As the Iron Vulture was battered by explosion after explosion, its crew tried to pinpoint where the attack was coming from. In fact, if they had opened the bomb bay doors they would see that it was the Prowler, firing at them.
On the bridge, Shere Khan smiled at his victory. He would not only rid the area of Karnage, but he would also be able to continue his quest to find the treasure on the island of death. Turning to Captain Hotspur, the aging tiger smiled. "Take any prisoners back to the island and put them to work, but, I want you to eliminate the Bruinwald family."
Hotspur was loyal, but not loyal enough to commit murder. "Sir, I'm afraid I can't follow through with that order," he stated with a brave frown. His boss gave him the "You don't know who you're dealing with," look.
"Hotspur? How long have you been under my service?" Shere Khan asked.
"Fifteen years, sir," he replied quickly.
"And do you know how much I pay you?"
"Six thousand a week, sir."
Khan smiled, straightened his tie and continued. "So, is it, or is not wise to refuse my orders I give?" he asked taking a step forward, as Hotspur took a step back.
Captain Hotspur knew he was in enough trouble for delaying the orders, but he knew what was right and wrong, and killing the Bruinwalds was very wrong. "It unwise to disobey the order given by your commanding officer, but sir, this is my ship and I won't put a black mark on my record of being a murderer."
Shere Khan sighed deeply. A look of disappointment was clearly seen on his face, but the tiger's eyes were filled with anger. "Guards!" he growled. Two sailors walked up beside Hotspur. "Take him to the brig and put him to work when we get to the island."
Hotspur felt betrayed by his employer. Never again would he work for a man who's only desire is money and power. The captain was taken below deck to the brig where Stephen and Gibber were already being locked up.
One sailor reached out for Stephen's top hat, but he jerk his head away. "Hands off my hat!" he warned, but was punched in the gut for that.
As the Iron Vulture crashed into the sea, water began spilling in through the holes caused by the explosions. The panicked pirates frantically tried to abandon ship, but Karnage was going completely insane. He was refusing to lose the Iron Vulture a second time and if the ship was going down then so was he.
Soon, a massive explosion filled the ears of the Prowler's crew. The Iron Vulture had been destroyed.
"Goodby Karnage," Khan simply said, before he turned and left the command deck of the Prowler. But if Mr. Khan had looked back over his shoulder before closing the door, he would have seen the Sea Duck flying toward the island.
The sea was calm again, the only sound was the faint cries for help coming from inside the destroyed Iron Vulture. Matthew felt lifeless in the salty water as he slowly began to drift away from the wreckage of the ship. His body was still bleeding and he wasn't sure, but it felt as if some one was holding onto him and pulling him to the shore.
When he awoke, Matthew found himself in a bamboo hut. Looking around, he saw that his wounds were patched up and had fresh water and food beside him. Not knowing how long he was out, Matthew called out.
"Is anyone there?"
"Quiet," someone whispered from the shadows. "They'll hear you."
"Who?" Matthew asked, whispering like the unknown person.
"The slave drivers."
A sound came from outside the hut, it sounded like more then twenty people walking by. Matthew turned his head and looked at the men walking by. One of the so called slave drivers, a black panther, stopped and opened the door to the hut and looked in. Matthew held his breath and prayed that the man didn't see him.
The black panther looked around and was about to enter the hut but was called by one of the other slave drivers. He threw one last glance around the hut before leaving. When the slaver was sure to be gone, the unknown person stepped out of the shadows. Matthew saw him to be a scared tiger, with a limp in his left leg. A pirate no doubt, but he seemed to be filled with sadness.
"They took my crew away, I don't know where they are now," he wept softly.
"Who took your crew?" Matthew asked, trying to find out more about what happened. "And who are you?"
The tiger looked at him, stood up straight, and stated with a great deal of pride, "Jay Connors, captain of the Black Titan." Jay then looked at Matthew. "My crew was taken prisoner by Shere Khan's slave drivers."
Matthew was speechless. Slave drivers that worked for Khan? How could that be? He needed to hear the whole story.
Jay sat down and poured himself a cup of water. "It all started twenty years ago. I had heard that there was a treasure berried here, so, being one of very little brains turned the Black Titan toward this island. When we arrived, there were three other air ships as well. The Red Lighting, the Pirate Creed and Wild Breaker. Soon after landing, we started fighting the other pirates, trying to steal the treasure for ourselves, but, more and more people kept coming. Soon, Shere Khan showed up and took over the island. He... locked us up like wild animals and-"
"And then forced you to work as slaves, digging up the area to find the treasure." Matthew said. Jay nodded.
"I broke my leg while working in those damn mine shafts." his voice began cracking under the stress of the awful memories coming back to him.
"How did you get away?" Matthew wondered.
"I-I was able to crawl out through an open whole in the wall and escape, but my crew was unable to get away. Then two days ago, I saw the Iron Vulture coming here, but it got shot down by the Prowler."
The news hit Matthew hard. The Iron Vulture is gone? But that would mean-Kit! And the other! "Jay! Were there any other survivors than me? I must know." Matthew begged.
Jay seemed to lighten up a bit. "I saw a yellow sea plan flying toward the island, but I found you washed ashore."
"I need to find that plane, because it has my friends on it."
"Did you have about nine friends? Three of them being children?" Jay asked, taking a sip of water. Matthew's face lit up like a lamp. "Yes, that's them." he smiled.
"Well, then Matthew, I'm sorry to say that they have been taken prisoner."
At the slave labor camp, Baloo was tied to a post and had been there since they got taken prisoner. Not more than fifty feet away was Rebecca, Kit, and Molly. They were in better shape then Baloo, for they were locked in a cage that offered no protection from the sun. As prisoners passed by, they threw insults at them.
"Look at those fools," one shouted, "they got caged."
Another laughed, "Khan's not to picky on the young ones."
Suddenly, the whole camp went silent. The guards stood like statues, the prisoners looked down at their feet like fearful children, and Baloo and the others were shocked to see Shere Khan walking into the camp. Behind was the survivors of the Iron Vulture. Karnage never looked so scared and tired. It was pathetic. The businessman looked at all his men. Turning to one of his many workers, he asked, "Have we made any progress?"
The worker was slow to answer, but he shook his head. "No, sir," he stuttered, before Khan glared at him. Failure to please Mr. Khan was sometimes met with pain, but not this time. Shere Khan only looked at his worker before going into the mining office.
This is what I get for using pirates as my labor force. he thought to himself. Only one good thing came out of that; he wouldn't have to pay them a dime. Taking a seat at his desk, Shere Khan pulled out a bottle of brandy. His yes-man stood close by.
"Have Baloo and Karnage brought in," Khan ordered, putting two extra glasses on his desk.
A few minutes later...
"Ah, Baloo, Karnage, it is quite an honer to have you here today," he greeted kindly. Baloo knew that Shere Khan was just playing nice with them, but he played along. No need to go and put his family at risk.
Shere Khan poured each man a drink, and they swigged it down, burning their throats. Karnage shook his head, enjoying the effects it had on him. Baloo coughed, throwing some spit on Khan's tie.
Shere Khan straightened, his eyes now hard. "That tie coast me four thousand," he frowned.
Karnage snorted, returning to his glass. "Relax. For now, we need to hear what you have in mind for us." He drank the remaining liquid down, and banged it against the desk. "Another."
Funny how the liquor made Karnage feel all tough and brave again.
An hour went by before Karnage and Baloo left the mining office.
Karnage looked at Baloo and smiled. "Just like the good old days," he snickered. "You and I having to work together again, just like we did when we got glued together."
"Just keep your crew away from my family and friends," Baloo advised, unable to hold back his anger. "And I mean it."
From the hills that over looked the camp, Matthew and Jay spied on the crowds below. Trying desperately to locate their friends. Jay saw his crew by the main mine shaft, the one had escaped out of. Matthew saw the Vulture's crew unloading rocks by the quarry and Bruinwalds were busy pushing carts full of explosives.
But where was Jenna and her grandfather Charles?
Matthew looked around some more until he spotted them. They were still alive, so that was good.
But the royals were nowhere to be seen.
"I can't bare to see them being treated this way," Matthew said, as Jay looked at him and shook his head.
"I don't like it either," he replied, but then realized he never got Matthew's name. "You know I don't even know your name," he murmured.
"Matthew Dogsdon," said the weasel so quickly that Jay was only able to catch his first name.
"Could you say your last name a lot slower, please?" he said.
"Dogsdon," Matthew said repeating his last slowly for Jay to hear it. "Matthew Dogsdon."
Jay stood there, baffled by the very name he just heard. "Matthew, I know your father and he is one of my crew."
There was a ghostly silence between the two men. No words left there lips, as Matthew stood there, like a tree. When all of sudden, he found the words.
"What?!" Matthew shouted. Unable to believe his own ears. His father was still alive? He didn't know that he had a father, but now...he did. Matthew now had a new mission at hand: save his father, free the prisoners and bring his captain Shere Khan to justice for all their crimes.