VENDETTA [ kylo ren ]

twenty-four

24. unconsciously

VADA WAS AWOKEN BY harsh knocking on her door. "Give me a minute, please," she yelled, groaning into her pillow right after and dreading to get out of the bed. Though, it wasn't as comfortable as the one she slept in on the Supremacy, she felt like she could use a few more hours of sleep. Her eagerness to find out what kind of day awaited of last night had definitely died down during her sleep.

She dragged herself out of bed and put on a dark black robe over her dark tanktop and shorts. She wiped the grogginess from under her eyes before opening the door. Her eyes widened when she realized it hadn't been a trooper who had waked her, as per usual, but no other than Lord Ren himself.

"Oh, Kylo," she said unsurely as she pulled at her robe to make sure nothing unflattering was to be seen. He didn't seem to care for her sleepy state. "Hi. What're you doing here?"

When she finally found the courage to look up at him she noticed he wasn't wearing his helmet, something she noticed he had been doing a lot more often lately. Though, he made sure it was only in places where no 'ordinary' people would see him.

"Get dressed, we're leaving in five," he ordered, promptly ignoring the way she looked completely. Though, he had noticed her white hair in a ruffled and messed up bun, the one black strand standing out from all others.

"In five?" she groaned. "Look, I won't need hours but it'll take a little more than five minutes to freshen up and get dressed, Kylo."

"Make it quick, I don't want to waste too much time on this, anyway," he sneered. She wondered what exactly they were supposed to be doing that he disliked so much.

She let out a loud sigh, "fine. I'll make it quick." He took a step back and leaned against the wall, as she closed the door and tried her best to compose herself.

It took her twenty minutes, give or take, to freshen up in the shower, get dressed and fix her hair up so it didn't look like she had just been riding a Varactyl. When she opened the door, Kylo had put his helmet back on and he started walking without saying anything to her.

After a couple of minutes she couldn't bear the silence anymore. "So, where exactly are we going?"

"The Supreme Leader and I have discussed the progress of your training," he explained. She was surprised that he was so willing to. "We agree that you are not ready for all that comes with a higher position within our ranks..."

She rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

He ignored her remark. "...but, you have been progressing immensely in your training and as this trip to our new base was already scheduled, we saw it a fit time to take the next step in your training."

Her curiosity was peeked once again, and she wanted nothing more than to keep asking questions. But he, knowing her intentions, held up his hand. "You'll see when we get there." So, she kept her mouth shut.

They eventually entered an elevator, one that looked considerably older than the rest of the base. "So..." she mumbled as the small space rumbled while it went down, "is this actually...safe?"

She heard him scoff under the mask, a sound that she had began to find odd if he had the mask on. "This leads down into an old shaft," he told her. "Ilum was mined in the days of the Empire."

"Why?"

"It's core is made of kyber crystalline, it's–..."

"...what lightsabers are made of," she finished for him, he turned to her in surprise. He wasn't aware she knew much about the history of the Jedi and the Sith, much less their weapons.

He cleared his throat, and his mind. "Uh, yes." The doors of the small elevator finally opened, revealing a large tunnel. He let her walk out first, then followed her as he took off his mask. "The Empire almost completely drained it to power the first and the second Death Star."

She frowned and turned her head to look at him, "so...it's empty?"

Now he was the one to roll his eyes. "Almost." They continued walking down the tunnels. "We will use the shaft to build our base, but there are still some kyber crystals in these tunnels."

She stopped in her tracks. "Wait...do you want me to get one? For...a lightsaber?"

He nodded. "You're already skilled with a staff. It is different but you should have an advantage." He noticed her hesitation. "I thought you wanted to take the next step in your training."

She sighed, "I do. It's just...these weapons, no matter if they were used by the Jedi or the Sith, they bring death and decay," she admitted, "I know a blaster can too, but it just seems much more powerful than any other weapon."

He urged her to keep walking, and they neared an open cave. She saw the light before she actually saw the source of it. But her mouth fell open in awe when she did. "Woah...it's beautiful."

"It is," he agreed, looking down at her amazement. He found comfort in how such a thing could bring her joy, though he would never admit it to himself.

"Did you come here to get your kyber crystal?" she then asked, but never averting her eyes from the beauty in front of her.

"No," he answered, "I already had mine from before, from when I..." he stopped mid-sentence, realizing she probably had no idea what he was before he became who he is now.

She finally met his eyes, "before you what?"

He sighed and looked down at the ground, "from when I trained to be a Jedi."

She frowned, "you trained to be a Jedi?" She could hardly believe it, Kylo Ren, a monster who had slaughtered so many innocent people, training to be a guardian of the people. Admittedly she couldn't imagine him being good.

He swallowed his past away, he didn't see a point in dwelling on it, anyway. "It was a long time ago." He knew she wanted to know more about it, and she'd probably start asking, but for now, he didn't want to think of the days he spent with his family, and the day he left them. "After you pick one, you'll have to bleed it," he explained, quickly changing the subject. "I'll explain that later, but now, you have to choose one."

"I have to choose?" she breathed out heavily, she had no idea how she could ever pick one.

Unconsciously, he put his hand on her shoulder and leaned a little closer to her ear. "You go in there, close your eyes," he whispered softly, "and you'll let the Force guide you. It'll show you some things, they can be...weaknesses, or other visions. You have to overcome them, if you do, one of these crystals will light up for you."

Her heart skipped a beat as he told her about the visions she would see. "What will I see in the visions?"

"It's different for everyone," he explained truthfully, "but don't worry. You can handle it." His thumb traced comfortably on her collarbone, something he still wasn't fully aware of, but it didn't matter to either of them.

She took a deep breath. "Alright, let's do this."

・。・。☆・゜・。・゜。★・。・

Hey guys, I'm back! Not that I ever officially left or anything...but I had my first uni exam, which took literally all of my time, and after that there were some personal circumstances that just prevented me from writing.
But here it is, I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be an insight in Vada's mind!