Comedia and her friends woke up bright and well rested the next morning, and continued on their way to Ord Mantell City, where they would find their first stop: Kalifa's Aunt Tana and Uncle Boris Milfer at Mantell Tower on Scaleback Boulevard, apartment 5B.
Not wanting to arouse suspicion, the teams split up again and changed their clothes thanks to some many new outfits the Jinn children bought at a thrift store to hide from the Sith if they came looking for them, throwing away all the clothes they'd been wearing before. And good thing too; after wearing the same outfit everyday for years, only ever changing once they grew out of whatever they'd been wearing when they were abducted, and currently no time or place for a shower, they all needed a change of clothes and some deodorant stat!
Kara accompanied Kalifa to the apartment complex and found the right floor and door. Kalifa, however, was nervous.
"What if they don't recognize me?" Kalifa asked.
"They're your family, Kali." Kara held her friend's shoulders. "They raised you and loved you as their own, and if there's one thing loving parents never forget, it's their children. And they'll recognize you no matter how much you grow in the time, if any, you are away from them."
Kalifa looked at the door again. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Moments later, a woman with dark hair in a bun answered. For a moment, Kalifa was just... frozen. Staring at the woman before her, she almost didn't recognize her, it having been more days than she could remember since seeing her last. The woman gasped and was frozen as well when she caught sight of the younger human before her.
"Uh... Aunt Tana?" Kalifa managed to get out.
"Kalifa!" the woman exclaimed, immediately hugging Kalifa and spinning her around. She immediately screamed for her husband to come, and when Boris saw the reason behind his wife's call, he joined in the hug as well.
Kalifa could hardly contain all her happiness; she couldn't stop her tears from falling as her aunt and uncle looked at her and smiled at her for the first time in forever, smothering her with kisses and telling her how much they missed her.
"Where have you been all this time?" Boris asked.
"It's a long story." Kalifa said. "But... Kara here actually helped me escape the kidnappers, and helped me get home."
Tana took Kara's hand and thanked her for returning Kalifa to her and Boris.
"How can we ever repay you?"
"Just keep yourselves safe, and whatever you do, don't talk to the police. The kidnappers have someone on the inside. But don't worry. I know some people who will help make sure you don't lose each other ever again."
Kalifa hugged Kara and thanked her again for bringing her home to her family.
"You're sure you'll be okay on your own?" Kalifa asked.
"Don't worry about us. We'll be okay. You just keep yourself safe, and just worry about catching up with your family. We've still got a lot of other kids to reunite with their families."
Kara hugged Kalifa one more time, then bid her goodbye before heading back out to meet the others.
Meanwhile, Emeraldi walked with Comedia and the Fett twins through town on a simple walk through town, stopping in a park where Emeraldi began teaching her sister more about flying.
"A thing about flying, sis," said Emeraldi. She spread her wings, Comedia mimicking her actions. "It's about more than flapping and pushing your weight off the ground."
Comedia started to flap her wings, but also felt a little confused. What more could there be to flying besides making oneself weightless?
"Like what?" she asked.
"For starters, flight comes from within."
Emeraldi explained to Comedia that when she was younger, a wise pegasus she once knew told her that it took more than wings to fly. One required three things to do it: Inner Strength, Determination, and a Joyful Heart. That last one was especially important. According to Emeraldi, joy was a key factor to taking off in flight.
You know that feeling you get when things are going your way whether you expect it or not? Like when you get an A on a big test you studied really hard for? Or when your parents surprise you with a puppy or that hot new phone you'd been begging to get for your birthday? Well, that was the kind of feeling you needed to let yourself have if you wanted to fly.
"What if I need to fly away because I'm scared?" Comedia said.
"It's not about how you feel in the moment, Comedia." Emeraldi said. "But letting those memories of what you love be the fuel that lifts you off the ground. Now, let's give it a go. Think of something that makes you happy."
"Uh... okay... uh..." Comedia felt like she was under pressure, but started to think of things that made her happy and said them out loud to herself. "Gummy bears... silly songs... panda bears..."
Comedia started to flap her wings, thinking about the things that made her happy, and slowly she started to feel herself lifting off the ground. The little alicorn gasped as she looked and saw herself flying.
"I'm... I'm doing it! I'm- Whoa!"
And Comedia quickly fell flat on her stomach; luckily, the soft grass managed to soften her fall.
"Ouch!"
"Looks like you need to work on your landings." Boba commented, munching on a sandwich.
"Boba!" Omega scolded.
Emeraldi helped Comedia up and told her to pay no mind to snarky comments.
"Flying isn't too different from walking." Emeraldi said. "You're bound to fall down a few times before you master it. A wise someone once told me that you learn more from falling than getting it done perfectly the first time."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you won't really learn anything until you see what happens when you make a mistake or try to learn too quickly by skipping even one step. In other words, you have to learn from mistakes, and only through failure do you learn to appreciate success. Think about it. If you learned everything without effort, there's really no point. No challenge. Everyone would be able to do everything in one swing."
Comedia thought about it and figured Emeraldi was right. She'd been taught growing up that failure was nothing to be ashamed of; it was just a part of the learning experience in any skill. And the journey was half the fun of getting to one's destination; at least, that's what she'd heard a million times on many of the kiddie shows her father let her watch.
"Shall we try this again?" Emeraldi said, spreading her wings again.
Ki-Adi felt sweet relief as he and the others finally managed to get off the boat. But, it seemed that despite not having his sea legs, he needed time to regain his land legs as he started throwing up in a nearby trash can.
"Remind me never to go on a roller coaster with you," said Depa, helping Ki-Adi regain his composure.
Luckily, Zam managed to grab some ginger fizz tablets, which she gave to Ki-Adi to drink with some water.
"This should help the nausea lessen some." she said.
"Thank you." Ki-Adi said, feeling a little better after taking the stuff.
Once Ki-Adi took a moment to sit down and recover from his dizziness, he took out his phone and found Comedia to be locate somewhere in town.
"I'm going to call for backup." Qui-Gon said. "If there are more children who escaped, chances are they are here with Comedia as well."
"In that case, we should split up." Zam said. "Cover more ground."
So, everyone split into pairs. Ki-Adi went with Jango, Depa with Zam, Tech with Wrecker, and Hunter with Echo and Crosshair. If they spotted anything suspicious, they were to call the others with the code word: panda.
Meanwhile, Emeraldi and her three charges left the park to start gathering with the others in order to make it to their next destination. Gungi and Byph turned out to be neighbors in the next destination: Kashyyyk Square, which was about an hour drive away from where they were now. Emeraldi contacted Kara, and she took half the group first and started to drive now, agreeing to meet later. If they were to avoid suspicion, they couldn't let their two trucks be seen driving close together too often.
So, when Emeraldi met with Anakin back at their vehicle, the group was as follows. Emeraldi, Anakin, Comedia, the Fett twins, Ganodi, Caleb, and Myra were in one vehicle, while Carmine, Kara, and the others were off in the other vehicle.
"We got about half hour before we have to start heading out." Anakin said. "What do you guys wanna do to pass the time?"
Comedia suggested that they visit the playground that was right around the corner. After all, most of them hadn't seen a playground in a long time. So, they did,
Emeraldi kept watch with Anakin while the kids went on to play. Ganodi and Caleb went to play on the roundabout, while Omega played on the swing, and Boba and Comedia went on the big slide.
Hiding in the bathroom of a public library, Qui-Gon made a call to Jedi HQ.
"Hold up! Let me get this straight!" said Agent Windu. "You've found one of the missing children?"
"Possibly more." Qui-Gon explained over the communicator. "To my knowledge, there are at least two other children, and potentially more."
Qui-Gon explained to his fellow agents about the tracking chip and how currently it led them to Rodia Bay, the last known destination of at least three of the missing children. After the Sith's headquarters were infiltrated a few hours earlier, the agents managed to arrest many of the perpetrators, but they were having no luck getting them to reveal who they had on the inside, how many children were still alive, or if they were planning any future kidnappings.
"Mace, I know it is a long shot, but there is a chance that many children, including your own daughter, are still alive. They need our help. Even with the Sith in jail, those children may be in danger."
That hit hard for Mace. Every day since his daughter was taken, his heart was shattered into pieces; it wasn't any easier on his wife to have lost their only daughter. But Mace promised her that he would never rest until their little girl was home again. Days turned into months, and months turned into years. Seven years, to be exact. Myra would be a teenager by now, and her parents never got to see her grow into a woman. But, if there was even the slightest chance she was still alive, he had to take it. So... he told Agent Jinn... "We're on our way."
Qui-Gon left the library and contacted the others to check their status on finding any of the missing children based on the Missing Person posters Qui-Gon showed them. No luck on their end so far.
"I'm following the signal for Comedia, though." Ki-Adi said. "We're getting very close as we speak. I will let you know as soon as I spot anything."
Ki-Adi hung up with a sigh. He was worried. Comedia still hadn't called again. It felt like forever since he'd spoken to her, and even longer since he last saw her face. Just to see her for even a moment, he would pay anything.
"Don't sweat it. We'll find your kid." Jango said.
"How can you be so calm, knowing your children were taken?"
"Trust me, I'm as worried about my kids as you are about yours." Jango said. "I know my twins are strong. My wife and I taught them to be fearless in times like this. A thing about raising kids, when you have as many as I do, you learn a lot of stuff. Like, for instance, you can teach 'em all you like, you can prepare them for as many emergencies as you can imagine, but you can't protect them forever, and not from everything."
"I should have been able to protect Comedia from these kindappers, though. Does it not bother you that you could not do that with your twins?"
"It's eaten away at me longer than I care to remember. But a thing about situations like this, you can't let it. One of the easiest ways to lose your kid's trust? Keeping them on too tight a leash. You smother them too much, they're gonna wanna get away from you. As hard as it is, you have to learn to let your kids go, let 'em fly solo."
"But what if they aren't ready? How do you know?"
"You don't. That's the thing about kids. We, as parents or adults in general, as I've come to learn, have a tendency to underestimate their strength and intelligence. My best guess, if you're as good as a teacher to Comedia as you hope, I wouldn't be surprised if she's found inner strength by the end of this journey."
Ki-Adi really hoped that Jango was right.
Meanwhile, Comedia was having the time of her life playing on the roundabout until Emeraldi shouted that it was time to go.
"I'm coming." Comedia replied.
Boba stopped spinning the ride so his sister and friends could get off, and they started to regroup so they could head back to their ride... until Emeraldi's ears shot up like she'd sensed something off. Anakin stopped too.
"What's wrong?" Ganodi asked.
"We're not alone." Anakin said.
Comedia started to sense something too, when all of a sudden.
Shots were fired! Kids started screaming as the shots just barely missed the escapees. Parents immediately started to grab their children and run, and the older escapees each grabbed at least one of the younger ones to run too. Emeraldi was the only one to catch a glimpse of who attacked.
"Anakin! Myra, get the other ones to safety!" Emeraldi said. "If I'm not there five minutes after you get there, go without me."
"But Em-" Comedia started, but was interrupted as Anakin scooped her into his arms and started to run. Except, in all the commotion, some of the kids got separated from the group.
Comedia was terrified as she looked back and saw all the people fleeing in fear; this looked a lot like just before she got kidnapped. Only this time, her father wasn't here. Except...
Two minutes earlier...
Ki-Adi looked at his phone again and became frantic when he saw the location of Comedia's necklace.
"Comedia's right around the corner!" Ki-Adi exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Jango said, looking at the phone.
"Yes! Let's hurry!"
Ki-Adi immediately started to run in the direction of the signal, trying to run faster than he'd ever run before. But when he got to the park, he saw people running and screaming in a big commotion. But he started to scream Comedia's name, hoping she was nearby and okay.
Present...
Comedia's ears shot up as she heard a familiar voice calling her name, but it wasn't by any of her friends.
"Daddy?" Comedia said, looking around.
Comedia started to wriggle around and jumped right out of Anakin's arms and started to shout for her father.
"Daddy! I'm over here!"
But with the crowd of people, it became hard to get around, and hard for Comedia to see where her father was, and for the group to get back together to get to their ride.
Meanwhile, Emeraldi was in the middle of a battle with a redheaded woman who'd fired the shots. A woman known as Darlene Savage, the most ruthless bounty hunter in all the Sith. Her specialty: capturing traitors. But, having experience with this woman during her Sith training, Emeraldi managed to disarm her and kick her into a tree, but the woman got up and yanked Emeraldi's tail and tackled her to the ground.
Boba and Omega caught a glimpse of what Emeraldi was going through and proceeded to hide in separate places.
Myra and Anakin, on the other hand, grabbed Petro and Ganodi and rushed to get them out of there. Anakin told Myra to get Ganodi and Caleb to their escape ride fast while he tried to get the others.
Comedia kept looking around for her father and calling for him until she looked in one direction and saw a familiar Cerean male looking frantically around, and she started to jump and squeeze through the crowd.
"Daddy!" she screamed louder.
Ki-Adi looked in the direction of the voice as the crowd finally started to disperse, and there he saw...
"Comedia!" Ki-Adi called.
"You think you're so tough, little lady?" Darlene said. "You know very well what happens to double-crossers."
Darlene grabbed her gun and stepped on Emeraldi's head to hold her down, ready to shoot. Comedia, on the other hand, was about to run to her father, when she spotted what Darlene was about to do! And without so much as a second thought, she rushed in and went for a move only a unicorn could do.
Darlene jumped in pain with a shriek, and dropped her gun again as something big, but small, and sharp poked her right in the back of her thigh. She fell over and found it very difficult to get up with the pain in her leg.
"Mess with a unicorn, you get the horn!" Comedia said with an angry snort. Then she looked at her sister. "Em, are you okay?"
Emeraldi slowly proceeded to pick herself up.
"Believe it or not, I've been through worse." She winced.
While Jango contacted the others, Ki-Adi had some unfinished business.
"Comedia!"
This time, Comedia proceeded to run to her father again, but just as she was about to jump into his arms, another shot was fired, and Ki-Adi cried out in pain as he felt something slash across his arm and fell to the ground. Jango rushed in to help but Darlene started to shoot at him too. So, he proceeded to simply get his friend behind anything they could use for a shield.
Comedia whinnied a gasp as her father fell to the ground, and when she looked behind her, she spotted Darlene, with another gun in hand, and a smug look on her face.
"Did you really think you were going to get away so easily?"
But before Comedia or Emeraldi could do anything, they soon found out Darlene wasn't alone, as an electrical net flew over both of them as another bounty hunter had come to capture them as well.
"You both will face a high price for your foolishness, pretty ponies." said Bane.
Comedia managed to get a slow breath out before her eyes closed.
"Daddy..."
And then everything went black.