"Another run," Poe Dameron shouted into his headset, sweaty hands gripping the controls tighter. "As many as we can get!"

Black and Red squadrons had been pounding at the thermal oscillator's shell for eternity, or at least it felt like it, but they hadn't even made a real dent in it. Whatever armor and shielding protected it was the highest grade Poe had ever encountered. Which made sense, but still, it was infuriating. The Resistance squadrons had been hammering at the same spot, but all that remained of their laser blast and proton torpedoes was blackened smudges on the dark metal.

They had already lost three of their fighters, shot down by ground fire or the swarms of TIEs that buzzed around like obnoxious but lethal insects, making it almost impossible to break through and make a run for the oscillator.

"There's too many of them! It isn't working!" Jess Pava said, and Poe could imagine her ferocious scowl.

"We can't give up while there's still light," Poe answered fiercely. He brought Black One in a loop over the pair of TIEs that had been snapping at his tail, catching a glimpse of the nearby star. It was almost completely drained, making it look like dusk, or that odd twilight before a total eclipse, but much more ominous. It was clear they wouldn't have the light for long – and then the Resistance would be done, blown to smithereens by the First Order's superweapon.

Poe had never been an angry crier. If he was upset, he'd either punch the person responsible or take a flight in his X-wing, and that usually took the edge off. But now, as he shot two TIE fighters out of the sky – stars, there was so many of them, it was almost harder not to hit them – he felt the frustration and despair and anger twisting in his stomach, rising up to choke in his throat.

They were so kriffing close. They had made it so far against such odds, it seemed impossible that their luck couldn't keep rolling out in front of them, paving the way. Compared to taking down the planetary shields, Red and Black Squadron's job should've been easy.

The light vanished, leaving only the glow of plasma beams to light up the battle scene.

"Black Leader, looks like there's a brand new hole in that oscillator," Zolo Ziff exclaimed.

Poe swerved around, looking at the hexagonal structure below. Sure enough, there was a breach in the wall, wreathed in flames.

"Looks like our friends got in!"

"Alright, I'm making another run, cover me," Poe said, guiding Black One low to the ground to begin his approach. Two X-wings fell in behind him, skimming over the snow and dodging defensive fire and answering in kind. Poe felt his usual brash optimism returning, and with it, an idea.

It was probably insane, maybe even suicidal, but even with the breach, hitting the outside wouldn't take the oscillator down in time.

"All teams – I'm going in. Pull up and cover me from the outside," Poe ordered.

"Copy that, Black Leader. Good luck!"

Poe lined up with the breach, turning sideways to slip through the flaming gap into the thermal oscillator itself, diving into the belly of the beast.

Red.

Darkness, everything was dark, except that one searing slit of red.

Red.

It was small, far away, but it was branded across his vision.

It was plunged through his chest, burning and rending and destroying.

It was all he could see, a red light that grew until it filled his sight, tinging everything with anger and helplessness and confusion and rage.

"Kylo."

He was gone.

"Kylo! We have to go!"

She was still looking at him. The red was in her eyes now, not her hand. His own rage, reflected back at him across the distance.

"Now, Kylo!"

Finn yanked his shoulder, pulling him away. Explosions rang in his ears, furthering the sense of suspended reality as Finn pushed him back into the cold towards the ladder that was bolted to the side of the thermal oscillator.

"Hurry," Finn urged, although Kylo barely noticed over the cacophony of confusion in his mind. "We've got to get out of here!"

Kylo moved stiffly, gripping the icy rungs with numb fingers. They reached the bottom without him realizing and he nearly fell into the snow, floundering to regain his balance.

"You alright, man?" Finn asked. The structure behind them rumbled, and the incessant whine of fighter engines and staccato blasts of laser fire roiled above them. "We've got to keep moving. The Falcon is a long ways off and we don't have time."

Some distant part of Kylo laughed at Finn's question. The part that was trapped inside his mind was watching as Han Solo fell from the bridge and his life sputtered out, again. And again. And again.

But she just looked at him, through the darkness, waiting to see what he'd do. As if she hadn't just murdered his father.

Kylo roared, gripping his hair and tearing at it. Something heavy smashed against the side of the oscillator with a shriek and groan of metal, but Kylo didn't notice.

"What the hell!" Finn yelled. "Kylo! Did you just – was that –"

Kylo was crouched down, head tucked between his knees. He ignored Finn's hand on his shoulder, shaking him, until Finn pulled him back and smacked him across the face, sending him sprawling.

"Karking -"

"Hey!" Finn shouted. "Pull it together! I know there's a lot going on and everything's going to hell but you can't let it get to you right now."

Kylo spluttered, feeling the reddening handprint Finn's slap had left on his face. He sat up slowly, watching as Finn's face settled into a determined scowl.

"I have no idea what's happening and Han's dead and I think maybe you just smashed our snowspeeder with your mind and I didn't know you could do that and you're probably shell-shocked – but this planet's about to blow so we got to run right now."

Kylo looked up. Finn was shouting at him, but all he felt was numb, letting his thoughts fall away in favor of a blurred feeling of everything and nothing around him at once. He was lost, mind floating between the atoms but not a part of reality.

Kylo let Finn clasp his hand and pull him to his feet, then obediently settled into a jog behind Finn, who took off across the frozen landscape. Behind them, the thermal oscillator rumbled again, flames billowing out of new cracks as they blew open.

Red.

It was so dark now that the star had been drained, and the red was still seared across his vision. It seemed as though he was stumbling through a collapsing tunnel with no end, the weight of everything threatening to crush him as he struggled onwards.

"Let's cut through the forest," Finn shouted back to Kylo, who had fallen a short distance behind. "We'll have cover and it's a more direct path to the Falcon."

Kylo kept up his same lethargic trudge. He was completely indifferent to their route – or really, whether they made it to the Falcon or not.

The trees were bare, dark sentinels that watched with somber expectancy as they passed. The noise of explosions and chaos faded away, muffled by the density of the trunks, allowing the creak of their boots on the powdery snow and the puffs of their foggy breath in the frigid air to replace it. Everything was still, it was silent – too silent. Kylo's thoughts grew to fill the vacuum, rising like the molten, smoldering core of the planet deep below them, bent on smothering him to death.

Rey had killed Han Solo. She had killed his father. Like it was easy. Like she wanted him to watch. Like she imagined it was him that she had spitted on the end of her blade.

This is all my fault.

He knew he had failed her four years ago when she'd come to him in the dead of night. He hadn't known why, but he'd sensed her confusion and her guilt and her fear, and the darkness, ever present. She had needed him, and he had failed her. Failed to protect her because of his cowardice, his fear of the very same darkness that was woven through his own soul. Now it seemed that she had paid him back for his failing.

"We're not finished yet."

Like a spirit that had been summoned, Kira Ren stood in their way, that crimson blade sputtering at her side. Her mask was gone, her voice clear and hard in the chilled air. Her hair fell about her face, catching the drifting snowflakes in soft tendrils. Both men halted, Finn a few paces in front as the opposing parties eyed each other.

Kira didn't advance immediately; instead she paused, almost as if gathering her strength. Kylo noted that her spine didn't hold its usual ramrod straight posture, instead she was bent at the waist, and Kylo thought she was even swaying slightly. She was weakened but still feral, he remembered why when she shifted, curling over her left side.

He'd forgotten that Chewbacca had shot her with his bowcaster in the aftermath of her murder. There was a wound in her side, burnt fabric of her outer tunic sticking to scorched, oozing flesh. Her breaths were shallow to limit the pain. Her hand clutched the damaged area, as if to contain the dark blood that leaked over her leather glove, staining it.

She should have been dead. But Kylo had known within himself that she wouldn't let him go.

"You're a monster," Finn said, disgusted.

"And you're a traitor," she returned evenly, straightening.

"Switch off, murderer," Finn spat. He yanked something from his belt and held it in front of him. Kylo startled when he ignited the sapphire lightsaber, casting them in a soothing blue glow.

"Finn, don't," Kylo warned.

Kira spun her own weapon, crackling as it caught the drifting snowflakes. "What do you think you can do with that, traitor?"

"Let's find out," Finn challenged, lifting the bright blade to swing it at Kira.

"Stop!" Kylo shouted, raising his hands to maybe push her away or do something to keep Finn from being slaughtered, but she beat him to it, gesturing with a bloodied hand and pulling Kylo's feet from beneath him.

Kylo looked up to see her catch Finn's uncoordinated swipe on her blade and hold Finn there as he shoved. Finn was only slightly taller, but he had more weight to leverage, pushing her back a step with a roar.

However Finn couldn't know or expect what Kylo saw next as he pushed himself up to his knees. Kira's free hand was back on her ragged wound, squeezing.

Kylo felt the Dark Side surge in response to her self-inflicted pain, and she threw Finn off with a burst of power. Finn stumbled back.

"Finn," Kylo repeated, although he was staring at Kira. She smirked and he felt the Force contract around his ankles. She tilted her head, and he was flung through the trees, cracking his skull against the rough bark of a thick trunk.

His head was ringing again. Everything was blurry and he couldn't feel his limbs. Maybe someone was calling his name, but it was too faint to be sure.

Red and blue twinkled in the distance. Kylo knew he needed to do something, but he couldn't remember what. It also seemed like a good idea not to move, so he stayed, floating in a haze of darkness.

Hux felt a bead of cold sweat trickle from his hairline down his temple.

"Weapon at full capacity in thirty seconds."

Finally.

"Prepare to fire."

"Yes, General."

Hux watched the aerial battle raging over the thermal oscillator, his eyes darting between explosions and laser fire. The oscillator structure had been breached by the same rebel scum who'd taken down the shields. Apparently, the Ren were there and did nothing to stop it, which only served to exacerbate his stress levels.

Still, the First Order forces were losing. That was inevitable now. And unacceptable

The duraglass in front of Hux's nose rattled and his gaze shot to the oscillator. A huge wave of flame billowed out of it, snatching several fighters out of the air. He could make out several starcraft fleeing upwards – the Resistance.

Damn it all.

Technicians and officers were shouting, clamoring to understand what was happening and how to minimize the damage.

Hux turned on his heel and quietly left the command station. The men in the station were too frantically preoccupied to notice when the door slid shut behind him, cutting off the sound of their clamor. Hux avoided running into anyone else and found the nearest audience chamber with a holoprojector. With a few well-memorized commands and keycodes, an encrypted transmission was sent to the Supremacy.

The monolithic projection flickered to life above him within seconds.

"Supreme Leader."

"General." Snoke furrowed his brow as the audience chamber trembled, dust and fragments of rock falling from the ceiling.

"Starkiller Base is irrevocably compromised," Hux reported, trembling with dread and adrenaline. "The fuel cells are ruptured and the collapse of the planet is imminent."

Snoke's face twisted in fury, but his thunderous expression was also unsurprised. He leaned forward, and Hux shrank away.

"Leave the base at once."

Hux almost sagged in relief, even as he felt a stab of disappointment. He hadn't wanted to surrender years of his life's work so easily. "Yes, Supreme Leader."

"And bring Kira Ren to me."

"Leader Snoke?"

"Retrieve her, and bring her to me," Snoke reiterated, his voice dangerously low.

"Yes, Supreme Leader," Hux said as the hologram faded away, replaced by dust and fragments of rock.

The ground shuddered beneath his feet, spurring him on. Why Kira Ren couldn't manage her own flight from the collapsing base was beyond Hux, but he would be dead if he returned to Snoke without her now. Hux set his face in a snarl and fled from the crumbling room.

Someone was screaming. There was pain, he could feel it, but it was distant, amorphous. Kylo thought again that he should do something. It was important.

The screams were getting louder. Kylo blinked a few times. He was in a shadowy forest, and it was cold. He was cold, and he shivered. Kylo sat up slowly and the forest floor tilted, leaving him dizzy. He closed his eyes until he felt steady again before pushing himself to his feet.

Another choked cry from several meters drew his attention.

Rey.

Finn.

Kylo stumbled towards the sounds of struggle. He couldn't have been out for more than a few seconds if Finn was still alive.

She had Finn pinned against a tree. The blue lightsaber had vanished, and Kira was slowly pressing her blade into his shoulder as he gagged in her Force grip, the veins on his forehead standing out. Kylo could feel the anger in Kira had taken a sadistic bent that made Kylo's dizziness and nausea return. It could be a long time yet before she moved to kill Finn. But based on the way the ground was shivering and rumbling beneath them, they'd all be dead soon anyway.

Finn managed another weak cry, fighting against her hold, but he was helpless. Kylo gritted his teeth and set his feet. A quiet exhale, and then he pulled clumsily on the fabric of the Force.

He wasn't sure it would work, as much as he felt the Dark Side swirling around her, drawing on her anger and pain and Finn's fear. So when Kira's blade flew out of her hand towards Kylo, everyone flinched.

Kira had enough intuition to bend out of the way, avoiding the sizzling edge of her own blade, while Finn slumped to the snow with a groan. Kylo's eyes widened as he saw the lightsaber, now disengaged, spinning towards his head, and he ducked. The hilt struck a tree with a thunk and dropped to the ground. Kylo quickly scrambled after it, snatching it up before she could call it back to her hand. On instinct, he spun around and reignited the crackling blade, half-expecting her to be on him before he could raise it. She hadn't moved and he held it up, defiant. He could feel the disquiet and instability of the kyber inside, sending vibrations up his arms as he swung it in a threat.

"Run, Finn," he ordered, taking a step towards Kira. Finn tried to gain leverage with his good arm, pulling himself upright.

"Not yet," Kira hissed, thrusting a hand out towards Finn, who was drawn sharply towards her, his toes dragging two trails through the white powder. With a flick of her wrist, she smashed him back against the tree. Kylo heard his skull crack as she extended her other hand to receive the blue lightsaber that Finn had possessed and ignite it to drive through Finn's shoulder.

"No!" Kylo cried as Finn fell to the ground with a muffled thump.

Kira turned back, swinging the new blade to test its weight and grip. It unbalanced her, the feel of the kyber at odds with her Dark energy. She looked up at him, then at her lightsaber sputtering in his grip.

"That lightsaber," she said quietly. "It belongs to me."

"Come get it," Kylo challenged, even though with the towering sense of the Dark rising above her, she was ready to end him.

And she would, he could feel the promise of it. Some part of him found this so familiar, the way her eyes flickered to his feet to check his stance and then back to his face, the way she spun the blade lazily to resettle her grip, the way she bared her teeth in challenge.

But it wasn't like when they were children. Then, she had been observing his footing to learn from him. Then, she had spun her blade to show off and appear confident. Then, her eyes had been playful, not vengeful.

Lunging for him without any forewarning, he barely sensed the moment she shifted to attack.

Her first blow came strong, full of an unreasonable hatred. Kylo deflected the overhead strike, letting it slide away from him as he slipped to her side, the old movements coming back to his legs and arms before he could consciously recall them. She shifted, avoiding his flank and lunging forward with a series of rapid blows.

Kylo's heart raced as he parried each strike. He couldn't remember the last time he'd touched a blade, and now he was trying to fight the Master of the Knights of Ren. She faltered, her hand going to her side as he felt a wave of fresh pain from her. Quickly, he circled her again to swing the crimson blade at her legs. She snarled, slipping back and knocking his weapon down, attempting to draw him forward as she sidestepped. Both of their footwork were clumsy, but Kylo recovered before he could stumble into the trap, shifting his weight to careen away, tripping over snow-covered roots and shocks in the earth.

Kylo could hear her ragged breathing, but the Force crackled around her, supporting and strengthening her as she came after him.

They kept at it, Kira's swings becoming more wild and powerful as her caution fell to pieces under the storm of emotion Kylo felt reaching out to him, desperate and clawing. He tried to fend her off, reaching deep to tap into the power he knew was there, but the unfriendly blade in his hand and his own emotional turmoil made his connection to the Force slippery. The lightsaber felt clumsy in his hands and he nearly burned himself on the sparking quillons as he maneuvered it to avoid her forceful blows. He could feel his arms and shoulders burning at the unfamiliar exertion, inflexible and weakened joints popping as they struggled to stretch through their full range, both from the movements and from trying to restrain the angry blade from leaping out of his grasp. Kylo resisted the urge to toss it to the side and try to tackle her instead, using his fists and size to subdue her. He would only end up with a lightsaber through his chest, just like his father.

He gasped, jumping away from a slash that would have slid through his ribs but instead continued to fell a tall sapling. Kira spun the sapphire blade again, twisted rage frozen on her face, and advanced again. He robotically deflect her next lunge, eyeing her closely. She seemed to be getting sloppier and wilder in her movements, defensive of her injured side. Still, he could feel the pain she channeled into each blow, spurring her on. Her angry expression was slowly melting into desperation, and it frightened him.

Kylo's back hit a tree trunk, causing him to gasp and jolting the saber from his hand. Kira didn't halt, swinging for his chest. Kylo slipped around the tree before her hasty swing could end him, but she caught his shoulder before he could escape. He cried out, trying to catch himself as he fell, but he landed on his stomach when his injured shoulder gave out. The tree cracked and groaned and Kylo scrambled to his feet, snatching up the fallen saber hilt and stumbling away from the falling tree as it crashed, throwing up a towering spray of snow. Kira leaped over the downed trunk to follow.

Maybe he could outdistance her and circle back to Finn, then somehow drag him to – no, that was no good, especially since he could feel her reaching out to him in the Force, wrapping tendrils around his ankles to pull him down –

The ground heaved and cracked with a shuddering bang, rending the earth and cutting off his escape. Kylo took a few steps back, watching as an abyss opened up, trees along the edges tipping over and falling to unknown depths. The planet was rapidly disintegrating under his feet.

The hair on the back of his arms stood up, and Kylo spun around, reigniting the unruly crimson saber to block Kira's savage strike. Their blades locked, sparking and spitting against each other. His arms strained with the effort of keeping her off – she was pushing closer, so close they almost touched.

They were breathing hard, straining against one another. The ground shuddered again and Kylo took a step back to regain his balance, closer to the cliff edge. Kira glared up into his eyes.

"Such weakness," she hissed. "You could have chosen to be so much more if you had only embraced the Darkness, like I have."

"No," he protested, feeling his arms weakening.

"They were all afraid of the power we possessed. They tried to keep us contained, to limit us so they could control us."

"They tried," Kylo gasped, blinking as the plasma from the lightsabers sparked against each other, "to teach us not to be murderers."

"You've forgotten that the Jedi were murderers, just as much as the Sith," Kira rebuked. "Liars, manipulators, power-hungry, selfish, kidnappers, murderers. Just in the guise of goodness and justice."

Kylo gritted his teeth.

"You don't have to hide anymore," Kira continued, impassioned. "You just need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Dark Side."

Kylo trembled, thinking of what she said. They were his own thoughts and wonderings, just spoken out loud to him by another. He wanted that, to not hide, to be free of his fears, to let go of responsibility and expectations.

But not with her. Never with her. He could not forget what she had done.

"The Dark Side," he echoed.

"Yes," she said, her eyes reflecting the intersection of the lightsabers, light and dark, perfectly balanced.

Kylo's eyes slid shut.

Inhale.

Don't be a fool. She's choosing the Dark.

Exhale.

You think I'm lost. Consumed in Darkness.

Inhale.

This is my choice.

His eyes opened. The Dark seeped between them, swirling in the air.

"You think I don't know the Dark, murderer?" Kylo asked.

Her eyes flickered and Kira opened her mouth to reply but Kylo didn't give her the chance.

He roared, shoving her off with a violence and strength he had never felt before. The confusion and the anger and the pain – but it felt right.

Kira landed on the snow several meters back and Kylo followed, raising her own blade against her. The crimson lightsaber almost sang in his hand, snapping and sizzling in a fury. Kira quickly stood, attempting to defend herself, but Kylo's free hand thrust forward, freezing her in place.

She struggled furiously as he came for her but the Dark was weighted to his side. There was only a moment for him to see the panic in her eyes before the lightsaber whipped upwards in a brutal swipe, slashing across her face.

Kira collapsed with a cry, twisted around by the power of the stroke to fall on hands and knees away from him. He circled her, snatching up the extinguished blue saber and attaching it to his belt. Kylo kicked her in her injured side, flipping her over and knocking the air from her lungs.

"You think I don't know the Darkness?" he demanded again as she gasped in the snow. He could see the terrible wound over her cheek and bridge of her nose, blackened and leaking thick blood. "It was because of me that he found you. I am the descendent of Darkness. I was the one who introduced you to Darkness. You are nothing without me."

He raised the sputtering lightsaber above his head and it crackled eagerly. She didn't stir, made no attempt to defend herself, shuddering with pain.

"This is my fault," he said, a deep anger running under his words. "I tried, for you, but this is how you repay me?"

The earth trembled and they could hear the groan and snap of trees falling into gaping chasms.

"I'm going to end this and be free from this pain." He lifted the lightsaber, ready to bring it down. Tears glistened on her cheeks, silent and desolate.

"Ben," Rey whimpered.

Their eyes locked.

The blade drove down.

Kylo was thrown back, landing on his back, dazed. When he looked up, he couldn't see Rey.

What had he done?

He stood and found himself on the edge of a rapidly expanding canyon. The ground heaved again, nearly unbalancing him and he stepped back clumsily. Had she fallen into the abyss?

No, he would have felt her death. He peered across the gap, to the dim cliff opposite.

She was there. A small, crumpled form, barely discernible in the odd mess of dappled dark and smoke and light on the collapsing planet. But it was her, he knew, and she lived.

Her Force signature flickered faintly, clinging to his. His anger burned, scorching her, and his sense of her faded. He screamed over the rift.

We're not done yet.

Author's Note:

Welcome to the end of part two! I'm sorry it took me an extra week with this chapter - it was kind of like pulling teeth to write for some reason. But hopefully you all will enjoy it anyway!

I'm planning to take a little break before starting part three, Burn the Whole House Down. I've been writing this story for over a year now, and I'd like to take a step back and breath, revisit my outline, and maybe work up a bit of a cushion before I start posting the next part of the story. But never fear, this is my baby and I'm not abandoning it!

Meanwhile, let me know what you think, share it with friends, etc, etc. I appreciate all your reviews and favorites and follows, and that's probably what's gotten us this far, so thank you so much.

Until next time!