Inside the vents, a lone cockroach was making its way. Not being able to leave the island, she thought she'd make a better use of her time searching for her imprisoned friend. She wandered through the vent, using her pheromones to track where she'd been so that she wouldn't get lost.
It took a while, but Sadie finally found what she was looking for. She found the vent flowing into Melanie's room where she was sleeping soundly in her bed. Sadie was so overjoyed that she almost felt like singing. She instantly crawled through the vent onto the ceiling to call out to her friend.
"Melanie!" Sadie called out telepathically. "Melanie! It's me! Wake up!"
Melanie didn't wake up. That was strange. Sadie's telepathy could normally rouse anyone from their sleep, so she called her name again. And again. And again.
Sadie listened closely. Melanie was breathing. She wasn't dead. So, there had to be another reason she couldn't wake up.
Then, it hit Sadie like a brick. Melanie had been drugged. That was why Sadie couldn't reach her.
Sadie sighed quietly. She did have the ability to heal, but there was no way she and Melanie could run away without anyone noticing, especially with that tracking device on her foot.
There was nothing else Sadie could do. She turned around and crawled back into the vent.
But before Sadie could crawl away, the door to the bedroom opened. She turned back around and saw Black Hat enter with who Sadie recognized from pictures Melanie showed her as Lord Reaper.
Black Hat raised his hand gesturing for Lord Reaper to enter.
Lord Reaper walked over to the bed, held his hand over Melanie, and said, "I'm sorry, dear, but believe me. This is for your own good."
Then with a flash of light, Melanie's scythe appeared in Lord Reaper's hand. As soon as the scythe appeared in his hand, Lord Reaper carried it away and let it dissolve.
Sadie stepped back further into the vent. She remembered what Melanie said about her scythe. It was literally made from her soul. Not having it was like not having a part of herself with her. This was being done on purpose to make Melanie vulnerable.
Knowing that she couldn't do anything to help her, Sadie turned around and began scurrying back down the vent following the pheromone trail she left behind.
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Demencia and Flug were walking back to the lab when Demecia suddenly stopped. She sniffed the air and then sniffed the ground.
While Flug watched confusedly, Demencia said, "Something's weird here."
"What do you mean?" Flug asked.
"We have an intruder here," Demencia hissed. "This way!"
Demencia hissed again and started crawling down the halls for the source of the scent while Flug chased after her.
Meanwhile, Lord Reaper and Black Hat were making their exit from the bedroom. Lord Reaper rolled his eyes at Black Hat berating him over the affection he showed his granddaughter despite what their plans for her were.
"The deed is done Reaper. Will you stop whining over it?!" Black Hat said softly but roughly and harshly.
"I just don't like hurting her like this," Lord Reaper said sadly. "Even if we are going to give it back to her tomorrow, this feels so harsh."
"I'd rather not give it back period until she has earned it," Black Hat replied. "This coddling is nauseating."
"Giving her a piece of her soul back is hardly what I would call coddling," Lord Reaper argued.
Black Hat rolled his eye as the pair continued walking. The pair continued silently until they came across Demencia crawling across the floor.
"Your servant is quite peculiar," noted Lord Reaper.
"That's one word to describe her," Black Hat said before leering down at Demencia. "What are you doing, snake?"
Demencia looked up at Black Hat with her lovestruck eyes and replied, "I smell something off, boss! I think it's an intruder!"
Black Hat's face pulsated with intensity as his head rotated 180 degrees in the opposite direction and he focused on the direction of Melanie's room.
"Yes," Black Hat said. "I sense an unknown presence."
Lord Reaper shut his eyes and focused.
Then he opened his eyes and said, "I sense an unknown presence as well. They are in the vent."
Black Hat pointed to the vent across the way and spoke to Demencia as if she were a dog, "Find the intruder and bring it to me alive."
Demencia instantly hopped onto the wall and started crawling onto the wall.
Flug finally came running over, out of breath, and asked, "What did I miss?"
"We have an intruder, you idiot," Black Hat said. "Go help Demencia! Now!"
"Yes, Black Hat!" Flug yelled with a nod.
Flug ran after Demencia, fumbling around in his jacket and found the remote that activated the house defenses. He pressed on it, hoping it would subdue the intruder.
Meanwhile, Sadie continued her steady rush towards the outside vent and was almost there. She hated leaving Melanie behind, but she knew she had no choice.
Just then, Sadie heard some mechanical noises and quickened her pace. She flew towards the vent grating at top speed and squeezed out of the bars just as security managed to seal it off.
Sadie sat for a minute to breathe, but no sooner had a minute passed than did she hear a commotion coming up behind her.
Sadie quickly shapeshifted into a bat and hung on the outside of the vent.
A moment later, Sadie heard a hissing sound from behind the vent before Demencia swiftly pushed out the vent and attempted to chomp her teeth down on the bat.
Sadie let go just in time to dodge Demencia and fly downwards against the house, but she knew she was still on her trail.
As Sadie swooped upwards, she just barely missed Flug. Her claws ripped his bag with an upwards slash as she flew into the sky dodging the fence with her echolocation and flying above the street towards the forest.
Flug turned on his watch and said, "Jefe, we have a visual on the target! It's the shapeshifter!"
"It's one of the Nunjas," Lord Reaper said. "I can feel it!"
"Bring her back to me alive by any means necessary!" Black Hat yelled through the watch. "Don't lose the shapeshifter or you'll pay! Understood?"
Demencia struggled partially to get free from the vent before she popped out, breaking some of the lining and wall. Letting out a manic cackle, she hissed and followed the bat.
Demencia hopped over the fence and kept running. Sadie heard Demencia land on the street and knew she was in trouble. In a magical flash, she shapeshifted into an owl and doubled her pace towards the forest.
The lizard woman slithered forward and began quickly galloping on all fours. She found a building and began climbing up. Once she reached the top, Demencia hopped from building to building with each one she chose being a bigger height than the other.
Finally, when she thought she was high enough, Demencia hopped over to the owl and prepared to catch it in her mouth either as a prisoner or as a snack.
But just as Demencia was about to grab Sadie, Flug yelled, "Demencia, don't eat her! Black Hat wants the girl alive!"
The interruption from Flug distracted Demencia enough to make her miss her target.
As she fell on the ground, Demencia angrily rubbed her head, glared at Flug, and said, "Great job, nerd! Now, it's getting away!"
"No, she's not," Flug said, cocking his tranquilizer gun. "I'm going to shoot her down or at least manage to distract her. You keep trying to grab her so that she doesn't hurt herself once the dart hits her. Got it?"
"Yeah!" Demencia yelled before pouncing on the building and chasing after the owl again.
Demencia tried her same attack again, and this time she managed to catch the owl.
"Flug! I got her! I got her!" Demencia yelled, using gravity and her weight to pull down the owl.
Flug prepared his gun, aimed it for the owl, and said, "Alright, bring her over to…DEMENCIA!"
As soon as Demencia landed on the ground, the owl had shapeshifted into a large auburn-colored wolf and lunged herself at Demencia.
With bulging eyes and a wide grin, Demencia pushed the wolf off her and knocked her down an alley. The fight had hardly begun, and she was already enjoying herself.
The wolf hopped back to her feet and began circling around Demencia while she circled back around her. The two stared down each other tensely and growled.
Demencia smiled and leaped for the wolf. The wolf appeared to smile back as she lunged back at her and bit down on her arm.
It was dark except for the streetlamps shining above them, but Flug could see the ladies fighting and ran over with his rifle to help.
In response, Demencia reeled back her other hand into a fist and pummeled it into the wolf.
The wolf was knocked into the concrete road, but she immediately scrambled to her feet and started to make a run for it.
Demencia chuckled and galloped forward on all fours before leaping forward for a tackle. She collided with the wolf and began to wrestle with her.
Flug watched on the side, waiting for a clear shot. Then just as the fighting got to its most intense, the wolf gave out a loud, mournful howl.
That howl caused all the stray dogs in the local vicinity to come running.
In retaliation, Demencia started barking at the dogs without losing her grip on Sadie.
"Oh, my God," Flug said, searching his pockets for a weapon to fight the dogs.
Sadie then shapeshifted into an auburn horse and began cantering towards the woods while bucking Demencia wildly all the while.
Half the group of stray dogs chased after them while the other half began chasing after Flug who ran for the nearest tree.
Demencia cackled wildly as she held onto the horse running down the streets.
"Faster! Faster! Faster!" Demencia cried as Sadie desperately attempted to buck her off.
Meanwhile, Flug climbed up the tree with the dogs nipping at his heels. He scrambled up the branches while avoiding sleeping squirrels and birds and poked his head out of the leaves with his rifle to help. He checked the sights on the rifle and tried to get a good shot.
Unfortunately for him, Sadie whinnied in frustration and shapeshifted into a dragonfly. She got out of the way as Demencia fell to the ground at the same acceleration she was going when Sadie was a horse. The dragonfly flew high over the houses and shapeshifted back to her human form.
Even without wings, Sadie's human form hovered effortlessly in place. The hood of her Nunja uniform fell back revealing a young teenage girl with short auburn hair and brown eyes.
Sadie opened her mouth and began singing in Gaelic, "Dulaman! Dulaman Gaelach! A 'níon mhín ó sin anall na fir shuirí! A mháthairín mhín ó cuir na roithleáin go dtí mé! Dulaman na binne bui, dulaman gaelach! Dulaman na farraige, be'fhearr a bhi in Eirinn!"
"Is she casting a spell?!" asked Demencia. "What is she singing?!"
"It sounds like Irish Gaelic," Flug said, aiming his rifle. "But that doesn't matter right now. Get ready to catch her when I…AH!"
Right then, a flock of birds swarmed around Flug and Demencia, pecking at their skin as Sadie continued singing.
"Ta ceann bui oir are an dulaman Gaelach!" Sadie sang. "Ta dha chluais mhaol are an dulaman maorach! Broga breaca dubha are an dulaman Gaelach!"
BEEP! BEEP!
Two anti-gravity devices were activated, one for Demencia and another one under Flug's tree, causing all the birds to stop attacking and float helplessly in the air.
After everyone floated for a few seconds, Flug pressed a button, causing everyone to slam to the ground at the same time. He landed on top of his branch, Demencia landed on the concrete, and the birds slammed into the ground, not hard enough to kill them but enough to leave them stunned.
Demencia and Flug took the opportunity to take off running down the street after Sadie who was now flying away.
"Demencia, get her!" Flug yelled angrily.
"On it!" Demencia replied, jumping back on the buildings to catch the girl.
"Ya, la, da, la, da, di, da! La, da, di, da, la, da, da!" Sadie sang.
Sadie sang the same sequence repeatedly as she flew higher in the sky.
"Why is she singing?!" yelled Demencia.
"Hell, if I know! After her!" Flug replied, firing a dart into the air that Sadie swiftly missed.
Sadie suddenly stopped singing. Just as she did, Flug and Demencia heard claws on concrete and wings flapping against the wind.
"Wait, what is that…AHHHHH!" Flug yelled as a swarm of rats ran him down and knocked him over.
Before she could react, a flock of birds pecked Demencia off the wall of the building and onto the ground.
"Her voice!" Flug yelled. "Her voice is controlling them!"
No sooner had Flug said those words than did the animals withdraw from him and Demencia.
The birds surrounding Sadie began to sing along to the Irish tune Sadie was humming.
Flug and Demencia watched confusedly until Sadie started singing.
Sadie gestured to the streetlights around her as she danced in the air and sang, "Look how the lights of the town, the lights of the town are shining now…"
Sadie gestured down the road and sang, "Tonight, I'll be dancing around! I'm off on the road to Galway now!"
Demencia took the opportunity to spring for Sadie, but the latter dodged her.
Demencia landed on the ground and sprung again as Sadie headed back to the sky to make her retreat with the lizard woman in pursuit.
Sadie quickened her pace and sang while dodging, "Look, how she's off on the town! She's off on the search for sailors though! There's fine fellas here to be found! She's never been one to stay at home!"
Flug aimed to shoot his gun again, but just then, he felt the vibration of an oncoming stampede.
Flug then looked up to see a group of monsters from the forest, many of them failed experiments, running straight for him. Without a moment to spare, he took off sprinting in the other direction.
The monsters brushed the side of the building and swept Demencia away on top of them as they ran back towards the manor.
"Home you'll go! And it's there you'll stay! And you've work to do in the morning!" Sadie sang, mockingly flying above the head of the herd. "Give up your dream of going away! Forget your sailors in Galway!"
Sadie then flew away, stopping to tap dance on the buildings with the birds still flying around her in regular intervals as she continued to sing, "Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu, Mheari! Teir abhail gus fan sa bhaile! Mar ta do mhargadh deanta!"
The birds chirped along to the song as Sadie flew ahead.
Sadie looked at them, stroked the tops of their heads, and sang, while unbeknownst to her, Demencia grabbed Flug, jumped out of the stampede, and climbed a building. As soon as they reached their destination on the rooftop, Flug prepared his rifle to fire at Sadie again.
"Come now and follow me down, down to the lights of Galway where there's fine sailors walking the town and waiting to meet the ladies there," Sadie sang while flying around the birds and gently rubbing their feathered heads as she made her way to the boardwalk and the ocean. "Watch now. He'll soon be along! He's finer than any sailor so come on now! Pick up your spoons! He's waiting to hear you play them…WOAH!"
Flug had fired his rifle and the tranquilizer dart had barely missed Sadie's cheek. She looked in Flug and Demencia's direction as Flug eagerly reloaded his weapon and Demencia prepared to jump to grab Sadie again.
Unfortunately for them, Sadie flashed a devious grin and continued singing, causing a flock of seagulls to fly in their direction and swarm them.
"Here today and she's gone tomorrow and next she's going to Galway!" Melanie sang flying away with her bird friends. "Jiggin' around and off to town and won't be back until morning! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu, Mhearai! Teir abhaile gus fan sa bhaile! Mar ta do mhargadh deanta!"
Flug then pulled out some more anti-gravity devices that held the seagulls in place while he and Demencia continued their chase.
The chase continued for about ten minutes.
Sadie stopped singing and focused on escaping. Nevertheless, Flug and Demencia kept pace with her even when she was silent, and she never managed to get out of sight long enough to shapeshift into something they wouldn't recognize.
Sadie dodged every attack from Demencia and every dart from Flug, but she knew she couldn't keep up her pace forever. She couldn't fly too high in the sky where she wouldn't be able to breathe, and she couldn't disappear. They were counting on her to get tired and slip up.
But fortunately for her, just as she ducked behind another building, Sadie looked at the sewer manhole and telepathically heard a creature lurking underneath the streets. That was when she came up with an idea.
Sadie landed on the manhole, waited until the two villains saw her, and then continued her song while tap dancing on the manhole and daring them to come for her, "Off with a spring in my step, the sailors are searching Galway for a young lady such as myself for reels and jigs and maybe more…"
Meanwhile, Flug got as close to Sadie as he could with Demencia looming viciously behind him.
"We got her," Demencia whispered.
Focused on his task, Flug muttered at her to make no sudden moves.
With a large grin on her lips, Sadie began dancing backwards away from the manhole cover with her birds still singing with her.
At that moment, Lil Jack, the giant snake that lived in the sewers of Black Hat Island, shot out from the manhole, swaying in tune with the song that the birds were singing.
"Oh, dear God," Flug muttered before he took off running in the other direction while Demencia stood there gushing over Black Hat's pet.
Flug ran back and pulled Demencia's hand behind him screaming, "Move, you idiot! She charmed the snake!"
As Lil Jack swayed to her melody, Sadie petted the snake on the nose and continued her song as the snake leaned into her, enjoying the affection that he never got from his master, "…Stay here and never you mind. The lights of the town are blinding you. The sailors, they come, and they go, but listen to what's reminding you. Handsome men surrounding you. Dancing a reel around you!"
Sadie flew out of the way and directed the snake to the two villains.
As Lil Jack slithered after Flug and Demencia, Sadie continued her song, "Home you'll go and it's there you'll stay, and you've work to do in the morning! Give up your dream of going away! Forget your sailors in Galway! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu, Mhearai! Teir abhail gus fan sa bhaile! Mar ta do mhargadh deanta!"
Sadie flew away in the opposite direction with her birds singing along to the tune she was humming.
Flug and Demencia ran as quickly as they could while they both tried to figure out a plan.
Flug knew that neither his darts, his lasers, nor his anti-gravity devices would be enough to take out the giant snake. But fortunately for him, those weren't the only tricks up his sleeve.
"Bolt for the building to your right when I say now," Flug said to Demencia, while pulling a bunch of pellets out of his lab coat pockets.
Demencia nodded and waited for his signal.
In a few more seconds, Flug threw his smoke bombs and said, "Now!"
Flug and Demencia ran for the building next to them while the smoke obscured them from Lil Jack.
The pair just managed to climb up the fire escape of the building as Lil Jack sped through the smoke down the street.
Flug then pressed a few buttons on his watch and a silver hovercraft appeared. He and Demencia hopped into the flying vehicle and sped after Sadie.
Sadie had shapeshifted into a gull and was flying with her bird friends. She thought she was safe until a drone flew up next to her, scanned her, and started sounding an alarm.
Flug heard the alarm and sped his hovercraft in her direction. Seeing his hovercraft, Sadie shapeshifted headed towards the ground.
"Crap," Sadie muttered to herself as she changed back to her human form and flew closer to the ground.
Sadie looked ahead and saw the beach just down the hill. She just had to make it for a little bit longer, and she'd be free.
With that motivation, Sadie headed back for the sky.
"Have you decided to surrender?" asked Flug mockingly. "Come with us quietly and I assure you that you won't suffer too much."
Sadie stuck her tongue out and sang defiantly, "Listen to the music flow! I'm falling for the flow of home…"
With those few words, a large flock with almost every bird on the island and the groups of animals that had charged Flug and Demencia earlier, except for Lil Jack, began gathering.
"Demencia, be prepared to grab her after I…" Flug said, preparing his rifle to fire until he noticed the swarms. "Oh, shit."
Sadie flashed a wide smile, directed her animal companions to the two villains they were surrounding, and sang, "I'm home to dance till dawning!"
With that, the animals attacked. First, the flocks of birds divebombed from above. Then, Flug lost control and the packs of wolves, squirrels, and medical experiments snapped from underneath, waiting until the hovercraft crashed below to begin their attack.
Using their weapons and raw power respectively, Flug and Demencia fought back against the swarm of animals. Demencia wrestled and punched every beast than threw themselves at her while Flug dug around for his ace in the hole.
Meanwhile, Sadie flew over them towards the beach and sang, "Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu, Mhearai! Teir abhail gus fan sa bhaile mar ta do mhargadh deanta…"
WHOOM!
In one flash of light, Flug threw the rest of his anti-gravity devices, causing every single animal attacking them to stop and hover in mid-air.
"Good work, nerd," Demencia said breathlessly.
"Thanks," Flug said, backing up his hovercraft and flying it back in the sky again. "Now, listen…"
"Stay a while! We'll dance together now, as the light is falling!" Sadie sang. "We'll reel away to the break of day and dance together till morning!"
Just as the hovercraft peaked over the sides of the buildings, Flug and Demencia spotted Sadie flying away. Flug pressed on the power and sped up to catch up with her just as she was landing on the boardwalk.
"Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu, Mhearai! Teir abhail gus fan sa bhaile mar ta do mhargadh deanta…" Sadie sang, while dancing on the boardwalk and heading for the pier.
"Head to the pier," Flug said to Demencia, parking the hovercraft near the boardwalk. "You go to the pier and distract her, but don't hurt her. Remember. Black Hat wants her alive."
"Unfortunately," Demencia whispered. "I'll try to be gentle."
"Or you could just insult her," Flug suggested.
"Fine," said Demencia, slithering away down the boardwalk.
With that, Flug quickly hid behind some trashcans on the side of the pier while Sadie was still caught up in her musical reverie and Demencia slithered towards the tapdancing girl.
"Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu! Teir abhaile riu, Mhearai! Teir abhail gus fan sa bhaile mar ta do mhargadh deanta! Do mhargadh de – Do mhargadh deanta!" Sadie sang finishing her song and dance.
The birds tweeted happily as Sadie made her way down the pier.
"Thanks for all your help, my friends," Sadie said. "Now, I have to go…"
"If you could fight as half as well as you sing, maybe you wouldn't need to sing for animals like a cartoon princess!" Demencia called out from down the pier.
Sadie looked around in annoyance to see Demencia walking down the pier with a mocking smile on her face.
"I'm not the one bleeding. Am I, ya gobshite?" Sadie asked before taking off in the air once more.
Flug knew that once Sadie had taken off into the night it would be much harder to find her. So, anxiously, he peeked out of his hiding place behind the garbage cans and gestured for Demencia to keep up her insults.
Demencia huffed in frustration before placing her hands around her mouth to be sure her voice reached Sadie in the sky as she yelled, "You keep flying off and I'll go pummel your friend with the giant toucan nose instead!"
Sadie stopped her flight and turned around angrily.
Bingo. Flug quickly reloaded his weapon and prepared to fire.
"You better not do a damn thing, ya stupid, ugly gobshite!" snarled Sadie. "She's unconscious and helpless!"
"Not like you can stop me, princess," Demencia replied sassily. "What are you gonna do about it?!"
"I'll show you what I'm gonna do," Sadie said, hovering in place in the air and opening her mouth to sing again to get the attention of her animal companions. "Earth below us! Drifting! Falling! Floating weightless! We are coming…AHHH!"
Flug had aimed his rifle and fired. The dart hit Sadie right in the neck. She pulled it out, but she felt light-headed and started falling for the ground.
In a flash, animals came dashing by Demencia and Flug. Birds grabbed the sleeves of Sadie's uniform to slow her fall while the wolves, stray dogs, and lab experiments on the pier who could fit came together to form a cushion for Sadie to land on when she reached the ground.
The birds lowered Sadie gently on the backs of a stray dog and a wolf who each then positioned themselves under her arms so that she could sit up.
"Thank you," Sadie said wearily, barely having the strength left to hold her head up.
Demencia approached chuckling maliciously, as she rubbed her hair back and cracked her knuckles.
She kicked a squirrel aside and mocked, "I guess you ain't so strong after all."
Sadie looked at her defiantly and helplessly, too drowsy to fight back. The animals huddled around Sadie and growled at Demencia.
In a show of force, Demencia caught a bird flying in the air with her chameleon tongue and stuffed it down her mouth completely whole as she stared down the rest of the critters with a large smile.
"Come along quietly and I won't eat the rest of your animal friends!" Demencia said.
Sadie whistled a single note, calling the bird inside Demencia.
From inside Demencia, the bird flapped and flapped until she barfed it up and it flew into the night sky.
"Hey!" Demencia protested. "You took away my snack!"
"You looked like you could stand to go without it, tart," Sadie retorted.
Demencia tried to rush for Sadie, but thankfully, Flug held her back despite all her scratching and yelling.
Meanwhile, Sadie smiled and turned to dismiss her animal friends.
"Get back to the forest where it's safe, the lot of ya," Sadie said sadly. "Please go. You've done so much already, and I don't any of you to die for me. Now, go."
The animals looked at each other and Sadie with heavy hearts for a moment before, one by one, they all dispersed into the night.
Flug and Demencia stepped aside and let them run away. Sadie was lying helplessly on the pier and smiling.
Once all the animals had fled, Flug let go of Demencia and said, "Remember, Black Hat said he wanted the girl to be brought in alive! Now, stop fighting me and help me carry her in!"
Demencia sighed reluctantly and said, "Fine. For Lord Black Hat."
Demencia picked up Sadie and carried her limp body on her back while Flug rolled his eyes and followed from behind.
Sadie only had a faint idea of what she was facing, but she prayed for the strength to face it.