The Loud House – Off the Charts

Chapter 6 – The Road to New Devon

While Darrel and Elizabeth were climbing up the tower, Lincoln, his family and friends were looking for a safer route to New Devon. Albert led the group to the river to stock up on water. As he could tell, people were getting exhausted from climbing and maneuvering over obstacles and watching their every step. "We'll rest here for a few hours." said Albert. "Don't wander off." said Rosa as she pulls out her lucky charms. "I must purge this spot of spirits." Lincoln took a seat on a log and look proudly of his family and friends. Then looked down in a gloomy way. Lori, listening to Bobby entertaining the children, spotted Lincoln and went to his side.

She takes a seat next to Lincoln and said, "Hey Lincoln, what's wrong? Aren't you excited that we're almost to the treasure?" Lincoln looked up to his sister, "Oh, no I am excited. It's just that, things are still going to change for us when this is over." Lori looked stunned, "What do you mean?" "We've finished another year of school. But this upcoming year isn't the only thing. I'll be starting middle school with Clyde, and you'll still be going to college. This adventure is so amazing, that I don't want it to end. I look up to you Lori, because you're my sister. Because you know how to control things even when things get out of hand." Lori then realized why Lincoln was feeling down. She wrapped her arm around her brother and gave him a comforting smile. "Lincoln, I'm scared about change too. I'm scared because with me gone, who's going to be in charge while mom and dad are out? Just because we're far apart doesn't mean we're not going to forget the great things we've done." Besides bro, you got us all together for one summer that truly no one will ever forget." said Luna approaching her siblings. Lincoln smiled, "I'm really going to miss you, Lori Loud." he hugged his sister and Lori returned that hug.

Meanwhile, the group sees a tower collapsing over the chasm, which got Lincoln, Lori, and Luna's attention in the process. "Must've been it's time." said Hector. "Darrel and Elizabeth were on that tower!" shouted CJ. The entire group gasped. "Where are my worry beads?!" cried Rosa as she reaches into her charm bag. Then, the group hears a gunshot and see a body fall into the river. Albert takes out his binoculars and spots Darrel falling. "That's Darrel! Richabod must've got him!" he shouted. The team race up river to find Darrel unconscious, but in stable condition. "He's alive, but hurt badly." said Maria. "Let's get him back to camp." said Rosa. The team does so as the carefully carry Darrel.

Back at the camp, Darrel comes to in Maria's tent. "Where am I?" asked Darrel. "You're in my tent, try not to move fast." replied Maria. "You fell from a great distance from the tower and fell in the river. Thankfully, you weren't badly wounded." Darrel pointed to where Richabod shot him near his left collar bone. "He took Elizabeth's gun, so I wasn't worried." Maria gives Darrel some water for re-hydration. "You still need to rest." "Can you reach for my grandfather's book? It's in my bag." Maria gives Darrel his book and begins to read Mark's earlier entries.

He reads about his grandfather's childhood. He had always dreamed of adventure and read great books about the wilderness. He began reading about legends, and how great it would be to prove that they were real. But in order to do that, he would need to continue school. So he continued his childhood as a regular student, made a few friends, and did outstanding in history class. Graduating high school with honors, Mark majored in archaeology and history in college. He got his masters and was eventually well known to America. He planned to begin his quests in his beliefs and his people were excited to find out if they were true. But every time he came back proving himself wrong, it disappointed people. Eventually, people stopped following his explorations. But Mark didn't care, only less people to worry about unpleasing. Eventually, he began researching Captain Avery and the Gunsway Heist, where his expedition lead him to finding the best treasure of all. He meets a woman in Scotland and fell in love with her. When his research came up short, he abandoned the quest and settled down in America with who eventually became Darrel's grandmother.

Darrel smiled reading through his entries and looked into Mark's last entry. "Darrel, if you're reading this, then you must have possession of my book. I chose to give you this book, because I see a bit of me in you. You're anxious of adventure, your desires of making dreams reality, and the love of your friends. But always remember, the greatest treasures aren't what you read in books, they are what you make in life. And meeting your grandmother was the best treasure of my life, because I gained a family who loved me. Thank you, and everyone else for this grand adventure. Now it's time for you to make a new one. Make it great. Love, your grandfather.

A few tears plopped onto the word love, and Darrel closed the book. Feeling strong again, Darrel got out of the tent and got everyone together. "Listen up guys, Richabod and Elizabeth are still out there. And we need to get them off this island." "What about the treasure?" asked Lola. "If the treasure is real, we can claim only a little bit. That amount of greed will change even the best of people." replied Darrel. "So we find Richabod, and get off the island?" asked Luna. "Even if I have to drag his greedy butt, I'll do it before he gets himself killed." said Darrel. "Are you doing this for your girlfriend?" asked Carlotta. "That, and because it's the right thing to do. I can't let anyone die, especially my family's enemies." said Darrel. "So where do we go?" asked Lucy. "Up river, we can get to New Devon from there. But, I have to make a phone call." said Darrel as he takes out a satellite phone and punches in the number. "Hey, Dad. Listen, I'm gonna need help. Yeah bring them too." He hangs up the phone, "Dad is gonna fly by and deploy some help."

As the crew follow the river up stream, which took a couple hours, Darrel's father flies across Libertalia and two objects deploy from the plane. The two objects happen to be Darrel's cousin Tim, and his father Uncle Joe. These two trained to be in the national guard and hugged Darrel. "Good to see you cuz." said Tim. "Glad to see you have a crew." "They're my friends, they found me after I got shot by Richabod." said Darrel. He points to where he was shot only to find a big bruise near his collar bone. "He failed to notice that his daughter filled the guns with rubber bullets." Tim and Joe smile, "So, what's the plan?" asked Joe. "We find Richabod, his crew, and get them off the island." replied Darrel. "It's also time I told you guys something."

As the crew travels up river, Tim, Joe, and Darrel's father who is hearing over the radio, know about Darrel's relationship with Elizabeth. "So all that talk about meeting someone was the Lichrich's daughter?" asked Tim. Darrel nodded, "Look, I know I kept this from you, but I really love her I'm not just messing around. We gotten to know a lot about each other and after a month or so, I came to terms that I love her. When I told her, she told me she loved me too." Tim, and Joe looked at Darrel with disbelief, but came to terms with Darrel's happiness. "If I were down there Darrel, I would be patting you on the back now." said his father. "So, you guys are okay with this?" asked Darrel. "If this feud is ever to end, I'm glad it's you who ended it." said Joe.

The crew continues traveling up river until they find an old elevator on the left side of the waterfall. "That elevator could literally be useful." said Lori. Everyone spots the old mechanical device and journey there. With a little bit of help from the minds of Lisa and Carlos, and the muscle bound of Lynn jr, Margo, Tim, and Joe, they crew were able to get the elevator working for them all to ride on. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne look at the view of Libertalia together. "This view could make a great postcard." said Lincoln. "Not a bad idea Lame-O." said Ronnie Anne. "I'm really glad you brought us here." "This is definitely one summer none of us will ever forget." said Lincoln. Ronnie Anne playfully punches him just as Clyde, Liam, Rusty, Zach, and Stella join them.

The elevator stops and the team find a pathway that could lead them straight to New Devon. They hiked for what seemed like a long time, until they reached the end of the bridge. The crew was surrounded by gibbets and skeletons laying across the yard. "Don't look kids." announced Rita. Some of the children huddled close to their mothers. "This looks like one way to quash a rebellion." said Tim. "I'm starting to wonder if this was just a ruse; a plan for pirates of finding a utopia, only to be robbed of everything that they have." said Darrel. "Well we are dealing with pirates." said CJ. "Guys, the entrance is just here." said Leni pointing to the door. Darrel got a closer look only to hear water rushing from the other side. "We can't go through that door guys. Sounds like water is rushing through on the other side." He takes out his grapple and secures a rope above the wall. "We'll have to climb up."

What started out as a regular treasure hunt, now is a quest to the truth. The tragic end to Libertalia is in sight, and our friends are on the verge of knowing what happened to this free pirate utopia. Their next stop is New Devon, Captain Henry Avery's neighborhood.