(1) That's a reference to something. *wink*
(2) Hope y'all aren't disappointed I skipped the trading/buying. Felt it'd be boring to read.
I groaned as we flew over to Skullduggery Island.
"What's up?" Fierce Fox asked, her brow raised.
I sighed. "We just had this whole kerfuffle with Zeus, and now we're meeting another villain who'll probably want to kidnap and kill me. I just want a break!"
"Well, this next villain isn't a god, right?" Fierce Fox asked, shrugging. "Surely they won't be that bad."
I bit my lip. "No. He's not a god. But he's still a super villain." Our discussion was cut short when the blimp docked at Fort Ridley. The island has the appearance of probably a former happy and bright village; now there's just destruction and mess. Even the sign is trailing smoke. The dock itself has a gaping hole, and most of the roofs also have holes. This is the work of none other than a gang of pirates.
We crossed a bridge which stands over a small canyon, that's filled with rocks and water. Underneath it, someone threw a coin, so I grabbed it. I spent it at a run-down shop, which has also been damaged. I picked up a broken mirror, which the shopkeeper said I could have. I also bought a bag of chicken feed; I gave it to a man standing with some chickens. To thank me, he gave me a chicken, which went into my inventory. If this wasn't Poptropica, I'd be in serious trouble with the RSPCA.
Anyway, with Fierce Fox following me, I handed the chicken to a farmer, so it could eat all the bugs on the farmer's crop. In return, the farmer gave me a blue candle. Fierce Fox and I climbed up a rocky mountain to the governor's office, which is an old, brick building. The governor and his assistant were standing at the back, next to a faintly glowing candle and a letter. The assistant eyed me, in a rather disturbing way. I had a pretty bad feeling.
I swapped the candle with our blue candle, forming a gentle blue light. It revealed a hidden passage on the letter, which mentioned something about Skullduggery Island and a treasure. The governor told us to go and find this treasure, which Fierce Fox and I obliged to. We exited the building and headed to the dock. I climbed to the top of the lighthouse and peered through a telescope. Fierce Fox wagged the broken mirror, making it flash. We got a flash back from a raft, and it came towards the island.
The merchant on board explained that he'd been robbed by pirates, ship wrecked, and the raft was the only thing keeping him afloat. He offered his raft to us. We accepted it and climbed aboard the floating wooden planks. His remaining crew were there, ready for more adventures. They treated Fierce Fox like the captain, because well, the medallion would always go to her. But they were nice to me, too.
Our boat set sail across the sea, me directing where to go. The water rushed under our feet, and in the distance I saw puffy clouds. I touched my little necklace, which shimmered in the sunlight. I closed my eyes and prayed that Poseidon, since we were technically in his realm, was giving us a safe journey. I assumed he was watching us, which felt both creepy yet comforting.
The first stop on our journey was Golden Harbour, which has an Arabic feel to it. The dock is red and rocky, and most of the island is like a desert. I resisted the urge to sing Arabian Nights and rushed across the desert sand. Fierce Fox followed.
"Okay," I faced her, "Do me a favour and light up those lanterns: four, two and one." I pointed to the hanging, Arabic-style lanterns. Fierce Fox did such thing, and from under an arched doorway, a piece of paper fell down. I grabbed it, getting the first piece of the map. I thanked my partner for her assistance and returned to the boat.
While sailing over the sea, I spotted floating shipwreck. Our raft sailed towards it; cargo filled our deck. I grinned, as our ship docked the next island: Pirate Harbor. It's a dark island with skull signs; rocky cliffs; residential pirates. A large, rock skull is in the middle of the island, its head covered in grass. We went under it and climbed up a wooden platform, which is standing on rocky, smooth slopes.
Fierce Fox, with my instruction, grabbed the Cannon Starter Kit from a roof of a building. Meanwhile, I pushed a barrel full of explosives off a ledge; it landed in a pool of water surrounding the island. Leaping in the water myself, I shoved the explosives underneath the skull. One of skull's teeth was gold, and lodged firmly in the stone jaw. Fierce Fox was at a cannon, ready to fire. I swam out the way of a cannon ball soaring through the air, which landed on the explosive. It exploded; the tooth fell off the jaw, revealing a hanging piece of paper. I snatched it up, then we set sail.
I think Zeus decided to pay us a visit because the sea was full of storm clouds. Our ship, in a very slow and painful way, moved around the clouds. The good part was we managed to avoid them, and arrived at the next island, Dragon Cove. Dragon Cove is a Chinese-style island, with red temples and dragon statues in the water. The island's floor is made of cobblestone, and most people wear rice hats.
In the water, a dragon statue's head was peeking out. I jumped on it; its tail rose up. A mallet was on that, so I grabbed it. Fierce Fox, with my instruction, pushed an old guy sitting on a crate across the ground, until he was close to a large, bronze bell. I smashed the bell with the mallet, and a fish leaped out of the water and landed on the man's fishing rod. The man was grateful and handed us a piece of paper, which was in the mouth of the fish.
After a relatively peaceful journey across the sea, we docked Bouffant Bay. Like Dragon Cove, it's the middle of the day, and the majority of it is stone. However, there's a little beach at the front, and the buildings are more of an English-style, rather than Chinese. I stopped in front of a little brick house with three hanging ferns, Fierce Fox following.
I nudged the one hanging on the right, Fierce Fox hit the left, and we both hit the middle. A piece of paper drifted out of the fern, landing on the ground. I picked it up, giving Fierce Fox a nod.
"One more map piece." I said, with a smile.
Unfortunately our next journey on the sea wasn't so pleasant. A ship starting following us around, shooting cannon balls.
"Fierce Fox, is that your ship or a piece of smelly driftwood?" the ship, whose owner- Smelly Gabe- yelled to us. (1) His ship, with a large black flag, kept chasing us around, shooting non-stop cannon balls. His ship was at least twice our size, much to my fear. Its cannon balls were totally crushing us, and we couldn't get to the next island properly. Long story short, we were going to die.
Suddenly, a wave- as in tsunami wave- formed in the sea. It rose up, foam spewing everywhere. It crashed onto Smelly Gabe's ship, pretty much crushing him and saving us. Cargo floated up, free for all. I felt relief flood my body as we collected the salvage from the water. My necklace flashed a pale purple. I grinned. Thanks, Poseidon.
We arrived at Parrot Port, which is the most beautiful- and tropical- island in my opinion. I leaped across a sandy beach, then climbed a rocky platform. Fierce Fox followed me onto a grassy hill, which has many poorly-built houses and produce. I sent Fierce Fox to a little hotel to pick up a cracker, while I spoke to a parrot who was standing on a crate.
"Squawk! Jump in the sea, then come find me!" the parrot squawked, flying off. I turned around and returned to the dock. I leaped into the ocean, the cool water spraying on my body. I climbed out, and spotted the parrot on a poorly-built building. I joined the parrot on the wooden windowsill, ignoring the cracks in the walls. "Squawk! Clog the vent, then see where I went!" the parrot cried, flying off again.
I jumped over to the neighbour building, which has a vent that leaks smoke into the air. I slammed my foot on it, clogging up the smoke. Then, I walked across the roof, landing on a palm tree at the end of it. The parrot was sitting on the leaves.
"Squawk! To the old tower go, and find a pirate I know!" he squawked, before taking to the skies. I hopped off the palm tree, running into Fierce Fox.
"Go to that old tower," I told her, pointing to a tall tower. "And use your cracker." She did such thing, and the pirate standing there was reunited with his parrot. He gave Fierce Fox the final piece of the map, which she gave to me. I pieced it with the other map parts, and Skullduggery island appeared. However, we weren't going there just yet. Instead, our ship sailed (while avoiding a whirlpool) to Dragon Cove. I faced Fierce Fox as we docked.
"Now," I said. "It's time to start trading."
After a good few hours of trading, buying boats and crew, we were finally ready to take on Captain Crawfish. (2) We'd recently bought the Phoenix Warbird, the grandest ship of them all.
The massive boat is shaped like a magnificent, wooden phoenix. The sails are coloured like fire, and seem to spew off awesomeness. The hull has a bird head, which has a golden bill, matching the golden windows.
The crew were standing proudly on the ship, ready to go to Skullduggery Island. Fierce Fox was the captain, by the looks on their faces. I was the deputy, which was good enough for me. Our ship crossed the seas, approaching Skullduggery Island, the smallest island of all. Suddenly, a message flashed in front of my eyes, saying 'It's Captain Crawfish! All hands on deck!'
"Alice!" Fierce Fox called, as Captain Crawfish's ship approached. "Hide somewhere. You said he's one of the super villains, right?"
I bit my lip, "Good point... Just... shoot cannonballs non-stop at him, until he's destroyed." Fierce Fox gave me a nod, as I hid behind some cargo. I saw occasional cannon balls soar in, and smoke arise. But the ship never sunk. I felt a little cowardly. I mean, I know I was a hero and all and I guess I was supposed to 'help', but I was not in the mood for meeting another villain, especially since yesterday.
Fierce Fox peeked her head down from the deck, "We defeated him, Alice! You can come up now!" I nodded, and climbed out of the little area. I directed our ship to return to Fort Ridley.
When we got there, Fierce Fox and I raced through the island, and back to the governor. He was still clutching his scroll, and most overjoyed to see us. Although I was happy to see him likewise, I noticed his assistant- and Captain Crawfish's spy- was absent.
"You've defeated Captain Crawfish!" the governor exclaimed. "And we owe you our gratitude. Now, take this map and special shovel to unbury the treasure!" Fierce Fox took those, and I thanked him. We exited and got back onto our ship.
"This is our last sail, I promise." I assured Fierce Fox, as we climbed aboard.
"I'm not tired or bored." Fierce Fox laughed at me. Then it hit me that Poptropicans could withstand much more than us humans. Fierce Fox was still as fresh as she was when I first met her- scratch that, created her. No wonder I hadn't died in the Underworld.
Anyway, we docked Skullduggery island. I got a nervous feeling, like I had in the last island. Skullduggery island is covered in mist, and the sky is pitch black. It's basically one large beach; rocks and palm trees burst from the sand. I knew Captain Crawfish was going to come, and I didn't want to face him. But I did want to help Fierce Fox.
"I'll help you dig up the treasure," I said to Fierce Fox. "Then when Captain Crawfish comes, I'm hiding. Good plan?" She gave me a favorable nod. So, together, underneath a palm tree, we started digging.
An hour later, we uncovered the treasure. It was piles of riches and gold, probably worth millions. As strong as Poptropicans are, we couldn't carry the whole load without the assistance of the crew. I wasn't worried about Captain Crawfish anymore, because normally the digging takes two hours- we only took an hour, so he wouldn't be there. Oh boy was I wrong.
As soon as we turned around, Fierce Fox and I ran smack-bang into Captain Crawfish, who wields his sharp, gleaming sword. He has a golden peg leg; red pirate hat with feathers; an eye patch; a red vest with a white neck-cuff; a scar under his cheek. His beard was brown, and his face expressed a twisted scowl.
"Well well well…" he spoke, in gristly voice. "The infamous hero."
"D-don't even think about k-k-kidnapping me..." I replied bitterly, clasping a hand over my necklace, though my voice shook in fear.
"Kidnap you?" Captain Crawfish laughed cruelly. "I have a deal instead for you, girl."
"You're n-not getting the t-treasure either!" I yelled back, although my voice cracked.
"Listen to my deal!" Captain Crawfish thundered. "I am challenging you to a duel," He held up his sword. "A sword fight."
"A sword fight?" I repeated, gulping.
"Yes," Captain Crawfish said, with a sly grin. "If you win, the treasure's yours, and I'll leave you alone. If not? You and the treasure will be mine, lad."
"What if I refuse?" I asked, my hands shaking. Captain Crawfish's crew surrounded me, holding out their swords and scowls. Even better, Fierce Fox was nowhere in sight. Shivers soared down my spine like fighter jets. I bit my lip. "But I don't have a weapon!" Or any skills! I mentally added.
Captain Crawfish scratched his beard. "Aye, I must agree it's unfair that you don't have a weapon." He gestured at one of his crew members, and they handed him a sword. He passed it to me.
"Thanks..." I said, a little surprised that he actually gave me a weapon. "If I win, can I keep this?"
Captain Crawfish slyly smirked. "You won't win. No one beats Captain Crawfish at sword-fighting!"
I got a cocky feeling, and a little arrogant. "I'll have you know that I recently defeated the immortal King of the Gods, singlehandedly. Plus, I'm the prophesied hero, and even the Lord of the Underworld has taken an interest in me. Are you so sure that you'll win?"
Captain Crawfish scowled and swung his sword at me. I leaped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade. Then again, I thought, I don't know how to sword fight. Captain Crawfish swung at me again; I dodged. Right, let's try, I thought. I swung my sword like an idiot. Thank the gods, because I actually managed to slice a feather off Captain Crawfish's hat.
I swung my sword again, but this time Captain Crawfish avoided the attack. He countered my blow by bringing his sword down on me; I leaped out the way with a yelp. I can't tell you how terrified was. I didn't even know what I was doing, despite my conceited attitude. My fear can sometimes stir up my cockiness, which is never a good thing. With the Zeus battle, I had powers- I had a chance against Zeus, and could hurt him. And plus, Poseidon's trident was pretty easy to use.
But this battle was different, and not just because there were no gods. I didn't have that much power this time, and barely any skills. I was running off my adrenaline, which isn't always a good thing. Suddenly, Captain Crawfish's sword came down and sliced my arm. I felt a rush of pain and clutched my sore arm, my face automatically expressing a cringe.
Of course, Captain Crawfish wasn't done yet. He raised his sword and hit me again, sending me flying across the sand. With that evil grin expressed on his face, he took steps towards me. I braced for impact, horrid pain in my weak arm.
"Ready to be defeated?" Captain Crawfish growled, pointing his sword at me. Suddenly, cannon balls soared over the sky, like comments. I gazed at them in awe.
"We're under attack! Run!" one of Captain Crawfish's crew members cried. Captain Crawfish and his crew sprinted away. Meanwhile, his ship started smoking, and flames rose up from it. It began to sink into the water. Behind the ship, I realized, was my own crew, firing cannon balls.
"Yeah! Run, you smelly old pirate!" a youngster on the ship called.
"Never did like Crawfish..." An old guy agreed, while the others cheered. Fierce Fox gave me a wave, and I was overjoyed to see her, like in the last island.
"Let's go get your medallion." I said, as I climbed aboard.
Shout out to GiovanniGo for the idea of Alice and Captain Crawfish sword-fighting!