Featured Song:
"We Own the Night" from Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2
Quick recap. On their latest mission, the Bad Batch once again made it out alive, however, this mission was met with good news and bad news.
The good news, Hunter's wife and shapeshifting steed Indira was found to be pregnant with their first baby. Indira and Hunter were so happy to learn the former was healthy and even more so that they were going to be parents in about a year. However, it could not undo the bad news.
The bad news, the Batch lost a member. Crosshair, the youngest of the four original members, as well as his horse Maybelle. Pinto, naturally, was quick to send this news out to his brother Banjo and his rider Echo. Banjo couldn't believe it either when he heard his sister was missing.
Naturally, Crosshair's family immediately began searching for him, and not just his biological family. They sent out a message to the Enchantra High Commission, as well as to Chancellor Organa to get word out to the police in every world he could reach. Anakin gave everyone they reported to a photo of Crosshair and one of Maybelle so they could search for them.
But with Mariverde involved, assuming she was, the Batch and the royal family would need reinforcements. And Garrett knew just who to call in a situation like this.
Queen Ashina, her daughters Millie and Rory, as well as the various members of their pack came to the last place Crosshair and Maybelle were seen.
"Listen up, wolves," said Ashina. "This is a search and rescue mission. Two friends of one of our own has been captured, and we are going to help find them. Everyone, split up, sniff, and report back here."
"Finding is what we do, Mother." Rory said; she was especially eager to look for Crosshair. "No one captures my Crosshair and gets away with it!"
Rory growled, looking ready to tear something apart.
"You know he's not your mate, right?" Millie said.
"Not yet."
Ashina assembled teams and assigned them each to a designated area to sniff for clues. They'd each already sniffed a piece of Crosshair's clothes and Maybelle's saddle, so they each had the scents memorized. Any clue they could find might have been useful.
"You sure we can find them?" said one wolf, who was Millie's boyfriend. "What if someone catches us too?"
"We're wolves, Tristan." Millie said. "The night is our territory."
"Alright, everyone. Fan out!" Ashina commanded.
And so, the wolves went sniffing and searching.
Ashina:
No one's catching me unless I wanna be caught
I'm dancing in the shadows, ain't no leash when I walk
It's great to feel invincible, it's great to feel alive
My appetite's insatiable, there's nowhere it can hide
Our freedom isn't up to them, it's only up to us (Pack: us)
I'm the Alpha, I'm the leader, I'm the one to trust (Pack:trust)
Together we do whatever it takes, we're in this pack for life
The wolves howled to signal they'd reached their destinations.
All:
We're wolves, we own the night
Oh, we own what we own, oh, we own the night
Oh, we own what we own, we own the night
The only thing that is worse than our bark's our bite
Oh, we own what we own, we own the night
The wolves went sniffing in various places. Rory managed to pick something up, both with her nose, and in her hand. A piece of Crosshair's armor!
Rory:
I'm picking up the scent, it seems we're on the right track (Pack:track)
The moonlight's on the rooftops, the wind is at our backs (Pack:backs)
We're living in the shadows, we're living for the chase (Pack:chase)
Millie:
Our legacy is in our sights, so let's pick up the pace
Ashina:
We're on a quest to find the villain who's evaded us (Pack: us)
Millie:
She's the Alpha, she's the leader, she's the one to trust (Pack: trust)
Rory:
Together we do whatever it takes, we're in this pack for life
The wolves howled again and gathered to report where they'd found some clues, and so far, Rory and her partner had found the best clues on their designated path, so Ashina decided that was where they were searching next.
Wolves:
We're wolves, we own the night
Oh, we own what we own, oh, we own the night
Oh, we own what we own, we own the night
The only thing that is worse than our bark's our bite
Oh, we own what we own, we own the night
Ashina:
We own what we own
The night is our home
We own what we own (Rory and Millie: wolves, awoo)
We own the night
Wolves:
Oh, we own what we own, oh, we own the night
Oh, we own what we own, we own the night
The only thing that is worse than our bark's our bite
Oh, we own what we own, we own the night
The wolves found the spot where Maybelle's horseshoe and her hat had been discovered. All of them began sniffing around for clues. They sniffed the ground and caught the smell of moths and silk. Mariverde's minions were definitely here. But… they also smelled something else.
Millie collected a sample of what she smelled and felt it between her fingers. It left a light stain on her skin.
"Just as I thought. It's ash. And there's dirt here too." Millie said.
"It's a forest. There's dirt everywhere." said one werewolf.
"Not this kind of dirt."
Rory gave a second sniffer to this operation, and she confirmed the dirt found in what remained of some footprints was definitely from a different land. They could tell because the minerals and acidity smelled different, and it had traces of different plant life in it.
The wolves soon reported this to the royal family and the authorities.
"Do ya have any idea where my sister is?" Pinto asked frantically.
"Unfortunately, no." Ashina said. "The scents were all we could dig up. We're not familiar with where it's from. But we do know it was definitely Mariverde who took them. And there was definitely ash."
"Ash? Like from what?" Goldie asked. "Like ash from a campfire or ash from burning paper?"
"Unfortunately, there weren't enough of them for us to tell for sure what made the ashes." Ashina said. "All we could find were the ash, the dirt, and a piece of Crosshair's armor."
"Actually, more than a piece, Mother." Rory said.
Rory took out a sack with more pieces of Crosshair's armor the others had managed to find in different parts of the forest. It appeared Crosshair's armor was spread all over the place in an attempt to throw a rescue team off the trail, which explained why the wolves didn't find any of his scent on certain markings they found in the dirt and mud; Mariverde's minions must have made those on purpose too.
It was clear Mariverde was after Crosshair for some reason, but what if he was just the start? What if Mariverde was targeting the kids next?
The Naboo palace was heavily guarded, but Mariverde was tricky, and she'd targeted the children before. All together, they were a big target for capture.
The grownups could only see one solution.
In order to ensure the children's safety, the royal family agreed that the children had to be split up and live in different places. As expected, however, the kids didn't like the sound of that. They'd grown a bit attached to living together, but this was for their own safety.
So, the grownups made an arrangement. Qui-Gon and Shmi would take the baby twins to the Jedi Temple where they would be safe. Anakin and Padme would take Boba, Goldie and Gabby, Carmine and Caroline would take Lamenta, and Kara would accompany Omega and Mona with the rest of the Batch. Meanwhile, Garrett would report to the EHC and send Mariposa with Constantine to their safe haven.
The kids shared a group hug; this was the first time they'd all be separated in a long time. And to make matters worse, they had to follow a strict set of rules. They had to avoid contacting each other in any way unless it was an emergency, and it also meant they couldn't contact their friends either. In other words, it meant most of them had to leave their schools behind too.
All the kids and their parents got their backpacks, only packing the necessities so they could all be kept safe. They couldn't tell each other where they were going, all for the sake of being safe.
"How long will we all be gone?" Gabby asked her father.
"I don't know, Princess." Anakin said. "This is hard for us grownups too."
It was true. Anakin had to be away from siblings and his parents now, as well as three of his kids and his friends. They'd just started having a normal life, only for it to be disturbed by yet another dark force.
"Is it really so much to ask just for us to have a normal life without villains coming after us?" Gabby said, looking to the heavens above.
"We know this is hard, Baby." Padme said. "But it's just temporary… I hope. You just have to trust us. We'll all be together again before you know it."
Soon, everyone grabbed their bags and took their separate rides. They didn't even tell Queen Jamilia or the guards where they were each going. They only left a note saying this:
To whom it may concern…
If you've found this letter, it means, we the royal family of Solaris, the Heartwood Family, as well as Clone Force 99 have fled in search of safe havens. Mariverde's forces have gotten stronger, and we cannot risk endangering more people. Therefore, we are each going to different worlds for not only our own safety, but that of many in the Galactic Republic and the Enchantra system. Keep yourselves safe, don't lose faith, and always remember, magic or none, each of you has power.
Until we meet again,
Best regards,
Us
Anakin, Padme, and their two children arrived on Alderaan, where Chancellor Organa's wife Queen Breha set out some quarters for them to stay for a while. R2-D2 went with them to ensure their safety and to assist in homeschooling the children.
"Just like old times," Boba said, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, but I'm not so happy about it," said Gabby.
Boba's smile immediately vanished; he couldn't deny it either. He missed the others already too.
And adding Goldie to the equation, it was also sad. She'd never been away from both of her parents like this before. She had no idea when she would see them again, or how she would get along in this strange new world.
"Did I really have to leave my parents behind?" Goldie said tearfully. She sniffled.
Anakin picked Goldie up and hugged.
"Don't cry, Goldie. It's going to be okay. We promised your parents we'd take good care of you, and that's what we're gonna do."
Carmine and his family went back on tour with Count Crescendo introducing a new singing partner, Countess Cadenza.
The couple had been considering this for a while. It made sense too. Caroline was a great singer and dancer like her husband, and this way they could keep both of their faces covered. But, Lamenta would also have to wear a disguise whenever she joined them for a show too.
Ms. Susy would take over the managerial duties and act as Lamenta's tutor and Charlotte's babysitter on the road.
Qui-Gon and Shmi set up cribs for the babies in their quarters at the Temple. The twins were crying, missing their parents.
"I know. I know." Shmi said, comforting Luke. "You miss your mommy and daddy. We miss them too, Sweeties."
Qui-Gon gently bounced Leia in his arms and assured her everything would be okay. Although the twins were barely two years old, they could sense the tension going on.
"Mama. Dada." Leia said, looking at a framed photo of her parents.
"I know, Leia. I miss them too." Qui-Gon kissed the baby girl's head.
Mona held onto Hunter as she was escorted along with Omega and Kara on the Marauder. Where they would go next, they didn't know. But they did know they weren't going back to Cid for help. The jobs she was asking them to do were getting more and more dangerous by the numbers, and with her knowledge of them and the shady folks, that may place the kids in even more danger.
"Where are we gonna live?" Omega said, cuddling her trooper doll.
"I don't know yet, Omega." Kara said. "But we're going to get through this together, even if our family has to do it apart."
Omega was scared though; she'd just gotten a family and she hadn't even been in real high school for two years. She had real friends, she was on a great cheerleading team, and she had just gotten a boyfriend too, and she couldn't even let him know where she was going.
All she could do before she left and had to leave her phone behind was send Benni a text saying that she was going away for a while, but she couldn't tell him where she was going because it would endanger both of them. But she told him in her text that she loved him and was going to miss him. Now if only she could've really kissed him instead of settling for X's and O's and kiss emojis.
Omega looked at a holo-picture of her with her friends. She was going to miss them so much and had no clue when she would see them again.
All she could do now was cry, much like all the other kids were doing wherever they were now.