Back at home, NT's cell phone rang. She picked it up.
"Hello?"
"NT, you gotta help me get in here, and is Capri there?"
She's out, what's up?"
Tonya's got Indy. I've found where they are but can't get in, demn place's warded. I need your help with that. And if you can get hold of Capri, tell her to get here on the double!"
" "Searching you out now." NT responded. A second later, "Okay, on my way."
Into another magic realm...
NT had no time to say anything when she arrived. "They're in there!" Ameh indicated a door where screams, shouts and cries could be heard.
NT turned pale with horror, but blasted at the door with magic, breaking up the magic ward Tonya had woven around it. "What the heck's going on in there?"
Ameh got her phone out to contact Capri. She couldn't blame NT for forgetting.
"Oh, no, it can't be!" Nick was heard fuming inside.
"What the hex!?" Tonya exclaimed, still holding Indy to her. "Oh well, Nick, she'll never agree, you might as well give it to her - "
Another blast obliterated the magic ward altogether.
"How the hex did she find us!?" Nick stood dumbfounded, holding a container of something in his hand.
"Who cares, just pour it on!"
"Oh God!" cried Indy.
"If only you were saying that to me!" Tonya snarled. NT glowered and threw open the door. She scrunched up her face in disgust at the sight and smells of the place. It had obviously been used as some kind of torture chamber. Ameh hadn't been able to reach Capri, so she tried Pippi.
"Nick, stop standing around like a stupid idiot and give it to her!" Tonya barked.
Shut up!" NT shouted at Tonya, and immediately went for Nick.
Tonya cussed. "You again! I should've known!"
NT fought with Nick, eventually resorting to blasting him with magic to make him give up the container of whatever substance he was about to use on Indy. "You sick basilisk!" she railed at him before making the container disappear from view.
Nick stood there, stunned.
Tonya began to rage,"Stupid son of a - "
"Wrong gender, stupid! NT said, glaring at Tonya,, then approaching to help Indy. "What have you done with her!" She accused angrily at Tonya. But she couldn't free Indy from the captor's evil grip.
Indy was terrified, sick, and sobbing. She looked as if she had been severely starved, it was clear she hadn't been able to clean herself up in a long time, and she appeared to have suffered various physical punishments over a period of time.
"Oh my God." NT breathed, "What have they done to you, Indy?"
"Nothing she doesn't deserve!" Tonya ranted bitterly, bursting into angry tears. "And you had to go and ruin everything!"
I haven't even started ruining things for you!" NT shot back at Tonya.
"Is it really you?" Indy blubbered, reaching out to NT. "Is it over?"
"Yes, it's - " NT's reassurance was rudely and angrily cut off.
"I'll kill you!" Tonya screamed. "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!"
Indy, it's me, NT. Ameh's here too. We're gonna get you out of this."
Always playing hero." Tonya fumed. "Good luck with that, you can't heal her, you can't even get her away from me."
"Don't listen to her, Indy, she's just mad she's anything but a hero." said NT.
Especially to me." Indy said in disgust.
"Ameh?" Nick shuddered.
Yeah, Ameh. I can't imagine why you'd have a problem with that," Ameh said to nick as she and Pippi came in to help NT with Indy.
Pippi wasted no time approaching Tonya and Indy. "I'll take this from here, NT."
NT and Ameh made way as Pippi pried Indy loose from Tonya.
At another foul-mouthed utterance from Tonya, Pippi made no acknowledgement other than shoving her viciously backward as if she was nothing but a pile of refuse that needed to be cleared out of the path.
NT and Ameh stood out of the way while Pippi exited the holding room with Indy in her arms, and then they confronted Tonya and Nick.
Pippi reassured Indy while exiting the cell-like room and away from the racket that was coming from it, "It's me, Indy, shhh, it's me. You're doing fine, Indy-Mae, there, there, shhh."
Tonya was heard hurling a string of curses and other vulgar language.
This was cut off savagely by an angry and disgusted "Shut up!" from NT, who rounded on the captors with incensed shouts of "You tortured her, you sick pieces of - " Tonya cut her off to yell something back, and the screaming match just went on.
"They're gonna throw acid on me!" Indy sobbed.
Pippi tried not to alarm Indy with any sudden reaction, though she was definitely wanting to explode at Nick and Tonya for their cruelty. "They aren't going to now, Indy - stay with me - you're going to be okay. They can't get to you any more and they never will. Just hold on while I call an ambulance."
* * *
Bez, Matrix, Sigma, and Thande wandered idly through the streets, occasionally stopping to examine a store window.
"Not to be a Negative Nellie," Sigma began. "But I think I've had enough window shopping."
Bez sighed exasperatedly. "Look, we finished the job early and the rendezvous isn't until tomorrow, so we're just going to spend time around town, got it?"
Sigma frowned. "Hang on- I just said-"
Bez began to cross the street looking back at her. "If you don't lighten up-"
Sigma's eyes widened. "Bez, look-"
She was interrupted by the wailing of a siren. Bez looked up in surprise, letting out a short yelp as Thande pulled her out of its path.
"What the-?" She stared after the ambulance for a few moments before walking after it.
Matrix frowned. "Hang on a sec-where are we going?"
Bez look over her shoulder, smiling dryly. "After the ambulance. Where there's an ambulance, there's an emergency." Her smile faded, a shadow of bitterness passing over her face. "And where there's an emergency, there might be work."
Sigma and Matrix glanced at each other and followed. Thande loped behind them easily.
As they neared the ambulance's destination, Bez frowned. "Does this place seem familiar to anyone?"
Matrix thought for a moment before nodding. "We came here on a mission a couple months ago. Someone anonymously asked for the capture of a 'psycho lady'." Matrix frowned. "And we came close, too. Then she set the cargo bay on fire."
Bez snorted derisively. "Took us all by surprise...we need to give this area a good sweeping. I want that pyro jailed."
They stopped a small distance away from the ambulance. Bez squinted. They're loading the patient...hey, wait a sec." Her eyes widened. "Come on!" She shouted, closing the gap. "We know them! You remember, couple weeks ago, the two thieves?"
They nodded.
Bez caught sight of Pippi. "Hey!" She called out, trotting over to her. "What happened here? What happened- to Indy?"
"Bez!" Pippi exclaimed, pleasantly surprised to cross paths with her and friends again. Her fleeting smile was replaced by the troubled expression again. "I'm not entirely sure of the story yet, or why it was done, but Indy was held hostage. And these two were behind it." She flicked through some menus on her cell phone until she came to the pictures she wanted. "Tonya Harper, and her many aliases, and her lackee, Nick Connors."
Nick was short with dark brown slightly longish hair, and green eyes. If these eyes had ever appeared kind before, they certainly showed the soul of a very cruel young man now, who had given himself up to the dark side.
Tonya could've passed for Lady Une, she had hair the same color and length, but worn down. Her eyes had a dangerous, manipulative look, and she wore Une-style glasses.
Bez started. "Guys! Get a load of this."
Her companions crowded around the phone.
Sigma frowned. "Hey-"
"Yeah, it's the freak who tried to torch the Nautilus!" Bez cut her off angrily. "Seems playing with fire wasn't enough for the little sicko." She studied the picture of Nick. "And this little dweeb was the guy we saw her run off with." She looked back at Pippi. "Okay, now I'm doubly ticked."
Even Pippi's eyes went wide at this.
Sigma nodded, frowning in disgust. "We've got to take her down."
"I'd like nothing better!" Pippi said icily.
Matrix looked at Pippi, frowning. "We offer our assistance."
"Consider it gratefully accepted." Pippi responded, smiling. "Now, we might finally get somewhere."
Bez nodded, clenching and unclenching her fists instinctively. "Let's hope so."
Thande's crest had risen. "They will pay for what they have done. We will ensure it."
Bez nodded emphatically, turning back to Pippi. "Lead on."
"All right, I'll just let Capri know." She hit a few buttons on her cell phone and waited for an answer.
* * *
In the meantime, the crap was starting to hit the fan for Tonya and Nick.
Nick was trying to retreat from NT's wrath, she threw punches, kicks, magic, and all the verbal rage at him that she had to give.
"Curse it!" Tonya shouted. She now found herself locked into the place she had once taken such care to ward everyone else out of while she still had Indy. Now, she'd hoped to duck out and go after Pippi and force her by magic to give Indy back. Realizing she couldn't escape, Tonya started raging at NT, "You've always been more trouble than you're worth! Now we're all stuck here thanks to you! When you barged in here, you did something to the magic!"
I dismantled your stupid little magic ward, I didn't re-assemble it!" NT retorted as if the idea couldn't have been any more absurd.
"Then one of those other two did!" Nick said, "NT's not the sort to mess with magic wards other than getting through them, she doesn't even seem to detect them, or they don't detect her, I dunno - "
"You've always defended her, always!" Tonya raged at him.
"As if!" NT scoffed. "Not that it matters, he's just a bloody sicko torturer anyway."
Tonya continued. "Even now, you still don't hate her, and after all I did to try to show you what a conniving brat she is!"
"You mean - all you did to lie, fake up video tape, use your magic to make doubles of me and heck knows who else to show what a conniving brat you are!" NT shot back.
"Shut up you stupid stupid wench!" Tonya screamed.
"Show me how!" NT flung back.
"So simply not hating someone as much as you do equates to defending them, Tonya? You really have issues." Ameh sneered at her. "I reversed your stupid little ward, genius!"
"You stupid harpees weren't even supposed to know where I was!"
"We didn't until you got the bright idea to kidnap Indy." said Ameh. "She didn't show up for work after lunch."
"Her boss sent her out on an assignment!" Tonya interrupted.
"No he didn't," Ameh said, "he was completely puzzled she'd just leave without any explanation."
"She left him an explanation! He gave her the assignment!"
"How would you know?" NT challenged, "You got fired over there, by Indy - oh, but that wouldn't stop you from writing emails to her and her boss, pretending to be them!"
"Shut up, you big baby!" Tonya yelled back. She turned to Nick next. "You see? You see what she's accusing me of!?"
"Hmm, I guess that's a yes." said Ameh.
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time,for either of us, messing with people's email." Nick smirked.
"No kidding," said Ameh.
"But the Indy thing," Nick added, "That was all her idea. Tonya's obsessed with that chick."
"That broad never even gave me a chance!" tonya raged.
"She rejected you." NT sniped. "Slightly brighter than Nick, here,"
"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Nick retorted.
"Yes, you are!" NT shouted back. "You're a stupid, inhuman, lying, torturing, evil-addicted piece of crap, and I'm sorry I was ever nice to you for one second! I'm sorry for ever trying to be!"
Tonya roared. "Shut up NT! Nick's supposed to be dressing you down and giving you the boot, not the other way around! I even thought I could get Indy on my side, you should've seen her totally pwn that fake double I made of you in the mall! Ahhhh, that was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen!"
Nick rolled his eyes. "Ever since then, it's been Indy this, Indy that, 'I wish I could get to Indy somehow' she's got a freaking shrine to Indy in her room! And then she freaks out when I strike up a friendship with Isabelle."
Ameh sneered at Tonya. "Pathetic! And you might as well know, NT - remember when we were taking Tompkins down and he and Dru Benson waylaid me and almost had me killed?"
NT nodded, expression darkening. "They had something to do with that, too, I'll bet!"
"I didn't get the chance to tell you, but Nick and Tonya were there, with them! Nick was the one who almost drowned me."
This revelation was enough to make NT's rage boil over again. She suddenly lunged for nick, and punched him in the face.
Tonya went for NT, biting her on the arm.
Big mistake!
NT made an exclamation of pain, and then started hitting Tonya, who hit back.
Tonya couldn't make NT retreat. She was learning that inflicting physical pain had a very different effect on NT than psychological/emotional pain. Both captors were finding out that being sadists was the worst thing anyone could be as far as NT was concerned. And she couldn't be distracted, humoured, or flattered out of her outrage.
This left an opening for Ameh to go for Nick and get a little revenge. She stepped up to him, "I've been waiting long enough for this!" Ameh snarled at him.
Nick gulped.
"I haven't worked it all out - yet, but you're gonna get what's coming to you!" Ameh hissed. Until then, let's just say you'll be unable to pull any vamoosing acts!"
Nick felt something strange sweeping through him. He teetered, feeling dizzy for a moment. "No!" he shouted.
"Yes!" said Ameh.
"Let's search these two." NT said. "We'll take any torture device we find and destroy it!" Ameh smiled, and the two fairies searched Nick, making him empty his pockets.
Tonya was too dejected about having Indy ripped from her custody to care, and just sat sulking and scheming while her cohort was searched.
They found a couple of tiny, handheld devices for inflicting torture - one was a thumb-biter, the other a tiny taser.
Nick tried to grab them back from NT, without success.
She gave him a vicious slap across the face. "You sick shart!" she glowered at him before turning her back.
It was then that her cell phone vibrated.
Seeing it was Pippi, she picked up. "Hello,"
"You may want to make some more room in there, we have company."
"Who?"NT listened as Pippi explained.
"Great, come on down!" NT was pleased.
On her end, Pippi grinned, "We're in." In a sudden fit of rage, Tonya lunged for NT and fought to take her phone. She intended on operation grab-and-smash, hoping to stop NT from communicating with anyone on the outside who would make more trouble for Tonya.
The two fought until NT finally resorted to making her phone disappear, and then her hands were free to put up a heck of a fight against Tonya. Now, she had her backed nearly into a corner. She was just going to give her a violent shove into that corner when Capri opened the door, stepped in, and then used her magic to expand the room for more people to enter.
The result was Tonya being sent sprawling, and NT looking down at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement.
"I didn't know you had it in you, NT," Nick said, approaching her and trying to get away from Ameh.
If he was thinking flattery would get him in good with NT, he had another thing coming.
She turned and shoved him as hard as she could.
Caught completely off guard, he toppled.
So, you got my messages! Finally!" Ameh said to Capri.
Actually it was Bez on the com. My phone has been kind of messed up since that Candy Crush mission a couple days ago. And I'm not sure i've recovered completely from that either." Capri grimaced.
Pippi came in with Bez, Sigma, Matrix, and Thande, Capri had magicked the room large enough for all of them.
"OMG, not them!" Tonya sounded like she was trying to act annoyed to cover up panic.
"Oh yes, them!" Capri flung back.
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