CHAPTER TWO
training ground !

IT HAD BEEN one week, three days and nine hours since Kylo Ren woke up in a fit of sweat and dancing light.

He'd been adamant about counting; it took up a special place in his head beside one other countdown he kept up subconsciously between training sessions and in the privacy of his chambers. The second one was longer by about a year and twenty days, and seemed to work like a timer instead of the inevitable countdown until the next flashback, but that one wasn't nearly as urgent or unsettling compared to the newest thing he felt he needed to keep track of. It didn't force him to think long and hard about the choices he was once sure of- the dream had an effect on him that almost rivaled the change a chameleon would've felt if it was introduced to a luscious jungle.

It wasn't obvious at first to the rest of the First Order in their flurry of rabid preparations, but after 10 days it was starting to show it's deformed head. A head that looked like Kylo in every way to those that hadn't seen him for longer than a moment, but seemed to eat away at his superior's minds like a parasite once they noticed the little changes.

Only those who really knew the Commander caught his wandering thoughts, but those were the people he needed to convince.

His hands still curled around the hilt of his saber with a black grip made from nothing but anger and determination as he practised battle, and his mask hadn't budged from it's straight line of sight towatdd those that dared run his way. When a Knight of Ren went out of their way to sweep their own weapon under their leader's feet, the tall man didn't miss a moment before he jumped and slammed his hand directly into the warrior's chest- Kylo even went as far as using the force to push the other Knights back as he worked wholeheartedly on slashing away the red light stuck to the specific member's chest.

When he hit the light, the fight stopped, and the knight surrendered to the reality of his pretend death.

As another three came his way, his tall but impeccably built frame didn't shrink into himself when he sensed their untrained violence. Instead, the two smaller flames from the saber came into play as more fighting (that resembling an intricate dance instead of brutish strength) ensued without fail, until he cut right through lights to "kill" another two challengers, and pulled the third up by the fabric in their padded shoulder. With a flick of his wrist and a scream louder than the slice of his sacred sword, Kylo Ren took out the third fighter without a scratch on his shined helmet.

He looked completely focused as he twirled the lightsaber between his long fingers, but his eyes weren't even open. The red light couldn't quite contaminate the black holes he used to stare down anyone in his path during the next swing; no light managed to hit them as he looked into the darkness in the hopes of reliving his nightmare.

All he saw was cloacked shadows, and the same golden rings that he didn't know could exist when he tried to reach for the scenes of his dreams. But between the whispers that acted like mantras personally articulated for his head every night, he sensed the last Knight about to slice through his leg, and with his mind still focused on trying to rebuild the images, Kylo forced the helmet off.

It was a boy; for some reason the real face behind his red mask threw Kylo off.

In his shock the boy's mouth became perfectly round despite how small his lips were, which only wrinkled a scar tapered across his face more when he flinched away from a premature hit. Ren didn't know his name- he couldn't find it within himself to care- but he knew the familiarity of the circle that was forever engrained into his cheek like it was his own family's crest. It wasn't the kind of mark that was seen often on a ship made from people who covered their faces, just like the long blonde hair that fell from his very pale forehead towards his lower cheek.

None of that was what made the Sith-in-training uncomfortable however, it was the golden ring around his panicked eyes. He made a point to keep his eyes wide along with his next swing, which made the gold look like a dull bronze in the dirty grey metal's reflection.

Ren didn't expect to see the same golden eyes he had only been accustomed to in his near-frequent dream, and he hadn't expected them to be much brighter than the ones he'd seen before. These eyes were unashamedly golden compared to the other- there was a gentleness to them that hit with the familiar warmth he felt from the temple every single time.

In his distraction, the knight took a generous swing at his abdomen, pushing the force wielder back with a shock of pain.

Although the shock that spat out from Kylo's full lips was large enough to take over his opponent's entire body, it was the way his eyes sparkled, and how his hands gripped his weapon that enlightened a white hot anger within the Commander.

He'd never felt a dream that stuck like this one; he'd never felt so distracted by something made up.

If the boy hadn't know it was a mistake to go for the abdomen instead of Kylo's hand when the man recovered, the Knight knew it was wrong as he got lifted from the ground by balled up fists. In Ren's head, the waves of power that shot out of his hand were long enough to wrap around not only the warrior's neck but his hands too- not that anybody that watched saw more than some invisibe tension around the poor boy's throat as he gargled on water that wasn't quite there.

His light was open to be taken, but that was the furthest thing from Ren's mind. He was adamant about seeing the light of gold in the boy's eyes turn as dim as the man in his nightmare, but it only seemed to get blurred by unshed tears. It wasn't changing, and the anger inside Kylo spread like toxic gas.

The other Knights could only watch their brother meet a long and painful suffocation.

"Commander Ren." A shout filled with inflated importance seemed to startle the Sith enough to drop the boy to the floor in a heap of sputters and gasps. But the anger inside still raged enough to throw the knight into the nearest black wall with a bang so loud it dented, right as the light flickered off.

It was unusual to shock the man, but it seemed that between the tunnel vision and background static that came from inescapable baby cries the messenger had done just that. If he hadn't of been interrupted, every thought in Kylo's mind was certain that he would of tried to murder the golden light with death.

He couldn't just let these images go. It was mocking him- he didn't know a single tangible thing about what the force guided him towards.

"Commander Ren." The voice asked once more- footsteps hitting against the floor at the same rhymn as the rain inside his head.

"The Supreme Leader requests your presence immediately."

But he didn't listen to the unknown messenger boy. No, he had to see the golden circle around the eyes of the boy that was supposed to be his closest ally, so he strode over to the heap of muscles and skin lined with two kinds of sweat with a looming intent. The Knight of Ren was broken, but the cries within his Commander's ears and the flashes of the unknown baby's curled up hand made him unaware of any of it. When the boy looked up, the golden ring around his eyes had disappeared like they had finish their tired game, and the anger in Ren seemed to come out in one of the quickest bursts anyone had seen.

Just before he turned to leave the room, he made a point to draw his lightsaber and plunge it into the unknown boy's abdomen, right as his long hair lulled in front of his eyes.

"Find me a new Knight...." His helmet made his voice so much more jagged to the messenger. "...and clean up this mess; the next one shouldn't be marked by another Order."

Kylo Ren knew the mark branded into the boy's face wasn't what willed him to see his flesh burn from the inside out, but that didn't matter. The force had been calling to him- to Ben in the moment of peril right before his wake- and he was tired of ignoring what it could mean.

It was a good thing he was going to meet with his master; he had never had so many questions.

oOo

Kylo getting all
of the attention
rn. Next chapter
we'll learn about
Nakiri and her
family, so
please stay tuned.
also, comment to
have a chapter
dedicated to you
:)