"Supreme Leader Snoke would like to see you, Sir," a Stormtrooper says, startling me from my vigil at Hux's bedside.

I look to the medic who is an alien species I don't recognize. He nods. "He'll be fine now."

"When will he be his normal self again?" I ask.

"Oh, any time. He just needs a bit more sleep. By wake hours he'll be feeling normal again."

"Good." I turn to the Stormtrooper who addressed me. "Tell Supreme Leader I'll be right there."

"Yes, sir." He nods, then leaves.

"Have General Hux taken to the Captain's quarters, to rest there for the night," I tell the elder medic.

"Of course," he nods to me again, bowing slightly.

"And if Phasma returns let her know where he's been taken."

"I will do that. And I also recommend you return for a full body scan yourself."

"Maybe in the morning," I say to the alien.

"Very well then. And, may I say, congratulations to you, our new young leader."

I don't respond but take one last look at Hux before leaving.

* * *

"You've done well," Snoke says, turning his chair around to face me. We're in the briefing room, adjacent to the bridge and I'm still not used to the Games being over. My nerves are still on edge. Snoke abandoned us to die. My respect for him has dwindled a bit, but I'm too exhausted to think on it at the moment.

"Thank you, Your Supreme Leadership," I say.

"I knew you would come out successful. And Armitage, how is he?"

"He's recovered. He'll be fine by morning."

Master Snoke nods slowly, watching me. "How does it feel, to be the leader?"

"It will feel even better after some sleep, Sir. And food."

"Of course." Snoke smiles. "I have a large army for Phamsa to lead, which Armitage will oversee as the new General. Do you think he'll be glad to be appointed General?"

"Yes, I do, Sir."

"I do, too." Master Snoke smiles. "I sense a change in you. Have you felt it as well?"

"Yes, Your Supreme Leadership, I have."

"You're on your way to becoming a Sith Lord, beginning with the students you have killed in order to win, and in order to save those whom you care about. Your power is growing quickly."

"It is. I can feel it."

"Maybe then, this is a driving force for you, which can be used to direct you to the dark side, as your grandfather was, when he fought to save those whom he loved."

"I don't understand, Your Supreme Leadership."

"We never truly understand these things, do we?"

I don't know how to respond so I remain silent.

"You will now be called Kylo Ren," Master Snoke raises his hand towards me. "I will give you my blessing."

I step closer to the desk and bow slightly. Snoke closes his eyes and I feel his presence in my mind, but I don't know what he's doing.

"You will need to sleep tonight," he says. "Don't stay awake."

"Yes, Your Supreme Leadership."

Snoke lets my mind go and I free to breathe again.

"Very well. Go and take your rest, you've earned it. And tomorrow you and Armitage report to me. We have a lot to discuss concerning the building of our new super weapon."

"And Phamsa?"

"She will have plenty to keep her busy, as the Captain of the Stormtrooper army."

I nod.

Master Snoke smiles and sits back in his seat. "I'm proud of you, Kylo Ren. And I know your grandfather would be too."

I bow and walk out of the room.

* * *

"Ren!" Hux yells, waking from a nightmare and sitting up fast.

"It's okay," I say, sitting up too, at his side.

Hux turns to me and his shoulders relax. "I had a horrible dream," he says, his breathing slowing. He closes his eyes for a second and sighs deeply. I set a hand on his shoulder and he opens his eyes again. My heart clenches at the pained expression on his face. I don't know what I imagined it would be, to embrace the Dark Side and kill easily, without guilt, maybe I thought I'd no longer feel love or physical desires or emotional pain. Except it seems to be the opposite. The power inside of me makes me worry for Hux and Phasma even more than before, while the hate and anger for others comes more easily too. And though I worry for those I care about, I feel only a cold indifference to the deaths of those I don't care about.

"It was so real," Hux says. He's wearing his hospital shirt and pants, but he looks a lot healthier after his blood transfusion and the IV they gave him to help with dehydration. "And I remember..." he continues, then stops suddenly to look around the room. His brow furrows. "Where are we?"

The captain's quarters are big, with three different sections. We're in the sleeping section with the large bed and soft blue night-hours lighting coming from the floor boards. A glass wall with water running down the inside, separates the sleep area from the next section, which serves as a small dining area with a table and chairs. The Captain's quarters even has its very own food replicator.

"We're in the Captain's quarters," I say.

"What happened?" Hux's gaze turns to me.

"We won the game. You got drugged, and... I killed the rest of them, except for one."

Hux blinks as though stunned. "You killed them all?"

"Yes."

"You couldn't even remove the heart of a bird just a few weeks ago."

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, killing them. I didn't care about them."

Hux gives me a confused smile. "And you cared about the bird?"

"I..." A thought surfaces and I almost miss it. "I think the little girl, Rey, cared about the bird, and I cared about her." My head begins to hurt and I push the thoughts away. I don't want to bother remembering memories that don't matter now that I'm a leader in the First Order. "You're the new General," I say to Hux. "We've got a whole crew. They're all older but they listen to everything I say and never question me. They call me sir and know exactly what they're doing-"

"Ren," Hux says. "I..." He runs his hands through is hair. "I'm..."

I wait for him to finish.

"Snoke was right," he finally says.

"About what?"

"You did it. I didn't believe you would, but you won the game." Hux throws himself back onto the bed. "I can't believe it's finally over."

"I'm still having a hard time relaxing," I lay back too, looking up at the ceiling.

"Am I really going to be the General of the First Order?"

"You are the General."

"Then, I can't wait to get started!"

"Good, because I've got lots for you to do."

Hux puts his hands behind his head and glances at me. "Does this mean I have to call you Master?"

"No," I say. "But I'm still your Master."

Hux grins. "I guess you are. So do I get my own quarters, or am I your subordinate in the night hours too?"

I sit up. Is he challenging me or just joking? I want to respond but a sudden wave of tiredness grips me, draining me of energy so fast I can't think of a good response. I lay back down. "I'll let you know tomorrow," I whisper before drift off to sleep.