Beads of sweat rolled down Bastila's forehead as she continued to fight her double. The dark Bastila seemed to have a perfect counter for everything she attempted. If she used the Force to pelt her enemy with objects, the double would simply parry them. If Bastila switched her fighting style, the other would do the same.
The dark Bastila lunged at her, narrowly missing her heart with a jab of her lightsaber. "No matter how many Sith you destroy, how many worlds you save, it won't change that you fell. You failed the Republic, and the Jedi, and yourself." Wearily, Bastila deflected her doppelganger's assault but was thrown to the ground by a Force-push.
The Jedi's lightsaber was flung from her grip, and before she could retrieve it the dark Bastila's lightsaber was inches away from her neck. She was trapped.
Meetra gasped in pain, trying desperately to remain on her feet after being blasted with a web of lightning. She gritted her teeth and blocked the next burst. It hadn't seemed possible, but Nihilus was stronger than the last time Meetra had fought him. Even her ability to sever a being's connection to the Force had no effect.
Nihilus swung at her again with his lightsaber before she could react in time. It easily sliced through her cloak and Meetra cried out as Nihilus raked his weapon across her ribs. She fell to her knees while her lightsaber dropped from her numb hand. She was beaten.
Looming over her menacingly Nihilus let out an inhuman groan. A voice in the back of Meetra's head whispered, "You made me what I am, Jedi. The countless that died at my hand, the worlds I devastated...
It was all on you."
With all of his strength Revan strained against Malak as their lightsaber blades locked. "I saw you die, Malak. This is an illusion, you're not real!" The Sith Lord shoved Revan's blade aside and struck him on the side of the head with his fist. Even with his mask, Revan was sent staggering backwards from the force of the blow.
"Does that feel real to you?" Malak's voice was dripping with anger. "You could not destroy the Emperor. While the galaxy collapsed against the Sith Triumvirate, you could not overcome even mere dreams. And now you will die at the hands of the apprentice you failed."
"No!" Revan allowed his anger to rise and attacked Malak with a renewed ferocity. The two former friends exchanged crushing blows, with neither holding anything back. But as hard as he tried Revan could not penetrate Malak's defense and barely held off his counterattacks.
Breathing heavily Revan rushed forward and stabbed at Malak's abdomen. Only to grunt painfully when his enemy knocked Revan's lightsaber out of his hand and sent him sprawling with a Force-wave.
Revan tried to reach for his weapon, but Malak trapped it beneath his heel and pointed his weapon at Revan's armored face. "They call you the "Prodigal Knight." But you will always be the man who failed as a Jedi, as a Sith, and as a friend."
His eyes narrowed as he spat the words at Revan. But as the Jedi readied for death he paused, his eyes locking into Malak's. The two gray orbs stared back at Revan, pitiless and full of hatred.
Something was wrong. In his moment of death, Revan recalled his old apprentice's eyes returning to their original blue. He had died as Alek, his friend. Not as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Revan glared at Malak and said bitterly, "This is not real. Malak died long ago."
Revan slowly rose to his feet, even as Malak raised his lightsaber threateningly. "I followed you to the edge of the galaxy," The Sith growled. "I followed you down the path to the Dark Side. My fall was your doing." Revan bowed his head remorsefully.
"Yes. If I had not allowed my hate of the Mandalorians to overcome me, we would not have gone down the path we did. You chose to remain with the Sith even as I returned to the Light, but I was I who led you to the Dark." Revan gazed at Malak sadly.
"I'm sorry, Alek. For everything."
Malak seemed to waver in place. His aggressive stance faltered. Yelling in anger the apparition swung at Revan one last time. But a moment later Malak dissipated in a burst of black smoke, leaving Revan alone once again.
The dark Bastila raised her lightsaber, readying to stab downwards and finish Bastila off. "Revan and your friends will die," she hissed. "Even after all this time, your meaningless attempts at redemption will gain you nothing."
Bastila stared up at her before closing her eyes. "Perhaps we will die here." She pictured the day of her wedding with Revan and smiled in spite of herself. "But I'm not afraid of death anymore." For a moment the dark Bastila was silent.
After a brief pause she retorted, "Without you Revan will fall to the Dark Side again. Just as you did." Her double sounded less confident this time. Bastila shook her head. "You don't know Revan," she said defiantly.
Her eyes opened and she glared at the dark Bastila. "And I will not fall again." Then, faster than she thought possible, Bastila leapt up and seized her doppelganger's lightsaber. Before her enemy could even retaliate she opened herself to the Force and shattered the weapon.
"I am a Jedi. And you are nothing but a memory."
The dark Bastila released a terrifying scream and reached for the Jedi, as if to strangle her. But instead she passed through Bastila and crumbled into dust.
A mass of dark energy surrounded Meetra as Nihilus prepared to consume her. She looked sadly at the living embodiment of her mistake at Malachor. "What I did, I did to end the war," she said before her side was wracked by another wave of pain.
"But I have wondered every day since if it was the right thing to do. If there was some other way…" As if he could understand her Nihilus' hand lowered slightly. But the Dark Side energy around Meetra did not abate. Accepting her fate Meetra lowered her gaze.
"I never knew who you were, where you came from. But what you became, it was my fault. And for that I am sorry."
As Nihilus moved in on her Meetra's mind flashed back to her duel with another Sith. Darth Sion. Was this how he felt before he died? The same resignation? The helplessness?
But just as Meetra felt the cold of the Dark Side begin to wash over her something behind Nihilus caught her eye. A lone figure was standing behind the Sith. Meetra blinked in surprise. The man behind Nihilus was heavily scarred, with one eye a milky white and his disfigured torso uncovered.
Your mistakes are in the past. You are not the Exile anymore.
An uncharacteristic smile crossed Darth Sion's features before he faded into nothing. Meetra smiled back and the Dark Side receded from her. Above her Nihilus' appearance seemed to flicker as if seen through a heat wave. Meetra's fist clenched and despite the pain in her side she stood until she was face to face with the Lord of Hunger again.
"I will live with my guilt for the rest of my days. But I will not give in to it." Her hand reached out to Nihilus' mask and Meetra grabbed it tightly. Nihilus grabbed her arm, attempting to pull it away. Meetra ripped the mask away and a stream of black mist poured out from where Nihilus' face should have been.
His empty robes collapsed into a heap before they too disintegrated. The pain in Meetra's ribs vanished. Looking down she tried to examine the wound.
But there was no wound.
"Meetra?"
A bright flash caused Meetra to shout in surprise. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see who it was. It was her friend Mical. "What happened?" he asked worriedly. Meetra whirled around and saw the rest of the group tending to a confused looking Revan and Bastila.
"I saw Darth Nihilus."
Mical saw Lord Scourge nearby and asked, "What was that?" The Sith stroked his chin and appeared to ponder Mical's question. "I have seen this before," he said angrily. "Korriban has been tainted by the Dark Side over the centuries. The planet itself is almost a living thing." He pointed at the Emperor's tower.
"The Emperor must have drawn on the Dark Side's power and attempted to trap us with illusions meant to torture us into submission."
Scourge approached Meetra and asked urgently, "What did you see?" She closed her eyes and recalled her ordeal. It felt like such a long time ago, despite having occurred just minutes before. "I fought a vision of Darth Nihilus. He attempted to consume me, and drew on my guilt over destroying Malachor V."
Bastila nodded. "I was faced with a mirror of myself. From my time as Darth Malak's apprentice." Revan's breath was shaky as he replied, "I was forced into another duel with Malak himself." Scourge gazed at them all with a look of amazement.
"I'm impressed with your resilience. You were the most vulnerable to the Emperor's mind games, yet you overcame them nonetheless." His proud demeanor faded however and Scourge assumed his usual neutral tone.
"But we are not finished. Be ready, for the Emperor will send more obstacles our way."
Meetra turned her focus to the tower. "We'll overcome them as well," she said in determination. The Jedi began to march to the imposing structure quickly with Revan next to her. "Are you all right, Meetra?"
"Of course."
This was a lie. Although she had been able to defeat the Emperor's illusion, a part of Meetra was still shaken by what she had seen. She sensed Revan's skepticism and after a minute of silence she confessed, "I thought I was going to die back there. It was like I was back on the Ravager again with him."
Revan sighed ruefully. "I understand. When I was trapped in that sandstorm facing Malak, he reminded me why he fell to the Dark Side in the first place." He raised his gaze back to the tower and sighed. "I have to remember the man he once was. Not the monster he became." Meetra held Revan's hand for just a moment. "I'm sorry."
Her face flushed and she tried not to think of what else the Emperor might do to them. "We can do this, Revan," she said half-heartedly, more to convince herself than her friend.
The team passed through the towering arch marking the entrance to the fortress, where the Emperor was surely waiting.
In the inner recesses of the tower, a dark figure sat hunched on his throne. Several torches on the walls were nearly blown out as he seethed in frustration. The presence of the Jedi was growing closer by the minute. Revan was coming for him.
The circle closes. The end begins.
Author's Note: Yes, I will be using some of Vitiate's lines from SWTOR. Because Doug Bradley is a BAMF.
So that's one obstacle out of the way for Revan and company. But the closer they get to the Emperor, the harder they'll have to fight. It was never going to be easy.
Let me know what you think of the reviews, and I'll see you 'round!