Xander cleaned up and changed his clothes again smiling. She keeps me busy! I have not been forced to change clothes this many times in a day in a very long time…I need to restock, he thought and went back in the holoterminal room. Everything was back to normal, the blood stained cushions from the one couch were replaced already and the neat, austere order was back. He went and sat beside Clarisse and looked at her, pushing away a rebel strand of hair.

"Clara…" he whispered, and then he let his thoughts assault him all directions. What is it that is so different about her? Is it the touch of darkness in her, the fact that she hides it so well? But at the same time, she is the definition of a light side force user…She is so good, and kind, and beautiful…Others are beautiful too, why her? Why is she making me feel this way? I want to fight her and defeat her, but at the same time I want to kill anyone that would even think of hurting her. It makes no sense…Hmm…I wonder if we would have to fight against each other how would that end? She can definitely hold her own in a fight, but she couldn't hurt me! I could do a lot of damage, but she would shield and stop it, or heal faster than I could inflict it…Interesting! Why do I think of fighting her? Is that what I want? She is bringing up that side in me…The side that wants to win. But at the same time I don't want to hurt her…She is so tiny, and fragile…She brought me back from dead…She is no little fragile girl! She is more powerful than anyone I have ever met! She is a mystery! I have to figure out why is it that Revan wants her! Why is she the one that he has chosen? It has to be more to it than her healing…I feel that I am missing something! Xander walked away from Clarisse and started a search, trying to find more information about Revan's planned ritual. His efforts seemed to take him nowhere, when he heard a small noise coming from her direction. He turned to her quickly, just in time to see her body arching and pain covering her face.

"Clara! Everything is all right! You are safe…" he whispered hoping to ease her pain, but suddenly her eyes opened and looked at the ceiling, at an imaginary point. The only expression on her face was fear. Just as quickly and sudden she calmed down and went back into the sleep like state.

I wonder if that was a nightmare or another vision…She was terrified! Jedi don't get scared like that…

After almost another hour, Clarisse opened her eyes, seeing Xander only steps away. He was standing in front of the holoterminal and looked like he was searching for something.

"Did you find anything?" she asked surprising him.

"You are awake! How are you feeling?" he asked rushing to her side.

"I am fine, thank you! How are you?"

"Alive, thanks to you! Thomas told me that I was dead and you brought me back…Is that true?" he insisted to find out from her if that was what it had happened.

"It is…" she said short and sat up. "If you don't mind I would like to try and clean some of this blood off."

"Of course!" agreed Xander and moved out of her way. "We will talk when you get back," he added, feeling that she was still trying to hide something from him.

Clarisse didn't answer, just continued her way to the refresher, but she was happy to close the door behind her. She leaned against the door and closed her eyes for a few seconds. This is impossible! It can't be true…Is not happening to me! I have never felt attraction this way…In the name of stars, he is Sith! Her strong emotions went through the closed door and it wasn't hard for Xander to feel that she was troubled. He glanced to the door, but got back to his search.

Clarisse could not do much about her blood stained robe, ripped and with blaster holes and burns all over it, so after she washed away the blood on her hands and face and went back in the holoterminal room. Xander closed the multitude of documents he had opened and turned to her after he made sure that his searches were still running in the background. Drinks were waiting on the low table, but Clarisse stood away from the table bracing herself for the questions she knew were going to come.

"I have some questions for you," said Xander, straight to the point.

"I do, too…You still have not answered to the ones I have asked…" came her harsh reply right away.

"Before we start, do you need to call anyone and let them know that you will be unreachable for a while, family, friends…"

"No."

Her short, calm and concise answer made Xander focus his attention on her.

"No one? Really?" he insisted.

"I have no family, and…"

"That is silly! Everyone has some sort of family!" Xander interrupted her.

"I don't!"

"Are your parents dead?"

"I have no idea…" answered Clarisse this time with a shadow of sadness in her voice, but noticing Xander's look she continued. "I have never met them."

"Would you care to elaborate on that? Here, have a drink," he invited her to sit and have some of her drink.

She hesitated, and Xander noticed, but he went ahead and handed her one of the glasses.

"Thank you." Clarisse took the drink and sat on the couch, after which she started to talk. "I grew up in the Jedi temple on Tython. Later I found out that I was found on the Republic Fleet one morning…On top of a crate filled with leafy vegetables… I still can't eat any salads…" she added looking down.

"Have you tried to find your parents?"

"I had one attempt, but behind the restaurant where I was found there were no cameras, so there is no recording of who might have dropped me there. I was only a few days old, wrapped in a blanket, with a note and a medallion…"

"That is still plenty to go on! "

"Maybe…I think I never wanted to find them, really…If they didn't want me why should I even bother?"

"There are a multitude of reason why someone would abandon a child like that. Maybe they were trying to protect you…"

"By dropping me in a crate of vegetables? Seriously? Is that your idea of protection?" Clarisse lashed out at him.

Xander smiled and got on his feet, crossing his hands behind his back while he started to pace in front of her.

"Not my idea, no…But think about it! It was war, and the Republic fleet was a more or less a safe place. You had been dropped in a crate of leafy vegetables, so a soft and cushy place, not a crate with weapons or gear. Whoever did it knew that you would be found sooner rather than later, and that you would be taken care of. They also cared about leaving a note and a medallion with you…"

"Your logic might sound good, but it doesn't change the fact that I was abandoned, like some unwanted luggage," interrupted Clarisse.

"The medallion sounds like an invitation to me, the note and the blanket, I am sure, could provide some clues…Maybe you were dropped there to keep you safe from something, or someone. Someone with your power, your connection with the force, I am sure you showed signs of force sensitivity probably even before birth…There are a lot of factors to consider…"

"I don't need to call anyone! Can we move on? What about your parents?" Clarisse tried to change the subject admitting to herself that she never thought about it that way.

Xander did not insist this time and accepted her change of subject knowing that at least he opened her eyes to some new possibilities.

"My parents died almost twenty years ago…In the Battle of Corellia. They were both members of the Dark Council and they had been cornered by Jedi…They fought them, but were seriously outnumbered. When they were weakened enough, the Jedi fled the exploding building and left them there…They could not escape…The Jedi killed them!"

"Well, technically they didn't…" tried Clarice to make a point.

"I hold them responsible! They were good people…They loved each other very much, they loved me and did everything for me…My mother was the one that initiated the peace plan; I have just continued her work…"

"Now I know where I have seen you before! You were there when the peace declaration went viral! There were two Sith…One was Darth Marr, or at least I think so, from what I have heard about him, and you…" Clarisse almost jumped off the couch remembering him.

Xander smiled in her direction.

"That is correct. Darth Marr and I were there; he is my best friend, we grew up together." Xander added.

"He has the reputation of one of the most powerful and cruel Sith…How come I have never heard of you?" asked this time Clarisse.

"Let's say for now that it has been a strategy all along!"

Clarisse looked at him, but his tone let her know that the subject is closed, at least for the time being. She was getting ready to launch her next question, when Xander lift his hand and stopped her.

"In order for us to continue, I need you to be honest with me! You have been hiding things from me and out of respect for you I have chosen not to find out for myself what exactly it is that you are hiding…" spoke Xander in a neutral voice, but staring down at Clarisse with bright red eyes.

"I have not lied to you!" she said right away.

"Just avoided the truth…How did Revan knew that we were on Nar Shadaa?"

His question took Clarisse by surprise, but she answered.

"I wanted to tell you, but then we got attacked…I recognized where we were. I have been on Nar Shadaa before…"

"You have to tell me those things! Revan is using a very old technique…Very few know about it and even less know how to use it! Revan was a powerful Jedi, then Sith and then Jedi again…He can see what you are seeing, he can get into your mind…"

"You seem to know an awful lot about this technique as well!" Clarisse's remark interrupted Xander and surprised him again with her vivid spirit and inquisitive mind.

"I do. I can also use it if I need to!"

Clarisse's surprise made him smile and got closer, sitting on the couch next to her. In only a split second his eyes turned blue and the darkness surrounding him disappeared.

"I have told you that you can trust me! I am not your average Sith…As you can see, I can also not be one!"

"I have asked you already twice how you do this, and still have not gotten an answer…But you are asking me to be honest…Am I missing something?" she asked, looking at him.

"There is a big difference between what you are asking me and what I am asking you! This is personal, beside my servants, obviously, Marr and my parents, nobody else has ever seen me like this…Just you…"

"If it is such a big secret, why did you let me see you like this?" Clarisse insisted.

Xander got up again and took a few steps in visible deep thought. When Clarisse lost any hope of an answer from him, he stopped and turned towards her.

"I need you to trust me! The nature of these circumstances is very different from anything else I have encountered before; you are different, Revan is different…In order to protect you I need to know everything! I need to know what he is been telling you when he gets in your mind, I need to know every detail of your visions, everything. Do you think you can do that?"

"Maybe…" hesitated Clarisse and Xander came again close to her and sat on the couch.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You have not answered my question…"

Xander took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, trying to decide if he should or not tell her what she wanted to know.

"I have let you see me like this so you will understand that there is more to me than just being Sith. Yes, right now we are at peace and we are supposed to be working together, but…We all have a past, and I understand that you don't trust Sith, just like I am hold the Jedi responsible for my parents deaths…We have to get over all of that and trust each other. This is a technique that I have developed…When I understood that being Sith is what I do, not who I am…"

"That makes no sense! You are Sith, period! You can't be Sith part time!" Clarisse interrupted him jumping on her feet and putting some distance between them.

"You are wrong…I can, and this is the proof! Right now there is no darkness around me, I am not drawing power from it, I am just a regular man…"

"You can't be a regular man! Even if you strip your power away, deep inside you are still what you are…Sith!"

"No, Clara. This is me; this is who I am…Right now I am not hiding behind being Sith. Use your connection with the force and see for yourself! I am not hiding anything!" he invited Clarisse and he went closer, stopping one step away from her.

Clarisse did reach to the force and not only that she didn't detect any darkness in him, but she felt his good nature, his kindness, and there was something else. She could not exactly say what it was, but it made her feel good and safe for a change. She took a step back and realized that her inexplicable attraction just grew stronger; she liked him. The thought itself made her get suddenly agitated. She tried to control her feelings. Xander wasn't using any tricks, any powers, but he was a fine observer and noticed her sudden reaction. He took one step closer to her and pulled her in his arms, taking her by surprise. Right away, Clarisse tried to push him away, but he was overpowering her and she might as well have tried to push away a wall. When he lifted her face towards him, she saw desire clearly in his eyes, and she knew right then that he was just as attracted to her.

"Clara…" he whispered and got so close to her that she could feel his breath brushing over her face, over her lips, making her mind frenzied.

"Xander, please…Let me go…"

He looked deep into her eyes for a second still holding her close.

"Are you sure that is what you want?" he asked her, feeling the way her whole body reacted to his touch.

"Yes…Please…" she whispered lost, with her last bit of control.

Xander released her and walked away from her the same second. Just for a moment, Clarisse was sorry that he did, but she found the strength to control her emotions and soon recovered her calm.

"What do you want to know?" came her question surprising Xander.

He was facing away from her and for a second his eyes flared bright red, but then he turned around and looked at her with light blue eyes.

"Let's start with what Revan told you."

Clarisse tilted her head and in the next few minutes she told him everything, every word. Xander listened quietly, absorbing every detail, and when she finished, he fell in deep thought.

"He needs your power, your blood and your connections…I understand the power part, but the rest is still too vague. Do you know what he means?" Xander asked, finally breaking the silence that covered them.

"No. I have no idea why is my blood any different, or if it is some metaphoric way he speaks…I am just as confused…As for connections, I am even more lost…I have absolutely no clue," she admitted, and looked down, walking back to the couch.

"What about your visions?" asked Xander, joining her on the couch and taking a sip from his drink.

"I only had two of them, and the first one has already happened…it was about me fighting the black masked men, in a field…"

"And the second one?"

It was Clarisse's turn to hesitate, and after a few seconds she turned to him and looked in his eyes.

"I had it when I was recovering…" she whispered.

"I thought so…You were terrified…" said Xander.

"Revan will get me…"

"Not if I can help it!" Xander interrupted her right away.

"I don't think you can…I saw Revan holding me…I was about to be sacrificed…"

Clarisse had to stop for a few seconds before continuing again. The memory of that vision was indeed terrifying and she needed to get herself together before speaking.

"I was somewhere between some ruins. It was like a round courtyard, surrounded by twelve columns…Don't ask me how I know that were twelve, I didn't count them, but I just know were twelve. The stone was cracked and vines were taking over them like giant serpents. The floor was also cracked but I could clearly see the straight lines from each column to the center. In the center they converged to a small circle and the grooves were deeper somehow, that was were Revan was standing. I could not see anyone else there with me, but I knew I wasn't alone. Revan was wearing a mask, so I could not see his face, but he was talking to someone. I could not hear any words, just sounds of fighting all around those ruins, explosions, screams of men dying in pain…It was terrible. Suddenly Revan took off his mask and instead looking at him, I looked at the metal mask at his feet, on the floor and I could swear there was some sort of steam coming through the cracks in the floor. He looked at me and the next thing I know I was in the air, flat on my back. He held his arms extended in front of him and I was somehow placed across them. A weird noise coming from above made me look up and I saw the most terrifying sword I have ever seen…"

Clarisse stopped for a few seconds to regain her calm, and Xander waited patiently. He didn't want to interrupt her. "The sword was turning around its own axis getting lower every second and I knew it was just seconds away from my chest. The two red crystals on either side of the hilt were almost hypnotic and I could not look away from it. When I finally did manage to look away, I saw a bunch of people, no faces, just bodies grouped together. The sword started now to turn even faster and the noise made by the sharp blade cutting through the air made me look up again. Then, for a second, I saw your eyes…When the sword got maybe couple of inches away from my heart the vision ended."

Clarisse didn't even realize it, but by the end of her story, she was grasping for air. The fear she felt when she had the vision overwhelmed her again. Xander watched her closely. Even if he wanted more details, he would wait for her to regain her calm, to get over her own fear. Instead, he start pacing the room with his hands crossed behind his back, thinking of something very intense. Clarisse noticed soon enough the deep crease between his brows, the clenched teeth, and the tension in his jaw. He looked like a beast, ready to attack.

"I see you didn't like my vision…" she whispered.

"It's not that…Can you look back into your vision and describe for me the sword?" he asked Clarisse.

She hesitated at first, she really didn't want to go back to her vision, but if the sword was something important, she had to do it.

"Why?" she asked him first.

"It sounds familiar…If you could give me more details I can maybe figure something out."

"It was black, with the two red crystals…Unusual sharp edges…"

"Did it have a guard, between the hilt and the blade?"

"It did…It formed a cross…" answered Clarisse surprised that she didn't even notice that the first time.

"The ends of the guard were straight or curved?" insisted Xander.

She thought about it for a few seconds and then she answered firmly.

"Curved, upwards, towards the hilt."

"I see…What about the blade?" came Xander's next question.

"Like I said, it was black…I never seen a black metal like that before! It was wide and flat, with those bright edges."

"Now, I really need you to concentrate on that blade. I know it's not easy, but did you noticed any design on it? Or something on the hilt that looked like an inscription?"

Xander came and sat beside Clarisse on the couch and she closed her eyes trying to remember those details he was asking for. In a few seconds she could see the sword in front of her eyes.

"On the hilt are some words engraved…I think they are words anyways, I don't recognize the symbols…On the blade I can't…Wait! There is something! Right on the middle of the blade, all along the center is like the infinite symbol repeated over and over again…" she said and opened her eyes, happy that she could provide the details, but when she met his eyes she preferred if she would have not. "You know this sword! Don't you?" she asked him right away.

"Unfortunately…What you have seen it is the Emperor's sacrificing Black Blade"

"So I am going to be sacrificed…" she whispered and looked down again. "Revan said it is my destiny…"

"Not if we stop him first!" Xander tried to take her mind away from the thought of being sacrificed.

"I am not afraid to die… I always thought I would die fighting, not being sacrificed to resurrect the one that will end all life in the galaxy! That is just wrong!"

Xander looked at her, and tried to imagine what she'd seen. His fists clenched and the skin on his knuckles turned white in only seconds. He felt the anger growing inside him. Suddenly Clarisse took her head into her hands and crouched on the floor beside the couch in visible pain.

"Clara, what is it?" Xander asked her, rushing to where she'd slumped on the floor and holding her shoulders in his hands.

"Revan…" she whispered, keeping her eyes closed.

'If you can still hear me, nod" he said right away and she did. "Good, now you can fight him out of your head, or let him in and ask more questions, try and find out more…"

Clarisse nodded again, right before a new wave of pain made her let out a deep groan.

"What do you want from me?" she managed to ask.

"You are running away…Somehow, you got far enough to make it difficult, but you cannot escape your destiny!" she heard Revan's voice.

"Why are you fixated on me? I need to know…"

"I already told you, I need your healing power in order to defeat the Emperor."

"There are plenty of healers out there, why me?" she insisted, enduring the pain.

"You are very powerful, I need you! You are the one with the pure blood I need to resurrect the Emperor…"

"What is that supposed to mean? Why is my blood special?" Clarisse asked again.

"You are virgin, I need your pure blood!" he answered. "Come to me, and the pain will end!"

"You said something about my connections…"

"You have been Master Shan's apprentice, she is very fond of you…Taking you away from her, it will give her a taste of how I felt when my child was taken away from me! That is just personal!"

"She didn't do anything to you!" tried Clarisse to reason with him.

"No, but her great, great, grandmother, Tia did! She refused me the right to be a father for my daughter, took her away from me…Someone from that bloodline will pay for it!"

"You are crazy! You will never succeed! Your plan won't work…I won't let you!" Clarisse started to fight him, after she got the information she needed; but the pain was getting to be too much.

"It is your destiny! You cannot change it! You will…"

Suddenly his voice went silent and the pain stopped. Clarisse opened her eyes and saw Xander coming into the room from the command bridge.

"So it worked!" he said seeing her getting up on her feet.

"He just went silent…"

"Yes, I figured he would. I suddenly changed the speed at which we were traveling and that made him lose contact with you…We should now be outside his reach,:" Xander explained to her.

"Why did you do that?" she questioned him next.

"You were in terrible pain, and I saw that you couldn't fight him…I had to!"

Clarisse let out a sight and went back to the couch sitting down. She knew she had to tell him what she had just found out, but she didn't know how.

"Thank you…"

"Did you at least get any more details? Anything we can use?" he asked her.

Clarisse hesitated, but she nodded.

"Yes, but I need a few moments if you don't mind…"

"Of course; take your time…" he said and turned his back, checking on his ongoing searches.

For the next few minutes silence covered them both, but the tension was floating in the air. Clarisse was doing her best to look calm, but inside her there was a storm. How did I get into this mess? Revan wants me because of my healing abilities, because I am a virgin and because I was Master Shan's apprentice…That is the most unheard of reasoning ever! And then is Xander…darn you! I have never, ever in my life felt like this before. I always been able to control my feelings, I have been so careful not to form any attachments…Suddenly he comes along and all goes away! I could see the desire in him too…But that is not unusual for Sith! They draw power even from that…it is me that has to control it. I have to, or it will be the end of me…Unless…No! No, that is crazy! Clarisse demised her own thoughts and quietly took a sip from her drink.

Xander had turned back to Clarisse, and his eyes turned bright scorching red. Darn it! Why did it have to be the Black Blade? It is a fact that it never missed a target… I cannot let it happen! It has to be something I can do! I cannot let her die; I want her to be mine, not sacrificed by a lunatic! I have to find a way… Xander started another search and then thought of cross referencing some of the results. Suddenly one word appeared on three different screens, blinking in bright green. No! This can't be right! It cannot be true…Is it? It would explain a lot, but it cannot…She cannot be…

Suddenly Xander turned to Clarisse and looked at her with bright red eyes. She felt his look, his darkness and the sudden disturbance.

"Are you a virgin?" he asked her straight forward.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me! Just answer the question!" he almost growled at her.

If she didn't know any better, she would have been afraid of him that moment; his look was terrifying.

"That is none of your business!" Clarisse tried to buy some time to figure things out.

"It is now! The Black Blade is used in rituals of sacrifice only. To resurrect the Emperor, it needs to be the pure blood of a virgin! Are you a virgin? Yes, or no!" he demanded this time an answer and she had no other way around it.

"Yes…" she whispered. "I am not particularly proud of it…Revan told me that that is one of the reasons he wants me…" she added keeping her head down.

"What about the other reasons?" he continued to question her.

"My healing abilities, he thinks that I am powerful enough for him…"

"Of course he does! With your sacrifice, not only that he is resurrecting the Emperor but all of your power will be transferred to him. He needs it to protect himself from being devoured by the Emperor…I am not convinced that it would work but it looks like he thinks so., explained Xander . "He is a fool! "

Clarisse sat there in silence, feeling shamed and powerless in front of Revan's plans.

"Is there anything else you are hiding from me?" insisted Xander fixating his eyes on her.

"I am not hiding…it's just one more reason, the connections…He wants his revenge on someone in the Shan family…He knows that I used to be Master Shan's apprentice. He wants to punish her, to make her feel how he felt when he was denied the right to be a father…"

"He sure knows how to hold a grudge! Bastille Shan denied him his right to his daughter over three hundred years ago…I guess he's never got over that!" thought Xander out loud, and then he concentrated his attention on Clarisse.

"Were you ever going to tell me all this?"

"Yes, I just needed a little time to…"

It only took him a second to get near Clarisse and forced her up on her feet.

"You are still trying to lie to me! I can sense your deception…What it will take for you to be honest with me?" he asked her holding close to him and forcing her to look into his eyes.

The beeping coming from the command bridge came just at the right time, and Clarisse thanked the stars.

"My Lord, we are exiting hyperspace in ten seconds! You need to …" she heard V1's metallic voice.

"I will be right there!" said Xander and then turned back to her. "I have to go and land on the surface, but this is not over!" she felt the threat in his voice and saw the anger in his eyes.

'You are hurting me!" she said trying to escape from his grip.

"Clara…Do not push me! Do not play with me this way!"

The same second Xander released her and started to walk towards the command bridge. On his way out the room, he lifted one of the chairs that were bolted to the floor and smashed it in one of the walls with enough force to make a hole.

Clarisse closed her eyes; she felt his anger, the darkness flooding the whole ship, and for the first time she was afraid of him.