KISS in Paradise part 22-E
by Kori/Jessi


Krista shivered as the fog's clammy cold seeped 
through her skin.  The cloth over her head almost 
suffocated her and the rag in her mouth tasted vile.  
She could hear only murmurs. She was not sure if the 
cloth blocked sounds or if the other people were 
whispering.  She did not know where they were going 
or who had grabbed her.  She had a good idea though.  
And the thought of being in Angel's clutches made 
her shiver even more.

***

"Ace."

Ace stuffed another item in the pack.

"Ace."

"Go away, Gene," Ace said.  "I'm busy.  We've got to 
go rescue my daughter."  He paused to look up.  "My 
daughter."

Gene sighed.  "Look, their mothers thought it best 
you guys didn't know.  Especially with Moreau being 
involved."

"I wish I'd known her sooner," Ace said softly.

Gene smiled.  "You did.  You held her when she was 
just a baby.  I was keeping an eye on her and you 
dropped by.  I let you feed her and fuss over her 
and the two of you got along just great.  I tried to 
find a way to get Paul and Peter in contact with 
their kids but it just didn't work out."

"You knew," Ace said with a touch of anger.  "You 
knew about our kids.  Knew that bastard experimented 
on them."

Gene shook his head.  "Their mothers were part of 
the experiment.  I don't know if the kids were 
supposed to be part of it too or if they just 
happened.  What I find strange is that all three 
women were involved with KISS, all three had 
children by KISS members, and now we're all here 
where Moreau continued those experiments.  I can't 
help but think that somehow it was all planned in 
advance."

"You could have told me," Ace said.

"I promised not to," Gene said softly.  "That's why 
I couldn't tell you back then, when you held your 
own daughter.  They said they would choose the time.  
When I saw Simone and the kids were part of the 
cruise I figured this was it.  I left a note in her 
cabin that she could contact me anytime if there was 
anything I could do for them.  But it was her 
choice.  They wanted to raise the kids away from us.  
They had the right."

"I have the right to know my daughter!"  Ace said 
angrily, striding across the ground to face Gene.  
"And now Angel has her!  This damn corporation has 
her!  We're marooned on a bunch of islands with no 
communications, no weapons, and a boatload of armed 
thugs after us and I can't do a damn THING to help 
my own DAUGHTER!"

"Yell louder and Angel will hear you," a voice said 
from the tent opening.

Ace and Gene turned.

Peter stood in the opening, arms crossed, bat wings 
slightly unfurled.  He smiled, fangs catching the 
lamp light for just a second, making Ace's stomach 
drop with unsettling rapidity.  Ace still was not 
able to look at Peter without wanting to turn away.  
The changes were just too much, too unnerving, too 
strong an indication of just how desperate their 
situation was.

Peter stepped on in the tent.  "Nicodemus went 
through the camp and got a few things.  The rest of 
us are ready."  Peter glanced at Gene.

Gene shook his head.  "I'm staying to help Bruce and 
Singer.  Paul, Mark, and Carr will try to keep an 
eye on the rest of the islands.  But I can do more 
good out here.  If need be, Samantha can give me 
some of her blood and I can go dragon again.  If it 
looks like we have a real fight on our hands I will 
do that.  But Nicodemus told me it'd be a tight 
squeeze in there and he wasn't sure I could make 
it."

Peter chuckled.  "Two many yellow sticks."

Gene sighed.  "You know she still won't shut up 
about that."

Ace frowned, annoyed at the chuckling duo.  "About 
what?"

Gene turned.  "The monetary system with the Altered 
is Hostess Twinkies.  And cupcakes and other such 
treats.  I didn't know it and I guess I ate a couple 
weeks' worth of Twinkies that we'd, uh, gotten hold 
of and Samantha is still mad at me about it."

Ace had to smile.  "She's something else."

Gene's eyes narrowed.  "You two had an encounter.  
Ace, this may be personal but it's important.  Is 
there a chance you're infected with her changes?"

Ace sighed and nodded.  "Both her and Shandi.  If 
all it takes is a little blood."

"So you can choose between cat and dragon," Peter 
observed.

"I think I'll stay human," Ace said.

Peter's head raised slightly.  "We're still human.  
Just Altered."

Gene felt a chill, hearing Peter place himself in 
the ranks of the changed inhabitants of the islands.  
But then, they were all victims of the corporation.  
And if they did not join forces, they were doomed.

Nicodemus scurried through the open tent flap.  
"Ready?  We must go.  Now."

Ace picked up the pack.  "Lead on.  I know you guys 
think I'm nuts, but I know where she is.  She's 
scared and cold and I know exactly where she is."

"Which may be the thing that helps us rescue her," 
Gene said.

***

Paul stood in the shadows at the edge of the 
clearing.  "Will you be safe?"

Stephanie nodded, invisible to any observer in the 
darkness under the trees.  "I have found a cave 
where I can rest through the day."

"I'll keep everyone away from you," Paul promised.

"Thank you."

"You don't have to help," Paul pointed out.  "You 
didn't have to bring Jeren."

Stephanie chuckled softly.  "I help for my own 
reasons.  The poor twisted remains of Moreau's 
experiments are, after all, in a way, my children."

Paul turned in surprise.  "What?"

But she was gone.

***

Gene shivered as the fog pressed around them.  He 
did not like the fog.  Bruce and Singer had told 
them about what had happened to Des.  Drakkon Fyre 
insisted there was a Beast that inhabited these 
strange mists.  Samantha scoffed but Gene could not 
bring himself to disbelieve.

He killed the engine on the boat and dropped anchor, 
checking to make sure the other boats were still 
with them and did the same.  He smiled at Samantha 
and then sat down to wait.

Now it was in the hands of the other team.

***

Ace hoped they would have another means to go from 
island to island once this was over.  He thankfully 
leaned against a tree and tried to forget the waking 
nightmare he had just experienced.

The caves Nicodemus led them through were nothing 
but the narrow volcanic vents left by the last major 
eruption of the volcano on Gene's island.  They 
twisted and turned, and sharp jagged spikes were 
ready to slice anyone who did not watch where they 
placed hand or foot.  Pits yawned, dark entries to a 
screaming end on the hard rock far below.  And 
darkness, total darkness except for their weak 
lights.

Jeren and Shandi sat conversing, long tails moving 
restlessly across the forest litter.  Shandi had 
been surprised that Jeren still retained the ability 
to speak in feline form.  Jeren was acting as 
communications relay between the feline Shandi and 
the rest of the party.  The two had gone feline as 
soon as they entered the caves, giving them sharper 
senses and faster reflexes.  Those had saved Ace and 
Vinnie more than once in the unnerving trip between 
islands.

"She'd probably keep her close," Vinnie said.  "I'd 
say in the tent next to the main tent."

"Which way is that?" Ace asked.

Vinnie frowned.  "I'm not sure.  It's dark."

Peter chuckled.  It was unnerving to see Peter and 
Scarlet's eyes glowing red in the pre-dawn darkness.
"Dark to you."

"We'll find the camp and then you can point it out," 
Ace said.

"I remain here," Nicodemus said.  "I have brought 
you to the island.  It is now your task to rescue 
the girl.  I will guard our means back off the 
island."

Ace nodded.  "Sounds okay to me.  Let's go."

Jeren and Shandi leaped ahead, fading into the 
shadows with ease.  Peter and Scarlet stayed on the 
ground, bringing up the rear so their night senses 
could watch for attack from the rear.  Ace strode in 
the middle, a nervous Vinnie walking beside him.

"I wish I had a gun," Vinnie whined.

"You'd just shoot yourself in the foot," Peter 
predicted.

"Quiet," Scarlet hissed.  "We hunt.  No noise."

They remained silent, slipping through the jungle 
until they reached the camp.

Vinnie pointed and whispered, " There."

Ace shook his head and pointed.  "She's there."

Vinnie frowned.  "There's not even any tents over 
there."

Ace pointed.  "There."

Peter nodded.  "This Angel knows you're with us, 
Vinnie.  She's not going to do anything she knows 
you'd expect.  I say we go with Ace's hunch."

"It's no hunch," Ace said.  "She's there."

They circled the quiet camp as dawn turned the mist 
blood red.  The night noises faded but the day had 
yet to start.

Jeren suddenly appeared from the shadows and pressed 
against Ace's leg.  "Guards," the leopard warned 
softly.

Scarlet snarled.  "Easily handled."  She looked at 
Peter and smiled.

Jeren chuckled and faded back into the darkness.

Vinnie shivered.  "What do we do?"

Ace looked around and realized they were alone.  "We 
wait."

Minutes passed.  And then a furry shape slunk from 
the darkness.

The leopard sat down before the two men.  "No 
guards," Jeren reported, licking the blood from his 
paws.  "Except one inside with Krista.  Smells like 
a dog.  Scarlet says is Lobo."

"How do we get rid of him without alerting the whole 
camp?" Vinnie worried.

Ace took a deep breath.  "Lobo doesn't know me.  
I'll walk in and act like I belong here."

"Lobo will tear you apart," Vinnie said.  "I've seen 
him.  He's a wolfman, and deadly."

Jeren stretched.  "Ace will not be alone.  We will 
be upwind of the tent.  It is hidden in brush, which 
means it is also easy to sneak up on without being 
seen.  We will be in place in a few minutes.  Just 
head towards the spot between the two tall trees 
ahead.  You'll see it when you get close."

"And what do I do?" Vinnie asked.

"Stay out of trouble," Ace said, slowly heading 
towards the rendezvous with his daughter's 
kidnappers.

Ace felt the sweat slide down his back.  He was 
about to face one of the Altereds, an Enforcer, with 
no weapons and totally alone for at least several 
critical moments.  He could die in these next few 
moments.  But his daughter was ahead.  He knew she 
was there.  He could feel her.

He would have never seen the tent if Jeren had not 
told him where to look. He kept his stride unhurried 
and walked directly up to the front flap and opened 
it.  "How's she doing?"

Lobo raised his head.  He smelled fear, but all 
these new ones smelled of fear except the woman 
Angel.  "She does not struggle as much."

Ace looked at the figure on the cot.  He saw they 
had tied Krista with ropes, cruelly binding her to 
the metal frame.  A gag kept her from speaking but 
her eyes were uncovered and open.  He stepped 
towards the cot.

Lobo grabbed his arm.  "Angel says no one goes near 
her."

Ace nodded.  "I just wanted to make sure the ropes 
were okay."

Lobo thought a moment and then released him.

Ace took a step but a sound made him turn.

Something rushed through the tent flap and hit Lobo.  
A second shape ran four-legged and leaped.  Lobo 
opened his mouth to yell and Ace did not even pause 
to think.  He used both hands to grab the lupine 
muzzle and force it closed, grimly holding on as 
Peter and Scarlet added their claws to the attack.  
And it was over very quickly.

"You're safe," Ace said softly, untying the ropes.  
He saw Krista take a frightened look behind him and 
moved slightly to block her view.  He had seen 
Scarlet and Peter both follow Lobo's body to the 
ground, the two bat-winged people crouching over it.  
Ace did not let himself think about what they were 
doing.  Ace concentrated on freeing his daughter and 
ignored the faint sounds behind him.

Krista clung to him.  "You came."

"Of course I came," Ace said, hugging her close.  
"Now let's get you out of here."

Jeren led Ace and Krista back to Vinnie.  Vinnie was 
relieved to see them, although the blood across 
Ace's shirt made Vinnie almost faint.

"So do we leave now?" Vinnie asked hopefully.

Ace frowned.  He turned to see a smug Peter and 
Scarlet stroll down the path to them.  "Vinnie, do 
you know where things are stored around here?"

"Sure," Vinnie said.  "Why?"

***

It was a simple matter to pick off the human guards 
since both Jeren and Shandi could easily nose them 
out no matter how well disguised their post.  And 
once the guards were taken care of, raiding the 
supply tents was easy.  And then it was just a 
matter of Scarlet and Peter flying some of the guns 
out to the boats and the boats quietly coming in the 
shore.

The battle was no battle.

***

Ace kept Krista beside him at the meeting as plans 
were made that evening.

"I still can't believe she got away," Bruce repeated 
for about the ninth time.  "We lose a boat AND 
Angel."

"But Lobo is dead," Peter said happily. "And Naga."

"And we have the list of the corporation agents in 
our midst," Gene said happily.  "Nicodemus got us 
around to the various islands without being spotted 
and we got them all.  We're now armed, and everyone 
and all the supplies are being moved into the caves 
where they're out of sight and easily defended.  We 
have Angel's electronic surveillance equipment if we 
can figure out how to get it to run.  Nicodemus will 
train some of our people in how to find their way 
through the vents.  And we've got the boats off the 
beaches and safely hidden away."

Paul nodded.  "We're not going to be easy targets.  
Not anymore."

"No more Enforcers," Scarlet said happily, cuddled 
against Peter's shoulder.  "Free.  Safe.  No more 
Minotaur.  No more graves."  She kissed Peter.

Gene looked at them and smiled.  Scarlet sat within 
the curve of one of Peter's wings, Katie sat within 
the curve of the other wing, and Jeren sat talking 
quietly to her.  Peter's changes appeared to have 
made it easier for Jeren to accept him, and the two 
Altered men and Scarlet were helping Katie handle 
her own status as one of them.

Gene turned slightly to look at Paul standing with 
his arm around his Altered daughter.  There was an 
odd secretiveness about Paul lately.  Perhaps it was 
hurt from the years Gene had kept the secret.  
Perhaps something more.  It was a mystery that would 
have to wait because they had other more immediate 
concerns.  "We need to start contacting the other 
Altereds.  Samantha knows who worked with the 
Enforcers.  We have to all work together."

Paul nodded.  "And we have to find a way to get on 
that ship and contact the rest of the world."

***

Nicodemus drew Drakkon deep into the cave.  "We 
talk."

Drakkon Fyre walked with a heavy gait.  He sighed 
when they stopped well away from others.  "Yes.  I 
remember what you told me but I failed.  Aurora saw 
the stones go in the ocean.  The prophecy will never 
be fulfilled."

"The prophecy will come to pass," Nicodemus assured 
him.  "A box went into the ocean.  The stones are 
safe."

Drakkon's eyes lit with hope.  "The stones are 
safe?"

Nicodemus nodded.  "The Four are here.  The stones 
are here.  We must prepare the sacred places.  And 
then all curses will be removed and we will be free 
again."