The horses finally managed to find the humans and Togruta. Sapphire, Carousella, and Crescent
Gabby giving Carmine a kiss may have healed his nose, but it couldn't make his vision better.
Anakin held Carmine's hand to make sure he wouldn't lose him. But it didn't stop Carmine from tripping on a rock and making both twins fall down.
"Of all things that had to be different between our eyes, why did it have to be that mine don't work right?" Carmine whined, Anakin laying on his back.
"Less whining, more walking." Anakin said, helping his twin up.
The group continued walking, eventually coming across an area with a sign that had a bird skull and crossbones like the one on the map.
"Whoa! Back up!" Anakin said.
"What is it?" Carmine said, squinting at the sign. "Is that a sign?"
"This is the border between Griffin Park and Vulture Valley." Anakin said.
"Oh no!" Carmine said, hugging Ahsoka tightly.
"Relax, we're not going in there." Anakin said. "Our mission is to defeat the droids, and place the markers so the griffins can place a barrier around this place. Starting with here."
One of the clones took out a marker, which looked like a little wooden bird statue, and placed it in the exact spot where Anakin marked it by drawing an X in the dirt with his foot.
"This way, men." Anakin said. "The next marking spot should be about twenty clicks in that direction."
The group kept walking, when something small landed on Carmine's nose and made him scream, and everyone else jumped.
"Carmine! What's wrong?" Ahsoka asked.
"Spider! Spider on my face! Get it off! Get it off!" Carmine screamed, running around, panicking.
"Uncle Carmine!" Gabby exclaimed. "Calm down!"
"Daddy, don't panic!" Lamenta said.
"Carmine, hold still!" Anakin said, grabbing Carmine so Ahsoka could get the "spider," only for the Torguta to look dumbfounded by what it actually was.
Ahsoka let the bug onto her finger, and it turned out to not be a spider at all. It was just a ladybug.
"Uh... since when are spiders red with black dots and only have six legs?" Ahsoka said. "Carmine, it was a ladybug on your nose, not a spider."
The clones couldn't help laughing when it turned out Carmine was scared of a ladybug.
"Well, I couldn't tell. I couldn't see where it came from." Carmine defended.
"We tried to tell you, Daddy." Lamenta said. "We'll let you know if we see anything dangerous."
"Sapphire, maybe you should carry Carmine for now." Anakin said.
"I second that." Sapphire said.
Rex helped Carmine get onto Sapphire correctly
The group kept walking until they found the next mark, then they came across a fork in the road, where there was a sign telling them to take the path to the left. But, Carousella thought otherwise.
"I'm not so sure about this." Carousella said. "Something tells me we should be going to the right."
"Well, this sign here says we need to go that way." Ahsoka said.
"We don't have time to argue about this. Let's go." Anakin said.
So, the group continued to walk down the path to the left. Except, they didn't notice the wind shifting the sign to its proper position.
The squad started to go down the path, but it started to get darker the farther they went in.
"Um... is anyone noticing it getting dark out here?" Gabby said.
"Nightfall must be coming sooner than we thought." Anakin said.
Lamenta looked at her watch and said, "But it's only four o'clock. It shouldn't be dark now."
The group continued down the path, but they couldn't find the next mark. Actually, when Anakin asked R2 to bring up their coordinates, it showed they were actually moving away from the next mark.
"What? How is that possible?" Anakin said.
"I told you we should've gone the other way!" Carousella said. "The only reason it could be dark here so early is if we were walking in a dark forest!"
The trees started to rustle, and there were strange noises everywhere.
Carmine gasped as he heard something.
"M-maybe we should turn back." he suggested.
"We can't do that. It'll take too long and Dooku's forces might launch another attack before we can stop them. Our best bet is to keep moving and get to the next mark.
"Heads up, Carmine." Sapphire said.
And then Carmine whacked his head on a tree branch.
"Ow!" Carmine groaned. "Sapphire, careful!"
"I warned you."
"Well, I didn't exactly see it." Carmine said.
What the group didn't know then, was that some vultures flying above spotted the group down below and flew over to a dark cave in the mountains to a figure in the shadows who was sharpening his metal-like talons on the wall, when a vulture hissed something to him.
"Hmm… so, we have human visitors, do we?" the figure chuckled. "And humans no less. Round up the others and invite our visitors to dinner."
The humans continued down the path, trying to find their way out of Vulture Valley. Anakin contacted Obi-Wan to let him know they hit a slight delay.
"What exactly do you mean by 'slight delay'?" Obi-Wan asked.
"He means he followed a sign that was turned the wrong way, and now we're in Vulture Valley." Carousella said.
"What?!"
"Did she just say their group's in Vulture Valley?" Gus said over the comlink. "What kind of plants are you guys nearby?"
Anakin looked around. There were some odd gray bushes with red thorns sticking out of them. When he told Gus this, the griffin prince got more worried.
"It's worse than I thought. You have to get out of there now!" Gus said. "That's right near Canivar's Cave!"
"Who's Canivar?" Obi-Wan asked.
"The most dangerous griffin ever to walk these parts." Queen Plumette said.
According to Gus and his mom, Canivar was banished to Vulture Valley for serious crimes against Plumalas and other kingdoms. His crime? Kidnapping, torturing, and murdering humans to make them into meals! Hence, he was known as Canivar the Human Eater.
"A griffin who eats humans?" Obi-Wan said, disgusted and shocked.
"Unfortunately," sighed Plumette. "We griffins are powerful, at times scary, but we do not harm humans unless provoked. The only meat we ingest typically consists of insects, fish, and small mammals. Occasionally, fruits, seeds, and nuts too. Such as Gus."
"I thought we were birds of prey," said Gus' sister Gwendolyn. "And for some reason Gus doesn't like meat."
"This isn't about me, Gwen!" Gus said.
"Enough, both of you." the queen scolded.
Immediately, the queen ordered the guards to scout a rescue mission into Vulture Valley to get the humans out before Canivar could make them his next meal.
Everyone began running as fast as they could through the woods, trying to find a way out.
"Hurry!" Anakin said.
The group kept running to the path their map said to take in order to get out of there. They were advised to run through the path with as many bushy trees as possible so Canivar couldn't find them easily. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be enough, as griffins also had a keen sense of smell.
Sapphire carried Carmine and the little girls on her back as they continued running, when they heard the sound of a clone screaming.
"What just happened?" Carmine said.
Suddenly, the group was bombarded by something big swooping at them and grabbing one of the clone troopers.
"Compass!" Rex exclaimed. And then another griffin swooped in and grabbed him too!
"Oh no!" Ahsoka exclaimed. She quickly grabbed her comlink and called for help. "Master Obi-Wan! We need help! We're surrounded by-Aah!"
And then Ahsoka was grabbed too.
Sapphire tried to fight off the griffins, but only succeeded in dropping everyone on her back into a pit of mud and then getting grabbed herself by two really big griffins.
Anakin managed to stab one griffin to death with his lightsaber and Force-push a few vultures away, but it wasn't enough! As the biggest griffin of them all swooped in and threw some stray dirt into Anakin's eyes, and then threw him into a tree, knocking him unconscious.
"Mmm…. you're a tasty looking morsel." said the biggest griffin with a scar across the right side of his face and talons that were practically metal. "I'll love having you for dinner. Time to go home, boys! We are feasting tonight!"
And Canivar and his minions carried all the humans and other beings they captured away to be made into a feast.
Meanwhile, Carmine and the kids got up and out of the mud, all covered in muck and scum.
"Ugh! Yuck!" Gabby groaned. "We're covered in mud!"
"I think I got mud in my boots." Carmine whined.
"Forget being muddy," said Lamenta. "Those griffins just took all our friends and Uncle Anakin!"
"We have to save them!" Gabby said.
"Wait, kids. I couldn't see it clearly, but those beasts caught several adults and a full-grown pegasus. They'll rip you to shreds!" Carmine said.
"Well, we have to do something." Gabby picked up her father's lightsaber.
Carmine knew there wasn't enough time to wait for someone else to come. If those griffins wanted to eat his brother and their friends, they needed to hurry and rescue them right now! The only problem, Carmine couldn't see anything.
"Except, a rescue mission is going to be difficult if I can't see where I'm going." Carmine said.
"We could always stand in front and be your eyes, Daddy." Lamenta said.
"Yeah, but I need a way to be able to move around myself without being able to use my eyes."
The trio started to think. How could Carmine get around by himself without using his eyes?
"Well, blind people usually have seeing eye dogs or a long stick they use to feel around for things around them." Gabby suggested. "Lamenta and I can see fine, but there's also the chance we need to hide so a grown up can handle bigger stuff. And I don't see any sticks long enough around here."
But then, Lamenta had an idea!
"Bats!" Lamenta exclaimed.
"Bats?! Where?!" Carmine ducked and covered his head.
"No! Bats fly at night when it's really dark, but they don't use their eyes to see where they're going. They use echolocation! You know, they make a noise, and then the echoes tell them if something's in front so they don't bump into it."
"So, if Uncle Carmine uses a Sonar Wave on a softer scale, he can use the echo to see where he's going by using his ears to hear if something's ahead."
Carmine thought about it, and it sounded like a good idea. He could sing very well, and when he sang loudly, it sometimes made a loud echo that shook the land around him. If bats could do it, maybe he could too. So, Carmine decided to give it a try.
Carmine vocalized a song in front of him, and sure enough, he heard an echo. When he walked in that direction and felt the space in front of him, he felt a tree there. He tried it again in another direction, but didn't hear an echo quite yet. The path that way turned out to be clear!
"Echolocation works pretty well." Carmine smiled, then he grew determined. "Come on, kids. Let's go save our friends!"
Gabby activated the comlink as she, her cousin, and uncle all began running as fast as they could, following the map.
"Uncle Obi-Wan! Daddy and the others have been captured!" Gabby said. "Me, Lamenta, and Uncle Carmine are fine, but we're heading to Canivar's Cave to launch a rescue mission."
"You can't go there! Canivar is a human eater!" Obi-Wan said.
"We know. But we can buy you some time. We still have the map and Uncle Carmine found a way to see where he's going himself."
Obi-Wan sighed; just like her father, Gabby did not hesitate to run towards danger if it meant saving her friends and loved ones.
"Gabby, listen to me. You and Lamenta must stay out of sight of Canivar. I'm on my way with some backup."
Lamenta guided her father on the quickest way to Canivar's Cave by looking at the map, while Carmine used echolocation to get through the woods, and found ways to use his other senses too. His sense of smell definitely came in handy when he smelled smoke, but not just any smoke.
"Oh no! Either there's a forest fire starting, or those griffins are building a fire!" Carmine said.
All the clones, Ahsoka, Sapphire, and Anakin struggled as they were tied up with some strong ropes made of vines. The griffins tied some rope around Sapphire's muzzle and her wings so she couldn't fly away, and the humans and Togruta all had muzzles tied around their mouths so they couldn't scream.
The cave was dark aside from the fire that was lit and being enlarged as the griffins placed some more logs on it to make it big and hot. There were old bones all over the cave floors too! Fish bones, rat bones, small bird skeletons, and even what could only be human skeletons. Even the clones were terrified by this sight. They all struggled, trying to loosen the rope so they could run. Unfortunately, the griffins took off all their armor and their communication devices, no doubt to make them easier to cook.
"Finally." Canivar said. "It's been a long time since we had human visitors over for dinner. And we've found a couple of tasty appetizers too."
Canivar ran a claw around Ahsoka's chin.
"I don't know what you are, but you look like a nice appetizer." Canivar licked his beak with a hiss. But Ahsoka showed no fear.
Canivar took a good look at Sapphire too.
"A fine equine of your size… you're enough to set us for three days. What a lucky find!"
Anakin struggled more, trying to get out of the rope. If he had his lightsaber, he could use it to cut himself free easily.
Canivar approached Anakin with a particularly hungry look in his eyes.
"You really put up a fight, I'll give you that." Canivar said. "Every morsel I've ever had fights back, runs, and hides. But you…. You were a challenge, and you are very fit. Two of the tastiest qualities."
Canivar licked his mouth again.
"This one is mine! We cook him first!"
Canivar's minions grabbed Anakin and began tying him to a post to start slow-roasting him over the fire. For probably the first time in his life, Anakin was scared! He tried to scream for help to no avail, when someone vocalized a loud song into the cave at a high note that had all the griffins covering their ears. And in came Carmine.
"Hey, Canivar!" Carmine exclaimed.
"Carmine!" Anakin exclaimed, managing to get the muzzle off his mouth.
Carmine ignited his brother's lightsaber and said, "No one eats my brother and gets away with it. You want a fight! Come and get it!"
Carmine couldn't see it, but he could hear the hungry hiss of Canivar looking at Carmine like another tasty treat.
"There's two of you, are there? Even better!"
Canivar began to fly, cawing loudly to order his minions to attack. But Carmine showed no fear as he ignited the lightsaber and used his other senses to fight back! Using his sense of hearing, as well as what Obi-Wan taught him about using the Force to sense oncoming dangers, he Force pushed the griffins into the walls or swung his brother's lightsaber, severely scarring the griffins or killing them. Meanwhile, Lamenta and Gabby took the chance to swoop in to help. While Carmine kept the griffins distracted, Lamenta turned invisible and untied all the prisoners while Gabby used her fire magic to absorb the fire into her hands so she could free her father.
"Are you okay, Daddy?" Gabby said.
"Five more minutes and I would've been toast. Literally." Anakin said.
Quickly, Ahsoka and the clones managed to grab their weapons and start fighting off the griffins so they could get the heck out of there! However, Canivar seemed to vanish, and so did Carmine.
"Wait, where's Uncle Carmine?" Gabby asked.
Suddenly, everyone could hear what sounded like a lion roaring, a hawk cawing, and Carmine yelling in anger in the back of the cave.
That was also when Obi-Wan and some of Plumalas' royal guards arrived as backup.
"Is everyone alright?" Obi-Wan asked.
"We're fine," said Anakin. "But it sounds like Carmine's in trouble!"
So, while the others took care of Canivar's minions, Obi-Wan and Anakin rushed to rescue Carmine, only to be dumbfounded by what they actually found.
Carmine looked either so brave or so crazy as he wrestled Canivar to the ground, he had the poor griffin on his back, his four legs tied together by his own tail as Carmine tied a tight knot in it, his wings suspended to the wall with some big rocks, and his beak tied shut with a vine.
"You tried to cook my brother, but it looks like you're the one who got roasted!" Carmine taunted.
"Carmine!" Obi-Wan said.
"Master?" Carmine looked behind him. He didn't need his glasses to recognized Obi-Wan's voice.
"Did you do that?"
"Uh…. yeah, I guess I did."
Anakin couldn't help smiling at his brother. "Not bad, Carmine. You took down a griffin all by yourself, and you did it so bravely."
"To be fair, I can't really see how scary he is." Carmine shrugged. "But more importantly, he almost killed you. I wasn't going to let him get away with it. I lost my father a long time ago. I wasn't going to let the same thing happen to Gabby."
However, Carmine winced then.
"What's wrong?" Anakin said.
"My arm. It hurts a lot. Ow!" Carmine hissed in pain.
"Let's take a look."
Carmine was taken to a medic, and he had a large scratch on his arm, no doubt he'd gotten scratched during his fight with the griffins. Jesse carefully cleaned up the wound and bandaged Carmine until Gabby came along and gave him a kiss to make it better.
"How'd you manage to find us without your glasses?" Ahsoka asked.
"It was a team effort, actually." Carmine said. "Gabby came up with the idea to use other senses beside sight to get around, and then Lamenta reminded me about echolocation. You know, that method some animals use echoes of sounds they make to get around."
"Ah, yes." Sapphire nodded. "Queen Reigna has many of the night guards in Equinaro learn and practice echolocation to strengthen fighting skills for any time of day, even on the darkest of nights."
"You were very brave out there, Carmine." Anakin said, holding his brother's shoulder. "Maybe there's more fight in you than all of us combined realize."
Carmine felt pretty good about having helped everyone. But, he still couldn't wait to get some new glasses so he could see clearly.
The team eventually managed to get the markers in the right places, this time having some of the griffins guide them so they wouldn't run into Vulture Valley a second time. The king and queen were definitely going to make sure the signs were placed more sturdily too so the wind couldn't turn them and lead anyone else in the wrong direction. And soon, the mission was complete, which meant everyone could go home.
"Hey, Carmine. Caroline just called." Anakin said. "She said a spare pair of glasses just arrived early, and she's bringing them to the Temple right now. You'll be seeing things clearly again in no time."
"Really?!" Carmine said excitedly. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
But Carmine forgot to look and feel where he was going, not realizing the ship door wasn't open yet. Obi-Wan tried to warn him.
"Watch out for that-"
Too late.
"Oof!" Carmine fell to the ground as he'd run into the….
"Door." Obi-Wan finished, wincing.
Carmine was super happy when he arrived at the Temple. Anakin held his hand as they walked in so he wouldn't bump into anyone or anything again, and eventually they met with Caroline, who had the new pair of glasses for her husband.
"I believe these are what you came for, my dear?" said Caroline, taking the new pair of glasses out. And she was the one to place them onto Carmine's face.
Carmine felt frozen for a moment as he felt a great sense of deja vu. The moment his sight became clear again, his beloved Caroline was the first thing he saw, and he smiled.
"Those new glasses working alright?" said Carmine.
"Better than ever." Carmine sighed, not taking his eyes off his wife.
Carmine hugged Caroline and kissed her. One reason he would never stop wearing glasses: they were the whole reason he ended up meeting the love of his life. And because he had her, they also had a daughter, and now their whole family together. But even when he wasn't wearing his glasses, Carmine wouldn't need them to recognize the warmth of a hug from his wife, or the strength of Anakin's hugging, as Anakin jumped in to hug his twin.
"Come here, Carmine!" Anakin said, practically squeezing the life out of Carmine.
"Anakin!" Carmine whined. "Do you mind?"
Anakin rolled his eyes and let his brother go.
"Alright. But you know where to find me if you need me." Anakin said, beginning to leave.
But then, Carmine and Caroline shouted, "Watch out for that-"
Too late.
"Whoa!"
Anakin tripped on and R4 unit and fell with a front flip, landing flat on his face.
"Droid." Carmine finished.
Hope you all enjoyed the latest piece in this Catching Up series. I've been thinking too. Some of the arcs I put in my Return of the Doresho stories are making the story a little long. So, while I'm also working on fitting some extra stories into my Enchanted Jedi Adventures series, I figured I'm going to start making some into their own separate stories, because some ideas, I've come to realize jsut have too much detail and potential to fit into only three chapters, if I do say so myself.
So, if you liked this chapter, and ROTD, be sure to review, and there will be plenty more where that came from. I always appreciate a compliment or some feedback. It really helps if I know what exactly readers like about the story so I can make them better any chance I can get.