The Wookiee garbled angrily at the droid as its whirring and beeping announced its victory. Chewie looked at him with fierce, feral eyes, as if to say, "You're a dirty cheater." Which R2 would likely agree with heartily. However, the droid kept its mouth shut, in a matter of speaking. It had already pushed its luck with the Wookiee too often in the past 24 hours.
To pass the time while they waited for Rey to check in, they had been playing a gambling game that R2 had suggested. So far neither placed bets, as Chewbacca was known for his skill and coercion, whilst R2 was know for its tricks and schemes. Both had won and lost in equal amounts, so the lack of betting served them both for the better.
Right as they abandoned their game to check on some of their assigned maintenance work, the hiss of an opening shaft caught their attention. The Wookiee was the first to head over to the hatch, only to be overcome with joy from seeing Luke Skywalker. Chewbacca launched headlong into the old jedi's torso, lifting him up in a firm embrace. Luke laughed in his aged, smokey voice, and returned the hug. Just behind him was Rey, a whisper of apprehension in the gaze she held with the floor. Shutting the hatch behind her, she met Chewbacca's line of sight and offered him a smile.
"I came to tell you we're staying longer than intended," she stated. R2D2 and Chewie shared incredulity in a short glance. "What?"
R2D2's beeping indicated urgency in the plan to return Luke to the Republic. Rey nodded in complete understanding.
"I'm aware of our mission, but I've been convinced to stay. I'm going to be his padawan."
Her announcement left the two aghast. There was a precedent set with all inaction in the previous years that necessitated immediate attack. Every time a threat was left to its devices, lives were ended, planets destroyed, and the entire galaxy's population was threatened with indoctrination. Both of Rey's allies had seen these outcomes in their many years, and were coloured uneasy.
Still, she persisted, and proposed the importance in staying on the island with Luke.
"I wasn't sure of this, either, until Luke told me everything I needed to know." She paused to look at the Jedi, who offered a wizened smirk. She continued, slightly more invigorated, "I was already training under him. He took me in at 2 and trained me."
"Nothing big, I'm afraid to say, but Rey's taken a lot of the training into her own hands," added Luke, referencing the scavenger's affinity for her bo staff. "Even without my guidance, her powers with the Force have grown exponentially, and the Light in her is blinding."
Rey struggled to withhold a gaudy smile.
Luke continued. "She has incredible potential, and a proper template to finish her training. If I have just a month with her, she could face, and defeat, Ben Solo."
Chewbacca, in his feral growling, addressed the fact that a lot could happen in that one month, and that all this could be achieved at the Republic's base.
It pained her to be so immalleable, however Rey trusted what Luke had told her, and was willing to take that risk. Even though, and a small bit of the girl regretted this, she yearned to learn under the legendary Luke Skywalker, and to be the next heroine of the galaxy, Rey was level-headed enough to not even consider this course without thorough convincing, and Luke was a rather convincing man.
"The power of the temple can help me tap into the Force in me, and perhaps make this go quicker," she explained. "And it's safer here until I'm ready."
"If I leave now, I'll have a target on me as soon as we leave this system. This is the only place I am invisible until I want to be seen."
Withdrawn from their objections, the two friends ended their battle, and offered support.
Support that Rey was eager to accept.
There was an awful feeling that Ben Solo felt every once in a while.
He could only describe it as a scrunching, pinching feeling in his core. The feeling was akin to a black hole; an item collapsing in on itself. The pressure outside him pushing in. Being squeezed by a giant hand.
It was awful.
He felt it again as he approached Snoke, no longer a hologram before him, but rather the frail old teacher, the guide, the adviser. He was flesh and bone, and raw, unbridled power. Kylo Ren bowed before the man, and kept his gaze low.
"It is time to complete your training," Snoke declared.
Ren glanced upward, nodding with half-excitement. To finally reach this moment, to harness all that power he had coveted for years, to achieve that which his grandfather had. The moment was so close he could taste it.
"What must I do?" questioned the young man.
Snoke smirked, his crooked smile gleaming in the dim light of the ship. "With the death of your father, you have proven yourself true to the dark side."
Kylo perked up.
"Thus, you have unlocked that one last lock to your potential. You are ready to become the dark side." Snoke paced around him gradually, encircling him as he cast a judging eye upon him. "And, the final step," he paused before him. "I must kill you."
As quick as his reflexes may have been, there was no preparing for what Snoke would do, and Kylo Ren had failed to evade his attack. Instantly, his body was in the air, and he watched from 30 feet as Snoke's hand danced plainly around, wagging him about in the air. The mere force of being tossed side to side induced vertigo. Ren's shaking hand reached desperately for his lightsaber, and though he managed to grasp it and light it, the pale elder lobbed his hand forward forcefully, and Kylo braced as he hit the wall.
"Defend yourself!" cried Snoke. "If you are dark, then prove it! Fight!"
Shakily, the man pulled himself off the ground, and took one step forward, cocking his arms as he began lunging forward.
Dodge.
And he was thrown against another wall.
What are you doing?! He cursed at himself, crawling out of the rubble of the wall that landed on him. He's going to kill you!
As he got to his feet again, he bit the inside of his cheek until a small chunk of it came off and blood piled over in his mouth. A baser scream erupted from him, red stains on his teeth. Again, he charged, this time his hand up to counter Snoke's insufferable throwing.
"Enough!" yelled the knight, his force fighting Snoke's. As they tried to overpower each other, arms wavering, Ren continued towards him, lightsaber aiming for lethality. Snoke grimaced, and with a flick of his wrist, he was flung to the sky. He landed not against a wall, but on the hard ground. Air escaped his lungs within an instant, and he struggled desperately for each breath. Beneath the visor of his helmet he watched, almost helplessly, as his teacher raised his hand for another blow. Scrambling up, he ditched his lightsaber to the ground, and used both hands to resist Snoke's gravity.
The struggle was agonising for the wounded Ren, but as his life and mission hung in the balance, he put all of his anger and frustration into his powers. Very subtly, the air in the room shifted, and Snoke took quick notice. He lifted another hand as well, and the scene became both men fighting raw force against raw force. Ren's face started going red as he became drained of energy, then he bit the other side of his cheek, this time deeper, more into the flesh, until blood came pouring out of his scowling, gritting teeth.
The balance teetered more in his side at that moment.
"Why is the dark side so powerful?"
"They have no inhibition," explained Luke. "They accept what comes as a source of strength. When the dark sees pain, suffering, they see an opportunity to become more powerful."
"That doesn't seem so bad," said the young Solo. "I mean, shouldn't we accept our feelings? Embrace them?"
"We do. Just not at the expense of ourselves and others. For us, it's to heal. For them, it's to become more unwound."
Suddenly, Snoke was on his back, huffing in exhaustion. Kylo gaped at what he had done. He had bested Snoke in battle, and a mixture of pride and fear enveloped his being. There was no gauging his teacher sometimes, and the fact that he had beaten him to the ground didn't spell a happy ending for Ren.
But then, a dire smile crossed Snoke's lips. "I am very proud of you, Kylo Ren."
The knight, equally whipped from the battle, cocked his head. "What was that?" he interrogated. "Why did you attack me?"
"That was the end to your training," replied Snoke. "Well done."
A/N: This was a shorter chapter for pacing's sake. The next one will be much longer, I promise. Thank you for the favourites and follows!
