Chapter Four
Strife bounced several times before skidding across the pile of ice and snow He had fallen into. He finally came to rest when He hit a tree. Stars circled His head. Damn the exits! He thought. Unc gets worse every day!
Why did He send Me here, Strife wondered, and what kind of help can I find here? Well, the first thing I need to do is to get Myself upright. He did not like His butt and legs being rammed against the tree. He was thankful it had missed His most vital area, even if by only mere inches. He struggled for a moment and then sat upright, looking around.
His surroundings were even more bleak and dismal than He had thought at first. He stood up, brushing the snow off of His clothes. "HELLO? ANY ONE HERE IN THIS GODS-FORSAKEN HOLE?" He called only to have His voice echo back to Him. "No, I didn't think so," He said aloud and began to walk in a northerly direction, hoping to soon come across some one who could tell Him where He was.
Gabrielle had planned to attack Callisto at the first opportunity she got away from the others, but she had not had the chance as Callisto had kept her gun pointed against her back until they had reached The Harlot's railing. Then, before Gabby had even had a chance to think, Callisto had struck the butt of her pistol across the back of her head. Gabby had been knocked out cold, and Callisto had carried her with her as she swung over to her own ship.
Once her feet were firmly back on the Saucy Wench's deck, Callisto called out to her crew. "We'll go three at a time, in order of rank, to collect our chosen bounty! Lilah, Darla, and I have been; Roxanne, Dantalian, and Elektra will go next! Sorceress," she added, looking at Dantalian, "tell the others when the lot of you return." Without another word, she carried her prisoner to her cabin and shut the door behind them.
Darla watched the others for a minute before spying her partner. She waved her over, and Drusilla approached with a smile. She raised her hands to run over Angel's and Connor's faces. "I see you've already gotten ours."
Both Angel and Connor snatched their faces away from Dru while giving her a go-to-Hell look.
Drusilla tisked in the back of her throat and was about to make a comment when Darla interrupted her thoughts. "Yes," she told her, "I have, but when you go, and you will be in the next group, there's a little blonde in leather I want you to collect."
"A blonde?" Drusilla repeated in surprise. "I don't recall seeing any blonde guys . . . "
"Not a guy," Darla informed her with a grin. "A girl. Seems our little boy has a bit of a pet himself."
Drusilla's eyes lit up. "Ooh!" she crooned.
Connor hoped and prayed that somebody else would pick Zora before Drusilla got to her. If Dru got her, none of them would ever make it out alive.
Angel ached to knock Drusilla off of her feet and to kill both Darla and Dru before they ever touched Connor and Zora. He had been watching constantly for a chance, but so far none had presented itself. He did not want Zora to be taken by the idiot Vampire either. She didn't have many brains left to her, but what she did were totally enraptured by torture. He clenched his hands, aching to put them around her throat.
Once outside, Jack took stock of who was actually there and realized that one was still missing. He yelled up toward the window of Prue's room, "JOXER, MOVE IT! WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASTE!"
Joxer threw the window open. "CAN'T FIND IT! I CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT IT!"
"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, JOXER?" Jack asked.
"THE BOOK! PHOEBE TOLD ME NOT TO LEAVE WITHOUT THE BOOK!"
Jack wondered, Where would somebody hide a book, and was about to ask when Elvira hollered up. "CHECK THE MATTRESS!"
Joxer disappeared from the window and was back seconds later. "GREAT IDEAL! FOUND IT!" He was turning to leave when he tripped over the curtain's hem and tumbled out the window, heading straight for Jack who didn't manage to get out of the way in time but fell to the ground under Joxer's weight.
The collision temporarily knocked the air out of Jack, and it took him a minute to respond. Joxer lay like one dead, and Jack pushed at him. "Get off of me, Joxer! I swear, man, you couldn't walk a straight line without falling!"
"Sorry, Captain," Joxer mumbled as he rolled off of Jack and got to his feet, hiding the Book inside his shirt.
"Let's go," Jack told the group, and they headed out once again to the incoming ships.
Roxanne did not wait for the others but swung over to The Harlot. She had decided to keep the catwoman for herself and had already sedated her, and she was now sleeping on her cot. She hoped that the finger would not cause an infection and wished that she had more powerful medicine to deal with it. She still could not believe that that idiot Anamaria had cut the girl's finger off for no reason except to hear her scream. She was extremely glad that she did not serve under Anamaria all the time or she just might have found a way to end the Captain's life as she was such a bitch. She did not want any one else to get the other catwoman and hoped to claim her, as well.
Anamaria looked up as Roxanne entered. "Where are the others? I am getting tired of waiting for them." She did not like Roxanne any more than Roxanne liked her as she thought the doctor was much too soft.
"Keep your pants on," a brunette informed the other Captain who she, too, was glad was not her own. "We're right behind her."
"The doctor shall choose first," Anamaria said. "Roxanne, who do you choose, and where is the catwoman who you took?"
"I choose the catwoman who I took and the other catwoman," she pointed at Katrina, "as it seems that somebody has already taken the catman. I would have liked to have had the pair so that I could conduct experiments on them and see what the difference is."
"Pick another," Anamaria informed her in a cold voice, "or take your one and leave."
"I'll take the other male that was with the catwomen and do my experiments on him." She reached out, snapped a leash on Katrina's collar and then one on Morph's, and led them both out of the cage. She did not wait on the others but headed back, forcing the two to lead.
"It's your turn, Belladonna," Anamaria informed her own doctor.
The blonde stepped forward so that her green eyes could better peer into the cage and examine what was left. "I'll take him," she pointed at a mustached man who stood close to another blonde, "and . . . " Her finger trailed through the air as she tried to make her decision. Her gaze was caught by the shifting skirts of a redhead, and she pointed at Paige. ". . . her."
"Very well," Anamaria agreed with a nod of her head.
Belladonna was just about to reach for Paige when a short man hurtled out from under the girl's skirts. "You can't have her!" he announced, his tiny hands balled into fists. Belladonna did not bother with a verbal reply; instead, she merely kicked Carl out of the way, grabbed Paige and Autolycus, and hurled them out.
Autolycus tried to break his and Paige's fall but only succeeded in grabbing her to him and both of them getting cut by their arm collars. He managed to get to his feet and helped her to stand, as well. He did not look back at Elizabeth as he did not want to draw more attention to her. He feared he would never see her again.
Paige did dare to glance back at Carl, and her gaze was met with Phoebe's. Phoebe had rushed to Carl to check on him when he had slammed into the wall. "I'll watch him," she mouthed to Paige. As long as I can.
When they arrived at the shoreline, they saw that the Frolicking Monkey had already put a plank down so that they could walk aboard. Jack saw Ace rush toward them, spin around, drop his pants, and let his rear do the talking as he greeted them. Jack could not help but laugh. Ace Ventura will never change! he thought.
Though Jack found Ace's antics humorous, several gasped at his rudeness. "You better get those pants back on!" Elvira exclaimed even as Delvira began to form a fireball.
"You're facing royalty, you know?" Delvira added coldly.
"Royalty?" Ace quipped. "Where's royalty?" He wondered when Jack had become royalty. He did pull his pants back up and turned around to greet them only to find a fireball being bounced up and down. "Who's royalty?" he asked again.
"I am," Delvira replied through gritted teeth, "but no woman should have to look at a man's butt if they don't want to! You show that ugly thing off again and I'll burn it off!"
"Ouch!" Ace declared. "Welcome to the Frolicking Monkey! Your Captain is Kat O'Hara; I'm the First Mate!" He grinned proudly.
Jack reached out and shook Ace's hand. "I'm surprised to see that Kat's still putting up with you, Ace."
"She loves me, Jack." He peered anxiously over his shoulder to make sure Kat didn't hear him. "Some of you might want to go over to Destiny's Ghost. That is, if you don't like animals. Most of our crew's still animals although we do have three human friends aboard."
"Who did you find to sign up with you?" Jack inquired. He looked inquisitively at Ace.
Ace grinned at him. "Two somebodies you know and one you don't. We have aboard Hansel, and of course, you know Fonzie."
Jack nodded. He remembered staying at their inn in Tortuga and wondered where Derek was. "Derek didn't join?"
Ace shook his head. "You could say Hansel joined because of Derek." They were walking up the gangplank to the ship and, once aboard, Jack turned to Ace. "So Derek's here too?"
"No . . . but Hansel is here because . . . Well, we're going after Derek." Ace was never one for giving a straight-forward answer, and Jack felt that pulling information out of him was like pulling teeth out of a hen.
Kat could tell that Jack was getting frustrated with Ace and couldn't blame him. After all, Gods knew it was a wonder she managed to rein in her temper where Ace was concerned as much as she did. She had watched them from the gangplank but only now spoke up. "What Ace is tryin' tae say, Jack, is that the same bitches who took yer people also took Derek. Seems that one Captain -- Anamaria I think her name is -- has been tryin' tae get her hooks on ye fer some time."
"You can say that again and I've managed to elude her every time, but this time, she's outsmarted me. She's got my family, and I've got to get them back. Speaking of which, part of them seem not to have followed me. I'll see which ones are wanting to come on the Frolicking Monkey. I think Ace shocked them."
"Wouldn't be surprised," Kat agreed with him even as her emerald eyes cut daggers into Ace. "I told ye tae keep yer pants on! Ye're lucky that one did nae roast yer butt!"
"Aw, Kat! Now, honey, you know that's one of my best features," Ace spoke pleadingly to his love, "and I promise to keep my pants on while the ladies are aboard if they want to come."
"I'll tell them," Jack said and walked over to the top of the gangplank. "If you want to sail with us on the Frolicking Monkey, every one's more than welcome. Ace promises to keep his pants on."
"Din't hold yer breath," Kat murmured even as she turned back to Ace, "an' ye make sure the others're ready tae set sail again." She shook her head and walked on rather than staying to greet the others.
"Women! Can't live with them and don't want to live without them!" Ace told Jack with a wink. "They got your woman, too?"
Jack looked at Ace. "They got my love as well as the rest of my family, Ace. I'm not going to stop till I get them back." Jack heard footsteps on the gangplank and turned to see Lex and Xena both walking up. "The others going on Destiny?" he asked.
"Joxer's still fussing about the Book," Xena told him, "and says he doesn't want to get it around animals who might destroy it. James . . . is going on Destiny's Ghost."
"Elvira and Delvira are not sure where they're going," Lex was quick to tell him. "They're fighting about it now."
Jack remembered his promise to Elvira and hoped that she would remember that he had told her he would train her. About that time, he heard Elvira's voice blast at Delvira, "DAMN IT, DELVIRA! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME, AND I'LL DAMN WELL GO WHEREVER THE HELL I PLEASE!"
Jack smiled at Elvira finally standing up for herself. "I think we may have one more," he told Ace. He listened for Elvira's footsteps.
"I was just trying to -- "
"Protect me or rule me?" Elvira tossed back at her twin. "Either way, I don't care, and I'm going with Jack!" She stormed off on her sister and headed up to the Frolicking Monkey.
"Fine, but when you get to look at that ugly ass again, don't ask me to blast him!"
"What?" Elvira turned back to question her. "You think your fire's everything? I guarantee you a high heel would work just as well!"
Ace blushed at the women's conversation. He had really gotten off to a bad start this time. He chided himself for not having listened to Kat, and now on top of everything else, Kat was mad at him and it would be a long time before he could do anything to make her want him again as they would not be alone! He put on one of his best grins as he waited for Elvira to make the top of the gangplank. "Welcome aboard the Frolicking Monkey, ma'am!"
Elvira was still pissed when Ace greeted her. "Save it, buttboy!" She stormed right past him.
Jack assisted Ace in pulling the gangplank back up, and Jack watched in silence as the rest of his crew boarded Destiny's Ghost. He saw that Albus and Snape were also getting on Destiny's Ghost and, turning back around, found a certain crab, two cats, and two tiger cubs watching him intently.
As Belladonna led her two out, the Sorceress stepped up. She did not even bother to cast a single glance at any of the males; instead, her cool gaze examined the females. "Where is the exotic one?" she questioned.
"Which one?" her shipmate asked.
"The exotic one. The black woman with long, white hair."
Elektra frowned. "I don't see her either."
The Sorceress was about to turn to Anamaria and demand what she had done with her when she noticed movement in the back of the cage. "You," she instructed Will, "move aside."
Will looked up at the woman but did not move. He knew what was going on behind him, and he'd be damned if he . . .
"You heard her," Elektra announced, pulling her gun out and pointing it straight at Will. "Move."
Still, Will remained. He knew that Anamaria wanted him for some reason and would not allow them to shoot him. Elektra started to pull the trigger when Anamaria yelled at her to stop. "DO NOT SHOOT MY PRISONER! GET IN THERE AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON!"
Elektra paid just enough attention to Anamaria to turn her pistol to point at another prisoner. Elizabeth stared at the gun as all the color drained from her face and Will nearly ran to get away from the two he'd been protecting.
"Well, what do we have here?" the Sorceress questioned even as Elektra returned her gun to its holster.
Will had been sitting with his back to Clark and Ororo. Though Ororo's hands had been shaking, she had been struggling to get past her claustrophobia enough that she could pick Clark's collar's lock with a strand of her own hair. She had barely heard the first click when they were found out.
Prue was shocked that her aunt had tried something like that! She wished that it had worked. She heard the door open and turned to see who was coming in.
Jack had assisted in getting the Frolicking Monkey back to sea. Xena and Lex also had helped, and now Jack was walking and just looking out to sea when he heard a voice. Glancing up, he saw Hansel in the crow's nest. "Come down here, Hansel, and tell me what's been going on with you! How did they take Derek?"
Hansel could not hear all his old friend's words, but he answered him nonetheless as he shouted, "AHOY, JACK!" Grabbing a rope, he swung down and landed beside the Pirate Captain.
Jack gripped Hansel's hand in a firm handshake. "What I was saying was asking you to come down and tell me what happened with Derek? I know it's been a while since I've been to Tortuga, but I remember how well set your inn is. It wouldn't be an easy thing for anybody to take Derek out of there unless he was willing to go. Were you two fighting?" He looked into Hansel's face, waiting for an answer.
Hansel gave a long, deep sigh and walked past Jack to drape his arms over the railing. When he finally spoke, it was in a voice almost swallowed by the ocean breezes. "Derek got engaged."
"What!" Jack almost roared. "Engaged to what!"
Hansel wouldn't look at him for the tears in his blue eyes, but he did answer him. "A woman."
"Doesn't he know how you feel, and is he so blind to his own feelings that he goes and gets himself engaged to a woman! Gods, this sounds familiar!"
Rather than answering the first, Hansel appeared to ignore it and responded to the latter instead. "Familiar how?"
"You remember when we were in port last time and you got to meet Will Turner?"
Not even the memories of the glances he'd seen Jack steal at the younger man could warm Hansel's mood. He nodded. "Whatever became of your Will, any way?"
"Well, I returned him to Port Royal, and stupidly I did not tell him of my feelings." He knew that Hansel knew even before Jack knew himself, because he had tried to talk to him for advice even while still not admitting his feelings. "He went and got himself engaged to a woman! I returned to the sea and . . . when the news reached me . . . I returned for the wedding. It's a long story, but suffice it to say, Will did not marry the woman and did return to sea with me." He, too, leaned on the railing, looking out to sea.
"So you got yours, then?" Hansel asked hopefully.
"Yes and no. Right now, Anamaria has him. We had just discovered that our feelings for each other were mutual and we've actually been together a couple of days, and now that bitch has him! If she hurts one hair on his head, I will not be responsible for what I do to her!" He gripped the railing extremely tightly before turning to look at Hansel. "Did you try to tell Derek how you felt and that's why he went out and got a woman?"
"Nnnooo . . . " Hansel drew the word out. "I . . . I hadn't managed to tell him yet when he got engaged, and . . . well . . . when he did, I . . . I kinda . . . Hell, Jack, you know me."
"Yeah. You didn't tell him anything but hit the roof? Your temper is just about equal to mine, and neither of us are able to control it. How did the bitches get Derek? Was his betrothed one of them?"
"No, his betrothed," Hansel's distaste for the word was clear in his voice as he spoke it, "was the ugliest woman in all of Tortuga but she was a native. They . . . ." He sighed again. "We fought that night, Jack. It was the worst fight we've ever had, and he . . . He went out to the tavern. That's where they got him. The next morning, I . . . I woke up and I couldn't find him anywhere. But . . . There was . . . There was a note on the front door." He reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment that he then handed to Jack.
Jack took the paper but then handed it back to Hansel. "What does it say?"
"She . . . " He took a deep breath. "She took him to use against you, Jack."
"Why am I not surprised! Damn bitch! I should've killed her when I had her at my mercy once before instead of just taking her damn ship! I'm gonna make her eat a ship! We'll get him back; we'll get them all back!" He put his arm around Hansel and gave him a hug. "This time, you open up and tell him how you feel -- really feel, Hansel -- before you lose him for all time like I almost lost my Will."Hansel was about to answer Jack when a deep voice coughed from somewhere behind them. "Don't mind me," a stranger to Jack's ears spoke. "Just passing through. Not wanting to interrupt anything."
The door swung open and, as Elektra stood guard, the Sorceress stepped into the cell. She reached out, snatching Ororo up by her hair. Her other hand snaked out and grabbed Piper's wrist. "I'm taking these two," she announced as she pulled them out.
Prue reached toward Piper, wanting to be able to go with her, but knowing it wouldn't be allowed. She screamed out her name even as she felt Phoebe putting her arms around her. They were the last two sisters left. They both sat down beside Carl, waiting to see who was going to snatch them. Carl was still unconscious, and Prue was beginning to worry about him. Tears streamed down her face as she watched them lead Piper and her aunt away.
Spiral stepped forward. "It's my turn now, and I claim all those I captured." She pointed at the two old men, a blonde female, the kids she clung to . . . "And him," she said, pointing at Frederic. "I'm going to leave them down here, but don't any of the rest of you bother them. They're mine to do with what I want to do with!"
One of the other ones was quick to point out that Spiral was getting more than her fair share. "You want to fight me for them?" she asked, and the complainer melted back into the shadows.
"Next," Anamaria barked.
Elektra pointed directly at the brunette who hovered near the blue Demon. "I claim that one," she spoke simply before going into the cage and dragging Kitty out.
Kitty stared at her mother but dared not say one word. After all the years she had looked for her, longing for a rematch and to get answers to the questions that had plagued her her entire life, she had finally been reunited with her, but what did the woman have in store for her?
Rubella stepped forward, rubbing her hands in glee. "My turn, and I choose that cute boy! I can't wait to get ahold of him and find out what he's made of!" She walked into the cage, snatched Clark up, and pushed him before her out of the cage. "Move it, boy, or I'll check the merchandise out here!"
Clark let her push him along, and his despairing eyes shared one last glance with Will. What was to become of them, and where were their loves?
Jack's hand went for where his sword should be hanging before realizing he didn't have one. "Who are you?" he asked as he turned to face the newcomer. He had to look up, up, and even higher UP still before finding the black man's face.
"Bishop." He reached a hand up to scratch the head of the cat perched atop his broad shoulder. "And this is Cat."
"Nice to meet the both of you," Jack assured him. "Are you the Bishop that single-handedly defeated the Northstar once upon a time?"
"Might be," Bishop replied. "Who wants to know?"
"That would be Captain Jack Sparrow." He smiled up at him even as his finger pointed at his chin. He offered his hand in a shake.
Bishop grasped Jack's hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Hansel grimaced and quickly looked away. He had only shook hands with Bishop once, and when Bishop had released his hand that one time, he had been almost positive that it was broken.
Jack kept a straight face even though the pain was immense. He did not want to piss the big guy off, and he was quite admiring of Bishop's abilities. "Never thought I'd get to meet you, but I thought that was a sweet piece of work. Did you get much booty off of it?"
Bishop grinned. "I got so much I was able to retire and would be well off if I spent ten lifetimes on it."
"So what are you doing back at sea?"
"Didn't Kat tell you they lost some of their people?"
"Haven't had a chance to really talk to Kat yet. Ace made her mad, but you know Ace. He'll make her happy before too long. Ace is a wonderful man if he could just refrain from talking with his rear end! He griped a couple of my people off, as well; they went on to Destiny's Ghost."
Bishop nodded as Jack's words concerning Ace brought a grin to his lips. He released Jack's hand, and his hand returned to stroking the cat on his shoulder.
Jack hid his hand behind his back and began flexing it in an attempt to return the feeling to it.
"They're both good people," he agreed. "They helped me save Cat here, and when they need help, I'm there for them. I owe them everything, after all."
"It's good to know you, Bishop, and if I can ever help you, let me know. I appreciate you coming on this rescue. Your firepower will definitely come in useful, but I . . . don't even have a sword. Do you think Kat has some extra weapons that we can use?"
Bishop shook his head. "Doubt it. I'm sure you know she uses fire and Ace's animals do his fighting for him?"
"Then it appears I will need to make a trip to Destiny's Ghost for without weapons, we will be babes in the sea."
Anamaria looked up as she heard quarreling voices. Now what was going on? she wondered. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO BITCHES FIGHTING ABOUT?" she yelled at them.
Drusilla glared at the offending humans as she walked toward the main cell. "This silly human thinks her cooking -- or lack thereof -- is more important than my voice! She doesn't even do the cooking lately; she has that slave do it! And without my voice, the others wouldn't be able to keep their concentration as well as they do when fighting! Besides that, she couldn't cook good to save her life, and my voice is beautiful!"
Anamaria shook her head, not knowing which one was the most important by rank. She racked her brain but, for the life of her, could not remember exactly which order the crew came in. She looked at the other two who had came with them. "Who should be next?" she asked.
The two redheads looked at each other. "Drusilla does have a point," Jocelyn admitted. "The slave's been doing all the cooking lately."
Kalena nodded. "As much as I hate to give a Vampire any credit, her voice is better than Harriet's cooking skills." Harriet huffed and started to puff her chest out to which Kalena added, "Not to mention she's not as much of a lazy hen."
"Then, Dru, pick yours," Anamaria told her.
"I want her," Drusilla announced, pointing a long, sharp fingernail directly at the one blonde girl in black leather. "And," she added, her finger swinging to Kurt, "I'll also take the funny monkey in Priest's clothes."
"Be off with you then," Anamaria told her.
Drusilla reached in and pulled Kurt out with no problems, but when she reached for Zora, the blonde struggled despite the metal teeth biting into her. Drusilla proved to be swifter than Zora, however, as her hand grabbed the girl's throat. "You'll come out now unless you want to be eaten on the spot," she warned her and yanked her out by her neck.
Kurt watched with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe the situation that they were in, and he had been deep in prayer for quite a while, praying for their rescue to appear and save them. He had managed to put two and two together and realized that they were now headed for the same ship that Angel and Connor were on. He didn't think Zora knew that little bit of information as it did not appear that the girl's brain was thinking any too clearly. He would try to tell her later -- if there was a later -- or perhaps, when they arrived, they'd see them.
"Next," Anamaria called. "I believe that should be you, Callisto?" she said, picking her out as her eyes swept the ones standing before her.
Callisto nodded and stepped forward to select her bounty. Though she shared the same name as the Captain of the other ship, she could not have been more different. The Saucy Wench's Callitso was a blonde with white skin that had either never been scarred or hid its scars well. The Harlot's Callisto was a brunette dressed in leather who wore a patch over her missing eye.
Callisto's good eye swept the cage. "You," she said, pointing at Phoebe with a wicked smile. "I can't wait to see how you fall apart when you fire upon our enemies. And . . . " Her finger moved to Prue. "I'll leave you in here for now, but you'll get your turn."
Prue reluctantly released Phoebe and gazed down at Carl again. Was he awake and only pretending to be out? She now thought that she might be able to keep them together. She spoke to Callisto, "Are you allowed another? Because if you are, Carl's a great Powder Monkey!" She looked toward the woman as she spoke.
Callisto's eye looked Prue up and down. "You're volunteering one of your own, girl?"
"I saw him aboard the other ship! He's very fast and accurate!" she stressed.
Callisto's smile grew. "I'll take him, but don't think that'll help you because it won't."
"Oh, I didn't think it would," Prue told her, "but I don't want any of your enemies sinking this ship! I'd hate to drown out here!" She tried to sound even more self-centered to throw the woman off her guard. She wanted her to think that she was only concerned with her own skin.
"Don't worry," Callisto scowled. "If something happens to your sister, you'll be shooting at our enemies yourself." Reaching into the cage, she grabbed Phoebe's arm and yanked her out.
"I don't know how to do that," Prue told her. "I've never shot at anything. I'm a cook." She knew full well that the only thing she could cook was cornbread, but that idiot didn't know any better.
"I didn't expect you'd have any training. You're too pretty for that, land dweller, but that won't last for long." She steered Phoebe out of the holding area.
Prue felt something touch her foot and, looking down, saw Carl's eye open for just one minute. He had been awake the whole time and knew what was going on. He still wasn't sure how Prue had gotten him chosen by the same woman who had taken her and Phoebe, but he was glad. He immediately closed his eye and pretended to be unconscious. Prue sat down beside him and watched as Phoebe was led away, tears streaming down her face. Carl wanted to reach out and touch her but knew better than to give himself away.
Kalena stepped forward to choose next. At Anamaria's questioning look, she explained. "I don't mind killing a hen," she said, referring to Harriet, "but I'd rather not piss a Vamp off if I can help it. I am the Powder Monkey, though, so I actually should have chosen when Dru did."
"Well, choose now," Anamaria told her. "You can't go back and undo it. You may take an extra one for your efforts."
Kalena turned to look in the cage. "I'll take those two," she announced, pointing at the two trembling brunettes who no one had spoken for yet. "Move it," she gruffly told Fred and Dawn. "You don't want me to have to come in there after you."
Fred walked out of the cage followed by Dawn. Fred glanced back one last time and smiled sadly at Wesley who smiled sadly back at her. He was never going to get her in his bed, and he knew it! Gods knew what fate awaited the both of them, but he'd hold on to his memories as long as he could and cherish their kiss forever!
When one of the two paused to smile back at a man, Kalena pushed Fred in the back, but her shove was only enough to send her going again.
"Jade, you're next," Anamaria told the woman. She'd be glad when this was over. Her hands itched to get a hold of Will.
"I'll take the Brit," Jade announced. "They're usually pretty virile."
There was a lot of elbows bumping each other and grins shared on this announcement for every one knew part of what Jade had intended. They knew she wanted to have a child. What they didn't know was that she planned to hatch a Demon spawn through a mortal man!
Wesley slowly got to his feet and walked as though one in a dream to the door. He waited for his next instructions. How could everything had been so beautiful one moment and he had a chance to be with Fred for the rest of his life, and now suddenly they were torn asunder and he'd never see his beautiful Fred again?
"Move it," Jade instructed as she shoved him forward. "You're going straight to my cot, lover boy."
Wesley trembled. He didn't want to be that way with any one but his Fred! Several tears trailed down his face, but he couldn't even raise his hands to wipe them away. He trudged slowly in the direction the woman indicated.
Harriet bustled up to the cage. "I'll have her," she pointed at Elizabeth, "and . . . him." She pointed at the Himalayan cat. "You should make a pretty purse."
Meesy's mouth flew open before he could help himself. "I'll have you know, woman -- "
"Oh! Wonderful!" Harriet exclaimed, clasping her hands in glee. "You can talk! Sinister's going to love you!" Turning her attention back to Elizabeth, she told her, "Come on, girl, and bring the talking cat with you."
Elizabeth picked Meesy up and trailed slowly behind the bitchy woman. She didn't know the first thing about cooking and wondered how bad her punishment would be when Harriet realized that. Meesy, on the other paw, couldn't decide if he wished he had kept his mouth shut or not. After all, which fate would be worse -- to be experimented on by a mad scientist or to be made into a -- he shuddered -- purse!
Silver Fox was not surprised that she had been left to last out of the Harlot's officers. After all, she was an Indian and, as such, sometimes still treated as an outcast even though she was equal to any of the other bitches as she had killed as many, if not even more, of their enemies. She grinned to herself, however, when she realized that the last human was a China man! Those people can really cook, she reminded herself, and I wonder how good they cook in the bedroom? Just have to wait and see.
She said, "I'll take him . . . " and pointed at Chong. Then she looked around at the rest. "I'll take this one," she spoke and pointed at the barking dog dressed up in funny clothes. "I'll see if he can screw as well as he barks." Didymus' mouth fell open in shock. "And that ugly one," she concluded, pointing at Trely. "She can clean up after us."
"Very well," Anamaria told her, "but watch yourself. That dog looks like he can attack at any time, and why in Hell would you want to screw something like that?"
Silver Fox grinned. "Don't knock it till you try it." She was about to turn around and force them out the door when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flying at her. She turned back and grabbed it by the throat. It was the dog. "All right, you can be first since you're so eager!" she told him and carried him out by the neck. "Move it," she told the other two and they walked slowly side by side out of the cage. "Go a little faster," she commanded and kicked them both in the butt.
Jocelyn scowled at the remainants. There really wasn't much left, but she'd be damned if she'd return empty-handed. "I'll take the lioness and the wolf," she announced. "They should make lovely coats."
"They'll bring more money from Sinister," Anamaria told her. "Why don't you take a couple of those ugly things and make them do your work?"
"Leave at least one," Helvira spoke up from where her black eyes examined her men. None of them had woken yet, and she was glad for that as she wanted to start the torture as soon as they awoke but did not want any of the other bitches down there at the time. After all, torturing was meant to be so peaceful. "I'll rip it apart in front of its King when he awakes."
Teak glared balefully up at the woman who was looking just as balefully back at him. He did not want to be part of whatever she had planned, but he didn't want to get pulled apart by Helvira either. He was relieved when he was chosen along with Hoggle and a couple of others. "I don't want more than that," Jocelyn told them. "They're going to be hard to handle. Then again, they do seem to be male. It might be interesting watching them do it to each other."
Hoggle's eyebrows shot up at that. For one brief moment, he considered whipping his pisser out and letting the bitch have it. He quickly thought better of it, however, for Gods only knew what she'd do to his mighty steed!
"Come on, you little rodents, and move it!" Jocelyn told them. "Move it fast! I have a lot of work to do! I'll take two more of them -- you and you," she said, pointing quickly. "Move it! Don't make me chain you together!" They scampered as fast as they could.
"The rest of you who have not been laid claim to," Anamaria informed the other prisoners, "will be sold to Sinister and the bounty divvied up among the rest of the crews of both ships." After snatching Will and Donkey, she checked the door to be sure it was locked and turned her back on the rest of the prisoners. She pushed Will and told him to move it. "I'm taking you straight to my cabin. I have a lot of new maneuvers I'm going to try on you and you're going to watch," she told Donkey.
Though both were sad and afraid, they were also angry. "Rot in Hell, bitch," they growled out at her. They looked at each other in surprise even as Anamaria struck them.
Left alone with the prisoners, Helvira thrilled. "Finally!" she purred aloud. She withdrew a feather from her bodice and began to run it up and down Brendan's body.
