Which is the better fate: to be redeemed as only a shell of the man
you once were, or to reclaim your glory and be condemned as a result?
In Revan's eyes, such things were merely a matter of perspective.
Who would condemn him? Certainly not his future followers, the
throngs of thousands who'd pledge allegiance to him as Dark Lord
of the Sith again. Certainly not his new apprentice and lover, Bastila
Shan, who had set him free after years of slavery--first as a Republic
soldier and then as a "reborn" Jedi. And certainly not Canderous Ordo,
a Mandalorian warlord who humbled himself to Revan's will alone.
The condemnation Revan would receive would lead not to his own
death, but to the deaths of those who chose to betray him.
"I have murdered Juhani and Jolee Bindo," Revan announced coldly
to the shell-shocked crew members of the Ebon Hawk. "Their
deaths were necessary for me to proclaim the truth of my identity.
"I am not who you perceive me to be. My title is Revan, former and
current Dark Lord of the Sith. I am not the Corrun Galan you once
knew. I am not a Jedi, one of those gutless and soulless fools who
serve the weak at the expense of the strong! Bastila has betrayed
the Jedi Order and turned against it, but she has also helped me
toward achieving redemption. Reinstating my former rule!"
"It can't be." Mission Vao was the first to speak, shaking her sky-
blue lekku. "You're nice--or, at least, you were until Bastila showed
up. What happened to you, Corrun? Why are you falling for this poodoo?"
"I was misled," Revan replied, his lips curled into a mirthless sneer.
"Used. You see, when Bastila rescued me, I was unconscious, lying
there like a corpse on the floor of my own battleship. Most of my
mind had been either burned or hacked away by my apprentice
Malak's lightsaber. It was she who first sought to reform me as
a Padawan of the Jedi. Later, when I learned the truth from
my student who soon shall die, Bastila sacrificed herself and
then turned to the Sith. I have as well, as I am its Lord!"
"That's not true." Carth Onasi was furious, quivering with silent rage
at this new revelation. "Malak is the Lord of the Sith, not you. I don't
believe this. I trusted you, Corrun--eventually, after you pried all you
could out of me and helped rescue my son from Korriban. How could
you? I'd kill you right now if I weren't such a good soldier--if I still
didn't have my honor and integrity. I may be a fool, but a loyal one!"
"No." Revan savagely brandished his double-bladed lightsaber and
sliced right through Carth's neck, which still wore day-old stubble.
"You are still a fool, Carth, but a traitor, and those I never abide."
All of a sudden, Revan's sight vanished. He was consumed by a
void of darkness in which he could see nothing, hear nothing,
breathe nothing, and believe nothing. Silence and stillness were
there, but in that fleeting moment, Revan felt an emotion that
he thought he'd forsaken on top of the Temple Summit: terror.
Fortunately for the rediscovered Dark Lord, this sensation only
lasted for two seconds. When he opened his eyes again and
focused his gaze on the figures before him, Revan realized
that the merciless sun of the Unknown World must have
rendered him temporarily blind. No matter. He was strong now.
Zalbaar, the kind-hearted Wookiee forever known as "Big Z",
now stepped forward boldly to face Revan. "Rrrroaaaaarrr!"
His cry was outraged, hurt, the wail of a creature who had
just been betrayed by only the second Master he'd known.
Instead of Carth's righteous anger, however, Revan sensed
fear and immense sorrow in the hulk of fur towering before him.
"I still have use for you, beast," the Sith Lord told him almost kindly.
"An angry Wookiee can be very a potent weapon of the Dark Side.
Humanoids fear them, and aliens who mistrust them are easily
slain. Kneel before me, and pay your life-debt once and for all."
"Rrrrr. Rrr-rrrr!" Zaalbar shook his head miserably. He still had his will.
"What?!" Revan felt a surge of blood race to both of his temples.
"After a Sith has praised you? It seems to me that you need to be
taught a lesson in loyalty. Service. Just like Onasi's, although
yours will be much harder. Strangle Mission Vao, and you live."
Zaalbar felt a strange sensation overcome him. Ominous, because
he felt he was no longer in complete control of his Wookiee rage,
and yet peaceful. He gazed at the young Twi'lek, and all of the
kinship he had felt for her vanished, slow degree by degree. He
remembered all the times Mission had told him to brush his teeth,
comb his fur, take a bath, wear some clothes, deny his nature.
Who was she to treat him like that, like a pet who does tricks for
kibbles? Zaalbar was a Wookiee, not an animal! Not a beast!
Snarling and baring his civilization-dulled teeth, Zaalbar lunged
at her. Mission screamed and tried to run, but her slender legs
wouldn't move. They were built for sneaking and slinking around,
not running for dear life. The Wookie soon caught her, and as his
prey yelped and flailed within his grasp, he snapped her fragile neck.
"An easy death," sneered Revan. "Pathetic, but I shall spare you."
Zaalbar stood up and bowed his head, feeling utterly exhausted.
Weak. What would his father think if he knew what his son had done?
He was no better than Chuundar, that black-backed turncoat who
had put a bounty on old Freyyr's head. He roared once more, softly.
If Wookiees could weep, the tears would fall like rain from his eyes.
Once more, Revan was abruptly engulfed by darkness. He clenched
his jaw. One, one thousand, two, one thousand, three, one thousand...
Juhani was dead. So was Jolee Bindo, the old fool. "Both extremes
annoy me," he had said self-righteously, referring to both the Light
and the Darkness. Now Jolee knew what his neutrality had cost him.
Carth Onasi was also dead. Mission Vao had joined him, and now there
were only five left to serve him. Zaalbar, whom Revan would command
as Master, and then the two droids, T3-M4 and HK-47. And Bastila.
Ah, the craving lust of her lips upon his would multiply his final victory!
Whom had he forgotten? A strong one, Revan sensed, throug the Force.
Canderous stood as a soldier beaten, not by war but by something
far more torturous--the sight of a blood-strewn battlefield, his comrades
slain. He refused to believe it. At once awestruck and revolted by
the power of their murderer, the Mandalorian knelt before him humbly.
"Light side, dark side, I'm on your side," Canderous promised.
"Wherever you go, I'll go. You are Revan, and I'm your man."
"Rise, warlord." Revan ordinarily hated to see people kneel and grovel,
begging like vagrants on a filthy Lower City street of Taris, but the
sight of this supreme master of battle bowing at his feet gave Revan
the strength and confidence he needed to dismiss his former crew.
They were all worthless now, corpses, food for roaming cannoks.
They would do.
Revan climbed aboard the Ebon Hawk and had Canderous set
a course for the Star Forge. His Star Forge, the Builders be cast
into the pit of Nar Shaddaa! He would soon retake it, and Malak would
soon be a charred shell of a former man, only his jaw remaining intact.
Just as he himself had been before Bastila had him brought back to life.
A stunning realization pierced him as his sight was lost once more.
This was what life was like without the Force, without that tie of
the Light to rescue one from every soul's vtoraya smert'--
second death. Revan would be utterly abandoned, without recourse,
without even the embrace of the Dark Side to sustain him after death.
No matter. With the techniques he'd learn, he'd learn to live forever.
And, with his Sith mask on, no one would ever see that he was now blind.
Dark, evil ... Awesomeness! ... As you can see already lol, i liked it alot.
Dark, evil ... Awesomeness! ... As you can see already lol, i liked it alot.
Agreed. I'm guessing this is a Short Fic, but still, I'm looking foward to whatever Fic you're going to do.
Just frickin' awesome! Tysy, you are a genius!
This fic was evil and awesome, nice plot twist, yesterday i was actually thinking about Jedi with things such as blindness.
I would like to see the ending. Keep it up though! :)