maskormenace | Intro

[ Not wanting anybody to see his face, Kylo switches the video off before pressing record. He takes a deep breath, not really satisfied with having to do this - he should be able to find out more about this place and find the people he is looking for without any assistance - but this place is large and this seems much more efficient. The technology is outdated, the small device similar to a datapad but much less useful and without a holo function. This must be something that pre-dates his parents, his grandparents, even. ]

This place, I'm not familiar with it. It's not where I'm supposed to be, not even in our galaxy, yet...

[ He pauses, taking a breath, giving himself a moment to gather his thoughts and center himself. There are Force users here, more than one, and he's certain of it. He'll search every city until he finds them, burn them down, kill them all until he finds what he's looking for. However, if anybody can give him any information, save him from traveling through each city until he finds them... ]

Tell me where Skywalker and Solo are. I know they're here, I can feel it.

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Like I said, there's nothing you can do.

[ At the moment, Kylo has no desire to repair a broken relationship with his uncle or to explain to him what happened during his lifetime to put such a rift between them. This is hard on Kylo, hard on everybody, and he has nobody to turn to for guidance right now. He can't reach his Master, Hux is of no help, and the family he has here... well, he doesn't know them. They're not who he knows, not who he remembers, people that existed before he was even a possibility.

He sighs, brushes his hair from his face, wishes this would all go away and he could return to their galaxy, complete his training. ]

You're never going to do right by me, you had that opportunity and you lost me. You can try all you want, but nothing will change regardless of whether you understand it or not.

[ Luke pursed his lips, feeling a little helpless at the moment. He wasn't going to let it overwhelm him, though; there had to be something he could do about this... ]

I don't know about the 'me' you know in the future, but the 'me' now isn't about to give up, even if you say it's impossible.

[ Your uncle loves you; deal with it. ]

[ Luke paused a moment, rubbing at his mouth as he tried to think. His father changed his name when he fell, so it was reasonable to assume Kylo did as well... ]

What's your name? Your real name?

[ The Luke speaking with him is the same one as the one Kylo know, he tells himself this, he knows it in his heart... But, at the same time, he's not the same. He's standing there refusing to give up, not backing down and running to hide from his family and the rest of the galaxy. And this hurts Kylo more than he's ready to admit. He knows the reasons Luke ran, knows that everything is ultimately his fault, but he did what he had to do - there wasn't another option. His family lied to him, left him when he needed them the most, when Snoke's voice was more than a whisper and the Dark Side was pulling at him stronger than ever.

When Luke asks what his name is - his real name - Kylo is startled, pulled from his thoughts. His real name is something he hasn't said aloud in years, something that was forbidden on board the Finalizer. The last person he heard say his name was his father shortly before he killed him. Kylo looks away from the screen, not wanting to look at Luke, but when he finally responds, he lifts his head, unable to hide the brokenness on his face. ]

Ben.

[ You probably helped name me, he wants to say, but he leaves it at that. ]

[ Luke smiled, a kind, pained smile, and he doesn't need the Force to know that he had a hand in naming Han and Leia's son. Who else in the whole galaxy would come up with that name? While it made him happy to have such an influence on his nephew's life, even if just by a name, he had to ask himself why would he hold Old Ben in such high regard still, when still dealing with the knowledge of how often he lied. ]

[ After a moment, he let out a soft sigh, acknowledging his real name with a small nod. But he wasn't going to call him by it; not unless he gave him permission. If his own father's temper was anything to go by... he didn't want to run the risk of upsetting his nephew that much. ]

Kylo, I'm going to do everything I can to try and do things differently, which means keeping in touch, if you'll let me.

[ Kylo wants to hang on to what Luke has promised, wants to truly believe that maybe things will be different here, that their relationship can be repaired somehow if he does things differently. But what's done is done and that isn't going to change. Kylo can't go back in time and erase what has happened and how he was treated by his own family. He knows what Snoke has told him over the years, he has those experiences, the humiliation and the abandonment heavy on his shoulders.

Those wounds don't heal easily, if at all.

It surprises him when Luke calls him by his chosen name, though. ]

I can't stop you from contacting me. Do as you will.

[ Of course he did; because he cared, and he was stubbornly determined to at least meet his nephew halfway. If that was by starting with calling him by his chosen name and working from there, he'd do it. ]

I will, then. Thank you, Kylo.

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