As promised, Hux was browsing distractedly through Kylo's holofeed when he awoke. The other half of his attention was focused on one of Kylo's most prized holocrons, which was somehow on his table and not in his meditation room where it belonged. It was, in fact, a Sith Lord's teachings on contacting the dead. How Hux had known this was unknown to him.

"I went through them all," Hux said. "Skimmed, shall I say. I was looking for one about communicating with the dead, and lo and behold." He held it up. "It helps that it was among the first in your collection, and the least dusty. Trust you to spend lengthy amounts of time practicing necromancy."

"You managed to open them?"

"It is like any other exercise." Hux huffed. "Not that they say much in particular. You must be contacting a spirit united with the Living Force after death, they must want to talk to you, etcetera."

"There is not as much to it as you might think."

"Mmm, I am beginning to see that." He hummed. "Do we really have to wish upon a star for your grandfather to deign us with his presence?"

"Do not mock him," Kylo snapped.

"He likely doesn't appreciate your commendable defence of his honour, you know. We all gleaned from him that he could, in fact, very much do that himself. Quite brutally, too. Have you seen the holofootage? Truly remarkable, that level of skill."

"Yes. It is what I hope to achieve one day."

"You've got the brutality down to a fine art," Hux said, wryly. "Now spend four decades in rigid, hard-set Force training. From the Jedi to the Sith, and from a light frame to a hulking mass of armour. A portable life support system, really. Now that is experience."

"I have dedicated my life to it."

Hux tilted his head. He hadn't much shielding, and Kylo could feel intrigue from him. He could hear the unsaid, "You are so strange. I want to take you apart and see how you work." Hux was studying him. And so he was studying Hux.

Who, as it seemed, had such devotion to learning the Force that he had gone through the personal artefacts of a Knight of Ren. Kylo was impressed at the level of blatant disaffection.

"Shall we?" Kylo asked, and folded himself neatly against the floor. "Close your eyes and think."

"I'll just imagine the wheezing sound of his breathing, shall I?"

"He lost his voice in battle. The Force honoured him despite the loss, and he found a better one."

"The other has more of a ring to it." But Hux sat, closed his eyes, and rested his hands lightly on his bent knees.

Kylo thought of the things he wanted to ask, and to tell, and to do. He thought of the burnt shell of a mask, of his Grandfather's voice, of his strange, mocking humour, the perpetually-amused tone.

And slowly, before them, a light faded in with all the glare of sun on snow, and there stood Anakin Skywalker, one eyebrow still raised, entertained. "You wish to begin your training now?"

"And the General?"

"Is free to learn as he wishes. But we will not be fighting today."

"There's more to the Force than force, I see." Hux said it more to himself, but a small, odd little grin appeared on Grandfather's face. It looked as if he were making an effort not to laugh.

Kylo couldn't remember the last time he had laughed in genuine.

"You have yet to be disappointed. Let us keep it that way."

True to his word, Grandfather taught them nothing of battle. He insisted, instead, that they learn to harness their wildest emotions. Kylo wasn't so blind as to miss the disapproval in his master's voice.

"Think of your anger as an elegant weapon, as opposed to a blunt tool," he said, sagely, curled and hovering lightly in the air, as if on an invisible bed. Though he was restful, Kylo could sense he wasn't bored. "You strike thoughtlessly. Everything in your path cannot be reasoned with, and so you destroy it. This will get you nowhere."

"Are you suggesting I try to attempt diplomacy?"

Something lit in his eyes. "I'd like to see you try." And then the flame was pinched. Kylo found the moments Vader allowed the Light to return the most unsettling; even more so than his presence in the Force as the greatest of the Sith, even more so than if he stood in full armour and crushed invisible hands against his neck. "No, I suggest you learn patience, as every good apprentice should. Your partner in the Force," at this, Grandfather waved a hand to Hux, standing pleased to see Kylo openly humiliated, "would likely appreciate your efforts more if they ended without costly damages to his ship."

Kylo bowed. "I understand."

"Such formalities are unnecessary," Grandfather said, and wiped a hand over his face. "I am your blood."

Kylo stood blankly.

Finally, something snapped in Grandfather's calm posture. "For Forcesake, knock it out."

That was not the violent outburst he had been expecting. "I am- sorry?"

"I try to appeal to the Dark in you and you try to kiss my kriffing boots, Force, if Snips were here to see the state of my apprentices now-" Grandfather settled. "Maybe I should try appealing to the Light in you, instead. Quit with the formalities, stick to the... youth I once was."

"I don't think acting like the reckless hero Anakin Skywalker will get you any further," Hux offered. "Ren has difficulty understanding duality. All he sees is Dark. It's all very melodramatic."

"Well, I can do melodramatic." Grandfather hummed.

"General, are you implying there is anything but Darkness in Darth Vader? He understands its true power, unlike y-"

"I was the one to bring balance to the Force," Grandfather said. "I understand the true power of the Dark, and the Light. It would be less wasteful and useless to simply accept both."

"This is what you are trying to teach us?"

Hux snorted. "I'm sorry to say your grandson's slow, but well..."

"Quiet!" Kylo snapped, and Hux, damn him, just smirked.

"That's no way to speak to your superior officer."

"Y'know," Grandfather began. "Y'know, at this point, I'm not trying to teach you anything. I'm just trying to prove an exaggerated point. That point being that I have two personalities to choose from at any given time. As you can see." He frowned. "Snoke has taught you to fixate on only one. Such is a limited understanding of your birthright."

"My birthright, Grandfather?"

"Decades of knowledge in the Force passed down into your own hands, whether you intend to open them or not."

"I asked you to show me the power of the Dark."

"And I am," he allowed. "But I can show you the power of the Light, as well. Do not pretend as if you don't feel its call as strongly as your desperate clinging to the Dark would suggest. And if you choose, in turn, to ignore an entire half of my offer, then you are a fool, and you have much to learn before you can even attempt manouevres above a Padawan's level."

Kylo blinked back. "As you request."

"A start." Grandfather smiled, slight. "You, General, do you intend to ignore the other side of the Force?"

"If it gets me somewhere above Snoke's thumb and forefinger, I plan on doing it. If it means bringing flowers to the streetchildren of Ryloth, then so be it."

"An admirable dedication, if for reasons unrelated to idealism or hope."

"What would you know of idealism and hope?" Kylo asked.

"I had hope, once. Never idealism, but once I hoped for a better future. They were hopes I never thought to act upon until now."

"You are implying we are the better future?"

"My son is... you have taken a great deal from him. His spirit went untouched after I returned to the Light, but you succeeded where I failed. You have truly broken him, and so he has grown old and cynical, as we all do. But you, you are young, and your mind is pliable. You have proven as much."

"You want to mould me into a vision of idealism?" Kylo spat.

"Yes," said Grandfather. "What reason do I have to lie to you? I want you to find true Balance, as I did. I want to see my bloodline remain untainted by the cultish rallying of such scum as your 'Supreme Leader' Snoke."

"You fell for the same trap." Hux stepped in, now, eyes wide and pleased. He had found something he could hold over Vader. His eyes always shone the same way when he found a weakness to exploit - like some preying nexu. Kylo had learnt early on what it meant to find oneself on the other end of that gaze. It never meant well. "With Emperor Palpatine. You don't want him to make the same mistakes. You want to prove your blood isn't so gullible as to fall for the same trick twice."

Vader's teeth glinted on unknown light. "You are sharp for a military brat."

Kylo twisted and fed on the molten outrage that arose from Hux's assumption, and spun around, spitting. "You call me gullible! I am not the one who follows orders like a good little pet and obeys the useless posturing of the hierarchy! You hypocrite, you-"

"Oh, that's not an implication you like particularly, is it?" Hux hummed. "Then I suppose you should take up your grandfather's offer."

Kylo felt abruptly as if he had been played. Vader's grin grew even further.

Grandfather, for the most part, left them to their own devices. He had brushed away the thought that they might need supervision, as they were not "sniveling younglings", but insisted he check up on their progress from time to time.

They were alone with Grandfather's ambiguous guidance and hundreds of Sith holocrons, and Hux had greedy hands.

Kylo would rather tell him himself the meaning of the Dark, but Hux insisted on consuming information like rations. He never stopped, not to eat, to rest, only to attend to his command duties and complete his daily training regimen. Kylo admired the drive. Of course, it also proved he and Hux were truly partners in the Force, now, and that meant proper communication. If he ever found the need for a mental link, Hux would have to dampen his hate enough to lower his barriers.

Kylo had to earn his respect, and his cooperation.

Frankly, he would rather have carried an entire Star Destroyer across the sandpits of Jakku.

He knew he would have to broach the topic, and soon, but going about asking permission to form a path of psychic communication through the Force was not something he had any particular experience in.

Hux looked up from his datapad. "I know you're dying to ask something, Ren. Ask away and be done with it, for Maker's sake."

"Most training pairs tend to communicate in the Force telepathically," Kylo began. "They make a conscious effort to broadcast their thoughts and intentions to their partner."

"For better coordination and efficiency?" Hux asked. "That seems reasonable."

"It means we will have to spend a great deal of time in each other's heads, General." Kylo tilted his head. "You don't like me. This does not facilitate easy conversation."

"If you stop wrecking my equipment and interfering in my operations, I'll have no problems with you at all."

"You hate me," Kylo began, but Hux just snorted.

"I hate everyone. It's the most logical and obvious choice, until proven otherwise. You're strange, Ren, but you have goals, which is far more than I can say for half this crew. That infernal mask does ruin any aura of approachability, though, if you were truly wondering why no-one is willing to strike up a pleasant chat."

Kylo hesitated. Would honesty win Hux's trust earlier? "My face is too..."

"Young? Do you think I care either way what you wear, Ren? If you act like a child, some unnecessarily melodramatic robes will not conceal it."

"You have barely seen my face."

Hux raised an eyebrow and returned his gaze to his holocron. "Is that not what you were going to say?"

"Will you pretend as if you didn't already know if I tell you?" A part of Kylo was amused, even past Hux's blatant disrespect. Not many could claim to lack the cowardice to stand up to him, and Hux was, as always, refreshing. Infuriating, but refreshing. Kylo didn't know whether to kill him or to kill Snoke and let Hux take his place.

"Age is irrelevant. You are either a fool or you aren't." Hux considered him. "Maybe you're not such a fool. You do have some incredible and frankly impressive issues with posturing, though."

"It's my job. The First Order must bow to me."

"You admit your intimidation tactics aren't subconscious?" Hux clapped his hands together, just once. "Will wonders never cease?"

"That's not-" Kylo stopped. "Hmm. Well played, General. Maybe you will not be such a dull presence in my mind, after all."

Hux set the holocron down. "Go on," he said. "I know you're just dying to teach me."

Kylo hated how eager he was to teach, to share the Force. He knew Hux could see it as clear as day, especially without the mask, or the vocoder. It was easier to explain the many techniques he'd learnt over the years with his face uncovered, but it left him open and vulnerable for Hux's disturbingly accurate perception. With or without the Force's aid, Hux stared straight through him.

"This explains how Force users never tend to trip over each other in battle. They all have this constant awareness? With or without the link, this is impossible to ignore."

Kylo resisted shuddering as he felt Hux rifle through his mind. He thought of nothing but mundane, blank and empty experiences, and hoped Hux could only skim the surface. It was a shallow hope, but he hoped it nonetheless. "It's an immense help, yes. A shame none of our Stormtroopers can achieve such fluidity without decades of training."

"I am beginning to suspect the two of us are match enough for an entire army, even one of the First Order's magnitude."

A part of him sung at the words, and Hux paused. "It isn't just for your ego, is it? You genuinely like when others reassure you of your own competence. You want to share this, you want others to understand the true nature of your abilities."

Kylo set a foot into the waters of Hux's own mind, to even out the sneaking, intrusive tendrils in his own. "And you... want to be my equal? No, you believe you already are. You... want to reach my level of power in the Force? Is that it?"

Hux twitched. "If I am to rule the First Order, it becomes necessary."

"It can be done," Kylo said. "Grandfather's training will raise us far above Snoke's level."

He could feel a jolt of vindictive pleasure at this, shooting through Hux's mind, leaving him to fight a self-satisfied smirk. "He's growing far too old for his position, I think."

Kylo could bite back his father's blunt honesty when he had the time to curb it, but in the depths of his own mind, it was left unchecked. We are better together than we are alone. We are a stronger force.

"I do admit, our petty disagreements are nothing in comparison to the benefits of a shared willpower. Besides, despite the disordered chaos of your mind, you are-"

The fire to your ice?

"What a purple metaphor, Ren. I'm impressed, but not surprised." Still, Kylo heard. Not entirely inaccurate. Rather apt, I suppose.

This was the strength in numbers the Jedi so insisted was critical to the ways of the Force.

It didn't leave as bad a taste in his mouth as he'd thought. Not in the company of someone with some degree of intelligence, unlike the peons that served them.

He enjoyed it. Greedy mental hands wanted to pull Hux in further and explore everything his head could offer. If his interpretation was correct, it was a thirst for knowledge the General also shared. Grandfather was right to see an alliance between them. With this, they could accomplish anything, Kylo was suddenly sure. Had this been what Grandfather had felt in his youth, fighting at the side of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi? An intoxicating rush of power, and yet he'd given it all up for the useless Emperor Palpatine.

Just as he had with Snoke.

Only Kylo had the pleasure of learning from his predecessor's mistakes. Blood could beget blood, but he had the upper hand. He knew how this would play out. Hux and his rule would mould into the dream Vader and his true master could never achieve.

"Oh, I like this," Hux said, losing the fight to his rapidly-growing smirk. "A plan, for once. And such a good one, too."

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Finals week is approaching, and I may be slightly terrified. It's hard to work on fic when you're chugging coffee and writing essays at three in the morning. I'm trying super hard to get these out as fast as I can, but I don't want to give you guys anything but... well, this isn't really a quality product, is it? This is me being self-indulgent. But only the greatest self-indulgence makes it onto the page! Basically. It's a seal of quality over quantity. Even if that quality is just me rambling about how cool the Force is? shit. the force is so fucking cool.

so fucking cool man.

xxoo