Revan's Tale (Chapter Six)

"This place is quite literally a prison," Revan said aloud as he paced back and forth across the white canvas that was his own subconscious. "I'm trapped within my own mind by the Jedi Council. Those fools... they have no idea what they have done."

Over time, Revan had come to accept that the only way he would be able to resurface was by slowly pushing Anakin closer and closer to the Star Forge by making his memories bubble to the surface. It wouldn't be too hard to do that, however. All he had to do was fight some of the bonds, and he would be able to make the memories bubble back to the surface. The Jedi Council were fools. If Revan's will weren't so strong, the memories would never return. A reprogramming like this often meant irreversible change. It would only be through Revan's will alone that the memories would return.

"Perhaps they knew this already? The Jedi Council does have its moments, after all." Within his own subconscious, he hadn't changed. His appearance was the same as before he was captured; in both physical appearance and clothing. Since he no longer needed to hide his face from the world, he removed his hood and helmet, allowing the corruption of the dark side to show. Within his own subconscious, he was still the embodiment of dark power. He knew Arias, or his former self, to be more exact, would be the exact opposite: he'd probably be the embodiment of light. He was just fine with that. In the end, when Revan finally resurfaced, he'd be more powerful than ever before, which meant he'd be able to stop the True Sith before they could strike.

"The Jedi Council..." he said to himself, "decided to make this into a battle. First, they chained me to my own subconscious, unwittingly, I might add. I broke free after much struggling... I had to call upon the power of the Force several times. Hm... perhaps the more I call upon the Force within my own mind, the quicker Anakin's Force Powers will grow. We shall see. In any event... those bonds probably weren't the last challenge I'll have to deal with."

He looked over his shoulder at the shattered chains he had broken free of. He smirked to himself, then began to recite the Sith Code.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken."

He began to chuckle to himself, then his chuckle slowly built into laughter, which turned into a almost manic cackle. After a few minutes, he shouted into his own subconscious in defiance of the Jedi Council. "Did you think your chains could hold Darth Revan, the true Dark Lord of the Sith!? Did you think you were a match for my superior mind!? You were wrong! I will all ways be more powerful than you!"

"Is that what you think, Revan?" Came a frail old voice from behind him.

"Kreia..." Revan turned around to face his former teacher. When he had left her, she was only in her mid fifties. Her hair had begun graying, and her eye sight had begun to go bad from disuse. She wore a simple set of Jedi robes, but he knew that this appearance was little more than a disguise. "Or should I say, Darth Traya."

"How long have you known?"

"I can tell you this much: My Sith Assassins are more loyal than you think." Revan said defiantly. He folded his arms across his chest, and frowned at her. "What are you doing here, in my subconscious? Your memory is of no use to me any longer."

"Ah, but I am still a part of your history, Revan." She said, her tone never straying from it's typical monotone state. "Therefore, I will all ways be part of your mind."

"That does not answer my question." Revan said patiently. "Why are you here?"

"You doubt yourself, my young apprentice."

Their surroundings suddenly changed from stark white to the Council Chambers at the Jedi Enclave located on Dantooine. Revan looked around for a moment to re-familiarize himself with the surroundings. He definitely remembered this place. It was a large circular room, with only one table and two chairs on the far side of the room. At the front of the circle were the seats where the Jedi Masters were going to sit, and behind them were two miniature gardens, each with medium sized trees. It took him only a second to take it all in, then look back at Kreia with an even deeper frown.

"You're as cryptic as ever, you old crow."

He then realized that her appearance had changed in an instant. She was no longer wearing her Jedi robes, but black Sith robes. Her eyes were no longer milky white from disuse, but pitch black. And her face had darkened; not tanned, but it had lost colour to the extent where it was almost gray. Eerily, her skin and hair were now exactly the same colour.

"I am not as you remember, am I?" She asked.

"How- how is this possible!?" Revan stammered. "This is not part of my memory... what's going on here?"

"Ah, but you have imagined this. Somehow you knew all along that this is what I looked like as a Sith. I know not how, but you knew. Perhaps it was that precognition you are so gifted with?" Kreia asked. She paused as if to wait for an answer, then she shook her head in disappointment. "You, Revan, are my greatest failure-- and perhaps my greatest success."

"What do you mean?" Revan demanded. He had little patience for someone he had surpassed long ago.

"You, Revan, nearly brought the Republic to it's knees. You would have had it under your control by the end of last year-- if not for the fact that you did not see Malak's betrayal coming. For that, you are a failure."

"How does that make me a failure? I cannot see into the future." Revan retorted. "I can only plan ahead and manipulate, but I cannot see what is set in stone. You Kreia, are the failure. You failed a a Jedi, and eventually you will fail as a Sith; You're a pathetic disgrace to our kind."

"Insolent maggot!" Kreia cried. She held out her hand, and a barrage of blue lighting flew at Revan. He held out his hand, and the lightning struck his palm. It would have electrocuted anyone else, but Revan instead absorbed it. He not only absorbed the energy and raw power, but also the hatred and anger within it. He smiled devilishly and reveled in the raw emotions within the electrical currents, then he clenched his open hand into a fist, and lifted it high above his head. He released the power he had absorbed in a storm of lightning that was sent flying in all directions, ultimately cutting off any hope of Kreia's escape. She cried out in agony as dozens of forks of lightning struck her over and over again. After a few seconds, Revan finally ceased. He was surprised to see she was not reduced to ashes, yet. She isn't real... of course she isn't dead yet. There's a higher purpose to this... She was severely weakened by the barrage, but she still managed to stand up.

"Very impressive, Revan," Kreia said, her voice still monotone. "I see you have learned much in my absence."

"More than you could have ever taught me," Revan retorted. "Now, why are you here? And answer me not with riddles. I'll have no more of your nonsense, you old crow."

"Very well. I am an obstacle in your path, Revan," Kreia said, pushing back a flap of her robe to reveal a double bladed lightsaber. "As with all obstacles, Revan, you must get past me."

Revan frowned at the lightsaber, then looked at Kreia again. "And what is the purpose of this?"

Kreia smirked, then answered. "Always asking questions... perhaps I did teach you well. The purpose of this, Revan, is to help you unlock the key memories you need to awaken yourself in the physical world. The Jedi may have their own agendas, but the Force has its own agenda as well, Revan. It needs your mind back in the physical world. This can only be accomplished through many struggles, Revan. Your life has been full of conflict, and so must your mind." She pulled out her lightsaber, and ignited the dual crimson blades. "Now come. See if you can best your own master, Revan."

"As is the Sith tradition. I suppose I never truly bested you in a duel to the death, did I?" Revan asked sarcastically. He took out his own lightsaber as well, and ignited the blood red blade. "So be it, then. We shall face each other in mortal combat. Sith Lord against Sith Lady. Whoever comes out on top will be dominant, and the other will be wiped out forever." She's never going to step foot in my mind again.

Revan leapt at her, and came down from midair with an overhead chop. She twirled her dual blades, and knocked the blade to the side, so it would fall harmlessly out of the way at an angle. Revan remised from his position, and made an upwards diagonal swing aimed to cut through her chest. Again, with a twirl of the saber staff, she effortlessly parried the blow, sending it careening to the side. He followed the momentum of his blade, allowing it to take him into a crouching spin. As he made the full 360 degree turn, he swung for her legs. Again, she parried it, forcing it in the opposite direction. Revan again followed the momentum, and attempted to sweep her feet out from under her with a spin kick. This time, when her blade twirled around, it singed through his robe-- only to meet with a cortosis weave boot. His kick knocked the blade out of the way, and he swept her feet out from under her.

He allowed the Force to fill him, and leapt from his crouching position. He quickly came down on her, and attempted to impale her while she was still on the ground. However, she rolled away just in time, and quickly leapt to her feet. Revan stood up straight, and glared at her defiantly.

"You're using Soresu. I should have expected as much." She seeks to make me expend all of my energy. It won't work.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Revan." She replied, twirling the saber staff around as if it were a mere plaything. "You are a fierce fighter, and you know how to batter through defenses. However, Soresu, once mastered, is nearly impregnable. You will have to change tactics, otherwise you will be defeated."

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Kreia." He pulled out a second lightsaber hidden in his cloak, and ignited it's brilliant violet blade. He rushed at Kreia, but stopped when he saw something incredible: Three violet lightsabers were spinning around her, creating an impenetrable wall of both offense and defense. "Impressive, Kreia..."

Just as he was about to call on the dark side to destroy the spinning blades, they came flying at him. He gasped, then entered a passive aggressive stance: One blade held beside his head with the blade pointed at Kreia to attack, and the other one kept close to his torso to defend. He summoned the force to take the attack in quickly-- one lightsaber came in quickly on his right, the other slowly on his left, and the third one was held back, as if waiting for an opening. Revan would make sure it wasn't going to get one. He called upon his innermost emotions-- his anger, pent up hatred, and secret fears, and allowed them to fill him with rage, increasing his own speed and strength to accomplish the task at hand. Once the rage couldn't be held back anymore, he crouched low and released it in a sonic scream, then released the power of the Force, allowing his lightsabers to create a saber barrier around him, destroying the two approaching lightsabers. The last one, however, was called back to Kreia's hand.

All you've done is make me lower my ability to summon the Force-- for a short time. I can hold you off until I can summon the power to destroy you with the power of the dark side.

---

A lot has happened in the past few days. Anakin thought to himself as he checked his equipment. I just can't believe I'm now going to be representing a lower city gang in a swoop race.

Two days ago, Anakin and Carth went to check out the North apartments to see if there were any aliens who could give them useful information. As it turned out, they got lucky. While they were exploring the apartments and asking random passers by, he and Carth heard the masked voices of Sith Officers just down the hall. They ran to go see what was happening, and saw that they were interrogating what appeared to be an Aqualish; the Aqualish were a tusked alien species from the planet Ando; their appearances combined certain aspects of arachnids and pinniped aquatic animals. They were typically generalized as a crude and brutish race; most of them sought jobs off world as mercenaries, bounty hunters, and pirates.

From bits of the conversation, the two of them had guessed that he was being interrogated on the accusation that he had stolen Sith uniforms and sold them to the gangs in the Lower City. The alien seemed genuinely innocent; Anakin couldn't stand it. He had demanded that the interrogations stop, and a battle had ensued. After the struggle ceased, Arias and Carth spoke to the Aqualish, who admitted that he did actually steal Sith uniforms and had sold them to the Hidden Beks, a gang in the Lower City. The Aqualish said that the Beks might be able to help Anakin and Carth find Bastila, but they would need Sith uniforms to get into the Lower City in order to fool the guard who stood at the elevator to the Lower City. The two of them had stolen the defeated Sith soldiers uniforms, and disguised themselves as Sith troopers. Their disguises had worked, and they had managed to get into the Lower City.

While in the Lower City, they had learned about the struggle between the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars. They also met a Twi'lek named Mission, and a wookie named Zalbaar, who joined their party after Anakin rescued Zalbaar from Gammoreans who intended to sell him as a slave; for this, Zalbaar had pledged a life debt to Anakin.

All of these events either led up to or were related to the deal he made with Gadon Thek, the leader of the Hidden Beks. He had agreed to retrieve the prototype swoop accelerator from the Vulkars, and in return Gadon promised that he would help find Bastila. As it turned out, the Vulkars were offering the young Jedi as a prize to the Taris Swoop Champion, which meant Anakin had had no choice but to help the Hidden Beks. He and Carth were a bit skeptical about this, but both Mission and Gadon assured them that Gadon was a man of his word. When Anakin returned with the swoop accelerator, Gadon had proposed that Anakin represent the Beks with the prototype accelerator installed on the bike Gadon would lend him. Anakin had agreed, but mainly because he was cornered: The only way to get Bastila back was by winning that swoop race. Plus, the accelerator hadn't been tested yet, and Gadon didn't want to endanger any of his gang members. Anakin, true to his good hearted nature, had agreed to represent the Beks.

Carth was confident in Anakin. He had said earlier that Anakin had the skills of an elite commando, and he was a quick thinker. It was for this reason that Carth had decided to put Anakin alone in charge of rescuing Bastila. He, Mission, and Zalbaar would meanwhile look for a way off Taris for when they finally did find Bastila. That meant that Anakin was left alone with the Beks.

With all of these events, he learned two interesting things about his new friends. The first was that Carth had trust issues with... well, everyone. He didn't trust himself or anyone, for that matter. The second thing he learned was that Mission had met Zalbaar through a run in with the Vulkars; Zalbaar was her family since her brother Griff had left her. When he had asked about Griff, she had said that she didn't want to talk about him. Anakin decided to give her time, since it was probably a personal matter.

He finished checking his equipment, then he left the bunk room and went into the hallway where a Rodian was waiting for him; he was to be Anakin's escort to the race track. The Hidden Bek base was empty, save for himself, the Rodian, and a security team. The rest of the Beks were at the track getting ready for the swoop race. The Rodian nodded at Anakin, then led him out of the Hidden Bek base through an exit that would take them almost directly to the track.

Anakin had to admit he was a bit nervous. He had no experience with swoop racing. However, he had driven swoop bikes before, so it shouldn't be a problem for him. The thing that made him nervous was all the pressure riding on this. If he lost the swoop race, one of the Vulkars would win Bastila as a slave, and he wouldn't be able to rescue her. They would probably be able to find her again eventually, but it would take too long. This was the easiest way to rescue her.

When they arrived at the swoop track, he realized just how much variety there was in the Lower City. Aliens of almost every race lined the stands, and there were very few humans. The bulk of those present were Rodians, Twi'leks, and Niktos. In fact, most of the Vulkars were Niktos, where as the Beks were made up of mainly Rodians and Twi'leks. Ironically enough, both gangs were led by humans.

--

"Should I go over the instructions again?" The Ithorian asked.

"No, no, you don't have to worry." Arias replied. The Ithorian mechanic was bustling around behind him as he was suiting up to begin his run. "I've piloted swoops before. But could you go over the rules again?"

"Well, it's pretty simple. You just have to beat the posted time and you win that run. If you win twice, then you win the champion ship." The Ithorian was practically hovering over Anakin as he finished putting on his race suit. It was much like a flight suit, but it was made to be speed resistant so he wouldn't pass out or anything like that. The fact that the Ithorian was practically breathing down his neck nearly made Anakin go deaf-- with their two mouths and four lungs, they were practically speaking in stereo. He wasn't prejudiced against them, but it did get annoying. "And just be careful," He whispered; well, it would have been a whisper if he were human or a race similar to humans. "We don't know how many runs the prototype accelerator can take before it overheats, so try to make it a quick victory."

"I'll do my best." He replied sincerely. He put on his helmet, then turned on the audio. "What's the time to beat?"

"Thirty-six seconds. Not the best time, but not the worst; Redros has had better runs. But don't worry, you should be able to beat that time easily," The mechanic assured. "And watch out for the debris on the track, and keep an eye out for the accelerator pads. They'll boost your speed, and with the help of the prototype accelerator, you'll go five times as fast as you usually would. Want me to repeat anything else?"

"No, I think I'll be fine. Thank you." He smiled at him from behind his helmet, then hopped into the swoop. He accelerated enough to bring it up to the starting line, then awaited the announcement. He had piloted swoops before, so he knew what he was doing. However, when he had pulled up to the starting line, he felt more power in it than there would be in a regular swoop. He actually had to slow down a little bit when he was pulling up, otherwise he would have raced on to the track before being given the green light.

"Ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, droids and hermaphrodites!" The track manager announced. From the language he spoke and the sound of his voice, Anakin could tell he was a Duros. He had all ready seen the manager, but the speakers made it very obvious that it was the track manager making the announcement. "We have an unexpected treat in store for you today. A young human named Anakin Thethys is being sponsored by the Hidden Beks. He has no past racing experience, so this should be an interesting run! On my mark, the race will begin!

"On your mark. Get set." Anakin readied the engine, getting ready to launch into the track. "Go!"

The swoop bike took off with a roar, the cheers of the crowd quickly disappearing behind the furious cry of the swoop engine.