Chapter Eight
Dream Vacation
Debbie and the rest if her family were sitting around camp, trying their best to think positively about what may be happening with Ahsoka. "This is taking forever, they've been gone for a good hour at least!" Eliza yelled in frustration as she looked up at the sky.
"Eliza, it's been twenty minutes." Marianne replied with a grin.
"Well it feels like hours." Eliza huffed as she crossed her arms.
"Treating such a debilitating illness takes time, Eliza. Ahsoka is going through an extremely difficult phase right now. Have patience, they'll be back soon." Nigel encouraged as he put his arm around Eliza's shoulders.
"I still don't understand what's going on, dad. Usagi explained it a little bit when we all first met Ahsoka, but no one's given me any in-depth explanation as to what this anor-something or other is. What exactly is wrong with Ahsoka?" Eliza asked in a confused tone.
"Well. Anorexia is a mental illness that causes an individual to see themselves as much heavier than they actually are. For example, when you look at Ahsoka she's not extremely overweight, she's about Minako's size. But when she was sick, Ahsoka would look at herself and see a very heavy individual, she would see a lot of fat on every part of her body." Nigel explained with a sad expression.
"But that doesn't make any sense? How could she look at herself and think she's fat when she clearly isn't?" Eliza asked in the same confused tone.
"The brain is one of the least understood parts of our bodies, and though Ahsoka isn't human, she's has intelligence that is equal to a human. Her mind is very similar to our own based on what we've seen from her. Our brains can sometimes show us things that aren't there and hide things that are. Ahsoka was so convinced that she was overweight that eventually she began to see herself as overweight. She wasn't able to see the truth of the situation until her friends helped get through to her. Mind over matter, Eliza. The more we think it, the more realistic it becomes." Nigel explained with a straight face.
Eliza still didn't quite understand how Ahsoka could see herself in the way that she apparently did, but before she could ask Nigel anything more, a portal appeared in the middle of the camp and Usagi stepped through it. "Hello everyone, sorry that took so long. Ahsoka's doing better though and she's actually going home with her parents." Usagi explained with a small smile.
Nigel and Marianne smiled back at Usagi, happy that Ahsoka was doing better. Debbie and Eliza couldn't hide their disappointment at Ahsoka's unexpected departure though. "At least she's with her family now, but I'll miss her." Debbie replied with a sad expression.
Usagi smiled at her and Eliza before placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "You know, just because she went home doesn't mean you can't still see her." Usagi informed with a small grin.
Debbie and Eliza both looked up at Usagi with confused expressions. "How can we see her if she's not here though?" Eliza asked as she stared at Usagi.
"Follow me." Usagi replied with a grin as she opened another portal. Everyone stared at Usagi for a moment, then they all looked at each other. "Don't take all day, get the ComVee fired up and drive it on in." Usagi instructed as she walked through the portal.
"Well what are we waiting for, let's go see our new friend." Nigel encouraged as he and everyone else scrambled into the ComVee, then Nigel turned it on and started driving through the portal.
The ComVee exited the portal in a giant hanger that contained Padmé's royal starship, and the Thornberry family was stunned silent by the view. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Darwin, welcome to the planet Naboo." Usagi said as she gestured to the palace and surrounding forests.
"Oh my God, this place is huge." Debbie said as Nigel parked the ComVee to the side of Padmé's starship.
"Wow, look at that spaceship, it's gigantic." Eliza quietly said as she stared in awe at the ship.
"Hey! People! Look, look mom, more people!" A cheerful voice shouted from across the hangar.
"What is it girl?" Another voice asked with a giggle.
"Why do I even bother, no one but the tiny blonde one understands me." The voice grumbled as a young girl and a strange blue dog started running towards the ship.
"Omega, I didn't expect to see you here. I figured that you'd be with everyone else in the palace." Usagi said with a smile as she knelt down to and rubbed Batcher's head.
"I wanted to meet everyone, I love meeting new people." Omega replied as she stared at the Thornberry family. "Hello there, I'm Omega, and this is Batcher, our lurca hound." Omega introduced herself and Batcher as she held her hand out to Nigel.
"Good to meet you, Nigel Thornberry, at your service. This is my wife Marianne, our daughters Eliza and Debbie, our son Donnie, and our chimp Darwin." Nigel greeted as he introduced himself and his family.
"Wow, what a beautiful creature. Hi there Batcher." Eliza greeted as she pet Batcher.
"Hi, I'm Batcher, and I like to play fetch." Batcher said as she licked Eliza.
"Really? Maybe we can play together then, we have lots of balls in the ComVee that we can use." Eliza replied as she patted Batcher's head.
"I'd love to do that, we should... Wait! You can understand me?! You can actually hear me?!" Batcher yelled with excitement as she stood on her hind legs and put her front paws on Eliza's chest.
"Batcher, no jump." Omega scolded as she lightly nudged Batcher off of Eliza.
"It's okay, we were talking." Eliza informed with a smile.
"Wait, you can understand Batcher? You have powers like Bubbles does?" Omega asked in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, it's a long story. But I'll tell you later if you'd like." Eliza replied as she pet Batcher's head.
"I'd love to hear that story, but for now let's head to the palace. Padmé sent me to grab you guys when you got here, so follow me." Omega informed as she started jogging towards the main palace.
"Come on guys!" Eliza yelled as she and Batcher started running after Omega.
"Always on the move, huh guys?" Usagi asked with a giggle as she started jogging after the small group.
"You're telling me." Debbie replied as she and her family followed Usagi.
A few minutes later everyone arrived at the palace doors, where the rest of the Bad Batch was waiting for Omega. "There you are, good work leading everyone back here soldier." Hunter complimented as he saluted Omega.
"Thank you sir!" Omega replied with a salute of her own.
"So, where are Ahsoka and the others?" Usagi asked as she walked over to Echo.
"I think your nieces are playing in one of the rooms upstairs, and General Tano said something about natural swimming with the G.F, whatever that means." Hunter answered with a straight face.
"What I believe General Tano meant was that she and her girlfriend would be swimming together in the nude, so I'd suggest avoiding the lake out back for a while." Tech clariffied in his usual straight to the point tone.
"Thanks for the clarification, because no one could've figured that out for themselves." Crosshair grumbled as he plucked his toothpick from his mouth.
"That's okay, she needs to de-stress, it's been a rough day." Usagi replied with a giggle.
"We heard, I'm glad to see that she's doing better than she apparently was earlier." Echo said with a straight face.
"Yeah, heard that big bully was back in her head. I'd beat Mira up if I could, but I can't hit her since she's not real. It makes me mad!" Wrecker yelled with a huff.
"Unfortunately Wrecker, you cannot solve all of life's problems by punching them." Tech replied as he patted Wrecker's shoulder.
"That won't stop me from tryin' though." Wrecker said as he lightly bashed his fists together.
"Well Omega, why don't you go hangout with the other kids while we adults get to know each other a little better." Hunter suggested as he looked at Nigel and Marianne.
"You know Hunter, technically I'm older than all of you are." Omega giggled as she started jogging away.
"You'll always be our child though!" Hunter yelled back with a grin.
"That sounds so weird, I'm your sister!" Omega yelled back before disappearing through a set of doors.
"We should probably explain what's going on before our guests start to think that we're all crazy." Tech suggested as he looked at the Thornberry family, seeing that they were all confused and a little uncomfortable with the situation. "You see, Omega is technically related to us, and it is also true that she's technically older than all of us as well. We're all clones that were created from a single host's D.N.A, it's a rather complex process and explanation. We appear older due to our creators using a method of accelerated growth on us during our creation. Omega is the exception, though she was created before we were, the Kaminoins did not use any accelerated growth on her, thus the reason she is still a child, yet older than us grown adults." Tech explained with a straight face.
"Oh yeah, like that was any less confusing." Echo chuckled as he looked at the Thornberry family.
"Hm. Fascinating, though I must be honest, I'm still quite confused. But, that's okay, as long as everyone's happy then who cares about the hows and whys." Nigel replied with a chuckle.
"I like this guy, he doesn't use big fancy words like you do." Wrecker lauged as he nudged Tech.
"Bet you a box of mantell mix he's smarter than you though." Crosshair replied with a smirk.
"You would be hard pressed to find an individual that is not smarter than Wrecker. No offense Wrecker." Tech said as he looked at Crosshair.
"That's fine. I may not be that smart, but I can out punch anyone!" Wrecker yelled with a laugh as he flexed a little bit.
"Except General Utonium and her sisters. With their enhanced superpowers, any one of them would lay you out like a mat with one punch." Tech replied with a small grin.
"They don't count, they're special!" Wrecker replied with a smile.
"They're not the only ones." Crosshair grumbled as he started walking away.
"What's that supposed to mean? Hey, take that back!" Wrecker yelled as he started following Crosshair.
"Well, guess we'll let you all get settled in. It was nice to meet you all." Hunter said as he lead the rest of his team away.
"It was nice meeting you all as well." Nigel replied as he watched the batch walk away.
"Come on, we'll show you guys around a bit while we look for Padmé and Anakin." Usagi said as she gestured the Thornberry family towards the door Omega had gone through a short time ago.
"Thank you." Marianne thanked as she and everyone else started following Usagi.
While Usagi and the guardians showed everyone around the palace, Ahsoka was enjoying some much needed alone time with Merida. "Oh my God, you have no idea how badly I needed a nice warm dip like this." Ahsoka said with a content sigh as she she relaxed in the lake.
"Awe, is my sweet little togruta stressed out?" Merida giggled as she swam up behind Ahsoka and gently rubbed her shoulders.
"Ah. Uh, you have no idea." Ahsoka groaned as Merida worked a knot out of her neck.
"How are you feeling after your talk with Doctor Mallard?" Merida asked as she continued to massage Ahsoka.
"Better, it definitely helps to know that I'm not doubting myself like I thought I was. It's just the concussion, at least we're hoping it is." Ahsoka answered as she relaxed a bit more, and leaned back against Merida.
"No matter what the reason, you know that I'm here if you need me. Right dear?" Merida asked as she stopped massaging Ahsoka and swam in front of her.
"Yes. Thank you Merida, I love you so much." Ahsoka replied as she hugged Merida.
"I love you too Ahsoka." Merida replied as she squeezed Ahsoka in a tight hug. "Now then, if you're all loosened up, shall we have some fun?" Merida asked with a giggle.
"And they call me the horny one." Ahsoka giggled as she kissed Merida.
"Throw it again! Throw it again!" Batcher yelled as she bounced excitedly in front of Eliza.
"Alright Batcher, but last one. My arm feels like it's gonna fall off." Eliza giggled as she picked the ball up and launched it as far as she could. Batcher took off like a bolt, chasing her ball down and grabbing it between bounces before running it back to Eliza.
"Woo! I love playing fetch, but I should probably go and check on Omega now, she's my responsibility." Batcher said as she started walking towards the palace with Eliza.
Batcher lead Eliza into the palace, where they found Debbie lounging on a large sofa. "Oh my God, I barely remember what it feels like to lay on an actual sofa. It's not moving or shaking as we drive over rocks and down rivers, uh, this is the life." Debbie said with a content sigh as she put her headphones on.
"Typical teenager." Anakin chuckled as he and Padmé walked into the room.
"That's Debbie for you." Eliza giggled as she and Batcher approached Anakin.
"Speaking of teenagers, where do you think ours is?" Padmé asked with a smile.
"Probably with Merida, you know those two. They're worse than we were." Anakin answered with a grin.
"What do you mean by that?" Eliza asked in a curious tone.
"Someone will explain when you're older." Anakin replied as he looked at Eliza. "Let me guess, you're looking for Omega." Anakin said with a small smile.
"We are, any idea where she is?" Eliza asked as she looked around a little bit.
"Her and the puffs are upstairs." Padmé answered as she pointed to the staircase.
"Thank you." Eliza thanked as she and Batcher started heading upstairs. Eliza and Batcher wandered around for a couple of minutes before Batcher picked up Omega's scent.
"This way! She's this way!" Batcher yelled before running towards a room at the end of a long and luxurious hallway.
"Wait for me!" Eliza yelled back as she followed Batcher to the last door at the end of the hall.
"Omega! Omega open up! We wanna play!" Batcher yelled as she scratched on the door a little bit.
"Batcher! There's my girl, come here you." Omega giggled as she opened the door and pet Batcher's head. Batcher barked excitedly at her before rushing into the room. "What'd she say?" Omega asked as she looked at Eliza.
"She says that she's happy to finally hangout with all of us." Bubbles answered as she drew a card from a deck in front of her. "Ha! That's game, girls." Bubbles said as she laid down her last pair of cards.
"Awe man! I almost won that time. Let's play one more round, come on Bubbles." Buttercup said as she and Blossom put their cards back in the deck.
"What are you playing?" Eliza asked as she and Omega walked over to the puffs.
"Go fish. Wanna play?" Blossom asked with a smile.
"Sure." Eliza answered as she sat down with everyone. Blossom quickly dealt the cards and laid the rest in the middle of their group.
"After you, Eliza." Omega said as she held her cards up.
"Got any twos, Omega?" Eliza asked with a smile.
"Go fish." Omega replied with a grin. Eliza grabbed a card from the deck and waited for Bubbles to go.
While the younger ones played cards upstairs, Merida and Ahsoka were swimming in the lake, having the time of their lives. "Ah! No fair, force pushing water is cheating." Merida laughed as a wave of water crashed into her body.
"Didn't see a rule book, so it's fair game." Ahsoka giggled as she splashed more water at Merida.
"Aren't you being a little childish for a Jedi?" Merida asked with a giggle.
"Perhaps, but it feels good to be childish sometimes. It's been so long since I was able to act like a carefree girl, my whole life was spent being mature and being raised to obey and listen. It feels nice to just cut loose sometimes." Ahsoka replied with a small smile.
Merida smiled at Ahsoka for a moment, but it slowly faded when she realized that Ahsoka looked a little down. "What is is?" Merida asked as she swam over to Ahsoka.
"I don't know, I just suddenly feel a little sad. Just thinking about the past four years. Since I was fourteen years old, I was a soldier, it's been all I've known since being made a padawan. I never had a chance to really get to know, well, me. I've always been what I was told to be, you know. I mean, sure I had my snippy personality, but who am I under that? Maybe that's why I was so concerned about my looks and why Mira keeps coming back. Maybe I worry about my outside because I don't know who I am inside. Does that make any sense?" Ahsoka asked with a sad expression.
Merida smiled at Ahsoka before swimming over to her and gently grabbing her hands. "Yes, it makes a lot of sense. But you don't have to question who you are, let me tell you about Ahsoka Tano. She's a beautiful young Togruta who's as snippy as she is sweet, she's intelligent, kind, compassionate, and a little horny." Merida giggled as she gently poked Ahsoka's nose. "She's also brave and strong, the kind of leader anyone would be lucky to have on their side. A selfless and dedicated general, she's a good friend, and an even better lover. She's everything I love, and everything I always will love." Merida quielty spoke as she gently pressed her lips to Ahsoka's.
"If you keep doing things like that, I'm going to be more than just a little horny." Ahsoka giggled as she wrapped her arms around Merida's waist.
"If only we were alone in a wide open lake that had a private beach within swimming distance." Merdia replied with a wink.
"If only." Ahsoka giggled as she and Merida started swimming towards a small sandy island.
"This one was taken by Blossom, isn't it a beautiful view?" Nigel asked as he passed some photos around.
"It's gorgeous. What beautiful stars, and the way their reflections sparkle in the water is just incredible. I can hardly even imaging what it must've looked like in person." Padmé replied as she looked through the photos everyone had taken while in the Galapagos.
"Wow, Blossom has some talent. She should take a few pictures of Theed for us, the city is beautiful at night." Anakin said with a smile.
"She would probably have a lot of fun doing that." Mako replied as she handed Anakin another photo.
"Ami, can I ask you something, and I'm sorry if it kills the mood in here? It's important though." Padmé asked in a sad tone as she looked at Ami.
"Of course Padmé, what's on your mind?" Ami asked as she looked at Padmé.
"It's about Ahsoka and her relapse. Do you honestly believe that she'll be okay and that we won't have to worry about it too much? I know that Doctor Mallard said it would likely pass when her concussion healed more, and though I trust both his and your analysis of her situation, I'm just afraid that we'll shrug it off too soon and it'll come back to haunt us later. Or to be more precise, it'll haunt Ahsoka." Padmé asked in a sad tone.
Ami leaned back against the couch and let out a deep breath. "I know it's difficult Padmé, we're all concerned that this was more than just something caused by a concussion. However, we have to have some faith in Ahsoka's strength. When Mira came back into Ahsoka's life, Ahsoka fought her. She refused to listen to her, she tried to block her out, and she asked for help when it got to be too difficult to fight her alone. If she were at that much risk of relapsing then she likely wouldn't have reached out for help. The sincerity and fear in her voice when she told us Mira was back and that she needed help, Ahsoka doesn't want Mira in her life anymore than the rest of us. She's strong, Padmé, and we need to trust in her strength. Most importantly though, we need to make sure that we're there for her when she needs us. Doctor Mallard was right, she has a lot of people that love and support her, and that's one of her greatest advantages in her battle." Ami explained with a smile.
Padmé smiled back and nodded, then she hugged Ami. "Thanks Ami, you always know just what to say." Padmé quietly thanked as she held onto Ami.
"That's my little blueberry for you, smart and sweet." Mako giggled as she tousled Ami's hair.
"You haven't called me that in a long time." Ami said with a giggle as she nuzzled her cheek against Mako's.
"That's because it embarrasses the girls when we make goo goo eyes and use nicknames." Mako chuckled in reply.
"Isn't that our job as their parents though? To embarrass our children. Huh lighting bug?" Ami asked with a giggle.
"I suppose it is." Mako answered as she gave Ami a kiss.
"Do you two want a room? There are plenty of open ones." Anakin asked with a smirk as he stared at the two women.
"We'll take one!" Minako yelled as she wrapped her arm around Rei.
"I suppose it is getting a little late, shall we head to bed for the evening?" Padmé asked as she looked at everyone around the room.
"I could sure use some sleep, how 'bout you darlin'? Sarah asked as she stretched a little bit. Kaede didn't answer, she was face down on the couch asleep. "Take that as a yes." Sarah replied as she gently picked Kaede up.
"Follow me, I'll show you all to your rooms." Anakin instructed as he started leading everyone upstairs.
"Oh...my...God. That was...amazing." Merida breathed as she laid on her back in the sand.
"I didn't know...you could bend like that." Ahsoka replied with a breath.
"I normally can't, but for you...I'd do anything." Merida said with a smile as she rolled on top of Ahsoka.
"I'd do anything for you too Merida." Ahsoka replied as she kissed Merida. "We should probably head back soon, I'm sure everyone's curious about where we are." Ahsoka suggested as she gently moved her hands up and down Merida's back.
"But I like this, just you and me on our own little island. It's the best paradise I ever could've imagined." Merida quietly said as she closed her eyes.
"When you put it like that, I don't ever wanna leave it." Ahsoka replied as she cuddled with Merida.
"I love you Ahsoka." Merida whispered as she started to fall asleep.
"I love you too Merida." Ahsoka whispered back as she closed her eyes as well.
"Alright, everyone's settled into their rooms for the night and they're all going to sleep. So I guess you and I can finally head to bed." Anakin said as he walked over to Padmé.
"Almost, we're still missing two people." Padmé replied with a small smirk.
"Ahsoka and Merida are grown women, I think they'll be okay." Anakin replied with a smile.
"I suppose you're right, but we should at least give her a call and let her know that we're all going to bed." Padmé suggested as she pulled her comlink out of her pocket. "Ahsoka, are you there?" Padmé asked in a soft tone.
"Not yet, but she's pretty close." Merida's voice answered through the com with a giggle.
"Merida!" Ahsoka's voice yelled with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.
"I'm sorry dear, I couldn't help it." Merida's voice replied with a giggle.
"I'm guessing that you two aren't coming to bed yet." Padmé said with a chuckle.
"We might just sleep under the stars tonight. There's a beautiful full moon out as well." Ahsoka replied in a quiet and content tone.
"Alright, just be careful. Have a good night you two." Padmé chuckled as she hung up the com.
"So, when are you gonna have the talk with her?" Anakin asked with a grin as he and Padmé started walking towards their room.
"Anakin, she's ninteen going on twenty, I don't think she needs the talk." Padmé replied with a smile.
"Is she really that old already, I thought she was eighteen going on nineteen?" Anakin asked with hint of surprise in his voice.
"I'm pretty sure she's gonna be twenty next month." Padmé replied as she and Anakin entered their room.
"Well regardless of the actual number, I still think she's just a bit too active, if you know what I mean." Anakin said with a smirk.
"Look who's talking, you were just as bad at her age. You were worse even, sometimes you were downright obsessive." Padmé replied with grin as she started changing.
"That's because unlike her, you and I couldn't be open about our love back then. I'd come back from wherever Obi-Wan and I had been and I wouldn't even be able to come see you." Anakin said with a smile as he got into bed.
"That's true. I'm so glad that things are different now, that she can have a real relationship without worrying about being expelled from the order. It's about damn time." Padmé giggled as she got into bed with Anakin.
"Goodnight Padmé." Anakin whispered as he kissed Padmé.
"Goodnight Annie." Padmé whispered back as she started to fall asleep.