"...And Pollux, being the immortal one, was stricken with grief over the death of his brother, and begged to Zeus to reunite them once more among the stars."

-The Gemini

"I beg your pardon?"

"He's my what?"

Both Snape's and Kylo's voices sounded in unison, faces drawn in a mix of confusion and horror—though Kylo's was more of the latter. Snoke appeared to ignore his apprentice's outburst, eyes still fixed on Snape.

"The two of you are connected through the Force, but this...this runs deeper than a mere bond. It intertwines your very fates. It was what brought you here, to my apprentice." Snape's mouth falls open even wider, but before he can speak Kylo's voice shakily echoes to them from across the expanse, a hint of panic evident in his words,

"But how do you know, for sure? Why now? This man is not even Force-sensitive. I would have felt it." Snape wonders if the man knew he was blabbering now. Snoke's voice is scornful as he rebukes him,

"There are many things you still do not understand, boy. Don't let your arrogance get in the way of this opportunity. The Force has chosen him, and it will be so."

Snape was beginning to get a sense of what "the Force" was, and it appeared to be some primitive form of magic. More likely, it was seen as a religion or deity, for such a technologically-advanced society to rely upon it so fervently. And it wouldn't be the first time people mistook it to be one and the same with magic. So he waited for the Supreme Leader to elaborate further. But instead, Snoke leans back on his throne, musing, "This changes everything...Yes, you will make a valuable ally."

The man dips his head slightly in response. There is more silence as Snoke continued to regard him, and though Snape could no longer see his thoughts, he had a growing, gnawing feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. Combined with all the mind probing he had gotten in the past hour alone, he could sense the beginnings of a magnificent headache rising to his temples as the Supreme Leader's words fell upon him once again.

"Severus Snape. Will you vow to serve the Dark Side and the First Order, to the best of your ability?"

Snape fought back the recognition dawning upon him, his tongue suddenly feeling as if it had attached itself to the roof of his mouth. He manages to choke out, "I will."

"And will you watch over my apprentice, Kylo Ren, as he attempts to fulfill my wishes and his destiny?"

Snape swallows the wave of nausea rising to his throat. "I will."

"And should it prove necessary... if it seems Kylo will fail... will you carry out the tasks yourself?"

Snape could almost feel Kylo's eyes burning into his back as he says, one final time, "I will."

Snoke breaks into a twisted grin, white lips pulling back to reveal yellowed teeth, "Very good. That would be all, then, Severus Snape. I am sure you must be exhausted from today's events. If my apprentice would be so kind as to escort our new friend to his quarters?" His pale hand motions to the door in an expression of mock courtesy, and it reminds Snape of Kylo's own gesture from earlier. He represses a shudder as he bows stiffly,

"Thank you, Supreme Leader." The words sound foreign on his tongue, though they ring with the same bitter taste as "Dark Lord". He doesn't look back as he walks away down the aisle after Kylo, feeling the skin of his neck prickling under Snoke's watchful gaze.

They are silent for the entire duration of the elevator ride back down, with Kylo brooding darkly to himself and spaced as far as possible away from Snape's side. The air within the small, enclosed space feels as if it came from the thick heart of a thundercloud. As the elevator finally comes to a stop, Kylo all but bolts out, forcing the other to chase after him in a brisk walk.

This is ridiculous. Snape forced down the rising irritation in his voice, calling out, "I assure you, Mr. Ren, I am no more thrilled about this situation as you are." Kylo doesn't slow his pace, his expression returned to its usual stone-cold facade, but he replies,

"You don't understand, Mr. Snape. This...bond," he says the word with distaste, face contorting with disgust, "It means that if you die, I will die. And I don't need some old man dragging me down." Severus only snorted in amusement to the last sentence. From what he'd seen, Kylo would likely be the one to get them both killed, with that temper of his.

"You think this is funny?" Kylo reacted sharply, stopping in his tracks and turning violently on his heels to face the other man. He stops as well, nimbly avoiding a collision with a side-step, his eyes flickering up to meet Kylo's. He noticed the barely-contained anger writhing under the younger man's skin and behind his eyes, like burning hot snakes coiling to strike. Snape spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully,

"I simply think that we should view this as a mutual arrangement. We—" Apparently he still chose his words incorrectly, as the rage suddenly spilled over and Kylo spits out,

"THERE IS NO 'WE'!" At the final word, he flings a hand at Snape. As if someone had just fired a stunning spell at him, he is tossed back into the wall of the corridor with a jolting crash, then held suspended a few feet in the air before he could fall forward. The few officers and troopers in the vicinity freeze, then quickly scatter out of sight, leaving the two men alone. The only sounds are Snape's choked wheezes as Kylo's hand tightens in the space between them, his shoulders heaving and teeth bared in a feral snarl.

"I don't care who you are, or whatever the Supreme Leader thinks you are. You are nothing to me, and you will stay away from me and my business. Understood?" The other man can only manage a deft nod, but it is enough. Kylo releases his hold, letting Snape fall to the floor, and watches down at him as he coughs and gasps for breath. His voice drips with malice and contempt,

"Remember, Snape: I may not be able to kill you, but I can still hurt you."

With that, Kylo whirls back around, cape snapping after him as he leaves Snape where he still laid, his hair now a mess and one hand gripping his neck to swallow air.

Long after the two had gone, the Supreme Leader still sat in his red room, silently scheming. There, among the countless machinations turning deep within his cruel mind, arose a seed. A new plot. One that would ensure his empire and take out the Light, once and for all.

And there on his throne, he laughed into the darkness.

When Snape finally arrived to his room, he had lost track of time and nearly had to be dragged through the door by two troopers he had managed to come across. He barely registered his surroundings, collapsing heavily onto the dark bed to one side of the room. The reality of the situation pressed down on him like a weight, and it felt as if he were being choked all over again. Before he could allow it to overwhelm his senses, some logical voice left in his consciousness spoke out: Address immediate injuries first. The rest later. Tenderly, he felt his neck, from which he was sure to find extensive bruising, and winced at the blossom of pain. If only he had his potions, or could assess his injuries, if only—

Snape looked across the room, noticing a mirror placed above a small drawer, both in equally dark shades of grey. But what caught his attention almost instantly was the familiar black box resting at the top. His breath caught in his sore throat, and he quickly moved to unlatch the box.

He already knew what it was before he saw it. He felt it.

Severus lifted his wand from the container, feeling its familiar worn handle and constant hum of magic underneath the solid wood. Blood pounded in his ears as he silently worked the proper healing spells over his body, watching his reflection in the mirror as the bruises receded into his skin within moments. More moments passed as he stood gazing at his own image, even after the wounds were gone, wand frozen in his grip as the realization hit him.

He could leave all this behind.

It would be like nothing more than a bad dream. He could go home now if he wanted to, and there would be no one to stop him. But where was home to him, anymore? The Order was dead. Hogwarts was all but in ruins. The world had changed forever; and for all it cared, Severus Snape was dead to it.

But when he closed his eyes, he could still see the grassy, rolling hills of Hogwarts in his mind's eye, with its the cavernous dark halls and sunlight-dappled courtyards, where he had loved and loathed, lived and died—

His thoughts were pulled unbidden to what Snoke had said, about how he and Ren were force twins. How their fates were intertwined, and how they were alike. Severus snorted softly, turning slowly back towards the bed.

They had nothing alike with each other.

Sure, they looked somewhat similar, but the semblance only went as far as that. This Kylo Ren thought that he could be an insufferable, entitled brat just because he possessed some speck of talent in magic—or Force—or whatever else they called it here. He was just a boy, a child who was not yet ready to bear the responsibility placed upon him. At the thought, Severus realized with an inward pang how much that sounded like someone else he'd once known.

It felt so long ago already. So far away.

But he knew that it was not far enough; not for these people, not for this...Supreme Leader. He had seen what Snoke planned to do to the galaxy, and he had no doubt that after what memories he had shown him, Earth too was in his sights. He saw again the vision slice through his mind like a dagger; there would be so much destruction and darkness, on a scale he could barely fathom. And he knew couldn't just stand by and let it happen, no matter how much the universe had forsaken him.

As his eyes closed and he welcomed the darkness of sleep, it occurred to him how small the war seemed now in comparison. Saving Harry Potter, saving wizardkind, saving the world...it all didn't matter.

This time, Severus Snape was going to save the galaxy.

hECK sorry to keep you guys waiting for this update! Wanted to get the words just right for this one, gotta love the good tension~~

Also alt. title for this chapter: Snape: Guardian of the Galaxy