Huxloween: The Thirty Night Trial

Day Nine: Haunted House

"Last time we camped in a castle, we went dancing with skeletons," Kylo commented. "This bodes well."

Hux stuck his tongue out. It was stained purple; he'd been indulging in aniseed balls all afternoon. "Your spirits seem overly-capricious," he retorted. "So far they've set us on fire, exposed us to a number of frankly pathetic supernatural horrors, destroyed effigies of our loved ones – or supposed loved ones at least – thrown us a ball, turned us into canines, let us have emotionally taxing conversations with our departed relatives, and spilled your intestines on the ground. And supposedly we're learning our weaknesses."

"Well, what have we learned?" Kylo speculated. "I learned that I fear losing you."

Hux glanced over at him, the ghost of a fond smile playing over his lips. "Ditto. We learned that the supernatural is not scary."

"I think that might be something of a simplification," Kylo corrected. "The supernatural in and of itself holds no fear, but we just barred the door and didn't let it affect us. If the werewolf had actually gotten in and bitten one of us, we probably would have reacted differently."

Hux nodded. "Agreed. I think we learned which of the people we're close to we actually care about from the dolls."

"Yeah…" Kylo sighed. "There's the Knights, Captain Phasma-"

"You like her then?" Hux queried.

Kylo shrugged. "She's good at what she does and doesn't interfere with my objectives, unlike some."

"I told you she's the best," Hux said slightly smugly.

"Yeah, yeah," Kylo grumbled. "Anyone else catch your eye?"

"A few of my officers," Hux said. "Most of them are fairly interchangeable, but they're good officers.

"I saw that mousy communications Lieutenant," Kylo commented.

"Mitaka. He's a good officer. Very loyal," Hux nodded. "I don't want to lose him."

Neither of them mentioned the effigy of Snoke. Hux couldn't tell the reason for Kylo's reticence, but knew he himself hadn't actually felt anything. The dolls' screams had hit with the sensation of loss, but Hux didn't seem to mind if Snoke was dead. The First Order was greater than one man, even the Supreme Leader, and a treacherous little voice in his head whispered that he'd quite like to rule himself.

"What about the ball?" Hux asked. "What did we learn from that?"

"We're not scared of death," Kylo shrugged. "Not really. The transformations showed that you panic if something suddenly changes drastically."

"I suddenly found myself an animal, Ren, I think that's cause for some disorientation," Hux snapped.

"Yes, of course," Kylo said soothingly. "I mean, just because it's a weakness doesn't mean it's unjustified. It means…it's something to compensate for. Something to consider in future. If something really unexpected happens, it takes you a moment to readjust. You might want to consider establishing a safeguard to give you a little extra time if something like that happens."

"If I suddenly turn into an animal again, I'm blaming you," Hux grumbled, but there was less bite to it. "I think what we learned from last night's trial is most obvious. I…would be distressed if you were seriously injured."

"It made me uncomfortable to see your distress," Kylo admitted. "I guess…we are a weakness to each other."

Hux shivered. He hated thinking of himself as weak – it was too similar to the accusations his father used to fling at him constantly – but ignoring a weakness didn't overcome it. "How can we stop the weakness becoming a vulnerability?" he asked.

"What?" Kylo asked, sounding a little distracted.

"Well, just because something's weak doesn't make it vulnerable," Hux rationalised. "You know the command bridge on a Star Destroyer is a weak point, right? Destroy it and you lose the command staff and whoever's next in command has to get all the controls and such rerouted. And the Imperial design left the command bridge vulnerable by keeping it separate from the body of the ship. By redesigning it so it's flush with the body, we have reduced the vulnerability."

Kylo stopped in his tracks. "Did you just compare distress over my disembowelment to an Imperial Star Destroyer's bridge design?"

"I'm an expert in weapon and ship design; what do you expect?" Hux snarked back.

"That's a fairly inexact metaphor," Kylo protested. "You can't redesign your heart." He turned, and gave Hux a big, soppy grin. "You love me too much!"

"Careful, or I'll eliminate the weakness with a blaster bolt between your eyes."

Kylo chuckled. "Seriously, though, I'll think about it. I mean, it can't be that much of a vulnerability to care for people." He thought a bit harder. "Can it?"

"I'm told it is," Hux said carefully.

When they arrived at the stopping point as the sun set, it turned out that their destination wasn't a castle so much as a dilapidated manor house. "I'm not sure that's safe," Hux commented.

"It'll be fine," Kylo reassured him. "If something happens, I can protect us."

The front door creaked open of its own accord Hux stared at it. "That's not promising."

"It's an invitation," Kylo said stonily. "Or maybe an instruction. Come on; we have to enter."

Sighing deeply," Hux followed Kylo into the manor. The door shut behind him with a snap. Hux wheeled, but it was dark; he couldn't see anything. He reached out to grope for the handle, but found only a smooth surface.

The snap-hum of an ignited lightsaber filled the dark room with red light, cascading off everything ad increasing to near-blinding levels. Kylo shut off the weapon, leaving them both blinking stars from their eyes.

"What was that?!" Kylo hissed. "And before you ask, my 'saber didn't' explode. It's fine."

"I have no idea," Hux muttered. "But the door seems to have vanished."

"Do you have a torch or something? Not as bright as my 'saber, I mean."

"Maybe?" Hux thought about it. "If we wrapped the head in your cowl to cut down on the light-"

Before Hux could finish, a dim glow began overhead. Hux quickly covered his eyes just in case, while Kylo pulled his cowl over his face. "It's alright," the Knight said, slightly muffled. "You can look."

Hux lowered his hands and looked. The walls were mirrored, reflecting the dim ceiling light to make a dazzling pattern. He looked at his own reflection, seeing an infinity of images cascading in every direction. Then he wheeled around to check the entrance.

The door had been replaced by another mirror.

"Kylo, the door's gone," Hux said wth false calm.

The knight looked round and cursed. "I guess we have to go on," he said, slightly tremulous.

"In a maze of mirrors?" Hux snapped. "We'd be lost forever. Can't you cut a way out?"

Kylo made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a grunt. "I can't feel anything beyond the wall. It's not possible, so this must be tonight's trial. We have to go on."

"We'd still get badly lost and confused," Hux protested. "Let me think."

He closed his eyes to block out the chaotic mosaic around him and planned. "Our eyes are deceiving us, what with all the reflections," he announced. "If we go by feel alone we'll get a clearer idea of the path."

"But if the walls are shifted around-"

"That might happen anyway," Hux interrupted. "The biggest problem is keeping track of where we've been. I have a rope in my pack. I'll tie one end around your wrist, the other around mine, and keep it coiled to pay out behind me. If you feel three sharp tugs in quick succession, come join me. If it goes very slack, come find me. I'll find the way, then signal you."

"The spirits could trick me or you or sabotage the rope," Kylo pointed out.

Hux took a deep breath. "Yes, but I was trying not to think about that, because they could trick us anyway," he said. "There's no way I can think of to avoid potential trickery, so let's go on the assumption that there won't be any and make the best plan from there. Maybe this trial is about strategy in unusual situations."

"Alright, alright," Kylo grumbled. "I just don't want to get separated."

Hux smirked. "Sweet of you, but I'm sure I'll be fine." He retrieved his rope, formed a loose cuff at either end and tied their wrists. He coiled the rest in his hand, rested the other on the mirror wall, closed his eyes, and started forward.

With every other step, he let a little of the rope coil spool out, always keeping his hand on the wall. Left, right, left again, into a small alcove and out again, the rope marked his path.

Then there was something squishy, and sticky. Hux's eyes flew open as he yelped in surprise, and he slipped on a puddle of slick red liquid. He careened into a section of corridor both mirror-lined and hung with guts. Tugging instinctively on the rope, he shrieked.

"Hux!"

Screams echoed through the house.