Saving Neopia II: Light and Darkness
When we last saw the Heroes of Light...they set out to sea...unfortunately, Willis has decided to send a friend of his to sink their ship...and of course, it that happens, they won't be able to stop Deluge from devouring Shuriken...
Meanwhile, the Villains of Darkness are heading to Brightvale so that they can pursue Cyrus and Luna...will they be able to find the Earth Temple and beat them to the punch?
Chapter 11: Ocean Battle
The Heroes of Light were out in the open sea, eagerly waiting to arrive at Mystery Island. Hopefully they would be able to get there before Deluge did so that they could stop him from eating Shuriken.
Curiously enough, the majority of Garin's crew were busy playing games with each other rather than doing pirate duties such as bilging or loading the cannons. Bloony wondered if the ship was going to sink due to the fact they were being neglectful.
"It feels funny to be working with The Black Pawkeet again...I remember during our last adventure when I helped them defeat Captain Scarblade." said Cherry.
"Ah yes...and I remember the day when we had to retreat from Roo Island using that boat King Roo gave us...I'm glad that we were able to save it from Advisor Broo..." agreed Bloony.
"I'm starting to feel a bit seasick..." informed Marvin, whose face had turned green as the color as of his fur.
"Ah yes, sea travel isn't for everyone, apparently." noted the yellow Blumaroo. "If you need to throw up, just tilt your head off the side of the boat."
The Mynci nodded, and then released from his stomach what he had eaten for lunch. Bloony's face turned slightly green himself witnessing this.
"In retrospect, maybe he shouldn't have eaten while he was onboard a ship." questioned Cherry.
"I'm afraid so! And to think The Black Pawkeet have such delicious food...then again they probably pilfered it from a fancy restaurant." pointed out Bloony.
"Garin, another ship is coming!" exclaimed Jacques.
"Is it another pirate ship?" questioned Garin.
"Let me check!" he exclaimed.
Jacques peered into his telescope, and realized that the ship rapidly approaching them was not only very large, but was armed with many different cannons...and of course, they had a black flag with a skull on it.
"Garin, we're in trouble! It is another pirate ship! And it's huge! Not to mention the fact that it has many different cannons..." warned Jacques.
"What! That's no good! Sail away!" exclaimed Garin.
The crew of the Black Pawkeet did as they were required, but unfortunately the pirate ship was too fast, and before long it had caught up to them.
"Darn it! Why did it have to have so many sails?" questioned Bloony.
"Funny, it looks more like a cruise ship than a pirate ship, if you ask me. Mainly because it's so enormous!" agreed Cherry.
"What are we going to do? There's no way we can beat this thing if it starts shooting cannonballs at us! We'll end up sinking for sure!" asked Marvin.
Suddenly, several grappling hooks appeared and latched themselves onto the Black Pawkeet. Shortly afterwards, Captain Sharptooth and his crew came onboard.
"Who the heck are you guys?! I haven't ever seen your ship sail the open seas before..." inquired Garin.
"Oh us? Well, me name is Captain Sharktooth, you see. And me crew here is known as the Twisted Water Faerie..." explained the pirate captain.
"What do you want from us?!" asked Bloony.
"Simple! We're here to sink your ship into the depths of the ocean...I would encourage ye to surrender or ye will be going down with it!" Captain Sharktooth continued.
"Not our ship! We spent ages building it! And we spent ages using it to pilfer treasure, too! Anything but this!" yelled Jacques.
"Exactly! That's why it's going to be so satisfying to send it to Davy Jones' locker! Hahahahaha!" he laughed.
"Not if we have anything to say about it, you barnacle!" exclaimed Garin.
"Oh? Yer going to challenge me? I'd like to see you try...just like the other ships me crew and I have sunk in the past..." he taunted.
Shortly afterwards, a massive swordfight broke out between the two crews.
Fortunately for Bloony, Garin had given him a sword as a present when he had boarded the Black Pawkeet, so he was able to fight back against the pirates.
"So, you want to sink our ship, huh? Well, you don't know who you're dealing with!" he bellowed.
Cherry and Marvin were also fighting the pirates...due to the fact that the red Chia had joined the Black Pawkeet before, she was doing pretty well against them. On the other hand, Marvin was having a hard time avoiding their swords.
"Go pick on someone your own size, you sea urchins!" demanded Cherry.
"Help me, Cherry! These pirates have me outnumbered!" screamed Marvin.
Cherry simply shrugged, and knocked the pirates that were hassling the Mynci off the side of the ship.
"That'll teach them to mess with my friends!" she thought.
Meanwhile, Garin was threatening Captain Sharktooth with his sword.
"Walk the plank, why don't you? I'm sick of other other pirates always attacking my ship!" he demanded.
Captain Sharktooth responded by pulling out a massive blade that made Garin's rapier seem as small as a Miamouse. And to make matters worse it was also made out of maractite.
"Um...is it too late to discuss parley?" questioned Garin, realizing that he was heavily outmatched.
"Only if ye want to join me crew." answered the Jetsam.
"Um..." the Usul thought.
With one swipe of his oversized blade, Captain Sharktooth snapped Garin's sword in two. His jaw dropped in shock.
"Um, Jacques, a little help here?" he asked.
"I'm coming, Garin! I'll be in there in just a sec-" Jacques exclaimed.
Unfortunately for the ghost Kyrii, he was knocked off his feet when suddenly he was struck by...a fish tail?
Jacques looked up, and discovered that one of the pirates was a Water Faerie wearing a bandana.
"Um, hi?" he asked.
"Now I know why Captain Sharptooth calls his ship the Twisted Water Faerie." thought Garin.
"Me name is Pearl, in case ye were wondering, I'm Captain Sharptooth's first mate." explained the Water Faerie.
"First mate?" questioned Jacques.
Pearl then pulled out two swords, and started stabbing the Kyrii repeatedly in rapid succession.
"Ow! Ouch! Ooh! Oof! Eek!" bellowed the spectral Kyrii.
Unfortunately, this proved to be too much for him, and he eventually passed out.
"Jacques!" exclaimed Garin.
"Yer next." answered Captain Sharptooth.
Pearl then followed up by trapping the Usul captain in a bubble.
"Let me out of here!" demanded Garin.
"Whatever ye say." answered Captain Sharptooth.
Raising his sword high above his head, the Jetsam then swung it downwards and sliced into the bubble, causing it to explode violently.
"Gah!" exclaimed Garin.
Suddenly, Pawkeets began appearing around the unfortunate Usul's head.
"Where did you all come from?" questioned Garin.
"Well, me hearty, I think that we've played around with these landlubbers long enough. Ready to sink the ship?" asked Captain Sharptooth.
"Aye aye captain!" answered Pearl.
The crew of The Twisted Faerie then swam back to their ship. Bloony wondered if they were retreating, which considering the fact they had taken out the captain of the first mate of the ship was rather unusual.
Suddenly, the ship opened fire on The Black Pawkeet, causing severe damage to the hull.
"What the-"
Cherry was cut off when suddenly the ship began to sink. Unsurprisingly, this caused most of Garin's crew to begin to panic.
"Calm down everyone! There's got to be a way out of this!" demanded Bloony.
All the commotion woke up Jacques, despite the fact that he had taken a beating a few minutes earlier.
"What's going on? Why is everyone screaming?" he asked.
Fortunately for our heroes, Neopets were capable of floating, and they were able to swim towards a small nearby archipelago. Unfortunately for our heroes, there were no other ships in sight.
Captain Sharptooth laughed at the Heroes of Light's misfortune. Apparently the Black Pawkeet did not have any lifeboats.
"It looks like a job well done." he thought. "I'd like to see them to try to get off that island...it's in the middle of nowhere!"
He and his crew then decided to abandon the crew of the Black Pawkeet so that he could report back to his colleague. Maybe if they were lucky, Willis would give them a treasure map so that they could go Dubloon hunting.
"Curse you, Captain Sharptooth!" exclaimed Cherry.
"As much fun as it would to yell bad things about that horrible pirate captain, in case you haven't noticed Cherry, we're marooned!" bellowed Bloony.
"Maybe we should light a fire? That way someone might notice us!" questioned Jacques.
"Good idea Jacques, but I don't see anything we can use to light one with!" pointed out Garin.
"Actually, I could probably just light a fire using one of my inventions." stated Marvin.
Bloony sweatdropped. Why did Marvin always have so many inventions? It was a question he asked himself time and time again.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone approaching. Were they not the only ones stranded?
"Now who could that be?" asked the yellow Blumaroo.
"Maybe it's Deluge?" questioned Cherry.
"I don't think so...there isn't any slime anywhere." pointed out Marvin.
Suddenly, they noticed that a spear was being tossed at them.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Bloony, ducking underneath it.
"Who's throwing those at us?" asked Garin.
"Nobody friendly, that's for sure." answered Jacques.
Suddenly, our heroes discovered that they were surrounded by the local natives...a bunch of Coconut Jubjubs.
"It seems that this island isn't uninhabited..." thought Bloony.
Immediately, the Coconut Jubjubs trapped our heroes underneath a net.
"We're trapped!" bellowed Cherry.
The Jubjubs then dragged our heroes towards their village, where they would be paying their leader Pango Pango a visit.
"This... is not my day." thought Bloony.
Meanwhile in Brightvale...
"So, you think this is where Cyrus and Luna went?" questioned Snotty.
"Maybe...this is likely where the Earth Temple they're searching for is located." pointed out Redtooth.
"Um...guys..." murmured Rocky.
"What?" questioned the green Blumaroo.
"It's the Villains of Darkness! Take them to the dungeon!" bellowed one of the Brightvale Royal Guard.
"Oh brother! First a bunch of farmers, and now this!" exclaimed Redtooth.
Snotty tried to punch one the Royal Guard in the face, but unfortunately he blocked his fists with his shield.
"Grrr...these royal guards are annoying..." he thought.
The Royal Guards then started slashing our anti-heroes with their swords.
However, they quickly started fighting back. Redtooth bit one of the guards in the leg, causing him to fall down on his back. He then took the opportunity to pounce on top of him and claw into his face. Due to the venom, the unfortunate guard lost consciousness.
Following suit, Rocky started plowing through the guards like dominoes. Unfortunately for them, not only their shields could protect them from the aggressive caveman.
"How'd he get so strong?" wondered one of the guards.
Suddenly, one of the guards let out a whistle. Apparently the Brightvale guards stationed at the castle heard him, because they started pulling out crossbows and arming their catapults.
Shortly afterwards, the Villains of Darkness found themselves being pelted by rocks from nearby catapults. Other guards started shooting at them with arrows.
"What's going on?" questioned Snotty, trying to avoid the multiple projectiles.
"It seems that they've given up on attacking us up close and are now trying to fight us from a distance..." pointed out Redtooth.
Unfortunately for the anti-heroes, there wasn't anything they could use to take cover.
"Darn, they've planned this surprisingly well." said Snotty.
"Rocky can toss things too!" exclaimed Rocky.
Suddenly, Rocky started returning the rocks flung from the catapults to their senders using his massive strength...suffice to say, this caused a lot of damage to not only the wooden devices, but to the castle itself.
"King Hagan isn't going to be too happy about this when he finds out that we've been wrecking his castle..." noted Redtooth.
The caveman Mynci kept on using this tactic, and eventually, the guards stopped firing altogether.
"At least he's more forgiving than his brother was...hey look! I think the guards are retreating!" pointed out Snotty.
As the green Blumaroo pointed out, the guards had decided that the Villains of Darkness were simply too strong and to tell King Hagan the bad news.
"I guess we're home free then!" exclaimed Redtooth.
Suddenly, a stream of flame was sent towards them.
"What the-" exclaimed Rocky.
To make a long story short, the Villains of Darkness ended up being covered in ash. And they got some first-degree burns, too.
"Ow! Who the heck fired that? Does Brightvale have a few mages that shoot fireballs or something?" inquired Redtooth.
"Look over there!" exclaimed Snotty.
As it turns out, it was the Quiggle Brothers, who were standing on top of a nearby hill.
"Officer Peanuts sent us to arrest you!" bellowed Wart.
"You're going away for a long time!" continued Gorf.
"Sheesh...it seems that fat Elephante hasn't given up even after we decimated his police force...personally I was expecting him to eat donuts and drink coffee all day rather than actually do his job." said the green Blumaroo.
"Be careful guys, they're armed with weapons from the Hidden Tower!" exclaimed Redtooth.
"Big deal. Rocky will smash puny Quiggles with club." answered Rocky.
Suddenly, Gorf pulled out his Ultra Bubble Gun and started shooting bubbles at our heroes at a rapid pace.
"Ow! Who would have thought that being hit by bubbles could be so painful?" questioned Redtooth.
"Ah yes...Queen Fyora came up with some rather crazy yet very effective weapons..." agreed Snotty.
"They're shooting at us again!" bellowed Rocky.
As it turns out, Wart was once again preparing to roast our anti-heroes with his Portable Kiln.
However, Snotty would have none of that, and punched the red Quiggle in the face.
"Ouch!" the police officer exclaimed.
This caused Wart to drop the Portable Kiln on his brother's feet. Gorf then started hopping around in pain.
"Hot hot hot!" bellowed Gorf.
Wart did his best to get his brother to stop panicking.
"Calm down brother! We can still do this!" exclaimed the red Quiggle.
"Say, where did the Villains of Darkness go?" asked the green Quiggle.
Their question was answered when suddenly Redtooth and Rocky knocked the two police officers down the hill.
"Aargh!" they both exclaimed as they took the tumble.
Realizing that they were losing, the two Quiggles became desperate. They decided it would best if they both attacked the Villains of Darkness at once.
"Are you ready, brother?" asked Wart.
"You've got it, big bro!" answered Gorf.
Charging both their weapons, Wart and Gorf unleashed a desperation attack on the Villains of Darkness. Unfortunately for the anti-heroes, it sent them flying.
"Whoa!" they all exclaimed.
"Yes! We did it! I guess we should call Officer Peanuts the good news..." informed Wart.
"Um, brother..." pointed out Gorf.
"What?" asked the red Quiggle.
Fortunately for the Villains of Darkness, they landed right on top of the Quiggle Brothers.
"Aaugh!" they both exclaimed.
And to make matters worse, their weapons were now broken. Weapons that Officer Peanuts had likely spent millions of Neopoints on.
"No!" exclaimed Wart.
"So much for the authorities." taunted Snotty.
"This isn't over, Villains of Darkness! One of these days you're going to get what's coming to you!" bellowed Wart.
"Yeah! You'll end up in a maximum security prison some day, just wait and see!" agreed Gorf.
The two Quiggles then hopped away.
"You think we should go after them?" questioned Redtooth.
"Rocky doesn't think they're worth it." disagreed Rocky.
"Besides, it seems to me that the only threatening member of the bunch is Officer Peanuts." pointed out Snotty.
"Let's just hope that he doesn't try chasing after us again..." agreed the blue Lupe.
Suddenly, the Villains of Darkness remembered that they should start searching for the Earth Temple.
"Oh, right. How could we have forgotten about getting revenge on Cyrus and Luna?" questioned Snotty.
"Well, for some strange reason, we've had to fight a lot of things on the way there. I'm starting to think all of Neopia is against us nowadays..." pointed out Redtooth.
"Maybe we shouldn't have become criminals in the first place!" exclaimed Rocky.
Snotty sweatdropped.
"Let's just go to the stinking temple." demanded the green Blumaroo.
Meanwhile outside the Earth Temple...
At the temple entrance, a green Ixi and a yellow Lupe were standing guard trying to keep other Neopets out.
"I'm tired...can I go home?" asked the Ixi.
"King Hagan assigned us to guard this temple, so no." answered the yellow Lupe.
"Why are we guarding this temple, anyway?" asked the curious Ixi.
"King Hagan said that there was something valuable inside it and that bad things would happen if it was stolen." answerered the Lupe.
"Fine fine fine...but I need to use the restroom." said the Ixi.
The Guard Lupe promptly facepalmed.
Suddenly, they noticed that two Neopets were approaching.
"Um, listen. I'm afraid you can't just waltz in here. King Hagan ordered us not to let anyone in the temple under any circumstances!" pointed out the Guard Lupe.
"Yeah! And you won't be able to enter without the Leaf Stone in Meridell!" continued the Guard Ixi.
The Guard Lupe groaned.
Suddenly, Cyrus shot a fireball towards the Guard Ixi. He was promptly set on fire.
"Aah! Someone put me out!" demanded the Ixi.
"Stop, drop, and roll!" ordered the Lupe.
Luna then followed by using a spell to freeze the Guard Lupe solid.
"I guess now we can enter without any more interference." stated Cyrus.
"Good...I want to do this quickly, it feels like this journey is going to take forever." agreed Luna.
The two Neopets entered the temple and went towards the nearby pedestal.. Cyrus placed the Leaf Stone inside and a doorway promptly opened.
"Well, now to grab the Earth Crystal and go." said the orange Scorchio.
It looks like Cyrus and Luna are about to grab the Earth Crystal...but can the Villains of Darkness stop them in time?
Meanwhile, the Heroes of Light have been abducted by the local Coconut Jubjubs...what plans do they have in store with them? And will they be able to break free?
Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out...which should hopefully be very soon.