I feel a need to respond to my readers. Yes, True, I agree the rivaly between D'Jok and Rocket is actually more intense than D'Jok and Sinedd. Sinedd is more a bully than a rival to him. Where Rocket is a bit more mature and clearly a rival in terms of leadership. One can actually see where the lack of a dad in his upbringing is making D'Jok make some less smart decisons. It is also him, in a sense, trying to be good enough in his fathers eyes. I always had the feeling Micro Ice may have remembered more from his trip to Shiloh than is let on, and he may have confided in his best friend. That would explain why D'Jok is trying so hard to live up to what he thinks is his fathers expecttations. and true, Aarch really could have done things differently, there is a touch of ego with him too, and it is seen. And yes, even Sonny could have done more to help his son calm his ways a bit in season two, when he still had immunity. It struck me, Sonny may have realised that in season 3, wich led to him keeping a distance while in territories where Technoid could interfere. It isnt the right thing to do, but taken into consideration, both Aarch and Sonny Blackbones has little knowledge about how to deal with teenagers, its a learning process for them, and the snow kids as a team is a very wide spread person gallery with wast personalities. I find this story easy to write because it is mainly focused on a charracter that we know nothing about, so one can pretty much write it to be whatever feels right. The only thing I found had to be the case, Sonny would not ever fall for a person that is not a strong personality, wich Helena is. She has to be able to adapt to situations that is hard for her, but she comes from love, and devotion to a beloved husband. Sonny is truly lucky she chose him, not once, but twice. He really needs to count his lucky stars for her. And I will also try to describe life on board the black manta a bit more, and how Helena gets her fair share of laughs. She is right where she belongs, and who knows, maybe Bleylock wont meet Sonny in that alley way, but the queen of the pirates, a strong woman and a force to be recconed with. Not going to spoil. Please keep commenting, it is a good way for me to see how my writing skills improve. I got more ideas after this. If you have not already, check out my other stories. It will be based on the pirates, as I am a huge fan of them. Who knows, maybe I even fit in a training session of the pirates, that would be something else to read. Happy reading everyone, and thank you for your reviews, it is so helpful.
It felt strange to wake up like this. Helena stretched, and noticed that this wasn't her hotelroom bed. In a second, she remembered. She had checked out. She was now staying with Sonny, onboard The Black Manta. Because of the possibility that Bleylock was still alive and Sonny feared for her safety. Her and their unborn childs. Helena leaned over to Sonnys side of the bed. Mmm. His pillow smelled like his cologne. Maybe that was why she slept so heavy? She felt safe when she knew he was around. And his cologne was enough to make her feel like that.
But where was Sonny? A quick look at the night stand showed it was late. And what was more, it felt as if the ship was..moving. That made Helena frown. Why would the ship be moving? They were safe, at Genesis stadium. Sonny wouldnt order his ship to leave port unless for very spesific reasons. Helena put on a comfortable track suit, and some comfy shoes, as she got up to find her husband. As soon as she excited the cabin, she was met by Artie.
He looked serious.
"Sonny sent me to find you, in case you got worried by the movement of the ship. I am to bring you to the bridge, he will explain to you what is going on" he said.
Helena and Artie hurried to the Bridge, where Sonny was just lowering the observation tower he used to get an overlook of the situation.
He had taken in the scenery of the wast space around them.
It looked so calm and serene, compared to what would become their routine now. But at least they were done having to play nice.
"Its a good feeling to be rid of Technoids hospitality" he said.
As he reached the bottom of the platform, he laid a hand on both Bennett and Arties shoulders.
"Bennett, Artie, good work. Your quick thinking got us out of a tight spot" he said to his two young, smiling team members.
Then, he turned to all of his men, as he had an announcement to make.
"I am happy to be a real pirate again. This really wasn't who we are. Now, things will be a lot easier" he announced, to cheers from his men.
Then, he was thinking.
"If only I could get a message to D'Jok. I don't want him to get the wrong idea about what happened" he said.
Helena approached him.
"Sonny, what happened?" she asked.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to realise that something was going on. The entire crew seemed intensely focused on their stations, and it was slightly chaotic.
Sonny turned to her.
"Honey. I think its fair to say, up till now, I had my suspicions, but now it is confirmed. Someone attacked Obscurantis tonight, during the Shadows pirates match. It caused The Shadows to loose their flux in the second half. I don't know how he did it, but Bleylock is behind this, I am sure of it. Corso and I barely made it out safely. If we had stayed, they would have arrested us both" he said, pulling her close.
Corso gave him a look.
"Arrest us for sure Sonny. Duke Maddox acted quick this time, almost as if he expected this to happen. What we don't know, is what would happen next if we were caught. For me, I would have my hide locked up in jail for sure, for you, we never know Sonny. That file on what is in store for you, remains uncracked till this day. For a jail sentence, that is an odd thing to do. I suspect they got other plans for you, plans we we really dont want to hear.I know what Technoid has done to enemies of the company in the past. You are the worst enemy they could have. While we had immunity, they had to be nice to you. My guess is, as soon as your wanted poster goes back up, they will raise the bounty, to have someone rat you out. This time, keep your head low Sonny, I mean it" he said.
Sonny nodded.
"They never succeeded in capturing me before Corso, and I see no need for that to change now. What I wonder about, is what the charges against me are. Honey, I am afraid this means, you are going to have to abandon your post by Dame Simbais side for now. Being a pirate is not a life of luxury, but, it gives us time together" he said.
Helena nodded.
"Sonny, I promised you, for better and for worse. This is one of those for worse situations. I will stay here, with you. But our son needs to know what is going on. If not, he might do something stupid. Not to mention, I got to speak to Dame Simbai. It sounds like you are being framed for something honey, and what Duke Maddox doesnt need, is more ammunition to fire at you with. Unless I inform Dame Simbai, he might charge you with kidnapping too. We don't need that" She said.
Sonny nodded with a smile.
"I am so lucky to have married you Honey. You think like a pirate already. I hope life as a pirates wife wont be too hard for you. But you are right. We will return to Genesis now, and I will make a plan to inform D' Jok on things. Thank you for being by my side when I really need your support" he said as he kissed her.
Bennett smirked.
"You see Artie old boy, thats why I never married. It turns your brain into mush" he said.
"Well, thanks to Helena, Sonny isnt as moody as he would normally be. So why don't we all welcome her onboard the crew. She is one of us now" Corso said, as he looked up from the flight controls for a second.
As the pirates cheered for her, She found Sonny swooped her off the floor and into his arms.
"Thats the crews welcome to us. Now, in a more private setting, allow me to show you how the captain greets his wife to the crew of the ship" he said, as he carried her off to their cabin, to a large round of applause from his men.
Great! as if things wasn't bad enough with his mother moving to The Black Manta instead of being at the hotel, now his father was a wanted man again. D'Jok was none too happy with how things evolved. He struggled being the captain of his team, since they all seemed to favour Rockets way of doing it. He did not have the same respect from his team as Rocket did, and it bothered him. Even Tia was being sour with all this. And today, she had not even shown up for practice. No one knew why that was, but it seemed Mei might. Only, Mei seemed more loyal to Tia in this case than to him and the team. She claimed she had no clue as to where Tia was. That didn't feel right. Maybe he needed to ask his father what was going on.
Perfect. Duke Maddox even raised the bounty for Sonnys capture, from two to four million standard units this time. That was sure to make Sonny have to keep a low profile. But it would not stop him. Sonny was sure to get the message. This was payback, and he was in for it. It never paid to double cross General Bleylock. He had made sure, Sonny would both feel and know, without a doubt, what had happened was his doing. How long he could run this time, was up to wheter Technoid could keep up. He only needed to keep it going until he had enough of the flux mixes, the multi flux, to carry out his plans. Once he shut down his operations, Sonny would have no way to stop him, and neither would anyone else, least of all Technoid and Duke Maddox.
Dame Simbai had been informed from Brim Simbra about the flux explosion on Obscurantis. They knew it was powerful, but not whom the culprit was. Duke Maddox off course, true to his habits, blamed the pirates. Only, this time, Dame Simbai didn't think Sonny was guilty. They had seen him, in Duke Maddox box during the match. Sonny Blackbones was a careful man, with a pregnant wife. It would be outright stupid of him to attend a match after putting such a stunt in motion. Sonny had parted with his pirate ways these last four years. He and his men had ran things in a way that was legal. But now, all that was stripped from them. What use could Sonny Blackbones possibly have from doing such a thing to The Shadows? The answer was, none. He didn't even seem that interested in football. The pirates won, fair and square, But that was only because the Shadows lost their flux. And The Pirates and Sonny was blamed for it. Dame Simbai tried to not focus on this mess, until she got an unexpected call. It was scrambled, making her realise, it came from The pirates. Dame Simbai answered, not sure what to expect, or whom to expect on the other end.
"Helena. What is going on?" she asked, the minute Helenas face showed up on screen.
Helena looked unhappy.
"I guess..you know what happened to the pirates?" she asked.
Dame Simbai nodded.
"I have been informed by Brim Simbra. Please, tell me you are ok. And that I am thinking right when I say this was not Sonnys work?" she asked.
Helena nodded.
"Sonny didn't do this Dame Simbai. He was there, at Genesis Stadium, watching the match with Duke Maddox. They barely got away this time. So, now he has to become a pirate again. On one side, I think he is happy about it, on the other, it creates a whole lot of complications. Its like the galaxy is trying to force me to choose between him and Akillian. If it comes to that, I made my choice when we renewed our wows. I chose Sonny, and I will stay by him" she said.
Dame Simbai nodded. She knew what Helena could not bring herself to say. This was her goodbye to the life she had lived without her husband. So strong was her love for Sonny, she would follow him into a new and dangerous world, because she truly loved him. She knew Sonny would make sure she stayed safe. And that meant, she could no longer be with them, helping her care for Ahito.
"I understand Helena, I truly do. What you and Sonny share is rare. It will be a lot of changes for you, but I think you are cut from a pattern that allows for you to adjust to his life. It will help you, and also, him. If the galaxy is under threat, Sonny and his men are the strongest investigative team the flux society has. Don't worry about Ahito. I got that covered. Tell Sonny, to stay alert for danger and to be careful" she said.
Helena looked relieved. She had feared Dame Simbai getting upset that she abandoned post at such a crucial point. But the other woman had shown nothing but compassion and understanding towards her situation. Maia had said something about this situation rising some time ago. Helena sighed. It was time to let her oldest female friend know how things developed and that she would not come back, not the way things had turned out. She was a pirates wife, the wife of the captain and chief of the pirates. Just like her sons new role came with responsibilities to his team, so did her new role, towards her new family, the pirates, and her beloved husband. It could take some time getting used to,but she would do it. It was time she took her place, as the wife of a pirate more seriously, and made it her fulltime commitment. With that in mind, Helena made her next call, to Maia.
Clamp was working in the dark on his computer. He was so busy, he didn't notice the other man whom silently entered the room.
"Clamp" he heard a voice say behind him.
As he pulled the hood down, Sonny revealed himself to Clamp.
Clamp was worried.
"Sonny, you cant stay here. They will find you. They upped your bounty. Someone is sure to turn you in this time" Clamp said.
Sonny sighed. He knew the other man to be right. But this time, he needed to inform his closest allies of what was going on.
"What can I do Clamp? The moment The shadows lost their flux I could feel him. Now I know its him. Its got to be Bleylock. And he wants me to know this is his doing" Sonny said, having a hard time suppressing his frustration with the situation.
Clamp felt a need to correct the image some.
"Sonny, you know, no one has seen Bleylock.." he said carefully.
Sonny disagreed.
"Except you Clamp, and maybe Helena, and me. We are the only ones" he said.
"You know I am not sure I really saw him.." Clamp tried.
"I bet my life on it. I am going to prove my innocence, and I am going to find Bleylock, that is a promise" Sonny said.
Clamp looked at him.
"How Sonny? Do you have a plan up your sleeve?" Clamp asked.
Sonny smiled.
"I am working on it Clamp, and you are going to help me" he said.
Before Clamp could respond, Sonnys transmitter went off. It was Corso.
"Sonny, we have spotted him" he reported.
Sonny nodded and pulled his hood back on.
"I will be right there" he promised before he turned the transmitter off.
Then he turned to Clamp.
"We will speak about this later Clamp,right now, I got to go" he said.
And when Clamp looked up, Sonny was swallowed by the darkness.
Artie and Bennett had eyes on D'Jok from the moment he left the hotel. The Snow Kids was at the Genesis Gymnasium, a Technoid run hotel. They could not get in there without help. Duke Maddox had planned that one well, knowing that the pirates was rarely ever stopped by anything. But they didn't need to get in, not this time. They waited for their target to come to them. And D'Jok seemed lost in his own thoughts today. Maybe his mother moving out and living with the pirates was a bit too much for him to take in. Sonny had viewed his sons preformance after he was made captain. He had hoped, his son understood what he had told him in their father to son talks. To be a team captain, or leader of any kind, required team work. And it seemed, D'Jok had a hard time figuring out what that actually meant for him. Sonny was disappointed over that, but right now, he had more important issues to discuss with his son. Technoid was sure to tell lies about why he was wanted again, and Sonny wasn't sure where his son stood in regards to those official lies. For him to free up his mind to focus on the more important things he needed to deal with, he had to meet with his son and find out where he stood. As Sonny waited for Bennett and Artie to find his son, he thought of his conversation with Helena about this. She had offered to call D'Jok and set up a meeting spot. But Sonny did not feel confident doing that. Technoid knew D'Jok was his son. While they could not outright arrest him, they would have him tailed, in the hopes that the son would lead them to the father they were trying to capture. The only way this would work, was by an unplanned and discrete visit. So, Corso had hailed a cab with a pirate friendly driver, since Sonny would have to wait alone in the cab. They were not going to take the risk of a capture. There, he saw Artie and Bennett lead D'Jok down the stairs to the waiting cab. D'Jok had a hood over his head. Well, it seemed he had planned a cab drive anyway, might as well ride with them.
"Help me" D'Jok piped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. As soon as the cab drove off, Bennett removed his hood. And Sonny pulled down his.
"I hope we didn't hurt you too much" Bennett said apologetically, under his own hood.
"Sorry D'Jok" Artie chimed in.
"Forgive me son for this unusual visit. I asked Artie and Bennett to find you, as we need to talk about things" he said.
D'Jok seemed calm. And there was something in his eyes, a rare glimpse of a side to his son he rarely saw.
"Its ok Dad, I understand something happened. Can you tell me what is going on Dad?" he asked, looking at Sonny for an answer.
Sonny tensed up ever so slightly.
"D'Jok, I have been framed. I had nothing to do with this attack on Obscurantis,and the shadows. You must believe that I am innocent" Sonny said, more fiercely than planned.
D'Jok nodded when he heard that. He had suspected this, and now, his dad just confirmed it.
"Off course I believe you dad. You got no reason to lie to me about this" he said.
The relief was visible in Sonnys face.
"I knew I could count on you son. It would have hurt me to think that you believed these lies" he said.
But D'Jok was still concerned. If his dad was on the run, how would this affect his mother?
"Dad, how is mom handling all this?" he asked.
Sonny looked at him.
"To be honest son, better than me. She is a real powerhouse. Even with this happening, she made the call to stick by me, and work through this.I always admired her strength, but even that has grown to new levels now" he said.
D'Jok nodded.
"She wont be coming back to work with Dame Simbai, will she?" he asked.
Sonny shook his head.
"I am afraid not son. We now know for certain that this must be Bleylocks doing, that or he has someone continuing his dirty deeds. With your mother pregnant,I cant put her in harms way. If they were to realise she is having my second child, they would target her, and your unborn sister. I lost your entire childhood, and I wont let that happen again. So she stays with us, safe and sound. I will bring you to meet her, as soon as possible. After the cup is over, we will have a family meeting and see where we go from here. Till then, I am going to find a way to get my name cleared of these lies" Sonny said.
D'Jok had one final question.
"Dad, have you got a plan to deal with this? To prove that this wasn't your doing?" he asked.
Sonny nodded.
"I am working on it Son, don't you worry. We will be fine. We will drop you off at the hotel once you have cleared your head some" he said.
D'Jok smiled.
"Now I am too easy to read for you. How did you know that was why I left the hotel to have a walk?" he asked.
Sonny smiled.
"Believe it or not son, I used to be the same way when I was your age. I always found a walk by myself was the best way to clear my head. That was before I met your mother off course. Once she entered my life, she was the one that helped me deal with the worst stresses you can imagine. You are as passionate about galactik football as I was about science. You are more like me than I might let on. With that said, be careful son. Until we can locate Bleylock, we have no idea what may happen. It seems Rockets disappearance is connected to Bleylocks plan. Stay alert, and remember what I said about team play. I will still be watching you, just not from the Technoid box. And always remember, if you need me, I am not far" he said.
D'Jok sighed.
"Give mom a hug from me, and tell them, this will be fine. It has to. I finally have a father and a mother, and soon a sister. There is no way I am letting anyone take that from me" he said as they reached the hotel.
Sonny smiled as he pulled his hood back on.
"Thats the spirit son. Remember, Go Snow, Go!" Sonny blinked before the cab took off, leaving D'Jok in front of the hotel. Now that he knew where things stood, he was ready to take it on, with all he had.
They would get through all this, they always did.
D'Jok had a sense of peace once he entered the hotel and went back to his room. Now, he was going to take his fathers advice and be a better team player.