-- Chapter 3: Breaking Free --

Carth had made it out of his little cell without very much difficulty, though that effort was mainly due to the fact that he had Luo with him. Carth shook his head, the poor lad still didn't know what Carth was about to do really.

"Kid's going to grow up sometime," Carth thought grimly, and he shook his head again "might as well start learning now."

"Where are we going?" Luo asked the Republic fighter, who turned his head and frowned at him.

"Look," Carth snarled at the ratakan kid, "I don't understand a word, you're saying so just keep quiet, okay?" He gestured to the blaster he had stolen in his right hand, "I'm used these things to kill many times before and if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to use it on you, got that?"

Carth glared at the Ratakan who spoke some more and grounded his teeth together as he listened to the indecipherable language rattling around inside his head.

Carth twisted around and shot the blaster through Luo's arm as he shouted, a red haze falling over his eyes as he twisted the wounded limb painfully.

"Listen! I don't want to hear you speaking because I can't understand you and I'm sick of you and your people!"

Luo gasped in pain as he tried to break free of the mad human's grasp but to no avail. He gave up when the human waved his blaster again threateningly and pointed to the temple path.

He motioned, drawing an arrow in the sand with his foot. What he would have said, was "I can take you to her..." But Luo wasn't going to talk when the human was this mad. Carth let go of Luo's arm and inspected the arrow pointing to the temple.

"You'll take me there?" Carth asked looking at Luo, more glaring though as the ratakan nodded.

"Good." Carth stood and dusted of his pants, and motioned with his blaster, "get going and no sudden movements or I'll shoot you." He shoot Luo's left leg for good measure. "Move," Carth barked in a commanding voice, his aim sure and steady as he poked the muzzle into Luo's back, "let's go."

Many hours later, Kae rose from her meditating stance aided by Master Jonas who was now at her side, with a scowl.

"The child has not lived through the ordeal. You should have left her for dead, rather than risk your life."

"Jonas," Kae shook her head and nearly fell over as Jonas grabbed her arm. "She's a child who was lost. She deserves to live, especially after this… how can you be so cruel and cold?"

Jonas set his mouth in a tight line as he pointed to his eye which was covered by a patch, "I lost my eye to a Sith… I lost my Master to the Mandalorians and I had to submit to that's child's noting-for- good- father!"

He was yelling now and his face was suffused with a red coloring as he gripped Kae's arms tightly.

"I don't want to loose you either!" Kae sighed at this old argument, "Jonas, we've been over this before! He pulled out his lightsaber and pointed its blazing red blade at the unconscious child, "she should die for everything that has happened!"

"I don't love you… and after this?" Kae gestured to Revan who was stirring now, "I don't honestly know I could love you, Jonas…"

"Get away from her…" Revan's tiny face was staring solemnly at Jonas, "you want to hurt her and kill me, I know it…"

"Revan!" Kae tore out of Jonas' grasp and ran over to the girl's side, her lightsaber out and activated as she shielded the girl with her body.

"You protect her when you should kill her, Arren Kae..." Jonas' grin was feral in nature, as he licked his lips and glared at the child, "she has a dark and forbidding feature ahead of her..."

"I will not kill her and nor will you!" Kae levelled her lightsaber at Jonas who laughed, his features twisting darkly. "You really think you could kill me? Well you're wrong, Kae so wrong..." He gestured as Kae was hauled up into the air, grasping at her throat, choking for air.

"I will kill her one day, and you will be dead as well, Kae..."

"Let her go!" Revan had picked up Kae's silver lightsaber and was looking solemnly at Jonas now, "if you don't,I swear I'll cut you down..."

Revan was standing by the open window, as she looked down onto the beach. She shivered as a gust of cold air brushed her bare shoulders and closed her eyes as she leaned up against the wall.

"What's happening out there?" Revan whispered as she searched for through the Force for the disturbance that had woken her from the drug induced sleep. She didn't turn as the door opened and a gasp announced Researcher Ll'awa's entrance dramatically.

"My Lady," Ll'awa rushed over to Revan's side frantically, "you should not be out of bed yet, especially with your arm broken and leg wounded."

"My wounds are merely trifles, compared to what I've suffered in the past year." Revan's voice was bitter and dark as she turned clumsily to face Researcher Ll'awa, her face eclipsed by the moon and shadows playing around her.

Revan's eyes flared with power she glazed without life at Researcher Ll'awa, "there is something growing out there. Something powerful …and it must be stopped before it grows more."

Her flat tone and lack of emotion scared Researcher Ll'awa more than anything else he could think of there and then, as she folded and collapsed like a child into his arms.

"You do not have yet the strength, nor power to deal with this lover, you hold so dear…" Researcher Ll'awa smiled ghastly as he laid Revan on her bed and covered her with the blanket. "I will take care of your lover, myself…"

"Carth…" Revan twisted and moaned, as she fell to the floor of the Star Forge, "I'm so sorry, I can't do it anymore… I can't live, not now, not ever…" But her voice was too weak and even her anguish and pain could not be moulded into a message for Bastila, Juhani, or Jolee to comprehend. Revan choked on her blood as it bubbled out of her mouth.

She was going to die here. She was all alone, Malak was dead and Bastila was saved… Carth would get the others out of the Star Forge before it was destroyed, the crew would go on living and Darth Revan would be forgotten, just a dark memory… Tali Rye would be forgotten… Revan Crovin would be forgotten… she would not…

"Revan!"

Suddenly someone swept her up in his arms and stared down at her concernedly at her.

"I had thought you would be long gone from here now, your wounds are not as life-threatening as you're making them out to be…" Malak looked down at the woman who had fainted in his arms and sighed; "you're emotionally wounded, right, not physically wounded." He closed his eyes and a glow of light enveloped them as they disappeared.

Revan woke up on the floor, just outside of the doors leading to the hanger. She didn't remember exactly though she remembered bumping and blacking out many times. She staggered forward with a groan as she squared her shoulders and stepped through the doors.

Malak watched as Revan was confronted by her friends, "good luck, Revan... we will meet again…" Malak called as he faded from sight.

Carth stood at the entrance of the temple. There was blood running freely down his face, covering it in a red like mask. Two ratakans lay dead on the ground, their blood soaking the floors. They were two newly converted members from the One's tribe, only the black ring tattooed into their arms, marking that they had once been in the One's inner circle.

Carth had killed them.

He had killed them brutally and coldly with his bare hands.

He was turning towards the dark side and he loved it.

His eyes were no longer the soft brown that she had so loved once were gone.

…The color of dulled flame, the color of blood lining his eyes where they should have been white, replaced all humanity in his face.

He turned to the door, to enter and pass through the forcefield, but he could not pass. He was thrown back again and again when he tried to enter and his snarls of rage where of no matter to the plain fact that he could not enter the Temple of the Ancients.

"You are Carth Onasi, are you not?" A ratakan had emerged from the temple and was now speaking to him, in Basic.

Carth nodded, not trusting the alien at all, "Revan said you were not able to enter the Temple, how have you gained access? Tell me and I may spare your life…" He twitched his trigger finger threateningly at the alien who merely blinked and spoke sounding amused.

"If you killed me, there would be no way for you to gain access into the Temple and the Lady Revan will die without my treatments for her wounds…"

"Then what do you want?" Carth snarled, firing a shot off several inches from the ratakan's foot.

Researcher Ll'awa smiled weirdly at Carth, "I want you and your power…"

Seven miles away, Trag lay on his belly watching Republic boy and the medical alien talk. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could guess it was somewhere along the lines of a deal and he was right.

His eyes glowed mechanical red for an instant as his anger flared and he clenched his fist. He had been so close to killing her and winning, finally after all these years.

"I'll do it…" Carth was silent for a minute, "you release her and take me to her and I'll do it…"

Researcher Ll'awa smiled, "excellent, I shall bring her to you and then when I call you, you will return here in an unmarked ship and no one, not even her will know what we are to do…"

"Revan, bring her to me…" Carth answered tightly, his jaw clenching as the alien re-entered the Temple.

"Together at last…"

He whispered lovingly as he sat down to wait for her to be brought to him.

"Master…" I must take more time than you had planned." Trag's voice was sour as he looked through his powerful scope, "there's been a change to plans."

"I trust this will not cause me any undue attention, my apprentice?"

Trag nodded slowly, "yes Master, he replied firmly, "this will be worth the wait, I promise."

"Good. Go then and do what must be done." The tall man …if one could call him that anymore, the one who Trag called his Master, shut down the comlink and opened a channel to Kettrag.

"I hear and shall obey, Master…"

"Destroy them all and I shall free you of Trag's control…"

A slippery voice answered gleefully, "yes, Master, I will do this…"

The Master shut off his comlink and chuckled in the dry cold air, "I wish you were here to see this, my beloved Kreia… she will hurt so much…"

More chapters coming soon! R&R, please!