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Chapter Text

Anne’s heavy eyes closed despite her desperate attempts to keep them open long enough to see this through. It didn’t help that the only light was the smog filtered daylight that spilled through the single curved window into the small circular room, putting the gray concrete architecture of the city-covered planet Coruscant on full display. Like everywhere else in the temple they were high above the city, especially being in one of the four spires which rose from the temple base. Anne Boonchuy and her master Shaak Ti sat face to face, both in Jedi robes. 

“Did you get enough sleep last night, Anne?” the Jedi master asked her apprentice.

Anne blinked her eyes open trying to wade off her terminal exhaustion like she did in each of their weekly meetings. Usually it was easier than this, but being around her master always seemed to sap what little energy she had.

“Yep. Welllll, I do lie in bed thinking about what happened that day but, other than that, I get enough sleep,” Anne said, attempting her signature ‘natural’ smile.

Lies were becoming increasingly more difficult over the years while Anne continued to deteriorate. Learning how to lie with her mouth was easy enough but the rest of her body betrayed her. She couldn’t stop the sunken weight she felt with each step or the way her eyes never seemed to adjust to being open.

Shaak Ti frowned. She was an orange Togruta with white and blue striped head tails, a master Jedi in the Jedi council. She was so high in the order that Anne wished she could ask for another master, one that Anne was more deserving of, not that Anne deserved any master. Shaak Ti clearly was not convinced by Anne’s lie, even less so than last week's visit.

“Anne, it’s okay. You don’t have to lie to me. Keeping feelings inside is dangerous and harmful. Please do not be afraid to speak your mind.”

‘Dangerous and harmful’, that summed up Anne’s mind pretty well. But no matter how many times a Jedi told her that ‘truth is the Jedi way’, Anne wasn’t taking the bait. Once upon a time she’d believed it; that Jedi’s value of honesty was for a noble cause. But now that she had sunken into the depths below, a place where the Jedi should never go, she was sure that if she spoke the truth of who she is, she would be removed from this prestigious life in an instant. Anne knew what she was: a useless, unnecessary burden on the Jedi’s shoulders, especially now that they were at war. She didn’t want to be forced to leave the order. They were all she had.

“No really, I’m good.” Her smile felt like a tightrope walk, except her balancing pole’s weight was precariously uneven.

Her master’s lips pursed, and her eyes glimmered with sadness.

Anne held her breath waiting for the inevitable topic that she would always find a way to skirt around, the thing she hated thinking about the most. The reason why the days lasted too long and why they all blurred together. The reason why Anne was a terrible Jedi. Anne stared into those knowing black eyes. Maybe instead her master would be done with Anne right there and then. It’s not like they needed a reason to see that Anne was not who she was meant to be.

“I’m sorry Anne. I wish you would let us help you.”

Of course the Jedi knew she was struggling. She wasn't that good of an actor.

Jedi weren’t damaged, they were amazing in every way, as pristine as the day they were born. Why couldn’t she be like them? Why couldn’t she just be normal? The other apprentices and padawans made it look so easy.

“If you ever feel yourself slipping toward the dark side, remember that it will not help you. The dark side of the Force only increases suffering.”

Anne didn’t need to be reminded. Being warned about the dangers of the dark side of the Force was nearly half their lessons. “I know.”

Shaak Ti nodded. “It can be easy to forget. It preys on weakness, tricks you into believing it is a way out when, in reality, it only drags you deeper. I’ve lost too many Jedi to it, I don’t want to lose you as well.”

“You won’t.” Anne tried to reassure her as well as herself.

Her master’s eyes did not look convinced.

Anne hurriedly walked through the beautiful large halls of the Jedi temple. The windows were nearly black as dusk drew to a close. She’d done this so many times that she knew how not to get caught. She’d been taught a long time ago that the temple guards didn’t care about what the Jedi did inside the walls. They only prevented outsiders from getting in. What she had to watch for were other Jedi, including her snitching peers, who always had it out for her. Thankfully, this evening she peaked around each corner seeing no one but guards.

Waiting for the elevator, her chest tight and knee anxiously bounced up and down. Finally, it dinged open and Anne pressed the button for the bottommost floor. It didn’t go down as far as she needed to go. The Jedi were too dignified for that. Not her though, nope. She needed to go to the rest of the bottom feeders, the only place where she truly fit in.

The fast elevator never ceased to amaze her just how high up the Jedi temple was. In her mind, it made sense since the angelic Jedi were the closest beings to the Force, a semi-tangible entity which flowed through the Galaxy making up everything. The Sith were close to the Force too, unfortunately. Those ingrates deserved their uncomfortably hot Sith volcano planet of Mustafar. Not that she’d ever been there. In her 20 years, she had never experienced anything but the concrete jungle of Coruscant. She was supposed to find her very own kyber crystal from the frozen planet of Ilum, so to craft her lightsaber, but that had never happened. Her first master had left her at the young age of seven and he’d left behind his lightsaber as well. Lightsabers were precious, this was something the young Anne had known well. When it was offered to be passed down to one of his students, she jumped at the opportunity and took it. She felt pure bliss having a lightsaber three years earlier than she was supposed to. She felt truly special, cherishing her legendary weapon. Then, the years passed, and Anne came to regret her decision. Her new master, Shaak Ti, offered to let her accompany them to Ilum just for the experience. Suddenly, feeling embarrassed by the idea of being there just for the sake of it, she turned the offer down.

As the years went by, she learned to regret her decision more and more. She never admitted her disdain to almost anybody. How could she? She’d made a mistake which was not a thing the Jedi did. No, instead she stayed on Coruscant, away from the wider galaxy and away from the Clone Wars. The Jedi said they were ‘worried’ about her. They claimed it was for her mental health but Anne knew better. Anne knew they were worried she wasn’t fit to be a Jedi.

The elevator stopped and dinged open. Anne stepped out onto the maintenance floor of the temple, not that it was much of a temple on this level. The lighting was dim, the ceiling covered in pipes, and the air smelled of oil and dust. Anne traveled through the dust filled, fluorescent lit halls, making her way expertly to the staircase that descended even further. The industrial backrooms of Coruscant were a sight that not many got to see. Anne passed workers who respectively nodded in her direction. They already knew her well and let her pass thanks to her status as a Jedi. During her earlier forays alone, at the age of sixteen, they did question her when she was first caught, but thanks to a half-baked excuse, they let her pass through. She was much younger when someone else showed her the way and taught her how to not get caught.

The fleeting thought quivered through her bones. She ignored it as always.

Hollow metal reverberated beneath her as she descended down long stairs. Eventually the staircase would end and she would travel through endless halls to find another. The further she went, the fewer people she’d pass. This process repeated several times.

Eventually she came to a simple flat gray door at the end of a set of stairs. In the corner of the concrete covered room were her cloak and boots; she had left there knowing hardly anyone else used this exit. They were the same umber brown colour as her Jedi robes except significantly cheaper. The cloak covered her entire body including her head which it concealed with a hood. It was loose enough not to make her lightsaber stick out from under it. Changing into the clothes, she left her Jedi boots inside and made her way out onto the cold streets of the darkest depths of Coruscant.

Smog blasted her face. The distinctly Coruscant smell was as putrid as ever. The buildings around her reached up so high that the concepts of day and night became obsolete. The dark ground was broken and worn down from the millions of feet that trampled it. She doubted it had been fixed up in over a thousand years. Hundreds of people milled about in her vicinity. Beggars lined the sides of the road each hoping that by being close to the Jedi temple, the people around here would have money to spare. This hope was false. The Jedi didn’t come down here. The Jedi didn’t belong down here. Anne was the exception.

She began making her long trek to her destination. The walk made up most of her time. She enjoyed it, milling about with the people down here, looking at every colourful neon sign she passed by. One special thing about Coruscant was that it never denied foreigners from moving here. The races were so diverse that Anne found a new race of people every time she came down. She would have looked suspicious anywhere else with her disguise. Down here, if you weren’t the slightest bit shady, you were an outsider.

The herd of people began to thin the further Anne got away from what was known as the ‘downtown’ of her part of the underground. The people around here were even shiftier. No one made eye contact and everyone carried blasters. Murders were common around these parts, not that the CSF, aka the cops, cared. The Security Force avoided this area as if they would contract a disease just from being here. Physically, there wasn’t much difference to this district besides the lights being slightly dimmer, the smells being smellier, the shops being more sparse, and the living quarters being smaller, cheaper.

Finally, after hiking for several hours, she arrived at her destination: the only place she could call home without shame. The streetside bar had only four metal stools without a cushion. A lone green Theelin sat on the far right one. Anne had seen him plenty of times before but they’d never spoken, not even in small talk. Keeping to yourself was an unspoken rule around here designed for self preservation. That suited Anne just fine. Conversations nowadays were more tiring than they were fun. The once glowing sign above the bar was completely totaled after a runaway speeder had crashed into it. It flickered dimly on occasionally before sparking and going dark again. At least there was a single yellow fluorescent tube behind the counter in order to see.

She sat on the second stool to the left so that there would be at least a one seat gap between her and the Theelin.

“I’ll start with the usual,” she said to the thin, yellow Felucian whose name she’d never asked.

He turned around in his tight kitchen where he grabbed a cup and poured the cheapest alcohol in all of Coruscant out of a rusty tap that definitely didn’t meet health code safety laws.

She gave him two bronze credit chips when he put the brown fizzling liquid in front of her. It tasted just as horrid as the last time she’d had it. It was exactly what she needed right now: a good distraction from her head being cruel to her. She didn’t come here every night. Some days she would be too tired to make the distance, others she would make the mistake of lying down on her bed and her limbs would refuse to get up. Luckily, she had an allowance. This confused her because she was sure that she wasn’t allowed outside the temple without a good reason. Maybe the saved credits were for when they would inevitably remove her from the order.

An hour passed and she’d already had five cups of booze. Her head ached from the unusual strain put on it. She tried to limit herself to three drinks a night in order to make her way back to the temple safely and not wake up with a hangover.

If the Jedi knew what she was doing, she was certain she’d be thrown to the curb in an instant.

She could feel bile forming in her throat as her stomach began to reject the vile substance put into it.

“Do it over there,” the bartender pointed away from the bar.

Anne felt ashamed. She hadn’t thrown up from drinking in years. Following his finger, Anne stumbled down the street as far away as she could before she couldn’t keep it down any longer. At least it was too dark to see the liquid regurgitated from her gut. But the quiet air only amplified the horrible splashing sound. After being sure it was over, she breathed heavily, her eyes unfocused. She tried not to pay attention to the putrid smell.

She attempted to stand up straight, but stumbled. Her equilibrium was shot. She groaned, feeling the uncomfortable weight of the fact that it was unlikely she’d make it back to temple without passing out or worse. If only she was here. Why wasn’t she nearby? She’d always helped Anne in the past…

The name lodged itself in her throat, threatening to choke her. She’d gotten so good at not thinking of the girl: the one who’d left and made her feel so, so alone. She just wanted her best friend again. Why wouldn’t she come back?! Tears began forming and then pouring from her eyes, joining the pool of vomit on the ground.

Suddenly, a feeling cut through her gripping misery. A feeling of being watched.

She tried focusing her eyes to observe her surroundings. Finally, after gazing around, she saw it: a shadow person with two glowing, green eyes. Anne couldn’t tell if it was real or not. It wouldn’t have been the first time that she’d had visual hallucinations before. The eyes turned away from her, the figure becoming entirely encased in darkness. It began walking away from her at a brisk pace.

She knew she had to follow it, real or not. Maybe it meant something, maybe it was her demons finally catching up with her, or maybe it was her coming back to haunt her. Whatever it was, she had to know.

Anne walked as fast as she could in her state, trying to keep up. Every time it began to round a corner it would stop, and look back at Anne long enough for her to catch up close enough, before it rounded the corner. The area began to warp into something completely unfamiliar. The already dim light began fading into a dark so powerful, she realized she was basically in the void. Looking over her shoulder, she shuddered seeing no light. She had thought that the dark empty streets were her friend. But this, this was too much. She wanted to go back to the temple. She wanted to go home . Then it occurred to her that the shadow she followed had disappeared. Not even those ethereal green eyes could be seen. She didn’t know the way back, she’d strayed too far from the temple. Anne regretted many things in her life. This was now in the top three.

A firm gloved hand grabbed her wrist, causing her to jump. She tried desperately to get away, shaking violently. Then she saw them, the green, emerald eyes, only a few centimeters away from her face. Her hallucinations had never touched her before. The feeling made her feel like throwing up again. It had been so long since she’d been touched firmly by anyone. The nostalgia was palpable.

The invisible hand tugged on her, implying that it wanted to lead her somewhere. She followed without question. Tripping over her own feet, she stumbled, feeling her body tumbling over. The thing grabbed her, stabilizing her. Her head felt like mush and her body felt like gelatin. This must have been the afterlife. The ghost of her friend was leading her to hell.

The hand on her wrist stopped and so did she. A door in front of them slid open revealing a blinding light which cut through the darkness like butter. The figure let go of her wrist and stepped inside. Anne stood there stunned, she’d expected something somehow even darker. A black hand reached towards Anne and pulled her inside.

The sharp contrast between the black and now white void split her head further open. She clutched her head in agony, more tears running down her cheeks. She stayed like that for an unknowable amount of time. She hardly registered that she’d moved without being on her two feet. Light slowly faded into black…

…

Her eyes fluttered open. The pain bouncing around in her head had subsided slightly and her eyes had adjusted to the light. She was lying face down on a cold metal table, sitting on a cushion of some kind. As her senses woke up, she saw she was sitting at a rounded booth table, in a standard pub of some kind, with a bar wrapped around the far side of the room. She blinked a few times trying to remember how she got here, but her mind was blank. Had she been drinking? She’d never been to this pub before. She gripped her head trying to remember. Everything felt so fuzzy. She noticed that the pub was totally empty, not even a bartender, despite it being a relatively large interior. Then she heard something quiet coming from right beside her. It sounded like electronic music with the occasional beeping sound effect.

A familiar black shadow with glowing green eyes played on some sort of handheld flat screen game device next to her in the same booth, their hands expertly vibrating across the controls. The events that led her to this place came back clear as day. The usual bar, drinking too much, throwing up, thinking about her , and then following the person who now sat next her playing games.  

“You’re awake,” the shadow said with a robotic, genderless voice.

Actually, now that she could get a better look at it in decent light, it wasn’t a shadow at all. It was a person decked in clean, black armour.

“Ughh,” she responded, her mouth feeling like sandpaper.

The black armored person stared, “You’ve had too much too much to drink.”

Anne’s mouth held open, trying to formulate coherent words. “Wh-who are you?”

“You don’t know me?” They said, tilting their head.

Anne shook her head in denial as gently as she could, trying not to worsen her headache.

“I thought the Jedi cared more about bounty hunters.”

Anne’s heart stopped. This person knew who she was, and they were a bounty hunter. She’d been taught before that bounty hunters were ruthless, lawless beings. A name began snaking its way through her brain. A bounty hunter who fit the description of the person before her. Someone who was wanted by the Republic for assassinations, thefts and more.

“You- you’re Black Kyber.”

“I’ve never seen a Jedi around here before. I’ve also never seen one get black-out drunk.”

“Get-get away from me!” She screamed at the hunter. Standing up, she fumbled for her ex-master’s lightsaber concealed beneath her cloak.

They didn't even flinch when Anne ignited the lightsaber with shaky hands, causing both of them to be cast in a light blue light. The hum of the lightsaber hung in the air. Black Kyber only continued to stare with their expressionless eyes, not moving from where they sat.

“I didn’t bring you here to fight,” they said, simply.

“I-I don’t care,” Anne said through chattering, gritted teeth. “You- You’re wanted by the Republic!”

Black Kyber didn’t respond. They remained staring.

Anne didn’t want to point her lightsaber at them. It wasn’t something she’d ever done. She’d only learned how to use a lightsaber defensively, having assumed that all targets would attack first. Her arms shaking increasingly violently, she pointed the lightsaber towards Black Kyber. Sweat secreted off her palms onto the lightsaber, making it slippery to hold. A single bead of sweat rolled down from her cheek onto the floor, as she waited for the bounty hunter to respond.

In an instant before she could even react, Black Kyber brought out their own green lightsaber and hit Anne’s blade so hard it flew out of her grasp. Stunned, Anne’s legs refused to move. She’d never felt this terrified before. She didn’t want to die, at least not like this!

The bounty hunter stood up slowly, making their way towards her. She clumsily swung her fist at the still armed Black Kyber. Her fist met air. 

Black Kyber swung their blade, hitting Anne’s chest and she fell backwards…

She clutched her eyes closed, not daring to look at the wound which was undoubtedly causing her to die a slow death as her body shut down from its sliced organs…

The pain never came. Instead, she felt … numb? She couldn’t feel anything, not the wound on her chest, not even the floor. She slowly opened her eyes to look, craning her sight downwards to look at her chest. There was no slash wound and she wasn’t dying. Whatever that blade was, it wasn’t a lightsaber! Her first instinct was to jump up but her muscles wouldn’t respond. In fact, she realized she couldn’t move a muscle. 

Great.

Black Kyber wanted her alive. Maybe they wanted to ransom her off. The thought made her sick, being given back to the Jedi for money. She was already useless enough as it was. Hopefully they’d refuse to pay, knowing that she was more trouble than she was worth.

Black Kyber raised a gun and then fired. For the second time tonight, everything went black.

Chapter Text

1 week ago.

The sun peeked past the lush yellow and mostly ocean blue planet of Raxus. Black Kyber’s cloaking devices were already activated as they watched the Separatist ships from the peripheral of their window. There was no transmission, the Separatist didn’t need to know they were here. Their ship, The Black Emerald, was already infamous enough for it to be wanted in many systems, the Separatist capital planet of Raxus included. It was a large rich black ship in the shape of a wide black diamond with four thin green wings donning each side. Being banned was more of an achievement than a nuisance, it showed just how far spread they’d come.

Bypassing the ships blocking the entrance to Raxus should have been impossible. Separatist technology was too well made to allow almost any ship, visible or not, to pass through their systems without question. Which is why Black Kyber had the best ship cloaking technology in the galaxy. Being rich had its perks. Running the highest paying jobs without a break for five straight years had left them well off. Now, it was a matter of finding new reasons to take jobs. Money is external, power is external. They needed something more, something that could only be found looking inside the soul.

Black Kyber was built without gender, to be void of light and texture besides their bright piercing green eyes that were built with the ability to see everything around them. They could see with night vision, heat signatures, and x-ray. They could modify what sound frequencies they chose to hear in order to hear things such as heart beats or even high pitched sounds impossible to hear with human ears. They were a bounty hunter and a library, a black hole of information. They were Black Kyber, and they were inescapable.

San Hil, a member of the Separatist council, was their next target.

Fascinating. Not just because he helped build the known Jedi killer General Grievous, but because Black Kyber’s employer was very special. The Republic themselves had personally hired Black Kyber to eliminate this Muun. They were supposed to be the good side, but hey, what’s a war without a few war crimes?

The war was something that they knew extensively. They played their part here and there but otherwise they were a spectator. Black Kyber knew they were witnessing history and it was clear that neither side was truly in the right. The Republic claimed the Separatists were monsters and the Separatists claimed vice versa. So of course both sides continued to kill in order to stop the other ‘monster’. The only clear good faction were the Jedi, which was sad because they were the only ones who could never truly win. Their only job was to prevent bloodshed, and yet the ever consuming lust of war grew and grew into a monster that no force in the galaxy could give a happy ending.

Arriving on a populated planet, in the cool dead of night, with no one that knew what was about to transpire, had a sense of anticipation to it. There was a finality to Black Kyber touching down on the dark yellow grass. There was no immovable object to match Black Kyber’s unstoppable force. Every step they took through the cold yellow forest brought this planet closer to the only real truth this galaxy had to offer: death. They could not be a bounty hunter if not for the fear of it. The Jedi inspired Black Kyber’s rise to power, and the fear of death turned that inspiration into something tangible, something real. There was no separating someone who lived and breathed in the underbelly of society from death. It was what sustained them, gave them life, meaning, purpose. It was something that people who have never been visited by the immediate possibility of death could still understand. The rich politicians and their squabbles for who owns what. In the end, the only thing anyone truly owned was their own flesh and blood, ironically being the thing that people often mistreated on their own.

They walked up the large ancient stone steps leading up to a back section of the capital city of Raxulon, away from the common passersby of the night. They wanted their meetings to be special. People tended to keep to themselves in a crowd which helped in a busy setting such as Coruscant. But here, if anyone were to see those glowing green eyes, it was certain to leave a memory. Not everyone knew the name Black Kyber, but they were certain that their presence would still be felt all the same. It was a joy to walk through the back walkways and streets, especially in a city that was several millennia old. The underworld practically oozed from locations like this. Where scum would talk and trade, lives would be lost, and silent history made. 

They passed somebody in standard street clothes shivering, hunched up in a fetal position in one of the back alleys. They were Trandoshan which was unfortunate. Being homeless as a cold blooded individual on a planet whose native sentient population is warm blooded seemed impossible. Not even Back Kyber could have risen from such a status. A cruel reminder that no matter how poor they grew up, there was always a smaller fish. The Trandoshan caught them staring and looked back with slit green pupils. Black Kyber turned away and continued their trek towards their target. They had nothing to give, no warmth or food. They were not built for comfort.

Inevitably, the backstreets came to an end, as they approached the massive complex where many of the most powerful people in the galaxy lived. Capitalists, politicians, war mongers, all concentrated in a single location, thinking they were free from the filth of the people they believed they had risen above.

Black Kyber had studied where the old Muun lived. There were people living in this area who were guilty of dishing out information for the right price. As long as it wasn’t them being targeted, they had no problem betraying their own if it meant lining their pockets. Yet these people thought they were so high and mighty compared to those trapped in the mud.

They stood before the tall round structure, which stood well over 400 meters, and became thinner the higher it rose. Black Kyber began scaling it with their grappling hook, and specialized gloves and boots that they had developed back on the Emerald Void’s workshop. They could have used their rocket boots to propel themself up much quicker and without strain, but silent and invisible rocket boots hadn’t yet been invented. Besides, the challenge made it all the more fun. Every time they reached the end of the grappling hook and needed to fire it again, they would stab a suction cupped pole onto the flat surface as a solid handle to hang onto.

The 400-meter climb took an hour and fifteen minutes total including two breaks; one in the middle and one at the end beside their target’s window. They didn’t want to be out of breath during their time to shine. They silently congratulated themself on a record climb, relatively calculating the time taken and the length climbed. It wasn’t the furthest climb they’d ever done nor the most impressive. That would go to the 750-meter climb of a Mustafar cliff above the ocean of bubbling liquid lava that they’d done for fun, but still, it was impressive nonetheless. They doubted most other non-Force wielding individuals could have done such a climb.

One of the tips of the fingers on their gloves was designed with a slender but incredibly sharp knife: it was perfect for slicing glass. They could see San sleeping thanks to their night vision as they cut a hole in the window big enough for them to climb through. Keeping their hand suctioned to the glass to prevent it from making a noise, they silently snaked their body in through the hole. The Muun had no idea what awaited him. His long, skinny, hairless head rested on a simple yellow pillow. The rest of him blanketed by a luxurious duvet with a colour that mimicked the pillow. It was so peaceful, cute even, watching this person rest so easily after he’d resulted in the death of hundreds, thousands, even.

They wondered if he was a paranoid, anxious Muun, who feared death at every corner, or if he lived his life in blissful ignorance that death could come for him at any moment. Based on what they knew about rich people, especially those who weren’t elderly, and his peaceful, unmoving expression, they guessed the latter. But maybe the expression on his face was a facade, maybe the connection he had to the creation of a cyborg made of pure death had made him realize how close he was to it as well. Anybody across the galaxy who experienced loss at the hands of General Grievous, and knew the involvement of San Hill, most likely had a target on their wall painted with him at its center. It’s a wonder it took this long into the war for him to be targeted for Death. Or maybe he had been and the other attempts had been unsuccessful. It didn’t matter, there weren’t many bounty hunters at Black Kyber’s level.

It was time for the game to begin. First, they needed to remove the small night light emitting from the bathroom. That would ruin the effect. They took a tiny device, smaller than the tip of their finger, and placed it on San’s neck. It wasn’t the killing device, which would be too easy and not their style. Then, they walked to the far corner of the large, wide-open sleeping room, and stood perfectly still. The art of stillness is by no means an easy one. It took several years to master. They activated the device, injecting chemicals into his brain, forcing him to wake up.

He woke up groggily, sitting up in his bed, and blinked his eyes open. He yawned and itched his neck. Then he saw them, the green orbs in the corner of the room, meeting Black Kyber’s eyes. Clearly it took him a second to understand what it was, what it meant. The look of dread took a moment to settle onto his face as he must have finally registered that those green dots were connected to a body. Black Kyber chose black for moments like these where no detail was legible because the absence of light turned them into a shadow. Anyone who was worth anything should know exactly what those green dots meant. 

His mouth went agape. They could see the way his mouth was moving in an incomprehensible manner to tell that he wanted to say something but no words could escape. Black Kyber stood patiently.

“Are you looking for a job?” His voice came out as small, meek, and completely unfitting of his so-called status.

Black Kyber did not respond or move. They simply waited for the weight of what was about to transpire to settle in.

“Who-whoever’s paying you, I can pay you double, triple, anything you want!” he pleaded.

This was the elite’s language. This was the only way San Hill knew to communicate, to function. He lived and breathed money. They sat on piles of it, rarely spending arbitrary tokens of ‘value’ because they felt that the currency spoke for itself. The concept that someone could neither need nor want such a thing was more foreign to San Hill, and his ilk, than actual foreigners. 

He must have finally understood Black Kyber’s silence because he began reaching under his blanket. The terror on his face gained a small quality of determination to it, as if whatever he was about to do would save his own skin. He pulled out a micro-pistol blaster, tiny enough to be unnoticeable from under the sheets but still powerful enough to be deadly. Before he could pull the trigger, Black Kyber shot a specialized stun blast out from one of their own pistols. The Muun slumped with his full weight of his head down onto the pillow from the blast, his eyes still wide open. The pistol slipped to the floor. They were wrong: Black Kyber saw that this was a being who knew the fear of death. The blast paralyzed everything but his ability to think, hear, see, and breath.

He looked at them with wide, ghastly eyes as they made their way across the room, without a sound, stepping closer, and closer to the Muun on his deathbed. Standing over his frozen body, they pointed the blaster at San Hill’s head, switching its mode with an audible click. They steadily held there as he stared at the tip of death. It would be a painless way to go, not that pain was ever the goal. No, Black Kyber wanted to give him a chance to think about all the possible reasons someone would want him dead. They hoped he understood that this blaster wouldn’t be there if he had done something different with his life. Maybe if he hadn’t helped create that monster, or maybe if he wasn’t a part of the banking clan which were the epitome of greed, maybe then he could have lived a little longer. Black Kyber valued life, they just didn’t value the lives of those that didn’t. They were no Jedi.

Thump, thump, thump, somebody was knocking on the door.

“This is the Raxian guard! Is everything okay in there?”

San gained a glimmer of hope to his eyes as he craned them to look at the door to his right.

Unfortunately, his stewing in the feeling of death would have to be cut short. They shot a single blast into his brain, ending his life in an instant. His eyes glazed over, and blood began trickling out the near-cauterized hole in his head. The blast was loud and sharp. Anyone within a 30 meter distance would have heard it.

The door slid open and the Raxus guards burst in, blasters primed to fire. There were only three of them. Black Kyber had hoped for more. They switched their blaster to a third mode: the boring regular stun which knocked people unconscious. They took out two of them in a fraction of a second. The third one managed to get a shot out but Black Kyber blocked it with their quickly activated wrist shield. They blocked and stunned the guard at the same time. His body slumped to the ground like the rest. They never killed unless it was the job.

They looked back at the window, contemplating if they should fly back to their ship and take the easy leisurely way out. No, they stepped over the guards who were slumped by the open door and began making their way to the elevator. Pressing the button, they began waiting for the fast elevator to make its way all the way to the top floor.

Guards began pouring out the emergency staircase, but hadn’t begun firing yet. They must have required an order to shoot. The last one came through the door. Black Kyber counted ten in total, all squeezed into the not too wide hallway. The three in the front all activated large body sized shields while holding their blasters in their opposite hand. They were the only guards without helmets. The hum of ventilation hung in the air. The guards stood there without firing. Black Kyber was getting impatient.

“You’re Black Kyber,” a blond-haired woman in the middle said with slight uncertainty.

“Yes,” they responded, looking back at the elevator number which was rising rapidly within the impossibly tall building.

Black Kyber looked back to see that the woman was shaking and even more apprehensive.

“You shot someone.”

“Yes.” 

“Who was it?”

“San Hill.”

She went silent, a look of melancholy passing over her.

“Is your job finished?”

“Yes.”

Looking uncomfortable, she rubbed her teeth together in frustration. Black Kyber had a strong reputation. Part of that reputation meant that people knew that Black Kyber told the truth. They would omit information but never outright lie.

“Who hired you?”

They hesitated, knowing that a bounty hunter never reveals their client. Then again, they’d already maxed out on reputation. If they gave away their client and it got out, then jobs may become sparser as people didn’t want to lose their precious secrecy. They’d have to earn people’s trust back which could make things more interesting. Besides, this was only because their client was too interesting to keep to themself.

“The Republic.”

All of the guards shifted at the news, even the ones with helmets. The woman’s face scrunched into disgust but she stood her ground knowing Black Kyber’s reputation.

The elevator dinged open and they stepped inside the elevator, pressing the ground floor. The guards didn’t move to stop them. Taking the elevator was more interesting than flying, but it hadn’t gone the way they expected. They were used to being recognized but that was the first time they’d been let go without a fight because of it. They hoped this didn’t become a running occurrence. Combat always helped to unstiffen the joints.

The human receptionist avoided looking at Black Kyber while they exited the lobby of the extravagant condominium lobby. No one tried to stop them, not even the four guards on both the inside and exterior of the palace-like doors. They could feel eyes on them as they exited into the large, decorated, concrete courtyard with a statue of the Sith Lord Count Dooku. It was a wonder to see how the Raxians worshiped a man who was convicted of several counts of murder. They doubted that the Republic would be any better if given the chance.

The flight back to the ship from there was peaceful and relaxing. They loved the thrill of the wind on their sound converters. They couldn’t let their ears be exposed of course so they used a microphone to bring the sound through their thick armour.

Walking aboard their ship, another completed job under their belt, they made their way through the black halls, illuminated with green light, of the Black Emerald. They sat comfortably on the chair to their cockpit, getting ready to relax, or rather letting ‘her’ relax. They pressed their hands to their cheeks, finger prints activating and releasing the locks which held the helmet in place. The helmet was pulled off, allowing the black haired, brown, olive skinned girl to breathe through her own mouth for the first time in just under a week.

Black Kyber never let Marcy Wu out during a job. She breathed heavily, feeling the full brunt of the bounty hunter’s insane climb to her core. She felt weak, like her arms could never lift anything ever again. Not an uncommon feeling after even the most average job they would take. This was exactly why she had Black Kyber who was better, stronger in every way. Where would she be without them? Probably dying on the cold hard streets of Coruscant. That reminded her, it was time to visit her old home, where Marcy Wu had first crafted Black Kyber with her bare hands, her greatest accomplishment.

Chapter Text

The Black Emerald drifted through the void of space. It wasn’t completely empty, Marcy knew. It was full of forces tugging and pulling, bringing everything together, making it all one . Well, it would be at least, if it weren’t for things moving away thanks to the good ol 'big bang.

Anxiously fidgeting with her stress cube which fit neatly in both her hands, Marcy sat in the small cockpit of Black Kyber’s ship. The cube was covered in buttons, joysticks, wheels, and dials, all expertly handcrafted for her stimming needs. The feeling on her fingers and palm not only helped her to relax, but also helped her think and plan ahead. Right now, she needed to calm down. 

Black Kyber didn’t have an obligation to exist anymore.

A terror, an uncontrollable dread. Without Black Kyber, Marcy would have nothing .

Black Kyber fed on burning desire, a middle finger to boredom and hopelessness. Yet slowly but surely, these things were returning. It was as if Boredom was vaporized by the flames of power, but slowly but surely as the fire lost its fuel, it was coming back to douse what little flame Black Kyber had left.

The extrinsic purposes Black Kyber were built for were all acquired. Money, Power, these were things that Marcy had now; the good ol’ rags to riches story. That story had reached its conclusion, and what’s a good sequel if not an upending of the status quo? But no, Marcy didn’t want a new story! If Black Kyber chose to stop, if that helmet lost its life, then Marcy would be left with nothing but herself. Weak Marcy Wu would have to find her own reason to live. Currently, she only existed to serve and host Black Kyber. She liked this way of living. It had a certainty to it, a predictability.

This is why she was about to do something despite her begging for this story to continue. After all, she couldn’t say no to them. So when Black Kyber told her to talk to the Jedi, to make contact with another sentient being…

Marcy so badly wanted Black kyber to change their mind and decide it was best if they talked to the girl … but no, it was up to Marcy to talk to the Jedi. She’d kept her and Black Kyber’s identities apart for good reason. If people knew that Black Kyber and Marcy were one and the same, every bit of reputation that Black Kyber had earned would be down the drain. Maybe that’s what they wanted. She so desperately hoped that wasn’t the case.

This Jedi was clearly something special, an angel who’d lost its wing. There was something so painfully familiar to the girl that shook Marcy to her core. The terror on the Jedi's face when she’d been disarmed, there was more to it than a fear of death. This Jedi was terrified of dying a pathetic, meaningless, un-Jedi death. Marcy could only come to the conclusion that this ‘Jedi’ had never acted like a Jedi a day in her life or, at least, not in a very long time.

Marcy needed to know why. How had Black Kyber met a Jedi in the one place they thought for certain they’d never see one: in the slums of Coruscant.

The Jedi were something special to Marcy. Not even Black Kyber had ever had the honour of speaking to one before last night. Though this Jedi didn't seem to live up to the expectations, or the weight that the status of being a Jedi came with. Marcy had worshiped the Jedi at a very young age. They were the reason she decided that she’d had enough of living at that orphanage. Marcy wanted to be strong, she wanted to be a Jedi! That never happened. She wasn’t born with Midi-chlorians, microscopic sentient organisms which live in the bodies of Jedi, allowing them to use the Force. Instead, she created Black Kyber as another identity. But like rogue artificial intelligence, they evolved into something so much larger than her, as their creator. She couldn’t keep up. So instead, she was happy to let them take the wheel most of the time as long as she’d still get the chance to breathe once in a while.

Finally, Marcy gathered the courage to go check on the captive to see if she was awake. Walking through the halls of Black Kyber’s ship was always intimidating. On the scale of importance, the gap between her and Black Kyber was so large that Marcy felt terrifyingly small. She was but a jester on a king’s throne, a Tooka-cat looking at a Queen.

She entered Black Kyber’s wardrobe wearing their armour and holding their helmet in her arms. No matter how many times she’d done it before, taking off Black Kyber’s armour felt odd. It was as if she was pretending that she had more worth than the legendary bounty hunter. She looked at the body-sized mirror that came off the wall next to where Black Kyber’s armour hung gracefully, illuminated in a luxurious fashion by a green, glowing light. Marcy stood awkwardly in her gray, nylon undershirt and leggings. Her olive brown body was skinny but well muscled from the work Black Kyber used it for. She stared into her brown eyes before gazing at her helplessly tangled black hair, flattened and tousled from wearing the helmet for the past several days. If the ship got attacked now, she hoped that Black Kyber could get suited up quick enough to protect her.

She took a deep breath, “Everything’s going to be fine.” She didn’t feel assured.

The next part of changing into herself was the worst. The ship hadn’t been particularly designed with her in mind. She walked through the hallway towards her bedroom. Walking through Black Kyber’s ship without proper clothes always felt incredibly disrespectful. Luckily, Black Kyber didn’t seem to mind. Her bedroom was small and cramped with a single dresser and a thin practical bed. She got dressed in the only spot big enough inside to do so, putting on her green t-shirt and gray sweatpants. She was finally ready to ask the Jedi some questions, despite her gut still churning at the idea.

She wondered what she would say as she walked the halls. Something casual like ‘sup’ maybe? No, no, the Jedi was probably terrified. She’d need something instantly reassuring. Maybe, ‘I’m not going to hurt you, I just have some questions’? That could work, but she also had to make sure that the Jedi knew what was going on. At any sort of glance, no one would ever assume that Marcy shared a body with Black Kyber. No, she was too weak, too small. Maybe the Jedi wouldn’t even believe her. She’d have to do her best.

She entered her gaming room where the brown curly haired Jedi was held captive. It felt wrong to have someone so heavenly tied up. The woman certainly looked the part of a Jedi, practically radiating holy light like an angel. She was so absolutely stunning with beautiful brown spinel eyes that Marcy couldn’t help but sweat with her heart beating against her chest.

Normally, she’d store someone captive inside the ship’s prison, but neither she nor Black Kyber could do that to a Jedi, especially not this one.

This was completely and utterly unprecedented for the bounty hunter. They’d never even kidnapped a Jedi for a job before, let alone for something so personal. The gaming room was the only space on the ship where Marcy felt comfortable. It was a semi-large room with a sofa wide enough to fit at least four people and a large flat-screen. Sometimes Marcy wished she had other people to play with, but she always shot that idea down quickly. This was the life she’d chosen. Being alone came with Black Kyber’s job. The screen was hooked up to many different computers. Several types of controllers including a keyboard lined the wall. The air smelled of a soft, flowery scent.

The Jedi lay on the black sofa with her hands and feet bound together. Marcy hoped it didn’t seem like kidnapping too much. The restraints were only there to discourage the Jedi from touching anything in the room. Marcy did not want people touching Black Kyber’s stuff. Marcy noticed that the restrained girl’s eyes were open. She didn’t seem to have noticed Marcy’s presence yet.

“ Hi ,” Marcy’s voice came out as a squeak.

She cursed herself for letting that be the Jedi's first impression of her.

“Who-” the Jedi murmured weakly.

“It’s me, Bl-” Marcy froze. Had she really almost confused herself with Black Kyber? She hadn’t done that in so long… She didn’t feel so good anymore. “My name’s Marcy. I’m with Black Kyber.”

That should be an easier concept for the Jedi to swallow.

The Jedi’s body tensed, “Where am I?”

“You’re on Black Kyber’s ship.”

After a few seconds of silence, the tension in the Jedi’s body loosened. The knowledge must have come with a finality to it, a grave acceptance.

“Please don’t ransom me to the Jedi.”

The instant request took Marcy off guard. Why was that even her first request? The Jedi were loaded with money. A ransom for some no-name Jedi wouldn’t even put a scratch in their savings.

“We’re not going to ransom you. Black Kyber didn’t kidnap you for a job. I just want to ask you some questions and then we’ll send you back to Coruscant.”

The Jedi flinched when she mentioned the planet.

“Okay, first question,” she straightened herself, standing, looking down at the captive Jedi. “Are you actually a Jedi?”

“U-uh…” she hesitated, a look of uncertainty drawn across her face, “I am, yes.”

Marcy’s brows furrowed at the unsatisfying answer. Then she realized she forgot something important.

“Oh shoot, I forgot to ask. What’s your name?”

The Jedi hesitated again giving a shallow, “Anne… Anne Boonchuy.”

“I’m Marcy Wu!” She held out her hand for Anne to shake, momentarily forgetting that the Jedi’s hands were cuffed.

She felt embarrassed when she realized, retracting her hand. She was just so excited to have someone to talk to again, even if this Jedi didn’t seem much for conversation.

“Sorry, sorry,” she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “Okay um, next question. Why were you drinking at a bar so far away from the temple?”

Anne’s expression sagged. “I like getting away from the temple. I-I don’t belong there.”

“You’re a Jedi.”

“A shitty Jedi.”

Marcy was stunned. This was worse than she’d expected. Is that why Anne didn’t want to be ransomed, because she didn’t think she was worth the money? How could a Jedi not think they had worth? They’re literally all born special! Being born with Midi-Chlorians was a free ticket out of the slums, and an instant Jedi family.

“Why?”

Anne looked at her with an uncertain terror to her face. “‘Why’, what?”

“You know exactly what I’m asking ‘why’ about.” Marcy said with a palpable bitterness.

“N-no,” the Jedi denied, sweat forming on her face.

Marcy’s face contorted into a scowl. “Why were you in the darkest depths of Coruscant getting shit-faced when you could be lounging in your ivory tower?”

Anne’s breath stopped, her face blanketed in fear. “I-”

Marcy stepped closer to the trapped girl, towering over her. Anne began quaking rapidly. Marcy didn’t know the last time she felt this way. She could feel the anger boiling in her stomach. Was this Jedi blind? Could she really not see how easy she had it compared to the 99% of other people in the galaxy? It shouldn’t matter if she sucked at her job or not! Marcy knew for a fact that the Jedi never removed one of their own from their order unless that Jedi did something highly illegal like murder. Was this Jedi a criminal?! The Jedi’s breath increased further, becoming shallower, sounding more like gasps than breaths. Marcy took a step back, realizing that she wasn’t helping. The Jedi couldn’t talk to her in the middle of a panic attack.

“Hey, hey, you’re alright. I’m not going to hurt you,” she said, holding her empty palms up to reassure the Jedi and to show she was weaponless. “Look at me.”

Anne’s quaking eyes glanced at her.

“Can you hear me?”

The Jedi nodded.

“I’m going to hold my fingers up, and I’m going to count to five. Listen to my voice and breathe in, okay?”

Anne took a second to nod, her breathing still going a kilometer a minute.

“1… 2… 3… 4… 5…” she said, putting down a finger with each number.

Anne followed, holding her breath as Marcy counted down.

“Again, but out now, 1… 2… 3… 4… 5…” She opened up a finger for each number.

Anne followed again.

They repeated this motion nine more times. Anne’s breathing came back to a steady rate.

“Are you okay now?” Marcy, asked with concern in her voice. She didn’t yet understand what was going on with the Jedi. She shouldn’t have judged her so quickly.

Anne nodded again.

“Can I ask about you again?”

“...Y-yes,” she eventually croaked out.

“Okay… let’s start small. Where are you from?

Anne blinked a few times. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know,” Marcy said in disbelief.

“N-no?”

“Aren’t they supposed to tell you as soon as they can?”

“Only if you ask. I didn’t think it was important,” Anne croaked out.

Marcy’s jaw hit the floor. “You didn’t think it was important?!” She asked incredulously.

“N-no? I’m just another human. I don’t have any memories from there.”

“It doesn’t matter what you are!” This Jedi was giving her a headache. “You have parents that loved you enough to send you to live with the Jedi in order to live a life of luxury , and you don’t even know who they are?!” She took a big gulp of air to try and cool herself from her rage.

Anne stared at her befuddled and scared.

“Okay, okay. Sorry about that. Let’s do another question. Who is your master?”

“My current master is Shaak Ti but-” she gulped and trembled “-my last master, he-he left the order.”

Marcy took note of that. She doubted it could explain everything but it probably still hurt.

“I’m sorry.” The apology came out forced from her. She couldn’t help it. It felt wrong feeling sorry for a member of the group she knows as a form of the elite.

Anne said nothing in response.

“I’m sorry to ask but-” she wasn’t. She needed to know, “is that why you seem so… depressed?”

…

“…No.”

Marcy nodded, encouraging her to elaborate.

“...My friend, she left the Jedi.”

“How close were the two of you?”

Anne opened her mouth but closed it again. Her eyes seemed to stare off into nothing.

Marcy waited patiently for her to say something but minutes turned into seconds and the Jedi remained silent with her vacant look. Marcy got the gist. This wasn’t really that high on her priority list.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to answer that.”

Anne’s gaze returned back to Marcy. She let out a deep huff.

“Last question.” Marcy’s voice gained an edge to it, knowing that this question was the one that would hurt Anne the most. “Do you still want to be a Jedi?”

The oxygen in Anne’s chest felt like it was punched out from her chest. Of course she wanted to be a Jedi! She couldn’t live without them… but was that even the question? No, of course not. She knew that Marcy wouldn’t be satisfied with just a ‘yes’. The real question was much more sinister than that. It threatened to undermine her very being. This wasn’t just about luxury, this was about Anne to her very core. Who was this ‘Marcy’ anyways? How dare she ask Anne such questions on Black Kyber’s behalf! Also, as far as she knew from what she’d been taught, Black Kyber was a solo bounty hunter. Either Black Kyber had been lying to the galaxy or something was off.

“Who are you?” Anne asked, trying to muster up all the courage left in her body.

“Answer the question!!” Marcy barked.

“N-no!” Her voice came out shrill. “Tell me who you are first!”

She could see Marcy quaking as her face turned red with rage, but Anne also knew fear when she saw it. 

“You’re not in a position to be asking questions! I could send you into the cold abyss of space.”

“Then do it,” Anne said, hoping to call out Marcy’s bluff. If Marcy went through all this trouble to talk to Anne, then it wouldn’t make sense for Marcy to kill her yet.

Cracks of fear seeped through Marcy’s scowl. Her quaking gave way to trembling. Her eyes began pleading with Anne to stop, but the Jedi wouldn’t budge.

Marcy looked at the floor. “I guess you have the right to know,” she muttered.

Anne internally gave a sigh of relief. If her hunches were correct, based on the first thing that Marcy nearly said to her, then she could have been in serious trouble.

Marcy’s eyes locked back onto Anne’s. “Me and Black Kyber we’re- well… we’re not the same person but-.” She abruptly stopped and looked at the floor again. “Sorry, I’ve never had to explain this before,” she returned to her muttering. She gave another huff and returned to eye contact again. “Black Kyber’s another part of me.”

Anne blinked in surprise. “You mean, they’re a secret identity?”

Marcy shook her head. “I’m just some nobody. Black Kyber’s… they’re who I wish I was, I guess.” She gave a nervous chuckle.

“But- Black Kyber’s a part of you.”

“Yeah. When I put the mask on, Black Kyber comes out and when they take it off, I come back out.”

“Is this a mental health disorder?” The Jedi had told her about such things but they’d never mentioned this.

“No-no-no, it’s not a dissociative identity disorder. Functionally maybe, because they’re designed to protect me. I can still see through their eyes and Black Kyber can still see through mine. Personality wise, we’re not completely different. Although I wish we were.” She rubbed the back of her head. “Then you wouldn’t have to be stuck here. Black Kyber is curious like me.” 

Anne… didn’t really know what to think of that. So they were the same person but they also weren’t? Was Black Kyber more of a confidence booster than anything? Anne realized that this now meant that she’d have to talk about her relationship to the Jedi. She groaned at the idea.

“Are you going to answer my question now?”

Anne stared at the couch cushions. “Sure… could I um, sit up to say this?” It felt truly humiliating having to talk while being pinned to the couch.

“Oh, right! Of course.”

Marcy lifted Anne into an upright sitting position.

Anne sighed in defeat. “I don’t want to leave the Jedi.”

“Why?” Marcy quickly asked in response.

There it was, the true dreaded question. Anne wanted to find a way around it, she needed to… no, she couldn’t run any longer. She knew, sooner or later, the truth would catch up with her. It hurt so damn badly, but that didn’t matter. Her greatest fear was always destined to come true.

Anne quavered, “I-I just didn’t want to be alone.”

Anne’s words gripped onto Marcy’s heart and threatened to tear it apart. She felt her teeth quiver and her stomach squirm…

It was a sentiment she hadn’t known since before Black Kyber, before she had accepted that she would be forever alone. It brought her back to a time when she dreamt of a family. Maybe someone would adopt her, but no one came, no one wanted her. It should have been easy. Nobody cared for her so she cared for no one in return. Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. Marcy had felt herself being suffocated inside the dimly lit black halls of the Black Emerald, too afraid to enter the public so she turned to Black Kyber, because they feared nothing, because they didn’t fear being alone…

Marcy registered through the tears blurring her vision, the Jedi looking at her with solemn solidarity. She brushed her fingers against her cheeks which were blanketed with a teary waterfall. 

“I’m sorry,” the Jedi said in a quiet, small voice.

Marcy opened her lips to scream, to say that she didn’t want pity. Not even a squeak could emerge. She felt so helpless. She shouldn’t have come here. She needed Black Kyber.

“ Please don’t drop me off on Coruscant ,” Anne’s plea was so quiet Marcy nearly missed it.

“ What? ” Anne’s request caught her completely off guard, ripping her out of her spiral, and sending her crashing into solid reality.

“ Pl-ease,” Anne said a bit louder, choking over the word. She was quivering. “You didn’t say it, but you’re right. I don’t want to be a Jedi. I could never be a real Jedi.”

Silently, this was what Marcy had hoped for. So why did she feel desolate? Why was she shaking? She never expected to have something in common with a Force wielder, but… she understood. She could feel it. Anne’s Black Kyber was gone, and it hurt.

An inch of an idea began worming its way through Marcy’s brain, one that could solve their shared loneliness. It was truly, undoubtedly, the most terrifying thought she’d ever had. Could she really trust this stranger? If Anne turned out to be just another bully… No. Anne was raised by Jedi. Between the two of them, Anne was the only one to have compassion fed to her. Maybe this could work, and maybe this could even convince Black Kyber to continue going. Black Kyber didn’t have to just exist for her, they could exist for both of them.

“Anne.”

Anne looked up from the ground she found so interesting.

“Would you like to live on the ship with me?”

Marcy’s offer didn’t fit into the puzzle inside Anne’s head. Sure, Anne knew that Marcy understood the terror of being alone, but that didn’t justify it, did it? Surely Marcy wouldn’t be so desperate for a friend to invite Anne Boochuy, the deserter Jedi, the bottom dweller, into her home. Suddenly she realized what leaving the Jedi would mean: her master, her , and now Anne herself, all gone from the Jedi Temple. It’s like anyone who touched her first master was destined to leave.

“Anne?” Marcy’s voice called out.

“I-I don’t understand. Why? ”

“I… I don’t want you to suffer, and-” Marcy hiccupped. “Having someone else on the ship could be nice.”

“You want me…?” Anne asked, in disbelief.

“Yes! I don’t care how shitty you think you are. You may not be good as a Jedi but do you even know how you are as just a regular human being?!”

Anne had never thought about that before. She’d always compared herself to the greatest people in the galaxy. The same people who she’d been desperately trying and failing to imitate. If she was no longer a Jedi, did she have to live up to their standards anymore? Could she just be Anne Boonchuy? Marcy didn’t seem all that great, despite having one of the galaxy's greatest bounty hunters as a part of her. Marcy looked to be almost just as much of a wreck as Anne was. Maybe, just maybe, this could be okay.

“Thank you,” Anne said with all the sincerity in the galaxy. It had been too long since she could be honest.

“You’re welcome.” Marcy smiled and Anne could feel all the tension in the room melting with its warmth.

“If it’s not too much to ask, could you unbind me please?”

“Oh right! Let me get that for you.” 

Chapter Text

Anne looked into the mirror and saw herself. She seemed different from what she saw last time she checked. The ghastly, sunken eyes she’d worn for years now had a glimmer, a spark, to them. It was refreshing, almost like she’d just woken up from a long nap. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, but the spark didn’t dim. For the first in a very long time, Anne felt like she could live, not for the sake of it, but because maybe the future wouldn’t be so bad.

Unfortunately, the slight look of decency on her face couldn’t stop the pitch black cloak in her hands from making her cringe. Marcy clearly hadn’t considered the implications of the black cloak when she’d handed it to Anne. To Marcy, it was merely a disguise so Anne would look like more of a bounty hunter and less of a Jedi. Anne hoped that she was right, and that the cloak’s Sith-like connotations were visual and nothing more. She really didn’t want to have to start calling herself Darth Anne-nihilus. 

Taking a deep sigh, Anne put on the cloak, having already taken off her cheap street cloak. At least she still had her Jedi robes beneath it. Anne stared down at the black military grade boots next to her feet. Pulling them on, they were snug on her feet but eventually fit with some adjustments.

The reason for the change in outfit was irritating. Anne always had an up-hill battle saying no … even before her self esteem went down the drain. She may not be a Jedi anymore, but that didn’t mean she was okay with being a criminal.

Marcy had begged Anne to go bounty hunting with Black Kyber. Anne had tried to convince Marcy that she and the bounty hunter were the same person, but Marcy was adamant. She seemed to have this mental barrier preventing herself from recognizing the fact that she was extremely talented, with or without Black Kyber. Fine, Anne wasn’t complaining, she was just happy that someone wanted her company.

Marcy had promised that this job was not only legal but was also paid for by the monarch of the planet. It was a mission to slay a few Herons. These were large, deadly birds that were considered to be the deadliest creatures in the entirety of Amphibia, which according to Marcy, was known for its deadly creatures. This made Anne’s stomach do a few flips. She'd never heard of the planet before, even with the Jedi's astronomy lessons. Marcy said it was because the planet was completely off the radar of any outside travelers including the Republic and the Separatists. No doubt, the deadly creatures had a role to play in that.

Anne couldn’t say she wasn’t at all interested in this new opportunity. When the Jedi deemed her unfit to join in the Clone Wars, she’d accepted that she would never get a chance to leave Coruscant. Yet, here she was, in the cockpit of a spacecraft flying to a practically uncharted planet. Although, how or why an untouched civilization could create a bounty was a mystery.

“Black Kyber intends to figure that out,” Marcy said with an excited smirk.

The lush green and blue planet grew in size the closer they got to it. It was mesmerizing the way the sunlight reflected and cast it in a heavenly glow. She’d seen planets in pictures and holograms but nothing compared with what she saw before her.  Anne now understood why the Jedi revered planets as celestial objects of worship. A melancholic feeling washed over her. If only she could have seen this with the Jedi. If only she could have been better.

“Are you okay?” Marcy asked concerned.

Anne’s gut instinct was to lie, to say that everything was fine. It took her a second to remember that she didn’t have to; Marcy already knew who she was.

“No-... I-I don’t think so,” Anne quavered.

“Have you ever seen a planet from space before?”

“I’d never been off Coruscant before.”

Marcy blinked at Anne with a confused look. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Yeah, it’s… not common.”

Marcy’s surprise gave way to understanding. “I’m sorry.”

“ … It’s okay. At least I get to now.” Anne gave a smile, but she could feel it being diluted with sorrow.

Entering the planet's atmosphere was just as stunning, if not moreso, than seeing the planet from space. It was a marvel seeing the lush green trees growing larger and more detailed the closer they got. Anne knew that Coruscant was a concrete jungle but she’d never actually known what a jungle really looked like. Her expectations were easily exceeded by the expansive  lush green canopy that stretched out far above the ground. The only tree she’d ever seen, the great tree in the temple, would have been a spec compared to these goliaths. While flying the ship, Marcy kept glancing back at Anne with a look of intrigued excitement on her face. Eventually, the thick forest gave way to flat ground with an ocean and a small, colorful city sparkling in the distance. Anne couldn’t help but be giddy as the ship landed before the bright water which stretched well past the horizon.

Marcy had asked Anne to wait in the room with the giant black flat screen while the bounty hunter went to change. Lounging on the couch without her wrists bound, Anne could appreciate the comfortable room. The couch was cozy, allowing Anne to sink into it. The walls seemed to be made from a pale green painted plaster giving the illusion that it wasn’t part of the ship. The floor was carpeted in a fluffy maroon. The lighting somehow felt natural, like it was high noon with the sun shining in. Anne didn’t even know that was possible to replicate. And the air … it smelled fresher than anything Anne had ever breathed before. Not even the Jedi temple was safe from the smog of Coruscant. Anne patiently looked forward to Marcy coming back, even if she would return as Black Kyber. Having someone to look forward to seeing was refreshing.

Black Kyber entered through a gray, metal door. Anne couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time she saw those cold green eyes.

“Are you ready?” Black Kyber said with a voice that never failed to unnerve Anne.

Anne was excited to explore the planet, but the couch was also very comfy. She thought about it for a second and realized she’d forgotten something.

“Wait, um… do you have something I could use instead of my lightsaber?” Anne remembered the green blade that Marcy hit her which didn’t slice her in half. 

“Why? Your lightsaber would be useful for the mission.”

“I know it’s just-” Anne bit her lower lip, “I don’t feel comfortable using it.”

Black Kyber didn’t respond for a few seconds. Anne hoped they understood.

“Fine. Come with me,” they gestured to Anne to follow back through the door.

Leaving the cozy room into the hallway felt like entering a black hole. The dim green lighting was just enough to see the way but not enough to create any detail on the black walls. The lower level of oxygen felt suffocating, and the hum of the ship engine made Anne realize that it was absent from the couch room.

The weapons room was the largest room Anne had yet seen on the ship. The tables lined with weapons were covered in that strange green light. Unlike the rest of the ship which had small round lights on the ceiling, this room had a thin band of green light separating the walls from the ceiling. A full thin black bodysuit lay haphazardly on top of one the weapon display tables. Before Anne could ask about it, Black Kyber had already read her mind. 

“An invisibility suit, the only one in the galaxy. I meant to put it in my trophy room after I bought it on Coruscant, but you distracted me.”

Trophy room? Is that what they called their armoury?

“I put it here because it was convenient. I don’t plan on using it.”

“What, why?” Anne asked a bit baffled, although not anymore than she’d been for the past day.

“Takes the enjoyment out of my job; it makes stealth too easy. It’s also not good for my reputation. Invisibility is for cowards and warfare.”

“Why’d you buy it then? How did you even find it?”

“I’ve been around the galaxy. I know a few people who work as top secret military specialists. No matter how powerful these people think they are, they’ll still listen to money. Why I bought it? It was expensive and the technology is brand new. It’s more of a status symbol than anything.”

“Sooo… do you plan on showing it to anyone else?” Anne didn’t think Black Kyber was a showoff.

“No.”

“So it’s just going to sit inside your trophy room and collect dust?”

“I have a droid that dusts.”

Black Kyber hit an invisible button on their wrist which flashed for a split-second causing part of the wall to split in two, sliding horizontally like a door. Instead of revealing a hallway, a rack of swords and hilts were illuminated in the same green lighting. It was another reminder that Anne was very lucky to be alive.

“You may have whatever you want.”

Anne stepped forward, trying to get a better look at the swords on the green wall. One of the sabers caught her attention immediately. It was a small hilt that looked indistinguishable from a lightsaber. Anne knew it wasn’t because she couldn’t feel the Force vibrations from a kyber crystal.

“My replica lightsaber. Nearly perfectly mimics the function of a lightsaber. The only problems are the weight and that it doesn’t cut. It’s heavier than a lightsaber and, instead of cutting, it discharges an electrical pulse into your target’s body, leaving them paralyzed.”

Ah. That must have been what they used against her.

“Does it come in any colour other than green?”

Black Kyber nodded. They walked over to the wall and picked the hilt that Anne was looking at off the wall. They twisted a dial on the light saber and then ignited it, casting them both in a bright Jedi blue, perfectly replicating the look and sound of a lightsaber. It hummed in their hand as they passed the blade to Anne. Holding it with two hands, Anne could instantly tell just from the weight that it was a replica. The blade was clearly not pure energy. There must have been something keeping the blade in place. It was barely noticeable, but the weight distribution on this blade was going to take some adjusting.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It is custom made. Are you ready now?”

Anne gave her best, brave nod. Despite knowing that what she was about to do was fully legal, the pit of despair in her stomach failed to cease. Maybe it was because her new, and only friend, had committed murder. She did her best to shake that thought out of her head before taking a dry, shallow swallow. 

“I’ll leave my lightsaber here then.” 

They gave a single nod. 

The two of them walked to the entrance of the ship. Anne watched with interest as Black Kyber hit a passcode on the wall which flashed yellow. The door in front of them folded and extended forward until it hit the ground. Blinding white light spilled in from the outdoors painfully reminding Anne of how she got here. Steps folded out mechanically one by one from the top until the ramp became a staircase. Anne’s eyes adjusted from the moody lighting on the ship into the beautiful outdoors. A breeze slipped on board and was sweet with the smell of growing plants, damp soil, and salty moisture from the nearby ocean. 

Black Kyber stared at her, already standing on the ground, studying and reading her like a holocron. Anne couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. She’d spent too long trying to avoid the attention of others. They beckoned for her to step down.

The grass crumpled beneath Anne’s boots as she stepped onto a planet that looked to be untouched by civilization. She took in another deep breath of the sweet air and looked toward the ocean, watching the sun reflect off the rolling surf. She noticed Black Kyber standing closer to the sea by a cliff, studying her. Anne, feeling embarrassed, decided that she should not take up any more of Black Kyber’s time.

“Don’t worry,” Black Kyber said, evidently seeing Anne’s expression as she made her way towards the bounty hunter. “I enjoy watching you experience a new planet for the first time.”

“Yeah, okay.” Anne said, still embarrassed. Feeling like a child again had its ups and downs. She didn’t really like being babysat. “Is that where the King is?” she asked, looking at the city surrounded in one giant white circular wall. 

“Yes, that’s Newtopia. Most of the people there are called Newts.”

“How are we going to get there?”

“By walking,” Black Kyber said before jumping down the side of the cliff.

Anne rushed over to the cliff edge, her heart skipping a beat, to see that it was a relatively short jump. She could feel her face heating up. Could she get any more incompetent? Black Kyber stood on a thin beach, looking up at Anne.

“I’m coming,” Anne grumbled before jumping down onto the white sand. The crunch beneath her feet as she landed was satisfying.

“Your boots are waterproof. Let’s go,” They said, and then walked into the ocean.

Anne stared at them walking for ten seconds before realizing that the water wasn’t going above their boots. She looked closer at the ocean and realized that the water wasn’t even thirty centimeters high. Sighing, she realized that any preconception she had about anything was likely going to be wrong. Not wanting to be left behind, she splashed to catch up.

The wind whipped against her hair, cooling her from the hot sun, and the warm, shallow water. Anne realized that the silence between her and Black Kyber was making her feel uncomfortable, an oddly nostalgic feeling. Being alone was familiar to a girl who grew up as a lame Jedi, and now she found herself missing Marcy’s friendly chatter. 

“How do you know about this planet?”

“Read a book about it.”

Splish, splish, splish…

“Could you tell me more about it?” 

Black Kyber stopped abruptly, causing Anne to stumble. “I don't do conversation.”

“Please,” Anne whined like a needy child.

She swore she heard Marcy huff beneath Black Kyber’s filter as they stared off into the horizon.

“There are three major species of people on this planet that I’m aware of.” Black Kyber continued walking. Anne followed suit.

Anne silently celebrated that Black Kyber acquiesced to her request.

“Newts, toads, and frogs. That’s the order of the hierarchy here. The newts are the most wealthy with the best education. The toads are born for military to keep the frogs in line.”

“Woah. That’s awful. Why would the species that you're born as determine where you are in society?”

“Unlike with the Jedi, it’s common in most parts of the galaxy for different species to be prejudiced against one another. Even within species, people find reasons to hate one another for arbitrary reasons.”

“Oh,” Anne said awkwardly.

You’re lucky you were born human. In every Republic and Separatist controlled world, humans have the most privilege.” 

Splish, splish, splish… Did Black Kyber just say they weren’t human?

Splish, splish, splish… Finally they reached two towering golden doors which were open wide. The white, stone walls were nothing in comparison to the scale of Coruscant but it was still impressive. Some type of pink rock climbed tree-like, up parts of the walls.

Not wanting to keep Black Kyber, or the King waiting, Anne hurried in through the doors after the bounty hunter.

Anne felt like she’d stepped into a painting. Not even the Jedi temple looked so beautiful, nor were the Coruscant neon signs as colourful as what Anne was looking at. The warm tones on the sloped, sometimes curved roofs, complimented gold trimmed, white walls. She realized that those pink and orange columns that were reaching up the walls weren’t rocks at all. They were plants, they had to be. They ran up walls, some spread out like a flower, others stuck out though roofs. It was alive just as much as she was and it belonged here more than she did. The impression of immense age emanated through every crack and misshapen stone tile. Anne knew Coruscant was old, but this city took age to a whole new level. The age here was paraded, worshiped. The cracks belonged just as much as the plants and the people did. Age here meant wisdom, and suddenly Anne felt at home.

“This isn’t right.” Black Kyber’s statement snapped Anne out of her wonder.

Anne looked around at the architecture trying to see what was out of place or missing. Then it hit her. For all of the beautiful architecture, cracks, and plants, there wasn’t a single person. Each house had its blinds tightly closed. That’s why it felt like a painting. There was no movement, no sound except for the gentle breeze. Her chest tightened.

“Maybe we should come back another time?” Anne said, feeling like an intruder.

“No. I’m going to find out why,” they said and began walking.

Anne dashed to keep up. She didn’t want to be alone on the empty streets which no longer felt inviting. Black Kyber walked through thin alley ways, big wide empty roads which Anne could only assume were meant to be full of life.

“Have you been here before?” she asked because Black Kyber seemed to know the way.

“No. We wouldn’t be here if I had.”

“Ah.”

Anne wanted only to appreciate the incredible city but couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Maybe it was just anxiety, which Anne always had a lot of even when she was small. No, this wasn’t just anxiety. Something was wrong. Not even a light could be seen from inside a building.

They eventually came to the bottom of the steepest, tallest staircase Anne had ever seen. Not even the steps to the Jedi temple were this tall. The steps were thin too, just wide enough for maybe two people to walk side by side. The worst part was the lack of handrails. Black Kyber didn’t seem to mind. They began trekking up them without hesitation. Anne cautiously followed. Her mind couldn’t help but think of all the ways she could plummet to her untimely demise. As they reached the top, Anne was thankful that her muscles were toned from walking up and down stairs in her frequent nights away from the temple. 

It wasn’t too long before they began approaching the wide open golden gate of the castle. Anne realized that she could see someone ahead. Black Kyber must have seen them as well so they picked up their pace. As they approached, the guard appeared to quiver. Anne hoped it wasn’t because of her.

“We’re here to see King Andrias,” Black Kyber said.

“R-right!” The guard newt saluted them but didn’t make eye contact. His face beaded with liquid. Anne knew enough about other species not to assume that it was sweat.

The golden gates opened with a loud rumbling boom echoing into silence. The tension in the air felt tighter. 

“You’re early- sorry, I just need to- I’ll be right back!” the newt desperately scurried into the castle.

Anne was stunned. Did Black Kyber tell them when they were coming? She doubted it. Why was he so afraid if Black Kyber was meant to be here? What was going on?

The guard newt came back leading a pale teal newt in an elegant gown. Her sagging expression hinted at a lack of sleep. This newt was so well dressed that Anne was mildly surprised she didn’t wear a crown. Although maybe those weren’t a thing here.

The guard newt squeaked “Lady Olivia will see to you,” and promptly ran back to his post. 

“I presume you wish to speak with the king,” Lady Olivia said with an edge, managing to retain a regal manner.

“Yes,” Black Kyber responded.

“Follow me.”

They made their way through the lavish castle. The decor was about what Anne had expected right down to the sombre paintings and sullen statues, but something she’d never considered, in her idea of what a castle looked like, were the cultural influences. Motifs from the wider city were also present within the castle except with a more luxurious flair. 

They came to two doors nearly as big as the front gate. The newt swung them open in one simple motion. Colors and light poured out bathing Anne in warm sunlight that was filtered through massive stained-glass windows. The light cast the room in a multitude of hues complimenting the room’s walls. Three massive pillars flanked each side of the room, focusing Anne’s direction on a behemoth of a king sitting on his throne, light casting over his shoulders. Their guide walked forward through into the throne room before stopping a few meters from the king.

“Your Majesty, you have visitors,” she said to him, matter of factly.

Anne knew king-sized beds were large but this was absurd. This king dwarfed everyone in the room, standing easily eight-feet tall. Everything about him was regal, his size, his throne, his crown, his outfit, his grim expression … everything. Lady Olivia stepped to the side.

“Thank you, Lady Olivia,” the giant king’s grave voice echoed through the room and Lady Olivia gave a small bow. “I apologize if the two of you have had any issues finding your way here. This city wasn’t exactly built for space travelers.” His booming voice filled the room with an aura of dread.

“We’re here for the bounty,” Black Kyber stated.

The king blinked with surprise before he appeared to remember. “I did send that out didn’t I?” He chuckled nervously, clasping his giant teal hands together. “I apologize for my memory. I’ve recently been preoccupied by something else.”

His face turned stern, “The two of you need to leave now .” Any sense of joviality left his voice.

As if on cue, a blond-haired, pink newt outfitted in shiny metal armour slammed open the throne room doors, “My lord, they’re here!” she said, looking up at the king desperately.

“Do not close the gates, do not engage,” the king instructed the armoured newt. He looked back down at Anne and Marcy. “I’m sorry. It’s too late,” he said with sorrow.

“T-too late for what?” Anne's body was flooded with unstoppable dread.

“The Separatists have come to invade.”

Chapter Text

 7 years ago

The room was unbearably still.

Now more than ever, Sasha wished there was a white noise to fill the gap in her ears. The Jedi told her that any uncontrolled noise tore through the peace in one’s mind. Rancor-shit. If silence created peace, then why was her heart racing at lightspeed? Why did she feel the desire to tear herself limb from limb and then sloppily congeal herself back together? Of course, it wasn’t all the Jedi's fault. It wasn’t their fault that Sasha’s brain was broken. The Jedi always talked of taking full control of one’s own mind and body. Well Sasha couldn’t do that; she couldn’t stop her sloppy brain from thinking certain thoughts, thoughts she would do anything to dispel. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. Sasha was as uncontrollable to herself as she was to anyone else.

Her once cozy dormitory room was now a desert, void of hopes and dreams. The maroon curtains, that would inevitably be filled with sunlight, were nothing but a lifeless, black detail in the middle of the night. She was by no means unfamiliar with the qualities of the dark. She’d snuck out many times past dusk into the unknown, each time getting into more daring, more dangerous territory. Why did she do it? She told herself it was for the thrill but, in reality, she couldn’t say. The Jedi always warned about the enticing effect of the dark side of the Force. Maybe Sasha simply wasn’t strong enough to stay away. Maybe it was just another thing to do with Anne…

The white ceiling, blanketed in a fuzzy lack of light, was nice to look at.

…

Sasha sighed, rolling over to face the wall. She would miss this cozy bed, the warm, red tiled floor, the streaming sun through the clean window. She didn’t want this coming day to be the last, but it was inevitable. Sasha Waybright was a good liar. She could lie about almost anything: where she’d been, if she’d been responsible for something, or even if she’d paid attention. Math classes were the worst. She chuckled painfully at how inconsequential it all was, because she’d finally found something that she truly couldn’t lie about. She hated it so, so much. She couldn’t describe how much she loathed being so helpless to herself. The Jedi always said that hate was a dangerous word, that it was a gateway drug to violence. Well, too bad. Sasha felt hate and there was nothing anyone, not even Sasha herself, could do about it.

Watching the time on her green glowing clock pass slowly felt like being dipped in the boiling tars of Mustafar and having a crane slowly lift her out. Inevitably, and outside of her control, sunlight began filtering its way through the curtains. She knew she had to get up. She knew she had to start the day. There was an invisible weight on her chest holding her down. She was supposed to be stronger than this, able to strike down any foe. Evidently, invisible enemies weren’t on her list. She still had to try to break her chains. The longer she waited, the harder it became to leave, and the despair she felt in her soul grew.

More time passed and minutes turned into an hour. Her helplessness only made her loathing grow. Sasha Waybright was supposed to be strong! She couldn’t even utter a word. 

Knock, knock, knock. “Sasha, is everything okay?” Anne’s sound of concern made Sasha’s stomach drop.

“I’m okay. I just need a minute.” The lie spilled out as naturally as she could breathe.

Anne hesitated, “Are you sure? Do you want me to bring you something?”

“N-no! I’m fine.” She didn’t like the urgency coming from her own mouth.

“...Okay.” Anne’s sound of resignation constricted Sasha’s heart. She hated it. She needed to make it stop.

It was enough to push through the weight and break her chains. Today would be the day. She would not delay any further. No matter how much she dreaded it, the alternative was worse: stewing in her own shame, her lack of control. No, today was a choice. One that was hers and hers alone. Either her life would be fixed, or it would become a catastrophe. She hoped for the former but, regardless, it would be in her control.

Opening her door, her heart skipped a beat seeing Anne waiting for her.

“Hey Sash.” Anne beamed with a smile that warmed Sasha to her core. “I heard you getting up so I figured I’d wait.”

“Ar-aren’t you missing class?” Sasha asked, trying to keep herself together.

“Master Yoda said he’s fine with me being late. As long as I make sure you’re okay.”

God, Anne’s concern. If only Sasha could be half as good as her. It made her sick to her stomach knowing she was so close to potentially losing the one person in her life that mattered. If only she could give herself brain damage and forget everything. 

Anne’s smile dropped, “Seriously Sasha. You’ve been distant lately. Could you please talk to me?”

Anne wasn’t normally one to ask something of Sasha and whenever she did, it was never good. 

“I will today. I promise. Just not right now. It’s too early for this,” she rubbed her eyes as if to prove her point.

Anne looked at her with a slight smile but also a hint of skepticism. “Okay, let’s go get you some food.”

The cafeteria for younglings was empty. As usual after every meal, all of the round padded chairs were flipped over and put on top of the tables with the backs hanging off. It was expected but still left a bad taste in Sasha’s mouth. Anne led her over to a table that had two of its chairs in a regular seating position. A plate of Sasha’s comfort food lay before one of the chairs.

“It wasn’t what was on the menu today, but I figured I’d ask since you’re feeling down.”

She nearly choked on her own spit from Anne’s kindness.

“Are you okay?!” Anne asked urgently, “sorry, did I upset you?”

She wanted to say ‘no’, but her throat wasn’t responding. The ugly truth was that Anne did upset her, not because she’d done something wrong but because Sasha was faulty. So instead, Sasha silently sat down in front of her food and tried to enjoy the little time she had left here. Any remnant of an apatite she’d once had was gone. Anne sat next to her with a worried look, as Sasha prodded her once appealing food.

“You don’t don’t have to go to class today if you don’t want to, Sash.”

“If you go to class, I’ll go too,” she said meekly.

Anne looked at her in disbelief. “I have to go to class, but I don't want you coming if you're not feeling up to it.”

“I am feeling up to it.” She mumbled knowing full well that she wasn’t. She couldn’t stand to spend the rest of the day alone. She needed to spend time with Anne while she still could.

Anne clearly didn’t buy it. “Fine, just- tell me when you’re ready to talk.”

She nodded, staring at her cold food. “I will.”

She could feel the stares coming from the other padawans as they breathed down her neck, trying to identify her weakness. Sasha’s notoriety for being strong was coming back to bite her. Oh, but the Jedi didn’t pray on weakness, according to every Jedi ever. She couldn’t give less of a shit about what the Jedi said. Her own experience told its own story; one where she was engaged in a game of information. She’d always had a rein on the game, holding almost every card and keeping them tight to her chest. The only other person who held a card was Anne, not by Sasha’s choice, but she trusted her friend not to play it against her.

She was too trapped in her own head to listen to a peep at what the Jedi masters were saying, which was only slightly less than what she usually paid attention to even on a good day. What she did notice were the constant looks of worry that Anne sent her way. She tried so hard to ignore them, but the harder she tried, the more she became ensnared by Anne’s brown eyes. Luckily, none of the Jedi masters attempted to speak with her. She didn’t know what unholy luck she managed to snag because the Jedi loved talking to Padawans who were feeling even the slightest bit sad. Maybe it had to do with them knowing for a fact that if Sasha hadn’t talked to Anne yet about her problems, there was no way in hell she would be talking to anyone else.

Lunch time came and Sasha couldn’t take it anymore. She was only getting more and more anxious the longer the day went on. It didn’t matter that she was spending her last day with Anne. If she didn’t get it off her chest, she was going to go mad.

“Hey,” Sasha spoke the first word she’d said since the two of them talked over Sasha’s untouched breakfast. 

The two of them sat side by side in the cafeteria while the other padawans cheerfully chatted, blissfully unaware of what Sasha was about to do. 

Anne startled at Sasha’s sudden conversation. “Hi,” she said with a drained smile.

Guilt pooled over Sasha from worrying her best friend sick. “We can talk,” she muttered.

Anne gave a relieved sigh. “Okay, I promise I won’t judge.”

Normally she would have complete faith in her friend not to judge. Anne was the queen of not judging. This time, Sasha knew it was too much. This wasn’t something Anne was just going to swallow without choking.

“I’m leaving the Jedi.” 

She looked over to see Anne’s hazel brown face had turned a sickly gray. The look of horror on the girl’s face was enough to suck the air out of Sasha’s lungs. 

“What?” Anne’s shock was hushed, but also deafeningly loud.

“I’m not meant to be a Jedi and you know it.”

“...But- this is your home. Can’t you just stay so that we can be together?” Anne’s plea turned desperate.

Sasha wanted to scream. She couldn’t handle it, knowing that Anne was too perfect, too innocent. Anne didn’t deserve this, and Sasha didn’t deserve Anne.

“I-I,” If only she could ask Anne to come with her, but she couldn’t. She was selfish, but not selfish enough to ask Anne to leave her life behind, to spend the rest of her time with Sasha. “I’m leaving,” she said through choked words while standing up. “Don’t follow me.” Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she held them in. If she allowed any emotion to show, the possibility of a breakdown was inevitable, and leaving this hellhole prison would be impossible.

She didn’t, couldn’t look back at the one face which would haunt her dreams.

It wasn’t until she’d made her way out of the temple, heading to the top of the stairs leading toward her escape under the noon sun, that footsteps grew increasingly frantic behind her.

“Sasha, please stop!” Anne said, gasping through shortened breaths.

Her legs stopped and her eyes met Anne’s against her own permission. Their master Shaak Ti stood a bit behind Anne while still in earshot much to Sasha’s dismay.

Anne’s face remained a ghost of her happy-go-lucky self. Sasha prayed that Anne could get better, could move on, and find a friend better than Sasha. She prayed that Anne was better than her.

“Please Sasha,” Anne said through choked breaths. “Talk to me! Is this about the Jedi’s rules? We-we can work something out. Please,“ Anne’s voice became hushed. “I need you,” she begged, grabbing on to Sasha’s wrists.

Her will nearly broke right then and there, being so close to Anne. She could feel her heartbeat rising at an alarming rate, and her desire to crumble into Anne’s soft arms became impossible to ignore, but… Shaak Ti was there. It wasn’t that she had anything against her former master. It was just… no, she couldn’t do it.

Pulling her arms away from Anne’s grasp hurt incomprehensibly. The deep unending look of hurt and betrayal wasn’t like any sick day, nor like any look of judgment a padawan could give her. ‘Please,’ Anne barely mouthed. No, Sasha had no words for this so she did what she could and turned and began walking away.

“Sasha.” Shaak Ti’s words called out with her her usual serenity, though now Sasha could pick up a hint of pain.

She stopped again, not turning around to look at her former master of six years. She couldn’t bear to see Anne’s face again. She could feel the last of her mental energy leaving her.

“You don’t have to leave like this. It’s okay to not want to be a Jedi. I can help you find a path that would better suit you in life. We can figure out a way for you to keep in touch with Anne.”

Anne’s name forced her brain to try and get itself running but the emotional toll taken on it caused it to cough and sputter like a ship that refused to start. 

Her lips moved on their own. “I’ll find my own way,” and she began making her way down the long stairs, never stopping to look back.

The Separatist Providence-class command ship passed through and punctured the vast emptiness of space, replacing the nothing with its own looming mass while still being incomprehensibly small compared to the never ending cosmos. At one point, Sasha had thought that was neat, to fill a hole in the universe and claim it as your own. After all, it was her ship, and she could command it to go where she wanted. Well at least usually she could. Currently, she had to run an errand for the war. Take an uninhabited planet and exploit it for its resources…

God, she wished she could be doing anything useful, not relegated to this back role while her master’s lap dog got to actually participate in the war. ‘You’re doing a great service to the Separatists,’ he’d told her. If Dooku wanted these resources so badly he should have come out here himself! She knew she was just as capable as him, if not moreso . Her fingers itched for something to throttle thanks to her boundless anger. That’s why they found her, trained her, turned her into an unstoppable force. That’s why she was destined to be a Sith. It confused and upset her that he’d given her this job. Her master was the one that had found her curled on the hard concrete surface of Coruscant. He saw her potential and gave her a reason to live.

Whatever, it was this stupid war that was taking away her freedom. Once it was over, she would become a scourge against this galaxy for ever daring to hurt her.

Her usual durasteel armour felt heavier than normal. It perfectly fit her body from the neck down, but the Separatist mark on her left pauldron made her feel oddly off kilter. Maybe it was the job, or maybe she was just having a bad day. Whatever it was, she felt tired, having to force her eyelids from betraying her.

“Our arrival is imminent. Our forces are prepared for the siege.” The monotone voice of the super tactical droid snapped her back to the cold, black deck of the ship with B1 battle droids working on monitors which cast the room in a red hue.

She looked out the window to see the green and blue planet approaching. She hadn’t noticed it, her thoughts obscuring her vision.

“I can see that you idiot!” she lashed at the droid. If there was one thing she hated, well, she hated a lot of things - it came with the job - but if there was one thing, it was being told the obvious.

The droid did not respond, nor did it emote.

Out of any droid, she hated super tactical droids the most. At least the old tactical droids had an ego. These droids didn’t even give a shit if you told them they were wrong. It was totally infuriating. In her opinion, if something doesn’t have the ability to feel, then it shouldn’t have the privilege to speak.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Walking through the dim metal halls was a dull experience. Sasha, being the only living thing on the ship, couldn’t help but feel alone. At least during battle she had something to distract her. This boring-as-all-hell job made her feel it tenfold. The droids didn’t fill that gap. They didn’t have a life that extended beyond their built purpose. No, this was the downside of her destiny. The Sith weren’t meant for love. That was fine so long as she got the power and control that she craved. She could live without love. Besides, it’s not like anyone would love her regardless.

Vulture droids hung from the ceiling of the hangar bay, ready to be deployed. She walked through the large open room, her knee-high, red, armoured boots clunking, echoing through the empty space. Four Separatist landing crafts stood packed with droids. Sasha rolled her eyes at the display. Normally she’d be all for theatrics but this mission was to gain resources. It felt as if she was being forced to do this mission as a way of getting her out of the way. She was only there to make sure there were no hiccups in the operation. The droids all knew what to do. It was infuriating that the Separatists thought so little of her, but there was nothing she could do except hope the decision hadn't been made by her master. She didn’t know what she would do if it was.

Before she knew it, she was already at her personally designed ship, the Agony . It was red with grey trim, matching her custom armour. Its acute triangle base had matching wings on top and bottom edges that pointed diagonally away from the hull. It was designed to have every angle slope toward a singular point so that it could be rammed into other ships. For most ships, running into another would be a death sentence, but the Agony was built with reinforced armour to sustain this aggressive battle style. The Agony fit Sasha’s style.

Pressing a button on her wrist, she signaled that the invasion was commencing. Then she hopped inside the Agony and headed towards the planet's surface alongside her intimidating convoy. The Agony ripped through the atmosphere shooting down towards the surface far ahead of her forces. The lush color of the grass and the water was a breath of fresh air even before she was breathing it. The vibrant colours were a good reminder that not everything out there was gloom. Maybe she would enjoy this mission.

Nearing the single city of the planet, she began slowing her ship's momentum and aimed for the balcony of the white and gold adorned, spiral-shaped castle. She told her astromech droid to leave the Agony hovering outside an ornately decorated balcony. Her cockpit window split open left and right, and she hopped from her seat, precariously making her way down the thin edge of her ship. She made her way with the effort and grace that could only have come from years of experience and hopped with one foot from the tip of her ship onto the balcony with perfect precision.

Holding her arms behind her to convey absolute confidence, she slammed open the giant doors leading into what had to be the throne room. She marched toward the king and prepared to make her --

The ghost of Anne Boonchuy stood in front of the king and Sasha Waybright felt thirteen again. 

Chapter Text

When she was a youngling, Anne imagined the phrase ‘breath-taking’ to mean something stunning and beautiful. This was neither, yet she gasped for air, her system uncooperative and her limbs trembled. She couldn’t do anything, her eyes fixed on her , Sasha. It didn’t seem real. No, it couldn’t be. The universe wouldn’t be so cruel as to make her greatest fear come true, would it? The Jedi said that the universe was beautiful, yet here was Anne’s proof that it was cruel and uncaring, kicking her down when she’d finally felt some hope that life could get better.

Her old lightsaber, from all those years ago, along with another, newer hilt, hung off of red, thick armour around her waist. Alongside the Separatist symbol, Anne knew what it meant. 

She could feel her knees give out beneath her as she collapsed to the castle floor; shaky, sweaty palms trying desperately to prevent her from falling all the way. She couldn’t delude herself, not when it made too much sense. Memories refused to leave her alone, each happy one turning sour and horrid, rancid from being left out in the baking sun.

She eventually looked back up to see her looming over her with a face that Anne’s brain wasn’t working well enough to decode.

Black Kyber said something that Anne didn’t catch. The reminder that Anne they were there at all grounded her to speak.

“Marcy,” she said with a scratchy whimper that was barely recognized as her own. She didn’t have the strength to say the hunter’s name. “Help,” Her eyes gazed up at them.

Black Kyber appeared to understand and drew an imitation-lightsaber in a nano-second, but before they could swing it, they froze, and then dropped the blade. They then began to choke. Sasha held out her hand and grasped the air, eyes dark with anger. Black Kyber rose into the air, arms tight to their sides like they were being constricted. With a flick of the choking wrist, Sasha sent them hurtling at an immense speed causing them to crash straight through one of the thick, solid stone pillars.

Anne screamed with a guttural cry because this was wholly unfair. Because the Sasha she dreamed about at night for the past seven years might have just killed her new friend. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t-...

A firm hand grabbed her shoulder jolting her back to reality. Sasha looked down at her with eyes laced with trembling fury. Anne waited for the blade to pierce her chest, and for this nightmare to end in the most fitting way possible.

“We’ll resume this later,” Sasha said to the king. Her voice was older, jaded by years of training through pain, but it was still her . It was the same voice that did everything to comfort Anne when she was hurt or feeling insecure, the same voice that gave her the affection she so desperately craved. It was the same voice but the mind was rotten.

Sasha tugged on her to guide her. So Sasha didn’t want her dead. Anne understood what it meant when a Sith wanted to move you. This is why the Jedi taught resilience. Wherever a Sith wanted you to go would never lead to anything but pain. Sasha tugged harder, her face looking disheveled and stressed. Anne stood up, not having the strength to say no.

“Someone take us to my room. Remove all armour and weapons from the bounty hunter, then throw them in a cell. I presume you have those.” Sasha commanded.

“Yes, Darth Volcanus,” Lady Olivia said with a hurry.

The name made her feel like throwing up what little food Marcy had given her.

She was dragged through the halls by Sasha who had a hard but shaky grip on her wrist, while being led Lady Olivia.

Olivia quickly closed the door behind them as Sasha dropped Anne inside the relatively small room with a single bed, carpet, and window. 

Anne stood in the doorway waiting for what was to transpire, while Sasha stood closer to a red and blue canopy bed. Sasha rubbed her face, pacing, and muttering incoherently under her breath. Suddenly she stopped, gazing up at Anne.

 “Hi,” Darth Volcanus said with an awkward softness.

Anne looked at her, guarded and confused, “hi?” 

“It’s a nice planet,” Sasha said, staring up at the ceiling.

Anne was stunned silent.

Sasha’s lips pursed. “Sorry about all of … this.” She waved her arm to convey ‘this’. “I mean the whole invasion thing. It’s not something I wanted to do, I just have to support the war, y’know. And if I’d have known you were here, I wouldn’t have-”

Anger fumed within Anne, “just get to the point, Darth Volcanus .”

“ … I noticed you’re not a Jedi anymore.”

“Yeah,” Anne said, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I just think it’s cool, and a bit surprising.”

“‘Surprising’?”

“You didn’t seem like the person to leave.” Sasha glanced at the floor.

Sasha’s words transported Anne back to a time when she loved the Jedi, not as higher powers but as her family. It was when she had such high hopes for her future. She’d imagined traveling the galaxy, helping people in need. That idea seemed so distant. Her past self never knew how fragile her perfect dream really was.

“Well, you were wrong.”

“Good.”

Seconds passed and neither of them had said a word. Anne was getting sick of the charades.

“Could we get this over with?”

“What?” Sasha sounded genuinely confused but Anne wasn’t buying it.

“You know what .” 

Sasha seemed to realize what Anne was implying. “No! Why would I-? I’m not going to ask you to do anything.

“Really?” Anne rolled her eyes. “You might have just killed Black Kyber and I’m not supposed to think that you have any ulterior motive here?” she asked incredulously.

“It was in self defense! Besides, they’re a bounty hunter. Do you know how many people they’ve killed? Speaking of which, I can’t believe you joined them. Since when did you become okay with murder?”

Anne was shocked that a Sith was talking about the morals of murder. If there was one thing Anne knew about the scourges of the galaxy, it was that they had no respect for life at all.

“Why would you care?”

“‘Why’? Because this is you we’re talking about. Why aren’t you lounging in your ivory tower along with the rest of your pretty, perfect Jedi where you belong?” Sasha spat.

“Of course you think that the Jedi are fake. You were always insecure.”

“I am not insecure and I don’t ‘ think’ anything. I know who they really are.”

“And who are they?”

Egging her on probably wasn’t a good idea but she didn’t care. She needed to know what the Sith really thought. She needed to know the truth.

“They’re a plague, poisoning the minds of this galaxy.  They’ve convinced people to believe in a fantasy where everyone is good. Well, most of us aren’t ,” Volcanus bared her fangs. “The good people are weak and hunted down by the strong . In this galaxy it's everyone for themselves and I’m here to shade those blinded by the ignorant light!!”

Anne stepped backwards until her back was to the door. She couldn’t take her eyes off the shipwreck staring her in the eyes.

“Anyways,” Sasha breathed, relaxing her posture, “I’m glad you saw through their veil.” Her voice sounded too relaxed, like she wasn’t just about to bite Anne’s head off.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t comprehend the monster before her.

“Hey, don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you. I would never-, I-I just get really upset when I think about them.”

Anne did not respond.

Sasha appeared agitated, flexing her fingers, and looking off into nothing.

“Please Anne, please don’t be afraid. Now that you’re not a Jedi, I was hoping we could try again.”

“No!” Anne screeched at the top of her lungs. “You’re a horrible person! You’re selfish, manipulative, evil. How could you ever think that things could be the same between us again?! You ruined my life making me think that you ever cared about me! At least now I know you only care about yourself … Go to hell.”

Sasha was frozen with a face that screamed pain, like she was the one who’s heart was just broken in half.

“No, Anne, please. That’s not-”

“That’s not true ?” she asked incredulously. “I’ve seen what you’ve done. I know who you really are now.”

Sasha’s mouth hung open for a few seconds like she wanted to argue, but then it closed, her face resigned. That look of resignation began to warp into a dark anger with the intensity of a supernova.

“You’re right, Anne.” Sasha said, her voice trembling, primed, ready to explode. “That’s exactly who I am,” she chuckled through a closed smile. “Those bastards thought they could keep me on a leash, but I escaped into something far stronger! And you, Anne,” Sasha clutched her by the shoulders, eyes staring directly into hers, “you’re better than them, and now that you’ve escaped, I know that you know you’re better than them, too.” Her voice was manic, her hands gripping increasingly harder, digging into Anne’s flesh. “Help me, Anne. Help me show the galaxy the truth.”

“No… s-stop it. Get off of me!” Anne’s voice cracked as she pushed the Sith off her. “Who are you?” she asked the villain who was making a mockery of her friend. 

“I’m your best friend, Anne,” Darth Volcanus cooed. “I just want what’s best for you.”

“No- no you’re not,” she said through chattering teeth.

“It’s okay,” the Sith said with a toothy grin and eyes dancing with fire. “You’ll come around, I promise,” her voice turned hushed. Then she walked past Anne and opened the door, but stopped midway through. “Also, don’t even think about leaving. I would hate it if my army hurt you,” she said, giving a fake sympathetic frown, then turned away and closed the door.

Wearing nothing but a gray tank top and leggings, Marcy sat on the cold hard floor in silence, absorbing the darkness of the small bared cell.

Everything hurt. The blood that was once a stream inside veins and blood vessels were now a pool of burning liquid going freely with no container within her flesh. Her neck and legs throbbed from the whiplash from being bent in unnatural ways at an unnatural speed. All she could do was painfully stretch her legs and thank the Force her back wasn’t broken.

The cell was appropriately dim with bioluminescent lights which hung out of view in the unpainted stone hall. It didn’t matter that the black gear that Black Kyber once wore was stripped from her; she couldn’t feel their presence regardless. She wanted to believe that the bounty hunter had left of their own volition, but Marcy knew the truth: the real truth. Black Kyber was an idea, a powerful concept based on a notion of an invincible, unmoving presence. That notion was no more and the concept had lost its power.

Clunking, heavy, metal footsteps echoing through the corridor brought her back to the cell. They grew louder as they neared her. She knew who it was going to be before that battle-torn face came into view. Darth Volcanus stood with hollow eyes, or maybe that was just the lack of light to reflect off of them.

”How did you do it?” Darth Volcanus asked, her voice hoarse and drained of energy. So it wasn’t just the shadow.

“How did I do what?” Her voice sounded miniscule.

“How did you get her to leave?” 

“...What?”

“How did you get Anne to leave the Jedi?!” 

Marcy’s mouth hung open as she tried to recontextualize what she knew about this Sith and what she knew about Anne. So Darth Volcanus knew Anne. That made sense, Marcy had heard that the Sith used to be a Jedi and was roughly the same age as Anne. What really hit her was the realization of who this Sith might be.

“You were friends with Anne.”

The Sith blinked twice and leaned away from being caught off guard.

“Answer the question,” Darth Volcanus hissed but Marcy could sense the fear.

“I didn’t get Anne to leave. She asked me not to bring her back.”

The Sith looked confused, “what does that mean?”

“Black Kyber found her drunk. Anne tried to assault them.” The Sith looked befuddled, probably for a lot of reasons. “So Black Kyber brought her back to their ship.” 

“Anne was drunk.” The Sith said, like it was a foreign notion.

“Yeah.”

Darth Volcanus grew silent…  “...You’re lying.”

“No, I’m-

“S-shut up! Just - shut up…” she trailed off and leaned against the bars, allowing Marcy to get a better view of the tears beginning to trail down the girl’s cheeks. “Anne wouldn’t -  she just wouldn’t .”

“I’m sorry,” the words slipped out of her mouth like second nature.

Sasha scowled, “Stop lying to me!“ She hiccuped, “Bounty hunters don’t give a shit about -” another hiccup, “- anyone else.”

Marcy could say the same about the Sith but she refrained.

“I’m not a bounty hunter. Black Kyber is gone.” She gave a deep sigh, “my name is Marcy Wu.” 

The Sith gained a slight smile through tear stained eyes. “You’re saying that I killed them?”

She hesitated, wondering if she should give the longer explanation. “Yes,” she shrugged.

The Sith gave a broken cackle, “Good, I’ll be sure to let Anne know that their bounty hunting friend is dead.”

Dismay struck her from the sheer cruelty of it. “No, please!!” Marcy cried out.

“I’m sure being alone isn’t unfamiliar to you,” her tormentor said with a sick glee.

“P-please…” Marcy gave one last small plea, but the Sith was already gone.

She was left alone again with nothing but thoughts and pain.

All she had left was broken flesh and bone.

Chapter Text

Sasha detested her weak, constrained flesh and bones. She loathed that her aggression towards Anne made her feel nauseous .

She should not feel this way. She joined the Sith in order to grow into her true self. So why was it so hard to do so around Anne? It was as if the girl had the power to strip her of her power and reduce her to the decrepit state she was in before joining the Sith.

At least Anne had the decency to give her the push that she needed…

She couldn’t wrap her head around her lost friend. What did Anne want ? The girl berated her when she wanted to work things out between them, and cowarded when Sasha showed her real self. It was so infuriating and it was all she could think about, while she paced around the castle halls for hours … even when visiting the ‘dead’ bounty hunter.

Whatever complex this Marcy Wu girl had about her identity was none of Sasha’s concern. What did irritate her was the way Black Kyber dragged Anne’s name through the mud. It wasn’t exactly a secret that the Jedi drank alcohol. For all their pristine exterior, Sasha knew how filthy and disgusting they really were on the inside. All of them except for Anne . How dare they?! She would make sure Black Kyber got punished accordingly for their filth ridden lies.

Giving a slow, resigned sigh, she put her clasped hands over her face. God, she didn’t want to do this . It was so hypocritical of her. ‘The strong kill the weak’, she wanted to eat her own words. It was her typical spiel when confronted about her beliefs, and she really did believe in them… usually.

She didn’t want Anne to be ‘strong’. Hell, Anne was already strong enough with the Force. What  she wanted was for Anne to be Anne. The same girl she knew back with the Jedi. That girl was perfect , besides the brainwashing, which wasn’t her fault. Groaning, she slid her hands down her face, exposing the whites of her pupils, because she really couldn’t think of how to fix this uphill dilemma. And through all of this, Sasha was only supposed to be on this planet for a few days! She dreaded the idea of having to explain why she needed more time when he knew damn well that she didn’t want to be here in the first place.

She gave a deafening yell of frustration.

Fine. So be it. If she had to warp Anne into a Sith to have her, then that’s what she would do. It was their destiny to be together. She knew it in her heart.

She stormed through the castles as dusk seeped through open windows, but stopped before the closed door. Part of her wondered if Anne would have taken the chance to attempt an escape. She could only hope that Anne wasn’t that foolish. The girl didn’t have a stealthy bone in her body. Giving one last deep breath, she opened the door.

Anne was smart, and stayed seated with her arms hugged around her knees. Their eyes met, and Sasha’s chest started acting up again. She pushed through, knowing what she had to do.

She breathed through her nose. “Anne, listen, I get it. I understand what it’s like to be tempted by the light.”

Anne’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, really ?” she asked, sarcastically.

“Yes! Hell, at one point, I thought I was going to be a Jedi. I really did.”

Anne looked at the floor.

“Hey, could I sit next to you?” Sasha asked, her yearning gnawing its way through her brain.

Anne began shaking violently, pressing herself as close to the bed as she possibly could.

It stung seeing how much Anne feared her. She held her arms up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I was just asking.” 

Anne’s face only became slightly less terrified.

“Listen… I know it’s going to be hard. Un-brainwashing is going to take some time.” The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. Not because she didn’t believe the Jedi brainwashed people, but because Anne didn’t really fit the mold for a Sith.

Anne glared at her with a cold and tired look. “Could you stop?”

“Stop what?”

If Anne could roll her eyes even further she would have. “Pick one,” she said as if Sasha should know what she was talking about.

She waited for Anne to elaborate.

“Either stop being obnoxiously evil or just being plain evil. Stop switching between them.”

“What am I doing that’s obnoxious?” She wasn’t surprised that Anne thought of her as evil. That didn’t stop it from being painful.

“Oh, so telling me that the people I’ve been living with my whole life have been brainwashing me isn’t obnoxious?”

She sighed. “Listen Anne, things are going to get so much better for you.”

“Uh huh,” Anne responded, unimpressed. “Right, because being a selfish asshole is so much better.”

“Yes Anne, thinking for yourself is a good thing.”

“That’s not what I said,” Anne scowled.

“It might as well have been. Have you ever wondered why the Jedi teach absolute obedience and control?”

“They don’t teach obedience.”

“Oh, really? Then why do they have so many rules?”

“To make you a better person.”

“Oh, I know that’s what they teach you. No, they use them to dictate your every move. You don’t have to worry about what you do with the Sith. You can just be yourself. Now tell me Anne, why is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t want to be a shitty person like you.”

“I’m just asking you to be yourself. You left the Jedi, right? That means that there was something you wanted, that you couldn’t have with them. I’m giving you a chance to have anything you want.”

Anne looked pensive. “I made a mistake,” she said meekly.

“No, you didn’t.”

“ ... Please, let me leave.”

“Where would you go?”

“Anywhere else with Black Kyber.”

And there it was: checkmate. “Black Kyber is dead.”

Mouth agape, Anne froze in a horrified look.

Her heart squirmed from hurting Anne, but it had to be done. “How long did you know them for?”

Anne didn’t respond, eyes wide and unfocused.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry. I was defending myself. They shouldn’t have attacked me.”

Anne’s eyes seemed to return to reality. “I was wrong,” she whispered, “evil doesn’t even begin to describe you,” words hissing through clenched teeth.

She swallowed. Anne was going to take longer than she had thought to come around. Not a problem. She’d just ask her master for some designated time for that…  ugh, so maybe this wasn’t ideal. Asking her master for anything was humiliating. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much free time thanks to this stupid war. For right now, she’d have to make due with the given time she had on that planet.

“You’ll be staying here until I figure out what to do next.”

Anne looked sad but didn’t argue. “In the castle?”

“In this room.”

Anne scowled, “I’m not sleeping anywhere near you.”

“You don’t get a choice.”

Anne’s face became dark with rage for a moment, but quickly settled into melancholy. “I guess I should have expected that,” she huffed.

“Do you want to sleep in the bed with me or do you want a mattress?”

“What do you think?”

Sasha sighed, “I’ll go get a mattress,” and walked out the door.

She breathed, stepping out of the room. She wanted to yell at her stomach for turning into a blender just from being around Anne.

Traversing the hallways for an obnoxiously long amount of time, she looked for a newt to meet her demands. Clearly, they’d gotten better at avoiding her. Finally, she came across the elegant Newt who had directed her to their room before. “I need another sleeping arrangement in my room. Everything for a bed but the frame.”

The newt looked at her with a tired expression. “I do appreciate being warned about things in advance.”

Sasha glared at her, emotionally unsure of how to respond to being talked back to. She decided she was impressed by the newt’s moxy. Sasha didn’t so much as get a flinch out of the newt from her normally paralyzing glare.

“What’s your name?”

“Lady Olivia.”

“Alright Lady Olivia. Have that bed made in my bedroom in half an hour or else your head will be parted from your body.” She gave one last scowl to see if Olivia would so much as break a sweat.

She did not, much to Sasha’s intrigue.

 “Yes…”

“You will refer to me as Lord.”

“Yes, Lord Volcanus.” The words came out of Olivia’s mouth more naturally than Sasha thought they would. Maybe she was used to changing leaders or maybe she just didn’t care.

Regardless, Sasha admired the newt. She was clearly someone who was reliable, even during a time of difficulty. Sasha wished Olivia could join her ranks but knew that her master would never allow such a thing from a disconnected planet. A small part of her felt an odd sense of discomfort at the fact.

She stood outside their bedroom door while Anne’s bed was being made. Why wasn’t Sasha inside? The room wasn’t really big enough, especially with the mattress being put in place. Well, that and the fact that being around Anne hurt on a level she couldn’t comprehend. Half of her needed to know why, but her other half was terrified of what the reason might be.

While she was waiting, she noticed some of the droids from her fleet walking around the castle. Took them long enough. She knew they were slow but two hours was pushing it. Not that it really mattered. They were only here to make sure the newts didn’t get any ideas.

Lady Olivia came out of the room unbelievably after only fifteen minutes.

“If I see that bed has so much as a wrinkle.”

“My Lord, I swear on my family name, that bed will not disappoint you.”

Stepping inside, true to Olivia’s word, the bed was perfect. No wrinkle, no crease; it was large, sitting beside the proper bed, it took up most of the room. Sasha pressed her hand into it. It was neither too soft nor too firm. She’d underestimated the efficiency of the royalty on this planet, or maybe that was just Olivia.

Anne stood, staring out the window, not paying any attention to Sasha's presence. At least that’s what she clearly wanted Sasha to think. Everytime Sasha made a noise, Anne flinched.

Sasha sighed. She decided that she would talk to Anne the next chance she could and climbed into bed, the entire weight of the day hitting her as her back touched the mattress. She turned the light beside her off, and quickly drifted off.

She hates you and she’ll never stop hating you

Sasha bolted upwards in the dead of night, her hand clutching where her heart was bashing against her ribs. Anne hadn’t even lain down when she’d fallen asleep! How could she have been so careless? Her eyes slowly adjusted from being asleep as she scanned the room looking for Anne. 

Anne was in her own bed. Sasha gave a deep breath of relief, her heart still pounding, and got out of bed as gently as her unsteady limbs would allow. She crouched all the way down so that her arms rested on her knees and gazed at Anne’s resting face. It was contorted into a frown, as if Anne was having a bad dream. Sasha’s first instinct was to wake her and carry her away from whatever nightmare she was having. She stopped herself with a stab of sadness. Sasha climbed into her own bed but it wasn’t until the sun started to rise that she finally drifted off.

She woke with a headache, and with the sun streaming in through the window. Anne sat on her mattress, curled into herself on top of the blankets.

“Morning,” she mumbled. Even without the headache, she was never a morning person.

Anne continued to ignore her.

Fine, Anne could wait. She had a certain pressing matter to attend to.

Not pressing enough to prevent her from putting it off for most of the day. She was here for another job: to make sure this invasion was going smoothly. Sure, no one was resisting, but that was probably because she was pacing the halls, scowling at any newt who dared to look at her. Yep, she was being incredibly productive.

Unfortunately, the day passed, and in less time than she’d wished, the sun began to set. She grit her teeth, clenched her fists, and marched to get it done. The barbaric planet of Amphibia didn’t have any form of holoprojector so she had brought her own.

She found an empty room and had a B2 battle droid bring in a holoprojector large enough for the full size of a human. She knelt on one knee and the blue, transparent image of her master stood before her. Normally, the presence of her master filled her with a sense of purpose and honour. This time he had the potential to deny her of what she most craved.

“What needs to be brought to my attention, my apprentice?” Count Dooku said in his usual deep, cold, and calculating voice. He rarely said her name, not even her Sith one.

She swallowed, “An acquaintance from when I was a Jedi has appeared on Amphibia and is in my possession. She’s strong with the force and has already abandoned the Jedi. I wish to turn her into my apprentice.”

“Anne Boonchuy?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

She nodded, carefully.

“Darth Volcanus.” Sasha flinched. “We don’t need another Sith. You should consider yourself lucky I chose you when I already had Ventress. Do not take the rule of two lightly.

“She-she wouldn’t turn against me! I know her better than anyone .”

“A lot can happen in seven years.”

“She will not betray me. I’ll make sure of it.”

“If you truly sense darkness in her heart, then you know that darkness can turn against you. I presume she doesn’t like you at the moment?”

“I-I …no, but once she learns our way she’ll understand me. I swear, I won’t ask for anything again,” she groveled on her hands and knees.

Her master pondered, clearly unhappy. “You have three weeks. If she has not turned by then, your new mission will be to kill her. Your responsibility as a Sith comes first. I will not let her occupy your mind lest she tempt you to abandon your destiny.”

Her throat constricted in on itself. The idea of killing Anne was unthinkable… but, she couldn’t say no. The Sith gave her life, and she would be in their eternal debt. But still… the thought of Anne no longer existing sapped her energy like a parasitic Mynock. She hoped her feelings didn’t project through the hologram. He probably noticed. Her master had the ability to stare through her soul.

“I won’t fail you.” 

“We will see. Report your progress to me after one week.”

With that, the hologram blinked off. The absence of white noise filled the room with a dreadful lack of ambience. She stood there and stared blankly at the empty wall, the understanding of what just happened sinking into her like a dead ship helplessly drifting into the gravity of a star. Then she began to laugh. She couldn’t help it. It was too much, too dreadfully ironic. Her laughter brought tears and morphed into sobs of despair.

There was a ringing noise as she made her way to the bedroom.

She swung open the door, not caring about subtlety anymore. “ Anne . We need to talk .”

Anne looked away from the window she was staring out of again, and towards her. “You mean, you need to turn me evil.” 

“This isn’t about good or evil,” she said through clenched teeth.” This is about your future, your life!” 

Anne’s face was that of unamusement. “I get it.”

“No you don’t .”

“ Yes , I do, Sash a. You think that without you or the Jedi, that I wouldn’t have a reason to live. I saw the way you beamed when you talked about Black Kyber’s death,” she seethed, the words dripping out of her mouth with the stench of poison. “You can go to hell, Sasha. I’m ok with dying if it means I’ll never have to see you again!”

Anne’s words rammed through her as if she had just been impaled by her own ship. Her mouth was dry, words banging against her rib cage. She remembered how they played together as children, how Anne’s kindness had been so powerful that even Sasha had been infected by it. Now Sasha felt cold. She shouldn’t have told Dooku. Anne’s blood would be on her hands.

Before Anne could notice, Sasha bolted out of the room, tears running down her face into her mouth and onto the floor. She ran through the grand hallway of the castle far enough so that Anne couldn’t hear her despair. She did nothing but sob for minutes, maybe even an hour. It took her ages to notice a figure standing near her. The instant she noticed, her reflexes kicked in and one of her red lightsabers arced towards the figure's head. She stopped a few millimeters away from Lady Olivia’s face. The newt didn’t flinch. Instead, she held what looked like a box of tissues. Sasha stood there in shock, her lightsaber illuminating the newt in a red glow, Its hum blanketing the silence. As she regained her senses, she powered down her lightsaber.

“I’m sorry,” Olivia said with sincerity.

Part of her wanted to scream and kill the newt. She took a couple of tissues and wiped her face.

“N-no, you’re not. Why would you be?” she said through sobs. Her chest heaved and her eyes stung. She felt truly pathetic.

Lady Olivia gave her a gentle and caring look. “Because it’s my job to look after the people I serve in any way they need.”

“T-that’s not good enough. I need to know why, ” she said, choking on her tears.

Lady Olivia sighed, “you wouldn’t like the answer.”

“I don’t care.”

Lady Olivia studied her face. “You remind me of someone I know, someone who I care deeply for. You’re both loud and abrasive and, much like her, I know a good soul when I see one.”

The sentence knocked the wind out of Sasha. She struggled for air, heaving greatly. Lady Olivia noticed and sprung into action, leaving her alone for a minute. She returned with a glass of water and offered it to her.

Sasha didn’t take the water. “You’re wrong,” she choked out, swallowing the dryness in her mouth. “You’ve seen what I’m like, I threatened to kill you. You know who I am .”

“Yes I’ve seen what you can be like and I’m not suggesting that you’ve done good things.”

“Then why are you-?”

“Because I’m looking at a girl who was clearly never given the chance to properly grow up, crying her eyes out because she’s in anguish over the mistakes she’s made.”

Sasha was yet again frozen in shock.

“Here take these,” Lady Olivia passed her the box of tissues and glass of water. Sasha didn’t argue, she was still processing what she had just heard.

By the time her mind even slightly returned to her, Lady Olivia had quietly walked away. She did her best to attempt to process what had just happened, but she couldn’t. She hadn’t felt so pitied since Dooku found her weeping, alone on Coruscant. It would be for the best to just go to bed. She would sort herself out in the morning. Trying and failing to take deep breaths, she made her way back to the room. Her head felt light and the ringing had only gotten worse by the time she made her way into the sleeping room. She saw Anne was already in her mattress, the blanket covering her head.

She drank the glass of water quickly. It was cool and refreshing, making her realize just how much she missed having fresh water after months of living off of stored water inside her dreadnaught. She put both the empty glass and box of tissues on top of a cupboard that was far enough away from her bed. She did it almost as if to claim that they weren’t hers.

She climbed into bed. It took hours before she fell asleep.

The headache she’d had the previous day didn’t go away. Instead, it morphed into the feeling of her head caving in. Trying her damn best to get out of bed, she pushed through this stupid migrain. Afterall, today was the first real day of Anne’s… 

She blinked. Anne stayed missing from her bed. Sasha craned her neck around the room, feeling her brain bouncing inside her skull. Anne wasn’t beside the window. She wasn’t anywhere in the room.

Sasha stood up in a panic, and instantly regretted the movement. She groaned, the ringing in her ear getting deafeningly loud. She didn’t have time for this. She opened the door with a stumble. There was no one outside. She began walking down the hallway in the direction that she thought was towards the exit, hoping as best her splitting head would allow, that her suspicion wasn’t true. Anne was smarter than this. She wouldn’t play hide and seek, would she? 

Anne was wasting her time! Didn’t she not know that her life was on the line? Did Sasha not tell her?

She froze, not just because of the lifeless bodies of B1 battle droids scattered about, but because she realized that she hadn’t told Anne the truth. Her pulsating migraine worsened.

Sasha gave a blood curdling scream.

She did her damndest to find Anne through the thick fog clouding her head, but it was no use. No newt had seen her, and neither had Marcy. It was like she’d disappeared without a trace; the only evidence she had intentionally left were the destroyed droids. The knowledge that Anne had a weapon was rattling because Anne never carried a weapon besides her lightsaber, yet these droids had no marks from a lightsaber. 

Before she knew it, through searching Newtopia inside out, a full week had passed, and Anne didn’t show. There was no way Anne could have gotten past her armada blocking the rest of Amphibia without being spotted, right?! Then, How? How did she disappear like a spirit passing to the afterlife? How?! How?! How… ?

It was unfair, horrible, miserable. She wanted to curl up into a ball and sob her body dry.

Two weeks remained.

Chapter Text

Sneaking through night blanketed halls and alien walls was an old routine at this point. Of course she couldn’t break it. Of course she was right back to where she started. Had leaving the Jedi really not changed anything? Of course not; for her, being a Jedi had always been make-pretend. At least one thing really had changed: Anne would never fall for her lies again. She was done being made a mockery. She was better than that now. She’d never care about her ever again!

Droids that saw her met a demise faster than they could say ‘roger’. Thanks to the lack of that awful screeching noise when a lightsaber struck metal, her droid encounters were entirely silent. There was a satisfaction to this destruction that felt good, unnatural . Whatever… as long as she was better than her , Anne would be fine.

She wouldn’t have run into so many of the droids if she knew where she was going. She was a bit too preoccupied by a certain someone when she had walked these halls before. At least the sun hadn’t started rising by the time she found the exit.

Avoiding a squad of droids, she snuck her way through streets and back alleyways while hiding in shadows. The wide open space made stealth simpler and her escape more elegant. She didn’t look back, could never look back; afraid of what she might see, afraid that her knees would buckle thanks to the absurdity, the injustice of this situation. No, there was no time for self pity. Her goal was to get to Marcy’s ship, and no second thoughts were going to get in her way…

Marcy. The name rang through her head.

Anne marched forward even as her mind wandered. Marcy had deserved better . She was so close to living a good life. The same life that Anne craved with every fiber of her being. Now that was gone, lost forever, all thanks to her . She pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling the hot air fuming in her breath. Nearing the edge of the city, she honed in. She would have time to comprehend everything once she was well clear of her grimy touch.

The massive gates to the city had been closed since she had entered so she’d have to scale them instead. Climbing up the staircases to the wall was an option, but a risky one. The possibility of being caught by a droid that was stationed at the wall was an all too real possibility. She’d have to find another way.

Maybe she could Force jump her way over? There was no way. Not even the most seasoned Jedi could gain that much lift from the Force. There was another way that she’d heard of… no. There was absolutely no way she could do it. Small, little screw up Anne was not about to Force climb her way up that wall. If she fell even halfway up because the Force had drained her, she would easily die, not being strong enough to catch herself. There had to be some other way, right?

…

If there was, she wasn’t smart enough to figure it out. Great .

What would she prefer: the likelihood of dying at the age of twenty or being stuck with her ?

Huffing, she pressed her palms to the surface of the stone walls and concentrated on what she wanted. Her hands became suctioned to the wall by removing pressurized air by using the Force. With her hands attached to the wall, she did the same thing with her feet as well. She crawled up the side of the wall with all her might, feeling her palms sweat, and her joints crack in protest. Not only was she constantly switching between different Force motions, she was also just straight up climbing the wall with her own human strength. Despite being decently athletic in her prime, she would have never dreamed of doing something like this. Now, after having spent seven years with her brain trying to tear her apart, this really should have been impossible. Yet somehow, after what felt like a hundred years, her arm grasped the top of the stone and she climbed over and on top of the wall.

She heaved shallowly and sporadically atop the wall taking a few minutes to recollect herself. She stayed low to the hard surface of the massive stone wall knowing how much she had left. She shook the thought away. She’d run a million marathons if it meant escape.

Once her breath was steady and deep, she got to her feet and looked down the other side of the wall into the shallow water below. Normally the Force could absorb the impact, but her brain screamed in protest at the idea. She noticed one of those giant pieces of that red plant. Giving it a tug with her hand, she was right. It was sturdy, potentially strong enough to hold her weight. The darkness concealed her as she began to make her way down the lanky, maroon plant, the rough surface wearing on her already tired hands. She hadn’t fallen yet, but that could change at any time.

As her boots hit the shallow water, there was a small splash. It was far too loud for Anne’s liking, but at least there were no droids spanning the water. She heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that the climbing portion was over. 

Crouching low, she made her way through the long stretch of calm flat water, splishing and splashing as quietly as she could. Moving like a shadow, she watched the giant separatist ships that loomed over her get bigger and bigger. She couldn’t have been more thankful that Marcy’s choice of clothing was black.

She pressed her body up against the small sandy cliff and scouted out her route. Marcy’s ship, the Black Emerald, stood close to the shore. It was as if Marcy had the foresight to leave the ship closer than where the Separatists had landed. Maybe there was an actual reason. Anne didn’t have the capacity to think through the logistics but she was grateful.

She spotted droids on patrol with flashlights attached to their heads, scouring the area. Luckily the Separatists hadn’t the foresight to guard Marcy’s ship. She silently climbed the cliff and ran up to the ship, then pressed in the pass code that she had seen Marcy use. Thankfully it was quiet, much like everything else Marcy had owned. Inside the ship, the door closed behind her and the lights around her lit up in response to her entrance, bathing her environment in a green hue.

She made her way to the weapons chamber. The ominous ambience of the ship matched Anne’s mood. Where before it had unnerved her, now it fit her like the very black gloves she was wearing. It almost felt funny the way that Anne felt more comfortable in this environment then she had for years with the Jedi. At least there was no one for her to hide from in here.

She entered the room full of weapons and gadgets. There were only two things she cared about here: her lightsaber and the invisibility suit. The full body suit was detail-less making Anne feel that she was meant to wear something over top of it. Fortunately the suit seemed to adapt to fit her perfectly. That made sense considering the expense of it. Somehow, despite the suit fully covering her face, she could still see perfectly. She put on the rest of her bounty hunter clothes over top of the suit. Success!  Even her clothes were invisible: she couldn’t see her hands that wore the black gloves, nor the lightsaber that was now clipped to her belt.

She didn’t bother trying to fly the ship. Not only would she have been immediately shot down, she would have been challenged by her non-existent piloting skills. No, she would have to survive on this planet. 

Making her way outside the ship, she quietly walked past the droid army that covered the road leading out from Newtopia. She still had to be extremely cautious. While she couldn’t be seen, she definitely could be heard. She creeped silently next to the giant droid armadas while staying as far away from the guard droids as possible.

Gradually, she passed the last of the droid ships and began making her way down a dirt road that Anne hoped would lead to a settlement. For hours, she walked along the dirt road in the dead of night alongside a flat stretch of ground. Slowly, the ground took shape into a more forested area. Now, Anne hadn’t seen many trees in her life but the similarity to those at the temple were enough for her to recognize them even in the near pitch black. Overall, it was easily the darkest experience of her life and the only way she could even see the ground beneath her was from the glow of the full blood-red moon that was arcing through the night sky. It did little to help calm her nerves. 

Though the moon was by far the largest body in the sky, it wasn't what amazed her the most. Anne marveled at the immense amount of bright, twinkling stars in the sky, many varying in colour. Having grown up on the never dark Coruscant, she knew these lights belonged to stars, thanks to long conversations with Sasha that delved into the beauty of the universe … “Nope, nope, not going there,” she desperately tried to claw back the memory. Her attempt was useless, of course. 

Thinking about the bright stars brimming with life, it hit her then just how far away she was from home. Although, what even was home anymore? The concept of home had been taken away from her. It felt foreign. Maybe the stars could be her home. Being on this alien planet, she quickly realized just how much she didn’t want to belong on the grey concrete constructs of Coruscant. The Coruscantis were lucky if they even saw a single star in their entire lifetime. And here she was, happy to be among the stars.

Once she got comfortably far enough away from the separatist invasion, she decided it was good enough to turn off her invisibility suit and take off the part that covered her head. 

Slowly, the adrenaline from her escape was wearing. She was left with nothing but the dark and her own exhaustion. At least there wasn’t silence and she appreciated the sound of wildlife chirpings around her. Living on Coruscant, she didn’t have much experience with nature, only being familiar with the gray and neon architecture. It helped distract her from her own spiraling thoughts. Of course those thoughts still came in a jumbled mess. Thoughts of Sasha, the Separatists, the Jedi, Marcy, her own stupid mistakes, all moved throughout her brain like waves crashing, trying to overpower each other. No matter what they did, they always toppled down. At least her exhaustion was quelling the storm in her head. She felt like she could pass out at any second. 

Over the crest of a hill, Anne saw new shapes take form. Dark triangles grew as she came closer, slowly turning into small buildings unlike any she had seen before. By the light of the red moon, she could see several buildings with small windows that were open to the night air, clustered around a central square. She turned her invisibility back on and stumbled towards the nearest building, found what she thought was a safe corner, and immediately lay down and fell asleep blanketed by her cloak. 

When she woke up she was surrounded by black and mumbling voices. Her brain fog lifted and she remembered that the dark covering her face was her cloak. She froze. The mumblings grew silent when she moved. After she had stayed still for a few minutes, the conversations around her returned.

“What is that thing, Mommy?” 

“I don’t know honey, stay away.” 

“It’s some sort of faceless monster,” another voice said.

“We should kill it before it wakes up!” 

“Quiet, you’ll wake it,” someone hushed them.

With that, Anne had had enough. Her invisibility suit must have stopped working sometime during the night. She pulled off her mask with the thought that she would run straight for the nearest forest. A small crowd surrounded her.

“Oh crud.”

The Newts, and a few other species that Anne wasn’t familiar with, backed away from her, with fear in their faces. Standing, she easily towered over them, being a head taller than the average adult Newt. The other species were even shorter.

“No no, I’m not a monster! Please! I’m tired, lost and I need help. I landed here on my ship a few days ago and now I’m stranded.”

“It’s an alien!?” someone shouted.

Maybe it’s here to abduct us!”

“It could be a harold for a full planetary invasion!”

The irony of those words made Anne grimace.

Someone pushed their way through the crowd towards her. “An alien, eh?” The stranger put a glove to her chin in a pondering manner. Anne thought maybe she was a newt though her clothing was of a different style to the rest of the people’s plainer garb. 

“How’d you like to join our troupe?” she said with a grin, her eyes hiding behind a pair of  purple sunglasses, and her neck draped with an orange scarf.

Everyone gasped, including Anne.

“Yes, yes, I get it. Everyone just leave the poor alien alone.”

The crowd muttered to themselves as they reluctantly dispersed leaving Anne alone with the purple sunglasses. The stranger held out a gloved hand. Anne bent over and shook it, bewildered.

“The name’s Renee Frodgers. I run an acting troupe. We go from town to town in our caravan and put on theatrical performances.” Looking at the person who was half her size, Anne stared at Renee Frodgers’ black hat with … was that some kind of a stem poking out from the top? 

Her mind finally put her confused thoughts to words, “You want me to join your acting troupe?” 

“Yep, you might be a big star, kid! We’ve been struggling a bit financially and having someone as exotic as you will sell tickets! Whadya say? Wanna be a big shot?”

Anne gulped, the idea of putting herself on stage was a surefire way to get caught. “Sorry Renne, I’m really not looking to put myself in the spotlight.”

She pondered again. “Hmm, I get it. Stagefright is a big issue. How about this: you join us in our caravan and we’ll slowly work on getting you up onto stage. How about it, kid?”

Anne had to think about it. It really was the perfect cover and the offer might even include food. Her stomach grumbled at the possibility. Her stomach also complained about lying to someone for comfort. She’d thought she was done with that part of her life. Guess she was back to square one…. 

“Um, what direction are you going?”

“We’re heading straight towards Frog Valley.”

“Is that away from Newtopia?”

“Yep, the opposite direction. Why? You got some sort of problem there?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Anne chuckled nervously.

Renne shrugged. “Well, not to worry, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

Anne breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“No problem. By the way, what’s your name, stranger?”

“Oh it’s um, Anne, Anne Boonchuy. I’ll join your troupe as long as I don’t have to act. F-for a while I mean!”

Renee snickered. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you private acting lessons myself!”

“Um, thank you,” Anne chuckled nervously.

Renee gave her another grin. “Come on. I’ll show you to the caravan.”

With that, Anne followed Renne through the town which was significantly smaller than Newtopia. Everything felt like a significant downgrade although Anne could appreciate the rustic look of the place.

“Our show doesn’t start for another half hour if you wanna watch.”

“Ah um, no, I’m ok thank you. I don’t want people to see me for free,” she said, pulling off her trademark plastered smile. 

“Ha! I get it. Don’t want to show yourself till the big reveal. Give yourself scarcity and demand. I like it!”

“Y-yeah,” she chuckled nervously yet again. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude but um, are you a newt?”

Renee placed her hands on her knees and laughed. “A newt! Wow you really are from outer space! Luckily for you, if I were any other frog I’d be deeply insulted!” Renee wheezed, lifting up her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Do I look like I have a tail?!”

“No.” So, Renee is a frog, Anne took note. 

“Exactly, that’s the easy way to tell the difference. Since we’re discussing species, do ya know what an axolotl is?

“Kind of.” Anne had no clue but didn’t want to be rude. 

“They look similar to frogs except for the antenna they have coming out of their faces.”

So that’s what that other species was that was living among the newts. Anne was thankful to have her very own guide. 

As they reached the caravan, Anne saw a row of five different wooden structures with wheels. Anne had not understood what a caravan was but now she could appreciate the craft of them, each with their own special design and paint job.

“This one’ll be yours.”

Anne stared at the caravan in disbelief. “You mean I get the entire thing?”

“Well you’re big enough for one aren’t you? Besides, you're going to be a main attraction, a superstar!”

Anne gulped, guilt crept across her heart. “I don’t know what to say… thank you so much!”

“Eh, no biggie. I’m sure you’ll more than make up for it.”

“Yeah, heh.” Anne gave a nervous chuckle. She knew that she would have to make up for their generosity in some other way. There was no way she was going on stage.

She stepped into the caravan, ducking her head so as to not hit her head on the doorframe. Her brown hair touched the ceiling but at least she could stand comfortably. There was a single small bed that definitely wouldn’t fit her. She didn’t mind, she was just grateful for the hospitality. The rest of the room contained an interesting purple carpet pattern, a cabinet, and a single small table and chair. She gratefully closed the door.

Again, Anne felt guilty for taking advantage of them like this. Not only did the Jedi teach her not to speak mis-truths, they also taught to only take what she could give back.

A dark pang stung her heart and intruded on her mind. What if Sasha was right? She knew that the Jedi were strict: the Jedi didn’t lie about their intentions. They were better than that, weren’t they? She’d also thought that Sasha would never lie about her intentions . 

If the Jedi lied about their intentions, what else had they lied about?

Her chest burned with the twisting uncertainty. She wanted to hold on, to grasp what little she had of herself. Her knees buckled beneath her and she came crashing to the hard wooden floor for the second time in three days. Sasha couldn’t be right. She couldn’t. She couldn’t. She could not-

Something knocked on the door.

Her self-awareness returned to her. She realized that she was lying on the floor, sweating profusely. ”Coming!” she said with a weak shout.

She opened the door to see Renee Frodgers standing outside with a concerned look.

“Are you ok?” The frog said with a concerned kindness.

“Y-yeah.” Anne said, weakly.

“Really? You don’t look like it. These wagons don’t have any soundproofing and I heard a thud all the way out here.”

“Oh.”

“Does it have anything to do with Newtopia?”

Anne froze before meekly shaking her head. “I’m fine, really.”

Renee frowned. “Alright, I’m not one to pry into other people’s business. Maybe you can use some of that emotion on stage.”

With that, the frog walked away.

The rest of the day went by agonizingly slow. Anne was miserable. Renee tried giving her acting lessons after the performance was over but Anne was not having it. She couldn’t concentrate on anything besides clinging onto the extremely fragile state of her self. Renee noticed this and tried to subtly get Anne to open up… which only worsened her mood.

Finally, as the sun went down, she climbed into bed. Her feet dangled off the end of it but she didn’t care. Her lack of sleep from the previous night caught up with her and she drifted into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

8 years ago

Anne and Sasha sat side by side, shoulders touching and legs dangling precariously off the top of a Jedi temple spire which pierced the heavens. The night sky was cast in a glow from the neon city below. The curvature of Coruscant displayed itself prominently, a triumph of Jedi architecture. The sound of the Coruscant traffic was barely audible being replaced by a whipping wind from their high altitude.

Anne’s body screamed at her to squirm and fidget from the immense discomfort, but her terror refused to let her move. Why couldn’t Sasha have picked somewhere else, somewhere less dangerous? Probably because she was completely fearless, unbothered by the possibility of death. Anne admired that about her. After all, being a Jedi was all about conquering your fears, something that Sasha had mastered. Anne, not so much. Maybe one day she could be as cool as her.

She hadn’t questioned why Sasha wanted to meet here. It wasn’t unusual for Sasha to find unusual places just to get away from everything. Anne could admit that the weight of expectations that came with being a Jedi did become a bit overbearing at times.

Sasha leaned into her. A warmth spread through her, blanketing Anne’s mind in a blissful happiness. It was nearly enough to make her forget how close the two of them were to death. The two of them stayed like that for minutes, their silence enveloping them in an aura that was both comforting and discerning. Anne had a feeling that Sasha wanted to say something but was too afraid to speak up.

“Ever imagine we were on a different planet?” Sasha asked, her head still resting on Anne’s shoulder.

 She thought about it for a second. “No, why?”

Sasha huffed, “Because this planet sucks. Everything’s so… gray.”

“What about the lights at night? I thought you liked those.”

“They're artificial … I wish we could see the stars.”

Anne’s lips contracted, a bitter taste piercing them. She’d never seen a star before due to the constant stream of light being emitted from the city covered planet . The Jedi’s description of them was all she had: A burning ball of gas which was so bright, it could be seen across lightyears. Apparently they were plentiful and beautiful on Illum … the planet she was supposed to go to…

“I wish so too.”

Once she received silence, Anne looked to see Sasha wistfully stared off into the distance. To Anne’s dismay, her best friend's face shifted into melancholy. 

“I’m sure we’ll see lots of stars once we begin our peacekeeping missions,” Anne said, trying to lift her friend's spirits.

“Mmm … yeah.”

Anne’s eyes shot open wide, throat tight and dry. She heaved dry, airless breaths, coughing and spitless. The fresh memory cast a heavy shadow. For once, without rose tinted glasses, she could see. The lack of light revealed what her eyes didn’t: Sasha Waybright never wanted to be a Jedi. The signs were there, and yet she missed them. Or maybe she did see them. Maybe in her twisted, selfish desires, she ignored the signs. Maybe she just couldn’t accept the truth. It wasn’t until she had seen it again in her mind’s eye, that Anne understood what happened. This was never about stars. Sasha had made a fool out of her.

She didn’t sleep the rest of the night.

Anne put on a show. Not on a stage and not for a paying audience, but for the frogs who were providing her with shelter, food, and water. She did her absolute best to convince Renee that she wasn’t suffering nearly as much today as she was yesterday. Of course, Renee didn’t buy her performance. An actor knows a liar. Still, Renee didn’t press her on what was going on in her mind. Anne did her best to repay her caregiver by doing her best to pay attention to whatever lesson Renee was trying to teach her. Anne didn’t really need the lessons, but she appreciated them nonetheless.

The days seemed to drag by, each accompanied by an underlying sense of dread. It wouldn’t be long before Sasha realized she wasn’t in Newtopia. The further they got from the city, the more hope for a better life Anne gained.

To repay her unpayable debt, and to pass the time, she helped out everywhere that she could. If someone needed something such as a prop or a script, she would get it for them. If an actor needed help rehearsing their line, she would help them. Rinse and repeat. There was a charm to the monotony, not having to worry about her world getting shattered again every step of the way. She was smart enough by this point not to get optimistic, but it still felt good despite everything.

They stopped every so often, for performances. Oddly enough, despite Renee not performing, the frog wasn’t with Anne giving her lessons. Anne chalked it up to being needed backstage, and blamed the sour taste in her mouth on paranoia.

It took them nearly a week until they had made it through the mountains into Frog Valley. They passed through a mountain pass, swamps, and even a desert. It was a wonder to see. She was experiencing so many of the things that she’d wanted to see with-

Anne slapped herself, blood rushing to where her cheek stung. How many times would she have to remind herself? The two of them were done, finished. It was just an old habit to yearn for the friend Anne thought she had known.

Everything was going great, although she knew it couldn’t last. Her lies would catch up with her sooner or later. She would have to leave before then or risk facing the consequences. Her plan was to leave during one of their performances where most of the town would be distracted. The only problem with her plan was the chance of running into a civilian. Hopefully most of them would be caught up watching the performance to notice her.

The day came when she knew she had to make her move. Renee was getting dangerously close to forcing her on stage. It was causing her terrible guilt having to lie to someone who was being so generous.

As the performance began, she poked her head out of the caravan to make sure her surroundings were void of people. She snuck across the trampled dirt ground. The caravan had parked in the centre of the village so she crept away from where she could hear the play being performed. Everything was going perfect. There were no people for kilometers in every direction. As she made her way through the village, she could only hope that-

Anne froze.

Walking down the same road she was, Renee and two large frogs each carried large sacks that were completely full. The frogs noticed her and froze as well. Nobody moved an inch until Renee started talking.

“Anne darling, what are you doing outside your caravan?”

“I was just going for a walk while everyone was busy with the play,” Anne lied, mustering her confidence. ”What are you doing?” she asked accusingly.

Renee looked uncomfortable for a moment before she sighed. “Listen Anne, the plays just don’t pay the bills like they should. The Arts are the dreams of so many of us frogs but the people just don’t appreciate them like they should. Me and these fellas were just taking what we deserve.”

Anne’s heart dropped out of her chest. “You’re stealing?” 

“Didn’t you just hear what I said? We need the money! How do you think we’re going to keep on feeding you without it?”

Anne had had enough. She shook her head violently. “No, no!” This couldn't be happening. S-stop! What you're doing is wrong. These people need that money. Put it back!”  

“And so do we! It’s either us or them, Anne, and I choose us.”

Anne gritted her teeth and glared, sick and tired of deception and liars .

Renee sighed. “I hoped it wouldn’t come to this. Put her back in the caravan, boys. If she resists, rough her up.”

Eyes wide, she realized what was happening as the two giant frogs approached her. They were only giants relative to a frog. They were roughly the same size as her if not a bit smaller. Not wanting to pull out her sword, she breathed and prepared herself for direct combat. One of the frogs grunted at her and sharply raised his chin signaling for her to move.

“No,” she said with the most defiant tone that she’d had since Marcy kidnapped her. Her sense of right and wrong may have been in flux, but she would always believe in standing up to bullies.

The other frog swung long, his thick four fingered hand clenched in a massive fist. She ducked down beneath the blow, feeling the air rush against her hair. She concentrated the Force into her palm and shoved it into his chest with a whoosh of powerful air. The massive frog went flying, skidding across the ground. He released a large grunt of shock and pain. The other frog looked at her with wide eyes, before collecting his senses, and swinging at her. Anne sidestepped the blow and pushed her palm up to meet the frog's chin. The frog went flying and landed on top of the other one with a loud thud. Both were out cold. It felt exhilarating, like a dance she’d long since rehearsed coming back to her in a flash.

Anne glared at Renee who stood wide eyed, frozen stiff with terror. The frog let out a gulp mixed with a croak, dropping the bag of money, and ran as far away from her as possible. Anne let out a sigh, releasing her adrenaline. At least her second real fight had gone better than her first. Suddenly, the realization of what just transpired hit her. The people who were sheltering her for the past week were thieves. The food that she was being fed was bought with stolen money.

Loosened strands of tangled twine unraveled further. They weren’t the Jedi. They weren’t anything like the Jedi… and yet-

She grasped her head, trying to crush the stupid thoughts that both were and weren’t her own into a fine pulp. If only she could re-tangle her own strings, if only she could grab herself by the reins and lead her own life.

Maybe they weren’t anything like the Jedi, or maybe it just didn’t matter. People hurt people; good people hurt people. So with that knowledge, she did the only thing she could, and walked away.

Actually, it was more of a hobble trying to keep herself upright without collapsing and having the few remaining strings she had left snap. No, she had to be free, if not free from her mind, then free from people, free from a galaxy of betrayal, of pain . She made her way to the canopy of trees just past the edge of the town.

She walked through the forest for hours, climbing over roots twice her size, massive fungi, and moss covered boulders, all while avoiding the predators that Marcy had told her about. She didn’t know which way she was going. There were small bugs climbing everywhere. She couldn’t help but be envious as she watched them move in their grouped formations, carrying something in their tightly knit group. Finally, she came to a small cave. Feeling her aching bones, she limped inside. There were bugs everywhere inside. So many in fact, she decided to try eating a few of them. Amazing how an empty stomach could make things seem appetizing, and really, the bugs didn’t taste that different from the food she had known on Coruscant. Considering herself fortunate, she laughed.  

That night, she experienced a thunderstorm in a way she never had before in her sheltered home on Coruscant. Nature came crashing down as she could only sit and watch, huddling in the far corner of the cave, watching the pouring rain while lightning struck so close to her that the outside was blinded in a white light. The sound of the thunder was deafening, louder than any sound she had ever heard before. She could have sworn she had gone deaf if not for the continuous sound of rain pouring and the crash of a tree falling through its own canopy.

Finally, the downpour slowed as the morning sun began to rise. Once the rain had stopped, she decided to leave her cave and make note of her resources. She came across a lake, knowing she would have to use that to drink from. She wasn’t sure how she would make the disgusting water slightly more drinkable. She foraged around for things that seemed edible. She prayed that she wouldn't run into anything poisonous. Maybe she could find a book that could-… She remembered where she was and how she had sworn off society. She would have to figure things out on her own.

The rest of the day was uneventful, besides the aftermath of the rain shower last night. Where there was once dirt, there was now mud, lots of it. Avoiding it the best she could, she ate some bugs that she already knew were safe to eat. She even drank straight from the lake despite knowing how terrible it was. Part of her knew this couldn’t last. She wasn’t built for this. She would slip up and get injured or sick some way or another. There was no way she would be able to get better after she got hurt. She’d basically be an injured animal that would be better off being put down.

Finally, night came so she went back into her cave and rested against the cold hard surface of the rock wall. Her stomach didn’t agree with the unfiltered water she had drank today. Maybe she wouldn’t wake up in the morning from something bad she had eaten today.

“That would be a shame…” she whispered to herself as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

“Where is she!?” Volcanus’ scream caused Marcy to press her back to the wall which in turn caused her to wince.

Marcy’s dark hazel eyes tried to focus on where the Sith was standing but the non-stop throbbing made it difficult.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” the Sith seethed.

Marcy did her best to recount what she’d said through her spinning world.

“Who-?”

“You know damn well who!”

The pain began slowing down into its more usual drawl. Who would Volcanus be talking about? Wait, Marcy recalled, she came here with someone, didn’t she?

Did Anne really- ?

Marcy hoped she was right because, if so, it was amazing. 

“Why would I know?”

“Because she gives a shit about you, damn it!!” Volcanus’ scream of anger was tinged with sadness, or was it jealousy?

Marcy silently thanked Anne. This maniac didn’t deserve her.

“She cares about me in the same way a widow loves her husband, thanks to you,” Marcy knowingly exaggerated. There wasn’t enough time to form any real strong bond, but there was a spark. Life might have - no - was about to get better. She could feel it in her broken and decrepit heart.

The Sith tightly clenched her jaw while her electric blue eyes seemed to glare into Marcy’s soul.

“I could kill you for real,” the Sith said, her voice becoming hushed with an energy begging to be released.

“I know.”

Volcanus stood glaring, deciding Marcy’s fate. Either she decided it wasn’t worth the effort or that Marcy would be a good punching bag tomorrow. The Sith stomped off, probably to terrorize someone else about Anne’s whereabouts. 

She could only hope that Anne would never be caught. The depressed girl deserved some peace.

Marcy released the breath she didn’t know she was holding. At least she would live to see tomorrow, but who knows how long after? One day, the Sith would get bored of her. It was only a matter of time.

It could be a couple days before she’d see anyone again, besides the occasional servant who would bring her appalling, but edible food and water. She had a feeling that the horrible food was a direct request from the Sith Herself. 

A boom of footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. Maybe a pet rancor had come to finish her off. It’s not like she’d recovered from her previous injuries in any way thanks to the nonexistent healthcare. The footsteps became louder as they grew closer. She held her breath. What came before her was the opposite of what she’d expected.

“You’ll have to forgive me when I say that you’re not quite what I expected when I hired a bounty hunter from outer space,” he said, his lighthearted tone seeming to be steeped in a level of tiredness with which Marcy was all too familiar.

“What did you expect?” she asked, despite knowing the answer.

“Someone taller,” his lips curled into a faint smile. He gave a small pause, his smile dropping as quickly as it came, “I’m sorry, really. People like us, we don’t stand a chance against them.”

Marcy’s eyes grew wider in surprise, “you mean Force wielders?”

The King gained a grim look, “Is that what you call them? I know them because we have them here. They’re too powerful for their own good. I can only imagine how tantalizing it must be, corrupting even. That’s why I banned them from my kingdom.”

Marcy’s heart skipped a beat thinking about what could happen to Anne. “They’re not all bad.”

“How do you know?” He didn’t sound accusatory, but Marcy couldn’t help but feel interrogated.

“Well I-“ she bit her tongue, “it’s not good to generalize.”

His voice deepened, “and how can you tell the good from the bad?”

She dry swallowed, knowing exactly what he meant. Everyone wore a mask, visible or not. “I have to believe… that there are good people.”

He gave her a sympathetic nod, “it’s nice to believe that. I believed that as well, at one point. But when you’ve lived as long as I have… you learn that no one is safe from the allure of power, not even the best of people.”

Marcy hesitated, unsure of what she should say. Thankfully Anne had run away, but still… she wasn’t going to take a chance. “I know from experience that not everyone with power is bad.”

A chill ran down her hurt spine from the sorrowful look of pity on the King.

“Why- why are you looking at me like that?”

“I apologize, it hurts… trusting someone. It hurts even more when that trust comes rare.”

Marcy didn’t think her heart could sink any further. She was wrong.

King Andrias spoke before she knew how to respond.

“Oh dear. I realize that I’ve been rude. Such a personal conversation and I don’t even know your name.”

“Marcy Wu,” she said with little hesitation.

“That’s a nice name,” he said with a genuine smile. “Hello, Marcy.”

“Hi, your Majesty,” she smiled back weakly.

“No need for formalities. Just call me Andrias. I hardly feel deserving of my title right now, anyways.”

“Okay… Andrias,” she tested the name on her tongue.

He huffed with shame, “I apologize for not doing more. I’ve been forbidden to help you.”

“That’s okay. I wasn’t getting my hopes up.”

He gained a grim smile, looking down at the floor. “Marcy… can I ask you a question?”

She nodded. The less she spoke, the less her throat felt like it was closing in on itself.

“Do you believe in the greater good?”

“… It depends. What’s your definition of good?”

“My people, Marcy. I will do anything for the people I was born to serve. Does that make sense to you?”

Marcy had to think about it from his perspective but also her own. She was no stranger to murder for the sake of serving those less fortunate. Still, it wasn’t the same thing to kill someone who was born with something that they couldn’t lose or give away. Maybe she was coming at it from the wrong angle. There were many things that Marcy didn’t know. Morality and ethics were an area that she’d barely touched due to their conflicting nature with Black Kyber’s job. This might be an area that the king was more familiar with than her.

“I’m not sure I understand, but I’d be willing to if you explained why.”

The King’s smile returned. “Thank you, Marcy. Open minded people are so rare, even across the millennia that I have lived.”

“You’ve lived how long ?!” she rasped.

He chuckled. “It’s a long time, I know. I’ve seen many things; things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I know how people lose themselves because I have seen it myself. It doesn’t take much, mind you. And when they start serving themselves… they don’t know how to stop.”

… She didn’t know what else to say. She couldn’t argue with that. She wanted to hold on to her sliver of hope that Anne was better than that. She knew she had no evidence to back that up.

“Okay I-I understand.”

He stared at her before releasing a sigh of pent up energy.

“I appreciate it. It’s rare for people to understand the gray areas in this world, or in your case, the galaxy.”

That reminded Marcy: “how do you know about the wider galaxy, besides what you can see from here?”

“That,” he held his breath, “is a long story.” He looked glumly down the hallway. “Unfortunately, I feel that I don’t have enough time for that. I can visit you tomorrow… as long as you can keep a secret or two.”

“I can, and yes, I would like that, thank you.” 

“I expected nothing less. You truly are remarkable.”

Out of everything that he said, through all the killing and the secret, the compliment was what surprised her the most. It made sense that people would confuse her and Black Kyber’s accomplishments. After all, it was complicated in such a way that not even Marcy truly understood. It was more of a feeling than anything, that she could never be them. What she’d never expected in her lifetime was to be complimented for just herself. Andrias didn’t seem to know nor care about their reputation. No, he was commending her on the words she had spoken and nothing else. It was incredible.

“T-thank you,” she stuttered out in awe.

“What?” he asked, surprised. “Have you never received a compliment before?”

“Something like that,” she mumbled.

“Well I’ll make sure that changes. You’re too nice for that!” he laughed heartily.

A grin emerged from Marcy’s moldered face. She should have thanked him again, perhaps many more times but she was too lost in the euphoria of it to respond.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Marcy.”

“See you,” she whispered back.

True to his word, Andrias returned the next day. She had no doubt that he would. At least to her, he practically oozed honesty.

Their conversation started off as mostly uneventful which was perfect for her. The small talk and banter helped keep her afloat, and from slipping off into whatever hell the Sith had prepared for her. Eventually the conversation slipped into backstory. Marcy had no problem with telling her story about how she started as an orphan and then made her way into creating the most feared and respected bounty hunter of all time. Andrias was kind, understanding about the difference between her and the bounty hunter. It felt like a dream to be cared for this much, and given so much attention. She felt real in a way she’d never felt before. Maybe she could live like this, depending on what Volcanus had in store for her.

She told him of how she dreamed of being a Jedi, how meeting Anne completely flipped that dream on its head. He nodded solemnly when she mentioned that. He seemed to have a similar experience to do with crushed dreams of his own.

“Let me tell you a tale of how I was betrayed, not too dissimilar to how Anne ran from Volcanus,” he said with a palpable sadness. “The truth of Amphibia is that once upon a time, our civilization used to be connected to the rest of the galaxy. Not only that, we used to be a major trading faction at the heart of the galaxy’s commerce. When I was an eft, I even went to another planet and met the inhabitants of that civilization. The experience was breathtaking and unforgettable.”

”W-wait, why isn’t this in any books that I’ve come across? What happened to this place? There has to be some remnants of the more advanced technology, right?” She knew that asking so many questions was probably rude but she couldn’t help herself.

Andrias gave a jovial laugh. “I’m not surprised you haven’t read about our grand history. It appears that the rest of the galaxy forgot about us. ‘What happened to this place?’ Well let me tell you.”

Marcy leaned in closer with anticipation.

“There once was a time where every species in Amphibia lived in complete harmony. There was no such thing as Frog Valley and the Toad Towers because everyone lived amongst each other. You see, I was once like you, Marcy. I believed the best in people, that we wouldn’t devolve into greed from even the slightest prospect of power. I was proven wrong. My best friends, the people I trusted the most in all of Amphibia, betrayed me. One of them stole a magical music box gifted to us by a god, the thing giving Amphibia its ability to thrive. The other one let her. 

She was stunned, horrified. How could someone do such a thing, to an entire planet of people nonetheless?!

“After that, we were isolated to this world. Our space fleet still rusts after a millennia of not being used. The droids that were once useful for day-to-day activity slowly rusted into scrap metal.”

She didn’t really know how to respond to the story. Tears formed in her eyes. “How could she?!”

“I’ll never know. I never saw her again.”

“Do you know where the music box is?”

“I wish. There is nothing more, in this world, or any other, that I would ever want than to have that music box, and so to see my people flourish again,” he sighed. “At least it’s likely that it’s still on this planet or, perhaps, that’s merely my hope speaking.” He looked dejected, sad, in pain, everything that resonated with her.

Marcy shot out of her seat only to be reminded of the immense damage done to her body. “Ow, ow ow ow.”

Andrias gave her a concerned look. “Woah there kiddo, slow down. You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine,” she said, in-between waves of pain. Her knees wobbled beneath her. “When I get out of here-” but a stabbing sensation cut her off. Andrias looked like he wanted to physically comfort her. “Ngh. When I get out of here… I’ll help you get back that box, whatever it takes. I’m very good at-” she grunted in pain again, “-finding things.”

Andrias gave her a concerned smile. Thank you, Marcy. But please, take better care of yourself. You won’t be helping anyone by hurting yourself.

Marcy sat back down with a feeling of dejection. She just wanted to be out of this stupid prison. If she could just make it back to her ship, she had some of the most advanced medical equipment in the galaxy.

“Besides,” he grinned, “I haven’t even told you the most important part yet.”

That perked her curiosity, helping to forget her pain.

“Do you know what a prophecy is, Marcy?”

She nodded. Prophecies were something that bordered between believable and fantasy. It was undeniable that magic existed. Despite Midi-Chlorians being a scientific explanation as to how the Jedi can harness the Force, there has never been an explanation that follows the known rules of physics regarding the mystical entity itself. But prophecies… they shouldn’t be real. At least based on Marcy’s belief, or maybe foolish hope that the future was fickle and ever changing. The idea that something was set in stone, that nothing could be done to change it… well it was scary to say the least.

“I have a prophecy that involves you.”

Not even his fatherly tone could prevent Marcy’s stomach from sinking to the floor, and her throat running dry.

“Don’t worry, it’s not bad… mostly. All it says is that the three of you: you, Anne, and Darth Volcanus will work together to save Amphibia from a great evil.

Marcy blinked in surprise.

“That or…” his voice became dark, “you embrace the fall.”

She was experiencing a pirouette of emotions, doing their best to make her as confused and sickly as possible.

“W-what’s ‘the fall’?” she did her best to ask without collapsing into nothingness.

He huffed, “we don’t know. Amphibian scholars have been asking that same question for over a millennia but the best anyone can do is guess. We don’t even know what this planet needs saving from.”

“Maybe it’s the Separatists?”

His lips curled into a smile, “perhaps. But then why would the Sith be part of the prophecy?” 

She pondered it for a second. “Maybe Darth Volcanus leaves them?” she said, not believing her own words.

“Perhaps. There is always a chance that I’m wrong about my beliefs of power. All I know is now that you're here, the prophecy is fast approaching.”

Marcy didn’t have any words left to say. As a firm believer of science, being chosen for something so unimaginable was… 

Marcy could feel herself quaking.

“I’ll do my best to convince the Separatists to release you. But I have a feeling that fate will be on your side regardless.

“ Wow ,” her unfathoming voice came out miniscule.

He looked at her as if to study every atom of her being. “I don’t want you to feel as if I’m just being nice to you because of the prophecy. I believe fully that you are a good person, Marcy, and if anyone were to embrace the fall, it wouldn’t be you.” He looked at her again, watching as her heart rate further picked up speed, her breath becoming quicker and quicker. “How about this: you help me find the box and I can give you a fresh start here, in this very castle.”

Her mind was having difficulty wrapping around her new reality but she still wanted to do her best to acknowledge that it was real. “W-what would that entail?”

“That depends on you. You could be my royal advisor, or maybe if you're looking to be adopted.…”

Marcy’s jaw went slack. It was too much. Yet… somehow it made sense, he seemed really nice. But could she really accept … ? After her life of hosting Black Kyber, galivanting around the galaxy, killing … She couldn’t. Then again, he’d also admitted to having blood on his hands, even if indirectly.

“Do you really want me … ?

“To be my daughter? Yes! You’re clearly highly intelligent and most importantly, kind. I would be honoured if you chose to spend the rest of your life here with me.”

She began quivering, rattling her loose bones and ligaments but she was too excited to pay the pain any mind. Her mind was spinning too fast to comprehend besides one thing: she could be a … princess?

She would be somebody without having to create someone entirely new! People would respect her, not out of mistaking her for someone else, but for herself. She would be important. She would be loved.

“I had a feeling you would like that idea,” he grinned. “You seem lonely.”

She looked at the floor and gave a shallow nod. She glanced back up to meet his kind eyes. “I’ve spent my whole life running from people, from being a person myself. I don’t want to run any more.”

“Then feel free to stay, enjoy your life, enjoy who you are.” He paused. “Now, one last thing,” his voice gained an edge. “I’m going to tell Darth Volcanus about the music box, but not the prophecy.”

“Wait, why? Wouldn’t she just keep the box for herself?”

“Ah, you see I know her type. I know what drives her. I know how to get her to give it to me, and I know how to make it something that she wants.”

“It’s power. She’ll want it.”

“Maybe it will be enough, but as you probably already know - “

“- Maybe isn’t good enough,” she finished his sentence.

“Then you understand. I’ll do what I need to do.”

She nodded. A feeling of the impending weight of planets on a collision course, growing in her chest. Her entire life had come to this. “Should I tell Anne about the prophecy and the box?”

“Hmm,” he scratched his chin. “Best not to. For now, stick to what you need to do. What that is exactly? I’m sure it will present itself.”

“Thank you, truly, for everything,” Marcy spoke with her heart.

“It’s been my pleasure, Marcy. I have to go now. I wish I could stay longer, but alas, I can’t keep my role as king waiting. I’m not sure when I will have time to see you next. I’ll be sure to stop by as soon as I can.”

“I look forward to it,” she smiled.

She didn’t see him the next day, nor the one after. He wasn’t even the next proper visitor that she had.

Darth Volcanus stepped into view looking tired and worn down. Her once explosive attitude had cooled from the lack of flow, seemingly being left to sit in the cool air.

The Sith stood there, staring down at Marcy with tired, red-rimmed eyes. Marcy felt uncomfortable. She felt raw, exposed, like her soul was being scanned.

“You’re Black Kyber,” Volcanus said, never breaking her thousand yard stare, her lower lip trembling as she spoke.

“No I’m-”

I don’t care what you think you are!!” The Sith cut her off with a scream. “You still have it up there,” she pointed with trembling fingers at her forehead.

“That’s- that’s not how it works.”

“ Why not ?” Fury bubbled beneath the Sith’s surface.

“Because I-” she tried to think of what to say, but struggled. She hated to admit it, but, theoretically Volcanus was right. It was just that… “I screw up, and they don’t.”

Darth Volcaus looked at her with unimpressed eyes. “Everyone screws up, dumbass. Do you think I want to be asking for your help?”

Marcy’s eyes widened. “You want my help?”

The Sith looked hastily, both ways down the hallway. “This stays between you and me, got it?” she hissed.

Marcy nodded, fearful of what the outcome may be if she didn’t.

“Listen, you’re going to help me find Anne, and you’re going to help me convince her to join me, or better yet, join us .”

Marcy’s mouth went dry, “You want me to be a…?”

“Darth Volcanus gave a slow single nod.

“And if I say no?”

A lightsaber ignited in the Sith’s hand, casting Marcy in a red glow. “What do you think?”