Act IV - The Island Part I: The Mutiny
Part I – The Best Laid Plans…
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Another day came with another morning of being ungracefully ripped from sleep by the ship's bell. Jim groaned as he felt a minor headache begin to form in response to the loud ringing.
"I hate that thing," he mumbled as he sat up in his hammock.
"As do I, Jim; as do I," Livesey agreed as she too struggled to completely wake up.
Everyone in the cabin gradually began moving. Livesey from her bed, Jim from his hammock, Ralph and Salva from theirs, and Zoey from the dresser drawer she had turned into a small den. As Zoey rose she looked out the window of their quarters to see the sun rising outside, making visible a few islands that had sailed past the previous day.
"Every island appears the same to my eyes," Zoey remarked as she gazed at the small landmasses in the near distance.
"Could I be leading us in circles?" Jim wondered aloud.
The search for the island has not been going especially well. It was not a case of trying to find a needle in a haystack; rather it was more akin to searching for a specific strand of hay within. They had seen many islands of various shapes and sizes, but none of them seem to have the specific landmarks to match the island on the map.
"I'm certain you are doing as best you can, Jim," Livesey encouraged.
"Perhaps this was an element of Flint's scheme," Ralph optioned. "To surround his treasure with near-identical, largely unmapped and uncharted islands, that he may hide the one that holds it."
"So those who search for it mayhaps die of boredom before finding it," Zoey added.
Jim chuckled at that one. "Boredom first? Not starvation or by shipwreck?"
"One could make a berth at any of these islands, mind," the Zorua replied. "There they could find an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetation, and protection from a storm's wrath."
"Still, you would think the pirates we sail amongst would know where the island lies amongst the lot," Ralph pondered.
Jim looked somewhat dour suddenly.
Ralph quickly realized why. "I-I greatly apologize, Jim," he said. "I didn't intend to revisit that unfortunate fact."
Jim nodded in understanding. "'Tis not your fault and your efforts to avoid mentioning it are commendable, considering how important it is to our livelihoods at present."
The trio went quiet again for a few minutes. The mention of being surrounded by hostile pirates always had that effect upon them, Jim especially considering he had begun to grow close to one of them.
"Besides, 'tis upon me to spot our destination, not them," Jim added.
"Which, again, you are giving your greatest effort," Ralph assured him.
Jim gave Ralph a grateful smile despite still not being entirely awake.
"If we return to Hulbury in any capacity, Ms. Zoroark shall likely ground us for eternity," Ralph remarked with a sigh. He then turned to Zoey. "Your words to her about being surrounded by suspicious sailors in the middle of the sea have proven prophetic."
"They have, and mayhaps she will," Zoey agreed. "But I do hope she lets us witness her tearing into the Squire for his making such a thing happen at all before such grounding."
Jim, Ralph, and Salva all snickered at that image; even Livesey gave a smirk she did a poor job of hiding. That would definitely be worth seeing.
"How do you all think she fares?" Ralph asked.
"Better than when we departed, I should hope," Livesey answered. "We are two weeks gone from Hulbury now; perhaps she is completely healed of her injuries."
"And likely still greatly worried for our well-being," Jim added.
"All the more reason to give Trelawney a great verbal assault upon our return," Zoey said with a cheeky smile.
Snickers were had all-around again at the picture of Squire Trelawney at the mercy of Ms. Zoroark's parental wrath.
"Perhaps this extended search has given the Captain the time he needs to form a plan for our arrival," Ralph suggested.
"If he has, he shall likely share it during debriefing," Livesey said.
"Here is hoping that Mr. Trelawney is as adept at learning the ways of the kitchen as Jim was," Zoey asked.
Everyone winced or nodded in agreement. They all knew Trelawney had their interests at heart and was making an effort to atone for his mistake, but there was a reason he had live-in chefs cook his meals instead of doing it himself. The breakfasts he made under Silver's allegedly unenthusiastic instruction were palatable, if only because eggs and toast were not exactly easy dishes to ruin.
His more complicated dinners on the contrary left a bit to be desired. When that day's dinner and debriefing came Zoey quickly dove into her meal and gagged.
"Blech!" she yelped. "What did you put in this soup!?"
"What Mr. Silver said I should," was Trelawney's reply. "Though as I was pressed for time, I could not double-check my measurements; I'm sorry if yours is a bit lacking this evening."
Zoey decided instead to double down on the much more palatable salad Trelawney had prepared, though she also chose to nearly drown it in dressing to offset its otherwise somewhat bland taste.
Nobody else was impressed with the soup that was the main course, including Trelawney himself. But safe food that did not taste great was still preferable to delicacies that might hide vicious poisons.
Once the meal had been completed Captain Smollett gave his usual loud belch to get everyone's attention before beginning his opening words.
"Another fair meal, Mr. Trelawney," the Captain began, choosing to be more generous with his summation than most of the others probably would have been.
"Thank you, sir," the Squire replied.
"Now, onto business; we are within the Decolore Archipelago, and though our search for the island has not ended yet we cannot be certain when it will."
"Why is that, Captain?" Trelawney asked.
Smollett gestured to their new lookout to explain. "The map is only of the island itself," Jim said. "Captain Flint deliberately did not write any instructions on finding it amongst its fellows."
"So our only option has been to meander around the islands? Surely this is an unsafe course to take given the company we sail with," the Squire questioned.
"It is safer than remaining on the open ocean," Smollett provided. "Here we have the chance to swim for the nearest island, of which there are plenty." He gestured to one that was visible out the windows of his cabin and looked to only be a few hundred meters away.
"Even still, I fear that every moment we remain upon the water the greater the chance of an early mutiny than perhaps our antagonists planned," Trelawney argued.
"[His fears are well-founded,]" Chester added to Smollett in a whisper. "[In my deck watch I have heard grumblings of impatience amongst the crew.]"
"I see." Smollett acknowledged.
"Well, have we at least a plan for when we arrive and the mutiny begins?" Ralph asked.
"I've been developing one," Smollett answered. "Though it has been difficult without the aid of my old first mate; he had always been the strategist between the two of us."
"In our present ferment, any plan is sufficient, Captain," Professor Livesey encouraged.
Smollett gave her a grateful smile before looking serious again. "Our first task is to see our enemy divided. It will be easier to subdue them in smaller groups than at their full strength."
"Should we perhaps sow the seeds of discord amongst the mutineers?" Zoey suggested. "These pirates are likely of inherent greed and uninterested in getting less of the spoils than their fellows. Could that turn them on one another?"
Smollett gave a pleased smile. "It very well could; you might possess a mind fit for subterfuge Zoey."
Zoey smiled and transformed into Jim. "It comes naturally I suppose."
The Captain continued, though with a lighter disposition than before. "I think sowing discontent within our enemy is a fair place to begin, though such a plan will require careful wording and time to plant it."
"Time we may not have, should our near aimless wandering lead us to the island suddenly," Professor Livesey pointed out.
"Agreed," Smollett said. "When I said we must divide and conquer our enemy, I meant it in a perhaps more literal way."
Everyone went quiet to hear the Captain's plan.
"Upon arriving at the island, I shall divide the crew between a landing party exclusively of mutineers and those who shall remain on the ship. That should even the odds enough for us to subdue the remaining pirates, and set a course back for Galar," Smollett explained.
"But what of the treasure?" Jim asked.
"We shall return, Mr. Hawkins," Smollett continued. "Upon our return to Galar, we shall offload our mutineers to their fates, take on a new crew, and return to the Island with as much speed as we can. We shall have enough crew to subdue the remaining pirates."
Trelawney had gained a smile. "Perhaps in their isolation on the island, the pirates shall find the treasure for us."
"That would be most helpful," Livesey concurred.
"Let us not be presumptuous," Smollett said. "They may choose not to bother looking simply to spite us. Livesey, 'tis with you the instructions for the map remain, yes?"
"They do," she replied.
"And Hawkins, the map is still within your coat?"
"Yes, sir." Jim ruffled his coat a little and felt the oilcloth and paper against him.
"Good, we must still keep them from the enemy's hands, paws, and claws."
"So whose plans shall we proceed with, Captain?" Zoey asked. "Mine or yours?"
"Both, I should think," was the reply. "After all, my plan will likely be of greater effect if we implement yours. More pirates may wish to go ashore to claim their share if they distrust each other. Zoey's plan shall be put in place as fast as possible so we may plant as much discord as we can."
Zoey gave a big smile, proud of herself for her contribution.
Smollett turned to the Chesnaught who tended to stay quiet during these briefings. "Chester, you being our primary eyes and ears amongst the crew, can you perform most of this task?"
Chester gave a scheming grin and said something in Poké speak that did not need translating to be understood as "with pleasure, captain."
"We have a ticking clock, mind," Smollett continued. "For once we reach the island my part of the plan must go forward regardless of how much discontent we have sewn in our enemies. Am I marked?"
"Yes Captain," was the unanimous response.
"Very good, now we need only begin our plan and hope that our lookout does not spot our destination for a few days more at the least."
"He said what?"
Jim heard that as he headed for the mainmast two days later. He looked in the direction of the voice to see Chester speaking with a Diggersby that could speak human language. The Diggersby then turned to glare at presumably another crew member Jim could not see behind him.
"Why that-!" The Diggersby said before marching away, presumably towards the other crewmember.
Chester turned to see Jim and gave him a smile and a wink. Jim winked back before whispering. "I'm glad to see your work goes well, Chester."
Chester gave a "thank you" in Poké speak before resuming his duties while Jim began climbing the mainmast to get to the Crow's Nest. When he got into the basket-shaped platform that was his post, it did not take long for the seasickness to come for him.
I don't think I shall ever grow used to this, Jim thought as the Crow's Nest lurched prompting a gurgle of protest from his digestive system.
Jim did not bother to count how many times being in the Crow's Nest had almost made him vomit with the rocking. His only consolation was that Captain Smollett had agreed to let him wait a bit after eating before reporting to his position. This did not keep him from feeling seasick, but it did mean he would not puke all over someone on the deck below him; probably.
The seasickness did make it a bit harder to do his job though. The lethargy that came with it meant his vision sometimes went a bit blurry as his eyes began to close. The ill-feeling also made it hard to hold up the spyglass the Captain had given him. It did not feel like it weighed any more than it usually did, he just could not summon the strength to pick up even something so light.
Despite the sometimes debilitating seasickness, however, Jim pressed on to be the best lookout he could. He leaned on the forward fencing, or whatever it was called, to try and steady himself however he could while looking out at the islands around the ship. His coat, and the map inside it, rested behind him; ready to be looked at if he thought he saw one of the landmarks.
At another lurch of the ship, Jim quickly put the spyglass down on the floor of the Crow's Nest before he dropped it. There was another unpleasant noise from his stomach and he simply rested against the side of the basket-shaped platform, waiting for the worst of it to end. From one of the islands, he saw some shapes take flight from one of them. Once they flew over the ship Jim could see they were Wingull. He gave the passing Seagull Pokémon a wave, which they responded to with some friendly cries of their name.
Jim looked back at the island the Wingull had flown from. The Mt. Coronet was gradually sailing closer to it, allowing Jim to more clearly make out its features as they approached it from the south.
One of these features was a hill along the east side of the island. It was a broad and conspicuous hill with a palm tree growing alone at the top; a palm that even from this distance looked to be growing very tall. The hill ended in a cliffside that gave it the appearance of a shoulder without an arm attached to it.
It looked somewhat familiar. Jim looked back at the map and quickly recognized a similar protruding hill detailed in its drawing of the island, complete with a singular palm tree, marked as a location of interest. Jim also remembered part of the navigation instructions mentioning "Spyglass Shoulder."
Jim took up his actual spyglass once again, his adrenaline rising as he grew more and more confident and banishing his seasickness, at least for now, as he looked closer at the cliff.
I think I've found it.
Thinking the better of trying to shout out their destination from his post, Jim put his coat back on and descended from the Crow's Nest. He calmly worked his way towards the helm where Captain Smollett was still watching everything.
"Captain?" Jim asked as he approached.
"What is it, Mr. Hawkins?" Smollett replied.
Jim wordlessly pointed towards the island that was growing larger, hoping Smollett would understand him without having to blurt it out.
Fortunately, he did. "Think you so?"
Jim nodded.
"Helmsman, take us near to that island approaching starboard," Smollett ordered. "We shall make a berth there to give us all some time on true dry land."
The helmsman grunted in acknowledgement and turned the ship more directly at the island.
"May I tell my siblings of our upcoming landfall?" Jim asked.
Smollett looked roughly towards the sun to measure the time; almost midday.
"Seeing how we are likely to arrive rather soon, feel free to," the Captain allowed. "Do bring them topside for our meeting with the rest of the crew though; better to get that done now rather than later."
"Yes, sir," Jim said as he turned to go.
"And Jim," Smollett added, prompting Jim to turn. "Consider yourself on leave from lookout duties pending our return to more open waters."
"Thank you, Captain," Jim said with glee before hurrying towards the hatch to the lower decks.
Unlike when the ship had been stationary a week ago, the lower decks of the ship were not torturously hot. Instead, they were of a more temperate warmth that reminded Jim of being wrapped up in blankets, except without the sometimes restrictive weight that came with them. It made the boy feel a little drowsy as he descended into the hold where the Pikachu colony was staying.
I would nap down here if I could get away with it.
He soon found that sentiment was shared by the colony and his friends. When he arrived in the hold he found almost the entire colony sound asleep in the comforting warmth. He looked around and found Zoey, Ralph, and Salva similarly sleeping. Ralph and Salva were leaning against each other, which was not too surprising.
What was somewhat surprising was that Zoey was curled up with Pedal, the colony leader.
Jim quickly made a mental note to tease Zoey about this after he woke her up.
He knelt down next to his siblings and gently rustled them. "Ralph, Zoey, wake up," he said. "I've something to tell you with all haste."
Ralph was the first to wake up with some tired groans. "Jim, I was having a very pleasant nap," he mildly complained.
Salva groaned and said something in Poké speak as she too woke up. Jim took an educated guess as to what.
"I'm sorry to awaken you both, but there's something you must know," he said.
"[What is that?]" Salva asked; Ralph translated.
"First," Jim said with a cheeky smile, "look over behind me."
He moved out of the way and gave Ralph and Salva a good view of Zoey and Pedal curled up together, still sound asleep. Ralph gave a happy smile and a sincere "Aww" at Zoey's predicament, while Salva began restraining snickers. The latter's response spread to Jim once it started. The restrained laughter seemed to finally pull Zoey out of her slumber.
"I sense laughter directed upon me," the Zorua said through drowsiness. "Do tell what is so amusing."
She took one look at Jim, Ralph, and Salva looking at her before finally registering that something warm and fuzzy was pressed against her fur. Turning her head slowly Zoey was greeted with an eyeful of Pikachu in her face, startling her and making her jump lightly away. The sudden movement did not rouse Pedal from her slumber, though it did make her move around a bit as she unconsciously searched for the source of warmth that was suddenly gone. Zoey turned to her companions, who were forced to restrain their laughter harder given the blush evident in her ears.
"Thank Arceus you did not wake her," Jim said through his repressed mirth. "What I have to say is best kept between ourselves."
"Do not keep us in sus-pense then Jim," Salva insisted as she reigned in her laughter.
Jim gained a confident smile. "We have found the island and shall soon make berth upon its coastline to begin our search."
The three small Pokémon gained wide eyes at these words.
"Really?" Ralph asked.
"I spotted the island myself, and a distinctive landmark that matched the island upon the map," Jim explained.
"We're so close to it," Zoey said eagerly. "The treasure is right within our grip!"
"But the pirates…" Ralph quickly added.
"Right…" Zoey immediately lost all of her glee when reminded of that problem. "How goes sowing chaos amongst them."
"I saw Chester working on it earlier today, but I know not how far his efforts extend," Jim said.
"Al-as, we are out of time," Salva said. "All we can do is hope he has done enough in the two days he has had."
"Aye," Jim agreed. "For now we are wanted topside, Captain Smollett wishes to begin setting up a landing party and would have us in attendance."
"Why is that?" Ralph asked as he, Zoey, and Salva began following Jim out of the cozy cargo hold.
"[Perhaps to help fool the pirates?]" Salva suggested.
The group of four came up from the central hatch and was beckoned to the quarterdeck by Captain Smollett, who had gathered Livesey, Trelawney, and Chester. Once they had joined their fellow important crewmembers, Smollett motioned to Chester to ring the ship's bell. Its loud ringing caught the attention of all the other crew who quickly turned when Captain Smollett yelled out at them
"Attention crew; furl in the sails, then assemble!"
The crew did as they were bid. The Mt. Coronet gradually slowed as the wind could no longer catch her sails, eventually stopping altogether. Once she had, the crew quickly gathered in front of the quarterdeck. Amongst them was John Silver who appeared somewhat annoyed at how the rest of the crew was leering at each other when they thought the target of their ire was not looking.
"As you can see, we are en route to that island yonder," Smollett began, gesturing to the landmass in question. "There we shall carry out our first mapping and take on new provisions."
"What of the Pikachu in the cargo hold?" a woman asked.
"They will be allowed to disembark and enjoy themselves until our departure," Livesey answered for the Captain.
"Yes," the Captain continued. "In the meantime, for now, we require volunteers to go ashore and set up camp from the rest of the mapping party. Are there any who wish to volunteer now?"
After taking a brief moment to glare at each other, a small but noticeable number of the crew immediately raised one of their forelimbs; the speed at which they did caught the attention of their fellows encouraging a few more to volunteer early as well.
"Well, it pleases me to see such an eager crew," Smollett said. "Once we arrive you all and any remaining landing crew shall be divided amongst the boats and sent ashore. I want a camp from which we can begin our mission to be ready by nightfall, am I understood?"
"Yes, captain," was the collective reply, which sounded almost suspiciously bored and impatient.
It was not hard for Jim, or any of his other friends he imagined, to figure out why the crew sounded that way.
"Very good, after that our guests shall be let ashore for their merriment. As for now, get this ship moving towards that island again with haste!" Smollett ordered.
The crew wordlessly obeyed and began unfurling the sails again.
Zoey yawned. "How much time do you think we have before we reach the island?" she asked.
"I know not how long," Smollett replied, looking out at the island. "An hour or two perhaps at our current speed; it is still a fair distance away."
"In that case, I would resume my sleep," Zoey suggested. "I shan't be of much use to our crew as drowsy as I am."
"Likewise," Ralph agreed.
"I wish to join them, sir," Jim added. "If you would permit it, Captain?"
"I suppose," Smollett replied. "Should we have need of you sooner I'll send for you."
The trio, accompanied by Salva, quickly returned to the lower deck where the Pikachu were still sleeping contentedly. The only exception was Pedal who looked to have recently awoken from her slumber and turned to see the group arriving.
"Welcome back to the waking world, Pedal," Zoey greeted.
"Thank you," the Pikachu replied. "Is something going on?"
"We're close to making landfall on an island," Jim replied. "Once we make a berth, you and your colony will be allowed to disembark and begin sightseeing."
Pedal smiled. "That's lovely!" she said, though she was cut off from saying anything else by a yawn. "Though, it seems some more sleep is in order for the moment."
"[We're still a fair distance from the island,]" Salva added drowsily. "[We can all get some more sleep.]"
"I see no reason to wait any longer then," Zoey said before lying down on the warm floor. Pedal lay down next to her and Zoey, seemingly unconsciously, shuffled over to curl up with her again.
After some light, repressed laughter at Zoey's expense Jim lay down as well and began basking in the comfortable warmth of the cargo deck. It did not take long for him to begin feeling drowsy and fall asleep.
"Jim."
Jim stirred in his slumber as a voice he thought he recognized saying his name began to pull him from it.
"Jim, you're needed up top; with haste."
Jim groaned an affirmative noise and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around for whoever had spoken to him, but they seemed to have disappeared. As he got up Jim tried to place where he had heard that voice. It sounded familiar, to an almost unnerving extent, but he could not quite remember where he had heard it before; never mind who or what that voice belonged to.
After getting up and heading to the stairs back to the top deck, Jim's senses finally began to reassert themselves through his drowsiness. He quickly ruled out that the voice came from anyone he knew on the ship. It was a feminine voice for one, which ruled out Smollett, Trelawney, and Ralph; the latter of whom was presumably still sleeping.
But it did not sound like Livesey, Zoey, or even Salva when she was speaking human language. None of the Bisharp could speak human language in the first place, and they had rarely interacted with Jim anyway.
As Jim began ascending the stairs to the top deck, his mind finally caught up with itself. Whoever spoke to him must have been from the regular crew; the regular crew that none of the officers would have sent to fetch him or his siblings. They would have sent Chester.
Which meant in his drowsiness he was walking into a—
Something rammed into him from the side as he reached the middle deck, sending him to the floor. It was not a hard hit though, and he quickly lifted himself up to see his attacker.
It was a Zangoose; one that looked far more familiar now that she was wearing the same wicked look she had back at the Admiral Benbow.
"A pleasure to see you again, Jim," she said, her voice unmistakable.
"I wish it was," Jim replied as he got back on his feet.
The Zangoose sneered. "You really intend to try and run from me, do you? You can't."
"Until I try neither of us can be so sure of that," Jim snarked back.
The Zangoose bore her large claws. "Then try," she dared.
Jim charged at the Zangoose, hoping she'd mistake it for an attack and jump out of the way, leaving him with a direct way out.
But she didn't move. Jim moved his arm to throw a punch, hoping that would convince her. Failing that, he'd go through with the attack and hopefully knock her out of the way enough for him to slip past.
She did not budge
Never in my life did I ever think I'd punch a Pokémon.
Jim threw the punch when he was close enough, knocking the Zangoose right in the cheek. It hurt his hand, but Constable Jenny's guards had helped him get used to that, though they also hoped Jim would never need to go through with it.
The Zangoose did let out a yelp as Jim hit her, sounding surprised that he did so and that it hurt a little. She was briefly even more surprised when he tried pushing her out of his way while she was taken aback. However, she regained herself and began grappling with the boy.
"You're tougher than you appear," she said.
Jim pushed harder trying to shove her out of his way, but all the Zangoose did was tense herself up in response, more than matching his strength.
"But not tough enough, human," she put an insulting emphasis on that last word.
Jim did not wait for her to do whatever final attack she had planned to carry out following that line. He lifted his leg and kneed her in the stomach as hard as he could.
The Zangoose let out a surprised "oof" as the air was forcefully blasted out of her body and loosened her grip on Jim just enough for him to push her to the side. He began to run for the steps to the hatchway to the top deck.
Then his lower legs stopped moving, and he felt an incredible cold envelop his feet and calves.
He turned to the Zangoose, who had a decidedly smug look on her face as the ball of freezing energy disappeared from her mouth.
"'Tis a shame humans can't do things such as that," she said, though the way she said it showed she clearly did not mind this fact at all. She then pulled out a very familiar blanket from a dark corner that made Jim's skin crawl.
The Zangoose's smug, victorious grin grew wider as she advanced on the frozen Jim with the Sleep Powder blanket. "You should know, I'd have gladly knocked you unconscious in the normal way," she said, clenching one of her fists as she did. "However, it seems our Captain desires you as unharmed as possible. Therefore your blanket will have to do."
She threw the blanket over Jim, and he could immediately feel the Sleep Powder falling on him and going up his nose as the blanket covered his eyes. A powerful, forced drowsiness overtook him, and as he felt the ice at his feet being chipped away he could faintly hear the familiar voice of the Sea Cook before the Sleep Powder finally did its job.
"Well done, Bad Kitty. Well done, indeed."
Author's Note: A chapter for the readers before the next term of university starts. I've got some more in reserve, but right now I'm trying to get boost that number a bit.