Featured song:
1. "When the World" by Lea Michele from Legends of Oz Dorothy's Return
Anakin hugged his mother tightly as they both realized what a great opportunity this was for them. According to what they heard, talent scouts and scouts for some major sponsorships would be at that big race in Alderaan City.
"This could mean so much for us, Ani." Shmi said. "A new life, a new sponsor."
"Not to mention, we'll be free." Anakin smiled.
But... Watto saw a completely different opportunity in this race.
"A three-way tie, Ani." Watto said. "This may be the greatest thing that's ever happened!"
"Oh, you have no idea."
"I have just heard word of some great sponsors who will be at the race in Alderaan. You know many high class folks will be there."
That, Anakin and his mother knew, and that Watto would seize any opportunity to make himself rich. But what Watto said next would not be like any other moment.
"And I just off the phone with Mrs. Talzin. You know who she is?" Watto asked.
"No, who is she?"
"Only the owner of Dathomir Dress Magazine, worth millions!"
"And she wants to sponsor me?"
"Even better, she wishes to be partners, but on one condition. After the race, when you win, you will meet her daughter Asaajj Ventress."
Watto showed a picture of the woman in question. A pale-skinned dathomir woman with icy blue eyes, dressed in black silk. But Anakin didn't find her attractive in the least, nor did he know anything about her.
"And, I'm supposed to go on a date with her?"
"Not a date. You are to marry her."
"What?!" Anakin and Shmi both said.
"Watto, that is going too far!" Shmi said.
"There is no way I'm marrying some strange woman who-"
Anakin stopped mid-sentence as Watto activated his transmitter again.
"You will marry her, Ani. It is what is best."
"For you? What about what's best for me, huh? And what if I don't win?"
"You will if you know what is best for you and your mother." Watto crossed his arms. "Now go get the trailer hooked up so we can head for the race!"
Anakin didn't know what to think now. Watto had made him do crazy things before, but this? This was a new low.
Anakin sat in the trailer with his pod while his mother sat in the passenger cockpit with Watto. He pulled out his white security blanket and cried into it. First being born into slavery, being forced into a dangerous sport, and now that he was about to win his freedom he was being forced into marriage? If his world wasn't upside down before, it definitely was now
Anakin:
When the world turn upside down,
Nothing is for sure,
All the dreams you thought was real,
You cant find any more
And then there's how the pieces fly,
Most of all the ones inside.
If only I knew how to fix it all I would,
If only one heart hold and long it any good,
But i feel so small... what can I do at all...
For what felt like for the first time in his life, Anakin had no clue what to do. He'd gotten into tough situations before, and he could usually fix them with his natural charm, or a wrench and some elbow grease.
He had no friends outside the racing world to turn to, he had almost no money of his own, no way of escaping the transmitter, and he had no idea where he and his mother would go. Even if he did manage to escape the transmitter, he was too well-known, and anyone could plaster his face on the holo-net and reveal his location for Watto to find him all over again.
When the world had turn upside down.
When the world turn upside down,
There's no way to hold tight
Just again you're free again,
But takes a little time,
I kind a need a little great,
But i'll find my way in just a little bit
Through the ride, Anakin thought of how badly he wanted to help his family, but he didn't need to be a former child genius to know that he couldn't do this alone. But who could he go to? What could he do? What should he do?
He was in an awful quandary. If he won the race, he would be forced into an arranged marriage, but if he didn't whether he lost intentionally or not, who knows what Watto would do to Shmi and her son? Anakin didn't usually see Watto act in violence, but he was addicted to gambling with everything from money to his slaves' lives, and he wasn't willing to gamble his family's lives in this scenario.
If only I knew how to fix it all I would,
If only one heart hold and long it any good,
But i feel so small... what can I do at all...
When the world had turn upside down.
Nobody knows when the world gonna cry
But i still got to give it a try
If the world turn upside down,
I'm just a dust of wind
Yes i should get ready now
When it comes again
What do I hold where will I go,
And will i feel this all along
If only I knew how to fix it all I would,
If only one heart hold and long it any good,
But i feel so small... what can I do at all...
Now that the world had turn upside down.
Turn upside down...
The ride went on for hours. Watto had no intention of making any rest stops until they got to their final destination. So, Anakin and Shmi had to ration their snacks and limit how much they drank, as their ride didn't have a bathroom, and they were quick to get tired.
Anakin eventually fell asleep in his pod, having cried himself to sleep in all that happened. But as he'd cried, he prayed desperately for a miracle for him and his mother.
And little did he know he was about to get a miracle sooner than he expected.
Outside on the galactic freeway into the Republic District, there was a gang of Weequayan hover-cyclists from Florrum causing trouble, swerving around other vehicles and doing all kinds of illegal stuff, including speeding past Watto's truck and bumping him for the sake of messing about.
"Hey! You mangy palookas!" Watto bellowed. "keep away from my property!"
The bikers just laughed at Watto and caused more trouble for him. But they didn't realize how this was affecting the inside of the vehicle.
While all that trouble was going on outside, Anakin was still asleep in his pod, when the trailer door was opened by one of his tools falling and hitting the button to open it! And while he was sleeping, the pod started to slowly slide out from the trailer with Anakin it it!
Anakin suddenly started to feel a chill as he was all the way outside. With a yawn he rubbed his eyes and stretched out, only to be blinded when he saw the lights of a huge freighter headed right toward him.
With a scream, Anakin quickly started his pod and started to drive across the freeway, but went the wrong way for at least forty feet before he swerved and managed to turn into the right direction.
"Phew! That was close!" Anakin sighed with extreme relief.
Anakin drove his pod and tried to find his way back to the truck, and hopefully get Watto to stop so he could get the pod back in and sit in a safer spot. Except... Anakin noticed a problem with his pod. Somehow, his pod started to just speed up.
"Uh oh. What's wrong with this thing now?"
Anakin tried hitting every switch, button, and gear, but the pod wasn't responding.
"Uh oh! This isn't good."
Anakin kept trying to put on the brakes, but the pod just wouldn't stop; it just kept speeding up, and Anakin had to be even more vigilant than usual to avoid crashing.
Meanwhile, behind a sign was a dark-skinned human male in a police uniform with a pink pegasus in uniform by his side. He was sipping on a cup of coffee as he and his horse were on night patrol.
"Another quiet night tonight, Sheriff Windu" said the pegasus.
"That it is." Mace said, yawning a bit.
Suddenly, something sped by really fast!
"What the hay was that?!" the pegasus, whose name was Strawberry Sundae, said.
"Not in my town, you don't." Mace got onto Strawberry and snapped the reins, turning on the sirens that were attached to the saddle as she galloped across and started to fly.
Anakin noticed a cop was approaching and thought maybe he could help him.
"Please pull over, driver, you are in violation of the speed limit!" Mace said over his comm.
"I would, but I can't!" Anakin said. "My pod won't stop!"
"What do you mean it won't stop?" Strawberry asked.
"I don't know what's wrong? My pod's not responding to anything, and it just keeps speeding up! I can't stop it! Please help!"
"Remain calm, Sir. We'll see what we can do."
Not too far from there was a little town with a few shops. It was quiet there. Only a few citizens were awake currently. At a diner, there was a couple who ran the joint, a Kel Dor and a Togruta. In there were also a couple of horses who helped out.
Across the street was a bookstore, where a Cerea male was doing some late cleaning, and a young alicorn with a curly mane was reading a book.
Outside, some more humans were looking at the stars with their horses.
"See that, Omega?" said one who wore glasses. "That is the pegasus constellation. And over there is the North star."
"Navigation by the stars is one of the best skills any rider can have," said a beautiful pegasus named Indira. "It is said that many herd in the past used the stars to find their way home. They believed that the stars were lined by the magic of ancestral unicorns, made to guide them, to serve as a reminder that no matter how far they were, home would always be where they need it to be."
It was typical for the nights to be quiet. There weren't any customers, not much activity, and not really any excitement around here... until tonight.
"LOOK OUT!" Anakin shouted as he crashed through some bails of hay while trying to avoid crashing into a building, only to crash into some wire
Anakin nearly hit Omega and her twin brother. Luckily, their older brothers pulled them out of the way just in time!
"Hey, watch where you're going!" shouted the brawniest one. "You almost hit my little sister!"
Some of the horses in town also saw and whinnied as they ran or flew out of the way of the speeding vehicle that caused some damage to other parts of the town. He broke a window, knocked over a display of clothes outside a store, knocked down some tables and chairs outside a cafe, and then he came speeding really fast toward what looked like a barn or stable of some sort.
Anakin tried to swerve to avoid it, but this time the steering wasn't working! And then... CRASH!
Everything went black.
The next day...
Shera Nova fixed herself up as they went live at the Platinum Pegasus Stadium.
"We're here live at the Platinum Pegasus Stadium as the first competitor, Anakin Skywalker is arriving at the track."
"Is it true he's gonna pose for Cover Star?" asked one reporter.
"Are the rumors true he's engaged to be married?" asked another.
But as soon as the trailer door opened...
Everyone gasped!
And Shmi fainted when she looked into the trailer.
Breaking News!
"Anakin Skywalker's mother and agent arrived in Alderaan City, but Anakin was missing!" said a reporter.
It was all over the news that Anakin Skywalker was a no-show at the stadium. Watto tried to look for his transmitter, but found that the signal went offline, which meant either he was out of range, or the transmitter had been deactivated somehow. Shmi was very worried about her son. To Watto's objection, she went to the police and told them everything from how she was enslaved down to the very last detail.
And lucky for her, the cops were able to deactivate her transmitter, and they took Watto in for questioning.
Shmi gave the police a thorough description of her son and what she could recall of the route they'd taken to get there. She didn't know where Anakin could be, but she did know that his pod was gone too, which meant he must have been able to drive it somewhere.
And all around the world, wherever the news went, everyone was asking the same question: Where is Anakin Skywalker?