"Good morning."

I awoke with a violent start when I heard a voice speaking in the room. Upon opening my eyes, I glanced up to see General Hux standing by my bedside. His sudden appearance sent my heart beating a mile a minute, and I glanced around nervously to observe my surroundings.

The area of the bed beside me was untouched. The small table which Kylo and I had shared dinner upon had remained as it was the night prior. There were absolutely no signs that Kylo had ever returned to his room during the night.

And worst of all, it meant that General Hux and I were completely alone.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

I could do nothing but sit on the bed, paralyzed with sudden fear. Hux's presence made me feel so unsafe that I could sense my hands begin to shake. I simply stared at him, unable to think of a reply.

After realizing that I would make no attempt to speak, Hux looked out the window on the opposite side of the room. I followed his gaze, staring out at the endless world of stars and planets that sat just beyond Kylo's living quarters.

"You may not be able to tell from the view outside," he began, referring to the sea of darkness in front of us. "But it is morning time."

It was then that I noticed the three Stormtroopers that stood in the doorway. They waited patiently and did not move, as if expecting orders from the General at any moment.

Hux turned to let his cold, blue eyes meet my own. There was something that I sensed in him; something truly dark and rotten. This man would most likely not hesitate to hurt me.

"Wondering what I'm doing here?"

I nodded, still silent.

General Hux let a disgusting grin fall upon his face. "It seems that you did not cooperate very well with Kylo Ren yesterday evening. Therefore, today, it is my turn to do the talking."

Instinctively, I dove from the bed, desperate to escape this terrible man's presence. I managed to dash a few feet away before the Stormtroopers almost immediately had me in their hold. I kicked and screamed and did whatever I could to try and fight back, but there seemed to be no use in struggling anymore. There was no way that I could escape, and even if I somehow managed to do so, there was nowhere that I could run to.

"Where is Kylo?" I cried, almost shocked at myself for missing him.

Hux looked angry when I did so much as mention the other man's name. Sneering, he approached me quickly and stopped just inches away from my face.

"I know about you two. I know about your past and I know about who you think Kylo Ren is. But trust me, little girl, Kylo Ren will not help you. Not today."

I bit my lip to keep terror-filled tears from falling. The Stormtroopers' grips painfully tightened as they led me out of room 22104 and down the cold hallways of the ship, the annoying click-clack of Hux's boots following behind our every step. After what seemed like hours and hours of being dragged through the maze-like halls of the Finalizer, I found myself once again being pushed into an interrogation room.

I fought hard and long when they tried to strap me back onto another metal table. I kicked and clawed and bit and cried until my fighting had proven fruitless. After the troopers had managed to restrain me, I had no choice but to watch, helpless, as my limbs were once again strapped down and made unusable.

"Leave!" Hux yelled. Instantly, the Stormtroopers marched out of the room. I listened with dread as the doors swooshed closed.

For a moment, there was no sound but my heavy breathing and the low hum of the ship's movement. Hux seemed to be waiting, observing me as I fought to catch my breath. After a minute or two of pure silence, he approached me slowly.

"I don't think you understand the offer that has been made to you."

I bit my cheek, frustrated. Hux's face was now inches from mine. I could feel the anger bubbling up inside of me, threatening to spill over. There was no scuff on the new interrogation room's floor for me to focus on, but I still stared at the black tiles below. I would not grant this man the pleasure of looking at my tear-stained face.

"I understand everything."

I could hear Hux moving around, but I didn't dare look up. Closing my eyes, I attempted to imagine myself somewhere different. But it was no use.

A sudden pain in my face pulled me back to reality. Hux had grabbed hold of my head, forcing me to look at him. Kylo's use of the force to turn my head from earlier had hurt, but Hux seemed to be deliberately trying to hurt me.

"You think the First Order has nothing to offer you."

"You don't!" I spat, fighting to remove my face from his grasp. "You do nothing but kill innocent people and destroy things! Look what you've done to Ben Solo!"

Hux tightened his grip on my face, causing me to cry out. "The First Order did nothing to Ben Solo. That pathetic man was merely fighting an internal war with the light. The same conflict that you struggle with now."

I fought so hard to keep the tears from falling. I wanted desperately to appear strong in front of the General; to intimidate him. However, his words slowly eroded the barricade that I had attempted to build. Slowly, I began to crumble.

"The light makes you weak!" he yelled, shaking my shoulders as the tears began to appear on my face. "The Order will make you stronger. It will give you purpose. This pain will only grow worse if you do not allow your power to properly be harnessed."

"Fuck you!" I screamed, spitting in the face of General Hux. I watched as his pale cheeks began to burn red.

Smack!

I cried out in pain as Hux drew his hand back, smacking me across the face in one painful swoop. The tears began to flow stronger as the stinging in my cheek persisted.

"If you don't want to cooperate, I will make you!"

I watched in horror as the General approached the side of the table. With the pull of a lever, my restraints tightened, squeezing my wrists and ankles. I screamed as the metal pressed into my skin, bruising and cutting at my flesh. The pain was horrible.

Hux's face loomed in front of mine again, taunting.

"If you say yes, they won't get any tighter."

I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to wake up from the horrible nightmare that I had to be experiencing. In an attempt to distract myself from the unbearable pressure of the restraints, I bit into my cheek. A small cut opened up and I began to taste blood.

There was no way that I would give this foul being the satisfaction of seeing me break.

"No."

Unpleased by my answer, Hux turned the lever even farther. An agonizing howl escaped from my throat as the pain grew worse. I wondered if the veins in my wrists were being smashed shut. I wondered how many more times the lever could turn before my bones cracked.

I wondered if there was anybody in the god damn world that could save me.

My hands and feet tingled with the sensation of a million tiny pinpricks. The blood in my mouth began to pool under my tongue. I cried, humiliated, knowing that I couldn't stand any more pain. The metal continued to dig into my limbs, and I watched, broken, as I droplet of blood began to drip down my hand.

"Please, stop," I begged.

Hux paused, taking a look at my shaking form. "Are you ready to cooperate now?"

I didn't know what to say. Everything was just too much. For a moment, I wanted to die right then and there.

Weakly, I gave in.

"Yes."

But then, the doors to the interrogation room hissed open. There, in front of me, was Kylo Ren. He wore no helmet, and his breathing was deep and rushed, as if he'd been in a hurry to get there. His face was dark and full of anger – no, hatred.

He seemed to glance at me for only a moment, taking in my condition. His eyes then quickly darted to the only other person in the room: General Hux.

The General looked frightened. He had clearly not expected Kylo to arrive any time soon. For the first time since I'd met him, Hux was not the first person to speak. Instead, it was Kylo that broke the silence.

"I should kill you. I should kill you right here and now and not think twice about it."

His words scared even me. Hux, however, looked only moderately fazed.

"Kill me? Why would you do that? I just got you what you wanted, Kylo. The girl has agreed to commence with training."

I stared intently at Kylo's lightsaber, waiting for him to ignite the weapon. I thought for sure that he would slice into Hux with all the power he had, but to my surprise, he didn't even touch it. Nor did he use the force. Instead, Kylo Ren approached General Hux, looked him straight in the eyes, and punched him square in the face.

Hux stumbled back, shocked at Kylo's actions. Blood seeped out of his pointed nose, and it was then that I understood Kylo's actions. Using the force would leave no visible marks on Hux's body, but a punch in the face would leave a mark for all to see.

"Get out!" he screamed. Angered and frustrated, Hux walked out of the room, a hand covering his still-bleeding nose.

As soon as the man was gone, Kylo smashed his fist down upon a button on the table's side, freeing me from its grip. I fell to the floor, too weakened to stand.

Kylo rushed to my side, but I quickly pushed him away with what little strength I had left. I was practically hyperventilating, too tormented to shed tears any longer.

"Get away from me!" I screamed, my voice cracking as I shouted out. He looked surprised as I pushed him once more.

I was too upset at everything and everyone around me. Part of me wanted to crawl into this stupid man's arms and thank him for freeing me from torture, but another part of me was too upset to even look at his face. Ben Solo would not have let this happen to me. Ben would never have even brought me to this ship in the first place. But here I was, tormented and bleeding on the interrogation room floor. And Kylo Ren had let it happen.

I crawled away from him, the last bit of my walls crumbling down. I struggled, battered and bruised, until I had made me way to the corner of the new interrogation room. Just like before, I cowered and cried. It was all I could do to seek comfort in the sensation of a wall on my back.

"Allevra," he began, attempting to approach me once more. But it was too late. Harnessing the power of the hatred and anger that had welled up inside of me, I let out what little bit of the force I could. The power that erupted from my hand was enough to push Kylo a few feet back.

"Leave!" I screamed.

And he did.

A/N: OH MY GOSH, YOU GUYS! I'm sorry for the late update, but I just moved back in for my second semester of college. In order to reward you for the amazing feedback that I've been receiving and the lateness of this post, I made the chapter much longer than I usually do! There's a lot of drama and crazy things happening in this chap, so please comment/message and let me know what you thought! Thanks so much, I look forward to updating again!