(Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Sofia return from Shang Tsung's Island)
Me: Were you able to find Kano and Shang Tsung?
Ventus: Yeah, but they weren't alone. We had them cornered when Cetrion intervened.
Me: Cetrion? You mean the Elder Goddess of virtue and light?
Aqua: That's her.
Sofia: To think we'd confront her of all people.
Me: I thought she sacrificed her essence to Kronika.
Terra: It's likely her body reformed after Kronika was destroyed.
Me: Hmm… I understand Kano and Shang Tsung, but Cetrion? She's the Elder Goddess of Light. I'll see what Simon can dig up on her.
Aqua: You do that. I'm taking an ice bath.
(I leave to check on Simon)
Pirate101: The Pirates of Lore
Chapter 8: A Traitor's Welcome
To rescue Captain Avery from rebelling Cutthroats, the crew entered the sewer tunnel under the Court. Once inside, they see a Rat named Sergeant Seger.
"Who goes there?" Seger spoke.
"My teacher Mordekai sent us." Lola spoke to Seger.
"Mordekai sent ye, has he? And what's old Fin Head on about today?" Seger asked.
"He's worried that we uncovered a plot against Avery." Hunter said.
"A plot against Avery? That's horrible, that is! I can't imagine!"
"We also discovered that many of the Cutthroats are involved in the plot." Lindsey chimed in.
"Cutthroats, ye say? The Sharks mean to take over the island? Terrible." Seger said.
"You don't know the half of it." Ryan agreed.
"Terrible, that is, that somebody's been spilling the beans. Perhaps we should nip these troublesome rumors right in the bud, wouldn't ye agree, lads?" Seger is flanked by a Dog Pirate and a Frog Pirate, revealing his deceit.
"Seger's one of the turncoats!?" Lola gasped.
"Brace yourselves!" Sarah shouted as she blocked the dog's attack.
They started fighting the traitorous pirates. "Keep them busy, lads! I'll go and warn the Boss!" Seger said to his rebel allies as he fled.
"Seger's getting away!" Ryan reported.
"We'll deal with him later! We've got our hands full with these guys!" Hunter dodged a Wharf Rat's attack and countered with his sword. Ryan and Bonnie Anne provided cover fire while Lola struck the frog down with her ax. Lindsey and Grimtooth cast some spells to beat some of the turncoats and support their friends. Hunter and Sarah took down the last one together.
"The traitor flees! We must hunt him down at once!" Subodai said. Hunter looked visibly angry, but also skeptical that the Rats were just puppets and someone else is pulling the strings.
"I just can't believe Seger would betray Avery like that! Why?" Lola seethed.
"Well, once we get Seger, we'll have our answer." Hunter said as he and the crew chased down Seger. They finally corner him, only to run into a few other Rats, along with a Thresher named Sneaky Sharky McFin.
"I told ye we're found out! Here they be!" Seger reported.
"Yar! Ahoy, ye hearties! Ye'll not be having no tales to tell the Captain now! All hands – attack! Avast ye! Har!" McFin commanded his pirates to attack. His speech pattern left the crew clueless.
"What did he say?" Bonnie Anne asked.
"No idea, but we can't let them near Avery!" Hunter pulled his sword from its sheath. They began fighting the turncoats. They fought their hardest against Sharky, Seger, and the treacherous pirates. Sharky suddenly remembered something.
"Yar! Seger, abandon the boat! I'll meet ye at the rendezvous!" Sharky fled the battle.
Though Sharky McFin fled the fight, they were more than a match for Seger. They defeated him and his pals.
"That Shark – he was… odd. It sounded like he was only pretending to be a pirate!" Sarah noted.
"Yeah, but Seger slipped away. We better tell Mordekai." Kyle said.
"Something tells me he's not going to like this." Lola sighs. They leave the sewers and inform Mordekai of Seger's deception.
"Sergeant Seger has turned traitor? This is worse than I thought!"
"Why's that, Mordekai?" Kyle asked.
"Sergeant Seger knows all of our defenses! If he has turned traitor, then we are all in deadly danger." Mordekai sighs. "I can't believe the Cutthroats are behind this. They do not have the cunning to turn so many to their side – who would ever trust them?"
"I've got a good idea who, but I won't mention him for his safety." Lindsey said.
"I'll put some trustworthy guards down below and seal up that dock. Seger must be found at once!"
"Are you sure about that?" Quint asked.
"I dare not leave this to anyone else – there may be other turncoats. I must trust in you all. If you want to know Seger's location, perhaps Vadima knows. The spirits may tell her where he is."
"Vadima… isn't she your teacher, Lindsey?" Chantal asked the Witchdoctor girl.
"Yeah. She has the power to speak with the dead." Lindsey confirmed. "We can speak to her in the Witchdoctor's Sanctum."
"Let's hope she knows what the spirits know." Hunter said as they left the Buccaneer's Den and went to consult Lindsey's teacher Madame Vadima.
"Madame Vadima." Lindsey called out to her teacher.
"I sense you come on grave errand, Pirates." Vadima greeted them. "The spirits are restless… Great danger overshadows us all."
"That's why we're here, Ms. Vadima. Perhaps you know where Sergeant Seger is." Kyle said.
"You seek traitor? Gather 'round – my Crystal Ball shall reveal his location." The pirates gathered around Vadima's crystal ball. They see where the traitor is, but not the traitor himself. "Strange."
"What's wrong, Vadima?" Lola asked.
"Something appears to be blocking my sight. Magic is at work here." Vadima responded. "I can sense the traitor, but not see him. He is in Ancient Tunnels, behind the lower waterfall. You will find him there."
"Ancient Tunnels, huh? That can't be far." Hunter noted. "Thank you, Ms. Vadima." Everyone turned to leave the Sanctum before Vadima remembered something.
"Wait, Pirates, wait!" Vadima stopped them. "Before you go, I place blessing upon you. Strange forces that oppose my magic will not block your sight. Go carefully." Vadima cast a spell that makes their sight incapable of being blocked.
"Thank you." Everyone left the Sanctum and made their way to the Ancient Tunnels entrance below the lower waterfall. Once inside, they see an old man in blue.
"You see that old man? That's Old Nate." Sarah told them.
"A bit of a loony, but he knows these tunnels like the back of his hand. Let's ask him about Seger." Emmett told them.
"Excuse us. Do you know if Sergeant Seger came by here?" Ryan asked Nate.
"Seger? Never heard of him. But I daresay, there's been lots of strange folk coming and going lately."
"Well, have you seen any Rats lately?" Lola asked.
"Rats? Oh yes. And they were with some Sharks, too!" Nate replied. "I even saw one Rat come tearing in here not too long ago – ran to the door on the right as ye enter. Lots of rough sorts been headed there lately."
"That has to be Seger!" Kyle whispered to the others. "I guess that magic blocking Vadima's sight must be blocking his too."
"Thanks for your help, Nate."
"Any time, Pirates." Nate thanked them as they entered the tunnels. They turned to the right-side door.
"This must be the door. Bonnie, can you get it open?" Hunter asked.
"I think so." Bonnie said as she attempts to open the stone door. She struggles at first, but she manages to open it.
"That's that, then. Let's go. And be ready for trouble." Sarah said as they entered the stone chamber. They search the chamber for any traitorous pirates, and they find one named Red Dougal.
"We've uninvited guests! We'll teach ye to go where ye ain't wanted! Yar!" The crew starts fighting the turncoat pirates. Sarah and Barnabus fight off a Crab Thug and Ryan and Chantal start a firefight with a Frog Pirate. Hunter clashes swords with Dougal before he catches the Dog off his guard and finishes him with his spark pistol.
"Seger's crew is here, but no sign of Seger." Fan Flanders noted.
"Do you think he's in the next chamber?" Sarah asked.
"Only one way to find out." Hunter said as they reached the next chamber. Sarah's assumptions were confirmed when they spot Seger and some other pirates.
"I don't know how you all found me, but you'll be sorry you did! Get them! Get them all!" Seger commanded the pirates. Lindsey and Barnabus engaged against a Frog Pirate, Chantal provided Hunter cover fire against Seger and Kyle and Ryan fought off a Crab thug. Seger couldn't handle the numbers against him and was defeated.
"Enough! No more – you win!" Seger screamed. "I'll tell ye all I know."
"Should we trust him enough to tell us the truth?" Bonnie Anne asked.
Though skeptical that Seger could lie his way out, he wanted to know what the Cutthroats are planning. "Three minutes."
"Okay. I can't deny that the Cutthroats seek to overthrow Avery, but they're not alone." Seger began to explain. "The Shark clans are coming together – word around the Spiral is they've a new master, means to take the Skyway back! They promised not to eat me and the lads if we helped them. I delivered the messages to a Shark, a Thresher – he works for the leader. I always met him in the same place. Devilfish Hollow, at the end of Corsair's Channel. Cave on the right, as ye go in."
"I know the Threshers – they're tougher than Cutthroats and twice as mean." Sarah noted.
"And in Devilfish Hollow? That place is a death trap. No one has ever come out of there alive!" Barnabus added.
"If Seger's been there and back, things are more serious than we thought." Bonnie Anne said. "We need to tell Mordekai – he needs to know about the Threshers!"
"Yeah. Let's head back to Buccaneer's Den." Hunter agreed and went back to Buccaneer's Den, where they met Mordekai again.
"You're back! Did you find Seger?"
"Yes, and he told us that the Threshers are masterminding the plot." Lola reported.
"The Threshers! That clan, more than any other, was responsible for the fate of my tribe. I hate them as I do no others. As much as I long to meet them personally, my loyalty to Avery comes first."
"Mordekai, if it pleases you, let us confront the Threshers on your behalf." Hunter suggested.
"Yes, you and your crew will be the instruments of my vengeance. Go to Devilfish Hollow and find Seger's "Master." A plot of this magnitude is too subtle for the Sharks. I fear our true enemy has yet to show his face. I caution you – Devilfish Hollow runs deep and is full of fearsome foes. If you find Seger's contact, do not engage, not yet. It will be your doom."
"Yes sir!" The pirates saluted and left the island for Devilfish Hollow, to put an end to the Threshers' plan once and for all.
To be continued…
(I enter the lab and see Simon gathering data)
Me: What have we got, Si?
Simon: No new updates yet. How was their mission?
Me: They were able to corner Kano and Shang Tsung, but Cetrion bailed them out.
Simon: Figures. I managed to get some data on Cetrion and as you said, she's the Elder Goddess of Life, Virtue, and Light.
Me: As I had known.
Simon: There's more. Shinnok was once the Elder God of Death, Corruption, and Darkness. I couldn't figure out how these two opposites were connected, and that's when I found this. Shinnok and Cetrion are siblings.
Me: Siblings?
Simon: And that's not all. Their mother is the mastermind behind Kano's and Shang Tsung's unexpected arrival at the Xiaolin Temple – Kronika.
Me: I should've known Kronika was behind this. What can we do?
Simon: I'll see what I can do to find out how to stop her.
Me: You do that. I have a chapter that's long overdue for an upload. You readers know what to do. Stay safe! (Does the Wakandan salute)
Simon: What was that for?
Me: It's my way of honoring the MCU's Chadwick Boseman. He passed away some days ago.
Simon: I'm really going to miss him.
Me: We all are.
