I apologize for the SUPER-LONG wait, readers! Y'see, my laptop decided to be a total dickhead and shut off when I was literally three seconds away from finishing the chapter. Ah, well. C'est la vie. I have rewritten it!

"Is that it?" Mai whispered. Although she was sitting behind the railing, keeping out of sight, she could see the top of the ship if she craned her neck up.

"Yup, that's it for sure," Kyung whispered, sitting beside her. "See those letters along the side? It says 'FUKUSHIMA' in Japanese."

"Wow, I didn't know you knew Japanese," Mai said, impressed.

"Actually, I don't. Zico does, though. He told me."

Mai punched his arm. "So, you remember the plan?"

"Of course! Standard procedure. Jaehyo fries the machines, keeps them busy, Taeil brings us close, and we hijack the ship pirate-swag-style!"

"Pretty much."

Zico told them both to shut up. 

Jaehyo disappeared with a sneaky grin, and in only ten minutes or so there was a sudden burst of shouting coming from the massive ship. Just as Mai peered over to take a peek, several windows exploded and great balls of fire burst out.

"Holy CRAP!" She yelped. "What did he DO?"

"I think he rewired the machines so much they burst," U-Kwon said, looking interested. "I wonder if he could teach me that."

Mai stared in amazement as fire at the sides of the ship. For a second, she wondered if the explosion was too intense and would burn down the entire boat, but the fire was quickly becoming contained.

"Now it's Taeil's turn," Zico whispered. "Everyone get ready, we're jumping in as soon as we get close!"

With expert precision, Taeil had the pirate boat side-by-side with the massive ship. What's more, he even did it so the boat was hidden in the shadows. Nobody would see their boat unless they looked straight down.

U-Kwon smashed open the nearest window and jumped inside, B-Bomb and P.O following immediately after. Kyung tried to, but Zico grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him back onto the pirate ship's deck.

"But I wanna fight too!" Kyung complained.

"Hell no you aren't!" Zico snarled. "I'm not having YOU screw this up again!"

"Why? Was it MY fault we lost the diamonds?"

"YES IT WAS!!! IF YOU WEREN'T SO GODDAMN STUPID CHASING THAT CHICKEN AROUND THIS HERE WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE AND --"

"Zip it!" Mai hissed. "Don't let them notice us before we're even inside, you !"

Zico grumbled, but he looked a bit embarrassed that he lost his cool. "Fine. Whatever. Hey -- what are you doing?"

Mai paused in the act of climbing through the window. "What?"

"If you think I'm letting you do this, you've got to be joking!" 

Mai glared at him and took a threatening step towards the captain. "Look, I may have a twisted ankle, but I'm still strong and pretty fast. I made up at least half the plan, the least you can do is let me follow along so I make sure you don't screw it up! Come on, Zico. Please?"

With her last words she pushed out her lower lip and pouted, forcing her eyes to go as big and watery as they possibly could.

Zico grimaced and leaned away. "Dammit, you ... see, THIS is why I don't want a woman aboard! If you lag behind, we're leaving you, got it?"

"Got it!" Mai said happily. She was already scrambling through the window. She almost fell, but at the last second B-Bomb managed to catch her and steady her.

Just before Zico went in he heard Kyung say "That's not fair."

He turned to the pouting redhead. "What?"

"You let a girl who can't even RUN go, but you won't let me? That's discrimination!"

"Oh shut up."

Kyung suddenly grinned evilly. "Why so lenient towards her, Zicoya? Got a crush?"

"You better watch your back when we're finished, !" Zico said with a snicker as he disappeared into the ship with the others. He didn't sound too insulted.

They had landed in what looked to be a boiler room of sorts. B-Bomb, who was the only one smart enough to count the windows before entering the ship, guessed it was about four or five floors before hitting the deck. 

"Where d'you think everyone is?" P.O asked as they slowly made their way down the hallways. It was completely empty, but they could hear noise above.

"Probably trying to put out fires and figure out what happened to those machines," U-Kwon guessed. "Not just the controls to get the ship to move, but everything from the plumbing to the electricity is down too. Jaehyo hyung was really thorough. I don't think them rich folks like sitting in here with no A/C, to be honest."

It was true. There were lights and vents above them on the ceiling, but the lights weren't on and no air was coming out of the vents. The hallway was unbearably stuffy.

"They might be up on deck," Mai guessed, quickly working out the facts. "There's no way they'll be hiding in the ship, it's hotter in here than it is out there."

"So we just have to climb up five levels and a whole armada of guards and sailors to find some poncy rich girl," B-Bomb muttered. "Great."

They turned a corner and literally ran into a guard who was passing by. His eyes widened. "Hey! What the --?"

SLAM! Zico's fist connected with the side of his head and the guard dropped like a stone.

"Ow! !" He cradled te hand. "Oh, that hurt like a !"

"Whoa, hyungs, did you see that?" P.O's eyes widened. "He knocked out a mook with his HAND! Can I try?"

"Don't even think about it," B-Bomb warned him sternly.

U-Kwon poked the unconscious guard with his foot. "Hey, should we hide him somewhere?" He asked cheerfully.

Mai grimaced. "If you want, but be quick."

With the help of P.O, U-Kwon managed to drag the man into a closet after several minutes of grunting and swearing.

"Are you idiots done?" Zico asked in annoyance. "Let's move!"

They climbed up the steps to the next level. They still managed to not get caught, but there were several moments where they had to duck behind a corner or jump into any (thankfully) empty rooms nearby. At one point, Mai could have sworn a heavily armed guard caught sight of B-Bomb's toe as it whipped away, but nothing happened.

Then, just when they were about to reach the stairs ...

"HEY! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"!" Zico swore. P.O shoved Mai back as several guards ran at them. One pulled out a walkie-talkie, and he found himself on the receiving end of B-Bomb's deadly knife-throwing skills.

Mai couldn't do anything but stumble a bit as the others took down the guards with surprising effiency. Zico shoved one back and P.O punched him in the face. U-Kwon stole a gun off of one of the guards he knocked out.

"Whoa," Mai muttered as the last of the guards crumpled to the floor.

B-Bomb gazed at the bodies. "Well, looks like it's a bit too hard to hide them all now. Let's go."

They ran up the next level. Here, there was a thick, suffocating smell and the hallways were filled with smoke. Guards rushed past them with buckets of water and walkie-talkies, shouting to each other, and seemed to take no notice of them.

"They can't see a thing," Mai whispered. "We're just shadows to them. They probaby think we're part of the crew."

At this moment, one blurred figure shouted to them, "HEY! Don't slack off! We have twenty minutes to get everything fixed and under control, or Fukushima Ayane will sue us all!"

"Damn, they're all scared of him, aren't they?" U-Kwon muttered.

P.O didn't answer, but coughed a lot in reponse.

"We're almost at the deck," Zico hissed. "Get ready!"

Trying hard not to cough, the group managed to escape to the deck. It was empty, but large enough to host a swimming pool nearby. There was also a bar, where one young girl was sitting at, her back to them.

Zico nudged P.O, who nudged B-Bomb, who punched U-Kwon, who hugged Mai. Who punched him.

The girl yelled something in Japanese, her back still turned. From her gestures and tone of voice, Mai suspected she thought they were staff and came to provide her with drinks or something stupid.

They snuck up behind her -- well, the boys did. Mai was certain she'd trip and fall if she tried to stumble her way over, so she stayed put.

The girl said something else and turned around -- then started to scream.

P.O suddenly karate-chopped the side of her neck and she collapsed.

"You idiot! What did you do?" Zico yelped.

"I'm sorry! I panicked!" P.O whined.

", man ... well, whatever! At least she'll stay quiet! Someone carry her!" Zico dashed back to where Mai was waiting and grabbed her wrist. "Get moving, woman! We have to get out!"

"Wha -- right! Right!" Mai followed Zico back into the smoky hallways. A glance behind her showed the others following. P.O, out of guilt it appeared, volunteered to carry the girl.

A sudden thought made Mai panic. "Wait, how do we know it's Tomoyo?"

"!" Zico stopped -- then started running again. "We don't have time! It's definitely her ... probably. We'll check when we get off."

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING!" Mai snapped, stumbling along after him. A guard got too close and Zico shoved him into a wall, and the body disappeared in the smoke. 

"HALT!" Someone shouted when they reached the next level. A whole squad of guards cocked their guns and rifles at the pirates. "WHO ARE YOU?"

"," B-Bomb muttered. He turned to Zico, who nodded. "P.O!"

"Got it, hyung!" P.O suddenly ran off down the hallway to their right, still carrying Fukushima Tomoyo's unconscious body.

"HEY! STOP!" The guards shouted. The one at the front, who appeared to be the leader, ordered several guards to follow him.

"Go with P.O, Mai," B-Bomb said quietly. "We'll catch up."

"What?" Mai stammered. "We?"

Zico nodded, his face looking grim. Mai couldn't believe their idiocy. Two boys against at least a dozen heavily armed guards! "You guys are crazy!"

"U-Kwon, go with her," B-Bomb ordered, spectacularly ignoring Mai.

"Got it!" Mai shrieked in a decidedly embarrassing way when U-Kwon suddenly picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder with ease. "Let's go, Mai Darling!"

"I told you not to call me thaaaaaatt~~~!!!" Mai yelled all the way down the hallway.

B-Bomb turned to Zico silently. Zico nodded. "Let's get this over with."

B-Bomb lifted back his jacket, where several knives were being concealed in pockets. He picked out one long, thin knife and held it up so it caught the light. "Buy them some time?"

"Make a lot of noise."

"That's impossible for me."

"Man, whatever."

Then with a loud yell, Zico rushed at the guards. B-Bomb wasted no time in following.

"U-KWON PUT ME DOWN!!! U-KWON!!!"

Mai pounded on his back with her fists, but he seemed to pay no mind. He was running down the hallway following the sound of the guards hunting down P.O.

"It's okay, Mai Darling, I won't drop you!"

"THAT IS NOT WHAT I WAS WORRYING ABOUT, MORON!!!"

U-Kwon just laughed, and Mai considered if her foot was still too weak to go through his stomach. She scowled and made a mental note that, if they got out of this, she would poison his food.

When he rounded the corner, he saw that, just at the bottom of the stairs, P.O was attempting to fight off the guards closing in on him. It was extremely hard to do when he still had a hold of the unconscious daughter of the Fukushima Family.

"Whoops. Sorry, Mai Darling, you'll have to stand on your own for a bit." U-Kwon gently put her down and rushed at the guards from behind. He tackled the nearest one and stole the gun clipped to the man's belt.

"HALT!" One of the guards roared, and U-Kwon found six guns trained at him.

"Whoa, everybody, let's just calm down." U-Kwon gave them all his trademark grin and put his hands up.

"Drop the gun, boy!" One of the guards snarled. "And we won't have to hurt you."

"Really?" U-Kwon said, his eyes rounding in innocence. "You promise not to hurt me?"

Whatever trick he was trying to pull, the guards weren't fooled. "Drop the weapon, boy! Now! And keep your hands in the air!"

"I got it, I got it," he said cheerfully. "Just promise you won't hurt me."

"Drop the gun!"

U-Kwon did. Still holding his hands up in the air, he let go of the gun.

And at that moment, P.O dropped the girl and kicked one of the guards off balance, before smashing the side of his face against the wall.

"WHAT THE --"

P.O grabbed the guard's gun from his hand and shot it at a nearby man. U-Kwon lunged for his gun at the same time and caught it a second before it would hit the ground, and aimed it at another man's leg.

There was instant chaos. U-Kwon instantly took down four of them, and P.O, who didn't seem to like the gun, chose to fistfight.

One guard saw Mai leaning against the wall and went after her. She immediately dodged his blows and jabbed him hard in the stomach with her elbow. While he tried to regain his breathing, Mai twisted his wrist, got him to drop his gun, and punched him in the face.

The man staggered backwards. His nose was bleeding freely, but he wasn't down yet. "YOU !!!" He snarled, lunging himself at Mai.

There was a loud thunk, and the man suddenly froze and dropped to the ground. U-Kwon smiled at Mai; while holding the gun.

"What did you just do?" Mai demanded.

"Pistolwhipped him. It works, you know."

"P.O? Are you alright?"

P.O's arm was bleeding. "It's fine, the bullet only grazed me," he mumbled, wincing as he hoisted the still-unconscious girl back over his shoulder. "This'll hurt like a in the mornings, though."

"You'll be fine, maknae. If you're lucky, you might get some battle scars, like me!" U-Kwon seemed completely delighted in that fact, Mai noted with shock.

"That makes you HAPPY?" She demanded.

"Of course, Mai Darling. You can't work for Zico and not get hurt one way or another. He doesn't care much for injuries, so long as we get the job done." 

With that, U-Kwon grabbed a protesting Mai and they sped off down the hallways again.

"Are they gone?" Mai hissed.

P.O stayed silent for a few more minutes before nodding. "They've all gone upstairs."

They stole out of the empty bedroom and continued running.

"For the past twenty minutes all the guards seem to be going to the upper levels," Mai commented, panting as she staggered along after them. She refused to let U-Kwon carry her, and while regretting the decision (her one good foot was getting blisters), she didn't want to ask. That would be beyond humiliating.

"You think ... is Zico hyung and B-Bomb hyung gonna be alright?" P.O mumbled, looking worried.

U-Kwon, as always, couldn't be worried. "Hey, everything's fine! Those guys are monsters, they'll meet us and we'll get out of he -- ALERT!"

He shoved them all into another room as another three or four guards turned the corner, walkie-talkies crackling loudly.

"What the hell?" He muttered as they snuck out of the room and continued on.

"Are we almost there?" Mai huffed.

"I think the boiler room is here ... somewhere ..." P.O mumbled. "Good thing too, because she's starting to stir."

After running down the halls a few more minutes, Mai backtracked and they found the right room.

"There it is!" She saw the broken window and shards of glass. And, peeking through the window, was Kyung himself.

"Is that her?" He called out, not even bothering to lower his voice.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Mai snapped, taking a look at the girl's face before P.O lowered her to their boat. She had very pretty, almost porcelain doll-like features, which Mai recognized on the cover of several magazines. This was (thank god) definitely Fukushima Tomoyo.

"Hey, where's B-Bomb and Zico?" Kyung asked as he gently laid Tomoyo on the deck.

P.O shrugged as he clambered over. "Dunno, they'll be back. Hey, can you get Taeil hyung? My arm really hurts."

"Ugh! Gross! P.O, it's bleeding all over the floor! Clean it up!"

U-Kwon helped Mai through, which she felt obliged to grudgingly thank him for.

"YAAAY!!! MAI DARLING SPOKE TO ME!!!"

"Shut up! We're not safe yet!" Mai turned to look up at the massive cruise ship. "Where ARE they?"

"We can't leave without them," U-Kwon said, for once frowning. "... Can we?"

"Of course we can't, !"

The pirates waited for a very long, very tense time.

"We have to move soon," P.O said urgently. "She's starting to wake up."

Indeed, Tomoyo was murmering in Japanese under her breath, her eyelids flickering. She would be conscious in two more minutes at the least.

"Dammit dammit dammit!" Mai glared at the ship. "Come ON, you idiots ..."

A sudden horrible thought pierced through her. What if they ... when fighting the guards ...

Kyung must have seen her look, because he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mai, it'll be fine." He grinned cheerfully. "Those idiots are stubborn. They'll come back, trust me!"

Mai just nodded, feeling her anxiety rise with each passing second. They couldn't afford to waste time, that was what Mai said when they formed the plan, right? The job was the most important. But if they weren't coming ...

"Hyungs?" P.O said in a small voice. "We have to leave. Now. We ... we can't waste time ..."

There was a tense silence. They all knew it was what they had to do.

Sighing, Kyung nodded. "I'll go tell Taeil."

Mai watched him walk away, and she felt the engine of their boat start. They were slowly making their way away from the boat ...

"HEY!!! HOLD UP!!!"

Mai moved her head so fast she almost got whiplash. Racing into the boiler room was Zico and B-Bomb.

"DAMMIT, YOU RETARDS!!! DON'T LEAVE!!!"

Mai couldn't help but let a relieved smile break out across her face.

With a massive leap, Zico threw himself out of the window and onto the deck, face-first. B-Bomb jumped much more gracefully, but almost missed the boat. He grabbed the ledge and hurled himself up.

"You guys look like !" They were bleeding and bruised, but triumphant. Even B-Bomb had a tiny pleased smile.

"Whatever, I had the brawl of my life and it was helluva worth it!" Zico shouted confidently, shaking his fist in the air and laughing as the boat sped away ... then he promptly collapsed from blood loss.

"Leader!"

"Zico!"

"Zicoya!"

"LEADER!"