Chapter 4: Goldfish and Dung Beetles


Alex and Justin Russo materialized next to the railing at the very back of the SS Tipton and immediately went for cover behind a bench next to the nearby pool. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to their new setting. When they left New York, it had been almost 1:00pm. Here, on the other side of the world, it must have been closer to 11:00pm. The soft glow of party lights on the deck of the ship were a stark contrast to the bright, mid-day sun of New York.

After they scouted the area for threats, they slowly came out of hiding to look for their brother. It didn't take long for them to spot him at the other end of the pool. He was crouched down with his back to them and seemed to be frantically searching for something. Justin signaled to Alex and the older siblings rushed toward Max, fearing the possibility that he'd lost his wand. As they got closer, though, it became clear that he wasn't searching for anything. He was trying to catch something.

"Max!" Justin said excitedly, trying not to get too loud and draw attention to themselves.

The younger boy turned around startled with his wand at the ready. When he saw his brother and sister coming, he let out a sigh of relief. "Justin! Alex! I didn't think you guys were coming!"

"Yeah, well... here we are," Alex said.

"We couldn't let you come alone. It was too dangerous," Justin said.

"You guys are sacrificing your powers to help me..." Max said.

"Maybe so, but if we make it out of this alive, I'll still have the power to kick your ass," Alex said. Max couldn't tell if she was joking or not so he didn't respond. Instead he turned back around and resumed what he had been doing before his siblings had arrived. Justin knelt to get a closer look and saw that the thing Max had been trying to catch was a goldfish. It was flopping frantically around on the wooden floor while Max tried to grab it. Each time he got it, it slipped out of his hand and flopped away.

"Max... what are you doing?" Justin asked.

"Trying to catch this pirate," Max replied as if Justin should have known.

"Pirate? Max... that's a goldfish," Alex said from behind.

"Well... yeah, it is NOW, but it WAS a pirate." the boy replied. "When I got here there was five of them. They attacked me and I didn't want to... you know... kill them so I turned them into goldfish. I already caught the other four."

Justin looked at his little brother in amazement. "What did you do with them?"

"I threw them overboard to live in the ocean," Max said matter-of-factly. "I was going to put them in the pool, but then I remembered my goldfish I had when I was little and how the chemicals in the tap water were bad for it. I figured a pool that big probably had a LOT more chemicals in it. So, I threw them overboard. Maybe they can go live with Nemo or something."

"Max... the ocean is made up of salt water. Goldfish can't live in salt water. They'll die." Justin said.

"Oh..." Max said.

"It doesn't matter. Do you think they would have had a problem killing YOU?" Alex pointed out.

"Well... no, but..." Max started.

"No," Justin stopped him. "Alex, he's right. Just because these are bad guys... we can't use our powers to kill people. We'll turn them into harmless creatures so they can't hurt anybody anymore." He turned to his brother before continuing. "Harmless creatures that can SURVIVE."

"Sorry," Max said.

"Back up," Justin instructed. Max moved out of the way as his older brother pointed his wand at the goldfish. With a quick flick of his wrist, the goldfish turned into a dung beetle. "There. Harmless." He smiled as he admired his work for a moment before moving on. "Okay. Now, to rescure our friends."

"The Sky Deck is that way," Max said pointing toward the front of the ship."

"Well, DUH, Max," Alex said sarcastically. "We didn't think it was that way." She pointed toward the ocean behind them.

"Alex... now's not really the time," Justin said.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm... I'm just nervous." The three teens shared a moment of silent understanding before anyone else spoke.

"Okay... we stick together. Stay behind cover, move slowly, and be on the look out in every direction. I'm the oldest so I'll take the lead," Justin said.

"I got no problem with that," Alex said with a smile, drawing an annoyed look from Justin. "Sorry."

"Max, you stay behind us. Both of you be careful," Justin continued. "And... no matter what happens... I... I love you both." The seriousness of the situation finally sank in to all three of them. Justin grabbed one of his siblings in each arm and pulled them in close for a rare hug. "Okay..." Justin started as they let go of each other's warm embrace. "To the Sky Deck."

The three teens turned and headed toward the starboard walkway. As they began walking, Alex and Justin heard a loud crunching sound behind them. They stopped and turned. Max had an embarrassed look on his face. "Oops..." he said.

"Max!" Alex and Justin both scolded their younger brother.

"Sorry," the younger boy said. "I'll try to be more careful." Alex and Justin looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They couldn't help but to smile as they continued on. Max stopped to quickly wipe the bits of dung beetle from the bottom of his shoe before catching up.

(Author's Note: Thanks again for everyone who had read this story. Just a warning, the story will most likely be moving either to the Wizards of Waverly Place section or the crossover section very soon. Make sure to add it to your alerts so you don't miss out. Please review. Thanks again! )