CORY
Dark Falls sure is a mysterious place. But exploring it will have to wait. While his Hunting Party is busy forging the Ultimate Amulet, which will house all seven Moonstones, Van Helsing is trying to find a way to find and rescue Jimmy O'James. Dylan contacted him and said that Slappy mostly keeps prisoners as slaves locked away in the Dungeon of Doom. But given how Jimmy O'James knows of the incantation that can send Slappy to sleep forever, he's probably locked him away somewhere more secure.
Plus, Slappy must be desperate to make him forget about the incantation and make us lose it. So he's going to find a dark magical artifact: A shrunken head that doesn't have Jungle Magic, but instead has the power to wipe someone's entire memories. The Mind Stealer.
Back in the old timeline, that same item was used on Slappy, but his magic overpowered it and he survived. Jimmy HAS no such magic. If Slappy gets that Mind Stealer, he'll wipe Jimmy's memories and we'll lose the incantation!
But he can't just leave town. That's why he's having pirates do his dirty work. He's already got two crews: The Scarlet Skull, led by Captain Long Ben One-Leg, and the Davy Jones, led by Vincent the Vicious.
Van Helsing has informed us that Slappy's gotten his eyes on two more crews, both of which are at a port town called Sea Urchin Cove. The Fountain of Youth, led by Captain Billy Bottoms, and the Jolly Sea Scab, led by Captain Jack The Knife.
So, we're dealing with zombie pirates, ghost pirates, pirates pulled in from the past, and…jack-in-the-boxes?
Yeah, it's weird.
Anyway, Van Helsing took us to the cove by portal. We appear just behind a restaurant called the Whispering Clam. With him are me, Lisa, Psari, Jack Black, Kruu, and Hannah.
"A few weeks ago, Captain Jack and his crew, a female pirate named Mad Madeline, a chimpanzee named Chuckles, and a two-headed pirate called Salty and Pepper, were all defeated by Admiral Jim Parker and locked in a chest." Van Helsing states. "But recently, his niece and nephew, Violet and Shawn Parker, accidentally released him, and he turned Jim into a jack-in-the-box. Thankfully, to change him back, they figured out his weakness: He's afraid of ghosts."
"Slappy has ghost pirates." I put two and two together. "He's going to try and FORCE Jack to join him."
"So why bring ME along?" Hannah asks.
"To intimidate him out of it." Van Helsing says. "Because Danny Lubbins' ghost has moved on to the Shadow Realm, so he's not around to do the honors."
"Didn't he have that talking cat, Celeste?" Lisa asks. "Just HOW did he manage to teach her how to do that?"
"It's a mystery. Exactly like why Jack has his pet MONKEY steer his ship." Van Helsing says. "You deal with a LOT of weird things that you end up questioning."
"So where are the crews meeting?" Our Jack asks.
"A place called Clam Island. That place has a map to the buried Mind Stealer. With four crews working together, it won't be long until they find it. The island's not far, but the fog makes it hard to see. We'll need to activate the lighthouse first."
"And your boat?" Kruu asks.
"A small one should do. I just need to portal it over from the mansion. So we head over to the docks. While I do that, I need you to turn the lighthouse on."
"Isn't Jim already there to do that?" I ask.
"If he was, it would already be on by now. Something must've happened. Let's hurry!"
We rush off through the port town. Once we reach the lighthouse, I force the door open and head up the stairs with Lisa. It's…empty.
Jim's nowhere in sight. Do lighthouse keepers take shifts? Or is he the only one in town?
We're forced to figure out how to turn the lighthouse on ourselves. Although we managed to figure it out, we see something through the fog as the light clears it.
Five ships! Four being pirate ships, one more being a monstrous warship! I recognize three of them: The U.S.S. Ghoulsberg, The Davy Jones, and The Scarlet Skull. Which means the other two must be The Fountain of Youth and the Jolly Sea Scab! And they're all surrounding Clam Island!
Van Helsing doesn't wait for us. Once the way is clear, he loads up his boat and speeds off. We only don our Monster Armor and fly after him.
We landed on the island without being seen. The pirates must be nearby. Van Helsing takes the lead as we sneak through. Eventually, we hear chatter. We take cover behind some spiky rock formations and peak over.
Bingo. Jack and Billy, with both their crews, confronted by Vincent, Ben, and their own. Dr. Aqua, Dr. Ritter, and their mutants are here as well! The Creature only seems a bit nervous at the sight of those experiments.
"So, will it be a deal then?" Vincent asks a trembling Jack. "You help us find the Mind Stealer. You're the only one with that map. In return, we'll let you join Slappy's forces."
"A-Aye." Jack says. "It's a promise."
"And how do we know that's not a PIRATE promise?" Ben asks. "Last I heard, those kinds of promises are worthless and mean NOTHING."
"We helped guide you through the island and dug up the map. As agreed upon." Billy stated. "We have fulfilled our end of the bargain. Is the Admiral thrown in the brig?"
"Oh, even better." Ritter stated. "Slappy's holding him with many others in his Dungeon of Doom. But word has it that there are more survivors that escaped his city."
"He'd very much appreciate it if those fugitives are found." Dr. Aqua adds. "We need to find where they're hiding. He can deal with those hiding in his domain."
"Fugitives, aye?" Jack asked. "Why, just a few moments ago, I noticed that the lighthouse turned on and dissipated this fog! And if that wasn't the admiral who did that…"
Uh oh…
"What?! Where's my map?! I could've SWORN I put it in my pocket!"
Vincent growls, his green glowing eyes whipping in our direction. Fearlessly, Van Helsing stands up, drawing a sword.
"Hope you memorized the map GOOD." He says, holding it clenched in his fist. And then, he lights it ablaze in green fire and burns it into NOTHING! "Oops."
"ARRRR! YER GONNA PAY FOR THAT, YE SCURVY RAT!"
Van Helsing whipped out a pistol and fired at Vincent, who easily deflected the shot. They charge and clash blades, and it's not long before the pirates charge at us! Hannah manages to frighten Jack with her Banshee form, screaming at him and his crew and forcing them back into their boxes. Angered, Ben kicks Jack's box away.
"Must be the worst bunch of pirates I've ever seen…" He mutters.
I duel Dr. Ritter, his robotic steel clashing against my armor. Dr. Aqua fires a water-powered plasma pistol at Jack Black, who blocks it with his ax. Kruu, Psari, and Lisa clash with more pirates as Vincent roars at Van Helsing.
"Where are yer band of misfits hiding, scoundrel?!" He threatens. "WHERE?!"
"You'd have to kill me first." He says. "And dead men tell no tales."
He dons his Monster Armor and clashes blades with Vincent, firing an enchanted bullet that strikes Vincent's green skull. He then kicks the ghost pirate back.
Our magic shields us from bombardments from the ships. And thanks to our experience, we're able to beat the pirates' combined crews. Billy is disposed of just as easily. He's never had to face supernatural beings before.
The doctors are more resilient. They and the pirates tried to get the power of Atlantis' technology. Along with the Heart of Poseidon itself. But only the heirs could control its full power. Kruu managed to defeat them.
And that was when she was younger. A combination of magic and weaponry is enough to kick some pirate booty and send them into the water. That leaves only the mad doctors.
"Last I checked," I state. "Docs aren't so good at fighting themselves. They rely on their minions and gadgets to do their dirty work."
"Oh, that's not the only thing." Aqua states. "Now!"
Cannonfire draws our attention. From all five ships! They scream through the air, falling toward us!
Well…our work here is done. We stopped them from getting that map. And if they can't have it, no one can.
I teleport us all away, just before the cannonballs strike.
…
The supernatural pirate captains climbed out of the water as the dust settled. The intruders were gone.
"Ha! Well, look at that!" Billy Bottoms chortled. "Ye struck 'em so hard that there ain't nothing left of 'em!"
"I assure you, these adversaries are far more…tenacious." Dr. Aqua sighed. "It will take a lot more than cannon fire to do them in."
"They are nothing but BARNACLES on the bottom of my ship." Vincent growls. "They destroyed that MAP, shiver me timbers! How are we to find that Mind Stealer now?! Surely ONE of you had read it!"
Ben only picked up Jack's box and shook it open. The pirate fell to the ground, growing to his normal size. Upon seeing the ghostly skeleton pirate, he yelped.
"Do you recall what was on that map, Jack?" Ben asks. "If they find it before we do, they'll be guarding that head with their lives!"
"Er…forty paces east on the center island of the Caribbean Sea?"
"Caribbean Sea?! Blast, that's mermaid territory!" Vincent growled. "Right near their kingdom in the Bermuda Triangle!"
"I've faced mermaids before, mate." Ben says. "Are you SURE the map said it was in the Caribbean?"
"Well…that's all I could remember was on the map!" Jack stated. "I only looked at it ONCE! The directions, however…i-it didn't say. Last I checked…"
"At least it's narrowed down." Ritter stated. "We won't have to search the whole blasted oceans like our Atlantis expedition."
"You'll need better memory, Jack." Vincent growled. "And a way to get over that phobia of yours."
He began marching to his ship, barking orders to his men.
"Make sail! We sail to the Caribbean! Search everywhere for that Mind Stealer when we arrive! Or Slappy will have yer SOULS if ye fail!"
He wasn't wasting any time. The other captains returned to their ships, preparing their own crews to embark on the grand voyage.
For all they knew, those blasted hunters had read the map fully before destroying it! And they could be headed for that shrunken head at that very moment!
Time was of the essence. And the master HATED it when they failed…
