Everything will be Right
Chapter Two
"Savior, conqueror, hero, villain. You are all things Revan… and yet you are nothing. In the end you belong to neither the light nor the darkness. You will forever stand alone."
"I am Revan reborn. And before me you are nothing."
"Who I am is not important, my message is."
The Jedi temple on Coruscant was large.
It was much larger than the one on Dantooine.
Revan had remained quiet during the trip back. He hadn't needed to be convinced. He had quietly walked back with the Jedi to where the queen and a young boy were, and after the celebrations for the planet's freedom, he kept following them to their ship.
He had been a perplexed, if still admitted, addition to the crew.
"If you wish," Qui-Gon said as they descended the craft, "I won't hold you."
Revan blinked. "You'd willingly let me run?"
"If it were your desire to do so," Qui-Gon acquiesced. "There is unease in your steps."
Revan sighed. "I wonder," he looked up, to where the temple's top lost itself over the clouds. "The boy, does he hold something special?"
Qui-Gon inclined his head to the side. "You felt something in the force?"
"I felt nothing," Revan replied. "I ask because I am curious as to my displacement." He eyed Qui-Gon. "I will tell more to the Jedi of the Council." He exhaled slowly. "Is your padawan still giving me the evil glare?"
Qui-Gon laughed gently. "Do not think badly of Obi-Wan."
"I hope he still is," Revan remarked. "As long as he is stubborn, but not prideful, it is a great merit to be found in a padawan."
"Oh? You speak from experience?"
"Yes," Revan acquiesced. "I do. When a master teaches a student, he teaches himself once more," he began to walk forward. "I think I'll take a page out of my student's book and do what I failed to do a long time ago."
Qui-Gon walked quietly next to him, giving just a glance behind to watch as Obi-Wan and Anakin descended from the spaceship next.
"And what would that be?"
Revan smiled.
"Face my crimes as myself, I suppose. They never got around to it. They pardoned me due to necessity, and quite a lot of merit afterwards washed away any doubt about me. I always wondered how they would react if I had come back to face my trial like my apprentice did."
The large halls of the temple echoed the sound of Revan's footsteps. "Now it seems my wondering will come to an end."
Qui-Gon stopped at the doors of the council chambers. The council was already in session, waiting for them to present themselves. He had called ahead; now, it was the time to hear the story.
"Ah," Revan remarked. He gently moved his right hand, and the doors gently swung open. "I always wonder why the doors to council rooms must be so large."
They stepped inside.
"Masters of the council," Qui-Gon said. "I return with dire news. I already spoke at length of the situation, but—"
"We will speak of that in due time, Master Qui-Gon," Mace said. His eyes turned to Revan, and there was a judging look in his eyes. "We searched the archives up and low for the name of Corus Drall, yet we found no one which shared your name still alive within the Holocrons."
"I think after three thousand years, even a missing in action Jedi would end up being considered dead for all purposes," Revan kindly replied.
Jedi rarely lost their composures.
There were no wide eyes, murmuring, or stares. There was a contemplative silence, interrupted maybe by a badly swallowed gulp of saliva from one of the Council members.
"Do you have proof?" Mace asked. That was another thing Revan found pleasant enough; on Korribant, those times he had tried to get out of the way without fighting by claiming he was Revan, the Sith had just laughed.
At least the Jedi were doing the sensible thing and asking for proof; and he did end up transferred with all of his personal belongings that were on his body. His Datapad was among those things.
"My Datapad is probably an archaic and old piece of tech, but it still works…and if that is not enough," he exhaled. "I am sure I can find other means to prove my identity. Unfortunately, many of those come through revealing things that I am not sure you will take well."
Mace frowned. "What do you mean?"
His voice was slightly hard. "My name is not Corus Drall. It was, but only for a short time, and only because the Jedi Council decided it would be best to erase my previous memories and use me to defeat the Sith."
Mace Windu frowned. "I do not understand. You are claiming you are from thousands of years ago, but an old and still working Datapad is hardly proof. And now you claim your name is not the one you gave?"
Revan slowly folded his arms over his chest. "I did not wish to create shock with my return. So many years have passed, centuries…thousands of years, and even though my name might be forgotten, it also might not. I did not wish for my greatest achievements, and my greatest disgraces, to be brought to bear before I was able to defend myself by being here."
Yoda hummed.
"Strange words you speak," he said. "An old soul you have. Wisdom of the Jedi, but difficult to place you in the force you are."
Revan nodded. "I was a Jedi, once," he spoke calmly. "I then became a Sith. I became a Master. My student threw me down. I returned a Jedi. I defeated my Student. And I saved the Republic."
"You understand your words are those of a madman, especially without any proof?" Mace Windu said his voice hard.
"I understand that we are among Jedi," Revan replied. "I do not need to lie."
"The truth he speaks," Yoda acquiesced. "But why so vague?" he asked, his eyes narrow. "From the Dark Side, return is impossible I thought. How can you no longer a Sith be?"
"The Jedi erased my memories, and gave me a false one, when I reacquired my old memories...I understood which was the right side to be."
"Few are the times the Jedi council ever recurred to that; even fewer still are the times it worked," Mace Windu acquiesced. "And none remain in history that I recall. They are but whispered."
Revan exhaled. "I do not lie."
"Curious," Yoda remarked, "Curious and perplexing this is. The Sith are back," he said. "And yet you are here too. You do not lie, or so you claim. The impossible you say."
Yoda turned thoughtful. "The Force sent you she must have."
"Master Yoda," Mace Windu spoke. "You cannot seriously imply—"
"Lie does he, Master Windu?" Yoda asked back. "Why lie would he? A lie to benefit is made, not to condemn. A Sith he was, now no longer. A Jedi, fallen and returned. I see no reason of this a man should speak as lie. He does not feel evil, the Force in him powerful is; he is a sun, bright and warm, can you feel it not?"
"But some things are—"
"Of Sith the darkest of tales are; of immortality, of power that lulls to the Dark Side, and much more. But he is nothing of that. I did not know until now of any Sith turned back to Jedi, but he is here now. Deny this, I will not."
"Three thousand years means the Sith Wars, Master Yoda," Mace Windu replied. "It means—"
"A period of strife is soon upon us to be," Yoda replied. "And Sith have returned. Fitting, I find it, that the Force would send a Jedi, fallen and returned, to aid us."
"The prophecy," Qui-Gon said suddenly, as the council turned as one to look at him. "The boy I brought before the council to be taught the Jedi ways; I think him the one of the prophecy, the one who will bring back balance to the force."
"Interesting," Yoda said. "The Force—"
"Cannot be considered a fitting example of morality for everything that happens in the galaxy," Revan said curtly, interrupting the two speaking.
"That is distinctively not a Jedi thought," Mace Windu said, his tone stern.
"I have had more than three hundred years of time to think about it," Revan replied, "As the Sith Emperor tortured me. I have seen with my eyes the dangers of the Dark Side, and the power of the Light Side. Yet I always had a choice, and the Force did not decide for me. We all have a choice. Even in the darkest of moments, we can choose to forgive. We can choose to repent. The Force is not and will never be an entity that decides by itself what is right and what is wrong."
Revan opened his palm. "I know techniques of both the Light and the Dark Side. But I am not a Sith. I have redeemed countless Sith to the Jedi, I have given mercy when asked. I have saved lives where I could. I know how to hurl lightning; I know how to draw fear out of the soul of man. I can convince a man to jump off a building; but I do not, because it isn't what I choose to do. The Force doesn't matter in my choices. I do."
"Himself he accuses," Yoda spoke. "And yet I cannot decide. Deliberate for long we will as the council," he added.
Mace Windu's lips thinned, as he gave a curt nod. "Yes, I think…I think that would be for the best."
The High Council leader then turned towards Qui-Gon. "About the child, we will speak more about this later."
"Your name, yet to hear I have," Yoda suddenly said, his ears perked up in eager wait.
Revan exhaled. "I am Revan."
Master Yoda took a sharp breath.
"Impossible words," he said in the end, "From an impossible man. A legend I thought you."
"Master Yoda?" Mace Windu asked.
"Of The Revan I read," Master Yoda said. "Bits and fragments, whispers and words; a Jedi, fallen Sith, a savior of the Republic once, twice, and then a disappearance, but…"
Master Yoda was rarely at a loss of words. "But believe you I cannot, not without proof."
Revan did the one thing no Jedi ever did before the High Council in centuries.
He shrugged.
"I guess I will have to prove it to you through my actions."
There was no confrontation in his tone.
He bowed his head lightly.
Qui-Gon gawked.
"Qui-Gon, escort…Revan," Mace Windu said, although the last word visibly pained him, "Out of the Council's chambers. We will deliberate with haste. Wait outside."
They left in silence.
Outside, Qui-Gon's stare began to bother Revan after a few minutes.
"So," the Jedi finally said. "You're a three thousand year old Jedi turned Sith then brainwashed back into being a Jedi who in the end accepted the Jedi path and ended up tortured by the Sith Emperor before being displaced in time?"
Revan closed his eyes slowly.
"I also freed myself and acquired a star foundry from where I began building an extermination army of droids to take care of the Sith. The Sith then defeated me, and it was then that I appeared here."
"Uhm…really?"
"It was four of them," he replied calmly. "And I fought them alone. I hurled asteroids at them."
He looked at Qui-Gon. "I can still hurl asteroids."
Qui-Gon remarkably did not comment on it.
"You know, I have to ask," Qui-Gon said softly. "How do you think it will end?"
"Do I look a threat to you?" Revan replied.
"Yes, now that you spoke of asteroid flinging, you do."
"But a threat is something you fear," Revan pointed out. "And Jedi do not know fear. There is no emotion," he began.
"There is peace," Qui-Gon finished.
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."
"There is no passion, there is serenity."
"There is no chaos, there is harmony," Revan continued calmly. Together, they both finished reciting the code.
"There is no death, there is the Force."
Revan quietly waited a minute, before speaking once more. "The original code was better."
Qui-Gon frowned. "That is the original code."
"No, it is not," Revan shook his head. "Emotion, yet peace," he began. "Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force. One must acknowledge the Darkness, in order to fight it, not simply believe it does not exist."
It was Qui-Gon's turn to remain quiet, mulling over those thoughts for a moment, before he finally asked. "Why did you choose to remain to the Light, after the truth was—"
"I like peace," Revan said softly. "And I will fight for it. An empire of Sith is an empire of war, petty cruelty and tyranny. The Republic might be the same corrupted-infested government I remember, or it might have changed, but it is peaceful." He chuckled. "To fight in order to achieve peace is quite the hypocrite thing to say."
"The Force works in—"
"No," Revan scoffed. "It is not the Force. It is us. The Force might be seeking balance, hurling me in the future, but we always have a choice. It is not the Force that guides my hand, but I who guide my hand through the Force. That is a mistake the Jedi do," he acquiesced. "They leave everything in the hands of the Force."
"Those are the thoughts of Sith," Qui-Gon replied.
"Why? The Sith believe the Force a slave to be bound and shackled, and it is not that either." Revan said calmly. "The true answer lies in the middle. It lies in the balance. Neither master, nor slave. Neither darkness, nor light. You spoke of a child that would bring the balance back? Then you have your answer. Balance is key. There is evil, there is good, and there is balance. Tip too much the scale in one direction and the borders blur."
He clenched his left hand. "Saving the Republic was the right thing to do. I insisted on it, and in doing so I fell. You know, when the time came towards the end, I could not harbor hatred against my former apprentice. Malak…it wasn't his fault. He knew no better. I taught him no better. It is sad, but the teacher is the most important thing a pupil needs. It is a hard task; one that cannot be taken lightly."
"Why is your lightsaber red?" Qui-Gon asked.
This time, Revan smiled softly. "A reminder; it is for me to never forget. I believe in peace, I fight the darkness, but I do so because it is my belief, my decision. That is why my lightsaber's red. I choose it thus. It's not a synthesized crystal, by the way. It really is a natural red color."
"We are taught to let go of our emotions and of our pasts," Qui-Gon replied.
"To let go is to flee, to flee is to fear," Revan replied. "You must face your past, not ignore it and repress it in a corner. The wounds that never heal are those of battles never fought," he said firmly. "The wounds of battle fought eventually form their crust, and from there—"
Qui-Gon raised his hands. "Enough, please," he said. "Please."
Revan nodded and slid into silence.
Qui-Gon's inner turmoil quieted down, as he let himself go to the feeling of the Force.
The bright sun that hit his back through the glass of the hallway was warmer than usual, as if it had actually inched closer.
The doors of the High Council opened once more to admit them.
They re-entered, Qui-Gon lightly shaken still and Revan striding with purpose.
"The Council has decided," Mace Windu spoke.
Revan bowed his head, and waited.
"You are an extremely talented Force Sensitive, whether you are whom you claim to be or not; your words condemn you as Sith, but they also redeem you as Jedi. And no Sith ever willingly came to stand trial. You are Jedi; that much is true, and your power reverberates through the Force like a sun."
Master Yoda took the word. "If who you are, true is, then time reveal it will. As a Jedi Knight, in the order I welcome you."
"Master Yoda will further test the truth of your words later," Mace Windu said. "Your knowledge of the Sith will undoubtedly be required in the times to come."
Then the Jedi Council turned as one towards Qui-Gon. "Master Qui-Gon, please bring in the boy you spoke of."
And Qui-Gon obeyed.
Yoda's eyes narrowed just lightly at the slight shake of Qui-Gon's throat as he obeyed. There was something going on.
He'd find out.
Author's notes
I am weary of the fanfictions where the Force is this big motivator/actuator. It's not true. Sure, maybe the books amplify that, but it wasn't the 'Force' moving Revan along his task, but the player. And Luke always had the choice to choose the Dark Side, rather than keep fighting for the Light.
It also pisses me off how apparently, believing the Wiki, falling dark is an immediate thing that happens in the span of five sentences –apparently. You see your dad dead? You fall to the dark side. You murder someone? You fall to the dark side.
Yeah. No thanks. The fall and the rise is gradual. Some events might hasten it, but you can't just wake up one morning and go from "Oh, I love and respect all life" to "MURDER. THEM. ALL. HEIL. HITLER!"