Ok, here it is, Chapter 7. Massive apologies it's taken so long to post this, life has been so insane recently. Buy I hope the wait was worthwhile. Please read and review x

Chapter 7

A hush went over the crew, the moment it was announced. Cape Suzette the wealthiest, the most glamorous city in the area. Most of the Pirates had never entered it, and Karnage had seen it as his own personal failure. That was all due to Shere Khan, the wealthiest man in the city, who ensured they would never gain entry. Karnage let his eyes fall on Kit, confirming Kit would have a part in conducting the raid. Kit diligently studied the skies for weeks, once again checking everything, even the location of the planets.

Watching the pilots tumble into their planes, he wished he could join them; Kit had studied so well he knew almost everything there was about planes and flying. But Karnage, perhaps knowing he would use it to escape, never let him near a cockpit.

As Kit and almost all the Pirates had predicted no plan of action could ever take on a Port cannon, and the Pilots of both Shere Khan's personal force, and the Police Air squad…and a few other Pilots who saw Karnage's invasion as an attack on themselves and joined in.

Kit stood alone on the deck, feeling the wind brushing through his fur, he could see the planes from the Iron Vulture crashing and burning, most of their pilots managed to eject and head for the water, where the surrounding police would capture them.

Kit clenched and unclenched his hands, as he watched a yellow seaplane, whose model he couldn't identify, tearing an almost death defying barrel roll to escape the Pirates guns. He could partially feel Karnage's anger echoing through the ship, as the remaining Pirates finally saw sense, and limped their way back to the Iron Vulture.

He hung back as they brought their planes into landing and Karnage burst onto the landing strip. "You have failed me". He admonished the men, as they pulled themselves exhausted from the planes.

"You are the most pathetic, useless, and despicable". Karnage was ranting, as Kit etched back hoping to go unnoticed. Sadly that thought was dashed, the moment his movement, caused Karnage to advance on him. "You", He spat in Kit's face, his eyes of pure venom. "This is your entire fault!"

Kit could never explain it, even though he knew the outcome, but for that brief moment as Karnage towered over him in an attempt of intimation, Kit felt something within himself, snap. "My fault, it's not my fault. You knew Suzette had port cannons, but you had to invade anyway. This is all your fault!" The moment Kit said the words; he knew he had gone too far, as you could never contradict Don Karnage.

Karnage grabbed Kit, by the scruff the neck and dragged him from the deck, and through the ship, followed swiftly by the crew, though injured had heard in seconds about Kit's remark, and knew something was about to happen.

It was a familiar setting, as a few minutes later, Kit found himself staring in the eyes of Don Karnage, his men poised to enjoy what had become a tradition in their eyes. Karnage motioned for one of his men to fetch the cane, but as he stared at Kit, Karnage issued a new type of command. "Strip him naked".

"What the", Kit protested, as in a flurry of hands, his green sweater which had protected him so many times in the past, was pulled off him and thrown to the floor. Kit stood there naked, but refused to feel venerable at this situation, he could feel a rush of rebellion spreading through his body, created by almost a year of being battered by the Captain.

Karnage, clearly expecting him to fall apart, and not getting the results he wanted, stole up to him, gripping Kit's chin in his hands. "I'll tell you again Cloudkicker…whose fault is it?"

Logic fought against rebellion and was quickly crushed, as Kit raised his eyes to the Don's and said only one word, "Yours". A hush went across the men, as Karnage made the motion for Kit to be held down, as Karnage, stepped past the crewman holding the cane, went to the cupboard and produced the "Claw".

Kit gasped; he could see the looks on the rest of the crews' faces. The "Claw", as it had been nicknamed, was shaped like a tiger's paw, its four steel claws retracting outwards. Kit had seen Karnage run it across a blackboard several times to get the crews attention, but now he realised it would now serve a different purpose.

Karnage held it up to the air as if he was inspecting it, and the light curved wickedly across the blades. "Very well", He said with an almost maniacal grin. "You force me to do terrible things that I enjoy doing anyway!"

Karnage stepped over, and as the men held him down, brought the blades deeply across Kit's back, the sound of his flesh tearing, caused Kit's eyes to widen, as he sucked in his breath. He glanced up to see the men, all glancing to each other, there was no counting now; there was no laughter, as Karnage continued. Two, then three, Karnage walked around to face him, and Kit could see the blood dripping from the blades and splashing to the deck. Kit willed his face to remain motionless, a look that clearly angered Karnage. "Why are you not crying?" he asked, almost in amazement.

Kit, remembering Mad Dog's words so many months earlier, smiled wilily suddenly enjoying the power he had over his restrained body. "You will never make me cry Karnage, even if you kill me now". This was the wrong answer and everyone knew it, as Karnage went for his body again.

Kit felt the Claw, over and over again ripping through his back, the blood gushing from him and seeping down his legs, he heard the sound of something soft hitting the ground and glanced over to see chunks of his brown fur, lying around him. Kit's body was now giving way to shock, and he felt nothing as Karnage continued, Kit managed to keep his face perfectly emotionless, as if he was almost willing Karnage to put him out of his misery. It must have been only a few minutes, but it felt like hours as Karnage in his fury, continued ripping Kit's back apart.

Soon Kit was drenched in his own blood, warm and sticky. As the world finally gave way to oblivion, he could feel the men release their grip, but Karnage still continuing his attack on Kit's small body.

The first thing Kit felt was cold, like ice was dripping through his veins; he could hear a flurry of movement around him and snatches of conversation, before everything faded to black.

"It's been four days, just throw him overboard".

"Are you serious, we all watched Karnage do this, I just can't let him die…can you?"

"Come off it, why are you wasting your time? He's dead already".

The words faded to nothing as Kit felt someone pulling him into a sitting position and poured the healing liquid down his throat, if he was more alert he could have choked or protested, but Kit didn't have the luxury of conciseness and hovered in an in-between state. Somewhere between Heaven and a very real Hell, even with his eyes closed, there was someone gently removing the bandages from his body and washing his back, whilst he was sleeping.

He heard snatches of conversation and realised it wasn't just Mad Dog who was attending to him, but when Kit woke up fully his fever having broken the day before he was all alone. Even with the draught, his back was in full agony. Kit as so many times before inspected the damage on his body as he washed, chunks of flesh were now missing from his back. He had always hoped his scars would heal, but he knew that this would be permanent.

As he changed his bandages and reached for his green sweater, which someone had the decency to leave for him, he found a note pinned to it, which caused his heart to sink further. "If you're reading this, you're not dead. Don Karnage wants to see you". As he made his way through the ship, a calendar on the wall informed him, he had been asleep for fifteen days, in that time he could still see the outcome of the attack on Cape Suzette, which still bore its mark on the Iron Vulture. Planes he could see were damages, the crew looked so much less than what it was, and all the men were clearly pulling double duties.

Kit felt his legs travelling the deck until he came to Karnage's office, the door staring back at him ominously. Before he finally, softly knocked.

"Who dare disturbs the great Don Karnage, who dares to interrupt the genius, which I am as I plan our most daring raids?" The voice behind the door was rising to a pitch as the oak finally swung, and Kit saw Karnage for the first time in over a fortnight. The Don's voice rose higher, as he looked down on the small boy. "Oh, it's you", he said, his face dropping to look disappointed, before being replaced by his typical sneer like smile. "Ahhh Kit Cloudkicker, we are so glad, you are feeling better…yes?"

As usual denying all knowledge of the beating, so all Kit could do was nod, as Karnage put a hand of his shoulder, causing Kit to winch. "Walk with me boy" Karnage instructed, as the pair left the corridor and made their way through the ship. Kit's presence with the Captain drew the attention of the crew in seconds, as Karnage made his way to the plane deck, some wondering if Karnage was going to throw him overboard!

The midday sun, stung Kit's eyes as the pair ventured into the cold air, Mad Dog and Dumptruck, were the only ones present, as they were desperately trying to fix an engine, but hung back as the Don made his grand declaration, to the only person it really mattered too.

"You know young Cloudkicker, I have been thinking about you, my little grey cells, make me wonder about you, in your time here, you have done some good work, and because of you I am richer, but because of you I am poorer".

Kit hinged on every word, wondering if after the sentence was finished, he would lose his life. "But because of this, I am going to give you a chance, I am going to make you a real Sky Pirate" He declared, causing Dumptruck to drop the spanner he was holding in surprise, the song of the metal bounced across the deck, but Karnage never noticed.

"You mean I to get to fly a plane?" Kit ventured softly, already planning his escape. Karnage laughed, revealing to Kit, he was savvier than Kit had ever given him credit for. "Fly a plane? Of course not, but you will take part in raids, you will gather what I tell you too and in time…and of course with my instruction, you will be a great Sky Pirate…and to celebrate this, I have brought you this".

Karnage produced from his pocket, a simple red scarf and threw it around Kit's neck, with a flourish, which felt like a weight around Kit's neck. "And now you are a Pirate." he declared, with a smile, which couldn't betray the sinister look in his eyes as he finished, "And I know you will not disappoint me". With the scarf around his neck, Kit swallowed, as he felt another fragment of who he used to be, suddenly dying within him, He swayed, fearing he would faint, snapped out of it, as Mad Dog and Dumptruck grabbed him suddenly, Dumptruck calling out that Kit was now a Sky Pirate, so they could party.

That night as the beers were passed around, and more people congratulated Kit, he forced a smile, and dreamed of his airfoil, promising himself he would escape this hell.

A week later, with his back, nowhere near healed, but the pain more bearable, Kit went on his first raid. He had planned it, and now he was helping execute it, a simple Trimotor, also known as "Tin Goose". The pilot, an old man nearing retirement age, didn't want any trouble but wasn't happy with them taking the medicines, which were intended for Cape Suzette Hospital.

Kit wasn't happy about this, but knew he had no choice, he had tied the scarf over his mouth and nose to give the impression he was a bandit, as with trembling hands he pointed the loaded gun Dumptruck had given him, in the direction of the pilot, who had his hands above his head as the crew, were transporting the boxes to their own planes. "You know kid", the Pilot said seeing through Kit's disguise in a second. "You don't have to do this, you really don't…how old are you?" The pilot looked sincere; he could easily have been someone's grandfather. In the back of his mind, Kit's conscience began to wrestle with itself at this small moment of tenderness, nearly causing him to drop the gun. "You don't have to do this; you're too young to be doing this".

The Pilot gestured towards Kit, who could hear the crew coming back into the cockpit. "Shut up" Kit screamed at the man, "You don't know anything about me or what I've done". The Pilot moved forward again, as if to take the gun from the trembling boy. Kit suddenly saw Karnage's face reflected back at him suddenly with the barrel of the gun, he hit the man across the head, causing him to hit the deck, the blood seeping down his face, as Kit heard Mad Dog, coming behind him. Kit turned to the weasel and hoped he couldn't see how freaked out he was. "He came at me", Kit lied in a shaky voice. "Are you all finished?"

All Mad Dog could do was look at the man, then Kit, and answered sadly "Yeah we're done here"

With that, Kit threw the gun to Mad Dog and left him to finish everything whilst he settled back in the plane, the Pirates were using. In a few minutes, the plane was full of the rest of the Pirates as the Tin Goose was released and the old man flew away, to file a report with the Police, and to get his concussion treated, courtesy of Kit.

Karnage was pleased to hear about the success and congratulated Kit on his furiousness. Kit swallowed the complements as he felt all his fears being replaced with anger and soon, that one raid, which kept him up at night as he completed work on his airfoil, began to blend in with another, then another.

Though even with his successes with the raids, when one failed, he was still the whipping boy of Don Karnage, nothing would change that. As Kit used his anger to keep his face totally passive as he once again limped to the infirmary.

After three months, Kit had quickly gained a reputation for his talents, but that fire was still burning within him, a fire he couldn't explain that he kept tempered with his cocky demeanour. Then one day changed everything

It was only meant to be a simple raid, was what Kit was telling himself as he made his way to the Infirmary, his back stinging, but Kit could hardly feel it, just a simple raid he told himself. All it was, was a simple cargo of glass bulbs that Karnage needed for one of his projects.

But it all fell apart, when they boarded to plane to find the Pilot had brought his family aboard for a gentle trip. One man and his two children, a toddler's tear stained face stared back at him, whilst a boy the same age as Kit, wrapped his arms around her protectively, "Please don't hurt my sister." The boy begged, his eyes meeting Kit, in a bid for understanding. "I wasn't going to". Kit began, trying to attempt to explain he wasn't a killer, he was a Sky Pirate. But the reflection in the boys eyes, the same one that was currently reflecting back at Kit in the mirror said it all. He was a Sky Pirate, he was a thief, he was evil, and he was everything he thought he would never be. And it was all his own fault!

Kit punched the glass, causing shards to fall to the floor, as the realisation of what he truly was, smashed back into his face. Kit fell back to the bed and held his face in his hands. The few good memories he had of the orphanage he had run away from, seemed like the happiest place on earth compared to the life he how inhabited.

Kit could feel the tears spring to his eyes, which he furiously wiped away, Kit reached under the bed and grabbed the airfoil he had been working on for so long, and quickly fastened the final piece of metal, this was it, this was the moment he made his bid for freedom. In theory it would work perfect, all his studies on aerodynamics had proved this, but now he had to put theory into practice. But he knew he needed something to sell, Karnage kept his spoils of war, locked safety away and he knew he would never be able to gain entry to that. But he needed something and something soon.

He didn't have to wait long, as two days later; he watched Karnage and a few of the Pirates conduct a raid, retrieving a red jewel, from the protection of a Pilot employed by Shere Khan. Kit quickly stole through the air vents, as the Pilot was released. He knew Karnage was up to something, but didn't care anymore about what it was, all he cared about at that moment was that Jewel. If Karnage wanted it, it had to be worth a fortune.

Confirmed when he heard Karnage clutching the ordinate box, declaring he would be the richest man in the world. In a second, Kit summed up his courage and dropped through the vent, his cockiness replacing any fear he would have once felt. "For me." he laughed, as he grabbed the box, "Ahh you shouldn't have".

"Well, it was nothing really." Karnage answered, as realisation hit, the moment Kit dived past him and raced through the door, onto the deck. Kit heard Karnage ordering whoever to "Stop that boy".

Kit ran as fast as his legs could carry him, he heard the sound of Mad Dog pursuing him, as he turned right he could hear the Weasel yelling, "He turned left, Captain".

Hearing the footsteps disappearing down the stairs, Kit thanked Mad Dog for buying him time. He turned a corner, and seeing Dumptruck, an idea came to him in seconds "Don't just stand there, the Captain needs your help". He instructed the man, who took off in the opposite direction that Kit was heading towards, crashing into the Don, as he did so. Kit took advantage of this extra time as he slipped down the banister and grabbed a rope, which was usually used to move cargo. As his feet hit the metal deck, he grabbed a grappling gun, heart pounding, but with a determined smile. He raced to the docking bay, which Karnage had left open. Kit raced for the open sky, suddenly blanching when he saw the steep drop beneath him, as Karnage ignoring Mad Dog's declaration had turned right and had finally caught up with him.

"Well, my reckless reptile, perhaps it is none of my business, you've gotten yourself in a tiny pickle…yes, no?"

Kit summoned the last bit of courage he had, and turned his face to Karnage, "Your right, it is none of your business"

Any words Kit wanted to say to Karnage, died, when he saw something out of the corner of his eyes and knew his time was up, as he gathered his strength Kit jumped from the Iron Vulture. Suddenly feeling as he fell through the air, the freest he had been in over a year. Kit wrestled the red scarf from around his neck, feeling the weight lifting from his shoulders as it flew in the air. Then he pulled out his airfoil, this was it, his first ever flight. Strapping it to his feet, he adjusted his position and with his heart soaring, skimmed through the air. Moving in the direction, of what had caught his eye. The Plane was flying as a good altitude as Kit aimed the grappling gun and fired, hooking the plane, and giving him an intended destination. With the Iron Vulture being them, Kit couldn't help but scream with delight as he saw he was heading to a small Island and hopefully to his future.

So the chapter is over, what did you think?

Please read and review xxx