Cape Suzette

Cunla, for the first time in years, realized the coldness and fear of isolation. He had his own matters to tackle with now. But as a result of his hasty withdrawal of the KH team, he now had no one who could tell him where to go or what to do. To add, there was no one who was present who he could converse with. Without the insight of one of his teammates, Cunla had no leads. He knew not where Imperial activity was taking place. He silently ate what was left of the bread given to him by the kindly old woman back in Vulgaria. He looked out in the vastness of space.

“It sure is lonely,” he thought to himself.

“Don’t worry about it, Cunla.” A familiar voice suddenly uttered. Cunla turned to see who it was. Sitting in the copilot seat was none other than the image of his father.

“Dad…?” Cunla said. But no sooner had he done so, the image vanished from his eyes. The sudden image of his father gave him comfort only for a time, before he realized he was still alone. “My mind can be so cruel.” For a moment, Cunla wavered, a moist tear forming upon his lashes. He trembled, but shook it off. “I have to stay strong. My dad would never want me to weaken like that.”

Cunla began researching the most recent Imperial activity. One was taking place in a city called Metroville. Another was in a city called Hollywood. There was also an account of the Imperials looking for a lost city of gold. A fifth was regarding a mystical stone of power located in a place called the Great Kanto Desert. There were numerous other accounts. However, Cunla’s concentration was interrupted due to the sound of an emergency alarm and a blinking light on the control board. The power levels for the gummi ship were rabidly depleting.

“I must have been traveling for quite some time.” Cunla thought to himself. “The energy for the gummi is almost empty. I better find some place to land and have the gummi recharged.”-

It was around the same time a second alarm went off. This one indicated that another world was close by. Cunla looked out to see a small world floating amidst the cosmos.

“Another world,” Cunla thought to himself. He glanced at the name of the place. “Cape Suzette…” He looked at the statistics regarding his stop point. “There’s no indication of any Imperial activity taking place in this world. Then again, I can’t afford to be too picky. I have to recharge the gummi ship.” Cunla prepared for his descent. The gummi entered the atmosphere. Before Cunla was a vast ocean, which hued a dark blue with very little white caps on the surface. But to the young man’s misfortune, there was no sight of land.

But within minutes of his entry into the world of Cape Suzette, he noticed an island located to his right. It was a miniscule island, but by its features, it was well established. It had to be no more than a mile in diameter. There was a small rocky outcrop that towered like a mountain at the center of the island. Tough it was surrounded by lush vegetation, the very top was bare. On its peak was a massive sign, which read “Louie’s.” Near its base was a small establishment constructed of bamboo and hay. From a distance, it seemed like a hotel and grill where tourists stopped to enjoy paradise. And this notion might have been true, due to the sight of so many sea planes that were parked along to docks in front of the establishment.

“I guess this is just as good a place as any.” Cunla thought to himself. “I could stay here for a while. He made a munny count. “I have enough for lodging.”

Instead of landing at the pier, Cunla chose a small clearing on the beach to land the gummi ship. So as not to startle any of the locals, Cunla activated the optical stealth. The gummi steadily landed on the white sand of Louie’s Island and nestled softly on the beach. Cunla exited the ship, pressed the capsule button to the side, and the gummi disappeared in a massive puff of smoke. The concealment capsule dropped onto the sand and Cunla picked it up. Placing it in his pocket, the youth made his way to the foundation.

As he peered inside, he saw that the entire place was filled with pilots. And not just any pilots, but animal pilots, dogs, lions, bears, panthers, etc. Like Goofy and Donald, all were dressed in their pilot jackets or Hawaiian shirts and were chatting away like normal people would. Cunla entered through the doors. Immediately, the place went silent as each eye peered at this brash young lad who appeared out of nowhere. But no glaring eye made the boy uneasy. Compared to what he encountered before in the course of his life, rough housing pilots were no more than roaches to him.

“Don’t let me interrupt, gentlemen.” He said. The pilots took no further notice and continued with their business. Cunla went up to the bar. It was there that the bartender, an orangutan with a Hawaiian shirt, pink flowered lay, and a wide brimmed straw hat, came up to him.

“Sorry, kid,” he implied, “I can’t serve anyone at your age any liquor.”

“I don’t drink.” Cunla said. “It’s terrible for your health.”

“Can I interest you in a soda or juice?”-

“I’ll have juice. Orange if you have it, sir.”-

“One orange juice coming up…” The bartender took out a cold bottle from the fridge and poured it into a glass tanker. He handed it to the youth. “Your not one of our regulars are you? I’ve never seen you around.”

“I just arrived at these parts.” Cunla replied

“Where from…?”-

“Vulgaria…”-

“Never heard of it, but then again it’s not really my business to be nosy.” The bartender extended his hand. “By the way, my name’s Louie, I’m the keeper of this bar and diner.”

“I’m Cunla…” The two shook hands.

“Simply between us, what brings you here to my humble abode?” Cunla looked around.

“I was wondering if there’s a pilot here who could help recharge a gummi energy cell.”-

“Well…” Louie scratched his head. “I don’t know anything about a gummi. But if you were to ask someone who could get you anything, it would be him.” Louie pointed down to the far end of the dining area at one of the booths. There was a large bear dressed in a brown pilot shirt and bore a red cap on his head. “His name is Baloo. He’s one of my best customers and the most skilled pilot around these parts.”

“Really…? Is he that good?”-

“Everyone around here knows him. If anyone could help you out, it would be him.”-

“Who’s the cub with him?” Cunla pointed at a bear cub sitting at the same booth, he had on him a blue baseball cap with red brim and a green sweater.

“That there’s Kit Cloudkicker. He’s Baloo’s partner. He’s young for his age, but extremely skilled.”-

“Is that so…?” Cunla was rather impressed by the Baloo’s size. He certainly didn’t seem the type who anyone would dare mess around with.

“Don’t let his size fool you.” Louie assured the youth. “Baloo might be big, but he’s just as happy-go-lucky as a kid. That’s why he’s the best around here I guess. He never really takes his job seriously. He just does it for the sake of flying. It’s always been his lifetime passion.” Louie jumped over the bar. “I’ll go over there and talk to him about seeing you if you’d like.”

“That would be fine.” Cunla replied. Louie walked over to where Baloo and Kit were sitting. Cunla watched as Louie pointed him out and the two eyed him with curiosity. Within a few minutes, Baloo and Kit stood up and made their way over to the bar where Cunla was standing.

“I understand that you’re looking for the best of the best, right?” Baloo asked.

“So I’m told.” Cunla replied.

“I don’t believe we’ve properly introduced each other. The name’s Baloo. I’m the number one ace around these parts.”-

“And I’m Kit Cloudkicker,” Kit replied, “I’m Baloo’s partner.”

“I’m Cunla.” Cunla said.

“I understand that you have a proposition for me?” Baloo interjected.

“Yes, would you be able to recharge the energy cell to my gummi ship?”-

“I don’t really know.” Baloo scratched his head sheepishly. “I’ve never heard of a gummi ship before.”

“I see…” Cunla turned away.

“Is this gummi thing-a-ma-bobber really that important?”-

“It’s the only way for me to get off this island.”-

“Hey, well if you’ve hoping to get off the island, you don’t need any fandangle what-cha-ma-hoozit to get around. You just need a plane and the right guy to fly it.”-

“You don’t understand though.”-

“Oh I understand plenty. You just don’t want to admit that you have no way off, right? Well, we can fix that. You just come with us.”-

“Well…” Cunla looked around. “I don’t really have much of a choice.”

“Then just follow us, kid!” Baloo and Kit led Cunla out of Louie’s. “We’ll be seeing you Louie! We got some business to take care of first!”

“Same time next week, Baloo…?” Louie asked.

“You know me?”-

After parting ways with Louie, the three walked down the talk to a large yellow sea plane with a red nose. The paint was slightly faded and the surface of the plane dented with pockmarks, indicating that the plane had been through a lot under Baloo’s command. Baloo seemed proud of his plane, but through Cunla’s eyes, it was an obsolete relic.

“You fly this?” Cunla asked.

“That I do.” Baloo said with his head held high. “Why do you ask?”

“But this is a Conwing L-16 model.”-

“Nicknamed the Sea Duck, and it’s the fastest around…”-

“But…”-

“Don’t worry, Cunla.” Kit said. “Baloo’s the best there is.”

“Still…” Cunla then observed the other planes. He realized that all of them were propeller powered. “I see, I guess rocket and jet technology and rechargeable generation cells are yet to be discovered in this world.” Cunla’s hopes were dashed. “That means there’s no one who can help me recharge the gummi’s energy cell.”

“Come on board, Kid!” Baloo said. He and Kit took their positions in the pilot and copilot seats. Cunla took a passenger seat at the rear of the cockpit. “Now, get yourself ready for the flight of your life.”

“Of course,” Cunla tried to be as enthusiastic as he could, so as not to give the impression that he was unimpressed.

Baloo switched on the ignition. The propellers on the Sea Duck’s massive wings began to spin, slowly at first, but gained more speed. The pitter-patter of the engine gave way to a steady hum.

“Alright, here we go.” Baloo said with a snicker. With mooring line thrown to the side, the Sea Duck began to move, gliding across the water on its air tight hull. Slowly at first, then more rapidly the plane moved. “Now all we do is ease up.” With a pull on the wheel, Baloo forced the nose of the Sea Duck upward. With that, the plane lifted from the water and took to the skies. It steadied after a few minutes and the ride was smooth as silk. “There is nothing like an easy ride in the sky.”

“I’m impressed.” Cunla said as he watched the Louie’s Island grow smaller with every foot gained.

“Now, about this gummi thing of yours,”-

“Oh yeah,” Cunla took out the gummi from his pocket. Baloo and Kit turned to see the capsule device in his hand.

“Is that the gummi ship you were talking about?” Kit asked. “It’s kinda small don’t you think?”

“It’s actually the portable capsule that it comes in.”-

“Get out of here.” Baloo said jokingly. “Are you telling me that ship of yours comes pill size?”

“That’s correct.” Cunla replied.

“There ain’t no way that’s possible.”-

“That’s right,” Kit said. “To have a ship that comes capsule size, you would be holding technology decades in advance to the rest of the world. Even Shere Khan doesn’t have those kinds of mechanics. And he’s virtually ahead of the rest of the world by at least ten years.”

“Who’s Shere Khan…?” Cunla asked. Kit and Baloo were stunned.

“You never heard of Shere Khan?”-

“You really must be new in this area, kid.” Baloo said surprisingly. “You mustn’t even get out very much either. You don’t even know a top brass guy like Shere Khan?”

“Forgive me for my ignorance, sir.” Cunla said. “But I’m from a very far off part of the world.” He later mumbled to himself. “Out of this world more like…”

“Shere Khan is the greatest business tycoon that ever lived. His company, Kahn Industries, is the largest name brand in existence and is worth over six billion dollars. And that price keeps growing every year.”-

“Is that so…?”-

“See, over there!” Baloo pointed out towards the air space next to them. Cunla looked out the passenger window. Running almost parallel to the Sea Duck was another plane. Unlike the Sea Duck, this plane was well painted and properly furbished with smooth running engines. On the side, the initials SK were designed into a powerful insignia. “That’s one of Shere Khan’s planes, the most high-tech kind in the world so far.”

“Ten-four, ten-four,” a voice on the intercom shouted. “Khan Industries calling…!” Baloo picked up the receiver.

“Copy that, KI, how’s it going?”-

“Hey Baloo, how are you doing?”-

“Pretty good, so far there’s not a cloud in the sky and it’s steady all the way to Cape Suzette.”-

“Copy that, this is Khan Industries over and out!” Transmission ended and the pilot of the Khan Industry plane gave a salute. Baloo did the same.

“Do you know Shere Khan?” Cunla asked.

“Why do you ask?”-

“Well, from that interaction you had with the pilot.”-

“Baloo’s done some work for Shere Khan in the past.” Kit explained. “From what I’ve seen, he and Khan are on pretty good terms, right Papa Bear?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know about being buddy-buddy with him.” Baloo said. “From what I can tell of Shere Khan, he’s never once cracked a smile.”

“One of those stolid types…?” Cunla asked.

“More like a guy who was born without a sense of humor.”-

But no sooner had the salutations between the two aircrafts end, their came a burst of machine gun fire. Then there came the sound of an explosion as one of the propellers of Khan’s plane suddenly bellowed forth black smoke.

“What was that?” Cunla wondered.

“Unfortunately, kid, there’s another big name out there equaling Khan. We call them pirates!”-

“Pirates…?”-

“Air pirates to be precise…” Kit said.

“Air pirates…?” Cunla looked out to see a squadron of miniature tri-planes swooping down on them. But for some strange reason, the pirates seemed to be concentrating solely on Khan’s airplane. “What do those pirates want?”

“Whatever it is, Khan’s boys must have it.” Baloo said. He went in for a spin.

“What are you doing?”-

“What does it look like? I’m giving them a hand.”-

“A hand…?”-

“If there’s one enemy every pilot has in common, it’s air pirates.” Baloo picked up the intercom. “Ten-four, ten-four, we’re giving you guys a hand!”

“Never mind us, Baloo!” the pilot replied from the Khan aircraft. “Just get this package to Shere Khan as soon as you can.”

“What…?!”-

“Don’t worry, the cargo’s small. Get Kit ready to receive it.”-

“Alright,” Baloo turned to Kit. “You heard the man, Kit.”

“Roger,” Kit jumped from his seat. “Throw out the line!”

“Gotcha,” Baloo opened up the hatch and unleashed a long rope line at the rear of the cargo hold. Kit drew his famous crescent, steel glide board. Grabbing the line, he threw himself from the plane. After the rope tightened, Kit began sky surfing at the rear of the Sea Duck. Baloo placed the Sea Duck underneath the hull of the wounded Khan airplane. The pilot spotted Kit.

“Here comes the package, Kit!” he shouted from the open window. In his hand, he held a small iron box with lock. “Catch it!” In a brilliant and precise air maneuver, Kit managed to catch the box.

“Alright, Papa Bear, reel me in!” Kit shouted.

“Gotcha,” Baloo replied. With a flick of the frontal switch in the cockpit, he brought the line in. But no sooner had Kit made it inside the cargo hold. Three of the pirate planes started firing at him. Now, the aggression of the buccaneers was concentrated on the Sea Duck. “Whatever it is Khan’s boys were carrying, it must be really valuable.”

Suddenly, there came the sound of what could only be described as heavy metal coming into contact with the Sea Duck and the sound of ropes wrapping around the wings. Within seconds, the Sea Duck was suspended in mid air.

“Uh-oh…” Baloo gasped. “That’s not a good sign.”

“What just happened?” Cunla asked.

“It’s no good, kid. The pirates have us! They got us a lot faster than I thought!”-“Can’t you do anything?”-

“No use. The pirates have the Sea Duck suspended on both wings and their armed to the teeth. What else can we do?”-

“Fight back.”-

“This is the first time that these pirates actually managed to catch me with my flaps down. Hand to hand combat ain’t exactly an easy task.”-

“Is that so?” Cunla, filled with ecstasy, couldn’t help, but smirk.

By this time, the pirates had climbed down the ropes bearing their grappling irons and made their way into the Sea Duck’s cargo hold. Blunderbusses in hand, they aimed them at young Kit, who held tightly onto the box. From behind the line of pirates, appeared a wolf, orange in color, dressed in a double-breasted blue tailed coat with red cuffs, sky blue trousers tucking tucked in knee high, black boots, and a red sash wrapped around his waste. At his side was a gleaming steel cutlass, still sheathed in its scabbard.

“Greetings, my friend,” The wolf said so boisterously in a thick Spanish accent

“It is I, Don Karnage!”

“What do you want, Karnage?” Kit said defiantly.

“Quite simple, boy…” Karnage put his arms behind him. “I was in the middle of plundering some very valuable knickity-knacks from Khan Industries, when you and your pompous pilot friend, Baloo decided to interfere. But luckily for me, I was ready in case you pulled off such a stunt.” Karnage extended his hand. “Now if you please.”

“Please what…?”-

“You know what I want. I want that box. You have taken what I have rightfully stolen, no?”-

“No is right! You’re not getting it!”-

“I have had my fill of your mouth, boy.” Don Karnage said. “If you will not give the box to me willingly, I will have no choice, but to take it from you by force.” Karnage turned to his men. “Get the box.” The pirates moved forward. Kit found himself backing against the wall that separated the cargo hold from the cockpit. Still, he held tightly onto the box, even though the pirates were closing in on him. Karnage ordered his men again. “Get me that box!”

But before a rush could be made, the door to the cockpit swung open. And there, standing in the doorway was Cunla. He stood like an iron figure head, his sudden entry a shock to the pirates.

“You must all be pretty proud of yourselves,” Cunla boldly stated, “A bunch of big burly pirates, armed to the teeth, picking on one boy.”

“And who are you?” Don Karnage demanded.

“I don’t really think it’s necessary for me to address myself, not to scumbags like you.” Cunla’s words caused Karnage to grow red in the face. He became hopping mad.

“Why you little…” He turned to his men. “Dispose of this little brat! Throw him out!” The pirates aimed their blunderbusses.

“Trust me, gents. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you better drop your weapons.”-

“He is just a boy!” Karnage shouted. “What can he do?”

But before a trigger could be pulled, each lock from every gun had been cut off. Cunla was seen again with his sword drawn, its razor sharp steal glimmering like the sun. The guns of the pirates were useless now. Karnage’s men were shocked.

“What was that?” Kit uttered.

“I see,” Karnage chuckled. “So you are handy with a sword are you? Well, so are we!” The pirates drew out their own cutlasses. Though outnumbered, Cunla stood like a rock.

“Get into the cockpit, Kit.” Cunla said. “Take the package with you.”

“But you don’t stand a chance against all of them.” Kit replied.

“You proved to me how skilled you are. Now, I’ll prove how skilled I am. And my specialty happens to be combat.” Cunla confronted the pirates. “Stand down, you fools, if you want to live this day!”

“You don’t scare us, boy!” Karnage declared. “Get him!”

The pirates rushed at Cunla with cutlasses drawn. Cunla only smirked. He suddenly threw forth his sword in an upward slash. Again, he cut. Again and again as fast as lightning, he cut threw the pirate line. To the pirates, however, what they witnessed was only one strike, coming in the form of a flash of light. The pirates suddenly stopped in their tracks, bewildered at what just occurred. They did not see anymore than one strike from Cunla’s sword, but even that was enough to halt their advance. Perhaps it was Cunla’s inner strength that ceased their advance. The pirates watched as Cunla sheathed his sword back into the scabbard. Almost instantly, all the swords of the pirates were split in half, the front of the blades suddenly fell with clean cuts and falling onto the floor of the cargo hold.

“Your cutlasses are no match for an Imperial katana.” Cunla declared. Frightened by what happened, and now virtually disarmed and disheartened, the pirates quickly withdrew in terror back to their planes, or threw themselves into the sea, all except for Don Karnage.

“You won’t intimidate me as easily, boy.” Karnage declared. With cutlass drawn, he faced off against the son of the Hound. “Let us see how you favor against a real pirate.”

“You insist on dying today, don’t you?” Cunla chuckled. He drew out his sword again. “So be it…!” The two combatants stood glaring at each other with their blades at the ready.

Just then, Karnage swiftly thrust his cutlass towards Cunla. Cunla quickly reacted, blocking the hit and engaging in a counterstrike. Karnage did the same. Within seconds, Cunla and Karnage were at each other’s throats, slashing, thrusting, and striking as best they could. To their surprise, however, neither gained the upper hand over the other. No cut or scratch was inflicted by either of their swords. Kit watched from behind some cargo crates as the battle unfolded before him. The two even went so far as to battle near the open hatch of the cargo hold, risking a mile fall to the deep blue sea below.

“I must admit that you are a formidable foe for one so young.” Karnage commented on Cunla’s skills. “No one has ever fought me head on with like this, with a blade, in years. And even the best of the best were no match for me. But you are something different.”

“I also have to admit that you too are strong.” Cunla replied.

“That is very true.” The two continued to clash. “However, despite your skill, you are still just a boy. And that means you are no match for a full grown man like me.”

“I’ve had worse odds.”-

“Then try this on!” Karnage suddenly kicked Cunla out of the open hatch. But Cunla managed to grab hold of the line that Kit used before and held on tightly. Karnage was again impressed. “You certainly are swift in your reflexes, but how will you favor when your life line is detached?” Karnage cut the rope and watched as Cunla went plummeting to the sea.

To Cunla’s luck, one of the Karnage’s men was flying just behind the sea duck from beneath. Cunla managed to land on the wing, causing the aircraft to stumble slightly.

“Get off of my plane!” the pirate shouted. He tried to loop around and throw Cunla off. But the boy held on tight. “Who is this kid?” Cunla steadied himself on the wing. He suddenly leaped just behind the pirate and held his blade close to the buccaneer’s throat.

“Try that again and it’ll cost you your life.” The boy uttered.

“Y…yes sir…”-

“Now get be back to the sea duck…!” The pirate, feeling the blade on his throat, had no choice but to oblige. He elevated the plane steady with the Sea Duck, which was still suspended by the pirate cables. Karnage watched as the ordeal unfolded before him.

“Unbelievable…” he uttered.

Cunla suddenly leaped to the front, steadily balancing him on the nose of the tri-plane. His swords still aimed at the pirate, the boy smiled.

“Thank you for obliging me,” He chuckled, “But unfortunately, you have to pay for that last stunt.” Cunla reached down and cut the stick from the control panel. He then thrust his sword into the engine of the plane. He quickly extracted the blade, turned towards the Sea Duck in front of him, and with all his might, leaped up onto the top of the Sea Duck. All the while, the pirate plane he was on went plummeting in a puff of smoke as the engine burst into flames and caused the aircraft to go crashing down into the waves of the ocean.

Cunla all the while, began walking onto the wings of the Sea Duck and started cutting the pirate lines that kept it suspended. Karnage could feel the Sea Duck slipping. Baloo felt it as well.

“That kid must be cutting the lines.” He said to himself, “At a boy!”

“No, no, no,” Karnage growled. “He is ruining everything!” Karnage pointed out to one of his planes. The plane followed close behind the Sea Duck. “If that boy can jump onto the nose of my planes, so can I.” Karnage jumped onto the nose of the pursuing pirate plane. “Drop me off at the top of this plane!”

“Aye, aye, sir!” his crewman replied.

“I want to finish that boy off before he makes anymore trouble for us.”-

“Should we have the others shoot him?”-

“No, I want to finish this fight with him myself!”-

“But why…?”-

“It has been too long since I had a proper fight. I want to see it to the last. My honor depends on it!”-

“Yes sir,”-

The crewman elevated his plane over the Sea Duck. It was there that Karnage saw Cunla cutting the grappling cables, despite several pirates trying to shoot at him.

“Just a few more,” Cunla said to himself. But as he reached the last couple of lines, he was confronted by Karnage, who jumped upon the roof of the Sea Duck. Cutlass gripped in hand, the pirate captain was prepared to finish the fight.

“You have caused me enough trouble for one day, boy! I will not have you ruining our plans!”-

“You never know when to quit, do you?” Cunla suddenly smiled. With a swing of his word, he cut the remaining lines, liberating the Sea Duck from the pirate grappling irons. “Besides, you’re already too late.”

“Why you…?!”-

“You want to make something of it, then come and get me, Don Karnage!”-

“With pleasure…!”-

Cunla and Karnage ran towards each other as they had before in the cockpit. Now they combated on the top of the Sea Duck. Back and forth they battled, though the turbulence and strong force due to the plane’s intense speed. All along the back and the base of the wings, the two fought. However, it seemed that Cunla was slightly giving way to Karnage’s attacks. It wasn’t long before the two met in a dead lock.

“It seems that we’re still evenly matched.” Karnage chuckled. “But you look like you’re losing strength fast.”

“You know the old saying ‘to know your enemy?’” Cunla asked. “Well, you’ve been making a lot of large judgments on me. Unfortunately for you, there’s a small secret I’m yet to reveal.”

“What is that?”-

“I’ve only been playing with you up until now.” Cunla suddenly pushed Karnage away and went on the offensive. Suddenly the air pirate found himself at a disadvantage against Cunla. He tried to keep up with the same amount of effort as before, but to no avail. It was as if the boy had increased his strength and speed twice of what it was. If hadn’t been a full minute before another reprieve was needed.

“Who are you?” Karnage asked. “No ordinary boy could fight so wildly against me and my men.”

“You have proven yourself a worthy adversary.” Cunla declared. “Therefore, I find it only fair that I reveal who I am. You have earned it after all.” Cunla stood tall, boldly declaring his title. “I am Cunla, son of Cuchulain.”

“I see. Then prepare to for death, Cunla, son of Cuchulain.”-

“As should you…”-

“You seem a descent fellow, no? I hate to kill you.”-

“You seem a descent fellow as well. I’d hate to be killed.”-

However, this reprieve was again broken. From a distance, the sound of cannons could be heard. Karnage and Cunla looked. Off in the distance, a large landmass bordered by cliffs could be seen. At one point, there was a large crevice that seemed a doorway to some far off land. And near that deep crevice, puffs of smoke and sounds of thunder came echoing. The blasts were followed by exploding shells that struck at the pirate planes.

“What in the world is that?” Cunla thought to himself.

“No, no, no,” Karnage said. “It’s the Cape Suzette cannons!”

“Captain,” one of the pirates shouted. “We must withdraw!”

“And I was so close. But we have no choice.” Karnage shouted to his men. “Men, back to the Iron Vulture…!”

“Aye-aye,” the crewmen cried and withdrew their planes, all except one who acted as an escort for the captain. Before departing, Karnage turned to face Cunla again. But this time, it was not with his blade. Instead, he sheathed his cutlass back into it’s scabbard.

“You have won this time, Cunla.” Karnage declared. “Our little duel is postponed for now. But we will meet again to finish it! And I will be the one victorious, no?” With that Don Karnage threw himself from off the Sea Duck and landed safely on the escort plane. “Adios senor…!” Karnage and his escort disappeared into the horizon. Cunla too sheathed his sword.

“I’ll be waiting when that time comes.” He quietly replied. He stood atop the Sea Duck as the plane and the Khan aircraft edged closer to the cliffs of Cape Suzette. Sheathing his word, Cunla retreated back into the interior of the Sea Duck. Kit was waiting for his return.

“That was incredible.” Kit said. “You went head to head with Don Karnage and his pirate crew and held your own.”

“I’ve had worse odds.” Cunla replied as he and Kit returned to the cockpit.

“That was almost too close for comfort.” Baloo said. “It’s a good thing that we have the cliff guns on our side. The pirates never seem to get passed them.”

“Except for that one time when they invented that lightning gun,” Kit interjected.

“Well, with an upgrade in fire power, even the pirates better be careful if they try that stunt again.”-

“So where are we off to now?” Cunla asked.

“Well, since we have Kahn’s little package, we’re gonna have to pay him a visit.”-

It wasn’t long before the Sea Duck and its wounded companion of Khan Industries made it through the deep gorge leading to Cape Suzette. Once reaching their destination, Cunla was in awe at what he saw. Before him lay a grand and prosperous city with tall skyscrapers constructed in an early twentieth century style. Many of the buildings consisted of chrome, which flickered brightly from the reflecting rays of the sun. In the air around the buildings, old propeller biplanes and cargo planes flew about alongside massive passenger zeppelins. And on the streets below, a steady stream of old fashioned automobiles flowed from one point in the bustling metropolis to the other. It was a nostalgia of days long passed.

“Amazing,” Cunla thought to himself. Soon, the Sea Duck flew down onto a private airstrip following Khan’s cargo plane. The runway lay before one of the largest buildings in Cape Suzette. It was a black structure with reflecting windows. The light of the sun gave a dark reflection on the building’s surface. And at the top of the building, the massive letters KI were gilded in gold. Such a structure could only display power and intimidation, so was the image of Khan Industries. “So this is it?”

“This is the place, kid.” Baloo replied, “The heart of the greatest conglomerate in the world.”

“I’m extremely impressed.”-

“You think this is incredible, wait until you meet the guy behind it all.”-

“The big man himself,” Kit added.

The planes landed and were maneuvered into their designated stations. With the package still held tightly in their possession, Baloo, Kit, and Cunla made their way to the office of Shere Khan. As they came into the main entrance on the ground floor, they came before a massive desk where Khan’s clerks were stationed. One of them, Khan’s messenger and head clear, a lanky tiger with which shirt, black vest, and red bowtie, was on duty. He confronted the trio.

“May I help you, gentlemen?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Baloo replied. “We’re here to see Shere Khan.”

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go through the necessary channels in order to set up an appointment with Shere Khan.”-

“Well, we have a little package here for him.” Baloo gave Kit the wink. Kit raised the iron box before the clerk.

“How did you come to get that item?” the clerk asked.

“It must be a really important article to have Karnage’s air pirates try and steal it.”-

“You confiscated it from Khan?”-

“We had to help a couple of your pilots who were being attacked by Karnage’s goons. They threw it to us in case they didn’t make it.”-

“All right then. You did a good job, gentlemen.” The clerk stretched forth his hand. “Now if you would be so kind as to give the item to me, I’ll deliver it to Mr. Khan immediately.”

“No can do.” Baloo said. “We went through a lot to get this. I only find it proper to give it to Old Stripes personally.”

“I can’t permit you in without the proper clarification.”-

“We just want to make sure that we’ll be properly reimbursed for all the trouble we went through to trying to save this little thing.” The clerk found himself in a pickle now. Hesitantly, he pressed the button to the intercom, which led to Shere Khan’s office.

“Mr. Khan, sir,” he said. From the other side of the line came a deep distinguished voice. It was the voice of Shere Khan himself.

“What is it?” Shere Khan replied.

“I have Baloo here.”-

“Baloo…?”-

“The pilot of Higher for Hire…”-

“Oh yes, what does he want?”-

“Well sir, he has that important package you were waiting for.”-

“That package…?”-

“Yes sir.”-

“What of my elite pilots?” Shere Khan asked.

“They were attacked by Don Karnage and the air pirates, sir.” The clerk replied. “They, however, managed to successfully transfer the package over to the Sea Duck and its crew.”

“I see…” There was a slight pause. “Have theme leave the package at the front desk and deliver it to me as soon as possible.”

“No can do, Mr. Khan!” Baloo interceded. “It wouldn’t be proper for us to go through so much trouble and not get to hand it to you personally.” Another dead pause lingered after Baloo’s last few utterances.

“Very well then Mr. Baloo,” Shere Khan responded. “You may come up and see me. I will thank you personally.”

“Thanks a bundle, Mr. Khan,” The transmission ended.

“If you would care to follow me, gentlemen.” The clerk instructed. The trio followed the clerk down the hall and into the tallest elevator with black doors. This led straight to Khan’s office. It took only a few minutes before the elevator reached the top of the tower, where the chairman was waiting. The doors opened and the trio followed the clerk down another long hall. This hall was of pure white marble and gold embroidery inscribed in the precious mineral. They came before another pair of doors made of black marble and bearing the insignia of Khan Industries.

“Now, gentlemen,” the clerk said, “You will be respectful to Mr. Khan. Do not make any unnecessary outbursts or offensive comments. You will address the chairman formally at Mr. Khan. You are to speak only when you’re spoken to. And above all, you must remain reserve and punctual. Further more…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Baloo said. “You went through this whole thing before.” Instead of heeding the words of the clerk, Baloo did the exact opposite. First he barged right into the office with a great deal of gusto and strolled down the red carpeting leading to Khan’s desk with as much grace as a drunken man in a bar.

Shere Khan’s office was a sight to behold. It was pure black marble with red carpeting leading to his desk and to the upper level where his library and living quarters were located. There was great plethora of exotic plants that grew large planters that equaled the entire length of the office. Amidst the vegetation were also artificial springs, rivers, and falls filled with golden Koi, giving the appearance of an aquatic oasis. At the very end were a black marble desk and a chair with a high back and equally dark in its hue. Baloo, Kit, and Cunla, came up to the desk, the clerk taking his place at the side of the desk.

“I understand you have something of great value that belongs to me?” the deep voice said.

“We certainly do.”-

“Excellent,” the chair behind the desk suddenly turned to reveal the identity of Shere Khan. He too was a tiger. But unlike the clerk, he was an impressive sight, big, muscular, and intimidating with a well distinguished chin. His entourage was a full piece suit with white shirt, a black double-breasted business coat, a red tie with a twenty karat diamond acting as a centerpiece, and gold buttons and cufflinks. “I’m glad to see that my cargo was handled by a very reliable individual.” Just then, Shere Khan eyed Cunla. “Although, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you as part of Baloo’s party.”

“I’m Cunla,” Cunla addressed himself. “I was simply a bystander.”

“I see,” Khan looked at Baloo. “Well, since you have the item I require, I’ll be taking it out of your hands.”

“Of course,” Baloo replied. He gave Kit to signal and the young cub placed the locked box on Khan’s desk.

“Very well done…”-

“Just out of curiosity, what is that thing anyway?”-

“Well, you might say that this particular item may revolutionize the way the world transports goods from place to place.”-

“Really…?”-

“Now, is there anything else you need?” Khan asked as he slipped the box into one of the drawers of his desk.

“Well, the Sea Duck could use a few repairs.”-

“It’s as good as done.” Khan wrote a letter and handed it to Baloo. “Give this to the chief mechanic. He’ll give you all the necessary items.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, Mr. Khan.” Baloo took the letter. “Now, we’ll be on our way.”

“Very well then,” Shere Khan looked at his clerk. “See that these gentlemen are safely escorted.”

“Yes sir,” the clerk replied.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you.” Baloo said, tipping his hat. The three withdrew. But for some odd reason, Khan kept his eye specifically on Cunla.

“Cunla…” Khan thought to himself. “I wonder.”