Merry Christmas, everyone! I wish you God's blessing for each day of your lives and that you spend these Holidays in a family vibe. Everything the best and the New Year's wishes will come in the next chapters XD.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter 44

"HK, Canderous, and Rex will go with me" Revan announced when they dropped out from the hyperspace. The crew of the Ebon Hawk was gathered around the holoprojector that was now turned on and was displaying their destination – Korriban. The tension on the ship was almost unbearable. Revan zoomed in one sector of the planet they were heading to. "The Star Map is located in one of the tombs in the Valley of the Sith Lords," he said pointing to the blue hologram.

"The Valley is also a part of the Sith Academy here on Korriban" Fox observed. "Wouldn't it be wiser to take someone else with you? It's dangerous to go in small numbers."

"The four of us will manage" Revan replied. "Besides, you have to watch over Atton – he still hasn't fully recovered yet." He paused, looking at Carth. "And I want to be sure that I'll have a ship to come back to" he added, gazing directly at the Republic pilot.

With that, he turned off the holoprojector and dismissed the gathered crew. Everyone, except for those he assigned to accompany him, returned to their quarters or found for themselves some other activities. The usually relaxed ambiance of the Ebon Hawk was now replaced with tension; after the events on the station above Yavin IV, no one dared to do nor say anything.

While the Ebon Hawk was on its way towards Korriban, Revan used that time to somehow prepare himself. He spent that hour and a half on meditating, trying to center and focus himself. He failed at that. No matter how hard he tried to find peace, he could have none of it. His thoughts kept on returning to Bastila. Each time he tried to achieve balance, he could feel the pain, anger, and hatred. But not his own.

He didn't know if it was due to the fact that the seventh day has begun or simply because he was extremely sensitized to Bastila, but he could feel her inner turmoil. Just as he feared, her downfall was certain. The tortures and the Sith teachings took their toll on her mind like the poison that kept on dwelling inside of him. He especially could feel her hatred pointed at… him. Malak has succeeded in turning Bastila against Revan; he knew that his former apprentice would do such thing.

And this is how he found himself now, standing directly in front of the loading ramp of the Ebon Hawk, waiting for the ship to make its way towards their destination. Rex, Canderous, and HK were already with him, anticipating the arrival.

"Drop us down in the Valley" Revan ordered Wolfie through his communicator. "Don't land anywhere near the academy. You should be able to find some other safe space to put down the Ebon Hawk."

"Copy that. We will be approaching the Valley shortly. Prepare for the jump."

It didn't take them long to reach their destination. Soon, the loading ramp was opened, allowing the Korriban's air inside. Revan, Rex, and Canderous instinctively covered their faces in order to protect themselves from the strong wind.

"Leave no one alive" Revan gave his last orders before jumping down from the Ebon Hawk. "This planet serves as the graveyard so let's take care that it lives up to this status." Putting on his mask, Revan ran down the loading ramp and jumped to the planet's surface from approximately one and a half kilometer; the three of his companions following him closely behind.

It didn't take him long to reach the surface. He landed with grace and with both of his lightsabers already ignited in his hands. Rex, Canderous, and HK-47 landed behind him, using the jetpacks that they found in the cargo hold of the Ebon Hawk to bring themselves safely to the ground.

It all happened in a blink of an eye.

The first of the Sith archeologists who were working around in the Valley had no idea what struck them down; they were killed instantly by Revan's precise cuts. Most of them fell where they were standing or kneeling, with their working tools still in their hands. Even though they noticed him jumping from the ship, they had no time to react as he swiftly cut them down.


They felt it. An echo through the Force. It was a particularly loud one, given the fact that they were on the planet that emanated with the Dark Side. It was almost impossible for anything to break through it.

And yet it happened. Something has broken through the Korriban's aura. Vrook and Kavar looked at each other, not saying anything. They didn't have to. They were fully aware of what that echo meant.

Revan came to Korriban.


As Revan continued to strike people down, more and more kept coming, fueling his anger. The distressed signal was quickly sent to the academy and to Dreashdae, asking for reinforcements. And so they came, surrounding the group of four.

Yet none of them could complain.

Fighting while being outnumbered was like a wet dream for all of them. After years spent on wars, a good fight was something they always enjoyed. But even though Revan had no time to waste, he wasn't going to abandon his men in the middle of the fight. Which is why he continued to move away from the tomb of Naga Sadow, striking down those who dared to come close to him.

He could see it in their eyes – fear and it was the righteous one. His mask was commonly known across the Galaxy and it always brought fear to those who were fighting against him. Now was no different.

At first, his enemies seemed to not believe that it was him. After all, both Malak and the Republic leaders did their best to assure the Galaxy that he was dead. And they succeeded. The result was that the inhabitants of the Sith Academy were eager to fight him; perhaps because they were furious that some imposter dared to personate Darth Revan.

The first one to challenge him was Uthar Wynn – the Headmaster of the Sith Academy on Korriban. Revan remembered him from his time as the Dark Lord. In fact, he was the one who entrusted the teaching of the Sith Acolytes to Uthar's safekeeping. Perhaps back in the day, he was useful, but now Revan didn't see any reason to let him, or anyone else, live. Bastila was in the Sith hands right now. Mercy for them was irrelevant.

And so he struck the Sith Master down, passing by his defenses in a swift strike, blocking his double lightsaber with his own red one and driving his blue one into his opponent's body, killing him instantly. Perhaps under different circumstances, he would be able to stand longer against Revan. Perhaps if he wasn't taken by surprise? After all, Revan had some reasons to appoint him as the Headmaster. But no one would know it now. And Revan had no time to contemplate it now.

Uthar's death seemed to break a little the spirits of his other opponents. Until this day, most of the students of the Academy used to be looking up to him. Now, with the Headmaster dead, the apprentices found out, that the man in front of them was far more than just an imposter.

Driven with hatred and anger, he wasted no time in dealing with the Sith apprentices. They posed no challenge for him and he treated them as such. Even though they tried, they simply couldn't find a way to deliver their own attacks because Revan continued to strike them down with his own lightsabers, showing the speed usually not met amongst the mortals.

It was then that his enemies began to believe that it truly was Dart Revan who returned from the grave for vengeance. This caused his opponents to back away from him and allowed Revan and his men to swiftly chase them, leaving behind the trail of the dead bodies.

The thickener was bringing the desired effects. His coughing died away, allowing him to breathe somehow normally. And with the air filter that was placed in his mask, he was able to breathe properly just like before being poisoned. The substance didn't have as many side effects as Wolfie said it might have had, though. Of course, his moves were indeed a little clumsier and slower, but not to the point that he was unable to fight. In fact, no one in the Academy was able to keep up with him, but that was expected.

"I and HK will go for the Star Map" Revan announced when the assault stopped. He walked through the Valley that was now littered with corpses of the Dark Jedi and the archeologists. "Stay here lest the more reinforcements arrive. We should be back in no time. Come on, HK." The droid followed him without saying a word.

They soon entered the tomb. The air there was chilling – as it was expected from it. Even if the tomb was sculpted in the mountain, it was encrusted from the inside. Ancient inscriptions were carved out on the walls; usually, they were teachings of the Sith who was buried in that tomb.

The floor was cobbled, causing Revan to make a loud echo with each step; HK's steps were even more terrifying as the metal was meeting the stone, sending chills up Revan's spine.

The corridors were narrow – Revan and HK could barely walk side by side. The former Dark Lord was using his blue lightsaber to provide themselves with some sort of light as the tomb was entirely dark. The constant humming of his weapon did little to comfort him.

Even though he was in that tomb years ago, it was still somewhat scary place. No one knew what monstrosities lurked in the shadows, attracted by the Dark Side of the Star Map and the Sith Lord who was buried there.

Revan was sure that he could hear whispers in the tomb. The omnipresent Dark Side was calling for him, tempting him to succumb to it. He could hear the ancient Sith Lords gently, yet firmly sharing their knowledge with him as if he was in a possession of their holocrons, drawing the teachings included there.

But he resisted them. The same scenario was happening before when he first entered the tombs. Back then, it was almost impossible for him or Malak to resist those voices, as they were under the influence of the Sith Emperor and the lure of the Dark Side was strong in those days. But not now. Now, after all those years, the Dark Side didn't command him anymore. Now he was commanding it.

He and his droid continued to make their way through the tomb; so far they encountered no form of life. Revan couldn't complain, though. The creatures that found shelter in the tomb were always contorted by the Dark Side.

As they continued their path into the tomb, the voices were becoming louder and louder. In the beginning, they were single words spoken in the ancient Sith language. Despite his best effort, Revan never managed to learn it completely. He could make out few words, but no more than that.

Then, as the voices were becoming louder and louder, he could make out the whole sentences being spoken in the common language. He could hear the past… and the future, lurking in the walls of the tomb.

Revan, one voice spoke; one he was very familiar with. Hearing it here made him stop in his tracks. He looked around, trying to locate the source of it. He found none.

Revan, the female voice repeated, this time louder. He looked around again, bringing his lightsaber forward in order to lighten a larger area in front of him.

What he saw made him break his heart. There, in the middle of the main chamber was standing Bastila, facing him. His heart stopped as he realized what that meant. The seventh day was almost done and the Dark Side was strong in his wife, allowing her subconscious to make its way even to Korriban. He saw it earlier; the minds of his prisoners slowly splitting away from the bodies, going to the places where the Dark Side was calling them.

"Bastila," Revan said, coming closer to him. She wasn't there in a flesh and he knew it. It was the result of the Dark Side that kept on tempting her.

"You abandoned me," she said in a calm voice – far too calm for her. He watched her intensively; her skin didn't have any trails of corruption and her eyes were still grey, just as he remembered them. Her expression was a painful one, though.

"I didn't abandon you, Bas" he replied with a soft tone, not daring to close the distance between them. "If only I could, I would do anything to protect you."

"But you didn't" she replied with the same calm, almost emotionless tone. "You left me on Leviathan, allowing Malak to capture me. You are the one who allowed that to happen."

"Bas…" he tried to say something, but she interrupted him.

"You were too weak to save me" she accused him. He could say nothing to that. "You ARE too weak to save me!"

"Enough," he said. Bastila ignored that.

"Perhaps back in the time of your reign as the Dark Lord you were strong, but now you became weak. You allowed the Jedi teachings to weaken you, depriving you of your former strength."

"I said enough!" he repeated, this time much more firmly. He watched as Bastila's expression began to turn. Her skin was becoming paler and paler, allowing the veins on her face to be clearly visible. Also, her eyes began to turn from grey to gold.

"You are nothing but a shadow of your former self," she said, pointing her finger at him. Her clothes began to change as well. The beige robe she usually wore was turning into the dark clothing, similar to those many Dark Jedi were wearing.

"This is not you, Bastila" Revan replied.

"This is me, Revan," she said, this time with an angry voice. "The new me, freed from the Council's bindings."

"This is not you!" Revan countered, coming closer. "The Bastila I know wouldn't say anything like it. The Bastila I know would avoid the Dark Side, and not embrace it! You are not Bastila Shan" he shouted, more to convince himself. As soon as he said that, Bastila's image faded away.

You allowed him to turn me, he heard her voice, this time as one of the many whispers that were present in the tomb. He shook his head to silence the voices down.

"Come on, HK," he said to his droid. "Let's not waste more time in here."

They continued forward, leaving the chamber that they were in. Revan and HK walked into yet another narrow corridor; the former Dark Lord was still holding his blue lightsaber in front of him in order to lighten the path in front of them.

After no more than one hundred meters, they found themselves in a place where the corridor was turning into a large cave. In opposite to the rest of the tomb, this was the natural part of the mountain. It was all covered with stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars that were formed from the combination of the previous two.

It was also the coldest part of the tomb.

The droplets of water were falling down from the ceiling, creating a loud echo each time they fell to the ground. Revan wrapped up himself with his robe tighter as he shivered out of the cold. The steam was coming out of his mouth.

He and HK crossed the narrow stone bridge that connected the separate ends of the cave. Small stones fell off the bridge as Revan was walking through it.

The cave soon turned back into the similar corridor they were previously in. This one was much shorter, though and soon they found themselves in a round chamber that had several sculptures which looked like humans, contorted in pain. They seemed to be preventing the walls from collapsing.

In the middle of the chamber was standing the destination of their journey. The last Star Map.

Revan walked up to it. Just as previously, the Star Map opened automatically, sensing someone around. Just as before, the hologram of the Galaxy floated into the air, showing the missing coordinates.

Revan wasted no time in admiring the view. He had seen it many times previously. He walked up to the old device and plugged in his datapad. He would combine the coordinates from all the Star Maps later, once he was back in the Ebon Hawk. Now he only had to download the data.

As the Star Map was being transferred to his datapad, something caught his attention. Revan straightened up as if in an attempt to sensitize himself better to the gentle echo that was being sent through the Force.

His eyes widened in shock when he realized what it was that he felt within the Force. Behind his mask, his orbs turned to gold as his hatred returned to him with full strength.

Vrook was on Korriban.

"Come on, HK, we've got to hurry!" he ordered to his droid, unplugging his datapad from the Star Map once he made sure that the data was fully downloaded.

The two ran out form the chamber, going back the same path they came in here. Revan used the Force in order to accelerate his moves and HK was right behind him; his robotic build allowing him to keep up with his master with ease.

They swiftly passed the chamber where Revan encountered 'Bastila' and continued alongside the narrow corridor till the exit of the tomb. Revan used the Force to break down the heavy door that stood in their path, without as much as slowing done. Once it was done, he leaped out from the tomb to the Valley of the Sith Lords.

There, right at the entrance to the Naga Sadow's tomb were standing Vrook Lamar and Kavar, apparently waiting for him. Ahead of them were Rex and Canderous, both in a kneeling position; their hands cuffed behind their backs. Both of Revan's men had lightsaber wounds on their bodies – a testimony to their fight against the Jedi Masters.

"I must admit, you gave me quite a chase" Vrook said in his usual biting tone. "I had nowhere to go after you destroyed that Star Map on Kashyyyk and had to return to Coruscant with nothing."

"I hoped you died on Dantooine" Revan replied; venom heard in his words. The gold of his eyes was now more than capable of outshining the stars.

"Many have died and you shall join them soon," Kavar said, taking a step forward, standing abreast with Vrook.

"We've made a mistake by letting you live a few months ago" Vrook added, bringing his lightsaber closer to Rex' back. Kavar did the same with his own lightsaber, putting it right against Canderous' back at the height of his chest. "You have drawn many to you, inspiring the betrayal amongst the Republic soldiers. And they shall share your fate."

It took Revan only a split second to realize what that meant. He looked in the eyes of his men one last time, unable to do anything more.

Rex and Canderous seemed to understand it. Time seemed to slow down and they haven't said as much as a single word. Their eyes spoke it all. They didn't bear a grudge against him for that. In fact, they looked to be proud in that moment. They knew what was going to happen, yet none of them flinched.

Kill them, Canderous mouthed out soundlessly. Revan nodded to him, signalizing that he understood. The old Mandalorian smirked slightly.

Rex didn't say anything. His eyes were speaking, though, instead of his mouth. Revan understood the concealed message behind the gaze.

His most loyal soldier was proud to die for him.

Despite the fact that to Revan it seemed like hours, not more than five seconds have passed. To say he was angry would be an understatement. He was furious. Rarely in his life was he unable to do something while his reaction was necessary. And this was one of those moments.

Revan watched helplessly as a blue and green lightsabers erupted from the chests of his two followers. Their mouths opened simultaneously in a silent scream of pain and then they fell lifelessly on the ground as the two Jedi Masters brought out their weapons form their bodies.

"HK" Revan addressed his droid through clenched teeth, igniting both of his lightsabers. "Kill the meatbags," he said, tossing his blue lightsaber to HK.

"Answer: With pleasure, Master."


Thanks for reading it, guys, let me know what you think about this chapter and generally about this story. And yes, I know that Uthar's story as a Headmaster is a little bit different but I simply decided to shorten it and not get too much into it. And yes, purposely I haven't included Yuthura here because I'll be needing her later and I'll make an explanation of why she wasn't on Korriban. See you soon, guys!