_Title:_ Love on the High Seas #2: "Isle of New Beginnings"
_Authors:_ Pirates Sparrow and Turner
_E-mail:_ OrliDepp@...
_Rating:_ NC-17
_Feedback:_ Yes, please!! Seriously, we, like all other fan fic writers,
thrive on feedback. We also tend to only stick to the places where we know
we are being read and enjoyed from the reviews we receive. However, flames
absolutely will not be tolerated.
_Archive:_ Absolutely *ONLY* if you request permission and receive our
granting to do so. It'll probably be a yes, but it depends on the archive
and the person runnign it.
_Warnings:_ Abuse, Death, Lemon, Rape, Sex, Torture, Violence
_Fandoms/Characters/Pairings:_ (Angel/BtVS) A/C, Fresley, Faith, Lorne,
Dawn, Connor; (Charmed) C/Pi, Prue, Phoebe, Paige, Kit; (Dawson's Creek)
Dawson; (Disney) Jack Sparrow/Will Turner, Hook/Smee, Sebastian; (Elvira)
Elvira, Gonk; (Excalibur) Kurtty; (Generation X) Sean Cassidy; (Harry
Potter) Albus Dumbledore, Snape; (Labyrinth) Jareth and company; (Peter
Pan) Hook/Smee; (The Pirate Movie) Frederic; (PotC) Jack/Will, Elizabeth;
(Sabrina) Salem; (Shrek) Donkey; (Smallville) Clex; (SU2) Carl; (10K)
Wolf; (X-Men) RoLo, Morph, Sean/Emma, Kurtty, Professor X; (Xena)
Aphrodite, Xena/Gabby, Joxer, and Autolycus. Sooner or later, there's a
pairing for every character, but if they're not listed it here, the
pairing will be with either a character from a different fandom or an
original character.
_Summary:_ Picking up where Love on the High Seas #1: Bright Promises of
Tomorrow left off, a handicapped Pirate and his crew arrive on an island
to investigate wreckage, but will they find any survivors? What will
happen when the Pirates come into contact with two other groups who
crashed onto the isle, and how will they escape the island that is filled
with danger, prehistoric beings, Supernatural beings, and much, much more
when all the ships have been destroyed? Huge multi-crossover with such
fandoms as Angel, BtVS, Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Disney, Excalibur,
Generation X, Harry Potter, Labyrinth, Peter Pan, The Pirate Movie,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Sabrina, Shrek, Smallville, Special Unit 2, 10th
Kingdom, X-Men, Xena, and more!
_Disclaimer:_ All established characters; all TV show, comic, and movie
titles; and the Black Pearl are © & TM their respective owners and are
used without permission. Crystal "Snowflake" Frost, Katrina "Firestar"
Lewis, Celina "Pantheria" Lewis, Tom Ballard, Meesy, Brendan Richards; and
all other original characters are © & TM Pirates Sparrow and Turner, are
used with their permission, and may not be used without permission. The
Sea Witch and everything else are also © & TM the authors. No copyright
infringement is intended, and no monetary profit is made from these tales.

_Prologue_
Though the night before had been stormy, the sun was out bright
and early the following morning. Not a cloud was in the blue sky
to obscure its brilliant rays. The gulls were singing a song to
cheer the sailors' spirits as they set about their morning
breakfast. Ah, yes, the portly Pirate thought with a smile as he
hurried toward his Captain's cabin with a tray laden with food and
a single, red rose, it was a fine morning indeed! The Captain had
said it would be, and as always, he was right.

The Pirate bustled busily around his Captain's room, setting the
tray by the bed and scampering over to the curtains that shielded
the one window. He pulled them apart and turned to face his
Captain with a cheery smile. "Good mornin', Captain!"

"Good morning, Samuel! What are you so happy about?" He yawned and
stretched, throwing the covers off of himself even as he peered
eagerly at his tray, wondering what Samuel had cooked for him.
"Thank you for the rose. Although, where you found one out of the
midst of nowhere, I haven't a clue."

Samuel's smile grew even brighter at his Captain's words. He
answered him as he ran around the side of the bed and held up the
first bite of food for inspection. "There's always beauty, Capt'n.
You only have to know where to look for it." In truth, Samuel had
picked the rose the day before, but he'd never let on to that
fact. He was still surprised that the Captain had actually
bothered to thank him, and his heart swelled at the remembrance
that they had finally escaped their prison and things truly would
be better from then on.

"And it's a fine day, Capt'n. Really, it is! You should see it!
The sun's shining; the birds are singing! Heck, you wouldn't have
ever thought we'd been through that storm last night! There's not
a cloud in the sky, and there's no sign of that nasty croc
either!" he assured him before he could ask.

"Wonderful, Samuel! Wonderful! Bring my tray over by the window.
Did you bring something for yourself, as well, or have you eaten
already?" James took the bit of food off of the fork. "Delicious
as always, Samuel!" He grinned even as he walked toward the chair
and sat down, waiting for Samuel to bring the food.

Samuel blushed and paused a moment to scuff his foot along the
deck. He knew many chefs, practically any of them really, could
cook much better than he could, but the Captain always loved his
food and his compliments always meant the world to Samuel. When
James looked back to see what was keeping him, Samuel quickly
lifted the tray and scurried over to where the Captain waited.
Setting it down again, he held up the second bite.

James accepted it and chewed carefully. James' eye went to the
tray, and he noticed that there was a second fork. He took the
fork, stabbed at a small piece of meat that had been carefully
cut, lifted it toward Samuel, and waited for him to take a bite.

Samuel could scarcely believe that the Captain was offering to
feed him! Indeed, if he hadn't seen James' movements with his own
two eyes, he would never have believed it! Things really *were*
going to be *so* much better! he remembered again though he still
trembled as his lips slowly drew the piece of meat into his mouth.
He quivered as he chewed, delight filling him.

"Sit, Samuel. I hate some one towering over me, but sit close so
that I might feed you, as well. Poor Samuel! You never think of
any one but me, and while I appreciate it greatly, I don't want
you to neglect yourself! Make me a promise that you'll take care
of yourself for if something was to happen to you, I would die. I
just couldn't live without you!" He fed Samuel another piece, not
allowing him the chance to answer.

Samuel had not meant to take the chair so swiftly, but when James
had proclaimed that he would die without him, the pure shock of
his words had caused Samuel to collapse into the chair. Then,
James had fed him before he could get a single word out or even
begin to get his brain to thinking clearly again. When he had at
last swallowed the bite, he could still manage but one word: "Wow
. . . "

"I take that as . . . a good wow?" James asked. "Speak, Samuel.
Don't leave me hanging out here!"

"M-M-May I, Captain? Freely? Honestly?"

"Yes! And stop calling me Captain. Call me James! Only call me
Captain in front of the men."

"J-J-James," Samuel stuttered out, nodding slowly but still
quivering. He was used to calling the Captain James when they made
love together, but this was so vastly different that he never
could have imagined the honor being awarded to him! "Captain --
James . . . Long before you ever looked upon my lowly hide, I fell
in love with you. I never thought you'd look at me the same way,
and I . . . I never expected to have the . . . the honor of you
really . . . *truly* . . . loving me . . . I mean . . . I . . .
I'm just a man, but you . . . You're the Captain!" He said the
last as though nothing could make James better in his eyes or the
world's.

"Samuel, I'm just a man. Just like you. I put my pants on one leg
at a time. But you have been everything to me for so long. I can't
remember a time that you weren't with me. You've been better to me
than my own mother, and I haven't done anything special for you! I
want to! I want you to know just how special you are to me! Tell
me what I can do for you. Ask for anything! If it is within my
power to give it to you, I will."

Before Samuel could get an answer out, the door burst open, and
three Pirates entered. One carried a bathtub, and the other two
toted buckets of water for the bath. James watched them enter and
leave, then stood, stripped his clothes off, and stepped into the
tub. He looked back at Samuel as he sat down in the tub.

Samuel was sitting, staring at James with a look that was even
more stunned than if James had been turning a million different
shades of color. He had known things would be better once they
managed to escape their prison, but he had never dreamed that they
could ever be *this* much better! For the Captain to love him was
enough to make him die happy, regardless of what might yet come in
their lives, but for him to actually want to take care of him as
he lived to take care of James made Sam the richest man in all the
world in his eyes. Yet James still wanted to do more for him . . .
So much more . . . But how could Samuel possibly ask for anything
more when he already had one of his only two dreams being granted?

"Come, Samuel! Don't let the cat have your tongue! Today is the
first day of the rest of our lives, and as we'll be spending our
lives together, we need to get this relationship more settled. I
want the world to know you're mine and that I'm yours! Tell me.
What can I give you as a present? What does your little heart
desire?"

Samuel gazed up at his Captain with both the greatest admiration
and love shining in his eyes. "Oh, Captain James!" he breathed.
"This is just too much! I always wanted for you to love me, to
know that you loved me and didn't just want me as a . . . I guess
the term might be 'boy toy', but I'm not much of that, I know! I
just . . . That's always been my biggest dream! And the other one
-- Are you sure?" He turned the pleading eyes of a puppy upon
James. "Are you sure you want the whole world to know about us?
That we don't have to hide it any more? That everybody can know
that I'm the most blessed man in the world because I have your
love?"

"You take my breath away, Samuel! Your devotion is beyond any I
have ever known! Your love thrills my heart and my soul! Of
course, I want the world to know that we belong together! But you
have to be desiring of something else. Come. Take a bath with me.
I need my back scrubbed."

Samuel shot straight out of his chair and quickly stripped as he
ran over to the Captain's tub. As he ran towards James, he
realized that, for the first time, he truly did not fear the
Captain at all. As he approached the tub, though, rather than
jumping into it, he threw his arms around James in a tight hug.
"Oh, Captain -- James! You've no idea how happy you've made me --
just by this! That's all I need, all I want! What else could I
want but your love and not to have to hide the way we feel?"

James returned Samuel's hug. He pulled Samuel to him so that he
could press his lips against his in a heated kiss. "I will tell
the men today, Samuel, and if they give you any trouble, they
shall walk the plank!" There was plenty of room in the tub, and
James waited impatiently for Samuel to join him.

Samuel pulled himself into the tub. He began to reach for the soap
but stopped as he saw the way that James was still looking at him.
His heart hammered in his ears. Dare he attempt to start
something? It would be a first, he knew, but he no longer had
anything to fear or hide. Brazening himself, Samuel started to
lean over to James. His lips were mere inches away from taking his
Captain's when a voice blasted over the ship.

"LAND AHOY! LOOKS LIKE THERE BE TREASURE TO BE HAD TOO! SOMEBODY'S
WRECKED, SO IT'S ALL OURS FOR THE PICKINGS!"

"Damn!" James said. "Sorry, Samuel! It'll have to wait. We must go
on deck." He got out of the tub and headed for his clothes.

Samuel sighed but nodded obediently. As James headed for the
clothes, Samuel jumped out of the tub and swiftly scampered around
James. Reaching his clothes first, he began to hold out the pieces
to his Captain and dress him where he could.


_Chapter One_
As soon as James was dressed, he reached out and took from its
resting place the one part of himself that he hated more than any
other. He grimaced as he attached it to where his hand had once
been. He looked at Samuel and smiled. "Guess it'll have to wait,
love, but I'll look forward to it."

Samuel was swiftly redressing when James turned back to him. He
grinned, his face and eyes shining with a light as bright as the
sun's. To think that the Captain no longer wanted to hide their
relationship and was even openly looking forward to their time
together! The thought alone made him feel ten feet taller!

James reached out, taking his sword and putting it into its
scabbard. Then he reached for his blunderbuss. He walked boldly
toward the door and opened it, going out on the deck with Samuel
following right on his heels. "You say there's treasure to be
had?" he inquired of the look-out.

"Aye, Captain! Appears to be quite a lot!"

"Good! We could use the booty!" James called back up. He watched
as the men lowered the longboat and then lowered his own lanky
frame to the boat. Taking a seat, he waited impatiently for the
crew to row them ashore.

Samuel tried to follow his Captain, but as was his usual luck, he
was pushed from one Pirate to the next until he was the last man
on deck. With his chest puffed out in a furious huff, he finally
began to lower himself into the boat only to have one of the other
Pirates holler out in complaint. His taunting words froze poor
Samuel in the midst of dropping his hefty frame into the longboat.

"Hey! You need to stay with the boat!" Realizing that he had
spoken out, the Pirate quickly gulped and turned baleful eyes on
the Captain. "Right, Capt'n? We can't leave the ship unguarded,
and he," he jerked his thumb toward Samuel, "won't be much of a
help with this hauling!"

With a snarl, James turned to look at the complainant. His temper
jumping to the fore, he returned, "You have three minutes to get
off this boat and back onto the ship, or you'll gonna swim with
the fishes in Davy Jones' locker! _*MOVE*_," he bellowed,
"_*BEFORE YOU CHASE MY GOOD MOOD COMPLETELY AWAY!*_"

Samuel only barely managed to hide his grin at James' quick
defense, but his smile vanished as the Pirate, who was again
looking back up at him, demanded, "*Well?* You heard the Capt'n!
Get your load moving back up there!"

"*Excuse* me?" James snarled out. "I was *talking* to _*you*_!" He
took his sword and pointed it straight at the other man's throat.
"Move it _*NOW*_ or lose it! It matters not to me! Samuel?" James
called up to him in a much gentler voice. "Hurry and come down!"

Whispers ran rampant amongst the rest of the men, but the one with
the Captain's sword laid against his throat knew better than to
push his luck any further. Though he wondered why the Captain had
suddenly grown so defensive of the one he was calling Samuel, he
dared not ask as he scurried backwards and then up. His retreat
was so swift that it beat Samuel's settling into the boat. Samuel
sat beside the Captain, ignoring the whispers that rang through
the boat and gazing lovingly up at James.

"There will be no more complaints from this day forward or
mistreatment of Mister Smee! If there are, whoever voices it will
walk the plank! Samuel is with me!" James then sat back down, his
hand sneaking out to grab Samuel's hand.

Though all the Pirates were shocked, all but one knew to keep
silent. It was a young blonde who piped up in curiosity. "With
you?" he repeated, confusion creasing his brow. "I'm sorry,
Captain, but what do you mean?" It was only then that his blue
eyes fell upon the Captain's hand holding Smee's.

"What I mean, Frederic, is that Samuel belongs with me and I
belong with him! We are partners." He glared angrily at Frederic.
"Any more questions?"

Frederic quickly shook his curly head. He settled down with the
others yet continued to gaze at the Captain and his new partner,
realizing that he would now have to take the Captain out before he
could do Smee the needed justice. He had thought that at least
Smee would be an easy one!

Smee, meanwhile, sat beside his Captain with a smile so huge that
it threatened to burst his face apart.

James squeezed Samuel's hand gently before yelling to Frederic.
"Wipe that smile off of your face, Frederic! I can read your mind,
and the first time you lift your blade toward me, you'd better be
damn sure you know what you're doing, because even though I love
you like my own son, I'll run you through if you ever lay one
finger on Samuel or dare to try to fight me!"

Connor, sitting beside Frederic, hit him in the ribs and
whispered, "Better shut up. You piss him off, he's gonna fight
you, and you know what happened the last time!"

Frederic nodded mutely. Both boys knew that James had only held
himself back, choosing not to fight with sword or pistol when
Frederic had decided to stand up against him. Still, with only one
hand, James had beat the crap out of him and not used his hook. It
would be a long time before either of them ever thought about
standing up to him again.

Connor could not believe that James had chosen Samuel in front of
the men! He had known for a long time that the two of them were a
pair. He didn't know if Frederic knew it or not, but he had come
across them when he was much younger and never told a soul. He had
been rescued by Peter Pan and taken to Neverland, and Pan had
taught him all the things that a Lost Boy needed to know but had
also taught him that Pirates were evil through and through. When
he had been out hiding, he had run across Smee and Hook having a
moment and realized that it was not necessarily true as Hook had
been very gentle with Smee and Smee had been likewise.

He had never gone back to be with Peter Pan but had run boldly
forward to join the Pirates. Hook hated Pan, and when he had found
out that Pan had cut off Hook's hand and fed it to the croc who
constantly buggered Hook for more, he realized that Pan was to
blame. Hook had never mistreated him but had done what he could
for him. Outside of his duty, he had never seen him do a bad
thing. He didn't understand the where and the whys of the fight
between Pan and Hook, but he had often heard Samuel and James
talking about James' past. He had done a lot of thinking on it and
had still not come to any conclusion. He now turned back to
watching the shore come closer.

James looked from one boy to the other and shook his head. For the
life of him, he could not figure out why, although being raised
together, neither of them acted like the other. He loved both of
his boys with a true parent's love, but sometimes he just couldn't
figure them out. Continuing to hold Samuel's hand, he waited
impatiently to reach the shore. Eagerness to delve into the
treasure filled him so that it made the tips of his mustache
quiver in sweet anticipation.

The crew had nearly completely settled in for the row to shore
when icy winds began to whip up all around them. They fought
against them and put their backs into the rowing. The wind blurred
their vision so that they could barely see and were forced to
focus solely on the approaching shoreline. It was thus that they
missed the figure materializing in front of the Captain. Smee and
Frederic both let out yelps at the sight of the being, who looked
more like a boy than a man despite his age, appearing out of empty
air.

The figure got right to the point as he quickly dismissed the rest
of the crew and concentrated his attention on the Captain, whose
far more regal clothes clearly stated his position. "Excuse me,
but have you seen a blonde about this tall . . . " he shot up
about six feet higher and then dropped swiftly back down.

James' mouth fell open. What the Hell was Pan doing there, and in
blue when he was usually green?! What had he gotten himself into
that even his skin was blue? It must not be Pan, James thought,
but just who the Hell could it be?! "Who the devil are you, *boi*,
and what do you want with me? Are you kin to Pan?" He released
Smee's hand even as he talked to the boy, easing his hand toward
his blunderbuss.

"Look. I don't really have a lot of time for this whole
'how-do-you-do' introduction bit. I . . . " The figure paused. His
mouth remained open, but no sound came out for a moment as he
looked at the Captain's hook. "Pan . . . Hook . . . " His eyes
grew wide as he looked back up at the Captain's face. "You're
Captain Hook! What are you doing here?"

James smiled even as he pulled his blunderbuss out. "Boi, you have
two seconds to tell me who the Devil you are and what you're
wanting with me before I blow you to smithereens!" How dare the
impertinent youth wish to know how he had managed to get out of
Neverland! He was certainly not going to tell him!

The blunderbuss did not appear to bother the figure in the least.
Instead, he breathed across it, turning the metal to instant ice
within Hook's hand. "Word of advice?" he told him flatly. "Never
threaten an Elemental."

"An Elemental _*WHAT*_?!" Hook roared even as he dropped the icy
gun to the floor. It shattered in a million pieces, and he was
glad that he had another one hidden on his body.

"Name's Jack Frost," Jack finally announced, "but I don't have
time for that. Now have you seen a beautiful blonde with strange
animals around here or not? Or maybe another ship?" he continued
before Hook could answer. "Or an Angel fellow? Or a, hum . . . "
He paused as he raked his brain for the other's name. "A Lorne?"
he finally burst out again even as Hook had been about to speak.

"Jack Frost? Don't you belong to the North Pole? What are you
doing here? And I haven't seen any blondes except for Frederic.
You can have him if you want him."

Frederic's mouth fell open in shock.

Jack barely bothered to even glance at the indicated boy. "Thanks,
but no thanks. I don't swing that way, though I'm happy for those
who do," he quickly continued at the remembrance of who he was
speaking to. "I'm looking for my cousin. She was on a ship around
here when I lost contact with her. The Captain's name was . . .
Hum . . . What was the Captain's name? . . . Oh! Xena! . . . No,
wait, she was only the sub-Captain. Well, sort of the sub-Captain
any way. She was the Captain of one of the ships, but she didn't
own it and that wasn't the one Crys was on any way. What *was*
that Captain's name?! It was something birdlike . . . "

"Birds? I know very few Captains with birds for names. In fact, I
only know one. The last I heard, he wasn't in these waters. He
goes by the name of Jack Sparrow. I haven't seen him in years."

"That's it!" Jack practically crowed. "That's the Captain's name!
Captain Jack Sparrow! Have you seen any other ships around here? I
*know* they were right in this area!"

It was at that moment that they reached land, and the crew rushed
madly forward. James got slowly to his feet. "Haven't seen him in
a very long time. Now out of my way, boi! I have booty to claim!"

"Booty?" Jack repeated in confusion. What booty? It was only then
that he turned his attention toward the island, and his heart
nearly stopped beating completely at the sight that awaited him.
"If you harm any of them, I'll turn the whole lot of you to ice!"
It would be a first for him to turn any living mammal to ice, but
if they harmed his cousin or any of the others, he would do just
that! He knew the wreck had to belong to them; there could be no
other explanation as to why Crys had suddenly vanished on him. He
could only pray she was alive, however, as he flew toward the
wreck and began to dip his body through the boards in a hurried
search for survivors.

James stood looking at the crazy blue boy, scarcely believing that
he was able to go in and out of the busted woods. His mind was
busily connecting what he could see and what the boy had said.
Could this possibly be Jack's ships? It had been ages since he had
seen Jack, and Jack probably thought that James was dead. He
rushed forward, frantically looking for the name of the ship or
anything that would tell him that this was Jack's ship. "Samuel,
help me look for the names of the ships!" He was almost in a blind
panic even as his men continued to run amuck, grabbing jewels here
and there and stuffing them into their pockets.

Samuel dug into the wreckage and was not surprised to be quickly
joined by two other sets of hands. Eight hands made the digging a
great deal faster, and Smee was soon able to grab hold to a
plaque. "Captain!" he called, turning huge, sad eyes onto James.
"The Sea Witch!"

"Oh my Gods! It has to be him!" James yelled. "STOP! PUT STUFF
BACK! START DIGGING FOR SURVIVORS! I'LL SHOOT THE FIRST ONE OF YOU
WHO TRIES TO RUN OFF WITH ANY TREASURE!" He began to dig
frantically, hoping to find somebody's body. He knew that the Sea
Witch was the sister ship to the Black Pearl, and he was desperate
to find Jack. He just had to be alive!

Smee looked at the boys. "Spread out," he whispered to them,
knowing that the Captain was in no shape to think of commanding
the two, "but try to keep an eye on the rest of the crew. You see
any one doing anything they shouldn't, you come tell me."

"Like you would actually . . . " Frederic had started to say only
to have his mouth covered by Connor's hand.

"Hush before the Captain hears you! He'll run you through with a
sword! You don't know what Jack Sparrow means to him, and if
Jack's dead, I don't want to be around when his body's found! The
Captain will go bloody well mad and probably kill everything in
his path!"

Frederic looked at Connor with disbelieving eyes. What Pirate
actually cared about some one other than their own greedy self and
their beloved jewels? Before Frederic could speak again, however,
Jack's voice cried out, "I FOUND ONE!"

James rushed over and began to dig frantically with his one hand,
helping the boy to uncover a man and a woman. He had no ideal who
they were, but the man was holding tightly to the woman and both
were completely unconscious. "SAMUEL!" James called. "WHAT DO WE
DO?"

Samuel bustled quickly towards James. "Check for heartbeats! Put
your ear to their chest, and listen!"

James obediently laid his head on the man's chest. "It's faint,
but I can hear it!" He was loath to touch the woman; he turned to
Connor and told him to check her out.

Connor simply kneeled and stared at her. He thought she was the
most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Very carefully, he leaned
forward, laying his head on her chest. "She's barely breathing."

"Now what?" James asked Samuel.

"We have to get the water out," Samuel began to explain even as he
dropped to his knees beside the man. He turned the mustached man
onto his back and gently laid his head to the side. Still
explaining to the ones around him what he was doing and why, he
began to try to pump the water out of the man's stomach.

It was at just that time that another shout went up. One was a
scream, but the other called to the Captain. "Captain, you
wouldn't believe what we found! We should be able to get some real
money for these freaks!"

Connor worked on the girl the same as Samuel was working on the
man. He was very gentle with her. James, however, walked over to
where the two Pirates were beaming happily down at something
laying on the ground. {Oh my Gods!} he thought. {Catpeople?! They
really exist?!} "You'll not do anything to harm them!" he told the
two Pirates. "Follow Smee's example and help them or die where you
stand." After watching for a minute to make sure that they were
following his command, he began to walk around the first ship,
searching for the Black Pearl. He knew it had to be there
somewhere. He prayed that Jack was not dead.

As the Pirates continued to work, so did Jack. He called Pirates
to the spots where he found people and animals alike, not telling
them which it was as he knew they would probably not help the
animals. Finally, he found one of his own! "Hey, blondie!" he
called to the boy named Frederic. "Stop standing around looking
like you've lost your duty, and come help me!"

Frederic shook his head, trying to make some sense of all that he
was seeing, and rushed over to assist Jack. "What is it?" he asked
as he uncovered what he thought was a blue, overgrown lizard with
wings.

"A Hell of a good friend." Jack had to fight to keep the emotions
from his voice even as he checked Blue's heartbeat. He breathed a
sigh of relief when he found it beating, though shallowly. "Shake
him for me, Frederic, but not too hard. Be careful of his wings."

Frederic hesitated only a moment and then, with a small gulp,
reached out and touched the scaly being, shaking him gently. He
didn't know what it was; he only hoped it wouldn't bite him when
it woke up.

"Come on, Blue. Come on." Jack did not realize that he was
whispering the mantra over and over to himself as Frederic shook
Blue, but he released a whoop of relief when the dragon's eyes
finally blinked open.

"Coo?" Blue asked weakly, a puff of smoke exhaling.

Frederic was so startled that he fell backwards on his butt. "What
. . . the . . . ?" his voice trailed off. "What are you?!" he
asked the little blue lizard.

"He's a dragon," a voice from behind them announced.

"Ain't no way! There's no such thing as a dragon! It's only make
believe!"

"Yeah," the other Pirate grunted, "and so's Immortal boys, pixies,
faerie dust, and all that crap. Now hand him over. The Captain'll
be thrilled with the money he'll bring."

James heard the entire conversation. "Leave the dragon be, Smitts!
Go about and help others!"

Jack continued to stare at Smitts until the Pirate had melted back
into the others. He then turned his attention back to Blue. "Rest
easy, little fellow," he told him gently, blowing a gust of chilly
air over his weak body. "I'll find her." Without a further word to
any one, he dove back into the wreckage.

James continued his search for Jack, turning over every piece of
wood he came across. He had about given up hope when he finally
found the name: The Black Pearl. He could not believe that the
infamous ship was laying in splinters everywhere! He had once seen
her in full sail and had thought her to be quite a beauty. He
prayed that Jack was somewhere under all that and still alive.

Blue, left to lay alone with only a stranger for company, turned
his head to look up at the boy. "Coo?" he asked weakly. He hated
being this weak. He wanted to look for his family, but his body
ached so that he could barely move.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel had no ideal where he was at, only that he was held down by
what felt like a thousand pounds of weight. He struggled, but he
could barely shift the thing. His head felt like it was stuffed
full of cotton, and he was extremely weak. He needed blood and
quickly! He didn't think he'd get any where he was at now. He let
the man's mind go and the Vampire take over. The Vampire clawed
its way upward, encountering something soft and sweet-smelling.
Grasping hold of it, he drug it with him. As soon as the Vamp saw
daylight, he stopped, allowing Angel to come back out.

Angel pushed at the small amount of debris that was now covering
them. He sniffed Cordelia and then felt for her heartbeat. {Thank
the Gods,} he breathed, {she's alive!} Seconds later, he was out
right up under the face of a kid who screamed and fell back onto
his butt. Angel ignored him. He carried Cordelia to what he
thought would prove to be a shaded area, but it only turned out to
be another part of the wreckage. He knew he'd have to move her
soon, or she'd become too dehydrated. He blinked, wiping the dust
and debris off of his face, and looked around.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James had heard Connor's yelp of fright and raced over. Now taking
in the situation, he saw a man he did not know protecting a woman
he found to be very beautiful. "Smee," he called, "we have two
survivors. We need water." James called for Smee for everything,
because he knew Smee would never fail him. He looked up to see
where Smee was only to have the answer come from behind him.

"We've already several unburied, Capt'n, and they all appear to be
living so far. They're the only ones who are awake yet, but we're
going to need *a lot* of water. Maybe some one should fetch a
barrel from the ship?"

"Good ideal," James said and looked up to catch two of his Pirates
running straight for him.

"Capt'n, look! We found jewels!"

"Put it down!" James commanded. "I told you: no running with the
booty! It's not ours!" They looked at him as though he was nuts.
"You two go to the ship and fetch a barrel of water. We're going
to need a lot of it."

"But, Capt'n! The booty!"

"LEAVE IT OR ELSE!"

The two ran toward the longboat. Once James turned his back, they
scooped some more booty up and ran again. James shook his head as
he turned around and calmly shot both of them. "Get rid of them,"
he said, talking to another Pirate. "I need two more of you to go
fetch a barrel. If you have booty, leave it or you'll join them!"

The Pirates looked at him, shaking their heads. "I ain't got no
booty, Capt'n!"

"Be sure you don't!" He watched as the two headed for the
longboat. They did not appear to be carrying anything. He heard
some one running and turned just in time to find Smitts grab the
dragon and run. He could see the dragon's mouth crying open, but
his voice was still too weak to carry distance.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel also had heard some one running. Even in his groggy state,
he realized it was some one trying to steal Blue. Before he could
react, he heard the shot and then saw the impact going straight
into the running Pirate. He ran forward to catch Blue and barely
managed to catch the little dragon. Carrying him gently in his
hands, he took him over and laid him down beside Cordelia.

The fresh blood oozing out of the Pirate was driving Angel crazy.
It filled his senses and stirred his instincts so that he could
think of nothing but the gnawing need to satisfy his hunger. He
grabbed the dead Pirate and dragged him around on the other side
of the ship where none could see. He then drank his fill of the
now-cooling blood. Feeling its energy seeping into each of his
cells, he suddenly felt renewed, refreshed, and able to go on.

He dropped the corpse, wiping his hands on the man's clothes, and
went back on the other side of the ship. Angel's eyes scanned his
surroundings, and his gaze fell upon the man who had shot the one
who had tried to steal Blue. It seemed he did not know the Captain
but that he was an able, capable man.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James did not give Angel a second glance even though, when Angel
had taken the Pirate, he had realized him for what he was. He was
glad that he was on their side. "We must find the others!" he
called.

"My name is Angel. The woman is mine, and so is the dragon. I have
other family around here, as well."

James started to reply but was drowned out by the Elemental's
voice thundering out. Jack had came back up just in time to catch
the part about the dragon belonging to some pale-skinned man in
black; he had not caught the man's name. "THAT DRAGON IS NOT
YOURS! HE'S MY COUSIN'S!"

Angel turned to look at the blue-skinned boy. "You're Jack? Crys
is my sister. She's under there somewhere, and I'm going to find
her."

Jack eyed the man suspiciously. "Your name . . . ?"

"Angel." Angel looked at him. "Do you know of me?"

The conversation was not making much sense to James. Would he not
be this blue boy's cousin, so shouldn't the lad know his own
cousin? He shook his head in disgust. {I knew that boy was just as
crazy as Pan! Doesn't even know his own cousin!} "My name is
Captain James Hook."

Angel's mouth fell open. "But you're a fairy tale!"

"I'm just as real as you are. Reach out and touch me."

Angel did just that. "How -- How did you get out of that story?"

"It's a long tale best told much later, after we get through
rescuing everybody."

Angel knew now he'd have to keep his eyes on James. He had heard
the story of Peter Pan many times, and he knew Hook was the
villain.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connor had not gotten off of the ground. He was still staring
holes in the man calling himself Angel. He had known that Angel
had not been around when he had first come to the pile of debris
he was working on, or if he had, he had had to have been way down
under or Connor knew he would have smelled him and he had not
smelled anything. He knew he'd have to keep his eye on Angel.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Jack was looking at Angel with a grin despite the
circumstances. He wished he could take the time to solidify
himself more so that he might shake the hand of the man who was as
determined as he to protect his cousin both from Frostbite and
from herself. "Angel," he called the Vampire's attention back to
him, "it's a pleasure to meet you! Crys told me all about how
crazy you were making her!" He winked.

"She should have told you how crazy she was making us. I never met
a woman more determined to sacrifice herself!" He grinned back at
Jack. "Now let's get to it!" With Angel's superhuman strength and
supernose, he began to sniff out and uncover people left and
right. The next one he uncovered was Lorne, who was still holding
on to Crys. "Jack," Angel called, "I've found her!"

"Cindy and Elvira are under here," Jack returned even as he flew
over to where Angel stood. He looked down at his cousin and was
not surprised to find a green man holding tightly to her. "Lorne,
I take it?"

"Yes," Angel said. "Fresh air should revive them soon. Maybe you
should keep an eye on her? I'll carry her over here and come back
for Lorne." He was talking even as he was scooping Crys up and
carrying her over to lay beside Cordy.

Jack was torn. He wanted to be able to be with his family, but at
the same time, he knew the others could use his help in locating
more survivors. He floated beside Angel as he carried Crys to join
his woman. He could see her chest lifting and falling in shallow
breathing and knew she'd be okay but be out for some time yet.
That made his mind up: He'd help where he could for the time
being, but once Crys came around, they had some serious talking to
do.

Angel shook his head. "Jack, you need to stay with her. She may be
playing a game again. She's good at that. Turn your back on her,
she'll be out of here so fast we won't be able to catch her."

Jack shook his head. "I know she's good at games, Angel, but I can
also read right through her. I've been doing it for years. Trust
me on this one. If I thought there was any chance of her getting
away, I wouldn't go anywhere but stay right beside her."

"Still keep an eye on her. Now shall we get back to it?"

Jack nodded but flew over to the debris he'd been at previously.
"Elvira and Cindy are under here," he reminded him before diving
into more debris.

Angel joined him, and it took him no time to get Elvira and Cindy
out. He left them laying and breathing while he carried Lorne over
to lay beside Crys. Angel smiled when he saw Lorne's hand sneak
out and grab Crys. His voice was very weak. "I'll watch her," he
told Angel.

"Good. I'll bring the other two over." He headed after the
remaining two babies.


_Chapter Two_
The sun shining down on the Vampiress' face was just beginning to
bring her back to her senses when she felt a hand on her thigh.
She knew instinctively that the hand did not belong to her husband
and stilled her body as she concentrated. The lustful Pirate did
not see the fire sparking at her fingertips until suddenly, just
as he was nearing her core, the woman shot up and slammed both
fists into him, catching him instantly on fire. He screamed and
fell back, beating at the flames.

Delvira managed to scramble to her feet while he was still trying
to extinguish the fire. "Never . . . try that on a woman!" She was
summoning her fire again when a bullet shot through the Pirate's
back. He fell, and she found herself looking at a mustached man
she did not know.

"Sorry about that, ma'am. James Hook is my name. I'm the Captain.
He's just a lowlife." He scooped off his coat and handed it to the
beautiful, naked woman. "It's all I have, ma'am. I hope it'll do."

Delvira accepted the coat and assured him even as she was
shrugging into it, "It'll be fine, Captain. Thank you. Tell me,"
she then proceeded to ask, "have there been any survivors found?"

"Even as we speak, ma'am, but you're the only female who's been
awake. We have them in two places." He motioned toward the back of
the ship where Angel was lining out his folks and to the other
area the Pirates had first started laying them in.

Delvira's black eyes followed the Captain's motions. She quickly
dismissed Angel's group, but as she started toward the other, a
wave of weakness hit her. She stumbled in the sand but managed to
stay standing.

"May I assist you, ma'am?" He offered his arm to her. "Who are we
looking for?"

She looked into his eyes before taking his arm. James Hook tingled
a bell somewhere within her mind, but she was not yet coherent
enough to place the name with the man her husband had told her
about. Still, she could tell he meant her no harm. "A man," she
told him. "My husband. He has long, spiky, blonde hair. He's
probably naked. And a woman who looks like me. She might or might
not be dressed. And the others . . ." Her voice trailed off as she
glanced at him a second time. "Goblins, Fieries, those sort of
things."

"That explains it! I didn't know what kind of creatures we'd been
uncovering! Orange, feathery things and some of the ugliest things
you've ever seen with big noses. They're over here. We've also got
some other furry creatures that appear to be half human and half
cat of some kind." He pointed those out to her, as well.

Delvira nodded but dismissed the cats for the time being with but
a glance. "They," she indicated the Fieries and Goblins, "are my
husband's people."

"My Gods, ma'am! Your husband's a Goblin?"

"No," she said, too weak to snap the answer. "He's a man, as human
as I, but he's the King of the Goblins."

"What's his name?"

"Jareth," Delvira replied. She was about to say more and was still
scanning the bodies when Hook exclaimed.

"Holy crap! It can't be the same one!"

"Same one what?" Delvira asked. Yet before he could answer her,
she spoke a second question. "Wait a minute. You're not one of
Salem Saberhagen's men, are you?"

James looked downward at his feet. "How do you know of us, ma'am?"
His eyes darted back up to look at hers. "I'm not ashamed of being
one of his men, only of getting caught."

Delvira smiled sadly. "My husband would say about the same. He
told me about you all, but if you are that poor Captain who got
thrust out to that damned Neverland, please help me to look for
them. You know what Jareth looks like; Elvira's identical to me."

"With pleasure, ma'am," James said, and he began to look around,
hoping to spot something that would be big enough to hide a whole
city of Goblins. "Let's dig over here," he said as he led her
toward the big pile.

"Oh, and, Captain, I know this isn't the best of times, but Salem
is here somewhere too."

"Oh my Gods! Salem is here?!" James said quite reverently. "I
thought perhaps they had killed my old friend! I never knew what
happened to any of them!"

Delvira continued to talk to the Captain even as she knelt by the
pile and began to dig, her long, black fingernails scraping
hurriedly through the wood. "Jareth was condemned to be the King
of the Goblins, but Salem . . . You won't recognize him, James.
May I call you James?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but of course, you may call me James. What did
they do to Salem?" He braced himself to hear the worst.

Delvira was about to answer him when she uncovered a small bundle
of black fur. She checked his heartbeat first, then lifted him out
of the pile and toward the Captain. "James," she spoke in complete
seriousness, her eyes meeting his, "say 'hello' to . . . to
Salem."

James took the small bundle of black fur from Delvira. Very
gently, he cradled him in his arms. "SMEE!" he called. "COME
QUICKLY!"

Delvira continued to dig, beginning to uncover a naked girl and a
clothed boy whose hand she still held tightly to, even as Smee
came running. "Captain?"

"Samuel, this is Salem. Please take care of him. Don't let him go,
and you stay out of the digging! I don't want something big to
fall on you and hurt you!" He smiled at Samuel.

Smee took the cat with great care but could not help asking,
"Salem? Are you sure?"

"Alas, but I am sure!" James cried. "I think they have done to him
worse than they did to any of the rest of us!" He turned to look
at what Delvira had just uncovered and saw a woman with long, dark
hair and a boy about the age of his own two boys. "Are they . . .
?" his voice trailed off. He hoped they were not dead.

Delvira had stopped digging and was staring at the dried blood on
Faith. She had not realized how hungry she was until she had seen
the blood. "They're alive," she told him for she could see their
chests falling and rising and hear the faint beats of their
hearts. Yet, instead of digging any further, she began to back
away from them.

"What's wrong, dear lady?" James asked.

Delvira looked at him for a long moment before finally whispering
to him, "If you were not who you are and did not mean to my
husband what you do, I would not tell you. But the girl . . . and
the blood . . . "

"You're a Vampire?" James queried. "Always wanted to meet one, and
now I've met two in one day! Just grab one of the Pirates that's
already dead, ma'am. Help yourself. Or I'll kill one for you if
you need fresh."

Delvira looked at James in surprise. "Jareth was right," she
commented with another sad smile. "You are something. But dead
will be just fine, and thank you, Captain."

"We'll find him, ma'am. Don't you worry." He turned his back
toward her so that he did not have to watch her eating the Pirate.

With James' back turned toward her, Delvira quickly drug one of
the fresh corpses out of sight. She nearly stumbled over another
body but managed to catch her balance just in time. Looking down
at it, she could tell immediately that it was drained and knew
that Angel must have been hungry, as well. Turning her attention
back to her own meal, she dug her fangs into his neck.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolf stirred and tried to move, but the tremendous weight of the
pile he was under did not budge. He wondered if he had enough room
to wolf and then felt something soft and cuddly next to him.
"Elvira?" his word came out as though his mouth was full of cotton
and was a squeak instead of a normal sound. Was she awake? Was she
able to help him? He prayed that she was not hurt too badly.

"I can't . . . " Elvira whispered weakly to him, her eyes opening
to return his gaze, " . . . move it . . . " Not for the first time
did Elvira wish she had Delvira's talents. She knew her sister
would not have allowed herself to stay trapped once coming to, but
she could not channel the Vampire the way Delvira could.

"I'm going to wolf. Hang on tight." He closed his eyes and
concentrated. He could feel his body distorting and becoming the
wolf. He felt the debris fall away from him as though it was so
much newspaper, and he bounded out, carrying Elvira and never
realizing that he was naked at the time. He tried to howl, but
even it came out as a squeak. He came out right under the nose of
Frederic who screamed and ran back until he collided into Connor,
knocking them both to the ground.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Connor demanded and landed a punch on Frederic.
Soon, the two were beating the crap out of each other.

"DAMN, BOIS!" James yelled as he strode purposefully forward.
Grabbing both of them by a handful of hair, he snatched them
apart. "STOP IT! FIGHT LATER! Right now we've got people counting
on us to save them! Don't make me angry! If you do, I might forget
that you're my sons . . . " He let his voice trail off, glaring at
both of them.

As soon as James let go, Connor ran like Hell around to the other
side and started digging in the pile. He did not look back at
Frederic. It seemed that Frederic was always getting him into
trouble, and he just couldn't help himself to stay out of it. He
did not want James mad at him. He concentrated on digging but
couldn't help muttering underneath his breath, "Damn that boi and
his sense of his duty . . . "

Frederic sniffed. "Don't even go there!" James commanded. "Now get
busy!" He threw Frederic toward the pile-up. Frederic started
digging down and soon found a woman. He laid claim to her
immediately, pulling her up out of the debris and carrying her
over to the line-up. She did not stir. He checked for a heartbeat
and was relieved to find a weak one. He couldn't help but to sit
on his haunches and stare at her. He thought she was so beautiful!

Frederic did not know how long he had been staring at the lovely
creature before him when her eyes finally began to slowly flutter
open. Dazed brown eyes blinked awake and stared at him. "Who . . .
" The girl ran her tongue over her lips, wetting them, and then
tried speaking again. Still, her voice came out as a faint, barely
audible whisper. "Who are you?"

"Frederic!" he replied with a grin. "And you?"

"Dawn," she managed.

"I'll see if I can find some water for you, Dawn. I won't be gone
long." He walked back down to the water's edge and gazed out
toward the ship. Something was wrong. The men should have been
back by now. "Captain? How long does it take to fetch water?"

James looked at him and then out toward the ship. "They do seem to
have been gone an awfully long time, but there's no way that we
can find out as they took the only boat."

"I need some water for a woman I rescued."

"There is no water, Frederic. Like idiots, we came to the island
without water!"

"What are we gonna do?"

"Nothing right now. Maybe the men will return soon. Continue with
your digging, Frederic. There are a lot of people down there
somewhere."

A snarl was heard, and a set of claws poked upward from the
debris. Wolverine jumped forth, wondering where Ororo was. "'Ro?"
he called, hoping she would answer. He looked around, hoping to
see Jack as well, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Jack?"



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue eyes blinked open to complete darkness, and then she felt the
weight. Though it was really only debris from the ship, she
thought it was bodies pressing down upon her, and the stench of
their rotting corpses filled her nose. She screamed, and as one
scream followed another and then another, she began to claw
frantically at her imprisonment.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolverine heard 'Ro's scream and immediately began digging down
until he could reach her. "Hush, little darlin'! I'm comin'!" he
called out, knowing that she could hear him even if she couldn't
see him, yet the response he got was another scream just as
panicked as the first. It only took him seconds to dig down to
her, but it seemed like a lifetime. "Open your eyes, little
darlin'," he said as he finally reached her. "I'm here."

Ororo was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane and her bleeding
hands were clawing at empty air when Logan called to her and his
voice finally sank through the memories. She continued to tremble
but managed to open her eyes to find him gazing at her in deep
concern. She tried to voice his name, but no sound would come out.
Instead, she flung her arms around him and held to him tightly as
tears dripped down her cheeks.

He pulled her to him and hugged her close. "It's okay, 'Ro. You're
safe now." He didn't know what kind of nightmares she had had
before. All he knew was that she was terrified of tight places. He
picked her up and carried her to a wide, open space, hoping it
would help.

She continued to tremble against him even as she fought to gain
control of her mind. They were all right, but what of the girls,
her godchildren? And what of his Jack?

As if in answer to her very thoughts, Wolverine told her that he
had not found the others yet. "It's slow goin', 'Ro. We have to
dig down, hopin' to find some one. Sometimes ya get lucky; others,
ya don't."

She knew she needed to concentrate and calm herself but did not
want to let go of him. She clung to him as though he were a second
skin even while admitting, "I . . . I have to calm down. I can get
them out from under there . . . Well," she amended herself, "I can
at least free them, but I have to calm down first." She pulled
back just enough so that she could look into his eyes. "Thank you,
Logan." She whispered the last so that only his ears could hear
her.

"What do you need me to do, 'Ro?" He believed in this woman and
knew that she could do many unbelievable things. If she thought
she could do this, he believed she could, and all he wanted to do
was help.

"You can't," she told him solemnly, shaking her head. "Only I can.
I just have to get my mind past that . . . past the memories . . .
"

He nodded. "Then do it, little darlin'. Anything you can do to
help will be better than doin' nothing. We dig and dig; sometimes
we find some one. Sometimes we don't." He knew he had just told
her the same thing but did not know if she had been coherent
enough to understand him then. He watched her. If she looked like
she was going to faint, he was going to pick her up and carry her.
Meanwhile, he was just going to stand beside her if she needed
him.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Ororo fought to gain control of her mind, another fought to
awaken. When finally he was rewarded with the cool air washing
over him and consciousness being returned, he snapped his eyes
open and jumped to his feet. His movements were a little too swift
and caused the world to swirl around him, but the thoughts of
those he cared for kept him standing. He turned on bare feet and
scanned the area with keen eyes. He recognized many of those who
had already been rescued and was thankful for each that had lived,
but his heart dropped far below the sand beneath his feet when he
could catch no sign of Prue or Jack.

His eyes turned back to the pile, and he knew they had to be in
there somewhere. If he could just use the wolf long enough to free
them, some one would be able to knock him out. When he caught
sight of Wolf, he knew the other Werewolf would be able to take
him down. Not even the thought that Wolf did not appear to realize
that he was naked helped to cheer him; instead, he thought only of
his brother and the woman who, though she knew not what she did,
had already won his heart.

Turning his attention away from Wolf and back to the pile of
debris, Brendan began to concentrate. His brown eyes shifted to
yellow slants, and he started sniffing. He smelled several of the
other crew members but ignored them all in his search for Jack and
Prue. It was Prue's scent he caught first, and he ran toward it.
He fell on his knees beside the debris and began digging
instantly. Soon, claws dug away the wood rather than hands.

When he finally reached Prue, he found himself staring down at her
beautiful form, but she seemed so still that his heart skipped a
beat and nearly stopped completely. Her hands that were so much
smaller than his were clinging determinedly to an old, leathery
book, and Brendan started to reach out for them, planning to check
her pulse. He stopped when he saw his paw reaching out for her
hands and cursed himself instead. {Stupid, stupid, stupid! Do you
*want* her to get eaten, you idiot?!}

{Wait a minute,} he interrupted himself. {I'm thinking coherently
. . . yet I'm wolfing? Or am I the wolf already?} He shook his
head. {Doesn't matter. It'll be out of control in a moment
regardless.} He forced himself to back away from Prue and turned
his attention to Wolf. He tried to call to him about Prue, but his
words came out in a long howl. Brendan saw Wolf look up at him and
heard two shots from somewhere, but he ignored them. Trusting Wolf
to understand and care for Prue, he picked up one of the nearby
boards and begun slamming it against his head.

"*Idiot!*" Wolf said when he came running by. "_Stop_ that
insanity! Want to give yourself a headache? You're not going to
knock yourself out with a plain board, Brendan!" he looked
intently into his friend's eyes.

"Wolf, I have to . . . before it gets out of control . . . " He
paused in striking himself to look at his friend. "Unless you want
to do it for me?"

"No, and you don't need to either! Rather you realize it or not,
you are already in wolf form, and you have control! You're talking
coherently. You're able to reason. You, my friend, are finally in
control!"

"For how long?" Brendan returned. "I'm not going to take that
risk, Wolf! Especially not where she's concerned!" He jerked a
furry paw back towards Prue, who Elvira was then tending to.

"If I see you getting out of control, I'll knock you out myself,
Brendan. In the mean time, why don't you see if you can find
Jack?"

Brendan could not deny Wolf's reasoning, though he wanted to. "If
I find Jack, will you knock me out then? I don't want to wait
until it might be too late!"

"It's not going to be too late, Brendan. I'm watching you. Get out
of control, and I promise I'll knock you out." Wolf's words were
brave, but he wasn't exactly sure how to knock Brendan out without
the silver cane.

"But . . . " Brendan started to protest only to be cut off by Elvira.

"Look! You've got a nose; now use it! Find your brother! Once
you've done that, I'll make sure Wolf knocks you out or he won't
get screwed!"

Wolf's mouth fell open in surprise at Elvira's boldness. The way
she had been handing out screws, one would have thought it was
Christmas, and now she was going to cut him off?! That would never
do! But if she wanted to believe that enough to make Brendan
believe it, he could go along with it!

Brendan stared at Elvira and Wolf.

"Don't just keep standing there! Get moving, Wolfboy, unless you
want this high heel rammed up your tail so far you won't ever have
a chance of having puppies!"

Wolf shook his head in disbelief and headed off in another
direction, trying to use his nose to locate Jack. He could tell
Brendan was right behind him. He looked at Brendan and shrugged.
"Guess who got up on the wrong side of the coffin today?"

Elvira could hear Wolf's parting remark and growled fiercely under
her breath. "Oh, it just so figures! Get rid of an idiot and piss
off the wrong one at the same time! _*MEN!*_ Are they even worth
the screws . . . ?" She stopped talking as she felt Prue starting
to come too. Looking down at her, she spoke much more softly.
"Hey, girl."

Prue's eyes opened, but she had trouble focusing. "Elvira?" she
asked.

"In the flesh."

"Who'd you piss off this time?"

"Our wolves. Brendan was being a butt again -- no offense -- so I
used a little womanly knowledge and ended up getting him going but
pissing Wolf off too!"

"Well, men will be men," Prue managed to rasp out. "I need some
water."

"Don't we all?" another voice answered. "Are you okay? Would you
like to move to be with the others?" James looked down in concern
at the young woman. "James Hook at your service, ma'am."

"Oh, thank you, James. I would like to move from this spot. It
gives me the creeps laying here, like I'm laying in a coffin."

He scooped her up as though she didn't weigh anything. His hook
glowed in the sunlight, but Prue was not afraid of him. "I can't
leave the Book."

"Don't you worry about it, sweetie," Elvira quickly assured her.
"I've got it right here, and if anybody thinks they're touching it
while it's next to my bosom, well, you know what they'll get." She
walked beside Prue and James but not before glancing at Wolf's
back and sighing softly.

Turning her attention back to the other two, she stepped closer
and whispered to James. "I know those two idiots were too busy to
notice, Captain, but thank you. They are Werewolves, but they're
both good men."

"Well, my crew were all bad men. One thing you can count on,
whatever you told them, they did exactly the opposite and they
paid for it with their lives. I told them not to bother anything
here, and there he was about to kill the younger one! I will not
tolerate such!" He carried Prue carefully over to the group they
had been collecting. She was happy to see that both Paige and
Phoebe were there along with Joxer and Carl, but there was no sign
of Piper. "Has any one seen my other sister, Piper?"

"We'll find her, Prue," Elvira assured her. "You just rest here
and keep the Book safe."

"If I just wasn't so tired, I could help you to look. The last
time I saw her, she was with Cole Turner, and they were going to
look for the Captain, so they could be anywhere." It was at just
that moment that Cole shimmered in, carrying Piper. He laid her on
the ground beside Prue.

Elvira smiled. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Prue smiled. "Thank you." She reached out and touched Piper's
face, reassuring herself that her sister was merely sleeping and
would return to her quickly, she hoped. "Thank you, Cole," she
told him.

He smiled at her and said, "It was my pleasure, Prue. I think what
she needs now is rest, and then she'll be coming back to herself."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolf continued to sniff the air from time to time, hunting for
Jack. He had about given up looking in the area that he was in and
was about to go around to the other side when he heard Brendan
howl and begin to dig. {Must be Jack,} he thought and hurried
around to join his friend.


_Chapter Three_
Flames shot forth from a pile of debris, and out of the midst of
it came Clark, holding Lex and dragging him out with him. Lex was
unconscious, and Clark's eyes were shooting fire.

"HOLY GODS!" Wolverine hollered. "The boy's out of control!
Somebody, stop him!"

Ororo whirled around to see what Logan was talking about only to
see flames darting everywhere. She quickly pinpointed their origin
as being Clark's eyes, and though the thought chilled her, she
pushed it aside and set into quick motion. "Wolverine," she spoke,
her voice now taking command, "get the others away from the
debris." Without waiting for an answer, she flew into the sky.

Rain began to fall instantly, putting out the fire even as it
began. Ororo flew straight to Clark and Lex and dropped behind
them. "Clark, listen to me. Close your eyes."

Clark tilted his head to the side, listening and trying to
pinpoint where 'Ro was. "'Ro?" he asked and then stood perfectly
still, closing his eyes as she had told him to do.

Wolverine had moved every one away from the debris. By the time he
had a chance to turn and look at 'Ro, Clark's eyes were not
shooting flames, so he knew she had found something that worked.
Still, he was wary of the boy getting turned a loose again.

"Now," she commanded gently, "breathe with me, Clark. I realize
you might think it a bit . . . silly, but just do it. Trust me,
please. Take a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. Focus on
that. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In . . . " She continued to
instruct him until he was breathing calmly again, "Now forget this
place. Think back to the times you've been with Lex, together and
happy, smiling and laughing. Even making love. Just any time you
were happy and peaceful together."

She touched his shoulder gently from where she hovered in the air
behind him, then closed her eyes and concentrated. She put the
physical world aside for the moment, forcing herself to forget all
else, and simply focused on Clark and his place in the Earth. She
felt the change in him, and as he calmed completely, she finally
told him, "Now . . . open your eyes . . . "

As Ororo spoke to him, Clark did as she instructed. Though he
barely knew her, there was something about the woman that he
trusted. He had seen more than one demonstration of her immense
power, but she kept it in check and herself, as well, with a sort
of regal bearing that he could not explain. Ororo Munroe was a
lady unlike any other he'd ever known, and he trusted her even
despite his fear.

As her words swirled around him and he continued to breathe in
peaceful rhythm with her, his mind went back, remembering all the
happy times he had spent with Lex on the Black Pearl and even
before. Then his thoughts shifted, becoming more of a daydream as
he imagined Lex and he cuddled together on their cot and watching
the children. It seemed to be a celebration of sorts as Julian and
Sarah smiled and giggled excitedly, their smiles growing ever more
brilliant as they discovered the presents they had bought for
them. Sarah opened another box and let out a squeal of delight.
She looked at them and spoke, thanking them for everything, and
Lex could not hold back his delight that she had finally spoken.
He let out a whoop, hugged Sarah tightly, and then as Sarah and
Julian turned back to their toys, he returned to Clark. As Lex's
lips took his, Clark's eyelids began to lift.

Clark opened his eyes slowly, praying that he wouldn't begin to
shoot fire again. The remaining tension left his body as he
realized that both he and Lex were okay even though Lex was
unconscious. "Thank you, 'Ro. When that happens, it scares me to
death. I can't control it. I just knew I was going to hurt
somebody." He looked to see where they were gathering the rescued
people and headed that way with Lex, making sure that he was in as
much shade as he could be. There was something about this place
that sent off warning vibrations that Clark could feel. He tried
to shake them off. As he looked around, he appeared to be the only
one affected. Where were the kids? He noticed that no one was
around the debris and recalled that Wolverine had been moving
those that were in the way out of the way. He looked back toward
'Ro just in time to see her lifting her arms.

Once she was sure that Clark and Lex were safely out of the way,
Ororo lifted back into the air. Closing her eyes, she
concentrated, raising her arms and the wind with them. She opened
her eyes again and focused on the debris. The wind began lifting
the debris and carrying it to another section of the shore. In
mere seconds, it was all gone, leaving bodies in its wake that she
did not know if they were alive or dead. After dumping the debris,
she lowered herself gently back to the ground.

Ororo had barely began to scan the area for her godchildren when a
scream shattered the air. Several heads snapped up at the sound,
but none reacted as fast as Elvira. Elvira had been scanning the
newly-exposed bodies to see who had survived when her sister had
screamed, and she knew instantly what had happened though not how.
She ran over the shore, nearly falling on her way but managing to
reach her sister and grab her just before Delvira could hit the
ground.

"HE'S GONE!" Delvira wailed. "JARETH! HE'S -- "

Elvira didn't know what to say. What could she say to ease her
sister's pain when she could not make her husband appear out of
thin air? Instead, she only held to Delvira who clung to her in
turn. Elvira could feel her twin's tears seeping onto her
shoulder, and tears filled her own eyes. Oh Gods! Why Jareth, of
all people!?

Wolf's skin crawled when Delvira screamed. He had turned to look
to see what the problem was. He realized that others were missing,
as well. Not even their carcasses had been left behind. He stood
beside Brendan, not giving him a chance to get away as he realized
that Brendan was in full wolf morph and couldn't help himself.
"There are others missing, Delvira. What about that weird dog that
calls rocks?" It was then he realized that Brendan was sniffing
one of the dead Pirates and that he would soon be trying to eat
him. Wolf would not stand for that. He wolfed out and knocked
Brendan cold before he knew what had hit him. He looked around for
Wolverine to see what he was taking care of or if he could come
and take care of Brendan and realized that Wolverine had found
Jack and Will and was bending down over them.

Delvira was so lost in her grief that she did not even hear Wolf,
but Elvira did. She was surprised but glad to suddenly find him at
her side again, but she focused on the situation with her sister
instead. Scanning the area from over Delvira's shoulder, she
realized not only that Wolf was right and that there was no sign
of Ludo, but there were several others missing, as well.
"Delvira," she forced her words to come out slowly and calmly,
"Wolf's right. Jareth's nowhere to be seen, but he's not alone.
Ludo . . . Hoggle . . . Sir Didymus . . . All of them are gone,
and even the Fieries and Goblins don't seem to be as many."

Delvira tried to force herself to calm down, but her heart was
hammering so hard that she could scarcely hear her sister for it.
She turned, with Elvira supporting her, to see for herself and
realized that they were right. "I don't . . . " she started to say
but Elvira, knowing that her twin was clearly not thinking as well
as she normally would, cut her off.

"Could he have been called?"

"Called . . . ? I guess . . . TRELY!" she called. "WORM!" No
answer came.

Wolf looked at Delvira as though she'd lost her mind. "Worm?" He
wondered what a worm had to do with anything.

Elvira nodded. "Yeah, Worm. A little, talky chap. Purple with a
scarf. Always wants everybody to go into his little hole and see
his missus."

"Sounds like a charming chap." Wolf peered eagerly around but did
not see a worm. "What do you mean he might have been called?" he
asked Delvira.

"To the labyrinth," she answered. "To do his damn duty."

Elvira rolled her eyes in an attempt to ease some of the tension
out of the moment. "I always have hated that word."

Delvira did not appear to hear her, however, as she marched calmly
over to one of the Goblins. Elvira glanced at the fireball forming
in her twin's hand, then rather nervously at Wolf. Before she
could say anything, though, she heard Delvira commanding the poor
thing. "You! Tell me now. Have you seen Trely, and how many of you
are there here? Actually, screw that," she said, sounding a lot
like Elvira. "How many of you *aren't* here?"

Elvira could not hear the Goblin's reply, but she did note her
sister's reaction as the fireball fizzled and disappeared. She let
out a breath of relief, then nodded. "Yup. He had to go deal with
another bitch."

"Bitch?" Wolf asked. He wondered what exactly Jareth did do for a
living besides being King. Every King he'd ever met had had their
fingers in every pie they could get them in and then were
constantly looking for other pies to get into.

"Yeah. Long story short, he gets thrown a stupid girl every now
and again that he has to force to grow up and realize that her
little brother actually is important to her and she doesn't want
to just throw him away to the Goblins."

Wolf shook his head. "So you're saying Jareth has to . . . deal
with these girls? What does he get out of it?"

Elvira thought about that for a moment. She well knew Jareth's
situation as the sisters did not keep anything from each other.
Turning back to Wolf, she finally answered, "He gets to live."

"You're not making sense, Elvira. They would kill him if he didn't
deal with them? But he's the King! And who are they?"

"Wolf," she glanced around, "I'm not sure this is the best time
for this story, but Jareth got mixed in with Salem's bunch a long
time ago. He never wanted to be the King of the Goblins. He just
got stuck with the job -- *both* parts of it."

"That's his punishment, huh? Who was the one that punished
everybody?" All he kept getting was bits and pieces of the story,
and he would like to hear the whole thing. He thought to himself
that there had to be more people involved. He knew two, but he
knew there had to be a lot more. "So how many people were
involved?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, but there was a lot of them. Jareth
was one of Salem's top men, though."

"When does their punishment end?"

Sadness crossed through her dark eyes as she answered quietly, "It
doesn't."

"That's not fair for them to be punished for all eternity when all
they did was to try to take over the world! Something should be
done to break their punishment."

"Like what?" Elvira returned, not realizing how snappy she sounded
even as she placed one hand on her hip. "Don't you think Delvira
and I have both dug through the books? There's a lot in this world
that isn't fair, Wolf, but there's not always something that can
be done about it! You really think that's not fair, and I agree
with you but it's just one of the thousands of things in this
damned world we live in, like people getting thrown out of places
because of the way they look or being killed because of their
religion or even getting their man pissed off at them for trying
to take care of a situation that he wasn't having any luck with!"
She shut up suddenly, a wild look in her eyes. {Oh crap! Girl,
when are you ever gonna learn to shut that mouth of yours?!}

He moved over to where he could stand beside her and looked down
into her eyes. "I'm not pissed off, baby." He kissed her on the
tip of her nose. "Just a little confused. So . . . There's really
nothing we can do to help Jareth right now? We just have to wait
for him to return?"

"Pretty much," Elvira answered, her tension having released a
great deal, "but I'll have to keep an eye on Delvira. If she
hasn't gone to be with him yet . . . Well, that's not a good sign.
And I'd like to do something to help them. Believe me, I would. I
can just imagine the Hell Delvira goes through, knowing that he
has to act like he's in love with every one of those stupid bits
though he loves her." She raised her eyes to gaze up into Wolf's.
"And I'm sorry about earlier, but you misread me. That was just an
act to get Brendan's butt going."

At the mention of Brendan's name, Wolf looked back to where
Brendan lay on the ground. "Poor man. He really lost it, Elvira. I
had to knock him out. Got to find Prue so that she can get with
Brendan. He thinks she's gone, and he ain't taking it too good.
Can't blame him. If I lost you, I'd go crazy!"

Elvira reached up and cupped Wolf's handsome face in her hands.
"You're not going to lose me," she told him even as she leaned
against him and pressed her lips to his.

His arms slid around her, and he hugged her close. "Gods, you
smell good! I better go while I still can," he said, reluctantly
releasing her. He began to sniff the air, trying to figure out
where Prue might be, and his nose led him straight to the group.
He could see she was now sitting up even though she was still
looking lost. "Won't be gone long, babe. I'm just going to take
Brendan over and wait till he wakes up. Might have to knock him
out again. Why don't you bring Delvira over here and then we won't
have to be apart?" Even as he talked, he reached down and picked
Brendan up, slung him on his shoulder, and began to walk toward
Prue.

"I'll see if I can talk her into it," Elvira called after Wolf.
She couldn't resist then adding with a twitch of her nose, "Nice
view, by the way!"

Wolf had to smile. {One Hell of a woman,} he thought, {and I am so
lucky she's mine!} Once he reached Prue, he dropped Brendan down
by her. It was then he realized that both he and Brendan were
naked as he heard the shocked gasps of the Halliwell girls.

"I knew I should have kept my eyes shut a little longer," Piper
managed weakly.

"Oh, speak for yourself!" Phoebe told her sister.

"Yeah!" Paige added, her eyes focused on Wolf's as she knew
Brendan's already had her sister's claim on it. She glanced
quickly at Carl to make sure he was still out, then turned her
eyes back to Wolf. "Come to Momma, puppy!"

Katrina, who had just woke up, sat up, took one look at Wolf, and
muttered some words. Instantly, Wolf was covered by a kilt. He
looked down in disbelief. He didn't know who had given it to him,
but why couldn't it be pants? He looked down at Brendan and saw
that Brendan, too, had a kilt on. Before he could think of what to
say, something black flew straight in front of him, and Paige let
out a screech as a high heel ended barely an inch away from her
womanly area.

Katrina busied herself taking care of Celina, Tom, and Meesy. She
did not see Morph anywhere, and she was worried about him. She was
soon rewarded with Celina's eyes flashing open although the boys
continued to sleep a little longer.

Prue was relieved that some one had covered Brendan. She had
blushed at the size of it and was too stunned to cover him if she
had had something to cover him with. She hoped he would soon wake
and knew that he, too, would be glad to have some cover. A small
gasp escaped her lips as the high heel had come flying and barely
missed Paige. "Paige, you better move it! He is claimed, and you
know how Elvira can get about her men!"

"Damn! She moves in faster than a . . . Faster than a . . . "

"Rabbit?" Phoebe suggested.

"Well, she does more of *that* than a rabbit," Paige agreed.

Cole had to hide the smile the girls' words had caused him. He
knew neither of them were very naive and that both of them had
very active sexual lives even if Piper didn't know how active they
were. He had seen and heard Paige and Carl all over the ship and
knew that they could rival Elvira and Wolf. He had been extremely
surprised Carl had had it in him.

Piper was still sitting with her eyes closed tightly while her
mind whirled over her sisters' behavior. Dear Gods, just what was
wrong with Phoebe and Paige?! She knew very well that neither
their mother nor their grandmother had taught them to behave like
that! It was then that a wave of sadness hit her as she thought of
how it was, after all, a good thing that they could not see them
now for the shame her little sisters would bring them.

Prue reached out and stroked Brendan's hair out of his face. Her
hand traced lovingly over his face. She wanted to lean forward and
kiss him but could not bring herself to do it in front of others.
Her younger sisters did not bother her at all for to tell the
truth, she would like to be just as naughty with Brendan. She just
hadn't managed to talk him into it yet. Her eyes were drawn to
something that was moving out in the area where the ships had been
cleared. She could not figure out what it was for it seemed to be
something sticking straight up and waving. "What is that?" she
asked, and all eyes save Piper's turned to look where she was
talking about.

"Prue!" Piper admonished, blushing deeply.

Cole stared intently for a moment. "Well, I'll be damned!" he
said. "I believe it's Donkey or, at least, Donkey's butt!" He
shimmered over to where Donkey's butt was sticking out and he was
trying to back up, dragging something with him. He leaned down to
help him, and his hand connected with a human. For some reason,
they had been under the sand and only Donkey's butt had managed to
come out. He began to pull, and Donkey fell. He yelped in pain.
Cole had pulled both children out of the hole and then realized
something else was in there, as well. He pulled out a small,
black, furry body. He expected it to be a cat, but it turned out
to be a puppy, one he had never seen before.

Julian reached out his arms for the puppy. "We found him and were
trying to rescue him when everything started crashing and Donkey
saved us."

Cole turned to look at Donkey, who was laying on the ground
unconscious. He shuddered when he saw Donkey's leg had been
smashed and a bone was sticking out. He tried to keep a straight
face. He knew where Clark was and was about to point him out when
he realized that Clark and Lex were both naked. {Well,} he
couldn't help thinking, {guess that's why they weren't with the
kids.}

He looked around until he spotted Katrina. "Julian, take Sarah and
the puppy and go stay with Miss Katrina. I'll find Lex and Clark
for you."

"Yes, sir," Julian said and, holding Sarah by the hand, headed
straight for Katrina. Cole then knelt down beside Donkey and
stroked his neck gently. "I don't know what to do for you, old
fella. I'm not a doctor or a healer. We've got several. I'll get
one of them."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Though Piper's eyes were closed, she knew the instant Cole
shimmered away from her. "Where's he going?" she asked. "What's
wrong?"

"You mean, besides you being the only one of us who's trying to be
Little Miss Innocent?" Paige started only to be cut off by Phoebe.

Phoebe knew Piper was truly concerned and that something else was
bothering her sister, as well. "Paige Halliwell! There's a time
and a place for everything," she said, surprising all her sisters,
"and that's enough of that!"

"You tell her, baby," Joxer started, having just come to.

He was reaching for Phoebe when she gently but firmly swatted his
hand away. "Not now!"

"Huh?" he returned, looking at her in surprise.

"Piper," Phoebe asked, gently touching her sister's shoulder,
"what is it?"

"Where'd Cole go?"

It was only then that Phoebe realized just how desperately Piper
was trying to be a lady. "Piper, you can open your eyes. I don't
know where in the Hell they got them from, but the guys are
wearing some kind of skirts now."

Piper finally opened her eyes and immediately began to search for
Cole. "Where'd Cole go?" she repeated even as she wondered who in
the world had managed to get *skirts*, of all things, onto Wolf
and Brendan.

"Those are not skirts. Those are kilts, and I wouldn't know it
except that I once met a Scotchman. That's all those guys wear!
Usually with a shirt of some kind but *no underwear*!" Prue
whispered the last part. As soon as she was able, she would find a
pair of pants for Brendan; she didn't want any one sneaking around
and peeking underneath his skirt!

Paige and Joxer both burst out laughing, but Phoebe and Piper
remained quiet. Phoebe had helped Piper locate Cole, and now they
were both watching Donkey and he in concern. "That's not good,"
Phoebe whispered, eyeing Donkey's leg. She could see the bone
sticking out even from that distance.

Piper grimaced and shook her head. "He'll find a way to help him,"
she stated.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cole glanced helplessly around. He could shimmer Donkey to
Katrina, but he didn't want the kids to see what kind of shape
Donkey was in. He was surprised when he glanced back at his group
to see Wolf and Brendan wearing kilts. He looked around and
spotted several other kilts, as well. Clark and Lex were now
wearing them and trying to figure out where they had come from. He
could tell by the looks on their faces and the way they were
tentatively touching the cloth.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celina had been desperately fighting to keep control of herself
ever since awakening to find Katrina and Tom all right but her
beloved Morph nowhere in sight. Just where was her husband?! she
thought again, her panicky blue eyes once more sweeping the area.
Still, she found no sign of him, but her eyes came to rest instead
on Donkey and Cole. She knew that Donkey was one of the ones whose
pain she had been fighting against even before seeing his leg. She
began to hurry quickly over to them even while calling to Cole,
"What happened?"

"I'm not sure what happened except that Donkey saved the kids and
the puppy and something shattered his leg. Can you fix it for
him?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded in reply while dropping to her knees on the sand in
front of Donkey. She very gently touched one hand to his leg and
the other to the bone that was sticking out and began to whisper
in an alien tongue. A warm, blue light pulsated from her hands and
seeped into Donkey's body, pulling the bone back into place and
then beginning to seal the wound. By the time the spell was
through, not a single drop of blood remained, and he was perfectly
well again.

Donkey's eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" he asked in
wonderment as he stared at his leg. "I thought . . . I was a goner
for sure!"

Celina leaned over and embraced him, her arms going around his
neck in a hug. "What happened," she informed him gently, though
her sadness crept into her voice, "is that you were extremely
heroic."

"Aw, shucks! Nobody ever called me heroic before! I just did what
anybody else would've done! I couldn't let the kids wash over
board! That was one Hell of a storm we came through, and now we
don't even have a ship!" he said in a very sad voice. "We're stuck
here forever!"

"Maybe not, Donkey. Just until we find a way to fix the ships. You
need to rest a little while, buddy. Come on and let's rejoin the
group. They'll all be glad to see you. Thanks, Celina," Cole said.
He noticed her eyes were very sad. "What's wrong?"

"Morph . . . " she answered him in a quiet whisper even as she got
to her feet. "I haven't found him . . . "

"I'll find him for you. He's tough. He'll be around. Might be
unconscious. Won't be gone long. Would you take Donkey over to the
Halliwells?"

Celina was about to speak when Donkey interrupted them. "No!" Both
looked at him in surprise. "I wanna go to Will!"

"I don't know where Will is right now," Cole answered him
truthfully. "I haven't had a chance to find him or Jack. They've
got to be around here somewhere. Go to Piper first, and then you
and me can hunt for Jack and Will when I come back. Okay?"

Donkey looked at Cole forlornly. "You haven't seen them yet?"

"Nope, and I'm worried about them, too, but first I've got to find
Morph."

Celina had fallen out of the conversation as she had closed her
eyes and reached out. It was a dangerous thing for her to do at
that time with all the others' emotions bearing down on her, and
she had to struggle to keep from falling prey to them. "Jack and
Will . . . are all right . . . They're here somewhere. One of them
. . . Will, I think . . . is starting to come to . . . " She
opened her eyes again. "I don't know where they're at, Donkey, but
they are all right. Scared and confused, like the rest of us, but
there's no pain coming off of them."

Donkey sighed with relief. "Hurry back, Cole! I'm waiting! We've
got to find my boy!" he said, nodding his head vigorously.

Celina's eyes met Cole's, and in the silent gaze that passed
between them, she tried to convey to him what she had not spoken
aloud. She had also searched for Morph but was still not picking
up on him. That could only mean one of two things, and she prayed
to Bast that he was merely unconscious. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Cole said with a nod of his head. "I won't be gone
long." He shimmered and was gone. Traveling as quickly as he could
through the group, he saw Jack and Will. Jack was clinging to Will
as though his very life depended on it. They were both beginning
to wake up, and Wolverine was standing guard over them. Cole
continued on, searching for Morph. Not finding him on the land, he
headed out toward the sea.

He finally spied him clinging to a rock with waves still crashing
over him, but he looked stranger than Cole had ever seen him. What
was wrong with him? Cole stared at him and finally realized that
Morph had been caught half in and half out of the octopus morph.
The head was Morph, but the body was still that of an octopus.
{Cripes!} he thought. {This is a really bad situation! I don't
know what to do to help him!}

He quickly returned to where Celina was. "We have problems," he
said, materializing where she could see him. "Morph is caught
half-in and half-out of an octopus morph. Do you have any ideal
how to help him? He is clinging to a rock and seems to be
unconscious."

Celina's voice did not betray her emotions, but her eyes did.
"Take me to him."

"We need to take something to carry him back with." He looked
around but couldn't find anything.

"That won't be necessary," Celina told him. "I just need to be
able to reach him."

"Don't let go of my hand," Cole said, and he shimmered both of
them back to where he had last seen Morph. materializing, they
landed in the water beside Morph.

Celina's heart pounded so loudly that she thought her ears might
burst from the sound, but nothing save her husband mattered to her
at that time. She climbed up beside him, then laid down next to
him. Placing a hand on him, she closed her eyes and concentrated.
"I'm going to have to find him," she whispered to Cole, and her
conscious mind was gone before he could speak.

Cole continued to watch over both of them to make sure that no
harm would come to them. He was not really sure what Celina was
doing but prayed that she'd be able to save her beloved husband.
She appeared to be asleep, but he knew better than to try to wake
her. He did not know how telepaths worked, but he did know that
she was having to delve into Morph's mind in an attempt to find
him. He could only pray that it would work and she would be able
to reach him in time before he was lost forever.


_Chapter Four_
Wolverine was relieved that he had finally found Jack and Will. He
had been about to reach down and check their breathing when he saw
Will's eyes open.

Will came to slowly. The first thing he was aware of was the
bright light piercing his eyes open; the next was a heavy weight
on his legs that took him back to remembering Jack's strangeness
right before he had been knocked unconscious. His lips parted as
he tried to call Jack's name, but it was not Jack's face that he
saw when his vision finally cleared. He looked up at Wolverine in
confusion.

"I'm glad to see you're awake, Will. Is anything broke?" he asked
in concern.

Will was not concerned for himself. "Jack," he managed to rasp out
in a weak voice even while struggling against the weight on his
legs in an attempt to sit up.

Wolverine walked over and grasped Jack's arms that were gripping
Will's legs so tightly. "Jack? I know you're in there. Let go of
Will. You're okay; you didn't drown." He continued to talk softly
to Jack who finally opened his eyes and stared right through
Wolverine. He didn't say anything, but he did finally let go of
Will's legs. He then clung to Wolverine. "Jack, you're safe. You
can let go now. You're not going to drown." Jack finally let go of
Wolverine and just sat, not saying anything. The look in his eyes
was that of a terrified man.

Will had been fighting against his legs in a desperate attempt to
be able to reach Jack. Even with his beloved's weight off of them,
they were continuing to refuse his brain's commands, and he could
not seem to wake them. In sheer frustration, he pulled his way to
Jack on his elbows instead. "Jack?" he asked, reaching out to
touch him. "What's wrong, love?"

Wolverine answered as Jack continued to sit and then began to rock
back and forth. "He's locked in one of his nightmares. He gets
them when we have a bad storm an' he's not unconscious from
drinking. That's one o' the reasons he drinks so much rum, but
lately, it's just gotten too much out o' hand. It's controllin'
him instead of him controllin' it. Let me help you get to your
feet so you can walk some. Once ya walk, your legs will wake up.
They'll hurt like Hell, but at least, they'll do what you tell
them to do."

"My legs can wait." Will pulled himself further until he was at
last able to look into Jack's face. "Jack, I don't know what kind
of Hell you've been put through, but I'm here and so's Wolverine."
He reached out, caressing Jack's face with a touch as gentle as a
feather. "I'm here," he repeated, "and I love you. I won't let
anything hurt you."

Jack stopped rocking. He looked at Will but still didn't say
anything. "They killed him," he spoke several seconds later. "He's
dead." Tears began to run down his face. "I've got to hide!
They'll kill me!" He began to try to crawl away, and Wolverine
reached down and touched him.

"It's okay, Jack. Will and I will take care of you. They're not
gonna find you. They're not gonna hit you ever again. Lay down and
sleep a little while. We'll watch over you." Jack listened
intently to Wolverine. He laid down and curled up into a tight,
little ball.

"He'll wake up again in a few minutes," Wolverine said, "and more
than likely, won't remember any of this. You and I need to talk,
Will. I was never expecting the nightmare that this has become. I
had hopes of talking to you an' telling you some o' Jack's
problems. Let me help you up an' we can walk just a little bit."
He was worried about the young man's circulation and didn't want
anything to mess his legs up. He knew Will would have to be 100%
to be able to handle Jack's problems.

"I won't leave him," Will told Wolverine stubbornly, his eyes
fixed on Jack.

"An' neither will I. We will be close enough to touch him."

Will remained on the ground next to Jack. He knew Wolverine had
his best intention in mind, but he didn't want to move from him.
It was then that he felt himself lifted up. Looking down at the
ground, he tried not to panic, but when his legs hung downwards,
he was set very gently back down. Only now, he was standing.

Wolverine smiled up at 'Ro. He knew she couldn't see him, but he
was thankful for her interference. Will was a stubborn young man,
just as stubborn as he and Jack. "Be careful with your steps
there, Will. If ya go to fall, I'll catch you. Once you can feel
your legs, you an' I need to talk."

Though his legs were still asleep and he had to force them to
move, Will slowly began to step. He teetered at first, but every
time he started to fall, a brief gust of wind pushed him back up
and kept him standing. "What in the -- ? This is the strangest
wind I've ever been in!"

"It's the wind caused by 'Ro. She's takin' care o' ya. After all,
we are family."

Will nodded, accepting Wolverine's statement at face value.
"That's what I've been being told," he admitted, "and it does seem
to be true -- that everybody on the Pearl and Witch are family."

"How are your legs, Will?" Wolverine finally asked. He was not
wanting to talk and tell Jack's story, but he knew Will needed to
hear it. Not very many people knew about it. At least, not the
whole story.

Will nodded slowly. "They're starting to wake up." He turned
worried eyes on Wolverine. "Who did that to Jack?"

"Life . . . and . . . the King's militia. Actually, they were a
mixture of soldiers and Pirates who were out to do the world in
and steal everything that they could. It happened when Jack was
four years-old. His father was a Pirate King, and they were
attacked by the militia. Although his father was the Pirate King,
he was not evil, but the militia were. They destroyed every man
aboard the ship, an' they made Jack watch while they killed every
last one o' them, including his father. They burnt the ship an'
set it adrift. He was the only one still alive. At the same time
the attack was going on, a horrible hurricane whipped up. That's
why storms trigger his nightmares. Only the Gods know what he was
put through, because from the time he was four until he was ten,
he was beaten an' totally mistreated by the militia. He was their
punching bag. It's a wonder the kid survived!"

It tore at Will's heart and soul to hear of Jack's past, and he
swore to himself that should ever the time come when Jack found
himself faced with a similar situation, he would stop at nothing
to kill them all. But how, he thought, did Jack escape from that
horrible nightmare to grow to be the wonderful man he knew him to
be, the man he loved? He turned slowly to look at Wolverine with
deep respect shining in his saddened eyes. "You rescued him."

"They took me capture an' killed the members on my ship when Jack
was about eight. They made me their prisoner. I had no intention
o' staying there, but I did have intention o' killing every man
there an' rescuing Jack. It took a long time, almost two years,
for my opportunity to come, and again, it was a stormy night. It
seems like storms really figure into our lives."

"The Captain was huntin' Jack an' not for the first time. He had
intentions o' hurtin' him. The Captain had a penchant for young
men an' thought that Jack was old enough to be initiated. He tried
to catch him, but Jack managed to escape him every time. This
night, he decided he'd get some one to hold him down an' do to him
what he had been longing to do forever."

"All eyes were intent upon the boy who fought bravely and none
were upon me. They had him down an' had him stripped an' the
Captain was about to plunge when I managed to get away from my
jailer. I was so gripped an' so panicked an' desperate to reach
the boy that four crew members were holding me an' only the Gods
know what happened next. I had strained an' strained an' suddenly
. . . Snikt!" He made the sound now as his claws popped out.
"These lovely little jewels arrived. I don't rightly know what
happened next except that I killed every damn one o' them, the
Captain bein' first."

"No one was going to hurt my boy! Jack had been the only one who
cared enough to bring me food, blankets when I was cold, an' he
took care of me when I was sick, but he had had to hide the whole
time else, if they saw him, they caught him an' either punished
him or tried to have their way with him. It felt good to kill
them. I threw their bodies overboard. The storm reached its zenith
about that time and the blood ran rampant across the deck. Jack
took one look at me an' my claws an' moved as close to me as he
could. He had become like the son I never had an' I his father. We
couldn't sail the ship together for it took a lot of men to do it,
so we took one of the longboats and headed out. We've been
together ever since."

Will was silent for a long time afterwards, trying to think of
just what words to say in response to all that Wolverine had just
told him. He was stunned that Jack had gone through such, and his
heart ached for his beloved. "Thank you," he spoke quietly at long
last, "not only for telling me as Jack probably wouldn't have, but
also . . . for killing them. You know how I was when we first met.
I used to think that murder was the most despicable deed and never
could be called for, but that . . . Had I been there, I would have
found a way to help you."

"Thanks, Will, but you're helping me now for your being with Jack
is the best thing that could happen to him. Ever since that time,
when it storms, Jack has problems. I don't have the cure for it. I
don't know what to do to help him except to stay close, comfort
him, an' hold on to him. That's one o' the reasons why he can't
handle the rum. You can always tell at sea when it's going to
storm, and he always got drunk on the rum where he had to sleep it
off and miss the storm 'cept for one time 'bout a month ago,"
Wolverine said. "He was butt ass naked, hanging out on the rigging
in hurricane winds, an' singing at the top o' his lungs! It took
Brendan, Wolf, an' me -- all three o' us -- to get him! Then we
had to tie him down for the rest o' the night. For some reason,
the rum wasn't working."

Will shook his head. His eyes had been traveling what remained of
the ships, but now they turned back to Jack. "He doesn't need the
rum any more. That stuff destroys the best of men, and we won't
let it do that to him. We'll find a way, Wolverine," he stated
confidently, his eyes turning back to the man who he now realized
to be Jack's father. "He's got family. He's got us, and we will
find a way to free him of his past."

Jack stirred, moaned, and opened his eyes. The bright glare of the
sun made him close them immediately. "Will?" he called out his
name softly.

Will dropped down next to Jack as soon as he realized that he was
coming to. He touched his shoulder gently as he assured him, "I'm
right here, love."

Jack sat up, reached out, and grabbed Will, hugging him close. "We
made it!" he said with a grin. His grin turned to a frown, and
then he looked like his heart was going to break. "Where are the
ships?" he asked.

"'Fraid I ain't got good news on that," Wolverine answered. "All
three o' them are gone."

"Not the Pearl!" Jack cried.

Will's heart ached even more at the tears he knew Jack was
fighting back. "Yes," he spoke softly, "the Pearl, too. I'm sorry,
Jack. I know what it . . . what *she* meant to you. But," he added
before either man could speak again, "I want you to stop and think
about something. What did she mean to you, exactly? Freedom?
Family? Home?"

"All of that," Jack said, "but I know I still have family and my
freedom. My home is gone!"

"No," Will spoke gently but firmly, "it's not. It's right here,
Jack. Home is where the heart is, and that's where your family is.
And we're all right here."

"We'll rebuild her," Jack declared. "We can't stay here. We don't
even know where we are or what kind of dangers are here!"

"Haven't found any yet," Wolverine announced, "but I'm ready.
Thought I saw one, but he and his crew were actually the ones who
unburied us."

"Who? And where's their ship?" Jack asked.

Will looked up at Wolverine, slight confusion showing in his face.
"The man with the hook?" he guessed.

"Yes. The man with the hook. His name is Captain James Hook. He
says he knows you, Jack."

"I don't know him," Jack said. "At least, I don't think so. We
should go and see him and find out where his ship is." He was
still holding tightly to Will even as he got to his feet.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ororo had watched Wolverine and Will until Will had appeared to
have finally regained control of his legs. Then, even though she
had been far enough away from them to keep from overhearing their
conversation, she had let them be and headed in search of her
girls. It did not take her long to find them, and she dropped down
behind Phoebe and Piper, surprising the two who had not seen her
as they were too busy looking for Cole with a hug.

Though Phoebe jumped slightly in surprise at the unwarned touch,
Piper knew whose arms were around her instinctively. She returned
Ororo's hug. "Thank Gods you made it through that!"

Prue smiled up at her Aunt 'Ro. "I'm glad to see you, Aunt 'Ro. I
was worried about you, but I couldn't leave Brendan to go look for
you. He hasn't regained consciousness yet."

Ororo released Piper and Phoebe to move over to Prue. She caressed
her face with a gentle hand, then hugged her reassuringly. "It's
all right, Prue. I saw him earlier. He was having a little . . .
difficulty . . . but he'll be fine when he comes to."

"I hope it's soon!" Prue said even as she hugged 'Ro back. "Have
you seen the Captains?"

"I have. Jack hasn't fully come to yet, but Xena and Gabrielle
seem to be fine." She gestured toward the shore where the two were
sitting together, talking and looking out to sea.

"How many . . . didn't make it, Aunt 'Ro?"

Ororo had expected the question to come and was not surprised that
Prue proved to be the one to ask it. "I don't know yet," she
answered her truthfully. "Not every one has awakened yet."

"Brendan will be wanting to help them as soon as he comes around."
She glanced toward the group of people who were still not
conscious and saw that Doctor Doom was racing amongst them, trying
to help them, with Fred hot on his heels. She knew that they would
need a lot of help.

Ororo followed Prue's gaze. "I should help them where I can. Will
you girls be all right here?"

"I can help, too," Piper added, pushing herself to her feet.

"I'll be fine. When Brendan wakes up, we'll come and help too."

Phoebe looked at them. "I suppose I could help. So can Paige," she
volunteered her sister.

Piper rolled her eyes heavenward. What *had* gotten into her
younger sisters? "Of course you two can help!" she replied,
pulling Phoebe to her feet. She glanced down at their men. Carl
was still out, but Joxer was sitting back up, looking around in
confusion.

"I know; I know," he started. "Don't 'Joxer' anything!"

"Actually," Piper returned, "I was going to say you could help too."

Prue looked around and caught sight of several cooking utensils.
She looked at Joxer. "Go get those. We can probably use them."
When he had returned with them, they turned out to be pots. "Do we
have any fresh water? I'm sure those who are awake will want
something to drink. I know I do. With water everywhere and not a
drop to drink, I feel like I am completely perishing!" Her sisters
nodded in agreement.

"Joxer," Ororo again took charge, "line the pots out. Girls, cup
your hands together like this." She demonstrated for them, and as
they began to do as she told them to, small clouds began appearing
over their hands and the pots. Gentle rain fell from each cloud.

Prue drank her fill and then tried to get some to Brendan's lips.
She managed a few drops. She wished for a cup, but for now, her
hands would have to do. She continued to drop a few drops of water
on his lips, wishing he would wake soon.

When the pots had filled, Ororo turned her attention back to the
girls. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were satisfied but were trying to
figure out how to get rid of the clouds. Ororo waved them away
with a motion of her hand, then turned to look at Prue. She smiled
as she saw her doing her best to get Brendan some water, then
noticed that he was beginning to come to. Prue's attention was
fixed on Brendan alone, and Ororo gestured to Joxer and the girls
to come away from there and give them a moment together. Joxer and
Phoebe were the first to head off, Joxer drinking deeply of a pot
and Phoebe carrying another. Piper picked up a pot but noticed
that Paige was still standing. She grabbed her sister by the arm
and dragged her off with her. Ororo walked away quietly just as
Brendan came to.

The first thing Brendan was aware of was a gentle weight next to
him and the sweetest taste on his lips. Her scent filled his
senses, telling him that she was the gentle weight before he ever
opened his eyes. "Prue . . . ?"

"Thank Gods, Brendan, you're awake! I was worried sick!" Her hand
reached out and stroked the hair out of his face. Somehow, it
always seemed to be in his eyes. She smiled at him.

Her touch shot through him like fire; he fought to ignore the
instincts it arose. "What . . . What happened?" he asked her. He
remembered a storm and being concerned for both Jack and her, but
that was the last thing he remembered.

"You wolfed and carried me to safety or, at least, it would have
been safety if the ship had not capsized. Both ships were
destroyed in the storm. We were separated, but I managed to keep
the Book safe! Thank the Gods! But we both would have perished
without you, Brendan. Thank you." She wanted to reach out and hug
him, but he was still laying on his back, looking up at her. Her
blood raced at the mere look that he was giving her. She leaned
down and kissed him before he could react.

Brendan had still been too confused to move when Prue had started
to lean down. When he'd realized what she was about, he'd tried to
roll out from under her but had not been in time to keep her lips
from meeting his. Her sensual taste spread through him like
wildfire, and his lips parted under hers. His hand came up to cup
around her head as he drank more deeply of her. Fur began to
spread over his body.

Prue felt the fur begin to cover him and pulled back, her eyes
meeting his. She did not exactly want to have it out in the open
here, but if he was ready, she was willing.

Brendan could feel the changes starting even as he longed for more
of Prue. His eyes shifted, transforming from brown to yellow, and
he rolled to his feet in a near panic. "I have to go," the words
came out in a howl.

"Figured as much!" Prue said, crossing her arms across her chest
and watching as he began to run away. "But remember this, Brendan!
You were in wolf form when you saved me!" She hoped he could hear
her.

Brendan's mind sped even faster than his heart. He had been in
wolf form? Had managed to control the beast and rescue Prue? But
if that were true, why couldn't he remember it? Still, he could
feel the changes swiftly overtaking him. Another howl let loose
from his mouth as the transformation drew near close.

Jack heard Brendan's mouth howl. "_*DAMN IT!*_" he bellowed.
"Will, do the honors!" He handed Will the silver cane. "Hit him
across the back of the head; just leave him where he lays. He'll
wake up back to himself." He knew he was not in any shape to chase
after Brendan, but yet the wolf had to be put down. Where the heck
was Wolf himself?! he thought. {Must be at Elvira again!}

Will knew there was no time to hesitate as Jack handed him the
cane. He was still at a lost as to what to make of the
indisputable fact that Brendan was a Werewolf, but he would do as
Jack asked. He only hoped the cane truly would knock Brendan out.
Clutching the weapon tightly in his hand, Will took off after the
wolf.

Angel looked up at the sound of Brendan's howl. He sprinted after
Will, hoping to catch Brendan before he did something wrong.

As Will was closing in on Brendan, he saw movement out of the
corner of his eye. Slowing only long enough to look back, he saw
Angel coming and was relieved to know that he was not alone in
facing the creature that was Brendan's horrorific true nature. It
was then that the wolf turned around, and its yellow eyes narrowed
in on Prue.

Will yelled. The Werewolf's head snapped up, and he turned to face
his opponent. Will swung the cane, but the wolf caught it a mere
second before it could strike its intended mark. Long claws closed
around the cane, then threw both it and the man who held it. Will
flew through the air until he collided with something hard and
went down in a tumbling heap of himself, the cane, and Angel.

The wolf turned back to again look at Prue. Its tongue ran over
its glistening fangs as it stepped closer to her.

Prue was not afraid. She stood looking at Brendan's wolf and spoke
to him in the lupine language. "Shame on you for being such a bad
boy! I hope you didn't hurt Will or Angel! You are being a bad,
bad boy! Why won't you be a good boy? Come here and let Momma
scratch your head."

The Werewolf cocked its head as it listened to the human woman
before him speaking his language. He did not respond verbally but
began to quickly close in on her. She wanted to scratch his head?
She could, but then she could also scratch something else!

Jack realized that maybe it had not been such a good thing to send
the boy after the wolf. Angel could not respond since he was on
the bottom of Will and the cane. Jack could not stop Brendan's
wolf without the cane, and now Brendan's wolf was coming onto
Prue! Could things get any worse?! he wondered. Looking around
quickly, he hoped to spy some one who could help with the
situation. He finally gave up looking and yelled, "'RO! LIGHTNING,
PLEASE!"

Ororo's head jerked up at the sound of Captain Sparrow calling for
her. She looked toward him and then at the situation he was
gawking at. Her blue eyes narrowed, flashing as fiercely as her
lightning. She knew Brendan had no control over his wolf, but how
dare the creature go after her goddaughter! Thunder blasted in the
sky as she flew upwards, snatching the Werewolf up with a gust of
wind. "Piper," she called down, "see to your sister!"

Piper could hardly believe what she was seeing but knew that Prue
needed her. She thrust the pot she was carrying to Paige, then ran
after Prue even as Ororo whisked Brendan higher into the sky. She
did not want Prue to have to see what she was about to do, so a
thick fog began to grow at that same second.

"DON'T YOU HURT HIM, AUNTIE 'RO!" Prue yelled upward to where she
could see 'Ro quickly disappearing with Brendan. "BRENDAN WOULDN'T
HURT ME! HE CAN'T HELP THE WOLF!"

Jack had finally managed to get there with Wolverine's help. He
was beginning to think his body was betraying him as he felt like
an old man. He reached down and touched Will, rolling him off of
Angel. He knelt beside him and pulled him into his arms. "Wake up,
Will! Please be all right! I was an idiot to send you after
Brendan! Please forgive me!" If anything had hurt his baby, it
would kill him, especially to know he had sent him after Brendan
because he couldn't go! Will had been an innocent; he should have
sent Wolverine!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ororo and Brendan vanished behind a blanket of thick fog even as
Piper reached Prue. "She won't hurt him, Prue. You know that. You
know how she is. But he has to be handled. And just what were you
thinking?! Why didn't you run?!"

"It's Brendan, Piper! Why would I run? Sooner or later, his wolf
has to listen! I was talking to him in the lupine language! He
seemed to be understanding."

"Prue, that is *not* Brendan," Piper tried to explain as gently as
she could. "I know it's his body, but when the wolf is out, it's
not him. It's the beast."

"Brendan's in there somewhere, Piper. He wouldn't let the beast
hurt me. He saved me and the Book, and he was in wolf form then!"

Piper gazed at her sister, clearly stunned. "He actually had
control?"

"Yes, but he says he doesn't remember it!"

"Do you know what happened to make him wolf?"

"This time or the first time?"

Piper's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "*Both* times."

"Not the first time, but I kissed him this time."

"*Prue!*"

"Every time I kiss him, he wolfs!"

"Precisely!"

"Well, every time you kiss Cole, he shimmers!"

"Actually, not every time I . . . Wait a minute!" Piper exclaimed.
"This isn't about Cole and me! This is about Brendan and *you*!
Cole is still himself when he shimmers, but Brendan is *not* the
same man when he wolfs!"

"If I don't keep trying to work with his wolf, I'm never going to
get through to him. I think it's something that he and I can beat
together, but you have to give me a chance to talk to the wolf!"

"So he can eat you?!"

"Well, I don't think it was eating he was wanting! At least, that
wasn't what was rolling off of him in waves!"

"Prue Halliwell!"

"Well, it *wasn't*! I told him I'd scratch his head; he wanted me
to scratch something else!" She blushed and would not meet Piper's
eyes.

Piper tried to calm herself even as she attempted to reason with
Prue. "Did he tell you what that something else was?"

"*Piper!* I'm not that naive!"

"Not with men," Piper admitted, realizing at long last where her
younger sisters had gotten their sexual activities from. "But
that's *not* a man you were dealing with! That's a wolf, a
*Werewolf*! You don't know that . . . *that's* what he was wanting
scratched! It could have been . . . something else!"

"We have to do it together when he's in wolf form," she finally
told Piper. "The wolf seems to know that. He actually seems eager
for it! I'm nervous about it, and Brendan is running like Hell
away from it!"

Piper stared at Prue for a long time, her mouth hanging open but
no sound coming out. She couldn't deal with this; she was far too
far out of her league. She looked up, but Ororo was still hidden
with the wolf. "_*Phoebe!*_" she cried in exasperation. "Your
turn!"

"Really?" Phoebe asked, clearly surprised. She thrust her pot into
Joxer's chest, then ran off to join her sisters. Once she reached
them, she asked, "My turn for what?"

"I hate to say it," Piper admitted with a sigh, "but you've got
far more sexual expertise than I do." She waved a hand at Prue.
"Have at it." Shaking her head, she walked off.

Prue watched as Piper walked off. "I don't need any help out of
you, Phoebe! Go back to Joxer! Piper's just upset!"

"She called me for a reason," Phoebe replied. "Now what is it?"

"Like I'm really gonna tell you! You're a kid!"

"I AM NOT A KID!" Phoebe bellowed, crossing her arms in front of
her chest and stomping her foot in the sand.

"If the shoe fits, wear it!" Prue returned and stomped off herself
in search of Jack.

"ALL THIS JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GET SCREWED BY A WOLF?!" Phoebe
yelled after her sister.

Prue turned around and yelled back at Phoebe. "SHUT UP ABOUT THAT!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"I KNOW MORE ABOUT IT THAN YOU DO!" Phoebe responded, promptly
offering her eldest sister a raspberry.

Prue marched back to where her sister was standing. "I don't need
you to tell the whole world about it! *What* do you know about
it?"

Phoebe grinned. "That's better!" She glanced around. "But if you
don't want the whole world to know about it, maybe we should go
off a pace first?"

"Where?" Prue asked.

"How about over there?" Phoebe pointed to another section of the
beach that seemed empty of any one as yet.

Prue headed there immediately with Phoebe hot behind her. "So tell
me about it, Miss Know It All!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Look. Not everybody knows everything
about *that*. I don't care how good they claim to be; they still
don't know everything." Sitting down, she looked up at Prue in all
seriousness. "First of all . . . Are you a virgin?"

"Are you kidding?! Only Piper's a virgin!"

"That's a relief!" Phoebe admitted with a grin. "The wolf's going
to be bigger; I've seen that already. But that's only part of the
problem, and I think you'll probably be able to figure that out
for yourself when you get there. After all, you *are* a
Halliwell." She winked at her sister. "But seriously, Auntie 'Ro
and Piper have a point. So do you," she quickly continued on
before Prue could explode on her. "You need to be able to talk to
him, but you can't do that unprotected. You need privacy, too, but
what good will it do you to try to talk to him only to have him
actually eat you?"

"Brendan won't eat me!" Prue declared again. "He just thinks he
will!"

"Maybe he will; maybe he won't. But he's not the only one who
thinks that, and you're not going to get any privacy with the wolf
unless you . . . What's the word I'm looking for? Accommodate?
Yeah, that sounds right. But if you don't make the others think
you'll be able to protect yourself against him, you're not going
to get anywhere. They won't let you."

"So what do you suggest I do? I'm willing to try anything if it
helps."

Phoebe thought for a moment. "You can't protect yourself without a
weapon. I know wolves have a thing with silver, but we can't
exactly get a hold of any of that." She thought a moment more
before finally suggesting, "Maybe if you could borrow the
Captain's cane?"

"Right now, Jack's probably going to eat me if I speak to him,"
Prue said. "Nobody has to tell him that I kissed Brendan and that
the boy wolfed. Every time Brendan wolves, Jack blames me."

"Well, he shouldn't!"

"Usually, it is my fault, Phoebe. I don't mean things to happen,
but they just sort of do between Brendan and me. I can't keep my
hands off of him."

"But that's not your fault! It's his fault for being so darned
cute that you can't help yourself!"

"Excuses are only good for those who give them, Phoebe. I know I'm
to blame."

"You're never going to get that cane if you agree with Jack on that."

"Maybe you could get it?" Prue suggested. "You're good at doing
things like that."

"Hmm." Phoebe rubbed her jaw in thought, her eyes turning back to
where the Captain was clinging to Will. "You know, I probably
could, but it'll have to wait until things have settled down
somewhat. And you don't exactly want Brendan to know you have it
either, you know."

"You don't mind helping me?" Prue asked. "All Piper wants to do is
run away from the situation, but I do need help."

"Piper means well," Phoebe told her, "but she's a virgin. Gods
know how she's managed to keep it so straight-laced, but she has.
She doesn't know what to do with things like this. I think that's
why she called me." She stood to look at her eldest sister
straight in the face. "And, Prue, I know I come off like a spoiled
brat a lot of the time because I want things my way and I want
them like that right then, but I'm your sister. Of course I'll
help you!"

Prue hugged Phoebe. "Thanks!"

"What are sisters for?" Phoebe replied while returning her hug.

"How are you and Joxer getting along?" Prue asked.

"Well, he's sweet, *buuut* . . . "

"But what?" Prue questioned.

Phoebe frowned. "It's like being barred from a candy store!"

"You *haven't*?! But I thought you did?" Prue asked in amazement.

"Oh, I've tried. Believe me, I've tried! But he just won't do it!"

"What's his excuse? He can't find it?"

Phoebe laughed. "No, he can find it. Well," she amended, "at least
I think he can. But he's a virgin! He says that can't be until we
. . . until we . . . " She shuddered.

"Until you what?"

"Get hitched?"

"Oh my Gods! But you don't want to get married! Can't you just
take it away from him?"

"About as much as you can Brendan!"

"And that ain't none at all! Honey, we gotta do something with
these men of ours, but I haven't the foggiest clue what!"

"We'll figure it out," Phoebe spoke determinedly, "together. We're
not going to let this family fall apart -- not our sisters and not
the rest of these people. But first we gotta get through to your
Wolfboy."

"Well, I know what's got to be done. We've just got to trap him
where he can't get away. You've got the stick so you can knock him
out, but you better not watch while we're doing it!"

"As if I would! I don't want to see my sister in the bed!"

Prue reached out, offering her pinky, and Phoebe hooked hers with
her sister's. They shook pinkies three times. "Together," they
said as they let go. Those men wouldn't know what hit him! The
Halliwells were on the prowl, and they would get their prey!


_Chapter Five_
"There's nothing to forgive," Will's weak reply came from within
the shelter of Jack's arms. "At least, not on your side. I'm just
sorry I let you down."

"I should have better sense than to send you after Brendan because
you haven't had to deal with him before, but I knew I couldn't
make it and I didn't know where Angel was."

"Under Will!" came the muffled reply. "Will, would you get off of
me?!"

Will looked down. "Oops," he murmured sheepishly. "Sorry!" he
exclaimed, getting to his feet with Jack's assistance.

"It's okay. I've had heavier people than you fall on me before,"
Angel said.

"Like Faith," Wolverine muttered, thinking back to the previous
night.

"But we've got to do something with Brendan," Angel continued. "I
was not expecting him to go crazy at that moment! I was trying to
take care of my family. Cordelia and Crys haven't woken up yet. I
love Brendan, but I feel like beating the crap out of him dragging
me away! And for what? Prue kissed him?"

"I don't know," Jack said, "but probably. Every time those two get
together, he wolfs! They need sex, both of them! I think if
Brendan was no longer a virgin, he'd stop wolfing so much."

Will could not believe the conversation he was hearing. He was
blushing redder than Jack's pajamas but dared not speak a word.

Wolverine nodded. "I hate to do it to the boy, but we may have to
tie him down and let Prue have her way with him."

Will's mouth fell open.

"I don't know if that would work or not," Angel said. "Some people
are into that tieing up thing and, if he is, it would really work
great, especially if we were around so we could knock him out if
he got out of control! But if he's by that like he is everything
else, he'll be too shy to be able to get a rise! Would you believe
I saw him change his clothes in a barrel yesterday? Didn't think
the space was big enough for anything yet there he was, a full
grown man, changing his clothes!"



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clark and Lex had been busily searching for Faith and the children
amongst the chaos when they had been distracted by the scene
unfolding with Brendan. They had watched all in silence, but when
they saw the situation that the boy soon found himself in, they
knew they had to do something to help him. Lex strode boldly
forward while Clark snuck around behind the group.

"You know," Lex put in, "that can be very exciting. The whole
bondage thing, I mean." It was at just that time that Clark
reached out, grabbed Will, and sped away from the group.

Jack turned to watch to see where Will was going. {Boy talk?} he
wondered. He had not realized Will had become so embarrassed. He
looked at Lex. "Do you have any ideals?"

"The bondage thing sounds promising," Lex admitted, "but we've got
more than just Brendan to deal with too. He's not the only -- ahem
-- nutcase going nuts at the moment."

"Faith again?" Jack asked.

"She will be," Lex replied. "Didn't you say she was going to leave
when we hit Tortuga?"

"Yes, but we're nowhere near Tortuga. In fact, only the Gods know
where we are! I'm hoping this is the island I bought for Will."

"I know," Lex agreed, "but we all know how Faith is. She probably
said Tortuga because she thought that would be the next landing
spot -- or, at least, that'll be what she says."

"When she starts buggering, get after her, Lex. Don't let her get
lost from us. I'm really surprised no one's come down to check us
out down here. There should have been a whole crew working on
building Will's house, and since I haven't heard from them, I
figured they're still working on it."

"Maybe we should check it out?" Angel suggested.

"Yeah. I'll come with you, Angel. Let's see what's holding the
workers up. Come to think of it, shouldn't they have had a ship? I
didn't see one." He had lowered his voice as he and Angel were
walking off in the direction Jack thought the house had been
built.

"Hold up! I'll come with you," Wolverine called.

Jack called back, "Lex, you wanna come?"

"I would," Lex answered, "but we don't know when Faith's going to
come around!"

"Tell Will I'll be back soon."

"I will, but word of advise? You might want to watch the language
around the boy the next time. You know he's as shy as Clark!"

"Gods! I embarrassed him!" Jack muttered. "I'll have to apologize
for that, too! Don't say anything to him about it; I'll make it up
to him when I get back."

"Okay!"



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elvira found her sister walking amongst the Fi

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