The ship came into port in the evening and parked itself next to the Freeman's Tracker. The plank was placed between the two ships to allow passage. The captain met with the quartermaster to discus matters and the teens met up with each other.

"You guys missed out." Exclaimed Lexy referring to Dante and Jamie.

"Dammit. Well, maybe next time." Said Dante removing the hood of his outfit to reveal his head.

"Yeah, sadly everyone here wasn't any trouble. Meaning, we didn't see any action." Said Jamie crossing her arms.

"Oh, I'm sure they had there fair share of action." Gumball whispered to Simba, causing them both to chuckle.

"I heard that." Said Dante looking at them with a raised eyebrow, causing them to stop.

"But at least you two don't hate each other anymore." He said lowering his eyebrow.

Simba placed his arm on Gumballs left shoulder. "I think we realized there's already enough people trying to kill us."

"So, might as well work together." Gumball said.

Alex then walked up to them casually, hoping to fit in with Gumballs friends. They noticed him and looked on as he came to a stop without saying a word.

Gumball motioned to Alex with his hand. "This is Alex guys. His one of the new crewmen, doesn't talk though."

"Why?" Asked Jamie.

"Not sure."

Columbus looked at him with suspicion. "Why is he standing here?"

"We... kind of got acquainted." Said Gumball.

Jamie noted his wings. "Can you fly?"

He nodded yes and spread his wings for them to get a better look.

"Not bad." Said Lexy with a smirk.

Gumball looked out onto the harbor. "I'll be on my way then."

"Going to meet your lover?" Asked Lexy.

"What?" Gumball asked caught off guard. "We haven't even kissed.

"You better change that tonight, no telling when you'll be back."

Gumball wanted to say something, but instead shook his head and walked off.

Lexy decided that she wanted to see who this person was. "Hey Alex."

Alex looked at her with curiosity.

"Come with me." She said and motioned him to follow her.

They got off of the ship in such away not to provoke any suspicion from Gumball who was still close enough to notice them.

Lexy held out her arm in front of Alex which caused him to stop. "How good are you at stalking?" She asked him with a grin.

He responded by just barely closing his eyes and spreading a grin of his own across his face.

"Good. I'll take the roofs, you take the street."

Gumball straightened out his brown leather jacket and adjusted his pants as he was walking along. He couldn't help but smile while thinking about her. However, he got this odd feeling that he was being watched. He stopped and turned around, scanning the streets for anything or anyone that looked suspicious. Satisfied with finding nothing, he turned and continued walking.

Alex came out from behind a fruit stand large enough to hid his crouched body.

"What are you doing? Get lost!" Yelled the frog selling the fruit.

He quickly dashed behind a wall hoping we wasn't noticed. From on top of the opposite wooden building Lexy gave him the all clear. He peaked his head around the corner, his eyes slightly slit and nearly closed. He saw Gumball head up some stairs going to a second street level, built to allow for a storage area below it.

Gumball then arrived at the house and knocked on the door. He waited a few seconds before the door was answered by a peanut women with antlers. She looked confused when she saw Gumballs unfamiliar face.

Gumball looked a bit nervous. "Evening Ms. Is Penny home?"

The women became concerned. "Why are you looking for her?"

"We... we met the other day and-"

"Who is it mom?" Penny asked coming to the door. "Oh, hi Gumball."

"Gumball?" Her mom asked. She looked at him and then turned her gaze to his weapons. "Honey, can I speak to you for a minute?"

"It's fine mother. We're just going to sit on the roof and talk."

Her mother couldn't shake her concern, but knowing that she would be unable to convince her daughter otherwise she gave in. "Alright, just don't stay out to long."

"Yes mother." Penney replied and went out to give Gumball a hug, which only added to her mothers concerns.

They climbed on to the roof using a wooden lather leaning against the wall. They sat down side by side with Gumball scanning his surroundings, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary.

"How was your trip?" Penny asked.

While Gumball was busy explaining Lexy and Alex were hiding behind the corner of a building two blocks away. Lexy took a peak and saw the two of them on the roof, but couldn't get a clear view of the girl.

"We need to get into a better position." She said to Alex while still peaking from behind the corner. "Come on Stalker."

Alex couldn't help forming a smile at what seemed to be his new nickname. He followed her and they made it to the next house one block away from the two. Lexy looked at what was behind the two houses to see if there was a hiding spot available. She saw a few creates stacked up on top of each other, but it could only hide one of them.

"I'm going behind those creates." She told Alex. "If you can find your own spot take it. Just don't get caught." She said and moved over to the creates with her body lowered as she did to help avoid detection.

Alex stayed there and looked around for a place that would not only keep his visibility low, but also give him a good view.

Gumball finished his story and placed his hands on his knees.

Penny laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his right arm. "You had quite the adventure. I'm just glade you made it back safely."

Gumball had noticed that while he was explaining she became more and more worried, but was trying not to show it. "Penny... Is... is something wrong?"

She was holding back a tear. "Everything's fine Gumball." She said with her voice starting to crack.

Gumball used his free arm, placed it on her cheek and directed her head towards his. "Penny, I can tell something's wrong. Please tell me."

Penny sat back up again and stared into the distance. "About a year ago my father became a pirate. He said it was the best way he could help support our family. Every now and then we'd get a letter and some money."

Something was bothering Gumball, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Penny turned her head to Gumball. "Four months ago he went on board another ship after the one he was on sank. We haven't heard from him since." She started tearing up. "And we have no idea if it's because he just can't get a message through or because..." She started crying.

Gumball took her in a comforting hug and tapped her softly on her back. Losing someone you love was something Gumball knew about, but not knowing whether or not they were still alive was something different.

After Penny managed to calm down they went back down and stopped in front of the door.

"Feeling better?" Gumball asked.

Penny looked down for a moment and tried to muster a smile before facing him. "Yes... Uh Gumball?"

"What's wrong Penny?" Gumball asked looking worried.

She held out her arms and folded her hands into one another. "Please don't go."

"What?" Gumball asked softly.

"Stay here, with me." She begged.

"Penny... I can't"

She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Why not?"

Gumball broke eye contact for a moment. "They need me. There's something only I can do." He faced her again. "I don't expect you to understand. Even I don't fully understand."

She hugged him. "Is there anything I can do to convince you not to go."

Gumball sighed and pulled away. "I'm sorry Penny, I... I just can't." He stared deeply into her eyes. "When this is all over, I'm going to come back. Then I'll stay for good."

She moved away from him and went to the door. "Fitzgerald."

"Who?" Gumball asked confused.

She turned to face him again. "My name is Penny Fitzgerald. In case you wanted to write a letter." With that she opened the door, went inside and closed it behind her.

Gumball was calm after that and started to walk back to the ship. He then started think about her last name, which for some reason sounded familiar. Then it hit him. "Mr. Fitzgerald is Penny's father." He said softly, knowing that this may come back to haunt him.

As he kept walking the lid of a barrel lifted up revealing Alex's head. Lexy came up to him with a worried look on her face. "Come Stalker, lets head back."

When Gumball arrived at the ship and saw some of the crew carrying creates onto the ship. To his left was Carrie and Simba sitting down on the edge of the port.

"Thought you'd only be back in the morning." Said Columbus from behind.

Gumball turned to face him. "If I stayed I wouldn't have come back at all."

Columbus watched as the crew did their work. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"I'd be letting all of you down."

"You hardly know us. I mean, you know this is a suicide trip." He looked at Gumball. "Even if you do survive, there's no guarantee the rest of us will. If I was you, I'd stay without any second thoughts."

Gumball thought about what he said and realized that it did make sense. He didn't choose this life, yet it took him to a new place where he'd actually want to stay. However, now it was taking him to his potential death. He only had a day an a half's worth of training. Columbus left and went to the ship. Gumball then looked in the direction of Penny's house.

"If you want to stay because of her, I will not hold it against you. But if you want to stay because your afraid, then let me assure you that you are in safe hands." Said Kira.

"What makes you so sure?" Gumball asked her in his mind.

"Because I am the one who will protect you."

Credits:

Dante: Dante Watterson

Saigon: Dante Watterson

Lexy: Lexboss

Endo: ArcLight Fire77

Kira: Arclight Fire77

Simba: Lionroar123

Columbus: The Double U

All TAWOG characters belong to Ben Bocquelet

side characters and other OC's me

Special thanks to:

Dante watterson for giving me some ideas.

Story Inspired by:

Assassin creed Black Flag

Pirates of the Caribbean

and my general love for pirate themed stories