(A.N. Thanks for the reviews all! I'm still not feeling well, so this isn't gonna be as good as it could be. Hope you enjoy anyway. More chapters to come, but the reviews really urge me on, lol. Keep those reviews coming! Thanks all!)
Chapter 9
She stood over him, triumphant. Breathing heavily, Rey stared. He could feel her thrill at the reality of beating him. It was a vicious and sweet victory to her. The hunted had become the hunter, and she reveled in it.
Kylo tried to crawl backward, but the muscles in his left side and been severed. Grimacing, he felt as his body refuse to work for him. Letting out a faint cry, he fell to the ground again. He couldn't sit up right now.
He saw Rey's blue lightsaber at his throat. She would kill him, he could feel the righteous conviction in her mind easily. Looking past the lightsaber, he stared up at Rey.
She stood over him, her mouth taking in gasps of air as she was winded from battle. Her eyes still burned with the Dark Side. She was hungry now. Hungry for his blood like a carnivore was hungry for a fresh kill.
Snoke's voice came across the throne room's expanse and cackled in the air, "Strike."
Rey blinked, the rest of her body freezing in place.
"End him now!" Snoke rasped, "He's the one who has hounded you. Hurt you. Hurt your friends."
Rey didn't bring her eyes away from Kylo, but instead her gaze intensified.
Kylo gasped, feeling himself starting to shake. He was going to go into shock. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind, desperately trying to comprehend what was going on around him. He shook his head, dragging himself from the edge of unconsciousness. What was his master saying? It couldn't be true. His master would never betray him. He would never forsake his most loyal servant and apprentice. Kylo took in a deep breath and dragged himself to sit up on his right elbow to look over to his Master.
Supreme Leader Snoke moved in his throne, exhaling and standing. "He is weak, Rey," Snoke breathed, "While you are strong. End him. He would hold you back from your true destiny. He would weaken you."
Kylo had heard these whisperings before. He had grown up with them in the back of his mind. Snoke never yelled when he was trying to prove a point. He only whispered. It was the quiet and repetitive whisperings that would eventually replace anyone's true thoughts with his.
So this was how it would end. He was too weak, and Rey would replace him. After all he'd done. After all he'd sacrificed. This was Snoke's plan all along. Kylo had never been the one Snoke trained to lead. Instead, he had been the sacrifice to turn Rey. . Kylo's head spun, and the room began to swim.
"Join me," Snoke whispered, his voice the only sound in the high throne room, "And together, we will change this galaxy. Together, we could find your family."
Kylo struggled to concentrate on his master's words. Find her family? Delving into the Force, Kylo could tell that his master spoke truth. Or what appeared to be truth. But Kylo knew different. Snoke had sent him on many missions searching for Rey's family, in the hope to understand her origins. To understand the girl's origins would be to understand her strengths and weaknesses. Kylo had never found anything. Every clue, every whisper, it had all lead to nothing. Rey's family was undoubtedly dead. Yet, his master promised otherwise?
"Together, we will find your family," Snoke repeated, walking down the steps of his throne and closer to Rey, "I sense they have been searching for you."
Lies. All of it. Kylo blinked, his mind spinning. Yet it felt like truth. Kylo searched the Force. His senses were fooled. Snoke was lying, but yet he could conceal it. He was a master of deceit. Kylo brought in a shuddering gasp, his side screaming at him with every breath he took. Snoke had lied. He had lied from the beginning…And he fell for it. He had fallen for Snoke's deception. The realization was shattering. Kylo gasped again, feeling himself slump back to the floor.
"Together we can save your friends," Snoke whispered, coming ever closer, "Together, we can make everything better."
Kylo turned slightly, and saw Rey's eyes glaze over as she turned her attention away from him and toward Snoke. She was believing him. As Jedi are trained to follow their instincts, she was following hers. She was being deceived.
Kylo opened his mouth, his dry lips cracking from the effort, "Rey-"
Rey's attention snapped to him again, and the fire returned to her eyes. She lowered her saber, and held out her right hand, "Enough!"
Kylo felt an icy hand wrap itself around his windpipe. He was more shocked than surprised. His eyes watering, he dug at his collar with his right hand. She was choking him. Gagging, he tried to drag air into his lungs. No. She wouldn't let him. Gasping for breath, he could see the darkness closing in as his brain began shutting down. Reaching out, he whispered to her in the only way he knew how. He lies, he whispered through the Force. He lied to me, and he's lying to you. Don't let him turn you into me.
Moments later, Kylo didn't feel it when he hit the floor.
