Chapter 11: The dark side
Nines and Finn stood at attention before general Hux and captain Phasma in Hux's office.
"And then you went your separate ways?" Hux asked.
"Yes sir." Finn said.
"Hmm, well done FN-2187, FN-2199. A mission well executed, you're dismissed." The two stormtroopers saluted before leaving.
"FN-2000 perished." Phasma said.
"That takes care of our problem them. Saved you some paperwork Phasma." Hux said sitting back.
Nines and Finn were both in mourning for Zeros. Neither saying a word as they walked.
However, they were both stopped by another general.
"FN-2187, FN-2199." The general said as the two quickly snapped to attention.
"FN-0001 sir." Finn said.
"At ease. I wanted to congratulate you both on your mission."
"…..Yes sir." Nines said.
"I also wanted to offer my condolences for Zeros. He was a fine soldier."
Hearing the general refer to Zeros by his name instead of his number shocked the two.
"I know he had been with you both since you were all taken here. I remember how close I was with my original squad, it's a bond stronger than most families. What Zeros did , he's nothing short of a hero, I've made sure he won't be forgotten."
"Sir?" Finn asked.
"I spoke with Executor Vanto. He's a close friend, when I explained what Zeros did , the Executor decided to have a statue of him built on Gallux prime."
Hearing this almost shook the two, Finn on the verge of tears knowing Zeros, a simple stormtrooper would always be remembered.
Onboard the Finalizer Kylo's personal Resurgent class star destroyer, Kylo was with Tratha, Arkanes, and Malik as they saw a pair of holograms, one was Boba Fett, the other Supreme Leader Thrawn.
"I'm more than impresses with your knights of Ren Thrawn, you have definitely earned my respect, and the support of my people. The Mandalorians will fight beside the First Order."
"I'm glad to hear it Mandalore, you may begin coordinating with Grand Admiral Ar'alani and Grand General Hux. Kylo, I'd like to thank you and your knights for your performance, you have done a great service to the First Order." Thrawn said as Kylo tightened his grip.
The holograms vanished, Tratha and the others sensing rage fill Kylo.
He left the Finalizer and went backdown to the castle, Tratha able to feel the heat from her husband. The two reaching their room as Tratha went over and picked up Cade.
"Hello my precious little boy, mommy and daddy are back."
Tratha slowly came over with their son in her arms.
Kylo saw his son.
"Daddy." He said before Kylo turned and stormed off.
"Kylo!" Tratha said.
She set Cade back down and went after Kylo.
"Kylo, it's over, the mission was a success."
"No Tratha, I failed….The stormtrooper's sacrifice won us the mission. Not me, him FN-2000. I used my full power against that Greartok Warmaster, and I was unable to stop him or his men…..I'm suppose to be Vader's heir, yet I cannot become as strong as him….I know why." Kylo said raising his head.
"Kylo." Tratha said in great concern.
"I haven't fully committed to the Dark side. As much as I have tried to forget my family and the Jedi, they're still there. My grandfather knows this, I know it as well. I must fulfill my destiny, I must fully commit to the dark side." Kylo said before Tratha saw in horror he was looking at the door to the sith sanctum.
"Kylo no, don't go in there." Tratha said.
Kylo began walking forward.
"Kylo."
"Kylo wait." Arkanes said as he and Galek came out seeing what was happening.
"Kylo you can't go in there." Galek said.
"Kylo please." Tratha said grabbing his hand.
Kylo used the force to hurl the three off of him.
Kylo reached the door and saw BB-9 in his path.
BB-9 beeped in concern.
"Move BB-9."
BB-9 shook his head.
In a rage, Kylo hurled the droid into the wall before opening the door.
As the door closed behind Kylo he saw the entrance to the sanctum for the first time. The sounds from the other side of the door going completely silent.
Kylo saw the metal walls had gone completely black with rock mixed in, torches somehow still lit revealing sith writing on the wall.
Kylo made out the words as sanctum.
Kylo carefully followed the path as he went down a winding staircase hearing the echoing footsteps as he did.
As Kylo reached the bottom he saw a series of caverns with walkways and rivers of lava flowing.
Despite the lava, Kylo felt the sanctum was incredibly cold. Kylo carefully followed the pathway before reached a tunnel, it seemed to be the only one. As Kylo walked through the path it got dark, almost pitch black. With his helmet on, Kylo had even more trouble seeing and ignited his lightsaber, using it to help illuminate the path.
As Kylo walked he sensed the dark side grow even stronger, the cold getting worse.
"I'm scared." Kylo's head shot around as he heard the soft voice, Kylo looking around the pathways but seeing nothing.
"Who's there?" Kylo said knowing he heard a voice.
As Kylo walked he continued to find nothing and considered turning back, but as he did he couldn't find a way out. He wondered the tunnels for what felt like hours, unable to find the way he came.
Kylo's frustration built as he used his lightsabers to mark the walls only to continue going in circles.
As he did so again, Kylo saw movement. Far ahead of him, he saw what looked like a child running.
Kylo sprinted after him.
"Stop!" He shouted, reaching the path second only to find nothing.
"Show yourself!"
Kylo then felt something. He slowly turned and saw who it was. Standing several feet in front of him was a little boy, he couldn't have been more than nine years old with light skin, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a patched up outfit looking very worn and cheap.
Kylo saw a very frightened look on the boys face.
Kylo slowly approached him before he saw something else. Somehow, a shadow began to form behind the boy, the shadow was very large a menacing figure, Kylo hearing what sounded like mechanical breathing.
An unseen burst of dark force energy lifted Kylo up before he tumbled across the ground, now somewhere else entirely.
Kylo slowly got up before seeing his grandfather's helmet.
Kylo almost yelped as he moved back, finally seeing it was just his grandfather's suit. Kylo looked closer and saw it was in a case with the word "MK I" over it.
Kylo looked around at the chamber he was in and saw other cases with slightly modified versions of the suit each with a higher MK.
Kylo deactivated his lightsaber and carefully moved through the chamber. As he did, he saw sith holocrons placed on pedestals, one's he had never seen before.
Kylo came closer and inspected them.
"Darth Bane, Darth Malgus, Darth Malice the wrath of the emperor, Darth Nox."
Kylo then heard another voice.
"Anakin."
Kylo ignited his lightsaber and looked around.
This voice was a woman's voice, one he had never heard before. The voice sounded almost soft and soothing, his own mother's voice had never even felt like that. It sounded almost angelic.
He then saw something else at the end of the chamber. Kylo slowly approaching as reached a final pedestal. Resting on the pedestal was a box, Kylo carefully opening it before his eyes widened.
Inside the box was a lightsaber, Kylo sensing the same aura around the lightsaber that he felt around his grandfather's helmet and skull.
"My grandfather's lightsaber." Kylo said shaking.
Kylo saw something else wrapped around the lightsaber, it was a small necklace. The necklace was simple, only having a small wooden pennant at the center with carvings in it.
Kylo tossed the pennant away before slowly picked up the lightsaber.
He held it carefully in his hand, slowly raising it up as he ignited it and saw the lightsaber glow a deep blue.
Kylo felt a great sensation as he was picked up off his feet and hurled somewhere else. Kylo seeing himself on a desert world. Inside a small city.
Kylo's eyes widened as he saw the little boy from the tunnel tearing up as he stood in front of a woman.
"I'm afraid mom." He said as the woman put her hands on his shoulder.
"I know you are anni, but master Qui Gon will watch over you, he'll protect you."
Kylo watched closely as the boy walked over to an older man with a lightsaber on his belt.
Kylo then saw himself on the same planet, inside a cloth tent with a teenage boy wearing jedi like robes as he cradled the same woman in his arms. The woman bloodied and injured as the boy teared up.
"Mom, mother!" He shouted , the woman's eyes closing.
The teenager closed his eyes before slowly opening them, a look of rage on his face.
Kylo watched as the young man ignited a lightsaber and decapitated two sand people outside the tent.
Kylo saw the carnage as the young man slaughtered the entire village of sand people, using the force and his lightsaber. The same lightsaber as the one KYlo had just found.
Kylo was transported to a city world where he saw the teenager was now a young man wearing black jedi esk-robe armor and marched towards a temple. Thousands of blue striped stormtrooper like soldiers behind him.
The man's eyes were now yellow instead of blue, Kylo entered the temple and saw the man slaughter dozens of Jedi knights and padawans, his army backing him up as he cut down Jedi after Jedi with such power and skill Kylo had only ever seen in his father.
Kylo was transported somewhere else, he was back on Mustafar , but not in the castle. Kylo saw the young man fighting a bearded Jedi master. The two fighting each other on platforms over a river of lava.
In a flash, Kylo saw the young man with his legs cut off, slowly moving towards the lava as the older Jedi gave a painful look.
"You were my brother Anakin!"
"I hate you!" The young man roared, his face filled with more hatred than Kylo had ever seen.
The young man slid into the lava, screaming in pain as he was burned. Finally submerging completely into the lava.
Kylo saw himself on the hill before something in the lava moved, Kylo seeing a figure emerge from the lava. His eyes widening as he saw it was none other than Darth Vader, the sith lord clad in his armor and cloak.
"Grandfather." Kylo said before he heard Vader breath. Reaching his hand out as Kylo felt himself get pulled towards the lava.
"Grandfather, what are you doing!? Stop!" Kylo shouted as he got closer and closer to the lava, being pulled in and feeling more pain than he had ever felt before.
Kylo then saw another flash of memory, seeing Darth Vader on Ryloth, the sith lord mercilessly cutting down twi'lek rebels with his 501st stormtroopers beside him.
A trio of twi'lek Jedi trying to fight Vader only to be slaughtered. A star destroyer moving overhead before bombarding a series of villages and towns.
"What?" Kylo said in confusion.
Kylo then saw himself on Kashyyyk. The entire forest on fire as Vader and his 501st slaughtering countless wookies, their villages , the women and children slaughtered alongside Vader as he cut down another group of Jedi among the wookies.
Kylo saw Vader on world after world, people protesting the empire only for Vader to 'stop' them.
"No." Kylo said seeing the hours first hand.
Kylo then saw Vader without his armor, his body scorched as he floated in a bacta tank.
Kylo feeling the suffering in his grandfather , his pain an anguish. However, in a moment Vader vanished, Kylo seeing himself inside the tank.
Kylo then saw himself clad in darker armor than he wore. Standing on the bridge of the Eclipse as worlds burned beneath him.
Kylo saw himself slaughtering innocents across the galaxy, the First Order behind him.
"No! No!" Kylo shouted before he saw Tratha, Cade, Rey, and his parents dead before him, killed by him as the shadow of Vader formed behind him before he saw himself back in the lava, Darth Vader dragging him deeper and deeper.
"No!"
"Anakin!" He heard, slowly looking up to see the young man from before. His eyes weren't yellow though, they were blue. Beside him was a woman, the woman looked beautiful, almost like his aunt Leia. Oddly enough, the necklace from before around her neck.
They reached down in an opening near the top.
"Anakin take our hand!" They shouted as Kylo tried to reach them, Darth Vader dragging him down deeper and deeper before Kylo finally caught their hands and was pulled up.
Kylo saw himself on the ground in the chamber, covered in sweat and breathing deeply.
Kylo slowly got up, still trying to breath before he whipped off his helmet in frustration. Kylo saw the lightsaber in front of him.
Kylo shook as he took in everything he saw.
"Grandfather." he said before he saw the lightsaber.
Kylo looked at his helmet and then looked at the helmets of his grandfather's suits.
Kylo no longer saw what he had seen before. Giving a disgusted look as he hurled his helmet into a nearby lava river.
Kylo saw the lightsaber on the ground and was uneasy, but pulled it back to his hand with the force.
He held it tightly before putting it on his belt. As he did, he realized that the necklace he had tossed away was now around his neck.
Outside the sanctum, Tratha and the others waiting anxiously and full of fear. The door slowly opened as BB-9 saw Kylo come out unharmed.
BB-9 chirping in excitement.
"Kylo!" Tratha shouted as she saw her husband come out without his helmet on.
They saw the look on his face, and sensed something had changed inside Kylo. Tratha rushing over to him first as she wrapped her arms around him.
"What happened in there?" She asked, Kylo trying to breath.
"My grandfather….He's not what we thought he was."
Author's note
I'd just like to give credit to Star wars Theory's What if I wrote the last Jedi theory video for inspiring this chapter, it's an awesome video and you guys should all check it out.
Kylo learns the truth about Darth Vader and his entire worldview has been shaken
But he won't be the only one to learn the truth about Vader
So until next time,
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