Pirates and the Golden Treasure ch.07

     Cata has vanished ahead down the trail, eager to return to her ship, an action Rhulan finds a bit disconcerting considering the situation.

 

    Her thoughts are cut short by Mr. Whiskers, “Excuse me ma’am, but if you may, what was all that about back there?”

 

   “hmmm,” says Rhulan, “Oh, I just figured out that Polymoebial was being hijacked by something else.”

 

   “What?” asks Scrags rather loudly bringing the group to a halt in the forest.

 

   *sigh*

 

   “Well,” says Rhulan, “from the top then. As everyone here is clearly aware by now I am, or was, Empress Rhulan, back in my time as Empress I would send people to seek council from Polymoebial. Her methods are always the same, send out a swarm of amoe-baals she creates with her psionic powers to test the resolve of those who went to speak with her. She would then, no matter the size of the group only allow one question, and she was cryptic about it, and then with out any signs of emotion she would return to the depths of the lake.”

 

   “I see,” says Mr. Whiskers, “So then…she was acting out of character?”

 

   “Yes,” continues Rhulan, “She was far too straight forward, and way too helpful at that. Aside from the multiple questions and these straight forward answers she shouldn’t have cared about your captain or Cata caring about their crew mates, that looked to just be an excuse to give more people a chance to ask questions.”

 

   “Okay,” says Hollia, “but what about when she wasn’t able to answer, saying a higher power was blocking her.”

 

    “An act,” says Rhulan with out any pause, “No doubt just to throw me off, what ever was hijacking her clearly knew who I was and that I had experience with this oracle before.”

 

   “But that failed.” says Mr. Whiskers with a smile.

 

   “yeah,” smiles back Rhulan, “At the end there it looks like my pointing out this inconsistency was enough to get Polymoebial back to the surface and try to fight for her freedom, we got her at the end there. Basically the whole thing was like she was hypnotized and being used as a medium, but pointing this out would be like pointing out to someone in a dream that they are dreaming.”

 

   “huh?” says Scrags

 

   *sigh*

 

   “In a nutshell,” she says, “In a dream you accept all kinds of things as reality and act with out thinking or knowing why, but if you realize this in a dream it becomes a lucid dream and you can either try to regain control or wake up.”

 

   Hollia looks thoughtful as the group is about to continue walking, “but Miss Rhulan, how is that possible. I mean how can an oracle like that be taken control of?”

 

   Even Betty pauses at this one.

 

   “That’s because,” says Rhulan, “of how their power works. An Oracle like her knows everything she knows because she can tap in the Akashic field, AKA the Mystic Mind, or even known by some as the Well of Souls, The Eternal Heavenly Memory, and so forth and so on. However while an Oracle can only glimpse at this space in a universe some beings can navigate through it with their minds and see when others are looking in, even able to use an oracle like a medium. It happens from time to time with lower grade oracles being used as mediums by this and that elemental god for local affairs when it wants them to do something it wants.”

 

   *rrrr* growls Mr. Whiskers, “Does this mean everything we were told is suspect?”

 

 

 

 

   “Maybe,” says Rhulan, “but I don’t think so, too many things were right, I’m thinking what ever that was views our enemy as its enemy but for some reason can’t act on its own…”

 

     she pauses thinking to herself, “or wont act on its own, wouldn’t be my first time dealing with some none-interference so-called higher being that tries to lead heroes on the path to victory over some evil.”

 

   “In any case,” she says, “it’s our only clue.”

 

   Betty has been thinking this over, “Well, uhm, Mistress Rhulan, so its true then that you might be able to harm the Thing Named Jim?”

 

   She puts her hands in front of her in mock surrender, “I…I don’t mean to be offensive, its just…its kinda important…”

 

   “I’ve faced him before,” says Rhulan to everyone’s surprise.

 

   She sees their stares and says, “It was back when I was jumping between dimensions,”

 

   She looks at Betty, Rhulan knows Scrags and Hollia already know why, “I was looking for someone I lost, my brother. I had a good number of adventures. On one of these I encountered a being who was being worshiped on some planet. They called him the Alpha-Question, but he was clearly insane, everything he did was amoral and cartoony. However I’m pretty sure it’s the same guy not just because of that but because as I recall when I faced him he said he was known by many names and amongst them was The Thing Named Jim, as one of his favorites.”

 

    “and you were able to fight back against him?” says Betty wide eyed.

 

   “Well…” she says, “Yes and no. For some reason my powers, my specialty power as its known here effects reality on the quantum level so when ever he would do anything that was at the same power scale I was using it would mess up his powers. For instance he tried to create one of those small pull string cannons while I was throwing mystic missiles at him resulting in his cannon turning into a bush. But anything above mine and all I could do was cause some minor interference. In the end I was only able to confuse him long enough to get myself and the people I was helping away from him.”

 

   “I see,” says Betty.

 

  “but that was 1800 years ago or so,” says Rhulan while thinking, “My powers have evolved since then into something a lot more magical, if that’s even possible. Unfortunately my powers haven’t advanced at all in the last one thousand years so who’s to say what I could do now. But I seriously doubt I’d stand a real chance in a one on one fight. Like what ever that was talking through Polymoebial said, I may have the potential but right now couldn’t do much.”

 

   She shrugs

 

   “Not that it matters,” says a female voice drawing their attention as they enter the open glade where Betty had met Rhulan’s party for the first time.

 

  Two odd flashes of light appear and vanish leaving behind two girls, one in a white fighting dress the other in a pink fighting dress, the two girls whose names they didn’t know are…

 

    “Lee Lee?!”

 

   “Ki KI?!”

 

  screams Betty

 

  Well two girls everyone but Betty didn’t know the names of.

 

   LinLin yawns and cocks her head at Betty, perhaps thinking she had called her name for a moment before going back to resting around Hollia’s shoulders like some decorative scarf, with her thin yet arm’s length body.

 

   Seeing these two new people however through her half closed eyes and feeling Hollia’s unsure stance beneath her LinLin snaps to attention and floats into the air behind her ready in case of a fight.

 

  The girl in pink waves her arms frantically in the air, “Betty! Betty!”

 

   Before putting her fist to her face with an exaggerate pout expression talking in an overly cute voice, “how come you didn’t invite use to the wedding? Huh?”

 

   “Wedding?” mumbles Scrags

 

   Lee Lee puts her face in her palm for a moment, “Ki Ki, we have a job to do remember?”

 

   She points her finger at Betty, “Personal History aside we have orders to bring you in!”

 

   She taps her finger on the air summoning a see through rectangular screen about the size of a piece of paper with blue light and scrolling blocks of words on it, “Betty the Baroness, AKA, Captain Betty this is a warrant for your arrest. You are advised to come along peacefully. The chief has given you only two peaceful options. You are to either come with us to headquarters to await trial for your numerous crimes across several universes or you are to come with us to the Royal City in your own home dimension for their judgment.”

 

   “Yeah to get married!” blurts out Ki Ki, “I am so excited, I love weddings don’t you sis.”

 

   “Betty steps forward sweeping the air with her hand and holding her fist up proudly, “I am sorry my old friends but I can not!”

 

   She points to the sky, “I have a great journey ahead of me, a great many evils to fight, I…”

 

   “You can’t beat the Thing Named Jim,” says Lee Lee interrupting her causing her to drop her pose in surprise, “We we’re cloaked above you just now, we heard the whole thing. You have gotten yourself mixed up with the inter-dimensional S-class criminal The Thing Named Jim.”

 

   “yeah,” blurts out Ki Ki again, “We we’re like all stealthy watching and then like that big goldy lady like fired those cool beams at us, but they were like eaten by like the air. It was sooo cool, sis says it was aaaa…yeah a dimensional rift. How cool is that? Like totally lucky right?”

 

 

     Lee Lee pinches the space between her eyes ignoring her sister, “However as you yourself already know there are barriers that prevent that criminal from entering your home dimension. So we can only assume your reason for not returning home is out of fear for your criminal activities.”

 

   “uuhhh,” says Ki Ki, “I thought she had to go back home to get married?”

 

  “running away from a political betrothed wedding is a crime in the Royal City Ki Ki!” screams Lee Lee

 

   “ooh,” says Ki Ki softly, “I forgot.”

 

   “Enough!” yells out Rhulan, her voice echoing in the air like thunder.

 

   “This woman has already pledged her service and her ship to me. If you were indeed eavesdropping on us then you already know the extent of our dilemma, I would think some officers from the Dimension Police would know full well that a Dah-Hoth outbreak and something able to summon and control them trumps either a pirate or a run-away bride for some political bullshit.”

 

   Ki Ki cocks her head, and finger to lip, “uhhhhh, uhmm, what’s a dan-hith?”

 

   “Dah-hoth,” says Lee Lee, “inter-dimensional assimilators, consume matter both organic and inorganic, the strongest ones on record were known to consume entire moons, space stations, and even small planets. They are a cellular life form that works as a group mind, making them essentially cancer bodies that move, hunt, and assimilate other organism and materials.”

 

    She taps her floating screen, “We will make a note of this and send a survey crew to assess the situation, however this doesn’t change our mission.”

 

   “Just as a I thought,” says Rhulan, “you’re just detectives, well this should be over with shortly.”

 

   “Summon Katana.” says Lee Lee as a katana appears from her right sleeve and into her hand.

 

   “Summon Magic Mallet.” says Ki Ki as a wooden mallet somehow appears from her sleeve and into her hand.

 

   “A mallet?” says Scrags.

 

   “It may look silly,” says Betty, “but rest assured that my friends here are very powerful.”

 

   “Rest assured?!” he yells, “We are fighting them, remember?”

 

   “Oh…right.” She says,

 

   *KRA-KOOM*

 

   the ground all around them shakes from the sound of the explosion, both sides looking at the other for an explanation, seeing that neither is the cause they are met by another rumble and…

 

   *CHA-KEEK….vvvvvvv….KRA-KOOM*

 

   *PAP, PAP, PAP, PAP, PAP, PAP, PAP,…”

 

   “Weapons fire!” yells Lee Lee

 

   “It’s my ship!” screams Betty as she reaches into her pocket for a walkie, “First Mate Mousey is that you guys? What’s going on, is the other ship attacking you?!”

 

   *ffffff.no.ffff.it.fffff.the other ship.ffff.helping…ffff.sea.ffff.monster*

 

   “Both ships,” says Rhulan as the sounds of battle continue in the distance, “What the hell could be in this sea that would have two high tech ships fighting it…”

 

    Her eyes go wide and flash with red light, “We need to hurry!”

 

    She summons an air follower bubble around all of them, including Hollia, and dashes off in the direction of the battle.

 

   Lee Lee and Ki Ki are left standing there.

 

   “uuhhhh,” says Ki Ki, “they ditched us sis.”

 

   “I can see that,” says Lee Lee, “ship, beam us back on board.”

 

   In a flash of light they are back on board,

 

   “wow, look at the scanners,” says Ki Ki, “Betty and her friends are already back at the Addy…and…oh my goddess!”

 

   “What is it?” says Lee Lee as she looks at the scans, “What the hell?”

 

   Clear as day on their scans is a life sign the size of a small mountain just below the waves striking the two pirate ships with three long appendages, two in front one in back, as they attempt to fire at their underwater attacker.