I'm not even going to begin to explain why I didn't update this back when I started it but I am now, so I hope you're happy!

Avast ye dirty swabs!

Roy left the crew's quarters and made his way up onto deck. He opened the door and saw Marth standing at the top of the gangplank, hand casually on the red painted rail. He put a finger to his lips as Roy approached, signalling him to be quiet. He looked down and they watched Bowser blocking the way to three weasel-like men with small beady eyes, which darted around looking this way and that.

"I'm telling you! No one has left or boarded this ship apart from the Captain who you can see up there. Oh, and Roy. That's Roy, not a girl." Bowser growled ferociously as the group's gaze fell upon the red hair. They eventually shuffled off, and Marth turned and smiled.

"Well, this Rita Solar-power or whatever she called herself might prove quite an asset, as well as having a couple of very fine assets of her own."

Roy grinned as Marth said this. The blue-haired man did love his women, and had an excellent sense of humour. He was a great Captain, keeping morale and cheer at a high level with his charm and humorous turn of phrase.

"They obviously see her as something precious. If I was black-hearted I would ransom her off for quite a sum. But that's not the way to do things around here and besides those cannons on that ship would be used and any money those scoundrels had given, taken back from the smoking heap. Maybe she has something to tell us, but firstly. . . Ah! Just the man!"

Roy looked down to see Fox approaching. He was swaying slightly as he walked and any sense of a straight line had been wiped out by the bottle of rum clutched in his paw. He grinned as he made his way slowly up to the deck.

"Hey there Marth, Roy, what are you doing back so early? There are some fine specimens out and about this evening." He winked, and begun to chuckle to himself contentedly.

"That's just great Fox, but I have a job for you my fine fellow." Marth smiled, his gaze falling upon the dark ship, moored down the dock from them. Fox followed his Captain's stare and what he saw seemed to sober him up a little.

"As we know Fox, you're quick and pretty sneaky."

"So is Pikachu, I assure you, seriously, take it from me, he likes big dark scary missions."

"Fox. . ."

"Did I ever tell you, that I really don't like the jobs you give me."

"Well, as a crew member you are expected to carry out any task assigned to you!"

"I need a pay-rise. . ."

Marth laughed. "Go and get on that ship, find anything you think will be useful and we'll . . . borrow it for a while."

"I'm not a thief!" Fox retorted.

"Then count yourself promoted to the rank of thief!" Marth beamed, and clapped his comrade on the shoulder. Fox glared at him. "You have an answer for everything don't you?"

"In answer to what you just asked me, yes!"

Fox rolled his eyes, and scurried down to the dock and made his way along the boardwalks to the ship. Roy watched him disappear into the night.

"You are so cruel…" He laughed, but it was cut short when he saw Mewtwo approaching ominously in his freaky floating fashion. Roy made his excuses and left for the safety of the crew's quarters. He didn't like the sharp burning sensation one got when having one's mind read by the demon cat-pokemon. But no one ever dared steal anything or do anything to double-cross their friends on the ship because they would be found out with a quick glance from those violet eyes.

"Evening Captain." Mewtwo said in his usual bored voice.

"Mewtwo, why aren't you out enjoying the food and wine?"

"I don't drink." Was the simple answer, said with a tone which clearly said, 'Ask no more.' Marth shrugged. "Got anything on those brutes who came here after us?"

"Hmm, it'll cost you."

"I believe it will cost you, you know how skilled I am at projecting images of Mario dancing the tango naked when at close proximity to you."

Mewtwo glided a few feet to the right. "Quite. Well, all I could tell is that their aim is an island to the south-east of here. The girl they are chasing was their prisoner and escaped in one of their row-boats. They could have easily caught up with a mere row-boat in that huge ship, you are no-doubt thinking. I believe she has a little magic of her own."

"Interesting." Marth said thoughtfully. "Very interesting indeed."

"Marth-a, Marth-a!" Two heavily accented voices floated up, before the Mario brothers leapt up onto deck with one mighty spring.

"Look, I would just LOVE to be all dressed up, but remember I'm not Martha until Friday night. . ."

"There-a is-a brawl! Link is-a fighting." Luigi said desperately. Marth rolled his eyes. Typical Link, complete and utter testosterone fuelled sex-machine with a tendency to strike out at any challenge.

"Shall we-a do something?" Mario asked.

"No I don't think that is necessary, but alert Dr. Mario that he may have a patient to handle later on."

"But-a Zelda and Peach-a were nearly caught-a up in the violence. . ."

"Good GODS man, are you mad? Go and fetch them immediately, and make sure they are ok. I do not want my girls – especially my Quartermaster and Chief Financier hurt in any way whatsoever."

The brothers left. Marth could hear the fighting from where he stood. If he closed his eyes, he swore he could hear Link hurling abuse in every direction and laughing like a maniac.

Soon, the sounds of the punch-up died down. Marth saw the two women safely on board escorted by Luigi, and behind them came Link, slumped over Yoshi's back, being lead by Mario with Donkey Kong keeping up the rear, obviously, Link's attackers were planning to finish him off but they would not dare follow with a large and angry ape keeping guard.

"YO HO! YO HO! A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME! LA LA LA lalalamumblemumblemumble LA LA HO HO! BUT I'LL BE BACK FOR TEA! I WON'T HAVE MILK, BUT ADD SOME RUM! MY DEAR, YOU HAVE A FABULOUS. . . BE-HIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNND! YO HO, YO HO! . . . Oh dear, I've run out of drink."

Link's singing stopped abruptly when he turned up his tankard and shook it to see if he could make something magically appear. He turned one swollen eye to peer up at the deck.

"MARTH!" He shouted.

"Shut up! You idiot! What HAVE you been doing?" Marth hissed.

"WELL! It's a LONG story but you know that GIRL in the RED dress! . . . well it wasn't her. . .ANYWAY some JERK tried to STEAL my GIRL in the VIOLET dress. So I gave him the OLD One-two!" Apparently Link was having difficulty in controlling the volume of his voice.

"Link, you had the girl in the red, the one in the orange, the one in the yellow, the girl in the green, Bella in the Blue and the girl in the Violet. I only had the one in Indigo, couldn't you have shared?"

"Absolutely NOT! A man's Honour, is measured by how WELL he can keep his Women." He slurred with a flourish of his hand, which overbalanced him and he passed out in midair, halfway to the floor from Yoshi's back.

Mewtwo grumbled something about alcohol and how ridiculous it made people look. Link was hauled aboard the ship, just as Fox clambered over the rail over the starboard side, dripping wet.

"Had to make a quick swim for it and. . . is he alright?" He motioned to Link who was smiling happily in his unconscious state.

"He'll be fine. What did you find?" Marth said, extending his arm to take whatever Fox had managed to find.

Fox put a paw inside his waistcoat and pulled out a rolled up parchment and another small scrap of paper. "Excellent work, this looks like a map." Marth said excitedly, unrolling it and looking. Fox held on the scrap of paper.

"This was lying on the map next to one of the islands." He explained. Marth took it delicately from Fox's grasp. He squinted in the darkness and titled a lantern hanging from the shrouds so he could read it. "The universe is the key... well isn't it always? Child of the stars can turn the universe." He read aloud. Marth, Fox and Mewtwo all stared at each other in silence as the others dragged the slumbering Link up onto deck.

"Well... what's the suposed to mean?" Fox fnally said as Link was being put into the recovery postion. He had begun to hum to himself in his sleep which was a ridiculously annoying sound. "Well, apparently a 'star-child' is the only person who can turn this key." Marth said thoughtfully.

"Yeah I gathered that, but the universe is pretty damn huge surely you can't use a whole universe to open a lock in this mortal realm." Fox frowned. Suddenly Link jolted up with a snort sitting upright and loking at them with half lidded eyes. They ignored this drunken behaviour and carried on talking. "Well, obviously this Rita Solaris girl who Roy brought aboard has something to do with it because they want her so badly they've taken to almost trying to chase people aboard my ship!" Marth said indignantly.

"Who the hell is Rita Solaris?" Said Fox who had not been around at the time of her arrival.

"Oh she's this red-headed girl that Roy found being chased by those cretins from the other ship, very pretty actually -"

"GUYS!" Link suddenly shouted at them, bleary eyed and squinting threateningly. "Don't you get it? Th-th-think about it. Seriously. Honestly. I mean, whoa. Rita Solaris... let's think...think...think. Solaris...universe...stars? GALACTICA! Space! Solar? You know, Solar? Solaris? Like a sun? Like Polaris the north star? She'd be a star child surely and...and, and the universe thingy, that's GOT to be a metaphor for...for something else because the universe is so big, it would be irony so it would be something really really really really really really really small..."

Mewtwo, Marth and Fox gaped at their intoxicated shipmate before staring at each other. "I think admidst that alcohol fuelled gabble our very own first-mate of time has cracked it." Mewtwo said slowly, trying and failing to hide a smirk. Marth leant down next to his second in command and put a hand on his shoulder. "Link, buddy that was great, have you got anything else in that fabulous brain of yours to help us out?"

Link took a long while to register that Marth had said something and turned his head with the most obscene grin possible across his face. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha what you talking abooooooooooout?"

Marth smiled wryly, shaking his head. "Mewtwo, Fox, get this man to his bed and then come back. I'll wait for everybody to return safely aboard and we'll set sail tonight, the wind is picking up and keeping that girl covered during the day will be a nightmare." He watched as they hauled Link across the deck and towards his quarters before turning back to look over the bay. The moonlight played on the surface of the water and he looked up to the stars. 'Star-child... what the heck is a Star- child?'

WOOHAH! How cool am I? Not very I know. Anyway I must dash off into my english kitchen and bake a lemon tart! Toodle-pip!