Private The Depths of Leejun

[Maple Harte]

Going to Coruscant in: The Scarlet Phantom

Wearing: Personal Armor

Armed with: Staff

Zealot's Eye

Shadow Proclamation


This was damn risky.

Damn Risky.

She was in Golbah City. Prepping to go to Coruscant.

Trouble was, Coruscant was currently under control of The Grayson Imperium, which did not like those with even a hint of the Dark Side about them.

Her illness had gotten worse. After a near fatal encounter with the Amalgam, she had been left "half" a darksider, her left eye the sulphur of The Sith, her right the bright viridian green Veronika Fleischer had known and gazed into. Maple was ashamed. Ashamed because she didn't know how Veronika would react to the new darkness in her, as well as the fact she was asking her to risk danger by going into territory she knew was absolutely hostile. All to learn more about her mysterious nemesis that, as the vampire Nine Lives had put it, was completely yandere for Maple.

She was wearing her white and black and purple armor given to her by Matsu Ike and had sent out the transmission for Veronika to meet her.

Maple needed a friend for this, a face she could trust. She didn't give Veronika urgency to reply as in all honesty she knew it was so risky she was putting it off herself.

An old enemy, one she believed long dead had sent her a box. A strange one with gold and black patterns. A box he claimed had been made by the person The Shi'ido had once been before going to the Dark Side. An example of her artwork.

She sat looking at it, studying it for hints of The Amalgam's personality in it. So much of her was a mystery. So much. But nothing stood out. It was just a beautiful but strange box. Soon she went back to checking her equipment.

Why had the beast stalked her ever since she was a Jedi? Why did it continue to stalk her? Why was it so obsessed with dominating her life?

As she prepared her gear in the quarters aboard Ursula's old ship, a deep red chromium H-Type Nubian hidden laser cannons in an open air landing pad in the deep part of Golbah City, she caught herself focusing on Ursula's old gun of choice. The Zealot had been a stolen prototype of a Galactic Empire Machine Gun. Ursula had added a special scope and the rest was history.

She felt a tear slide down her eye as she stared at it. She both loved and hated Ursula Sandraven. She stared and remembered all the times she had been Ursula's spotter.

Ursula had made her the Monster she was today. Ursula had been a stern, demanding, taskmaster, and a friend all the same. Not inowing how she had died at The Amalgam's hands was worse than knowing she was dead. Now she'd never get to resolve how she felt.

She hefted the weapon, staring out through its scope. She wanted to tell her how sorry she was. She wanted to curse her. She didn't know what she wanted.

She waited for Veronika, hoping she would show, partly in the hopes she would have backup and partly to escape the nagging fear she had merely hallucinated Veronika.

She missed the scent of Veronika's hair, the sheen of golden skin. The infectious smile. It had been so long since they had talked. She would explain more when she arrived.

Maple finished checks on the weapon and sat on the floor to meditate on her hate and love for Ursula, how it writhed in her. How it gave her pain. She didn't know how to resolve it, and she wasn't about to put Veronika through her doubts and gripes about Ursula. This was about, after all, a much different problem...

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

When was the last time they hung out together? And by they, it referred to a particular brunette whom Veronika had met and kept hanging around. The two of them were different in terms of character and behaviour, but that was precisely the point. She liked the way the brunette carried herself around casually in leather jackets. Or perhaps it was the smile. Or maybe it was the mysterious entity who never seemed to let go of her lover.

She found herself wandering into the spaceport of the city, taking a few selfies with a bunch of thugs who actually were her fans. The witch found herself entertaining them a little more than expected, deciding that it would be easier to get them to point her to the right ship.

"That way? Thanks."

The witch gave her fans a lingering smile that made them grin back, her figure disappearing behind the shuttle bay doors. The ship was there, basking into the afternoon sun which gave the hull a rusty looking shade of red. A few steps up the ramp ladder and she soon found herself into the main holding area. Maple was there, sitting cross legged on the floor and meditating.

Veronika silently crept up behind the brunette and wrapped her arms around Maple, giving her lover a slow kiss on the neck. Her scent was lavender breeze, mixed with Nlorna flowers and a touch of pheromones from a Zeltron designer.

"Miss me, darling? Sorry, meditation time is over."

She could not help but giggle. Maple seemed to bring out the flirtatious side of her every time they were alone.

"Hmm..."

Her senses picked up a unusual hint of darkness as she peered closer at the brunette, who still had her eyes closed. Was the Amalgam getting stronger?

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple meditated in the quiet of her quarters, trying to subside her madness even momentarily. But the delusions sometimes pulled her back and forth to a thousand delusions that often lasted whole life times in her head. Just five minutes ago she had sincerely believed she was Ahsoka Tano about to get beheaded by Vader.

She had been reading more of the book they had recovered. It had given her nightmares every time she had done so, but her magical comprehension had indeed increased to a degree. She hated the book, hated how she didn't want to let go of it, hated The Amalgam for basically baiting her to take it.

The world around her was white suddenly, and she was in an all too familiar chokehold.

"Uri, Dear..." The Amalgam hissed from behind her in her ear. "Our bond has grown..."

"Leave me be, Amalgam."

"Never." The Witch said firmly, almost playfully. "For you are ever in my thoughts...and you tie yourself to me with each moment the Dark churns in you."

"Can't you find someone else for whatever your fethed up plan is?" Maple demanded.

She felt cold revulsion as the Amalgam's fingers brushed her scalp, petting it.

"Interesting idea...I suppose its possible, finding someone else as insane as I am...but, oh, dear, they would not be you. Even if there was another suitable candidate, I'd still pick you...Daughter."

"I don't recall you in my childhood, schutta." Maple spat angrily, trying to break the choke and failing.

"Are you so sure?" The Amalgam taunted her, even as the arm around Maple's neck tightened.

"You will understand. Someday, you will understand it was all to better you. And you will thank me. Hell, you'll always want to fight at my side. And we shall be inseparable."

The hug and affection in the real world from Veronika Fleischer disrupted The Amalgam's hold on her mind, snapping her out of it.

She was real. Oh thank the gods, Veronika was real...

Maple felt the kiss on her neck that disrupted The Amalgam's connection, making the evil witch snarl mentally as she was forced to back away.

Maple's hands clasped Veronika's arms gently, holding her there for a few seconds, feeling the skin, that wonderful golden skin.

Maple, hesitantly rose from her meditation, hesitantly looking up at Veronika, almost scared of what she would think when she saw Maple's left eye was the sulphur of a Dark Adept...

"You are...a sight for the sorest of eyes..." Maple spoke quietly, still disturbed by her mental encounter with The Amalgam. "I missed you...and I am sorry we do not meet under more easygoing conditions...but..."

She took Veronika, staring into her lovely eyes. She hated herself for asking Veronika to do this but there was no way she could hope to solo it. Han Solo could have probably solo'd it, but not her.

"I've had a bad past few months...and...and I need your help..."

Maple sat on the edge of the bed.

"One of my oldest enemies...my very first actually who is living a sort of semi-retirement, he sent me something..." she explained, pointing to the small, gold and black box on her desk.

"He says that it was made by Miss Cyberpunk Fetish herself...before she got all cyberpunky...when she was still nothing more than a street vagrant. He says he has the way to open it, and is willing to meet us in the place she spent her formative years. Trouble is, that place is the underworks of Coruscant...which is under control by the Grayson Imperium...a light side version of the empire...its not a solo job..."

Maple steadied herself.

"I'm asking you to take an awful risk here...this is effectively enemy territory you will be entering. Right at the heart of the territory, in fact. We'll be stuck in her old stomping grounds. Once we get in, we keep cool and to the ground, and we leave Coruscant just as quietly. But I need someone I trust...because I cannot beat her on my own. I've tried. She slapped me around like I'm nothing. Left me with a parting gift..." she explained, gesturing to her eye.

"I know I have no right to ask you to do something so dangerous. And I will understand if you want no part of it."

Maple waited to here Veronika's answer. The mission didn't happen without at least two people.

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

"I'll be damned."

Veronika raised her eyebrow in surprise. She remembered the colour of her lover's eyes vividly, a brilliant shade of green that caught her attention since the beginning. Now, one of the greens had turned into an unusual yellow. Only darksiders who tapped into the Dark Side of the Force would possess the ghostly yellow look in their eyes. The witch was pretty sure that she probably dabbled in more Dark Side powers compared to Maple Harte , but her irises remained emerald green so far. If anything, she was slipping into the category of purple whenever she channelled her own powers.

"Looks like you are the one with a sore eye instead."

She leaned in closer to examine the yellow that stared back at her while trying to judge Maple's aura. The brunette appeared fine, showing no signs of being possessed. Unfortunately, it also meant that something unpleasant had happened to Maple, like having the Amalgam being the big bad bully.

"So, another run-in with the Amalgam... She is definitely annoying."

The blonde sighed and pulled Maple tightly into her arms, kissing the lips that she had memories of, before giving another peck on Maple's new eye.

"She's playing with us every time, darling. I think you know that as well. I don't like being played... But I suppose we can pick up useful information in Coruscant. Besides, I do want some of the fancy labels there."

Veronika broke the embrace and pulled Maple to her feet.

"Are we waiting for anyone else? Or just the two of us again?"

 

[Maple Harte]

Veronika's kiss broke Maple's fears for the moment. Maple remembered the softness of the lips the most as she returned the kiss.

The kiss on her now corrupted eye did more to reassure Maple Veronika Fleischer was real and not a cruel hallucination.

"The fashion labels might be a nice place to hit admittedly. Its actually a good idea on your part doing something casual when we arrive...draws less suspicion. And we get to see each other in sexy outfits!"

Maple's expression turned serious.

"Let me show you something..."

Maple brought a testing dummy of Cortosis weave durasteel, setting it apart from the rest of the room.

"This is a very deadly spell I discovered." Maple explained.

She stretched her hand out, focusing her insanity.

"Mother Nature a crowd of swords cuts down my foes..."

Ghostly, longsword shaped wisps of purple smoke formed around the dummy, attacking it and inflicting deep cuts for a few seconds until ceasing.

"Picked it up a while back." Maple explained. "Something for you to try out. Also, I know this ship is positively cluttered with electronics. It belonged to my old Master, Ursula. I never saw an H-Type Nubian in blood red before this ship. She stuffed it with stolen imperial tech. But unlike The Erika, The Scarlet Phantom has weapons."

Maple looked around the vessel. She had once been able to feel traces of Ursula's presence back when Ursula still owned it, but since reacquiring it in Golbah City, nothing of Ursula's presence could be felt in or near the ship. Like she had never been there at all.

Unlike Maple's Silent Erika, Ursula lacked the interior decor. Everything was utilitarian and simple. Efficient. Clinical. Just like Ursula.

"Never thought I'd own it. No trace of her..."

Why was that. How could the ship be so utterly bereft of any trace of her master? It made no sense. Maple should have detected 'something' by this point.

While she waited for Veronika to test the spell, Maple sat on the ved, deciding to fill her in.

"So this guy we're going to see..." she trailed. "He was my first major test. The first 'real' enemy I ever had. Fighting and defeating him caused Ursula to consider me for The Marksmen. If it hadn't been for him, I might never have met her at all."

Maple got an introspective look on her face.

"He's probably going to find that hilarious, me being the victim of my own success. Particularly seeing how he left the game and got married. Had kids. I've probably killed more people as a Jedi Shadow than he ever did as a Sith Lord..."

Maple got very quiet after that as she waited for Veronika to test the spell out.

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

"Someone is getting talented with spells."

She grinned at the sight of the dummy being torn into shreds by invisible blades of death. That was certainly something spectacular. The purpose of being able to channel the Force was for power, at least that was the view of the witch. She made a mental note on the words of power that Maple Harte chanted, deciding that she might just try it out when the opportunity arose. In fact, she might as well try it out now. Veronika shifted the sad looking dummy upright with a mental command and whispered the words of power in her mind. The dummy found itself beheaded this time round as the invisible blade took it off cleanly.

"Hmm. Good for beheadings too."

The witch giggled a little at her own little discovery. A spell was just a reflection on the nature of each witch's affinity with the Force. The test had allowed her to conclude that the spell allowed a certain amount of modification.

"So, you were saying a married man. I hope he's good looking. Probably unlikely..."

She walked over to the untidy looking bar counter and grabbed a small bottle of liquor, deciding to make do with it and took a swing from the bottle directly.

"Fine, let's meet this old 'friend' of yours and open the mystery box, which leads to more mysteries and probably get us into trouble. Then we will resolve it, survive everything and then hit a chill pill which includes lots of alone time."

 

[The Amalgam]

Wearing: Resistance Epidermis

Armed with: Skin Shears (Purple Split-Saber)

It had been a long time since she and the dozens upon dozens of evil people within her had last come to visit Coruscant.

So much going on lately. Busy conducting Dark Pilgrimage, murdering entire families and sacrificing them to the Brain Demon. Busy work, busy work.

But this was the first time in weeks she had gotten to toy with her favorite daughter's head once more.

The Amalgam, even through committing her Atrocities, did not, could not, cease being Yandere for Uri. Uri was her apple, her muse, her daughter, her inspiration, even though Uri despised The Amalgam and everything she stood for, even as the Amalgam sacrificed people she didn't know or care about...She could not stop fixating on either Uri and now Laertia as of late.

The Amalgam needed to drive them to the Darkness, needed to reunite with them. It was literally the only other thing in her life besides spreading the will of The Dark Side, as monstrous and fallen as she was, that gave her real joy, the idea that some day they would all be together again, all infused with the Darkness, murdering and slaughtering as a family. There would be hate and rage and love and madness and darkness between them as they served the Bogan forever.

The Witch, Matriarch of The Cult of The Brain Demon meditated atop a skyscraper on Coruscant during dusk. She knew Uri was coming to this place, but why? They had a bond, but it did not allow her to see everything Uri did or planned.

The beast, rotten to the core in spirit, felt a swell of hatred at Veronika Fleischer disrupting the connection. Whatever the Jart Spirit had given her to protect herself, the Brain Demon could not haunt her sleep.

She opened her dead purple eyes, watching the shadows play off the buildings as evening settled in, the wind blowing fiercely up here. Her near impossibly beautiful figure swayed in the blowing wind, hiding her presence in the Force on this planet of Light Sided Filth.

She remembered all of this, during the Gulag Virus, how trashed the planet was by the epidemic. The misery. The hopelessness. The Underworks.

She never knew her parents. The evil people within her often distracted her from such musings, having her relish butchering the innocent. But here, the old memories were alive.

She felt it. Uri was here because she had found something. Something on The Amalgam. She was delighted that her daughter was taking such a close interest, even as she found herself daydreaming about the men, women, and children they would slay together when she at last submitted to the Glory of The Bogan.

The Unholy Spirit's words had not led her astray. She had picked the perfect place to watch as she spotted the Scarlet Phantom descend the Atmosphere and shoot right over her.

The Amalgam smiled.

"Daughter...you should have told me you were coming...I'd have made sandwiches." the Beast under the skin of a gorgeous woman joked as she rose up to start her surveillance...


Meanwhile.

If Maple had not been doubly motivated before, the promise of relaxation in Veronika's golden arms brought a bit of a spring to the otherwise grim bounty-hunter's step as she stepped off the ship.

She had tried an experimental blood spell to blend both their presence in The Force into the Background. It would last twenty four hours...maybe. Maple's eyes were covered by the Sunglasses Veronika had given her on Naboo, and she peered around the cityscape in suspicion as she stepped onto the docking platform. It was night-time. Then she spotted him.

He was in a Repulsor-Lift chair, the weathered, pale skin showing through a black and white business suit, like that of a banker. His hair was brown and short cut, and he was still quite lanky, and wore clear glasses of his own. He had been waiting for her for some time. She remembered his face. They'd nearly murdered each other when she was barely fourteen. She'd paralyzed him from the waist down with the brutal beating she had delivered to him on Mustafar. Darth Nertia, Lord of Swiftness. Now just Edward Thawe of Thawe Credit Union.

Lucky Bastard the Hunter thought as she stepped up to him, not removing her sunglasses.

"You got a lotta guts coming back here after what you pulled." He said sternly.

"Nice chair, Eddy."

"Wow, not five seconds off your ship and you're already making jokes about paralyzing me."

"It's how I roll." Maple replied grimly.

Edward chuckled darkly, pulling out a cigar and lighting it.

"At least my head is screwed on tighter than yours."

"Only because I didn't paralyze your sorry ass from the neck up." She replied casually, shrugging.

Edward chuckled.

"How you doin', Uri?" he asked dryly, taking a puff.

"Standing." came the terse reply from the Bounty Hunter. "Yourself?"

"Avoided wearing the straitjacket. Unlike you." Edward quipped. "Hungry?"

"Famished."

Maple signaled to Veronika. "Let's eat. His treat."

Thirty minutes later...

Edward's wife, a pale skinned Corellian woman with red hair and pale skin in a blue dress named Sana served up the plates of food at the large table in Edward's expensive loft. His children were present, a boy and a girl, each ten years old by the looks of it.

Maple waited until his family had taken a first bite of the pasta and meatballs before digging in herself.

"Your wife cooks excellently..." Maple commented, having not taken off her sunglasses, turning to his wife. "Thank you for cooking, Miss Thawe."

"It's Eddy's recipe..." Sana answered, with a modest smile.

Maple was unsurprised by this. Darth Nertia had a taste for pasta back at Mustafar.

She took another bite. It would be some time before he would actually discuss business, and it would not be with family present.

"My compliments..." she admitted, Edward sticking to maintaining a silent, stern nature unless necessary. She turned to Veronika.

"Salt?" she offered.

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

Maple's friend did not seem too eager to meet them, judging from the tone of his voice. Or perhaps it was just their own way of saying hello by tossing insults at one another. Veronika stood by, sizing up the man for a moment before deciding to lower her guard when he relaxed. Edward seemed friendly, for now.

"Sure, let's eat."

She gave a perfect smile that she had practiced in front of the mirror so often to the man, deciding to let her partner take the lead for now. She was hesitant to trust him, but she could trust Maple. If there was anyone in the world whom she could trust, it was the brunette. She found herself sitting with the rest of Edward's family and glancing at the pile of food in front of her.

Her fork stabbed the pasta when everyone else had taken a bite, deciding that it was probably safe to eat. There was admittedly an unknown quality about Edward. Her sixth sense was never known to be wrong.

"I'll pass on the salt, darling. Thanks."

Veronika beamed at Maple Harte before taking a mouthful, her mind wondering if the pleasantries would be over after the meal and real talk would begin. It seemed ironic that for the witch who had always been putting on various masks in her life suddenly felt an urge to skip things ahead, to stop playing pretentious games and drive into the real deal.

The pasta was as good as what Maple had praised, with warm cheese and generous toppings of gravy and ingredients. Whoever Edward was, he definitely knew a thing or two about cooking. As she reached out for the glass of water on the table, Veronika felt a tingling sensation radiating from her tattoo. She withdrew her hand, slipping it under the table and massaged the soreness gently.

"She's here. Jart knows."

The witch sent a mental note to Maple, knowing that the bounty hunter would know fully well the person in question was The Amalgam .

 

[Maple Harte]

Maple felt the telepathic call of Veronika Fleischer that The Amalgam was here.

Due to her ongoing difficulty in using telepathy to communicate in words all she could do was send back an image of Maple and Veronika in Lingerie both strangling The Amalgam. She hungered for that victory. The Amalgam had done so much harm to her and her friends but she still did not understand: Why was she a daughter to the vile monster?

"So, Miss Udinia. Eddy tells me you and he used to know each other from his days in the service." Sana commented.

A split second aside glance from Maple to Eddy said more than a book.

"The Service brings all kinds together, Miss Thawe. We were both field work personnel."

(Cutaway of Padawan Udinia being pummeled at super-speed by Darth Nertia)

"Naturally we became acquainted due to the overlap of our duties."

(Cutaway of Uri Udinia Matt Murdocking the living chit out of Darth Nertia with her cane)

"It took some getting used to..."

(Cutaway of Darth Nertia trying to kill Uri with a Flame Thrower.)

"But eventually we understood each other."

(Cutaway of Uri Udinia beating Darth Nertia so viciously she paralyzes him)

Darth Nertia's sorry ass had understood at the end, definitely. Uri had literally beaten the Sith out of him, breaking his will to continue the Dark Path.

By all accounts, Thawe had once been an upstanding knight. But a combination of an undiagnosed explosive anger disorder and PTSD that had unfortunately converged together. He had the gift of speed in The Force. Maple had made sure he would never run again.

Everything she was today stemmed from what she had done to the man sitting next to her.

Maple ate more pasta.

"Nowadays I branch into acquisitions. It's the new frontier."

"Oh! You're an accountant?" Sana asked innocently.

Maple paused.

(Cutaway of Ben Affleck attacking John Lithgow's home.)

"Sorta." she answered, taking a sip of water.

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

She received a metal image in her mind that made her grin a little, despite it being absolutely ridiculous. No one in the right mind would dream of wearing lingerie while fighting the Amalgam. The Amalgam was too mysterious to comprehend. Why would the mysterious being claimed that Maple was her daughter? The witch felt the tingling sensation on her arm again, scratching the tattoo slightly with her fingers. The last time they fought, she had the protection of Jart. These days, the bird spirit seemed to be pretty silent. On the flip side, her own powers were somehow stronger.

Her train of thoughts was broken by Edward's wife who asked about the relationship between Maple Harte and her husband. She blinked, focusing her thoughts on Maple's mind and reading the colourful images easily. It was disjointed as usual, but the witch was able to understand that somehow Maple made her friend into a cripple. Or rather, the bounty hunter was powerful enough to overcome a Sith Knight and broke his legs with something.

"If Uri was that strong in the Force, then something must have happened to make her lose her powers."

The witch thought silently to herself as the mental images dissolved from existence. It was obvious that Sana knew nothing about her husband. Her eyes darted at Edward's face, trying to study him and figure out his intentions. If anything, the former Sith was definitely harder to read.

"Thanks for the food, it was delicious."

She gave a beaming smile that was truly genuine to Sana, then flashing the same smile but with reduced honesty at the crippled man.

"Shall we talk business then? I believe that Maple has some acquisitions to make."

Veronika was indeed getting a little impatient and decided to move things along. If it was information needed, then she would make the former Sith spit them out with whatever ways she could muster.

 

[Maple Harte]

The meal soon was finished and Edward soon invited Maple and Veronika Fleischer into his study to conduct Veronika's ever so diplomatic "Acquisition."

"So how did you survive our previous encounter?"

"Escape pod as the Fortress crashed into the magma river. Its ruins still stand in that river." Edward replied, moving his chair to a library shelf, retrieving a book with a red cover.

"I'm surprised you would contact me. But then again you always were a scheming feth."

"Says Little Miss Kill-Shot." he muttered, opening the book and retrieving a small black key.

"Nice try at dodging a Floyd Lawton reference but it was too on the nose." Maple joked, her schizophrenia enabling her to make more and more OOC references as it got worse.

"Who the hell is Floyd Lawton?"

"Y'know, double wrist cannons? Fired the missile into the mothership with the help of The Brundel-Fly? A slew of excellent 90's dance tunes?"

"No ringing any bells."

"So why help me?"

"I got a visit from a woman two days ago. Quite gorgeous. Black hair. Soulless purple eyes. Cyberpunk Fetishwear."

"Ha!" Maple chuckled, spotting the running gag. Then she snapped out of her episode.

"What did The Amalgam want?" Maple asked.

Edward held the key up.

"I told her I didn't have it."

"How come you and your entire family aren't dead and I'm not poking through the remains of an extremely grisly crime scene wondering where the hell that beast is?" Maple asked.

"Hiding in an empire of light has its benefits. One of them is every Jedi comes running when there is a large disturbance. A Dark Adept, in the Capital of The Imperium? They'd lock down the planet."

"So that's why you aren't shark chum." Maple said. "Edward, you and your entire family need to go into hiding. She'll kill you. Then wear your face as she kills your loved ones."

Edward went pale. "What does she want? Why would she do that?"

"She's evil. Pure Evil. And it doesn't matter to you. The less you know, the better. Now, how did she learn you got this key and what does it do?"

Edward sighed.

"This has been in my family ever since the Gulag Plague. It belonged to my great, great Grandfather. I never knew where he got it. I knew my father said it was important. But the box that key goes to is a more recent acquisition. There is a catch though...the box and key can only open in a specific spot in the underworks. It is guarded by Imperium Jedi under lock and key."

Maple pinched the bridge of her nose, and started to swear under her breath....

 

[Veronika Fleischer]

When Edward spoke about the visit from a strange looking woman with purple eyes and decked out some sort of punk looking outfit, Veronika's eyebrow raised. There was only one person who could probably fit into that description. She stood there, pondering as Maple Harte continued her line of questioning. The key seemed a little ominous, no matter how she looked at it.

"Did you just say underworks? That's going to be tricky."

The witch knew how Coruscant was built. The tall buildings and architecture made up of five thousand over levels of living space. The rich and the wealthy spent their lives among the skies. Veronika belonged to that circle. The lower levels of the planet were generally devoid of light, blocked out by the countless skyscrapers. They also happened to belong to the lower class citizens who had to live with toxic fumes and chemistry wastes dumped from the above.

"The Jedi huh."

She casually pulled out her datapad and scrolled through her list of connections, picking out a few to send some messages. One of them replied just as she put down the device, which took her a couple of minutes to tap her replies back.

"Don't mind me. Carry on... tell us about what the box is holding."

The witch probed the ex-Sith who seemed to be horrified by Maple's explanation about the possible endings given by the Amalgam, while focusing her view on her device. She needed to call in a favour or two, but Chrisyakova was more than capable of that. No company in Coruscant could survive the competition without networking, and her fashion house definitely had the right connections. It helped that there was a long waiting list for the ever popular Jenkin bag series. All she needed to do was to move someone up the queue to return the favour.

Unfortunately, the lower life forms of Coruscant were simply unable to afford the finer things in life, so they would have to deal with them in another manner.

 

[Maple Harte]

"The Box in question is also a key, in a sense. Some sort of sculpture inside was custom created to open a vault with a piece of something known as the Shrodinger Box." Edward said. "I apparently acquired it ahead of this fiend."

"I'm serious, Edward. Go into hiding. Turn yourself into the Jedi if you have to. I know what this monster is capable of." the Bounty Hunter said in an incredibly terse manner, with clear fear for him and his family. Her heart was pounding in fear. She had to secure his safety.

"I can't simply up and leave."

"You can if you want you family to live." Maple insisted.

The lights went out in the room. Maple's eyes darted around.

"Someone has cut the power..."she spoke.

There was a beep on her comlink. Maple picked it up.

"Daughter! Snooping around on my old turf? You should have called me. I'd have happily given you a tour..."

"I'm not your daughter. Stop calling me that!" Maple hissed.

"You'll understand, Uri. Oh, how I shiver at the thought of us going shopping together at one of the more high end places, maybe bring your girlfriend along for a laugh or too, slaughter some innocents and consume their flesh to increase our strength in the Dark Side, grab a milkshake, make OOC jokes about Ryan Reynolds..." the Amalgam joked, her own insanity allowing her to break the fourth wall just like Maple's did.

"Leave Eddy's family out of this, Amalgam. They don't know anything. They're nothing to waste time killing."

"Call me Mother and I'll consider it..."

Horrified at the idea Eddy and his family were about to pay the price for her feud with The Amalgam (and twice as horrified that Veronika Fleischer was now in danger because of it) Maple did what she did next in the desperate, vain hope she might avert what she knew was an almost certainly inevitable attack.

"Mother..." Maple said in a whisper, tears of rage and humiliation running down her face. "Please spare these people..."

"I'm thinking..." The Amalgam trailed for a few seconds...

"No..." came the reply.

Maple's rage crushed the comlink without hands, making it spark as it was splintered to pieces.

She looked at the others.

"Attack is inevitable. We must leave. Now."

Red emergency lights came on and a holoprojector flashed on showing people with completely bandaged faces and heads in business suits and dusters armed with rifles having breached the high end apartment complex his loft was part of. They were taking out every camera, and every civilian they came across with tranq rounds. Smart. No deaths created less disturbance in the Force for Jedi to sense.

Maple drew her black pistol.

"Come with me if you want to live..."