*Ben POV*
After rescuing Jing King and defeating General Tsao, the gang decided to lay low for a little while. The weeks passed as we pulled off a few small jobs here and there. However, one day, Dimitri gave us the call to cash in the favor we owed him from back in Holland.
He'd gone ahead and booked the whole team passage, under assumed identities, to none other than Blood Bath Bay. Easily the most lawless place on the face of the Earth, it's home to a group of cultural hermits who doggedly maintain the ways of their pirate forefathers. It's basically a Pirates of the Caribbean fan's wet dream.
Once Saturday hit, we all got into very convincing disguises of the celebrities listed and boarded the SS Groo-V, which was actually owned and manned by Dimitri himself. As for who we all disguised ourselves as? Bentley was disguised as Billy Ray Cyrus, Sly as Snoop Dogg, Murray as Gene Simmons, Panda King as Johnny Depp, Neyla as Katy Perry, Guru as 'Wee Man' from Jackass... again, this was amusing to me, Penelope as Victoria Justice and me as my favorite actor; Tim Curry!
The cruise over gave us some time to get the rundown from Dimitri. His grandfather, Reme Lousteau was a pioneer in deep-sea diving. He made a fortune looting undersea wrecks. Although, his luck ran short when a young cutthroat by the name of Black Spot Pete stole not only his loot but his precious diving gear as well.
With the loss of his treasure and gear, Reme retired and started a family. Dimitri, growing up on his grandfather's stories, dreamed of one day recovering the gear. So that was our task. We'd been called in to get our hands on this miraculous diving equipment. Not all bad, really. If things go our way, the team might get a frogman out of the deal, which Bentley figures will be a big help cracking the Cooper Vault.
Though in all honesty, I figure Dimitri could also be good at providing Safehouses as well, considering he still has quite a few connections under his belt. Then again, as he said himself, he has many gigs.
Upon arrival to Blood Bath Bay, the gang paddled out in a couple of lifeboats to the edge of the waters, keeping quiet as they did so. The group finally docked and found the Safehouse easily.
"Alright Ben, what say we put on some Pirate disguises and see if we can find Black Spot Pete," Sly said as Ben nodded, the two disguising themselves with Ben even dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow, complete with facial hair and accessories.
The two soon found Black Spot Pete, who was getting on in his old years. The old bird noticed the two and his eyes were on Sly mostly.
"Whuh?...Cantankerous Tim! Yer back, you two-faced scallywag!"
Deciding to roll with it, Sly smirked. "Aye, matey... and, not to be rude, but let's talk of treasure...Argh."
"Avast, you're getting on in your years, mate. Forgive my senile old captain, I'm his apprentice, Captain Benjamin Spareribs." Ben said, doing his best Jack Sparrow impersonation.
"Ah, a wide-eyed rookie, eh?" Black Spot Pete chuckled. "How about a round of vinegar talk to see if you got the doubloons, you baboon-faced toilet!
"Aye, we got a bargain, ye toothless, yellow-bellied cabin boy!" Ben shot back.
"Harhar! But methinks yer a...Stupid, maggot-slurpin' piece of filth!" Pete replied.
"Oh yeah? Yer a sheep-brained, parrot-loving whale fart!" Sly smiled back, getting into it.
"That be true an' all, but yer a... Pin-headed, brainless waste of skin!" Pete said, Ben and Sly both grinning as they decided to double-team.
"Hehe, how about this? Yer a Seaweed-slurpin', floor-scrubbin', disease-ridden pile of barnacles!"
Black Spot Pete smiled and laughed. "Haha! Cantankerous Tim, you've taught this boy well! Tell me, shipmate: why, after so long away, do you drop anchor now?"
"I've come for me share of the treasure we stole years back from that Reme Lousteau fella," Sly explained.
"'Twas a good haul, that! I speak of it while drunk often." Black Spot Pete chuckled. "You and I, burying the loot in the belly of Dagger Isle. Aye, and many a year I kept the map to the treasure hidden, safe as a swaddling babe."
"Then why not share of the treasure's location, old dog? We'd surely love to get our hands on it for ourselves." Ben suggested.
"Hmph! It pains me to tell ye this, shipmates, but me galleon was lost in a game of cards...and worse yet, the map to the island was stolen by the amazingly cruel cutthroat Captain LeFwee." Pete said explained sadly.
"Well, I've been building up a good crew to succeed Captain Tim. I believe we may just steal the map back, savvy?" Ben reassured.
"This LeFwee's no ordinary buccaneer, no. He's earned the reputation as the Smartest Man On The Seven Seas. The devil lives in yonder keep... 'tis there you'll find the map and your death as well. If you go for the treasure, shipmate, you go alone. Me sea-faring days are long behind me." Pete advised as he shook his head.
"Don't worry. The legacy will be carried on, Ye flea-bitten, rotten, fish humpin', rusty ol' scallywag." Ben said as Pete chuckled as he turned to Sly.
"Ah, Tim. Your boy is quite the skinny, malodorous, hairy-palmed bottom feeder."
"I taught him the best, old friend!"
After returning to the Safehouse, Bentley was quick to come up with a plan.
"Okay, so as Ben and Sly have stated, we now know the location of the treasure map and the buried treasure. The map is in Skull Keep, guarded by a man named Captain LeFwee and the treasure is buried in Dagger Isle, a secluded island many leagues from our position. In order for us to get to the stuff, we'll need to do some deviousness."
"What pirate is without his deviousness, eh?" Ben pointed out, still dressed like Jack Sparrow and talking like him as well.
"First, we'll need Murray, Sly, and Ben need to go out and take out the rudders of any ships that may try to chase us out into the waters when we need to. You should also take out the harbor patrol in the meantime. Meanwhile, Penelope and I will try to go after the map to Dagger Isle from the Skull Keep. Once these tasks are done, we'll need to set out at dusk to steal a boat and get to the island. Then, it's only a matter of following the map and digging up the loot."
"Understood. Let's go, team," Ben said as the gang proceeded to head out and do their jobs. Murray, Sly, and Ben boarded a jolly-boat to go after the rudders of the different ships. However, Sly noticed one ship all by its lonesome.
"That's the Cooper Mistress! The ship once commanded by Henriette 'One-Eye' Cooper!" Sly exclaimed, remembering about his Pirate Ancestor in the Thievius Raccoonus.
"It's still around after all these years, huh?" Ben said as he saw the majestic ship. "Looks like we've found our chosen pirate ship to plunder the seas with!"
"A fine idea, Ben! But you guys need to take out the rudders on the other ships first!" Bentley advised on the comms.
With Murray's rowing skills, Sly manning the cannon, and Ben providing backup artillery, they took out five enemy ships before the harbor patrol arrived.
"It's time to bump it up a notch. The harbor patrol has arrived!" Bentley warned.
"They look pretty well-armored. Is this cannon gonna cut it?" Sly said as he got a good look at the ships.
"You're right, Sly, Murray needs to ram them with your jollyboat to knock off the armor."
"Alright! I'm tired of dodging cannonballs, time to crack some skulls, jollyboat style." Murray cheered.
"Once Murray has knocked off the armor, you'll need to sink 'em with a well-placed cannonball."
"Run in fear, harbor patrol sissies! I'm gonna ram you into next week. Yarrgh!" Murray said, letting out his best pirate battle cry as Ben took out an accordion from nowhere.
"What say we play some fittin' music, mateys?"
(Play He's A Pirate Accordion Remake on YouTube)
Murray rowed out to the first boat, slamming the jollyboat into it and knocking the armor clean off. Sly then blasted the ship and sunk it before the harbor patrol even knew what hit them!
After taking out the other four ships, Murray cheered. "Alright! The team of excellence, Murray, and his faithful gunner Sly kick butt yet again!"
"Don't go forgetting Captain Benjamin Spareribs, Mates." Ben chuckled as Murray laughed in response.
"Uh, fellows. You aren't done yet. That's the harbor patrol's cutter...the mast looks pretty beat up. Maybe if you take it out, the whole ship will come crashing down!" Neyla said over the comms, with Ben smiling at that.
"Time to set sail again, mates!"
Murray rowed out to the ship, Sly and Ben beginning to send cannonballs at the mast while they avoided its cannonballs. After roughly 7 of their shots connected to the mast, the entire ship then began to slowly fall apart and sink into the waters.
"OH YEAH! The Murray and Phantom Joker have broken you! We have triumphed once again!" Murray smiled.
"Captain Benjamin Spareribs, if you please. At least for this mission." Ben corrected as Sly rolled his eyes.
"You're gonna be like that the whole arc, aren't you?"
"You know me well, brother."
"When you boys are done making out, head back to the Safehouse," Neyla smirked, Ben chuckling at that. The three were about to go back to the Safehouse but came across something that made them worried. A grapple cam with some turrets on it was making bird noises and they saw Penelope being led towards it.
"What happened?" Ben asked.
"Ben, is that you? I got blinded by some kind of trap from the chest holding the map. I need to get back to the Safehouse to get the dust out of my eyes."
"Don't worry, The Murray shall make sure his friend gets back to the Safehouse without a single hide or hair out of place!" Murray said with a flex. With help from Bentley's grapple cam and the guys making sure no harm came to her, Penelope made it safely back to the Safehouse.
"Alright, let's get those glasses cleaned up, savvy?" Ben said, taking off Penelope's glasses and cleaning them with a wet rag as Neyla smirked at him.
"Look at you, acting like the big brother to the little mouse."
"It's the Pirate Code, lass. Always help a little lady in distress." Ben said with a smirk.
"Let's get your eyeballs cleaned out, okay,?" Murray smiled at Penelope as he and Bentley led her to the sink so she could splash fresh water on her eyes, wincing at it in the process.
"I'm so relieved... I was really scared back there. You guys saved my life," Penelope smiled as Ben gave her back her glasses.
"Well, we have a good bit until dusk happens, so how about we take a breather for a bit?" Bentley suggested, Penelope smiling at that.
"I have something better in mind, Bentley," she smiled as she then wheeled Bentley over to one of the different bedrooms and, upon entering it, locked the door, Ben smirking at that.
"I think I know where this is going."
Guru spoke in his aboriginal tongue before chuckling as Murray laughed.
"You got that right, master! We shouldn't bother asking when it's over!
"They were made for each other," Neyla smirked as Ben and Sly looked at each other and grinned.
"Yes, they are."
"Can I say one thing before this chapter ends, savvy?" Ben asked as everyone nodded. "FUCK Sanzaru Games."
Everyone was confused at that bit but shrugged, deciding not to question it.
Next Time: Outsmarting the Smartest Man!
The Cooper Gang pull off a battle of wits against the so-called 'Smartest Man Of The Seven Seas'!