Just a warning for some readers...
here in this chapter, there are a couple of mentions of the topic of abuse and self-harm, which I believe are both very serious. The only thing worse than those things happening alone is when people you should be able to trust, such as your family, isn't able to help you for one reason or another, or worse blames the victim
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"None of this woulda happened if you'd just left everything alone!" Round n' Round said, angrily flying over the Monroes. "This was Myra's special day, and you wrecked it for her."
"We were only trying to show her how to honor tradition." James said.
"No, you wanted to make this about yourselves!" Mace said, finally standing up to his in-laws. "Brenda and I decided to invite you because we hoped that we could make things right and all be a family. But you're so set in another century that now I see that's just not going to be possible. Brenda had many good things to say about you from her childhood, but for some reason you decided it was a good idea to try to control everything she did."
"We only wanted what was best for her." Cecilia said. "It was how our own parents raised us, so we gave our girls what they needed."
"Is being told that she has to choose a stereotypical job position what she needed? You know, I used to think in a similar way to you under the old Jedi Code, and it nearly cost me everything I cared for. Times have changed, and people along with it. Brenda is a very capable and spirited woman, and you should be proud of the woman she's become. What happened between her and I before, that was on me. She never asked to be left behind or to struggle so she could provide for Myra and love her, and even though I didn't even know Myra existed then, leaving them behind was the worst mistake I ever made. And just because things didn't go a certain way for you and your daughter is no excuse to force your grandchildren to be their replacements."
"Currently, her turning herself into a bear is not helpful to her case." James said.
"She got clavatized because you upset her!" Qui-Gon said, smashing a table with his super strength. "Mariverde targets people specifically when they are emotionally distressed. And not just her or Myra. You have upset all of us by putting all the hard work we put into her celebration to waste."
"Exactly!" Padme said. "Did it never occur to you that your actions would affect more than one person? Myra is a very spirit girl like her mother, and she has so many friends who love her. They love her so much that they all pitched in to create the sweet sixteen she's dreamed of since she was a little girl. But then you had to come in and get rid of everything because your traditions are apparently more important to you than your own family's feelings. And what about Heidi? Where does she stand on all of this? Does she even talk to you or Brenda?"
The Monroes, for once, were quiet.
"What's happening here?" said a new voice.
And everyone saw that the voice belonged to a woman who resembled Brenda, but with short hair. And she wasn't alone. She was with a boy about Boba and Omega's age. Her son Rhett.
"Heidi! You're here." Cecilia said.
"Mother."
"Everyone, this is Heidi and her son Rhett. Where's Walter?"
"Don't speak of him." Heidi glared.
"What did you do, Heidi?" James asked.
"A more important question, where's my sister?" Heidi asked.
"She's been clavatized." Mace said. "I'm Mace Windu, Brenda's fiancé."
"Nice to meet you. But again, where is Brenda?"
Mace explained to Heidi what clavatizations were and how Brenda became the newest victim after an argument with her parents, and she'd taken her children somewhere. Heidi looked at her parents and sighed.
"Why am I not surprised?" Heidi said.
"Wait, this had happened before?" Anakin said, confused.
"Minus the magic gypsy spelling my sister, yes. You see, our parents, they were once loving to my sister and I. But the moment we each turned five years old, that was when they started breeding us to be perfect ladies and conform to societal standards that they claimed we had no choice in. We were allowed to play with other kids, but we were forbidden from dressing certain ways or from doing things outside of traditions, and led us to believe that when we got husbands if they left us, it was always the woman's fault for gaining weight or not working hard enough around the house."
"We were only passing down what our parents taught us as children." James said.
"That explains a lot." Omega rolled her eyes.
"Watch your tone, young lady."
"Don't speak to my granddaughter that way!" Shmi said angrily.
"If you must know, the reason Walter isn't here because he and I are divorced, and I initiated it." Heidi said. "Rhett is under my custody now, and I sent Walter to prison."
"Why would you do something so foolish, Heidi?" James said. "Walter is a very successful partner at his law firm, he makes more money than you could ever hope for-"
"And he is also an abusive husband and worse father than you ever were!" Heidi said. "I left him because he endangered the welfare of myself, and more importantly, my son."
According to Heidi, her now ex-husband Walter had been chosen for her by her father, and she only married him to please her parents. At first, things were fine. She did as her parents taught her and obeyed everything he wanted and worked as a housewife. But then, things took a turn for the worse, and Walter would mistreat Heidi if she did something wrong or wasn't fast or perfect enough by hitting her or yelling at her. And some nights, Rhett was forced to watch, and it got worse all the time. only recently did Heidi finally decide to take a stand after she got a call from Rhett's boarding school and learned he'd been caught attempting self-harm after some of the bigger boys started harassing him and calling him names. And Walter, he said that the only Rhett would learn is if he were left to fight his own battles.
That was the last straw for Heidi. Screw her parents' beliefs that men had to be the strong protectors of every family. Many times, especially nowadays, protection was made a woman's job, and Heidi decided she was going to be more like her sister and stand up for her rights. It took a lot of courage, but she managed to get more than half of everything in the divorce, including total custody of her son, and Walter was taken to jail for domestic abuse.
"Why didn't you tell us that was going on, Mija?" Cecilia asked.
"Why do you think?" Heidi said. "You depended on me being the perfect child after Brenda left, and I knew that you and Father wouldn't be supportive if I told you my husband was abusive! You didn't even believe me or Myra when we told some boys were picking on us in school. You said it was because they liked us. Last time I checked, when a husband loves his wife, he doesn't abuse her."
"She has a point." Padme said. "Ani and I care for each other and are always honest with each other. That's why we're still together and have been for the last five years."
"Yeah. And why should Myra have to do only certain things because she's a girl?" Gabby questioned. "Buttercup's a girl, and she plays just about every sport there is. And Mommy's a girl and she's a senator."
"Not to mention I graduated top of my class at age eight in royal guard training." Carousella said.
"And look at me," said Boba. "I'm a guy and I became captain of the cheerleading team in school."
"I did that too in high school." Carmine said. "Not to mention the singer Count Crescendo wears all kinds of bright colors and glitter sparkles when he's performing. And my wife happens to be a very successful party planner for all kinds of occasion, manager to Count Crescendo, and she manages to do it all while pregnant."
"My birth parents' attitude were also a lot like yours when I lived with them." said Comedia. "Except, they intentionally hurt me because I was born a silly-corn with wacky magic and I'd rather be a stand-up comedian when I grow up than some perky, prancing little princess." She looked at the other princesses in the room. "No offense."
"I don't know what your parents did to hurt you," said Kara. "But if you have any care whatsoever for your daughters and your grandchildren, I'd say both of you need to seek therapy with them to make things right."
The Monroes looked at each other and started to reflect. Had they really been so blinded by the traditions their own parents forced upon them that they didn't even notice they were hurting their children? They'd both wanted nothing more than to give their daughters a good future and thought like so many that success meant being rich and never having to work for anything. Being a nurse and caring for her home was all Cecilia ever knew, and being a businessman after inheriting his father's estate and company were all he ever knew. Had they really just turned into their own parents and not let themselves realize it? The answer was yes, and even worse, it seemed that it came at the cost of their daughters' love and respect for them, as well as their grandchildren being kept out of their lives. But, maybe, just maybe, if they worked really hard at it, they could make amends because unlike Comedia's birth parents, the Monroes genuinely wanted their children to have a good future and not because they wanted to use them for power or anything like that. In other words, in a strange way their hearts were in a good place but they went very wrong about it.
"I hate to interrupt," said Rhett. "But shouldn't we look for Aunt Brenda and my cousins?"
"Yes, that's our priority." Mace said. "Only question is where to start."
"Well, let's think." Anakin said. "What do we know about this Mama Bear that Brenda was turned into?"
"She was wearing a familiar skirt." Lamenta said. "Don't we know someone who wears a red skirt with black shamrocks on it?"
"Yes!" Comedia said. "That bad luck leprechaun. Ms. Fortune."
It was no surprise Comedia would be able to recognize it; the way she grew up, no one in her house wore the same outfit twice, and with the number of important guests she often saw at royal events, Comedia had to know every detail about them from their names to signature traditional wear of particular members of other royal families. She only needed to see a particular pattern once to be able to recognize it.
"Why would Mama Bear be wearing Ms. Fortune's skirt?" Gabby scratched her head.
"Maybe Mariverde's going into fashion as a backup plan for starting her own empire?" Carmine guessed. "Just a thought. You never truly know how a twisted mind like hers works."
"Whatever the reason, Brenda needs our help." Qui-Gon said. He looked at Brenda's parents. "Is there a particular place you think Brenda might be taking the children?"
"Not really," said James. "Brenda was very secretive about pretty much everything when she was young."
"Well, she was turned into a bear," Gabby said. "And by the look of things, she wanted to protect her cubs, a.k.a. Myra and Kade. So, how do mama bears protect their cubs?"
"My best guess," said Strawberry. "They'd take the cubs to a cave."
"And where exactly would we find a cave on Coruscant?" Anakin pointed out.
"Maybe it's not a real cave we have to look for," said Padme. "Just her cave."
"Then Brenda must be taking the kids to the Jedi Temple!" Mace confirmed.
"What if she destroys it?" Comedia's ears fell back at that thought.
All the Jedi in the room got worried at that thought too; they'd already had their beloved Temple destroyed once by a doresho gypsy. They couldn't let that happen a second time!
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Quickly, Mace got onto Strawberry's back and got her to start flying.
Except, when everyone got to the Temple, Mama Bear was nowhere to be seen. But, the inside of the Temple was a mess!
There were claw marks in some of the rugs, holes in the wall, pipes had burst from the walls and flooded some of the halls, and there was a big pawprint on one of the walls with a black shamrock in the middle.
"What happened to the Temple?" Comedia said. And then she saw her father in trouble. "Daddy!"
Ki-Adi was trying to block water that was gushing out from a pipe, but it wasn't doing much good. Master Plo came to help, but only succeeded in getting his robes soaked.
"Daddy, what happened?"
"I'm not sure. All was fine, when suddenly a pipe just burst and water started gushing out of it." Ki-Adi replied, soaking wet from head to toe. "I can't understand it though, these pipes are brand new."
"That isn't all." Plo Koon said. "All of the computers have stopped working, Fiesta got gum stuck in her mane, and poor Ahsoka and Shaak are busy helping Madam Jocasta clear up all the bookshelves that fell over in the library. And now Citrus has vanished."
"Was anyone hurt?" asked Caroline."
"Not that we are aware of." Ki-Adi answered, amid a pipe squirting him in the face. "Pleh!"
"I'm going to look for Myra and Kade." Mace said. "everyone else, search for Mama Bear."
"I'll help you look, Master Windu." Goldie said, getting down from Buttercup's back.
"Me too." said the pegazeeb (pegasus zebra).
"Mom?" Rhett said. "Can I stay and help too?"
"I think that's a good idea." Heidi said.
And the three children accompanied Mace into his apartment to search for his kids.
"A little help here?" said a voice. And the group looked up to see Citrus standing on his hind legs with his back against the wall on a high shelf.
"We found Citrus, Uncle Plo!" Gabby called.
"Citrus?" said Anakin. "How'd you get all the way up there?"
"I think a better question is how to get him down." Omega said.
"Like this?" Carousella said, using her magic to gently lower Citrus to the floor.
Citrus sighed with relief. "Thanks. That's much better."
"How exactly did you end up so high?" Boba asked.
"Beats me. One minute I'm just grabbing an orange, the next this grizzly sized woman jumps in and spooks me in the hall, and then poof! I'm all the way up on the shelf while looking for a hiding spot in a panic."
"Wait, you saw Brenda?" Anakin said.
"That was Brenda? Oh no, was she-?"
"Yes! Did you see where she went or hear her say where she was going?"
"Well, from what I remember, she was carrying a box of some kind when she entered the apartment, but when she came out, she didn't have it anymore. And, it could be just what my fear heard, but I think I heard her say something along the lines of 'Time to see how strong the foundation of their work is.' I have no clue what she could've meant by that."
"She must be going after the family business!" Cecilia said. "There are a lot of people who work in those buildings."
"That's not good." Carmine said. "Where exactly are those businesses?"
"The vehicle company headquarters is in Omero City, which is much too far from here. But there are many facilities that are in various other cities in all directions. I can't be certain which one Brenda will attack first."
Luckily, James had a map saved on his phone of where the different shops for his vehicle and mechanic businesses. There were at least fifteen different shops within a fifty mile radius, and just like he said, there was no way of knowing which one Brenda would hit first. So, they would have to rush over and warn everyone to get out of the buildings before Mama Bear got there so even if she did manage to cause damage, at least the workers would be safe.
"I hope your insurance covers clavatized villain damage." Crescent said.
"Okay, here's what we'll do." Kara said. "Those with wings, fly up high and see if you can spot Mama Bear. Those with none, climb onto a flying horse and search from the air."
So, while the royal family summoned their wings, while everyone without wings climbed onto a horse and began rushing out to a designated location to get there before Mama Bear. With the horseshoes, getting there quick would be easy, but stopping Mama Bear would be harder.
The royal family and the flying horses all flew up as high as they could and searched in all directions to see if they could spot Mama Bear.
"I see her!" Magenta exclaimed. "And she's heading out fast!"
"Then that's where we're going." Yoda said.
"How exactly do we stop her if she's not even carrying the clavatized item?" Gabby pointed out.
"For now," said Qui-Gon. "The best we can do is fend Mama Bear off long enough for Master Windu to find the box and break it."
But Mace's apartment wasn't in a much better condition than the rest of the Temple, unfortunately.
"What did Aunt Brenda's box look like?" Rhett said, looking in some cabinets.
"Like a velvet one you keep jewelry in, I think." Mace said.
"Then it must be in your bedroom." Buttercup said. "Where does Brenda usually keep her jewelry?"
"Well, we just got a dresser in our room," said Mace. "Brenda keeps her things in the drawers on the left side."
"Then that's where we'll search." Goldie said.
"But if she wanted to hide it, she might have hidden it somewhere else." Buttercup pointed out. "So, Rhett, you and Mace should check out here while Goldie and I check the bedrooms."
So, the girls entered two of the bedrooms and began searching the left side of the dresser, while the guys searched the kitchen and the den.
Buttercup checked in Mace and Brenda's bedroom and found the dresser. No box in there. She also checked the closet. Nothing in there but clothes, shoes, and a brand new suit Mace must have gotten either for the party or his wedding. But no velvet box in there either. She even checked under the bed. Nothing under there but dust bunnies, which made the poor mare sneeze.
"Okay, nothing in here." Buttercup snorted the dust from her nose and then went to Myra's room. "Hey, Goldie. Any luck in here?"
"Nope." Goldie said. "Nothing in here but rock CD's, guitar picks, and a bunch of magazines. And that was just on the bed and the dresser. Myra really needs to clean up in here."
"Have you checked the closet yet?"
"Not yet." Goldie said, seeing the button. "Grr! Just my luck. It's really high up." She stood on her toes and pressed the button to open the door. "Why is everything so high in here? Even Gabby and Lamenta are bigger than me."
"Myra is taller than you, to be fair." Buttercup shrugged her wings. "But you don't have to be big to do big things."
There was definitely a lot of stuff in the closet, but the top shelf was way too high for Goldie to reach. But then, she and Buttercup could swear they heard something.
"Do you hear something?" Buttercup asked.
"Shh!" Goldie hissed. She and Buttercup were both very quiet and listened.
It sounded like... muffled cries for help! And it sounded like it was coming from, the top shelf?
"We'd better check it out." Goldie said. She looked and spotted a stool and a lower shelf, and got an idea.
Goldie took a few steps back and then parkoured herself from the stool to the shelf up to the top shelf where she hung and spotted the velvet box.
"I found it!" Goldie exclaimed happily. She grabbed the box and swung from the shelf onto Myra's bed for a soft landing.
"Keep training at that and you could be the one to introduce parkour into the Olympics." Buttercup smiled.
"Myra? Kade? Are you in there?" Goldie asked the box.
"Yes! We're in here!" said Myra's voice louder this time. "We're trapped!"
"Get us out of here!" Kade cried.
"Don't worry. I'll open the box and get you out." Goldie said.
Goldie tried to open the box, but it was stuck.
"Uh oh!" Goldie said.
"What do you mean 'uh oh'?" said Myra.
"Don't panic, but I can't open the box."
"YOU CAN'T OPEN IT AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO NOT PANIC?!"
"Oh, sure. Now she can sound un-muffled." Buttercup rolled her eyes.
"What if we're stuck in here forever?" said Kade.
"Don't worry, Kade. We'll find a way to get both of you out of there." Goldie said.
"When I can't open a box..." Buttercup said. "Sometimes banging it on a table helps loosen it."
"We can't do that! It might hurt Myra and Kade."
"Well, how else are we supposed to get them out?"
Goldie thought, and then she remembered something Boba told her when he and Omega shared the story of how they earned their powers.
"Boba had a problem like this before with a chest. It wouldn't open because he wasn't a blood member of the royal family." Goldie said. "But then he got Kara to open it because she's a blood member of the royal family."
"Then maybe Mace can open it." Buttercup said.
"But he's not biologically related to Kade." Goldie said. "Remember? Even if he and Brenda were married now, in the eyes of a spell that doesn't specify that family members blood-related or not are included, Kade would just be his stepson. And even if he could open it, Myra would probably be the only one released."
But then Goldie had an idea.
"But maybe Rhett can open it." Goldie said. "Master Windu! We found the box."
Goldie held the box and brought it to the guys.
"Well, that was easy." Mace said, getting his lightsaber.
"No, wait!" Goldie said. "Myra and Kade are trapped inside the box!"
"What?" Mace took the box. "Myra! Kade! Are you alright?"
"Well, let's see," said Myra sarcastically. "Our mom has been turned into a literal mama bear set on destroying Grandpa's business, our grandparents are threatening to take us away from our loving parents to turn us into boarding school slaves, and we're trapped in a box out of which we have no way. So, yeah. We're just peachy."
Mace didn't need to think twice about Myra's response meaning she and Kade were fine.
"We think this may be like the chest Boba needed Kara to open because she's a biological member of the royal family." said Goldie. "Since Rhett's related to both Myra and Kade because he's from Brenda's side of your family, maybe he can open it."
"You think that'll work?" said Rhett.
"We won't know unless you try."
Goldie gave the box to Rhett, and he tried to open it to let his cousins out. But it wouldn't open for him either.
This was a real problem. They couldn't open the box to get Myra and Kade out, but if they didn't destroy it, Brenda would be stuck as Mama Bear for who knows how long!
But then, Buttercup noticed the symbol on the box. It kind of looked like a little palm tree.
"What's that symbol mean?" asked the pegazeeb.
"That's a symbol called the Abe Dua." said Rhett. "In different parts of Horuun Kal, there are lots of symbols that mean different things. My mom told me once that this one is a symbol of wealth, resourcefulness, and self-sufficiency. My great grandmother on my mom's side used to tell her all kinds of things before she and my great grandpa split. In other words, my grandpa grew up with a stepmother, which I think may have had something to do with how he turned out."
"Hey, let's not stereotype stepparents." said Buttercup. "I have a stepmom. My mom died when I was a baby. All I really know about her is that she was a pegasus, and my dad is a zebra, so that's why I look like this."
"Do you think this symbol may have something to do with how we can free Myra and Kade?" said Goldie.
"It's possible." said Mace. "Rhett? Do you know anything about this box?"
"Not much." Rhett said. He thought for a moment and remembered something. "Wait! I was holo-chatting with my cousins a few weeks ago. Then Aunt Brenda came and she showed me that same box. She said her grandmother gave it to her when she was little to help her remember that she's stronger than even she knows. My best guess, she knew Aunt Brenda and Mom weren't happy with their upbringing and she wasn't going to be able to stay to help them for some reason."
"If that's our only lead, then we need to find out more about your great grandmother." Goldie said. "Do you know her name?"
"I think Mom said Myra's middle name comes from her."
"What's Myra's middle name?"
"Karissa." Myra said. "My mom's grandmother was named Karissa Adebayo! Mom told me about her when I was a kid. I think she said she kept a diary somewhere. Maybe it has some answers."
"You know, I think I saw an old diary in one of Brenda's drawers." Buttercup said. "It was in an old box labelled 'Granny K.'"
"Then let's find that book and some answers."
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Meanwhile, in the next town over...
There was trouble at one of Monroe Motors, a big business that specialized in many of the best vehicles on Coruscant and some other worlds in the Republic. They were known for providing great rides especially for the rich and famous, politicians, and even racers.
People were screaming and fleeing in terror as Mama Bear came bursting in and destroying the building from the bottom up! she clawed at the foundation of the building and began destroying the pillars that held the building up. People tried to get out, but the elevators plummeted to the floor before anyone could get in, the stairs started cracking, and pipes began bursting and gushing water everywhere!
But it wasn't just the business that was receiving damages. Everywhere Mama Bear passed along the way, there were people hanging from ledges, automatic doors closing on people's clothes and even ripping off one man's pants exposing his rocket patterned underpants, water falling onto droids and people's heads from pipes bursting, and windows being broken by a bunch of bouncy balls that fell out of a delivery freighter that crashed into a street lamppost on its way to the toy store, causing all of the boxes to fall out and spill hundreds of bullet balls into the streets.
"Wow! This is even more chaotic than when Ms. Fortune attacked before!" said Sapphire, who was carrying James on her back.
"Who is this Ms. Fortune again?" James asked, not being versed on Enchanteds of any kind.
"You know how some believe leprechauns bring good luck?" said Sapphire. "Well, this one does the exact opposite, and used bad luck as a distraction to rob people, to be brief."
"But my own daughter is the one destroying everything now!"
"Need I remind you of how upset you made her earlier? That's exactly what led to this predicament!"
"I'd say, by the way she's destroying your business," said Carousella, carrying Padme. "This is her way of saying, 'Since you're so sure men can build anything on their own, you won't have any problem with me destroying everything you built because you can just build it up like blocks.'"
"Except," said Padme. "It will take a lot more than alphabet blocks to rebuild all the damage if Mama Bear is successful at her mission."
"Then let's make sure she isn't." Anakin said, and he began flying into action... until a fire hydrant burst and caught Anakin in the geyser-like blast of water!
"That may be harder than we hoped." Carmine commented, flying in to rescue his twin.
"Mama Bear must've hidden that box really well if it hasn't been destroyed by now." Caroline said, riding Crescent.
"Crescent, fly back to the Temple and see if you can help Mace." Qui-Gon said.
"My grand-babies may be in danger!" Cecilia said, riding Harmony's back. "I'm going too!"
"This is a man's job, Cecilia, I should-" Monroe said.
"That's enough, James!" Cecilia said. "I could tolerate you doing more of the talking and got used to it in the first years of our marriage, but now I've had enough! We've already lost our grandchildren because of our old way of life. Frankly, I don't know if I'll even be staying married to you when this is all over now. But I do know I'm not losing my grandchildren the way I lost my daughters."
Cecilia snapped the reins and began flying away on Harmony, Crescent and Caroline following.
"For someone who doesn't think horses should be working with bakers, you have a way with riding." Caroline commented.
"I'd forgotten where I came from for a while," said Cecilia. "I used to ride in secret because my father always said a young lady should ride for dressage, not to race or galavant. But now I recall how more freeing it feels. I must apologize to Strawberry for that cake incident when this is all over."
However, as they were on their way to the Temple, Caroline felt a slight pain in her stomach.
"Oh! You're getting a little excited in there, aren't you?" Caroline spoke to her unborn child, gently rubbing her belly.
But the pain came again, and this time it struck a little harder.
"Um... you okay back there, Caroline?" Crescent said concerned.
"I'm fine." Caroline said, breathing heavily, but as they went farther, the pains came again and again.
"Eww! Okay, why is my saddle suddenly feeling wet?"
Now it looked like they had a new problem on their hands.
"My water just broke!" Caroline gasped.