Ever since the monster and ghost worlds have been allowed to communicate, the ghosts had been having fun with their monster friends, often finding more in common with them than at first expected. One such connection was made with a certain ghost mermaid and ghost pirate, and the latter requests the help of the former...
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Vandala Doubloons caught up with Kiyomi after class, having a question for her.
"Hey, Kiyomi!" She yelled, waving at her. Kiyomi Haunterly spun around, her chains clanging loudly as she did.
"Good afternoon, Vandala-san. What brings you here to me?" She asked politely.
"I need you to open another portal for me to that solid school...whatever it was called. Something high." Vandala explained.
"Why? Also, we're all friends now! There's no need for me to open a portal up secretly!" Kiyomi exclaimed.
"I'm itchin' for a good treasure hunt. I haven't done that in a while, but I can't do it alone. I need the help of that mermaid ghost. I need your help because you can open a portal directly in front of her!"
"Well, alright, but don't hurt anybody!" Kiyomi spun her hands around.
"Why would I do that? I never hurt anybody!" Vandala proudly announced, watching as Kiyomi slowly opened a portal to Monster High. Vandala looked inside and saw Sirena Von Boo, the ghost mermaid in question, floating above a lunchtable while she was eating.
"Was this who you requested?" Kiyomi asked, and Vandala nodded enthusiastically.
"That be her, alright! Hopefully she's just the treasure-hunting partner I need!" She tipped her hat to Kiyomi in thanks and jumped into the portal, and Kiyomi closed it up behind her.
"Please be careful! I'd hate for you to act dishonorably!" Kiyomi warned before walking away herself.
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At Monster High, Sirena was eating her lunch and listening to Bonita Femur talk about all the tests she had to take that day when Vandala suddenly jumped on top of their table, making her stop talking and look up at her in shock and worry.
"Haha, it is I, the most amazing and most fearsome captain of the Seven Seas, Vandala Doubloons! I can see my greatness has rendered you all speechless!" She announced proudly, taking her hat off and spinning around.
"Vandala!" Spectra Vondergeist said happily, floating over to her old friend. "Haven't seen you in a while. What brings you here to Monster High?"
"Spectra? Is that you?" She quickly jumped off the table and put her hat back on. "Sorry, it's just that, I had trouble recognizing you with your hair straight."
"Yeah, that look was the...old me. I used to wear my hair like that when I was younger, but I don't like all the memories that it brings, so I straightened it. I only curled it again so you guys could recognize me." Spectra explained, running a hand through it.
"Good reason. The reason I am here is because adventure on the high seas is calling again and this time, it's telling me to go on a treasure hunt!" Vandala said. "However, this is one treasure hunt I cannot go alone, so I came here to ask your mermaid ghost friend to help me."
"Did you hear that, Sirena? You're going to go on a treasure hunt!" Bonita exclaimed. Sirena floated over to Vandala.
"And there she is now! What is your name?" Vandala asked.
"I'm Sirena, and I love treasure! Especially if it's buried. Is it buried? Oh, and I love thrift shops. After treasure-hunting, can we go shopping at one? Those have treasures too." Sirena rambled on.
"Don't mind her, she has a tendency to talk a lot." Avea Trotter apologized. Vandala stared at the young mermaid-ghost with stars in her eyes.
"Perfect, you are the best lass for this job!" She decided.
"Really? Great!" Sirena flipped in the air. "Wait, what job am I perfect for?"
"Treasure-hunting! Did you forget? Are you scatterbrained? I sure hope not, I need a crew mate who is totally ship-shape!"
"Hey, I'm not scatter-brained!" Sirena suddenly objected. "I just daydream! There's a difference!"
"Daydreaming? I'm guilty of that myself, from time to time. Mostly when the tide is low, and the ship is slow, and there's no orders to give to my crew...that's when I look out across the sea, onto the horizon, and I daydream about whatever comes to mind." Vandala grabbed Sirena's hand. "But enough of that, let's get underway! I'll call my best friend River and have her prepare a ride for us back."
"Okay! Byebye, everyone! I'm going on a treasure hunt!" Sirena said, waving at everyone.
"Good luck! Have fun!" Spectra waved back.
"Keep a close eye on yourself!" Avea said.
"And don't forget to enjoy yourself!" Bonita added.
"And tell us all about it!" Neighthan Rot added as a final word, and Sirena just nodded to it all.
"Alright! I will!" She kept waving until another portal sprouted up and Vandala pulled Sirena through it.
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Sirena and Vandala found themselves on a ghostly dock, with several different kinds of ghost ships chained up. One ship was obviously Vandala's, and Sirena floated on top of it.
"I remember your ship from the last time we came here!" Sirena said, floating about. "It's very roomy. Will your crew be nice to me?"
"They will if I make them be." Vandala said with a hint of a threat in her voice. She just finished climbing up the rope to her ship. "It is rather roomy, isn't it? I take pride in how big my ship is." She walked over to her wheel. "Now, lift up that anchor and let's get this show on the road!" She grinned. One of her many skeleton crew mates lifted the anchor and started tying it up, and Vandala slowly and cautiously steered the ship out of the dock.
Sirena didn't say anything, she merely floated over to the edge of the ship and leaned over so she could look down. Vandala wasn't sure what was so fascinating about the ship leaving port, but she had more important things to concern herself over. Soon the ship was sailing free on the ghostly waters, and Vandala left the steering to one of her crew mates so she could get to know Sirena better.
"Are you really this fascinated by the water?" She asked loudly, somehow not startling Sirena. She didn't even look over at the pirate and instead kept focusing on the water.
"Not fascination. History. Family. My mother was a mermaid, see, and when I look out at the water like this, I feel how she felt. Peaceful. That's why I always daydream. I dream of the water. Of her home. Of her." She sighed dreamily.
"You know what the ocean makes me think of?" Vandala asked, clutching her stomach. Sirena gazed over at her.
"No what?" She asked innocently.
"This!" Vandala promptly leaned over the side of her ship and barfed into the sea water below. Since she was a ghost, it was merely orangish-brown ectoplasm, but it was vomit to a ghost, and hurt just as much. Sirena looked on in concern. Finally Vandala stopped and struggled to catch her breath.
"Seasick? You're a seasick pirate!" Sirena noticed.
"Yeah, I am, and it's not exciting. Or very fun. I am useless as a pirate because of it." She sighed.
"People think I'm an air-fin because I daydream all the time. Doesn't make me useless as a mermaid! I'm a fangtastic swimmer!" Sirena boasted, making Vandala smile slightly.
"Maybe you're right. After all, I managed to make a name for myself across these waters, right? Seasickness won't stop me now!" Vandala spun around and started marching across her deck. Sirena eagerly joined her and seemingly forgot to remind Vandala she still had some vomit on her mouth. They stopped when the side of their ship bumped into something.
Vandala leaned over and found River Styxx's boat sailing beside theirs. River steered it away from the ship's side so it wouldn't continuously ram into it, but she stayed next to them.
"Hey there, River!" Vandala greeted, waving at her. Sirena waved as well before doing another flip.
"Hi Vandala! Going on another treasure hunt?" River asked happily.
"I sure am! Only this time, I'm bringing this lass with me!" She stepped aside to reveal Sirena, who floated down to River's boat.
"Hey, I remember you! You're one of Spectra's friends, right?" River asked, and Sirena nodded.
"She says I'm the best lass for the job!" Sirena said proudly.
"She is! She can swim underwater, float in the air, and pass through objects! She has no limits, and I need someone like that for today's treasure!" Vandala explained.
"Whoa, so cool! I wish I could do all that!" River squealed. "Here, have a sugar skull!" She pulled a softened vanilla skull out of a pocket in her cape and handed it to Sirena, who took it and put it up to her eye.
"I can see you through it!" She announced.
"Really? The eyes aren't see-through." River noticed.
"Anything's see-through if you believe it," Sirena popped the skull into her mouth. "You should join our treasure hunt!"
"I'd love to, but I have more pressing concerns. Oh, but if there's anything super pretty you should save it for me!" River grinned.
"Okie-dokie!" Sirena nodded, giving River just as big of a grin back.
"How long will you be doing this?" River addressed Vandala in a curious tone.
"Not too long. A day, tops. I am well aware of what I am after. I just wasn't able to get it, until now," Vandala boasted.
"Then have fun! I wish you luck and all that!" River pulled some more sugar skulls out of her bag and handed them to Sirena, who held them all in her arms as she floated back up to Vandala's ship. She offered her a sugar skull, but she shook her head.
"You're gonna need plenty of energy soon, so best keep all of those for yourself,"
"By the way! Vandala!" River spoke up again and pointed to her lips before her ship moved away. Vandala quickly wiped her mouth off.
"She's really nice!" Sirena smiled. "I hope I can see her again,"
"You might one day. I see her a lot 'round here," She shrugged, going back over to the ship's wheel. "Speaking of which, we should be halfway there. Won't be long now."
"Where are we going?" Sirena asked curiously, nibbling on another one of the sugar skulls.
"Best I tell you now, huh? As you know, I'm always looking for treasure. For a while now, I've been unsuccessful in obtaining this one treasure. It's just a simple chest, but I am unaware what is in it aside from the usual baubles and jewels and whatnot. It is guarded extremely well though. Even a ghost such as myself cannot get through all of the challenges. But then I heard about you from Spectra. Someone who can float, swim, hover, do whatever! You were perfect for this mission, hence why I hunted you down," Vandala explained, sighing. "And I'll give you half of the treasure. Even most of it. Today, the one treasure I need is the satisfaction of finally finding that,"
"No-one else has?" Sirena stopped hovering slightly, floating down to the deck of the ship.
"Not that I am aware of. We'll be famous for it!"
"I hope there's pretty things in that treasure chest. I want to give some stuff to my friends! And some stuff to River too,"
"There'll be more than enough for all of them," Vandala smiled, then turned serious as the fog around them suddenly appeared thicker and more ghostly. She turned to look at her crew, who nodded at her and braced themselves. Sirena sensed the mood turning serious too, but wasn't sure if she was actually needed for anything. So she finished off the sugar skull she was eating and watched Vandala at work.
"We should be approaching a cave soon," She informed her crew, walking to the front of the ship and keeping a lookout.
"Are you sure there won't be any traps around the opening this time?" A member of her crew asked nervously, and Vandala nodded.
"We did away with all of them last time we were here. If they had time to set up any, it would only be one, and we can handle one," she said confidently as the ship came to a slow stop in front of a greenish cave opening. Crystals jutted from its mouth and seemed to glow. Sirena floated off the boat and stared into the opening, not moving inside yet.
"Don't touch the crystals! They're really sharp!" Vandala warned, jumping off her boat. Sirena nodded and started to enter, swimming around the crystals. It was easy for her since she would just move her tail easily out of the way to avoid trickier crystals. Vandala watched in awe.
"They're pretty though!" Sirena called as she reached the end. She wondered what made them glow. Maybe she could ask Avea when she returned to school, she would likely know. "What's next?"
"Do you see three doorways? Go through the middle one!"
Sirena nodded and floated down through it, noticing the walls slowly changing from a ghostly green to a vibrant purple. She wondered where exactly she was even going. She reached a break in that tunnel and looked down the first path, then the second. Vandala likely wouldn't be able to hear her anymore. She seemed so far away from her. What would happen if she picked the wrong direction?
She couldn't wait around all day and wonder which way to go, so she decided on the second path, noticing the walls getting smaller and smaller around her. She finally had to push against the walls to support herself since they seemed ready to close in on her. "It's so tight!" She noticed, taking her tail and slapping it against the wall.
Suddenly, everything seemed to freeze as the walls opened up just a bit, allowing Sirena to breath. She looked at her tail, then at the wall again, then slammed her tail really hard against the wall, making the room vibrate and a small gold doorway appear to her. She hurriedly swam through and heard the door slam loudly behind her, which surprised her since she didn't recall there being a door before. But maybe there was and she just hadn't noticed it before.
She floated down the hall some more, finding this one to be extremely wide but grey in colour. It was getting harder and harder for her to see. She wondered if Vandala was worried about how long she was taking.
"So! You have come here looking for my treasure, have you?" A voice that sounded not unlike Vandala's rung out through the tunnel, making Sirena stop and look around.
"Yes! Yes please! Do you know where it is?" She asked eagerly, floating up to the top of the room.
"Ah, I see why you managed to come this far. Most people get tripped up at the whole 'walls-closing-in-on-them' area. Either that or the crystals. But you are smart, aren't you? You managed to avoid lots of those challenges,"
"It's because of who I am,"
"You have courage. But this maze is only half-over. Keep at it, my friend. The end isn't near, but closer all the same," The voice then went silent, and Sirena was confused because she wasn't able to find any kind of speaker.
"Pearls! Pearls!" Several yammering voices filled the tunnel instead, revealing to be owned by black clams with fangs lining their rims. Sirena moved away from them and watched as they tried in vain to jump high enough to reach her. "Pearls! Pearls! She has pearls!"
"Pearls?" She repeated, blinking. She looked down at her person and saw her bracelets had pearls hanging from the ends. "Do you want these?" She wondered, pulling off some of the pearls and dropping them on the ground. The clams hurried over to where she dropped them and started swallowing them up, turning from a black into a pearly colour.
"More pearls! More pearls!" The remaining ones begged, jumping up even higher. One managed to snag a belt on Sirena's tail and yanked her down violently, making her gasp. "Pearls!"
"Oh no!" She gasped as she suddenly hit the floor, watching the clams make a beeline for her on their heels. "Take them!" She yanked off her entire bracelet and threw it at the clams, sighing when they started fighting over it. She threw her other bracelet and a belt in their direction, and soon the clams had eaten all of the pearls and were sitting contently on the ground. "My pearls," She sniffled slightly, looking over the damage. She was able to clap her bracelets back on, but the belt had been chewed too much for her to put it back on. She gently patted the heads of the calmed clams and swam onward, feeling shaken up by that previous encounter.
"I'm near the treasure, I hope," She whispered to herself, perking herself up as she imagined giving it to her friends and the looks on their faces. She would even give some to Spectra and River too! They would be even happier, she figured.
The next tunnel she floated down was even darker, a black colour that made her feel slightly nervous. Luckily, it was brighter than the previous tunnel, so she was able to see more. Another golden doorway marked the end of that tunnel, and in that room was a giant red chest overflowing with treasure. She gasped and hovered over to it, amazed.
"There's so much here! I have to tell Vandala!" She exclaimed, reaching in to grab a necklace that was lying on top, only to have her hand go right through the treasure. "Huh? Is it just me?" She wondered out-loud, continuing to grab the necklace and having the same effect.
"No honey, it's not just you," The voice earlier chuckled, finally stepping into the shadows. She revealed herself to be a girl with flowing sandy blonde hair and a silken blue dress that resembled a treasure map. "I did that on purpose!"
"You're-! Who?" Sirena asked in confusion, tilting her head.
"Dayna Treasura Jones. A pleasure to meet you, and may I congratulate you on making it this far? Most people don't, or all. Obviously," She shrugged, waving her hand in front of the chest and making it vanish. "It was just a hologram."
"So there's no treasure? But Vandala told me-"
"Cool your jets. There's treasure. It just might be a teensy bit smaller than you were promised, but hey, sometimes a girl just can't help herself,"
"The treasure is yours?"
"Yup. The cave, not so much. I just made modifications to it. Does Vandala know I sent her on this treasure hunt? I wanted to meet you in person," She smiled.
"I'm that interesting?" Sirena asked in awe, pointing to herself. "I'm just a mermaid ghost,"
"Mermaid ghosts can do a lot more than regular ghosts or mermaids. Clearly." Dayna left the room and came back with a small red velvet bag, tightly-wrapped-up. "Your reward for giving me a heck of a show,"
"Huh?" Sirena asked again, but Dayna waved her away.
"You've asked enough questions for one day. Better hurry and get back to your friend before she thinks something bad happened to you," Dayna left the room once more, and Sirena nodded and took the bag from her, hurrying out of the room and back to where Vandala was standing outside waiting.
"I got treasure!" She announced, holding out the bag. Vandala took it from her and pulled the strings apart, gasping.
"There's a lot in here! More than I expected." She pulled out a gold ring and hand it to Sirena. "My thank-you for helping me today." She went back to her ship and boarded, while Sirena floated after her.
"This girl named Dayna owned the treasure. She wanted to meet me too," She explained, still slightly confused.
"Dayna? Ah, she's an old friend of mine. I should've known she was the one who rigged this cave. She's a lot craftier than I am, for sure,"
"Isn't that a bad word to use?"
"I don't think so. She is crafty. But I mean that in a good way,"
"Okay." Sirena slipped the ring around a chain she wore around her neck and floated around on the deck as Vandala commanded her crew to take them back to Monster High. "It wasn't as dangerous as I thought,"
"Do you really think I would put you in danger?" Vandala looked slightly hurt. "I'm a bit reckless, yeah, but I knew the risks this time around,"
Sirena shrugged and leaned over the railing of the ship, looking out over the expansive ocean. "Where's River? I want to give her some of the treasure,"
"Right here!" River announced cheerfully, her boat reappearing next to Vandala's. "How'd your treasure hunt go?"
"Fantastic! I am so glad I know Sirena. She was a huge help today!" She praised, and Sirena smiled.
"I got treasure for you! Something pretty! Like you wanted!" She took the bag from Vandala and pulled it open, digging through it until she found a long necklace ending in pink gemstones. She tossed it down to River, who caught it.
"Thanks! It looks so sweet!" She hung it around her neck.
"We should be approaching the school soon," One of Vandala's crewmates informed her, and she nodded.
Soon enough, Monster High appeared from the fog, and Sirena floated off the ship before it was even properly anchored. "I want to do this again!" She happily told Vandala, who nodded.
"Of course! I'm always looking for new adventurers to add to my crew! The more eager the better! She tossed the bag down to Sirena, who caught it, though just barely.
"I thought you wanted this,"
"I got what I wanted out of it already. Go give the rest to your friends! Captain's orders!"
"Yeah!" Sirena floated back into the school, finding the classes almost over and her friends standing around in the hallway, talking to eah other. "Hi guys!" She waved rapidly.
"You're back! And you're in one piece!" Bonita noticed, looking over at her.
"Did you bring back anything for us?" Neighthan asked curiously.
"Oh, there'll be time enough for that later. Tell us about your adventure!" Avea declined, looking eager.
"Alright!" Sirena smiled and started to tell them, only to be interrupted by Spectra phasing through one of the nearby lockers.
"You don't mind if I hear the story too, right? After all, Vandala is an old friend of mine. And I love hearing adventure stories!" She asked, and Sirena nodded.
"Everyone can hear the story!" She announced, reaching into her bag and grabbing a fistful of treasure, throwing it above her head and watching it fall all around her. "Treasure for everyone!"
"What happened to your belt?" Bonita asked curiously, noticing one of them missing. "And your pearls?"
"Mean clams got them! But that's part of the story!" Sirena gasped, realizing she gave away the climax. Her friends giggled and settled in to listen to her story.
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Meanwhile, Vandala went back to her own school and met up with her friends, who were also just as eager to hear her side of the story. It was lunchtime for them.
"Dayna owned the treasure this whole time? Interesting," Kiyomi mused to herself.
"I should really talk to her at some point. I mean, I'm sure we're still friends, but we shouldn't go through long periods of time where we have no contact," Vandala explained. "Maybe we should go on a treasure hunt sometime,"
"Oh, you should bring me! I'm sure I could prove to be of some use!" River suggested eagerly.
"How about I just bring all of ya? Then we'll really have an adventure!" She suggested, making her whole table cheer.
"Continue the story!" Porter Geist suggested, and Vandala nodded.
"Not much else to share, but what the heck? After Sirena got the treasure from Dayna..." She continued to talk.