Graah! Happy Holidays Everyone! Yeah, I am actually on a family vacation right now in Germany! Fun times. Anyway, I figured I had a few hours to spare so I am going to write a bit to keep the story going (because let's face it, pirates are awesome). Anyway, here is Chapter 2! I do not own Hey Arnold in anyway. But the story of "A Treasure Well Hidden" is indeed my creature made out of boredom. Enjoy!
The trip back to the main ship felt really long to Arnold. It certainly didn't help having the blindfold on, that was for sure. But Arnold enjoyed it regardless. Ron was an amazing guy. He essentially talked non-stop about all of the adventures they have been on and the things that they hope to do next. Yeah, a lot of it involved going against the law and fighting the navy which didn't fully sit well with Arnold but he gave his word so it was something that he would have to deal with for the time being. For a while there, during all of those stories, he forgot that the Captain was with them but every now and then he could hear him laugh at what Ron was saying, almost as if it were an inside joke between them.
"...and then, just before the swine of a dog was about to plunge their rusted excuse for a blade in my chest, the Captain came out of no where and tackled him to the ground before he could even blink!" Ron laughed at the memory before continuing, "I am telling you Arnold, becoming a Pirate was probably one of the best things I ever did. It is far more satisfying than my life before..." Arnold was just about to ask him what that was but the tiny sail boat bumped into something hard. "Ah, here we are at last. Home, sweet home. Let me give you a hand to the rope ladder. The Captain goes first, obviously, but either way..." Arnold felt the small boat rock a bit a both Ron and the Captain stood up and started moving around him. Ron then grabbed him by the arm and directed him to the ladder. "Ok, lad", he said, "I figure by the time you get up there you can take the blind fold off. The Captain should be in their quarters at that point."
Arnold thought this to be a bit strange. Why would the Captain go to his quarters right away? He thought. Wouldn't he just go to the Helm and start giving orders...? After a few minutes of blindly struggling up the rope ladder, Arnold finally found his footing on the deck of the ship and immediately uncovered his eyes. Huge wouldn't even begin to describe what he saw. While the ship he captained had only 2 masts for quick sailing, this ship pretty much dwarfed it with 5 towering ones. There were men everywhere, running this way and that and working the ropes to pull up the small boat that they were on before, which Arnold noticed that there were three very similar ones hanging on the sides already. It was then that Ron finally came up and stood next to him. "Welcome Arnold," he said, "to Queen Betsie's Fifth Avenger...And those," he pointed towards the smaller boats "Are Avengers one through four. The each have their purposes but we'll get to that when the times come."
Arnold just stood there flabber-gasted. This is a pirate ship? How in the world is this a pirate ship? It took him a few minutes to realize that Ron was walking away towards the
Helm and he quickly tried to catch up to him. "Ron, is this seriously a pirate ship? I mean this thing is massive!" Ron just laughed at him but didn't stop walking.
"Were you not listening at all on the way here?" He said, "I told you before, this was a ship that we stole. It use to belong to King Robert Pataki, from the northern kingdom, called the Emporium. I tell you, we all thought the Captain was nuts when they said that they wanted to take this gem. No one dares to mess with King Robert..." It was then that Ron stopped and looked at him. "But the Captain got us through it all; we don't know how but we managed it." Ron started walking again. "You will soon come to learn that our Captain has nerves of steel and wits sharper than the best blade in the world..."
It was then out of the blue that a loud bell rang. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks to look at the helm. "Listen up everyone!" A deep voice called out. "We have a new comer among us. You will notice him from his very...unusually shaped head." Everyone suddenly started looking at him. "Until I have decided where to put him permanently, he will be the goody two-shoes of our delightful crew, helping out where it is needed. Work him good till all he has is paste for brains." At that moment, Arnold had finally found the speaker. There, standing at the edge of the Helm looking down on everyone, soon at tall, dark shadowy figure. The only real defining features on them, as far as Arnold could tell, was that they has a long and wild blond mane of hair and a piercing clear blue eye. The other eye was covered by a black as night eye patch. Everything else about their face and appearance was covered.
"And you, Shortman..."It took Arnold a moment before he realized that the Captain was finally speaking to him. "I am only going to say this once. I am Captain Hellbringer and I have three rules on this vessel." He gazed at Arnold with that blue eye of his. "First, no one other than First Mate Ron is allowed to enter my quarters. Second, my word is the Law on this ship. If I find you or anyone on this ship breaks that law, you will be answering to me and I will deal with you accordingly. And lastly, I change the law as I see fit any time that I want. Do you understand?" Arnold swallowed hard. He was starting to wonder if he would have been better off on that island. "I can't hear you, Shortman!"
"What ever you say, Captain!" He shouted.
"That's right," Captain Hellbringer said, "whatever I say. Welcome to the rest of your puny life." They turned back to the rest of the crew. "As for the lot of you, get back to work. We're heading to Port Hillwood." Everyone cheered as if it was the best idea in the world. Arnold, on the other hand, watching as Hellbringer walked out of sight, thought it was oddly coincidental that they would be heading to Port Hillwood off all places. But he didn't get much time to dwell on it because he was thrown into work right away.
The night was relatively still as Arnold laid in his cot below deck, listening to the other men discuss stories of their past lives and the things that they did before becoming a part of Hellbringers crew. They spoke of loved ones they left behind, dreams that they once had, and legends that entertained them as children. They sang songs and spoke of their opinions. Listening to how they talked opened Arnold's eyes to a different side of the pirate story that he never knew.
All throughout his childhood, he was always told that pirates were villainous people, who cared only about themselves and did what ever they could to get the best treasure even if it meant breaking the law and killing anyone who stood in their way. He was told that they were dirty and covered with disease. But all of these men, and their stories, were starting to change the ill view of them that he had before. From what they were saying, it almost seemed like becoming a pirate was the best thing that has ever happened for them and they are a lot happier for it. Arnold was about to think about it more when someone interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, Arnold!" Arnold turned his head to see who was calling him. The guy was pretty small for a young man, with curly red hair and freckles all over his face. Arnold was pretty sure he was called Eugene. As far as he could tell, the guy was pretty clumsy and hurt himself quite often. "I am not sure if you knew already but this ship seems to be haunted. Gosh, I find it hard to sleep at night because of it."
"Haunted?" Arnold said, "really? I find that a little difficult to believe..."
"It's true!" Eugene exclaimed. "Ask Gerald about it. He tells the story the best anyway...He has been here almost as long as Ron has so he would know!" Eugene looked towards the darker skinned man known as Gerald. Gerald and Arnold became good buddies rather quickly considering that it has only been a day since he came here.
"Well..."Gerald piped in, "That isn't quite true. Rather than the ship being haunted, it is more like the Captain himself who is..." Everyone nodded in agreement and a few even asked Gerald to tell the story for everyone because they seemed to like it. Arnold just quirked an eyebrow at him in question. Looking at everyone, who at this point all gathered around the area, said very dramatically: "Very well. I, the keeper of lore, will tell you this sad tale of our great Captain and the spirit that regularly visits us on the night of no moon. Get comfortable and we shall begin..." As everyone sat down or got into their cots, Arnold closed his eyes as he listened to Gerald tell the tale. "It all began several years ago, long before I became a part of this crew, and before Hellbringer was the man he is today..."
And there you have it. That is chapter 2! I hoped you liked it. I admit, it is a couple hundred words shorter than the last chapter but I tried to put in some HA! references in it despite it being AU. And yes, I put a story within a story. So really, that is like, two cliff hangers in one! Do you hate me now? I hope not. Because I am going to really try and make this story even better. Anyway, again I wish you all a happy holiday, whatever it is that you celebrate.
Look forward to the next chapter!