Comedia exited the bus with the rest of her class as they arrived at their final destination. The Galaxy Aquarium.
Comedia looked at the building with awe. It was humongous! Maybe there was a whale in there!
"Now, children." Qui-Gon called. "If I could have your attention, please. Everyone pick a buddy and stay close to the group."
Comedia looked and saw Hera and asked her if she wanted to be buddies, and she accepted. Caleb took Korkie, all the other kids picked their buddies, and into the aquarium they went.
All the kids were astonished when they saw that the aquarium looked even bigger on the inside! There were signs that led to the habitats of all kinds of sea creatures. Sea horses, jellyfish, eels, turtles, sharks, tropical fish in coral reefs, even seals and sea lions. So much to see, and so little time to do it. The kids wanted to see everything from anemones to zebra moray eels!
All the kids were given a sketch pad and some crayons.
"To make this trip a little more fun as well as educational," said Qui-Gon. "I would like all of you to draw pictures of the creatures you see today, and pick one to share with the class what you've learned about them today."
Comedia wasted no time in drawing every creature she spotted. She whinnied to say hello to the seahorses and made her friends laugh by pretending to be a dolphin. But Comedia's favorite exhibit was the coral reef with all the colorful fishies, especially the cute little clownfish.
According to one of the aquarium specialists:
"Clownfish are actually wonderful pets for children."
Comedia started to wonder if she could convince her dad to let her get a clownfish or two as a pet. She was learning a lot about them today, including the fact that they were actually fairly simple to take care of, including feeding them.
Speaking of feeding, it was soon time to stop for lunch. But while the other kids were busy eating, Comedia noticed a couple of her friends sneaking off somewhere else. Comedia thought she should tell the teacher that they were running off, but she didn't want to be a tattletale either or jump to conclusions. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Caleb or Korkie were heading to the bathroom. So, Comedia got up and snuck away, Hera coming too.
"Hey, guys! Wait up." Comedia said, galloping into the room the boys were sneaking into.
Comedia looked at the room and saw it was closed off for a new exhibit that was in the works. By the look of it, the aquarium was building a coral reef themed playground so kids could get a more fun hands-on experience of what it might be like living in a coral reef.
"Look at all this stuff." Caleb said.
"Guys, I don't think we're supposed to be in here." Comedia said. "The sign clearly said 'Do Not Enter.'"
"Come on, Princess Isolation, live a little." Caleb said. "Life's too short to follow rules all the time."
"She's right, you know. We could get in trouble for this." Korkie said.
"You're only in trouble if you get caught."
Caleb started to climb on what looked like a very tall piece of coral.
"Look at how high I can climb! Whoa!"
Caleb barely got three feet up before he fell, luckily landing on a beanbag of some sort, the other kids laughing.
"Oh yeah? Let's see you get higher." Caleb said.
"Alright then." Hera said, climbing up very high. "Beat that!"
And then Korkie got up too.
"Come on, Comedia." Caleb insisted. "Let's see if you can fly higher than this thing."
"Um..." Comedia looked embarrassed in part because she knew it wasn't a good idea, but also... "I can't really do that. You see, my dad..."
"Comedia! No!" said a familiar voice that made Comedia turn around in surprise.
"Daddy?!"
Ki-Adi immediately rushed to Comedia and hugged her. He was relieved, but that worry turned to anger and disappointment when he saw where his daughter was.
"Thank goodness you're alright! What were you thinking?! You were about to climb on that thing, and even worse entered a restricted area!"
"But, Daddy! I wasn't gonna-!"
Comedia's friends stepped in and tried to defend her, but Ki-Adi didn't listen to them either.
"She was trying to stop us," said Korkie.
"It's not her fault, Mr. Mundi." Hera said.
"This doesn't concern you, children." Ki-Adi said. "And you'll be lucky if your parents go easy on you."
"Daddy, I wasn't trying to do anything bad, I was just-"
"Comedia Adira Mundi, we are going home right now." Ki-Adi said, getting out the leash. "It was a mistake not waiting another year."
Comedia looked terrified when she saw the leash and backed away from her father as he tried to leash her.
"Hold still, Comedia."
But Comedia was furious; her father had been overprotective of her so many times, but threatening to take her out of school right when she'd finally found friends she could play with and got a taste of the outside world and independence, she'd had enough! And she blasted a bit of magic, knocking the leash out of her father's hand.
"No, Daddy! I'm tired of being tied up every time we go anywhere!"
"Comedia, please. We need to go now. It's not safe for you here."
"I can look after myself fine, Daddy! Okay?! I'm not a baby anymore!"
"Comedia, this is for your own safety. I'm doing this because I know what's best for you!"
"By controlling everything in my life?! How is that helping me do anything?! You're always treating me like a baby and you never let me do anything on my own! Do you know how embarrassing it is to be going out in public with safety gear and a leash on all the time? You're always worried I'll get hurt even in the yard of our own apartment!"
"I know you want to do things on your own, but you aren't ready, Comedia."
"Well maybe it's because you can't teach me everything I should know because you're not even my real dad and never will be!"
That made Ki-Adi freeze. He'd had arguments with Comedia before, and she always knew she was adopted. She was too young to know about genetics, but she also wasn't stupid; even if Cerea and equines could bear children together, Comedia was pretty sure she didn't look or feel anything like she'd inherited any genes of her adoptive father's species.
It was then that security and Qui-Gon spotted Ki-Adi and the children in there.
Concerned, Qui-gon immediately spoke with Ki-Adi about why he'd come so early and Ki-Adi explained that he believed it was in Comedia's best interest that she be pulled out of school and return to homeschooling. But, when he looked to his side, Comedia was missing!
"Oh my gosh!" Hera exclaimed, pointing back to the restricted area. "Comedia's climbing!"
And just like Hera said, Comedia was climbing the exhibit by jumping from piece to piece, and occasionally climbing using her hooves, her teeth, and even her tail.
"Comedia!" Ki-Adi exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?! Get down from there right now!"
But Comedia wasn't listening.
"Comedia, I said stop! Get back here now!"
Comedia only glared at her father as she began to reach the top and looked to where the balcony was. Perhaps she could leap, there she thought.
"Don't even think about it, young lady!" Ki-Adi said angrily as Comedia took two steps back. "You listen right now, little one. Don't you dare-"
Comedia ran and leaped to the balcony, just barely reaching the other side as she regained her balance and composure.
"Comedia Adira Mundi!"
The other kids were impressed, but Ki-Adi was furious with his daughter. Luckily, there was a staircase that led right to her.
"Stay right there, young mare. You are in big trouble! You hear me?"
Ki-Adi got Comedia leashed up and started to pull her out from the room, the young filly struggling and fighting her father's grip.
"Come here! Comedia, we are going home, and you are grounded! Do you hear me? Grounded!"
Except, that was when they heard blaster fires! People started screaming and running amok. A girl in Comedia's class shrieked as she spotted who'd fired the shot.
Everyone started to get down and run as the shooters came across the aquarium causing chaos, and trying to get to the kids! And the crowd got so big and frantic that Ki-Adi accidentally let go of Comedia's leash, and the two got separated!
Ki-Adi called for Comedia as he searched through the crowd, Comedia calling for her father.
Comedia ran out of the crowd and started galloping as fast as her four legs would take her, managing to run into an empty hallway where she'd seen some of the coral reef exhibits. Luckily, she remembered one of the emergency exits was right near there. So, she kept running. But then, a terrifying looking humanoid figure with a red and black face leapt in front of her!
Comedia whinnied in a panic and called for her father.
"Daddy! Help me!"
Ki-Adi heard his daughter screaming and ran to where he heard her.
"I'm coming, Comedia!"
Ki-Adi rushed in the direction where he heard his daughter's voice, when he was approached by another figure like the one roping his daughter right now! Except this one had yellow in place of red.
"NO! Let me go!" Comedia cried as she was nabbed and tied and taken away. "DADDY!"
The figure cornering Ki-Adi took out a laser sword and raised it, preparing to kill the witness, when he was suddenly shot with a stunt blast and knocked unconscious!
Ki-Adi was shocked when he saw Comedia's teacher was the one to have fired the shot. Qui-Gon had only one thing to say at that moment.
"Run!"
And Ki-Adi did. He ran alright...in the direction he saw his daughter being taken, and he ran as fast as he could to go and rescue her!
Ki-Adi ran outside and saw the kidnapper placing Comedia in the back of a truck-like ship with some pale-skinned woman assisting him. But Comedia wasn't the only child they'd captured. Caleb was taken too, and he was tied up and gagged!
The two children were thrown into the back of the vehicle, and the criminals slammed the doors shut before!
"NO!" Ki-Adi cried.
Immediately, Ki-Adi ran after the vehicle and took out his phone to call the cops!
Ki-Adi ran as fast as he could to catch up to the vehicle, but it was too fast!
Inside the vehicle, Comedia tried to kick the doors open and scream for help, but the muzzle over her muzzle made that last part impossible. And the doors just wouldn't budge! There were no windows either. And when Comedia lit up her horn, she was even more shocked to see Caleb as well as that Numa girl from the news were tied up and gagged too!
Comedia cried as she tried more and more to escape. But it was useless.
Comedia broke down in tears; she was captured by bad guys, taken from her father, and the last thing she'd said to him had been the worst thing she could possibly say to him. And now it looked like she may never see him again.