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The sun rose over a golden ocean. Pinky-grey clouds feathered
the sky. The pirate ship “Dubloon Desperado” bobbed unevenly in the water as our
heroine Usual, Carbona Copy, paced the deck.
“Gosh! It’s 2 minutes past 5:00 am and he isn’t
here. That’s pirates for you!”
Carbona kicked the diving suit Stud had left
out for her. She had even set up all the stupid equipment, just to get this
task over with quicker. The sooner she retrieved the bottle the better. The
Captain would chase her all over the ship with his pegleg if she didn’t get
it back. She tapped her foot impatiently on the deck because had been waiting
half an hour for Stud the Pirate Kougra to appear. She started to sing a little
pirate song while she waited. Her golden voice floated on the morning air.
“Sailing on the seven seas,
You would think it would be at ease.
An ungrateful bunch of pirates to please,
The reality is hitting me like a harsh morning breeze.”
Suddenly, Captain Bootleg’s head popped up from
below and made his way slowly onto the deck. He turned a bloodshot eye on Carbona.
“What are you doing up here at this time of the morning, girlie?”
Carbona turned and stood with her back to the
diving equipment, hoping he wouldn’t notice what she was up to. “Nothin’. I’m
just chillin’. Why are you up so early?” she smiled at him sweetly.
“Well little missy, haven’t you noticed I get
up early every morning to steer the ship. I need to start steering the ship
back to Krawk Island before the sea gets too rough. Don’t get in my way or you
walk the plank”, the captain swayed slightly as he spoke. Carbona noticed he
had a Peachpa cocktail in his hand.
From all her years of experience with pirates,
the Dubloon-atics were the only crew Carbona knew of that could manage to get
a bit tipsy on Peachpa cocktails.
“Whatever,” she sighed. Carbona thought Captain
Bootleg looked like he was about to faint. “Are you sure you are alright to
steer the ship? You look a bit unwell. And the sea looks a bit choppy. I’m no
sailor but the ocean is a very unstable thing.” (“Just like Stud’s emotions”,
she thought to herself.)
“I’ll be fine!” shouted the captain. But he
didn’t look fine at all. His skin was pale and he….
“WATCH OUT! AHH!!!” Totally unexpectedly, a
huge wave hit the ship side-on. Carbona and Bootleg were flung violently across
the ship. Without warning the sea had turned into a violent, raging Snowager-like
monster. The captain had been thrown against the side of the ship and now lay
unmoving on the deck. Carbona crawled over to him and slapped his face.
“Wake up, Bootleg! You have to wake up! You
have to steer the ship. Grrr... this story is getting more cliché by the minute!”
She splashed him with water but to no avail.
“This must mean I will have to steer the ship!
How predictable, why didn’t I see this coming? I should have taken sailing lessons.”
She picked herself up from the fall and immediately grabbed her arm. “Ouch!”,
her shoulder stung like it was bitten by a bunch of Ghotis. Despite the pain
she pulled herself up.
Carbona ran to Stud’s cabin and came through
the door like a stampeding Elephante. She shut the door behind her and gasped.
The cabin was flooded about a half meter with water. Stud was amazingly still
asleep. The water level had risen to just touch the underside of his hammock.
“Stud! Wake up!!” Carbona screamed.
Stud slowly came to. “What… what’s going on?“
He felt a cold, wet patch in his hammock. “I’ve had an accident! Oh, no!”
“No, you goof! The ship’s leaking! Hang on,
wait here.” Carbona ran off to the ship’s kitchen and scrabbled like a Miamouse
through the shelves of food in the galley until she found what she needed. Then
she raced back to Stud’s cabin and handed him something.
“Here, use this leek to plug up the leak.” Stud
looked at her blankly. “In the wall, stupid! Over there!” She took the leek
from his hand and jammed it in the hole. Once the leak had been fixed, Carbona
turned to Stud and said in a serious manner, “I realise you are still sick with
Pirate Pox, but this is an emergency. I can’t find the rest of the crew and
I need a favour.”
“What favour? I’m fine now, I think.” Stud looked
at his arms to check for spots.
“You still aren’t fully recovered. But do you
know how to steer and navigate the ship?! Help me! Bootleg has fainted!” the
usually calm Carbona trembled. She was starting to lose the plot.
“Calm down! I’ll help, you know I’d do anything
for you. Though I’m more skilled with a sword than a ship.” Stud and Carbona
scrambled onto the deck. It was now raining heavily and the wind whipped the
sails.
Stud seized the ship’s wheel and Carbona tried
navigating with the map. The map was bitten around the edges, with ancient place
names on it so it was very hard to work out the proper way to go but Carbona
was a fast learner and she quickly grasped their bearings.
“What sea are we in?” Carbona shouted at Stud
over the gale.
“The Roaring Naughties?” Stud shrugged. He wasn’t
sure.
“I didn’t ask what decade we are in!” yelled
Carbona.
“Well, I know we are somewhere off the coast
of Krawk Island.”
Carbona studied the map and then directed, “Go
left!”
“Port!” exclaimed Stud.
“How can you think of drink at a time like this?!”
screamed Carbona.
“No, I mean that’s right.” Stud struggled but
managed to turn the ship’s enormous wheel.
“Not right! Left, I said! Where did you get
your license from? A Neoflakes packet? Give me the wheel!” Carbona grabbed the
wheel but Stud still held on.
“You know what they say about women drivers?”
Stud joked around as usual.
“I know what you are referring to. For your
information, I can read a map. But to be on the safe side we had better stop
and ask for directions.”
“No, we’re fine. Let’s keep going.”
Carbona stamped her foot. “What is it with male
pirates and asking for directions??” Stud frowned and took the map from Carbona
while she steered.
“Ha ha! You call me a goof! You had the map
upside down!” Fortunately, the sea started to calm down a bit, but it was still
dangerously rough.
“That's a relief,” Carbona sighed.
“You like modern art, too?” Stud grinned.
“It’s just an expression! I was referring to
the sea calming down. A bit.”
Out of the blue an even more gigantic wave hit
the ship. The ship listed dangerously to one side. Barrels rolled all over the
deck and lids came off, disgorging their contents. Amazing, all of the other
pirates seemed to be sleeping though this, even Left Hook. Of course! They had
the better mattresses! Carbona was stuck with a third-hand, Skeith eaten mattress
to sleep on.
Carbona grabbed onto the wheel but Stud was
left with nothing to hold on to. His paws slid on the wet, sloping deck. “Help!”
Stud cried as he slid helplessly over the railing. Carbona reached out and grabbed
his paw with one hand and held onto the wheel with the other hand.
“Hold on!” she cried.
“Can’t you see I’m trying?. Pull me up!” Stud
kept grabbing at her hand while he scrabbled up the side of the ship with his
back feet.
One of the Peachpa cocktail barrels hit Captain
Bootleg on the head. He came to in time to see his ship being flooded with water
and almost sunk. “MY SHIP!!” he hollered and limped with his pegleg to the wheel.
He took hold of it and slowly moved the wheel until the ship was back upright.
Meanwhile Carbona had managed to pull Stud out
of the water. He flopped around on the deck like a stranded Flotsam.
“You saved my life?!” Stud gasped.
“Don’t read too much into it,” Carbona smiled.
“Come on! Let’s help Bootleg keep this stupid vessel afloat before we all drown!”
They grabbed a couple of buckets and began to bail water over the side of the
ship. A few minutes later, they heard Bootleg yell “Almost done, keep bailing
out, you two! We have to rid the ship of all this water.” Another few minutes
and the ship was almost back to normal. All of them were tired, saturated and
looked like something a Lupe had chewed then spat out.
“Well done, mateys! You saved my ship! I would
rather have the insurance money, but never mind..” he winked and patted Stud
on the back. “Anyway, I’ll make my fortune when we publish our Neopian Time
submission. I hope you kept that safe, Stud.”
“Actually,” Stud blurted out, “Carbona swept
that overboard when she was cleaning. OUCH!” She stomped on Stud’s foot.
“ARGH! What is this I hear? Ye will have to
walk the plank, missy, if this is true!”
Carbona glared at Stud. And I just saved
his life! she thought. The ingrate! Stud realised what he had said
and turned to the captain.
“Yeah, but she saved your best mate’s life today.
And she helped steer the ship. I think she deserves a little credit for that.”
“Alright! I suppose two wrongs make a right.
You don’t have to walk the plank.” The captain was tired after all the excitement.
“Excuse me, you two, but I need to navigate and steer this stupid ship. I’m
thinking of taking it to the nearest dock I come across. Krawk Island is too
far.” Captain Bootleg slowly hobbled off as Stud and Carbona stood alone on
the deck together.
The sun was starting to glint through the clouds.
“I guess it was never meant to be,” Stud sighed.
“Yeah, us two. Match made in Maraqua. And you
know what happened to that place,” Carbona squeezed the water out of her tail.
”Er, what do you mean Carbona? I meant my Times
career was never meant to be. We never managed to retrieve the crew’s submission
you dropped overboard. Did we? Who cares. I have my Carbona Copy instead!” Stud
smiled.
“Ohh... Slugawoo!” Carbona smiled back. Maybe
Stud was an okay guy, for a pirate that is.
The End
Author’s Note: Well I hope you really enjoyed reading my whole continuing
series! Despite the use (or should I say abuse) of cliché plots/storyline
as well as the wacky characters. If you would like to Neomail me, feel free
to do so. I would love to hear what you thought of it and/or if you have an
obsession with Peachpa Cocktails like I do. ARRGH!
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