The Stormtroopers who had taken Ylanir from her cell entered the newly built projection room where Supreme Leader Snoke could make contact with both Kylo Ren and General Hux. He still kept himself removed from any direct contact with the First Order base, only seeing the two men in person when necessary. His towering hologram was already waiting for Ylainr, the Stormtroopers throwing her to the floor before leaving. If she could have stood in defiance, she certainly would have done – but the damage done to her leg from the blaster shot now made it difficult to stand at all. She looked up at the face of Snoke, taking in all of the deformity, the scars, the black empty eyes. For a moment she contemplated that one day this could have been Ben, completely driven by power until there was nothing left of his former self. Snoke looked down on her with just as much interest, trying to understand why she was the cause of so much trouble. The silence was broken quickly however by Kylo Ren's entering the space; he looked over to Ylainr, admiring her courage for showing that defiance she could not show through standing instead in her eyes. Snoke wanted answers.

"I sense weakness in you Kylo Ren. Tell me, who is this insignificant woman causing your mind to stray?" he asked in his usual calm, emotionless manner, continuing to look over Ylainr.

"She is…no one to me. Perhaps once. But now she is just someone who the Resistance have talked into taking their side. She is not worth your time, Supreme Leader". None of what Ren was saying was true of course and all three of them knew it.

"We shall see" Snoke said, still calm as he turned his gaze more narrowly onto Kylo Ren now. Ren suddenly felt a sharp pain growing in the back of his head, a pain he was usually the one to cause. Snoke, somehow even through the hologram, was able to use his force powers to now look through his own apprentice's mind – all of the memories which Ren had fought so hard to keep locked away had now been brought to the surface by Ylainr's presence. Snoke could see everything, the memories from their childhood as they grew into young adults, the nightmares which had haunted Kylo Ren in Ylainr's absence, even the encounter the two had just shared in her holding cell – everything.

"LOVE?!" his powerful voice bellowed, echoing in the enclosed room. Snoke almost spat the word out at Ren as if were poison. He was enraged that still, after all of his guidance and teaching Kylo Ren was still weak and foolish enough to be blinded by something as pathetic as love.

"Clearly, your father was not sacrifice enough. You are still weak, allowing love to keep you from your full potential! The time has come, my apprentice, to commit yourself fully to the darkness. Pick up your lightsaber…and kill her now" there was danger in Snoke's voice that showed how crucial these next moments would be.

Kylo Ren looked at his master and then slowly down at Ylainr who was now looking at him, maintaining a dignity he had never seen before in such a matter of life and death. The internal battle between Kylo Ren and Ben Solo was raging once more; he had this wonderful woman with him pulling him towards the light and making the right decision, but Snoke was there just as powerfully pulling him towards the dark side and his own ambition for power. Ylainr could feel that struggle within him again and began to fear that, just as she believed he had done with Han, Snoke would win over Ben's mind again. Snoke however, displeased that Ren had not carried out his command straight away, was now using his powers to play with Ren's mind, just as he had done over those years as he was growing up and when he first seduced him to the dark side. Ren was still looking at Ylainr, but behind the eyes he looked almost possessed and in that moment, Snoke really was winning. He ignited his lightsaber just as he was told and walked slowly over to Ylainr, his imposing tall, black figure looming over Ylainr who was trying to kneel up as much as she could. At this point, not even Kylo Ren himself knew if he was about murder the woman he loves. Ylainr was trying to raise herself to be as tall as she could on her knees and in a final attempt to quiet the darkness in Ben, she spoke with her usual soft, kind voice.

"Remember who you are Ben. Don't do this, please. I love you" she stared straight into his eyes as she said those words. His body began to shake slightly, that feeling of being torn apart reaching its peak. He raised his lightsaber, ready to strike, Ylainr closed her eyes tight but moments pass and nothing had touched her. She could still hear that distinctive sound of the weapon, but as she opened her eyes she saw it was stationary in the air, albeit only a few frightening inches away from her face. She looked back up at Ben who had a look of horror on his face, finally managing to stop Snoke controlling him and realising what he was about to do. How could he have saved this woman all of those years ago, only to allow her to grow up and be killed by him at a later date? Ren shut the lightsaber's power off and threw it aside.

"I won't" he said, turning round to look his master directly in the eyes once more, his voice now filled with its own defiance. "All you've done is take away what I cared about. I'm not letting you take anything else from me". Hearing this, Snoke's face became one full of anger.

"So be it…" was all he said. Ylainr began to feel a tightness growing in her throat, her breathing becoming more and more difficult. Ren turned back to her, knowing what Snoke was trying to do and as he went to move towards her, her body lifted up into the air, just out of his reach, Snoke still using the force to choke the life out of her due to Ren's lack of compliance.

"No! Kill me, not her, kill me!" Ren pleaded with his master, desperate to keep Ylainr alive he realised he would truly be willing to sacrifice his own life for hers. He could feel the life slowly fading from Ylainr but Snoke stopped. She fell to the ground, coughing and trying desperately to get the air back into her lungs. Ren's breath itself had become almost short in his panic and he too tried to regain control. There was a moment of stillness and silence between the trio, Kylo Ren believed that he had convinced his master to take his life instead of hers, now he could be no more use to him. Snoke however, had not finished yet. Completely out of nowhere, Snoke moved his hand sharply, resulting in Ylainr flying through the room with a piercing scream until her body hit the wall with a great force, such a force that the sound of bones breaking echoed loudly.

"NO!" Ren screamed after her, rushing over to her now lifeless body which had landed awkwardly on the ground. He took her in his arms, desperate to find the faintest sign of life. As he stroked her hair he could feel something wet absorbing into his glove and when held it up, it was covered in blood. Her blood. He knew she was badly injured, as well as the bleeding from the back of her head, she was completely unconscious and had most likely suffered from broken bones due to the force with which she was thrown into the hard wall of the room. The decision now was easy. He had known all along that Rey and the others were still hiding their ship somewhere on the planet and he had to get Ylainr to them as quickly as he could. Closing his eyes, he used his powers to connect with Rey and make it known to her that she needed to get that ship to the main hanger and fast. It was all about Ylainr now.

"You are WEAK Kylo Ren!" Snoke shouted angrily, watching the person he believed to have so much potential cradling the body of this, in his opinion, unimportant woman as if it were the most precious thing in the world. And with that, the light was finally winning out. His back still turned to his now former master, Kylo spoke up for himself for the first time since he could remember.

"My name…is BEN SOLO. You made me Kylo Ren, you made me into a monster! You took away everything, and all for what?! It was never about me, it was always about you and your own ambitions! Well, I'm taking something back now and I promise you this – one day, I will destroy you!" he shouted back with just as much anger and power in his voice as Snoke himself had exhibited. The atmosphere in that contained room suddenly intensified as Snoke, now done with trying to win, began to use the force to kill Ben there and then, however Ben was using his own powers to fight back – this time though, it wasn't through the dark side, it was through the love he could feel and his will to keep Ylainr alive. Ben was summoning more power than he had ever felt before, the light finally being allowed to shine through him enabled him to find the strength hold Snoke at bay and break the hologram projection leaving Snoke without a connection or power over the people in the room. "This is not over…" could heard faintly, as if a whisper just before the air felt normal again. Ben could hardly believe the rush of power he had felt inside of him, and the light felt as though it was healing the wounds the dark side had left on his soul. He looked back down at the lifeless Ylainr, through all of his concerns he took a small comfort in knowing she was at least still alive, he could feel it inside.

"Thank you" he whispered before kissing her softly on her forehead, lifting her in his arms and making his way to the hanger to hand his love over to Rey and the others.

Elsewhere on the base, General Hux had been informed by Snoke that Ren had escaped with the prisoner and was now a traitor the First Order. His orders were clear – capture him and keep him alive, an unimaginable fate was being planned for him. Hux was almost overjoyed by the news that his former colleague had finally fallen from grace and Hux was in a position to humiliate him and cause more pain than he could imagine. Masses of Stormtroopers had been deployed to hunt the two escapees down, time to get away from the base was running out.

Upon reaching the hanger, Rey had managed to get the ship in and was ready and waiting for them. Seeing the state that Ylainr was in as Ben brought her closer, even she found it hard to look at the damage she had sustained.

"Please, take her, she needs help now" Ben said as he approached the ship.

Finn came down to help with getting Ylainr on board, taking her from Ben's arms and Ben stood there watching her go out of his sight once more. At this time, he had no intention of going with them – why should they even offer to take him, he believed that he was too far gone into darkness to truly come back and be worthy of his family now. But Rey could sense the change in him, almost seeing that young man she now remembered from the Jedi academy in him.

"Come with us, Ben. She's going to need you there when she wakes up" Rey said kindly, extending a hand of friendship out to him. The sound of Stormtroopers rushing towards the hanger were growing louder and coming from all directions now, and as Ben listened to them he considered saying no, instead staying to accept the fate he thought he deserved. But that would have been the easy option and this time, he was going to take the difficult road – the road that would take him home. If not for his own sake, he had to do it for Ylainr's. He made the decision to leave behind Kylo Ren and the First Order, taking Rey's hand and boarding the ship that would carry him towards his family.