(Me playing Super Mario Odyssey)
Me: Man, this is getting pretty boring around here.
(The alarm starts blaring)
Me: Shao Kahn has been spotted in the Mystic Jungle. I better assemble a team!
(Enjoy my new story, the Pirates of Lore)
(Note: I do not own anything. All rights belong to KingsIsle Entertainment)
Pirate101: The Pirates of Lore
Chapter 1: Escape from the Armada
The world is in ruin. With the Armada muscling in on them, pirates have been struggling to survive in the Spiral. However, according to the ancient prophecies, five pirates from five corners of the Spiral will join together to defeat the dreaded Armada and save the Spiral. The prophecy is nigh. On an Armada ship, five young pirates are stowed in the brig. These five pirates became close friends before their arrest by the Armada. These pirates each have been arrested for a different crime, but they have one thing in common: they know that there will be a time someone will come to free them. And that time is today. A pirate named Captain Boochbeard and his Monquistador companion Mr. Gandry is breaking them out.
One of the pirates, a boy with brown hair, light tan skin and golden yellow eyes, heard a small explosion and looked up. "Guys, you hear that?" He spoke.
"Yeah, I wonder what's going on up there." The girl in the cell across from him, sporting red hair tied in a shoulder-length ponytail and turquoise eyes nods.
"I told you guys. The prophecy, she is coming true." The only other girl, with peach skin and dark brown hair chuckled.
"Yeah right, I don't need to hear that silly superstition again, Lola." Another boy with black hair and dark tan skin laughed.
"That's enough, Kyle." The leader glared.
"Oh, sorry Hunter, but…" Kyle cringed.
"Don't question him, Kyle. We've been friends for years, so you should at least show some respect!" A third boy with blonde hair and green eyes told him.
"You're right, Ryan. I need to learn when to open my dumb mouth." Kyle said.
"Captain, I found them!" They heard a new voice.
"Good job! Let's get them out of here." They heard another voice follow. Once its owner came into view, Hunter stood up and looked at the man, who sported a scruffy white beard. "So you're the famous Boochbeard, eh? Lola was right about you."
"Aye! Let's get you lads and lasses out of these cells!" Boochbeard laughed heartily. As the two pirates let the others out, the door to Hunter's cell got jammed as it started to open. "The door! She's… jammed! The Bulkhead's bent!
"Well NOW what are we supposed to do?"
"You guys go on without me." Hunter sighed. "Lindsey, I leave you in charge of the crew now."
"No way! You're our friend through and through, until the bitter end! I'd rather join the Armada than leave my friend!" The redhead, Lindsey countered.
"Aye!" The other three pirates nod and yelled in unison.
"Guys…" Hunter whispered, on the brink of tears. "Okay, what can we do to break this door?"
"Hmm… I may have an idea. Lola, you still have your battle axe?" Ryan asked.
"I hid it from those gearheads when they threw us in here." Lola replied, revealing her battle axe.
"Sneaky. Alright, give that baby a swing!" Kyle said as Lola slammed it against the bars of Hunter's cell.
"Thanks, Lola. Your battle axe never ceases to amaze me." Hunter complimented. Hearing that made Lola blush. "Now, Boochbeard, shall we vacate this ship before we're blown to bits?"
"Not just yet. There are still five other prisoners aboard. We can't leave them behind. Go and get them out of here." Boochbeard commanded. The pirates complied and the five prisoners, Wing Chun the Crane Student, Kobe Yojimbo the Bull Ronin, Kan Po the Goat Student, Egg Shen the Goose Student and Subodai the Horse Barbarian were freed.
"Pirates, we thank you for your kindness in freeing us." Subodai thanked them.
"Allow us to aid you in your escape." Egg Shen suggested. The pirates accept them into their crew.
"Come on, before we're blown out of the sky!" Boochbeard yelled as they left the brig and went up the stairs and onto the deck, where they spotted an unwelcome masked face.
"What's this? Boochbeard! Trying to steal my prizes, you ruffian?" The masked man spoke.
"Deacon!" Boochbeard hissed.
"Deacon?" Lindsey asked, clueless as to who he is, as are the others.
"Spymaster of the Armada – I think we're in trouble…" Mr. Gandry said.
"Our jailor. So, Clockwork menace, are you ready to reap what you have sown?" Kan Po spoke.
"I think not. The prisoners must not be allowed to escape. Take them!" Deacon commanded as a fleet of Battle Angels flew in.
"Battle Angels! They are the Armada's elite warriors!" Mr. Gandry gasps.
"Indeed. It is high time you buffoons learned just who you're trifling with." Deacon said as the pirates fought the Battle Angels. Hunter dealt some damage with his daggers and Ryan provided cover fire with his rifle, but a Battle Angel dealt some damage to Kyle with weapons of her own.
"Kyle!" Lindsey shouted.
"They have harmed our friends!" Subodai shouted.
"We must help them!" Wing Chun suggests as he deals a flying kick to a Battle Angel about to attack Kyle again.
"Time to even the odds!" Kobe Yojimbo shouts as the new recruits aided the pirates in defeating the Battle Angels.
"That's the last of them. Now to get off this wreck!" Lola said.
"Not so fast." Deacon spoke, gaining their attention. "Do you think you can defy the might of the Armada?" Then, from below, six hulking gunners aim their spark blasters at the crew.
"What… what are those?" Mr. Gandry asked in fear and shock.
"Surrender! Don't make me destroy you." Deacon demanded.
"We're doomed." Ryan swallowed heavily.
"Oh, don't bother. LADS – FIRE!" Boochbeard yells as he fires a signal flare. The cannons from his ship blast the gunners, destroying them almost instantly.
"Impressive. It seems we've underestimated you, young Pirates… You'll regret making an enemy of the Armada. Enjoy your freedom… while it lasts!" Deacon shoots the powder kegs, making them explode and sending Boochbeard crashing into the wall.
Boochbeard wheezes and coughs, but manages to stand up. "That blast nearly did me in! I can barely see. You there, use that rope to get to my ship. One of you must take the helm – you'll have to get us to safe harbor." They escape the ship just as it begins to explode. "Once you dock at Skull Island, find my old friend Captain Avery. He's always looking for pirates for some scheme or other. Good luck and good hunting."
After docking at Skull Island, Hunter and his crew walked into an office and he spoke. "So you must be Captain Avery, right?"
"Ah! You must be the pirates Boochbeard mentioned! Yes, I am Captain Avery. I'd love to shelter you from the Armada, but I run a pirate haven, not a charity. I happen to have a problem on my hands that I believe you can help with." Captain Avery, sporting a white beard and a cockatoo perched on his shoulder spoke. "One of my more… willful crewmen, a Buccaneer named Fin stole a pair of rare topaz gauntlets from me. I need it back!"
"So where is this Fin?" Lindsey asked.
"Fin fled to Skull Mountain just west of here and roused the natives the Troggies, and now they're bombarding us. If you can get my gauntlets back, I'll reward you with your own ship. Do we have a deal?"
As dangerous as this mission is, they're not one to shy away from a fight, especially from a crewman of Avery's. "You have yourself a deal, Captain." Hunter nods as he shakes Avery's hand. And so begins the tale of five pirates… Hunter Walker the Swashbuckler, Kyle Parker the Privateer, Lindsey Orton the Witchdoctor, Lola Holbrook the Buccaneer and Ryan Nesbit the Musketeer. Five orphans who lost their parents, five ordinary teenagers. Together, they are destined to save the Spiral from the tyranny of the Armada and find out the true fate of their parents.
The five pirates made their way to Skull Mountain. On the way there, Lola was skeptical of Avery's word. "Are you sure Avery will live up to his side of the deal?" She asked Hunter.
"A pirate's a pirate, through and through. Of course, there is one thing always made sure was drilled into your heads: a good pirate always looks out for themselves and their crew." Hunter explained. "Avery's no different. He may give us a ship, but he never promised a good ship."
"Hunter's right." Ryan nodded. "There's no guarantee that the ship Avery gives us is in good condition. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Once they enter the jungle leading to the mountain, they meet a fox girl named Bonnie Anne.
"So who're you then?" Bonnie Anne asked. Hunter gave her their names and tells them about Avery's request. "Avery sent you? Good – ye've come just in time! Thanks to Fin, those Troggies raided our power supply last night and are flinging our barrels at the town! If you can thin out the numbers a bit, I'll help ye find Fin. Report to Lt. Smollet when ye're done."
"Aye, we'll help out. Let's show these Troggies who they're messing with!" The five pirates ran into battle and took down a dozen Troggies.
"You five are good to have in a fight. I did say I'd help find Fin and I'm a girl of me word. Do you have room on your crew for another?" Hunter nods to the fox girl and spoke. "Welcome to the team, Bonnie. It'd be a great honor to have you aboard."
As the pirates welcomed Bonnie Anne to their small crew, a man interrupted them. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've still got the Troggy bombardment to stop. The Troggies are using three slingshots to fling the powder kegs at the town. Our cannons could easily take them out, but there's just one problem: this jungle is so thick our gunners can't see them."
"So you want us to mark the slingshots on a map?" Hunter guessed.
"That's right, but even if you do mark them, the farthest slingshot from here is out of the cannons' range, so you'll need to set off the powder kegs they're flinging to destroy it." The man known as Lt. Smollet nods.
"No prob. There's no job my crew and I can't do." Hunter nods as the crew snuck over to the third slingshot, just behind the Troggies flinging the kegs. Once they're close enough, he turned to Ryan. "Ryan, think you can hit those kegs from here?"
"Leave it to me." Ryan aimed his rifle at the powder kegs in a sniping position. With just a single shot, the kegs and the slingshot exploded. They marked the other two slingshots on their way back to Smollet.
"Well done, Pirates! Now we'll answer their slingshots with cannons!" Smollet said. "Now that that's done, you must be here for Fin. He fled up trail, towards the Skull Cave. I've sent my two scouts, Livsey and Shepherd up the trail. They should help you out."
The make their way up the trail towards the Skull Cave, they got information from one of the scouts, Livsey, who they freed from the Troggies. "You guys looking for Fin? He's up the trail, but he's not alone. He's got a band of Cutthroats with him. Shepherd must've gone in after him when we got separated. I found a note saying that Fin will be in the Temple and the entrance is in the Skull Cave."
They cut their way through the vines blocking the entrance and entered the Temple of Gloom. Once they reach the Throne Room, they're met with a deep chasm full of water. "That water's too deep and too fast! We'll never make it through there!" Bonnie Anne noted.
"She's right." Ryan agreed. "We can't get to Fin like this. There has to be a way."
"I see you guys could use a hand." They turn to a dog pirate who spoke to them. They presume it's the other scout, Shepherd. "If you're looking for Fin, he's across the way, in the Throne Room, but the girl's right about the water, it's too rough to swim. Good news is there's a shrine at the other side of the tunnels. Just press the keystones on the statues and the water will drain. You'll need this to get in. I pried it from one of the Sharks." Shepherd handed Hunter a key and they made it to the shrine. While Lola and Ryan distracted the Troggies guarding the statues, the others were able to drain the water, defeating them quickly. They returned to Shepherd.
"Great job! The water's passable now. I should report back, but if you're going after Fin, I'll help you out first. Fin and I have a score to settle." Shepherd said. The pirate crew, joined by Shepherd reached the throne room, where Fin was waiting for them with a group of Cutthroats.
"You made three mistakes, Pirates. First, you took the job. Second, you didn't bring an army. Last? Don't fight me in the dark. The dark is where I shine."
While the five pirates each fought one of Fin's goons, Hunter took on the big brute himself. Hunter knocked the Shark out, making the rest of the Cutthroats retreat. "Well done, you lot. You leave Fin to me. You take these gauntlets back to Avery. I hope we meet again."
Hunter took the gauntlets from the pedestal and the crew returned to Avery's office, where Avery greeted them. "You've done it! The Troggy bombardment has stopped, you recovered my gauntlets and Fin is brought to justice! Well done. A deal's a deal. Take this writ down to the docks and see Dockmaster Dan. He'll see to it that you get a proper ship. Farewell to ye, pirates!"
(I enter the hangar with Cole, the PAW Patrol and the Guardians of Light)
Me: Okay, we're after Shao Kahn. He's the former emperor of Outworld. He's in the Mystic Jungle. We need to get Liu Kang's help.
Axel: What is he after this time?
Me: That's what I want to know.
Terra: Maybe we should ask him ourselves.
Me: Yeah we should. You readers please review. Excelsior!