A Speck of Radiance.

by Jaytee

Chapter 3)Painful Memories and The Night Visit

Revan put his mask on the rack as he stepped into the cockpit of the miniature drop pod. He sighed heavily as he sat down and set it so he would land undetected a few hundred meters away from the castle Vita was staying in. He put his head against the headrest of his pod and relaxed. It was going to be a disheartening night for him. He closed his eyes and relived the night he and Vita finally separated.

Vita was put in his bed by the very, very unhappy captain. Not only had this creature whooped his flank, but now he had to carry him to the damned guestrooms, and act as his personal guide when he woke up. He set the strange thing on the bed, and walked out of the room.

"Screw that." He said out loud. He then walked over to his own room in the barracks and went to a very nightmare-filled sleep, courtesy of the unconscious thing in the other room.

Vita rolled around in his sleep, unable to shake the harsh memories that were filling his mind. Though unconscious, he was still able to radiate enough force energy to effect anyone within a 100-foot radius. More of a defense mechanism than anything. His pained movements ceased as his mind reached into the depths of his memories and pulled out the three that stood most in his heart. His father, his mother, and one of his closest friends.

Vita looked around, and grabbed his father's lightsaber, running outside quickly. He pushed the button to activate it, like his father had taught him. He ran towards the pair of mandalorians that were hovering over his crippled and yelling father.

Vita ran up behind one, and sank the lightsaber into his back. The poor man didn't even yelp as his eyes rolled back, and he died instantly from the nerves to his brain being severed completely. The second one took one look aat the teenage human, and gave him a firm slap across the face, causing the lightsaber to be dropped on the ground. The mandalorian jumped and activated some kind of hover boots. He laughed heartily.

"Next time, keep your daddy in check kid." He flew off, not even giving any remorse for his fallen ally.

Vita ran to his dying father, picking his head up into his arms, crying with eyes out. He put one hand on the blaster marks that riddle his chest.

"I--I can fix you dad, you'll be ok!" He yelled, lying to himself.

"Relax, my son." His father said, with a strange calmness in his voice.

"You'll be ok, then we can go find mom and-" he was silenced by a finger that lightly touched his lips.

"Calm yourself, Vita. You'll find your mother eventually. You were destined to do great things. I promise you." He ran his hand behind Vita's head, and brought their foreheads together.

"It isn't fair dad... They could have picked anyone to come and kill for fun..." His dad felt the tears hit his face. He pulled their heads apart, and wiped his son's tears away.

"All good things come to an end, my son. I lived a great life, did all the things I wanted, even had my own children.."

"But dad, what about the council, they won't know any of the great things you've done, and they won't believe me if I tell them..." He was silenced by his dad's hand again.

"A wise man once told me 'if you've done things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.' Live by those words Vita, always do what you think is right, not what others. Follow your heart, and this is why you must heed my final request..."

Vita nodded.

"Leave the council. You are a knight." He coughed. "Join the Sith academy. Graduate. Remain neutral, and follow your heart. Being biased to one with only limit your endless power..." he coughed more. "Now go, my son. My time... has come. I love you, Vita. And i'll always be watching you, along with your two brothers and sisters..." He coughed one last time. "Live on, and stay true to your heart."

Vita held his father in his arms as he felt him go limp. He let out an earth-shattering roar that shook the planet itself to the core, causing quakes around the entire planet.

Hours later, his tears finally stopped falling. He reached for his father's lightsaber, and looked on the hilt. It had an engraved name on it. 'Amare' Vita took it in pride, and set off towards his father's starship; his next destination: The Sith academy.

The next memory ran through. Where he said his final goodbyes to his mother. Fortunately for Vita, this memory was much less dramatic, but a very similar outcome.

He was walking around downtown Coruscant, looking for his last stop before Korriban.

*Apartment 66A, 66B... Here we go, 66C.* He thought. He knocked on the door. He heard a crashing sound then the door flew open to reveal just the woman he was looking for.

His mother.

She stared at him wide-eyed for what seemed like hours. She then coughed hard, and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Come to mock a dying woman of her defeats are we?" She said in spite, nearly slamming the door in Vita's face.

"No, mom. I've come to say goodbye before I join the Sith academy." Her eyes shot wide open, then a grin came across her face. She stepped aside and waved him to come in.

"So you finally ditched your old man, eh? Too much of that sappy crap?" She said, flopping down onto her old beat-up couch.

Vita nearly punched her right in the face just for that, but he decided against that, she was dying anyway.

"No, actually. A pair of Mandalorians ambushed and killed him. He died in my arms 48 hours ago." Vita said, taking a seat across from the couch.

"So you decided to become a Sith?"

He had to lie. She would never help him if he told her his dad wanted him to go. "Yes, against dad's dying wish to become a light-sided Jedi master." He wanted to slap himself for that, but it was necessary. "So I need your help getting into the academy."

His mother laughed.

"It'll be done by tomorrow morning. Now get some sleep, you look like a tusken raider took a shit on your face."

Vita didn't say anything as he went to his old room, and flopped onto the bed for some much-needed rest.

-next morning-

Vita was walking out the door, about to head for the academy, when his mother stopped him.

"Take this, I don't need it anymore." She handed him her lightsaber. He read what was engraved on the side.
'odio'

He looked at his mother. "Odio?" He said, with a quizzical look on his face.

"It means hate. I built that lightsaber out of pure hatred and anger. It'll serve you just as well." She patted him on the back, and shocked him lightly with lightning. Vita jumped slightly, and turned to face her.

"I'll never get used the that, but thanks. I'll kill hordes of Jedi with it."

"I'm sure you will." She said with a wink. She gave him a hug. An actual hug. Vita never got affection from his mother. What was going on?! She whispered into his ear. "I know everything, Vita. You're destine to do great things." She said, then pushed him out the door, slamming it in his face.

The last memory was accompanied by Revan. The two of them relived this memory as if they were teens again. Revan shifted in his seat slightly as he realized his memory was being watched by an unconscious Vita.

Revan turned into a dim lit room, and flicked on the light. A muscular figure was laying on the top bunk, and it groaned and rolled over.

"Turn off the fucking light." He said, rolling over to face away from the center of the light source.

"What a great way to greet your new room-mate." The man then turned to him, revealing short brown hair, and two pearly-white eyes.

Revan was taken aback. Such odd eyes.

"I'm Vita. Now shut the fucking light off, I'm tired." The muscular man rolled back over.

"I'm Revan, charmed." He said, flicking off the light.

Two years later.

Revan sat up, head in hands. While Vita paced in front of him.

Vita set a hand on Revan's shoulder.

"Calm down, man. You're going to be a master, and they never get nervous."

Revan looked up to him with two dark brown eyes. Then shook his head.

Vita viciously slapped him. Then crouched and took Revan's head in his hand.

At eye level, Vita looked at him right in the eyes, and slapped him again.

"GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!" He yelled, pushing Revan back down onto the bed.

"Alright, alright, no need to go Sith commander on me. I'm just... A master in two years. Damn near unheard of."

Vita sat down next to him.

"It'll take me another few, but we're destine to do great things..."

One year later.

Revan was shifting though the trees, in the midst of conquering a Mandalorian planet. He heard a figure land on all sides of him, and he drew his lightsaber.

Well over a dozen mandalorians surrounded him. They were all pointing their heavy repeaters at him. With that he would stand no chance. He pointed his lightsaber at one, before another figure landed inches from behind him.

*"It's me, here to save your ass again, master."* Revan heard though his mind. He heard Vita draw his two lightsabers. before hearing the roar of a lightning storm around him. In the blink of an eye all of the mandalorians were dead. He turned to face Vita.

"You owe me one, Revan."

All Revan could do was nod.

Revan sat up. Something was wrong. He reached for his lightsaber and drew it. he could sense someone in his room. He flight the light on with the force to reveal Vita standing in the middle of his room. Vita was a half-head taller than him, and now had his Sith tattoos that ran all over his back and down his arms.

"Go to bed apprentice, you scare the hell out of me. I damn near cut you down!"

Vita's face darkened visibly. Revan rose, pointing his lightsaber at Vita.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm not, *Master*" He spat the last word. "I'm leaving. Don't follow me." He turned his back and began walking out the door.

"And don't sent your other apprentice either, I'll slaughter him like a pig." Vita walked out, only to draw his lightsaber and block a backstab. A rigorous fight followed. Causing Revan two scars across his chest, and Vita one across his face. Vita force-pushed Revan into a wall, and sliced his lightsaber in half. He put odio up to Revan's neck.

"If you follow me, you *WILL* Die next time." He withdrew the lightsaber and walked out. Revan's only friend just walked out on him. Revan sank and put his head in his hands, a single tear dropping to the floor.

The pair were shaken back to reality at the end of the memory. Revan hitting the ground, and Vita waking up. Revan opened the silent door, and began his trek towards Vita's room.

Vita sat up. Why did he relive those memories now? He looked around the room. He seemed to be in a large bedroom. All of his belongings were on a nightstand, and there was a note. He picked it up and read it.

Vita,

Celestia

Vita chuckled and crumpled up the note.he curled into the fetal position on the bed. Reminiscent of memories like that always left him shaken. He pulled his head to his knees, and watched as a vision flashed before his eyes. he could not see much beside him lying on the stone cold floor of the throne room, dying. The images flashed away as soon as they came, and he sat there, shaken.

There was a soft thump on the deck outside of his room. He quickly pulled one of his lightsabers to him, and readied it. He was surprised to see Revan walk through, mask off.

He drew the lightsaber, looking Revan in the eye. The same brown eyes that betrayed him. Revan sat down in a chair that sat across from the bed.

"Relax, old friend, I've come unarmed, and not wanting to fight. I only wish to talk."

"Bullshit." Vita quickly spat out. He flinched as Revan stood up and showed his two lightsaber slots. Empty.

He withdrew his lightsaber. Revan would not stand a chance against him in hand-to-hand-plus-force combat. Nobody could.

He sat up, and rested the lightsaber on his knee.

"So what do you want to talk about? It must be important, if the all mighty Revan has come unarmed to my sleeping quarters." Vita mocked Revan for a good minute before he finally stopped.

"...Done yet?"

"Yup."

"What I wanted to talk about was tomorrow." Revan sighed. "I'm coming to kill you tomorrow, and I wanted to make finally amends before I do."

Vita was shocked -no- beyond shocked.

"A Sith lord, apologizing. I thought I would never see the day."

Revan sighed again. "Shut your trap, it's not like I do this everyday."

Vita could hear a tinge of sadness in his voice.

"I was wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did to you. I know you had your reasons for walking out, mostly because of your father, but I didn't just lose my first apprentice that day..." Vita watched in wide-eyed shock as the Sith Lord started crying in front of him. Crying. "I lost my only friend."

Wow. Vita stared in wide eyed fashion, complete with his mouth being agape. A Sith Lord, lonely. Who could have guessed.

Vita mentally braced himself for what was about to come.

"I did everything for a reason, and I'm sorry you didn't see it my way at the time, but I'm sure others-" He got cut off.

"You don't GET IT!" Revan raised his voice. "You had a family! You had friends!" Revan's fists began to clench up, and lightning began to spark around them.

That was enough. Vita stood up and drew his lightsaber. "Revan, if you truly felt that way, you would have come forward long ago. I know you better than that." He sighed, and walked over to him. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Now get your shit together, Revan. You have long days ahead of you, and you need some sleep. I can see the lack of it in your eyes."

Revan stood up, and looked his once-friend directly in his eyes. His eyes were even brighter in the dark. vita looked down back at him.

"You remember that one favor you owe me?"

"*Slight sniffle* Yeah?"

"When you kill me tomorrow, leave this planet be. That is my one favor."

Revan looked at him quizzically. That was one of the last things he had expected, then again, he did just cry.

"I think I can do that."

Revan began walking towards the balcony, and he reached outside when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, old friend."

Revan closed his eyes, and Vita could almost see a smile on his face as he leapt off the balcony.

Vita walked over to the shadowed corner, and looked at it.

"You can come out now."

He watched as Celestia and Luna appeared out of the darkness.

"How did you know he was coming?"

"I know him too well, old habits of his never die." Vita turned his attention back to the stars outside the balcony.

"I told he wasn't all bad." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Celestia sat next to him. "You know he was planning on killing you tonight, right?"

"I was aware. That's why when I was sharing a memory with him, I pushed his long forgotten feelings towards the front, so he would address those instead. "

"Which are apparently loneliness, hatred, and sorrow, might I add." Luna said, walking over to the pair.

Vita sat his head in his hands. He was going to die the next day. He knew of it. But was he really ready for it?

Revan sat in his pod in silence. That did not go as well as planned. He reached around his back, and produced his ever-famed lightsaber. He had planned to kill him, but things took a turn.. for the worse? Or for the better? He had no idea.

He lightly tapped his forehead against the wall of the pod.

He remembered.

He shut his eyes, only to have them snap open a moment later.

He will pay. Revan tapped the comm unit on the pod.

"Move the invasion up to tomorrow. There will be no more delays. We will strike at this position first." He said, shutting off the comm unit, and sliding down the wall.

"Yes sir." He heard the comm chime in.

He didn't want to get up, but he had to. He was a Sith Lord, damnit! What happened?! What had gotten into him?! vita had pulled some sick trick on his head while he was vulnerable, yeah, that had to be it. Revan had no weakness. No more sorrow, no more remorse. He was a Sith Lord! Those feelings no longer existed for him. Vita had definitely pulled some trick. Revan quickly moved to the cockpit, and set course back for the ship.

He was going to make Vita pay tomorrow. Pay with his life.