bakerstreet | the picture prompt

i was going to go for something serious but then i saw this

[You're brilliant. I'm dying.]

Kylo Ren was in his meditation chamber and he felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. They'd lost Starkiller Base and he'd failed in his duel with the scavenger girl. His master had already expressed a great deal of disappointment in him, which had just been salt in an open wound. The only one he could confide in was his grandfather. He sat there, quietly talking to his melted helmet.

"I failed, grandfather. She defeated me in a duel and took your lightsaber." Let's be honest here, that was probably the part he was most upset about. "The call to light...it hasn't disappeared. Killing Han Solo solved nothing." He sunk his head down low until it was propped up on his closed fists. "Please guide me." There was silence, of course. Never once had Vader actually answered him. Then again, never say never.

For his part, Anakin's pretty sure that the call to the Light the boy keeps experiencing was his own grandfather standing there and sighing loudly. Yet somehow, he hadn't been able to make himself seen, not for quite some time now. Luke could see him, of course, but he hadn't really tested it out with anyone else since the once with Leia and a couple of times with Rey (surprisingly enough) but his grandson didn't need to know about that last one.

The problem, he thought was that Kylo Ren kept trying to talk to Darth Vader. And Darth Vader didn't exist anymore. In a way, he'd never truly existed, he'd just been a mask. Fitting then, maybe, that his grandson is addressing it to the physical mask he'd worn so long.

Still there was no time like the present to try one more time to actually make himself heard. The completely non-corporeal back-patting was just to help him getting into the right mindset for it. Kylo Ren--Ben didn't really need yet one more person telling him how much he'd failed. Anakin well knew how that would just serve to spur on the darker emotions trying to trap him in the Darkness.

"It hasn't disappeared because I'm too stubborn for my own good. I haven't decided whether you got that from my side of the family or Padme's." Okay, so not telling him how much he'd failed didn't mean he was necessarily going to lead off with some sage advice.

Kylo's head jerked up and he stared hard at the glowing, bluish, and slightly transparent figure that had suddenly appeared in his meditation chamber. The appearance nearly sent him falling off the bench he was sitting on and his feet scramble to find purchase as he pushes back against the floor.

The figure was in the robes of a Jedi, though darker than any Kylo had ever seen. It was obviously a Force ghost, something that Luke had often told him about, but that Kylo had never experienced for himself. There was something very familiar about this one, a sense that they'd meet before. Kylo glanced between the burnt out mask and Anakin's ghost. It clicked in his head.

"Grandfather?" He asked hopefully. He'd been waiting for years for a moment like this. The object of his obsession and adoration had finally spoken to him. His idol was finally here.

Anakin crouched down so they were more or less at eye level, elbows resting on his knees. It was rather remarkably not the sort of formidable pose one might expect of the man who was Darth Vader. But then, he was Ben/Kylo's grandfather, too.

"Got it in one, grandson. I'm surprised that actually worked."

Maybe he should've tried sympathetic back-patting sooner. Lesson learned.

"You've picked a hell of a time to show up." It was a rather sarcastic comment to be making considering he was face-to-face with Darth Vader, but he'd never been able to keep his mouth shut for long. What could he say, it ran in the family.

Kylo hadn't felt more low in his entire life. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong in the past few days. He'd lost the droid, got beaten by Rey both mentally and physically, and had ended up spending several days in the medbay lying there trying to recover from his injuries. To say his pride had been shattered was an understatement.

"You say that like I haven't been here watching you the whole time. Not my fault you were too thick to notice."

He might have had better things to do, Ben, like lecturing Obi-Wan on all the ways he'd lied to his son, dammit.

Okay, he'd done that one enough times well before the man in front of him was actually born.

He bristles at the insult, but that's lost in the wake of what else he hears. "You've been watching me?" He isn't quite able to keep that pleased note out of his voice. To know that his grandfather has been watching him carrying on his work with the First Order, bringing balance (however twisted) to the galaxy, it made it all feel worthwhile.

"Don't sound so happy about it," Anakin snaps. "I didn't say I was enjoying it."

Truth be told, even if he had been solely the man called Darth Vader, Anakin's not so certain he would have been overly pleased about it either. Something about the First Order's over-reliance on the same philosophies and tactics that had brought the Empire down in the end. And now they'd gone and made sure to re-create the very fighting force that had done it. It wasn't the Republic they'd needed to eradicate if they wanted to regain control of the galaxy....

....but he digresses.

Anakin's words do seem to register with the knight as his helmeted head sinks down, but only for a brief moment. It soon becomes clear that he's misinterpreted them as a sign that he's failing to live up to the Sith Lord's legacy. "Guide me then. Help me to become as strong as you were."

Well, it could be worse. At least he was willing to listen to Anakin, no matter how warped his motives for doing so were.

Anakin closes his eyes in a clear expression of oh Force give me strength.

"I'd very much like to. More than words can say."

They can both play the misinterpretation game, even if Anakin is doing so intentionally.

Nope, that's still going right past the willful blinders Kylo has on. "I'm willing to listen." Mark the occasion down, for he's never told anyone that before. He's leaning forward, afraid that Anakin might disappear from sight before he can impart some words of wisdom for the knight.

"Please." Another word that rarely crossed Kylo's lips. And if his voice modulator didn't flatten out his tone, there would be a distinctive pleading sound to it.

Anakin taps the side of his temple. "Take it off, first." Of course he understand the effect a mask like that can have on people, but if they're going to be talking to one another as...mentor and student, perhaps, then a physical barrier isn't particularly helpful.

Plus, he'd like to attempt to avoid any other misperceptions. He's not entirely convinced Snoke doesn't have some kind of brainwashing mechanism built into the damn thing.

He's eager enough that he willingly complies with the request. Kylo presses down on the side of the mask. The snout moves up and out, allowing him to remove the helmet. He sets it down next to him on the bench. Ko

While Snoke probably has done a number on Kylo's head, there's no sign of it on his face. The only mark he has of the Dark Side is the scar left by Rey, shiny and pink where it's still healing.

Anakin smiles wryly at him and taps just under his right eye now. "You might be taking this 'emulate grandfather' thing a little too far, you know." In more ways than one.

"Just don't start losing limbs. Then we have to talk about how you only get one body in this world."

Then he shakes his head slightly, dismissing the comment for the moment. "Tell me where you think this strength derives from."

The comment about his scar and losing his limbs gets a twitch of the lips from Kylo that's almost a smile. Yes, he's realized that if he follows family tradition, he'll probably be losing a hand any day now. That's something that he can most certainly do without.

His head tilts and he blinks at Anakin. The answer seemed obvious to him. "From the Dark Side. The path of the Jedi was too slow and forbid too many ways to achieve the power I wanted." The apple didn't fall too far from the tree in this family.

Patience, Anakin. Which was still a difficult concept sometimes even in the afterlife. But hey, if they're going with teaching mode, he's going to shift into a better sitting position so everybody can be comfortable. Never mind the non-corporeal thing.

"Okay. And what are you trying to achieve with the power?" He holds a finger up, "and don't say to finish what I started. We haven't gotten to that yet."

At some point, they'll get to the part where treading the Dark path didn't actually provide greater actual power than that of the Light. It just gave a pretty convincing illusion of power. Kylo isn't ready for that discussion, not any time soon.

That makes Kylo give pause, because that had been exactly the answer he was going to give. He supposes his grandfather really has been listening in on all those times he's been talking to his mask. Finally, he has another answer ready. "I want to bring about peace and order."

Ben had grown up in a war zone his entire life. Seeing what it had done to the galaxy had made him want to see it brought to a calm state. Unfortunately, he was willing to pay any price to bring that about, including destroying entire planets.

I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire! Anakin frowns at the memory. In some ways, Kylo Ren wasn't so far off from trying to finish what Anakin had started, depending on one's point of view. But he had been lying to himself at the time and his grandson was lying to himself now.

He leans back slightly and turns his gaze toward the ceiling, "I suppose it could work," he starts. "At least for a while. The Rebellion didn't start overnight, after all, and the galaxy was ready for some stability after the Clone Wars." Just like Palpatine had planned it, of course.

Kylo frowns, a stubborn look on his face. The way Anakin was talking made it sound like it would only be temporary. "It will work. Once the Resistance is crushed, there won't be anyone left to stand in the way of the First Order. The Supreme Leader has said it will be so." Maybe he is just a little bit delusional, but it was only because he believed so fervently in what Snoke had told him. There was the light of fanaticism in his eyes and it seemed that nothing would make it dim.

"Did the Supreme Leader say that the Resistance wouldn't destroy your planet-annihilating base too? Because if he did, well, maybe he could be wrong about other things as well." But people like Snoke and Palpatine had a way of glossing over such things and making it seem like they were a part of the plan all along. It had taken Anakin longer than he's comfortable admitting to really see that.

This sounds similar to what Han had tried to tell his son when they were on the bridge. Once he gets what he wants, he'll crush you. Kylo doesn't want to think of that moment and the seed of doubt that had tried to be planted in his mind. He was so certain of where Snoke was leading him. "He's not wrong. He opened up my eyes and showed me the path I was meant to be on." There's a fine line between willful ignorance and stupidity. Kylo is dangerously toeing it.

Telling him that what Snoke showed him was the path Snoke decided he was meant for was likely not going to get him anywhere. Anakin's actually not convinced any of this will get him somewhere, but that's never stopped him before.

"The only person who can possibly know what you're truly meant for is you, grandson." He smiles, wry. "And it's the Force that can help you with that. Not the Dark side." Pause. "Not the Light. Those words are...limiting."

Obi-Wan had once said that only the Sith dealt in absolutes but the Jedi were just as guilty.

Anakin's words agitate Kylo. He rises from where he's sitting down. Then he paces back and forth as if he can outrun the thoughts running round in his brain. He can sense the old feelings of doubt creeping back into his mind. When he finally turns to look back at his grandfather, there's a storm brewing in his eyes.

"No one ever gave me that choice before."

His parents had foisted him off on his uncle without ever consulting Ben on what he wanted. By the time Snoke had found him, he was a lonely, confused teenager. He would have been willing to follow his master into hell if he thought it would get rid of the turmoil in his head.

the picture prompt

Kylo Ren | Star Wars

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that's not how bringing balance works, grandson :|||

Yes it is! /Skywalker Whine Gene activated

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i make this shit up as i go

Don't we all?

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joy is of the Light, Kylo :)