Ice
DISCLAIMER: same as always
Chapter 4
Kylo Ren was attempting to immerse himself in the Dark Side, following the Supreme Leader's direction. However, time and time again Hux had barged into his mediation chambers, being the pain in the ass that he was and Ren was convinced it was on purpose. Finally, Ren had enough and Force choked the redhead, telekinetically threw him out of his chambers and slammed the door. Hierarchy and Snoke's reaction be damned, Ren thought as he forced himself to focus. Closing his eyes, Ren filled his mind with his worst memories: the other Padawans ignoring him, talking behind his back and his parents abandoning him when he needed them most, when those students around him made him feel like nothing. Concentrating on this pain, he felt rage, hate and anger; his greatest weapons. The Dark Side amplified his hate and he visualized his slaughter of the other Padawans at the Temple; feeding off of their looks of shock and pain as he killed them one by one. Suddenly the memory abruptly changed and a young Rey appeared in front of him, looking up at him, an inactivated lightsaber clutched loosely in hand. He hesitated, holding her gaze with her own, frozen in place. A sliver of light broke into the darkness, shattering his sense of hate and Ren broke out of his trance.
"You're better than this, Ben Solo," a voice whispered beside him. Whirling around, Ren saw a flicker of blue light, as a Force ghost shimmered beside him.
"That name means nothing to me." Ren responded as he stood up and stared down the ghost, "If you're trying to reach that weak Jedi brat, Kenobi, you're wasting your time."
"Are you quite sure? Your own grandfather felt the light and returned to it when he discovered that one person who meant something to him, your uncle, Luke Skywalker." Obi-Wan replied evenly, an eyebrow raised in skepticism. "I've watched you travel down this road of darkness Ben, watched you be consumed by it, and now, finally something exists that can pull you out of it. Search your feelings, Ben."
"I'm not Ben Solo!" Ren screamed, his eyes narrowing in hate. "I am Kylo Ren. And Rey means nothing to me. She's a scavenger from Jakku, an orphan, a worthless girl."
"Then pray tell, why when she appeared in your memories, you did not murder her like the others?" Obi-Wan questioned, a satisfied smirk on his lips. "Surely she cannot be that worthless, as you say?"
"It shocked me when she appeared in my memory. Have you never been shocked by something, Master Kenobi?" Ren countered, his voice laced with sarcasm.
"I applaud your efforts at deflection, Ben. However, I am not here to discuss my mistakes, although, granted I have made more then a few. I am here to force you to see what is right in front of you, your emotional attachment for Rey. The girl is a light in the shadow, she is a force of good; Rey does not abandon her friends, she believes in them. She could believe in you, Ben. And you need someone to believe in you, desperately. You had the opportunity to destroy her mind when she was imprisoned, and you did not. And you could have killed her during your lightsaber battle, fully embraced by the Dark Side, but again, you did not. See reason and logic and feel your emotions, Ben." Obi-Wan calmly stated, now pacing back and forth in front of the young man.
Kylo Ren closed his eyes, letting Kenobi's words wash over him. In truth, he did have every opportunity to mentally and physically end Rey. However, something had stopped him from committing another murder. Weakness, weakness had stopped him, he realized. And Ren would not let this happen again. Fixing Kenobi with a look of pure hate, he drew his lightsaber and slashed at the air surrounding Kenobi, "You're wrong, old man. I only feel the Dark Side, now get out!"
SWSWSW
For once, Luke Skywalker was the one that was awake, smiling as Rey slept soundly. Walking out of the shelter, he felt a gentle breeze from the ocean on his face. The stars winked above him, gleaming in the darkness. Feeling a presence behind him, Luke turned around and smiled, "Hello Master."
"Hello Luke, a beautiful night, isn't it?" Obi-Wan questioned, sitting on a rock, his presence shimmering.
"Indeed it is." Luke agreed, as he sat down near the Jedi Master. "The Force is strong here."
"I visited your nephew today." Obi-Wan stated, getting straight to the point, "He is immersed in the Dark Side."
"There is hope, Master." Luke replied, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration, "Rey is the key. She can help him return to the Light."
"Of course," Obi-Wan returned easily, "however, he must believe that she will be the support that he needs. Let go of the hate and the loneliness and trust another person to offer him kinship. That is something he must understand by himself, not a soul can teach this."
"Rey has an attachment towards him, Master. She feels affection for him, something that she has never felt before, which I believe surprised even her. As I told her, there is hope." Luke affirmed, his blue eyes full of determination, echoing that of his nineteen-year-old self.
"May the Force be with you, Luke." Obi-Wan stated as he disappeared from view, joyous of his old Padawan's conviction in the Light Side of the Force.
"And you, Master." Luke responded, nodding his head and returning to the shelter.
SWSWSW
Hi guys! Thank you all again for your lovely reviews! And please, keep them coming! I'm really sorry about the formatting from my last chapter, I'm not sure what happened. Anyway, I hope that you guys liked this chapter. I hadn't planned on Ren interacting with Obi-Wan, but then I thought, let's do it. Obi-Wan is boss. My next chapter will have a time jump of about a year. See you all next week!