Warning: What ain’t mine, ain’t mine. And the Glocks belong to Showstopper. And the person on whom “Genifa” is based belongs to herself. Ditto for anyone else inspired by an actual person.

The Way Of The Melody

Chapter 5 – Loaded Dice

            Genifa ran along an elevated platform. At the end of it was a wooden post that was holding several ropes. She jumped onto one and slid down it. At the bottom she ran between rows of poles, and a couple of military police officers in full riot gear charged at her with their shields. She sidestepped to avoid one, and held her staff in front of her, allowing her to plow into the other one, and then spring past him. She ran across a series of lines, and between a pair of flags with the new Fortissimo symbol (the symbol of Ene, but with the “double f” musical “fortissimo” notation within the “diamond”)

            A whistle blew. Seamus, Alex, and Jemma approached her, as did a man in an olive military uniform. “Four minutes. Good, but you could do better,” he said.

            To help Fortissimo, Princess Sala arranged fro them to train at PFB (Pavfor Base) Koriada, just slightly south of Attewa-Kilmeara. Besides running obstacle courses, target ranges and sparring, Genifa was also given “accelerated” courses in driving.

--

            “Perfect,” said Anansi, as he watched several men move equipment against a stone wall and secure it into place. Someone else attached a banner into place. It had a silhouette of a skull with crossed guns under it. “Battle Mountain belongs to us!”

            “But have you forgotten something?” asked a female voice. Anansi turned around, to see someone whose face was raccoon-like and covered in brown fur, except for black rings around her eyes. She wore a sapphire yara (Naomian dress) and a crown of leaves and flowers.

            “What is it, Mu’urese?” asked Anansi.

            “You told it to me yourself. THERE IS ANOTHER ENAGI!” She shook her fist. “Katherine got in the way of our plans, the only thing we accomplished is that Metaxian is out of the way. And now her younger sister is also an Enagi. If she becomes too powerful, then our days here are numbered. Toni still isn’t at full strength.”

            “And it would be suicidal to just sneak into her house and plug her mouth and nostrils with my webbing,” noted Anansi. “But what would we do?”

            “Our scientists,” started Mu’urese, “have come up with a sarandra damper.” She waved a hand, and a ball of light appeared in mid air. The ball of light then became a holographic image of a Pavonian male surrounded by three spires arranged in a triangular pattern. His kula was spread, and he fired blasted from it. The spires lit up, and the eyes stopped firing, and he swore. “We’ll arrange for them to be set up in the Miala Hill Junkyard, near the Italian base west of Attewa-Kilmeara. What we need is bait. We need hostages.”

            “I know, I know,” shouted a man who ran in. He wore jeans, a red jacket and a baseball cap. Lights came on, and his brown hair and blue eyes were visible, as were two logos on his jacket, both the Pirates logo, and a red snake wrapped around a couple of dice, with the words “Loaded Dice” beneath it. “I’ll lead the loaded dice, and we’ll take the bitch’s parents. We’re the best!”

            “No, you’ll be the DEADEST if you try that!” Mu’urese bitch-slapped the man. “Danny, I don’t want to hear you suggest anything so STUPID again!”

            “What’s so stupid? We just drive our cars, switch on the fluorescents, cop her folks…”

            “Your intelligence is exceeded only by the length of your nose, Danny!”

            “Hey, I’m the best driver…”

            “But there are two problems. Firstly, her family is far more vigilant.”

            “Secondly,” added Anansi, “her mother is immune to fluorescent lights. The Glocks’ decision has come back to haunt us. Be thankful that Elena isn’t actively engaging us.” He pressed a series of buttons. “She did receive some Enagi training, as well as training in other forms of sarandra handling, and while she was brainwashed and with the Glocks, she quite quickly picked up a variety of karate, kung fu and ninjitsu techniques, making her second only to I.” Shown were scenes of a Pavonian woman with dark hair attacking vast forces with energy projectiles from her tail. An image of a multi-barreled rotary mini-gun was shown firing at full blast. Five of these appeared. “Her firepower can be equivalent to five high-end miniguns. And this is just one of her attacks. As long as she has her powers, she is best avoided at all costs.” He had a thought. “Of course, if we could lure her into the Junkyard and into range of the dampers after her daughter has entered…”

            “Then we are free of ALL our problems,” squealed Mu’urese with delight.

            “But who the fuck do we kidnap?” asked Danny.

            “Other friends, of course!”

            “I can provide you with the needed information,” added Anansi.

            “I’m in,” said Danny. “I enjoyed nabbing the girl before. Now I’ll get to kick her ass. And I have an idea. Does she know how to drive?”

            “She is probably learning,” guessed Mu’urese.

            “Good. I’ll challenge her to a race that ends at the junk yard.”

            “Good, just make it as nasty and unfair as possible!”

            “I will do!” He held his hands in “thumbs up” for emphasis. “So, when is this?”

            “Tonight!”

            “Well, tonight the Loaded Dice will roll!”

            “You better not come up snake eyes there!” she laughed the joke.

            “We will make her race. We will make her panic. We will make her die!”

            “Don’t be over-confident,” warned Anansi.

            “Hey, I’m a racer first. I know what we can and can’t do!”

            “Make sure you do know!”

            “That bitch is going down!”

            “Make sure she gets to the junkyard. We’re setting up a surprise,” informed Mu’urese. “She and her friends must not be allowed to live!”

--

            That night, a brown and tan camouflage minivan with the Fortissimo logo slowly came to a stop in front of a trullo, this one having nine domes. It took a short time to park. “You have to work on your parking, Genifa,” said Seamus, as Genifa exited the vehicle from the driver’s side. “Don’t look down. I keep forgetting, it’s new to most of you. That’s why the city speed limits are a might slower!”

            “Goodbye Genifa!” shouted Jemma and Alex in unison. She returned the goodbye, and entered the trullo.

            A short distance behind, a red Camaro was parked. The windows were tinted. Inside, a man was talking on a cellphone, silently cursing the occasional hiccups that the Zygan network sometimes had. “Yes, she’s at home. And you still don’t want me to…gotcha, her mother would kill me. I’m glad you want me around. Gotcha, Team Viper will take her friends, and I’ll go to the race site.”

--

            A few blocks away, on Enega Doi, several red cars of different makes and models were parked in a semi-circle outside another trullo. A sharp-dressed man with sunglasses and a long beard went up to the front door. He was holding a brief case that was marked “The Electric Company”, with the logo from the old TV show of that name. He rung the doorbell several times.

            “Attentia!” – Wait, shouted a female voice from inside. After a few clicks, a door was opened, and a middle-aged, messy-haired Pavonian woman stood in the doorway, in a flowing orange saiayöta. She began to say something apologizing for her appearance, but the sharp-dressed man barged in, with a couple of other similarly dressed men, one with a beard, the other without. A group of gangsters followed behind them, shouting and ululating. The briefcase holder opened his briefcase to reveal a set of lit fluorescent tubes. Many of the gangsters had portable fluorescent lights that they waved around. The Pavonians alls creamed. Danny entered the front room and smiled. Some of his friends were firing pistols at the ceiling in celebration.

            “STOP IT!” he barked. He listened. There were several steps that went through an archway. He thought he heard something.

            Through the archway, a Pavonian girl grabbed the receiver of a telephone and dialed a few numbers. Danny sprung for the cord, and yanked it out of the wall. “We apologize, but this call cannot be completed as dialed, little girl. You’re gonna come with us!” The girl, actually in her late teens, tried to move away, but hit her back on a wall while doing so. Danny flashed a fluorescent tube at her. She folded her kula, and shielded her eyes, while screaming in Pavonian. “I can’t understand your monkey-language, you little bitch!” He tied a cable around her. “I have a word you will understand. Genifa.” A surprised look appeared on her face. “You know who she is, huh?” She made no reply. “Genifa is gonna die, because of you and two other friends, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I am Danny Algento, leader of the Loaded Dice, and the best Pirate there is. That’s right, this city belongs to us, girly. Now up on your feet, UP!” He forced her to stand up, and kicked her if she offered resistance. He led her to the front room, where a couple of other Pavonians were tied up. “Just a couple more, and we’re in business!”

--

            The next day, Seamus called Genifa, Alex, and Jemma to a police station. When they arrived, he showed them a wrapped package. “It’s been sniffed, there are no bombs,” told Seamus. It was addressed from “The Loaded Dice, We Ain’t Saying Where” and was addressed to “Those asswipes as Fortissimo, I hope they all drop dead!” Inside the small package were several feathers, and a letter. “It’s for you, Genifa!”

            “Thank you,” thanked Genifa, as she read it aloud, slowly, with Seamus, Alex, and Jemma sometimes having to explain certain words and concepts.

“Dear Jennie, Jenifa, Genifa, Ginifa, whatever-

         Those feathers are from the tails of your friends. Anila, Tissy, Pony, Sara, Bella…no, I got them wrong, but throw me a friggin’ bone, you NBCs all have such FUCKED UP NAMES! We kidnapped them last night, just like I once got you, but your sister had to save the day. Well she ain’t here, so you can just suck exhaust, bitch! Do you want to see them again? If you wanna know where they are, you’ll meet me at the corner of Kulia Avenue and Olivia Doi. Meet us when the sun start setting.  You can bring your Forte friends, but just them. And the minivan you have with the symbol. You want your friends? You will race, and YOU, Genifa, have to drive. The Loaded Dice want action, the Loaded Dice want fun, the Loaded Dice want a race. And since we have those friends, the cops won’t interfere, alright? It’s just a wild race along Olivia, if you can handle it! I don’t care how much you suck, you will make like you’re a NASCAR champ or else! You have to WANT to win! Just you against all of us! We drive the red cars, and we’re so good, your wreck will be smashed into pieces, and you’ll be so freaked out that you’ll warm your seat with the piss we’ll scare out of you. I can’t wait to peel you off a road, after I run over you fifty times. Olivia Doi isn’t for little girls, the hairpins will kill you, and if they don’t, I will. But if you’re too chicken, then we’ll kill your friends, after we make them scream. Yes, we’re all sadistic fucks. DEAL WITH IT! Have a nice day, and see you at the race,

Danny.

LOADED DICE FOR LIFE! PIRATES HAVE THE POWER!

PS that ‘have a nice day’ part was something called sarcasm. I actually hope you choke.”

            “HE IS SO DEAD!” screamed Alex. “He will so need to go to the garage himself when I punch a hole through him!”

            “Alex,” began Genifa. “We have to do this. If we don’t, then Anilia, Tisika, Poniau, Sira, and Bellé will die.”

            “But aself you were good at driving, the Loaded Dice don’t play fair. They cheat, they have everything in their cars, and they have NOS!”

            “NOS?” asked Genifa.

            “Nitrous oxide,” shouted an officer who overheard their conversation. “It’s mixed into a car’s engine to make it go faster. It’s illegal everywhere in the galaxy, but that doesn’t stop street-racers from getting it and putting it in their cars. They don’t actually use nitrous anymore, but they still call it that, because it’s tradition.”

            “But the Fortemobile has its own NOS,” said Seamus. “I have a couple of friends who know how to customize cars! Besides, it’s Sala’s orders that we have the best!”

            “So what do we do?” asked Jemma.

            “You do nothing,” said Genifa, matter-of-factly. “And I must learn how to drive like a NASCAR.”

            “NASCAR CHAMPION!” corrected Alex.

--

            “So tires are for better turning, hoverplates are for better speed, yes?” asked Genifa.

            “You’ve got it,” answered Seamus.

            Fortissimo sat in the Fortemobile, at the appointed intersection. The sun was setting. “Did they forget?” asked Alex.

            Four different rumbling noises were heard, and red automobiles of different makes and models, some with tires, and other hovering, all converged on the intersection. Some of the cars had the snake with dice logo of the Loaded Dice. One of the cars had enormous speakers, that were blaring Sway’s Hype Boys. It parked in front of the Fortmobile, and started “dancing” with hydraulics. The window rolled down, revealing Danny’s face.

            “So glad you accepted my challenge,” said Danny. “The girls are safe, but you won’t be!” He chuckled at that. “We’re about to race. You stay in formation until the race starts. We won’t start from a stop. We’ll have a rolling start, which means we’re already moving. The race starts on three horns.”

            The cars moved into formation, with the Fortemobile at the back. They started.

            “Don’t be so nervous, Gen!” said Jemma. “Those tossers can smell fear!”

            “You can do it,” assured Seamus. “We showed you the map of Olivia Doi. Just remember, you don’t accelerate in a tight turn!”

            “We’re with you Gen!” assured Alex.

            “Thanks, everyone,” replied Genifa. A horn sounded. “Yune,” she counted, aloud, in Pavonian, meaning “one.” A second horn sounded. She breathed heavily. “Lu.” Everyone checked their seatbelts. The third one sounded, and they broke formation. “TRI – ALLI!” The cars zoomed off.

            Genifa immediately overtook a couple of Japanese cars. Their drivers honked in frustration. Olivia took a turn to the right, and lit flares marked the way.

            “Hey fuckers, are you having fun yet?” came the voice of Danny over the radio.

            “How the…” started Seamus.

            “We have major league gear, I’m tuned into you. You’re a better driver than I thought, Ginny!”

            “That’s Genifa!” replied Genifa.

            “Woof woof, what ever, Jelifa, I like to use surprises. The first one is coming up, I hope you like hard rock, bitch!”

            “You’re so lying!” accused Alex.

            “Just watch me. And I hope Jellyfer can deal with my first surprise! ROCK ON!”

            They came to a turn that had a cliff overlooking it. A low rumble sounded. “Shite” shouted Seamus. “I can’t get the guns ready!”

            “But I can…” began Genifa. She looked up at the falling rocks, and sung really loudly and high. A trail of rainbow rings energized with her voice and deflected one boulder that was hurtling at the car. But the tune died before the rocks did. One hit the roof, another hit the side, giving everyone a shake. They passed another racer who desperately spun out to try avoiding a rock, and hit it anyway. The driver of the car swore very loudly.

            Ahead of them was a red Lamborghini convertible. There were two men, one driving, the other riding shotgun. And the man who was riding shotgun apparently took the phrase literally, as he had a shotgun, which he aimed at the Fortemobile.

            “DUCK!” yelled Jemma. Everyone did, as a fusillade erupted, and the windshield spider webbed. “Ram the bastard! Step on the juice!” Genifa floored the van, and gained on the Lamborghini, while the shotgunner reloaded his gun. He aimed, but was shaken as the car was rammed from behind, and he harmlessly fired upwards. Genifa pulled the Fortemobile beside the car.

            “You’re asking for it, bitch!” warned the gunman. Genifa held one hand on the wheel, and used the other to reach the staff and whip with it, striking the gunman in the head. He swung his gun at her, hitting her in the left arm. “Let go so you can crash!”

            Genifa abruptly turned the wheel to the left, plowing the Lamborghini to the side, distracting the driver, and making him lose control. The car bounced off a lamp post, and crashed into a trullo. The gunman and driver were unconscious.

            “I’m an Enagi, not a street racer,” shouted Genifa as she gained speed, “and I sound too much like my sister!”

--

            “Danny’s a fucking maniac,” said a man who was watching some monitors. Some of the racing cars had attached cameras.

            “Well, we’ll get rid of the Enagi, ranai, and as soon as you become powerful…” began Mu’urese.

            “I just hate the wait. If it wasn’t for that other Enagi…”

            “She’ll get it soon enough, Toni!” She hugged him.

            Toni Lieberman tried to smile. He had a few things going for him. But the issue of a new Enagi annoyed him. He was a human, or at least born one. He was half Italian, and half Jewish. He was once an enforcer for the Golden Glocks. Then he ended up in prison due to a botched attempt to invade Pavonia. Now he was one of the two leaders of the new Pirates. Mu’urese being the other. Light from the monitors gleamed off his bald head. And the change to it. Through use of magic, Mu’urese transformed him into a Pavonian, but he did not yet have all their natural power. He had multi-colored korona and kula, however. “Danny better not fuck up. I could break necks and kick ass even before I got these feathers! And once I have the power…”

            “You will. And another problem is learning how to use the tail that you never had before, and how to see through those tail-eyes. But, my sweet, you will learn. Now you can sort of get your tail open…”

            “But I fucking hate not being in control. It’s like I have some weak muscles. I’m Toni Lieberman. I hate being weak in anything!” He pounded on a desk with a fist.

            “Patience, my sweet. Let’s watch them!” She hugged him. “I think someone’s using grenades!”

--

            “GRENADE!” shouted Seamus. “AVOID IT!” Genifa swerved to avoid an aerodynamic “Mantanade” that exploded nearby. She had to slalom the vehicle out of the way. A few more came, and more swerving was required, as grenades exploded around them.

            “Like, you’re so good Genifa, you can totally do it!” said Alex.

            Genifa maneuvered between two sedans. As men inside both threw grenades, she slammed the brakes. The grenades were thrown at where the vehicle was supposed to be, but as it wasn’t there, they hit each other, and were blown up. Genifa stepped on the gas.

            Ahead of them was a Porsche Fluggelkar. The trunk opened, and a large sphere rolled out. It flashed some bright lights, and Genifa panicked. She pressed an assortment of buttons, and the Fortemobile jumped a short distance, spun 360 degrees, flashed police lights, and briefly whipped out a flag with the words “Welcome the Rolling Stones.”

            “The shite used fluorescents” complained Seamus.

            “The bloody chav,” shouted Jemma. The sphere exploded, and the vehicle was thrown off to the left, over a guardrail, and tossed amongst rocks, trees, and bushes, before landing, upside-down, on the road below. A cloud of dust arose.

--

            “Now THAT is how to blow them up,” commented Toni. “I hope they were buckled up! I don’t want them dead. No, I want US to kill them!”

            “It looks damaged,” said Mu’urese. “The Dice will kill them!”

            “I hope the Dice mangle them well!”

--

            “Where am I?” asked Genifa. “And why do I hurt? My back, and my kula…”

            “Oh, like, did anyone get the license number? There’s a heavy metal concert in my head!” complained Alex.

            “This is worse than a hangover from a rave!” added Jemma.

            “We’re upside down,” noticed Seamus. “That dirty shite!” A few sparks exploded around them. The girls screamed. “This vehicle has a stabilizer. Genifa, reach around the wheel for a small switch!”

            Genifa did so, and flipped it. A spotlight came on, and four knobs were illuminated, marked A, B, C, and D. “Which one?” she asked.

            “Pull and push B and D!”

            She did so. The engine sputtered, and the vehicle shook. She tried again. There was a puff of smoke, and everyone coughed. The engine purred, and a powerful jolt turned the vehicle over. Another turned it so it was right side-up, and smoke cleared. The hood was crumpled, and dust fell in through the shattered windshield.

            “What a wreck,” said Alex.

            Genifa looked at it, and sang. The hood un-crumpled, and the window-glass unshattered. “Where are we?” asked Genifa.

            “Next to a short-cut,” said Seamus, pointed through the windshield, at an alleyway. “They cheat, so should we. Olivia Doi is full of twists and turns!”

            They headed into an alley, down a ramp, under a walkway, past a garage, onto an overpass, across Olivia, and down a ramp. There was a metal gate. “Step on it!” shouted Jemma. Genifa did, and plowed through the gate. A pack of Loaded Dice cars came among them.

--

            The color drained from Toni’s face. “I can’t believe this!”

            “The bitch,” replied Mu’urese.

            “That van, it’s just up again…”

            “Don’t lose your temper!”

            “I won’t!” he grinned, and pressed a few buttons. “Danny!”

            “Yeah boss?” came his voice on the intercom.

            “She isn’t dead. Now Genifa is driving, right?”

            “Yeah, if she don’t we kill her friends!”

            “Good. MAKE WITH THE FLUORESCENTS, CAPISCE?”

--

            They were racing on a straightaway, but ahead was an uphill section that was very curved.

            Attached to the Loaded Dice cars were fluorescent tubes, mounted underneath. They all came on, simultaneously.

            “AAAAA!” screamed Genifa, as she tensed up, and shook. “The light, the light!” She steered back and forth, and closed her eyes.

            “SNAP OUT OF IT!” shouted Alex.

            The van careened and deflected off a lamppost.

            “OVER-RIDE LIGHT TUBE!” shouted Seamus, then he grabbed controls on the passenger side. “They can cheat, so can we!” He weaved slightly erratically. “They’ll think it works!”

            “MAKE IT STOP!” cried Genifa.

            “You can do it,” shouted the other girls in unison.

            “The pain, the pain!”

            Genifa screamed incoherently, while Seamus maintained the controls, and overtook the offending vehicles on a curve. Seamus flipped a switch, and smoke bellowed from behind, blinding the drivers, and reducing the intensity of the fluorescents.

            “What happened?” asked Genifa.

            “Lights,” said Seamus. “The shites were usin’ non-Pavonized fluorescents!”

            “They are so dead,” exclaimed Alex.

            “There’s another shortcut, Jenny, left, NOW!” Genifa turned off the road an cut through a back street, while pedestrians scrambled out of the way. Genifa was shaking. “Don’t panic!”

            They came back onto Olivia-Doi, and were behind Danny in his low-rider. The dashboard chirped, and a button flashed on the steering wheel. Genifa pressed it.

            “Hey bitch,” he said. It was Danny. “I can’t believe it, you’re behind me. Well, I’m not gonna play easy. I’ll give you the info, if you can handle me, which you can’t! You must want it, girl!”

            “Yes, I want it,” shot back Genifa, before she pressed harder on the accelerator.

            “Don’t act the maggot,” warned Seamus, “he’s winding you up!”

            “I can hear you, old man,” warned Danny. “Let her get wound up. And crash. I’m Danny, the leader of the Loaded Dice. Me, me, ME!”

            “I AM THE ENAGI-KHIOLE,” shouted back Genifa.

            “You are dogfood. We’re coming to the northern part of Westhille. We race over it and out of Attewa, if you’re not chicken-shit!” He clucked like a chicken.

            “I’M NOT!”

            “Good! I’ll see you at the finish line, if you make it!” The connection died.

            “Something’s dodgy,” warned Jemma.

            “DODGE!” yelled Alex, as they rounded a blind corner, and had to swerve around rocks and metal poles.

            Ahead of them, the low-rider had its top down, and Danny was flashing lewd gestures. They climbed a hill, and Danny laughed. “No,” shouted Genifa. “Not here!”

            “I don’t see what’s so wrong with this...” began Seamus. He saw a sharp turn, and a flimsy wooden guardrail. Genifa slammed on the breaks and turned hard, before the van could careen off. She carefully sped to zoom down a snaking road. She couldn’t catch up with Danny, and she nearly went over the cliff a few times. Danny spoke into external-loudspeakers.

            “Hey, you have to WANT to win, bitch!” he warned. The road came to a straight way through a new tunnel. Genifa gunned the accelerator.

            “Hit the NOS!” yelled Seamus.

            “Which one is the NOS?”

            “Green button by the wheel. NOW!”

            She did, and the Fortemobile surged forward, and glanced off the side of the low-rider.

            “Enjoy your lead while you can, twat!” At the end of the tunnel, however, Genifa was facing the setting sun, and the orange light was blinding. The vehicle swerved and scraped a wall while Genifa and Seamus fumbled around to put down the partial shades. Genifa turned sharply to the right, and weaved down a serpentine run to the bottom. There was a flare on either side of the road.

            Cheering ensued from the van. Danny nearly crashed into them, and spun around and made a couple of “donuts” with the tires on his car, and pulled to a stop. Genifa lowered her window.

            “You’re pretty good. But don’t let it get to your head. Somebody’s always better!”

            “Where are my friends?” demanded Genifa.

            “They’re safe, for now. Come to the Miala Dump in three hours. The main entrance. Loaded dice and some other Pirates will meet you there, and you’ll fight.”

            “Release them…”

            “You can’t do nothing. And if you try arresting me, they’re dog-food, GET IT? So you, and the girls, and the Irish boy. Live with it.”

            “You’ll be sorry,” yelled Jemma.

            “Who asked you? As for you, music-bitch,” said Danny, pointing at Genifa, “you are goin’ down, and if you hate that, well, go and stare up your father’s lele!” The last words he said in Pavonian, and it was a very nasty insult, implying that she would want to look up the lele (sarong) of her father, further implying that she would want to do more than look. From the distance a multitude of red painted vehicles rushed by, and when they were gone, so was Danny.

            “I have a plan,” suggested Seamus. He whispered the details. Genifa smiled. “Is it easy to learn?” she asked.

--

            Three hours later, Fortissimo walked to the open gate of the Miala yard. Seamus shone a flashlight, while Genifa spread her kula and made the eyes shine. Fluorescent orange paint on the ground was written, “Loaded Dice Rule, You Drule!” Genifa had her staff, while the girls and Seamus carried automatic guns. An eerie silence gripped the yard. They cautiously approached. Muffled mumbling punctured the silence. They continued forward. A distant motorized hum went un-noticed. It ended with a click. The mumbling returned.

            “Someone’s here,” whispered Alex.

            “Be careful,” warned Seamus.

            Jemma nearly yelled when she shone the light on a twisted piece of metal that was part of a Mercedes. Alex shone her light in another direction, and startled a family of lemur-like creatures who darted from the light, making a chirping noise. There were three spires, some distance apart from each other, standing up against the starlit sky.

            Genifa was the first one to spot them. She shone her tail-lights around, and found several people tied up. They were female Pavonians. They were her friends. They were restrained with nylon cables, and cloth rags gagged them. One girl was in a blouse and felda, another one in a saia (dress), and the rest in saiayöta. Signs of dirt were visible in Genifa’s light. One of them made loud moaning noises, as though panicking.

            Bright flood lights flicked on, one by one, illuminating the area.

            “Hello,” greeted Danny, with a hint of sarcasm. They turned around to see him standing with a group of people in red jackets. Fortissimo looked around. To three sides of them were a mixture of Loaded Dice and Pirates. Most of them were humans, but there were some Pavonians and Ai’a’ive amongst their ranks. “This is where you die!”

            Genifa waved her staff defiantly.

            “LOADED DICE AND PIRATES!” shouted Danny, through a megaphone. He struck a pose and tossed up a gang sign, and several Ai’a’ive flew into the sky and hovered, while other gang-members produced chains and two-by-fours. Some of them charged.

            Genifa held up her staff, and shook it. “Through the Spirit of Ene, I am Enagi Khiole, Enagi of the Melody!” She transformed into her Enagi-Khiole form. She danced in a circle and swung her staff around, disarming the men who charged at her. Some of the people took out guns, so the other members of Fortissimo aimed and opened fire. Bullets were erupting all around.

            A man in leather aimed an anti-tank rocket launcher at Genifa. “If I had a rocket launcher, wait, I do, I’d blow the bitch sky-high!” He squeezed the trigger, and with a whoosh the projectile rocketed out of the tube.

            “Rainbow melody SHIELD! AAHHHH!” sung Genifa, as she spun around, and held a high note. A rainbow-colored forcefield of shimmering energy surrounded Fortissimo, and the rocket harmlessly exploded backwards, away from the shield, while bullets ricocheted.

            “HA, you can’t shoot us either!” mocked Danny.

            “Like, WHATEVER!” shouted Alex, as she aimed and fired at Danny, who instinctively rolled out of the way, as the automatic fire did pass through the forcefield. Genifa’s eyes lit up brightly, and as the forcefield wavered, she held her hands in front of her, and sung a really loud note.

            “ENAGI CHORD,” she added, and magical blasts surged forward, exploding, and injuring many of the gangsters.

            He pulled out a radio. “NO SARA, ESCALATE, ESCALATE!” he yelled.

--

            “And now, the tide shall turn,” announced Anansi. He flipped two switched, and slammed down a button.

--

            A low thrumming reverberated, and lights lit up on the three spires. Genifa faced the enemy, and sung “Musical Enagi Flash!” with her tail fully open. She felt a burning sensation, and nothing happened. Some of the forces laughed at her. A pair of Ai’a’ive fired lasers at her from their positions above the ground.

            “Fall back,” said Seamus. They backed away from the men, towards where the captives were.

            A woman dressed entirely in red ran up to Fortissimo. Her long hair trailed behind her, and even in the limited light, her facial tattoos were too easy to see. “When I say dance,” she began, “you best DANCE MOTHERFUCKER!” She whipped out a pair of laser pistols and fired at Genifa’s feet, forcing her to dance. “How do you like that? You can’t do anything because you can’t pull any magic shit.” Genifa’s tail spread. “I said you can’t…” Her tail shone a bright white light, that was all aimed at her face. “SCREW YOU!” She fired blindly towards Genifa. Genifa dodged and swung her staff with one hand, knocking one of her guns from her hands, while she used the other hand to hike up her dress so she could kick the girl in red. Someone else swung a crowbar and struck Genifa hard. She stumbled backwards, but didn’t fall.

            “Don’t dance, MOONWALK! BACKWARDS, YEAH, BACKWARDS!” She was forced to join the rest of her team, backing up.

            “They want us to go backwards,” suggested Jemma. “They’re herding us, we’re sheep, going to someone’s plate drowned in mint jelly!”

            “Then they’re EEJITS!” shouted Seamus, as he reached into a pocket and took out an aerodynamic grenade. He threw it. “EYES!”

            Fortissimo closed all its eyes when the grenade exploded with a few bright flashes, and released a pair of small flickering balls. It also bellowed out smoke. Seamus tossed another one, that released glowing blue fog. Fortissimo scattered, as the only real threat to them came from Ai’a’ive above.

            “This one’s MINE!” exclaimed Alex, as she aimed up and shot down the Ai’a’ive.

            A pop echoed across the yard. As the group moved around, Jemma bumped into someone strange. The light shone off its body. It resembled a crash-test dummy, at least in the head, and had a moveable flap where the mouth was. It wore a one-piece jumpsuit, and had boots, gauntlets, a belt, and a metal symbol on the chest. The symbol resembled a capital Q, but with four tails, spaced around, and in the middle was an eye. “What the?”

            There were others like it around. Their suits varied in color, but otherwise they were identical. Genifa took one look at one of them, and it saw her.

            “ENAGI LOCATED,” it said, in a monotone, robotic voice, similar to the intro voice heard in Styx’ Mr. Roboto.

            “Awesome,” said a human voice. There were three people standing with the robots. One of them was a tall lean man who wore only cargo pants, and had a mustache. Tattooed on his arms were red snakes, along with a golden gun. With him was a tough Ai’a’ive man with purple wings. Tattooed on his body and wings were patterns resembling the tendrils of a jelly fish. He carried a heavy chain, and only wore a dark blue sarong. The third of them was dressed in Chinese military fatigues, and held a gun. “The Qela sisters knew where to put the Bridge,” said the Ai’a’ive man.

            “Like, who are you?” demanded Alex. “And what’s with the crash-test dummies?”

            “I’m a Mechanical Man,” answered another one of the robots, with a slightly different voice. “We are the Q squad, under orders of the Four Qela Sisters. We are part of the Golden Glocks.” Another one of them faced Genifa.

            “You will identify, are you Genifa Kiriti Pikaku? You will answer, you will not lie, sensors indicate your power is being restrained.”

            “Yes,” replied Genifa.

            “You are an Enagi. You are descended from the Qela famiglia yet you took up the path of Ene, like your sister!”

            “THAT IS NOT PERMITTED,” informed the first Mechanical Man quite firmly. “YOU HAVE JOINED YOUR SISTER, YOU ARE WANTED!”

            “Wanted?” shot back Genifa. “Wanted?”

            “Affirmative. You are wanted!” Panels opened up on its gauntlets, and small tubes appeared. “FOR ELIMINATION! THE ENAGI IS PRIORITY ONE. ELIMINATE ALL ENAGI!”

            “ELIMINATE!” echoed the other robots, as they assumed fighting stances.

            “She’s my friend, you feckin’ metal scangers, you want her, you go through me first!”

            “AND US!” shouted Jemma and Alexandra in unison.

            “There will be casualties,” laughed the Chinese soldier. “Show them no mercy!”

            “WE OBEY! ELIMINATE!” He fired pulses from his wrist-mounted guns, but missed.

            Seamus aimed at the offending robot and fired, knocking it down. It rose to its feet.

            Jemma was kicked from behind by another Mechanical man. She turned around, and grabbed it as it tried to kick again, and judo-tossed it to the ground. She kicked it in the side a few times. It reached towards her with one hand, but she caught it. She pointed her gun at the head, and shot it at point-blank. It shook, and sparks flew in all directions.

            Alex found a discarded carburetor, and pounded on a Mechanical Man’s head with it. It fell down, so she dropped the thing onto the robot. More sparks flew.

            Genifa was between a couple of Mechanical Men. Their faces opened up, revealing guns where their eyes were. Energy built up. “ELIMINATE!” Plasma blasts were fired, but Genifa tumbled out of the way, and the robots hit each other and blew up their heads.

            “FORTISSIMO! FOR ENE!” shouted Genifa.

            “FOR-GET IT!” came the voice of Danny. The smoke had cleared, and the rest of the gang members were there. “Hey, new guys, you hate this bitch too?” A few men took out portable fluorescent tubes and turned them on, making Genifa close her kula and her eyes in pain.

            “Yeah,” said the Ai’a’ive. “Let’s tie them up!”

            Countless guns were aimed at Fortissimo, and they were forced together, while the chain was tied around them. Genifa’s staff was taken from her, and thrown onto the ground, along with the guns that the rest of the group had.

--

            “What serendipity,” exclaimed Anansi.

            “Yes, and unexpected luck as well,” added Mu’urese. “Those robots helped. Turn up the volume, we want to see how they die!”

            “Danny should let the robots know about the mine.”

--

            “Gentlemen…gentle-robots, I mean…” began Danny, “and the gentlemen, too. There’s a mine buried here. It’s strong enough to blow up a tank, and it will blow when there’s their weight on it. Let’s make them stand on it!”

            “I like your planning,” said the Chinese soldier.

            “Were you Glocks?” asked the man with the snake tattoos. “You sound like you were.”

            “Whatever,” said Danny, “all that matters is they have to die!”

            “Yeah,” added the Ai’a’ive, “you’re like one of us! Tin cans, take them to the mine…where is it?”

            Danny gave the location.

            “WE OBEY!” said one of the robots.

            “OPENING VISUAL UPLINK!” added another, as it pressed its right palm to the eye in the Q symbol. Small lights appeared in its eyes.

            “They’ll get to see this on earth,” laughed the Ai’a’ive.

            One of the Robots punched the Fortissimo members. “You will march!”

            They started to move.

            “You can’t do anything, can you!” shouted Danny. “I love it.

            The head-feathers on Genifa’s head were glowing.

            “You can’t do nothing!”

            “I can,” said Genifa, calmly.

            “You can’t, the dampers are on. Your magic won’t work!”

            “There are some things that are not sarandra. There are forces you don’t understand. Like that between those who are famiglia!”

            “Shut your pie-hole, and don’t go to pieces when we blow you up!”

            A low motor roar was heard in the distance. It was coming closer. The prisoners briefly stopped.

            “YOU WILL PROCEDE!” ordered one of the Mechanical Men. The roar became louder. The Fortemobile crashed through the fence, and a roof-mounted gun aimed. Light from a nearby fixture showed that there were multiple barrels. It was a minigun. And its motor started, making the thing spin rapidly. It aimed again, and opened fire, tearing through the two Mechanical Men closest to Fortissimo. Seamus clandestinely undid the chains around the group while the others were distracted. Countless gunmen rushed towards the van, only to be forced away by near-misses. They fired at the vehicle, but the bullets harmlessly reflected.

            The man with the rocket launcher turned towards the Fortemobile, only to be perforated by gunfire before he could fire. A mix of gangsters and Mechanical men swarmed towards the Fortemobile, only to be gunned down. The gun turned towards one of the damper towers, and then to a box at its base. It opened fire, and a casing was blown off, exposing wire.

            “UNIT BLOTTO-BOX, DEPLOY EMP!” commanded one of the robots.

            “I OBEY!” came a reply from atop a trash heap. The chest of a Mechanical Man opened, and a ball of glowing, pulsing energy surged forward and crashed into the van. A colossal explosion of sparks and bright light followed, and the gun’s motor went silent.

            “Electrical fault, EMP suspected,” came a weak voice from within the van.

            The piece of electrical equipment that was shot began sparking, then smoking, then caught on fire. The spires of the damper went dark.

            “Shit,” shouted one of the Loaded Dice.

            “Our prisoners can’t do nothing,” said Danny. “And whoever the fuck brought in that piece of shit, oh, YOU ARE DEAD!”

            The driver’s door opened.

            “WARNING: ENERGY SCANS COMING FROM VEHICLE!” warned one of the Mechanical Men.

            “But you used EM-fucking-P,” complained the man with the snake tattoos.

            “NOT CONVENTIONAL ENERGY, UNKOWN!”

            A silhouette of a 5’3” high female form could be seen approaching them. With a swish, her fan-tail snapped open, revealing her to be Pavonian. The gangsters and robots formed a human wall, with their guns aimed. Visible distortions in the air boomed from her tail, and a loud whistling-like noise accompanied it, as a visible sonic shockwave surged towards them.

            Countless men were thrown about, and some of the Mechanical Men had sparks flying from them. The figure stepped forward. Someone got up, and shone a fluorescent tube at her. The light didn’t faze her at all. It did show her body. She had short, black parted hair and purple and pink tail feathers. She wore a light blue saia. Genifa smiled. So did the rest of Fortissimo. The woman’s ocelli turned bright blue.

            “No shit,” said Danny. “Shit, shit. It’s Elena! DRILL HER!”

            “VENITLATE!” screamed some of the remaining robots, as multi-barreled miniguns came out of their forearms, and revved up. Flashes of blue light flickered, and a forcefield of glowing polygons completely enveloped her, blocking the bullets.

            The forcefield fainted, but at the same moment, her eyes were glowing purple. Small purple energy-darts emitted from the eyes, and they hit everyone’s weapons, knocking them from their hands and destroying them, and the Mechanical Men, who collapsed amidst sparks and smoke.

            “KILL FORTISSIMO!” shouted Danny. A group of henchmen armed with barbwire-covered bats ran from one direction. “No, you, stop, stop…”

            The anti-tank mine detonated beneath them, creating an enormous fireball. The tied up girls yelled as they felt the heat.

            “I’m checkin’ out of this dump,” shouted the man with the snake tattoos.

            “Retreat,” barked the Chinese soldier. In a bright flash of light, a glowing yellow tube opened up in time and space itself, and the three beat a hasty retreat. It closed, before Elena could fire at it.

            Countless gang members were strewn about. Fortissimo laughed as they looked at them.

            “Pathetic,” said Seamus, “truly…where’s Danny?”

            Bright headlights switched on, behind Elena. A customized two-seater forklift was zooming towards her, with Danny in the driver’s seat, and another man in the passenger side, apparently playing a guitar.

            “IMA, TERRIA!” shouted Genifa. Elena spun around and leapt out of the way as the forklift rushed at her, with turbo-charged engines roaring. The guitar-player was playing something that sounded Spanish, and side-mounted amplifiers made it much louder. Danny spun vehicle around, and zoomed at Elena again, but she dodged.

            “¡Olé!” shouted Seamus. “¡Olé!” She dodged again.

            “What did you say?” asked Genifa.

            “Never mind, just watch this fight.” It continued, but Elena tripped on a disused muffler, and fell to the ground.

            “I’ve waited a long time for this, bitch!” shouted Danny. “I’ve been in prison thanks to your family. Oh yeah, I’ve got you!” He stepped on the accelerator, while his comrade sped up his guitar playing. He heard a loud woman’s voice, and a stream of rainbow-colored notes whipped him from the side. He slowed down and turned, to see Genifa standing a short distance behind him, holding her staff.

            “Don’t you touch my mother,” warned Genifa.

            “Ya, whatever, bitch!”

            “You want me!”

            “Yes, after I kill your momma, you’re next!”

            “You’re too weak and stupid to attack me now. You love to stare up your ima’s ouloolooloo(patterned skirt), don’t you! You wish you could do that right now, you ugly dakoita.”

            “No, I’m not a Dakota, and I don’t give a fuck what an ouloolooloo is, you don’t say nothing about my momma!” He spun the vehicle around. Genifa leapt to the side a few times, and moved about as though dancing, while spinning her staff. Danny had a problem keeping up.

            “I’m here,” said Genifa, standing in front of a pile of scrap metal. “Come for me!”

            “¡Toro, toro!” shouted Seamus, mockingly, as he and the girls got around Genifa. “¡Toro, toro, olé, olé!”

            “You will olé six feet under,” boasted Danny as he hammered the accelerator. He laughed as Genifa seemed to not budge. AT the last moment, however, she rolled out of the way, and the forklift crashed into some nasty sharp metal pieces. The companion lost grip of his guitar, and Danny lost his balance, and banged his head badly.

            So badly, that he heard ringing in his head. Not bells, but…sirens. Then he found out the sirens were real.

            “You have yourself a surprise, you eejit!” mocked Seamus.

            “Goodbye, jerk,” added Jemma.

            “Like, drop dead,” added Alex.

            A see of light blue and turquoise harolded the arrival of police cars and trucks. The Pirates and Dice who were conscious were rounded up. Seamus personally approached Danny, and slapped on a pair of cuffs.

            “Under the authority of Queen Aroostook, I hereby arrest you. You have the right to remain silent, anything…”

            “FUCK YOU!” yelled Danny. “No way I’m returning to Pogikri prison!”

            “Aself you could get the cuffs off, you’d still be restrained eventually, and have the charges trumped…”

            “FUCK YOU, asshole!” Danny struggled. “Loaded Dice forever. And I hope those featherdusters…”

            “Stop acting the maggot, and no racist talk!” Seamus bitch-slapped him.

            “Let me GO!” Danny struggled.

            “Oh, I will, alright. Let you go straight to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect 200.”

--

            A few minutes later, the gang members had been hauled off. Genifa’s friends were all untied and released. Genifa hugged them, before going to her mother and Seamus.

            “Ima, how did…”

            “You are my daughter, I knew you were in danger…”

            “I didn’t know you could drive like that!”

            “It’s amazing what one can do when one is forced to!”

            “But the van…”

            “Seamus let me in on this battle. He had me waiting so they wouldn’t see me.”

            “Seamus is a genius!”

            “Thank you,” interrupted Seamus.

--

            “NO!” screamed Mu’urese. “So close…” She slammed her hands on a console for emphasis.

            “The next time that bitch is in our way,” began Toni, “she will pay through her shnoz!”

            “But it was so close…”

            “Thus is the way in wars,” explained Anansi. “The way of the ninja is patience. When the time is right, we strike again!”

--

            Genifa was in the back seat with her friends. Her staff crystal started to glow. “Genifa,” said the voice of Areia. “Once your friends and Ima are home, you have another task ahead, to gain the powers of the Enagi.”

            “Another task?” asked Alex.

            “Yes, and soon, but I cannot say how soon, Alex, Jemma and Seamus will know the way of the Enega.”

            “So, you’re an Enagi? I still can’t believe it,” said one of Genifa’s friends.

            “Believe it,” said Genifa.

            “Where do you want us to go after,” asked Seamus to Areia’s spirit.

            “To a far away land!” All those who could understand her groaned.

To be continued…

Author’s Notes: Well, soon Fortissimo will be off on another adventure. But where, and why? And it seems like someone else wants Genifa dead! Things will be interesting indeed.