Chapter 12
  Let's Blow This Joint!!!
          
     Washu walked confidently down the hall of the huge ship.  She still 
had her watch siren on full blast, and was whistling a small tune under 
its ear-piercing sound.  All around her, people were dropping left and 
right, going into huge spasms.
      She smiled as she saw a man with a huge sword throw it up into the 
air in a violent spasm.  It landed on top of his leg, splitting the skin 
violently.  Blood poured out the wound at a fearful pace.  She sighed and 
walked over to him, grabbing the spear, ripping it from his leg.  He barely 
seemed to notice, holding his hands up to his ears in agony.
      "I guess I have to save everybody around here," she mumbled to the 
man, although it was impossible to hear her under the loud ringing.
     Suddenly, the man's head exploded from under her, sending gore all 
over her body.  Washu let out a small screech and fell to the ground.  The 
force of her fall shook the watch, jiggling up the circuitry, cutting the 
sound off abruptly.
      "Well, well," a man laughed from behind her.  "You're more than just
a bounty after all."
      Swiftly, Washu whirled on her butt, and looked up to the inside of a 
laser pistol barrel.  Behind it, Danner, a.k.a. the Mah-Jong, was laughing 
his head off.  She supposed the drony's head had exploded because of him.
     "You sick freak," she said yeld coldly up at him.
     "I'm sorry, but you'll have to speak as loud as your ringing thing did.  
Ear plugs, you know.  Can't be too careful with little pranksters running 
about."
      Washu had a feeling which made her sick in the stomach, one that she 
had not felt since the time she had been sealed in the capsule by the Jurain 
council seven hundred years before.  
      She was trapped.
          
      After Washu had been carted off, Nagi had been working on her 
shackles.  The rope was tight, but she had been straining on it for quite 
a while.  When the ringing had started, she was almost free.  The ringing 
had come closer and closer but had now apparently stopped.
      From the moment she first heard it, she was sure the ringing was 
coming from Washu, from some extra gadget she had had packed away 
somewhere.  She swore that that woman had more circuitry plugged into her 
than the Jurain government had in their entire empire.  She wouldn't have 
been surprised if someone could light a light bulb in her mouth.
      But now that the ringing had stopped, she was fearful that the 
dronies, or maybe even Danner himself, had put her down.
      "I wonder what the hell that was," one of the guards around her 
said.
      "Beats the hell out of me," the other said.  Since the ruckus, all 
but two of the guards had abandoned their posts to check out the noise.
      "I'm going to check it out," the first one said, running off.
      The second looked up at Nagi, his pistol at the ready on his belt.
	Nagi thought to herself.  Should I save Washu?  She really is a big
pain in the ass, but she has nothing to do with my family's problems.  
Then again, my life would probably be a lot easier if she does die.  Hmm.
To care or not to care.
      She debated all of this for maybe two seconds, before ripping her 
hand free with an "Ah, what the hell."
      The guard was caught completely by surprise and fumbled clumsily 
for his weapon.
      Nagi, however, moving with quick hands, ripped the rope from her 
other hand with one clean swipe, and did the same for her ankles quickly.  
The guard almost had his gun out when Nagi connected a kick to his head, 
knocking him out cold.
	She then brushed herself off and casually exited the prison area.
         
      Danner was smiling down at Washu, joy in his eyes.
      "Do you know how long it's been since I've killed, my little friend?" 
he asked, staring down at her.  "Four long years."
      "Funny," she said, speaking loudly.  "I've gone my whole life without 
killing a single thing, besides one lousy inter-galactic destroyer, and 
I've managed not to complain about it too much."
      "You're very funny," Danner said, not laughing.  "You won't be so 
funny when you're dead."
      Washu smiled and pointed behind him.  "Someone behind you," she
said.
      "No more of your games," he said, raising his pistol.
      Just then, the guard that was formerly guarding Nagi, tapped Danner 
on the shoulder lightly.
      Danner gave out a yell and jumped into the air.  He turned swiftly 
around and put the pistol up to the guard's face.  "Why aren't you guarding 
Jamie?!!!"
      "Woah, boss," the guard said tentatively.  "Joseph's watching her."
      "Are you sure Joseph is still there?" Danner asked.
      "Yeah, boss," the guard nodded.  "I left him there.  Told him not to 
leave.  I heard some ruckus and figured-"
      The guard was cut off as his head exploded from a discharge from 
Danner's pistol.  "Never leave your post without telling me," Danner said 
as the guard's body fell to the ground.
      He then turned around quickly, seeing Washu trying to scurry away.  
"Ah, ah, ah," he sung.  "I don't think so."  He grinned as he held his 
pistol, savoring the anticipation.
      Washu pointed excitedly behind him, and mouthed again the words, 
"Someone behind you."
      Danner nodded, smiling, and squeezed his hand on the trigger.
      Just then, Danner felt a large blow on the back of his head, and 
feel down, out cold.  Behind him, Nagi glowered down at him.
      "Bout time you showed up," Washu said, getting to her feet.
      "Let's just find Ken-oki and get the hell out of here," she said, 
kicking Danner's body.  "And help me with this guy.  The bounty on him's
over a million credits."
	Suddenly they heard many shouts and footsteps behind them.
	"No time for that!" Washu shouted.  "Let's go!"
      Nagi kicked Danner again, in the head, and they ran off down the 
hall.  "Ken-oki's probably at the hangar," Washu said.
      "I know where that is," Nagi said, leading the way.
      In a few seconds, they were there.  Outside of the huge, metal, 
hangar door, there was a password panel.
      "Can you get us in there?" Nagi asked.
      "Um," Washu looked down at the panel.  "It'll take a while."
      "WHERE ARE YOU, JAMIE!!!" Danner screamed from somewhere down the 
hall behind them.
      "We don't have any time," Nagi said.  "Lemme try."  Nagi raised her 
elbow above the panel, and dropped it down hard.  The panel sparked twice 
and lost life, while the door slid silently open.
      Inside, two guards were inspecting a cage, unknowing of their recent
company.
      "Are you sure the cap was right about this thing?" one said.  "It 
don't look like no space ship to me."
      "Just shut up," the other said.  "The cap can hears you.  You want 
to end up dead like Jimmy did?"
      Unmindful of their conversation, Nagi wasted little time in sneaking 
up behind them.  Quickly, she grabbed their heads and brought them together 
with a loud thud.  They slumped sighlently to the ground, one on top of the 
other.
      "Ken-oki!" Nagi shouted when she discovered the cabbit in the cage. 
"What'd they do to you?!"
      The cabbit's fur was all but burnt off, and he was almost unconscious.
      "Oh, what'd they do to you?!"
      "Chow," the cabbit spoke weakly, looking up at its master.
      "You think you can get us outta here?," Nagi asked the cabbit, opening 
the cage.
      "Chow!" the cabbit said, somewhat excitedly.  Although it had been 
severely  burnt and its strength depleted in numerous studies by the 
dronies who passed for scientists aboard the ship, its spirit was till 
intact.
      "Alright then!" Nagi shouted.  "Let's blow this joint!!"  She threw 
the cabbit into the air, and, with a crash of metal and a flurry of sparks, 
Ken-oki expanded into its other form obliterating the Mah-Jong's south 
hangar.
      Danner and his crew barely escaped the destruction with their lives, 
sealing themselves up in the far reaches of the ship.
      "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, JAMIE!!" Danner screamed at the ship.  "MARK 
MY WORDS!!  I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!!!"