Last Chapter! Epilogue will be up in a few hours...I'll write comments and thank you's at the end of it.

Chapter Thirty Five – Comes the Light

Jolee grunted as he slammed into the cold metal floor, rolling away as a plasma grenade ignited behind him, singeing the edges of his robe and throwing one of the Jedi off his feet and across the room. From his position face down on the ground, the old man hurled his lightsaber at the Sith trooper in the doorway, and watched in satisfaction as the green blade sunk deep into the man's chest, killing him instantly. Jolee's joints creaked as he climbed to his feet and moved to retrieve his lightsaber from the last casualty of the latest wave of attackers, grumbling, "I'm too damn old for all this excitement."

He frowned as he made his way toward the remaining Jedi who were trying desperately to heal their fallen comrade. Juhani looked up at him as she realized the young Jedi was beyond their aid and whispered fiercely, "We cannot keep this up much longer. There are simply too many of them."

Jolee nodded in solemn agreement, but before he could speak, a dark tremor ran through him, so intense and unexpected that it nearly brought him to his knees. Juhani flinched, but seemed much less affected than he was, as did most of the remaining Jedi, but for one young man who groaned, "What is that?"

"A disturbance," Jolee answered as he fought back the raging emotions while at the same time seeking their source. When he located it, he cursed under his breath and muttered, "It's Revan."

Juhani stiffened and asked, "She is in danger?"

The old man sighed, and then moved toward the still open access tunnel behind the Hawk, saying, "Only from herself."

"Where are you going?" one of the eight remaining Jedi called after him, looking desperate and afraid.

Jolee's face was set with determination, though inside he felt a twinge of guilt as he said, "I have to get to her. Juhani will stay here with you – listen to her, and you just might live through this. And don't be heroes! If things get too bad, fall back to the ship." Without waiting for a response, the old man slipped into the tunnel, the Force his only guide as he made his way deep into the growing darkness.

-

Revan stared blankly at her former friend and Master, her mind seemingly unable to translate what her eyes were telling her. Knowing Zhar was dead was one thing, but to see his body inside that dark abomination, his spirit unable to reunite with the Force, was something she had never prepared for. Unable to suppress it, Revan began to tremble as a cold rage more powerful and dominating than anything she could ever remember experiencing before flowed in savage waves through her body, exacerbated by the overwhelming presence of the Dark Side around her.

"Oh, I see I've struck a nerve," Malak taunted, his snide comment like a poisoned vibrodagger in the stomach. "Nice to know I haven't lost my touch."

"You monster," Revan hissed, unbridled fury boiling inside her as she tore her eyes from her dead Master to stare at Malak.

The Dark Lord threw his head back and laughed mockingly, before he declared, "I'm the monster, Revan? You made me!"

Something fragile snapped in Revan as guilt mingled with the rage and sorrow. Without realizing how it got there, Revan's lightsaber suddenly sprang to life in her hand as she snarled, "Just another mistake to correct."

She lunged blindly toward her former apprentice, the Force swirling around her like a storm as her blades sliced the air around him. Malak leaped back out of the path of her wild assault, cackling with cruel delight, though inside he felt a twinge of surprise at the strength and accuracy of her attack despite her emotional imbalance. "There's the Revan we all know and love," he taunted as he gathered the Force and shot a sting of white-violet lightning at her.

Revan didn't move to block the attack, but instead allowed the searing pain to roll through her body, groaning as her muscles twitched spastically. She no longer warred with her emotions – she embraced them, and used the pain as fuel. The lightning died off, and without a pause, Revan straightened up, a malevolent smile twisting her face as she slowly advanced upon Malak. The Dark Lord eyed her warily, waiting for her to make a move as she circled him like a predator. "You know, Malak," she purred in a deep, unnatural voice. "You say that I made you. But the truth is…you made me as well, with your lies, your deceptions, and your treachery toward my sister. So, come, my former apprentice, let us end this vicious cycle."

-

Canderous muttered a string of Mando'a curses under his breath as he carefully attempted to plant the last frag mine against the door. The tedious, dangerous work was made all the more difficult as thoughts of strangling Revan for her pride or kissing her stupid if she were kept safe rising in the back of his mind. And of course, the biggest distraction of all -

"Threat: Again I remind you, Mandalorian meatbag, that if you succeed in this rather foolish attempt to follow my Master, I will be forced to obey her orders and…incapacitate you."

"Would you shut the hell up, you walking pile of scrap?" Canderous growled as he finished his task and backed away to scrutinize his handiwork. A dozen or so frag mines lined the perimeter of the door Revan had somehow sealed. This better work. A part of him was certain that it wouldn't, but he had to try. As he looked around the vast room for the best place to take cover from the coming explosion, the Mandalorian's eyes drifted over Carth, Bastila and Dustil, still meditating and unaware of the situation with Revan. What in the hell was she thinking!? Everyone has a duty, a job to do…even the damn assassin droid has orders to baby-sit me. And I'm just supposed to sit back and wait for her to come back…if she even comes back at all!? So much for "everything happens for a reason."

Canderous swallowed the bitter anger that rose in his throat, and, gripping the detonator gingerly, started toward a cleft in the wall that looked to be far enough away from the door. Before he'd gone two steps a figure rushed up the ramp behind Bastila and the others. Canderous tensed and raised his repeater, then in the same beat, exhaled loudly and relaxed as he recognized Jolee.

The old ex-Jedi veered away from Bastila, leaving her meditations undisturbed and approached Canderous instead. It took Jolee only a second to assess the situation as he approached, and he grumbled, "That damn woman – I should have known she'd try something like this."

Canderous' grunt implied, "I feel the same way," but he said, "She sealed the door. HK here has orders to stop me if I do manage to get through. She planned this."

Jolee's expression softened for a moment and he said, "Don't be too hard on her, kid. She's just doing what she thinks is best." He frowned at the mines along the door. "And that's not going to cut it, I'm afraid. I think…" he trailed off, focusing his will on the Force shielding that protected the door, and after several long seconds, the door clicked and slid open.

Canderous let out an explosive sigh of relief, but HK-47 stepped in front of the now open doorway. "Pleased Statement: I have been waiting for an opportunity to do this, meatbag. How amusing that my Master herself gave me the order!"

The Mandalorian opened his mouth to respond, but Jolee beat him to it. "HK-47," Jolee said with much authority, "access command 'Jolee-2730' and stand down."

The droid stiffened upright suddenly, then said, "Statement: HK-47 is ready to serve. Inquiry: What are your orders, Master?"

Canderous' jaw dropped in shock before he managed to say, "How did you do that?"

The old man snorted in disgust and he snapped, "I reprogrammed him with an override command when we first got him back on Tatooine, just in case. I mean, he is an assassin droid. Kind of scary that I'm the only one who thought of it," he added with a sharp glance. The Mandalorian scowled darkly in response, and Jolee turned to HK and said, "You orders are to accompany me and Canderous to find Revan. Those orders override all others, understood?" As the droid acknowledged, Jolee said to Canderous, "Alright, let's go save your woman."

-

As Revan twisted away from another close swing of Malak's crimson blade, the smell of burnt hair stung her nostrils as the saber severed the end of her long braid. She tried to add this insult to the fading reservoir of anger and hatred that roiled within her, but she was weakening, and fast. Malak clearly had the upper hand in size and brute strength, but under normal circumstances, she was more than capable of neutralizing these advantages through the Force. Now as she backed away from her enemy, panting and sweating with exertion and aching from several wounds, Revan could not shake the feeling of disconnection within herself.

"The Force abandons you," Malak sneered, hiding his own weariness under arrogance as he paced around her while she continued to back away. "You cannot walk both sides of the fence, Revan. Your heart bleeds to be the upstanding paragon of Jedi martyrdom, but the part of you that is the Dark Lord, which will always wallow in the darkness, knows you cannot defeat me without your hatred. Your weakness is your duality."

Snarling at his condescension, Revan opened her mouth to respond when suddenly she felt her back pressed into something smooth and cold. She turned her head to stare up into the vacant eyes of Master Zhar.

Time ground to a stop as Revan was drawn into his dead gaze, her mind flashing memories of training sessions, meditations, a fatherly hand on her shoulder when she doubted herself…those eyes that had held such sorrow when she'd left for war. Then, just as a blurry holo suddenly snaps into focus, the truth of her actions echoed in her mind, and despite the cost, she knew what she must do.

Malak was watching her with morbid curiosity when she turned back, but his expression shifted to hard resolve when he saw the grim determination in her face. Lifting her chin, Revan said in a calm, quiet voice, "Then it is time for me to choose a side."

Revan dropped her lightsaber to the floor at her feet as she turned her back to Malak, and summoning every ounce of will, she formed the Force into blue-white electricity that swirled and cracked around her hands before leaping toward the tank that held Master Zhar. "What are you doing!?" Malak shrieked, but she ignored him, channeling more power into the machine until the tank exploded with a violent spray of liquid and glass. She felt a strange disembodied satisfaction as Master Zhar's body crumpled at her feet, now free to be reunited with the Force.

The overload of the tank caused a cascading chain reaction that erupted outward in a wave, destroying the remaining tanks one by one. Revan's body shook violently with the effort, but she refused to stop feeding the flow of power until the last Jedi was free from the dark hold of the Star Forge. She was so focused on her task that she did not feel Malak's approach until she felt the molten touch of his lightsaber piercing her back. She stared down in uncomprehending curiosity at the crimson blade protruding from the center of her abdomen.

Blinded by his fury and overwhelming desire to kill Revan for her sudden change in tactics, Malak did not stop to think of the implications of using a lightsaber on someone who was radiating with electric currents of the Force. A split second after hearing the satisfying hiss of his blade sinking into her flesh, Malak's entire body boiled with agony. The metal jaw that Revan had given him after he destroyed Telos acted as a conductor, sending the current directly into his brain, and killing him almost instantly. His lightsaber deactivated and clattered to the floor as he sank down still twitching beside it. His head hit the metal with a sickening wet thud, his vacant eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Revan's knees gave out from the pain and incredible exertion, and she fell gracelessly between Malak and Master Zhar, fighting off the black spots that swam in her vision. She rolled to her back and tried to touch the wound that pierced her clean through, just below her heart, but she already knew the damage was fatal. Her head lolled to one side to stare at Master Zhar, and she smiled as she thought, Yes…it was worth the sacrifice.

Revan let her eyes fall closed, relishing the warm numbness that was slowly enveloping her. She became aware of voices, running boots, metal-on-metal sounds coming from near where she lay, but she could not bring herself to care enough to open her eyes until someone slapped her, hard.

Her lids blinked open, focusing with reluctance on the scowling yet terrified face of Canderous. "You damn stupid woman!" he hissed as he studied her face. "Just what were you thinking?"

Jolee knelt at her other side as he told Canderous, "Shut up. Now's not the time for that." The old man immediately located Revan's fatal injury, pulling her robes carefully open, the metal armor plate pierced with two melted holes, one from Bastila and the other from Malak. Lifting her undershirt to reveal the charred wound, Jolee groaned softly. Sinking back on his heels with a sigh, he announced grimly, "I can't save her."

"What!?" Canderous screamed, his eyes wild with desperation.

Jolee looked truly regretful, his eyes shining as he said quietly, "I'm sorry, kid, but this is beyond my power. She doesn't have long either. The lightsaber cauterized the arteries, but without the proper blood supply, her body's going numb and eventually she'll just stop breathing. I'm sorry." Jolee reached out and smoothed one hand over Revan's hair, his face twisted with the pain of loss, before he rose and walked away, leaving Canderous alone with Revan.

Canderous stared after him, his mind reeling with a thousand emotions, and it wasn't until he felt Revan's weak touch on his cheek that he looked down at her. "Please…" she whispered forcibly, "please do not…it was my choice. I had to…I am so sorry…."

Blinking back tears, Canderous lifted her gently into his lap as he murmured, "No, no, stop. It's all right now. I'm here, Revan." She's going to die…and there's nothing you can do about it.

"Hurt you…never meant to…love you," she strained out, her body gradually relaxing in his arms.

Canderous stared down at her fading body, his thoughts and emotions in a swirling knot in his stomach. I can't believe you're just going to sit here and let her die! You coward! She was willing to sacrifice everything to protect you, and now she's going to die in your arms. Do something! And then it hit him.

He shook Revan slightly so that she opened her eyes to gaze up at him. "Revan," he said, forcing her to focus on his face, "use me." The woman's brow wrinkled in confusion, so he clarified, "You said you could draw the life of others into you. Take mine."

She shook her head in resignation, and said, "No…can't. Not strong enough."

"No!" Canderous growled, shaking her harder. "I refuse to believe that! You are the strongest woman, possibly the strongest person I have ever met, and there is nothing you can't do if you want to! DO NOT lie to me!"

Revan's gaze was thick with sadness as she whispered, "Then…maybe I do not…want to live…."

Now angry, Canderous snarled, "That's banthashit, Revan! All that talk on the ship about purpose and meaning and destinies was just a bunch of lies!"

The dying woman's eyes sharpened suddenly, focusing on the irate and desperate Mandalorian's face as realization dawned on her. She nodded, lifting a trembling hand toward his face as she whispered, "Kiss…me…."

Canderous hesitated, worried that she was trying to silence him so that she could die in peace, then he recognized the determined glint in her eye, and leaned his face down to hers. As he pressed his lips softly to her own, she guided his hand to cover the still exposed skin on her abdomen over the injury.

I know we were destined to be here, at this exact moment, in this way.

As his eyes closed and he kissed her with soft conviction, Canderous suddenly remembered the first moments he'd spent alone with Revan back on Taris. She had commented on the scars that pierced his left side…in nearly the same places she was wounded now. Of all the many scars he bore, why did she mention those then?

You and I were meant to find one another.

When nothing happened for several long seconds, Canderous felt desperate, but the soft rise and fall of her chest under his palm assured him that she was still alive and kept him from moving away from her lips.

I need you as much as you need me.

His stomach tightened painfully as he felt the strangest sensation, like his life was being sucked out through the very air around him.

We have relied on each other in many ways throughout this journey, and the journey is not yet complete.

It was only his love for her, his dedication, his loyalty that kept the Mandalorian from jerking away as she demanded more and more of his life to save her own.

There is a reason we are here.

Canderous tried to fight off unconsciousness, but Revan's powers overwhelmed him. I can't think of a more honorable reason to give my life, he thought before he slipped into darkness.

-

The first thing Revan thought as her mind rose from sleep was that she was starving. Oh, I feel like I have not eaten in weeks…well, at least I am warm and it is quiet. Her second thought brought her eyes open with a sharp gasp. Canderous…

She was inside the medbay of a Republic ship, in a private room that was dimly lit and almost eerily silent. Revan jumped as a low groan beside her revealed the reason she was so warm: Canderous was asleep, curled around her side, one arm wrapped protectively over her waist. She relaxed against him, tears of relief sliding down her cheeks as she remembered patches of what had happened after her battle with Malak.

"You were willing to die for me," she whispered aloud as her fingers gently explored the firm contours of his face, tracing his scars lovingly. "I could have killed you, you stubborn fool."

The Mandalorian opened one eye, looking an equal mix of annoyed and pleased, as he grumbled, "I almost wish you had. The recovery from whatever you did to me has been hell. And don't you know better than to wake a sleeping Mandalorian?" he added as he closed his eye again and pulled her closer against him, preparing to sleep once more.

Revan pressed her head against his chest as she held him close, listening to the steady beating of his heart. Despite her hunger, she felt sleep calling her as she realized that there was nowhere else for her to be, no quest to complete, no mission that must succeed. Malak was dead. For the first time in what felt like forever, Revan had nothing more important to do than rest.

"Did I persuade you?" she mumbled sleepily.

Canderous frowned at having his rest interrupted again, but muttered back, "Of what?"

Revan pulled away from him, looking at his face until he reluctantly opened his eyes. "You know what I am talking about, Canderous," she said with a small smile. "You just do not wish to say that I was right."

"You're damn right," the Mandalorian snorted. "The second you tell a woman she was right and you were wrong, there'll be no living with her." Revan chuckled softly and allowed him to pull her back toward his chest. She was prepared to receive that as her only answer, but she felt warmth spread through her as she heard Canderous whisper into her hair, "You were right, Revan. We were meant to find each other." Revan smiled to herself before relaxing into a deep, restful sleep.