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Updated 09-24-99
Mab picked herself up from the indention she left in the sand, amidst a little crowd of giggling ponies. She shot them all harsh, wicked, evil and cruel glares that only seemed to make the giggling worse.
She directed that glare at Nimue, who stopped giggling to grin sheepishly at her. A light bulb snapped on behind the Fairy Queen’s eyes, and she opted to trade one prisoner for another. She grabbed Nimue and bounced into the air.
Troy, Chief and Ribbs leapt off the building as Mab landed, and the Queen didn’t notice. Her attention was focused on the dumb-eyed looks of her minions and the broken down door of her prison. Mab frowned, set Nimue down gently on her feet, and looked inside the prison.
Baby Surprise peered up at the Evil Queen with an apologetic, terrified grin on her face. Nimue looked at Morgan le Fey, then at her son Mordred, then at Mab, then jumped off the side of the building.
She plummeted into the Waterway a lot farther this time, considering that Willy’s Bar was 2 stories lower than Mab’s hangout. She nearly skimmed the bottom, but arched her back and torpedoed back towards the surface.
“I give it a 9.5!” Quarty shouted from offshore as her head broke through the waves. Salty flipped up a sign that read “10.”
Chief waited for her in the shallow water as Troy and Ribbs scampered up onto the beach. She took the hand he offered and smiled. “Thank you.”
They heard Mab scream from somewhere up above them. Quarty flinched and shielded his face with his hands. “Man she ain't falling again is she?” he peered out through his fingers. “It’s gonna take me a week to get Troy to fill that hole.”
Troy glared at his father. “What hole?”
“We can just fill it with some of your children,” Salty offered. “And a couple whales.”
“Heh,” Quarty grinned.
Mab was screaming incessantly, and when they realized that those shrieks were actually words, they figured they ought to pay attention. “You may have saved yourselves!” she howled down at them. “But no one can save Merlin and his brat king now!!” She dissolved into a ray of light that pierced the dark storm clouds above them, making them burn ruddy red before she faded away. It started to rain.
“Beautiful,” Quarty muttered, soaked to the skin in 3 seconds. “And me without my booties.”
Troy blinked.
“Except you of course,” Quarty grinned, wrapping an arm around his boy.
“MERLIN!!” Nimue cried, having gone a paler shade of sea foam green. “Mab!! What have you done?”
Chief frowned, rapidly scanning the stormy beach until he found was he was looking for. A little black form sitting in the sheets of rain. Chief crooked his finger, and the little thing came a little bit closer. Chief waved it over, and the little form waddled towards them at a dead run. Howie skidded over the wet sand and twirled to a stop amidst the group.
“Howie!!”
Quarty’s eyes went bright, catching on immediately. Chief knelt down beside the little whale. “We need you to find Merlin,” he told him solemnly. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Howie said. “Where’s Merlin?”
“That’s what we’re asking, you little puke,” Salty growled. Without looking, Quarty shot a fist out and nailed him in the shoulder.
“He and Al are on the Lake somewhere,” Quarty said, then his expression dropped sheepish. “Or in it somewhere.”
Nimue looked ready to have a panic attack all over him.
“Howie find Merlin and Al!” Howie exclaimed.
“Here,” Troy said. “Let me give you a hand in the right direction—” He gave the whale a perfect, solid kick that sent him soaring 50 yards through the raindrops.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOwie!!” came the fleeing squeal, until he plopped into the distant waves.
“That was beautiful,” Quarty sighed proudly, then looked at his oldest son. “You know, if you weren’t gay I’d probably like you.”
Troy’s eyebrows perked. “Yeah. And if you weren't my father, I’d probably like you.”
Quarty backed off a little, and everyone stared at him, absolutely mortified, until he realized what he said. He slapped his forehead. “Dammit!”
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