(A/N: The next chapter has arrived. I was told to be a little more descriptive with my surroundings, so I tried to do so.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 4: Smuggler's Paradise

Avalon turned to Pazu and Sheeta, giving them a smile. "Ready to go?" They nodded, still looking a little nervous from the battle. "Alright then. Stay close, this place can get a little rough."

Janus, Boris, and Don stayed behind with the ship as Avalon and Ray led Pazu and Sheeta through the place known as Smuggler's Paradise. They immediately decided that the place wasn't named properly. This place was anything but a paradise. It was foul, smelly, and had the worst type of people imaginable running lose in the streets, some of them openly stealing and fighting. In fact, during the few short moments that they looked around, they saw three people get pick-pocketed. This was definitely not a nice place to live.

"This is a paradise?" asked Sheeta. She immediately covered her mouth, looking terrified about what she just said. "Oh, Avalon! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to insult your way of life!"

Avalon laughed. "My way of life? This place? Sheeta, just take a look around. No one lives here. This is a place where thieves, pirates, smugglers, and other kinds of crooks come to restock, get supplies, and rest up. Everyone here is a thief, keep that in mind. There is no law here. It's every man for themselves. The police would really love to get their hands on this place. But luckily, only people like us know about it."

Pazu put his arm around Sheeta protectively. "So Dola and the boys are here?" he asked.

Avalon shrugged. "Maybe. They could be pulling another job, but they'll always come back here. I guess we'll have to just ask around and see if anyone knows where they are. If they're not here, maybe we can find out where they've gone."

"Are you sure there isn't an easier way?" asked Pazu. "This sounds like looking for a needle in a hey stack."

Avalon smirked. "Perhaps, but if they are here, I know one place that Dola will definitely be."

"Where's that?" the teens asked.

Ray laughed. "Of course. Treasure Cove."

That sounded reasonable, considering the type of person Dola was. "What's Treasure Cove?" asked Sheeta.

"A bar." Avalon replied. "It's the only place that sells Dola's favorite drink. It's a special kind of rum."

"What is it with pirates and rum?" Pazu wondered out loud.

Avalon snickered. "Just follow me. I'll buy you two a drink."

"But we're not old enough to drink." Said Sheeta.

Ray chuckled. "We just told you that we live outside the law here."

"I think we'll pass anyway." Said Pazu.

Avalon shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just stay close and make sure you have everything. Oh, and try to look like you belong. If they figure out you're not one of us they'll target you."

"We didn't bring anything valuable anyway." Said Pazu, though he still looked uneasy.

"Doesn't mean you still won't get mugged. Just stay close, it's not far now."

She led them through Smuggler's Paradise. Occasionally some people would give them curious looks, but a glare from Avalon quickly made them look away. A few people even greeted Avalon, and she would respond simply by nodding her head.

"You're pretty popular around here, Avalon." Sheeta observed.

Ray laughed. "No, not popular. People just recognize her because of her appearance. How many people do you know that look like her?"

He realized his mistake too late. Avalon's fist smashed into his jaw. Her metal fist actually. She glared down at her brother, twitching on the floor.

"Insensitive jerk!" she cried, giving him a kick before turning to leave. "Pazu, Sheeta, come on."

The teens hesitated. "What about your brother?" asked Sheeta, giving him a worried look.

Avalon didn't even slow down. "Leave him!"

Pazu and Sheeta hesitantly followed. Ray eventually forced himself to his feet and hurried after them, making sure to keep a distance from his fuming sister.

"Ah, there's the Treasure Cove." Said Avalon.

The name seemed suitable. On the top of the bar was a giant treasure chest. Avalon kicked the door open and marched in like she owned the place. It was pretty crowded, but hardly anyone looked up as they entered. Probably because they was so much else going on, including several bar fights and drinking contests

Avalon marched over to the bar and sat down. "Yo, Kenta, give me the usual." She ordered.

The middle-aged man behind the counter, Kenta, nodded and filled up a mug, passing it to Avalon.

"Who are the kids?" he asked casually.

"Some friends." Avalon replied, drinking half her glass in one gulp.

"Well, what'll they have?"

"Um, I'll have an ice tea, please." Said Sheeta.

Kenta raised an eyebrow as Avalon and Ray laughed.

"They don't serve kiddy drinks here." said Avalon. "Give them an order of number 7."

"Comin' right up."

He handed them they're drinks. Pazu hesitated before taking a sip. He had to resist making a disgusted face.

"What is this?" he cried.

"A real man's drink." Said Ray, draining his glass.

Sheeta gave the drink a curious look before raising the glass to her lips. Pazu placed his on her shoulder and shook his head, telling her not to drink it. She decided to take his advice.

"So, Kenta, seen Dola around recently?" Avalon asked.

Kenta sighed, filling another glass. "Still so competitive, eh?"

Avalon smirked. "Of course."

"And you're still after Laputa, I assume."

"Just answer the question."

Kenta sighed again. "Well, you're in luck. She and boys stopped in just the other day."

Pazu jumped up. "You mean Dola and the others are really here?" He turned to his girlfriend. "You hear that Sheeta? We'll get to see Dola again!"

Sheeta looked overjoyed. "I know, it's wonderful! We haven't seen them in so long!"

Avalon smirked. "Guess we got a lucky break. I better tell the boys." She pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Don, Boris, Kouji, Janus, come in. Dola and her gang are in the area. Meet us at the Treasure Cove. Hey, I'm talking to you! Come in!" She tapped the walkie-talkie. "Darn it, you better not be sleeping on the job!"

Some static came from the other end before one of the boys, they couldn't tell which, answered.

"Captain! We have a problem here!"

"What's the problem?" asked Avalon impatiently.

"Tetsuo and his men came back! They brought backup! Captain, we need help!"

Avalon growled impatiently. "Darn it, must I do everything myself? Alright, hang on, we'll be right there." She turned to Pazu and Sheeta. "You two stay here. It'll be safer. We'll be back as soon as we can. Just stay with Kenta."'

"Ok." Pazu muttered.

"Come on, Ray!"

"Right behind you, sis!"

They took off, leaving a very nervous Pazu and Sheeta behind with Kenta. They huddled together, trying not to look like outsiders.

The barman gave them a curious look. "So, how'd you kids get involved with them?" he asked.

"We're friends with Dola." Sheeta explained. "Avalon wanted to know if we knew where they were. They asked us if we wanted to come with them to find Dola."

"I see." Kenta muttered. "Well be careful around them, they're crazy. Both Avalon and Dola. They think that they're going to find some flying castle called Laputa. It's a load of rubbish."

Pazu slammed his fist on the counter. "It is not! Laputa is real!" He was still sensitive with people's disbelief about Laputa after what happened with his father.

Kenta rolled his eyes. "Ah, so she's gotten to you too. Well, you can go running after imaginary castles if you want, but I've got an actual job to do."

He went back to serving customers, acting as if nothing had happened. Pazu sat down, looking grumpy. Sheeta patted his shoulder trying to cheer him up. She was feeling a little irritated with Kenta too. Why couldn't people be a little more open minded?

"Why are you trying to find Dola anyway?" Kenta asked.

"We haven't seen them in years." Said Sheeta. "Avalon said we could come with them to go search."

"And a little adventure every now and then is good." Pazu added.

Kenta snorted. "You'll get more than a little adventure if you hang out with people like her." He sighed. "Look, you seem like nice kids, so I'm going to help you out."

"You are?" cried Sheeta.

Kenta nodded. "Yes. Dola may be crazy, but she's a good person, unlike some of the people around her." He looked around the bar at the scum of people. "Just remember that I'm doing this to get you out of danger."

Pazu blinked in confusion. "Get us out of danger? What do you mean?"

Kenta shook his head. "I don't want to get involved in this any further. So here…" He wrote down something on a piece of paper and handed it to them. It was a very badly drawn map, but it seemed simple enough to follow. "Dola's sons came in here yesterday. I know where they're staying until they find their next heist. Just follow this map and you'll find them."

"Wow, thanks!" said Pazu. "But why didn't you give this to us earlier."

"Don't ask questions." Kenta snapped, looking around nervously. "Just take it and go now, while you still can, and don't tell anyone you got this from me."

Sheeta and Pazu shared a confused look. "Ok, we just have to wait for Avalon to come back." Said Sheeta.

Kenta shook his head. "No, you have to go now." He lowered his voice. "This place has some bad people. You're not safe here. Leave, hurry."

His serious tone was enough to get Pazu and Sheeta moving.

"Ok, just tell Avalon where we've gone." Said Pazu.

They hurried out of the bar, keeping their eyes open for anything that Kenta might have referred to as dangerous. The people around them didn't look like the nicest bunch, but they certainly didn't look dangerous.

"What got into him all of a sudden?" Sheeta wondered out loud.

Pazu shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe he saw some people that were friends with that Tetsuo person."

Sheeta gulped. "I hope not." She looked around at all the strange people. Suddenly she didn't feel that safe and she clung to Pazu.

"Don't worry." He told her. "All we have to do is follow Kenta's map, and it'll lead us straight to where Dola is staying. It's this place called The Lazy Inn. It's not that far." He took her hand. "Come on."

He pulled her along through the crowd. A few people glanced at them, but did nothing. Still, the looks they were receiving weren't friendly ones. They had begun to wish that they had stayed at the bar, regardless of what Kenta said.

"Pazu, how much further is it?" Sheeta asked nervously.

"It should be just up ahead. Yeah, there it is!"

The words Lazy Inn, painted in large black letters over a rundown inn were in sight. The two teens made a run for it, relieved when they burst through the doors. The woman behind the counter gave them a curious look as they hurried in.

"Yes? Can I help you?" she asked, startling them.

"…Uh, yeah." Said Pazu. "We were told that the Dola Gang was staying here. We're friends with them. Could you tell us what room they're in?"

The woman sighed. "Look, kid, I can't give out that sort of information to you." She smirked slightly. "Unless you're willing to pay."

Pazu and Sheeta were surprised at first, but then they remembered what Avalon said about what kind of people lived in this place called Smuggler's Paradise.

"No, that's alright." Said Pazu. "Thanks anyway."

They went back outside, but stayed by the door in case they needed to run back inside.

"What now?" asked Sheeta.

Pazu looked at Kenta's map again. "Well, I suppose we should head back to the bar. Hopefully Avalon came back."

"But after what Kenta said, I don't feel safe there." Said Sheeta.

Pazu nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But I'm sure Avalon wouldn't have left us if it hadn't been safe."

"Unless it was only safer than where she was going." Sheeta pointed out. "She was going into a battle."

Pazu had to admit that she had a point. "Don't worry, I'll protect you if anything should happen."

Sheeta gave him a smile. "Thanks, Pazu. I know I can always count on-"

"Move it, kids!" snapped a man, pushing them out of the way as he and another man rushed by.

"How rude!" cried Sheeta.

The two men ignored her. "Hurry up!" said the first man. "Mom is going to be mad we took so long."

Pazu and Sheeta looked at each other. "Hey, did he just say…"

"…Mom?" Sheeta finished.

They followed the two men, unable to tell who they were from behind. Not realizing that they were being followed, the two men unlocked one of the inn's rooms and went inside.

"Finally!" Came the voice of an old woman. "What took you boys so long?"

"Sorry, Mom." said the second man.

"I told you ta call me Capt-"

The door shut, cutting off the conversation from Sheeta and Pazu. But they had heard all they needed. That nagging voice, that harsh tone, that demand that they be called Captain instead of Mom. There was only one person that could be.

"Dola!" cried Sheeta and Pazu.

(A/N: It looks like they found Dola. Hooray, they're finally going to be reunited after all these years. But what about Avalon and her gang? Are they alright? You'll have to find out next time. By the way, was I being more descriptive. I was trying to make Smuggler's Paradise seem like Tortugo from 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. But if anyone knows anything else that I can do to improve my story, please tell me. I want to know so I can make improvements.)