Chapter Twenty-two

The very instant Crystal had been freed from the wheel, her three animals had raced to her side. Blue flew straight to his mother's face, his wings ever so gently caressing her, but Cindy and Elvira hung back. They sensed something wrong, something that Blue ignored in his plight to make sure that Crys was all right.

Crystal was barely conscious, but despite being wrapped in more pain than she'd ever felt before in her entire life, she was still vaguely aware of her furbabies' presences. She sensed Elvira's and Cindy's hesitation and fought to keep from showing the fact that the gentle, tentative touches of Blue's wings sweeping over her face increased her pain even more. They were all right! She knew that for, although she could barely make out their forms through her cracked eyelids, her heart could sense each.

But what of Lorne and Angel? her mind worried. Where were they? Were they all right? And what had Cindy and Elvira so worried? She tried to speak, but her words refused to form. Instead, they came out as mere grunts and moans.


The first thought on Elvira's mind had been that her mother had been freed, but as she and her siblings had approached their mother, she had felt a great change in the air currents. Danger was coming, and the thought made her gray fur stand on end.

Cindy also felt what her lupine sister was picking up on. Her tawny fur bristled, and her tail slashed out at the air. She rose her head slowly and growled at the three who stood on Crystal's other side.

"Ya can't have her!" Fred exclaimed. "Get off o' her, ya mangy beasts!" Picking up the Sorceress' sword that had fallen to the deck, she struck at Elvira.

Fred's words had shocked Elvira, but just as she had started to look up at the human, Cindy had barreled into her. The impact knocked Fred to the deck and the sword out of her hand. Cindy growled fiercely as she struck at Fred with her claws. Fred struggled against the lioness, but she had always been a weakling and could barely even hope to fend herself off against the beast. She screamed as Cindy bit her again and again, moving her mouth in search of a more fatal spot.

Elvira and Blue, who had also looked up now, could barely believe what was happening! Fred was supposed to be a friend, but she had wanted to keep them from their mother and even tried to attack them! Neither moved to pull Cindy off, and Crystal was too far gone to help. Elvira whimpered in confusion, and Blue, taking note of the glowing, red eyes on the two girls and their accompanying monkey, cooed urgently for aid.

"SHUT UP!" Dawn snarled at them. She had just picked up the sword that Fred had dropped and now hit Elvira in the shoulder with it. The blow drew blood and knocked Elvira to the deck, and it was all Blue could do to keep from launching himself at the girl. He cooed louder, his wings flapping angrily.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Dawn roared. She started to turn to Blue even as Spike let out another howl. She changed her direction immediately and stared, anger flushing her face, at the blonde Vampire bawling over the headless corpse of his wife.

"I'M SICK OF YOU!" Dawn suddenly yelled, charging toward Spike. "ALWAYS BAWLING OVER THAT BITCH! KYNA THIS; KYNA THAT! IF SHE WASN'T DEAD, I'D KILL HER MYSELF!"

Even as Dawn headed toward Spike, Elvira began to get back on her paws. The blow had stunned her temporarily, and now she met the monkey face-on as the primate launched itself, screaming, screeching, biting, and clawing, right into the wolf's face.


Things were happening much too fast. Trying to assess the situation, Angel was not sure exactly just what the Hell was happening. Why were Dawn and Fred acting like their brains were gone, and Ace's stupid monkey gone berserk, as well? Where was Ace so that he could get the monkey under control?

He had not been surprised to see Celina drop to the deck, grasping at it with all her claws, as he knew Alderberan cats from prior experience. What he had been surprised to see was in the last seconds, his sister was released from the wheel and another Piratess was thrown into the wheel while Celina fell unconscious.

Lorne was the first one who grasped the situation fully. "They're under a spell!" he spoke urgently to Angel. "We must not let them get to Crystal! Gods know what they want her for! And we can't risk hurting them! After all, they are members of our crew and know not what they are doing!"


Judson had been laughing while telekinetically whirling Faith around and around in the air until he caught sight of Dawson storming at him. Judson's eyes narrowed in on the sword. He knew there was something special about it but dismissed the thought. After all, nothing could stop him!

He chuckled at the boy's attempt and made no effort to move away from the incoming blow. Instead, a new plan formed, and he began to speak hurriedly. He would allow the boy to think that he had killed him while a new world fused together for Dawson and, his favorite prey of all, Faith.

The language Judson spoke was unknown to Dawson, but he did not let it bother him as he continued forward. Faith, on the other hand, recognized the words for she had heard Judson speak in similar tones many years ago. Had she been able to, she would have attempted to discern what he was saying, what plan or spell he was weaving, but as his invisible grasp continued turning her every which way but inside out, she did not have a chance nor could she see what was happening below long enough to really make heads or tails of the scene.

Judson continued his spell as Faith's sword, gripped in Dawson's hand, came ever closer to his heart . . .


Elvira's black eyes peered anxiously around the deck of the Harlot. They had been doing so well in cutting their enemy down that she had began to actually have a little hope in her black heart, but then everything had changed. In a matter of seconds, they had been left with very few still standing, and as she looked around at the recovering injured, her heart ached.

The blonde who had nearly given his life to save his brunette lover was still holding tightly to him, and the other man seemed no more willing to let go of his love. The same could be said for the redhead and brunette women, and Elvira could not blame any of them. After all, all she wanted was to find her beloved Wolf, rescue him, and hold him, knowing that their family was safe once more and everything would be okay again.

Matrix was trying to talk AndrAla into sitting the rest of the battle out while Frisket laid, resting, at their feet. Joseph and Rogue stood quietly in the shelter of one another's arms, and Sam had also stepped to the side, waiting to see when and where he would be needed next. Jack paced the deck, the worry on his face as clear as the milky white light of the full moon. A tabby cat stayed persistently on his heels.

Elvira heard fighting and turned her head to see that Raziel, the Vampire without flesh, continued to fight. A look in the other direction revealed Ray crying over Doyle's body and Mouse doing her best to comfort her lover in his time of grief.

Elvira sighed deeply. This had all been caused by her bitch of a sister. Helvira had put this all into motion just to destroy Delvira's and her lives yet again! Elvira knew her evil sister had not been spotted throughout the entire battle and also realized that she was probably even now carrying on her tortures.

It had to stop, Elvira thought. Helvira had to die. She didn't know how to kill her and knew that so many others had tried every trick in the book to kill the bitch yet she kept coming back. Still, Helvira had to go! This could not continue, and Elvira could not risk another life falling into Helvira's clutches!

On silent feet, Elvira turned and headed toward the one place that, as far as she knew, hadn't been checked yet -- below deck.


Spike looked up even as Dawn approached him, yelling something about Kyna. She had never been ugly toward Kyna in the past, and he wondered just what the Hell was wrong with her now. Then he saw her eyes glow even as she swung at him with her sword! "HOLY CRAP!" he shouted as he jumped to his feet, prepared to do battle.

It was at that moment a new pair arrived. Xena assessed the situation immediately. Coming up behind Dawn, who was just beginning to raise Hell again, she applied a chop to her solar plexus. "That should hold her for at least a few minutes."

Gabrielle nodded in agreement but did not speak. Instead, her green eyes trailed to the head that continued to swing from Xena's belt.

Spike's eyes followed Gabrielle's, and he gasped aloud as he saw Kyna's head. "Thank the Gods you found it!" he told Xena and reached his hands out for it.

Xena untied the hair from her belt and handed Kyna's head carefully to Spike. Spike took the head and knelt beside Kyna's body, laying the head at the top. "At least we'll be able to bury her whole," he said with a sigh.

"Bury her!" Xena exclaimed. "You can't bury her! She's not dead!"

"I think she got hit on the head," Gabrielle whispered to Spike.

Spike looked at Xena as though she had lost her mind. "What do you mean she's not dead, Xena? For crying out loud, she's beheaded!"

"It's happened before," Xena told both of them. "She's dead now, but she'll wake up when the next full moon rises."

"If only that were true!" Spike cried from his place beside Kyna.


Though she had appeared to be completely lost in her concern for her beloved, Mouse had glanced up the very second she had felt eyes upon them. She had seen the look on Elvira's pale face and had known instantly what the woman was planning. She couldn't blame her, but she also could not allow her to go alone.

Still, Mouse knew that Ray, no matter how greatly she loved him, was no match for the bitch they had been warned of. She was a much better fighter than Ray, but still it would be all she could do to hold her own against the monster. She knew she probably wouldn't make it back to Ray, but she had to try and could no more take Ray with her than let Elvira go alone.

Her arms became lax in their hold on Ray, and she let him continue to cry even as she watched Elvira's maneuvers. She took note of the direction she went and then, when the grief for his best friend had consumed Ray to the point she thought he wouldn't know if she left, began to head after her.


In mid-air, Angel managed to snatch Clyde before he could strike Elvira full in the face. He held the monkey at arm's length and shook him. When that didn't work to bring the monkey back to his senses, Angel beat the little devil against the deck until the repeating impact knocked the monkey out.

He didn't know where Ace was, but he knew he had to find him and give Clyde to him. Whatever had put the spell on the girls and Clyde had to be found and destroyed or they would not return to their normal selves and only Ace could control Clyde normally. He only hoped that Ace could control him now.

Lorne was in shock. His normally green skin had turned a very pale shade of chartreuse, and he felt extremely squeamish after seeing the shape that Crys was in. He knew better than to reach out and touch her. He could only half imagine the pain she was in. "Blue, come away, and don't continue to touch your mother. I hate to tell you, but you are causing her great pain."

Lorne's voice washed over Crystal even as Blue cooed in confusion. She tried to speak, both to call to Lorne and to agree with him, but still her words would not form and only guttural sounds came out. Was he okay? she wondered and tried to open her eyes more even as Blue flew off of her with a sad face.

"Just lay still, Crystal, love. I don't know what to do to help you, but any movement you make is going to hurt more. Soon as we get this situation under control, I'll get a healer to you. I'm sorry for the pain. I wish I could take it from you. I love you."

His eyes were quickly drawn to where Cindy had Fred, trying to make a beef jerky snack out of her. "CINDY, STOP AT ONCE! THAT'S ONE OF OUR MEMBERS!" His voice went up a notch with each word he spoke, hoping that he would not have to actually put his hands out and grab Cindy as he did not know how that would come out for him.

Crystal could hear Lorne speaking and Cindy growling, but still the worried thought persisted in her mind. She had to get her eyes open or else she'd never know if Lorne and Angel were all right. Where was Angel, any way? He seemed to have fallen silent.

Blue looked from his mother to Lorne and Angel. "Coo coo coo," he spoke to them, knowing that Crys might well think his words to be of mere reassurance. He then looked at the situation with Cindy, who was not willing to let up, and Fred, who continued to scream in agony. "Coo coo!" he commented in a much different tone.

"CINDY, IF YOU DON'T LET GO OF FRED, I AM GOING TO SING, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE IT!"

Angel carried Clyde over and laid him down beside Lorne's foot. He then assessed the situation. "Crys, I know you can barely hear us. Don't struggle. Just lay quietly. I don't know what miracle Celina used to get you out of the wheel," his eyes glanced toward the wheel, "and who she put in your place, but she's not able to heal you right now. Lorne and I are fine, just need you to get better, and as soon as we get Cindy under control, we'll search for a healer."

Relief washed through Crystal at Angel's reassuring words. Everything would be all right, she thought despite the pain that roared through her body. Lorne, Angel, and her babies were all okay, and though she didn't know where Jack had gone, she knew her cousin would be unharmed.

"Brace yourself," Angel warned, "as best you can; Lorne's going to sing." His hands went to his ears immediately, a stature that Blue mimicked with his wings. Elvira, taking a clue from the guys, laid across the deck with a whimper and covered her folded ears with her paws.

Cindy, however, continued to fight Fred. Though she had now slowed, it was not due to Lorne's threat but rather Angel's word that they would begin looking for a healer as soon as they got her under control. Still, to think that they wanted her to stop fighting this bitch who had thought she'd keep her from her mother!

"Last warning, Cindy," Lorne told her. "Either let Fred go or suffer the consequences." He looked severely at her, allowing her one last opportunity.

No, Cindy decided, it wasn't going to work, and she wasn't going to stop! Angel was nice, but this green jackass actually thought he could control her! Her tail lashed out at his face.

Lorne's mouth opened, and he began to sing each note higher than the last. Soon, his voice could only be heard by the animals and most especially by Cindy, who he directed the brunt of his singing to. Elvira whined, and Blue roared. Still, Cindy persisted until Lorne hit a note that seemed to cut through the very fabric of her skull. With a cry of pain, she fell to Fred's side, and Fred quickly scuttled away, her red eyes moving from the lioness to Lorne and Angel.

The minute Cindy had fallen, Lorne ceased singing. He looked at Fred, who was still trying to scuttle away. "Some one has put them under a spell," he reminded Angel.

"Yes, but what to do about it?" Angel asked.

"Find out who it is and . . . " His voice trailed off as he searched for a better way to phrase what he knew had to be done.

"I'm on it," Angel told him. "Watch out for that damn monkey. If he wakes up, there'll be Hell to pay. I don't know where Ace is, but I'll be glad when he shows up."


From her advantage point in the night sky, Ororo could see much more than any of the others on the decks below. She had been taking note of everything that was happening and knew that Paige, Phoebe, and Piper were safe. She also realized that Logan and Prue had not yet been found and that they must be being held in one of the holds on the ships. She wasn't sure which ship Prue might be on, but she knew that Helvira had taken Logan and that her beloved was undoubtedly still being held captive aboard the Harlot.

Movement on that ship's deck caught her attention, and she watched as Elvira slunk below deck and a purple-skinned woman swiftly followed behind her. 'Ro knew instantly where her friend was headed, but their movements were not all that caught her attention. She saw a strange creature who appeared to be missing his flesh fighting the enemy and watched Jack frantically pacing the deck in search.

Her heart went out to her new son. She knew he must be worried out of his mind for not only their beloved Logan but also for his brother, and her other new son and Prue's love, Brendan. She had to let him go with her. Besides, what if she got down there and failed in handling her fear? The thought alone of being confined again so quickly made her shiver, but she knew she had no choice. She also had to have backup.


Morph had been swimming alongside Janeesa when he suddenly felt Celina disappear from their mindlink. Terror struck his face and heart at the same time, and he froze in the water.

What's wrong? Janeesa was quick to ask.

MY WIFE! Morph's panicking mind shouted back. Even as he did so, he began to swim and transform again. After resuming his natural form, Morph concentrated on a new form he had not taken before but only seen a few times when Gabrielle and Celina had been talking about the animal.

His skin turned gray. A long nose that almost looked like a sword exploded from his own nose, and a fin arched from his back. When the appearance was complete, Morph had joined the fleets of the fastest animal in the water -- none other than the swift sailfish!

Go with Gods' speed, Janeesa told him, and may you find her in good health! I hope to see you again! She watched as her new friend quickly disappeared and followed in his wake as fast as she could. He was soon out of sight, and she hoped that he did find his wife and that things would be all right for them. She liked her new friend.


Ray did not make any sign that he knew Mouse was leaving. Only the minute her arms were gone from him, he watched her through slanted eyes. He saw then that she was following Elvira.

How dare the two of them sneak off together and leave him out of the battle! He knew he wasn't near as good as Mouse, but he'd bet his surfboard that he was better than Elvira! He got shakily to his feet, dashed the tears from his eyes, and began following them at a short distance.

Ray felt a disturbance in the air current and turned to his right only to be surprised by one he had not expected to join: Raziel. He looked questioningly at Raziel even as the Vampire telekinetically threw another onrushing Piratess away from them. "You will need my help this night."

Ray nodded, glad for the help. "We must be very quiet."

"Speak for yourself, Sprite. I never make noise. I let you know I was coming. I did not want to frighten you. Much evil emanates from below deck, and there are many lives that hang in the balance, many souls but only one is greatly steeped in evil. That one I wish to devour."

"She's all yours, mate!" Ray told him, his skin going an even whiter shade. The two men continued in silence down into the darkness of below deck.


"We need to get this one," Xena said, indicating Dawn laying on the deck, "and Kyna safely over to Destiny's Ghost."

Spike was having a lot of trouble believing that Kyna was not truly dead. His heart was broke, but still he chose to believe Xena knew what she was talking about as he knew that Xena had been with her in the past. He knew that he was not aware of all of Kyna's secrets. He couldn't just let this one go, however. "Xena, you say she'll wake up on the next rise of the full moon, but isn't she an Immortal, and don't they die when their heads are taken?"

"Yes," Xena told him. "She will awaken on the next rise of the full moon. She is an Immortal, but she has a curse on her. No one knows this except for me, and I think it's time that you know. Just don't tell her that I told you. A long time ago, Kyna's family was cursed. The only way that they can truly die is if one of their offsprings reaches their 21st birthday."

"Then she's safe," Spike exclaimed, "because we're together and we're not havin' any children! I'm a Vampire! We don't have children!" Then he grew quiet, and his voice trailed off. "Oh my Gods!" he breathed. "Angel has a son!"

Xena said, "I guess none of us know everything there is to know about Vampires, so perhaps you might take precautions to prevent children? But that's something you and Kyna will have to talk about. Give her a chance to tell you about her little secrets."


"Ya won't find her!" Fred tossed at the men, "an' that monkey'll wake up! Here, monkey, monkey, monkey!" She began to screech like an actual monkey, hoping to awaken the primate.

"Now we can't have that, can we?" Angel spoke to her as he moved closer to her. With each step he took, Fred scuttled further away, but then he kicked into his Vampiric speed. It only took him seconds to catch Fred and knock her out; then he laid her beside Lorne, reverting back to his normal self.

"If she wakes up," he said, looking at Cordelia, who was still staring at Crys, "knock her back out."

Cordy's hazel eyes finally left Crystal to gaze into the face of the man she loved. She couldn't let him go alone, could she? She hadn't been trained yet, though, not fully, so would she not be but a greater hindrance? She was at a loss. She wanted to help her love but didn't know how.

Angel read her mind. "Lorne will need help more than I do. If either of those two wake up, he will be lost to their hands." He walked over, held her for a brief moment, and whispered so that only she could hear, "He's too gentle for his own good, and those two are killers right now."

Cordelia nodded against Angel's chest, trying to be brave. She had sensed that already in Lorne and had taken note of how he had not even been able to bring himself to say that the one who had put the spell on Fred, Dawn, and the monkey must be killed. She would have to do her best to keep the rest of their little family safe for her beloved while he dealt with the Sorceress. She had no real choice for she was the only one there even remotely capable of doing so.

Cordy turned to face Angel and cupped his face in her hands. "Be careful," she whispered against his lips, "and come back here safe." She pressed her lips to his.

Angel returned her kiss even as his hands slid down her backside and cupped her rear. His heart sang with the thought that now, even though she had seen him at his weakest, she still loved him! "I'll come back just as soon as I can, my darling, and thank you for taking care of them." He released her reluctantly.

Cordelia nodded, still fighting to keep up her brave composure. "I love you, Angel."

"I love you too, sweetheart. My heart sings because you love me! I wish I had a weapon to give you, but I have been unable to spot anything. Be careful; I don't want to come back here and find them in charge, so if they move just a little bit, hit their head on the deck again. It's the only thing we have to knock them out with."

Cordelia had to fight to keep her tears away as she watched Angel leave. Straightening her shoulders and rising her chin a notch higher, she then turned her attention back to the matter at hand. She needed to be by both Fred and the monkey -- Clyde, she believed Angel had called it --, so she picked up the unconscious monkey and carried it over to Fred, who lay on Lorne's other side. Laying the monkey beside Fred, she slowly lowered herself to the deck, covering her legs with what was left of her dress' soiled and tattered skirt.

Her hazel eyes scanned the deck again for Angel, but she could not find him in the dark. Looking back to Lorne and Crystal's babies, who now circled the blonde, she wished that she could somehow help them . . . and loathed herself once more for helping Crystal bring this fate upon herself.


It did not take Janeesa too long to reach the ships, and she noticed that there were a lot of bodies floating around. She slowly moved toward them and had almost reached out to touch one when Robbie stuck his head above the water, shaking his head at her. He told her, "Do not mess with them! They're humans, and they're dead!"

She was about to swim away when she heard a splash. "That one's not dead!" she told Robbie. "We can help him!"

Robbie told her, "A live human is no better than a dead human! We do not need to mess with them, either! We might end up on a plate!"

"We're going to help them! That's what we came here for!" Janeesa reminded him and headed straight for the man, who kept trying to pull himself up out of the water only to fall back in again.


Dawson drove the sword straight into Judson's heart. He screamed as he did so. "DIE, YOU BASTARD, AND LEAVE HER ALONE!" He ground the sword in and felt it go all the way into the Demon up to the hilt in his hand.

Judson had thought the boy was no harm, but the very second the blade cut his skin, it had began to glow . . . and he had seen it for what it truly was -- an instrument blessed with true love! His scream of "NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" was real, but as he fell to the deck, truly dead, his body seemed to change.

Dawson's startled eyes could not believe what his hand had just accomplished for before him lay Faith's body, dead, and he knew he had killed her! He screamed even as he snatched his hand from the sword that no longer glowed but now burned.

How could Judson have done this! How could he have swapped with Faith in the last minutes, just before Dawson had made connection! "OH GODS, NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed as he fell to his knees, reaching for Faith's body.

Cruel laughter bubbled up from behind him, and Judson's voice answered him. "Oh, yes, indeed," Judson crooned, now standing where Faith had fallen when Judson had breathed his last. He stepped closer. "Did you honestly think you could manage it? Did you actually believe she could love you? Or that you could save her?"

Dawson reached for the only weapon he had left -- the small dagger that Brendan had given him in what seemed like a lifetime ago. "YOU WILL DIE, JUDSON, BY MY HAND! FAITH LOVED ME, AND I LOVE HER! YOU CAUSED THIS TRAGEDY!" He got to his feet and ran straight at Judson with his dagger raised.

"Oh, come now, son," Judson's face sneered, "haven't you figured it out? You couldn't save Faith, because you can't save anybody . . . " His blonde hair and pale skin began to darken. His clothes swirled, changing into a sweater and a pair of denim breeches. "You can't even save yourself!" Mitch Leery declared.

"IT CAN'T BE YOU! I HATE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME, AND I KNOW YOU'RE DEAD! FAITH KILLED YOU! SHE WOULDN'T HAVE LIED ABOUT THAT! IF YOU'RE ALIVE NOW, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU A SECOND TIME!" He finally reached Mitch and started to drive the dagger home . . .


Gabrielle could not believe that Spike was falling into this. Maybe Xena was telling the truth, she wondered, and not just some absurd idea that had happened due to a hit on her head? Could Spike be smelling the truth on her? But he hadn't sniffed her, so that possibility was out of the question!

"Wait a minute," Gabrielle spoke, her hands slicing through the air. "Even if this is true, Xena, and even if Kyna is cursed and will come back, her head's still off of her body! What are you going to do? Sew it back on?" she questioned incredulously, her green eyes peering directly up into her beloved's blue orbs.

"In the past, when she was training me, she lost her head."

"You took her head?"

"No! She was my teacher! We were attacked, and an enemy took her head! One of her other followers told me to put her head and body together in the bed, as though as I was putting her to bed, and leave her alone until the next full moon. Sure enough, when the light of the full moon bathed her, she stirred and came back to life, her head fused back into place by itself!"

"Believe me, it freaked me out! That's when she told me about the curse. I was not supposed to tell any one, but I know you're not going to tell any one else and Spike needs to know. He just can't let her know that he knows."

Gabrielle nodded, finally accepting the truth that Xena spoke. Still, though, she couldn't help but to be amazed. After all, who had ever heard of a human who could not be killed other than by her child reaching a certain age!

Spike picked up Kyna's body and tied her hair securely to her belt. "I'm taking Kyna over to the Ghost. If one of you want to follow and bring Dawn, I'd appreciate it. And, believe me, I won't tell Kyna what you just told me, but knowing her, she'll probably figure it out any way."

Xena picked up Dawn's body and swung over to the Ghost, following Spike. Gabrielle was about to follow when a redhead stepped up to her. "Perhaps you can take this . . . annoyance from me?" Rachel requested.

Gabby's green eyes went wide as she recognized Elizabeth Swann floating in mid-air. She nodded quickly, took the other blonde into her arms, and followed after Spike and Xena.


Angel slowly left his family, making his way back to where he had seen the wheel that still towered in the air over Celina. He looked up at it and the lovely woman contained therein. "Release the ones you have put a spell on and I will give you an easier death!" He waited expectantly for her reply.

Before the Sorceress could respond, a familiar, carefully even, and almost cold voice sounded from behind Angel. "That is not yours to grant, Angel. Stand aside. This bitch is ours."

"Frost," the Sorceress snarled, "how did you -- " Then she spotted the Irish man who stood firmly beside the woman in dingy white that had been so dirty for so long that it now bordered on gray. "How did your little bastard find you!" she spat.

"Silence!" Emma snapped. "I have heard your tongue for the last time, Sorceress! Now," her mind reached out to the blonde's, easily slipping past her guard now that her powers were no longer prohibited, "eat your own tongue!" The Sorceress began to chew her very tongue at Emma's commandment!

Angel turned his head away in disgust. Maybe, by the time the woman had eaten herself, for that is what he thought Emma had intended, the others would be free from the spell? He began to make his way back to where he had left his family. He did not want to bare witness to what was taking place.


"There!" Kitty announced at last from the advantage point she shared with Lockheed, who was curled around her shoulders, and Rachel, whose telekinesis was what was keeping them both floating in the air. "There's another redhead! Let's try her!"

Ray sighed. "This is beginning to get rather boring," she commented. "Find a redhead, check her out, find out she's the enemy, and drop her to the sharks . . . "

"If she's the enemy this time," Kitty exasperatedly told her friend, "you can find a more exciting way to end her life, but we've got to find Spike's healer for Crystal!"

Rachel sighed defeatedly. "All right. I'm going in." She closed her eyes and started to reach out to the other redhead's mind only to be met with what felt like a brick wall.


Jack continued walking slowly, trying to pick up any sounds that might tell him where the others were. He knew where the hold was, and he was now on his way there. What to do with the cat? he thought. It kept twining in and out of his feet even as he walked.

He paused for a minute and knelt down by the kitty. "Thank you for saving my life, twice now. I appreciate it, but you can't go below deck with me. You need to stay above. It's too dangerous down there, and there's no telling what's waiting." He stroked the cat gently on the head.

"Mrrw? Mrrw mrrw meow!" the cat exclaimed and, when it saw that Jack could not understand what it was saying, it simply shook its head.

Jack had been feeling the gentle breezes and knew that Ororo was somewhere nearby. Therefore, he was not surprised to hear her voice. "It appears you have found a friend who may well be a tad . . . too loyal?"

"Perhaps, but I don't want him to follow me down into what might be certain death. It is too dangerous for him down there, yet he dares to argue with me! What do I do?"

"You leave him without a choice, my . . . " Now was as good a time as any to begin. " . . . my son, and entrust him to one who can be trusted." With gentle breezes, she lifted the protesting tabby up into the air. She turned slowly, her blue eyes searching the deck for the only other man besides Remy LeBeau who she had been not only surprised but even shocked to see that night.

Jack watched as the cat was lifted up, up, and away. It felt good to be called son, and he treasured the moment. "Where are you sending the cat?" he asked.

"Samuel," Ororo called, finally spying the White Lighter, "it is good to see you, my friend. Take care of this valiant feline for me, will you, please?"

Samuel lifted his arms and caught the cat in the air. "I will gladly take care of your cat, 'Ro. Do you know of any who have need of healing? I am getting rather tired, and I am not picking up as well on our weak and injured. I am sure there are more out there, but I just can't seem to find them!"

"There are many who are still needing healing, old friend," Ororo replied, her blue eyes matching the sadness in her tone, "but one who is most in need and capable of being healed at this time is aboard the Saucy Wench, not too far from the wheel."

"Who!" Jack demanded to know. "Who has been placed in the wheel!" His hands gripped into fists. "I will deal with them personally when I find out who put them in there!"

"Who?" Sam asked, concern showing in his voice.

Ororo glanced at Jack and laid a stilling hand on his clenching fist. "I have reason to believe that they have already been taken care of. She is no longer in the wheel, but . . . " She looked back to Sam. "Crystal is still in dire need of your services."

"I will go there immediately," Sam told her. "Thank you for telling me." Holding the cat gently, he orbed.

"Is she alive . . . still? How did they get her out of that awful thing? I have lost some friends to that horrid device, and no one I've ever known has lived to get out of it!"

"She is alive though . . . barely. Celina . . . " 'Ro paused. "That reminds me," she thought aloud, and the Weather Witch rose her voice to a shout. "SAMUEL, REMEMBER CELINA LEWIS! SHE IS THE SIAMESE CATWOMAN!"

Clearing her throat, Ororo spoke normally once more. "Celina assisted as much as she was capable of doing so, and they were protected by . . . " She paused as a blue boy suddenly materialized before them. " . . . him and Crystal's children. Angel, Lorne, and Cordelia were with them the last I saw them."

"Hello, Jack!" Sparrow spoke to the boy. "Thank you for taking care of Crys. I know you would have liked to have done more as would we all," he said in a lower voice. "It's good to have you fighting with us."

"Hello, Jack," the other Jack returned, trying but failing to make light of the situation. "I am not much of a fighter, but I will do things to save Crystal that I would for no other. I can, however, help you to free your friends. I'll be near," he promised before vanishing back into thin air.

"Strange boy," Jack said, looking at 'Ro. "Are you staying up here? You know I have to go down there. That bitch has my family down there, and I'm going to get them back!"

Ororo knew that Jack had began to catch on to her fear from his concerned question, and though the thought of the task ahead scared her, Ororo's voice and demeanor remained steady. "You are not the only one," she spoke simply, "who must go down there for your . . . for our family."

"Yes, for our family," he agreed with a grim nod. "It felt good to be called son," he told her. "I've never known the love of a mother, and I look forward to it." He smiled at her. "Shall we go?"

Ororo's hand rose to gently touch Jack's shoulder as she looked directly into the younger man's eyes. "If we make it through this, Jack, I promise that you will know that love, my son, at least as best as I am capable of giving it." She then nodded gravely, her hand leaving his shoulder. "It is past time," she admitted.

Jack strode boldly forward, and though his heart was full of fear to the point that his boots were almost quaking, nothing in Heaven or Hell would prevent him from reaching the destiny that now lay before him. His family was down there, and he was going to get them back!

Ororo followed at a slower pace, her heart in her throat and her nails biting into the palms of her hands. She had to do this, she reminded herself. Logan, Prue, and Brendan were depending upon them; there was no other choice. Goddess, help me, she prayed. Help us.


Sean had not said a word. He would not intervene with the blonde Sorceress until Emma had had her fill. Then, it would be his turn, if there was anything left.

Emma had longed for the day that she would be able to turn the table on her captive, but now that it had come, she found it rather impossible to reach the woman with her hands. Still, however, she was far from helpless to take her revenge, and a psychic whip formed in her hand. She began to strike the Sorceress repeatedly on each exposed area of skin.

Even while whipping the Sorceress, Emma's telepathy surfaced images in the Sorceress' mind. She made her remember every time that she had ever done anything to her, but this time, the Sorceress felt the pain that Emma once had.


Autolycus was worn slam out but knew that if he couldn't get back aboard the ship, he would drown. He had shouted for help until his voice had finally given out, and now he had been feebly trying to pull himself aboard the ship only to fall back in.

"Hello!" Janeesa called. "I am here to help you!"

Autolycus turned around and looked at her, his mouth falling open. He tried to say something, but only a squeak came out.

"I am a friend," she told him. "Morph knows me. He has gone to help his wife, and I am here to help you." She looked way up at the ship, trying to find something to pull him up and finally spotted a rope.

How could she get her hands on it? she wondered. "Can we flip that high?" she asked Robbie. "Perhaps one of us could catch it?"

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head, "but we could get one of those birds to drop us a line." He immediately set to trying to contact a bird. Within seconds, a rope dropped down the side.

Janeesa looked for the other end but could not see it. "Where are the birds?" she asked Robbie.

"On the other end of the rope! Where else would they be?"

"Ask them if they are able to pull a man up."

Robbie asked the birds and, after much laughing and cawing, he got a bird with a more sedate mind. I can pull anything up, mate! Attach him, and we'll pull him up!

Thank you! Robbie called even as he conveyed the message to Janeesa.

Janeesa quickly tied the rope around Autolycus. "Hang on tight! Hope you get better!" she told him. She hated to think that he might be leaving one source of danger only to go into another.

"PULL!" Robbie shouted to the birds, and they watched in silence as the man was pulled to the top of the ship. "That's all we can do," Robbie told her. "Let's go home!"

"Not until we check the other bodies!" Janeesa told Robbie. "If they're all dead, we'll just leave them, but even if we only find one alive, we will save them."

Robbie wished Herbert would come back from wherever he'd gone, because Janeesa was just getting too dangerous and he knew Herbert could talk her into going home.


Kennedy sensed the very moment that Willow went stiff. "What is it?" she queried in concern.

"Some one's trying to read my mind!" Willow exclaimed. Her green eyes darted around in search of the person who dared to attempt the feat, but she could see no conscious enemies upon the deck. She frowned in confusion even as Rachel tried again and was once more met by the block.


Emma had kept the torture up for some time, but her body was growing quickly tired. She also knew that Sean ached to be able to step in and have a part of the revenge. After all, if not for the Sorceress, Emma would have found a way to freedom many years ago, enabling them to find each other long before they finally had this night.

At last, Emma stilled, the whip vanishing from her hand. "I could," she announced, "turn you into a vegetable or simply shut down your brain entirely. I will do neither, however, for as much as you have pained me over the years, you have also hurt the man I love. Now, Sean, dear," she smirked at Sean, "it's your turn." She stepped back, allowing him a chance to do whatever he pleased.

Placing both his hands upon Emma's ears and his head over hers, Sean concentrated and let go with one of his loudest sonic screams, shattering the screaming Sorceress into a million pieces. The night wind pushing through gathered the pieces and carried them far away.

Sean had taken great pleasure in destroying this one enemy because of all the things that she had done to torture his beloved Emma and bringing her to the point of wanting to kill herself. He could not even begin to imagine what Emma had gone through, but it was over now. The bitch was dead at long last! Sean gathered Emma to him, picked her up, and began carrying her toward Destiny's Ghost and their new life.


The first body they discovered was dead. So were the second and the third. The fourth had been dead for a longer time than the others, and Janeesa blushed when she noticed that his pisser was still hanging out of his pants! However, the fifth and final body she could see was beautiful when she turned it over.

Shaggy, blonde hair framed its face, and she reached a hand up to brush it away. Its softness surprised her for, though the human's hair was soft, its body was lean and hard. She gazed into its handsome face for a moment before shaking herself and assessing it further.

As Janeesa's gaze slowly traveled down the human's tanned, muscular body, she realized that it was a male, like her friend, Morph, but where Morph was not exactly the most gorgeous thing in the world, this man looked like an Angel! She figured he might have fallen out of the sky and was in danger of drowning because of having all the air knocked out of him. That was when she saw the blood coming out of him and knew that the sharks would soon be turning their attention to him.

"We must get help for him. We can't take him with us."

Robbie breathed a sigh of relief on that note! He had been afraid that Janeesa was going to do just that and take him with them! He shivered from his nose to his tail, however, when her loud mouth opened, and she began to yell at the ship. "HELP! DROWNING MAN DOWN HERE!"

Janeesa's screaming stirred the unconscious man, and Trent Malloy opened his eyes for just a brief moment. He weakly turned his head toward the sound of the voice, and his blue eyes shot wide in shock as he saw a pair of milky white, luscious breasts barely clad in shells only an inch away from his mouth! Red colored his face instantly, and his gaze quickly moved higher.

Trent's blue eyes ran up a slender throat to a full mouth that was open as wide as it surely must be capable of doing so. Her lovely face reminded him of a pixie, but even as his fogged mind started to wonder if she might be a Faerie, splashing in the water caused him to turn his head. He saw a dolphin, but what shocked him was part of his rescuer's body. Instead of legs, the woman had a scaly, green tail!

Robbie's eyes grew wide with fear when he realized that the man was looking at both of them. "Leave him, Janeesa! He's nothing but trouble! He'll get you into trouble!"

Trent could not even manage to ponder what the dolphin was so excited about as unconsciousness claimed him again.

"I can't!" Janeesa told Robbie. "He'll drown!" She began to call for help once more.


The very second Dawson had driven her sword home into Judson's heart and the bastard had fallen to the deck, Faith had been freed from his telekinetic grip and had also fallen. As she pushed herself up on first her elbows and then her hands, her dark eyes sought Dawson out. What she saw, however, stopped her heart's beating within her chest and caused her flesh to turn as white as a ghost.

NO! IT COULDN'T BE! Yet there was no denying her eyes, no rebuffing of what she could see with her own two eyes to be the truth! Judson now held her sword in his hand, and Dawson lay where the Priest's body had supposedly fallen, her sword buried in his chest!

With a sneer, Judson pulled the sword out of Dawson's chest and twirled it around in his hand. "Oh, Faith," he spoke, crooning as he had long, long ago. "Faith, my pretty, little, lost lamb, did you honestly think the boy had it in him? Did you really believe he could save you, that he'd even want to?"

"HE LOVED ME," Faith snarled, pushing herself to a standing position. "HE LOVED ME, AND YOU KILLED HIM! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!"

"How?" Judson retorted. "You have no weapon. You're nothing but a scared, little confused child trying to be an adult, be a bitch so that the world can't hurt you . . . " He was upon her in an instant, her sword at her own heart. "But I'll always be able to hurt you, Faith."

"I'll always be able to hurt you and take whatever I want from you!" In movements swifter than even Faith could follow, Judson had thrown her sword to the side, pulled her hair back, and slammed his mouth upon hers. His voice spoke within her mind. You'll make love to me, Faith. You'll make love to me, and you'll love every bit of it.

Even as Judson's voice echoed in her mind, his body began to change, working its way through a repeating cycle of Judson, Lilah, and Faith's mother. She whimpered against his lips, desperately trying to shove him off of her but to no avail. You'll like it. You'll love it. You'll want more of it, Judson's voice persisted in her head.

Just as you always did before. You're still that same girl, Faith, and I'm still the only one with the power to break you or help you. Come on. Stop fighting! You know you like it!

To Faith's horror, she did like the taste of Judson's lips. There was something sweet in them that had never been there before, something earth-shattering, something she craved more of, something . . . familiar . . .

To Be Continued . . .