_Title:_ Love on the High Seas #3: "Question of the Gods"
_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 running it.
_Warnings:_ Abuse, Death, Lemon, Nudity, Rape, Sex, Torture, Violence
_Fandoms/Characters/Pairings:_ (Ace Ventura) Ace; (Angel/BtVS) A/C,
Fresley, Faith, Lorne, Dawn, Connor, Spike, Darla/Dru, Lilah,
Willow/Kennedy, Doyle, Groo; (Charmed) C/Pi, Prue, Phoebe, Paige, Kit, Sam
Wilder; (Dawson's Creek) Dawson; (Disney) Jack Sparrow/Will Turner,
Hook/Smee, Sebastian; (Elvira) Elvira, Gonk; (Excalibur) Kurtty, Rachel;
(Generation X) Sean/Emma; (Happy Days) Fonzie; (Harry Potter) Albus
Dumbledore, Snape; (Labyrinth) Jareth and company; (Marvel) Elektra;
(Peter Pan) Hook/Smee; (The Pirate Movie) Frederic; (PotC) Jack/Will,
Elizabeth, Anamaria; (ReBoot) Matrix/AndrAla, Ray/Mouse, Bob, Phong,
Frisket; (Sabrina) Salem; (Shrek) Donkey; (Smallville) Clex; (Sons of
Thunder) Trent, Carlos; (Starsky & Hutch) Starsky/Hutch; (SU2) Carl; (10K)
Wolf; (Touched By An Angel) Andrew; (X-Men) RoLo, Morph, Sean/Emma,
Kurtty, Professor X, Rachel, Callisto, Joseph/Rogue, Bishop, Beast,
Gambit; (Xena) Aphrodite/Ares, Xena/Gabby, Joxer, Autolycus, Discord,
Callisto, Strife; and (Zoolander) Derek/Hansel. Sooner or later, there's a
pairing for every character, but if they're not listed here, the pairing
will be with either a character from a different fandom or an original
character or the pairing has not yet happened.
_Summary:_ Many questions abound in the aftermath of Love on the High Seas
#2: Isle of New Beginnings. Questions such as . . . What could bring
together the greatest enemies of Angel, Spike, Faith, Jack Sparrow, Xena,
and Elvira's family? What could the Pirates have done to anger the Goddess
Discord so greatly that She joined forces with these enemies and led the
two ships to the Pirates' island? Why were Jack Sparrow, Xena, Lex Luthor,
Delvira, James Hook, Sean Cassidy, and Elvira all left behind while their
loved ones and crew mates were taken away? How will they be able to rescue
their people when their ships have been destroyed? If they can find a
ship, will they even be able to reach them in time, and can they trust the
Gods Aphrodite and Ares and/or the Wizards, Albus Dumbledore and Charles
Xavier? Huge multi-crossover with such fandoms as Ace Ventura, Angel,
BtVS, Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Disney, Excalibur, Generation X, Happy
Days, Harry Potter, Labyrinth, Peter Pan, The Pirate Movie, Pirates of the
Caribbean, ReBoot, Sabrina, Shrek, Smallville, Sons of Thunder, Special
Unit 2, Starsky & Hutch, 10th Kingdom, Touched By An Angel, X-Men, Xena,
Zoolander, 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_
Aphrodite was so fierce at what She had just seen that She could
barely see for the red that filled Her vision. Still, She knew
just where to go and who to take Her frustrations out on. She
appeared in the middle of Ares' throne room, Her hands on Her hips
and Her furious gaze narrowed in on the War God. "_*ARES!*_"

Ares had been deep in thought, contemplating an upcoming battle He
was planning. For once, Strife and Discord had not been around
driving Him insane, and He actually had a moment of quiet. He had
learned long ago to use every moment to its fullest ability. He
was disrupted by His name being screamed, and He opened startled
eyes to see the most beautiful woman in all of existence who was
now standing and staring at Him as though She hated His guts for
something He had no clue as to what had even happened!

In fact, the last time He had seen her, She had been smiling at
Him after They had had a very interesting night together. He was
on His feet in an instant. "What's the matter, beloved sister?" He
gazed at Her in a most beguiling way, hoping that He might have
the pleasure of Her company later once He cooled Her off.

"DON'T," Aphrodite thundered in response, pointing directly at
Him, "TRY THAT WITH ME!" Despite Her anger, She still did not want
to hurt Him -- at least not yet. Instead, She moved Her finger to
one of His self-replica statues and zapped it into a crumbling
pile of dust.

"*Ouch!*" He cried. "Why are You so angry?! The last couple of
days, I've been looking at You, and You've been smiling! I thought
You were happy? What has ticked Your little wagon off, and why are
You pointing at Me and destroying *My* temple?!"

"That's just the beginning, buster," Aphrodite ground out, "but
believe Me, I'll finish this one and every one of the rest of
Yours if You don't handle Discord!"

"Discord? What has She been up to now, and why blame Me?!"

"She's Your charge," Aphrodite replied as if it were obvious.
"*You're* supposed to be controlling Her, not letting Her run
around *destroying _My_ best plans*! This is Your warning, Ares --
Your one and *only* warning! If You don't stop Her, Your temples
will pay for it, and this," She waved a hand, indicating Her own
heavenly body. "Well, a cold day in Hades won't even get You back
there!" She exclaimed before disappearing with as much warning as
She had appeared.

"Ditey, darling!" He called after Her, His hands raised in
futility. "So much for the best laid plans of the Gods!" He
thought as He contemplated where Discord might be at the moment.
He stomped His foot. It was all well and fine for Discord and
Strife to play Their little games and stay out of His hair, but
when it came to disrupting *His* lovelife, They were crossing the
line!

Ditey had not answered any of His questions, just delivered Her
little ultimatum and left. He wondered why She was so pissed and
what it was over this time. He yelled at the top of His lungs,
"DISCORD, GET HERE *_NOW_*!!!" His voice shook the walls of His
throne room.

Seconds later, Discord appeared with Strife hiding behind Her. He
knew better than to get any closer to Ares when He was pissed.
Discord pouted at Her uncle. "What is it *this* time?"

"What have You and Strife been up to over the last couple of
days?" Ares demanded to know.

"Why, Uncle, just the usual . . . " She smiled innocently. "Just
carrying out Your orders whenever You give them."

Strife, however, was quickly backing away from Her and shaking His
head just as swiftly. "I swear I didn't help Her! It was all Her
doing!"

Discord turned to Him, Her dark eyes cutting into Him. "Don't you
*dare*!"

"What are You two squabbling about," Ares demanded to know, "and
what have You done to Aphrodite?! *Strife* . . . " Ares grew a
fireball and was bouncing it up and down in His hand, looking
directly at Strife. "Just *what* didn't You help Her with?" He
still continued to bounce the fireball, and it grew larger each
time it touched His hand.

"I . . . Hum . . . I . . . " Strife continued to nervously mumble
as His eyes darted between Ares and Discord. He could tell Ares'
patience was growing swiftly short and knew His anger would be far
worse than Discord's. "She did it all, Uncle!" He cried, pointing
again at Discord. "She's the one who didn't like Aphrodite being
happy! She's the one who -- "

"*Strife!*" Discord began to inch closer to Him, Her hands
reaching out for His neck. "When I get My hands on You -- "

Strife yelped and raced for Ares.

"_ENOUGH ALREADY!_" Ares bellowed. "I want to know what You have
done! You annoy Me, and I have no patience with either of You!" He
threw a fireball at each one of them and immediately grew another
one much bigger than the first.

Both screamed in pain, but it was Strife who started talking
first. His words spilled out over themselves. "I didn't help her!
I swear I didn't! She did it all! She turned them in! She . . . "
He raked His brain nervously. How could He put what She had done
into words? "She turned the . . . The Saucy Wench and The Harlot
onto Aphrodite's latest couples!"

"_*WHAT IN THE HADES POSSESSED YOU, BITCH?!*_" Ares roared and,
within two quick steps, had picked Discord up by Her throat and
was choking Her. He threw Her against the nearest wall and then
turned on Strife, who He caught sneering at Discord. "*When were
You planning on telling Me about it, Strife?*" Ares demanded even
as He advanced on Strife.

"I . . . hum . . . I . . . " Strife stuttered as He scrambled
backwards on His hands and knees. "Aw, come on, Unc! You know how
You are! If I'd've told You, I'd've been blasted!"

"YOU'RE *BOTH* GOING TO BE BLASTED *AGAIN*!" Ares yelled. "YOU
HAVE COME INTO EVEN MORE STUPIDITY THAN I EVER SUSPECTED YOU
COULD! YOU'VE MESSED UP *MY* RELATIONSHIP WITH APHRODITE! IT WAS
ON A VERY SHAKY GROUND LIKE IT WAS, AND NOW _*SHE HATES MY VERY
GUTS AGAIN_*! YOU WILL TELL ME *EVERY DETAIL*!"

Ares looked over at Discord where She still lay on the floor. He
pointed His finger at Her and sent Her away to the very deepest
bowels of Hades. "AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO JOIN HER," He
commanded, looking back at Strife, "YOU WON'T LEAVE ANYTHING OUT!"

Strife nodded and began talking just as fast as his lips could
form the words. He explained how Discord had hated seeing
Aphrodite so happy -- and even how She had been jealous of Ares'
relationship with Aphrodite so that was actually a bonus to
Discord. He told Ares how Discord had formed the plan of bringing
the ships in, knowing that on those ships were the greatest
enemies of Jack Sparrow, Faith, Kitty Pryde, Elvira, Delvira,
Jareth, even . . . "Oh, yes! And, Uncle, You know why Ditey picked
these couples to start with, don't You? They're all friends of
Xena's, and Callisto's the Captain of the Saucy Wench!"

Ares stroked His goatee deep in thought, wondering how best to go
about setting this mess aright. "Discord will not be coming back.
I've had enough of Her little conspiracies. You figure out how to
get us out of this mess, and You'll be My new second-in-command."

Strife gaped at Ares. "*Me?!*" he asked in clear surprise.

"Yes, _*You_*, and _*don't*_ take long about it! I had every
intention of having a long, leisurely night with Aphrodite
*tonight*, and now She hates My guts! _*FIX IT!*_" He barked and
sent Strife away.


_Chapter One_
Cordelia had been the only one not knocked out. She wondered why,
but when the Priest caught her looking confused and helpless, he
turned to her with his lips hovering between a smile, a smirk, and
a sneer and reminded her, "You're lucky daddy doesn't want you
hurt, Princess."

She stared at the blonde man. Lucky? *Lucky?!* He was just trying
to get to her, she knew, and tried to ignore him. She turned her
attention back to the others and watched as Darla approached her
beloved Angel. She wanted to run to stop her, but her captor held
her firmly in place. She watched as Darla wrapped a thing that
looked like a collar around his shoulder. She wasn't sure what the
device was called but knew already of the teeth that would bite
into her beloved's skin if he were to struggle when he awakened.
Her own arm was already aching from her cuff.

After securing Angel's shoulder in the thief catcher, Darla moved
on to latch a collar around his neck. Then she stuck a metal rod
into the back of the collar. She looked up at the top of the rod
and thumped the bell so that it rang. When Darla moved away from
Angel, Cordy's gaze did not follow her but stayed on her beloved.
She knew the others were getting the same treatment as they had
with identical strange instruments, but it was Angel who her heart
cried for. Dear Gods, she thought, what was going to happen to
them?

The clearing of a throat brought Cordelia's attention back to the
blonde Captain even as Callisto spoke. "We can't wait for them to
wake up. Sorceress, have Emma wake them."

It was then that Cordelia's attention was brought back to the
mysterious woman in white. Just what was with the blonde? she
wondered. Emma had been the one who had pretended to be Carl
earlier and she had helped the other women to capture them, yet at
the same time, they had turned on her and treated her like she was
an animal and the woman still had tears in her eyes.

Emma had not moved when Callisto spoke, and it took the Sorceress
commanding her again before she reached out to the others. She
closed her eyes and forced herself to concentrate past the images
that lingered in her mind. She spread a strong mental suggestion
out to the captives and waited for them to awaken. She knew they
would think they were in Hell and also knew that hardly anything
could be closer to the truth.

Angel opened his eyes slowly. He could feel a metal collar around
his neck, and when he tried to move his arm, something stuck into
him. If he had been fully human, he would have been bleeding. He
looked around, and his eyes met with Cordelia's. He knew he could
not do anything to help the situation at the present time and
prayed that one of their member had escaped, because if even one
managed to escape, he could rescue some of them.

His eyes then connected with Darla as she was stooped over Connor,
checking his collar again. What was she doing here, he wondered
even as his dazed mind began to clear, and what was the bitch
doing to her own son? Did she even know he was her son? "Darla,"
he called out to her, "what's going on here? Do you know that
that's Connor?"

Darla's face rose to look at Angel, and the Vampiress sneered at
her former mate. "You don't think I can smell what you put in me?"

"You always were a bitch," he told her, but he did not make a move
to rise. He had seen these instruments of torture before and knew
what they were.



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

Wolf opened his eyes. He looked around for Elvira. He didn't see
her. He shifted in order to be able to see better, hoping to find
her, and his eyes connected on a woman that was her identical
twin. He knew for a fact that it was Helvira. "What did you do
with her?" he asked the woman he hated. If she had killed her,
when Wolf got free, she'd pay for it.

Helvira turned from inspecting Jareth to smile at Wolf. "I see the
puppy's awake. Don't worry," she crooned as she slid toward him,
"your little bitch is fine." The dark light of her smile met her
black eyes. "For now."

"Where is she?" Wolf asked. He ignored the 'puppy' remark. He knew
just what this bitch was capable of. His eyes went to Jareth, who
looked back at him with despair in his eyes.

Jareth was wondering the same thing: Where was his beloved? What
had this bitch done with her? He demanded, "Where's Delvira? Did
you kill her, bitch?"

Helvira answered them both with a devilish smile. "They're in the
same place." She said no more to them but called instead to
Callisto and Anamaria. "Are we ready to burn them?"

"*BURN THEM?!*" Jareth screeched even as his right leg reached out
and kicked Helvira in the ass.

His foot connected, sending her stumbling forward just a bit, but
she turned back to him with a dark fury in her face. "Yes, burn
them, and don't worry, Your Majesty," she spoke his title
mockingly. "Your time will come, or did you forget our first
encounter? Did you so soon forget your betrayal? Forget pumping
inside me?"

"SHUT UP, BITCH! I thought you were my wife! I'd've never touched
you in a million years if I'd've thought you were some one else!
You *fooled* me into betraying her yet she forgave me, knowing you
for what you are! I'm not afraid of you."

"You will be," Helvira returned with a cold smile. "You will be
very afraid of me before all's said and done, Jareth, and you will
be inside me again."

"_*LIKE HELL I WILL! YOU KILL DELVIRA, AND I'LL KILL YOU, BITCH,
IF IT'S THE LAST THING I EVER DO!*_"

"Such brave words," Helvira mocked, "but so foolish too. You'd
better silence your tongue before I cut it out." Turning back to
the Captains, she asked, "*Well?*"

Anamaria had been watching the exchange in interest, but when
Helvira again called to her, she nodded. "Burn it."

Helvira turned to look at the house they were gathered before.
"Say good-bye to your sweethearts, boys," she told them even as
she began flinging fireballs at the house.

"_*BITCH!!!!!!*_" Jareth and Wolf both screamed at her. They
struggled only to be stung by the sharp points that were in their
harnesses.



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

Cole was moving a lot slower than they were. He had already tried
to shimmer several times, and it wasn't working. What the Hell was
wrong? He looked at Piper with a hopeless look and shook his head,
hoping that she'd understand that he couldn't shimmer. Just what
the Hell had they done to them?

Piper caught Cole's gesture and nodded. She had known he would not
stay sitting there in chains if he could shimmer, and she, too,
had been trying to use her power with no luck. She had not even
managed to freeze a fly she'd spotted, let alone any of their
enemy.

Prue was sitting next to Piper. She, too, had tried to use her
powers but to no avail. She hadn't been able to move anything. She
looked at Paige, who simply shrugged and shook her head. Then Prue
looked for Brendan.

She did not like the way they had been captured and chained
without a chance, and she knew who this bitch was who now held
them captive. She hoped Brendan would look at her so that she
could let him know that she loved him and that no matter what
happened, she'd always love him, but she could not even get near
him as he was held prisoner close by Jareth and Wolf and the bitch
was hovering over them.

Brendan did not catch Prue's look. He did not hear the shouts
rising around him from both Jareth and Wolf nor did he notice the
other women rushing forward to beat them back to the ground as
they tried to attack Helvira. All he saw was Helvira, and the one
thought that kept circling in his mind was that she had him again
at last and his loved ones would pay for Jack's rescuing him.



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

Wolverine had already tried to flex his claws and failed. He had
wanted to use them to cut through the chains and free them. He
looked around and noticed that there was some of their family
missing. Most especially, Jack was not there. Neither was James
but he saw Smee, Frederic, and Connor. He knew that if James was
alive, he would have his family freed. He also feared that Jack
was dead.

His eyes were swift to glance around, and then he spotted
Gabrielle but no Xena or Joxer. He saw 'Ro and then Clark but no
Lex. He figured that the only ones who were still alive were the
ones who were now prisoner and no one would escape. He hung his
head even as he trembled inside. He'd never felt more miserable in
his entire life and without any hope at all.

Kitty had been dumped unceremoniously beside her father. She had
been watching the happenings in silence and waiting for an
opportunity, for though her powers were gone, she refused to be
left helpless. When she saw Wolverine hang his head, however, she
tried to move toward him only to be slammed roughly back down to
the ground. She looked up at the woman who stood behind her . . .
and she froze as she stared at her mother.

Elektra looked down at the girl. "Stay where you are, Pryde."

"You . . . know who I am?" Though Kitty knew that Elektra had been
aware of her, she had never before realized that she knew her real
name. After all, when they had fought before, Elektra had always
referred to her as Shadowcat.

Elektra nodded but simultaneously retorted, "Do I look like I care?"



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

Ororo had seen Logan looking at her and had tried to catch his eye
to relay what she had already deduced, but he had missed her
attempt as he had continued to scan their people. She watched him
as he hung his head in defeat, and her heart cried out. She wanted
to be able to help him, to reassure him, but she knew it would
have to wait for she would never be able to reach him with so many
of their captors standing guard.

Knowing that she was helpless to do anything to help her beloved,
her attention moved from him to her godchildren. She saw the fear
and confusion in their faces, and she began trying to catch any of
their attention. It was Phoebe who looked at her first, and Ororo
was surprised at the tears that raced down her cheeks. "Joxer,"
Phoebe mouthed, and 'Ro finally realized that not all of their
people had made it.



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

Judson was growing rapidly tired of preventing one of the captives
from waking. The Sorceress had instructed Emma to awaken them all,
but there was one he did not want to be awake. He wanted her to
think that she was alone, and it would never do for her to see the
others now. Therefore, each time Faith started to stir, he knocked
her out again until finally he shouted, "STOP WAKING THIS ONE UP,
FROST!"

All faces snapped up and looked at the blonde Priest when he had
yelled. Who was he? was the question on all their minds. Those
that knew Faith the best began to put two and two together and
realized that this was the Demonic Priest Faith had always carried
the sword for. They had surely fallen into Hell, and there would
be no rescue for them!

Dawson had been laying on the ground beside Faith, his hands
clenching as he wished that he could put them around the damn
Priest's neck and squeeze till he killed him. He had made one move
toward trying to help Faith and had received several bloody cuts
from the cuff that was around his right arm. The pain and futility
of the whole situation made him stop. He sat up and reached his
hand out toward Faith but couldn't quite touch her. His eyes made
contact with the rogue Priest, and he tried to convey all the hate
that he felt to him.

Judson peered down at the boy. "What are you staring at, boy?"

"The biggest piece of crap I've ever seen! How dare you beat a
woman!"

Judson's fist plowed across Dawson's mouth for his first comment,
but even as he pulled back, dusting his hands off as though he'd
just touched crap himself, he informed him, "She's not a woman.
She's a bitch."

"She's still a woman!" he dared to tell him.

Judson eyed him, trying to deduce just how much the boy cared
about Faith. Could he use him to his advantage? "You must've
wanted a ride."

Dawson did not even look at him again, and he did not answer him.

Judson shrugged even as he plucked Faith's unconscious body from
the ground. "She'll be too busy to ever see you again, kid."

Dawson still did not grace him with a comment, because he knew it
wouldn't get him anywhere. However, he got to his feet and
continued to stare at the Priest. Oh, if only he had a sword, the
special one, but he knew he couldn't get his hands on it!

Judson peered down at Faith's face. "I've waited too long for
this," he murmured, "and you'll pay for it all." He began to head
toward the Captains, still carrying his bounty.



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

The minute Katrina's eyes opened, she was on her feet. She had
tried her powers to no avail and now awaited a chance to use her
one remaining weapon -- her deadly claws. She waited until one of
their captors came near, and the minute their back was turned, she
jumped, bringing her claws down her back and clawing for her
heart.

The woman screamed in pain and began trying to knock Katrina off
of her. The captors who were nearest ran to help but were met with
Tom and Celina. All three cats rode their targets, scratching,
clawing, and biting for all they were worth. Fists rained down
upon them, but they continued until a massive arm yanked Celina
off of her target. Celina struggled, her claws raking the air in
desperate attempts to reach the six-armed woman who now held her.
Spiral held a gun to the catwoman's head and called to the other
cats. "Unless you want this one's brains blown out, you'll cease
immediately."

Katrina slipped to the ground on her feet and looked at her sister
in despair. She knew she could do nothing to help and now feared
what might happen to them. Tom fell to his feet beside his wife
and looked just as helplessly at Celina even as Celina's foot
finally managed to make contact with her captor's leg.

Spiral, however, did not even seem to feel it as she sneered at
the cats. "That's better. Captain," she called out louder to
Anamaria, "I think it's time for the mutilation shears."

With a name like that, Katrina knew they couldn't be anything good
and only prayed that they were not about to get their fingers cut
off. If that happened, she knew they'd all bleed to death. She
stood very still and waited to see what they would do next,
wishing she had her sword.

Spiral did not move from where she stood before them, a strong arm
wrapped around Celina's neck and her pistol still pointed at her
head. It was Anamaria herself who walked over to them, carrying an
instrument that gleamed in the sunlight. She looked at the two as
she recalled all that she had researched of Jack's crew. "You,"
she pointed the shears at Katrina. "You're his wife. You're her
older sister." She smiled coldly. "That makes you the perfect one
to go first."

Tom could not help speaking up. "I'll volunteer."

Katrina shook her head. "No, Tom." She looked at the woman and the
awful instrument. "What are you going to do to us?" she asked,
keeping eye contact with her the whole while.

Anamaria returned the redhead's glare but did not answer her
question. "You," she pointed at the orange catman, "will stand
down and wait your turn, because one step in the wrong direction
will send that one," she gestured to Celina, "to her grave."

Tom fell silent though his tail still twitched. He ached to stop
her from touching his beloved, but he knew there was nothing he
could do.

"You," Anamaria returned her attention to Katrina, "will hold out
your claws."

Katrina trembled but did as she was told, thankful that it was not
to be her fingers. She held her claws out unflinchingly.

Anamaria stepped forward but paused as yells erupted from behind
them. They were quickly silenced, however, and when the African
American turned her head to see what had happened, she saw one of
her crew standing over a brunette man who was now holding a
bleeding jaw. "You will *all* stand down," she clarified, "and
watch while these . . . " Yes, she decided, it *was* time that
they let them know that they knew exactly who and what they were
dealing with. " . . . these Lewises get what they have asked for."

Turning her attention once more to Katrina, Anamaria gestured to
two of her people. "Hold her still." Two strong arms gripped
Katrina on either side as Anamaria opened the shears and situated
the blades around Katrina's first claw where it met her fur. She
turned the screw, bringing the blades together and popping the
claw off.

Katrina wanted to scream as it was extremely painful. She had
never felt that much pain in her entire life and thought she might
even pass out by the time the bitch had reached her last claw. She
grew extremely quiet although she wanted to scream. Tears ran down
her face, and the minute she was turned a loose, she sank to the
ground, all fight gone from her.

Tom had tried to stay still to protect Celina, but as he had seen
the dark-skinned woman cutting his beloved's claws off, he had had
to fight. His struggles had soon been stopped, however, as Darla
had wrapped her arms around him and used her Vampiric strength to
hold him to the spot. His struggles grew even fiercer as Katrina
sank to her knees, and he cried for her, aching to reach out to
her and hold her.

Anamaria moved forward and grabbed Tom's jaw with her free hand.
"Your turn now, catboy, and you'd better stop moving or I might
decide to cut something *else* off."

Tom glared at her. "You -- "

Anamaria made a sound in the back of her throat and shook her
head. "Do I really have to remind you?" she asked, pointing to
where Spiral still held Celina. "You know I can turn her on to
your Katrina just as easily."

That silenced Tom. He did not speak another word but held out his
claws. Anamaria repeated the same procedure with his, and though
the physical pain that shot through him was worse than anything
he'd ever before imagined, what hurt him even more was the
knowledge that his love was hurting just as terribly.

When Anamaria was done with Tom, she stepped away. "Let him go,"
she told Darla. The Vampiress released him, but instead of
dropping to his knees, Tom turned to Katrina. He started to
stumble toward her, but Darla sneered and kicked him straight into
her instead.

Katrina fell over but lay very still. She gathered strength from
Tom, wishing that she could hold him, but her bonds kept her from
being able to embrace him. She could not look at Celina when the
bitch started cutting her. She could not stand the thought that
her baby sister was being hurt just as badly as her and Tom. She
had gotten her claws split a few times, but they were nothing like
being cut completely off. She thought they would probably never
grow again. She fought against her tears but was powerless to stop
them.

Tom ached to hold Katrina but could not for the cuffs that bound
his arms still. He was already bleeding from the cuff on his arm,
but he didn't care and moved again, sending the teeth biting even
more into his fur. He tried to ignore the pain as he did the one
thing he was capable of to let Katrina know he was there for her
and would care and love her regardless of whatever might befall
them -- he brushed his lips gently across her fur.

While Tom struggled to comfort Katrina, Celina tried desperately
to be as strong as her sister and brother-in-law, and Darla now
held Morph back. Anamaria glanced at the two catpeople on the
ground as she worked on Celina's claws. She hadn't managed to get
a single scream out of any of them, and she liked screams. Turning
back to Celina, she bit the shears down even harder, breaking off
not only a claw but also a small piece of her finger. Celina could
stand it no longer; her scream echoed in the silence.

Katrina winced, opened her eyes, sat up, and looked at her sister.
She could not believe the blood that seemed to be flowing
everywhere. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" she screamed at Anamaria.
"SHE'LL BLEED TO DEATH!"

At those words, Roxanne ran over, took Celina, and led her away.
Katrina marveled that her sister was taking away so quickly
without Anamaria raising a stink. "Where are you taking her?" she
begged them to tell her.

Roxanne turned around and looked back at her. "I'm a doctor. I'll
stop the bleeding and bring her back to you." She looked
disapprovingly at Anamaria, thinking, {Some Captain you are,
bitch! You can't even cut claws off without causing further
injury!}

"Nice job controlling your people, Callisto," Anamaria smirked at
the other Captain.

"We can't have them bleeding to death, Anamaria," Callisto
reminded her, "not if we want the full bounty from Sinister for
these . . . freaks. That's not, however, to say that we can't do
whatever we want to them as long as it's fixable." She smiled
evilly.

Anamaria nodded in agreement as she turned toward Katrina and Tom.
"You might want this," she told them and flicked the piece of
Celina's finger she had taken to them.

Katrina collected it and slipped it into her pocket. It was her
sister's finger, and she didn't want any of them left behind. One
day, she'd make this bitch pay just as soon as she could get the
instruments of torture off of her. Now she stood close to Tom and
waited to find out what they would do to them next.



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

Judson was walking amongst the group when a blue glow caught his
eye. He turned toward it and was surprised to see a crystal
necklace glowing. He looked at the blonde woman who sat by a green
Demon, of all things, and a slow smile spread over his face as he
thought of the extra money she would bring. Then he remembered the
crystal. Walking over to it, he snatched the necklace off of her.
"We can't have that," he told her with a grin.

Crystal gasped and stared. One second, the necklace had been
safely around her neck, and she had been seconds away from
contacting Jack. The next, it was in the hands of the enemy. "You
. . . don't want to do that."

"Don't I? I know who you are, Frost, and you'll be with your uncle
soon enough." Turning from the pair, he looked at Helvira, who had
finally finished emblazing the house. "Helvira, catch!" He threw
the necklace, and she caught it deftly.

The Vampiress frowned at the blue crystal. "Well, I guess it's
pretty . . . "

Judson resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You can use it," he
explained, "to keep your captives alive and torture them even
longer." That made Helvira smile.

"ALL RIGHT!" Callisto bellowed. "HAUL YOUR ASSES UP AND START
MOVING! ANY TROUBLE, AND WE'LL SHOOT THE ONE NEXT TO YOU!"

Several of the newcomers to the crew stared at the blonde in
disbelief. Shoot the one next to you? Surely that wasn't *normal*
Pirate protocol? After all, shouldn't the one causing the trouble
be the one to be shot?

Gabrielle, however, knew just what Callisto was thinking. The
bitch knew there would be less trouble if she threatened the lives
of those they held dear instead of merely their own lives.


_Chapter Two_
Aphrodite cringed as She watched the proceedings on the island. It
had been hard enough to watch the bitches cut off the catpeople's
claws, but as they made their way to the ships, various ones of
Jack's crew were pushed to the ground or grabbed by their collars.
It seemed that these women were eager for any way to cause pain to
those they had control over, those who had not even had a chance.

Aphrodite was furious not only with the situation at hand and with
Ares for allowing Discord to do what She had done but also for Her
Father's most ignorant rule. "If only He didn't have that silly
thing about free will!" She murmured under Her breath. There had
been a time when Zeus had not really enforced it, but lately He
had been a stickler and She had seen the other Gods paying for
Their interference in human affairs. As long as Their interference
had something to do with Their jobs, that was fine, but let Them
directly help one of Their people who had fallen into a bad
situation . . . Ditey sighed and shook Her head. No way was She
letting Zeus do anything like that to her!

No, She had to find something else. But what? Who could She get to
help Her favorite Pirate crews? Her first thought was Xavier, but
as She tuned into him, she discovered that he was already aware of
the situation. Unfortunately, like She, he also could not take a
direct hand in the matter. She heard him talking telepathically to
Albus and knew they would do what they could, but that wasn't
going to be enough.

Okay, She wondered, who else does that leave that might help? The
next turn of Her thoughts brought Her to watching a Pirate ship
with both black wood and sails. She watched the crew milling about
it for a minute before Her eyes were caught by a cute Irish man.
"They'd help in a minute, and . . . " She smiled, and an eager
light met Her eyes. "They're close enough to reach them!"

She looked again at the mortal and couldn't help a pout. "It's
really too bad," she thought aloud, "that he's such a cutie." She
hated to hurt cute men or women, but this was an emergency . . .
"Hold on, sugar," She told him though he could not hear Her,
"because your world's about to be rocked."



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

Doyle had been sitting on a keg for the better part of the morning
trying to get his music to come out so that he could play a new
tune that was running through his head for the crew that night. He
looked at the piece of parchment that was almost torn apart by all
the scribbles that he had scratched out. The part just would not
come together!

He reached into his pocket and brought out his harmonica. The
first note sounded wonderful, but then he hit the note that was
giving him so much trouble. He backed up and began to play it
again. Just as he hit that note again, he was racked with a
horrible headache so intense that he fell to the deck of the ship
on all fours. As always, a vision accompanied the headache. He
screamed in pain as the images filled his mind.



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

Kyna was deep in talk with her First Mate when he suddenly raced
from her side. Before she could even turn to see what was
happening, she heard Doyle scream and was passed by what almost
looked like a fuzzy, blue lightning bolt.

Beast raced to Doyle's side and beat Spike there by seconds. He
tried to hold Doyle down without hurting the man, but he was a
very frail individual and Beast was worried that he would hurt
him. He was relieved when Spike arrived. Between the two of them,
they managed to hold Doyle still and listened to his words. Some
one was in deep trouble!

As soon as she'd realized that it was a vision, Kyna had sprinted
over to join the others in helping Doyle. She reached there just
as he was coming back to reality. "Doyle, what did you see?"

"It's Jack Sparrow. He's in trouble. Some one has captured his
people, an' he's trapped in a burnin' house."

"Any idea who?" Beast queried.

"Women. Bitches. We've run into 'em before. Two ships. The Saucy
Wench an' the Harlot. We've got tae di somethin' tae help 'em out
o' their trouble."

Kyna did not need to ask to know that Doyle did not know where the
others were. They had to find a way to help them. That was true
beyond any doubt, but it would be a little more difficult to find
them. She had barely raised her head to call for the Sorceress
when she saw a spot of shimmering air on the deck. She started to
warn the others, but her open mouth turned into a smile when she
saw who was materializing.

"Hank, get Doyle some of that awful stuff Phong feeds him. Doyle,
don't make that face; you know it helps you. Spike, come with me;
I believe we're about to learn where we're headed."

Spike looked up at his beloved Captain, and his gaze turned to
follow the spot where she looked back to. He groaned aloud. "Not
that ol' bugger again . . . "

"*William!*" Kyna exclaimed.

"You know I don't like anybody orderin' me around . . . " he
started. At her look, he grinned. "Just you, pet."

"Then get moving. We have to save the others while there's still
time." Looking back to Hank, she told him, "Warn the others what's
afoot." Then she and Spike headed together for Charles Xavier.

Spike was still murmuring under his breath when Charles looked at
him. He smiled an overly brilliant smile and fell silent as he
waited for the old man to fill them in -- again. He had never
liked Charles' attitude, but even he was thankful that some one
would be able to point them in the right direction to save Angel
and the others. As he thought over the situation, he remembered
the pieces of his past that were on the Saucy Wench, and his hands
curled into fists. He couldn't wait to see Dru again and deliver
the retribution he had been longing for.



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

Callisto was not happy with the turn things had taken when they
had reached the ships, but she had to admit that the Harlot had
been closer and thus the more ideal location to toss the prisoners
for the time being. Now, however, they were far enough away from
the island, and she could once again get her itching hands on
Gabrielle. "Sorceress," she called, "we're far enough away. Return
and remove the spell on those still sleeping. Then go over to the
Harlot and claim your bounty. Lilah, Darla, come with me, and
we'll collect ours."

They found the Harlot's deck suspiciously devoid when they swung
over. Callisto headed straight away for the ship's hold and was
not surprised to find the Harlot's crew standing before the cells
and discussing who was getting who. "Trying to reap the best for
yourselves?"

"No," Anamaria returned, "just putting them somewhere we know they
can't get away from us. I see you brought two others with you?
Three of you will choose, and three of us will choose, each one at
a time. Then we will wait till others come from your ship and
again, we will choose until we have divvied up everything equally!
I don't want any trouble out of you!"

"Nor I you," Callisto scowled in response. She still hated the
fact that she was actually having to work with another Captain,
but it would all be worth it when she saw Xena's face when the
blasted Pirate Princess looked upon the remains of her lover.

"One of you choose first," Anamaria told her. "Then one of mine
will choose." She glared at Callisto. She hated blondes, and
Callisto was no easy person to work with yet without her, they
would not have been able to make the haul that they had.

"I'm claiming four," Helvira spoke up from where she was busily
chaining Wolverine to the wall. He was the last in a line of four
prisoners who made her prouder than any other bounty she'd ever
before collected.

"I'm choosing next," Anamaria said, "and I claim Will Turner and
that stupid donkey, and I'm claiming dibs on the black talking
cat."

Salem gawked at the black-skinned Captain. Dibs? Just what would
she do to him? He backed up and bumped into Meesy who whispered to
him low enough that the enemy could not overhear, "I warned you to
keep your mouth shut!" Salem shook his head in disappointment.
Surely this was the worst mess his big mouth had ever gotten him
into!

Callisto scowled. "You can keep him. Cats are only good for one
thing, and I'm not hungry. And don't forget that Helvira *isn't*
part of my crew. I'll take *my* turn now, and Lilah will choose
after me," she informed Anamaria. Then looking into the cells, she
pointed a finger straight at Gabrielle. "She's mine," she
announced.

"I'll never be yours, bitch."

Callisto smiled. "I've missed that tongue of yours. Don't you
think it's about time you had it cut out?"

"Xena will come for us," Gabrielle announced, refusing to believe
that her beloved could have been killed.

Callisto's smile grew even bigger. "I'm counting on it."

"Where's Faith?" Lilah questioned as Callisto indicated that it
was her turn.

Judson appeared behind the brunette and lowered his head so that
his lips brushed against her hair as he whispered, "I know where
she is, Lilah, but she's the reason I agreed to work with you."

"I want -- "

"I know you do. I know exactly what you want. You want her to
suffer. You want to see her writhing in pain, squirming underneath
you again." Lilah smiled, and even as her smile met her eyes,
Judson added, "So do I, and I believe we can help each other."

Dawson wondered where Judson had hid Faith. He had not seen her
since they had come aboard the ship, and he was extremely worried
about her. Now having heard the words of the Priest and the bitch,
he figured that these two were the ones who had tormented his
Faith before. He clenched his hands before he realized it. He knew
he couldn't show anything outward, but inside he was railing
against the two for ever having got their hands on Faith. How had
this nightmare come to happen, and where was Jack?! He couldn't be
dead! He had to come get them!

Lilah nodded. "All right, but I'll . . . " Her attention turned to
the freaks in the group. "I don't know what kind of ugly Demon
that is," Lilah admitted, pointing at the green-skinned Demon with
red horns and eyes, "but I'll take him. Sinister should pay a
pretty penny for him and . . . the dragons too."

Faith had been a near call, and Judson thought he'd best speak up
for his other two before some one else called on them. "I'm also
taking the Princess," he pointed at Cordelia, "and Frost there."
He indicated Crystal.

Enchantra stepped forward and looked their prisoners over. "I want
those two," she said and reached out and touched Cole and Dawson
through the bars. She then stepped back to stand by her Captain.

Anamaria nodded. "You can have those two."

Piper's eyes blazed up at the one who laid claims on Cole, but she
knew better than to speak for anything she would say would only
land them into even deeper trouble.

Dawson had been hoping to be taken onto the ship where Faith was.
He wanted to be close so that even if he couldn't touch her, he
could talk to her. Being stuck on this ship would cause problems
for him later, but he vowed to seek every opportunity he could to
reach Faith.

Cole looked at Piper, sadness showing in his eyes. It was the
first time he had ever felt completely at a loss. His powers had
completely failed him, and he didn't know why. He figured they
must have a spell on them, so that none of them could use their
powers and he knew it had something to do with the collar. Once
again, Cole attempted to shimmer, and the shocks that ripped
through his body drove him to his knees. His hands reached to his
collar and tried to pull it off, but he was only shocked several
more times, each one stronger than the last.

Piper could not stand seeing Cole in such pain. She cried out his
name even as she tried to reach him, but her collar cut even more
deeply into her arm. Still, she reached for him even as Helvira
laughed.

Helvira could see the confusion on the others' faces and explained
with a devilishly pleased smile, "I thought we might like to know
when they're actually idiotic enough to attempt their powers."

"Very good ideal," Anamaria was quick to agree with her. "The
sooner they learn they belong to us, the better!" She looked at
Darla. "Your turn. Who or what do you want?"

"I'll take Angel and Connor," Darla replied, smiling at her
ex-lover and their son. She couldn't wait to make both scream in
agony.

Angel was careful to keep his eyes away from Cordelia as he did
not want Darla to even suspect that they might belong to each
other. He hated that Cordelia had fallen into Judson's hands, but
better him than Darla. He had already once been tortured by Darla
and barely made it out. He knew Cordelia wouldn't have stood a
chance. He was concerned for Connor, but there was nothing he
could do. Not even with all his immense strength could he overcome
the dire straights he now found himself in.

Connor looked at Darla with eyes filled with hate. He hated his
bitch of a mother and would have loved to wrap his hands around
her throat and strangle her but knew it would do no good. He would
keep looking for any kind of wood stake that he could use on her,
hoping to spare Angel and himself from her torments.

Zora had managed to stay close to Connor. Now she leaned as close
to him as she could get and whispered at a tone she prayed the
others would not hear. "I'll come for you," she promised. "Just as
soon as I can get free, I'll come for you." When she did get free,
she'd rip into both these ships until their crews were dead and
they themselves were nothing but wooden shards. She'd already seen
her family's claws been ripped off, and she hated to imagine what
would befall Connor and Vang, as well as the others, yet.

Darla looked straight at Zora. She'd heard the blonde's words, but
she had already spoken. She wanted Angel and Connor, but she'd
find a way to use their little bitch against them, as well.

"Be very careful," he whispered back to Zora. "If I get free
first, I'll come for you." He wished he could hold her one last
time, but all he could do was rub gently against her for a brief
second. Then he was snatched out of the cage by Darla and herded
toward the door with Angel following close behind.

Cordelia wanted to cry out as she watched Darla lead Angel away,
but she knew they might use her against him if she did. Therefore,
she forced herself to stay silent and did not even speak in
response to Judson as he instructed, "Move it, Princess." He
yanked her forward, and her collar bit again against her skin. She
glanced at it and was not surprised to see the blood running down
her arm.

Catra stepped forward. "I choose the orange catman, and Clawdeen
will make a choice." A pink lioness stepped into view beside her
mistress. Their tails swished in synchronicity as they both
surveyed the remaining prisoners. As Clawdeen's eyes fell upon the
tiger, she raised a paw and growled. Catra smiled, pleased with
her choice. "The tiger."

"Very well. You may have them. Take them to your room, and do what
you will with them."

Zora wanted to roar in protest, but she knew that if she did, they
would use her against Vang. She would not let that happen, but she
could not stop her tears from reaching her eyes as she watched her
father being poked and prodded.

Catra had to snatch Tom away from Katrina's side, but even then
his angry eyes blazed into hers. "You'll never have me, bitch," he
told her.

Katrina's arms trailed after Tom even as he was pulled away from
her. She felt as though her heart were breaking, and she fell into
complete despair, knowing she would never see her love again. She
screamed his name and told him she'd love him forever.

Tears were running down Tom's face even as Katrina's words met his
ears. He turned back to try to look at her one last time, ignoring
the painful teeth that embedded in his arm, but still he could not
see her for the throng of bitches. "I won't do it, Katrina! I
swear I will never betray you or stop loving you!"

"Then you'll die a fool," Catra told him even as she shoved him
out of the hold.

"Take your prisoners over to your ship and send the next three
over," Anamaria told Callisto. "I'll be waiting for them to
return."

Callisto nodded even as she reached in. Her blue eyes peered at
Gabrielle. "Move."

"Make me."

Callisto sighed, shook her head, and promptly pointed a gun at one
of the others within the cell. Gabrielle was on her feet and out
of the cage in a second.

"Move it, boys," Enchantra purred. "My cot awaits." When they were
slow to move, she, too, pulled a gun and held it pointed toward a
woman who just happened to be Piper. Cole rushed out of the cell
as though he was going to a fire. Dawson stumbled behind him.
Enchantra stayed behind them and pushed them whenever they slowed.

With Cole gone, Piper cried freely. He and the others had saved
their lives and brought them all such happiness, but now . . .
Now, instead of dying, they would know what Hell was like. Indeed,
she realized, what these women held in store for them was
undoubtedly worse than actual Hell itself.

Phoebe, too, was still crying, but Piper's tears made her realize
something. {Maybe it's a good thing Joxxy didn't make it. They
can't hurt him any more.}


_Chapter Three_
The house filled with smoke as the wood burned. Jack lay
unconscious on the floor, pinned down by a rafter beam that had
fallen and trapped him. He was awakened by a sandpaper tongue
licking frantically at his face. He brushed at it and opened his
eyes as a fit of coughing seized his body. Where the Hell was he,
and why was it on fire?! He looked at the cat -- a gray, striped
tabby -- and asked him, "Where'd you come from, and where is
everybody?" as though he expected the cat to answer him. The cat
could only lick his face again.

Jack tried to rise, and that was when he found out he was held
down by something he couldn't budge. The room was so thick with
smoke that he couldn't see what was holding him down. "HELP!" he
called. Just how the Hell had he got here?! "WILL?! WOLVERINE?!
SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! _*HELP!!*_"

It was then that his ears were assailed by the most Gods-awful
noise he had ever heard. It was a harpsichord screeching that was
soon outdone by a man screeching as well. "JAMES?! _*JAMES!*_" he
raised his voice and yelled for all he was worth, but the only
sound he could hear was the licking of the flames on the wood and
the words that floated to him from James, who he realized had
finally lost it.


"* I like my town with a little drop of poison.
Nobody knows they're lining up to go insane.
I'm all alone; I smoked my friends down to the filter.
But I'll feel much cleaner after it rains. "*
Again, Jack yelled for James, knowing James could not possibly
hear him and the words were reinforcing Jack's opinion that James
had finally lost it. What the Hell did he mean he had smoked his
friends down to the filter?! When did James smoke? He'd never seen
him!

"HELP!" he called again. His hand reached out and grabbed the cat.
"Go get somebody! Find somebody, and help me get this thing off of
me!" The cat licked Jack one last time and raced off. Jack hoped
he was headed for help even as he heard James begin the next verse
which was even worse than the first!


"* He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison.
He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison. "*


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

The cat raced down the hall, doing his best to sniff out any one
else. He almost collided with a man sitting in the floor, holding
his head in his hands, rocking, and moaning. The cat skirted past
the man with a weird look on his face. The whole house was full of
insane people except for the one he had just left laying under the
beam! He had to get help! Where, in this burning house, would
there be help?! "MEOW! MEOW!" he wailed only to be answered by
barking.

{A dog? Well, that's better than nothing!} the cat thought as he
charged into the room and came to an abrupt halt as he found the
barking coming from another cat. "{{{*You're* barking?! But you're
a cat!}}}"

"Ruff! {{{That I am,}}}" Wolfie told him. "{{{We've got to the get
the cubs to safety!}}}"

The tabby cat looked at the other cat in confusion. "{{{No, we
have to get the man out from under the beam!}}}"

"{{{What man?}}}" Wolfie asked.

"{{{The Captain!}}}" the tabby told him.

Sebastian scuttled back to Wolfie from the door he'd been peeking
out of. He could tell the two cats were lost as to what to do.
"Listen to me, mon!" he told them, clicking his claws together to
draw their attention further to him. The way the tabby looked at
him disturbed him, and he pointed a claw directly at him. "But
don't be lookin' at me like that, mon! You ain't gonna eat me!"

"{{{I wouldn't want to eat you. I've just never seen a talking
crab before!}}}"

Sebastian let it go but made a mental note to himself to keep tabs
on the tabby. "You two," he instructed, pointing at the cats, "get
the cubs to safety. I'll get one of the two-leggers to get the
beam off of Jack. None of us are strong enough."

The tabby began to head for the door. He didn't know where these
cubs were, but he didn't want to be eaten by them if they came out
and decided they were hungry. Just as he made the door, the cubs
rolled out from under the bed. {Holy crap!} he thought. {They're
tigers!} He streaked from the room with the tiger cubs right
behind him, heading for the nearest exit. He figured he'd lead
them off, then double back and get back to the man who he had now
laid claim on.

Wolfie ran behind them, and Sebastian scuttled off to look for
some one to help.



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

Jack lay still after having tried to squirm out from under the
beam again to no avail and was considering putting his hands over
his ears so that he wouldn't have to listen to Hook's words. Was
the man totally insane?! *Whose* blood was on the wall?!



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

Delvira's black eyes flashed open in frustration. She had awakened
to find the house burning all around her but had stayed laying on
the floor and closed her eyes again. She had tried to use her
sorcery to gain control of the fire, but the screeching voice of
James Hook was keeping her from being able to concentrate. As she
opened her eyes, James' voice was cut off by the sound of another
piece of the house falling in. She shook her head, realizing it
was too late to gain control of the fire in the house any way. She
had to get out whoever was left and then try to stop the fire from
spreading.

As James screeched again, she knew he had to be first on the
agenda. "_*JAMES!_*" she bellowed as she began to make her way
toward the sound of his mouth. Instead of answering her, he just
kept singing.


"* Did the devil make the world while God was sleeping?
Someone said you'll never get a wish from a bone.
Another wrong goodbye and a hundred sailors;
That deep blue sky is my home.*"
"YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT!" she yelled to him. "SATAN PROBABLY DID
MAKE THE WORLD WHILE ZEUS WAS LAZING AROUND ON HIS BUTT, BUT
YOU'VE GOTTA GET *YOUR* BUTT UP AND OUT OF HERE!"



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

{That explains everything!} Jack thought. {The Devil made the
world! That's why I can never get a firm grip on it!} He heard
some one screeching besides James, and he wasn't sure who it was.
The only words that he could clearly make out as the person ran
toward him was "The Book! I've got to get the Book!"

"Joxer?" Jack thought it was him, but the person ran by him so
fast he didn't get a clear view of him. "_*JOXER?!*_" he called
hopefully, once again louder and then heard the person running as
hard as he could up the stairs.



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

Sebastian was still scuttling through the flames as he tried
desperately to find some one to help Jack. He could hear voices,
but they seemed to be all around him. Then one suddenly ran past
him. He turned to see where Joxer was going, and his mouth fell
open as he saw him running up the stairs. "Where in the world are
you going, mon?!"

"The Devil made the world, and I've got to get the Book!" were the
words that floated back down to Sebastian even as he heard a door
open and slam closed above.

"Sebastian?" Jack called.

"I'm here, mon, trying to find somebody!"

"James is killing that harpsichord! Maybe you can get him to let
go of it long enough to help me? I'm afraid that he and Joxer have
gone over the deep end!"

Sebastian couldn't help the little bit of Zora's sarcasm that came
out. "Ya think?"

"Did you know the Devil made the world?" Jack asked Sebastian.

"So Joxer was just screaming. Are you *sure* you're not joining
them?"

"It makes perfect sense!" Jack told him. "That's why everything's
always going to Hell in a handbasket, and no matter how hard you
struggle, Hell is all you get!"

Sebastian shook his head. Yup, the Captain was going down, too!
"Hang on, mon! I'll get help somewhere, I swear!" He scuttled on
at an even quicker pace even as Delvira reached James.



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

"James?" Delvira spoke his name, but he did not even look at her.
"*James?*" She reached out and shook him, but he only continued
crying and singing.


"* He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison.
He left in the Fall; that's his blood on the wall.
He always had that little drop of poison. "*
"He's gone, but we're going to get him back!" Delvira answered
even as she shook James harder. She continued to talk to him while
shaking him, her hands gripping him so hard that her long, black
fingernails cut into the fabric of his shirt. "You've got to
listen to me, James! I know who took them! She won't kill them --
not yet! We have a chance to get them back, but not if we don't
get out of here!"

James looked at Delvira as though he did not recognize her and
continued on with his song.


"* A rat always knows when he's in with weasels.
Here you lose a little every day.
I remember when a million was a million.
They all have ways to make you pay.
They all have ways to make you pay. "*
"The rat is Helvira and *you* are going to get your shitt
together," Delvira harshly informed him, "because we are *going*
to rescue our men! That bitch isn't going to get away with this!
We'll stop her, and I swear this time, I'll find a way to kill the
whore!" Still, James did not appear to be paying any attention,
but this time Delvira slapped him. When he did not at first
respond, she began slapping him time and again and continued even
after her hand began to sting.



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

Elvira was frantically trying to find her way through the fire
while fighting to rein in her emotions even harder. She could hear
the others talking and knew that Delvira would get James somehow,
but Jack still needed help. "JACK!" she called through the fire
and smoke. "JACK, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"OVER HERE! ON THE FLOOR! UNDER THE BEAM!" he told her. "I CAN'T
GET OUT FROM UNDER IT!"

"KEEP TALKING," she called back. "I CAN'T SEE CRAP HERE!" She
tried again to wave the smoke out of her face and was still trying
when something collided with her foot. She fell to the floor and
turned glaring black eyes to see a crab busily scuttling along his
path. "Well, screw you too!"

"Not now, mon chere, but thanks!"

"Sebastian," Jack called, "help Elvira come to me! Elvira," Jack
said in a very serious voice, "did you know the Devil made the
world?"

Sebastian looked up at her. "He's gone over the deep end," he
whispered. "He knows Zeus made the world! He's just delirious
now!"

"Actually," Elvira replied, "that makes sense."

"I am so out of here!" Sebastian told her and went back to
scuttling double-time in search of somebody who might have enough
of a brain left to actually help Jack.

Elvira had already discovered that she could see better on the
floor and began to crawl her way to Jack while commenting, "That
definitely explains why a bitch like Helvira can get away with so
much!"

"I knew that bitch would come sooner or later! I was hoping it'd
be later, much, much later. Unfortunately, I don't think there's
any way to kill her. I thought I'd killed her twice. I even took
her heart the last time and sank it in the Bog of Eternal Stench,
and yet here she is again! I don't know how she did this to us!
We've got to get our people back! If she hurts one hair on Will's
head, I'm gonna use the Book if that damn Joxer ever gets back
down here with it!"

"She will," Elvira told Jack as he finally came into her vision
which was now blurred by her tears. "She'll torture them, Jack.
Gods, she's probably slowly killing Wolf right now!" She sobbed.

"We'll make it in time, Elvira, or we'll spill every single
solitary drop of their blood into the ocean and feed their flesh
to the sharks!"

Elvira shook her head even as she continued crawling toward Jack.
"I knew it!" she admitted in a sob and shook her head. "I knew it!
I'm no damn good! I knew the bitch was going to come and get Wolf
and hurt him and kill him and I couldn't do a damn thing about
it!" Her tears were now falling so swiftly that she could not see
past them, but she felt around and, finding the board, began
struggling to lift it.

Jack was seized by a fit of coughing. "Maybe together we can move
the board? Stop blaming yourself. All the blame in the world won't
do us any good now. I could blame myself for not being a good
enough swordsman that I could've put her down for all time, and
now she's got my entire family! Oh, that bitch is gonna pay!"

"Help me get out of here. Maybe, if you pull and I push, we might
can get it off of me? I am glad Delvira got to James. I think he's
cracking up totally. Between that damn boy driving him insane and
losing Smee, it's probably more than he can take. On the count of
three," he told her, "and we'll get your Wolf too. Paybacks can be
a bitch, and I'm ready to do some paying back! One . . . Two . . .
Three!" He pushed, praying that the board would move.

"You don't understand!" she told him even as she pulled the board
the rest of the way off, her mouth running as she pulled. "None of
you do! But Hell, how can you? I never even admitted to anybody
but Wolf how inadequate I am, but damn it, Jack, you can have all
the hope in the world, but I'm not going to do you or him or
anybody any good!"

"I'm the reason why she took Wolf, too! Why she took him and why
she's going to torture him until there's nothing left to torture!
That's why I couldn't love him! I knew she was coming! I knew
she'd get him like she did Mac!"

He reached out and squeezed her arm gently. "You mean you didn't
want to love him, Elvira, but you do love him. You think you're to
blame, but if she was only coming after your loved one, you might
could blame yourself. That wouldn't explain why she took every one
except for a few of us. Why didn't she take us? Every one of us in
this house are to blame, so stop blaming just you!"

"I know she didn't take the others because of me, Jack! I'm not
saying she did, but I also know what she's going to do to Wolf
*because of me*!"

"Try not to think on it, Elvira. I'm trying not to think of what
they're going to do to the rest of them. If I thought for one
minute I couldn't get there in time to make a difference or to pay
them back for what they're going to do to them, I would have just
laid under the timber and died!" He got slowly to his feet and
drew her up with him. "We're going to get them back *alive*. I
promise you that. All we have to do is get our Sorceresses back
and they can heal them."

"*If* they're not already dead, Jack, and I can't even fight to
help -- !"

"They won't kill them for a long time, not until we catch up with
them. They'll want to kill them in front of us. They'll torture
them, and I pray to the Gods that they're strong enough to hold
together until we can get to them." He trembled at the thought
that Helvira had his family.

She could feel his trembling and did not have the heart to tell
him that Helvira hadn't waited to kill Mac. She had simply left
his dead and mangled body in her bed.

"Elvira, you say you don't know how to fight. I may not be the
best swordsman in the world, but I am a damn fine one. I will be
more than happy to teach you how to fight. First we have to get
out of here, and then we have to get a ship!"



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

Xena woke up with a jerk of her body. She jumped to her feet, and
her hand went instantly to her sword. What had happened, and how
had she ended up on the floor? She looked around and didn't see
any one, but her nose instantly picked up the smell of fire.

She felt her way down the hall through the thick smoke, hoping to
find some one and almost fell over Lex Luthor, who was still
crumpled in the floor, rocking back and forth and crooning Clark's
name. "Lex, we've got to get you out of here," Xena told him,
firmly gripped his arm, and pulled him to his feet. "The house is
on fire. We'll find Clark."

"Nobody's here but us! They're gone!" Lex cried.

"Where did they go?" Xena asked.

"Don't know!"

"We'll find them," Xena assured him even as she steered Lex toward
the back door of the house. She could hear others following them
but was not sure who it was.



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

Sean was curled up into a tight ball with his eyes still shut even
though he was awake. He was trying to piece together what he
thought he had heard and seen just seconds before being knocked
out. He could have sworn he'd heard his beloved Emma's voice, but
that couldn't be. She had been dead for centuries, and he had
never loved another woman or even looked at one after her! None
could hold a candle to her, and he knew it had to be his
imagination for if she had been alive, he would have felt it in
his heart!

Smoke reached his nose, but he continued to lay. He didn't care if
he lived or died. It was then he heard scuttling on the floor, and
he opened his eyes to see Sebastian. "Save yeself, Sebastian! Get
on out o' here! The house is on fire!" Sean told him.

"Not without you, mon!"

"Then we'd best be movin'," Sean told him and pulled himself up to
stand on his feet. "Sebastian, I heard her. I knae it had tae be
me imagination, but I heard her cryin' me name an' sobbin'!"

"You heard who, Sean?" Sebastian tried to remember back to all
that he had seen as he'd dared to peer out from underneath the
bed.

"Me Em!" Sean told his friend. "The love o' me life, but I knae
she's dead! She's been dead fer centuries! How could I have heard
her? Am I losin' me mind?"

Sebastian suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as he remembered the
woman who'd fallen to her knees, crying and sobbing, and recalled
the names she'd called. "Sean," he asked gravely, "what did your
Em look like?"

"Oh, she was beautiful! Blonde hair, blue eyes, an' she always
wore white."

"I didn't see her eyes," Sebastian admitted, "but . . . Might she
have also been calling names like . . . Like Penance or Catspaw?
Maybe . . . Gaia? Everett? Clarice?"

"Aye, those were names o' our students. What did this woman look
like?"

"She was crying those names, Sean," Sebastian told him gently,
reaching out to reassuringly touch him with a closed claw, "and
yours. She was blonde and wore a white, fur cape; white, leather
boots; and another piece of . . . *something*. There wasn't much
to it, so I'm not sure what to call it. And they *did* call her
Emma."

"Could it be me Em?" Sean wondered.



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

Elvira was about to answer Jack when the fire around them suddenly
started disappearing and she heard two new voices chanting in
Latin. She looked at him with wide eyes. "That's not Helvira!"

"No. I'm not sure who that is," Jack told her. "Show yourselves!"
he demanded.

The fire continued to go out, and sparks of light were soon
revealed. They were coming from wands held by two men. One wore a
pointed hat, robes, and spectacles shaped into crescent moons. He
had a long, flowing beard and hair that was just as long if not
longer. His companion was dressed completely in black, had pale
skin, and slicked, black hair.

As the brunette continued to douse the fire with his wand, the
white-haired man turned to Jack. "I am sorry it took us this long
to be able to come, but there are ships already on the way." His
voice rose, and he called out to answer another man's question,
"And yes, Sean Cassidy, that was your Emma Frost."

Jack looked at what he now assumed was the Wizard that had sent
him the message about being his guest at lunch. He wondered where
the one in the wheelchair was and who the new one was. "Who are
you," Jack asked, "and where's the one in the wheelchair?"

"Who are ye," Sean asked, walking over with Sebastian to join the
small group, "an' how can it be that me Emma is alive?"

"Sean," Albus turned to look at the man he had not seen face to
face in a very long time, "I'm sorry I had to turn against you,
but if I had not, I would have been unable to save as much as I
did. I . . . I'm Albus."

"Albus?! Ye di nae look anythin' like the Albus I knae, an' ye did
nae answer me question about Em!"

"Yes, Sean. I am the Albus you knew. Professor Albus Dumbledore,"
he clarified, glancing back at Jack. "This is my good friend,
Severus Snape. The one in the wheelchair is Professor Charles
Xavier, and he is currently with some . . . mutual friends of ours
-- Kyna Chan and Spike."

"So they're the ship that's on the way?" Jack asked. He had not
seen them in a long time.

"But I thought you said ships?" Elvira queried.

"Yes, I did," Albus agreed. "Destiny's Ghost -- Captain Chan's
ship -- and . . . I believe they call it The Frolicking Monkey.
It's sailing with Destiny at the moment and is captained by a . .
. a Kathleen O'Hara. I believe you know her as well, Captain
Sparrow?"

"I guess you could say that," Jack said. "I know her boyfriend
better than I know her though. Ace is coming here? Well, I'll be
damned! He's crazy enough to help me take over the world!"

"As long as he does not talk with his rear," Albus commented with
an odd expression on his face.

That comment nearly broke Snape's concentration. He coughed hard
and forced himself to continue rather than ask the question on
Elvira's black lips. "He talks with his *ass*?!"

Albus nodded but did not go into any detail. Instead, he returned
his attention to Sean. He wanted to put a hand on his old friend's
shoulder but knew better for they had not parted as friends.
"Emma's sentence, Sean, was similar to yours only with . . . with
an added detail that was far worse. She saw you and your students
die; you saw her and your students die. She was also . . . " He
pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze in shame. "She was
also given to the Sorceress of the Saucy Wench."

"And you just stood there and let it happen, Albus?! How could ye
di that?! I thought ye were our friend?!"

"I had to allow some of it. I didn't have much choice. If I had
not gone with some of it . . . " He sighed and had to force
himself to continue. Snape, having put out the rest of the fire,
actually dared to touch his shoulder in a comforting embrace, but
Albus shook it off. "If I had not agreed with them on some of it
and appeared to be on their side, Salem would have been *killed*
and you would have been put in the control of your *brother*. It
has taken us a long time to have a chance to fix it, but that's
why we made sure that you were all pointed together *and* to this
island."

"What does this island have to do with it?" Jack asked. "I bought
this island off a Pirate for a wedding present for Will."

"You bought it, Captain Sparrow," Albus corrected, looking back at
him, "off of a Governor who was playing the role of a Pirate as a
favor to Charles for a gift to two who would never be married."

"So you two worked all this out just to get us on this island? And
what about all of my family being kidnapped? Did you work that out
too?!" Jack spat at him.

Snape started to move forward, but Albus stopped him with a gentle
hand on his chest. "We did not plan for this to happen, but we
could not move any faster than we could. I admit that the Giants
were a test. We had nothing to do with the raptors, the mermaids,
or this, however. We have done all we can for you and your people
along the way, Jack. We were the ones who gave Elizabeth the means
to save those who fell prey to the new spring of flowers. We meant
for you to come into contact with the Saucy Wench but never both
ships, Helvira, Judson, or this entire mess. In fact . . . " He
sighed, knowing the next tidbit he had to tell him -- a tidbit
Charles had picked up off of a couple of Callisto's women. "This
was planned out by an angry Goddess."

"And did you happen to catch the name of the Goddess?" Xena asked.
She and Lex had joined the group but had not spoken until now.

"Discord," Albus replied. "It seems that your current unions with
the ones you love were all fixed up by Aphrodite, but Her
happiness over Her present to Gabrielle and you, Xena, ticked
Discord off to the point that she laid out an elaborate plan. The
Gods can not interfere directly, but They can talk mortals --
well, any one down here on Earth -- into doing what They'd like
for Them to do. They have a lot of the same restrictions in
dealings that Charles and I do. We had to wait until it was over
with to help you, because the Council would have paid too close
attention to it otherwise. We have to stay undercover if we are to
save . . . to save who we can from the old group."

"When will the ships be here?" Jack asked.

"Charles will contact me the minute he sees the shore. In the mean
time, you . . . " He sighed. "I was going to talk with you alone,
Jack, but with all that's happened, I think it best I talk to
rather most of you."

Xena shook her head. "I can't believe all this has happened just
because Aphrodite gave a gift to Gabrielle and me! I can't wait to
get my hands on Discord!"

"I think, my dear, that you perhaps should be more concerned with
Callisto at this point in time."

"Callisto?! That bitch?! Is she the one who has my Gabby?! I'll
make her pay!"

"There are several some of you would recognize in that group.
Callisto is still the Captain of the Saucy Wench, and Helvira is
with them. So is," he looked at both Jack and Lex, "the Priest
from Faith's past, Anamaria," he looked at Jack, "Darla, Drusilla
. . . " He sighed. "More names of evil . . . "

"Bitches?" Snape supplied.

Albus nodded. ". . . than I'd even like to think about. As I said
before, we did plan on bringing you into contact with the Saucy
Wench, but that was to be by *telling* you that Sean's Emma is
cursed to be aboard that ship and letting you go after them, not
them come after you."

Jack was taking it in, but he wasn't liking what he was hearing.
"What did you want to talk to us about? What you've already told
us, or is there some other little tidbit that you haven't decided
to tell us about yet?"

"For starters, Pan wants Hook back."

James and Delvira had sauntered over to the group just in time to
hear that Pan wanted Hook back. "Ain't no way in Hell I'm going
back to Neverland! He can't reach me here, and I'm not going back
of my own free will! I'm not crazy!" His face was still stinging
from where Delvira had slapped him, but at least she had finally
managed to get through to him.

Delvira, meanwhile, began to form a fireball. If they thought they
were taking James back to Neverland -- Well, there'd just be a
couple of roasted idiots for the raptors to snack on!

"Put it away, Delvira. I *want* to help James, your husband, Sean,
Emma, and the rest. That's why we've done all this. Pan wants you
back, Hook, but I want to see the day when you can all . . . " He
looked imploringly at Jack and took a deep breath before
concluding. " . . . be on the same ship, under the sail of a man
who I believe the rest of the Council will accept with
conditions."

"And who might that be?" James asked only to notice that Albus was
staring holes in Jack.

"Why me?" Jack questioned.

"Because I have watched you for years, Captain Sparrow, and I have
seen the way you care for your family. I also know the history
between James and you, and to be quite honest with you, I hardly
think there's another person who's in a powerful enough position
who would even consider this. I hope you will, though, for your
friends. I . . ."

"Here's the situation: If we can get you and enough of your people
to equal those who need your help to agree for your lives and
fates to be linked, Charles and I both believe that they will
agree to lift the current curses. Minerva and I will probably stay
the same age, but it is the others I am more concerned in helping.
I am sick and tired of seeing all the terrible things that have
befallen each of them, and I want it to stop. For that reason,
Captain Sparrow, I hereby formally ask you to consider on not only
the behalves of Charles Xavier and myself but also for the fates
of Jareth, James Hook, Sean Cassidy, Emma Frost, Salem Saberhagen,
and Smee, to stand up for them, to agree that if they should ever
again dare to try to conquer the world, that you will share their
punishments and that you will live for as long as they, in turn,
live?" He knew he was asking a lot and had worked so hard to bring
them to this point, but the next words out of Jack's mouth might
condemn them all. He waited and prayed but dared not breathe.

James' mouth fell open. Sean just stared at Albus. Neither of them
expected Jack to say that he'd be willing.

"I don't know," Jack began, "if I can do that. I am a Pirate, and
as such, the Almighty Council is not apt to want to accept me.
None of my people will be acceptable to your Almighty Council.
They're going to want some one prim and proper. Right now, I'm not
much. You call me Captain, but I don't even have a ship of any
kind at present. What makes you think your Council will accept
this?"

"Consider this," Albus told him. "Salem, who was the leader, was
placed in the hands of two bits who share a brain." Snape tried
not to laugh. "Sean managed to be freed from his would-be captor,
who was his *evil* brother, by their agreement to place Emma in
the hands of a Piratess instead. That Piratess is the Sorceress
aboard the Saucy Wench. Jareth has been trapped in a labyrinth
with no guard."

"Besides that, the Council runs by a majority vote. You already
know where Charles and I will be voting, and we know the others
well enough to pretty much know where their votes would go. Drell
can be bought easily, and we have a . . . We have some one who
will soon be on the Council. Had we had him then, things would
have gone much more my way."

Snape could not hide his smile.

"I will not give you my answer," Jack told him, "until I have my
family back safe. I have a feeling you can get me my own ship, and
I want to ask you for it. I need a ship like some men need to
breathe. My family needs a ship. It's the only thing I'm asking
you for -- that and as much help as you can give me to rescue them
-- and I have one other question for you."

Albus nodded. "We will do all we can. As I said, we have been up
to this point, and we are behind you 100% -- for the time being.
However, we can not do too much, because if we bring the Council's
attention . . . " A deep sadness broke through to his eyes. "I . .
. I have already come close to losing the person in my life who .
. . who means as much to me, Jack, as your Will does to you. I
need not ask to know what my penalty would be. I would lose her
the rest of the way."

"As for the ship," he continued before any one could question him
on Minerva, "I will . . . arrange for two ships to come by here
after your family has been saved -- or, rather, I should say, I'll
have Charles arrange it. Governor Summers will be on one of those
ships. You have but to meet with him, and he will give you the
other ship."

"My question to you, Albus, is why? Why now and not before?"

Albus sighed deeply. "It is a fair question, Captain Sparrow, but
it is a difficult one to answer. Before, when the trial happened
the first time, Charles was too blinded by his grief and hatred of
the others. It was only after the trial that he saw what his votes
had allowed to happen and finally realized that Salem was *not*
responsible for the death of his only son. As for me . . . They .
. . They had me. As I said before, I went against them where I
dared, but my Minerva was on the line as was I. I should be a
young man."

"They made you an old man?!" Jack asked. "What did they do to your
Minerva, and were you both involved with Salem's plans?"

"I was involved through Minerva but not directly. I would have
been had I not been on the Council. Minerva . . . They made her
old, as well, Jack, old and cold, unable to get . . ." He blushed
and quickly coughed. "They also placed us in charge of the school
and informed us that, should we ever dare to be together, we would
lose each other. Had I went against them at the time, . . . We
probably would have lost each other much like Sean and Emma."

"Then I will give you my answer after this is all over," Jack told
him.

"You know, it sounds like you've really thought this out,
Dumbledore," Delvira spoke up, "but there's one thing you *didn't*
think about. We're cursed for centuries. Jack's a *mortal*."

"I *did* think of that, and should Captain Sparrow agree . . . "
His eyes met Jack's. "I will give you the location of the Fountain
of Youth."

"You mean it really exists?!" Jack asked. "Looks like I've got a
lot of talking to do to my people once they're safe!"

Albus nodded. "Indeed." He touched a hand to his head. "They are
approaching the shoreline now."

"Then let's get down there and get aboard those ships!" Jack
commanded. The group rushed off, their minds still boggling at all
the information they had just learned.


_Chapter Four_
Strife bounced several times before skidding across the pile of
ice and snow He had fallen into. He finally came to rest when He
hit a tree. Stars circled His head. {Damn the exits!} He thought.
{Unc gets worse every day!}

{Why did He send Me here,} Strife wondered, {and what kind of help
can I find here? Well, the first thing I need to do is to get
Myself upright.} He did not like His butt and legs being rammed
against the tree. He was thankful it had missed His most vital
area, even if by only mere inches. He struggled for a moment and
then sat upright, looking around.

His surroundings were even more bleak and dismal than He had
thought at first. He stood up, brushing the snow off of His
clothes. "HELLO? ANY ONE HERE IN THIS GODS-FORSAKEN HOLE?" He
called only to have His voice echo back to Him. "No, I didn't
think so," He said aloud and began to walk in a northerly
direction, hoping to soon come across some one who could tell Him
where He was.



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

Gabrielle had planned to attack Callisto at the first opportunity
she got away from the others, but she had not had the chance as
Callisto had kept her gun pointed against her back until they had
reached The Harlot's railing. Then, before Gabby had even had a
chance to think, Callisto had struck the butt of her pistol across
the back of her head. Gabby had been knocked out cold, and
Callisto had carried her with her as she swung over to her own
ship.

Once her feet were firmly back on the Saucy Wench's deck, Callisto
called out to her crew. "We'll go three at a time, in order of
rank, to collect our chosen bounty! Lilah, Darla, and I have been;
Roxanne, Dantalian, and Elektra will go next! Sorceress," she
added, looking at Dantalian, "tell the others when the lot of you
return." Without another word, she carried her prisoner to her
cabin and shut the door behind them.

Darla watched the others for a minute before spying her partner.
She waved her over, and Drusilla approached with a smile. She
raised her hands to run over Angel's and Connor's faces. "I see
you've already gotten ours."

Both Angel and Connor snatched their faces away from Dru while
giving her a go-to-Hell look.

Drusilla tisked in the back of her throat and was about to make a
comment when Darla interrupted her thoughts. "Yes," she told her,
"I have, but when you go, and you will be in the next group,
there's a little blonde in leather I want you to collect."

"A blonde?" Drusilla repeated in surprise. "I don't recall seeing
any blonde guys . . . "

"Not a guy," Darla informed her with a grin. "A girl. Seems our
little boy has a bit of a pet himself."

Drusilla's eyes lit up. "Ooh!" she crooned.

Connor hoped and prayed that somebody else would pick Zora before
Drusilla got to her. If Dru got her, none of them would ever make
it out alive.

Angel ached to knock Drusilla off of her feet and to kill both
Darla and Dru before they ever touched Connor and Zora. He had
been watching constantly for a chance, but so far none had
presented itself. He did not want Zora to be taken by the idiot
Vampire either. She didn't have many brains left to her, but what
she did were totally enraptured by torture. He clenched his hands,
aching to put them around her throat.



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

Once outside, Jack took stock of who was actually there and
realized that one was still missing. He yelled up toward the
window of Prue's room, "JOXER, MOVE IT! WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO
WASTE!"

Joxer threw the window open. "CAN'T FIND IT! I CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT
IT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, JOXER?" Jack asked.

"THE BOOK! PHOEBE TOLD ME NOT TO LEAVE WITHOUT THE BOOK!"

Jack wondered, Where would somebody hide a book?, and was about to
ask when Elvira hollered up. "CHECK THE MATTRESS!"

Joxer disappeared from the window and was back seconds later.
"GREAT IDEAL! FOUND IT!" He was turning to leave when he tripped
over the curtain's hem and tumbled out the window, heading
straight for Jack who didn't manage to get out of the way in time
but fell to the ground under Joxer's weight.

The collision temporarily knocked the air out of Jack, and it took
him a minute to respond. Joxer lay like one dead, and Jack pushed
at him. "Get off of me, Joxer! I swear, man, you couldn't walk a
straight line without falling!"

"Sorry, Captain," Joxer mumbled as he rolled off of Jack and got
to his feet, hiding the Book inside his shirt.

"Let's go," Jack told the group, and they headed out once again to
the incoming ships.



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

Roxanne did not wait for the others but swung over to The Harlot.
She had decided to keep the catwoman for herself and had already
sedated her, and she was now sleeping on her cot. She hoped that
the finger would not cause an infection and wished that she had
more powerful medicine to deal with it. She still could not
believe that that idiot Anamaria had cut the girl's finger off for
no reason except to hear her scream. She was extremely glad that
she did not serve under Anamaria all the time or she just might
have found a way to end the Captain's life as she was such a
bitch. She did not want any one else to get the other catwoman and
hoped to claim her, as well.

Anamaria looked up as Roxanne entered. "Where are the others? I am
getting tired of waiting for them." She did not like Roxanne any
more than Roxanne liked her as she thought the doctor was much too
soft.

"Keep your pants on," a brunette informed the other Captain who
she, too, was glad was not her own. "We're right behind her."

"The doctor shall choose first," Anamaria said. "Roxanne, who do
you choose, and where is the catwoman who you took?"

"I choose the catwoman who I took and the other catwoman," she
pointed at Katrina, "as it seems that somebody has already taken
the catman. I would have liked to have had the pair so that I
could conduct experiments on them and see what the difference is."

"Pick another," Anamaria informed her in a cold voice, "or take
your one and leave."

"I'll take the other male that was with the catwomen and do my
experiments on him." She reached out, snapped a leash on Katrina's
collar and then one on Morph's, and led them both out of the cage.
She did not wait on the others but headed back, forcing the two to
lead.

"It's your turn, Belladonna," Anamaria informed her own doctor.

The blonde stepped forward so that her green eyes could better
peer into the cage and examine what was left. "I'll take him," she
pointed at a mustached man who stood close to another blonde, "and
. . . " Her finger trailed through the air as she tried to make
her decision. Her gaze was caught by the shifting skirts of a
redhead, and she pointed at Paige. ". . . her."

"Very well," Anamaria agreed with a nod of her head.

Belladonna was just about to reach for Paige when a short man
hurtled out from under the girl's skirts. "You can't have her!" he
announced, his tiny hands balled into fists. Belladonna did not
bother with a verbal reply; instead, she merely kicked Carl out of
the way, grabbed Paige and Autolycus, and hurled them out.

Autolycus tried to break his and Paige's fall but only succeeded
in grabbing her to him and both of them getting cut by their arm
collars. He managed to get to his feet and helped her to stand, as
well. He did not look back at Elizabeth as he did not want to draw
more attention to her. He feared he would never see her again.

Paige did dare to glance back at Carl, and her gaze was met with
Phoebe's. Phoebe had rushed to Carl to check on him when he had
slammed into the wall. "I'll watch him," she mouthed to Paige. {As
long as I can.}



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

When they arrived at the shoreline, they saw that the Frolicking
Monkey had already put a plank down so that they could walk
aboard. Jack saw Ace rush toward them, spin around, drop his
pants, and let his rear do the talking as he greeted them. Jack
could not help but laugh. {Ace Ventura will never change!} he
thought.

Though Jack found Ace's antics humorous, several gasped at his
rudeness. "You better get those pants back on!" Elvira exclaimed
even as Delvira began to form a fireball.

"You're facing royalty, you know?" Delvira added coldly.

"Royalty?" Ace quipped. "Where's royalty?" He wondered when Jack
had become royalty. He did pull his pants back up and turned
around to greet them only to find a fireball being bounced up and
down. "Who's royalty?" he asked again.

"I am," Delvira replied through gritted teeth, "but no woman
should have to look at a man's butt if they don't want to! You
show that ugly thing off again and I'll *burn* it off!"

"*Ouch!*" Ace declared. "Welcome to the Frolicking Monkey! Your
Captain is Kat O'Hara; I'm the First Mate!" He grinned proudly.

Jack reached out and shook Ace's hand. "I'm surprised to see that
Kat's still putting up with you, Ace."

"She loves me, Jack." He peered anxiously over his shoulder to
make sure Kat didn't hear him. "Some of you might want to go over
to Destiny's Ghost. That is, if you don't like animals. Most of
our crew's still animals although we do have three human friends
aboard."

"Who did you find to sign up with you?" Jack inquired. He looked
inquisitively at Ace.

Ace grinned at him. "Two somebodies you know and one you don't. We
have aboard Hansel, and of course, you know Fonzie."

Jack nodded. He remembered staying at their inn in Tortuga and
wondered where Derek was. "Derek didn't join?"

Ace shook his head. "You could say Hansel joined because of
Derek." They were walking up the gangplank to the ship and, once
aboard, Jack turned to Ace. "So Derek's here too?"

"No . . . but Hansel is here because . . . Well, we're going after
Derek." Ace was never one for giving a straight-forward answer,
and Jack felt that pulling information out of him was like pulling
teeth out of a hen.

Kat could tell that Jack was getting frustrated with Ace and
couldn't blame him. After all, Gods knew it was a wonder she
managed to rein in her temper where Ace was concerned as much as
she did. She had watched them from the gangplank but only now
spoke up. "What Ace is tryin' tae say, Jack, is that the same
bitches who took yer people also took Derek. Seems that one
Captain -- Anamaria I think her name is -- has been tryin' tae get
her hooks on ye fer some time."

"You can say that again and I've managed to elude her every time,
but this time, she's outsmarted me. She's got my family, and I've
got to get them back. Speaking of which, part of them seem not to
have followed me. I'll see which ones are wanting to come on the
Frolicking Monkey. I think Ace shocked them."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Kat agreed with him even as her emerald
eyes cut daggers into Ace. "I told ye tae keep yer pants on! Ye're
lucky that one did nae roast yer butt!"

"Aw, Kat! Now, honey, you know that's one of my best features,"
Ace spoke pleadingly to his love, "and I promise to keep my pants
on while the ladies are aboard if they want to come."

"I'll tell them," Jack said and walked over to the top of the
gangplank. "If you want to sail with us on the Frolicking Monkey,
every one's more than welcome. Ace promises to keep his pants on."

"Din't hold yer breath," Kat murmured even as she turned back to
Ace, "an' ye make sure the others're ready tae set sail again."
She shook her head and walked on rather than staying to greet the
others.

"Women! Can't live with them and don't want to live without them!"
Ace told Jack with a wink. "They got your woman, too?"

Jack looked at Ace. "They got my love as well as the rest of my
family, Ace. I'm not going to stop till I get them back." Jack
heard footsteps on the gangplank and turned to see Lex and Xena
both walking up. "The others going on Destiny?" he asked.

"Joxer's still fussing about the Book," Xena told him, "and says
he doesn't want to get it around animals who might destroy it.
James . . . is going on Destiny's Ghost."

"Elvira and Delvira are not sure where they're going," Lex was
quick to tell him. "They're fighting about it now."

Jack remembered his promise to Elvira and hoped that she would
remember that he had told her he would train her. About that time,
he heard Elvira's voice blast at Delvira, "DAMN IT, DELVIRA!
YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME, AND I'LL DAMN WELL GO WHEREVER THE HELL
I PLEASE!"

Jack smiled at Elvira finally standing up for herself. "I think we
may have one more," he told Ace. He listened for Elvira's
footsteps.

"I was just trying to -- "

"Protect me or rule me?" Elvira tossed back at her twin. "Either
way, I don't care, and I'm going with Jack!" She stormed off on
her sister and headed up to the Frolicking Monkey.

"Fine, but when you get to look at that ugly ass again, don't ask
me to blast him!"

"What?" Elvira turned back to question her. "You think your fire's
everything? I guarantee you a high heel would work just as well!"

Ace blushed at the women's conversation. He had really gotten off
to a bad start this time. He chided himself for not having
listened to Kat, and now on top of everything else, Kat was mad at
him and it would be a long time before he could do anything to
make her want him again as they would not be alone! He put on one
of his best grins as he waited for Elvira to make the top of the
gangplank. "Welcome aboard the Frolicking Monkey, ma'am!"

Elvira was still pissed when Ace greeted her. "Save it, buttboy!"
She stormed right past him.

Jack assisted Ace in pulling the gangplank back up, and Jack
watched in silence as the rest of his crew boarded Destiny's
Ghost. He saw that Albus and Snape were also getting on Destiny's
Ghost and, turning back around, found a certain crab, two cats,
and two tiger cubs watching him intently.



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

As Belladonna led her two out, the Sorceress stepped up. She did
not even bother to cast a single glance at any of the males;
instead, her cool gaze examined the females. "Where is the exotic
one?" she questioned.

"Which one?" her shipmate asked.

"The exotic one. The black woman with long, white hair."

Elektra frowned. "I don't see her either."

The Sorceress was about to turn to Anamaria and demand what she
had done with her when she noticed movement in the back of the
cage. "You," she instructed Will, "move aside."

Will looked up at the woman but did not move. He knew what was
going on behind him, and he'd be damned if he . . .

"You heard her," Elektra announced, pulling her gun out and
pointing it straight at Will. "Move."

Still, Will remained. He knew that Anamaria wanted him for some
reason and would not allow them to shoot him. Elektra started to
pull the trigger when Anamaria yelled at her to stop. "DO NOT
SHOOT *MY* PRISONER! GET IN THERE AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON!"

Elektra paid just enough attention to Anamaria to turn her pistol
to point at another prisoner. Elizabeth stared at the gun as all
the color drained from her face and Will nearly ran to get away
from the two he'd been protecting.

"Well, what do we have here?" the Sorceress questioned even as
Elektra returned her gun to its holster.

Will had been sitting with his back to Clark and Ororo. Though
Ororo's hands had been shaking, she had been struggling to get
past her claustrophobia enough that she could pick Clark's
collar's lock with a strand of her own hair. She had barely heard
the first click when they were found out.

Prue was shocked that her aunt had tried something like that! She
wished that it had worked. She heard the door open and turned to
see who was coming in.



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

Jack had assisted in getting the Frolicking Monkey back to sea.
Xena and Lex also had helped, and now Jack was walking and just
looking out to sea when he heard a voice. Glancing up, he saw
Hansel in the crow's nest. "Come down here, Hansel, and tell me
what's been going on with you! How did they take Derek?"

Hansel could not hear all his old friend's words, but he answered
him nonetheless as he shouted, "AHOY, JACK!" Grabbing a rope, he
swung down and landed beside the Pirate Captain.

Jack gripped Hansel's hand in a firm handshake. "What I was saying
was asking you to come down and tell me what happened with Derek?
I know it's been a while since I've been to Tortuga, but I
remember how well set your inn is. It wouldn't be an easy thing
for anybody to take Derek out of there unless he was willing to
go. Were you two fighting?" He looked into Hansel's face, waiting
for an answer.

Hansel gave a long, deep sigh and walked past Jack to drape his
arms over the railing. When he finally spoke, it was in a voice
almost swallowed by the ocean breezes. "Derek got engaged."

"*What?!*" Jack almost roared. "Engaged to what?!"

Hansel wouldn't look at him for the tears in his blue eyes, but he
did answer him. "A woman."

"Doesn't he know how you feel, and is he so blind to his own
feelings that he goes and gets himself engaged to a woman?! Gods,
this sounds familiar!"

Rather than answering the first, Hansel appeared to ignore it and
responded to the latter instead. "Familiar how?"

"You remember when we were in port last time and you got to meet
Will Turner?"

Not even the memories of the glances he'd seen Jack steal at the
younger man could warm Hansel's mood. He nodded. "Whatever became
of your Will, any way?"

"Well, I returned him to Port Royal, and stupidly I did not tell
him of my feelings." He knew that Hansel knew even before Jack
knew himself, because he had tried to talk to him for advice even
while still not admitting his feelings. "He went and got himself
engaged to a woman! I returned to the sea and . . . when the news
reached me . . . I returned for the wedding. It's a long story,
but suffice it to say, Will did not marry the woman and did return
to sea with me." He, too, leaned on the railing, looking out to
sea.

"So you got yours, then?" Hansel asked hopefully.

"Yes and no. Right now, Anamaria has him. We had just discovered
that our feelings for each other were mutual and we've actually
been together a couple of days, and now that bitch has him! If she
hurts one hair on his head, I will not be responsible for what I
do to her!" He gripped the railing extremely tightly before
turning to look at Hansel. "Did you try to tell Derek how you felt
and that's why he went out and got a woman?"

"Nnnooo . . . " Hansel drew the word out. "I . . . I hadn't
managed to tell him yet when he got engaged, and . . . well . . .
when he did, I . . . I kinda . . . Hell, Jack, you know me."

"Yeah. You didn't tell him anything but hit the roof? Your temper
is just about equal to mine, and neither of us are able to control
it. How did the bitches get Derek? Was his betrothed one of them?"

"No, his betrothed," Hansel's distaste for the word was clear in
his voice as he spoke it, "was the ugliest woman in all of Tortuga
but she was a native. They . . . ." He sighed again. "We fought
that night, Jack. It was the worst fight we've ever had, and he .
. . He went out to the tavern. That's where they got him. The next
morning, I . . . I woke up and I couldn't find him anywhere. But .
. . There was . . . There was a note on the front door." He
reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out a piece of
parchment that he then handed to Jack.

Jack took the paper but then handed it back to Hansel. "What does
it say?"

"She . . . " He took a deep breath. "She took him to use against
you, Jack."

"Why am I not surprised?! _*Damn bitch!!*_ I should've killed her
when I had her at my mercy once before instead of just taking her
damn ship! I'm gonna make her eat a ship! We'll get him back;
we'll get them *all* back!" He put his arm around Hansel and gave
him a hug. "This time, you open up and tell him how you feel --
*really* feel, Hansel -- before you lose him for all time like I
almost lost my Will."

Hansel was about to answer Jack when a deep voice coughed from
somewhere behind them. "Don't mind me," a stranger to Jack's ears
spoke. "Just passing through. Not wanting to interrupt anything."



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

The door swung open and, as Elektra stood guard, the Sorceress
stepped into the cell. She reached out, snatching Ororo up by her
hair. Her other hand snaked out and grabbed Piper's wrist. "I'm
taking these two," she announced as she pulled them out.

Prue reached toward Piper, wanting to be able to go with her, but
knowing it wouldn't be allowed. She screamed out her name even as
she felt Phoebe putting her arms around her. They were the last
two sisters left. They both sat down beside Carl, waiting to see
who was going to snatch them. Carl was still unconscious, and Prue
was beginning to worry about him. Tears streamed down her face as
she watched them lead Piper and her aunt away.

Spiral stepped forward. "It's my turn now, and I claim all those I
captured." She pointed at the two old men, a blonde female, the
kids she clung to . . . "And him," she said, pointing at Frederic.
"I'm going to leave them down here, but don't any of the rest of
you bother them. They're mine to do with what *I* want to do
with!"

One of the other ones was quick to point out that Spiral was
getting more than her fair share. "You want to fight me for them?"
she asked, and the complainer melted back into the shadows.

"Next," Anamaria barked.

Elektra pointed directly at the brunette who hovered near the blue
Demon. "I claim that one," she spoke simply before going into the
cage and dragging Kitty out.

Kitty stared at her mother but dared not say one word. After all
the years she had looked for her, longing for a rematch and to get
answers to the questions that had plagued her her entire life, she
had finally been reunited with her, but what did the woman have in
store for her?

Rubella stepped forward, rubbing her hands in glee. "My turn, and
I choose that cute boy! I can't wait to get ahold of him and find
out what he's made of!" She walked into the cage, snatched Clark
up, and pushed him before her out of the cage. "Move it, boy, or
I'll check the merchandise out here!"

Clark let her push him along, and his despairing eyes shared one
last glance with Will. What was to become of them, and where were
their loves?



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

Jack's hand went for where his sword should be hanging before
realizing he didn't have one. "Who are you?" he asked as he turned
to face the newcomer. He had to look up, up, and even higher UP
still before finding the black man's face.

"Bishop." He reached a hand up to scratch the head of the cat
perched atop his broad shoulder. "And this is Cat."

"Nice to meet the both of you," Jack assured him. "Are you the
Bishop that single-handedly defeated the Northstar once upon a
time?"

"Might be," Bishop replied. "Who wants to know?"

"That would be Captain Jack Sparrow." He smiled up at him even as
his finger pointed at his chin. He offered his hand in a shake.

Bishop grasped Jack's hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Hansel
grimaced and quickly looked away. He had only shook hands with
Bishop once, and when Bishop had released his hand that one time,
he had been almost positive that it was broken.

Jack kept a straight face even though the pain was immense. He did
not want to piss the big guy off, and he was quite admiring of
Bishop's abilities. "Never thought I'd get to meet you, but I
thought that was a sweet piece of work. Did you get much booty off
of it?"

Bishop grinned. "I got so much I was able to retire and would be
well off if I spent ten lifetimes on it."

"So what are you doing back at sea?"

"Didn't Kat tell you they lost some of their people?"

"Haven't had a chance to really talk to Kat yet. Ace made her mad,
but you know Ace. He'll make her happy before too long. Ace is a
wonderful man if he could just refrain from talking with his rear
end! He griped a couple of my people off, as well; they went on to
Destiny's Ghost."

Bishop nodded as Jack's words concerning Ace brought a grin to his
lips. He released Jack's hand, and his hand returned to stroking
the cat on his shoulder.

Jack hid his hand behind his back and began flexing it in an
attempt to return the feeling to it.

"They're both good people," he agreed. "They helped me save Cat
here, and when they need help, I'm there for them. I owe them
everything, after all."

"It's good to know you, Bishop, and if I can ever help you, let me
know. I appreciate you coming on this rescue. Your firepower will
definitely come in useful, but I . . . don't even have a sword. Do
you think Kat has some extra weapons that we can use?"

Bishop shook his head. "Doubt it. I'm sure you know she uses fire
and Ace's animals do his fighting for him?"

"Then it appears I will need to make a trip to Destiny's Ghost for
without weapons, we will be babes in the sea."



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

Anamaria looked up as she heard quarreling voices. Now what was
going on? she wondered. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO BITCHES FIGHTING ABOUT?"
she yelled at them.

Drusilla glared at the offending humans as she walked toward the
main cell. "This silly human thinks her cooking -- or lack thereof
-- is more important than *my* voice! She doesn't even do the
cooking lately; she has that slave do it! And without my voice,
the others wouldn't be able to keep their concentration as well as
they do when fighting! Besides that, she couldn't cook *good* to
save her life, and my voice is beautiful!"

Anamaria shook her head, not knowing which one was the most
important by rank. She racked her brain but, for the life of her,
could not remember exactly which order the crew came in. She
looked at the other two who had came with them. "Who should be
next?" she asked.

The two redheads looked at each other. "Drusilla does have a
point," Jocelyn admitted. "The slave's been doing all the cooking
lately."

Kalena nodded. "As much as I hate to give a Vampire any credit,
her voice is better than Harriet's cooking skills." Harriet huffed
and started to puff her chest out to which Kalena added, "Not to
mention she's not as much of a lazy hen."

"Then, Dru, pick yours," Anamaria told her.

"I want her," Drusilla announced, pointing a long, sharp
fingernail directly at the one blonde girl in black leather.
"And," she added, her finger swinging to Kurt, "I'll also take the
funny monkey in Priest's clothes."

"Be off with you then," Anamaria told her.

Drusilla reached in and pulled Kurt out with no problems, but when
she reached for Zora, the blonde struggled despite the metal teeth
biting into her. Drusilla proved to be swifter than Zora, however,
as her hand grabbed the girl's throat. "You'll come out now unless
you want to be eaten on the spot," she warned her and yanked her
out by her neck.

Kurt watched with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe the
situation that they were in, and he had been deep in prayer for
quite a while, praying for their rescue to appear and save them.
He had managed to put two and two together and realized that they
were now headed for the same ship that Angel and Connor were on.
He didn't think Zora knew that little bit of information as it did
not appear that the girl's brain was thinking any too clearly. He
would try to tell her later -- if there was a later -- or perhaps,
when they arrived, they'd see them.

"Next," Anamaria called. "I believe that should be you, Callisto?"
she said, picking her out as her eyes swept the ones standing
before her.

Callisto nodded and stepped forward to select her bounty. Though
she shared the same name as the Captain of the other ship, she
could not have been more different. The Saucy Wench's Callitso was
a blonde with white skin that had either never been scarred or hid
its scars well. The Harlot's Callisto was a brunette dressed in
leather who wore a patch over her missing eye.

Callisto's good eye swept the cage. "You," she said, pointing at
Phoebe with a wicked smile. "I can't wait to see how you fall
apart when you fire upon our enemies. And . . . " Her finger moved
to Prue. "I'll leave you in here for now, but you'll get your
turn."

Prue reluctantly released Phoebe and gazed down at Carl again. Was
he awake and only pretending to be out? She now thought that she
might be able to keep them together. She spoke to Callisto, "Are
you allowed another? Because if you are, Carl's a great Powder
Monkey!" She looked toward the woman as she spoke.

Callisto's eye looked Prue up and down. "You're volunteering one
of your own, girl?"

"I saw him aboard the other ship! He's very fast and accurate!"
she stressed.

Callisto's smile grew. "I'll take him, but don't think that'll
help you because it won't."

"Oh, I didn't think it would," Prue told her, "but I don't want
any of your enemies sinking this ship! I'd hate to drown out
here!" She tried to sound even more self-centered to throw the
woman off her guard. She wanted her to think that she was only
concerned with her own skin.

"Don't worry," Callisto scowled. "If something happens to your
sister, you'll be shooting at our enemies yourself." Reaching into
the cage, she grabbed Phoebe's arm and yanked her out.

"I don't know how to do that," Prue told her. "I've never shot at
anything. I'm a cook." She knew full well that the only thing she
could cook was cornbread, but that idiot didn't know any better.

"I didn't expect you'd have any training. You're too pretty for
that, land dweller, but that won't last for long." She steered
Phoebe out of the holding area.

Prue felt something touch her foot and, looking down, saw Carl's
eye open for just one minute. He had been awake the whole time and
knew what was going on. He still wasn't sure how Prue had gotten
him chosen by the same woman who had taken her and Phoebe, but he
was glad. He immediately closed his eye and pretended to be
unconscious. Prue sat down beside him and watched as Phoebe was
led away, tears streaming down her face. Carl wanted to reach out
and touch her but knew better than to give himself away.

Kalena stepped forward to choose next. At Anamaria's questioning
look, she explained. "I don't mind killing a hen," she said,
referring to Harriet, "but I'd rather not piss a Vamp off if I can
help it. I *am* the Powder Monkey, though, so I actually should
have chosen when Dru did."

"Well, choose now," Anamaria told her. "You can't go back and undo
it. You may take an extra one for your efforts."

Kalena turned to look in the cage. "I'll take those two," she
announced, pointing at the two trembling brunettes who no one had
spoken for yet. "Move it," she gruffly told Fred and Dawn. "You
don't want me to have to come in there after you."

Fred walked out of the cage followed by Dawn. Fred glanced back
one last time and smiled sadly at Wesley who smiled sadly back at
her. He was never going to get her in his bed, and he knew it!
Gods knew what fate awaited the both of them, but he'd hold on to
his memories as long as he could and cherish their kiss forever!

When one of the two paused to smile back at a man, Kalena pushed
Fred in the back, but her shove was only enough to send her going
again.

"Jade, you're next," Anamaria told the woman. She'd be glad when
this was over. Her hands itched to get a hold of Will.

"I'll take the Brit," Jade announced. "They're usually pretty
virile."

There was a lot of elbows bumping each other and grins shared on
this announcement for every one knew part of what Jade had
intended. They knew she wanted to have a child. What they *didn't*
know was that she planned to hatch a Demon spawn through a mortal
man!

Wesley slowly got to his feet and walked as though one in a dream
to the door. He waited for his next instructions. How could
everything had been so beautiful one moment and he had a chance to
be with Fred for the rest of his life, and now suddenly they were
torn asunder and he'd never see his beautiful Fred again?

"Move it," Jade instructed as she shoved him forward. "You're
going straight to my cot, lover boy."

Wesley trembled. He didn't want to be that way with any one but
his Fred! Several tears trailed down his face, but he couldn't
even raise his hands to wipe them away. He trudged slowly in the
direction the woman indicated.

Harriet bustled up to the cage. "I'll have her," she pointed at
Elizabeth, "and . . . him." She pointed at the Himalayan cat. "You
should make a pretty purse."

Meesy's mouth flew open before he could help himself. "I'll have
you know, woman -- "

"Oh! Wonderful!" Harriet exclaimed, clasping her hands in glee.
"You can talk! Sinister's going to *love* you!" Turning her
attention back to Elizabeth, she told her, "Come on, girl, and
bring the talking cat with you."

Elizabeth picked Meesy up and trailed slowly behind the bitchy
woman. She didn't know the first thing about cooking and wondered
how bad her punishment would be when Harriet realized that. Meesy,
on the other paw, couldn't decide if he wished he had kept his
mouth shut or not. After all, which fate would be worse -- to be
experimented on by a mad scientist or to be made into a -- he
shuddered -- *purse*?!

Silver Fox was not surprised that she had been left to last out of
the Harlot's officers. After all, she was an Indian and, as such,
sometimes still treated as an outcast even though she was equal to
any of the other bitches as she had killed as many, if not even
more, of their enemies. She grinned to herself, however, when she
realized that the last human was a China man! {Those people can
really cook,} she reminded herself, {and I wonder how good they
cook in the bedroom? Just have to wait and see.}

She said, "I'll take him . . . " and pointed at Chong. Then she
looked around at the rest. "I'll take this one," she spoke and
pointed at the barking dog dressed up in funny clothes. "I'll see
if he can screw as well as he barks." Didymus' mouth fell open in
shock. "And that ugly one," she concluded, pointing at Trely. "She
can clean up after us."

"Very well," Anamaria told her, "but watch yourself. That dog
looks like he can attack at any time, and why in Hell would you
want to screw something like that?"

Silver Fox grinned. "Don't knock it till you try it." She was
about to turn around and force them out the door when, out of the
corner of her eye, she saw something flying at her. She turned
back and grabbed it by the throat. It was the dog. "All right, you
can be first since you're so eager!" she told him and carried him
out by the neck. "Move it," she told the other two and they walked
slowly side by side out of the cage. "Go a little faster," she
commanded and kicked them both in the butt.

Jocelyn scowled at the remainants. There really wasn't much left,
but she'd be damned if she'd return empty-handed. "I'll take the
lioness and the wolf," she announced. "They should make lovely
coats."

"They'll bring more money from Sinister," Anamaria told her. "Why
don't you take a couple of those ugly things and make them do your
work?"

"Leave at least one," Helvira spoke up from where her black eyes
examined her men. None of them had woken yet, and she was glad for
that as she wanted to start the torture as soon as they awoke but
did not want any of the other bitches down there at the time.
After all, torturing was meant to be so peaceful. "I'll rip it
apart in front of its King when he awakes."

Teak glared balefully up at the woman who was looking just as
balefully back at him. He did not want to be part of whatever she
had planned, but he didn't want to get pulled apart by Helvira
either. He was relieved when he was chosen along with Hoggle and a
couple of others. "I don't want more than that," Jocelyn told
them. "They're going to be hard to handle. Then again, they do
seem to be male. It might be interesting watching them do it to
each other."

Hoggle's eyebrows shot up at that. For one brief moment, he
considered whipping his pisser out and letting the bitch have it.
He quickly thought better of it, however, for Gods only knew what
she'd do to his mighty steed!

"Come on, you little rodents, and move it!" Jocelyn told them.
"Move it fast! I have a lot of work to do! I'll take two more of
them -- you and you," she said, pointing quickly. "Move it! Don't
make me chain you together!" They scampered as fast as they could.

"The rest of you who have not been laid claim to," Anamaria
informed the other prisoners, "will be sold to Sinister and the
bounty divvied up among the rest of the crews of both ships."
After snatching Will and Donkey, she checked the door to be sure
it was locked and turned her back on the rest of the prisoners.
She pushed Will and told him to move it. "I'm taking you straight
to my cabin. I have a lot of new maneuvers I'm going to try on you
and you're going to watch," she told Donkey.

Though both were sad and afraid, they were also angry. "Rot in
Hell, bitch," they growled out at her. They looked at each other
in surprise even as Anamaria struck them.

Left alone with the prisoners, Helvira thrilled. "*Finally!*" she
purred aloud. She withdrew a feather from her bodice and began to
run it up and down Brendan's body.


_Chapter Five_
Gabrielle awoke to a hand caressing her hair and sharp fingernails
swiping gently over her face. She struggled against her bonds, but
they refused to budge. "You always have been so determined,"
Callisto crooned as she smiled down at her, "and pretty. Your hair
. . . " She ran her fingers through it, and though Gabrielle
struggled even harder, she could not break away. "So long and
shiny. It's not as long as it used to be, but there's still enough
that I bet Xena just loves to have it run over her."

Callisto reached over and picked up a candle. "And I think it's
time we did something about it." She touched the flame to the end
of Gabrielle's hair and let it burn. Though she could not see it,
Gabrielle knew she was on fire. She tried not to panic but
struggled even more fiercely against her bonds.



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

"She's coming to." Those were the first words Faith heard as her
world slowly started to return to her. The very second she opened
her eyes, she wished she hadn't for she found herself laying naked
in front of the two greatest enemies she had ever known. She
struggled violently, but the chains held her pinned to the table.

Lilah smiled down at Faith. "I'm so glad to have you back," she
told her, "but you know it hurt so much when you left me. I knew
you always liked your men, but I never thought you'd leave me for
them." She pouted.

"I never liked you, Lilah," Faith spat at her. "I only fucked you,
because I knew it was the only way to survive!"

A look of hurt fell over Lilah's face, but she quickly shook it
off. "Even if that's so," she told her, "you'll be doing it
again." She reached out a hand and began to run it up Faith's leg,
caressing it as she did so.

Faith fought to break away from her touch but could not. "I'll
never do it again!" she protested. "You'll never have me again!"

"Au contraire, mademoiselle," Judson purred to her. "We'll *both*
have you, isn't that right, my dear?" he asked Lilah.

Lilah smiled as she edged onto the table. Faith's feet kicked
despite their bonds, but she could not reach her. Lilah kneeled at
the end of the table and lowered her mouth to Faith's core. Faith
struggled more violently than she had ever before in her entire
life, but she was powerless to protect herself as Lilah's tongue
flicked out and licked her.

Even as Lilah began moaning with pleasure as she licked and
nibbled Faith, Judson's hand gripped Faith's long hair. He yanked
her head down to the table and slammed his lips against hers.



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

Darla had left a crossbow with a stake already loaded waiting for
her in a hidden spot of the Saucy Wench's holding cell. She
fetched it the very minute she entered behind her captives and
turned to hold it pointed at Angel's heart. "Chain Connor up," she
instructed.

The males shared a glance. "No," Angel spoke. He heard Cordelia's
soft intake of air where she was held in the cell but dared not
look back at her.

"Do it, or our son," Darla snarled, turning to now point the
crossbow at Connor's heart, "is dust."

"You do it," Angel retorted.

"There's no way in Hell I'm giving you a shot at my back. Boy,"
Darla tried commanding Connor, "chain him."

Connor shook his head, so Darla changed the crossbow's target
again, this time moving it back to Angel. "*Do it!*" she snapped.

Angel folded his arms in front of his chest, and Connor followed
his example. By now, Cordelia's knees felt weak, and it took
Crystal holding her up to keep her from fainting. Both women
ignored the collars biting into their arms in their fear for
Angel.

"You can either chain us both yourself," Angel informed Darla with
false bravado, "or you can shoot one of us and chain the other
one."



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

"What do you want?" Kitty demanded of her mother the minute they
were alone.

"What any mother wants," Elektra replied with a smile. "Bonding
time with my daughter."

Kitty snorted. "If you think I'm stupid enough to believe that -- "

Elektra cut her off. "Here's the deal," she told her. "I'm going
to take the collar off of your arm and give you a sword," Kitty
eyed her suspiciously as she continued, "and we're going to play a
little game, but if you run, I'll shoot you dead."

"What kind of game?" Kitty questioned.

"You were not well known when we first fought, but these days,
they say

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