Writer's Note: I'm so sorry this took so long! It's been written for a while but I haven't been able to post it.
***
Two days later, Baloo dropped Molly off at the Winger City Airfield. He offered to escort her to the retreat, but Molly declined. She walked into the City around early afternoon with her stuffed satchel on her shoulder. She'd decided to grab a meal before heading back to the airfield to search for someone she could hitch a ride with out of the Usland Territory.
Winger City was a rich island. The inner City bustled with prestigious universities and five-star restaurants and classy boutiques. Molly found that the only place in the City she could actually afford anything (with money saved or borrowed from H&H) was the middle-class area near the airfield. She cut through an alleyway that ran between a clinic and the local Thankful Giving store. Behind her, something clattered to the ground. She spun around only to see it was a cat running from a fallen garbage can. She took a deep breath, but when she turned to continue walking, she ran smack into something solid. She fell to the concrete, along with a bunch of textbooks.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" she said, not looking up at the person. She gathered up the fallen textbooks.
"Here let me help you up" the person said.
Molly lifted her head to get the surprise of her life. There, directly in front of her, was a young Don Karnage - minus the accent - holding his hand out to her. She reluctantly took it, and he lifted Molly to her feet.
"Thank you" she mumbled. "Here. Here's your books."
The young Karnage gave her a friendly smile, and accepted his books from Molly's outstretched hands. "Thanks. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you or anything?"
Molly shook her head, still gaping at him. "No, I'm not hurt."
The wolf noticed her staring and sighed in frustration. He slipped into a familiar routine. "Yes, yes. I am Delancey Karnage, son of the feared pirate Don Karnage."
"You're his son?" Molly literally shouted, stepping backwards almost loosing her balance. "He never told me he had a son."
"Wait" the young Karnage was gaping now. "YOU know him?"
"Well, on good and bad terms - yes."
"What's your name?"
"Molly Cunningham."
"Good to meet you, Molly" he said, offering his hand to shake. "To be honest with you, my real last name is Lancaster. I just like the sound of Del Karnage better."
"How is Karnage your father?" Molly asked, extremely anxious to find out.
Del sighed, his smile fading. "Before I get into detail, you hungry?"
Molly nodded, eagerly. "I'm starving."
"Come on."
He led her to the street, down the block to a small café. They took a table outside near the door, where Del caught the waitress to order.
"So, how do you know him?" he asked, after the waitress walked away.
Molly leaned on the table. "Are you up for a long story?"
"Shoot away" Del replied, smiling again.
Molly paused for a moment, observing her companion's smile. It looked remarkably like Karnage's, but instead of the devious hint, it was friendly and held no slight of mistrust.
"Karnage and I have a long history…" She went on to tell him of the first time Karnage had kidnapped her and her mother when she was five all the way to the present state of her searching for him. Del listened intently the entire time, not even touching his turkey club when the food arrived.
"Whoa, talk about history! It sounds more like a novel. I guess the stories I've heard of him are true."
"What's your story with him?"
"I don't have much to say. Karnage is my biological father and that's all. I never met him before, and I don't think he even knows I exist. My mother was Karnage's apparent lover for a short time until he became tired of her. She left him before she even knew she was pregnant."
"I'm thankful to hear you weren't around Karnage as a child" Molly said, mentally thanking the Most High that Karnage never got to know his heir. "Do you get a lot of people who mistake you for him?"
"Oh yeah, but it's mostly people from Cape Suzette. I guess he tormented them so much, they're a little wary when they see someone who apparently looks a lot like him. I've only seen badly out of focus pictures of him in the paper, so I can't really tell myself."
"Trust me, you have his looks."
Del rolled his eyes. "Well, that's comforting to know. Anyway, from what you tell me, you're around seventeen right?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.
"That's right."
"Why in the world is a seventeen year old going out to look for the infamous air pirate captain?"
"I graduated last month, and am going to college to major in psychology. Since I am Karnage's counselor, I feel responsible for him. It's all just really complicated." Molly glanced down at Del's textbooks. "I'm guessing you're going into medicine?"
"Yeah. My mom is a nurse and my dad…step-dad is a doctor. They own and run the free clinic down the block."
"Really? Your parents must be very giving."
"They are. My dad wanted to treat people who couldn't afford medical care. My parents brought me up to help people, and I want to do just that."
Molly stared in awe. "Are you sure Karnage is your biological father? You sound the total opposite of him!"
"If the looks don't convince you, go talk to my mother and she will. But, what about your family? You told me your connection with Karnage, but not about your family."
"My family" Molly sighed, feeling a wave of guilt. "Are you positive you want me to tell you about them? Just kidding." Molly pulled out an envelope from her satchel pocket and pulled out the pictures stored inside.
"This is me and my mother. She used to be a high-class businesswoman running Higher for Hire, but my sister does the job now. And that's my mom's boyfriend, O'Mally. That is my sister, Guinna, and her husband, Kit and my new niece and nephew, Rannie and Aaron."
"You have a big family."
"And, I'm not even done yet. This is Baloo, Kit's father and kind of my surrogate dad. He was the cargo pilot for Higher for Hire, but Kit has been for several years. Kit has been like a brother to me every since I was four. It was great when he married Guinna. And this is Wildcat, our mechanic. He's been a really good friend to me even though he's lost a few of his marbles. I think that's all."
"Who's this?" Del asked seeing there was one more picture in the envelope.
Molly grimaced. She had forgotten to take -that- picture out before she left. "Oh, him. That's my ex-boyfriend, Shawn. He dumped me a few weeks ago on graduate night because he wanted to y'know…and I wanted to wait until after marriage." She blushed, embarrassed at what she just admitted to a perfect stranger. "Anyway, I thought he really loved me, guess he didn't."
"I'm sorry. I know how it is to get dumped for that reason."
"Really?"
"I met my first girlfriend in eleventh grade. We were together for about a year until she asked for a certain 'birthday' present. I politely said I'd rather wait until marriage. She said I was too 'genteel' for her taste, and said she couldn't see me anymore."
"Wow, that sounds familiar."
"Listen, I was wondering how are you going to find Karnage? I mean, you can't possibly do it alone."
"I was going to catch a ride out of Usland Territory then see where I can go from there. I need to get into Bago-Shiloh. And what makes you think I can't do it alone? You must not have been listening earlier."
"Oh no, I was listening. It's just I can't let you go alone. I'm coming with you."
"You want to?" Molly stared at him rather shocked. She had never thought in a million years that she'd run into Karnage's lost son then have him volunteer to find Karnage with her. Del nodded then stood, leaving a tip on the table. "I do. Now let's get going. It's getting late."
* * *
Del led Molly a few blocks from the café until the neighborhood started to change into more respectable buildings. They walked into one on a corner and took the elevator to Del's apartment on the fourth floor.
"Where do you get the money to pay for this apartment and your college fee?" Molly asked, walking into the small parlors, which led to Del's great room. It was a pretty fancy place with embellished decor. Seeing this and knowing that his parents owned a free clinic, Molly figured it out. "Oh, let me guess. Your parents must be rich."
"I wouldn't say rich. I'd say well off." Del walked into his room leaving Molly in the great room.
"Well off! Geez! My family must be poor then." She heard Del laugh. She picked up a frame with a photo of his parents. His mother looked very sophisticated. "How in the world did someone like your mom meet Karnage?"
Del walked back in. "He was robbing my grandparent's mansion and she fell in love with him."
"Did he love your mom?"
"No. She hardly saw him when she was living with him. He treated her like dirt when he was around. Dang! Talk about a creep. I'm glad I wasn't raised around all that pirate life."
"Good thing you weren't. You might have turned out like him."
"That reminds me." Del picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello. James. This is Delancey. Is one of my parents there?…They're not. Where'd they go?…Dexter's. They didn't tell me that…Well, I don't have time to wait for them. Could you give them a message?…Thanks. It is: I'm going out of town for a few weeks. I'll be fine. Thanks again, James. Tell them I love them. Bye." Del hung up the phone.
"Who's James?"
"Their butler."
"Oh, a butler. Your parents must really be well off. Are you sure you'll be able to handle this search? We might get in some rough situations."
"Nonsense, Molly. I always wanted to do something adventurous even if it is searching for my astranged father."
"Adventurous wouldn't be the word for this. More like survival."
"Why are you doing this if it puts your life in danger?"
"I have a responsibility toward Karnage. I'm the only one who can get through to him. I'm the only one he'll listen to."
"I'd feel responsible too. But is it worth it?"
"What do you think? You're going with me."
***
Two days later, Baloo dropped Molly off at the Winger City Airfield. He offered to escort her to the retreat, but Molly declined. She walked into the City around early afternoon with her stuffed satchel on her shoulder. She'd decided to grab a meal before heading back to the airfield to search for someone she could hitch a ride with out of the Usland Territory.
Winger City was a rich island. The inner City bustled with prestigious universities and five-star restaurants and classy boutiques. Molly found that the only place in the City she could actually afford anything (with money saved or borrowed from H&H) was the middle-class area near the airfield. She cut through an alleyway that ran between a clinic and the local Thankful Giving store. Behind her, something clattered to the ground. She spun around only to see it was a cat running from a fallen garbage can. She took a deep breath, but when she turned to continue walking, she ran smack into something solid. She fell to the concrete, along with a bunch of textbooks.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" she said, not looking up at the person. She gathered up the fallen textbooks.
"Here let me help you up" the person said.
Molly lifted her head to get the surprise of her life. There, directly in front of her, was a young Don Karnage - minus the accent - holding his hand out to her. She reluctantly took it, and he lifted Molly to her feet.
"Thank you" she mumbled. "Here. Here's your books."
The young Karnage gave her a friendly smile, and accepted his books from Molly's outstretched hands. "Thanks. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you or anything?"
Molly shook her head, still gaping at him. "No, I'm not hurt."
The wolf noticed her staring and sighed in frustration. He slipped into a familiar routine. "Yes, yes. I am Delancey Karnage, son of the feared pirate Don Karnage."
"You're his son?" Molly literally shouted, stepping backwards almost loosing her balance. "He never told me he had a son."
"Wait" the young Karnage was gaping now. "YOU know him?"
"Well, on good and bad terms - yes."
"What's your name?"
"Molly Cunningham."
"Good to meet you, Molly" he said, offering his hand to shake. "To be honest with you, my real last name is Lancaster. I just like the sound of Del Karnage better."
"How is Karnage your father?" Molly asked, extremely anxious to find out.
Del sighed, his smile fading. "Before I get into detail, you hungry?"
Molly nodded, eagerly. "I'm starving."
"Come on."
He led her to the street, down the block to a small café. They took a table outside near the door, where Del caught the waitress to order.
"So, how do you know him?" he asked, after the waitress walked away.
Molly leaned on the table. "Are you up for a long story?"
"Shoot away" Del replied, smiling again.
Molly paused for a moment, observing her companion's smile. It looked remarkably like Karnage's, but instead of the devious hint, it was friendly and held no slight of mistrust.
"Karnage and I have a long history…" She went on to tell him of the first time Karnage had kidnapped her and her mother when she was five all the way to the present state of her searching for him. Del listened intently the entire time, not even touching his turkey club when the food arrived.
"Whoa, talk about history! It sounds more like a novel. I guess the stories I've heard of him are true."
"What's your story with him?"
"I don't have much to say. Karnage is my biological father and that's all. I never met him before, and I don't think he even knows I exist. My mother was Karnage's apparent lover for a short time until he became tired of her. She left him before she even knew she was pregnant."
"I'm thankful to hear you weren't around Karnage as a child" Molly said, mentally thanking the Most High that Karnage never got to know his heir. "Do you get a lot of people who mistake you for him?"
"Oh yeah, but it's mostly people from Cape Suzette. I guess he tormented them so much, they're a little wary when they see someone who apparently looks a lot like him. I've only seen badly out of focus pictures of him in the paper, so I can't really tell myself."
"Trust me, you have his looks."
Del rolled his eyes. "Well, that's comforting to know. Anyway, from what you tell me, you're around seventeen right?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.
"That's right."
"Why in the world is a seventeen year old going out to look for the infamous air pirate captain?"
"I graduated last month, and am going to college to major in psychology. Since I am Karnage's counselor, I feel responsible for him. It's all just really complicated." Molly glanced down at Del's textbooks. "I'm guessing you're going into medicine?"
"Yeah. My mom is a nurse and my dad…step-dad is a doctor. They own and run the free clinic down the block."
"Really? Your parents must be very giving."
"They are. My dad wanted to treat people who couldn't afford medical care. My parents brought me up to help people, and I want to do just that."
Molly stared in awe. "Are you sure Karnage is your biological father? You sound the total opposite of him!"
"If the looks don't convince you, go talk to my mother and she will. But, what about your family? You told me your connection with Karnage, but not about your family."
"My family" Molly sighed, feeling a wave of guilt. "Are you positive you want me to tell you about them? Just kidding." Molly pulled out an envelope from her satchel pocket and pulled out the pictures stored inside.
"This is me and my mother. She used to be a high-class businesswoman running Higher for Hire, but my sister does the job now. And that's my mom's boyfriend, O'Mally. That is my sister, Guinna, and her husband, Kit and my new niece and nephew, Rannie and Aaron."
"You have a big family."
"And, I'm not even done yet. This is Baloo, Kit's father and kind of my surrogate dad. He was the cargo pilot for Higher for Hire, but Kit has been for several years. Kit has been like a brother to me every since I was four. It was great when he married Guinna. And this is Wildcat, our mechanic. He's been a really good friend to me even though he's lost a few of his marbles. I think that's all."
"Who's this?" Del asked seeing there was one more picture in the envelope.
Molly grimaced. She had forgotten to take -that- picture out before she left. "Oh, him. That's my ex-boyfriend, Shawn. He dumped me a few weeks ago on graduate night because he wanted to y'know…and I wanted to wait until after marriage." She blushed, embarrassed at what she just admitted to a perfect stranger. "Anyway, I thought he really loved me, guess he didn't."
"I'm sorry. I know how it is to get dumped for that reason."
"Really?"
"I met my first girlfriend in eleventh grade. We were together for about a year until she asked for a certain 'birthday' present. I politely said I'd rather wait until marriage. She said I was too 'genteel' for her taste, and said she couldn't see me anymore."
"Wow, that sounds familiar."
"Listen, I was wondering how are you going to find Karnage? I mean, you can't possibly do it alone."
"I was going to catch a ride out of Usland Territory then see where I can go from there. I need to get into Bago-Shiloh. And what makes you think I can't do it alone? You must not have been listening earlier."
"Oh no, I was listening. It's just I can't let you go alone. I'm coming with you."
"You want to?" Molly stared at him rather shocked. She had never thought in a million years that she'd run into Karnage's lost son then have him volunteer to find Karnage with her. Del nodded then stood, leaving a tip on the table. "I do. Now let's get going. It's getting late."
* * *
Del led Molly a few blocks from the café until the neighborhood started to change into more respectable buildings. They walked into one on a corner and took the elevator to Del's apartment on the fourth floor.
"Where do you get the money to pay for this apartment and your college fee?" Molly asked, walking into the small parlors, which led to Del's great room. It was a pretty fancy place with embellished decor. Seeing this and knowing that his parents owned a free clinic, Molly figured it out. "Oh, let me guess. Your parents must be rich."
"I wouldn't say rich. I'd say well off." Del walked into his room leaving Molly in the great room.
"Well off! Geez! My family must be poor then." She heard Del laugh. She picked up a frame with a photo of his parents. His mother looked very sophisticated. "How in the world did someone like your mom meet Karnage?"
Del walked back in. "He was robbing my grandparent's mansion and she fell in love with him."
"Did he love your mom?"
"No. She hardly saw him when she was living with him. He treated her like dirt when he was around. Dang! Talk about a creep. I'm glad I wasn't raised around all that pirate life."
"Good thing you weren't. You might have turned out like him."
"That reminds me." Del picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello. James. This is Delancey. Is one of my parents there?…They're not. Where'd they go?…Dexter's. They didn't tell me that…Well, I don't have time to wait for them. Could you give them a message?…Thanks. It is: I'm going out of town for a few weeks. I'll be fine. Thanks again, James. Tell them I love them. Bye." Del hung up the phone.
"Who's James?"
"Their butler."
"Oh, a butler. Your parents must really be well off. Are you sure you'll be able to handle this search? We might get in some rough situations."
"Nonsense, Molly. I always wanted to do something adventurous even if it is searching for my astranged father."
"Adventurous wouldn't be the word for this. More like survival."
"Why are you doing this if it puts your life in danger?"
"I have a responsibility toward Karnage. I'm the only one who can get through to him. I'm the only one he'll listen to."
"I'd feel responsible too. But is it worth it?"
"What do you think? You're going with me."