*********I did take liberties with Kylo Ren, both in physical appearance and in personality… :). Please send in a review, I look forward to reading them. If you like something, comment. If you don't like something, comment. :)****

****I don't have time to change anything editorial wise so, like I've said before… there will be grammar errors. ****

Red and green lightsabers clashed. Sparks flew. It would have been an epic battle if it wasn't for the fact that Ben Solo and Kylo Ren, the dual split-personalities of one man, were battling each other over control of his body.

Apple rubbed her temple. Technically, her mental self didn't rub anything. Her body was still unconscious, trapped in Force sleep as she attempted to heal the body that the two numskulls were wrecking. Her irritation rose.

"Stop it!" Apple stomped her foot, pouting angrily. "Stop it right now!"

The mental world rocked with her childlike fury. The ground quaked and threw them onto unsteady legs. Their arms waved as they attempted to regain balance.

She stomped her foot again, "I can not keep cleaning up the messes you two make." She pointed at them, shaking her curls and pouting serious stink face, "You… you.. big bullies are ruining my work."

They pointed at each other. "But he started it." Or rather the Ben Solo personality said that. Kylo Ren just pointed at his counterpart with a threatening glare, "I will end you."

Apple stretched her head back, stutter-stamping her feet in a frustrated dance. "Mrrrrrgh! I don't care who started it; you're hurting your own body and… mine. And," she gave them the major-stink face, "I actually like my body."

"He killed father!" Ben protested, stabbing his index finger at his darker half.

Kylo's red eyes formed glowing slits. "You pathetic weakling. I wouldn't have had to end him if you were stronger in the dark side." He leaned towards him slowly, "You will never be powerful enough."

"Dad was a good man," Ben countered. "He loved us. And you killed him," he stressed, needling his other side, "killed him in cold blood. Now you can't even cope with the fact that you were the one that did it."

The darker side flashed him an obscene gesture, "Bite me." A twisted cruel smile turned up the corner of his mouth. "Why don't you put on your big boy panties and just except the fact that I'm in control now?"

Ben retorted. "Why don't you pull your head out of your dark side and quit being such an a—"

Apple cleared her throat. "Umm, guys…"

They snapped their attention to her. "What?"

Piercing her lips in a goofy 'guess what' smile with raised eyebrows, she held out her hand at the crashing physiological images behind her. "Your body's dying."

Ben rushed towards the heart view. "My blood pressure is—"

"Tanking," Apple finished for him flatly, "I know." She sighed. "See this is what I've been trying to explain to you. Your body—"

"…is losing a lot of blood," Kylo observed, suddenly at her side, "and is in respiratory distress?" He scowled. "My body is feeble just like my other half. Figures."

She glanced up at him. "Well, are you going to continue to complain or are you going to help me fix yourself?"

He shifted his glowing eyes down towards her. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Nope."

His voice deepened menacingly. "You should be."

"Nah," Apple shrugged not phased by his dark demeanor, "you remind me too much of home," she gave him a 'throw-him-a-bone' smile, "But you do make me feel a little nostalgic for my dad."

"For Vader?" His expression wavered, softening. The red in his eyes mellowed slightly. He blinked and turned his face away. "I will fulfill his goals."

"I'm sure you will," Apple patted him on the arm, distracted by the fluctuating energy signatures rampaging through the images, "If we survive this."

A wave of physical fatigue buffeted their immaterial world. Apple's mental self faded under the profound pressure. They may have been the subliminal aspects of their existences, but their material environment began to spiral into emergent resuscitative measures. The voices of the medical staff echoed out of the real world as if from a vast distance.

Ben scanned the images. "Kylo, we're not the only one in danger." He opened and clenched his fist, almost ready to chew on his knuckle. "She's been using her own energy to sustain us. Kylo—" He spun to face his other self.

Apple collapsed back into Kylo's arms. He cradled her fading spiritual form against his chest.

"Good catch," Ben grinned.

"Shut up." Kylo curled his upper lip. "It's your fault, she's suffering. Your lack of power—"

"You speak as though you particularly like her," Ben snickered at him then turned to study the images, rather unsure of where to even start.

"I," Kylo held her close, grinding his teeth at his other counterpart, "do not completely hate her. She is Darth Vader's daughter."

"Good…" Ben moved the images into a linear pattern, "because we're going to need her alive, if we are going to survive this."

"Nice to be wanted alive." Apple pouted at him snarkily, then looked up at Kylo, "Is Ben always this self-absorbed?"

"No," Kylo answered, red eyes on his Jedi half, "he's much worse."

"See…" Apple struggled to stand, "this is exactly why Jedi are outlaws."

That brought a smile to Kylo's face.

—-

There were moments when General Hux was grateful that his office was sound-proof. That night was one of them.

"You lost a Starkiller base! One of the greatest weapons in the history of the galaxy!" Grand Admiral Brendol Hux stormed at his son, furious. "You are a disgrace, Armitage!"

General Hux flinched under his father's deadly gaze. In one glance, the man had the power to reduce him to the days when he was the four-year-old boy, Armitage.

The Grand Admiral loomed over his son on the large monitor. Blue eyes burning, he paused in his verbal onslaught only long enough to take a single breath. "You have always been a disappointment."

Brendol Hux was old school, an imperial that believed in absolute control and punishment. Preferring the impersonal and humiliating nature of 2-D image transfers to holograms, he made sure his expanded image loomed over his youngest boy. Auburn hair graying at the temples and hawk-like features, the Grand Admiral was already a formidable man. The expanded image deliberately made him appear even more imposing. "You…" he slowly enunciated with a curl of his lip, "are… your mother's son."

General Hux flinched. Except for inheriting his father's once auburn hair and blue eyes, Armitage was a splitting image of his mother. A beautiful woman, but a woman not particularly know for superior intellect. He felt the full sting of his father's words most intimately.

"A few resistance fighters," His father spat contemptuously, "and your fleet folds like a line of clankers!"

"And before that," Hux gripped the controls panel with white knuckled fists, "I destroyed the entire seat of the Republic." He threw out his arm in stiff gesture, forcing himself not to shrink under his father's cold glare. "In one blast, I annihilated their capital and the Senate house. One blast, father."

His father's expression sharply hardened.

"Sorry," Hux dropped his head slightly defeated, "I meant, Grand Admiral." He had not earned the right to call him father… yet.

The aged Admiral breathed through flared nostrils slowly. "And do you honestly think your small concession was a triumph?" He sneered, the First Order insignia on his collar flashing in the red-hued light. "It was hardly an achievement worthy of the Hux name. You are disgracefully fortunate that the Supreme Leader saw fit," he spat, emphasizing the 't' sound, "to spare your worthless life. I wouldn't have afforded you such a privilege."

Hux leaned his upper body slightly away from the fury of his father's rampage. He glanced away. "Snoke knows my real worth."

"You will call him Supreme Leader, general." Brendol Hux snapped, "You are unworthy of speaking his name," his sharp jaw set harshly, "especially after your recent shameful performance." He looked down his nose at his son. "You will never live up to your brother's memory."

Armitage moistened his lips carefully. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"You ruined the one chance to seek revenge for your brother's death," the Grand Admiral shook tightly, "The Republic took from me and from your mother, the only real triumph of the family. You will never replace Sei'n. You are hardly even half the man he once was. I could never again have such an excellent son as him. And you allowed those that murdered him," he bared his yellowing teeth, "to destroy the StarKiller base! You have mocked his name."

Armitage swallowed. His uniform's collar felt tighter. His whole life he had heard of his elder brother's perfection. Not only top of his class intellectually, Sei'n was a physical achievement in superiority. He fulfilled their father's dream. An exceptional soldier. A top marksman. An unbeatable strategist. Sei'n was a complete prodigy in all areas. Natural selection favored him, while Hux—according to their father—had only his intellect to recommend him. Intellect alone never was enough. And the admiral reminded Armitage at every opportunity of the same adage…

"If only," the Grand Admiral stated with little effort to conceal his true feelings, "you had died instead of him. I would be a proud father once again."

"The capital planet and the entire Republic senate are destroyed," General Hux struggled to keep his voice level. The veins in the sides of his neck throbbed as his skin reddened. "The military blow the Republic faced is calamitous. I know—"

"You know nothing! The military blow we faced, general," the aged admiral pronounced his son's military title as if it was absurd, "has set the First Order back billions of credits. Where do you think the money will come from to fix your incompetency?"

Armitage took an intake of breath. Shoulders bowing under the pressure of his father's words, the young general leaned onto his hands over the console. His fingers barely felt the icy metal beneath them.

"There will never be another Empire," the venom had left his father's tone, anger vented. The conversation apparently left them both exhausted and spent. "We will never see the rise of destiny again."

General Hux blinked for a moment, then lifted his eyes to his father's face. "The empire will rise again." He straightened himself and his uniform. "The last princess lives and I have found her."

His father waved him off dismissively. "You have discovered a block of carbonite ice. Nothing more." He pulled away from the screen. "I have heard about her trapped corpse. Now, if you have nothing more to report—"

"She's no longer trapped in carbonite," Armitage set a smile on half of his mouth. "She's recovering in sick bay."

Eyes flashing manically, the Grand Admiral jerked closer to the screen. "Say it is true!"

"Dr. Wintlock is handling her treatment as we speak," Armitage explained, hopeful, "she suffers from hibernation sickness, but he believes she will recover." Purposefully neglecting to mention that the princess was still unconscious and she was in critical condition, the young general closed his mouth preventing himself from slipping under his father's penetrating stare.

Brendol Hux sat back in his seat, awestruck. "The Emperor's granddaughter."

"She's beautiful," the young general blurted before catching himself.

His father's eyebrows shot up. "Well…"

Armitage braced himself for another verbal lashing.

"You may be lacking in many things, my boy, but your ambition is satisfying in its limited sense." That was the first compliment he had ever received from his father.

General Hux couldn't help but smile. His chest lifted with a few enamored breaths.

"How old is the princess biologically?"

"Sixteen," Armitage tugged at his collar. "Or seventeen."

"Sixteen?" His father considered the situation carefully. "That is the legal age of marriage. It is more than appropriate. She is a woman in the eyes of the Empire. I saw her once in passing… she was a beautiful girl. Her mother the Princess Celestine was a breathtaking sight. Every time she appeared on the subspace transmissions, new planets supported the imperial cause."

He flicked his eyes across his son's face, "Your mother was eighteen when I married her. And you know from experience that she was a treasure. A perfect political marriage to a beautiful demure woman." He nodded with a condescending look, "But sixteen's a wonderful age for you. It fits your apparent lack of intellectual maturity."

Armitage's smile dropped.

"Courtship may take six months…" The old admiral rubbed his jaw in consideration, "Perhaps in your case, one year. You are rather slow."

General Hux's smile disappeared altogether.

"The engagement would take another year or two. That would make her between eighteen and nineteen when you marry her. That's reasonable."

"I thought as well," Armitage took the moment to imagine the princess in a lovely white dress, smiling at him. He blinked quickly out of the daydream.

"If you marry that girl," the admiral shook his head lips forming an 'o'. He exhaled grandiosely, "I will unquestionably be proud to call an emperor my son."

"Yes, sir!" General Hux snapped his heels together, saluting his father.

He waited, expectant for the old admiral to sign off the communication, but his father just paused instead, as if carefully contemplating his next words.

"Son," Brendol began as gently as the man had ever sounded. Rather drill sergeants running stormtroopers basic training sounded more gentle than he did, but for the admiral, it was surprising.

"There comes a time when a boy meets a girl and he has certain…" the admiral tugged at his collar, clearing his throat, "special feelings for her. Babies don't always come from test tubes…"

Horror struck General Hux. "Wha-at?" His face flushed.

"These feelings are natural, son," Brendol explained, "but it's like warfare, you have to wait for the right moment before sending the troops in."

"Oh please no." Armitage backpedaled, suddenly desperate to claw the walls to get away. "We are not having this conversation. I'm a grown man, sir."

"Yes," he continued not phased by the alarm on his son's face, "and you have yet to conquer the feminine war zone. Your mother was an appropriate conquest; our wedding night was—"

"Grand Admiral," Armitage made a severely uncomfortable face, eyes wide, "I'm sure you have more important business to attend to then wasting your time with me."

"Don't interrupt me, General," Brendol Hux snapped then his expression softened slightly, "Conquer the princess planet, boy. Obtain the contract and after the celebration, when its time for you to board the enemy flagship—"

The hydraulic doors hissed open.

"Yes!" General Hux spun around, beyond grateful for any interruption.

Commander Rokens stopped mid-step, eyes flitting to the Grand Admiral's image on the screen. "Sir!" He saluted him then said out the corner of his mouth the young general, "I can come back, sir."

"No!" Armitage reached out for him. "No. Don't go. I…" He glanced back over his shoulder at his father grimacing. "I have… uh…" He coughed into his fist, straightening himself in a perfunctory manner. "Your report, Commander?"

"Yes, relay your message, Commander," Brendol Hux stared the stocky man down over his son's shoulder coldly, "And make it quick. I have to instruct my son on the nuances of marriage and where babies come from before he blunders that war zone as well."

General Hux winced, squeezing his eyes shut. He really wished his dad hadn't said that outloud.

"The princess is awake," Rokens stammered under the intensity of the Grand Admiral's gaze.

The Hux men both gasped in unison.

"Go." The Grand Admiral nodded as his son spun on his heel to face him.

"Yes, sir!" Hux saluted him then strode for the door, the commander following.

"And remember, son," his father called out after him, "some flagships are worth waiting to board. Send in the troops after the treatise!"

The hydraulics doors hissed shut after them. General Hux dropped his head with a groan. "You never witnessed that conversation, Commander."

"I witnessed nothing, sir," Rokens struggled to keep on a professional face, back straight and eyes staring at anywhere but his superior's face, "the Grand Admiral definitely did not just teach you about the birds and the bees."

Hux straightened his uniform for the third time. "Good. And keep it that way."

****Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please send in your reviews. And referrals are awesome as well. If you like this story, please share it with your friends. Thank you for reading! This has been edited to include Hux's released first name.*****