Chapter 21
Gunning down the stairs, B.E.N was on my heels as well as Sarah who managed to change into something I'd never seen her dressed in before. She sported cream pants with a borrowed pair of boots from Amelia, going with a navy tunic top with embroidered gold patterns around the collar and hem, her normally loose ponytail was firm and made her face quite severe.
"Are they on their way?" I yelled behind me.
"Yes, they didn't mind at all." Amelia and Delbert were cool with staying at the Inn for a few nights. Man, I pray it is for a few nights.
We skipped past the quiet restaurant area towards the back to an empty lounge area. The automatic blinds were drawn, showing a pale yellow meadow with a large, bare oak in the background. The lights were dim and it smelled like lilac.
Mother dumped her backpack onto the ground, slinging out a dark jacket and zipping up, hefting her backpack over her shoulders and giving me a curious glance. B.E.N was re-wiring a part of his mechanical knees.
"Don't look so frightened." She smiled the brave smile I rarely saw. Finally, stray tendrils of hair frayed from her pony, giving her severe frame tenderness. "If I can survive your father leaving me and having you in constant danger, I will make it."
"I know." I let a sigh squeak out of me, rolling my eyes to my own weakness. I was on the verge of a silent panic attack at the thought of her enduring a fraction of what I went through 6 months ago. "I don't want you to get hurt-"
"You're starting to sound like me!" She chuckled. "Does wonders when the tables turn, hm?" Her features scrunched to an almost sarcastic expression. I had never witnessed this side of her before!
"You can always stay here, you know." I rifled through my own bag, there was my old pistol and a map, couple gold pieces flying around.
"Delbert and Amelia will be here with the babies in about a minute," She kneeled beside me; the restrained worry was in her structure, tension shaking. "I have stopped my own salary, put Delbert in charge and told all of the staff that." She eyed me. "I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."
A few moments later, babies were heard entering the building. It was high pitched and strained, definitely Delbert's quadruplets, one of the girls.
Knocks sounded behind the door before Amelia came sauntering in with a three tier Blue Orbit pram, housing baby Angelica, Alexandria, and Dankia. Dankia had the brown hair that was becoming less curled and thick like her fathers, eyes once blue turning a dusty green, Angelica the small version of her mother, and Alexandria with her unruly gold locks, she was crying at the top of the floating tier.
B.E.N quickly came to aid Alexandria, Amelia smiling in appreciation; he rocked the girl to sleep.
"Sarah," Amelia in her formal attire pulled out a pistol as if it were nothing from her hip holster. Although she was in leave for maternity, she was still a Captain. "As you requested."
Amelia gestured for my mother to join her and she quickly showed her how to work the pistol once more. I had forgotten she'd stockpiled weapons and armour in the back of her office somewhere. We'd have to raid it before we leave.
Slowly coming in last was Delbert and Delbert Jr. He was quiet in his father's arms, his nose twitching to distant dreams. Delbert smiled at me, and placed Jr. in a bassinette by the couch, soundlessly.
"I believe you are well prepared." Delbert said as he came over, adjusting his vest. Dark eyes behind crooked glasses were worried; his lips drew into a grimace. Ever since the trip to Treasure Planet, a few wrinkles formed around his snout and eyes, appearing slightly older.
"Something like that," I couldn't help but share his vacant expression; I knew the source of his unease. "Are you sure you are alright staying here, Doc?"
"Amelia has no troubles with it, as far as I can say is that she is pleased to be in some sort of area where she can command." He chortled quietly but still got a stony glance from Amelia and mother. "But I am troubled about the time we stay here," His eyes dodged to mine sadly. "To the wonderment if we ever leave."
There was my panic, the ditch at the bottom of my stomach going on and on. The once sealed hole in the back of my mind, with Delbert's words, was creeping open.
What if we didn't return?
I had to cut off my thoughts, the threat of tears stinging my nose. But it was there, the everlasting agony of what if?
"We will come back," I gripped Delbert's shoulder and tightly squeezed. "All three of us, I just don't know where to start. Dr. Lionel had captured her first, can you believe?" I huffed, to my amazement, Delbert was horrified.
"Our local Doctor! The fiend!" He grunted, clearly upset. "I have known that man for many years. How dare he." Delbert sat down by his son, staring into the floor, then lost in his daze, towards his helpless baby boy. It must hurt to be aware of someone's wrong doings, especially when they are your friend. I look over to my strong mother, wielding the pistol; align with her shoulder to her hand. It must hurt.
"Delbert," I sat by his side, chancing my luck. "Did you ever hear Lionel discuss with you anyone named Viscardi Denholm? About-about a show?" I remembered the email and hoped it was of some use.
"Viscardi?" Delbert's mind was working, visually running through the address book in his mind. "I had never heard of Lionel mention the name; however, I did hear Mr Plorp speak of someone buying Captain Flint's sword at an extortionate price just yesterday, some fellow named Levi. Mr Plorp mentioned it wasn't even him, but some of his partners in his business. That must be the show?" He marvelled. Shrinking in himself as Jr. began to stir, his paws reaching his face and buffing his nose.
There it was. My first lead in ages, Mr Plorp must have some answers.
"B.E.N, mom, are you ready?" I stand and pat Delbert on the back, picking up my bag. Their keen eyes hold mine, Sarah just about ready to leap for the door.
"Where, are we ready to go?" Seemed mom already had a holster of her own. It was gold, and Amelia's Blaster: StarLight gleamed in it's cradle. It was Blaster's latest model of pistol, of course Amelia had it.
"To our first lead, yes."
The space I woke up to was dark, just as dark at the bottom of the ocean floor. How I missed it. I was in a different tank, the one with sand in the bottom, as I reached to the top, it was solid, with circular multiple holes wide enough to fit one finger through across. Dank air filtered through.
"Hello?" Startled at the voice I shrieked, collapsing to the side of the tank. I saw nothing.
I kept quiet, sure to not ripple the water again.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." It was a soft voice, not as stern as the hook-handed creature, as bewitching as the little girl with the rotating void for a mouth.
A beautiful dim light furrowed a few feet away from me. The wooden floor cast in yellow, followed to the source holding the flame in a sconce. Brushed back, a chestnut brown mane, tied into a loose plait, to reveal a slender face.
Large black eyes, non-threatening to the glitter of the flame, her long, feminine snout fuzzed with short cream fur to a black, moist nose. On hind legs, her chest and stomach was thick with dense, white fur, elegant limbs as the feet were stunted to (according to my knowledge from Scuttle) hooves, like what horses had. Her hands were the same, and yet she managed to hold the flame perfectly.
"Are you hungry? I have a snack I brought for you, didn't think Levi would have fed you." She appeared female, and approached my tank closer, and without my knowing, my body was drawn to her. No, to the brightly coloured shape clutched in her hooves.
She opened a small hatch on the entire right side of the tank after stepping on a small crate, and waited for me to rise to the surface. As I breached, the smell of fur was apparent, warm and earthy, she radiated heat. I think she smiled, but I couldn't tell, when I took her offer of food.
It was a bar, brown, and full of richly goodness when I took a bite, melting in my mouth as I devoured the lot.
A soft laugh came from her, I eyed her curiously.
"I am a type of humanoid deer, if you were wondering." She clicked her hooves. "Cloven hoofs, a tail-" She rotated her chest to flash a fluffy tail at her backside. "-And my ever growing antlers." She tapped at two rounded mounds atop her fuzzy head, they looks irritated.
"I've heard about you." I admitted, Scuttle did have some insight. "Not humanoid, however." I was not full after that bar, and I craved more.
"Rare breed. I'm Penne, by the way." Holding out her hoof, I took it with one hand and shook, it was hard and quite small in my hand.
"Ariel." I responded with a smile. "Rare? Is that why Viscardi has you at this show?" I asked, my growing curiosity mixed with hatred for this place, did not help that I knew little about it.
"You can say that," she placed the light down on the rim of the tank, teetering. Her expression dulled down. "Levi killed my parents years ago, and kidnapped me. He has held me here ever since in his shows every now and again." Tentatively, she touched the mounds on her head.
"My kind knew I was missing," She blurted, as if I accused her of something, I shrank back from her slightly, worried of another short outburst. "We live on our own small, habitable planet, a small community. Of course they know. We are just too much of a gentle species to do anything." Tears shone around her dark eyes, droplets bouncing off of her fur.
"I'm sorry." I offer her a hand, and she takes to mine, placing both hooves. "Is Levi and Viscardi the same person?" Every time I referred to Viscardi, she would mention Levi, was it a nickname?
"Yes." She rubbed at her eyes. A beautiful creature, her delicate tendrils of mane were falling out, carefully she tucked them behind her ears that stood up from her head. Small cut outs were scarred around some of the edges of her ear. "He is a criminal, so he goes by different aliases. Levi is his most popular name, others like Vlad and Damien and MX are those among 'Most Wanted' posters and flyers."
I was in the hands of a criminal. And so was this beautiful creature, Penne. A prodding question entered my mind, yet I was hesitant to ask. For as gentle as she, I couldn't situate where she would be within Viscardi's show.
"Penne," I waded in the water, a panging ache in my throat. "What does Viscardi make you do?"
As I predicted, Penne put on a scowl. Not aimed toward me, but a dark memory.
"My antlers…" She again gestured her mounds. "They grow all the time. They are at peak within every five months, they can be fast. But…He has this skit show every few months or so…" She eyed me, waiting for me to catch on.
I was getting some sort of idea, but I couldn't picture it, it wasn't fathoming, and I think it was because I didn't want to believe it. Her mounds looked red and sore; the nicks in her ears would explain a lot.
"Ariel, remember the Crustacean last night? With lots of eyes and two giant, meaty pincers?" I recalled that guy, alright. His dozens of eyes were there every time I blinked. "I'm in his show where we have a mock fight. All the time, he uses those pincers and cuts my antlers off."
Outside of the antique shop of the costal cliffs to a fast approaching evening was eerie, the high space port as bright as the stars. It was still open, but just for another few minutes, and I could just make out Mr Plorp from the antiques dangling from the window as well as his sign illuminated across.
Sarah and B.E.N were tight behind me, ready for action. A little too ready as I had to ask mother to conceal her weapon as she had it equipped, and aimed a little too closely to my kidney.
A creak sounded as I opened the door, old fashioned as the antiques in the room. It was a remarkable cosy shop. Everywhere had something of interest. No gaps on the walls, every space on the shelf occupied and even ancient rugs scattered the floor, badly deteriorating at the edges. The glass case of Captain Nathaniel Flint's sword was housed empty, and recently wiped down squeaky clean.
Mr Plorp behind his desk, shuffling through his floating organiser, and clicking at a calculator, did not notice us all walk in. Sarah cleared her throat, he peered up with his eyes, his head (as well as his entire slug body) stayed put.
"Ah! Sarah! Jim! Welcome!" He came from behind his desk and into our space, patting my arm and taking my mother's hand.
"Mr Plorp, I'm afraid we are here in an urgent matter of business." Sarah confessed immediately, I grimaced.
"Oh, well please; tell me how I can assist?" Mr Plorp waded back to his desk, behind it in his previous position. We walked over and I leaned forward.
"Please, sir, we need to know the information of who purchased the sword, Capt. Flint's sword." I piped up, squaring my shoulders, hearing Sarah scoff under her breath.
"Jim, you know I cannot indulge confidential information." He reminded, looking back at everyone else as if I should have known this.
"Yes, I know Mr Plorp, but this is urgent-Someone is in danger and we need that information-"
"I can clarify that he is right, Mr Plorp." Sarah concurred, grasping the sleeve of my jacket. "A girl we know is in great danger, kidnapped even, and we-"
"Mom." I warned, shooting her a glare. She took it with a pinch of salt and shot me one back, barging to face Mr Plorp head on, squeezing me to the side.
"Jerry, please." Sighing, Sarah put on a pout. "We need this information for her safe return. You could really help us."
Whatever charm my mother had, it definitely worked. Mr Plorp hesitated momentarily, and then lifted his jelly stumps of hands to his computer, clicking away as the information blinked in front of his face, though it was fuzzy from our perspective for the privacy.
"I'm sorry to hear of your friend, Sarah, truly, I am." Clicking away, Mr Plorp assured.