*More swearing again in this chapter*

Crying.

That's all I heard.

A baby's cry.

Red clashed with green with great speed; each blade sliced the air with a hum to follow. I saw a face. A dark one. No…not even a face. A mask. It battled with the green blade that belonged to a woman in a cloak. The same one she wore when I stole her Holocron when I was just a child. She seemed to be protecting something- no- someone.

It was raining. The rain seemed to be making the baby's cry worse as it increased in consistency- or maybe it was the baby who made the rainfall with her tears. I couldn't see her though, the baby, as she cried. But, I knew it must have been Syla. It was about time that she was due to enter the universe at this point. That and Cyla didn't look pregnant.

Cyla locked her blade with the Sith Lord as she held her ground tight. She threw him backward with a push of the Force and sent him a few good meters. He landed on his feet as he bent his knees to absorb the shock and glared at Cyla. His hand reached out and Cyla was soon up in the air as she grasped at her throat, not being able to breathe.

"Where is the child?"

"You'll - you'll never find her," Cyla gagged as her face began to turn blue. "You'll never find Syla."

He struck her down with his red blade and her last breath was released.

She fell on the ground and into the muddy grass as the rain continued to pound on the Earth. The rain seemed to have tripled in intensity as did the child's screams and cries.

Then, I saw a baby all alone on a cement step. It was in a bundle of blankets as it sat in front of the door and under a sign with strange writing on it; almost of another language. I crouched down to see that the baby still had stains of tears on her face; the child now asleep. It was freezing cold out- the baby's lips were turning blue.

Is this what it's like to be a part of this family? No matter how hard you try, everything you love dies? Every child goes on alone? Every child missing a parent? Even my own child at this point would be a toddler who had no father. This one, she had nothing but that bundle of blankets, a cardboard box on a rainy night, and a mother who had just been slain.

I crouched down to the box as I wiped away a raindrop- or maybe a tear- still left on her face. I knew that I was in a vision, but it just felt like the thing to do. I figured my hand would pass through the baby as if I were a spirit; just like how I had in the vision I had of a young Cyla. My hand froze once I could actually feel the presence of the child on a physical level. I wasn't passing through her.

The child's eyes opened. They were green. Just like her mother's. Bright green.

How in the universe could I physically be there? Able to touch and manipulate physical objects? I was in another galaxy! This was Earth! I was in the realm of the Empire!

The child seemed so curious as her wide eyes studied me. She made a few unintelligible noises as she slightly wriggled around in her blanket. She got her arm out from beneath the blanket and reached out to me. Not knowing what the heck was going on, I let her take hold of my finger. She laughed as she looked at me, but it may have been because of the face of horror I had when she was able to grab ahold of my hand.

I could feel such...I don't even know... but whatever it was, I could feel it flow through her very being. But, it didn't feel like the Force. It was altered. And, I knew this was Earth she must have been on. I should not have been able to sense anything, but I sensed everything once she held my hand. It was like that feeling before lighting strikes the ground; that unexplainable energy filled her small body.

The rain stopped falling as if someone turned off the hose of water that fed into the clouds. The rain stopped as if it never started.

"What ARE you?" I asked as if that infant were going to answer me. She didn't, of course.

I could hear someone behind that door that the box sat in front of start to question what that noise was as I said that. I realized that by the time someone cared enough to find the child on this doorstep she'd be dead from the cold. The bundle of blankets filled my arms as I picked up the small infant.I noticed that she was much smaller than Caleb when he was a newborn. The child began to whimper as she still had a grasp on my finger while I held her.

I let a deep sigh out as I took in the moment for a second. The child was so small and helpless. She was so helpless that she had to depend on me at this very moment. Her presence itself was strange. It felt like the moment that fills you when your in the middle of nature- that connection with life and the Force itself. She was teeming with this sensation.

The door made a light pounding sound when my fist came into contact with it. I could hear someone move around inside to meet us at the door. It was a man in a strange uniform and a badge over his heart that stood in front of us.I'm guessing he was some kind of law enforcement.

"Can I help you, sir?"

I was surprised they spoke Basic on Earth.

"I found this kid on this doorstep. I imagine that you'd want to take her inside before she dies from the cold."

I handed the bundle of blankets to the man who looked very confused- probably because of the armor I still wore. The child refused to let go of my finger even after she was handed to the man in the uniform. She began to scream and cry once she left my arms and placed into another's. I think it's because she knew that this life I was about to hand her over to was worse than what I thought of at the moment. She'd be an orphan on Earth- not even knowing her own name.

Once I wrangled my finger from her grasp, everything went dark. It was like that kid was the only thing tying me down to Earth.

My soul came crashing down into my body as I still laid on my bed. My spine jerked like I had been electrocuted as I opened my eyes. My breathing was labored as it felt like I couldn't catch it; it was always just out of reach. Then, it sank in.

Cyla was dead.

Vader killed her.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream bloody murder. My hands clamped down on the sheet below me as I still sat on my bed as I felt like I was going to float away; like I'd be back on Earth again and that this sheet was the only thing tying me down.

That's it.

I'm done.

I had it. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm leaving. This isn't the Empire I had once thought so highly of. They killed my Master. They said they wanted to rid the galaxy of chaos and the evil that the Jedi brought upon it. I knew this was a lie now. Cyla wanted to rid the galaxy of evil and she was not one of those Jedi that started the war. And, now that I think of it, how many other Jedi were like Cyla who were killed at the hands of the Empire? The ones who didn't want war but were sucked into it? All those Younglings? What had they done? Why did they have to be murdered?

I had to think of a way out of this Empire. I couldn't just walk out the door, I knew that. I needed a plan. One can't just go up to the Grand Inquisitor or Vader himself and say "I quit". No. I'd die. There was no way I could hide on Earth- the Empire obviously lifted their ban just for Vader. So, I had to go through the lower ranks to get the information through.

Aha! That's it! I thought.

I would inform the lowest officer I could find, they'd report it to their superior, then that superior would report to that above them, and then that one would report the one above them, and it'll take forever for the information to finally the Grand Inquisitor or Vader! All that paperwork those lower officers would have to do would take them rotations! I'd be long gone by then! I could just be a bounty hunter or something and make ends meet. Perfect!

So, I followed as planned. But, what I didn't expect was that I'd be summoned by Vader, along with the rest of the remaining Inquisitorius, to conger at none other than Lord Vader's castle on Mustafar the day after I gave the news. It was huge, dark, and the air felt like soup. I had no idea why he thought that Mustafar, a lava planet, was the best place to build his castle. But, hey, not my business.

At this point, I felt like a scared animal. Cornered. I didn't know if the news had already reached Vader or not at this point. And, I had a feeling the punishment I'd receive from Vader or the Emperor himself would be much worse than death. I wanted to die- not to suffer even more.

When my old green lightsaber was brought out by the Sith Lord, my heart stopped for a good few beats. I hadn't seen it in person since Order 66 and now it was in the hand of Lord Vader.

"Your former Jedi Master wanted you to have this back," he ignited the blade as he held the tip of it on the end of my nose. "The same Jedi you were tasked to kill was your Master and you failed to report directly to me."

I remained silent. I could feel the eyes of the other Inquisitors lock onto me.

"Tell me, Second Brother, how was Dume able to escape you on Coruscant?" his voice boomed in my head.

"She was too strong for me, my Lord," I gulped. "She was a very powerful Jedi."

Shit. I shouldn't have said "was". We weren't told she was dead yet.

"Or were you too weak?"

I silenced myself.

"Do you know where the child is? Syla Dume?" he inquired, still holding the lightsaber to my nose.

"I really have no idea, my Lord," I responded. I wasn't lying. I had no idea where on Earth she was.

Then, I could see him just stare at me. The eyes on the mask were unmoving and refused to yield while I internally crumbled. His heavy mechanic breathing was rhythmic while he still stood there. I could feel the mass amount of power emanating from him. It was similar to the child's power, strength wise, but polar opposite everywhere else. The child felt like she was a part of the Earth around her and one with the life around. The Sith Lord, he was one to dominate it against its will; to control the Force around him for himself. He was one to take the animal by the reins or the animal's neck breaks when trying to resist. The child was one who would be approached by the animal and it would be one with her; a loyal companion.

"Prove to me you are not as pathetic as I think you are," he ordered and took away the green blade from my face. I saw his gaze barely shift to Grand Inquisitor as I stood to my back to the pau'an. Vader thrusted the green blade of Jedi Knight Jalo Hikra into my hand and I could hear the blades activate behind me.

This is it, I thought. My time to die.

Finally.

But, for some reason, maybe pride, I fought off the other Inquisitors well and didn't get a scratch on me. They all came at me at once. It was difficult fending off each one of their dual-bladed lightsabers with just my single blade, but I managed. Grand Inquisitor was the worst to battle as he was much stronger than the others. Rage continued to boil over in him as he realized that I, a lower ranked Inquisitor, could even survive this long against him.

To defeat him, I pushed him away with the Force until he flung into a wall and was knocked unconscious. I didn't kill any of the other Inquisitors; I just knocked them out.

When I was finished, I turned to Vader as I held my green blade in my hands.

"Leave."

I stood there, frozen. What had I done wrong? Was he going to kill me? Did I do good? Did I do bad?

I should have been running out of there. He gave me a chance to leave and I just stood there like an idiot.

"You're not needed here," the Sith Lord spoke. "But, I expect from now on that you will report directly to me concerning any Jedi."

Skip ahead somewhere around ten to eleven years and I was doing just fine. I stopped grieving over my dead Master and missing brother about two years after Syla was born. I had looked into some Imperial records to find that Onthant was on Earth when Cyla was killed but he went missing afterward. I didn't even want to look for Strive. Force only knows how Cyla and Onthant described me after I attacked them. He'd see me as a monster.

Over this period of about ten, maybe eleven years, I worked as a bounty hunter and a damn good one. My conscious was getting slightly clearer with this job as I knew the only people I'd be killing were criminals- not Jedi who escaped the purge. Once and a while, the Empire would even have a bounty job for me.

I never dealt with Vader, thankfully. I still wonder how he reacted to my resignation…

But, why do I keep telling you that it was a ten/ eleven-year gap? What happened ten or eleven years after Cyla died?

Well, remember that little baby that Suna was pregnant with? Your mother?

Well...I found out you were a girl. And, I learned your name.

How?

I don't really recall why I decided to scour through the classified data of the Empire's Inquisitorius and it's newest trainees, but I did. I found out that the Empire had over a hundred young children in training to become Inquisitors on Lola Sayu. Only a handful graduated; the rest were killed. The youngest were five years old while the eldest were nineteen. If they didn't survive their final trails at the age of nineteen, they'd be killed for being too weak. But, you know this already, huh?

Then, I had a feeling. I gut instinct that told me to look at the names. First, I typed in Hikra to see if any of the children had my last name. None of them did. But, as you remember, Suna, your mother, hated my guts and we never got to see each other. She'd give you her last name; Styles.

Rachelle.

Rachelle Styles.

I finally learned your name.

I looked up your profile and you matched the age for how long ago Suna had left. Thirteen years old. You were a little over a year older than Syla. Looking deeper into the profile, I found out that you were ranked in the exact middle of your age group. That wasn't good. You would probably be killed by the time you were nineteen.

And, as luck would have it, at this time I had a bounty job for the Empire and they still owed me the credits. So, I took a risk and made a deal with the Devil. I requested to have an Apprentice in exchange for the bounty.

As I had once been an Inquisitor myself, I was permitted access to the old citadel on Lola Sayu where they trained the children.I was surprised to find out that Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother were the main wardens of the place. The greeting wasn't welcoming as all that was said was "Seventh Sister, Fifth Brother." " Hikra. This way".

Look, I'm sorry. I really am. Please stop crying. I wish I was lying...Rachelle, please… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just out and told you like that. It's really big news- I know. Hey! Don't get mad at me! I told you the woman I got pregnant was named Suna Styles and gave you a description of her a few chapters back! Did you just think it was a coincidence that a woman had your mother's name and exact description?! Ok...ok...I'm sorry. Do you want me to continue the story for Syla? Or do you want it to continue later?

Alright. Let's continue. I'm sure Syla at least want to hear the story. Rachelle, stop crying, please! You're how old?Fifeteen? Sixteen? You're fine.

Ow! Alright...I guess you aren't crying...Fine. I'll shut up.

Well, let's start off when I got out of my ship. Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother led me to the large building that was once a prison for Jedi. The Lola Sayu Citidael. The lava was absolutely ridiculous radiant in heat as it churned in a pool in front of the prison. The two Inquisitors led me to a large room where you and your fellow trainees were. There was well over a hundred of you all there. Each of you wore black armor, brandished a dual-bladed crimson lightsaber, and all of you had dark red, yellow, brown, or pale eyes. Some had scars, most had scowls, and all of you had a broken soul beyond repair.

This was my worst fear for you when I found out you'd be born. That you'd be a killer. A murderer. A monster made by the Empire. That you'd be anything like me.

It'd be suspicious for me to just choose you out of the blue. You weren't the top of your class. You weren't the most obedient. You weren't the strongest. You were just in the middle. And the fact I was partners with your mother and your aunt who shared your last name… It wouldn't look good.

So, I put you all through a trial. I narrowed the class down to just the ones above eleven years old and younger than fifteen. My reasoning to Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister was that the younger ones needed more training. I weeded out the older ones by reasoning that they'd have very little training with me as they'd be on their own soon enough. This narrowed the number down to about fifty kids.

When I did this, I spotted you immediately. You look exactly like your mother. Dark hair, same button nose, and that look on your face like you were ready to fight at all times. But, you took after a couple of my traits. Your mother's genes and my own for skin tone mixed and you got a medium color for skin. Not beige like me nor dark skin like your mother's. Your hair wasn't as curly as your mom's and you got a couple freckles on your nose from me.

You all dueled each other; you did pretty decently. But, you weren't the absolute best of your group. I tried you all at hand-to-hand combat and you had the same results. The same thing happened when I tested you all in defense from blaster bolts. Always in the middle.

I had you all test your Force abilities and you sure did prove to me that you had the combined power of me and your mother. You surpassed everyone else in that category. You could move things with the Force twice as well as any other person there- including myself. I should have figured. If Caleb had received his Force-abilities from his mother, you'd get twice the amount figuring both of your parents were once Jedi.

And, I chose you. You became my Apprentice.

I lost my mother when I was an infant, I lost my biological father, I lost the man who took me in as a dad, I lost my best friend, I lost my brother, I lost my Master, I lost my wife, and I lost myself.

But, I found you. And, I also found you too, Syla- the little orphan Earthling.

I'm trying to find myself again. The road is really rough, but at least I know that I'm not alone. You helped bring me to the Light again. I walk the path of righteousness once again and each of my hands is clasped by my family now. You both know the road I walk now and now each and every turn. It's been a long time since I had someone to help me; decades really. I never did anything to deserve it; for that, I owe you everything.

Thank you.

The End.