As the Storm Hawks escorted their new prisoner to the Condor, Stork braved the Merbette's angry glares to barrage her with questions. Apparently, he hadn't seen his home terra in quite some time.
"Stop it! I'm not an encyclopedia!" She finally blurted out, callously staring at Stork, who looked as shocked as everyone else. He eyed her suspiciously.
"Are you sure you aren't infected with mindworms?" His eye twitched uncontrollably.
"Uh, yes... I'm sure..." She said flatly. Her blue skin shone brightly in the sun as they made their way back to the ship.
"Aren't you at least going to ask me what my name is?" She looked uncaringly at Piper, who strode alongside as Junko carried her over his shoulder, both her wrists and ankles tied together. She'd tried to escape again, but Aerrow and Piper were too quick for her.
"Only if you'll actually tell us... otherwise, no, not really..." Her orange eyes shimmered a little as the sun peaked over their heads. The Merbette followed her eyes over to Aerrow, as the redhead chastised Finn's flirtatious stares. The blonde shrugged his shoulders and smiled sheepishly, not wanting to give up just yet. Radarr looked over Aerrow's shoulders, peeking over his shoulder blades cautiously. The young woman growled at him, which made him whimper and retreat into Aerrow's arms. The Sky Knight, jumping a little in surprise, dropped the little guy on his head. As the others crowded around to check on him, the Merbette kicked free, hopping away as fast as she could.
...
"Next time, if you actually hurt him, it would take us longer to notice..." Stork said matter-of-factly, as the woman struggled in Junko's grasp. Now, she'd been gagged to keep her silent. She'd attracted some unwanted attention with her faux cries for help.
"Aerrow, you do realize she's only gonna keep tryin' to get away, right?" Finn said hesitantly, as if expecting a barrage of slaps. The redhead turned to look at him.
"Well, guys, he's got a point... maybe we should-"
"Keep going until we get back to my- I mean our- sanctuary..." Stork interrupted.
"Stork's right, Aerrow... it'll be easier to keep track of her once we get back to the Condor..." Piper agreed, nodding her head softly. Junko shifted his view to eye the young lady in his arms.
"I'm not hurting you, am I?" The Wallop waited for her to try to kick him in the groin again, but she simply shook her head. She'd given up on trying to get away. At least for now...
"Guys, where the heck did we park!?" Finn whined loudly, trying to focus them back.
"Weird... this is where we parked it..." Piper said after consulting her maps. Stork zipped over, nearly tearing the maps in half as he closed the gap between them. Piper yelped lightly in surprise.
"You mean, someone stole the Condor!?" He yelled, which lightly echoed in the clearing.
"No, wait... it's just buried under all this sand..." Junko gave the ship a good kick, and tons of sand was shrugged from the carrier's shoulders, landing around it roughly.
"Oh... phew..." Stork said, clearly relieved. He eyed the ship all over, then gave his thumbs-up of approval. As the door "whooshed" open, they climbed aboard, their supply trip complete.
...
"So, now are you gonna tell us your name?" Aerrow said, eyeing their prisoner through their newly-crafted brig. The tiny cell only housed one person, but did the job; her bandaged feet were a testament to its sturdy construction.
"Well, I suppose so, human..." She hissed, not wanting to reveal any of her secrets.
"But only to him..." She pointed her long finger at the Merb pilot, who slowly turned to face her. A look of shear terror flooded his face.
"O...kay..." Piper said, shrugging her shoulders. "It looks like you'll be interrogating her, Stork."
"Me!? But I-" He began to protest, but a soft singing filled their ears, interrupting his decidedly paranoid rant.
"What is that?" Finn said softly, not wanting to miss a single note. Stork's ears perked up, and a ecstatic smile appeared on his face. He leaned lightly against the controls, his eyes glazing over in happiness.
"Stork, you alright?" Aerrow waved his hands in front of the Merb's face, breaking him out of his trance.
"Yeah, I'm fine... I'll ask her, whatever..." His sentence broke down into an unintelligible mumble, and he walked closer to the young Merbette in the brig. She stopped singing as he came closer.
"That... that was beautiful... I've never heard it sung so well before..." He wrapped his four fingers around the bars nearest her face.
"You... you like my singing?" She asked shyly. Her cheeks darkened with a light blush, as did Stork's.
"Y-yeah... I do..." He smiled as she held out her hands, intertwining her fingers with his.
"It's been so long since anyone's complimented my singing... I-I've had to steal just to survive..." She pulled free, turning around as she looked away.
"Wait, I..." Stork began, but she shook her head.
"My name is Jabiru, and I'd like to tell you my story..."
