Son of a…Corso was shaking with fury as he watched Sonny fly off in the flying pod. He had gone to the extremes, to prevent Sonny from acting on emotion, and yet, Sonny let worry for his sons well being get to him. Corso didn't know what kind of past Sonny had with Bleylock, but from the look of things, Bleylock posed a real threat to D'Jok, and it seemed Sonny was painfully aware of what he could do. So Sonny did the one thing that made sense to him. After loosing 16 years of his sons life, he was not going to let Bleylock kill his son. And from the look of things, It seemed Sonny would secure his sons release..by taking his place. And in doing so, Sonny was now the one in mortal danger. There was only one thing left to do. Corso turned to look at the men.
"I hope you are happy. Thanks to you, we may just have lost our Captain. Bring the Black Manta around and head back to Genesis. What Sonny is about to do, may end up not only trigger a new war, it may also kill him".
Micro Ice had acted strange. Helena thought it looked like he avoided people. And that nervous look he had, usually the sign that he did something stupid, was more present than normal. She knew how to read him, since he was normally around her son every time. And strangely enough, she had not seen D'Jok today. Well, not to worry. They had the finals coming up, and her son was feeling the pressure,being his teams star striker. Much like his idol, Warren of the Lightnings. She decided to give him his space, to prepare for the match. The Snow Kids had already achieved a miracle. They started the season, going from completely unknown, to one of the biggest favourites in the galaxy. Their journey was the stuff of dreams. Helena decided to ask Maia, if she wanted to go shopping. She felt a need to update her wardrobe some, now that she and Sonny were going to give things a go. With that in mind, Helena went to find Maia.
They had looked everywhere, but there was no trace of him. Corso didn't like it. It seemed Bleylock had already struck. So, they needed to change tactics. Corso thought of where the best place to get some intelligence on the situation where. And it struck him. He needed to speak to whom Sonny had rescued, in order to find out more. He needed to speak to Sonnys son.
Corso looked at Tin can.
"Find me D'Joks schedule. If anyone knows anything about Sonnys whereabouts as of now, it would be him".
He felt so incredibly alone. He had been given an impossible choice. Either loose the final against the shadows, and let down his team. Or, he would loose his father. D'Jok stood, head towards the window where he first had learned the truth a short week ago. As if the place would allow him to connect with his father, get an idea of where they had taken him. He recalled the droids leading him away, after they cuffed his hands on his back. Sonny had not fought them, he had acted calm, but clearly sent Bleylock a glare that said he would pay for this betrayal. As Sonny was taken away by droids, to an unknown destination, He was left with Bleylock.
He had looked at the evil Bleylock. He broke his promise to let them both go, wich was what he had promised his father,once he had his hands on the metaflux.
"You Traitor! You promised!" he yelled at Bleylock.
Bleylock was calm, too calm it seemed.
"I promised to let you go, and that is what I am going to do. However, if you ever want to see your father alive again, you have to do a little something for me first" he said.
Sonny had heard it. That had made him stop for a second, turning halfway.
"Dont listen to him D'Jok! Don't worry about me. I will get out of this" Sonny called out as he was led away by the they took him, he had no idea, but he doubted it would be good.
D'Jok felt like a little child. He had no way to prove it, but his father was in mortal danger, that much he knew.
"What do I have to do?" he asked.
And then came the dilemma, loose the finals, or Sonny lost his his life.
An impossible choice.
He tried to play it cool after calming his team mates and making them think Micro Ice had made up a story. But the consequenses for his father, worried him. Had he found his father, just to have to loose him for good? D'Jok headed into a public toilet, to splash some water on his face. Maybe that would help him get a perspective. He had to act as if all was normal, when his father was in grave danger. That was not an easy situation to deal with.
As he did that, he found himself not alone in the room. A man, whom he recognized as a friend to his father stood there.
"My name is Corso. Im a friend of your father" he said.
D'Jok knew that, but he had to protect his father at all cost. Somehow, he had the feeling, he had to ward off the pirate. That telling him what had happened could make things worse for his father.
"Leave me alone" he replied, sounding cross.
He then found that he had annoyed the other man, whom grabbed a firm hold of his arm, almost as if he was angry with him. That he knew that he knew things that could help, or thought he did, and that he was seen as uncooperative.
"I know Bleylock exchanged you for Sonny" Corso continued.
D'Jok pulled his arm free of Corsos grasp.
"There is nothing you can do for him" he told the pirate.
That only served to get Corso more cross.
"We are on the same side boy. If you know anything, then let us deal with the rescue. We are experienced in that" he informed, having a hard time hiding his frustration.
"Do you know where he is now?" Corso asked.
D'Jok turned his back on the other man.
"No, they took him away. I don't know where, but I am the only one that can save him. If I dont do as Bleylock said, He will kill Sonny" he told the pirate.
It was if that statement made Corso give up, at least for now. The other man got ready to leave.
"We will find him, with or without you" Corso said as he moved towards the door to exit.
Then, he stopped.
"Whatever Bleylock asked you to do, don't do it. That man is dangerous. He will kill your father anyway, no matter what happens" Corso adviced him.
D'Jok got angry.
"If I don't do as he told me, its over for Dad" he said.
Corso nodded.
"I don't have time to argue with you kid. We will start looking for him. And we will find him. As it is now, the outcome of what you do wont save Sonnys life. But it will cause a risk to many others. If Bleylock wins this, He will see to it that the final is Sonnys last day in this galaxy. I have every intention of stopping that. You do what you need to do kid, and the pirates will do what we do best" Corso said as he left D'Jok, feeling more worried than ever.
Corso had found a secure place in Genesis north, and that was where Helena, and Clamp had gone to meet them. It had felt good to meet Clamp again. Finally someone she knew from the past. Helena had listened intently, as Clamp had just explained to them how the metaflux worked, and why Bleylock had forced Sonny the way he had. Corso looked serious as they spoke. Sonny had been right to worry about this. From the sound of things, Bleylock had just been handled a tool that could allow him to rule supreme. And as the cherry on top, he now had Sonny imprisoned.
Helena looked worried. Bleylock was a dangerous man, and Clamp just confirmed what she already knew. What mattered now, was to find and free Sonny. But that seemed like it would be difficult.
Clamp looked at Corso. He had explained his part, now he needed to know where the pirates stood.
"What about you Corso? Have you got any trace of Sonny?" he asked.
The pirates shook their head. They had been at it non stop, searching all of Genesis,with no trace of their leader, wich was odd, considering, Sonny supposedly had a transmitter that would allow them to find him anywhere. But now, they could not pick up his signal at all. Wherever Sonny was held captive, it was somewhere his signal could not reach out.
Corso looked sad.
"Its like..he is trapped behind some kind of wall..very thick. Its like..we have lost him" he finally admitted.
Helena was distraught to hear that. Not now, not after all that had happened. She knew the pirates suspected her son knew more than he said, because he acted strange. There had to be threats involved.
"Tell me honestly Corso, is someone threatening my son in all this?" she asked.
Corso looked at her. Sometimes, he could be quite scary.
"Ma'am, Sadly I got reason to believe so. As far as everyone can see, D'Jok is under pressure. It seems, from what we know,someone has found out that D'Jok is Sonnys son. Till now, Sonny has been impossible to hurt, because he had no close relatives to him,wich allowed him to be aggressive towards technoid. I don't know where Bleylock found out, but he knows that D'Jok is Sonnys son. That is how he baited Sonny to come to him with the Metaflux. Sonny wasn't going to risk D'Joks life,not when he had just found him. What he did wrong, was that he trusted the scum to honour the agreement they made. Sonny was to give him the metaflux, in exchange for D'Joks life. Now it seems, Bleylock took control, and took Sonny prisoner, threatening to kill him. That is how he blackmails your son. He thinks doing Bleylocks bidding will save Sonny. We know better. Most likely, Sonny is being held captive on Technoid premisses, wich makes it hard to find him. We have to locate him before we can initiate a rescue. But we have no starting point" Corso sighed.
Helena nodded. She understood where Corso came from. They were both terrified for Sonnys safety. If he was held captive by Bleylock.. images from other altercations they had, played before her inner eye. She remembered the bloody injuries, and the x rays that showed fractures to his spine, her husbands face, as he tried to kill the pain, and play tough. Bleylock had nearly crippled him once, and Sonny never told her over why they had ended like that. Helena came to remember Maia. Was there a possibility she could help them locate him through her visions? Helena looked at them.
"I got an idea that just might help".
Maia was in her hotel room. She had this bad feeling, ever since breakfast, something bad was going to happen. And it was somehow connected to D'Jok.
If anything happened to him, there was now two parents that would be completely devastated. There was a knock on the door. Or rather, a frantic hammering was more correct. Maia opened. And looked into the scared eyes of D'Jok. He was frightened out of his whits.
"I need to talk to you Maia, it is serious, and I need your advice" he managed.
Maia nodded, then let him in.
Sonny had tried the chains Bleylock had so thoughtfully used this time to subdue him. They had to have some spies within the pirates for Bleylock to know that Corso had trained him in fleeing ropes. These chains was not something he was trained to flee though and after several attempts, Sonny had to abandon the thought. He was trapped, until his men would come to his aide. But it gave him time to think of his son. D'Jok had looked like a kid when he was led away. A scared little boy. He was put in a place where he saw how dangerous a pirates life was. A breaking point, between a young man, and a child. Staring into the yellow eyes of pure evil with whatever Bleylock had made sure he was out of hearing range to hear him command his son to do. Sonny knew he would need help escaping this situation. Bleylock had evolved since their last meeting. His trail of thought was cut, as the door to his cell opened. Sonny looked at Bleylock as he entered.
"You are awake, good. I taught this would be a good time for negotiations between us" Bleylock said.
Sonny struggled to suppress a laughter.
"I don't see why I would negotiate with someone like you. Leave the past in the past Bleylock. It didn't have to end like it did. You played a big part in that yourself" Sonny replied.
Bleylock looked at him.
"It wasn't always like this Sonny, and that you know well. I was not the only one doing things a way the other didn't like, And you know what I speak of" Bleylock replied.
Sonny stared at him.
"I am not coming back Bleylock. You must have understood that by now. There is nothing you can say or do that would change my opinion on that" he said.
Bleylock smirked.
"That is why I will keep you alive, at least till after the final match. Once I become the ruler of the galaxy, you might find it would work in your favour to be on my good side" Bleylock said.
Sonny felt cold chills down his back.
"What in Shilohs name are you talking about Bleylock? If you involve my son in all this,This crazy plan for galactik domination, expect me to work against you with all I have" Sonny said.
Bleylock smirked.
"You will either change your mind on things Sonny, or you become a threat that I have to eliminate. I really would prefer to keep you alive, and attempt to persuade you to come back. We were good back in the day. It could happen again" he tried.
Sonny shook his head.
"Not a chance Bleylock. Its long since over. I chose her, and my family. Your family would never accept it, you may be the only one that didn't see the obvious. Even I knew we were on borrowed time after our visit. Stop deceiving yourself already. Our fates took different paths, making us enemies, because of your need for control, and desire for power. I don't think you would handle it as well as you seem to think" Sonny said.
Bleylock leaned forth, and surprised him. Sonny felt Bleylock kiss him. He turned his head, breaking the kiss.
"Cut that out Bleylock. I don't want to relive that part" Sonny said angrily.
Bleylock nodded. He had hoped he could reason with his former friend and lover, but Sonny had just killed the last hope of anything that resembled rekindling the past. The tragedy was, in doing so, unknowingly, he had just signed his own death warrant. Such a shame. But now, Bleylock could carry on with his devious plan.
Bleylock had his droid release the chain that tied Sonny.
"You chose this yourself Sonny,I gave you the chance to save yourself. You chose not to take it. What comes now, is on you, not me" he said.
Sonny sent him a hateful glare, as the droids forced him forwards.
"I will get out of this Bleylock. I advice you to sleep with one eye open once I do. I wont forget this. And I will stop whatever you got planned. Thats a promise" Sonny spat.
Bleylock looked cold as ice.
"Not this time Sonny. You wont make it out alive. Take him to the reservoirs, and contain him in a bubble. Enough air to last through the finals match. I wont kill him..just yet" Bleylock ordered.
Sonny looked at him.
"This isnt over Bleylock, you havent won yet" he spat.
Bleylock smirked.
"yes I have Sonny, you just don't know it yet. Your death with be painless, I do care enough about you to at least do the oposite of what you did. But only one of us will survive this, and it wont be you" he said.
Sonny was not given a chance to reply, as he was forced out of the room, to a fate unknown.
Maia had tried to calm down after what D'Jok had left. What he had told her was horrible. If he didn't do as Bleylock had told him, Sonny was going to die. But by doing so, many more could possibly die. Maia had tried to advice him to not loose the final. But D'Jok was stubborn. As long as his father was in danger, he was not going to fight to win, he was not going to sacrifice his father. There was no way she could talk him out of it. At the moment,no one even knew if Sonny was still alive, or where he was being held captive. Then, Maia was struck by an intense vision. It felt like her head was about to burst.
She could see Sonny, trapped inside of a bubble, suffocating as he was out of air, then, he sank to the bottom of what appeared to be..a large tank of water.
As the vision ended, Maia was panting. This was horrible. They had to stop this from happening.
"What did D'Jok tell you?" asked a voice.
As she turned, she saw Helena, and Clamp look at her.
Clamp repeated his question.
Maia knew what D'Jok had told was very personal. He might not want his mother to know.
"Thats none of your business" she tried.
Clamp was undeterred.
"We know he is being blackmailed. What he is forced to do, is going to become everybodys business if we don't stop it. I say it is everybodys business already, wouldnt you agree?" Clamp asked.
Maia looked at Helena. There was fear in her eyes, but at the same time, a desire to correct this. To save her husbands life.
"Maia, do you know anything about Sonnys whereabouts? The promise Bleylock gave D'Jok, is a lie. Sonny and Bleylock are mortal enemies. Only one of them will survive this. And right now, unless we find them, the odds are stacked against Sonny. Bleylock wont let him go. He will kill him. He has tried before, and almost succeeded" Helena managed.
The very thought that they would be too late, was making her feel cold. She would end Bleylock herself if he hurt Sonny. Maia looked at them.
"I just had a vision about him. I..might have an idea of where they are holding him. And time is short" Maia said.
Helena nodded. This was how Bleylock operated. True to fashion still.
"Clamp, can you tell the pirates to gather at the meeting spot? I might be able to pull some favours if need be, to gain access to the areas where he might be held".
A bubble under water. This was a clever move. Sonny had to admit that Bleylock had outdone himself this time. Since all his tools had been taken from him, he had no way of getting out. Not that there was a door. The bubble was made of a solid plastic material, very thick. He had already checked his signal, hoping the relocation could tell Corso and the others where he was. Well, facing Corso afterwards, if he even got that far, was the least of his worries. Corso was sure to be mad he had tricked him, but he would see reason when he told him why. Being under water, Sonny could also feel how cold it was. He had already made an estimate of how much air he had. Enough to last through the final match, Bleylock had assured him of that. Whatever plan he had, it would happen during the finals. But Bleylock was tight lipped about his plan. Sonny had not been able to make him speak of it. Well, his main problem was this bubble. Too much straineous activity would lead to him loosing the precious air he had. Since there was no supply of fresh air, he had to outsmart the evil humanoid. Being a former professor, Sonny knew his advanced biology well. And he had a trick up his sleeve that would allow him a certain advantage. Sonny took a few dep breaths of air, then, he let himself slip into a state of sleep.
Corso looked at Maia. He could not believe his ears.
"Drowned? Why not go all the way, rid yourself of the evidence of murder, and just have him eaten by sharks while you are at it?" he asked, clearly not impressed by Maias visions.
Bennett agreed with Corso.
"That is impossible, there is no sea in Genesis stadium" he pointed out.
Clamp nodded.
"No, but there are large reservoirs of portable water" he said.
Corso was still sceptic.
"Oh its only a vision, nothing concrete" he said, making his scepsism known.
Maia looked like she wanted to get up and leave. Clamp, whom had called this meeting, looked at Corso. He understood the pirate was under pressure, but this negativity was not helping anyone.
"What else do you have Corso? We needed a starting point for the search, and Maia is good at what she does" he pointed out.
It seemed Corso realised he had been a bit unfair to Maia.
"Ok, supposing this is true, where are these reservoirs?" Corso asked.
Clamp locked eyes with him.
"In a secret, highly guarded location" he replied.
Corso nodded. As he suspected.
"Guarded by Technoid?" he asked.
"Yes" replied Clamp.
Corso seemed to think.
"Ok, then we will never find him in time" Corso stated.
Clamp smirked.
"I know someone that might be able to help us" he said.
At that moment, they were joined by someone unexpected.
Helena could see the snow kids nutritionist, Dame Simbai, also a member of the flux society, join them, dressed in her ceremonial cloak.
"Gentlemen, it seems you have an issue, and I think I may be able to help" she said.
"How?" Helena asked.
Dame Simbai looked at her.
"I think Helena, you and I need to plead Sonnys case to Duke Maddox".