Ahoy, mateys! We're new to these lists and seeking a new fic home. We need
feedback from readers who can stay up with us, though we enjoy and appreciate
all positive feedback, and are seeking to find some good reading in these
fandoms as well. For the first four books of our series, please check
http://www.fanfiction.net/~PiratesSparrowandTurner. If you read, please let us
know what you think.

Title: Love on the High Seas #5: "To Mend and Defend"
Authors: Pirates Sparrow and Turner
Rating: NC-17
Feedback: Yes, please!! Seriously, we, like all other fan fic writers, thrive on
feedback. However, flames absolutely will not be tolerated.
Warnings: Abuse, Death, Lemon, Nudity, Sex, Torture, Violence, Language, Slash,
Femmeslash, and Het
Fandoms/Characters/Pairings: (Ace Ventura) Ace/OC (Original Character);
(Angel/BtVS) Angel/Cordelia, Faith/CC (Crossover Character), Lorne/OC,
Wesley/OC, Connor/OC, Spike/OC, Kennedy/Willow; (Barbie's Princess and Pauper)
Wolfie; (Charmed) Cole/Piper, Prue/OC, Phoebe/CC, Paige/CC, Kit, Sam Wilder;
(Dawson's Creek) Dawson/CC; (Disney) Jack Sparrow/Will Turner, Hook/Smee,
Sebastian, Elizabeth Swann/CC, Salem Saberhagen; (Elvira) Elvira/CC, Gonk;
(Excalibur) Kurt/Kitty, Rachel/OC, Lockheed; (Generation X) Sean/Emma; (Harry
Potter) Dumbledore, Snape, Minerva; (Labyrinth) Jareth/OC, Didymus, Trely/OC,
Worm; (Peter Pan) Hook/Smee; (The Pirate Movie) Frederic; (PotC) Jack/Will,
Elizabeth/CC; (ReBoot) Bob, Matrix/AndrAla, Ray/Mouse, Frisket; (Sabrina) Salem;
(Shrek) Donkey/OC; (Smallville) Clark/Lex; (Sons of Thunder) Trent, Carlos;
(Starsky & Hutch) Starsky/Hutch/OC; (SU2) Carl/CC; (10K) Wolf/CC; (X-Men)
Logan/Ororo, Morph/OC, Sean/Emma, Kurt/Kitty, Charles/Magnus, Rachel/OC,
Joseph/Rogue, Bishop, Lockheed; (Xena) Aphrodite/Ares, Hercules, Xena/Gabby,
Joxer/CC, Autolycus/CC; and (Zoolander) Derek/Hansel/OC. Sooner or later,
there's a pairing for every character, but if they're not listed here, the
pairing simply has not yet happened. Other established characters may come
and/or go, as well.
Summary: After going through many deadly trials, the Pirates were tossed back
upon the island without as much as a glance at the Wizards. A month has now
passed, but still many questions persist, many lovers are seperate and residing
in their own personal Hells, and the Wizards have yet to appear. Who made it
through all their trials, and what hardships have the trials caused? Why do
broken hearts and shattered souls abound, and where are the Wizards? What
judgment was cast upon the retrial, and what punishments will be doled forth
when the Wizards finally return? Or have they had their fun with the Pirates and
have no intentions of returning, but if they are not returning, what enemy lurks
among them, attacking them while never being seen? What evil lurks amongst them,
causing them to attack each other, and with several new faces, can all be
trusted? Huge multi-crossover with such fandoms as Ace Ventura, Angel, BtVS,
Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Disney, Elvira, Excalibur, Generation X, 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, 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; Urianotalon; Janeesa;
Tessa; Herbert; Robbie; and all other original characters are © & TM the
authors, Pirates Sparrow and Turner, 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
Tortuga

"I told ya -- hic -- I ain't goin' back." She paused to take another
swig of her drink. "Not 'til I know what the fuck I'm gonna do 'bout it."

"And I told you," he tried yet again to argue with the woman whose
unreasonableness he was not surprised at in the least, "talk to him."

She swallowed half of her bottle in one gulp and set it back down with a
loud thunk. "Damn it! How many times do I have ta tell ya, blondie?! I can't
talk to him! I mean, really, what the fuck am I s'posed ta tell him, huh?! That
the Queen of fuck can't fuck any more?!"

"Faith," Hansel gazed into her troubled, dark eyes as he tried to reason
with her, "you said he loves you. He does love you. I saw that with my own eyes
back in the trial. Anybody who hadn't would have ran like heck from that mess,
not to mention gotten off with that version of you they put on him."

"You didn't."

"That's because I'm in love with Chong!"

"What about Derek?"

He slammed his own mug down onto the table. "This isn't about me!"

She eyed him angrily. "Ya sure 'bout that? One'd think ya were just
keepin' me company so ya could hide out from yer two!"

"I could go back to the house at any time, but I'm trying to help you."

A green eye popped open, and a pink tongue lolled out in a yawn. "What
are you two arguing about this time?" the black cat asked.

"The same crap," they shot back together.

"Well, keep it down," Salem told them. "Some of us are trying to sleep
here." He closed his eyes, but immediately his mind drifted back down the same
path. He had gotten his people in such horrible trouble a second time, and for
what? What good had it done that Jareth had laid Helvira again, that Jack had
been eaten by the Krakken and almost gone insane with grief, that Faith had
spent time trapped as a cat, that Sean had been turned on by his own people,
that Emma had almost relived her worst nightmare, that James had been forced to
help Pan, that Smee had almost been eaten alive by a giant birthday cake, that
Kitty and Kyna had had to face their dead husbands, that Kat had had her whole
world turned upside down, that Zora and Vang had almost done the unthinkable . .
. ? What good had any of it done?! They had yet to hear from the bloody Council!
Weeks had passed, and there had still not been a single sign! Not one . . . !

A soft half-growl, half-sigh emitted from Salem's mouth as he jerked
himself into movement. He stretched leisurely and padded over to Faith's side.
"As long as I'm up," he told her, "you might as well pour me some tequilla."

Faith and Hansel had been watching Salem in between shooting angry
glares at each other, and they exchanged a look now that Salem was requesting
more tequilla. Both knew what was going through his mind, and Faith silently
kicked herself for having awakened him. She barked out an order for more
tequilla and poured the rest of her bottle into Salem's saucer. She threw the
empty bottle behind her, snatched the new bottle the waitress brought, and
downed half of it in a single gulp.

As she lowered the bottle momentarily from her lips, Faith realized that
the waitress was still there. "What are ya lookin' at, bitch? Bring me more,
damn it! Bring me all the fuckin' tequilla ya've got 'fore I gut ya!" As the
waitress scurried to obey the order, Faith downed the remainder of the bottle.


Chapter One
The Kitchen

She hummed as she danced around the kitchen, busily stirring mixtures,
pouring batters, and checking that which was already cooking. Though she was
worried about some of her extended family, her blood family's world finally
seemed to be turning right, for the most part. Phoebe and Paige were both happy
with their men, though Phoebe remained frustrated with Joxer's refusal to
consummate their relationship, and she could not have been happier with her own
beloved Cole. Prue was doing well and did not seem quite as frustrated with
Brendan as she had been only a month before. She still had her eyes set on the
Werewolf, and Piper knew of her plans to bed his wolf when she got the
opportunity. Yet she seemed to be happy and have far more patience than she
usually possessed. As for her godmother, Ororo . . . A shy grin chased across
Piper's mouth as she remembered the sounds she'd heard coming from 'Ro and
Logan's bedroom the night before. Yes, Ororo was definitely happier than Piper
had ever seen her before . . .

But, still, Piper thought, as she set up a tray and put three plates on
top of it, there was trouble in paradise. Chong would be in at any moment now,
and she had a feeling before she even saw the poor man that Hansel had not
returned to their bedroom. He was with Faith, who was running from Dawson almost
as swiftly as Will was running from Jack. She was one of the few who knew where
Will had holed up, and that thought took her back to Prue and Brendan. How was
it, Piper wondered, that Prue hadn't been fussing about Brendan the last couple
of weeks? She knew he still hadn't been out of that room around Prue, and yet
her sister hadn't spoken one word of complaint. In fact, the last time Piper had
asked Prue about Brendan, the elder Halliwell had grinned slyly and given a
vague comment that she was sure things would work out soon. Just what did Prue
have cooking?

Piper heard the door open, and her brown eyes glanced in its direction.
"Good morning!" She smiled brightly and reassuringly at Chong, but though he
tried to force an answering smile, she knew better. She fell silent, her grin
vanishing and hum silencing, and allowed Chong the silence she knew he needed.



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

The Island

"You should go to him. I really wouldn't mind."

"Coo."

"Well, you shouldn't mind," she told him. Despite her words, Kitty
couldn't keep the sadness completely out of her voice, and she knew Lockheed
knew all too well of her grief and that that was why the little dragon refused
to leave her for any reason. "A flight would do you good."

"Coo coo." His tail gently struck her shoulder, and he propped his
elbows up on top of her head. If she could have seen his face, though, she would
have known that his eyes were following the other dragon's every move. He
thought Blue looked like he was having a world of fun in the early morning
sunlight, but though he would like to be able to be included in that fun, he
would never leave his Kitty when she needed him.

Kitty sighed softly, and a sob almost escaped her. She pressed her lips
quickly together to silence the betraying sound and wrapped her arms more
tightly around her knees. Her teary gaze returned to the churning ocean. She
still could not believe what had happened, and even now her mind chased back to
the horrible day.

She had known they would be trouble the moment she'd heard their voices.
She had known that it wasn't really them. All her thoughts and sensibilities had
proven to be useless, however, when she'd actually set eyes upon them. Her
breath had caught in her throat, at first, and she'd had such trouble even
forming words. Her heart had swollen to the point that she'd felt it would burst
at any moment, if it didn't break first. She had tried to ward them off but had
ended up in each of their arms at separate times. A tear trickled down Kitty's
face, and she sniffled. It really had felt like her Peters holding her; even
their kisses had been the same . . .

Lockheed hugged her head more tightly and reassuringly, and his heart
broke at the sound of Kitty's tears. If only there was something he could have
done! He should have burned those damn Peters up to start with!

Then there had been their promise that they could stay . . . that they
could have stayed . . . if she had . . . she had . . . More tears fell down
Kitty's face, and she closed her eyes against the pain. She'd barely spoken a
word to Kurt since then. He knew of her hesitation. He knew she had been
tempted, and she knew he must hate her now for that. To think she would have
considered killing him, the man she supposedly loved now, for even the slightest
second . . .

Kitty buried her face in her hands, and suddenly, a strong pair of arms
wrapped reassuringly around her. She found her head upon a familiar breast, and
she didn't pull away. Instead, she let her arms go around the other person she
had come so close to failing and losing that day, and she wept.

Rachel held Kitty while she could, knowing full well that she would pull
away from her soon, insist she was fine, and walk away without looking at her .
. . just as she had done every day for so long now. There were tears in her own
eyes as her helpless gaze rose to 'Heed. Just what in the heck were they going
to do to save Kitty from her grief this time?



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

The Shore

He hummed quietly as he strummed the old guitar, his fingers
instinctively finding the chords they wanted. His eyes were closed, and the
morning breeze was blowing his short, blonde hair away from his face. The scent
of the sea it carried washed over him, but he could take no comfort from its
salty scent that day. Despite never wanting to be a Pirate or even live at sea,
Trent had always enjoyed the smell of the water. Today, however, he took little
notice of it as he remained where he had been sitting throughout most of the
night.

The sun was just beginning to rise. He could feel its rays upon his
face, but still his eyes remained shut and his mind quite a ways away from where
he was and what he was doing. He should have been happy. By God, he had every
right to be happy! Andrew was back, and Trina could not have been more glad.
Carlos even seemed to be okay with their union now, and they'd put a visit in
back home within the last couple of weeks and found every one, including old
Moses, to be fine.

Yet still, Trent couldn't stir the clouds away from his heart and mind.
He dared not allow himself to think of the true reason why he was troubled,
either, for he should be having no such thoughts. He didn't know what was wrong
with him, but he had to find a way to shake his blues. Even his music was
providing little solace, but at least it gave him a chance to get away from the
house and Carlos. Trina had been too involved with Andrew to notice that
anything was wrong with him, but Carlos certainly had and had been asking far
too many questions lately . . .



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

Nearby, Janeesa remained hidden, watching her Golden Angel, enjoying the
music, and knowing full well that there was something bothering him. She wished
that she had the answer to his problem but did not have as much as the first
clue as to what that problem was. She only knew he hurt and ached to heal his
pain.

She'd never dare ask him what was wrong. In fact, she had yet to speak
privately to him; Carlos had certainly seen to that. She feared that if she did
speak to him, he would probably run very quickly away. She closed her eyes and
sighed even as his music played over her body and she wished that the chords
were his fingers.

The House

She stood with the curtain raised, looking out at the very man who
thought she had no clue at all as to his predicament. She sighed and shook her
head. "What is he doing now?" she murmured. What was wrong with her brother? Why
had he been so depressed lately? What had happened that she had missed? Why had
she missed it, and why couldn't she find a way to cheer him up? Even their visit
back home hadn't worked, nor had her suggestion that they stay for a while. Her
frown deepened. In fact, she'd never seen Trent run so fast from their family!
What, she wondered for the thousandth time, was behind it all?

And what the Hell was so wrong with Andrew that he would talk to her no
more than Trent would? She wasn't used to her men keeping secrets from her, and
it troubled her deeply to think that they would be so bothered to hide their
worries from her. She knew where Trent went when he was worked up and what he
did, but where was Andrew these mornings that she awoke to an empty bed? Why
wouldn't they talk to her?

"Oh, Hell," she whispered suddenly. Maybe they no longer wanted to be
Pirates? Could that be the problem? They wanted to get away from the lifestyle
she loved and simply did not know how to tell her? She dropped the curtain and
turned her back to it. Her blue eyes roamed her room, taking note of her
weaponry and the booty she'd kept over the years.

She enjoyed the lifestyle. She'd always been intrigued by Pirates, even
as a kid, and had never wanted to be anything else, but Trent had never wanted
to be a Pirate. He had come to join the Ghost to be with her when she had
refused to come back to their boring village, and Andrew . . . Andrew was an
Angel, for Christ's sake! He wasn't supposed to rob, kill, harm, or do anything
else wicked! Everything in him must scream out against being a Pirate. It had
probably taken everything he had in him to keep at the lifestyle for as long as
he had, and the thought of spending the rest of his now-mortal life as a Pirate
probably . . . {Damn!} Trina exclaimed silently. {He hates it; it probably even
turns his gut!}

That was exactly what was wrong with them, Trina realized. They could no
more take being Pirates than she wanted to give up being a Pirate. She couldn't
leave them, though, or lose them, not again, but she also could not condemn them
to lives they would hate. "Damn," she breathed, her fist striking the bed she'd
come to sit upon, "I'm going to have to quit!"



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

He lay alone, his eyes turned up toward the ceiling that he did not see
for the images that filled his head and the tears that flooded his eyes. He
still had trouble believing what had happened, but he had seen it with his own
two eyes. His heart had shattered in that moment, and he knew that nothing could
ever mend it back together again. How could his James not love him? After all
they had been through, how could it have all been a lie?

Smee let out another sob. He wanted to be able to end his pain, but he
could not . . . not yet, at least. Only time would tell if he would be able to,
but in the mean time, there was nothing he could do to stop the hurt for if he
took his life, another might well die. He couldn't allow that to happen, but if,
when the news did finally come, he learned that he would not be held responsible
for Vang, after all, he would take the pistol that lay beneath his pillow and
put an end to his miserable existence. For now, however, all he could do was
pass the time and try to ignore James' calls, his boys' calls, and, most of all,
James' lies.

Why, Smee wondered yet again, did James think he had to lie now, now
after the truth was finally out in the open and their children were well capable
of taking care of themselves? Even Frederic had matured. He had thought that
would never happen, but his son had proven himself during the trials. He had
fought off the crew almost single-handedly and had not once shown so much as a
fraction of immaturity or cowardice. No, the boys no longer needed them,
although they wanted them but they would get over that once James was able to
wed a real mother. More tears poured down his face, raking his chubby body at
the thought. James had no reason to have to lie unless he just wanted to hurt
him more!

{But why?!} Smee cried, his sobs echoing in the lonely room. Why did he
think he had to? Why was he so intent upon lying to him, trying to trick him
back into his web of deceit? Why unless he just wanted to hurt him more, and if
that was the case, by the uncaring Gods, why?!



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

He laid still in the bed beside the others, his mind despairing as it
had been non-stop for so long that it felt to him like an eternity. How could
his life have finally been so happy and then turned so horrible? What had
happened was worse than any of his worst nightmares. Jack loved him! He really,
truly loved him, and yet he had let him down so terribly! He had let him down
and had no way to make it back up to him, no way to fix the problem so that he
might deserve him again . . .

Tears raced down Will's pale, thin cheeks. He had never really thought
he deserved Jack, but now he knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that not only
did he not deserve Jack but that he never could. Yet he had to live with the
fact. He had never known the world to be fair, but this was absurd! Why should
he be punished so terribly? Why could he have not simply died back in Port
Royal, when Frostbite had laid waste to the entire island? Why had he been
allowed to live, enjoy a couple of days of pure bliss, and then be tossed into a
Hell worse than any he ever could have imagined?! Why had Anamaria not simply
killed him instead of condemning him to this Hell?

She wanted to hurt Jack, he recalled. She had never been after him
except as a tool to use against his beloved, and the lowly bitch had certainly
succeeded in that. She had more than succeeded in it. She had hurt Jack worse
even than killing him would have, and she had done it all through him . . . Will
shoved a fist into his mouth to silence his sobs as the snores of his companions
shook the walls of the room and rattled the window.

The window. There was his answer, Will thought. He could jump . . . jump
and end it all . . . But no. No, he could not do that, he realized before he
ever moved toward the window and the freedom it offered. Although he had failed
him more greatly than he'd ever dreamed he might, Jack still loved him, and for
him to die would hurt him even more. He would not hurt Jack any more than he'd
already had no choice in doing, so he had no choice but to suffer on in this
Hell called life . . . suffer on until he finally did pass away from the food
his body constantly rejected . . .

How would Jack react when he passed? Will wondered fearfully. Would he
try to take his own life? His family would never allow that to happen. They
would save him. They would keep him alive, and eventually Jack would find that
he could live without him and that he was so much better off without him . . .
Will closed his eyes against the heartache that engulfed him and laid still as
Eddie pawed him in his sleep.

What of Eddie? Will wondered. They'd save him too. There were beings
here who would do whatever it took to save an animal. He'd be in good hands,
better hands than he'd ever been in before. It was just a matter of time . . .


Chapter Two
The Hall

Outside the room Smee had barricaded himself in, even going to the
trouble to push a heavy piece of furniture against the door, a jungle cat lay
with his head upon his paws and sadness in his heart. His ears laid back against
his head at the despairing sounds he heard echoing in the room behind him, and
he sighed deeply. He could not blame Smee for being upset, but he knew that
James was, in truth, innocent for he could smell the truth upon the man when he
swore that he still loved Smee, nothing would change that fact, he would take
his own life if Smee took his, and that the only reason he'd come so close to
mating with a woman was due to a spell. He ached for the men and wished he could
help them but was powerless to do so as Smee would no more listen to him than he
would to James or his sons.

Vang breathed another deep sigh. He owed everything to those boys,
especially to Connor. If it had not been for them, his own life would now be
Hell . . . even if he had lived through the tryst. He turned sad eyes down
toward the floor as memories filled his head. How could it have happened? After
all these years of being so careful, how could he have come upon his beloved
daughter when they were both Wered and completely out of control? Thank Bast for
Smee and his family for otherwise, they would have done the unthinkable and at
least one of them would not have lived through it!

He owed them his life, yet he was powerless to help them when they most
needed help. He knew Zora felt the same, though they hadn't spoken in weeks, and
he knew that she was avoiding him for the same reason that he was avoiding her.
If they talked, the topic would come up eventually, and how could he possibly
tell her how sorry he was for almost mating with her? The fight was bad enough,
but the mating and what would have happened afterwards . . .

Vang cringed and turned his teary eyes toward the heavens. If only
Seraphina were there . . . She would know what to do, what to say. She'd always
had the answers.

"There's nothing either of you could have done about it."

The soft, concerned whisper so surprised Vang that he jumped up to a
sitting position, his striped fur standing on end. He shot a glare up at the
catwoman who stood beside him, and his tail struck the floor with frustration.
"I realize we could not help ourselves, but still . . . I would rather be dead
than have ever come across her that way, ever . . . " His eyes dropped to the
floor, and his voice lowered to a hushed, choked whisper. " . . . ever chance
that . . . "

"I know. She feels the same, Vang; you know that. The two of you mean
the world to each other, and you would both gladly take your own life than ever
have come across each other during that time. It was the Council's doing,
neither yours nor hers but theirs, and there is nothing that could have possibly
been done about that, my friend. You should talk to her; you know her
stubbornness will not allow her to speak first."

"I know, but . . ." He turned imploring, pleading eyes up at the
catwoman. "How can I face her, Celina? After what happened, how can I ever look
in her eyes again?"

"As Jareth is constantly saying, what's done is done. You can not go
back to change the past; you know that all too well. You must go forward, and I
know you do not wish to spend an entire lifetime not talking to your daughter.
Go to her, Vang. Speak with her before it is too late."

"Too late?" he growled in concern, his gaze snapping back up to hers
from where it had fallen to his paws in thought.

"It is nothing of that sort of dirity. I understand Kat is keeping her
quite busy. However, if you do not speak to her, you may continue to fail to
make the first move until it is too late one day. Time stands still for no one,
dear friend."

"I know," Vang said, his head drooping once more, "but I simply am not
ready."

Celina sighed and let him fall silent as she considered how best to work
her next attempt. She would not give up on her friends. She would get Vang and
Zora to talking again, and she would no more allow Smee to take his life than
Vang would. She reached an ebony-furred hand down and began reassuringly petting
Vang as she contemplated and felt each emotion that raged not only through him
and Smee but through all those within their home. {Thank Bast,} she thought,
{for those few who are happy for otherwise I would surely have been driven mad
by now.}



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

Hook's Bedroom

James paced the floor of the room. The man simply looked like Hell. He
had not bathed in days nor changed his clothes, and he had pulled at his hair
and his clothes so much that they were ragged, his hair sticking out at an array
of points from his head. Why wouldn't Smee listen to him?! He spent hours of
each of his days outside of Smee's door, pounding on it, begging Smee to open
the door and listen to him, but not one word had he heard out of that room.

He knew Smee was in there. He could almost feel his love breathing, yet
no answer came his way. What was he going to do? He was at the end of his rope!
He couldn't break the door down; there was something on the other side that was
so heavy that it wouldn't give an inch. He had tried climbing up through the
window, but the window was barricaded as well. Smee was in there, and he vowed
that he'd find a way to get him out.

All the trials and tribulations that they had passed through compared
not at all to what he was going through now. If he lost Smee, his life was not
worth living! He wrung his hands in frustration.

There were two people in the house, he thought, who might be able to
help him. One of them could walk through walls but was too slight of build to be
able to handle Smee, and the other was the Priest. He knew that they had had
their own problems and had not spoken to each other since they had returned to
the trials.

{I will go to him and talk to him. He is a Priest, after all. Maybe he
has an answer? Maybe, through helping me to solve my problem, it will ease his
pain some? Maybe it will help him, as well, with his lady?}

He left the room and hesitated only a minute outside Smee's door. He
never thought one minute about his appearance. He slowly trudged his way to
Kurt's door and knocked gently upon it.



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

Kurt's Bedroom

Kurt had spent more time on his knees since their return than he ever
had before. He could not block the nightmares from his own mind, and they
reoccurred even when he was awake. His worst nightmare was the loss of Kitty.
How she must hate him so much that she would not even talk to him! Tears ran
down his face as he pleaded with Aphrodite for help. Even his Goddess was not
talking to him, and when he prayed to Hercules, it was like nobody was home.

He tried to drown out the noise of the knocks that were coming upon his
door, but they persisted steadily. How could any one come to him?! When he could
not solve his own problems, he could not solve any one else's! "Who's zere?" he
called out.

"It's James Hook, Father," James called through the door. "I need
absolution. I need help! I need forgiveness! If She'll only forgive me, maybe
She'll help me win Smee back again!"

"She doesn't talk to me any more," Kurt told him, opening the door, "and
neither does Hercules. I have no answers for myself, mein son. Get up off your
knees." His hand gently touched James' head. "Ve must talk about zis for ven ze
Gods do not come forward to help, it is up to man to help himself."

"Smee will not even talk to me," James told Kurt through a very teary
voice.

"Don't give up, mein son. I hear you out zere every day, beseeching
Smee. Surely ze man can not be made of stone?"

James sat down in a chair that Kurt indicated.

"You vould zink ze same zing of mein Katzchen. She von't talk to me
either. Zere is too much of zat going on in zis house. Even ze Captain is in his
cups. Zere's not been a day since ze trials zat he's been sober long enough to
even take a long valk off of a short plank." As he had been talking, Kurt had
been stroking his beard in thought, and his pointed tail had been swishing with
increased speed. Now, at last, he looked at James again. "First zing ve have to
do is to get every one talking to every one!"

"That would be a good thing," James replied, "but I've been talking to
Smee even during the trials and it doesn't do any good."

"Ve vill need some one vho can tell if one speaks ze truth or not to
help. Ve shall try to call a meeting. Although, vith no one in charge, ve may
not get a decent response. Ve vill go to ze rooms, knock on ze doors, and let
zem know zat zere vill be a meeting. One hour."

"Not every one's here," James told Kurt. "Some have gone to Tortuga, and
some are actually happy."

"Zey need to come to ze meeting too. This affects all of us," Kurt
replied. "I vill try to reason vith ze Captain, although, in his condition, he
probably vill not hear me. I vill enlist Wolverine's help."

"We can but try," James told him. "I am eager to try. We need to get
this out in the open." Then, through gritted teeth, he declared, "If I can't get
Smee to listen, I'm going to tie him down and I'm not going to let him go until
he listens to me! The man must listen to me! I want no other but him!"

Kurt was glad that he now had a plan of action. He clasped James' arm
and looked into his eyes. "Have faith, mein freund. Ve may vin out of zis
situation yet; ve can but try."

James walked into the hallway with Kurt by his side. Kurt headed for the
Captain's room, and James headed in the opposite direction, knocking on each
door he passed and informing the occupant that there would be a meeting in an
hour.



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

Clark & Lex's Bedroom

The room was silent save for the soft breathing of his beloved, and Lex
lay still in thought, his deep, blue eyes staring, unseeing, at the ceiling as
he once again relived the nightmares of the trials in his head. The wretched
Council had played upon his greatest fears, and his father was undoubtedly
behind the whole thing. Did he know, Lex wondered yet again, how much Clark
meant to him? He knew Lionel believed Clark to be his only friend, his bed
partner, and the reason why he had not followed his father's dark footsteps, but
did Lionel truly know that he loved Clark with his entire being? Did he know,
and if he did, would he tell Clark's parents?

The same parents that Clark had declared, only a month ago, that he
himself would tell. Lex had been thrilled at the thought, but Clark had not
spoken another word about it and Lex knew that the trials had scared "sense"
into his sweetheart. Clark did not want to lose his parents, and Lex would never
wish it upon him. He ached to be accepted into the Kent family, but it was
simply never going to happen. Although his real Clark would never betray him as
the one in the trials had done, the mere thought that he had "corrupted" their
son would undoubtedly send Jonathan and Martha into a flurry.

What would happen, Lex wondered, if Clark told them and they reacted the
way he now knew they would? What would his love do? Surely he would not stand
idly by and let his parents do what they would to him? But, then again, if he
were to fight them on that, he would lose them. No, Lex thought, they must never
know. They must never tell them. Thank Gods Clark had not suggested it again; he
only hoped he never would.

And what of the last of the trials, Lex mused, when he had finally been
forced to stop running, had collapsed beside a lake, and then seen his
reflection as that of his father's in the water? Was that truly to be his
future? Was there no escaping the Luthor heritage of evil? He had thought he was
well on his way to finally putting Lionel's wickedry behind him, but now . . .
Now he wasn't at all as sure.

A sudden knock startled Lex out of his thoughts, and he glanced down at
Clark as his beloved trembled in his sleep. He reached out and ran a soothing
hand over his body even as he called to the one behind the door, "Quiet down out
there. What is it? And keep your voice low."

Lex was surprised to hear the voice of James Hook as the muffled answer
came through. "There's to be a meeting, in an hour, meeting room. Every one is
required to be there."

He could feel the man's hesitation outside their door. "Fine," he called
back quietly. "Just keep it quiet out there. Clark's trying to sleep."

It was Clark's voice who answered Lex as James moved on down the
hallway. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long," Lex lied with a reassuring smile. He leaned down and kissed
his baby, determined not to speak of the dark worries that lurked in his mind.



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

Jack's Bedroom

Kurt's knock on Jack's door went unanswered, but the door swung open.
Kurt entered the room, which now stunk of rum and unwashed body. Kurt looked
around the room and, not seeing any one, could only rely upon his nose to locate
Jack. The repugant scent led him straight underneath the bed. As Kurt lifted the
bed skirting to look under, he was rewarded with a loud, stinky spasm of
flatulence.

It choked Kurt so badly that he couldn't get any words out. He dropped
the skirting and bamfed to the other side of the room, gazing back warefully
toward the bed. Dare he lift it a second time? He had to get the Captain; he
just had to! He coughed again. "I should get Wolverine to get him," Kurt told
himself and bamfed from the room.



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

Wolverine's Bathroom

Logan was humming a little tune to himself as he stood before the
bathroom mirror, shaving. Remembering back to the night before and how many
times 'Ro had called his name, he was in seventh heaven until the reflection of
a blue Demon suddenly appeared behind his own in the mirror. Wolverine was taken
by such surprise that he dropped his razor. "Shit! Don't sneak up on a man like
that, Elf; ya could get a claw in yer gut!"

Kurt had been surprised to find Logan in such a happy mood. Could the
man truly have no clue as to his son's condition? Instead of allowing
Wolverine's anger to flustrate him, Kurt cut straight to the point, but before
he could speak again, Logan made another exclamation while furiously waving his
brimestone out the door.

"Did ya really have ta bamf in here?! What the Hell's goin' on?"

"I realize mein brimestone smells, Wolverine, but its scent is nothing
compared to zat of your son's at the present." {Zat should get the man's
attention!}

Wolverine had known Jack had been keeping a low profile and thought he
might perhaps even have taken to hiding in his room since he had been unable to
communicate with Will, but Logan had also believed that Will would come around
to his senses and stop shutting Jack out. Kurt's comment, however, took him by
complete shock. His mouth fell open at the Priest's rudeness, at first, but he
quickly recovered himself and blasted out instead, "My son stinks?! He's one of
the cleanest men I know!"

Kurt held his nose to reinforce the stench. "Not only does he stink," he
informed him matter-of-factly, "but he's also drunk."

"WHAT!?!?!?! HE GAVE WILL HIS WORD HE WOULD NOT DRINK!!!" Wolverine
roared.

"He's beyond drink, Sir. You must see him. I could not approach him for
ze stink vas more zan I could handle."

"Stink?" Wolverine indicated, waving his hand in the air and still
trying to clear his nose from the smell of Kurt's brimstone.

"Even vorse than mein brimestone," Kurt assured him. "Ve are calling an
emergency meeting, Sir."

"Stop siring me!" Wolverine told him. "I'm not the Captain, an' I don't
like all this ass-kissin'! I'll see to my son, Kurt. Continue to call the
meeting. Jack will be there. When is it, an' where are ya holdin' it?"

"One hour, Sir . . . huh . . . " He gulped. " . . . in ze family room."
He bamfed immediately.

Logan shook his head. "Will ain't gonna like this, an' neither is 'Ro.
I'd better handle it an' get him cleaned up fast." He wiped the rest of the
lather off of his face and reached for his shirt. He did not bother to button
his shirt, but as he left the room behind, he shook his head several times and
groaned softly, "Oh, Jack, how could ya do this?!"



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

The Shore

Dawson sat cross-legged on the beach in front of Phillip, glaring
angrily at him. "Why won't you let me through, you blasted mirror?! I've got to
see Faith! She's run off with that damn Hansel! I can't live without her,
Phillip; I love her! Let me through!" he demanded yet again.

"If I've told you once," Phillip returned, "I've told you a thousand
times. I can't let you through, son. It would cost me my glass!" He truly felt
sorry for the boy, but he was not about to endure Faith's wrath. "You can see
her, but I can not let you pass."

Dawson glared angrily at Phillip. "You just won't let me pass! What if I
said I'd break your glass? Would you let me through then?" He dug his quill
through the scroll he had been writing frantically upon, tossed his quill to the
ground with a growl of frustration, and crumpled the scroll into a tiny ball. He
threw it at Phillip as hard as he could. He never took notice that the paper
sailed on through.

Why wouldn't the damn poem come out right? It didn't matter; Faith
wasn't there to get it any how! He wanted to throw a temper tantrum but knew
that a Pirate never would, and if there was one thing Dawson was determined to
be, it was the best Pirate he could possibly be.



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

The House

When the knock came upon Prue's door and she heard that there was going
to be a mandatory meeting, she smiled to herself. She had a surprise for
Brendan. He would have to come out of hiding, and when he did, she was going to
give it to him! She was glad that the trials were over. They had been Hell to go
through, but now they were all home safe again.

She knew that Piper and Cole were happy and waiting for somebody else to
take the plunge first. She would gladly take the plunge with Brendan. She wasn't
afraid of the family curse. After all the terrible things she'd been through,
she was willing to brave anything to become Brendan's one and only! Now she just
had to convince her wolf that things would be right for them!

She skipped down the stairs two at a time and flashed into the kitchen.
She grabbed a muffin once getting there and eyed Chong, whose face seemed longer
than the donkey's. Why was he so miserable so early in the morning? "Chong? Good
morning," she smiled at him.

Chong grumbled something under his breath at Piper and then turned to
cleaning a pan that Piper had messed up. He ignored Prue. How could the damned
women be so cheerful this time of the morning? His heart was crumbled in a
million pieces and long gone! He didn't even know where Hansel had disappeared
to. At least, he hadn't run off with that damn Derek, who was asleep upstairs.
He had made sure of that as he had peeked inside the door on the way down. "Has
anybody seen Hansel this morning?"

Piper had just been looking over to Prue and silently shaking her head
when Chong actually spoke. She looked quickly back at him, startled. "I'm afraid
not."

Prue shook her head. "No, but there's a meeting in an hour. He has to be
there."

"Good!" Chong exclaimed. "I've got a surprise for him." Chong was
thinking to himself about a certain chain that he had under the bed upstairs. He
vowed to himself that once Hansel got back in the house, he wasn't going to be
leaving until they had a good talk, and if he thought he was going to run off
with either Faith or Derek, he'd chain him to the bed! No one was going to get
his man!



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

Brendan's Bedroom

Eddie opened both eyes and looked at Will. "Ya gotta get up. We gotta go
to a meeting." The words had barely gotten out of his mouth before the knock
came on the door.

James called through, "Anybody in the room, there's a meeting in an hour
in the family room." James knew exactly who was in that room even though his
words did not let on, but his mustache curled slyly around his mouth. "It's
mandatory for any one who wants to stay with the crew." He did not wait to get a
reply but moved on to the next room.

"Well?" Eddie demanded. "Get up!"

"We have an hour," the sleeping man next to Will murmured, waving a
large hand at Eddie.

"Damn!" Will exclaimed, sitting bolt upright in the bed. "I'm gonna have
to face him! I can't!" He looked at his companions for help through brown eyes
filled with terror. "I can't face Jack!"

"I don't wanna have to face Prue," Brendan mumbled, still coming to,
"but what choice do we have? You heard him."

"I know, but you facing Prue is different! How can I face Jack when I've
failed him?! He'll want to know what's going on! I can't tell him I'll never be
able to keep it up!"

Eddie looked at Will like the boy had gone nuts. "Ya don't even know if
you can keep it up, Will! Ya ain't been alone with Jack for one minute in weeks!
Ya don't know if the same thing'll happen again!"

"Eddie, you know what happened to it!" Will cried. "It may have been
healed, but it's still broke, and since it's physically intact, there's nothing
that can be done for it!"

"Ya don't know that for a fact; ya only tried the one night! Besides, it
ain't for that! It's a meeting! Both of you need a bath! Ya can't go to the
meeting, smelling like ya do!" He eyed Brendan suspiciously, wondering if he was
casting any of his smelly wolf gas.

Brendan raised his head and returned the donkey's look. "Maybe the stink
will keep her away," he commented sadly.

A sudden smell hit Will's nose, and his quick movement was somewhere
between a jump, stumble, and fall as he left the bed, holding his nose. "Oh,
Brendan! That's nice, real nice! Now we have to smell that until the meeting!"

Eddie's eyes crossed. "I KNEW IT WAS YOU! OPEN THE WINDOW! QUICK, OPEN
THE WINDOW! A bath ain't gonna do you no good! DAMN!!"

As Will stumbled toward the window, Brendan glared at Donkey. "This was
my room only before you two came in here! You wanted in here! Will wanted to
keep away from Jack, and you wanted to be with him! I let you two, so you get
what you get!" He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood on bare
feet. "Now I'm going to the bathroom."

Will turned around from opening the window just in time to see Brendan
disappearing into the bathroom, one hand scratching his rear end as he shut the
door with his other. Will shook his head and looked at Eddie. "Wolves!" was all
he could say.

Eddie nodded in agreement even as a spasm of coughing almost made him
collapse. "Wolves and their farts!"

A thought occurred to Will, and he managed to force a teasing grin that
vanished almost as soon as it appeared. "You'd best just hope Elvira's aren't as
bad!"

"Oh no!" Eddie wailed with a grimace on his face. "I never thought about
that! Don't matter!" he quickly decided. "I love her any way, farts and all!"


Chapter Three
Jack's Bedroom

As soon as he had gotten dressed, Logan had started quickly stomping
down the hall to Jack's room. He knew right where he'd find the boy, under the
bed, passed out in a drunken stupor. He was kicking his own butt for not taking
a hand in the situation sooner.

How long had they been back now? Almost a month? Had Jack been drunk the
entire time? No, that couldn't be! He remembered that there were two nights that
Jack and Will had had a fight and Will had stomped from the room. That had been
during their first week back. He figured Jack had been drunk for at least three
weeks.

The first thing he did when he entered the room was walk all the way
across the room to the window and throw it open. Once it was open, he looked
outside. That's when he found out that there was another family crisis. The damn
Priest must've been at it again for there was his beloved Kitty weeping in Ray's
arms. {One thing at a time,} he reminded himself, emitting a deep sigh. {First
get yer son straightened out. Then kill the Priest.} He reached under the bed
and, without any hesitation, snatched Jack out from under.

Jack was so drunk he didn't even realize that he was out from under the
bed until Logan started to try to drown him in cold, running water. Logan had
simply thrown him into the tub, turned the faucet on, and put Jack's face
underneath it. "Snap out o' it, boy. We have a meetin' in an hour."

Jack mumbled and grumbled. "I didn't call no damn meetin'. Fuck the
meetin'."

"Wake up, Jack. You will wake up," Wolverine growled determinedly.
"Might be a chance fer ya to get Will back."

"Will don' wanna come back! Will hates me!" Jack told his father in
between gulps of fresh air. "Stop tryin' ta kill me, Dad," he moaned, "an' go
ahead an' do it!"

Logan growled. "Just wait 'til yer mom gets back! There'll be Hell ta
pay! Yer'll be lucky if ya don't get a lightning bolt!"

"Maybe I'll get lucky an' she'll kill me wit' the lightning bolt! Just
leave me alone an' go 'way! Ya haven't bothered me since we got back! Why th'
Hell are ya in here now?!"

"I been kickin' my own ass on that account. I had no idea ya were in
here doin' this!"

"Might as well die!" Jack moaned. "Will don' wan' me, an' the Pearl's
gone! Got no reason ta go on!"

"Yes, ya do! Ya have a whole family o' people dependin' on ya, Jack!
You, o' all people, know how important family is! Do ya want 'em ta know what
kind o' shape yer in?"

"Don' care! Ain't none o' 'em Will!"

"Ya don't know what yer sayin', boy, but ya will when ya get sober."

"No, Dad! Leave me th' 'ell 'lone! Jest go 'way an' let me die! I can't
live wit'out me heart!" He tried to break away from Logan, but Wolverine just
held him that much tighter.

"I'm gonna get some one ta help me get ya cleaned up since yer in no
shape ta do it yerself."

Jack missed most of what Wolverine was telling him, but he did realize
when Wolverine let go of him and headed for the door. "An' don' come back!" Jack
told him. He threw a bar of soap at the door as it closed.

He tried to get out of the tub and managed to get one leg out before
slipping and falling back in. Water sloshed everywhere. Jack lay where he had
fallen. {Maybe I'll drown,} he thought. {I'll just lay here an' drown! That'll
end my misery!}



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

Somewhere

Tears sparkled in the woman's emerald eyes as she looked upon the face
of the cougar before her. "Go mbeire an diabhal leis thú!" She fought back the
tears that welled in her heart and eyes as she laid gentle fingers upon the
stiff fur. The innocent animal had been dead for a long time now, and she knew
it had not had a moment of peace since its murderer had first set his accursed
eyes upon it. "Poor wee one! May They grant ye peace now!" Fire leapt from her
fingertips and raced over the big cat's head. She raised her hands to the wall,
and the multitude of heads she could see immediately became wrapped in flames.

"Companions . . . " She ignored the man's voice at first and watched as
her flames washed over the faces of the lost innocents. "I . . . think you
should have a look at this."

She did not see the puzzled expression upon the tall blonde's face nor
hear the shocked gasp that emitted from the Mexican who stood staring at the
thing the blonde was trying to call her gaze to in terror. She heard soft
murmurs and exclamations from the others in their small group but took no notice
of them. Indeed, she made no reaction until she heard the voice of the young
woman she looked upon like a little sister . . . or had, at least, before nearly
everything she'd thought she'd known had been taken into question. Now, the only
reason she kept company with Zora was to keep the girl from having a chance to
kill herself, and the only reason she allowed the accompanient of the others was
to keep Zora from having a chance to try to talk to her. "Fuck! Kat, look at
this!"

Zora's voice ripped Kat's gaze away, and she looked at the surprise on
the girl's face to the group of heads that the others were staring at. "We're
dealing with something more than the norm here," a catman commented with a swish
of his orange tail.

"Aye, well, that's pretty damn obvious. Whoe'er or whate'er the fuck
they are, they're still ash."

"I wonder if they were good or evil."

The Mexican finally found his voice. "Is there such a thing? How can
there be? They're monsters!"

The blonde man turned his gaze from the head of the Werewolf to look at
Carlos. "There is indeed! Some of the best men I have known have suffered from
curses! A difference in appearance or even species does not necessarily make one
a monster. Would you call Tom here a monster or the lady Katrina? Or how about
young Zora here? Or the lady Janeesa? I suggest you wait to speak until you
think else you might -- "

"Hold the bitchin', Rian. Ye can chew his ass out when we leave here."
Kat raised her hands to the faces of the Werewolves, Vampires, and other
creatures. Fire sparked from her fingertips, and three pairs of ears set at
alert.

"Kat!" They started to rush toward her as the air was suddenly pelted
with arrows and gunshots. Kat's scream reverberated through the land, and she
fell against a post on the porch, staring at her hand in shock. Zora tried not
to look at the arrow that had pierced her friend's hand as she grabbed her good
arm and pulled her toward cover.



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

Trina & Andrew's Bedroom

How was she going to handle this? What the Hell was she going to do? She
couldn't go back to living a normal life. Hell, she wouldn't even wear a damn
dress if she could help it! If she went back home, which was where Trent and
Carlos would undoubtedly want to go if they were no longer Pirating, she'd be
expected to act as the Preacher's daughter, and there was no way in --

A knock on her door cut Trina's thoughts off. "What?!" she snapped,
glaring at the door. "What the Hell do you want?!"

James looked puzzedly at the door. This was the first time the woman had
spoken to him in such a tone. "This is Trina's room, isn't it?" he asked,
looking doubtfully at the name plaque upon the door.

"Yeah! Now what the Hell do you want?!" she demanded. "I'm not gonna ask
again!"

"There's to be a meeting," James swiftly told her, "required for all, in
the family room, in an hour."

"Fine!"

{Fine indeed!} James thought as he quickly moved on to the next room and
made a note not to approach Trina for the rest of the week if at all possible.

Trina sighed heavily. She could tell them at the meeting, and tell Kyna
that she resigned, but just what the Hell was she gonna do when they all started
expecting her to act like a blasted "lady" again?! She let out a yell of
frustration, and James almost ran to the second door down from hers.



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

Jack's Bedroom

Wolverine looked to the window and looked back out, hoping to see 'Ro
coming back. He could use some help. Who else could help him with Jack? he
wondered. {Maybe Brendan could help me?} he thought. He headed out the door and
into the hallway. He was barely beginning to head in the direction of Brendan's
room when he heard a woman yelling and beating on a door. {What the Hell?} he
thought and looked at the end of the hallway where Jareth's room was. {They
havin' problems too?} he wondered as he looked at Delvira beating on the door.
"He lock ya out?" Wolverine called to her.

"The damn fool's locked everybody out!" she hissed in frustration, her
fangs showing. "He can't get his head out of his ass enough to even realize that
the only one beating his ass is his own self!"

"I don't know what happened between the two o' ya, but it's got to be
somethin' ya can work out. I can unlock it fer ya."

"He's enchanted the lock," she replied, one hand resting on her hip,
"and wedged something up against the door, so it's not that simple. With all the
damn shitt the Council was throwing everywhere, they threw him the worst deal
they could have!" She raised her voice again. "But it's not like she doesn't
understand, Jareth! She knows it's not your fault! Hell, she's in Transylvania,
buying new lingerie to try to enchant your ass again right now, but you won't
even let her in! I know you're embarrassed, but it's not like it's the first
time and nobody but you is blaming you!"



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

Jareth's Bedroom

Jareth refused to answer. He was standing naked in front of his mirror
and looking at the source of all his troubles. He had been staring at it for
hours. He had even contemplated shooting it off at one point. How could the best
part of himself have betrayed him so terribly?!

He knew Elvira was lying. Delvira was off sulking somewhere, thinking of
something evil to do to him, and he deserved it. After all, nobody had forced
him to fuck Helvira. True, he had thought it was Delvira. She had come to him in
all her loveliness. She had smelled like his beloved. Hell, she had even popped
his pants off like she usually did! How was he to know she wasn't his Delvira?!

Suuure, she was off in Transylvania, buying lingerie! Jareth knew from
long times past how pissed Delvira could get and how she enjoyed paying back
things she had taken grievance over! Hell, he'd be surprised if she even wanted
to look at it again, let alone get a ride!

He chose to ignore Elvira and cast another spell over the room to make
sure no one could get in. Only he could have screwed up so badly!, he told
himself. He had lost his family, including his beloved wife, all because it
couldn't tell the difference!



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

The Hallway

"Well, I can't break an enchantment," Wolverine told her. "I'm lookin'
fer 'Ro. I figured she'd be back by now. Have ya seen her?"

Elvira shook her head and finally turned to look at Wolverine. "No. How
long has she been gone? You know she flies the whole island every morning."

"The whole island?! I just thought she was takin' a mornin' flight. She
expectin' trouble? Be just like her not to tell anybody!"

"She's looking for the Wizards or some sign of them or the return of the
ship. There hasn't been anything for a month now. I don't think they're coming
back, but she puts so much faith in that old, bald geezer that it's impossible
to talk sense into her. I think we just need to get a new ship and get the Hell
off of this island."

Wolverine thought about it for a minute. "I don't think the bastards're
comin' back either, but where would we go? I mean, it'd be no problem. We'd just
use Phillip to go through and steal a ship. Actually, Jack's got enough we could
buy one, but why buy when you can steal?"

"I don't know where we'd go," Elvira admitted with a shake of her torso,
"but the people are getting nervous. And you guys are Pirates. If we could get
back at sea, maybe we could get some of these piles of crap straightened out.
Besides, I miss the crow's nest and the action I used to see there." She sighed.

"Speakin' o' piles o' crap, I could use some help."

"What's up?"

"Jack is totally out o' it. He's drunk, smells worse than any skunk I've
ever encountered, an' all he wants ta do is talk about killin' himself. I've got
ta get him up an' presentable fer the meetin'. Who called the damn thing, any
way?"

"Hook and Kurt. They're just as frustrated as the rest of us with all
this Hell that's going on. And you know what Jack's problem is, don't cha, hon?"

"Yeah, he's drunk. Him an' Will are fightin'. I was afraid it wouldn't
work out. With the Pearl gone an' Will gone, all Jack wants to do is die. I've
never seen him look this bad," Wolverine admitted with a choke in his voice.
"Damn it, I ought ta break in there an' beat the Hell out of Will fer causin'
this! I've gotta kill the Priest first, though!"

"Whoa, hold on there!" Elvira exclaimed with a teasing grin. "One murder
at a time, hotshot! First of all, don't kill Will. He's as upset as Jack is.
Hell, he's rooming with the Werewolf he's scared shitless of!"

"What?!" Wolverine almost burst out laughing. "Ya've got to be kiddin'!
He's in with Brendan?!"

She nodded. "Yup. Word is he thought Jack'd never think ta look there
fer him."

"Jack ain't been lookin' fer nobody. He's been passed out under his bed
fer weeks. He's covered in his own shitt. He stinks! Those clothes he has on has
gotta be burned! I don't know what can be done ta help him!"

"If it can be done," Elvira told him confidently, "I can do it. Just let
me stop by my room first and grab my kit. It's pass time we started getting
these problems solved. There's nothing I can do about Jareth right now," she
shot a thundering look at Jareth's door, "but I can help you get Jack and Will
straightened out. Let me clean up Jack. You find a way to get word to Delvira
and tell her to bring Jack home a new outfit that'll heat Will's blood up; her
fashion sense is almost as good as mine. Tell her to pick up some horny goat
weed, too."

"Horny goat weed? What the Hell is that?"

"I don't know what the scientific name is for it, but it'll keep Will
hard. That's the whole problem, don't you know?" She glanced at Wolverine as
they walked together toward her room.

"No, I didn't!" He gave a slight cough. He was usually blunt and to the
point, but he had never known a lady who spoke as bluntly about everything,
including sex, as Elvira did. The only woman he'd ever known who came close was
Faith, but he'd never thought of her as a lady. "Phillip should be able to help
us contact yer sister. I'll just go an' do that now," he called as he raced back
for Jack's room. "PHILLIP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"HOLY SHIT!" Wolverine ejected as he raced across the room to stand
before the mirror. "JUST WHAT THE HELL IS FAITH DOIN' IN TORTUGA WITH HANSEL?!"
A loud burp was heard, and he saw Salem. "YA GOT THE DAMN CAT DRUNK, TOO?!
FAITH, COME HOME! THERE'S A MEETIN'!" he yelled at Phillip.

He'd have to talk to her about Hansel later. He liked Dawson very much
and did not want to see Faith two-timing him. He'd have to talk to his girl
about that later. Right now, he just needed to get her home. Even though the
damn Priest and Hook had called the meeting, Wolverine thought it was a good
idea. It was past time to get their troubles worked out. He peered anxiously
into Phillip.



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

Somewhere

About two miles away from Kat's group, Ace was crouched in the top of an
oak tree with a spyglass trained on Kat's party. He had watched the whole trek
and was thankful Kat was not lobbing fireballs at him. He did not make a comment
to the group waiting below the tree until Kat had burned the severed heads. Then
he looked down into two eager faces.

"Did Ace see anything?" Teak asked.

"Unfortunately," Ace told him as he climbed down. He looked at Connor.
How much should he tell the two little ones? He had grown quite close to the two
childlike beings as they had worked their way through the trials and saved each
other. He now thought of them as his family. "Kat's fine," he told them. "She is
surrounded by carnage, but she's taking care of it."

"We go closer?" Teak asked.

"Teak, you know better than that. If Kat gets a whoof of us, she'll set
our butts on fire."

Teak held on to his rear for a moment and then looked at Connor as the
boy asked, "Zora okay?"

"Yeah. You wanna go up and look?"

"Sure," Connor agreed. Taking the spyglass, he quickly climbed the tree
and continued to watch Kat's party. The four of them had been following Kat for
what seemed like days. Connor could not believe how beautiful Zora looked no
more than he could understand how cold-hearted she was to him. What had he done
wrong? He had no idea. Why did she blame him for what had happened with Vang?
She had not spoken more than three words to him since the incident even though
he had tried desperately at first; then, slowly, he had given up of a frontal
attack. He was still planning on how he could get closer to her.

Trely looked at Ace and smiled. "Ace hungry?" she asked.

Ace smiled at her. The morning sun caught the glistening of the jewel
that hung around her neck. One of the first things Ace had done upon returning
home to their island had been to find a cord and make Trely a necklace. The
little Goblin wore it proudly. "Something to eat sounds good, Trely."

"Teak go find," Trely told him, and Teak was off like a shot, collecting
nuts, berries, fruits, anything he could find that even remotely resembled
anything edible.

Ace had been about to tell him not to wander too far. Something had
killed those things, and it was loose in this Gods-forsaken hole of a
wilderness. He felt as though no one cared. After all, the Gods had shriveled up
and died. No one had heard from any of Them, not since the night of the battle.
"Trely, stay close. When Teak gets back, tell him to stay close. Something's
going on."

"You can say that again," Connor spoke downward without ever taking his
eye from the spyglass. "But I don't know what it is. It's kind of like a shift
in the atmosphere? Heat wave? I just can't get a clear look at it. Whatever it
is, it just passed between us and them. Do we dare to go closer in case there's
trouble?"

"Can Zora smell you from two miles away?"

"Truthfully," Connor told him, "I don't know how close I could be before
she'd smell me."

"Then we'll try moving forward as soon as Teak gets back."

Ace felt a tug on his pants leg, and he looked down. Teak was back.
"Don't run off any more like that; stay close," Ace told him. "We are going to
try to move closer to them. I hope they don't pick our scents up." Tossing the
unedible from Teak's hand, Ace finally chose a piece of mango and began to eat
as he walked forward, leading their small group. They went about half a mile,
and he sent Connor up the tree again. "What's going on, Connor?"

"OH MY GODS!" Connor screamed downward. "THEY'RE UNDER ATTACK! WE HAVE
TO GET THERE!"

"Kat?" Ace queried, fear sounding in his voice.

"SHE'S BEEN HIT!" Connor leaped to the ground, and they took off running
in the direction that Kat and her party were in.

"Teak, you can get there faster than I can!" Ace told him. "Stay low!
Get to Kat!"

They could hear the gunshots as they came upon the area. Ace was not
even armed, let alone against anything as powerful as guns. There was nothing to
protect the group from arrows. Even as they came into the clearing, Ace saw that
Katrina was using her powers to turn their arrows back upon their hidden enemy,
but he could not see where the gunshots were going. He figured she was exploding
them inside the guns that he also could not see. Who could have such a high
amount of fight power? he wondered. Could it be other Pirates attacking, or
could it be something far worse? Connor had mentioned a ripple in the air. Were
they fighting something unseen or seen?

Katrina used every bit of strength that she had. Her foot touched Tom,
and she drew from his strength, as well. She threw arrows back from the ones who
shot and was rewarded with screams as the arrows meant for them hit their
shooters. They fell dead in their tracks. Though she could not see them, her
ears told her they fell for she could hear their bodies striking the ground, and
her nose told her they were dead as the smell of death rose steadily higher in
the air.

She was oblivious to what was going on with their small group. She hoped
they had all taken shelter. She alone stood with her arms outstretched, and she
alone had the power to use their own weapons against them. She exploded the guns
with the shots never having left the chambers. The guns exploded, killing their
barrels, yet it seemed to be a mighty horde that never slackened. She was not
even aware when Ace's group arrived.

Ace knelt beside Kat. "I know you wanted me gone, love, but you are my
heart. I will never leave you. I may fall behind, but I'll always be there when
you need me." He held her hand and knew that he had to pull the arrow out but
was afraid to do so until Katrina could get free. He wished that he had
firepower, but he had not a single weapon. He'd never had need before; now he
longed to have one in his own hands.

Connor stood at the ready. He saw Katrina, but he did not see what she
was attacking. He moved up to stand close enough to her that if something got
past her, he could drive his sword through its heart. He would let nothing touch
her.



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

Tortuga/The Island

Hansel was just reaching over to pour Salem some more tequilla when a
small ball hit his hand. Salem immediately swiped a paw at it, but Hansel's gut
told him he'd best look at the crumpled ball that he could now tell was made of
parchment. "Hold on there," he told him. He set the bottle down and took the
paper from Salem. "Let me take a look at this; then you can play with it all you
want."

Hansel's blue eyes skirted over the writing, and he frowned
thoughtfully. "Faith," he questioned without looking up from the scribbling,
"have you ever seen your kid's handwriting?"

"No," she grouched the slurred answer, swaying a bit in her chair. "Why
th' fuck do ya ask?" Her chair went down with a thud, and her head fell down
upon her arms. Her fingers, which had already been holding precariously to the
bottle, simply opened and let it fall to the floor. She snorted derisively as it
shattered.

"Look at this," Hansel said, prodding her elbow.

"I don' wanna look at no damn shitt."

"It's not crap, Faith! Look at it!"

"Shove it up yer ass, blondie."

"Fine!" he exclaimed, and she snorted. "I'll just read it to ya if ya
won't look at it!" His eyes returned to the scroll, and he had barely opened his
mouth to start reading it when he heard Wolverine's voice come thundering
through the tavern.

"FAITH, COME HOME! THERE'S A MEETIN'!"

Faith rose her head slowly and reluctantly up from the table and peered
around the tavern at all the people there. Several others were also looking
around, but Wolverine was nowhere to be seen. "Must be tha' fuckin' mirror. Tol'
'im I'd break his glass if he let the kid see me. Didn't tell him nutin' 'bout
Wolverine. Who'd've thunk he'd get his head outta 'Ro's ass long 'nough t'
notice?" She shrugged and almost fell out of her chair. "Not like it fuckin'
matters. Fuck the meetin'!"

"I HEARD THAT!" Wolverine bellowed back at her. "AN' I SAY GET HOME! YER
BROTHER NEEDS YA! YA CAN GET DRUNK LATER!"

Dawson had heard all the bellowing, and he didn't breathe a word. He
just continued to work on his poem for Faith. It seemed that Phillip was in
trouble already, because he had let him see Faith and he sure wasn't going to
let on like he was out there.

Would she come home because Wolverine was telling her to, or would she
continue to get drunk? Which one of her brothers needed her? If he needed her as
badly as Hansel was needing her, Dawson didn't want her coming home for him! Who
was it? Lex or Jack? He'd kick both of their butts! They couldn't have his
Faith! He listened intently and hoped that Faith would come home without a fuss.

"My brother," she spat the word, "whichever one it is, can get fucked!
Ya ain't seen 'em help me! Now go fuck 'Ro an' leave me th' Hell alone!"

"Faith," Hansel tried to reason with her, "you need to hear this."

"Whatever the fuck it is," she spat, "I damn well don't wanna hear it! I
already told ya ta shove it up yer ass!"

"I NEED YA HOME, FAITH! PLEASE COME HOME!" Wolverine bit out between his
teeth. It was killing him to beg. What had gone wrong with his family? Were they
all nuts? Was the island cursed? Maybe Elvira was right and they should all get
the Hell away from the damn island?

"Ya don't need me! Nobody needs me! I'm not worth a damn to anybody!"

Dawson's jaw slackened and almost fell open. Was that the problem? he
wondered. Was she again thinking that no one needed her, no one wanted her? What
did he have to do to make her understand that he needed her, that he wanted
her?!

"GODS, IF I'VE HEARD THAT ONCE, I'VE HEARD IT A HUNDRED TIMES TODAY!"
Wolverine roared. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH Y'ALL?! YER ONE O' THE BEST DAMN
PIRATESSES I'VE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE O' KNOWIN'! YA ALSO HAPPEN TA BE A MEMBER
O' MY FAMILY, AN' I'M DAMN PROUD O' YA! BUT, DAMN IT, GIRL, I NEED YA HOME! YER
BROTHER'S TRYIN' TA KILL HIMSELF!"

"I can't help him! I can't help anybody! Hell, I'm broke! I can't even
fuck!" She downed nearly an entire bottle in a single gulp.

At those words, Dawson's mouth did fall open. He stared at Phillip in
shock, his scrolls forgotten and almost falling out of his hands.

"I may have a solution fer ya," Wolverine called back. "I've gotta get
Delvira to pick up some. Will needs it too; he's broke! If ya get back here,
maybe we can work on yer problem! Maybe we can fix both you an' Will!"

Dawson had the strangest look on his face. How could Faith be broke?! He
knew she had been running away from him, but it wasn't possible for her to be
broke! Hell, she was the best Virgin Slayer he'd ever encountered! Of course, he
hadn't encountered any others, he told himself, but she was great in the bed.

{I'm working on this problem the wrong way,} he thought. {I've gotta
change my wording. If she's broke, I've gotta fix her. I've gotta tell her how
much I love her and that even if she's broke, I still want her! I love her!} He
scratched his head and began to think of a new poem to write, something that
would tell Faith just how much he did love her and that, even if she was never
fixed again, he'd still want her. He didn't care if she was broke!

"Ya can't fix my damn problem! Even if I could fuck, I shouldn't be
fuckin' him! I've gotta let him go! We don't know what the damn Council has up
its sleeves! If they turn me into a cat, what kind o' a life fer him is that?!
I've gotta cut him loose!"

Hansel slammed his hands down upon the table in frustration. His right
hand landed next to Salem, and he pushed the scroll toward him. Before Faith
could react, he had grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit up. "You're
gonna hear this even if you don't want to! Read it, Salem!"

"Hmm . . . " Salem mused, his tail thumping the table in a scattered
rhythm. "This is the boy's handwriting. Hic. I've seen it before." He cleared
his throat and began to read even while Faith struggled to tune him out and get
her hands over her ears.


"So much for my happy ending . . .
Lets talk this over,
It's not like we're dead.
Was it something I did;
Was it something you said?
Don't leave me hanging,
On an island so dead,
Held up so high,
I'm such a breakable thread"
Faith glared at Salem as he finished with a loud burp. She'd tried
everything she could not to listen, but Hansel had held her still, her arms
pinned to her sides. She'd even dug her fingernails into his hips, and yet he'd
continued to hold on to her. She'd tried desperately to tune Salem out but had
not succeeded in doing so. The whole tavern seemed to have fallen quiet as
Faith's eyes cut daggers into the black cat who now looked up at her with a
rather satisfied, smug grin. "He couldn't've wrote that!"

Salem's tail hit the table a single time in determination. "He did."

{Uh-oh!} Dawson thought. {Now she's really gonna shoot off the handle!}
He hadn't meant for her to actually see it yet. It wasn't finished. He wanted to
yell at Phillip for letting it go through. He had thrown it, never realizing
that it had passed right on through. Now Faith would be pissed at everybody;
there would be Hell to pay! Dawson was just as glad that he was not in the room
with her at the moment. He couldn't believe that she had drawn blood out of
Hansel and he was treating it as though it was nothing.

"Well, girl, give me an answer! Are ya comin' or not? Do I have ta come
fetch ya home?"

"Fuck you, Wolverine! Fuck all you damn -- " Faith toppled into Hansel's
arms, and Hansel picked her up even as Salem picked up the scroll.

"Ah don't know what in Heaven's name y'all have goin' on or where that
handsome devil Wolverine is, but ya jest let him know Blanche helped ya out."
The redheaded woman who had taken the frying pan to Faith's head winked at
Hansel.

"Hello, Blanche!" Wolverine greeted the madame through the mirror.
"Thanks fer the help! Hansel, can ya carry her or do ya need help?"

Blanche looked around but still did not see Wolverine though she could
hear him clearly. "Ya jest be sure ta come up an' see me some time, big boy,"
she flounced her hair and swayed her hips invitingly. "It's been far too long."
She licked her lips, and yet couldn't help feeling a bit like a fool as she
still couldn't see him.

"I've got her," Hansel answered Wolverine. "Phillip," he sighed, "we're
ready to come home. But I'm not staying for the meeting."

When the portal suddenly appeared in the room, Blanche gasped, dropped
her frying pan, and jumped back. Hansel and Salem stepped calmly through. As
they disappeared from sight and the portal vanished, Blanche shook her head. "Ya
always did manage ta get mixed up in the oddballest things, Wolvie."



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

Somewhere

Though she pulled her hand out of his grasp with a muttered oath behind
clenched teeth, she didn't look at him at first. Instead, she waited, her eyes
shut tightly as though against the pain, as she concentrated on her anger and
let it burn away her tears. Then she raised her head to glare up at him. "I
din't need ye," she spat at him, "an' ye're nae supposed tae be here. Ye're the
last bloody t'ing I need now! Gi away from here, an' leave this tae me!"

She knew her words hurt him, but she ignored the pain in her own heart
and looked away before the pain in his eyes could get to her. She looked back to
the arrow and used her good hand to force her injured hand to turn over. Just as
she had expected, the silver tip of the arrow winked up at her. The arrow had
gone straight through her hand and, she feared, the bone within. It was simple
enough to deal with, she told herself, in due time. Now was not that time; now
was the time for these bastards to fry. Her good hand pointed upwards, and a
flame began to grow.

Her words cut him to the heart as though they were knives. For the life
of him, he could not figure out why Kat hated him so much. He had done his best
to be a gentleman, because it was what she seemed to be wanting and yet, he had
failed at that too. Life wasn't worth the living to him, if Kat didn't want him.
He wanted to cry out, "What have I done?!", but when he saw the fireball
growing, he thought it was for him.

He backed away from her quickly and went to stand beside Connor. He
would not leave. His hands clenched, and he wished for a weapon. Suddenly, he
felt a tug on his pants leg, and he looked down. Teak was handing him a club of
wood. Where the little fellow had gotten it from, he didn't know. "Thank you,
Teak," Ace told him. "Take Trely and get as far away from here as you can. Go
home. We may not make it away from here."

Teak gulped and looked at Ace in shock. He whispered, "Teak not leave
Ace." He refused to meet Ace's eyes. "Not even if Ace command," Teak told him.

"What about Trely?" Ace asked him. "You know she can't make it on her
own."

Teak looked at Trely, and then Trely told Ace. "Not leaving Master Ace,"
she agreed adamantly.

Ace had to glump to keep from choking on his tears. Even though his Kat
didn't want him any more, his two little, green friends did. There would always
be tomorrow, he thought, for them. He figured he'd die and they'd run. Today was
the only thing he had left. In a matter of minutes, he feared the enemy would
run over them. He looked back at Kat and blew her a silent kiss.

Zora had left Kat the moment she'd known she would be in good hands. She
had known Kat would be furious with Ace, just as she was at Connor, for coming,
but she was secretly glad he was there. He'd be able to take care of Kat and,
thus, leave her to be able to fight. As he had moved in, she had leapt on top of
a nearby barrel to get a better look.

The sun glinted on her blonde hair, and she had to shake it out of her
eyes. She glanced first at Connor, her green eyes swiftly roaming his body and
checking for signs of injury. Finding none, she turned her attention back to
their attackers. Katrina was keeping them at bay, but she did not know how long
her aunt could hold up. She could tell from the way Katrina and Tom huddled
together that she was already pulling from her uncle.

Not only would Katrina not be able to hold them at bay for long, but it
also was not in the least bit satisfactory. Zora wanted to get her hands on
these murderers. She wanted to break their bones, taste their blood, rip their
skin off . . . Zora didn't try to fight the thoughts that swept into her
predatorial brain; instead, she embraced them. Spotted fur swiftly began to grow
over her face, and whiskers and a tail sprouted from her human body as she
watched the movements in the air that her dilated eyes were able to make out.

She didn't know what these things were or what power, or perhaps even
powers, they possessed, and she didn't care. They had killed many of her kind
and far too many animals. They had hurt Kat and stood a good chance of yet
injuring, or worse, several others of her family. Even Connor was in danger
again. She'd take them down or die trying.


Chapter Four
Jack's Bedroom

Wolverine wondered why Hansel was not staying for the meeting and, the
minute the boy appeared in the room, carrying Faith and flanked by Salem, he
asked him, "Why?" What kind of problem did he have that he couldn't hang around?

Hansel shook his head and sighed deeply. "I can't face them." He laid
Faith gently down upon Jack's bed, then looked apprehensively at Wolverine.
"He's not really trying to kill himself again, is he?"

"He . . . tried ta drink himself ta death. Oh, Hell! I left him alone in
the bathroom! Elvira should be there by now, an' ya can't run away from yer
problem, Hansel. Ya're gonna have ta face up ta it sooner or later. I think
that's what the meetin's about." Even as he was talking, Wolverine was heading
toward the bathroom where he could hear the water still running.

"Jack?" No answer was coming. Just where the Hell was Elvira? She should
have been there by now! He reached down just in time to keep Jack's head from
going completely under the water. "See what I mean, Hansel?" He pulled him up
and began to strip the wet clothes off of him.

Jack fought desperately with Wolverine, completely unaware of the
others. "Leave me th' 'ell 'lone, Dad! Lemme die! Lemme drown!"

Hansel had not followed Wolverine, however. He was busily searching
through Jack's items in search of something that he could tie Faith up with. He
glanced up when he heard the door open. Seeing Elvira, he muttered, "They're in
the bathroom," and returned to his search.

Elvira watched the man for a moment as she contemplated the gossip she'd
heard on him. "Whatcha looking for?"

"Something to tie her up with."

Elvira pressed a hand to her bosom. She had just the thing, but she had
been waiting, hoping to catch Jareth or, even better, her own Wolf. Faith needed
help, though, and Hansel did, as well. With a heavy sigh, she set her case down
beside Gonk and sashayed over to the bed. "I've got just the thing." She slipped
the handcuffs out of her bodice and clicked one shut around Faith's wrist. "Give
me a hand?"

"Sure." Just as Hansel reached for the handcuffs, however, Elvira
clicked the other cuff shut around his wrist.

"WHAT THE HELL!?!"

Elvira looked up at him and answered with a wink, "Sorry, hon, but the
only way you're going anywhere is if you're taking Faith with ya. You want her
to fix her problem with Dawson, then you're gonna have to fix yours with Chong
and Derek. It's past time you picked one and let the other one go or ya can have
both." She shrugged. "I don't care, but it's not right for them to both be being
kept in the dark and I'm tired of hearing them cry at night."

Hansel looked at Elvira with an expression she could only liken to a
whipped pup. "They've been crying? Both of them?" At her nod, he wondered how in
the world he was ever going to be able to pick one and break the other one's
heart.

She straightened. "Gonk, be a good boy and watch him. If he tries to get
free, bite him in the balls." She then continued on toward the bathroom as
though she hadn't done anything out of the normal, Hansel shouting names and
curses at her the whole while.

Gonk looked at him and growled, his wool bristling. "Nice doggy."

Salem jumped onto the bed. "Stupid dog," he murmured with a shake of his
head.

Hansel looked at him. "Can't you help me out?"

Salem unsheathed a claw thoughtfully. "I could," he said, examining his
claw rather smartly. An abrupt hiccup brought his masquerade of somberness to a
quick end. "I just don't think it's a good idea." He curled up on top of Faith.
"I'm just going to take a catnap. Then I'll go back to Tortuga. I'm not going to
that meeting."

Hansel glared at him, but Salem paid no attention to the man. If he had
to go to the meeting, Salem was going too!



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

Jack's Bathroom

Wolverine looked up as soon as Elvira walked in. "Thank Goddess ya've
arrived! See what I mean?" He indicated Jack.

"SHE CAN'T BE IN HERE!" Jack hollered. "I'M NAKED! DAMN SURE DON'T NEED
A WOMAN IN HERE!" He glared angrily at his father.

"Yer'll tolerate Elvira bein' in here. She's here ta help, an' ya'll do
what she tells ya to do."

"I'll be damned! I'm the Captain!"

"So? I'm the Captain's father! I outweigh ya! Now be a good boy an' let
Elvira help ya. Ya do wanna get Will excited, don't ya?"

"Will don't wan' me! Tha's what this whole damn problem's all 'bout!
Don't leave me in here wit' her!" Jack yelled at Wolverine's retreating back.

"Gotta fer a few minutes," Wolverine told him. "I forgot ta call
Delvira." Without a backward glance, Wolverine passed through the door and went
to tell Phillip. As he passed by Jack's bed where Faith had been laying, he
noticed that Hansel was now attached to her with cuffs. "How did that happen?"
he asked, looking at Hansel. "Ya wan't stupid enough ta chain yerself to Faith,
were ya? That won't keep her here! She'll just drag you where'er she's goin'!"

"Hell no! That damn bitch did this to us!" He shook his wrist, and the
cuffs jangled. "Can't you break us free, Wolverine? Faith needs to be chained,
but I don't!"

"Yeah, ya do or she wouldn't've chained ya," Wolverine told him, "so
even though I could break the chain, I'm not goin' to. Good boy, Gonk,"
Wolverine told the dog. He inched around slowly so as not to upset the dog. He
was kind of leery of dogs, having never been around many in his lifetime.

He had come into contact with very few animals until recently when the
family had started to increase the animal population. {Shouldn't there be a cat
in here?} he thought. {Jack's got at least one, if not two, o' those damn
things. Where could they've gotten to?} He glanced around the room quickly but
did not see them.

"Phillip, I need ta talk ta Delvira please." Wolverine was learning that
"please" and "thank you" got him a lot further than demanding, and he was very
careful to add it in, especially when talking to Phillip and other beings that
could cause him a problem. He was finding that he liked the peaceful way of 'Ro
more than he did the angry way that he had always had.

Phillip's mirror flickered, and Delvira came into view. Phillip released
a sharp, low whistle at the sight of the naked Vampiress.

Wolverine placed one hand over his eyes. "Sorry, Delvira, but Elvira
wanted me to contact ya. She said ya need to bring home some . . . stink weed?"
That didn't sound right. "And some sexy clothes fer Jack."

"The sexy clothes I can see, but stink weed? Have you been smoking
again, Wolverine?"

"I wish. No, she said it was somethin' 'bout gettin' it up an' keepin'
it up fer Will. Some kind o' weed. I thought she said stink; it may not have
been. Ya got any idea what it is?"

"Horny goat weed," Delvira replied, pulling on the latest piece of
lingerie she was trying on. "How much do we need?"

"Hmm . . . Well, I think Faith needs some and Will needs some an'
somebody else might need some, so maybe enough fer three? How much does it
cost?"

"Don't worry about that; I've got my ways. I'll bring it back with me."

"Wonderful! We've got a meetin' in an hour."

"I'll be there." She wondered if Jareth would actually come out of
hiding long enough to attend the meeting, but in her heart, she knew he
wouldn't. She had to find a way to get him out, though, no matter what it ended
up taking . . .



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

Jack had grabbed a towel and was backing up away from Elvira as fast as
he could. He backed up so fast that his foot hit the bar of soap and his feet
slid out from under him. Landing hard on his back knocked the wind out of him,
and before he could do anything, Elvira was upon him.

Elvira's attention had been distracted by the wondrous merkitty swimming
in the sink, but when she heard Jack hit the floor, she whirled quickly around
and snatched the opportunity she was being presented with. She straddled Jack
swiftly and chained his hands to the faucet and its knobs. "We could've done
this the easy way, Jack, but you just wouldn't let it be," she said, shaking her
head. "Now I've got no choice, because I'm not going to let you and Will
continue to be at odds as long as I can help. I know you think Will doesn't want
you, but he does. He just feels he doesn't deserve you and that he's let you
down." Jumping into a crouching position beside his legs, she ducked a kick and
chained one foot to the toilet and the other to the sink. "I swear, it's a good
thing I keep handcuffs for you silly men who don't want haircuts but really need
them. Now just let me get my scissors."

Jack struggled, but he could not move. "What do you plan to do to me?"
he asked in a little boy voice. "And what makes you think Will wants me? That
last night we really had a big, horrible fight and he hasn't talked to me since.
I tried to talk to him; he ignored me. It's all my fault! I should've got there
faster! But I couldn't make it! And now he can't make it! He doesn't even want
to try! I don't want to live without him, Elvira! If y'all would just leave me
alone for about five minutes . . . " he pleaded, looking at her with his big,
soulful eyes. "Just five minutes. I could've drowned! You could still leave me!"

She pointed the scissors she had been bouncing up and down in her hand
at him. "But I'm not going to. I'm going to help you and Will get your crap
straightened out. Will thinks he's let you down, Jack, but neither one of you is
to blame for what's happened. He feels he's not worthy of you if he can't give
you pleasure. That's why he's hiding from you, why he won't talk to you."

Stepping over him, she sat on the side of the bath tub and put an arm
into the murky water without realizing the view she was granting him. Her breast
nearly dropped out of her cleavage as she unplugged the tub and let the water
drain. Straightening, she turned back to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
She could feel how tense he was and felt sorry for him but knew that there was
simply no other way. "I'm not going to do anything to you that Will won't thank
me for later, and you will, too. It's not going to be easy, but it will be a lot
easier if you'll trust me and cooperate."

At her words, all the fight went out of Jack. "Do your damndest, woman!"
Never in a million years would he have thought that he would have been chained
up the way he was now. He could not even move! He glared angrily at her. "But if
you're wrong, this doesn't work, an' Will don't want me, then I am gonna do it
and all the hounds of Hell can try to stop me but I'll do it!"

"The hounds wouldn't be trying to stop you; it would be the Angels, if
They even bother to care these days. I heard not even Kurt has been able to
raise Aphrodite. I'll go as far as to tell you this, Jack. If it should turn out
that Will truly does not want you, I won't try to stop you. But for now, if you
give me your word that you'll be a good boy and not try to fight me off and let
me do what I need to do to fix your image, I'll unchain you."

He gazed intently at her and then flashed a smile. "Okay. I promise.
I'll be good. Oh, if only Will did want me!" he moaned to himself. He could hear
splashing. "What's making that noise?" Then he heard "meow!" and he looked under
the bath tub and there lay Willow.

Willow told the merkitty, "{{{Just be still in there. The Captain
doesn't want to see you right now, but he will soon. Hell, he might not even
remember you, not that you're that memorable.}}}" Both he and the merkitty were
hungry, and Willow wanted Jack to take care of that right away. He gazed
hopefully at Jack with a "Mrrw?" but did not venture out from underneath the
tub.

Jack shook his head. "I can't do anything to help you right now, Willow.
Go tell Phillip whatever you want."

With a loud "Mrrw!", Willow shot straight out of the room in search of
Phillip. He had already been asking Phillip for food. That was the way he and
the merkitty had been eating for days, but they were getting tired of fish and
he had not dared to leave the room, leaving Jack or the merkitty unwatched.

"Go down to the kitchen and circle around Piper's legs," Elvira called
to Willow as she unlocked the last handcuff on Jack. "She'll give you something
to eat. Bug her again after you've had your fill, and you can bring that to the
merkitty here." Grasping Jack's arm, she hauled him to his feet. "Where did you
get that little fellow from, any way?" She set him down onto the closed toilet.

"During one of the tests, we rescued him. Never saw one before. Cute,
ain't he?"

Unheeding to his nakedness, Jack padded over to the sink and looked down
at the little fellow. "He seems familiar somehow." He scratched the kitty under
his chin. Then he wrapped his towel around his groin area and turned to face
Elvira.

"He is cute," she said with a smile. "Maybe you can get the mermaid to
talk to him later?" She pointed at the toilet with her scissors, indicating that
he should sit.

Jack sat. He was glad there wasn't a mirror for he was afraid to see
what Elvira was about to do to him. Just where the Hell had his daddy gone? He
ought to be in there, getting some of this too! If Jack had to suffer it, so
should Wolverine!

"You know," Elvira attempted to ignite conversation as she started in on
Jack's tangled mess of hair, "I'm glad to see that at least one good thing came
out of those trials." She sighed and shook her head. "Too many of us faced Hell
in those things. You and Will aren't the only ones falling apart at the seams."

"What happened to you?"

"I wasn't in there, honey, but poor Wolf . . . " She sighed again as she
started snipping at a particularly bad mass of hair. "He almost ate Jareth and
then almost ate me! He's barely spoken to me since then."

"Where is he?"

"He's around, in and out, keeping a low profile. I just can't get him to
let me see him, not to mention get him to say even so much as one frigging word
to me. And then there's Jareth. He thought Delvira found him in the obulette he
fell in. She did, but she wasn't the first one there. He mistook Helvira, or
their version of the bitch, for my sister."

"I don't even want to go there," Jack said. "I can imagine what
happened! There were so many awful trials! I think the worst one was that damn
monkey! Barbossa's monkey turned into a gigantic monkey, and he had every
intention of eating me! He almost succeeded! Yet my Will didn't give up. He kept
fighting. He only gave up when we came home," Jack said wistfully. "I wish . . .
Sometimes I wish that damn monkey had eaten me!"

"He wouldn't want to hear you talking like that. Will does love you, but
he's beside himself right now. He can't fuck, so he doesn't think he deserves
you. What kind of man would he be to trap you in a life where you could never
get screwed?"

"That's not the most important thing in life, Elvira. Even if we would
never be able to do it again, just to hold him, to lay with him in my arms at
night, that would be a blessing! Sometimes the pain is so great I can hardly
breathe! I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn't listen! He thought . . . I
guess he thought that, without that, he wasn't . . . " His voice trailed off.

She was making him think things that he had not thought before. Why was
that so important to Will? Jack had spent most of his life without it, and if it
meant that Will could never do it again, Jack would still want him. It didn't
matter! That wasn't what made his world worthwhile. Just being held by him was
enough. His fogged mind reached back, trying to remember. Hadn't he told Will
that and Will had laughed at him about it? Or was that just one of his
nightmares? "I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn't listen."

The door opened quietly, and Wolverine came in. "Well, I see you're
underway. When you have more time, Elvira, think you could cut my hair too? It's
been a long time since I've been cleaned up. I'd like to surprise 'Ro. How ya
holdin' up, boy?" he asked Jack.

"I'm hanging in there, Dad. Elvira's making me see things in a whole new
light."

"That's what a good friend's for," Wolverine smiled at Elvira. "Wolf's
nearby," he whispered. "Hell of a damn thing! I knew I'd been smellin' him. He's
in the wall, and I'm not given him away! But he is here," he said the last loud
enough that Wolf could hear but not the part that he had whispered because he
didn't want Wolf to know he had given him away.

Wolf spent most of his time in the walls, just watching Elvira. He was
afraid to get near her. It would have been bad enough if he had eaten Jareth,
but if he had eaten Elvira, he would not have been able to live with himself.
His hand reached out and caressed the wall. It was as close as he could get to
her safely.

When he heard Wolverine call his name and say that he had smelled him,
he wondered if she was glad that he was still hanging around. It wasn't fair
that some one was as beautiful as she was and that he couldn't have her! He
licked his lips and slapped himself. He scratched the wall in his frustration,
never realizing that the ones in the room could hear it.

Elvira sighed. "I know, but thanks for telling me. I can smell him, but
so often, he won't even come close enough for me to see him. I understand why
he's hiding from me, why he doesn't dare come around me, but it hurts . . . "
She looked toward the scratching sound with tears in her eyes. "I've been trying
not to think about it, trying to busy myself with Delvira's problem, but there
isn't a second that passes that I don't miss him, not a heartbeat that I'm not
aching to be with him."

"There's got to be a solution for all o' our problems. I don't know how
this went on for so long an' I wasn't aware o' any o' it. Hell, if I'd've known
Jack was drinkin' himself ta death, I would've snatched him out o' here sooner!
What the Hell did ya do to him, Elvira?!" Wolverine was gazing down at some one
he didn't recognize, and even though he knew it was Jack, if he'd been asked, he
would not have said that it was him. He hadn't seen the boy look this good since
he was a young lad!

At the look on Wolverine's face, Jack reached up to his immediately.
"What the Hell did ya do to me, woman?!" He stumbled out of the bathroom and
into his room. "Phillip, give me a reflection. Is that me?" he asked when he
could finally see himself. He was stunned by his own image.

Wolverine stood, looking at him. "Your mom's not gonna recognize ya, an'
Will . . . He's gonna absolutely die!"

"Is that good or bad?" Jack asked tremulously. "If he doesn't like it,
it can always grow back." With a trembling hand, he reached up and touched his
hair. He had to do that before he realized that it really was him. He wasn't
sure rather or not to thank Elvira.

He had to wait to see Will and see if Will's reaction was good or bad.
She had promised him that Will would flip over his new image. He only hoped that
Will would. "I don't know what to say," he told her, reached up, and wiped the
tears gently from her eyes. "If this works, you have given me my life back,
Elvira, and I will do anything I can to help solve your problem, even to
chaining that wolf down."

"I hate to interrupt this little party," Phillip told the group, "but
somebody's trying to come through."

"I've got to get some clothes. Tell them to hold on a minute!" He walked
over to the closet and stood, looking at the clothes. "What should I wear?" he
asked. He turned around and looked at Elvira, hoping she had another card up her
sleeve.

"You don't need to put on anything yet, Jack. You need to get in that
tub and scrub the Hell out of yourself. Come over here." She was still having
trouble stopping her tears now that she'd allowed them to start, but she ignored
the pain as best she could and walked back into the bathroom to her case.

Jack raced to the bathroom. He could hardly wait to scrub the slime off
of himself.

"I'm gonna go burn these," Wolverine said as he picked up the clothes
that were thrown around the room. "I won't be gone too long, but I gotta check
and see where 'Ro is. If ya need me, call."

"We will," Elvira answered Wolverine while pulling things out of her
case. "Phillip, who's trying to come through?"

"Delvira."

Elvira grinned, but her smile was thin and would have been seen through
immediately by those who knew her best. "She's supposed to have you a brand new
set of clothes, Jack. I'll have her leave them on the dresser. Did you notice
your bed?"

"Yeah. I didn't say anything. I didn't know what they were doing. How is
it that Faith can go from man to man like she does? I just don't understand it!
That kid's in love with her, and yet there she is, doing some kind of kinky
thing with Hansel while that kid's crying his heart out! I know he is! I don't
even have to see him. He's nuts about Faith! You get through working on me, I'm
going to give her a piece of my mind! How dare she do this to him!"

Elvira had already been shaking her head, but she had let Jack get the
frustrations out of his system. "What," she asked, turning to look into his
eyes, "would you think if I told you that you're as wrong about them as you were
about Will?"

"I'd . . . believe anything you told me, Elvira, but it sure did look
funny."

"Faith's got the same problem as Will. She can't fuck and foolishly
thinks that the kid deserves better. She's been with Hansel and Salem, drinking
in Tortuga, for most of the last month. Dawson's pining away, of course, and
Chong and Derek are both beside themselves." She waited for Derek's name to sink
in.

"Derek?! I saw him die! How the Hell --?! Is he a ghost?"

"We have at least one of those around now, but no, he's not a ghost.
Turns out he didn't actually die. He was dying, but some merpeople found him.
They healed him just enough that he wouldn't die and took him to their kingdom.
That's where our new mermaid friend comes in. Her name's Janeesa. Seems she saw
the battle and fell in love with Trent Malloy, Trina's brother, although I think
she may have been looking at another newcomer lately. Any way, Janeesa came here
for help when she found out that her father -- did I mention she's a Princess?
-- planned on sacrificing a human. A group went down there for him, but before
that happened, Hansel realized that he still loved Chong and had all along. Now,
I dunno . . . " She shrugged. "I guess he doesn't know which way to go or, if he
does, what in the Hell to tell 'em."

"Sounds like I've missed out on a lot!" Jack exclaimed. "Why don't you
bring me up to date on everything? We have a ghost?" The words had finally
dawned on him. "Are all our people accounted for?"

"I will, but we don't have long until the meeting and you've got to hit
this tub. I won't look. You say you trust me, so trust me."

He nodded reluctantly. "But if you look -- "

"I won't, and besides, honey, the only one that turns me on these days
is Wolf. Now take this bar of soap and this sponge and scrub the Hell out of
yourself. And make the water as hot as you can stand it. Cold water won't do as
well to get the muck off of you."

Elvira cracked the door open as Jack went to getting the tub fixed up.
"Delvira, leave his clothes on the dresser, sis, and thanks. The weed's for Will
and Faith. You can leave that there too; I'll get Piper to mix it up in their
drinks."

"Weed?" Jack asked even as Elvira closed the door. "What weed? What will
it do?"

"Relax. It's called horny goat weed, don't know what the scientific name
for it is. But it should fix their problem."

"You mean Will will be able to . . . ?"

"Stay hard and fuck ya? That's the plan." She grinned at him, but her
smile did not light up her face like it should have.

"Now," Jack queried, "what about this ghost?"

"It's the ghost of Willow Rosenberg. She refused to go forward, and they
actually let her come back. She's haunting Kennedy. She made herself known the
night Kennedy tried to hang herself."

Jack looked at her in surprise, then slowly shook his head. "Well, I
can't say I blame the girl . . . Willow's her life just as much as Will is
mine."

"I know. Rogue and Bishop have been kicking themselves for it, though,
but now that Willow's back, they're just trying to find a way to get her a
body."

"Now as for our people, there're some who didn't make it, some who
almost didn't make it, and others who are just screwed up. Smee still won't
listen to James. You remember he was under that spell that made him almost screw
that bitch and Smee saw it? Well, Smee's taken to his room and is only waiting
on word from the Council before he kills himself. James has been trying but
can't get in. So have his boys."

"Why's he waiting on the Council? What good are they?"

"None, but if it turns out that what happens to him happens to Vang, his
taking his life may also cause Vang's death. That's the only thing that's got
him hesitating. Vang's miserable, any way, 'cause he and Zora almost did the
tango while they were Wered in the trials."

"WHAT?!" Jack was so startled that he stopped scrubbing in mid-scrub.
"You mean they almost . . . ?" He was looking at her with eyes made huge from
shock.

Elvira nodded. "Yup." She reached out and scratched the tiny head of the
merkitty.

"Salem's blaming himself for almost all this crap, which is why he's
been getting drunk with Faith and Hansel."

"But it's not his fault!"

"I know, but you know how it is. A leader feels responsible for their
people and for what happens to them. It's the same for him."

"I don't have all the details, but Kitty and Kurt are miserable too and
Kyna and Spike have been having a rough time of it. There's something about
Kitty seeing her dead husbands in one of the trials and almost letting Kurt and
Rachel both down. And Kyna had to square off against her dead husband too."

"Worm almost got eaten alive. 'Ro suffered temporary insanity, but I
think there's more to it than that. I just don't know what yet, though. Kat and
Zora aren't really talking to anybody. They're spending all their time on animal
rescue missions; Kat's keeping them motivated on that. She's not even talking to
Ace, but I don't know why. I do know they lost a lot of animals. And we lost
Meesy."

She pretended not to see the tears that fell down his face. "He was such
a smart cat and a fine King, from what I've heard. What happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't really know. Nobody's sure. There was
something about a Sorceress making him into a kitten, and then he disappeared in
the chaos. The Lewises have been trying to find him. So has Phillip. But
nobody's had any luck."

"AndrAla and her group also haven't been spotted since that night, but
nobody actually saw them get killed except for Phong. I heard he got squished,
and it was nasty."

"Squished?" Jack repeated, making a face. He shuddered.

"Yeah, by some kind of giant ass Demon. That thing also got Gambit and
somebody called Beast."

Jack turned his face away so that she would not see his tears, and that
was when Elvira saw that he wasn't scrubbing his hair. "Don't forget your hair.
We wanna get that silky fine for Will."

She sighed. "Jack, this place has really turned to Hell."

"It sounds like it. Don't you have any good news for me? Isn't anybody
happy?"

"There are a few. Angel and Cordelia, Lorne and Crys . . . Oh, that
reminds me! They finally killed Frostbite!"

"They what?!" Jack dropped his soap in his excitement and had to fish it
out of the murky water. "How?!"

"Something about some sort of combination of a shitt load of fire and
Lorne's mouth."

"Are they sure?"

"Crystal received the confirmation from her cousin. He was buried."

"Well, at least, that's something, and it's about damn time too! She's
free!"

"Yes," Elvira acknowledged with a nod, "but we all need to be free, free
of the crap that's making our lives so miserable . . . "

"But how?"

"I dunno. I wish I did, but I don't even know how to solve my own
problem with Wolf. There's got to be a way, though, and maybe this meeting will
help. If we can just get people to talking . . . Besides, we also need to
compare notes on the trials and figure out what the Hell we're gonna do there.
We can't spend the rest of our lives on this damn, dinosaur-infested island,
waiting to hear from Wizards who probably got a major kick out of screwing us
all over and have no intentions whatsoever of showing back up."

"Or returning my ship." Jack said slowly and thoughtfully, "But we're
not trapped here. Phillip can take us anywhere in the world. He can even sneak
us onto a ship we can overcome, make it our own, sail the seas once again!"

"Wolverine and I were talking about that earlier. We could build a new
one, but that takes time and we'd probably have to fight Kat major on that
issue. That's one bitch I really don't wanna piss off. Her and your mother, and
'Ro would be so pissed if we cut down any trees."

"You and me both. Is any one else actually happy?"

"Lex and Clark, Xena and Gabrielle, the head Goblins, Trina and Andrew,
the new Lesbians . . . The Halliwells are mostly. Even Prue's rather satisfied
at the moment. I think she's got a plan for Brendan."

"I hope it works. Those two belong together, like you and Wolf."

"Like you and Will. Jack, I'm not gonna stop until I get you two boys
straightened out and back together."

He nodded and prayed her plan would work. At least she had a plan, which
was more than he had had. "And if you do that, Elvira, I won't stop until I see
you, and the rest of my family, happy again."



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

Somewhere

"Let go of me, man!"

The sharp exclamation jerked Carlos back to reality, and as he realized
that he was not holding to Trent or even Trina, he released the frustrated
blonde. "S-Sorry! Th-These things . . . I'm not used to these things yet!"

The sharp gaze from disdainful blue eyes told Carlos the man clearly had
no use of his explanation before he ever opened his mouth. "Clearly," he snapped
off, "but some of us are not cowards." With that said, the man called Rian raced
down the porch, jumped over the steps, and hurried to flank Tom's side. His
sword was already drawn by the time he reached the catpeople and the boy, and he
kept it at the ready, his eyes desperately trying to make out the forms of their
attackers. He sighed under his breath in frustration.

"I'M NOT A COWARD!" Carlos shouted at Rian's back. He might feel like
one when surrounded by monsters, but that didn't make him one, Carlos argued
silently. He had never been a coward. He had always stood up for his family, for
those who were weaker than he was and deserved it, and for what he believed in.
So why was it that his legs shook ever more at the thought of all the Vampires,
Werewolves, Witches, catbeings, and other monsters he now lived with?

The men's thoughts were shattered by an enormous growl that suddenly
exploded from nearby. Their gazes flew to the girl both Carlos and Rian knew
only as Zora as her transformation completed and she leapt from the barrel. Her
paws grazed the barrel but did not topple it as it and a couple others were all
Kat had for shelter.

The jaguar moved so swiftly that Rian's eyes could not follow her. She
raced over the landscape and flew into the first ripple of air she saw that
carried no fire. She struck fiercely, her tail slapping, her fangs biting, and
her claws slashing. She could not see what she was fighting, but she felt what
she was met with and smelled human. She did not take time to note that her
prey's blood could be seen as it flew through the air but jumped to the next
assailant as she felt the first topple underneath her.

Kat's mind raced as she pondered their situation and increased her
fireball. The only thing she had going for her now was the fact that Captain was
safe back on the island. No matter what happened between them, she knew Ace
would take care of him. Perhaps he was not Irish, she thought, remembering back
to the trials, but regardless of what her grandfather had said, he was no pansy
ass when it came to caring for animals.

An angry buzz of chittering startled Kat out of her thoughts, and she
looked down in surprise to see Clyde jumping up and down and shaking a fist at
her. "Din't be takin' tha' attitude wit' me, laddie," she whispered heatedly.
"Ye din't knae what ye be talkin' 'bout. Ace'n I're better off apart." The
monkey chattered at her again, and she shook her head sadly. "Most o' the
family's already gone. All that's left are ye an' Ace an' Captain an' me, an'
that 'twilln't be fer long. Gi nae an' get yer primate ass off tae him."

Clyde glared at Kat and started to chatter again. She bounced her
fireball in response. He headed for Ace. "Clyde?" The small monkey paused and
looked back over his shoulder at her. He chittered in surprise at the tears in
her eyes. "If ye tell anybody, I'll burn yer ass straight off, but . . . take
care o' him fer me?" A chittering was her only response as Clyde scampered on
toward Ace, who, Kat realized, even now had the audacity to blow one of his
pretend kisses at her. She shook her head again and quickly looked away. She
hoped he had not noticed her conversation with Clyde.

"Phillip, I knae ye can hear me. I'm nae comin' home, but they're ready
tae gi. Get 'em a portal. An' din't ask me why."

The question had been on the tip of Phillip's tongue, but he did not
ask. Instead, a portal silently flickered in, and he looked in upon the
situation as he waited for those who were coming to come. Her fireball fully
grown, Kat jumped onto the barrel Zora had stood on moments before. As she threw
the fireball to distract as much as harm their enemy, Kat yelled out,
"E'ERYBODY, THERE'S A PORTAL BEHIND THE BARRELS! GET YER ASSES MOVIN'!"

Then, as Zora had done before her, Kat ran toward the invisible beings
she could see only for the fire that they had been set upon. As she ran, she
tossed a steady procession of fireballs.

"Portal? HELL!" Ace yelled. "Clyde, take Teak and Trely through Phillip
now, and don't neither one of the three of you come back!" He chased after Kat,
swinging his club as he ran. He was rewarded with a solid Thump! of something
that he couldn't see even when he heard it hit the ground. He stood over it,
beating the crap out of it with his club.

Connor saw Kat attack, and he chased after her. He didn't care how many
portals came. Zora was already going through the battle, and he was coming next.
He passed Ace thumping the Hell out of something on the ground. He didn't pause
until he, too, met the enemy head on. He flailed about with his sword. Blood
came gushing out of the thin air, and he hoped he had mortally wounded some one.

Clyde did not hesitate. He grabbed Trely with one hand and Teak with the
other and took them through the portal just like Ace had told him, but he didn't
stay behind. Before Phillip could stop him, he came back through the portal
followed by Captain hot on his tail. Keeping his eye on Ace, Clyde ran after
Kat, scooting around the others and hoping that Ace would not see him. He saw
Ace knocking his club on the ground and knew he had to have something under it.

Katrina held firm, but she was now drawing on Tom's strength alone. She
could feel her powers waning. When the others around her broke and ran forward,
she slumped for a moment and would have fallen but felt strong arms go around
her. She felt herself picked up and carried as though she weighed nothing but
not in the direction of the battle.

Tom had known the moment was coming and had given all he could to
Katrina while he could. Now, as he carried her, he reached out with his mind,
{{{Morph, Celina, we need help.}}}

Celina, who had still been keeping Vang company in the hallway just
beyond Smee's room, jumped immediately to attention. Vang looked at her with
questioning eyes as he noticed the stiffness of her fur, her raised tail, and
her fully alert ears. {{{What is it, Tom?}}}

Tom looked back toward the battlescene and sent the image to them.
{{{They are invisible. Kat and Zora will not leave, and as they will not . . .
}}}

{{{The others will not. I am on my way.}}}

"What is it?" Vang questioned as soon as he sensed Celina withdraw from
the telepathic communication.

She looked at her old friend with troubled, blue eyes. "They are in
grave danger from a strong, invisible enemy."

"Invisible?" he queried.

Celina shared with him the image Tom had given her, and his roar echoed
through the house. The two took off running for Jack's room.


Chapter Five
The Kitchen

Piper and Chong had settled quietly into work, leaving Prue to her
silent thoughts which, Piper was certain, were full of Brendan and what she
hoped to do to him. Piper turned around and, for the third time, found a plate
of bacon moved halfway down the table . . . and half empty. "All right!" she
exclaimed, her hands going to her hips. "That's it! Which one of you . . . "

Before she could finish the question, a nearby cloth literally jumped
off of the table. It had grown feet before it hit the floor. The others stared
at it in shock. Piper slowly raised her hands, Prue pointed a finger at the
strange cloth, and Chong backed up toward the stove and raised a frying pan
behind his back. "Sorry!" the cloth exclaimed as soon as it had grown a mouth.

"Morph!" Piper exclaimed.

"Hate to eat and run, but the fam's in deep crap!" He had returned to
his normal self before he even reached the door, and just as he raced through
it, Vang's roar erupted through the house.



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

The Hallway

Wolverine was running so fast he almost ran into Vang. "What's wrong,
Vang?" he demanded to know.

"Zora's in trouble!" was the tiger's only response as he hurtled through
Wolverine's legs and kept running.

Celina stayed to help Logan to his feet. "She's not alone. Katrina, Tom,
Kat, Ace, Connor, Rian, Carlos . . . I am not sure who else may be there."

"It's 'bout time we had a battle!" Wolverine exclaimed, to which Celina
could only roll her eyes and wonder yet again how any one could enjoy fighting.
They ran to join the others jumping through the mirror. {The Hell with the
meeting!} Wolverine thought. They'd have to get that later! A battle was in the
offing, and nothing got his blood flowing like a good fight!



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

Somewhere

Wolverine saw the retreating back of Angel as he passed through the
mirror. Frederic was just ahead of him, and they were running for all they were
worth straight at the enemy even though they couldn't be seen. Angel's big hands
snaked out and grabbed something out of the air. He snatched his enemy down and
sank his fangs into it. He could smell it, and the taste of its blood
told him it was human. His befuddled mind told him that it wasn't possible for
humans to be invisible. There had to be more involved here than just humans.
What could be causing these events to take place? Who was their enemy? Did any
one even know, or were they all fighting the unknown?

Wolverine's hands reached out, feeling all around. He kept going
forward, hoping to connect with something, before finally coming to rely upon
his nose. It led him unerringly to something big and bulky, and Wolverine
attacked with glee.

Frederic ran to his place beside Connor. "What is it?" he whispered just
as something ran into him. He did not even have a chance to swing his sword. His
bare hands went out to fight the solid thing that was before him. He could feel
his fists connecting, but it seemed not to have any effect upon the thing he was
fighting.

Connor did not turn his head, just yelled at his brother. "IT'S HUMAN;
THAT'S ALL I KNOW!" He continued to fight the one he was currently fighting.



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

Rian watched as Tom carried his wife through the portal and then
immediately raced toward the battle. As he ran, he drew a morningstar from his
belt and whipped it out and about. Blood poured around him as he dove steadily
deeper into the fight. Like the others before him, he did not pause where Ace
was but continued on.

Carlos looked at the portal with deep brown eyes and a pleading
expression, but then the sounds of the fight drew him back toward it. These
people had helped his family in the heat of battle before. They were their
allies, even if they were strange. He sighed and shook his head. Then drawing
out his sword, he, too, rushed forward.

Carlos felt a movement of wind just as he started to pass Ace. He
whirled, striking with his sword toward the rush of wind, and felt it clank
against another blade just over Ace's neck.

The clank made Ace leave his prey, and he raced forward, going after
another one. "THANKS, CARLOS!" he yelled back. He had no idea what they were
fighting.

Clyde had returned, despite the fact that he told him to remain with
Teak and Trely, and had told him that they were human. Frankly, Ace thought that
was a crock of shitt. Humans didn't have the power to be invisible. He did not
know where Kat was. All he knew was that she was somewhere ahead of him and he
had to get to her side, even if she didn't want him.



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

"DAMN IT ALL!" Kat screeched as she heard the others following behind
her. "Gi home or I'll burn yer asses too!"

A resounding roar from Zora up ahead stated the jaguar's agreement with
Kat's sentiments. This was not the plan at all! They were supposed to die in
this battle, no one but they and their enemies! The others should not be here!
They could leave! Why the Hell didn't they?!

Chitterings, yowling meows, and defiant roars were their first answers.
Zora's heart chilled at the sound of her father's roar. He was the last one she
wanted here! "We're not going anywhere, hot stuff!" Ace called tauntingly to Kat
to which Kat cursed at him in Gaelic. Zora was glad Connor kept his mouth shut
but knew that he, also, was not about to leave. Her thoughts were affirmed by
the voice of his brother.

"We are here to stay and to help! We will not leave without you two!" He
drove his sword through another invisible enemy.

"Aye!" Rian agreed while striking more with his morningstar and
thrusting his sword behind him with an expert's aim. "Besides, we can take them,
and Gods know they should be taken!"

"If you wish us to leave this battle behind," Celina affirmed, "you will
have to leave first!" She turned swiftly, catching one who had been about to
attack her husband while he was in mid-transformation, and struck fiercely out
with twenty claws.

Wolverine and Angel did not bother with verbal answers, but they
remained fighting just as hard as the rest of the group. Angel tossed one being
after another behind him, drinking from each until he felt so full that he would
be more than ready to explode if he had as much as one more taste. Nearby,
Wolverine sliced and diced madly at that whose movements he could feel and
scents he could smell but could not see.

Both Pirates saw Spike and Kyna arrive on the scene. Spike caught one in
his hands before he ever hit the ground. Blood spewed as the Vampire dug his
fangs in with relish. Kyna landed beside her husband, her flaying swords sending
more blood gushing out into the empty air.

Kat screamed and cursed in Gaelic. It was one of her few curses that
Zora did not recognize, and she wondered what she said. She'd have to learn it
some time.



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

Jack's Bathroom

Back home, Jack was trying to rise from the tub despite the fact that
Elvira was in the room. She told him to sit down while she went to check it out.
"But I'm the Captain!" he exclaimed. "I've got to be there! I've got to fight!"

Elvira raced out of the room. She saw Faith, still struggling on the
bed. "What's going on?" Elvira demanded to know. She looked square at Faith. She
could tell the girl was mad and that she was trying to get off the bed. She had
even hit Hansel several times because she couldn't get up. "Well? What's going
on?" Elvira asked a second time.

"Go fuck yaself, bitch!" Faith snarled at the Vampiress.

Elvira looked at her for a brief moment, then shrugged and glanced at
Hansel. He was too far gone after Faith's last punch to even know what his name
was. She turned toward the mirror with her hands on her hips. "Phillip?"

"See for yourself, milady." The first image he showed was of Rian
running through the battle, slicing through unseen enemies with his sword and
pounding and cutting at others with his morningstar.

Elvira studied the picture with a single, raised eyebrow before
announcing, "Nice ass, but that's not what I'm looking for."

"Sorry. Perhaps this would be more explanatory?" Phillip panned the
image out.

Now Elvira could see a large group of their people fighting. Blood was
flying all over through the air, but she could not be certain whose it was.
There was also a growing fire, which must assuredly come from Kat. "Damn!" she
exclaimed. "Jack, I'm afraid you're right! We do have trouble!" Walking over to
the door, she poked her head out and hollered, "DELVIRA! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE,
SIS! WE NEED A SORCERESS!"



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

The Kitchen

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Piper looked at Chong. "Think you can handle
finishing breakfast on your own?"



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

Jack's Bedroom

Jack had gotten out of the tub, wrapped a towel around himself, and
headed for the closet. He glanced one time at Faith and Hansel on the bed.
"Elvira, unchain Faith."

"Jack, are you sure that's such a bright idea?" Elvira questioned him.
"She's just going to run off again."

"That's right. The damn meeting. Don't unchain her."

"Well, fuck you too!" Faith hissed. She tried to kick him but couldn

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