A/N: Thank you everyone for your patience and sorry for the long wait, busy with life. I also want to thank everyone who informed me and congratulated me on Taylor Schilling reading the synopsis to my story. I still honestly can't believe that even happened. Thanks you all so much for your support I really appreciate it. Much love to you all.

The Spider and the Wasp
Chapter 25

The pirates spread out through the village and broke off into smaller groups. Nicky was running right behind Alex and the two of them dove behind a thick log. The blonde hoisted herself up to get a better look at things.

"Do you see it?"

"I see a bunch of half naked men and women running around and a few of our own—wait there it is over on your left!"

Alex propped herself up, aimed her gun and fired. "Fuck, I missed!"

"Right, by about a league. Dammit Vause, just how blind are you without your glasses?"

"Blind-ish I need to get closer so I can get a clear shot. And who are you to talk your aims no better. I wear my glasses what's your excuse?"

"If this is about that time in Bendalla, the sun was in my eye."

"You shot that guy a new ass hole."

"Uh again…the sun."

"Whatever. Where did it go?"

"Give me the guns, you've already wasted one shot and we don't have any gunpowder on hand."

Alex growled "Fine." She traded weapons with Nicky, guns for swords.

"Uh Vause we might have another problem."

"What?"

She looked up and saw several of the Puntak warriors were coming right at them weapons raised and ready.

"Oh fuck."

"I think your gunshot might've sparked a misunderstanding."

"Let's go!"

Alex and Nicky started to run and were quickly stopped. A man with a hook-like makeshift sword came right at Alex and Alex met it with hers. Nicky flipped the guns around and began to use them as clubs. She clocked one of the men hard across the face. The two women stood back to back ready for the next assault.

"We're on your side!" Alex yelled as the man came at her again with a four combination move. She blocked and dodged and then blocked and dodged again.

"I don't think everyone here speaks the common tongue!"

"Well this just got more fucking complicated."

Piper's grip on her sword tightened as she sprinted towards the crying child and finally slid through the dirt right in front of her.

"Shh..shh. It's okay calm down I'm going to get you out of here okay." But the child wouldn't stop crying. Piper tried to reach out to touch her but the child fought, threw little tantrums with her tiny fists and bit Piper with her tiny teeth.

"Ouch! C'mon hold still" The little girl wasn't listening. She was much too horrified by what was happening. Right at her back Piper heard a high pitched battle cry and turned around immediately. Two men were coming right for her with their machetes raised. Piper screamed and picked up her sword. She dodged one man's thrust and deflected the other with her sword

"I'm trying to help you!" Piper yelled as she blocked another thrust. She could still feel a lot of strain in her arm and it still ached when she stretched it out. Fear helped to block out some of the pain.

Both men stood at either side of her. One of them had a cataract and a scar over his right eye which made him look even more menacing. Piper looked at the crying child who started to crawl away. "I'm trying to help—we're trying to help!" The man with the scar yelled again and charged at Piper. She moved out of the way and her sword connected with the other man's machete. He was strong and every swing he made was intended to kill. One mistake and Piper's guts would be splayed out in the dirt. Scar face was on his feet again and his attack became much more relentless than before and Piper spent the majority of the time clumsily dodging blows and parrying her sword with his. The men came at her one right on top of the other and they were wearing her down. Piper had no choice but to think on her feet. The child was crawling away and Piper could see the other leopard not too far off stalking the little girl.

Piper knew she had to get these men off of her and fast if she was to rescue her. She thought about the things Alex had taught her over the last few months

Defeating multiple opponents is hard but not impossible. Moving targets are harder to hit, keep moving, be unpredictable, make the fuckers work for it, and if you can, try to even the odds.

She started to fight with greater confidence and danced back an forth between the men. She found that as long as she kept them separate they were a lot easier to fight. But these men were not going to stop. Every time Piper had an opportunity to end it she hesitated and the fight would carry on. She knew she had to convince these men that she was on their side or they were going to kill her and if she couldn't she would have to kill them. It was a thought Piper didn't even want to consider. She was not a killer. Her mock sword fights with Alex were fun and friendly competition, but now having to actually engage into a fight where her life was on the line was entirely different. This was no game.

Piper tried in vain to talk to these men but they just weren't listening. She yelled at them, used her hands to gesture her intentions but these men only had one goal in mind. Piper was a threat, she and the other pirates were all threats. Piper's strength was wearing down and her moves were becoming sloppy, it wouldn't be long before she made a mistake. The little girl had managed to crawl underneath one of the huts and Piper could see that the leopard was getting closer, he was getting ready to pounce on her. However no one else saw that this was happening it was an all out battle between the Puntak warriors and the pirates. Only a few of them seemed to be concerned with the other large cat. Piper was starting to think that maybe going back was a bad idea after all.

"Please stop, it's going to kill her look!" Piper turned to show them and that was her first mistake. The man with the scar threw a dizzying punch hard across her face and she fell flat on her back and for a moment she saw double. He towered over her ready to plunge his sword into Piper's throat. A tall dark haired blur came rushing in and tackled the man from his side, it was Alex.

Alex lifted Piper up and as soon as she did the other warrior ran towards Alex. Piper saw and the next thing she knew her sword was out. It happened so fast, shock took over when she heard the gushing and tearing sound of flesh. She looked down and there was blood, a lot of it. She slowly pulled out her sword and the man collapsed. He was dead.

Piper stood there, her mouth agape. There was a sheen of tears over her eyes and she began to hyperventilate. She dropped her sword as if it were hot to the touch and clasped her hands to her face. She was losing it, she wasn't even aware that Alex was calling her name.

"Piper! Piper!" The voice echoed, it sounded distressed. Alex carefully knelt Piper down to the ground and grabbed hold of her wrists "Pipes, Piper, look at me!" Piper looked over and saw the dead body. The man's eyes were staring at her but they were so lifeless, there was no soul. They were just empty.

"No, look at me Pipes, look at me, don't look at him!" Alex kept turning Piper's face back towards her. She was seeing white. Even when she looked at Alex she was looking right through her. Piper opened her mouth to speak and her lip quivered as she tried. "He's dead." She somehow managed to choke out.

"I know. I know. Snap out of it. C'mon, come back to me!" Alex held Piper's face in her hands and shook her forcefully as she tried to get her to focus on only her. "Talk to me Pipes! Who am I? What's my name?!"

A warrior aimed his bow right at them. Alex threw herself at Piper and tackled her back down to the ground. Alex cried out when the arrow nicked her shoulder. It continued it's path and hit scar face right in his stomach. The force knocked him off his feet.

"Alex."

Alex lifted her head up and looked down at her "Pipes, are you all right?"

"I think so…your…your shoulder?" Blood was dripping down her arm.

"I'll live. We're abandoning this plan it's no use, some of these people can't even understand us."

"No…no" Piper still didn't sound completely like herself but seemed to be slowly on the verge of coming back to reality.

"Piper!"

"Where's the girl?" Piper was already walking away from Alex when she saw. "Alex there she is!"

"No Piper!" Alex was growing more frustrated and proceeded to follow right behind her.

Piper dropped down on all fours and moved quickly underneath the hut towards the spot where the little girl was cowering. "Piper stop!" Piper wasn't listening to her. The child was still crying and the cat was only a few feet away from her eyeing the little girl hungrily. Piper could hear the low growl coming from deep from within the leopard's gut. It licked it's nose. Piper slowly crawled on her stomach to get to her.

No sudden movements Piper thought, but even as she did the leopard continued to move forward. The little girl began to cry even harder. Piper proceeded to ease the child's fears. She spoke in a low voice, non threatening and as friendly as possible.

"Piper get from under there we have to go!" Alex was just about to go in after her when the tribes' chief came for Alex with her long pointed staff that was as tall as her. She hadn't even seen her coming. Mekananakey came flying through the air and kicked Alex right in the chest and into a pile of firewood. Alex groaned and lifted herself up. The chief twirled her weapon and launched herself at Alex again.

Alex growled in anger and deflected the woman's attack. She rolled forward and tried to trip the chief. The woman jumped and thrusted her spear at Alex, she missed and the spear embedded itself into the dirt instead but the chief continued on and used the spear to propel herself towards Alex and she landed right on top of her. She punched Alex once in the face and Alex delivered two blows of her own right back at her. Soon the two women were grappling on the ground through dirt and mud. For every hit Mekananakey landed on Alex, Alex threw right back twice as hard. The chief had Alex once again on her back.

"I see you prefer to be on top."

"Always." Mekananakey hissed. She took out a knife and aimed the blade at Alex's face and with her other hand she placed her palm at the end of the blade's pommel to give her more strength to push.

With all her strength Alex pushed back on the chief's forearms. "You're so rough, you treat all your lovers this way?"

"You…have a wicked tongue" The chief grunted.

"I've been told."

The blade inched closer to Alex's face "Perhaps I cut it out."

She kneed Mekananakey in the groin and she shouted in pain. Alex kicked her off and reached again for her sword. The chief reached back down for her spear and Alex pointed the tip of her blade in Mekananakey's face.

"Now I'm only going to say this once." Alex growled at her "We are trying to help you. You can either choose to accept or refuse it but either way my crew and I will be leaving. And if you stand in my way make no mistake…I will cut you down. Don't force me to do it."

"You think your threats frighten me? You be very skilled but I've killed men three times your size." Mekananakey said with pride. "I am the Kibalba, a warrior and chief chosen by my people for my strength and skill."

"Really? Not because of your tits?"

The chief ignored the jab "When I pass into the next life and my daughter, Nya is fully grown she will drink from my skull and feed upon my remains so that she might inherit my strength and knowledge.

Alex made a face at her "All right that is far too much information that I did not ask for…wait a minute, your daughter?" And then Alex remembered, the kid they saw hugging her leg when they first arrived to the village, the one that Piper had been trying to persuade into helping to cut them free, the one Piper was now trying to help, that had to be Mekananakey's daughter. Fuck, Piper! She had almost forgotten about her.

Alex shoved her way passed the chief and went back to where she last saw Piper. Piper was still on the ground slowly inching her way towards Nya. Right behind Alex was Mekananakey right on her tail. The chief's hardened face suddenly switched to fear and worry when she saw the little girl curled up at the end of the hut and crying. She shouted the child's name and something else in her native tongue. Nya's eyes looked up in recognition at the sound of her mother's voice and she started to move, as did the cat.

"No! no stay there sweetie!" Piper shouted. Nya wasn't listening, much too relieved she was to see her mother's face.

Mekananakey made the mistake of trying to rush in to save her baby. Alex threw her body on top of her "No, stop you'll only provoke it, let Piper grab her!" The woman had gone mad she thrashed against Alex's body. Alex dragged her back out in the open "Let me go!"

"Damn you, stop it" Alex growled through gritted teeth. "Piper's going to get her calm down!"

The men shouted something at the chief. The first leopard was sprinting in Alex and Mekananakey's direction with a mob of men following right behind it throwing their knives and spears right at it. The cat leaped for the chief who was too distraught and not paying any attention. With one quick move Alex whipped her sword around and dragged a long thick slice along the creature's belly, a fatal blow. It fell at Mekananakey's feet. The remaining Puntak warriors stopped their fight with the pirates and gathered around with the others. They all stood shocked but still maintained their fighting stances as they waited for what the chief would say. She looked at Alex and Alex who seemed to be reading her thoughts let out a huff, "Like I said we are here to help you."

Meanwhile Piper kept inching her way towards Nya. "Come towards me!" Piper yelled at the girl. Nya looked over at the leopard. It was in a pouncing position ready to throw itself at the girl. It must've realized Piper's intention to grab its meal. Piper knew she was running out of time. If the child wasn't going to come towards her she would just have to snatch her up quickly. Alex and the others were calling Piper's name to urge her out of there. The Puntak, finally realizing what was going on and what Piper was trying to do threw rocks and shouted at the animal to divert it's attention. It only angered the leopard more.

Piper used the distraction and scooted fast towards Nya and close the gap between her and the kid. She gathered her up in her arms and rolled out from under the hut. The leopard saw what was happening and finally pounced on them.

"Pipes!"

Piper clutched Nya tightly against her body and it landed right on top of Piper's legs. Piper felt its claws dig in to one of her thighs. She screamed and tried to kick the leopard off of her with her other foot.

The villagers ran towards the leopard and Alex and the other pirates were running right with them.

Nicky whipped out her pistol and fired at the cat. She had the shot but missed by a hair. The only thing that seemed to frightened the animal was the sound and suddenly Piper had a window to escape. She rolled to her feet with the kid in her arms and then she ran. She ran into the jungle and soon the leopard was following right behind her.

The leopard chased Piper, Mekananakey and the warriors chased the leopard, and Alex and the pirates chased the Puntak.

Piper realized that this was a stupid mistake. Her arms ached, her chest burned, so did her thigh and she could feel the blood running down it. Fear and her need to protect the crying child in her arms kept her moving as fast her feet would allow. This was much too dangerous the jungle was full of hidden ditches and raised tree roots that she could easily trip and that would be the end. A stitch was burning at her side but she forced herself to ignore it.
Behind her she heard the villagers shouting and the whistling of arrows in the air. She heard Alex yelling her name echoed off in the distance.

"Pipes! Piper!"

Piper called Alex's name just to confirm that she was still alive.

"Piper where are you going?!"

"I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I don't know! I'm making this up as I go!" She managed to yell out

Piper continued to run she didn't look behind her because she knew the cat wouldn't be too far behind her. It roared and leapt off of the trunk of a tree to pounce at Piper. Piper ducked. She ran for what seemed like forever until she saw a break in the trees, sunlight piercing through the dense trees of the jungle. Piper made a break for it, she clutched the child even tighter, and started to sprint for the opening. She dove right through and at last she was out but to her misfortune she was standing on a narrow ledge right over a sea cliff. Over a thousand feet below was the rushing and crashing of the waves against the rocks, a sheer drop to her death.

Piper gave a mental curse. Right behind her was the leopard slowly stalking her and behind came the Puntak and Alex leading the pirates. The Puntak nocked their arrows but they didn't fire, probably didn't want the risk of hitting Nya should the animal suddenly decide to pounce.

"Pipes!" Alex made a move to get to her but surprisingly it was Mekananakey that held her back.

"No you fool, do you not see? You frighten creature and it may pounce at them, they fall over."

"She's right." Nicky said out of breath as she clutched her chest

Piper and Alex's eyes met. Alex looked all too anxious to get to her.

The leopard moved closer and closer and Piper started to back away towards the cliffs edge.

"Fucking do something already! Tell them to fire their arrows, don't just fucking stand there!"

Mekananakey looked like she wanted to issue the order but knew it was too risky. The leopard extended its claws and drew back. Piper realized it was about to pounce at them again. She looked over the edge and then back at the leopard. It was insane but she didn't have a whole lot of options at the moment. If she didn't do it she would probably die and if she did she would probably die but if she timed it perfectly she would probably have a chance.

Piper looked at Alex with determination in her eyes and Alex recognized the look. Piper had a plan.

Piper slowly inched backwards until she was right at the cliff's edge. Rocks tumbled over and fell off seeming to disappear into nothing.

Realizing what Piper intended to do Alex shouted her name and ran forward as did Mekananakey the others. The leopard pounced and Piper dropped down over the edge. The leopard kept going right over the cliff and into the ocean below.

Alex was the first to get to the cliff's edge and she saw Piper hanging on at the side gripping onto the rocks, the child latched around her neck and waist. Alex let out a sigh of relief "Piper are you all right?!"

"I will be once someone gets me up!"

Alex turned to everyone and urged them forward "C'mon help me them up here"

They all formed a chain. Mekananakey grabbed Alex's legs, then Nicky, and a few of the pirates and the Puntak.

"Piper take my hand."

"No, take her first."

"Piper!"

"Do it, Alex!"

"Let me down further!" Alex called back

They did and Alex lifted the child into her arms. The chain of people pulled them back until the child was safe and in her mother's arm. Mekananakey held her child tightly in her arms and kissed her face overwhelmed with joy.

"C'mon help me grab her." Alex ordered. The chief placed her child into the arms of one of the villagers and they formed the chain again.

Piper was struggling to get up on her own and the rocks were starting to crumble beneath her hands.

"Okay Piper grab my hand."

She did, she had a firm grip on Alex's wrist. The rocks finally gave out, Piper lost her footing and she quickly grabbed hold of Alex's arm with both hands.

"Fuck, hold on!" Alex grunted "Everyone pull up" she yelled. And with three mighty pulls Alex dragged Piper the rest of the way up the cliff and Piper fell against Alex.

Alex took Piper into her arms and held her tightly. She held Piper's face in her hands smiled and laughed "Did we not just have this conversation not too long ago about not do anything brave and stupid ever again."

Piper smiled at her "I think the word you used was 'dumb'"

Alex shook her head "You really are a mad woman."

Piper gave Alex a quick kiss and hugged her tight. Mekananakey and the Puntak stood over them. Alex helped Piper get to her feet and the two women looked at the chief and the chief looked at them and Piper and Alex looked at each other.

"Thank you Alex the Spider and…"

"Piper." Piper said

"Pi-per. Thank you for saving my daughter."

"You're welcome."

"Come we go back to the village, dress your wounds, and bathe you, all of you."

The chief and the Puntak all collectively turned back into the jungle towards the village.

"So…does this mean we're no longer a part of dinner?" Piper asked

Alex made a face and shrugged "I guess so."