Cassy and Bronsen, still sailing:

The days passed as their ship slowly approached Marmalade Island.

As promised by the Navigator, it took a week or so to get there. At Bronsen's request, he adjusted the course to the island so they would arrive mid-afternoon.

So, they had a week to practice their newfound pastime. And a week to ponder the implications of meeting up with the other two Misfits.

"Somehow, my dear, I don't think this reunion will be quite as exuberant as our first reunion," said Bronsen.

"Somehow, my dear, I think you may be right," said Cassy.

Finally, they were there. Half a kilometre off Marmalade Island, the skipper adjusted the sails and held the boat steady by balancing the breeze and the ocean currents.

Bronsen and Cassey looked at the island's little port with their enhanced eyesight.

There was a small crowd of people on the dock. And right in the front centre were:

"Yes! There they are! Unmistakeably, Alice and Drayden!" shouted Cassy.

"And they do not have slave collars, hurrah!" said Bronsen.

"Skip, you can dock the ship!" said Cassy.

Alice:

Right! I can have some words with Bronsen as soon as we dock.

Skip and the sailors did their thing, and the ship approached the jetty. Cassy and Bronsen didn't bother waiting until it was right up to the jetty, instead, they jumped the last three metres. Cassy ended up in front of Drayden, and Bronsen was now in front of Alice. The four exchanged glances. Meanwhile, the slaves from the ship waited until it was secured, and in no great hurry, they also alighted onto the jetty.

Alice gave Bronsen a medium-level glare.

"We have some things to discuss, don't we?"

A gulp from Bronsen.

"I guess so..."

He didn't get any further as Alice became aware of a commotion beside her.

Drayden had walked up to Cassy, dropped down to his knees, reached up with his hands to hold Cassy's and said:

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He started to cry.

"Cassy, I'm sorry, I tried to resist, but the damned Voice made me stab you."

He was sobbing, so Cassy knelt in front of him. She also started crying. She hugged him with a grip hard enough to crush wood.

"It's OK, Drayden. Its OK. Remember, I begged up to make that vow. I really didn't want to be a slave."

Hugging each other tightly, they had an epic cryfest.

The slaves from the ship, who had congregated on one side of the jetty, and the slaves from the island, who had clumped up in another bunch on the other side, looked on. Most seemed mildly interested in the spectacle.

Alice looked at the two, kneeling and crying.

She looked at Bronsen.

"Ah, maybe we can postpone our little talk?"

"That might be a good idea."

She looked around at the audience.

Hmm. They look interested, but I don't think most of them know what to think.

They are mostly waiting patiently for someone to tell them what to do next.

She had an idea.

She clapped her hands and spoke to the crowd.

"How about everyone go to the community hall, and we'll meet and discuss what will happen next?"

The slaves managed a tepid show of interest in this.

At this stage, Bronsen added his input.

"We've still got enough chocolate to treat everyone to a piece, so as soon as you get to the hall, we can give it out."

All of the slaves from the ship perked up at this. At least half of the slaves from the island reacted also. Probably, the other half had never heard or tasted chocolate.

Bronsen did a standing jump, flew through the hatch, and disappeared, reappearing a short time later with the box of chocolate. He and Alice shepherded the crowd of slaves up the path along the river to the hall. By the time the last slaves had left the jetty, Drayden and Cassy were getting their act together. Holding hands, they followed the tail of the group.

Frannie:

That was interesting. The two extra Misfits are similar to the first two. But I thought Bronsen was with Cassy. So what was all that drama between Cassy and Drayden? And what does it mean that Drayden killed Cassy, and then they came back?

I must be missing a lot of information. All those years as a slave, and now I don't know anything about normal non-slave societies.

Once again, she recalled her last day of freedom. Fourteen years old, she had just kissed her first boyfriend. They had made a vow of love, and the Voice of the World had awarded it a strength of 3%.

How our friends laughed at that. A 3% vow! So many giggles.

And then the slavers came through and destroyed everything.

With these depressing thoughts swirling through her head, she followed the others and ended up in the community hall. Fortunately, it was oversized and easily fitted everybody.

Bronsen and Alice did their best and got the Greys sitting down and everyone munching on a piece of chocolate.

"Everyone! It is time for the evening meal, so how about the people from both groups that prepared the food come to the front and get started? In anticipation of this, we caught many crocigators today, so let everyone have crocigator stew!" said Alice.

There was tepid enthusiasm from the Greys as they settled down and waited for the food.

"Hey, Frannie, can you help with Hestia and the cook who prepares the Island's meals?" said Bronsen.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Sure," said Frannie.

She went to the front and met that cook.

He's about my age; I wonder if he was from a non-slaver society... Strange, why does he look familiar? And why is he looking as if he knows me?

"This is Reggie, everyone!" said Alice.

"Reggie?" said Frannie.

The noise of the people faded out. Awareness of her surroundings faded out. All that was left was the sight of Reggie. Her first and only boyfriend, from a decade and a half ago. From that forever lost time of happy innocence, where people loved each other and were kind to each other.

Reggie went still. "Frannie?"

Alice:

Alice had been thinking that, as soon as the meal was prepared, she and Bronsen could grab a bowl of stew and retreat outside so she could offload her feelings to Bronsen.

Clear the air! Work out what exactly Bronsen intends to do with Cassy.

A small voice within her asked what exactly she intended to keep on doing with Drayden.

Shutup!

Then, Frannie and Reggie appeared to recognise each other.

What's that about?

Reggie stepped in closer to Frannie.

"Is that really you?"

"Y-yes?"

"It's been so long," said Reggie.

Tears started forming in his eyes; he tentatively reached out to Frannie.

She looked anguished, then horrified.

"Reggie, I, I, I can't. Too much has happened."

She then turned and ran out of the hall.

Alice watched her back as she disappeared out of the door. Had a look at Reggie.

He's not going to be doing any cooking tonight, that's for sure.

She took a look around.

As usual, the other slaves are watching with interest but without much comprehension.

Drayden and Cassy are still holding on to each other as if their lives depend on it.

I want to deal with Bronsen. Instead, I have to deal with whatever this is all about.

Why do I have to do this?

Because, I suppose, having freed these slaves, the Misfits are responsible for them.

Shit. We are totally responsible for them, aren't we?

Oh, shit, this.

"Hestia, do you think you can get the meal going? I'm sure there must be some slaves who will volunteer to help."

Alice turned towards the main group of slaves with a meaningful look. Maybe some remembered her walking in while carrying the body of one of the Blues as if it was a small piece of rubbish; anyway, some volunteered.

"OK, I'll go after Frannie. Now, Bronsen, I presume you would like to help Reggie?"

Bronsen nodded his head.

"How about you take him outside, away from me and Frannie, of course, and talk?"

Ten minutes later, Alice found Frannie behind the factory shed, huddled against the wall with her arms around her knees. She sat next to her at a small distance.

"Hi there. You're Frannie, aren't you?"

Frannie nodded her head slightly.

What do I say now?

"So, have Bronsen and Cassy been looking after you well?"

"Yes. They allowed me to increase my Voice Stats to the max."

She certainly perked up at that. How did they do that - ahh!

"You mean, they got you to destroy some slave collars?"

"Yes. At first, it was to cope with that ex-Red slave who kept on trying to sex us; then, it was to help them launch the boat without anybody getting killed. It was great!"

She was now sitting up and no longer looking at the ground.

Trying to sex you... In other words, trying to rape you? Yeah, I know how that goes.

Launching the boat without fatalities? Ask at a later date.

"I gather you must have known Reggie when he was captured as a teenager?"

Frannie slumped back down again and began sniffling.

"Yes. All those years ago. Yanked from my wonderful family, my friends and my first boyfriend. Years of obeying orders, orders that crowded out every moment of every day. "

"But sometimes I had some spare time to dream about love, about standing in the sunshine, with my friends to my side, holding hands with Reggie."

"Faded memories of gentle hands and voices, cuddling my cat, the soft colours of the room lit by lanterns as we ate nice foods."

"When I was so innocent and hopeful..."

By now, Frannie was crying, and Alice had put her arm around her and was patting her back with her tail.

After a while, Alice asked: "So why did you run away when Reggie appeared?"

"Because! Because I can't go back to all of that! It's been destroyed. I've been repeatedly sexed by, no, what was the word Cassy used? That's right, countless men have repeatedly raped me. Used and dumped. I've had four children, all of whom I had to give away to a baby farm when they were three. I am no longer that little teenage girl. I can't, I can't go back there."

By now, she was sobbing.

Innocent teenager. Just like us Misfits were. Except that we are now much stronger in every way, while she merely lost everything.

Oh shit. What do we do?

There was the sound of footsteps, and Cassy appeared out of the twilight. She was carrying a tray with two bowls of that crocigator soup Alice loved so much.

"Hi there! I followed the sounds of your voices; I've brought you your meal!"

Cassy left them, leaving the two alone as the sky darkened to become almost black.

"Frannie, we can now see the spiral galaxy as the ringworld slowly rotates. Did you know about ten billion stars are all shining up there?"

"I don't? And don't you mean as the galaxy slowly rotates? What is a star, anyway?"

"Well, think of the ringworld sun. Now think of ten billion of them, all clumped up and moving around themselves. That's what the galaxy is. And the ringworld is well out to one side, far away from it, so all we see is a wash of white colour against the background of the universe."

"Ten billion ringworlds?"

"Err, not quite, but sort of."

"I don't think I understand. I've never heard of anything like that before."

"That's all right. Just think of the fact that there are ten billion worlds out there. A looooong way away."

Where the hell am I going with this?

Frannie was looking perplexed by this strange information. Alice kept right on going.

"So, there's a lot of people out there. I'm sure they all have their own problems. So, I guess I'm trying to say we need to take a step back and get a broader perspective on what is bothering us."

"I do?"

"Maybe the Reggie from back then, the innocent little teenager he was, would be horrified at your current situation. But remember, he has been through the same number of years in the same situation as you. If anybody can understand what you've been through, it would be him."

"I suppose so."

"I mean, there's no way you can restart your relationship as it was back then. No way. However, you can work out a new relationship. Become some sort of friend or companion with someone who shares a past. Someone you might one day hold hands with, someone with whom you can seek mutual comfort. Even just as a friend."

"As a slave, of course, there is no room for any friendships anywhere," said Frannie.

"No, there isn't. But now you don't have that collar continually ordering you around. You have the time and space to find some sort of friendship with someone."

"Is such a thing possible?"

"It sure is. But don't rush it, OK?"

"OK."

They ate their meal in silence and then returned to the community hall.

Alice was thinking:

She looks amazingly like Eleanor, except she's skinnier. Feed her up, and the resemblance will be even more so.

Also, I need to get Bronsen's take on this.

Bronsen:

Alice is so determined to have a 'talk' with me.

But the poor girl keeps getting sidetracked by 'responsibilities'.

Let's avoid that talk for as long as possible, right?

So I'm more than happy to talk with this Reggie person.

"Reggie, I'm Bronsen, by the way. Shall we take a walk outside, away from this mob, and also away from Frannie, of course, and have a discussion?"

Reggie, looking as if he didn't have much of an opinion on anything at the moment, nodded his head. He obediently followed Bronsen, and they sat on one of the carts parked in front of the factory shed.

Bronsen scratched his head.

What do I say here?

"I'm assuming that even after all those years and everything that has happened, you still feel something for Frannie?"

A long gap of silence.

"Yeah, I still feel something. Except for the first year, I've been here the whole time. The work is never-ending, and the orders fill up my entire day, but there are always a few moments when I can think my thoughts. Whenever I can, I think of her. What else do I have to think about? Certainly, there is no friendship or love here on this Island. Not with this blasted collar compelling me all the time. It was about the only thing that kept me going. Then she suddenly appears and doesn't want anything to do with me! Even that tiny bit of purpose to my life is now gone."

Reggie stared blankly at the closest building, now slowly fading into the dusk, and continued to talk.

"You know, a lot of these slaves are hollow shells; they let their collars drag them through the day, then lie on their mattresses at the end of it and stare blankly at the ceiling until they fall asleep. There is nothing in their lives, nothing at all. I tried to avoid that, but I guess I'll end up like that anyway."

With a glum and lost look, Reggie decided to now stare at the ground; he went back to being silent.

I hope that the creator of this shitty slave system is being endlessly reincarnated as a dung beetle.

A dung beetle that is squashed by a hoof-fall every time it is re-born.

What can I do for this poor man?

"Reggie, perhaps all is not lost."

Let's make up something. I hope it turns out for the good.

"It must have been a shock to see you. She has obviously been through a lot. I believe she had four children, and they were all taken away when they became three years old. So, I don't know, how about giving her some space for a day or two and then trying to develop some sort of friendship? You're never returning to what you were, but there must be some potential to become some sort of companions to each other. Surely?"

"I suppose so."

At this point, Drayden came out with a tray containing two bowls of stew plus spoons.

After a while, they went back into the community hall.