As she got into bed that night, Omega quietly told her brothers all about how she met Benni and how they connected with each other. Omega truly believed Benni could be the prince she'd been dreaming about.

"How well do you know this guy, Omega?" Boba asked.

Omega thought and listed all she knew so far about Benni.

"Well, he's a prince. He's from Ipsidon, and he's got a nice singing voice."

"What else?" Hunter crossed his arms.

"I know he's not our stepmother."

That, Omega's brothers could definitely agree was a terrific trait, but they were hesitant to let their sister go anywhere with some strange guy they never met themselves. But Omega told them all about how she and Benni looked into each other's eyes and connected so well before he asked her to meet him in the forest so they could be together without the queen seeing them. Only problem with that.

"How exactly do you plan on seeing your boyfriend with Stepmother's no leaving the castle rule?" Crosshair asked.

At first, Omega wasn't sure, but then she cooked up a plan.

The next day…

"Alright, boys. You know your jobs, now get sweeping." Cid bellowed.

So, Omega and her brothers got to work on their chores, and while they were working in the laundry room, that was where they executed their plan to get Omega out of the palace to see Benni.

Omega hid in a cart of laundry that Wrecker was taking outside to be dried. With their old castle guards being pretty much the only castle staff Miraj didn't kick out, the princes didn't need to worry about being caught. Being that they were still loyal to King Jango, they saw no problem looking the other way.

Wrecker got Omega outside to the clothes line, parking the cart near a stone wall, where there was a pretty tile picture on it. Then, Wrecker began the laundry and said, "Time to dry off!" to signal Omega.

As discreetly as possible, Omega opened a secret door her brothers installed in the cart so she could crawl over to the tile picture, which was actually a specially made door for Omega to crawl through to get to the other side of the wall.

Once Omega was out, she closed the tile door and knocked twice to signal Wrecker she was out.

The rest of the plan was simple: Omega would return at sunset when Wrecker would pick up the laundry, and Omega would hide in the cart again. And how would they prevent Cid or the queen from noticing she was gone, you may be wondering? That was where Boba came in.

Boba was pretty reluctant to do his part of the plan because it involved wearing and itchy wig made from Crosshair's horse Maybelle's hair (it was a good thing she happened to have a blonde mane), and worse, one of Omega's dresses, so he could pass as her anytime Cid came by to check on the royals' chore progress.

"The wig, I understand," said Boba. "But do I really have to wear a dress?"

"You're the only one the same height as Omega." Hunter said. "Besides, if this goes well, it won't just be Omega who's happier."

Hunter pointed out to Boba that if this date went well, Benni and Omega would fall in love and maybe they would get married, which would mean a union between Ipsidon and Kamino, and hence Omega would have some ammunition to help free the rest of the family.

As the firstborn child, after King Jango's death, the throne should've passed to Prince Hunter. Except, the royal children were all shocked when King Jango's will was read and he left the throne to their stepmother instead. The princes and princess were all convinced this had to be some kind of joke or a set-up. Their father wouldn't really have left the kingdom to a mistress who didn't give him any children, unlike his beloved wife Queen Zam, would he?

Boba sighed.

"The things I do for my twin."

So, Omega made her way to the forest, where she met up with Prince Benni.

Benni happily spun Omega in a hug, and he had a little surprise for her in the form of a little picnic he set up just for the two of them. Omega was impressed with how Benni was working to impress her, especially when he presented her with a lovely orange rose.

Omega and Benni spent time talking, sharing facts regarding customs and traditions of their kingdoms, what made their kingdoms special, personal interests, that kind of stuff. The two of them laughed together and had such a great time. But they had so much fun together they almost didn't realize sunset had come so soon.

"I… I have to go! Thank you for such a great time." Omega said.

"Can I see you again?" Benni asked. "I really like spending time with you."

Omega smiled and said she'd be delighted to see him again. Of course, she didn't neglect to save a few finger sandwiches and other snacks for her brothers. She figured it was the least she could do considering the way they were helping her.

Omega's brothers downed the treats she brought for them.

"I like Omega's boyfriend already." Wrecker said, downing another cookie.

"Technically, he is not her boyfriend yet." Tech said, then he looked at his sister. "Is he?"

Omega blushed when her brother asked that; it was just one date, but she really felt a connection with Benni. She couldn't deny she really liked him, but she couldn't speak about it in intimate detail without her brothers needing a Teenage Girl to Basic dictionary or a translator. How she wished she could've had a sister or at least a girl friend her age to talk about girl stuff. For now, she could tell her brothers this…

"We had a great time together. He gave me a rose, told me all about his kingdom, and he even asked to see me again."

Seeing how happy Omega was thanks to her outing with Benni, they decided they were going to help her again.

"If it means more decent food like this," said Boba, munching a sandwich. "I guess I can tolerate wearing your dress for a little longer."

So, Omega and her brothers repeated their plan over a course of time. Omega's brother snuck her out through the hole in the wall by pretending to be just taking sheets out to dry and Boba pretended to be Omega so she could go out to the forest and meet up with Benni.

Omega and Benni always met at the same spot in the forest, and always had a great time together. They would play, dance, pick flowers, feed the squirrels and little duckies by a pond they found. Benni and Omega grew closer and closer each time they met, but in all that time Omega never told Benni just how terrible it was in her home or the real reason she could never stay long enough to watch the sunset with him. All she told him was that her stepmother was a very strict woman who never let her leave the palace, much less spend time with boys who weren't related to her.

"You're lucky. I'd give anything to have a brother." Benni said. "Okay, I'd settle for a sister too. Basically, being an only child, it's a lonely life."

"My brothers like you already," said Omega. "And they haven't even met you yet."

"You know, I bet if I talked to your stepmom, I could convince her to let us hang."

"I don't think so." Omega said. "Queen Miraj is beyond drama queen."

"She can't be that bad."

Omega looked at Benni like he was crazy though. Had he really not heard any of the things the people were saying about Queen Miraj? Omega couldn't go beyond the forest, and her brothers couldn't leave the castle at all, but some of their horses could because they had wings. So, they were pretty much the royals' only other link to the outside world and getting decent chow, wherever they could find it. The horses normally didn't gossip, but they knew for a fact that the things the people whispered about the queen couldn't be more true. The people did know that ever since King Jango died, the princes and the princess were basically prisoners in their own house, but had no idea they were also made slaves in their own house by their stepmother, who had no intent of giving the throne to its true heir.

"You have no idea what it's really like." Omega said. She motioned to her dress. "Haven't you ever wondered why I dress in these rags?"

"I thought they were just a fashion choice or something." Benni shrugged. "Isn't that what girls do?"

"What would I know about what other girls do?"

"You don't spend time with any other girls at all?"

"Well, not human girls anyway. But I doubt any of the horses know much about human biology, girl or boy. And Cid's not exactly much fonder of my brothers and I than our stepmother is. My brother Hunter, he's the rightful leader of this kingdom, but we're pretty sure our stepmother faked our dad's will just so she could stay in power. Only problem is we can't prove it."

Benni wasn't sure what to say for that, but it was definitely a new story he'd heard among those saying how hard royal life really was. But then he thought of something to say.

"Then maybe you oughta stand up to her. Take back your throne. My mom did that before I was even born."

"Your kingdom was overthrown?"

"Sort of. My mom was the one who did it. Now, I know what you're thinking, and it's not that."

According to Benni, Ipsidon used to have a terrible ruler named Mokko, who enslaved the people and forced all of them to mine ipsium under horrible conditions and taking all the crops for himself, placing many lives in danger and starving the people to feed his gluttonous appetite. But Benni's parents led a revolution against King Mokko, and with the aid of their people, rose up and sent him falling into his own ipsium chasm to his doom. The people were so moved by the Baros' bravery, they decided to make them their new king and queen, and eventually they had a baby boy.

"They and the people told me all about it. There's this big festival held every year in celebration of the day Ipsidon won its freedom. A lot of music, food, and a reenactment done by the local thespians."

"That sounds fun." Omega said. "We used to have it great here too. When my parents were alive, our thing was sailing. You can't see it anymore since Queen Miraj had those giant walls built, but the ocean is the crown jewel of this kingdom."

It was true. When Omega was little, Kamino used to be so beautiful, so happy, and Omega and her brothers were all a real family.

"But, now my stepmother just won't let us be a family anymore, and I don't know what to do, and I'm not even the heir."

"Wish I could be not the heir." Benni said. "That's another con of being the only child in a royal family. It means I gotta find a queen someday and have heirs too. It's a lot of pressure to put on a kid. It just…"

"It makes you feel…"

"Trapped." Benni and Omega said at the same time.

Omega and Benni looked at each other again, this time a little differently than any other time.

Benni started to lean forward, and Omega puckered her lips. But just before her lips and Benni's could touch…

"There you are!" said a male voice.

Omega looked up and gasped when she saw a male Zygerrian she had never seen before. But judging by the armor and how he knew Omega was the princess, she knew Miraj had to have sent him.

"What's going on?" Benni gasped.

"My stepmother!" Omega panicked. "You have to go!"

Omega took this as her cue to run as quickly as she could to get away from that Zygerrian while Benni tried to distract him.

Unfortunately, the Zygerrian took out a shock whip and wrapped Omega in it.

"The queen will be very pleased." sneered the Zygerrian.

Omega was crying as she was roped around her wrists and brought into the queen's throne room.

"Excellent work, D'Nar." Queen Miraj said. "Leave us."

D'Nar threw Omega to the floor before the queen, hissing at Omega before taking his leave.

Queen Miraj stood up from her throne. Omega winced as she heard the clip-clop of Miraj's high heels headed right for her.

"Omega… it's come to my attention that you have been sneaking out." Miraj said. "Did I not make myself clear when I said you are not to leave this castle? Or did that escape your little blonde mind?"

Omega was scared.

"N-no…you made it clear." Omega squeaked.

"And what possessed you to believe you could leave this castle and not face consequences?"

"N-nothing. I-I didn't mean to cause trouble, I just wanted-"

"What?! To steal my throne? To start an uprising against me?"

"No! I wasn't trying to do anything except meet a friend. I was just-"

"Silence!"

Miraj slapped Omega across her face, leaving three claw marks from her sharp nails on her cheek. Then the queen held the princess's face in her claws.

"You will speak of this to no one…you are not to see that boy again, and you are not to leave this castle again. Do you understand me?"

Tears formed in Omega's eyes and she squeaked out a yes as she nodded.

Miraj sliced the rope between Omega's wrists and said, "Out!"

Not waiting another second, Omega was sprinting out of the throne room faster than you can say 'evil queen'.

Hunter held Omega's hand as she was crying, and not just because it stung a little when Echo began treating the scratches on her cheek.

Queen Miraj had done some awful things before, but this… this was the last straw.

"No one messes with my little sister and gets away with it!" Boba cracked his knuckles, ready to pound his stepmother to the ground.

"You are only two minutes older." Tech said.

"You know what I mean!"

After Echo placed a bandage on his sister, Omega started to cry again, prompting Hunter to hug her. This was probably the worst thing that could happen to any girl.

"I-I'm never gonna see Benni again. I never even got to say goodbye!" Omega sobbed. But she was especially upset that she was about to have her first kiss and her stepmother just had to ruin that for her too.

"Don't say that, Omega." Hunter said. "You will see Benni again. We'll make sure of it. Stepmother may have stopped us from seeing our true loves, but we're not gonna let her stop you from seeing yours."

In case you hadn't guessed, Omega's brothers had ladies of their own. Well, some of them did anyway. It's not exactly easy for guys to pick up girls when they're prisoners in their own home and the only girls they're ever around are their sister, they're stepmother, and their warden.

"Something has to be done about our stepmother." Hunter said.

"Yeah, but what?" Boba said.

"If she's forged our father's will as we suspect, the real one must be hidden somewhere." Tech said.

"What makes you think Miraj hasn't destroyed it by now?" Echo said.

"She likely has, but Father always made sure multiple copies of official documents were made to ensure forgeries were always revealed. I suspect his last will and testament were no exception."

"If he made copies," said Wrecker. "Where do we find them?"

"We'll have to figure that out ourselves."

Omega sniffled again and blew her nose into a tissue. Echo wiped Omega's eyes and kissed her head. Omega almost stopped crying when she was kissed; how she missed when her mom used to do that whenever she got hurt.

The Batch would have to figure this out tomorrow while doing their chores, because for now, they were exhausted.

That night, Miraj went to her magic mirror and asked it, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, now who is the fairest one of all?"

The mirror said to Miraj, "Scarred her face may be, in her heart cracks form, but fairer she be for she is held warm by six men with whom she bears the storm."

Miraj clawed at a curtain in anger. She scarred the princess's pretty face, yet she was still the fairest in the land. The queen was frustrated, furious, disgruntled. She decided there was only one thing to do.

Miraj brought D'Nar back into her throne room with a new assignment for him.

"I want to take Omega to a nice field out in the forest. Somewhere she can pick wildflowers." Miraj said.

D'Nar was confused at first; this was different from any assignment Miraj had given him since she brought him back to the palace. Before, he was keeping the people in line, now he was stuck babysitting.

"Yes, Your Majesty." D'Nar said.

"And there, D'Nar… you will kill her!"

That was more like it! D'Nar had a light smirk appear on his face getting to do a hit type of job.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Do not fail me, D'Nar."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"But just to be sure you do not fail…"

Queen Miraj held up a small wooden box with a lock on it.

"Bring back her heart in this."

Omega and her brothers were doing their chores as usual. Omega was doing extra laundry as punishment for sneaking out, but this time Cid was overseeing her progress to make sure she didn't make a run for it.

That was when D'Nar came in.

"Princess Omega!" D'Nar shouted. "Come. We are taking a trip on the queen's orders."

Omega gulped and reluctantly went with D'Nar. Judging by the way D'Nar placed his hand on the girl's back, even Cid was getting uncomfortable.

Before leaving, Omega was dressed in a nicer outfit, which surprised her even more. It was a nice gown of orange, yellow, and red like a sunset, a shiny tiara topping her pretty little head.

D'Nar took Omega by her shoulder and escorted her out from the palace, which surprised her brothers when they happened to pass by the princes doing their chores. Except, Hunter caught sight of Omega doing something with her free hand. She was making some kind of motion, tucking her thumb under her fingers and repeating this motion quickly.

Since the Batch was little, their mother always taught them how to ask for help, including hand signals if for any reason they couldn't scream. Until now, the royals never needed to use them, not that they were able to.

Hunter's eyes went wide when he noticed the signal Omega was using. He tapped the broom he was sweeping with to get the others' attention and hand signaled them that there was trouble brewing.

Now, in most cases, Omega probably should've felt grateful that her stepmother was sending her outside, and even happier when it meant she could leave the palace, even if she had to be escorted.

As Omega picked wild flowers, she tried to make herself not seem suspicious by singing to herself.

Nothing about this made sense to Omega. No one goes from being a vicious beast to sending princesses to pick pretty flowers, much less dressing them up in something pretty, in a day.

Despite spending the last seven years in isolation, Omega still remembered how to be suspicious because the last piece of advice Queen Zam had given to Omega before she died of pneumonia when the latter was six, was, "Always beware of those who offer you treats at no cost, because your worst enemies will most often pose as friends."

Omega didn't need to do a lot of math for this one. Would you be friends with someone who placed you and your siblings in rags and made you prisoners and slaves in your own home just because they sent you outside to pick wild flowers? Something weird was definitely going on.

But as she was picking flowers, Omega got distracted by a little chirping sound, and it turned out to be coming from a baby kiro bird.

Omega, being the compassionate soul she was, approached the baby bird.

"Oh, what's the matter, little bird?" Omega knelt down and gently picked the chick up in her hands. "Where's your mama?"

The little bird just chirped again as though crying.

D'Nar, however, saw his chance to execute the next part of the plan. While Omega was distracted, he took a blade out from his belt and slowly crept up on the princess.

Omega, unaware of what was happening behind her, looked around the trees for the ziro chick's mom, and then she heard two birds chirping down at her. The princess looked up, and judging by the chick's excited flapping, those were its parents.

"Can you fly?" Omega asked the little bird, lifting him up a little bit. And the chick flew away, back to his parents. "Goodbye, little chick."

But Omega's smile quickly disappeared when she saw a shadow forming over her, and she screamed when she looked behind her. D'Nar pressed Omega against a rock and raised his blade!

Before D'Nar could strike however, he was struck by a rock trajected at his side, making him drop his blade and giving Omega time to get off the rock and run into Hunter's arms when she saw him.

Wrecker came in and tackled D'Nar while Boba grabbed the blade.

It turned out, Cid overheard the queen talking to her magic mirror shortly after D'Nar left. And when she heard the queen was planning to have Omega murdered, she was in utter shock. Even Cid wouldn't go as far as letting a child be killed. For one thing, she didn't want to be one worker short. But also, because she calculated that Omega would probably be just the start of it. Before she knew it, she would take out the princes, and then Cid could be next!

So, Cid told them there was a more important duty to take care of: take out D'Nar before he took out their sister.

Of course, D'Nar tried to fight back, but that didn't come so easy when Boba held the blade to his throat.

"Why, D'Nar?" Boba growled. "Tell me now!"

"Tell us now!" Wrecker corrected louder, twisting the front of D'Nar's robe.

"I was merely following orders from my queen, the true fairest in the land." D'Nar smirked. "Once we are rid of that blonde skug, Zygerrians will rule this kingdom forever."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Wrecker grabbed D'Nar by the throat, but D'Nar started to claw at Wrecker and the other princes.

Hunter shouted for Omega to run away and not look back, promising to find her again.

Omega, however, was scared, but it was her best bet at survival.

"Omega, we will find you when it's safe. Now go! GO!"

And off Omega ran as fast as she could into the forest, not knowing where she would go, her fear only growing as she got farther into the woods.

I hope you all are enjoying this Bad Batch Tale. Please review.