( Deep down, he knows that it won't be that easy, and he has the distinct impression that Rey knows as well. Kylo stares into the abyss, the point where he feels Snoke's presence converging with the most strength. It is like glaring into a black hole, being pulled endlessly toward it and then through it, stretching and stretching into infinity with the darkness spiraling down and down and down. He imagines it as the gaping maw of Snoke's holographic representations on Starkiller, the wide slash of his mouth drawing breath to devour them both. His body, physically and otherwise, presents no barrier by which he might shield any of them, including himself, and is if to demonstrate this failing characteristic of Kylo's power, the wind of Ilum turns damp and strong, blowing snow and ice into their open mouths and eyes.
Rey's voice comes from behind him, and her arm does not withdraw from where he has gripped it, as if she might be blown away, as if keeping her secured in such a manner might prevent or predict her lashing out toward him. He can't be sure whether or not who he should be prepared to defend himself against in this situation, though given her encouragement and corporeal state, the fact that she is not slowly, slowly building pressure behind his eyes and ears, against his Adam's apple, lends credence to his theory that the faith - if it could be called that - he has put in her has not yet been misplaced. )
Your resistance and reluctance to utilize and explore the potential for power you posses so innately has only intensified since the last time I felt your presence in the dark. ( He speaks to Rey again, ignoring Kylo's surge forward for the time being. Indignation flares to life inside of him once more, melting the chill of scattered ice and snow as it dries and stings his eyes to the point of watering. His throat is arid, every gulp of air that he takes sharp as knives. He presses his mouth into a thin line and lets every muscle in his body stand at attention. The thick band of his fingers where they have wrapped around Rey's forearm tighten abruptly, and he recalls without having to hunt too deeply the look on her face as she bested him on Starkiller: teeth bared, higher ground won. ) You don't need it. You will want it. You can take it.
( It's a tone that Kylo recognizes, a voice that spoke to him even while sleeping, even before he could speak himself. Slipping in with untold knowledge, a deeply rooted with personal understanding of character. Snoke knew what Kylo Ren was before he was Kylo Ren. He knew what Ben Solo was. He knew what Ben Solo would become. Now, he looks to instill that same reality in Rey. It drips from his voice like molten sugar, but it can't last, not in the wake of the both of them still standing. As such, his attention leaves Rey for the brief moment to fix solely on Kylo, and he feels it like having a bucket of ice water dumped on hypothermic skin. )
Kneel. ( The compulsion is there. He feels his knees and calves strain under the weight of that absent gaze. Rey will have bruises on her arm when his fingers finally unfurl from where he has grasped her, whether in a malformed idea of defending her or as an actual, physical anchor or as something else, he doesn't know. But he doesn't kneel. Snoke is furious. ) Kylo Ren, you will kneel.
( The cave trembles. The sound of crystals shaking free of the rock bed fills the silence, hundreds of delicate, soft noises that seem out of place. In the real world, Leia Organa sits down, and her twin places one hand on her shoulder, the pad of his thumb ghosting the knob of her spine. His fingertips press white into the starchy fabric of her uniform, and her hands curl so tightly around the seat she folds herself into that her grip mirrors that of her son's where it has yet to release Rey's arm. They sweat.
Kylo answers the Supreme Leader - ) No.
( Ilum explodes.
He's felt his master's hand wrap around his throat and squeeze until he thought that he was dead; he's watched General Hux fall to his knees and beat a fist into the floor as his face turned purple. Kylo himself has dragged deck officers across the bridge into his waiting grasp just to see how frightened they were of him and what he might do. He has watched two of his Knights crumble and collapse under the weight of Snoke's discipline, and his own. He has never seen anything like what unravels in front of them. The inherent power and enormity of Snoke's ability and cohesion with the Dark Side in affecting Kylo Ren's construct is horrifying, and his anger begins to pull it down piece by piece. Never having faced anything of this magnitude in his training or in the field, he has no preparation, has no idea what to do. He looks back over his shoulder at Rey, as if expecting her to have some answer, as if because this was her idea she knows all the rules, and thinks of the only thing that he can: the last place the light touched everything.
It does not happen immediately, they linger in this collapsing world with Snoke's voice and presence filling the air, trying to hook fingers into the both of them, but eventually the world will right itself, and eventually the smell of powder, of engine grease, of fresh flowers, will fill the air, and everything will quiet and warm. The Supreme Leader can neither find them nor chase them to Ben Solo's home on Yavin IV. He is gone. )
no subject
Rey's voice comes from behind him, and her arm does not withdraw from where he has gripped it, as if she might be blown away, as if keeping her secured in such a manner might prevent or predict her lashing out toward him. He can't be sure whether or not who he should be prepared to defend himself against in this situation, though given her encouragement and corporeal state, the fact that she is not slowly, slowly building pressure behind his eyes and ears, against his Adam's apple, lends credence to his theory that the faith - if it could be called that - he has put in her has not yet been misplaced. )
Your resistance and reluctance to utilize and explore the potential for power you posses so innately has only intensified since the last time I felt your presence in the dark. ( He speaks to Rey again, ignoring Kylo's surge forward for the time being. Indignation flares to life inside of him once more, melting the chill of scattered ice and snow as it dries and stings his eyes to the point of watering. His throat is arid, every gulp of air that he takes sharp as knives. He presses his mouth into a thin line and lets every muscle in his body stand at attention. The thick band of his fingers where they have wrapped around Rey's forearm tighten abruptly, and he recalls without having to hunt too deeply the look on her face as she bested him on Starkiller: teeth bared, higher ground won. ) You don't need it. You will want it. You can take it.
( It's a tone that Kylo recognizes, a voice that spoke to him even while sleeping, even before he could speak himself. Slipping in with untold knowledge, a deeply rooted with personal understanding of character. Snoke knew what Kylo Ren was before he was Kylo Ren. He knew what Ben Solo was. He knew what Ben Solo would become. Now, he looks to instill that same reality in Rey. It drips from his voice like molten sugar, but it can't last, not in the wake of the both of them still standing. As such, his attention leaves Rey for the brief moment to fix solely on Kylo, and he feels it like having a bucket of ice water dumped on hypothermic skin. )
Kneel. ( The compulsion is there. He feels his knees and calves strain under the weight of that absent gaze. Rey will have bruises on her arm when his fingers finally unfurl from where he has grasped her, whether in a malformed idea of defending her or as an actual, physical anchor or as something else, he doesn't know. But he doesn't kneel. Snoke is furious. ) Kylo Ren, you will kneel.
( The cave trembles. The sound of crystals shaking free of the rock bed fills the silence, hundreds of delicate, soft noises that seem out of place. In the real world, Leia Organa sits down, and her twin places one hand on her shoulder, the pad of his thumb ghosting the knob of her spine. His fingertips press white into the starchy fabric of her uniform, and her hands curl so tightly around the seat she folds herself into that her grip mirrors that of her son's where it has yet to release Rey's arm. They sweat.
Kylo answers the Supreme Leader - ) No.
( Ilum explodes.
He's felt his master's hand wrap around his throat and squeeze until he thought that he was dead; he's watched General Hux fall to his knees and beat a fist into the floor as his face turned purple. Kylo himself has dragged deck officers across the bridge into his waiting grasp just to see how frightened they were of him and what he might do. He has watched two of his Knights crumble and collapse under the weight of Snoke's discipline, and his own. He has never seen anything like what unravels in front of them. The inherent power and enormity of Snoke's ability and cohesion with the Dark Side in affecting Kylo Ren's construct is horrifying, and his anger begins to pull it down piece by piece. Never having faced anything of this magnitude in his training or in the field, he has no preparation, has no idea what to do. He looks back over his shoulder at Rey, as if expecting her to have some answer, as if because this was her idea she knows all the rules, and thinks of the only thing that he can: the last place the light touched everything.
It does not happen immediately, they linger in this collapsing world with Snoke's voice and presence filling the air, trying to hook fingers into the both of them, but eventually the world will right itself, and eventually the smell of powder, of engine grease, of fresh flowers, will fill the air, and everything will quiet and warm. The Supreme Leader can neither find them nor chase them to Ben Solo's home on Yavin IV. He is gone. )