Chapter 1
Middle Cove prospered in the few years that had gone by since the nefarious Captain Drakken had lost his contest of blades between himself and James the Red. Life had been very good for the Middle Cove residents…very good ineed.
Aunt Katherine, on one such happy day, felt as fresh as a young girl again, feeling so relieved and happy that she walked about, humming and singing softly to herself within her inn all day long.
Kim, her pretty red-haired daughter, had turned from a girl into a woman in love over the summer. And, the reason for this transformation now lived in James' house…a young lad with short blond hair, freckles, and an earring. Ron the Sailor, as he now called himself, used to call himself the world's youngest pirate…but he had left those old ways far behind him. Even his clothing has changed…and for the better, at least in Kim's opinion. Before Ron used to walk about in his old red and white striped shirt, tucked into old blue trousers sporting holes here and there. Now, however, he wore new black trousers with a yellow-white shirt. Before he had been nothing but a pirate, a scallawag…now, Ron had become James' best friend and shipmate.
But, alas, unfortunately, the peace that had rested in Middle Cove was about to come to an end. For…not so very far away, someone was hiding, plotting against our friends from Middle Cove.
Seemingly out of nowhere appeared a striking woman walking along the shores of Middle Cove. She wore a bright green coat over sable colored shirt and trousers. Her lustrous hair was long and black, tied into a ponytail in the back, with the curious addition of two slender braids to either side of her face. Her leather boots were nautical, but unusual…one being black while its mate was green. The woman wore a felt black tricorner hat pushed back upon her head, allowing all to see her lovely face. Now, while the woman was indeed very pretty…she was also very unusual in appearance. In fact, her smooth skin was a most unusual pale green, but she didn't seem to pay that fact much notice. This unusual woman began to softly sing a song as she sauntered along the shoreline:
(Langemanns sang)
Shego´s Song
Out on the open sea
(Ute på åpent hav)
I am known as Drakken's Shadow
(er jeg kjent som Sabeltanns skygge)
rich men whit gold aboard
(Rikmenn med gull om bord)
Can never feel safe
(kan aldri føle seg trygge)
As pirate I have my very own style
(Som sjørøver har jeg min egen stil)
Great clothes and a friendly smile
(Flotte klær og et vennlig smil)
Shego fools everyone
(Langemann lurer alle)
Like a wolf in sheep's clothing
(som en ulv i fåreklær)
It´s all about stealing
(Det gjelder å rappe)
Money and gold
(penger og gull)
Before they understand how sly I am
(før de skjønner hvor slu jeg er)
No one can stop me
(Ingen kan stanse meg)
When I smells gold in a chest
(når det lukter gull av en kiste)
Drakken stands on deck
(Sabeltann står på dekk)
And believes in me to the last
(og tror på meg til det siste)
He knows I´m going to be
(Han vet jeg vil være)
His best choice
(hans beste mann)
Running through
(Stormer frem)
Fire and Water
(Gjennom ild og vann!)
Shego fools everyone
(Langemann lurer alle)
Like a wolf in sheep's clothing
(som en ulv i fåreklær)
It´s all about stealing
(Det gjelder å rappe)
Money and gold
(penger og gull)
Before they understand how sly I am
(før de skjønner hvor slu jeg er)
Now I have gone ashore
(Nå har jeg gått i land)
And my heart is dunking and banging
(og mitt hjerte dunker og banker)
Maybe I´ll find clues
(Kanskje jeg finner spor)
At old Gabriel's Anchor?
(ved gamle Gabriels anker?)
We are coming back
(Vi kommer tilbake)
Before anyone would imagine
(før noen tror)
Because our Boss
(For sjefen vår)
Wants gold aboard
(vil ha gull om bord)
Shego fools everyone
(Langemann lurer alle)
Like a wolf in sheep's clothing
(som en ulv i fåreklær)
It´s all about stealing
(Det gjelder å rappe)
Money and gold
(penger og gull)
Before they understand how sly I am
(før de skjønner hvor slu jeg er)
Shego---for that was the woman's name---moved off the shore and up the ramp to the docks. She walked along, taking a moment to gaze over at James' ship. As she was doing so, she started, realizing someone was approaching. With cat-like stealth, she ducked quickly behind a barrel resting on the docks.
From her position of hiding, Shego observed a woman, dressed in a bright yellow dress, sporting the strangest bonnet-like hat, approaching, carrying a splendid cake with candles on its top. The woman moved to the small table beside the gangplank of the ship, and put her cake down upon a table. As Shego continued to watch, she soon saw a teenage girl make her way down the docks as well. This young woman had lovely auburn hair, which she too wore in a ponytail, and wore a black dress with a matching cap on her head. Shego watched the girl move over to the other woman, carrying a bunch of brigthly colored flowers. Shego frowned, wondering precisely what these two landlubbers were up to.
The older woman in the yellow dress finally chose to speak up. "Oh, what lovely bunch of flowers, Kim," she said, complimenting the girl.
Kim smiled, turning to the other woman. "Thank you, Mom. Oh, but I can´t wait to see Ron´s face when he sees what we've done," Kim replied happily.
The other woman laughed to hear that. "Oh my, yes…and he doesn't even know that we've figured out that it´s his birthday today," the mother told her daughter with a bright smile.
At the mention of the name 'Ron', Shego too smiled. Ah, Shego deduced in her head, that young redhead would have to be Kim, while that older woman would be her mother, Aunt Katherine. So, Shego decided, these two will be perfect for the plot I've in mind. And, with that decision being made, she rose to her feet, coming out from her hiding spot.
"Good day to you, your ladyships," Shego cried, presentating herself by bowing, sweeping off her black tricorner hat in a theatrical display. She straightened up, tucking her tricorner under her arm, addressing the ladies with nought upon her head but a green bandana adorned with black polka dots. Shego grinned a cat-like grin as the two jumped slightly at her sudden appearance. "Allow me to introduce myself, hmm? The name is Shego." She cast her dark eyes curiously at the table, but then readdressed the two, placing her hat back upon her head. "Might I say what a lovely table you've both decorated? I'm touched, really I am…but, how did you know I'd be coming today, miladies?" Shego laughed softly at her own joke, noticing that neither of the other two women did. Eh, Shego told herself, tough audience.
Kim smiled, shaking her head in wry amusement, while Aunt Katherine merely scowled. Kim turned towards Shego, a hesitant smile upon her lips. "Excuse me…but, I´m sorry, Ma'am…I'm sorry to inform you that you are wrong. This has nothing to do with you, I'm afraid. You see, we have done this to surprise a friend of ours whose name is Ron."
"Is that so?" Shego replied, smiling, edging back a stool, and taking a seat at the table. "Why, it´s actually because of your Ron that I'm here in the first place."
Kim blinked, looking very surprised. "You know Ron then?" she blurted out.
Shego smiled sunnily. "Of course, lass! Why, I sailed with his father, Don, for nearly two score years, so I did. It was we what taught your Ron to be a sailorman," Shego said breezily.
Aunt Katherine frowned, turning even more suspicious…if that were possible. "I see. Then perhaps, if what you say is true, Ms. Shego…was it you that taught him to be a Pirate then too?" Katherine demanded suddenly.
Before Shego could respond though, Kim did…not wanting to insult their 'guest' by her mother's behavior. She switched the line of the conversation. "It's too bad that Ron isn't here now," she observed, watching Aunt Katherine carefully scrutinize Shego again.
"Oh, never fear, Ms. Shego…he´ll show up soon enough," Aunt Katherine told her primly. "Yes, and with our James too, I do not doubt."
Shego knew about James the Red, and made her move. She rose from her stool, smiling broadly. "I'm sure you're right, milady. However, unfortunately for me, I find myself in need to run now…you know, before the others sail without me." She then snapped her fingers, and removed a small roll of parchment from the inside pocket of her long jacket. "I've got to be going, loves. But…I was wondering if I could impose upon you to deliver this little greeting from us all to our dear friend, Ron."
Aunt Katherine snorted at that, not liking this Shego woman at all. "I suppose that's your present, eh? Now, exactly how long have you all scrimped and saved to afford this great gift of yours?" Katherine asked, acerbically.
Shego blinked, then chuckled in mirth, turning to Kim, who took the scroll. She turns to Shego. "I'd be glad to, Ms. Shego. I´m sure that Ron will be happy to know that you remember him," she replied.
Shego grinned her thanks, and bowed, doffing her hat to them again. "Thanks again, miladies. Ah now, remember me to him now…oh, also tell him that the Captain and his men will never forget him. Now, alas…I must be off!" Shego dashed down the dock and down the ramp, laughing merrily.
Aunt Katherine frowned…again. "The Captain, she says," she mumbled.
Kim turns to her mother. "Mother! Why where you so rude towards Ms. Shego?" she demanded, a bit crossly.
Aunt Katherine turned then looked into her daugther's eyes. "Because, Kim, I frankly do not like look of that woman," she opined, making a sound of disgust in her throat.
Kim frowned, hearing that. "But, Mom…she just came to congratulate Ron!" Kim pointed out, naïve as she was.
Aunt Katherine turned again to her, sighing. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, my daughter," Katherine responded, crossing her arms before herself.
It was then that James came out from his house, and spotting his two favorite ladies, moved over to where they now stood. He smiled over at Kim. "Hello there, Kimmie," he said by way of greeting. He then noticed the sour expression on Katherine's face. "Now, what´s the matter with your Aunt Katherine, lass? Has she seen a ghost in broad daylight now?" He laughed at his own joke, making Katherine roll her eyes in exasperation.
Kim smiled genially, then went over to hug James. "No, James…but she has met a woman that she talked with forever," Kim replied.
Katherine snorted, giving Kim a push on the shoulder. "That's quite enough from you, Kimberly. Stop your fooling around," Katherine complained.
Kim smiled again. "I see that she can´t seem to get that girl out of her head, James."
James smiled at this exchange between Kim and her mother. "Well, then, that had to be some woman there…one who could manage to make an impression on Aunt Katherine," James observed with a smile.
Aunt Katherine's pretty face was now becoming a brewing storm of anger…directed at the two people in front of her. "Bah! Don´t you listen to her, James," Katherine exclaimed, looking at Kim with irritation. "She can't help but be Miss Merry Sunshine all the day long…"
James frowned at Aunt Katherine´s uncharacteristic outburst. "Now, Katherine…that was a bit harsh," James softly rebuked her. "Now, dear…just who is it that's gone and made you so cross?"
Aunt Katherine calmed herself, then went on to explain Shego's visit this morning to James. "Well, that woman…if that's what she is…called herself 'Shego'."
Kim found herself defending Shego. "Now, come on, Mom. She was just an old friend of Ron's. Why are you being so hard on her anyway?" Kim demanded.
Katherine saw her in a far different light. "Old friend, my boot! She was a nasty, mysterious sort," Aunt Katherine said, shuddering.
Kim frowned, not understanding her mother's attacks. "Mom. All she did was to come to congratulate Ron on his birthday. That's all," Kim pointed out. She then grinned. "See, James? She even left this message for Ron…from her and her captain." She handed the scroll to James.
"Oh, yes," Aunt Katherine added. "But, she didn't say 'her' captain, Kim darling. She said 'The Captain'…"
James, upon hearing this, went stiff. "What's this? 'The Captain'?" he asked, suddenly wary.
"Precisely, James! She said 'The Captain'," Aunt Katherine confirmed, glad that he was now thinking much as she was.
Kim frowned again, not understanding. "Oh? And what´s so strange with that? All ships have sailors…and those sailors need a Captain, don´t they?" she again pointed out to the two grumpy adults.
James took a deep breath, and let it out before turning toward Kim. "Aye, they do, lass. At least as far as I can remember. Now, bearing that in mind, Kimmie, I myself can only remember one---and only one---Captain that Ron has ever sailed with. Do you remember his name, my love?"
Kim blinked, caught unawares. "James, whatever do you mean?" she asked.
James' face turned a bit red, his anger beginning to mount. "By Neptune's Bloody Beard, girl…don't tell me that you haven't heard of---" James growled, only to be hushed by Aunt Katherine. James blinked, still angry, but then saw where Katherine was pointing.
"Shh, here he comes," Katherin pointed out. "Let´s give our birthday boy a right proper welcome on his birthday, eh?"
Kim nodded emphatically, then ran over to a give the surprised Ron a welcoming hug. Ron, for his part, didn't seem to know exactly what´s going on. Before he could say a single word, Kim started to sing:
(hurra sang)
Hurray song
Kim:
Today you can sit on your bum
(I dag kan du sitte på rumpa)
And do as little as you want
(og gjøre så lite du vil)
Because now it´s you who we´re celebrating
(for nå er det du som skal feires)
With cake, song, and games
(med kake og sang og spill)
Today you are the Best
(I dag er du den beste)
Of all the friends we have
(av alle venner vi har)
A star so rare
(En stjerne av de sjeldne)
A magnificent specimen
(Et prakteksemplar)
Kim, James and Aunt Katherine:
We are your friends here in the world
(Vi er dine venner i verden)
Who only want what's good for you
(som bare vil deg vel)
Therefore we will congratulate
(derfor vil vi gratulere)
And wish you happiness and good luck
(og ønske deg lykke og hell)
Kim:
Today it was only a pleasure
(I dag var det bare en glede)
To set the greatest table
(å dekke det flotteste bord)
We hoped you´d soon would come
(Vi håpet du snart ville komme)
And practiced and sang in choir
(og øvde og sang i kor)
Today is the day itself
(I dag er selve dagen)
When you entered our world
(da du ble født til vår jord)
We lift our glasses to
(vi løfter våre glass til)
A toast for your Mom
(en skål for din mor)
Kim, Aunt Katherine and James:
We are your friends here in the world
(Vi er dine venner i verden)
Who only want what's best for you
(som bare vil deg vel)
Therefore we will congratulate
(derfor vil vi gratulere)
And wish you happiness and good luck
(og ønske deg lykke og hell)
Kim:
Today you can look in the mirror
(I dag kan du kikke i speilet)
And smile pleased at yourself
(og smile fornøyd til deg selv)
Because now it´s you who´s the boss
(for nå er det du som er sjefen)
From morning to late evening
(fra morgen til sene kveld)
We carry you on our shoulders
(Vi bærer deg på gullstol)
Until your day is done
(til dagen din er forbi)
You are a heat source
(du er en varmekilde)
A display of fireworks
(et fyrverkeri)
Kim, Aunt Katherine and James:
We are your friends here in the world
(Vi er dine venner i verden)
Who only want what best for you
(som bare vil deg vel)
Therefore we will congratulate
(derfor vil vi gratulere)
And wish you happiness and good luck
(og ønske deg lykke og hell)
As they all finished their song, they all laughed happily. James, Kim and Aunt Katherine then applauded Ron, who turned to gaze upon them all. "How did you know?" he asked, bewildered but genuinely pleased.
James smiled, then answered. "No one has as long an ear as does James the Red, my boy," he said rascally. He then turned and dashed into his house.
Kim laughed at his antics. "Now you are no longer the world's youngest pirate, Ron," she proclaimed.
Aunt Katherine laughed at that. "No, that's quite true…now, you're only the world's biggest landlubber!" she teased, causing both Ron and Kim to laugh.
James returned to them, smiling, as he held something in his big hands. He handed it over to Kim. Kim nodded her thanks to James, then turned smiling toward Ron, and handed him the cloth-sheathed bundle. Ron grinned, setting the bundle down on the table and carefully unwrapping it. His eyes shone in happiness as he looked down upon a shining new cutlass. "Here's your present, Ron!" she proclaimed.
Ron could only stare down at it in wide-eyed wonder. "Wow! Gee, what a great present. Thanks…all of you," Ron said gratefully. He got to his feet, then moved over to give both Katherine and Kim a thankful hug, then shook hands heartily with James.
James could only smile at the boy. "Now, Ron me lad…this is how it supposed to feel living in Middle Cove," James told him.
Ron smiled, nodding his agreement. "You know, the last time I had a birthday, I was down on all fours scrubbing the deck for Captain Drakken," Ron reminisced.
As he said this, Aunt Katherine suddenly remember their 'special' guest. "Ron? May I ask you a question?" she asked.
"Sure, Aunt Katherine," Ron told her, looking over to her.
"Who is Shego?" Katherine added then.
Ron promptly turned quite pale. "S-Shego? Just where have you heard that name?" Ron demanded, feeling a leaden lump in his stomach.
"Why, she came to visit us today…to give you a greeting on your birthday," Kim explained.
Much to Kim's dismay, Ron turned even paler. "Oh, great. Shego's been here?" he groaned, clapping a hand over his eyes.
"That's it! Out with it, boy!" Aunt Katherine demanded. "Tell us everything...now!"
Ron heaved a heavy sigh, then nodded. "Shego is…she's the worst of all of Captain Drakken's pirates," Ron told them.
Kim frowned, surprised…to say the very least. "But, Ron…Captain Drakken's set sail o'er the seven seas ages ago…right?" she asked.
Ron said nothing.
James frowned. "Right then. If this Shego, whose one of Captain Drakken's pirate scum, has been here…why, then her boss can´t be all that far away, I reckon."
Now, it was Aunt Katherine's turn to go pale. "Oh no! Don´t even say that, James!" she cried, much upset.
"Sorry, Ma'am…but he's most likely right," Ron told her. "It's an old sailor's saying what goes like this: if you see Shego, you can bet your last dubloon that Captain Drakken's rigth 'round the corner."
Kim went over to Ron carrying the small scroll of parchment. "Um, Ron… Shego brought this…and asked me to give it to you. So…here you are, Ron. You need to open this to see what Shego wants to tell you."
Ron nodded reluctantly, but did as she asked and opened the scroll, beginning to read:
To Ron, our dear friend.
We salute you on your birthday and promise that we´ll soon come to visit. Then you need to see too that Gabriel the Horrible treasure stands and wait for us upon the beach or else you know just how mad Captain Drakken can get.
With Pirates' love,
Shego
(who's closer than you think)
Aunt Katherine sprang to her feet, then began to nervously pace about in circles. "Oh, goodness gracious. And here I was thinking that I had swept that nasty Captain Drakken far out to sea!"
Ron shook his head at that. "Oh no, Aunt Katherine. Let me tell you…the most fiendish pirate ever to sail the Seven Seas ain´t gonna be brushed aside that easily. Oh no."
Kim frowned, trying to rein in the group's growing panic. "All right, that's enough…all of you! I think you are all overreacting," she informed them all, crossing her arms before herself, glaring at them. She then turned to James, who she hoped would set them all straight. "Come on, James…say something! Is this situation really as dangerous as these two think it to be?" she demanded, half hoping it was not.
James looked over at Kim, his face grim. "As a matter of fact, yes, I´m afraid that it is, Kim," he told her truthfully.
Upon hearing his words, Kim lost her composure and began to join the panic too. "Oh, dear! Maybe he´s already on his way to Middle Cove…right at this very moment!" Kim groaned.
Ron wasn't afraid to add to the panic. "Even worse, maybe. Maybe, he´s sailing his ship through the Needle's Eye as we speak!"
Aunt Katherine turned to James, her heart thundering in her chest. "There's no other option now, James. We have to give back that treasure chest…and put it on the beach."
James' expression darkened, and his face promptly turned red. "NO! WALK THE PLANK AND JUMP INTO THE OCEAN! We will not do any such thing!" James thundered, jumping to his feet.
Aunt Katherine, for once, was not daunted by his formidable anger, and was nearly as angry as James was herself. "Oh no, you don´t, James the Red! I've heard that tone from you many times before…and it never bodes us well!"
James calmed down, and sat down upon the barrel that Shego had once hid behind. "I understand your concern, Katherine. Truly I do," James told her softly. But then he raised his eyes, which were terrible to behold. "But, woman, there has to be limits to what James the Red will put up with! If you think even for a moment, that I am simply going to sit here with my hands in my lap, while Captain Drakken and his louts rob us blind, why…you've got another thing coming, so you do!"
Aunt Katherine sighed, knowing he was right. "That was precisely what I was most afraid of, James," she told him, heaving a sigh of frustration. She turned away from James to Kim and Ron. "Now, children, this is where James gets above himself and begins to believe that he is going to somehow hoodwink the worst pirate to sail the Seven Seas…again." James looked over at her, and opened his mouth to speak. Katherine didn't give him the chance. "Oh no, my dear James! You can 'walk the plank and jump into the ocean' all right…but, you'll do it alone."
"But, Katherine---!" James protested. But, not for very long, as Katherine got to her feet and began chasing him, pointing her finger at him, until she had chased him aboard his ship, where he sat---by himself.
James vainly to tried to talk some sense into Aunt Katherine. "Now, now…do calm yourself, Katherine. You need to know that not even Captain Drakken's going to ruin my dream about living peacefully here in Middle Cove."
Kim and Ron moved aboard James' ship, and then sat down one at either side of James. Kim smiled and continued for James. "You know he's got a point, Mom," Kim told her. "Not even a very scary pirate is going to chase us all away from here."
Ron, finally ridding himself of his panic, nodded too, taking strength from Kim. "I'm afraid of Captain Drakken, aye…but I've come to love Middle Cove more," Ron told them all.
James smiled faintly to the still upset Katherine. "Do you see, Katherine?" he told her. "We must always be ready to fight for what´s ours, lass!" he said adamantly.
Aunt Katherine wearily shook her head. "Well…it certainly sounds like the right thing to do, James. But how can you believe that us…two landlubbers, and two frightened ladies, are going to best the world's worst pirate and his crew?" she demanded.
James smiled and jumped down to the ground again. "Oh, one small Aunt can achieve much if she puts her mind to it, my dear Katherine," James told her.
Aunt Katherine snorted, but smiled. "And, a small landlubber can have big dreams too, eh?" she responded, arching an eyebrow.
Ron interrupted them both. "While the two of you are joking around with each other, Drakken's men could be surrounding us all," he pointed out.
Kim nodded her agreement with Ron, and moved over to James. "What are we going to do, James?" she wanted to know.
James turned to Aunt Katherine and Kim. "Well, first off, both of you are going into that Inn of yours, bolt the door securely, and stay there!" he commanded. As he said this he looked directly at Kim. "Ron and I have ourselves a job to do, lass. We have no time to lose if we are going to hide the treasure before the pirates appear."
Ron turned to James, looking a bit worried. "What about Kim and Aunt Katherine, James?" he asked, worried about Kim.
"Ron, they are safe in the Inn, look you," James replied. "I really do doubt that the pirates will be coming tonight anyhow."
They all cleaned up the table, and the girls moved obediantly over to the sturdy Inn. Aunt Katherine sighed then, looking worriedly over at James. "Alas, when he gets that expression on his face, you can forget trying to talk with him," Katherine softly lamented.
Kim frowned, totally on James side, against her mother. "Mom, James has saved us before, remember?" she pointed out to her worried mother.
Aunt Katherine turned to her daughter, her expression doubtful. "Oh really? Seems to me that I can remember how he got help from me and one of my trusty brooms," she observed with a wry grin.
Kim laughed, hugging her mother. "No, we can´t simply brush that aside, Mom," Kim quipped.
Aunt Katherine make a sound like something in between of a laugh and a groan. "Come on now, Kim my love," she said, taking Kim's hand. "Oh, why did this have to happen now?" she moaned plaintively. And with that, the girls ducked inside the Inn, bolting the doors closed behind themselves.