The dark alleys were lit by scorching, bright torches and a few flashlights. Angry footsteps pounded over the cobblestones and people shouted into the darkness.

"Where is she?"

"That damned Cursed bi—"

"They have bounties for the rare ones with feathers."

And worse things.

Jax moved along with the crowd, although with different intentions in mind. He hoped to find Kiki before she could be beaten or murdered in an alley.

With no sense of direction and fueled by its fury, the crowd pushed itself further into alleys and down side streets, more and more people joining on until it was nothing short of a mob—at this point, different groups split off in different directions. The light was divided and the groups headed off, screaming and threatening to do horrible, nauseating things to Kiki once they found her.

Jax's stomach churned and his blood ran cold.

Kiki ran blindly through streets and alleys, rushing past people who either had zero interest in her or would quickly snap their heads up and stare. Her lungs stretched against her ribs and her heart pounded in her chest; she barely felt her feet hitting the ground yet was sure of the pain rising in her heel when she stepped hard on stone.

Voices echoed off the tightly-packed building walls from her left, so she turned right and ran right past one of the smaller groups trying to kill her.

"There she is!" It was a man's voice that pointed her out and she barely collided with one of the group leaders.

Kiki shrieked as a hard, unforgiving hand grabbed her shoulder and almost pulled her toward the mob. With strength she didn't know she possessed, she wrenched her arm free and felt sharp shards of pain spark in her shoulder.

The people's screams rose with her adrenaline and pounded against her eardrums. Terror seeped through her body and made her limbs numb but didn't freeze her throat, which was now raw from all of the screaming she was doing.

"Kill her!"

"Beat her to death!"

Something flew past her head, but she didn't register if it hit her or not. Kiki was blind with fear and tears and running madly through streets she didn't recognize, in a city that would kill her and her kind at the drop of a hat. She couldn't expect anyone to try and help her, let alone the Coruscant police. She knew why neither they nor the army was called.

She was going to die a brutal death.

More blind turns were made. More hands reached out to grab her and more tears streaked down her face. At one point, the groups had converged and turned into a massive, snarling crush of bodies, bloodthirsty and wielding knives and torches.

And here, she'd thought that she'd finally made friends and wouldn't die alone. Jax had shown he cared; he hadn't turned her in or killed her on the spot; he gave her food and took her out to eat. He even brought his friends and they all tolerated her.

She'd never see him again, and that made Kiki sob harder. Her legs were going to give out. Her heart was beating so hard it made her head throb. Oxygen refused to flow properly and a splitting cramp formed just under her breast—and then she tripped. "No!" she screamed, scrambling on her hands and knees. The cobblestone ground spun in circles and bit into her hands, bright spots flashing in her eyes and making her stomach turn. She kept crawling forward until her head hit a wall.

Dead end.

On the ground, looking up into the faces of flame-lit strangers, Kiki felt small, worthless, much how the galaxy must have viewed her. She was going to pass out when a pair of hands closed around her throat, something hard hitting her in the gut. Her entire body reacted with a sudden, hard jerk, her head slamming against the wall behind her.

The person with their hands around her neck was trying to drag her forward, toward the waiting knives and fists. Before she even reached them, others rushed ahead and unleashed their fury on her. A hard booted foot slammed into her ribs and she cried out. Her scalp was set ablaze when someone pulled her hair and almost brought her whole body with it. Fists slammed into her face and pounded her head. She tasted blood, warm and metallic.

The entire time, Kiki screamed.

Just before she blacked out, she saw Jax, met his eyes. "H-Help…" Kiki's hand was pale and shaking, covered in grime and dirt, but she still tried to reach out to him. The look of horror on his face was plain and sharp, even as darkness crept around the edges of her vision.

The cold feeling in Jax's stomach spread to his limbs, and suddenly he wasn't feeling anything—he was watching and innocent woman get beaten to death, her hand reaching out to him even though he'd never be able to push through the crowd. He was watching his own hand go the blaster at his side, watching his forefinger squeeze the trigger and a bright green laser haphazardly hit a gutter and knock part of it down with a loud clang.

The loud crack of the blaster startled everyone. A woman screamed and backed up so hard she knocked violently into another man. It wasn't enough to stop the buzzing running through the people, or to release the hands around Kiki's throat. They all stared at him.

So he fired again, and this time everyone stopped.

Jax pushed through to the front of the crowd. "Let her go!"

The two people standing over Kiki—a Twi'lek and a human male—immediately complied and dropped her. She didn't move, but Jax could see was still breathing, her hands twitching. He didn't let the relief take over just yet.

"We weren't doing anything wrong," a woman at the front said. But her voice was unsteady; she wasn't sure of her own words. Jax realized it was the Twi'lek boy's mother, the one whose life Kiki has saved.

"Murder of a Cursed person is punishable by a fine." He hated the words he was saying. Murdering a Cursed individual was only punishable by a fine, and most of the time it wasn't even paid. He'd seen people go to actual prison for killing pets over murdering an undesirable individual.

"So?" the mother retorted. "She's Cursed! She could have hurt my son!"

"She saved your child!" he roared. Anger burned through Jax's system and sharpened his diction. His heart pounded in a rhythm of fury and he could feel himself begin to shake .Was this any way to thank someone for saving a child's life? "She could have easily let you be crushed by that cart, but instead she saved both you and your son. You all congratulated her and treated her like a hero!"

The woman faltered—guilty. It was on the faces of everyone else in the mob as well. They knew what he was saying made sense, that trying to kill someone right after they saved two lives was a ridiculous thing to do.

"Who says we gotta listen to you?" one man slurred, obviously drunk. He waved a bottle of alcohol around, spilling some on himself and the ground. He took an unsteady step forward. "Yer just one of them soldiers, ay? Come on, I'll pay ya to—"

Jax raised his blaster, aimed it straight at the man's chest. "Take a step back," he ordered, voice chilled. The command resonated with the entire group, and everyone stood back in unison. The people behind him quickly scurried away to try and melt into the crowd. Everyone was scared—and they should have been. He was a soldier; he had the authority.

Heads were bobbing through the crowd—helmeted heads. Jax was going to make an order for everyone to clear the way when one of the soldiers did it for him.

"We are soldiers of the Republic Army. Anyone who's in the way will be arrested! Clear out now!" At the front of the handful of troopers was Cord, his blaster raised and barreling past anyone who didn't move quickly enough.

Alarmed cries sprang up in the group. The civilians, barely in the mood for violence now that authorities were here, pressed themselves against the walls of the narrow alley, crushing anyone who was unfortunate enough to be at the edges near the walls. The gravity of what they'd almost accomplished weighed down on each of their heads. A few of them, most likely the ones who'd been carrying broken bottles and screaming the most threats, looked truly apologetic.

Cord removed his helmet to whisper to Jax: "How is she?"

"She's breathing." Jax's concern was palpable. "They almost killed her…" He examined her face, the state she was in, her bruises and bloody, broken, tear-stained face. "How'd you find me?" He didn't remember calling for back up.

"We were called to try and control the mob when Ratchet saw you in the crowd." Cord placed a hand on his shoulder, the maximum amount of comfort he was used to giving. "We'll take her in and figure out what to do from there."

Jax nodded and took a breath. "Alright."

Marik and Edger were barking orders at the civilians who were still hanging around. Slowly, they cleared away and the clones were left with a few drunks and an Aleena who actually lived in the alley.

The Twi'lek woman gave Jax a disgusted look before finally turning away.

With the bright lights of the mob gone, the back alleys of Coruscant became dark and empty. There weren't stars in the sky due to the light pollution from nearby streets. Shadows were twisted around the forms of huddled drunks and sharp turns, often causing someone to go in the wrong direction and get lost. It was not a place one wanted to be at night.

Jax shivered. "Where do we take her? She's injured."

"Technically, we can't take her in unless she's arrested…" Marik stood above Kiki, whose eyes were just barely open. "What should we charge her with?"

"Disrupting the peace?" Edger seemed proud of his joke. He snorts. "Or how about starting a mob and having them chase her through—"

"She didn't start it!" Jax snapped. "She saved two people's lives and they tried to kill her when they saw she had feathers."

Edger only shrugged. "Still, rumors are already flying around about the 'Cursed Jedi'."

Marik's head snapped up. "She's a Jedi?"

"No. She used to Force to save a woman and her child." No one had thought to pick Kiki up yet, so Jax hooked his arms under her armpits and pulled her up. He could hear her breathing, thready and filled with pain. His gut twisted.

Kiki hissed as something was pulled. Her surroundings, despite being dark and shrouded, spun in and out of focus, which only succeeded in making her nauseous. Her sides and head throbbed, her throat raw with the sensation of fiery needles. "J-Jax—" Kiki's voice, thick and heavy, split before she could get anything out. She could still feel the feet pounding into her stomach, the mob's screams and bloodthirsty hands ripping and clawing at her—

Kiki hiccupped, tears stinging her eyes and blurring what little she could see of the alley.

"Kiki!" Marik rushed over and nothing less than yanked her away from Jax. "Kiki, don't cry," he said. His fingers combed through her hair, running from her scalp to the ends. "Can you walk?" He felt her shake her head. "We'll take you somewhere to get you fixed up. Does that sound like a good idea?"

She nodded and began sobbing.

Ratchet put an arm around her waist and helped Marik half-drag, half-walk her out of the alley and down a back street. There were gas lamps that lit the sidewalks, spaced a few meters apart. They cast a hazy bluish glow that made the entire block look like it was on another planet. A small insect flitted by one of the lamps, flying in frantic circles around the bulb cover.

It was quiet save for the steady thrum of speeders on other streets and the occasional blare of a horn.

The clones hurried between houses and apartments until all the buildings became larger businesses and the streets were cleaner and less crowded with trash. There were no more drunks lining the sides of strangers' houses but neat, clean garbage cans and wall-posted restaurant ads.

Edger stopped at a set of double doors to the back of a duracrete building. He quickly punched in a code on the key pad beside the doors and waited for the light to flash green.

"What're we gonna tell the warden?" Marik hissed. "You think we can just—"

"Shut up! I'm thinking," Edger hissed back. "Just get her some medical attention and into a cell."

The doors swung open and the group was met with an imposing man in dark clothing. The warden. He had the expression of a man who'd been through this before and didn't want to go through the script. "Just take her to the infirmary—don't think I didn't know you'd be coming here."

The clones almost collectively hung their heads as they walked past the warden and into the building. Kiki was roused out of her pain-filled daze when the air temperature suddenly changed. She didn't have time register much, but she caught glimpses of offices, clean hallways, doors marked "Authorized Personnel Only", and a few vending machines. She was aware of the tiled floors her feet were dragging against.

They were moving too quickly past too many doors and too many unfamiliar scenes; she was getting dizzy again. She heard someone—maybe Marik—mutter "hang in there" before she closed her eyes again.

And just as quickly, she was thrown onto a hard bed with a thin, nearly flat pillow. Her boots were removed and tossed onto the ground with a heavy thud. The room had white walls, a white ceiling, and likely off-white floors. It wasn't brightly lit and she could see that there were a few other beds in here, along with doors that led to other rooms or closets.

Without warning, a medical droid tried to shine a light in her eyes. She swatted the light away and was instantly strapped to the bed.

"Please, do not try to be aggressive. I am only trying to help," it said in a monotone that was probably meant to be soothing but only succeeded in making her more agitated. "I will run a diagnostics test on you. Please remain still."

Kiki obeyed. She closed her eyes again and tried to focus and making the pain go away. When did her body get so sore? It hurt to breathe and what little she felt of her legs was a tingly sort of numb—but parts of them hurt. The soles of her feet throbbed and her head and neck ached. Her faced hurt, trying to talk hurt, making expressions hurt, everything hurt. Involuntarily, she moaned.

"Please remain still," the medical droid said, again with the unsettling tone. "I am running the diagnostics…you have a concussion. A few ribs have been bruised and your throat…"

Someone entwined their fingers with hers while the droid droned on about her sustained injuries and which ones were the most serious. The gloves they wore were softer than she'd thought, the hand warm.

"We'll take care of you," Marik whispered, watching the droid pull out a hypodermic needle. He felt more than saw Kiki stiffen and grip his hand tighter. Perhaps she did not like needles.

"What's it doing?" she murmured. Her swollen lip made it difficult to speak. Despite being concussed her eyes followed every move the droid made.

It answered for her. "This is a mild sedative that will put you to sleep for a few hours—"

Kiki immediately struggled to sit up. "Why do I need to—"

"Your stress levels are rising. You are agitating your injuries. Please remain calm so that I may—"

"No!" she said, her voice rising. The strain made her throat hurt again, but she didn't stop. "Why are you putting me under? Tell m—"

Marik quickly stepped to the other side of the bed, between it and the droid. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently forced her down again. "Don't worry, it's just to help you sleep better. I'll be here the whole time, I promise." Except he couldn't promise that. He could feel the warden's eyes on him even as he tried to soothe Kiki. He'd likely have to leave the room and explain why they brought a Force-sensitive Cursed homeless woman to his doorstep. It wouldn't be a pretty conversation.

"They do testing on Cursed people." If Kiki could grip Marik's arm and never let go, she would have, but the straps holding her arms down remained fast. "I don't want to be tested, Marik! I—"

Marik knew about the rumors she was referring to, about how some Cursed—the docile ones—never actually went into custody but to facilities where they were treated like animals and invasive experiments were run on them against their consent.

He also knew which ones were true.

"They're not going to run tests on you, Kiki—we don't even have the proper tools for that here." At least that much was true. "I'll be with you; just relax…"

Kiki's eyes flickered between him and the medical droid waiting at his shoulder, thin hypodermic needle waiting. "Alright…" She settled back down and tried not to yelp when the needle was inserted into a vein. Her fingers began to tingle, a soft, steady warmth running through her body, inching along until it reached her head and her vision went blurry around the edges. Drowsiness descended on her without warning, pulling her eyelids down until she fell asleep.

OoOoO

"…all over the news…"

"I know…rumors…

Kiki was floating. She saw nothing, felt nothing, but heard small bits and pieces of conversation. They drifted to her like leaves on the wind, occasionally spinning away so that she would hear them. She was comfortably warm and numb, almost unable to think.

"…can't stay here…"

Stay? What did that mean? Half of her wanted to try and decipher the strange words, but the other wanted sleep…

"Why…saved her…could be helpful, somehow…"

"Helpful? The Jedi…"

Jedi…She knew who the Jedi were. They protected people. They could move things with their minds and wore funny clothes.

"Want to see her…mentioned…"

"…can't do that…would have found her…years…"

Too many chunks were missing. If she tried any harder to figure out what was being said, she'd wake up and she didn't want that.

So she let the warmth, the darkness, cloud her mind again.

It's been a while since I last updated! Hopefully, the length of this chapter will tide you guys over for a bit. If anything's in present tense, please tell me. I was writing parts in present tense before I realized this was meant to be the opposite.

Until next time!

~AAx