[fic] A Dark Path

[The_Catto]

just a quick update:

Next chap is underway. Have had personal problems this month so far (I know, right in time for Christmas. Yay! ) so I haven't been able to do much of anything.

 

A little hint for next chap to keep your text hungry stomachs an ease ...

 

"Revan is going after Elise, accompanyied with Carth and Jonas. Jonas and Revan confront the demons from their past and try to see if they can put the events behind them and move on. Meanwhile, Elise is taking Aleira back to Deria but for what purpose? To lure Revan there, or has she got something special planned for Aleira?"

 

... There, something to ponder on during the wait ... Hopefully that is good enough I'll try and get something up by Christmas.

 

Sorry once again for the whole .. having to wait a month for each chapter. Work is such a pain. I prefer school... Oh ... It's only been two years, but still miss it .. (Holy bejebus .. I never actually thought I would hear myself say that! =o )

[Rabish Bini]

Aw, I don't like pondering things

 

Nice chapter, although I agree with you, your other chapters were far better. Still an enjoyable read though.

[HIGH ON PIE 14]

Ah, a preview like I sometimes do...now I realize why Endo tells me it's torture!

 

It sounds like a great chapter BFA! Yeah things keep getting in the way...I know how that goes. Hope you have a Happy Christmas though.

 

~HOP

[The_Catto]

Chapter Ten: Pursuit

 

 

 

The Ebon Hawk raced through Hyperspace. It had been only two standard hours since they had left Citadel Station, but to Revan it felt like a lifetime. His daughter was kidnapped and god knows what was happening to her under the ‘care’ of Elise. He swore to himself he would rip the very traces of her soul out of her once he caught up with that schutta. Elise would pay.

 

Revan was sitting in the Cargo Hold. Legs crossed, arms stretched out with his palms touching his knees, the Jedi focused in all of his anger into a storm that raged in his heart. Jedi or not, anger was what was needed at this point. Peace was indeed a lie when there was a chance that Revan could lose once again, the most precious thing in his life. He would not let that happen.

 

Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours and hours were turned into something that not even the Space/Time continuum could figure out what it was. His mind racing, Revan looked back to his teachings.

 

The Jedi, and the Sith: his views had changed dramatically over the past few years. Two decades ago when he had destroyed the Star Forge, although he put up the front that he was overcome with joy, Revan hated a part of himself for letting the magnificent space station be destroyed. His dreams often depicted him back on the bridge facing Malak. His thoughts then were to turn on the Republic troops and keep the Sith going under his rule. Finding the True Sith was just one of the signs that pointed to his failure…

 

 

“Revan?” came a voice that made Revan twitch.

 

“What?” he asked as he opened his eyes and looked towards the Jedi

Exile, Jonas.

 

“Could we talk?” he asked cautiously.

 

“What could we possibly have to talk about, Jonas?”

 

“A lot of things,”

 

“Please, don’t let me stop you from being specific now, will you?”

 

“You know, you being such a child is not helping things.”

 

Revan stood to his feet. “I’m acting like a child am I?” he snapped.

 

“I have apologized for Bastila’s death for a feel I am responsible,” said Jonas quietly. “I didn’t do anything to help her and I am ashamed of that,”

 

“As you should be,” snarled Revan. “Because of you, I have lost the two things that are dear to me in this life: My wife, and now my daughter.”

 

“I did not steal Aleira from you Revan,” Jonas reminded Revan. “Despite what you may think, it is not my fault that Elise was able to kidnap her. How did you come into her company in the first place?”

 

“We were looking for you!” said Revan. “I had a vision of you on Deria, in that cave with the small pond. We went there searching for you instead we found Botiu and Elise,”

 

“I remember the first time we found that pond,” said Jonas, a ghost of a smile slowly forming.

 

“Stumbled upon it more like it,” replied Revan.

 

“That’s pretty much more to the point, yeah,” agreed Jonas, nodding his head smiling…

 

 

 

 

“Revan, walk would you!”

 

“I can’t see anything you Kath Hound!” came Revan’s reply.

 

Jonas could sense Revan standing still in front of him in the blackness. Water and trees on all sides surrounded them but still they could not find a clear path to help them navigate their way.

 

“Just keep walking,” said Jonas. “We’ll have to come across something soon.”

 

Revan moved forwards and Jonas followed. They walked in a seemingly straight line for a few minutes before there was a surprised shout from Revan.

 

“What is it?” asked Jonas, stepping forward.

 

Suddenly his feet left the ground and he was falling forwards.

 

Wind rushed past him and he could not hear anything but for the sound of air flowing in and around his ears. He fell for what felt like minutes until he slammed to the ground with a loud ‘thump’.

 

Coughing, he gingerly stood to his feet and looked around. He could see Revan’s silhouette, kneeling beside a soft glowing pond of some sort. He walked over and knelt next to him.

 

“What is it?” he asked.

 

“I’m not sure,” replied Revan.

 

Jonas stared at the swirling liquid mesmerized. Something peculiar was at work, that much he knew.

 

“What do you see?” he asked.

 

“Nothing,” replied Revan. “Well, not entirely nothing. There are shapes, but I can’t make them out. They get closer and then they move away. It’s irritating,”

 

Jonas strained his eyes to see what lay in the water. There was no

bed; no sand, or pebbles or anything that resembled the bottom of the pond. It just kept on going; into nothingness.

 

“Maybe we should go?” he suggested.

 

It took a few moments for Revan to answer. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “Yeah, alright, lets try and find a way out of here,”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“I am sorry Jonas,” said Revan. I should not have taken my anger out on

you. I had become the one thing I hated. My old self,”

 

Jonas shook his head. “No, Revan. It is I that who is sorry,” he bowed his head. “If it wasn’t for me, Bastila would still be alive.”

 

“You led Elise there,” nodded Revan. “But it was unintentional, wasn’t it?”

 

Jonas nodded.

 

A few moments passed. “I do not forgive you, but I am sorry,” said Revan. “My anger is all I have left now. Let me use it until this is over and then I will try and find it in my heart for forgiveness.”

 

“I will,” said Jonas, knowing that there was a chance that forgiveness may be impossible.

 

 

*

 

 

The ship came out of Hyperspace and flew towards Alzuria. Elise was at the controls. She could hear the child coming to and looked back into the compartment behind her that housed a bed. Aleira was stirring.

 

Elise frowned. This girl was remarkably strong in the Force and her potential was completely limitless. If she could teach Aleira to hone that power, than she could finally start to lead the assault; to unleash her and her family’s revenge upon the Galaxy.

 

The girl had anger; a lot of anger. Elise smiled at the thought of just what she could accomplish with Aleira.

 

She could turn her to face the real truth: that no truth can ever be told in words but only with actions, force and intimidation. Aleira would learn these things. She would learn to embrace the hurt, to embrace the pain, to embrace her own self and inflict her anger outwards unto all those who dare treat her any other way than what she is meant to be treated: a person with devastating power who could kill with just the flick of a wrist.

 

And this is just the beginning, thought Elise as she plotted the course to the docking bay of Deria.

[The_Catto]

Finally. A new chapter. I am VERY sorry to aybody who still wished to see a new chaper that the wait has been sooooo long. But I never really had a chance to look at this story again for quite some time. I have to say though .. I enjoyed writing this chapter and that has invoked something inside me and I have a feeling that from now on .. chapters are going to be coming a LOT more frequently.

Promise!

 

And if I break that promise, I'll personally see to it that HoP sends Gina after me (After i flee the planet and ho into hiding of course

 

But enough of that ... READ ON!

 

 

 

Chapter Eleven: A New Path

 

 

The Ebon Hawk landed softly upon the grasses of Deria. Revan, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence, decided it was best if he landed on the outskirts of the plains of Deria. It would a few steady days march to reach the compound but considering his daughters’ life was at stake, he came to the conclusion that this was the safest way.

 

Revan and his two companions gathered the supplies they needed: Medpacks, food, water, blasters, energy packs and lightsabers.

 

They walked down the loading ramp and Revan locked the ship up tight. Voice coded, no one except him would be able to get inside.

 

They started their journey…

 

*

 

 

“You will see.”

 

“No I won’t!”

 

“You have to.”

 

“No, I don’t!”

 

“If you want to save your father, you will see!”

 

“GO AWAY!”

 

Elise sighed and looked at Aleira. Her disobedience and loyalty to her

father were both strong, but soon she will break. They all did.

 

“Listen to me,” she said. “If you do not turn, then Botiu will kill you. You know this.”

 

“I’d rather die then join you!” spat the young girl.

 

Elise sighed once again and walked around her. Circling the daughter of Revan like a ravenous Kath Hound. “What do you know of the Force?” she asked.

 

Aleira turned and looked at her. “It is my ally,” she said. “It guides me down my path and reveals to me solutions to the problems that I will come across. It flows through me as it does everything else in this galaxy. Without the Force, one cannot survive. Without the Force, you are nothing.”

 

“Exactly what the Jedi want you to believe.” Said Elise. “I am not a part of the dark side, as you call it. I am more than that. I am Sith; the True Sith. Long ago, the Jedi that first came across the rawness of the Force were exiled because the Jedi feared them: this you already know. However, after they came to my ancestors’ home planet, Korriban, they enslaved them. The Dark Jedi became the first line of false Sith Lords that now disgrace our very name. A few Sith however, rebelled against them and fled Korriban. They came here. They continued to live on in our name and strive to restore our glory, hoping for the day that we will be able to take back which is ours. The Jedi are part of the Republic, the Sith, who take up our religion and perform their disgraceful sacrilege are also apart of the Republic, hence why the Republic needs to be eliminated. It is part of the very thing that enslaved us; we will not allow it to do so again.”

 

Aleira was silent for a moment.

 

“But there are innocents,” she said. “People who know nothing of you, who care nothing for you and did not have any hand in dealing you the fate that your people have been dealt. Why kill them when they have done nothing?”

 

“They look up to the Jedi and fear the Sith,” answered Elise. “They are pathetic for doing so. Those factions are both so controversial with each other that that controversy spills out into the galaxy, infecting everything, and everyone it touches. It spreads its lies and deceit, and implants the seeds of unrest when no seed need be sown. It is a fragile thing: peace. It is something we True Sith have strived for for millennia! We do not kill because we take pleasure in it Aleira. We kill to preserve the galaxy. We kill to make sure there is a galaxy in which you need not serve one side or the other; but to serve all sides of yourself. Not anybody else. Do you see what I am saying to you child?

 

“I am saying that not to stay true to yourself is the greatest crime one can commit. You are the most powerful and influential person in your mind, but on the outside, you are but a child whose views on the universe are so misguided that you cannot see the truth. I can, and will help you with that. You have more power than you know Aleira. We have ways to tap into that power so you can harness it, use it, and above all else, control it.”

 

Aleira walked away and sat down on one of the chairs in the training room. Elise saw a tear fall from her eye onto the floor. She walked over and sat beside her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, carefully wiping away the tear with her other hand. “Aleira,” she said, “there is nothing to fear from me. But fear Botiu. He is powerful; perhaps too powerful. However, if we work together, we can destroy him and make sure that what he intends to do will not come to pass.”

 

Aleira looked at Elise. “What does he plan to do?” she asked.

 

“He plans to completely destroy the Republic, and then, when he is done, destroy Us so that he may start a new Empire. One only HE can rule. I cannot allow this; neither can you.”

 

“No,” replied Aleira. “We cannot allow him to do that." She took a deep and steady breath. "Fine. I will help you, but ONLY if you promise not to harm my father. I know he is coming for me and he will be here very soon. Promise me you will not hurt him!”

 

Elise raised her hand and placed it in front of her heart. “If he does not give me a reason to, I will not harm him!”

 

Aleira nodded. She just hoped that Revan would not give Elise a reason, but knowing her father … he was bound to.

 

 

*

 

 

“We have to stop!” said Carth.

 

Revan looked back at him. It was true that they had been travelling for hours without a single stop, but Carth looked exhausted, Jonas was still eyeing Revan cautiously, but Revan could see the faint lines of fatigue in his comrades eyes. He lowered his own head in defeat. “Let’s make camp.” He said.

 

They each had a rollout mattress to lay on and a single blanket. They lit a fire and drank their fill with water. They had some of the snacks that Carth made sure to take out of the ships supply cupboard before they left the Ebon Hawk. Before too long however, they were slowly dropping off to sleep, one by one...

 

 

 

Revan stood on his flagship staring out the forward viewport. Fighters were buzzing all around him, firing at each other like angry insects. He watch Malak’s ship move into position in a sector that was not too far from his own. Malak’s ship took a pot shot at an unsuspecting frigate and tore a hole through its shields before it was able to respond. The fight was going well … and soon he would be able to –

 

“Revan!” snarled a voice behind him.

 

He quickly turned around, igniting his lightsaber as he went.

 

There was a Jedi standing there, his own lightsaber lit. “Your tyranny is at an end Revan!”

 

Revan gathered the Force and looked deep inside this man. His strength was pitiful against his own, and it was all he could do without laughing out loud. He didn’t say anything. He never did. This Jedi did not deserve the honour. He only raised his palm and beckoned the doomed Jedi towards him.

 

The Jedi advanced, bring his lightsaber high over his head and swinging it down sharply. Revan blocked and moved to the side, rolling his wrist around so that he had a free shot at the man’s side. His own path was blocked however and in came a fist towards his face. Revan ducked and, stuck his leg out and spun around hard and fast. He took the Jedi off his feet and let him slam hard onto the ground. Standing up, he saw the Jedi kick up onto his feet. Revan quickly lifted his hand and with the force guiding it, he found the man’s larynx and squeezed his hand into a tight fist. Rising into the air, the Jedi tried to gasp for breath but failed. Instead, after a few more senseless seconds of living, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his head lolled to the side.

 

It was then, as the lifeless body fell to the ground, he noticed three other flashes of light; three other lightsabers.

 

“You cannot win, Revan!” the leader said. She was an astonishingly beautiful woman, and Revan could sense her spirit. Fiery, and vigilant, but young. He smiled underneath his mask. This would have been a great person to train to be a Sith. It would be a shame, and gratification when he killed her. He twirled his lightsaber around, but before he could even go into a fighter stance, he felt more than heard, a large explosion and was rocked forwards, slamming into the wall and falling into blackness…

 

 

Revan awoke with a start. A rush of wind was howling but as quickly as it began, it stopped. And with its last whisper, Revan would have bet his life on it that he heard a familiar voice say, “yes, you were always an overconfident fool. But perhaps that his why I loved you so much: your innocence.”

 

Revan raised an eyebrow. He never once thought in his entire life that he was innocent.

 

Cocky, smart, charming and devilishly handsome … maybe - but innocent? That was one thing he was damned sure he wasn’t.

 

He laughed nonetheless.

 

Revan fell back asleep. And when he awoke the next morning to Carth and Jonas bickering about who was the better pilot, he never remembered waking up and hearing her voice at all.

 

===============================================================

 

OK, just so you know I DO know that the part where Revan is on his flagship is a little bit different on the game but hey, I spiced it up a little bit to make it more enertaining, lol.

[machievelli]

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