The Dark Lord Rises

Revan led Bastila down the grassy path toward the crew of the Ebon Hawk. Much to his surprise, the entire crew, droids and all, were waiting outside the ship for them to return despite the scalding heat and blinding sun. Carth noticed them first and sprinted up toward them.

"Bastila! You're alive! I was worried about you. For a minute there I was sure we'd never see you again once Malak got his… w… wait a minute! Where are Juhani and Jolee Bindo? Are they okay? What happened inside that temple?" Carth exclaimed. Walking back toward the Hawk with Revan and Bastila.

"They didn't make it" Bastila responded with a shrug.

"What? What are you talking about?" Carth demanded. Bastila looked up at Revan and he shrugged before motioning for her to tell them.

"The Jedi Council has failed, Carth. Darth Revan has been reborn! Together we will destroy Malak and seize control of his fleet, then use it to crush the Republic! Jolee and Juhani would not swear loyalty to the new ruler of the Sith. They died for their foolishness. Now, swear loyalty to Darth Revan, or face your own death!" Bastila exclaimed, raising her lightsaber as a call to arms.

"What? No! We serve the Republic! You're no better than Malak! We'll never swear allegiance to one who serves the dark side!" Carth shouted back. Revan only chuckled.

"Only you serve the Republic, Carth. You don't speak for the others" Bastila told him. She looked to Revan again and he motioned for her to continue. She gave Carth a little smile before continuing.

"The droids will continue to serve you, Revan. They are programmed to obey their master. And there may be others who will choose to join us. The Republic is doomed, Revan has returned! Who will now swear loyalty to the second coming of the Dark Lord?" Bastila exclaimed, raising her lightsaber in the air again. Revan shook his head and chuckled at her again.

"Shut it, Revan. I'm working here!" Bastila snapped through their bond. The sound of a throat clearing stopped Revan from retorting. It was Canderous; he had stepped forward.

"You're Revan and I'll follow you anywhere. It doesn't matter who you're fighting against, I'll be at your side. Mandalorians don't have any great love for the Republic anyways. I thought I had no purpose anymore after killing Jagi, but now, this could give me purpose again. Light side, dark side; it doesn't make any difference to me, Revan. I'll stick by you no matter what comes" Canderous promised, clasping hands with Revan before moving to stand behind to his left, opposite of Bastila.

"I saw what the Sith did to Taris! Anyone who serves the dark side is evil! Big Z and I are with Carth on this one!" Mission shouted, turning everyone's attention back to her.

"No, Mission. I am bound by the oath of my life debt. I must stand with Revan" Zaalbar moaned.

"Zaalbar, Revan's a Sith! Just like Malak! It's not betrayal if you break your life debt now!" Mission begged.

"If I go back on my vow I am betraying myself, my people, and my ancestors. I cannot do that. Please, Mission. Join us" Zaalbar begged.

"No, Zaalbar. I don't care! I won't help the Sith against the Republic! Not for anything! Not even for you!" Mission cried. Zaalbar was going to interject, but Carth intervened.

"You don't have to help the Sith, Mission. Not while I'm here. I see now it was a mistake to let you go into that temple. I of all people should have seen this coming. First Saul Karath, and now you. I mean, I should be an expert on betrayal by now! But nothing you can say or do can make me betray the Republic. I won't join you, and I won't just stand aside and let you become ruler of the Sith again, Revan! Run for it, Mission! Go! Go!" Carth said before running off.

Revan looked at Canderous and gave him a nod. He did the same for HK-47 before turning back to Mission.

"You're all alone, Mission. Swear your loyalty to Darth Revan!" Bastila commanded.

"No! I'm not going to just stand aside and do nothing. You'll… you'll just have to kill me. But I don't think you will. I don't believe you've gone over to the dark side. Not totally. I don't think you'll kill me. Not if I don't attack you first!" Mission told him. Incensed, Bastila moved to cut Mission down, but Revan stepped in her way, shaking his head. Bastila backed up and returned her lightsaber to her belt, albeit begrudgingly.

Revan turned toward Mission and smiled at her before walking up to her. She backed up a few steps until she tripped on a fallen tree and fell on her back, but Revan didn't lay a hand on her. He stopped right in front of her and got down on one knee.

"Mission, do you remember what I told you this morning before I left for the temple?" Revan asked her. She looked at Zaalbar who was standing out of earshot with his head covered with his paws. Shaking with fear, she nodded.

It was early morning on the Ebon Hawk. Revan was the only one awake. He was sitting at a little table that he had used the Force to put together right outside the Hawk, facing the water, away from the ship. He had a bowl of "soup" in front of him, just stirring it with a spoon. He hadn't eaten any of it in the hour he'd been sitting there. Suddenly, he felt somebody jump on his back.

"I gotcha, Avner!" Mission shouted in his ear. She had never been comfortable calling him, Revan, despite his requests. For the first time since Bastila was captured by Malak, Revan felt his shoulders start to shake and a laugh escape from his lips. It wasn't long before he started laughing without control. The teenage twi'lek moved to sitting next to him and smiled. Revan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Mission. I really needed that" he told her. She smiled at him and put an arm around him, squeezing back. They were silent for a few moments before Mission couldn't take it anymore.

"Everything is going to be different after today, isn't it?" she asked. Suddenly, his smile was gone and he looked at Mission with eyes that were much older than he actually was.

"Yes, Mission. Everything will be different after today. I don't know what is going to happen inside that temple, but I am confident that today will go in our favor. I will be leaving for the temple in a little bit. I tried to eat, but it didn't go very well if you can't tell" he joked, gesturing at the spilled "soup" that was in front of him.

"Sorry about that" Mission giggled, turning her head away from him.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't eating it anyways. Mission, can I ask you an honest question?" Revan asked her. She looked at him with confusion in her face and nodded.

"Sure, Avner. I've been honest with you this whole journey. Why stop now?" she asked him.

"Mission, how are you doing? Honestly. You've been through so much these last couple months and I know you have been keeping it all buried away inside you. Mission, be honest to me. How are you feeling?" he asked. Mission hesitated before answering him.

"I haven't really had time to think about it, to be honest. To be honest, Avner, my entire body aches. I've been shot and hit and smacked around these last few months more than I have in the rest of my life combined. I still can't believe my brother is gone. And, I've been thinking a lot about the future, about what's going to happen after you beat Malak. We are all going to separate. Zaalbar is going to go back to Kashyyyk. Carth is going back to the Republic. Me? Taris is gone and I don't want to see Griff ever again, so I don't really have anywhere to go" she poured at him. She looked at him with wide eyes, breathing hard, trying to keep calm.

"Well, why don't you just stay with me and Bastila?" Revan asked.

"You'd actually want me to stay with you?" she exclaimed. Revan looked at her and sighed.

"Mission, of course I'd want you to stay with us! You're the little sister I never had. I've never told anybody this, but my mom was pregnant when my family was killed by the Mandalorians on Deralia. Ever since then, I've had this feeling that I wasn't meant to be a big brother. I had Meetra as an older sister, but I never had the opportunity to have a younger sibling. Ever since I saved you from Brejik's thugs back on Taris, I've thought about you like my little sister. Where I go, you're welcome to be with me" Revan told her. She responded just by wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a bone crushing hug. Revan felt his tunic start to get wet with tears and he patted her shoulder. She whispered a thank you to him as she pulled away, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"But, if you end up following me and Bastila into a bedroom, I swear I will disown you!" he teased. In that moment, her tears turned to giggles and then laughs. She lightly pushed his shoulder as he stood up. He didn't lose his balance or anything, but he narrowed his eyes and moved to tickle her side for a few seconds, causing her laughs to erupt. But, as quickly as he began, he stopped. Mission kept laughing even after he stopped.

"I'll see you soon, little sister" he whispered before he was off to the temple.

"How can I join you now? You're not the same person you were this morning!" Mission shouted. Revan reached his hand out for her.

"Mission, think about it. You never knew your parents and your real brother is slime. Zaalbar has to stick by me because of the life debt, but I know he will want you with us as well. Mission, you are my little sister and I love you. Please, don't turn me away" Revan begged her. She hesitated a moment before shaking her head again.

"Malak is a Sith and he destroyed Taris! How can you expect me to join you? A Sith?" Mission asked him.

"Mission, I'm not Malak. I cut off Malak's jaw when he destroyed Telos. I'm not the same Sith as Malak. You trusted me before, Mission. Trust me now!" Revan begged. He saw the wheels turning in her head and reached his hand out to her again. This time, she took it.

"Alright. I will trust you, for Zaalbar and for the sake of the galaxy, but if you do anything that makes me think you will be like Malak, I'm going to make you kill me!" Mission promised. Revan smiled at her and turned toward the crew.

"Excellent! Let's get to the Star Forge! We've got work to do!" Revan told them. As he finished speaking, he saw Canderous and HK coming back, dragging the bloody body of Carth Onasi behind them. Revan looked at him.

"Tie him up and place him in the cargo hold. HK, you are responsible for watching him until I tell you otherwise. As for the rest of us, let's get to the Star Forge" Revan ordered.

The real battle was about to begin.

Author's Note: My first Star Wars story in a long time. First thing, I want to apologize to everybody who has been waiting for updates for my old stories and new stories as well. I've been going through an on again off again battle with depression and it has affected relationships with my friends and my family as well as my ability to write.

I don't know if this is going to be the start of me getting back to writing again, but this idea just came to me today and I had to post it. Please review and let me know what you think of this, any errors I might have missed in my writing and any tips you might have to improve my writing as well. You can even just review to say hello! I would love to hear from everybody who reads this. It would mean a lot to me, so please review and I hope to write more for you all soon!