Author's Note: This story takes place in The Force Awakens Universe. This is a story to where Kylo Ren/Ben Solo survives. This is also a story that does not canon Rey Skywalker and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. I do not own any characters, fictional places or themes of the Star Wars Franchise. I only own Sariah Maul and this story.
Kylo stood uncomfotably close to her, his hand raised, eyes shut as he used the Force to take in all the thoughts that raced through her head. Kylo focused all attention on getting into her mind, "...You're so lonely, aren't you," Kylo murmured. "Yes. I see it." The prisoner kept looking down. Refusing to raise her head to him. Kylo took a long look at the black and red mask she had on. He analyzes it in, the markings familiar yet so distant. She keeps her head down and refuses to look at him.
The silence between the pair was thick and oppressive. Kylo Ren was content to wait. He was in charge here. There was no need for him to say anything or do anything. If he wanted the rebel to break- and he suspected he eventually would - all he had to do was continue staring her down. His gaze was cold and sharp, piercing. Kylo raised his hand to use the Force upon her. As he had down several times before to other prisoners to get what he wanted out of them. He pushed the Force forward towards her only to have it reflect back and hit him so hard that it caused him to skid bckwards, away from her. He looked up and locked eyes with her, her eyes were yellow upon viewing him.
Kylo's eyebrow rose in surprise, and his mouth curved up into the slightest of smiles. A hint of amusement. "What?" he sounded more entertained than angry. "Did you-" he paused, eyes widening as he tried to understand what had happened. "Did you-" And then his smile widened into a toothy smirk, and Kylo's voice went to a hissing whisper as he leaned forward and murmured. "Did you just reflect my Force-probe?"
She didn't touch him when the Force threw him back away from her again. Kylo had no idea what had just happened. He saw her in front of him, removing the restraints from her wrists on her own and as he got up to walk towards her again, he saw a ghostly apparition of her grab him by the throat and slam his body down into the floor. He looked up from the floor brushing his black hair from his face. She adjusted her neck, straightening her back as she looked at him and didn't say a word.
Kylo lay on the ground for a moment, catching his breath, eyes burning on hers. He was not just surprised, he was utterly stupefied. He was fascinated - and also a little turned on, he had to admit. It was a shame she was an enemy of the First Order, she was actually attractive in her own dark, gothic sort of way. He rose from the ground and brushed the dust from his tunic, then cleared his throat and frowned at the prisoner, "I see you have...talents.."
"I see you have none..." her voice and accent was low and monotoned. It echoed with the Force behind it. She played with the right sleeve of her tunic for a little while and Kylo watched as the hilt of a daber dropped from inside her tunic sleeve and into her hand. Clever he thought to himself that she would hide something like that so easily from his guards.
Kylo stared at her in fascination and his expression was completely unreadable. "A lightsaber." the way he spoke the words indicated that the object had sparked a lot of interst in him. His voice was husky and quiet - almost a whisper. And there was something in his expression: it almost looked like fear? No, he wasn't afraid of a lightsaber - was he? "Tell me, where did you find it? Whose is it?"
It was no ordinary lightsaber like his own. When lit it glowed red but there was a dark, black aura around it and he could feel it. Kylo could feel the energy of the Force throbbing around this saber like a pulse. Kylo drew his own saber and looked at her unafraid. There was something very different about the energy around this particular lightsaber, and Kylo knew exactly what it was. This was the power of a sith lightsaber. Kylo's own blade was a little jealous - the way the blade glowed red and black, almost alive, was breathtaking. And the energy that surrounded it was just as powerful. Kylo's eyes remainded locked on his opponent with almost religious attention. "I know what this is." He breathed. "You found the lightsaber of a sith..." His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "...And you're a force user."
She didn't responde to his claims. She said nothing to him. The tension in the room between him and her was thick enough to cut with a knife. She stared at him, with yellow eyes that flashed between yellow and brown underneath her helmet. The room was eerily quiet aside from Kylo's questions and his responses to her. She didn't need to say a word to him, she just stood there. Saber lit, ready in hand, waiting his next move.
The silence was deafening, and the prisoner in front of him was almost too still, almost too still. The light from the crimson lightsaber danced off her mask, and made her seem impossibly powerful and beautiful in his eyes. Her attitude seemed relaxed, unbothered.
Kylo had never felt so fascinated and aroused by someone before and it was strange to him. He swallowed, "I can feel the Force coming off you. I can feel how powerful, how dangerous...You are.." Kylo's voice was husky.
She had to be the most powerful sith Kylo has ever encountered. The Force, he could feel it almost swirl around her. It almost caused a white noise of buzzing in his ears. A hum that lingered in the air. Kylo felt almost intoxicated by the sensation of her energy. He felt drawn to her - not just physically, though he desired her physcially as well. There was so much about the whole situation that seemed wrong. She was powerful, she was dangerous, she was attractive...She should have been someone who he fought. He was supposed to hate her, he was supposed to want her dead. But he didn't.
Kylo swallowed hard, eyes fixed on hers with a dark intensity.
"You are no Supreme Leader." Her wourds echoed throughout the room. They echoed through the prison chambers and Kylo looked at her with a cold hard stare. "You will step down from your position or else." The threat hung in the air. Kylo could feel the Force crackling around both him and her. Something he had never experienced with the Force before.
"You want...my poisiton." Kylo's voice was quiet. Almost a whisper. He seemed genuinely shocked that she would have the gall to challenge him, to want to take what is his. It was almost humorous to him. "Or else, what?"
"You will lost it all. I will take the First Order by force if necessary." It was a bold, high and bold threat. At first Kylo smirked as he chuckled cynically. But when there was no change to any kind of emotion on her face he realized she was not joking. This woman was serious.
Kylo chuckled and shook his head, "You speak of taking the First Order by force. Do you truly believe that you could defeat me in combat? You have proven yourself to be powerful already, I will grant that, but..." He gentured to himself, his lightsaber. "I still have the upper hand. I am still stronger than you."
"I'd like to see you try."
He paused and tilted his head to the side for a moment, thinking. "Then..very well." Kylo raised his lightsaber. He was amused - he couldn't remember the last time he had been allowed to fight for more than fun. Most times it was just an execution. But to get a chance to fight someone who could finally give him a challenge? It was fun. "Let's dance." He said.
She didn't move an inch as Kylo stepped toward her. He was confused by this. She didn't strike him or anything. His arm curved around to strike and suddenly, her saber came up and deflected it. His whole weight was on it to move the saber closer to her neck yet less than hald her weight was used to push him back. She was more powerful than he could ever imagine.
Kylo's eyebrows raised in surprise at her sudden display of strength. He didn't expect his lightsaber to be deflected so easily...She was more powerful than he expected. He took a second to regain his composure before he swung at her again, harder this time, trying to push her onto the defensive. She was lifting her saber to deflect him again. As she did, Kylo caught something out of the corner of his eye. The ghostly apparition of herself came into view, It grabbed the back of his tunic, ripping him backwatds and slamming his body into the floor away from her.
"What-" Kylo started to say as his eyes widened, but he was cut off as he was wrenched back from the woman. His body hit the ground hard, slamming his sbaer away from him, and he winced from the sudden jarring feeling. "What in the-" he growled. "What was that?' Kylo shot an accusing look at her from the floor. It wasn't possible...The Force didn't work like that. What kind of Force user was she?
"Step down, Kylo Ren. You are not the true Leader of the First Order."
Kylo scoffed at her words, his expression a sneer. "And what would make you think I'll willingly give up all of the power I've worked so hard for?" He growled, his voice low and heated. "How do you propose you are going to even make me step down?" He asked, with a mocking laugh. "I look forward to finding out what kind of ridiculous scheme you're going to try."
He felt that kick to his chest that pushed him onto the flat of his back. He gathered his wits and as he sat forward, he watched the ghostly apparition of herself go back into her body. She raised an eyebrow at him, lowering herself so she was at the same height as him as he sat on the floor. "You are going to willfully step down or I will take the entire First Order by force."
Kylo looked at her in open disbelief. He was almost impressed, honestly - this rebel had confidence, and strength far beyond what he thought possible. He almost wanted to see her try and take the First Order by force. Kylo swallowed his pride. "Very well," he said in a low growl. "You can have the First Order. I'll go." He sounded utterly serious but he had a small smirk on his face. It would be more interesting to see what would happen if this woman took control.
"You lie. I am no fool. The moment I turn my back to you, you are going to run your saber right through me or at least try... " She smirked under her mask. Her voice not bothered to be disguised. She was powerful enough to face any foe. "I did not know the Great Kylo Ren to be such a submissive man." She mocked him as she stood. "You are no grandchild of Anakin. You are barely worthy of the air you breathe."
Kylo's expression darkened. He rose from the ground and stood face to face with her. "How dare..." He trailed off. The words felt bitter on his tongue. She was right. The air of confidence he projected as the Supreme Leader was completely manufactured. Inside...Inside he was just a scared little boy like he had always been. "Who are you?" He asked quielty. His voice had lost its edge. The menace was gone, replaced by something else. A strange sort of curiosity, or perhaps admiration.
"Names are pretty but useless. You and I both know you will never give up your place as Surpreme Leader. It is the one thing giving you any sort of power. Otherwise you will be like your father, and lie where sleeping dead dogs do. I will be coming for the First Order and I will take it by force and I will bring you to your knees indefinitely."
Kylo looked at her in surprised. There was something about her words that struck a cord with him, that reached deep inside him but also stung like venom. Her words were hard but true. He almost respected her. It was a very unpleasant feeling. "Who...What are you?" He asked. His expression of curiosity and a touch of reverence was replaced with frustration, suspicion and, finally, curiosity. "Tell me your goddamn name."
She withdrew her saber, hiding it in its sheath up her sleeve of her tunic again. She pulled her hood up and over her mask, hiding her face away from him. She didn't give him a response, she didn't give him an answer. She didn't feed into the reaction he wanted.
Kylo took a step closer to her. "Don't play games with me," he said, his voice low, intense, almost threatening. "Tell me your name or I'll-" He let his voice trail off, his attention focused entirely on her. He studied the way her figure moved beneath her robes as she shifted, and how the fabric fell over her curves. There was power, there was strength, there waws something inside her that he knew would make her a worthy opponent. If only she would tell him her name...
"I will tell you one thing...one thing that will eat away at you while I'm gone. Kylo Ren cannot stop me. Only Ben Solo can." Her words hung in the air. The Force almost seemed to echo them around him. His anger getting the better of him at the sound of his name. She knew who he was, she knew who he really was and he had worked so hard to hide that from the world.
Kylo's eye flashed with anger when he heard that. His expression hardened and he stepped forward, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her towards him. "Tell me your name or you're going to regret it." Kylo hissed at her. His grip on her shoulder tightened, just enough to hurt. He forced his will upon her, demanding to know who she was. He refused to let this woman out of his sight. He needed to know who she was, and what she knew about him that made him fear so much...
The Force lashed out at him. It pushed him hard into the wall. Throwing him away from her. She didn't even need to raise her hand to him. All she did was look in his direction. Kylo slammed into the wall, breath whooshing out of him as impact hit, jarring his body. He gasped and coughed, sliding to a crouch as he looked at her. He felt his body tense up and his eyes narrowed. He was not used to being pushed quite this far...
He got to his feet. His lightsaber was already active and held in his hand. He took a step towards her, eyes on hers. He looked like a predator, circling its prey. "Do you think you can defeat me that easily?" He hissed, his voice low and dangerous.
"You have heart, I'll give you that but heart won't save you." Kylo watched, his eyes widened. She stood there with her back to him and suddenly he saw two of her and then three of her appeared before him. Simultaneously, all at the same time the sabers dropped into their hands fro the sleeve of her tunic. They lit up as she looked over her shoulder at him. All three versions of herself followed in unison as she turned and faced him. Kylo knew exactly the kind of Force user she was now. The impossible kind. She has mastered the art of Soul Splitting.
Kylo took a single step backwards, his eyes widening. He couldn't deny what he saw - her power was overwhleming, more than he had expected. But also, the idea of someone who could seperate themselves was fascinating to him. They were one person, and three people at once. It was something he had never seen before. "That's...that's not possible." He said in a tone that was almost fearful. He stared at the three of them, and tried to figure out just how they could pull such a feat off.
Now, it was three on one and Kylo was literally fighting for his life. He was highly skilled. Twisting and turning between the three versions of herself. Avoiding each one of their sabers as if it was easy. But a single misstep caused one of the versions of herself to kick out one of his knees, bringing him to the ground. All three disappeared, going back into her. She held her saber to his throat and smiled. She lifted her mask up and looked at him with brown eyes. "You have a fire, a drive, a willingness to survive. That will keep you alive more than anything. Much more than your heart. Keep practicing, Ben Solo, you'll be worthy of your title if you do." She withdrew her saber from his throat, placing it back in the holster underneath her sleeve. She pulled the mask back down and pulled a hood over her head. "You have five days, Kylo Ren, to get your forces together. On the fifth day at sunrise, your ass is mine and I will take the First Order by force."