Fun fact about me with Bubble Guppies, Gil and Nonny are tied as my favorite of the group. Either way, my favorite after them is Oona.

Also, I was going to name the next attraction Artichoke Ahoy but the boat ride has more than just artichokes. What else is there? You'll see.

Chapter 4: Ahoy Boat

"All aboard! The Ahoy Boat is leaving in one minute!" The captain announces.

It's Captain Carlo, the captain whose tugboat saved the cruise ship from hitting the giant rainbow snow cone. Oona knows it's him while Gil does not.

"What are we waiting for, Gil?" Oona grabs one of his hands. "Let's hop in!"

"Woah! I'm coming!" Gil says as Oona quickly drags him.

Seeing the two hop aboard the ship, Captain Carlo brings in the boardwalk and shuts the Ahoy Boat (Bubble Rug)'s doors.

"Now then, passengers! Off we go!"

Carlo blows the whistles and sets sail on the river.

Gil and Oona make it to the front of the Ahoy Boat and scan around.

In one section of the river, frogs hop on top of big, floating broccoli.

On one land, elephants (from the trunk-a-dunk game) are tossing lettuce to each other as if they were beach balls.

On another land, monkeys are swinging on spring onions.

To Gil, the animals seem to be animatronics. Oona knows they're real animals.

"Oh, what about those over there?" Gil points to..

"That's just a field of artichokes." Oona answers.

"Oh," Gil chuckles, "of course it is."

The Ahoy Boat passes a few more animals playing with vegetables like bunnies juggling carrots and cats tossing radishes. Gil being Gil, smiles in amusement as he sees the many creatures doing silly stuff.

Oona had something on her mind during all this. "Gil, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that this is all a dream?"

"Hmm." Gil pinches himself. "Ouch!"

"Gil, don't hurt yourself."

"Heh, heh. Nope, not a dream."

Oona shook her head with a smirk. "That's what makes you Gil, Gil."

The Turbo-Charged Boy grins. "I'm happy I'm Gil. But in all seriousness, it does feel like a dream. Me, right here in Veggie Land."

Gil sits down on the floor, with Oona doing the same.

"I never thought I would be here. I bet many people have dreamt of coming here! Look around! This place… is something else."

Oona smiles for her friend. "I'm happy that you're happy."

"Well, it's nice you're thinking about me. But what about you? Are you happy here?"

"Oh yes. Of course I'm happy I'm here. I'm having a good time." Oona replies, knowing this place may be fake but it's actually not bad here. After all, they built it and now, they're enjoying it. All except for the pain that keeps coming to them.

"Ahoy, ye scallywags!"

Their conversation was brought to a halt because…

"A carrot pirate?" Gil is amazed there's such a thing.

"Oh my! A pirate of the carrot-bbean!" Captain Carlo exclaims.

To Gil's obliviousness, it's Captain Golbert. The pirate captain that gave Gil and Molly the treasure map to find the treasure, sporks! He's not in his usual attire of black and white clothes, he's wearing a blue coat, blue pants, and blue hat. Not to mention he's wearing a carrot costume underneath his blue clothing. His parrot, Paulie, is at home.

"Climb aboard as we set sail across Veggie Land!"

Golbert drops a rope ladder for the kids to climb. Gil begins to do so.

"Bye, Captain Carlo." Oona hugs Carlo and climbs up into Captain Golbert's pirate ship.

"Have fun, kiddos!" Carlo waves to the two gups.

XOXOXO

"Argh! To become a pirate is a lot of work! Think you can handle it?"

That's right, Captain Golbert will train Gil and Oona how to be like pirates!

In response to his question, the two kids nod their heads.

Golbert grabs a couple of toy swords and gives them to Gil and Oona. "Follow me lead!"

Golbert does several swashbuckling moves, followed by Gil and Oona, doing a terrible job mimicking him.

"Argh!" Golbert grabs their attention. "Perhaps we should use the dummy."

"A dummy?" The two children ask at the same time.

"Indeed. Let me go get it."

Golbert pulls out the dummy, resembling a pirate and built with different pieces of wood.

"I don't remember this being planned. But oh well, I'll just go with it." Oona knows Gil is having the time of his life.

Golbert gets his own toy sword and gets in battle mode. "Strike to the left! Then to the right! Now duck! Strike to the head!" He hits the dummy in the said directions while the gups pay attention.

"I think I get it!" Gil declares as he approaches the dummy. "Strike down! Strike up! Roll over-" He spins and slips! Sending the toy sword flying onto Oona's head.

"Oof!" She grabs Gil's toy sword and returns it to him.

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay, Gil. But now, let's pay attention to the captain again." The girl suggests.

"Aye!" Captain Golbert gets into position once more. "Strike to the left! Then to the right! Now duck! Strike to the head!" He finishes and turns to Gil. "You got all that?"

"I think so." Gil replies. "Oona, how about you go this time?"

"Okay." Oona gets in front of the dummy and strikes… "To the left! To the right! Duck! Now the head!" She heads the dummy in the correct way as the pirate did.

"Well done, young lady!" Captain Golbert states. "Now it's your turn, son."

"Okay." Gil gets ready with the dummy and holds up his sword.

"Strike to the left!"

One move down.

"Strike to the right!"

Two moves down.

"Now duck!"

Three…

"Strike to the head!"

He did it!

"Amazing, matey!" Captain Golbert is impressed.

"Great job, Gil!" Oona pats Gil on the back.

Grabbing the toy swords and putting them away, Captain Golbert comes back with his hands behind his back, holding a thing or two.

"Congrats to you both! You're honorary pirates!" Golbert claims and reveals what he's hiding. "For that, here are two doubloons, one for each of you."

Gil grabs his doubloon. "Thanks, Captain!"

"Yeah, thanks." Oona grabs her's.

THUMP

"Wah! AHHH!"

Or doesn't grab her doubloon. Because the ship bumped into Veggie Land's pavement! Making Oona lose her balance, fall out of the ship, and-

SPLASH

…into the water.

"Oh, uh, land-ho?" Golbert didn't know what else to say.

"Uh oh!" Gil runs to help Oona. But comes back to-

"Thanks for making us pirates, Captain!"

"You are always welcome, me boy." He responds. "Hard to believe Gil didn't know it's me. I made him an honorary pirate back when he found the sporks."

Now Gil truly runs to help Oona.

XOXOXO

Near the water, Gil grabs a lifebuoy with a rope and throws it to Oona. The girl grabs it and Gil begins to pull.

"You okay, Oona?" Gil asks now that she's out of the water.

Oona spits water out like a human fountain (just like Molly). "Wet but I'm okay."

"You should go dry up." Gil suggests.

"I think there's some towels in the gift shop over there." Oona knows that already but doesn't want Gil to know the truth.

"Okay, I'll wait for you on the bench right there." Gil goes to sit on the said bench and take a break. Closing his eyes, he cracks a smile.

"Veggie Land sure is incredible. This is the best day ever."

To be continued…

The Ahoy Boat was inspired by not only the two Disneyland attractions; Mark Twain Riverboat and the Jungle Cruise. But also inspired by a scene from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, when the gang was exploring the newly-created food world and its creatures. In my opinion, that sequel is better than the original.

Yes, I also combined the Ahoy Boat ride with an interactive Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired experience. I actually wanted to write something related to the Jedi Training Academy but thought I should do something that's not sci-fi related.

Captain Golbert, is the nameless pirate from "X Marks the Spot!", for those wondering. Not sure why these characters never had names. Sure, they're only seen once but wouldn't hurt to give them a name, right?

And now you see I didn't have a solid idea with the artichokes for the boat ride. Just a field of the vegetable.

Next chapter's coming very soon. Thank you for reading and have a good day.