Chapter 4: In Darkness

Location: Takodana

Eleven years later...


Rhythmic beeping filled the air, occasionally drowned out by the music that seemed to filter in from somewhere. The music suddenly became loud, becoming the only thing Revan could hear when the door slid open with an audible hiss. There were footsteps, and based on how far apart they where, he suspected they belonged to someone of diminutive stature.

"There has been no change in his condition," a voice said, belonging to a droid.

"I see," the newcomer said, clearly female, "His companion, where did she wonder off to?"

"Meetra? Did you make it after all?" Revan thought to himself.

It brought him some relief to know that his former General had managed to survive, though he wondered how much the galaxy had changed.

"She stated she was going down to Lake Nymeve."

"Where am I?"

"Inform me if there are any changes," the woman instructed.

"Of course, mistress."

He sensed the woman linger momentarily, and suddenly a mournful whistle echoed around the room.

"Teethree? You're here as well?"

He felt better knowing that familiar faces would be waiting for him, but his thoughts turned to Bastila and Vaner.

"Bastila...Vaner...are either of you even alive anymore?"

He heard the footsteps resume, followed by the hiss of the door sliding open and then closed. The music to leak into the room for more then a few seconds, after which only the rhythmic beeping and the droid's movements became the prominent sounds filling the air.

"I can't stay like this," he thought to himself, "I have to wake up."

Returned to his body, he had spent days in a coma, only recently achieving a semi-conscious state. He was unable to force himself back to full consciousness, he was becoming increasingly frustrated. With the Ebon Hawk having returned to real space, his body and spirit resonated, causing a disruption in the Force. That disruption had torn a rift in the Wellspring, and the Force Bond he had forged with Ben had led the boy to him. It might have taken eleven years, but he had finally found him, freeing him from the Wellspring.

"Wake up...Wake up...WAKE UP!"

His eyes snapped open and he let out a gasp, hands tensing around the rough sheets of the bed. The lights overhead were bright, eclipsed only by the neon green fire that suddenly erupted from his right eye. His blood curdling screams immediately drew the attention of Teethree and the Medical Droid, who watched in horror as his left eye burst into flames.

"Oh my...," the Medical Droid cried out in terror.

His screams had also drawn the attention of others, including the women who had paid him a visit early. As the door hissed open, it was her authoritative voice filled the impossibly small chamber.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"The patient has awaked, but...," the droid announced.

Revan shut his eyes, to extinguish the flames, but he knew that the damage was already done. It hadn't been enough to give up the majority of his spiritual body to escape the Wellspring, he had been forced to sacrifice his eyes as well. He opened his eyes and beheld only darkness, conformation that his suspicions had been well founded. The woman had approached his bedside, placing her wrinkled hands gently upon his own.

"Revan..., my name is Maz Kanata," she introduced, "Days ago, your ship made an emergency landing near my castle."

"Where am I?" he asked.

He ignored the fact that she knew his name, chalking it up to Meetra having revealed it to her.

"Takodana."

"I've never heard of it," Revan admitted.

"It is a world that was colonized fairly recently," Maz stated.

"How long...How long has it been?"

"It's best to let your companion be the one to break that news to you," she said, "Sidon, you'll find his companion be down at Lake Nymeve. Bring her here."

The unseen figure departed without a word, the door finally closing now that there was no one keeping it open. The fact that she was unwilling to tell him filled him with dread, making him not wishing to know the answer. While they waited, the medical droid conducted and examination, informing him that his eyes weren't damaged, but rather had paled. The flames had damaged his face, leaving a scorched burn mark around the flesh of his eye sockets and across the bridge of his nose. Meetra arrived some moments later, and would've made a beeline for his bedside had Maz not intercepted her. She was likely informing her of his suddenly blindness, so as not to have her be taken by surprise.

"Revan...?" she asked, stopping within the doorway.

He turned in the direction of her voice, revealing his pale eyes to his former General. Despite her best efforts, Revan he heard her let out a gasp, but decided to simply ignore it.

"Our savior won't tell me how long we were lost for, and I'm afraid to know."

"You don't want to know," she said,

"Tell me anyways," he instructed, "There's no point in trying to keep it a secret."

Taking a seat next to the bed, Meetra laid her hand atop of his, trying to gather the courage to tell him. She exhaled, finally deciding to simply come out and say it, knowing that he wouldn't take it well.

"It's been approximately four thousand years since the Jedi Civil War," Meetra explained.

"Four...thousand years?" he asked, eyes winding in horror.

"Yes. I never imagined that time travel was possible."

Hyperspace wasn't a science that was exactly well understood, thus anything was possible. He even knew of an ability that allowed a Force User to 'flow' backwards in time, allowing the individual to view past events. However, one couldn't directly alter the past, only the future, and that was to a limited degree.

"Everything...Everything we knew...it's gone," he muttered.

"I know, and I'm not sure what we're going to do."