajamas when a lightsaber igniting quickly woke him up, as well as causing a sudden dampness in his bedsheets. Right next to him, his crossguard lightsaber had burnt a hole in the side of the pod after a hooded figure had switched it on with the force.

"First lesson of the Dark Side. Never sleep deeply." Maul quickly switched off the saber, then motioned for the boy to stand up. Beside him, Palpatine nodded solemnly, then spoke up in the "kindly grandpa" voice he'd been using the entire time.

"Yes, I know. Being the only competent one in the Order is hard work, but you must not sleep! I remember my master made the same mistake once. He never regretted it, because he never lived to see his error." Palpatine chuckled to himself, then floated outside the pod. Maul followed suit, rather annoyed that he'd be spending time with the man who killed his brother.

Groggily, Kylo quickly opened up the pod and looked around when a scarlet light filled the room. Near him, a hooded shadow stood menacingly with a lightsaber, blood-red blades erupting from both ends. Suddenly, the figure erupted into a storm of blows, surrounding himself with the crimson energy of the blade, before launching himself at a frozen Palpatine. Yellow eyes burned with power as he quickly dispelled Palpatine with several frenzied blows. Kylo felt his mouth drop open.

"And that was lesson number 2. Appearances." Maul put his hood up, while Palpatine rematerialized. "The more intimidating you look, the less your opponent is going to want to attack you." Maul posed for a bit, snarling with his blade, before dispelling it back into the ether where it came from.

"Quite right, Apprentice number 1!" Maul gave Palpatine a withering look, which Palpatine ignored. " However, a Sith must always have 2 personas. One of them must be the terror that stalks your nightmares, the other must be the hand that calms you." At this point, Palpatine transformed himself into Senator Palpatine, representative of Naboo. "My dear young one, you seem quite stressed. Would you like a seat? Here, let me assist you."

Kylo, instinctively, took Palpatine's hand before realizing he was a ghost. He also attempted to sit, only to realize that there was no seat. "And that is the power of words. Remember, do not let one Persona mix with another, or they might start catching on to your little game." Palpatine smiled a kindly smile, before shifting back into his Emperor's robes.

"I do have an alter-ego, Palpatine." Kylo gestured to a blonde wig and high-visibility jacket before Palpatine could utter a word. "And he's quite convincing. Now."

Kylo felt his gaze wander to his mask. Quickly, he put it on along with his robes, then motioned as if Force-Choking a victim. He also took his lightsaber and put it in his holster. "You will learn to fear me."

Maul shook his head. "Do not steal another sith's pose." Kylo winced, then put his hand back down normally. "Tilt your head forward, hunch your back, and make sure you're casting a shadow over your helmet. Now ignite your lightsaber angrily." Kylo took his lightsaber and ignited it while growling.

"No, no, growling works only when you look vaguely beast-like. Silently, but grip the saber tightly and keep your arms bent. " Maul nodded when Kylo followed suit. "There. You look decently intimidating now. I suppose you'll learn to make it look more natural over time."

"Good. Gooood. Now, we work on your grovelling." Palpatine grinned, then shifted into his chancellor outfit, then lied down on the ground, head raised slightly. Maul sighed, then summon his lightsaber and raised it above his head.

"Please don't kill me. I'm too weak."

"Is this really necessary?" Kylo was beginning to feel irritated and sleepy again. Not that they would notice, as he was still wearing his mask.

"Yes. In every Sith's life, they will find themselves in a moment where they are lying on the ground with an enemy holding a weapon standing above them. You have to convince them not to attack you long enough, or they WILL kill you. Or they will electrocute you." Maul winced, but he kept his pose. "Now, watch carefully."

"Please don't kill me. I'm too weak." Palpatine scrambled up several paces.

"You do not know how long I've waited for this moment."

"Please don't!"

Palpatine warped to beside Maul, then snapped his fingers. Kylo snapped back from his drowsiness.

"Now notice a few elements here. Firstly, you must scramble back a few steps. This is to prevent them from killing you while you're already on the ground. Now, you must make a plea for mercy. No matter what, your opponent will always repond, even if it just to gloat or make a self-righteous statement. Now, while he's distracted talking, you attack. Understand?" Palpatine raised an eyebrow at a still awake, if extremely tired, Kylo.

"Yes, Yes."

"Excellent. Now, you may return to your light sleep."

"My bed was..." Kylo trailed off, too embarrassed to continue. Palpatine stared at him for a few moments, then sniffed the air.

"Oh, dear. Well, here is your first test. You must either Intimidate or Grovel for a new bedsheet tomorrow. If you fail, well, you will have to be sleeping on that bed until you... convince the cleaners to make an exception for you."

Kylo sighed. This was to be long training, wasn't it?