Chapter Four

Ben/Kylo Ren

I grumbled under my breath as the incessant chirping of my comms drew me from sleep. It had taken me hours to sleep and I knew by the sleep that fogged my vision I hadn't slept long.

Reaching out, I grabbed the device and sat up. "What?" I snarled answering the call.

A familiar masked face popped up, Kiva Ren. Kiva Ren had embraced the dark side fully. The young padawan from the Jedi Temple had quickly crumpled under Snoke's teachings until nothing was left of him. Of the seven knights, he was the darkest. If he were stronger with the force, he would have taken my place long ago.

My power was unrivaled by the other knights and they knew it as well as I did. There was no one in this galaxy that was as strong with the force, except her. But it wasn't really her doing, was it? No, she'd taken my knowledge and used it against me. I had to shut her out to keep her from getting stronger.

"Sir, I have heard rumors that the resistance will be landing on Bespin," Kiva Ren's words drew me from my thoughts. "There is a pair of siblings here, force users. Shall I kill them and the Resistance?"

Force users? More of them? It seemed the awakening of the light had been more than just Rey. I couldn't afford to let more light side users be trained. But…I knew the General and how she thought. Rey was going to be the one to collect the kids.

"Do nothing. I'm coming to you. Should they arrive before I get there make sure they can't leave. But don't engage the Jedi. She's become strong with the force," I said with a growl. What Kiva lacked in power he made up for with his fighting skills.

Rey could beat him, I was certain of that, but she could be hurt. Kriff! What was wrong with me? I shouldn't want to protect my enemy. That's all I'd done recently and look where it had gotten me. Absolutely nowhere. Rey had made her choice. She'd betrayed me when I offered her everything. She was just as bad as everyone else who had abandoned me, maybe even worse. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to hate her.

"I'll keep you apprised of the situation," Kiva said before ending the call.

Balling my hand into a fist, I punched the wall. Pain ripped through my knuckles as they collided with the sleek, cool metal wall. I welcomed the heat and flexed my hand letting it course through me. I hadn't felt physical pain since Snoke's death. Part of me missed the torture. When his voice had been in my head I'd known exactly what to do. Now, it was empty except when I was with her.

I needed to stop thinking about her. She'd been right when she'd thought the bond needed to end. Snoke had Sith texts. If the Jedi books didn't have anything maybe they would. Pushing myself to my feet, I showered and dressed in record time. I instructed a Stormtropper to prepare my shuttle and to pack any texts of Snoke's that had been brought over from the Supremacy in it. It would be a few hours flight to Bespin, I might as well spend it reading.

Hux was overseeing the troops movements when I reached the bridge.

"Supreme Leader, I didn't expect you so early," Hux said as he glanced from his reports to me and then back to them. "Forgive me I don't have my report together yet." He flinched as he shuffled through his papers.

I waved him off knowing full well that I was early. I usually trained before making my way to the bridge. "Something's come up," I said. "Kiva Ren sent word from Bespin. I'll be leaving immediately."

"Sir?" Hux said.

"I leave the troops in your capable hands, General." I regretted my words as soon as they came out. Hux couldn't be trusted, but I could tell by the wave of emotions that washed over him that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Let the idiot think I trusted him. "I do request you contact me everyday and don't make any decisions without me," I dropped my voice to a growl letting him know that I was serious.

"Understood, Sir," Hux said with a curt nod. "May I inquire as to what is going on? Shall you be needing reinforcements, Supreme Leader?"

"Yes. Send a destroyer and make sure that ground troops and TIE Fighters are ready. I'll be traveling in my personal shuttle." It couldn't hurt to have backup there. I didn't want Rey to get away again. "Kiva Ren has found two force users and I believe the Jedi Girl is going to retrieve them. I plan to head her off and capture her."

Hux smiled and I caught a wayward image from his mind. It was of Rey being executed. The vision made me shudder. I clenched my hands tightly. Kriff. I couldn't afford compassion for her. She'd made her choice and I'd made mine. We were at opposite sides of a war. It was time I acted like it.

"It will be nice to bring the murderer to justice."

"Yes," I said taking a step back hoping that he didn't notice my lack of enthusiasm. Without another word, I turned on my heel and marched toward the docking bay. I'd have to leave Rey's execution to Hux. There was no way I could see it through. The idea of living in a galaxy without her, well, it was too much to bear. I ground my teeth together. This was the kind of thinking I couldn't afford.

Once inside I set my coordinates and maneuvered my shuttle into space. The second I hit hyperspace, I picked up the books that had been neatly stacked in the cargo bay and flipped through them until I found a passage about force bonds. Like Rey's books there was a single paragraph and then the remaining pages seemed to be gone, ripped out by someone. I slammed the book shut and flung it across the shuttle. It hit the wall with a thud and fell to the ground opened.

What were the odds that both the Sith and Jedi books would have the information we needed ripped out of them? Something else was at play here.

Luke

I watched as Yoda laughed in his maniacal way. "I don't see why you think this is funny," I said with a sigh. Part of me kind of enjoyed making Ben angry, but Rey, Rey had a right to know what was happening to her. "Those texts could help them understand what is happening to them…to prepare."

"Help them they will not," Yoda said with a single shake of his head.

"Master Yoda, the bond between them is stronger than anything the Jedi or the Sith have ever seen," I tried again. I should have done more to protect Rey from Ben. This was partly my fault. Had I been tapped into the force all along I would have realized what was happening before Rey became too entwined with Ben

"Protect her from this you could not," Yoda said having read my mind. He sobered and sighed loudly. "Figure it out themselves, they must."

"But how?" I asked. How could they figure out something that was stronger than anything on record, especially when they couldn't even access any written knowledge about force bonds.

"Masters we are, but everything we cannot know," he said simply.

I hated when he said things that sounded like they should make perfect sense but actually made me more confused.

Yoda grunted and turned to look at me. "Live with the choices they make, they must. Influence them we cannot. Foolish it is to teach what we do not understand. Learn the bond themselves they must."

"And if they can't?" I asked afraid to know the answer.

Yoda leaned forward on his cane. "Then lose it all they will."

I closed my eyes wishing I'd done more to teach Rey. She was unprepared for all of this and Ben was unbalanced. The galaxy needed balance. I hoped they could find it. Everyone's fate depended on it.

Ben/Kylo Ren

I could feel her the second I dropped closer to the city in the clouds. My eyes drifted closed and calmness washed over me at her very presence. No! I wasn't going to revel in her closeness.

The force stirred around me filling with panic and something else. She knew I was here. I needed to be quick. I contacted Kiva on the radio. "Where are they docked?"

"Platform 125. It's on the East side," he said. "They have been speaking with Calrissian but they are on the move now. They seem to be in a hurry. Should I engage?"

It had been a good idea to put Kiva here. All the knights were undercover places that I thought Rey or the General might frequent. They were dressed normally so they could blend in. Very few people knew what the Knights of Ren looked like without their masks. It was something that we could use against the resistance.

"No wait for me. I'm landing now." I set my shuttle down and lowered the ramp quickly disembarking. My eyes went to the battered shuttle and I rolled my eyes, at least it wasn't the Falcon, although it looked like it was in as bad shape as that hunk of metal.

Kiva's voice chirped over the radio, "They are backtracking, Kylo, and going back into the core of the city."

"Stay on their tail. Don't let them see you." I smashed my hand over the door panel, letting myself into the city. Inhaling and letting it out I felt for Rey. Once I'd found her I marched in the direction I knew she was.

"I can take her, Kylo, she doesn't have a light saber," Kiva said sounding smug.

"Kiva, no." Light saber or not, Rey knew how to fight. I'd seen snippets from her past of fighting off thieves who wanted to steal her food. She could handle herself without a light saber. Briefly I wondered what had happened to my grandfather's saber? Had it been damaged beyond repair? We'd had quite the fight over it.

He didn't respond. The sounds of a struggle sounded on the other side of the radio. I cursed under my breath and picked up my pace. Blaster fire followed by a grunt echoed and then her voice.

I froze in place as I heard Rey's soft voice, "We have to go. He's here. He's getting closer."

"Who?" a small female voice asked.

"Come on," Rey said.

She was running from me. Was she afraid of me? I didn't move for a long moment. What would I do when I confronted her? Maybe giving her space wasn't such a bad idea. Did I really want to catch her? What would I do if I did? My heart pounded against my ribs as I made my feet move. I had to see her again.

"Stop running," I thought at her.

"I don't want to fight you, Ben," came her reply.

I didn't want to fight her either. How could I after everything? Kriff I hated what she was doing to me.

"You could still join me," I hated myself the moment the thought escaped. How many times was I going to allow myself to be rejected.

"You know why I can't do that," she said quietly. "But, you…you could come with us."

I growled. "No." There was no place for me in the Resistance. She had to know that. But if she would just join me we could change things. Rule the galaxy and make things better.

"And how would that work? You told everyone I killed Snoke. Your knight was ready to kill me because of it."

I didn't realize I'd thought that last part through the bond. "They'll listen to me because I'm their Supreme Leader."

She snorted. "And that's why I can't join you. No one should have that kind of power over the galaxy."

Her rejection stung again. My heart constricted painfully in my chest and I clasped my saber tighter wanting to ignite it and strike something.

I rounded the corner and paused. Kiva Ren's prone form lay sprawled across the metallic floor. His eyes were open and vacant. I reached out with the Force and touched his mind letting the last few moments of his life play out for me.

I saw Rey jogging down the corridor, pausing and taking a step back. She'd sensed Kiva. He'd rounded the corner to attack her. She'd caught his hand holding the saber and shoved him against the wall. Kiva had put up a struggle. Physically he was stronger than Rey. Her companion, I recognized him, the cocky pilot had withdrew his blaster and fired twice on Kiva, killing him. It was a death unbefitting for my knight.

Pressing my hand over the comm I radioed the starship that had accompanied me here. "General Monroe. Send the ground troops and TIE Fighters. No one is to leave this planet. If they do, I'll hold you personally responsible. Understood?"

There was an audible pause. "Yes, Supreme Leader."

I ground my teeth and stomped forward. I was going to kill the pilot and take Rey as my prisoner.

A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger, well not really, but I'll try to make it up to you next week. I hope you enjoyed the chapter things are definitely starting to pick up. To be honest, I haven't decided which direction I want to go with this so let me know your thoughts, should he capture her or should they get away?