Author's Note: Just a brief interlude before the real fun begins.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I simply play in their world.

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"A part of me wants an answer,

but a part of me

doesn't want to know.

A part of me

wants to keep holding on,

but a part of me

wants to let you go."

-T.L.W

Kylo Ren

She's gone.

Like a fleeting dream I seem to keep waking from, forgetting that happiness was never mine to keep.

I am a monster and monsters don't get to have dreams. We are the nightmares instead.

"Supreme Leader the Allegiant General is requesting your presence on the bridge."

K'Tath reminding me that my duties lie elsewhere and I leave the hanger without another backward glance.

To do so would only show weakness where she is concerned.

Pryde greets me with a glower that does nothing but sharpen my temper to murderous rage.

"Supreme Leader I demand an explanation-"

I hold up my hand, using the Force to squeeze his throat tight enough to make him gasp but not block his airway completely.

"You demand Allegiant General?"

I am seconds from snapping his neck. One wrong move and I will coat these walls in his blood.

He doesn't go for his throat to break my hold and incite my rage further.

Instead he stands there, gripping his stick as beads of sweat dot his brow.

"My...apologies..."

I let go and turn my back to him. He lives but just barely.

"What is our progress?"

The only way he will survive this impromptu meeting is if I don't have to look at him.

"We're...approaching Jedha."

That planet sits on the edge of the Outer Rim and marks the boundary for the Unknown Region.

I have a choice to make.

To continue as planned and return to Exegol where I will face the emperor.

Or go after Rey and destroy the last of the Jedi.

Either way I risk Palpatine's wrath. If I return without Rey I an quite certain he will attempt to destroy me. If I kill her then I will thwart whatever schemes he's been planning and perhaps clear my own path to the Sith Throne.

"Has the Night Buzzard arrived?"

"Not yet. We expect their arrival in thirty minutes."

"We'll wait before we make our jump. I'll be in my quarters until then."

"Sir-"

I glance at Pryde and dare him to contradict my orders.

Perhaps his earlier transgression was enough to remind him that his power is nothing compared to mine.

A brief nod of his head.

"As you command."

I leave the bridge with Pryde issuing orders just as the doors slide shut behind me.

The walk to my room is nothing but endless silence. Officers and troopers are quick to clear my path.

Her phantom walks beside me. I can still see the playful tilt of her lips, the gleam of mischief in her eyes. She wore my cloak and openly held my hand.

She haunts me with every breath I take.

The door slides open and sterile, white walls greet my vision.

My workbench holds my forged mask and the beaded necklace I took from Rey.

Again I am reminded of the choice I must make and soon. There can be no hesitation, no turning back after this.

The path of Kylo Ren and with it my right to rule the galaxy.

Or...

I pick up the necklace, the cool beads like glass in my hand.

I had a vision of us that seemed like a lifetime ago.

Side by side with a child to call our own.

A home. A family. Something that no longer required me to be a weapon of war.

Something more than what I am now...something better.

Rage grips me by the throat and I throw them as far away from me as possible.

They hit the farthest wall and shatter into a hundred pieces falling like rain.

"Why?"

I would have given her everything she wanted. All she had to do was stay.

To believe in me. But she didn't.

Don't come after me Ren. Please, for once...let me go. I don't want to kill you.

I stagger, dropping to my knees as her voice whispers inside my head...she's ripping me apart.

How dare she reach out to me after running away.

After blocking our bond and tearing my soul in half in the process.

I have had enough of her games, of tormenting me with her false affection.

I've been lying to myself this entire time.

She will never love me. I am nothing but a means to an end for her.

She is just like everyone else. Speaking words of promise before abandoning me when I am of no more use.

Visions of our future...the life I would have built with her wither like ash before my eyes.

She has made my choice for me.

I am the Jedi Killer and there is one, last Jedi to hunt down.

I cannot rule the galaxy while she lives.

I get back on my feet and move down the steps where Darth Vader's mask sits on its pedestal.

The broken beads surround it and I kick them out of my way.

Gently I lay my hand on the charred, warped remains.

"It's almost done grandfather. Only one Jedi stands in my path."

I close my eyes and pray for strength.

She is strong, some would consider her my equal but I will prove all of them wrong.

I have no equal.

Not anymore.

Palpatine can wait. I will deal with him in due course.

But Rey...she has underestimated me for the last time.

My hunt begins now.