Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: Chosen

"You have the power to end this."

Revan and Atris both turned to the voice speaking to them from the entrance of the ancient ruin they had taken refuge from the harsh Rhen Var elements. Revan's face held no expression as his eyes scanned the figure before him.

"Its been a while. I hear you've been busy."

The figure that had been stalking the two former Jedi from Korriban shook its head.

"You forget. I know you, probably better than anyone now that Malak is dead."

From the inside of his cloak, Revan removed a small flask of Tarisian ale. A habit he had begun developing in recent years and held it up.

"To absent friends."

The former Dark Lord took a large swallow before handing it to the newcomer. Ian Kenobi accepted the drink and offered it to Atris, who reluctantly took a drink as well.

"What was it like?"

Revan asked, referring to being cut off from the Force. It had been frightening when he had experienced it on Mandalore's ship and later on Nihilus' but Ian's had been permanent. or at least it was supposed to be. The Exiled Jedi Knight seated himself on a frozen stone, eyeing the other two beings in the ruined structure. Ian made eye contact with Atris before speaking.

"Painful, lonely and I suppose in the end enlightening."

The Exile brushed the snow from his cloak and looked between his gathered audience.

"Its hard to describe. I suppose it is like being blinded and then thrown into the Dune Sea. Alone."

Revan turned his eyes to Atris, seeing her flinch at the words before lowering his own head. The Jedi had turned Ian away, yes but so had he.

"It is conflict that strengthens us."

Revan muttered his old Master's saying, drawing a glare from Ian.

"I was stuck on a ship for months listening to that mad-woman's rhetoric. How did you not fall to the Darkside sooner, Revan?"

Revan looked up, his eyes sparking a warning.

"Careful, Ian. I know it was you who struck her down."

Atris slowly pulled herself out of her own self-loathing as she noticed the tension that suddenly seemed to appear in the room. Kreia had been Revan's first Master, his surrogate mother and Ian had killed her.

"Ian, Revan..."

Atris tried to interject, seeing the two former Jedi stand. Revan tossed his flask aside, throwing off his cloak.

"She was right Ian. Everything she said was right and you know it. She knew what had to be done, what the true threat was and she sacrificed her students and her own life for what needed to be done. She had the power to end the Sith."

Pain and betrayal. A decade of it burning in Ian. Loss and despair, growing in Revan for nearly as long.

"You're as mad as she was. She said you were a failure you know. The Jedi saw all of her students as failures."

Ian removed his lightsaber, ignoring Atris.

"I spared the Jedi for what they did to me because they had thought they did it for my own good. Malak I would have spared because he followed you but you, Revan. What happened to all of that power? What happened to that fire and that passion that led you to overcome your own people? Or did you just want to become a mass murderer like the rest of them?"

A fist shot out and knocked the older man to the ground. Revan removed his lightsaber, his face drawn with weariness, but growing in anger.

"What is it going to be, Revan?"

Ian asked, discarding his own cloak and wiping the blood from his mouth. Revan's hand tightened on his hilt, his leather gloves letting out a low creak."Are you going to give in? Like you always did? Let it in? Let it burn entire worlds? Give it so much control you become the thing you hate? Or is that what you always wanted? To become what you fought. A little too enlightened for a Mandalore."

"Stop it, now!"

Atris shouted, standing between the two. Ian turned to the Echani.
"And what about you? Are you here with him because you want to learn the true extend of the Darkside? Seek its master and you hold its power? Did murder suit you a little too well?"

Atris looked almost as if she had been slapped and moved back, leaning against the frozen wall of the ancient library.

"Don't kill him, Revan."

She spoke softly. Revan made no response as he stared into Ian's eyes, his own narrowing.

"Use it."

Ian spat, seeing the anger building around Revan in a bright crimson wave. It was better than the gray that had filled him when he had first seen him. Gray from grief and despair. Revan's strength had always been his passion and his confidence. It was lacking now.

"We were brothers once. I suppose that makes this all the more meaningful."

Revan activated his blade, raising it in a perfect Ataru stance. Ian's brow rose in surprise. Revan often favored Nimian. A form he had studied extensively since regaining his hold of the Force. Pulling the other blade from his belt, Ian ignited his twin silver blades and tilted his head, signaling for Revan to begin.

"What was it you did to make Malak betray you? He would have followed you anywhere..."

That did it. Revan charged, his aura filled with anger. Ian backed away, fully needing both of his blades to defend against Revan's fast movements. Revan had gotten better. Much better and his power had been awakened in his anger, nearly suffocating the Exile in its magnitude. As Kreia had said, Revan was power and looking into his eyes at that moment, Ian saw his own death. Revan wasn't going to stop until he was dead. It may have been some sick parody of Revan and Malak's first battle in which Revan had claimed his friend's jaw. Something Ian could scarcely believe until that moment.

Using the technique that seemed to be unique only to him, Ian latched on to Revan's aura, channeling the former Dark Lord's power into himself. It was painful, which surprised the Exile. Revan's power seemed almost endless as it continued to build. Growing with each strike of his blade. Malak had been the weakest of the three but the most skilled with a saber. Revan had been the most powerful and could easily match Malak's skill with his speed. Ian had been the most balanced of the three, power and skill making his strikes more calculated. Revan was a random fighter, his form shifting and changing as the Force probed Ian's defenses. Ian quickly realized the Force was with Revan in this fight and brought his two sabers up quickly, crossing them over his head and locking with Revan's blade.

Preparing himself for the kick he knew Revan would throw to break the lock, Ian was surprised to see Revan pivot to the side and snap his saber , breaking Ian's crossed blades apart and driving the crimson blade towards his right hand. A mere inch separated the molten metal if what had been one of the Exile's sabers and Revan's blade. Quickly, Ian remembered Revan using the move to break one of Kavar's locks in a mock-duel the two had fought years ago. The counter Revan had used then seemed to suddenly come to the Exile as his eyes widened and he used the Force to throw himself back. Revan's blade passed through where his neck had been an instant before. and the former Dark Lord continued his advance, his power only growing.

Ian could feel the strain on his body as he channeled more and more of Revan's energy into himself. Raising his hand he sent the excess power outward, quickly throwing his saber downward as Revan moved through the energy field unencumbered and sent a thrust for his chest. This was getting out of hand. Atris was holding her own saber in her hand, looking at the two with a lost expression. Ian had only wanted to goad Revan, to see if his friend was still the man he had been, to see if Revan still had the power that seemed to define him. He did.

It must have been a bad day if Visas was able to capture Revan and Nihilus was able to imprison him. Nihilus' power was in his hunger, he was not much of a threat as a swordsman or a combatant. Sion's words had worried him. If Sion had been more powerful than Revan and he had barely defeated the broken Sith Lord, He worried about what he was becoming, if he had become like Nihilus. Apparently Sion had fought Revan on Nihilus' ship on a bad day as well. Revan was fully committed to the fight and it seemed, nothing would stop him.

Quickly shifting into the defensive Soresu stance. Ian moved as quickly as he could to deflect Revan's blows but dread began growing with him as he realized, Revan was not getting tired. He was getting even more powerful as the fight progressed. This was going to be a very, very long fight.

Or a short one. Ian felt Revan's saber sear his thigh and cried out as he fell to the floor. Lightsaber wounds were unique. It was likely you wouldn't be able to fight back, even with a minor wound. All lightsaber wounds were cuts and burns and hurt like hell. Ian tried to move his leg, but the muscles had been destroyed by Revan's blade. Falling on his back, the Exiled looked up, trying to raise his saber to defend but seeing only a golden beam of light. For a moment, he thought he was dead, but the pain returned and he looked up to see Revan's blade crossed with another.

"This must stop at once."

A cultured voice demanded. Ian looked up to see Bastila Shan, one end of her saberstaff blocking Revan's blow and most surprising Revan's face. It was no longer filled with loathing and hate, but with shock and what he could scarcely believe was fear. Revan was afraid of Bastila?

"Revan, I know you are upset. I know you feel alone and that the galaxy is falling apart and there is nothing you can do about it. I know because I was there too, remember? When we were searching for the Star Forge. Does any of what we've been through mean anything to you?"

Revan dropped his weapon backing away.

"I-"

"No. There is no excuse."

Bastila snapped. The resolve on her face cracked a moment when she realized what Revan might have been thinking. He thought she was married. He probably thought she was married to the man she was defending and that they had come to kill him. He didn't realize she had made Carth lie. He didn't realize she had made and broken her commitment to the Jedi Council for him.
"Revan, you-"

"I can't do this anymore."

Revan muttered, his hands covering his face. Either to hide his tears or his shame, no one knew. Revan pulled his hands away, staring into Bastila's eyes. The galaxy could burn so long as he could look into her eyes and see love. It was still there and it hurt to know she wouldn't, couldn't be his.

"Revan, wait."

Ian watched the two, a confused expression on his face. He knew they had been friends, but the way they were talking made it sound as if they had been...

"Oh..."

Ian's voice seemed to break the spell Revan had fallen under. The former Dark Lord looked at his friend, his eyes widening almost comically.

"There are some questions that need answering."

Bastila slowly let Revan enter her mind, nurturing their bond and letting him know what had happened. She could also see what had happened in his mind as well. The brutality of the Sith, the hopelessness of fighting alone against them. The camaraderie and brotherhood he shared with Malak and how everything seemed to fall apart at once. She cursed herself for her part in it, how she was afraid to face him, thinking she could not chose between the Jedi or him. It would always be him. She proved that when she joined Malak and the Sith.

Ian looked between the two, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. Lowering his hand to his wound he bit his tongue to keep from crying out. A gentle hand held his arm and lifted him with strength he didn't think it had.

"Lets leave them in peace. They have a lot to talk about."

Atris whispered. Ian nodded, allowing Atris to support him as they made they way into another abandoned room of the ancient structure.

"I'm sorry."

Ian said softly to Atris. The former Librarian's head snapped up with a pained and worried expression.

"You were right-"

"I had no right to speak as I did. I was testing Revan. Apparently he has been slipping in his old age and I thought I would see if I could get a reaction out of him."

Atris' lip twitched slightly as she looked down at the cut on Ian's thigh.

"It would seem you did."

Ian choked on a pained laugh.

"Oh... yes..."

The Exile seated himself heavily on a fallen column as Atris quickly tore a piece of her cloak and tied it around the wound. It wouldn't start bleeding if he was careful how much weight he put on it and with the Force's help and some Kolto it would heal within a week. Seeing Atris now, Ian would not have believed she was the same person he had seen in that tomb on Telos, for that was all the abandoned enclave seemed to be. Perhaps Kreia had been right. Perhaps Revan had truly never fallen to the Darkside, only used it as a tool to fight a greater threat. The Exile could scarcely believe there was a being in the galaxy more dangerous than Revan if he truly fell to the Darkside, but his travels throughout the wild space and beyond the Rim had shown him that the horrors the Mandalorians released on the galaxy had only been the beginning.

"The Sith are moving."

Nomi Sunrider looked up with a raised brow.

"What are-"

It struck her like a blaster bolt. It was like Katarr. Pain blinded her as she cried out and dropped to her knees, clutching her head. Carth Onasi laid a hand on the Jedi Master's shoulder, not knowing what to do. Not for the first time he wondered if his son was still out there somewhere, or if he had been killed on Corellia when the Jedi Master Vrook had launched an attack on Revan's rebel Sith. It seemed like they were going to be down to throwing rocks at the Sith if things kept going wrong.

After several minutes, the pain in the Jedi Master's head subsided and she rose shakily, brushing a lock of auburn hair aside.

"Pre- Prepare the fleet. The Sith have begun their war."

Roon was a planet that lay behind what was ironically named the Cloak of the Sith Nebulosity. Isolated by a series of asteroids and small planetoids and moonlets, the planet was host to beautiful, tide-locked oceans and emerald continents. While the planet was sparsely populated, Revan had the foresight to send Malak to the world to gather support to fight the Sith. Sadly no one heeded the former Lord of the Sith's warnings and the planets inhabitants were crushed under the might of the Sith's war beasts and their blades.

Room also fell to the Sith a month before the actual invasion of the Republic began. Around the time Revan was recovered from the Ravager. The first of the Republic worlds to fall prey to the Sith was the watery world of Kamino. The planet's inhabitants were spared when they retreated deep under the oceans. The Sith did not bother following them, ignoring them and moving on to Rishi. As with Roon, the Sith killed all of the Republic colonists gathered on the world in various, brutal fashions. No mercy was shown to the civilians, a mandate the Sith excused by their treatment at the hands of the Jedi and Republic a millennium before.

The Sith executed millions within hours, capturing the entire Abrion sector within a day and laying siege to Ukio. By the second day, Ukio was in ruins and its inhabitants begging the Sith for mercy. Within two days the Sith had reached the Mid-Rim and were pressing onward. The Republic, stunned by the appearance of what they had believed to be a long-dead foe scrambled to meet the threat. Their capitol ships proved useless against the Sith's massed fleets. It was almost the same as it had been when Revan had returned and invaded the Republic with his own Sith Empire except for one minor difference. These Sith were bent only on destruction. Destroying anything that had to do with the Republic or the Jedi and this time, the Republic did not have the Jedi to turn to for help.

Carth Onasi's fleet broke apart before they could even fire a shot. The various worlds represented within the fleet recalling their vessels and soldiers to defend their homes.

The horrors the Sith would unleash on dozens of worlds would go untold as all that witnessed that cared to document it died. The Sith armies moved on, leaving their war beasts behind to unleash a new kind of horror on the survivors of their raids. The beasts would run lose on the worlds, killing anything they crossed and devouring them whole. Within a week, the Republic collapsed and anarchy reigned. The Alderaanians, the Corellians, the Mon Calamari, the Chandrillans, all of the planets moved to their own world's defenses.

Coruscant became nothing more than a galactic hub, the Senate dissolved and the Republic disbanded. Without the Jedi and with the Republic fleet broken apart, only two things stood in the way of the Sith advance. Onderon and the Mandalorians of her moon Dxun.

Three things stood in the way of the Sith if one were to read between the lines of the history texts. An old hero and villain would resurface after half a decade and challenge the Sith's champion, the Patron. This would not happen for a very long time. The Jedi would resurface as well, but there was little the decimated Order could do against the sheer numbers the Sith threw at them. The Jedi in this dark war would become nothing more than elite soldiers. Warlords dispatched throughout the Republic to defend worlds from the Sith's threat. A Darkness fell across the galaxy and brought on a dark age like nothing the Republic or the Jedi had ever seen before. It seemed the only hope for the Republic lay in two of its former oppressors and an a world that wanted to have nothing to do with it.

One would almost say it was poetic.

Notes: Bastila was not married. From a certain point of view she renewed her oath to the jedi and was in a way married to the Jedi Order. Wink Wink. I'm trying to keep this part as close to SW EU Cannon as I can but its going to be tough. We know the Sith rule the galaxy for a while and the jedi are reorganized into a military organization to fight the Brotherhood of Darkness around 2000 years before the battle of Yavin. The Jedi Army of Light. The Brotherhood was founded by Darth Ruin at this time but, BUT the Sith were gone for a while before this. It's the period of 2000-1000 years before the battle of Yavin in which the Sith rule the galaxy. (Remember Palpatine's quote in Revenge. "Once more the Sith will rule the Galaxy.") Don't give up hope that this story won't end happily, but it will be a bloody hard fight to that ending, I'll tell you that.

Also if you're wanting Revan/Bastila Interaction. Wait for it, I'll do my best. And if you're wondering about why I had Revan and Ian fight. Come on people! Everyone who's played wants to see those two fight it out!