I'm sorry guys for the one week delay but again school made it impossible for me to write this chapter. Also, today I turned eighteen, so… happy birthday to me I guess XD. But, with no further delays, here is 40th chapter of 'Price of the Sacrifice'.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter 39

To say Revan was disappointed would be an understatement.

After seeing the corpses and searching throughout the Force, he anticipated someone powerful or, at least, talented. He was sure Malak was aware that he was alive. From this reason, he expected that the current Dark Lord would send someone more… qualified.

Which is why he literally stopped in his tracks when he saw none other than Bandon. It took him all of his willpower to not start laughing uncontrollably. From what he recalled, Bandon was rather… average Force wielder. He always wondered what special his former apprentice saw in that man.

"My Master warned me about your survival" Bandon spoke upon noticing the intruders. He was sitting in the middle of the room, cross-legged. Around him, a dozen or so of Dark Jedi were gathered as his personal attendants. They were spread across the room, standing next to the walls; they clearly didn't want to disturb him in his meditation.

"And yet you stand here, fully aware of who I am" Revan replied with a sound of disbelief in his voice. Surely, even someone as shortsighted and arrogant as his former apprentice had to, at least, warn Bandon about his skills.

"I'm fully aware of who you once were" Bandon corrected him, raising up from the meditating pose. "I've heard about your captivity. Tell me, how can it be that a mere Jedi Padawan managed to capture the Dark Lord of the Sith himself?" he asked in a mocking tone. "You brought a disgrace to all the Sith Lords, and yet you dared to claim that you were taking knowledge of the ancient spirits of Korriban. I'm proud that my Master took your place" Bandon finished, spitting at the ground right in front of Revan.

The young man looked for a moment at the place where Bandon spit. He pondered for a while before answering.

"Tell me" he began, still not lifting his gaze. "Did your Master tell you about his cowardice? How he backstabbed me in the Sernpidal system. How he lacked the courage to face me in the open battle. In that single moment, he proved that whatever I told about him was right." Revan finally looked upward from the ground, eyeing the man in front of him. "Did he tell you the truth about that day?" he asked again. Bandon spat again.

"My Master did what he pleased" Bandon replied. "He saw the opportunity and seized for it. In opposite to you, he isn't afraid of taking action, and neither am I. It's fair to say that I surpassed you."

Revan couldn't hold it anymore. He burst out laughing, occasionally being disrupted by the coughing that still was persecuting him.

"As always, shortsighted, arrogant and conceited" Revan commented when he managed to calm himself. "I never could say you were more than average, hence I have no idea why in that puny brain of yours the thought of you being better than me even occurred, Bandon."

Revan saw it in his eyes. An uncontrollable rage caused by his words. He smiled slightly under his nose. The tactic he learned long ago during the Mandalorian Wars was now bringing effects. Angering your enemies before the fight made them more vulnerable. Even if the Dark Side required such emotions as hatred, it still didn't ensure one's victory. It made one mistake prone.

"My name is Darth Bandon" he spoke with superiority strengthened with anger rising in his chest. "In opposite to you, I deserved this title" he added, igniting his red saberstaff. Revan smirked again.

"And mine I earned with blood" Revan replied calmly, igniting his own crimson red lightsaber. "Deal with those idiots," he said, addressing those who followed him. "I'll take the Dark Lord's apprentice" he added with a mockery as clear as day in his voice.

"Commentary: This should be fun."

Suppressing the cough that dwelled inside his chest, he rushed at the man in front of him. He hoped to quickly decapitate his enemy, though it wasn't the case. Months ago, Bandon mayhap was an average student from Korriban, but now training under Malak bore fruits.

Revan could see his former best friend's combat techniques in the fighting style of his opponent. Precise, powerful blows, coming mostly from above, were deadly if not blocked. He never liked such combat tactic, though he couldn't deny that it was effective. Combined with the velocity of the strikes that was possible only with the saberstaff, Bandon was much more than an average opponent.

Suddenly, he wished he didn't lose his second lightsaber in the battle with the war droids. Two weapons would be much more helpful against the saberstaff instead of just one. But now he had no other choice than to adapt to the situation he was currently in. Once again that day reaching forward to the Dark Side, relying on the strength it would give him, he focused even more on the fight.

Their lightsabers crossed once again, none of the two standing down. Two pairs of sickly yellow eyes were locked on each other as if trying to break the enemy's will or courage. Around them, the Dark Jedi were engaged in the even fight with the Revan's soldiers, while T3 was standing good few meters away, bipping nervously every now and then as if worrying for the well-being of the humans he was traveling with.

Revan leaped away from his opponent in a futile attempt to somehow surprise him and make him lose his balance. It didn't work in the way he wished it would, though. Of course, Bandon was somehow caught by surprise, but he didn't make any mistake or something like that. He had to regain his balance by taking a step forward with his right leg, but nothing more than that. Malak's apprentice smirked defiantly.

"I'll show you who's average," Bandon said, cracking few bones in his neck. Revan squinted and clenched his teeth. The grip on his lightsaber tightened, turning his knuckles white.

Bandon charged again with the similar ferocity he showed earlier. Revan's moves started to get sluggish, while Darth's were becoming more and more powerful and precise. It surprised the former Dark Lord that he actually had to try to keep up with his opponent. Rarely did such situation take place.

Revan moved his blade upward in order to block the oncoming strike. Two lightsabers colliding created a hissing sound that all men in the room were too familiar with. The strength of his right arm was evaporating rather quickly due to the wound on his shoulder. He had to back down under the clout of the blow that was additionally empowered by the Force.

Revan had to roll aside in order to avoid yet another heavy strike that came from the same direction. Sparks came from the floor where Bandon's weapon hit it. The former Dark Lord wasted no time in getting up and returning to his fighting stance. This time he decided to be a little more offensive than he used to be until this time. Directing his own swift strike in an attempt to break his opponent's defenses, he managed to somehow catch Bandon off guard. Revan smirked a little after seeing that Malak's apprentice had actually some troubles with deflecting his blows.

His smirk was quickly wiped off of his face, though when Bandon quickly regained his footings and turned to offensive once again. This time his strikes were coming from both his sides and not from above, what was rather easy due to the saberstaff he wielded. Holding his lightsaber with both his hands, Bandon dealt few quick strikes from both sides, each time attacking with the alternate blade of his saberstaff. Revan had to act quickly in order to block all the blows. He gripped his lightsaber tightly with both hands and focused on the oncoming strikes. Keeping his gaze on his enemy's weapon, he failed to notice that one oh Bandon's hands lessened its grip on the saberstaff and was now pointed in his direction.

Revan had little time to react as he was sent flying backward. He didn't see the Force Push that Bandon sent in his way and in the effect, he hit the wall hard with his back. It caused his spine to crack loudly and for a brief second, he was afraid that something serious happened in his vertebral column.

He was relieved when he was able to get up and move all his limbs, but he had no time to contemplate it because Bandon was on the offensive again. Revan leaped away quickly from the wall. If he didn't do it, he most likely would be pinned to it by his opponent's lightsaber. Jumping over Bandon, he landed behind him, raising his blade just in time to meet his weapon. For the first time, he managed to penetrate Bandon's defense.

As the result, his opponent's saberstaff was cut in half, deactivating one of the blades. Revan smirked, earning an angry growl from Bandon who looked first at his broken weapon and then at the man he was fighting with.

Now was the time for Revan to gain the upper hand in the duel. Bandon most certainly wasn't used to the weight of only one blade what made his moves unbalanced.

Finally, Revan's opponent began to make mistakes.

Even weakened with the poison, Revan was second to none in the entire Known Galaxy when it came to using the lightsaber with just a single blade. Smirking, even more, he proceeded with the offensive, making Bandon step backward. Around them, Bandon's Dark Jedi were falling, unable to keep up with the fully trained Revan's men and his assassin droid.

After a failed attempt to cut his opponent in half, Revan delivered a powerful kick to Bandon's face, causing him to back down. Malak's apprentice brought his free hand to his face where Revan's boot made contact with the flesh. His nose was heavily bleeding; the blood was sipping through his fingers.

Bandon growled angrily yet again and charged at Revan. With every attack that the former Dark Lord could now parry with ease, his strikes were becoming more and more sluggish. It was easier and easier for Revan to keep up with the older man's moves, additionally delivering every now and then his own, powerful blows that nearly broke Bandon's defenses.

Pushing Bandon back toward the wall, Revan managed to cut his opponent in several places, including his arm. With lightsaber burns like that, it was almost impossible for one to keep up with the fight. As the result, more and more cuts began to appear on his body where Revan went right through his defenses.

Summoning with the Force the lightsaber of one of the defeated Dark Jedi, Revan doubled his attacks. He saw it on Bandon's face; the uncertainty. He grew uneasy. He realized that without his saberstaff he wasn't capable of defeating Revan.

"It's impossible" he hissed. "The Dark Side is with me, my powers are too strong."

"I've told" Revan replied between the strikes. "Nothing more than an average student."

Bandon roared with anger and tried to break through Revan's impregnable line of lightsabers. It turned out to be a futile attempt, as Revan parried his strikes with ease. It turned out to be his damnation as well.

Revan noticed the break in his opponent's defenses, escalated with the fear. Driven by the instinct perfected during countless campaigns in the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, as well as the Force, he directed his push right into Bandon's body. The lightsaber easily pierced right through the armor, impaling the Dark Jedi to the wall he was standing at.

"You cannot beat me" Bandon protested, blood coming from his mouth with every word. "I surpassed in every possible way, I'm the apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, the Dark Side is with me. You cannot beat me!" he repeated. Revan grinned and coughed in the response.

"You forget that I am the Dark Lord of the Sith," he said, calming his breath. "And you are nothing more than a pathetic excuse for a Dark Jedi."

With one swift strike, Revan decapitated still pinned to the wall Bandon. His head rolled around and stopped directly at his feet. The golden eyes were now staring blankly into nothingness.

"I'll never get what is so tempting in shaving your head bald" Revan murmured to himself, kicking the object that way laying at his feet. "T3," he said to the droid that was standing at the entrance until now. "The Star Map is inside that terminal" Revan instructed, pointing at the computer that was standing at the far end of the room. "Download the data and leave the base. It seems Jolee will require some medical help."

"And what about you?" Rex asked when he noticed that Revan began to make his way out of the room.

"I have some much more serious business to attend to" he answered vaguely. "Don't search for me. I'll return to the Ebon Hawk at dawn and we'll set out immediately. Our next target: Korriban."

And with that, he was gone.


"I must admit I haven't expected you to be a romantic type" Bastila commented with a small smile, slowly sipping a red wine from the glass that she was holding in her hand. They were currently resting in the restaurant that was located few miles away from the Ebon Hawk. It was a rather exclusive place, considering the dignity of persons gathered there.

They had a meal that Bastila didn't think they would be able to pay for. But yet again Revan surprised her by pulling out a rather significant amount of Credits. What surprised, or made her uneasy, was how Revan came in possession of the money. If what he said was true, it was his 'war trophy'. And that's exactly what made her uneasy. It was commonly known across the Galaxy that Revan didn't take any money after winning the Mandalorian Wars. And that could only mean that he came in the possession of these Credits during the Jedi Civil War by conquering the individual systems and accepting their price for stopping the bloodshed.

"And I never thought you're so into drinking the alcohol, dear one" Revan replied, taking the sip from his own glass. "So young and yet already addicted" he added with a smile. He earned a furious blush from his wife.

"I'm not addicted" she protested, putting the glass back. "Besides, I'm not that young. I'm twenty! You were the same age when you went to war with the Mandalorians and somehow no one was rubbing your nose in that case."

"First: you're not twenty. You're nineteen. Your twentieth day of birth will come in the week and a half. Second: it's not true that no one ever rubbed my nose in the matter of me going to war. The Senate, the Council, the Republic officers… all of them had something against me. That I'm too young, that I'm too inexperienced, that I'm too blah, blah, blah… Believe me, I didn't have an easy life in the Republic Navy.

"Oh, you still remember when my birthday is" Bastila commented in a mocking tone. Revan smirked at that.

"And what made you think that I could forget?"

"Oh, I don't know" she replied, pretending to think hard. "Perhaps because you were too busy with killing, conquering and converting the Jedi to the Dark Side."

"Perhaps I was," Revan said, pretending he didn't hear her comment. "But I never forgot you."

It silenced any other of her comments, at least for now. What surprised Revan was a small tear that appeared in her eye. He reached over the table and wiped it away with his thumb.

"I thought I've told you not to cry over me anymore," he said softly and placed a brief kiss on her lips. "Those days are long gone. You are now my wife and nothing can ever change it" Bastila smiled at that and few more tears escaped her eyes. This time though these were the tears of happiness, not sadness.

"I love you, Rev" Bastila replied softly, leaning forward. She returned the kiss that she just received, putting in it all the love she had for the man in front of her. She savored the moment, enjoying the warmth of Revan's lips on her own ones.

"I kept my part of the deal," Revan said after backing away slightly. "Now, where is my mask?" he asked with a childish grin.

Bastila leaned back in her seat upon hearing that. Her smile was gone as well as the mood of their first date. Revan indeed had the talent to spoil the moment.

"You really had to ask that question, hadn't you?" she asked him without any trail of her previous tone.

"Well, considering that you'd most likely forget that I want to reclaim it, I had to ask that to take care of the well-being of my favorite thing."

"Am I not your favorite?" Bastila asked; the disappointment as clear as day in her voice.

"You're not a thing, dear Bas" Revan replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're the closest person to me, but the mask is something I'd rather have with me."

"Oh fine" she snapped at him. "You'll get your bloody mask." Revan grinned at that. "But before I do, one more thing."

"And what is that?" he asked curiously.

"There is something I've noticed back in the base. The way you fight. What I said back on Tatooine is still accurate; the Dark Side is visible in you, it flows through you. Why are you not fighting it if you claim to not be under its influence? Why do you enjoy killing?"

"Just because I'm using the Dark Side doesn't mean that it controls me in any way," he said, repeating what he told earlier on Tatooine. "One must know the poison in order to find out how to fight it. Which is why I'm using the Dark Side. As for my liking for combat… it has nothing to do with the Dark Side, darling." Bastila looked at him with a questioning gaze. "I am the Mandalorian, after all. As my parents once were and their parents before them. It's in my blood. I cannot deny who I am."

"Is it really like that? Being a Mandalorian means that you have to enjoy fighting and killing?"

"I suppose so."

Bastila huffed at him, leaning even further backward in her seat. She looked away, taking in the breathtaking view of the endless ocean of Manaan. The waves were gently splashing against the walls of Ahto City. Every here and there, unknown to her sea creatures reviled themselves from the depths of the dark waters.

Revan finished the wine that remained in his now almost empty glass. He was still holding it with his index finger and thumb, trailing around it with the index finger of his second hand. It created a not unpleasant, but rather an annoying sound.

"Could you please stop?" Bastila asked after a minute or so of him constantly creating the annoying sound. Revan smiled at her and put the empty glass back on the table.

"Could you please give me my mask back?" he replied with a question. Bastila clenched her teeth tightly in irritation.

"I should have known that you wouldn't do it for me but for your stupid mask" she commented, emptying her glass. "For you, it was only a deal to make me do your wish." She shook her head in annoyance. "What have I ever seen in you in the first place?"

"Am I supposed to point it out?" Revan asked with a playful smirk. "I didn't lie to you when I said that I want to ask you out. In fact, I would have done it even if I didn't know you were in possession of my mask. I thought it would be nice if we found a spare time to go somewhere together. But I didn't lie to you either when I told that I want to retrieve my mask."

"But you infuriated me to no end with that question about your mask, do you know it?"

"I guessed. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want it to sound that way."

"Did you really have to ask it in the first place? I think I've told you that I'll give you your mask back. You didn't have to ruin the moment, you know?"

"I'm sorry, Bas" he murmured apologetically. "Perhaps I grew inpatient in the recent days."

"Perhaps" she replied, still not looking at him; her arms were crossed over her chest. Revan stood up and came closer to her. He gently took her face in his two fingers, making her look at him. She complied a little unwillingly.

She wanted to protest when she felt him lifting her up with the Force, but she couldn't find words to do so. Soon she found herself being firmly held by Revan. He was taller than her for few good inches, making her tilt her head up in order to look at him. She had no idea what he was doing until she felt one of his hands on her hip and the second one intertwining with her own one. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gentle music started to play and Revan began to move them around.

She couldn't believe that they were actually dancing in the restaurant.

"Revan stop!" she hissed. "There are people around."

"Where?" he asked innocently, looking around. Bastila followed his gaze and notice that they indeed were all alone. Reluctantly, she allowed Revan to carry her around.

"Where is the music even coming from?" she asked, not noticing anything that could produce the sound.

"What was it that the Jedi Masters often repeated?" Revan answered with a question. "Everything is possible with the Force."

"I doubt they meant something like this" she commented, relaxing a little.

"Don't say you're not enjoying this" he said with a smirk on his lips. Bastila looked at him for a while and finally chuckled a little, allowing herself to relax completely. She leaned her head forward to rest it on his chest. She breathed in the air filled with the salty air of the ocean, as well as Revan's natural smell. A happy smile made its way to her lips.

Even if Revan had the talent to ruin the romantic moods, he had an even better one to repair them.

She felt her head being tilted upward from his chest. Then she felt a gentle kiss on her lips. Without opening her eyes, she smiled and eagerly returned the kiss.

They remained that way for quite some time, embracing each other, kissing and gently dancing to the soft rhythm. Reluctantly, they returned to the Ebon Hawk and prepared for the beginning of an end of their quest.

As well as the beginning of an end of their happiness and their time together.


That's it for today. If you think that Revan getting his ass kicked for some time by Bandon sucked, I remind you that he is still under influence of the poison so he is significantly weaker than he used to be. Also, leave a comment, add this story to your favorites and follow it if you haven't done it yet. See you later guys in the next update!