Chapter Twenty-seven
Clark breathed a sigh of relief when Spike, Sean, and a blonde who appeared to be the Irish man's woman finally reached the group. "Now that your Captain's here," he spoke to the members of Destiny's Ghost, "we may begin."
Crystal ceased cutting daggers at Lorne to look up at Clark. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, she spoke, "Clark, go ahead. I know you need to get to your own family. I'll handle this."
Clark's blue eyes looked doubtfully down into the blonde's pale face. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes," Crys answered firmly. "It is, after all, my responsibility." Turning her back to Clark, she started, "I know you've all noticed that it's snowing."
"No kidding!" Kennedy mumbled. "Will somebody please just tell us what the heck's going on!"
"An evil beyond what any of you have encountered before is on his way here."
Ace stood, looking at the blonde woman. "You don't know what kind of evil I've seen in my time, and I've fought every bit of it. I'll fight him, too, when he gets here." Then, he reached up and snatched the small dog off of him just before Didymus could hit him again with his cane.
"Didymus, I told you if you did that one more time . . . !" He held the small dog up and dangled him. "We'll see about your King in a minute! In the mean while, I know he's on that ship . . . " He flung the little dog toward the other ship. "GO ON YOUR OWN!" he yelled after him.
Even as Didymus' wail disappeared into the distance and Clark flew off in search of the Harlot's hold, Crystal glared at the man with the strange hair cut. Cindy's tail cut through the air like a knife, and Elvira growled, her eyes glowing in the dark. Blue's angry coo added to his family's protests. "Sir," Crystal snapped, "that is no way to treat an animal! Now I do not know who or what you think you are, and I do not doubt that you have met evil in your past! However, I can tell you that you have not encountered the likes of him before!"
Immediately upon finishing the spell, Phoebe looked excitedly at her sister. "Did it work!"
"It's a little hard to tell," Piper said, frowning. She was almost scared to think that it might work for fear that it wouldn't, but she still couldn't help hoping. "Where's the torch?" she questioned. She knew it had to be nearby for she could feel its heat on her face and hair.
Lex smiled. "Open your eyes, Piper. The torch is right here."
Piper knew Lex probably couldn't see that her eyes were open for the darkness that was surely in the room. Instead, without commenting, Piper turned toward the sound of his voice. Her brown eyes looked up at Lex unseeingly. "Can you move it around some?" she asked.
Lex moved the torch slowly first to the left and then to the right. He could tell Piper could not see, and his hope faltered. "Read it again, Phoebe. It's not working yet."
Phoebe was quick to comply. "Locked in, boxed in . . . "
Piper's small, calm voice cut her younger sister off. "It might not work again," she warned them, not wanting any of them to get their hopes up lest they be dashed, "but if it's going to work, there should be no difference in reading it once or reading it . . . " Her words cut off suddenly. "Lex," she exclaimed, "do that again!"
Lex moved the torch once again slowly to the left and then to the right. "Keep reading, Phoebe," he whispered to her. "Something's happening!"
Phoebe automatically resumed. "Full of fear . . . "
Faith landed hard on Dawson's cold, still body, the hilt of her own sword striking her in the back. She scuttled to the side and turned back to look at Dawson. Her hands went to his body, checking him desperately for breathing, but she could find no sign of life. She trembled and did not even recognize the tears that fell from her own eyes. "Dawson . . . " she whimpered his name.
It couldn't be! This had to be some kind of trick! Judson couldn't have taken her sword from Dawson in the last seconds and killed him instead! She couldn't have finally fallen in love only to lose the one man who'd ever meant so much to her! "Dawson!" she cried again, tears rushing down her face.
"Dawson, Dawson, Dawson!" Judson sneered as he approached her. "Get over it! He couldn't have meant so much to you or you wouldn't have let him be killed! Oh, wait." He paused, a finger touching his lips in thought. "I forgot," he mused in false sympathy. "You always kill the ones you love."
"I didn't kill him!" Faith spat, her gaze turning to blaze up at Judson despite the tears in her eyes.
"Riiight," Judson replied. "Just like you didn't kill your mother, and it wasn't your fault that she killed Snow."
"I. Didn't. Kill. Dawson," Faith insisted through clenched teeth. Getting to her feet, she turned and gripped the hilt of the sword that was driven into Dawson's still heart. With a cry, she pulled her sword out of the man she loved and turned, wielding it, to face Judson. "You killed him, and I won't stop until you're dead!"
Judson laughed. "Please, Faith. We both know you can't kill me. I'm the only thing steady in your life."
"Fight me," Faith challenged him, her teeth still clenched against the pain that engulfed her heart and soul. "Fight me, you fucking bastard!"
"I would," Judson answered, "but you're not in my league." With that, he waved a hand, and Faith's sword shot into the air with Faith still attached. She tried to let go of the hilt, but her hands would not obey her brain's command. The sword followed the gestures Judson's hand made until it embedded in the center of the cabin's roof with Faith still hanging from it.
"You've always been mine, Faith," Judson spoke while looking up at her, "and you always will be mine. You're not capable of loving, and you're not worthy of love. That's why Dawson's dead and why the others aren't coming after you."
"You lying son-of-a-bitch!" Faith spat at him, but despite her words, she struggled to convince herself that he was merely spouting more lies in yet another attempt to play with her mind.
Judson spread his hands apart. "Lying?" he repeated innocently. "Am I, Faith? If I am, why haven't the others come after you by now, and why is Dawson dead?"
When she didn't answer him, Judson smiled thinly up at her. "No matter," he murmured, his tone strangely polite. "I have you right where I want you regardless." With that, Faith's hands finally let go of her sword, but still her body refused to obey her commands. Instead, she began to fly around the room, her body hitting a wall and bouncing off of it only to collide with another wall.
Below her, Judson's laughter rattled the walls of the cabin. Faith screamed in rage, aching to break loose of his control and get her hands on him. She'd make him pay for Dawson's death! She'd make him pay tenfold for killing her beloved Dawson! Then, she caught sight of Dawson's still body, and she screamed again. He was truly dead.
Sam found himself in an infirmary he knew not where and faced with a table where a woman lay, wrapped in a blanket. She moaned in her feverish sleep, and he knew she was in bad shape. Being as gentle as he could, he pulled the blanket back so that he could see what was bothering her. The holes he saw in her back had turned green, and he knew they were infected. It was all he could do not to throw up as the odor hit his nose.
"You poor thing," he murmured even as he closed his eyes and began to run his hands over her trembling body, praying as he did so. He felt the healing process begin and sighed with relief. This day, he had seen too many in pain and sickness. He questioned his beliefs but yet was happy that he could do something to alleviate the suffering.
He opened his eyes and saw that the holes were slowly closing. He pulled the blanket back around her to keep her warm. It was freezing in the room, and he could do nothing about it. Unfortunately, that was not one of his powers.
He hated to leave her, but he had to find out where they were. He opened the door and walked out on deck. Snow was piled everywhere, even higher than it had been when he had healed Bob. Something was coming! Something was causing the snow!
He tried to sense the snow's source, but all he could pick up was an immense power of evil heading in their direction. The evil was so great that it gave the White Lighter chills and paled him. Shaking himself and trying to regain his nerve, Sam looked around and saw people standing in a group as though they were having a meeting. There was nothing more he could do, so he turned and went back in to the woman.
Will had been trying to find a way to get into the fight with the women when he saw the recovered blonde make her move. She reached Kitty before he could get to her, but Will didn't slow. Instead, recalling a maneuver he'd seen Jack pull, he tapped the blonde on her shoulder.
The blonde had had her arm pulled back to strike Kitty again, but the very second she paused and looked behind her, Will's fist slammed into her face. With a grunt, the Piratess fell back to the deck, but now the short one was on Kitty, her attack not giving the brunette a chance to recover.
The two women were quickly making their way past Will, and one look told him that the redhead was trying to back Kitty into a corner where she could finish her off. Without a weapon, an open position to her front, or a way to strike her from behind without causing her to fall into Kitty, Will did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed a handful of the woman's red curls and yanked hard.
With a squeal, the woman fell back into Will's grasp. Will pulled her backwards and struck his hand hard against her head. The redhead fell to the deck, the bump against the planking knocking her out the rest of the way, and Will turned his attention to Kitty. He was just looking to see if she was okay when he found her flying straight at him, one leg positioned before her and her fists balled and held at her chest!
Will ducked quickly, and Kitty flew past him and toward the blonde who'd had her sword pulled to attack Will from behind. Kitty's booted foot connected smoothly with the blonde's face, and as she fell, Kitty continued over her. Shadowcat landed perfectly, turning as she did and seeing the Piratess hit the deck. The blonde was not yet out, but before she could move again, Kitty delivered a final chop to the woman's throat.
The blonde's eyes shut. Will didn't know if she was alive or dead nor did he ask. Instead, his eyes moved to Kitty. Before he could ask, she told him, "I'm fine. I may be a woman, Will, but I can damn well handle my own."
"I saw that," he admitted. Had the situation been different, and Jack not almost certainly in dire danger, Will might have grinned, but as it was, he remained stoic and simply moved over to pick up the redhead's sword.
Recovering her own sword and returning it to its sheathe, Kitty glanced over at Will. "You might want to keep that."
"I plan to," Will replied, testing the hilt in his palm. He glanced at Kitty, and the two broke into a run, continuing their path in hunting Jack and the others.
Teak climbed on top of the hamper and held the lid up as Autolycus began to poke at the cats with the board. Trely was not being any help; she had climbed on top of one of the cots to make sure the cats couldn't get her. Bit by bit, the cats drew away from the board but did not let go of their hold of each other. When it got too close, claws slashed at the board.
It began to look like it had been chewed up by a beaver. Autolycus was getting worried it might get eaten completely before he got the cats into the hamper, but they slid closer and closer. He poked some more and finally they rolled into the hamper. Teak immediately slammed the lid closed.
Autolycus managed to get the latch on the hamper closed. From within came sounds of snarling, hissing, spitting, scratching, and clawing, and Autolycus prayed that the hamper would hold and not release the cats. He picked it up gingerly and held it away from him.
"I'm taking this over to one of the ships. I'll come back and then we'll keep looking for Jareth, but I can't keep the hamper! They're going to rip it apart!"
As he ran with the hamper, cat claws began to make way with the wicker, and it began to splinter. He barely managed to get it to the other ship before the hamper burst apart. He dropped it and ran like Hell, slipping and sliding on the snow, to get away from them and back to the Harlot. He hoped that they wouldn't pursue him and rip LeBeau's trench coat the rest of the way off of him.
The first things Connor saw were a group of people holding a meeting and that the deck was covered in snow. Scooping up some snow in the bucket, he swirled it around several times, hoping that it would clean the filth out of the bucket. He then dumped that out and got some fresh snow. With that, he hurried back in to Zora. "Couldn't find any water," he told her, "but it's snowing. You know what that means."
When Connor had returned, Zora had been wrapped in another shock from her collar, but it stopped again just in time for her to catch his last words. "S-Snowing?" she repeated in a daze.
He lifted some snow in his hand to her lips. "Take some into your mouth, Zora. It's probably not as good as the snow Crys makes, since we don't have any flavoring, but at least, it will wet your throat."
Zora's lips brushed over Connor's palm, and her tongue grazed his skin as she took a bit of the snow. She dared not take the whole amount he offered, however, for she knew what would happen if she was shocked with the snow in her mouth. It might very well choke her.
"I've got to find something to get that collar off of you. I won't be gone long." He was thrilled she had grazed his palm, and he was feeling things he didn't know how to explain. He'd have to talk to Angel about them later.
At Connor's words, Zora quickly gulped down the snow. Her empty mouth started to fly open in protest, but she was stopped by another shock.
"I'm going right now, Zora!" Connor exclaimed as he ran out and up. "I'll find something to get that collar off of you!"
By the time the collar had released her again, Connor was gone, and Zora cursed under her breath. Damn the boy! She knew he meant well, but he couldn't release her from the collar. If he did, Gods only knew what she might do to him! Still, another part of her mind argued, it was snowing, and that meant he was coming. She had to find a way to get Vang safe, but she didn't know how she could manage to be safe herself, not without endangering Connor, Vang, and the others.
Ororo had been working swiftly and had almost freed Wesley from his last chain when Jack cried out her name. Her head jerked to instant attention, and her blue eyes shot wide at the sight she was met with. "Jack, what . . . ?" She never finished her question, however, as a cry suddenly sounded from directly behind her. She whirled around, a lightning bolt all ready beginning to shoot from her hand, only to see a sword finishing slicing through the middle of one of the Demoness' clones.
The top half of the Demoness slid off, and as both hit the ground, Ororo found herself gazing into Kitty Pryde's face. At the same time, behind her, another sword dove into a Demoness' back and into her heart mere seconds before her claws would have met Jack's head. "Somehow, I knew you were in trouble."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Will, and he grinned. "Welcome to the fight! Didn't know how long it'd take you to recover. I'm glad to see you!"
"As I am to see you, love!" Will called back in return as he turned his back to Jack's and began to fight with another on-rushing Demoness.
"What in the heck's happening?" Kitty questioned.
"I'm not quite certain," Ororo replied, using her wind control to blow another Demoness back against the wall, "but I don't think it was a good thing that you sliced that one in half."
"Why not?" Kitty asked, her brown eyes wide in surprise. She looked down at the pieces and felt bile rise in her throat as she saw the two halves squirming around on the planking and beginning to grow again. She started to attack them, but Ororo's hand closed over Kitty's wrist, stopping her just in time. "Hold them at bay," she called to Jack and Will as well as directing Kitty, "but try not to cut off anything else!"
Willow had again gained his corner, watching for the first place that he could help again. He felt rather proud of himself for making Jack look but disappointed that Jack refused to pay attention to him. That makes three times I've saved the Captain now, and still he doesn't notice me! His green eyes watched the man who was apparently Jack's mate. Maybe I should work through the younger one?
"What kind of Demoness is this?" Jack asked Ororo. He felt sure that 'Ro would know as he already had detected a little bit about her background. He knew she was a Witch. After all, his people had rescued her with the Witches, and she was the Halliwells' godmother. He hoped somewhere in her bag of magic tricks, she had an answer, because he knew for for the first time, his swords were failing him. He didn't know how to fight the Demoness!
Where was Aphrodite? Why wasn't She helping them against the Demoness? She had promised, and She had blessed his swords! Why weren't they working! He suddenly was overwhelmed by questions he planned to ask Her after the battle.
He resheathed one of the swords but kept the other one in his right hand. Jack had noticed, when Will had entered the fight, that he was not wearing much clothing; in fact, his rear was totally hanging out! It was too much for his willpower when Will put his back even closer to his. His left hand sneaked around to where he could feel Will on his back and stroked his bum. "I missed you!"
Will jumped at Jack's unexpected touch, and his immediate arousal tore at the already-shredded vest Kitty had given him. "Uh-oh," he murmured to himself, glancing down at where the vest was now barely hanging. His sword continued dancing ahead of him, but his embarrassed eyes could not tear themselves away from his other sword.
One of the pieces that Jack had flayed off of the original Demoness had just grown into its own when Jack had touched Will. She heard Will's reaction, and her hungry eyes turned to the two men. "Mmm!" her comment came to them from across the room as she licked her thin lips. "You thought you'd keep me from my duty, but you won't! I'll just have your piece instead, Captain!" With that, she jumped into the air and sailed straight at Will, her yellow claws reaching out for his aroused member.
The second Didymus' foot hit the deck of the Harlot, it slipped out from under him, sending him cascading into a full-blown snow bank. He continued to yip angrily at Ace as he pulled himself out and shook the snow off. He shook his staff angrily back at Ace. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO A KNIGHT AND GET AWAY WITH IT, YOU YOUNG WIPPER-SNAPPER!" Didymus furiously barked.
Ace waved his hand at Didymus but didn't answer him. Instead, he answered Crystal and her animals, all whose eyes were fiercely glowering at him. "If you'll look over to the ship, you'll see that the dog landed perfectly on the deck. I just couldn't take any more of that head-banging. I already have a headache. My name is Ace, and I spend my life taking care of animals."
Crystal took a step toward him, unexpectedly freeing herself from Lorne's embrace. "If that is what you supposedly spend your life doing, I would hate to see the shape those poor animals are in!" It was then that another wave of weakness hit her, and her knees started to bend. Cindy and Elvira were there before her legs could buckle beneath her, however, each supporting her on the sides. Blue cooed worriedly, his leathery wings batting with urgency, and Elvira glanced over her shoulder at Lorne with a whine.
The kitten held in Cordelia's arms was disturbed by what was happening around him, and he mewed loudly, his tiny paws stretching out as if to ward the entire mess off of him. "Sh," the Princess whispered to him, but the sweet sight tugged at her heart and brought the faintest hint of a smile to her lips and hazel eyes. She let it break through for a brief moment as she reached up with one hand, careful to keep the other holding him securely, and took his paws in her hand. "You're going to be just fine," she assured him though she still wondered what had happened to Meesy and how in the world they were going to find a way to fix it.
Lorne stepped up and picked Crys up. He looked around at each member of the crew. "The evil that is coming after us is the greatest evil I have ever encountered. He is an ice Elemental, and he turns everything to ice and shatters it. For those of you who know Port Royal, the next time you try to go there, you will find it no longer exists. Those who could escape in boats did so, and even then, he killed most of them."
"Animal or human does not matter to him, and none of us are a match for him. The only thing we can do is prepare sail and get the Hell out of here as soon as we get the rest of our crew aboard. If you can do anything to speed the process up, do it at once! The snow heralds his coming. The thicker it gets, the closer he comes!"
"Don't think I'm kidding about this," Lorne insisted. "Only a handful survived. He destroyed many ships; among them two Pirate vessels. One of them was the Black Pearl."
Xena stepped forward. "And the other ship was mine. I saw what he can do firsthand. None of us could stop him."
"I'll stop him," Willow spoke, getting to her feet despite Kennedy's shocked look of protest. Her green eyes turned to Angel. "You know I almost took over the world once," she stated. "I have to be powerful enough!"
"Even you," Angel told her, "are not strong enough. A group of the most powerful Witches in the world were not strong enough. Make haste; we must leave!"
"Maybe I'm not, but I . . . "
Willow was broken off by Crystal's firm voice. She had fallen silent when Lorne had started speaking, taking her responsibility upon himself, but now she broke out of her self-hatred thoughts and turned her ice blue eyes to look at the redhead. "I can sense your power, madam," she informed Willow, "and I know it is great. However, just as Angel said, you can not fight him. None of us can. No one can! It isn't a spell that he uses to turn people to ice."
"It isn't?" Willow asked, clearly surprised.
"No." Crystal wished that she were strong enough to give a good example using her own powers but knew she was not. "It takes only one thought. One thought, and you're ice. One more thought, and you're shattered. That's it. You would not even get a chance to fight."
"One thing more," Xena told them. "He has to see you to do it to you. That is his only limitation."
"Then how," Kennedy questioned, "did he manage to ice everybody in Port Royal? He chased down every single person?"
"No," Crystal told her. "Xena's close but not exactly right. If he shatters what you're in, like a house or a ship, he'll shatter you right along with it. He focused his power on the town of Port Royal; that's how he was able to destroy every single thing, living and non-living, in it."
Kennedy let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
"This is too much!" Hansel protested. "I mean, come on! The guy's gotta have a weakness somewhere!"
All eyes turned on Crystal, expecting an answer. "How do we fight?" Ace questioned. "There has to be something we can do! Or do we just run away?"
Crystal's ice blue eyes roamed over the gathered group, going from one face to another and meeting each person's eyes so that they could see how gravely serious she was. "Many, many things have been tried. None have worked."
Willow started to ask another question, but Crys answered it before she could get it out. "I realize that, since he is an Ice Elemental, most of you will think fire would work." She shook her head. "Not so. Dragon breath, regular fire, volcano lava, fireballs . . . They've all been tried, and they've all failed."
"What about poison?" AndrAla spoke up from the shadows that Matrix, Frisket, and herself were wrapped in.
Crys shook her head.
Before Crystal could continue, Emma spoke up for the first time within the group, drawing the others' eyes to her. Their sudden gazes froze Sean's arms over her breasts, and he had to stop himself from whistling to distract them. Shame on ye, boyo! he silently chided himself. Ye knae better; ye jest can nae keep yer hands off o' her! Ack, but she does feel so good! He shook his head, barking at himself mentally. Concentrate, Cassidy!
Emma knew all the thoughts that were running through her embarrassed beloved's mind, but she ignored them in her question to the other blonde. "What about mind control? Not to brag, but I am one of the most powerful telepaths . . . "
But Crystal was already shaking her head. "No," she answered. "It doesn't matter how powerful a telepath you are. His blocks are incredibly strong. I'm not saying that you wouldn't be able to break through, but the simple fact is that you wouldn't have enough time to do so. The very second he felt you trying to break through his blocks, he'd ice you."
Crys let her eyes travel the group again, seeing, for the first time, the real fear that was beginning to set in and hating herself all the more with each passing second. "There is no known way to stop him. Practically everything has been tried. The only thing we can do, the only thing I can recommend . . . If you care for yourself . . . or the person you love . . . or any one else pulled into this mess . . . run. Get them, get these ships ready, and run like Hell."
Donkey pawed at the deck and heehawed so great was his agitation! He had to get over! Somebody had to help him over to that deck! His boy was in trouble, and he had to get to him!
Seemingly out of nowhere, a basket came sailing through the air, drawing Donkey's attention immediately. He walked over and sniffed at the basket. "HOW'S THIS SUPPOSED TO HELP ME GET OVER THERE!" he called out angrily.
It was then that he heard growling, yowling, and mrrwling. "WHAT THE HELL!" he asked even as he lowered his mouth to the catch on the hamper. He had almost closed his teeth upon the catch when an orange paw slashed out of the hamper and scratched him.
"HEY! STOP THAT! IT HURT! DO IT AGAIN, I'M GONNA KICK YA!" he promised as a warning. "All I'm trying to do is help you get out of there!" He was answered by a deep, lust-filled growl.
Donkey squinted his eyes, looking closely at it. "Tom! Is that you!" he called out, hoping that it was. This time, a black, fur-covered arm swung out, trying to get him. "I'm just going to leave you two in there! Let you get your own self out of there!"
Even as Donkey's attention started to leave the hamper, tiny fangs broke a large piece of wicker out, and something spit the wicker at him. With a squeal, Donkey ran as though his life depended on it. Again, he came up against the railing. "DAMN IT! SOMEBODY GET ME OVER THERE! THERE'S MONSTERS OVER HERE! THEY'RE TRYING TO EAT ME!"
It happened so quickly that Prue could not have reacted even if she had been free. Kit came, flying, hissing, and yowling, within an inch of her nose, almost hitting Prue in the face! She breathed a sigh of relief that Kit had been saved and then looked where Paige had been and saw that she now had Cole safe and was pulling him away from the hole. Thank the Gods! she thought. She looked around again, hoping to see the orange-haired woman.
Cole held tightly to Paige's leg, relieved that in the last seconds before he had died, he had been saved. He usually didn't like redheaded girls, but this one lived up to her fiery hair! He'd have to think of a special way to thank her for saving him.
With her fingers wrapped tightly around the squirming, yipping poodle's scruff and Cole clinging to her leg, Paige closed her eyes and did her best to concentrate. It was then that she felt the flooring rammed again, and the bump caused her to release her grip on the jagged boards. As the trio started to fall into the hole, however, Paige's orbing kicked in, carrying them safely to the outside of the cell and landing them hard onto the wood.
Cole could not believe that he had almost died twice in the last half hour and had only been saved by a mere slip of a girl's bravery! Not only had she pulled him to safety, but she had also rescued the poodle, who was still squirming and barking. He looked around and realized that he was outside the cage. How did we get out here? he wondered, not realizing that Paige had orbed them.
The quick orbs were taking their toll on Paige, and she lay on the deck, her body shaking, her heart hammering, and her breathing coming in gasps. Her brown eyes looked up at Cole from underneath a shock of red hair. "Pick," she breathed in between gasps and gestured with her head toward the cell door that the woman who'd attacked her had been working on. She hoped Cole could use it, because Gods knew she didn't know what the heck to do with it!
Elizabeth had been busily fervently praying for Autolycus', Will's, and Jack's safety when she heard a sound coming through the air. It appeared to be directed at the ship. Thinking it to be an enemy, Elizabeth fell back into the shadows. Hearing a thud, her wide eyes turned toward it. She had to squint hard to see in the deep darkness, and it took her a little while to realize what she was looking at.
Some one had just brought something heavy that appeared to be close to the form of a crate or box of some kind to the deck. The sounds that were coming from the crate made her shiver. She could tell that they seemed to also be unnerving Donkey, who had been braying the entire time she had been praying, but her eyes were drawn to the person as he turned around. The man quickly grabbed a rope, but just as he was swinging over, Elizabeth finally made out his face. "TALLY!"
Elizabeth started to rush toward him but stopped because Autolycus didn't answer her. Instead, he only swung on back to the other ship. The blonde frowned at first, but then she realized that he simply hadn't heard her. Rushing back to the railing, a piece further down from where Donkey was, she leaned over it as she screamed at the top of her lungs, "AUTOLYCUS! AUTOLYCUS! AUTOLYCUS!"
The wind snatched her words away as soon as she shouted them, however, and no response came. He must still not be able to hear me! I've got to get to him! Elizabeth's eyes swept the area she was in, but she knew there was only one way to get to the other ship. Her questing gaze turned, at last, to the ropes.
I have to get to him, Elizabeth reminded herself as she swallowed her fear, gathered her courage, and grabbed a rope. She had seen the others do this countless times, and she was determined to learn how to be a Piratess. But, still, she fretted, could she do it, or would she slip and fall into the ocean? If she fell, there would be no one to save her.
She had to go after Autolycus. The thought kept repeating in her mind as Elizabeth released the rope and clambered onto the railing. Her feet were already slipping and sliding across the railing, which had grown wet from the snow, as she stood up. Immediately, she almost lost her balance, but she grabbed onto a rope just in time.
Elizabeth pulled on the rope, checking, she hoped, to make sure that it was secure. Then, remembering every time she had seen Jack, Will, and Angel swing, she tried to do exactly as they did. She swung out . . . and rammed into the side of the Harlot. Elizabeth cried out in pain but refused to relinquish the rope. Instead, she swung back to the rescuing ship. She managed to make it back to the Ghost's railing and swung out a second time, praying that she would succeed this time.
Kurt reached out and lifted 'Heed from the snow. "Perhaps ve shall go in search of Katzchen? She might need us. Zank you, God, for saving me and for forgiving me. Guide me and lead me in the vay you vant me to go, and give me strength to save mein family."
A deep voice spoke softly from behind Kurt. "Our Father is a forgiving soul unless too greatly angered. Then, He can be extremely vengeful, but I do not believe He is angry with you."
Kurt rapidly spun on his heel to look. In a trembling voice, he asked the apparition. "W-W-Wh-Wh-Who are you?" He fell to his knees for the person before him had to be holy; he was glowing!
The man smiled as he held his hand out to Kurt. "A friend," he told him. "News travels fast, even when Dad doesn't want it to. When I found out the only help you were getting was from Ares and Aphrodite, I had to come."
Kurt could not look at him. "Y-You're God?" he questioned. "Am I forgiven? Can I be vith Katzchen?" The questions just tumbled over themselves, and he couldn't get them all out by being shook up by the presence of the holy man who stood before him. "W-Who are you? Not just a friend. Are you . . . Him?"
The man continued to smile pleasantly down at Kurt. "I am not Him, but I am known by many names and have come to help you as I can. He is not angry with you, Kurt. You're only a mortal. You couldn't help falling in love. Zeus would not be angry with you for following your heart. After all, Gods love too." His fingers stretched out toward Kurt. "Now stand, my friend, for I am no better nor worse than you."
"But you're . . . not a mortal," Kurt told him. "I know you're not! You're glowing! And you know Zeus or you would not be able to speak of Him such! Vill you not give me a name to call you by?"
The man considered Kurt's question. "If I give you a name, will you stand with me?"
"Ja," Kurt told him.
"Very well. You may call me . . . " The man knew that his other identity would be much more familiar to the Priest, but still a part of him despised some of the do-gooder legends wrapped around that one. Therefore, instead, he concluded, " . . . Hercules."
At last, the final piece of the puzzle came across Dawson's mind, and the determination to die began to form. Although he had sworn never to call Mitch "father", in those last moments, the boy in Dawson still thought of him that way. His father was right. He was cursed. He was cursed to allow his father to pump away inside him all he wanted while becoming just like Mitch.
He was the reason Faith was dead. His love had driven him in his determination to kill Judson, and that same love had killed Faith instead. Where was Judson? he wondered. He didn't know; his fogged mind couldn't recall when he'd last seen him. It had been about the same time that Mitch had appeared, but that was all he could remember.
Again, he thought of the truth of Mitch's words. He'd never deserved better than his life back in Port Royal. Mitch had taken him, beaten him, bent him to his will, bloodied him, broken him, raped him . . . and he had deserved it all. He must have for he'd helped to drive away his mother; his lack of strength and courage in facing his father had aided Mitch's treatment of his wife in sending Gayle Leery away.
He must've deserved it, Dawson thought again, for he had killed Faith. Faith -- his beautiful, beautiful, wild Faith had been the only woman who'd ever loved him, the only one who had tried so hard to save him and stop his father . . . and he had killed her.
To Be Continued . . .
