Chapter Text
Part 2
Hux recognized after what could have been less than a second or perhaps an eternity that he was in the afterlife, some sort of odd limbo. He could tell immediately because first of all, he wasn't on the Finalizer, and second, he was a child. He was sitting on a swing set, something he'd only seen in pictures, and he recognized his childhood outfit, although the First Order armband was different. He was wearing no shoes, which deeply annoyed him. He huffed, a small and definitely undignified sound coming from what he assumed to be his five year old body. Hux despised the thought of being little again. He much preferred to be an adult.
He stared down at the ground. Well, if he was going to be stuck as a child on a swing set for the rest of eternity because of Kylo Ren's stupid mistake, he was going to enjoy it. Swings were supposed to be fun. Hux tried to get it to move, but felt embarrassed as he realized he had no idea how to get the swing to work. He'd never seen or read about what to do.
There was a light push against his back that made him startle. He tightened his grip on the swing set chains and turned his head. A tall man he recognized was standing behind him. He was younger than how he usually appeared, his hair red and skin smooth, with piercing yellow eyes. He looked just like the holo that Hux's mother had once shown him. This was the man he had inherited most of his looks from, not his own father, but his grandfather.
"Hello, grandson of mine."
"Hello Grandfather Palpatine." Hux immediately looked away, embarrassed again by his high pitched voice.
"Oh, you poor thing, you've manifested as a child. I'm sure you'll grow soon when more of your consciousness bundles together. For now I'll take you around the afterlife. Do you know how to swing?"
Hux shook his head, and felt the light push again. He realized that it was making him swing, so he relaxed. After a few more pushes he was swinging at a moderate height. "Grandfather, what happened?"
The former emperor huffed, "That fool descendent of Skywalker burst in and drove me out of your head before I could pull you back in. He's destroyed everything we've worked for."
"Idiot Ren! He always ruins everything!" Hux felt anger rising up. "Now he's basically killed me!"
"Your body is still alive. The descendent of Skywalker is mourning over it as we speak. It's only been a few minutes, and he believes that he shattered your mind, grandson of mine."
"It's not shattered, just misplaced."
"In reality it is in a way shattered. The pieces are floating around. I will help you search for them, before the descendent of Skywalker finds them first. You are merely the largest piece, capable of thought. The others have manifested as objects. Most likely clothes. It could take us hours or years to find them all. Of course, it will feel like nothing at all to us."
That was... troubling, to say the least. Hux did not want to spend eternity looking for pieces of his mind. He wanted very much to be back in his body. He also didn't want to be stuck as a kid forever. Ren would end up dying someday and come to this afterlife, and Hux was not willing to be in a child's form when that time came. He'd rather be back in the form of a General, ready to chew Ren out for doing this to him.
Hux thought of a question, "Is it possible for me to see Ren, Grandfather?"
"Yes, all beings in the afterlife may gaze upon the living world. However, only powerful force users can go back as an apparition, you will only be able to see."
Damn, that ruled out being able to lecture Ren from the afterlife. Hux would have loved to scold him from the grave for causing this. Haunting him for the rest of his miserable life would have been great.
"What if my body dies?"
"Then your mind will bring itself back together automatically. You will be stuck here for eternity, grandson of mine."
That wasn't a very good alternative. He'd much prefer his own body being alive and finding all of the pieces himself so hopefully he might be able to find a way to get back into his physical form.
"Shall we start looking for the first piece?" Palpatine stopped the swing. He lifted Hux off of the seat. Blue eyes met with yellow. Palpatine hissed in a low voice, "If only you'd been force sensitive, you'd have made a perfect Sith. You have so much controlled anger. How regretful that it was the descendent of Skywalker who was chosen by the force."