All of this worrying was really starting to get to me. As a demon, I generally liked to make a point of doing whatever I pleased whenever I pleased, but lately that lifestyle had only proved itself to be a shovel that steadily added onto the big, stinking pile I'd wandered into around the same time the once-prince showed up. The fact that the moment we reached the team's van several men in dark suits attempted to wrestle me into handcuffs only made everything better.

"Let go of me!" I screeched, and immediately found myself in a headlock. I felt someone come up beside me, saw the silver flash of the cuffs and with a quick whip of my tail a grown man was kneeling on the concrete clutching his family jewels. "Ha!" I laughed and then scowled up at the guy holding me. "Lemme go or you'll never have kids, man—I mean it!"

"Don't make me tase you."

"…Fair enough." If I lost consciousness I'd miss all the fun, so for the moment I stopped trying to bite the man's arm off, and I allowed a pair of handcuffs to be clenched around my wrists. The man released me from the headlock but kept a firm grip on my elbow and a wary eye on my tail. A few of his buddies came over and scraped the first guy off the concrete.

The back of the van opened then, revealing a mobile headquarters filled with monitors, control panels and all manner of shiny blinking buttons. A balding, harried-looking man was standing there, mouth agape. "What was all that?" he demanded, waving his hands vaguely towards the commotion around the green. "What? Listen, I know we're 'out' and all, but we could still just use a little bit of discretion! Isn't that right, Doctor Krauss?"

He looked at the suit, Krauss, as though searching for some sign of reassurance. Krauss lifted a hand to his globe as though weary of it all and replied, "Forgive me, Agent Manning, but it vas unavoidable. I vill explain it to you on our vay back to Headquarters, but for now I vill make zhe introductions." He dipped his globe towards the Princess and said, "Zis is Princess Nuala…whom ve vill be granting asylum to for a short vile."

Manning switched his attention to the Princess and didn't seem quite sure what to make of her. She gave him a small curtsey and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Agent Manning." He looked stupefied for a moment before responding with a clumsy bow and a mumbling, "The pleasure's all mine—uh, Princess."

Krauss nodded and Abraham escorted Princess Nuala into the vehicle, where Liz and Hellboy were already waiting. Then he turned to me, patiently waiting in the grip of a gorilla in a suit, and my eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh," I cooed, sweet as motor oil, "is it my turn already?"

"And zis," the suit said with some disdain, "is an accomplice of zhe Prince, who released zhe beast back zhere."

"It was an Elemental, you moron…" I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

"I see," Manning replied, nodding as though he knew exactly what was going on. "So, uh, what are we going to do with her? I mean, what do you think we should do with her, Doctor Krauss? What's your opinion?"

I looked between the two of them and inquired, "Is it possible for his nose to go any farther up your ass, Doctor Krauss? Or whatever you've got in that suit. An exhaust vent, maybe?"

Manning blinked at me in surprise, as though he hadn't expected me to be quite so articulate, and I could just imagine the superior look upon the suit's nonexistent face as he remarked in German, "Charmant . You vill be coming vis us, and you vill be telling us everysing zhat you know about zhe Prince's plans for zhe Golden Army."

"'Golden Army'?" Manning echoed, and Krauss shushed him with a wave. I didn't much like the thought of being their prisoner, even if they did make a cute couple. All I wanted was to see this adventure through to the end—and not from behind the bars of a cell. It was time to get clever.

"Okay," I said, slumping my shoulders and covering myself in glamour again. Being the picture of defeat wasn't exactly my shtick, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. "I tell you what, guys…you got it all wrong."

"And vhat exactly do you mean by zhat?"

I looked around furtively as though to make sure the once-prince wasn't eavesdropping on us, then shrugged at the suit and told him, "I'm a, uh…a double-agent, see? I heard the once-prince—er, I mean Prince Nuada—was gonna try and awaken the Golden Army, and I got in on it, see? I was gonna wait until he let his guard down, snatch the crown pieces away from him and, I dunno, bury them or something."

Their silence was skeptical.

"I would've figured it out!" I insisted, intent on not letting this become another steaming shovel full in my face.

"Zhen vhy vere you hunting zhe Princess?" Krauss demanded, sounding as though he had me caught.

I blew a strand of hair out of my face. Rolling my eyes again I replied, "Well duh, Agent Krauss, I had to protect her! Why do you think I didn't help the troll turn Big Red over there into a puddle of El Diablo? I had to look like I was on their side, but let the Princess escape at the same time!"

I swallowed a smirk and instead gave them an earnest look, a look that said, Hey, I'm a demonic creature that's destined to aid in the destruction of humanity eventually—but for now can't we all just get along?

They looked at each other and from inside the van Hellboy called, "Is this gonna take all day? Throw her in the truck and let's go, already!"

Krauss turned to me and nodded briskly. "Very vell," he said. "You too shall be granted asylum, but you vill be vatched very closely, vith an armed escort at all times."

"What!" I cried before I could stop myself. Manning tried to stare me down with his watery little eyes, but faltered after a couple seconds, and Krauss titled his globe. Stuttering, my gaze fell upon Princess Nuala as she peered curiously from the back of the van, and inspiration struck. "Uh, I mean, I want to be with the Princess. I risked my hide trying to keep her and the crown piece safe, and, not that I don't trust your suits or anything, but I'd feel better if I could keep an eye on her myself."

Not grinning like a moron at my own excellence was, in my opinion, one of my most amazing feats of the evening. All I could do was curl my tail in pleasure, and what happened next had it curling itself into knots.

"Maybe…maybe that would be a good idea," Manning said. He glanced at Krauss as though waiting for the green light to go on, and when the suit didn't backhand him he added, "I mean, if the Princess and, uh…this…"

"Jinx," I helped.

"Yes, thank you—if the Princess and Jinx were kept together then we could preserve the man power by providing them with a smaller, combined escort."

Krauss considered this before nodding briskly. "Very vell zhen. Agents Sapien, Hellboy and Sherman vill be keeping a close eye on zhe both of you until ve reach Headquarters. Zhere vill be many agents zhere to prevent any…mischief." The way he stressed the last word was a less than subtle warning to me, and then he nodded towards the van before strolling off with Manning not far behind.

The suit I'd knocked where the sun don't shine had finally recovered, and so he took the honor of yanking me up the ramp into the van, in spite of my protests and claims of police brutality. He uncuffed my hands and deposited me into my very own swivel chair, and just when I was about to thank him he cuffed my wrist to the arm of the chair. As he exited I shouted, "Yeah, have fun explaining to your wife where all that bruising and swelling came from!"

He slammed the doors in my face. I imagined he would sit up front with Manning and Krauss, swapping manly tales about how they had bravely arrested little girls back when they were mall security guards.

The vehicle roared to life and I looked around at everyone. Liz had her arms around Hellboy and a sad look on her face, while Hellboy himself had his chin resting on her head and his eyes closed. The cut on his cheek was still oozing blood.

Abraham was explaining the uses for the pieces of equipment surrounding us to the Princess, who nodded and smiled politely, but I don't think she understood any more than I did. Eventually the conversation dwindled down to silence, filled only by the gently blipping of a radar somewhere in the corner. I stayed seated in my swivel chair like a good little demon, then after a while I held up the cuffs that'd been binding me and asked, "Er, where should I put these?"

Liz lifted her head from its place on Hellboy's chest and asked, "How'd you get those off?"

I placed the handcuffs in the air in front of me and removed my hand. They stuck there, suspended by my power. "Telekinesis," I replied. "Nothing too extraordinary, but helpful enough in a pinch."

She nodded and lay her head back down. I looked around for another source of conversation, tired with this quiet. I sent the handcuffs spinning like helicopter blades and they whizzed over to a drawer, pulled it open and settled in.

"That is an interesting ability you have," Abraham remarked, but then said no more.

"Did you mean what you told them?" Princess Nuala asked me suddenly, golden eyes probing. "Did you really mean to protect me the entire time?"

Gulp. Lying to a kiss-ass and a talking whoopee cushion was one thing, but lying to Princess of Bethmoora…

I shrugged. "Sure. I mean, I was kind of in it for the fun, you know? Big adventure, like in the movies; but then people started dying, and suddenly it wasn't really so much fun anymore…I'm sorry about your father, by the way. If I'd known what he was going to do…" I trailed off. Would I really have stopped Nuada? Even if it meant he'd slaughter me?

"Thank you," she murmured, dipping her head.

I looked away from her grief-stricken face and spun around in my chair, pretending to have a good time but really feeling sick to my stomach. "When are we gonna get there?" I asked, keeping my mouth busy to distract me from my thoughts.

"Quite soon, actually," Abraham said.

I looked around for a window to press my face against, but finding none I was forced to curl up in my chair and wait out the ride. I didn't remember falling asleep, but suddenly there was drool on my chin, the van had stopped its rumbling and everyone was starting to get up from their seats.

"We're here," Abraham said, extending his hand to the Princess to help her up. "This is our home."

I unhinged my jaw in an incredible yawn and tried to scrub the sleep from my face. "Where exactly is 'here'?" I asked blearily. Still stupid from my little nap, I added, "Is it Area Fifty-One?"

Hellboy snorted as he opened the doors in the back of the van, and he and Liz walked out into an enormous hanger (filled with trucks, planes, jets, and loads of other amazing vehicles I was already itching to take for a joyride or two) with their arms still around each other. That whole thing with the angry mob must've really gotten to them, I thought. Who knew the Infernal Prince would be so sensitive?

Well, the bright side was the Prince and his girlfriend were too busy moping to keep a close eye on me like Agent Gasbag ordered. All I had to do now was slip away when the fish man wasn't looking—easy enough, as he was busy making goo-goo eyes at the Princess—and then I could go exploring. The super secret base of the BYOB or whatever had to be teeming with all sorts of interesting—

"I must advise you not to wander," Abraham said, turning back to look at me. "If you're discovered by yourself or in a restricted area, Agent Krauss is liable to have you placed in a holding cell."

I stared at him, wondering how devious I'd appeared for him to be chastising me already. "What are you," I grumbled, "some kind of mind-reader?"

"Actually, yes," he replied without missing a beat. He dipped his head in the direction of a hallway leading out of the hangar and offered the Princess his arm. "This way, please."

What an amphibious gentleman, I found myself thinking as I tagged along. Or is he a gentlemanly amphibian?

I was quickly distracted by the gleaming, brightly lit interior of Freak HQ. It was all so…shiny. Oh, if there was anything a little demon like me fancied, it was shiny things. I couldn't wait to ditch the fish and—

"This way, please," Abraham repeated, jerking me from my scheming thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Just…making sure the perimeter's secure." I spouted the first agent-y thing that came to mind. Agent Sapien could've called me on it, but humored me instead.

"I assure you, our Headquarters is a fortress. We're relatively secluded with a convincing front; armed guards complete with K9 units patrol the outer perimeter, which is also under 24-hour video surveillance. There are numerous, armed, highly trained agents and even more electronic security between any would-be invaders and the heart of our operation—not to mention the fact that Agents Hellboy and Sherman, as well as myself, have been charged with watching over the two of you. This is the safest place you could possibly be."

At that I wondered. Nuada had orchestrated the massacre of an entire building full of humans for a single piece of the crown. He had murdered the King of Bethmoora, his own father, for the second piece. Something nagged at the back of my mind, a single black thought that kept me silent as Abraham led me and the Princess to the respective quarters to which we'd been assigned.

The once-prince did all that for this crown, to wake the indestructible army of gold and bring the world of man to its knees. Since the beginning of time he has demanded blood for blood—human heads to pay for his own slaughtered warriors. What if the 'safest place we could possibly be' isn't nearly safe enough?

I gulped and, for the first time ever, hoped that things didn't end in blood and fire.

A/N

Much time has passed since the last episode of Jinx's escapades. I've had the first half of this chapter sitting in my computer for pretty much the entire duration of the aforementioned time, and decided at 10:30PM on a Sunday evening to finish it.

I feel like the end of this chapter is very dramatic, but I wanted to end with some foreshadowing of Nuada's arrival and was having trouble leading into it. What do you guys think, eh? I try hard to keep everyone In Character when not drawing directly from the film, but helpful critiques shall always be welcomed with an absurd amount of enthusiasm.

I believe next chapter will include some Awkward Flirtation starring Abe Sapien, Red and Blue Drunken Sing-Along, and Intoxicated Scarlet Monkey vs. That Slippery Bastard with special guest, Prince Nuada himself!

Ohhoho, whose side will Jinks choose in the end? Will it be her senses of honor, courage and morality that win out over her sense of self preservation? We may know who prevails in the end, but our dear Jinks does not, and the choice she makes could be her salvation or her downfall…

R&R to give me your thoughts on the subject.