All was quiet as Delilah bobbed through the ocean waves, which reflected warm shades of orange and yellow and pink thanks to the evening light. There was nothing around but sky and ocean, sky and ocean, more sky and ocean, the occasional seagull or two—and Chihiro was so, so bored of it.

"Are we there yet?" Chihiro asked as she pressed her cheek against the deck's railing.

"We aren't any closer than we were the last five times you asked," Gurglefin groaned as he yawned and shook his head.

Chihiro moaned as she sat on the deck's floor. "But it's almost eveningggggg! It'll be midnight before we even get there!"

"Not quite." Gurglefin's voice droned on liked a tired, underpaid schoolteacher as he sailed further and further along. "Dark Water Cove's stuck in a never-ending night; in fact, that's why it got its name. Really, it's probably only been a few hours since…"

As Gurglefin droned on and on, Chihiro rolled her eyes and heaved herself back up. If she wanted a lecture, she would just go to Hugo. She leaned against the deck railing once more, gazed out and the unchanging oceans and—

"Hey, wait!" Chihiro said as she pointed towards the horizon. "What's that?"

Whatever it was, it looked to be a shadowy, large mass of something. They were all too far away to get a good view at first, but now that they drew closer, it kinda looked like… An open gate? Yes, a giant, open gate that lead in a dark, forested area! A bunch of pillars flanked each side of the gate, and as Delilah passed the seas to it, the colors of the sky slowly shifted from warm to cool, orange to purple, red to blue, while milky white stars dotted the sky like rhinestones!

"We're here!" Chihiro exclaimed as she leaned further against the railing to get a better view.

The gate was giant and made of sturdy wood, while the pillars matched its height and were made of a similar material. Now that she had gotten closer, it looked like there were identical, huge spaces with round thingies in them—but what were those round thingies? Decorations? Cameras? Magical artifacts?

As Chihiro hummed and peered up at the pillars, the round objects slowly extended further and further, their forms barely visible through the torchlight. All was oddly peaceful as these vaselike objects left the pillars, and…

"Wait a second, those kinda look like—"

BOOM! All at once, the objects shot off giant, charcoal-colored steel balls and revealed their true nature at last!

"CARP, THEY'VE GOT ARTILLERY!" Gurglefin screamed as the sound of splitting wood echoed throughout the night.

"We've been hit!"

Chihiro looked down at Delilah's base and winced, for there was now a giant hole in the side of the ship, and it filled up with water fast!

With urgency in her eyes, Chihiro looked up at Gurglefin. "Gurglefin, see if you can get us out of here—I'll try and fix the hole!"

Chihiro didn't stop to listen to everybody else's replies as she ran across the deck, located a door and flung it open! Her breath was heavy as she snapped a shimmering ball of light into existence and dashed down a wooden flight of stairs. All around her, she heard the only barely-muffled sounds of cannons firing and cannonballs plopping into the water, and it only intensified the pound of her heart.

"C'mon, c'mon, I've gotta be getting close by now!"

The ship lurched forward and Chihiro went rolling down the stairs! She rolled down at the speed of light, flew off the staircase and made a splash—literally! Her flight landed her straight in a giant pool of water! Chihiro opened her eyes, only to find them stung with something harsh and salty! She immediately swam up and caught her breath, then shook the water off her head. It was so, so, wet; did she land in the ocean?

As Chihiro wiped her eyes, she found herself in what appeared to be the inside of a ship's hull, complete with its wooden framing. However, it had a giant, spiky hole in its side! From that hole, not only did harsh, salty seawater pour in and set all the barrels and crates that rested inside afloat, but one could clearly hear the clashes and crashes of combat from the outside. The cannonballs as they splashed in the water, the sound of shouts and commands…

"No, can't get distracted!" Chihiro shook her head and paddled over to the hole.

It seemed pretty big, but then again, it was had to tell when a good chunk of the ship was on its way to sinking—wait, what? Delilah groaned and creaked as she slowly slid onto her side, and in turn the ship started to cave in! Chihiro let out a cry of shock as she paddled closer towards the hole. Delilah was so big, Chihiro couldn't possibly lift her up to fix her; Chihiro would just have to wing it! With a grunt, Chihiro closed her eyes and rubbed her hands together.

"Hopefully this'll work."

Chihiro's eyes shot open as she thrust out her hands, her mind focused entirely on one thing—repairing the ship. Her hands glowed a bright aqua that was incredibly striking against the midnight light—or lack thereof—as the blue glow jumped out from her hands and surrounded the hole! Chihiro panted as the hole glowed, and a sticking sound splattered as a giant bandage made of magic energy manifested right where the hole was. The sound of rushing water slowed to a stop as Delilah pulled herself upright, while Chihiro heaved a sigh of relief, and looked around to find that she was still adrift in a giant sea of captured ocean water.

"How am I supposed to get rid of all this?" Chihiro moaned as she hung her head, then looked up and saw a wooden barrel float right past her, followed by two, five…

Chihiro swam over to a barrel and grabbed onto it, magically popped open its top, and found it empty! She clapped her hands and popped the top right back on. "I've got it!"

Chihiro snapped her fingers and watched as the barrels that floated around her were enveloped in a cyan glow

"Alright, now… Barrels, get big!"

The barrels expanded until they were several times their original size, and just barely fit within the ship's hull.

"Now scoop up all this water!"

One by one, the barrels popped their tops open and scooped up all the bitter ocean water that poured into the ship until there was nothing left but about a foot or so of water. When the job was done, the barrels returned to their original sizes and fell to the floor with a loud clunk.

Chihiro beamed as she admired her work, but only for a few seconds. As she stood and basked in the now notably-more dry hull of the ship, the sounds of battle echoed from a floor up! The shing of unsheathed swords, the shout of battle cries and accusations, and the thump of pounding footsteps all played a chaotic symphony that raised Chihiro from the floor..

"Sounds like I'm needed upstairs," Chihiro remarked as she snapped her fingers and teleported back to the top of the stairs. Chihiro let out a squeal of pain as she hit the top stair head-first, staggered up, and shook the water off her person. "Note to self—work on those landings."

Chihiro jiggled open the door as the noises grew louder, then peered outside and gasped! There, the ship was completely surrounded by what other than pirates? On the deck were pirates of all kinds—mangy seadogs who wore tattered jackets and shirts, all with weaponry in hand and teeth bared; muscular, anthropomorphic squids who held giant cannons in their tattooed, bulky arms; even a couple imps in bandannas. Meanwhile, the waters filled with armed, giant pirate ships that were certainly of a much more impressive nature than humble Delilah. There was no means of escape.

In the center of it all, Gurglefin, Gill Grunt, and Zap were back-to-back as they glared down the pirates. Gurglefin shook so hard that his scales would've probably come off right then and there if it was possible, but Zap and Gill Grunt were far more prepared. Zap's mouth sparkled with slight bits of electricity, and though it was hard to see with just torchlight, it seemed as if Gill Grunt had his webbed finger on the trigger of his harpoon gun. Things would probably get ugly if someone didn't intervene.

"Ahoy, mateys!" Chihiro boomed as she jumped down to the deck and shifted through the crowd. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Chihiro," Gill Grunt whispered as he nudged himself closer to Chihiro. "What are you—"

Chihiro gently elbowed Gill Grunt and winked at him before she faced the head of the mob—a seadog with mangy brown fur dressed in tattered pirate robes and a crimson-stained captain's hat who held a shiny cutlass. He was clearly a captain, going by attire, so she’d better watch herself.

"Ye wouldn't happ'n to be the captain of this here ship," the seadog hissed, his voice low yet growling and intimidating. "Would ye?"

"Aye!" Chihiro chirped as she rubbed a fist against her chest. "Name's Captain Cheerio the Bold! What might ye be here for?"

The seadog pointed his cutlass as Chihiro's throat. "What business do ye have in Dark Water Cove?"

Chihiro gulped, chuckled, and gently pushed the cutlass away. "Why, me crew and I are here to check out the trade scene on this fine night!" Chihiro made a smile as she burrowed her hand into her jacket to veil its faint aqua glow—just in case.

"Ye don't seem like ye have much a crew, lad." The seadog tightened his grip on the cutlass. "Or much of a ship…"

"Eh, we're a start-up."

"But that begets the question—do ye got the goods?"

"Goods?" Chihiro's smile faded as she slightly tilted her head.

"We only provide the trade if ye provide the spoils, savvy?" The seadog rested his cutlass at the side. "Now, what pay do ye have to offer for yer crew's entry?"

Chihiro smirked, and withdrew her hand from her jacket to reveal a cyan-colored, opalescent jewel that shone in all the colors of the rainbow and then some! Her smirk widened as a couple of the minor pirates oohed and aahed, but the captain didn't seemed entirely convinced.

"A jewel from our booty." Chihiro nodded firmly as she pushed it towards the seadog. "Consider it a token of our acquaintance."

The seadog frowned as he looked over the jewel for a few seconds more, and he carefully moved it from Chihiro's hand to the pocket of his coat. "Very well then, lad." The seadog stepped aside while his comrades quickly followed. "Ye may peruse our goods."

"Aye aye!"

Chihiro nodded, looked back at the others and gave them a thumbs up. With a smile, Chihiro walked down Delilah's plank, and watched as Gill Grunt and Zap dutifully followed behind while the pirates did the same—though oddly, Gurglefin was still boarded.

"Matey, aren't ye coming?" Chihiro shouted as she turned and looked at Gurglefin.

Gurglefin made a couple odd sputters and coughed into his hand.

"Er, I—I mean, me needs to take care of ye olde Delilah here!" Gurglefin shouted back while his whole body trembled. "She took a couple heavy hitters!"

"Aye aye!"

Chihiro waved back and watched over the docks once more. The ships that once surrounded them with their billowing flags and rigid masts slowly sailed off, save for the ones that docked in to deliver stolen goods. To her side, Gill Grunt and Zap shot dirty looks at the pirates that surrounded them, looks the pirates only returned—seeing their scorning eyes trembled Chihiro's whole body just a bit.

Geez, this is like walking through the hallways at school, Chihiro thought as she tried her best to force an aura of calm and collection. Except these guys are a lot more dangerous than my school bullies. Well, maybe.

"Why does yer matey talk so funny, Cap'n Cheerio?" asked a seadog in a bandanna as they nudged Chihiro.

"He's new," Chihiro remarked as she looked over to the pirate.

She cast an aside glance at the seadog captain she conversed with prior. That seadog captain whispered something to one of the dogs behind him, looked over at Chihiro, and cast a glare that sent shivers down her spine. Yeah, better not pay too much attention to him. So, Chihiro faced forward and walked into the heart of the jungle with Zap and Gill Grunt by her side…

§

"I'm guessing the Spouts are held in the heart of the island, right?" Gill Grunt asked as he pushed through thick, leafy foliage.

"Yes, most likely," Chihiro replied as she gave him an earnest nod, and paused to look over the scenery.

They shook the pirates, thankfully, though it seemed as if they were lost. Then again, it was quite hard to tell around here—there was nothing but leaves and forests and well-worn dirt paths for miles, and the blanket of midnight's darkness made things even more obscured.

"I wish I had a map or a compass or somethin'." Chihiro sighed and hung her head, but it jolted up a second later. "Oh, right!"

Chihiro snapped her fingers, and a compass made of magic manifested in her slender palms. She held it out straight as its arrow pointed towards the north, and beamed back at Gill Grunt and Zap.

"The arrow says north!" Chihiro hummed to herself as she marched along.

Gill Grunt and Zap only shrugged.

"Yo ho, yo ho, off to the Spouts we go~" Chihiro sang as she marched out of sight. "Me hearties on a mission, a very important mission, to retrieve the Spouts of the Ocean! Yo ho, yo ho, off to the Spouts we go…"

Gill Grunt chuckled to himself as he marched along to the tune of Chihiro's song, while Zap beamed and slid up to her side.

"Yo ho, yo ho, off to the Spouts we go!~" Chihiro and Zap sang in unison as they marched along in the dead of night.

Their bodies filled with a youthful fervor as they sang at the top of their lungs to a crowd of themselves and near-identical foliage and bugs with the jungle as their stage. But, would that fervor last?

"Me hearties, on, a mission!" Chihiro started to pant as her marching slowed by a few paces,

"A very important mission…" Zap frowned as a leafy branch thwacked him in the face.

"To retrieve the Spouts of…" Chihiro looked over the scenery with quite a bit of concern, fell to her knees and laid on her back. "Oh, forget it—" Chihiro sat up and brushed the dust off her pants "—guys, I think we've been walking in circles."

Chihiro looked at her compass, frowned and chucked it into the leaves. As a cat yowled in the distance and the leaves shuddered like something was escaping, her frown deepened.

"Stupid compasses, I never understood how to use you guys anyways!" Chihiro stood up at last and surveyed the pathways before her. "Now what do we do?"

The three of them paused and contemplated things for a few moments, but sighed. Nope, not a single idea to be had.

Zap turned around and looked over as he tilted his head. "Hey, guys, look!" Zap said as he slid over to Gill Grunt and nudged him. "Is it just me, or does it look like the forest's clearing up?"

Gill Grunt paused and examined the forest that surrounded them, as did Chihiro. Zap did have a point; the trees were a good bit lesser in numbers, as were the bushes, and one could more clearly see the torchlight that acted as a faint source of navigation around those parts.

"We must be getting close to the actual trade!" Chihiro exclaimed as she jumped up and down with a new energy.

"Then why are we waiting here? Come on, let's go—"

Zap dashed off on a trail of slime until the familiar, screeching sound of a cannonball soaring through the air returned him to his friends' side in a flash. "Yeah, on second thought, staying here is cool." Zap quivered, visibly shaken by the sudden cannonball.

Chihiro looked over at Zap, frowned and prodded forwards while Gill Grunt and Zap followed her every step. The forest soon grew less and less prominent before it cleared entirely to reveal grassy hills with splintered wood, torn clothing scraps and occasional blood stains everywhere, almost like there had been some kind of fight. Ahead of them, one could hear the faint noises of war.

"What's all that?" Chihiro asked.

She ran up to one of the hills to find a broken wooden fence with a giant gap in its center. She looked a few paces over ext, and found a gate with a cracked golden lock strewn to the side of the hill before she shrugged and walked forward. The ground beneath her feet turned from grassy earth to hard wood as she walked across a wooden bridge while the sounds of combat grew more and more prominent…

"FIRE!"

A loud BOOM resounded all across the island as a series of cannons fired off giant steel cannonballs at the pirates below! Chihiro gasped as the pirates fled from below her place on the bridge, looked up, and caught a cannonball screeching right towards her! Chihiro screamed for mere moments as some giant blue blur tackled her and sent her rolling onto a ship right behind a tall stack of crates. With a groan, she hook her head and looked to her side to find Gill Grunt and Zap!

"Thanks for the save, guys," Chihiro said as she wiped herself off.

"No problem, Chi," Gill Grunt replied as he gave her a friendly pat on the back, and looked over at the warring pirates.

"YE SCOURGES WILL SEE DAVY JONES'S LOCKER BEFORE YE SEE THAT TREASURE CHEST!" shouted a gruff-voiced pirate over the sound of sizzling fuses and flying cannonballs.

"I SHOULD BE TELLIN' YE THE SAME THING!" shouted another pirate as a round of cannons fired once more.

As she watched the chaos unfold, Chihiro heaved a sigh. "Man, I've heard of shopping frenzies and stuff, but this is ridiculous!" Chihiro remarked as she watched the pirates across from her brawl over a gold-filled treasure chest. "How do they expect anyone to get anything?"

"They don't, Chihiro, they're pirates." Gill Grunt looked at Chihiro for a few moments before he surveyed the area. "Now, from the looks of it, these cannons are everywhere, so we'll just have to travel quickly—"

Chihiro nudged herself next to Gill Grunt and gently elbowed his arm. "Or, we could just take out the cannons where they stand!"

"And add fuel to the fire? I don't think so, Chi." Gill Grunt shook his head. "That crowd's gone upstream as is—if we get caught in the mix, it'll get even worse!"

"Eh, you do have a point."

Chihiro only sighed in response until something pushed in front of her. "Unless, y'know, you happened to have a super-speedy water dragon on your team who could zip past those dudes in a flash!" Zap chirped as he nudged both her and Gill Grunt.

"You sure you could carry us both, though?" Chihiro asked as she looked over at Zap.

"Sure thing, dudette!" Zap skidded away and stretched his legs. "Just let me warm up first!"

After a few quick stretches, Zap spun himself around in a couple circles of a sea slime trail. As he spun, he grew faster and faster while electricity crackled at his paws, until he was little more than a sparking blur of lightning! When Zap finally came to a stop, he shone as static electricity sparked at his feet!

"Hop on, dudes!" Zap nodded as if to urge them on further.

Chihiro smiled, grabbed Gill Grunt's hand, and hopped onto Zap's back! As Gill Grunt took his seat, Chihiro wrapped her arms tight around Zap's neck and beamed.

"Ready?" Zap leaned forward and dashed away. "GO!"

Without even so much as a word from the others, Zap dashed off as a trail of electricity-infused sea slime formed underneath him and amplified his speed! He went so fast that the pirates who warred behind them could barely even see them pass by.

"WOO-HOO!" Chihiro hollered as she pumped a fist in this air. "THIS IS—"

Before Chihiro could finish, however, a giant cannonball crashed ahead of their path!

Zap skidded around it and nearly tipped over in the process, but quickly regained his balance and carried on. "They found us!" Zap shouted as he narrowly dodged another cannonball. "Guess I'd better speed things up a lit—ACK!"

Zap tossed forward as another cannonball crashed a few steps behind him, landed on his paws, and skated forwards—albeit a little slower than before.

"Hey, dudes, watch where you're shooting!" Chihiro shouted as she looked up and gave the cephalopodian marksman who manned the cannons lancing looks. She created a magic sphere and shot it at the marksman, and scowled as it hit him square in the head and knocked him unconscious!

"Looks like we've gotta fight after all," Gill Grunt said as he aimed his cannon at another marksman. "Let me handle this guy, Chi!"

With a swift, soundless push of the trigger, twin harpoons spiraled into the air and toward the pirate marksman! He barely even noticed them before they knocked his hat clean off his head! The marksman looked over and barely made out a scream as Gill Grunt hosed him down with scalding water, and the marksman only groaned as he fell over.

"Ya-hoo!" Zap shouted as the cannons started to cease fire. "Keep it up, dudes!"

"Okay!"

As Zap dashed through the paths sandwiched between the war zones, Chihiro and Gill Grunt shot off magical attacks, harpoons, burning hot water streams and everything in between! The pirate marksmen all fell victim to their attacks as they passed by, as if they were some kind of silent assassins!

"Hey, guys, I think I see the end!" Zap exclaimed and his eyes widened as a wooden gate rose in front of the exit! With a bite of his lip, Zap skated off even faster than before! But the gate rose just as fast—he wasn't gonna make it at this rate!

"Hang on, dudes!" Zap bowed down as he skated forward, "I'm gonna jump it!"

"WHAT?" Chihiro shouted. "ZAP, I DIDN'T HEAR Y—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Zap leaped into the air like a prize-winning racehorse and soared right over the gate right as it shut! As smooth as the flight was, the landing wasn't quite as fortunate, for Zap had toppled over and they all fell head-first onto the ground.

As they all groaned and staggered up, they paused to peer over their surroundings. It was surprisingly quite here compared to the prior area—no pirates were in sight, and it was just a few fireflies that flickered across the grassy hills and forest. Brooks babbled as they reflected the soft torchlight, and if not for the imposing mission (well, that and all the pirates), it seemed like the perfect place for a nighttime picnic.

"Hey, Chi, just out of curiosity, do you happen to know where we are?" Zap asked.

"Not really," Chihiro said as she shrugged and scampered through the dark. "But, I'm perfectly sure we're going in the right direction, Zapster, I—"

"Watch out for that—" Zap cringed as Chihiro ran straight into a nearby tree "—tree."

Chihiro slid down the tree and flopped onto her back. "Yeah, meant to do that. I so meant to do that."

The sound of matches lighting alarmed them to the fact that enemies were near! Gill Grunt raised his water cannon, Zap began charging a jolt of electricity, and Chihiro jolted up as she readied an energy sphere. They heard the familiar sounds of screeching cannonballs, and watched as the cannonballs hit the gate with a thunk and dropped onto the ground. The gate itself was perfectly fine, even—aside from the cannonball-shaped dent in its surface, anyways.

They all shrugged, turned around, and walked forward to find themselves faced by a hill with a steep, dirt wall. Chihiro frowned, felt her way around the wall's surface and grabbed onto something—a rock! With a smile, she dashed up the rock wall, then grabbed hold of the top and flipped herself onto it! As she smiled and waved at them, Gill Grunt beamed up at her, started up his jetpack, and flew straight up to the top in the blink of an eye!

While Gill Grunt joined them, Zap beamed up and went to climb onto the rock wall only to lose his grip and fall off after a few rocks. He frowned as he walked a few paces away and dashed off like a rocket, across the dirt and straight up the wall! But, he lost momentum midway through and fell on his head. Zap tried this a few more times, but no matter how far he dashed up, he always fell back down on his head.

"You okay, Zap?" Chihiro shouted as she looked down at Zap from the top.

"I'm gonna find another way around," Zap groaned as he stood upright and zipped around the overgrowth on a path of sea slime. "I'll meet you dudes later!"

Zap didn't pause to hear Chihiro and Gill Grunt's response—they were already out of range by the time he finished talking. Zap zoomed through the overgrown forest with his orange eyes wide and trained on anything that could hint towards the Twin Spouts' appearance. But of course, no such thing showed itself to him, and on top of that, time seemed to have slowed to a crawl and made things that much more tedious.

"Sheesh, how hard can it be to find a pair of spouts?" Zap asked himself as he came to a stop, only for him to hear a twig crack and jump. "Who's there? Get out here!"

Zap looked down and saw a cracked twig underneath his slippery paw as he hung his head.

"I'd better get out of here. This place is starting to do freaky things to my head."

As he moved on forward, however, Zap didn't take notice to the chorus of yellow eyes glinting with malevolence that peered out from the bushes, or the low, malicious cackles of seadogs. At least, he didn't notice until one sacked him—and by that, he was literally captured in a giant brown sack and slung over the shoulder of a bulky seadog.

"Haul 'em in, mates! We just caught ourselves a Skylandee!" shouted the leader of the small crew, a roughed-up seadog with more tattoos than fur.

"Hey, lemme go!" Zap shouted as he struggled and squirmed against the seadog's grip. "Guys! Chi! Gill! Help!"

Zap shouted and screamed as loud as he could, but it was no use—nobody could hear his screams as the bag was too thick to shout through. All Zap could do was pray for help to come as the seadog ruffians hauled him away…