The Elusive Treasure
Chapter Nineteen
The Flashback… and More
°°Flashback°°
It was two years ago. Two boys laughed merrily as they rode along Ocean Shores on their skateboards. The taller of the two was wearing a dark violet shirt and black shorts. His white running shoes were firmly planted on his red skateboard. He was wearing black knee and elbow pads. His head was topped off with a purple helmet that had bat wings on the side. His companion, who was much shorter than him, was wearing a blue shirt and red shorts. His dirty black sneakers were standing on his orange skateboard. His pads were sky blue while his helmet was green. A turtle's shell was pictured on it.
They were obviously the Lopez Brothers. They looked exactly the same as they do today, except that they were, of course, shorter than they were. But there was one other detail about the two boys. Around both of their necks was a gold chain.
Eleven year old Izzy's charm was shaped exactly like the video game character Bowser's head. Emeralds represented the villain's face. Rubies were used for his hair and eyes. Diamonds represented his razor sharp teeth. Finally, amber was used for the monster's horns and muzzle.
Nine year old Iggy's charm was shaped like the head of Shadow the hedgehog. The majority of it was made of onyx while amber represented his muzzle. Lastly, rubies were used for his eyes and the highlights in the quills.
"Man, this place is cool, huh bro?" Iggy asked happily.
"Yeah. I gotta admit," Izzy started, looking around. "Mom picked the perfect place to move to. I think I'm gonna like it here."
"I wonder if there's a skate park around here."
"I remember reading in the web site for the town that there's this place called 'Mad Town.' It's supposed to be by the pier."
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" The younger brother shouted, kicking the ground to accelerate.
"Hey! I'm the older brother!" The taller one protested, speeding up as well. "I give the orders!"
The siblings skated through the town until they eventually came to the pier. When they reached the entrance, they went over to the railing and looked into the skate park.
"Woah..." They both said in awe as they watched a certain kid in a yellow shirt and dome helmet soar into the air and do tricks so advanced, it seemed like he was dancing on air.
"That guy's amazing." Iggy commented.
"Pffft!" Izzy scoffed, crossing his arms. "You think that's amazing? Just wait until I get in there."
"Yeah right. Did you forget that ya only been practicing for a couple of months?" The older brunet flushed in embarrassment. "So I'm a beginner! Big deal! I've gotten better!"
"Heh, you still crash trying to do the easiest tricks!"
Izzy shook a fist at him, causing him to back down.
"Shaddap! Just because you got into this sorta thing a year before me means nothing! I can still wipe the floor with anybody!"
"Then prove it." Iggy challenged, sticking his tongue out at him. The older brother gulped. He was challenged by his little brother no less! He had to do it, otherwise he'll lose his control over Iggy.
"Hmph! Fine! I'll do it!" He said as he got on his board and rolled towards the ramp. He then looked back at Iggy, who was following right behind him. "Don't think that I won't forget this later tonight."
Now it was Iggy's turn to gulp. He knew he crossed the line with that challenge, but there was no turning back.The brothers rolled down the ramp and into the park. Since the half pipe was still occupied, they decided to mingle around and warm up by skating around in the bowls. They followed up by grinding the different rails and launching off the various ramps. About an hour passed before the skater in the red helmet exited the half pipe.
"Well, bro, had enough of a warm up?" Iggy smirked. Izzy glared at him.
"Watch it, ya little brat." He warned.
"Sticks and stones will break my bones," The shorter brother teased, dancing around him. "But words will never..." He blinked. "How does the rest of it go?"
Izzy fell over.
"You can't even tease right!" He shouted as he stood up. "How the heck are you better than me at skating!.?"
Not even ten seconds after that, the kids nearby laughed and pointed at him.
"Oh man! You gotta be kidding!" One kid was heard. "This shoobie can't even beat a little kid?"Izzy growled and shook his fists as his face grew red in anger.
"Yeah! I bet he still needs his training wheels to skate!" Another one said. The brunet gritted his teeth as he shook like a volcano getting ready to erupt. Iggy gulped as he backed away. He knew all too well how devastating his brother could get when he's pushed to the limit.
"Hey! Go home, shoo--"
"ENOUGH!.!.!" Izzy bellowed. The crowd gasped and trembled in fear as his roar echoed throughout the entire park. "YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!.?.! I CHALLENGE ANYBODY TO THE HALF PIPE!.!.! YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME!.?.! THEN STEP UP OR SHUT UP!.!.!"
A few seconds passed before the crowd whispered among each other. The Lopez Brothers watched each and every single one of them carefully, trying to see who would actually dare to accept the volatile boy's challenge.
"Hey Squid." A voice spoke up.
Izzy and Iggy turned to see a group of four kids standing the closest to them. One of which was the same skater they saw on the half pipe. With him were a girl wearing a yellow helmet, a slightly shorter boy wearing a helmet with bird wings on the side (almost a complete mirror to Izzy's), and a short, round boy wearing glasses and a helmet shaped like a shark.
"I bet you can take him." The voice continued. It seemed to belong to the one in the winged helmet. The round boy shuddered at the comment.
"A-a-a-a-a-are you crazy, Twist!.? I don't wanna go a-a-a-a-anywhere near him..."
"Come on, Squid!" The skater in the dome helmet encouraged. "He's just a shoobie with a big mouth. You can take him."
"I heard that!" Izzy shouted. The group turned to him. "You think that little butterball can beat me!.?"
"Hey!" The one known as Squid protested stepping forward. "I don't even know you!"
"Well then, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Izzy and that—" He pointed at the one in the green helmet. "—is Iggy."
"Hiya!" Iggy waved wildly.
"We're the Lopez Brothers." Izzy continued. "We're the best gamers anywhere and soon, we'll be great skaters!"
To that, the crowd erupted into laughter."Hahahahaha!.!.! See, Squid? What'd I tell ya? He's all talk!" The one in the dome helmet said.
"Yeah, Sammy." The girl spoke up. "Even I'm starting to think you can beat him with no problem. Go for it!" Sam still looked unsure.
"B-b-b-b-b-b-but I..."
"Just get out there!" Twister shouted, pushing him towards Izzy, who smirked.
'Well now, this guy is just a round little punk.' He thought. 'There's no way I can lose.' He glowered at Sam's friends, who cheered him on.
'Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone. I get to shut those kids up and I can rub it in Iggy's face.' He rubbed his hands evilly. 'This'll be fun.'
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"Here are the rules!" The one in the dome helmet, who introduced himself as Otto, started. "Sam will do a move first and then you have to imitate it. If you land it, you do a move and Sam would have to imitate it. You both keep going back and forth until one of you beefs it."
"Yeah, yeah. I know the rules!" Izzy shouted.
The brunet was standing on the half pipe. Next to him was Sam, who had a look of complete nervousness. Behind them were their coaches, Reggie and Iggy. They both had towels, bottles of water, and a first aid kit ready.
"Hey bro, are ya sure you wanna go through with this?" Iggy whispered to his brother. "I mean, there's no way you can win!"
"Hmph!" Izzy stubbornly grunted. "I'm gonna win 'cause I got my lucky charm with me." He held up his Bowser charm. "There's no way I can lose."
"Whatever. Just don't punish me when you mess up."
Iggy shrank back under his brother's dark glare.
"Alright, let's get this started!" Otto shouted. He was standing on the ground, along with Twister. "Alright, Squid. You're first!"
"O-o-o-o-ok..." Sam gulped as he mounted his board and dropped in.
The blond went up and down the sides of the half pipe, building up his speed. Once he was able to achieve the highest height possible, he pulled off a simple 360 degree spin before rolling back down the side of the pipe and landing near Izzy.
"Ok, shoobie. You're next!" Otto called.
The brunet gulped. "Here goes."
Like Sam, he dropped in, rolled up and down the pipe a few times, and performed a 360 degree spin before going back to where he started.
"Woah. He really did it." Reggie commented.
"Aw man! I thought for sure he woulda crashed on the first trick!" Twister moaned. Izzy growled and shook his fist at him.
"I heard that!"
"Just go!" Otto yelled.
And so, the duel continued. Both boys tried to outwit the other with all the tricks they knew, which, unfortunately for the spectators, were ones that anybody can master within their first week of skating. The boys' repertoire consisted of simple spins and rotations. Whatever Sam can do, Izzy was able to perform almost exactly the same and vice versa. The amount of time it took for either one of them to mess up a trick quickly added up as the crowd struggled to stay awake.
Soon, it was sunset and neither boy gave up. They were exhausted though.
"This is a joke!" Izzy shouted to his brother as he snatched his towel. "How long is it gonna take him to choke!.?" He rubbed his face.
"I don't know, but we gotta get home before dark." Iggy warned as Izzy sipped from his water bottle. "Mom'll be mad at us."
"She's not gonna be as mad as I'll be if that dork doesn't screw up soon!"
"Reg...I can't...go on..." Sam panted to his best friend as he was handed his water.
"Just hang on a little longer, Sam." Reggie comforted. "He's gotta give up sometime."
"Come on! We gotta get home, ya know!.?" Otto shouted at the competitors. The crowd, or at least those that were still awake, yelled their agreement.
"Ok, ok!" Reggie yelled at her brother. She turned to Sam. "Come on, Sammy. Just do one more trick. I know you can."
"A-alright, Reg. I'll try." The blond replied, getting to his feet. He stood on his board and rolled down the pipe.
Like so many times earlier that day, Sam went up and down the wooden structure to accelerate. When he finally achieved the necessary height, he amazed the spectators by pulling off a sweet Varial and even a McTwist before finally coming back down. The crowd roared as he came back to where Reggie and the Lopez Brothers were standing, mouths agape.
"What the heck!.?" Izzy complained when he found his voice. "I've never done anything like that before!" He turned and grabbed his brother's shoulders. "Iggy! Help!"
"Wh-what can I do?" Iggy stuttered.
"I don't know, but you better figure it out and fast! You got me into this mess!"
"ME!.?.! You're the one who challenged that guy!" The younger brother pointed at Sam.
"WHAT!.?.! You're blaming me!.?.!"
"Whaddya think!.?"
Both brothers growled at each other before launching into an all out fight. Everybody sweatdropped as they were engulfed in a dust cloud as they cursed and punched each other.
"Hey! Stop it!" Reggie shouted, reaching into the cloud. It dissipated as she held the siblings at arm's length away from each other. Iggy was on her left while Izzy was on her right, towards the edge of the pipe. "You're family! You're not supposed to fight each other!"
"Tell that to Lars." Twister muttered, crossing his arms.
"Lady, we're brothers!" Iggy told her. "We're supposed to fight!"
"Yeah! It's in our blood!" Izzy agreed, wriggling out of her grip. He stepped backwards. "And now if ya don't mind, I'm gonna—"
It was at that very moment that he stepped on his skateboard, causing him to roll forward.
"WOAH!.!.!" He screamed as he went careening down the pipe. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!"
He tried to regain his balance as he went up the side, but alas. Fate (and gravity) had other plans.
°CRASH!.!.!°
Izzy landed face first on the middle of the half pipe. In no time at all, everybody crowded around him. Iggy, of course, was by his side.
"Izzy...?" He said, poking his brother's head. "Are you alive?"He continued to poke Izzy, who was starting to stir.
°POW!°
"CUT IT OUT ALREADY!.!.!" The older brunet roared. He just punched Iggy away. He groaned as he sat up. "Ugh... I'm lucky I survived that one..."
"Hey, are you alright?" Sam asked, putting his hand on Izzy's shoulder. Izzy shrugged him off instantly.
"Of course I'm fine. As long as I got my lucky charm, I'm—" His eyes widened in fear. "M-m-my charm!"
He grabbed his chain and pulled it to eye level. To his utter horror, only half of Bowser's head remained connected to the chain.
"My charm..." He hissed as he let go of it. "My lucky charm..." He bowed his head. "Y-y-you broke my charm... My ultimate symbol of good luck..."
"What?" Sam blinked confusedly.
"YOU BROKE MY LUCKY CHARM!.!.!" Izzy bellowed, shoving the blond aside.
"HE'S OUR FRIEND," bellowed the auburn one, stepping forward. "HE DID NO SUCH THING. YOU APOLOGIZE, NOW!.!.!" The veins on Otto's eyes were visible through his shades as he stood before Izzy.
"No way!" The brunet shouted, stomping past Otto. He kneeled towards his brother and pulled him up by the back of his shirt. "I may have lost this competition, Blondie, but there'll be others. And I won't rest until I defeat you. From now on we're rivals!" He pushed his brother to make him start walking out of the park. "Til we next meet!"
°°End Flashback°°
"And to this day, I've never beaten him." Izzy finished his recollection.
Everybody in the cavern (even Tesoro) gaped at him. It took some time before anybody can speak.
"So what happened to the other piece of your charm?" Oliver asked.
The brunet shrugged. "How should I know? It's probably lost for good."
"And why isn't Iggy wearing his?"
"Because Izzy won't let me." The brother in question grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Oh now you remember, huh!.?" The older sibling said. "Anyway, yeah. If I can't have my lucky charm because of that blond brat, he can't either."
"What a spoiled brat, huh?" Riley said to Tesoro, who mewed as she was petted.
Izzy glowered at her.
"What's with everybody talking about me behind my back?" He said to himself. He then stood up. "In any case, let's move. Who knows how much time we wasted?"
The others nodded as they got up. They grabbed their gear and continued their trek.
"Hmmm..." Izzy hummed, rubbing his chin.
"What's up?" Iggy asked, walking up to him.
"Something as momentous as us getting the treasure requires a grand entrance, don't ya think?"
"I guess..." The shorter one shrugged. "But what?"
"Heh, that we'll have to discuss." The older one replied, grabbing his backpack. He opened it and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Walk with me, Iggy."
"You won't hurt me, will ya?"
Izzy glared at him.
"I will if you don't get up here! Now move!"
Further down the group, Oliver heard his radio crackling. Blinking, he pulled it out of his pocket.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The Ozone Streeters emerged from the other side of that agua luminosa. "Well, this was the easier of the two options," commented Otto. "Who knows what would have happened if we'd tried our luck with those rocks?"
"I know," commented Scott. "I'd have felt better about that if Lou was with us, but still, we got to clean up a bit," he grinned.
Twister spied a stick on the ground, one end covered in a charred, oily rag tied to it. He opened a bottle of matches and struck one on the stony wall, lighting it. He ignited the torch and carried it before him. "Which way, Squid?" he asked.
Sam extracted the laminated copy of the map he carried with him, and peered into his compass. "Thataway," Sam pointed.
Twister thought he'd seen somebody walking across their path. 'A cop in riot gear, like at some civil disturbance? I must be hallucinating--or at least seeing things.' He took point, walking slowly and steadily onward.
Meanwhile, aboard the Sea Crest...
The bell sounded out the hour that had just passed, and the ship's executive officer had grown nervous. There had been no contact from the away team. He lifted the radio mike and keyed it.
"Oliver? This is Number One. Is everything okay? Over." He released the mic and waited for a response.
"Number One, this is Oliver. Everything's alright. Over." He answered.
"Roger that, Skipper. Please remember to check in once in a while. We were getting worried. Sea Crest clear," the caller acknowledged.
"Understood. Over and out." The redhead replied, putting the radio away.
Behind the genius, the sailor with the camera was scoping out the moss lining the cave walls when he saw a strange image. It looked like a boy that was about the same age as Oliver. He was wearing only a bandana and a pair of tattered shorts. The man gave a frightened yelp as the boy disappeared off camera.
"Sea man, what's the matter with you?" Oliver asked, turning towards him. "Keep moving. You don't want to get lost down here."
"B-b-b-b-but sir, I saw a..." The sailor trailed off.
"Saw what?" The redhead gave him a look that was half questioning and half glowering. The sailor gulped. There was no way his president would believe him.
"N-n-n-nothing sir..." He finally answered.
"Very well then. Let's continue on."
Oliver caught up with the rest of the group. The cameraman turned towards the place where he saw the apparition. There was nothing there, however. Satisfied at the fact that it was his mind playing tricks on him, he turned and ran up to the group. When they disappeared around a corner, Felipe rematerialized.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Back with the Rockets...
The kids had a rather uneventful ride. Apparently they chose the best possible entrance route - and the fact that a certain presence helped them by revealing some hidden traps to Roderick really made the trip easier.
Soon the kids faced a downward slope. The sound of running water and a slight draft of air told them they were near a larger cave, perhaps inundated by an underground current.
The ground was rather slippery - they had to step very carefully.
But a very big surprise was awaiting for them when they finally reached the base of the slope. The kids found themselves in a large cave, with a large pool of fresh water in the middle.
The cave was very dark, and only shadows were visible. But Sam pointed his flashlight to the walls and discovered several torches affixed to iron chandeliers. Sam pointed the torches to Scott, who produced a lighter from his pocket and lit the torch. Soon they found more torches on the walls, and as they lit them, the interior of the cave became illuminated with a bright, yellowish light. And that revealed a very impressive sight to their eyes.
Looking at the marks on the walls, Sam deduced the cave inundated periodically - perhaps with the high tide - but never over a couple of meters or so.
But the most remarkable sight lied in the middle of the lagoon, on a higher point which apparently was above the water level.
"What the..." - said Otto
"It can't be..."
"Unbelievable!" - said Sam and Reggie
"YAY!.!.! AN AUTHENTIC PIRATE SHIP! THIS IS SOOO COOL!.!.!" - said Roderick, as hyper as ever.
The kids looked in awe at their discovery.
Right there, in the middle of that cave, were the remains of the "Santa Isabel", Lorenzo's carabela.
There wasn't much left of it, of course - it was rather an empty hull, but part of the tall masts still stood above deck.
It was evident that the ship had been severely damaged.
Several openings on the sides indicated that it was not seaworthy when it was taken there.
Scott and Sam were very confused. "What is a ship like that doing inside this cave?"
"Well, I think I can explain that, Sam" - said Roderick - "I think I know someone who might know the story of this ship"
"Good question, Sammy," replied the taller blond. "By the way, Twist, you getting this?"
"Of course I am, Scott! Although there is... something weird with the Twistcam. I am getting something by Roderick, as if someone was standing with him..."
"Kirlian aura, huh?" muttered Scott to nobody in particular.
Then Scott felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up. He felt drawn to look where Roderick was standing.
Everyone looked at Roderick, surprised. But the boy was smiling gently, looking at the place where Twister thought that shadow was standing.
"Guys, I want you to meet... Don Felipe Rodriguez y Rodriguez, son of Don Ignacio and Sandra Rodriguez."
Everyone blinked, confused, but Roderick kept smiling at the spot
"C'mon, Felipe. It's OK. We are here to help you" - said Roderick, reassuringly.
Everyone looked in awe as the dust particles in the air began to concentrate by Roderick. Soon a small figure began to take shape. After a couple of minutes, the kids thought they saw another person standing by Roderick. A young boy, dressed on ragged pants and with a red bandana on his head. To their surprise, the boy looked very much like Twister!
All the kids were surprised, but somehow were not scared.
Soon the shadow was perfectly visible.
"Guys, this is Felipe. He was Lorenzo's younger brother. He has been accompanying us since we entered the cave. He showed Sam the location of that spring when he and Scott got trapped."
"And he also told me where those booby traps were located."
"He has to be right," admitted Scott. "Even my preparations couldn't account for all the dangers that were left here. I felt as though on some level I were guided." He turned to the apparition. "Thanks, dude." Scott extended his hand in friendship.
"You're most welcome!" - said Felipe, extending his hand too - "I'm glad that somebody finally discovered the clues and had the intelligence to come all the way to this place"
Felipe's voice was almost identical to Twister; but he spoke with a rather ancient accent.
"Whoa... I can't believe it!" - said Twister, very surprised - "Your family name is Rodriguez too? Such a coincidence!"
"I know!" - said Felipe - "I was also surprised. And you look exactly like me!"
Roderick chuckled a bit.
"Well, I wouldn't be that surprised about that, guys. After all you are related!"
"ARE WE?.?.?" - said Felipe and Twister at the same time, looking at each other very surprised
"Yeah! Now it makes sense, Twister. For some strange reason, it seems all - or at least, most of us - are somewhat related to the original crew of this ship."
Everyone looked at Roderick, very confused
"Scott, remember when you told us you found that key, you knew it belonged to one of your ancestors? It seems he was part of Lorenzo's crew. And Twist, you always told us you have Spanish and Mexican descent. And you told us once that one of your ancestors was a famous pirate. Well, Felipe was - is the brother of that pirate."
Scott nodded. The whole thing now made perfect sense. He spoke up.
"Felipe, there's something I have to tell you. There are other people who know that this place may exist, and there is someone out there possessed by a... foreign entity who means to do us harm. I don't know where he is, but there's a possibility he might be headed this way. There is still another group of people who might be motivated either by simple greed, or by curiosity. Is there anything we should do to...uh, protect you as well as ourselves from any harm that might be coming this way?" The others in the entourage nodded. "Also, we're somehow curious as to how a large boat exists here, inside a mountain."
"I know about those groups. And the... entity you are talking about is none other but my evil brother, Lorenzo." - said Felipe, with an expression of both sadness and fear on his face.
"The best way to protect yourselves against him, is to stay out of his way. You don't need to worry about me; but you must hurry and take the treasure away as soon as you can.
"As for this hull... it used to be our ship. But it got damaged a couple of days after Lorenzo... " Felipe looked down to his feet "... had me... executed" - said in a low tone of voice, after a couple of moments.
"He was being chased by the Armada, but a storm separated them and Lorenzo made it to this shore. But the ship could not be repaired. So he sent some of his men to scout the shorea and found these caves. He had the ship dismantled - mainly by the two men who helped me - and carried here to be rebuilt, as a storage chamber for the treasure."
"But--the treasure must weigh several hundred pounds at least. We came here to locate it, then make... later arrangements to remove it. We'd be lucky to carry away maybe a hundred pounds if that all together," noted Scott.
"I see. But you must try to take it away! Else Lorenzo will find it... and it will... cause serious damage to the kid he posessed; the pirate with the missing tooth."
"Could you reveal it to us, then?" asked Otto.
"Sure! You just climb to the hull and go to the hold. The ship is too old, but the wood is still solid - this cave is rather dry and it has preserved it very well. You will find a large chest in the middle of the hold. Perhaps you can use some ropes to drag it - you are many, and look strong enough. Then you could-" Felipe looked nervously to one of the other passages. His expression turned to one of anger and fear.
"I gotta go. Lorenzo is very near. I'll try to stop him. You guys better hurry... please!" said Felipe as he disappeared in front of the kids.
The kids gripped gratefully the weapons they'd brought. Scott laid out a plan: "Otto, Roderick, you guys being the lightest, go in and have a look. The rest of us, maintain a perimeter around that ship. Use the water to hide if you need to, but only go on air if you're completely submerged, those things give off a noticeable noise above water. We have to protect that treasure--if anything happens to those other goons, it's just evolution in action. Ok?"
The others nodded, some with gulps but all showing a brave face.
"Alright then! Let's do this," urged Reggie.
The gang heard a rockfall in one of the adjoining corridors, followed by a familiar voice screaming unfamiliar epithets. "Way to go, Phil!" whispered Twister with a giggle as he took up his post.