Chapter 2

  A cluster of shady people circled the ring, watching a fight intently. Standing in the crowd was a hooded Katsumi, still in her Royal Jedi suit as she watched the fight intently. Weeks had passed since Katsumi escaped and Shijiru was arrested. Now Katsumi had fully eased into her new life as a lawless vigilante. She’d built up a hefty reputation as The Royal Jedi. Which is why she was here now, surrounded by criminals. She watched as a Crolute stomped around the arena, swinging his ginormous ax at his opponent. The opponent, of course, was cowering beneath the mighty reigning champion. As a mere untrained man, there was no way he could overcome the mighty brute force of the Crolute. Katsumi watched as the warrior readied himself to take the head of the poor captive. Now was the time! At just the right moment, Katsumi let her dark hood fall to the ground, revealing her status as The Royal Jedi to the world around her. Those close to her jumped back in a mix of shock and horror. Katsumi, however, wasted no time in jumping up into the air, over the crowd, and in between the two gladiators. She pulled out her lightsaber and unfurled the emerald blade. The Crolute wasn’t so easily intimidated and thus swung his ax at her head. Katsumi rolled under the attack and through the gap between his legs. With a swift move, she turned around and sliced him in half, causing his separated body parts to fall to the ground gruesomely.

   This was not the end of the scene, though. For the bouncers had all made Katsumi a target and were about to shoot her. She stood in the center of their aim, trying to figure out what to do next. She peered back at the man she had just saved, letting his terrified face serve as inspiration. However, she didn’t need it. Because next, a figure within the crowd all shot at a guard, taking him out. The others all let their aim fall to the figure, who was a Duros. Katsumi took this change and made her move, throwing her lightsaber for a guard's head, slicing it clean off. All the while the Duros fired at two guards, killing them both. Now, with the room cleared, the job was finally done. During all this, the crowd had fled the building, and it was now just Katsumi and her savior, who looked up at her amusedly.

   “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” she said, helping the Royal Jedi out of the ring, along with the man they saved.

   “Neither was I,” Katsumi laughed, snapping her lightsaber to her belt. The woman she was talking with was a new ally, one Katsumi only met a few days ago. Her name was Urbo, a feared bounty hunter within the underworld of Coruscant.

   “Do we split the reward on this?” Urbo asked, keeping a hand on her pistol, just in case things were gonna go south.

   “Huh? No, I don’t need any money,” Katsumi shook her head as the two walked out of the building, letting the crisp night air of Coruscant cool her off.

   “Really? Nothing?”

   “No, I’m not in this business for the money.”

   “Well, then… What do you want?” Urbo asked, genuinely perplexed.

   “Me? I’m just looking for leads,” she half-joked.

   “Really? Well… Leads to what?”

   “Huh? Oh, I didn't mean it..." Katsumi said, looking down at her feet.

  "Hey, I know we just met, but you can trust me. I promise!" Urbo looked into Katsumi's eyes, showing true sincerity. Katsumi stopped walking at thought hard about this for a moment. Could she put her faith in Urbo? If she told her, she might be able to help. But if Urbo wasn't genuine, she might figure out who she was and report her back to the Jedi. The Republic had put a bounty on her head, as well as Shijiru's, who had supposedly escaped (if the rumblings of the underworld were to be believed, that is). However, the odds seemed to be in her favor.

  "Well... Okay... I’m trying to track down a man…” was her only answer. Katsumi was surprised she allowed the conversation to go this far.

  “If you don’t mind me asking… who?” Urbo pushed.

  “Oh… uh… well… His name is Shijiru… Shijiru Purah,” Katsumi slowly informed her. As the words slipped off her tongue, a switch was flipped in Urbo’s head.

  “The Jedi? The one who was arrested?” She inquired.

  “Yes, him… Rumor has it he’s broken out of jail.”

  “The Republic tries so hard to keep these things secrets most of the time. However, with all this focus on war, they’ve lost a lot of their secrecy.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Katsumi admitted, then returning to the topic at hand, “Do you have any idea where he might be?”

   “Well, it’s funny you’d bring that up. You see, it’s not anything concrete, but…” Katsumi’s face, though concealed by her mask, was beaming.

It was early in the morning, and Katsumi stood over the counter, looking for a few small pieces of food she could take with her on the long journey she was about to take. She rummaged through cabinets and drawers, pouring over their contents. Just then, she heard footsteps coming from behind her.

   “What do you want?” She asked Rilishoshi. She turned around to face him. He was in a kind of nightgown since he had just gotten up.

   “We need to talk. Listen, I know you want to save him. But… don’t lose what you have in the present to restore the past,” he advised her.

  “What’s that have to do with things? I thought you liked Shijiru!”

  “I do, I do. All I’m saying is that, while yes, you’ve lost him, through these events you’re finally able to spend some time with your son. You can finally be a parent now. Now you don’t have to risk your life on the front line. Now you can just live life the way you want to live it.”

  “But what if this is how I want to live my life?” she retorted proudly.

Later, Katsumi stood in front of a grungy junkyard. It was night, so this would be the perfect time for something like this. Not that it mattered anyway. She was so far off the beaten trail that she found it hard to imagine the rundown buildings of the village were still being lived in. She stepped through the gates quietly and called out with her mind, Shijiru. This was a special trick of theirs— it was called kything. It allowed them to verbally communicate without making a sound. It was an advanced art of the Force, one banned by the Jedi long, long ago. Shijiru! she called again. However, the response that came next wasn't what she was looking for.

   "Hello, my queen," a familiar voice sneered from behind her. Katsumi darted around and saw Urbo.

   "Shhhh!" Katsumi urged her.

   "There's no need to keep quiet, your highness," the bounty hunter cooed as she slowly unlatched her blaster-pistols.

   "Why are you here?" Katsumi whispered, stepping toward her friend.

   "To do this!" Urbo laughed as she swiftly pulled out her blasters and shot a stunning blast at Katsumi, who saw this coming. With her Jedi reflexes jumped up in the air, twirling around as she extended her saber, gracefully landing behind the Duros. Kneeling on the ground, her arm extended, saber in hand as she looked dead on at her attacker.

   "So I guess you didn't need me to get you out of that earlier," Urbo chuckled.

   "Why are you doing this? I trusted you!" Katsumi pleaded.

   "Sweetheart... I don't know what those magicians told you about this world, but you can't trust no one." Urbo fired again, this time Katsumi blocked the rings of light and sent them flying off into the sky.

   "Why... Why would you do this?"

   "You haven't figured it out by now?" she laughed again. It was just then, as the compulsive ridicules left her mouth, that Katsumi sensed something behind her. She darted around to see. Her husband loomed behind her, a large metal club raised above her. She barely had time to take in what she was seeing before she was knocked out.

- Two weeks ago -

   Shijiru sat in prison, a blast door kept him locked in his cell. Outside he could sense two clones guarding the room, lest he somehow escapes.

   "It's cute," he chuckled beneath his breath, "that you think you're keeping me here.: He closed his eyes, and kythed, called out through the forbidden parts of the Force, to someone. Just then, he heard the cell door unlatch, and in walked the noble Lirio. He stood tall above the prisoner, who sat slumped against the wall on the floor.

   "Hello, old friend," he said coldly as the door flew shut behind him.

   "Would you have ever thought things would've turned out this way?" Shijiru half-joked as he straightened himself up.

   "Yes," was his quick and thoughtless reply.

   "Unexpected... Well, anyhoo, why are you here?" Shijiru asked.

   "I'm here to ask you about what happened. I need some info."

   "Really? I would've thought they'd send in someone a little better than you— no offense."

   "None taken. Most of the Jedi are out fighting battles."

   "You wish they'd send you out, right?" Shijiru inquired.

   "What? No... not at all... I'm perfectly happy doing whatever they need me to do."

   "If that helps you sleep at night. But deep down I know it burns you up that they're sending padawans out there to fight the war when a perfectly trained Jedi Knight sits here watching over a mere captive."

   "Shut up!" Lirio yelled angrily, "I'm here to interrogate you!"

   "Fine, fine. Do your talking."

   "Thank you. Now, I didn't come to your door to arrest you for your relationship with Katsumi. That wasn't worth causing such a fuss. Breaking the Jedi code isn't serious enough for armed guards to come with me. I arrived at your house to arrest you over your involvement in the recent Holocron scandal." At this, Shijiru rolled his eyes.

   "Really? That again? Listen, neither I nor Katsumi had anything to do with that. However, a little birdie told me she did," Shijiru nodded at a Jedi walking past his cell.

   "General Dunma had absolutely nothing to do with them and you know that!" Lirio yelled once more.

   "My, you're so easy to tick off," Shijiru laughed.

   "Is this a game to you?"

   "Eh, as close to one as it can get in here," he laughed, as the sounds of blasters began to fire, and alarms started to sound. At this, his cell locked again.

   "'The heck did you do?" Lirio growled.

   "I've done nothing... yet." He then hopped up and threw a punch at the Jedi. Lirio fell over onto the ground, knocking his head against the metal wall. Shijiru snatched the Jedi's lightsaber off his belt and turned it on, revealing a glorious purple blade.

   "Let's get out of here," he said as he jabbed the lightsaber into the door. He quickly cut his way out and looked down the hall to see the chaos. A group of clones and their General all fired at a hooded figure, who sent them all back with the Force. Dunma threw the blaster down and ran at the attacker, verdant lightsaber extended. She clashed with her enemy (who ejected his blue blade as she attacked), displaying an impressive Form VIII. Shijiru snuck up behind the clones and struck them down with a single blow. Dunma saw this in the corner of her eye but stayed focused on the target.

   "Shijiru, help me!" she called out, kicking her opponent back.

   "He's not here to hurt anyone, Marot," Shijiru said as he slowly stepped forward, "He's just here to pick someone up."

   "What is this?" she asked, looking back and forth at the two.

   "Not what you think. I'm sure you're familiar with Revv," Shijiru said, nodding at the cloaked figure. He pulled his hood down, revealing a known face to Marot Dunma. Revv was tall, and had a large scar across his left eye, extending down to his chin. His long red hair was tied up in a bun, keeping it out of his way as he fought.

   "Why? Why are you here?" she asked, turning her lightsaber off, "And why this?"

   "We came for you. And don't worry... The clones and Lirio are all just collateral damage," Shijiru smiled.

- Present-day -

Katsumi jerked awake. Bright light flooded her eyes, which were gradually focusing on her surroundings. She tried to move, but her ankles and wrists were tied to her chair.

   "Welcome back, dearest," a familiar voice said, soothingly from behind her. However, Katsumi winced at the tones.

   "Shijiru, what's going on?" she yelled.

   "It's... Quite a lot to explain," he prefaced.

   "Where am I? And why am I here? And what have you been doing these past weeks? You were free, why didn't you come to find me?" she cried angrily.

   "Katsumi... Calm yourself. I'll explain it all to you if you let me," he said soothingly.

  "Fine," Katsumi said, trying to hold bad her hurt curses. 

  "You see... Honey... Things have become more complicated than you know. However, I can assure you that the time I've spent away has been well used." As he said this, things appeared where seconds ago they were not. People suddenly just came into existence right before her eyes. They were all in long, flowing black robes. A pattern was woven into the upper part of their robe: a white triangle with two lines running through it; one vertical and one horizontal. Among these figures, she saw many familiar faces. The most surprising of these was that of her longtime friend: Marot Dunma. When her eyes fell on her she jumped back in her chair, as visions of Shijiru's escape polluted her mind. She heard the pain, the death, and the suffering of the clones killed by Shijiru and his cultist. She saw them, seeking out young and broken Jedi, using them to grow their numbers.

   "I... I can't believe you..." Katsumi stammered as she came to these realizations.

   "Dear, this— this has been our dream for the longest time. We've wanted to fix the Jedi. Well... That's what this is. Meet the Royals. A new kind of Jedi. Force users trained within the realm of the forbidden arts." Katsumi stared in bewilderment. This... This had been her dream for the longest time. She'd always wanted the Jedi to embrace the powers available to them. But now she saw what could be in the wrong hands... evil hands. Katsumi blinked, trying to gather herself.

   "This— this is not what I meant. This... The 'Royals'... They're nothing better than the Sith. Think of all the terror you're causing. That's not right. That's not just. That's not like the Jedi!"

   "Maybe the Jedi had more wrong with them than we initially thought."

   "Are you... Are you saying this is okay?"

   "I'm saying that... To preserve peace, some liberties must be taken." This disgusted Katsumi.

   "All of you... All of you... Jedi Knights that I've trained with for years... My only real family... All of you are okay with this?"

   "They understand what it takes to keep the galaxy safe, Katsumi," Shijiru said, this time more aggressively than usual.

   "Get me out of here... Get me away from you!" Katsumi screamed, fighting against her restraints. Shijiru nodded at a Royal, and she proceeded to form some kind of white orb of energy in her hands. She then thrust it towards Katsumi's face, causing her to slip away into unconsciousness once more.

When she awoke, a cold hand was pressed against her lips, and an earnest face was staring down at her.

   "Katsumi," Marot whispered, looking around frantically to make sure they were alone, "I'm here to get you out." Katsumi wanted to speak... she wanted to tell Marot how glad she was to still have a friend in this cold, cruel world.

  "Don't speak," Marot ordered her as she pulled back her palm, "There's an incantation over this place... yeah, those exist... that'll instantly alert Shijiru and the others if you make a sound," Marot then closed her eyes and outstretched her hand. Beads of sweat were sliding down her face as she tried to concentrate. She pulled open a portal from out of thin air. It led back to Rilioshi and Lillias's place, as Katsumi could see. Marot nodded at Katsumi, who just then realized her restraints were no more. She slowly and carefully got up and jumped out into the portal.

When they came out, they were outside of their home.

   "How'd you know where I live?" Katsumi asked before bright lights started flashing from beside her. Out on her right, Lirio led a group of clones towards her. She instantly looked back at Marot with hurt in her eyes.

   "How could you?!"

   "No, Kat, listen, I can explain." Marot tried to grab Katsumi's hand, but she pulled away angrily.

   "You brought the Republic here! I get it now, you just wanted to turn me in!" Katsumi pulled out her lightsaber and ran for the clones. Lirio pulled out his blade, which was a rich magenta.

   "I knew you'd show up sooner or later!" he cried. When the two got close, their blades clashed. Katsumi kicked him back into the wall of a building and made a go at his head. He ducked down and rolled under her legs. She turned around and was about to swing when she realized that all around her clones were aiming for her face.

   "Fire!" Lirio orders brutally. At the very word, Katsumi launched herself in the air, almost ten feet high. She threw her lightsaber down at the clones, and it ran around the circle and mercilessly ended them all. Lirio stood surrounded by his fallen comrades.

   "Katsumi... When did you become this? When did you become a murderer?" Lirio cried, bitter tears falling from his eyes.

   "The day you came to arrest me," she said as she landed powerfully on the ground.

   "Don't you care? Don't you care about all the lives you just ended?"

   "No, not really," she said as she marched towards Lirio, ready to kill. She pulled her lightsaber over his head and was about to swing down when a portal opened below Lirio and the clones, saving him. Katsumi was left there, alone in the rain. Behind her, Marot showed up.

   "I'm sorry Katsumi. I didn't mean for that to happen... I promise..."

   "Get away from me," Katsumi growled.

   "I just wanted—"

   "Go away!" she yelled, turning around and igniting her lightsaber. However, Marot had disappeared, leaving her truly by herself.