Octopodfodder (Part Five)

Groggily, Gogo got up onto his hind legs and teetered, barely
maintaining balance as the thunder in his head subsided to a low
murmur. Considering his condition when last he had encountered
Digitalis he was at once thankful that his injuries amounted to no more
than a clouded head, sore shoulders and grazed forearms. He could at
the very least continue fighting. Once he regained a delicate control
of his balance, however, a fearful doubt rose howling, breaking into
his composure in unison with the black waves that swelled around 'The
Flying Carp' and burst onto her decks. No matter how well it disguised
such feelings with its dark, mocking speech, Digitalis was enraged, and
well motivated to kill them all. There was no course of action he,
Gogo, could summon to thought that might save them.
"I'd have preferred it to have been a bleeding pancake," Gudgeon
called, as he, Trout and Lamprey plunged through a glittering curtain
of spray towards the munitions cupboard. "Could manage one of
them."
"You wish to eat me?" cackled Digitalis, a huge black eye swivelling
to follow their movement. "Very well then. Treat thy neighbour as you
would have him treat you!"
A tentacle lashed across the breadth of the deck, scattering the three
sailors in separate directions. Lamprey, who tumbled the farthest,
careered through the wreckage of the wheelhouse and came to rest at the
prow of the ship, right underneath the mountainous mass of pink flesh.
Digitalis laughed loudly, and the ship shuddered, groaning against the
strain of that vile bulk.
"Too easy, too easy! I'd prefer something less forthcoming, more plain
and tasteless for my starters. Well now, there's a snivelling morsel if
ever I saw one!"
Gogo could not see Loach anywhere about him; he had perhaps gone for
more weapons. The rest of the crew were engaged unsuccessfully in
trying to hack off the limbs of the giant sea monster while its grip on
their vessel gradually tightened. The figure whom Digitalis' evil gaze
had come to rest upon was Burbot, who had been cowering behind the
others and was now backing away towards the door that led to the
sanctuary of the ship's bowels. Gogo knew he would never reach it. He
bolted to the very edge of the engine room's roof and leapt from it,
but the tentacle had darted forth and snatched up the navigation
officer in its grasp long before the mimic was near enough to
intervene. Hopeless as it was, he chased the retracting arm across the
remaining length of the ship until he reached the very front, where
Lamprey lay still unmoving. There, the creature held the squealing
Burbot high in the air, as if taunting poor, desperate Gogo.
"Get your filthy meathooks off him!" he cried, but the cry was lost in
the echelons of sudden, intense winds. Clouds, reflecting in their
fragile form the colour of the night sea, clustered to the port side
and probed the starry sky above them.
"Bon appetit, Gogo!"
And with that, the flailing body was dropped into the center of the
gluttonous, trembling sponge and Burbot's squeals were hollowed out
into echoes before disappearing altogether.
"Ye gods!" exclaimed Gogo, taking advantage of a sudden break in the
gathering winds. "What kind of monster are you?"
"Oh, you dear thing. You missed my stunning transformation, didn't
you? I'm a giant squid, Gogo, though I admit to not being an expert in
the anatomy of such loathsome creatures. What does it matter to you
anyway? I have no desire to kill you, despite the horrendous troubles
you have put me through. No, no. You and I are going home after I have
disposed of this lot and their silly little boat."
Its voice came from nowhere, detached from the rubbery body before
him. Gogo retorted: "I will fight you to the bitter end!" But the
winds, competing around them once more, reduced his words to a whisper.
A tentacle spiralled towards him through the gale, forcing Gogo to
somersault backwards out of its path. It turned in an instant, bearing
down on him even before he had landed, so that Gogo was made to wheel,
then duck, then feint to the side in order to avoid its grasp and still
it came at him. For the moment he found avoiding it simple, even
instinctive, for he was a lot lighter since the jettison of much of his
luggage and far faster for it. For a time he could match the tentacle
in speed. There was no question, however, of who would tire faster, and
Gogo thus dug deep and hard into the recesses of his brain in pursuit
of a more effective tactic.
While weaving between a ribbon of coils he saw Gudgeon fighting
alongside him, just as he had done in the skirmish with the pirates.
Gudgeon drove his sword up to the hilt into an identical tentacle so
that the tip of the blade protruded out the other side, then brought it
forth in a crescent slash over his powerful shoulder. The end of the
feeler was split in two, and Digitalis yelped.
"You are such beastly creatures! I have feelings, you know."
But Gogo was inspired. He led his own adversary back against itself,
and again made for the front of the ship. Here, the bough of the arm
was closest to its root, and low enough for him to leap on top of it.
The surface was soft beneath his feet, and too slippery to stand on,
but as Gogo began to slide he brought one of his last daggers and
struck into the flesh. He accelerated, controlling his descent so that
he slid down the length of the tentacle, leaving a smooth line of
deeper pink behind him. As the tentacle thinned out, his dagger emerged
through the other side and when he at last flew off the curved tip,
half of that organ was separated clean down the middle. It flopped
uselessly onto the deck. Gogo landed, and pulled his robes tight around
him as the wind began to hurl them about. Spots of rain appeared around
his boots.
"Must we fight, Gogo?" winced the squid. "It's hardly the way to behave
during a father-son reunion."
While that last sneer emanated, two more tentacles appeared before him.
Several more were holding crew members hostage, high in the spitting
air. Gudgeon hobbled on, his bandaged foot finally beginning to give
way beneath him, while Trout had freed himself long enough to turn one
of the mechanical cannons inward. Gogo put his dagger away and grabbed
a tentacle in each hand as they flew at him. Lamprey was slowly rising
to his knees, and seemed to have taken note of Trout's plan, for he
edged in the direction of one of the other cannons. Gudgeon too looked
as if he were aware of this, for with a sword in each hand and a sudden
rejuvenation of spirit he charged back and forth, engaging every piece
of the squid he came near to. Gogo continued to wrestle with his own
pair of attackers.
"This is such fun! Wouldn't you all agree? Isn't this what we were made
for?"
Gudgeon took a moment to raise his fist in agreement with Digitalis,
then went back to tackling its eyeless soldiers. 'The Flying Carp'
meanwhile groaned more ominously, the deck began to fold in on itself
and the engine room exploded, flinging flaming timber and metal shards
into the air. They came down amid the strengthening drum of the rain,
the odd piece piercing a strand of tentacle.
"Next time I shall adopt a less malleable form!"
Loach burst onto the deck carrying a blade in each hand the same as
Gudgeon. He at once caught sight of Trout lining up the cannon and
raced to the captain's aid. Unfortunately, the squid had noticed Trout
also. The first arm it tried to move was held tightly in Gogo's fist,
and easy as it was to lift him off his feet, he held the other tentacle
as well. Trout was placing a large black ball in the end of the cannon.
Lamprey had reached the one on the other side of the ship, but
Digitalis had not yet noticed him. He lifted at the same time both of
the arms to which Gogo clutched and brought them, and the hapless
mimic, crashing down upon Trout and his cannon. Trout was flung
overboard; the cannon held its ground.
"You are in a playful mood today, aren't you?"
Gogo, now in a great deal of pain, stood up and looked about him.
Gudgeon was yelling at Digitalis, but the words were concealed by the
wind and rain, and by the drone in Gogo's head. Loach had stopped dead,
staring in horror at the absence of Trout, but now resumed his cautious
advance. Lamprey was in the midst of turning his own cannon around to
face the creature. No one else could be of any help to them now - all
were unconscious, or else in the drink, or else wrapped in tentacle, or
else consumed. Gogo looked back at Trout's cannon. Either through
deliberation or chance, since the creature had knocked it, the cannon
was now pointing straight at Digitalis' left eye. The two or three
cannonballs that Trout had managed to extract from the munitions
cupboard rolled blindly and indecisively around his feet as the middle
of the deck continued to crack and rise into a ridge. Gogo took one to
his bosom, and ran. Loach saw him, guessed at his plan, and ran also.
He reached Trout's cannon before Gogo had crossed the jagged mountain
and drawn up to Lamprey's, but Loach did not hesitate. He activated the
footlocks so that the cannon would not fly backwards upon firing. He
released the safety catch and flicked the self-ignition switch. A spark
danced for a moment before him, then the mouth of the cannon let forth
its tremendous bellow. The squid reeled, its tentacles whipping and
whirling madly about its massive head.
"My eye! You took out my eye!"
On the other side of the ship, Gogo had loaded his ball into Lamprey's
cannon and told the chief engineer where to aim. A length of tentacle
lashed at them, but Gogo caught it in both arms and wrenched it to the
deck. Lamprey activated the footlocks, released the safety catch and
flicked the self-ignition switch. Gogo's ball disappeared into the void
of the right eye. Again, the squid withdrew violently, and Digitalis
howled louder than the wind.
"You idiots! Now I cannot see!"
They felt 'The Flying Carp' begin to turn. Her starboard side was
lifted clear of the water, dripping long snakes of liquid in
accompaniment to the thrashing rain. Gogo, Lamprey and Gudgeon tumbled
over themselves. Loach lost his balance and fell over the side.
Digitalis was capsizing them.
"I've had it with all of you now! I shall change form once you're every
last one of you drowned, and I shall never again think of this unhappy
occurrence. Oh, damn these nerves you ephemeral beings have!"
The ship was almost on its side, the portholes staring up at the moon
like a row of unblinking eyes. Lamprey slid unwillingly backwards into
the splintered ridge that ran down the center of the deck, hit it at
speed and was thrown through the air, over the ridge and into the sea.
Gudgeon and Gogo had both driven their blades into the wood, and they
clung to the ship for dear life as it fell in over itself.
"They're a curse as well as a blessing. Die, worms!"
What little light remained Gogo now saw swallowed by a mouth formed of
ship and sea. Darkness overcame him and his dagger came loose. He fell
through nothingness into the chasm of ocean.

--------------------------------------

"Get your filthy meathooks off me!"
She lashed out with her elbow and caught her assailant in the face. His
hands did lot loose from her waist, however, so she tore herself away,
turning round to face him as she did so. He was no more than a boy, in
his late teens - short, startled and wrapped in patterned cloth. A
gypsy! He touched gingerly the purpling bridge of his nose and backed
away from her, a wild fright overtaking him.
"What do you want, boy?" she asked, taking a step toward him.
He pounced - backwards - and then did a most bemusing thing. He
straightened his back and neck, put his hands on his hips and looked
quizzically at her. Evangeline gave a small start; he was mirroring her
own posture.
"Well now. What kind of a ravisher are you? You don't seem too
aggressive. Why did you grab me from behind like that?"
The boy held out his hands for her to inspect. They were empty.
"Were you trying to steal from me? I'm not carrying any money, you
know."
She sighed. He did the same.
"Do you speak? Can you say anything?"
"Get your filthy meathooks off me!" he said. "Where do you think you're
going with that? You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
"Oh! Why, thank you."
She blushed. He hesitated, then did the same.
"How do you do that?"
"Don't copy me! Maria, take this brat away. What kind of ravisher are
you? Just relax now. I want you. Don't pay them any attention. Go!
Go!"
"Go Go? Is that your name?" she asked.
"Is that your name?"
"No," she laughed. "My name is Evangeline. Are you Gogo?"
The boy took a little time to consider this proposal. Eventually he
said, "Are I Gogo?"
"I suppose you are!" replied Evangeline. "I'm sorry I hit you, Gogo. Do
you have a home?"
"Be home for supper. Home is where the heart is. Only the wealthy live
in houses."
"But do you have a family? A mother?" she persisted.
"Rich families pay us to perform for them," he babbled, hoping to find
an answer for her question. "Their daughters are virgins, do you
understand? Of course he doesn't understand, Roma, he doesn't have a
clue. Dumb f---. Fire! Fire! Bloody murderous gypsy scum. Take this
brat away. You are his mother."
"Me?" asked Evangeline, not quite understanding.
She held out her left hand for him to take. He held out his left also,
and the two did not meet. She held out her right and it met his left,
then he held out his right and it met her left. She enclosed her hands
around his, and he did the same.
"I'll look after you, Gogo. You can live with me. But you must realise
I have a lot of work to do. I'm an apprentice scholar, after
all."
She smiled. He did the same. Then she led him away to the tiny
University at which she and nineteen other apprentice scholars
resided.

--------------------

Of all the women Gogo encountered during his travels, he thought of
Evangeline Kururin as the most radiantly beautiful. Perhaps it was
because she had been the kindest and most thoughtful, and this had
distorted his vision of her to a greater extent than he had ever
realised. Even so, she had been very pretty to begin with, though Gogo
had learned a lesson from his last encounter with a pretty girl and was
extremely wary of repeating such a mistake. In actual fact, he told her
later, on that day when they first saw each other he had shrunk away
not out of the fear that she would hurt him, but with the intention to
flee from her beauty.
Simple, short dark hair veiled her ears and flanked her pale and
lightly freckled face, in which were embedded wide eyes and wide lips.
Her frame was small, though neither as short nor as wide in the
shoulders as Gogo's was, and shaped, he later observed, like a variety
of finely crafted musical instrument, not too extravagantly voluptuous,
but given to slight curves and crescents from all angles. Were she
easily worried, she might have been perturbed by the number of times
she caught him staring avidly at her, but she knew as well as Gogo that
he did not have any desire to 'have' her. Gogo was fascinated with her
body as he might have been with a painting. Indeed, he was fascinated
with several paintings, and gazed at them in a similar manner, but
paintings were beautiful only in their stillness whereas Evangeline
wept beauty from her every movement.
It was Ukulele, and not Evangeline, who came to Gogo while he drifted
unconsciously through realms of dream, after the sea had engulfed him.
He could not say why. Perhaps it was merely because the memory of
Ukulele was fresher to him, more potent. Perhaps it was because a part
of him had desired Ukulele, had noticed the size of her breasts and
been faintly moved by the suggestion that her intention was to service
him. No such ideas had ever come across him when he thought of
Evangeline. It was to her he owed most of his learning, and a mind with
which he could handle himself. To Ukulele he owed nothing. That she was
the sister of the man who had led Gogo on this perilous expedition was
attributable to fate, not to her disposition or design. Yet here she
was now, unbounded even by death!
"I hope you're pleased with yourself," she said. "Thanks to you,
everyone's dead. If you hadn't had this irrational whim to travel to
lands afar in search of this 'soul' thing, they'd all still be merrily
steaming across the ocean waves. Who knows? Gilbert may even have found
his precious lost continent and fulfilled his dream. Well done."
She applauded him mockingly.
"And couldn't you tell it was Gadfly? Wasn't it obvious to you? He was
the one who had spread dissent among the crew before you even met them.
He was the one nurturing all your suspicions, and the suspicions of the
others, while they feasted on your ridiculous pancakes. How could you
not have noticed such a thing? How could you have allowed yourself to
believe that he had died fighting, when not once did you or anyone else
see him on deck during the battle? You're hopeless, Gogo. Utterly
hopeless. I don't know what I'm to do with you."
Perhaps, Gogo mused, it was Ukulele here, and not Evangeline, because
Ukulele's manner better voiced his own doubts, dissatisfaction and
self-contempt. Perhaps the reason Evangeline never strayed into his
dreaming was because she, in the infinite beauty he surrounded her
memory with, was devoid of contempt. Perhaps he should dismiss such
suppositions as bilge.

"How? No man can match my knivesmanship! No man! You shall die,
mimic!"

The ninja held a knife to her throat. Gogo could not see his face
through the mask he wore, only the bottomless pupils, the cold,
unmoving shards of ice that made up the irises, the thinnest border of
white, skin stained the colour of coal. Blood began to roll over the
reflective surface of the blade.

"Where did you learn to do all this?"
"Circus. I circus performer. Rich families pay us to perform for them.
We perform for towns and villages as well."

All those heroes and heroines in adventure books. Such honour and
bravery in the face of corruption and evil, always seeking to better
themselves. And the way they spoke! It filled him with such a feeling
of strength and happiness to speak as they did.
"Ah, my dear Evangeline! Would you do my the great honour of
accompanying me in my perambulations around the estate? The spring air
has a most gratifying effect on my mood."
"Oh I do love it when you talk like that! Very well then, Mr. Gogo.
Lead the way!"

"My God, Miss Kururin. His muscle strength, both torso and lower body,
is quite incredible for a man his size. You wouldn't think it to look
at him, would you? Are you a fighter by trade, Gogo?"

Deep within him, he saw Antares climbing the wall. He saw it in such
detail, saw the slightest movement of every fingertip, the contractions
of every muscle. Gogo released control of his body to this shadow, and
his own hands found their way into the cracks of that stone. The
disciples could do nothing but watch as he ascended the wall with the
same speed and precision as their master.

The Empire employed magic, he read. It gave them more power than
anyone had ever witnessed before. Could our world be returning to the
dark ages of autocracy, the proletariat and peasantry toiling endlessly
for the benefit of a few lords and the greedy Emperor? Have we learned
nothing?
"You know, Gogo, autocracy isn't such a bad thing. At least if one man
is making the decisions then no one can argue with him. Nothing ever
gets done these days because people argue too much. Autocracy could be
a welcome change, if Gestahl is an honest and wise man."

"I shall find my soul!"
"Gogo. Please, listen to me. Your soul is here."
"No! In my carelessness I have left it out there somewhere, in the
wild. Who knows where the poor thing has got to?"
"Gogo..."
"Enough, my dear. I shall return a better man, you have my word!"

For a full year he trained, tussling with the monsters that roamed the
land. There he experienced new heights of both disappointment and
satisfaction. He was disappointed that the monsters represented a level
that he could not ascend to; he would never be able to mimic their
attacks unless he grew tusks or claws or wings of his own. Yet as his
victories over them came more easily, his delight at the level of power
he attained grew. It would still not be enough, he knew, to defeat
Digitalis, but he would surely be able to protect Evangeline from any
other foe who presented himself, certainly from another Antares.

"How? How do you do it? My abilities, my life, my very existence! It is
all nothing if you possess it all in an instant. You are a demon! A
demon!"

"What a fine thing! You're just going to give up and die? After you
told that dithering girl you'd return a better man, after you swore to
protect her from Digitalis? You would let yourself die? What a useless,
cowardly little man you are!"

"Ignorant little gypsy. I will return in fifty days. Until then,
consider your imprisonment on this island punishment for siding with
those maggots. Remember, I own you. Your body is mine, and it is only
on loan to you for as long as it takes you to acquire all mortal power.
Then you will be part of me once more."

Gogo awoke, and found that he was face down in dark, wet sand.