The room moved slowly up and down with the rise and fall of Kylo Ren's chest. Rey could hear the thudding of his heart against her ear, and the sound comforted her. The weight of his arm across her back secured her. She closed her eyes again, hoping to extend the moment. If she could not see the chamber, perhaps she would not have to think of getting up and continuing on. She could pretend that they were together somewhere else—that they were back on the island. That they lived there. That every morning she woke to the lull of waves, secure in warm arms that belonged to someone who loved her, who would never leave her.

Ridiculous fantasy, and even as she imagined it, she knew that it was and felt ashamed. Somewhere on the surface, her friends fought what remained of the First Order troops, while the man who lay so still and silent beside her was determined to drag her along on a strange quest which he refused to disclose the full nature of. What could any of them do but play their parts… and yet, if he asked her to leave… if he, in that exact moment, told her that they could leave together, abandon their parts… that they could live together on some small nameless planet in the uncharted beyond… she might say yes. She might.

"Haven't you guessed it yet?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"What?" she whispered, trailing her fingers lazily across his chest.

"What we're doing here. Can't you feel it now that we're so close?"

Rey's hand stopped as she puzzled over his words. Her fingers curled into a fist as she realized that he had pulled the accusation from her head. The thought she had just had about a strange quest which he refused to disclose the nature of. If he had seen that—

"Sssh," he whispered, slowly stroking her back. It was meant to soothe the admonishment she intended to give him, but the fact that it came a second before she had verbally spoken the words only served to frustrate her more.

And then it hit her. The beating of his heart did not beat just in his chest but also seemed to come from the air around them. The more she listened, however, the more she became aware that there were two distinct rhythms—the one against her ear, and the slower more sinister cadence of the outer pulse.

"What is that?" she hissed, tensing.

"It's him. The Supreme Leader. He's here… somewhat."

Rey sucked in a sharp breath and made to sit up, but his arm tightened around her, confining her against him.

"Not in this room, Rey. Not here at this very moment, but close. Very close."

"You're taking me to Snoke?" She cried, her thoughts reeling as she recognized the trap she had allowed herself to be guided into. "You said—you said… but the Dark Moon—"

"Yes. He controls the Dark Moon from this place."

"But it's a ship. It's a ship that has wiped out whole populations. How can he operate such a ship from—"

"The Dark Moon is an ancient sith battle meditaion sphere. It is not a large ship, and can be controlled by only one force user—if that force user is a sith master."

"And he hides it here?"

"No. The Supreme leader and the Dark Moon are never in the same place at the same time."

"I don't understand!"

Kylo drew in a long breath and exhaled slowly before answering.

"Do you know that Master Luke is never truly alone?"

"He… well… what do you mean? Do you mean the Force is—"

"No. I mean that those who have passed before us… if they were masters of the Force they do not cease to be. They may leave behind their bodies but their will their being… they become part—"

"Part of the force, yes. I know that much. You mean to say that he can feel them around him, that they support him," she guessed.

"I mean to say that he can see them. That he can speak with them. That they appear to him in the forms they had when they walked beside him."

Rey considered this. She thought of all the times she had seen Master Luke standing apart… silent. The slight nod of his head, as though he were deciding something.

"He can see and speak with the jedi of old?"

"Some of them, I suppose, yes, but it is not only the jedi of old who continue to speak to those who would listen. The dark masters, the sith- they continue on as well. This place… the valley… no, this planet even. It is a tomb where nothing truly sleeps. The Emperor once told my grandfather that his own master, Darth Plagueis had spent years of his life studying the dark force on Korriban, and from it he had learned the secrets of life—and death. Darth Plagueis was so powerful that he could stop those he loved from dying."

"But not himself?" Rey asked.

"Not himself. His apprentice—the Emperor, killed him in his sleep, but from him the Emperor gained a great deal of knowledge. He claimed to have expanded on that knowledge. He claimed that he would triumph where Darth Plagueis had failed."

"But he didn't," Rey whispered. "Darth Vadar killed him on-"

"Darth Vadar destroyed his physical form," Kylo agreed slowly.

"What are you saying?" she asked, sitting up at last. He allowed it, his arm sliding heavily from her back.

"The ancients taught that the core of this world was made of pure dark force, but it isn't, not quite. It is a physical substance, a hard black metal, and veins of it run through this planet. The only place where it runs close enough to the surface to mine, is here in this valley of tombs. It radiates power. Perhaps its power comes from thousands of years of blood soaking into the ground, perhaps it was always there from the moment this world formed, but its power is so great that the dead of this valley do not sleep. When Naga Sadow built the Dark Moon, he built it from this powerful metal."

"The Emperor's remains were obliterated when the second death star was destroyed," Rey reminded him.

"And yet his power, his being… was not. He did not lie to my grandfather about this at least. He had found a way to overcome death."

At this, Kylo sat up and reached for his tunic. Following his example, Rey began to dress as well.

"What is it?" she asked, sensing a sudden feeling of unease from him.

"My master is always in my head. I have spent years training my thoughts, using my pretend obedience as a shield to my true mind. When I was weak I could use anger or blind rage to hide my thoughts. I have never spoken them out loud. He knows. He knows now."

A shiver ran down Rey's back.

"What does he know? Tell me."

"The Emperor had a plan to overcome death. He had procured a series of clone bodies kept in stasis tanks here on Korriban for the time that he would need them. When his body was destroyed, he used a radical dark force power called essence transfer and awoke in a clone body."

"No," Rey shook her head. "No. That's—that can't be. Luke would—he would know.. he—"

Kylo didn't look at her, but reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet beside him.

"The clone bodies don't last long—about a year at most. Masters of the dark force, like the Emperor, take a lifetime to build their abilities, to grow more powerful. Even then, the dark force is toxic to living cells and will destroy the body given enough time. When that much dark power enters a clone body, it begins to decay immediately."

Rey gasped. The withered hand of the hologram she had seen in her dreams… Snoke—

"Supreme Leader Snoke… is Emperor Palpatine," he confirmed. "A weakened and fearful version of his old self, but even still—"

"And you mean to kill him?" she interrupted, hurrying to keep pace with his long strides as he crossed the chamber. T

The wide hall beyond the room was darker. Less light had managed to find its way through the cracks, though the ceilings and walls were a veritable maze of them. The floor was littered with sand and debris.

"I mean for us to put an end to him. Yes," he agreed, igniting his blade. The red glow of his light saber reflected dimly from the cracked stone walls, emitting enough light for them to pick their way through crumbled columns and fallen slabs of rock.

"What is this place?" she asked, trying to ignore the realization that the throbbing beat of Snoke's force had increased—that the rhythm was faster and louder.

"This is what remains of the first Sith Temple, and it is ancient. The second temple—the pyramid built just above where we are now has stood since before our histories were recorded. It is a place of immense dark power. It is the power in this temple which keeps him anchored to his weak clone body, allowing him to control the Dark Moon. You once said that he kept me at a distance because he fears me. You were correct. He knows well the Sith law of two. He almost met his end at the hands of his last apprentice. My grandfather left him a broken spirit in a decaying body. Make no mistake, he is powerful still—but not strong enough to rule alone. He needed me. Though he fears me, he needed me."

"This has always been your plan." She realized. "Even from the beginning you—"

"Light is not a destructive force. It acts to define the darkness. In order to destroy evil… to devote yourself to revenge… to the death of—"

"You have to be dark," she finished, and in her head she saw again the body of Han Solo falling from the walkway as Kylo Ren watched.

"There was no plan, just a barely formed idea. Everything I learned of him, I had to learn in an off-hand manner. A delivery of bacta to Korriban—discovered when I searched a cargo manifest for illegal goods. A destroyed clone factory on an abandoned moon—its records destroyed by First Order troopers on Snoke's orders—this I found while searching for the Resistance base. It took years to learn what I needed in this fashion, with him always, ALWAYS in my head. Even as careful as I was, he still suspected. He always suspected. I had to prove my allegiance over and over and even after I had learned all that I could, I still did not have the power to defeat him alone. Here on Korriban, only a highly skilled dark force user would be able to find him. To further protect himself he has worked ceaselessly to destroy all those who have any force abilities.

"Except you," she added.

"And you—though I had to convince him that you had the ability to become far more powerful than I, and that you could be turned. I knew that in his greed, he would allow you to live, hoping to make an even more powerful apprentice.

"To replace you?" she guessed.

"Yes," he agreed.

He held out his arm and Rey came to an abrupt stop beside him. They had reached an intersection of corridors and he paused, cocking his head to one side as he listened.

"This way," he decided, leading them forward.

"How do you kill something that can survive without a body?" she wondered, reaching reflexively for he own lightsaber.

"Essence transfer is difficult and takes great preparation. A being made only of spirit needs a physical point of attachment or it be claimed by the chaos. I will fight him. You will destroy the other clones—but understand this: the Supreme Leader's body resides within a battle meditation chamber. A chamber composed of the same metal from the same vein as the hull of the Dark Moon. It allows him to control the ship, but it also amplifies his power. As I've told you before, this substance is dark force made solid. He will use it. He will attack with lightening, and pain."

"But he can't attack both of us at the same time, can he? What if we both try to destroy him first and then destroy the other bodies?" she asked.

"No. Once you've destroyed the other bodies I need you to draw off his energy. This is what I've trained you for. Draw the power into yourself, just like the mediation chamber on Baudere- but I will deal the killing blow. It is my birthright."

"But I…" Rey's voice trailed off uncertainly.

"Don't!" he hissed, turning to face her. "Don't tell me that you 'can't'. Don't tell me that you aren't able to wield the dark forces. Not right now. We both know that isn't true. I have sacrificed everything for this one chance. I have lived for this moment alone! You will do this."

"I will try," she agreed quietly.

He smiled, the lopsided smirk that almost hurt her with its comforting familiarity.

"Has Master Luke really never told you, 'Do or do not—"

"I will do it," she corrected.

Beside them, a torch flamed to life in its wall niche. They barely had time to make eye contact before the next torch ignited in a quick burst of flame, and then, all down the walls on both sides, torch after torch flared up, lighting their path to a pair of closed doors.

"He's waiting," Kylo said, and his eyes had a crazed look to them as he turned to face their destination.

Rey swallowed hard. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach had returned. Still, she pushed past him and strode toward the doorway with a bravado she certainly didn't feel. Igniting her blade, she stopped to glance back at him over her shoulder.

"Coming?"