I was so happy that we were finally in the crowded streets of Dreamlight. "What are we supposed to be doing?" Gil asks.
"Looking for the missing piece of the map," Harry looked around.
"So we just start asking around for it?" Gil wanted to know the game plan.
"No, I don't think we should draw attention to ourselves. Maybe one of the vendors has it." I look at the booths. Most were selling food or clothes.
"I agree with the captain. We look around, scope the place out, but most importantly be discreet." Harry agreed.
"Rations! Get your rations!" A man waves a loaf of bread around.
"Does anyone have any money? I'm literally starving." Ruby whines. I handed her a ten-dollar bill.
"Thank you." She moves through the crowd to get to the man.
"I think we need to keep our health up." Harry smoldered as he said, "We need to eat."
"Okay, stop doing that." I said.
"Someone upset that Mal is technically the ruler of this island."
I went to get a piece of bread.
"Oh, my God, this is so good. I haven't had bread since I was, like, nine." Ruby moans.
"Are you serious?" I gasp.
"How do you think I got these abs?" The vendor looks at us in confusion.
"Let me try some of that." Gil took a piece from her. He took a big bite and got a concerned look on his face. "Mm. Wait, what...? What is this?" He asks the vendor.
"That's my famous pound cake." He smiled.
"Cake?"
" Isn't that a weakness ?" Harry asks
"Ruby, you said this was bread." Gil kept the cake in his mouth, not daring to swallow it.
"It's been so long, I forgot what it tastes like." She shrugs apologetically.
"How do you forget what...?" He accidentally gulped it down. "What's happening… is something happening to me?" He turns to ask me.
"No." I shook my head.
"Am I... Am I shaking?" I shook my head. "Am I breaking out?" He felt his face.
"No, clear skin," I told him.
"Am I still here?" He looks down at his hands.
"Yes." I nod.
"Okay. Okay, right? We're fine. Everything's fine." He smiles, although none of us are convinced. "It's okay. It probably just meant that I love cake, that I couldn't resist it. Yeah. Hey, it's all good..." He step before doing. Ric Flair flop and collapses on the ground.
"Like I said, it's important to be discreet," Harry lifts Gil up.
"Hey, you also said eat." He snapped.
"Rations! Get you..." The vendor waved the poundcake in the air.
"You better shut your ass up!" Gil growls, making the man run away.
"Captain Uma. Thank goodness you're here. Neverland needs you." A little boy wearing the local clothing ran up to me.
"Uh, thanks. Good to be here." I nod, not knowing what else to say.
"Ask about the missing piece." Gil pushes Ruby to the boy.
"Oh, right. Hi. I'm Ruby Rider. I'm a map doctor, and I have this map that, like, has a missing piece." She bent down to talk to the little boy.
The boy's eyes stay on me like he didn't hear her. "Captain Uma. Thank goodness you're here. Neverland needs you."
"Rude." She scoffed.
"I think it's got to be you, Captain." Harry nudged me.
"We need to find the missing piece." I told the boy.
The boy motions with his head for us to follow. He led us to a tent that had a basket sitting in the middle of it. "What you need is in the basket. One false move, you're in a casket. Trust one another, and never blink. The missing piece is not what you think." The boy gave us a riddle.
"Why the fuck can't people say what they mean here?" I hated riddles.
"So thinking there's a, um… a snake in there or something?" Harry stares at the basket.
"Yep," Gil nods his head signaling Harry to open it.
He lifts the cover to reveal a snake. "Black mamba!" Gil points at it. It hissed in response to the yelling, making Ruby gasp. I shot the Black mamba.
"What the fuck? What is this island" Gil said.
Ruby was looking in the basket
"You guys? This does not look like a piece of a map." Ruby said. We turn towards her. She held up a little elephant figurine.
"The missing piece is an elephant?" Harry narrows his eyes.
"Oh, wait, there's something written on the wrapping paper. When you see me, begin the climb." She reads out loud.
"Begin the climb? When you see an elephant?" Gil didn't understand what that meant.
"Another stupid fucking riddle," I grumbled.
We walked out of the tent and into the crowded street. "So keep your eyes peeled for an elephant, I guess?" Ruby searches the paper for any clues to where we could find the elephant.
"Fuck." I said underneath my breath when I heard a familiar engine revving. We saw a group of thugs make their way through the street. They were searching the area, pushing locals out of their way.
"Hey!" A man points at us.
"Run!" Gil screams. We didn't need to be told twice. We ran down the street the best we could with how crowded it was.
"Watch out! GET OUT THE WAY!" I pushed and shoved people since I was leading the pack except for Harry who was running ahead of me. "Jump!" I yell over my shoulder to them as I jump onto baskets that were all lined up in a roll. I ran across them.
We ran to an open clearing where we saw Harry fighting a couple of thugs. "Duck! Block! Ka-blam! Evade! Punch! Wall toss!" He yells out every move he makes. He throws a man into the wall, breaking it.
"That is insane." Ruby stares at the hole in the wall. We follow Harry as he continues to fight guys.
He caught a knife before it impaled itself in Gil's face. "Let's do this." He gave the knife to him before going on to fight.
"Do what?... Put it in my backpack." He handed me the knife and I did as he said.
"Dodge! Head slam! Throw through the ceiling!" He yelled out some more moves.
"Ah!" We gasped, looking up. The guy went high in the air. He throws another guy into a pillar breaking it when someone shoots a gun in the air. People screamed and ran away.
"Hello, captain. It's been a long time. I believe you have something that belongs to me." A man from the background story steps out of the shadows. Van Pelt had more henchmen behind him.
"We're pirates we steal," I told him. His henchmen cocked their guns to point at us.
A smoke bomb covered the whole area. "Come on! Come with me! Hurry!" A woman told us. I was quick to follow her, thinking she couldn't take me anywhere worse than here.
"Get the,!" Van Pelt yelled. Shots started being fired.
The mystery woman leads us to an empty hallway and lifts a manhole cover. "Come on. Down here. Come on. Quick!" She orders. We climbed down as fast as we could. I looked around after I dropped down. I was surprised to see we were in an underground tunnel and not a sewer.
She put the manhole cover back on before climbing down the ladder. She pulls down her scarf to reveal a familiar face. Harry and I share a look of interest. "Shh!" She put her finger to her mouth before anyone could ask any questions. Van Pelt's men were running over us.
"I need you to follow me and do exactly as I say. Let's move." She lights up a torch. We follow her down a narrow hallway. We went in a single file line of the handsome mystery woman, Harry, me, Ruby, and Gil.
"Oh my God, you guys, I am so stoked you are here. You have no idea. So stoked," She throws a pantie-dropping smile over her shoulder, making Ruby sigh dreamily.
"Calm yourself, woman." Gil whispers. I roll my eyes at his jealousy.
"You are?" Harry asks.
"I mean I saw you guys in the bazaar, and I thought to myself, no way. Then I was like, yeah, that's… Backs against the wall!" She screams the last part. We did that as spears came flying out.
"Oh, my goodness!" Gil yells. Our jaw dropped at the skeleton that was pinned against the wall by the spears, getting its skull crushed.
"Let's keep moving." She led us further down the tunnel. "Watch your step in here."
"Yeah, I got that," I step carefully, making sure I didn't trigger anything.
"Um, who are you?" Ruby asks.
"And who do you think we are?" Gil asks.
"Right. Sorry, okay, my bad. Um… let me back up a little bit here." She said as she tried to figure out where to start.
"Stay off the white bricks..." She said.
"What?" Harry said.
I look down and move my toes quickly off the white bricks. "And freeze." She instructed. I let out a scream with everyone else as huge blades came up from the ground. After a few seconds, they went back into the ground. "So gnarly," She chuckled, shaking her head before walking further in.
"This island sucks," Gil mutters under his breath.
I heard something thrashing around in the water.
"What was that?" I ask, seeing her staring down.
"Crocodiles," She looks back at us with wide eyes.
"Alright, get this plank." She grabs a plank that was leaning up against the wall and puts it down over the gaping hole in the ground. "Follow me." She walked over the plank. "Careful. You might lose a hand like a certain pirate" She warned Ruby before she could step on it. She gingerly walks over the plank. "There you go. Alright," She grabs her when she is in reaching distance to help her across. Harry sauterne across like its nothing.
I stood frozen as I stared down into the hole. I couldn't see them but I could hear them thrashing around, snarling, and snapping their jaws. "Come on Uma, this isn't the Isle you'll be okay." Harry tried to encourage me.
"Go on without me." I say.
"Uma get your ass up and walk across that damn plank." Gil demands.
I shut my eyes and bury my head in my knees. Someone playing with my braid made me jerk up. I saw the face of the mystery woman. "I can help you."
"Do what?" I narrow my eyes.
"Do you trust me?" She looked deep into my eyes.
My first thought was hell no, I don't know you. But, then I felt a tug deep within me that said yes. "I do. I shouldn't because I don't know you but I do, do you think its cause i might know you?" I ask.
"Maybe," She gave me that smile that made me melt. "Okay now, stay calm." She puts one arm under my knees and another behind my back and lifts me.
I wrap my arms around her neck. "Are you sure about this?" I ask as she walks towards the plank.
"Like I said I did this before." She stepped onto the plank. I closed my eyes and buried my face in her shoulder.
I let out a breath of relief when my feet touch the ground. "Thank you," I say
"It's no problem. Now, come on" She led us through a latch door, bringing us back to the forest. We ran through the door, happy to be out of the tunnel of hell. "Anyway, I'm Tink ." She introduces herself.
"Uma, Gil, Ruby and Im Harry Hook." Harry does the introductions. I smiled and waved when he said my name.
"Tink? As in Tinkerbell?" Gil points to her in question.
"Correct," She laughs, that moment in the tunnel making sense to him now.
"Thats why you seem so familiar" i said