Tevoth administered the chro-gel to Rey at the appropriate time and left her cell, she went back to sleep. He walked along the corridors at Ossus to his personal apartments. He knew once the gel started to work she'd be up pacing again in her cell. It was fascinating that it changed her algorithms that way. He had watched the video feed before meeting her for dinner. She looked tired, and that was even before he re-applied the sedative. Tevoth notated their encounter in his tablet, she truly thought that a month had passed. In her sleep she murmured Ren's name over and over fitfully. The seed he planted in her mind, that the Resistance abandoned her was starting to take hold. But this is what Snoke wanted, to make her feel forgotton and hopefully break her bonds of friendship, and if they were lucky she would come to resent the Resistance. Her power would be a great addition to the First Order.
He tapped on his tablet and messaged Phasma to meet him. Thankfully, shortly after he arrived she appeared, saluting to him.
"Lord Tevoth." She said crisply.
"Captain. Thank you for assisting. I need you to see Rey again the next few hours, just once an hour will suffice and monitor her behavior. You will need to sedate her again as well. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow she'll be ready."
"As you command, my lord." She saluted and left.
He messaged the Supreme Leader his observations and interestingly received a speedy reply. "I have felt her tremors with the Force. Continue, and if she is broken or close to broken take her and the Nightsisters to perform the ritual tomorrow. Be sure they do not survive, they are a threat to us all."
The cycle of drugs and endless waiting started to affect Rey. She heard Ren at times, asking the same questions, but he never heard her reply. She stopped trying to respond to him weeks ago, he was just a small bundle of frustrated emotion in her mind. He felt no closer to her than he was months ago. Was she imagining it? She really hoped she wasn't going crazy, but maybe she was. Rey used to pace every day, and it turned to meditation to help calm her and her fears. Now she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, tears falling down the side of her face. She'd cry herself to sleep of late, even if she wasn't tired she'd cry and sleep. Sleeping was better than being awake, she could pretend not being here. She used to dream and think about Ren, fantasizing him coming to save her. Rey pictured him slicing the door open with his lightsaber, with Luke and Poe and Finn. He'd kiss her and hold her, and look into her eyes. They'd destroy whatever base they were on and leave. She felt the Dark Side stir within her, at the thought of demolishing her captors.
She sighed.
They weren't coming. It has been almost three months since her abduction. Hot fresh tears rolled down Rey's cheeks and she stifled a sob. Tevoth and Phasma seemed impartial to her captivity here, and they didn't provide any information as to when she'd be leaving. She imagined going to see Snoke and to kill him, even if she died in the process, as long as she could end this. She was truly all alone.
Her hurt grew within her, she felt the Dark Side grasping within. Rey closed her eyes to attempt to sleep; if she was sleeping, the Dark Side couldn't tempt her there.
The door hissed open, and she didn't even bother to turn around.
"Good evening Rey. I need to administer your dosage and we have new quarters for you." Tevoth's low voice quietly said. Oddly his tone was partially jovial.
She turned and looked, he was standing with the shot in hand and outside her cell she saw the bed she would be strapped into. She sat up and the Sith Lord sat next to her and injected the sedative. Rey realized earlier the cloudy substance was the sedative. She still had no idea what the green liquid did. Weariness settled upon her as the drug started to work. He lifted by her arm and strapped her in by himself. No stormtroopers were nearby.
"Where are we going?" Rey couldn't muster a threatening voice, there had been times that Tevoth refused to answer her question with even a word.
"We'll be taking a small detour before we go to your new apartments." He strapped her in tightly.
She looked to the side as they rolled through the empty hallways. The only sounds was his footsteps and the clacking of the cart over the tiles. After many turns, he placed his hand over a scanner and two doors hissed open. It was a huge cavern, and looking up she saw no end in sight, just darkness. The walls and floor black and rusty colored. The air smelled ancient, and of ash. But in the center a large violet crystal glowed dimly. They drew closer and she felt the Dark Side swell within her.
Tevoth pushed her further toward the crystal. "What is this? Where are we going?" Panic filled Rey's weak voice. She tried to steady her breathing and feeling calm, but for some reason the Dark Side didn't easily subside. He stopped and walked in front of her, his eyes blazing red. Although he was embracing the Dark Side, she felt no anger from him. He was excited for this.
"You'll find out soon." He said in a low whisper. She tried to struggle against the restraints. Her fear added to the Dark Side. She took deep breaths and held them, tears welling in her eyes.
Three forms were near the crystal and as they came near it was Kailiss and two other Nightsisters. The Dark Side was with them, their eyes yellow or red as they studied her. Kailiss addressed Tevoth.
"Why did you bring her?" she snapped.
"Kailiss, do you see she is about to fall to the Dark Side? Even being here during the ritual may be enough to do it. This Sith Crystal caused the destruction of the Cron System millennia ago from the channeled powers of ancient Sith Lords. The Supreme Leader wishes for it." He said calmly.
The blonde Nightsister stepped forward and examined Rey. "You're right, look at her tremble. Let us begin, with the remaining energies in this crystal we can become stronger, and join a new member to our cause." Rey struggled even harder, trying to focus to use the Force. The Dark Side clawed within her and she fought it. Tevoth Bound her.
"I cannot Bind her and do the ceremony. Although per the glyphs here, it can be done with three as easily as four. She must not be allowed to interrupt it." The Sith Lord said, frustration in his voice.
Kailiss didn't bother to hide her pleasure "No matter. Let us begin then sisters." The three of them positioned themselves equidistant from the crystal and knelt. Tevoth moved Rey directly behind Kailiss and he stared intently. The purple glow lit his face, he was smiling. Rey watched, horrified. Emerging from the Nightsisters, a indigo colored cord appeared between their chests and the crystal. It vibrated and pulsed, and the Sith crystal started to pulse in turn, like a heart beat. The vibrations entered the whole chamber, a deep rumbling started from well below the earth. Tears flowed freely from Rey's eyes and she started to cry, and beg, anything to leave. Tevoth glanced at her and put his hand on her shoulder.
The crystal pulsed and flashed, she gasped and cried in pain when her heart skipped a beat, to join the beating of the crystal. The Nightsisters started to scream, although Rey couldn't say if it was in agony or in ecstasy. The cords between them grew in size, and new lines appeared joining each Nightsister. They were all connected now.
Tevoth leaned down and whispered "Your performance was perfect. Now, your reward." He activated his lightsaber, the hum lost in the rumblings of the Sith Crystal. The ruby light shined weakly against the purple flashing of the crystal. To Rey's surprise, he stabbed Kailiss through her torso. Rey couldn't be positive if she screamed over the intense sound of the reverberations. The lines linking to Kailiss's body rose and fell like an ocean wave, uncontrolled but her body remained upright. The chamber heaved, Tevoth gripped harder to steady himself, and kicked the Nightsisters lifeless body to the ground.
He moved Rey forward "No, Please! NO!" and the indigo lines connected to her, snapping into place. The Dark Side surged in her, she couldn't control it, she couldn't fight it. She was a drop of water fighting a thousand suns.
"REENNNNNNNN!"
"She is at Ossus. That is the direction she is in. We need to go there as soon as we can." Ren said, exasperated. He wanted to fly there and rescue her, killing anyone in his way. He begged Poe earlier, but Leia had seen the Resistance Pilot first and forbade any traveling without her permission.
"We must coordinate a strike to do this Ben. We're waiting for reinforcements from the Hapes system. Once they arrive we'll set up our strategy with their navy." Leia said. Her voice was touched with concern and also frustration. It wasn't the first time Ren begged and pleaded with his mother to leave. Chewie and Finn sat next to him, and Poe next to his mother. They wanted to help him he knew but were loyal to Leia's wishes.
He had felt Rey in the last day and tried to contact her, but with whatever she was drugged with was strong. She slipped in and out of consciousness a few times an hour it seemed. It was infuriating.
Abruptly, he felt terror within Rey and he stared. Luke was sitting across from him and stopped reading his tablet, his blue eyes intent on Ren. Ren could only feel her emotions rise, and something more sinister. The Dark Side rose within her, feeding from her fear, she was trying to control it.
"She's afraid, very afraid." His voice came out in a whisper.
Her panic fed into his, his pulsed raced. He controlled his breathing and focused calm thoughts to her. What is happening to her? The fear she had was insurmountable, any living being would be shaking on the ground, writhing, begging for mercy.
He finally heard her.
REENNNNNNNN!
The Dark Side consumed her.
Inside him the Dark Side raged, it dominated his emotions. It controlled all of Ren. He Pushed Luke and he hung on the wall. The Jedi gasped for breath, his blue eyes grief-stricken.
Finn was sitting next to Ren, when he whispered eerily "She's afraid, very afraid." Not even Sicarii on Yavin 4 terrified him the way Ren spoke just then. Finn felt every beat of his heart, everyone was watching Ren with bated breath.
In the span of an second, Ren's irises turned yellow and Luke flew back into the wall. Ren screamed.
"SHE FELL! SHE FELL! WE FAILED HER!" He grasped for his lightsaber at his side. Thankfully Chewbacca was sitting on Ren's left and bound his arms faster than Finn could imagine. Ren attempted to free himself from the wookie's steel grip. Ren yelled "She fell because you chose to save me instead of her. You wanted her to avoid this fate!"
Luke gasped for air, the air rasping in his throat. Poe tried to get Ren to look at him. "Ren Please, if we can get you back, we can get her. Stop, we need his help!"Poe tugged Ren's face, his eyes furious looking at Poe and Finn. For a second as Ren looked at Finn, his eyes watered and his chin trembled. It was gone a moment later with Ren's rage. Finn set his blaster to stun, and shot Ren. He collapsed to the floor, and across the room Luke fell coughing. Leia was by his side.
"I don't think there was a better option there Finn." Poe said sadly and knelt to pick Ren from the floor. Finn's eyes watered and spilled over. Chewie mournfully howled.