Chapter 4 Treachery
Brick struggled against the guards who had snatched him off his boat, and handcuffed him. They tossed him in a jail cell, and he managed to land on his feet. Brick glared at them as they slammed the door. "Brick!" said Dexter, Brick turned around, and saw his old friend, who practically yelled, "Do you have any idea how serious what you've done is!" "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that today!?" said Brick, exasperated. "How could you do it Brick!?" cried Dexter, "Oh, not you too!" said Brick, rolling his eyes, "How could you steal the book when you knew how much it meant to us!?" yelled Dexter, "Let me tell you how this works, first I commit the crime, and then you get to blame me for it!" said Brick. "Then what about this!?" said Dexter pulling out a dagger, just like Brick's special one. Brick stared at it in disbelief, then it hit him like the club of an angry ogre, "Bell." "What?" said Dexter, "Bell, she framed me!" said Brick, "Oh Brick, listen to yourself!" said Dexter rolling his eyes, "No I'm serious, Dexter listen. Talk to your father." Dexter sighed exasperatedly and said, "Brick, my father and the ambassadors are organizing your trial!" Brick's eyes widened and he said, "My trial!? Look, I left the Book on your ship and that's the last I saw of it! You know what happened! You know me!" Said Brick, "Do I!?" said Dexter, "I knew a kid, what are you now!?" Dexter leaned close to Brick and said softly, "Look me in the eye and tell me, did you steal the Book?" Brick took a breath, looked his old friend in the eye, and said, "No."
"For the last time Brick!" said Jack, in the courtroom at the trial, "Give us the Book!" Brick rolled his eyes and said, "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't have it!" the ambassadors delegated a minute, then the main one said, "Sinbad, you leave us with no choice. We convict you of treason, and sentence you to die. Take him away." The guards grabbed Brick, as he began to yell, "What!? This is a joke right, come on haven't you been listening!? I didn't do it!" "Stop!" Suddenly the crowd parted and Dexter stepped into view. He looked at all the ambassadors and said, "Brick claims Eris stole the book. And I believe him. Take me in his place." "No!" said Jack, "Let him go to Tartarus, and retrieve the book." Said Dexter, "What!?" said Brick, he ran forward and whispered to Dexter, "Are you crazy?" "You say Bell stole the book, go steal it back. You're good at that." Dexter replied, "Look I can't be responsible for your life!" said Brick, "You'd do the same for me." Said Dexter, "No, I wouldn't!" hissed Brick. "Dexter." Said the main ambassador, "Are you aware, if Brick does not return, that you will die in his place?" Dexter nodded, and Jack said heavily, "Free him." The guards removed the handcuffs from Brick's wrists, and placed them on Dexter's instead. They began to escort him from the room, He stopped where Blossom was standing, and she looked into his eyes. Dexter turned back to Brick and said, "Oh and Brick, don't be late." With that the guards escorted him from the room.
As the Chimera left Syracuse, Diego lit the lanterns by swinging around the ship, with a torch. Boomer held up a lantern as Diego swung past, and then turned to Brick and said, "So, any idea how we actually get to Tartarus?" Brick looked surprised, and said, "Tartarus? Who said anything about Tartarus? People get killed in Tartarus!" "So we are we going?" asked Butch, Brick threw down a map and said, "Fiji!" The map had a hula girl in the corner, next to the word "Fiji" Boomer stared at the map in exasperation, and said, "Fiji? At this time of year?" "Think of the beaches!" said Brick, "Yeah, great if you like mosquitoes." said Boomer, "Think of the sun!" said Brick, "It's monsoon season." Said Butch as he left the helm area, "Then think of the girls!" said Brick, "They're cannibals Brick." Said Boomer, "Exactly." Said Brick, Boomer rolled his eyes as he said, "Brick, he's your friend!" "Listen to yourself!" said Brick, "You sound like our mother! Dexter will be fine!" "You can be sure of that?" said Boomer, raising his eyebrow, "Look, Jack won't let them execute his only son. We don't need another score! We've got enough! Now set course for Fiji." Boomer sighed and said, "Aye captain." Brick left the helm, and went back to his cabin, as he was nearing the door, he saw that it was open slightly, and he could her someone inside. Brick looked and saw it was that Blossom girl! "How did she get in here?!" thought Brick, "And why is she here anyway!?" Blossom was dressed differently then when he had last saw her, she wore a pink short sleeve shirt, and dark pink pants, and she was now examining all the items Brick kept in his cabin. Blossom suddenly caught sight of his bone statue, that he had stolen from some natives, and she was muttering to herself, "This can't be real, it'd be far to delicate." She tapped one of the tiny skulls, and it suddenly broke off and smashed on the floor. Blossom gulped and backed away from the statue, and Brick shrank back behind the door. He took a deep breath, and walked into the cabin with a good sized smile on his face. Blossom held up a jeweled bikini, and said, "Stolen from a beach in Serecuse." Brick leaned in and said, "Good guess." Blossom jumped and placed the bikini back where she had found it, as she whirled around to face Brick who said, "What are you dong here!?" "Seeing that you keep your word, and get the Book." Said Blossom defiantly. "Really? Well do you know how to get to Tartarus?" said Brick, walking towards his bunk, "Ummmm, no." said Blossom, "Can you sail a ship?" said Brick, "Um, no." said Blossom blushing slightly, "Can you navigate?" asked Brick "Yes!" said Blossom, "Well great!" said Brick, "then I can dump your butt in a row boat, and you can row back to Serecuse! Because we are going, to Fiji." Brick fell back onto his bunk and moved his bandana over his eyes. "You know Brick, you're not very hard to figure out." Said Blossom, leaning against the beam in the center of Brick's cabin. Brick sat up slightly and pulled his bandana off one of his eyes and said, "What do you mean?" Blossom leaned closer, and said, "All one has to do is think of the most gutless course of action, and you'll take it." "Hey look I didn't tell Dexter to put his life on the line for me!" Said Brick angrily, "So you're not going to lose any sleep over this?" said Blossom, "Not a wink." Said Brick, turning over. "Because if it where me I'd be tossing and turning knowing I'm alive," Blossom continued, leaning closer, "because I let my friend die!" "Look I don't owe Dexter anything, so just leave me alone!" snarled Brick leaping up, "Well, since I obviously can get through to you honorably I guess there's only one way to convince you." "Oh really? What's that?" said Brick, "By speaking your language." Said Blossom, smirking, and leaning closer. "How's that?" said Brick, leaning away slightly. Blossom responded by revealing a large diamond, she held it out to Brick who grabbed it, looked at it, then smiled and said, "Keep talking." Blossom grabbed his hand, held up a small leather bag, and emptied it into Bricks hand, to reveal it had contained a pile of small diamonds. Brick examined them a minute and said, "Yep this'll do it!" Blossom smiled and nodded slightly, but then Brick smiled slyly, and said, "But not for first class."
The crew of the Chimera was going about their business, when suddenly Brick burst onto the deck with Blossom slung over his shoulder, and Blossom kicking and yelling, Brick struggled towards the front hold, while struggling with Blossom and saying, "Here aboard the Chimera, we are suited for even the best in royal taste! We boast ocean views!" He came to the hold, and managed to get it open, and tossed Blossom inside, "We have three gourmet meals a day, pickles, eggs, and… pickles!" At that moment Courage walked cautiously inside, and Brick said, "Oh hey there boy!" He looked back at Blossom and said, "Meet your new bunkmate! Or should I say you're his new bunkmate, since it is his bunk. We hope you have a pleasant voyage!" Blossom quickly scrambled to her feet and walked at Brick quickly as she said, "If you think…!" Brick slammed the door shut and bolted it. Brick walked away examining the large diamond Blossom had gave him, as he thought out loud, "How did she get on the ship?" Suddenly he noticed Otto, Butch, and Timmy where each examining a different sort of jewel, Butch even had a jewelers lens. When they saw Brick staring at them, they quickly hid their jewels and Butch quickly knocked away his lens. Brick looked in a different direction and saw Timmy, and Mac where also examining jewels, when they saw Brick looking in their direction, they quickly hid them. Brick smiled, then walked toward the helm with a grim face, as he said, "Men, we're going to Tartarus!" The crews reaction was not enthusiastic, they all said, "What!?" Timmy cried, "What happened to Fiji?" As Brick was walking, suddenly a Hawaiian flower necklace landed on his head, Brick looked up and said, "Diego!!" "Sorry captain!" cried Diego, his head popped out over the crows nest, with another flower necklace around his neck, and a ukulele in hand. Brick resumed walking, as Diego suddenly began to swing around him saying, "But did you say Tartarus? The Tartarus of Lost Souls? The Tartarus where they rip off your skin, and pickle your spleen and…!?" Brick suddenly grabbed Diego by the flower necklace, and said. "No Diego, this is the nice Tartarus, you know the one with the beaches, and the tropical drinks, you know the ones with the little umbrellas?" Brick let go of Diego's necklace, and continued to the helm, as Diego muttered, "Oh muy bueno!" Brick got to the helm, where Boomer was leaning against the wheel, his eyes where closed, and he was smiling to himself. Brick kept a grim look on his face, as he folded his arms and said, "I'm only doing this for the money." Boomer straightened back up as he said, "Riiiiiiiiight." He placed his hands on the wheel and said, "So any idea how we actually get to Tartarus?" Brick looked at the twilight sky and saw the star Bell had shown him. He pointed to it and said, "That star's our point."