Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Star Wars or any of the amazing characters
Kylo
On their way back to the main building Kylo couldn't help but feel like things were still off with Rey. She didn't exactly shut the bond as tightly as before, but he could tell that she was still hiding something from him. He knew from experience that sometimes when the darkness came at you, you just needed time to process and most of the time it had to be done alone.
So, what he did do was make sure she knew he was there for her.
Instead of crowding her, Kylo decided to give Rey a day off and took their students off into the jungle to train together. Ever since the first day of training together, things had been going well enough that Kylo was finally comfortable moving into combat training. The group had been able to make it through the last 4 meetings just getting to know each other and meditating on whatever side of the Force they needed to be more in tune with.
Kylo was impressed that group was working so well together especially after how rocky things started.
As the band of 9 made their way through the dense jungle, Essie started singing in her native language. Suddenly the air was filled with flying creatures attracted by her voice and possibly the words that she was singing. None of the other girls were pleased that they were being followed by a cloud of insects, but no one said anything because the Curian woman seemed so excited to see them.
"How much further do we have to go," Taliki asked after they'd been walking for almost an hour.
"Not too much further. We need to be away from the rest of the Resistance in case one of you destroys something. Plus, I don't want Rey to be tempted to join us when she's supposed to be resting," Kylo said.
He hadn't told his mother and the others exactly what was going on with Rey, just enough that they understood that Rey needed some space. He wanted her to be free to do whatever she needed to get herself back to normal and he knew that if the rest of the Resistance knew she wasn't teaching classes they would have her running all over the new base doing all sorts of things.
Kylo needed Rey's head in the game if they were going to survive the onslaught Zoroyais and Hux were planning to rain down on them as soon as the new Resistance base was located.
"Is Rey going to be okay," Cade asked in a grave voice.
Zer-o looked just as grave.
Maybe they sensed the growing darkness in Rey.
"She's getting acclimated to being Grey," Kylo said.
"The corruption of such a pure light is a real shame," Zer-o muttered to Cade.
Kylo bristled but kept walking. The truth of it was, Kylo agreed with him. He hated the fact that Rey had to take any darkness into herself at all, but he had a feeling that if she stayed the pure bright shining light she had been when he had met her, a darkness of the same strength would always rise to meet her. If she had a little darkness in her, then maybe, just maybe they really could keep the balance.
Kylo ducked under a couple low-hanging branches and came to a clearing next to a giant lake. The spot looked very peaceful but Kylo knew that this was Bell and Nik's sparring ground. He glanced back at them and Bell nodded approvingly.
"This will be our combat training ground from now on. No sparring near the base, the natural convergence out here will mask the use of your Force abilities," Kylo explained quickly.
"Basically, we can go all out here without Zoroyais or any other Force sensitive feeling it and being able to locate us," Nik said in a bored tone.
Arca and Cade high-fived and the girls all gathered around talking excitedly.
"So, what do you have in mind, Master Ren," Bell asked, only the smallest hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Kylo waited until all 8 of them were looking at him expectantly.
"Today we will begin learning each other's strengths and weakness. I want two teams: Nik, Essie, Taliki and Asera versus Bell, Cade, Zer-o and Arca. The winning team will take me on," Kylo said, authority ringing out clearly in his deep voice.
He looked at each of them as they nodded splitting into their two teams.
"I want you all to talk and decide on a leader and a plan of attack. You have one hour. Bell, Nik, I fully expect the two of you to fight someone other than each other. That wouldn't be educational or helpful to the learning experience," Kylo warned catching the way Nik rolled her eyes and Bell grinned at her.
"Fine," he said.
"Whatever," Nik said.
Kylo just folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. He watched as the two groups separated and headed to the opposite edges of the clearing. Kylo himself began stretching and going through paces. Through the Force he could hear the conversations going on within both groups.
"Cade is a sniper but skilled in swordplay. Zer-o has a light saber pistol but can also dual wield a purple blade and a black blade called the Dark Saber. Arca is the smartest of the three and wields a double-bladed light saber. If Cade is their leader, he will try to box us in with Zer-o dual wielding, Arca flanking him and Bell coming in from the middle with Cade shooting at us from the back of the field," Essie explained calmly.
Taliki and Asera nodded in agreement.
"Well that tracks. Bell has a pike for a light saber, so he'd be good at pressing from the middle. He may also fight for the right to be their captain since he's the captain of Kylo's guard," Nik said crossing her arms over her chest.
"And what type of fighter is your Bell," Asera asked.
"Bell is a straightforward but versatile fighter. He fights from a distance, but his pike can collapse into itself so that he can fight close range," Nik told them. "He's also ruthless and cunning. So beware," she warned.
The other women nodded.
"So usually when we pair up Essie fights Gear, Taliki fights Zer-o and I take on Cade. But for today I think you would do better taking on Cade. Light saber for light saber and I am willing to take on Falbell. I'd like to see his pike against my forked pike," Asera said.
"If the boys are dumb enough to think they can box our little butterfly in, they've got another thing coming," Taliki said excitedly.
"I'll fly right over them," Essie said sharing her enthusiasm.
Kylo couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. With as much push back and attitude he'd been getting from Nik, he'd expected things to go horribly wrong but so far everything was running smoothly with the girls' team.
How's it going out there, Rey's voice came into his head.
Not bad. I've split the group into teams. Girls vs guys. I gave them an hour to plan and get to know each other and then I'll let them duke it out, Kylo told her.
Let me guess; the winners get to fight you, Rey said, and he had to laugh.
You know me too well my little sunRey, he said fighting the smile trying take over his facial muscles. This way I get a full work out and so do they, he reasoned.
Good. I hope the day goes smoothly for you all, Rey said, stifling a yawn.
If you are tired you should get some sleep. The whole point of an off day is to relax and do things that you enjoy more than it being work, Kylo said sternly.
Don't worry handsome, I'm still in our bed lazing about, she said with a small giggle. It feels odd, still being in bed after the sun has come up, I mean, she started and then paused. My whole life was spent working myself to the bone from sunup to sundown just to have something to eat. Now I can just walk to the kitchens and get food. I only have to work when I want to and it's for the cause not my own survival making it so much more satisfying, she said and sighed deeply.
Kylo was pleased with how content and happy she felt as her mind rubbed against his. It was so much better than feeling her struggling with her darkness but even that was new because until very recently she hadn't even let Kylo know that she was in fact struggling. It had hurt him to know that she felt she couldn't share that pain with him but at the same time he completely understood.
When Ben Solo was struggling with the darkness inside of him, he didn't want to share that private struggle with anyone; not his parents, not Luke and not the other students when he finally arrived at Luke's school. At least not at first. Those that would go on to become his friends would have to earn his trust before he could even let them know about the darkness he was warring with. And boy did that make Ben feel like he wasn't a complete freak.
He did question if his darkness is what sparked the change in the other students when they'd first left Luke's but of course Snoke had pulled that little worry right out of his head to use against him during his training sessions. The thought still nagged at him once he became Kylo Ren, but Nik and Bell has assured him that all of the newly knighted Knights of Ren had all contained their own darkness before he'd revealed his secret to them. It was just easier for them to hide because they weren't as powerful as the young Ben Solo.
Kylo, are you still there? Rey asked breaking him out of his thoughts.
Uh, yeah. Just thinking about the past, he said. Everything you're going through, I went through, but I was alone. You aren't alone Rey and none of us will judge you especially not me, so you don't have to hide, he said in a tone that Snoke would have called pathetic but Kylo not now knew it was just compassion for the person he loved more than anything.
I know I'm not alone. I think that's the only thing that kept me fighting against the darkness. It wanted to make me feel isolated and lonely but in reality, I've never been further from alone in my whole life. Thank you Kylo, for everything, she said and yawned again. I think I will take a nap now. Come and find me when you're done.
Okay sweetheart. Pleasant dreams, he said allowing his mind to drift back into his body leaving the bond open just a little.
He was done with his stretches and was moving on to running through light saber drills when he caught a bit of conversation from the guys.
"I doubt the girls are arguing about who the captain of their team is going to be," Cade said.
Kylo looked over to see Cade and Arca standing to the side, awkwardly watching Zer-o and Falbell who were having a heated debate.
"Gear is by far the smartest out of the group, he should be our captain. All you have over him is dark side experience but even he was Snoke's apprentice before any of your or Ren even turned to the dark said," Zer-o said.
"But I've led a team on multiple combat missions. I know my wife has a strong personality, but I can guarantee she's allowing your captain to lead their team."
Bell had his hands on his hips, the right one dangerously close to the strap holding his pike to his back. It wasn't his fighting stance, but it was a warning. If the pike actually ended up in his hands, then Kylo would have a problem.
Zer-o was in a relaxed stance but that didn't mean much. Zer-o and Kylo has been sparring one on one ever since Zer-o had fully recovered from their shared brush with death thanks to Zoroyais, himself. The Zabrak was deceptively fast and strong. He also hadn't lost a step in losing his eye either.
Those two were even worse than Kylo and Zer-o had been on the beginning. And that wasn't a stage they could afford to repeat.
Kylo sighed. He'd keep an eye on them until he felt a fight coming.
"Okay so maybe we just don't really trust you enough to lead us just yet," Zer-o said and looked to Cade and Arca, who were looking anywhere but at the two arguing males. "Cowards," he called to his friend. "If Kylo And Rey said you're good to join us that's fine. But you have to earn your right to lead me and my brother," Zer-o said jabbing a finger at Cade.
"This is just a stupid practice mission. No one here is going to get hurt for real, don't be such a big baby," Falbell said as though Zer-o was being utterly ridiculous. "The plan would be fairly simple."
Zer-o interrupted Bell by grabbing his throat with the Force.
"You can act like this is just some silly practice because you haven't been out there fighting. You've been stationed on this planet for years only leaving when you have too. But you haven't run into those light saber wielding freaks and their boss. You don't know what it's like to have a poison fucking blade drug across your face while trying to keep the bastard from killing the rest of your team with Kylo dying on the ground," Zer-o told Falbell while choking him.
"Zer-o, what the hell are you doing," Cade cried drawing the attention of the females who had still been planning their attack.
"Damnit," Kylo swore under his breath.
In the time he took Kylo to cross the field, Falbell unsnapped the strap holding his pike, sent a wave of Force energy smashing into Zer-o who was forced to release his grip on Bell's neck, allowing him to drop to the ground where he ignited his pike and brought the red point to Zer-o's throat.
Zer-o's had been thrown backward a few steps, but he quickly regained his footing and was able to get his blaster pistol from the holster at his hip so that when the red point of the pike neared his skin, Zer-o's blaster was aimed right between Bell's legs.
Kylo put his hands out and forced the two men a part with a wave of Force energy. They flew several feet both landing on their backs and skidding for a few feet. Kylo advanced to the spot where they'd just been standing. His eyes held fury as he looked from Bell who was slowly getting to his feet and then to Zer-o who was already on his feet with his blaster pointed at Bell.
"ENOUGH," Kylo bellowed, the force of his voice knocking everyone back a step or two. "I can't believe you children can't even play together for a couple hours so that you can learn to fight together."
"You're precious Zabrak attacked me, because I'm not taking this practice as a life or death situation," Bell said, his voice rough from how hard he had been choked by Zer-o.
"He's right. Every practice mission, every training session and combat lesson is a matter of life and death for us now," Kylo said and Zer-o smirked at Bell, reveling in being right for the moment. It was cut short as soon as Kylo turned his angry gaze on him and said, "That didn't give you the right to attack him, you stupid hothead."
Zer-o's angry gaze dropped to the floor.
"Since you two think you're such hot shit, let's see if you can take me on," Kylo said twirling his new light saber dangerously.
Falbell and Zer-o's gazes jumped up to look at Kylo's face. Neither of them looked as though they believed Kylo was being serious, but he was.
To prove how serious he was, Kylo gripped Zer-o's throat and drug him over so that Kylo could look him in the face before tossing him into Falbell who was taken completely by surprise.
"Everyone else take a seat. I see today is going to be another lesson on how we are all one team," Kylo called to the rest of the group. He then turned to the two males struggling to get to their feet and told them in a deadly tone, "And where you two fit in the grand scheme of things."
The girls looked angry that Zer-o and Falbell had ruined the game before they'd even had a chance to show off their superior team working and planning skills, but they didn't complain. They came over to watch, letting their irritation show all over their faces. Cade and Arca looked disappointed but curious as to what the outcome was going to be.
"I'm supposed to work with the asshole who just attacked me," Bell asked incredulously.
"You will if you don't want to be benched on the next mission," Kylo said in a grave tone.
Nik and Bell scoffed at this.
"You can't be serious, you need all of the fighters you can get," Nik reasoned.
"We've made do with the 10 of us. I think we should be able to survive another battle until the two of you learn to work together," Kylo said, anger still burned in his voice. "Now put up your weapons and try to keep up," Kylo said.
Zer-o and Falbell shared a glance, then readied their weapons. Zer-o held both his light saber pistol in one hand and the dark saber in his other. Falbell held his pike like the spear it was. The two men looked at each other and then nodded.
They should have had the advantage. It was two against one and they both knew exactly how Kylo Ren moved and fought. But they had no clue how to fight together.
Kylo, however, knew exactly how to fight them. He'd fought against more coordinated, and powerful enemies. This was child's play in comparison.
Falbell came into attack him first, jabbing his pike at Kylo's ribs but at the same time Zer-o was coming in to knock Kylo's light saber away. They ran into each other, while Kylo spun away from them, kicking Falbell in the back sending him sprawling onto the ground. Kylo Force pushed Zer-o out of the way.
"You should at least try to work together," Kylo teased.
Bell swung the pike around his head, making Zer-o have to duck so that the top of his head wasn't removed by the blade at the end of the pike.
"Hey! Watch that damn pike," Zer-o said. "You almost took my head off."
"Stay out of my way and this won't be such a life or death practice fight for you," Falbell tossed back.
Kylo snatched Falbell off of his feet and slammed him into a nearby tree. As his friend groaned and stayed down for a moment, Kylo stalked over to Zer-o bringing his light saber down in hacking slashes that Zer-o almost buckled under the strength Kylo put behind each strike. Kylo let show just how much he held back when he sparred with Zer-o. Kylo knocked the dark saber out of Zer-o's hand and kicked him in the chest.
At the last second Kylo turned around catching the pike that Bell had launched at Kylo's back with the Force. Kylo was surprised when Bell tried to strike out at him with Force lightning. He jumped over it, taking the pike from the air and coming back toward Falbell with it.
With no weapon to defend himself, Falbell was forced onto the defensive. He relied on the Force to increase his speed and agility allowing him to duck and dodge the quick jabs from his own pike and the sweeping arcs of Kylo's purple blade. Falbell was finally able to get inside of Kylo's defenses enough to snap two punches to the larger man's ribs.
Kylo ate the punches to his ribs, growling furiously at Bell, who took a frightened step back. Kylo used the opportunity to spin the pike in his hand, smacking Bell on the side of his head with the shaft. While his eyes were still on Bell, Kylo deflected a blaster bolt from Zer-o with a flick of his light saber.
"You'll never beat me on your own," Kylo said, drawing in Rey's power down the line of the bond.
Kylo launched the pike off into the jungle. When Nik made like she was going to go retrieve it, Kylo held her still with the Force. He shook his head disapprovingly.
"This is their fight. If I wanted you to get his weapon for him, I would have told you so," Kylo said in a low angry tone.
"I apologize, Master," Nik said in a strained voice.
"Good, now take your seat," Kylo said releasing her from his hold to pause another blaster bolt in midair. "That was almost smart," Kylo called to Zer-o.
Kylo turned to face the male and was surprised to find that he was only a few feet away with his light saber pistol holstered and the Dark Saber held at the ready as he advanced. Kylo nodded approvingly and twirled his blade with one hand.
"Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to attack," Cade called in a bored tone.
Zer-o shot an angry look at his adoptive brother but charged Kylo none the less.
Kylo shook his head at the foolhardy attempt. He shot Cade a derisive look.
Cade had the grace to avoid Kylo's dark gaze. Instead whispering something to Gear about Zer-o and Bell not taking the situation seriously. The other male nodded his head in agreement.
Kylo cursed. Cade was right, Kylo had become a shell of the Dark Jedi he'd been before Rey. The light that has been buried in his darkness was now shining so brightly that his darkness was being overshadowed. He'd told Rey that he was more darkness than light but now he could see that wasn't true just by the way their students regarded him. He'd gone soft, he was as weak as Smoke had said he was.
"No," Kylo yelled aloud, taking the crowd of students totally by surprise.
All of the darkness, negative emotions and pain that Kylo has mostly let go of in his pursuit to reclaim his light came rushing back in a surge that left his dark brown eyes, a vibrant Sith yellow. Power that only the dark side could provide, the power of rage and pain, filled Kylo with renewed fury. He wouldn't hurt them for real but Kylo was now done playing with the two males.
The seated students shared worried glances.
"Sith eyes are usually a bad sign, right," Essie asked the group.
A resounding "yes" came from the group.
"Shit," Essie cursed. "Think I should go get Rey before this gets too serious," the Curian woman asked.
"No. Kylo will be pissed if you go disturb Rey because he got a little serious in a sparring session," Nik said cautiously. "It'll be good for them to be taken down a peg," she rubbed at her sore throat.
"Okay. But If things get to out of control, Essie I'm leaving it to you to restrain Kylo while one of the others goes to get Rey," Asera said quietly.
Essie nodded, the seriousness that came over her face was severely uncharacteristic of the childish Curian. The set of her shoulders and the look of determination in her eyes seemed that of a completely different person.
It made Nik look at her in a different light.
Zer-o took a step toward Kylo, more cautious than before but still not fully aware of the shift in the tone of the fight. The orange eyes followed the way Kylo held the purple blade out and the deceptively calm demeanor that the Sith eyes normally didn't come with.
Zer-o took a deep breath, and the reached deep within himself to draw on the Force to increase his speed as he ran straight for Kylo with the Dark Saber raised. He brought the black blade forward at an angle in an upward thrust, trying to get under Kylo's defense but Kylo had seen the movement coming as well as felt it in the Force so that he was able to hook his left cross guard vent under the tip of the Dark saber. Kylo pressed the attack backward, sliding the purple blade down the black blade, sending sparks flying all around them as Kylo bared down on the smaller male. Kylo pressed the blades back with a grunt digging the tip of his blade into Zer-o's shoulder for a moment.
The Zabrak cried out in pain and anger then sent a wave of Force energy at Kylo's leg's knocking him off balance. He brought his blade down and spun away from Kylo, kicking at his already buckled legs, but Kylo dove into roll.
Kylo came out of the roll on the other side of Zer-o. He thrust his light saber backward trying to catch Zer-o's side but the Zabrak was fast enough to parry the blow. Zer-o back tracked to where Falbell had gone for his pike, dodging Kylo wide arching slashes from his light saber only because Kylo's rage had overtaken his ability to hide his intentions from the others.
"What the hell is taking so long? It can't be this hard to find a 6 foot pike," Zer-o called, the strain of blocking Kylo's angry, broad strokes showing in the male's already gruff voice.
"It fell in the bog," Falbell answered a moment after there was a slight splash of the light saber pike being called from the murky water. "Besides, I thought you would be fine fighting Kylo on your own," Bell said, leaping over the two males locked in another blade to blade struggle.
"I...I..."
Zer-o words were cut off when Kylo began crushing his throat.
"You both talk too much," Kylo said, his head snapped forward, head butting Zer-o as Falbell came in spinning the pike in their direction.
Kylo shoved Zer-o away from him with the Force, to focus on Bell. Their eyes locked and all of a sudden it was like they were back in Snoke's training room with Kylo dressed in his midnight black Sith apprentice robes while Falbell was still in his brown Jedi Padawan robes, giving the illusion that they were enemies fighting to the death. Kylo extinguished his purple blade and pulled his other light saber from his belt and ignited the bright red blade, menace dripping off of the dark Jedi, just like in the old days.
Looking Kylo up and down, Bell stumbled a bit, his eyes going wide. Kylo laughed darkly as he tried to hold him still, but Bell shook it off. Bell released a bolt of force lightning only to have Kylo dodge it with little difficulty. Kylo laughed. They'd done this whole dance before but with
Zer-o took a minute to catch his breath and deal with the pain from the wound in his shoulder. He watched the two men circle each other with curiosity. It was like they had completely forgotten about him. Which Zer-o couldn't even be mad at because he and Kylo had been having their own private moment while the winded Falbell had gone looking for his pike.
"I'm just now realizing the only time you've ever stood a chance against me is when Nik is at your side," Kylo said absently. "It's not that you lack the skills to beat me, just the power."
It was the type of taunt Snoke has often instructed Kylo to use when fighting his best friend because it was a sure fire way to piss Bell off and make him act recklessly. Despite the fact that Bell and Nik were Kylo's first real friends, they've always been bitter rivals with only the power afforded by the Skywalker bloodline being the reason Kylo outpaced them so much. Nik and Bell'd had to work twice as hard just to keep up with Kylo, both at Luke's Jedi academy and then when the group had arrived on Snoke's ship. Though the rivalry was intense, it was still friendly. Kylo knew Nik and Bell would stand with him against almost any enemy and they knew he would do the same which is why Kylo made them the captains of his Knights.
"I may not be freakishly strong with the Force like you and Rey but," Falbell said and then smirked at his enraged friend before jamming out with the pike before doing a spiral twist, driving the weapon through Kylo's defenses. "I've learned more than a few tricks since you and Snoke stationed the two of us out here."
The tip of the light saber pike caught Kylo in the chest, right over the scar that had been left by Zoroyais only a few months ago.
Kylo bared his teeth at the burning pain of a light saber meeting his skin. The pain just drove him on, Kylo knocked the pike away with a graceful spin that had his light saber slicing straight toward Bell's middle. Bell brought the Mandalorian iron shaft down just in time to block what would certainly have been a killing blow had it connected.
"Kriff, Kylo. If we were going to keep tagging each other, this should have been done with practice sabers," Bell cried out.
"You won't have practice sabers on the battlefield next time Zoroyais shows up," Kylo warned lunging forward after Bell who was now back away defensively.
"You marked me first," Kylo said, he felt around in the Force for Zer-o but found his presence suspiciously missing. "I figured you knew the game," Kylo said and shrugged his shoulders.
He moved forward gracefully. His blade hung down towards the ground, lazily as if they weren't just locked in a variable death battle.
"Only because you got the Zabrak first," Bell explained, he sounded a little worried.
Just then the sound of a blaster being fired caught Kylo's attention. He whirled around catching the blaster bolt in mid hair but was caught completely by surprise when Zer-o seemed to appear right in front of him. Kylo barely had a breath to get his light saber up to block the downward swing from Zer-o's blade.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Kylo muttered.
He was impressed that Bell had been able to keep him so very distracted that Zer-o was able to get right up on him like that. Maybe the two of them weren't as hopeless as he had originally thought.
As Kylo was in the process of holding the blaster bolt with his mind and blocking Zer-o's Dark Saber blade, Bell came charging in, jabbing out with the lighted tip of the pike so fast it was hard to track the movements.
Or it would have been for a normal person. Kylo was able to feel each thrust in the Force early enough that he was able to dodge them while keeping the majority of his focus on Zer-o and the whirling Dark Saber. Kylo closed his eyes and opened the bond wide enough to gain access to Rey's battle precognition.
All of a sudden it was like Kylo was two people. He parried blows from Zer, knocking then into the shaft of Bell's pike. Then he knocked them into each other with the Force. Kylo shook his head. When were they going to learn that every time, they got close together he was going to do that?
"Stop doing that," Bell said angrily.
"If the two of you were more coordinated, I wouldn't be able to do it at all," Kylo said. "But you two are too worried about each other to even fully focus. You're pathetic," Kylo said in a dark tone. "Both of you, useless."
He charged the two males, swinging his blade in wide overhead arcs to bring it down in brutal swings, as the first swing was blocked by Zer-o, Kylo's fist struck out catching Falbell in the face. Instead of going for Kylo's exposed side, Zer-o laughed a little as blood gushed from Falbell's nose. Kylo spun around and caught the Zabrak under the chin with an uppercut that sent him flying toward the ground with a crack. Falbell had shortened his pike and went for Kylo's back. The taller man sidestepped, catching the shorted shaft between his arm and body just below the light saber point. Kylo jerked his left arm back elbowing Bell in the nose again and tossed the pike away with the Force.
"Aarg," the man groaned in pain.
A burst of Force energy could be felt throughout the practice field as Bell tapped further into the Force. Zer-o, picking up on the sudden shift, fell in behind Bell as he stalked toward Kylo. The two shared a look before Bell called his pike back to his hand, extending it back to its normal length and together they pressed Kylo, one after another. One would attack and then spin away so that there was room for the other.
After fighting for so long combined with the pain from the wound in his chest, Kylo was beginning to slow. His breathing was labored and sweat had his raven hair plastered to his head, but he was able to block or parry most of their attacks, but he was absolutely on the defensive. As long as they worked together Kylo couldn't get a clean hit on either of them.
It seemed that they had learned what he was trying to teach them.
"Enough," Kylo said coming to a halt.
Falbell, used to the way that Snoke would randomly stop them in the middle of combat training and how he would punish anyone who didn't immediately heed his command, stopped, dropping to one knee and extinguishing his blade. Zer-o however was fully engaged in the battle and kept charging at Kylo.
Kylo pushed him back with a frown on his pained face. The illusion of his yellow Sith eyes faded away so that his dark brown orbs were revealed once more. Still, Kylo glared at Zer-o ready to put him down should he continue trying to attack.
"I said enough," Kylo huffed when Zer-o looked like he was thinking about charging again. "If you were paying attention you would have noticed that the two of you had gained the advantage as soon as you started moving together. We are all connected through the Force but as teammates you have to learn to use that connection to work harmoniously in situations where you are facing a superior foe," Kylo lectured.
"I think you just stopped the fight because you were going to lose," Zer-o said haughtily.
The Zabrak glanced at Falbell with a grin on his face but Bell was still on his knee. Kylo flicked his wrist and sent the Zabrak flying into a nearby tree. The male smashed into the tree with a hard thud before falling to the ground where he lay still.
"Cade, Nik, take them to get their wounds treated. We're done for the day. Maybe tomorrow we can try for my game again," Kylo said and grimaced.
The students dispersed heading back to the compound the way that they had come. Kylo followed behind them slowly. The wound on his chest was nothing compared to what Rey had done to him during their first fight but for some reason it felt like his chest was on fire. For a moment Kylo wondered if the light saber wound was somehow irritating the scar from the near mortal wound landed by Zoroyais.
He sighed. More questions with answers that seemed impossible to find answers to.