Chapter Two: Dreams

Revan slept in Carth's arms. She kept trembling, shaking, and whimpering in her sleep. Whatever she was dreaming couldn't be pleasant, Carth thought. He'd seen her like this on Taris, and he watched in concern then, not doing anything for he didn't know her or how to help. Even now that he knew her better, that he told her he could love her if given the chance, Carth still could do nothing but watch her suffer and attempt to calm her down. He didn't sleep at all as half of his time was spent whispering soothing phrases in an attempt to settle her down. The rest of his time was spent trying to find another position on the already uncomfortable bed.

Carth's back was pressed against the wall of the bed's alcove, and his tailbone had gone numb hours ago. His long legs stretched out on the mattress, and blood was having a hard time flowing to his toes. He kept bending his knees, then straightening out his legs like he was performing some kind of lazy exercise. Every time he bent his knees, his kneecaps popped. Carth would then straighten his legs out again and curl his toes. The knuckles in his toes and feet then would snap and crack. He really needed to get up and stretch his legs, but instead he sat, holding Revan. He looked down at her. "The things I do for you," he whispered.

Revan jumped in her sleep again and began to tremble.

"Shhh, it's okay, Beautiful," he softly chuckled. "I didn't mean it."

Her face twitched, and her body shook. Maybe the images of Korriban were coming back to haunt her dreams, Carth thought. Korriban was horrible, and she had tossed and turned in her sleep in the Sith Academy the night before her final test. Carth would have soothed her, but he was still too upset and hadn't come to terms with what had been done to her and how it affected him. He was being selfish. He wasn't trying to help like Mission or Jolee or—

Carth sighed. He'd been over this with Jolee. He apologized to Revan for his attitude. He needed to stop dwelling on his previous actions and move forward.

Revan let out a faint whimper. Carth rested his cheek against the top of her head, and rubbed his hands up and down her spine and arms. The smell of the Sith planet still lingered in the strands of Revan's hair, masking the scent of the shampoo she used. Not that Carth went around smelling people's hair. He remembered the scent because when she purchased it on Dantooine, she had shoved it under his nose asking what he thought. He told her it was girly and to ask Bastila. She called him a Hairless Wookie, and bought the shampoo just to spite him. Carth smiled at the memory. That's when things were calm… before they were sent on a quest to find Star Maps… before anyone knew she was Revan… back when she was simply Liana, a scout with the potential of becoming a Jedi…

Revan jumped in her sleep, her head butting up against Carth's chin.

"It's okay, Revan," Carth said. "I've got you. Everything's okay."

Revan twitched and let out another cry.

"I wish I knew what you were dreaming, Beautiful," Carth sighed. Then again, maybe he didn't.

"Leave him alone!" she screamed through the torture cages. The Admiral was having too much evil, sadistic fun watching Carth shake and scream in pain. Tears flowed down her face as she helplessly watched Carth. "STOP IT!"

"Then tell me of your mission!" Admiral Saul Karath demanded. "Tell me what you're doing here and I'll do as you say."

"Don't do it, Liana!" Carth said. "My pain is meaningless! Don't tell him anything!"

Saul smiled at her. "Tell me… Liana," he said, pausing before stating her name. "Tell me what I wish to know… what Lord Malak wishes to know… and Carth will feel no more… physical pain."

"No, Liana! Don't!"

Liana stuttered. "I… I can't… I—"

Carth let out another cry of sheer pain.

"STOP IT!" she screamed again. "Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything!"

All the Jedi training, the power of the Force at her fingertips, and there was nothing Liana Suul could do. She fell to her knees, sobbing. She'd faced the horrors of Kashyyyk, the terror of the Krayt dragon, and the fierceness of Manaan's ocean floor without once feeling scared. But Liana wasn't in control now. The Admiral could kill Carth if this kept up. And there wasn't a damn thing Liana could do. She couldn't betray the Republic, the Jedi…

"Tell me why you were on Tatoonie!" Saul demanded overtop of Carth's cries. "Tell me where you were headed next! What mission does the Jedi Council have you on? TELL ME!"

The palms of her hands were flat on the floor of the torture cell. Liana shook her head back and forth. "I… can't…"

Carth's screaming increased. She winced, his screams ringing through her mind. His cries were stabbing her, and she begged desperately for Saul to stop. Carth's pain was worse than anything Saul could have physically done to her. Liana pleaded for Saul to let Carth go and to turn the cage on her instead.

"I grow tired of this," Saul sighed, as if he had been watching the paint dry on the hull of the ship. He waved his hand and the guard turned off the torture device. Liana heard Carth collapse to the floor of his torture cell. Although the room was silent, she could still hear his screams echoing in her mind. Saul said something about Lord Malak, but she wasn't listening. She was too busy crying for what happened to Carth, for not being in control, for not being able to stop it, for putting him though that… Carth had warned her about Saul, but she hadn't truly believed it. Liana felt her anger and hate boiling inside of her, then automatically recited the Jedi code before she realized what she was doing.

Saul approached her cage. "Have you anything else to say… Liana? Anything at all before Lord Malak arrives? Speak now, for Lord Malak will not hesitate to kill your friends in order to gain the information he desires."

"You're an evil man, Saul," Liana whispered, staring at the floor of the torture chamber. She closed her eyes and tried to feel Carth through the Force. He was alive… or was he? She was receiving conflicting feelings and couldn't understand why.

A voice cackled, sending a chill down her spine. "Evil, Liana? You've forgotten what evil is. Or have you?"

That wasn't Saul's voice. It was… hers. She looked up.

Her own face looked back. Her own face, her own body, wearing long, black robes with a leather chest plate, a black cape, and a black hood.

Darth Revan.

Liana gasped, words escaping her.

Darth Revan's face was gray, the color completely drained, except for glowing yellow eyes. Veins budged out from the sides of Darth Revan's face. Darth Revan didn't look happy. She looked down-right terrifying. Liana had never seen anyone so freighting before… and it was her own face she was looking at…

"Do you need a demonstration to remember what evil is, Liana?" Darth Revan said her name like it was a type of foul disease.

Liana let out a gasp. "No," she faintly said. "No, don't."

Darth Revan raised her hand.

Carth was lifted off the ground of his torture chamber, grabbing his neck, gagging, desperately trying to somehow get air into his lungs. His legs twitched and wiggled. His face contorted in ways she didn't know where possible. Darth Revan was going to kill him!

"NO!" Liana cried. "STOP IT! STOP! STOP!"

Darth Revan cackled.

"NO!" she screamed louder. Tears streamed down her face. Carth was turning blue, his neck muscles pushed inwards as if an invisible hand was crushing his windpipe. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Darth Revan continued her torture, twisting her hand and ever-so-slowly bending her fingers into a fist. With each slow, agonizing movement, Carth's body responded. She could see the veins in his legs, arms, and face bulging, threatening to explode.

"CARTH!" Liana sobbed. "Lord Revan, STOP! I'll tell you what you want! Don't kill him! PLEASE!"

Darth Revan clenched her fist.

Carth's neck snapped.

His lifeless body crashed to the floor.

Liana screamed.

"Revan, wake up!" Carth snapped, physically shaking her. "Revan!" he said again, more forcefully that time. He turned in the bed so his hands were on her shoulders. "C'mon, wake up!"

Revan's bright eyes finally snapped open. She gasped for air, her heart racing. Revan blinked rapidly, her eyes scanning the room, like she was trying to figure out where she was.

"Are you all right?" Carth asked, panicked.

Revan's bright eyes targeted his. She blinked a few times, disbelief and shock showing on her face. She stared at him as if she were trying to study his face, almost as if she didn't know who he was. Carth felt uneasy under her stare. Did she know where she was? Who he was? Was she having a memory lapse? Carth wasn't exactly up-to-date when it came to Force-induced memory wipes. "Revan?" he hesitantly asked.

"C-Carth?" she softly asked.

He slowly nodded. "It's me, Rev."

"Carth!" Revan cried, then flung herself into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, buried her head where his neck met his shoulders.

For a second, Carth froze. He'd never seen her like this, not even on Taris when things seemed their worst, and for a moment wasn't sure what to do. He gently wrapped his arms around her, but his hold tightened when he felt her warm tears trickle down his neck.

"I got you," he whispered. "Shhh…"

The former Dark Lord of the Sith had woken up from a nightmare and was clinging to him for comfort. Carth took a few moments to wrap his head around it.

"Did someone scream?"

Carth jumped and turned his head to see Jolee rushing into the room. Jolee looked back at Carth, then at the trembling Revan. "Is she okay?" Jolee asked, his voice hushed.

Carth looked at Jolee, his facial expression reading, 'I don't know.'

Jolee gently touched Revan's head. Carth thought maybe he was offering comfort, but when Jolee closed his eyes, Carth wasn't so sure. Was he reaching out to the Force to see what had Revan so distraught? Revan's body slowly relaxed in Carth's arms. When Jolee opened his eyes again, they were filled with sorrow. He removed his hand from Revan's head. Whatever Jolee had done, if anything, Revan now seemed to have settled down, her crying becoming softer.

"Who was screaming!" Mission ran into the room, Zaalbar at her heels. She let out a faint gasp. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"Just a bad dream," Jolee assured, looking down at Revan.

Mission bit her lip. "Looks more than that," she whispered.

Jolee looked at Mission, searching for something to tell the teenage Twi'lek. "The Force… enhanced it."

Mission frowned. "Sucks to be a Jedi."

Zaalbar placed a furry hand on his friends shoulder and suggested they leave Revan and Carth alone. Mission nodded. "Carth? If, if you need anything, lemme know, 'kay?"

Carth nodded. "I will, Mission."

Zaalbar nudged his friend out of Revan's room. In the distance, Carth could hear Juhani and Canderous in the common room, asking what was going on.

"Take care of her, son," Jolee said. He exited the room and closed the door.

Carth cradled Revan in his arms. Crying was never an adjective that was used when talking about Revan. Even when she discovered what the Jedi council had done to her, wiping her memory at an attempt to destroy the Darth Revan identity did she cry. Then again, if she had Carth hadn't noticed. He was too busy dwelling in his own anger to notice how she had been affected, to tell the truth. He was too busy screaming at her in front of everyone else, blaming her for everything that happened to his wife, his son, and Telos to really see things from her perspective. He was too busy avoiding her and ignoring her to really judge how she had taken the news.

Revan released her hold on Carth's neck and sat sideways in his lap. Revan's head rested on his shoulder, her legs across his. She wrapped her arms around his waist as if Carth were a giant stuffed animal she was hugging for comfort. They sat there together in silence for a few minutes, Revan's sniffles decreasing and her body relaxing.

"You all right?" Carth finally asked. He gently stroked her hair. Revan's hair had fallen out of its ponytail, the thick strands either falling around her face or frizzing at an angle, looking like she hadn't combed her hair in years. Lines of pain and exhaustion etched her face. Revan was a complete mess, but to Carth she was beautiful.

Revan sniffed and tried to fluff up his shoulder with her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What's there to be sorry about?" Carth asked. He tucked a few wild strands of hair behind her ear so he could see her face better. Revan's eyes were red and bloodshot from all the crying. She just looked so… tired.

Her answer was one word: "Everything."

"What do you mean by everything?" Carth asked.

Revan closed her eyes again. Carth felt her muscles tense. He placed his thumb and index finger on her chin and raised her head so she was facing him. "Look at me, Rev," he softly said. "Tell me what you dreamed about."

He saw the pain return to her face. She didn't open her eyes; she just turned away. "It… It was nothing."

"You let out a nice scream," Carth tried. "Woke everyone up. Jolee, Mission, and Zaalbar came runnin' in here to see if you were okay."

Revan looked back at Carth. "I, I screamed?"

Carth nodded. "Didn't you hear when they came running in?"

Revan shook her head. "No… No, I, I didn't. I, I felt Jolee's presence, but… He was here?"

Carth stroked her hair again and nodded.

Revan sighed and closed her eyes. "Carth, I… I…" She sighed again and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Carth gave her a gentle squeeze and silently held her. Minutes passed before Carth spoke up again. "How about this," he softly said. "How about you go take a nice, hot shower in the refresher? I'll go into the kitchen and see if I can find something to munch on. When you're done with your shower, you come meet me in the kitchen, okay? Then we can talk."

"Okay," Revan said. Then she looked at him. "Talk about what?"

"You really are out of it, aren't'cha Beautiful?" Carth softly laughed. "Talk to me about this dream you had."

Revan shook her head. "It, it was nothing…"

"Don't lie to me, Rev," he said in a no-nonsense tone.

She closed her eyes. "I'm, I'm sorry. It… It just…"

Carth smiled and before he realized what he was doing, he gently kissed the top of her forehead. "Go take your shower," he said, letting go of her. "I'll meet you in the kitchen when you're done."

Revan nodded and crawled off his lap, heading for the refresher. When she was gone, Carth leaned his head against the wall, closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a few minutes to just sit there in peace, then got up off the bed and exited the room.