Darkest Knight

by Sith Lord Darth Revan

Malak's betrayal of Darth Revan leaves the jawless wonder dead and Revan in possession of the Jedi's secret weapon. But it can never be that simple now, can it?

3. Chapter 3: Blinded

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: Blinded

Darth Revan awoke above the body of his Master. The Dark Lord took only a moment to show his respect to his fallen Master before he forced himself to move.

"Nihilus and Sion must have left me to die here..."

Staring down at Kreia's corpse, Revan entertained the thought of just lying there and waiting for death to take him.

"Not like anyone would miss me..."

Revan smirked slightly at the thought. Of all the deeds he had done, he never regretted anything.

"I have nothing to be ashamed of..."

The Dark Lord's smirk turned quickly to a frown.

"Except being born..."

Struggling to his feet, Revan took a moment to center himself. The Force was distant to him and the Dark Lord leaned against the wall, looking back to Kreia's body.

"I am sorry, Master. I wasn't fast enough..."

The Dark Lord struggled for a moment before leaving Kreia's body where it lay.

"Perhaps I do regret some things..."

Revan pondered his own thoughts in an attempt to keep his mind off the blinding pain that coursed through his body with each movement. Moving as quickly as his damaged body could take him through the Trayus academy, Revan barely avoided the regular patrols and Dark Jedi within. The Dark Lord paused to catch his breath, suddenly feeling nauseated.

"It must have been the bond..."

Pain entered Revan's head, but was crushed beneath the brutal onslaught of rage that accompanied that thought. Kreia had been like a mother to him and she had been repaid for her kindness to him by ridicule and exile from the Jedi and now death from the Sith that he had created. Beyond the painful loss of his Master and the Bond they shared, Revan felt something more, something that frightened him.

Slowly raising his hand, Revan concentrated on a nearby rock, calling on the Force to move the small object. Struggling with the rock for a moment, Revan felt a mind splitting pain shoot through his mind and dropped his concentration.

"What the hell?"
Cursing under his breath, Revan leaned against the wall until the pain and nausea subsided.

"So this is what Ian felt like..."

The Dark Lord of the Sith seated himself painfully on the floor, still feeling the results of Nihilus and Sion's attacks. The Force had abandoned Darth Revan and left him broken within the center of his enemy's power. Laughing bitterly, Revan shook his head.

"I suppose this would be considered poetic justice..."

Revan had never wanted to be cut off from the Force, his plan had been to use Ian to cut the Jedi from the Force, then with Ian he could decide who would be able to use the Force.

"Then no one would be able to stand aside with those gifts when others needed their help..."

Revan muttered to himself as his thoughts carried him away from reality.

"Can anyone wield that power responsibly? Certainly not you..."

The Dark Lord furrowed his brow as he tried to regain his breath. He suddenly felt a cold dread settle in his stomach.

"What would Nihilus and Sion do to the galaxy? Force!"

Revan felt a shred of fear enter his mind. His war on the Jedi had unfortunately spilled over and onto the Republic. He could not ignore the fact that he had spent most of his life upholding the Republic's values. Sneering, Revan fought the internal battle to give up and staggered towards the cavern Bastila Shan resided in.
Bastila jumped as light spilled into her cavernous prison. Shakily raising her blaster she spotted the armored form of Darth Revan.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you, Sith Lord!"

Bastila spat as she leveled the blaster on the Sith Lord with newfound confidence. Being able to see her escape route filled her with hope. As she glared at Revan her eyes scanned the slumped posture of the Dark Lord as he held his chest as if in pain. The Dark Lord's breathing reached the Padawan's ears as a ragged gasping.
"Because I am freeing you."

Revan panted between gasps. Bastila furrowed her brow in confusion as her hold on the holdout blaster loosened. Revan flinched as pain shot through his body. He could see Bastila cringe as the scent of his burned flesh reached her senses.

"Force, what happened!"

Bastila gasped as she saw the darker patches along Revan's crimson armor where he had bled through and the ragged appearance. Revan stumbled for a moment as he fought to remain conscious.
"We must go, now."

Revan turned, heading back into the corridor. Bastila looked around her prison and pondered if this was all a hoax who's purpose was to lull her into trusting the Dark Lord. After spending days in the bleak darkness of her prison, Bastila followed Revan without further hesitation.

"Anything is better than this hole."

As the Padawan followed the Dark Lord it became more and more apparent to her that Revan was likely not going to make it to wherever they were going.

"Are you alright?"

Bastila asked guardedly. Revan chose to continue struggling through the caverns instead of taking the energy to respond. Angry, Bastila asked again, louder.

"Are you alright?"

Bastila asked with more force. Revan stopped his trek, leaning against a wall and regaining his breath as pain shot through him.

"No, not much farther."

The Padawan kept her blaster trained on Revan, slowly feeling the Force returning. Bastila stopped for a moment to revel in the Force's comfort before she sensed Revan. What she sensed nearly overloaded her mind as the pain and anguish mixed with rage flooded her mind. Revan's loss of the Force had brought down all the barriers he had carefully built during his time as a Jedi and the Dark Lord leaving all the horrors of Darth Revan to fill Bastila's mind.

Almost unconsciously, Bastila reached out and touched Revan's shoulder. The Dark Lord hissed as he jolted in pain. Revan turned angrily to Bastila and was surprised to see the sympathy etched in her young features.
"How-"

Bastila began. Revan sneered through his mask and turned, nearly falling from the effort.

"Leave me be, Jedi."

Revan snapped, moving as swiftly as he could towards the private landing bay.

Several minutes later a small yacht rose from the landing bay and disappeared into the Malachor sky. Darth Revan leaned over the control panels, breathing heavily as he clenched his fists. Kreia and Malak were dead, leaving the Sith Empire to Nihilus, Sion and Bandon. The burning rage continued to build in Revan, shadowing the sorrow he felt over the loss of his Master and ever so briefly, Revan felt the Force within his grasp. Just as quickly as it was there, it was gone and Revan felt his head swell with pain as he doubled over and collapsed to the floor.

Bastila stared down at the collapsed form of Darth Revan with surprise. The pain she felt emanating from him was nearly unbearable and the anger... she had never felt an anger so focused or so strong. Turning away momentarily, Bastila noticed the ship was still flying through space and programmed the coordinates for Dantooine into the ship's nav computer before sending the ship into hyperspace. Turning back to her unconscious captor, Bastila frowned as she felt the last thing she expected to feel for this man. Compassion.

Gently, Bastila used the Force to raise Revan's body from the floor and carefully levitated the unconscious Dark Lord through the corridors of the yacht and into what looked like a medical bay. Seeing the kolto tank, Bastila assumed that was the room purpose and gently lowered Revan onto a medical couch. A pained groan emanated from the unconscious Sith Lord and Bastila tensed as she raised her blaster. Revan stirred for a moment but fell silent as his tattered cloak fell over the edges of the medical bed.

"I'm going to regret this..."

Bastila muttered as she made her way to a compartment and removed a container that held a number of sedatives. Measuring a small amount of sedative, Bastila injected Revan to make certain he wouldn't awaken and slowly pulled back his hood, cringing as the smell of burned flesh and hair reached her nose. Swallowing the bile that rose in her throat, Bastila undid the clasp on Revan's mask and pulled the cortosis helm away. The Padawan's eyes widened as she dropped the mask on the floor and gasped.

The man's flesh was torn and burned, his handsome features nearly unrecognizable. Bastila suddenly shook her head from the thought.

"Handsome? Where did that come from?"

Frowning, Bastila peeled away the Dark Lord's armor to find more battered and burned sections of skin. Revan's obsidian robes were stained with dried blood and burned in many places. Bastila guessed that he had been struck with a Force lightning attack, though she had never seen wounds so severe as these. Turning to the kolto tank, Bastila was surprised when she saw that it was instead a more advanced bacta tank. Shaking her head from the thoughts, Bastila turned back to Revan and removed his boots and his gauntlets before removing his belt.

The Padawan flushed momentarily as she held the edges of Revan's robes. Taking a moment to center herself, Bastila pulled away Revan's burned garments and cringed as the matted robes clung to Revan's wounds. Pulling with slightly more Force, Bastila nearly vomited when the fabric came clear of Revan's body with a sickening scratching noise as blood flowed freely from his newly opened wounds. Acting quickly, the Padawan used the Force to lift Revan into the bacta tank. Taking a moment to examine Revan's wounds, Bastila placed a breathing mask over the Dark Lord's mouth and sealed the bacta tank, watching the teal healing liquid fill the pod and obscure Revan's form slightly.

Leaning onto the medical couch, Bastila sighed in relief. For some reason it felt right saving this man's life. The blue-eyed Padawan searched the ship for a change of clothing, finding a gray set of robes and a cloak the Padawan stepped into a refresher to clean away several days worth of grime. Satisfied with her cleanliness, Bastila made her way to the ship's galley and hungrily devoured her first meal in several days.

Exhausted, Bastila gave one last check of the yacht's course before she made her way to the small med bay and checked on the sleeping Sith Lord. Revan's wounds had stopped bleeding and the teal liquid was dark from the blood floating within. Checking the Dark Lord's vitals, Bastila seated herself on a chair and stared Revan, pulling her gray cloak around herself as a chill ran up her spine.

After convincing herself Revan would not break through the bacta tank and murder her, Bastila forced herself into an uneasy sleep.

Jedi Master Vrook Lamar jumped with a start when he sensed his Padawan's presence. Rising from his kneeling position, the Jedi Master allowed his mind to clear from its previous meditation and tracked Bastila's location. Vrook was a little more than surprised when he sensed his Padawan in orbit around Dantooine. Rushing to the Council chambers, Vrook noted that Zhar, Dorak and Vandar were present.

"So you sensed her?"

Vrook asked in a slightly apprehensive tone. Vandar nodded as he waved his hand to activate a communications holo. After several minutes of nothing, Vrook's patience wore thin.

"Why isn't she answering?"

Zhar rubbed the base of his chin in thought.

"Perhaps she was injured. Out last reports placed her in the hands of Darth Revan. It would not be surprising."

Vrook nodded his agreement and quickly made his way to a transport, taking the shuttle into the atmosphere and docking with Bastila's ship, which the Jedi Master noted with disdain appeared to be Revan's personal yacht.

Vrook quickly made his way through the hatch of Revan's yacht, making his way to the faint presence of his Padawan. What greeted Vrook was something he could not place. Bastila lay on the floor, a cloak laid beneath her head as a makeshift pillow and a small bruise on her forehead. Nearby a bacta tank was shattered and the healing fluid lay splattered on the floor of the ship's medical bay. Vrook quickly checked Bastila's pulse and was relieved to discover she was only unconscious. The Jedi Master's heart nearly stopped when he caught sight of Revan's bloodstained armor.

Surprised, Vrook examined the armor before making his way the to yacht's cockpit and checking the ship's logs. Vrook was even more confused to learn that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace over Nar Shadda and an escape pod was launched. The ship had been placed on auto pilot to return to Dantooine. Shaking his head, Vrook frowned deeply before he programmed the vessel to dock with the Enclave landing pad and made his way back to Bastila's unconscious form.

Jedi Padawan Bastila Shan awoke with a groan of discomfort. Bringing her hand to her forehead, Bastila flinched as her hand ran across a small bruise."Be careful, Padawan."

A voice called quietly. Bastila's eyes shot open in surprise as she sat up quickly and stared at her Master, Vrook.

"Master!"

Bastila exclaimed in surprise. The last thing she had remembered was waking from her slumber to a crashing noise and slipping clumsily on the spilled bacta and banging her head on a medical couch. The Padawan took a moment to regain her bearings before she furrowed her brow.

"Where is Revan?"

Vrook's brow shot up at the remark and the Jedi Master narrowed his eyes.

"Revan was on that ship?"

Vrook asked quietly. Bastila nodded, rubbing the tender bruise as she blinked several times. Vrook's confusion grew at the strange situation.

"Why would Revan allow Bastila to return to Dantooine?"

It had been only a week since Bastila had been sent on the mission to capture Darth Revan and Vrook did not think his Padawan could be broken that quickly though he shuddered at the thought of what Revan had done to her.

"You were alone on the transport. An escape pod had been launched near Nar Shadda and it was set to take you here..."

Vrook said in a confused tone. Bastila raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her medical couch with a sigh.

"The Council would like to speak with you whenever you are ready... if you need mind healers-"

"I don't need any mind healers."

Bastila snapped. Vrook gave Bastila a skeptical look.

"What happened?"

Vrook asked testily. Bastila cringed at the impatient tone.

"Revan killed the rest of my team with ease and knocked me unconscious. I was taken to a hidden Sith base where I was cut off from the Force. Revan and another Sith Master spoke with me, trying to convince me to see the galaxy through their point of view and then one day, Revan came in, wounded and told me he was letting me go... Revan was seriously injured and I believe there was a coup wherever we were..."

Vrook nodded.

"Our spies reported that Revan had been injured by our assault team-"

"No, he was perfectly healthy."

Bastila added. Vrook shrugged.

"There are now three Sith Lords vying for power. Sion, Nihilus and Bandon."

Bastila recognized on of the names.

"The other Sith Master that spoke to be mentioned something about Revan chasing away Lord Nihilus and something about preparing to be rid of Sion... They may have been the ones to betray Revan."

Vrook nodded.

"If they had believed Revan to be injured it would have left them an invaluable opportunity. We know little to nothing about Nihilus and Sion. All the Council had gathered is that they were under the watch of a Darth Traya."

Bastila nodded.

"That must have been that old woman."

Vrook's head snapped up at that comment.

"What old woman?"

Bastila sighed for a moment, rubbing her eyes.

"The Sith master that spoke to me. She said that she was Sion's Master... The strange thing is she said she was once Revan's Master as well..."

The weary Padawan turned to see her Master with an alarmed expression.
"Do you think she was a part of Revan's betrayal?"

Vrook asked, wondering if Kreia would betray her own Padawan. The Council had thought Kreia had been killed in the Mandalorian wars but if what Bastila was saying was accurate, Vrook could only ponder the consequences. Bastila frowned and shook her head.

"She did not seem... malicious..."

Bastila took a long, steadying breath.

"She actually tried to comfort me... it was... very strange."

Vrook gazed at his Padawan with surprise etched in his features. Under other circumstances, Bastila would have found it humorous to see anything but anger on her normally cold and snappy Master.

"Do you think she was the one who trained Revan?"

Bastila immediately shook her head.

"No... she seemed to think that Revan had surpassed her. The way she spoke it seemed that Revan had learned the Sith arts from somewhere else..."

Vrook nodded, standing.

"Rest, Padawan. The Council will speak of this in the morning when you are more fully recovered."

Bastila nodded gratefully, leaning back into her medical couch and drifting into the first peaceful sleep she had had in nearly a two weeks. The Padawan's last conscious thought before sleep took her was why Revan had allowed her to escape, or more precisely, why Revan had facilitated her return to the Jedi.

In the slums of Nar Shadda a figure stood in the shadows, leaning against a wall. Scanning the multiple refugees and aliens, Darth Revan pulled the hood of his obsidian cloak over his head and licked his lips in annoyance. He was stuck on the smuggler's moon with only a lightsaber, a holdout blaster and the robes on his back. Muttering a string of profanities, Revan briefly considered activating one of his various bank accounts for some extra credits before throwing the idea aside. Without the Force, he was more exposed than he liked and without his armor he felt almost naked.

"I'll stick to the shadows for the time being. Find a way to dig up some credits. There's no telling who can be tracking my old bank accounts."

The Dark Lord ran a hand across his newly healed face. The bacta had prevented scarring from Nihilus and Sion's treachery. Glaring upward to the stars, Darth Revan swore vengeance against the Sith Lords for their betrayal and more importantly to him, the loss of his Master Kreia and the Force.

"I don't need the Force to kill those cowards!"

Revan's mind screamed. Stalking through the refugee sector of Nar Shadda, Revan avoided speaking with the locals, heading directly for the local Exchange office. A slow smirk played across Revan's features.

"Force or no, I'm still a Mandalorian!"

The former Lord of the Sith looked down for a moment to his right arm, seeing past the obsidian cloak and tunic to the symbol of his long-dead Clan.

"Mandalore is gone and my people are avenged."

The former Sith Lord took a moment to allow that thought to comfort him before he persuaded an Exchange thug to let him speak with the local Exchange boss.

Author's Notes: And there you have it, the long awaited third chapter of Darkest Knight. I hope you all enjoyed it and I am sure a few of you are getting an idea of where I am going with this.