Chapter Forty-one

They were totally surrounded by Giants. Jack's blood ran cold through his veins. He was more scared than he'd ever been in his entire life, yet he knew he could not reveal his fear because he was the Captain. The Captain always went down with his ship, but there wasn't any ship here, Jack told himself. I'm not gonna be the first one who rushes out there! We have to get a plan or we all shall die!

Another look at the Giants told Jack that they were not going to give him that opportunity. He wondered for a brief moment if he should hold his sword aloft and holler "charge"? Why couldn't somebody else lead? After all, he was just a man, and he didn't know everything, not by a long shot! He wasn't afraid to die, but he really didn't want to. There had to be a way out of their dilemma!

He heard Xena who stood to his right talking to Gabrielle in a soft voice. She had not let go of Gabrielle's hand since she had been rescued. What came to his ears, though, was Xena telling Gabrielle that she loved her and that life was worth living just because of Gabrielle, but if they had to die, today was a good day for it as long as they were together.

He turned to Will and kissed him. "If we have to do this thing, at least we're together. Don't take any foolish chances. If you see me go down, don't go down yourself. Keep fighting."

He reached out and pulled Brendan close. "Brendan, you've been more than a brother to me. I want you to take care of Will if something happens to me. I love both of you more than anything in the world."

Brendan knew Will didn't want to promise Jack that he wouldn't go down if he went down, and he also knew that they would not be the only ones to follow Jack. He was trying to figure out how best to answer his brother, how he might manage to reassure him without lying to him, when another voice spoke up.

"I suggest," Ororo called out, "that we hit them both high and low! We must do all we can for there is no escaping this situation!" She was usually not one to run but wanted her beloved Logan and her godchildren to be safe, a fact that now she knew to be impossible. "Hit them with everything you have, but the telepaths and trackers should try to find Jareth so that our mission is not in vain!"

She left Logan's side to rise into the sky, and her hands rose. "Cover of darkness," she called, "sweep this air! Blind our opponents, but leave us able to see!" A thick mist began spreading in the air underneath the Giants' faces, blinding them from being able to see the ground and those on it.

Seeing the gathering mist, Prue let out a sigh of relief. 'Ro was there! Things could not be all wrong as long as she was there!

The Giants, seeing their intended food disappearing, began stomping all around, hoping to get some of them. Jack took his sword and headed straight into battle, landing on one Giant's foot and sticking his sword in as far as he could to his ankle. The Giant let out a roar and slapped at Jack, but Jack had already jumped to the other foot.

Will and Brendan had followed Jack, and Brendan's sword slashed out at the hand that had tried to catch Jack even while Will's found the monster's big toe. The Giant screamed, hollered, and slapped all around his feet. He could not see whatever was down there, but he knew it had to be the food that he was pursuing. "FOOD, STOP FIGHTING ME! I BIGGER THAN YOU! TAKE LOT OF YOU TO FILL ME!"


Lorne had been searching frantically throughout the house for Blue and Cindy after giving up on the outdoors and still could find no trace of them. He finally stopped, turned, and looked at Elvira and Donkey. "All right. Spill the beans. They went through the portal, didn't they?"

Elvira whined and looked everywhere but at Lorne.

Donkey looked directly into Lorne's face. "Who?" he asked. "A lot of people went through!"

"Come off it, Donkey. You know who I'm talking about. Where is Blue, and where is Cindy?"

Donkey's eyes roamed everywhere but Lorne's face.

"You two are not in trouble," Lorne reassured them, "but if those two went through the portal, Crys will have my head for breakfast."

Elvira finally stopped looking around and looked up at Lorne. She whined to him, telling him that the others were stubborn but brave fighters and that they all should have been allowed to go with Crys. Since they hadn't been able to go with Crystal, they'd decided that they could at least protect Angel.

"Where is Angel?" Lorne asked. "I notice he hasn't been making any rounds."

Elvira yipped, reminding him that they had heard Cordelia talking to Dawn in the kitchen and letting him know that Angel's scent had last been smelled in Delvira's bedroom.

"I don't believe this!" Lorne's voice grew shrill. "Angel left guard duty, left Cordelia, and went through the portal! They didn't even ask me!"

Donkey looked at him. "They wouldn't let me go either."

"Well, I can see why you couldn't go, Donkey. You'd have only been in the way."

"Same as you, Lorne. You know you're not a fighter. I saw the way you were looking at that sword Angel gave you."

"Still, it would have been nice to have been asked and declined."

Joxer was moping around the hall. He heard Lorne deep in discussion with the two animals and Lorne's comment. He peered down the staircase at them. "You wouldn't have declined," he told him, "just like I wouldn't have. I tried to go, and the thing shut on me! But my Phoebe and your Crys both went!"

"I figured as much," Lorne said. "Angel better take care of her or I'm going to kick some Vampire butt."

"I'll help ya," Donkey offered.

Elvira was quiet. She couldn't believe the others had all gone without her.

"It gets worse," Joxer told them.

"How so?" Lorne inquired.

"They went after Giants."

"Giants!" Lorne managed to squeak out. "My Crys went after Giants! Oh my Gods!" He felt like he was going to faint but fought to hold on. "There's got to be something we can do!"

Donkey shook his head. "Wait. That's all I know. My boy is out there! Poor Will! And he was gonna give me a name too!"

"At least Crys has her ice power and Will knows how to fight," Joxer cried. "Phoebe can't do anything like that! She doesn't stand a chance!"

Lorne could no longer stand it. He sank to the floor, tears running down his face.

"Well, don't sit there crying!" Donkey told him. "Don't you think I feel like crying too?" He poked the saddest face Lorne had ever seen into his.

"Might as well cry," Lorne told him miserably. "They can't fight Giants! I didn't even get to say good-bye!"

At last, Elvira could no longer ignore the facts. Her mother, her brother, her sister . . . None of them were coming back. She collapsed in the floor next to Lorne, her voice raising in a long, sad howl.

Joxer fell on the floor beside them, crying as though his heart was breaking. "My poor Phoebe! I should have done what she asked! At least she could have taken the memory of it to her grave!" Tears fell down his face like rain.


Crystal had caught up to Angel, Blue, and Cindy but had yet to see Lorne and Elvira anywhere. She was still trying to figure out where they were and decide how best to fight the Giants when she heard Paige scream. "'RO, LOOK OUT!"

Crystal's head snapped in the girl's direction, and her eyes turned to follow the redhead's gaze. She was just in time to see a boulder hurtling at the Weather Witch. Her hands flew out, and she turned the boulder to ice. A wave of her wrist sent the boulder back in the direction it had just come from.


Cordelia, Dawn, and Jasmine had been trying to busy themselves in the kitchen with watching the food that had been left, the animals milling about their feet in hopes of gaining the food, and the children that no one else seemed to have thought of when the sounds of heavy crying and howling shattered the stillness of the air. The girls looked at each other. "What's that?" Dawn asked.

"I'll go get Simon," Jasmine volunteered.

"He's on guard duty," Cordy reminded her. "I'll go look." She again picked up the frying pan she'd kept nearby.

"Want me to go?" Dawn offered.

Cordelia shook her head. "No. You stay here for me, Dawnie," she requested, "and keep an eye on everybody and everything here." She knew Jasmine certainly didn't have the intelligence to look after an empty pot, let alone all that was gathered in the kitchen.


Katrina had taken to the air. She had a good idea where Jareth was. She flew forward, her keen eyes searching for Jareth. She located his signature and was heading for him when she was scooped out of the air by a giant hand. Crushed inside the hand, she attempted to reach her sword but couldn't. Using her telepathy, she contacted Celina. I've been taken.

Celina had never been one who liked fighting, but when her family needed her, she was always there for them. She didn't stop to wonder why Katrina chose to contact her rather than Tom but instead hovered in the air, focusing on her sister's signature and following it to a Giant. Spying the monster who held her sister, she drew upon an old spell that she had not used since the classes on Alderberan. Fire began to form in her hands, and she started throwing the balls at the Giant. Be ready, she thought to her sister. He's bound to open his hand sooner or later.

Sooner, I hope. I'm having trouble breathing in here. I can't reach my sword!

Lockheed was flying, shooting fire at various Giants, when he noticed one of the catwomen angrily focusing on one Giant in particular. He flew to her, but she did not take any notice until he cooed questioningly. "He has Katrina!" Lockheed looked at the Giant, then shot downwards like an overgrown, purple arrow straight for Kitty.

Kitty looked at her dragon and nodded. A foot stomped nearby her, but Lockheed's breath caused the Giant to snatch his burned ankle away, hollering. "KURT!" Kitty called.

"YES, KATZCHEN?" Kurt called. He had been bamfing and doing his best with his pigsticker, and although he had irritated the Giant, he had not managed to make any damage.

She cut at another Giant before phasing through a foot yet again. "I NEED YOU!"

He bamfed to her side immediately. "Vhat is it, Katzchen?"

"Katrina's been taken!" Shielding her eyes, she followed Lockheed's coos and pointed at the Giant. "She's in his hand, but we can get her out!"

"I can bamf in there and get her?" Kurt asked.

"I think he's trying to crush her, but if you take me there, I can phase and get her out."

"Good thinking, Katzchen!" He put his arms around her and bamfed, taking her straight up into the sweaty stinkiness of the Giant's hand.

Kitty wasted no time in phasing through the clenched fingers. "Katrina?" She reached a hand out for the catwoman.

Katrina grasped Kitty's hand. It was all she could manage to do. She could barely move. "Thank you, Kitty."

"Any time," Kitty said as she pulled Katrina out of the hand and reached her other hand out for Kurt's. "Now let's get out of here."

Kurt bamfed them to safety.


Cordelia entered the hall with the frying pan again at the ready and stopped still in her tracks at the sight she was met with. Donkey, Elvira, Lorne, and Joxer were all huddled in the floor, crying their hearts out. Cordelia's own heart felt dead within her chest, and she froze for a minute before managing to find her voice again. "They . . . They're not coming back, are they?"

"How can they fight Giants!" Joxer's shrill voice asked, so choked with tears that it was hard to understand him. He broke down even harder.

Lorne didn't say anything. He just shook his head sadly and continued crying.

The frying pan slipped from Cordelia's fingers as she stared hopelessly at Lorne. If even he, one of Angel's dearest friends, knew that her beloved could not return . . . He would not. The tears she'd been fighting began, and her sobs were so loud that it brought Dawn running from the kitchen. She arrived just in time to catch Cordy as she sank to her knees, and when she realized that the others were not returning, she, too, began to cry.


Tom and Morph stood in the midst of chaos, trying desperately to figure out which shape to take. Tom had not known about Katrina's situation, because she had blocked herself from him, not wanting to distract him from whatever danger he might have been in. "We could take Giants."

Tom shook his head. "Smaller's better. It'll give us more room to maneuver."

"We could fly."

"That we could," Tom agreed with a thoughtful nod. "Piss one of them off, lead it off, kick its butt . . . " Hopefully. " . . . and come back for another one."

Morph sprouted wings, and the two took to the air. "Which one?" Tom asked.

"That one," Morph pointed at one. "He's ugly."

"They're all ugly."

"Yeah," Morph agreed, "but that one's actually drooling."

"That one it is." The duo shot towards the Giant and stopped when they hovered only inches away from his face. They began giving him raspberries, and the Giant swatted at them. He missed them both, however, as they backed just out of his reach. Each time he tried to hit them, he failed but followed them off a step more.


Smee had been sitting in silence beside Frederic when he heard the crying that was so loud it appeared to be just outside his door. They were crying as though their very hearts had been broken, and he knew they were grieving . . . grieving, he realized, for those who would not return . . . like his James.

He should have known better. He should have gone with him. At least, then they could have died together for he knew James could not stand a chance against Giants. They'd finally escaped Neverland and were able to be together in the open at long last, but for what? Just so he could lose his beloved!

The tears started slipping from his eyes quickly, and soon his glasses had slipped straight off his nose. He didn't even notice, however, and instead just buried himself into Frederic. His sobs shook the room.

Frederic's eyes snapped open. For the first few minutes, he was not even sure where he was except that he was drowning in a river of tears. He tried to sit up only to find that Smee had buried himself into his chest. "Smee?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

For once, Smee didn't think about the boy's duty. Instead, he only thought of him as the last loved one he had left. His arms shot around him in a hug, and he clung to him even while wailing. "Oh, Frederic! Your father and . . . and Connor . . . They went to fight Giants!"

"Giants? Why didn't they take me? I'm ready, willing, and able to fight Giants!" His arm went around Smee in a comforting manner.

"Oh, Frederic, you don't understand!" Smee sobbed. "At least I have you left! But your father . . . Connor . . . Oh Gods, I'll never see James again!"

"Dad's DEAD!" Frederic's voice rocketed. "Connor's gone! That can't be, Smee! I'll never see them again!" He, too, burst into tears.


Xena had finally managed to climb her way to the neck of the Giant she had jumped on. She began to stick him in the neck with her sword, trying to go for the jugular vein, but it was like cutting through granite. She had used her chakram, but it had only managed to cut a very thin line, not enough to go for the main vein. She knew Gabrielle was somewhere on the Giant, because they had both jumped on him at the same time. Where was the softest spot on the Giant, she wondered, and where was Gabrielle?

Gabrielle had tried to keep up with Xena, but her lover was just too fast. She'd lost her somewhere around the Giant's foul loincloth. Pieces of rotten meat dangled around her, but she ignored them in her attempt to climb higher. The Giant took another step forward, and she saw something swinging just past the animal hide.

It works on regular men, she thought. It should work on him. She tried to reach it with her sai but barely missed. Several more attempts still proved futile, and she began to slip past the loincloth even while thinking, I don't believe I'm doing this!

Xena looked down, hoping to spot Gabrielle, but still she could not see her. There were sounds of fighting all around them. Xena hoped the others were having more luck than she was, but yet none of the Giants had fallen.

The Giant stepped again, trying desperately to stomp on the things that were biting into his feet, and its slime-encrusted sword slung straight at Gabrielle. She grimaced and fought down a scream but was ready. Her sai drove deep, and the Giant bellowed and began swatting at himself.

What the Hell! Xena thought. Gabrielle must have got him somewhere! She went back to work on his neck.

Gabrielle was still sticking him and he was still trying to knock her off when his hand finally connected. She lost her balance and fell. She did not know how long she had been falling when her fall suddenly ceased and her back connected with something soft.

"Please," a muffled voice came from underneath her, "get off of me, Gabrielle."

The blonde shook herself from the daze and rolled to her booted feet. "Sorry, Brendan."


Jasmine sat in the kitchen, waiting for Dawn and Cordelia to return, when the loud sobbing began to get to her. Tears started falling from her eyes, and soon she was crying openly though not even knowing why she cried.

Simon walked into the hall and shook his head. "What's going on here? Why's everybody crying? Where's Jasmine?"

Dawn looked at the elderly man who'd been put in charge of her, Jasmine, and Linda who was no longer with them. Her eyes were so filled with tears that she could barely make him out. "They're not coming back!"

"What do you mean they're not coming back? The Captain'll come back! Won't he? He wouldn't leave us alone on this Gods-forsaken island? Would he?"

"He doesn't have a choice!" Cordelia whimpered.

"The Giants are gonna get them!" Joxer cried. "There won't be nothing left!"

Simon burst into tears. "Captain gone! We might as well be gone! Can't live without him!" He fell on the floor, crying.


Clark had hated to leave Lex, but he had known, after his battle with the Raptors the other day, that he could inflict more damage from the air. He'd made sure that Faith was right beside his beloved before taking to the air, though, and trusted the insane girl to keep Lex safe. Now, hovering in the air, he began to concentrate. He knew how he could wreck the most damage, but he didn't know if he could control it.

Suddenly, Clark felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to meet Ororo's knowing blue eyes. "I'm right here with you, Clark. If it gets out of hand, I can douse any of the fires, and I can knock you out."

He nodded but did not waste time to thank her. Instead, he looked at the Giant that Celina was still slinging fireballs at and whose grasp she was barely managing to avoid. He began thinking of what would happen if they could not stop the Giants, and the thought of losing Lex made him burn. Fire shot from his eyes, blazing across the Giant's face.

The Giant roared in pain and slapped back at the flying insect. He missed him, however, and felt a rush of air against his hand. As Celina and Clark continued belting the Giant with fire, Ororo began pushing against him and keeping the other two safe with her winds.


Sitting in the kitchen, Julian and Sarah looked at each other. Sarah's eyes pleaded with Julian, but Julian could not lie to her. He'd heard the others and knew Clark and Lex would not be returning. As the two children began to cry, Jasmine actually managed to reach out to them. As their three voices melded into one huge sob, the cats started yowling, and the puppy began to whine.


When the attack had begun, Prue had pushed Paige and Phoebe behind her and Piper. Cole had brought up the rear, trying to keep his eyes on all the Halliwells and Carl, who seemed glued to Paige's skirts, at one time. Prue was trying with all her new found strength to knock one of the Giants backwards, but it wasn't working and instead her aim missed the Giant and hit Autolycus, making him fall off the Giant he had been sticking and straight onto Elizabeth who'd been working on its feet.

"How'd that happen?" he asked Elizabeth once she had pulled him to safety.

"I don't know," Elizabeth breathed. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Autolycus said even as he charged forward and hit the Giant in the ankle with his sword. "I must have just lost my balance."

Elizabeth didn't say anything but ran in beside him. Joxer's sword flew in her hand in a technique much similar to Will's.


Wesley heard the noise and wondered just what in the Hell was going on. A man could not even study, he told himself. I am surprised they've been quiet this long! "Fred, we had best go and see what's going on out there or we'll never get any more research done!"

She nodded and followed him out of the room. The sight that met them at the bottom of the staircase chilled her heart. "What's going on?" she called out to the criers.

Donkey looked up at Wes and Fred. "Will gone! Jack gone! It's just us now!"

"Where'd they go?" Wes asked.

"After Giants!" Cordy cried, shaking her head. "I should have known better than to let him go! I should have known something when he wouldn't promise me! And now it's too late! My Angel's dead!" She sobbed again.

Wesley shook his head as he continued down the stairs and joined the group. "What makes you think they're all dead? Giants -- " Then the word hit him! "Holy crap! Why didn't somebody ask me! I would have went! I want to see Giants! They didn't even ask me! How am I supposed to get my studies done!"

Fred threw her arms around Wesley from behind and clung to him as though she'd never let go. "No!" she told him. "Dinosaurs and Demons and everything else are one thing, but not Giants! You're not going after Giants!"

Joxer peered at Fred through his tears. He knew she had been one of Phoebe's friends and that she had a right to know. "Fred," he called miserably to her, "it's not just them."

Fred looked at Joxer for a minute, trying to figure out what he was inferring. Then she realized that none of the Halliwells were there. "They went?" He nodded. "No!" she cried. "They couldn't have!"

"That's what I thought, but they did! They didn't stand a chance!" he wailed.

"They can't be dead!" Fred protested, tears racing from her eyes and her body trembling. "Not after all this! They can't die now!"

Wesley held Fred. He could not believe that they had gone and not taken him! Jack knew he would have been interested in Giants! Why didn't he even ask him? "I wanted to go!" He started crying and added his cries to the rest.


Paige could tell that Prue was trying to hit the Giant with her powers but wasn't having any luck. "Maybe you should try using something else?" she suggested. "Like a . . . " She looked around and spotted Crystal still freezing boulders left and right. "Yeah, like a boulder! We could use a boulder and hit him . . . " Her voice cut off as a boulder flew straight at them.

Prue snatched Paige down just in time, and the boulder smashed harmlessly off on another pile of rocks. "Our powers aren't working good. Cole was right. We do have to do a lot of practicing." She wondered if Piper's powers would do any good. She looked toward her sister. "Piper, try freezing them."

"I have been, Prue," Piper spoke, her voice sounding tired, "and it's not doing any good."

"Try one," Phoebe advised from behind her. "Not all of them. That's too much. Just one." It was then that a Giant headed toward them, and Phoebe squeaked as she pointed to it. "Like that one!"

Piper's determined eyes narrowed in on the approaching Giant. She knew what would happen if they didn't find a way to stop him. He was only inches away from them, and he could swallow that up in a single step. His foot raised again, and she realized it would be coming down on at least one of them as there was no way they would all be able to avoid it. The foot didn't finish coming down, however, but hung in mid-air. Piper barely had enough time to realize that she'd succeeded when she fell. Phoebe latched onto her sister immediately.

Cole stood, staring at the Giant and forming an energy ball in his hands. It was bigger than any he had ever formed before. He only hoped it was big enough as the Giant became unfrozen and his foot came down where they had been only minutes before. Cole let go of the energy ball, and it blasted into the Giant which caused him to stagger backwards. He did not go down yet, but then a fireball came from behind even as Cole slung another energy ball. The Giant's scream split through the air as he exploded.

"YES! WE GOT ONE!" Phoebe screamed with delight.

Delvira stood in the space where the Giant had been. "Good work, Cole!" she called, then turned to vanish back into the crowd of gigantic feet and furious fighters.


Angel had finally made his way to the top of the Giant. He went to work on the neck. First, he had tried to bite him, but that didn't work. The neck was just too thick. Then he had tried to cut him with his sword in the back of the neck and had only gotten swatted for his efforts.

The giant hand made contact with Angel and knocked him down. Angel could feel himself falling but could not latch onto anything even though he tried desperately. Cordy's words echoed in his ears, and he chided himself on not being able to keep himself safe for her.

Cindy had been working on the same Giant that Angel had taken to. She hadn't paid any attention to the others who'd attacked the monster but had only focused on inflicting the most damage she could on his feet. She felt the air currents above her shift, and she looked up, expecting to find the Giant swatting at her again. She found Angel falling instead and roared in concern.

Others who'd been fighting alongside the lioness looked up, but it was Vang who shot forward. He leapt straight upwards and managed to maneuver himself so that Angel landed on his back.

"Thanks, Vang!" Angel called out even as he held tightly to the tiger whose feet hit the earth seconds later. He stood up, looked back at the Giant, and shivered at the thought of how high he had been and what he would have looked like once his body had hit the ground. "I gotta go back up there. I hate heights!" He jumped back on the Giant and began to make his way back up.

Cindy growled in frustration. The man was just as stubborn as Crys! At least, somebody had managed to save him. She looked in Vang's direction and found him gazing at her. For a moment, she forgot the fight, a slow smile spreading over her feline face. "Thank you," she growled to him.

Vang nodded. "Any time, fair lady," he replied even while launching straight into another attack.


Wolf had attempted to reach Angel when he had seen his friend fall, but even though he was on the same Giant, he had not been in time. He looked downward and saw Vang's catch. He would talk to him about it later; he really appreciated Vang coming to the rescue.

Now to return to this stinky thing! he thought. And they say Werewolves stink! I've never smelled Brendan or me either, even on a full moon, one tenth the smell that this thing has! Too bad there's no way we can use their stink to do them in!

He made his way back to where Elvira was. He could see she was still sticking the Giant with her dagger. He wondered if there was some way she could use her powers to make the Giant's stink knock them out. He called out to her, "Good day for a stick! Have you thought about using their stink on them?"

Her black eyes glanced questioningly at Wolf. What in the world was he talking about?

"They stink," he clarified, "worse than anything I've ever smelled except for that Bog! Is there any way to use their stink on them, intensify it to the point it knocks them out?"

"Smelling like this," Elvira returned, "they probably can't smell any way!"

"Just wondered," he told her even as he resumed hacking away with his sword.


They had been cutting away at the first Giant since the battle had began, and still they were getting nowhere. Faith began to wonder where she could inflict the most damage, and then the thought came to her. "Of course! He's a Giant, but he's still got a dick!"

One of the tigers looked at her. Zora liked the way the girl thought, but she didn't think she could climb the monster in tiger form. She might be able to, but even if she could, that would mean leaving Connor and Vang.

Faith didn't notice the tiger but instead looked to where Dawson and Lex were struggling valiantly. "LEX," she called, "KEEP AN EYE ON THE KID FOR ME! I'M GOING UP!"

Wolverine was on the back of the Giant that Faith was on. He could hear her down there, hollering. He didn't know what she was up to, but he had a good idea. A little distraction would be quite helpful, he thought. Snikt! Snikt! The claws were out, and he was going for the gold in the Giant's back!

The Giant's big arms reached up and began slapping at him, trying to knock him off of his back. Wolverine breathed a sigh of relief to see how off target the Giant was, coming nowhere near him when he swiped at him. Hurry up, Faith! he thought. All I need is for this bugger to start thinking about trying to crash me into a rock or something!

Faith had made sure that Lex would watch Dawson and that Salem would watch Lex before beginning to work her way up the Giant. She made slow but steady progress before finally reaching her target. Slipping past the loincloth, she found herself confronted with three things that all smelled so badly that she nearly choked. She reached out with her sword and began swiftly carving. Pieces of the Giant fell and rained down his body even as he bellowed.

The Giant's back began to look like a bloody carcass, and yet Wolverine did not feel he was about to give in. At least, not until the Giant had started grabbing for his crotch, and then Wolverine renewed his efforts. God bless yer heart, Faith! he thought. Go fer the gold every time, girl!

Faith felt the Giant's hand slapping at her, but she would let nothing deter her from her goal. Her family's lives were at stake here, and she'd be damned if she'd let any of them down. Her sword cut even swifter. Blood spewed, smacking her in the face, and still she continued cutting, hoping the others would have enough sense to get off when the Giant began to go. There was little left of the monster's reproductive organs when his hand finally struck home, slamming her between what remained.

To Be Continued . . .

Author's Note: Alex and PirateGrrl, please check your E-mail.