Author's Note: Oh... why hello there. Welcome to another chapter of our little story here. Thank you to those who left notes on the extra scene on tumblr. Y'all are adorable with your comments. Seriously, you're fantastic and there might be more posted there. We shall see!
So, remember when I was like "Hey, so, I'm screwing with the canon and I need y'all to trust me?" Well, this is the part where I need y'all to trust me. I'm taking this canon and royally screwing with it. Like Ashlyn blindly trusts Kylo Ren, I need y'all to blindly trust me here! It'll pay off!... maybe!
And as always, thank you guys for being wonderful. Your reviews, messages, comments, everything, is so appreciated and you guys make this story what it is. Without your kind words and support, it wouldn't be nearly as good. So thank you.
There were many things about the Force that Ash didn't understand. In fact, there were things even Kylo Ren didn't understand either. Within the Force, there came a triangle. That triangle explained how bonds worked. There was a bond of hatred; one that was swiftly forming between the Dark Side and the Light Side of the Force. The bond of friendship, an unbreakable bond between Rey and Ash that felt almost surreal. How two people that had only met once could be so close. The understanding between one side and the other, the girls had everything when they had each other. Both lost in a sea of power that they couldn't control, or knew how to control. Girls with no family; their only companion being themselves for the longest of times. Now, brought together to complete a puzzle.
Then, there was the bond forged through love. A bond that could hold such extreme emotions; like waves breaking against the shore. It was strong. It was consistent, it was a force to be reckoned with. A force that would not be ignored and would not simply fade by the end of the night. That was the bond between Ashlyn Novafall and Kylo Ren. And while they didn't understand it, while they fought so hard to get away from it… it never did. At the end of the day, it always came back to one thing. They were complete when they had each other. They were whole.
Ash's eyes fluttered open to see the precious and delicate sunlight shining onto the cement ceiling of the hut. She felt as though last night was the first day of her life; as though all her nerves began to feel at once, her existence meaningless until then. She had struggled for so long to find that balance between the dark and the light; that simple place of grey that always seemed out of reach, so rocky to stay within. Then, in her darkest hour, she pulled herself back. She pulled herself from the edge and emerged stronger than ever. She showed her true nature, she was strong, she was fierce and she was a protector. A protector of those she loved, even when that person was a giant ball of negative emotion.
She turned her head slightly to the right to see him sleeping still, his expression looking peaceful, even with the large scar that ran across half of his face and down to his shoulder. Their bodies were tangled together under the sheets, keeping each other warm with their body heat. His arm lazily hanging around her body; gosh, it felt like they were on StarKiller all over again. Two crazy kids in love, running around and hiding that fact from not just everyone else but, themselves as well.
Why had it taken them so long to see it; to see everything. She loved him so deeply and so passionately, how had it taken this long to realize it. Even after all the awful things he had done, she loved him. She didn't forgive him, they both knew that. He wanted her forgiveness, in some capacity, he didn't need it. He just needed her. And while those bad things he had done still lingered in the air, for the moment, Ash loved him as though nothing else mattered because nothing else did. Not the war, not the rest of the galaxy, not the Resistance, not the First Order. Nothing but the two of them.
He opened his eyes then, his normally dark eyes were illuminating a more gold color as he looked back at her. The arm was around her waist, pulling her close to him with a swift and easy motion. He wasted no time in kissing her lovingly, oh how he missed the contact. How he missed her and their connection. She missed him all the same, it showed in the way she kissed him back.
Kylo Ren grinned into their kiss then, it was mischievous and did not go unnoticed by Ashlyn as she pulled away from him just enough to ask. "What is it?" She was afraid of the answer.
"I think this is the first time we've woken up together and you didn't panic."
Ash rolled her eyes, trying to pull away from him more now as he held her even tighter to him. Afraid if he let go, she'd disappear all over again. "You can't help but ruin a nice moment." He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. Ash groaned playfully before stretching as much as she could in his arms. Her body aching from their fight and the aftermath. It was a good ache, she knew that. She looked up at him again, examining his face and memorizing each little detail; from beauty mark to the scar. Stars, he was beautiful.
He didn't feel that way. He said as much as he frowned, not exactly appreciating the way she was staring, even if she was admiring him. "Your friend-" He hated that word. "Did some damage to my face."
Ash's expression matched his. "Don't do that." She pleaded. "We were having such a good moment." Kylo Ren's body visibly stiffened as he let her go, turning over and removing himself from the bed. "Ben."
There it was again, that name. The slip of the tongue; she called him 'Ben'. He froze. "I let you get away with it the first time." He warned her. "Do not say it again."
"It's your name, isn't it?" She challenged right back.
The two still as their eyes bore into one another, waiting for something, anything to break this moment. It was when Kylo Ren bent down to grab his clothes before walking out of the room entirely. Ash sighed, their turmoil wasn't something so easily forgotten. Even now. She sat up, grabbing her own clothes and dressing before heading out into the main area.
Kylo Ren was nowhere to be found, but holy hell, did they make a mess. The table was still scattered across the floor, underneath it she could make out the book of planets tucked away safely under the destruction. The door was still off the hinges, plates and other objects from the kitchen littered the floor. They left a storm in their wake and the hut was evidence of that.
Ash walked outside the hut, stepping over the broken door as she did and walked over to the very tense man standing in the field. "Things are changing." He said sharply. "Things are changing and I need you." His stare intense as she walked around him, standing in front of him now.
"How?" She asked, getting lost in the way he said he needed her.
"I can't tell you."
"No, that's not how this is going to work anymore." She reprimanded him, something Kylo Ren wasn't used to or ready for, not from her. "You pushed me away, sent me to another planet because 'you couldn't tell me'. That's not happening again. You want my help, fine. But you need to tell me everything."
He glared. The braver Ashlyn became in challenging him, the more of a headache she was for him. "I'm going to kill Snoke." She knew that. "But I can't. I can't do it alone."
"And you think the two of us can?"
"No, we can't either." Well, that was a deflating thought. "There are these artifacts; Jedi artifacts. It's the only way we can overpower Snoke. We use them to take as much power as we can from him, and then we kill him."
"And where are these artifacts?" He didn't answer. "You don't even know."
Kylo huffed. "It's why I needed Skywalker."
That made things a little complicated. Rey was with Luke now, if they were to go there, she was certain Rey would try and kill Kylo. "How many artifacts are there?"
"We need three." Ren explained. Well, at least he had an answer for one of her many questions.
"And we have no idea where they are." Ash confirmed as Kylo gave her a pointed look. "How do you plan to do this under the First Order's nose?" It became abundantly clear then that Kylo Ren had half a plan. No, he had maybe two-thirds of a plan. He knew what he needed to do, however, actually doing it was the shaky part. All this time, he seemed to be so calculated; always ten steps ahead. Ash realized, while part of that was true, there was a lot of things Kylo Ren didn't have the answers to. For once, it made him human to her. He was far from perfect and she was beginning to really understand that. "Work with the Resistance then. If the First Order is our common enemy-"
"The First Order isn't our common enemy." Kylo Ren explained as though it were so obvious. "Snoke is our enemy. There are unfortunately still supporters of Snoke."
"But you're not a Snoke supporter."
"It's much more complicated than that."
"Is it because of your Mother?" Ash asked, suddenly regretting she had ever done so as Kylo seemed to shut down. "Look, I want to help. I said I was going to be by your side once, and I will again. But we have work to do-" Ash scoffed. "A lot of work to do. With us, this plan; all of it. You need to let me in."
Kylo Ren relaxed just enough that Ash knew she had him as she reached forward and touched his arm. "How are we going to do this if you won't return with me?"
He had her there. "I'm not sure. But I know that going to the Finalizer is only going to make matters worse. I can feel it."
The two locked eyes, a struggle for who was right and who was wrong lied behind them. Neither one had the answer; it felt like no one did. They knew where the problem lied, but how to fix it? Well, there were a lot of things they needed to fix and perhaps that was why neither one could come up with a solution. "We'll meet here." Kylo finally offered. "I'm too close to Snoke while on the Finalizer, he could hear us if we try to communicate with our minds or by projecting across the galaxy. We need to meet here."
Ash tried to make light of the situation. "So, Maridun is back to being our secret getaway?"
His lips unwillingly curled upward as he reached forward, grabbing the girl and forcing her to his chest. His arms wrapped around her as he held her close. He could love and kill her all the same; she drove him that crazy.
Captain Phasma was grateful for the chrome helmet that covered the blatant distaste on her face as the First Order transport unit docked in the main launch bay of the Finalizer. As Captain of the Storm Troopers, Phasma had to be there to welcome the arrival of all military personnel, even if she hated them with a fiery passion.
While Phasma believed there was evil in the galaxy; evil people, evil thoughts and actions. No one was truly evil… except for Snoke and Espen Damar. The way he walked down the ramp; the smug expression on his face. Phasma was almost certain she was going to vomit, which would have been unfortunate considering the helmet. "Captain Phasma."
"Lieutenant Damar." Phasma left no pleasantries in her voice.
"It is Lieutenant General Damar now." He immediately corrected her.
Shit, he got promoted Phasma thought to herself. "My apologies Lieutenant General." While on the Finalizer, Phasma was a fish out of water. A Captain didn't rank as high as Damar's new status, however she had Kylo Ren to help elevate her. But, Kylo Ren wasn't here. She was left to deal with Damar herself.
"I am going to be making a few changes here, Captain." Damar said in a sickly pleasant tone. "The Supreme Leader has certain expectations and we must follow them accordingly, lest we want to make him angry."
"Of course not, sir." Phasma confirmed with distaste.
"Where is the General and the Commander?" Damar asked with a wicked grin.
"The General is awaiting your arrival in the debriefing room. Commander Ren is on a mission, but should be returning any day now." Phasma lied, now praying Ren would come back sooner rather than later. However, if he did return with Ashlyn, things could get even more complicated.
"I want to be informed the moment he sets foot back on base, is that clear." Damar instructed as he marched forward.
"Crystal." Phasma replied with her jaw clenched tightly. By the stars, she hated that man.
They walked silently through the woods, trying to ignore the destruction around them as they headed for the lake. The pair had left their lightsabers in the wet grass last night and needed to find them. They made it through the treeline and walked out towards the lake, staring at the calm water as Kylo Ren spotted both their lightsabers. He walked forward and grabbed them, attaching his to his belt and idly holding Ash's in his hand.
He looked down at it fondly and yet with a hesitation he didn't really understand. He could feel the power surging through it; a remanence of her that was left behind on the light sword. It was conflicted, but oh-so-very-stable. "I thought I could corrupt you." Kylo mentioned, still looking at the lightsaber. "Bring you to the dark side with me. I could feel it in you, it was electric; dangerous. I didn't understand then that you were just pulling it from me. Bringing you to the darkness completely is not where you belong." He snorted. "Maybe you don't even belong with me." He looked up at her, noticing the hesitation on her face as he smirked. "But I think I'm too selfish to ever let you go now."
"And I guess I'm just a little too foolish to leave on my own." She said as Kylo Ren walked over to her, holding out the lightsaber. Ash took it, holding it in her hand for a moment to admire it before attaching it to her belt where it belonged. She looked back up at Kylo Ren. "What are we doing?"
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"We're going in circles." She said. "Tiptoeing around each other; around who we want the other to be, even though it's not possible. Could this even work?"
His frown softened as his hand touched her cheek lovingly. "It's just a circle for now. Once we figure out our next move we can-" Suddenly, it clicked what Ashlyn was really asking him. He sighed. "You're afraid I'm going to just abandon you again."
Ash grimaced. "Can you blame me?"
"Snoke would have had me kill you if I let you stay. I was afraid of losing you and I still did." Ren admitted. "I'm not going to let that happen again."
"If Snoke wants me dead, then why would you ever want to bring me to the Finalizer?" Kylo hesitated in answering. "Come on, you said you'd be open with me."
"He believes you will turn to the dark side. He's seen it; I've seen it." Kylo said. "However, he doesn't know you like I do. You're too stubborn to be easily swayed to our side."
Ash grinned. "Good to know my thick head is what's keeping me from turning to the darkness."
Kylo chuckled. "It's such a tempting idea, having you be on the same side of the Force with me. But, I also think I really enjoy my starshine the way she is. Conflicted and all over the place. I'm attracted to chaos."
Ash leaned up and pecked his lips. "That's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me." She said teasingly.
Kylo's hand gently rested under Ashlyn's chin, tilting her head upward as he smirked. "I'm just a hopeless romantic, I guess." Ash laughed as he leaned down to capture her lips fully, silencing her laugh as she smiled into their kiss. This was the start of healing, the start of their return home. Yet, temptations were always hard to ignore. Something the two would learn.
The two Force Users reluctantly left Maridun and went on their separate ways, back to their home bases. The agreement to meet back on Maridun often was the only thing that kept them hopeful. Perhaps this could work. They could see each other, work out their problems and save the galaxy. What could be more wonderful than that?
Well, for Kylo Ren, the cloud of euphoria faded quickly upon his arrival back to the Finalizer. He sensed Phasma and Hux were in distress and he didn't need to read why. He saw the ship that was docked. Damar was back and he was undoubtedly here to cause problems.
Kylo Ren didn't wear his helmet anymore. He didn't need to. People feared him without it; sure the scar helped too. He knew this as he stormed through the halls of the Finalizer and made his way into the debriefing room. As he entered, he noticed the smug expression on Damar's face along with the very unhappy face of General Hux.
The door slid behind Ren as he looked at the two men before asking. "Phasma?"
"She's not needed in this meeting." Damar explained.
Kylo Ren reluctantly took a seat across from Damar and closer to Hux. "Why are we needed then?"
Damar grinned. "There has been a shift in ranks, as I'm sure you're aware. The Supreme Leader wants results and feels that he is not getting them with those he currently has in charge."
Kylo frowned. "So why are you in charge then?"
"I get results." Kylo snorted at that, receiving a death glare from Damar and a side glance from Hux. Now was not the time for Kylo Ren to misbehave. "The Supreme Leader has asked me to oversee the Finalizer, the First Order and everything that goes on. You will report to me as well as General Hux. I want to know everything you are doing."
Kylo Ren wanted nothing more than to throw the newly promoted Lieutenant General across the room and Force choke him until he stopped breathing. However, he knew how much was a stake if he did. Instead, he gritted his teeth and would wait for the day he could really do damage. That time was coming sooner than Damar realized.
"You didn't bring Ash back." Hux wasn't surprised; he wasn't happy, but he wasn't surprised. "Did she get away?"
The two had relocated to Hux's apartment now where Phasma had been awaiting them. She was aggravated, to say the least, as she stomped around in a pacing pattern. "She's not going to be returning to the Finalizer, no." Ren confirmed before snapping at Phasma. "Can you just not? You're making me antsy."
"I'm making you antsy?" Phasma scoffed. "Please, Ren. Tell me how my pacing is making you antsy, considering we sit in the dark most of the time awaiting your next move." Hux made a face as he wished, more than anything, he could run out of the room to avoid the awkward silence. Phasma sighed as she plopped onto the couch with a huff. "I didn't mean it like that."
Kylo Ren clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "No, you did."
"Children, can we please get back to the issue at hand." Hux reprimanded them. "Ash isn't here, and I'm sure the Commander has a very good reason for it."
Your sarcasm is not appreciated." Kylo said with an eye roll. "Ash will not turn to the dark side, as I had hoped. This also goes against the Supreme Leaders wishes in having her join us. She's going to take me to Skywalker once she learns where he is, we will get the needed information and you two will move onto your part."
"With Damar snooping around, this is going to prove to be difficult." Phasma said.
"When hasn't it been difficult?" Hux replied flatly. "I'm still keeping the information from StarKiller as secure as possible. Once Damar catches on, he'll have the location of the Resistance base and the attack on D'Qar will happen. We need to move, if the Resistance is gone, we won't have a shot."
"When is Ash expected to get us the location to Skywalker?" Phasma asked, noticing Kylo Ren said nothing in reply. "Does she know?"
"She does." Ren cautiously admitted. "I need her to trust me again, otherwise she won't give me the information. When I meet with her again-"
"Ren-" Hux interrupted. "Don't get caught up in this, not again. There's so much at stake, she must know that. You two can keep doing… whatever it is you're doing, after we get the needed information. Do not get distracted."
Ren glared. "I won't." He would. Which became clear when he snuck away three more times over the course of two weeks to meet with Ashlyn.
While it was innocent enough, the two meeting up to discuss their part of the plan, there was the risk that came with it. Particularly when others began to notice, such as Lieutenant General Damar. He stared out into the void of space as the TIE Silencer screeched out of the launch bay and into the atmosphere. Dama's face like stone as he pulled up his commlink to the launch bay. "Follow him." Almost immediately as his instructions came, two scout ships raced from the bay and towards the direction Ren had left.
The Supreme Leader had sensed a shift in the Force, the Grey User returning, the Light User awakening and then Kylo Ren; the dark side of it all. He was shifting, becoming his own force of will again. No longer was he under the Supreme Leader's thumb and that was dangerous.
He had taken it upon himself to have a contingency plan, should Ren stray from the path he forced him on. It was happening, the Grey User was winning. Her will was stronger than he had anticipated. Now, he needed to squash this before it became worse. That's when he promoted Epsen Damar. A man who would do anything to get to the top, his hatred of Ren just as vicious. Damar would be the one to keep track of everything Kylo Ren was doing, and with this continuous disappearance, he only confirmed Snoke's suspicions. The next step was to report his findings once the scouts returned with the information.
Final Thought: Let's all just blindly trust the crazy author and her crazy ideas. Also. Damar is a dick and I told you he'd be back. Hot dayum. Remember to review and see y'all next chapter when shit really get crazy!