Reminder: What ain’t mine, ain’t mine. The people upon whom Katherine and Darryn are based belong to themselves, for example.

Rebirth from Ruin?

Chapter 19 – Of Feathers and Hats

The Sarandra of Ene

“I feel lucky, you haven’t shot me yet,” uttered Aroostook.

“Don’t tempt me,” warned Harry.

“I surrender,” said Enagi. “Revert, everyone.” She reverted to Katherine. The others reverted to their normal forms. “Now release the prisoners.”

“Are you a wise ass?” demanded Harry.

“No, I was talking to my people.”

“Thank you…” squealed Aroostook, trying her best to be happy.

Harry smiled, as Captain Springboy’s limbs were untied.

“They were so not nice,” complained Sikinds.

“Now they have to be nice,” informed Marissa, as Kuwachobee released her restraints, “or else their queen gets it in the head.”

“I am the BEST PIRATE IN THE UNIVERSE!” proclaimed Springboy. “Everybody, take these prisoners to the Mr. Barracuda!”

“You heard my liege,” reminded Mestopheles to Katherine, “the great Enagi, and you’re defeated!”

“I feel like I’m in a market,” commented Grouso, “there’s a bunch of fruit here!”

Darryn was bitch-slapped by Tyrone. “That’s for my arm!” He bitch-slapped him again. “That’s for bein’ on the wrong side!” And again. “And that’s just because I sure as everythin’ just plain like doin’ it! Now MARCH!” Darryn complied, while Tyrone grinned. Just in case Darryn had any ideas, Tyrone forced the tail shut and wrapped rope around it. “Nothing funny with that feather duster, boy!”

The prisoners were led to a main passage in the Sarandra, and from there, up a spiral staircase. From there, they went to another passage, and to one of the places where a connecting passageway connected, by boarding tube. The tube’s interior was silver and shiny, and small spotlights lined the diameter at regular intervals.

“I feel lighter,” quipped Bobby.

“Artificial gravity,” suggested Vanessa. “Because there’s no guarantee that both spaceships will have their local gravity set to the same, so this lets people just walk around to get their feet to the correct floor.” A guard signaled them to walk on the “wall” to switch to the Mr. Barracuda’s gravity. At the end were arrows and x’s that glowed green and orange to ensure that everyone entering the pirate ship was entering onto a floor.

Flanking the door were Ghorkha guards armed with elaborate automatic rifles, with bayonets, lights, sights, and LED ammunition indicators. They saluted Captain Springboy as he entered. In the middle of the room they entered was a large sculpture of a skull, with a large straw sombrero perched atop it. Bright lights flashed in its eyes, and it opened to speak. “Your attention, all guards at low-priority posts report to Boarding Tube Reception #9, repeat, Boarding Tube Reception #9.” A mix of Ghorkhas and humans flooded in, with drawn weapons in their hands and smiles on their faces. Some of the men looked at Queen Aroostook and her daughter Princess Tygia and made cat-calls and wolf-calls at them. A couple of men bee-lined towards the girls, only for Marissa to stop them.

“You will return to your posts, NOW!” she barked. She turned towards the large group of prisoners. “We have your weapons, you will just quietly…”

“SHUT UP!” shouted Suki, as she broke free from a guard restraining her and tackled Marissa. She pummeled her, until Sikinds aimed her ears at her. A stream of toroidal-shaped rays smashed into her with a strange buzzing noise, and she was knocked out. Sikinds turned her ears on the other prisoners, as well.

-------------

“Ouch,” said Kuwachobee as she woke up, on a hard ground. She had her hair restrained by heavy metal chains, attached to the ceiling. She felt more pain in her back. She looked around. There were numerous Marines and soldiers, all of them restrained in different ways. The females among them were generally in better positions than the males, and some of them even had pillows to sit on. “Where am I?”

“Oh, the great Kuwapundamillia awakens!” boomed Marissa. “You lost, and I had a little fun while you were asleep. As irritating as Sikinds can sometimes be, I enjoy witnessing her powers!”

“Bite me,” spat Kuwachobee.

“Oh, I’d kind of love to,” shot back Marissa, “because of what you did. I am the first mate to the greatest pirate in the universe!” Kuwachobee laughed. Marissa sucker-punched her. “You will have respect, bitch!”

“Release me, and…”

“I am the first mate. They don’t allow idiots to be first mate. Think about it. Otherwise Grouso would be first mate. Or worse, Dylan and Dunderhead.

-------

Elsewhere, Aroostook and Tigya awoke, on a soft bed, but with their hands attached by long chains, over a pulley, and heavy ropes clamping their kulae shut. They struggled to get out, and thrashed their legs about, their dresses billowing as they did so. They stopped when they realized there were pirates around them, including some who may have gotten a view. They suddenly turned around, and a large metal door slid apart. In came a pair of men in gaudy military uniforms. They were promptly saluted. One of them had brown hair, the other blond, both in elaborate pompadour styles. The one with blond hair also had an underbite.

“So are these, like, the chicks?” asked the one with blond hair, before panting and laughing like an idiot.

“These sure are the Pavlonians. I thought they said there was a queen here, but I only see babes, thank God, Dylan!”

“Yeah, hehe, hehe, chicks, chicks, CHICKS!”

“Shut up, nimrod!” Dylan was bitch-slapped by his comrade.

“That hurt, Dunderhead!”

“Like, I know!”

“Where are we?” asked Tigya.

“Like, on a bed,” replied Dunderhead.

“You look hot, hehe, hehe, ya, hot!” added Dylan.

“You look stupid, hehe, hehe, ya, moronic,” mocked Aroostook.

“You better respect them,” warned a female guard, “they’re part of Captain Springboy’s staff!”

“Hehe, he he he, she said staff,” observed Dylan.

“What do you do?” inquired Tigya.

“Chicks, he he, he he, do them until I explode. I do both the front and the bung hole, he he, he he!” laughed Dylan. He was slapped by Dunderhead.

“We’re like pirates, which is cool because we get to carry big ass guns and just shoot whoever we hate. And we can listen to loud-ass metal all the time because we’re cooler than everyone else. Especially Mestiflese. Or Mestophilize. Or however that asswipe says his name. And we’re specialists.”

“We’re interrogators,” added Dylan.

“Yup, like we shine lights and interpolate people, that’s fancy talk for ask questions real loud, it’s just so cool!” He flipped some switches, and bright lights came on. “We also get to torture, where we make you feel pain because we’re like totally sadistic assholes!”

“HE SAID HOLES! He he, he he!”

“Shut up, Dylan!”

Aroostook and Tigya groaned. Of all the Sombrero Pirates, they had to get those two.

----------

Sarona moaned as she awakened. She had her arms and legs attached to each other via pulleys, meaning that she couldn’t move a leg or arm without another limb being moved as well.

“¡Hola señorita!” greeted a man who arrived. “I see you’re awake!”

Sarona took a look at the man. He wore shiny dark pants and a gaudy pink vest, and carried a small guitar on a strap. Sunglasses and a mustache adorned his face, and he had a large black afro. “Who are you?”

“I am Raulo Chikilicinco, the greatest reggaeton musician AND dancer in the universe!”

“Does everybody in the Sombrero Pirates brag like this?”

“¿Por qué no te callas?” retorted Raulo, before bitch-slapping her.

Instinctively, Sarona tried to kick him, but her arm was suddenly jerked up and to the side. Raulo laughed.

“You still haven’t figure it out, have you?” He began playing his guitar, and background music came to life from hidden speakers. He moved his feet in jerky motions, while rapping to the beat. “You cannot escape, you are stuck there, If I were a pervert I’d see your underwear! You know karate but it’s no good, so I’ll tell you right now that callas you should!”

A few other pirates came in to dance to the music. Sarona couldn’t believe it. She had to get free somehow.

---------

Vanessa had ringing in her ears.

“Glad you’re up, punk!” came Harry’s voice. He fired a few bullets within inches of Vanessa, who had her limbs tied together, and was sitting on hard concrete. “This is our target range!”

She looked around, and saw the assorted targets, dummies, and weapons. She wondered if she could get anything to break free. Her thinking was stopped by Harry firing more bullets.

“You almost hit me!”

“But I did not. But if I wanted to, I could, because I’m the best marksman in the universe, PUNK!”

“What do you want?”

“Anything we want, we got it, chump. We’re the Sombrero Pirates. Your ship, is now our ship. We will take everything of yours that has value. You’ll be our slaves. Of course, I could just as easily do target practice on you right now!” He fired directly above her head, right between her ears. “But that would be too nice. I remember what you did to me, but I escaped. And now, you’re fucked! You have to ask yourself, ‘do I feel lucky?’”

“I don’t, to tell you the truth!” She was punched in the face.

“It was a rhetorical question, bitch!”

----------

Suki was hung upside-down in a large bedroom that was decorated with pastel colors and pink.

“WHERE AM I?” she yelled.

“You’re in my bedroom!” retorted Sikinds. She entered the room, carrying a hammer. “And now you will be my piñata!”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, because you’re NOT NICE!”

“Neither are you!”

“But I’m a pirate, I don’t HAVE to be nice!” Sikinds pressed a button. A motor whined, as Suki was lowered by the ropes that were restraining her.

“Who woke me up?” asked someone else. Suki turned her head to see Korrina tied to a similar device.

“Both of you will be hammered, it’s HAMMER TIME!” laughed Sikinds.

“Wait…” said Suki. “You have to be blind-folded.”

“I don’t have to!”

Korrina sensed what was going on. “It’s more FUN if you do it that way!” she added.

“Fun? I like fun!”

“Why don’t you find a blind-fold?”

“I’ll look, don’t go anywhere!”

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Bobby and Katherine woke up inside an oversized bird cage. Ornate, bone-like wrought iron bars held them inside. Several skulls with glowing eyes hung from the ceiling of the cage. Chains connected it from many directions, so that the cage would not swing if any movement was to be made. They moved around, and noticed that they were naked, and completely unarmed. A strange darkness surrounded them, with only spotlights on the cage providing light.

“The creatures live,” came the sonorous voice of Mestopheles.

“Where are we, and why are we naked?” demanded Bobby.

“A couple of good questions,” mused the mage, “with a couple of good answers. You have been added to my magical collection. I fancy myself a connoisseur of all that is even remotely magical.” A strange glow activated, showing racks with staves upon them. Among the magical implements, was Katherine’s Enagi staff. Mestopheles appeared in front of the implements himself. “I have been most fortunate to acquire an Enagi staff. These are a very rare treasure indeed. With it, I will perfect my art even further, and becoming the greatest mage in the Universe!”

“Just keep saying that!”

“You’re trying to mock me, but verily I am in a position that can not be mocked!”

“My fiancée isn’t mocking you. She’s only telling you the truth, dickhead!” snarled Bobby.

“I am the greatest mage in the universe and I will have my respect. You two are but my prisoners!”

“This cage won’t hold us forever!”

“I understand, from your vantage point you are in an elaborate animal cage. But what you do not know is that this cage is not just for holding part of my collection, it is part of my collection itself! You are in the Rib Cage, an ancient device designed by Abbadon himself, only ten of these are known to exist. The cage itself was built by the smiths of Ygarloo, a place since lost to the sands of time, and Abbadon enchanted it with magics beyond even what I possess. This will be rectified in due time, as I MUST become the greatest mage in the universe! The most powerful weapons aboard this spaceship can not sever the bars. And your power is useless. I must insist, however, that the Enagi make an attempt, as I enjoy the witness of futile struggling!”

“We will brake free,” snapped back Katherine.

“A perfect melody to my ears, the scream of denial of a naked prisoner, powerless! A once great Enagi, trapped like a common farm animal. You simply do not appreciate the irony!”

“I DO NOT APPRECIATE THIS!”

“But I certainly do. I am the greatest mage in the universe, you are just a naked Pavonian girl. Advantage is in my hands!”

“LET US GO!”

“I could release you, but I prefer to just admire my collection. I could throw bananas into your cage to encourage you to do tricks for me!”

Katherine had turned red with rage, and Bobby was surprised, as he’d never seen her in this state. She fully spread her kula. “I AM NOT YOUR MONKEY!”

“I never said you were. Only my pet and my slave! But if you could swing around and eat bananas I would be pleasantly amused!”

The ocelli on her kula lit up, and energy issued forth. Mestopholes smiled. The bars glowed with bright light, and the prisoners were struck with a blast. They screamed in agony.

“You BITCH!” croaked Bobby.

“The powers of this cage are beyond what your feeble minds could ever begin imagine. It is both a thing of beauty and a tool. You will be my prisoners for a very long time indeed!”

------------

Darryn was only in a marginally better position than his sister. For one thing, he was still in his clothing, and he was in an area larger than the cage. But the walls of the room he was in were bare metal. A door creaked open, and Tyrone’s body was clearly visible, entering the chamber.

“How do you like things now?” he asked.

“Full of piss and vinegar, and now you’re here!”

“Why should I be afraid?”

A drill came out of Tyrone’s bionic arm, and revved up. “That’s why!”

“I understand!”

“Then you better understand this. I could just kill you where you stand right now. But that would be to easy!” he snickered. The bionic arm was aimed at the feathered interloper. With a hiss, several small balls were fired, and electricity arced between them, throwing Darryn to the ground. “That was too easy!”

“You…will…not…”

“Lose? Is that’s what you’re gonna say, feather-boy? Because that’s the truth!”

---------------------

Sami woke up in a cage. “Ha, the fruitcake wakes up,” yelled Grouso’s voice. “You failed. Were you born a failure, or did you have to study?”

“I didn’t come here to be insulted.”

“Where do you normally go?”

“Anywhere but here!”

“You’re in a cage so you won’t darken my towels!”

“Are you for real?”

“I have a mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it!”

“Unlock the cage and say that!”

“Whatever idea you have, I’m against it!”

“Then don’t open the cage!”

“But I’m against that as well. NOW LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE, FRUIT!”

“Shut up!”

“YOU DON’T INSULT ME LIKE THAT! Why don’t you ask me how to insult me!” He produced a key-card and slid it in a slot. The cage-door slid open. He produced a pistol.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Oh, what does it look like I’m gonna do? This ain’t a ukulele!”

-------------------

“This is our chance,” whispered Korrina.

“How?” asked Suki.

“She’s looking for a blindfold. We just have to get ourselves loose.”

“Don’t you mean free?”

“I mean we have to make it so we can jump her. Besides, these things probably have alarms. I prefer she not hear them.”

“Good idea.”

“Now if we figure out how to get free…”

“If we swing to a wall, THERE!” She pointed. There were a couple of buttons. “We’ll lower ourselves a bit.”

They swung back and forth. Suki was able to reach a pair of buttons. She pressed one. Motors whines, and the two prisoners were given a bit more rope in length.

“I hear something,” said Korrina. “Footsteps.”

“Damn, it’s Sikinds!” complained Suki.

“We can do this!” She then whispered. “Make sure she’s nice and blindfolded!”

“Today I am going to do blind hammering. YES!” came the familiar voice of Sikinds.

“Put your blindfold on,” shouted Korrina.

“Ok,” replied Sikinds. She slowly came in, with a brightly colored cloth over her eyes, and waving around a ball-peen hammer. She’d sometimes strike a wall, and shout “oops.”

The girls called out to her, so she’d walk towards them. She spun around and swung with her hammer, but missed. Korrina and Suki took the opportunity to jump her.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“The game has changed,” told Korrina. “we’re now playing tie up the Chinchilla!” The prisoners had enough extra length in their chains to walk around her and restrain her with said chains. Suki gripped the hammer, and used it to smash apart part of the chains that were restraining her. As the chains were looped, with no cuffs, she easily got hers off, and quickly tied up Sikinds with them. She then released Korrina.

“You won,” said Suki. “Your prize is those chains!”

“Now untie me,” instructed Sikinds.

“Naw, this is more fun!” The two ran out of the room.

“COME BACK!” pleaded Sikinds. “THIS IS NOT NICE!”

---------------

“You have no hope,” reminded Harry to Vanessa.

“I’m just not lucky!”

“You know, my trigger finger is very itchy today! One false move, and I’ll see what splattered bitch brains look like.”

“That’s ‘Pororo’, I’m a Pororo.”

“You’re this close to being a corpse!”

“If I die, you’ll never know…”

“Know WHAT, furball?”

“Who is the better marksman!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it is I, Filthy Harry, the greatest marksman in the universe.”

“Why don’t we find out for sure?”

“What are you saying, a shoot-off?”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m better!”

“And you don’t want to prove it!”

“That does it, bitch, we’re doing this!” He dragged her down a long and straight corridor, pulling as though it were a heavy sandbag rather than a Pororo. Vanessa’s only consolation was that the floor was reasonably smooth. “I have a special shooting range. You will witness shooting feats that you have no hope in hell of copying, because I am the greatest marksman in the universe, bitch!”

“Right, just keep saying it!”

“You won’t be so uppity when you see what I can do, you’ll wet yourself big time!”

Vanessa was heaved across the floor of the large room, into a dark section. Floodlights came on, casting light on an even larger myriad of targets and dummies. There was also a bullet-pocked notice.

“Rules of the Range:

1) Assume that a gun is loaded. Especially if Filthy Harry is holding it.

2) You’re nowhere near as good as Filthy Harry. Accept it!

3) Always hold the gun securely. You’re not Filthy Harry.

4) Don’t leave a gun unattended if it’s loaded, unless you’re Filthy Harry, because anyone who tries playing with his guns will get shot by his other guns.

5) Store guns and ammo separately. Again, this doesn’t apply to Filthy Harry, you got a problem with that, punk?

6) Don’t aim at anything you don’t want to shoot. Of course you’ll miss, see point #2.

7) Don’t try anything stupid, punk!

8) Guns don’t kill people. Harry does!”

Vanessa needed a way out. “Here, CATCH!” yelled Harry. A pistol was thrown to her

“What do you…”

“Start firing until you’re out of ammo, you worthless twat!”

“I can’t fire if all my hands are restrained.”

Harry produced a rifle with a bayonet. “Top or bottom?”

“Top,” replied Vanessa. He cut the rope between her upper two arms, before passing the pistol to her.

“Now watch what you do!” He dropped the rifle, withdrew a Magnum, and fired off many bullets, hitting targets from all angles. “You can’t do ANYTHING like that, punk!”

“You’re right. I fire differently!” She aimed at an odd angle, and fired. A bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck a target in the middle. She aimed the gun at the floor. Harry laughed. She fired again, and another target was hit.

“What the…” he asked, dumbfounded, as though he were a deer caught in the headlights of a Kenworth.

“How’s THIS for a surprise?” Her lower arms sprung up and knocked Harry’s gun out of his hands, before she jumped onto him and wailed away with lighting-fast punches.

“I knew how to shoot the ropes. Do YOU feel lucky?”

“You’re not tough enough to shoot me!”

“I am,” corrected Vanessa. She pistol-whipped him, making him fall asleep. “I just don’t choose to do it.”

She removed the remaining restraints on her legs, and tied them around Harry’s hands. She didn’t want to make the same mistake twice with him. She pushed his body and hid it behind some of the targets, and covered him with a large sheet she noticed. Her last action was to turn off the lights and close the door of the target range. The door itself was riddled with bullet holes, and a warning that the range belonged to the greatest marksman in the universe.

------------------

“So which girl does who get?” asked Dylan.

“We flip a coin, dude,” replied Dunderhead. “Then we bang them good!”

“Uh, which coin?”

“Doesn’t matter”

Dylan took out a one Ouraisa coin, and flipped it. Everyone was watching.

Tigya was the first to notice someone pass by a door behind them. She thought it was a guard, but then she noticed there were two of them, and they looked a little short for guards. The real guards were all watching Dylan and Dunderhead, waiting to see them demean and degrade the Pavonian Queen and her daughter.

Only those girls in question noticed Suki and Korrina sneak in. A male guard leaned forward to get a better view, as Dylan and Dunderhead started lifting up their dresses, very slowly. Suki grabbed the gun from the guard’s holster, and struck him with it.

“You’re so handsome,” said Aroostook, hoping to distract them.

“We’re so what?” asked Dylan.

“She said handsome,” replied Dunderhead.

“Does that mean we’re gay?”

“I don’t know, it’s such a big word. But we’re about to see what’s under her dress.”

“I already see,” said another of the guards, “They are wearing AAAAA!”

“Like, what does that mean” asked Dunderhead.

“Who cares, we must bang them real good!” There were strange noises from behind them, but Aroostook and Tigya made even stranger noises mixed with laughing and yelling.”

“The chicks want it!”

“Yeah, yeah, he he, he he, chicks, he he, he he!”

A couple of other guards were struck against each other with a loud bang.

“Oh, like, the banging hasn’t started yet,” said Dylan.

“I think we should look around, this ain’t right,” added Dunderhead.

“No,” cooed Aroostook. “Just look right here.”

“Yes, he-he, he-he!” added Dylan.

Another guard slumped forward, with a yelp. Dylan spun around.

“Intruders!” he screamed.

“Not now, I’m about to see what this chick has on underneath,” replied Dunderhead, as he was lifting Tigya’s dress, and slowly took in the sight. He was seeing right up to her thighs. He was slapped on the back of the head.

He bitch-slapped Dylan. Then they noticed the intruders. Dylan and Dunderhead ran to the sides of the room.

“BACK OFF!” yelled Dunderhead, “or we’ll blow you up and shit!”

“You don’t scare us!” replied Korrina.

“Dude, that teddy bear is speaking!”

“Like, that doesn’t make any sense, Dunderhead,” remarked Dylan.

“I’m sorry that Springboy has you on his staff,” said Suki.

“She said staff,” quipped Dylan.

“I think they’re trying to insult us,” commented Dunderhead, as he pulled out a gun. “Die!” He squeezed the trigger, and it only made a clicking noise. Korrina ran to the doorway and flipped him the two finger salute. He checked the gun, and kept squeezing the trigger, until a bullet fired, and the recoil made him slap his face, and stumble back towards Dylan. The two exchanged blows.

Suki took a knife from another collapsed guard, and started sawing through one of the chains holding Tigya’s legs. It was tough, but not invincible, as the chain was quite old. There were not even proper shackles, only the chains themselves. As soon as she was through the second restraint, she was surprised from behind, and thrown backwards with a reverse piledriver by Dylan.

Korrina turned just in time to witness Dunderhead’s left hand, as it came towards her quickly, and knocked her to the ground.

“Those asswipes did nothing but entertain us,” commented Dunderhead.

“He-he, he-he, you said ‘anus’!” added Dylan.

“Now it’s time to do the chicks. He-he-he! Which one do we do first?”

“ME!” piped Tigya.

Aroostook gasped.

“I think it’s settlered then, the girl wants it. So you do her back and I like do her front! He-he-he! He-he!”

“Giving me the bung-hole? Good, after we switch, and then I get not-bung-hole!” The two men approached her, ready to lift up her dress. They had no idea what had been done to the restraints. Tigya’s legs sprung up, as though they were charged, and struck Dylan in the face. He stumbled backwards. “He-he, I saw up her dress, he-he!” He collapsed onto the ground.

“Try that on me!” dared Dunderhead. She obliged his wish. He saw stars, but stood up. “Now try that again!” The legs were swung with more vigor, but he caught them. He moved forward, and moved his head down. “Dylan, you’re missing something, underneath her dress is…” The legs suddenly tightened around his neck, while she shook him.

Dylan slowly rose to his feet. “Hey, that looks fun, let ME have a turn!” He rushed towards his comrade, only to have his comrade thrown at him. The two dropped like ragdolls.

Korrina went up to the women, and did her best to remove the restraints.

“Domo Obrigado,” thanked Aroostook. “I was so worried, that Dylan and Dunderhead would have…”

“We know. Now let’s check out of here. Oh no, Suki!” She saw Suki was lying on the ground, barely moving.

“Allow me to help,” said Aroostook, as she spread her kula, and focused. Bright pastel-colored light flowed from her ocelli, and surrounded Suki. She slowly rose to her feet.

“Thanks,” she replied.

Tigya noticed one of the soldiers on the floor move. “We must leave, before they sound the alarms,” she suggested.

------------------

Sarona decided she’d see which were stronger, her limbs or the restraints. She focused, and pulled her legs and arms such that she’d be pulling on the rope from both ways. She wasn’t the strongest, but she was focusing. She mentally focused, imagining images of pain. She was deliberately fooling herself, driving herself into a state of panic. Raul began playing his instrument and singing about a sweating Ya’a Naomi. He didn’t hear the ropes begin to tear. She let out a primal yell.

“¿Por qué no te callas?” reiterated Raul, annoyed. He didn’t like having his music interrupted.

“I…AM…AERISA!” she yelled, as a flash of light filled the room, and she assumed her Aerisa form. The restraints were instantly broken.

“¡Mierde!” exclaimed Raul. He picked up a microphone. “Attack her, ¡Olé!”

A group of pirates aimed guns at her. She spread her wings in defiance, and moved her hands in a manner suggesting Tai Chi movements. Before they could squeeze their triggers, Aerisa pushed forth a ball of wind that mowed them down as though they were playing cards. She leapt up, and made a ball of glowing wind energy carry her. Raul aimed and fired, but missed as she sped around. She sped towards him. He sidestepped, and swung a guitar. Aerisa grabbed him in a scissor-hold, and used her wings to airlift him.

“You wouldn’t drop me, would you? Up here?” he asked.

“No,” replied Aerisa, before she rapidly dove to slam him against the ground. Several soldiers fired at her. She quickly dodged, but was hit by a couple of bullets. The adrenaline rush in her made her ignore the pain. A light sprinkle of blood hit the ground. She quickly kicked a gun out of the arms of a Ghorkha guard, before tail-whipping him. Raul stood up, and staggered over to her. She grabbed him and judo-flipped him, and he landed on a guard who was trying to sneak up behind her.

She searched him, and found what she wanted, a collection of keys on a ring. She left the room, and went into a passageway. She didn’t notice one of the seemingly unconscious guards reach up to hit a panic button.

-------------

Marissa laughed at Kuwachobee again. A beeping noise interrupted her thoughts. “Someone in here hit the panic button. It couldn’t have been you, you’re just hanging around!” She laughed at that. She went to a console attached to the wall, and pressed several orange buttons. A holographic image of the Barracuda appeared. A red starburst appeared on part of it, as did a green circle. “Raul, I should have known.”

“Raul?” asked Kuwachobee.

“He’s one of the higher-ups in the crew, but I don’t know why. Only slightly smarter than Dylan and Dunderhead. I have to see what’s going on.” She took out a whip, and whipped Kuwachobee. “This is a reminder not to do anything funny while I’m gone. Even if you are restrained, you need to be reminded.”

She dashed out of the room. Kuwachobee looked around. The steel restraints for her hair were the only thing that prevented her from just chasing Marissa. She slowly stood, up, easing the pressure of the chains, but making her back hurt. She walked towards one of the soldiers, but was stopped short by her hair being restrained.

“Come forward,” she requested.

“Yes Fraulein,” replied the soldier, with a German accent. His uniform identified him as German.

“Just a bit closer, I think someone didn’t take your knife!” She reached into a pocket, and took out a knife.

“If I may speak frankly…”

“You may…”

“How can you cut through the chains with the knife?”

“No, I’ll do this!” She cut through her hair with the knife. The hair grew back to the length it was before. She made sure to release all the soldiers she could. Most of them were just restrained with rope, so it was easier. Many of them could find ways to release their comrades. “Find where they keep our weapons, and we’re in business!”

----------

“This is it, CURTAINS!” screamed Grousso, putting his gun right up against Sami. “Nobody survives this! When I shoot you, you won’t hurt, because you’ll be dead. A rotten shame you’ll also be messy, and you can’t clean up, because you’ll be dead, and AAAA!”

He was shot in the leg from behind. It was Vanessa, with one of Harry’s guns. “If you’re going to shoot, then shoot, don’t talk!”

“Thank you, I owe you one!” thanked a grateful Sami.

“Hey you, come back and fight,” shouted Grousso. He crawled around. “As soon as I’m up, you’ll be sorry, hey, don’t leave, I’m insulting you, TAKE IT!”

-------

Darryn was on the ground and rolling out of the way, agony coursing through him as he did so.

“I’m going to kill you, slowly and painfully, oh yes,” boasted Tyrone. He didn’t notice Darryn kick a valve, until it was too late. Smoke blasted into the room, obscuring what was on the floor. “Quit stalling, you’re only delaying your doom!”

Darryn rose up from the floor next to the exit. He could see through the smoke with his ocelli. He slammed the door behind him, and dashed through a corridor, the pain slowly ebbing from him. The corridor was full of different sized panels lining the wall. Some of those panels slid away, to reveal automatic Gatling guns. Their motors started, their barrels spinning. He dove when they fired, and a deafening roar and clatter filled the hallway. When the gunfire died down, and the spinning slowed, he sprung forward. He made it to an intersection. He wasn’t sure which way to go, until he saw a guard down one of the side-passages. The guard had several dogs on a leash.

“HALT!” yelled the human guard, as he released the dogs, and they ran after Darryn. In a desperate gamble, he dashed into a door in the side. It turned out to be a dead-end. He prepared to take a stand, which he wouldn’t have to take after all, as doors closed in front of him. He’d found an elevator without realizing it.

It automatically went up. A ringing noise could be heard as it passed a floor. The door opened a few moments later, and two humans, and Ai’a’ive, and a Ghorkha all pointed weapons at Darryn.

“I’m not going back to Tyrone!”

“We aren’t taking you to him anyways,” said one of the humans. “You are going to die!” The man’s head exploded. The others turned around, to see Vanessa with a pair of high-powered pistols, requiring two hands each.

“Hello,” she greeted with a grin. She fired off several shots in succession. “Goodbye!”

-----------------------------

Alarms were blaring in a command room. Captain Springboy was running around in circles. He breathed into a paper bag to calm down, then activated a microphone. “ALL FORCES RETURN TO MR. BARRACUDA, I REPEAT, COME BACK HERE, NOW!”

He slowly regained his composure. Mestopheles appeared in a blinding flash of light. “You seem perturbed, my liege!”

“I’m ANNOYED! All the prisoners are escaping!”

“Not ALL of them,” explained Mestopheles. “The Enagi and her boyfriend are safely locked in my Ribcage. Only the Skeleton Key can unlock it. Granted, there may be other ways, but this cage was designed by Abbadon himself, who I shall one day overcome, even if he has had the luxury of time to hone his knowledge and skill of the magical arts.”

“So, what’s the point?”

“Bait, my liege, bait. I have a plan that will lure the rest of our ‘guests’ into a nice predicament.”

“Great, tell me, now, now, NOW!”

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“Which way, na-Rani?” asked Korrina.

“Please, call me Aroostook,” requested the queen.

“You’re sounding like me,” joked Suki. “I’m a princess, but don’t like being called that!”

“Which way?” repeated Korrina.

“That way,” said Tigya, pointing at a ramp that spiraled upwards. “Do you know where it leads?”

“We’re all lost here, you’re doing the best, my daughter, by suggesting somewhere.” At the end of the spiraled ramp was a railroad track, with a tram parked on it. Suki pressed a button by the door of the sleek chrome tram, and it opened. Everyone entered.

“How does this thing work?” asked Korrina.

Suki pointed at a series of buttons. They took turns pressing them, and the tram eventually started.

-------------

Aerisa instinctively ducked out of the way of a passageway. Something large and cage-like zoomed by her at enormous speed, and Mestopheles was flying behind it, holding out his right hand, magically pushing the cage with red energy.

That was close. Mestopheles was too busy, she thought. She noticed a large door that was slightly ajar. She kicked it all the way open. The room was dark, save for a faint glow from many objects. She recognized several Star Amulets. She also saw Vanessa’s Pimp Cane. And standing in one corner was Katherine’s Enagi Staff. She smiled as she collected the items. Many eyes looked at her. She could make out a few cages with unusual animals in them.

She had to be as careful as possible, lest there be any alarms. She slowly left, as a couple of creatures began to howl.

Back in the hallway, she saw a series of moving arrows. They were all pointing down the hallway.

A strange tune played loudly, followed by the voice of Captain Springboy.

“EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY! THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING! EVERYBODY COME TO THE UPPER GREAT HALL, ESPECIALLY THE ESCAPED PRISONERS, NOW, NOW, NOW!”

“I’ve arranged for arrows to be lit throughout the Mr. Barracuda,” added the voice of Marissa. “You have no excuse.”

“If you should fail to appear, the situation will be dire for your friends indeed,” warned the voice of Mestopheles. “I am the greatest mage in the universe, and I shall have my respect!”

“SO COME NOW NOW NOW!” finished Springboy.

------------------------------------------

In the large cavernous room that was mentioned, a set of floodlights shone on the Rib Cage. Bobby and Katherine were still naked, and they were deeply worried at what was about to happen.

To be continued…

Author’s Notes: It’s been over TWO YEARS….but now, it is HERE! Chapter 19 of Rebirth. Hopefully chapter 20 will come out more quickly. What will happen? Once they’re free from the pirates, maybe then…can they help the Earth.