Warning: This story contains spoilers for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". One-shot (currently).

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A long time ago, when I was a child living on Jakku, there was a massive storm. I was outside my family's hut, hiding in its shadow, when the rain came. I remember the first signs of the clouds and thunder, then the first warm drops of rain against my skin. I was so happy at the sight of water falling from the skies. Before that day, I had never seen rain… I remember standing up, tilting my head back, and lifting my arms into the air, foolishly hoping that I would never be thirsty or dirty again. After that storm, the rain never returned. Yet the pure, unadulterated happiness I'd felt during my first rainstorm never faded. That happiness lived on, even when I left my family to go to Takodana and train under Luke Skywalker.

It is almost surreal to think about the past now. The little girl laughing in the rain is completely unrecognizable to the young woman I am right now.

In this moment, the rain pours down from the heavens, but all I can feel is despair.

Despair for the man I have grown to love.

The bodies of my fellow Padawans litter the ground and the green light of my ignited lightsaber casts an eerie glow over their still forms. Figures shrouded in dark cloaks and masks stand before me, and at their head, is the man I once called friend-and more.

He wears a mask and hooded robe, and under the flashes of lightning, he looks formidable. Inhuman.

"How could you?" I shout over the howling wind. My voice cracks and fades on the last word. Tears fall down my cheeks and mix with the rain. I feel as if my entire world has shattered around me. The man I love has betrayed the slain bodies around us, has betrayed Master Skywalker and the Order he tried to resurrect, has betrayed me.

"It was easy," he says.

His words cut straight through my heart and cause rage to flare within me.

"Easy?" I yell, incensed. I tighten my grip on my lightsaber. "You killed them, Ben! All of them!"

Ben tilts his masked head to the side. "My name is Kylo Ren now," he answers.
"Of the Knights of Ren. You would do well to join us. The Supreme Leader could teach you many things, Theia." His voice is a deep thrum behind the mask he wears. It is terribly familiar, and only adds to the anger I feel.

"You'll have to kill me," I hiss, sliding into a defensive stance. My lightsaber glows in the darkness, illuminating my face. I can hear it humming over the sharp fall of the rain and the faint thrum of its power gives me focus.

There is a pause in which he silently assesses me. Then, his bastardized version of a lightsaber ignites. The red glow of its blade contrasts hauntingly with my own. "I will make you see reason," he says, moving calmly over the dead bodies of my Jedi family. He continues forward until we're feet apart. There is another pause. We stare at each other for what feel like an eternity, and I desperately hope this is all a nightmare-that I'll wake up right now and find this has all been a terrible dream. But then the moment is broken, and he brings his saber down.

Immediately, I raise my lightsaber to counter his own. The sharp crackle of our sabers meeting fills my ears, and the sound spurs me into further action. I shove him away from me, and unleash all of my anger on the man I once knew as Ben Solo, stabbing and parrying, sometimes skittering out of his reach. Our sabers sing in the darkness, meeting strike for strike, blow for blow. My attacks are sharp and wicked, and his are precise and powerful. He has always been the stronger dueler, but I am fast. My saber is a blur of green as I twist and turn, flip and jump. Yet no matter how quickly I move, he is hot on my tail. He blocks every attack I give him with a calm air that increases my anger and desperation. I slash madly at him in rage, and in that moment of weakness, I leave my senses open to attack. He raises his hand and traps me where I stand. It's a move he's been trying to perfect, and to my horror, it appears he has.

The Force he uses to keep me still sends sharp currents down my body, and the feeling of his dark power coursing over and around my limbs makes me shake. I can't move.

"I can train you, Theia," he says, arm outstretched. His form stands tall in the darkness, dwarfing me. "I know you seek power. I've felt it. The Supreme Leader has knowledge you can only dream of."

For a moment, I feel the soft, seducing pull of the Dark Side. It whispers in my ear, calling to me. It shows me visions beyond my wildest dreams. I see order, discipline, and a galaxy free of lawlessness. I see my family gathered together on a planet that resembles paradise. But then I look past Ren, beyond the visions of order and happiness, and see the bodies of my friends. The blood from their still forms pollutes the water around them.

I look at their frozen, blank faces, and feel a deep resignation overtake me. The darkness' whispers fade and the pull to the light becomes stronger. I will not forsake them. I will not abandon the Order my friends died for.

"I will not join you, Ben," I hiss, staring at his masked face. He may be stronger with a lightsaber, but I am his equal in manipulating the Force.

With herculean effort, I throw off his hold. He staggers back under the force of my power but recovers quickly enough to deflect a downward blow from my lightsaber. The clash of sabers begins once more, but this time my attacks are more controlled. The Light Side of the Force sings in my blood, fueling my focus. Block, rush, strike, parry. That is all I can think of.

Ren deflects my attacks until he is forced to give ground. I drive him back towards a cliff two hundred meters away from the site of the slaughter, hoping to corner him. Yet each time I strike forward, he sends me careening in another direction. The slick earth underneath my soaked shoes does not help my balance, and I slip and slide in the mud, losing my footing more than once. He is not doing much better. His own movements are somewhat stilted because the heavy robes he wears are weighed down by the rain. It's strange watching the hooded and masked figure struggle, and with a sharp stab of sadness, I am reminded of the Ben Solo who is hiding behind the metal mask.

There is a lull in our fighting as we attempt to regain our breath. I frantically wipe away the hair and water that has fallen into my eyes. "Why?" I ask, voice shaking. "Why did you do this?"

Kylo Ren stares back at me. "You know why."

I do. I just never thought the Ben Solo I loved could fall to the Dark Side like his grandfather before him. Darth Vader… It all led back to him, in the end. The fall of the Jedi Order, the rise and tyranny of the Empire, and the destruction of the man I loved.

"You'll have to kill me, Ben," I pant, repeating the words I'd spoken earlier.

Kylo Ren shakes his head. "No. You are coming with me."

I laugh, reading the intentions behind his words. He is not going to let me go. Before this night, I thought his infatuation was love, but now I know it is a warped obsession. A man who can kill his brethren and betray his own family cannot truly love. And I know he will hound me if I flee. He will follow my every step and I will never be free of him.

"You're insane!" I snarl, slashing my lightsaber at his left side.

Our battle begins anew, but this time the tides have turned once more. Kylo Ren now has the upper hand. He returns my controlled stabs and slashes with calculated ferocity, and I know he is trying to weaken my stamina so that he can regain control of my senses. If that happens, I don't think I'll be able to throw him off again, and the battle will be lost. He is too powerful, and I am weak compared to him.

It is inevitable when we finally arrive at the edge of the cliff. We're almost thirty feet away from it when Kylo Ren finally overwhelms me. His attacks become vicious and he unleashes a flurry of moves that I am unable to counter. In a flash, his red lightsaber dances on the edge of my vision, and suddenly, there is a searing burn in my side. I shout in pain and my free hand goes to the cauterized wound along my ribs. He's nicked me, I realize.

My concentration slips long enough for him to hold me in his force grip once more, and I know this is the end. This is where it all ends. Because I won't let him take me. I won't let him draw me into the Dark Side.

"You fought well," Ren says, leisurely walking towards me. "But you cannot defeat me."

"You're right," I grit out. "I can't." There is nothing I can do to stop him. I'm trapped with my hand against my side and my lightsaber at an awkward angle. I can only do one thing and I don't even know if it will work.

I close my eyes and let the Force flow through me. It starts in my chest before building outwards into my extremities, and for the first time this night, I feel calm. When he is three steps away, I let go of the Force inside me and release it at Ren. The Force lashes forwards, slamming against Ren's power, and the clash of two powerful entities jars Ren's hold on me and creates a minor sonic boom. I'm blasted backwards before I land on the ground, skidding in the slick earth. Mud gets in my mouth and eyes, but before I can wipe it all away, I feel the ground vanish beneath me. At the last second, I scramble for a handhold on the edge of the cliff. The raw force of the action pulls my shoulder from its socket.

I scream in pain. Force, the pain is agonizing.

"Theia!" Ren shouts.

I hear his thunderous footsteps as he runs to the edge. Then, he is there. Handsome face and all. His helmet must have been blown off, I think dimly as he reaches for me. There he is: ebony curls, pale skin, and dark eyes. "Ben," I gasp, feeling his gloved hand scramble for mine.

"Hold on," he says. "I've got you."

I gaze upon him and want to feel the hatred once more. Yet all that is left is a sadness and horror for what I have lost. I do not know the man above me, who is leaning over a cliff to pull me from the edge of an abyss. He wears the face of the man I once loved, but he is not the same. He is different.

I cannot save him.

A tear escapes my eye.

Ben's hand tightens on my arm. The look in his eyes is wild as I allow my grip on the edge to relax. "What are you doing?" he snarls, frantically leaning down to get a better grip on my arm.

"I'm sorry, Ben," I whisper, looking away from him and into the chasm below.

"Theia, look at me!" he demands over the roar of the rain and wind.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't save you…"

Master Skywalker will be here soon. I know he has received my distress signal, and he is the only one who can stop Ben now...

With the last vestiges of my strength, I use the Force to break Ben's hold on me. My arm slips from his, and I plummet into the darkness below. The last thing I see of Ben is the look of horror on his face and his outstretched hand.

"No!" he screams.

I look up toward the dark sky and see flashes of lightning as I fall. Rain flecks my face, thunder sounds overhead, and a soft smile spreads across my lips at the sound.

I close my eyes like I did when I was a little girl.

And know no more.

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IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys, I apologize for not updating as well as for deleting previous chapters. Recently, some big events happened in my life - most of them very important. Because of this, I need to take the time to recollect my thoughts and reorganize my life. And unfortunately, I cannot do that while juggling several stories - particularly starting a new one like "Tempest". So right now, this story and it's outline/ideas are on hold. They might be on hold permanently; only time will tell.

I've decided to leave up the first chapter, which was originally "Prologue: Part I". It can stand alone as a one-shot.

Again, I apologize for ending a story before it truly began, but my life is my priority right now.

Thanks for all the love,

Auburn

(This message will be removed at some point in the future)