It was the half time break. The Xenons had been severely shocked in their first half, meeting a pirates team, much more their equal than ever before. Luur had sat down on a bench, trying to understand what had just happened.
The pirates had flux? He had always thought they were a non flux team. The eternal under dog, not a chance in hell, they would ever win. And yet, here they were, battling someone not an under dog team, but a fierce oponent, that also had an excellent team play. Come to think of it, Stevens had seemed more confident than he ever did in the all stars matches. Luur was also feeling his own strength weakened. It had been this way, all since he had played Rocket in nether ball. And if he thought of it, he had seen it in other teams as well, especially with Warren. It seemed to have grown progressively worse, since the paradisian cup. And now, it effected the Xenons. Luur was not sure where to turn with this, it struck him that the league might not know of this, and that he really had no good options for how to progress with this. Who had the means to help? Technoid? Luur decided to put in a request after the match, and ask for a check up by Technoids doctors.
At the snow kids lounge, the champions was baffled after the first half. Mark could hardly believe what he had just seen. And this was just the first half. The snow kids looked up as the door opened and Clamp entered along with Sonny and Corso, and they all had a serious look on their faces.
"Dad? Is something wrong?That expression on your face is making me feel worried about what is coming" D'Jok managed.
Sonny nodded slowly. He hated that he was pushed to make this move, but this was not just about the pirates, it was bigger than that, how big, he had no idea of yet. But he needed help, and asking this help came with its own set of risks.
But first of all, he needed samples of all the snow kids players, to make sure they were on the right track. To bring in Technoid at all, already had Corso on edge, and if he said the wrong things, The same they had just seen would also happen with the snow kids.
"At the moment, I am not sure D'Jok, but I got a strong feeling about matters. To make sure we are going down the right path with the next move, I will need to check you all for a phenomenon known as resonance" he said.
He could see Rocket cringe at the sound of the word.
"Sonny, does this only apply to those that played nether ball? If so, I can provide a list of whom I played, it is not all that many" he said.
Clamp shook his head.
"It is worse Rocket. From what Sonny and I have been able to figure out,this may have affected every player on the teams that participated in the paradisian cup" he said.
Dame Simbai looked severely shocked.
"But how Clamp, how could this happen and go unnoticed? Brim Simbra knew nothing, if he did, he would have told me" she protested.
Sonny nodded.
"There was a lot that went on under Magnus nose. He may have known of the pulling of the flux from the stadiums, but I doubt he knew the full effect that this would have on the players. If he did know, he has been even more reckless than he ever was as a pirate" he said.
D'Jok paled as he heard that.
"Those memories you helped me with on Shiloh.." he whispered.
Sonny nodded as he turned to D'Jok.
"A form of hypnotism. He has used it before, on people we still have not figured out to help, it may even be too late for them. Some of them have been placed in safe places to recover. I am going to deal with that, as soon as I got all the information I need. But for now, we will have to make some kind of alliance with our archenemy, to get the information needed" Sonny said as he was carefully choosing his words.
Corso was tense as he heard that.
"This had better not mean what I think it does Sonny. You are not gonna be in the same room as Technoid. They are itching to get their hands on you. You are not gonna serve yourself on a gold platter to them, for whatever reason" Corso stated.
Sonny placed a hand to Corsos shoulder to calm him.
"I wont Corso. You can relax. I am needed here. Dame Simbai, we may need the help of the flux society here, and possibly the league, to get an immunity agreement in place, temporary. And we also need to get in the players from all other teams that participated in the paradisian cup, for a check up. Clamp can handle that. I will focus on a way to neutralize the resonance. The more data I have, the closer to the solution I will get. I may have to work with former co workers from Technoid though.." he said.
Corso nodded.
"As long as it is not in the same room. I would rather send in a clone of you than let you set foot into the same room as them. And you know damn well I wont let you do anything stupid this time" he said.
Sonny could see D'Jok nodding slowly,agreeing with Corso.
"You can relax, both of you. I am not planning anything risky. At least not yet. Corso, we need a team of pirates ready to intercept the Xenons after the match. They are all showing signs of resonance, and the onset is a lot faster than I would have predicted. We need to find out what is causing the resonance to accelerate and fast. For now, we will test the snow kids first, as our own players are not affected. We did not have flux during that tournament, but make sure the team is tested just the same. I would not trust Magnus one bit as of now. He is up to something, and it could cause galactik resonance if we dont step in to do something" Sonny said.
Corso nodded, but he was none to happy about this. Working with Clamp, Dame Simbai, even the flux society and the league, fine, but Technoid? Corso looked at Sonny, whom seemed to study the xenon players closely as they came back on. He seemed to recover well from his injury from within the ducts. If Magnus intended to slow him down by that move,what was happening, was Sonny got more determined to figure out his game, and put a stop to things. They had hoped they could work together, but it was clear as day now, Magnus had chosen a path that did not match up with the pirates values. And they had to consider him an enemy, not a friend. Magnus had tried and failed, at putting the pirates in a place where they could be tracked through their flux. The pirates had made sure their flux was untraceable the moment they left the stadium, through a special form of inhibitor. But more than anything, Corso worried for the fact that Sonny had also got that flux into his body. Maybe it was a fluke, but Sonnys flux had appeared more developed from the start. It put him even more at risk than before. Sure, he was careful, and always protected, but this flux, if it was developed to a level of perfection, it could either give Sonny a much needed protection from the league and the flux society, or it would put him on the radar of other planets, not fighting for peace in the galaxy like they did. Corso had his memories of that, he had never seen it, but heard of it, in his unit. Those that mastered their flux, the flux masters, highly sought after, because they could use the flux either as a weapon, or for good. The seed of Shiloh was strong and growing stronger within the team, whom spent a lot of time to learn how to control this. For Sonny, it was different. It seemed stronger, and also, something he was seemingly in control of. Magnus could sideline Sonny, simply by using this flux to put a marker on him. So far, it was a tool for good, but that could change. Corso shook it off, and made contact with a team of pirates, to intercept the Xenons. Sonny would be safe with the snow kids for now. Corso then silently left, after signalling to Sonny that he would have to stay put till he returned. Sonny gave him a quick nodd before he took off.
The Xenons had been defeated. In the very start of the final sixteen. Luur was still trying to take it in. The shocked voice of Callie Mystic reporting, did not seem to break through to his reptilian brain. And why was he feeling so weak? On the pod back to the locker room, They tried their best to act as the stars they were towards their fans. But it felt like a heart less effort. Inside, they were all fuming, feeling ashamed that a team that had always been underdogs, had advanced, and defeated them, a team they should have been able to beat. The Xenons avoided any media contact as they went to their locker room. Once inside, and the door was closed, Luur could not hold it in any more. He slammed his fist in the locker door, leaving a large dent.
"The pirates must have cheated somehow. They are a non flux team. What kind of trickery is this?" roared one of the Xenons.
Luur was getting angry. He decided to call on Technoid right away, to have the pirates arrested for this. His pride was beyond hurt, he had been humiliated in front of his fans, and now, he wanted to know why.
But before they could get that far, a small hissing sound was heard. Gas!
What the devil was going on here? Before Luur could think more of it, he fell to the ground with his teammates, failing to see the pirates that gently moved forwards to take the needed flux samples for Sonny and Clamp to check.
Magnus had kept an eye on the players this match. The plan with the galactic resonance seemed to work perfectly. As soon as this spread further, the teams of the galaxy would be unable to do anything to defend their planets. The only ones that could, would be the wanted pirates from Sonnys gang. And with Technoid on their tail, Sonny was going to find himself in a corner too, a marker like his flux, would put him on the radar of more enemies than Technoid. It seemed the Pirates players was mastering their flux well, the only one he had no visual images of, was Sonny himself. Since his escape, He and his men had gone into hiding, it was close to impossible for his men to find any information as to their whereabouts or Sonnys health. They knew he had been shot, and injured. Knowing Corso, that was probably why Sonny was now hiding, he was still not all well, and Corso would make sure Sonny was able to defend himself properly before they would surface. For now, he kept an eye on the pirates team, it told him a lot about the development of their flux, and also, the resistance his chosen team in this cup would face. The cup was his, that much he knew, but he wanted to make the final memorable. And now that the Xenons was out of the game, he needed to have his team ready for the next one. The snow Kids was not until the third match, and he decided to gather all the information he could on the matches till then.
"Admit it Blackbones, you never saw this coming, and now, it is too late to stop it" he muttered.
"Magnus!" called a voice behind him.
He turned, looking at a young pirate reporting.
"I got hold of the files that you asked. The kids need to rest for now, but we still have the two snow kids that we took, Micro Ice and Mei" he smirked.
Magnus rubbed his chin.
That was true, he had not thought too much about it since Sonny had managed to block this attempt on the kids by intervening. To use Mei and Micro Ice, would send a clear message for the pirate chief to be careful who he messed with. Magnus decided to act now, this was sure to send some shivers into Sonnys camp.
"Activate the virus in Micro Ice and Mei. Sonny is sure to think it is neutralized. I will show him that in wars, there is no such thing as being nice to the enemy and every war has casualties" he said.
The pirate saluted, and went to do as he was asked.
The Snow Kids did not know what to believe with all this. The Xenons was always one of the last teams they met up with, and now The pirates had eliminated them from the cup.
D'Jok was having his own thoughts of how The Xenons would feel now. For the pirates to try to make contact with them now, after this defeat, was not something he would consider a wise move. But then again, they had experience that he and others had no idea of. Sonny would not have sent a team to deal with them, unless he knew it was safe. He had seen that much when he was on Shiloh. Safety always came first, second came creativity. He sighed as he sat down. He could not explain why, but this had a bad feeling to it. What Sonny had explained, it left his team, The snow kids, in a tough spot. The Xenons played like them, rough, and very hard. If that was the reason for the resonance developing so fast, then how could The Snow Kids play their regular game play? Things were about to change, for him, for his team. D'Jok felt he was loosing direction. If playing like they usually did would lead to what they had just seen in The Xenons, their match against The Gyros would have to played very differently than they usually did. Rocket seemed to have the same thoughts.
"Team, I think we need to change our game strategy, to avoid the same thing that happened to the Xenons to also happen to us" he said.
D'Jok nodded. Inside, he felt frozen. He had gone through it all with a very innocent outlook at the galaxy, thinking himself relatively safe, despite being the son of the most wanted man in the galaxy. But recent events had shown him, someone knew of this secret, an enemy of his father. And this very enemy seemed to have no scruples about pulling him in as a tool to get even with Sonny. Not his fathers fault. But the actions, where he had been used to hurt his own father, D'Jok was starting to understand why Sonny would keep his distance most the time. It was not because he didnt love him, it was an attempt to keep D'Jok out of the line of fire. He felt a hand on his arm. As he looked up, he saw Meis worried eyes look at him.
Her fingers interlocked with his.
"We are going to find a way D'Jok. I know you are worried, but trust me, we will get through this unharmed" she said.
D'Jok could not hold back a small smile at that, as he leaned over to kiss her.
"Everyone, sit down, we will make a new game strategy now, all together. Resonance or not, The snow kids will advance, we wont go the same route as the Xenons" Tia said with determination in her voice.
As the Team gathered, Sonny and Clamp left the room, headed towards the lab. As soon as the team had a new strategy in place, they would come and provide the samples needed for further testing. Sonny felt slightly worried at what he would find. This had started on Paradisia, and it affected all the galactik teams, except one, his pirates. Whatever crazy plan Magnus had cooked up, it had to be stopped. Even if he had to resort to using measures that was really not pirate tactic. And working with Technoid would possibly be the best way to resolve this. Sonny felt a sting in the wound as he moved a bit quicker than planned. And Clamp noticed.
"Sonny, how is that wound healing? And dont tell me that you are fine, I know this still hurts" he said.
Sonny nodded. There was no point in trying to fake it. And this was the reason Corso was more stressed than normal, that and the development of his own flux. They had talked about it, how Sonnys flux seemed to progress to mastery faster than the other pirates. And it had Corso worried. He had spent most of the night, explaining about the flux masters, and how their fluxes made them a human weapon. If you could control your flux at will, there was no restrictions to when you could use it, flux masters were an exception from the flux society s rules. But with such power came hidden dangers. There was still planets that would kidnap or force a flux master to do their bidding in a war. If Sonny held such power and could handle it, Technoid was the least of his enemies to worry about. His face was known throughout the galaxy, and the pirates always had to be careful where they went, as there was always those that would want to collect the bounty for his capture. Corsos worry was tied to the underground black market, a place the pirates were known to go with stolen goods to sell, for now, this was not at all a safe place for Sonny to be. If he was found out, he would fetch a higher price to a nation wanting to use a flux master to start a war, than any goods they could offer up. Corso worried this would leak, and put him in even greater danger than before. And the worry was justified. Sonny had to stop using the flux societys carefully made training plan while he recovered. He felt the energy build up inside, growing stronger. For now, he could control it, but if it became too strong, it could single him out, leave a marker on him, making it impossible to hide. Sonny sighed as he looked at Clamp.
"I am not going to lie Clamp, the wound isnt healing as fast as I hoped it would. It has Corso worried, he suspects Technoid may have done something while they transported me out of the vents in the hospital. I am hoping my flux will help it though. I read up extensively on what this flux can do. It was a massive read through, but informative. As soon as we found the initial file Magnus thought he erased, I was able to find more information, with Arties help. The pirates under Magnus erased it from all known databases, or so he thought. The pirates has a fail safe, wich saved it. That is where Artie found it. Corso and Bennett,Artie and I have all read up on this and now how a better idea of things. This flux could be a blessing in disguise" Sonny said thoughtfully.
Clamp looked at him.
"Maybe Dame Simbai has something in her arsenal that can help. We are still trying to get an immunity agreement secured, Aarch wont let Aduim do too much now close to the birth. Until we get that sorted out, you need to be very careful Sonny. I am not sure I can take on fabricating a cure for the resonance all alone. After all, my knowledge is more on the machines, while your the one with the brain behind things" Clamp smiled carefully as he looked at his long time friend.
Sonny couldnt help but smile back. It was true what Clamp said, they had a similar thought process about many things, but a different approach as to how to get it done. That was part of the reason they had been such a good match when they constructed the Meta flux. This time, there was a striking similarity to those days, only, if they could not cure this, their galaxy would most surely first fall into a new war, one where no planet had a defence though their fluxes because of a galactik resonance. The more he started to piece the details together, the more Sonny realised, Magnus had fooled them all. They had helped him escape the planet where he had been imprisoned, Magnus thanked them, by not telling the full truth of what they were up against. Well, that was on him too. He should have investigated the matter closer. But they had been so caught up in stopping Harris and Vega, it completely slipped his mind at the time. And Magnus knew him, damn, he knew them all too well. He knew that Sonny would react like this, that he would focus solely on the enemy at hand, allowing him to secretly scheme whatever plan he had, behind his back. None of them had caught it, and the result was, now they had to deal with him as an enemy to their cause. Normally, sharing territory would not have been a problem, Shiloh was big enough for more than one pirate gang. What bothered him, was all the innocent parties that was dragged into this, by Magnus.
"I will ask her Clamp, just to have everyone put their minds to rest" Sonny said calmly.
The two friends smiled as they headed to the lab, preparing to test the snow kids for resonance.
At Technoid,Duke Maddox had also noticed how the Xenons had been defeated by The pirates. To say that this new strategy of the under dog team surprised him was an understatement. The pirates looked determined and unbeatable. To be honest, he was not even sure his own team, the cyborgs from former Team paradisia, could defeat them. But what was worrying him, was this strange weakness many players seemed to suffer from after the Paradisian cup. Was this a trick on the pirates side? Somehow, that appeared unlikely. Sonny had gone into hiding since his men helped him escape the hospital before they could transfer him to the new hidden facility. Duke Maddox sighed. He did not want to injure Sonny further, but if this thing that had happened to the Xenons had anything to do with flux, he needed to speak to Sonny. And Sonny would not come seek him out if there was a chance he would be held captive. The conversation from that night came back to Maddox often. Sonny had come to him, because he could not find the information he sought anywhere else. And when he had explained what role Harris had played in things, it had shocked Duke Maddox, to his very core. How could not only Bleylock, but also Harris have pulled this massive operation off behind his back? He had come to realise, he owed Sonny an apology, for accusing him of crimes that his own people was behind. He thought about the days that Sonny had worked for him. And it made him think. Was there any of Sonnys old research in Technoid files still, that could be used to stop a new attack? And since he had received word from Sonny about Harris untimely death, he had decided not to go after the pirate chief over this. Sonny had clearly tried to stop whatever plan Harris had. It brought him back to the mysterious loss of power that the Xenons had. And the even more mysterious thing was this sudden flux the pirates seemed to play with. They did not use it too much, it was almost as if they tried to limit the use of it some, what could be the reason for that? detection? As much as he would have wanted to know where he could find Sonny, he also knew it would be an anything but easy undertaking. Could the Xenons loss of energy be connected to the mysterious flux of The pirates? Something made him put that thought away. He had seen this in The Lightnings, and also, other teams during the paradisian cup. This time, Sonny was not guilty of any wrong doings. Someone else was. Duke Maddox did not like this development. Something was going on, and he was not sure Technoid was up to the task of stopping it. It made him make a call. A secretary soon appeared.
"Find me someone I can trust, preferably human. I need this person to go to the underground areas the pirates normally hide. I need to speak to Sonny Blackbones. And he needs be told,I wont have him arrested this time. I..need his help with a matter of urgence".
That was the last of them. The pirates team under Corsos lead, had managed to get The Xenons to their hotel, where they had gently left them outside. Sure, there was bound to be a media spectacle around this, but they had what they needed. Corso made sure the samples was securely strapped around his waist. Sonny never would have ordered this, if it wasnt critical. First, they needed to deal with this, before they could take things to the next stage. As they left quietly, Corso called Sonny, to inform him of the status.
Sonny nodded as Corso reported.
"They will be helped by the staff at the hotel. Return to The Snow Kids hotel as soon as you can. Clamp and I are about to take samples from the snow kids now. We will compare the level of resonance in the snow kids to The Xenons. Bleylock may have started the whole process, but for every enemy we eliminate, there is bound to come someone new, with more skills. We wont have a choice this time. All available help must be made use of" Sonny explained.
Corso nodded.
"If by available help, you refer to Technoid, I am still going to urge you to be careful Sonny. I have never seen anyone itch more than Duke Maddox about getting his hands on you. Back when we were immune, I could have sworn that he offered you your old job back when we were in his box" Corso said.
Sonny chuckled for a moment.
"He did Corso, and we both knew I would not take that bait. I know too much about their operations to want to get my hands dirty with that again. But, if the situation calls for it, I would most definately be willing to consider a team work situation" he said.
Corso nodded.
"I got the samples. Be ready to do whatever magic you and Clamp need to preform as soon as I return" he said.
Sonny nodded, before he ended the call.
They were done with the samples, so The snow Kids decided to practice in the holo trainer. Dame Simbai would operate it, while Sonny and Clamp got started in the lab. Sonny was taking a risk, and they knew it. He did not have an immunity agreement here, but Clamp was not feeling sure he could do this alone,so Sonny had decided to stay, and help out. She had noticed him sometimes make a small sound as if he still hurt where he had been hit in the chest. Dame Simbai had examined the wound, wich healed, but slowly. This needed a boost. And as luck had it, she knew what herbs would help. Sonny had gratefully taken the mix she gave him, and follow as he seemed in pain, Then she had made him a mix that was put on top of the wound under a bandage. She also prepared a mix for Sonny to use. He made sure to follow her instructions to the use. This should enable him to make a quick get away if he needed to. Cause right now, they needed anyone with knowledge of flux and resonance research to help out. Where would the snow kids fare now, after they had seen what happened to The Xenons? Dame Simbai was worried for how the team would play. If they played as aggressive as The Xenons, they too risked elimination at the very start. She had a bad feeling about all this, after the practice, she needed to speak to Brim Balarius. See what he knew about this.
The team took their positions and started to play.
"Lets try some new tactics, so we dont run into the same problem as the Xenons did. We know they play aggressive and use a lot of energy. But we also saw the pirates play, and as luck has it, we have had training sessions with them. We learned how to play better as a team, and not depend on our flux too much. I was thinking, how if we try to practice that for now, to have a new strategy against the Gyros? " Rocket suggested.
D'Jok agreed.
"We need to play a totally new strategy this cup. They all know how we play. The key to win, is for us to reinvent our play style. Only by the element of surprise, are we able to win this" he said.
Tia smiled brightly.
"We changed our playing style for every cup so far, that would not be a surprise, the surprise is how we change it" she said.
Micro Ice blinked at D'Jok.
"What Tia is trying to say D'Jok, is that you need to let the air out of your head before we walk on to that pitch. Think you can do that for the team?" he teased.
"I spent some time alone on Shiloh Micro Ice, playing with the pirates there. None of you know what I learned from them. Maybe I even learned a few tricks I have not shown yet" D'Jok replied.
Mei smirked at that remark.
"That would mean you learned to be humble, and admit to your mistakes. I need to see it before I believe it" she teased.
Even Sinedd smirked.
"Yeah D'Jok, if you learned something new, it would be a good idea to show it during practice, so the rest of us can adjust to it" he said.
Ahito blinked to D'Jok.
"Whatever you learned there, if it helps keep the ball away from me, I am begging you to do it" he said.
Thran grinned
"Well, Ahito learned how to stay awake, so why not D'Jok learn to be humble?" he said.
D'Jok grinned at the teasing.
"How about we stop talking, and start playing on the new strategy instead? In case you forgot, there is still a cup to be played" he reminded them mildly.
Thran grinned.
"I like these improvements already" he said.
Tia focused back on the play.
"Ready to start us off Dame Simbai?" she asked mildly as the ball was in play.
Corso handed Sonny the vails with the flux samples from the Xenons. He watched as Sonny and Clamp quickly started the tests. Before long, they had the results. It was not good.
Dame Simbai had joined them after the practice was over.
"The Snow kids decided to change tactics after they saw what happened to The Xenons. They wont be aggressive like earlier. The team play training from the boot camp with the pirates will come in as a helpful tool here" she said.
Clamp did not look convinced.
"That is, if they can stick to that strategy. They are still one of the youngest teams in the cup. I have seen them before. One thing is to have the intention, another is to actually stick to it" he said.
Sonny nodded.
"With the results we now have, they dont have a choice. They have to swing this another way. Aggression only accelerates the progression of the resonance. I have asked a team to keep eyes on The Xenons in their home planet. Just because they are now out of the cup, it does not mean they are safe from danger. This is where I would consider getting some help to keep an eye on them, from a very unexpected place" he said.
Corso looked suspicious at him.
"What are you up to Sonny? I know that look on your face. I am not gonna like what you plan, so why dont you just tell me right away?" he asked.
Sonny nodded.
"We,the pirates, are not in a good position to do such kind of surveillance. We beat them and sent them out of the cup. That hurts any reptilians pride. The last ones they would even talk to are the pirates. But, Luur is no fool. He will realise that something has happened. And when he does, he is going to want answers. We cant give them to him, yet. There is still more work to be done. But we can actually get him and The Xenons under some watchful eye with my plan" he said.
Corso looked suspicious.
"Then, who is going to do this, if not us Sonny? I am aware of the risks involved here. And I know you, a little too well. Say it. Who is going to be our eyes on the Xenons? And are more teams in danger?" he asked.
Sonny had a hard glimpse in his hazels as he spoke.
"All the data says the same. We are dealing with the real possibillity of a galactik resonance here. If so, it will take out the teams in galactik football, and the fluxes. From what we know, all fluxes but one may face being destroyed. And the one that remains, is The pirates, And the seed of Shiloh. But that theory has holes. Magnus would not be that obvious. He gave us the seed for more reasons than to put a marker on us. I am not clear on all the details yet, but in time I will be.
What needs to happen in regards to the Xenons, is that I need eyes on them. And it so happens, while you were busy, a young man, from Technoid approached one of my men, from The Rivet Club, with a message from Duke Maddox. I have yet to meet with Maddox in person, but Technoid will deal with the Xenons" he said.
Corso could not help but grind teeth.
"A physical meeting? Sonny, you are still wounded. I am not sure you would be able to escape them. I am not letting you do this" Corso stated.
Sonny smiled.
"Relax Corso. I dont need to, at least not yet. But read the message the messenger brought" he said and handed Corso a paper.
Corso quickly read through it. Then he looked at Sonny, worried.
"This is bad Sonny. Duke Maddox would not ask this if it wasnt" he said.
Sonny nodded.
He turned his back on them for a second, looking out into space, from the spinning star Genesis.
"A war is coming, we best be prepared that this one will need old enemies to work together, if we dont, we might soon face a galaxy that will possibly never recover" he said silently.
Longer than normal I know. I try to focus more on The snow kids as a team and how they would develop their play in a fourth cup. The resonance was a track I picked up from season 3, and wich started in season 2. I felt this trial has to be explored further, as such a phenomenon is more or less the perfect set up to make enemies work together, to save the galaxy rather than tear it apart.
There will be more D'Jok and Mei moments in the chapter to come, as I am not a very good romance writer, I am working to find an angle for how to bring them even closer than they are. Being the fan of the pirates that I am, it makes sense to me, that Sonny and the pirates would be a far bigger piece of this season than the previous ones, as it was kind of always in the background from the moment Sonny learned who D'Jok was. I am sorry it is taking so long to get all the chapters out, but it is hard to find time to write too much nowdays. I hope this at least makes up for some of the waiting time. The story is about to get a lot more exciting now. And thank you for all your support and encouragement. It is very helpful for me to develop the story more. Happy reading.