Since ya'll asked so nicely for another chapter and Beau and I are dying to show you....
Chapter Twenty- A Battle Won
A little worse for wear and a couple of added scratches Christy and Ron stumbled from the jungle at long last. Ahead of them lay a large courtyard area, but instead of landscaping were fantastic piles of gold, jewels, necklaces, ornamental swords, goblets, silver plates, and the famous baseball diamonds heaped in huge piles, golden figure-heads rearing from the steeples of the heaps. Christy touched a few things and inspected them reverently, fingering. For a moment she relived each and every voyage she and Ron made together.
"Treasure of a thousand kings, gold for a thousand worlds. Amazing isn't it?" Ron stepped up behind her and lifted a tiara. He carefully inspected it before placing it back in its place.
"We never did it for the money. If we did it wouldn't still be sitting here untouched," Christy added picking up another piece, "Remember this?"
Ron laughed and took the object. "Off the south of Japan."
Christy giggled and faked an accent, "You want victuals?" imitating some event from the past. Ron caught her eyes and smiled.
A crunch of a boot across gold. "My, my, my, isn't this touching. Both of my victims lured right into my little trap." Randall leant against a figure-head and smirked.
"Randall this has gone far enough! Stop now and we'll let you off easy," Christy growled, marching towards him.
"Ran, C'mon you don't want to continue with this. What's the point? You have no motive. All you're wanting to do is to hurt others. You've had your fun. Now come with us and we'll get you some help," Ron reached out to take his brother's hand.
"Never not until my plan is complete. Care to know what I've been up to hmmmm??? Well I've made good use of that cloning trick you two were supposed to learn long ago. Back at school, remember? While you, dear brother, was making out with your girlfriend here behind the gym, I'd sneak off to class and learn to do whatever a normal person can. Which is quite a lot. Look where it has got me. Don't fight me Ron and Nicky. I have your son. Nicky, I have your other three children also. What were their names? Oh yes, they were Vibs, Viq, and Jana." Ran moved closer as a sadistic smile crept upon his face.
"You don't have my kids. You never have and never will," Christy stated evenly her eyes never moving from Randall's hands.
"Want to bet? Want to bet your life?"
"I don't want to kill you Randall."
"Want to bet your kids lives?"
"I'm changing my mind about not wanting to kill you," Nicky snarled.
"I'd even let lover boy over here help you."
"Randall don't do this."
"Oh I am," Randall said and drew his sword.
In a flash both Christy and Ron had their swords drawn and went in to attack. In disbelief they watched as in seconds Randall had split himself into an illusion of three. Mac's words as a sword-trainer rang hard and fast in her ears from the months before. As her strength and skill were tested she mentally chalked up a reminder to thank the man.
Ron fought what he believed to be the real Randall. Where his brother got to be such a good swordsman he didn't know. Ron screamed in pain as his opponent's blade hit his flesh and blood trickled down. He only hoped that Nicky was okay behind him. There was no time to take his eye from his opponent. One look past the person he was fighting and he'd be a dead man all over again. Only this time for real.
Sweat poured down Christy's forehead as the sun beat mercilessly on her back. Reflexes sharp, she turned around and around in a feeble attempt to meet the swift deadly blades slicing away at her. Her last hope lay in her dagger, as one of the illusions or perhaps it was Randall had quickly severed her sword in two. A scream of pain erupted as the silver flash met its powerless target. Blood trickled down her forearm as she looked up at her opponent. It wasn’t her only wound. All around her body other cuts gaped open as her life’s blood seeped away. Fear crept into the deep blue of her eyes as she looked at the man smiling menacingly down from his mountainous height.
“Finally, I’ve brought the great one down. Vengeance is a sweet thing isn’t it? Goodbye now sweet darling.” His voice echoed through the silence as she fell, weak from blood loss. He raised his sword above her throat and proceeded to lower it slowly. For a moment, he paused and time slowed down, “Don’t worry about your brats my dear. I’ll take good care of them.”
"No you won't!" Ron shouted as he threw a rock towards the real Randall. In a moment the small boulder met Randall's temple and he was out like a light. Christy turned around and smiled feebly at Ron. "No worries, he'll be out for a while," he began.
"Mom!" Vic cried and came running up with Baby Jana following as fast as her baby legs could carry her.
"Vic you remem....."Christy began as the world seemed to spin around her and her knees buckled underneath her.
Ron and Vic rushed to her side to catch her. Vic glared at Ron for a moment as he put his arms around her. "Easy son. She's a lot of deadweight right now. Your Mother has lost a lot of blood. Give her a moment. Here put your arm around her shoulders and I'll get her waist."
"I'm okay. I just needed to catch my breath. Thanks Ron. I'd be greeting Saint Peter right about now if it weren't for you." Christy tried to stand up on her own for a moment but fell back into her son and former husband's arms.
"Easy girl. If it weren't for you I'd be leopard chow right about no..." Ron began but turned at a noise from behind him.
"Let go of my wife this instant." Father's voice held a hurt like none other. Moments ago he was being held captive by Evil Kyle in his living room. Then he blinked and suddenly here he was on some island looking thing. None of that mattered. What did matter was the fact that Ron stood there with his arms around his wife. What mattered was the fact that she was clinging to him. What mattered was a little girl that he had never seen before stood with her arms tightly around Mother's leg.
"Dad, listen, for once. This isn't what it looks like. Mom...." Vic started to explain.
"Stay out of this, Son. I'll deal with you later." Father snapped. He started towards his wife, then paused, and held back. How could he go to a woman being held by That Man?
Christy pushed Ron half away, moving to her own feet. "Beauregard Moppet! Would you stop jumping to conclusions and listen to reason just for once?"
"I thought you were dead, I was told you were dead. And you're here where ever here is, with, him."
"It's you I love," Mother said wincing from the pain. Seconds ticked. Father breathed deeply, moving his lips silently. Then a gunshot snapped the silence. Mother spun where she was, and Ron lay on the ground deathly still. In a flash what little strength Christy had left surged through her. She threw Jana at Vic and pushed them out of the way. Before she could react a pain shot through her side as she instinctively clutched the new wound.
Father leapt forward, lifting a golden sword from the pile at his feet. Randel swung in front of Mother, and Father stabbed forward with the sword, running through Randel, through and through, and Randel disappeared, an illusion.
Jana’s scream of “Momma!” broke through as Christy fell back, eyes closing. With the last bit of strength she had, she grabbed her own broken dagger and threw. A tink followed as the dagger only hit a pile of gold. All she saw was Randall's gloating face and then everything went black.
Vic covered Jana's eyes the best he could as his own mirrored shock. Father stood still with the bloody gold knife in his hand. Shocked at what had happened. No. No! It was Randell he had stabbed, not Mother! An illusion. The sword hit the ground as Father dropped to his knees. Mother lay where Randell had been, and Randell stood beside her body. His smile reached from ear to ear and was no smile at all. His face glowed with victory. "Well, well Moppet. I never knew you had it in you."
Father's world fell around him as he rocked back to his feet. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't move. He whispered. "Christy was a pirate, but she was still my wife. I loved her. You tricked me." He looked Randall in the eyes.
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Jim Henson Idea Man
Back to the Rock Season 2
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
. I love the edits. And yes, everyone I just saw this final edit for the first time. Oh yeah and Beau you still need to send it to me. Unless it's in my email inbox right now. Anyways, I hope ya'll like how Jana's personality turned out. She kinda wrote herself...