As Ben stalked through the snow, he sensed Snoke getting ever closer to Drecenia. His heart racing in his chest, he realized he had no plan to defend himself, forced to wait helplessly for Snoke's arrival.

He heard the thrusters on the command shuttle hiss behind him, and he flipped around to watch as the ship rose slowly from the frozen ground, lifting with it a swirling cloud of snow.

Come on, Rey, he urged. The ship ascended higher, its wings extending to their full height. It gradually gained speed as it climbed up into the sky, heading towards the atmosphere.

Ben shut his eyes, tightening his fists. Rey will be pass by Snoke unnoticed. The Force is on her side, he assured himself. His body tensed as he attempted to send Rey his own strength through the barrier of the Force field he'd put around the ship.

As he opened his eyes, the command shuttle was no longer in sight. May the Force be with you.

Ben lumbered through the snow, weak from having released so much of his own energy to Rey. He stopped in front of the circle of buildings, dropping down in the cold snow to rest. His hand on the hilt of his lightsaber, he glowered up at the sky and waited.

It wasn't long until Ben sensed movement in the atmosphere of the planet. He staggered up, watching the clouds above as a mass of TIE fighters came into view.

Ben ignited his saber and trudged slowly into the open area of snow between the encampment and the woods. The TIEs screeched excruciatingly louder as they neared, and one after the other they circled above him, like bats let out of a cave. Ben shielded his eyes from the sun as he watched them. He knew they wouldn't attack him. He knew they were leaving him for Snoke.

The TIEs stopped and hovered above him, leaving a path in the sky through which a large shuttle began to descend. Kylo straightened himself, ready to face his former master.

The shuttle descended, well over twice the size of his own. As soon as it hit the ground, a platform drooped from the front of the ship and several large squadrons of snow and stormtroopers hustled down into the snow, forming a line before him. Their blasters were all trained on his face.

Ben furrowed his brows as he shot the troopers a black look. He held his crackling red saber tightly in his right hand, casting a red glow in the sparkling snow around him. His eyes focused on the ship's dropped platform as two snowtrooper sergeants marched down it, followed by Captain Phasma.

Phasma walked past the other two troopers and stopped just yards from Ben, who watched her solemnly.

"Kylo Ren, extinguish your weapon," she commanded. Ben glared at her, unmoving. Phasma took another heavy step towards him. "Don't make this more difficult than it has to be," she said in a low voice, just to him.

Phasma then backed away, watching him through her chrome helmet as General Hux descended the platform. He moved jauntily through the snow towards Ben, stopping just past the edge of armed stormtroopers.

Ben moved both hands to grip his lightsaber as he glared across as Hux, disgust welling in his tight chest.

"The traitor," Hux spat, his mouth curling into a smile. "The Supreme Leader is thoroughly disappointed in you, Ren. You have been found wanting." Hux's mocking glare remained on Ben as he then stepped to the side.

Finally, Snoke slowly descended from the ship, striding easily through the snow towards Ben. Ben took a few cautious steps backwards as he approached. Snoke stopped a few yards from him, craning his neck upwards as he looked down upon his former student disdainfully.

"Kylo Ren," he said snarled, eyeing Ben's face. "I read fear in your eyes."

Ben clenched his hands defensively around his lightsaber.

"You've known this day was coming," Snoke said, his voice booming. "Did you really think you could hide from us forever?" Snoke's face grew darker, his head craning forward. "Did you really think you could escape the power of the dark?" He tilted his head. "You are the dark. Yet...something still holds you back. And I daresay...it's not just your mother."

Ben tossed his head agitatedly, gritting his teeth.

General Hux stepped forward, glancing nervously up at Snoke. "It's the Scavenger, the rubbish girl from Jakku, isn't it?" He exclaimed eagerly. Snoke shot him a deathly look, and Hux shut his mouth. Ben's glare fixated on Hux, his eyes narrowing silently.

"Where is she?" Snoke growled, his fist clenching before him. He took a step towards Ben, and with one swipe of his hand, he Force-pushed Ben's saber from his tight grasp.

Ben's eyes followed as it landed in the snow many yards away. Phasma's right, Ben thought morosely. What need have I to fight any longer? His former nihilism consumed his mind.

He returned his gaze back to Snoke, shaking his head. "There is no girl here," he said, straightening his posture defiantly. "Go ahead and look."

"She was here, I sensed her," Snoke hissed. "Where—is—she?" He repeated, taking another challenging step towards Ben. But Ben remained in place, his fists lifting at his sides as his body began to shake with fury.

"Do you refuse to answer your master?" Snoke bellowed, raising his fist as if to strike.

Ben shook his head solemnly. "I need no master."

Snoke's head craned back as he appeared surprised. His face then grew dark as his eyes narrowed to slits. "You have grown too audacious in your freedom, Kylo Ren. I see you need to be corrected," he hissed. He slowly turned to look at the stormtroopers behind him.

"Fire," he commanded, and just as the troopers were about to engage their weapons Phasma stepped forward, holding an arm out, signaling them all to stop.

"Sir," she protested.

Snoke glared down at her, turning his body to fully face her. "Do you, Captain, challenge my order?" He bellowed.

Phasma's helmet swivelled as she appeared to look between Ben and Snoke. Her shoulders seemed to drop, and she shook her head, taking a few steps backwards. "No, Supreme Leader."

Snoke glared at her a moment longer before turning to face Ben once more. "Fire at this traitor," he hissed, and all at once the fifty stormtroopers began shooting at Ben, who widened his stance as he swiftly swiped the oncoming blasters away with the use of the Force.

But there were too many shots coming at once for him to be able to deflect them all, and blast by blast they began making contact, hitting him in his side, his arms, his legs, his body twisting and contorting with each painful new wound. He tapped into his own anger to access the Force, to keep himself focused.

One blast shot directly into his already-open wound on his upper arm from Rey's lightsaber, and he yelped. As he did so, several shots hit him in the side at once, and he crumpled forward into the snow, gripping at the last site of impact.

"Enough!" Phasma yelled desperately, and the shots ceased.

Ben remained prone in the snow, blinking against the pool of his own blood.

"General, take this Captain back into the ship. It seems we have another in need of correction," Ben heard Snoke growl. But his voice sounded distant, blurred as Ben wavered on the edge of consciousness. He balled his hands into fists on either side of him in the snow, setting his jaw as he reached into his well of rage.

He cringed as he felt Snoke break into his mind, accessing all of his deepest thoughts. He groaned at the pain of his blaster wounds, of Snoke's unmerciful probing. No, he thought in alarm. He didn't want Snoke reading all of his memories, his feelings.

"Yes," Snoke countered aloud. Ben heard his feet slowly crunch through the snow towards him. "Just as I suspected. And as I have seen before. You have great compassion for the girl."

"Compassion? For the Scavenger?" Ben heard Hux sneer. "Do you lust for her, Ren?"

Ben hissed and raised his head from the snow, looking past Snoke to glare across at Hux, who watched him with an air of entertainment.

"Restrain him," Snoke commanded, and the two sergeant snowtroopers jogged to Ben, yanking him up by the elbows as he struggled against them, grunting. They held Ben in place on his knees between them, his arms held above his head. Ben winced again as Snoke continued sifting through his thoughts. He glared up at Snoke, who stalked slowly towards him.

"I see the girl has left on your own ship," Snoke said, and turned to look back at Hux. "General, send half of the TIE fighters to shoot down the escaped girl. She shouldn't be far from here."

"Yes, sir," Hux said, flipping around on his heels towards the ship.

"No!" Ben exclaimed, attempting to shake out of the snowtroopers' grasp, but he was too weak. Snoke turned and moved his palm towards Ben, hovering it inches from his forehead. Ben grunted as Snoke pulsed an electrifying pain through Ben's body, causing him to shake. Ben groaned through his teeth against the searing pain, his blaster wounds singed as if on fire.

Suddenly, Snoke removed his hand and Force assault from Ben as he turned towards the sky. Ben's bleary eyes rose along with Snoke's as he heard the distant but building hum of an ion engine. That's no TIE, Ben thought dejectedly.

His heart dropped in his chest as his own command shuttle broke through the thin clouds in the sky. Ben attempted to get to his feat, but his wounded legs faltered, and the snowtroopers tightened their deadlock on his upper arms, pushing into his wounds, but Ben was now numb to the pain as his eyes remained locked on the approaching shuttle. Rey, no, turn back, don't do this, he urged, but he knew she couldn't hear him through the Force field on her ship.

From a far distance, Rey began shooting at the hovering TIE fighters with impressive accuracy. Several TIEs came crashing to the ground around Snoke's landed shuttle, igniting some of the surrounding trees on fire.

Snoke staggered forward through the snow, paying no attention to the TIEs falling from the sky. His gaze remained focused up on the command shuttle.

Rey soared overhead, the remaining two-thirds of the fighters following swiftly after her, shooting at the ship. But Ben's command shuttle wouldn't go down easily, he knew, not even with fifteen TIEs blasting at it; he had made sure it was designed for maximum durability. As he watched the ship soar overhead, Ben couldn't help but admire Rey's remarkable piloting skills, as well as her sheer bravery, his mouth dropping open in astonishment.

As the shuttle continued to take the hits of the TIEs, Rey turned the ship in an arc and steered back towards the clearing, flying the ship lower as she aimed the ship's Kyber cannons at the figures below. She shot in quick succession at the wall of stormtroopers, who began to scatter, taking several of them.

Snoke raised his fist in anger at the shuttle as it flew back overhead. "Enough with this!" He snarled, and he threw his palm out towards the ship, shifting it off course and sending it speeding downwards.

Ben blinked in horror as the command shuttle tumbled down and thudded into snow below, a white wave of ice and snow lifting as it skid across the ground, one of its wings crumpling at the impact. A fuel fuse burst and large, brilliant orange flames erupted from the shuttle, licking the sky as the wreckage slid to a stop, the snow settling around it.

Snoke held a palm towards been, further restraining him with the Force, and Ben's body shook violently as he attempted to break from the hold. "Rey!" He wailed despairingly.

Snoke's head flipped around as he shot Ben a dark glare, narrowing his small eyes. "You shall see the dark side once again," he hissed. Snoke pointed towards the ship, nodding towards the group of stormtroopers who had once again formed a line. "Bring me the body, so we can show Kylo Ren the fate of a traitor."

Ben watched despondently as a group of stormtroopers obediently jogged towards the flaming wreckage. Ben felt numb, just as he had on Starkiller base when Chewbacca had shot him with the crossbow, so consumed with the pain of his father's death. This dread like even more of a blow to him. Ben hung his head against his chest, his eyes moistening with tears.

"Kylo Ren, you must face your fate," Snoke declared, looking at Ben expectantly. Ben slowly raised his head as he saw two stormtroopers dragging Rey's limp body through the snow from the crashed shuttle, leaving a trail of her blood behind.

"Rey," Ben breathed shakily, unable to grasp what had just happened. His body trembled, his chest tightening. Snoke released his Force grip from Ben's body as he watched the stormtroopers bring Rey closer.

Suddenly, Ben was able to sense Rey. All of her. Her presence, her aura. He blinked in confusion, staring at her lifeless body.

He realized that the troopers had just drug her past the threshold of the Force field surrounding the command shuttle, so he assumed that was why he could now sense her. But how can I sense her if she's dead? He wondered, his heart racing. He craned his neck as realization flooded him. She's still alive.

He sucked in a quick breath as he sensed Snoke realize the same thing, who released a disappointed groan.

Ben clenched his shaking fists as he eagerly tried to reach into Rey's mind. Rey, I'm here, I'm right here, he thought, attempting to comfort her. He wasn't sure how much pain she felt; her mind seemed hazy. Rey.

His eyes widened in amazement as he watched Rey's arm jolt, her eyelids twitching as they slowly blinked open.

"Halt," Snoke commanded, and the stormtroopers dragging Rey stopped in place, looking at each other anxiously. Snoke began to move towards Rey.

"Supreme Leader," Ben called out urgently. Don't kill her, we can use her, he insisted earnestly to Snoke telepathically. I've been training her, you know it's true. You've just seen it in my mind.

Snoke stopped before Rey and turned to eye Ben, who pulled up into the Snowtroopers' grasp, using it to lift himself up. He wavered on his feet, then balanced himself as he looked across intently at Snoke. You've seen it. She has great potential.

The Rule of Two, Snoke returned, narrowing his eyes.

Ben shook his head quickly. She has been my student, and will remain that way.

"And why should I allow that?" Snoke asked aloud incredulously, to the obvious confusion of the stormtroopers around them. "You, the traitor to the Empire."

"The Empire?" Ben asked, puzzled. "I didn't know—"

Snoke waved him off. "That is not what we are discussing," he hissed.

You need me to do your bidding, I know this is true, Ben continued. I will return with sworn loyalty to the dark, he pressed, lowering his brows. His gaze flickered from Rey to Snoke anxiously. And so will she. I will see to it.

You seem so sure. I sense the light is strong in her.

There is darkness within her. Search her mind, you will find it, as I have, Ben urged. He was averse to Snoke breaking into her mind, but he knew it was the only way he could convince him to find value in keeping her alive. His chest tightened as he watched Snoke probe her mind, Rey's features contorting as she remained barely conscious.

Snoke then broke from Rey's mind, turning his face as he considered Ben. He knew Snoke found what he was looking for.

Ben briefly managed to read in Snoke's mind that he knew that as long as Rey was kept alive within the clutches of the Empire, Ben would follow the Supreme Leader's commands out of the fear of any harm being done to her.

I will remain loyal to the Empire, Ben asserted.

Snoke let out a grumbling sigh, glaring down at Ben. Prove it.

Ben shook from the snowtroopers' grasp, and Snoke nodded at them to release him. Ben limped forward towards Snoke, angered for his former master to see him so weak, so incapable.

He glanced over at Rey, who was still held upright by her arms by the two stormtroopers. His brows raised as she blinked open her eyes, focusing on him as he passed. Ben shifted his gaze, unable to bring himself to look at her further, now that he was willingly submitting her to the enemy.

He stopped just before Snoke, dropping down onto a shaking, wounded knee as he looked up at Snoke's tall figure. "I swear my loyalty to you, Supreme Leader. I submit myself humbly as your subordinate," he declared, his throat tightening in disgust as he spoke the words. He sensed Rey's shock as she watched him.

Snoke nodded once in seeming approval, and waved at the two stormtroopers restraining Rey. "Bring her onboard, lock her up," he declared, and the troopers continued dragging her back to the ship.

Ben's heart wrenched as he watched Rey's head turn around to look back at him, panicked. "Ben?!" She called. "Ben!"

Ben shifted his gaze from her, unable to bring himself to look at her, to answer her pleading calls. He felt Snoke's gaze upon him as he stared down at the snow below, at his own blood, his embodied shame dripping down into the cold whiteness.

He did not bother to lift his gaze again as Snoke spoke, moving away from Ben. "All on board, at once. Prepare the ship for takeoff. The traitor may board last."

The only thing Ben knew was that he was always a traitor, either to the Empire, or to Rey. But he knew that this was the only way he could keep Rey alive.

Oh, no, leave it to Supreme Leader Snoke to mess everything up. Same with Hux, he's a pretty nasty guy. Phasma, however, seems different. What do you make of her? And what's going to become of our beloved Reylo? Thanks for reading, Padawans! Much love to you all.