*A/N: Posting a day in advance! Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you! :D

Into Darkness

Malachor V

A fog rolled in a dark red haze around the ancient sith sculptures and the petrified remains. Darth Revan and her brother, Malak, stood among the ancient relics, their shadows mingling with the ones from those left behind.

"It should not be standing." Darth Revan marveled at the massive red Sith temple rising up before them. "It is amazing that it withstood the effects of the Mass Shadow Generator. Truly, it is a wonder that any of this came through unscathed."

Malak knelt beside one of the petrified remains before him. "What happened here? Was this the result of Bao-Dur's machine?"

Revan closed her eyes and looked inward as she remembered the lessons learned from the sith holocron. "No, this happened long before his creation. We are standing on an ancient battlefield, one that was waged between the Sith and the Jedi."

Malak crossed his arms, feeling uneasy as he stared up at the foreboding stone pyramid before them. Ghostly hands trailed over his body, making his skin crawl. "Why are we here, Revan?"

"You must choose, Malak." At that moment, Revan knew full well he hated her. Hated her for bringing him here. Hated her for making him remember the devastation they caused to this world, just as she hated herself.

Malak frowned. "Choose, what exactly?" he asked, looking around at the desolate ruins surrounding them.

She cocked her head at him. "Whether or not you are ready to begin your training, apprentice."

She felt it rise up, like an hissing snake. Jealousy. Anger. Hate. She breathed it in, letting it fill her...empower her.

"Apprentice?!" Malak shouted across the dusty ruins. "I am not another one of your lackeys, sister!"

"No?" she asked haughtily, as she goaded him on. "Did you not follow me out to war like the others? Hang on my every word? Follow my every move? Come now, be honest with yourself."

Malak paced before her, while she stood rock still breathing in his anger. Letting it strengthen her.

"You know damned good and well why I followed you, Revan! To protect you! To keep you safe! I couldn't just...let you go off and get yourself killed!"

"Oh, please, Malak!" Dark laughter erupted from her. "That's just what you tell yourself so you can sleep at night! You know the reason you followed me. The reason you still follow me. Because you wanted the glory. The fame. The power! And yet, I hold it."

Yes, one to hold power, and another to crave it.

She paced before him as she continued. "And you want it. Don't you? Want it so badly you can almost taste it on your lips. Isn't that why you're here?"

She smiled beneath the mask as she stalked around him ignoring his deadly glare. Cold dark energy swirled, corrupting and twisting them, as it flowed through them.

"Remember how angry you were when you were passed over when I was named the Supreme Commander? Remember how you coveted that position? Yet, it was given to me." She cocked her head to the side as she grinned, though he could not see her evil smile, knowing that she was provoking him. "When I was raised higher, you felt as if you were left behind. Overlooked, all because your little sister was stronger - better than you." She laughed, feeling his anger rising close to the boiling point. "Isn't that so, Malak?"

He sneered at her, and gave her a murderous look. A snap-hiss filled the void between them as he ignited his saber. "Yes," he hissed.

"You think you can defeat me?" she asked, taunting him. "I'd like to see you try."

He leapt at her, with his saber held high.

As she channeled her anger into strength, she was focused. It gave her power. She no longer felt restrained by the strict dogma of the Jedi. No, now she was free.

A baleful tune rippled through the Force as she pushed him closer to the edge.

Their lightsabers gave off blue and violet sparks as they clashed while they fought, leaping over the ruins that lie in their path. Their strikes were lethal as they moved in their deadly dance.

The kyber crystal in her right lightsaber wailed through the Force as she used it to focus all her pent-up pain, turning a brilliant crimson as it bled. A violent storm of lightning shot from her fingertips. He screamed in agony as it swept over him, licking his skin with electric barbed tongues.

She let him fall to her feet as she stared down at him, the black and red mask hiding her look of contempt. She lifted him with the force, the dark notes of the Force filling her, as she let him dangle before her. She tightened her hand together, harnessing the force around his throat, and squeezed. He clawed desperately at his throat, trying to remove the invisible hands of the force. Her eyes narrowed darkly as she opened her hand. He landed hard at her feet.

She clipped the hilts of her lightsabers onto her belt as she loomed over him. "You must choose. Do you wish to continue down this path? Do you wish to become my apprentice and learn the ways of the Sith, or do you wish to turn and run back to the Jedi?"

He staggered to his feet, clutching his side. His eyes narrowed at her. "I will be your...apprentice," he spat.

"Good." She smiled slyly under her mask as she breathed in his hate. "You must learn to channel your anger, use it to make you stronger. Through strength, you gain power. Through power, you gain victory. Through victory, your chains are broken and the Force will set you free."

He nodded, his breath coming in painful gasps. "Yes, sister."

She scowled. "I am no longer your sister. Ashla Meriwether is no more. She is gone, only Revan remains. You would do well to remember that in the future." She ignited the crimson blade. "Kneel."

Malak dropped to his knees and knelt before her. "Yes...Master." He flinched as the heat from the crimson blade neared his shoulder.

"Rise, Darth Malak." She led the way into the temple. "You have much to learn."

Darth Malak followed behind her, glowering at her with each painful step.

#

Coruscant

Revan's black cloak billowed around her as she stared out over the sprawling city. She used to love watching the streams of speeders in the air traffic lanes, the glow of the lights stretching out before her, and the feel of the Force rising up around her. It used to fill her with awe, the magnificence of it all.

Now, there was only indifference.

"HK, you have been given your assignments. After each mission is completed, you will wipe all information regarding your mission from your data banks. Once you have completed all of your missions, return to me."

"Recitation: of course, master. It is my primary function to drill holes through those meatbags you wish to be removed." HK-47 turned his menacing red-yellow eyes to his master, nodded once, then crept under the cloak of darkness to his first target.

The wind blew her cloak around her as she stared up at the Senate Tower.

Inside the tower, she paused at a computer terminal, and quickly accessed the security feeds. Her gloved fingers flew over the keyboard as she took the whole system offline.

It didn't take long to find the office in question, even though she had not been inside of the Tower for over a decade. With a flick of her wrist, the door gave way allowing her access to the darkened chamber inside. She sat in the tall chair behind the desk and rotated until she gazed out of the transparisteel window at the hustle and bustle of the ecumenopolis. Her fingers drummed on the arm of the chair as she waited.

She did not have to wait long.

He arrived right on time. Just as Karath said he would. His intel was perfect, she thought as she listened to the door slide open. Perhaps she would make him an admiral after all. The man was certainly ambitious. Eager to prove his loyalty to the Sith since he deflected from the Republic.

The lights came on in the office, kept low and dim, hiding her in the shadows.

She turned the chair around slowly.

The Senator froze in the open threshold, paralyzed with fear. It oozed off of him, filling the Force with a dissonant tune. The foreboding melody flowed through her, giving her strength. Focus. Power.

Magnificent.

She stared. Her even gaze was cold and calculating. "My, my...Senator. I hear you have been quite the busy man." The sound of her harsh vocalizer filled the room.

"M-my Lord...R-revan," he stammered. "I…this is most unexpected."

She turned her masked visage to study the expensive art that decorated the Tarisian Senator's plush office. "Why, this piece alone must have cost you a small fortune. You must have been saving up for years to afford such beauty."

He swallowed hard as he leveled his blaster at her. Beads of sweat formed along his forehead.

She ignored the trembling blaster aimed at her. "Or, you have been funneling funds away from your constituents. Funds that could have fed and clothed millions of your people, like the Cathars." She leveled her gaze back on him. "Cathars who were enslaved. Persecuted. Starved. All while you turned a blind eye to their plight and lined your own pockets. Tsk...tsk."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he stated, with a false sense of bravado, as he stared down at her.

"You don't?" Revan rose and edged her way to him, her gloved hand rising to mimic a blaster. She was close enough now that he could almost make out her eyes behind the black transparisteel visor. "Are you sure about that, Senator?"

She focused on him, reaching into his mind with the Force.

The blaster shook in his hand. It was a small piece, easily concealed in a pocket or within the folds of a robe. The Force swirled darkly within his mind as she tightened her hold, increasing the tempo of the dissonant tune as she rotated her hand towards herself.

The Senator's fear was palpable as the blaster, as if by some invisible hand, turned upon himself. "N-no," he mumbled incoherently as sweat poured down his face. "P-please."

Revan paused, her eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Did you show the Cathar people compassion? Or did you hide behind your desk and ignore the extremity of their situation?"

"Th-they are...but...simpletons! Nothing but animals!" He stammered. "P-please… mercy, Lord Revan."

"Mercy?" Her voice dripped with contempt. "Why should I bestow mercy when you have none to give?"

The Force reached a crescendo as Revan squeezed her finger, simulating a trigger being pulled. The blaster sounded and a ray of red light pulsed into him. The Senator's face grew slack as he slid down the wall.

She stared at him, lying crumpled on the floor, before walking quietly from the room. A cold settled within her as she strode calmly from the Senate Tower. She could trust HK to handle the rest of the political targets on her list, but this one...this one she had wanted to do personally.

There would never be another incident like what happened on Malachor again...and if playing politics was the way to do it, then so be it.

#

Telos

Telos was burning.

As Revan's shuttle emerged from hyperspace, she was blasted with their cries through the Force. She nearly doubled over as it slammed into her.

Damn you, Malak! You swore! Swore to me that we'd never have a repeat of Serroco...of Malachor...ever again!

She paced the bridge of her shuttle as it neared Malak's flagship, The Leviathan, staring at the planet burning below her, feeling their pain and suffering.

Anger bubbled up within her, churning into rage. Her vision was a red haze as she waited for her shuttle to finish docking.

Rage consumed her.

How dare he?! How dare he DEFY me? He knew this planet was under my protection! All the work I put into this planet, building it up. A planet as rich in resources as Telos was would have helped feed not only their growing army, but also millions across the galaxy - and he destroys it?! He will surely pay for this indiscretion!

She marched to the bridge, pushing anyone aside who would dare get in her path. "Malak!"

She wrenched the Force around the bridge door, prying it open. The interns seated at their terminals balked as they saw her storm down the center aisle towards Malak, who stood at the helm. They fled in fear, leaving the two Sith Lords alone on the now empty bridge.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a sinister grin as he felt his sister approach. He breathed in her rage...her anger…

"Awwhh, sister. You have returned." His jab had the reaction he sought as he heard the familiar sound of her lightsabers igniting with a snap-hiss.

"What is the meaning of this, apprentice?" she fumed.

Her hands tightened around the hilts as he had the audacity to chuckle.

"You, dear sister, have grown soft. Your attachment to this tiny wretched planet only exacerbates it, proving you are unworthy to hold your title as a Darth!"

"You overstep yourself." She seethed as she pointed the crimson blade at him. "You have forgotten your place, apprentice."

"Apprentice?" Malak turned to face her, anger contorting his handsome features into a monstrous scowl. "I tire of being held under your thumb, Little Sister. Forever, have I been in your shadow! Always being held to your standard! I say, no more!" He yelled, bristling with rage as he exhaled sharply. "Besides, Karath needed to prove himself. He needed to be tested. Telos was the ideal location. The homeworld of his precious student, the one he thought of as a son. You might remember him, dear sister."

He paused in his pacing, enjoying feeling her confusion. He wished, and not for the first time, that she would take off that damned mask. He wanted to see the pain he was about to inflict, see it twist and contort her beautiful face. "Carth Onasi. Surely, you do remember him?"

A stab of fear lanced through her.

"Awwh, sister..." He laughed maliciously as he felt her fear howling through the Force. "I see that you do remember him. I wasn't sure - you haven't spoken of him...in such a very long time. I, too, had all but forgotten about him...but then Karath." He crossed his arms as he gave her a sinister grin. "Karath reminded me when he told me how he tried, and failed, to bring the exceptional pilot with him. Tell me, was that your plan all along, sister? Recruit the father to bring the son? Well, if so, your scheme failed. It seems your unrequited love could not be swayed from his beloved Republic."

He paced with his hands clasped behind his back as he stared darkly at her. "I did wonder why you were so intent on protecting this planet. I mean, it is not as if there aren't many other worlds in the galaxy that would meet your requirements. Then, Karath mentioned your pretty boy pilot, and suddenly, your attachment to this miserable little planet made perfect sense. The homeworld of your beloved pilot, where he lives with his family. No wonder you worked so hard to protect Telos, to bring commerce and trade to it. Hmph, you've grown far too lenient."

Her blood boiled with rage at his words. She had not known that Saul Karath was Carth's mentor. Karath never mentioned him to her, and she had never even thought to ask. She hadn't allowed herself to think about the handsome pilot in years, not since that day on Cathar when she took up the mask and the mantle of Revan.

He laughed in ridicule at her. "Tell me, sister...was that what you really wanted, all this time? A family...love...when you had the galaxy, all but in the palm of your hand?"

Dissonance screeched in the Force. She closed her eyes and breathed in the inharmonious tune, filling her with strength. With unbridled power. "You will pay for this treachery, brother."

The Force rang with a cacophonous noise, so loud...so strong...it built up within her to a shattering point as she unleashed her rage on him. A streak of lightning shot from her outstretched fingers, arcing itself way across the bridge to her target. It ripped into him, lifting him off the floor.

Enraged, she screamed his name as her other hand joined the storm, lifting him higher. She let go of the lightning, panting as he fell to the floor. The blood rushed in her ears as she paced before his prone figure.

Malak struggled to his feet. "You should be thanking me, sister. By killing your pilot, and with him, your precious planet...I have made you even more powerful. I did the dirty work, made the sacrifice that you could not bring yourself to do!"

"The only thing that you have done is foil our plans!" The violet blade came dangerously close to his chin. "Your lack of foresight has set us back months. There was so much more at stake here, and in your pettiness, you chose to overlook it! As always, you focused on the wrong thing!"

"I'm tired of listening to you, harpy!" He yelled as he reached out into the Force, and pinched his forefinger and thumb together. The air whooshed out of her as her throat constricted tighter and tighter, an invisible hand of the Force choking her. Her boots scraped across the floor as he pulled her to him. "It's time for you to die, my sister. I will become the master! I will rule the galaxy, not you!"

She forced herself to focus on the Force, listening for any note of discord she could latch on to break out of his hold. The Force swelled around her as she heard it -pulsing and loud- and pushed a wave of force energy at him, knocking him back. She landed on her hands and knees before rising up and leaping out of the way of his thrown lightsaber.

They fought, red and violet sparks lit up the bridge. Her anger made her stronger, made her strikes harder. She toyed with him, forcing him to block and parry each strike that came precariously closer and closer to hitting her mark. She flung her red lightsaber at him, the pointed laser tip digging into the lower half of his face, ripping away a large portion of his jaw, leaving his throat and mouth a cauterized gaping grisly hole.

There was silence on the bridge as he fell.

A cold detached sense of calm washed over her as she stared down at the mutilation she had inflicted upon him, and opened a channel on her comlink to the medbay. "Our Lord Malak has suffered a terrible injury. We need a medic team on the bridge immediately."

She knelt down beside him. He blinked up at her, unable to speak. "Be glad I still have use for you, dearest brother."

The incoming team of medics parted as she marched in deathly silence from the bridge.

In the security of her quarters, she threw the helmet on her bed and ripped the balaclava from her head. Her black gloves, armor pieces, and outer robes followed and joined the others in the pile. Her boots followed shortly thereafter, laying discarded on the floor, until she stood in only her long black undertunic and loose fitting pants.

She raked her trembling hands through her hair. The pins scattered to the floor as she ran her hands through the wild dark auburn waves, letting them float down her back.

Telos continued to burn beneath them. Damn you, Malak…

She swore to herself that she wouldn't let this happen again, not after the devastation that was Malachor...that she would never lose control again.

But, it was happening all over. Like a vicious cycle.

Granted, she thought as she watched the red lines of fires burn over the surface of Telos, it was no Malachor. The trauma the planet endured would heal over time.

Malachor...would never heal. Forever would it be a wound in the Force.

You did not do this. Malak did this, a voice whispered darkly to her. Rein him in - place him on a shorter leash. Today's lesson was one that had been forthcoming for some time now. He will not be as eager to challenge you again in the future.

She thought she should feel some sense of remorse for the mutilation she had caused him. She searched her feelings as she pressed her hand to her cold forehead, rubbing a phantom ache in her left temple. She closed her eyes, seeing the gruesome sight and realized she felt nothing.

Before she would have been worried about her lack of concern for Malak's condition. Yet, she could not bring herself to care, even though she knew she pulled just shy of killing him, telling herself it was because she still had a need for him. Was that the truth? Or could she just not bring herself to strike the final blow?

Was he right?

Was she too soft...too lenient...to be a Sith?

She studied her reflection, an unrecognizable ghost of a woman swathed in black. Tiny light blue veins snaked their way across her abnormally pale face, the dark side corruption having long since consumed any color she'd once had. Her hair used to be a lively blend of auburn and light copper tresses. Now, it was such a dark shade of auburn it appeared to be brown, having not been exposed to natural light in years. Her eyes, once a deep warm shade of brown, were an eerie yellow rimmed in black.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared, lost in her own thoughts.

Damn you, Malak. Why did you have to remind me of him, when I had worked so hard to forget? she thought as memories came unbidden.

Smiling warm brown eyes. A lopsided boyish grin. The echo of their laughter mingling together. A soft touch on the inside of her palm. The vision of a kiss that would never be.

And now he is gone.

Her eyes closed as she searched for his signature in the force, that part of the song that was unique to him. It was gone. All she could hear was a pulsing drive of anger, sorrow and a lust for revenge...and so much rage.

She should have picked a different planet, any other planet but this one! Why, by the force, did she have to pick this planet?

Because Malak was right. Subconsciously, you know you picked this planet because of its ties with him. She nodded, absentmindedly agreeing with the dark voice in her head.

He is dead, and it's all my fault.

A soft knock at her door pulled her from her reverie. She touched her face, frowning at the wetness on the tips of fingers as she pulled her hand away. She hadn't realized she'd been crying. Sensing it was Karath at the door, she hastily wiped her tears away as she used the force to open the door.

Saul Karath strode into Revan's quarters, his gait stiff and hesitant. He bowed swiftly. "My Lord Revan. Lord Malak has been stabilized. The medical staff is recommending he be moved to Coruscant as soon as possible." He stumbled when he noticed her lack of armor. He swallowed hard as his pulse began to race uncontrollably as his eyes darted to the pile of armor laying haphazardly on the bed.

She turned ever so slightly, her long dark auburn hair kissed the side of her alabaster cheek as she faced him, allowing him to see her unmasked visage.

He cleared his throat nervously as he took in her deathly pale beauty and the curves of her body under her thin railments. He hid the trembling of his hands behind his back as he settled into a parade rest and moved his gaze to the floor.

She arched a slim auburn brow at him as she waited. "Is there something else you require, Karath?"

His eyes flicked back up as he gaped at her, surprised by her crisp Coruscantii accent. Melodic and feminine...soft and lilting; a far cry from the abrasive masculine voice from the helmet's vocalizer. He began to sweat as he realized he was treading in dangerous firaxan filled waters.

"Uh...I…" He swallowed hard. "The children, my Lord."

"What children?"

He winced at the hint of power behind her voice. "The children Malak ordered taken from Telos, my Lord." He lowered his gaze, not looking her in the eyes any longer than was necessary. "They are being housed in the brig."

"Pray tell, Karath…" Her voice was deceptively sweet. Objects on her desk trembled as she approached him like a wraith. Her bare feet hardly made a whisper on the carpeted floor. "What was he planning to do with the children?"

She stood calmly looking up at him with those eerie sith yellow eyes. She found herself enjoying his uneasiness. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as breathed in his fear.

"I…" He swallowed hard again as his blood thundered in his ears. "I'm afraid I do not know, my Lord."

Damn you, Malak - you and your lack of foresight! Her hands tightened as they curled into tiny fists. She released a heavy sigh as she uncurled her hands and paced, deep in thought. "Have them sent to various colonies to be placed with families that have room to spare, preferably those who have recently lost a child and desire another. These children must be well provided for. I will not tolerate any abuse towards them, am I clear? They are the future generations of our new Empire. The ones who show force-sensitivity will be watched and tested. If they pass, have them sent to Korriban to the Academy for further training when they are old enough."

Karath could tell from her clipped tone, he was dismissed. "It will be done, my Lord." He backed slowly from the room.

She listened to his footsteps as he retreated to the safety of the corridor. She folded her arms under her chest as she resumed her silent vigilance as Telos continued to burn.

*A/N: I love the idea of tying Revan to Star Wars Rebels! The temple we see at the beginning of the story is the sith temple illustrated in season 2 of Star Wars Rebels where Ezra, Kanan & Ahsoka encounter Maul and later, Vader.

Only one chapter left! I will be posting that next week. I hope you are enjoying the story so far! As always, thank you for reading!

Cheers,

Nia