This particular chapter just got so long because of each day, so the days of the Clubhouse Pirates got divided into one day per chapter. I think I should have done that with Metal and Jill's Chapter, no? ^^;
Day One
"Woo! Tournament, here we come!"
"Gee Striker, calm down," Milo mumbled, watching his friend, the black bear, prancing around like some kind of proud stallion. He knew that Striker always got so excited about the littlest things...
Okay, Milo had to admit that the tournament was a pretty big thing. It wasn't such a big deal to him though; he didn't plan entering into the tournament. He was never really a fighter to begin with anyway. With three days to train, he knew that their plans would be filled with a variety of many things, and that was what Milo seemed to dread this morning.
"Aw, don't bother him Milo," Ani giggled. "No need to spoil his positive attitude."
"Ooh, this is gonna be so cool!" Tails Doll laughed. "Striker, how do you plan on training?"
That stopped Striker from his prancing around, and he was silent. "...you know, I don't know," he said, scratching his head.
Milo rolled his eyes, while Joy giggled at this from where she sat on Whisker's shoulder.
"…but you've got to know!" Tails Doll chimed in, fluttering around the bear.
"I'll think of something," Striker assured. "I was kinda hoping that Jack would be here with us, but he went off doing...uh, whatever he needed to do today."
"...yeah, that's right," Milo murmured. It was probably to go see that monster again...
"Yeah, training would be cool if Jack went all kung-fu on us!" Striker laughed, and Milo smacked his forehead in his disbelief at his friend's humor.
"You still have me, remember?" Ani grumbled with a raised hand. "You know? The girl with telekinesis?"
"An' whatere happened t' yer captain?" Whisker hummed, as he folded his arms. "What, be I chopped liver, now?"
"No! Of course not, Captian!" Striker assured with an uneasy chuckle.
"Well, in any case, let's go to the ship!" Tails Doll laughed, as he fluttered over to Joy. "Training time!" he sang.
"Yeah!" Striker cheered, running off.
"STRIKER!" Milo called, and the bear stopped short. "You're going the wrong way. The ship's over there," and he pointed in a completely different direction then the bear was going.
"Oh...right. I knew that," and Striker went off to where Milo pointed, with Ani and Joy giggling like crazy. Even Tails Doll and Whisker couldn't help but chuckle at this, as they began leading the others after Striker.
"That bear, I swear," Milo murmured as they walked.
Joy giggled when she heard him, "You rhymed!"
"He rhymed on a dime!" Tails Doll laughed.
"Now ye`re pushin' 't." Whisker noted dryly.
As Striker ran, however, he suddenly bumped into a pretty large figure, which remained immobile when Striker was knocked to the ground. "…now who do we have here?" the stranger hummed, looking down at the small bear.
Striker quickly scrambled to his feet, while the others caught up, and they all looked at this stranger. Joy gasped at the sight of this stranger, and tried to hide behind Whisker's giant pirate hat.
"...I'm, uh, Striker sir," the bear answered. "Who're you?"
"…oh, how rude of me," the stranger chuckled, taking a bite out of a leg of ham he held. "Call me Spiel."
Ani set her hands on her hips. "What do you want, Spiel?" she grumbled; since she already knew who this was, unlike her friends.
"Whoa, there; no need to be hostile, Ani." Spiel chuckled, waving his hands defensively at her. "I was taking a morning stroll, thinking of entering this tournament King's hosting, when little Striker here bumps into me."
Milo looked this stranger over. His spirit was...strange. He couldn't really determine if this was a hostile one or a friendly one, since his aura bounced back and forth between the two. Obviously, he was one to be wary of.
"...so ye jus' happened t' pass by?" Whisker noted, as he tilted his head.
"Right; just happened to pass by." Spiel chuckled. "Where are you all headed, then?"
"...we're goin' to a piwate ship," Joy answered hesitantly.
"A pirate ship?" Spiel chuckled. "Well, let's hope that you don't start pillaging the island, then."
"Pillaging? Why would we do that?" Tails Doll uttered in a puzzled tone, though this only made Spiel laugh even harder.
"Let me guess; you're going there to train?" Spiel supposed, before he took another bite out of his meal.
"Yep," Milo answered
"How interesting." Spiel chuckled. "But you should still be careful when the tournament rolls around; training or no training, there's going to be a lot of strong people there. You could get hurt, and that'd be bad."
"We can handle ourselves," Striker said confidently. "We've been through worse!"
"Oh, really now?" Spiel chuckled, before he finished his leg of ham. "…well, I might as well give you a few pointers. Since I'm gonna be in the tournament, too, why don't we have a test of strength?"
"…test of strength?" Tails Doll uttered.
"It's really basic." Spiel chuckled. "One of you attacks me three times, and then I do the same."
"Alright, I'll give it a shot!" Striker pulled out his aluminum bat in the blink of an eye with his confident grin.
Ani shook her head.
"…suit yourself." Spiel chuckled, as he looked down at Striker. "Give me your best shot!"
Striker ran at Spiel with bat in hand, and took a swing at his large gut. The moment the bat made contact with his gut, however, it instantly stopped; Spiel's thick skin absorbed the blow, and the pig didn't even flinch at this attack. "…is that it?" he chuckled.
"...what?" Striker was certainly surprised, and he yanked his bat away to swing again at Spiel's side.
Still, the same result came about; Spiel didn't even seem to register that he had been hit. "…that's two shots." he chuckled.
Striker was a little discouraged by this, but not enough to stop. "Striker, wait!" Milo tried to stop Striker, but he was too late; Striker tried to stab Spiel with the bat this time in his gut, hoping to see if it had any effect.
However, this proved to be the least effective attack of the bunch; when he tried stabbing Spiel's gut, he merely bounced right off the pig's thick skin. "…and that's your third." he chuckled, looking down at Striker. "Now, it's show time." With a laugh, Spiel reeled his fist back at threw a punch right at Striker… but when it connected, it didn't even make Striker flinch. The punch had simply been too weak to even damage the bear.
"...what was that?" Striker laughed; expecting a hard blow, but getting that instead.
"What, it didn't hurt?" Spiel laughed as well. "How about this, then?" Then, he aimed another punch at Striker, but if it was possible, it felt even weaker than the one before it. "Did that hurt?"
"I didn't feel a thing!" Striker taunted.
Milo didn't like what was going on. ...he's not even trying, he thought. But he had a bad feeling that Spiel's third attempt would surprise everyone.
"Oh, didn't feel a thing?" Spiel laughed. "Well, how about this?" In that instant, he threw another punch, though this time, he deliberately missed hitting Striker, and struck the ground. The moment his fist made contact with the ground, however, it instantly cracked, before caving into a small crater, as a sudden gust of wind erupted from the sheer power behind this third punch.
"...eep..." Striker croaked, stepping away from Spiel.
"…if that punch had hit ya… you would've died." Spiel chuckled, as he straightened himself, looking down at Striker. "The way I see it, you're gonna need more than three days of training if you wanna hurt me with that puny swing of yours, Striker… and even more than that, unless you have a death wish."
Striker grit his teeth.
Ani got pretty mad too. "You know, I don't appreciate you scaring my friend like that, Spiel," she growled. "You have no idea what things we've faced and beaten, so I wouldn't call Striker puny."
Not Ani too... Milo thought in disdain, sighing.
"Oh, you've all beaten stronger foes, huh?" Spiel laughed, directing his gaze at Ani. "But this tournament doesn't allow for groups to fight together, you know. If he can't get strong enough to make me bleed, what makes you think he'll get through this on his own?
"Alright, now ye`re steppin' ou' o' line!" Whisker growled, taking a step forward.
"Am I? I'm just pointing out the facts." Spiel chuckled. "You kids want my advice? Give up, and go play your pirate games; I wouldn't want to see you get hurt."
"...you want MY advice?" Ani growled, holding out her hands.
Milo knew exactly what she was going to do. Uh-oh...
"Keep your mouth shut, and don't be so quick to judge." All of a sudden, Spiel somehow found that he felt much, much lighter. Then he looked down, and saw his feet lift off the ground miraculously.
"…hm?" Humming, Spiel looked down at this with a mildly surprised look, before chuckling. "…well, now… I didn't know that you had this kinda power, Ani…" Then, he looked at the husky-wolf with a wide grin. "…it should be perfect for protecting little Striker, eh?"
Ani made no comment to what he said, raising her arms to bring Spiel up higher. "First hit," she said, and dropped her arms. Spiel crashed right into the ground, and the sheer velocity bore a crater into the ground similar to the one Spiel punched in.
Even so, he didn't seem too surprised by it, as when she stopped, he got to his feet, grinning at her. "…next?" he chuckled.
Spiel was lifted off the ground again, this time brought up higher than last time. "Second hit." And dropped him, with the blow harder than last time.
Still, Spiel only laughed this off, as he got back on his feet, looking at Ani with a wild grin. "…just remember; when you've dealt this last blow… it's my turn, Ani." he said in both a murderous and amused tone.
Ani snarled, raising Spiel into the air again but this time, even HIGHER than before; to a point where Spiel was hard to see. "Third hit!" She didn't just let him drop this time; she threw the fat pig down to the ground, slamming him into that crater and making it twice as deep. She was thoroughly mad at him.
"WHOA, ANI!" Tails Doll yelped in panic, as the massive impact created a massive cloud of dust, fully covering the crater and Spiel.
For a short while, it seemed like that had done it, as no sound emerged from the crater just yet. "…not bad…" At that point, when the dust finally cleared, the group saw that Spiel was back on his feet, looking at Ani with a wild grin; as it turned out, the impact had actually drawn blood from Spiel, as a thin line of the red liquid ran down from his forehead, across one of his eyes. "…you made me bleed."
But Ani wanted to do so much more. She only growled more when she saw that it only made him bleed a little.
"...hey...calm down Ani," Milo uttered, skittish at her rage. Seems like that hadn't changed over the years...
"…well, that's three hits." Spiel chuckled, slowly walking towards Ani. "Now, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't get to do the same, now, would it?" he chuckled, reeling his fist back with that same, wide grin. "One." Then, he threw the punch right at Ani's gut; this time, however, it wasn't the weak kind of punch Striker had been hit with, as this one had actual force behind it. Ani yelped while it sent her backwards.
"Ani!" Striker tried to run for her, but Milo and Whisker grabbed him. Ani was tough; she could take this. Plus, it wouldn't be smart for Striker to get hit by one of those.
Ani got back to her feet, pretending like it didn't hurt. Spiel didn't seem to mind if she was hurt or not, as he simply picked her up by her collar, grinning at her. "Two." Then, without any remorse, he violently slammed her right into the ground, carving yet another crater underneath her. Ani let out a painful cry, unable to move her body because she was in such pain.
"No! STOP IT!" begged Striker, who tried to squirm out of Milo and Whisker's hold. He finally did, and so he ran for Spiel and Ani.
"Wait, Striker, don't!" Tails Doll called, though his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Raising his fist again, Spiel had an absolutely terrifying grin plastered all over his face. "Three." he uttered, before throwing the punch right down at Ani. That's when Striker jumped right in, taking that punch in his gut instead of letting it hit Ani. Seeing Striker take the blow, Spiel blinked. "…hn?"
Striker was slammed right into the ground, this time, creating a crater even bigger than the one Ani had created earlier, as a massive blanket of dust erupted around the three, covering them fully from view.
"Strikoh!" Joy cried out in fright.
It took a while for the dust to clear out, but eventually, it did, showing Spiel standing over both Striker and Ani, looking down at the bear with a mild frown. "…tsch…"
"...S-Striker?" Ani uttered, turning over to look at him. The bear lay there motionless and silent. Ani was able to move again and she tried to shake him. "Striker?" He didn't budge.
"…he can't be…" Tails Doll uttered, as he looked at this scene in absolute horror.
"...ye..." Whisker snarled, as he glared at Spiel, before he carefully placed Joy down on the ground. "...DAMN YE!" he roared, quickly rushing right at the pig, before aiming a massive blow right in the pig's face.
However, even with such a powerful blow, Spiel didn't flinch at all; merely looking down at Striker with that small frown. "…what do you know…" he muttered.
"Strikoh!" Joy rushed over to him and Ani, and tried to help Ani shake him.
Moments after Joy set her hands on him, Striker's eyes popped open and he let out a horrible cough, groaning in the agony he was in.
Milo knew he wasn't dead, but he was certainly relieved to see that Striker was okay after a hit like that.
"…you know, kid…" Spiel muttered, looking down at Striker. "…you could've gotten yourself killed, taking that blow… and knowing that, you still leaped in to protect Ani."
"...A good friend of mine...taught me..." Striker tried to say, while writhing in his terrible pain. "...part of being strong...is...to show you're not afraid...of getting hurt...to protect the people you care about..." Milo looked right at Striker then, feeling like what he said really had an impact on him.
He knew that Striker was talking about Brick there.
After he said that, Spiel closed his eyes, as if he contemplated his words. "…you've got some spirit, Striker." he said, before looking down at the bear with a grin. "Seems like I misjudged you."
Ani tried to help Striker sit up, and he cringed while holding his gut, grunting weakly.
"You gotsa be careful Ani," Joy muttered worriedly.
Both Tails Doll and Whisker looked down at Striker with some worry as well.
"…make sure that you grow stronger, Striker," Spiel chuckled, before he began walking off. "I'd hate to see you squander away such magnificent potential." he added, before he vanished.
"...squander it away, he says," Milo grumbled, watching him disappear.
Joy put her arms around Striker and hugged him. "You gots bad owie," she uttered sadly. "I wish I could make it feel bettoh."
Strangely enough, after she hugged him, Striker started to feel a little less pain, and he breathed a little more easily; giving the hug back to her. "That's okay..." Striker uttered, restraint in his voice. "...you already made me feel...a little better." Once Joy let go, Ani managed to help Striker rise to his feet.
"…man… you really worried us, Striker." Tails Doll sighed, as he fluttered over to Joy, looking at the bear.
"...I think he was pretty serious when he said that would kill you," Milo muttered.
"Yeah, so?" Striker grumbled. "I couldn't let that happen to Ani, could I? OW!" Something bonked Striker on the head, and it turned out to be Ani's hand.
"Don't scare us like that!" Ani uttered shakily, trying to hide the fact she had been ready to cry, so she disguised it as anger. "Next time you do something that stupid, warn us!"
Striker protested, "But there really wasn't any time for warning! And is that the thanks I get for-" he was cut off again, when Ani grabbed him from behind and held him tightly. Striker could feel her shake a little, but she held back from crying.
She had lost loved ones before a very, very long time ago. She didn't want to lose Striker like that.
Striker eventually patted her arm.
"…Ani…" Tails Doll uttered, as he looked at the two of them with a tilted head.
"It's okay Ani," Striker assured, and Ani let go, nodding.
"Yeah..." she murmured.
"…um… maybe we should head for the ship, now?" Tails Doll suggested.
"Yeah, we should," Striker said, but when he took a step he flinched; still hurting.
"Here," Ani helped him walk on, with the others beginning to follow them.
Milo just looked at those two, and smiled. They were going to make an interesting pair, that's for sure. He secretly wondered how Striker was going to react if Ani wanted to take it further, and he kept snickers from escaping out.
There was also something else he started to wonder. Striker sure recovered from that devastating blow fairly well. Just why was that?
"…wonder when he'll be here…" On top of the mountain, right by the cave's mouth, were Charon and Oblivion, the former eagerly looking towards the path, waiting for Jack to arrive.
Oblivion chuckled to herself. It was so rare to see Charon in such a good mood, and so eager for their new friend to come. Not that she wasn't as excited for him to come as he was. "He should be here any minute now," she assured.
"I hope so." Charon hummed, closing his eyes. Just then, he heard some form of noise, and quickly opened his eyes.
"Hiiii!" Jack called, as he was running up the slope, carrying a backpack on his back. "Sorry that I'm late; I made us some food for today!" he added, waving at the two of them.
"Oh, you did?" Oblivion asked, smiling. "How nice of you, Jack."
"Really? Thanks!" Jack laughed, as he skidded to a halt in front of the two. "Man, I've got a lot of stories for today!"
"Sounds like fun." Charon chuckled, as he sat down, looking at Jack.
"What story are you going to start with, today?" Oblivion asked curiously, sitting next to Charon.
"Um…" Jack hummed, as he sat down, rubbing his chin in thought, before snapping his fingers. "I know! I could tell you about how Sonic and the Professor met Captain Whisker!"
"…Whisker?" Charon hummed. "Who's that?"
"He's a robot pirate captain!" Jack laughed. "He used to be a bad guy, but now, he's one of our friends!"
"Is that so?" It seems like a lot of people from the stories Jack told were friends of theirs.
"Yeah! You see, Sonic and the Professor were flying through the air, and then a storm came along, and caused them to crash at sea!" Jack began, once again moving about wildly.
"Really, now…" Charon uttered, instantly sucked into Jack's story.
"After a while, they met a raccoon called Marine, who helped them with building ships so they could get an awesome treasure!" Jack laughed.
Oblivion continued to listen attentively.
"So, after they built their first ship, they sailed about for a while, before finding a Chaos Emerald, guarded by this robot called Johnny!" Jack continued, clapping his hands together.
"The Chaos Emeralds again?" Charon hummed.
"I'll get to that." Jack nodded, smiling. "Then, the group went into a cave, and there they found Captain Whisker! Back then, he was going to do something really nasty to Marine if she got in his way…"
"…something nasty?" Charon uttered.
"Yeah…" Jack nodded. "…he was gonna tickle her! Isn't that the worst thing?"
Oblivion giggled; Jack was still as innocent as always. "Oh...um, yes, that's terrible," she said, playing along.
"And then he was gonna pour ice cubes on her toes!" Jack continued, shuddering at the thought. "That's low, isn't it?"
"Very low." Charon nodded with a mild chuckle.
"So, after they met, Sonic, the Professor, Marine, Whisker and Johnny would be fighting each other to find the awesome treasure for quite some time!" Jack continued. "Later, they even met Princess Blaze again!"
"Well now, I'm sure it was nice to see her again," Oblivion chuckled.
"…wait a minute…" Charon uttered, tilting his head. "I thought that Blaze went back to her own dimension again?"
"Well, here's the reason." Jack said with a nod. "You remember that storm? Well, it was actually merging Mobius with the Nameless Zone! And Blaze thought that using that treasure, she could stop the merger, before things got out of hand!"
"…that explains the Chaos Emeralds, I suppose…" Charon nodded.
"So later still, the four of them finally cornered Whisker, and he and Johnny put up a massive fight! BAM! BOOM! KAZAM!" Jack called, once more waving his hands dramatically for each sound effect he produced.
Oblivion could only imagine the battle that ensued by Jack's 'accurate' sound effects.
"It took a while, but eventually, Sonic and Blaze beat them!" Jack called. "Then Whisker snatched away Marine, who had managed to get the treasure, and he ran off with her! But before he could tickle Marine, Sonic, Blaze and the Professor tricked him into letting her go!"
"…then what happened?" Charon uttered.
"Then Whisker got into a HUGE battleship, and began shooting cannonballs EVERYWHERE!" Jack continued.
"Oh my," Oblivion chuckled.
"But even so, Sonic and Blaze beat him AGAIN!" Jack cheered. "He went flying, and the whole battleship exploded! IT WAS SO AWESOME!"
"…I'll say." Charon hummed. "So that's the end?"
"Not yet!" Jack shot in. "Because the ones who built Whisker revealed themselves to steal the treasure!"
"…and those were?" Charon blinked.
"It was Eggman and Eggman Nega again!" Jack called, waving his hands around.
"Those two?" Oblivion asked, blinking. "You mean, they were working together?"
"Yeah!" Jack nodded. "You see, they wanted that treasure so they could merge the two worlds together and rule over both of them, or get a lot of power so they could rule over the worlds!"
"…but Sonic and Blaze wouldn't allow it?" Charon chuckled.
"No, they wouldn't!" Jack nodded. "So they used the Chaos Emeralds and the treasure to go Super, and defeat Eggman and Nega!"
"That sounds pretty scary," Oblivion said. "Two worlds merging together..."
"Yeah… but it all worked out in the end!" Jack laughed. "The eggheads were driven off, and Sonic and the Professor left to go on new adventures!"
"…as expected of Sonic." Charon chuckled.
"What about Blaze and Marine?" Oblivion asked.
"They stayed behind in the Nameless Zone, in case Nega would do something stupid again." Jack said with a smile.
"…did they ever meet again?" Charon inquired.
"Oh, they met a few times, alright!" Jack said with a nod.
"Now how's that?" Oblivion grew more curious with Jack, as always.
"Well, Sonic and the Professor managed to find ways to visit them from time to time; some times, they'd go on adventures, and some times, they'd beat up Nega!"
"…now that is curious." Charon hummed. "I do wonder what eventually happened to those two, though…"
"…well, apparently, Blaze died of some kind of illness when she had gotten older, and they built a temple to honor her memory, and everything!" Jack said. "I'm not sure if Marine's still alive or not… but if the Professor is, then she's probably alive, too."
"What about Nega?" Oblivion asked again.
"Dunno." Jack shrugged. "I guess he died, too, but no one I knew had any idea of what happened to him."
"...no one you knew?" Oblivion tilted her head at Jack. "It almost sounds like you've been to the Nameless Zone yourself, Jack."
"That's probably because I was born there." Jack said with a smile.
"…you were… born there?" Charon uttered, as he tilted his head in surprise. "…how… does that work?"
"..yeah, how did you come here to Mobius?" Oblivion added.
"…um… how did that happen, again…?" Jack hummed, tapping his chin. "…well… I had just left home to try my hand at being a traveling musician, when I met Striker and Milo," he began. "After I got my harmonica customized, the three of us set out to sea to see if we couldn't find any adventures… but then a storm hit us, and when we woke up, the boat was smashed, and we were lying on the shore of the Mystic Ruins."
"…you don't suppose that the scepter caused this?" Charon hummed.
"I don't know…" Jack mused, as he let out a small sigh. "…but we've been here for five years, so I suppose there's no harm done!" he eventually said, smiling again.
"What did you do after you washed ashore to Mystic Ruins?" Oblivion asked curiously, wondering if there was a little more to that story.
"…well, we met up with the Professor, and he let us stay at his place for a while." Jack hummed. "We also got to meet Jill, Brick and Ani, there."
"…so you all met thanks to Professor Tails…" Charon hummed.
"…after a while, the Professor showed us that we could build a treehouse further in the jungle, and we finished it after a while!" Jack laughed. "So we started living there!"
Oblivion smiled again, "Living in a treehouse sounds pretty fun."
"It's a lot of fun! You guys should come visit, some time!" Jack laughed.
This surprised Charon, who looked at Jack with widened eyes. "…visit… your treehouse?"
"Yeah! I'm sure you two would really like it, there!" Jack nodded, that innocent smile still present on him.
Oblivion giggled. "I'd like that...although I'm not sure if we'll get the chance to do that anytime soon..." With everything that was going on, Oblivion wondered if her and Charon were ever going to have any freedom to do things like that.
"…you know what we could do?" Jack hummed, as he looked up at the sky with a smile. "Once that tournament ends, and when we get ready to leave for home… you guys can be secret stowaways, and come with us to the Clubhouse!"
Charon could only blink, as he looked at Jack with a puzzled look. "…stowaways…?"
"I'm sure it's gotta be more fun than having to be secretly up here without being able to fly around…" Jack hummed. "…and I'm also sure that no one at the Clubhouse would mind you two flying around there!" he added with a huge smile.
"...I don't know..." Oblivion murmured. It sounded really good to her; if his friends were like Jack, then they would overlook Charon's ferocious appearance and grow to like him. They wouldn't have to be tied into all of the problems going on here at Safe Haven, and if Charon at least disappeared from the island, no one would really go looking for him. It sounded pretty good...
...but again, this wasn't a decision to make in a split second. It took thought.
"…don't worry; I said after the tournament." Jack said with a smile, placing his hands on Charon and Oblivion. "It'll start and end in three days from now, so if you need time to think, you've got time."
"…Jack…" Charon uttered, as he let out a low growl, closing his eyes. "…thank you…"
"…don't mention it." Jack said with a smile. "Friends help each other out, right?"
"...right," Oblivion said, smiling again. "And you are a very good friend indeed, Jack."
"…really?" Jack said with a smile. "Heh… no problem!"
"There it is!" At this point, the Clubhouse Pirates finally made it to the docks, where their pirate ship was still anchored. Flamenco and Lin weren't anywhere in sight at the moment, so they figured that they were still asleep. "Alright; what'll we do first?" Tails Doll hummed, fluttering around Joy and Whisker.
"Let's at least get Striker to somewhere where he can rest," said Milo.
"Right; we`ll get th' lad's t' his cabin." Whisker hummed, as he glanced at Striker. "Unless ye`d want t' rest in th' infirmary?"
"Let's get him on the ship, first." Tails Doll commented, as the group began moving onboard the pirate ship.
"…just put me in my cabin," Striker said, wincing as he got on board the ship. "I'll be fine."
"Aye." Whisker nodded, as he led the group further into the ship, before they eventually reached Striker's cabin. Once they got there, Whisker opened the door, letting Ani lead Striker over to his bed.
Striker breathed more easily once he was lying down on his bed. Ani looked at him worriedly. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry," Striker said, smiling. "You go ahead and have fun with everybody else."
Ani hesitated, looking at him. "…if you say so," she murmured, turning around and closing the door, leaving Striker alone in his room.
"…he'll come around, Ani." Tails Doll said in an encouraging tone, fluttering up to her. "Don't worry about that."
"…yeah," Ani said, trying to smile.
"Let's go play piwate!" Joy pestered, taking her by the hand.
"Yeah, let's go!" Tails Doll called, fluttering around both Ani and Joy.
Whisker chuckled, before he glanced at Milo. "What about ye, Milo?" he inquired. "Aren`t ye gonna play wi' them, too?"
"Well, someone's got to fill in for Jack, right?" Milo supposed.
"Alright; ye guys be havin' fun, now!" Whisker chuckled, as he began walking off.
"Hm? Where are you going?" Tails Doll called.
"I`ll be on lookout fer a bit, so if ye need me, I`ll be by th' helm!" Whisker replied, as he left the others in the hall.
"So how exactly should we play pirate, Joy?" Milo asked.
"Well, piwates gotsa find treashure, right?" Joy said. "So we gotta find some treashure on the piwate ship! And we gotsa have swords, an' piwate hats, an we gotsa go "ARR!"
Ani giggled.
"Pirate hats!" Tails Doll cheered. "I think we got some in the storage room! Let's go!" he called, fluttering excitedly around the group.
"Right, this way," Milo said, taking Joy's hand and leading her, Ani and Tails Doll out of the hallway. Once they stepped out on deck, Tails Doll happened to glance towards the docks, when he spotted someone simply looking out at the horizon.
"…guys, look over there!" he called, pointing in that direction.
As it turned out, sitting on the shore by the docks was Lock, who simply looked out towards the sea, without saying a word.
"It's Lock!" Joy observed.
"Wonder what he's doing sitting there like that," Ani murmured, and right after she saw Joy run off the ship onto the dock. "Joy, wait!"
Joy sped ahead of Ani running after her, and shortly reached Lock on the beach. "Hi Lock!" she greeted cheerfully.
Humming, Lock glanced at Joy, regarding a nod to her. "Hello, Joy." he said, before glancing back towards the sea. "I see you're up and running."
"M-hm!" Joy said, and that's when Ani made it to her.
"Wow, for a little one, you run pretty quick," she huffed while catching her breath.
"You can say that again!" Tails Doll noted, as he fluttered after Ani as well.
"…so, what are you all doing out here?" Lock mused.
"Playing piwate!" Joy giggled.
"We kinda wondered the same about you," Ani muttered. "I mean, you sitting here like this..."
"…I'm just enjoying the horizon." Lock hummed. "It's always gratifying to simply behold what lies beyond…"
Tails Doll blinked, as he tilted his head. "…that's pretty deep…" he hummed.
"…I suppose." Lock shrugged, as he looked up at the others. "So, playing pirates, huh?"
"Yep," Milo replied. "I suppose we're using it as an excuse to train for the tournament, although we can't seriously train since Striker's not in the best condition."
"…sorry to hear that." Lock hummed, as he stood up. "…but you're entering the tournament, huh? Interesting; I was planning on joining that, myself."
"Really?" Tails Doll uttered in surprise, as Lock merely nodded to confirm this.
"…perhaps you could use someone else to play pirate with you?" Lock eventually hummed, turning to face the group.
"You? Play pirate with us?" Ani asked in astonishment. It just didn't seem like Lock would be interested playing a childish game.
"Ooooh! That'd be losta fun!" Joy hopped up and down in glee.
"Of course." Lock chuckled. "You can't be pirates if you don't have someone trying to bring you in."
"Ooh, so you're gonna be some form of cop?" Tails Doll presumed. "Well, we're tough pirates, so we can handle it!"
Ani broke out into a mischievous grin. "You'll never take us alive, copper!"
"Oh geez..." Milo groaned in dread.
Oblivion looked over the sky in disdain. She could see the sun starting to set from the mountain top she, Charon and Jack were at, basking the sky in an orange and fading glow. "Looks like it's getting late..." she murmured.
"Aaw, already?" Jack uttered, before sighing. "Man, time flies when you're having fun…"
"…pity…" Charon muttered, letting out a sigh of his own.
Oblivion wondered if she should just let Jack go down the mountain by himself, or if Charon should give him a ride down. It was too bright, and Charon would risk being seen, but then if Jack went down by himself, he might run into Spiel. "Hm..."
"…but what do we do…?" Jack hummed. "I-"
"Ssh!" Suddenly, two of Charon's heads perked, before his third head looked at Oblivion. "Someone's coming."
Oblivion tried to cover a gasp that came from her. "We have to hide you!" she whispered to Jack.
"…what?" Jack uttered, looking at Oblivion with a puzzled look. "Why's-"
"Don't ask questions." Charon suddenly shot in, grabbing Jack so that he could cover his mouth. "We have to-" Then, his eyes suddenly widened. "…whoever's coming is running! We won't have time to hide him!"
"Put him behind us!" Oblivion said, standing next to Charon so that when she shoved Jack behind them, he was hidden by the two.
Even though Charon had said that their sudden guest was running, it felt like time itself ground to a halt, as they merely waited for whoever it was to be revealed, making sure not to utter a single sound. Finally, however, the man in question made it to the top, stopping.
"…I thought I heard some noise." Krieg uttered, as he looked right at the three. "Is something wrong?"
Oblivion was slightly relieved. As long as Krieg didn't hear Jack, then he was safe. "Nothing's wrong Charon," she said. "We were just talking..."
"…is that so?" Krieg hummed. "…well, Spiel just wanted me to check on you two; with the tournament, he was worried that someone would've decided on training up here."
"…was he really worried?" Charon muttered, casting a glance at the warthog.
"His words, not mine." Krieg shrugged.
"...We appreciate you checking on us," Oblivion said sincerely, keeping an eye on Jack behind them. "We're just fine."
"…I'm glad to hear that." Krieg nodded, as he glanced out towards the setting sun. "…I should give you two a fair warning, though; when the tournament begins, not one of Spiel's underlings will be able to watch over you, as they will be participating. And there could be someone who decided not to join it, and find their way up here."
"...right," Oblivion said, nodding. While she wasn't worried about Jack, Krieg could mean Diablo, Raider or Kiri.
"…just make sure to keep your guard up…" Krieg muttered, as he turned to walk away. "…and don't get hurt." he added, before beginning down the slope.
Once he was gone from sight, Charon sighed in relief, as he let go of Jack. "…that was close…" he muttered.
"...I just hope he didn't suspect anything," Oblivion said. "Krieg sure is keen, even if he's blind..."
"…he didn't seem to notice Jack, though…" Charon muttered, before letting out a sigh.
"…who was that guy?" Jack hummed after a short while.
"He's Spiel's right hand man," Oblivion told Jack.
"Ooh…" Jack hummed, as he nodded. "…so he's a bad guy?"
"No…" Charon hummed. "…he… seems different from Spiel…"
"...but even if he doesn't seem bad, we didn't want him to know about you," Oblivion said. "He reports anything to Spiel..." She took another look to assure herself Krieg was gone. "We need to get you down there..." she murmured.
"…but how…?" Charon muttered, as he let out a small growl.
"…maybe I could hide up here until it's safe to come down?" Jack suggested, looking at the two.
"I'm not sure about that…" Charon retorted, looking back at Jack. "Your friends could start to worry, if you didn't return…"
Oblivion looked over to Jack. "You came up here on your own...do you think you would be able to walk back down safely?"
"…I guess…" Jack muttered, as he scratched his head. "…but I only got up here, because there wasn't anyone by the path. If Krieg's down there, he could-"
"Krieg's blind." Charon shot in. "As long as Spiel isn't there, you should be fine."
"And if he was there, he would have come to check on us himself," Oblivion added. "I think you're alright."
"…really?" Jack hummed, as he looked at the two of them, before eventually nodding. "Alright; I'm going, then!" he said, before beginning to run down the path. "See you tomorrow!"
"…aren't you going to train for this tournament?" Charon inquired, as he tilted his head.
"Nah; fighting's not really my thing." Jack called, as he waved at them. "Later!" Then, he began disappearing down along the slope.
"...I really do hope he'll be alright," Oblivion muttered.
"…I'm sure he'll be fine." Charon hummed, as he closed his eyes. "I don't think he'd want us to worry about him…"
"-and I grabbed a ropey and swung from like bamillion feet high!" Joy was sitting on the bed in her's, Jill's and Metal's room, trying to tell them all about her adventure. "And I jumped right on toppa Lock and hit him with my sword; but it wasn't a real sword, it was just a toy sword, and I said 'Let my fwiends go!"
Jill giggled, "That's nice." Then she yawned tiredly. "C'mon Joy, its bedtime."
"Aw..." Joy moaned, as Jill tucked her into bed. Joy heard Metal chuckle, and then Jill sat beside her to stroke her hair. She couldn't do very much; her hands were bandaged up, and when Joy asked why, they only told her it was nothing. Joy continued to wonder about that.
Then she heard her mother sing to her.
It wasn't very long until Joy was out cold. The last thought that crossed her mind was how pretty her mother sounded when she sang. She sounded like she did in her dreams, but better.
Whew! These Chapters are gonna roll in like...like...
Agh, so brain dead. Can't think of simile.
