As the boulder from the Edmontonia's Rock Roller move tumbled towards the group of kids at full speed, they all screamed.
"Run for it!" Max yelled over the others. Jim and the D-Team bolted as fast as they could away from the boulder that was sure to crush them if they didn't move. At the last moment, the children ducked towards the forest and let the boulder roll by. It barely missed Max's nose by mere centimeters.
"That was a close one," Rex sighed as he watched the boulder swerve off and land into the sea not far from where they were standing now.
"Tell me about it," Ren huffed as she tried to catch her breath. Jim walked over back into the sand and plopped down into it. He stared at the half map in his hands and gripped it tightly out of frustration.
"Useless. This half of the map is completely useless!" Jim scowled. "All this map tells us is which one of the islands the treasure isn't buried on. The pirate half says where it is."
"Chin up, Jim. We'll find that treasure. We'll make sure of it," Ren commented as she walked up to him. The boy looked up at her stunned. His expression then morphed into a smile.
"You really mean it?" Jim asked her. Ren nodded in response. Jim hopped up and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, thank you, Ren! You're the most terrific, absolutely amazing girl I know!"
"Too far!" Ren hissed as she shoved the boy off of her.
"Heh. Sorry," Jim meekly apologized. Max, Rex, and Zoe exchanged glances before they leaned into each other to start talking in whispers.
"Ok, now I'm confused," Max admitted.
"Yeah, wasn't Jim all girl crazy over Zoe?" Rex added.
"Well... He was, but I rejected him when he asked me to be his girlfriend. Though, he did say that he had a hard time deciding between Ren and I. Guess he's after her now," Zoe explained.
"Wait, Jim asked you to what?" Rex questioned Zoe.
"Again, it was nothing. I said no," Zoe replied. A heavy sigh from Jim regained the D-Team's attention. He was staring at the map in his hands again.
"Because we have the wrong side of the map, Blackbeard's going to get the jewel. And if Blackbeard gets the jewel, then I won't be able to save my village," Jim said into the map disappointedly.
"I already told you that we'll find that treasure, right? Just gotta keep an upbeat attitude," Ren gave Jim an awkward smile.
"You're right, with a good attitude, anything is possible," Jim declared with regained confidence.
"Yeah, what do you say? Let's focus on the task ahead of us and focus on the future," Ren told the boy. In response, Jim leaned into Ren.
"So, what about our future? Can we focus on our future?" Jim asked. "If you ask me, we were destined to be with each other."
"Destined to be with each other?" Both Rex and Max synchronized. Ren cringed at Jim's comment but didn't say anything immediately.
"Jim, don't you think you're moving too fast? You just asked me to be your girlfriend yesterday," Zoe told him.
"That doesn't matter to our love, does it, Ren?" Jim asked.
"I have to agree with my friends here, Jim," Ren replied as she slowly loosened up from cringing at him. "We hardly know each other. You and Zoe hardly know each other. It seems like you can hardly make up your mind which one of us you like more. I think it'd just be better if we focus on getting that healing jewel to save your village."
"Tell that to my aching heart," Jim responded in a plea. He leaned in towards Ren, puckering up for a kiss.
"No means no, Jim!" Ren hissed at him as she backed away from Jim. She raised her hand and slapped Jim. However, instead of Jim that she had hit, Ren was almost just as shocked to realize that she had accidentally slapped Rex who took the charge to push Jim to the ground. Everything just happened all at once.
"Rex? I'm so sorry!" Ren immediately apologized upon realizing what she had done.
"Nah, it's okay, Ren, really," Rex replied as he rubbed the side of his face where the impact happened. "You know, Ren, you're pretty strong."
"What the heck was that for?" Jim complained to Rex as he sat up off the sand. "I was making my move!"
"And Ren told you no," Rex told him. "I'm not just gonna let you kiss my sister after she's already told you no."
"Wait, you two are related?" Jim asked as he pointed his finger between Ren and Rex.
"Yeah, it wasn't obvious?" Zoe asked.
"To be fair, none of us knew when I moved into your town. Rex and I didn't even know for a while," Ren noted.
"So, if you two are siblings," Jim started as he looked at Rex and Ren. His gaze then shifted over to Max. "That means I only have one obstacle in my way then."
"Wait, what?" Max interjected hastily.
Meanwhile, Blackbeard and his pirates were on their ship alongside Goma and Gabbro who had handed them their half of the map. Goma sat on a barrel nearby while Gabbro stood behind Blackbeard as he tried to keep getting a good look at the map. Goma didn't look pleased about the fact that they decided to team up momentarily with Blackbeard. Blackbeard laughed with confidence as he looked at the marked spot on the map.
"Finally, now the treasure will be mine!" Blackbeard continued to laugh.
"Goma and I got the map, so wouldn't the treasure be ours not yours?" Gabbro asked.
"A share is yours since you say you're pirates, but mine's the biggest," Blackbeard told them. This made Goma scowl at the captain.
"Why is a share theirs when they may not even be real pirates," Blackbeard's second in command, Copper, asked.
"Gabbro, come here for a sec," the shortest space pirate told his teammate. Gabbro looked dumbfounded at the purple skinned pirate and flew over to Goma.
"What is it, Goma?" Gabbro asked.
"Once we find this treasure, we're gonna snatch it right from under their noses, ya got it?" Goma whispered to the bigger space pirate. "It's obvious these guys don't wanna keep us around for long, but play along for now, kay?"
"Play? Are we playing a game? I love games!" Gabbro cheered. Goma facepalmed.
"I swear, Gabbro. You really are an idiot," Goma grumbled. "Just follow my lead."
"Follow the Leader? I love that game! Can I be the leader next, Goma?" Gabbro asked with excitement. Goma simply groaned in response.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Captain?" Copper asked rather loudly. The question caught the attention of Goma. The short pirate just snickered at such a question from the supposed second in command. Copper was apparently peering through a telescope and was surveying the surrounding area.
"You should know better than to question the one and only Blackbeard about how to find buried treasure," Blackbeard sneered at his comrade. Blackbeard pointed over at Goma and Gabbro. "Unlike those knock off pirates, I can smell treasure on the wind!"
"Blackbeard smells treasure! Blackbeard smells treasure!" The parrot squawked.
"Hey! Who are you calling a knock off, knock off?" Goma suddenly shot.
"Uh, yeah! Knock off!" Gabbro repeated.
"You scallywags! Now if you're going to get a share of the treasure, get to work!" Blackbeard yelled. Goma scowled back at the pirate captain without saying a word.
"Goma, why is he the leader now? I thought I was gonna be the leader next," Gabbro pouted. Goma's glare turned onto Gabbro instead. It lingered there before Goma softened his gaze.
"Let's just go, Gabbro," Goma sighed. He fluttered his wings and moved to a different part of the ship.
"But Goma, I thought I was the leader now!" Gabbro wailed as he followed Goma.
"I think we have to cut this conversation short," Ren jumped in the middle of Max and Jim. She was pointing towards the ocean. "There's a boat!"
Jim and the rest of the D-Team pause as they follow Ren's finger out towards the sea. Sure enough, Ren was right. There was a boat headed in their direction.
"It looks like a pirate ship," Zoe observed. Upon closer inspection the ship that was coming their way was indeed a pirate ship.
"Is it Blackbeard?" Max asked. His question unknowingly made the rest of the children instinctively tense up as they prepared for an encounter with Blackbeard.
"What do they want?" Rex hissed, almost under his breath. Jim squinted his eyes.
"It's not Blackbeard," Jim stated. "Their flag is different. They're probably a rival gang of pirates."
"Welcome aboard the best pirate ship in all the high seas!" A familiar elderly voice called out from the ship. The D-Team froze in their places.
"Tell me it's not," Rex sighed.
"It is," Ren responded.
"When did the Alpha Gang get a pirate ship?" Zoe questioned as the pirate ship, which clearly had the Alpha Gang's logo on the flag and the sails, pulled up towards the beach.
"Beats me," Max replied. Dr. Z, Ursula, Ed, and Zander hopped down from the ship. Dr. Z was dress as a captain, while Ursula, Ed, and Zander were dressed like the crew of a pirate ship. Even Pheonix, Tank, and the Suchomimus were there in their chibi forms wearing pirate gear.
"Something tells me as soon as they knew they could buy the outfits," Ren said lightheartedly.
"Well, wait's the wait for? I said come aboard!" Dr. Z told the kids.
The next thing that Jim and the D-Team knew, they were on the Alpha Gang's pirate ship sailing in the ocean around the Caribbean. Jim was extra wary about the Alpha Pirates, but he soon recognized them was the quoted "circus people" from earlier.
"Wait, you guys aren't real pirates! You're circus people!" Jim accused the Alpha Gang of being frauds.
"How dare you defy me! I am Whitebeard! Also known as the notorious Pirate Z!
"The notorious Pirate Z, that sounds so scary!" Jim said sarcastically with false terror in his voice.
"I've struck fear in the hearts of men in all of the seven seas!" Dr. Z proclaimed as he held a hook that was over one of his hands into the air. The D-Team and Jim seemed rather unimpressed. They were actually almost in a stunned silence. More than likely due to the fact that they actually got onto a ship with this lunatic.
Suddenly, there was laughter erupting from a single voice. However, no matter how much the children looked, they could not locate the owner of the laughter.
"The notorious Pirate Z? Where'd you think up of that one?" The voice was cracking up with laughter. "It's almost just as original as your other one. What was it again? Weirdbeard?"
Dr. Z suddenly lunged at a stand that was nearby the wheel of the ship and started to pounce on it like some wild animal.
"Whitebeard! It's Whitebeard! Not Weirdbeard!" Dr. Z yelled into a semicircle shape on the stand. "You better give your old person of employment some respect for picking up those brats for you!"
"Oh! So you got them? Great!" The voice chimed. "Hey! D-Team, can you hear me? It's Gabriel!"
"We hear you loud and clear, Gabe!" Max responded.
"Woah! Is there a person trapped inside of there?" Jim asked. He walked up to the stand. The stand looked to be a standard podium with a speaker attached to it. He leaned into the speaker and yelled, "Don't worry! I'll get you out!"
With that, Jim started to pound his fist on top of the speaker as if he were desperately trying to break it. However, the speaker didn't even dent.
"It's alright, I don't need saving," Gabriel chuckled from the other end of the speaker. "Actually, I'd prefer if you'd stop hitting the stand. It's starting to hurt my ears."
"Oh, sorry," Jim apologized.
"Gabe, where are you? Still on the ship?" Ren asked. "How are repairs?"
"Still on the Backlander, yup!" Gabriel's voice told them. "Repairs are coming along pretty good. Johnathan and I just had to clean out the navigation system to remove any sticky residue that remained. We're almost done."
"That's good to hear," Rex replied.
"Yup! I sent the Alpha Gang after you as soon as I knew they had a ship. You're gonna need something to catch Blackbeard," Gabriel informed the children.
"So, you're the reason that the Alpha Gang's here!" Zoe said, amazed.
"Actually, being a pirate has always been a dream of mine," Ed jumped in.
"Yeah, getting this ship was all Ed's idea. Everything about it except for the droids were his execution," Zander filled in.
"And that was my brilliant idea," Dr. Z beamed.
"What are droids?" Jim asked.
"They're an... addition! That helps... uh... control the speed of the ship!" Ursula chimed in.
"That's so cool," Jim replied with wonder and awe in his voice.
"When I was a kid, I started collecting all sorts of kinds of pirate stuff. But I never told anyone about it," Ed said to the others with a twinkle in his eye just from looking at the ship and seeing his dream become a reality.
"He kept it to himself for all those years," Ursula remarked sarcastically as she silently mocked Ed for telling them about his not-so-secret-anymore collection.
"I always thought that people would make fun of me, but then I found myself here in the high seas. Now I know that I can finally let my inner pirate come out," Ed fantasized as if he didn't even hear Ursula's comment.
"Ok, Ed. That's great that you're living out your dreams and all, but we need to track down Blackbeard before he escapes with the treasure," Zoe deadpanned.
"Not to worry, the ship's radar has already pinpointed his location," Ed replied back with confidence.
"What's a radar?" Jim questioned.
"It's a machine that shows us where we are in the sea," Zoe explained. The Alpha Gang showed the D-Team and Jim where the radar on the ship was located. The kids looked at the blinking, blue dot in the center of the radar map before shifting their gaze to the blinking, red dot closer to the edge.
"So, the blue dot is our ship, and the red dot is Blackbeard," Rex informed as he traced his finger over the glass that projected the radar from the boat they were on to Blackbeard's boat.
"Even though they're moving pretty fast, no matter where he goes, we can follow him," Zoe told Jim. Jim stared in fascination at the radar. He put his hands on the glass and peered into it.
"This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" Jim gawked at the device. "Let's break it open so we can grab Blackbeard and get the treasure map back!"
Without warning, Jim began to beat his fist on the radar. It was almost as if he were expecting that he could crack open the glass on the radar and pick up the red dot that the kids had told him was Blackbeard's ship.
"Hey, he isn't inside the radar. We didn't shrink his ship into a red dot," Max told Jim.
"Oh yeah? You think you're so smart?" Jim asked Max, annoyed. He stuck his tongue out at Max.
"What?" Max hissed at Jim. The two boys began going nose to nose.
"You're trying to make me look stupid in front of Ren and Zoe!" Jim accused Max.
"I think you're doing that for yourself!" Max retorted.
"Enough!" Ren yelled. The two boys stopped arguing and they turned their attention towards her. "This is a pointless thing to argue about."
"You're right, Ren," Jim said as he put his arm around her shoulders. "What do you say you and me get away from these idiots and take a walk and enjoy each other's company? Just the two of us?"
"Jim, you're pushing it," Ren growled at him.
"What? All I want's a kiss," Jim told her. He puckered his lips again and tried to kiss Ren again.
"I said no!" Ren turned and slapped Jim across the face. This time, she hit her intended target. Jim was knocked back so far that he ended up on the ground, half disoriented.
"Ren, you're amazing," Jim said, aloof.
"Geez, I was hoping that knocked some sense into you," Ren sighed.
"I think you're gonna need to slap him more times than that for that to happen," Rex replied.
Blackbeard was sailing away following the half map that Goma and Gabbro had provided them. A thick fog had rolled in and rested above the waves of the sea. The space pirates came back out onto the deck to look at the fog that had shrouded the ship.
"When did the fog come in?" Goma questioned.
"Goma? Where are you? I can't see a thing in front of me," Gabbro fumbled around the ship until he ran straight into the shorter space pirate. Goma fell on his back and landed on the deck with an oof.
"Then stop trying to move around the ship, you doofus!" Goma shouted.
"Goma, you didn't say 'Goma says,'" Gabbro replied.
"Goma says? We're not playing any games right now, Gabbro!" Goma was frustrated with his boneheaded teammate.
"Don't let the fog buck ye down, me harties. The treasure is close," Blackbeard told everyone on deck.
"Captain, the fog is so thick, the lookout can't see one inch in front of his face," Copper informed Blackbeard with a worried tone.
"No one needs to see, I can smell the treasure," Blackbeard looked straight out and forward with a smirk on his face.
"Are you crazy? We're going to crash if we don't anchor the ship!" Goma hissed at Blackbeard.
"Are you questioning the incredible senses of Blackbeard, the greatest pirate of all time?" Blackbeard glared at Goma.
"I have to agree with the little one," Copper piped up. "I feat that there may be something evil inside this fog. What if they're ghosts that make us crash?"
"You're afraid of anything other than your captain!" Blackbeard scowled at Copper. The captain drew his sword and pointed it at Copper. "Sharks bow their heads to me! Tidal waves disappear at my feet! And you're afraid of ghosts?"
Copper stared wide-eyed at Blackbeard as he took a couple of steps away from the pirate captain. However, this just invited Blackbeard to step closer to his second in command with the sword still in his hand.
"I make ghosts fear the living! Do you understand?" Blackbeard screamed at Copper, holding the sword uncomfortably close to Copper's chest.
"I'm sorry! You're right! I'm only afraid of you! I'm only afraid of you!" Copper told Blackbeard and dip his head rapidly up and down in respect for his captain.
"What is that up ahead?" Blackbeard suddenly asked as he looked towards the front of the ship and had seen a large shadow begin to emerge out of the fog.
"It's a monster!" Copper yelled. "That thing is big enough to gobble up the entire ship!"
"Ahoy! A monster! Ahoy! A monster!" The parrot flew its rounds of the ship and warned the crewmates.
"Bring it on," Blackbeard challenged the sea monster that had appeared.
"Don't bring the monster on the ship. Let me take care of it with this," Gabbro replied. He took his Diceratops card and pressed it against the emblem on his chest. The two horned dinosaur appeared on the ship. Suddenly, Blackbeard's ship began to tilt in the direction the Diceratops was standing because of the immense amount of weight that was being added to that side of the ship. The crew began to scream as gravity swept them off of their feet and pulled them towards Diceratops. Even Gabbro fell over.
"Now your monster's going to sink my ship!" Blackbeard scolded Gabbro.
"Gabbro, you idiot!" Goma growled at his teammate as he slid into the side wall of Blackbeard's ship. "Not on the ship! Get Diceratops off the ship!"
Without an official order from Gabbro, the Diceratops took a leap off of the ship and landed in the ocean below. Slowly, the ship began to reposition itself to sit upright again. Gabbro began to look around for his dinosaur.
"Where did Diceratops go?" Gabbro asked.
"Into the ocean, you moron. Look," Goma told Gabbro as he pointed down at Diceratops. The dinosaur was swimming through the water towards the front of the ship.
"Captain, these two aren't the sharpest swords in the arsenal," Copper leaned in and whispered to Blackbeard as he glanced over at Goma and Gabbro.
"Especially the bigger one. He's a little slow in the old crow's nest," Blackbeard replied softly. "After they help us find that jewel, I'm going to make them walk the plank!"
"But they can fly!" Copper responded.
"Never mind that, look!" Blackbeard told his second in command as he pointed to the shadow in the front of the ship. It was never a monster at all. "Your monster's just a big rock! You fool!"
"Call back, Diceratops, Gabbro. It's a false alarm," Goma grumbled to his teammate. Blackbeard turned the wheel and the ship navigated around the monster-shaped rock.
"I seen that rock before," Gabbro said aloud.
"Please don't tell me we've been sailing in circles," Goma groaned.
"It's better than that! That rock is right next door to the island where the treasure is located!" Blackbeard informed them.
Max and Jim stood towards the front of the Alpha Gang's ship looking out into the sea ahead. Ed piloted the ship from the captain's wheel with Dr. Z right by his side. Zander and Ursula were casually holding a conversation nearby. Zoe was inside looking at the radar watching the radar on the inside of the ship. Rex and Ren stood at the speaker podium talking with Gabriel.
"How much longer until the Backlander's ready for take off?" Ren asked Gabriel.
"Not much. Johnathan's finishing cleaning the controls now. It's not too hard to clean up a spilled soda. We'll be back online soon," Gabriel sounded chipper through the intercom. The Ancient siblings smiled at each other.
"That's great news! Is Johnathan there with you?" Rex asked.
"Hello there, Master Rex!" Johnathan's voice chimed in through the speaker.
"Hey there, Johnathan!" Rex cheered through the speaker.
"Hi, Johnathan!" Ren piped up.
"Mistress Ren is there too, how splendid," Johnathan told them.
"Johnathan, do you have a reading on our parents?" Rex asked.
"Well, Gabriel's assistance has allowed me to use my time to work on a precise location tracking device of sorts. It's still in the prototype phase and without a sturdy connection on the transmission end, it is going to be difficult to track their location," Johnathan replied.
"But we still have the Time Positioning System, so we still know that they're in this time period. Right, Rex?" Gabriel asked.
"Right," Rex replied. He pulled out his Time Positioning System and opened it. The dot remained unmoving. Their parents were still in this time period.
"So, Johnathan, what you're saying is that if we could get some sort of transmitter to our parents, that would held up keep their signal, right?" Ren questioned.
"That is correct," Johnathan replied.
"So, then a location tracking device is useless if we need to find them in order for it to work in the first place," Ren mumbled.
"That's not necessarily true," Gabriel piped up. This caught Ren's interest. "Ever heard of echolocation?"
"Yeah, that thing that bats and dolphins use, right?" Ren replied.
"Exactly, we're going to try to make a device that does something similar to find your parents. Platypuses use something similar to echolocation to detect prey with their eyes closed in murky water utilizing electromagnetic waves. That's the same concept that we're going for," Gabriel explained.
"Of course, we're still going to be working on a transmitter and receiver type of device in the meanwhile. This may be used if we happen to find them, but they escape from us again," Johnathan added.
"I didn't understand much of that, but if it's going to help get our parents back, then I wish you the best of luck," Ren told Johnathan and Gabriel.
"Not only our parents, but we will get Ebony and the others back too," Rex smiled softly at his sister. Odis chirped in from the other side confidently.
"I think Odis likes the sound of that," Gabriel chuckled.
"Of course, all of our dinosaurs were friends," Ren replied with a more monotone voice as she stared off into the ocean as she spoke. Taiga rubbed against Ren's leg. Ren smiled down at the Ampelosaurus. "Even the ones that we don't use often. They were all friends. You're right, Rex. We'll get them back."
Suddenly, the sound of a cannon firing alerted every member onboard the Alpha Gang's ship. The cannonball landed in the water only a few feet short of the ship. It caused a large splash of water that drenched Max and Jim. Zoe came rushing out from where the radar on the ship is.
"We're under attack!" Zoe warned.
"Is it Blackbeard?" Max asked her.
"No, it's a new ship entirely!" Zoe informed.
Coming into view and pulling up next to the Alpha Gang's ship was a large boat. It looked almost like a pirate ship, yet it was vastly different. Its cannons were firing at the ship that D-Team, the Alpha Gang, and Jim were aboard. The cannonballs were causing disturbances and large ripples in the water. Everyone rushed to hold onto something sturdy to keep themselves from falling overboard.
"Who's firing at us?" Max asked and he clenched onto the railing on the side of the ship.
"Look!" Ren said. She pulled one arm away from the stand the speaker was attached to. She pointed to a blue, red, and white flag flying at the top of the firing ship.
"The British Navy!" Rex exclaimed as he followed his sister's finger. He was holding onto the other side of the podium.
"I know that boat," Jim stated. "It's one of their warships!"
"Quick! Let's return Paris and the others to their cards to stop them from going overboard," Zoe told the other D-Team members.
"That sounds like a good idea," Max replied. He poked the buttons on his Dino Bracer to return Toril to his card. Following suit were Ace, Paris, Taiga, Phoenix, Tank, and Zander's new Suchomimus. (A/N: The Suchomimus does currently have a name. I'm not too fond of it so I'm still brainstorming, but I plan on a name reveal next chapter)
The British Navy fired at the Alpha Gang's ship once more. Zoe, Max, and Jim clung onto the railing around the perimeter of the ship. Rex and Ren clutched onto the speaker podium. Ed stayed holding onto the wheel. Dr. Z grabbed onto the alter the wheel was attached to. Ursula and Zander held onto the mast of the ship.
"That's their most powerful ship on the sea!" Jim informed everyone.
"Why are they firing at us? We haven't done anything wrong!" Max pondered.
"Max, we're on a pirate ship," Zoe said.
"We have to tell them it's all pretend," Rex declared.
"Can we really do that? We have the Alpha Pirates playing the part, and four kids that are dressed strangely to them. They might think we're pirates too and Jim is our captive," Ren replied.
"Ren, you are the captor of my heart," Jim swooned.
"Not now, lover boy!" Ren hissed at Jim.
"If they're gonna treat us like pirates, we'll defend ourselves like pirates!" Dr. Z yelled.
"What does that mean?" Rex asked.
"I installed cannons just in case!" Ed chipped in.
"Dr. Z, don't-!" Gabriel warned, but he was cut off.
"Prepare for battle!" Dr. Z ordered.
"You got it, Whitebeard!" Ursula and Zander harmonized. They rushed down to the lower deck of the ship where they would be able to manage the cannons.
"Oh boy, a real pirate war! This is my favorite dream come true!" Ed cheered. The kids, Ed, and Dr. Z just watched as a line of British soldiers walked up to the side of their ship facing them. One central figure, likely their captain stepped forward out of the line.
"As a commander of the British Navy, I hereby order you to surrender!" The central figure declared loud enough for the members aboard the Alpha Gang's ship to hear. "I act under orders from the Royal Crown that all pirate ships like yours be destroyed for the good of the empire. You shall not steal from the king anymore!"
"You don't understand!" Rex yelled back to the opposing ship.
"We're not pirates!" Max tried to plead.
"We don't even have a parrot! You can't be a real pirate without a parrot!" Zoe hollered at them.
"Actually, that's false. The term 'pirate' is used to describe someone who robs or plunders a ship," Ren informed. "So, in other words. They don't care what we look like or what we have. To them, we're an enemy ship in their waters and by deduction must be pirates."
"You have one minute of grace. If you do not abandon your ship by then, I will fire all of my cannons and I will destroy you and your ship!" the British Navy commander proclaimed.
"Well, I can be my own parrot, and I'm tell you that you better run while you can, navy boy!" Dr. Z yelled across the water at the naval commander and followed his threat with a squawk, imitating a parrot.
"This is going to be bad," Zoe frowned.
"Typical Dr. Z," Ren shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
"You have ten second to surrender or I will fire and destroy your ship!" the naval commander growled.
"We went from a minute to only ten seconds?" Jim stared at the opposing ship with wide eyes.
"That's why you shouldn't threaten them, Dr. Z!" Rex told the scientist.
"I told you, my name is Whitebeard!" Dr. Z screeched at the youngest Ancient.
"Wait! We have a citizen of the British Empire onboard!" Max desperately shouted.
"Hmm... Allow him to speak," The naval officer instructed them. Jim stepped forward.
"My name is Jim Smith. My father and I sailed here on a peaceful mission until Blackbeard attacked our ship and robbed us," Jim explained.
"And now, we're on a mission to track down Blackbeard and to get back what was stolen," Max informed.
"Please understand, Captain. This is a good ship, and our mission is noble!" Jim pleaded.
"The problem with this is that a British citizen should not be onboard a pirate ship of any kind," The naval officer told Jim before he exhaled deeply. "However, since you are a fellow countryman, I shall let you pass."
"Not so fast there, big shot!" Dr. Z scowled.
"Dr. Z, what are you doing? They said-" Rex began.
"What makes you think I'll let your ship pass?" Dr. Z continued on as if Rex never interrupted.
"You dare challenge a British naval officer?" The commander hissed over at Dr. Z.
"Dr. Z, this isn't a smart-"
"The name's Whitebeard!" Dr. Z screeched. He quickly recomposed himself and pointed his hooked hand over at the British Navy. "Now, Ed!"
"Light the cannons! Yar!" Ed ordered loud enough for Ursula and Zander, who were below deck, to hear.
"What? They were going to let our ship go!" Max told Dr. Z. It was too late. Even from above the deck, everyone on the Alpha Gang's ship could hear the sound of the fuse being lit by Zander and Ursula.
"Fire in the hole!" Zander yelled as he covered his ears. The cannon began to glow a faint orange before it fired. However, what it fired out wasn't a cannonball. The flare flew into the sky and exploded before fizzling out into a colorful array.
"Fireworks?" Ren stared dumbfoundedly at the sky. The other cannons on the side of the Alpha Gang's ship fired. From them flew flags of various kinds and even doves and confetti.
"Confetti? Flags? Doves? It's not a real cannon?!" Dr. Z was also surprised by this reveal. He swiveled his head to look at Ed, who was smiling proudly.
"I got them for my birthday when I was ten years old," Ed chirped.
"You attacked the British Navy with party cannons?!" Dr. Z hissed furiously. "Light the real cannons now!"
"They are none," Ed simply stated.
"That's what I was going to warn you about," Gabriel sighed from the other side of the intercom. "I knew Ed had no real cannons on that ship."
"You knew?" Rex growled at the speaker.
"Of course. I'm the one that helped set up the speaker system," Gabriel replied.
"You mock me?" The naval commander poked his head out of a pile of flags and confetti that surrounded him. "I who attended the naval academy and am a British lord? This hasn't happened since boarding school!"
"I think he's angry," Jim told the others.
"You think?" Ren scoffed.
"Open fire!" The commander ordered as he pointed directly at the Alpha Gang's ship. Immediately, the British Navy's cannons began to shoot at the Alpha Gang's ship.
"Retreat!" Ed announced over the ship. Below the deck in a different room, Alpha Droids rowed the ship away using sticks that were attached to long oars on the outside of the ship. They began to quickly paddle away from the British Navy, but not fast enough.
"They're going to catch us!" Zoe said.
"Can't this ship go any quicker?" Max asked Ed.
Just then, another cannon was shot at the Alpha Gang's ship. It made contact and hit the ship. Ren was sent flying over the railing.
"Ren!" Jim and the rest of the D-Team called out.
Ren held her breath, prepared to land in the water. However, she never hit the water. The blonde opened her eyes and looked up. Holding her by the hood of her hoodie was Jim and Max. The two boys pulled with their might and pulled Ren back up onto the boat. All three of them landed on the floor of the deck. Ren was on top of them both.
"Ren, are you okay?" Rex asked as he and Zoe rushed over to check on his sister. They extended their hands to her.
"Yeah, I think so," Ren replied was she took the hands of her brother and her best friend who helped her to her feet. Max and Jim pulled themselves up afterwards.
"You totally ruined my romantic rescue!" Jim yelled at Max.
"It's sad that the only reason you rescued her is because you want her to fall in love with you," Max retorted.
"Oh yeah? Well, I bet that's the only reason you saved her too, isn't it?" Jim fought back.
"Guys, we don't have time for this!" Ren interrupted. "I don't know if you noticed, but we're currently under-"
Ren didn't need to finish her sentence. A second cannonball made impact with the ship, making the whole boat shake violently.
"You two, start rowing!" Dr. Z yelled down at Zander and Ursula. "We need all the speed we can get!"
Ursula and Zander took their seats with the Alpha Droids and took the handles of the oars that were in front of them and began to row the ship quickly. With the little boost in speed, the Alpha Gang's ship began to pull ahead of the British Navy and soon, Jim, the D-Team, and the Alpha Gang were in the clear.
"You cannot escape me! In the name of his majesty, the king, I will track you down and destroy you!" The threats from the naval officer could still be heard as their distance grew wider. It wasn't long until his voice faded into the background with the waves of the ocean.
"Finally, it looks like we lost them," Rex told the others.
"Let's go look at the radar again," Ren suggested.
"Good idea. We don't know if we've gotten off course for Blackbeard," Zoe stated. The D-Team, Jim, Dr. Z, and Ed walked into the room where the radar is and looked at it. Collectively, they all shared a sigh of relief.
"Looks like we're still on track," Rex said.
"That run in with the British Navy didn't throw us off at all!" Max beamed brightly.
"Blackbeard, here we come!" Jim said with determination.
One time skip later, nothing much has happened. Zander and Ursula are still helping to row the ship from below deck. Everyone else is sitting or standing around the radar. They haven't seemed to gain much ground around Blackbeard. Everyone seemed to be exhausted. The only one with their eyes still glued to the radar with full interest was Jim. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the area that they were in. However, he wasn't the one that spoke up first.
"I'm growing bored being a pirate," Dr. Z admitted.
"Oh, the great and notorious Whitebeard, bored at what he does best? What a surprise," Ren lightly snickered.
"Are you mocking me, child?" Dr. Z hissed at Ren.
"Me? Oh, never. I would never dream of it," Ren replied.
"Bored of being a pirate? Not me! This is the greatest!" Ed was glowing. He was truly in his element right where he was.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we are in dangerous waters," Jim piped up. His eyes stayed fixated on the radar as he studied the map that showed up.
"I suppose that makes sense. You can't expect people to put treasure in a safe place. It would get found," Zoe told Jim.
"Yeah, but this part of the sea is legendary," Jim explained further. "The evil water form a kind of triangle and any ship that enters it gets cursed."
"The Bermuda Triangle?" Ren raised an eyebrow. She zoomed out on the radar's map and a red triangle appeared where the Bermuda Triangle lies. The two dots representing Blackbeard's ship and themselves were inside of the triangle.
"The Bemma-what?" Jim asked.
"The Bermuda Triangle," Ren responded with a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"I've heard of that. Ships sail into it, but something happens and they're never heard from again," Rex told his sister. Ren just nodded in response. "How are you so calm about that?"
"Dunno," Ren shrugged. "Guess I never believed it."
"But if it's true, we're right in the middle of it!" Max said as he looked at the blinking dots.
"If they're never heard from again, what happens to them?" Zoe asked.
"If I remember right, my pirate almanac said, 'It's probably ocean currents combined with strong storms.'" Ed eaves dropped. "But then there are also reports of whirlpools that suck ships into them and reefs that appear out of nowhere."
"If no one ever hears from them again, how are there reports on this stuff?" Ren asked. Ed was shocked into a stunned silence. "Stuff like that is why I believe the rumors surrounding the Bermuda Triangle are a hoax."
"There are giant monsters here!" Jim suddenly blurted.
"Giant monsters?" Zoe asked with a bit of fear in her voice.
"They're so big that they eat up entire ships," Jim told Zoe with a growing concern in his voice.
"No way, that stuff's made up," Max brushed Jim's comments off as folkstale rumors.
"My dad seen one swallow a ship whole," Jim argued back.
"You'd have to be pretty big to-" Max started before he was cut off.
"Blackbeard's landed." Rex's sudden interjection informed. The squad huddled around the radar. There seemed to be five smaller dots moving away from the bigger dot that is Blackbeard's ship. These were likely small rowboats used to get to shore without getting the bigger ship stuck on the sand.
In fact, that's exactly what it was. Blackbeard had sent several of his troops as well as Gabbro, Goma, and himself in rowboats to check out the island that they anchored nearby. Well, Gabbro and Goma didn't need to use a rowboat as they had wings and simply flew from the boat to the shore. It didn't take long until Blackbeard had everyone hard at work digging in the sand to uncover the treasure while he supervised.
"If that treasure isn't close, then my name isn't Blackbeard," the pirate captain grumbled as he paced around the digging ground with his nose stuck into the half map.
"But your name is Blackbeard," Gabbro told Blackbeard as if the captain wasn't aware of his own name.
"He knows that Gabbro. It means he's as sure about the treasure being around here as he is about his own name," Goma said as he rested his arms over the edge of a hole that he was digging. He set his head down on his arms. "Now stop messing around and start digging!"
Goma didn't realize until too late, but there was a crab scurrying across the sand. It stopped and looked at the weird creature for a moment. Then, it clamped its pincher on Goma's nose. Goma howled in pain before he pulled the crustacean off his face.
"Goma, you should stop messing around with the crabs and get to digging," Gabbro told his shorter teammate. This remark earned Gabbro a glare from Goma.
"Maybe we should ask someone else to look at the map," Copper suggested to Blackbeard. The pirate captain turned around swiftly to face his comrade.
"We don't need anybody else to look at the map. I can read this thing just fine! You got that?!" Blackbeard hollered at his second in command.
The D-Team continued to watch the radar as Ed made sure the ship was narrowing in on Blackbeard's position. Soon, the five little dots retreated back towards the main ship.
"Looks like Blackbeard's turning around," Rex observed and pointed to the radar as the dot turned and began to head in a different direction.
"Maybe they found the treasure," Max theorized.
"Or they didn't and they're going to check somewhere else," Ren suggested.
"Look, Ren's right!" Zoe exclaimed as she pointed to the radar. The five little dots left the ship and were headed towards a different island. "They're going to another island!"
"Which means we can still beat them to it!" Jim declared.
"If you don't get eaten by monsters," Max mused. Jim growled in response.
"Boys!" Ren shoved her way in between them to prevent fist from flying. "We don't have time for this! Save this energy for Blackbeard!"
"Ren's right," Rex told the two.
"We're almost to the island," The D-Team and Jim could hear Ed call from the captain's wheel. The kids walked out onto the deck of the ship and waited until their ship pulled up next to the island.
"Is this the far side of the island Blackbeard is on now?" Jim asked Ed.
"Yup! Fire in the hole!" Ed called. One on the side of the ship fired out a ladder that was able to attach itself to some of the trees on on upper ledge of the island.
"Be careful you guys," Gabriel warned from the intercom.
"Thanks, Gabe," Ren replied as she walked past the podium with the speaker. This left Jim to glare at the stand before he departed and made him contemplate whether or not he needed to be concerned about a gremlin man living inside of the speaker trying to interfere with his quest for love with Ren.
One by one, the kids took their turns climbing the ladder to reach the island. Once they were on the island, they turned around and helped the next one up. Jim was the last one on the island. He pulled the half map out of his pocket and began to walk through the jungle towards the beach. Jim stopped walking as he stared at the map.
"This way," Jim decided as he turned and continued to walk.
"Jim, how do you know where exactly you're going?" Rex called after him.
"Yeah, that map doesn't exactly have the whole island," Zoe commented.
"It's because he doesn't know. Blackbeard has the half of the map with the X on it!" Max scowled at the kid who was likely leading them all in the wrong direction.
"I'm looking for the mountain peak that's right near the X," Jim told the D-Team.
"There's no way we'll be able to find this treasure without the other half of the map," Max stubbornly said to Jim.
"Says you!" Jim growled. "I say that I can do it!"
"Come on you guys," Zoe interfered. "If there's one thing I know for certain is that we're not going to find the treasure if we stand around and argue the entire time. Jim give me the map. Please."
Jim hesitated for a moment before he handed his half of the map over to Zoe. The pink-haired girl gently took the half map from Jim and held it up to her face. Ren and Rex peered over Zoe's shoulder.
"Let's see," Zoe said as she thought aloud.
"It looks like there is a mountain according to the legend of the map, but we can't see where it is on this half of the map," Rex pointed out.
"See, Jim? I told you," Max sneered.
"No, I told you!" Jim fought back.
"Quiet, both of you!" Ren yelled. "There's topographic contour lines here."
Ren pointed to something on the map. She then gently took the map from Zoe and she began to trace her finger along something on the map.
"What are topicgraphical lines?" Max questioned Ren.
"Topographic contour lines," Ren corrected. "They're lines on a map that show changes in elevation. Not all maps have them, and I'm surprised that a map as old as this one does."
Ren continued to study the map and trace her finger in a straight line across the map. She stopped at regular intervals to read something before she continued to trace her figure along.
"According to the direction in change in elevation, if there was a mountain nearby, it'd be this way because the elevation is increasing," Ren planted her finger on the map. She the pointed in the direction that they should be heading. Standing direction in her direction of pointing were two of Blackbeard's lackeys. They were likely just out patrolling the island. The two parties stared at each other for a brief moment before the pirates started to charge.
Jim and the D-Team were forced to run in the opposite direction while the pirates chased after them. Jim reached behind him and grabbed the wrists of both Ren and Zoe.
"This way!" Jim told them as he pulled the two girls towards him.
"Jim this is the wrong way!" Ren retorted. She wanted to turn around but pirates quickly divided Ren, Zoe, and Jim from Max and Rex. The pirates as a group decided to go after Max and Rex.
"The pirates are going after Rex and Max!" Zoe exclaimed.
"They'll be okay," Jim assured.
"They're tough and they've got Ace and Toril," Ren agreed. The trio stopped by some trees until they were sure that the pirates that were chasing the two boys were out of sight.
"Nice, we lost them," Jim told the girls. The boy may have spoken too soon as a swarm of pirates appeared from seemingly nowhere and surrounded them.
"Not yet! Run!" Ren said. The three kids found an opening through the surrounding pirates and dashed to their escape. The pirates were quickly after them.
On the beach of the island, various holes were in the process of being dug by Blackbeard's pirates while he, Copper, Goma, and Gabbro supervised. So far, they were still empty handed.
"Why haven't these men found the treasure yet?" Blackbeard scowled as he had his nose buried into the map. He was almost certain that the treasure had to be there.
"I don't know. Maybe it's possible we're on the wrong island again," Copper replied.
"I want my jewels! I want my jewels now!" The parrot squawked while it sat on Copper's shoulder.
"I agree with the parrot. I want the jewel now," Gabbro told Blackbeard.
"Patience, Gabbro. We're getting close. Each beach we don't find it on is one beach closer to the one it is," Goma told his larger teammate.
"If only we had the other half of the map, we'd have the treasure before the tide went out," Blackbeard grumbled as he flipped the map over and then back again.
Bursting onto the beach from the jungle were three frantic looking kids. These three just happened to be Jim, Ren, and Zoe. The three kids froze upon seeing the pirates and the pirates froze upon seeing the kids.
"You have got to be kidding me," Ren groaned.
"Listen men! Drop your shovels and grab those sea pups! They have the other half of the map!" Blackbeard ordered. Immediately, Blackbeard's lackeys dropped what they were doing and charged at the three kids. Jim stood defensively in front of the two girls. However, Ren and Zoe nodded to each other before taking out their dinosaur cards.
"Dino slash!" The two girls synchronized as they swiped their dinosaur cards into the slots on their Dino Bracers.
"Spring up, Parasaurolophus!" Zoe called.
"Surf's up, Ampelosaurus!" Ren hollered.
The two dinosaurs roared as they came out onto the battlefield. Paris and Taiga stepped towards the pirates that were heading their way. Now, Blackbeard's men were stepping away from the two dinosaurs with fear.
"Alright me flying friends, it's your turn! Hop to it!" Blackbeard told the Spectral Space Pirates.
"I don't know how hopping helps this situation, but I have a Diceratops that can fight them," Gabbro told Blackbeard as he took his Diceratops card and pressed it against the emblem on his chest.
"It's a figure of speech, Gabbro. He means hurry up and fight them," Goma groaned as he placed his Mapusaurus card against the emblem on his collarbone. The two Spectral Space Pirates had their dinosaur ready to face off against Zoe and Ren's dinosaurs.
"Let's add in some Spectral Armor!" Gabbro grinned as he equipped the specialized armor to his Diceratops.
"That's the smartest thing you've said all day," Goma agreed as he too added that Spectral Armor to his Mapusaurus.
"You know what this calls for?" Ren asked Zoe with a smile of anticipation for the battle to come.
"Some armor of our own," Zoe smiled right back at Ren. The two girls pulled out the element boosters from their Dino Gadgets.
"Element Booster! DinoTector on!" Both of the girls once again harmonized as they equipped the trinkets onto their Dino Bracers. Paris and Taiga began to glow the colors of their respective elements: a vibrant green for Paris and a deep blue for Taiga. Once the transformation of the girls' dinosaurs was complete, Taiga and Paris stood with confidence as they roared out at the Space Pirates' dinosaurs.
"Paris and Taiga are just as pretty as you two are," Jim gawked in awe and amazement seeing the two dinosaurs in their armor. Ren and Zoe shared a glance of awkwardness.
"Quiet, Jim. We gotta battle to win," Zoe told the boy.
Gabbro's Diceratops charged in at Paris. The Parasaurolophus dodged out of the way at the last minute and made the electric affiliated dinosaur ram into a tree instead of its intended target. The tree creaked and groaned before it gave way and fell over to the ground.
Goma's Mapusaurus rushed in at Taiga. The Ampelosaurus turned slightly and fought back with a swing of her tail. The Mapusaurus was hit, but it didn't take the fire dinosaur down. The Mapusaurus slid off to the side. Once again, the opposing dinosaurs were left in a stare down ready for the next move.
Meanwhile, Max and Rex were running through the jungle. They managed to gain a little bit of distance between the pirates that were chasing them. The boys stopped and looked around.
"Where are Ren and Zoe?" Rex asked Max.
"Them and Jim split off a while back," Max told his friend.
"I hope they're okay," Rex said as he noticed the sky fading from a brilliant blue to pinks, purples, and yellows. A battle was happening somewhere nearby.
"We've got you now!" One of the pirates told the boys as a group of them narrowed in on Max and Rex. The two boys stood back-to-back as they began to be surrounded by Blackbeard's men.
"Not if I get you first!" Max retorted. This statement seemed to briefly confuse the pirates as Max took out his dinosaur card. "Dino slash! Go, Torosaurus! CHARGE!"
Toril roared as he appeared in front of Blackbeard's men. The Torosaurus huffed and stomped one of his front legs as he glared down at them. The pirates completely stopped in their tracks upon seeing the horned dinosaur standing in their way. Max pressed a button on his Dino Bracer and his move cards magically swirled around him in a yellow-colored light. Max selected one before he slashed it in the slot on his Dino Bracer.
"Lightning Strike!" Max called as the card was swiped. Electricity began to spark and build up between Toril's horns. The Torosaurus reared up onto his hind legs as the electricity combined itself into a ball. When Toril landed on the ground again, he aimed for the pirates and the ball of electricity shot at them in a bright beam.
The pirates turned and ran before they ultimately had to dive off to the sides to avoid being hit by the Torosaurus' attack. After the attack dissipated into nothingness, the pirates picked themselves up and continued to run away from Max, Rex, and the horrible monster that summoned lightning.
Gabbro's Diceratops scraped one of its front hooves against the ground before it charged it at Paris. The Parasaurolophus countered the Diceratops. She timed the swing of her tail to hit the side of the Diceratops and knock it aside before it could reach her. The lightning dinosaur was stunned for a moment and Paris took this opportunity to dip her crest and ram into the Diceratops.
Taiga took the initiative for the next attack. Taiga planned to use her size and her long neck to her advantage. The water dinosaur thudded straight towards Goma's Mapusaurus. The opposing dinosaur tried to counter with a tail swing, but the Mapusaurus' timing was off, so the swing didn't impact the Ampelosaurus very much. Taiga rammed into the fire dinosaur.
Both of the Space Pirates' dinosaurs went flying through the air. Goma and Gabbro growled at the two girls and their dinosaurs that they were battling against.
"That was so awesome, Paris," Zoe congratulated her dinosaur.
"Nice work, Taiga! Let's finish this off," Ren told her Ampelosaurus.
"Ren! Zoe! Help!" Jim shouted from behind them. The two girls turned around to see that a few of Blackbeard's lackeys have snuck up behind them and had a hold of Jim.
"Paris/Taiga, go rescue Jim!" Zoe and Ren said in near unison with the exception of their dinosaurs' names. The two D-Team dinosaurs took the advantage while their opponents were down to head towards Jim and the pirates to fend the boy. Blackbeard's men stared up at the two dinosaurs with fear.
"Ok, you got it! We're letting ye go!" The pirates whimpered before they let go of Jim and retreated away from Paris and Taiga.
"Thank you for saving me," Jim told Ren and Zoe.
Suddenly, time almost seemed to slow down as both Paris and Taiga were hit on the side by the Diceratops and the Mapusaurus while they were distracted. Both of the herbivores flew through the air and landed harshly on the ground. The Space Pirates' dinosaurs did not hesitate to jump on top of the D-Team's dinosaurs and begin to stomp them into the sand.
"Paris!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Come on, Taiga! Get up!" Ren tried to encourage.
"Ren! Zoe!" Max's voice could be heard. He and Rex had emerged from the jungle and joined the trio of kids. However, none of them seemed to acknowledge their arrival as they stared at Paris and Taiga on the verge of losing.
"This is all my fault," Jim admitted.
"Don't say that," Ren told Jim.
"Ren's right. If we didn't, Blackbeard and his pirates would've captured you," Zoe explained.
"Besides, Taiga and Paris are tough, they'll get through this," Ren said. As if they were right on cue, the D-Team's dinosaurs kicked their opponents off of them. Paris and Taiga too up with the Space Pirate's dinosaurs went flying.
"Ready to end this?" Zoe asked Ren as she took out a move card.
"Aren't I always?" Ren smirked back Zoe as she also reached for a move card.
"Paris, finish this with Ultimate Leaf!" The pink-haired girl called as she slashed her move card into her Dino Bracer.
"Taiga, let's wrap things up with Ultimate Water!" The blonde said as she swiped her card into the Dino Bracer.
Paris and Taiga began to glow the colors of their elements as leaves surrounded Paris and geysers shot up around Taiga. A wave pushed Taiga along to give her speed for her attack while the move card simply gave Paris a speed boost. Paris and Taiga ran into their opponents. The Space Pirate's dinosaurs lost their Spectral Armor before they both began to glow a red-violet color and returned to their cards.
"Alright!" Ren and Zoe cheered in unison. Goma, Gabbro, Blackbeard, and Blackbeard's pirates stood there in a stunned silence.
"Back to the ship!" Blackbeard ordered. In a large huddle, Blackbeard's men began to retreat for their ship. Goma and Gabbro reluctantly followed. Zoe and Ren turned Paris and Taiga back into their chibi forms before both of the girls walked up and picked up the Diceratops card and the Mapusaurus card.
"Zoe, Ren, when I see you two in battle, it makes me wanna-" Jim began before he cut himself off. He pulled both of the girls into a hug and went to kiss both of them at the same time. This resulted in Jim being sent soaring through the air by a combined punch from both Ren and Zoe. Jim was caught midair by Gabbro.
"Well, look what the tide washed up," Goma sneered down at Jim.
"Good aim! Now we have both halves of the map," Gabbro told the girls who just stared wide-eyed at what had just happened.
"We have both halves! We have both halves!" Blackbeard's parrot cheered as it flew around Goma and Gabbro. The Space Pirates turned around towards Blackbeard's ship with Jim now as their captive.
"Oh no! Jim! We're sorry!" Zoe called after him. The D-Team rushed to the edge of the beach where the waves crashed against the sand, but it was no use. They wouldn't be able to get to Blackbeard's ship in time. They could only watch with despair as Gabbro and Goma disappeared onto the ship with Jim before the ship began to sail away.
"Ok you guys, what do we do?" Max asked the others.
"Isn't that obvious? We go after them!" Ren piped up.
"Ren's right. We have to catch up with them," Zoe told the boys.
"Now that they have the map, Blackbeard and his pirates are sure to get the treasure in no time," Rex pointed out.
"Actually, they don't have the map. I took it before, remember?" Ren asked the rest of the D-Team before she pulled the half map out of her hoodie pocket.
"I hope Blackbeard doesn't get too upset when he finds out," Max told Ren.
"What do you mean you don't have the map?" Blackbeard screamed at Jim, who was tied up to the mast of Blackbeard's ship. "That's bad news for you, boy."
"He's of no use to us and that only means one thing," Copper told Blackbeard. "Walk the plank."
"Walk the plank! Walk the plank!" The parrot echoed.
"That may be good, but I bet those kids would trade their half of the map for their friend here," Blackbeard replied to Copper.
"Your brilliant, Captain," Copper exclaimed.
"I'd hate to interrupt this moment of brilliance, but my buddy here and I should go. We're of no use here without our dinosaurs," Goma told Blackbeard.
"What? You can't quit on us that easy!" Blackbeard hissed at the short pirate.
"Don't get your beard in a twist. We'll send another one of our comrades your way. They're sure to give you the backup you need," Goma replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He flew up into the air. "Let's go, Gabbro."
"Sahara!" Gabbro said with confidence as he waved goodbye to the pirates as he followed Goma.
"Gabbro, it's sayonara..." Goma groaned before disappearing from view.
Back aboard the Alpha Gang's ship, the D-Team set course to follow Blackbeard's ship. Thanks to the radar, they could track Blackbeard's every movement. Fog clouded over the sea, so it was difficult to see anything. However, the D-Team hardly needed to worry with the radar up and working.
"It's so foggy! Slow down!" Zoe told Dr. Z.
"We're going too slow! Speed up droids!" Dr. Z ordered the Alpha Droids who were rowing the ship. It wasn't only the Alpha Droids rowing. Ursula and Zander have also been rowing the ship. They muttered somethings under their breaths before they began to row faster along with the Alpha Droids behind them.
Nobody aboard that ship knew it until it was too late, but they was a large rock straight ahead of them. Once it finally came into view, everyone on the ship began to yell in fear.
"We're going to crash!" Max screamed.
Goma and Gabbro returned to their headquarters from their mission. On their way to talk to Spectre, they flew past Sheer and Foolscap.
"Uh oh, someone didn't come back with the Blue Cosmos Stone," Foolscap sneered at them.
"Spectre's not going to be very happy," Sheer added on.
"You try working with those wannabe pirates! They're incompetent!" Goma lashed out at Sheer and Foolscap.
"Yeah! They're a complement!" Gabbro nodded to agree with Goma. The other three stared at Gabbro for a moment before they collectively sighed.
"He's incompetent," Goma said as he pointed at Gabbro.
"Yet you're the two who still lost their dinosaurs," Sheer rolled her eyes.
"But we did get them that kid to trade for the other half of the map," Gabbro said.
"That's true. They should have both halves to the treasure map for the Blue Cosmos Stone by the time one of you get out there next," Goma added.
"Then getting that Cosmos Stone should be smooth sailing," Foolscap said. The four pirates shared a moment of maniacal laughter before a sharp voice interrupted them.
"What are you four imbeciles laughing about?" Spectre's voice boomed. He appeared on a holographic screen that projected his face.
"Nothing Dad- I mean Boss! Nothing at all, Boss!" Goma quickly responded.
"Right, and you failed to get the Blue Cosmos Stone. So, you shouldn't be laughing about anything, right?" Spectre asked.
"Nothing at all, Boss!" Gabbro echoed Goma as he told Spectre.
"You two will get your punishment for failing later," Spectre told Goma and Gabbro who looked down at the ground, likely to hide their faces from the underlying fear that was creeping up on them. "Foolscap!"
"Y-Yes, Boss?" Foolscap stepped forward.
"You return with the Cosmos Stone, or you'd be better not showing your face around here at all, do you understand?"
"R-Right! Understood, Boss! I won't let you down," Foolscap replied.
"Good. Now, Goma, Gabbro, met me in the throne room. That's an order," Spectre hissed. Goma and Gabbro gulped as they slowly looked up at the projection and dipped their heads again quickly.
"Yes, Boss..." They said defeatedly. They began to make their way to the throne room. Goma stopped and looked to Foolscap.
"We laid the pieces for you to succeed. Don't mess this up," Goma hissed at the lankier pirate as he stuck a finger as Foolscap's chest. He turned his back on Foolscap and walked towards the throne room.