A/N: Chapter two, written by me! Now's probably a good time to mention this is about three years old- we took about a year's hiatus in the writing of this, and we picked it back up at about chapter seven.


When the Bronze Garnet docked at Blood Shoals, Destiny's immediate reaction was to lean overboard and throw up.

Ugh, how gross.

So that's what it's like to be skysick, she thought grimly, swallowing to verify that she had indeed finished expelling her breakfast. After confirming that, she shakily stepped down onto the dock, resisting the urge to drop to her knees and kiss the ground like it was her sole lifeline.

Which actually sounded really appealing right now.

"Destiny, you're as pale as a ghost," Hannah commented as she joined her new friend. "You really don't like flying, huh?"

"Nope." Destiny closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Okay, I think I'm good now," she decided, opening her eyes again. "It's time to find us some rats!"

Sighing quietly, Hannah didn't utter a word, instead making her way towards the shores of the floating island. Destiny quickly hurried after her, the wind playing with her long tendrils of blonde hair. Swatting some away from her face, the young witchdoctor stepped onto the golden banks of sand and was immediately thankful she was wearing shoes; even through them, she could feel the intense heat that the tiny yellow grains were emitting.

Scanning the horizon, she saw three other folks standing about the place. There was a blue-shelled, wrinkled crab (she could almost hear her friend Valeria irritably correcting her: "It's a Crustacean. From a lost, distant world called Celestia.), a sad-looking wharf rat (not one of the ones she was looking for; it was much too downcast for that), and a young male pirate. Turning her attention away from them, she began to scan the vicinity for clues.

"Look down, Destiny, not up." Hannah's voice jarred her from her thoughts. Glancing at her feet, she saw what her companion was talking about; there were five sets of footprints that could only belong to wharf rats.

"Looks like they lead to that cave over there," Destiny noticed after a moment. "We should probably check it out." Hannah nodded in agreement.

The pair trekked over to the cave mouth, but as they peered in, they couldn't see much except bones littering the passage, before it twisted and turned away into darkness.

Suddenly, a voice with a thick Scottish accent sounded from behind them. "Captain, there are tracks leading into the cave, but none leading out. We may be in for a fight."

Destiny jumped, but then her eyes widened. That accent… it's just like Bella's!

She turned and was greeted by the sight an orange-furred vixen wearing a yellow-and-red uniform that perfectly matched the colors of the Bronze Garnet's flag. She had a rifle slung over her shoulder, allowing Destiny to identify her as a musketeer.

Hannah nodded. "Thank you, Bonnie." She turned to Destiny. "Destiny, real quick, this is one of my crewmates, Bonnie Anne."

Bonnie smiled at Destiny, holding her hand out. "A pleasure to meet you, Destiny."

Destiny stared at the offered hand for a moment before shaking it. "You too, Bonnie." A question was nagging at her and wouldn't leave her alone. "Hey, are you related to Bella Anne, by any chance?"

The fox musketeer raised an eyebrow. "Yes, actually; she's my twin sister. I haven't seen her in years, though."

"Oh." So we won't be getting a lead off her about Marissa, then. She glanced at Hannah. "Shall we get going then?"

Hannah shrugged. "No reason not to. Bonnie, are you coming?"

"You bet, Captain!" Bonnie affirmed.

The passage was actually rather short, and soon opened into a much more spacious cave. The trio was expecting rats and it was rats they got, only they were sort of… well…

Dead. Spirits. Ghosts. Ratbeard was nowhere to be seen.

Destiny, naturally, gave a loud gasp of surprise. Hannah elbowed her in the gut, hard, but too late; the damage was done. The ghost rats had noticed them.

"Wait! Ye still live! Stay and hear my tale of woe, I beg ye!"

Destiny hesitated. It can't hurt. "Fine. Tell me what happened here."

"After we stole the Will," the rat began, "we sailed back here to feast in celebration. 'We'll soon be rich, boys!' That's what Ratbeard told us." He sneered.

Destiny raised an eyebrow.

"But the food was poisoned! He left us all here to rot. If you don't do something, he'll have the treasure all to himself!"

"Where's Ratbeard?" she asked curtly.

"Wait just a moment, pirate. Our spirits are trapped here. We have unfinished business, debts o' heart and honor that leash us here like chains o' steel." He paused briefly. "You can grant me eternal rest by makin' sure Ratbeard never takes Gunn's treasure. But that won't help me shipmates, Manny, Moe, an' Jack. They have their own troubles binding them. I'll not set ye on Ratbeard's trail 'till I know they won't be left behind. Moe, there, he's a good lad, but he has a trouble in his past. Start with him." He indicated one of the other ghosts with a transparent finger.

Destiny strode over to the indicated rat. "You're Moe, then? As you probably just heard, my friends and I are here to help you."

"When I was just a young rat, I served under a captain named Jimmy," Moe began. "However, Jimmy was cruel. He always made me do the lowest errands, and I only got scraps to eat."

Destiny listened intently. Poor thing… even if he is a wharf rat.

"Once I grew up a bit, I had the common sense to leave Jimmy's crew. But I never once stood up for myself, and that fact makes me bitter."

"So you want revenge," Bonnie cut in. "What do we need to do?"

"Jimmy, he had a priceless golden hook in place of his left hand. Not long after I left, his ship crashed in a treacherous cavern known as Perdition's Cauldron. The hook is likely still on the ruins of his ship, just waiting to be stolen — if ye can get past Jimmy and his ghost crew, that is. If ye bring me that hook, I'll know peace."

Perdition's Cauldron. Great. Even I know that can only be reached by ship. "Hannah, you got that?"

"Yep," was her new friend's reply. "Shall we head out now?"

Destiny nodded. "No sense in hanging around."

"Point taken," Hannah agreed with a nod of her head.


Destiny was resting in the cabin of the Bronze Garnet, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried her hardest not to be sick. A headache was already starting to seep into her brain, and she gritted her teeth, her hands balling into fists and leaving fingernail marks on her palms.

"You are the Captain's new friend, yes?"

Destiny opened her eyes and sat up as a thick, unfamiliar voice reached her ears. A small water-mole witchdoctor stood at the entrance to the cabin.

"Yeah, I'm Destiny. Who're you?" she inquired.

"Mormo." Aww, a cute name for a cute water-mole, Destiny couldn't help thinking. "Mormo is pleased to meet you." Oh, that's just too cute. He speaks in third-person!

"You too, Mormo," Destiny said with a smile. "I'm sure we'll be good friends." The little water-mole beamed, then grew solemn.

"Mormo heard you are afraid of the Skyways. Mormo wonders if you are all right."

"I'm fine," Desiny assured him, still smiling. "I appreciate the concern, though."

"Are you sure?" asked Mormo. "Mormo can make a potion to cure skysickness."

"No, really, I'm fine," she assured him again. "I'm sure we'll be there soon anyway."

As if on cue, Bonnie strode into the cabin. "Hello, Mormo," she greeted, barely sparing the water-mole a glance. "Destiny, Hannah sent me to tell you we just reached Perdition's Cauldron." Destiny managed another smile, doing her best not to go even paler than she already was. Being a witchdoctor, she didn't mind friendly spirits; however, when faced with enemy ghosts, she reacted like anyone else.

"I guess I should head up to the deck, see if there's anything Hannah needs me to do," Destiny murmured, climbing to her feet. Mormo and Bonnie followed her out onto the deck. She hadn't been counting on sunlight by any stretch of the imagination when she emerged, but then again, she hadn't expected the all-consuming darkness and claustrophobic walls, either. "Hannah, how can you see anything in here?" she called in the direction of the stern, where she knew Hannah would be standing at the wheel.

"Simple night-vision spell!" Hannah's voice called back. "I figured I might need it, so I stopped on a Windlane outside to cast it!"

Destiny had to hand it to her: the girl was much cleverer than she with her turmoil of daydreams and irrationality. "Good idea, thanks!"

Gripping her staff tightly with both hands, Destiny brought the magical weapon close to her chest. Closing her eyes, she embraced the dark crevices of her imagination, reaching out and touching the deepest fears and secrets of her very soul, weaving them into an illusionary cloak and wrapping it around herself. She began to chant under her breath, keeping her mind empty of everything but the darkness of her heart. As the final word escaped her lips, she opened her blue eyes once more. Lo and behold, she could see clearly! Which was just as well, as they had pulled up alongside the wreckage of the Marie Celestia; she could see the faded golden letters on the starboard bow of the ghost ship.

"Ready to go, Destiny?" Hannah questioned as she strode up beside her new friend.

"Yep," Destiny replied as she released her staff from her left hand, holding it only in her right once more. "Are you sure it's a good idea to have just the two of us go in there?"

Hannah raised an eyebrow at her. "This was your idea, Destiny, not mine." The air between the two began to crackle with tension. Thankfully, Mormo chose that moment to walk (or maybe waddle would be a better word) up between them from belowdecks, preventing the imminent shouting match. It was really rather adorable.

"Mormo has consumed a night-vision potion, and has one to spare," the water-mole suggested helpfully.

"Well, that settles things then." Hannah smiled calmly, her composure instantly regained. "Bonnie, if you'd like, you can drink the other potion and come with us."

"I'd love to, Captain," the fox musketeer replied. Mormo pressed the spare into her hand. Within seconds, the small glass bottle had been drained of its contents.

"Well then, let's go," Hannah said, and with that, the four companions began to make their way over to the deck of the Marie Celestia.


The moment their feet touched the deck, trouble appeared. Literally. Ghosts of various shapes and sizes materialized from thin air, growling and brandishing their weapons at the boarding party. However, they all had one thing in common: they were all wharf rats.

"Let's go," Hannah said firmly, slipping her hand into a hidden pocket. When she withdrew that hand, she held a handful of small, wooden, T-shaped totems. A flick of her wrist sent them flying into a circle formation around her, somehow planting themselves into the rotting boards of the deck. An ancient rune appeared on the ground, glowing green, as she began to chant in another language. Destiny watched in rapt fascination, though she also knew how to perform the spell. Hannah raised her staff high about her head as she continued to chant, passing it over into her hand. Bringing the staff close to her chest, she held it with both hands, bowing her head, as her chanting grew louder. Suddenly, her head snapped up again as she thrust her staff out towards her target. "Ghostwail!"

Destiny turned her head to look at Hannah's target, briefly wondering if a spiritual attack would be effective on a ghost. The answer became apparent as the summoned spooky entities swirled around the target, just as they would a living opponent, causing the unfortunate ghost rat to recoil and place a hand on its chest, panting even though it didn't need to breathe.

Not to be outdone (and before the ghosts had a chance to advance), Destiny began to cast a spell called Mojo Strike; while not as crippling as Ghostwail, it would affect multiple enemies, making it arguably more useful. Holding her staff with both hands, she began to channel her strength and energy into the weapon. As soon as she'd channeled as much as she could, the threw the staff into the air, jumping after it. Snagging it in one hand, she made a slashing motion at her primary target, the rat Hannah had hit only moments before. "Mojo Strike!"

A bolt of purple magic came crashing down upon her target, killing him again (for good this time) and injuring the ghosts near him. Mormo waddled forward with his staff at the ready but was intercepted by a rat before he had a chance to cast his spell; he was forced to dodge left and right as the rat's ghostly blade whistled past him. While this was happening, Bonnie Anne loaded her rifle with a glittering powder Destiny recognized as Scatterblast Spark Powder. She mounted the rifle on her shoulder, pointing it towards their foes, and pulled the trigger. Bam! Forked lightning shot from the gun, fanning out in a cone shape and hitting many of their enemies before losing its charge and dissipating. The rats were thrown off balance and looked very confused.

This didn't last long. Before Destiny's friends had the chance to do anything else, the rats attacked. A thin, lanky rat bounded up to Destiny, raising its transparent sword and slashing forward. Destiny raised her staff to block the attack, leaning back a little and stepping back with her left foot…

… straight into a hole she hadn't noticed. Her eyes widened as she toppled backwards. The last thing she heard was Hannah yelling (or maybe screaming was more accurate) her name, before she was consumed by the darkness.


Where am I? Am I dead?

The answer soon presented itself as she tried to sit up. Her aching limbs groaned in protest, sending a jolt of pain throughout her body as punishment. Ouch. Okay, I'm clearly still alive; just at the bottom of a hole, and rather banged up.

She closed her eyes, pondering how to get out of this sticky situation. She was also partially wondering why it was always she who got into these types of problems.

"Hey, ye okay?"

Destiny's eyes snapped open, and she found a spiritual wharf rat standing over her. Her blue eyes widened, and she scrambled backward, despite the screaming pain from her body, reaching for her staff.

"Whoa there!" exclaimed the rat. "Calm down; I'm not going to hurt ye. In fact, I can help ye… yer looking for a legendary pirate known as the Storm Captain, as a favor to a friend, am I right or am I right?"

"Um… you're right," Destiny admitted, blushing. "How did you know?"

"It's a secret." The ghost winked. "However, I have a unicorn friend who might be able to help ye out… he lives in a place called Triestia. Head there, and ye will be put on the trail of yer friend's friend."

"Wow, thanks," Destiny said, somewhat surprised.

The ghost winked again. "Any time." And with that, he vanished.

"Destiny?" Hannah's voice drifted down the chasm.

"Hannah!" cried Destiny, somehow managing to leap to her feet, despite her body's protests. "Hannah, get me out of here, quick! I've got something to tell you!"

A rope was thrown down to her, and after a few awkward minutes of trying to get a good grip on the fibers, Destiny was lying in the cabin of the Bronze Garnet, while Mormo worked on some sort of pain reduction potion. Hannah leaned against the doorframe, curiosity written all over her face. "What did you need to tell me, Destiny?"

"I just thought of someone who might be able to help us find Holly," Destiny lied, a pang of guilt hitting her. "He lives in a place called Triestia."

Hannah's expression changed to one of shock. "What? Are you serious? But why didn't you tell me before?" Destiny nodded, dodging the second question, and Hannah's eyes widened even farther. "I can't believe it! But… where's Triestia?"

"I don't remember," Destiny replied, shifting uncomfortably as something Marissa had once said filtered into her mind. "Ever so honest, ever so blunt. That's one of the things I like about you, Destiny." She mentally shook herself. "However, I know someone who'll probably know."

"Who?" asked Hannah before Destiny had completely finished her sentence.

"Honest Valeria Holystone," Destiny responded. "She's a young swashbuckler, only a year older than me, but despite that, she knows a lot about Spiral geography — she'll know where Triestia is."

"Where does she live?"

"In a small house, just off Avery's Court. You can tell her from her younger identical twin, Harmony, because she dresses in dark blue trimmed with black, while Harmony dresses in red trimmed with light blue."

"I'll remember," Hannah promised, walking out onto the deck in a surprisingly calm manner. Destiny smiled as she shut her eyes and lay back down, glad to be of assistance.


"This is the place?"

"Yep," Destiny said with a nod, her hand hovering over the wooden door, getting ready to knock. "Also, just so you know, while Harmony loves to meet new people, Valeria isn't a friendly sort unless you know her very well. Best to let me do most of the talking." As soon as Hannah nodded her acknowledgement, she rapped the door lightly with her knuckles.

It was a full minute before the door opened, and there stood none other than Harmony Holystone. Her ever-present smile grew when she saw it was one of her best friends, and a new person. "Hi, Des! Come on in; you and your guest can make yourselves comfortable." She opened the door wider.

As Destiny stepped into the living room/kitchen/everything-else-except-the-bathroom-and-bedroom (the Holystone house was quite small), her eyes immediately fell upon the elder of the twins, who was currently slumped on a couch, her eyes glued to a thick, leather-bound book with fading golden letters and crinkly yellow pages. "Hey, Vale," Destiny called, flopping onto another couch. "What are you reading?"

"A Swashbuckler's Guide to the Spiral by Sandy Suri," the brunette replied swiftly, turning a page with delicate, careful fingers. "Is there something I can help you with, Destiny?"

"Yeah, actually," the witchdoctor replied, tucking her knees into her chest. "We were wondering if you knew where Triestia was." She stuttered a bit on the pronunciation of the unfamiliar word.

"Triestia?" Valeria asked in surprise, looking up; the foreign name rolled smoothly off her tongue. "Why, that's in Valencia. I thought everyone knew that!"

"I didn't know that, sis," interjected Harmony from where she was cheerfully conversing with (or more accurately,talking at) Hannah; the other girl couldn't get a word in edgewise as the red-clad buccaneer prattled on. "Hey, Des, Hannah here just told me you're looking for Rissy, and the Storm Captain."

Destiny smiled at the twin's nickname for Marissa. "That's right, Harmony; we're casting off for Valencia soon."

"Then can you take me with you?" As she spoke, Harmony looked incredibly like a lost kitten. Destiny wasn't sure how she could pull off such a look, but she did, and it was enough to make Destiny give in. "Oh, all right," she agreed with a dramatic sigh. "Just know that I claim no responsibility if you get hurt, or captured, or killed."

"Thanks, Des! You're the best!" the younger girl exclaimed, running over and hugging her friend fiercely.

Destiny awkwardly petted Harmony's spiky brown hair with her fingers. "Any time, Harmony." A thought occurred to her and she turned to Valeria. "Valeria, do you have…"

"Sorry, nope, never been there, thus I don't have a Windstone," the swashbuckler replied, anticipating the question.

"It's fine, Destiny; I know someone who'll most likely have one." Hannah smiled. "Hazel Ashburn; she lives in Port Regal, which is—"

"—Just past the Tradewinds Skyway," Destiny finished for her. "I know a thing or two about the Skull Island Skyways, even if I don't like them. It's a side effect of being friends with Valeria."

"I take offense to that," Valeria protested, but she was smiling.


"So, this is where Hazel lives?"

"Yes," Hannah replied, causing Destiny to give a low whistle of appreciation as she scanned the rather large Marleybonian house before her, despite having lived in an even grander mansion when she had still lived in Marleybone herself. It made the Holystone house look tiny by comparison. "Oh, and one other thing — when you meet Hazel, don't comment on her size, or you'll regret it."

This piece of advice only served to confuse Destiny, but she nodded and smiled. "All right, got it."

Hannah knocked on the door of the house. A short time later, the door opened to reveal anincredibly small girl (she was shorter than Harmony by a lot, and that was saying something) with fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail. Realizing what Hannah had meant earlier, she quickly bit down on her tongue to prevent herself from voicing her immediate thoughts, wincing as she drew blood.

"Hello, Hannah," Hazel greeted, turning her dark-eyed gaze on Destiny. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Destiny," the purple-and-black-clad witchdoctor introduced herself, holding out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Destiny," Hazel replied, reaching up to shake the proffered hand. Addressing both of them, she asked, "Would you like to come in?" She stepped back from the door.

The pair stepped inside, and Destiny found herself in a comfortably furnished room. She smiled her approval.

"So, been working on any cool new things lately, Hazel?" Hannah asked.

"Actually, yes," Hazel replied, her eyes clouding over as she became lost in the world of her inventions. "I was working on a prototype pair of mechanical wings just before you arrived, based on the design of a battle angel I managed to bring down…" She happily chattered on about said pair of wings, and Destiny's own smile grew as she listened to the girl. Eventually, Hannah interrupted.

"Getting to the point, we were wondering if you have a Valencian Windstone… do you?"

"If you mean an indigo Windstone, then yes," the redhead replied. "Just a moment…" She vanished into one of the many rooms, returning with a deep bluish-purple Windstone.

"Thanks, Hazel!" Destiny exclaimed fervently. "We owe you one." A thought occurred to her. "Hey, Hazel, would you like to come along with us to Valencia?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Hazel cried out. "I wouldn't miss this if you gave me command over the entire Spiral! Well, maybe if you actually gave me the Spiral… but only then!"

Destiny chuckled. "All right then. Welcome to the team, Hazel." There was a brief pause. "Now, with the Windstone in our hands, we can venture forth to the grand world of adventure known as Valencia!" she declared dramatically; everyone proceeded to groan in such perfect synchronization it was almost creepy. Destiny grinned sheepishly. "Um… let's go to Valencia?"