"
Happy Birthday, Mother, part 3
by Susan Owens
Joxer and Jett headed down to the deck below. As they entered the cabin, they
could see Jedza was having a hard time calming her middle son down.
"Let me off! Please let me off! A sea monster is going to get us. We're going to
sink, I can't swim. Oh Gods, we're all going to die!" Jace was panicking, and
his mother was trying her best to calm him, but she was having trouble.
"Please, mon cher, it's okay. Everything is okay."
But Jace would not calm down. Even his mother's soft voice wasn't helping.
Jett sighed and walked over to his brother. "Jace, look here" he said.
Jace automatically looked at Jett, who suddenly struck him, and he fell in a
heap to the floor. "There, now he's calmed down," Jett growled as he turned to
walk away.
Jedza suddenly saw red. One of her sons had been attacked! She stood up and
grabbed Jett. Turning him around, she then backhanded him across the face.
"Don't you ever do that again! I will not have you abuse your brother. Do I make
myself clear?!"
He only stood there staring at her. He then turned and walked away. Joxer was
stung that his mother had struck Jett. He just stared. She noticed, but paid no
attention - her mind was on Jace. Joxer came over and helped her get Jace onto
the bunk.
"Mother, don't be angry at Jett. He just did what he knows to do. I'm sure he
didn't mean any harm."
She didn't look at him - she was busy with Jace - but she slowly answered him.
"Joxer, I know your brother is angry at me for what I did, but he had no right
to hurt Jace."
"Mother, he didn't. Jace isn't damaged. It's just his way of handling this.
Please forgive him."
She sighed and looked at her youngest. "I will in time. Right now, just go be
with him."
Joxer nodded his head and smiled at her. "You know, mother, this really is the
best thing for Jace. He'll be fine."
Joxer started to go find his brother when Jett suddenly returned. He looked mad
enough to kill.
"What's wrong, Jett?" Joxer asked. He knew something wasn't right.
"We're trapped down here. I can't get the hatch open," the older brother
replied.
Joxer walked over to where the hatch was. "Let me see, maybe you didn't push
hard enough."
He pushed with all his might, but Jett had been right, the hatch didn't move. He
suddenly heard Jace moan and Joxer climbed down the ladder. He knew Jett would
knock Jace out again.
"Jett, wait. Let me try something."
Jett nodded his head. "Okay, but you get him under control or I will."
Joxer sat down beside his brother. Jace's eyes were wide - he was really
frightened.
"Jace, Jace, come on, look at me. Hey, why don't you and me sing some songs? You
like to sing. Why don't you sing for us?"
Jace slowly looked at Joxer. "Really? You want to hear me sing, Joxer?"
"Yes, anything you want. I'll even play my lute, okay?"
Jace nodded his head "Okay, I'll sing this song I learned some time ago."
Joxer smiled. "You go ahead, and I'll follow along, okay?"
Jace nodded. "You could sing this to Gabrielle," he said.
"You were made for me, everyone tells me so.
You were made for me; don't pretend that you don't know.
All the trees were made for little things, that sing and fly,
And the sun was made to burn so bright and light the sky.
Pretty eyes were never made to cry, they were made to see;
When I held you in my arms, I knew that you were made for me.
All the flowers in the field were made to please the bees,
For the fishes someone made the rivers and the sea.
Every hand was made to hold another tenderly.
When I kiss you on your lips I knew that you were made for me."
Joxer smiled at his brother. "Hey, I think Gabs would like that. Thanks, Jace."
"Hum. Yeah, the minute you sang 'kiss you on the lips,' Miss Blondie would
strike you down," said Jett.
The other two brothers ignored him, and with their mother sang more. Jett just
stared at them. How could they sing at a time like this? They were trapped. He
just shook his head. "I'm going to try and find another way out."
He was about to leave when suddenly there was a loud horrible scream that echoed
through the ship then it was all quiet. The brothers and their mother all laid
unconscious.
Nebula stood at the wheel of her ship guiding it. Xena was up in the crow's nest
searching for the ship with her friend and his family on. She suddenly saw
something in the distance and called down. "I think I spotted the ship, but I
don't think it's moving."
Nebula took her spy glass and looked out to where Xena was pointing. There was
the ship and Xena was right, it wasn't moving.
She gave orders to move towards the ship. It took a while, but by morning they
were alongside of the other ship. Nebula ordered her crew to stay on their ship
while she, Xena, and Gabrielle boarded the other one. Gabrielle stared - the
ship was completely empty; there was no sign of anyone. No bodies or any sign of
life. This frightened her. "Xena, what's going on here? Where is everyone?"
Nebula was quiet. She had a creepy feeling she knew what was wrong. "They're all
dead," she informed them with certainty.
Xena stared at her. "How do you know?"
"The sea witch has them," she replied.
Gabrielle was frightened. "There is no such thing as a sea witch."
The pirate shook her head. "There is, Gabrielle, and she takes no prisoners.
I've seen her in action."
"Then why are you still alive?" asked Xena.
"I first saw the sea witch my first time on a ship. I got trapped down below and
she didn't know I was there. She took everyone else away. I remained below until
someone found me."
Xena walked over to the hatch that led to the hold. She opened it up. "Come on,
let's see if anyone is below."
The three women slowly climbed down the ladder that led to the bottom of the
ship. Nebula pointed towards the cabin and they headed to it. Slowly, the pirate
queen opened the door. In there on the floor laid two figures, another one on
the bunk. The ones on the floor were Jett and the triplet's mother, and the one
on the bunk was Jace, but there was no sign of Joxer.
Xena went over to Jedza and Nebula went to Jett, while Gabrielle just stood
there. Where was Joxer?
"Gabrielle, check to see if Jace is all right. Jedza is fine, she's just
asleep," explained the Warrior Princess.
"This one is also asleep," said Nebula.
Gabrielle went over to Jace and checked on him. "He's fine, Xena. Where?s
Joxer?"
The pirate queen looked up as she was picking up Jett. "The sea witch must have
found Joxer and destroyed him. She takes no prisoners."
"No!" The bard said with a stern look on her face. "Joxer is here; we've just
got to find him."
Nebula turned to her. "I am taking this one back to my ship. You two better
follow. I don't want to be here when the sea witch returns."
Xena went and picked up Jace. "Gabrielle, get Jedza."
"But what about Joxer?" she asked.
"He's not here," snapped Nebula. "We have to get to my ship and protect it from
the sea witch."
The three women carried the three sleeping people to the hatch, but climbing out
with them proved to be a problem.
"I'?m going to take a chance and wake them up with the antidote," Nebula
growled.
"Okay. Wake Jedza up first. If Jett's angry, she'll be able to control him,"
responded Xena.
The pirate queen nodded her head and waved the antidote under Jedza's nose.
Slowly she began to wake up. She noticed Xena was looking at her.
"What happened?" She then saw her sons. "Oh, my babies. What did you do to
them?"
Xena placed a hand on her. "They?re all right, but we need to wake them to get
off this ship."
"Yes, of course. Wake Jett first. He can help you with Jace. If you wake Jace
you'll have a problem. He's petrified of water."
She nodded her head and gave Nebula the okay sign to wake Jett. Jett soon woke
and looked around.
"How do you feel?" asked Nebula. He stared at her for a second, then shook his
head to clear it.
"I'm fine."
"Good. Then help me with Jace," said Xena. Jett nodded and together they got
Jace out of the hole. Then Nebula and Jedza climbed out. They were all back on
Nebula's ship when Xena noticed Gabrielle was not with them.
"Nebula, where's Gabrielle?" she asked with a cold look in her eyes.
"I think she's still on the other ship," answered Nebula.
"I'm going to go get her," said the Warrior Princess.
"You'd better hurry. The sea witch is going to sink that ship."
Xena nodded and swung over to the other ship. "Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Answer me.
Where are you?"
Gabrielle slowly came towards Xena, tears flowing down her face. "I can't find
him Xena. I can't find Joxer."
"Gabrielle, we've got to get off of this ship. It's going to sink."
"No, Xena; not without Joxer."
Xena sighed and picked a surprised Gabrielle up and grabbed the rope, swinging
back over to Nebula's ship. When she let go of the bard, the blonde woman turned
around in anger and struck her. "How could you leave him behind? He's needs our
help."
The Warrior Princess took her friend into her arms and gently comforted her.
"Look!" cried one of Nebula's crewmen, "look at the other ship."
Gabrielle look towards the other ship as it sank out of sight. She turned away
and buried her head into Xena's shoulder and sobbed.
Jett looked around. He had just noticed Joxer was not with them.
"Where's Jox?"
Nebula stared at him. "He's dead," she replied flatly.
Jett suddenly grabbed her by the throat and held her in the air. "What do you
mean, he's dead?"
Jedza grabbed her son by his injured arm. "Jett! Let her go."
He obeyed, and Nebula dropped to the deck. She rubbed her neck and glared at the
assassin. "The sea witch killed him."
He stared back at her. "You don't know that for sure.?
"I do. She takes no prisoners." The Pirate Queen softened at the look of shock
on the older woman's face. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry - is that all you've got to say? Well, lady you can go to
Tartarus. Joxer's not dead. I would know if he was. I would feel it. I have a
sixth sense when it comes to my brothers - I would know if Joxer was dead, and
he's not."
Gabrielle looked up from her crying. "Jett, do you really? can you really feel
that? Please tell me you can."
"He can, Gabrielle, my Jett can, and my Joxer is alive," said Jedza.
Conclusion
Happy Birthday, Mother, part 3
by Susan Owens
Joxer and Jett headed down to the deck below. As they entered the cabin, they
could see Jedza was having a hard time calming her middle son down.
"Let me off! Please let me off! A sea monster is going to get us. We're going to
sink, I can't swim. Oh Gods, we're all going to die!" Jace was panicking, and
his mother was trying her best to calm him, but she was having trouble.
"Please, mon cher, it's okay. Everything is okay."
But Jace would not calm down. Even his mother's soft voice wasn't helping.
Jett sighed and walked over to his brother. "Jace, look here" he said.
Jace automatically looked at Jett, who suddenly struck him, and he fell in a
heap to the floor. "There, now he's calmed down," Jett growled as he turned to
walk away.
Jedza suddenly saw red. One of her sons had been attacked! She stood up and
grabbed Jett. Turning him around, she then backhanded him across the face.
"Don't you ever do that again! I will not have you abuse your brother. Do I make
myself clear?!"
He only stood there staring at her. He then turned and walked away. Joxer was
stung that his mother had struck Jett. He just stared. She noticed, but paid no
attention - her mind was on Jace. Joxer came over and helped her get Jace onto
the bunk.
"Mother, don't be angry at Jett. He just did what he knows to do. I'm sure he
didn't mean any harm."
She didn't look at him - she was busy with Jace - but she slowly answered him.
"Joxer, I know your brother is angry at me for what I did, but he had no right
to hurt Jace."
"Mother, he didn't. Jace isn't damaged. It's just his way of handling this.
Please forgive him."
She sighed and looked at her youngest. "I will in time. Right now, just go be
with him."
Joxer nodded his head and smiled at her. "You know, mother, this really is the
best thing for Jace. He'll be fine."
Joxer started to go find his brother when Jett suddenly returned. He looked mad
enough to kill.
"What's wrong, Jett?" Joxer asked. He knew something wasn't right.
"We're trapped down here. I can't get the hatch open," the older brother
replied.
Joxer walked over to where the hatch was. "Let me see, maybe you didn't push
hard enough."
He pushed with all his might, but Jett had been right, the hatch didn't move. He
suddenly heard Jace moan and Joxer climbed down the ladder. He knew Jett would
knock Jace out again.
"Jett, wait. Let me try something."
Jett nodded his head. "Okay, but you get him under control or I will."
Joxer sat down beside his brother. Jace's eyes were wide - he was really
frightened.
"Jace, Jace, come on, look at me. Hey, why don't you and me sing some songs? You
like to sing. Why don't you sing for us?"
Jace slowly looked at Joxer. "Really? You want to hear me sing, Joxer?"
"Yes, anything you want. I'll even play my lute, okay?"
Jace nodded his head "Okay, I'll sing this song I learned some time ago."
Joxer smiled. "You go ahead, and I'll follow along, okay?"
Jace nodded. "You could sing this to Gabrielle," he said.
"You were made for me, everyone tells me so.
You were made for me; don't pretend that you don't know.
All the trees were made for little things, that sing and fly,
And the sun was made to burn so bright and light the sky.
Pretty eyes were never made to cry, they were made to see;
When I held you in my arms, I knew that you were made for me.
All the flowers in the field were made to please the bees,
For the fishes someone made the rivers and the sea.
Every hand was made to hold another tenderly.
When I kiss you on your lips I knew that you were made for me."
Joxer smiled at his brother. "Hey, I think Gabs would like that. Thanks, Jace."
"Hum. Yeah, the minute you sang 'kiss you on the lips,' Miss Blondie would
strike you down," said Jett.
The other two brothers ignored him, and with their mother sang more. Jett just
stared at them. How could they sing at a time like this? They were trapped. He
just shook his head. "I'm going to try and find another way out."
He was about to leave when suddenly there was a loud horrible scream that echoed
through the ship then it was all quiet. The brothers and their mother all laid
unconscious.
Nebula stood at the wheel of her ship guiding it. Xena was up in the crow's nest
searching for the ship with her friend and his family on. She suddenly saw
something in the distance and called down. "I think I spotted the ship, but I
don't think it's moving."
Nebula took her spy glass and looked out to where Xena was pointing. There was
the ship and Xena was right, it wasn't moving.
She gave orders to move towards the ship. It took a while, but by morning they
were alongside of the other ship. Nebula ordered her crew to stay on their ship
while she, Xena, and Gabrielle boarded the other one. Gabrielle stared - the
ship was completely empty; there was no sign of anyone. No bodies or any sign of
life. This frightened her. "Xena, what's going on here? Where is everyone?"
Nebula was quiet. She had a creepy feeling she knew what was wrong. "They're all
dead," she informed them with certainty.
Xena stared at her. "How do you know?"
"The sea witch has them," she replied.
Gabrielle was frightened. "There is no such thing as a sea witch."
The pirate shook her head. "There is, Gabrielle, and she takes no prisoners.
I've seen her in action."
"Then why are you still alive?" asked Xena.
"I first saw the sea witch my first time on a ship. I got trapped down below and
she didn't know I was there. She took everyone else away. I remained below until
someone found me."
Xena walked over to the hatch that led to the hold. She opened it up. "Come on,
let's see if anyone is below."
The three women slowly climbed down the ladder that led to the bottom of the
ship. Nebula pointed towards the cabin and they headed to it. Slowly, the pirate
queen opened the door. In there on the floor laid two figures, another one on
the bunk. The ones on the floor were Jett and the triplet's mother, and the one
on the bunk was Jace, but there was no sign of Joxer.
Xena went over to Jedza and Nebula went to Jett, while Gabrielle just stood
there. Where was Joxer?
"Gabrielle, check to see if Jace is all right. Jedza is fine, she's just
asleep," explained the Warrior Princess.
"This one is also asleep," said Nebula.
Gabrielle went over to Jace and checked on him. "He's fine, Xena. Where?s
Joxer?"
The pirate queen looked up as she was picking up Jett. "The sea witch must have
found Joxer and destroyed him. She takes no prisoners."
"No!" The bard said with a stern look on her face. "Joxer is here; we've just
got to find him."
Nebula turned to her. "I am taking this one back to my ship. You two better
follow. I don't want to be here when the sea witch returns."
Xena went and picked up Jace. "Gabrielle, get Jedza."
"But what about Joxer?" she asked.
"He's not here," snapped Nebula. "We have to get to my ship and protect it from
the sea witch."
The three women carried the three sleeping people to the hatch, but climbing out
with them proved to be a problem.
"I'?m going to take a chance and wake them up with the antidote," Nebula
growled.
"Okay. Wake Jedza up first. If Jett's angry, she'll be able to control him,"
responded Xena.
The pirate queen nodded her head and waved the antidote under Jedza's nose.
Slowly she began to wake up. She noticed Xena was looking at her.
"What happened?" She then saw her sons. "Oh, my babies. What did you do to
them?"
Xena placed a hand on her. "They?re all right, but we need to wake them to get
off this ship."
"Yes, of course. Wake Jett first. He can help you with Jace. If you wake Jace
you'll have a problem. He's petrified of water."
She nodded her head and gave Nebula the okay sign to wake Jett. Jett soon woke
and looked around.
"How do you feel?" asked Nebula. He stared at her for a second, then shook his
head to clear it.
"I'm fine."
"Good. Then help me with Jace," said Xena. Jett nodded and together they got
Jace out of the hole. Then Nebula and Jedza climbed out. They were all back on
Nebula's ship when Xena noticed Gabrielle was not with them.
"Nebula, where's Gabrielle?" she asked with a cold look in her eyes.
"I think she's still on the other ship," answered Nebula.
"I'm going to go get her," said the Warrior Princess.
"You'd better hurry. The sea witch is going to sink that ship."
Xena nodded and swung over to the other ship. "Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Answer me.
Where are you?"
Gabrielle slowly came towards Xena, tears flowing down her face. "I can't find
him Xena. I can't find Joxer."
"Gabrielle, we've got to get off of this ship. It's going to sink."
"No, Xena; not without Joxer."
Xena sighed and picked a surprised Gabrielle up and grabbed the rope, swinging
back over to Nebula's ship. When she let go of the bard, the blonde woman turned
around in anger and struck her. "How could you leave him behind? He's needs our
help."
The Warrior Princess took her friend into her arms and gently comforted her.
"Look!" cried one of Nebula's crewmen, "look at the other ship."
Gabrielle look towards the other ship as it sank out of sight. She turned away
and buried her head into Xena's shoulder and sobbed.
Jett looked around. He had just noticed Joxer was not with them.
"Where's Jox?"
Nebula stared at him. "He's dead," she replied flatly.
Jett suddenly grabbed her by the throat and held her in the air. "What do you
mean, he's dead?"
Jedza grabbed her son by his injured arm. "Jett! Let her go."
He obeyed, and Nebula dropped to the deck. She rubbed her neck and glared at the
assassin. "The sea witch killed him."
He stared back at her. "You don't know that for sure.?
"I do. She takes no prisoners." The Pirate Queen softened at the look of shock
on the older woman's face. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry - is that all you've got to say? Well, lady you can go to
Tartarus. Joxer's not dead. I would know if he was. I would feel it. I have a
sixth sense when it comes to my brothers - I would know if Joxer was dead, and
he's not."
Gabrielle looked up from her crying. "Jett, do you really? can you really feel
that? Please tell me you can."
"He can, Gabrielle, my Jett can, and my Joxer is alive," said Jedza.
Conclusion