Unsatisfyingly short chapter.
Chapter 7: Cursed Fish
Sweet Revenge
It was afternoon on the Sweet Revenge, and a day passed since the Yoshi's Island adventure. Eva and Oshus were in the captain's cabin, looking at the Manaphy egg in its container. "When did you say it was supposed to hatch?" Eva asked.
"It wasn't meant to be very long." Oshus replied. "But thanks to Jones' attack, its time until hatching has been delayed. I am concerned if this will effect Manaphy in any way…"
"So, this Manaphy is, like, supposed to be my little brother?"
"The two of you came from the same mother, so yes."
"I still don't understand how you know so much. Did you, like… use to live in Oceana?"
"I will not give you a direct answer… but it may suffice you to know that it is not uncommon for merpeople to wed to humans. Several humans among your kind may have merman DNA in them. Yourself, for instance…"
"It takes one to know one, is that what you're trying to say?"
"It takes a very keen eye. But all in due time, my dear. Let us adjourn outside." Oshus began to leave the cabin. "Nigel spoke to me of your… humorous attempts at waterbending." The elder chuckled, and Eva followed with an annoyed sigh.
Outside, Eva whirled her arms to pull a stream of water up from the ocean. She shifted her body and moved her arms like a wave, but the water fell back down. "Body movements help the bender grow accustomed when directing their chi. But one also requires a keen mind, to picture the element moving as they want to."
"Ugh." Eva huffed in exhaust. They had been practicing for 20 minutes. "You talk about 'benders' and 'elements' as if this is a common thing. I mean, yeah, Nigel and Fanny have fire powers, but just how many benders are there?"
"Millions, I believe. Though possibly fewer waterbenders in the span of 10 years. I know what you're thinking, however… where are the other benders? And the sad truth is, benders are feared by ordinary humans. Dubbed 'unnatural.' However, in truth, benders are very natural, because they bond with nature. Of course, many do not realize that, and thus, benders are discouraged from connecting with their chi."
"And that's my other confusion, what is 'chi'?"
"Chi is essentially life-force, the essence which every human has, and gives them life. Elemental strength is connected to our life-force. By using our elements, we decrease the amount of chi currently in our bodies, but such is the case with every being. We all become tired, but eventually, that strength returns, as does the chi."
"So if we use our powers too much, we run out of life-force?"
"Yes, but the same result can happen from exhausting your strength in general. In truth, every average bender contains a great amount of Element Chi, none can possibly exert it all in one battle. …Unless you were dealing with an enemy of incredible power, you have no choice."
"Right… and does Davy Jones, an undead fish-person, fall into that category?"
"Yes…" Oshus looked a little sheepish. "But always remember that every creature has his or her weakness. Including Davy Jones. As the Ocean Princess, I have faith that you can master your powers in no time at all, and you will need to if you want to defend yourself against Jones. If we find the Sea Crown, you may be able to use it to awaken your chi to its greatest potential."
"Then let's find it as soon as possible. Are we on our way to the next Talisman?"
"Stickybeard said we're sailing to an island called Adabat." Rachel replied.
"What's on Adabat?"
"Adabat's another jungle-infested island." Stickybeard answered. "But not as many beasts as on Yoshi's Isle. There's a village home to some waterbenders, and is built on the water itself."
"It'd be good to meet some other waterbenders, huh, Eva?" Kade asked.
"Yeah, it would. Since 'bending' is apparently an everyday thing."
"CAPTAIN!" They all turned their attention up to Chewy and Gooey on the crow's nest. "Zere is a ship approaching from ze port side!"
Stickybeard took out his telescope and looked to where they pointed. "Is it the Flying Dutchman?" Nigel asked.
Stickybeard saw a metallic-looking ship in the distance. "Nay… It's robo pirates."
"Robo pirates?" Nigel asked. They heard gunfire, and a projectile was coming their way. "LOOK OUT!" The metal object hit the side of the ship and exploded, knocking everyone off their feet.
"RETURN FIRE!" Stickybeard ordered as they blasted giant jawbreakers at the ship.
"Who are they, anyway?" Nigel exclaimed. The metal ship sailed close enough for them to get a good look at the pirates, who dressed like regular pirates, only their heads were metal skulls. Their captain stood at the front of the ship, who was fat, wore a red coat and hat, and had metal walrus whiskers. His face looked like the Jolly Roger on their sail.
"YARRGH! SHIVER ME WHISKERS! If it ain't the old cowardly Candy Pirate, Stickybeard! Returned to the sea, have ye?"
"Captain Whisker." Stickybeard said, smugly.
"You know this weirdo?" Eva asked.
"Ay, a little. Nigel old boy, I recall ye mentioning a pirate called Razorbeard from yer galactic endeavors. Whisker's a space-pirate, just like Razorbeard was, that terrorizes planets on his ship, the Jolly Walrus. Looks like he's stopped here on Earth."
"Aye, that be right!" Whisker proclaimed. "And thar's been rumors on the sea that ye have the long-lost Ocean Princess on yer deck! And we be here to take 'er with us, then sell fer many doubloons to Davy Jones! Now, where is she?"
"You really think Davy Jones will actually reward you for her capture?" Eva shouted.
"I be willin' to take that chance! Now, hand her over and we'll be on our merry way."
"Get us out of here, Dumb John!" Stickybeard ordered to his helmsman.
"Hey, Walrus Boy! I'M the Ocean Princess!" Eva proclaimed. "ME! EVA ROBERTS! RIGHT HERE!"
"Eva, what are you doing?" Nigel whispered.
"You aren't the only one that likes danger!"
"AFTER THEM, MATIES!" Whisker commanded as their ship chased after Stickybeard's. During the chase, the robo pirates fired cannonballs at the Sweet Revenge, but the Candy Pirates fired back with mega jawbreakers. As more cannonballs came, Eva bended up water from the sea and made a water octopus, using the tentacles to grab the cannonballs and throw them back.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this waterbending!"
"Argh! PREPARE TO BOARD!" At Whisker's command, the robo pirates activated their rockets and flew over to the Sweet Revenge. Wally immediately ran up and started punching with his S.L.U.G.G.U.H., while Violet scratched at them, cutting them in half.
"OOF! What type of creature be ye?" a pirate questioned. "A Mobian, mayhap?"
"You wish!" She scratched him again.
As Eva was grabbing pirates with her water tentacles and throwing them off the edge, one pirate, green and with a metal shark head, flew over with his jetpack and grabbed her. "HEY!"
"You're coming with me!" the pirate said as he flew back to his ship with Eva.
"EVA!" Kade screamed.
The pirate landed in front of Captain Whisker with Eva in his grasp. "Excellent work, Johnny! Now, let's find the Flying Dutchman and claim our reward!"
"NOT SO FAST, YA CRUDDY DRONGO!"
"Eh?" They all looked out at the sea, seeing a waterbike speeding their direction. Nigel recognized the raccoon onboard.
"MARINE!" he exclaimed.
"You didn't think you'd go on a pirate adventure without ME, did you?" Marine sped by the side and leaped onto Whisker's ship, then began punching the Whisker Pirates. Eva immediately shook away from Johnny and hopped off the ship onto Marine's waterbike. She began to rapidly speed around the ship, making a slight whirlpool. In an instant, she used her powers to freeze the water around Whisker's ship, sticking it in place. She then sped by and hopped onto the Sweet Revenge. Marine spun her tail propeller and jumped ships as well, and the Whisker Pirates could only watch as sitting ducks as the enemy ship sailed away.
"SEE YA LATER, WALRUS FACE!" Marine announced.
"YE HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST O' ME!" Whisker echoed from the distance.
"You came just in time, Marine!" Nigel beamed. "But how did you know what we were doing?"
"Explorer's intuition, Old Mate!" Marine winked. "Actually, I was kinda tailin' Walrus's ship to this planet, and I just saw you blokes. But now that I'm here, I want in on this gig!"
"In that case, ever heard of the Flying Dutchman?"
Marine gave a loud, horrified gasp. "THE FLYING DUTCHMAN? That's the terror of the seas! The most indestructible ship EVER! No one's ever been able to sink that thing!"
"How do you know about it?" Eva asked.
"Well, it's only like, the talk of every sailor on any planet with an ocean."
"You mean the Flying Dutchman can fly to other planets?"
"No." Oshus responded. "On the contrary, the Dutchman warps to other planets. You see, Eva, spirits such as Kyogre have the ability to warp between the mortal and Spirit Worlds. He granted this power to Davy Jones' ship, and with it, Jones can warp to multiple oceans from the Spirit World."
"So that means any planet with an ocean gets terrorized by Jones?" Rachel asked.
"This is true. And those planets may be in as much danger as ours, should Jones succeed in finding the Sea Crown."
"THE SEA CROWN?" Marine's scream startled them. "That's the greatest treasure in the world! Pirates all around 'ave been tryin' to find it! I HAVE to come with you!"
"While I would like to question how you know about THAT," Eva stated, "I'll just say what the heck. We need all the help we can against someone like Jones."
"RIPPER!"
"We're getting closer to Adabat." Stickybeard reported. "Prepare to lower the anchor."
The team arrived at and docked on Adabat. Like Stickybeard described, it was a wooden village built over the water, with wood paths serving as the only ground to stand on. A long bridge in the distance led to the large, jungle-filled island. People roamed the island, most of which were tan-skinned, with black hair, and sleeveless shirts and waist cloths. "Woooow! This place is so pretty!" Kuki beamed.
"Yeah, if only it weren't on water." Violet said as she and Numbuh 4 still looked sick.
"It still looks like a good place to find food." Hoagie said. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm kind of sick of candy."
"SICK of CANDY? !" Fanny exclaimed. "That's BLASPHEMY!"
"Come on, Fanny, even you cook better food on Moonbase." Rachel remarked. "While we're here, why don't you look for ingredients you can cook later?"
"Hmm… Not a bad idea, Lass."
As Eva was exploring the village, she noticed a boy in a black sleeveless shirt, black hair, blue waist cloth, and about her age, bending some water from the sea. Curious, she walked over to him. "Um… hello."
The boy turned to her with a raised brow. "Um… Hey."
"Hi. …" Eva already felt awkward. "I'm Eva."
"I'm Cojero."
"Great. So, um, you're a waterbender."
"Uh…yeah. Lots of us here in Adabat."
"So I heard."
"I guess you're an outsider?"
"Uh, yeah. You know, from outside."
Kade noticed their interaction and watched from afar. After seconds of thought, he marched over with a hint of jealously on his features. "Hate to interrupt this conversation, but we're in a hurry. You haven't seen a Talisman around here, have you?"
"Um… That's kinda confidential." Cojero scratched his head awkwardly. "I mean, I only know it from my dad, and he says so, so… unless you were the Ocean Princess or something."
"You're looking at her." Eva folded her arms.
"Huh? You're the Ocean Princess?"
Eva bended some water and spun it into a ball before throwing it back into the sea. "Does that convince you?"
"Not… really. I mean, any waterbender can walk up and say they're the princess. You're not even a mermaid."
Eva sighed, "I'm not even sure I am, either! I'm only trusting the word of an old guy that lives in my neighborhood, and the fact Davy Jones seems to think I'm the princess. My dad married a human, that's why I don't have fins, don't ask me the logic behind that."
"Eva, let's just go." Kade took his friend's hand and led her away. "We can find the Talisman on our own."
"Wait!" Cojero called. "Um… You know, some waterbenders are born with healing powers. I just assume the princess would be a healer, of if you could, then maybe you could be her."
"How would I heal?"
"To heal somebody," They turned around as Oshus approached them, "would be to sense that person's external or internal injuries. If you focus your chi to the water on your hands, and melding it the blood that composes the creature's body, you can transform it into new flesh."
"Transform it into new flesh? Is this some sort of magic?"
"While magic and bending are two different categories, the art of healing does originate from such power. It is by the will of Ocean Fairies that waterbenders can heal."
"So I'm blessed with fairy magic, too?" Eva rolled her eyes; the more that was explained to her, the less she believed. "Well, whatever. I'll give it a shot."
"Eva!" Kade pulled his shirt up and revealed the slash wound on his stomach. "You could try it on this… if you want."
"Oh, yeah…" Eva remembered their encounter with Jones. "Well… all right, then." She brought up water from the sea and molded it over her hands. She put it on Kade's wound. "…What happens next?"
"Softly channel the chi to your hands and mold it with his flesh." Oshus instructed.
"Mister, you might think you're making yourself clear, but you're really not." Eva stated. "I barely even know what chi is, and frankly, the idea of turning water into flesh sounds kinda gross."
"As the Ocean Princess, it is important that you-"
"Yeah yeah, look, I'll figure it out later." Eva pulled her hands away, and Kade covered his wound up again. "Let's just find the Talisman."
"Hold on!" Cojero stopped them again. "I dunno if you're the princess, but I guess it won't matter if I tell you. The Talisman's in the Atlantic Ruins on a waterfall deep in the jungle.
"Sounds thrilling." Violet said sarcastically.
"Alright, team, ruins in the jungle it is." Rachel clapped her hands. "Let's go."
"See you later, Eva." Cojero waved, smiling slightly. "H-Hey, if you get back, wanna go for a walk on the beach sometime?"
"NO, SHE WOULDN'T!" Kade shouted, pushing Eva along faster.
"Hey!" Eva yelled. "What's your problem?"
"Probably as excited for adventure as I am!" Marine exclaimed.
Stage 2: Atlantic Ruins
Mission: Find the Shark Talisman.
The team started their venture through the path between the trench walls. It seemed that whoever lived here originally were very tribal; lots of tiki markings were engraved in walls, and the place looked like it was riddled with ancient traps. It looked like the kind of temple you'd see in Indiana Jones, they thought. The place was very rugged and worn-down, and they thought to be on the lookout for crumbling floors. Their suspicion of traps was accurate, as when Marine stepped on a floor tile, some darts came flying from the walls, forcing the group to duck quickly with a start. Marine ducked, but her tail stuck up and took a few pokes. "Ow!" she yelped lightly. She brushed the darts off like nothing, and they kept an eye out for similar traps.
Not much further forward, Marine tripped on a tiny, thin wire, wobbling, but able to maintain her balance, while the ground before them crumbled and revealed a deep pit of deadly spikes. The kids looked at Marine with a blaming glare, and she grinned sheepishly.
The rest of this stage will be posted as soon as I am able to. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The sun was setting on the island of Adabat as their venture stretched on. The team of operatives were nearing the top of the Atlantic Ruins. "Whose cruddy idea was it to build a temple on a cruddy waterfall?" Wally shouted.
"For once, you asked something smart." Violet remarked. "This whole place is one big safety hazard."
"That's the spirit of adventure for ya!" Marine grinned.
Eva glanced over to Kade, who looked upset. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothin'."
"Oh, really? Kade, you've been like that ever since I talked to that boy. What's up with that?"
"Nothing, it's just… I don't like when you do that."
She sighed. "Kade, I flirt with boys all the time. It's just my thing. I even did it with Numbuh 13 once. What's it to you, anyway?"
"Well… I'm afraid of you eventually falling for one and… then you won't wanna hang out anymore."
"Kade, if you were my friend, you'd be happy if I found someone that likes me."
"It's not just about whether or not they like you. Like… Wouldn't you want them to be right for you?"
"Right for me, how?"
"Well… I dunno."
Soon, the sun was all the way down, revealing the starry night sky. At the top of a stone stairwell, they made it to a chamber with a large waterfall and a brown glowing shark sitting on a pedestal. "We're finally here." Nigel sighed with relief.
"Great, so let's get the cruddy Talisman and leave." Wally stated. However, just as they were about to approach it, they began to hear strange noises.
"Huh? Who's there?" Rachel demanded, holding her staff ready
"Come out and show yourself!" Fanny lit her emerald flames.
The large waterfall started glowing, and a swarm of demonic fish, with dark bodies, sharp teeth, and red eyes, shot out of the waterfall and landed on the floor, standing upright.
"What the heck are these things?!" Nigel shouted.
"Eva Roberts! Eva Roberts!"
"Sounds like they're interested in YOU, Eva!" Abby noted.
"For once, I don't really feel like flirting!"
"Well, they're not taking you without a fight!" Nigel lit his hands with flames. "Kids Next Door:"
"BATTLE STATIONS!" Eva declared.
"Hey, that was my line!"
"This is MY story!"
"Ugh, whatever. Just attack!" Eva bended some water from the waterfall and froze the fish, Marine knocked them away with her Light Spheres, while most of the others just shot them off with their weapons. Some fish leaped to attack Nigel and Fanny, but the two shot fire at them and turned them into fishsticks, which they then proceeded to eat.
"Nothing like fried fish." Fanny remarked.
"You eat 'em dead, and I'll eat 'em live." Violet said as she grabbed some monster fish and began munching them.
At that instant, all the fish retreated back into the waterfall. They all felt a rumbling, and a gigantic monster frog with long eyes stuck its head out and made a loud roar.
"WHAT THE 'HECK IS THAT THING?" Marine shouted.
"The evil monster that always waits for us at the end of the temple." Abby remarked, rolling her eyes. The beast frog then shot its tongue out and ate the Shark Talisman.
"Which is the same evil monster that has a weird diet." Eva said. "Oh, well… You know the drill, team."
Boss fight: Spurt
The team dodged as Spurt lashed its tongue at them. At one point, the tongue got stuck on the ground, so Violet threw her cat shurikens, which exploded, making the beast screech in pain. "Leave this part to me!" Marine exclaimed as she threw Light Spheres at the right eye. The eye was blackened after about five strikes.
"That got 'im!" Nigel exclaimed.
"He's not done, yet." Eva reminded. Spurt fired a large blast of water from its mouth, but Eva countered this by constantly throwing a stream of water against it. This lasted for a few minutes, Eva gasping for breath as her arms got weary, until Spurt finally ceased. Once his guard was down, Marine threw more Light Spheres and blackened the left eye.
"Try and fight us when you're blind!" Wally taunted.
"'ey, that was MY line!" Marine shouted.
"Well, you're both wrong." Rachel told them. "Looks like he's still got some fight." As she said this, Spurt fired a stronger blast of water, but Eva managed to catch it, freezing it with her bending.
"I'll finish this!" Eva said as she ran up the frozen water path that was created. It started to crack when she was close to the top, but she leaped off onto the head just before it collapsed. Eva stuck her hands in the waterfall and froze the whole thing itself, along with the monster. Eva pressed the fingers of her right hand together, raised the hand with her tips aimed downward, and pierced through the frozen monster. Eva jumped back onto the ground and watched the entire water wall crack and release the water, and Spurt split into pieces in the process.
"And THAT'S how it's done!" Eva proclaimed. The Brown Ocean Talisman, shaped like a shark, came out from the waterfall and landed before them.
"Looks like we're good to go now." Nigel figured.
"Davy Jones isn't getting the slip on me, yet!" Eva declared proudly.
"JOB well done, cobbers!" Marine cheered perkily. "Let's get ON to the NEXT island!"
"I can't wait until this whole thing is done!" Wally shouted.
"Here here." Violet agreed.
"We heard you the first hundred times, you two." Fanny said.
"Well, we hate water!" Wally reminded.
"Come on, guys. Let's get back to the ship." Nigel said, annoyed with their banter. "We'll need to rest for whatever Jones is planning to throw next. Not to mention any other pirates like Whisker coming after us…"
Phew, there you go. Captain Whisker and his crew come from Sonic Rush Adventure, but I made up his ship, Adabat is from Sonic Unleashed, and Spurt's based off of Squirt from DKC3.
