A/N - Oi me buckos, as I've been so incredibly writing lazy lately, this chapter is entirely courtesy of Son Kenshin with just a wee bit of beta from Kelli and I. Without further ado...
Seja watched helplessly as Jon cringed in pain at the revelation – Jon was indeed the greatest traitor the Republic had ever known. Seja strained to move, but his body was frozen against his will. He tried to scream, to cry out, to comfort his friend and then it hit him...he was caught in Malak's stasis field.
Fighting a growing panic, he calmed himself and breathed out slowly, letting the Force flow through him. His eyes rolled back and he flexed his muscles, shattering the unseen chains of the stasis.
Malak looked at him in surprise.
Seja took a step forward. "That's the thing about Force Stasis, Malak, it only works when your enemy has a weaker will than you do," Seja told him confidently and he walked over to Jon.
"You are not Revan, Jon."
"W-What do you mean? I-I saw everything," Jon said in a horrified whisper.
"You may have Revan's body and traces of his mind, but you are not him. Revan is dead and you remain." Seja then looked over to Malak. "My old friend, please abandon this path."
Malak grunted. "You must be joking, Seja. You know as well as I do that I'm too far gone...and I like the power that the Dark Side has given me. It has allowed me to surpass my master..."
Seja knew that if Malak had had an organic jaw, he would be smirking with his last statement. But alas, he was without one.
Sano then stepped forward, struggling against the stasis. "I...don't know what the hell is going on, but you're not Revan, Jon! Fight this bastard!" With that, Sano shattered the stasis field and he began charging at Malak with his fists ready.
Malak sidestepped the brawler's punch at the last second, but a gash appeared on the his cheek and blood spattered on the wall. Sano's fist flew at such a speed, the wind alone grazed the Dark Lord's cheek.
"Hah! How was that? Where was your dark side then?" Sano asked confidently, slamming his fists together.
"Jon, Sano will need our help...you are stronger than this!" Seja told Jon and he got up from a kneeling position and ignited his non-killing lightsaber. "You have the strength, just find it."
Jon thought about Seja's words and memories came flooding back to him...his training at the Academy, his intelligence work, the battle on the Endar Spire, the escape from Taris...these were true memories of his real self. He kept seeing all the charity that he had done on Taris, everyone he helped on that doomed planet.
Then, his mind bolted to other worlds –
I stopped the feud between the Sandrals and Matales and helped their children find their love. On Tatooine, we. We made friends with the Sand People and fought with the Krayt Dragon. We found the little girl Sasha on board of the Ebon Hawk and adopted her into our crew.
Everything he had done on Kashyyyk and Manaan also strengthened this...new resolve. He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly.
"You're right, Seja. I am not Revan nor will I turn to the Dark Side," Jon stated with inner strength and he ignited his lightsaber. "I don't know how much of a chance I stand against Malak, but I'll fight him
with all my power…" He then glanced back at Bastila, who was still caught in the stasis field. "...to
protect her."
"You are a fool, Revan. The three of you do not stand a chance against me!" Malak boasted, igniting his blood-red Sith lightsaber. "You three will die as well as your Republic friend and I will take Bastila."
At that, Seja vanished and Malak looked around, searching. The terrain wouldn't allow for Seja's strongest attacks and Malak relaxed his stance, taking a haughty pose.
"Super Shien style, Krayt Dragon Crash!" Seja roared and Malak looked up sharply to see the wandering Jedi about to drop his lightsaber blade over the Dark Lord's head.
Malak blocked the attack at the last second and with a wave of the Force he threw Seja away from him into a wall. Sano cried out and charged the Dark Lord again. Malak swung his blade at the brawler, who ducked under the sizzling cut. Sano crouched and, in one fluid motion leapt and slammed his fist, hard, into Malak's metal jaw.
"Ah!" Malak cried as metal shards flew from the band and he almost fell onto the ground.
Then, it was then Jon's turn. He launched himself forward with a Force Jump, and horizontally swung his yellow blade, which smashed into Malak's chest. The lightsaber stopped cold, sizzling and smoking against the armor, leaving a dark, black streak.
With a grunt, Malak spun away out of reach. "Surprised, Revan? This is Cortosis-woven armor...it'll take a lot more force than that to cut through it!" Malak told the stunned Jedi and with a flick of his wrist he threw all three of them backward.
The three fighters scrambled to their feet, but Malak had already bolted. Sano grinned and looked at his friends. "For a Dark Lord, he sure acts cowardly," Sano joked, stretching his arms out. He cracked his neck and then slapped Jon on the shoulder.
"We must pursue him," Jon said with a harsh exhale of breath, showing some pain from Malak's Force attack.
"Get some of your strength back," Seja told him, and put his hand to his own cheek. There was another ripple in the Force. "My friends, I feel that Sion is also on board as well... This bodes ill."
"Two Dark Lords for the price of one?" Sano joked again, cracking his knuckles and he spit out some blood. "Alright, I'm going forward."
"We should all attack him together, Sano," Jon told his brawling friend.
Sano merely huffed and Jon focused his energies, letting the Force heal his wounds. The Jedi rose, and he walked over to Bastila. The stasis field vanished when Jon touched her and she collapsed into his arms.
"J-Jon...f-forgive me..." Bastila pleaded and Jon gently touched her on the cheek.
"There is nothing to forgive, Bastila," Jon told her as he cupped her face and they kissed passionately. "I love you...but this is a battle I must face myself. Carth will need healing, so please unlock him from stasis and heal his wounds."
Bastila nodded and Jon pulled her so that their foreheads touched. They kissed again and Bastila reached out to wrap her arms around his back, but Jon stepped away. His face showed that he was wracked in doubt, his eyes downcast and his lips quivering. He looked back into her eyes with that longing glance and gave her a soft smile.
"Please return to the ship, we'll handle Malak."
The female Jedi nodded and her heart rose - He didn't hate her, even after she kept this horrible secret from him! She looked up to see Jon, Seja, and Sano running through a nearby door and she clutched her lightsaber staff.
She whispered, "As soon as Carth is healed...I am coming to help, my love..."
Bastila unlocked Carth's stasis and the Republic Captain fell onto the deck. She helped him up as he clutched his arm.
"Okay, Bastila, tell me everything," Carth ordered her, with and edge of betrayal in his voice.
"He is Revan, yet he isn't Revan, Carth. The Dark Lord is dead," Bastila told him with an elated smile. The captain looked at her with confusion, but she merely said, "I'll heal that shoulder now."
Carth nodded, still not fully trusting Bastila, nor did he trust Jon...or Revan. He didn't know which was
which, but he wasn't going to take any chances when he saw their 'fearless leader' next.