"There, there, Missis H! I know just how ya feel! All alone. . . your only son out with Doc
and Captain bustin' some pirate outta jail. . . running an inn after your husb-" he paused. "Heh,
guess I have no idea how ya feel. But I know that you're upset! So. . . don't be!" B.E.N. grinned
brightly, and obviously he considered this the proper method of condolence. Sarah looked up at
him from the table at which she'd been sitting and managed a weak smile.
"All right, B.E.N.. I won't be upset."
"There ya go!"
"How's the litter been?" Sarah actually laughed a bit as she said this. B.E.N. had been
worn nearly to exhaustion with those kids. His automatic shutdowns (what Sarah supposed was
the robotic version of naps) were coming more and more often lately, and he'd already needed to
be recharged twice. Sarah didn't fail to notice that B.E.N. was also 'allowing' her to take care of
the children for him a bit more frequently than he had been just a week ago.
"Phew," B.E.N. laughed a little uneasily. "They're ENERGETIC!" He added quickly,
"Not that I'm havin' trouble keepin' up, I mean. . ."
Sarah only chuckled and lifted herself from her seat. B.E.N. was, if nothing else, a nice
distraction from the thought of what was going on with Jim and the Dopplers. She pulled herself
a bit wearily up the stairs, walked at a measuredly slow pace down the upstairs hall, and sighed
heavily as she opened the door to the room housing the two cribs and a few toys. None of them
had ever belonged to Jim. Jim's had been lost in the fire. . . and. . .
Sarah shuddered as she felt tears welling in her eyes.
***
Jim was on his feet in an instant. Amelia nodded and motioned for Doppler to enter the
code on the lock. He fumbled with a slip of paper from his pocket (which Jim assumed had the
code written on it), and pressed buttons in much more rapid succession than he had when freeing
Silver. Jim did notice, though, that throughout the whole brief span, Doppler was looking over
his shoulder nervously. Amelia's ears tended to twitch a bit more than usual, but other than that,
she gave no sign of being nervous.
The metal bars began to slide to the side. As soon as the opening was large enough, Jim
was out. He had probably spent no more than an hour and a half in there, but from the inside of a
jail cell, Jim thought to himself, an hour and a half could seem just a little less than an eternity.
And damned if it didn't smell terrible in there.
Amelia quickly placed handcuffs around Jim's wrists. Jim looked a bit bewildered, but
Doppler quickly whispered, "Just to make it look real Jim, no need to worry. . ."
Jim felt that he could heavily disagree and that in fact, Doctor, there was quite a BIT of
need to worry. The feeling of handcuffs had been experienced by Jim only once before, when he
had been caught breaking into the old scrap yard to see if he could find anything that would
improve his solar surfer's performance. He had been fourteen when that'd happened. The
memory of his mother's face when she saw him. . . God, had he felt worthless on THAT day.
Either way, though, Jim took the handcuffs on his wrists without further complaint.
"Very good," said Amelia quickly. "Now, we'll be off." She and Doppler each put a hand
on Jim's shoulder, and Jim didn't fail to notice that they both had their weapons drawn and tilted
slightly towards Jim's head. While that wasn't comforting, considering Doppler's nerves, he
figured it'd be a bit less conspicuous than Doppler and Amelia walking around with guns pointed
outward, looking like they expected an ambush to pop out of every doorway. Which, of course,
they did.
And now they were stepping off of the cell block. The light was substantially brighter
here in the front room, and Jim blinked once or twice at the sudden change. It was even brighter
outside, as they pushed through the doors, but Jim could still see, through the purple-green-white
flashing spots in front of his eyes, the Volitant. Had there ever been a more lovely ship than the
dear little Volitant? Not in a million years.
Doppler and Amelia quickened their pace with Jim, and now Amelia's head was turning
to match the flicking of her ears. She was listening. Her eyes narrowed for a moment as the three
approached the dock, then she suddenly pulled Jim and Doppler down with her. "DOWN!"
The three ducked as hissing sound of a blast from a flintlock came dangerously close to
them, and they could hear the fizzling melting sound of it striking at the hull of a ship. Amelia
whirled around and drew in a sharp breath, causing her to hiss slightly. She fired once, twice, hit
nothing, then pulled the two males onto a small extension of the dock between two ships. She
herself looked around the corner. "When I say run. . ." she whispered at length, "you must go."
She paused, then suddenly pulled out her gun again and let off three quick shots. "NOW! RUN!"
Jim and Doppler didn't need telling twice. Jim had bolted the second he saw Amelia's
mouth open to speak. As he pulled out he had seen the form of the two guards, hunkered down
and waiting for the opportune moment to fire at the three once more.
Amelia followed Jim and Doppler out from between the ships, firing twice over her
shoulder as she ran. Then the fire opened up on them again. Amelia pulled Jim and Doppler
between two ships once more. There were now three ships between them and the Volitant.
Amelia was firing a bit sporadically as she looked around the front edge of the hull of the ship,
keeping the guards from approaching.
Jim, meanwhile, was considering how much he would love to be rid of these damned
handcuffs. They made it nearly impossible to run without stumbling. Oh, w-
"YAAHH!"
Amelia had leapt onto the ship that Jim and Doppler were hiding behind, run across the
small deck, and jumped over the opposite side to land next to Jim. She looked out and around
then quickly pulled Jim and Doppler around another hull, flintlock blasts buzzing dangerously
close to them. The three of them were panting by this time, and were easily audible in the silence.
The blasts had stopped and Amelia was slowly, slowly poking her head around the hull. She let
out a quiet 'oh!' of surprise and pulled her head back in quickly as another shot flew past. She
held up her hands to Jim and Doppler. "Wait."
***
Silver sat up suddenly in his seat. He stood and started heading cautiously up the stairs.
Aaron could only watch him for a moment before he blurted out, "What are you doing?!"
Silver sighed with mild indignation. He turned his head as he continued walking and
explained, "I'm takin' a look 'round. I t'ink I hear somet'in'. You just sit t WOAH!" Silver
ducked back down, breathing heavily. "They're comin'! We gotta get up on deck!"
"Why?!"
"Gotta keep them guards away, from the Volitant, lad! What'a'ya t'ink they'll do if they
see th' same ship makin' berth 'ere again! Board 'er, that's what!" Silver's cybernetic arm
clicked into a blowtorch and Aaron's eyes widened. Silver went to work on a metal case that was
installed in a panel on the wall, cutting away the lock on the exterior with the blue flame. As the
lock came off, the panel swung open, revealing several large police-issue muskets. Silver
grabbed one and tossed it to Aaron, who nearly dropped it.
"What am I supposed to do with THIS?!"
"Protect yerself!" Silver replied quickly, the blowtorch tucking back into its metal casing
and the flintlock in Silver's arm emerging and clicking into position. Silver cocked the hammer
and grinned a bit. "Can't leave Doc, Cap'n, an' Jim to fend fer themselves, can we? Aye, we best
be off!" He walked quickly up the stairs, emerging onto the deck.
Looking straight off the bow, Silver saw the shack of a prison itself. The police cruiser
was anchored at the space furthest on the right, facing the prison. The Volitant was down to the
left a ways, and rather nearer to him, but still on his left, Silver saw the guards slowly making
their way towards The Volitant. Every now and then Amelia's head and arm poked out from
behind the hull of a ship between the guards and the Volitant and she would lay a round of shots
on them, forcing them to duck behind another ship. Jim and Doppler would then take that
opportunity to cross around another hull and Amelia would quickly follow them. Their progress
was slow, and as Silver watched, he got rid of his flintlock and pulled out his much more high-
powered weapon, reaching down and attaching the piece from his cybernetic knee. Aaron came
up behind Silver and watched the unfolding scene below in fascination.
"Time to go?"
"Aye."
"Great."
Aaron and Silver climbed carefully over the side of the ship (Silver with markedly more
difficulty than Aaron), and crept slowly along behind the guards, who took no notice of them at
all.
***
One ship to go now. Once they made it across another hull they could climb up into the
Volitant and would be safe. Home free. Jim felt like skipping.
However, present circumstances prevented him from doing so.
A few more shots flew past. Jim, Doppler, and Amelia were all crouched low, waiting for
an opportunity to make a break for it. Suddenly a massive beam of energy passed by outside and
three sets of eyes widened.
Amelia hissed in a whisper, "They can't possibly have gotten a--"
"Silver!" shouted Doppler.
A grin cracked on Jim's face. The guards were shouting now, and the loud crackling
noise of Silver's massive gun could be heard going off amongst a volley of smaller gunshots.
There was another gun being fired now, too. A musket. Jim shook his head and dared to laugh
just a bit. That had to have been Aaron (though, where he got a musket from was anyone's guess,
Jim supposed).
***
A large beam of energy flew over the guards heads, shooting away into nothing, the
fading. They both started and turned around to find the source. The cyborg.
"Silver!" snarled one of the guards. "Thought we'd taken care o' the likes o' YOU!"
"Aye, well, yeh don't do much t'inkin', do yeh, eh? Jus' need t' practice, don' worry,
you'll get better," Silver replied with a smirk. "Care to fire tha' wee popgun yeh got there?"
The guard apparently did, because he fired two shots at Silver. He hardly noticed Aaron,
who was struggling not to scream in absolute confusion and shock. Silver grabbed Aaron by the
scruff of his neck and pulled him behind the hull of the ship next to the police cruiser.
"All righ', lad, now's the time t' use that there gun, savvy?" (A/N: HAHA, JUST
KIDDING! My wit amazes you, eh?)
Aaron nodded and looked at his musket for a moment before cocking it and looking up at
Silver. "Ready."
Silver nodded once. "Aye, that's a good lad. Now, off we go!" He dragged Aaron with
him, and to Aaron's surprise and shock, started running straight for the guards, yelling something
unintelligible, but that Aaron supposed was some sort of hideous threat of death.
The guards again looked behind them, surprised, and dove between two ships. Silver
paused to fire a few blasts above their heads and Aaron added one or two of his own, just to
make a point, then both continued running past again. They leapt between two ships when shots
were fired behind them again.
Silver and Aaron looked out then turned around slowly to see Jim, Doppler, and Amelia,
all staring wide-eyed at the two. Silver bowed in greeting. "Jimbo. Doc. Cap'n. Cap'n, you
certainly are in your prime, I must sa-"
"Save it, Silver." Amelia stood up and glanced around the hull of the ship. "They're
coming!" She fired two shots, glanced about again, then went out in full view to fire at the
guards. Silver came out behind her and added his own firepower. Jim, Doppler, and Aaron ran
around the hull of the last ship between them and the Volitant and Silver and Amelia
immediately followed. Amelia leapt up over the side instantly, pulling up Jim then Aaron. Jim
and Aaron helped Doppler into the ship as Amelia dropped the gangplank for Silver then quickly
ran to the helm. "Doctor, take the controls! Silver, keep the guards back! Hawkins! Young
Doppler! Attend to the sails, and get a--
***
"--move on!!" shouted the leading guard to the other, who was still crouching between
the two ships. "We'll be killed ourselves if we manage to lose another one!"
"Yer mad! I ain't goin' out there! Silver would shoot yer brains right out of yer head, if
yeh had any t' begin with!"
"Nah, look! 'E's stopped, n--"
Another blast flew over his head and he leapt quickly between the two ships next to his
partner.
"You was sayin'?"
"Stuff it."
***
"Do you suppose they're on their way home now?" wondered Sarah, looking out the
window at the afternoon clouds and wringing her skirt in her hands. B.E.N. stood behind her with
the blonde and brunette kittens and the puppy in his arms. The redheaded kitten sat complacently
atop his head.
"Ah, I'm sure they're doin' great, Missis. H, nothing to worry about!" B.E.N. replied
happily. "I bet it all went according to plan, and they're flyin' home now! You know our Jimmy
and Doc!"
Sarah suddenly felt rather ill.
***
The Volitant rose into the air with a rushed grace. Amelia nodded to Doppler and he
switched on the main thrusters. Jim leaned out over the port side of the ship, grinning a bit as the
Volitant turned starboard at Amelia's hands. Aaron stood back a bit, leaning onto the mast,
bracing himself for the acceleration. Amelia was apparently taking it slowly at first, preparing to
speed up after they were away from the docks. Jim and Doppler both watched, Doppler a bit
more timidly than Jim, as the line of ships passed by. Most were empty and had been for some
time. Jim looked back to Doppler.
"Doc, I ca--"
"Oh, I can't believe we got you out so easily either, Jim, really is remarkable."
"No, I me--"
"Ah, no need to thank us, really, it had to be done, am I right?"
"Yes, but--"
"Oh, come, now, Jim, we--"
"Doc! No, Doc, just. . ." Jim held up his wrists, showing his handcuffs. The prison was
almost past on the port side of the ship now.
"Oh! Of course! Right, here. . . hold out your arms, would you?" Doppler felt around in
his pockets for the key. "Ah, here it is! Now, arms out!"
Doppler walked over to Jim, holding up the small silver key. Jim head his arms out with a
grin, facing the bow of the ship. He stretched them out fully, turning slightly away from the
docks and prison, saying, "Thanks, Doc. . . yeah, and for breaking me out. Man, I really thought I
was a g--"
There was a bright flash of light in front of Jim and the small sound of something striking
the deck. Jim's left arm was in incredible pain. . . the upper half, of it, at least. . . He turned his
head slowly, his breathing quickening, to look back around at the docks. One of the officers in
the police cruiser had managed to untie himself and had grabbed a musket. . . his aim was
excellent, Jim thought to himself as he heard a soft wet spattering on the deck of the Volitant. He
heard the voices of Doppler and Aaron shouting to him, and suddenly he was lying on his back,
staring up at the passing sky. Doppler and Aaron leaned over him, but their faces were blurry
now. . . Amelia was shouting. . . everyone was shouting. . . Silver was shooting back towards the
docks and then he was shouting, too. . . Jim closed his eyes tightly.
God, that really did hurt.
*****
So much for 'more updates soon', eh? *points to the previous chapter's note*
and Captain bustin' some pirate outta jail. . . running an inn after your husb-" he paused. "Heh,
guess I have no idea how ya feel. But I know that you're upset! So. . . don't be!" B.E.N. grinned
brightly, and obviously he considered this the proper method of condolence. Sarah looked up at
him from the table at which she'd been sitting and managed a weak smile.
"All right, B.E.N.. I won't be upset."
"There ya go!"
"How's the litter been?" Sarah actually laughed a bit as she said this. B.E.N. had been
worn nearly to exhaustion with those kids. His automatic shutdowns (what Sarah supposed was
the robotic version of naps) were coming more and more often lately, and he'd already needed to
be recharged twice. Sarah didn't fail to notice that B.E.N. was also 'allowing' her to take care of
the children for him a bit more frequently than he had been just a week ago.
"Phew," B.E.N. laughed a little uneasily. "They're ENERGETIC!" He added quickly,
"Not that I'm havin' trouble keepin' up, I mean. . ."
Sarah only chuckled and lifted herself from her seat. B.E.N. was, if nothing else, a nice
distraction from the thought of what was going on with Jim and the Dopplers. She pulled herself
a bit wearily up the stairs, walked at a measuredly slow pace down the upstairs hall, and sighed
heavily as she opened the door to the room housing the two cribs and a few toys. None of them
had ever belonged to Jim. Jim's had been lost in the fire. . . and. . .
Sarah shuddered as she felt tears welling in her eyes.
***
Jim was on his feet in an instant. Amelia nodded and motioned for Doppler to enter the
code on the lock. He fumbled with a slip of paper from his pocket (which Jim assumed had the
code written on it), and pressed buttons in much more rapid succession than he had when freeing
Silver. Jim did notice, though, that throughout the whole brief span, Doppler was looking over
his shoulder nervously. Amelia's ears tended to twitch a bit more than usual, but other than that,
she gave no sign of being nervous.
The metal bars began to slide to the side. As soon as the opening was large enough, Jim
was out. He had probably spent no more than an hour and a half in there, but from the inside of a
jail cell, Jim thought to himself, an hour and a half could seem just a little less than an eternity.
And damned if it didn't smell terrible in there.
Amelia quickly placed handcuffs around Jim's wrists. Jim looked a bit bewildered, but
Doppler quickly whispered, "Just to make it look real Jim, no need to worry. . ."
Jim felt that he could heavily disagree and that in fact, Doctor, there was quite a BIT of
need to worry. The feeling of handcuffs had been experienced by Jim only once before, when he
had been caught breaking into the old scrap yard to see if he could find anything that would
improve his solar surfer's performance. He had been fourteen when that'd happened. The
memory of his mother's face when she saw him. . . God, had he felt worthless on THAT day.
Either way, though, Jim took the handcuffs on his wrists without further complaint.
"Very good," said Amelia quickly. "Now, we'll be off." She and Doppler each put a hand
on Jim's shoulder, and Jim didn't fail to notice that they both had their weapons drawn and tilted
slightly towards Jim's head. While that wasn't comforting, considering Doppler's nerves, he
figured it'd be a bit less conspicuous than Doppler and Amelia walking around with guns pointed
outward, looking like they expected an ambush to pop out of every doorway. Which, of course,
they did.
And now they were stepping off of the cell block. The light was substantially brighter
here in the front room, and Jim blinked once or twice at the sudden change. It was even brighter
outside, as they pushed through the doors, but Jim could still see, through the purple-green-white
flashing spots in front of his eyes, the Volitant. Had there ever been a more lovely ship than the
dear little Volitant? Not in a million years.
Doppler and Amelia quickened their pace with Jim, and now Amelia's head was turning
to match the flicking of her ears. She was listening. Her eyes narrowed for a moment as the three
approached the dock, then she suddenly pulled Jim and Doppler down with her. "DOWN!"
The three ducked as hissing sound of a blast from a flintlock came dangerously close to
them, and they could hear the fizzling melting sound of it striking at the hull of a ship. Amelia
whirled around and drew in a sharp breath, causing her to hiss slightly. She fired once, twice, hit
nothing, then pulled the two males onto a small extension of the dock between two ships. She
herself looked around the corner. "When I say run. . ." she whispered at length, "you must go."
She paused, then suddenly pulled out her gun again and let off three quick shots. "NOW! RUN!"
Jim and Doppler didn't need telling twice. Jim had bolted the second he saw Amelia's
mouth open to speak. As he pulled out he had seen the form of the two guards, hunkered down
and waiting for the opportune moment to fire at the three once more.
Amelia followed Jim and Doppler out from between the ships, firing twice over her
shoulder as she ran. Then the fire opened up on them again. Amelia pulled Jim and Doppler
between two ships once more. There were now three ships between them and the Volitant.
Amelia was firing a bit sporadically as she looked around the front edge of the hull of the ship,
keeping the guards from approaching.
Jim, meanwhile, was considering how much he would love to be rid of these damned
handcuffs. They made it nearly impossible to run without stumbling. Oh, w-
"YAAHH!"
Amelia had leapt onto the ship that Jim and Doppler were hiding behind, run across the
small deck, and jumped over the opposite side to land next to Jim. She looked out and around
then quickly pulled Jim and Doppler around another hull, flintlock blasts buzzing dangerously
close to them. The three of them were panting by this time, and were easily audible in the silence.
The blasts had stopped and Amelia was slowly, slowly poking her head around the hull. She let
out a quiet 'oh!' of surprise and pulled her head back in quickly as another shot flew past. She
held up her hands to Jim and Doppler. "Wait."
***
Silver sat up suddenly in his seat. He stood and started heading cautiously up the stairs.
Aaron could only watch him for a moment before he blurted out, "What are you doing?!"
Silver sighed with mild indignation. He turned his head as he continued walking and
explained, "I'm takin' a look 'round. I t'ink I hear somet'in'. You just sit t WOAH!" Silver
ducked back down, breathing heavily. "They're comin'! We gotta get up on deck!"
"Why?!"
"Gotta keep them guards away, from the Volitant, lad! What'a'ya t'ink they'll do if they
see th' same ship makin' berth 'ere again! Board 'er, that's what!" Silver's cybernetic arm
clicked into a blowtorch and Aaron's eyes widened. Silver went to work on a metal case that was
installed in a panel on the wall, cutting away the lock on the exterior with the blue flame. As the
lock came off, the panel swung open, revealing several large police-issue muskets. Silver
grabbed one and tossed it to Aaron, who nearly dropped it.
"What am I supposed to do with THIS?!"
"Protect yerself!" Silver replied quickly, the blowtorch tucking back into its metal casing
and the flintlock in Silver's arm emerging and clicking into position. Silver cocked the hammer
and grinned a bit. "Can't leave Doc, Cap'n, an' Jim to fend fer themselves, can we? Aye, we best
be off!" He walked quickly up the stairs, emerging onto the deck.
Looking straight off the bow, Silver saw the shack of a prison itself. The police cruiser
was anchored at the space furthest on the right, facing the prison. The Volitant was down to the
left a ways, and rather nearer to him, but still on his left, Silver saw the guards slowly making
their way towards The Volitant. Every now and then Amelia's head and arm poked out from
behind the hull of a ship between the guards and the Volitant and she would lay a round of shots
on them, forcing them to duck behind another ship. Jim and Doppler would then take that
opportunity to cross around another hull and Amelia would quickly follow them. Their progress
was slow, and as Silver watched, he got rid of his flintlock and pulled out his much more high-
powered weapon, reaching down and attaching the piece from his cybernetic knee. Aaron came
up behind Silver and watched the unfolding scene below in fascination.
"Time to go?"
"Aye."
"Great."
Aaron and Silver climbed carefully over the side of the ship (Silver with markedly more
difficulty than Aaron), and crept slowly along behind the guards, who took no notice of them at
all.
***
One ship to go now. Once they made it across another hull they could climb up into the
Volitant and would be safe. Home free. Jim felt like skipping.
However, present circumstances prevented him from doing so.
A few more shots flew past. Jim, Doppler, and Amelia were all crouched low, waiting for
an opportunity to make a break for it. Suddenly a massive beam of energy passed by outside and
three sets of eyes widened.
Amelia hissed in a whisper, "They can't possibly have gotten a--"
"Silver!" shouted Doppler.
A grin cracked on Jim's face. The guards were shouting now, and the loud crackling
noise of Silver's massive gun could be heard going off amongst a volley of smaller gunshots.
There was another gun being fired now, too. A musket. Jim shook his head and dared to laugh
just a bit. That had to have been Aaron (though, where he got a musket from was anyone's guess,
Jim supposed).
***
A large beam of energy flew over the guards heads, shooting away into nothing, the
fading. They both started and turned around to find the source. The cyborg.
"Silver!" snarled one of the guards. "Thought we'd taken care o' the likes o' YOU!"
"Aye, well, yeh don't do much t'inkin', do yeh, eh? Jus' need t' practice, don' worry,
you'll get better," Silver replied with a smirk. "Care to fire tha' wee popgun yeh got there?"
The guard apparently did, because he fired two shots at Silver. He hardly noticed Aaron,
who was struggling not to scream in absolute confusion and shock. Silver grabbed Aaron by the
scruff of his neck and pulled him behind the hull of the ship next to the police cruiser.
"All righ', lad, now's the time t' use that there gun, savvy?" (A/N: HAHA, JUST
KIDDING! My wit amazes you, eh?)
Aaron nodded and looked at his musket for a moment before cocking it and looking up at
Silver. "Ready."
Silver nodded once. "Aye, that's a good lad. Now, off we go!" He dragged Aaron with
him, and to Aaron's surprise and shock, started running straight for the guards, yelling something
unintelligible, but that Aaron supposed was some sort of hideous threat of death.
The guards again looked behind them, surprised, and dove between two ships. Silver
paused to fire a few blasts above their heads and Aaron added one or two of his own, just to
make a point, then both continued running past again. They leapt between two ships when shots
were fired behind them again.
Silver and Aaron looked out then turned around slowly to see Jim, Doppler, and Amelia,
all staring wide-eyed at the two. Silver bowed in greeting. "Jimbo. Doc. Cap'n. Cap'n, you
certainly are in your prime, I must sa-"
"Save it, Silver." Amelia stood up and glanced around the hull of the ship. "They're
coming!" She fired two shots, glanced about again, then went out in full view to fire at the
guards. Silver came out behind her and added his own firepower. Jim, Doppler, and Aaron ran
around the hull of the last ship between them and the Volitant and Silver and Amelia
immediately followed. Amelia leapt up over the side instantly, pulling up Jim then Aaron. Jim
and Aaron helped Doppler into the ship as Amelia dropped the gangplank for Silver then quickly
ran to the helm. "Doctor, take the controls! Silver, keep the guards back! Hawkins! Young
Doppler! Attend to the sails, and get a--
***
"--move on!!" shouted the leading guard to the other, who was still crouching between
the two ships. "We'll be killed ourselves if we manage to lose another one!"
"Yer mad! I ain't goin' out there! Silver would shoot yer brains right out of yer head, if
yeh had any t' begin with!"
"Nah, look! 'E's stopped, n--"
Another blast flew over his head and he leapt quickly between the two ships next to his
partner.
"You was sayin'?"
"Stuff it."
***
"Do you suppose they're on their way home now?" wondered Sarah, looking out the
window at the afternoon clouds and wringing her skirt in her hands. B.E.N. stood behind her with
the blonde and brunette kittens and the puppy in his arms. The redheaded kitten sat complacently
atop his head.
"Ah, I'm sure they're doin' great, Missis. H, nothing to worry about!" B.E.N. replied
happily. "I bet it all went according to plan, and they're flyin' home now! You know our Jimmy
and Doc!"
Sarah suddenly felt rather ill.
***
The Volitant rose into the air with a rushed grace. Amelia nodded to Doppler and he
switched on the main thrusters. Jim leaned out over the port side of the ship, grinning a bit as the
Volitant turned starboard at Amelia's hands. Aaron stood back a bit, leaning onto the mast,
bracing himself for the acceleration. Amelia was apparently taking it slowly at first, preparing to
speed up after they were away from the docks. Jim and Doppler both watched, Doppler a bit
more timidly than Jim, as the line of ships passed by. Most were empty and had been for some
time. Jim looked back to Doppler.
"Doc, I ca--"
"Oh, I can't believe we got you out so easily either, Jim, really is remarkable."
"No, I me--"
"Ah, no need to thank us, really, it had to be done, am I right?"
"Yes, but--"
"Oh, come, now, Jim, we--"
"Doc! No, Doc, just. . ." Jim held up his wrists, showing his handcuffs. The prison was
almost past on the port side of the ship now.
"Oh! Of course! Right, here. . . hold out your arms, would you?" Doppler felt around in
his pockets for the key. "Ah, here it is! Now, arms out!"
Doppler walked over to Jim, holding up the small silver key. Jim head his arms out with a
grin, facing the bow of the ship. He stretched them out fully, turning slightly away from the
docks and prison, saying, "Thanks, Doc. . . yeah, and for breaking me out. Man, I really thought I
was a g--"
There was a bright flash of light in front of Jim and the small sound of something striking
the deck. Jim's left arm was in incredible pain. . . the upper half, of it, at least. . . He turned his
head slowly, his breathing quickening, to look back around at the docks. One of the officers in
the police cruiser had managed to untie himself and had grabbed a musket. . . his aim was
excellent, Jim thought to himself as he heard a soft wet spattering on the deck of the Volitant. He
heard the voices of Doppler and Aaron shouting to him, and suddenly he was lying on his back,
staring up at the passing sky. Doppler and Aaron leaned over him, but their faces were blurry
now. . . Amelia was shouting. . . everyone was shouting. . . Silver was shooting back towards the
docks and then he was shouting, too. . . Jim closed his eyes tightly.
God, that really did hurt.
*****
So much for 'more updates soon', eh? *points to the previous chapter's note*