The Ocean was never bluer than it was on the fateful day this was. The hollowed lands of France disappeared from view several days ago as the red whirlwind Hockenheim soared into the blue yonder. Seagulls laughed merrily as the Hockenheim flew by, driving into cloudbanks and trailing a stream of white fluffy atmosphere. Just for sport, the little red bi-plane took off into a barrel roll and summersaults. Oh how Falcon laughed! To see that much jollity in one would put a bounce in your step and a smile on your face! Despite Falcons most pleased humors, Galuda and Rouge were not feeling the same way. In fact Galuda had turned to a sickly shade of color greener than a boiled frog with parsley, as one would say. Falcon risked a glance behind him to see his comrades.
"How are we faring back there?" falcon chuckled.
Rouge frowned. "If you want to find the Captain, you'd best sop all of these maneuvers. I'm terrified out of my wits and my stomach may leap out any second! And you don't even want to know how Galuda's putting up!"
Falcon grinned. "Once you get your air legs… wait, no. Once you get your plane legs –that's not it either. Oh well, however the saying goes, you'll get used to flying as high in the sky as any guillemot, albatross, puffin, or any other North Atlantic sea bird!"
Rouge looked across her crystalline sphere once more, closing her eyes and trying to find the exact point of where the King Octopus may be. After a couple of moments, she had homed in on her target.
"The King Octopus isn't too much farther north, about a couple of miles or so. We should spot her before the next hour." Rouge instructed the pilot.
"Great! We're still on the right track! We'll be in and out before the weeks end! Hopefully we'll be able to steer clear of any Northern winter gales!" Falcon announced happily.
"I have a question Falcon. Just how much fuel do we have?" Galuda asked from the very back.
"Good question my friend! We'll we poured about a good four or five days of fuel in her when we left Dieppe, and we've traveled a… good… four days… oh shit." Falcon moaned.
At that moment, a disgusting and horrid noise disrupted from the propeller ahead. Put put put put! Small clouds of black smoke began to pour from the propeller. The Hockenheim jutted over to one side in several quick movements. Slowly she began to descend.
Falcon had both hands on the aerial control stick, trying to keep her from falling nose first into the unbearably cold seas below. Gritting his teeth, he was using al of his impressive strength to keep her aloft.
"You just had to say something didn't ya?!" Falcon yelled back to Galuda.
"What do we do?! I don't see any land what-so-ever!" Rouge panicked.
"Look for birds! There's always land by if you see a flock or so!" Falcon advised.
Galuda shaded his brow with one hand and held onto the violently shaking plane with the other. "There! I see a bird!"
"Which direction?!" Falcon shouted.
"West!" Galuda responded.
Falcon chanced a look-see in the direction. "Any bird but that one! That's an Arctic Tern, they practically live on the ocean!"
Rouge sighted around, using her crystal ball for worldly seeing. "I see some cormorants north east! Can we make it there?!"
Falcon glanced in the direction, which Rouge spotted out. "I see them! We can make it if God really cares for us! It's going to be one ballyspiffin crash though! Hold on!"
The little red plane began to roll in consecutive turns. The flock of black sea birds couldn't be mistaken. An island appeared before them. It was to no surprise to Falcon, the Northern Seas were dotted with islands all over. The clouds shot by at amazing speeds. The island was growing larger and larger by the second.
The island was a small one, as I said before, covered in rolling hills. Not many trees lined its surface, mostly just acres of grass. A flock of sheep grazed in the crown of one such hill. A lanky pale shepherd stood watch, sleepily checking the sheep's count. But now the monstrous roar of the Hockenheim interrupted his drowsiness. He glanced up, his red eyebrows rising in disbelief. The sheep noticed as well and each saw the fiery plane balancing itself out. However, the plane was rocketing right for them! The sheep launched a fracas of baas as they began stampeding down the hill's slope. The man just watched as the Hockenheim touched the fertile soil, sending it flying into the air in showers of mud and dirt. The plane became a plow as it ran through the pasture, leaving a great trail of overturned grass. The propellers had slowed, and the plane halted. The whirling blades were just an inch from the shepherds face.
Falcon fell over the side of the plane, landing on the grass below. He lied on the grass, heaving with breath. Rouge and Galuda did the same.
"Well, we're still alive." Rouge smiled.
"Yea, but my precious little baby's been hurt." Falcon sighed.
"We can fix that. We just need to find a town. Did any one see a town from above?" Galuda asked.
"Sorry Galuda, I was too busy screaming for my life as we plummeted to the earth to notice anything." Rouge answered.
"C-can I help you?" The shepherd asked as he recovered from his shock.
Falcon picked him self off the soil. "I'm hoping you can. By your accent, I'm guessing we're somewhere off Norge?"
"Aye, that is correct. You're in Hordaland. Well, that's the province anyway. The closest town is Fedje." The shepherd instructed.
"Good, there's a town." Galuda stated.
"Norge? Is this Norway?" Rouge asked.
"Norge is what the Norwegians call it. Yea, this is Norway, but we're on an island." Falcon answered.
"It's not very far to Fedje. It'll be a day's walk. However, there's something I must warn you about. A ghastly pirate is lurking about in Fedje's port. He practically has it under siege. They've made poor Fedje their new base." The Shepherd told.
Falcon raised an eyebrow. "Really? I guess Skullhaven was too far away for the blighters. That's just made our job all the easier!"
"My ball indicated they were at sea. They were probably returning from plundering and looting!" Rouge said happily.
"Then how about we meet Kraken and his crew at the town!" Galuda said.
"Yes, but priority one is getting the Hockenheim repaired." Falcon turned to the shepherd. "Say ol' chap, have any oxen or horses around?"
"I have two seers beast that could pull your plane for you, as long as you return them happy and healthy." The shepherd offered.
"Well you can't have something for nothing I suppose. We'll return them to you at once!" falcon smiled.
He turned to his two fellow crewmen. "Come on chaps! We've got a plane to hitch to some cows, wot wot!"
** *
The day had been clouded over by a thin sheet of gray clouds. The sea's sparkled no more. Short, choppy waves rode the sea, as they liked. And the great galleon King Octopus was returning from the day's events. She had been repaired in the wave of her success, no more holes on her sides, not a single torn sail, and no more leaky lifeboats.
The officer's deck was a little cozy room. A large table was the centerpiece, surrounded by several ornate chairs. A lantern hung from the ceiling, giving an orange hue to it. Maps of all kinds lined the walls. And sitting in the ornate chairs were several of the King Octopus' crewmen and her one and only captain, Captain Ebenezer Kraken. On the table were loads and loads of booty, pirate talk for stolen goods. Gold, silver, bronze and amber covered the table in a heaped mess. Each member was enjoying a meal of cooked cod and a beaker of grog.
Kraken took a deep gulp of his grog, placed the beaker on the table and wiped his face. His physical portrayal as somewhat different from Falcon's account. He had a full face, though his nose was incredibly bulbous, and he had both hands. His teeth were still in a crazy setting, and his hair was as silver and unkempt as before. He laughed. "Harhar Look at all the booty we dragged in today, yarr. 'Tis the finest loot we've gained this month!"
The crewman all laughed. Kraken grinned. "Ah, but we have to give thanks to the power stone that gave us all the ability to do all of this, yarr. If it 'tweren't for it, we would have, dare I say it, have gone to Davy Jones' Locker for good, yarr!"
The crewman all thanked the precious stone and then went back to work dining or gazing upon the days work. A pirate crewman, decked in a red and white striped shirt, bandana wrapped around his head, and poor rags for pants, swigged a beaker of grog and started talking to his captain. "You certainly know what your doing Captain! We have the entire northern seas under our thumb!"
"Harhar! Of coarse do, King, my shipmate! Only the finest of all seamen get this far! Yarr!" Kraken laughed. He was in high spirits. His fortune had been good ever since he clasped hands on the powerful gem. He grinned, showing all of his horrid teeth.
"Uh, Capn'." Came a voice.
Kraken frowned and looked down the table. A thin man with spectacles was raising his hand next to a much larger man who was doing the same. "Yarr, what is it, Octo, Puss?"
The thin man, Octo, toyed with his beaker as he spoke. "Me and Puss were just thinking here, maybe we should try going south."
"South." Puss repeated.
"Arr! What's wrong here mates?! The sailin's good and the booty plenty! We have all the folks under our thumbs! Yarr!" Kraken slammed his beaker on the table, spilling grog everywhere.
Octo was shaking so badly, his teeth were ratteling. "Uh, you see Captain, uh, the sailin's not so great. We have a storm every other day!"
"Every other day." Puss repeated.
"Yea, and the booty's fine. But, uh, couldn't we get even better booty by heading to Denmark or Scotland?" Octo continued.
"Denmark or Scotland." Puss repeated.
"And we're freezing our butts off! It can't be more than thirty-eight degrees out! If we head south, there's more plunder, better sails, and warmer weather!" Octo finished.
"I hear Spain's nice this time of year." Puss added.
This seemed to arouse the crewmen. Each and everyone was shouting out to head south and head for better plunder, weather, and waves. Kraken narrowed his brow in visible anger. Amidst the shouts and chaos, Ebenezer yelled:
"Quiet! Arhar! So ye wants better waves do ye? Ye wants better plunder huh? And ye wants warmer weather Oi'se takes it? Aharharhar! I'll give ye all of those! But first we must head to base, likes I says afore! Yarr."
The crewmen were so awash with jollity that they began dancing! Smiling faces and dancing feet knocked about on deck. Kraken was pleased with himself. He headed for the two trouble makers Octo and Puss. Placing an arm about both of their shoulders, which was hard due to the three's size differences, the Captain revealed his teeth.
"Har har. So you two be ideas men? Have you plenty of those rattelin around in yer heads now do ye? Yarr." The Captain asked.
"Well, to be frank sir, I be the smarter of the two of us. I'm the brains of the outfit." Octo answered.
"He be the brains of the outfit." Puss stated.
"Is that so? Well then, you can be me advisor from now on, and Puss here can be yer bodyguard! So here's the first plan for ye. When we be headin south, who do we pick a fight wit? Amember, we be only one ships crew, and you want to fight armed modernized nations! I'll let you be the brains on that one, yarr." Captain Kraken explained.
Octo gulped. "Heheh, no problem Captain! Gimme some time to think about it, heh heh."
"Think about it." Puss repeated.
"Good, good. We dock first thing tomorrow! You can think about it then, yarr!" Captain Kraken left the two and went out on deck.
** *
Several days earlier, Accel, Ayame, and Jack were stuck beneath the city of Manches. In the chamber of three doors, Jack laughed.
"What's so funny Jack?" Ayame asked.
"Jack has found the way! Come! Come! I take you!" Jack laughed.
Following his queue, the Japanese and the American followed through the door on the far right. Things were becoming darker and the copper mesh along the walls was growing warm.
"How do you know the stones down here Jack?" Accel asked.
"'Tis simple! Follow the smell! Hehehe" Jack instructed.
Ayame's face turned to one of confusion. "Smell? Stones don't have a smell, do they?"
"Stones have a smell! Each shiny has a distinct odor! The power shiny smells delicious!" Jack said.
"Well I'm keeping my nose shut! We are going into the sewers after all!" Accel advised. Suddenly Accel felt a shock run through his foot. He leaped up in the air shouting all sorts of obscenities.
"What is it Accel?!" Ayame asked the man.
Jack felt it too, however it ran through his daggers into his arms. He instantly leaped onto his feet, cringing.
"My spurs just electrocuted me!" Accel picked the spurs off his boots and shoved them into his pockets.
"Aye, my daggers did the same!" Jack nodded.
"That's funny, I don't feel anything." Ayame tapped her wooden sandals against the wired floor.
Accel glanced at the floor. "Must be some kind of electricity running through here…"
Jack's one eye followed the walls and the roof, noting that copper ran everywhere. Ayame sighed.
"Do you think the voltage will get worse?" Ayame asked her friends.
"Only one way to find out! The stone is through here!" Jack stepped forward.
"I am seriously not feeling good about this…" Accel moaned.
Ayame suddenly felt lucky to have the sandals. Yet another Japanese item brought to good use. "If things do get worse, we can always get my Granny to make wooden sandals for you two!"
** *
