Doc:...>P
RC: Yeah, yeah, yeah...:xp:
Thanks guys :D
Alright, now to make up for that junky songfic I made up in about 10 minutes...here's a fic I entered at the KotOR Fanmedia Site's Dueling Circle Challenge...
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/BastilaRevanforever/stuffs/deathpart.jpg)
Fourth place, thankyaverymuch :xp:
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I straightened from my kneeling position, pulling the hood further over my head, my lightsaber still trapped firmly beneath my slender fingers. Malak was dead. There was no flicker in the Force near his body, nor was there a pulse in his wrist. My hands fell limply to my sides as I stared at his cold, pale body, as if waiting for something to happen. My mind was sluggish, and my limbs weak after the fight. He was stronger than I ever could have thought, and the fighting took more out of me than I had expected. Though now, the Star Forge and the Infinite Fleet of the new Sith Empire was completely under my control. I smiled to myself in the darkness.
My spite returning to me, I nudged the still form of my former apprentice, and spat near his hand. “Rest in pieces.” I murmured, before turning on my heel and stalking for the lift.
My hands clasped behind my back as the heavy, steel doors of the gravlift slid shut with a hiss before me, the smug smile replacing the snarl that had twisted my features as I looked down on Malak. He didn’t matter now. I could hardly remember the past anyway, which I found to be my advantage. I didn’t have to worry about that pesky voice of the Jedi whining in my head to remember what we had shared before all this had started. I couldn’t remember, and I didn’t want to. That was the end of it.
I mindlessly twirled my saber in my hand, thinking of what had still to be done to secure my position at the helm of the Sith. A victory against the Republic here and now, while their full fleet was at my doorstep, would defiantly help. With the aid of Bastila’s battle meditation, I hardly found that a problem. The limitless resources of the Sith would strike forward at an ailing Republic, and they would lack the resolve, experience, and strategy to survive long enough to even retreat. The Fleet would crumble, and the Republic would be defenseless.
Even with these almost guaranteed thoughts, something nagged at the back of my mind. I couldn’t quite grasp what it was…but as the doors of the gravlift slid open again, it clicked into place.
Carth Onasi, ace pilot and hero of the Republic, stood before me on the deck of the docks, apparently waiting for me. He would pose a great problem for me…and not just in his military expertise. Something much, much worse.
I faltered as I saw him there, standing so confident and defiant.
“I thought I’d find you here.” he said quietly, his eyes warm and soft on me then. My heart skipped a beat, and I could feel my face relax…but I quickly fixed that. I took a deep breath, steadying myself, before striding forward, a look of anger and confusion forced to my face.
“How the hell did you get here??” I spat, my lightsaber held dangerously relaxed in my hand.
“I flagged down a Republic cruiser, and they were kind enough to pick me up.” he said, that all-too-familiar crooked grin coming to his lips. How I hated that grin…it was all I could do to stop myself from melting on the spot.
“Let me rephrase that. Why the hell are you here?” I asked, my fingers now clutching so tight around the weapon in my hand that the metal pressed uncomfortably into my skin. Focus on that red beam. Remember who you are, Revan!
“I knew I couldn’t leave you behind.” he said, his face now becoming solemn, a light tint of hope playing in his eyes. “I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I gave up on you…if I didn’t give you another chance…if I didn’t see you at least one more time, face-to-face.”
I spread my legs further apart, my muscles tensed as I concentrated hard on standing straight and holding my place, my lightsaber becoming a stress reliever as I worked furiously to hold back the impulse to run to him. And still, the thought remained.
He came back to save…me?
I gulped hard. “Did you really think that you could persuade me to back to that pathetic coalition of planets? Open your eyes, Carth! It’s hardly a Republic anymore. Give one, maybe two years, at the most. The planets will break away, one-by-one. The systems will slip back into their own governments, and where will that leave you, Onasi?” I asked bitingly, forcing myself to use his surname. I couldn’t let any trace of what I felt for him leak through. If I did, I would be done for. “Look what I have before me. The power to destroy the conspiring bureaucracy that is the Republic, and the strength to build a new, stronger Empire upon the old, bringing peace and safety to all the galaxy.” my voice faded to little more than a whisper as I continued, “Isn’t that what you want Carth? Isn’t that why you joined the Fleet?”
I could see the pain he felt reflected in his eyes. My words cut through him, I could sense it…but I couldn’t feel him giving in. His eyes pleaded with me as much as mine pleaded with his.
“I…I wouldn’t be able to abandon them, Crystal.” he said, denying to use my true name. Judging by the way he continued, he had done it purposefully…and tactfully, I had to admit, as my own resolve to stay with the Sith began to weaken. Again. “You’re not…you’re not that person anymore, Crystal. Your not. I know who you were, and I know what that person was like. You’re…you’re completely different.” Seeing that I refused to move closer to him, he took the liberty of shortening the space between us. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I love you. No matter how much I try to deny it, I need you. You’re a part of me now, whether you like it or not…and I can’t go on without you.”
He suddenly pulled me close, his arms forming an inescapable cage around me, pressing me to his chest. I felt my hood fall back from the movement, and soon felt the press of his warm flesh against the top of my head.
“Please Crystal,” he breathed, “please.”
I was an unresponsive statue beneath him, my shoulders set and limbs rigid. I longed to burry my face in the hollow of his neck, trap my hands on his chest, and forget everything around me. But…I couldn’t. I had to stay strong…I…I had to…
I heard the doors of the gravitylift slide open behind me, and felt a flutter in the Force as my new apprentice entered. The air around me thrust forward, tearing Carth away from me as I stood my ground, my hood flying back up around my head.
“She has no need for something such as you, Onasi.” came the chilling voice of Bastila. I didn’t turn to look at her as she came to stand at my shoulder. “The Dark Lady has no need for anything anymore. She is the strongest person, man or woman, in the entire galaxy. She had no need for something such as you.” she repeated as the Captain stood.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, the sound coming from my mouth only a half-voice. “I thought ordered you to use your Battle Meditation to destroy the Republic Fleet.”
“Forgive me, Master.” Bastila responded in a quiet voice, and I could tell her eyes hadn’t left Carth for even a moment. “I sensed him enter the Star Forge, and came to tell you. We can’t pass up this chance! If we strike him down now, the Republic won’t have a chance against us.”
Now I turned to her. “‘Strike him down’?” I quoted, not quite sure if I was relieved or furious at the suggestion.
Her eyes were questioning, but her tone was even. “He must die, my Lady. There is no other option.”
No other option. The words rang in my head.
“Don’t listen to her lies, Crystal!” Carth warned, now back on his feet as he once again moved towards us. “There are other options! An entire galaxy full of them! There’s nothing we can’t accomplish together…” he said, his voice trailing off, his tone and stance begging.
“What can you accomplish with something as weak and vulnerable as the Republic holding you down?” Bastila retorted, “Think what you could do once the Sith Empire has taken control. The firm hold you have on the galaxy will be unshakeable, and nothing would stop you.”
“The Republic won’t give up so easily. Think, Crystal, think! The Sith will fight amongst themselves; it’s what they do. This so-called Empire will crumble beneath you, and you’ll go down with it! I can’t loose you, Crystal, I won’t!”
“And what has the Republic been doing lately? There have been threats flying left and right of retaliation, of severing ties! The only things holding the Republic together are the feeble ties of the Jedi. They’ll soon be gone as well, and the galaxy will fall into chaos. What would the people think, then, of the great Carth Onasi, hero of a forsaken Republic? My Master could save all the trouble of having the planets tear each other apart. Her rule will restore absolute peace to the galaxy, and make a sound foundation for the next several millennia!”
“You can’t honestly believe what she’s saying, Crystal! The Sith are evil! They’re worse than the Mandalorians that you risked it all to combat before all of this happened!”
“‘Evil’ is in the eye of the beholder. Is it evil for the Jedi to refuse to help the war effort when countless are dying? Is it evil for the Republic to procrastinate with ‘internal affairs’ while planets are burning? Is it evil for the Republic to abandon their people to slaughter?? What about replacing a weakening government with a stronger one, helping to restore order to the galaxy and protection to its people? What about—”
“‘Restore order’ and ‘protection’ to the galaxy?? That’s what you call this campaign? That’s the title you give to killing thousands—”
“Listen to him, Master! See the foolishness he speaks! Just like the rest of the Republic: ignorant and blind! He will stop us, Revan, and we can’t allow that to happen!”
“Crystal, don’t you see what she’s trying to do? She’s—”
“We can’t let your life’s work fall to ruin! He won’t join us, Revan! We must kill him, it is the only option!”
The only option…
“She’s wrong, Crystal. There are other options, you know there are.”
“The only other choice is to let the Star Forge be destroyed and the Empire be lost forever! Master, there’s no other choice!”
The only option…
“Please, Crystal…” Carth’s eyes were soft on her then, his voice merely a whisper, “Please…”
“There’s something out there, Revan, something that drove you to leave the Jedi, drove you to leave known space. Whatever is out there is going to find the galaxy, and you know it. Do you honestly think the Republic will be able to withstand such onslaughts??”
“Enough!” I bellowed. I was shaking, and tears were clouding my vision. Even so, I could feel the Force working through me, calling me, controlling me, guiding me…and my finger slid the length of my saber, activating its twin blades. I blinked hard as I slid back into a fighting stance, hot tears of anger now spilling down my face. I looked up, my steely eyes meeting Carth’s.
“ENOUGH!!”
I felt air rush past me, my feet leaving the ground as I leapt forward. My eyes crushed shut, a scream erupting from my lips, and my lightsaber drove forward of its own accord. I felt hot blood slide down the cool metal of my weapon, and spilling over my gloved hand. I opened my tear-filled eyes, only to find my blade had sunk hilt-deep into the side of the man I loved most in the galaxy.
Force! What have I done??
I felt his body slump against me, as he gasped in surprise and pain. I deactivated my saber, allowing the cylinder to roll away from me as I dropped it.
“Carth…” my voice came out as a choked whisper as I lowered him to the ground, cradling him in my arms. I blinked, and my tears fell, spilling across his shirt.
I watched as he reached up, his calloused fingers brushing a tear from my face. Then, surprisingly, he smiled.
“Don’t cry...” his voice was weak, and I could see the pain in his eyes, even through his careful faзade. “You know I can’t stand to see you cry…”
I could hardly force myself to speak. “Carth…oh Carth…” I shut my eyes, trying to force away the sight of his blood-stained shirt, and that damnable smile of his. “I’m sorry…I didn’t…didn’t mean to…”
“It’s alright, Beautiful…I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself anyway…if I had lost you…if I had given up on you…”
I felt his thumb sweep lightly across my cheekbone, and opened my eyes. He was still inexplicably smiling up at me.
I killed him! I murdered him! And yet, he’s smiling as if nothing happened! I thought angrily, the emotion a mystery even to me.
“Stay strong, Beautiful…” he said, and I could hardly hear him, “Stay…strong…”
His hand fell from my face, his eyes closing softly as a breath whispered through his lips.
The tears came uncontrollably now, and I pulled him to me, holding him against me, my fingers tangled in his hair. His skin was pale, and I felt no rhythm in his chest.
Stay strong, Beautiful, stay strong.