Author's Beginning Notes: I have to admit, I haven't finished SW: KOTOR yet, but I'm working on it, although it'll probably take me awhile... (I imagine that the progress on this fic will be linked with the progress in the game... I plan for the basic plot of this story to be similar to the one in the game SW: KOTOR, following its path somewhat; same thing with most of the strict SW: KOTOR characters, their backgrounds will remain mostly the same as they were in the game. ) Unfortunately for myself, I accidentally spoiled myself on its plot, so...well, that spoiler could work to my advantage for this fic... Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story and please remember to leave a review; feedback is always appreciated.

Summary: (AU SW: Knights of the Old Republic/POTO crossover) The Force has mysteriously bonded Erik with the Jedi Bastila, causing a chain of events that will shake the very foundations of the galaxy far, far way 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire...

Disclaimer: I don't own the Phantom of the Opera or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, a.k.a. KOTOR.

Chapter 1

Jumping Ship

Erik tended to keep his lips tightly shut whenever he spilled blood in combat so that the crimson liquid would not accidentally invade his innards, and taking down Sith troopers was no different. The boy ignored the fact that this was the first time he had ever truly faced the Sith before, focusing on simply treating them as any other enemy, so that seeds of doubt would not fester and grow into choking thorns. One blade he had stolen, the other he had taken pains to craft himself, both swords swept in arcs, lines of blood trailing behind them and causing stains not only on themselves, but around them; crimson dotted the Endar Spire's pristine white corridors, the boy's cloak was flecked with the blemishes, and one lone drop dripped down his mask from the right eye-hole, creating the morbid illusion of crying. The Sith troopers were simple kills for Erik, their overconfidence in their armor and their fleet's ambush acting as their downfall; their bodies littered the floor, and the boy barely payed them a second glance as he passed them, not even bothering to notice the bloody footsteps he left behind after obliviously stepping into a crimson puddle.

Almost working on automatic, Erik continued his journey toward the bridge, only wanting to do his job, which now required him under the circumstances of this ambush to protect his commanding officer, the Jedi Bastila, someone he had never even glimpsed during his single month aboard the Endar Spire, and upon reflection, found that rather pathetic. The boy leaped back in time to avoid another explosion, another shot from the Sith's starships; picking his away around the debris, Erik growled in irritation, his fists tightening around his blades. What the hell happened to Bastila's battle meditation, thought the boy as he stifled another growl, turning once again at a corner, and dodging a searing blast that grazed his arm, but just barely. He sprang behind a wall for momentary cover, quickly slipping his blades back into their sheaths, and pulling his punjab lasso out, sprang back out just as quickly, observing that there was a duo of Sith blocking his path. Before the armored figures could shoot off another barrage, Erik's lasso whipped about, catching hold of one of their blasters, ripping it from his grasp and slamming it into the other trooper, efficiently knocking her out; in a matter of seconds, Erik whipped his lasso with its tied-on weight back toward the last and stumped trooper, knocking him back crashing into the wall. When used, that method has never failed me, mused Erik as he passed by more fallen foes, loosening the noose of his lasso so that the borrowed blaster would slip out of its grasp and clatter to the floor.

Battle meditation--he had heard stories of that Force technique, how it could change the tide of heated combat by altering the moods and morales of the combatants, making one side weaker than the other; he had heard that no other Jedi was as skilled in that technique as Bastila was, and that it was only because of her that the Republic had lasted this long against the Sith thus far. So in other words, the Republic's pretty much screwed if she's lost, the boy thought with detachment as he raced down toward the bridge. Erik was aware that he was almost there, the sound of pounding boots echoing about the walls. There were more explosions from the outside Sith fleet, slowing his progress further, and his eyebrows beneath the mask burrowed further, and once more he pushed down another irritated growl. But even his annoyance was too weak when compared to his amazement and cancled out once he had reached the point where he was just a few feet in front of the bridge's entrance, for there blocking him was a lightning-swift fight between two genuine Force users, a Sith and a Jedi.

Their lightsabers were merely crackling streaks of green against red, the combatants blurs of brown against black; they weaved and they dodged, they parried and plunged, spidery cracks in the walls evidence of banging Force blasts. Although Erik's mind was screaming at him to do something other than stand still and gawk like a fool, the boy couldn't help it; this was something he had never seen before in all of his explorations, and yet confusion gnawed at his insides too, for there was a nagging familiarity in his soul that made no sense. And on and on the collage of colors in battle waged, sweeping about the Endar Spire in a random pattern, until finally sudden frozen clarity sprang up, the Jedi's humming lightsaber of green embedded in the Sith's chest, his own lightsaber cluttering noisily to the ground. In the abrupt stillness, Erik could recognize the Jedi as a female human, perhaps somewhere in her late twenties, but the moment was disrupted when an explosion struck again, hitting the Force user perfectly, her death shriek mingling with his own "DAMN!" as he instinctively covered himself from the flying debris with his dark cloak. Once the smoke cleared up, the boy slowly, almost hesitantly, lowered his fabric shield, a look in his golden eyes that almost resembled horror. To crush any shreds of hope, he went over to the fallen Jedi and kneeled by her side, checking her pulse, predictably feeling nothing; Erik noticed her eyes were green, as well as wide open as if welcoming death, and the boy reverently and solemnly closed her eyelids shut, his arms feeling uncharasterically stiff.

After a few seconds Erik shook himself of his restricting compassion with a sneer, ashamed of his blatant display of weakness, of his failure to fully accustom himself to loss of life. He stood up and raced past the final feet for the bridge, ignoring the image of green lifeless orbs staring blankly ahead. The boy's fingers hastily tapped the door's computer panel, and with a hiss it opened, its metallic surface splitting in half to reveal the bridge in all its mangled glory, mangled by the bodies and debris littering its floor. Erik choked back a string of foul words as he saw the backs of several Sith troopers, but somewhat relieved to realize he had the element of surprise for their attention was focused on a single Republic officer; immediately, the boy switched his lasso in favor of his swords, and silently snuck behind a trio of troopers as they shot a barrage of sizzling blasts toward his comrade, who fortunately dodged each one with ease as he jumped behind a nearby computer terminal. As the other Republic fired off his own round of shots, distracting Erik's prey, the boy gracefully swept his stolen sword around and deftly sliced off all three of the Siths' heads, one of them actually striking another opponent, distracting him long enough for the Republic from before to shoot him dead.

There were four more Sith troopers left, and the whole quartet immediately began shooting in Erik's direction, who was hardpressed to deflect all of their blasts with his blades, mostly relying on his comrade to hurry and strike them down with his own gun. The boy's patience and faith paid off, as two troopers fell down with a scorching hole in each one, and quickly Erik sprang in and cut down the remaining two who had foolishly turned away from him to focus on the Republic gunman. The boy sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly in relieved tension as his golden eyes snapped to his comrade with all the typical grace of a feline; it was Carth Onasi, the one who had notified him on his communicator to head to the bridge to aid Bastila, but Erik had also heard of stories depicting his legendary warrior and starpilot prowess in the Mandalorian and Sith wars. When the boy had first seen him, he felt a little unimpressed by Onasi's appearance, who was not nearly as menacing-looking as he had imagined; his eyes looked far too gentle, although Erik did reluctantly acknowledge the weary experience in their depths, which also confirmed his old age in the boy's opinion. After observing him in combat and in its direct aftermath, Erik only noticed a small change in agression with his demanor, and the boy's view of him barely changed. Nonetheless...

"Bastila already boarded an escape pod," Carth explained in a hurried and commanding voice that was able to tigtly grab Erik's attention. "We'd better do the same if we want to live," he finished, immediately running toward the escape pods that were luckily close to the bridge, the boy trailing behind him out of pure necessity, and possessing a newfound respect for Carth, rather relieved to find the man not immediately treating him as a child; however, after further consideration, he rationalized that perhaps Onasi was still caught in the fervor of combat and shock, not fully comprehending Erik's age, thus no irritating adult superiority. Another explosion struck, so large the whole Endar Spire rocked, and the pair slipped and skidded down the floors, helping each other up once the ship had grown still once more. The boy, regaining his footing a few seconds quicker than Carth, was first to their method of escape, swiftly typing onto one of the corresponding computer panels and activating one of the pods. Onasi swept in, and once Erik was completely inside, the elder warrior slammed his fist onto a large crimson button, which immediately locked up their pod and ejected it into space. Even if it was in an escape pod, the boy still felt that same excited beating of his heart as he blasted into space in such confined quarters, just like the many starfighters he had flown in the past; that feeling was never evoked whenever Erik was on a huge starship.

Taris--that was their destination, the boy knew, although he could not see the planet at all now from inside the escape pod; a numb fear registered with the boy that the Sith fleet would undoubtedly invade Taris and place it under quarantine to find Bastila, her importance difficult for anyone to forget. In the first few seconds of the trip, Erik was surprised to find it rather peaceful, but knew it wouldn't last soon, and once their pod immediately began spinning crazily around, the boy took a moment to consider that sometimes he really hated being correct. Escape pods need safety belts, Erik sarcastically thought as he and Carth continually banged into each other as their pod rocked back and forth, beads of sweat beginning to drip beneath his mask as warmth increased at an ungodly swift rate, the boy cursing the science behind an object's entry into any planet's atmosphere. However, Erik was overall relieved by the speed that enabled them to reach Taris in such a delightfully fast period of time , him feeling the pangs of impatient youth, but grew to regret it once his head slammed down particularly hard, blood flashing before his eyes before being covered up in smothering darkness.

Author's Ending Notes: To suit my needs, details won't adhere strictly to SW: KOTOR, such as the precise mechanics of escape pods. Thank you for all of the reviews so far, and Shootingstar...I've been linked? Cool, would you be able to show me what forum you linked me at? I'd like to see any comments there, and you if you want, you can continue linking this story there... (I knew SW before POTO, so I was a fan of it first, but I love both of them now...they're both really awesome.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that most recent installment, and please remember to leave a review; feedback is always appreciated.