Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 29: A Razor's Edge

Revan was in a much darker mood one week from the day he had entered the academy on Korriban. Already his hair was beginning to grow back and the former Dark Lord decided to regrow his goatee, grooming the stubble as he went about his training, going through the motions of what Sith were supposed to be. Something he had long ago mastered. Bastila was ever foremost on his mind. It was not vengeance, or redemption, which he never truly believed he could grasp. It was her that had kept him going and now... Now she was in Malak's hands, dead or a Sith. Something he had sworn himself he would never abide.

"How far will I go..."

Revan eyed Lashowe. An attractive and sharp-tempered young woman who he had clashed with on his way to the academy. She was kneeling before him, completely defenseless as she attempted to call the Tukata to herself. In the hopes of finding what she thought to be an ancient holocron of an Ancient Sith. What Revan knew was the useless remains of Tulak Hord's knowledge. Ironically he had removed what he needed to know and had fed it to the very Tukata she was calling out of boredom years before. Revan sighed as the beast appeared, allowing Lashowe to do most of the work in killing the beast.

As she dug the device from the creature's entrails, Revan glanced around warily, making certain no one was watching. The small vibroblade Revan carried flashed in the sunlight a moment before he pushed Lashowe into the walls of a nearby tomb and covered her mouth with his left hand as his right dug the deadly blade deep within the Sith student's liver.
"Shhh..."

Revan soothed as he twisted the blade and felt Lashowe gasp into his hand. The cry of pain did not carry as black blood pooled around the wound and flowed freely down her uniform.

"I know, I know. It hurts..."

Life flickered a moment in her blue eyes before it drained and they slowly became a dull gray. Revan eased the blade from the wound, lying the young woman's body within the halls of Tulak Hord's tomb. Snatching the bloody holocron from Lashowe's grasp, Revan left the body there without pause as he ventured deep within the familiar halls of Tulak Hord's tomb, seeking the Force presence he felt deep within.

"A trap..."

Gathering the Force around him, Revan created a barrier against the noxious gas, his eyes scanning the dark halls before he heard a maddened cackle.

"Ah! Another student has stumbled upon my trap!"

Jorak Uln cackled insanely as he came through the chamber's doors, the mirth leaving his face as he saw Revan standing there with his arms crossed.

"You will give me your research on this tomb, or I will destroy you."
Without pause, Jorak spat some incoherent rant before activating a saberstaff and charging Revan. Revan leapt above the charging Sith Master, opening his hand and sending a massive wave of the Force down on the Sith. A snapping sound rang out as Jorak Uln collapsed in a lifeless heap, his skull cracked and his spine as well as his neck broken by the assault. Revan landed softly, turning and inspecting the corpse. Making certain the knowledge was of no real value, Revan placed the insane and recently deceased Sith Master's holocron within in robes.

The sound of someone struggling reached his ears and Revan followed the corridor to find another student bound and regaining consciousness.

"Sorry, no time for competition."

Revan spat towards Melek as he used the saber he had taken from a Sith student in Dreshdae to remove the young man's head. Seeing that it was late, Revan returned to the academy to get credit for his tasks and to see how Mission was doing.

"Ah, there you are..."

Revan tilted his head in a subtle bow to Yuthura as he entered his dorm. Mission smiled, but quickly hid the gesture.

"We seem to be a couple students short tonight."
Revan said with a sadistic smirk. Yuthura looked shaken a moment before nodding.

"Yes, Lashowe and Mekel failed to return from their... studies..."

Revan sighed, losing his smirk as he spoke.

"A shame."

Yuthura stood slowly from the chair she sat in. She had been speaking with Mission for some time and found she rather enjoyed the other Twi'lek's presence. She had found the girl wandering alone near the academy archives and offered to guide her around the academy to make certain no other students got any ideas. Mission had cursed her luck, not having found anything interesting within the archives except Dustil Onasi's dorm location as well as a list of several students within the academy who were too soft as Uthar put it. She had taken the time to speak with one, who happened to be friends with Dustil. Kel Algwinn who had told her that one of Dustil's and his own friend's had gone missing.

"So what are you planning to do this evening?"

Yuthura purred, crossing her arms. Revan thought a moment, shaking his head.

"I thought I'd speak with some of the other students, see if they had any ideas of where to start looking for something that would be worth prestige..."

Yuthura cocked a brow at that.

"And why would they share that information with you?"

Revan shrugged, smirking coldly as he spoke.

"Perhaps they would value their health more than their prestige."

There was something ominous in the way he spoke and Yuthura resisted the urge to shudder. Tauryn Katarn was the most enigmatic person she had ever met. His slave seemed to respect him and from what she had heard from Mission the young girl was his property because of some debt her brother had acquired against the man. Mission was quick to say that she felt she owed it to Revan, which was honest enough. Yuthura seemed angry that her brother would sell his sister to cover his debt, which Mission was sad to note was not far from the truth.

"I am rather hungry at the moment... perhaps we should go to the mess hall and see if you can gather any information there?"

Yuthura's suggestion was sound and Revan agreed, allowing Mission to accompany them.
"I've noticed your slave does not do much for you... is there any particular reason why?"

Yuthura asked suspiciously as Mission trailed behind and out of earshot. Revan sneered a moment, surprising Yuthura.

"It is her brother's debt to me, not hers..."

Revan hissed, turning so his eyes connected with Yuthura's.

"And I do not enjoy someone waiting on me. I like to know that I can take care of myself."

It was convincing, Yuthura nodded. Perhaps this young man was not the cold, killer he seemed.

The dinner was short, Revan having spotted his quarry. Taking his leave, Revan was grateful for the distraction of Mission. She seemed to occupy most of Yuthura's attention which was not a bad thing. Revan trailed Dustil until he reached the young man's dorm. There Revan confronted his about his father.

At first, Dustil feigned ignorance then he seemed enraged that his father would even try looking for him. All of which Revan could sense was not the young man's true feelings.

"Everyone has a right to be young and foolish at least once in their life."
In the end, Dustil refused to do anything unless his father was there to prove this was not some trap laid by the Sith. Something Revan knew was not going to be easy.

"Not a problem."

Carth said quickly into the Ebon Hawk's communicator. Revan sighed.

"You should use Juhani as a Sith hopeful and you can pose as her bodyguard along with Canderous. Make sure the Ebon Hawk's transponder is changed before you arrive. I don't want to wave a flag to Malak that we are here, even though he should damn well know we are..."

Carth acknowledged, taking the Ebon Hawk from the starport of Katarr, the Jedi Council's temporary replacement for Dantooine. He had found out that the only Master to perish on Dantooine had been Master Dorak. Vandar, Vrook and Zhar had been waiting for him and the others. Vrook seemed surprised at Jolee's presence, but listened to what they had to say and grimly accepted the news of the true Sith and their threat. They seemed shocked at the news of the Vong, though they did say that several of the more powerful Council Masters had had visions of beings similar to the Vong destroying many worlds, though these Masters seemed to believe this threat was far, very far in the future.

The Jedi Enclave of Katarr was quickly in a frenzy as Jedi scrambled to board their agile fighters and the Republic Military Commanders spoke with their Jedi advisors over their next course of action. Vandar Tokare returned to Coruscant to gather more Republic vessels that were with the planetary defense group under the command of Admiral Forn Dodonna. Vrook would accompany Vandar to Coruscant, though he would gather Jedi to work on the relief efforts on Dantooine and to make certain there were no Sith remaining.
Zhar would overlook the construction of the Katarr Enclave, and eventually accept the training of the Dantooine survivors there. Katarr was a decent replacement for Dantooine. The countryside was much safer than the wilds of Dantooine and the native Miralukans were peaceful and a very large help to the Jedi.

"Perhaps I can even find a new apprentice here..."

Zhar sighed, his eyes following his fellow Jedi Masters. Quickly banishing whatever misgivings he had about their missions, Zhar decided the best thing he could do was trust Revan's plan. The others, including Knight Juhani and Jolee Bindo seemed to trust him and he did not sense the taint of the Darkside or any dishonesty in them.

Two weeks after leaving the world, the Ebon Hawk returned to Korriban and Juhani managed to save a lot of time trying to get into the Sith academy by meeting Revan and accepting one of his Sith emblems. Yuthura seemed suspicious of the young Cathar and even more suspicious of her muscle-bound escorts, one of which she knew without a doubt, since he boasted openly about it, was a Mandalorian. After, with no little effort, of hearing Juhani's story, Yuthura seemed more at ease, seeing a kinship with the young woman and her rather dark past as a slave. It was little surprise to Yuthura that the Cathar would killer Master out of anger and leave the Jedi.

Revan brought Carth to Dustil and managed to convince the young man, after several heated arguments between father and son, to wait until he revealed them. Finding proof that the Sith were evil was actually harder than it sounded. Revan had to enlist the help of Mission and go spelunking in the Kinrath caves of Korriban to get any leads on that. Having the testimonies of the renegade Sith he helped flee through the caves, after a violent encounter with a Terantek, Revan followed their information to Uthar's quarters, where he had Mission hack the lock. There he found a rather extensive dairy of Uthar's activities.

Revan smirked as he read the frustration the Sith Master seemed to have at deciphering the two holocrons he had given him.

"There."

Revan copied the information quickly and returned the datapad to its original resting place.

"Great work Mission, lets get out of here."

Uthar was none the wiser to the fact that someone had gone through his personal belongings when he returned, another reason Revan was eternally grateful for Mission Vao.

After hearing that Uthar had one of his friends, perhaps someone who meant even more than that to him, murdered because she had been a distraction to his training was enough to get Dustil's attention. Dustil agreed to leave the Sith, though he did not settle the issues he had with his father, he agreed to hear him out.

Revan was surprised that the young man wanted to stay behind and gather any information he could on the Sith, but not so surprised to hear he wanted to try to convince some of his friends to leave as well.

Whatever mistrust Carth felt towards Revan was gone after that and the Republic Commander didn't question as many of Revan's orders. Canderous wandered Dreshdae, bored out of his mind and half a mind to set HK-47 loose on the place. Revan had said to be patient, returning to the Academy and killing another of the students in the tomb of Ajunta Pal. Juhani managed to drive an insane droid from the tomb of Marka Ragnos and had a rather heated run in with a former friend.

Another week passed before Uthar had decided Revan was worthy enough to enter the tomb of Naga Sadow and face the trials of the Sith. A week Revan spent manipulating the Sith as much as he could and starting an interesting friendship with Yuthura Ban. Apparently he was just as charismatic as he had been in the Mandalorian wars. Revan decided to play the card, it never hurt to have another person on your side and he could tell that Yuthura Ban was not the average Sith Master.

"Canderous, its time."
Revan spoke quietly into a communicator as he entered the tomb of Naga Sadow. Canderous smirked as he acknowledged and began setting a small armory's worth of explosives around the Academy. Dustil had already been warned along with several others Revan felt they could trust to clear out of the academy. The bloodbath would be as clean as they could make it... well until HK-47 heard about it and stood at the front of the academy with a heavy repeating blaster rifle, killing anyone who came through that he wasn't under specific orders to kill. The Sith found the droid amusing and decided to allow him to continue killing as they awaited the return of Uthar from the tomb of Naga Sadow. It was his decision after all, it was his academy.

The tombs were a labyrinth that Revan had vaguely memorized on his search for the Star Forge and his search through the ancient knowledge of the Sith Lords. The two Terantek were something new, that Revan had a rather difficult time with. One Terantek was a challenge, two was damn dangerous.

Taking a moment to bind the wound he had received from the beast, Revan made his way to a chamber, finding what he needed to get across the acid pool that blocked his way.

The lightsaber was easy enough to find and Revan quickly marked down the coordinates of the Star Forge in his datapad, jogging back towards the entrance of the tomb and stopping as he came across Uthar and Yuthura near the frozen acid pool.

"Did I miss something?"

Revan asked, making certain the lightsaber in his hand would work. Uthar smirked, nodding.

"Yes, I have one final task for you. Kill Yuthura and take her place."

Yuthura looked shocked, betrayal burning in her eyes as she glared at Revan.

"What?"

Revan sighed.

"I think I'll just kill you instead, old man."

Uthar scoffed as Yuthura calmed. Tauryn had not betrayed their plan.

"Yes, it is you, Uthar who will die here."

Yuthura activated her crimson blade, lunging for Uthar. The Sith Master quickly activated a saberstaff, parrying the strike and moving against Yuthura with the free end of his staff. The azure blade that blocked his strike surprised him and he turned to see Revan holding a Jedi's lightsaber in hand along with the inactive Sith saber. Something made a connection in the Sith's mind as he shouted betrayal and sent a powerful pulse of power through the Force that sent Yuthura into the wall and Revan back several steps.

"It cannot be you! You're dead!"

Revan smirked silently, activating the crimson Sith's blade and moving into a defensive stance.
"Death didn't agree with me."

Revan laughed as Uthar thrust for his chest. Blocking with his azure saber, Revan split Uthar's staff in two with his newly acquired Sith saber and allowed the man to get in two more strikes before tearing a new hole in his chest.

Uthar fell lifelessly to the ground and Revan heard the sound of applause. Turning, Revan took not that Yuthura was smiling.

"Well done my friend..."

For a moment the smile wavered. Revan narrowed his eyes.

"But Sith do not share power..."

Yuthura spoke finally, preparing to attack the young man. Revan eyed the Sith saber in his hand a moment with disdain before tossing the crudely crafted weapon to the ground and moving into a defensive stance.

"If that is how it must be..."

Yuthura looked regretful a moment before she fueled her anger and gazed at him coldly.

"There is no other way... my friend."

Yuthura managed to have Revan on the defensive for nearly half a minute since he had no real wish to kill her. Revan blocked the attacks expertly, seeing the surprise in the Twi'lek's eyes as she called on the Force and attempted to close his throat. Revan blocked the attack easily, waving his hand and shattering Yuthura's weapon with the Force. The broken pieces of the saber fell to her feet and Yuthura saw the azure blade coming for her head.

Backing away quickly, Yuthura felt the cold wall of the tomb block her retreat and sighed in defeat. Revan's blade stopped an inch from Yuthura's neck.
"I am sorry... I thought I could defeat you, but I guess I cannot..."

Yuthura sighed, pondering whether she should beg for mercy or go out with some dignity.
"I would have been surprised if you could. I am no simple Jedi or Sith student. I am Darth Revan."

The surprise was only momentary, having seen the man's power and felt it firsthand as well as seeing the way he fought, she could not deny it any longer.

"Yes... yes, I knew there was something strange about you... something important. But what will you do now?"

Revan narrowed his eyes a moment in thought before lowering his saber and attaching it to his belt.

"Come with me... There are others like us... who are neither Jedi nor Sith... I do not walk the path of a Jedi, nor can I walk the path of the Sith I have created..."

Yuthura recalled all she had known of Revan. She could sense he was being honest and was actually offering her a second chance.

"I- but where will I go? What can I possibly do? I would be hunted by the Jedi and the Sith if I were to flee..."

Revan activated his wrist communicator, speaking lowly to someone before he turned back to Yuthura.

"Go to Corellia... There I am gathering Sith who no longer wish to follow Malak's ways... I will go there as soon as my task is complete..."

The violet-skinned Twi'lek laughed a moment.

"And what task would that be?"

She asked, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

"Redemption..."

The former Dark Lord replied, extending his hand to Yuthura. Yuthura eyed the hand warily a moment before accepting it.

A series of explosions sounded in the distance and Revan smirked.

"The time of the Sith will soon be at an end. Let us save what we can and make our cause what it was meant to be. Just. Let us do for once... what is right."

Author's Notes: Uhg, There three Chapters for you loyal readers. Sorry about the delay but I recently moved and didn't have the internet for a while... plus all the crap with moving and stuff like that. I hope you enjoyed these three installments of my fic and I would like to hear some feedback on if you liked my little version... The next chapter is on the way but with all the crap going on it may take a while and I still have several other stories that require my attention...