Family

Chapter 447 Boat Ride

By: Major144

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is just a story for fun.

In Waterfall many different people were about to go traveling using boats. Over at Dr. Cranken's lab, Crump who was fearful of losing both his life and his job due to his recent blunders begged Dr. Cranken for the location of the Vault of Valefar in hopes of finding a Crystal Star to win back his master's good grace and secure his position. After a bit of begging and pleading Dr. Cranken finally gave in and gave Crump a map that would lead him to where the vault might be. With the map in hand Crump gathered his remaining X-Nauts and they boarded a large black wooden ship with sails and cannons called the X-Ship and headed out.

On the shore near the junkyard, Magica, Morbidia, Gateaux, Natasha, General Pig, General Sheep, and Treasure Knight had just finished constructing a large raft out of barrels, wood, and rope and were about to set sail to the Vault of Valefar, when Magica sensed a dark presence and quickly put a magic dome shield around herself and her companions. A few seconds later several shuriken ninja stars, crescent shaped blades, and kitchen knives flew in and struck the shield before cluttering to the ground.

"Who's attacking us?" Demanded Treasure Knight.

"I believe those four are the ones responsible." Said Magica as four beings began to approach them.

The four beings in question were the Dark Bosses. They were creations of Dr. Cranken that served as guardians of the lab as well as an elite assault squad. The Dark Bosses had been sent out to deal with the ones responsible for taking out a patrol unit of guards and they had finally found the culprits.

The group was led by Dark Rabbit, a black humanoid plushy rabbit with piercing red eyes, a X shaped scar on his chest, a scar on his left eye, wore a black scarf around his neck, and carried a katana.

Next to Dark Rabbit there was Razor Mane. She was a pink and purple pony with a mane and tail seemingly made of blades and sharp teeth. Her pupils were in the shape of stars while her irises were purple. A zipper was on the corner of her mouth and she wore fishnets, complete with a garter belt, and multiple piercings on both of her ears.

The third member of the squad was Bye-Bye Kitten. She had the appearance of a pale lavender doll cat. Bye-Bye Kitten had large, black eyes with long eyelashes in the style of mascara, and a small, dark gray nose. She also wore a crimson bow that covered her ears, a crimson dress with a white apron and black stockings.

Lastly there was Serious Kuma a giant orange and red stuffed bear about Midbus's size, with scars scattered around his body, one large scar over his left eye, and a scowl on his face. He carried a large purple hammer.

The Dark Bosses faced Magica and her group. Magica summoned some shadows and sent them at the four Dark bosses to see what they could do. Dark Rabbit sliced at them with his sword, Razor Mane threw some of mane blades at the shadows, Bye-Bye Kitten threw knives at the shadows, and Serious Kuma smashed some shadows with his hammer. As that happened Magica and the rest of her team jumped aboard the raft and Magica, Morbidia, and Gateaux used their magic to push their craft away from shore. The Dark Bosses finished off the last of the shadows and glared at the retreating raft. Magica smirked and gave a little wave, which only annoyed the hunters more. With no way to chase after their targets the Dark Bosses decided to head back to the lab, while Magica and her team headed on to the Vault of Valefar.

A few miles away the corpse of the giant serpent monster known as Bootcamp washed onto shore. The body was scotched black and had a few large cuts on it, but it was mainly intact. The body just laid on shore, until Jelly-Chan oozed onto the scene and saw the dead monster. Jelly-Chan couldn't believe her luck as she oozed over to the body and began devouring it. Her slim body grew bigger and wider as she consumed the dead body.

In another part of Waterfall, LeChuck and his crew had arrived in one of the towns near the water. LeChuck had his own plans for dealing with the heroes, Laser Wizard was so concerned about. He and his crew made it to the water's edge and he began to search his pockets for what he needed. LeChuck pulled out some coins, a knife, the dried up remains of a dead tiny fairy, a chicken leg bone, a feather pen, and a straw doll. None of the these items were what LeChuck was looking for. After a few more seconds of searching LeChuck found what he was looking for and pulled out a model pirate ship in a glass bottle with a cork. LeChuck pulled out the cork and tossed the bottle into the water. There was a flash of light and the ship grew to full size. LeChuck and his crew jumped aboard and set sail keeping an eye out for their targets.

In a tavern not too far away Resourceful Rat, Popple, Croco, and Pluto had made contact with some other criminals to help them raid Dr. Cranken's lab and steal one of his super weapons. The criminals they contacted were a group of thieves that had once operated in Hotland, but had been chased out by Hoaxe and his forces. The thieves were lead by a one armed grasshopper named Astotheles. Astotheles was missing his left arm and wore a long blue cape to conceal his missing limb. He also wore a white belt with a gold buckle that he kept his sword sheathed in.

Astotheles had a total of forty bug bandits at his command. His two most trusted members and best fighters were a strong female beetle named Pisci and a male blue winged butterfly named Cenn who fought with a wooden club that could also be used as a boomerang.

Astotheles, Pisci, and Cenn sat at a table with Resourceful Rat and his crew as they explained their plan.

"With our combined resources and skills, we can break into that lab and steal us a super weapon right out from Dr. Cranken's tentacles. With a very special magic object I have to power whatever weapon we steal, we can become the most feared crew in the whole Underground." Said Resourceful Rat.

"You seem pretty confident in yourself." Said Astotheles.

Resourceful Rat smiled as he reached into his bag and showed the bandit leader the Crystal Star.

"Well now I'm interested in your plan." Said Astotheles.

"As am I." Said a new voice.

The gathered criminals at the table turned to see another bug walking towards them. The bug was a lite red ant with wings, who went by the name Monsieur Scarlet. He had white wings, and wore scarlet boots, a scarlet poncho, a white scarf, and a white sombrero. Monsieur Scarlet carried an umbrella that had a flower-like design.

"And why would we want someone like you on the team, Monsieur Scarlet? Your presence could attract unwanted attention." Said Resourceful Rat.

"Oh I can keep a low profile. As to what I can offer, I'm a really good fighter and I have info that could be very useful to you." Said Monsieur Scarlet.

"What kind of info?" Asked Pluto.

"Well there was a huge scuffle at the Doctor's headquarters in Hotland. Apparently an assault force lead by some of the Sisters attacked the Doctor's forces as well as a few Legion of Light members that happened to be in the area. The Doctor's base took heavy damage and his forces suffered heavy casualties, before the Sisters and the troops just decided to leave. Now the Doctor and the Legion of Light are planning to retaliate and I have a very good feeling they plan to go attack Dr. Cranken's lab, since his a ally of the Sisters and his death, would ruin their hold on Waterfall." Said Monsieur Scarlet.

"Once they attack we could sneak into the lab during all the confusion. Alright Monsieur Scarlet you're in." Said Resourceful Rat.

"Thank you." Said Monsieur Scarlet.

With their plans made the criminals exited the tavern and went to go see about buying a boat to sneak onto the island the lab was on, once the Legion of Light and the Doctor's forces attacked it.

In an alley a few hundred yards away, Pedro was limping along. Pedro had snuck away during the fight with Black Stache and his forces and had sent a text message with his phone to Blockner telling him about his encounter with Samantha, who had a huge bounty on her head placed by Spirit for killing Fay Soff. He also mentioned that Lil' Hunter had left the group and returned to his home universe. Blockner soon sent a text message back furious about losing the claim of a big bounty and for losing one of his crew. He then sent another text message to Pedro telling him to keep a low profile and to message him about anything big going on in Waterfall. Pedro put away his phone and went to go see if he could track down Samantha and her group.

A few miles away Samantha, Nyx, Ying, Elise, Kai, Chi, Alcor, Gata, BMO, Soos, Heckapoo, Fern, Undyne, Jenka, Toriel, Sly, Sheo, and Napstablook were entering a harbor to meet up with Undyne's deputy, Quote and get a boat ride to the Lady Lucktopus Casino. Gata was telling some of the others about going to join the Sibling Showdown tournament in Hotland and winning the wish.

"So what are you going to wish for if you and Finn win the showdown?" Asked Fern.

"Well Finn wanted to use the wish to remove this evil portal in my body and a part of me really wants that, but I...think there's a better use for the wish." Said Gata.

"What do you mean?" Asked Chi.

"Well the portal in me is bad and I want it gone because it's dangerous and could be a really big threat to Ooo, but my problem is manageable and contained, so it can be dealt with later. We should use the wish to find the Lich's lair and finally put an end to him and his organization." Said Gata.

"You do realize some of us work with the Lich and his organization. We could sabotage your plan or simply do away with you here and now to prevent that from ever happening." Said Alcor.

There was a tense silence as the group stopped walking and faced each other staring intensely into each other eyes. Nobody spoke for several seconds and Gata remained perfectly calm. Then Gata spoke.

"I know that's a possibility, but I think any of you would do that. You're not that kind of people."

"How can you be sure?" Asked Samantha.

"Because I heard about what some of you did in Gravity Falls. You helped and protected the Pines family and their friends. Then you decided to come to my aid, when Gentleman Wizard tried to kill me in Wizard City. You chose to help me and my friends. I also heard you helped deal with some fictional characters coming to life during that incident with Life Giving Magnus. Now you're here trying to help Elise get away from her abusers and help a mom find and get her son back. You may be associated with the Lich and his organization, but you're not like them. None of them would help the innocent or go out of their way to help Toriel. I believe you're good people and that you won't harm or kill any of us." Said Gata.

There was a tense silence. Samantha, Alcor, Chi, Kai, Nyx, and Ying exchanged looks and then they all relaxed.

"Can't really argue with that logic." Said Samantha.

"You're really something Gata." Said Alcor.

"I just choose to judge people based on their, history, actions, and character. My stepparents were detectives, so I picked up a thing or two. I think I'm a pretty good judge of character." Said Gata with a smile.

Samantha and her group couldn't help, but smile back.

The group continued on, until they reached the port, where they saw a gathered crowd monsters waiting for a boat. Undyne searched the crowd, until she found Quote and introduced him to the others.

Quote was a human-like being with white skin, black hair, dark blue eyes, and had large robotic antenna-like ears. He wore red cap with what appear to have bolts attached to it in the front, a black tank top, red trousers, brown shoes, and a long green scarf hanging around his neck.

Gata, BMO, and Samantha took Quote in and quickly came to the conclusion that he wasn't an organic being, but an android.

"You're a machine." Said Gata in awe.

"He is, but his super smart and loyal. Quote is one of the toughest guys I know. He doesn't say much, but I consider him one of my best friends." Said Undyne.

Quote gave a little bow to the group.

It was then that a large wooden gallon ship with a few modern features rolled up to port with what appeared to be storm clouds floating above it. The boat stopped by the pier and some stairs were rolled up to it. The crowd watched as a large figure wearing a dark robe and hood with a gold trim appeared on deck holding red a ornate, skull-topped staff.

"Greetings mortals! I have come to escort your souls to the afterlife!" Boomed the hooded figure in a menacing voice.

The crowd looked at the hooded figure nervously not sure they wanted to get on the boat. It was then that what appeared to be a human teenage girl appeared on the deck next to the hooded figure. The newcomer wore a school uniform consisting of shoes, a black miniskirt, and a white shirt. She had long green hair tied into pigtails. The pigtail on the right stretched out towards the hooded figure and a hand formed on the end of it. The had formed into a fist and struck the hooded figure in the back of the head.

"Ouch! Man! Why you got to do me like that, Lami?!" Said the hooded in a smaller voice that sounded like a hipster.

"Because you nearly scared all the customers away! We need them for our business!" Said Lami.

"I was just playing and having fun!" Complained the hooded figure.

"Well you had your fun Hu$tlebone$. Now take your hood off and do the introduction like we rehearsed." Said Lami.

"Fine. Fine." Grumbled Hu$tlebone$ as he removed his hood.

Hu$tlebone$ was revealed to be a skeleton with a few gold teeth with gems on the front, wearing green sunglasses, a purple baseball cap with an S, and had the word Styx tattooed under his right eye and the word coin tattooed under his left eye.

"Greetings y'all and apologies for the scare. My name is Hu$tlebone$. It sounds like Hustlebones, but I replaced the Ss in my name with dollar signs, cause I like money. Anyhow this here my yacht the Cash Cruiser and I'm the captain. My boat is the finest craft on these here waters and is staffed by some of the coolest staff you'll ever meet. You'll have a blast and will get you to where you need to go." Said Hu$tlebone$.

The crowd began to board the ship and soon the Cash Cruiser took off heading to the Lady Lucktopus Casino.

to be continued.

Glossary

Bug Fables: Astotheles, Cenn, Pisci, and Monsieur Scarlet

Lost in Ruins: Lami

Going Under: Hu$tlebone$