Title: Daddy's Little Girl
Author: C1-J2
Characters: Carth Onasi, Female Revan/Liera, OC
Timeline: Post-KotoR
Genre: Angst, Songfic, slightly AU
Disclaimers: All characters belong to Lucas and the song "Queen of the Reich" belongs to Queensryche.
Summary: Carth and Liera Onasi had a daughter, but what happens when Carth's little girl is taken away from him?
Author's Notes: After months of lacking time and writer's block The Ultimate Hairband Songfic Challenge gave me this bunny. It's kind of long, and has lots of angst, IMO. Hope you all enjoy it.
*** = Change in Time
~*~*~*~
Carefully, he scooped her up and realized how much heavier she felt. It had been a long time since he had last carried her, and he did not know how big she had gotten. He ran a hand through her soft blonde hair as he went up the stairs.
He flipped on the light as he entered her room, and gently rested her on her bed. He pulled the covers up around her and paused to look at her sleeping form. She looks so much like Liera, Carth thought as pain tore unbidden through his chest. It had been over four years since he had last seen her and he hoped he never would again, though parts of him wished he could – the vengeful part, and the hopeful part. In truth, he thought she was long gone.
He continued to stare at his daughter’s peaceful face, hoping fervently for her future, while he was lost in the past. Serra was born not long before his wife began to fall back into an image he had never dreamed she could become – or had ever truly been. When he finally became conscious to knowledge that he no longer knew the woman that laid in bed beside him each night and fought with him each day, he forced her to leave. That was the last he saw of her, and he still was surprised he had lived to see the light of day once more.
Lightning flashed through the bedroom window, and Carth was wrenched from his thoughts. He walked over to the window and double checked the latch before drawing the curtains completely, refusing to let a storm wake his daughter. Knowing she was sound a sleep, he went over to her bed and checked her covers one last time. He kissed her on the forehead, before turning off the light and leaving the room.
No sooner had the door slid quietly shut then the pop of the window’s latch was heard, barely audible over the thunder’s roar. A form clad in black swung into the room from the edge of the roof. The figure’s dark cloak swirled around them as the wind rushed in from outside. “Took him long enough,” a distinctly female voice muttered.
The woman quickly picked up the small girl and headed back towards the window. She leapt outside, landing easily on her awaiting swoop bike, and they were gone.
As swiftly as the tempest had come, it receded, taking with it the Admiral’s most prized possessions.
In the dead of night
She'll come and take you away
Searing beams of light and thunder
Over blackened plains
She will find her way
Flying high through the night
She will hide your fate
As she takes your soul from under
And the blinding light of the castle fades
***
The snap-hiss of her lightsaber echoed throughout the ship’s training salle as she fought the man before her. The red glow of their lightsabers cast an eerie aura around the room, leaving much of the room in deep shadows.
Their blades clashed and sparks flew from the intersecting point. The girl took a step forward, swinging her blade low, her opponent anticipating the move easily. She spun around, aiming for his ribcage, and he caught the blow quickly. Her momentum forced him back a step, though, as she continued to press against his saber.
Changing her course, she aimed for his head, which he once again blocked with ease. Now he chose to take the offensive, swinging his blade downward in a firm sweep towards her head. She blocked this one, but chose to remain on the defensive.
As he went through a series of offensive moves, she fed fraudulent emotions to him through the force, compelling him to think he was winning and she was trying desperately just to defend herself. His attack pattern became more ferocious, more erratic. As she continued to feign fear, she gauged his attacks carefully, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
When she finally found the right moment, she swung her saber at his wrist, successfully knocking away both his saber and his hand. Shock roiled from her opponent and she took advantage of it. Lightning arched from her fingertips and spread throughout his torso, effectively silencing him before he could even begin his scream. His body fell motionless onto the ground with a soft thump, his mouth remaining open in an inaudible cry. His brown eyes were glazed over.
“You’ve done well, my apprentice,” a voice echoed from the furthest corner of the room. The figure emerged to reveal a being clad in all black, their face hidden by an ancient mask.
“He should have known better, Master Revan. My ploy should only have worked on the pathetic little Jedi. He was far too weak for me to fight. I wish to fight a more worthy adversary.”
“You will in time, Serra. Now I must go attend to some . . . business with the troops. I want you to clean this mess up. Feel free to space him.” With that the Lord of the Sith left, her footsteps soundless on the durasteel.
Brushing back a stray strand of blonde hair from her face, Serra glanced down at the body before her. The smell of seared flesh reached her and a cold smile crept across her lips. Being taken from her father’s home ten years before was the best thing that had happened to her.
She was daddy’s little girl no longer.
Swiftly she kicked the lifeless body before her in disgust. Dustil Onasi was probably the worst opponent she had fought. How he had made it into the Sith Regime was beyond her. She cleaned up the remains quickly and watched without interest as his body floated through space.
Her comlink buzzed and she immediately left.
It was time for her next lesson.
There is no escape
It's the ending of your precious life
Your soul slipped away
It belongs to the Queen of the Reich
***
His feet pounded through the corridor as he stepped over the bodies of the Sith soldiers that the squad of Republic soldiers he had borrowed had helped him shoot down. He left them behind to stand guard. This was one battle he had to fight alone even though his chances of success were highly unlikely.
Carth bounded onto the bridge and slid to a stop as he saw the figures before him. The bridge was completely empty except for the two people in front of him. The taller of the pair was like seeing something out of the HoloNet news. He had been haunted by the images of Darth Revan, clad from head to toe in black, since the destruction of Telos, but he never really expected to see the Sith Lord again – at least not back in costume. The shorter stood wearing a black cloak with the hood up, concealing their identity. It was presumably the Dark Lord’s latest apprentice.
A low chuckle reverberated throughout the room as Revan stared at him. “Looks like you made it after all, Sweetheart. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it. I guess my troops weren’t enough of a challenge for you. Perhaps you’re worth more than I thought.”
“Look Liera –”
“There’s no Liera here, Onasi. Not anymore.”
Carth scowled. “Look, I just came in hopes of saving you and to get my daughter back.”
“You’re wasting your time on both accounts then. I don’t want you to ‘save’ me and my daughter can’t go back with you even if she wanted too. She’s mine now.”
“Why don’t you just give her the choice?”
“You think living with you for four years means more to her than twelve years of my training? Besides I need her to do my bidding. She’s one of the best Sith in the order.”
“I don’t think our daughter should be stuck in this stupid war! We both know what it can do to people.” Carth sighed and glanced down at the durasteel briefly. “Look, I don’t want my daughter having to deal with having her parents on opposite sides of the war. If you would just become a Jedi again –”
“That isn’t going to happen, Carth. That’s all in the past. Perhaps you’re the one who should join the Sith. We could use an Admiral of your caliber in our fleet.”
“No. I can’t do that Lie-Revan,” he corrected as he felt her burning glare through her mask. “I won’t be another Saul.” Both stood silently for countless moments, knowing that the other could not be swayed and that everything they had once shared mattered no longer. With a pain-filled stare directed at her, Carth finally spoke, “If you can’t be turned, then I have to take you in. I know you won’t come willingly, so this is the way it has to be done.”
With a shaky hand, Admiral Onasi raised his blaster. It was his duty to bring down the most dangerous enemy the Republic had, no matter what the personal cost. The silence was so substantial that the distant sound of the engine was clearly audible. Each breath they took seemed to fill the silence like a coming storm engulfs the sky. His racing heartbeat vaguely reminded him of the beating drums of war, counting off the time until the battle begins. He knew this was a battle he could not win, but it was his job to try. A single soldier – even an Admiral – was not any match against two Dark Jedi – the two most powerful Dark Jedi in the Sith Army at that.
Carth waited for his ex-wife to get a hold of and ignite her lightsaber, though he knew that she was not defenseless without her weapon raised. When she did nothing he knew he would have to make the first move.
Against his better judgment, his eyes squeezed shut as his finger began pulling the trigger. He could feel the sweat beading on his brow as he silently prayed that his shot would not find its mark, while the Admiral in him was begging him to open his eyes and take aim properly; to end this blasted war to save a countless number of blameless lives from their demise.
Finally gaining back his courage, he pulled the trigger and heard the zing of the shot echo through the air. The silence had been so tangible that the sudden burst of sound made his ears feel as though they would burst at any given moment. When the sound of the shot was hushed, the sound of a body hitting the floor was distinctly audible, followed by a single strangled cry:
“Mom!!!”
The cry was one of shock and of pain. As his mind caught up with the moment and he really heard what was said, his eyes flew open.
Rather than using her lightsaber or even the Force to block the shot, the Dark Lord had pulled her own apprentice in front of her, using her as a human shield. The apprentice now rested at her feet, her hood removed, and a shock of blonde hair was undoubtedly visible.
Carth knew there was only one person who could possibly get away with calling the Dark Lord that.
His heart stopped beating.
You're fading away
Your life cast astray
A victim the beast shall obtain
Carth broke into a sprint across the room, despite the Admiral screaming within him that it was a trap. He barely made it more than a few steps before Revan gave a crisp hand motion and a few dozen Sith soldiers disengaged their stealth shield generators, their guns all pointed at him.
Immediately, Admiral Onasi took over, and his blaster, briefly forgotten, was immediately raised at the ready, prepared to take down the entire Sith Army alone if he had to.
“Let me just speak to her, Revan. I want to talk to her one last time. Let me try to save her.”
“You will do no such thing. I can save her better than you can. This is my ship and I have access to the medbays. You would have to carry her to the other side of the ship and leave the docking bay, before you could attend to her. I will let her live and I will let you speak to her, but there are some stipulations.”
Tears touched the Admirals eyes, as he glanced down at his daughter. He looked up at Revon with a resolute gaze. “I’ll do anything.”
“Good, then we are on the same page. Your task is simple: You will leave this ship, without my daughter, and never return. Continue fighting in this war if you wish, I could use a worthy opponent, but you will not make another poorly thought out attempt to save either of us. Easy opponents bore me, which is why I wish for you to continue fighting, but fight knowing that I will win this time around.”
Carth’s resolve wavered slightly. “I’m not sure I can do that. Serra’s the main reason I came here.”
Revan turned and began to leave the room. “Fine, guards kill her and escort him back to his ship. I want him to live with the knowledge that he just killed his own daughter.”
“No! Don’t!” Carth moved to lunge towards her, before all of the blasters came to level back on him. This could not be happening he was bargaining with his wife for the life of their child. If he agreed to the bargain, and let her live here, her life would be one of no worth, filled with torture and emptiness. It was highly unlikely that the Dark Lord of the Sith acted much like a true mother would. He might still have a chance to save her though. If he followed his wishes, she would more than likely die here, and he would have to live with that fact. That was something he could not even imagine being able to do, even without being able to see her for so long. He had already lost one child; losing two would be the death of him.
Revan pivoted to face him once more. “Then you’ll agree.”
Carth sighed and stared at his boots. “Yes.”
“Good then I’ll leave for a few moments so you can speak to her.”
“You said you’d save her!”
“I will – after you leave. I can’t leave one of my best students to die.” So she did have somewhat of a heart after all. “I will return shortly, I expect you to be gone – and her not – when I return. Guards I leave you to make certain that my apprentice remains here. Escort him to his ship, and do what you will with his troops.”
“They must be left alive.”
“I hold all of the cards, Onasi. You have nothing to bargain with. I think it would be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut for once.”
“I need them to fly my ship.”
Revan let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine, leave them alive, but disarm them, and make certain none of them try anything on their way out.” She began walking towards the door, but paused and looked at him one last time. “And Carth, don’t try anything while leaving my docking bay. The entire Sith Fleet is outside waiting for you, and I control your fate.”
The Dark Lord of the Sith left the room, and Admiral Onasi carefully gauged the Sith soldiers around him before taking a cautious step forward. When the Sith did nothing but shift their trained stares on him, Carth raced to his daughter. He placed her gently in his lap, cradling her head. The shot had hit her in her right side, and her breathing was unsteady. He looked sadly at her once beautiful face, now etched with premature wrinkles and pale skin accented by purpled veins.
“Serra?”
Her eyes fluttered open, revealing glazed yellowish eyes, where once vibrant blue eyes had been. Years of battle gave her gaze a hard edge though, but Carth swore he saw something he knew no one else could – the little girl he had been searching for for so long. “What do you want, Dad?”
Carth swallowed back a swell of emotion and struggled to find the right words. “I wanted to say I’m sorry – for being unable to get to you for so long, for causing this to happen.”
“Yeah well things were a lot better before you showed up. Why couldn’t you just let me be?” Her voice came out soft and hoarse, and an attempt to fight the throbbing pain in her side rang through as well.
“Because this isn’t you, Serra, this is someone your mother created. I couldn’t let her ruin your life.”
“She didn’t, you did. You barely knew me when she took me, and now, because of you, I’m afraid to see her. I just want things to be as they once were.”
“I’m going to try to save you,” Carth whispered.
“Save it, Dad. I don’t need you to save me. Let me go back and face her. Once you’re gone, things will have to go back to the way they were. Soon I’ll be able to take her on, and I’ll be the new Dark Lord of the Sith . . . It’s what I’ve always wanted.” A strained uncertainty crossed her face as she spoke the last portion.
“No it isn’t –”
“Don’t tell me what I want and what I don’t want, Dad. You don’t even know me. Just go, okay?”
Pain etched itself across his face before he spoke once more, “Fine, but know this: I’m always here for you and I will always love you, Sweetheart. If you ever need me, you’ll be able to find me.”
“Whatever.”
Sadly, Carth rested her back on the durasteel floor, disturbed by what had become of his daughter. He knew that his wife would not let his daughter’s life be as it was once he left. Revan would own her.
The light will not shine
For you'll die tonight at her shrine
And black is the last thing you'll see
***
The darkness that had once engulfed her like a warm thermal blanket on a night in Hoth, now seemed suffocating. She felt as though she had been drowning for the past few months since her father had left her behind.
Disobeying her master’s orders were now considered to be one step too close to treason, where once her own ideas had been appreciated when successfully accomplished. Now ingenuity was rewarded with suffering, and she had had her fair share of Sith torture techniques.
She was learning though. She was discovering that rather than thinking for herself, following orders resulted in the rare praise from her master. Deference was quickly becoming a way of life for her.
Serra was beginning to wish she had been able to go back with her father though. The life of a Dark Lord’s apprentice was becoming too much for her.
A sharp pain invaded her thoughts, as her master sent her a warning through the Force that brought her to her knees. The trajectory her way of thinking had gone was too close to treason for her master’s liking, apparently. Darkness swirled around her and she felt herself collapsing on the floor of her quarters.
The Sith Lord was in her head, and Carth’s little girl wanted back out.
Over and over
Dreams of dying fill your head
It's the sign of the cross
That you'll find ahead
***
Carth stared at the sight before him and ran a hand through his once kempt brown hair, now dusted with gray and as unruly as a child’s. Serra trudged towards him, looking decades older than her age with tears streaming down her face endlessly. Scars etched every part of her being, and he was not sure he wanted to know what terrors she had seen.
She stopped a few paces away from him, despair written in all of her features. “Daddy . . .” She swallowed hard as she reached for her lightsaber. “I’ve come to . . . kill you.”
Her father stood still in silence for a moment. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
Serra sniffled and looked down at the red-colored ground they stood on. “You don’t understand, Daddy. I do.” When she looked back up at him, her eyes were haunted and Carth took a step towards her. When her body began to convulse with sobs, he rushed to her, encompassing her in his embrace. Her tears moistened his tunic for what he knew was the first time in years – and more than likely the last time. “She’s in my head, Daddy! I can’t get her out! She won’t leave me alone!” She let out a cry of pain that weakened her knees, but he held her up, refusing to let her go this time.
When she finally regained her mind, she looked up at her father. “If I don’t obey her she’ll kill me this time. I know it. This is my last assignment, and then I’ll be free. I have to be.”
Carth stared down at her silently for long moments. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb gently, and ran a hand through her disheveled blonde hair. He wanted to remember as much as he could of his final moments. He watched as the wind blew her long hair around them, and he knew what a beauty she would have been if her mother had not gotten to her. She still is, he corrected himself. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, knowing she probably did not have much longer to comply with her orders, as impatient as Revan had always been.
He pulled away from her. “Then you’d better do your duty.”
She stared at him in disbelief and he stared right back, patiently awaiting death, as a soldier always did. “Are you sure, Daddy?”
“Yes. It’s your turn to live.”
“I love you, Daddy!” The tears he had just carefully wiped from her face had returned.
“I love you too, Sweetheart.” Admiral Onasi watched as his daughter ignited her blade and came at him, while Carth Onasi cried silently at what his daughter had become, but he knew that her life would not end engulfed in her mother’s darkness. There was a brief sharp pain in his left shoulder as her sweeping blade connected and he cried out. Then there was nothing. He was watching her from afar now.
She collapsed onto her hands and knees, her tears flooding the ground beneath her. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered.
His little girl had finally escaped, though how much of her remained would only be told in time.
No one will answer
The light is fading away
Captive souls are screaming out in pain
Pain ripped through her chest while she kneeled before his remains. She had killed the one person who would always be there for her not matter what – if only she had realized that sooner. Perhaps her life would be better now. Perhaps he would still be here.
Before she could follow those thoughts any further, an eruption exploded within her head, and the Dark Lord’s voice became clearly audible in her head:
“Your tasks are now complete. You are worthless to me now.”
With that, one final throbbing raced through her as she collapsed to the ground, being taken by the darkness for the last time.
There is no escape
It's the ending of your precious life
Your soul slipped away
It belongs to the Queen of the Reich
You're fading away, No, No, No
The Queen of the Reich
You're slipping away, yeah
The Queen of the Reich
As she opened her eyes, light flooded her gaze. She blinked several times to get used to it and she quickly realized she was now One with the Force.
“Glad to see you made it, Sweetheart.”
The familiar voice floated towards her. She turned and saw her father – in one piece – waiting for her. Serra ran towards him, looking much like the little girl he once knew. Her soft blonde hair billowed out behind her as she ran, and a smile as bright as the light around them caused her face to glow.
Carth caught her as she leapt into his arms, and he spun her around before bringing her close to him in a tight hug.
“I love you so much, Daddy. Please don’t leave me.”
“I won’t, Serra, never again.”
Daddy’s little girl was back, removed from the fetters that had trapped her so long.
She was free.
~*~*~*~
Thoughts? Comments? Constructive criticism? 
EDIT: Forgot the Summary 
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The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1
". . . you will never again be frightened by what you might have become. Or indeed, by what your future might make you."
-Lucien Percival Smith, The Boys Next Door
Christian1st-Jedi2n
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