Disclaimers: I do not own The Lord of the Rings and "Star Wars". They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, George Lucas, and Disney. All canon material belongs to their respected owners. All original material belongs to me, the authoress of this fanfiction story.

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Welcome to the second part in my fanfiction trilogy, The Maranguan Chronicles. :)

While the first part focuses on Maranguan's return to his light side form, Parker Dooley, this part will hopefully focus on Parker's struggle to redeem himself, as well as embrace the light and the dark. This will be ongoing throughout the rest of the Long Series. So, it'll be quite the journey. :)

For this story, there is a part in the Epic Struggles series whose origin story starts makes its appearance. Also, this chapter is inspired by the ABC television show "Boy Meets World", in which Eric Matthews becomes a Good-Looking Detective. :)

So, without further ado, I present The Shadow Empire.

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A year passed, since the events of Parker Dooley's turn to the Dark Side, becoming the evil, scarred dragonoid Maranguan, as well as his return to the light, in a matter of two days. Now, as the year ended, the construction of the first temple on the planet Zafna, for newly-built Shadow Empire, was now complete.

It was anyone's guess how this grey empire would rise, competing against the Republic and Empire in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. For now, the Shadow Empire was kept in secret, just the way Parker Dooley wanted.

~o~

Parker observed the green grassy landscape from the Shadow Empire's first temple observation platform. He couldn't believe how beautiful the planet Zafna was, what he had been missing. Traces of Maranguan lingered in his heart, but he guessed as much would happen to him. He would never be the same dragonoid he was before. He could feel it in his heart he had changed.

Parker was a wingless red dragonoid with a dragon-like head and a body that looked similar to that of a human, but with dragon-like features, including a short snout that was tipped upright at the end. His teeth were sharp, but not too sharp, which meant that he had to be careful about biting someone hard. It would kill them in an instant, if he didn't let go.

His eyes were yellow with swirling red mist inside the irises, making him unique among his dragonoid kin. It was a trait he and his evil/good half Maranguan now shared in one body. His claws were black, as were his scales which ran down from his back to his medium-sized tail, curled up next to his feet. His horns were short, grey, and curved at the tip. Half of his body was covered in scars and burn marks, something Maranguan was given when he became a Sith Lord, before he turned into a Dark Lord, and finally Emperor of his new empire. That empire, the Shadow Empire, was now his and his counterpart, Parker Dooley, who was grateful to be good again.

Parker sighed, wondering when all the scars would leave his body, so he could become whole again. More himself. More towards the light. He wondered if such dreams would ever exist.

Today, he wore a long blue jacket over a white tunic and a pair of brown trousers. The cape he wore was a lighter shade of blue, but very comfortable, given the cool air that came off from the river, which flowed not far from the temple. He looked at his sword and his lightsaber. Today was the day when he would attempt to craft a new lightsaber, one that was geared towards the light and adjusted to his emotions better.

He checked his new bronze watch. It was half past two in the afternoon. He sighed, moving away from the stone wall as he made his way inside the temple.

"Well, time to check on Qua'ra and her family," he said, hoping to hear good news.

~o~

Qua'ra huffed. The last she expected was her blue-eyed, brunette-haired sister Kat'ka wasting her life away, watching the holonet frequently. Didn't they have better things to do than to sit around all day?

Qua'ra, in her human form, had a thin frame, thanks to exercise she put herself through. She had to be fit for her light brown lioness form, which had jagged scars, as well as tiny scars, all over her body. She had straight, long brunette hair in her human form and green eyes that looked like diamonds. Her skin was pale, but a little tanned due to being outdoors a lot. The clothes she wore today consisted of a brown furry jacket, a white shirt, and brown pants. She gathered her black sports shoes and put them on, before approaching her sister.

Kat'ka had pale skin that was a bit whiter, due to being indoors a lot. She had fair features, like her sister; although, she claimed she wasn't pretty enough to match her sister's appearance. The clothes she wore today were a blue hooded jacket, a white shirt with a floral pattern on the front, and grey sweat pants with black stripes lining the sides. Given her bare feet and the fact that her matching black shoes, in the same brand as her sister's shoes, were on the floor, next to the cushioned blue couch, remained in question. She wasn't in the mood to go outside. That much was clear.

As for their apartment, there was a large living room with a device that showed a large blue screen, revealing faces moving to and fro. In this instance, there was a show happening on this device. The holonet as they called it. Several chairs, coffee tables, and couches lined the room, each in the colors brown, blue, and grey. The kitchen and dining room stood on the other side of the room, with all the appliances and furnishings one could muster. The bedrooms and bathrooms were beyond that on either side of the apartment. There were two large bedrooms, a master bedroom, and smaller rooms for children, who were bunking together.

In a way, this apartment, inside the temple, was too much to pass up. Still, Qua'ra loved that she got to paint the apartment in any color she wished. She chose beige as her base color. So far, it worked.

Qua'ra sat down on the couch next to her sister, moving her legs back enough so Qua'ra could sit down. In Kat'ka's arm was a silver bowl filled with popcorn, which she ate vigorously.

"Oh, look at that! You're down now, you criminal!" Kat'ka laughed, enjoying this moment.

"Kat," Qua'ra spoke to her with a mature tone, "you need to get out of this apartment. Your fiancé Valo is doing great things for the empire. He's even got a job was one of the leaders of the scarred lions. We're doing so well. Why don't you join me? I'll recruit you into the scarred lionesses' academy. What do you say?"

"Aww!" Kat'ka did not like hearing that. "But I'll miss my favorite show! The one where Vitiate gets his comeuppance!" She snickered. "I love Zafna's shows. They're fun." She admitted, curiously, "You know what? I could do that. I could become a TV personality… or a holonet personality. They'll be looking to me with honor. I could be Kat'ka, Secret Detective!"

"Kat," Qua'ra told her, concerned, "come on. I'll help you get started." She stood up, hoping her younger sister would join her this time.

"In a minute, Qua. Let me finish my show," Kat'ka said, eating another piece of popcorn.

Qua'ra was about to say something else when a knock protruded on the door. She sighed, thankful the temple allowed them to have their own apartments and suites. Although, she wondered what Parker's suite was like. Emperors got the best suites in their Empire's home world. She wondered what it would be like to rule this Empire if Parker passed it onto her and her husband Gore Holdo.

She approached the white painted door and opened it, stunned to see Parker Dooley on the other side. She smirked, glad to see him. "Parker, I was just expecting you." She looked at her sister again. "She still hasn't budged."

"I need your help," Parker said, gesturing for her to step out into the stone hallway. Qua'ra did, closing the door behind her.

"Yes. What is it?" Qua'ra asked, curious. Her smile faded. Something was wrong. "Parker?"

"I need to ask you a favor. You're a shapeshifter and you shapeshift frequently." Parker said, finding the will to say what needed to be said, "I need your help shapeshifting back into a human. I haven't done it in a while. I feel like I've forgotten how. It was so much easier to shapeshift when I was younger. Aslan helped out back then. Now, I want to do it more frequently, without the need to forget."

"Has Maranguan given you some ideas?" Qua'ra asked, concerned.

"No. Not a word," Parker said, worried.

"Come with me. I'll help bring your human side back. It's simple, really," Qua'ra said, leading the way into an empty training room. The training room had bamboo walls that were well insulated. The floor was carpeted, and there was even a greyish-green bin for pillows. There were even a few workbenches set up and ready for use. Parker would make sure to use one workbench, as soon as he finished with Qua'ra for today.

"Good. I don't know what I'd do without my human side," Parker said, taking a seat on a red pillow. He waited until Qua'ra joined him, sitting on a purple pillow. He remembered what the Matriarch said: to breathe in and out. To focus on his breathing. This time was different, at least it appeared so.

"Now Parker, I want you to think of nothing else for a few minutes," Qua'ra instructed. "Don't even think of me, your wife. Anyone but you. Focus on what you want to bring forth. In this case, your human form. Remember your shapeshifting training. Now, think of what your human self looks like. Concentrate. Believe that you are that form. The rest will come easily."

She opened her eyes, stunned to see a human man with hairy hobbit feet, brown locks of soft, curly, thick hair, and pale skin. His features were fair, almost elven. As he opened his eyes, she saw blue irises that looked like the sky. He felt his ears, finding they were short tipped. She smiled, the second the hobbit-human checked himself over. He smiled, bowing to her as they stood up.

"Thank you, Qua'ra," it was Parker. She recognized his voice! They'd done it!

"You're human," Qua'ra said with a smile.

Parker smiled, too. "It appears so. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Qua'ra said, standing up as well and putting her pillow in the bin. She asked, excitement growing in her veins, "So, when's the next lesson?"

"One thing at a time," Parker said, putting his pillow in the bin as well.

"Great. I can't wait to get started," Qua'ra said, smiling wider.

"Me neither," Parker said, ending the conversation.

*.*.*

Thanks for reading. :)

References:

Aslan, the Great Lion, comes from C.S. Lewis' book series, The Chronicles of Narnia.