Sea Journey
Chapter 13 Tortuga
By: Major144
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is just a story for fun.
Moana, Ruby, Chelsea, Maui, Pua and Heihei rode their boat to Tortuga. The Island Turtle was massive compared to the boat and Moana, Ruby, and Chelsea were surprised to see a few dozen boats of various sizes and designs tethered to a makeshift dock on one side of the enormous creature as it slowly drifted through the water. They found a area to dock and tethered the boat to as Maui began to give instructions.
"Alright the pig and chicken stay on the boat and out of sight. If the locals see them, they will catch those little critters up and serve them for dinner. We're going to go in quick get the information I need and get out as fast as we can. Don't wonder off, don't make eye contact with anyone, and don't make any form of deals with anyone no matter how good they might sound." Said Maui.
"So do you have any enemies on Tortuga we should know about?" Asked Moana.
"The people here are a mixed bag. Some really like me and want to here tales of my heroic deeds and share drinks, while some would try to feed me to a giant monster or just tie a bunch of rocks to me and toss me in the ocean to drown." Said Maui.
"So safe to assume there might be some enemies that might come after you." Said Ruby.
"Yeah, though it has been a thousand years since it been here so there is a fair chance any enemies have died off or moved on with their lives." Said Maui.
"Any other rules we need to go over?" Asked Moana.
"Yes. You need to keep the heart safe and hidden. If the locals saw it they'd pretty much kill their own families to get it. And Ruby and Chelsea should not mention they're the princesses of the krakens and mermaids. If they learned that they would most likely try to capture you and hold you for ransom." Said Maui.
"I would be pretty hard to capture and hold for ransom." Said Ruby.
"Don't underestimate the locals, they're very dangerous and clever." Said Maui.
With that said Maui and the girls got off the boat, walked across the dock, and onto Tortuga. The shell of Tortuga had grass and a few trees on it as the little group headed to one of the stone structures that served as a building. As they walked together they saw a variety of strange creatures going about or just lazing about on the grassy shell. Most of the creatures appeared to be weird mixes of sea creatures with humanoid shapes and features that cast suspicious looks at the little group as they passed. Eventually they arrived at a stone structure that seemed to be the most popular place of the Island Turtle. A sign out front read 'The Poison Abiu'.
"This is the best place to get information." Said Maui.
"So you have a friend or something here to ask about info?" Asked Chelsea.
"More of a acquaintance then a friend, but his information is usually good and he likes me." Said Maui before leading the way inside.
The inside of The Poison Abiu was lite up with a mix of torches, colonies of fireflies, and glowing algae. The inhabitants of the place seemed a little more alert and interested in the newcomers as they entered. Moana, Ruby, and Chelsea cast glances at the assortment of octopus people, shark people, and other assorted monsters scattered about sitting at wooden tables and chairs and drinking from wooden and clay cups. Maui ignored the onlookers and made his way to a table where a short creature that resembled a sea otter with stuck up hair sat drinking from a coconut not really paying attention to anything.
"Is that a Kushtaka?" Asked Chelsea.
"He is. His name is Reggie and he is a very crafty fellow who knows a lot of things." Said Maui.
"What's a Kushtaka?" Asked Moana unfamiliar with that kind of creature.
"A shapeshifter of sorts that usually tricks people with their abilities to lead them to their doom or play tricks on them. Their base form is usually a sea otter." Said Ruby.
"Sounds like a real nice creature." Said Moana.
"Reggie is more into using his ability to collect information then tricking and killing. He also gave me info on monsters I fought back in the day." Said Maui.
"Did he get anything out of doing that?" Asked Ruby.
"I gave him the right to sell merchandise in my image. He made a small fortune and I became a legend. So it really worked out for the both of us." Said Maui.
"Real nice for the two of you." Said Ruby rolling her eyes.
They reach the table.
"Hello Reggie long time no see." Said Maui getting Reggie's attention.
Reggie looked over at Maui and spit out his drink in surprise hitting the demigod in the face getting him wet. Moana, Ruby, and Chelsea let out a few giggles as Maui wiped his face off.
"Maui?! Is it really you?! I thought you were dead all these years!" Said Reggie.
"Nope. Just got stranded on a island for a thousand years." Said Maui.
"Who these girls you with, your fan club?" Said Reggie indicating Moana, Ruby, and Chelsea.
"Those are my new travel companions. They picked me up from the island I was stranded on." Said Maui.
"So I got to ask, what happened to the heart?" Asked Reggie.
"I lost it." Said Maui with some embarrassment.
"You lost it?" Asked Reggie in shock.
"Well you tend to lose stuff when you get shot out of the sky by a giant fire demon. Lost the heart and my hook, when I crashed into the ocean." Said Maui.
"Figures. If you had your hook, you wouldn't have been stranded on some random island in the middle of nowhere." Said Reggie.
"Yeah, anyway you wouldn't happen to know where my hook is or who might have it?" Asked Maui.
Reggie seemed to be ignoring Maui and looking at a monster across the room.
"Gutt get over here!" Said Reggie.
A large ape monster roughly the size of Maui stomped over to the table. Gutt had dark black fur that appears to be greying in some spots, a shaggy gray beard, long jagged claws, a white stomach, a pink muzzle, brown eyes, and disgusting yellow teeth. He had a long, upturned tuft of fur on his head that resembling a pirate captain's tricorn hat. Gutt had a rope belt around his waist with a few bags and what looked like the skeletal head of a swordfish.
"What's this about Reggie?" Growled Gutt.
"This here is Maui the demigod that stole Te Fiti's heart. You made a bet against me saying he was dead, but as you can clearly he is alive and well. Now pay up!" Said Reggie.
Gutt glared at Maui and Reggie before pulling a bag out from his belt and placed it on the table. Reggie took the back to reveal dozens of pearls inside.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Said Reggie with a smirk.
Gutt just growled as he stormed off.
"Now on to business. Since you just made my day and made me richer, I will gladly tell you who has your hook and where to find them." Said Reggie.
"Great." Said Maui as he and his three companies took a seat at the table.
"The one who has your hook is Tamatoa and he is currently residing in the dark depths of Lalotai." Said Reggie.
"Tamatoa huh? Should have known that oversized crab would take my hook and add it to his treasure horde." Said Maui.
"Well you did rip his leg off that one time, so he really hates your guts and saw taking your hook as payback." Pointed at Reggie.
"That's true. Man that was a fun adventure." Said Maui looking fondly at a tattoo of himself ripping the leg off of a giant coconut crab.
"Any other information you can give us?" Asked Moana.
"Let me think, I suppose I can give you all a heads up about what the boss of Tortuga is up to." Said Reggie.
"Who's the boss here now?" Asked Maui.
"A very unique monster named Tentacular." Said Reggie.
"What's so special about him?" Asked Ruby.
"Tentacular is the offspring of a giant kraken and a lusca." Said Reggie.
"What's a lusca?" Asked Moana.
"A lusca is like a fusion between a shark and a octopus and they're supposed to be very big." Said Ruby.
"So that would make it a sharktopus then?" Asked Moana.
"Sharktopus. Good name." Said Maui.
"I heard they're really nasty monsters." Said Chelsea with a shudder recalling the stories she heard about them in her lessons.
"Wait how did a giant kraken and a lusca get together in the first place?" Asked Ruby.
"The way I heard it a giant kraken got banished from the kraken kingdom many years ago, because she tired to overthrow the Kraken Queen of that time. The banished giant kraken swam through the sea fighting all matter of sea creatures, until she came across a lusca who she took a fancy to and saw that he was very strong. Together they produced a child that would have the powers and strength of both their species to take revenge on the krakens." Said Reggie.
"So are the parents still around?" Asked Ruby wondering if there was a giant kraken nearby.
"Both parents are dead. They tried to invade the kraken kingdom with a small army of other monsters, but that was during a time when there were more giant kraken were around and the parents were killed, but their son survived the failed invasion and has been planning to invade and take revenge on his mother's people." Said Reggie.
"I...don't remember reading anything about that. Then again the failed peace treaty attempt was kept secret from me, until I poked around and asked questions." Thought Ruby.
"So what's this Tentacular guy up to?" Asked Maui.
"Not sure on the exact details, but from what little I heard, Tentacular and his minions are working with someone to find some kind of ancient weapon that was supposed to be very affective against krakens. Instrument of something it was called." Said Reggie.
Ruby and Chelsea exchanged looks, got up, and backed away from the table to have a quick and quiet conversation.
"The Instrument of Destruction? Are my people working with monsters to try and destroy the krakens?" Whispered Chelsea looking a bit freaked out.
"I don't know. Maybe. We really don't know who knows about the Instrument of Destruction." Said Ruby.
"What are you whispering about? You know what Reggie is talking about?" Asked Moana as she joined the two princesses.
"Kind of. There was a mermaid named Saleen who specialized in song magic created a special kind of music that was apparently incredibly dangerous to krakens. Saleen referred to it as the Instrument of Destruction and hid it away in a unknown location." Said Ruby.
"Before we met you I saw my mother's advisor a mermaid named Lola going through records regarding Saleen and the Instrument of Destruction. I think she was searching for it, but I don't think she had any leads." Said Chelsea.
"I don't like the sound of this. We need to get Maui's hook and quickly get back to our mission." Said Moana.
"Agreed." Said Ruby and Chelsea.
They all headed back to the table to get Maui.
"We must get going." Said Moana.
"Alright thanks for the info Reggie. Going to get my hook back and go back to being a awesome legend." Said Maui leaving the table.
"Great and I look forward to making a nice fortune selling carvings of you to people." Said Reggie with a grin.
The little group exited The Poison Abiu and headed to the docks. Unfortunately for them as soon as they reached the docks they were confronted by Gutt who seemed very angry.
"You cost me a lot of pearls. I went through a lot of trouble getting those!" Said Gutt griping the back of the swordfish skull as if to draw it as a weapon.
"Look man I'm sorry about that. Hey I'm fixing to become super famous, so why don't I give you my autograph and you can sell it for a high price once my legend starts back up, which I promise you it won't be long." Said Maui trying to defuse the situation.
"Not good enough! Give me those girls you're with. I can fetch a good price for them as slaves." Said Gutt before casting a glance at Moana and the others and leered at them.
Moana fletched back a bit frightened, Ruby's hands tightened into fist, and Chelsea contemplated pulling out her trident and zapping the nasty monster. Maui glanced at the women and then at Gutt.
"Yeah. No deal!" Said Maui before he punched Gutt hard in the face knocking him onto his back.
Maui then began to run and Moana and the others followed him. Gutt quickly came to and managed to grab Moana's right leg to try and stop her, but Moana quickly kicked him in the face with her free leg making the monster let go. Maui and the others reached the boat and untied it as Gutt charged onto the scene shouting and cursing with a pack of short coconut monsters known as Kakamora joined him. Moana's boat was pulling away from the dock but it wasn't going very fast.
"They're going to catch us!" Yelled Moana.
"Alright fish girl, it's your time to shine." Said Maui turning to Chelsea.
"What do you need me to do?" Asked Chelsea.
"If I recall correctly mermaids have pretty powerful voices. I need you to reach deep down and give us a siren shriek right into our sails to give us a speed boost." Said Maui.
"Alright you can count on me. Everyone cover your ears!" Said Chelsea.
Maui, Moana, and Ruby covered their ears. Pua covered his ears and placed his body on top of Heihei to cover his ears as well. Chelsea got close to the sails as she inhaled deeply and then she unleashed a loud high pressured shriek that struck the sails hard like a mighty gust of wing and the boat speed forward away from the dock. Gutt cursed loudly and colorfully as the boat sped away. The boat got a few hundred yards away thanks to Chelsea's siren shriek and Moana and Ruby congratulated their friend and thanked her. Maui looked at Tortuga as they drifted away.
"Tortuga never a dull moment." Thought Maui.
The little team continued on with their quest towards Lalotai.
To be continued.