Revan stood at Carth's side as Carth eased the Ebon Hawk into the Star Forge landing bay.

Carth had sent the Republic army their coordinates once the Hawk was safely off the alien planet, telling them that they'd found the source of the seemingly endless Sith armada. The Republic had sent out a large fleet to the coordinates and by the time the Ebon Hawk had broken free of the alien planet's gravity and returned to the Star Forge's orbit, most of the fleet was in position.

Master Zhar had hailed the Ebon Hawk, questioning Revan as to where Bastila was. When Revan explained that she had turned to the dark side, Zhar's expression clouded over. He sighed, nodding once. "We've sent a squadron of Jedi into the Star Forge already, in hopes to help clear the way for you. They're waiting for you inside."

Revan had nodded, bowing and closing the connection. She turned to Carth, who only nodded, having heard the message. She returned the action silently; there wasn't anything to say.

Now, Carth lowered the boarding ramp, and turned off the engine. He sat in his seat for a moment, staring out the cockpit windows at the inside of the Star Forge landing bay. "We made it," he said softly, sounding amazed.

Revan nodded her agreement, her throat and mouth going dry. The power of the dark side in the Star Forge was already almost overwhelming. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer in her mind, turning and heading to the commons to plan the best course of action with the rest of the crew.

Bastila walked into the control center, her eyes going to her master immediately. She hurried to him, itching to get back to helping the Sith forces. "Master?" Bastila asked as she neared him, trying to keep her voice from sounding whiny. "Why have you summoned me? Without my Battle Meditation, the Republic fleet could break through our forces and attack the Star Forge itself!"

Malak shook his head, staring at a diagnostic that showed the progress of the battle outside. "This will not take too long, my eager apprentice. You will be able to resume your Battle Meditation soon enough." His bionic jaw distorted his voice, making it sound slightly tinny. "I only wanted you to know that Revan is here on the Star Forge."

Bastila inhaled sharply. "Revan?! But--" She mentally corrected Malak, knowing that Revan, the true Revan, was no more; Katrina was the only one left in Revan's mind.

Malak turned a glare on her, silencing Bastila immediately. "The Force is bringing us toward a confrontation with Revan. You must kill her to prove yourself worthy of being my apprentice, Bastila. Finish what you and she started in the Temple of the Ancients on the planet below. Stay here in the control center and use your Battle Meditation until Revan arrives. Then kill her."

Bastila faltered, drawing on the dark power to strengthen her will. "Y-yes, Lord Malak."

Malak nodded at her, turning on his heel and heading for the door. He paused before entering, watching as Bastila sank to the floor and resumed using her Battle Meditation. "Even if you fail," he said quietly, making sure she couldn't hear him. "The distraction you cause will give me enough time to prepare the station for our little showdown. Then we'll see if Revan can stand against the power of the Star Forge!" He laughed to himself, turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Revan cut through wave after wave of soldiers and droids. There had been a few pockets of dark Jedi, further slowing Revan's advance through the Star Forge. The paths came back to her naturally, and she had no trouble picking her way toward the control center, a place where she knew Malak might be watching the battle that was raging outside the Star Forge.

Carth and Jolee had come with her, but Revan turned them back and sent them back to the Ebon Hawk once she reached the first in a series of decks and elevators. The men had left, but only once Revan promised that she'd return to the Hawk immediately after killing Malak.

Now Revan stepped into the third deck's elevator, the one that would take her to the deck that connected her with the control center. She closed the door and waited as she felt the car rumbling around her. The ancient elevator took its time raising Revan to the top floor, but once it did, Revan burst out of the elevator car and ignited her lightsaber. Sith soldiers and a few dark Jedi were waiting for her.

Revan defended herself, killing the soldiers first. Then she turned on the dark Jedi, who were running at her, lightsabers drawn. She barely dodged a devastating blow, quickly killing her opponent. The other Jedi fell soon after Revan joined into combat with him.

Breathless and slightly injured, Revan walked toward the elevator that led to the control center, her throat tightening. She could sense Bastila's presence, dark and tainted, even with the block Bastila had put on their bond. Malak was nowhere near Bastila, something Revan was thankful for.

As the elevator door slid shut, Revan leaned heavily against the wall, exhausted from the nearly constant battle she'd been waging since she left the Ebon Hawk. For a moment, she was so tempted to give in to the dark side; it was calling her, telling her that it could heal her injuries, and give her the power to rescue Bastila from Malak. Revan almost allowed herself to sink into the darkness that threatened to consume her, mentally smacking herself and pulling herself away from the dark, focusing on the lightness that was inside her.

She took a moment to heal her injuries with the Force, feeling a little better after she'd done so. The tightness in her chest that had been caused by sensing Bastila's presence didn't go away, however. Revan closed her eyes, willing herself not to retch. She had hated seeing Bastila so evil on the deck of the temple; she wasn't sure if she could handle it again. And if she ended up with no choice but to kill Bastila… The notion was too horrible to think about.

The elevator came to a halt and the door hissed open. Revan opened her eyes and stepped out of the car, looking down the deserted hallway to the large doors at the other end. Behind them lay the control center, and in there, Bastila was waiting. Revan drew a calming breath, starting toward the doors.

Bastila opened her eyes as she heard the door hiss open behind her. A smile crept across her face. Katrina had arrived.

"Bastila?" Kat's voice was full of both disbelief and relief.

Bastila got to her feet and turned around, anger and hate still pulsing through her. She surveyed the former Sith Lord, already determining all the ways she could take Katrina down. When her gaze met Kat's, her pulse quickened, her physical attraction to Kat taking over her senses for a moment. She remembered a moment later what her master had ordered her to do, pushing away the warm feelings that had begun to build in her stomach.

"Katrina. I knew you'd come back for me."

Kat looked as though she wanted to say something, though the expression flashed away as quickly as it had come. "I'm not here as your enemy, Bastila."

Bastila laughed. "I suppose you came to save me, is that it? I don't need saving! My eyes have been opened to the true power that the dark side holds! I'm the one that should be saving you."

Kat shook her head disgustedly. "I don't believe this. Are you even listening to yourself?!" She stepped toward Bastila, reaching toward her. "Bastila, this isn't who you are! I know it, and I know you know it. Why are you letting Malak control you?"

Bastila scowled and spat at Kat's feet. "You weakling. How dare you speak my Master's name!" She reached into her robe and pulled out her lightsaber, igniting the crimson blade.

Kat looked as though she might cry when she saw the red blade and the sneer on Bastila's face.

Bastila only smiled wider, throwing herself at Katrina. She made sure her attacks were swift and unpredictable, surprised when Kat found time to throw in attacks of her own. Too soon, she had to leap away, having sustained a wound that nearly cost her her life.

"I see," she murmured as she drew upon the dark side to heal her wounds. She looked up at Kat a moment later, noticing Kat's panting with a smile. "Now I know why Malak followed you; even though you're a shell of your former self, you're still a formidable opponent! I can't even fathom how powerful you must have been when you were Darth Revan!"

"I'm stronger now that I'm part of the light. I'm stronger than I ever was when I was Sith," Kat responded quietly, her expression clouding over as she looked at the woman before her. "The dark side is destroying you, Bastila. Can't you see that?"

Bastila spat on the floor, snarling at Kat. "The dark side has made me stronger than I ever was before! And don't say that all I'll accomplish is death and destruction. It's so much more than that! As Malak teaches me more and more, I'll surpass everyone! Even Malak himself!"

"He'll kill you first, Bas!" Kat cried, looking terrified at the prospect. "Don't you know the way of the Sith?! When someone becomes too powerful, they get proud and that's their downfall! Malak'll see it coming, and he'll kill you! Even if you were to kill him, all you'd be doing is dooming yourself to an endless cycle of death! You don't want that! Not if you're the Bastila I know!"

"No, Kat, you're the one doomed to death," Bastila retorted, feeling a little disappointed that Kat wasn't seeing the light, or, dark, as it just so happened to be.

Once again, lightsaber blades crashed in the control center.

Bastila tried to catch Kat by surprise more than once, failing each time. She parried Kat's attacks quickly, launching her own barrage of attacks. Kat dodged them skillfully, exhibiting the grace that she'd always contained.

"I'm not going to kill you," she told Bastila as they locked blades, straining against each other.

"Weakness," Bastila snarled and spun out of the lock, causing Kat to stumble forward. She slammed her lightsaber hilt down on Kat's back, causing her to fall to the floor. "You're getting tired, I can sense it! While you tire, trying to focus on your precious light side, the dark side re-energizes me! Soon, I will rise to victory!"

"Then kill me," Kat replied evenly, getting to her feet. "You're not evil, Bas, I believe that! You can't kill me!"

Bastila snorted, healing what minor wounds she had sustained with the Force. "You don't get it, do you? I'm Sith! I'm Malak's apprentice! You're in the way of my advance! You must die!" Again, she lunged at Kat, her mind focused on killing the woman that stood before her. But something deep inside her mind quietly agreed with what Katrina was saying. You're not evil, the voice in her mind said. You can't kill her. You love her.

Bastila faltered as she listened to the voice inside her, knowing it couldn't be Kat's; Bastila had blocked their bond when she was first captured by Malak. She hesitated only a moment when she had an opportunity to strike, studying Kat's face. Determination to save Bastila was there, mixed with love…

Just then, Kat's lightsaber met Bastila's, knocking Bastila off balance. Kat looked horrified as Bastila stumbled into the path of her lightsaber; it was too late to stop her. The green blade cut a large gash across Bastila's back, exposing a large area of raw flesh.

Bastila screamed, pain flooding her senses.

"SHIT!" Kat cried. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!!"

Bastila collapsed to the floor of the Star Forge. Her lightsaber tumbled out of her hand, her breathing ragged and shallow. The look of love that had been on Kat's face hung in her mind's eye, reminding her what life had been like before the Sith. She saw how stupid she was being, feeling the darkness that had a hold on her mind loosening. "Kill me," she begged, knowing that she was worthless both as a Jedi and as a Sith. To have fallen so far to the dark side, only to be defeated… She was a failure at both. "Take pity on me and kill me."

"No," Katrina replied firmly, kneeling at Bastila's side, wiping tears out of her eyes. "I'm not going to do that, Bastila."

Tears burned in Bastila's eyes, both of pain and shame. She rolled away from the sound of Katrina's voice, screwing her eyes shut. The metal edges of the floor dug into her body, more pain shooting through her. "Kat, if you ever loved me--"

"What do you mean 'ever'?" Kat asked softly, touching Bastila's arm gently. "I do love you, Bastila. I always will."

"I'm dark side," Bastila protested weakly. "Just kill me. It'll be easier."

"No, Bastila," Kat said firmly, her voice determined, yet gentle. "You're not evil. Think about it. You didn't kill me. You couldn't." She sighed before continuing. "I don't think Malak prepared you for this. I think this is something he forgot to count on. He forgot that you and I are connected by something bigger than him or the Force." Kat drew a breath, continuing a moment later. "Bastila, I did a lot of thinking and meditating while Malak had you. I hate myself for what I did to you, leaving you the way I did."

"I sacrificed myself," Bastila corrected, wiping away her tears in vain.

"No," Kat replied, suddenly sounding pained. "Before. When I left with Malak to fight. I… I shouldn't have ever let myself leave at a time like that, no matter what was going on elsewhere. Not when I left so much at stake."

Bastila fell silent with surprise, drawing a shaky breath and wincing as pain shot through her torso. "You were concerned about the galaxy as a whole. Every living thing was at stake."

"Maybe," Kat agreed. "But not the thing that mattered the most. I thought about you the whole time I was fighting. Every Mandalorian I killed felt like one step closer to going back to you. But I thought… The way you acted when you walked out on me, I thought you hated me. Everything I lived for was gone." She sighed. "And it was my own damn fault. Bastila, I'm so, so sorry."

The apology was filled with such sincere emotion that it made Bastila's heart ache. Something inside her wanted so desperately to believe that Kat had actually remembered the encounter, but something else forced her to hold back. She choked as she drew a breath, keeping herself from bursting into tears. "Revan?" she whispered. "Is it really you? Or more Council-programmed memories?"

"It's really me, Bas," Revan replied softly, her voice shaking. "I'm finally back."

Bastila felt the cool aura of Revan's Force healing encompass her body, feeling her wounds close and heal themselves. The pain in her body dissipated, and she lifted herself into a sitting position, blinded by the tears in her eyes.

She was suddenly surrounded by a pure feeling of love, more powerful than she had ever felt. Something warm and familiar wrapped itself around her, healing her once broken heart and filling it with peace as the darkness Malak had placed there vanished. Bastila realized it was Revan's arms around her and sank into them, bursting into tears of relief and joy. Revan, her Revan, was back.

The sense of loneliness and regret that had been sitting in Bastila's chest as a dead weight for the past year since Revan had 'died' lifted. Elation and tranquility took its place, taking Bastila to a level of happiness that she had forgotten existed. She lifted the block she'd put on their bond and clutched at the back of Revan's robe, burying her face in Revan's shoulder. She felt Revan's shoulders shudder with crying, hugging Revan tightly. "Don't cry," Bastila whispered, holding Revan close as tears slipped down her own cheeks.

"I can't help it," Revan replied, her voice shaking and thick with emotion. "I've finally got you back."

They both began searching for each other at the same moment, their lips meeting in a glorious kiss. More tender than any kiss they had ever shared before, they both trembled at the touch of the other. The kiss was only broken when neither could breathe.

They grinned at each other, Revan wiping Bastila's tears away. She sighed, resting her forehead against Bastila's and staring into her striking gray eyes. "Bastila… I can't do this. He's too strong."

Bastila held Revan a little closer. "Yes, you can, Revan. I believe in you."

Revan managed a weak smile. "Do me a favor?"

"Anything," Bastila replied immediately.

"Use your Battle Meditation and help the Republic break through the Sith lines. And the minute they do, get back to the Hawk." Revan's smile faded. "Don't wait for me if I'm not there already."

Bastila faltered a little. "Revan, I…" She paused, considering what to do. Finally she set in her lips in a firm line and tried to transfer her energy to Revan.

Revan shook her head and blocked the transfer. "Don't, Bas. You need your strength to get out of here."

Bastila started to protest, stopping when she saw that Revan was going to have none of it. Bastila frowned, hesitating. There was so much she wanted to say, and so little time… Words suddenly began pouring from within her without a conscious effort. "Rev, ever since the day you lost your memories, I've felt so lost. You weren't there to guide me, help me, or love me when I needed you the most."

Revan opened her mouth to apologize, hushed when Bastila rested her first two fingers on Revan's lips.

"But I got through it. I had trouble realizing that you were really there for me the whole time, resting right over my heart." Bastila paused, reached for the chain around her neck, and pulled the pendant into plain view. "I knew you were there as Katrina, but I wanted this you." She nodded at Revan to emphasize her point. "And this… this necklace was my shield. It felt like you were there protecting me the whole time."

Bastila reached around behind her neck and slipped the chain over her head. She transferred it to Revan's neck the next moment, grinning at the sight, just as she had years ago. "Let this," she said as she touched the pendant gently, infusing some of her power into it, "be your shield. Let me help protect you, Revan. I love you too much to let you die."

Revan's eyes filled with tears. She hugged Bastila to her tightly, burying her face in Bastila's shoulder. "I love you, Bastila," she mumbled, detangling herself a moment later. "I'll give it my damndest, I promise."

Bastila got to her feet, helping Revan up and gazing at her. "Just so long as you come back alive." She took Revan's hand in hers, channeling more of her own energy through the contact and giving Revan strength.

Revan was surprised at first, finally accepting the power with a smile. She stroked Bastila's cheek gently. "I'll come back," she promised quietly, kissing Bastila fleetingly before turning and stepping away. She glanced over her shoulder a moment later. "Where'd he go?"

Bastila pointed to a door on the far side of the control center, restraining herself from rushing over and catching Revan in another kiss. She was too overjoyed for words that Revan had returned to speak any more. She grinned, blowing Revan a kiss.

Revan pretended to catch it, grinned her thanks, and turned, dashing off the way Malak had left.

Bastila stared after her, sending a silent prayer to the Force to keep Revan safe. As the door hissed shut behind Revan, Bastila dropped to the floor and began focusing her Battle meditation to the Republic warships. She could feel the hope spreading through the army, hear their shouts of relief and joy. When she felt the far off rumble of an explosion, Bastila knew her work was done.

Just then, she felt Revan scream. She could feel the panic and pain rushing through Revan, feel the overpowering darkness that was Malak. She paused, getting to her feet.

Revan apparently sensed this, hurriedly telling Bastila, Don't come! I'm fine, just stay away.

Bastila was silent, listening and sensing things. She felt Malak's barrage of attacks, felt Revan's pain as she failed to dodge an attack. It was right then that all the things Revan and Katrina had told her struck home. All the things they had told her about doing what she felt was right, not what the Council or anyone else told her to finally had meaning and made sense. She grabbed her lightsaber off the floor, turning on her heel and dashing toward the elevator.

Stay away, Bas! He's too strong! Revan cried through their bond, sounding horrified that Bastila was coming.

Exactly, Bastila replied. Now shut up and fight. You are not going to die before I get there.

Indignation flowed through their bond as Bastila darted into the elevator. She paced back and forth in the small space, waiting as she rode up through the countless floors between her and Revan and Malak. Finally, she heard the elevator grinding to a halt, her hand tightening around her lightsaber hilt.

The door hissed open, revealing Malak knocking Revan over with a Force push, his lightsaber already on its way toward her limp body.

Bastila snarled, lunging out of the elevator toward the fighting duo. Her lightsaber blade shot out of the hilt as she hurtled toward Malak. She was thrilled when she realized that she'd caught Malak by surprise, throwing her body weight toward him.

Malak stumbled, but didn't fall to the ground. The distraction allowed Revan time to get off the floor and leap away, but Bastila wasn't so lucky. With Malak's sights set on her, Bastila was in immediate danger. Malak caught her with the Force, strangling her as he tossed her across the room into a vat filled with formaldehyde and a dead Jedi's body.

Bastila, who was choking and couldn't breathe, felt the dead body land on top of her as the glass shattered, pushing it off quickly as she scrambled to get to her feet.

"Let go of her, Malak!!" Revan roared, throwing her lightsaber directly toward Malak's chest.

Malak laughed, blocking the weapon with his own easily. "Still together after a devastating injury that left you clueless, hmm? You must be destined for each other, Revan." He deepened the power of his Force choke on Bastila, who was paling as she stumbled toward Revan, her lightsaber in her hand. "Of course, your destiny may have just led you to me so I could have the pleasure of killing you both."

Revan pulled her lightsaber back toward her, leaping toward Malak. She placed herself between Malak and Bastila, her blade drawn. "Leave her alone, Malak!" she screamed, now more afraid for Bastila than anything else; she was numbed to her own injuries because of her fear. "I'm the one you want dead, remember?!"

Malak laughed again, shaking his head. "You're still just the same, Revan. Always worried about Bastila, no matter if you're facing certain death." He snorted. "I never did understand you. I don't know why she means so much to you, even now that you know she fed you lies the whole time you were with her!"

Revan, don't give in to him, Bastila begged in Revan's ear. Please, stay strong.

Bastila, I'm so, so sorry I dragged you into this. Don't die. Not here, not now.

Just keep yourself safe, Rev. That's all I care about.

But--

Malak lifted Bastila high into the air and then slammed her to the floor with the Force, a sickening crunch accompanying the noise. Bastila lay motionless on the floor, her lightsaber rolling out of her now limp hand. Malak laughed, turning on Revan. He once again brandished his lightsaber, knowing Bastila was unable to help fight.

Bastila? Revan called, her heart sinking when she was met with silence. Something deep inside her ached with grief. Malak had killed her. Bastila, the only thing she had left, was gone. Something in Revan's chest told her to go back to Bastila and try to revive her, but the other part of her was filled with rage. Tears burned in Revan's eyes, and she lunged at Malak, pure hate in her heart, revenge on her mind.

Revan's sudden barrage of attacks surprised Malak. The strength of her blows forced him back until he was standing against the wall. He could feel the advantage he had had slipping away, taking a sudden risk and sending Revan flying back with a Force Push. He then erected a Force Shield around himself, preventing Revan from reaching him.

Revan was on her feet again in a second, rushing toward Malak as tears streamed down her cheeks. "You son of a BITCH!" she screamed at him. "You killed her!! Damn you, Malak, I'll kill you!!"

Malak couldn't help himself. He laughed, healing himself with the Force. "Now, Revan," he mocked her. "Don't give in to your emotions. That's not the way of the Jedi."

Revan snarled at him, breaking through his barrier with a burst of the Force and slashing her blade across his chest. She knew immediately that it was the only stroke she needed. She saw bone and blood falling to the floor around his feet.

Malak hadn't been paying attention at the most crucial time, and realized that he had just lost. His lightsaber tumbled out of his hand of its accord, his knees growing weak. He collapsed, dropping to his hands and knees. "Im… Impossible," he groaned. "I can't be beaten! I'm the Dark Lord of the Sith."

"You just got your ass whooped," Revan informed him, tears pouring down her cheeks. "And you deserved it. The one Jedi that should have lived through this didn't, and it's your fault. Not to mention all the other people you killed. I think this is fair."

Malak was silent for a moment, finally nodding. "You're right, Revan. This wasn't my destiny, after all. It may have been yours, but never mine. I wonder, if our positions had been reversed, would the outcome have been the same?"

Revan spat on the deck in front of him. "If our positions had been reversed none of this would have happened. You were the one to fall first, remember, and you dragged me down with you. And I didn't realize it until it was too late. I wouldn't have let either of us fall if it had been me. There wouldn't have been a confrontation like this." She sank to her knees, resting her hand on his bald head. "I'm so sorry for all of this, Malak," she whispered, numbing him to his pain. He had still been her friend, no matter what, and she wouldn't let him die a horrid death, even if she knew it was what he deserved.

Malak looked up at Revan with wonder in his eyes. "Even…" he murmured, pausing to cough. "Even after all this, you're still the model Jedi, Revan. And here I am, lost in evil. It's as it was meant to be," he mumbled, his strength leaving him. "Such is the way of the Sith; all things end in darkness."

Revan nodded, turning away respectfully so she wouldn't see him die. She sat there and cried when she heard him collapse, knowing that Malak was no more. But none of the tears she shed were for Malak. A single one was for all the pain she had wrought upon the galaxy as Darth Revan, but all the rest were for Bastila.

Revan crawled toward Bastila, all the pain of her own injuries flooding her nervous system. She briefly wondered how she had managed to fight Malak and win. But then Bastila was right there in front of her, lying limp on the deck, face down in a pool of blood.

Revan wanted to die right there, alone with the only person she loved. She gently rolled Bastila's body over, grabbing her own robe and gently mopping the blood off Bastila's face. Something inside her felt sick when she realized that all she was doing was spreading it around; her robe was soaked with her own blood. Revan threw the robe aside, using her sleeves instead.

A few moments later, Bastila's face was clean save a gash near her hairline that was still slowly oozing blood, her face still contorted slightly with pain.

The station rumbled and shook beneath Revan as she moaned miserably, taking Bastila's hand. She pressed Bastila's hand to her heart, her grief overtaking her as she let her chin sink to her chest. She didn't care if the Republic blew her to space dust anymore. Nothing mattered. Bastila was dead.

"… Rev…" The sound was nothing more than a whisper.

Revan's head snapped up, the tears in her eyes clearing as if commanded to do so. Bastila was frowning faintly, her eyes closed, her expression one of pain. Her lips moved slightly, forming words. "Bastila?!"

Bastila shook her head faintly, wincing at the motion. "Can't breathe," she mumbled, sounding weaker by the moment.

Revan glanced at Bastila's chest, noticing for the first time that Bastila's collarbone was snapped and pushed down into her chest, and Revan hazarded a guess that it was shoved down into her lung. A few ribs also looked flattened, and Bastila's left arm lay at an unnatural angle. "Holy shit," Revan breathed, gripping Bastila's hand a little tighter. "It's okay," she reassured Bastila, hating that she had to lie. "You're fine, but we need to get out of here. Can you make it with me?"

Bastila was silent for a moment, still not opening her eyes. "I … think so," she managed, giving Revan's hand a faint squeeze.

"Good," Revan replied, sounding braver and more assured than she felt. She thought only for a moment about how to transport Bastila back to the Ebon Hawk, ready with her plan a second later. "Okay, Bas, this might hurt, but you'll be okay. I'll heal you up as we go, okay?"

Bastila nodded, her eyelids fluttering.

Revan gently grabbed Bastila's good arm and hauled her up onto her shoulders. She readjusted Bastila a moment later, getting to her feet with Bastila on her back, piggyback style, just as she had years before when Bastila had been injured in the crystal cave. Revan stumbled for a moment under Bastila's weight, steeling herself against it and heading for the elevator.

"You win?" Bastila asked softly, her head resting against Revan's shoulder. Her arm was wrapped around Revan's neck gently, enough to support herself but not enough to choke Revan, showing that Bastila was making a conscious effort to not to hurt Revan.

"Yeah," Revan replied, her eyes on her destination. She forced herself to keep walking forward, knowing both her and Bastila's lives were at stake. "Malak's gone."

Bastila stroked Revan's shoulder gently as a gesture of approval and pride, a small smile on her face. "Good." She fell silent not long after that, worrying Revan as they reached the elevator.

"Hey, Bas?" Revan called softly as the elevator door hissed shut behind her. She punched the button for the hangar, feeling the car slowly begin to move. "You still okay?"

Bastila made a soft sound in the back of her throat. "Hurts to breathe," she mumbled.

Revan turned her head slightly, resting her cheek against the top of Bastila's head. "I know. You'll be okay." She drew a breath and cleared the blood from Bastila's lungs with the Force, though she knew more would trickle in from the broken collarbone and ribs wedged into the tissue. Bastila's breathing immediately sounded less halting and painful.

"Thanks," she whispered, sounding more comfortable for the time being.

Revan, feeling weak from the healing and the battle with Malak, smiled with relief. "You're welcome. Just stay with me. Don't die on me."

"I won't," Bastila promised faintly, using her good arm to hug Revan's neck gently.

The elevator shifted under Revan's feet as an explosion shook the Star Forge. Revan stumbled, nearly toppling over before she caught herself. She heard Bastila's breathing slow, panic racing through her. Revan stared at the elevator door, willing it to open. She knew Bastila was getting weaker with every passing moment.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the door hissed open. The Ebon Hawk sat waiting, all the engines humming and ready to go.

Carth stood outside the ship, watching anxiously. He raced toward Revan and Bastila, trying to take Bastila from Revan to lighten Revan's load.

Bastila whimpered in protest at the same time as Revan snapped at Carth not to touch Bastila. He stepped away reluctantly, helping Revan onto the ship and raising the boarding ramp.

Revan immediately headed for the small medbay, fighting away the darkness threatening to take her away into unconsciousness. She was faintly aware of Mission screaming and Zaalbar's grunting as he held Mission back from racing to Bastila and Revan's aid.

Jolee stood waiting in the medbay door, as if he had expected the injuries, stepping aside as Revan walked in with a now barely conscious Bastila. Revan laid Bastila down on the bed with the utmost care, being as gentle as she could.

The moment she got Bastila off her back, Revan's legs went weak, her vision dimming. She felt herself collapsing, felt hands grabbing her and carrying her away. "No," she protested, closing her eyes as the darkness swirled closer. "Help Bas… She's worse…"

A sound like someone screaming echoed in Revan's ears, lost in the darkness as it consumed her and the pain went away.

Long, wasn't it? =]
I couldn't find any decent place to cut it off, so I just kept writing. And if you noticed that Master Vandar doesn't exist, you get brownie points. =]

And I know that it switched from Revan back to Kat suddenly. I started writing this story mostly from Bastila's viewpoint, and decided it was too hard to stick with, what with there being a lot of things that happened with Revan that would have been behind the scenes. So I rewrote most of this story; that part remains from before, and besides, it starts focusing mainly on Bastila. Since she didn't know Kat was Revan again, I thought it fitting to write it as such.

Reviews would be great!