Disclaimer: I do not own Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars. I'm just borrowing it.

Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars: Legacy

Part 1

They say your life flashes before your eyes. They're wrong, he thought. It was slow, lingering and utterly random. He had always expected the sequence to be played chronologically, which wasn't logical at all, now that he thought about it. Thought processes are never linear, least of all in a dying mind. But then, how could any living person know that? Rigel Seven was getting gradually further away, and he was in a hurry to pick up some booty. The new boy, small, older than he looked, and with feathers as black as tar, was mopping a floor that didn't need mopping.

"Wait until they dirty it, lad. That's what I always do."

The lad scowled at the girl who had spoken. She was his own age, though taller. She had been with them some weeks, and was showing promise, or so her captain thought. The boy, as yet, he knew nothing about. He approached them. The girl saluted dutifully, and the boy looked terrified.

"What's your name, lad?"

"Tom."

"Tom, you must always address me as cap'n."

"Aye-aye, cap'n. Sorry, cap'n."

"Don't apologise. Now, young'uns, there'll be no quarrelling among ye. The Corsair Canards are all friends and allies. Have I not told ye that before, Miss Lanelle?"

"We weren't quarrelling, cap'n," the girl replied. "I was merely offering this lad some advice."

"Advice," said the captain, "is of limited value from a lass still learning. Now then, lad, your skills with a mop are of little importance. Put that down and come with me. You too, Miss Lanelle. I want to see what skills you have learnt already."

Tom proved to be as promising a student as Lanelle, perhaps more so. His young eyes were sharp, his four arms strong and his hands steady and precise. But, of course, Tom wasn't there anymore. And Lanelle? Where was she?

"Tom!"

"Tom isn't here, sir. He's been gone a long time."

It was Lanelle's voice. He was back in that accursed place. Was she there too?

"I know, lass, I know." He felt her hand on his forehead, and tried feebly to brush it away. "None of that, lass. Where is this place? Arrr! Put me in a ship, launch me into space and shoot her out from under me. I don't want to die like this."

"I know, cap'n."

"Aye, but I don't want to die like that either. There be no honour in going down with me ship at the hands of allies."

"I'm sorry, cap'n." Her voice sounded distant, and full of tears. "I'm sorry it had to be this way. You were too good to be defeated."

"You were one of the best I had the pleasure o' teaching, young Lanelle," said the captain. "You too, Tom. Why, if the pair o' ye had young'uns…"

"Cap'n!" exclaimed Tom.

"It's early for that yet," added Lanelle, winking at Tom, though he seemed not to notice.

"Are ye ready for this?" their captain asked.

"Aye," the two rookie pirates said together.

"We'll be on board in a matter of minutes. Now remember, the skills you've learned are for defence only. If ye fire your weapons, ye be not shoot'n' to kill."

"We know there's honour among the Corsair Canards, cap'n," said Tom. "That was the first lesson you taught us. They're innocent people on that there cruiser."

"Whatever we take," said the captain, "they can afford to lose. Be not soft hearted, young Tom. No one is foolish enough to carry more than they can afford to lose."

Tom nodded. "Nay, cap'n. Only their lives."

The captain smiled in spite of himself. "You're too good, Tom. Too good."

"What, cap'n?" asked Lanelle.

"Tom," the captain smiled blithely. "He was too good… to good… That's why it happened."

"Aye," Lanelle said, her voice shaking. It was barely a whisper. "I know."

"'Tis no good crying for me, lass. Dry your eyes now. Ah, 'twas a fine raid, your first. You remember? You did me proud, lass."

"I remember."

"Tom was just too good…"

x x x

"That's got to be another fifty double bubbles tagging on at the back!" exclaimed Bucky O'Hare, a pink-eyed green rabbit and captain of the frigate Righteous Indignation, which just happened to be under attack. "Jenny, we need more speed!"

"I'm not sure the engines can take it, Bucky!" Even as she said it, however, First Mate Jenny – a cat from the cult known as Alderbaran – increased the power of the struggling engines.

"This is insane!" said Bucky. "Why so many? They've been hot on our tail since we left Orwell!"

"They must have realised we're on our way to Genus," said Jenny. "I expect they want to stop our plans before we have a chance to carry them out."

"Hmm." Bucky looked thoughtful. "That looks like practically the Air Marshal's entire fleet after us – and that's a lot of trouble to go to just on a hunch. There's no reason to assume the toads haven't intercepted our communications. I'd be prepared to bet that they know exactly why we're going to Ge- "

He was cut off as the Righteous Indignation took what felt like a severe hit.

"Perhaps they do," said Jenny. "And look at all this effort to stop us – Komplex must be worried. Doesn't that mean there's something to find?"

"From his point of view, he can't be too careful," said Bucky, just as the little android Blinky clambered urgently into the cockpit.

"Captain O'Hare! AFC Blinky reporting!" Blinky stated the obvious. "Dire emergency, captain! Toad double bubbles in hot pursuit! Engines overheating!"

"I'll call Willy," Jenny said at once.

Somewhat inconveniently, the Righteous Indignation's engineer Willy DuWitt resided in San Francisco, Earth – in a completely separate time and space from the Aniverse. He was an adolescent boy genius who had succeeded in building a fully functional photon accelerator in his room; it worked so well, in fact, that it had created a trans-dimensional portal leading straight to the Righteous Indignation. It had also been catalytic in sending Bruce, berserker baboon and the ship's engineer, into another world, but fortunately Willy had the necessary knowledge and skills to step into his position.

Jenny was able to contact Willy using the Alderbaran Memory Stone she had created for him. It worked on a kind of magic that very few people understood, least of all Willy – but the fact remained that it did work, and that was good enough for him. While Jenny closed her eyes, tipped back her head and attempted to make contact with Willy, Bucky tried to get a message through to Genus, to let his bosses know that the ship was under attack and therefore likely to arrive a little late… if at all.

"This is Captain Bucky O'Hare of the Righteous Indignation!" he announced. "Do you read me? Don't say communications are down… Jenny, did you get through?"

His question was answered when a flash of light and a static sound from the deck below announced the manifestation of Willy's door. Bucky jumped to his feet and descended two rungs of the ladder that led down to engineering, where Blinky and Bruce's brother Bruiser were greeting the new arrival.

"Willy!" Bucky exclaimed. "Thank you for getting here so quickly. We're on our way to Genus and every toad in this sector is trying to stop us. Can you get those engines working well enough to get us there?"

"I'll try," said Willy, getting to his knees; the panel that allowed him access to the ship's engine was placed uncomfortably low.

"We think the toads have intercepted communications – not that it matters now that those are down too. I want you to work on that when we get to Genus, and Jenny and I are with the Creators."

"Yes, captain."

"Good luck."

"Wow, this engine took a really good hit," said Willy, as he set to work. "Blinky, how long until we reach Genus?"

"At our current rate of progress," said Blinky, "ETA approximately seven minutes."

"Seven minutes." Willy breathed out. "We should be all right flying for seven minutes."

"There are many toad double bubbles in close pursuit," Blinky pointed out.

Willy nodded grimly. "So Bucky said. Let's just hope they miss. Why are we going to Genus to see the Creators? Have they made some kind of breakthrough?"

"Ah-ha," said Bruiser. "We don't know what it is, though. They wouldn't tell us nothin' over the radio."

"Wise," said Willy, "if you think communications have been intercepted."

"Them toads know something all right," a new voice cut in, and Willy looked up to see Deadeye Duck, the one-eyed and four-armed ship's gunner, ex-space pirate and the closest friend Willy had made in the Aniverse. "Welcome aboard, matey."

"Hi, Deadeye."

"Arrr, whose idea was it to build a ship without guns on the bow? If there's something in pursuit, you're helpless! On the Iron Vulture we could shoot at enemies from front, back, side – anywhere!"

Willy, still working away, cocked an eyebrow. "Your old pirate ship?"

"Yeah," Deadeye smiled wistfully. "I been thinking about her a lot lately."

"Friend Deadeye has been missing his old shipmates?" enquired Blinky.

"Maybe," said Willy, "if the Creators really have done it, you could go back to them. I mean, as soon as we have a way to shut Komplex down for good, we'll use it. Then the toad empire will dissolve – we hope – and after that, what's to keep you here?"

"Friends," said Deadeye. "After the war's over, we always planned to find Bruce and bring him back. I have thought about it though, laddie."

"Komplex is still strong," Blinky pointed out. "Humble android suggest finding way to destroy Komplex before making plans. At least," he added, his voice rising a tone in pitch as the ship took another hit, "let us see if we reach Genus intact."

Though their attackers were persistent, the Righteous Indignation didin fact reach Genus with all its crewmembers unharmed. Bucky and Jenny went to meet with the Creators, extremely curious as to what they were about to learn, while Willy stayed with the Righteous Indignation to work on the engine. Deadeye, Bruiser and Blinky kept him company while he worked, ardently discussing what might happen if the Creators really had figured out at last how to take Komplex apart.

"If we can pull him apart," said Bruiser, fists balled in anticipation, "and finish off all them toads and end the war, we can go find my brother!"

"Aye, matey – he's waited long enough," agreed Deadeye.

Willy's mind, however, was very much in the present. "Don't get ahead of yourselves," he cautioned. "We've all seen how eager the toads are to stop us from… from winning, I guess." He had no idea how specifically they were going to do that, even if the Creators had found a way. "This engine took a pretty good hit. I'm almost done, but I have a feeling it's gonna be back in that state pretty soon after we leave."

"This planet is well guarded," Blinky pointed out. "Ship Righteous Indignation probably will not leave protection of Genus until urgent mission is required."

Willy nodded. "True. And we don't want to get too far away from HQ, I suppose, if we're worried the toads have intercepted communications. Speaking of which, Bucky said he wanted me to look at the communications console. I'm about done here – let's get up to the cockpit."

He rose to his feet and ascended towards the cockpit, closely followed by his three companions.

"Willy?" ventured Bruiser, as Willy pulled a panel off the communications console and began squinting at the tangle of wires inside. "If the war ends, does that mean we won't need the Righteous Indignation no more?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Bruiser."

"Friend Bruiser makes good point," Blinky remarked. "The United Animals' Coalition may take back frigates Righteous Indignation and Indefatigable if war ends, and crew will be dispersed to other positions."

"Blinky," said Willy. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it."

"It could be on the horizon, laddie," Deadeye said sagely. "Don't ye never think about the future?"

"Not right now, Deadeye. If the toads have intercepted communications, we should probably start coding our frequencies or something. I don't know… I thought they were pretty secure… maybe the toads have found out what we're up to some other way."

"What we're up to?" Deadeye cocked an eyebrow. "I sure wish they'd tell us."

"This won't be difficult to fix," said Willy. "In fact…"

It was a simple case of fusing a few wires together, and then reattaching the panel. Willy switched on the console, wondering whom he could contact in order to test it, but his problem was solved when a female voice at once buzzed urgently through the speakers: "Righteous Indignation, this is the Iron Vulture. Do you read me? Please respond…"

Deadeye stepped forward. "Lanelle?" he asked incredulously.

"Deadeye, there you are," Lanelle's voice came back to him, relieved. "I've been trying to reach you for the past hour."

"The ship took some damage, lassie. What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"I'm sorry, Deadeye," Lanelle said sadly. "I've got some bad news. Old Man Flipper died this afternoon."

x x x

The Creators, Doctors Hopkins, Croakley and Wartimer, were kept in a secure facility surrounded by heavily armed guards. They didn't like to think of themselves as being "kept"; but as a nervous little bush baby called Retina led Bucky and Jenny through electrified fences and coded doors, they both thought that this situation looked little or no different from the prison ship in which the Creators had spent the last hundred years of their lives (some of that time they had spent cryogenically frozen).

Admittedly the facilities were a little more comfortable here than on the prison ship. Bucky had once been on board an exact replica of that ship, created by the Toad Air Marshal with the help of a matter transmutor; certainly there had been no hi-tech laboratory like the one on Genus. In this lab the Creators spent most of their days, trying to discover a way of destroying their creation, Komplex.

"Captain O'Hare, First Mate Jenny – welcome!" Dr. Hopkins smiled warmly, shaking hands with each of them in turn while Retina hovered near the doorway.

"Um, hello," Dr. Croakley added nervously. "It was, um, very good of you to come."

"We're lucky we made it," said Bucky. "We were chased by toad double bubbles all the way from Orwell. We think they must know something about why we're here."

"Likely," Dr. Wartimer cut in. He coughed violently, and then went on, "We've hacked into Komplex."

Jenny looked astonished. "You've hacked into Komplex?" she echoed.

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Wartimer returned irritably. "Before we can figure out how to take him apart, we need a copy of our original blueprints. Well, we got 'em. Komplex was never gonna let anybody see them, except maybe Toadborg, but he'd have to be pretty stupid to destroy them in case he ever malfunctioned. So we figured he'd keep them somewhere in his system."

"And we were right," Hopkins concluded. "But we would never have been able to hack into Komplex without him knowing about it. There have been several attempts on this place since we hacked in, but fortunately the security system seems to be as reliable as we're told."

Bucky frowned. "You knew we'd be followed here."

"I'm sorry about that," said Hopkins. "They must have been watching out for your ship – we didn't know they'd do that."

"We should have thought of it," Croakley added sheepishly. "Sorry, captain."

"Are you all right, Dr. Wartimer?" asked Jenny, as the elderly toad emitted another stream of throaty coughs.

"I'm old," said Wartimer. "This is what happens when you get old, sweetheart. Now look, we have several copies of the blueprints. There's one in every safe hiding place on Genus."

"We've also requested that Commander Dogstar bring the Indefatigable here so that he can keep a copy on board," Hopkins took up the commentary. "And the fox's vessel… the, um, Screaming Mimi."

"How she became a captain so quickly with no proper training I'll never understand," muttered Jenny.

Hopkins either didn't hear her, or he ignored her. He went on in his cool, unruffled manner, "But no hiding place is that safe. Komplex will destroy as many of the copies as he can get his hands – er – his minions' hands on. Genus is secure, but nowhere is that secure. Except for one place. Well, perhaps several, but only one we have access to. Or, more accurately, you have access to."

Bucky raised his eyebrows. "You mean Willy's dimension."

"The toads don't have access to it, do they?" asked Croakley.

"No," Bucky said thoughtfully. "I suppose they've figured out that Willy is from another dimension… unless they think he's some kind of mutated baboon. But I don't know about asking him to hide the blueprints in his world. I don't want to put an entire foreign dimension in danger."

"The toads wouldn't have to know," persisted Hopkins. "Why, you could walk out of here now with two copies. Let Willy hide one in his dimension, and let the toads steal the other from the Righteous Indignation. Then they would believe your copy was safely in their hands – it probably wouldn't occur to them that you had another."

Jenny looked doubtful. "Are all of the toads that naïve?"

Bucky shook his head. "Not Komplex. Nor Toadborg, come to that."

"They don't have access to Willy's dimension," said Hopkins, "and they have no knowledge of how to gain it."

"We gained access by accident," Bucky pointed out.

"Right," Wartimer said dryly. "What are the chances of that happening again? Look, captain, your Willy is extremely smart – as smart as us, even. He could take the blueprints home, study them at his leisure and figure out how to take Komplex apart without the lousy scumbag even knowing about it."

"You're right," sighed Bucky. "We have to do this. But remember that Willy is just a child, no matter what his intellect. If Komplex should gain access to his dimension, I'm going to order Willy to hand over the blueprints right away. I see no reason why Komplex should have any designs on that dimension if he has what he wants from it – and goodness knows we don't want Willy's world turning into one giant war zone run by computers."

"I quite agree," said Hopkins. "Of course Willy must surrender the blueprints if his world is in danger, but for the good of the Aniverse, I think we must risk it."

x x x

Over the years Genus had become very much industrialised, but the Righteous Indignation had landed close to a pleasant garden area in which the staff of the United Animals' Coalition enjoyed their lunch breaks. The garden had been copiously planned and planted: there were benches, neat flowerbeds and an impressive fountain making a nice centrepiece to the whole area.

It was on the edge of this fountain that Deadeye sat, gazing at his own reflection with his one good eye, thinking of how things might have been if he had stayed with the Corsair Canards. He would have been pardoned by now, along with the rest of them, and he could go home if he wanted to – to Kenopus Three. It wasn't really natural, he supposed, for a duck to spend so much of his life away from the water. But of course, he couldn't make any plans while there was still a war to fight.

Willy's reflection appeared behind his. Deadeye smiled slightly at the inevitable cliché.

"Hey there, Will."

"Do you want me to go?"

Deadeye shook his head.

Willy sat down on the edge of the fountain beside him. "Who was he?"

"My cap'n on the Iron Vulture."

"Ah."

"He taught me everything I know."

Willy raised his eyebrows, causing his glasses to slide down the bridge of his nose. "Everything?" he asked.

"Well," said Deadeye. "Perhaps not everything."

"I'm sorry, Deadeye."

"Well, lad, no sense being sorry he's dead. Comes to us all, don't it – and he had more'n his time. He must'a' been… I don't know… old. It wasn't the death he wanted, laddie. Like all good cap'ns, he wanted to go down with his ship. But he was too good to be defeated, and he grew old." He paused. "He never wanted to grow old. They retired him a little while after… after I left. Or so I heard. Ha." He smiled slightly. "I sure didn't expect Lanelle to be cap'n of the Vulture. Should'a' done, though. He always said it'd be me, but after I left…"

"You could have been captain?"

"Maybe."

"So why'd you leave?"

"Why do you think, laddie? The Aniverse was in chaos. Still is. I couldn't joyride all over space stealing off innocent animals with that going on under me beak. It was a hard decision. There was always a danger I'd… I wonder if he ever forgave me."

"Who? Your captain?"

Deadeye nodded.

"I'm sure he understood why you did it."

"Well." Deadeye looked up for the first time since Willy had joined him. "You remember Redjack? 'It's unnatural for pirates to be honest!' Cap'n Flipper was of that mode of thinking. He must know I was responsible for the treaty."

"Didn't he care?" Willy asked gently. "About other animals, and about the safety of the Aniverse?"

"Oh, aye, laddie." Deadeye looked down at his reflection once again. "He cared."

x x x

The more Tom heard about the Toad Wars, the more he wished he could help. Their leader, this Komplex, was growing ever more powerful and entire worlds were being enslaved virtually every day. Or so Tom had heard. Life on board the Iron Vulture was claustrophobic. The Corsair Canards saw a great deal of the Aniverse, but only in fleeting glimpses, and from a distance.

Lanelle found Tom below decks, gazing through a porthole.

"We're gaining on the gazelles' liner," she said. "Cap'n Flipper wants us all up on deck now."

Tom turned to face her. "All right, I'm on me way."

"Good. There'll be plenty of time for star gazing later, when we've shared out the booty."

"I was looking at the planets," said Tom. "Wondering…"

"Wondering what?"

"How many the toads have taken over. It's an ugly thought, ain't it? Not being free."

Lanelle looked past him, to the porthole through which he had been gazing. The Aniverse stretched out before them, just waiting to be explored.

"We ain't so free," she said. "There be a price on all our heads."

Tom nodded slowly. "If we stop to rest, we're dead."

"That's a kind of imprisonment."

"A better kind."

"Don't fret for them poor beasts, Tom. Ain't nothing you can do for 'em. Let's go."

Tom went with her, still thinking of the enslaved planets. He wondered whether the toads had any designs on Kenopus Three, his home world… his home world in theory. But how could it be his home planet when he had never even been there? He had hatched on Rigel Seven, and spent his infanthood there until he was old enough to be taken on board the Iron Vulture. He could never visit his home planet, or defend it from the toads, should the need arise. As soon as he strayed from the Vulture, he would be caught, and he knew that the authorities would not be lenient, regardless of his intentions. He had heard stories of pirates who were caught and punished – stories that had terrified him as a duckling.

Gazelles are nervous creatures, and they all jumped a foot in the air when the Corsair Canards burst in on their four-course dinner. This was a pleasure cruise, devised to make a profit from vacationing families. Captain Flipper, Tom knew, would have no qualms about robbing wealthy gazelles. Their home planet was rich in precious metal – whatever these gazelles had on their ship they could definitelyafford to lose.

"Quiet down, all of ye!" bellowed Captain Flipper. "If ye hand over all your valuables then nobody gets hurt. Fear not, young'uns – we'll soon be on our way."

He spoke in kindly tones to the young fauns cowering behind their mothers, but Tom suspected it would do little to reassure the poor little things. They didn't know that they were safe from harm, or that it would soon be over.

Tom kept away from the young ones. He approached a middle-aged female gazelle swathed in jewellery, and said calmly, "Them rings will do for a start."

"Oh, you beast!" she wailed, slipping the rings off her fingers. Tom held out two hands to receive them, and bundled them into his swag bag. He wondered what anyone could possibly want with so many rings. She still hadn't removed them all. There was one left, and she was tugging desperately at it, crying with frustration.

"I think it's stuck," remarked Tom.

The gazelle nodded. "I haven't taken it off in twenty years. I suppose I've grown."

"Is it special?"

"It's my wedding ring."

"Well keep it, lassie – what do you think I am? Anyways it's not coming off today."

She looked astonished.

"What?" asked Tom.

"I've heard tales of pirates who would hack off fingers to take the rings from them."

"What? We would never…!"

Tom was mortified. Everyone knew the Corsair Canards were robbers, but surely it was common knowledge that they never hurt anybody except in self-defence. He was distracted, however, when he heard the voice of a new recruit close behind him.

"Now then, sweetheart, just give me your pendant and we'll leave ye alone."

Tom turned and saw Redjack, a blue-feathered duck with a short temper, looming over a frightened little gazelle girl. She was small, skinny and wide-eyed, holding desperately onto the pendant that hung from her neck.

"Redjack," Tom said quietly, pulling him away. "She's only a young'un."

"Her daddy will buy her a new one twice as good when she gets home."

"She's terrified!"

"Well of course she is. It's our job to scare people, Tom."

The squabble was interrupted when something hit the ship and it began to rock violently, spilling the gazelles' nice dinner and expensive cutlery onto the floor. With lightning reflexes Tom drew two pistols, in the same moment catching sight of the attacking vessel through the nearest porthole.

"It's a toad war ship!" he exclaimed. "What are those slimy wart bags doing here?"

He realised, of course, that the toads must have some kind of design on these gazelles. They were renowned for enslaving every race of animals they could get their hands on. True, they generally preferred to conquer entire planets at a time, but a poorly defended cruise ship filled with rich gazelles should have been no trouble at all for them. Evidently they had seen the ship and decided to take the opportunity, but somehow they had managed to miss the Iron Vulture.

A bright pink laser beam made short work of the wall opposite the one the Corsair Canards had already cut their way through. The loosened chunk of metal was kicked in, and a small battalion of heavily armed storm toads charged onto the ship.

"C-c-c-commander!" one exclaimed, almost immediately, when he caught sight of the hostile looking pirates. "It's the Corsair Canards!"

"What?" a voice snapped irritably, and a squat toad soldier pushed his way to the front of the throng. He looked annoyed at the delay, until he locked eyes with Captain Flipper. At this, the toad's face fell and his eyes widened. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice shrill with sheer incredulity. "These are supposed to be my slaves!"

"These are no one's slaves, Commander," Flipper snarled menacingly. "Turn round and get back on your ship."

"I can't!" the toad protested. "Komplex will kill me!"

Tom took a step forward, furious to think that these toads would happily enslave entire families, children and all. "Not if we kill you first!" he shouted.

The Toad Commander scowled. "Look, duck, we've no argument with you. We're not even after the same thing here. You just go back to your ship with their riches, and let us do what we came to do."

Tom took a further two steps forward. "What do you think we are?" he demanded shrilly. "Get your slimy asses outta here! Now!"

"If ye want to live, that is," added Flipper, drawing up beside Deadeye, pistols in two of his four hands.

"C-c-c-commander," said the same nervous storm toad that had first pointed out the ducks' presence. "These are the Corsair Canards. P-p-p-perhaps we'd better - "

"Nonsense," snapped the Toad Commander. He turned to his army. "Don't just stand there, you cretins! Deal with these feathered fools!"

Tom's first instinct was to step in front of the nearby faun whose pendant Redjack had been attempting to steal. Having done so, he caught sight of a storm toad approaching from his left. Before the toad even realised that he had been spotted, Tom had shot the gun from his hand. The toad was momentarily stunned, and stood staring at his emptied hand, amazed and relieved that he had escaped injury. Tom, meanwhile, had disarmed a storm toad approaching from the right. All around him, ducks and toads were engaged in battle, the former trying to avoid injury to the cowering fauns and the latter not caring.

"I never miss," Tom said menacingly. "Keep away from this here young'un or it'll be your heads."

The toads had more troops on board their ship, just some of which the Toad Commander summoned when too many of his toads were disarmed, wounded or killed. Tom was surrounded, as were all of the other Corsair Canards.

"You're outnumbered!" he heard the Toad Commander's voice proclaim, somewhere in the room. "Give up and leave while you still can!"

Tom knew they wouldn't do that. Still clutching his pistols, his fingers tightened on the triggers. Then he heard something that made him look round anxiously: the voice of Redjack, shouting out, "Lanelle!"

Panic coursed through Tom. What had happened to her? Was she wounded, dead or just in trouble? The distraction was costly. The pistols were kicked from Tom's hands, and he found himself pinned to the floor by two storm toads. Another two came to help them, and between them they held down all four of Tom's arms.

"You never miss, huh?" one said menacingly. "Let's see how tough you are after we're through with you!"

What happened next, Tom could never remember with much clarity. He just remembered the overwhelming fear as the butt of the toad's rifle descended towards his left eye, as though in slow motion. At least, that was how he remembered it. In reality, it had all happened too quickly. Tom's eyes snapped instinctively shut as the great weight bore down upon him. The pain made him cry out; it was intense, but over in seconds. He braced himself for the assault on his right eye, but it never came. Someone pulled the toads away from him. He lay still for barely a second, and then tried to get up. The vision in his remaining eye was blurred, and his head swam.

"You have to get up, lad," Flipper's voice said urgently. "You'll be crushed underfoot."

"Tom!" It was Lanelle's voice. He heard her rushing towards him, and was overcome with relief that she was all right. "Oh, Tom…"

Her mortified expression began to clear in front of his good eye. Tom got to his feet, swayed uncertainly and grabbed onto Lanelle with all four hands. She held his arms, and he felt someone else's steadying hands on his shoulders. He knew they must belong to Captain Flipper.

"Take him back to the ship, Lanelle," ordered Flipper.

"Nay, cap'n." Tom shook his head, which sent a burning pain shooting through his skull. "It's all right. I'm all right. I can go on."

However it was a long time before he felt able to let go of Lanelle's arms. He heard the sounds of battle surrounding him, but was helpless to defend himself.

"That needs cleaning up!" a female voice said authoritatively. Tom recognised it as belonging to the gazelle whose wedding ring he hadn't stolen. "Come with me, son."

He was dragged across the room and, in spite of his protests, the gazelle began administering first aid to his mutilated eye. All she could do was clean and dress the wound. That eye would never be of any use to him again, he knew.

"I see half as well," he said quietly. "I see you right in front of me and I probably couldn't hit you."

"Hit me?" the gazelle said briskly. "What do you mean, hit me? Why would you want to hit me? Does that hurt?" she added, as she mopped the blood from his face.

"Aye, lassie. That hurts."

The room was awash with bright lasers flying in all directions. Soon they overwhelmed everything in Tom's limited sight, and became flashes of colour swimming in front of his remaining good eye. He screwed it shut, and turned his head from the violent scene.

x x x

A spy sprinted into a bathroom and locked the door behind him. He looked furtively around, just to make absolutely sure he was alone, and then whipped out a handheld communications console.

"Come in, Negator, this is Retina," said the little bush baby.

"Ah, Retina – how's my favourite little traitor?" the smooth tones of Al Negator purred through the speakers.

"I've got information for you, Al. Those toads better pay up."

"Don't worry, Retina – they always do. Tell me what you know and I'll get us our simoleans."

"All right. Komplex is right: they do have his blueprints. They've made several copies, and hidden them in all the secure places they have."

"All of which the toads could have guessed," said Al. "So predictable."

"I know," said Retina. "There's more. There's one hiding place they don't think the toads will even think of, never mind access. You know about that thing Willy – the weird mammal that works for O'Hare?"

"Yes." Al's voice darkened. "The pink-skinned baboon who gave me all those useless willies. Well, what of him?"

"He's from another dimension. Did you know?"

"I suspected as much, and I should say the toads do too."

"They're giving this Willy a copy of the blueprints to hide in his own dimension."

"Hmm." Al was silent for a few moments. "That's very good, Retina. We might as well get on ahead with this assignment – I know what Toadborg will want next."

"A way to gain access to this other world?" the bush baby hazarded.

"Indeed, Retina – very clever. You find out how those mammals do their dimension jumping, and I guarantee that the toads will pay us very handsomely indeed."

To be continued…