"The map. Where is it?"
Dazed, confused, blinking away the aftershocks of pain, Poe could only stare. The mask… it's supposed to be white. White with empty eye sockets and a blue lightsaber.
"Enough games, Dameron. You know what I seek."
For an instant Poe's mind cried out Ben! "I don't know what you're talking about," he said vaguely. No map. No droid. You're not him.
"You remember the child of the past. A boy with a whimsical temper. He hasn't changed."
"You're not Ben," Poe retorted quietly.
"My name is no longer Ben Solo. I am more powerful than any Jedi. Nothing else is different."
"He used to yell at me for letting a tooka into his room." Poe's gaze wandered. "He said I was trying to make a girl out of him."
"Enough drivel. Tell me where the map is."
"Why?" Poe raised his chin and challenged the unseeing metal. It was no different than the steely expression of a nine-year-old. "You're wavering," he guessed. "You remember everything."
"There is nothing to remember. Give me the map." The familiar ire was there. Poe gritted his teeth, panting as the Force began pulling on his mind. He flung out memories as a shield.
Ben picking raspberry seeds out of his teeth and declaring that such berries were of the dark side. Blueberries were added to the list after Poe spat out a tiny worm.
"These figments are meaningless. You cannot distract me this time." Kylo Ren pressed harder, and Poe retaliated in kind.
A wild-haired child leaped across tables, waving a model Y-wing and an Imperial shuttle. Poe's model X-wing lay in three pieces on the floor, shattered by Ben's enthusiastic attack. "I'll just get another," Ben reasoned. "These are Master Luke's, anyways."
"I will take it from you!" Kylo Ren roared. His anger was familiar; the reaction anticipated. He'll break my skull like the mirror, Poe pondered, seconds before his nerves lighted in excruciation.
Memories shredded under the dark side. Unfazed chestnut eyes. Model B-wings all in a row. Tiny fists slugging an R2 unit before Poe interfered. Melted frosty treat dripping off Ben's pouting chin. I had to buy him another one 'cause he dropped it. Thrill breaking through the ruffled expression when the academy instructor permitted Ben to accompany Poe for a freeform flight. Helping Ben pick a new droid that he insisted Luke would want for his birthday, and then covertly smuggling it onto an outbound trade ship when Luke expressed that R2 was the only droid he needed, but he didn't want to crush his nephew's good will.
"You no longer need these," Kylo Ren stated, and Poe screamed as the memories were particled in the Force. Not those! You can't take them from me!
He clung to the images. Inky black hair frizzed after Ben's inadvertent nap. Tiny hands wrapped around Poe's knife. Clumsy, unbalanced limbs that bumbled frequently, catching up to a teenager's sharp mind. A shrill voice demanding, 'Pay attention, Dameron!' Lonely birthdays on either side – Ben, whose parents were often called away, Poe, whose parents would never call him again. Playing the Rebel pilot while Ben flew his "Tie Fighter" – a metal crate painted black, supplied with extra snacks and two fizzy sodas. Holding a sleeping Ben until his arm went numb and Leia returned safely on her birthday. Ben had given her a mushed sweet and two wilted flowers….
One by one the memories shattered. Threads drifted and were individually burned. With agonizing efficiency Kylo Ren examined each second of Poe's past, and removed himself from the pilot's mind. Poe screamed, helpless as his mind was invaded and destroyed. He grabbed for the shards and Kylo Ren dissolved them in his hands. The last sight was of the hologram… Ben's final message as himself, after the Jedi were murdered….
When Kylo Ren rooted out BB-8's location, Poe was too drained to realize it. He tethered the last, faltering light in his mind and clenched his soul around it, hiding it from the enemy.
He was left alone.
He was freed by a stormtrooper who needed a pilot.
He had a droid to find, and a general to report to.
He lost his father's jacket.
They had taken his knife - an old switchblade he'd kept since childhood, with a nicked blade and a worn handle. He couldn't remember the story behind it; only that he had lost it for years and at some point it had been returned.
He remembered his mission. He remembered his parents, and the legacy he carried.
And he remembered that tiny ray of anger, wrapped in a gap-toothed smile.
To the Solo family, the traitor was Ben Solo. To the rest of the galaxy he was Kylo Ren.
To Poe, he was the faint memory of chestnut eyes and screaming fits: a child with too much insecurity and too little control.
He felt like he knew the kid.
TBC
I had to work around a certain time table to bring Ben from snappy seven-year-old to Kylo Ren. Now that the timeline is finished, I will be focusing more on prompts. Have a suggestion? Really wanted a certain scene? I'll be checking the prompt list from time to time and I'll see how many I can fulfill.
Thank you to SuperninjaX, Begoogled, Agent ERA, Space Opera Singer, hannahinthesky44, Lazerkat, feel that fire, nerdyninjaunicorn, time2read, al pal 18, CrazedFangirl13, Tina910, CatWingsAthena, Nadreth, SilverclawRose, The EarthSong, and guests Ann, Guest, and Corrine for reviewing!