Chapter 5
The walk towards the Moonshine Sea's shores actually took a good half hour of walking, so it left plenty of time for Pikarina and me to talk to each other about what my life in Pennsylvania was like and what some parts of it had.
"Wow... so Pennsylvania is home to the very first tunnel of love?" she asked in amazement when I mentioned it.
"Yep, it was in the park of Kennywood, one of the oldest amusement parks around. The tunnel itself went through a lot of changes over the years, with the last version being a horror-themed attraction called Garfield's Nightmare, complete with animatronics and comic panels about Garfield," I smiled, her smirking at that.
"You mean the cat that likes that disgusting dish called Lasagna?" she asked.
"Well, you can't knock it till you try it. Have you?"
"Nope, mainly because it looks gross."
"Yet you love pizza as your favorite food, despite it having a lot of the same ingredients," I smiled, her then stammering at my statement.
"I... you... uh... how did you know that?" she asked.
"I'd rather not repeat myself, in case someone is viewing us from afar," I said as I then spoke to her ear in a hushed whisper. "Not only the spy can hear us, but the Moon Bear King can view us from a magic mirror... if he wanted to, he could watch us do anything and hear us just as well," I whispered, her nodding with a gulp.
"But doesn't that mean he could attack us at any time? Because I know that I had magic mirrors back home and I could pull things through the viewing area of the mirror," she said with concern...
"Not to worry. So long as you have Calibrus, the magic mirror cannot affect us or anyone within a 10 meter radius of it. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience," Rat said from my shirt pocket, which made me smile. "But how did you know that he has a spy?" he asked, me then picking him from the pocket and whispering the truth to his ears and to stay quiet about it. "Ah, got it, I'll keep quiet. But so you know, the spy is General Monkey, who is the smartest of the generals," he explained.
"Well, I'd commend him for putting up a valiant fight, but even a monkey with god-like powers is still a monkey," I smiled widely, which made Pikarina laugh out loud at it, even more than when I did the wah wah at her bad joke.
"Oh my gosh, that's the best phrase I've ever heard! And I can't believe you quoted a line from Dragonball! I love anime so much! HAHA!" Pikarina laughed loudly.
"Good to know. I like games more than anime, but I do have a soft spot for ones like Dragonball, Pokemon, Lucky Star, and Hamtaro," I smirked.
"Oh, I LOVE Hamtaro! It's so adorable! And Lucky Star is one of the best slice of life ones! I love Konata the most."
"I think that my cousin might've been Konata in the flesh, since she played games, crammed for exams, didn't give a crap about the future, and she has the exact same short height and flat chest status symbol," I smiled, which made Pikarina smirk.
We talked a lot on the way until we finally found the area where Pig and Sheep were at, them packing a lot of loot into a big treasure chest with the Jolly Lambham out in the shallows and waiting.
"Hoink! 'Tis a mighty haul, Sheep! We'll be eatin' good tonight!" Pig said with a snort as they then placed the final two bits into the treasure chest, them being the Moonstone Shards that were in the shape of a hunk of ham and a sheep horn.
"Pi-i-ig! I found somethin' that I think ewe'll li-i-ike," Sheep said with a bleet before showing him a poster.
"Oogh! A poster fer a wanted criminal from the king 'imself! An' look at the different rules of it! Bringin' 'er back dead will get 10 thousand, bringin' 'er alive is 50 grand, and bringin' both 'er an' a little pixie called Pikarina alive gets 100 thousand! We'd be fools not to get this loot!" Pig smirked with a snort.
"Sounds like a certain ursine finally views us as threats," I whispered to Pikarina as we hid behind some rocks, the duo then proceeding to uncork some champaign and drink it, us waiting patiently until they finally passed out drunk... but I knew to be wary, so I had Calibrus make our movements light as a feather via flying through the air to the chest, me lowering Pikarina down without a sound and her then grabbing the Moonstone Shards before then handing them to me... and once done, I proceeded to stash them with a smirk before speaking one word.
"Little," I said... but this time, it didn't do a thing! It just woke the duo up and them immediately trying to grab us, which I managed to evade them, but Pikarina got captured!
"ACK! Let her go right now!" I shouted at Sheep, who held her in his clutches with a growl.
"Not on your li-i-ife! Give us back them Moonstone pieces or she'll be Pig's next round o' slo-o-op!' Sheep said, me gawking as I then simply rushed in and proceeded to slash Calibrus into Sheep's hand, which released Pikarina for us to fly away, us then proceeding to enter a battle of the blades with me and Calibrus versus Pig and Sheep, me needing to watch both angles as Pikarina then threw Pig to the Jolly Lambham while he was distracted!
"Wow! Pigs really can fly!" Pikarina laughed as I then countered Sheep next and then grabbed his gun with Calibrus and slicing it in half, disarming him!... At least, that's what I thought. He then grabbed me and activated a jetpack stashed in his vest! I tried my hardest, but his grip was strong! I was flown the whole way to the ship before he threw me down into the brig, Pikarina gawking and following me through the porthole as we got encased in darkness.
"Are you okay, Min-Min?" Pikarina asked, me smirking at the nickname as I saw that I had a small mark on my arm from Sheep's hoof hand, but it was just a nick to the wood.
"I'm fine, just a small nick in the arm. He wasn't gentle... let's try to light this place up... can the beaming beauty still create light?" I asked, her nodding as she then created some light, which made us see a large barrel nearby.
"Ahoy! Anyone decent out thar?! Aye could use a bit o' 'elp, matey!" shouted the voice of Captain Gaff, me then going to the barrel and using the bomb to make a hole, which Gaff emerged from the destroyed barrel with barely a scratch, but a lot of splinters.
"Argh! Thanks for the 'elp, matey! Good to know that there are... some... uh..." Gaff said before he looked at my face. And when he did, he looked at me with a smile. "Wow... to be rescued by a beauty as beautiful as a mermaid! Please, miss, I must know yer name!" Gaff said, Pikarina looking at him in confusion.
"Are you talking to me or Minsie?" she asked.
"Not you, pixie, the one with the gorgeous locks of purple and holding the glowing scissors of legend, with a face as precious as silver!" Gaff said, me then pulling at my collar in a bit of embarrassment. I knew that Captain Gaff was NOT a good person, since he was cursed by the goddess because of him kidnapping beautiful women and killing their husbands and anyone that was ugly. And that the curse consisted of him viewing beautiful people and friends as monsters and ugly people as gorgeous... so did that mean that I was ugly?
"Um... I'm Minsie Carver, Captain... um... may I ask your name?" I asked.
"Aye, Captain Gaff of the Jolly Lambham! Surely, you've heard of me an' my tales?" he asked.
"Um... I know that you've been alone for a long while because of you making the goddess mad..." I admitted.
"What?! What do ye mean? Can I get an explanation?" he asked.
"Well... you kidnapped beautiful women and killed anyone that got in your way. So, the women, fearful for their lives, begged the goddess for help. She cursed you into thinking that beautiful people and crewmates were monsters, and that ugly people were beautiful... so does that mean that I'm considered as ugly in this puppet body?" I asked.
"I don't know what you mean by that last part. You look gorgeous, just small. Ye look like a miniature version of a really beautiful woman of youthful age," Gaff said, me then feeling weird and looking at myself into a reflection from a nearby gilded mirror and gawking. "I... I don't look like a puppet anymore? What does this mean?" I asked in shock.
"It must be because of the powers of the Moonstone Shards and Calibrus! It must be viewing you as the Moon Goddess, so it's getting rid of the curse that the Moon Bear King gave you!" Pikarina smirked, me being surprised... but then, I heard another voice.
"Aye! Could I get a bit o' the action? I be on the wall, me hearty!" said a cockney female voice, me looking to the wall I heard it from and being shocked at how I saw a hook. I then grabbed the hook, which resulted in me needing to uncurse it from the Moon Bear King's influence with Calibrus before I then grabbed it and replaced my head with it. I just got the powers of the Moon Pirate!
"Cor blimey! This feels amazin'! WOW! An' I can talk telepathically! Ye must 'ave the Goddess's blood in ye after all!" the voice of the pirate said from my head, me groaning at it before speaking.
"Uh, I don't know about that. I mean, I tried to cure Sheep and Pig from the powers of the Moonstone Shards they had, but it didn't do a thing," I admitted.
"Aye, but that's because there's a big magical interference in the Moonshine Sea that I can sense! It's because of the magic oil they've been dumping into the sea and weakening Poseidon, God of all Seas," the pirate said in my head, me looking around before then turning to Gaff.
"Okay, then we know what we gotta do. Gaff, what say we cement our newfound kinship with a battle to take back your ship from those barnyard animals?" I asked, Captain Gaff guffawing afterwards.
"That sounds like the greatest idea ever! Come along, I know the way out!" he shouted as we then followed him through the lower parts of the ship and to the cannon on the underside, which I worked together with the pirate in my head to lead the way out. And when I did?
"I wish I could ta-... Hey, I can! Finally! I've had so many things I've been wanting to say! Like what the hell is wrong with you for putting us in mortal danger the whole time!" said the cowardly voice of the Knight, me rolling my eyes at his statement as we went above deck and saw Pig and Sheep were shocked and then proceeded to get into a sword fight with me and Gaff.
"Avast, there! Gimme back me ship, scurvy dogs!" Gaff shouted at them.
"We ain't do-o-ogs! We're Sheep and Pi-i-ig!" Sheep shouted before I then slapped away his weapon with Calibrus and Pig then got disarmed by Gaff, us then getting rid of their loot and them gawking!
"NOO! Our fortune! That tears it! Come in, Weaver! Slice them up!" Pig shouted as the Weaver then rushed down and proceeded to toss Pig and Sheep into the sea and into their mighty Moby, me then going against the Weaver for the fight. And this fight was different than the game! I had to match it in swordplay before then pulling the eye out with my hookshot, which forced the cloth to come down, which I then sliced through! And each phase added something different, with the second one adding in a shot volley between me and the weaver with my shield, and the third consisted of me needing to deal with two swords at once! But I managed to fell the Weaver all the same and slice through every soul it had captured so I could send them back to Earth where they belonged!
"HARHAR! Great work as a single warrior, matey! Now for the next part, goin' after Moby!" Gaff said with seriousness as I looked into the waters.
"But how do we go after a mechanical shark? Sure, we have great weapons, but we're going to need to get an upgrade if we're going after robots," I said with seriousness.
"Aye! Ye should go down and speak to Ol' Poseidon, me hearty! If ye can restore his strength, he can surely use his strength to power up Calibrus and maybe us too!" the pirate in my head smiled.
"Not a bad idea... but before we meet him, I must ask something. What are your names?" I asked. And after waiting for a response, the ninja spoke first.
"Master Smoke... Jinchuriki of the Moonwood..." he said shyly and quietly.
"Isn't that something from Naruto only?" I asked in confusion.
"In my native town... I was leader of ninja... they name me Jinchuriki..." he said, me nodding as I then looked at Gaff with seriousness.
"Gaff, you stay here and man the deck. Don't get caught again and try to see if you can find an opportunity to grab Moby with a rope or harpoon," I said, him nodding as I then jumped down into the water with Pikarina not far behind.
"Um... I'm Sheldon... I really am very scared about your quest... but I know you wouldn't allow me to leave," the Knight said with fear in his voice.
"I know that it's dangerous but think of it like this. If we don't win this war, then the Moon Bear King will have free reign to ruin the Moon until the end of time and he'll continue to steal children's souls from Earth," I said, him gulping at that.
"Okay..." he squeaked out.
"No one's ever asked for me name before, but I feel I can trust ye to keep it secret. I'm Cut-Lass, the last survivor of Captain Gaff's crew and the only one he didn't kill. I was the only female of the pirates and I'd been warned by the goddess prior to her cursing the cap'n, so she simply let me join her royal guard instead," the pirate said, me smirking at the name. "An' no makin' fun o' me name or I'm not gonna be 'elpin' one bit," she pouted.
"Don't worry, I've heard names that are even worse, mainly from video games. Like Baroness Von Bonbon, Cala Maria, Anne-Droid 2.0, and the worst of all, The Great Mighty Poo," I said, that actually making all of my allies about to lose their cool laughing, so I decided to capitalize.
"~IIIIII Am! The Great Mighty Poo!
And I'm going to throw my shit at you!
A huge supply of tish
comes from my chocolate starfish!
How about some scat
you little twat?!~" I sung his famous song, which made the group start laughing after.
"OH MY GOSH! That's the best! Is that an actual song?!" Pikarina asked, me smirking at that.
"It is, and he's the one who sung it," I smirked, which everyone continued to laugh at as we finally reached the seafloor, it being quite dark and murky from all the oil around us, but Pikarina's body was bright enough to lead us through. I just had to make sure the mermaids didn't start singing their annoying songs the moment they saw us speaking with Poseidon... nobody wants to hear that ear torture.