So sorry this took so long, dear readers. I've been so swamped with school, work, and life... my writing just got away from me. But, I'm making a little more time, and as this semester is coming to an end, I hope to find even more time to write.
Also, it appears a few artists don't seem to take a hint that I'm not interested in collaborations. To be clear, I sometimes take requests to write a certain story, but I'm not interested in letting anyone draw my OC's because I already do that myself. So, if you're an artist thinking of asking me for a collab, don't waste your time.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the first ROTD update in forever. Please review if you like it.
Bad Batch episode: Metamorphosis
Things were really getting serious within the Galaxy. It appeared Mariverde was making her mariclavas stronger than ever. Even the most strong-minded people were able to get clavatized at some point. Remix once broke out of an attempted clavatization, and so far, Mariverde hadn't tried a second time with him, but she had gone after members of the royal family and the Bad Batch.
She'd turned Anakin into Earth, Caroline into Water, Tech into Gamer, Boba and Omega into Fear Leader and Solar Flare, and more recently, she'd clavatized Gabby into Terror-Byte, one of her most powerful villains yet! She'd even managed to clavatize Garrett into Tropi-Callous.
But with Garrett's teachings, the Jedi's cooperation, as well as the EHC urging Enchanteds to train hard, and educate ordinas about magic as much as possible, so far they managed to save a lot of people.
Unfortunately, there were those Mariverde was able to recruit to whatever cause she had. So far, they'd uncovered a few clues. Here's what they knew so far:
Mariverde, in a few of her clavatized villains, started having bits and pieces of magic resembling the powers of escaped villains the royal family fought in the past.
Since the incident where Madison got clavatized into Brainstorm, nearly every clavatized villain was found to have swirly eyes like they'd been hypnotized once they were declavatized.
Mona was Mariverde's biological daughter, and she was conceived using the DNA of Ollie Sommers, the son of a doresho hunter named Melfred Sommers, who vanished years ago, and was imprisoned and then murdered in front of Mona in an effort to create a powerful clone to carry on her legacy (which failed miserably)
Over the course of the year, a lot had happened with the Jedi and their friends in and out of the Temple.
Mace Windu's daughter Myra was now dating the former football captain Vince Hall, a now reformed boy, Goldie was growing in her werewolf abilities, Comedia was advancing in her Jedi training thanks to her cousin Marigold's added tutelage, Omega even got a boyfriend when her friend Benni Baro became an exchange student, and now two members of the Bad Batch were married too. Now that Indira could go from human form to pegasus any time she wished and she married Hunter, she became a great asset on missions.
The Batch occasionally got intel on various magical villains who'd escaped prison by going to Ciddarin Scaleback, a.k.a. Cid on Ord Mantell. Except, Cid started getting pretty greedy with extra missions in exchange for intel. And after that incident where she didn't help the Batch when they got trapped on Ipsidon, they decided it was time to take a vacation from her, maybe a permanent one. They may have gotten lucky to have other friends to help out, but next time they might not.
So, all anyone could do now was train, hope for the best, and keep their emotions in check the best they could.
One day, a ship was floating somewhere in space, having taken on some damage. Smoke was coming out of it, and the wiring was sparking too.
It was dark inside the ship. It was almost too quiet. The hallway looked like something out of a horror movie, especially when a doresho troop ran through the hall as fast as he could with a staff in hand.
He panted as he ran to another part of the ship, only for his electrical staff to go out. The trooper gasped as he heard the sound of growling. He looked around, not seeing anything at first, until he looked up.
And the trooper was pulled up, dropping his staff and screaming. Now it was definitely like a horror movie!
Meanwhile, some Rho-class ships made their way to a secret base hidden within a mountain range on Wayland.
Out from one of the ships came Dr. Emerie Karr on her datapad, along with some more doresho troops and Dr. Royce Hemlock. They were greeted by a woman named Dr. Scalder.
"Welcome, Doctor." Scalder said. "All preparations have been made for your arrival."
"I would hope so," said Hemlock. "Notify me once our remaining vessels arrive, and see to the transfer of the assets."
"Have the cargo taken below," said Emerie.
Scalder nodded, and taking all the troops, went to go do as instructed.
Hemlock, on the other hand, had a previous engagement of his own. He entered the facility and arrived at a ray-shielded cell where in it sat Nala Se, Omega's former guardian.
"It's been a long time, Mistress Se." Hemlock said, breaking the silence.
"Indeed, it had, Dr. Hemlock." Nala Se replied.
"How it pains me to see you like this. Why does someone so talented prefer to rot in a cell instead of using their gifts to better the galaxy?"
"I am not especially motivated to continue my work after Mariverde destroyed my civilization."
"What was done on Kamino was unfortunate, but know that your research remains intact. It'll now serve a higher purpose. Mariverde's purpose."
Nala Se was silent, but Hemlock was determined to convince her to change her mind.
"Don't you wish to be a part of such a scientific experiment?"
"I know what Mariverde seeks to accomplish, and she will not have my cooperation."
Hemlock looked annoyed now.
"Perhaps you require the right incentive. Know that I'll be taking over operations here on Tantiss, and I can do far worse than confine you to a cell." Hemlock then whispered, "And I'll let you think on that."
Nala Se, again, was silent, and then Emerie came by with news for Hemlock.
"We lost communication with transport 904."
"Have the recovery teams begin a search," said Hemlock. "We need that asset contained. And, Emerie, were there any other Kaminoans taken off-world prior to the destruction of Tipoca City?"
"Their prime minister. He remains in Republic prison on Coruscant."
After being found guilty of child abuse and reckless endangerment, Lama Su was placed into Republic prison since the crime was committed towards the adopted child of a Jedi and Republic Senator.
"Have him brought here. I wish to speak to him personally."
Meanwhile, the Marauder was flying through hyperspace on yet another patrol of the Bad Batch.
The Batch was currently on a holo-call with Cid.
"Not sure what's got you all twisted up in knots." Cid said.
"We were stranded on that planet, Cid." Omega said. "We needed you, and you left us."
"You're fine now, aren't you? And you got your ship back."
"Yeah, with no help from you." Wrecker pointed out, eating a ration.
"Do you wanna mope or make money? Because I got a tip on a downed ship, which means cargo ripe for the taking. I'll even give you 30% of the cut."
Indira, in her pegasus form, gave Cid a look. For such a calm girl, she had a stiff stern look, which was why Hunter did not say no to her, especially after they got married.
"That is our standard percentage." Tech said before Indira could.
"All right. This one time, let's say 35%." Cid said.
"Still too low." Mila said.
Everyone crossed their arms and had a stern look on their faces. Cid was silent for a moment, then she raised the percentage to 40 percent.
"Fine, 50% as a token of my goodwill, that you seem to have forgotten."
"Or that you seem to hide very well." Maybelle said.
Cid ignored that last remark and said, "I'm sending you the intel now. Don't come back unless you scavenge something valuable."
"What makes you think we'd come back at all?" Hunter pointed out.
"Don't test me, Bandana. Just get it done."
"Don't test me either." Indira said, still snorting as she switched to human form.
And then the hologram disappeared.
"How rude."
"Settle down, Indy. She's not worth it." Hunter held his wife's shoulders.
The others started to move to different spots to sit down.
"Severing ties with Cid could be problematic, considering what she knows about us." Tech said. He gave Hunter his tablet with the information. "Perhaps we choose a diplomatic solution and complete this one last mission for her."
"Cid only sent coordinates." Hunter said. "No ship transponder code or indication of what caused it to crash."
"Limited intel. Huh. There's a surprise." Wrecker said sarcastically.
"How hard could scavenging cargo be?" Omega asked.
"Don't underestimate the dangers, Omega." Maybelle said. "Once, back on the farm, a cargo freight was carryin' a load of chickens, and then the door broke, and it was wild chicken chase!"
"Why would you guys have chickens?" Mila asked. "Being vegetarians and all."
"Pest control for the crops and eggs for bakin'. What else?"
"They make mighty great pets too." Pinto said.
Hunter just sighed. And Indira kissed him.
Everyone got ready for the mission.
Omega sat in the gunner's seat and spotted a village with lots of lights on.
"There's a village here."
"That would explain how the wreckage was reported so quickly." Tech replied. He was looking at a map to scan for the vessel's location. "The crashed vessel appears mostly intact. The cargo aboard should be in fair enough condition to transport."
"And if it's anything heavy," said Estrella. "You have cinco caballos strong enough to help move it."
The Marauder was landed. Hunter was first to exit with his flashlight in hand. Indira returned to pegasus form and followed her husband to ensure it was totally safe. Then, Omega and the others followed, the unicorns lighting up their horns.
The humans all held their flashlights and searched the area for the wreckage. It was dark out, all was silent, and not a living creature was in sight. Not even a mouse.
The group soon came to the crashed ship.
"What kind of ship is this?" Wrecker asked.
"Don't know. No hull markings." Hunter said.
One thing they did know for sure, this ship was a mess!
"Based on the severity of the impact and the lack of communication signals," said Tech. "The crew aboard most likely perished."
"We don't know for sure." Omega pointed out. "They could be trapped inside."
"Omega's right. We should look around for any survivors." Mila said.
"Come on."
Omega pressed a button to open a door that led to a dark hallway.
Everyone followed Omega into the dark hall. They all stepped as quietly as they could, unsure if something wild might be in there.
"Where is everyone?" Omega wondered out loud.
And then there was a clink, which startled the horses a bit.
"Relax. It's just Wrecker." Crosshair said, getting Maybelle to settle down.
"Oh, check it out." Wrecker picked up an electrical staff that was barely working. He lifted his helmet to take a better look at it. "High-volt electrostaff."
"Let me see that."
Now Crosshair lifted his helmet to get a better look at the weapon himself. But while those two were admiring trinkets, Tech shed some light on some claw marks on the walls. Some big, some smaller.
"Something unfortunate happened here." Tech said.
"Now the question is what made these marks?" Mila added.
"Whatever did this wasn't human." Hunter said. Then he heard a scream, and luckily he caught who it was. It turned out to be Indira falling from above. "Indira, what are you doing?"
"I was trying to get a higher view, and then I suddenly transformed back to human form."
That was a little odd. Indira had pretty much mastered transforming since she made her mark and gained her abilities. It was probably just a one-time thing, Hunter figured.
"I will get the power restored and check data logs on the bridge."
"By yourself?" Omega gasped.
"Your concern is not warranted." Tech said. "I will be fine."
"I wouldn't say that." Teatra said. "In horror movies, you never go anywhere alone."
"Well, we're not in a movie." Mila said. "But she is right, mi amado. I'll go with you."
"Don't kiss, whatever you do, you two." Teatra said. "It's the easiest way to get killed in horror."
"I thought we got rid of all the horror movies after your uncle kept everyone awake with his screaming." Hunter said.
"Not all of them, apparently." Omega shrugged.
Tech and Mila entered another part of the ship. It was quiet, except for a strange hissing sound. Tech stopped to look around. Mila too. Neither of them said anything. So, Tech began by connecting his tablet to another part of the ship.
Meanwhile, Wrecker managed to lift a stuck door high enough for everyone to get through. It was still very quiet. All they had for light were their flashlights and the unicorns' horns. It started to feel chilly where they ended up. In the room appeared to be some kind of tank.
"Why is it so cold in here?" Wrecker asked.
"It's some kind of lab." Hunter said.
Now Hunter was definitely glad the other kids stayed behind to enjoy what remained of winter break. Being part of a team fighting Mariverde, the royal children might not have perfect attendance in school, but at least they could get away if they were needed on missions.
Omega recognized the equipment. She almost started to hyperventilate until she placed her hand on Estrella's muzzle.
"This equipment is Kaminoan."
"Huh. So, what's it doing here?" Wrecker asked.
Omega shined her light onto a broken lens of some kind.
"It's their cloning technology, but this configuration is different than anything I saw in Tipoca City."
Hunter decided to check in with Tech.
"Tech, find anything on the bridge?"
"Not yet." Tech said. "Still rerouting the reserve power. Stand by."
Slowly, the ship started to power up.
"The grid should be restored momentarily."
Suddenly, there was a clattering sound.
"What was that?" Mila said quietly, but loud enough for Tech to hear.
Tech was silent. He shone his light into the hall and took a peek, when something fell from the wall. A droid. The droid appeared broken, though, and it kept repeating the word "danger."
"What happened?' Tech asked the droid. "What attacked this ship?"
The droid just stuttered and powered down.
"So much for a straight answer." Mila sighed.
Then there was that clattering sound again, which had Mila gasping.
"Normally, I would say there's a logical explanation, but I still don't know everything about your world."
Wrecker, however, found a broken part of the ship with more scratches. Who or whatever made them was definitely big. And it was covered in some kind of slime.
Wrecker grunted in disgust.
"Yuck!" Maybelle grimaced.
"There are reinforced walls." Wrecker concluded. "What were they keeping in here?"
"Maybe it was a werewolf. They're pretty strong and have sharp claws."
"I don't think so." Omega said. "I've seen Garrett scratch things in werewolf form, and these marks are a lot bigger than his."
That was when everyone heard another noise.
"Whatever it is, it's still on board."
That was when Indira suddenly sprouted her wings and tail, but still remained a human before she shook herself back to full human form.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I must be stress shifting." Indira said, feeling a little shaky in the knees.
Then there was the sound of rustling and water dripping. The sound of a creature chittering filled the air. And when the others looked up, they saw something. Something big with sharp teeth, and it was eating what looked like… a human arm?!
Indira suddenly felt nauseous, and tried to hold back from throwing up. Key word: tried.
"Hunter, what is that?" Omega whispered.
"Back away slowly." Hunter whispered.
Everyone did back away very slowly as the creature moved and groaned. But then Pinto backed into a pipe that started hissing. Everyone looked back for a moment, and then back to where the creature was. Was because… it wasn't there! But it was on the floor, right in front of the group.
The creature growled, all the horses and their riders getting into defensive positions, weapons at the ready. It ate Wrecker's electrostaff, and roared at the group, prompting them to shoot lasers, electric arrows, or magic at it. The creature fled as it was shot at and vanished into the upper parts of the ship. No one let their guard down, however. But the lights soon came on, making it easier for everyone to see where they were.
Suddenly, the creature appeared beside Hunter and screeched. Everyone began shooting at it again, only for the beast to disappear into another hallway.
"Tech, we've got a problem." Hunter said. "Get off the ship. Now!"
Tech and Mila were both already running though.
"I suspect this to be some kind of research vessel."
"We know!" Wrecker said.
"And whatever they were researching just got loose." Omega said.
"And it's headed your way." Hunter finished.
The creature stopped in another hallway to bite on some kind of power source, and it appeared to be siphoning the electricity like some sort of energy vampire. Only when Hunter, Omega and the others arrived, the creature looked bigger.
"Does that thing look different to you?" Wrecker asked.
"If by different you mean bigger and more vicious, then yes!" Indira breathed.
Everyone was scared by the sight of this creature.
Inconveniently, Tech and Mila arrived at the other side of the hall. The creature spotted them and roared.
"Fascinating." Tech said.
Mila, on the other hand, had a different response… in the form of a loud, high-pitched scream that had the creature appearing dizzy and the others covering their ears.
Omega, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Hunter started blasting the beast as it tried to attack their two friends, and the creature tried to go after them again. But then Tech had an idea.
"Take cover." Tech called.
Everyone took cover, and Tech fired a shot that blew up part of the ship. Fortunately, no one was harmed. Unfortunately, the creature was undamaged.
The creature, probably out of curiosity, crawled through the hole Tech made in the ship and sniffed the air surrounding it before taking off and disappearing into the woods.
The others evacuated the ship. Tech put his scanner over his goggles and noted the creature's path.
"The creature appears to be headed in the direction of the village."
"We're the ones who let it out." Hunter said. "We have to neutralize it before it hurts anyone."
"How? Our blasters are useless on it." Wrecker asked.
"Maybe the question isn't how we neutralize it," said Mila. "But what kind of creature we're dealing with."
"Given the fact that the crew was most likely eaten by the creature," said Tech. "I doubt it is currently hungry-"
"It ate the crew?" Omega said.
And then Indira threw up.
"How is that helping, Tech?" Wrecker scolded his brother.
"It ate the crew." Omega said fearfully.
Hunter, however, had an idea that would actually be useful, assuming it worked.
"Check the lab files and find out what species we're dealing with and how to stop it." he instructed Tech.
"I can help." Omega said. "I know my way around Kaminoan tech."
"Good. Wrecker, Crosshair, with me." Hunter said.
While Tech, Mila, Omega, Teatra, Crosshair, Maybelle,and Estrella stayed behind, Hunter, Wrecker, and their horses flew the Marauder toward the village.
"See anything?" Wrecker asked.
Hunter checked the console, and it started beeping.
"Zero, two, five."
Wrecker manned the guns and spotted the creature. He tried to blast it, but missed every time. And the creature flashed its face on Wrecker's window as though taunting him.
Meanwhile, the tech team got to work searching for answers as to what kind of creature they were dealing with. Omega noted that it looked an awful lot like a dragon, but it didn't breathe fire or anything else. So, she doubted it was a dragon.
"Why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?" Omega wondered out loud.
"This data is highly encrypted, even within the ship's own system." Tech said.
"Start here," said Omega at another machine. "This is used to extract and manipulate a host's genetic material."
Tech approached the device Omega referred to.
"You are familiar with this type of cloning?"
Tech plugged his datapad into the device as Omega explained herself.
"Not exactly. I heard rumors of other Kaminoan experiments, but Nala Se kept that data away from me. I think whatever they were doing was happening off-world."
"Or maybe she just didn't want to scare you." Mila hypothesized.
The little monster continued to sprint towards the village, sniffing for something. Probably food. It eventually came across a tower of some kind. A tower with electricity flowing at its top.
The creature climbed up the tower and started to siphon from the top of the tower like it'd done in the ship.
"Look at these!" Mila said.
"These appear to be designs using the creature's genetic material for modified armor plating." Tech said.
"Seeing how your blasters were useless to defeat that thing, I could see why they would seek to replicate that."
"That must be why it was unaffected by our blaster fire."
"But in the wrong hands…" Teatra said worriedly.
"Then how do we stop it?" Omega asked.
"Uncertain. Although, it did appear irritated when Mila screamed at it earlier."
"Then Mila should just scream at it again." Teatra teased.
"Ha, ha." Mila rolled her eyes.
Tech on the other hand, gained access to a computer of sorts.
"Perhaps. However, this confirms that the species feeds on energy, which propels its rapid growth."
If Omega and the other girls weren't scared before, they definitely were now.
"You mean it'll get even bigger?"
"Yes. Much bigger."
Suddenly, Omega remembered something!
A few months ago….
It was raining outside one day and Omega was feeling bored. Then she saw Gabby was laying on the floor, drawing a picture.
"What're you drawing, Gabby?" Omega asked.
"A Zillo Beast. That's a monster that looks like a dragon." Gabby said.
Gabby showed Omega her drawing. It looked scary.
"I actually met one once, and I tamed it. I became a Draco-mouth because of it."
"A what?"
"It means I can talk to dragons. Or in this case, creatures similar to them. Zillo beasts aren't for the faint of heart to face though."
Gabby told Omega everything she could remember from the time she met Zilly when she was three. It was a long time ago, but she could remember the important parts. The zillo beast didn't like high-pitched noises, the green fuel from Malastare was poisonous to it,
Present Day...
Tech soon called Hunter to let him know what he found.
"Hunter, the creature is the same species that attacked Coruscant during the war. You must not let it get near the power grid, or it will increase exponentially in size."
Except, Hunter caught sight of something up ahead. Something big and vicious on the power grid.
"Too late."
Hunter swerved the ship, just barely missing the zillo beast as it swung its enormous tail and barely missed the Marauder.
What they didn't know then was that several other ships were flying in to go after the Zillo beast as well.
"Stop that thing before it gets any larger!" Hunter said.
"I'm trying!" Wrecker said.
All the while, Indira was growing more nauseous, and found she couldn't stop shifting between forms. Sometimes she looked more human than pegasus and vice versa, sometimes she only sprouted wings, sometimes just her horse ears, and once she even looked like a bit of a strange species of centaur before she finally reverted to human form again.
"If we make it out alive, I need a doctor." Indira groaned, feeling queasy again.
And that was when Hunter found that they had ships on their tail.
"Where'd they come from?" Wrecker wondered out loud.
Hunter immediately started steering the ship away as quickly as he could.
"Tech, Crosshair, girls. You've got Imperials inbound. Get out of there." Hunter called over the comm.
"On our way." Omega said.
"Not yet. I am not finished transferring all of the data."
Just then, there were explosions coming from outside.
Maybelle pulled the plug with her teeth and got Crosshair onto her back.
"Come on!"
Everyone got onto a horse's back and began riding the heck out of there as explosions got closer and soon appeared within the ship.
Villagers were running and screaming in a panic as more explosions hit and the ships surrounded the roaring beast as it continued to feed.
The ships fired some kind of laser blast at the zillo beast that had it temporarily stunned and falling to the ground.
More ships came in, and then one more lowered a claw that picked up the beast like a prize in a crane game. Only, they won easily.
Wrecker and Hunter caught sight of the beast and were shocked.
"They're not killing it. They're taking it." Wrecker said.
"Let's not be next." Hunter said.
Villagers panicked even more as more ships came down, this time troops coming directly toward the village.
Tech and the others began making their way to the landing zone.
"Hunter, we are clear of the vessel and heading to the landing zone." Tech confirmed.
"Copy that.""
Wrecker blasted as many ships as he could while Hunter steered toward the landing zone.
Tech, Mila, Omega, and the horses leaped onto the ship and quickly got strapped in before taking off.
As for the beast, it was once again in a tank, which was filled with bacta, and the computers were activated.
Meanwhile, all the villagers were arrested by doresho troopers.
Tech and Mila did a little more research, and they confirmed what they found.
"The crashed vessel was part of an Imperial cloning operation." Tech said.
"Mariverde cloned the Zillo Beast?" gasped Hunter.
"Yes and no. The directive came straight from the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine before he was defeated. Now it appears Mariverde is working to finish what he started in his place."
"What's she want with the beast?"
"The creature's genetic material has the potential to be weaponized in the hands of the right scientist."
And we know someone who could think of a lot of possibilities," said Pinto. "Right, Crosshair?"
However, Pinto didn't get an answer.
"Crosshair?" Pinto said again. No answer again. "Maybelle, where's yer rider? Maybelle?"
"Where are Crosshair and Maybelle?"
Suddenly, everyone got worried. Neither Maybelle nor Crosshair to be on the ship.
"We must've left them behind!" Estrella panicked.
"Don't worry. I'm certain they are fine." Tech said. "Omega, contact Crosshair's comm channel."
"Okay." Omega got her comm.
"Where were they taking the creature?" Hunter asked Tech.
"Uncertain. The ship did not have a destination log." Tech had a stronger hint of worry in his voice. "Hunter, there is far more to this than we realized."
But Tech was interrupted by the sound of Indira barfing again.
"Indira, are you sure you're alright?" Hunter said, concerned for his wife.
"I'm not so sure now." Indira groaned.
"From what I have gathered," continued Tech. "I suspect Mariverde did not destroy the cities on Kamino to end cloning. She merely wanted to control it."
Hunter stopped to think for a moment. Then he looked at Tech and instructed him to send the date to Echo and Rex to see what they could uncover.
However, Omega tried three times, and was unable to get a signal from Crosshair.
So, there was only one thing to do. Go back and look for him and Maybelle.
The Batch looked at looked through the forest, calling for Maybelle and/or Crosshair, but getting no answers.
"Maybelle. Ya can come out now. Olly olly oxen free!" Pinto called.
"I know Crosshair isn't much of a talker, but he should at least have the decency to answer when called." Mila commented. "Crosshair, where are you?"
"Mira!" Estrella exclaimed, spotting something from the air.
Estrella quickly flew towards whatever she found. And what she found shocked everyone. Something red… and sparkly.
"It's Maybelle's hat." Pinto said. "I'd recognize it anywhere!"
"But where's Maybelle? And Crosshair?" Omega said.
But then, the group got a better look at the area. There were footprints, human and horse, and slide marks, as well as branches that looked like they'd been kicked by someone with strong hooves. And what was more…. There was a single silver horseshoe on the ground.
That could only mean one thing.
Back on Tantiss, Emerie approached Dr. Hemlock with a message.
"Doctor. The creature has been recovered and is now safely secured below." Emerie said.
"Good." Hemlock replied. "And our other guests?"
"The shuttle is arriving now."
And so, Hemlock headed out to meet the ship.
"Did any of the villagers see the Zillo?" Hemlock asked a trooper.
"Several," said the troop. "The locals have been detained and will be dealt with. However, one vessel escaped our assault. It was a military class shuttle."
Hemlock had a pretty good idea who it was, but he wanted to be sure.
"Find out who it was."
"Yes, Sir."
Another ship soon arrived, and out from the ship came Lama Su with some doresho officers.
"Hello, Prime Minister. Apologies, Former Prime Minister."
"Why have I been brought here?" Lama Su asked.
"The cooperation of your chief scientist has not been forthcoming. Nala Se's defiance is problematic."
"It must be frustrating to have your resources but lack the expertise to achieve your goals. And if you fail to convince her, it won't be long before you are in a cell like me."
"Hmm. I fear you misunderstand your situation here. If you know a way to persuade the scientist, now would be the time to mention it."
"Indeed. In exchange for my freedom."
"I'm listening."
"There is a particular clone you must obtain. A young girl. She is the key to controlling Nala Se."
"How very interesting. It seems we have much to discuss."
However, Lama Su wasn't the only one brought here.
Doresho troops held onto chains and ropes as they held a struggling human and horse, both of them with cloth bags over their heads as they struggled until they were each placed in a cell. The bags were removed from their heads, but the muzzles over their mouths weren't.
Crosshair and Maybelle both struggled as they were forced into the cells and they were locked in.
Maybelle immediately tried to use magic to escape, but found that her horn wasn't working at all. And Crosshair was quick to realize his comm was missing too.
"Where are we?!" Maybelle breathed. "What is this place?"
"I have no idea." Crosshair said. "But wherever we are, I doubt it's for a surprise party."
"Crosshair and Maybelle were captured?!" Anakin gasped.
Everyone in the family was distraught by the news that Crosshair and Maybelle were missing in action. They were sure they had to still be alive somewhere, but they weren't sure where to start. Mariposa tried using her crystal ball to see if she could locate them, but it only showed that doresho soldiers were the ones to kidnap Maybelle and Crosshair, but then it went foggy as they disappeared into the night.
"Mariverde must have taken them somewhere with adracium. The one thing that blocks a magic mirror or crystal ball's signal." Mariposa groaned.
"What are we gonna do?" Omega said.
There wasn't much to do. Mariverde's whereabouts were still unknown, and so far she hadn't asked for a ransom or anything. All the family could do at this point was file a report to the police, call the EHC, and hope that Crosshair and Maybelle would soon come home.
Pinto nuzzled his sister's hat and cried. Now he really was alone. First his little brother, now his big sister. It had always been the three of them together, and now it was just him.
"Don't cry, Pinto." Padme said, wiping the horse's eyes. "I know you miss your sister, but Maybelle's a strong girl. I'm sure she'll be okay."
"I hope you're right." Pinto sniffed.
As for Indira, she sprouted her wings again while in human form, which concerned everyone else.
"How long has that been happening?" Garrett asked.
"As far as I'm aware, the last few hours." Hunter said.
"I don't know why." Indira said. "I must've eaten something bad or I'm catching a cold, maybe."
"Why don't we have Mariposa take a look at you?"
Mariposa didn't hesitate to take Indira to be examined.
"Is Indira gonna be alright?" Hunter asked, waiting outside the infirmary with Garrett and the rest of the Batch.
"I'm sure she will, Hunter. There are three main reasons Indira could be losing control of her powers." Garrett explained. "Too much stress, a simple head cold, or…"
That was when Mariposa exited the room. She was smiling.
"Congratulations, Hunter. Indira Ghoda is pregnant." Mariposa said.
That had everyone in utter shock.
Hunter fainted, Tech catching him.
"Hunter, wake up." Tech gently patted Hunter's cheek, waking his brother up.
"What? What happened?" Hunter said, seeing his wife exit the room, a big smile on her face and a hand on her stomach.
"Hunter… we're going to have a baby." Indira cried happily.
Hunter almost collapsed again, but despite his worry for his brother, he was overcome with joy inside when he learned his wife wasn't sick. But he was also a bit scared.
"Hunter's gonna be a dad!" Wrecker shouted.
That was what scared him. Fatherhood was not something Hunter was trained for, and despite looking after the kids many times, he wasn't sure how well he would do caring for a baby of his own.
As everyone got ready for bed that night, Hunter sat down on his, thinking about how things would change, and how things needed to change too. He just lost a brother and a horse in battle with no idea why Mariverde took them. Had she been targeting them specifically, or were they just in the wrong place at the wrong time? What was Mariverde planning to do with the Kaminoans' cloning technology? And the fact that he was about to become a father? It was so much to stomach.
"Hunter, are you alright?" Indira said.
"With all that's going on, how do you think I'm doing?" Hunter sighed. "And on top of it, I'm gonna be a father?"
Indira caressed Hunter's face.
"I'm worried for them too, my love. But worrying isn't going to do anything. We just have to hope for the best and do what we can to keep the rest of our herd safe. And we have to stay safe too, for the sake of our little miracle."
Indira took Hunter's hand and placed it on her stomach. Her belly might not have popped out yet, but Hunter could swear he felt something when he touched it. Now new questions filled his mind. What would they name the baby? Would it be a boy or a girl? What would the baby look like? Would the baby look more like its mom or dad, or maybe like one of Hunter's brothers? Would there, dare he think, be more than one?
"I don't know why, but somehow, I think this just makes me love you even more."
And Hunter leaned into a big, passionate kiss with Indira, which she was quick to return.
Mariverde chuckled when she caught sight of what was happening with Indira.
"So, they're expecting a baby now, are they? I was beginning to wonder when they would be."
Mariverde was getting devious as she had one of her troops mark down that Hunter and Indira were pregnant. But Hunter and Indira weren't the only ones on that list. Tech and Mila were on that list too, but so far were listed as "Not Pregnant." There were a few other people on that list as well, mostly Enchanteds organized based on species, abilities, as well as personality.
Mariverde let one of her moths land on her green gloved finger.
"With the beast secure, as well as a new baby on the way, there is hope for us yet, my pretties. We just need a suitable match for one of the prisoners."