Catching Up - GeminiRose22 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) (2024)

Chapter 1: Twins Reunited

Chapter Text

All his life, Anakin Skywalker thought he was an only child. Since before he could remember, it had always just been him and his mother Shmi, living lives as slaves on the scorching desert planet Tatooine in the Outer Rim, where the Republic was non-existent, and thus there was no hope of the slaves being freed. The slaves' only hope of ever being free was hope that some kind person would buy them from their masters and then deactivate their transmitters so they would be free.

And then, one fateful day, Anakin met Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who later turned out to be his biological father, and a then Queen Padme Naberrie-Amidala, his future wife and mother of their future daughter Gabriella. Qui-Gon believed Anakin was the Chosen One, meant to bring balance to the Force, and he knew he had to free his son, as well as get parts needed to repair the damaged ship he and Padme arrived to Tatooine on. So, in order to get the parts, Qui-Gon helped Anakin enter a pod race, in which Qui-Gon placed a bet against the Skywalkers' slave master Watto, and he won Anakin's freedom.

Years later, there came the Festival of Lights, a celebration of Naboo's joining into the Galactic Republic. Chancellor Palpatine (a.k.a. secretly Darth Sidious), was presiding over the ceremony. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he knew that with that little princess keeping Anakin's emotions in check with her kind and gentle heart, it would jeopardize his plans to destroy the Jedi... unless he could manipulate her as well. Having a second Jedi on his side, he thought would double his chances, and given how young she was, he thought she would be simple to mold. But, he underestimated the girl and forgot that she took after her mother where being intelligent for her age was concerned, as well as her father's ability to sense something off. Still, in an effort to win the girl's trust, he invited her to his office one day for a private meeting.

Gabby had no idea what the Chancellor wanted, but she kept her guard up. Since she was a baby, she always sensed something off about the Chancellor, but she never knew precisely what it was. All she knew was she had to keep an eye on him.

"You wanted to see me, Chancellor?" Gabby said, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Yes, I did, Princess Gabriella." said the Chancellor. "Take a seat, my dear."

Gabby climbed up into a chair and sat reluctantly, hoping she wouldn't be stuck with the chancellor for too long.

The Chancellor explained to Gabby that the Festival of Light was coming up, and as Naboo's princess, naturally Queen Neeyutnee believed it would only make sense that Gabby be part of the ceremony.

"I believe you are old enough to take on an important task to ensure a successful festival. A younger mind." the Chancellor said. "Perhaps you have your own ideas to contribute? I hear from your parents you are a very creative child."

"I'm a kid. It's in my nature." Gabby said. "And there are gonna be more kids than me, so this festival should have fun stuff. Like a magician, or someone making balloon animals. Something kids like."

"Those are fine suggestions, Princess. Perhaps you would like to take on the responsibility of selecting a performer for the Festival."

"Me?" Gabby sounded surprised.

"Of course. You are a young mind, and surely as a well-connected child, you know what entertainment the younger festival-goers would enjoy."

"I guess."

The Chancellor told Gabby she could pick any entertainer she wanted, and money was no object. Just to pick someone great.

Normally, Gabby would be suspicious, but she seized the opportunity. She had so many great ideas. And then, she thought maybe she could book an amazing performer like Tara Drift or Madame Lala. But then... dare she dreamed...

"It's gonna be a longshot, but if there's a chance..." Gabby said.

Gabby got out her spell book and found a direct send spell. Then, she got some paper and a pen and wrote a letter.

Dear Count Crescendo,

My name is Gabriella Amidala-Skywalker, Princess of Naboo. I know you are super busy and probably have a lot going on right now, but I was wondering, actually really hoping you would consider performing at the Festival of Lights on Naboo this year. You are not only the most inspirational, most fun, and most amazing performer in the galaxy, you are just the kind of light to make the festival shine and inspire hope in this time of the Clone Wars. My friends and I are big fans of yours, and we'd be absolutely thrilled if you came to this fantastical celebration. If you are interested, please contact me using any of the information provided. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gabby Skywalker

Gabby folded her letter and placed it in a shiny gold envelope with a royal Naboo stamp on it so it would grab Crescendo's attention when he received it. Then, she looked online at Crescendo's tour schedule so she could send the letter at just the right moment. And then, she cast the spell.

Meanwhile, in a city on Alderaan...

"Thank you, Alderaan! Goodnight!" smiled Crescendo on stage.

Count Crescendo walked backstage as the crew got to cleaning up once the show was over. And the pop star went to his private trailer, where he cast his spell.

"Beware forswear, return to natural hair." Crescendo said.

He tossed his head with the currently bright green hair that hid his face side to side and forward and back, changing it to long sandy blonde hair that reached down to his waist. And he placed his glasses back on and looked in the mirror.

"There you are, Carmine." chuckled the now undisguised pop star. His real name: Carmine Jinn.

There came a knock at the door suddenly.

"Come in." Carmine said, and in came Crescendo's manager and Carmine's wife Caroline.

"Tonight was another very successful show, Honey." Caroline smiled.

"Only 'cause I have you to make sure of that." Carmine smiled.

Carmine wrapped his arms around his wife and spun her around before pulling her into another one of their traditional after-concert make-out sessions.

"Mommy, Daddy!" said a little voice, coming in.

"There's my Little Lamb." Carmine said, picking up his daughter and tossing her up and down.

Lamenta looked sleepy now.

"Did you enjoy the concert, Baby?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, Mommy." Lamenta said. "The lady in the V.I.P seats gave me mini bagel pizzas too. They were yummy."

"Well, we're heading to the hotel now. You know the drill."

Since no one knew who Count Crescendo really was, it was fairly easy for Carmine and his girls to get into a hotel without being ambushed. To the public, they were just the help, not the celebrity.

Most would've expected a big star like Count Crescendo to book only the highest-priced five-star hotel suites. But knowing that's what people expected, Carmine had Caroline only book hotels that common folks stayed in. They sometimes stayed in five-star hotels, but tended to book standard rooms to avoid appearing to be as wealthy as they actually were.

Carmine carried Lamenta and lay her down in a bed after they'd entered their room.

"You know, I am exhausted." Carmine said with a yawn. "I'd say we really earned a vacation."

As Lamenta lay down fast asleep, Carmine and Caroline got themselves ready for bed.

"Alderaan seems like a very peaceful place." Caroline said, brushing her hair as Carmine was taking a shower. "I've checked out apartments online. This could be a nice place to live."

"It's okay, I guess. But I'm not sure it's quite right." Carmine said as he was drying off.

Carmine felt so relieved when he finally got into his pajamas.

"Well, this was the last stop on our house-hunting tour." said Caroline. "Where else could we go?"

For the last few months, Caroline and Carmine were very concerned about the well-being of their precious Lamenta. She was already four years old, and she didn't have any real friends because she traveled with them all the time. The couple talked for a while, and they came to an agreement. They'd made more than enough money to live comfortably over the last three years Count Crescendo had been famous, and even when they weren't performing, money was rolling in thanks to merchandise sales and the growing popularity of his music. They decided it was time to take a break from the celebrity lifestyle and just find a place to settle down and just be a family.

The only problem was finding a place to live. It needed to be someplace safe, and secure, but also appropriate to raise a child and any more children if the Jinns decided to have more. But with the Clone War going on, finding safe places was not easy.

"Too bad the answer doesn't always just appear out of nowhere." said Carmine.

Suddenly, a gold envelope appeared in front of Carmine.

"Huh?"

Carmine grabbed the envelope and looked at it.

"What is it?" Caroline asked.

"It's a letter... from the palace of Naboo!"

This was a great honor. Carmine got so many fan letters, it usually took a while to respond to them, but he tended to have a special spot for fan mail from some of his higher-class fans. Kings and queens, senators, wealthy families; people like that.

Carmine opened the envelope and found Gabby's letter inside.

"Caroline, look at this."

Caroline read the letter and couldn't believe what she was reading. The princess of Naboo wanted Count Crescendo to perform at the Festival of Light. Naboo was one of the few places they hadn't yet been. Maybe it would be a good place to live. It was a beautiful planet and home to peaceful clans of people.

"The Festival of Lights," said Caroline. "I've heard about it and seen videos online. It's supposed to be a beautiful celebration."

"And the princess is asking Count Crescendo to perform," Carmine said, getting out his computer and looking up a site about Naboo's current monarchy. He saw a picture of the young princess with her mother Padme Amidala. "Princess Gabriella isn't much older than Lamenta. And she said she has friends."

Caroline looked at his wife; they began to have the same idea. Maybe Naboo would be a great place to also help Lamenta find friends of her own.

And so, Carmine looked at the information Gabby left him and sent her an email, saying he'd be delighted to perform. But, he also had another thought. If the kids performed with him, it might be a good chance to introduce Lamenta to some kids who loved music and dancing as much as she did. So, he added that he would like Gabby and her friends to audition to be part of the show. If Carmine knew anything about music, it was just one way that people showed who they were inside.

And then came that day Count Crescendo revealed his identity to the Jedi Council and to Anakin Skywalker.

Anakin couldn't believe his eyes when he saw someone who looked exactly like him, but with glasses and longer hair. Nor could he believe the discovery that the very Jedi who found him and freed him from slavery was actually his father.

The twins found that each of them had their own story of being in a simpler life before becoming Jedi Knights or famous singers, and suffering some form of tragedy. They hadn't been together since they were babies, but now that they were reunited, they had a lot of catching up to do.

Chapter 2: Catching Up

Chapter Text

"I still can't believe you started a pillow fight in meditation class." Anakin said. "Even I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, right." Carmine said. "But at least I know how to have fun."

"I know how to have fun. I just don't mess around in class."

"Are you saying you never once had a pillow fight?"

"I probably would've gotten kicked out of the order if I had."

Carmine picked up a pillow and whacked Anakin with it.

"Like that?" Carmine teased.

"Real mature, Carmine." Anakin said, starting to walk away.

But Carmine just threw the pillow at his brother and crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Looks like we know which of us Gabby inherits most of her personality from."

"Excuse me?" Anakin glared at his brother.

"I'm just saying, she's energetic and fun-loving, I'm energetic and fun-loving. The genes spread."

"Gabby gets most of her personality from me. I am a lot of fun."

"Prove it then."

Anakin whacked Carmine with a pillow. Carmine grabbed another and whacked Anakin with it. The twins kept hitting each other with pillows like crazy until feathers were flying all over the place.

"Okay, so you do know how to have fun."

"The most fun things I got to do as a kid was race pods or play ball."

"There are other great ways to race." Carmine said. "Like running to the commissary for a snack!"

Anakin ran after Carmine, and they raced right to the commissary, rushing past a few other Jedi.

And the twins looked for a snack but found there was only one apple strudel left.

"I call dibs!" They said at the same time.

So, the twins started rock-paper-scissors for it but got a tie five times. And Gabby grabbed the strudel and pulled it in half.

"Did both of you forget that you taught your daughters to share?" Gabby said, leaving each of the twins half a strudel.

So, Anakin and Carmine decided to get to know each other a little better. They'd missed over twenty years of each other's lives, and had a lot of time to make up.

They got to know a lot about each other.

Carmine's favorite color was orange, his favorite childhood toy was a plush rabbit named Fluffy that their grandmother made for him (and he still kept it), he knew a lot about fashion thanks to his grandmother, whose whole power was making clothes.

"So that's where Gabby inherited that power from." Anakin hypothesized.

"It's very possible." Carmine said. "She taught me everything I know about clothes and hair care. You gotta know those things in my line of work. So, tell me about you. What's it like for you being the Hero with No Fear?"

"Well, it's not always easy, I'll tell you that." Anakin said. "I'm pretty much a celebrity, and women are still attracted to me despite that I'm married."

"I bet that must be annoying. But to be fair, no one knows who I really am or anything about my personal life. And things really have changed a lot here since I last saw the Temple."

"Wait, you've actually been here before?" Anakin sounded shocked.

Carmine nodded and told Anakin how once when he was five years old, he snuck away from his grandmother and made his way to the Temple. At the time, he was struggling at school because all the other kids picked on him, especially once he got his glasses. And he thought if he went to the Temple, he could go to school there and be with his father. But that didn't go as planned.

"Luckily, Dad found me and took me back home safe and sound. After losing Grandma, I didn't think I could come back here. Even if I were willing to accept the old no attachment rules, I felt pretty sure they wouldn't take me in because I was already a teenager. But then I discovered the Musical Education League of Dynamic Youths Academy, a.k.a. M.E.L.O.D.Y Academy. Unfortunately, I didn't have the funds to attend as a student. But, they needed a cleaning assistant, and I got the job. And for a while, sometimes I got to watch all the different things the students learned there, and I dreamed of going to school there as a student. And then one day, that wish came true, and I finally had a loving foster mom too."

"What was it like in music school?" Anakin asked.

"Well, it started out pretty rough, to be honest." said Carmine. "Kids still made fun of my glasses and I was still grieving at the time. But my roommate was nice enough. And I met the girl of my dreams there too."

"At least you didn't have to hide your feelings for her." Anakin said.

"Oh, it was harder than you'd think. Caroline comes from a long line of great dancers. And she's the best dancer I'd ever seen. And getting into Melody Academy is a real challenge. One teacher liking my piano playing wasn't enough. I had to pass a really hard entrance exam filled with auditions of many songs, dances, and I showed off at least ten of the many instruments I play."

"How many instruments do you play?"

"I've lost count. But to put it simply, give me any instrument, I can play it."

"No way."

"Way." Carmine smiled.

Anakin decided he had to see it for himself, so he called out for someone.

"Gabby, do we have any books on musical instruments?"

Carmine showed off his musical skills by playing Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 on the piano, which impressed Gabby greatly. Lamenta wasn't surprised her father mastered that tune. She lived through his musical career with him.

"Play another song, Uncle Carmine!" Gabby smiled, clapping.

"Maybe later." Carmine said. "I got a few more instruments to play."

"You said you play the guitar too, right?" Anakin said.

Carmine played the guitar, playing part of the song You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift), and tossing his hair back and forth to the rhythm, and looking so confident doing it.

"I bet you can't play an entire drum set." Anakin said.

But Carmine played the drums, and played them very well.

Gabby, using her book jumping power, brought out different musical instruments from a book that named every musical instrument ever created.

"Okay. What about violin?"

Carmine could play that too. So could Lamenta.

"Daddy taught me how to play." Lamenta smiled, playing a sweet little tune on her violin.

"Okay, uh... trumpet." Anakin said.

Carmine could play that too. So, Anakin named pretty much every instrument he could think of. Gabby joined in on that too, so did Boba, Carousella, and Remix

Xylophone, flute, clarinet, tuba, timpani, bongos, sitar, didgeridoo, accordion, steel drums, cello, harp, glockenspiel, trombone, harmonica, maracas, tambourine, ukulele, saxophone, mandolin, banjo, organ, triangle, bagpipes, calliope, French horn, bassoon, fiddle, lute, oboe, panpipes, recorder, zither. Any instrument you could name, Carmine could play it.

"Where'd you find the time to learn so many instruments?" Boba asked.

"It might have to do with the fact that I have music magic that it comes naturally." Carmine shrugged. "But I gotta practice just like any musician to keep my skills sharp."

Boba looked at the guitar he got for his birthday and then at his uncle.

"Do you think you can teach me to play guitar?" Boba asked.

"For family, I'll teach anything you want about music. All ya gotta do is ask." Carmine smiled.

It was no surprise to Anakin that Carmine was an excellent dancer; he'd seen him perform as Count Crescendo not that long ago.

And Carmine proved to be very popular with the Jedi younglings as he showed off his dance moves while Remix dropped a beat.

Right now, Carmine was showing off his skills in hip-hop as he danced with Remix, and looked very cool doing it. Every pop and lock, every turn, and when he did a backflip and finished in a split, it was all so perfect and left the kids cheering.

"Can you show us how to do that?" asked one boy.

"Sure. But there's a lot to learn before you can do that stuff. Dancing is fun, but it's serious business. You need not just music to do it, you need coordination, technique, and a strong body."

"How hard can it be?" Anakin said.

Anakin tried doing some of the movements Carmine did, but he fell down after a jump, and when he tried to do a split, he could only get about halfway down.

"Okay! That was a bad idea!" Anakin winced as Carmine carefully helped him up.

"See? You gotta practice, and most importantly, stretch before you do the intense stuff, or something like this could happen. Or worse." Carmine said.

Carmine began showing the kids some different stretches they could do to strengthen their bodies for dancing. Stretched that could increase flexibility, mobility, and coordination, as well as breathing exercises to help them stay balanced.

"Remember, never hold your breath." Carmine said. "It feels hard to do at first, but you'll get the hang of it."

Anakin found himself unable to believe that he was related to such a skilled dancer, yet he had some trouble learning some of the advanced movements. Carmine made it look so easy.

Later, Carmine gave Anakin a private dance lesson.

"First position. Second position." Carmine instructed, guiding Anakin through the five positions of ballet.

Carmine showed Anakin different stretches to practice at the barre, and different exercises that would help up his skills, like special jumps called sautés, which would make his legs stronger.

Since Anakin already knew martial arts, Carmine had the idea that all he had to do was think of the dance like a battle, but with music and graceful movements.

Anakin tried a pirouette, but fell down as he got dizzy.

"How do you do that without getting dizzy?" Anakin said, his eyes spinning around.

Carmine helped his brother up and said, "You gotta spot when you turn. Find a particular spot to focus on, and quickly make sure your head turns first before the rest of your body. If when you turn you spot, then become dizzy you will not. Ms. Susy used to teach me all kinds of rhymes to help me remember the most challenging tricks in song and dance."

Carmine offered to be Gabby's ballet teacher, but Anakin said they did just fine learning it themselves. Anakin didn't have much dance experience. Most of what he practiced with Gabby was from what he could find in holo-net videos, which did not give feedback as well as an in-person teacher.

"It wouldn't be any trouble." Carmine said. "Caroline and I taught Lamenta to dance, and you should see her now."

"Still, Gabby is my daughter. Padme and I decide how she's raised."

"I never said I was gonna raise your kids for you. But, I would like to be able to catch up with them. And hey, it might be nice if you caught up with your niece."

Anakin thought about that. Carmine did have a point. He missed out on seeing Gabby grow up and being there for Boba's adoption, and Anakin never got to meet Lamenta as a baby.

And then, the twins had an idea. Switch children for a day and take some time to get to know each other.

Carmine always wanted to have more kids, and spending time with his newfound niece and nephew would give him a taste of what that could be like someday. And Anakin saw that Lamenta was still a little shy around him, but then again, she was always shy with new people, given that she never stayed anywhere long enough to make real friends until now. The last thing Anakin wanted was for his niece to feel uncomfortable around him, especially now that they were living together.

Chapter 3: A Day With Uncle Anakin

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Lamenta walked with her uncle down the halls. Neither she nor Anakin said anything for a while.

This felt a bit awkward. Lamenta mostly just held onto Lammy and walked beside her uncle.

Anakin knew Lamenta was a shy kid. He'd seen that behavior in Boba when he first got adopted. But Lamenta was only four and a girl. Anakin never faced shyness issues with Gabby, so he did not have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. He hardly ever saw his other nieces, though technically they were Padme's nieces and only became Anakin's nieces when he married Padme.

He wasn't sure what to do with her. So, he thought for a bit.

"So...Lamenta." said Anakin. "How did you like traveling across the galaxy with your parents?"

Lamenta was silent for a bit. That question, she usually got about how she liked traveling with famous singer Count Crescendo. But this time, it was about her parents just as her parents.

"Oh... uh... well, I liked it." said Lamenta. "I got to see lots of places. And I got lots of great souvenirs too. I kept my favorite ones in a special box. But it's under my bed back at the penthouse."

Anakin then had an idea. Some of his kids' friends talked about how some of their relatives liked to spoil them whenever they came around. Maybe he could do the same for Lamenta. She was his biological niece, and he'd already missed four years of her life.

"Well, let's go to the penthouse and get it, and you can show me some of your souvenirs." Anakin said, starting to get some ideas. "And later, maybe we can get some ice cream. How's that sound?"

"Can I get it with sprinkles?" Lamenta asked.

"I'll buy you three scoops." Anakin said. "This is our first day spending real time together, and I'm gonna make it extra special. We'll have a great day."

Anakin and Lamenta rode over to the penthouse and got Lamenta's box of her favorite souvenirs.

Lamenta showed her uncle a little gold statuette of a Lothal tiger she got from one of her father's benefit concerts at one of the planets filled with wildlife.

"Daddy got me this when he did a benefit concert to raise money to help save the endangered Lothal Golden Tiger." Lamenta said. And she picked out a pretty seashell she'd gotten when Crescendo performed for the royal family of Mon Cala a couple years back before Lee Char's father was killed. "And then there was that time we performed for the griffins in Plumalas, but they were so attracted to the shiny lights and feathers flew all over the place."

Lamenta picked up a necklace her mother helped her make with some wooden beads and a few feathers.

"That's beautiful, Lamenta." Anakin said. "And you made that yourself?"

"Mommy helped me."

"Well, you both did a great job." Anakin said. He picked up a little red and yellow yo-yo and started to play with it. "Where's this one from?"

"I won that as a prize at a carnival Mommy and Daddy took me to on vacation." Lamenta said.

The yo-yo went down and up once, but then stayed down.

"Hmm. Must be defective." Anakin said.

Lamenta picked it up and made it go up and down five times.

"Nope. Still works good."

Anakin crossed his arms and said, "I must've loosened it up for you."

Lamenta giggled. It was true what Obi-Wan said; Anakin definitely did not like losing.

All the little things Lamenta had looked fun. But, she didn't seem to have many toys for a girl with a very wealthy pop star for a dad. But then again, they did move around a lot, so it made sense that they had to travel light. So, Lamenta had very small stuff. The biggest toy she had was her white lamb.

"So... what kind of things did you and your parents do when your parents weren't working?" Anakin said.

"Well, sometimes we watched movies in our hotel rooms after a concert." Lamenta said. "It depended where we were staying. Sometimes, we got to order room service, swim in a pool with a big waterslide, or play games in the game room. Once, we even got to go to a county fair, and I got to pet a real sheep and ride a merry-go-round. And they eve showed us how ice cream gets made from the milk get from cows. Farm fresh ice cream is really yummy."

Lamenta licked her mouth, remembering the sweet taste of freshly made ice cream.

"Well, I don't know how many farms are on Coruscant, but I do know a great ice cream parlor where my kids love getting ice cream." Anakin said. "What do you say we head on out for a scoop or two?"

"Yay!" Lamenta said.

So, Anakin took Lamenta to this great ice cream parlor called What's the Scoop? There, he was always welcomed, being the famous Hero With No Fear.

"Master Skywalker." said Carter, one of the workers. "Always an honor. And who's this lovely little lady with you?"

"This is my niece. Lamenta." Anakin said. "She and her parents just moved in."

Lamenta hugged her lamb shyly said hi.

The workers were very nice to Lamenta. It being her first visit and her being family of the Galaxy's greatest hero, her ice cream was on the house. And, as luck would have it, they just started serving a new flavor which happened to be Lamenta's favorite. Blueberry cheesecake.

Lamenta got three scoops with sparkly silver star sprinkles, while her uncle got chocolate.

Both of them ended up getting more ice cream on their faces than in their mouths.

"You have ice cream all over you, Uncle Ani!" Lamenta laughed.

"So do you." Anakin laughed. He cleaned himself off, then cleaned Lamenta's little mouth. "That's better. Now I can see your pretty face."

Lamenta giggled at her uncle being so sweet to her.

But neither of them noticed that someone was watching them, and snapped a couple pictures of them before making a call.

"Frank," said the man to someone on his phone. "I've spotted the Hero with No Fear with a new little girl here at What's the Scoop. I believe he said she was his niece when he walked in. I'm sending pictures now."

Anakin walked out of the shop with Lamenta and began heading down the street with her.

Lamenta seemed to like looking around at all the big building and all the vehicles flying by. There were lots of different apartment buildings, restaurants, shops. Anakin knew from experience with his wife and daughter that shopping tended to be a popular activity among women, especially mothers and daughters, teenage girl groups, and just anyone who loved clothes, shoes, and anything else you could find in a mall.

Anakin spotted Lamenta eyeing some things in the shop windows. A beautiful red dress, sparkly hair clips, a pair of violet boots with silver stars, and some toys. He'd missed four birthdays and four Life Days with Lamenta. So he thought, why not?

Lamenta found some great stuff that Anakin didn't hesitate to buy for her. The dress, the hair clips, the boots, a new ballet music CD. And then, they walked into a toy shop.

"Pick out any toys you like, Lamenta." Anakin said. "Think of this as all your birthdays and Life Days clumped into one big day."

"Wouldn't I be eight if birthdays worked like that?"

Anakin laughed, ruffled Lamenta's hair, and said, "You got my sense of humor."

Lamenta looked all around at all the different toys. So many possibilities. Bikes, stuffed animals, bouncy balls, water toys, frisbees, dress up costumes, toy instruments, bubbles, and so many other things.

"How am I ever gonna choose?" Lamenta said.

"Well, is there a toy you've always wanted, but your parents couldn't get you?"

"Well... there is one thing. A Galaxy Girl doll. They're this really cool doll that comes with her own book that tells her story. There are so many too. There's a doll for everyone. Princesses, sporty girls, rock stars, you name it. But they're always sold out everywhere. And there's this one I've been begging my parents to get me for a long time. But we never had time to get one because Daddy and Mommy were always working."

"Well, what does the doll you wanted look like?"

Lamenta said. And she spotted a magazine with pictures of dolls in it and flipped through the pages until she found a picture of a pretty doll. The doll looked like a dark-skinned girl with curly black hair like Lamenta's, a crown of purple flowers adorning it, and she was dressed in a purple ballerina outfit.

"Her name's Prima Lavendira." Lamenta said. "She's really pretty, and she talks and plays pretty music when you pull her string. And with a galaxy girl doll, you can brush her hair, dress them in different outfits, and everything."

Anakin looked at the doll. She was a pretty doll. He'd seen ads for Galaxy Girls before. Gabby even wanted one for her last birthday, but just like Lamenta said, they were sold out everywhere. He checked every toy store all over the city and the next one. He even asked some of the Jedi to help by splitting up and looking for one. But none of them could find a Galaxy Girl doll anywhere. Except for Master Koth. But then one of the crazy parents tackled him and got the last one.

Gabby was so disappointed when her father had to break the news that he couldn't get her the present she wanted.

But, a Galaxy Girl doll would make his niece super happy. And this time, he was determined to find one for her.

So, he checked the doll section, but didn't see any. And then, he asked someone who worked at the store if they had any Galaxy Girl dolls in the back. And the worker said they would check.

But then, Anakin and Lamenta got ambushed by photographers and reporters bombarding them with questions and flashing cameras.

"Master Skywalker! Is it true your niece is the Crescendo child?" asked one reporter.

"What?" Anakin said, trying to block the flashing from his eyes.

"Does your family know Count Crescendo's true identity?" asked another.

"Will you stop, please? I'm trying to get some shopping done." Anakin said.

Lamenta got scared as she was bombarded with the cameras and she screamed, which made some of them cover their ears. And she turned invisible and ran away. So did Anakin, minus the turning invisible part. But then he realized he couldn't see his niece anymore.

"Lamenta? Lamenta! Where are you?" Anakin called.

Lamenta turned visible again once she was sure the reporters didn't know where she was now. But then, she looked around and realized she didn't know where her uncle was, and he probably didn't know where she was either.

"Uncle Anakin?" Lamenta called. "Uncle Anakin?"

Lamenta looked around and began to get scared as she realized she was lost! But, she remembered what her parents always told her. "If you've found you've wandered too far, stay put so we can find you where you are."

Lamenta found it hard to stay calm. This was not how she wanted her day with her uncle to go, and she started crying.

Meanwhile, Anakin was worried and started to look for Lamenta. The store was really big and he had no idea where she could've been. He went to someone who worked there for help.

"Can you describe your niece?" asked the security guard.

"She's about this high," said Anakin, marking a short height with his hand. "Has curly black hair, purple eyes, and she was wearing a purple dress."

"Where did you last see her?"

"Near the magazine rack."

"We'll get right on it."

The security guard guided Anakin to the lost children's station. Anakin looked around and didn't see his niece among any of the lost kids. He got really worried.

"I'm a terrible uncle!" Anakin scolded himself.

Inconveniently, Anakin's phone rang, and he saw it was Carmine, calling to check in.

"Hey, Carmine. How's your day with Boba and Gabby going?" Anakin said.

"Pretty great, actually." Carmine said. "How's Lamenta doing?"

"She's... great. Very great." Anakin said, trying not to sound nervous.

"Anakin...?" Carmine said, noticing the edge in his twin's voice. "What's wrong? Is Lamenta hurt or sick?"

"No! She's not either of those things. I just... don't know where she is right now."

"You lost my daughter?!"

Anakin nearly dropped his phone when his brother yelled in his ear. He didn't choose the name Count Crescendo because he had a quiet voice.

"I know, you're furious." Anakin said. "I'm so sorry. We got ambushed by reporters and then we got separated and-"

"I'm coming over there! Where are you?" Carmine asked.

"At the toy store on Markins Street." Anakin answered.

"I'm not too far from there. Don't go anywhere."

Anakin face palmed. This was not how he wanted his first family date with his niece to go. And it started out so well.

"I just hope Carmine's date was going better than mine before all this happened." Anakin told himself.

Chapter 4: A Day With Uncle Carmine

Chapter Text

Carmine was very happy to get to spend some quality time with his newfound niece and nephew.

"So, kids. What do you feel like doing today?" Carmine asked them.

Boba and Gabby started to think for a bit, and the younger child spoke first.

"Can you show us what kind of fun stuff you do with your powers?" Gabby said. "We've seen you use a Sonar Wave to fight off a dark sorceress, but can you do other magical music stuff? Just for fun?"

"Sure. Lots of stuff." Carmine said.

Back in music school, Carmine had to keep his magic a secret. His father and grandmother warned him that there were those who sought to rid the Galaxy of Solaris' magic or take it for themselves. So, until he could come upon other Solarans and restore the kingdom's magic, he couldn't let other people know about his powers.

Carmine only ever told his foster mother, his old roommate, and Caroline that he had powers, but only after having them take a magical oath that they would not reveal this to anyone else.

"When I was a kid, the only place I could use my powers freely was in a book."

"You can book jump too?" Gabby said, astonished.

"Not exactly. There are three ways to magically jump into a book. Have Biblio-Spell magic, get trapped in an enchanted book, or use this spell I learned to jump into them. And now that there are at least three more Solaran Enchanteds, I can definitely show you kids some of the stuff I can do."

Carmine brought the kids to one of the long hallways, which was currently empty.

"Ever played the piano with your feet?" Carmine said.

"That sounds silly." Gabby said, giggling.

"Why would you play a piano with your feet?" Boba asked, scrunching his nose.

Carmine enchanted the floor, and the long rug turned into a giant piano.

"If it's too big to sit under and play with your hands." Carmine smirked, taking a few steps onto the piano. It made music. "How's that for magical music?"

"Awesome!" Gabby said, running across the keyboard and sliding.

Boba jumped onto the piano and took some steps himself.

"This is fun." Boba smiled, making music with his sister and uncle.

Gabby started hopping and walking onto the keys to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

"Aren't you a talented little pianist?" Carmine said, ruffling his niece's hair.

"Uncle Carmine!" Gabby whined as her bow was messed up.

The kids had so much fun making music on the keyboard with their uncle, playing lots of different songs and dancing around.

"Wanna see something even more fun?" Carmine said.

Carmine brought Gabby and Boba to one of the staircases in the temple.

"So, what's this fun thing we're gonna do?" Boba said.

"How do you kids feel about roller coasters and slides?" Carmine asked.

"I've never ridden a roller coaster before."

"I've always wanted to ride one!" Gabby said excitedly, but then frowned. "But I'm too short to get on the big kid ones."

Carmine smiled and said, "Well, what if I told you I knew a roller coaster that anyone of any size could ride?"

"You're taking us to a roller coaster?!" Gabby smiled excitedly.

"Better. I'm bringing the roller coaster to you."

Carmine waved his hand, and a plethora of gold magic in the shape of lines of music notes like on sheet music appeared going down the stairs and into the hall.

"I call it, Rock N' Rollercoaster!" Carmine said.

The kids were astonished.

"Don't be shy." Carmine said, picking Gabby up and holding her to the slide. "On three?"

"Okay..." Gabby sounded a little nervous.

"Don't worry. It's lots of fun." Carmine reassured. And then he counted. "One... two... three!"

And he sent Gabby sliding down the music. And Gabby could hear a song playing as she slid.

Was crying all night

I slept until noon

I just wanna lie in

My living room

Boba soon followed his sister and so did Carmine.

I know in my heart

That your not the one

So I'll just stay home

Watch VH1

At first, the slide just took them straight down the hall and curved around the corner. But then, it started to carry them up, up, up.

My girlfriends know what to do

They know what to say (Oh)

My girlfriends to the rescue

Come take me away

And like on a roller coaster, everyone riding the music went down really fast, side to side, and in a loop.

I'm on vacation tonight

I'm gonna leave you behind

I'm on vacation tonight

I'm gonna lose my mind

With someone new, new

With someone new, new

With someone

I sit in the front

Roll down the window

When our song comes on

The radio

I won't fall apart

I won't self destruct

No I'll just reach out

And turn it up

My girlfriends know what to do

They know what to say (Oh)

My girlfriends to the rescue

Come take me away (Come take me away)

The ride got even faster and more fun as the song continued. And at one point, the coaster went round and round like a swirly twist slide.

I'm on vacation tonight

I'm gonna leave you behind

I'm on vacation tonight

I'm gonna lose my mind

With someone new, new

With someone new, new

With someone

For a bit, the ride slowed down.

Yeah

Lalalalala la

Girls lets go

My girlfriends know what to do

They know what to say (Oh)

But then they started going up again.

"Uh oh," said Boba. "Here we go again!"

My girlfriends to the rescue

Come take me away

And they did a big drop again and went all around and upside down again, going crazy before they came up one more time and slide round and around.

I'm on vacation tonight (Vacation tonight)

I'm gonna leave you behind (You behind)

I'm on vacation tonight (Tonight)

I'm gonna lose my mind (Oh lose my mind tonight)

I'm on vacation tonight (Yeah yeah)

I'm gonna leave you behind (You behind)

I'm on vacation tonight (Tonight)

I'm gonna lose my mind

With someone new, new (With someone) (Yeah)

With someone new, new

With someone

New

And the ride ended with them landing on some conveniently placed pillows.

The kids and their uncle were all laughing so hard as they had such a great time.

"That was the best ride ever!" Gabby said.

"That was even better than the time Remix tried to pilot a ship and made us do a bunch of loops." Boba laughed.

"Can we do it again?" Gabby asked.

"I don't see why not." Carmine smiled.

So, the kids did go again. And soon other younglings saw them doing it and were curious. So, Carmine invited them to ride too. Everyone loved it so much!

Gabby and Boba went on at least eight times.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of that!" Gabby smiled.

"Me neither." Boba said. "I'll bet that amusem*nt park we asked Mom and Dad if we could go to has nothing like that."

Gabby and Boba were hungry later, so Carmine decided to take them out to lunch.

"Daddy usually takes us to Dex's Diner." Gabby said. "They have great bantha burgers."

"You haven't lived until you've tried their blue milkshakes either." Boba said. "And I should know."

"Well, let's go by all means." Carmine said. "You know, when my family and I travelled on tour, one of the best parts of it was getting to try all kinds of different cuisines across the galaxy."

Carmine walked into the diner with the kids.

"Anakin Skywalker, my old friend. You come with your children, I see." said Dex, seeing who he thought was Anakin at first. "When did you start wearing glasses?"

"Actually, my name's Carmine." said Carmine. "I'm Anakin's twin brother."

"It's true." Gabby said. "He's our uncle. Daddy is spending time with our cousin Lamenta, Uncle Carmine's daughter, today."

"Anakin never mentioned a brother."

"That's because we didn't know about each other until recently." said Carmine. "It's a long story."

Dex sent the family to get seated and a waitress droid went to take their orders. Carmine told the kids they could get anything they wanted, his treat to them.

Carmine told the kids stories about some of the amazing places he'd been to with his wife and daughter during their travels. In one place, they went to a restaurant where they ate with special utensils called chopsticks, and somewhere they also learned the art of origami.

"One of the best parts was being able to see the areas of origin of so many of the different dances I learned in school." said Carmine. "The royal family of Maamoh-Yah was very impressed by my choreography when they booked Count Crescendo to perform at Princess Yasmina's sweet sixteen party."

"I heard somewhere that Count Crescendo is on vacation now." said someone at another table. "I hope he comes back soon, 'cause I've been dying to go to a concert."

"Well, I'm sure Crescendo wants nothing more than to please his fans." said Carmine. "But you gotta remember, famous singers are people like you. They need time to rest and relax. Same goes for the people who work for them."

"Count Crescendo is always saying how he never gets tired of hearing his fans cheer." said another customer.

"Yes, he does say that." said Carmine. "But it doesn't mean he doesn't need sleep. My wife is his manager, and sometimes she still needs to remind him to rest himself."

"What's your job? For the Count."

"I'm the choreographer and composer of the music." Carmine said.

"What's that like?"

"Well... hard work... but I like what I do." Carmine said, taking a sip of his milkshake. "And I get to travel to all sorts of places."

"What's he like?" one customer asked Carmine.

"If it's not too much to ask, I'm on vacation now too. And now I'm trying to spend quality time with my nephew and niece." Carmine said. "As much as I like music and Count Crescendo tours, I need a break too."

"What are you gonna do for a living now? I hear a lot of pop stars underpay their employees."

"Well, that's not Count Crescendo. Besides, now I'm working as a dance instructor in the meantime. So, I get to work with kids, and I like kids. Especially the ones in our family."

After lunch, Carmine cast a little spell to change his and the kids' hair and clothes to make them unrecognizable. Then, he took his kids on a stroll through the city and decided to stop in the shopping district. He'd missed all of Gabby's birthdays, and Boba's first after his adoption, and all the Life Days they each had.

He could afford to spoil them like some relatives did with the children in their family. And he wanted to make sure their day together would be extra special and memorable. Carmine told the kids they could pick out anything they wanted, and the sky was the limit.

Gabby rushed to the plush toys and found two pretty mermaid plush dolls she'd been eyeing for a long time, a seahorse toy that squirted water, a yellow pegasus plushie, a dinosaur jigsaw puzzle, a dancing game, and some new coloring books.

Boba, on the other hand, picked out some starships he liked, a plush horse, a video game, a board game, a couple of puzzle games, and a jaguar plushie.

Carmine also managed to find some nice toys to surprise his daughter with. But he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"What are you looking for, Uncle Carmine?" Boba asked.

"A Galaxy Girl doll." said Carmine. "Lamenta's been wanting one forever, but I haven't been able to get her one. She really wanted Prima Lavendira."

"Oh! I've seen that one. She's really pretty." Gabby said. "I really wanted Carolina Jane, the princess of adventure. I begged for one for my last birthday, but Daddy said they were sold out everywhere. He even asked the other Jedi to help. And Uncle Eeth found one. But then he lost it."

"Well, one of these days, we're gonna get one for you, and for my little lamb too." Carmine said. "Speaking of her... I wonder how she's doing."

Carmine got out his phone and called Anakin.

"Hey, Carmine. How's your day with Boba and Gabby going?" Anakin said on the phone.

"Pretty great, actually." Carmine said. "How's Lamenta doing?"

"She's... great. Very great." Anakin said, sounding like he was trying not to sound nervous.

"Anakin...?" Carmine said, noticing the edge in his twin's voice. "What's wrong? Is Lamenta hurt or sick?"

"No! She's not either of those things. I just... don't know where she is right now."

"You lost my daughter?!" Carmine practically screamed into the phone.

"I know, you're furious." Anakin said. "I'm so sorry. We got ambushed by reporters and then we got separated and-"

"I'm coming over there! Where are you?" Carmine asked.

"At the toy store on Markins Street." Anakin answered.

"I'm not too far from there. Don't go anywhere."

And Carmine hung up. He told someone to have the kids' stuff delivered and took both their hands and began rushing them out.

"Both of you, stay close to me." Carmine said.

Carmine rushed to the toy store Anakin said he was at and began calling for Lamenta.

Boba and Gabby both worried about their cousin. Both of them had experience being separated from their parents in one way or another. Boba getting separated from Padme and Gabby in the mall, and all the times Gabby had been kidnapped during battles. No matter where they got separated from their parents, it was always terrifying.

But Carmine got so busy calling for Lamenta, he didn't notice that Boba and Gabby got too far from him as they both started looking for Lamenta too.

Boba and Gabby both called for Lamenta, but couldn't find her. And then they stopped and didn't see their uncle with them and they realized they were lost too!

Meanwhile, Carmine kept calling for Lamenta.

"Kids, if you spot Lamenta, let me know, okay?" said Carmine. "Kids?"

Carmine looked around and suddenly realized now he'd lost his niece and nephew!

"Oh no!" Carmine face palmed. "Now I have three lost kids!"

Carmine rushed to look for his niece and nephew.

Chapter 5: Family Found & Family Feud

Chapter Text

Gabby felt really worried, and Boba started to feel traumatic flashbacks come to him from when he was ten.

"We're lost!" Boba panicked. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"Calm down, Big Brother." Gabby said. "Mommy and Daddy say if we're lost, we should stay where we are so they can find us."

Boba and Gabby looked around. They didn't see their uncle or their father anywhere. Nor could they spot anyone who worked at the store or a security guard who could help them.

"I hope Lamenta's okay." Gabby said.

Lamenta was still crying as she stayed where she was. She wanted her father and her mother right now and wondered if her uncle was looking for her now.

Meanwhile, Anakin and Carmine were both at different ends of the store, looking for each other's kids.

"Gabby! Boba! Where are you?" Carmine called.

"Lamenta!" Anakin called, tired of waiting for a worker to help.

Anakin was so worried about his niece. Lamenta must have been terrified by now, he thought. But then he thought. Lamenta had a phone! So, he tried calling her on his.

Lamenta's phone began to ring, and the little girl immediately answered it.

"Uncle Anakin?" Lamenta said, still crying a bit.

"Lamenta! Where are you?"

"I don't know." Lamenta looked around. "I'm in a part of the store filled with balls and sticks of all kinds."

Anakin thought and immediately knew where he had to go.

"Stay where you are, Sweetie. I'm coming for you." Anakin told his niece, and he began rushing toward the sports section, when he bumped into someone. "Hey, watch where you're-Agh! I can't see!"

And that was because the one he bumped into was Carmine.

"My glasses!" Carmine exclaimed, looking for the glasses. "I can't see without them."

"Funny, I can't seewithyour glasses." Anakin said, taking the glasses off his face and giving them back to his brother.

"Where's my little girl?" Carmine said once his vision became clear.

Anakin was about to answer, when he noticed Carmine was alone.

"Where'smylittle girl? And my son?" said Anakin.

"Uh... they're... around."

"YOU LOST MY KIDS?!" Anakin shouted angrily, scaring people nearby frozen.

Carmine covered his ears from how loud Anakin shouted.

"You know I have sensitive ears!" Carmine said.

"Not an hour ago, you scolded me for losing one kid, and now you've lost both of mine!" Anakin said angrily. "At least I know where one of them is. Find my kids."

Anakin ran off before Carmine could ask where Lamenta was. Carmine had to find his niece and nephew now. But he wasn't sure where to look.

"Oh! Their phones!" Carmine reached into his pocket to get his phone, but found it had a pink case with a white unicorn on it. "I don't remember getting this case."

But then he realized he must've grabbed Gabby's phone by accident earlier. So, he decided he'd try calling his own phone. Unfortunately, Gabby's phone needed a passcode.

"What would a four-year-old use for her passcode?" Carmine tried to think.

He tried entering Gabby's birthday into it, but it was incorrect. Then he tried entering 123456 and then backwards. Then he realized the girl was too smart to use something so lazy as a passcode and decided he had to try another way. But then he remembered a spell his grandmother taught him to use if he ever got lost in the middle of nowhere and couldn't find a way back.

Carmine cast a spell he'd seen Gabby use when growing flowers and held them in his hands.

"Find Boba and Gabriella Skywalker." said Carmine before he blew the petals.

Like magic, the petals flew in the air and went about in the store.

Boba paced around while Gabby sat and leaned back against a giant teddy bear that sat in the aisle they were in.

"Boba, calm down. Uncle Carmine will find us." Gabby said.

"Were you not with him today?" Boba said, looking at his sister like she was crazy. "The man was too busy worrying about our cousin to notice where we were!"

"He's worried about her." Gabby said. "Mommy was as worried as he was when you got lost. I was there."

"But did Mom lose you?" Boba asked.

"Well, no. She held me the whole time. But still. Uncle Carmine only just met us, but he wouldn't abandon us. He loves us too."

Suddenly that was when a bunch of flower petals came and flew around the two kids.

"Hey, what are these?" Boba asked, swatting the petals.

"I think these petals were enchanted by-" Gabby began.

"Gabby! Boba!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

And the kids were so happy when they saw...

"Uncle Carmine!" they exclaimed together.

And the two kids ran and gave their uncle a big hug. Carmine gave them each a kiss and hugged them tightly once more.

"I was so worried about you two."

"Where's Lamenta?" Gabby asked.

"And Dad?" Boba asked.

"Your father's looking for her now." Carmine took the kids hands and said, "This time, we're all gonna hold hands."

Meanwhile...

Anakin managed to find his way to the sports section, where he spotted Lamenta clutching her sheep by a basket of soccer balls.

"Lamenta!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Uncle Anakin!" Lamenta exclaimed.

She ran right into her uncle's arms, and he picked her up in a hug and gave her a kiss, so relieved to see she was okay.

"I'm so sorry I lost you, little one." Anakin said. "Let's get home."

Lamenta hugged her uncle the whole time, and he wasn't going to put her down until they were out of the store... or until they ran into Carmine.

"You found her/them!" The twins exclaimed, when they saw they had each other's kids.

Anakin put Lamenta down and she ran to her father, and Gabby and Boba got teddy bear hugged by their father.

"Are you okay, kids?" Anakin said, caressing his kids' faces.

"We're fine, Daddy." Gabby said.

"Let's get out of here before anyone else gets lost."

But when they got back to the Temple...

"I still can't believe you lost my kids!" Anakin said angrily.

"I worried about my daughter, whoyoulost!" Carmine retorted.

"We got harassed by cameras! Flashing cameras that blinded me and scared Lamenta away."

"You could've grabbed her!"

"Well, excuse me for not having as much experience with the paparazzi."

"What are you talking about? You're always on the news, so-called Hero With No Fear."

The twins just kept arguing about who was in the wrong more with losing the kids in the store earlier that day. It got so loud anyone who walked by the same room as them slowly backed away.

But Gabby, Lamenta, and Boba couldn't believe this was happening between their dads. They'd finally gotten reunited and now they were fighting with each other. Their days switching dads had started out so great. All it took was one thing going wrong to make them both fall apart.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to go." Gabby said, shaking her head.

"They're fighting even worse than the time my mommy and daddy were arguing over whether they should have a nanny watch me." Lamenta said.

"YOW!" Carmine screamed from the other room, as Anakin just hit him in the butt with a cactus. "That's how you wanna play it?"

"Uh oh!" Lamenta got scared and covered her ears. "Cover your ears!"

And that was when Carmine hit Anakin with a Sonar Wave, which threw Anakin against the wall.

"Okay, that's it!" Gabby said.

And Gabby's eyes changed blue as she activated her water magic, and dumped a bunch of water over her father and uncle. Both of them were soaked, but at least they stopped fighting.

"Enough!" Gabby said. "Stop acting like kids!"

"This doesn't concern you, Gabriella." Anakin said.

Gabby froze at that.

"Lamenta, we're going." Carmine said, taking Lamenta's hand and leaving the room, much to the child's reluctance.

"Daddy..." Gabby began.

"Both of you, to your rooms." Anakin said, and then he left the room without another word.

This didn't look good.

"Maybe they'll have calmed down by tomorrow." Boba said.

But, the twins hadn't calmed down the next day.

At breakfast that morning, Carmine and Anakin wouldn't talk to each other. Lamenta tried to go to her uncle to say good morning, but Carmine called her over to the table on the other side of the room before she could.

Lamenta looked sadly at her cousins as she walked away to sit with her father.

"Itisonly the morning." Gabby said. "Maybe they'll talk once they've had breakfast."

But, they didn't.

Gabby tried to go to her uncle to talk to him, but...

"Gabriella!" Anakin said. "You're gonna be late for lessons."

"But I don't have lessons today, Daddy." Gabby said as Anakin pulled her away.

"You do now."

"Since when?"

"Since now! I just said that. Boba, you too."

"But I'm not a Jedi." Boba pointed out.

"Just come."

Boba couldn't believe how his father was acting. Now their fathers weren't letting them spend time with their cousins? This was not getting any better.

Anakin and Carmine were at each other's throats all day. Any time they happened to pass by each other, one of them "accidentally" hit the other twin with his shoulder, stepped on their foot, or yanked at their hair. At one point... actually right now.. Anakin swiped Carmine's glasses right off his face and threw them across the hall.

"Hey!" Carmine said. "It's gonna take me forever to find my glasses."

"Maybe yours were dirty yesterday and that's why you lost my kids."

"For someone who's gotten flashed by cameras almost as much as I have, you don't exactly have the best skills to watch just one." Carmine said, looking for his glasses. "Lamenta! Help Daddy find his glasses."

"Found them! They're not broken." Lamenta said once she picked up her father's glasses.

Later, Carmine contacted his wife to talk about something serious.

"Carmine, we are not going to move out just because you're in a fight with your brother." Caroline said. "We've fought many times, and yet we are still married."

"Well, those arguments turned out to be over something ridiculous." Carmine said. "This one was about Anakin losing our daughter."

"Did you forget you lost his kids too?" Caroline pointed out.

"Hey, whose side are you on?"

"You and Anakin need to talk to each other and sort this out. We're not moving out. And if you haven't apologized to each other by the time you come back to the apartment, Padme and I will have you both sleeping on the couch."

Carmine sighed.

Anakin had the same idea as his twin.

"Ani, you only just got your brother back." Padme said. "Is fighting with him really worth it?"

"He lost both of our kids!" Anakin said.

"You lost his only daughter." Padme pointed out. "And we both know he wouldn't lose them on purpose, just like with Lamenta."

"Well... he yelled at me first."

"Still, you two need to communicate with each other. We've fought over worse things. And unless you want to sleep on the couch when you come home, grow up."

Unfortunately, neither twin seemed to want to back down. But, their kids had ideas of their own.

That night, the kids snuck away from their fathers and decided they had to come up with a plan to get their fathers to make up.

"This has gone far enough!" Gabby whispered. "Our daddies can't make us stay away from each other just because they're upset with each other."

"But whatcanwe do?" Lamenta asked. "We're just kids. They're not gonna listen to us."

"Well, when Boba and I couldn't stop fighting once before we met you, Mommy and Daddy got us to work out our issues on our own."

"She means they locked us in a room and wouldn't let us out until we talked it out and hugged." Boba said.

"I'm not sure that's gonna work on grownups." said Lamenta. "We need to think bigger."

Lamenta thought for a bit, and then she remembered one of the fun places she'd gone to with her parents on one of their trips.

"We're gonna be up all night for this." Lamenta said. "But if it's gonna get our daddies to get along again, it'll be worth it."

Chapter 6: Escape Therapy

Chapter Text

Sometime the next day, the twins were in separate parts of the Temple, doing their own things. Carmine was practicing his keyboard in his room and Anakin was sparring with Ahsoka.

Gabby and Boba were in their positions with their comms.

"This is Butterfly and Hunter to Little Lamb, come in Little Lamb." Gabby said into her comm, using codenames they'd come up with.

"Little Lamb here." Lamenta said on the other end. "Subject C is in position. And Subject A?"

"Sparring, right on schedule." said Boba.

"Good. We ready to go?"

"On my count." Gabby said. She watched as Anakin and Ahsoka finally took a break. "One... two..."

"Great sparring today, Snips." said Anakin, setting his lightsaber down.

"Three!" Gabby said.

Boba rushed in and swiped Anakin's lightsaber.

"Hi, Dad!" Boba said, waving the lightsaber.

"Boba! You know my lightsaber isn't a toy!" Anakin scolded.

"Come and get it!"

Boba ran away with the lightsaber in hand.

"Boba, come back here!" Anakin said, running after his son.

Gabby was at the corner of the wall, waiting for Boba.

"Catch!" Boba called, throwing the lightsaber as Anakin grabbed him, and Gabby grabbed the weapon.

"Come and get it, Daddy!" Gabby taunted. "Na na!"

"Gabriella Skywalker!" Anakin said. "Give Daddy back his lightsaber."

"You'll have to catch me first!"

Gabby continued to run and run through the Temple as her father gave chase.

Meanwhile, Lamenta picked up her father's old stuffed rabbit Fluffy and taunted him with it until he began chasing her.

"Lamenta, get back here!" Carmine said, running after his daughter until they got to a certain room in the Temple.

Eventually Gabby stopped just outside the room. Anakin stopped to catch his breath, relieved to see Gabby finally stopped running.

"Okay, Gabby. The game's over. Give me my lightsaber right now." Anakin said.

"Fetch!" Gabby said, throwing the weapon into the other room.

"Gabby!" Anakin scolded.

And Anakin went into the other room, where Carmine was searching for Lamenta, as she'd turned invisible.

"Lamenta, turn visible right now!" Carmine said, when he turned around and saw Anakin. "What areyoudoing here?"

"Getting my lightsaber," said Anakin, picking up his weapon.

Suddenly, Lamenta appeared at the door they'd entered from, and she and Gabby and Boba shut the door with their fathers in the room.

"Kids, why'd you close the door?" Anakin said. He tried to open the door again, but it wouldn't open.

Anakin tried to unlock the door, but nothing happened.

"Let me try." Carmine said. He banged on the button to open the door, but nothing happened again.

Suddenly, a holo-transmission projector started beeping in the room. Anakin walked over and answered it, and up came a hologram of Gabby.

"Hello, Daddy. Uncle Carmine. If you're hearing this right now," said Gabby. "You're probably wondering why the door's locked and won't open. In a couple words: you're trapped."

That was when Lamenta stepped in.

"Daddy, Uncle Anakin... we don't like seeing you fight." she said. "And to make things worse, you aren't letting us see each other anymore. Since you, the adults, decided to take on the role of acting like kids..."

"We, the actual kids, are taking on the role of the grownups and getting this to end. Talking to each other doesn't seem like something either of you are willing to do."

"That's why," said Boba. "To end this, we've staged an escape room for you to solve. We've hidden clues in the room among all the things you see in there and installed a new lock on the door. Work together to find the key, and you'll get out."

The guys groaned.

"They are so grounded when we're out of here!" Carmine said.

Carmine tried to sing a Sonar Wave to knock the door down, but he only succeeded in vocalizing loud like a professional opera singer. He was immediately shocked and confused. Anakin tried to grow some plants, but nothing happened.

"Oh, and in case you haven't already figured it out," said Gabby. "We magic-proofed this room so you can't use magic to escape. And don't even think about trying to use your lightsaber, Daddy."

Anakin tried to activate his lightsaber, but it didn't work. And Gabby held up something in her hand.

"Boba took the kyber crystal out after he swiped the saber."

"Gabriella Rosella Amidala-Skywalker, you'd better let us out of here this instant!" Anakin said angrily.

"Sorry, Daddy." Gabby said. "But you're on your own. And you have only one hour to figure it out. If you can't get out in time, Uncle Obi-Wan said he'd have both of you suspended from Jedi training and serving in the war, and Mommy and Aunt Caroline will make both of you sleep on the couch until you stop fighting."

Anakin and Carmine looked at each other. They definitely didn't want any of that happening. Both of them face palmed.

"Alright," said Carmine. "We'll play your silly game."

"What's our first clue?" Anakin asked.

Gabby cleared her throat and recited the first clue.

"For your first clue, you must find the time. Look back where it all began, something there for the time you will find, and your next clue you shall find."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Anakin asked.

"That's what you have to figure out." Gabby said. "Your hour-long timer begins... now!"

And the holo-transmitter now had a clock counting backwards from one hour.

"Find the time, where it all began... what does that mean?" Anakin wondered out loud.

"I don't know, but I don't wanna be suspended from training or forced to sleep on the couch with you!"

"At least that we agree on. But hey, you can always go back to touring and prancing on stage like a princess."

"I don't prance, I dance!" Carmine defended.

And the clock subtracted thirty seconds. Gabby then returned to the transmission.

"Did I forget to mention that every time you argue, you lose thirty seconds of your time?" Gabby said. "Spend less time arguing, and more time working together!"

And the transmission ended there. Now the twins were on their own.

Chapter 7: Keys to Family

Chapter Text

Anakin and Carmine contemplated for a good two minutes of what the first clue meant.

"You must find the time. Look back where it all began, something there for the time you will find, and your next clue you shall find." Anakin repeated. "What does it mean?"

"Well, when I write new songs or listen to those of other artists," said Carmine. "The lyrics can have multiple meanings. We just have to put our heads together."

Anakin thought and said, "Well, we know it's the beginning of something. But what? The beginning of a song? Do you know any songs about time?"

"Yeah, but I don't see anything in here that has to do with music." Carmine said.

But then, Carmine looked on a bookshelf and saw... "Hey, look! There's an hourglass on the shelf."

Anakin looked at saw it.

"Yeah. And... an hourglass has to do with time." Anakin said.

"And it has sand in it!" Carmine said. "Think about it!"

The twins both realized what the clue meant. Where it all began, where they were born! The twins were born on Planet Tatooine, a planet covered in hot sand.

Anakin picked up the hourglass and looked at the bottom. There was a note taped to it.

"Our next clue!" Anakin exclaimed.

"What's it say?"

Anakin read the next clue.

Congratulations on finding your second clue, now here's the next thing you must do. Since you both act like you are two, search for your next clue in something you find where a pet is blue.

Carmine scratched his head.

"That doesn't make any sense." He said. "Other than at least one of us acting like we're two."

"You're the one who acts like a child all the time!" Anakin said.

And thirty seconds were subtracted from the timer.

"Oh, great. Now look what you've done." Carmine groaned.

"Enough! Let's stop and think about this. Something sounds familiar about this clue. Two years old, a pet being blue."

Anakin and Carmine contemplated what this next clue could mean.

"Could it mean a pet being sad?" Carmine wondered out loud.

"No! Blue's Clues. Gabby first watched that show when she was two! And there's a blue puppy in the show, and a puppy is a pet."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that. Lamenta loves it too." Carmine looked around. "But I don't see any paw prints anywhere, a side table, or a mailbox."

And then Anakin spotted.

"A notebook!" Anakin said, taking it off from the shelf.

And sure enough, when Anakin scrolled through the notebook, something fell out. A key with a note attached.

Carmine tried to use the key to open the door, but it didn't fit. And Anakin looked at the note.

"That's not the key we're looking for, apparently."

The third clue was...

This key is not the one you seek. To find your next clue, you need keys. All three. The first you hold is one, to find the second, a simple trick, find two hearts together as one, and that you pick.

"A simple trick, two hearts as one?" said Anakin perplexed.

"Maybe we're looking for a wedding invitation?" Carmine guessed.

"Or wedding rings?" Anakin looked at the clock. "We'd better hurry! There's only thirty-eight minutes left!"

The twins looked around the room for anything that the key could've been hidden in, but found nothing. It didn't look like they were getting out anytime soon, and they only had twenty-four minutes left!

But then, Carmine looked in a drawer he'd missed, and found a deck of cards inside.

"A deck of cards!" Carmine exclaimed. "That's it! A card trick! Two of hearts, one card!"

"Is there a key inside?" Anakin asked, rushing over to see the deck for himself.

Carmine picked up the deck of cards and realized it seemed like there was something between them. And sure enough, there was a key taped to the two of hearts card.

Not only that.

"Look, there's writing on it too!" Anakin said.

You've found the second key, now you need one more, and you'll have the last clue to open the door. Find two rulers, of each there are four. One can move one space, another wherever forevermore. Arrange them in the right order, and you will have your last key before time's last quarter.

"I think I know what this clue means." Carmine said. "It's like one of my songs!"

In chess a king can move one space at a time, but queens are free to go wherever they like.

"That's true." Anakin smiled. "And there are four kings and four queens in a deck of cards."

Anakin and Carmine split the deck of cards and found all the kings and queens.

On all eight cards, there were letters: Y, T, B, R, A, two cards with E's, and one with two D's on it.

"Okay. Now we just gotta put these letters in the right order." Anakin said.

Carmine looked at the time.

"Twelve minutes!" He panicked.

The twins had to hurry! They quickly started to arrange the cards in different orders. They knew it was a word with two D's. And then, Anakin and Carmine had the same answer. So, together, they arranged the cards and got the words: TEDDY BEAR!

And there was a big teddy bear sitting in the corner. Carmine lifted the bear off the floor, and Anakin found the last key underneath.

"The last key!"

And the second to last clue as well.

Now that you have all three keys, in the toy chest, your last clue shall be.

The twins looked at a chest and found it to have a heart-shaped lock with three holes on it. The twins unlocked the lock and found something else inside.

A book. And inside, the twins found a picture with their final clue written underneath.

Your final clue this is to set you free. But in order to receive the final key, you must look back and see what the two of you used to be.

Anakin and Carmine looked at the picture. It was the first family photo both of their families had taken together as one big, happy family.

The twins looked at it and saw how they were both smiling in it. And in the book, there were more pictures of great times they'd had since being reunited. The two of them singing karaoke together at home, Carmine teaching the kids to dance, and the twins even sharing a big hug at one point.

Anakin quickly noticed something behind Carmine's glasses.

"Carmine, are you crying?" Anakin said, not realizing tears coming to his own eyes.

"No,you'recrying!" Carmine said, wiping his eye.

There was less than two minutes left on the timer, but the twins didn't care.

"How did we end up this way?" asked Anakin.

"We argued over something we shouldn't have." Carmine said. "Anakin... I'm so sorry I yelled at you for losing Lamenta, and for losing your kids too."

"And I'm sorry for yelling at you and losing Lamenta."

"I shouldn't have blamed you for what happened. It was an accident."

"Same here. And I can understand why you were upset. You worry about your baby. Trust me, I know what that's like. I love my kids, and the rest of our family too."

"We're brothers. We shouldn't fight, and I don't think we'd be setting a good example for the kids. The last thing I'm sure either of us wants is our kids fighting each other."

"You're right. And I don't wanna fight with you anymore." Anakin reached out a hand. "Friends?"

"Friends." Carmine said, shaking his twin's hand.

And then, the twins embraced each other in a big hug.

"I love you, Carmine." Anakin said.

"I love you too, Anakin." said Carmine.

Suddenly, the timer stopped, and the door opened, revealing the children.

"Congratulations!" The kids all said together.

"You solved the escape room!" Gabby exclaimed as she and Lamenta shot a bunch of glitter and confetti in the air.

"Wait a minute," said Anakin. "So... the last key was...?"

"An apology?" said Carmine.

"Yes. But more importantly, love was the key."

"Love is the most powerful force their is." Gabby said. "It can unlock even the hardest heart if allowed the chance to ignite and grow."

Then Gabby hugged her big brother and said, "No fight is worth losing a brother or sister."

"Or cousin," said Lamenta, hugging her cousins.

"Get over here, kids." said Carmine, smiling. "Group hug!"

And the kids joined their fathers in a big group hug. It was a happy moment for all of them. The twins were friends again, the cousins could be with each other again, and they decided this time to spend time together as a family and celebrate the end of the feud with ice cream.

Chapter 8: Competing Twins

Chapter Text

Having a sibling was a different experience for everyone with them. Some siblings are close as can be, others get on each other's nerves non-stop.

Some siblings come one at a time, others come all at once. And some come in pairs.

And this pair of twins had a lot of catching up to do, which included making up twenty years of playful competition with each other.

Remix stood in place with a flag in his mouth, ready to start a race.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

And that was when Carmine and Anakin raced across the hall, running as fast as they could until they made it to the end, where the kids stood.

"Photo finish!" Lamenta exclaimed.

"I win!" Anakin said.

"No way. I got here first!" said Carmine.

"In your dreams."

"Actually," said Gabby. "It was a tie. You both got here at the same time."

"How do you run so fast?" Anakin asked.

"I dance for a living, remember?" Carmine said, lifting his leg pretty high. "Gotta have strong legs."

"Big deal. I can do that." Anakin said, lifting his own leg up, but only getting it about three quarters of the height Carmine did his, and started to have to hop on his other foot to keep his balance until... "Whoa!"

He fell down onto his back.

"Are you okay, Uncle Ani?" Lamenta said, looking at her uncle upside down.

"I'm fine." said Anakin, sitting himself up. "I've had much worse falls than this."

That was when the twins' comms beeped, summoning both of them to the Jedi Council's chamber.

The twins looked at each other.

"Race you to the chambers!" they exclaimed at the same time before zipping off.

"I suggest getting comfortable," said Obi-Wan to Peppermint. "Knowing Anakin, he's always late."

"You never know. Maybe Carmine's punctuality will rub off on him." Peppermint said.

Speak of the devils, the twins arrived in the Chamber, only for Carmine to bump right into Anakin, knocking both of them down to the floor!

"Looks like I win." Anakin breathed. "Now get off me."

"Hey, you pushed me first!" Carmine said.

"You pushed me first!" Anakin argued.

"Gentlemen, if you're quite done acting like children," said Master Luminara.

Obi-Wan sighed as the twins started to get, only to start messing with each other again and rolling around on each other. Peppermint rolled her eyes and used her magic to separate them.

Ever since Anakin and Carmine started catching up, they started competing with each other.

Last week, when they were at the penthouse...

Gabby and Lamenta were playing Dance Prance Revolution and having a lot of fun doing it, when their dads walked into the room.

"Good times." said Carmine. "Back when Caroline and I were dating, one of the best dates we went on was when we did a little one-on-one in this game.

"How many did you get beat?" Anakin smirked.

"Hey, a game score doesn't determine my dance abilities." Carmine defended. "Three times... out of four."

Anakin laughed.

"Daddy tried to beat my high score last year. Even after seven times, he couldn't do it." Gabby giggled.

"Got beat by your own daughter?" Carmine said.

"How about putting your skills to the test?" Anakin said, picking up the girls with the Force. "Step aside, girls."

And soon, the guys were playing Dance Prance Revolution against each other. Carmine won the first game. And the second game.

"You just got lucky." Anakin said.

"Hey, you're just jealous 'cause I'm a professional." Carmine said, brushing a strand of his long hair back.

They played at least twelve games, and Anakin only won three.

"Anakin, Carmine. Dinner." Caroline called.

"I think they're too busy having a dance contest, Mommy." Lamenta said.

"Does that mean we can have their dessert?" Boba asked.

Remix already started licking up Carmine's bowl of soup.

"Remix!" Caroline scolded.

"Sorry." Remix said.

Yesterday...

Anakin and Carmine saw that there was only one blueberry muffin left in the kitchen, and neither of them seemed interested in sharing it.

"I'll arm wrestle you for it!" Anakin said.

"Didn't you have a robot arm before?" Carmine pointed out.

"I used to." said Anakin. "Now I don't thanks to my daughter's magic."

"That wouldn't be fair then."

"Hey, I'm still getting to using a real right arm. This'll be good exercise for it."

"Hmm. Alright. But if I find you cheated."

"I'm known for being reckless, not a cheater."

So, on three, the twins began arm wrestling, and Anakin won by a wrist.

Today...

Later on, as the briefing with the Council ended, the twins walked to the Temple's new playground, where the kids were playing. Boba was playing on the monkey bars, Gabby was on the swing, and Lamenta was cartwheeling on the grass.

Carmine chuckled.

"There goes my little lamb being a little gymnast." He said.

"She's good alright." Anakin said. "Must get it from my side of the family."

Carmine looked at Anakin like he was crazy. "What?"

Anakin ran a short distance and did a cartwheel. "What do you think of that?"

"Uh, I think I can do that pretty well too." Carmine said, doing three cartwheels in a row. "I was captain of my high school's cheer squad."

"Well, you should've seen the high places I've survived jumping and falling from in this war."

"You think cheer isn't hard? It takes coordination, confidence, and most importantly balance."

Carmine flipped over into a handstand.

"Especially when you're gonna be standing on your head like I'm doing now." Carmine said.

Anakin scoffed and said, "Big deal. I can do that."

Anakin tried to do a handstand, but he fell on the ground onto his stomach.

"That didn't count! My hand slipped."

Anakin tried again, and this time he fell onto his butt. He tried again, fell on his rear again.

"Ow!"

"Maybe stop before you hurt yourself?" said Carmine, still upside down.

"Are you staying like that just to mock me?"

"Maybe?"

Carmine started walking everywhere on his hands for a while just to play around with Anakin.

"Daddy!" Lamenta laughed.

"I could do this all day!"

And Carmine did continue for a while, which caught a few other Jedi's attention, and made some of the kids laugh.

"I can do that too." Gabby smiled, walking on her hands beside her uncle.

"Looks like Gabby inherited more from me than either of us knew." Carmine smirked.

"Carmine, why are you walking around on your hands?" Obi-Wan asked, seeing his new Padawan being silly.

"Did you hurt your legs in ballet practice again?" Peppermint asked.

"Nope." Carmine flipped back onto his feet. "Legs are working fine. I'm healthy as a horse."

"Daddy and Uncle Carmine are competing with each other again." Gabby said, still standing on her hands. "And Daddy has trouble with his handstands."

"I donot!"Anakin pouted. "The ground was just slippery."

"Maybe try not doing so much physical competition with one other." Obi-Wan suggested. "It's all good fun until someone gets hurt."

But, the twins only continued to compete with each other. Although, taking Obi-Wan's suggestion, they switched to mental competitions, starting with a game of dejarik.

Anakin had played this game before with his wife, and even started teaching Gabby how to play. He felt sure he could beat Carmine in it. And he did win the first game. But Carmine started to beat him after the third game.

"I thought you said you hardly played this game!" Anakin said.

"I have." said Carmine. "But like you say, experience outranks everything, and in this case, we use strategy."

"That I know, but how...?"

"When you're a dancer, choreography is more than just a bunch of steps. It's strategizing every movement. The speed, the timing, the rhythm. Everything."

The next game was checkers. Six games, each won three. They tried playing a bunch of different games.

Jenga,

The tower toppled as Anakin picked out another block.

"Dang it!" Anakin cursed.

"Looks like I win." Carmine sang.

Connect 4,

Carmine had three in a row and was certain he would beat Anakin this time... until Anakin blocked him and had four in a row.

"Connected!" Anakin smirked.

"That's the third time in a row!" Carmine groaned, smacking the table, accidentally spilling the red and yellow chips all over the place.

"Oops."

Rock, Paper, Scissors,

"Once again, my rock beat your scissors." Carmine said.

Anakin growled.

"Best twenty-three out of forty-five!" He declared.

Sorry,

"Sorry, Carmine." Anakin smirked. "I win again."

Scrabble,

"And I got 'crescendo' for five hundred points."

"Stop using musical words!" Anakin whined.

Twister,

"Right arm... red." Anakin grunted.

Carmine reached a red circle easily. Then it was his turn to spin and call out a color.

"Left leg green." Carmine said, standing in a bridge position.

Being more flexible, it was no surprise that this game came off as child's play for Carmine. But, Anakin didn't think that was fair.

Anakin grunted trying to get his foot on the nearest green circle, which wasn't easy because he was practically twisted into a pretzel already. Well, about as twisted as his body would let him handle.

"Whoa!" And Anakin faceplanted onto the mat.

"Looks like I win this round." Carmine laughed, still upside down.

"Not all of us are contortionists, you know."

"I'm flexible, but notthatflexible, Anakin."

"You're practically boneless. Next game, something thatdoesn'tjust give an advantage to really flexible people."

So then came a game of Charades, which they had the kids join in for.

"Hey, wait! You have more kids than me." Carmine said. "Three against two isn't fair!"

"Okay then. Boba, you can be the referee." Anakin told his son. "There, now we each have one little girl on our teams. Is that fair?"

"Alright then." Carmine shrugged.

"Okay." said Boba. "We don't know who's the older twin, so you'll have to Rock, Paper, Scissors for it."

So, the twins did so. Anakin had rock, Carmine had scissors.

"Ha! I win!" Anakin said.

"You got lucky."

Anakin picked out a paper and thought of how he was going to act out what was on it.

He acted out that it was a title of a book and a movie with two words. And then he started acting like he was shooting an arrow.

"Robin Hood!" Gabby guessed.

"You're right!" Anakin praised.

"Point, Team Skywalker." Boba said, blowing a whistle he found to get more in the spirit of a referee.

"You know this is charades, not a football game, right?" Lamenta said.

"Yeah. But the whistle makes me feel powerful."

Carmine got up and began his turn.

"Book, movie..." Lamenta listed as her father started acting it out. "Four words."

"Sound of Music?" Lamenta guessed.

Carmine shook his head and started acting it out like he was singing.

"Uh...opera?"

Carmine nodded.

"Uh... Carmen?"

Carmine shook his head.

Lamenta started guessing the names of operas now.The Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro,evenBarber of Seville.

"How do you know the names of so many operas?" Gabby asked her cousin.

"My parents took me to a lot of different shows besides ballets on tour." Lamenta said.

And time was soon up for Carmine's act and Lamenta couldn't guess it.

"It was 'Phantom of the Opera'!" Carmine groaned.

"Oh." Lamenta looked embarrassed that she didn't think of that.

Carmine sighed. "It's okay, Lamb. Most four-year-olds don't tend to read that one. At least to my knowledge."

"Looks like I'm winning." Anakin said.

"Not for long, Bro." Carmine said. "Just you wait, I'll wipe the floor with you soon enough."

So, the twins made their daughters keep playing Charades, and it went on for what must have been two hours.

"Dad, I'm hungry." Boba said. "Can we stopplease?"

"In a moment, Boba." Anakin said. "We're currently tied at fifty-four points."

The kids groaned.

It was Gabby's turn to act something out. She knew exactly what she was going to do.

She started acting out yawning, then rubbing her stomach and pointing to her mouth.

"Is this supposed to be a book or a movie?" Anakin asked.

Gabby face palmed. Then she acted out collapsing. Anakin still didn't seem to get it. Lamenta went next. She did all the same things Gabby did, and Carmine didn't get it either. Then, the twins started arguing about who was winning

"Daddy!" Gabby and Lamenta said at the same time.

"What?" their fathers said.

"We're tired." Lamenta said. "We're hungry."

"We don't wanna play anymore!" Gabby said. "It's not fun anymore. You've been at this all day today and all week!"

"The girls are right, you know." said Boba. "You just keep looking for excuses to compete with each other, and now I've been babysitting more than normal, which isn't as easy as you think. Even if I were allowed to use the stove and oven, I don't know how to use most of the appliances here."

The twins looked at each other and started to realize the kids were right. They'd spent so much time competing with each other, they forgot to do a lot of things and didn't even notice certain things like a bandage on Lamenta's elbow from when she fell and scraped it, or the fact that Gabby's bow wasn't put on correctly this morning until Boba fixed it for her (part of being a good brother for this girl was knowing how to tie her ribbon). They left Boba to take care of the girls. And last time they checked, Boba wasn't either of their dads; he was still too young to even have a baby of his own. Knowing their girls, and judging by how messy Boba looked earlier, it was a lot of work having to be a twelve-year-old dad.

And, Gabby started to look like she was getting hangry. The last time that happened, she like Godzilla in a little girl's body.

"I'm sorry, kids." said Anakin, giving his daughter a ration stick he had in his pocket.

Gabby normally didn't like that the rations were practically flavorless, but she was too hungry to care.

"I'm sorry too." Carmine said.

"I guess we got so caught up in making up for lost time in our own childhoods we didn't realize we were making yours harder."

Lamenta's stomach growled at that moment, motivating Carmine to look at the time.

"Wow, wereallylost track of time." He said. "The kids should've gotten dinner half an hour ago!"

"Yeah, and I'm not sure how long one ration stick is going to keep Gabby from getting to maximum hangry." Anakin chuckled.

So, the twins finally agreed to just call it a draw and get something to eat because the kids were not the only ones who were starving.

"Last one to the mess has to clear the table!" Anakin exclaimed, running down the hall.

"I thought we called a draw!" Carmine said.

"Last contest! I promise!"

The kids laughed and started to join in on the race.

"Wait for us!" Lamenta called, running down the hall with her cousins.

Chapter 9: 1st Birthday Coming Soon

Chapter Text

If there was any time of the year lots of people loved, it was that time of the year dedicated to them, the day that celebrated the very day they came into the world. A birthday!

And not just any birthday was coming up at this time. It was a Jedi birthday.

Under the Old Code, the Jedi did not celebrate birthdays like ordinary citizens did with balloons, cake, and noise makers. But now that they made changes, they decided they would celebrate in any way they could put together for those who wanted to celebrate their special day in a special way. Some liked to have parties, others liked to have a simple picnic with their friends. Some liked to have a special birthday dinner, others just liked to have a day to relax and do nothing.

But with this birthday, it wasn't just for one person. It was actually for two people. Twins.

And those twins were none other than the Skywalker-Jinn twins Anakin and Carmine.

It'd been only a few months since Carmine and Anakin found each other again, and they had so much catching up to do with each other and their kids. They'd missed each other's childhoods and their teenage years. And, they'd missed twenty birthdays together. But in three days, they twins would be turning twenty-one. Their wives and the kids already had great plans to put together a special dinner for the two of them, it being their first birthday they would celebrate together.

But while the twins were excited to celebrate their birthday together, there was one thing on both their minds that was identical.

What would they get each other as a present?

For the longest time, each of the twins had separate birthdays and celebrated in different ways.

When Carmine was a boy, he lived with his grandmother Miranda Jinn, Qui-Gon's mother. Even though she had magical powers, Miranda worked for the things she had, which was not a lot. In part, she did so because she had to hide that she was a princess so those who sought to rid the galaxy of Solaris would be unable to find her or her grandchildren or any future great grandchildren she might have.

Despite having little, Miranda was able to provide Carmine with the necessities. But she always managed to save just enough to get Carmine a nice little cake every year for his birthday, as well as a special present, which was most often a garment she made by hand. And his favorite present was always whenever his father came to visit him and spend the day with him. It was the one day a year Carmine had with Qui-Gon, so he tended to spend all year making a list of things he wanted to do with his father on his next birthday. Playing games, singing songs, learning lightsaber stances, dancing. All the fun stuff. And Qui-Gon always had a special surprise for his son. And Qui-Gon inherited his mother's creativity, which was how he was able to give Carmine a special gift of his music box that played their lullaby so Qui-Gon could sing his son to sleep every night, even when he wasn't there.

The last gift Carmine had from his father alone was the locket he wore around his neck, which held a photo of the second-to-last time he'd spent with both his father and grandmother, and later a second photo was added of Carmine's wife and daughter to serve as a reminder of keeping his heart close to where he came from, as the true last present he'd ever received from his father was his prized guitar.

Qui-Gon had planned to give that guitar to Carmine for his tenth birthday, but he died before he could finish building it. Luckily, Miranda found it when she snuck into the Temple to search for his belongings, and she finished it for him and gave it to Carmine on her son's behalf for Carmine's thirteenth birthday. Sadly, that would be the last birthday he would have with Miranda.

His fourteenth birthday, he'd been an orphan working as a cleaning assistant at Melody Prep Academy. But he soon got adopted by a kind ballet teacher named Susy Lamura who loved him as her own and gave him a new home. And like his grandmother, Susy knew just the right gift to give him for his birthdays. Caroline and her friends even put together a surprise party for Carmine's sixteenth birthday.

And even after he became the famous pop star Count Crescendo, Carmine never forgot his family or how much they meant to him.

Anakin, on the other hand, had even less than Carmine did where birthdays were concerned.

To put it simply, let's just say when you are a slave, birthdays tend to be pretty much non-existent. So, Anakin never even tried cake when he was a child. He'd never seen balloons, confetti, or party games. So, you can imagine he had a blast when he finally got to see and break open a pinata when he got older and off Tatooine. And play Musical Chairs.

The one birthday gift Anakin had was a bracelet his mother made by braiding together some wires and rope. It might not look like much to those who grew up getting all kinds of expensive toys, jewelry, bags, or even a puppy for their birthday, but to Anakin, it was very precious because his mother made do with what she could find, and most importantly, that gift came from her heart. She adored her baby boy and wished she could give him more than they had, but Anakin was smart enough to know that he didn't need a ton of stuff. He had his mother and her love and that made him happier than any material object he could ever ask for.

Material objects couldn't tuck him in or kiss him goodnight. Even if you programmed a robot teddy bear to cuddle you with extra warm hugs, those hugs would never be as meaningful as the hugs of a living, breathing, loving mother. Machines and man-made objects could make various tasks easier, but the love of a living parent that Mother Nature intended for all babies to have was one thing technology would never be able to replace, no matter how advanced it was.

But even after Anakin was brought to the Temple, he still didn't have much for his birthdays, as back then Jedi did not do anything for birthdays except for a Jedi's thirteenth birthday, when they went through a special ritual, which did not involve anything party related.

Now, Anakin had two beautiful children of his own who he could love and spoil on their birthdays. One of them, he'd adopted, and he was not much older than Anakin was when he was taken into a new home, and the other was a biological daughter Anakin intended to give the father he never had. For both of his children, Anakin intended to give everything he never had as a child. Toys, a stylish wardrobe, proper education, opportunities to play with other kids, and most importantly, freedom.

And now that Anakin knew he wasn't an only child, he would be sharing his birthday with his long lost now found twin brother.

Despite having the same face, Carmine and Anakin had totally different personalities.

Carmine was obsessed with all things music. He didn't just do it for a living. It was his favorite hobby too. If he wasn't singing on stage for a concert as Count Crescendo, he was dancing or playing one of many instruments he knew, his favorites being the piano and his guitar.

Anakin, he was more into mechanical engineering and anything to do with piloting. When he was a kid, he was also the only human who could race pods, which he used to do a lot on Tatooine as part of his work for Watto, who like many crime bosses and slave owners on the desert planets loved to place bets on racers.

What would be the perfect gift that each of them could give?

Chapter 10: Gift Searching Part 1

Chapter Text

Anakin looked online for any potential gifts he could get for Carmine.

"This is ridiculous!" Anakin groaned. "What do gift a guy who has everything handed right to him whenever he wants?"

Under the guise of Count Crescendo, people treated him like a god. Anakin never asked Carmine about his net worth, and he didn't have to. The holo-net already told him that his brother was literally a multibillionaire. That had to be a new record!

Carmine had a real rags to riches story that none of the tabloids knew about, and he preferred it that way.

Most would imagine that a big star like Count Crescendo would be like any other celebrity and go around spending his money on designer clothes or expensive dates with hot models and stuff.

But despite being fabulously wealthy, Carmine held on to his humble and playful attitude that he'd had since he was a little boy. And he used his fortune a little differently than some might've guessed. When he got famous, the first thing he did was get a new family vehicle for him and his wife to be able to take Lamenta around. And after he started going on tours and selling out enormous stadiums across the galaxy, he used the extra money to travel with his wife and daughter.

They'd gone to so many great places that were not only fun, but also educational for Lamenta as well as her parents. All the times they weren't working, they were attending shows at the theatre, going to the carnival, visiting monuments and museums, and enjoying some luxuries at some of the fine hotels they stayed at from pools to arcades, spas, and great buffets with lots of great new foods to try from all over the galaxy. And when they weren't vacationing or working on shows, Carmine and Caroline were doing their most important job of all: being Lamenta's parents.

And whatever money he didn't use for family vacations or the bare necessities, he donated to and created non-profit organizations that helped improve orphanages, hospitals, schools, and helped save endangered species and feed the homeless.

Anakin couldn't begin to describe how happy he was knowing his brother inherited their mother's desire to help other people. He wanted to be able to do the same, except he didn't have nearly as much money as his twin. Most of what money his family had was from his wife Padme. And though Padme was happy to provide for her family, Anakin was less than willing to ask her to loan him anything.

Nevertheless, he was determined to get Carmine the best birthday gift ever. But...

What kind of present do you get for a multi-billionaire pop star who can buy himself literally anything he wants, or have it handed to him just by asking for it?

Carmine, on the other hand thought... What would be the perfect present for a brave hero whose been treated like royalty before he even knew he was royalty?

For Carmine, money was definitely no object, especially when it came to getting a perfect present for his loved ones. But this was one gifting situation he was definitely struggling with for an entirely different reason than most might experience.

It wasn't the cost of the present that concerned him. Above all else, it was what he would give Anakin that he could use. Something that would be a memorable gift for him.

This was their first birthday together, and Carmine wanted to give his twin something extra special. He didn't want to just give him a gift card, gift certificate or cash.

While giving someone something to let them pick their own present was nice, giving someone money instead of an actual item could mean three things:

One, you thought they'd like to pick out their gift or set the money aside for something they wanted to buy.

Two, you don't know the person well enough to even pick out an item that fits their interests and keep a gift receipt just in case.

Or three, you didn't want to take the time to actually look for something.

And Carmine didn't want Anakin to think either if those last two things about him.

He might not have known his brother for that long, but he already loved him so much and felt like he knew him his whole life, and he wanted to make sure he knew that.

"Daddy and Uncle Carmine are gonna love this!" Gabby said as she glued a glittering paper star to a page in a book.

Gabby and the other kids were all contributing to the twins' birthday celebration.

Padme and Caroline searched and found recipes for dishes the twins both liked, Boba drew a couple of birthday cards, and Gabby and Lamenta were working together on a scrapbook of all the fun things and great memories they'd made since the twins found each other again.

"The twins are both so lucky to have three children who care so much." Caroline chuckled.

"Yes. And we're all very fortunate to have them in our lives." Padme said. "And since the Jedi code was changed, Ani and I don't have to be secretive of celebrations anymore, or anything else."

"Sounds like you must've had a romantic story." Caroline said. "Tales of forbidden love are usually the most romantic."

"You should see the challenge it is when you're the one living it."

"Oh, you should've seen when Carmine met my parents for the first time."

Caroline thought back to the day she'd first introduced her then boyfriend Carmine to her parents, and how her father, Nicholas Mitchell, gave the poor boy such a hard time. Carmine wanted to run off and go home, but then it was revealed that he'd had magic, and that his father was the late Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

So, in other words, the twins' first birthday together was going to be a big deal for the entire family.

Anakin stood in his room at the penthouse with his droid companion R2-D2 and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

In order to figure out the best gift for Carmine, Anakin knew he couldn't do it alone. So, he told Carmine he and Ahsoka had to help Padme with some errands, but he was actually using it as a cover, and Ahsoka was his assistant.

"For someone who acts so tough," smiled Ahsoka. "This is actually very sweet what you're doing."

Anakin didn't show it, but he was slightly embarrassed. He didn't mind doing nice things for people, but he didn't want his Padawan to take him less seriously because he had a soft spot for his family.

"Okay, R2." Anakin said. "What do we know so far?"

R2 beeped and projected a list of data they had about Carmine's likes and dislikes, and all potential clues of what Anakin could give him for their birthday.

They already knew Carmine loved music more than anything else. Well, except for his girls. He loved to sing and dance and make music on all kinds of instruments. He also liked to dress up in bright colors, jackets being his favorite accessory. But, he never wore anything that was made with real leather or fur out of compassion for animals. Carmine didn't even like a lot of meat, as it turned out, and he hated bacon most of all.

"Hmm. And I thought Obi-Wan was picky sometimes." said Anakin, shaking his head.

"You're pretty picky too." Ahsoka shook her head.

Anakin did a little more looking at the list, but decided he needed to look into another source for Carmine's interest.

In the living room...

Caroline was putting the finishing touches on a record player she was fixing up. Carmine was spending the day at the Temple

"Caroline, I was wondering if- what is that?" said Anakin.

"A record player for Carmine." Caroline said, using a magnifying glass.

"That's the first one I've ever seen in person." said Ahsoka. "Need any help with it?"

"They're really hard to find these days, especially in good condition. And yes. Pass me those tweezers, would you please?"

Ahsoka gave Caroline the tweezers she asked for, and she used them to adjust some wires.

"Where'd you find this thing, anyway?" Ahsoka asked.

Caroline explained to her brother-in-law and his Padawan that back in her days at music school, she took classes on musical history, which included lessons on how music was first recorded in their world and played on the first types of disks, one of which was the big black circles known as vinyl. And when Carmine was younger, he'd wished he could have one of his own in memory of his grandmother Miranda.

According to Carmine, his grandmother had one special thing left of her late husband, and that was a beautiful record player they would play music on and dance to sometimes. Sadly, when Carmine was put in foster care, a lot of his grandmother's stuff got lost. And one of his worse foster families took his grandmother's record player to sell for a fortune. Carmine tried to stop them, but they only ended up damaging the record player in the process, and the abusive foster parents smacked the poor boy with a belt like a slave being whipped. It devastated Carmine to have lost something of his beloved grandmother.

Anakin still felt shocked the more he learned of all the terrible things his twin had been through growing up. He might not have had a transmitter inside his body that could blow him up, but he was still a slave in many ways. A slave to bullying in grade school, a slave to his grief after losing his father Qui-Gon Jinn, and then a slave to abusive foster families who saw him as an ATM machine. The main difference was that Carmine was able to run away from his last one and find a loving home in a teacher at the school that taught him everything he knew about music and helped him meet his future wife.

"It took me weeks, but I happened to stumble upon this once broken record player in an antique shop, which I got a great deal on. And now, I'm fixing it up for Carmine."

"I didn't know you knew how to fix things." Ahsoka said.

"There's more to me than being a ballerina." Caroline said. "And assembling things like this was another class we had to take. You never know when you may need to repair an instrument and you can't get to a music store or a repairman as soon as needed."

"That is a good point." said Anakin. And then he got an idea. "Do you have any records to go with it?"

"Not yet. I do know one he'd really like though." Caroline said. "Carmine told me one of his favorite records from when he was a child was titledThe Four Seasons. The only problem is I haven't been able to find one."

(The Four Seasons is a real classical piece by Antonio Vivaldi. Pleasing to the ear too)

"Then I'll find one for him." Anakin said. "It can be a gift from both of us, restoring old memories."

"I guess that could be nice." Caroline said.

"Where exactly do you plan to find a century old record, Sky Guy?" Ahsoka asked.

A few minutes later...

"There are a lot of shopping sites online." said Anakin, typing into the computer. "There's gotta be a record somewhere."

So, Anakin checked all different sites he could think of. Galaxy-Bay, Spacebook shopping, Insta-Star Cart, and Storeco. None of them seemed to have the record he was looking for. And then Ahsoka took over and did a Wahoo search for 'The Four Seasons vinyl record for sale'. And then she managed to find one on a music shopping site called Key-Bay.

"Like you say, Master. Experience outranks everything." Ahsoka said. "And in my experience, a more direct approach is usually the best way to go."

"Thanks." Anakin said, looking at the price of the item. "Oh! What do you know? It's actually reasonably priced."

So, Anakin clicked the link to add it to his cart and then put in the correct payment information, and confirmed the order.

"Well, that was easy." said Anakin, leaning back into his chair confidently.

"Because you had my help." Ahsoka pointed out.

"Don't worry, Snips. I'll let you write something on the card too."

Chapter 11: Gift Searching Part 2

Chapter Text

Carmine might have had more credits than he would ever need to count, maybe even enough for him to retire right now if he wanted, but that didn't mean he was going to spend it on just any random thing. Anakin's birthday gift had to be something really special. Something he would remember forever.

This was their first birthday together, and they'd missed so many. Carmine thought, should he get Anakin twenty presents, one for each birthday they missed? Or would that be too much? Carmine thought about it again and thought, Anakin might feel bad only getting Carmine one gift while he got him a bunch.

"This is gonna be harder than I thought." Carmine told himself.

Carmine already knew Anakin like mechanical stuff, and he enjoyed competition that involved strategy, strength, and martial arts. But, he also loved his family very much. And, Anakin loved chocolate. He also knew Anakin liked racing pods, piloting ships, and putting things together.

So, Carmine came up with a lot of ideas.

Maybe he could get Anakin a jigsaw puzzle. But, he wouldn't know what number of pieces he should get the puzzle or what it should be a picture of. Then, Carmine thought maybe he could get Anakin a new droid. But, he already had plenty of those at home and in the Temple.

"Oh! He did like that new speeder that was released." said Carmine.

But, that sounded like it would be too much. Plus, given Anakin's reputation for crashing ships, he'd probably damage it within a week, and as much as Carmine loved his brother, he wasn't going to waste money on something he knew probably wouldn't last in his grasp, especially once he learned Gabby and Boba wouldn't even let Anakin near their toy starships out of fear that he might break them.

What else could he give him?

Carmine decided he needed to ask for help from someone who knew Anakin longer than anyone else.

"So, you're having trouble finding a gift for Anakin?" said Obi-Wan.

"Yes, Master. And you've known him longer than I have, and I've learned a little of his likes from Padme, Gabby, Boba, and even Ahsoka. But, you've spent more time with him than any of us. I thought you might have an idea of what Anakin might like as a gift."

Obi-Wan thought about all the time he'd spent with Anakin. He knew pretty much as much as Carmine did, as Anakin was not quite as open with his emotions around Obi-Wan as he was now. Under the old Jedi Code, Anakin had to basically bottle up everything he felt, and then shout it out into a pillow or unleash the energy in a lightsaber sparring match. But, Obi-Wan did have one idea for Carmine.

"If there is one thing about Anakin that has never changed, it's his love for working with mechanical things, and being rather specific about what tool he uses for the job. But the only thing he loves more than droids is his family. And that includes you."

And Carmine felt the same way about Anakin. They loved each other the way brothers and sisters should. So, Carmine wanted to give Anakin the perfect gift. And then, Carmine had a great idea for a great gift for Anakin. He remembered the other day he'd gone to the mall with his daughter and niece, and he noticed a mechanics shop that sold this new set of wrenches that worked for just about every kind of mechanical project you could imagine, and it was a must-have for mechanical engineers, lovers of tools, and people who wanted to give their droids five-star maintenance.

So, Carmine rushed out to the nearest store so he could find those tools for his twin's birthday gift.

Chapter 12: Gift Searching Part 3

Chapter Text

"What do you mean the delivery has been delayed?!" Anakin said angrily over the phone. "I paid for priority shipping, and they said it was supposed to arrive today!"

Anakin thought he couldn't be any more stressed than he was now. His birthday was tomorrow, and he'd just received word that the record he'd ordered for Carmine wasn't going to arrive for another month, which would be way too late for it to arrive. While he was on hold with the delivery service, he was on the computer, checking the stock for every music store in town so he could possibly buy another record and go pick it up.

"Listen, I don't want a refund, I want my package. It's really important because that package is my twin's birthday present, and our birthday is tomorrow!" Anakin said. "Don't 'Happy Birthday' me, I'm far from satisfied and- Hello?"

Anakin groaned in frustration.

"They hung up on me!"

R2 beeped at Anakin and made a suggestion.

"Don't you think I would just get another if I could, R2?" said Anakin. "I already checked every music store I could find. That record is a special-order item, and it wouldn't get here in time even if I'd ordered it a week ago."

Anakin sighed. What was he going to give Carmine now? He knew Carmine would've loved that record to go with the record player Caroline was fixing for him, and it would've been such a special gift to make their first birthday together the most memorable ever. And now the perfect gift was out of reach.

"I just wanted to give Carmine something special."

R2 beeped something else to Anakin, something along the lines of just telling Carmine the truth.

Anakin sighed again, "I guess that's all I can do at this point." He looked at the time. "I gotta get back to the Temple anyway."

So, Anakin and his astromech droid got into their speeder, and headed on their way.

Meanwhile, Carmine was at yet another shop for the Five Star Wrench kit for his brother.

"I'm sorry, Sir. It looks like we've sold out of that." said the shopkeeper. "If you'd like, we can place an order for you, and it would be delivered within about a fortnight."

"That's too late. I need a gift by tomorrow." Carmine sighed. "Thanks anyway."

And Carmine walked out with a groan. He didn't know what to do. Every shop he tried, they were sold out of the item he'd wanted to get for Anakin. He'd tried stores down the street, in the mall, in the mechanics' district of town, and even searched for one on the holo-net. They were out of stock everywhere! It seemed that tool kit was about as popular as a new Count Crescendo CD.

"It's times like these I wish Count Crescendo had more products besides clothes, posters, bracelets, and water bottles." Carmine said. "Then it'd be so much easier to get one firsthand. Maybe I should make that suggestion one of these days."

Carmine knew his twin didn't need any of that stuff he sold as a big pop star for a gift. That was something he got for free all the time, and it just wouldn't feel like he'd put any effort into the gift. And as he sat down on a bench while he waited for a transport to arrive, he asked himself...

"What am I gonna get Anakin?"

As the taxi drove Carmine through town, they passed by a bunch of different stores and had one idea. Maybe Anakin would like a new pair of boots. And, they did have the same foot size, that being proven when they accidentally put on each other's shoes while rushing to get dressed one day. So, Carmine asked the taxi driver to stop there.

"Here we are, Sir." said the driver.

"Thank you." Carmine said, paying the driver. "Keep the change."

And Carmine rushed into a shoe store and checked out all the different boots they had. Except, they didn't have anything Anakin would like in the right size. So, Carmine looked in a thrift store he passed by. He used to shop in places like that all the time with his grandmother, and he often found all kinds of great stuff people just threw away. As the saying goes, 'one man's trash is another man's treasure.'

But Carmine couldn't find anything good there either. Everything was either the wrong color, the wrong size, or was too ripped up. He did find a nice dress for Lamenta, though, and a beautiful jacket he knew Caroline would love. But still, nothing for Anakin.

After a while, Carmine decided to call for another ride, but as he was on the phone with the cab service, he caught sight of his reflection in the window of a jewelry store. Carmine sighed. Despite his glasses, he could see the face of his brother. And the look of disappointment on his face now was likely a close match to how Anakin's would look once he found out his twin brother couldn't get him a present for their birthday.

But then, Carmine also caught sight of his locket, and he looked inside it to see the two pictures of four of the most important people in his life. And then, Carmine rushed into the jewelry store with a great idea.

A few moments later...

"It is one of our finest pieces," said the shopkeeper.

Carmine placed a bunch of credits right on the counter.

"Would you like this gift wrapped?"

"Very much so. Thank you." Carmine said.

Anakin sighed as he walked into the Temple and came across Carmine's quarters, where the man of the hour was sitting on his bed, playing a happy song on his guitar.

Anakin recognized that guitar from some old photos Carmine had shown him from music school. Carmine said that Qui-Gon had been working on that guitar as a gift for him for his tenth birthday before he died, and that their grandmother Miranda spent two years learning to work and sculpt wood so she could finish it for him and gifted it to her youngest grandson for his thirteenth birthday just before her own passing.

That guitar was perhaps Carmine's most prized possession. It was the guitar he always played whether he was writing a new song or just felt like doing it for fun. And every song Carmine had written with that guitar became a number one hit. But, it was also the only instrument he never used on stage as Count Crescendo, as it was a unique, one-of-a-kind, custom-made instrument.

Carmine had made so many great memories with that guitar. Serenading the love of his life, writing his first hit song, and being able to express himself through the most beautiful music he'd ever known.

At the moment, Carmine seemed so happy, and Anakin was hesitant to break the news to him that he couldn't get him a present for their birthday tomorrow. It would arrive a month later, but it wouldn't feel as special if Carmine gave him a gift tomorrow and he had nothing to give him. Still, he would probably feel even worse if Anakin didn't tell him right now. Even if they waited a month to give each other gifts, Anakin would've been fine with it.

"Hey, Carmine." said Anakin.

"Oh! Anakin." said Carmine, stopping his music. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to you. It's about our birthday."

Carmine got up, only for the strap on his guitar to break as he did. Luckily, his guitar was fine.

"Dang it! That's the third time!" Carmine groaned.

"What's wrong with your guitar strap?" Anakin asked curiously, in part to stall and work up the nerve to speak.

"They've been breaking a lot lately. And I know, I've got enough credits to buy a million of them, but don't think just because I'm rich means I waste what I have and go on willy nilly shopping sprees. Expensive doesn't necessarily mean better."

"You got experience to prove that theory?"

"Grandma and I used to go to thrift stores often. It's where we got most of the materials for outfits, and most of my back-to-school clothes when I was a kid. Well, whenwewere kids, you and me. You know what I mean. You wouldn't believe all the perfectly good things people throw away like garbage. And then you can buy them for ten credits or less instead of three hundred. Besides, good straps are hard to come by. It has to be firm so it doesn't break, but also flexible enough to be worn over the body so I can hold my guitar and play it."

Anakin looked at his twin's guitar, and suddenly, he had an idea for a great gift for Carmine!

"So... what did you need to tell me?" Carmine asked.

Anakin froze for a moment, but then he smiled and said, "Just that I'm really excited about celebrating with you tomorrow. I know we've only known each other a few months, but we've already grown so close, like brothers should. I love you, Carmine."

"I love you too, Anakin."

Anakin hugged Carmine and then left to do something really important.

"You're sure this material is strong enough?" Anakin asked Carousella.

Ever since Carousella came around, safety was taken a lot more seriously around the Temple, which was good given how protective Carmine and Caroline were over their daughter. And the first one Carousella did was ground the ships until they had seatbelts installed. If they had little kids in those ships, they needed to be strapped in.

"Positive. It's survived light speed and even when you've crashed ships." Carousella said. "It can stand up to anything."

So, Anakin picked up a book on embroidery, a needle, and some thread.

"I hope I inherited some of my grandmother's sewing skills." said Anakin.

Chapter 13: The Best Birthday Gift

Chapter Text

"The twins are going to love it." Padme smiled, seeing the cake the kids were decorating.

It was a simple vanilla cake, and the kids were decorating it. Boba put chocolate frosting, Anakin's favorite on the cake, and the little girls decorated it with blue frosting flowers and rainbow sprinkles, two things each of the twins loved.

"You should've seen my daddy's birthday last year." Lamenta said. "We went to an ice cream place, and we had this literally giant sundae that was bigger than me!"

"I'm getting a stomachache just thinking about it." Boba said.

"Boba and I worked together to give Daddy a great gift last year." Gabby said. "And this year is even better now that the twins are together at last. I always wondered what it'd be like to have a twin. Hmm... I wonder if I-"

"You don't have a long-lost twin, Gabby." Padme said. "You were our first and only baby the day you were born. And eventually we got another baby."

"Mom!" Boba whined as Padme ruffled his hair.

Remix mixed up a nice salad for the dinner, Carousella reminding him to leave the hay out of it.

"We don't want a repeat of when you helped make dinner last month." Carousella said.

"Yuck!" Boba said, rememberingthat incident. "I still can't believe you eat that stuff."

"Tastes pretty good to me." Remix said, munching on some hay and then burping.

"Remix!" Caroline scolded.

"'Scuse me."

Meanwhile, Anakin just finished tying the bow on a small rectangular box containing Carmine's birthday present. He'd barely slept the night before because he'd been up almost all night making sure it would be perfect.

"I hope this was all worth it."

In another room down the hall...

Carmine tied a sparkly bow on a small square box containing Anakin's present, and hoped it would be worth the time and effort put into it.

"I hope Anakin likes it."

Dinner was set, and the whole family was gathered at the table in celebration of the twins and finally getting to celebrate their birthday together.

Everything looked amazing. Both of the twins' favorite foods were served, and everything was delicious too.

Carmine and Anakin shared some stories about what their past birthdays were like.

"My sixth birthday, Dad got me my first journal so I could practice writing, and eventually I wrote the lyrics to a lot of my best songs."

"Only good thing I remember on my sixth birthday was seeing Watto get his head stuck in a bucket and then crash into the wall trying to get it off." Anakin said.

Everyone laughed.

"How did that even happen?" Carmine laughed.

"I still haven't guess." Anakin laughed. "But it was funny."

The twins soon got to blow out their candles together, but before they cut the cake, Padme proposed a toast to the twins.

"Even though today is the twins' birthday, I think it's safe to say we've all gotten a great present this year. The fact that Anakin and Carmine are together again after twenty years apart and not knowing each other's existence until earlier this year has led to both our families growing together and becoming one again. Ani, you've always been a wonderful man. From the day we met, you never stopped being that sweet little boy I met on Tatooine. And now, you are a wonderful husband and father, and I hope Carmine feels as lucky to have you as his brother as I am to have you as my husband. And Carmine, you and your family have been a wonderful blessing since you've come around. Even though we've only known each other for a few months, I believe we can all agree that we couldn't be happier to have you all in our lives."

"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" Gabby said. "Happy Birthday, Uncle Carmine."

"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" Lamenta said. "Happy Birthday, Uncle Anakin."

The girls gave each of the twins a kiss, and the twins couldn't help feeling touched and so loved today. Anakin and Carmine looked at each other and smiled. They shared the same face, but they also shared the same love and care for each other too, and now they were finally sharing their birthday. But, neither of them knew that they also had identical emotions about giving each other presents. And soon, it was time for them to open their gifts.

Everyone else got them great gifts, and the kids even drew them beautiful cards.

Anakin and Carmine each pulled out their gifts for each other and presented them to each other. Both of them looked nervous as they gave each other their gifts, but there was no turning back now. And... since they didn't know which one of them was the older twin, they decided to open their gifts at the same time.

Anakin and Carmine each held onto part of the ribbons on their gifts and counted one... two... three!

Together, the twins pulled the ribbons off and opened their gifts, finding a different gift in each of their boxes.

Carmine opened his and found an orange strap with the initials C.A.J. (Carmine Amadeus Jinn) monogramed on it. It was made out of a material that was flexible, but at the same time very strong and sturdy. Carmine recognized the material from riding some of the star cruisers and realized it was the same kind used on the safety belts.

"You made this for me?" Carmine said, feeling touched.

"I remembered how you said your guitar strap wouldn't stop breaking." Anakin said. "And then I remembered I'd seen this material survive some of the worst crashes. If this strap doesn't stay on your guitar, I don't know what will."

Carmine got his guitar and attached the strap to it and tried it out. Sure enough, it was extra sturdy, but also surprisingly comfortable. Plus, with his initials monogramed on the strap, it really helped to identify that the guitar was Carmine's.

"It's perfect." Carmine smiled. He placed his guitar down then hugged Anakin. "Thank you, Anakin."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Now let's see your gift."

And so, Anakin did continue to open his present. Inside, he found a small velvet box, in which he found... a gold locket like the one Carmine had. Except, this one had Anakin's initials engraved on the back of it.

"It's just like your locket." Anakin said.

"Look inside it. There's a picture." Carmine smiled.

And sure enough, there was a picture inside the locket. The first family photo the Skywalker-Jinn family took together.

Anakin felt happy tears coming as he looked at the picture. In the beginning, he'd only had his mother. And when he was made part of the Jedi Order, he fully expected to never have a family of his own again. But now, he had the perfect family for him.

He had a perfect wife, two beautiful children, and now he had his long-lost brother, a great sister-in-law, and an adorable niece. Anakin felt so blessed to have all of them in his life, and this picture in the locket served as a reminder that they were always in his heart.

"When Dad gave me my locket," said Carmine. "he said it would be a way of always keeping him and Grandma close to my heart. Now you have one to always keep the whole family close to yours."

Anakin put on the locket, then he hugged Carmine and said, "The real best gift of all is having my brother back in my life. I love you, Carmine. Happy Birthday."

"I love you too, Anakin." Carmine smiled, returning the hug. "Happy Birthday."

"Group hug!" Lamenta called, hugging her father and uncle, the others joining in.

It was such a perfect moment. A family all together to celebrate a birthday, twins reunited after two decades apart, and the twins managed to give each other great presents. But, they came to realize that it wasn't the presents wrapped in a perfect bow that made a perfect gift. The true greatest gift they got was each other, their family, being together and loving each other unconditionally. There's no denying it; there is no greater gift than the people we love, the gift that can never be bought or replaced by even the most precious jewels in the universe.

Chapter 14: Remembering Miranda

Chapter Text

Carmine exited from the training facilities of the Jedi Temple, where he passed by his twin Anakin, not even bothering to say hello to him.

"Carmine? Where are you going?" Anakin asked. But Carmine didn't answer.

Obi-Wan stepped out then, lookinh concerned.

"Anakin, did you and Carmine fight again?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin shook his head.

"No. What makes you think I did anything?"

"I don't know, but Carmine didn't seem entirely focused during training today. On the contrary, he seemed upset about something."

Anakin started to think about Carmine's behavior earlier that same day. He didn't seem very hungry at breakfast that morning, and it was poached eggs and cheesy toast day. Normally, Carmine gobbled it up like Anakin did bacon.

Carmine was normally so happy and outgoing; he was like an older, male version of Gabby with glasses. But today, he seemed depressed.

Concerned, Anakin and Obi-Wan decided to get to the bottom of this.

Carmine was in the apartment he and Lamenta shared when they were in the Temple. He sat on his bed, looking into a box of old things. In his arms sat a plush brown bunny with an orange ribbon tied around its neck.

Carmine cuddled the bunny closely, tears falling from his eyes. That bunny had been his very first birthday present. A present from his late grandmother Miranda Jinn, who raised him and loved him for the first thirteen years of his life.

Miranda was an amazing woman. Although she was born a princess, she lived what most would call a poor lifestyle. Sent away for her own protection by her parents, Miranda grew up in the foster care system without a credit to her name.

She grew up in foster homes that gave her little to eat and made her spend all her time cooking and cleaning, but when she turned eighteen, things changed for the better as she met a wonderful man named Caishen Jinn and eventually married him.

Caishen treated Miranda like a queen, and they were both so happy to learn they were expecting a healthy baby boy.

But then, tragedy struck. A fire broke out in the Jinn house, and Caishen pushed Miranda out of the way of falling rubble. He didn't survive, and then Miranda went into early labor.

By some miracle, Miranda and her new baby both survived. She held her new baby boy dearly in her arms, wishing Caishen could see him now. And she remembered her husband discussing names with her not long before then. So, to honor her husband's last wishes, she named her son Qui-Gon Jinn.

Unfortunately, Miranda was left with very little money and limited resources to help take care of her baby.

Miranda had magic powers, but during those times, Enchanteds were treated as freaks, and once Miranda learned her power was Solaran magic and why her parents sent her away, she knew she had to rely on the ordina's survival methods to get by.

As much as Miranda fought, it wasn't enough for her to take care of herself and her baby. And then came the day when a Jedi came to her and said that her son had a special connection to a power called the Force, which he would need help to learn.

Miranda was hesitant though. Giving her baby to the Jedi, there was a chance she would never see him again, just like her parents. But she realized her parents had no choice. It was either give up their baby, or risk her life being taken before it could begin.

So, with teary eyes, and one last kiss, Miranda sang her lullaby to Qui-Gon one last time to put him to sleep, and placed him into the Jedi's arms.

"Please take good care of him." Miranda pleaded.

"I assure you, Mrs. Jinn." The Jedi had said. "Your son will be in very capable hands."

Sixteen years later, Miranda was happily surprised when she answered a knock on her front door, and she met a young man who turned out to be none other than Qui-Gon Jinn. You can imagine how ecstatic she was to see her son's face for the first time in forever and smother him with kisses. Sadly, as much as she would've liked, she couldn't take her son in, as she'd come to find out that the fire that took her husband was no accident. Somehow, someone found out who Miranda was, and that fire was meant to take her out, thus wiping out any heirs to the Solaran crown out for good.

Miranda told Qui-Gon to go back to the Temple to stay safe. But she told him that if he wanted to come see her again he was more than welcome as long as he came covertly and no one else knew they were related. But before he left, she gave him a gift. A book of spells like the one she would leave to her future grandson, so Qui-Gon could teach himself to control his magic powers.

Still, it broke Miranda's heart that she couldn't raise her son herself, and the only way to keep him safe was for them to be apart. But then, many years later, Qui-Gon came back with an adorable baby boy who needed a safe place to live. The Temple was out of the question, as Carmine would have magic, and if the Jedi learned of his relation to Qui-Gon, it could mean trouble. So, Miranda gladly took her grandson in and raised her as she would have Qui-Gon.

Miranda didn't have much to give in material or money, but she had more love than anyone could imagine, and she spared no expense in that regard.

Carmine loved his grandmother very much, and they were close as any grandchild could hope to be. She loved him, spoiled him in any way possible, and taught him many great things.

When she passed away, Carmine was crushed beyond what you could imagine. It was less than two months after his thirteenth birthday that she'd died of a rare virus, and because he had no other family he knew of, he was placed into foster care, where he was forced into many abusive homes before he met his future adoptive mother at a prestigious music academy, only to lose her too a few years later.

Today, Carmine couldn't help feeling a great deal of depression.

Anakin peered into the room to see Carmine alone. He was crying.

Anakin got to learn a lot about his brother since they were reunited, and they were very different personality-wise despite sharing the same face. But there were a few things about them that were identical other than their faces, and one of them was that neither of them liked to talk much about their pasts. Except, Anakin knew enough about Carmine's to know that he suffered from PTSD much like he did. Except, his was for a slightly different reason.

As a child, Carmine was bullied by his schoolmates at a much younger age than Anakin had been. But, he'd also gone through more than one loss in a short amount of time. While they both lost their father Qui-Gon Jinn, Carmine also lost the only mother he'd ever known at the time shortly after. His and Anakin's grandmother. It was only when Carmine showed Anakin the picture inside his locket that he realized he'd met her once before at a shrine citizens built outside the Temple for Qui-Gon after he died. Anakin didn't meet Carmine then because the poor boy was busy crying into his grandmother's shoulder, and hid his face so no one would see him.

Anakin also knew Carmine never wanted to give up Fluffy, his rabbit, no matter how old he got. His rabbit was with him through thick and thin. Even in high school, he still slept with his rabbit every night. And even after he got married, he had Fluffy sitting beside him on his nightstand, as he typically had Caroline to cuddle beside him at night. Cuddling that stuffed rabbit always seemed to make Carmine feel better. But today, that rabbit didn't seem to be doing much aside from keeping Carmine from having a nervous breakdown.

"Carmine, what's the matter?" Anakin asked, startling Carmine for a bit.

"Nothing!" Carmine said too quickly with a sniffle, wiping his eyes underneath his glasses. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine to me," said Obi-Wan. "You wouldn't even eat your favorite breakfast this morning. Is something bothering you?"

Carmine just lay on the bed and cuddled Fluffy without a word.

"Carmine," said Anakin. "Why are you so upset? Did someone do something to you?"

"No." Carmine finally said.

Obi-Wan looked at the box that lay by Carmine's feet. In it, Obi-Wan found a blue scarf with white butterflies on it, and he picked it up. It felt so soft and warm.

"What's this?" the oldest Jedi said, and then Carmine snatched it and held it like it was a precious gem.

"Be careful with that!" Carmine said angrily. "Don'tevertouch it!"

Carmine sniffed again and held the scarf close to him, more tears forming in his eyes.

"Carmine, won't you tell us what's the matter?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Just leave me alone." Carmine said.

Seeing as Carmine wasn't willing to open up right now, Anakin and Obi-Wan decided to let him be as he asked. They figured, maybe he would be ready to talk later.

About an hour later, Anakin came back and found Carmine still in his bed, but this time, he was sleeping. He was still cuddling Fluffy, as well as the scarf Obi-Wan picked up earlier. Anakin placed a blanket over him and let him rest, when he noticed something else in the box. Curious, Anakin quietly picked up the box and looked inside it and found something interesting in it. A bunch of journals, each labeled for different things. And one of them was labeled,When it all went Down.

Anakin grew curious and decided to take a look inside. He knew Carmine would probably yell at him for looking in his personal journal, but he thought it might've been the best way to figure out what was going on.

Anakin found a place to sit down and started reading Carmine's journal, and he found an entry that really grabbed his attention.

It's my worst nightmare! First Dad, and now Grandma. It was bad enough knowing Dad died just after I learned he planned to come back to stay, but now Grandma is gone too. Why didn't she tell me she was sick? Did she know she was dying? Did she ever intend on letting me know there was even the possibility she would die? Why would she keep this from me?

Now, I'm going into foster care, and I'm so scared. Grandma went through the same thing when she was little, and it was terrible for her. I don't wanna go through the system. I wish I knew who my mom was, so I could find her, and maybe she would take me back.

It's just not fair! Why did I have to lose the only two people I'd ever loved? My only family? Grandma only ever did good things with her life, and she always took care of me and loved me. She didn't deserve to die any more than my father did.

Anakin felt tears come to his own eyes imagining how scared and alone Carmine must have felt at the time he'd written this, and he saw a lot of old dried up spots on the page that must have been from tears he'd cried all those years ago. He turned the page and found another entry.

It's my fourth night in my new foster home. Mr. Gordfrey seems okay. He works from home, so he's able to take care of me and I do homeschooling now. The chow here is decent, and he gave me a comfortable room for me to sleep in. But, he's always too busy to bond with me. I know no one can ever replace my family, but I'm hoping I can bond with a good foster family.

In another entry, Anakin quickly found that Carmine's first foster father started getting angry and abusive after starting to drink a lot, and once he even brought Carmine to a bar and then left his foster son behind when he left. Luckily, social services found out quickly about this when Carmine used a phone at the place to report the problem. Unluckily, it meant Carmine had to go back into the system and find another foster home.

The next few pages Anakin read looked more positive. They were even covered with stickers. There was even a picture of Carmine when he was younger with an inter-species couple. A rodian and a twilek, and they were hugging Carmine in a family photo.

Here it is, living proof that there are good foster parents in the galaxy. I really like living with the Kirans. Mrs. Kiran gives me stickers for good behavior and for flossing too, and I really like when Mr. Kiran lets me help cook dinner. They're everything I ever wanted in a family.

Every night, at least one of them reads a story with me and tucks me in at night. When I fell and scraped my knee, Mrs. Kiran was there to make it better and give me a kiss to make me feel better. And in my new school, I'm always surprised with an amazing lunch in my lunchbox, courtesy of Mr. Kiran's amazing cooking skills. They're the most loving foster parents I've ever met. And chances are, they'll choose to adopt me too! They even let me call them Mom and Dad.

But then, Anakin found another sad entry.

Just when I thought things were turning around, my foster parents' finances have gone bad. The restaurant Dad worked at went out of business because of an infestation, and he hasn't been able to find work in weeks, and Mom's salary isn't nearly enough to support all of us. And they just gave me the bad news that I have to go back into the system. They say it's for the best because they don't think they'll be able to take care of me. But I'm used to living paycheck to paycheck; it was how I grew up with Grandma, and I told them that, but they said I deserved to go to someone who can actually provide for me. But I don't need someone who can give me a rich life. I just need someone who loves me. Now all I have to remember them by is this family photo we took, all the stickers Mrs. Kiran gave me, and this book that Mr. Kiran bought for me. I guess now all I can do is hope my next foster family is nice, or that the Kirans will get back on their feet and I can live with them again.

It broke Anakin's heart to see that Carmine almost had a new family to adopt him, only for them to be dealt a bad hand and unable to keep him. And then next few entries were even more heartbreaking.

First, there was the Mabeline family, a human family who had two children not much younger than Carmine. At first, Carmine was excited because he would probably have some new friends. But, the family made him sleep on the couch, which was very lumpy and impossible to sleep on. And Carmine had to use magic to keep the other kids out of his things, and then erase their memories so they wouldn't freak out or tell the media or anything else that would reveal he was a Solaran.

Then, there was Ms. Donalaide, a Pantoran woman who just took the money she got from the system, and instead of using it to take care of Carmine, she bought herself new designer bags, makeup, and shoes, and only fed Carmine cheap frozen tv dinners and made him sleep in a dog bed.

Later, a rich family took Carmine in for publicity reasons, but made him sleep in the servants' quarters and forced him to be their waiter at meal times, never letting him sit at the table with him and only giving him what scraps were left on their plates. It was like he was Cinderella. He even had two spoiled foster sisters who pushed him around and constantly called him Four-Eyes. But, Carmine used his cell phone to record a video, which he posted on the holo-net. It turned out they were broke, and in deep debt, and took in a foster child just for the money and to put their family in a good light, hoping some big company whose leader loved children and did charity work with them would sign a deal with them to make them richer than ever.

Then, Carmine was sent to another family in the lower levels of Coruscant. He got a real bed and his own room, but his foster father didn't feed him anything more than one hard boiled egg at breakfast and dinner, and he only got a full meal at school during lunch. Luckily, the school's guidance counselor and his teachers were quick to notice he was having trouble concentrating and feeling light-headed in class, and he was rescued again.

The next foster family, Carmine was forced to sleep in the basem*nt, and he had to use magic to blast open the door so he could run to a transport and get back to CPS headquarters to find another family. But then, he got the Cinderella treatment from another family, as in before the bibiddi bobbidi boo.

Anakin couldn't believe all this stuff Carmine went through, and all of it started right after his grandmother died.

Quickly, Anakin looked back to the entry of the day Carmine learned of Miranda's death and looked at the date.

"It's the anniversary of Grandma Miranda's death... today." Anakin said. "No wonder Carmine's upset."

"Right now, I'm not sure if I'm more upset about it being a deathaversary, or the fact that you've been reading one of my personal journals." said a voice that matched Anakin's.

Anakin practically threw the book, until Carmine caught it with the Force and brought it into his hand.

"I... I didn't mean to-" Anakin stammered.

"Save it." Carmine interrupted. "Now you know. Today was the day I faced the worst living nightmare of my life, and it only grew for months."

Carmine had tears in his eyes as he thought back to this day. He went back to his room, and Anakin followed.

"Carmine... why didn't you say anything?"

"Just leave me alone." Carmine said, sitting on his bed again.

"I'm not leaving you alone until I know you're alright."

Anakin sat down on the bed. Carmine didn't look at him, but that didn't deter his twin.

Carmine never knew his mother, and Anakin never knew his grandmother. But the way Anakin always sang Shmi's praises of how she raised him when he was little, Carmine did the same for Miranda. He was always going on about how she always taught him to do the right thing and to follow his dreams, no matter what anyone else said. One of the main reasons Miranda agreed with Qui-Gon that Carmine should not have been given to the Jedi was because at the time, the idea of following one's heart was highly discouraged, and she wanted Carmine to be able to make his own decision of who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do with his life.

"Carmine, I get it. You lost the only family you ever knew. The only mother you ever knew as a kid." Anakin said. "I never knew Grandma like you did, but from what you say, and what you've written about her that she was a great mother."

Carmine was silent.

"Look, I know how you feel. When Mom died, I died too. I was heartbroken beyond belief. And I was fortunate enough to have Padme and Gabby there to comfort me, but it still took me a long time to pull myself together again because back then, emotional support was non-existent here in the Temple. And there are still a lot of days I feel haunted by that day I lost my one and only mother. No matter how much time passes, I'll never be done missing her, so I know for a fact that you feel the same way about Grandma."

It was then that Carmine began sobbing again. Anakin got closer to Carmine and pulled him into a big hug and let him cry on his shoulder.

"I... I know I shouldn't be acting like this, but..." Carmine sobbed. "You have no idea what it was like to have a loving family, and then have so many strangers treat you like a ticket to free money and a servant."

"I was a slave before, remember?"

"But did you have to constantly get moved from place to place? Did people tell you that you deserved what happened to you? And did anyone ever say something to you along the lines of 'Your grandmother more than likely killed herself because she didn't want to keep dealing with a worthless little brat like you?'"

Anakin was shocked; he didn't see that in any entry he read in Carmine's journal. But even if he had, he doubted he would be any less shocked hearing that revelation from Carmine's mouth; how someone could be so heartless as to say that to a young child's face, he would never know.

"It was too painful to write about, let alone hear out loud." Carmine said. "And when I stood up to them and told them that they didn't know her like I did, they did this to me."

Carmine pulled up his sleeve to reveal what looked like an old scar that was mostly healed, close to becoming invisible.

"There are some things about my foster families that I couldn't write about because I never wanted to let my family to know about them." He said. "I wanted to kill them when they said that, and I easily could have. I have the power in my magic. Or I could've used a Sonar Wave to collapse a building on top of them if I wanted to. But I didn't because Grandma taught me better than that. Every day I spend traveling the galaxy with my wife and my daughter, I think of how she wanted to do so herself."

Carmine reached into his box of Miranda's old things and pulled out a book Anakin had never seen before. It was labelled,Destinations Beyond Imagination.

Anakin got the kids and Obi-Wan, and Carmine showed them his grandmother's book. It turned out that when Miranda was young, she'd done a lot of studying on some of the many worlds in the galaxy, and she'd done many sketches of some of the great places she wanted to visit someday. Great historical monuments, museums, beautiful natural landscapes of the galaxy's many worlds, and she'd drawn many beautiful fashion designs inspired by these places as well as pictures of her and in some pictures, she was with who must have been her late husband, and they were doing all sorts of great things together in the pictures they dreamed of doing together on great travels.

Visiting cafes, observing amazing creatures in their natural habitats, riding on boats across the great seas of water worlds, scuba diving, and watching a romantic sunset. And now, all those drawings were marked with a heart sticker in the bottom right corner, and a family photo of Carmine, Caroline, and Lamenta on the back of the picture in the same destination.

"So, all the first places we went to when we were touring off of Coruscant...?" said Lamenta.

"Those were all the places Grandma wanted to see, but never did." Carmine said. "During our tour here on Coruscant, someone told me how ancestors live through us, and we can feel their presence if we are receptive to them. Even in death, our loved ones are never really gone, they said. And sometimes, one of the greatest things we can do to ensure they rest in peace is fulfilling the wishes they never got to in life. So, I made it a mission to bring my family to all these great places my grandmother wished she could've brought me and Grandpa. Before she had me or Dad, Grandpa Caishen was her everything. And he gave his own life to make sure she would get to live hers. He was a real-life Prince Charming in that moment."

"I think she would be very proud of the man you've grown up to be." Obi-Wan said.

Carmine sighed. "I don't know. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm doing a good enough job. Grandma always told me that she wanted me to live my best life, and she didn't have much to give me. Whatever of what little money we had that she didn't use for food or clothes, she would set aside for my education so I could go to a good college and live a better life. I knew I needed to work hard. I didn't just want to make her proud, Ineededto make her proud. I had to make sure all those years of working herself to the bone to care for me meant something, and that she knew she'd done a good job as my mother. She deserved so much better than what she had to endure."

"I may not have known her," said Anakin. "But I'd say you take a lot after her."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you obviously care a lot about your family. And you always make sure Lamenta has what she needs, and you always strive to give her everything you never had as a child."

"Kinda like you do with Gabby." said Ahsoka.

"Something like that." Anakin said.

Carmine thought about what Anakin said. Maybe he was more like Miranda than he thought. She wanted to make sure her grandson had a better life than she and Qui-Gon had when they were young. He grew up not having the same luxuries as a lot of other kids he'd met did. So, when he became a father himself, he strived to do the same thing his parental figures wanted for him.

"Look at you now. You got to travel across the galaxy, everyone loves your music, you're rich beyond your wildest dreams, and you don't have to worry about not being able to afford to send Lamenta to her dream school when she grows up." Ahsoka said. "I'd say that counts for something your grandmother would be proud of."

"She sounds like she was amazing." Gabby said.

"Amazing is an understatement to what a great grandmother she was." Carmine said, wiping another tear from his eye.

Lamenta climbed into her father's lap and hugged him.

"If she were here now, I think she would be very happy with where you are now, Daddy." she said.

"I agree," said Obi-Wan, "All your grandmother truly wanted, from what I can see, was for you to find where you belong. And with the changes in the Order, I think she and your father would be very happy to see how far all of us have come."

Carmine looked into his locket and saw his picture of him with Qui-Gon and Miranda together. He started to think more and more about them and wonder what they would say if they could see him now. If they could see just how far Carmine had come. Now he was back here on Coruscant, where his father and his grandmother grew up. Initially, he thought when he and Caroline settled down after their concert before being called for the Festival of Light on Naboo, they would find a place to live on some other planet like Alderaan, or Balith, or somewhere other than Coruscant. But in the end, they ended up moving into a penthouse apartment with the Skywalker family on Coruscant.

Initially, Carmine had not expected that to happen, but it seemed Coruscant was meant to be his home always. It was where he grew up, and no matter where he traveled in the galaxy, coming back to Coruscant now whether it was to the Jedi Temple or to the penthouse, it felt like coming home for more reasons than one.

Ahsoka then spotted a paper with a song on it.

"What's this?" Ahsoka asked.

"That's a song I wrote for my grandmother just before she passed." Carmine said. "When she gave me my guitar, I actually got to play it for her. In other words, I gave her a gift on my birthday."

"Will you sing it for us?" Gabby asked.

Carmine thought about it, and then got out his guitar, and played the beautiful heartfelt song called "Feels Like Home" (by Edwina Hayes).

Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself
Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms
There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life

In his mind and in his heart, Carmine felt so many happy memories of his grandmother come back. Singing this song, he could almost feel his grandmother smiling at him the way she had when her grandson first sang this beautiful song for her.

If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've been so alone
And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

Carmine then thought to his life now as he sang. He had his wife, his daughter twin brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew, and the friends he'd made in the Jedi Order.

A window breaks, down a long, dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see, through the dark there is light

Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch
And if you knew how happy you are making me
I never thought that I'd love anyone so much

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way the back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

Everyone thought Carmine's song was so beautiful. They could tell Miranda definitely had an impact on Carmine's heart if he was able to write that when he was just a kid.

"How is that song not in any of your albums?" said Boba.

"I didn't write it for anyone else. That was one of the songs I wrote just for someone I loved. I wrote that one just for my grandmother. Sometimes I play when I'm alone and I miss her, and it's like she's right here again. And any time I'm up on stage, I always look into the audience and picture her standing there to cheer me on like she always was when I was growing up. Regardless of what anyone else said, I only cared about her opinion. She always had faith in me, and it's her love that's kept me going."

Anakin put a hand on Carmine's shoulder and said, "She would definitely be proud of you. And I know because I'm proud to have you as my brother."

Carmine still felt a little sad about his grandmother's deathaversary, but he felt so much better seeing how many people were here to support him and remind him of how far he'd come. They were right; Miranda only ever wanted Carmine to be happy, and with all that he had now, why wouldn't he be?

He might've been rich beyond his wildest dreams and famous across the galaxy, but that wasn't what made him happiest. His greatest treasure, his greatest source of happiness was the people he loved. His family, his friends, and he played his music to share and spread that love he felt. All the love he gave, and the love he received made a beautiful song that played on the strings of his heart and soul.

If there was one thing Carmine learned in all his experience with music, it took more than one kind of note, rhythm, or tempo to make a song. And in life, the way he saw it, the many different people he loved were the notes, their journeys together were the melody, and all the challenges life threw at them were the changes in tempo, dynamics, and rhythm that made the song they called life.

And one thing Miranda taught him that he would never forget was to never forget how much his family loved him, and that no amount of riches could ever match to the value of the memories he made with his loved ones or the love they shared.

Chapter 15: The Spell that Changed Everything

Chapter Text

Carmine was the jumpier one of the late Qui-Gon Jinn's twins. An interesting thing about identical twins: they may have the same face, but they are still two completely different people with different personalities. And where bravery was concerned, Carmine and his twin brother Anakin were total opposites.

Anakin didn't have any trouble talking to even tough people when he was younger. He had to be able to speak up growing up on Tatooine with a bossy master like Watto. Carmine, on the other hand, for someone with such a loud and powerful voice whenever he was on stage, he was not as brave as his brother as a child. In fact, he actually had social anxiety growing up.

When you're a kid living with your widowed grandmother in the lower levels of Coruscant and barely to afford the necessities, it doesn't exactly equal popularity in school. Even though he didn't have a master enslaving him, he felt like a prisoner in school because all the other kids used to exclude him and make fun of him, especially for his glasses. Carmine was a pretty shy kid, but was also afraid of a lot of things.

Spiders, the dark, snakes, shadows in the dark, heights, and horror movies.

That last one was proven last Halloween when the twins and the other grownups weren't tired after taking the kids to a Halloween party and the children had gone to sleep. Anakin decided it would be a good idea to get Carmine watching a scary movie with him and Obi-Wan. But the oldest Jedi was the only one to notice Carmine's teeth chattering.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Anakin." Obi-Wan had said. "Carmine seems anxious."

But Anakin rolled his eyes and said, "He's a grownup, Obi-Wan. And he's related to me. It's not gonna hurt him."

And then he realized how wrong he was when Carmine was screaming almost non-stop and hugging Anakin or Obi-Wan tightly, and even his face in a trick or treat basket until Anakin told him it was over. Carmine did not sleep well that night either. He still slept with Fluffy, his stuffed rabbit that he'd had since he was a baby, in his arms on nights that Caroline wasn't with him, which was a little more often now that he sometimes was at the Temple.

That rabbit was the one thing that could calm Carmine down no matter what. Rabbits were pretty hard to be scared of. Who could fear a sweet little critter with cute button eyes and a twitchy little nose that hopped around and munched on carrots? But that wasn't the only reason Carmine treasured it. His grandmother had made that rabbit for him herself as his very first birthday gift, much like how Anakin Gabby her teddy bear for her very first birthday.

I guess you could say Anakin now knew where he inherited his sewing abilities from.

Anakin didn't have a security plushie like his brother, but he did have the blanket he'd been wrapped in as a newborn that his mother kept for him. And he kept it as a security item, but he didn't let anyone know about that.

Though the twins grew up in separate worlds, neither of them knowing about each other, the twins did have a particular day in common besides their birthday: the day they learned their father Qui-Gon Jinn was murdered. Both of them were devastated. Anakin had only known Qui-Gon for a few days, but he'd already bonded with him like a father and son should, but Carmine always knew about his father and got to see him one day a year on his birthday (two when he was five and he snuck into the Temple once). Though the twins only got a short time with their father, they were equally devastated to lose him.

Qui-Gon Jinn was a truly wonderful man. A perfect mix of wisdom, determination, and a great fatherly figure even to children who weren't his. Any child would kill to be his son or daughter, or at least have him as their mentor. Anakin knew from his time with Qui-Gon that he was a gentle giant type of man with great fighting skills and a deep compassion for his friends and the people he protected. And Carmine, from his experience with his father, knew he had a playful side too after all the times Qui-Gon danced with him, introduced a new game, or tickled him to tire him out when he tried to delay bedtime so his father would stay longer when he came to visit.

Only recently did the twins learn the truth of their family history after Qui-Gon's ghost came to Anakin's daughter Gabriella on Mortis and told her that she wasn't the only one of her kind. Initially, Anakin and his wife thought Gabby was the only magical creature in the family because no one in Padme's family had magic, and Anakin couldn't cast spells either. Or so he thought. It wasn't until a mission to rescue kidnapped Togruta colonists from Zygerrian slavers that Anakin found out he had chloropathy. And then, he found out he had a twin brother who had musical magic.

It was all a lot for everyone to process, not just the twins. The Jedi Council was in total shock that Qui-Gon Jinn had somehow managed to hide that he had a lover, got her pregnant, and then raised at least one child in secret.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was especially shocked; Qui-Gon was his master, and they'd never kept secrets from each other. So finding out such an event like this: it shook him greatly. But then he found out why Qui-Gon kept it secret: he worried that the Jedi would do the same thing with his children that they'd done with Anakin and Gabby before they changed the rules, or worse that someone would harm his children and future grandchildren because they were descendants of a kingdom called Solaris thought to be long gone.

At this time, the EHC (Enchantra High Commission) was debating on this matter with what they knew of what remained of Solaris' royal family, and the magic that remained in the kingdom itself. As far as they knew at the time, Gabby was the only one with any official royal training, as she was also the princess of Naboo. They couldn't even find Anakin and/or Carmine's birth certificates anywhere to find out which one was the older twin (Qui-Gon and his other made sure those documents were well hidden from anyone Enchanted or ordinary in order to prevent anyone who may be a threat from connecting them to the late King Reginald and Queen Serafina, the last rulers of Solaris). Even if they did know which one was older, neither of them knew anything about being a king or about their family's kingdom.

They did know, however, that they had to be alert, as forces that wanted to rid the galaxy of Solaran magic, and descendants of those who attempted to terminate the royal family a century ago may be out to finish the job. So, in the meantime, they had to blend in as ordinary citizens, which did not come easily given that both twins were high profile in one way or another.

Anakin was the most famous Jedi in the Order, Carmine's alter ego Count Crescendo was always all over the news, and Padme was a renowned Republic senator. They didn't need to reveal to the rest of the galaxy that Gabby was secretly not the only royal in the family to make themselves paparazzi bait. But even Boba wasn't safe from these people targeting Solaris' royal family. They wouldn't care that he was adopted. In fact, they would more than likely find his lack of powers to be an advantage to capture him and hold him hostage to lure the biological heirs to them to terminate once they arrived.

Anyway, you know Carmine is jumpier than Anakin, so it was no surprise that he freaked out when he heard their father's voice and then saw things floating in his room like in a haunted house from one of the Halloween films Anakin put on. He got so scared, he didn't even bother to pick up his glasses when he tripped while running away from what he thought was probably a scary movie come to life or hopefully just a bad dream he needed to wake up from.

Naturally, Anakin was concerned when his twin rammed right into him, in part because he couldn't see very well without his glasses. He too was curious about MAster Yoda's claims that Qui-Gon Jinn had come to him as well, but right then and there his brother's health came first. Carmine did just finish teaching an exhausting dance class, and he always took a shower and then a nap afterwards to be energized for the rest of the day. And Anakin figured Carmine was just freaking out due to sleep deprivation, so he brought him back to bed to rest.

And for a while, Carmine did sleep peacefully with his rabbit by his side.

Meanwhile, that same day, the children grew curious about what was happening as well.

Lamenta figured since they were dealing with a ghost...

Who could they call?

"Ghostbusters! Let's hunt." Lamenta said, all dressed in a ghost buster costume, along with her cousins.

The kids scoured the halls with their ghost buster equipment. Initially, all they had were props from a chest of Halloween costumes, but thanks to Gabby's ability to pull characters and various objects from books (including comic books), they managed to get real ghost hunting equipment, including an ectoplasm scanner.

"Anything, Boba?" Gabby asked.

Boba checked the scanner ten times. Nothing.

"There doesn't seem to be any ghostly activity going on around here." Boba said.

"Maybe Force ghosts don't have ectoplasm like regular ghosts?" Lamenta guessed.

"Or it means that the ghost isn't here," said Gabby. "We may be dealing with something totally different than even the Jedi Council knows about."

While her brother and cousin continued their ghost hunting, Gabby decided to do a little research in some of her books.

Part of her studies as an Enchanted was getting to know everything she could about various magical creatures. Her favorite so far were a lot of the magical creatures you typically saw in folklore or children's fairy tale storybooks. Dragons, unicorns, fairies, the usual. But today, she was studying one of the lesser featured creatures of myth and legend: nymphs, ghosts, spirits.

Spirits were a complicated case. Gabby was told she wouldn't be required to learn all that kind of stuff until she was older. But Gabby, being the curious girl she was, she didn't want to wait to find out what she could, especially now that such knowledge could prove useful.

According to what she could find out, everyone eventually did become a spirit, as according to certain religions. Her family wasn't crazy religious, but she knew enough from the few times she'd gone to a service or read a book she came across at other libraries, that many believed there was the afterlife after which people came to their time, they went either to a world of never-ending paradise or eternal punishment, depending on who they were in life. But religious beliefs set aside, Gabby knew there were different kinds of spirits.

There were spirit guides who, as the name implied, offered guidance to the living, the ghosts who haunted various places like in scary movies (though not all folks believed in them until they saw them with their own eyes), and then there were nymphs like Gabby's friend Princess Wysteria. Nymphs were unlike other spirits, as they shared a strong connection namely with elements of nature, most famously the forest.

But Gabby was shocked to find more notes on various moments where spirits of the dead could visit the realm of the living. The only thing was, no one could actually see them. Not unless they had the power to see ghosts, or they were an animal or a spirit themselves. Nymphs like Wysteria, they could see ghosts easily. So could animals. Most people believed dogs and cats especially could see the other side. So, Gabby wondered if horses could too.

"Sure we can," said Crescent. "But I haven't seen any spirits around here."

"Neither have I," said Carousella. "All I've seen are a lot of nervous Jedi claiming to have heard voices."

Remix gave pretty much the same answers. So, Gabby went back to her research.

According to Gabby's books and what she could find online, no one really knew for sure how being a spirit or the very existence of them worked. Scientists tried for years to find a scientific explanation for it, but that was like dropping a single strand of hay into a haystack and then trying to find the same strand again. Not even spirits themselves could explain it. Some call it the will of the Force or the gods, others simply call it fate. And those who don't believe in any of that stuff... they either find themselves unable to think of a way to create a simple answer, or they just don't get involved.

"Now I see why they hoped for me to learn this stuff after I grew up." Gabby said, closing another book. She held her head as it was aching. "My brain is getting fried from all this."

Gabby sighed and decided to take a break for a snack. But while she went to the commissary for some crackers and juice, one of the books she had yet to read fell off her desk and landed on the floor wide open.

Then, Gabby came back, when she saw the book on the floor. Setting her juice box down, Gabby went to pick up the book, when she saw the chapter the pages were open on.

Curious, Gabby took a quick peek at the cover of the book.Enchanted Methods of Connecting to Spirits.

Gabby knew that the root of this issue was from her dead grandfather attempting to communicate with the Jedi, and potentially trying to warn them about something.

"Grandpa Qui-Gon?" Gabby called out. "Are you there? Uncle Yoda says he keeps hearing your voice. Are you trying to tell us something?"

Gabby listened for a moment to see if Qui-Gon would speak to her. Silence.

"Hmm. Either he's giving me the silent treatment, or there's something else I need to do."

Gabby decided to look up how people usually contacted the dead. But to do a seance or use a oujia board? Gabby was too smart to do either of those things: they more often than not led to evil spirits and demons being awoken, and that was the last thing the Jedi needed right now. They already had demons of their own to deal with in the forms of the Sith and the Separatists. So, Gabby just needed to find another way. Thus, she looked into the chapter the book showed her, and was surprised to find a spell. But it was no ordinary spell.

This was a really rare spell called Amorevo, named solely because it ran on the most powerful magic of all. A magic so strong yet so simple, even ordinas with no enchantment casting powers of their own could channel it: true love. And what did this spell do? Believe it or not, this was a spell that could bring the dead to life!

Gabby couldn't believe what she was reading. She'd heard stories of such a miracle happening before, but she didn't think it was possible for an Enchanted to cast. According to the history of this spell, some sorceress created this spell many centuries ago when her sister was brutally murdered. She put together her half of a locket they shared, a piece of parchment on which they'd written a poem of how much they loved each other, and a candle they lit every night before they went to sleep, and it worked. But it came at a small cost.

When the sorceress completed the spell, it drained a bit of life force from her as well as some of the plants surrounding them. Because of that, the sorceress died a little sooner than she might have from old age. But then, over the years, the spell was experimented with, and new discoveries were made for it to be safer. The ones brave enough to cast it discovered that the younger a caster was, the less life force it took. And when many young helpers joined in, it made the connection to the spell stronger and took less life force out of their combined efforts. The items that connected to the person they attempted to revive had some effect, but it as strongest if that item happened to be a gift of love from the lost one. But, even with these precautions to help protect future casters of this spell, it still had dangers that could not be eliminated no matter what was done.

This spell was rarely done not just because it took a very powerful source of magic and a great amount of mental and physical strength to cast and survive, but because if too many of the dead were revived, it would upset the balance of life and death not just in the universe of the caster(s), but others as well.

Gabby did some serious thinking, and did a little more reading on some other creatures, lifespans, and connections of love used in spells. And then, she got out her phone and called some of her friends.

"Can you guys meet me at the Temple tomorrow afternoon? I've got a spell to cast that may determine the fate of the galaxy as we know it, and I need your help."

Gabby also went to her brother and Lamenta at breakfast the next day.

"I need you guys to meet me at the Temple Courtyard in a few hours. I'll explain when the others arrive."

"Others?" Boba said. "Gabby, what's going on?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I gotta get Daddy and Uncle Carmine to meet us too."

And then she found Carousella and told her she needed to convince Obi-Wan to bring anything connected to Qui-Gon Jinn. And urn with his ashes after cremation, his old lightsaber, anything that belonged to him that was available.

"What's this all about?" Carousella asked.

"I'll tell you later. I gotta make sure everything is just right."

No one had any idea what Gabby was up to. The twins were confused on why Gabby asked them to meet her in the courtyard, and Obi-Wan was even more perplexed when Carousella pulled him out of a Council meeting and told him Gabby was requesting he bring Qui-Gon's lightsaber and ashes. And then began the chanting and the magical portal, and the flash of light that faded when the grownups pulled Qui-Gon's spirit out from the portal.

Initially, Obi-Wan and the twins thought Gabby was casting a spell that would make Qui-Gon's spirit visible to all of them, but they were flabbergasted when they saw Qui-Gon Jinn... with a living, breathing body again!

No one could believe this was even possible, much less that a five-year-old girl would be the main caster of such a spell.

Perhaps the ones who were most shocked by all this were Anakin and Carmine. Their father was resurrected, they had him back in their lives. Though he was under a deep sleep at the moment, and they couldn't predict how he would react once he woke up. They'd missed so much time since his initial passing, and they weren't sure how anything would be now that Qui-Gon Jinn had returned.

Chapter 16: After the Spell

Chapter Text

Carmine wasted no time embracing Qui-Gon in a big hug when he was finally awake. He always wished he could hug his father one last time after he learned of his demise, but he never imagined it would actually happen. He was filled with tears of happiness as he continued to hug his father, never wanting to let go.

"You have no idea how much I've wished for this moment." Carmine said, tightening his hug with his father.

"I've missed being able to hug you as well, Carmine." Qui-Gon said. "I was always with you and your brother in spirit, and you have both made me proud with how far you've come."

Qui-Gon tried to let go at one point, but Carmine was hesitant to let him.

"What's the matter?" Qui-Gon asked worriedly as Carmine refused to let go and started to tighten his grip slightly.

"It's... it's just... I'm worried if I let go now, this may just turn out to be a dream. And if it is, I don't want to wake up. Not yet."

Qui-Gon immediately understood where his younger son was coming from. Before the events on Naboo, Qui-Gon only got to see his son eleven times in his life. The first when he was born, the next ten on his birthdays and the one time he snuck out from his grandmother's supervision. Carmine lost so much after his grandmother died and went through so much.

Carmine didn't know it then, but each time he got placed in a new foster home, Qui-Gon's spirit was always watching over him from the other side, as he'd done with his other children. Though his body's heart stopped beating, his spiritual heart did not. And it broke when he saw the suffering his children endured. How he wished they could see him, and that he could touch them and comfort them in their hardships right then and there, letting them know none of them were ever fatherless, and they had at least one family member who loved all of them more than words could describe.

Qui-Gon continued to hug Carmine, and he kissed his head as he let him know that he wasn't going anywhere, hopefully for a long time.

"I know I wasn't around as much as either of us would've liked, Carmine... but I intend to make up for that lost time now. With you, your brother, and my grandchildren."

Both Carmine and Anakin also wasted no time catching up with their father about everything they'd accomplished over the years.

You can probably imagine Carmine was ecstatic to share with his father how far he'd come as a musician. And he even brought out the guitar he'd been working on for Carmine before his death.

"Grandma told me how after she learned of your loss, she'd snuck into the Temple and found this when it was unfinished." Carmine said, strumming the guitar strings a little. "And she finished it for you. She knew you would've wanted that. And ever since I got it, I've used it to write all my greatest songs, serenade the love of my life, and even just to cheer people up."

Qui-Gon smiled hearing his younger son playing his music with such raw love and emotion, just like he always loved to do when he was little. And here he was, a professional musician, choreographer, and a famous pop star.

"You really have come a long way, Carmine." Qui-Gon said. "I've had faith in you from the beginning."

"It was yours and Grandma's love that kept me going." Carmine said, opening his locket. "I never took off the locket for that very reason, and to remind myself to never let fame or fortune get to my head and make me forget myself."

"Your love of music has certainly not changed." Qui-Gon said.

"I even went to a great music school. I wish you could've seen it. Ms. Susy taught me everything that helped me get accepted into the academy, and then she adopted me and took great care of me. I just wish I knew what happened to her. I don't even know if she's still alive."

Qui-Gon put a comforting hand on Carmine's shoulder.

"Wherever she is now, I'm sure she would be very proud of how far you've come. As would your birth mother."

Carmine then had a question.

"What was my mother like?"

"Shmi Skywalker was her name. I met her a long time ago on a mission in the Outer Rim. She was a slave girl, and she knew nothing of being in love, as every man she knew only bought her or sold her. But when I saw her, I saw a treasure I wanted to cherish and to love. I thought I would never find love, as I was forbidden to do so under the old Jedi Code, but when I gazed into Shmi's eyes and we kissed for the first time, I knew she was the one for me. Despite all the hardships she endured, she was a kind, compassionate woman, and I was ready to leave the Jedi Order so I could marry her. Sadly, I was never able to free her."

"I had no idea," said Carmine. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I didn't know how. You were still very young, and I was even more uncertain how I would tell you that you had a brother. When I found Anakin and freed him, I'd planned to return to you to introduce Anakin to you. Intially, I'd hoped that we would all be a family, and perhaps I would find another way to free your mother so both of you would have your mother. Obviously, none went according to plan."

"You did the best you could. Like one of my teachers used to say, 'not every song turns out the way you initially plan. Sometimes life rewrites it for you.'"

Qui-Gon appeared relieved that Carmine finally got to know the truth about his mom, and even more relieved that he wasn't angry with him for not being able to free her and bring them all together as a family.

As for Anakin, he still had a lot of questions, like why Qui-Gon didn't tell him he was his father the moment he found him. Or why his mother didn't tell him.

"You have indeed grown very much since our last meeting, son." said Qui-Gon.

"There's one thing I still don't understand." Anakin said. "Why didn't you or Mom tell me you were my father, or that I had a brother?"

"It was for your own safety, Anakin."

Qui-Gon explained to Anakin that he learned from his mother that they were descent from royalty, powerful royalty, and those who sought to rid the universe of all Solaran magic were still at large. They knew if the twins were found, there would be no hope for the kingdom of Solaris being fully restored. Over the years, as King Reginald and Queen Serafina's descendants and their powers grew, the land they fled years ago began to revive itself. As long as the royal family remained safe, their kingdom would one day be restored completely.

"After I gave Carmine to my mother, I went to retrieve you as well. But I found that you and your mother were gone." Qui-Gon said. "It wasn't until we landed on Tatooine to protect Padme that I was finally able to see you again."

"And again, why didn't you say anything?"

"It wasn't the right moment. I was devastated when I couldn't free your mother as well. I had sincerely hoped if I could, we would be married and raise you and your brother together as a family. But instead, I had to settle for fulfilling Shmi's request to take care of you. I had planned to tell you of our relation to each other once we arrived on Coruscant after the mission. But then... I was killed."

"And you didn't tell Obi-Wan because you knew the Jedi would only have another reason not to let me be part of the Order?"

"Indeed. I had also hoped then you might have gotten to meet your brother. But obviously, none went as hoped. I only hope now I will have a chance to be a better father to you and Carmine, as well as grandfather to your children."

Anakin smiled and hugged his father. He didn't care about the past anymore. His father was here and now, and now he knew for sure he was never fatherless.

Qui-Gon kissed his older son's head. He'd missed out on so many years of Anakin's life. He probably had more catching up to do with him than he did with Carmine. And he intended to give Anakin the father he deserved, even though he was all grown up now.

Both of Qui-Gon's sons showed him all kinds of pictures and home videos they had from when they were younger, and so many of his grandchildren too.

"My and Padme's second wedding was truly memorable." Anakin smiled, looking at his wedding album. The dancing, the wedding party, the first kiss. All of it was perfect.

"You should've seen the day, or rather the night, Lamenta discovered she had her powers." Carmine said. "It was literally a nightmare, which she turned into a dream. And then she found a hidden camera in a gift basket that was meant to uncover Count Crescendo's secret identity."

"How did you discover your powers, Grandpa?" Gabby asked.

That is actually a rather interesting story.

Sixty-seven yearsago...

It was a seemingly ordinary day in the Jedi Temple. A six-year-old Qui-Gon Jinn had just finished his last class for the day, and he arrived in the quarters he shared with his teacher Master Dooku.

Supper wasn't ready yet, so Qui-Gon decided to go play in the courtyard. But when he ran to open the door, he ran too fast and crashed right into the door.

Luckily, he was fine, but when he sat up and looked at the door, he quickly spotted a perfect human shaped hole in the door right where he'd crashed, like in a classic cartoon.

At first, Young Qui-Gon didn't think much of it, being only a little boy and all. But in the days after that, things got a little weirder.

The next day, it was raining, and Qui-Gon was sitting down, playing with a little blue ball while his master was meditating.

Dooku, unlike most of the other masters, liked to encourage Qui-Gon to exercise that active little mind of his, especially during his childhood. It was said that children were natural born imaginers. And Jedi younglings were no exception.

But as Qui-Gon was bouncing the ball against the wall, he missed a catch, and the ball rolled under the sofa. So, Qui-Gon reached under to get it, but it rolled too far. And seeing nothing else to reach out and roll it back out, Qui-Gon put his little hands underneath the couch and lifted it up like it was super light.

"Huh?"

Qui-Gon was flabbergasted. He remembered seeing the grownups lift heavy objects before and even droids. But when people lifted things by hand, it usually took more than one person to lift something as big as a couch. And usually, they were grownups.

Quickly, the little boy dropped the sofa, it landing on its back with a loudCRASH!when it hit the floor.

Qui-Gon was once again shocked, and he screamed and ran away from the couch, not realizing the door was still closed until he ran right through it, leaving a perfectly shaped hole in it, like in a classic cartoon.

Present day...

Qui-Gon's children and grandchildren laughed when he told them how crazy it was when he discovered his powers for the first time.

"That's a really funny story, Grandpa." Gabby laughed.

"How did your master react when he found out?" Lamenta asked.

"I never told him," said Qui-Gon. Things only got crazier from there."

Chapter 17: Jedi Temple of Horrors Part 1

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Gabby Skywalker loved, it was playtime. And one of her favorite games of all was Dress Up. To her great delight, there was a holiday that meant everyone got to play Dress Up, as well as get free candy. And that was Halloween.

Last year, it was Boba's very first Halloween with his new family. It was a lot of fun too. After waking up from a nightmare caused by a few too many late-night Stranger Things marathons, he got to experience the real fun part of Halloween that every kid looks forward to all year almost as much as the winter holidays or their birthdays: trick or treating. Boba never even got to try candy until he was adopted into the Skywalker family, so you could probably imagine his excitement when he learned that on Halloween you just dress up in a costume, go up to people's houses, yell "trick or treat!" and then people give you candy.

Going to a Halloween party afterward was a big bonus too. Bobbing for apples, Truth or Scare, Guess the Gross Food, and of course making jack-o-lanterns. And you couldn't go wrong with playing pretend in whatever costume you dressed up in.

Last year, Boba and Gabby did a group costume with their horses, all of them dressed up as circus folk. This year, they were coming up with their own costumes. Not only that, but they had more family members celebrating this year. And one of the youngest members was the Skywalker children's newfound cousin Lamenta Jinn.

"I'm so excited for our first Halloween together!" Gabby exclaimed.

Gabby and Lamenta were currently looking through a bunch of different costumes, trying to figure out what they would dress as for Halloween in a couple of weeks. That was the fun, and probably hardest, part of preparing for Halloween.

"I can't decide whether to dress like Belle or Carmen Sandiego." Gabby said, looking between the two costumes.

"You have it easy. When my daddy is trying to decide which costumes to wear for a concert, his closet is basically like a rainbow threw up in there. I still haven't seen all the outfits he has in there. Stupid endless space spells making it impossible to count outfits."

Both girls laughed for a bit.

"He has more outfits than your mom." Gabby said.

"Well, he did grow up with a fashion designer grandma." Lamenta shrugged. "So, he's gotten a lot of practice and trivia with sewing and fabrics. And probably costume classes when he took that musical theater course in music school." She then had a thought. "Hey, Boba! Have you picked your costume yet?"

"I think so," said Boba from behind a divider where he was changing into his costume. "Tell me what you think."

And so, Boba came out dressed as...a Jedi.

"So...?"

"Where did you get that outfit?" Lamenta asked.

"I found these in an old box in Dad's closet." Boba said, getting out a toy lightsaber. "All I needed was one of Gabby's toys. Speaking of which..."

"You can borrow it for your costume, Big Brother." Gabby nodded. "Just be careful. It might not be a real lightsaber, but you could still hurt someone with it if you aren't careful."

"Oh, come on. How much damage could a toy do?" said Boba, swinging the lightsaber around, until someone yelled "Aah!"

"Aah!" Boba also yelled, seeing who was scared by his swinging. "Oh, Grandpa! I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Boba." Qui-Gon breathed. "Fortunately, that is just a toy."

It had been a couple months since his revival, but not surprisingly, Qui-Gon had a bit of PTSD when it came to having a lightsaber swung near him, even if it was just a toy.

"Maybe I should change costumes," said Boba.

"That isn't necessary, Boba. I have to get over my fear, and besides... Halloween is a time for a good scare."

Lamenta then came out in her costume.

"My costume isn't scary," she said, twirling around in her silver swan dress. "I'm a silver swan ballerina."

"You look beautiful, Lamenta." Qui-Gon smiled at his youngest granddaughter. "What about you, Gabby? Have you decided on your costume?"

"Not yet. Last year, I was an acrobat. This year, I wanted to see if I could try something different. But I can't decide if I wanna dress up like my favorite princess or this really cool girl who travels all around pulling off Robin Hood style heists to stop actual criminals."

Other younglings were looking at costumes too, and similar to Gabby, they were having trouble deciding too. Some even decided to get creative and make costumes using things they already had.

"Halloween is fun, but the hard part is-"

Gabby was interrupted by seeing a clown that made her scream and fall down. The boy wearing the scary mask turned out to be Caleb Dume playing another prank on Gabby.

"Gotcha!" Caleb laughed.

"Caleb! That wasn't funny!" Gabby said, starting to cry and run into her grandfather's arms.

"Hey, Gabby. It was just a joke!"

"You know she's terrified of clowns!" Carousella scolded. "You could've given the poor kid a heart attack!"

"I was just playing a joke. It's Halloween. A time for scares?"

"Yeah, scares. Not scarring for life." Lamenta said.

"Caleb, you need a timeout, apparently. Go to your quarters and think about what you just did." Qui-Gon said, not the least bit happy the way Caleb made his granddaughter cry, even if it was unintentional. "I will discuss this matter with your master later."

Reluctantly, the boy left the room as instructed.

"It's alright, Gabby. It's alright." Qui-Gon soothed, stroking Gabby's hair.

Even though it'd been two years since Caleb first played a scary clown prank on her, Gabby was deathly afraid every time. She hated it when Caleb did them over and over again. And they traumatized her every time, but this was the first time she actually cried right after he'd done so. Every other time, she'd felt like crying, but she usually held back until she was alone so she could cuddle her teddy bear and calm down.

"Why does he torment me like this?!" Gabby cried.

"I wish I knew, Dear." Qui-Gon said. "Has he done this before?"

"Yes! Lots of times. He's the reason I'm terrified of clowns though. I can't even go to the circus now."

"It's true. She freaked out when one of our neighbors had a birthday party and there was a clown." Lamenta said.

"I may have given up bounty hunting," said Boba, cracking his knuckles. "But I'd be happy to do one more job to teach that guy a lesson for picking on my sister."

"Now, Boba. Revenge is not the Jedi way, or this family's way." Qui-Gon said.

"Well, someone's gotta get him to stop pranking Gabby."

Qui-Gon gave Gabby her teddy and hugged her until she was fully calmed down.

"I think we are feeling a lot better now, aren't we?" said Qui-Gon, nuzzling his granddaughter.

Gabby nodded and kept hugging her bear. Qui-Gon then set her down and sent her to go play with the other kids while he tended to other things. But Gabby had a lot on her mind. She started to wonder why Caleb played these jokes to begin with. Did she do something to him that she didn't remember or even know about that made him upset with her? Or was he just plain being one of those jerky guys who picks an easy target to get a reaction? Whatever the reason, she really disliked that Caleb kept messing with her.

Any ordinary day, Gabby would just go to Caleb and confront the problem straight up, tell him how she felt. She would go up to him and say, "Caleb, I really don't like when you prank me with those scary clown jokes because they frighten me and I don't like being frightened, so I would really like you to stop."

But... Halloween was coming up, and she had another idea up her sleeve to fit with the spirit of the holiday.

Gabby decided to start brainstorming, but she also needed to figure out her costume. And when she got in, she spotted her uncle trying on costumes too. The costume he wore now looked rather ordinary for him, considering he dressed in more elaborate outfits for a living.

"What or who are you dressed as, Uncle Carmine?" Gabby asked, walking in.

"Oh! Gabby, I didn't see you there. I was just trying on some costumes from my days in musical theater." Carmine said, feeling the nostalgia hit him. "One of the most entertaining classes at Melody Academy. Although, it seems I've gotten taller since I last wore this." That last bit being proven as a little of Carmine's define abs were showing.

Gabby giggled.

"What musical is that one from?"

Carmine took out an old yearbook he kept from his high school days and showed Gabby a section of musicals he'd done. The costume he was wearing now, was for a character named Seymour who works in a flower shop and discovers a new plant that may help save his job and the business he worked for.

"Except, he didn't know that the plant was actually a blood-thirsty monster. And the more it's fed, the more it grows, and Audrey Jr. gets bigger and bigger. And let's just say, the ending is not like the happily ever after you might be used to hearing. But in a movie version of it, they write in a happier ending."

Gabby looked at the picture and was impressed by the set of the plant.

"Wow. How'd they make it look so real?" Gabby asked her uncle.

"In the theater, it take a lot of people to make it possible." Carmine said. "The thing about theater is that there are many pieces to creating the illusion of all kinds of things. And the thing about this, they don't use any kind of spells or potions to do it. Just cues, direction, and teamwork."

That made Gabby even more curious.

"Hmm. Can this kind of thing be done anywhere?"

"Theater is a very open kind of art. The possibilities are endless. You just gotta know the right equipment and the right people to bring the vision to life."

Suddenly, Gabby had a brand new idea of how to make Halloween more interesting this year.

"Have you or Lamenta ever played a Halloween prank before?"

"That depends. Who's your vic, and what did you have in mind?"

"Well..." Gabby started to whisper in Carmine's ear the idea she had so far.

"That's good for a start," said Carmine. "But I think we'll need a little more help to make this prank work."

Chapter 18: Jedi Temple of Horrors Part 2

Chapter Text

Halloween was soon among the worlds of the galaxy, including the big city planet of Coruscant. The kids especially were ecstatic for this day; you'd have to be crazy not to find the idea of dressing up in fun costumes, going to parties, and getting free candy fun.

And this year, Jedi younglings were no exception. This was their second real Halloween ever, and they were all so excited. Some of the masters volunteered to take groups of the younglings trick or treating, but a paricular group of kids had a special game plan for tonight.

"Alright, troops! Listen up. Attention!" Gabby marched like a drill sergeant, though she was dressed up as Belle.

Gabby held up a laser pointer and motioned to various points on a map.

"As you know, last Halloween, we set a record with twelve pounds, four ounces of candy. But I think we can do better this year. If we play our cards right, we can make it up to a shattering record of twenty pounds total!"

Gabby held up a clipboard, on which she'd created a list of the groups, of which she strategized and assembled based on age, costume, a well as both costume and wearer's level of cuteness, scare, and percentage of candy given according to some online research.

"Now, the last three weeks, you've all been going through some intense training. Cute costumes, never forget to use puppy eyes while yelling 'trick or treat,' and of course, fluttering lashes never fails to earn you twice the candy. Scary costumes, this is the time you shine the brightest. But you won't get candy from a tiny startle. A surefire way to get plenty of candy: terrify people into dropping their candy. And remember your acting tutoring. The better the pretend, the better the treats. And little kids usually get the biggest loads, which is why I've made sure each group got at least three little kids."

"We get to have fun though, right?" asked Caleb. "You said trick or treating is supposed to be fun."

"Yeah, Caleb. Halloween is fun. And one of the things is getting candy, and trading later."

The clock struck as it was about sundown.

"You know the saying. Early bird gets the worm, or in this case gummy worms, and chocolate, caramel, and peanut brittle. All the candies you can imagine. But we gotta act before all the good stuff is gone. So, let's move, move, move!"

Quickly, Gabby made sure everyone had their maps of their trick or treat routes, flashlights, baskets, and of course back-up bags if they got more than they could carry in one.

"You sure are organized this year." Anakin chuckled.

"You know how much I love M&M's, Daddy." Gabby said, going with her father. "And this year, I'm keeping a close eye on my gummy bears. Uncle Ki-Adi claims he doesn't know what happened to half of the ones I got last year, but how does he explain why his breath smelled like sugar-coated fruit salad and why he had a rainbow of piece stuck between his teeth?"

Anakin laughed and said, "I guess the Jedi Masters like candy too, but choose not to show it openly."

"They just better stay away from my candy, or they're gonna be the ones getting tricks."

"You know revenge isn't the Jedi way."

"But tricks are the Halloweeny way."

Anakin took his daughter's hand and started with her and her group on the way to tricks and treats.

So, the kids took their routes all over town, doing everything Gabby taught them to get as much candy as possible. And sure enough, so much of the Jedi princess' plan and strategies proved very effective. Everyone yelled trick or treat, played Pretend, and scared a lot of homeowners and other trick or treaters, and got a lot of candy.

And soon, all the kids arrived back at the Temple to trade any candies they didn't want for candies they did like, or trade for a king size of their favorite candy bar.

"This has to be at least thirty pounds of candy!" said one youngling.

"This is enough candy to last all year long." Lamenta said, opening a caramel candy.

"Urgh!" Petro groaned, looking through his bag. "Another stupid coconut crunchy. Why did I get so many of these?"

"I'll trade you a caramel apple for some of them." Carousella said, offering a candy apple she got in hers.

"Take as many as you want." Petro said, accepting the apple.

Gabby had something none of the other kids had, though. Out from her bag, she brought out what looked like an odd type of venus flytrap or something.

"Want some candy?" Gabby offered the plant some gumdrops.

The little plant munched the gumdrops out from the palm of Gabby's hand.

"What's that thing?" Caleb asked.

"I'm not sure exactly." Gabby said. "Some kind of plant that likes to eat stuff. Candy, by the looks of it."

"Where'd you get it?"

"That's a bit of a strange story." Gabby got into storyteller mode then. "It all began on a day like any other."

Da-doo
I was walkin' in the wholesale flower district that day
Shoop, da-doo
And Dad and I passed where this nice old man
Chang, da-doo
He sometimes sells folks weird and exotic cuttings
Snip, da-doo
'Cause he knows, you see, that some like things that are different
Da-da-da-da-da, da-doo

He didn't have anything that caught my attention
Nope, da-doo
So I was just about to, ya know, walk on by
Good for you
When suddenly, and without warning
There was this total eclipse of the sun

It got very dark
And there was this strange humming sound
Like something from another world
Da-doo
And when the light came back, this weird plant was just sitting there
Whoopsy-doo
Just, you know, stuck in, among the zinnias
Audrey Two

I coulda sworn it hadn't been there before
But Daddy bought for me anyways
For a price of credits, nine
Sha-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la, doo-doo

Present Day...

"Now I'm taking care of this little guy."

That was when Anakin came in and told Gabby he needed her for something.

"Coming, Daddy." Gabby looked at the plant and then Caleb. "Think you could watch Audrey II for a bit?"

"You named it Audrey II?"

"No. She already had a name when I got her. Now, there's a little book in my bag that tells you how to take care of her. The flower seller said you gotta follow them exactly right, or something bad could happen."

"It's a plant, what could happen?"

"Um... hello...?" Anakin called, making some briars grow.

"Point taken." Caleb confessed. "Okay. Audrey will be in good hands."

"I'll be back, Audrey II." Gabby said, giving the plant a kiss and leaving with her father.

"You'd better take care of Audrey." Boba warned Caleb. "She's giving you a chance to redeem yourself after you've been pranking her so much."

Caleb rolled his eyes and took the plant to his room where he could keep an eye on her.

Caleb looked into the book and saw some pretty simple instructions:

1. Water the plant with cool water

2. Feed the plant something sweet (recommended: liquid sweets such as syrup or honey)

3. Sing the plant a song of love

4. Make sure the plant is fed every hour and not a minute later (or severe consequences may occur)

"If they're trying to say the plant will die, they should just say that." Caleb said.

So, he watered the plant, gave it some maple syrup he found in the fridge, and turned on the radio and changed the station until he found one that played love songs. And after one hour passed, he fed it some more syrup. Another hour passed as Caleb was practicing using the Force out of boredom. But when another hour passed by, he heard some of the other kids playing Tag in the hall.

"You can't outrun a wookie!" one kid shouted, as Gungi was it.

Finding nothing better to do, Caleb decided to join them instead of feeding Audrey II.

"It can wait a little bit." Caleb told himself.

But, what was supposed to be a few minutes turned into an hour, and then came dinnertime

A few more hours went by, but Caleb still didn't feed Audrey II. And before they knew it, it was time for all the younglings to go to bed. Caleb didn't even realize he hadn't given Audrey her much needed feedings.

Caleb woke up late the next morning; Halloween sure had a way of exhausting you. If it wasn't from eating too much candy, it was form all the excitement of frights and running from house to house for tricks and treats.

Yawning, Caleb stepped out of bed to meet his master for breakfast, only to trip on something.

"Whoa!"

Caleb fell flat on his face with a pained groan. When he looked to see what he'd tripped on was in fact... a vine?

The annoyed boy sighed and picked himself up.

"Gabby, if this is a joke of yours, it isn't-"

Caleb gasped when he looked to see that the vine was actually from Audrey II, who'd grown a lot bigger! Too big to fit in her pot. In fact, the whole pot had shattered to pieces. Caleb was flabbergasted by this sight before him. How did Audrey get so big?! He was at least Caleb's size now.

"Caleb?" a voice called. His master Depa Billaba. Caleb couldn't let her find out about this! Or worse, Gabby. He was still in trouble for the last time he played a scare prank on Gabby; it was only by her word that his master even lifted his punishment just for Halloween fun. If either of them found out he didn't take plant-sitting seriously, he'd be on really thin ice, assuming he was lucky enough not to fall through.

Master Billaba knocked on Caleb's door.

"Don't come in here!" Caleb exclaimed. "I'm... changing!"

"Well, finish getting dressed quickly. Breakfast is ready, and then we have meditation."

So, Caleb started to get dressed for real, but he was panicking as he caught glimpses of Audrey II every two seconds. Gabby was not going to be happy if this was the something bad that would happen if he didn't care for it right. But... what could've caused Audrey II to get so big so fast?

"Okay, I don't have time to think about this now." Caleb told himself. "Just calm down, Caleb. Plants get bigger all the time. It's normal. Then again... Gabby did say it was an exotic, strange plant. But, I should probably get you a new pot.

Luckily, Caleb still had his bucket he'd used for trick or treating; a really big bucket. It wasn't quite big enough to hold the plant, but at least most of its roots could get a drink of water. And, Caleb left to get breakfast and walked with his master to go to meditation, when they ran into Gabby as she was skipping down the hall.

"Hi, Caleb. How's Audrey doing?" Gabby asked.

"Oh! Audrey? She's... good. Very good. Very green." Caleb said, forcing himself to smile.

"Uh... are you okay?"

"Oh yeah. Great. Just a little tired from yesterday."

"That's Halloween for you. I can hardly wait for next Halloween so we can have fun like that all over again. Until then, Life Day is next. Which reminds me... I gotta start working on my letter to Santa!"

And Gabby skipped along the hall again. Billaba chuckled.

"That Gabriella Skywalker is something, isn't she?"

"You have no idea, Master."

Caleb joined his master in a meditation area, and took a deep breath to get started in meditation. Depa guided him in the process of letting go of all else, letting the outer world around him disappear. But... both master and apprentice were shocked out from meditation by the sound of a little girl screaming, the sound echoing through the ventilation system.

"What was that?"

"That sounded like Gabriella screaming." Depa said.

That landed a big uh oh in Caleb's head.

Quickly, he ran back to his room, and he was met by a devastating sight.

Gabby lay on the floor, eyes closed, her skin pale and spotted with green blotches as though she had a rash that left green in place of red.

"Gabby!" Caleb exclaimed, getting down on his knees. He checked for a pulse in her. "Gabby, speak to me!"

He placed his ear on her chest. No heartbeat, no breath. And when he looked at her wrist, he saw bite marks, and a vine wrapped around her leg. The same kind of vine, in fact, that Caleb had tripped over earlier.

"Gabby, no! No. Please, no!" Caleb gasped.

Caleb looked at Gabby again and started crying, when someone else came by his room.

"Gabby, are you here? I heard you-" Boba walked in and froze with a gasp when he saw his sister's state. "Gabby!"

Boba had the same response as Caleb when he saw Gabby in this state. This was a total nightmare. And when Boba caught sight of Audrey II having gotten so big... he looked at his sister again.

"Caleb... did you forget to feed Audrey?" Boba asked slowly, sounding angry.

"Uh... what exactly does that have to do with-?"

Boba picked up the book on how to take care of Audrey II.

"Did you read all the warnings and instructions?"

"I did everything it said, but-"

"It says clearly right here!If the plant is not fed every hour before sundown, it has a 99.8 percent chance of growing to monstrous size and gaining a thirst for blood!"

"What?! Who would sell a plant that eats people if you don't give it sugar?"

"That's not the issue. Gabby trusted you to take care of this plant, and now because of you, my sister is gone!"

"But, I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know this would happen! I- I-"

As you can probably imagine, Anakin was shattered, crushed, agitated in tears when he learned of his baby girl's fate.

"No, no, NO!" Anakin cried, looking at the younger child in his son's arms. "It can't be true."

"It's all Caleb's fault." Boba said. "First traumatizing her with clowns, then water balloons, and now leading her to death by her own pet plant?"

Boba glared at Caleb.

"Just when I thought you couldn't be more than a jerk."

Caleb couldn't say anything after that. He just looked down in guilt as Boba walked closer to Anakin.

"Let me hold my baby girl." Anakin said tearfully.

Boba carefully placed his sister into Anakin's arms.

Anakin held Gabby's body dearly in his arms and cried. No one else looked like they could hold back their tears when they saw that a little girl had suffered an indescribable fate. She hadn't even lived to see double digits, or to be six. And everyone was blaming Caleb for what happened.

Gabby was placed onto a table in one of the gardens. Most Jedi were cremated when they died... but this was a special case. So, they instead put her in a glass casket in the garden; the same one in fact, where she'd first discovered her powers. And in light of this beloved princess, every Jedi left a flower by her casket.

Caleb couldn't bring himself to attend the service, knowing everyone blamed him for the child's loss.

Caleb sat in his room that night and cried.

"It really is my fault!" Caleb sobbed. "I'm sorry, Gabby! I'm so sorry!"

Caleb covered his eyes and cried.

"If I'd just- Force, bring her back! I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" said a voice. A rather deep voice "Anything, you say?"

Caleb gasped. That voice, he did not recognize.

"Who said that?"

"You say you want the girl back? Ya gotta face the source."

Caleb looked around; the only other living thing in the room was Audrey II.

"Hmm... that's weird." Caleb said. He got up from his bed and approached the plant, getting a closer look at the plant that killed Gabby.

"You hear me, boy?"

"AHH!"

The voice turned out to be coming from none other than Audrey II.

"Caleb Dume... That's right! I know you're name. You ignored instructions, and now a little one you used to torment is now dead!"

"Don't remind me! I didn't want her to get hurt. I just thought I was playing with her. She jokes around, and I thought I was just-"

Caleb started crying again.

"I just want her back. I'd do anything to do that."

"There is a way, Caleb. I happen to be a magical plant." Audrey said. "I can grant you any wish you want. But in order to activate my power. I need a little something in return."

"Okay..." Caleb scratched his head. "What do you need?"

"I need new blood."

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

Audrey:

Feed me
Feed me
Feed me
Feed me, Caleb
Feed me all night long
"That's right, boy!"
You can do it...
Feed me, Caleb
Feed me all night long...
'Cause if you feed me, Caleb
I'll revive her, big and strong

"Any wish you want." Audrey II said.

Would you like a new starship?
Or a guest-shot on Jedi Tip?
How about a date with Princess Pip...
You gonna git it

How'd ya like to be a big wheel?
Dining out, for every meal
I'm the plant can make it all real
You're gonna git it

Hey, I'm your genie
I'm your friend
I'm your willin' slave...
Take a chance, feed me, yeah
You know the kinda eats
The kinda ret-hot treats
The kinda sticky licky, sweets I crave...

"But... but Gabby paid the price of her life. And you want me to feed you someone else?" Caleb said, sounding scared and confused.

Ow! Come on, Caleb
Don't be a putz!
Trust me and your life will surely
Rival King Tut's
Show a little initiative, boy
Work up some guts
And you'll git it

Caleb:

I don't know
I don't know
I have so... so many strong... reservations
Should I go... and perform... mutilations?

Audrey II:

Think about a room at the Ritz
Wrapped in velvet, covered in glitz
A little nookie gonna clean up those zits
And you'll git it... uh huh...

Caleb:

Gee I'd like a Harley machine
Tooling around like I was James Dean
Makin' all the guys on the corner turn green!
So, go git it! Woo woo woo!

Audrey:

If you wanna be profound...
If you really gotta justify...
Take a breath and look around...
A lot of folks deserve to die...

Boba was crying out in anger and such.

"I'll kill Caleb for what he did to Gabby! That awful... ooh! I don't even know a word for what he is now!"

"Hmm," Audrey said, wrapping a vine around Caleb's shoulder. "Sounds like someone's out to get ya. Maybe you should take him out before he can take you."

"What?! But that's Gabby's brother."

"But, he's adopted... and surely Skywalker will want his birth kid, his younger kid back more. And the things he's done before. He didn't serve much time."

Audrey:

If you want a rationale
It isn't very hard to see
No, No, No...
Stop and think it over, pal
The guy sure looks like plant food to me!

Both:

The guy sure looks like plant food to me!
The guy sure looks like plant food to me...!

Caleb:

He's so nasty treat Jedi rough!

Pretending to change, and always talkin' so tough!

You need blood and he's got more than enough!

Audrey:

I need blood and he's got more than enough!

Both:

You/I need blood and he's got more than enough!

Audrey:

So Go Git it

Caleb took a breath. Audrey II needed blood to revive Gabby... Caleb was going to trade Boba for her; he was one of few Jedi who still didn't believe Boba had fully changed. So, he decided to do as the plant suggested and take him out before he could exact revenge on him for what happened to Gabby.

Chapter 19: Jedi Temple of Horrors Part 3

Chapter Text

Caleb crept out from his room and followed Boba into the hall, where the former bounty hunter was leaning against the wall, squeezing his sister's teddy bear. He was crying.

Seeing Boba's tears, it made freeze and start to wonder. Initially, he thought Boba was just pretending to have changed so he could lead everyone into a false sense of security and then attack when they meast expected it. But... if Boba were a bad kid, would he be crying about the loss of his baby sister? They weren't even related by blood, and they loved each other so much as though they'd known each other their whole lives. Caleb didn't have any siblings, as far as he knew, but he knew people he did; even siblings who got on each other's nerves wouldn't wish what happened to Gabby on each other.

So, now Caleb started to find himself in a quandary. If he fed Boba to Audrey II, it would revive Gabby, but she would probably never forgive Caleb for forsaking her big brother's life even if it were to save hers; she'd be even more furious than when he pranked her with the scary clown.

But, what else could he do at this point? If that plant didn't get fed, she would get hungrier and probably do something worse than just yell at Caleb for forgetting to feed her.

So, Caleb built up his courage, and approached Boba.

"Hey... Boba..."

"You... you're responsible for my sister!" Boba growled.

"Look, Boba. I'm sorry, I had no idea that Audrey would-"

"My sister gave you a chance to redeem yourself, and you completely blew it by being so irresponsible, and now she's gone!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know it was a monster of some kind?"

Boba looked absolutely apalled at this point.

"That'syour excuse?"

And this time Boba literally rolled up his sleeves and grabbed Caleb tightly. Caleb didn't want to resort to it, but he tried to reach for his lightsaber, only to find it was missing.

"I may have given up on getting revenge on Windu," said Boba. "But I think I just found a new revenge story!"

And Boba started yanking Caleb to where Audrey II was.

"Hey, Audrey!" Boba said. "I got a fresh new snack just for you!"

"Goodie!" said Audrey. "I like to swallow 'em whole. Give it to me."

Boba started to pull Caleb toward the plant as it started to open its mouth. But Caleb stomped on Boba's foot and made him let go. And while Boba was distracted by his hurt foot, Caleb pushed him into the plant's mouth!

"Sorry, Boba, but I have to do this!" Caleb said quickly. And he rushed out of the room as he heard Boba screaming for help, wincing as he heard the terror in Boba's screams and the sound of the plant gulping him down. And the last sound Caleb heard was a loudBUUURRRRRP!

Silence.

Carefully, Caleb walked into the room and saw Boba was gone. All that was left of him was a brown boot.

"Whoa... you eat fast!" Caleb gasped.

"He was satisfyin'." said Audrey II.

"And you're keeping your end of the bargain?" Caleb looked expectant.

"Your friend will be revivin' sooner than ya think."

Caleb immediately rushed over to where Gabby's casket was. She was still laying there, her eyes closed and her arms crossed over her heart like a corpse laid to rest. Only this time, the casket had several vines surrounding it, and there appeared to be some wrapped around Gabby's arms and legs as well. Curious, Caleb carefully removed the glass top and looked Gabby over.

"Gabby?"

Silence.

"Gabby?" Caleb repeated. "Hello?"

Caleb gently toughed Gabby on her shoulder, and her eyes shot open. Gabby quickly sat up.

"Gabby! You're alive!" Caleb exclaimed happily. But then he got concerned by what happened next.

Gabby slowly turned her head to face Caleb, not blinking at all.

"Where is my brother?" said Gabby.

"What?" Caleb said.

"Where is my brother?!"

"I... well... uh... funny story actually. The plant said she'd revive you but... only if I... fed her Boba?"

Suddenly, all the lights went out, and a green glow came from Gabby's hands, and the leaves on her body started to glow too.

"Blood for blood." said Gabby, glaring at Caleb. "I need blood. I need blood."

"Uh... Gabby, wait! Let's talk about this!" Caleb begged. "It wasn't anything personal!"

But Gabby held a hungry look in her eyes that scared Caleb greatly.

"I need blood, and you got plenty!"

And Gabby jumped and tried to bite Caleb, who immediately screamed and ran away.

Caleb rushed from the garden and ran to get help.

"MASTER SKYWALKER!" Caleb screamed.

Conveniently, Caleb bumped right into Anakin as if on cue.

"Caleb! What happened?" Anakin said. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Gabby's alive! She's after me! You gotta do something."

"What? How is that possible?"

"All you gotta know is Gabby's alive, and she wants blood!"

That was also when Gabby came into view.

"Blood!" Gabby shouted when she saw Caleb.

"Gabby!" Anakin smiled, running over to his daughter.

"Master Skywalker, don't!" Caleb warned Anakin as the latter picked up the child and hugged her, only to get bitten in the neck.

Anakin cried out in pain as the lights in the halls started to flicker on and off until it got pitch black. And when the lights came back on... they were dim. And Anakin was on the floor, a bunch of vines wrapped around his body like on Gabby.

"Master Skywalker...?" said Caleb.

Anakin slowly got up, his back turned to Caleb.

"Master, are you o-" Caleb touched Anakin's shoulder.

And Anakin quickly turned his head to Caleb, revealing he'd grown sharp fangs, and he looked hungry for blood!

"I need blood!" Anakin hissed.

"I need blood!" Gabby said.

And the father and daughter chanted the same thing over and over again and they came after Caleb, who ran for his life, and to alert the other Jedi that Anakin and Gabby had turned into blood thirsty plant zombies.

In another room, Master Obi-Wan was overseeing a youngling class, when Caleb suddenly burst in.

"Master Kenobi! You gotta help me!" Caleb said, panting heavily. "The plant! Gabby! Anakin! Zombies!"

"Padawan Dume, calm down now." Obi-Wan said calmly. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Audrey II ate Boba and brought Gabby back to life, but turned her into a blood-thirsty garden zombie, and then she bit her father and turned him into one too!"

Obi-Wan started to laugh and said, "Caleb, I think you have been watching a few too many horror movies lately. There are no such things as zombies."

Suddenly, that was when they heard screaming outside in the hall!

Obi-Wan told the younglings to stay where they were while he went to see what was wrong, but Caleb followed him. And when they got to where the scream had come from, they found Ahsoka fallen against the wall in great pain while Carousella and Crescent were collapsed on the floor.

"Ahsoka! What's happened?!" Obi-Wan said, kneeling down to the Togruta and finding a bit wound on her arm. "Who did this to you?"

"You... have to... run!" Ahsoka hissed. "It's begun to... spread!"

And the lights started flickering again like before, and when they finally stopped, both the horses and the Togruta rose with vines growing around their bodies and sharp fangs in their mouths.

"I need blood! I need blood!" all of them chanted, each with a hungry look in their eyes as they walked toward Caleb and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan saw only one solution.

"RUN!"

So, Caleb and Obi-Wan began running as fast as they could to get to safety and look for anything they could use to defend themselves. But Caleb found that no lightsabers were in sight!

"Where are all the lightsabers?" Caleb asked.

"I don't know. But we will have to lock down the Temple in order to prevent whatever this virus is from spreading across Coruscant and get anyone we can to safety!

Fortunately, the group soon ran into Peppermint and a couple of younglings along the way.

"Obi-Wan! Thank heavens you're okay!" Peppermint said. "We just barely escaped Anakin!"

"He's turned into some kind of zombie!" said Katooni.

"So I've heard. Many others have as well, I'm afraid." Obi-Wan said. "How this happened, though, I have no clue."

Caleb suddenly had shifty eyes, causing the others to look at him.

"Caleb..." growled Gungi.

"What did you do?" said Peppermint.

"It wasn't my fault! It said it would revive Gabby if I fed it Boba!"

"You fed Boba to the plant?!" everyone exclaimed in unison.

"It was the only way to save Gabby! I didn't know it would turn everyone into zombies!"

"That was very foolish of you, Caleb!" Obi-Wan said angrily. "Now everyone is in danger!"

"There's gotta besomethingwe can do to stop it!" Caleb said. "Peppermint, you're a unicorn. Can't you just cast a spell or something?"

"Well... based on what I know of curses and scary movies," said Peppermint. "If we wanna beat this virus, we first have to destroy it at the source. My best guess... we gotta destroy that plant. Where is it now?"

"In my room," said Caleb.

"Blood!" chanted some more zombies down the way Caleb and Obi-Wan had come.

"Run!" Obi-Wan said.

And they did run. Everyone ran as fast as they could down the halls and looked around, desperate to avoid any garden zombies.

Peppermint found some things they could use as weapons. A water gun, some perfume, and some silly string.

"How is any of this supposed to help?" Caleb said.

"Trust me," said Peppermint. "This perfume is strong stuff. And silly string is very sticky."

So, Caleb took the water gun, and walked out into the hall with the others, weapon at the ready.

It was quiet in the halls. Too quiet. The lights started to flicker randomly, spooking the group.

"Remember," said Peppermint. "Everyone stick together. The worst mistake to make in any horror movie is for anyone to leave the group, especially unaccompanied."

Except, Gungi heard something from another hallway, and he slipped away.

"But we're not in a movie." said Caleb. "If it were, wouldn't all of us be disappearing one by one by now?"

"Uh... where's Gungi?" asked Katooni.

That was when everyone realized the wookie was the only one missing! Everyone called for Gungi. No answer. And then they heard a loud wookie roar which sent everyone running.

Everyone ran down the hallways, screaming their heads off as the lights continued to flicker on and off.

And then, one scream stopped as Katooni tripped.

Katooni gasped when she saw it was a vine wrapped around her leg that tripped her.

"Master Kenobi! Help!" Katooni called.

Obi-Wan screeched to a halt and tried to get Katooni untied, but the vine only tightened its grip, and then another one wrapped around Obi-Wan's body, confining his arms to his sides. And in a flash, the vines dragged Katooni and Obi-Wan away, their screams echoing through the halls.

"Obi-Wan!" Peppermint exclaimed.

"Oh man!" Caleb panicked, not noticing another vine lowering from the ceiling and wrapping itself around Peppermint. "Looks like it's just you and me-"

NEEEEEEIIIIIIGHH!

Caleb looked behind him, and Peppermint was gone.

"Peppermint? Peppermint?! Okay, Peppermint. This isn't funny!"

"Blood! I need blood!" moaned another voice.

Caleb took that as his cue to run!

Caleb ran through every hall he came by to find help, but everywhere he went, someone was turned into a garden zombie with sharp fangs, green vines with big leaves, all of them chanting that they wanted blood, and every time he ran into another zombie, they started coming after him.

Caleb ran and ran and ran! But there was nowhere to hide and no way out of the Temple. All of the windows and doors were sealed shut by huge briars, and as if that wasn't scary enough, Caleb was shocked when he saw miniature versions of Audrey II growing from the walls and trying to bite him.

"Oh no!" Caleb exclaimed. He tried to contact someone for help on his comm, but he only got static in response. "Hello?! Is anyone there?! Can anyone hear me?!"

Again. Static.

And as Caleb was running again, he bumped into someone he did not expect to see.

"Miss me?" said a familiar voice.

Caleb looked up in shock when he saw none other than...

"Boba?!"

Boba didn't look like himself though. He was a mess, covered in red splatters as well as green blotches. And he looked angry.

"Mother wants to see you." said Boba, grabbing Caleb as another vine wrapped around the latter's wrists.

Caleb struggled as he was dragged down the halls until they reached his quarters, where Audrey II still sat.

"You! You did this!" Caleb said. "You said you would revive Gabby!"

"And you fell for it like a dead leaf in fall!" Audrey II laughed. "You're even bigger a fool than I thought."

"You overgrown flytrap! You will pay for this!"

"Oh, will I?"

And that was when the plant began to burst into another song.

Audrey:

Better wait a minute
Ya better hold the phone
Better mind your manners
Better change your tone
Don't you threaten me, son
Ya gotta lot of gall
We gonna do things my way
Or we won't do things at all

A few more zombies Audrey II created started to enter the room, and they started to have at Caleb, tying him down and prepping him like a human sacrifice.

… Ya don't know what you're messin' with.
You got no idea
You don't know what you're lookin' at
When you're lookin' here
Ya don't know what you're up against,
No, no way, no how
You don't know what you're messin' with,
But I'm gonna tell you now!

… Get this straight!
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space and I'm bad
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space
And it looks like you been had
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space,
So get off my back 'n get out my face,
'Cause I'm mean and green and I am bad

Caleb was then dowsed in red gunk that looked an awful lot like blood. It felt so disgusting, and Caleb grew more terrified. He tried to use the Force to fight, but even as zombies, the Jedi Masters were a lot stronger than he.

… Wanna save your skin, boy?
You wanna save your hide?
You wanna see tomorrow?
You better step aside
Better take a tip, boy
Want some good advice?
You better take it easy,
'Cause you're walkin' on thin ice

… Ya don't know what you're dealin' with
No, you never did
Ya don't know what you're lookin' at,
But that's tough titty, kid!
The lion don't sleep tonight,
And if you pull his tail, he roars
Ya say, "That ain't fair?" Ya say, "That ain't nice?"
Ya know what I say?
"Up yours!"

… Watch me now!
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space and I'm bad.
I'm just a mean green mother, a real disgrace,
And you've got me fightin' mad
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space,
Gonna trash your ass,
Gonna rock this place,
'Cause I'm mean and green and I am bad

… Don't you talk to me about old King Kong
You think he's the worst, well, you're thinkin' wrong
Don't talk to me about Frankenstein
He got a temper, ha! He ain't got mine

… You know I don't come from no black lagoon
I'm from past the stars and beyond the moon
You can see right now this was the plot
Keep The Creature, they don't mean squat

the plant even started to dance around a lot as though taunting Caleb.

… I got garden style, major moves
I got the stuff and I think that proves
You better move it out
Nature calls
You got the point?
I'm gonna bust your balls

Audrey II laughed at Caleb as it was almost time for the big finale.

"Time to give Audrey the meal she really wants!" Gabby declared. "Dinner time!"

"NO!" Caleb cried, trying to wriggle out of the tight vines that held him.

… Here it comes!
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space and I'm bad
I'm just a mean green mother, a real hard case
You can't beat this trouble, man
I'm just a mean green mother from outer space,
So just beam him up
It's all over, ace
I'm mean and green

Zombies:

Mean green mother from outer space

Audrey:

I'm mean and green

Zombies:

Mean green mother from outer space

Audrey:

I'm mean and green

Zombies:

Mean green mother from outer space
Mean green mother from outer space

Audrey:

And I. Am. Bad!

Zombies:

Ah, ah, ah, ah

And Audrey II opened its enormous mouth, the vine holding Caleb up high and slowly lowering him down to feed him to the hungry plant.

Caleb shut his eyes tightly and screamed like a little girl, when suddenly the music and singing stopped.

"Gotcha!" a bunch of voices exclaimed.

"Huh?" said Caleb. And he opened his eyes when he felt himself suddenly lifted up and lowered onto the floor. "What?!"

And Caleb was shocked to see everyone was laughing, including Gabby and Boba, them both literally rolling on the floor laughing.

"Wait a minute- I- You- What's going on here?" Caleb said.

"You just got pranked by a five-year-old." Gabby said. "I was never really dead, Caleb. This was all an elaborate prank to get back at you for all the times you pranked me."

"But... how?"

"I'll tell you how." Gabby said.

Flashback to Halloween preparations...

"If we're gonna pull this off, we're gonna need a whole crew to help us." Carmine said.

So, Carmine asked the Jedi Council to have a meeting. He and Gabby showed them a plan they had to prank Caleb with the biggest, scariest Halloween prank the Jedi would ever do. The first in history, in fact.

Gabby explained to the Council that they would need everyone's cooperation for this plan to work. Caleb had to believe everyone was in danger and that there was a real curse, and the only way to do that was if the Masters acted like they'd been defeated by the plant as well.

"In this scare," said Gabby. "We'll all pretend that a cursed plant has turned us all into blood thirsty zombies, and then Caleb is the last to be fed to the plant. Or so he thinks."

At first, the Council thought it just sounded plain crazy, but then Carmine pointed out that he'd seen lots of crazy illusions made in musical theater, all without magic. All they needed were props, costumes, makeup, as well as lights and visual effects.

"You said you wanted to expose the younglings to more ways of using their improvisation skills," said Carmine. "This would be a great way to do it, and keep the Halloween spirit going for more than one day."

After some debating and deep thought, the Council agreed to help.

So, everyone had a role in putting the prank together. Gabby got Wysteria to loan her one of her pet plants to pose a tiny Audrey II, Anakin and Carmine used their mechanical and/or theater smarts to create a functional giant Audrey II puppet with speakers to project singing from, and everyone else worked on makeup and costumes, while Lamenta did the visual effects.

Each time Caleb saw the lights flickering, that was actually Remix messing with the lights using his magic. He had plenty of experience with lights and sound effects in his deejaying career. And whenever someone suddenly grew fangs, that was actually Lamenta turning invisible and giving everyone fake vampire teeth. And Carmine had a special microphone that disguised his voice as he did the plant's voice and musical numbers. As for all the vines just appearing out of nowhere? That was Gabby and/or Anakin using their own magic.

Present...

"Then... what's all this on me?" Caleb said, looking at the blood-like substance still dripping from him.

"Relax," said Peppermint. "It's just strawberry syrup."

"So that's why it smells so sweet." Caleb licked some of it off his hand.

"Maybe now you'll think twice about playing nasty pranks, Caleb." said Depa. "That could have been real."

"She's right." said Obi-Wan. "We have Enchanteds around. Anything is possible."

"More importantly, it's one thing to play a harmless prank just to mess around," said Anakin. "but constantly tormenting someone younger than you isn't right. And you should never underestimate the power of little kids. Some can come back to bite worse than you think."

Caleb sighed and realized the others were right.

"I know that now." Caleb said. "I'm sorry for pranking you, Gabby. I won't torment you ever again."

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Gabby said.

"For now," said Depa. "We all have some cleaning to do."

"Can we get these vine costumes off first?" asked Petro, scratching his shoulder. "They're getting itchy."

Everyone laughed.

"Let's get you cleaned up too, Caleb." Depa said, taking Caleb's hand.

Chapter 20: Learning to Fly Part 1

Chapter Text

Anakin couldn't believe his eyes when he got back to the Temple after his mission. He'd made his new wings appear again and took a good look at them. Although they made him look like a big butterfly or a fairy of some kind, he had to admit, they added a sense of power and majestic charm to his body when he literally spread his wings.

"I knew I was born to fly," said Anakin, admiring his reflection. "But this is a whole new level of amazing."

There was only one problem though...

Anakin didn't know how to fly using wings of his own. But... many of the horses he knew flew with wings. And so far, he knew how to flap; the first step to flying. How hard could it be?

All was peaceful as Gabby was walking with Ganodi and Petro down the hall to tell them all about their new visitors.

"For the Madrigals' sake, I hope we can at least find Rosella soon and get her to safety." Gabby said.

"Knowing from what I've heard about General Grievous," said Petro. "he won't make it easy."

"Is it true they're literally not even from our galaxy?" Ganodi asked.

"Sure is," said Gabby. "And it turns out, where they're from, their vehicles don't even-"

"DUCK!" a new voice shouted.

The three kids ducked and looked to see something black, green, and blue disappear around the corner, and someone else yelp and drop.

"Sorry, Camilo!" shouted the voice again.

"Was that your dad?" Petro said, sounding surprised.

"Oh no. Please don't tell me he's trying to fly himself." Gabby face palmed.

Anakin found it really hard just to stay in the air! He could barely control how high or low he flew, and he couldn't steer very well either.

"How do you steer these things?!" Anakin panicked. "Whoa!"

And then he crashed into a potted plant, breaking the pot, but luckily none of his bones. It hurt nonetheless, and now he was dirty.

"Great," said Anakin sarcastically. "These were my favorite robes too."

Anakin decided to try again, this time outside with some pillows placed on the ground so he would have something soft to land on.

"Okay, wings. Let's do this." Anakin gave each wing a firm look and got into position and started getting them flapping, only to lose his balance before he even got two inches off the ground. Luckily, he landed on a pillow.

Anakin tried again, but ended up front flipping and landing on his butt on the hard ground.

"Ouch!" Anakin got up from his sore rear and immediately realized this wasn't working. "Okay, clearly I'm not gonna be able to learn from experience without ending up in the hospital first. Not alone anyway."

Even Anakin was mature enough to see he was going to need help... from someone who actually knew how to fly.

"Okay, Anakin." Crescent said, stepping outside with Anakin. "First thing to know is that flying isn't all fun and games. It's serious business, especially when it's your mode of transportation."

Crescent spread out his wings and took off in a short flight where he did a graceful loop, flew all around the courtyard and landed safely on his hooves and folded in his wings.

"See? All that takes practice. When I was just a colt, I had strong wings, but I needed to learn how to control them. Mom and Dad always told me that even birds have to start somewhere with no knowledge on how to fly."

"So, how do I start?" Anakin asked. "I got wings now, but Dad is too busy to show me how at the moment."

"Well, why don't we start with seeing where you're struggling? Show me how you lift off."

So, Anakin got into position on all fours like Crescent had, and started to flap his wings to fly, only to lose his balance almost right away and fall flat on his stomach.

"Ouch!"

"Okay, I see the problem. First of all, you're flapping one wing faster than the other. You gotta flap both at the same time."

"I was. But these things don't seem to like listening."

"Oh, don't worry. It's more common than you think. There's a trick to flying. You know how when you're happy, or excited? That feeling you get when everything is going your way or you've just had a big win that makes you feel like you can fly? That's what you gotta think about. Anything that gives you pure, undeniable joy."

Crescent thought about what gave him pure joy. Feeling the wind in his mane when he ran, the smell of apple pie fresh out of the oven, his mother singing to him and his sister, and of course the day Carousella was born, and she walked to him for the very first time a few hours later when she mastered standing up. That last one never failed to bring joy to his heart.

"Think hard, Anakin. What makes you happiest?"

Anakin thought for a moment. He'd been through so much in the past; so much pain, sadness, and anger. But... even he knew happiness at some point, and he knew the very source of his happiest moments. His beloved wife Padme. She'd been the very thing to give him many other blessings in his life. How happy he felt whenever he held her in his arms, held her hand, heard her voice, saw her smile, hugged her, slept beside her, and especially anytime they kissed. She was the only woman who ever made him feel like he'd died and gone to Heaven just by her mere presence before and after they got married. He would never trade her for anything, and he was grateful to all the blessings he'd received from her.

Love, support, and a family to share those things with... words could not describe how happy Anakin felt when he thought of any of those things.

And to Anakin's great surprise, he found himself getting the hang of flapping and staying in balance.

"Good, Anakin! Good!" Crescent said. "Now for the hard part. Steering."

"WHOA!"

Crescent wasn't kidding when he said steering was difficult. That being proven as Anakin nearly crashed into one of the Temple's pillars as he and Crescent were flying together to practice steering.

"Don't worry, this happens all the time to new flyers!" Crescent called, then mumbled, "usually not pegasi, though."

"I heard that! Yikes!"

Anakin tried to keep himself steady. Key word: tried. But he kept getting flipped around or went up and down when he didn't want to. Crescent told him the way to steer properly, he had to angle his wingspan to move one direction and keep it balanced. Except, that didn't seem to be working in Anakin's case.

"Why isn't this working?!" Anakin screamed as he was flying backwards now!

He'd spun ships around, swerved them, and even made them flip before crashing them, but he'd never made a ship fly backwards before. Anakin still tried Crescent's methods, but instead found himself flying upside down.

"Uh, Anakin...? You might wanna work on staying right side up."

"Uh... you think?!" Anakin's frown may have been upside down, but so was the rest of him... until he managed to literally turn himself around.

"No worries. Let's try again.

But, Anakin didn't get much better. That being proven a few hours later.

Obi-Wan was walking with Sapphire down the hall, discussing some concerns they had about the war and their guests who needed help getting home.

"Oh, it's been heard of being able to travel between dimensions. But the ability to do so hasn't come so easily." Sapphire said. "Certain crystals and jewels do hold some power to doing so."

"Peppermint mentioned that jewel pegasi are said to be exceptionally powerful equines. Is it true?"

"Yes, but we are a rarity in recent years." Sapphire said. "Some years ago, the jewel pegasi clan just started vanishing. Queen Reigna sent out scouts to investigate, but so far no leads."

"Then I guess Anakin protects you as you do for him."

"I believe I do more of it for him. Some days I feel like I've had to be his mother."

Obi-Wan chuckled; he knew the feeling of parenting Anakin all too well. Anakin was a grown man, but he still needed a babysitter to keep him out of trouble so much of the time. And Gabby took after him in that respect where you look away for one moment, and things turn a bit more exciting than you might imagine.

"I can understand how you feel." said Obi-Wan. "You should've seen Anakin when he was a child. The first time he arrived, his first happy day was experiencing rain for the first time, which I can understand knowing how rare water is on Tatooine."

"If he was anything like Gabriella or Lamenta are now, I imagine he was an adorable child as well." Sapphire said. "Before you know it, they'll be ready to spread their wings and fly themselves... but hopefully neither of them inherit Anakin's habit of crashing."

"I wouldn't worry. No one crashes like Anakin, and fortunately at the moment, no ships have been crashing... assuming Anakin isn't in the hangar."

Obi-Wan stopped to think for a moment.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Anakin all day, have you?"

Sapphire shook her head.

"No, and it's odd. It's like he just disappeared. I just hope he isn't getting into trouble."

"No, no, NO!" shouted a familiar voice.

Suddenly...CRASH!

"Ooh!"

Many Jedi in the hall winced as they caught a glimpse of one of the windows where Anakin crashed himself into, his cheek smushed against the glass. Since that incident with Bariss, all the windows in the Temple were replaced with shatter proof glass that could only be broken with special emergency hammers.

"Anakin?!" Sapphire exclaimed.

Luckily for Anakin, Crescent flew in and got him unstuck. But when Anakin realized his master and so many other Jedi had seen him crash, he was mortified! How he wished he had Lamenta's power to turn invisible right now. For now, all he could do was let Crescent carry him on his back and make his own wings vanish.

Sapphire glared at the two guys and said, "Courtyard, now!"

Chapter 21: Learning to Fly Part 2

Chapter Text

Crescent and Anakin met a very serious Sapphire Beauty in the courtyard of the Jedi Temple. When Sapphire got serious... let's just say you don't even try to ignore her and live to tell the tale.

Sapphire stood in front of the two males, and she didn't come alone either. Apparently, she got Qui-Gon involved too. That had Anakin looking down shamefully like a teenager who'd been caught sneaking out at night by his parents. And at this point, it was very similar, given that one was his actual father, and the other basically acted like she was Anakin's mother.

"Alright, what happened?" Sapphire asked seriously.

"I was trying to learn how to fly." Anakin said. "Crescent was teaching me. Since he knows how to fly already, I thought he'd be helpful."

"It's true," said Crescent. "He can flap alright. But, for some reason he can't seem to steer correctly."

"I might have an idea of why that is." Sapphire said. "Let's do a little compare and contrast, shall we? Qui-Gon?"

Sapphire spread out her own wings, and Qui-Gon summoned his that resembeld the wings of a karner blue butterfly, but with the orange and blue colors reversed.

"Notice any differences between the two pairs of wings?" Qui-Gon asked rhetorically.

"Well... Sapphire's wingspan definitely is a lot wider." Anakin said.

"Yes. What else?"

"They also kinda look like they're at different angles when you spread them out."

"Good. And...?"

"Um... what else are we supposed to see?" Crescent asked, shrugging his wings.

Sapphire sighed.

"Crescent, what's the same about your wings and mine?"

"Um... they're both pegasus wings?"

"Yes, what else?"

"Um... I got nothing."

Sapphire was getting tired of the guys' incompetence at this point.

"What do our wings have that neither Qui-Gon nor Anakin's do?"

Suddenly, realization hit Crescent's head.

"Oh! Feathers." He said.

That was exactly it. Unlike the flying horses, Anakin and any other Solaran royal's wings didn't have feathers. They were also of a different size and shape than that of any age of pegasus or alicorn. Thus, Anakin needed help specifically from someone who had wings more like his.

"Feathers are very light, and large gatherings of them help lift the horse part of a pegasus' body off the ground," Sapphire explained. "Whereas fairy wings are more like those of a butterfly. More frail, yet strong enough to lift their owners off the ground."

"So, I guess you'll be teaching me, Father?" said Anakin.

"To the best of my ability." Qui-Gon said. "I had to learn in a more difficult manner in my day. Remember, my own mother never had the chance to fully teach me to how to fly."

"You know, Dad, you never did tell me how you got your wings." Anakin pointed out.

Carmine chortled as he overheard his twin say that. He remembered that story very well.

"He did tell it to me though. On my seventh birthday when Dad came over, he told me the whole story and when he tried to fly, it was hilarious!"

"It wasn't that funny, Carmine." Qui-Gon blushed.

"Okay, Ihaveto hear this." Anakin smiled, ready to have some father-son story time long overdue.

"Well, it all began a very long time ago, long before either of you were born. Even before Obi-Wan was born. Back in my teenage years."

A long time ago, somewhere in the galaxy far, far away...

This was back even before Qui-Gon knew he was royalty. It'd been ten years since he discovered he could perform magical spells and that he had superhuman strength! Thankfully, in all that time, he managed to figure out how to keep it intact.

Back when Count Dooku was still part of the Jedi Order, he and his young Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn were on an important peace mission to rescue a senator's kidnapped child.

"We'll be arriving shortly, Master." said Qui-Gon.

"Set us down well clear of the village." Dooku instructed. "Tensions are high enough."

"Yes, Master"

Soon, Master and Apprentice came into the planet's atmosphere and landed in a clearing near a village, where the forest looked dead. They could hear the sounds of creatures warbling, but the trees looked to have no vegetation on them. It looked terrible around here... as though the place had been attacked by something with fire. Even a poor droid they saw nearby looked sad and worn out.

It was very quiet in the village. Too quiet. Only a few places had lights on. The loud silence as the two men heard the sound of barking, and out came a brown and white dog, who was called inside by his owner whistling.

Qui-Gon saw someone letting the dog in through the door and decided to speak to them.

"Excuse me. Sorry to trouble y-"

Except, the woman shut the door and turned out the lights.

Odd, and rather rude. Qui-Gon thought.

Qui-Gon and Dooku looked at some other windows with shadows of people inside. They all shut the lights off too the moment they saw them The only other being thing that at least appeared living was a single beeping droid outside one building that was revealed to be a bar of some sort when the two Jedi walked in.

"Where is the child?" Dooku asked. No one answered. So, Dooku asked more firmly this time. "Where are they holding the senator's son?"

"Why should we tell you?" said a gray-haired woman.

Dooku and Qui-Gon looked at each other then approached the strange woman and her two friends, who immediately looked defensive. Neither Jedi flinched. The older man took a seat and began the conversation.

"Allow me to make my intentions clear." He placed his lightsaber on the table

"Jedi." the woman said, knowing immediately where these men were from.

"We are here to help resolve the situation."

"For the Senator."

"For everyone." Qui-Gon corrected.

The woman thought clearly these men didn't truly know the senator.

"What do you know of Senator Dagonet?" she asked.

"He is one of the longest-standing Senators in the Republic." Qui-Gon said.

"Yes, and when you entered this villlage, you could see the effects of his long-standing policies."

"With due respect, if you don't like him, why not elect a new Senator?"

The woman sighed and looked down saying, "I wish it were that simple." She took a sip of her drink and turned away to stand up. "Perhaps, in the beginning, Senator Dagonet was a good person and had the interests of the people in mind. But now-Come, I will show you where the Senator's son is."

"You are one of the kidnappers?" said Qui-Gon.

Suddenly, everyone was rising from their seats, and Dooku came to a conclusion.

"They all are."

The woman and two of her friends led the two Jedi to what looked like a barn of some kind. She knocked the door twice, and a large droid answered. The droid shined its light on the two Jedi, the latter trying to block the brightness from their eyes as they walked in with the others. Sure enough, there was a young man, probably close to Qui-Gon's age at the time, and he had his arms restrained behind his back.

"Have you been treated well?" Dooku asked.

"For a prisoner, yes." said Young Dagonet. "Besides, I have two-ton here to keep me company."

The droid chattered in response to that.

"Your ordeal will soon be over," Qui-Gon promised.

"It's not much of an ordeal." the boy said, looking down. "Not compared to how these people are living."

"And you were not aware of these conditions?" Dooku asked.

"I rarely leave the capital. When I do, I spend time off-world on Coruscant, not here."

Dooku and Qui-Gon looked at each other; the boy seemed genuinely concerned as well as shocked at his own father's doings.

"How could my father allow this to happen to his people?"

"You don't blame them for abducting you?" said Qui-Gon, sounding a bit surprised.

"What choice did they have?"

Suddenly, another man rushed into the barn and closed the door again, looking scared.

"The Senator, he's here! And he's brought soldiers."

The others started to grab weapons.

"You have deceived us, Master Jedi." the woman said.

"No," said Dooku. "Our coming here was not known to the Senator."

The two Jedi walked outside with the others, and just like that man said, the Senator had indeed brought an army, small but strong. And with them was another village woman who looked sad and scared to have betrayed the others.

"She is hungry." said the first woman. "Many would do the same."

The Senator then spoke.

"Jedi, arrest these criminals and have them release my son at once." He ordered.

"I'm afraid our investigation is not yet complete, Senator." said Dooku calmly.

"Investigation?" said the senator, sounding appalled and confused. "They abducted my son. I demand his release!"

"Let me assure you your son is in no immediate danger."

"I'll be the judge of that! Guards!"

The villagers drew their weapons up as the senator's guards marched forward.

Qui-Gon didn't like the sight of this. People fighting, a war potentially brewing because of a senator's greed and disregard for the people he was sworn to protect and serve.

"Step aside, Jedi." Senator Dagonet ordered.

"We cannot." Dooku said.

"You serve the Senate."

"No. We serve the people of this Republic."

"So be it. Ready! Aim!"

The guards raised their weapons, and the Jedi ignited their lightsabers.

"Stand down." Dooku ordered.

"I will not." said Dagonet, raising a gun.

For what seemed like forever, everyone was silent. No one made a move or lowered their weapons at all. And then the senator declared: "Fire!"

And both sides began firing, the Jedi blocking every shot they could with their lightsabers, but bit by bit, the villagers got shot down until the senator ordered "Halt!"

By then, a lot of villagers had been shot to death or severe injury.

Dagonet raised his gun at Dooku again.

"I will destroy this town and make an example of it, and many others. None shall defy me. Not even you, Master Jed-"

The Senator was cut mid-speech as Dooku began Force choking the man. Qui-Gon saw and tried to stop him, but was Force pushed into the barn door as Dooku marched forward. At first, Qui-Gon thought maybe he should use magic or stomp his foot and the ground shake to throw his master off balance to save the senator. But he thought again and realized if he did that it could collapse what remained of the village and destroy everyone inside them. So, he had another idea. Qui-Gon rushed into the barn and used his lightsaber to destroy the binders holding the senator's son.

"Go! Save your father," said Qui-Gon.

"What?"

"Go now."

The two teens ran out of the barn, and not a moment too soon. The senator was still alive, but it didn't look like he would much longer as Dooku continued to choke him and raise his lightsaber.

"Corruption like yours must be eradicated," said Dooku. But just before he could strike with his weapon, the senator's son rushed in and begged him to stop.

Qui-Gon put a gentle hand on Dooku's shoulder and calmly said, "Master, it's over."

And then, suddenly seeing what he was doing, Dooku immediately stopped choking the senator and retracted his lightsaber. Senator Dagonet coughed and caught his breath as he saw his son was alright. But, the villagers looked far from happy, and so did his son.

"Father, how could you do this?" said the boy. "These are your people, our people!"

Dooku then turned to leave, and Qui-Gon followed him.

Sometime later, the villagers came together to start cleaning up and fixing what they could. The senator's son promised the villagers he would not allow their suffering to continue, and they were just going to have to trust him as he left to go home with his dad. The villagers were very thankful to the Jedi for their help to resolve the problems. It was clear the villagers cared for one another, like a family.

"I wonder if any meaningful change will come from this." Dooku wondered out loud.

"Is that why you took action into your own hands?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Your actions saved many lives today."

"Just thinking in the moment, Master."

"Well, then. You're a much wiser man than I, Qui-Gon Jinn."

"Thanks to your teachings."

The two Jedi began taking their leave to return to their ship. Except as Dooku was first to enter, Qui-Gon started to feel something odd as he noticed a bit of his robes were sparkling near his heart, gold sparkles. That was weird, Qui-Gon thought. He didn't remember bumping into anything sparkly on the way here, and they only started to sparkle more as Qui-Gon tried to dust them off. Then all of a sudden, Qui-Gon was lifted up in the air and started spinning as more sparkles began to surround him until a bright flash came about and Qui-Gon was left on the ground again.

It wasn't until Qui-Gon stood up that he felt something on his back. And when he looked, he was flabbergasted as he saw he'd just sprouted wings!

"What the-?!"

Qui-Gon rubbed his eyes and looked again, and he saw that he definitely had wings that were mostly orange with specks of blue from what he could see. And then he heard his master calling him. Luckily, Qui-Gon had his Jedi cloak on the ship, and he quickly put it on to hide his wings before his master had a chance to look at him. Of course, Dooku questioned why he was suddenly wearing that.

"I'm... just... a little cold." Qui-Gon lied.

Dooku was perplexed at first by how nervous his Padawan seemed, and the latter said nothing the rest of the way back to Coruscant.

Young Qui-Gon went to his apartment and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror, but he removed the cloak, the wings were gone.

"Huh? That was... odd." Qui-Gon said. "I must be imagining things."

Qui-Gon started to think maybe he just didn't get enough sleep. So, he went to his bed and lay down to take a nap. But shortly after he fell asleep, he began to dream a rather interesting dream. Only it wasn't a dream. It was a vision.

In his dream, Qui-Gon could see what looked like a once beautiful house, the whole place was up in flames, the fire department desperately trying to clear the area and put out the blaze, but a young couple was trapped inside. The husband was desperately trying to get him and his wife out of there, but the whole place was collapsing fast! The woman was very pregnant, which made it harder for her to move.

"Hang in there, Miranda!" said the man grabbing something to break the door down. He picked up his wife bridal style and ran to get her out of the way of the burning rubble, only to hear more threatening to fall right on top of him and his wife! Quickly, the man tossed his wife out of the way, to the woman's dismay.

"Caishen!" Miranda cried, only to feel a sharp pain in her stomach.

Luckily, some firefighters and paramedics came and got the woman out, and the medics quickly found the woman's water had broken.

"She's got a baby coming!"

The wife was panicking though as she was placed into an ambulance, unaware of what had become of her husband, but even more panicked as she found she was about to have her baby. The medics did everything they could to keep her calm as they got her to the hospital. It didn't look good at first. A stressed mother made it a lot harder to get the baby out. But Coruscant had great doctors who were prepared for pretty much anything, and the thing that helped Miranda settle down was reminding her that her husband and the baby needed her to be stronger than ever before. And right in the nick of time too because it was time for her to push.

How the woman wished her husband were there to hold her hand, but it was soon all over when she heard the sound of her baby crying its first cry.

"It's a boy!" the nurse said. And she passed the swaddled up baby boy into Miranda's arms.

"Hello." Miranda smiled. "I'm so happy to finally meet you."

"Do we have a name for this little boy of yours?"

Miranda looked at her baby and smiled, already knowing exactly what she would call him.

"Qui-Gon Starling-Jinn."

Shortly after that, Miranda looked sad as someone came to her door one day, and no ordinary someone. This someone was a Jedi, and he explained to Miranda that her son was a Jedi too. But she was hesitant to give up her baby. She asked for a few moments with her baby. She rocked him in her arms and sang him a lullaby about a river of memory to put him to sleep before placing him into the Jedi's arms.

"Please take very good care of him." Miranda pleaded tearfully.

"I assure you, Mrs. Jinn. Your son will be in very capable hands."

Miranda gave her baby one last kiss goodbye to the last thing she had of her husband.

"Goodbye, my little prince."

That was when Qui-Gon woke up with a gasp. Why did that woman look so familiar to him? He felt like he should've known her, like he'd seen her face before. But then he thought again. Miranda and Caishen Jinn? A hospital, and that baby? Qui-Gon decided to do some digging into his past. Maybe that would give him some answers as to why he suddenly sprouted wings earlier.

Qui-Gon went to the archives and looked around where he knew the Jedi kept medical history and birth records, and he eventually found his birth certificate, where he found the very names of his parents and which hospital he was born in. Not only that, but he also found a photograph of the very same woman he'd seen in his dream, and she was holding her newborn son in her arms. Then, he noticed writing on the back of it. He had no idea how none of the Jedi noticed that before, but he saw a message.

My dearest Qui-Gon,

if you are reading this it means you have grown up and are curious about your past.

Giving birth to you was the greatest thing I have ever done, and saying goodbye to you the hardest.

When you were an infant, I gave you to the Jedi because I believed they would able to keep you safe from

those who may wish our family harm. If ever you wish to meet again, I would like that very much.

I don't know where I will be when you are reading this, but only your eyes can see it because there is something very special about you

that you may have discovered sometime around your fifth birthday.

A good place to start your journey, start in the lower levels of Coruscant, and find this address:

423 Scanti Drive, unit 9-H.

Sincerely, Mommy

Qui-Gon wasn't sure what to expect, but he had a hunch that she knew something about his powers than he ever could've hoped.

So, while his master was sleeping in, Qui-Gon snuck out and went to the address on the letter. He found himself in a lower class complex, where he walked until he spotted one with little daisies growing in the window box, which he found surprising when they turned out to be real flowers. And the welcome mat looked hand-embroidered. There must have been something magical about this woman. But why she was living down here, assuming she was still there, he had no clue.

Qui-Gon hesitated at first. But, he took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. He was nervous as he waited to see if anyone would answer, and started to think maybe this was a mistake. But before he could step away, the door opened, and out came a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes like his. She definitely looked just like the woman in the picture.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"Greetings, Madame." said Qui-Gon. "I was wondering if a Miranda Jinn lives here?"

"Yes, I am she."

Qui-Gon was nervous again.

"Did you ever have a son named Qui-Gon?"

Suddenly, Miranda looked at the boy again. This time, she walked closer to him and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, looking him in the eyes. She didn't say anything, but she smiled with happy tears in her eyes, and pulled Qui-Gon into a big hug, which he returned.

Miranda invited him inside to join her for breakfast. They sat at the table together to talk. Miranda couldn't believe how big her son had grown. He'd grown to be a handsome young man too.

"It's true, dear. I didn't want to give you up, but I had to in order to ensure you were cared for. You've seen the place. It's not exactly high class around here."

"Living in the Jedi Temple isn't too fancy either. Even with a lot of space and many people living there, it can be lonely. And as blessed as I am to meet you, I actually came for answers."

Qui-Gon explained to Miranda that when he was six, he'd suddenly discovered he was exceptionally strong. And then after that, his hands glowed at random ties and strange things happened beyond what ordinary Jedi could do. And then recently...

Suddenly, Qui-Gon's wings popped up randomly.

"That's when these came."

"You have your wings already?"

"What exactly are we?" Qui-Gon asked.

And then, Miranda had another story for her son that was beyond what he would've imagined.

Chapter 22: Learning to Fly Part 3

Chapter Text

An even longer time ago in another part of the galaxy, there was a system known as Enchantra, a place full of planets that were full of magical creatures. There were planets with humans who had magical powers, animals who could talk to humans, even beautiful nymphs and creatures most ordinas, as they called non-magic folks, would only expect to see in storybooks.

Like the Galactic Republic, the Enchantra system had its political leaders to enforce the laws among all of the worlds and promote balance among Enchanteds young and old. Many of the lands in this system were ruled by kings and queens too, a monarchy, to put it simply. But not an ordinary one like you might expect with the first born child automatically getting the crown. In these kingdoms, one did not become the new ruler simply for being born into the family. One had to truly earn the crown, but not necessarily through being prim and proper, but by demonstrating morals and actions that a true leader should possess.

Among one of the greatest kingdoms of Enchantra was the kingdom of Solaris, a kingdom often referred to as La Corona de Sol. Their symbol was of the sun, as in their kingdom, one of the most cherished beliefs was that light would always find a way. Even a small spark had the power to light the most pitch black of nights. The last known moments of Solaris, the kingdom was ruled by the beloved king Reginald Antonio De La Rosa Starling, a very strong, handsome, and fair ruler. But he wasn't alone. By King Reginald's side was the very lovely Serafina Kathryna Kingston, a former Jedi who'd left the order when she was younger in order to marry her true love, and she became queen of Solaris, very beloved like her husband.

King Reginald and Queen Serafina were a beloved couple so much in love. Most protocols for royals said no P.D.A, but these two didn't care; they held hands, kissed, and danced together without hesitation no matter where they were. And they were so happy when they learned they were expecting a child, and even happier when they were presented with a healthy baby girl. And they named her Miranda Rosalinda Kingston-Starling, princess of Solaris. Her parents thought one day she would grow up to be a wonderful new queen to the people. But fate had other plans.

When Miranda wasn't much more than a newborn, a ball was held in honor of the new baby. Kings and queens from all around came to honor the child, when all of a sudden, Solaris was attacked. A group of dark wizards and evil Force wielders called Sith attacked the people. The kingdoms' many allies and their greatest warriors jumped in to help fight this threat, while all the queens took on another important task: protecting the princess.

As much as she hoped for the best, Queen Serafina saw that the only way to ensure her daughter's safety was to send her somewhere far away. But she couldn't do so alone. So, the other rulers all came to help. Together, they performed a spell and placed a bit of essence of their magic into a potion, which Serafina put into her baby's formula and fed to her before placing her into a pod that would take her somewhere safe.

How did Miranda know all this, you may be wondering?

When Miranda was sent away in that pod, it did go far away, and it just happened to land near a building on a rainy day, but no ordinary building. An orphanage on Coruscant, the last place anyone would think to look for a princess of a magical kingdom. Fortunately, someone inside the building heard the crash and found the pod. They found she had a note taped to the blanket she was swaddled in.

To whom it may concern,

if you've found this letter, it means that this baby's parents are unable to care for her for reasons that cannot be explained at this time. Her name is Miranda. Please take very good care of her and let her know that her family never wanted to give her up and that they love her so much. And please, make sure when she turns 16, she gets this sealed envelope her parents left her.

Sincerely, Miranda's mother.

Miranda grew up in the system, never getting adopted. She was placed in a lot of foster homes and group homes that treated her like a maid, a servant, regardless of her age. But over time, she discovered she had odd abilities. When she touched drab rags or plain clothing, it transforms into something beautiful, like Cinderella's rags turning into a gorgeous ball gown. Except, these clothes didn't transform back after midnight. But it wasn't just clothes. Miranda could turn everything she touched beautiful if she used her imagination.

And then, when she turned 16, Miranda was shocked when a pair of magenta butterfly wings appeared on her back. That was the last straw for Miranda. She needed answers about where she came from, so she went to the one place she knew it all began, to her knowledge. The man who found her outside the orphanage gave her the envelope her parents left her, having kept it safe for her all those years. And she was shocked when she opened it.

Dear Miranda,

If you are reading this, it means your father and I are likely no longer here and our home has been destroyed. Naturally, you will have questions as to why we, your parents, had to give you up. Giving you up was the hardest thing we could've ever done, and we both want you to know we love you so much. You are our true crown jewel, and we always had faith you could become a great queen someday. You are a princess, Miranda. By now, you have likely discovered your powers, and have probably struggled to use them. These powers are just a piece of what makes you a special girl, and they are dangerous if you expose them to anyone outside the Enchantra community. As long as one heir remains alive and free, there is hope that Solaris may be restored to its former glory. Magic holds much beauty in it, my child, but also great danger. Never forget, Miranda, that you have the power to do good things, and it is up to you whether or not to use your abilities. On the back of this letter, there is some information that may aid you in properly training to use your powers, and how to blend in with the ordina crowd long enough to complete this mission.

Sincerely, Mom and Dad

In the envelope, Miranda also found her birth certificate, with her parents' names on it. Sure enough, she used the information she was given, and she was able to receive some books that taught her many spells, potion recipes, even how to fly with her new wings.

Naturally, Miranda practiced as much as she could, but did so in secret. No one could know she was a princess, much less had powers. It was a challenge having to teach herself, but Miranda inherited her mother's persistence, and got to know a bit about her family's past through some old diaries they'd left in a secret location for her to find. Although Miranda could use her magic to make life easier, she chose not to for her own safety, and went to get a job like almost any civilian to earn money for herself. But it was far from easy.

Then one day, while she working on placing some accessories on a higher shelf, the ladder suddenly started to topple, and she would've hit the hard floor had it not been for a pair of strong arms catching her. That pair of arms belonged to none other than Caishen Jinn. At the time, he was a foreign exchange student, and he'd been taking a tour of some of the local fashions around these parts, and he ended up finding a girl he considered exotic, one of a kind, the kind of woman every guy should hope to meet, but may not think is possible. She was beautiful, skilled, smart, and something about her just screamed she was special.

He came back to her one day to ask her to get coffee, and she accepted. One date turned into another, and eventually they kissed. Miranda hit the jackpot with this guy too. Caishen was such a gentleman, and he came from a wealthy family too. He and Miranda moved into a lovely house when they got married, and they had such a great future ahead of them. Miranda and Caishen were ecstatic when they found out they were pregnant too. If they had a girl, they would name her Sarah, but if they had a boy, they would name him Qui-Gon, after Caishen's grandfather. But fate had other plans for Miranda, much like her parents before her.

And then, Miranda was met again by her long-lost son she feared she would never see again.

Qui-Gon couldn't believe what his mother had told him.

"Let me see if I understand this," said young Qui-Gon. "I'm descendant from... royalty? Me? A prince?"

"It's true," said Miranda. "I couldn't believe it when I read the letter either. Our family was forced into a dark hiding space for many years. As far as I'm aware, you are the only other heir in existence."

"Then there must be something I can do to help." Qui-Gon said. "How is the kingdom to be restored?"

"I don't know, Qui-Gon. The answers still remain unknown to me. I've studied every book I could, and found nothing. And I cannot go to Enchantra without risking exposing what remains of the royal family. And with only two known to be alive, even if we did go together, that would risk placing what remains of Solaris' rightful rulers in danger of being eliminated permanently. And if such is the case, the only other hope is if you were to have children yourself."

"Unfortunately, being in the Jedi Order forbids me from doing so." sighed Qui-Gon. "However, there is this one woman I do like. But I have never been able to confess my feelings to her. The Jedi are very strict about their code, and I see many flaws within it."

"Then perhaps the Jedi need a little encouragement to change with the times." Miranda said. "I don't know what possessed them to believe forbidding members from knowing the joy of a family would be beneficial, but I do know change is possible. And you inherited your grandfather's strength in physicality, but there is more than one way to be strong."

"What if I were to reveal that I have powers beyond the Force? Not even my master knows about them."

"And it must remain that way for now. Until you know for sure it is safe."

"How would I know?"

"Son, you may have super physical strength, but your true greatest strength is in your heart and mind." Miranda placed a hand near her son's heart. "And with them together, you can inspire change. I believe in you, and I love you as I have since the moment I first felt you in me. But, you must return to the Temple and stay safe. Us being together too long may raise suspicion."

Miranda hugged her son again, but before he left, she gave him the book about how to fly so he could learn, and she showed him a few basic movements to steer. It wasn't much, but it would help some, so Qui-Gon hoped. Qui-Gon was sad to go, but Miranda told him he could feel free to visit anytime, and if he ever needed anything, she would be there where he could find her.

Qui-Gon took the book back to the Temple and hid it under his mattress so no one would find it. And little by little, he read it to learn how to fly. Reading was easy. Actually flying... that was another story. He had to practice at night when everyone else was asleep

The first time, he was able to get off the ground very well... but he lost his balance and nearly fell flat on his face. That was to be expected though, given that his wings were still new and needed time to get strong. So, he practiced some exercises with them first before trying to fly again. This time, he managed to get off the ground, but accidentally did a back flip right into a flower bed.

"Oops."

But, being patient, he picked himself up and dusted off the dirt. And, he tried again and again to fly.

Every night, while all the other Jedi were sleeping or doing their late-night meditations, Qui-Gon practiced flying in the courtyard where there was lots of open space. He managed to master getting off the ground, but steering was another story.

The first time he practiced steering, he went too far right. Another time, he couldn't stop flying in circles. Another time, he kept going backwards every time he tried to just turn left, and all kinds of crazy things just emerged from there. Mainly crashes.

Crash #1

Qui-Gon was starting to get the hang of steering, until a bit of wind blew and threw him off balance, causing him to crash into the courtyard tree, getting caught in a bunch of branches and leaves in his hair. He actually had to make his wings vanish and climb down just to get out of that mess. By the time he did though, he had a bunch of sticks in his hair that took forever to pick and brush out.

Crash #2

After working out a few kinks in the courtyard, Qui-Gon decided to practice in a nearby park where there was a little more room to fly. But while he was practicing flying in circles and then in various patterns, he got distracted by a fly, and while he was swatting it, he crashed and found himself sitting in a trash can. Thank the force no one was there to see that but the fly.

Crash #3

Qui-Gon decided to practice flying again inside one of the gymnasiums while it was empty. No trees in there. But when he got too excited and flew too fast, he lost control and crashed right through the wall, and a another one in the room next door, leaving two perfect human-shaped holes in them.

That last one, that was a little harder to hide from his master and the other Jedi. Luckily, his mother had taught him a spell that could easily repair damaged things, like a hole in the wall. But he had to cast it a few times to fix it completely.

There were so many other crazy crashes too where Qui-Gon faced incidents whenever he practiced flying during missions on other planets, like getting pied in the face, crashing into an empty garbage can and needing a little help to get unstuck, splashing into a lake and ending up with a lily pad on his head, crashing into a big puddle of mud and getting all dirty, even crashing into a painting droid and getting blue paint splattered all over him. There was even one incident where he accidentally startled a skunk and got sprayed. It took six baths a day for a week and at least three bottles of perfume just to get rid of the scent.

In other words, a lot of his crashes usually resulted in Qui-Gon needing a bath.

Present Day...

Anakin and Carmine were both laughing when their father shared how many times he'd crashed.

"That really is a funny story, Dad." Anakin chuckled.

"Making messes of ourselves runs in the family." Carmine said.

"I don't know how you were able to keep anyone from seeing you," said Anakin.

"Memory erasing if anyone did see that." Qui-Gon said. "But over time I had to use magic less and less in order to maintain my cover. And the day you two were born, that was a truly magical day for your mother and I. Someday I'd hoped I would be able to teach the two of you how to use your abilities."

"Except I had to learn at night in music school," said Carmine. "My roommate Sanjay and my foster mom were the only ones I ever told about my abilities, aside from Caroline."

"How many incidents did you get into?" Anakin asked.

Carmine was embarrassed to admit it, but when he had to teach himself to fly, he'd crashed a few times himself into a lot of things. A tree, a flower bed, his dorm window (luckily it was open) and his roommate's drum set, he even ended up getting his head stuck in a tuba, and one of the teachers had to literally blow him out. Anakin tried to hold back his snickers. Key word: tried.

"Just wait 'til the kids are laughing about you crashing into the window earlier." Carmine smirked, making his twin freeze.

"How do you-?"

"One thing about the Temple that never changes," said Qui-Gon. "Word travels fast, no matter which end it starts at."

"Incoming!" exclaimed a new voice, and something pink and something purple flew in and knocked Qui-Gon down.

The two somethings turned out to be Gabby and Lamenta.

"Girls, what are you doing?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Flying?" said Lamenta.

"And apparently knocked you down by accident when we couldn't Tigger Tag you on purpose." Gabby giggled.

"Alright, you've had your fun," sighed Qui-Gon. "Now will you both kindly get off me?"

And the two girls got up and helped their grandfather up.

"Looks like you're not the only one who needs extra lessons." Carmine chuckled.

"Gabby, Lamenta." Anakin said. "It looks like we're gonna be in the same class together."

So, Qui-Gon and Carmine started teaching Anakin and the girls everything they possibly could about flying. Sapphire, Carousella and Crescent, of course, provided some assistance in catching the little ones, or Anakin if they fell.

Of course, they had to start not flying too high to reduce risk of injury. But little by little, like any flying creature learning, they started to improve.

"Remember, Anakin, you have to angle carefully but quickly to steer." Qui-Gon said.

"Careful, Lamenta." Carmine told his daughter as she practiced going in circles.

"Here I come!" Gabby exclaimed, going pretty fast.

"Gabby, slow down!" Anakin shouted. But Gabby wasn't listening, as she was having too much fun flying around.

Anakin shouted again for his daughter to stop.

"Is this how I make Obi-Wan feel?" Anakin asked no one in particular.

"I'm gonna go with yes." Carmine answered.

"I got her!" Carousella said.

Meanwhile, some of the Jedi Council members were in a meeting in their chambers, when they suddenly were met with something a little unexpected.

"With the way things are going," said Mace. "Our best bet may be to-"

"Incoming!" Gabby screamed, about to crash into the window, when something purple swooped in and was pushed into the glass in her place.

"Gotcha!" Carousella said, the human in her forelegs.

Carousella managed to pull herself off the glass and get her girl onto her back. She looked apologetically at the council and flew Gabby back down to the ground.

"You gotta be more careful, Gabby." Carousella said.

"Gabriella Skywalker-Jinn, you know better than to just fly off like that." Anakin scolded. "Especially since you hardly know how."

"Sorry, Daddy." Gabby said shamefully.

"Now you're starting to sound like Obi-Wan." Carousella teased.

"All you need now are lighter colored robes and to grow a beard." Lamenta said.

"Very funny." Anakin said sarcastically.

Chapter 23: Skywalker-Jinn Switcharoo Part 1

Chapter Text

Family. There's a lot of ways you can describe it, but my favorite one is this: people who love you no matter how different you may be, whether that's in your appearance, your personality, or your preferences. And one thing that's the same about all families is that they come in all shapes and sizes.

Some families are big, some families are small. Some families live together, some live apart. Some families live close together, others live far away. But no matter what kind of family you have, as long as you love each other, it doesn't matter where you are. And the people who love you most will always know you best.

One of the biggest pieces of growing a family was children. Some families had children by giving birth, others had them by adoption. But either way, it often results in a very common thing children have: siblings.

Sibling relationships are probably one of the most complicated types of relationships. Some are good, some are a pain, and some are just up and down.

Some siblings grow up sharing a room, while others have their own spaces. But in some more... special cases, siblings grew literally apart. This was so for a pair of twin brothers by the name of Anakin and Carmine Jinn. Well, the first one held the surname Skywalker, that being the name of their mother, who raised the older twin, whereas the younger one was raised by his grandmother, the twins' father's mother.

Anakin and Carmine did not hesitate to start making up for missing twenty years of each other's lives. And the two of them were thick as thieves. Messing about, having fun doing what each of them liked together, and of course hugging each other each chance they got, as loving and caring as brothers and sisters should always be.

But even though the two of them shared the same face, Anakin and Carmine had very different personalities; they were practically opposites, in fact.

Anakin, although reckless, was pretty serious about his work, whereas Carmine tended to be very cautious as well as playful. Carmine could be pretty childish sometimes, but it was in part because as shy and anxious as he was, he was also a happy-go-lucky type of child when he was younger, and that was a personality trait he never outgrew. Anakin was more of an independent spirit and would much rather be on daring adventures to show off his skills.

Each of the twins was very intelligent too, but like most people, each twin was intelligent at something different.

Anakin knew a lot about mechanics, droids, and basically anything mechanical, even some computer stuff, he was also very skilled at martial arts and speaking other languages. Carmine, on the other hand, specialized in music. He could play more instruments than all the Jedi with musical talent combined, dance in so many forms,and he was great at choosing functional and fashionable clothes. But they had a lot in common too.

Both of them grew up with a single parent, they each were teenage dads and married to beautiful women they'd each met by chance, and they both wanted the same thing in life more than anything else: to grow and raise their families in a peaceful time.

Appearance-wise, the twins were pretty easy to tell apart. Both twins had the same facial and body structure, they were the same height, and each had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, but they still looked different in some ways. Anakin's hair currently reached down to his neck, and he usually dressed in all black, but Carmine's hair reached down to his chest, he dressed in brighter colors (mostly orange and brown), and he wore glasses.

So much had changed since the twins returned into each other's lives, including getting their father, Qui-Gon Jinn, back. Like a lot of parents, despite the twins being grownups now, Qui-Gon could not stop himself from still treating them like children. No matter how old the children got, no parent's job was truly done.

It had been a seemingly ordinary day at the Temple. After spending time sleeping in Obi-Wan's apartment and occasionally Anakin's, Carmine and Lamenta were finally officially almost finished fixing up their own quarters at the Temple dormitory; that way, they would have their own place to sleep whenever they were at the Temple to train.

Carmine was no stranger to sleeping in a dorm; he'd done so for four years back in his teenage years. Attending a musical boarding school, he got a lot of practice learning how to live on his own, as well as sharing a room with a roommate, while he expanded his knowledge and skills in music, dance, and composition.

"You really still sleep with this thing?" Anakin said, picking up a stuffed rabbit with an orange ribbon tied around its neck.

"Occasionally." Carmine said. "Mostly, Fluffy just sits on my nightstand, seeing as I have Caroline to cuddle with at night now."

Anakin chuckled; he felt the same way about Padme. Except, he never had a plushie of his own when he was little.

Carmine finished fluffing his pillow and took his rabbit to place on the bed.

"There. Now it's all done."

Suddenly, both twins' stomachs were growling. Perfect timing, as it was about time for lunch.

"Wanna grab some grub?" Anakin asked.

"Maybe twin telepathy is real, because you just read my mind." Carmine smiled.

So, the twins went to the commissary to get some lunch, where there happened to be sandwiches being served today. But when Carmine took a bite of his...

"Yuck!" Carmine exclaimed. He looked inside his sandwich and found. "Ugh, bacon. I should've known."

Carmine picked the bacon out from his sandwich and set it aside before biting into his sandwich again.

"Much better."

"You really don't like bacon?" said Anakin in disbelief.

"You really can eat that stuff?" Carmine replied, still trying to scrape the bacon taste off his tongue.

"Can I have yours, then?"

"Only 'cause I'm not one to waste food."

And Anakin didn't hesitate to take more bacon for his own sandwich. Tastes in food was just another thing that made Carmine and Anakin different. So did the amount of cleanliness each had at the table, that being shown when Anakin accidentally elbowed a cup of grape juice onto Carmine's shirt.

"Oops!" Anakin exclaimed, amid Carmine's shock by the cold juice. "Sorry, Carmine."

"Aw, and this was brand new." Carmine whined.

"Don't worry. With the messes my kids make sometimes, I know how to take care of a lot of stains."

So, while Anakin took care of the juice stained garment, Carmine went to change his shirt. Anakin was more than willing to loan him one of his outfits out of the kindness of his heart. But, when Carmine exited from the closet.

"This feels... different." Carmine said.

"You never dressed in black before?"

"I have, but I'm more used to brighter colors. And that's so whether I'm on or off stage."

"You actually don't look bad in black."

Anakin looked more focused on Carmine.

"You actually look more like, well, me. Only with long hair and glasses."

Carmine went back to his apartment and looked at his reflection in the mirror; he really did look more like his twin. If he removed his glasses, aside from the longer hair, he definitely looked identical to him.

"Maybe you could try brightening up your wardrobe once in a while, Ani." Carmine smiled.

"What's wrong with my dark robes?" Anakin said, posing in front of the mirror. "I'm not big on fashion, but I've found that black is slimming."

Carmine chuckled and said, "True, but a new color can bring out a new you. Maybe even a side you didn't realize you had. Try on something in my wardrobe. I got lots of different colors."

Knowing Carmine wasn't going to let this go until he gave it a go, Anakin walked into the closet and came out wearing an outfit of purple. It was the darkest color he could find thus far, but brighter than black.

"Really? You went with the darkest you could find?" Carmine crossed his arms.

"You said pick anything. I picked this."

Anakin looked at himself and Carmine in the mirror. Neither of the twins could believe how much they resembled each other when they wore each other's clothes. Then, Carmine had an idea. He'd shown the kids how he performed a spell to change his hairstyles as Count Crescendo, which explained why they didn't find a ship load of wigs anywhere in his trailer or in any dressing room he'd been in. So, he decided to give Anakin a little demonstration.

"Beware, for swear, switch our lengths and styles of hair."

Carmine waved his hand in a seemingly odd fashion, which made Anakin toss his head around against his will, and when Carmine was through, his hair got shorter, while Anakin's grew.

The twins looked into the mirror again and this time were both even more surprised. Now they really looked the same. Anakin just needed a pair of costume glasses from the kids' dress-up chest that looked just like Carmine's glasses, and he could totally pass for Carmine, and Carmine just needed to remove his real glasses and he could totally pass for Anakin.

Suddenly, the twins had an idea.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Anakin smiled.

"We pull a switcheroo?"

"You just read my mind."

So, the twins made a plan: they would switch places for one full day and spend time doing things the other would normally do and see how their friends acted when they weren't with a particular one of the twins. But, Carmine remembered that he couldn't see very well without his glasses. So, Anakin looked in one of Gabby's spell books and managed to find a spell that could temporarily clear one's vision. But it was hard to cast, so Anakin had to really concentrate to get it right.

Carmine couldn't believe his eyes when he found himself able to see without his glasses. But the effects would only last a few hours, so Carmine had to memorize the spell: Foculis Mei Videvendir, which was not easy to recall, especially that last part being a bit of a tongue twister.

"I perform at least fifteen different songs per concert," said Carmine. "I think I can memorize three simple words to a spell."

"Well, be careful. I'm still pretty new to spell casting myself, but I know it's not anything to be taken lightly."

"No worries. Let's just... well, do what the other twins does." Carmine suddenly thought. "What would you normally be doing right now?"

"When it's quiet like this, usually I'm in the hangar working on stuff, or spending time with the kids. What about you?"

"Most of the time, I'm usually doing musical stuff... but I do like reading too. Grandma and I used to do that together all the time. The library was pretty much a regular place for me."

"I guess I know where I'm going then."

"Me too."

And so, the twins exited the room and went their separate ways to live each other's lives for a day.

Chapter 24: Skywalker-Jinn Switcharoo Part 2

Chapter Text

Anakin, disguised as Carmine, walked into the Temple library, ready to take some time to finally relax. Given that Carmine was a Padawan learner despite being older than most when starting, that meant Anakin didn't have to worry about being called in to teach anyone, or be pressured for missions. For now, he could just relax with a good book.

There was only one problem: he didn't know what kind of books Carmine would read.

"No matter," said Anakin, shaking his head. "I'll just pick anything."

Anakin looked among some of the shelves and browsed the different stories he had yet to see himself, and he managed to find an interesting fiction book and a nice bean bag to sit on and read. For the first time in a while, Anakin felt so relaxed.

"I have no idea why Carmine complains about being tired off stage. Being him is easy."

Carmine, on the other hand, disguised as Anakin, was ready to experience life as his twin. He was happily skipping down the hall, looking for the hangar to start working on some stuff. Except, the Jedi Temple was a pretty big place, and Carmine forgot he still didn't quite know his way all around the place like Anakin did.

"Hi, Daddy." Gabby said, seeing who she thought was her father.

Carmine was startled for a moment, but relieved to see it was just his niece walking through the hall with her teddy.

"Hey, Princess." Carmine said, fixing Gabby's hair ribbon. "What are you up to?"

"Looking for Boba. He said he'd play Teddy Bear Tag with me, but I can't find him anywhere."

"Well, the Temple is a big place. Heck, I'm getting lost in here. I was just looking for the hangar."

"How could you forget where your favorite place is?" Gabby raised a brow.

"Uh... well, I've been on a lot of missions lately. I think I may be spending more time outside than here."

Gabby shrugged. Her "father" did have a point.

"I know the way there. I know this Jedi castle like the back of my hand." Gabby said.

Carmine figured Gabby might be a good guide. She did spend a lot time playing explorer in the Temple, and was the best at Hide and Seek for a reason. So, Carmine decided to ask Gabby if she wouldn't mind guiding him to the hangar.

"Do you have time to play with me?" Gabby asked.

"I think I have some time. You said you wanted to play Teddy Bear Tag?"

"Yes."

"Great... How do you play again?"

"You don't remember?"

"It's been a while."

"We played it three days ago."

Carmine scratched the side of his head; normally, he messed with his glasses when he was lying, but at the moment he wasn't wearing them. He tried to come up with an excuse.

"I've been busy."

"Okay... I'll just show you how to play again." Gabby shrugged. The grownups all had a tendency to forget things, so she didn't let this phase her. "Whoeber holds the teddy is it, and to tag someone else, you have to do it with the teddy bear. Then, whoever you tag, you drop the bear, and they're it."

"Alright then." Carmine took the bear. "Then, I'm it."

"Catch me if you can!" Gabby exclaimed before rushing off.

Carmine laughed and ran after Gabby, having to dodge a few Jedi in the halls.

"I'm gonna catch you!" Carmine sang, laughing.

Carmine chased Gabby around until they got to the hangar, and he managed to tag Gabby with the bear.

"Phew! I swear, you get faster everyday."

Carmine looked around the hangar. There were a lot of ships. So many of them looked a lot bigger up close. Carmine had seen many models of ships before; mostly pod versions of sports cars and fancy limousines. What other vehicles would you expect to see at gatherings of famous singers, actors, directors, producers, and other kinds of celebrities? These were military grade vehicles.

But, Carmine walked up to one star fighter and ran his finger across it to find a lot of dust all over it. It looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in weeks.

"Ick! When's the last time this thing was cleaned?"

"I don't know." Gabby shrugged. "Usually, you're more concerned with how well oiled and put together it is than its cleanliness."

Carmine figured he was going to have to talk to Anakin about taking better care of his stuff. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was a mess. As Count Crescendo, he became famously known for being one of few, or perhaps the only celebrity who never trashed a room. This was mostly because after a long night of a concert, he was most interested in his family's after-concert routine: Getting ready for bed together, reading a bedtime story, and going to sleep. Carmine didn't even leave the hotel room without making the bed first. As sweet as his grandmother was, she ran a tight ship when it came to keeping the apartment in order.

"Well, I'd better clean this thing before I even think about doing any engine checks." Carmine said. "Where do we keep the soap around here?"

"Can I help, Daddy?"

"Sure, Sweetie. But first..." Carmine looked around until he found a stray tunic that was for an adult, but also just the right size to put over Gabby so she wouldn't mess up her dress while helping clean the ship.

Carmine decided to change his clothes too, and got right to work.

Sometime later, Anakin got bored of reading and decided to go and do something else.

Being Carmine didn't seem that hard. Anakin figured he might as well practice with his lightsaber.

If there was one thing Anakin knew about his twin, it was that he was all about practice, and since Carmine was just starting lightsaber training, it wouldn't surprise anyone to see Carmine practice his sparring. Except, Anakin grabbed one of the practice sabers, seeing as his twin was a beginner and not allowed to use a real one yet.

Except, Anakin, being Anakin, although he looked like his brother now, could not resist showing off his moves, even as a familiar someone entered the room.

"Carmine." said the familiar voice.

Anakin was a little startled at first when he realized it was his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Master! Hi. What's going on?" Anakin said.

"I was in the middle of looking for your brother." Obi-Wan said. "Except, as usual, I have no clue where he is."

Inside, Anakin was laughing.You have no idea. He thought.

"It's no wonder Gabriella excels at Hide and Seek. Sometimes I wonder if Anakin would become an escape artist or a magician had he not returned to the order."

"Maybe." Anakin said. "Anakin is pretty skilled. A lot more than you give him credit for, so I hear."

"I don't doubt that. It is a shame the two of you couldn't grow up together. I do think you could learn a thing or two from each other though. Perhaps you could teach Anakin not to be late all the time."

"I'm sure he does his best."

"Speaking of which, I'd best go and find him before the next class of younglings."

Meanwhile, Carmine and Gabby were just about finished cleaning up the formerly dirty star fighter. It just needed to be rinsed off.

"Incoming!" Gabby shouted, tossing a bucket of clear water, only to hit Carmine and soak him from head to toe.

"Gabby!" Carmine scolded.

"Oops!" Gabby laughed. "Sorry, Daddy."

But, Carmine smiled and said, "I think two can play at that game."

Carmine grabbed another bucket of water and proceeded to splash Gabby right back, only for Gabby to unleash a little more water magic, this time hitting the ship and getting it cleaned off. The two continued to play around for a little while until Ahsoka came into the hangar and saw who she thought was her master, and his daughter, playing around, laughing, and dripping wet. She couldn't help laughing herself for a bit before calling to him.

Carmine froze and was embarrassed for a bit.

"Oh! Hi, Ahsoka. How long have you been standing there?" He asked nervously.

"Long enough." Ahsoka chuckled. "Hopefully not enough to make you late for class."

"I have a class today?" Carmine was confused.

"Oh yeah," said Gabby. "I forgot about that. You better get going, Daddy."

"Alright. Where am I supposed to go for class again?"

"Room 24B."

"Thanks."

And Carmine rushed off, but Gabby and Ahsoka brushed it off. Anakin was late for a lot of things, and he was usually not that eager about class, especially not this time around.

Carmine thought by class, Ahsoka meant Anakin was supposed to take lessons or something, but it wasn't. When he arrived at the classroom, Obi-Wan was speaking.

"Now, I know I said Anakin would be here today, but it's to be expected that he'll be-"

"Hi, Master." Carmine said, startling Obi-Wan.

"Early?" Now Obi-Wan was shocked and confused. "Anakin, you're... early."

"Thank my Padawan and my daughter for that." shrugged Carmine. "So... what lesson were we doing again?"

"You don't recall? And... why are you wet?" Obi-Wan noted "Anakin's" wet hair and shirt.

"Washing a ship, and then a water fight with the kids." Carmine said, which wasn't far from the truth. He shook the water out of his hair, getting Obi-Wan wet.

"Anakin!" scolded the Jedi Master, making the children laugh.

"Oops."

"If you're done messing around, I'm going to change my robes, and when I get back please try not to make the classroom collapse."

Obi-Wan left, which left Carmine alone with the kids.

"Okay, kids. Who knows what's on the lesson plan today?" Carmine asked nervously. He'd never had to teach a whole class of children before, especially without a lesson plan.

"You were supposed to teach us lightsaber maneuvers," said one girl.

That was a problem. Carmine didn't have any experience with a real lightsaber. He had to think of something quick, and he did.

"Well, that's a good lesson... but I have something else in mind. How many of you stretched first?"

The kids were confused, but no one raised their hand.

"Okay, it's worse than I thought. Nothing worse than going to a dance without stretching first. Alright, everyone. Let's all take a seat on the floor and follow my lead."

Carmine took a seat in front of all the kids. At first, the kids thought it would involve meditation of some kind. But instead, Carmine started guiding them through various stretches for different parts of the body. It actually felt pretty good to stretch now.

"Great. Now that everyone's warmed up, let's make things a little interesting. Have any of you ever been to a ballet before?"

"What's that?" asked one of the boys.

"Ballet is a very special form of dancing, and I know what you're thinking. You think dancing isn't the same thing as the other athletic stuff you might learn, but that's just not so. Ballet is more than twirling and tutus. It takes quick reflexes, coordination, and a very strong body."

A few minutes later, Obi-Wan came back in dry robes, when he was surprised to see the children... dancing?

"One and two, and jump!" Carmine counted. "Longer in the legs, Niko."

"Good, everyone."

Obi-Wan wanted to walk in and question Anakin, but for the first time, Anakin looked like he was enjoying working with the younglings... at least, who he thought was Anakin. But, since when was Anakin so good at ballet, he wondered?

"And the best part of any performance is the big finish!" Carmine smiled.

And Carmine showed off by doing a bunch of really hard looking turns, jumps, and finishing in a perfect split!

But since when was Anakin that flexible? Obi-Wan wondered. The last Anakin tried a split, he couldn't play Dance, Dance Revolution with Gabby for two days.

Meanwhile, Anakin was still roaming through the library, reading... when he heard the sound of his stomach grumbling.

"Sounds like it's time for a snack." Anakin told himself.

So, he went to the commissary to get a snack, where he ran into Lamenta.

"Hi, Daddy." Lamenta said.

"Oh! Lamenta. Hey." Anakin said, backing away from his niece. He knew if she touched him, she'd see right through his trick with her truth seeking ability.

Shoot!Anakin scolded himself. He couldn't believe neither he nor Carmine thought about this! Lamenta could easily touch either of them, find out they switched places, and expose them.

"What are you doing?" Lamenta asked.

"Getting a snack." Anakin said, grabbing a green apple.

Lamenta, however, gave Anakin a look as he took a bite.

"Oh, sorry. Did you want some?" Anakin said, assuming Lamenta was upset that he took the last green apple without asking if she'd like it.

"You didn't by any chance switch places, did you, Daddy? Or should I say... Uncle Anakin?"

Anakin quickly shushed his niece and took her somewhere else where no one else would hear them.

"How did you know?!" Anakin whisper-yelled. "You didn't even truth scan me."

"I didn't need to." Lamenta said. "You're lucky no one at the Temple knows my dad as well as I do yet, because you're not exactly the best at being him."

"What gave me away?"

"Bacon isn't the only food your twin hates." Lamenta pointed to the apple in Anakin's hand.

"You mean Carmine doesn't like apples either?"

"Just the green ones."

"Hmm. He forgot to mention that. Just, please! Don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Why'd you switch anyway?"

"We thought it might be fun to live as each other for a day." Anakin shrugged. "You know, identical twin stuff."

"I guess that makes sense. But, how long are you gonna keep this up?"

"Until tonight. Then we'll switch back."

"You sure you'll even be able to last that long?"

"Your father pretends to be two different people for a living, doesn't he? What's pretending to be one more?"

Carmine wasn't doing too good a job being Anakin at the moment though.

Currently, Carmine was doing more playing with the younglings than teaching them.

When Obi-Wan and Ahsoka saw "Anakin" being so playful, they thought something was definitely up. Usually Anakin would turn his nose up at being called to train younglings in favor of more show off type of opportunities. But, here he was, dancing all about, being all playful and acting more like a fun best friend than a teacher.

"What is going on with Anakin today?" Ahsoka said.

"I have no idea. He's been acting oddly all day."

Carmine was in the middle of playing a game of Freeze Tag with some of the kids, when he suddenly bumped right into a table he didn't see, knocking down a vase and breaking it.

"Oops!" Carmine said.

Carmine looked to the floor to see where the pieces landed, but found that he was having trouble seeing.

Uh oh!The spell that cleared his sight must have worn off! Carmine needed to cast the spell again... except, he couldn't remember the words! This wasn't good. He needed to find Anakin, which wouldn't be easy without clear vision.

"Okay, someone get a cleaning droid here. Kids, be careful." Carmine said, before he bumped right into Ahsoka. "Oh! Sorry... Ahsoka."

If it weren't for Ahsoka's coloring, Carmine might've mistaken her for someone else. But, she didn't fail to notice that "Anakin" was squinting, and bumping into things as he walked through the hall.

"I see what you mean by 'odd.'" Ahsoka said. "Is he sick or something?"

"I don't think so. But... have you noticed a change in his flexibility?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I saw him do a perfect split earlier today."

That surprised Ahsoka. But then, she and Obi-Wan had a sense something was amiss.

Soon, dinner was being served in the Temple, and some folks had their meals in their apartments while others went to the commissary. There were some new recipes being introduced this week, and tonight's menu had curry as one option, which Carmine thought smelled delicious. Of course, Anakin was more interested in this pasta that had bacon in it.

So, when the twins sat to eat their food, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were both quick to notice that the twins were eating something neither of them would eat.

"I thought Carmine said he hated bacon." Obi-Wan said, seeing "Carmine" eating bacon-filled pasta.

"And how is Anakin suddenly eating that stuff so well?" Ahsoka questioned. Why, you may be wondering?

Last week, when there was five alarm chili being served for lunch...

"Be careful, Anakin. That stuff is really hot." warned Carousella. "I'm not kidding."

"It's just chili. What harm can it do?" Anakin said.

But when he took a bite, his face turned red and he was panting and screaming in pain!

"Hot, hot, HOT! Water!"

Anakin felt like his mouth was on fire.

"It burns!" Anakin cried before he practically yanked the door off the freezer, found a pint of ice cream and slid it right on his tongue, relieving the spice.

Today...

Carmine was enjoying the curry. Over the time he'd spent traveling to a bunch of different places with different foods, it built up his spice tolerance by a lot. That, and the fact that he and his grandmother tended to have a pretty simple menu pretty much all the time due to not being able to afford anything to fancy back then, hot sauce became his best friend in his childhood.

"Master, are you aware you're eating spicy food?" Ahsoka said.

"Um... yeah?" Carmine said.

Except, that made Anakin nearly choke on his food.

"Yuck!" Anakin faked. "Bacon!"

"Very funny, you two." said a new voice. It was Qui-Gon.

"Hi, Dad." said the twins.

"Boys, you can switch back now." Qui-Gon said, crossing his arms.

"Did Lamenta-?" Anakin said.

"No, she didn't. I knew."

Carmine put his glasses back on and reversed the hair spell on himself and Anakin.

"How did you know?" said Carmine.

"A father knows how to tell his own children apart, even if they are identical twins. Also... I saw when you took your shirt off earlier, Carmine."

"How is that relevant?" Ahsoka said.

"Carmine, take off your shirt again." Qui-Gon said.

"Now?"

"Carmine."

With a sigh, Carmine took off his shirt again, which revealed that in his back, right under his left shoulder, he had an unusual birthmark that was shaped like a music note. And eighth note to be exact.

"Didn't know you had that," said Anakin.

"That's another way to tell you apart, that's for sure." Obi-Wan said, having giving Anakin a bath when he was a kid sometimes, and never recalling seeing a birthmark on him.

"It's also part of how Shmi and I came to name Carmine."

"It is?" Anakin said.

"Indeed. Carmine's name literally means 'song.' Thus, the day you two were born, when I saw Carmine had that mark, I couldn't imagine a better name for him."

"Then, how did I get mine?" Anakin asked.

"Well, your mother once mentioned she had an ancestor named Anakin." Qui-Gon said. "From what I can recall, she mentioned he was a strong warrior. Thus, she decided to name our firstborn after him. But what led you two to switch places, I still don't know."

"We thought we could just experience each other's lives for a day," said Anakin. "But, I guess we don't know each other as well as we thought."

"Or we need to work more on our acting skills." Carmine said.

"Maybe both those things." Ahsoka smirked.

"You know, us switching places could be useful for missions." Anakin said.

"That is true." Obi-Wan said. "Although, Carmine may need more training, as well as lessons on not being so jumpy."

"I'm not that jumpy!" Carmine said.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Carmine from behind and shouted, "Boo!"

"Aah!"

Carmine spilled some curry on his shirt from that outburst.

"Sorry, Uncle Carmine." Gabby giggled.

"Gabby!" Carmine whined. "Now I gotta change my shirt again."

"Of course," said Ahsoka, rolling his eyes. "Carmine is the one of us who would complain about stained clothes."

"Now we know where Gabby gets her need to be clean from." Anakin chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair, amid the girl fixing her bow afterward.

"Hey, not all of us grew up being able to afford a lot of stained clothes and replacing them when they got worn out. Most of my clothes in childhood came from thrift stores, and not all of them could handle being stained multiple times even if water and laundromats didn't cost a lot of money. Anywho, if you're gonna pull off being me, you'll need more music and dance lessons."

"I don't know if I can learn twenty different instruments in such a short time."

"I play forty-five instruments, Anakin." Carmine corrected.

"There's no way." Ahsoka said.

Then, Carmine named the instruments he played.

Accordion, Pipe Organ, Banjo, Bass, Bassoon, Bongos, Kazoo, Bugle, Calliope, Clarinet, Drums, Flute, Guitar, Keyboard, Piano, Tuba, Trumpet, Harmonica, Xylophone, Saxophone, Tambourine, Harp, Kazoo, Cymbals, Violin, Cello, Sitar, Mandolin, Lute, Trombone, Bamboo flute, Didgeridoo, Oboe, Double bass, Piccolo, Fiddle, Synthesizer, Timpani, Glockenspiel, Maracas, Castanets, Chimes, Conga drums, Cabasa, Cowbell, Gong, Wood block.

"That's forty-seven." Gabby said. "I'm a fast counter."

"What do you know?" Carmine smirked. "I play more instruments than even I know."

"And apparently being showoffs runs in the family." Ahsoka said.

"Indeed it does." Obi-Wan said.

Everybody laughed.

It was true. The twins had a lot of work to do if they were gonna pull off a switcheroo sometime in the future. For one thing, they needed to learn more about each other.

Chapter 25: Twin Vision Part 1

Chapter Text

Fighting in battle is no easy task; to even be allowed into the team, you have to pass extensive, intensive training and tests of strength, agility, and discipline. Being a soldier is not for the faint of heart, which made it surprising to the Jedi Council and the Republic Army that Anakin's newfound twin brother Carmine stepped up, willing to fight.

To most, Carmine came off as a bit of a scaredy-cat, and kinda shy and quiet. In other words, he was pretty much the opposite of Anakin, who appeared totally fearless. So, naturally they had Carmine go through training.

Everyone was impressed by Carmine's performance in the field. He was very alert, agile, and he was very careful about his next move. But, unlike Anakin, whenever Carmine hid, he was often breathing heavily or playing with his glasses. Despite his nerves, he managed to survive the course, follow orders, and get out almost completely unscathed.

"I guess all those years of dodgeball, cheerleading, and dancing must have really paid off." Carmine smiled.

"I didn't know you were a cheerleader." Anakin said.

"How do you think I got good at projecting my voice? Plus, it's good for building teamwork skills."

After facing the Gathering, pirates, and escaping battle droids and General Grievous, Carmine felt ready for anything, especially since he'd been improving with his lightsaber.

"Again!" Carmine exclaimed.

After what happened at the Gathering, Carmine started teaching the younglings a little more about dancing in order to improve their coordination, agility, and to make training a little more fun.

"Remind me again why we have to wear these?" Petro said, looking at the tights and leotards Carmine made him and the other boys wear while the girls wore tutus.

"They allow easy movement and increase blood circulation, which helps muscle relief. One of the worst possible things that any dancer can experience is pulling a muscle. And that's just a level one injury for ballerinas."

Inconveniently, that was when Byph decided to try twirling, and he spun right into Carmine, knocking him to the floor, and making him drop his glasses.

"Daddy! Are you okay?" Lamenta asked.

"I'm fine." Carmine squinted. "Did anyone see where my glasses landed?"

"Have you ever thought about just getting contacts?" Ahsoka said, picking up Carmine's glasses.

Ahsoka handed the glasses to Carmine, who felt relief when he put them back on.

"I have, but if I didn't have these babies," said Carmine, straightening his glasses. "I don't think I would've met the love of my life."

"How did your glasses help you meet the love of your life?" Ganodi asked.

"Well, it's actually a pretty romantic story."

Carmine told the kids all about his first day back at Melody Academy; he remembered it well. At age fourteen, he was entering the rite of passage known as high school. He was excited, but also scared since this high school was no ordinary school; it specialized in musical performing arts, and only the best of the best got in, and Carmine didn't even use his powers for the audition.

But Carmine would never forget what happened in his very first ballet class. He tripped and fell, losing his glasses in the process, and then the last thing he expected happened. Someone helped him up and placed his glasses back onto his face. And the first thing he saw when his vision became clear again? The most beautiful girl Carmine had ever seen. What a wonderful sight for near-sighted eyes seeing clearly again. It wouldn't be the last time Caroline would be the wonderful sight he would see when he put his glasses on.

Eventually, Carmine had the honor of becoming that beautiful girl's husband, and he got to wake up to her every morning. Even without his glasses though, he recognized her kiss, her touch, and the sound of her voice. Carmine was crazy for Caroline the way Anakin was passionate for Padme.

"Ever since then, I've never wanted to get rid of my glasses," said Carmine. He took off his glasses for a moment to clean them off. "Because they helped get one step closer to finding the life I always dreamed of. Had I not dropped them, I might not have met my Caroline or had Lamenta. In other words, they've been a key piece to finding many blessings I have now."

"Plus, they make it easy to tell him and my dad apart." Gabby said.

Carmine chuckled and said, "That too. They're a part of what make me… well, me. And they help me see the world."

"Does anyone else in your family wear glasses?" Katooni asked.

"Not that I'm aware of." Carmine shrugged. "My grandmother did once tell me near-sightedness skips a few generations in our family. So, not a lot of our ancestors wore glasses."

But, just because Carmine associated his glasses with a romantic memory didn't mean he didn't have some bad memories with them too. Sadly, Carmine also felt a little self-conscious about his glasses sometimes. When he first got them as a child, kids at school would make fun of him, calling him names like Four-Eye Carmine, Four-Eyes, Goggles, Nerd Face, and Blind Boy. Those were just some of the mean names he was called.

One day, Carmine even tried not wearing his glasses at school, but then he accidentally walked into the girls' bathroom, grabbed the wrong book for class, and walked into the wrong classroom three times.

When he became Count Crescendo, Carmine saw that his glasses posed a slight risk. They could fall off during the performance, and then people would figure out that the pop star wore glasses, which would make keeping his identity a secret harder. So, he had to work and practice really diligently in order to perform routines without bumping into the other dancers or equipment, or falling off the stage. He only ever wore them as Count Crescendo if he was just sitting for an interview.

Caroline did suggest Carmine get contacts once or twice, at least so he could see clearly during performances, and Carmine decided only recently he was going to look into it, but his optometrist couldn't see him for an eye exam until next week. And, at the moment, Carmine's comlink beeped like crazy, indicating there was an emergency.

"Sorry, kids. Gotta cut the dance class short today." Carmine said, to the kids' disappointment. "Keep practicing, and we'll have another class very soon!"

Carmine rushed to a briefing room to meet with Anakin and a few other Jedi. There was a new mission being assigned to this group.

"It appears Count Dooku has made his way to the Enchantran district." Master Windu explained.

"But that's impossible," said Anakin. "Even Dooku knows that the Enchanteds are too powerful for the Separatists, and they would never join their forces willingly."

"Not all of them," said Carmine. "There are plenty of dark forces lurking around there."

"And Dooku couldn't recruit or capture any Enchanteds easily either," said Lamenta. "Unless he somehow found Enchanteds that are powerful without casting spells."

"What kind of Enchanted would that be?" Ahsoka asked.

"Most of those would be among the quadruped families in Enchantra." Carmine said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

According to the Jedi's intel, Dooku's ships were spotted in a particular kingdom on Planet Mythiria: the kingdom of Plumalas.

"That's the griffin kingdom!" Crescent said.

"Remind me what a griffin is?" Ahsoka said.

Gabby pressed some buttons and pulled up a picture of the royal family of Plumalas.

"A griffin is a very powerful magical creature. They have the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. At least, that's the mixture of the most famously known griffins. There are actually a few different kinds, all of them being a mix of some wild cat with an eagle of some kind."

Griffins were definitely very beautiful creatures, but could be dangerous if provoked, and they were often referred to as very proud creatures. It wasn't just griffins that lived in Plumalas, however; there were hippogriffs too, a creature that has the body of a horse and wings and head of an eagle.

"Griffins are also very territorial," said Carmine. "When I was doing a concert in that kingdom, I met with the royal family, and they warned me of particular spots to steer clear of. And one of them was this place."

Carmine zoomed in on a shadowy part of Plumalas that had a dark forest that led to a mountain range with a bird skull and crossbones on it. According to the griffin king and queen, that area was where rogue plumammals, as they referred to half-bird-half-mammal hybrids as a whole, lived. That was a strictly forbidden area no one was to even go near, especially alone and at night. They called that particular area Vulture Valley, because no one who'd gone in there had ever returned, and vultures were often seen flying around the mountains too, likely feasting on another victim.

That story definitely scared the children.

"If Dooku plans to recruit griffins or hippogriffs to the Separatist cause, he'd likely search there for some willing to help overthrow the royal family." Carmine said.

"And the griffins probably haven't had to fight battle droids." Anakin said. "What's our strategy?"

The strategy appeared quite simple. Obi-Wan, Gabby, and Lamenta would go to the griffin's castle in the mountains to warn the royal family, whilst Anakin, Carmine, and Ahsoka took a clone squad through a safer path through Blue Jay Pass to fight Dooku's forces before they got to Vulture Valley. According to Carousella, she heard from Fantasia, who heard from Memoria, who learned from her parents that a group of enchanted alchemists from Lefinitscia and Elementara were working on an important project to protect the kingdoms.

In the Rim of Enchantra, there was a planet called Escuela, an entire planet of magical boarding schools, and the one planet with a barrier powerful enough to keep dark forces from entering the entire planet. That was because they had special crystals with magic that created the barrier when their magic was combined. However, these alchemists were working to create such a barrier on a smaller scale to which they would create a barrier to place around dangerous, forbidden areas so that no one could get in and the creatures that lived there couldn't get out, thus keeping the peaceful villages safe.

Once the droid army was defeated, the clones would plant special marks in specific areas for the magical crystals to go in order to put the barrier up to keep the rogue plumammals in their space and out of trouble.

"Since some familiarity with the area, Carmine has " said Master Yoda. "Leading alongside Skywalker, he will."

"Are we sure Carmine's ready for a real mission?" Mace said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carmine said, crossing his arms in offense.

Mace didn't answer Carmine and simply told Master Yoda that aside from the incident with the Gathering and rescuing Ahsoka, Carmine hadn't been on a real mission before, and venturing into battle amongst griffins and battle droids seemed like a bit much at the moment.

"Carmine, you should know, traveling to an area to set up a concert is one thing, flying into a war is another." Mace said. "This isn't like dance class where someone can order it all to stop when something is wrong."

"I know that already. And like Master Yoda said, I'm familiar with the area. I can provide some assistance in navigation."

Naturally, a few Jedi Council members were concerned about allowing Carmine to go into battle. As Count Crescendo, he was confident, fearless, and ready to put himself out there, but as Carmine, he was anxious all the time and sometimes cracked under pressure. But, Carmine worked hard in his training, and he was a team player; he was no stranger to working with a group of people in various positions. Granted, the people he worked with were working backstage or on stage as the backup dancers or the band, but it required a disciplined, focused, and flexible state of mind to get through every show.

"Still, I have some doubts about this being your first mission." Mace said.

"He won't be alone in this fight." Anakin said. "I'll look after him. That's what brothers do."

Carmine smiled again, appreciating how kind his brother was. As much as Anakin kept a tough guy image, he was very compassionate, and looked out for his friends and loved ones, including those he didn't know existed until earlier that year.

A clone squad was soon placed on a cruiser headed to Plumalas. Obi-Wan took Lamenta and Gabby with him to head over to the castle.

Plumalas castle was a lovely stone castle covered with many flowers and birds building nests in various trees and mountain ledges surrounding the area.

The trio was met by some powerful-looking guards who asked them to state their business.

"Hi," said Gabby, stepping up. "I'm Gabriella Skywalker, Princess of Naboo, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi and my cousin Lamenta Jinn. We're here to see King Gustavo and Queen Plumette."

One of the guards went inside and then came back to let the trio in.

Most kings and queens sat on thrones with silk cushions and shiny armrests. But the leaders of the griffins sat in big nest-like thrones decorated with rows of flowers and feathers.

"Your Majesties." Gabby curtsied.

"Why this unexpected visit, Princess and Master Jedi?" said the griffin king.

Obi-Wan explained to the king and queen that Count Dooku's forces were heading for their kingdom, and very likely heading to the dark areas to create an army of the creatures who lived there. Of course, the king thought that was impossible, but Queen Plumette thought a little differently.

"Do you know how he plans to do this?" asked the griffin queen.

"Not exactly. But Dooku is a very powerful Sith Lord," said Obi-Wan. "Highly unpredictable at times, and the droids are effective in doing a lot of damage, which I fear won't spare your home just because of its beauty."

Queen Plumette looked at her mate, and they came to an agreement to have their best guards on high alert and immediately start getting the grifflings (the babies) to safety.

Meanwhile, Anakin, Carmine, and Ahsoka walked the path through Blue Jay Pass with a clone squad, being on the lookout for anything strange.

"Everyone be quiet," said Carmine quietly, but loudly enough for the others to hear. "This place is called Blue Jay Pass for a reason."

Sure enough, everyone heard a loud jeering sound and some whistling chirps. And in the trees surrounding everyone, there were plenty of nests where lots of blue jays lived.

"Wow, they're so beautiful." Ahsoka said with awe. She couldn't help finding it adorable when she spotted a mother blue jay feeding her babies.

"Don't be fooled by how pretty they are." Carmine said. "Blue jays are very territorial. It's critical we don't disturb them."

So, the squad continued to move very carefully and quietly… until one of the clones stepped on a twig, and everyone froze.

"Rex! Be careful." Anakin scolded.

"Sorry." Rex said.

And then Anakin backed up a little and stepped on another clone's foot.

"Ouch!"

That startled the birds. There were blue jays flying everywhere, and everyone started rushing to get out of the way to avoid getting pecked, scratched, or worse, hit with bird poop. Carmine bumped into Ahsoka at one point and lost his glasses.

"Ahh! Can't see!" Ahsoka panicked, as Carmine's glasses were on her face.

"Give me that!" Carmine said, taking back his glasses.

Everyone quickly ran the rest of the way, but soon ran into a bunch of battle droids who were already making their way through the villages.

There were griffins and hippogriffs who kicked, swooped, and attacked the droids, but a lot also got shot down, killed or severely injured.

"Oh boy." Carmine said, getting scared.

"This is what you trained for." Anakin said, igniting his lightsaber.

Carmine gulped, then he took out his own lightsaber and ran into battle with his twin and the others. There were battle droids everywhere! In homes, outside, heading into the forest. The Jedi used their lightsabers to slice the droids in half and made their way to the tanks that were brought in.

"We'll take the tanks, you stay down here with the clones." Anakin told his brother.

Ahsoka and Anakin took on the tanks, whereas Carmine sliced every droid he could get close to. But, a lot of the times, he kicked a droid or punched it if it startled him, or cast a spell.

"These thing pop out like weeds!" Carmine said, amid a bigger droid approaching him, and Carmine fled from it and hid behind a big rock, breathing heavily.

"Wait, what am I doing?" Carmine asked himself. "I'm a grown man and I've been trained for this."

Carmine came out from his hiding spot and carefully looked out to where he saw Anakin and Ahsoka having stopped the tanks, but more droids managed to get away and take a path into the forest, and it appeared the others were too busy to notice. So, Carmine did the only thing he could think of.

Carmine went after the droids himself. He climbed into the trees and jumped from branch to branch until he made his way in front of the droids.

"Stop right there!" said Carmine, wielding his lightsaber.

"Does General Skywalker look different to you?" said one droid.

"Who cares? Blast him!" said another.

Carmine quickly used his lightsaber to deflect the shots the droids fired, taking down a few in the process. And then Carmine remembered the choreography from when he did a music video that involved fighting.

"Alright, droids. Let's dance." Carmine said, and he ran right at the droids and kicked, threw, and Force pushed a couple, and managed to swipe another's blaster and start shooting them.

But just when Carmine thought he'd taken all of them down, some super droids came around.

"Uh oh!"

Carmine took that as his cue to run for cover, but as he did, he tripped on a battle droid corpse and his glasses fell off as he hit the ground. And to make matters worse, one of the super droids stepped on Carmine's glasses and broke them.

"My glasses!" Carmine exclaimed.

Unfortunately, even without his glasses, Carmine could tell the super droids were about ready to blast him. So… Carmine did the only thing he could do.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Carmine vocalized a loud sonar wave that shook the whole village, and at a pitch that began shorting out a lot of the droids, and made Anakin and Ahsoka cover their ears. Even the clones were holding the sides of their helmets just to keep their own ears from being destroyed. But some also fell down from the loud sound shaking the ground.

All was silent. Not another droid in sight.

"What was that noise?" Rex said.

"That was Carmine." Anakin said, having heard a loud song like that before.

For someone who spoke quieter than Anakin most of the time, Carmine actually had a very loud voice.

"Sounds like he may need help." Ahsoka said. "Let's go!"

Ahsoka and Anakin made their way to where they heard the loud sound, and they found Carmine on his hands and knees on the ground, breathing heavily. Doing a sonar wave so suddenly must have taken a lot out of him.

"Carmine! Are you alright?" Anakin asked.

"I…I think so." Carmine said, getting up. That was when Anakin and Ahsoka noticed Carmine's glasses were missing.

"What happened to your glasses?"

"A battle droid happened!" Carmine snapped. He crawled on the ground again and felt around until…. "Here they are."

"Uh oh." said Anakin.

Carmine's glasses were very badly damaged. The lenses were shattered, the left temple (side part) was cracked and so was the rim for the right lens.

"I don't think we'll be able to fix these." Anakin confessed. He took his brother's hand. "Come on. We gotta meet Obi-Wan and the girls."

"What do you mean you broke your glasses?" Obi-Wan said.

"Technically, a droid broke them." Carmine said. "I didn't ask for this to happen, Master."

"Carmine, you're looking at Cody." Anakin pointed out. He turned his brother's head to face Obi-Wan.

The Council grew concerned when they learned Carmine's glasses broke, which made him a liability.

"How bad is your vision exactly?" Ahsoka asked.

"Reallybad. I've been near-sighted like this since I was little." Carmine said.

"It can't be that bad." Rex said.

Gabby then decided to pull up a picture of a griffin, and told everyone to look at it. The picture was very clear.

"This is what a griffin looks like to us," said Gabby.

"Yes, we know that." Rex said.

Then, Gabby made the picture have low resolution, making it look blurry and very fuzzy, hard to see.

"And this is what it looks like to Uncle Carmine when he doesn't have his glasses on."

"Wow! That is blurry." Ahsoka said.

"What do we do now?" Carmine said.

"Do you have a spare pair of glasses on board?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Nuh-uh." Carmine shook his head.

"Contact lenses?"

"My optometrist can't see me until next week about that."

"Do you know a magic spell that can clear your vision at least temporarily?"

"Nope."

"Maybe try one of these." One clone suggested, taking off his helmet. "These things give us better vision."

Except, when Carmine tried it on, not only did it make him feel a little hot underneath, but it didn't help his eyes because it wasn't prescription like his glasses were.

Obi-Wan saw only one solution then.

"Anakin. It looks like you will have to be Carmine's eyes for the time being."

"Why me?" Anakin asked.

"You are his brother. And you do already have the same eyes. Only difference being that you don't wear glasses."

"Um… okay. Looks like I'm definitely the big brother here, Carmine."

"We don't know for sure who's older, you know." Carmine squinted.

"If you two are quite finished," said Obi-Wan. "That was only the first wave of droids. Our intel indicates Dooku may be sending another fleet through the other side of the forest. If we can place the markers before they get there, that will buy the griffins time to place the crystals."

"Skywalker," said Mace over the hologram. "Are you sure you can handle this mission and babysit your brother?"

"I'm the same age as him, you know!" Carmine said, offended.

"We'll be fine. I've looked after kids while fighting in battle, I can definitely watch my twin in this situation." Anakin said. "And only if we hurry can we get it done."

"Then what are we doing standing here chit-chatting? Let's get going!"

And Carmine ran towards the forest.

"Carmine!" Anakin and Ahsoka exclaimed. "Watch out for that-"

CRASH!

"Oof!" Carmine groaned as he bumped into a…..

"Tree."