A/N: I think this chapter more than any other was the impetus for writing this story. I had been playing around with ideas related to KOTOR in my head and one of the first scenes appears here in this chapter.

Part III

Choice

"Revan. I knew you would come for me. Malak did not think you would come here, but he does not know you as I do. I have missed you so dearly."

Those words chilled Revan to her core as she stopped with only seven paces between herself and her love. Bastila Shan stood waiting atop the Temple of the Ancients on Rakata Prime, short braids twirling in the light breeze. Her dual bladed lightsaber—it was no longer a fine shade of brass but now polished and riveted durasteel—was tightly held in black, gloved hands. Her Jedi leather and cloth battle robes had been discarded, replaced with the dark robes of a Sith Lord not granted the title of Darth. Its cut and styling emulated the Jedi Knight robes Jolee and Juhani wore, coming up to flank Revan. Yet in Bastila's eyes, there was a clear sign of conflict. For they were not fully consumed by the corruption of the Dark Side—some of her natural grey emerged from the venomous yellow that threatened to devour her.

Something of the Jedi Padawan she had fallen in love with remained after everything inflicted upon her, and Revan hoped that something would be the deciding factor in whatever fate she was bound to follow. The conflict between Light and Dark within her had been simmering long before the fateful encounter aboard the Leviathan. Her quest to Korriban had done little to settle it, instead reminding her exactly who Darth Revan had been and just how simple slipping back into that mindset was. She had always walked the thin, treacherous line between Light and Dark during the wars she had fought. Now, before she was to confront Malak aboard the Star Forge and its dark might, she would have to solidify her path forward. A path that appeared to lead through the woman she loved.

"I cannot tell if I should be disappointed you have sworn allegiance to Malak or upset you let yourself fall so easily," Revan remarked, eyes wet. She blinked the faint tears away. "I thought you were stronger than that, Bastila."

"Come with us," Juhani beseeched. A strange, annoying distance had formed in the past week or so, a byproduct of their experiences on Korriban, much to Revan's displeasure. "We can help you return to the Light."

"Do not think because I have accepted the Dark Side as you did, Revan, that I am loyal to Malak. I have only thrown away the chains of the Jedi. Why would I put them back on?" Bastila then sneered at the Cathar Jedi. "I am not weak like you, Juhani. Fear of the Dark Side is how the Masters control those who threaten their power. Too long they used it against me as they do you and did to Revan."

"I'm too old to listen to these insults and delusions, girl," Jolee said offhand, frowning at Bastila. "Turn away from the Dark or face the consequences. If Cyl won't stop you, then I will. I don't want her to feel the pain of doing so."

Her glare shifted from Juhani to Jolee. "Quiet, old man. I am here for Revan alone. Those Rakatans should have done their duty and prevented you fools from joining her. If you stand in my way, then I will destroy you."

"So you are here for me?" Revan whispered. "I should have known you would return to me, Bastila, but do not threaten them. What do you wish from me that makes them a threat?"

"I want nothing more than for you to return to your true powers. Become the Dark Lord you were and throw down your treacherous former apprentice, Malak." Bastila spat the name, grinning as she spoke. The smile was vicious and feral—an expression not that of a Jedi. "I am yours, Revan, in every way imaginable. Let me serve you as I would have, had Malak been thwarted in his attempt to destroy you."

'You cannot win, Revan!'

'I have already won, Bastila. You came to me.'

Revan almost smiled at the memory. One could say we have come full circle from then. "You speak of his betrayal while we dueled aboard the Revanchist, dancing over the bodies of those Jedi I had already slain. Before I became the false Cylissa and boarded the Endar Spire."

"I do," Bastila confirmed. The yellow in her eyes expanded, swallowing grey, and a ripple of cold power washed over the temple roof. "I wish for nothing more than to be your apprentice and lover, to learn the secrets of the Dark Side only you know, and help you conquer the galaxy as you rightfully deserve. Let me be yours, my love."

"Is that so?" Revan said softly, cheeks faint pink. She looked away and searched for a glimpse of the Star Forge in the sky. There was no sign of the great station, even though the system's star was fully in view. Even at this great distance, she could feel its draw, its pull. A pull she was so desperately tempted to answer, even more so than when the Dark Side of the Force called to her on Korriban. "Tell me, my love, do you feel the currents of the future swirling around us? How the Force draws us together?"

"I do," said Bastila, almost breathless. Their eyes locked and Revan could only see one way forward in those sulfuric eyes.

"So that is why everything feels as if it has been leading to this moment. It is as if the only certainty was that I would became Darth Revan once more. Was that all Cylissa d'Toln was born to be? One more in the legacy and lineage of the Sith Lords?"

"Girl, you can't be thinking of taking that option," interrupted Jolee. Revan blinked, drawn from the strange trance she had felt herself slipping into. "You know where the Dark Side leads. It already led you once to near destruction. Don't make that mistake again."

"Jolee speaks true," Juhani added. "You redeemed me from the Dark Side when I would have killed my fellow Jedi for no good reason. You can redeem Bastila, just as you were redeemed after Malak's inevitable betrayal."

A laugh burst out of Revan. It was high and hysterical and sardonic, a nasty reflection of the conflict within solving itself. For a brief moment, her heart ached with the knowledge of what she must do. And then, before it could make her hesitate, she hardened herself with her anger, her rage, and her hatred.

"It was not done for me, but to me, Juhani. I was never meant for a true redemption, only to be used as a tool. The Council stole away that chance when they hid who I truly was—truly am—under fake memories and that false persona of a smuggler-turn-soldier. They sowed their downfall when they used deceit and manipulations to control me. They could have asked for my aid against Malak, reasoned with me, or even dare to learn why I became a Sith. One does not fall to the Dark Side as if it were like stumbling or tripping. It is a leap of faith, that what you will find in the darkness justifies why you dare to descend into it. They did not bother, and so I became Darth Revan for that was the only path they left for me to take.

"Their ignorance and arrogance is allowing history to repeat itself once more."

"So you will join me?" Bastila pressed. She sounded almost giddy and Revan held herself back from crossing the distance between them and dragging the fallen Jedi into a lustful, bruising kiss. "To destroy your former apprentice, the Jedi Council, and the Republic?"

Revan nodded and crossed half the distance between herself and Bastila. Loudly, she declared, "The Council has left me with no choice. I swore once to never be their pawn again. I will not back down from that, nor relinquish my passion, my drive, to defend those the Republic won't. If they must be destroyed, then so be it."

"Cylissa," Jolee said, tone harsh. Revan turned to face him, furious, and saw a sudden grimace upon his face as he drew his weapon.

My eyes are yellow. The Dark Side is strong in me, just as it was. As it was meant to be, even when I was firmly a Jedi. We all knew, in some way, this would come to pass. Jolee will not make the same mistake he did during the time of Exar Kun. Perhaps I may still have his loyalty, but I am prepared to lose him, and whomever else I must.

He ignited his lightsaber, the same blade of green that had helped to guide her through the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk. "Don't make me destroy you. I will fight you if I must. I saw the Sith ravage the galaxy once. I won't let you do it again as Darth Revan."

"I am not Exar Kun nor your wife, Jolee," Revan said, glaring. "There is a threat greater than any seen since the Great Hyperspace War. If I must be a Sith to stop it, to protect innocents, then I shall. You do not need to fall to the Dark Side to stand by my side. I only require loyalty. Be a Jedi if you must, even retreat to Tython and attempt to rebuild the failed Order. But I must be the Dark Lord once more if the galaxy is to survive the coming storm."

"I am not the old fool you think I am, girl. You would change me just as you did those who followed you into the Mandalorian Wars. I could feel it in the Force after Malachor."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." And am surprised you know what I did. Not even Malak suspected that part of the plan.

"You speak of protecting the innocent," Juhani cut in, heart and tears in her eyes. Revan could feel her betrayal, the destruction of the trust between them. "You did so as a Jedi after you went to Cathar, but not as a Sith. What of Telos IV?"

"That was Malak's doing!" Revan snarled. She saw the Cathar Jedi flinch back, shaky hands letting her thumb rub her weapon's ignition. "My Empire sought to throw down the corrupt Senate and the false Jedi Council. Malak poisoned it in the months he has been given to control it. I will bring back order and clarity. When the threat I speak of comes, they will not find it as easy to destroy and conquer as they would were the current Republic and Jedi to remain in place. It will be my Sith Empire that defeats them and corrects the failures of the past. Juhani, do not act as if I am different from the Revan you have traveled with or the one who saved you on Taris so long ago. This was always my fate, to be the Dark Lord of the Sith. You have followed in my steps, first when I sent you to the Jedi and then again when I went to seek the Star Maps. Why must now be different?"

"You speak of absolutes as if it makes you correct," Jolee said. "I hope you can forgive me from the Force, girl. You were a good friend, but you are clearly lost. The same with you, Bastila." He looked at Juhani and nodded. Her shaking hands stilled as she ignited her own lightsaber, blue as the weapon Revan had built as the false Cylissa on Dantooine. "You have brought this fate upon yourself."

"A foolish sentiment, old man, but I cannot fault you for that line of thinking." Revan crossed the final distance between herself and Bastila. She looked over her shoulder and gave them a sympathetic look. "Fear naught, old friends. Your deaths shall not be in vain." She paused and added mockingly, "There is only the Force, after all."

With a whisper, she commanded Bastila: "If you truly wish to be my apprentice, strike them down. Be quick and be clean. We must save our strength for the battles to come."

Bastila nodded, igniting the two crimson blades of her own lightsaber and twirled it up to defend against the charging Jedi. Their fight filled Revan's ears as she strode away to fulfill her destiny.

When Darth Revan returned to Bastila, she was kneeling in wait with her lightsaber resting before her. The corpses of Jolee and Juhani were set aside, heads removed from their bodies, their eyes closed, and arms moved to hold their lightsabers against their sternums.

I did not foresee this level of respect for them, Revan realized, pausing to look at the bodies. My apprentice shall not make the same mistakes that Malak did. The Dark Side shall not consume her, if only for what we share.

Bastila looked up as her new master approached and made to stand.

"Kneel, my apprentice."

"Of course, my master," Bastila intoned, head bowed. "What is thy bidding?"

"We are to make for the Star Forge and destroy the pretender Malak. Once we reach the command room, you are to hold our fleet and the Republic in a stalemate favoring us until they can be surrounded. Then, crush them without quarter."

"What of the Ebon Hawk's crew?" Bastila asked with a frown. "The droids and Canderous will certainly follow you. Zaalbar is bound by his life debt, but Mission and Carth…"

"Carth Onasi will be taken prisoner and I hope with time will be brought to our way of thinking. His son will be powerful and loyal for a Sith, and that will either force his loyalty or be the final straw before he dies. A shame he is so blinded to the truth about the Republic and its corruption, or else he would have joined us sooner.

"Mission will be granted the chance to freely join me, though Malak's destruction of Taris has poisoned her mind against all things Sith. I hope Zaalbar will sway her, but I cannot tell what her fate shall be. She has great potential, but is young, foolish, and naïve.

"But if they resist for too long, then they shall perish or be ensorcelled as I did with an old friend on Korriban."

"I understand." Bastila made to rise, but Revan kept her down with the Force. There was a hiss of startled pleasure from the kneeling woman.

"One more thing, my apprentice. You have chosen to become a Sith, to follow me down the path of the Dark Side, to accept its power instead of fearing it as the Jedi do. You have set aside who you were. That Padawan was a foolish girl and a pawn, just as my false smuggler self." Revan smirked as Bastila filled with anger, hatred, rage at the reminder of how she had been treated. "The Jedi you have abandoned prohibited forming attachments. While the one between us is the strongest you possess, it was not the first the Jedi wished to strip from you. They stole you from your parents, denying the influence they had upon you. Of course, in their arrogance you were allowed to keep their surname, to be Bastila Shan. That attachment once posed the greatest threat to the lies the Jedi whispered to you. They rejected the love you held for your father and turned a blind eye to the hatred you stoked for your mother. Those emotions, those passions, would have given you the strength and power to be more than they ever could be. This you now know. Be reborn by the fiery depths of your attachments—your bonds—to them!

"Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Helene." For who you hated most. Let that remind you the power the Dark Side offers.

"Thank you, my master," Darth Helene said, lowering her head. "I pledge myself to you and your teachings."

"Then rise, my apprentice." And my lover.

Who had once been the fallen Jedi Bastila Shan now stood as Darth Helene, apprentice and lover to Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith. Her eyes were filled with the true power of the Dark Side, yellow bright backed by a red sunburst. A wonderful, powerful thrill ran through Revan at the sight, but she suppressed the urges and desires it inspired.

"We must go if we are to be victorious. Let me speak with our friends, my apprentice."

And so the two Sith Lords descended through the Temple, passing the corpses of the Dark Jedi that had stood between Revan and her new apprentice.

A waste, but I had been resisting my true calling and thus could not bind them to my will once more. They would have better served being loyal to me, but alas fate is fickle and Malak is treacherous. I do hope those fools aboard the Star Forge have a greater sense of whom I am, or they too shall fall to my blade. I will not subject myself to Malak's lackeys. His ways are coming to an end, so I swear.

They departed the Temple, made their way past the quiet Rakata settlements, and stepped onto the beach where the Ebon Hawk and its crew waited with renewed purpose. As they trekked across the sand, Carth called out to them, racing over to meet them halfway. The rest of the crew followed in his wake, moving without considering what it meant for only two to return when three had departed.

"Bastila, are you okay? We all though we'd never see you again after what happened with Malak…" Darth Helene ignored Carth as he scanned the beach and then the path up to the Temple. "Where are Jolee Bindo and Juhani? What happened inside the Temple?"

"There was a…parting of the ways, Carth," Revan said, sad yet without regret. "I must inform you all that there has been a change in the mission. We will still be going to the Star Forge to destroy Malak, but it will remain intact and in my possession."

"What do you mean intact and in your possession? The Republic is coming to destroy it, you know that," Carth said, frowning and defensive. And then their eyes met. She could feel how his horror and dread rose as he stepped back. "Your…your eyes! I saw enough—heard enough—on Korriban to know what they mean. You're Darth Revan again, aren't you? That's why you left my son there, so you would have someone loyal for when you reclaimed the Sith!"

You barely saw anything of Korriban, Carth. Dustil was the most you encountered and he is not what you think. He is more, and he is mine.

"You are correct in saying I am Darth Revan once more. I have taken a new apprentice, one greater than Malak ever was," Revan remarked with a toothy grin. Darth Helene straightened at being mentioned, her own yellow eyes passing over their companions. "HK, subdue Carth. Alive and intact, for now. I have plans for him, though you can rough him up later."

"Displeased statement: As you command, Master."

As Carth reached for his blasters, he was taken from behind with a stun bolt. He thumped onto the sand, startling Mission and Zaalbar. HK looked down at the unconscious pilot with scorn and asked, "Query: When do I get to kill the whiny meatbag? Declaration: I have been itching to rip him apart for months now, master. Let me kill him. Or even maim him."

"In time. It will be his decision how he dies, should he demand that fate. I hope there is a chance to regain his loyalty, how ever unlikely it may be."

"What's wrong with you, Cyl?" Mission asked, frantic and with a hint of fear. "Why…why would you…?"

"Did you not listen, Mission? I have reclaimed my station as the Dark Lord of the Sith, even if Malak does not know yet. Bastila has sworn her allegiance to me and is now my new apprentice, Darth Helene. Declare your loyalty, if only to me personally and not to my Empire. After this, I shall not be merciful with you. I want you by my side for what is to come. After today, there is only a choice between loyalty and death." Her yellow eyes flickered across the faces of her other companions on her mission to the Star Forge. "That goes for everyone here. Jolee and Juhani have already paid the price for their disloyalty. Do not make their mistake."

"Pleased statement: I am ready to kill more meatbags for you, Master. You have returned to your former self at last. Affirmation: Hail Revan!"

T3 beeped an affirmative, for what choice does an astromech droid truly have?

"I already said I would follow you, Revan," Canderous said, grim but proud. "Sith, Jedi, they mean nothing to me. Us Mandalorians have no love for the Republic anyways. You are my leader until death, Mand'alor."

Revan nodded. "Mission, Zaalbar? What do you say?"

"The Sith destroyed Taris," Mission said, tears streaking down her face. Revan was disappointed by how distraught the twi'lek was becoming. "I…I can't join you. You've become evil." She turned to her long time companion. "Come on, Big Z. Let's get out of here."

Zaalbar growled and Revan smirked as the twi'lek turned to her oldest friend. Claiming the Wookie's life debt on Taris had been the right choice, for it held him to her cause.

"You heard Zaalbar, Mission. Swear fealty to me, if not to live then for the bond of friendship we have forged. You were the first to accept I was Revan. Why do you hesitate now?"

Mission turned back to Revan, a scared determination coming forth. "I won't join you! You'll…you'll just have to kill me instead! I thought you were my friend, but you're not!"

Revan rolled her eyes. And she says she isn't a child. "HK, stun her too."

Mission gasped and then joined Carth, unconscious on the sand. "Query: Master, why do you have me stunning meatbags? I was built to eviscerate their watery bodies."

"They remain useful to me, HK. Lock them in the dorm where Trask is being held and make sure they don't have tools to escape. Zaalbar, help him. Canderous, prepare the Ebon Hawk for departure. I have a loose end to take care of."

A/N: I want to add that elements of this chapter and a short rebuild version were inspired by a tumblr post by mylordshesacactus entitled, "Beginnings Must Be Clean: Why KOTOR's Dark Side Ending Is Most In Line With The Philosophy Of Star Wars." I'm something of a sucker for good meta on larger narrative and storytelling practices.