When she woke up the first thing she noticed was that she was on something soft, it wasn't with her hands that she felt this soft thing with but her whole body. The second thing she noticed after she woke up was the overpowering stench of rotten meat, it made her curl her nose and shake her head. When she did she heard a growl, then a series of padded movements that were coming towards her. Her vision was still fuzzy, she blinked her eyes several times before finally she could see. As soon as she saw the beast standing in front of her, its teeth so close to her face and its eyes glowing bright green, she sent out a scream. The animal didn't make a sound, it breathed on her sending her fiery red hair flying back from her shoulders. The rotted meat smell she had smelled before had come from the beast, it was its breath. It's horrid and stinking breath! She pushed back and felt something tighten around her wrists. Looking down she saw she had shackles around her wrists, thick chains ran from them to a ring in the floor. It was during this look at her wrists that she noticed something else. She was naked, there were no clothes on her body not even a pair of underwear or a bra, she was completely naked. When she touched her stomach she saw that the wound there from before was healed. No, no it wasn't just healed it was gone completely as if it had never happened! She found the same when she checked her thigh and looked behind her at her back and the wound on her shoulder was also gone. When she checked her crotch she saw it was in good order. Not a wound on her body, all of the wounds from the morning, from fighting the canines, were gone. A click made her turn her head around, her red hair fell over one eye but she was able to see well. Sitting across the room that she was in from her was her grandfather.
"Nap time looks to be over it seems." her grandfather said.
The beast walked over to KurukVile and placed its head on his lap, KurukVile stroked the ugly head twice then gave him something. It took Angel a while before she noticed he was sitting at a table, he had some trays and dishes in front of him that he was eating from, there was a large slab of meat on his plate that he was cutting with a knife, it looked to be crisped on top but the meat inside was undercooked, it was sloughed with a dark sauce and had a leaf on the side of it. As she watched, her grandfather took a glass from the table that had a black liquid in it that was bubbling, he drank almost half of it in one gulp before he set it down. The thin, bony tail of the beast thumped the floor twice when KurukVile raised a chunk of meat up, the beast sat on its haunches and begged, its blue-black tongue lolling from its mouth. KurukVile dropped the meat and the beast ate it then nuzzled up against KurukVile's leg.
"You did a number on my Veline's." KurukVile said. "Out of six, you left me with two. One being badly injured."
"What did you expect me to do with them?" Angel hissed. "Pull up a table and start serving tea? Those damn things attacked me!"
"Luckily I have four more waiting in the kennel shall I need them." KurukVile stroked the ugly beasts head again.
"You treat that damn thing as if it is a pet." Angel snorted.
"It is." KurukVile turned to her, his fiery red eyes glowing angrily. "She is, that is."
"She?" Angel looked at the creature as it stood up. "How in the world can you tell that thing is a she? I see nuts on that thing!"
KurukVile leaned around, he looked at his beast then sat back upright in his chair and ate some of his meat. He dropped three chunks to the beast which gobbled them up in nothing flat. When the animal turned and looked at Angel it growled, Angel looked again at the animal and confirmed what she had said. The animal that her grandfather had said was a she had balls, either it was related to the Spotted Hyena, who's females looked like males, even having a pseudo penis, or her grandfather had been wrong in calling the beast a girl.
She felt air being pumped on her neck, it made her hair blow forward over her shoulders, and she turned. Her mouth opened and a blood curdling scream came out. She was in KurukVile and Irka's bedroom chamber on their ship, that was obvious, and lying on the bed was a long furred animal that had a long snout, protruding yellow teeth jutted from the jaws. KurukVile and Irka's bed had black and gray checkered sheets, a light gray quilt was folded on the end of the bed. At the head of the bed was a multitude of pillows that had white tasselled black and gray checkered pillow cases. A laugh made her turn around, made her look away from the creature that had breathed on her. KurukVile was standing, he had the back of his chair in his hands and was carrying it to her. He set it in front of her and sat on it, his knees were four inches from her, a bit too close for comfort.
"You had us running for a while there, Granddaughter." he said to her.
"The idea of having you this close to me makes me want to go for another round." Angel replied coldly.
"Good thing you won't have that chance." KurukVile said to her, he came closer. "After an hour from now, you will be too afraid to move a step from your father's side."
"I've seen zits scarier than you old man." Angel snarled.
It was quiet between the two for a short while then KurukVile swung his hand. It collided with the side of Angel's face hard, she yelled out as she fell back against the bed. Slowly, she brought her hand up and touched the side of her face, her left cheek was tingling and she was sure that it was red from the slap. Seeing as her grandfather was so close she lunged forward, intending to bite him. He kicked his knee up and she pulled back, she cupped her jaw in her hands. The beast behind KurukVile walked up, he, she or it sat down beside KurukVile and growled. Angel moved her jaw gently, it wasn't broken but surely if he would have kicked his knee harder up it would have been. She felt the creature behind her sniff her hair, that made her turn around. When she felt fingers run through her hair she turned back around, sure enough her grandfather had a strand of her hair in his hand.
"It's grown out I see." he said, she tugged the strand out of his hand.
"Pervert!" Angel snapped.
"Save your breath, you will need plenty of lung power for what your father and I have in store for you." KurukVile said.
Kat and the rangers had hidden themselves well, they had followed Master Vile and KurukVile after they had picked Angel up and slung her up into the saddle of Ayut Hazem. They had trotted their horses silently along until the beast that had had its leg severely broken limped into view then KurukVile had galloped forward and jumped from the saddle of his horse. He had acted more concerned for his beast than for Angel, Master Vile had continued riding forward silently. KurukVile had picked the beast with the broken leg up and had swung up into the saddle, he had guided his horse with his legs, the surviving beast loping beside him and the beast with the broken leg resting on his legs. When KurukVile had gotten back to his ship he had ordered his son to have Angel put in his and Irka's bedroom chamber then he had carried the beast into his ship, the one that was in good body condition following obediently beside him.
They had stationed themselves behind a hill that was overgrown with thicket bushes, and their numbers had been boosted by one. Lieutenant Charles Rollins had joined them after witnessing the entire thing unfold from his apartment window. He felt bad for not helping and had joined to assist in any way he could. That was good, they needed all of the help they needed and especially so since they could see that there was being erected a pole between the two ships, two tables had been placed on either side of the pole and on them looked to be some items, from this far they couldn't tell what but they had a feeling that each item was to be used on Angel by either her father or her grandfather.
They guessed that everyone was attending, they saw Dara Dara, Triskull, Rita and Rito all sitting in chairs near a fire that had a poker in it, Irka was seated by herself, an empty chair beside her. They guessed that Master Vile and KurukVile were with Angel, preparing her for her undeserved punishment. Kat remembered when Master Vile had tortured her for information of where Angel was some months ago, she shuddered at the thought of Angel having to go through such horrors as she had and from the looks of the tools on the two tables, it looked like Angel was going to get a good beating. Lieutenant Rollins was the leader, he was older than they were and had more contact with the group below them, he had made a plan that as soon as Master Vile let up on Angel they would swoop in and rescue her. Aisha had asked why they were going to wait and he had replied that a too soon attack would spell disaster and would put Angel in more harm. So, all they could do was wait, and watch, until Angel's father either got tired or he let up, giving Angel a break.
They didn't have to wait long for the activity to start up, Angel was led out of the coiled ship that had a gruesome skull in the center that was as white as an eggshell with two black soulless eyes that stared out. The mouth part of the skull was closed, but the teeth were very viewable, they were rotten and a yucky green and yellow in color, two canine teeth were on the top jaws, they sparkled with gold dust. There were gray bars going northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest from the skull, they connected the skull to the silver coil that was around the ship. There was no ramp on this ship, instead there was a hatch that opened, the hatch was right between the two canines. KurukVile had Angel by her hair, he was dragging her by her hair from his ship and through the yard to the pole.
Angel felt humiliated the minute she was dragged from KurukVile and Irka's bedroom chamber, she was given no clothing and was almost dragged naked across the metallic floored hallway that had a carpet on it. When she was dragged outside, her feet tripping over themselves and she pulling to the sides and back trying to get away but not able to, she felt even more humiliation. There was her ill-gotten family, all seated comfortably in chairs. Her grandfather's grip on her hair tightened and he dragged her fully to a pole which was near six feet tall. She felt herself being lifted then dropped, her hands had been chained up by the wrists before she had been dragged out of her grandparents bedroom chamber and she found that her grandfather had just picked her up to have her make a circle with her arms. As soon as her arms were around the pole KurukVile went around. He chained them up so that they hung at angles. He walked around her once, his fiery red eyes glowing as brightly as ever, then he walked over to his wife and sat in the chair beside her leaving Angel alone.
The last thirty minutes had just been simple talk between her and her grandfather, him telling her how much he was disappointed in her for making him and his family leave their lives behind for a while to pursue her and how she had injured her uncle and aunt and older brother. She had responded a few times, saying that they deserved no life and that her uncle, aunt and older brother deserved to of been injured. With each reply she had been slapped and told silence child, of course she had to quiet up because her jaw from when her grandfather had kicked his knee up was starting to hurt. Her grandfather had stood up and grabbed the animal behind her that was nuzzling her hair from the bed gently and had carried it off to a small pet bed where it had turned twice then had lain down. The animal resembled a Weasel, it had dark brown fur on its back with cream-colored fur on the bottom of its neck and stomach with either black or dark brown eyes.
"Your grandmother's rather fond of her Geasile." her grandfather had said to her. "You remember that."
The full bedroom chamber of her grandparents had been finely furnished! A black couch with puffy cushions of dark red sat over on one side of the room, above it a portrait of her grandparents, a chair that matched the couch on the wall beside the couch with a black glass table with curved legs between them and the pet bed on the other side of the chair. The soft thing she had woken up on was a black carpet with red rose designs all around the edge and a spider web in the center, it was made of very fine material that was extremely soft and reminded her of a bath robe. There were black candles on the dark red wood dresser that had animal skulls on the ends of the surface and red candles on a shelf, a large stuffed bear was in one corner and another rug was in the room. It was a Lion rug, the head still attached with its mouth open and teeth glistening white. Angel had felt sorry for the bear and Lion, their eyes were right sad looking.
She had wondered for a short while what it was that her grandfather was drinking with such intense gulps, as soon as he finished one glass he'd fill it up again with the same liquid. By the time twenty minutes had passed her grandfather had seated back down in front of her and had shoved the glass at her telling her to take a swallow. She had cursed at him and he had grabbed the back of her hair with his hand and forced her to drink, even pulling her head back and pinching her nose to make her swallow. The liquid had a horrible taste to it, it tasted like cough syrup, honey and sewer water and the latter taste almost made her barf! She had coughed several times and gasped for a short while then had heard her grandfather laugh.
"You'll need to get use to our cuisine and beverages my dear." he had said to her. "This bubbly is laced, yes. This planet's Cobra venom has a good kick in it."
She had near thrown up at the mention of her grandfather forcing her to drink something laced with Cobra venom, the most deadly of snake venom's on the planet. Her body had also broken out in a sweat and her vision had swam some but she hadn't lost consciousness, she had stayed awake. Her being led out of her grandparent's bedroom chamber on their ship by her hair was because after her grandfather had forced her to drink the substance in his glass she had shouted for him to go dig his own grave and leave her alone. It had happened fast, her grandfather had been drinking the substance in his glass and had gasped, some of the drink flying out of the glass onto the floor around him as he stood, then he had torn the chains from the rings on the floor and grabbed her by her hair and dragged her, who had resisted and started a fight immediately, to the door then out into the hallway.
So here she was now, in the current, in the present. No more being chained up in her grandparents bedroom chamber on their ship with just her grandfather and his so called pet and her grandmother's pet as an audience. Here she was; naked and chained to a post in front of a new audience getting ready for some sort of non-deserved punishment. Her grandfather had just sat down beside his wife when she realized that there was someone missing. She had seen Rita and Rito, her sick and repulsive older half siblings, and she had seen Dara Dara and Triskull, her aunt and uncle, and she knew her grandfather and grandmother were there. She had also seen Lynster, Kelso, Nygiti and Finster and Goldar standing with the goat-men and lizard-men. She lifted her head and turned it towards the group on her other side, taking each figure in and trying to figure out who was missing.
Her eyes landed on Lynster and his brother, Finster first after she had taken in her ill-gotten and un-wanted family. Finster was Lynster's twin brother, he was just like Lynster in size and shape but there was a big difference between the two. Finster's fur was white, all white. It made him look like a Scottish Terrier. Lynster and Finster's eyes were the same, bright blue, but they were wearing different outfits. While Lynster had a red uniform on with a white apron over top, the left strap undone and hanging down, Finster was wearing a white outfit that looked loose. Finster had an apron on as well, the left strap was also undone and hanging down but unlike Lynster he had a pocket on the front of his apron which was hanging loose on one side. She was too far to notice what was in the pocket, but she knew that it was silver. Finster had brown sandals on his feet.
She made her eyes move, they saw the Nine-Tailed Fox and Professor Longnose standing, the latter with his arms crossed over his chest, then they landed on Goldar. Goldar's gold-colored armor looked as if it had been specially polished for this event, he shone brilliantly. His black feathered wings with the gold arm parts flapped once. Goldar had a lion's face only it was blue with beady red eyes. His sharp teeth were very viewable and were a dingy white in color. He had what looked like a mane going down both shoulders, on the ends though were white horns. He had a gold helmet on and curiously, there was a gold chin cup on his chin.
After seeing the Nine-Tailed Fox, Professor Longnose and Goldar the line became mostly goat-men, lizard-men and the odd sort of people who were either humanoid in appearance or had hair covered bodies. When her eyes met the last in the line she put two and two together that the people who were humanoid in appearance and the hair covered people were servants of her grandparents. She tilted her head back then moved it around to the other side of the post, it was then that she found the one who was missing in the group. She didn't need to know that her pupils had shrank in size, she had only to look at her father who was a mere inch from her face to know that they had. Her father nodded when she looked at him then walked off.
"Before we start this thing I'm going to list the items of which this child here has done to merit this punishment." her father said. "It's a long list, a disagreeable list of sorts."
Angel rolled her eyes as her father started in on his preaching, on saying that the item on the top of the list was disrespect of her elders, of her grandparents and her father. She almost laughed when he said that she was also in deep due to the attacks on her siblings and on Triskull and on the kidnaps of her grandmother and aunt, the latter two he had added a dear in front of the grandmother and aunt.
"Also on the list is her attempts of adulterous actions towards me, her father-mate." her father said next. "And her actions as a General against troops of her father and grandfather and her actions of attempted treacherous deeds on Gamma-Vile which also include her entering a bank vault of her father-mate without his direct permission."
"Hogwash on the adultery you old croon!" Angel yelled.
"Also on the list of her actions to merit this punishment is acting with a disagreeable and banished character." her father said, he walked back over to her and looked deep into her eyes. "My oldest sister and high imperial traitor who will not be named here or any place else."
"Hey now wouldn't that honorable title of imperial traitor also go to you since you also killed your and her sister?" Angel sneered.
"Silence!" her father exclaimed. "This punishment will be divided. Part going to me and part going to my father, this child's grandfather."
That was the end of his speaking of her so called crimes, he silenced up and stood again with his face an inch from hers. She looked into his golden-yellow eyes that had a tiny black pupil in each eye. She saw quite a bit of things in them eyes; anger for one was very evident but there seemed to also be hurt in them eyes mixed in with jealousy and she couldn't much understand it but there was also a trace of love in his eyes. Her father wasn't wearing his usual attire, he was simply wearing a black pair of dress pants with his black shoes, his top half was exposed. He was a perfect example of blending of his parents. His exposed shoulders were bone, not flesh but bone, and they were colored to match the colors of his face, the left side of his shoulders being gold while the right was dark blue. She didn't need to see any muscle on his shoulders to know that he was strong, just like Rito the boned parts of his body were plain bone with no sight of muscle mass. The fleshed part of his body which was exposed to the air was that part that showed his muscle mass, which was great! The left side of his chest was fleshed and full of supple muscle while the other side was boned. He had a slender and strong looking V-shaped waist, that much she could see above his pant line. His left arm was fleshed, and was full of rippling muscle but yet not as much as his own father's but enough to make her swallow, his right arm was bone. The left side of his chest, along with his arm, was gold in color with the other side of his body, and his other arm, was dark blue.
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" he said to her, he was so close she could smell his rank breath and that made her shiver. "Running around, making your family that loves and cares for you chase after you. Injuring part of that family that loves and cares for you. Joining the ranks of my older sister and letting her tamper with your mind, letting her drive you from us."
"Ya'll know no love." Angel replied. "All you know is hate and do horrible things such as take world's from others, take lives and change them, make others miserable because you feel you have to conquer or destroy. Love is accepting and understanding, none of you do that."
That was the end of their conversation, Master Vile got right angry and left. She heard him walk off then stop, she thought she had heard him turn but wasn't sure. Knowing that it was soon she started thinking up places that she had been and things she had done in her two hundred and fifteen years of life. Visiting Strawberry Mountain in Virginia, that was a good start. She had been fresh out of Pronghorn and had seen a flier for it and had gone. It had been a blast! A beautiful place with kind and friendly people that allowed you to enter and eat all you wanted and would only charge you somewhere around $30 for the produce you brought back. She had brought back to her cave a bushel of apples and some peaches, had made homemade apples and peaches in a can which were so sweet. Another good memory; becoming the riding pony for the great Man O' War for his last three races. She had been excited the last race, and had been among the thousands wondering how fast the horse could go for real after his retirement was announced. She had been the riding pony for Man O' War's sons Clyde Van Dusen, Crusader, War Admiral, and for Man O' War's grandson, Seabiscuit.
"Tibet was pretty, I enjoyed visiting there." Angel thought. "Peaceful and very cultured. I enjoyed learning their culture and becoming a part of their society for the three years I was there. Visiting Mongolia to see the planet's last true wild horses, horses that Ghengis Khan rode when he was doing his conquests. Fine, sturdy horses there are! Maybe I'll go back there one day, maybe..."
A crack then she screamed loud. She didn't need to know what had happened, she looked down and saw the shadow of her father and then she saw the shadow of a long three coiled whip flying through the air. She braced herself but it was no good, she screamed again, loud. The swings were growing closer and closer together now, as soon as one swing was finished her father would draw his whip back and swing and she'd scream and bellow a word out then it would happen again. She felt sweat break out on her back, not good for the whip lashes. She felt the stings and screamed as more were added, she felt the salty sweat roll into the whip lashes and she felt the blood flow down her back. After fifty swings the whipping stopped and she struggled but she gained her feet underneath of her, she breathed hard.
"That it old man?" she yelled back, still not broken. "You are pathetic!"
More lashes, more thunder-like cracks as the whip swung. During the first fifty swings the leather straps had all struck the same area three times, never going in a different area of her back, but this time when the whip was swung the three leather straps hit three areas. She felt the leather straps strike her shoulders, her upper back, her lower back and she felt several times when they thwacked her butt. She'd pull up and scream with every swing, who wouldn't with such treatment? She pulled her head to the side one time and felt the stinging sensation as the tip of one of the leather straps slapped the side of her face and her mouth, that made her slam her head back against the post hard. She tasted blood, she felt blood trickling from her body making small rivers and streams on her legs. After five minutes of pounding by the three coil whip it stopped, again. She heard footsteps and pulled herself up. Her father's face again loomed an inch from hers.
"Enjoying this my young daughter-mate?" her father asked her.
"Pussy wipe!" Angel spat at her father, a glob of bloodied spit landed in his face. He was not wearing his blue-tinted glasses.
Kat had turned around away from the sight, she had watched the first two punishing whippings then couldn't watch anymore. Aisha slid around after the fourth whipping, she started praying that it'd be over soon. Jason's mouth was agape in shock, Angel was being strong and would from time to time call out asking for more and with more whippings she would scream loud. There was a puddle of her blood by her feet, both of them were sitting in a puddle of blood. After the fourth whipping by her father he walked off and KurukVile walked forward, Master Vile took his seat. To Jason, Adam, Tommy, Lieutenant Rollins and Adam it seemed that Master Vile was holding back tears, he would from time to time cover his face with his hand for a few seconds.
The punishment wasn't over with, Angel knew it. Her father had stopped only because he was exhausted emotionally. He had started crying during the third whipping, calling out with deep emotion asking if she liked this treatment and then calling out that she deserved it. Irka was trying to calm him down, she knew that much, she could hear her telling her son that it was alright. Angel didn't much care, nor did she have much time to reflect on her father's breakdown. Her grandfather's face suddenly loomed up in front of her and her breath started coming in fast, them eyes were horrorsome! She saw some of the things that she had seen in her father's eyes, it was very evident he was angry but deep inside his eyes, pushed back because of the anger, was the same love and care that she had seen in her father's eyes, this somewhat confused her. There was something else that was in his eyes that made her tremble and made her get a bit scared. She saw danger, she saw the history of his conquerings and the danger and destruction of each one, she saw the sorrow of the people that her grandfather had either wiped clean from the planets that they had been born and raised or had completely destroyed with his tyrannical rule, people who's lives have been completely changed forever.
When her arms flopped down she had the fleeting idea that it was over with, the punishment was over with and they were done with her and going to throw her into a cell. That idea changed quickly as she was swiftly turned around and the chains were reattached to her wrists, only this time her arms were held around back of the post instead of the sides. She was now facing away from the post, and she didn't much like it. Her grandfather walked around the post and faced her, in his hand was a gruesome Cat o' Nine tails that had razor blades attached to the leather straps. He would have to get close to use it, the grip was only twelve inches with the strands reaching twelve more. She pulled back as soon as she saw the whip, her back striking the post hard, then she pulled forward with a silent yelp of pain as splinters slid into her tortured, bleeding and whip lashed back. Her grandfather started on her soon afterwards, he swung unmercifully. As if the simple leather straps of a non-razor wielding whip wasn't bad enough, her grandfather's whip sliced into her delicate flesh like a knife. The whip made a swwwwwiiiiiish sound everytime it was swung and she'd send up a blood curdling scream to match it as the straps, and the razors, cut into her flesh.
He was good, her grandfather that was, he made sure that each swing would tear some of her flesh from her and would draw blood but he was careful to not hit her in her delicate areas. When she had looked down once one of the leather straps had smacked up against her forehead with the razor making a slit on her eyebrow. She never looked down again, or struggled. She let him beat her, he was silent except for his breathing which, when he had started this punishing beating was normal but now after five minutes of whipping her with his whip he was breathing heavily. It went on for a few more minutes before he stopped. When she looked up she saw that he had tear trails going down his face, his eyes had lost their anger and were not filled with sadness.
"Good job pop." Master Vile said when he came up. "It's hard work but it has to be done."
"Get..." KurukVile breathed heavily. "get the candles, son. I want all of that defiance out of her eyes. All of it, I want her tamed good!"
She was given a six minute break, she just stood there breathing hard and bleeding. Her grandfather had gone to her grandmother who had wrapped him up in a hug, he returned to her after a few minutes. Master Vile walked out of the ship carrying a basket of red, white, black and purple candles. KurukVile brought a table over closer to her and had his son place each candle down in this order: Red, purple, black and the last, white. Next, KurukVile lit each candle by making a flicker of flame on his fingertip. He left the table and stood next to her, Angel watched as her father walked over and picked up an iron bar that looked as if it had something on the tip, he also picked up the poker from the fire.
"You're going to learn, young lady." her father said to her. He held the poker up and waved it in front of her face close. "What is your name?"
"You damn well know it!" Angel snarled, she moved her head one way then the other trying to keep the poker from touching her face.
"Your given name!" Master Vile shouted. "What is the name you will have for the rest of your life!"
"Angel fucking kick your ass Irene!" Angel shrieked. "That's my name, don't you wear it out."
It went on like that for a short two minutes, Master Vile demanding that she tell him her name and her replying that it was Angel Irene, with insulting words in between her first and last names. After two minutes her father stepped back then, to her collective surprise, he thrust the poker forward. She didn't gasp, oh God no she did not gasp! She sent up a scream so loud that the people in Angel Grove could hear and would talk about for the next week. Her father had thrust the heated end of the poker hard in between her legs, it burned her female parts, she felt the skin of her walls burning, her nub grew numb and the muscle in her inner thigh squealed with fury at this unimaginative, this unforgivable, assault on her female parts. The poker was torn back out after a full ten seconds and her father walked off, mumbling under his breath. She bled, now, bled a lot between her legs and her female parts throbbed in pain it almost made her lose it and start crying but instead she glared out at the back of her father who was grabbing a candle. Her grandfather was doing something behind her and before she knew it, the post she had been chained to was tilted.
"If it's through this way you learn respect I'll do it!" Master Vile said, he was now at her side. "What is your name?"
"Go bite your mama!" Angel yelled.
Adam and Billy had ducked below the hill, they had seen enough and were sick at heart. They were angry, thoroughly angry, with Master Vile and his father. The way that they were treating Angel, the way that they were hurting her, was barbaric and cruel. They had seen the poker get jabbed into Angel's delicate area and had heard her scream and that was when they had ducked behind the hill. Kat and Aisha was crying, the were huddled together crying into each others shoulder. It wasn't long before another scream, almost as loud as the one before, was heard. Tommy ducked behind the hill, his hand over his mouth and his body shaking. He was unable to speak, he was silenced by what he had just seen. Another loud scream was heard and Jason ducked down, he was in the same state. It was only Lieutenant Rollins crouching down, looking out at the scene before him.
"They're burning her breasts!" Tommy finally managed to say. "They're friggin' demanding that she claim herself family to them then when she doesn't her father drips candle wax on her breasts."
"Cruel!" Adam gasped. "Lieutenant we need to go now!"
"Not yet!" the Lieutenant called down. "Wait, Angel's lasted this long."
"For us to let her go through this is cruel enough!" Billy hissed.
It wasn't her breasts that her father was burning, as Tommy had claimed, it was her nipples that her father was dripping candle wax on. The red candle was what he had started off with, he had dripped enough of the wax on her nipples to cover them then would peel it off after it hardened and ask her again what her name was. When she refused to answer correctly he would bring over another candle, the second one being purple, and would repeat the dripping. The second candles wax hurt like Hell but she still wouldn't comply with her father's wishes to say the name he had added to a birth certificate he had made some time ago. The next candle he brought over was black and oh Hell's Bell's the wax burned even worse than that of the red and purple candles wax! She shook her body with this new wax that was dripped on her and screamed so loud it made her father step back but he returned and again demanded that she tell him her name. She had remained quiet, hitching in breath after breath and preparing herself for the next candle to come.
"The white candle will get her to say it, Son." KurukVile said. "I've used it before, always gotten what I wanted."
"Stubborn child," Master Vile said to her. "I wasn't intending on it going this far but you have forced me to do so. You remember that."
The white candle had come and boy, oh friends and neighbors, it had made Angel's eyes almost pop out of her face when the wax had touched her nipples. She had writhed in pain, screamed so loud that it drove both her father and grandfather off a few feet and, again, the people of Angel Grove heard it. The mayor of Angel Grove had a candle vigil announced, people gathered in the park, in the baseball diamond, outside of the mall and in the streets holding little white candles sending strength and hope to Angel. They all now knew what had happened, and what was going on now. Among of the group in front of the mall was William "Billy" Faulk and his new wife, Cindy and among the group in the park was Captain Ned O'Nell. Work was canceled for the following day, school was canned for the week, everyone was worried and everyone was talking. Everyone voiced the same thing, everyone worried about the same being. Everyone hoped and prayed that Angel Irene would be saved and everyone hoped and prayed that Angel Irene's spirit and will to fight would not be broken.
The wax was peeled from her nipples and the chain was chopped loose from the post, she fell on her side in the dirt and in her blood which had dripped from her to the post then from the post to the ground. She relished in the cool comfort of the ground, she felt like wrapping herself in it but she found herself much too slow and much too stiff from the abuse she had just undergone. Her grandfather grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up to her knees. He grabbed her arms and held them himself behind her back, her father was walking towards her with a pair of scissors, a sharp and shiny silver pair of scissors, his fingers had already been inserted in the finger holes, which were skulls with the circle being the mouth of the skull.
"You asked for it young lady and you got it!" Master Vile said to her angrily.
She struggled to get away, despite her injuries she struggled, KurukVile grabbed her shoulder in his hand and pushed her down, her wrists were tightly gripped in his one hand. Her father walked around her then grabbed the hair which had just grown out to her shoulders. She roared in anger as he snipped her hair off, he didn't fling it to the side after he was done cutting her hair in a bowl cut but he walked off and handed it to his mother who started making tassels with it. As Angel watched her grandmother make the tassels with her hair her anger grew inside, she was one that was proud of her hair and for it to be taken like it had been infuriated her. She felt the anger soar inside her, grow hot and start boiling. It near burst from her when she saw her grandmother hand out strands of her now tasselled hair, the ends being tied with a gold bands to Triskull, Rita and Rito. She kept one and she kept one for her husband.
"And now with this mark all of human-kind shall know you belong to me."
Angel had been so enthused with looking at her grandmother making tassels of her hair which her father had cut off and handing them out like they were gifts that she had completely forgotten her father. She felt the searing, burning pain as something was pressed into the nape of her neck. Whatever it was that was causing the pain and the burning was kept there for a full thirty seconds then it was taken away. Her father walked around her then kneeled down, he held up the bar that she had seen him grab earlier. The end did have something on it!
"You fuckin' branded me!" Angel yelled, she lunged forward but was pulled back by her grandfather.
"Yes, I did." her father replied, he showed her the brand. "This brand shows that you belong to me. You are mine, you are my mate, you are my daughter-mate. It is now a crime for any man to touch you."
The end of the brand had two letters on it, two Gothic letters. The brand's letters were M and V with the V's last branch curled around the two letters in a circle. Just seeing the brand and finding that she had been branded by the creature that had given the last chromosome to make her female made the anger again soar inside of her. Her eyes blazed, the golden-yellow ring around her pupils grew and the emerald-green irises shrank. She lunged at her father once then was pulled back, she then pulled hard from side to side and threw her head back. Her father slid behind her and grabbed her arms tight, relieving his father of the duty of holding his daughter. While Angel fought to be free, fought to get up and turn on her father, to beat him up, to give him everything he had given her in the last forty-five minutes, KurukVile took the crystal she had worn around her neck from a black pouch and walked over to her. As soon as she saw it she stopped struggling, she became still, her hot and angry eyes staring into the crystal which swung gently from its new gold chain.
"You've used this to call someone who you needn't have contact with." her grandfather said to her. "Someone who could care a hill of beans for you."
"It's Hell of beans genius." Angel snarled.
"Don't you ever correct me!" KurukVile roared at her. "I'm far older and wiser than you are."
"Really? Where's the latter one?" Angel snickered.
"You won't ever have a chance to talk or see or have anything to do with the creator of this crystal." KurukVile said to his granddaughter. "I forbid it! Your father forbids it! Your grandmother even forbids it!"
"You tell her dear!" Irka called from her chair. "Tell her how it is to be from now on!"
KurukVile walked about five feet from Angel then stopped, he dropped the crystal and at first, Angel thought that was over. He was just going to drop it and let it lie there to collect dust, dirt and be buried. But, that was far from his intentions. Angel saw him raise his large, heavily muscled leg up and she knew what he was about to do, she lunged forward shrieking at the top of her lungs no but what could one do when you was held by the arms by someone three to four times stronger than you? Nothing, absolutely nothing at all! KurukVile stomped on the crystal, once just once and she fell back. Her head felt fuzzy, she felt dizzy for a short while then her senses cleared. The crystal, the crystal Dione had given her and had told her that she would be able to see all through it and that she, Angel, could contact her through lay now in a cluster if bright red sand-like pieces. Her grandfather kicked the pieces with his foot and walked off, Irka followed behind him. Dara Dara and Triskull fingered their tassels, tassels of Angel's fiery red hair, then followed with Rita and Rito doing the same. In less than five seconds, it seemed, the audience had dispersed, leaving her with her father who still had his hands on her arms.
"The rest of your punishment will be given in the bedroom." her father said in her ear. "Our first will not be a pretty one for you."
Lieutenant Rollins jumped out of the bushes when Master Vile stood up, Angel's arms were held in his hands and he was roughly leading her away. When Master Vile saw him he released one of her arms and shot an energy beam at him that sent him flying back into the bushes from where he had come. He landed right in front of Kat and Aisha, a smoking but alive mess, he sat up shakily but when he tried to get on his feet he found that his legs were not working. Tommy and Jason looked out from the bushes and saw Master Vile nod his head then grab Angel and half carry, half drag her off. They ran from the thicket bushes just as he entered his ship with her. Aisha, Kat, Adam and Billy following. Each skidded to a stop when the ramp curled up and into the mouth of Vile's ship. Lieutenant Rollins crawled from the bushes, he called for them to come back which they did although reluctantly.
"He had the ramp taken in to prevent us from getting in." the Lieutenant said. "He knows we are here but has only one thing on his mind at the moment. Angel."
"How do we help her?" Aisha asked.
"Can we help her?" Kat asked.
"I think help is already on the way." Lieutenant Rollins replied. "Her grandfather destroyed her crystal. I heard from Captain O'Nell that Dione had a connection to it. She'll look into what happened and help Angel."
"Dione cannot be trusted!" Tommy exclaimed. "I can't trust her."
"Neither can I." Jason agreed.
"We have to trust her." Lieutenant Rollins sighed. "We can't do anything, that ship cannot be entered now. It's either Dione or Angel's goose has been cooked."
"And in Angel's case, and yours Lieutenant, let us hope it is the former and not the latter." Jason snorted. "Angel is our friend, for us to not do anything is next to betrayal."
"She's my friend to." Lieutenant Rollins nodded his head. "So I feel what you are saying. One hundred and fifty percent, my young friend."