Chapter Text
Emperor Ren could feel the disquiet within the Tide. The closer he came to the capital, the stronger it grew.
One of the Knights accompanying him noticed his anxiety and muttered, “I feel it too, master.”
Ren cast his awareness to his other subordinates as their mounts cut through the water: two of his Knights of Ren—Malan and Suanis, ten Stormtroopers, and their Captain. Only his Knights seemed uneasy since they were also strong with the Tide, but they didn't know what to make of the vague sense of foreboding either. A vein ticked under Ren’s tired eye. If something had happened while he was away on this pointless “diplomacy” mission, Hux wouldn't survive his next tongue-lashing. The merfolk continued on their undersea journey homeward on a less scenic route that took them through open ocean, only stopping for a short rest to feed the mantas they were riding and stretch their own fins.
“Captain Phasma. A word,” Ren called, turning his helmeted head toward her. When he spoke, it ominously distorted his voice.
The meri dutifully glided over in her articulated armor, covered head-to-hip in trilobite scales that gleamed like chrome. A crimson shimmersilk cape dripped down from her pauldrons, matching Emperor Ren’s own fluttering black cape.
“Yes, ner kandosii?”
Her emperor requested that she contact the lieutenant back at the palace for a status report. Immediately, Phasma pulled out the small, circular scrying mirror that would connect her to the lieutenant and sent off a short message. Scrying, unfortunately, wasn't instantaneous, so it was another tense half-hour before they heard back.
As Phasma held the mirror in her hand, a tiny and ghostly replica of Lieutenant Mitaka appeared over it and told her that nothing of note has happened within the capitol. The emperor did not seem assuaged in the slightest.
“We're moving on!” he barked and the small squadron rallied once more.
Due to the emperor's growing paranoia, they made a half-cycle journey in only eight hours.
Just outside the city, the few manta-led caravans and free-swimmers on the waterway were led to the side to make room for Emperor Ren’s squadron. A great cliffside loomed ahead of them and within that rocky façade was a huge jagged opening. Time-worn runes and bas-relief sculptures decorated its edges, spattered with lush green algae. Dozens of ivory-armored figures with spears were on guard at both sides and bowed slightly as their emperor swam by. The opening lead to a tunnel so big that it could comfortably fit two more of their party abreast, above, and below.
When the tunnel reached its end, the glittering capital of Coruscant welcomed the weary travelers. It was a wide ravine that wasn't too far below the surface for the moonlight to reach, with luminescent crystals and algae helping to scatter the lingering shadows. The merfolk built their city in the walls of the ravine, carving up the stone to their cyclopean predilections and burrowing into the cliffs like ants. Straight ahead, the ravine walls met and housed a massive structure that sprouted from the stone in tiers. It was the palace, a jewel of architecture covered in coral gardens and sea glass, and the place Emperor Ren called home.
Lieutenant Mitaka met the squadron at the docking bay, a sight that did not help the emperor's dark mood.
“Welcome back, kando—”
“Where is Hux?” Ren snapped after dismounting.
The pale meri visibly flinched at the harsh tone and stumbled over his next words. “Th-the general l-left the city earlier today. He was due back hours ago but has yet to return, ner kandosii.”
“Left the city? For what reason?”
“M-my apologies, h-he didn't inform me...”
Sensing things were about to get out of hand, Suanis Ren swam to her master's side and spoke gently. “My master, all seems to be as it should, so perhaps we should revisit this in the morning. Weariness often muddles wariness.”
The emperor didn't want to revisit this in the morning and no, not everything was as it should be. His senses were telling him something was wrong, but his Knight had a point. He was practically dead on his fins and without anything concrete to justify his anxiety, there was no use in raising hell at this point in time. Ren swallowed back his anger and retired to his chambers in a huff.
He attempted to contact General Hux through scrying and there was no response.
-*-
What paltry bit of sleep he claimed was haunted by inchoate, shadowy threats. He eventually reawakened with a start, his heart pounding and a disturbing scent in his nostrils.
Blood.
There was blood in the water.
He shot out of his nest and grabbed his bladed trident as that vague uneasiness in the Tide exploded into blaring alarms. There was a crash outside his chambers followed by angry shouts and he swam into the hall amidst utter chaos.
Stormtroopers and officers firing on one another, Captain Phasma—sans armor—crossing swords with...one of his Knights?? Ren hovered in shock at the unbelievable scene until a blaster bolt grazed his tail and made him yell from the pain. Phasma turned at the sound, sheer panic drawn over her usually stoic features.
“Kandosii— it's a coup! Get to sa—” her words died in her throat as it was separated from the rest of her body.
Ren was almost too stunned to block the Knight who came charging through the sanguine cloud that now colored the water, knocking Phasma’s severed head away. He ignited the prongs of his trident and the preternatural red flames met those of Suanis’ broadsword.
“Suanis!” he grunted. “What is the meaning of this?!”
He loathed how the betrayal made his voice waver and crack.
Her orange eyes flared within her helm. “You've lost your way, Kylo. You're broken; as unstable as that crystal in your trident!”
Suanis broke the blade lock and aimed a strike toward Kylo’s belly, which he moved to block. But it was a clever feint. Instead, her sword cut across his neck and he would've met Phasma’s fate if he hadn't used the Tide to force her back some centimeters. As powerful as Kylo was, Suanis was more prepared for this fight and she quickly disarmed him with a strong swipe of her tail.
“How could I possibly follow someone so weak? How could the meri?” she spat.
With a tightened fist, Suanis commanded the Tide to bind Kylo, forcing him into immobility. When he continued to thrash and scream, she used her cruel fingers to sear him with lightning until his nerves burned in agony and his vocal chords broke. Whether it was moments or eons later, he eventually fell limp. The treacherous Stormtroopers swam into formation beside Suanis as she dragged him through the palace. He bore witness to the destructive power of this coup through half-lidded eyes...blaster bolts scarred stone walls and pillars, murky clouds of gore surrounded lifeless forms as they floated amongst shattered armor and debris.
They all looked like Phasma.
“Where... are you taking me?” Kylo rasped through bloody lips, his head rolling bonelessly on his shoulders.
Suanis smiled. “To see the emperor, of course.”
-*-
It hurt to also see Typho Ren at the side of General Hux in the throne room. The betrayal of two of his most trusted Knights… it hurt worse than anything he felt since his old life, before he killed the child and raised up the Knight in the Dark. Was this how his master felt when he realized it was the apprentice who cut him down and not the enemy?
Hux looked entirely too pleased with himself. Someone had given him Kylo's trident and he held it as if it had always belonged to him. The naga circled around his captive, the copper scales on his snake-like tail glittering like the triumph in his eyes as he took in Kylo's defeated state. Hux flicked out his forked tongue in hopes of tasting Kylo's fear, but he was disappointed to find only blood and stale adrenaline in the water.
“You know, my father underestimated me too,” the serpentine general opined. “Everyone did, actually. They expected great things from me because of who my father was, but they never thought I would even match his accomplishments, let alone surpass them. Yet surpass them I did.”
Kylo chortled weakly. “Is there a point to this monologue, Hux? You're so dramatic…”
“You utter hypocrite,” Hux scowled. “If you weren't so impatient, you'd come to understand. My father didn't understand in the end, either. It's probably the one regret I have...that he never knew it was his own son who pulled the trigger.”
The information is news to Kylo, but unsurprising. He never really trusted this slimy bastard and Kylo's one regret would forever be that he didn't bisect Hux along with Snoke.
Hux nodded to Suanis and she sent more lightning into her former master's bound body. The pain was immense and ripped unwanted screams from Kylo's throat. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, as much from rage as they were from the torture. When Kylo's head rolled on his neck after the assault and he dropped his gaze toward the ground, Hux used the trident to gently lift Kylo's chin, forcing their eyes to connect.
“I’m not making the same mistake with you,” Hux promised, leaning in close. “I want to look you in the eye when you realize that I never believed that lie about the scavenger...and you reap what you sow.”
Hux didn't have the power to call the flames to the trident, but it was still a bladed weapon that easily split Kylo's skin open when it was slashed across his body. The blow cut from his shoulder to his brow and knocked his head back, stealing his consciousness away. Hux was practically panting as he relished in his victory, watching Kylo's blood muddy the water with manic eyes.
After a long silence, Suanis hesitantly spoke up. “Should I take him to the dungeons...
ner kandosii?”
Hux slowly seemed to come back to himself as he thought over his answer.
“...No,” he finally said through a clenched jaw. “No, beach him! I want his death to be slow and lonely.”
Later, Hux watched his naga officers as they dragged Kylo's unconscious form, restrained in netting, up the beach and to the mouth of a cave.
The naga emperor used these final moments to gloat over his fallen rival, looking down on Kylo from the full height of his tail.
“Since you love your scavengers so much, you can feed them,” he sneered and slithered back beneath the waves.
-*-
When Kylo next awoke, broken and betrayed and disoriented, it was to the silhouette of his savior: a little starfish.