Chapter 20
A Shot in the Dark
Alice sighed as she stared at her reflection in the glass shop window. Dresses. The coins in her hand could afford two more outfits until she could properly wash and stich up the ones on her back. Thankfully, Doppler always came prepared. He had given all of the cadets some money to buy some essential clothing. Jim and the boys were down the streets at a men's clothing store whereas Alice, Dalia, and Josephine were spread out, all looking for women's attire that didn't involve lace, sparkles, beads, or any extra cloth material. All the while they were shopping, the others, save for Morph and Captain Amelia (who was at the Intergalactic Post Office), were back on the Legacy.
"Find anything?" Dalia asked, coming up behind Alice. The girl turned around with in irritable look.
"Just dresses. Honestly, I know it's traditional, but we can't run around battling pirates in poufy skirts!" Dalia laughed.
"Wouldn't that be a show?"
"Show! Show!" Morph mimicked, transforming into an image of Dalia as he floated above her head. The girl sent him a look as Morph giggled.
"I for one," Josephine began as she joined them. "Think that dresses are elegant and nice to wear, the only reason I haven't bought one is because I am on a voyage," she grumbled. Alice's lips twitched upward in a tiny smile. At last the three girls decided to rejoin the boys who were just finishing up.
"Find anything?" Jim asked Alice as Morph buzzed around the boy's head.
"No, nothing, it's either week old clothing or else a dress," Alice sighed.
"Yeah, you in a dress," Jim snickered. Alice glared at him.
"Just because I've never worn a dress, Hawkins, doesn't mean I won't!"
"Oh really?" Jim quirked an eyebrow.
"Yes," Alice crossed her arms, giving him a playful glare.
"Alright, then when this whole mess is over, I want to see you in a dress," he winked. Alice's cheeks turned red, realizing the corner she'd backed herself into.
"I know you two are mating, but please stop flirting," Doug groaned. Everyone turned to look at him. Ray just started cackling.
"It's dating, Doug," Jim rolled his eyes. "That makes it sounds so weird."
"Yeah," Alice shivered. Doug sighed.
"I don't see how that is weird, this strange dating thing you mention makes no sense," he muttered.
"Wait, you don't actually think –"
"An-n-nd, so we were going to try shopping at the men's outfitting store," Dalia interrupted loudly before Jim could finish. Alice was as red as a solar flare by now. Jim's cheeks turned pink as well.
"Wait, you wanted to shop here?" Ray asked, pointing to the store just behind them.
"Where else? They only sell dresses at the stores we tried," Josephine replied.
"Well, I guess it's worth a shot," Jim shrugged, rubbing his neck. So it was settled. All three girls entered the store and demanded shirts and pants. It was rather comical to see the clerk unsure of what to do, and it didn't help that Morph imitated his expression. At last he relented, giving them their clothing and pocketing the drubloons. Alice was so happy to be in a new pair of pants and a shirt, not to mention fresh undergarments, that she gave a little cheer of delight causing several customers to give her an odd look. As she left the store she felt a lot less unsanitary. She felt normal once more as did the rest of the girls.
Alice's favorite color had always been blue. Her favorite attire were tan cargo pants and a blue long sleeved shirt, but this time she decided to try something different. She did choose a similar pair of tan cargo pants stuffed into her boots, but instead of blue, she chose a long sleeved maroon shirt to accompany it.
"You look…different," Jim ran a hand through his hair as she immerged. Morph yawned, seeming tired after the shopping as he snuggled into Alice's new pants pocket for a nap.
"Thanks, Jim," Alice retorted sarcastically.
"No, not that you look bad, I'm just used to seeing you in a white academy uniform," he smirked. Alice nudged him as she held up her bags of clothes.
"The other girls are still in there. Where's Doug and Ray?" she asked.
"They went back to the ship," Jim explained. "Do you want to go look around some more or are you done?" he asked.
"I'd like to look around some more if that's alright. I've never been on a shopping trip," she smiled. Jim grinned and shook his head as they headed up the street. The boy himself was back in his familiar olive green pants and long sleeved tan shirt, a brown belt securing the material. They looked through many shop windows, making faces at the dresses and ogling (well, Alice did more ogling than Jim) over the jewelry. Jim seemed much more interested in a mechanics store up the road. The boy pressed his face against the glass in excitement as he stared at all of the gleaming tools he could never afford.
"Wish I had these for my solar surfer," he sighed. Alice patted his back.
"Someday, Jim, someday," she assured him, turning to face the busy street when something caught her attention.
"Oh wow!" she grinned, taking off, before Jim realized she was gone. Alice ran toward the book store, fascinated by the shelves of the masterpieces stacked in the window. The girl was so preoccupied with reaching her destination, she did not notice the large black shadow in the alleyway beyond.
The figure waited, its heart pounding as, at last, time seemed to slow. Alice passed the alley, her eyes spotting a book that read: Across the Galaxy when she felt a burly hand snap out into the sun and wrap around her arm. Alice had no time to react as she was jerked forward so forcefully she lost her balance and was pulled into the alleyway, her back up against the pirate's chest.
The man drew a knife, but Alice was fast. Within moments her adrenaline had spiked. She whipped her elbow back, hearing a satisfying crunch as it connected with the man's nose. The man let out a cry of pain, letting go. Alice tried to worm out of his grasp and back into the sunny street when the man grabbed her back.
"Jim -!" Alice had no time to respond before the beefy hand was covering her mouth and air supply. Morph, who had awoken at all of the commotion, noticed Alice's predicament and squealed as he zipped forward to save his friend. The pirate let out another yell when Morph grew himself a pair of sharp fangs and bit the man's bottom, tearing off a piece of his pants. Morph smirked, the fabric in his mouth. It was enough for Alice to temporarily squirm out of his grasp. She sprinted down the alleyway, Morph following after fast since it was the only place she could run to now.
"Jim! Somebody!" she screamed, realizing she had no idea where she was going. The alleyway opened up into a small courtyard behind several of the shops. Alice slid to a halt, her breathing heavy, her eyes flickering every which way, trying to locate an exit. There were several alleyways leading off of the circular cobblestoned path, but when Alice turned for each alley, another pirate emerged. They had her surrounded.
"No," she choked, her eyes filling with tears, her heart stopping. How had they found her again? How? She continued to look around frantically for an exit. The pirates smirked, believing they had her cornered, until at last Alice spotted a smaller alleyway just big enough for her to slip through. Making a snap decision she darted for the alleyway, shouting for help with Morph turning into a siren and blaring out a warning bell. Just before Alice's fingers could skim the brick, she felt her legs catch on something.
The netting wound around her legs and tangled her feet as she slammed into the ground scraping her hands and knees. She was being kidnapped. Alice's eyes filled with horror. She had been kidnapped. The pirates advanced, happy she was finally at their mercy.
"Morph, stay with me," Alice pleaded, knowing the little blob would be her only means to find help later. Morph hid in her pocket, too terrified to face the pirates alone.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Alice. I am really, really infuriated that you continue to evade my clutches," Dancer clucked as Alice rolled onto her back, shooting him a glare of utter disdain.
"And I am infuriated you continue to defecate your acidic maliciousness around the galaxy," she spat back.
"Well, I do my best," Dancer smirked, pulling out a small piece of fabric. Alice's eyes lingered on the material.
"What is that?" she demanded.
"It means it's time to go rock a bye baby, sweetheart," he sneered, reaching down and grabbing the back of Alice's head. The girl tried screaming and struggling as Dancer held the cloth to her face, covering her nose and mouth area. Alice realized what it must be and tried to hold her breath. In response, Dancer forced the cloth forward, until Alice realized with dread she couldn't hold it any longer. She released the air and took a deep long breath. Something tasted like cinnamon on the back of her throat as she inhaled.
And just like that Alice's eyes drooped. Her brain scrabbling for consciousness. The last thing she saw was Dancer's beady black eyes and flaming orange fur before she passed out on the spot.
Jim was in a panic. He had felt Alice leave his side just a moment before, but he didn't think she would have disappeared this fast. He had looked up and down the street, but there was no sign of her amongst the bustling crowds. He had even ran to the bookstore across the road, but the man behind the counter said she had never entered. As Jim left the shop, thinking she was with Dalia and Josephine he could faintly hear screaming and a blaring siren type sound coming from down an alleyway close by.
"Alice!" Jim cried, sprinting down the alleyway and nearly colliding with a tall man dressed in a dark clothes, a three cornered hat pulled low over his eyes as he carried a rather long looking brown sack over his shoulder. "Sorry," Jim apologized, sprinting to the end of the alley. The boy had no idea that the man had smiled a sly smile that showed all of his sharp teeth while loading the long sack into the back of a cart and with a flick of the reigns, took off.
The alleyway Jim was in opened up into a courtyard, but all signs of danger, or Alice for that matter, were nonexistent.
"Alice?" Jim called, cupping his hands around his mouth before shaking his head and running back the way he came. Where could she have gone? Jim tried to swallow his rising fear as he spotted Josephine and Dalia leaving the clothing store they had just been in. "Josephine, Dalia, have you seen Alice?" Jim panted, running up out of breath.
The girls looked at each other.
"I thought she was with you," Dalia replied. Jim's face turned white.
"Stars above! She's missing!"
"What?" both girls exploded.
"You don't reckon it's those pirates again do you?" Josephine snarled, her eyes flashing with hatred at the defiled men and women that wouldn't leave them alone.
"We've got to get back to the ship, now," Jim ordered as the three of them took off, all the while calling Alice's name just to make sure, but the closer they got to the ship the more Jim realized that Dancer's threat had rung true.
"You haven't seen the last of the Bloody Dancer, Hawkins!"
If Jim hadn't seen the last of Edward Dancer, and if Alice was suddenly missing, the boy recognized what that really meant.
Alice was in very grave danger.
Alice's head spun as swirls of colors danced behind her eyelids. Voices slithered in and out of her ears, infecting her mind until she was forced to embrace the waking world.
"She doesn't have the necklace…"
"Did you check –?"
"Yes, I've patted her down…"
"She's of no use…"
"Ransom…"
Alice moved her head that was hanging at an awkward angle as she peeked open an eye. Her arms and legs were tied behind her to a chair she currently sat in. Her head was pounding now that the drug was wearing off, but her throat still tasted a bit sweet and she licked her dry lips in response.
"She is of absolutely no use to me now!" Dancer roared, slamming his hand down on the wooden table near the wall of the expansive empty room. Alice lifted her head and blinked, taking in her surroundings. It looked as if they were in an old abandoned water mill. Rusted pipes ran along the walls, the windows were square frames near the ceiling of the tall room made of a gray concrete floor and smooth, dirty yellow walls. There were bolts and scuff marks along the floor as if rather large pieces of machinery once rested there. Several broken gears even lay around the room. A rotting wooden table still resided near the far wall which was where Alice, Dancer, and Leah were now located.
On the far side of the chamber, there appeared to be a network of hallways and doors leading to other areas in the building. Alice yanked at her restraints, but there was no way she'd get out of this one without a blade.
A couple weeks of Interstellar Academy training kicked in.
Find something sharp, her professor would say. Alice craned her neck to locate any sharp object, but to her dismay the only thing that could cut her bonds was a sword and knife in Dancer's belt.
"I say we kill her, that will show Hawkins not to mess with me ever again," Dancer roared, pulling out his gun and pressing the barrel into Alice's neck as the girl leaned back, her heart racing.
"No," Leah replied in her usual calm manner. "You do not seem to understand the gravity of this situation."
Dancer cocked the pistol, his patience thinning. Leah rolled her eyes.
"So, this little twerp doesn't have the necklace, but what do we have?"
"Nothing! We're just as worse off as we were before," Dancer scowled.
"Wrong," Leah held up her finger. "We have her."
Alice blinked as Leah pointed at her.
"And what can she give us?" Dancer sneered.
"The necklace," Leah answered. "If we hold her for ransom, Hawkins will find her. When he does he will do anything to save her. He'll hand over the necklaces, we'll kill him in return, and we walk free to find the most powerful weapon in the galaxy," Leah explained. Alice's forehead was covered in perspiration and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Dancer pulled away his gun.
"If your plan doesn't work, she's the first to go," he announced, his tail bristling, his ears laid back.
"It will work," Leah retorted with confidence. Dancer let out a huff of breath before he left the room, slamming a wooden door behind him. Alice listened as the echo faded away before turning to face Leah who was standing, feet spread, arms crossed, sharp blue eyes staring at Alice with an unreadable expression.
"So why don't you just kill me?" Alice asked, trying to break the silence and Leah's peculiar stare.
"Not all pirates are imbeciles, some of us have brains, it's how we've survived longer than the rest," was Leah's cool response. There was silence again. Alice really did not want to be conversing with her worst enemy, but she couldn't think through a way to escape with Leah watching her every move. The pirate woman cocked her head, her lush blonde hair falling past her shoulder.
"You look a lot like your mother."
Alice blinked in surprise. That was the last thing she expected to hear at that moment, but nonetheless it fanned the still burning embers in the pit of Alice's stomach.
"Oh yeah?" the girl challenged, arching an eyebrow. "How about you tell me where she is?"
Leah smirked.
"Definitely your mother in you," she answered, taking a seat across the table from Alice and propping her feet up on the surface.
"You can't just say stuff about my parents and tell me nothing in return!" Alice yelled, leaning forward in her seat only to be stopped by the ropes around her chest.
"Uh, I just did," Leah replied in a sarcastic voice as she flipped her knife around in her hands. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Kill you the minute I have the chance," Alice snarled. Leah laughed.
"First of all, you won't get that chance, second of all you have too much of your father in you to actually take a life –"
A bang reverberated around the room as Alice tipped her chair back and slammed the wooden legs against the concrete.
"Stop it!" she bellowed. "I want to know about what you've done to my parents right now!"
Now…now…now….
Leah waited until Alice's echoing voice had died away before she got to her feet and walked toward the girl making Alice suddenly cower in fear.
"Honey, if you knew the truth of your past it would tear you apart," Leah whispered, her voice slithering into Alice's ear. The girl froze up as Leah pulled away. "Besides, you'll be dead soon anyway, and even if you do manage to escape and start your brilliant future, what have your parents ever done to be a part of that?"
Alice hesitated, her mind spinning.
"They left you on the doorstep to a Boarding School. They left you behind."
Alice's eyes welled with tears. She tried to look away but Leah noticed.
"That's right," the pirate said. Alice blinked hard, erasing her water eyes. When she was sure she could speak again without choking on her words she looked back up at Leah with a glare as dark as a roiling storm cloud.
"Where. Are. My. Parents?" she seethed. Leah flinched this time, her façade missing a beat. Alice let a tiny triumphant smile curl at the corners of her lips.
"Your parents are gone, Alice, and they are not coming back," Leah whispered at last. Alice shook her head.
"You're lying –"
"Am I?" Leah demanded, her moment of weakness turning to anger. "I wish I could lie to myself, sometimes, Alice, but that doesn't happen. Do not look for something you are not ready to find."
Alice was shocked. Shaking her head Leah stepped forward once more.
"You look like your mother," she breathed, holding her knife up in front of Alice making the girl cringe, but the pirate made no intention of hurting her. Instead she jammed the knife blade down onto a chair a foot away. Alice caught the pirate's eye before she scowled and swept from the room leaving Alice breathless and…hopeful?
The girl's eyes found the dagger stuck in the wooden chair. It was perfect, but Alice knew that Leah would not have been so careless unless she meant to, but why would Leah want to help Alice escape? It seemed as if Alice's life was one big puzzle and she was slowly picking up the pieced, and yet none of them fit together.
Either way, this was her only chance to escape.
"Morph," Alice whispered, staring down at the quivering blob still in her pocket. "It's okay to come out now. I have a job for you." Morph slipped out of Alice's pocket, awaiting orders. "Did you see the way we came from?"
Morph nodded enthusiastically as he transformed into a picture of himself cutting open a hole in the bag Dancer had shoved Alice in before peering about at the road flying by.
"Great," Alice grinned as Morph reformed. "I need you to go find Jim and the others, okay? Go find him and lead him here as fast as you can. Tell him that there will be pirates," Alice warned. Morph transformed into a tin soldier as he saluted before he licked Alice's cheek to reassure her and took off out one of the broken windows near the ceiling.
Now Alice was alone. Her freedom only a foot away, the blade gleaming under the trickling sunlight.
"Time to cut some rope."
"Captain!" Jim cried, racing up the boardwalk onto the Legacy with Dalia and Josephine behind him. "Captain!"
"What seems to be the matter, Mr. Hawkins?" Captain Amelia demanded, leaving the helm with Delbert, Doug, and Ray behind her.
"Alice, Alice is missing. We were checking out different stores, and I don't know, I turned around and she was gone," Jim explained, panic seizing his chest.
"Blast it," Amelia cursed under her breath right as Silver headed up the galley, flanked by two crewmembers.
"What's dis I hear of Alice missin'?" he asked. Jim could only shake his head, already expecting the worst as Doug tried to console him. Amelia curtly explained the situation.
"I'm coming ta find her," Silver announced, his cyborg eye changing to a threatening orange.
"Mr. Silver, need I remind you that you are still under arrest? Just because you are allowed minor privileges aboard my vessel is by no means an invitation to search for Alice," was Amelia's icy reply.
"Ma'am, Alice is like me own daughter. An' I am not gonna stand by and watch her get slaughtered by some fiendish rogues," Silver growled.
"Last I checked you were trying to slaughter us all on Treasure Planet," Amelia snarled.
"What's going on?" Smithy asked materializing behind Ray and causing the boy to let out a yelp of surprise.
"Man, you need to stop doing that," the dark skinned boy grumbled.
"Alice has most likely been kidnapped by pirates," Doug told the multicolored man while Amelia and Silver returned to bickering.
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Jim shouted over both of them. "We need to find Alice before it's too late!"
"I agree with Jim," Delbert added, trying to get his fiancé to see reason.
Amelia and Silver glared at each other, both cautious in making the next move when out of nowhere a squealing pink protoplasm shot on deck, slapping into Jim's cheek.
"Wha -? Morph?" Jim blinked in astonishment as Morph let out desperate cries, tugging on Jim's finger. "Morph, what is it? Where's Alice?" Jim asked, hope etching itself on his face. Morph transformed into a neon arrow, blinking at the street beyond the Legacy and continuing to tug on Jim's hair.
"We'll need weapons if this we're going to save Alice, and a majority of the crew. We need to take them by surprise," Amelia announced before whirling on Silver. "You are allowed to come, but if I see one wrong move against us, I will gladly blast you from here to the netherworld, understood?" Amelia snarled.
"Aye, ma'am," Silver nodded as she raced off to prepare the crew. Dalia and Josephine ran for weapons while Delbert looked about warily.
"There are far too many pirates in this universe," he sighed before placing a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Don't worry, Jim, we'll get Alice back. I'm sure of it," he reassured him. Jim let out a breath when B.E.N clunked over.
"Yeah, Jimmy, I bet you know exactly how to get her out of this," he grinned. Jim shook his head.
"I really hope I can figure it out," Jim sighed, rubbing his face. It was a war against the pirates. The prize? The necklaces leading to a star of mass destruction, and Alice was now caught in the middle.
"Stupid rope! Just cut," Alice snapped, trying desperately to wear away the rope binding her wrists. It had taken her at least a minute to move toward the knife jammed into the opposite chair, another minute to try and cut her rope against the artifact, but all she managed to do was push the chair with her weapon of freedom away from her. To try a different tactic she had attempted to extract the knife jammed into the wooden surface and after much embarrassing flopping about (which Alice would never mention in a future story) she had the knife in her bound hands.
At last she began cutting her ropes while keeping her sharp eyes trained on the room just in case Dancer or Leah decided to come back. With one last crazed growl Alice tore through the material, her wrists flying free with such force the knife went flying and her chair teetered for a moment.
"Aiieeee," she gasped before leaning her weight forward and feeling all four legs return to the ground. The girl let out a thankful breath before she noticed her knife a few feet away. As difficult as it was to scoot over toward the weapon it was easier with untied hands and it wasn't long before the girl was pulling the last of the rope away from her while slipping the knife in her belt.
"Now to get out of here," she breathed, jogging through rows of old tables and chairs toward a door at the other side of the hall. Carefully turning the knob, Alice pulled the door open a crack. When she was sure the hallway was vacant she swung the door open all the way and was all ready to sprint down the hall when she felt a familiar grimy hand clamping down on her mouth.
"Miss me, Dollface?"
Captain Amelia led their crew through the streets as fast as she could. Jim was hot on her heels as Morph led the way past the busy town square and toward a river just out of the more populated area.
"Where is she Morph?" Jim panted as their group slid to a halt, but the boy was sure he already knew. Morph zoomed ahead pointing to the old water mill up ahead.
"The water mill? That's their hideout? How lame," Ray slapped his forehead.
"Quiet," Amelia ordered as she shouldered her musket. "We're going to split into groups and trap them. Smithy, take one group around the back. Smithy nodded as he led some of the men behind the old wooden wheel which once churned water. Amelia then looked at the rest of them.
"Now all of you follow me. The minute we enter the building prepare to engage the enemy," she warned. "And Jim, I need you to find Alice." Jim kept his pistol at the ready as he nodded in understanding. Their group hurried forward, not noticing that there was a second level to the larger mill and that staring through the window was Edward Dancer.
"How did they find us?" he bellowed, whirling on Leah. The woman simply shrugged as Dancer threw a plate at the wall with a cry of fury as he tore out of the room leaving Leah alone with her tiny, unnoticeable smile.
It was the pirate that had grabbed Alice in the alleyway, and he did not look at all happy about his now broken nose. Alice struggled, but the man just smirked, holding her tighter than ever before.
"Think again if you are gonna try and break me nose, sweet cream." Alice let out a small growl and bit his hand, but the man ignored the pain by clenching his teeth. "Dancer will be pleased I caught our little escapist," he spat, nudging her forward when Alice remembered the dagger in her belt. Without stopping to think how well her plan would work, Alice went limp in the man's arms. The pirate didn't expect this and struggled to hold her up, his grip loosening when Alice pulled the knife out of her belt and slashed the back of the man's hand. He pulled back just as he had last time, yowling with pain while Alice ducked out of the way of a flying fist.
In the few combat classes she'd taken at the Academy, her professors had strongly suggested she use her thinness and lack of upper body strength to her advantage. Whereas some of the other students were burly and quick to attack, Alice was fast and nimble. Her instructors had taught her a few ways to avoid an attack aimed for a central hit.
Alice ducked out of the way and slashed the man's arm, determined not to seriously injure him with the weapon. The man swung again, but he was off balance, and Alice was able to nick both knees so that he tumbled onto the ground in pain. Alice looked at her now red-stained knife with worry. The man was injured, but he'd survive. Lingering a moment longer, Alice warned the man not to follow her before she took off through the maze of twisted halls once again.
As Amelia, Jim, and the others approached the front door they could see two pirates standing guard. The minute the pirates noticed the band of people in front of them, one hurried inside while the other open fired. Jim cocked his pistol and before anyone could react the boy had shot the man right in the chest causing the pirate to stumble as he was knocked unconscious.
"You have a good aim, Hawkins," Amelia remarked with raised eyebrows.
"Thank you, Captain," Jim replied as they ran for the large wooden door leading inside.
"Doctor, secure this man and make sure he doesn't get lose. The rest of you follow me inside," the captain ordered, leading them into the water mill and short hallway toward an enormous factory sized room. There were old tables and chairs still set up, but the room was deserted. Jim noticed the cut rope and tipped chair in the center of the room.
"Alice was here -!" But before the boy could take another step the room was swarmed with pirates firing shot after shot toward the unsuspecting group. Jim and the others all tipped over the tables and dove behind them to use as protection.
"Mr. Hawkins, we'll hold them off. Find Alice," Amelia ordered. Jim nodded, covering his head as he ran off and down another hallway, taking a sharp right. What the boy failed to notice was the locks of brown hair ducking down another hallway close by, but someone else did notice.
"Alice," Dancer snarled as he grabbed his pistol with his left hand, his right hand still wrapped up from the last time Silver had shot him. The pirate captain was about to advance when four of his crew rushed down the hallway.
"The girl has escaped and we've been surrounded by the Legacy's spacers," one of the pirates panted.
"Really?" Dancer sneered, grabbing one of the men by the shirt collar and tossing him forward. "Get the girl!"
The men nodded in understanding taking off toward the wooden stairs at the end of the corridor with Dancer right behind.
Alice's breathing was heavy. She had heard the sounds of gunfire and the clashing of steel swords in the room she had just came from, but when she had tried to join in the fight (since she knew Morph must've returned with help), four of the pirate scum had noticed her and forced her to run in the opposite direction. She gripped the wooden railing of the stairwell when a blade came out of nowhere and pinned her shirt sleeve to the banister. Alice's eyes widened, turning around to see the four pirates still chasing her with Dancer right behind.
"Oh bugger!" she cursed, trying to yank out the knife, but it was no use. The man who had thrown it was pulling out another dagger from his belt, and Alice knew this time he wouldn't miss. Ignoring the knife in her shirt sleeve, Alice yanked at the material hearing a painful rip as her new maroon shirt tore at the sleeve. She ignored it and continued up the stairs where she was met by a barrage of bedrooms, bathrooms, and even a kitchen.
Alice ran into the first room she saw which was the kitchen. She slammed the door behind her locking it before she grabbed a rotting chair and pressed it up against the entrance. She knew it wouldn't hold them for long. She looked around the small space for any sort of escape, but there were no windows. Instead she ran for the drawers, searching for a larger weapon to defend herself with, but it was no use. She couldn't hold off five well-trained pirates by herself, and the people who once lived here had obviously taken their silverware with. All that remained were a couple of rusting spoons.
Letting out a cry of anger and defeat, Alice grabbed the spoons and threw them when she suddenly heard the door handle being jiggled.
"Break it down!" came Dancer's faint order. Alice shook her head as the first crash came, reverberating around the room and causing the girl to quake. Alice spun around as the second crash came, the hinges on the door beginning to bend from years of wear.
And it was then that she saw it.
It was a chute.
At first Alice thought it was a laundry chute, when she realized that there was a button on the wall. Her eyes lit up. It was a food carrier! It was an elevator that had once carried food down to the kitchens below. Grinning from relief Alice ran to the elevator and squeezed herself in. It was a tight fit, but she would be able to make it out and that was all that mattered. Right as the door burst open, Alice pressed the button on the wall praying that the elevator still worked. There was the sound of gears grinding above her, but very slowly she began to lower down into the wall.
"Stop that machine!" Dancer ordered, but it was too late. By the time the pirates tried to reach her, Alice was already in the dark walls and going down, down, down. Her heart pounded in her ears. What if she got stuck? What if she never made it out? She shook her head. No, she couldn't think like that. She couldn't panic like Jim might in this situation. Thankfully the elevator didn't stop until she reached her destination, but Alice was beginning to wonder if it was a smart idea to begin with.
Back on the third floor Dancer led the pirates down the stairs as fast as he could and toward the basement steps leading to the dim darkness below. Just as the last pirate was hurrying to follow them, Jim burst through an entrance on the opposite wall, the wooden door slamming into the pirate with such force he was knocked unconscious and crumpled on the floor. Jim blinked and peeked around the door to see the lifeless pirate, a few of his teeth missing. He cringed at the sight before grabbing the man's knives and scrambling away in the opposite direction.
There was a moment where Alice was completely disoriented. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust and when they did she realized she was no better off in this old basement storage room than she was in the upstairs kitchen. There was only one way out, but by the time she tried to escape through the single doorway the pirates would nab her within minutes. Alice climbed out of the elevator and scanned the room for a place to hide, grinning when she found the perfect spot and not a moment too soon.
The door swung open and in came Dancer and the other pirates.
"She ain't in here, boss," one of the pirates spat, his voice high and squeaky. Alice kept quiet behind the dusty couch close to the doorway. If they moved just a little farther into the room…
"Search it, she can't have gone far," Dancer commanded as the pirates began tearing through boxes.
Come on, Alice thought, seeing Dancer's feet take a step closer to the elevator. A little closer…
The lead pirate swished his bushy tail out behind him before walking over toward the elevator. Alice smirked. It was perfect. She army crawled out from behind the couch and through the doorway. She was just getting to her feet to sprint back up the stairs from the basement when one of the pirates spotted her.
"There she is!"
"Shoot!" Dancer cried. Alice grit her teeth, her eyes wide as she grabbed the door and pulled it closed right as the blasts tore through the wood. Then she was running, her adrenaline off the chart, her eyes wild, her heart beating as fast as it had ever beat before. Dancer was the first out as he chased after her up the stairs back into the main hall. Alice dodged his gunshots as she ran for the broom cupboard at the end of the hall with Dancer in a hot pursuit.
Jim, on the other hand, was feeling desperate as he found his way back into the main hall with still no sign of Alice. It was then that his eyes focused on something running down the hall.
"Alice?" he gasped when something hit him head on. Jim struggled as the pirate wrapped all of its six skinny arms around him and pinned him to the floor.
"Oh ya won't be saving yer girly girl taday, lad," he smirked as Jim twisted and tried to hit back, but two other pirates came up and pinned his arms down. The boy grunted, trying to pull away, but it was futile. "That's right, keep struggling," the man grinned, showing off his blackened teeth.
"Let – me – GO!" Jim roared. The pirate pulled out a dagger and Jim's eyes widened as he raised it above his head about to plunge it into Jim's stomach. The boy saw his panicked expression reflected back in the dagger. Not knowing what else to do, he closed his eyes and prayed it would be quick.
"Guys, this isn't working," Doug panted, shooting pirate after pirate from his place behind the table. Dalia brought her knees up to her chest.
"Well you're right about that, but what can we do? We have to keep firing," she replied.
"Something tells me that Jim and Alice are in trouble," Doug shook his head. "We should go find them and help them. The others can hold off the pirates for now."
"Wow, great idea, oh Lord of Psychic Ability," Ray scoffed, ducking a shot behind fired at his head. "How did you come up with that one?"
"Well first of all Jim and Alice are always in trouble," Doug pointed out, beginning a lecture in a very matter-of-fact tone. "Those two attract all the attention, and the pirates here could be being used as a decoy, and as you can see that Leah and Dancer are nowhere to be found, and if you look closely at the crew you can tell some of the riggers are missing and –"
"Okay, we get it!" Dalia snapped.
"Are we going to do this or not?" Josephine agreed.
Ray and Doug shared a look.
"Yeah."
"Well I guess I'm in."
"Then our window of opportunity is right now!" the girl shouted as all three of them dove out from behind the table toward the unguarded doorway across the room. Once they were safe inside all of them paused to catch their breath when Josephine let out a scream.
"Grrr!" It was the pirate that Alice had injured earlier before. He had grabbed onto Josephine's ankle, a dangerous look in his eyes.
"Uh, did he just growl at you?" Ray arched an eyebrow.
"I'm going to teach you the meaning of pain!" he roared.
"You like pain?" Dalia snorted, taking the butt of her gun and clubbing him over the head so he was knocked into oblivion. "Try wearing a corset."
"Nice," Doug grinned as they all began running once more.
"Thanks," Dalia smirked, swishing her orange hair over her shoulder.
"But, wait, you don't wear a corset so how does that -?"
"It was the spur of the moment Raymond, just deal with it!" Dalia shouted over him leaving the boy to roll his eyes.
Alice flew into the broom closet, slamming the door behind her, grabbing a giant wooden plank, and jamming it between two storage racks to bar the door. She heard Dancer slam into it and begin jiggling the doorknob.
"You don't stand a chance, Alice," he called through the door. Alice wiped the perspiration from her brow as she stared around at the piled boxes in the cramped space. Once again she was trapped. Alice let out a breath of annoyance. How did this happen? Why was she always the one to get trapped in a room with pirates about to murder her and serve her body sunny-side up? Her eyes searched the room frantically when they caught sight of the light trickling into the room behind some boxes near the ceiling. Alice climbed the stack of useless things as she pushed away the tiny crates to reveal a window just big enough for her to climb through to the outside.
"Yes," she breathed, grabbing the sticky latch and yanking it forward.
The window popped open.
Jim didn't know what else to do. He was stuck with three pirates on him and one about to carve out his insides and hang them up to dry.
"Say goodbye," the pirate cackled as Jim squeezed his eyes shut expecting to feel pain, but strangely enough he felt the pirates' holds lessen.
"Goodbye," returned another voice when Jim heard three gun-shots, the pirates all falling off of him and landing in piles on the floor. Jim rolled the body off of him and sat up in a daze to see Dalia, Ray, Josephine, and Doug all standing over him.
"Man, these guys are heavy," Ray complained as he dragged the bodies into a pile in a closet nearby. Dalia held out a hand and helped Jim to his feet.
"Came just in time, didn't we?" she grinned. Jim gave her a tiny smile when his face paled.
"Alice!" he cried, turning and taking off down the hall.
"Hey, wait up, Jim!" Doug called as all of them raced after him to see that the broom closet had been broken into, but Dancer and Alice were gone.
"There!" Dalia gasped, pointing to the open window.
"I'm going after her," Jim called, jumping up and sliding through the window. Ray, Dalia, and Doug all made to follow him when Josephine held them back.
"Wait, I have an idea," she told them, turning and running in the opposite direction. Doug and Ray looked at Dalia who shrugged and followed after her.
Just as Alice had slid through the window minutes before, she heard the door to broom cupboard burst open. Her feet hit the packed earth as she ran forward, looking for a way back around to the front, but stone walls protruded from either side of the mill as several inactive wooden wheels to obtain power from the river sat blocking her path. The only thing left was a back door, which Alice tried and realized it was locked, as well as a long wooden dock where boats once might have sat, rocking against the structure. She could just detect the flaming bushy tail of Edward Dancer when she made a snap decision, running to the end of the dock and ultimately a dead end.
Alice had never been a good swimmer. She hadn't done much swimming in her entire life. When she was running for the end of the dock she expected herself to take a flying leap off of it and into the frigid water, but as Alice got closer and closer her muscles tensed. She wasn't afraid to learn how to swim, but hurling oneself off of the end of a dock wasn't exactly stellar step-by-step practicing.
The young girl slid to a halt before she could toss herself into the water. She was mesmerized a moment when she saw the blue waves lapping at the legs of the stiff berth. For a moment all was silent.
Alice felt the hand wrap around her neck from behind making her let out a yelp as her body was slammed into Dancer's chest. Before she could struggle, the pirate captain had taken out his pistol and jammed the barrel into her neck.
"Tell me where the necklace is and I won't kill you," he growled.
"Let her go!"
Alice looked up to see Jim standing at the end of the pier, his own pistol raised.
"Hawkins, how nice of you to join us. Unfortunately I have run out of patience for you and your girlfriend's constant escape acts, so I've decided to put an end to this performance. Prepare to watch her die," Dancer snarled. Alice tried to pull away when she felt dancer's arm around her neck tighten causing her to let out a raspy squeak of pain. "That's right, squeal, Alice. Squeal in front of your boyfriend as he watches the light leave your eyes," Dancer whispered in her ear, the smell of his dead breath causing Alice to let out a tiny cough.
At that moment the back door burst open and out came Smithy, Silver, Captain Amelia, and Delbert all pointing guns at Dancer.
"Let her go, now, you pirate scum!" Amelia spat, her teeth bared in a snarl.
Dancer just laughed a crazy laugh.
"Kill me. Kill me and it will be over, just like you want, but tell me Captain, do you really want to risk killing her? Kill me, I'm out numbered, but I promise all of you that I will drag her down to the grave and back again if you so much as put a finger on that trigger," Dancer growled. Amelia hesitated, her finger leaving the trigger with some difficulty. She told the others, including Jim, to lower their weapons.
"And now the real production begins," Dancer jeered.
Josephine and the others made it to the second floor with little difficulty. Most of Dancer's crew was fleeing due to being overpowered by the Legacy's men and women. There had been no sign of Leah anywhere, which the four friends took as a good thing. Josephine ran to the end of the corridor to a bedroom with a window overlooking the back of the water mill.
"I still don't understand," Dalia said as she and the others joined Josephine. "Why aren't we with Jim trying to save Alice?"
"Because Jim," Josephine began as she cocked and loaded a musket she had had slung over her shoulder. "Is a sucker for his emotions. He thinks in a very linear pattern when it comes to the ones he loves, and I don't think he realized what a situation Alice would be in," Josephine explained as she threw open the window catching a breeze. All of them crowded around the space and looked outside to see that Dancer now had Alice and therefore had complete control over the situation. Captain Amelia and the others had all lowered their weapons, but their bodies were tense.
"What can we do to stop this?" Ray demanded, looking worried.
"You can't. I can," Josephine sneered as she lifted the musket and took aim. Her finger found the trigger when Doug pushed the barrel down.
"Are you nuts! You could hit Alice!" he cried.
"I won't hit Alice if I time it right," she snapped back.
"Josephine, you're a great gunner, and awesome at artillery, but this is insane! You'll get her killed!"
"No I won't," Josephine spat.
"Oh, come on guys, she's not worried about killing Alice. After all Alice is the one standing between her and a love life with Jim," Dalia snorted, crossing her arms. Josephine gave her a dark glare.
"I may hate Alice's very core, but to go so far as to consider me a murderer of an innocent person is beneath you," she seethed, standing up and squaring herself off against Dalia who took a step back in surprise. "So do you want me to save someone's life, or not?" she whispered in a deadly tone.
"If you hit my friend –" Dalia warned as Josephine turned away, taking up a stance at the window once more, her eyes squinting as she cocked the firearm.
"I don't miss," she assured them as she pulled the trigger.
When Alice heard the noise, the first thing she thought of was thunder, but then she realized it wasn't cloudy. After that everything happened so fast the girl's brain was unsure of how to piece it all together.
The purple laser shot was hurled through the air toward Alice whose eyes widened, the glow reflecting in her irises. Then she felt it. The momentum. Knocking the wind out of her.
Dancer's hands released her, his gun went flying. Alice went flying. The world felt like a blur of colors in slow motion as she hit the deck, feeling the burning sting in her shoulder. The girl was completely rattled as she lifted herself up on her hands, looking at Dancer clutching his bleeding left hand in pain. Sound returned to the world as did everything else.
"Alice," Jim cried, running up to her and grabbing her in a tight embrace as he held her on the edge of the wooden dock.
"Jim, ow, stop," she pleaded, looking down at part of her singed shoulder. Jim pulled back quick as Silver and the others hurried over. Dancer tried to reach for his weapon, but Amelia kicked it into the river before stepping on his back and holding her pistol to his head.
"Edward Dancer you are placed under arrest for your scandalous, thieving, and pirate ways. It gives me great pleasure to do this," she grinned as Delbert, giving a triumphant nod, handed her some rope to bind the fox man's still injured hands.
Smithy stood behind Silver as the cyborg bent down next to Alice and Jim. Jim was holding on tight to her hands determined not to let her go while Silver examined her wound.
"It ain't serious. I think with a bit of bandages and healing cream, yeh will be right as rain, Alice," he smiled. Alice let out a thankful sigh as she buried her head in Jim's shoulder.
"But who shot Dancer?" she asked after she and Jim pulled out of another hug. Jim's brow furrowed.
"I don't know, it came from the second floor I think," he said. Silver got to his feet and drew out a spyglass, training it on the window before he smirked.
"I t'ink the two o' yeh will want ta see this."
A/N: Well I was uploading this to deviantart first when the website completely got rid of my awesome chapter description because ANOTHER STUPID VIRUS was trying to infect my computer! I don't know about you guys, but that website literally attacks my computer on a daily basis, but I suppose I'll keep using it :P
Anyway! I have to go do homework so I'll make this quick. Basically I feel like this chapter turned out pretty good despite the fact that I don't feel as if I captured Jim's character as well as I'd have liked.
But I had so much fun writing about Dalia, Doug, Josephine, and Ray working together ^^
I actually had this idea in my head a while ago and I am happy that I was finally able to put it in this story! Sorry for the length of this chapter as well guys *sweating a little*
Song I used to write this chapter: Running, Fighting, Waiting by Hans Zimmer from the Sherlock Holmes Soundtrack
Special thanks goes to: lazyX1000, PartofYourWorld-ArielMermaid, JessyHeick, and SweetxPandemonium! You guys are totally awesome! :D