DEFINITELY do not own Maddie, Bowser, Jim OR Inuyasha or any other character you just know is not mine! Disney created this awesome movie, not I!!


Chapter 5: Take Off

Jack and Jaqulin stepped up the ramp onto the ship where the crew was bustling with life and motion. Jaqulin was completely fascinated. A dinosaur-looking guy with a green turtle shell that had spikes jutting out of it was barking orders.

"Stow those casks forward!" he yelled. "Heave together!"

"How cool is this?" Jaqulin whispered, turning around and walking backwards. She bumped into something soft, making her whip around immediately. It was a black wolf with green eyes in a green outfit. "Sorry bout that, I didn't mean…"

The wolf opened its big mouth and roared angrily in Jaqulin's face. When it stopped, Jaqulin's long blonde hair was in disarray. She blew a strand out of her face. The wolf began talking in a strange language, but even so, Jaqulin could tell that he was upset.

"It's alright, Jaqulin," Jack stated. "I'm fluent in 'weird.'" The large man started speaking in absolute gibberish that made no sense to Jaqulin. When Jack finished, the wolf started laughing. "Took two years of it in high school," he added. He grunted something else to the wolf that Jaqulin guessed to be a "thank you."

"Weird? Cool," Jaqulin remarked, fixing her hair. She followed Jack as he started towards the turtle man. But a certain figure caught her eye as she passed. Jaqulin couldn't help but look.

It was a handsome young boy, probably about her age, helping the crew lower some crates. He had slightly sun-touched skin and short dark brown hair, his bangs longer, and he had a tiny ponytail. He was dressed in brown clothes, only his pants were a forest green. His blue eyes shimmered in the sunlight when he looked up.

Jaqulin narrowed her eyes; somehow she got this feeling that guy would be trouble on this trip. She returned her attention to Jack.

"Morning, Captain!" Jack greeted the giant turtle. "Everything ship-shape?"

"Ship-shape it is!" the turtle responded. "But you've got the wrong person. The captain is right up there!"

Jaqulin and Jack glanced up simultaneously and discovered a young woman with a red hair dressed in a blue jumpsuit swinging from the ropes. She performed an aerial flip and landed perfectly in front of them. The helmet of Jack's suit slammed shut and Jaqulin sent him a weird look.

"Bowser, I've checked this miserable ship from stem to stern and as usual, it's…absolutely perfect," the woman said. "Can you get nothing wrong?"

"You're too kind, Captain," the turtle, or rather Bowser, replied.

The captain grinned and turned only to be face-to-face with Jack. She raised an eyebrow and examined him carefully. "Hmm…Mr. Fenton, I presume?"

"Uh…uh…why, yes! I'm…"Jack stuttered.

"Hello! Can you hear me?" The captain tapped on Jack's glass helmet loudly.

"Yes! Stop that loud banging, it's killing my ears!"

"If I may, Mr. Fenton, this works so much better if it's opened up and operated correctly!" The captain twirled Jack around, flipped open the hatch in the back, and pressed a button, sending an electric current through Jack. "Lovely, there you go."

Jack turned around. "Hey, I can do that myself!" he shouted.

The captain gave him a skeptical look, then shook his hand. "I'm Captain Maddie, late of a few run-ins with Ghost Zonian ghosts. Nasty business, but I won't bore you with my scars." Maddie gestured to Bowser. "You've met my first officer, Bowser. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true."

Bowser blushed vibrantly. "Please, Captain," he muttered.

"Oh, shut up, Bowser, you know I don't mean a word of it."

Jack cleared his throat audibly. "Now that your chatter is over, I'd like to introduce Jaqulin Strife. Jaq here is the girl who found the treas…"

Maddie reached out and slapped her hand over Jack's mouth. "Mr. Fenton, please!" she hissed. She glanced around at the staring crew before looking slyly at Jack. "I'll have a word with you in my stateroom."


Maddie shut the door behind them, then looked at Jack. "Mr. Fenton," she began, walking up to Jack and Jaqulin. "To muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew, demonstrates a level of ineptitude...that borders on the imbecilic. And I mean that in a very caring way."

Jack leaned towards Jaqulin. "Um…what does imbecilic mean?" he whispered. Jaqulin rolled her eyes.

"She's saying you're stupid," she grumbled.

"Oh…what? Nonsense! I'm beyond, uh…that word you said!"

"May I see the map, please?" Maddie asked Jaqulin.

Jack sighed, still uptight, then glanced at Jaqulin, who shrugged nonchalantly. Jack motioned to the captain. Jaqulin exhaled reprovingly.

"Here," she muttered, chucking the map to Maddie. The captain caught it easily and studied it.

"Hmm. Interesting," Maddie mused. She gave Jaqulin a look before taking the map with her to her cabinet. "Miss Strife, in the future, you are to address me as 'Captain' or 'ma'am.' Is that clear?"

Jaqulin shoulders fell as she rolled her eyes. She despised being told what to do…why was everyone always on her back?

"Miss Strife?" Maddie asked, glancing over her shoulder after having put the map away.

Jaqulin frowned. "Yes, ma'am," she said in the most serious voice she could muster.

"That'll do." Maddie locked the cabinet securely and faced the others. "Gentleman—and lady—this must be kept under lock and key at all times when not in use. And, Mr. Fenton…"—Maddie walked up to Jack with a smug grin—"again, with the greatest possible respect…SHUT your yowling yapper!"

Jack opened his mouth to object, raising his arm, but it dropped a second later. "Uh, I got nothin'," he stated.

"Let me try to make this as short-lipped as possible," Maddie said as she sat herself at her desk. "I don't really much care about this crew you hired. They're…how'd I describe them, Bowser? I said something really good this morning over coffee."

"'A ludicrous pack of babbling idiots,' ma'am," Bowser answered respectfully.

Maddie grinned at her own words. "There you go—poetry," she remarked to Jack.

"That's not poetry! I'll give you poet…" Jack started.

"Mr. Fenton, I'd love to chat," Maddie interrupted. "Tea, cakes, the whole tea party, but I have a ship to launch and you have your suit to buff up." Maddie tapped Jack's nose teasingly. She straightened up. "Bowser, if you would escort these neophytes to the galley right away. Miss Strife will be working for our cook, Inuyasha."

Jaqulin stopped toying with one of Maddie's contraptions to look up in surprise.

"Wait, what? The cook?"