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Bonn sat up in his bed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He never got how this 'sleeping' thing caught on with Mitt and Greens. A waste of time and frankly annoying to try and get out of. Rubbing his eyes of small sulfur particles- Bonn blinked before properly standing up in the cell. As per usual he was up and about before the cell lights had come on. Bonn rubbed more sleep from his eyes and combed his wick as he stood in front of the cell mirror. Finally his sleep-addled mind remembered what he was gonna do today as a surge of electricity shot through his system as he paused on straightening out the fuse. Bonn reached up and touched it- the rags were a little damp- but the fuse underneath was mostly dry! Bonn tried real hard- some of the stupidest moments in his life- some of the most moronic cronies he had the unfortunate gall to trust at all- a faint hiss and small crackle of sparks and the smell of burnt rope made Bonn as happy as he could be at that moment. Allowing himself a bigger-than-usual smile he was having one of the happiest moments in Bonns near-200 years of existence as he looked at the slowly crawling flames travel down the fuse. Like a child on Solstice Day Bonn was exceptionally and rightfully giddy. And like any child on Solstice Day, Bonn went to quickly wake up his peers. "Mitt! Mitt! MITT!" Bonn whisper-yelled at the unconscious stick of dynamite along with precautionary shaking measures to ensure he'd wake up soon. "A-ah-agh! I'm sorry, I don't wanna make movies anymore, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mitt woke up confused and slightly scared- "Mr. President I swear I'll make it-" Mitt's eyes opened and he quickly realized he just may've made himself into an ass "Oh. Hey Bonn." "I'm gonna ignore whatever you were going through, alright Mitt?" Bonn bluntly stated as he let go of Mitt. "But guess what Mitt, todays the day-" Mitt cleaned his glasses- "Yeah, we discussed this last night, hush will you?"

"Buzzkill."

"I get the energy, but save it for when we have to throw you at the wall."

"He's right Bonn."

"Great Fuse you always find a way to scare me." Bonn said startled as he faced the slowly rising and lumbering tower that was Greens. Mitt was mildly jittery having Greens spook him after whatever the hell was haunting his nightmares. "I assume this means preparations are ready? Bonn?" "Ready to go!" "Mitt?" "Anywhere but this damp hell." "And I. Am I ready?" Bonn and Mitt both looked puzzled as Greens contemplated if he was ready to escape or not for a solid 30 seconds. "Yup. Ready to go." Greens dryly laughed to himself and slapped his knee as the other two exchanged worried looks. "If Greens goes insane, you're burying him right?" Mitt whispered to Bonn. "It's a team effort pointdexter." Bonn snapped back as quiet as he could. "Now then." Greens said standing up, not noticing or caring about Bonn and Mitt's 'debate'. "We probably shoulda gotten out several minutes ago." Greens matter-of-factly said as the usual morning routine set in.

"LIGHTS ON!"

The whole damn block lit up like a flashbang going off in everyones eyes- even those asleep suddenly found themselves jolted awake by the sudden and violent change in scenery from dark and cold prison to excessively bright and detailed cell block. All three Bombs were positively awake now as they blinked the light from their eyes. Bonn swore he could taste it as he smacked his mouth a couple of times. Great Fuse he hated this prison it messed with him in too many seemingly uncountable ways. "ALRIGHT MAGGOTS AND REFUSE. LIGHTS ON. THAT MEANS YOU'RE EXPECTED IN THE CAFETERIA IN-" The hulking mass of warden stopped his usual routine as he sniffed the air. The prison block held its silence. The inmates in the cells across from the Bombs looked directly at them in shock and fear. Bonn realized then he forgot to defuse himself as the sparks travelled down and he began to re-hear the soft crackle of fire on top of his head. Mitt and Greens both realized way too late as they stared just to the top of Bonn's person. They'd gone a bit too far and now it was gonna bite them on the ass- whatever the plan was previously began to rapidly evaporate. "WHAT IN THE GREAT ALMIGHTY EMPEROR IS THAT? SOMEONE FANCY A SMOKE? WHICH ONE A YOU HAS ILLICT MATERIALS UNDER MY WATCH?" The warden stamped forward looking for the perpetrators. The prisoners said nothing- shocked in awe at both the wardens angered stance- while those that could see the Bombs were too transfixed on the thought of someone escaping. The warden- nasty as he was- wasn't stupid enough to not notice the silent gazes of the prisoners to where he had to go.

"Those refuse."

The stamping of footsteps quickly made Bonn realized what he'd let simmer on him for too long. Bonn quickly looked up at his fuse in the mirror. He cursed himself for not putting it out sooner. "Welp." "Aw shucks." "SNAFU'd it Bonn." "Thanks Greens, wonderful deduction, now if you'll excuse me-" Bonn marched to the cot against the wall farthest from the door. "Keep fat stacks away from me, I have to blow up, and Greens- when I become a headless cadaver- you're in charge." "You got it." "Aw, why not me Bonn?" "You wanna drag my dumbass around or do you wanna think quick on your sandal-wearing feet?" "Good point."

"YOU LOUSY CUT-THROATS!"

"Keep fat stacks away!"

Greens and Mitt boarded themselves against the door to the cell as the ugly warden showed his nasty mug in front of the cell- immediately picking up on what was going on. "YOU, WHEN I GET MY MITTS ON YOU ALL, YOU'RE UPGRADIN' FROM CELL TO HELLHOLE." The warden stood outside and jangled his keys as he fiddled with the door's lock. Greens was busy trying to reach and mess with the warden through the bars while Mitt stood there trying to think of something to do before blankly blurting out of sheer panic, "You mean to tell me there's more of me, where've you been keeping them?" The entire affair stopped for a second as Greens, the warden, and Bonn looked at Mitt as if he was high on something. "You're stupid sometimes pointdexter, just stupid!" Bonn said angrily as the sparks on his fuse grew bigger and chewed away faster. While Greens was too busy keeping the ogre of a warden at bay- Mitt however was able to notice that everytime Bonn got angrier or more frustrated- he'd seemingly explode faster. "Y'know, it's awfully rude to interrupt us before we've had breakfast, but we could invite you in if you asked nicely." Mitt said, feigning stupidity and kindness. Bonn got more ticked off and frustrated. "Don't let'em in you soon-to-be-cycloptic imbecile, Greens, keep the warden busy!" Bonn's fuse sped up as it ate down the fuse faster than previously. "Mitt the Fuse are ya doing? Help!" Greens was visibly struggling against the warden- having what was a dumbbell strapped to ones head and having to confront what was a living breathing wall was taxing- even for him. Mitt however just needed to do one more thing. "Silly me! You put Greens in charge- I was just waiting for an order from him! Sorry for standing around sir." Mitt coyly said as he put on a dopey expression. Bonn at this point was broiling in his spot against the wall- Greens stared dumbfounded until he caught Bonn's quickly reddening expression and got the gist of what Mitt was doing. "Mitt when I get the chance I'll- I'll-" Bonn noticed how loud the crackling of sparks and fire was and how quickly it felt like the fuse was disappearing. Bonn resumed a semi-normal expression for a brief second, "Clever-"

Bonns head detonated and the wall came undone instantly. The ocean rushed like a torrent into the newly open space of the cell- and then the cell block- alarms and sirens went off around them and became muddled as the volume of water swallowed Mitt and Greens whole. The warden- the poor warden- slightly beaten up from Greens and then having shrapnel from Bonn's explosion impale him soon found himself falling down from the top of the cell block and to the bottom floor as he was swept up in a torrent of seawater. Greens signaled Mitt to get moving as the cell quickly filled with awfully nasty Imperial Bay water, Mitt going and grabbing Bonn's now motionless half-cadaver with him. Greens and Mitt swam through the murky waters of the Bay- hearing the sirens blare in the background. Swimming up through the seawater, Mitt and Greens began to head to the surface- a small journey that took minutes as Bonn's headless and brainless corpse had to be dragged along behind Mitt and Greens- ensuring it didn't fall to the floor. All the bare minimum of sunlight getting through and illuminating the way. Nearly at the surface, Greens signaled Mitt to stop rising up as Greens pointed seemingly randomly at the approaching darkness to the side. A boat, rapidly approaching with lights that pierced the water as it searched the cloudy depths. Greens dragged Mitt to try and be directly under the boat as it slowed to a stop, its lights swerving and moving across the surface of the water, oblivious to the criminals directly under it.

"So what now Greens?" Mitt asked- his speech being muddled by the water. Greens signaled back "Hijack the boat?" Though, it being the murky depths of the Bay, and Mitt not really understanding sign language just responded back with a confused 'What?' "The boat, we take the boat!" Greens shouted- his voice bubbling under the boat hull. Bonn's 'corpse' floated somewhat aimlessly as Mitt's grip on his friend loosened a bit and debated with Greens- the body- despite being without a head- wasn't without 'thought', and suddenly 'waking up' to the phrase- 'we take the boat!' gave it a great idea! It knew how to help its friends! Take the boat! Bonn's wonderful idea and plan! Bonn just had to find the boat. It's rather difficult without eyes to find a boat. But Bonn- with or without a head- could still feel he was in water. And if he was guessing- if he was surrounded everywhere by water- then a boat was somewhere just on top of him. The body of Bonn felt around a bit. Lab coat. No. Mitt. Water. No.

"What's Bonn doing?" Greens asked as he saw Bonn's moving 'corpse' randomly grabbing and slapping around the water. "I think his bodies waking up, he's pretty stupid after he explodes." Mitt said with confidence- even the bubbles coming out from Mitt seemed to have an underlying smugness, Bonn's cadaver seemingly heard that and punched Mitt in the face as if it was truly subconscious instinct. "Okay, he's not that stupid. But he's running on subconscious instinct." Mitt held his cheek, "But what's he doing?" Greens asked. Bonns headless cadaver eventually found what it'd rightfully planned out. A boat! Or what at least felt like a boat. Bonn signaled 'up' at the boat before suddenly surfacing. "Damnit." "Bonn!" The other two surfaced to find Bonn's cadaver trying to get onto the boat- which understandably- a headless 'corpse' rising from the murky depths freaked out the sailors on board. "Welp. SNAFU two." Greens climbed the side of the boat from the other end- able to climb aboard without notice thanks to the sailors being distracted with the headless body trying to force its way onto the boat. "Mornin' sailors." Greens wound up a punch and knocked one of the dumbfounded sailors overboard. The remaining four sailors of the boat snapped to the new intruder on their boat after watching their friend go flying and began to act fast- with two trying to grapple Greens immediately. "Mitt! Actually help me!" Greens demanded as he was set on by two attackers.

Mitt meanwhile helped Bonn get a grip on the boat before using his friend as a platform to hop on the boat and bashed into one of Greens attackers. "Ouf!" "Quick thinkin' Mitt!" Greens flashed a thumbs up as he socked another one of the sailors in the jaw. "Ow..." Mitt caressed his head trying to ease off the pain of headbutting someone. The remaining two were hurriedly trying to signal to other boats in the area they'd been hijacked as their friends were tossed overboard. "Come over here ya sea-rats!" Greens was busy having the time of his life- punching sailors and throwing them overboard. Ahab the sea-devil he was never let him discipline a sailor because they were always 'his jurssdiktion', but now with an opportunity to 'discipline' punch some 'insubordinates', Greens took it. Mitt meanwhile was busy trying to get Bonn's headless body on board the boat. "How are you half as heavy as Adams? You can't eat!" Mitt angrily mumbled to himself as he finally had a moment of good fortune- Bonns body finally able to lurch itself over the side and topple on top of Mitt. "You fat oaf-" Bonn's cadaver still found a way to slap Mitt as it got up. Greens meanwhile was high on life and busted down the door to the cabin. "Welcome to bootcamp soldiers!"

The screams of fear and sounds of punching were muffled by the walls of the cabin- with Mitt barely seeing the damage Greens enacted on them through the window barring seeing two crumpled up forms be hauled out and off of the boat with the craft getting only marginally lighter once they were tossed overboard. "Now then." Greens said as he brushed his hands. "What now?" "Probably get out of here O' glorious leader!" Mitt yelled as he finally threw Bonn's cadaver off of him. Greens- winding down and muttering a small 'oh yeah' from getting 'revenge' on Ahab came back to the current situation and went back to the cabin to take control of the boat.

"Search vessel 09-A4, you sounded like you were having technical problems on your end, over?" The radio that'd been knocked over was broadcasting a concerned and wary voice. Greens in his usual 'collected' martial demeanor, "This is vessel 09-A4 we're all fine, just hit a bit of debris is all and got spooked." Greens said in a different voice, looking around for a split second before finishing with "Over." While he wasn't sure abut trying to fool them with a new voice, it'd hopefully be less suspicious if what sounded like a wanted criminal was on a boat. The radio went an uncomfortably long time with a foggy buzzing coming through. Greens if he could- would've broken a sweat at the suspense as he began to bring the boat out of idling on the water- preparing to quickly speed up as it lurched forward. Meanwhile on the outside, Mitt was trying to to fit a life vest over Bonn's headless cadaver and taking care of the front of the boat. The searchlights were kept on and pierced the morning fog- despite Mitt's inner dialogue telling him it was a bad idea as they allowed them to be spotted so much easier. He figured a boat suddenly going 'dark' would make it more suspicious. The sirens and chaos from the prison emanated over the bay's murky waters and through the foggy sky. Other voices echoed from far away and the sound of the city's congestion became clear as the moment of adrenaline-fueled stress passed. "Not thinking on my feet, thick blockhead blows up-" Mitt sighed in anger as he finally forced Bonn into a life vest. As best as he could've been anyway. The boat lurched forward and made Mitt nearly lose his balance. "I cannot wait to get back to solid GROUND." "Well, quit your bellyaching, we've got a boat, and the authorities don't know where we are." Greens said- emerging from the cabin as the boat continued to slowly lumber forward and out towards the west. "Correction. They know where we are- we're somewhere in or on the Bay!" Mitt retaliated, "The only guarantee we have being this stolen boat- nevermind the 5 potential witnesses we threw overboard!" Mitt rose in anger as he continued to panic and spiral, "And once they notice this boat- acting strange and drifting out west- because lets be real- any coast guard worth their salt has a system to track every electronic and black box- they'll probably find us!" Mitt collapsed down on the floor of the boat next to Bonn's semi-relaxed torso. "Augh, we should've tried Plan 39 again!"

". . . And thats why he put me in charge." Greens replied back nonchalantly. "What do you mean by that?" Mitt looked nastily at Greens. "Oh come on! We're out of jail! We should be celebrating!" "Not assuredly!" "Well it's a better damn attitude than moping about failure!" The two began to verbally bite back at one another as Mitt stood up and directly faced Greens. "Oh what, you think you're hot shit cause you're running a stolen boat while Bonn's lost his head?" Mitt began to shift from panic-angry to envy-angry as Greens spoke up. "I'm just saying Mittley- maybe the reason you don't get chosen to lead shit beyond a bunch of other nerds in sweatshirts is because you lack the necessary gumption to function!" Greens pressed Mitt's life vest with his finger as he began to stand more forwardly- the momentum of the boat and the interruption mid-movement nearly had Mitt topple over onto Bonn. "Oh, so Mr. Chump-for-guns is going to lecture me on thinking! The thing I did, the thing I'm renowned for, and the one person in the Bombpire smart enough to plan everything out!" "You clearly didn't think enough oh high and mighty Trashicus, inspiration of the basement dweller and armchair intellectual! We ended up here!" "Oh so it's my fault I was roped into a grand ol' scheme cooked up by you and our headless friend here to try and conquer all of this!" Mitt gestured out to the foggy bay and the dim searchlights around them, all the while the boat slowly trundled along out to the bay. "You know that failure was a team effort, it's all of us-" "Well yeah, but it was you who started it-" "So what blame me for something you went through with?" "The fuck else am I supposed to do, leave my only actual friends to go on a suicide quest?" "I DUNNO!"

The two angrily stared at one another as they both huffed and puffed- the anger in the air and perhaps some unfinished grievances began to dissipate into the morning fog; Bonns headless cadaver had stood up on its own- seemingly unnoticed by both during their shouting match. The headless cadaver slow-clapped as if seemingly and sarcastically proud of the two releasing their frustrations. "You're not safe from criticism either Beauregard." Mitt stated bluntly as he voiced his displeasure. The headless cadaver seemed genuinely offended. It was hard to tell emotions with only a pair of hands and shoulders- but it seemed to react as truthfully broken as it could. "Well. we can't turn back the clock. Gotta keep our wits about us." Greens stated as he sighed in lingering disappointment. "Don't you mean your Mitts-" Bonn slapped Mitt in the face for trying to make a lame pun to settle the tension, Greens groaned at the lame pun before walking back to the cabin. "I'm going to make sure we don't crash. Not by accident anyway."

Greens went back in the cabin, navigating the boat to angle it between the bridges supports- figuring the worst of it was passed- they were free of the prison! Soon to be free from Imperial Bay!- "Search vessel 09-A4, do you know where you are, over?" Shit. Greens paused and picked up the radio, "Uh, of course we do. We on Vessel 09-A4 is going out on an extended search is all." Greens paused. "Over." He hated naval lingo. "Search vessel 09-A4, you do know that's reserved for search vessels 04-A1 through 04-A9 correct? Over?" "Uh yeah, we were just instructed to help in the search in these coordinates. Over." "Really? You, search vessel 09-A4 were given special orders to search the Golden Imperial Bridge sector?" The voice on the other end was skeptical and actively didn't believe what Greens was saying. "Yes? We were given specific orders?" "Over?" Greens could tell- the tone on the other end was a dead giveaway that he was compromised, nevertheless he just had to stall them out. "You mean your specific vessel received orders from me? Even though I don't remember giving your vessel orders and have been tracking you this whole time?" Whoever was on the other side was thoroughly done with this charade. "Yup. Over." Greens confidently said, trying to draw out the conversation out- "Cut the shit "sailor". Who are you and what have you done with one of our boats?" Greens dropped the sailor act. "I'm using my Fifth Privilege privileges to not provide anyone who isn't a cop my legal name." The blaring of police sirens erupted over the water and the flashing blue lights of other boats on the Bay began to light up the foggy morning. "This is the Dynastic Coast Defense Guard. You are not authorized to be in possession of the boat you have in question. You are speaking to the cops of the Dynasty's territorial waters. You are legally bound to give us your name and submit to our law."

"Good thing I don't give a duds fuse on what your laws are." Greens promptly punched the radio out and the accelerator forward as the boat revved up to maximum speed. Lights from police boats charged closer at their vessel. "MITT! CABIN! NOW!" Greens barked the order through the window at Mitt. The lanky dynamite ran as fast (but as carefully) as he could to the cabin. "Black box, find it, destroy it, NOW!" Mitt went to work scouring the boat's electronics and panels trying to find something that might look vaguely familiarly like a literal black box or large polygonal dark shapes. Nothing in the cabin looked like it but Mitt kept searching. Greens meanwhile was busy with grand theft mariner- patrol and search vessels from every direction had stopped searching around Imperial Bay and around the mostly-intact prison complex. They knew exactly where the Bombs were now- or at the least- had a good reason to suspect where they were. Two large frigates came from the north as a dozen patrol boats began to gain on the Bombs vessel. "Bonn!" The cadaver stood up and saluted mockingly. "Just don't fall off! Hold onto something heavy!" Bonn's body immediately thumbed up and held onto the side of the boat. Mitt meanwhile had turned the once semi-pristine cabin into a trash heap as Greens maneuvered the speeding boat to avoid potential collision- the lack of support he had as Greens made a sharp port turn threw Mitt into the wall and knocked his noggin out for a quick bit. Greens erstwhile had to contend with a naval battle of his own. The calm sea was the only positive of the whole ordeal. Greens soon found another problem- the damned coast guard started shooting him. While at first he was content to continue on per usual- after all nobody on deck was in danger from a bullet- when a stray bullet managed to find its way into the cabin and nearly knock out engine controls- Greens decided advanced evasive maneuvers were necessary. Swerving and turning forced the already not-so-fast vessel to cut down on necessary acceleration. Swarms of bullets cut through the air and splashed into the water, the bridge was so close! As were the frigates hiding behind it. Swerving the boat around like a madman in every direction- including at a few points dodging back towards the prison complex in order to keep the boat from being marred by gunfire- a stray object in the cabin promptly knocked Mitt on the noggin and forced him back into a conscious stupor.

Mitt gasped at first at being rudely awoken and then thrown around- as Mitt was thrown out of the cabin and hit the railing- something finally clicked as he smacked his forehead. "D'oh, I've been too literal! Think Mitt, when you were designing safe data preservers for machines- what did they look like?" Mitt took a few moments to talk to himself and jog his memory. "It was simple. I was on the right track looking for something without too much detail- but they were also-" Mitt spotted it- or what he thought was it- as he fully stood upright on the boat. "-bright and noticeable." A small obnoxiously orange capsule-looking device perched on top of the boats mast which itself was on top of the cabin. Mitt grabbed the rail as he experienced another reason to never let Greens behind a steering wheel. There was no way in Fuse, Hell, or any other domain that he was climbing up to knock down and disable that. Greens' steering would send him flying in a second. Then he spotted his second 'oh duh' moment. Mitt cautiously made his way to the front of the boat. Bonn's headless cadaver was busy being tossed between standing and sitting as it grabbed the railing for dear mercy. "Howdy Bonn." Mitt calmly stated to the cadaver. It waved briefly before falling back further on the boat. Mitt chuckled but stood now alone at the front of the boat with eyes on the prize. A machine gun! Now Mitt wasn't eager to use guns- but this was an extraordinary occasion. "MITT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Mitt pointed up- "HELICOPTERS?" Mitt face-palmed but sent a thumbs up back. Mitt began to fire up at the ship's mast. Being only familiar with a gun through a console- Mitt was less than accurate with a machine gun, the recoil combined with Greens' shitty handling of a boat made him rattle and bounce everywhere, seemingly hitting nothing. Continuing to aimlessly aim at the sky- Mitt would inevitably knock out the 'black box' at the top of the mast, but he wouldn't know that until the world around him stopped shaking several minutes after he stopped shooting and shook himself off the gun.

Greens back in the cabin continued to wrangle with the boat fighting against his control and the closing in of enemy vessels as they shot back at what they thought was enemy gunfire directed at them. The frigates continued to hem in the small boat by standing guard at the bridge- blocking the only way out. Greens thought about the situation. Stay in the Bay- evade the coast guard- but inevitably run out of juice and either try to board another boat or be sent back to prison. Nope. Try and break out of the Bay and give the frigates at the entrance the slip? A good chance of failure, but the only possible shot of success and continued escape. No chance like a small chance. "Saddle up men! We're going rammin' speed!" Greens stopped drifting around the water like a madman and began to beeline it for the Bays entrance and the bridge that stood tall over it. The morning fog had pulled back and allowed a more clear scene to unfurl as Greens swiftly directed the boat forward. Mitt was still rattling himself stupid on the machine gun. Must be some tough helicopters. Finally however without care for dodging bullets the boat began to reach its top speed. No longer zipping around and instead zooming directly for the entrance to the Bay, the frigates guarding the way began to change plans. Rather than menacing and occasionally pot-shotting the poor craft- they began to close the distance between themselves and the boat. Greens however sensed a game of Chicken. The frigates were much larger than the boat, and while he wasn't a maritime man- he was one with good pattern recognition. With the frigates turning inward, they'd keep their distance and start turning to try and create a 'barrier' to try and goad any captain to turn away and not run into the wall of ships- thus slowing down and presenting a larger and slower target they could fire on. A feint was a feint, on land, on air, and at sea. And like all feints- the enemy was bluffing, and if you pressed hard enough- it revealed a weakness the enemy was covering up.

And Greens fully intended to call their bluff. Either hyped up on adrenaline or having finally snapped- Greens slammed the accelerator even further forward- a guttural roar came from the small crafts engine as it slammed through the water. Bonn's headless corpse was holding on at the back of the ship- a single turn liable to throw him over, Mitt on the machine gun was jostled up and down- finally spun forward as the weapon fired off its final shots.

The frigates continued to make formation- slowly placing themselves horizontally in front of the bridge. Greens scanned the warships as the boats pursuing them began to slow down- confident in the frigates ability to take care of the nuisance and the criminals. A perfect showcase of pride. The frigates- while in a linear formation, unlike superior land-based vehicles- needed to afford more room to maneuver and line up their weapons. Gaps between each frigate were more than plentiful and wide enough to slip through- the frigates began to emit smoke- taking Greens a split second to realize that the formation was shooting off a compliment of missiles- each frigate firing off a single missile. Taking back the handle of the speedy little boat, Greens began to wildly zig-zag across the water as the missile zoomed past the vessel. Narrowly scraping the boats sides as each missile attack came in almost rhythmic pairs- the little search vessel maneuvered like a zippy bike passing between cars on a busy highway. Zipping, zooming, and cutting it close- with one missile barely shaving the cabin of the boat- taking out what was left of the mast from sheer kinetic force. Explosions behind the search craft pushed it forward as Greens fought to keep the boat stable and moving. With the exhaust of missiles- and now the close proximity of the vessel as the boat sped ever closer and undeterred from the barrage- the blockade opened fire on the craft with their own cannons and guns- attempting to rip it apart with conventional fire. The boat at this point was beginning to shudder- the constant max speed Greens kept putting on the machine was not expected of the light search craft, bullets had already wracked its sides, and while the missiles didn't hit it- the explosions forcing the boat forward had noticeably damaged its stern. Despite the failing condition of the boat- Greens was determined to keep pushing.

900 meters. It'd gotten a lot harder to dodge bullets as they began to pepper the boat's sides and Greens could do little to dodge the barrage. Despite this, the closer he got, the less guns he had to worry about- unless the Dynasty was dumb enough to shoot itself. 800 meters. Greens checked to make sure everyone was still on board. Mitt was grappling the gun mount like a cat gripped someones leg. Bonn's cadaver was holding on with two hands on the railing in the back. Good. 700 meters. The gap between two frigates was all Greens could focus on as the boat sped towards it. Bullets could hardly be dodged- the only thing saving them was pure speed. 600 meters. 500 meters. 400. 300. At this point all but two of the frigates had stopped shooting their guns- too close to the other boats or simply needing to re-align themselves to begin shooting again. The gap between the two frigates Greens was growing larger by the second. 200 meters. 100 meters. 50. The boat was visibly smoking- Greens wasn't a naval person- but he figured it was either the boat's engine being forced to its maximum, the damage of being shot up and nearly blown up, or likely both. He'd have to ask Ahab after he rubbed this in his rusted face. Despite being so close to the frigates- being a much smaller craft and much lower to the sea than its larger counterparts- the guns on the final two frigates were beginning to have trouble aiming and it was more problems with the boat itself that began to rapidly show themselves. The small boat passed through the gap between the two frigates and Greens began to cheer to himself, with Mitt giving out a small hurrah. The sputtering of a boat engine and Greens own prideful boasts filled the air until the sound of bullets hitting the water pulled Greens out of the stupor.

"Oh yeah. They can just- turn the guns around." Greens threw his head at the windshield of the cabin- causing it to crack open slightly. "Howdy Greens!" Mitt waved to Greens through the cracked windshield in a smug manner. "Damnit." Greens said as he pushed himself back to driving the boat as erratically as possible. The small calmness afforded to the boat finally allowed Bonn's body to hoist itself back onto the ship proper. "Shoulda gone with the truck plan, but fuck Mitt- I'll never admit that to him." Greens muttered to himself as the tried to force the ship to go faster. Desperate to try and outrun the gunfire- Greens began throwing extra things out of the cabin. Filing cabinets, the husk of a radio, chairs, anything that wasn't him, Mitt, Bonn, and the boat needed to go. The boats sputtering engine thanked him with a slightly higher top speed before petering down again. The sound of a bullet hitting Mitt in the shoulder forced Greens back to the driving. "You good?" Greens asked through the broken windshield. "It stings! I'm fine, but ow! Focus on driving King Neptune." Mitt replied back- holding onto the gun mount with one arm as another one dangled loosely. "I'll let them hit the other arm if you backsass me Mitt." "And be stuck with Bonn?" Greens grumbled under his breath- "I'll make sure they shoot the lame one then!" He yelled back as he continued to dodge the bullets. Despite his best efforts however- the boats speedometer began to steadily drop. Greens began to percussively maintain the boats controls as he cursed out the falling acceleration. "Why're we stopping?" "The boats shot!" "Literally?" "Yes, literally!" Mitt began to rush to the cabin with his lame arm in tow- the headless cadaver of Bonn came bumping into the cabin as it'd heard Greens under more-than-usual amounts of stress. "Well pointdexter- can ya fix it?" "Well, electronics are my specialty- but uh- Golden Dynasty electronics are a different breed. Not to mention-" "So answer's no." "Nope." "Can our glorious leader fix it?" The headless body punched a side of a cabin as if to demonstrate that 'no' it could not. "So we're boned then." Greens pointed out in a rare moment of defeat for him and the others as he, Mitt, and the cadaver seemingly watched as the speed gauge ticked down. The boats violent noises finally slowing down as the boat itself came to a slow crawl over the water.

Finally the boat halted. The motor finally dying out as it began only to move in tandem with the sea. "Huh. Y'know the open ocean's pretty calm. I can see why Ahab always liked it out here." "Yeah. Wait- weren't we just being shot at?" Mitt and Greens looked out- the Bay still within view- as were the frigates- yet no signs of bullets. The cadaver however took first action and ducked in a corner of the cabin. Greens and Mitt both peeked out the door of the cabin and looked up at the sky- seeing only a single trail of smoke from a frigate- "Oh. Shit." Mitt was struck with panic while Greens reacted instantly- grabbing Mitt with one hand and quickly grabbing hold of Bonn's cadaver. "Duck and cover-" The missile easily found its target. No more running, no more maneuvering. Dead in the water, the boat finally exploded into a heap of blasted shrapnel. Greens, Mitt, and Bonn were flung far into the distance looking like a clump of debris as Greens gripped each of them tightly.

The crews of the frigates cheered on heavily throughout the day. The most notorious criminals on the continent- three of the dreaded Bombperial Five- were finally put down and out of commission- gone to a fiery and watery grave.

'O-[]-()-'O-[]-()-'O-[]-()-'O-[]-()-'O-[]-()-'O-[]-()

Greens awoke with the Sun setting in his face. He was drenched in cold water and he noticed his jacket had suffered from immense damage- but like every other time the Dynasty had tried to kill them- still there. He noticed he was on a solid surface- partially anyway. His feet dangled in the water, but he was perched on a piece of debris. In a panic he remembered what'd happened. Looking around he found Mitt floating on the water beside him. That damn life vest did save him after all. But that left Bonn. Where in the Fuse- "Afternoon Greenie!" Greens turned behind him to face Bonn- also wearing a life vest. More importantly however- Bonn was whole again! "The hell happened?" "We got launched far into the ocean apparently." Bonn finished- looking around, as did Greens- damn near no land existed- or at least within the horizon. No ships, no nothing- just them and some debris. "Y'know, always wanted a vacation like this Greens, I'm glad I chose you to lead this operation." "But the boat, it exploded! Last thing I remember is going through the air like an artillery shell and then, nothing!" "You hit your head pretty hard on the sea floor." Greens was almost spooked at how calm Bonn delivered that. "You expect you- the one with a giant dumbbell and full military attire to not sink?" "Well then- the- who-" "Thank Mitt." "I was gonna ask how you knew this-" "Thank Mitt." Bonn replied back with his usual tone. "He told me everything I need to know and then passed out halfway on some scrap metal not too long after." "So. How long have we been drifting out here?" "Long enough that when I came to, there wasn't any land around." Bonn stated, ending the conversation for a few seconds as the trio drifted aimlessly on the ocean current.

"So what now?" "Whaddya mean?" "We busted out of prison, we evaded re-capture, and- now we're out in the middle of the ocean!" "Now." Bonn triumphantly regained his confidence- "Now we're free Bombs! Free on the open sea!" "Oh Fuse is he rambling?" Mitt quietly moaned as he awakened from a quick oceanic nap. "We know what failed us last time gentlemen! We've evaded the enemy, and we can regroup and rebuild!" If Bonn could stand on debris he would've at this point. "We'll show those hooligan Dynastics what happens when you mess with us!" Bonn stated in triumph.

"Thats great Bonn" Mitt said lowly- still facing the sunset- "But we're in the middle of the ocean! Where do we go?" "He has a point." "I've had two great points today. I heard that confession earlier." Mitt smarmily said to Greens who began to swing his fist in the direction of Mitt. "Ah-" Bonn paused. "Huh."

"Where do we go?"

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Where to Next?
Free as the fish in the sea, but with nowhere to seemingly go. Which direction to go?

Into the Sunset!- Ysasea- a land of many unknowns- one we've rarely interacted with given our geographic position- could be valuable in building a new Bombperial base of operations. Far from the prying eyes or jurisdiction of the Golden Dynasty- we could potentially become great warlords or conquerors of the land and make a newer and stronger Bombpire where the sun sets!

To Odd Shores- If Bonn remembers the geography lessons he occupied himself with- if one went directly south from Northumer's west coast- as if someone dropped a ball and it fell directly south from Imperial Bay- it'd end up in the strange continent of Muai'bius. A small pristine continent home to some of the world's more exotic treasures and lesser-known secrets. What better place to hide from anyone or anything than one of the furthest places of civilization on the planet?

To Dreaming Shores- Due southwest- the continent of Barbunda was always described by Mitt as being an ecological hotspot of strange and alien creatures. Seemingly the opposite of Muai'bius- a scorched hellish continent filled with nightmares given flesh and blood. Bonn had always thought about trying to utilize the scare factor of such creatures. Perhaps now with the path open- Barbunda could be the spot for such experiments and new beginnings.

The Jungles Roost- The nastier cousin to the idyll Northumer. Southumer is a jungle-filled cesspit filled with disease, massive bugs, and at least from what he heard- cannibals of every flavor. Picky little bastards they are. But given the 'non-fleshy' nature of the Bombs, who better to rule a nation of cannibals rather than a nation of criminals?

As All Good Villains Do!- Small isolated volcanic islands. Bonn always had a soft spot for those. They fit the bill for 'intimidating and seclusive'. And given this is the western ocean- there's small volcanic islands everywhere across the ocean! The 'Ring of Fire' as Bonn remembered it. What better way to start a second conquest of the world than through conquest and leisure?

Scavenge the Ocean Floor- The ocean from Ahabs many failed scans to find Camila and many tall tales- is littered with ruins, wreckage, and resources. The Anchovynes- while nasty pieces of work- maybe have a right idea on staying close to the ocean floor. It ain't glamorous- but it's a great place to hide and evade the authorities from. We can pick up the past and build a new bright Bombperial state under the waves!

Back Home- Northumer is arguably the closest continent- and there's plenty of unseen shoreline, small nooks, crannies, fjords to re-enter the continent from. Plenty of people and groups chafe under the Dynasty or yearn for the Bombpire's old order- usually those of unscrupulous nature anyhow. Though be advised, the Dynasty while publicly celebrating the Bombs demise- is still looking for the Bombs. One doesn't throw three people in acid, fire, or attempt to crush them and simply believe a direct missile hit from a frigate is gonna end them so anticlimactically.

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Bonn simply shrugged and pointed, "That way! Let's get swimming!"

"Inspiring per usual Bonn." "You got a better plan?" "After today. I'm planned out." "I'm good letting the ocean take me."

Bonn groaned as he dragged Mitt along- Mitt simply tired just groaned in protest. Greens paddle boarded close behind. . .

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I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit more 'wordy' than usual, and a bit more story-heavy, but I wanted to try something. Branch a bit here and there. But please- do leave votes, critiques, statements, or other plans in the comments. I appreciate 'em!

Voting will end the 28th of April! Hopefully you can vote correctly. There's only one choice to vote on.

Description

Bonn sat up in his bed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He never got how this 'sleeping' thing caught on with Mitt and Greens. A waste of time and frankly annoying to try and get out of. Rubbing his eyes of small sulfur particles- Bonn blinked before properly standing up in the cell. As per usual he was up and about before the cell lights had come on. Bonn rubbed more sleep from his eyes and combed his wick as he stood in front of the cell mirror. Finally his sleep-addled mind remembered what he was gonna do today as a surge of electricity shot through his system as he paused on straightening out the fuse. Bonn reached up and touched it- the rags were a little damp- but the fuse underneath was mostly dry! Bonn tried real hard- some of the stupidest moments in his life- some of the most moronic cronies he had the unfortunate gall to trust at all- a faint hiss and small crackle of sparks and the smell of burnt rope made Bonn as happy as he could be at that moment. Allowing himself a bigger-than-usual smile he was having one of the happiest moments in Bonns near-200 years of existence as he looked at the slowly crawling flames travel down the fuse. Like a child on Solstice Day Bonn was exceptionally and rightfully giddy. And like any child on Solstice Day, Bonn went to quickly wake up his peers. "Mitt! Mitt! MITT!" Bonn whisper-yelled at the unconscious stick of dynamite along with precautionary shaking measures to ensure he'd wake up soon. "A-ah-agh! I'm sorry, I don't wanna make movies anymore, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mitt woke up confused and slightly scared- "Mr. President I swear I'll make it-" Mitt's eyes opened and he quickly realized he just may've made himself into an ass "Oh. Hey Bonn." "I'm gonna ignore whatever you were going through, alright Mitt?" Bonn bluntly stated as he let go of Mitt. "But guess what Mitt, todays the day-" Mitt cleaned his glasses- "Yeah, we discussed this last night, hush will you?"

"Buzzkill."

"I get the energy, but save it for when we have to throw you at the wall."

"He's right Bonn."

"Great Fuse you always find a way to scare me." Bonn said startled as he faced the slowly rising and lumbering tower that was Greens. Mitt was mildly jittery having Greens spook him after whatever the hell was haunting his nightmares. "I assume this means preparations are ready? Bonn?" "Ready to go!" "Mitt?" "Anywhere but this damp hell." "And I. Am I ready?" Bonn and Mitt both looked puzzled as Greens contemplated if he was ready to escape or not for a solid 30 seconds. "Yup. Ready to go." Greens dryly laughed to himself and slapped his knee as the other two exchanged worried looks. "If Greens goes insane, you're burying him right?" Mitt whispered to Bonn. "It's a team effort pointdexter." Bonn snapped back as quiet as he could. "Now then." Greens said standing up, not noticing or caring about Bonn and Mitt's 'debate'. "We probably shoulda gotten out several minutes ago." Greens matter-of-factly said as the usual morning routine set in.

"LIGHTS ON!"

The whole damn block lit up like a flashbang going off in everyones eyes- even those asleep suddenly found themselves jolted awake by the sudden and violent change in scenery from dark and cold prison to excessively bright and detailed cell block. All three Bombs were positively awake now as they blinked the light from their eyes. Bonn swore he could taste it as he smacked his mouth a couple of times. Great Fuse he hated this prison it messed with him in too many seemingly uncountable ways. "ALRIGHT MAGGOTS AND REFUSE. LIGHTS ON. THAT MEANS YOU'RE EXPECTED IN THE CAFETERIA IN-" The hulking mass of warden stopped his usual routine as he sniffed the air. The prison block held its silence. The inmates in the cells across from the Bombs looked directly at them in shock and fear. Bonn realized then he forgot to defuse himself as the sparks travelled down and he began to re-hear the soft crackle of fire on top of his head. Mitt and Greens both realized way too late as they stared just to the top of Bonn's person. They'd gone a bit too far and now it was gonna bite them on the ass- whatever the plan was previously began to rapidly evaporate. "WHAT IN THE GREAT ALMIGHTY EMPEROR IS THAT? SOMEONE FANCY A SMOKE? WHICH ONE A YOU HAS ILLICT MATERIALS UNDER MY WATCH?" The warden stamped forward looking for the perpetrators. The prisoners said nothing- shocked in awe at both the wardens angered stance- while those that could see the Bombs were too transfixed on the thought of someone escaping. The warden- nasty as he was- wasn't stupid enough to not notice the silent gazes of the prisoners to where he had to go.

"Those refuse."

The stamping of footsteps quickly made Bonn realized what he'd let simmer on him for too long. Bonn quickly looked up at his fuse in the mirror. He cursed himself for not putting it out sooner. "Welp." "Aw shucks." "SNAFU'd it Bonn." "Thanks Greens, wonderful deduction, now if you'll excuse me-" Bonn marched to the cot against the wall farthest from the door. "Keep fat stacks away from me, I have to blow up, and Greens- when I become a headless cadaver- you're in charge." "You got it." "Aw, why not me Bonn?" "You wanna drag my dumbass around or do you wanna think quick on your sandal-wearing feet?" "Good point."

"YOU LOUSY CUT-THROATS!"

"Keep fat stacks away!"

Greens and Mitt boarded themselves against the door to the cell as the ugly warden showed his nasty mug in front of the cell- immediately picking up on what was going on. "YOU, WHEN I GET MY MITTS ON YOU ALL, YOU'RE UPGRADIN' FROM CELL TO HELLHOLE." The warden stood outside and jangled his keys as he fiddled with the door's lock. Greens was busy trying to reach and mess with the warden through the bars while Mitt stood there trying to think of something to do before blankly blurting out of sheer panic, "You mean to tell me there's more of me, where've you been keeping them?" The entire affair stopped for a second as Greens, the warden, and Bonn looked at Mitt as if he was high on something. "You're stupid sometimes pointdexter, just stupid!" Bonn said angrily as the sparks on his fuse grew bigger and chewed away faster. While Greens was too busy keeping the ogre of a warden at bay- Mitt however was able to notice that everytime Bonn got angrier or more frustrated- he'd seemingly explode faster. "Y'know, it's awfully rude to interrupt us before we've had breakfast, but we could invite you in if you asked nicely." Mitt said, feigning stupidity and kindness. Bonn got more ticked off and frustrated. "Don't let'em in you soon-to-be-cycloptic imbecile, Greens, keep the warden busy!" Bonn's fuse sped up as it ate down the fuse faster than previously. "Mitt the Fuse are ya doing? Help!" Greens was visibly struggling against the warden- having what was a dumbbell strapped to ones head and having to confront what was a living breathing wall was taxing- even for him. Mitt however just needed to do one more thing. "Silly me! You put Greens in charge- I was just waiting for an order from him! Sorry for standing around sir." Mitt coyly said as he put on a dopey expression. Bonn at this point was broiling in his spot against the wall- Greens stared dumbfounded until he caught Bonn's quickly reddening expression and got the gist of what Mitt was doing. "Mitt when I get the chance I'll- I'll-" Bonn noticed how loud the crackling of sparks and fire was and how quickly it felt like the fuse was disappearing. Bonn resumed a semi-normal expression for a brief second, "Clever-"

Bonns head detonated and the wall came undone instantly. The ocean rushed like a torrent into the newly open space of the cell- and then the cell block- alarms and sirens went off around them and became muddled as the volume of water swallowed Mitt and Greens whole. The warden- the poor warden- slightly beaten up from Greens and then having shrapnel from Bonn's explosion impale him soon found himself falling down from the top of the cell block and to the bottom floor as he was swept up in a torrent of seawater. Greens signaled Mitt to get moving as the cell quickly filled with awfully nasty Imperial Bay water, Mitt going and grabbing Bonn's now motionless half-cadaver with him. Greens and Mitt swam through the murky waters of the Bay- hearing the sirens blare in the background. Swimming up through the seawater, Mitt and Greens began to head to the surface- a small journey that took minutes as Bonn's headless and brainless corpse had to be dragged along behind Mitt and Greens- ensuring it didn't fall to the floor. All the bare minimum of sunlight getting through and illuminating the way. Nearly at the surface, Greens signaled Mitt to stop rising up as Greens pointed seemingly randomly at the approaching darkness to the side. A boat, rapidly approaching with lights that pierced the water as it searched the cloudy depths. Greens dragged Mitt to try and be directly under the boat as it slowed to a stop, its lights swerving and moving across the surface of the water, oblivious to the criminals directly under it.

"So what now Greens?" Mitt asked- his speech being muddled by the water. Greens signaled back "Hijack the boat?" Though, it being the murky depths of the Bay, and Mitt not really understanding sign language just responded back with a confused 'What?' "The boat, we take the boat!" Greens shouted- his voice bubbling under the boat hull. Bonn's 'corpse' floated somewhat aimlessly as Mitt's grip on his friend loosened a bit and debated with Greens- the body- despite being without a head- wasn't without 'thought', and suddenly 'waking up' to the phrase- 'we take the boat!' gave it a great idea! It knew how to help its friends! Take the boat! Bonn's wonderful idea and plan! Bonn just had to find the boat. It's rather difficult without eyes to find a boat. But Bonn- with or without a head- could still feel he was in water. And if he was guessing- if he was surrounded everywhere by water- then a boat was somewhere just on top of him. The body of Bonn felt around a bit. Lab coat. No. Mitt. Water. No.

"What's Bonn doing?" Greens asked as he saw Bonn's moving 'corpse' randomly grabbing and slapping around the water. "I think his bodies waking up, he's pretty stupid after he explodes." Mitt said with confidence- even the bubbles coming out from Mitt seemed to have an underlying smugness, Bonn's cadaver seemingly heard that and punched Mitt in the face as if it was truly subconscious instinct. "Okay, he's not that stupid. But he's running on subconscious instinct." Mitt held his cheek, "But what's he doing?" Greens asked. Bonns headless cadaver eventually found what it'd rightfully planned out. A boat! Or what at least felt like a boat. Bonn signaled 'up' at the boat before suddenly surfacing. "Damnit." "Bonn!" The other two surfaced to find Bonn's cadaver trying to get onto the boat- which understandably- a headless 'corpse' rising from the murky depths freaked out the sailors on board. "Welp. SNAFU two." Greens climbed the side of the boat from the other end- able to climb aboard without notice thanks to the sailors being distracted with the headless body trying to force its way onto the boat. "Mornin' sailors." Greens wound up a punch and knocked one of the dumbfounded sailors overboard. The remaining four sailors of the boat snapped to the new intruder on their boat after watching their friend go flying and began to act fast- with two trying to grapple Greens immediately. "Mitt! Actually help me!" Greens demanded as he was set on by two attackers.

Mitt meanwhile helped Bonn get a grip on the boat before using his friend as a platform to hop on the boat and bashed into one of Greens attackers. "Ouf!" "Quick thinkin' Mitt!" Greens flashed a thumbs up as he socked another one of the sailors in the jaw. "Ow..." Mitt caressed his head trying to ease off the pain of headbutting someone. The remaining two were hurriedly trying to signal to other boats in the area they'd been hijacked as their friends were tossed overboard. "Come over here ya sea-rats!" Greens was busy having the time of his life- punching sailors and throwing them overboard. Ahab the sea-devil he was never let him discipline a sailor because they were always 'his jurssdiktion', but now with an opportunity to 'discipline' punch some 'insubordinates', Greens took it. Mitt meanwhile was busy trying to get Bonn's headless body on board the boat. "How are you half as heavy as Adams? You can't eat!" Mitt angrily mumbled to himself as he finally had a moment of good fortune- Bonns body finally able to lurch itself over the side and topple on top of Mitt. "You fat oaf-" Bonn's cadaver still found a way to slap Mitt as it got up. Greens meanwhile was high on life and busted down the door to the cabin. "Welcome to bootcamp soldiers!"

The screams of fear and sounds of punching were muffled by the walls of the cabin- with Mitt barely seeing the damage Greens enacted on them through the window barring seeing two crumpled up forms be hauled out and off of the boat with the craft getting only marginally lighter once they were tossed overboard. "Now then." Greens said as he brushed his hands. "What now?" "Probably get out of here O' glorious leader!" Mitt yelled as he finally threw Bonn's cadaver off of him. Greens- winding down and muttering a small 'oh yeah' from getting 'revenge' on Ahab came back to the current situation and went back to the cabin to take control of the boat.

"Search vessel 09-A4, you sounded like you were having technical problems on your end, over?" The radio that'd been knocked over was broadcasting a concerned and wary voice. Greens in his usual 'collected' martial demeanor, "This is vessel 09-A4 we're all fine, just hit a bit of debris is all and got spooked." Greens said in a different voice, looking around for a split second before finishing with "Over." While he wasn't sure abut trying to fool them with a new voice, it'd hopefully be less suspicious if what sounded like a wanted criminal was on a boat. The radio went an uncomfortably long time with a foggy buzzing coming through. Greens if he could- would've broken a sweat at the suspense as he began to bring the boat out of idling on the water- preparing to quickly speed up as it lurched forward. Meanwhile on the outside, Mitt was trying to to fit a life vest over Bonn's headless cadaver and taking care of the front of the boat. The searchlights were kept on and pierced the morning fog- despite Mitt's inner dialogue telling him it was a bad idea as they allowed them to be spotted so much easier. He figured a boat suddenly going 'dark' would make it more suspicious. The sirens and chaos from the prison emanated over the bay's murky waters and through the foggy sky. Other voices echoed from far away and the sound of the city's congestion became clear as the moment of adrenaline-fueled stress passed. "Not thinking on my feet, thick blockhead blows up-" Mitt sighed in anger as he finally forced Bonn into a life vest. As best as he could've been anyway. The boat lurched forward and made Mitt nearly lose his balance. "I cannot wait to get back to solid GROUND." "Well, quit your bellyaching, we've got a boat, and the authorities don't know where we are." Greens said- emerging from the cabin as the boat continued to slowly lumber forward and out towards the west. "Correction. They know where we are- we're somewhere in or on the Bay!" Mitt retaliated, "The only guarantee we have being this stolen boat- nevermind the 5 potential witnesses we threw overboard!" Mitt rose in anger as he continued to panic and spiral, "And once they notice this boat- acting strange and drifting out west- because lets be real- any coast guard worth their salt has a system to track every electronic and black box- they'll probably find us!" Mitt collapsed down on the floor of the boat next to Bonn's semi-relaxed torso. "Augh, we should've tried Plan 39 again!"

". . . And thats why he put me in charge." Greens replied back nonchalantly. "What do you mean by that?" Mitt looked nastily at Greens. "Oh come on! We're out of jail! We should be celebrating!" "Not assuredly!" "Well it's a better damn attitude than moping about failure!" The two began to verbally bite back at one another as Mitt stood up and directly faced Greens. "Oh what, you think you're hot shit cause you're running a stolen boat while Bonn's lost his head?" Mitt began to shift from panic-angry to envy-angry as Greens spoke up. "I'm just saying Mittley- maybe the reason you don't get chosen to lead shit beyond a bunch of other nerds in sweatshirts is because you lack the necessary gumption to function!" Greens pressed Mitt's life vest with his finger as he began to stand more forwardly- the momentum of the boat and the interruption mid-movement nearly had Mitt topple over onto Bonn. "Oh, so Mr. Chump-for-guns is going to lecture me on thinking! The thing I did, the thing I'm renowned for, and the one person in the Bombpire smart enough to plan everything out!" "You clearly didn't think enough oh high and mighty Trashicus, inspiration of the basement dweller and armchair intellectual! We ended up here!" "Oh so it's my fault I was roped into a grand ol' scheme cooked up by you and our headless friend here to try and conquer all of this!" Mitt gestured out to the foggy bay and the dim searchlights around them, all the while the boat slowly trundled along out to the bay. "You know that failure was a team effort, it's all of us-" "Well yeah, but it was you who started it-" "So what blame me for something you went through with?" "The fuck else am I supposed to do, leave my only actual friends to go on a suicide quest?" "I DUNNO!"

The two angrily stared at one another as they both huffed and puffed- the anger in the air and perhaps some unfinished grievances began to dissipate into the morning fog; Bonns headless cadaver had stood up on its own- seemingly unnoticed by both during their shouting match. The headless cadaver slow-clapped as if seemingly and sarcastically proud of the two releasing their frustrations. "You're not safe from criticism either Beauregard." Mitt stated bluntly as he voiced his displeasure. The headless cadaver seemed genuinely offended. It was hard to tell emotions with only a pair of hands and shoulders- but it seemed to react as truthfully broken as it could. "Well. we can't turn back the clock. Gotta keep our wits about us." Greens stated as he sighed in lingering disappointment. "Don't you mean your Mitts-" Bonn slapped Mitt in the face for trying to make a lame pun to settle the tension, Greens groaned at the lame pun before walking back to the cabin. "I'm going to make sure we don't crash. Not by accident anyway."

Greens went back in the cabin, navigating the boat to angle it between the bridges supports- figuring the worst of it was passed- they were free of the prison! Soon to be free from Imperial Bay!- "Search vessel 09-A4, do you know where you are, over?" Shit. Greens paused and picked up the radio, "Uh, of course we do. We on Vessel 09-A4 is going out on an extended search is all." Greens paused. "Over." He hated naval lingo. "Search vessel 09-A4, you do know that's reserved for search vessels 04-A1 through 04-A9 correct? Over?" "Uh yeah, we were just instructed to help in the search in these coordinates. Over." "Really? You, search vessel 09-A4 were given special orders to search the Golden Imperial Bridge sector?" The voice on the other end was skeptical and actively didn't believe what Greens was saying. "Yes? We were given specific orders?" "Over?" Greens could tell- the tone on the other end was a dead giveaway that he was compromised, nevertheless he just had to stall them out. "You mean your specific vessel received orders from me? Even though I don't remember giving your vessel orders and have been tracking you this whole time?" Whoever was on the other side was thoroughly done with this charade. "Yup. Over." Greens confidently said, trying to draw out the conversation out- "Cut the shit "sailor". Who are you and what have you done with one of our boats?" Greens dropped the sailor act. "I'm using my Fifth Privilege privileges to not provide anyone who isn't a cop my legal name." The blaring of police sirens erupted over the water and the flashing blue lights of other boats on the Bay began to light up the foggy morning. "This is the Dynastic Coast Defense Guard. You are not authorized to be in possession of the boat you have in question. You are speaking to the cops of the Dynasty's territorial waters. You are legally bound to give us your name and submit to our law."

"Good thing I don't give a duds fuse on what your laws are." Greens promptly punched the radio out and the accelerator forward as the boat revved up to maximum speed. Lights from police boats charged closer at their vessel. "MITT! CABIN! NOW!" Greens barked the order through the window at Mitt. The lanky dynamite ran as fast (but as carefully) as he could to the cabin. "Black box, find it, destroy it, NOW!" Mitt went to work scouring the boat's electronics and panels trying to find something that might look vaguely familiarly like a literal black box or large polygonal dark shapes. Nothing in the cabin looked like it but Mitt kept searching. Greens meanwhile was busy with grand theft mariner- patrol and search vessels from every direction had stopped searching around Imperial Bay and around the mostly-intact prison complex. They knew exactly where the Bombs were now- or at the least- had a good reason to suspect where they were. Two large frigates came from the north as a dozen patrol boats began to gain on the Bombs vessel. "Bonn!" The cadaver stood up and saluted mockingly. "Just don't fall off! Hold onto something heavy!" Bonn's body immediately thumbed up and held onto the side of the boat. Mitt meanwhile had turned the once semi-pristine cabin into a trash heap as Greens maneuvered the speeding boat to avoid potential collision- the lack of support he had as Greens made a sharp port turn threw Mitt into the wall and knocked his noggin out for a quick bit. Greens erstwhile had to contend with a naval battle of his own. The calm sea was the only positive of the whole ordeal. Greens soon found another problem- the damned coast guard started shooting him. While at first he was content to continue on per usual- after all nobody on deck was in danger from a bullet- when a stray bullet managed to find its way into the cabin and nearly knock out engine controls- Greens decided advanced evasive maneuvers were necessary. Swerving and turning forced the already not-so-fast vessel to cut down on necessary acceleration. Swarms of bullets cut through the air and splashed into the water, the bridge was so close! As were the frigates hiding behind it. Swerving the boat around like a madman in every direction- including at a few points dodging back towards the prison complex in order to keep the boat from being marred by gunfire- a stray object in the cabin promptly knocked Mitt on the noggin and forced him back into a conscious stupor.

Mitt gasped at first at being rudely awoken and then thrown around- as Mitt was thrown out of the cabin and hit the railing- something finally clicked as he smacked his forehead. "D'oh, I've been too literal! Think Mitt, when you were designing safe data preservers for machines- what did they look like?" Mitt took a few moments to talk to himself and jog his memory. "It was simple. I was on the right track looking for something without too much detail- but they were also-" Mitt spotted it- or what he thought was it- as he fully stood upright on the boat. "-bright and noticeable." A small obnoxiously orange capsule-looking device perched on top of the boats mast which itself was on top of the cabin. Mitt grabbed the rail as he experienced another reason to never let Greens behind a steering wheel. There was no way in Fuse, Hell, or any other domain that he was climbing up to knock down and disable that. Greens' steering would send him flying in a second. Then he spotted his second 'oh duh' moment. Mitt cautiously made his way to the front of the boat. Bonn's headless cadaver was busy being tossed between standing and sitting as it grabbed the railing for dear mercy. "Howdy Bonn." Mitt calmly stated to the cadaver. It waved briefly before falling back further on the boat. Mitt chuckled but stood now alone at the front of the boat with eyes on the prize. A machine gun! Now Mitt wasn't eager to use guns- but this was an extraordinary occasion. "MITT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Mitt pointed up- "HELICOPTERS?" Mitt face-palmed but sent a thumbs up back. Mitt began to fire up at the ship's mast. Being only familiar with a gun through a console- Mitt was less than accurate with a machine gun, the recoil combined with Greens' shitty handling of a boat made him rattle and bounce everywhere, seemingly hitting nothing. Continuing to aimlessly aim at the sky- Mitt would inevitably knock out the 'black box' at the top of the mast, but he wouldn't know that until the world around him stopped shaking several minutes after he stopped shooting and shook himself off the gun.

Greens back in the cabin continued to wrangle with the boat fighting against his control and the closing in of enemy vessels as they shot back at what they thought was enemy gunfire directed at them. The frigates continued to hem in the small boat by standing guard at the bridge- blocking the only way out. Greens thought about the situation. Stay in the Bay- evade the coast guard- but inevitably run out of juice and either try to board another boat or be sent back to prison. Nope. Try and break out of the Bay and give the frigates at the entrance the slip? A good chance of failure, but the only possible shot of success and continued escape. No chance like a small chance. "Saddle up men! We're going rammin' speed!" Greens stopped drifting around the water like a madman and began to beeline it for the Bays entrance and the bridge that stood tall over it. The morning fog had pulled back and allowed a more clear scene to unfurl as Greens swiftly directed the boat forward. Mitt was still rattling himself stupid on the machine gun. Must be some tough helicopters. Finally however without care for dodging bullets the boat began to reach its top speed. No longer zipping around and instead zooming directly for the entrance to the Bay, the frigates guarding the way began to change plans. Rather than menacing and occasionally pot-shotting the poor craft- they began to close the distance between themselves and the boat. Greens however sensed a game of Chicken. The frigates were much larger than the boat, and while he wasn't a maritime man- he was one with good pattern recognition. With the frigates turning inward, they'd keep their distance and start turning to try and create a 'barrier' to try and goad any captain to turn away and not run into the wall of ships- thus slowing down and presenting a larger and slower target they could fire on. A feint was a feint, on land, on air, and at sea. And like all feints- the enemy was bluffing, and if you pressed hard enough- it revealed a weakness the enemy was covering up.

And Greens fully intended to call their bluff. Either hyped up on adrenaline or having finally snapped- Greens slammed the accelerator even further forward- a guttural roar came from the small crafts engine as it slammed through the water. Bonn's headless corpse was holding on at the back of the ship- a single turn liable to throw him over, Mitt on the machine gun was jostled up and down- finally spun forward as the weapon fired off its final shots.

The frigates continued to make formation- slowly placing themselves horizontally in front of the bridge. Greens scanned the warships as the boats pursuing them began to slow down- confident in the frigates ability to take care of the nuisance and the criminals. A perfect showcase of pride. The frigates- while in a linear formation, unlike superior land-based vehicles- needed to afford more room to maneuver and line up their weapons. Gaps between each frigate were more than plentiful and wide enough to slip through- the frigates began to emit smoke- taking Greens a split second to realize that the formation was shooting off a compliment of missiles- each frigate firing off a single missile. Taking back the handle of the speedy little boat, Greens began to wildly zig-zag across the water as the missile zoomed past the vessel. Narrowly scraping the boats sides as each missile attack came in almost rhythmic pairs- the little search vessel maneuvered like a zippy bike passing between cars on a busy highway. Zipping, zooming, and cutting it close- with one missile barely shaving the cabin of the boat- taking out what was left of the mast from sheer kinetic force. Explosions behind the search craft pushed it forward as Greens fought to keep the boat stable and moving. With the exhaust of missiles- and now the close proximity of the vessel as the boat sped ever closer and undeterred from the barrage- the blockade opened fire on the craft with their own cannons and guns- attempting to rip it apart with conventional fire. The boat at this point was beginning to shudder- the constant max speed Greens kept putting on the machine was not expected of the light search craft, bullets had already wracked its sides, and while the missiles didn't hit it- the explosions forcing the boat forward had noticeably damaged its stern. Despite the failing condition of the boat- Greens was determined to keep pushing.

900 meters. It'd gotten a lot harder to dodge bullets as they began to pepper the boat's sides and Greens could do little to dodge the barrage. Despite this, the closer he got, the less guns he had to worry about- unless the Dynasty was dumb enough to shoot itself. 800 meters. Greens checked to make sure everyone was still on board. Mitt was grappling the gun mount like a cat gripped someones leg. Bonn's cadaver was holding on with two hands on the railing in the back. Good. 700 meters. The gap between two frigates was all Greens could focus on as the boat sped towards it. Bullets could hardly be dodged- the only thing saving them was pure speed. 600 meters. 500 meters. 400. 300. At this point all but two of the frigates had stopped shooting their guns- too close to the other boats or simply needing to re-align themselves to begin shooting again. The gap between the two frigates Greens was growing larger by the second. 200 meters. 100 meters. 50. The boat was visibly smoking- Greens wasn't a naval person- but he figured it was either the boat's engine being forced to its maximum, the damage of being shot up and nearly blown up, or likely both. He'd have to ask Ahab after he rubbed this in his rusted face. Despite being so close to the frigates- being a much smaller craft and much lower to the sea than its larger counterparts- the guns on the final two frigates were beginning to have trouble aiming and it was more problems with the boat itself that began to rapidly show themselves. The small boat passed through the gap between the two frigates and Greens began to cheer to himself, with Mitt giving out a small hurrah. The sputtering of a boat engine and Greens own prideful boasts filled the air until the sound of bullets hitting the water pulled Greens out of the stupor.

"Oh yeah. They can just- turn the guns around." Greens threw his head at the windshield of the cabin- causing it to crack open slightly. "Howdy Greens!" Mitt waved to Greens through the cracked windshield in a smug manner. "Damnit." Greens said as he pushed himself back to driving the boat as erratically as possible. The small calmness afforded to the boat finally allowed Bonn's body to hoist itself back onto the ship proper. "Shoulda gone with the truck plan, but fuck Mitt- I'll never admit that to him." Greens muttered to himself as the tried to force the ship to go faster. Desperate to try and outrun the gunfire- Greens began throwing extra things out of the cabin. Filing cabinets, the husk of a radio, chairs, anything that wasn't him, Mitt, Bonn, and the boat needed to go. The boats sputtering engine thanked him with a slightly higher top speed before petering down again. The sound of a bullet hitting Mitt in the shoulder forced Greens back to the driving. "You good?" Greens asked through the broken windshield. "It stings! I'm fine, but ow! Focus on driving King Neptune." Mitt replied back- holding onto the gun mount with one arm as another one dangled loosely. "I'll let them hit the other arm if you backsass me Mitt." "And be stuck with Bonn?" Greens grumbled under his breath- "I'll make sure they shoot the lame one then!" He yelled back as he continued to dodge the bullets. Despite his best efforts however- the boats speedometer began to steadily drop. Greens began to percussively maintain the boats controls as he cursed out the falling acceleration. "Why're we stopping?" "The boats shot!" "Literally?" "Yes, literally!" Mitt began to rush to the cabin with his lame arm in tow- the headless cadaver of Bonn came bumping into the cabin as it'd heard Greens under more-than-usual amounts of stress. "Well pointdexter- can ya fix it?" "Well, electronics are my specialty- but uh- Golden Dynasty electronics are a different breed. Not to mention-" "So answer's no." "Nope." "Can our glorious leader fix it?" The headless body punched a side of a cabin as if to demonstrate that 'no' it could not. "So we're boned then." Greens pointed out in a rare moment of defeat for him and the others as he, Mitt, and the cadaver seemingly watched as the speed gauge ticked down. The boats violent noises finally slowing down as the boat itself came to a slow crawl over the water.

Finally the boat halted. The motor finally dying out as it began only to move in tandem with the sea. "Huh. Y'know the open ocean's pretty calm. I can see why Ahab always liked it out here." "Yeah. Wait- weren't we just being shot at?" Mitt and Greens looked out- the Bay still within view- as were the frigates- yet no signs of bullets. The cadaver however took first action and ducked in a corner of the cabin. Greens and Mitt both peeked out the door of the cabin and looked up at the sky- seeing only a single trail of smoke from a frigate- "Oh. Shit." Mitt was struck with panic while Greens reacted instantly- grabbing Mitt with one hand and quickly grabbing hold of Bonn's cadaver. "Duck and cover-" The missile easily found its target. No more running, no more maneuvering. Dead in the water, the boat finally exploded into a heap of blasted shrapnel. Greens, Mitt, and Bonn were flung far into the distance looking like a clump of debris as Greens gripped each of them tightly.

The crews of the frigates cheered on heavily throughout the day. The most notorious criminals on the continent- three of the dreaded Bombperial Five- were finally put down and out of commission- gone to a fiery and watery grave.

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Greens awoke with the Sun setting in his face. He was drenched in cold water and he noticed his jacket had suffered from immense damage- but like every other time the Dynasty had tried to kill them- still there. He noticed he was on a solid surface- partially anyway. His feet dangled in the water, but he was perched on a piece of debris. In a panic he remembered what'd happened. Looking around he found Mitt floating on the water beside him. That damn life vest did save him after all. But that left Bonn. Where in the Fuse- "Afternoon Greenie!" Greens turned behind him to face Bonn- also wearing a life vest. More importantly however- Bonn was whole again! "The hell happened?" "We got launched far into the ocean apparently." Bonn finished- looking around, as did Greens- damn near no land existed- or at least within the horizon. No ships, no nothing- just them and some debris. "Y'know, always wanted a vacation like this Greens, I'm glad I chose you to lead this operation." "But the boat, it exploded! Last thing I remember is going through the air like an artillery shell and then, nothing!" "You hit your head pretty hard on the sea floor." Greens was almost spooked at how calm Bonn delivered that. "You expect you- the one with a giant dumbbell and full military attire to not sink?" "Well then- the- who-" "Thank Mitt." "I was gonna ask how you knew this-" "Thank Mitt." Bonn replied back with his usual tone. "He told me everything I need to know and then passed out halfway on some scrap metal not too long after." "So. How long have we been drifting out here?" "Long enough that when I came to, there wasn't any land around." Bonn stated, ending the conversation for a few seconds as the trio drifted aimlessly on the ocean current.

"So what now?" "Whaddya mean?" "We busted out of prison, we evaded re-capture, and- now we're out in the middle of the ocean!" "Now." Bonn triumphantly regained his confidence- "Now we're free Bombs! Free on the open sea!" "Oh Fuse is he rambling?" Mitt quietly moaned as he awakened from a quick oceanic nap. "We know what failed us last time gentlemen! We've evaded the enemy, and we can regroup and rebuild!" If Bonn could stand on debris he would've at this point. "We'll show those hooligan Dynastics what happens when you mess with us!" Bonn stated in triumph.

"Thats great Bonn" Mitt said lowly- still facing the sunset- "But we're in the middle of the ocean! Where do we go?" "He has a point." "I've had two great points today. I heard that confession earlier." Mitt smarmily said to Greens who began to swing his fist in the direction of Mitt. "Ah-" Bonn paused. "Huh."

"Where do we go?"

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Where to Next?
Free as the fish in the sea, but with nowhere to seemingly go. Which direction to go?

Into the Sunset!- Ysasea- a land of many unknowns- one we've rarely interacted with given our geographic position- could be valuable in building a new Bombperial base of operations. Far from the prying eyes or jurisdiction of the Golden Dynasty- we could potentially become great warlords or conquerors of the land and make a newer and stronger Bombpire where the sun sets!

To Odd Shores- If Bonn remembers the geography lessons he occupied himself with- if one went directly south from Northumer's west coast- as if someone dropped a ball and it fell directly south from Imperial Bay- it'd end up in the strange continent of Muai'bius. A small pristine continent home to some of the world's more exotic treasures and lesser-known secrets. What better place to hide from anyone or anything than one of the furthest places of civilization on the planet?

To Dreaming Shores- Due southwest- the continent of Barbunda was always described by Mitt as being an ecological hotspot of strange and alien creatures. Seemingly the opposite of Muai'bius- a scorched hellish continent filled with nightmares given flesh and blood. Bonn had always thought about trying to utilize the scare factor of such creatures. Perhaps now with the path open- Barbunda could be the spot for such experiments and new beginnings.

The Jungles Roost- The nastier cousin to the idyll Northumer. Southumer is a jungle-filled cesspit filled with disease, massive bugs, and at least from what he heard- cannibals of every flavor. Picky little bastards they are. But given the 'non-fleshy' nature of the Bombs, who better to rule a nation of cannibals rather than a nation of criminals?

As All Good Villains Do!- Small isolated volcanic islands. Bonn always had a soft spot for those. They fit the bill for 'intimidating and seclusive'. And given this is the western ocean- there's small volcanic islands everywhere across the ocean! The 'Ring of Fire' as Bonn remembered it. What better way to start a second conquest of the world than through conquest and leisure?

Scavenge the Ocean Floor- The ocean from Ahabs many failed scans to find Camila and many tall tales- is littered with ruins, wreckage, and resources. The Anchovynes- while nasty pieces of work- maybe have a right idea on staying close to the ocean floor. It ain't glamorous- but it's a great place to hide and evade the authorities from. We can pick up the past and build a new bright Bombperial state under the waves!

Back Home- Northumer is arguably the closest continent- and there's plenty of unseen shoreline, small nooks, crannies, fjords to re-enter the continent from. Plenty of people and groups chafe under the Dynasty or yearn for the Bombpire's old order- usually those of unscrupulous nature anyhow. Though be advised, the Dynasty while publicly celebrating the Bombs demise- is still looking for the Bombs. One doesn't throw three people in acid, fire, or attempt to crush them and simply believe a direct missile hit from a frigate is gonna end them so anticlimactically.

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Bonn simply shrugged and pointed, "That way! Let's get swimming!"

"Inspiring per usual Bonn." "You got a better plan?" "After today. I'm planned out." "I'm good letting the ocean take me."

Bonn groaned as he dragged Mitt along- Mitt simply tired just groaned in protest. Greens paddle boarded close behind. . .

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I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit more 'wordy' than usual, and a bit more story-heavy, but I wanted to try something. Branch a bit here and there. But please- do leave votes, critiques, statements, or other plans in the comments. I appreciate 'em!

Voting will end the 28th of April! Hopefully you can vote correctly. There's only one choice to vote on.