Disclaimer: Though it's close to the end of my story I still have to say it, I don't own these trademarks!
Chapter 7: The Police, Pirates, and the Misplaced Kids
At sunset we made it on the coast of the beach and without even arguing once we decided to camp out there for the night. While Tory and Ishabi made the fire I sat on the beach... Looking out at the ocean and wondering whether there really was a Cave of Fate out there. I'd always thought that my mothers tales were true... And finding out that they might not be was something that got me all the way in my heart. "Something wrong?" Someone asked, and I turned to see Zip coming to sit by me. "No, I was just thinking." I sighed, and I saw a wave wash up against my feet. "You know when I was little chee, I had no friends. No human companion or anything. Tory's team is just mostly monster misfits with no one to depend on but themselves." Zip sighed. I looked over at the lonely monster and smiled.
"And when you found our misfit team with no clue of where we were headed you wanted to join up." I figured, and he nodded. "Well, your not lonely anymore Zip." I smiled, and hugged him. "Thanks chee!" Zip smiled, and Joey came by to sit on the other side of me. "Wow, we've sure gone a long way in the amount of time we've had." Joey noted, and I realized that too. "It's because I'm the leader." I joked, and he half smiled. "You make it as a joke but your probably right Katerina." Abe said, and sat by Joey. "Really?" I asked, and I thought of all the times I kind of forced them into striving for Riana and to get to the ocean...
"I'm kind of pushy at times." I noted, and they slowly nodded. "But you know us... Sometimes we need a kick in the butt every once in a while." Joey noticed, and one by one the whole crew was sitting by the ocean eating soup... Again. "This soup is delicious!" Ishabi crowed, and in came the stand up comedy. "Not if you've had it as many times as we have." Orion insisted, and we all nodded... Well, except the new group who just licked their lips with satisfaction.
We all stayed up pretty late talking... I felt like a fifteen year old, instead of an over protected thirteen year old. And for once I felt important. They all seemed the key to this adventure and its future. "Hey, I'm retiring from this journey for tonight." Clarice sighed, and left to go to sleep by the fire. "Ditto for me man... I have a headache." Vince said, and left too. And then one by one they left just like they came. "I'll stay up with you Katerina." Zip insisted, and I nodded. "Ditto here." Joey laughed, and he looked over at me and gave me that look. That mysterious look that I like so much. "Um, okay if I may ask you to please stop that... You're scaring me." Zip asked, and Joey looked out at the darkening ocean and we saw them... Maybe ten or twenty dolphins jumping in the distance. "Oh, I want to chase them!" I cried, but I knew how impossible it sounded to him. "Try... I'll save you when you sink." He chuckled, and I stayed right there.
"Maybe another time..." I mumbled, and my head slowly fell sideways from sleepiness. "Here, I'll lend a shoulder." Joey offered, and scooted closer so my head could rest on his shoulder. "Thanks." I said, and I looked up at the moon. It seemed, at this moment shrouded in mist and gloomy. The stars just didn't shine like they usually do. "Look up at the sky... Doesn't it look funny?" Zip asked, and I had already known that to start with. "Okay, UFO gazers time to go to bed..." Orion sighed, and I turned to see Orion in a nightcap! "What? Oh, come on I like my nightcap!" He crowed, and I laughed my way back to my sleeping bag. He's got a couple of laughs before, but he's never been laughed at!
In the morning I got up before the sun set. I wanted to see the sun set across the ocean. It was something new that I may never see again... Possibly for two reasons. One, I get killed by Nichiro or I triumph and become famous all of us that is! "Hey your up this early?" Joey asked, seeing that I had already gone down to the side of the ocean again. "Yeah, I wanted to see the sun set." I insisted, and he came and again sat by me... But this time we were alone. "I've heard it's beautiful." I sighed, and put my head in my hands to wait. "Just like you... I guess we really didn't have to come all this way to find the ocean." Joey smiled, and I just shook my head and half smiled. "I wish." I said, and thought about whether it was really worth going across the ocean to the isle crystal less. "Your having doubts about something Katerina..." He said, looking into my eyes. "How-how did you know that?" I questioned, looking back at him. "It's just that blank stare you have that tells me you feel something isn't worth it." He insisted, and I nodded.
"I just don't see how the Phoenix could be saved if I lost the saber and the crystal... Oh, the crystal, your-" I started, but he interrupted. "Don't feel remorse Katerina... It wasn't your fault, don't worry about it... We'll get it back." Joey said, and I looked into his eyes. "We?" I asked, and he nodded. This time I got closer to him and just like the other times our lips met. I think by now we really loved each other. Well, either that or I've lost my mind... Hey, that's possible! "Love birds, it's time to go!" Orion crowed happily and we both saw it. The sun setting across the ocean... But something wasn't right. The colors were all wrong from the description my mom gave me. Instead of the million colors of the horizon it was the one color of blood red! "Whoa, we better hurry, it seems Nichiro has already changed the setting of the sun... It's to close!" Tory roared, and with that we picked up the pace.
We set out for that happy seashore town of Beachora Town... Sadly enough it's crawling with police! It was the first official time I had ever been afraid of the police... But we kind of were running from them at the time. "Hey you guys see that cove?" Orion asked, and as we looked for it we nodded, just to make him happy. "That's where the pirates live!" Orion cried. "Oh, good you lead the way Orion." I said, not sure of where it was still. So he did and it was pretty efficient of a way too. In practically no time we were exactly at the boat of the Suezo Pirates "hideout". Oh, come on just nod your head. "Nails? Captain Nails are you there?" Orion called, into the silent boat. "Arrg, yes what do ya want- Oh, Orion ol buddy." Nails sighed, coming out with a patch on his eye and a bandana on his head... Typical pirate if you ask me.
"Um, we need a ride to Phoenix isle." Zip said, from the back of the group. "Oh, do ya? That'll be fine with me... Just give me-er- a couple of hours er thinkin with me crew... Right laddy?" Nails asked Orion and he nodded. "Hours?" Pixie hissed, once we were a long way away from him. "The sun is practically going to fall on us and all you can say is okay, we'll let the world melt into an infernal nothing!" She roared, and I felt the same way... In fact, we all did. "Look, if we rush things we'll never even get off to that isle by this week okay?!" Orion cried, and hid behind Joey. "Oh, look a cafe!" Vince called, and started running toward it. "STOP!" I called, and he came back glumly. "What? I'm hungry..." He sighed. "Ever heard of the police? Their still after us, when you're on our team it's called caution!" I cried, but it was to late. The donut eating police heard me yelling and came over to check it out.
"We have a problem here?" The policemen asked, and looked at us suspiciously. "Hey, there's four of you..." He noted, and began to talk on his walky-talky. I signaled for them to run in the opposite way they were. "Hey, come back here!" The policeman called, but we didn't stop. We were breaking the law at this time but I only hoped we would make it to the isle and stop Nichiro before he turns the world into his handheld shishcabob. "The ship!" Joey insisted, and we didn't have any other choice but to. "Move the boat Nails... We got the police on our tails." I crowed, busting into his boat. "What did you all do now? Steal something?" Nails asked, ready to set sail. "Worse, we're wanted kids for running away from home... Now go!" Abe called, and poor Smasher who had been silent trudged in the boat scared. "Wow, we have a boatful... Literally!" One of the members said, and pulled the anchor up. I peeked out a window hole and I could just see them coming over a small hill to the boat. "Hurry!" Zip crowed, and just when they thought they had us the boat stirred up and we were outta there! "Yeah!" We all called and gave each other high fives. "Team Tory rules!" Tory smiled. "Good name but I like Team We better." I smiled, thinking of the most absurd name possible. "Oh, yeah... Now we're a combined team." Ishabi pondered. "TEAM WE!" We all yelled, and the crew members of the ship smiled over at us with a look of kindness.
So as you already know we set sail to the isle that, with the suns new tan, looked like a giant ball of fire. "Oh, is this our death mark?" Pixie asked, seeing the almost aflame island. "No, to be technical this is our rebirth mark... The Phoenix has to be there!" I said, and went outside to get away from the heat of so many people in one place. When I got out there on the deck I was relieved. The feel of my hair being blown back from the breeze cooled me down a bit and at last I didn't feel we were completely doomed. "As Mac would always say, "Have faith"." Joey smiled, and came out and put his arm around me. "Yeah, and just for that saying we kept going... We'll never give up, all of us." I smiled, seeing all my friends, and the new ones came out to watch us near the island.
"Never give up men! Er, women too." Orion crowed, seeing Pixie, Clarice, and I with our critical looks on our faces. "About an hour or so and we'll be there!" Nails called, out a window in the steering room. "YES!" We all yelled...Now true destiny was at hand.