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Part Three: "Freedom's Call"

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"Jenna... Jenna, my friend, wake up, won't you? Please wake up. There isn't much time!"

When Jenna finally awoke from her prophetic slumber due to a gentle voice calling her name, she found that the daylight was nearly all but lost to the world around her. Indeed, in the reddening western horizon, her awakening eyes registered that the sun was showing its last remnants of brilliant illumination. In turn, as beautiful as it could be after what had been a rough day for the she-wolf, the ending of the day's golden gleam was reflected off the surface of the Waiting Sea in a million different twinkles, sparkles as well as glimmers.

Truly, acting as a giant mirror underneath father sun, it was as if the Waiting Sea's surface had become naught but piles upon piles of copper coins being slightly shifted from side to side by some gentle, unseen wind.

The beauty of the scenery around her was quickly lost upon the ebony wolfess when she realized what was going on aboard the Mercury. It seemed that the partying in honor of Snide's anniversary had come to an end. Now all of the slaves were being crowded back under the deck by the corsairs while their ferret lord observed from the upper deck next to the wheel. What Jenna noticed before any of this though was the pretty sea otter maid nervously standing before her with a bowl of water in her hands.

"Coral... Coralpaw...?" Jenna breathed through dry lips, feeling hunger as well as thirst take hold over her sleepiness, "Is that... you?"

"Yes it is, empty head." Coralpaw sniffed back, acting like she was irritated although she was more than relieved to see that the she-wolf was aware for the first time in hours, "I've come to thank you for stupidly standing up for me below decks earlier today. You know, you went and stabbed Vixter through the neck even though I told you not to? You went and got whipped when you could have just let me come here to amuse the captain like I've been doing all day despite your heroics? You remember all of that, darling?"

"If my mind doesn't remember any of that..." Jenna painfully huffed, looking to take a drink of water her otter friend offered her kindly, "My aching back does. Actually, all of my aching body does. Wait, wait, Coral... This water you're offering me... Is it from Snide?"

"No." Coralpaw answered at once, knowing her lie hadn't worked the moment her eyes had met with the wolfess's, "Okay it is."

When Jenna next turned her head away from the wooden bowl of refreshing water being recommended to her, the sea otter maiden hissed, "Oh come on, Jenna! Don't be more stupid than you've already been. You've been tied to this mast here all day long underneath the burning sun with no protection or nutrients. Damn your pride for once and drink this! If not for yourself then do it for me and the rest of the slaves on this ship."

As a long moment passed where the wolfess didn't do as she was told, Coralpaw grabbed her proud friend by her ear and snapped, "Do it, wolf, or I'll force this drink down your throat! That's a promise. You know that I always keep my promises."

Having come to know her for the last month, Jenna was aware of just how powerful if not persuasive Coralpaw could be at times. Like the she-wolf, the she-otter was not just a pretty face but also a trained warrior. Thus, seeing the wisdom in her otter friend's words, knowing that she would have a rough night if she didn't do what was wise, the wolfess drank the water in the wooden bowl before her. Then, she literally scoffed down the fruit given to her next.

During her meager feast, the she-wolf wondered purposefully, "Snide... Is he going to keep me tied up here all night, Coral?"

There was a moment of silence. Then Coralpaw answered stiffly, "Yes. Yes, he is."

"Figures. I go and do some justice in this world... and I get tied up to this blasted wooden pole for twenty-four hours."

"Well, you could have not jumped onto Vixter when he came for me, my friend. I've told you more times than necessary; I'm capable of watching out for my wellbeing."

"Yes, I know, I know. Damn my wolf genes. I can't help it, Coral. I suppose you know that after all of the times I've told you since we met on this blasted ship." Jenna explained softly, smiling a small smile to her worried friend, "We wolves... we don't do well at seeing our friends taken from us. We don't do well being chained up. We prefer to run free, like how you otters like to swim."

This was the truth. Jenna, being a wolf, would have loved to at least have had a full day during her past as slave where she could have run freely where she wanted. Coralpaw, being a sea otter, having been linked to a ball and chain for the last month, would have loved to dive off of the Mercury and gone swimming without end. Yet, with the both of them in shackles, with iron weights on chains weighing them down, neither of the she-anima were going anywhere anytime soon... and such a thing caused them both to itch for some action.

Of course, Jenna had gotten some action today. She'd settled her warrior spirit enough when she'd slain Vixter. Perhaps now she wouldn't be in such a hurry to go off and get whipped in the future like she'd been whipped today. Either way, having drank some water, having eaten some much needed food, the she-wolf watched her slave fellows be marched off to the lower decks. Then, with a wry chuckle, she questioned her otter friend.

"Actually, Coralpaw, I shouldn't be the only one you're lecturing. If I remember correctly, your mate, Kelpstripe, went and helped me rough up some of the guards before I stuck Vixter. It's nice to see that he wasn't remembered during the celebration, eh? It does my heart good to know... that he ain't strapped to this mast beside me."

Coralpaw hadn't been the only one taken from Coral Bay a month ago. Kelpstripe, a lithe, strong, lean as well as smug sea otter male about the same age as her but of a different clan had been snatched up too during Snide's southern hunting. Even before he'd been forced onto Mercury, the he-otter had had feelings for Coralpaw. And although his hot nature was supposedly a troublesome thing for cool headed her to handle, Jenna knew that Kelpstripe had better won a special place in the sea otter maiden's heart within the one month they had been together.

It'd been a cute thing for the she-wolf to see; the building friendship along with flirtation that'd grown between the he and she-otter of the southern seas of Coral Bay. Perhaps that was what had driven her to ignore Coralpaw's warnings today. Maybe the Kelpstripe's love for Coralpaw had been what had triggered the warrior spirit in the wolfess when she'd stabbed Vixter straight under his chin. For every time Coralpaw was dragged forth to entertain Snide... Kelpstripe was always left fuming, hating and hurting below decks in the holds.

And where the he-otter hurt, Jenna hurt too. She was good friends with Kelpstripe. She was, truly, glad to see that he hadn't ended up being lashed to the mainmast along with whipped beside her during the course of the day.

"Listen, Jenna, I have to tell you not to intervene on my part anymore." Coralpaw said firmly next, taking a hold of Jenna by the snout and making the wolfess look into her eyes, "I'm serious. You and Kelpstripe have to stop. If Snide figures out that we're more than slaves to one another... Oh goddess I don't want to think about it. And I most certainly don't want to see it come true."

"Coralpaw, I-"

"Look, I know that we mean a lot to each other, you and I. We're best friends. I'm glad we met in this life. I know that you want me to stay safe, Jenna, and I appreciate your concern. But I can look after myself. And you have to do the same before you're tossed into the sea for the sharken to snack on because you keep letting your warrior spirit take over!"

"But you don't-"

"I do understand! I understand that if you don't promise here and now that you won't barge in on my affairs anymore... Jenna, you will DIE!"

There was a long, grim silence shared between Jenna as well as Coralpaw. The caring she-otter had spoken the truth, of course. Thus, with a sigh of resignation, the she-wolf admitted, "Yes... Fine... I promise you, Coral, that I won't go defending your pretty little head anymore. But only if you have Kelpstripe promise too."

"He was going to be told the same thing, don't worry. You're both my stupid friends. Therefore, he will get the same stupid lecture like you just did." Coralpaw explained, looking very, very relieved, "Thank you, Jenna. Thank you for promising me. Maybe what you were dreaming about before I woke you... had something to do with you seeing my side of things?"

Dreams? Jenna had been dreaming? About what exactly?

"I was dreaming, Coral?" Jenna wondered, puzzled.

"Yeah, you were. And from the sounds of what you were mumbling, you might have been speaking with the goddess herself." Coralpaw explained, looking worried, "By Helnoth, maybe you were on your way to the heavenly halls of Heavenall before I got around to waking you. Either way, thank goodness, you're still alive. And if you were dreaming about the goddess, hey, maybe she has taken an interest of what's happening to us here on this damnable ship, eh?"

Yes. Yes, if Jenna had been dreaming of her in some way, maybe the goddess had taken interest what was happening aboard the Mercury.

No, wait, Gaia had already had taken interest! Yeah, the dream was coming back to Jenna now. The she-wolf was beginning to recall what she'd been dreaming of before Coralpaw had awakened her! Yet, just as the ebony wolfess was about to say something, when she was about to say that hope was on its way in the form of a most magnificent human vessel, someone cut her off with a most enthusiastic shout from the crow's nest above.

"Cap'n Snide, sir, I've got ye' an anniversary gift!" The weasel scout, "Cluny", cried happily from above the main mast, "Guess what it is!"

"Don't try my patience, Cluny, ye' slobber snout!" Snide snarled up at the crow's nest, looking livid even though excited on the inside to know what had been spotted by his scout, "You know I ain't one fer surprises. Spill the news already!"

"It's a ship to the southwest, cap'n. About two clicks from us. It looks ripe fer the takin'!" Was Cluny's call back down, looking through a telescope towards the southwest from his high up perch, "Har har, it seems to be a merchant craft. Something seems to be a'miss for the crew. Ahoy, you're goin' to liv this, cap'n; the crew is made up of good, healthy lookin' otters."

At the mention of stranded otters being targeted by Snide, Coralpaw looked a bit paler than a moment ago. Yet, just as she was about to try to distract the ferret lord from his newest prey, a pair of corsairs began dragging her off to the lower decks. As the sea otter lass was drug along looking shocked, Jenna quickly began rambling, "Don't worry, Coral, they're otters! They'll take to the sea before Snide can get a hold of them."

"Not out here in the middle of nowhere, Jenna, where there's no land to be seen anywhere! Otters aren't that perfect at swimming." Was Coralpaw's shrill reply, caving in to panic, "We tire out just like every other good Felldewan in water. And there are sharken in these parts. Those otters will have no chance of getting out of this before they're... before they're made into what we are already; slaves!"

Coralpaw, wailing, was shoved out of sight into the slave holds as the crew of the Mercury went to work unfurling the main, forward as well as back sails for whatever winds to catch. When the boat couldn't get enough wind for appropriate speed sailing southward, Snide rang a bell next to his ship's wheel with great gusto.

"Har har, today is turning out to be a proper ol' day of pirating for good ol' me! I not only 'ave a fabulous party thrown in me honor but now I get to take on more otters for slave beasts? Heh heh, per'aps one of those sea dogs ahead is another pretty lass who can massage me feet while the other already on me ship can give me' shoulders attention."

Waving his rapier above his head, grinning a fanged grin, the damned captain of Mercury roared out in his mightiest voice, "C'mon, ye' scum that is me crew! Get those wretched slaves of ours rowing down below! Give me some worthy speed to enjoy."

Soon enough, with the slaves below her deck rowing in earnest under the crack of the whips of their masters, with her sails puffing with wind, Mercury's forward prow speedily cut through the sea towards the stranded craft that Cluny had spotted moments ago. Jenna, still strapped to the main mast, could only stand where she was... fuming over her powerlessness, hating Snide with her every being and feeling terrible for the sea otters who were about to meet the fiercest pirate of the Waiting Sea.

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It took some time for the Mercury to be upon the unfortunate, disabled sea otter schooner. As the vast pirate ship neared the merchant boat, Cluny declared loudly from his crow's nest with his beady eye still looking through his small telescope, "Yar, cap'n, those sea dogs know we're comin'! They're armin' themselves right now."

"Idiot! Empty head! Slack jawed rat! Of course our prey are armin' themselves. That's what makes our game of pirating all that much more worthwhile. Can't go enslavin' without the slaves in question putting up a good fight that they can never win. It always makes these events more excitin'!" Captain Snide roared above the noise, his eyes alight with anticipation for what was to come, "No, I don't care if those sea otters of ours are armin' themselves, Cluny. Tell me, are they divin' away into the water yet? Are they hightailin' away into the big blue?"

"Er, no, cap'n. They're all staying on their wee boat."

"Har har, fools. They would be better off trying to swim through the sea than face me. Still, if they would fight me then that makes the task of capturing them easier. Now, tell me, Cluny, how many otters be there?"

"Around... Ten? No, apologies, cap'n, there are fifteen of em' in total. And for being merchants, er, they all look pretty seasoned with those weapons in their hands."

"Whether they are seasoned or not makes no difference. There are only fifteen of them against the fifty well-armed, ruthless as well as bloodthirsty scumbags that are me crew!" Captain Snide proudly laughed aloud, earning many cheers along with snarls of approval from his corsair followers, "One way or the other, mates, we're gaining otter slaves tonight. Don't be too hard on em' if they resist, mind. We need some of em' alive to make some coin off of, after all."

"YES CAP'N!" Was the excited, thunderous, unified reply of Mercury's cutthroats to their leader, "WILL DO CAP'N! WE WON'T LET YE' DOWN CAP'N!"

"Be sure that ye' don't, lads, or ye'll be livin' with the sharken tonight. Well, har har, ye' won't be doin' much livin' but dyin' instead. Now rally to me for a battle! Arm yer'selves, ye' dolts!"

In a matter of moments, by the time enormous Mercury had crashed through the sea to menacingly pull up alongside the dogged if not unlucky sea otters standing ready for trouble aboard their schooner, Snide's followers had armed themselves to the teeth for a possible raid. Bitterly, Jenna observed the corsairs around her take hold of grappling hooks, draw out swords, pull black feathered arrows against taut bowstrings, whip out slings with stones and altogether readied themselves for any kind of bloodbath.

For if the otters did make one wrong move - just ONE - the Mercury's crew were excited enough to lose themselves in the moment... and they'd slay an innocent life or two before being stopped by their leader in turn.

Hopefully, if the sea otters weren't running off by this time but standing their ground, they had some kind of devious plan about them. Truly, as Coralpaw had said before having been dragged away down below deck earlier, all that was happening now was out in the middle of nowhere. There was naught but the Waiting Sea to be seen for miles in every direction. No land could be seen in any direction.

Thus, even though experts of the water, the stranded sea otters at hand really were in a fix. And seeing as they were now being threatened by the worst pirates in the world, their fix had just become a full blown nightmare. Goddess Gaia... why was this being allowed to happen to good folk? Why was Snide being allowed to continue his campaign of wickedness?!

Valiant... when was it due?!

"Evenin' to ye', chaps and chapesses." The ebony furred ferret lord of the Mercury spoke boldly next, looking over the starboard railing of his vessel with the rest of his eager followers down onto the poised as well as icy sea otters holding stone filled slings, daggers, short swords along with javelins, "It's quite the beautiful sunset we have in the works, isn't it? Some would say that light of the dusk in the west is the goddess visiting our world for a spell before leaving it again. Then again maybe not. Maybe she's abandoning you to yer fates."

As his crew chortled at his words, Snide went on speaking. "Tell me, sea dogs, you seem a bit stuck at the moment. Is there somethin' wrong with yer ship? If you can actually call that small thing a ship, anyway."

At hearing his sly joke about the smallness of the enemy's craft, the Mercury's deck echoed with the icy laughter of Snide's pirates who were bouncing on the balls of their feet, twirling their weapons in hand and waiting for any of their foes to do something stupid; like try to fight back. Still, despite having been taunted, the sea otters standing firm in their stranded schooner didn't give the corsairs any reason to pounce upon them yet. Instead, the tallest, leanest along with strongest looking otter took up civilly answering the pirate captain's words.

The otter in question who spoke was an older male in his late forties with a very rough, wild looking appearance. Dressed in a fish scale jerkin of yellow, wearing brown cotton trousers, with a red bandana tied around his head over his left eye, having bark made sandals upon his feet and his paws wrapped in dried seaweed, he was truly a pure example of what a sea otter looked like. For where some of his mates looked clean, his whiskers looked more like a mess of bramble, his fur stood out in all different directions like it was frozen and his brown eyes... they glinted with a firmer defiance than his company.

"Nay, sir, me an' my friends 'ere are not doin' too badly. Thank ye' for askin', though." The wild looking male otter said for his fellows in his sea faring accent, having hold of a sling of his own filled with two stones rather than one, "Our poor ship, Bessy, simply sprung a leak. She's all fixed up now."

"Yar, are ye' sure? That tub of yers still looks questionable. Tell ye what, how about ye disembark that sad excuse of a vessel and board this good, proper ship of mine? Here ye' won't have to worry 'bout no leaks. Ye'll have room to stretch your arms too." Snide chuckled, enjoying his supposedly good humor while talking down upon his prey, "Ye' see, otter mate, me'self and me crew wouldn't sleep well tonight if we let ye' go off on yer own and ye' drowned ye'self when we coulda' prevented it."

"Well, as enticin' as yer offer is, friend, I can't jus' decide for everybeast on this ship o' mine." The wild looking sea otter male, the captain of the Bessy, laughed back cheerily, "Not when we all knows that you have our comfort, health and lives as the last things on yer mind, Cap'n Snide."

There was a moment of silence where it seemed surprising that the otters of the Bessy knew of whom they were speaking with. Finally, with a sneer, Mercury's captain gained his voice back.

"Har har, ye' know me, otter? Hm, my reputation finally precedes me." The ferret lord admitted, now knowing that the little exchange of funny words was coming to an end, "Fine. What be yer name, cap'n otter?"

"Pardon me for saying so, filth, but that's none of yer business!" Another otter - a pretty sea otter maiden, also in her late forties, dressed in a blue fish scale jerkin and white pants, who could have been the older sister of Coralpaw - snarled, "What you can know is that by today's end, your enslavin' good folk will be done forever!"

When told that his days as a slaver corsair would be done by today's end, there was a long pause of silence where the Mercury's captain showed no emotion. Then, with a snort, with a throwing back of his head, he roared with mirth as did the rest of his followers. In the background, having heard what had been declared, Jenna couldn't help but think back to her dream earlier. She couldn't help but feel... that something was true about what the she-otter aboard Bessy had said.

"Har har har! Hoo hoo! That's a good un'! Ain't it, boys?" Snide roared, wiping tears from his golden eyes, "And whose gonna put an end to me, missy? Are ye' and yer fourteen brothers and sisters on yer fishing boat there goin' to take on me crew of fifty? Are ye' goin' to sink my iron reinforced Mercury 'ere by ramming 'er with yer measly boat tub? Hah! Try it! I'd love to see that!"

Next moment, the laughing had been replaced with the raising of swords, slings along with bows. The Bessy was targeted by all fifty corsairs as their ferret lord stated coldly, "Yet, as entertaining as it's been chatting with you, sea dogs, it's about time we got around to why I even came up to you in the first place. Now I'm going to say this only once. Listen well: Surrender yer'selves. Surrender and ye'll be spared during this fine afternoon."

As a tense moment passed, nothing was done. No sea otter aboard Bessy dropped their weapons or even looked away from the fierce glares directed down upon them from above. When it became clear that his targets were not interested in surrendering peacefully, Snide sighed with a wide grin.

"Heh, well, it's yer necks, sea dogs. I gave ye' a chance to live. Now I have to send ye' to see yer goddess-"

"CAP'N! Sir!" Cluny suddenly shouted from the crow's nest, sounding very frantic over something, "There's another ship closing in on us from the south! It's coming in faster than fast!"

"Eh?" Snide snarled, making the mistake of getting distracted from his targets, "Another ship is coming to us? How far away is it?"

It was true. There was another ship, only half the size of large Mercury but colored a brilliant blue-white and looking majestic with sails of cloud white, sailing speedily northwards from the southern realms of the sea. During the time that all of Mercury's crew had been focused on pulling in their sea otter prey aboard the Bessy, they hadn't looked southward at all. Thus, not having looked back, they hadn't noticed they were being targeted and now, surprisingly, they were about to come under attack from some mystery predator.

Who? Who had the gull to challenge the Mercury and her crew? Who was coming this way?

"It's a frigate, sir! It's right on our tail!" Cluny hollered, "It'll be here in moments! Augh, it's manned by humans!"

"WHAT?! It's manned by flat faces?!" Snide yelled angrily, now turning fully away from the Bessy to try to understand what was going on about his ship being soon engaged by humans for a sixth time in his life, "Cluny, you dolt, what do ye' mean a ship'll be here in moments?! Blast it, you're the eyes of this ship! What were ye' doin' while humans were comin' up on us-"

"NOW, MATEYS!" The wild looking captain of the Bessy yelled to his crew, grabbing hold of a tarp covering something and flinging it aside, "Now's our time! Get to flingin' good an' quick like!"

Within moments, the otters had taken full advantage of the distracted corsairs. How was due to the curious objects they uncovered on the deck of their ship as well as began mightily tossing up onto the deck of the Mercury; fizzling, smoking, watermelon sized barrels colored rusty red. Barrels that Snide, after having dealt with humans many times before in the past, recognized along with cursed at once!

"Explosives!" The ferret captain screamed, trying to get his confused crew to throw the smoking barrels back off his ship, "Fools! Idiots! Get those things off of Mercury before they rip her to - AUGH!"

The explosive in question exploded mightily! Yet, rather than tear the Mercury to pieces, they exploded with a flashing, blinding light that most everyone was blinded by. Even Jenna, who had been watching the entire spectacle closely, was blinded by the exploding barrels being repeatedly thrown up onto deck. In turn, unlike the fumbling pirates around her, the wolfess closed her eyes... along with hoped against hope that this was it; this was her dream from the goddess coming true.

"Me eyes! Argh, me eyes!" A corsair stoat complained close by to Jenna, holding his throbbing eyes in his hands, "What was that? What was it that exploded - Hurk!"

At the sound of the deathly grunt beside her, Jenna couldn't help but open her eyes a wee bit to let them adjust. There, with an iron forged, curved dagger stabbed through the dead pirate stoat, was the wild furred otter captain of the Bessy. At once, the sea dog seemed to realize that she was no enemy. Rather, she was in need of his assistance. Yet, as he sought to help her, the reality of the situation caught up with him.

"Hold tight, lass. I'll be back." He growled to the bound wolfess before leaping back into the flashing fray. Silent and deadly, with his fellow otters boarding the Mercury to help him, Bessy's Captain went about wordlessly cutting through the blinded pirates. With a flick of his blade, he ended one life. Then two. Then three as well as four.

And thus it was beginning. Truly, everything was falling into place! With Mercury's crew blinded at the moment, with Bessy's warriors raiding the handicapped corsairs at hand, with the mystery ship from the south boldly approaching, Jenna's dream really was coming true; Captain Snide would soon be dead. Goddess willing, he would be finished by this day's end!