Chapter Sixteen

The only warning Katrina had was the sound of slicing claws through the air. She broke off healing Tom and whirled to meet her attacker, but the claws cut a deep gash in her side even as she came face to face with a gigantic, pink lioness. Using her mind, Katrina telekinetically threw the gigantic cat away from them and began to beat her against the wall even as she swiped at her, barely missing her with deadly claws. Katrina continued knocking the lioness up against the wall until the beast passed out. The moment the cat hit the floor, she began to work on Tom again.

Tom's free hand felt for Katrina's hand that clasped his other hand. "Love . . . " he managed to get out. "I know you want to save me first, but I'm . . . I'm not dying. Vang and Clark are."

"I will not desert you, Tom. I will heal both of them a little. I'll take turns on the three of you." She reached out, laying her hands upon Vang. Closing her eyes, she began her chant, sending the healing flow rushing into Vang.

Something nagged at the back of Katrina's mind, and she pulled herself back from healing Vang, moved over, and laid a hand on Clark. Just before she started working on Clark, she remembered the skeleton key and handed it to Lex. "Free the others." She started to work her magic healing upon Clark only to realize that Clark was doing something to himself. She didn't know what, but she pulled her hand back. "Clark?" She peered down into his face at his closed eyes, hoping he could hear her, but he did not respond.


Xena's sword flashed out and sliced off one of Callisto's breasts. As the blood rushed forward, Xena's lips slowly curled in a smile. Callisto's scream of pain was a sweet anthem to her ears, and she redoubled her efforts. Soon, she was able to cut the other one off, as well.

Callisto had her free arm wrapped around the bleeding holes where Xena had dared to slice off her breasts, but still she continued. Her blade met Xena's again and again, but her aim was now thrown quite off. She knew that if she did not think of something quickly, she would not only fail to conquer Xena but that she would also not live to see another day.

Xena continued meeting Callisto's blows. Her sword slipped far more easily past Callisto's guard now, striking her again and again but not yet managing to deliver a fatal blow, as the bitch kept coming. Suddenly, something rolled underneath Xena's feet, throwing her off balance and causing her to fall down onto the deck. Callisto hurriedly pointed her sword at Xena's neck, but it was neither the blonde nor the sword that Xena's blue eyes stared at in disbelief. Instead, it was the head of Kyna Chan, a woman who had once taught her so much.

"Now, Xena," Callisto demanded, "what's it going to be? Is it off with your head, or are you mine at last?"

"I'll never be yours," Xena returned with a snarl as she glared back up at Callisto.

"Very well," Callisto replied and pressed her blade against Xena's jugular. "I'll be just as happy with Gabrielle as I would've been with you," she hissed out the lie from between clenched teeth.

Xena knew she had to think of something, but she could not wriggle out from under Callisto -- not when her sword was already against her throat! It was then that she heard a familiar voice call her name. "XENA!" Autolycus shouted. "ABOVE YOU!"

Both women looked up at the sound, but whereas Callisto's eyes turned onto Autolycus, who wore Gambit's trench coat and was running alongside the French man from Judson, Xena's eyes turned upward. She smiled as her eyes were met with a torch. With Callisto still distracted as she was now staring at the Demon Judson had become, Xena's booted feet kicked upwards, colliding with the blonde's stomach and sending her stumbling back.

Xena leapt to her feet, grabbed the torch, and blew the fire from it onto Callisto. It engulfed her instantly, and the blonde's fatal screams caressed Xena's ears. "Might wanna try to put that fire out," Xena smirked, but as Callisto half-stumbled and half-ran for the railing, Xena threw her chakram. It lopped off Callisto's head even as she reached the railing. Callisto's body and head fell into the water, and an invisible force blew the fire off of Xena's chakram mere seconds before it arrived back in her hand.


Lex went to Cole first. He looked around for something to cover his friend with as he knew Cole did not want to be completely naked.

"Get it off!" Cole begged Lex.

Lex knew what he meant but blushed slightly and shook his head. "I'll get you free, and you can get it off." Lex could not imagine touching any other man besides Clark so freely, not even if it meant saving his life. He released Cole, who snatched the cock ring off immediately once the bonds were gone. He angrily threw the instrument against the wall and shimmered. He had to get clothes and find Piper! He prayed that his beloved was not already dead.

Lex moved over to Dawson and began to work on his bonds. "Do you know where Faith is?" he asked Dawson.

"That evil bastard has her!" Dawson told him.

"You mean Judson has her?" Lex questioned.

"Yes, and we've got to get her back!"

"Just as soon as Clark is able to travel, we'll go after Faith," Lex reassured him. He wanted to rescue his dear friend but would not leave Clark until his beloved was well again for anything in the world.

Dawson got up and began to pace, trying to get the feeling back into his body. He had been laying on the cot so long that he was feeling numb, and the pain that coursed through his body as his blood began circulating again helped him to keep going. He knew that he had to be in good condition to get Faith back, and he had every intention of killing the bastard who now held her.

Lex had returned to Clark and was relieved to see that his skin was becoming normal again. He was surprised that Katrina had finished with him so quickly and had gone back to Tom. He looked at her. "He wasn't as far gone as I thought?"

Katrina shook her head. "No, he was very far gone, but I couldn't help him. Lex . . . He's healing himself!" Her question-filled, green eyes gazed into Lex's blue eyes. "I don't know how, but he's actually healing himself!"

Lex sat down beside Clark and took his hand in his. He could not tear his gaze away from his lover's face, but even so, he couldn't stop the thoughts racing through his mind. What kind of being was his Clark, and how was he able to continuously do new and amazing things, such as healing himself!


Spike felt Darla's slash go deep into his arm. With a growl, he released his Vampire. His forehead protruded, his black eyes turned yellow, and his teeth grew into deadly fangs. Even as the transformation continued, Spike squared off against Darla, his fists plowing into her chest, but even as he fought Darla, Drusilla attacked Spike, as well, her fingernails slicing through the back of his black leather trench coat.

Sean pulled his sword and struck Drusilla in the back, his voice rising to a sharp scream at the same time. His sonic scream picked the Vampiress up and hurled her toward the wall. She slammed backwards into the spot next to Angel, but though he struggled against his bonds, he could not reach her.

Sean's attack on Drusilla allowed Spike a chance to put all his attentions upon Darla. The two exchanged blows again and again, but Spike drove her steadily back until he finally managed to get his hands around her neck. He began to squeeze her even as he threw her up against the rails of the cage. Holding her with one arm, he reached into his coat and brought a stake out with the other hand.

The minute he'd drove it into her heart, she burst into dust that rained down upon him. He brushed her dust off of him and turned to find out how Sean was faring with Dru. "Go ahead, Sean," Spike told him. "I'll take care of her. You get to your Emma."

Sean nodded and raced for the cell. When he got there, he screamed at the lock which burst apart. As he ran for Emma, he was passed by a brunette. "You'll need this!" a muffled voice called. Sean, Cordelia, and Lorne all turned to see Kurt kneeling before a Himalayan cat and rubbing his blue neck that was now freed from his collar.

Meesy held the pick in his mouth and tossed it to Cordy. She managed to catch it but then frowned at it. "I don't know how to use this!"

"I do," Lorne assured her. He took the pick from her, and they ran together for Angel even as Crystal's animals took to running in the opposite direction. Cindy and Elvira were slowed by the Goddess and the two jaguars blocking their path on the staircase, but Blue flew straight over their heads. He began to strain against the door with his talons, but it did not budge until Lockheed joined him in his efforts.

Aphrodite's eyes were closed tightly shut, and Her arms draped across the jaguars for support. She could feel the pain of Her people screaming through Her every inch and felt as if each torture, each wound, and each death was happening to Her. "Zeus . . . " She whispered even as She felt Kyna fall into Judson's hands. She trembled, but as Kyna's head popped off and went sailing across the deck, She slumped further and cried out a second name, one She'd never cried before except when in the heat of passion. "Ares . . . "

Cindy had backed away from the Goddess and was staring at Her in a mixture of confusion and doubt. Elvira whined, knowing that Cindy's confusion came from the fact that Aphrodite appeared to the animals as a Goddess who looked half human but also half cat -- the Cat Goddess, Bast!

Elvira's whine reached the lioness' ears, and Cindy shook herself. She had to reach her mother! She backed up several feet, then burst into a run. When she was only a foot away from the Goddess and the two jaguars, she sailed into the air, jumping over them and racing through the door the dragons had left open.

Ares blinked in as soon as He had blown out the fire on Xena's chakram and picked Aphrodite up. "Thought You'd never call Me, sweetheart? I've been on the outskirts, doing what I could." He teleported Her up to the deck, leaving the stench of what was going on behind Them and allowing the night air to blow gently across Her face. "What do You want Me to do?"

The very second Ares and Aphrodite vanished, Elvira ran for the door. She blazed through the two jaguars, who stared at her in surprise, and picked up even more speed as her paws hit the top deck.


As soon as Dawson felt he was able, he looked from Katrina to Lex and then to the others in the room. Lex had forgotten to take the ones who were hanging on the wall down. Dawson went over to Lex. "Give me the key. I'll get the others down."

"Damn!" Lex exclaimed. "I forgot! I'm sorry. It's just . . . with Clark . . . " His words fumbled as he tried to explain.

"I know," Dawson was quick to reassure him. "I understand." Taking the key, he returned to the others and slowly took each one down. As he lowered the small dog to the floor, it suddenly came to life, barking its fool head off. Dawson just let him bark and hunt for the bitches and moved on to get the Goblin down. He left her sitting against the wall as she was still out cold.

Then he turned to the Chinese man. "What's the matter with you? Can't you talk?" Dawson asked him as he looked as though he was about to explode yet was not speaking.

Chong's brown eyes cut through Dawson. "I am waiting," he informed him with rare impatience, "to be gotten down from here so that I might find my lovely captor!"

"DO WHAT!" Dawson demanded incredulously as he unlocked the last lock. He stared at Chong. Had the man taken total leave of his senses!

Chong rubbed his wrists and took just a moment to answer the boy. "You get it where you can," he explained with a shrug, "and thanks." Running past Dawson and heading for the door, he muttered to himself, "I just hope she isn't dead yet!"

Dawson walked slowly back over to Lex and gave him the key, his mind still shocked at Chong's explanation. "Do you believe that idiot is chasing after the Piratess for more of what she was doing to him!"

"Hard to believe," Lex agreed with him, "but I think he's gone over the deep end."

"I'm going to look for Faith. When you are able, come after me."

"I can't ask you to wait. One of us has to go and find her. Do you have any weapons?"

Dawson held his hands out to show that he was empty. "Look for weapons before you leave and get one even if you have to take it off of a dead person."

Dawson looked around the room and saw a sword laying beside the headless woman. He reached out, took her sword, and ran from the room.


Cole had given up hunting something to put on and finally shimmered up, snatching the flag from the Harlot's flagpole and wrapping himself in the Jolly Roger as a makeshift kilt. He got Piper's signature and shimmered straight to her. His gut turned over and rolled as he looked at what the evil Piratess had done to her. He did not recognize the device that was firmly clamped upon Piper's head, but he did realize that it was slowly squeezing the life out of her and that the pressure had already caused her beautiful eyes to pop out of her head.

It pained Cole to look upon his beloved Piper in such a condition, but at the same time, he could not move his eyes away from her. The blood that had came with her eyes when they had been forced from their sockets was sprinkled over her face, neck, and chest. The eyeballs themselves rested on her skin just below her chin, which hung at an odd angle. An iron gag shielded her mouth, and he feared the damage that might be hiding behind it.

He heard wailing screams that sounded as though they came from a dying soul and frantic clawing like an animal desperately trying to get out of a hole. The sounds sent chills through him, reminding him of Hell where he passed through every time he shimmered, but he told himself that the sounds were coming from the rest of the Halliwells who were trapped inside another chamber. He would have to get Piper to a healer immediately, before it was too late for his beloved, and return later for her sisters. He shimmered her back to where he had last seen Katrina. He started to call to her but stopped when he saw that she was already coming to them. He set to loosening Piper's gag instead.

Piper had not stirred until Cole had lifted her. Then, she'd slumped into his arms. She wondered who was carrying her and who had removed her gag. It felt like Cole, but her mind was probably playing a terrible trick on her. Still, she had to know. "C-Cole?" she tried to speak his name, but her voice came out far more as a whimper. Red-hot pain seared through her mouth and up through the rest of her head.

"Yes, darling, it's me," Cole reassured her. The look of pain on her paled face tore at his heart. "We're here with Katrina. I've got to go back for the rest of your family. She'll take care of you. Stay here, and wait for me. I'll rescue them and bring them back here."

Katrina had moved over to stand close to Piper and lay her hands on her. She was getting tired, but she had finally managed to heal both Vang and Tom and they were both sleeping though Tom had murmured questioningly about Celina. She had calmly reassured him, and he had allowed sleep to overcome him.

Her heart was still racing. She could not believe that she had almost lost both of them so quickly! Glancing back over to them, she could see that they were both sleeping peacefully. Her gaze shifted to Clark, who still had not woken up, and then her attention went back to Piper. She wasn't sure how to get the weird helmet off of Piper. "Lex, have you ever seen one of these things before?"

Piper barely even paid any attention to Katrina's words. Instead, her mind remained on Cole and her family. She reached blindly for him with a hand and, when she had managed to touch him, whispered, "Be careful . . ." Her mouth was broken and her teeth shattered, but though it hurt terribly to speak, Piper forced herself to speak the words she so desperately needed to tell him. "Get . . . 'Ro . . . first. She's . . . claustrophobic . . . Be . . . careful . . . Bitch . . . put . . . her . . . under . . . spell."

"I'm always careful, Piper, now that I've got you. What kind of spell, and where is Auntie 'Ro? Is she in with the rest?"

Piper frowned in confusion. "What . . . rest?"

"Your sisters. They all sounded like they were in this little room, screaming the tops of their heads off."

"No . . . " Piper tried to shake her head but stopped with a whimper as more pain swept through her. Cole reached out, cupping her head and stilling her as gently as he could. "'Ro . . . only . . . "

Cole stared down at her in shock. "You mean all of that . . . It was all coming from Ororo only!"

Piper whimpered a response, and Cole knew she was trying to give him an affirmative answer.

"Oh my Gods!" Cole released Piper's head but lifted her hand and kissed it. "I'm going now. I won't be any longer than I have to be." He released her hand and shimmered. What had they done to 'Ro to make her scream so loudly? He wondered what claustrophobic was and wished that he could ask Brendan, so that he would not be quite so in the dark when he reached her. If worse comes to worst, he reassured himself, you can always knock her out. That is, of course, if she didn't hit him with a lightning bolt first!


Aphrodite had to struggle to think past all the pain and the shock that Ares had actually come for Her and was being so caring. At last, She remembered Dawson and the dire shape that Faith was in. She made a weak motion with a hand, and a sword appeared. "I need . . . I need You to get this . . . this sword to Dawson, Ares. He's gonna . . . need it."

"Why don't I just give it to Faith? You know the kid can't use it. He'd only end up in getting himself killed." He heard a snicker behind Him and set Ditey down gently on a bench before turning to face Strife. "Strife, I told you to go cause trouble for the enemy!"

"Oh, I have been, Unc, but curiosity got the better of Me! I had to come see what Ditey wanted You for!"

"None of Your business!" Ares told him angrily even as he aimed a well-placed kick, hitting Strife in the seat of the pants and sending him flying over the railing.

"Unc, that's not fair! I had a bath yesterday!" His protesting words turned to screams as he crashed down onto Callisto's floating body.

"IF YOU GET AROUND APHRODITE AND ME AGAIN RIGHT NOW, YOU'LL HAVE ANOTHER BATH LACED WITH LIGHTNING!" Ares bellowed a warning to Strife. Strife had started to teleport back up to them but, at Ares' words, quickly changed his destination. Ares turned back to Aphrodite, waiting for Her to tell Him what to do.

Ditey shook Her head slightly when She realized that Ares honestly had no clue what was happening to Faith. How could He not keep better tabs on His people? "Ares . . . Faith's in no place to help herself right now. She needs Dawson. She needs Dawson like . . . like I need You right now." Her eyes peered up into His in search of understanding.

"She's been in pretty tight spots before," He told Her, "and she's gotten angry every time I've interfered. I'm very proud of her. She's done a lot of good work for me in the past, and I don't want anything to happen to her. If you're sure Dawson can handle it, I'll take it to him." He reached out and gingerly accepted the sword from Ditey.

"I know she's done a lot in the past, Ares, but . . . Dawson's the only one who can save her now."

"I'll return," He told Her and teleported Himself to where He knew Dawson was.


Lex moved from beside Clark and came to look at the device. "I don't know anything about it. I've never seen one before, but it looks like a pressure device of some kind. Most of these things operate to tighten, going clockwise, and to loosen, going counterclockwise. I'll try that." He reached out and tentatively touched the mechanism, slowly beginning to turn it counter clockwise and bracing himself for Piper's screams. He knew it would hurt, but it had to come off.

Piper could feel Lex's and Katrina's presence. Katrina seemed to be waiting, and she knew Lex was the one working to free her. She tried to keep herself calm and prayed that Katrina would be able to heal her. Would she be able to see this time, or would it take another spell from Prue to restore her eyesight? Would the spell work twice? Was her sister even still living! Fear clouded her thoughts, filled her heart, and kept her silent.

Before Lex realized it, the device had come completely free. He slowly eased the metal part out from under her chin, and the minute he had it off of her, he slung it as hard as he could against the opposite wall. He reached out and gripped her arm gently. "Hang in there, Piper," he softly told her and then returned to sit by Clark, waiting for his lover to wake up. He couldn't wait to tell him that he had seen Cole Turner wearing only a Pirate flag; Clark would never believe it! In fact, Lex wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it himself!

Katrina began to do her healing, chanting softly and laying her hands upon Piper's head.


Rachel had tried to give Kitty time to grieve the woman who had apparently been her mother, but she knew that time was a commodity that they could not really afford. Her green eyes turned to where Elizabeth had fainted, and she shook her head at the blonde. "Well, you're not going to be much help," she muttered underneath her breath before turning her back to Elizabeth and beginning to approach Kitty.

"Kitty? Kitty? Kitty?" The redhead continued calling Kitty's name, but the brunette would not even move. She knelt beside her friend and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Kitty, I . . . "

"She was my Mother," Kitty finally spoke, her words a choked whisper.

"I know," Rachel answered her as she rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, "but we can't stay here, Kitty."

"I know, but . . . But she was my Mother, Ray!"

Rachel knew she'd better get Kitty moving before the shock could set in more fully. "Kitty, I know you didn't know I was here, or . . . did you?"

"No, I . . . "

"Then you have other people here." Rachel's words brought Lockheed, Kurt, and Wolverine to Kitty's mind. "People who Gods only know how badly those bitches have hurt them. People who need your help."

Kitty nodded as she slowly rose to her feet. "Grab the blonde, Ray," she spoke even as she trembled and fought to rein her tears in, "and let's get moving."

Rachel got to her feet but did not run for Elizabeth. Instead, her arms wrapped Kitty in a hug. Kitty returned her hug but then pulled away. "We've gotta get going." She swiped at her tears.

"I know," Rachel answered her, "but you wanna get this collar off first?"

Kitty nodded and moved toward Harriet's body to collect the keys. As soon as she had Rachel free, she'd send her friend toward the rescuing ship and head alone for the Saucy Wench's hold.


Cole shimmered into the place where he had just rescued Piper. If anything, the screams and scratching were louder and more frantic. "RO," he called, "I'M COMING! DON'T PANIC! I'M COMING!" He kept talking to her, but her screams, sobs, and clawing only continued. He saw the latch, reached down to the floor, firmly grasped the latch, and yanked it. It came straight up.

Ororo crawled out of the hole. Her entire body was trembling, and her fingernails had turned to bloody nubs that extended partially into her fingers. She collapsed on the floor and stayed there, shaking, crying, and murmuring incoherently to herself.

"I'm going to take you up into the air, 'Ro. Trust me. It's Cole, and I won't do anything to hurt you." He reached out, took her gently into his arms, and then shimmered the both of them out to the top of the ship and the night air. He sat her down on top of the ship, staying very close and praying that she would recover quickly. While waiting for her to recover, he talked to her. "I rescued Piper, but she's in bad shape. Katrina has her. She'll be fine after a while," he said as though he was trying to reassure himself as well as 'Ro.

Ororo still saw the rubble and felt its pressure and the dead bodies closing in all around her, but Cole's voice came to her like a whisper from far, far away. "P-Piper?" she whispered as her mind slowly started to clear. "I . . . I put her . . . "

"You put her where, 'Ro?" Cole asked as he sat down beside Ororo and slipped a comforting arm around her. He could feel her shivering and wished he knew how to help her to overcome the claustrophobia, whatever it was.

"I . . . " New tears were welling in her blue eyes. "I chained her, Cole! Goddess, I chained my own goddaughter to that bitch's bed!"

"I broke the chains," Cole calmly assured her. "She's alive, 'Ro. She's not going to blame you for chaining her. Piper said you were under a spell. I can take you to her," he offered, "but it will mean you will have to go back inside."

"I . . . I can not go back in right now, Cole. I . . . " She shivered again at the memories. She couldn't even begin to explain to him what had happened to her. She couldn't tell him that she had been a child again, trapped under the rubble and remains of her home and family. "I can not."

Thunder rumbled in the night sky, and lightning flashed. "But I will fight!" She got to her feet and hovered in the air as she turned to face him, her long, white hair blowing out in the winds behind her. "Thank you," she told him, "for saving her and me. Do you know where the others are?"

"Everywhere," Cole told her. "The rescue is under way, but we haven't saved everybody yet. Are you sure you're ready to fly?"

She nodded determinedly. "My home is the sky, Cole, and these . . . bitches," she could not bring herself to speak anywhere to even close of decently of the women who had came so close to killing her family and may have killed any of her three remaining goddaughters or her beloved Logan, "will pay for what they have done!" She shot high into the sky and, from her viewpoint above the ships, began throwing lightning bolts into the evil Piratesses.

Cole shimmered back to report to Piper that 'Ro was on the rampage, shooting lightning bolts at any evil Piratesses she spotted. He was not surprised to see that the device was off. He settled down beside her, taking her hand in his, and waiting for Katrina to restore her health.


Dawson yelped as a tall, muscular man dressed in black leather and sporting slicked-back, black hair and a black beard and mustache appeared out of nowhere to stand directly in his path. "This is for you to use to save Faith. Aphrodite sent Me."

"Th-Thanks," Dawson managed to speak, "but I don't know how to use that!" He had already been looking at the one he held in his own hand.

Ares ignored his complaint as He informed him, "You'd better hurry, kid. I think she's dying, and Aphrodite says you're the only one who can save her!"

"Me!" Dawson asked in a tremulous voice even as he realized that the man had disappeared as swiftly as he had appeared. He tucked Faith's sword into the back of his shirt and held on to his own even as he grabbed a rope and swung over to the other ship. He knew they had taken her there.

Just as he was about to let go of the rope, he lost his own sword. He grimaced as he heard it splash into the water. Now what was he to do with Faith's special sword! He knew she had had it specially crafted with intent to kill one man. He took it and held it aloft in his hand. The moonlight played down on it. "Aphrodite, help me," he spoke softly. She answered him with gifting him with new knowledge, and he then charged off into the direction he now knew Faith to be.

To Be Continued . . .