Author's Note: Last week I didn't post indeed I felt like I had been kicked in the gut and so I didn't even read any fanfic or WOT or anything. Robert Jordan is someone I look up to as an example. He walked in the Light and he wrote amazing fiction. That we may see his kind walk among us again, is my sincere wish. Thank you for all you did for us, your books were amazing.

To Robert Jordan, The Legend!

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Note: The character Dirk's real name is Kye. So either appellation refers to him.

Disclaimer: All profits to RJ

Chapter 20: Confrontation

Dirk was excited. He sat in the chair waiting for Revoir Sedai to return. She had been a little shocked when he told her that his name was Kye; that he had remembered! He had admonished her not to be so modest, after all did she not expect success, wasn't she the expert!

She had left moments later to get a ter'angreal to help her extract the rest of these memories. This was it he could feel it he would have a break through. As he waited he gazed around the room. She had decorated it in impeccable style using Tairen maze designs on her cloths, rugs and curtains. Her apartments were always beautiful to look at and never cluttered. She said she liked to have space to work and that cluttered space led to a cluttered mind.

He was sat in the very centre of the room on the chair. As he did each week he had carefully folded his cloak and left it on the carved table by the door. It was a wonderful table with lots of sliding draws in it. Indeed the top of the table could be lifted and propped open at an angle to form a drawing surface. Some of Revoir's art was on display in the room. None of her pictures were of people or animals or even scenery. They were strange and intriguing whirls of colour that she said represented the mind and how it worked. He didn't see any of the symbolism she did, even after she tried to explain one to him. Still it was another proof that Aes Sedai were human.

"Here we are," she said, her voice oddly cheerful. She rarely sounded happy but then there had never been so much to be happy about. These sessions had worked he was remembering. He turned and smiled at her as she passed the table with his cloak and sword on. She was carrying in her hand a circlet. It was a band of pain iron but for a small sigil which looked like a V on its side overlaid with an S. For some reason he remembered his brief argument with Kea. She had mentioned a circlet. She had not been happy about Revoir either. She did say he was forgetting not remembering… What was it she had said exactly? But he could not remember, he had been too angry, in too much of a hurry to listen.

"She said you had a circlet to help" he commented. Revoir froze as if encased in ice. Her body went rigid but only for a moment when she continued removing something from, one of the draws in the table. Still her face was a mask, rigid and unreadable. Something of his old warrior instincts kicked in and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise like a dog's hackles.

She came to him and he decided he would ask, better safe than sorry. "Revoir Sedai, did you know me when I was a Warder?"

She did not reply instead she placed the circlet on his head. That was too much, she should have answered him. He raised his own hand to move the circlet but his wrists met resistance. The air seemed to harden around them holding him against the chair. He began to struggle in earnest and called out to Revoir that something did be wrong. Her face was still tense but she was smiling now. It was a haunting smile, one he decided he would not soon be able to forget. He knew then what had occurred, but too late.

"Release me!" he demanded loudly.

She laughed the first time he had heard the sound, or was it the first time? He was having a sudden feeling of having done all of this before. These memories: of her rigid face, haunting smile and high laugh. He did know those things, he was sure, but he could not remember them.

"No," she replied simply. "You need to forget all of this Kye. You need to unlearn what you have learned. I thought sealing your memory would do it but it seems not. You have forced me to do something more risky. I won't kill you that would cause all sorts of problems, but I think I will empty you. We always hoped we could get you to tell us what Nevir would not. Where is the Eye of Loyalty? Where is it Kye?"

Then his body exploded in pain, fire lanced through him jerking from nerve to nerve like lightning. He yelled out and screamed for a moment but the pain was so sharp and high he lost his voice. Then the pain disappeared and he felt the air holding him in the chair compressing, cutting off his ability to breathe, or even think. He lost track of time and the room around him. Instead he concentrated on just one thing forcing the air around his chest and throat apart enough so that he could breath; again and again, and again.

Unsure how long he had been in his half suffocated agony he felt it come off suddenly. Without warning his lungs were able to both fill and he almost choked on the air as it rushed into his chest.

"Well Kye have you remembered? The weave does not seem to be holding, so maybe you know now?" her voice was higher than he remembered or just perhaps his hearing had been affected by whatever she had done to him a moment ago.

"I don't know what this Eye is, but if I did not tell you before I would not now."

"Ha, Kye you are nothing like you used to be, you have lost your hard edge, your Warder-like inhumanity. You are breakable now, but I don't have the time. So if we cannot have the Eye of Loyalty we need only make sure it remains a myth. I won't just seal your memory this time Kye. We were hoping we could keep you alive but you have wasted that. Still if I kill you people will wonder and go snooping around, the Seanchan harlot among them!"

Dirk roared at her. "Her name is Kea. How dare you call her that?"

A slap of air silenced him. She made no effort to stop him screaming however so the room must be warded. No one would find him till much, much too late and even then they would not know anything untoward had been done, he would not remember, if he was even alive.

"I will have to strip you down Kye. Take your entire memory and just rip it out. It'll hurt and there is no reclaiming it. There will be no sealing it away this time, simply disposal, sorry." The last word was said with awful sarcasm which made Dirk want to shout at her again, regardless of the futility of the gesture. But his body hurt too much. He was going to forget, forget everything. He wondered if he would remember how to talk, eat or fight? Revoir Sedai seemed certainly capable of taking all of that as well. He began to feel fear now of all he would lose. He would forget Kea and who she was. He would forget Giro and his gift of trust. He would forget everything he had done. He slumped on the chair the circlet tightening on his head. You could not fight the Power. This was why Aes Sedai took the oaths otherwise they could do this… wait, the oaths!

"You can't do this. You do be sworn not to use The Power as a weapon. If you do this you do not be Aes Sedai!"

"I am not a servant, no. I am a Master!" revelled Revoir. Now she was not just smiling, her eyes appeared almost mad with some hidden delight. He noticed she wore an armlet over her left forearm now it had a large gem in the end where it rested over the end of her wrist. The gem sparkled and shone with some inner light. He felt the circlet grown cold and he knew the channelling had started. Soon everything even Kea would be nothing but a memory. What a pity he had not got to tell her things, got to know her better. In a way they had both rescued each other and it was sad that they would not know each other after today. It wasn't sad it was flaming tragic! His mind grew cold and it became hard to think he began to relax, going slowly numb to everything around him.

Kea was impatient but as an Accepted she could not well chasten Aes Sedai. Still she shot looks full of urgency at them. Still for all that they glided across the hallways of the Tower with graceful strides and serene faces she had to admit they were making good time. Yukiri the Grey was still asking Seaine questions about her conversation with Kea under her breath. Pevara the Red seemed most determined and excited to get to the room she alone appeared to be hurrying as well as actually moving quickly. Her face was one of anticipation; nothing could show more clearly her preference for an out and out confrontation. Not one for all this sneaking around Pevara. Doesine was waling closest to Kea. It was the Yellow Sitter who had gotten them all into the Yellow Ajah Quarters without too much hassle. When they had been seen they had received some odd looks but Saerin had muttered something about unfortunate but could not be helped. Anyway Doesine had spoken to them and they had let them past. She had mumbled to herself as they had walked clearly upset that they were going to have this confrontation with a Yellow Sister. Still she seemed no less determined than the rest of them. She had chosen the right allies. Her arches had shown her something true. She could only hope the rest wasn't true. Kea thought she heard something about mother's milk as the mumbling continued and tried not to listen.

When they got to the door Kea saw the Ward immediately. "She has Warded the room. Surly this means something is going on!"

"Calm child," Saerin reprimanded her gently. The scar on her cheek seemed to suddenly stand out as if to back up that she knew the face of battle as well as any. "If we had not already determined to act on what you claimed we would not be here."

"This is a strong ward and we can't strike at her till she attacks us or proves herself Shadowspawn. May I suggest we link and enter immediately?" said Seaine. "Pevara should lead."

No one gainsaid the White and Pevara looked almost flattered as they linked. Though Kea could feel that Pevara was stronger than the others, Saerin and Yukiki were so close as to make little difference. Still it was Pevara's place. Still Kea was glad she was not invited into the link. She may be only Accepted, but she was stronger in the Power than any of these. What was more she had been trained damane, and had known more about how to kill with the Power, than any of these Aes Sedai, after her first month of training. Plus she had taken no oaths, not yet.

The Aes Sedai linked and at Pevara's nod she tried the door it would not open. Pevara shrugged and motioned for Kea to stand back which she did. Earth, a little Fire and then a swift infusion of Air, the door exploded inward wood splinters firing all around the room. Kea led the change into the room.

Kye was rigid in a chair his head tossing from side to side. Around his head was an iron band. It was the circlet she had seen before when she had Read the Roots of his cloak. Revoir Sedai was standing behind him shock covering her face at being confronted so dramatically with five Sitters, one from her own Ajah and an Accepted. Kea could only imagine how much of the Power they must be channelling, still she was more surprised at how much Revoir was channelling. She had been near her several times and never had she felt this amount of Power emanating from the Aes Sedai. Waves of Power came off her and then Kea noticed the armlet.

"She has an angreal!" she shouted whilst hurling herself sideways.

Not expecting the pure amount of saidar that Revoir was channelling, they circle had tried to cut her off from the Source. But she was holding too much. With a sudden high pitched laugh she turned and unleashed blue-hot flames directly at the Sitters. At least that proved she was Black once and for all. The Circle, sent a wall of hard Air slamming into her but she somehow managed to cut their weave. Saerin suddenly cried out and clutched her head.

"Hurts doesn't it!" cackled Revoir, who was clearly the assailant. She was weaving Spirit and a little Air but Kea didn't understand what she was doing with it.

She found herself under a table with Dirks things on and pulled his cloaks and sword to her. Just out of reflex and a desire to have her hands free she put on the cloak and pulled the sword's belt around her waist. She needed to use the tightest notch but it stayed on.

Meanwhile the Circle and Revoir were throwing themselves at each other without moving. The Power raged between them attempt after attempt was made by each to cut the other off from the source and diversionary attacks were made with fire and even a little lighting. Still neither side seemed to be able to get the upper hand. Saerin had been joined by Doesine in clutching her temples and writhing in agony. Kea wondered in this was affecting the potency of the Circle. Pevara seemed strained and Kea could think of no other reason for their repeated failures to master the Black Aes Sedai.

She moved across the room quickly at first but then slowed realising that with the hood up if she moved slowly she was all but invisible, in the back drop of this war of Power. True to her thoughts she snuck right behind Revoir and took the circlet from Dirk's head he had stopped moving as it seemed Revoir had stopped channelling into the ter'angreal. She was concentrating everything on the circle of Sitters.

She was tempted to grab a hold of saidar and do some exploding herself. Dirk was hurt and badly and that made her so angry that she wanted to rip the skin of this little scheming wretch whilst she still lived but she remembered what she was trying to become, Aes Sedai. Still in the last defence of her life or that of her Warder, she thought. She looked at Dirk he was as good as her Warder, no he was more than her Warder. He had saved her, he had protected her; he was friend and family to her. She would not lose him!

With a howl Seaine collapsed as had the other two. It was awful to see Somehow Revoir was attacking their minds and preventing them from channelling not by cutting off that link but by making them incapable of holding it. If she channelled strong as she was, she was not the strength of the circle. If it went wrong she would be a writhing wreck just like the others. Her hand tightened around Dirk's long sword. Why not?

With no cry to give her away she quietly drew the sword and pulled it back. Then with both hands firmly grasped around the hilt she plunged it through the back of Revoir's shoulder. The Yellow, gone Black, howled and lost her grip on saidar. That was all Pevara needed and a shield was slammed into place between her and the Source.

Kea placed a booted foot on Revoir's back and yanked the sword out of her enemy with both hands. Pevara replaced the Ward around the room. Then she and Yukiri moved to assist the slowly rising Aes Sedai who had been incapacitated during the flight. Revoir was obviously hurting on the floor the wound in her shoulder was bleeding copiously wetting the floor and staining her Tairen rug. Kea had never cared less about a human being before, not even other damane. This woman was less than property. Reaching down she wrested the armlet angreal from Revoir's forearm. It was a strong angreal and just touching it made her ach to fill herself with the Power.

When she straightened the five Sitters turned hunters stared back at her. "Well done Accpeted," Pevara complimented her. "We could do with someone of your courage in the Red!"

Though still grimacing as she got to her feet Seaine laughed. "Pevara, don't you have eyes. She brought us all through this for a man, a Warder trained man. No Red Shawl for Kea Sed… for Kea. Green maybe not certainly not Red."

Pevara nodded and with a shrug of her shoulders she sighed. "What a waste. Can you hold this shield Child?"

Kea nodded and the shield was turned over to her so that the five Aes Sedai could see to each others hurts. Revoir just whimpered on the floor and did not even try to escape. Her cocky laughter and brazen bravery had disappeared along with her ability to touch saidar.

Doesine went to Dirk as soon as she could stand. After a moment she announced, to the assembled relief of the room that he lived. Kea was shocked for a moment that they had ever considered he might be dead. If he had been dead, well she knew several ways to kill with the Power that were utterly painless. However she knew far far more ways that caused varying amounts of agony. Leaning down next to Revoir she whispered in her ear.

"I have held no rod in my hands. I can do anything to you, you evil scum!"

Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge to hurt this evil woman who had hurt her Dirk, her Warder. She almost did so but was interrupted as Yukiri lifted her skirts and pulled what had been hidden beneath them into her hand. It was a clear rod somewhere between white and transparent. It was the Oath Rod.

"You will be interested to know Revoir that just as your Black Ajah can revoke Oaths with this so can we revoke theirs. Now come and revoke your Oaths we have four new ones for you. Three you should never have forgotten and a new one to make sure you keep them."

Yukiri was not being very diplomatic at the moment. Her stance was straight backed and domineering, her voice cold and demanding. The other four came and stood beside the Gray flanking her and adding their own silently demanding stares.

"No you can't you must not make me!" begged a now petulant and sobbing Revoir. All her grandeur had deserted her. Powerless she whined like a child. "You have no idea of the promises the Dark One makes, the enticements. But they are nothing compared to the punishments he sets down for those who foreswear their oaths, nothing!"

"Oh we know," commented Pevara as if talking of blackberry bushes. "The last Black Ajah we had foresworn suffered nastily."

Revoir's eyes seemed to grow even larger and she cried even more freely. "But you won't you can't torture me it is not in the last defence of your lives any more! I may serve the Dark but I am not Shadowspawn you cannot torture me! The oaths!" her voice was pleading rather than demanding. Her defeat had shaken her and her still bleeding shoulder had obviously unbalanced her. Still if Kea was right Pevara's comment that others had broken before her and it had hurt, seemed to scare her even more.

"I swore no oaths," said Kea, she could not make her voice sound like anything other than hollow death. When she continued she could still hear it and though she tried to soften it every word was a clear threat. "Now tell me and make no mistake, do not lie. What did you do to Dirk?"

"I was going to remove his memories; it seems he is remembering despite my work on him. It could be dangerous to me. The Circlet of Memories allows me to seal things away, it was used in medicine long long ago."

"So with the ter'angreal you could restore his memories?" asked Kea her voice clipped and short.

Revoir spoke very softly with a distinct pleading note but she had recovered a little of her composure. She was speaking of her craft now and maybe bargaining for her freedom that offered hope. "I could. But you would not want that, I promise you."

"Strange," said a weak voice. All eyes moved to Dirk still sitting in his chair. He seemed to weak to move but he had tilted his head to look at the Aes Sedai dark friend sitting on the floor. "That sounds exactly like what I want. Because then I would be able to find this Eye of Loyalty and that would cause you a serious problem. Do not lie you evil creature. My memories would only help us and hurt you!"

"Have you no mind left Kye? You let me take your memories! Other good little Aes Sedai suggested you let me do it. I saved your life regardless of what else I did in sealing them away. We were friends Nevir and I after a fashion and you and I always understood one another. Still when I discovered you were going to try and use the Eye of Loyalty well, that was just too dangerous. Still I didn't have Nevir killed, she was a true friend to me, and I swear it is true. Other hands did that work, grey men I believe. I never asked it hurt too much. You went insane Dirk, you were going to go and try to kill Black Ajah members whom you were not even sure you could prove were Black. You just wanted to do anything to get revenge on the Dark One for taking your Aes Sedai. I simply removed those memories allowed you a fresh start. It was the kindest thing I have ever done!"

Though she said all of this apparently to Dirk her eyes were fixed on Kea throughout. It was almost as if she believed that if she could convince Kea all the rest would fall into line.

"Even if what you say is partly true you would claim anything to save your evil neck. Your latest actions prove your allegiance," announced Pevara.

"If you have done nothing wrong, you will be fine. The ter'angreal we use only makes you relive the consequences of your own actions, so as long as you have been really nice to everyone…"

Her façade cracked and finally she tried to break her shield at the same time she threw herself bodily at Kea. Her shoulder obviously hurt her, for as she attempted to seize Kea's throat only one of her two hands came up. Kea batted it away and giving in to her temptations she lashed back with the Power. Revoir's attempt to break the shield bounced off like a blunt butter knife on solid rock. Tumbling to the floor, she crawled on her hands and knees to Kea's feet, begging forgiveness.

"They keep the rebel Amyrlin on fork root, maybe we should do the same till we get her to the ter'angreal and break her," suggested Kea ruthlessly. Her eyes gazed down pitilessly at her victim crawling around her feet.

"I will return Dirk's memory myself. I will Read the Roots of the Circlet and then return his memory. You get her to renounce her evil and obey us and we will get this Ajah and crush it. Then we will indoctrinate every Aes Sedai to come up from Accepted so they never choose to reform it!"

"My my Accepted, aren't we getting bossy" commented Saerin. Kea blushed. "I am sorry Aes Sedai. I am not myself, I beg pardon."

"One thing is clear, you must be raised Aes Sedai immediately. We can't do that now, not really I wish we could, but between five Sitters we can pretty much get anything we really want to see done, done." Saerin held out a hand and Yukiri placed the Oath Rod in it.

"You are perfect for the Battle to come. A shame, you are ill fitted for Brown, we could do with one of your strength. Still I will give you a warning. You come very close to becoming something that you hate. Thirteen years ago I knew Nevir Sedai. She hated evil, but a colder and more dangerous woman I never met inside my Ajah. I knew this man, now I see him. Kye too was a dangerous and cold man. Not at all what he appears to be now. It could be well for all that he never remember Nevir, or what he did with the other years of his life. While it was clear she spoke to Kea she occasionally moved her gaze to lock eyes with Dirk. Think carefully before you do anything so momentous, these things should not be tampered with lightly. Aes Sedai are not the Creator. You girl, know too much about pain, submission and death. Aes Sedai you are not but I would like some Oaths from you and I would like them right now!"

In the wake of this little speech the room was utterly silent. The Ward was keeping more noise out than in. Kea simply stood silently and then proffered her hand for the rod. It was placed in her hand.

"Swear to tell no word that is not true."

"I swear to speak no word that is not true."

"Swear to me you are not Black Ajah"

"I am not Black Ajah!"

"Swear to me you will not use the Power as a weapon except in the last defence of you or your Warder."

Kea paused. She did not want to give this Oath. It would limit her just like it limited all these Aes Sedai from being truly affective in battle.

"I'll give that Oath when you raise me."

Saerin nodded and took back the Oath Rod, handing it to Yukiri. "I wondered what would be your limit. Fear that side of yourself, the side that will morn when you give up the ability to hurt others. It is that part of you that the Dark One will appeal to."

Pevara broke in on the renewed silence. "Kea, look after Dirk. Doesine can you see what can be done about the door and a temporary cover story. Let's get this Black Ajah to her new chair. The rest can wait. Agreed?"

All agreed and moved out. Kea finally turned to Dirk. He shook his head bewildered, it was the most movement she had seen from him. "What have you gotten us into?" he asked with a grin. "Black Ajah and five Sitters. I do not be sure which is worse!"