Unspoken Words By: Reyelene

Although this one was not my very first pastiche story, this one is actually a prequel to Don't You Dare Deny Me. Originally, I had not intended to have any prequels and move forward from Don't You Dare Deny Me (I'm the kind of writer who likes to move forward, not backwards, otherwise I'll go nuts). But, as I was writing the character biography for Captain Lillian Bates, I started getting a multitude of ideas in my head that were just begging to be written separate from the biography.

This story is loosely inspired by the classic Diary of Anne Frank and will be frequently swapping from 3rd person to 1st person, between Basil's perspective and Captain Lillian Bates's perspective. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Hawkeyes and Fidget ... A Friendship Severed

June 20, 1875

It had been fifteen days in counting since the little boy was brought here to the Bloody Rose. I was never able to find out his real name, unfortunately the boy suffered from a traumatic form of amnesia. But no matter ... I have a better pirate name for him anyway ...

When Rose Nightwing was once captain of this ship, she made it a tradition to assign each of her crew member names that would either strike terror in the hearts of offenders, a symbol of their skill sets, or simply throw offenders off guard. Vulture was a autumn-furred, funnel-eared bat and always only ate leftovers thrown at him by Rose for his supper (similar to a vulture ... not to mention UGLY!). Ravenwing, surprisingly, was a snow-furred bat like I was, but had stark black webbing on his wings, hence the name. His unusually black colored hair was fashioned similar to mine, if it weren't for the fact that his eyes were hazel, one could've mistaken us two for siblings. Then there is his fraternal twin, Crow, who had stark black fur and the same pair of hazel eyes as Ravenwing. Condor was named for his unusually large wings, which allowed him to glide gracefully like the bird of prey he was named after. Sparrow had an unusual pattern of browns and grays on his fur, much like a sparrow. That leaves me with Blade and Hawkeyes.

Blade was the tallest of the crew, AND the oldest. His fur is stark black, much like Crow's, except he was a slit-nosed bat and not nearly as attractive as Crow or his brother, Ravenwing. But at least he wasn't as ugly as Vulture, and had a very skilled hand with the sword and the very reason Rose Nightwing gave him the name. And I believe his loyalties were still with Rose Nightwing, even after her departure from this world. And then there is Hawkeyes ... A beautiful flying fox bat is he, with golden eyes that could see right through the windows of one's soul. And it was Hawkeyes who attended to the little boy while his head wound was healing. Hawkeyes described the boy as unusually quiet and somewhat slow, but had reminded Hawkeyes of his dearly departed son. How sweet ... how ... DISGUSTING!

"Why are you and the boy TALKING!?" I demanded to know when I caught Hawkeyes showing our little slave some trick reminiscent of his old home. It was making the little boy giggle in delight.

"The boy hasn't spoken much since he came here, captain," Hawkeyes replied. "I figured ... if I could get him to talk more, he would be more useful to you and our missions."

"I don't want him to TALK, Hawkeyes!" I informed him. "I want him to be OBEDIENT and nothing more!"

When Hawkeyes looked upon me with soulful eyes, I could sense he was about to PROTEST. "But Captain Bates, please be reasonable! He's only a child ... and I've learned from the local English mice here that children who speak have more developed brains. The boy would be more useful to us if he spoke more."

"TALK is for the IDLE-MINDED!" I reminded him. "Hawkeyes, you KNOW I do NOT tolerate idleness on MY ship!"

At this, Hawkeyes heaved an inward sigh. "Ay, Captain ... if that is your will ..."

Angrily, I threw my quill pen against the wall like a dart. That HAWKEYES was picking up Blade's habits, and it was beginning to piss me off! BE REASONABLE, he said!? There is NO such thing on this ship! We are the Nightwing Pirates, our mission is to exploit the rich for the pigs they are and to set an example to the world! Reasoning meant you had to be SOFT! If word spread that the Nightwing Pirates were soft, we would lose our standing!

But wait! I'm getting ahead of myself! I was talking about the BOY. Hawkeyes told me that this little bat had a tendency to fidget his whole body a lot, especially when Blade would probe him for information (which the boy was unable to give). AND he became unusually nervous whenever the crew all stared at him at once like some circus freak. That's when I came up with the PERFECT name for him. One that would fool offenders into thinking him as a simpleton and not to be taken seriously ... That name ... is FIDGET ...

"Hawkeyes!" I called. "Bring that boy to me!"

"Ay captain!" he replied. The boy was brought to me without a second to spare ... just as it SHOULD be! I had Blade bind Fidget's ankles and wrists in chains, so that he wouldn't fly away. I was informed that he tried to escape ... obviously not a smart thing for him to do when there are eyes everywhere on the Bloody Rose. The boy had to learn his place on the Bloody Rose first before I could train him in the art of piracy. Blade told me Fidget acted aggressively when he caught him, spat in his face, being and kept babbling on about wanting to go home and to BRING MOMMY AND DADDY BACK (I never met the boy's parents-most likely they were dead). Blade said he delivered a swat to Fidget's face to keep him quiet. Of course, Blade had a heavy hand and his swat was hard enough to knock the boy onto the floor. It was times like that when I counted on Blade the most to maintain order on my ship whenever I was too exhausted or too preoccupied with OTHER matters.

"Y-y-y-you ... w-w-w-want t-t-to ... s-s-s-see M-M-ME!?" the boy managed to say. Obviously he had an uncomfortable look on his face, the chains must've hurt him.

"Yes, I do," I replied in my usual stern voice. "First off, I have a name to give you. Learn it well because I shall call you by it, and you WILL come to me when I do."

"N-n-n-name?" the boy replied. "W-w-w-what is it?"

I walked in circles around the boy as I fixed my eyes on him. "Henceforth, your name on this ship is FIDGET."

"F-F-F-FIDGET?" the boy repeated, his expression as blank as the first day I lay eyes on him. I think he was puzzled as to why I gave him such a name. I didn't care! That was the name I GAVE him, whether he liked it or not!

"I see your head wound has healed," I continued. "And you lost a little bit of that baby fat around your stomach line. I also know that Blade and Hawkeyes found you not too far from some mice priests found dead on the streets."

"M-m-m-mice p-p-priests?" Fidget repeated, although he was confused as to what I was talking about. Obviously, he did not remember killing the priests, but it was obvious that HE was the one who did it. He HAD to be ... There was no one else present, plus Blade pointed out that he found a pistol in the boy's pocket. Those priests must've been heretics, I've read in the London Mouse that they have been hunting down little children with the purpose of making them their slaves. But these priests weren't attacking just because they were BORED. NO! Those heretics were actually henchmice who worked for a rodent by the name of Ratigan ... Professor James Padraic Ratigan. Being a rat of HIGH SOCIETY (or so he CLAIMED), he never got his hands dirty with murders and kidnappings. He would always have someone else do the work FOR him. THAT was how he remained MYSTERIOUS to the public. He DESPISED the so-called GOODNESS of mousedom as much as I do (if not a great deal MORE), and he certainly would NOT allow little children to grow up and be a part OF that world. So he would have his henchmice gather them when they're young, most likely by killing their parents first. It wouldn't have surprised me if Fidget's own parents suffered the same fate. But that pistol ... Blade had showed it to me. It looked very much like one that Professor Ratigan were to use, judging by how polished in looked. Most likely he pretended to be Fidget's HELPER and enticed the boy to use it on his own henchmice. It was a lot easier to persuade children to bend to one's will. It was not so easy to reason with hypocritical mice.

Wait a minute! Did the word REASON escape my lips!? I HATED that word! It reminded me too much of that pompous bitch of a queen called Mousetoria! That FAT, LAZY mouse queen made me SICK! She couldn't do a DAMN thing without that husband of hers, Prince Albert! And local mice thought SHE was attractive!? I've seen lady mice at The Rat Trap much better looking than HER!

"I can sense you have a bit of a bestial nature inside you," I said to Fidget, shortly after I got over the silent rant in my head. I pulled the boy forward by the chains in an aggressive manner, a look of resentment appeared on his face. I could tell he didn't like to be pulled. But it was my way to see how quickly he reacted to an attack. He needed to learn this first if he is ever to be my second in command. A growl escaped Fidget's throat as I brought his face closer to mine. I think he wanted to BITE me.

"Now THAT'S what I like to hear," I uttered in a low voice. "There's that BESTIAL nature I'm talking about. Just the thing one needs to inflict pain on those who would do you harm."

"L-l-l-let m-me g-go!" the little boy was trying to demand me. "I d-d-don't l-like d-dat!"

"And I don't like little BRATS who talk back to their ELDERS!" I said through gritted teeth. "Obviously, you've got a LOT to learn, little Fidget."

"W-w-what do you w-want M-ME for!?" Fidget asked.

"I want you to join us in our cause," I told Fidget. "You have been outcasted from society, Fidget, just like the rest of us. Whoever your mother and father were, they don't exist anymore. And certainly NO ORPHANAGE or mouse couple will take a bat in, even if he's STARVING."

"Why!?" the boy replied in an angry tone of voice. Yes, I WANTED that anger to come out.

"Because the mice's sovereign queen, Alexandrina Mousetoria, passed a law in mousedom that all creatures of the night be cast out to maintain mousedom's INNOCENCE. WE are bats, Fidget. WE are creatures of the night by nature. That queen's law forbids us to get a proper education and prevents us the convenience to go to a market to buy FOOD. It also leaves us bats prone to danger where rodents would allow us to be raped and beaten by aggressors, while those FAT, LAZY mice will walk by as if nothing is happening. I've seen these things happen for many years, Fidget ... and we, the Nightwing Pirates, will stand for it NO LONGER!"

Fidget's yellow eyes began to brim with hurt mixed with rage. I must've hit a nerve somehow. My plan was working PERFECTLY! I was getting the boy riled up. But one couldn't rely on rage alone. It HAD to be controlled, otherwise he would get himself and the rest of the crew into mortal danger. Which is why I discussed with Blade and Hawkeyes the tests I intended for Fidget to take. The first one involves a noose to be wrapped around his neck, his task would be to free himself from it. Of course, we still had to have his wrists and ankles bound to make it more ... CHALLENGING. Allowing him to fly would defeat the purpose of the test. The other two will involve sparring among the crew ... and STEALING. Fidget had to learn how to properly defend himself ... AND he will need to learn how to take back what the rich have greedily kept from us!

"What the rich possess was never yours to begin with!" Basil shouted as he temporarily closed the journal, trying to get over the blasphemy of it all. It's downright unwise to think oneself to be entitled to anything without properly earning it! Basil slapped his forehead in disbelief as he pondered over what was written in the girl pirate's journal. She thought she was protecting the boy from the EVILS of the world, the mouse detective thought to himself. But she has BRAINWASHED him beyond belief! Now any hope of the boy's salvation is GONE! And what did Bates mean by Queen Mousetoria passing a law that forbade them to get proper education!? What the hell kind of nonsense was that!?

"Leaving bats prone to be beaten and raped, indeed," Basil grumbled. "Sounds like you left your new second-in-command prone to Blade's abuse! Foolish, foolish woman!"

No matter how many times Basil ran into cases similar to Bates's, it always angered him greatly to no return. So many innocent lives lost at the hands of the ignorant and stupid! Well ... maybe not wholly innocent, but there was no excuse for taking a life, period! Not to mention all those poor children whose parents have been victims of criminal activity. And if parentless children were not brought to an orphanage in a timely manner, they were forced into slavery, either by having to beg and steal for food, or being kidnapped by crime lords and forced to due their bidding. And sadly enough, Fidget happened to fall into that category.

"I'll never understand why some women feel the need to declare war on boys. I'm not a father, but I know better that shackling a boy's wrists and ankles doesn't teach him obedience. It teaches him rebellion. Captain Bates would've been much better off if she allowed Hawkeyes to do the disciplining, at least."

And speaking of Hawkeyes, Basil remembered reading in the journal that Bates's was put off by the fact that Hawkeyes was encouraging Fidget to speak. The mouse detective couldn't understand why the idea of children speaking would offend or annoy anyone. He couldn't even understand why public schools were offended against the idea of speaking. It would disrupt the class, teachers often claimed. More often, Basil saw it as a sign of weakness on the teachers' part. And he knew not all teachers were good. Some were downright impatient with students ... especially Professor Ratigan. It was the very reason he was fired from Oxford University.

Basil remembered Bates telling him how she deeply regretted having Hawkeyes executed. Hawkeyes was the bat who wanted to nurture Fidget's good side, (his least corrupt side as Bates called it). The captain confessed that sometimes she herself was jealous of Fidget's youth and innocence. So inquisitive and full of wonder, Bates described him. So much of him reminded Bates of herself when she was a child ... or as she phrased it in her journal, when she believed the world was full of rosy possibilities. Most of what he knew about Hawkeyes was what Bates told him, he was no longer mentioned in the journal after his execution. Basil remembered as he sat in this same chair right now, Bates sat across from him. This was her story on the relationship between Hawkeyes and Fidget:

June 1890 (Bates's narrative-NOT written in the journal)

Hawkeyes was always a gentle soul. I found it hard to believe someone like him ended up in the realm of the infamous Nightwing Pirates. Fidget had failed the noose test after three attempts, he complained that it was too hard and he didn't like not being able to fly while taking it. I scolded him severely for NOT TAKING IT LIKE A MAN. I didn't want Fidget to dwell on silly dreams and believe that ALL PEOPLE WERE GOOD. I wanted him to be tough. The brute strength would prey on the weak without a shred of guilt. I ... guess when I scolded him it hurt him more deeply than I imagined. Shortly after I yelled at him, Fidget followed me. And he did something that I wasn't prepared for. He hugged my waist. I think that was his way of apologizing to me for failing. And how did I repay him? I pushed him away. It wasn't the first time I've pushed him away. There were many times when he would approach me, a shy smile gracing his face. He would give me a flower that he picked whenever one of my crew trained him to hunt for food on his own. They were ... lilies that he picked. One would've thought such a gift would warm a lady's heart; I took it as an insult. I snatched the humble bouquet of lilies he picked, tore them to shreds, and threw them on the floor. I wanted NOTHING to do with men, PERIOD. I thought Fidget was trying to WOO me. I was too blind to see that he was just looking for a mother's affection.

One night, I actually overheard Fidget crying. He didn't realize this, but I had the door to my cabin slightly opened to check on him. Earlier, Blade and the others were giving him a hard time. Blade mocked Fidget for being too slow-witted for failing the noose test three times (honestly, Blade didn't pass the noose test the first three times either ... Rose Nightwing told me this). Blade called Fidget an UNLOVED CHILD, no mother would ever love him, and that the boy was too ugly and too chubby. Fidget wasn't really chubby, he only had a touch of baby fat on him. I should know, I have a good eye. Still, I saw Fidget on his knees and hunched over, trembling all over, tears trickling down his face like waterfalls, looking pitiful in those shackles I made him wear. Somehow, I got these ... maternal instincts, telling me that I should've gone to the boy to comfort him. But what did I do instead? I detached myself, believing that Blade's harsh treatment of the boy and the mockery from the rest of the crew were all part of teaching him how to be tough. Then I saw Hawkeyes appear, assuming the coast was clear. The rest of the crew were away hunting for food.

"Poor child," I heard Hawkeyes say to Fidget in a soft voice. "I don't know why our captain makes you wear these chains, denying you the power of flight."

After he uttered such words to the boy, I saw him withdraw a key from his pocket. I glowered in anger. Hawkeyes STOLE my keys. Naturally, something like this would've caused me to storm out and punish Hawkeyes for such an underhanded act. But I chose to detach myself still. I knew my crew members were used to hearing me yell all the time, I didn't want my approaches to be too predictable. I watched as Hawkeyes held Fidget's shackled wrists with fatherly affection before turning the key to loosen them. He then turned the key to the shackles on his ankles.

"Can you move your limbs?" I heard Hawkeye whisper.

I watched as Fidget moved his wrists in a criss-cross manner. It looked as if his movements were a bit stiffened due to the shackles he had worn. The boy then spread his wings wide, producing a few flaps enough to get himself airborne just before landing on the ship again. Then Fidget walked forward in Hawkeyes's direction, somewhat stiffly just before tripping and falling face first on Hawkeyes's lap. I heard Hawkeyes chuckle in delight.

"I would've tripped too if I were shackled for that long," Hawkeyes replied as he allowed Fidget to lift himself off his lap.

"Listen, daybreak is almost upon us," Hawkeyes continued to speak to Fidget. "Everyone else will return with food before going to sleep. If you come with me I will teach you how to hunt for food on your own."

"Y-y-y-you w-would?" Fidget stammered. The boy was always a very poor speaker, it was no wonder Hawkeyes wished I allowed him to encourage Fidget to talk.

Hawkeyes nodded. "The next time Blade and the others mock you again or try to starve you, you'll be much quicker in getting your food."

Fidget's yellow eyes glimmered with happiness at the sound of this. I think that was what gave him the motivation to excel in his skills because the next time I made the boy undergo the noose test once again, he passed. And he finished a lot quicker than I expected. He also got better at catching the food Blade and the others would toss around in order to mock him. And Fidget bested Blade in combat. Of course, it was not to Blade's liking. The next challenge, however, was not so easy for Fidget. It was a test of stomach for him ... I succeeded in getting Fidget to use his anger in a competitive way ... Although he was the smallest of the crew and the skinniest (he lost all that baby fat, by the way), he had the desire of a beast and the strength of a demon. However, a part of him was still that little child, clinging onto comforting fantasies, overly sensitive to pain and suffering of another, and having a tendency to let his guard down real easily. It was as if Fidget had some ... effeminate quality to him, not wanting to take the life of another. It somehow made him look cute. Alas, I had no time for cuteness on my ship. All I wanted was for him to be my new second-in-command. Blade's tactics were starting to BORE me.

What Captain Bates called effeminate in describing Fidget's reluctance to taking another life was actually called sane in Basil's book. And wasn't Captain Bates's tactics making Fidget even more vulnerable to Blade's scorn? After all, wasn't Fidget being chosen as the second-in-command the very same thing that provoked Blade to betray the Nightwing Pirates? There were just too many questionables to deal with at the moment, Basil had to soothe his temples. He then re-opened the journal to find out more. And what he had read made him shake his head in disbelief.

June 20 1878

"You can't live like this forever, Lilly," Hawkeyes whispered to me while on one knee.

"What did you just call me!?" I always got suspicious whenever any of my crew members did not properly address me as Captain Bates.

"Ok, I'm sorry ... Captain," Hawkeyes corrected himself. Now that was more like it. "But seriously, you can't go on hating every man that wants to know you."

"And why not!?" I demanded to know. "I've survived this long already. I've always had to be the brains of the crew. If a woman does not take charge in any given situation, she will end up being a man's play-thing."

"Maybe in the past, that would've been the best logic," Hawkeyes continued, "but those men are dead. And our youngest crew member knows nothing about the struggles you've faced. Why should he be punished for something other folks have done to you?"

"Because, Hawkeyes, he may be young now, but he will grow up one day and reach puberty. The full moon is when our inner-most passions are strongest. And you know what'll happen when Fidget reaches of age, don't you?"

"You're not suggesting that Fidget will RAPE you, are you?" Hawkeyes shot one golden eye at me inquisitively as he asked this. I rolled my eyes back, this conversation was starting to bore me. No, I did not believe that Fidget would rape me, I would never let him if he even tried. As a matter of fact, I had the mind to spank the living daylights out of him if I ever caught him laying eyes on any woman. I wanted him to fear me still, even when he grows up!

"Fidget already fears you enough, Captain," Hawkeyes continued. "He sees you as a mother. Do not deny him that motherly affection the boy desperately needs. You know you can always count on me if he becomes too much of a problem."

That last comment made me shoot a suspicious look into Hawkeyes golden eyes. What I saw in those eyes at that very moment was an enamored stare ... in my own eyes of coal.

"Why, my dear Hawkeyes," I chuckled delightfully. "Are you in LOVE with me?"

At this Hawkeyes smiled. "And what if I am, Captain?" The man was in love with me, I could tell. I even caught sight of his webbed hand beginning to hold mine. I smiled ... but it was temporary.

"If you are in love with me, then I would have to kill you," I told him. "Love is a word to fool naive young virgins into reproducing only to appease the surplus population. I want no part of it."

A frown appeared on Hawkeyes's face, as I expected. Still, he had the audacity to hold my hand, if only for a brief moment, before raising himself to his feet and attending to his duties. But somehow ... I felt a certain ache when he left my cabin. I had a very strong urge to call him back in ... But I sat there, frozen as a statue and left to my thoughts. Why didn't I say anything? Why didn't I go to him?

June 20, 1880

Fidget had been helping himself to some food he gathered ... on his OWN. I could not believe it! The boy was improving TREMENDOUSLY! Soon after my talk with Hawkeyes two years ago, Fidget passed the noose test. And he had learned to become quicker at getting his food whenever the crew toss it around for sport. Sparrow, who was generally in charge of mopping the deck, handed the responsibility to Fidget ... made sure he did not mess it up. Sparrow KNOWS too well that I like a clean and tight ship. Fidget would relieve Condor for guard duty, sometimes the boy lived up to his pirate name because he swayed too much rather than stand still like he was SUPPOSED to. Because it would make such a noise, Ravenwing (my other guard) pulled the boy by one of his large ears until he got it through his head that a guard was supposed to be QUIET. Crow, who was in charge of making the weapons, gave Fidget a dagger to use in case he had to gut someone. Crow liked to call the dagger "Fang." The only two of my crew that Fidget had NOT spent time with yet were Vulture and Blade.

Vulture was my assigned executioner, in charge of passing sentence to any stowaways that were caught on our ship ... OR to any crew member who would DARE betray the Nightwing Pirates. Fortunately, I've never had to use Vulture's services for that purpose ... until one evening ...

"Captain! Captain!" I heard one of my crew cry out. I was sipping my beer, I almost choked on it. Curse whoever it was that disturbed me from my drink! Upon shifting my eyes upward, I saw Blade standing by the door.

"Alright, Blade, what IS it?!" I replied in an annoyed manner. "This had better be IMPORTANT!"

Blade knelt to the floor and gracefully motioned his left wing inward to pay respects to me. "I wish it weren't, my most wisest Captain," he replied. "But I bring terrible news. It's ... HAWKEYES."

"What about Hawkeyes?" I asked inquisitively.

"He's ... HE'S A TRAITOR!" Blade blurted.

"WHAT?!" Was I hearing correctly what I THOUGHT I was hearing?

"He's been plotting against you, Captain!" Blade told me with panic in his voice. "He's not training our Fidget to be a Nightwing Pirate! He's been training Fidget to ESCAPE!"

I crossed my wings and gave Blade a suspicious look. I would've believed him if I didn't suspect he was saying this out of spite. He seemed to despise Hawkeyes, though the reason for it had been unknown. "How do you KNOW this, Blade?"

"I just HEARD him talking to Fidget about escape!" Blade frantically replied. "Vulture heard him to if you don't believe me!"

I highly doubted that Hawkeyes would do such a thing. He was too IN LOVE with me to ever think such a thing. Nevertheless, I just had to make sure that was still the case. So I waited until everyone else was asleep. It was pretty taxing to my body to deny myself the beauty sleep I needed, but I needed to know what my Hawkeyes was up to. I peeked out the cabin window. I saw Hawkeyes stand on deck with Fidget at his side. I saw Fidget embrace Hawkeyes at the waist and Hawkeyes embraced him back. Alright so far, things seemed pretty normal. I've seen Hawkeyes and Fidget hold each other before. Fidget looked up to Hawkeyes as if he was his own father. But then ... I heard Hawkeyes say something that made my heart stop ...

"Soon, you will no longer be at the mercy of The Nightwing Pirates, Fidget," I heard Hawkeyes say. "Soon, you will be a FREE bat."

"Have you found a lady friend, Hawkeyes?" Fidget replied. "If so, will you marry her?"

"Indeed, I do and I WILL!" Hawkeyes said with such pride. "And she would make a perfect mother for you. She's ... just a little shy, I'm afraid. She's been living in a shell for so long, but I think she's slowly coming out of it."

My body had grown cold as I fell to my knees and clutched my chest. Hawkeyes ... MY Hawkeyes! Blade was telling the truth! He IS a traitor! And what is worse ... HE'S CHEATING ON ME! My anger began to brew in the pit of my stomach ... and I could no longer hold it in.

"TRAITOR! BLASPHEMY!" I cried, causing both Hawkeyes and Fidget to jerk their gazes in my direction. Then I cried for all the Nightwing Pirates to wake up from their slumbers. I ordered Ravenwing and Vulture to seize Hawkeyes by his large wings ... then I ordered Blade to take Fidget into my cabin.

"Captain, what's wrong?!" I heard little Fidget cry out as he squirmed in Blade's grasp.

"Your mentor has failed you, little Fidget," I told him. "He is a traitor to the Nightwing Pirates! And for that, he must DIE!"

"What are you talking about?!" the boy cried, confused by my current state of rage. "Hawkeyes is no traitor!"

"You DARE question our Captain's authority?!" Blade raised his voice, pinching Fidget's right ear hard enough to make him whimper. "She KNOWS what she's doing! You should just SIT DOWN and SHUT UP!"

Fidget bit Blade's right hand and stomped on Blade's left foot, causing him to howl in pain. "You don't scare ME, Blade!" the bat uttered defiantly. "Da only reason you cater to da Captain is because you don't like to see Hawkeyes propose to-"

Blade swatted the Fidget across the face with the back of his hand (the one that was bitten). Because Blade was incredibly strong, it was enough to knock Fidget on the deck, rendering him unconscious. But that wasn't my primary focus right now. Right now, my focus was on Hawkeyes.

"WHY, Hawkeyes?!" I yelled just before I spat in his face. "You KNOW what the consequences of treason are! WHY would you send Fidget away from the Nightwing Pirates?! We're his ONLY family!"

With those yellow-gold eyes of his, Hawkeyes gave me a confused stare. "I LOVE you, Lilly," he simply replied. "You KNOW my loyalty has always been with you. But this is NOT the place for Fidget, nor is it the place for YOU. Come with me, Lilly."

"HOW CAN I COME WITH YOU?!" I screamed, slapping Hawkeyes in the face. "HOW CAN I COME WHEN YOU'VE FOUND ANOTHER WOMAN?!"

"WHAT?!" Hawkeyes cried, looking as if he didn't know what I was talking about. "Lilly, I don't KNOW any other women. You KNOW THAT!"

"Then how come I found THIS among your possessions?!" Blade called out. He placed his hand in his pocket ... and withdrew a piece of paper. He unfolded it and began reading the contents. "You are ALWAYS in my heart, my dearest LORELEI."

Hawkeyes' golden eyes narrowed to slits. "So YOU are the one responsible for all this!"

"I don't know WHAT you're talking about?" Blade replied in nonchalantly. "YOU'RE the one who failed to tell Captain Bates the details about this LORELEI woman."

Once again, I slapped Hawkeyes in the face again. "I told you once before ... that if YOU were to fall in love with me that I would have to kill you. But NOW that I've seen that your LOYALTY was just a facade to tempt me ..." I couldn't finish telling him what I wanted to ... I could feel hot tears brim my eyes. I turned my gaze to Vulture. "We're going into those woods," I commanded. "Blade, YOU stay here and keep an eye on Fidget."

"WHAT?!" Blade answered, looking shocked for some reason. "B-but, my Captain! Surely you should allow ME to do the honors of bring justice to the traitor!"

"That is VULTURE'S job," I reminded him. "YOUR job is to make sure Fidget does not escape. And YOU will take Hawkeyes's place ... as Fidget's new mentor."

"Y-y-you're leaving ME with this little BRAT?!" Blade protested. "B-b-but HE'S a part of this, Captain! He should be JOINING Hawkeyes!"

"YOU WILL BE HIS MENTOR!" I raised my voice, beginning to lose my patience. "Or it will be YOU who joins Hawkeyes in his fate!"

Blade sighed heavily, but then he agreed to do my bidding. He picked up the unconscious Fidget and took him to the cabin. All the better. I did NOT want Fidget to see this.

Captain Bates did have Hawkeyes executed ... by be-heading. Afterward, the decapitated head and body were thrown in the river for the sharks to feast upon. Blade told Fidget that Hawkeyes had run off without him, never to be seen again, that Hawkeyes never cared for him. Captain Bates said she heard Fidget call Blade a liar and responded by punching Blade in the stomach. Then she heard the little boy crying all day. Captain Bates would've told Fidget what really happened, but held her tongue instead. She thought it best that Fidget did not know what happened, though it was quite possible that Fidget already knew or suspected. Unfortunately, Bates learned all too late that this so-called Lorelei was in fact Hawkeyes's dead wife. The woman in question that Hawkeyes was to re-marry was Lillian Bates herself. And how did she find this out? It was through the mouth of someone outside the Nightwing Pirates ... A fair-furred bat, Selena by name.

"Oh, you fool!" Basil rested his forehead in his left hand. "You fool!"