Halloween was soon among the worlds of the galaxy, including the big city planet of Coruscant. The kids especially were ecstatic for this day; you'd have to be crazy not to find the idea of dressing up in fun costumes, going to parties, and getting free candy fun.
And this year, Jedi younglings were no exception. This was their second real Halloween ever, and they were all so excited. Some of the masters volunteered to take groups of the younglings trick or treating, but a paricular group of kids had a special game plan for tonight.
"Alright, troops! Listen up. Attention!" Gabby marched like a drill sergeant, though she was dressed up as Belle.
Gabby held up a laser pointer and motioned to various points on a map.
"As you know, last Halloween, we set a record with twelve pounds, four ounces of candy. But I think we can do better this year. If we play our cards right, we can make it up to a shattering record of twenty pounds total!"
Gabby held up a clipboard, on which she'd created a list of the groups, of which she strategized and assembled based on age, costume, a well as both costume and wearer's level of cuteness, scare, and percentage of candy given according to some online research.
"Now, the last three weeks, you've all been going through some intense training. Cute costumes, never forget to use puppy eyes while yelling 'trick or treat,' and of course, fluttering lashes never fails to earn you twice the candy. Scary costumes, this is the time you shine the brightest. But you won't get candy from a tiny startle. A surefire way to get plenty of candy: terrify people into dropping their candy. And remember your acting tutoring. The better the pretend, the better the treats. And little kids usually get the biggest loads, which is why I've made sure each group got at least three little kids."
"We get to have fun though, right?" asked Caleb. "You said trick or treating is supposed to be fun."
"Yeah, Caleb. Halloween is fun. And one of the things is getting candy, and trading later."
The clock struck as it was about sundown.
"You know the saying. Early bird gets the worm, or in this case gummy worms, and chocolate, caramel, and peanut brittle. All the candies you can imagine. But we gotta act before all the good stuff is gone. So, let's move, move, move!"
Quickly, Gabby made sure everyone had their maps of their trick or treat routes, flashlights, baskets, and of course back-up bags if they got more than they could carry in one.
"You sure are organized this year." Anakin chuckled.
"You know how much I love M&M's, Daddy." Gabby said, going with her father. "And this year, I'm keeping a close eye on my gummy bears. Uncle Ki-Adi claims he doesn't know what happened to half of the ones I got last year, but how does he explain why his breath smelled like sugar-coated fruit salad and why he had a rainbow of piece stuck between his teeth?"
Anakin laughed and said, "I guess the Jedi Masters like candy too, but choose not to show it openly."
"They just better stay away from my candy, or they're gonna be the ones getting tricks."
"You know revenge isn't the Jedi way."
"But tricks are the Halloweeny way."
Anakin took his daughter's hand and started with her and her group on the way to tricks and treats.
So, the kids took their routes all over town, doing everything Gabby taught them to get as much candy as possible. And sure enough, so much of the Jedi princess' plan and strategies proved very effective. Everyone yelled trick or treat, played Pretend, and scared a lot of homeowners and other trick or treaters, and got a lot of candy.
And soon, all the kids arrived back at the Temple to trade any candies they didn't want for candies they did like, or trade for a king size of their favorite candy bar.
"This has to be at least thirty pounds of candy!" said one youngling.
"This is enough candy to last all year long." Lamenta said, opening a caramel candy.
"Urgh!" Petro groaned, looking through his bag. "Another stupid coconut crunchy. Why did I get so many of these?"
"I'll trade you a caramel apple for some of them." Carousella said, offering a candy apple she got in hers.
"Take as many as you want." Petro said, accepting the apple.
Gabby had something none of the other kids had, though. Out from her bag, she brought out what looked like an odd type of venus flytrap or something.
"Want some candy?" Gabby offered the plant some gumdrops.
The little plant munched the gumdrops out from the palm of Gabby's hand.
"What's that thing?" Caleb asked.
"I'm not sure exactly." Gabby said. "Some kind of plant that likes to eat stuff. Candy, by the looks of it."
"Where'd you get it?"
"That's a bit of a strange story." Gabby got into storyteller mode then. "It all began on a day like any other."
Da-doo
I was walkin' in the wholesale flower district that day
Shoop, da-doo
And Dad and I passed where this nice old man
Chang, da-doo
He sometimes sells folks weird and exotic cuttings
Snip, da-doo
'Cause he knows, you see, that some like things that are different
Da-da-da-da-da, da-doo
He didn't have anything that caught my attention
Nope, da-doo
So I was just about to, ya know, walk on by
Good for you
When suddenly, and without warning
There was this total eclipse of the sun
It got very dark
And there was this strange humming sound
Like something from another world
Da-doo
And when the light came back, this weird plant was just sitting there
Whoopsy-doo
Just, you know, stuck in, among the zinnias
Audrey Two
I coulda sworn it hadn't been there before
But Daddy bought for me anyways
For a price of credits, nine
Sha-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la, doo-doo
Present Day...
"Now I'm taking care of this little guy."
That was when Anakin came in and told Gabby he needed her for something.
"Coming, Daddy." Gabby looked at the plant and then Caleb. "Think you could watch Audrey II for a bit?"
"You named it Audrey II?"
"No. She already had a name when I got her. Now, there's a little book in my bag that tells you how to take care of her. The flower seller said you gotta follow them exactly right, or something bad could happen."
"It's a plant, what could happen?"
"Um... hello...?" Anakin called, making some briars grow.
"Point taken." Caleb confessed. "Okay. Audrey will be in good hands."
"I'll be back, Audrey II." Gabby said, giving the plant a kiss and leaving with her father.
"You'd better take care of Audrey." Boba warned Caleb. "She's giving you a chance to redeem yourself after you've been pranking her so much."
Caleb rolled his eyes and took the plant to his room where he could keep an eye on her.
Caleb looked into the book and saw some pretty simple instructions:
1. Water the plant with cool water
2. Feed the plant something sweet (recommended: liquid sweets such as syrup or honey)
3. Sing the plant a song of love
4. Make sure the plant is fed every hour and not a minute later (or severe consequences may occur)
"If they're trying to say the plant will die, they should just say that." Caleb said.
So, he watered the plant, gave it some maple syrup he found in the fridge, and turned on the radio and changed the station until he found one that played love songs. And after one hour passed, he fed it some more syrup. Another hour passed as Caleb was practicing using the Force out of boredom. But when another hour passed by, he heard some of the other kids playing Tag in the hall.
"You can't outrun a wookie!" one kid shouted, as Gungi was it.
Finding nothing better to do, Caleb decided to join them instead of feeding Audrey II.
"It can wait a little bit." Caleb told himself.
But, what was supposed to be a few minutes turned into an hour, and then came dinnertime
A few more hours went by, but Caleb still didn't feed Audrey II. And before they knew it, it was time for all the younglings to go to bed. Caleb didn't even realize he hadn't given Audrey her much needed feedings.
Caleb woke up late the next morning; Halloween sure had a way of exhausting you. If it wasn't from eating too much candy, it was form all the excitement of frights and running from house to house for tricks and treats.
Yawning, Caleb stepped out of bed to meet his master for breakfast, only to trip on something.
"Whoa!"
Caleb fell flat on his face with a pained groan. When he looked to see what he'd tripped on was in fact... a vine?
The annoyed boy sighed and picked himself up.
"Gabby, if this is a joke of yours, it isn't-"
Caleb gasped when he looked to see that the vine was actually from Audrey II, who'd grown a lot bigger! Too big to fit in her pot. In fact, the whole pot had shattered to pieces. Caleb was flabbergasted by this sight before him. How did Audrey get so big?! He was at least Caleb's size now.
"Caleb?" a voice called. His master Depa Billaba. Caleb couldn't let her find out about this! Or worse, Gabby. He was still in trouble for the last time he played a scare prank on Gabby; it was only by her word that his master even lifted his punishment just for Halloween fun. If either of them found out he didn't take plant-sitting seriously, he'd be on really thin ice, assuming he was lucky enough not to fall through.
Master Billaba knocked on Caleb's door.
"Don't come in here!" Caleb exclaimed. "I'm... changing!"
"Well, finish getting dressed quickly. Breakfast is ready, and then we have meditation."
So, Caleb started to get dressed for real, but he was panicking as he caught glimpses of Audrey II every two seconds. Gabby was not going to be happy if this was the something bad that would happen if he didn't care for it right. But... what could've caused Audrey II to get so big so fast?
"Okay, I don't have time to think about this now." Caleb told himself. "Just calm down, Caleb. Plants get bigger all the time. It's normal. Then again... Gabby did say it was an exotic, strange plant. But, I should probably get you a new pot.
Luckily, Caleb still had his bucket he'd used for trick or treating; a really big bucket. It wasn't quite big enough to hold the plant, but at least most of its roots could get a drink of water. And, Caleb left to get breakfast and walked with his master to go to meditation, when they ran into Gabby as she was skipping down the hall.
"Hi, Caleb. How's Audrey doing?" Gabby asked.
"Oh! Audrey? She's... good. Very good. Very green." Caleb said, forcing himself to smile.
"Uh... are you okay?"
"Oh yeah. Great. Just a little tired from yesterday."
"That's Halloween for you. I can hardly wait for next Halloween so we can have fun like that all over again. Until then, Life Day is next. Which reminds me... I gotta start working on my letter to Santa!"
And Gabby skipped along the hall again. Billaba chuckled.
"That Gabriella Skywalker is something, isn't she?"
"You have no idea, Master."
Caleb joined his master in a meditation area, and took a deep breath to get started in meditation. Depa guided him in the process of letting go of all else, letting the outer world around him disappear. But... both master and apprentice were shocked out from meditation by the sound of a little girl screaming, the sound echoing through the ventilation system.
"What was that?"
"That sounded like Gabriella screaming." Depa said.
That landed a big uh oh in Caleb's head.
Quickly, he ran back to his room, and he was met by a devastating sight.
Gabby lay on the floor, eyes closed, her skin pale and spotted with green blotches as though she had a rash that left green in place of red.
"Gabby!" Caleb exclaimed, getting down on his knees. He checked for a pulse in her. "Gabby, speak to me!"
He placed his ear on her chest. No heartbeat, no breath. And when he looked at her wrist, he saw bite marks, and a vine wrapped around her leg. The same kind of vine, in fact, that Caleb had tripped over earlier.
"Gabby, no! No. Please, no!" Caleb gasped.
Caleb looked at Gabby again and started crying, when someone else came by his room.
"Gabby, are you here? I heard you-" Boba walked in and froze with a gasp when he saw his sister's state. "Gabby!"
Boba had the same response as Caleb when he saw Gabby in this state. This was a total nightmare. And when Boba caught sight of Audrey II having gotten so big... he looked at his sister again.
"Caleb... did you forget to feed Audrey?" Boba asked slowly, sounding angry.
"Uh... what exactly does that have to do with-?"
Boba picked up the book on how to take care of Audrey II.
"Did you read all the warnings and instructions?"
"I did everything it said, but-"
"It says clearly right here! If the plant is not fed every hour before sundown, it has a 99.8 percent chance of growing to monstrous size and gaining a thirst for blood!"
"What?! Who would sell a plant that eats people if you don't give it sugar?"
"That's not the issue. Gabby trusted you to take care of this plant, and now because of you, my sister is gone!"
"But, I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know this would happen! I- I-"
As you can probably imagine, Anakin was shattered, crushed, agitated in tears when he learned of his baby girl's fate.
"No, no, NO!" Anakin cried, looking at the younger child in his son's arms. "It can't be true."
"It's all Caleb's fault." Boba said. "First traumatizing her with clowns, then water balloons, and now leading her to death by her own pet plant?"
Boba glared at Caleb.
"Just when I thought you couldn't be more than a jerk."
Caleb couldn't say anything after that. He just looked down in guilt as Boba walked closer to Anakin.
"Let me hold my baby girl." Anakin said tearfully.
Boba carefully placed his sister into Anakin's arms.
Anakin held Gabby's body dearly in his arms and cried. No one else looked like they could hold back their tears when they saw that a little girl had suffered an indescribable fate. She hadn't even lived to see double digits, or to be six. And everyone was blaming Caleb for what happened.
Gabby was placed onto a table in one of the gardens. Most Jedi were cremated when they died... but this was a special case. So, they instead put her in a glass casket in the garden; the same one in fact, where she'd first discovered her powers. And in light of this beloved princess, every Jedi left a flower by her casket.
Caleb couldn't bring himself to attend the service, knowing everyone blamed him for the child's loss.
Caleb sat in his room that night and cried.
"It really is my fault!" Caleb sobbed. "I'm sorry, Gabby! I'm so sorry!"
Caleb covered his eyes and cried.
"If I'd just- Force, bring her back! I'll do anything!"
"Anything?" said a voice. A rather deep voice "Anything, you say?"
Caleb gasped. That voice, he did not recognize.
"Who said that?"
"You say you want the girl back? Ya gotta face the source."
Caleb looked around; the only other living thing in the room was Audrey II.
"Hmm... that's weird." Caleb said. He got up from his bed and approached the plant, getting a closer look at the plant that killed Gabby.
"You hear me, boy?"
"AHH!"
The voice turned out to be coming from none other than Audrey II.
"Caleb Dume... That's right! I know you're name. You ignored instructions, and now a little one you used to torment is now dead!"
"Don't remind me! I didn't want her to get hurt. I just thought I was playing with her. She jokes around, and I thought I was just-"
Caleb started crying again.
"I just want her back. I'd do anything to do that."
"There is a way, Caleb. I happen to be a magical plant." Audrey said. "I can grant you any wish you want. But in order to activate my power. I need a little something in return."
"Okay..." Caleb scratched his head. "What do you need?"
"I need new blood."
"What?!"
"You heard me!"
Audrey:
Feed me
Feed me
Feed me
Feed me, Caleb
Feed me all night long
"That's right, boy!"
You can do it...
Feed me, Caleb
Feed me all night long...
'Cause if you feed me, Caleb
I'll revive her, big and strong
"Any wish you want." Audrey II said.
Would you like a new starship?
Or a guest-shot on Jedi Tip?
How about a date with Princess Pip...
You gonna git it
How'd ya like to be a big wheel?
Dining out, for every meal
I'm the plant can make it all real
You're gonna git it
Hey, I'm your genie
I'm your friend
I'm your willin' slave...
Take a chance, feed me, yeah
You know the kinda eats
The kinda ret-hot treats
The kinda sticky licky, sweets I crave...
"But... but Gabby paid the price of her life. And you want me to feed you someone else?" Caleb said, sounding scared and confused.
Ow! Come on, Caleb
Don't be a putz!
Trust me and your life will surely
Rival King Tut's
Show a little initiative, boy
Work up some guts
And you'll git it
Caleb:
I don't know
I don't know
I have so... so many strong... reservations
Should I go... and perform... mutilations?
Audrey II:
Think about a room at the Ritz
Wrapped in velvet, covered in glitz
A little nookie gonna clean up those zits
And you'll git it... uh huh...
Caleb:
Gee I'd like a Harley machine
Tooling around like I was James Dean
Makin' all the guys on the corner turn green!
So, go git it! Woo woo woo!
If you wanna be profound...
If you really gotta justify...
Take a breath and look around...
A lot of folks deserve to die...
Boba was crying out in anger and such.
"I'll kill Caleb for what he did to Gabby! That awful... ooh! I don't even know a word for what he is now!"
"Hmm," Audrey said, wrapping a vine around Caleb's shoulder. "Sounds like someone's out to get ya. Maybe you should take him out before he can take you."
"What?! But that's Gabby's brother."
"But, he's adopted... and surely Skywalker will want his birth kid, his younger kid back more. And the things he's done before. He didn't serve much time."
Audrey:
If you want a rationale
It isn't very hard to see
No, No, No...
Stop and think it over, pal
The guy sure looks like plant food to me!
Both:
The guy sure looks like plant food to me!
The guy sure looks like plant food to me...!
Caleb:
He's so nasty treat Jedi rough!
Pretending to change, and always talkin' so tough!
Audrey:
You need blood and he's got more than enough!
I need blood and he's got more than enough!
You I need blood and he's got more than enough!
So Go Git it
Caleb took a breath. Audrey II needed blood to revive Gabby... Caleb was going to trade Boba for her; he was one of few Jedi who still didn't believe Boba had fully changed. So, he decided to do as the plant suggested and take him out before he could exact revenge on him for what happened to Gabby.