(Blaze comes in and sees me)

Blaze: Did you find Kano yet?

Me: No. He looks to be moving constantly to avoid detection. How's everything outside.

Blaze: Apart from the Olympics being postponed for a whole year, nothing much.

Me: This just isn't fair. 2020 was meant to be a great year. This pandemic has ruined it for me.

Blaze: I don't blame you. A lot of our plans were forcibly put on hold.

Me: But at least things are starting to cool down, huh? Speaking of cooling down, I wonder if Ronnie Anne is done making snow cones yet.

Blaze: I'll go check on her. Let us know if you find Kano, okay?

Me: Yeah.

(She leaves to see Ronnie Anne)


Pirate101: The Pirates of Lore

Chapter 7: Swimming with the Sharks

The crew makes their way to an underwater cavern. It is hard for them to find sharks under the water. Thankfully, they can breathe underwater thanks to Lindsey's spell. They search every nook and cranny in the cavern.

"I don't see any sharks, guys," Lola reported. "Maybe they're down that other passage."

"Let's hope so, Lola. I'm afraid of what they'll do to Captain Avery." Bonnie Anne agreed.

They go into a deep grotto and encounter a giant crab.

"Yikes! That is one massive crab!"

"That's nothing we can't handle," Ryan said as he started shooting the crab with his rifle.

"Are you seriously shooting a crab!?" Hunter asked his crew member.

"I needed to defend myself."

"That's crazy! Save some action for us!" Lindsey decided to join in with a spell at the crab. Hunter, Lola, and Kyle joined in as well in fighting the giant crab. When they dealt enough damage, the large crab retreated.

"Follow that crab!" They get deeper into the grotto before they see the crab scuttle past a Shark.

"You ain't Jack! And you've driven off Mister Buttersauce! Get them, lads!" The shark commanded his pals to attack the pirate crew. They fight back. Lindsey takes on the shark named Bosun Finley while the others fought off the other sharks. They were dealt a bit of damage from them, but they were able to beat the sharks.

"I'm surprised we won. Let's circle back and find Avery." Lola suggested, only to be interrupted by Finley letting out a snide chuckle.

"It's never good when you beat a villain and they start laughing," Hunter noted.

"Pathetic pirates. You've won this battle, but you've already lost the war." Finley smirked.

"What war?"

"The plan has already begun – soon, Skull Island will be ours again, like it should be! We'll never tell you what the plan is!"

"You won't tell us, but I'm sure one of your pals in the Skyways will," Kyle said as the crew left the underwater cavern. They make their way back to the ship. Lola noticed Hunter's concern plastered on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little worried. If what Jack said is true, Skull Island may never be the same again!" Hunter thought aloud.

"There's something we agree on. Our trainers have known Avery for as long as they remember. Without him, who knows what'd they do." Ryan added.

"Then it's up to us to save Avery and Skull Island!" Lola said.

"That's fine with me!" Hunter smiled as they reached their tiny ship and hunted down some Cutthroats. They took down some ships, but some of them didn't talk. On the fourth ship they took on, they defeated the sharks aboard.

"You want to keep those teeth? Tell us what your so-called "Plan" is!"

"Okay, I'll talk! I'll talk! The Plan is to do Avery in!" The shark admitted. "When he's gone, Skull Island will fall!"

"An assassination?!" Lindsey gasped.

"That can't be good!" Ryan agreed.

"We've got to tell Avery! This is getting serious!" Bonnie Anne said. With the words of an attempt on Avery's life echoing in their heads, they rushed back to Avery's office to warn him of the upcoming rebellion.

"Captain Avery!"

"Ah, young Pirates. What brings you here on such short notice?"

"It's the Cutthroats – they're revolting!" Lindsey warned him.

"You say the Cutthroats are revolting? Well, I don't like to be in the room when they're eating, but…"

"Not that kind of revolting, Avery! Your life is in danger!"

"What on earth do you mean by that?" Lindsey tried to sum up the words she needed, but she was too shocked to even put them together. Hunter decided to step in.

"What Lindsey is trying to say is the sharks are staging a rebellion! They're plotting to overthrow you!" Hunter finished.

"The Cutthroats want to overthrow me? Bilgewater!" Avery spat at the idea of a revolution against him. "Those bully boys don't have the gumption, nor do they have the brains to run Skull Island. They don't know the first thing about governance. I'm sure this is nothing."

"Are you sure? Those sharks were pretty upset after what happened with Fin." Ryan reminded him.

"Hmm, you're probably right. After all, I can't be too careful. If you're that worried about me, you should inform Mordekai about this. Be sure that he doubles the guard!"

They decide to do just that and went to Buccaneer's Den and tell Mordekai, Lola's teacher. "Welcome back, Lola. And I see you brought your friends. What brings all of you here to my training den?"

"Mordekai, there's something you need to know. Do you remember Jack? The Wharf Rat who worked with Avery in the past?" Lola asked. "Well…"

"Let me guess: he betrayed us to the Cutthroats and now the sharks are moving against us?"

"Wait, how did you know?"

"I never liked the look of that Rat. I've seen this coming for a long time, but the old man won't believe we can't trust the Cutthroats. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"We need to do something to stop those sharks!" Barnabus said.

"If only we can cut them off somehow," Ryan thought.

"Perhaps you can. There's a secret dock off the sewers under the Court. Avery uses it as his escape tunnel. If I were any of those ruffians, I'd use it to sneak my way in." Mordekai informed them of the tunnel. "If you want to protect Avery, head down to the sewers and reinforce the guards. Keep your eyes open – Avery is not worried, but I am."

"Thank you, Mordekai. We promise to protect him, no matter what it takes." Lola nods as they proceed to leave, but Mordekai remembered something.

"Hold on! Before you go, there's someone who would like to join your crew." They turn around and see a pelican armed with an ax. "Pirates, I would like you to meet Peter Quint."

"Ahoy. Looks like you lot are forming a crew." Peter Quint greeted the crew.

"Quint's an old associate of mine seeking to join a good crew. You might make good Pirates… someday. Take him with you. And do not disappoint me."

"A-yeah. Old Mordekai says you've got promise. Well, he'd know." Peter said. "I've hunted bounties across Skull Island. Now I'll hunt them for you. So, which one of you is the Captain?"

"Huh. You know what, we never thought of that." Lindsey realized.

"We need all the help we can get, so we may as well bring him along. Besides, I have an idea." Hunter said as he approached Peter. "Peter, the five of us couldn't decide on which of us is Captain, so we decided to share the role."

"Ah, a crew shared among the five of you. This is a crew worth joining." Peter Quint happily said.

"And that's not all. The other Trainers have someone waiting to join your crew as well. I suggest you see them before trekking the sewers." Mordekai suggested. So, before they proceed into the sewers to stop the Cutthroats, they visited the other Trainers to see who they needed to bring along. In Swashbuckler's Hall, Morgan Lafitte recommended an adventurous Frog named Fan Flanders while Old Fish Eye suggested his old friend's daughter, Chantal Livingstone, a flamingo markswoman. A Monkey Conquistador known as The Marchioness was recommended by The Commodore and finally, Madame Vadima got them to know a Shark Oungan named Carcarius Grimtooth. Now they have enough forces to repel the rebellious sharks in the sewers.


(I come into the lab, seeing Lisa and Simon)

Simon: Hello.

Lisa: Were you able to locate that ruffian Kano?

Me: Only for a few minutes. I tracked him to the ruins of Shang Tsung's island fortress, then the signal disappeared.

Simon. He's likely underground.

Me: That won't be easy. It's a good thing I gave Aqua and the others those Senzu Beans for when they find him.

Lisa: You're not coming with them?

Me: Do you expect me to fight a Black Dragon mercenary at the risk of being infected?

Simon: Touché.

Me: I better go. I need to get this chapter uploaded. You know what to do here, readers. Please stay safe.