_The Unsinkable Cassiopeia, Pt. I, Section A, Chapter 1, Subsection (c)_ Last time, we left our heroes facing the biggest challenge of their lives. Mr. Bubble, the Dreadest Pirate Of Them All, and Thoth, the Occasionally Dread But Otherwise An All Around Amicable Pirate, stood upon Thoth's ship, the Ayukawa Madoka, looking gloomily at the approaching doom in the form of the Royal Fleet led by none other than that dastardly handsome, but quite deadly if you should disagree with him, man, nay, Icon, Alex Martelli. Our heroes must now make a decision, or all will be lost. "Don't mind if I do," Big Al smiled. "Oh, take as many as you want. I made them myself, you know." Orbis handed the tray with the crumpets over to Big Al, who helped himself to a couple of the steaming muffins. "Care for tea with that?" Orbis lifted the tea pot. "Thanks," Big Al held up his cup to Orbis. "Here you go," Orbis poured Al a cup. "Cream and sugar?" "Just sugar, thanks." "What the FUCK are you two DOING?!?" Thoth inquired in that All Around Amicable way. "We're having tea and crumpets," Orbis replied pleasantly, "care for some?" "I can see that you're having tea and crumpets, but can't you two see that we are about to die?!?" *Mmmpphh**gulp* "Well, no need to die on an empty stomach," Big Al turns to Orbis, "that was fabulous. How about another one?" "Can you believe these two?" Thoth implored his friend, Mr. Bubble. "You're right, this is inexcusable. Look, they're not even leaving me any!" Bubble rushed over and grabbed the last crumpet off the tray before Big Al can claim that prize. "Jeez...I hope you're that calm when Martelli starts lobbing flames at us." "No no. At YOU. I intend to be out of here by the time he gets within range," Mr. Bubble smirked, "after all, _you_ have the princess, not me." "What? You're not going to stay and help me fight him?" Thoth was stunned. "I love a good massacre as much as the next person, but not if it's me getting massacred," Bubble grinned and turned to his men, "alright, gather up our stuff, we're leaving." He turned back to Thoth, "besides, I've got a shipload of kumquats I must think about." With that Mr. Bubble headed toward the side of the ship. "Au revoir, mon Capitan," Bubble said, along with a couple of other Manly Man's French phrases, as he disappeared over the rail, "see you on the summer side." Thoth could do nothing but watch the Porcelain Piscina raise her anchor and sails in preparation of a fast escape. "Alright, let's prepare for battle!" Thoth hollered. "Raise the sails! Let's see if we can outrun them!" He looked at Orbis, "put those things away. You're not going to get a reputation as a Dread Pirate if you keep insisting on serving tea to everyone." "Well, if you say so," Orbis answered dubiously, "though I don't see why a Dread Pirate can't be polite and sociable, too." * * * Thoth walked around the ship as the sun dipped below the horizon. The distant ships now shrouded by the darkness. Thoth could hear the sails beating in the wind, keeping pace with the pounding of his heart. "Maybe we can escape in the darkness," Thoth mumbled to himself, not truly believing his own thoughts. He stopped by OT, who was now hard at work taking up some slack in a line. "Orbis, pass the word to the crew. I want them to break out the oars. If we lower the sails, we'll be harder to spot when the moon rises. I don't want to be within sight of the Fleet comes first light." Thoth glanced over at the figure still bound to the center mast, stirring, or so it seemed, in the darkness. "I'm going to take the princess below and get some rest before morning. Let me know if any unusual happens." "Aye, Captain." Thoth strode purposefully toward the nude figure bound to the mast. He noticed that she was shivering noticeably in the cold evening breeze, her fair skin puckering up in that oh-so-cute fashion with thousands of goose bumps. His glance moved from her delicate feet upward, pausing at the marvel at her chest. There, two deep pink nipples stood at attention, more from the chill than any erotic feelings. A grin slowly formed on Thoth's face as he leered at the princess. Princess Cassiopeia looked up with fear at the man who has held her captive for the past 12 hours. Her fear, however, cannot suppress the anger mounting in her as she stared at the face of lechery grinning down at her. "You sonuvabitch! Just wait until Alex gets a hold of you! He'll tear your testicles out for what you have done to me! I'll make surrmmmm mnnpphhhfff!" Her pleasantries were cut short by a rag in her mouth, which was quickly secured with a piece of twine, for Thoth wasn't in the mood for friendly chit chat. He untied her ankles from the mast and wrestled them together, tying them securely so she cannot kick effectively. He then untied her wrists and, moving quickly, pushed her onto the deck and pulled her wrists behind her. He pulled the free end of the rope binding her ankles up so her feet pointed toward her head behind her. He then tied her wrists to this free end, effectively immobilizing her. Cassiopeia laid on the cold deck, feeling the damp wood pressing into her chest and stomach. She gave a sudden surge of effort, struggling against her bonds, but to no avail. Exhausted and frustrated, she let her head droop onto the deck, tears welling up inside her. /Oh please hurry, Alex,/ She thought to herself, /save me from this madman and his insidious tortures./ (Author's Note: I'm using the "/" to indicate italic print, specifically thoughts, so they won't be confused with actual spoken words. Now back to the regular wanking material.) Thoth reached down and picked her up like a sack of potatoes (sweet potatoes, of course). Cassiopeia attempted to struggle, but tied as she was, she could only squirm feebly against Thoth's chest. Thoth carried her to his cabin and unceremoniously dumped her on his bunk. He untied her wrists and secured them to the fixed ring attached to the head of the bunk. He moved her ankles to the foot of the bunk, threaded the rope through the ring there, and pulled it with all his strength before tying it to the ring. Cassiopeia, of course, was not too keen on this "pulled it with all his strength" stuff. After all, she's a delicate flower, not some saltwater taffy, to be stretched and pulled by some barbaric heathen. She screamed her displeasure: "Mmmmmpppphhhhh." "Now, now, my princess, don't get excited," Thoth ran his fingers across her taut stomach, "I'm not going to exercise you anymore tonight." Cassiopeia watched Thoth as he stepped away from the bunk and started to undress. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Thoth remove his shirt, displaying a magnificently muscular body that any woman would die for. She gasped in awe as Thoth removed his breeches. There, in all its glory, hung the most majestic manhood she had ever seen. The princess nearly fainted at the sight of such grandeur. (Hey, this is _my_ story, and I'll tell it my way. If you don't like it, go write your own.) Thoth stretched, flexing and loosening his muscles after a long day's work. He turned down the lamp and climbed into the bunk next to Cassiopeia. He felt a slight tremble from the princess when their naked bodies met. He rolled over, facing the princess in the dark. He can just make out her eyes in the starlight coming through the portholes. He noticed that she's watching him, as best she could, out of the corner of her eyes. He smiled, stroking her body with his hand, and allowing the exhaustion to wash over him. Thoth was suddenly jolted awake by the noise of yelling men and running feet. He immediately knew something was afoot, for he's an astute pirate also. He leapt out of bed and scrambled for his clothes. As he was pulling on his pants, someone pounded frantically at the door. "Captain," yelled Orbis from the other side, "the fleet's upon us! I don't know how, but they managed to find us and catch up with us!" "Damned!" Thoth cursed, "OT, get the men..." Thoth's order was drowned out by an ear shattering explosion above deck, followed by the sound which freezes even the most hardy of sailors -- the sound of the main mast tearing away from its root.