Comics by Shaenon II

Captain Kinestro was not having a good day. First he wakes up to a horrendous hangover, not that that's all that unusual but still not fun; then he finds he's in a cauldron waiting to be cooked alive, which might have been a mercy killing; then someone was shouting next to his head, which was painful to say the least; then they were rolling the cauldron across the island; then he was stuck in the hull of a sinking ship, which he could only hope wasn't his; and then flung across the bay by a squid mechanation to land next to another ship.

Now, he was floating in the water, decidedly face down. Maybe it would be a painless death? But even that was denied him as he was dragged on board the Bonny Jean. For a few minutes he just lay on the deck, eyes squinting at the sky, before sighing and dragging himself to his feet. It took a minute for the world to stop spinning, but he managed to find the rail of the ship and pulled out a telescope. With a deft hand he scanned the bay, taking stock of the situation. Navy ship, pirate ship, clockwork squid, blue line going off into the distance, islanders on the shore looking angry, blue line going off into the distance. Blue line going off into the distance?! Well, that was interesting...

Captain Jess swiftly takes stock of the situation. Tessie the clockwork kraken has lobbed her crew-and some additions-back on board. Queen Jane's ship is following a glowing blue line in the water. And Tssirocks...It looks like the Admiral has made it onto the Navy ship.
Sigh. She'll just have to kidnap him again later.
Wait a minute, Navy ship? Well, the Bonny Jean is the fastest ship she's ever sailed. And with Crazy Emily additions....Heh. That Navy vessel will be in for a suprise if it starts anything.
And there's a stranger in a captain's outfit perusing the skyline with a telescope on her deck. Cpt. Jess ambles over. That's right, he was in the giant pot with them.
She nods. "Stranger, I'm the captain o' this vessel. I'm Captain Jess, and this is the Bonny Jean. Who are you?"

Tessie flings pirates on board the Bonny Jean and the Ruby. Crazy Emily cheers, as Clarissa is tossed at her feet. "Yay! 'Rissa!" Crazy Em gives the catgirl a hug. "You came back! And we have treasure to find, and a navy ship to outrun, and rumcake to make! We're going to have so much FUN!"

"YAY!" Clarissa hugged Crazy Emily. "Let's do pirate-y things! There's that one blue treasure! Somewhere. I think. Can we go find that? We can make rumcake on the way there and get in fights with the navy and kidnap Prim more!"

She looked over, and saw Prim on the other ship. "Actually... do you think Tessie could grab him off that ship now? That'd be awesome." She looked down at Tessie. "...hey, there's something bright in the ocean. Neat! Can you ask Tessie to see what it is, too? Maybe it's shiny!"

Water dripped from her hair onto her face. Wait a minute- Oooh... that explained why her tail and ears felt all heavy and non-fluffy... "Ack! Wet!"

Captain Kinestro didn't take his eye off the blue line as he considered it's implications, simply introducing himself as he took another look over the bay. "M'name's Cap'n Kinestro lassie. An I'll be off yer ship soon as I find mine." Conversation concluded he went back to looking for his ship, ignoring captain Jess.

Red Coat Andy waved at his cousin happily, seemingly oblivious of the chaos around them. He saluted smartly as Tssirox landed on deck. He clicked his heels together innocently, the picture of naval obedience.

"Hello, sir! Good to have you back aboard. What are your orders? Pursue glowing signal? Apprehend the Pirates? Or....?" he asked, as the crew bustled about happily. Tssirox looked around calmly, accepting a pack of his special 'tobacco' and packing his pipe.

"...I say we pursue the treasure. But first..." he raised his voice, expelling a cloud of sparkling smoke.

"Captain Jess! I wish to arrange a parlay!" he called out, smiling.

Meanwhile, back on the island... a god stirred...

Captain Jess grits her teeth. Here they've escaped Ahi Island, and have a clear path to the treasure...and there's that dratted Navy ship right on her tail.
"Parley? When my ship can outsail that bilge bucket o' yours? And when I've th' Ruby for backup?" Cpt. Jess calls back.
"Oho, so you want to battle, do you? Well, I suppose all three of us could partake in a deadly battle, causing quite a bit of destruction and delay. And who knows how long that glowing trail forward will last? But, if you'd rather..." Tssirocks shrugs, smiling.
"grrrr....." Cpt. Jess sighes. "Parley. And none a your tricks, Roxie!"
Jess stalks over to Crazy Emily and Clarissa. "I'm not leavin' the Bonny Jean, especially wi' all the additions yer pet chucked on board. An' I doubt that Roxie will be pried away from his ship so easy. You two, ride Tessie over t' see him. Go halfway over, and let whoever he sends meet you there."
"Aye Aye, Cap'n!" Crazy Em tugs on Clarissa's arm, and drags her away.
The first mate lifts her eyebrow. "Um...not to be questioning you, but...those two?
"Aye. People underestimate Em. They see the crazy, and not the smarts. Besides, if he did play us false-which he won't-I pity anyone who captures that pair! Talk about yer destruction!"
Captain Jess folds her arms, and leans casually on the rail. "Hurry it up, Roxie-I haven't all day t' spend lollygagging!"
Em waves happily at the red coated figure on deck. "ANDY! AAANNNDY! 'Rissa, that's my cousin! Ooh, maybe we can kidnap him!"
"I thought we were going to kidnap Prim..."
"That too. But...." A metaphorical light bulb goes off. "We'll let him think he's just coming over to keep an eye on us for th' navy. The silly won't even know he's been kidnapped! And Andy's lots of fun and really nice and we kidnapped Roxie last time...let's see what happens, 'Rissa." Crazy Emily pats the clockwork squid, and resumes waving.

Tsiirox glanced at his first mate, raising an eyebrow. He never trusted him when he was all in his 'Absolutely perfect Naval Man' mode. Usually it meant he was up to something... but right now, it was hard to care. The wind was in the sails, he was back on his ship, and his desk was far, far away.

...he could deal with Their Majesties when he got back. He signaled with a sigh.

"Alright, alright- go and parlay. We're offering a truce towards the Bluelight. They can keep most of the treasure, so long as we have their aide. But we get to arrest Captain Jane, and any other miscreant we round up." he waved idly towards the other ship, ad Andy saluted smartly.

"Atta bot. Take one of the long shi-"

"No need, sir~" Tssirox turned, raising an eyebrow as Andy tugged on a rope- activating a bell. Up in the crows nest, a fluffy blond head peeked out.

"Oui, Pop?"

"I need a little lift, Fritz! We;re going to go and see Cousin Em!" he called up, receiving a nod. A pair of wings stretched out, grey and black.

Andy was picked up bodily, by his son. Fritz- a ring tailed lemur who had been saved by Andy, and made human. Mostly human, anyhow, with the wings of a Skua. He was a great kid- and Tsiirox had looked after him a lot as a little cub... but did they have to be so flashy? Sheesh.

"Alright, alright... ADMIRAL CUTENAME! Get your tail out of the rigging! We need to catch up- Jess isn;t going to slow down for us!"

Meanwhile, Fritz tucked into a roll, swooping over Captain Jess' ship- setting hsi father down neatly and tackle-hugging his 'Aunt' Em- all but picking her up.

"Eeeeeeeemmm~!" he cheered happily, as Andy brushed himself off- bowing to Captain Jess.

"Hello, Captain! I have been sent with permission to negotiate a joint ceasefire and truce, vis a vis the fabled treasure 'Bluelight'."

Clarissa looked at Andy and the funny lemur-person with wings curiously. Someone else with animal parts? Cool...

Wait... Andy had a nice red coat on- and- 'any other miscreant they caught?' But- someone else with a tail-

But she didn't want to be arrested and he was Em's COUSIN?! She kind of scooted back so she was standing in the corner and watching them but also not really making eye contact, her fur poofing a bit despite the dampness.

Eep.

Crazy Emily hugs Fritz delightedly. "Eeeee! I was gonna met you halfway, but you beat us to it! Fritz, come on and met Clarissa! 'Rissa, this is Fritz! He's Andy's son. Oh, you need to meet him, too! I hope he and the Captain don't jabber too long."

Captain Jess nods formally, in response to Redcoat's sweeping bow. "What you want and what you'll get are two different things. The treasure? Well, I can see a division, what with us all sailin' for it, neck and neck as we are. But I will not aid in capturing 'miscreants', or stand idly by while you attempt to do so. My offer? A truce, for the duration o' this adventure. You don't barg in and try to sweep us all in the brig, we don't blast that ship of yours full of holes. No arrestin', but no fightin' either. Oh, and agree or not, I'll grant you leave to visit yer cousin a bit if you wish."

And if he doesn't agree? Well, then it will get a tad...interestin'. Captain Jess ignores Kinestro for the moment. The crew's keeping an eye on him for now. If he doesn't spot his own ship, he'll either mind his manners, or start treading water!

"Aha thar she be. 'The Ragnarok'." Cap'n Kinestro grinned crookedly as his ship came lightly around the edge of the island, practically skimming along the surface. He waited for the smaller vessel to pull along side 'The Bonny Jean'. It was about half the size of a normal ship, with somewhat sleeker lines and a pair of blades lining the sides, both humming audibly.

"Well thank yeh fer the hospitality lass." He bowed to Captain Jess with a Flourish before hopping overboard onto the deck of his ship. "Alright me boyos! Make fer the glowin' blue line! We've got ourselves a treasure t'steal!" The smaller ship pulled away from The Bonny Jean and headed for the line, crew attending to the ship. At the wheel was the Jester, the young man who had developed the ship propellant system, which allowed for short bursts of speed which complimented the captain's blade system well. On the guns was The Wolf, he didn't have much to work with on the Ragnarok but he did his best and was a fair shot himself. And the last member of the crew was The Demon, who spent most of his time as the cook for the crew, but when the time called for it he could be one of the most formidable swordsmen around.

Wallace McCaine cursed his luck as he went flying through the air. First, he'd overslept, missing the chance to help the captain out... then it looked like the captain wasn't going to be a captain much longer, what with how the ship started sinking. At least it got rid of that horrid coloring... Still, first he was out of a job, and now he was getting flung through the air by some clockwork beastie. Here's to hoping he landed on the same one as the Captain... nope, never mind, there he was, flying off towards the other ship. Pretty soon, he thudded onto the deck of the Bonny Jean. Sliding to a stop, he found himself face to foot with Andy. " 'Ellos there. I hope you don't mind me droppin' in like this..."

"EEEE!" A high pitched squee fills the air, and Crazy Emily claps her hands with glee. "Look. 'Rissa, McCaine came to visit, too!"
She bounds away from Fritz and Clarissa, and plops down on the deck beside him.
"Hi! You weren't drowned, yay! Isn't Tessie awesome? Why are you lying on the deck-isn't that uncomfortable?"
Captain Jess doesn't blink an eye. "Em, I'm negotiatin' with yer cousin here. Give us a bit of room, will ye? And if that's a friend o' yours, I suppose we can find room for him, for a bit. Now, shoo!"
"Aye Aye!" Em leaps up, dragging the hapless McCaine with her. "You're a weapons master, right? Wanna see the armory? Hey, you remember 'Rissa, right?" Crazy Em points. "That's my cousin Andy, and that's his son Fritz, and you just met Captain Jess-ooh, let's stop by the galley on the way! I think there's some rum cake left!"
Crazy Em beams, keeping a firm hold on the hapless McCaine's arm.
"This is gonna be AWESOME!"

Wallace found himself dragged along, not quite unwillingly, behind Crazy Em. Once she paused for a half second to suck in a breath below deck, he interjected his answers while he could. "Is Tessie the clockwork beastie? 'cause that is a true marvel, a'far as I can tell. As te why I be lying on the deck, it twas because yon Beastie flung me, and I needed a mom' to catch me breath. Aye, I twas the weapon master, up until the blasted ship sank. Now, I be between jobs, if ye get my meaning." Wally sighed, then held up a hand when Em started to talk. "Nae, I havn't answered all o' ye questions yet. Iffin you want to try talkin' back and forth like, mayhap you shouldn't ask so many questions so quick-like, ye devil woman." He smiled, taking any possible bite out of his words. "Now, we be I... Ah, right, te armory. I'd love to peruse the selection there... iffin ye don't mind, o'course."

Andy chuckled a little, turning to Captain Jess. "You misunderstood me. The quarry my good Captain wishes is none of your crew, only Captain Jane. We need not your help to capture, only that we might be allowed to." he knew that wouldn't fly, and glanced back- noting his Captain signaling with a mirror.

"Ah! Never mind. he;s requesting only cooperation getting to bluelight, that we might document it's shores... and to seal the truce, dinner. At his cabin, this time." Andy beamed at her, raising his hands a little. "And as a show of good faith, I will remain aboard here until the dinner is arranged. He would hardly leave behind his first mate, after all."

Jess appears to consider the matter. "Done and done. Signal Roxie that I'll be comin' aboard, and bide here a mo while I give orders to my crew."
She has no fear of a double cross. Not from Tsiirox. Besides, Red Coat Andy is Em's white sheep cousin. He and his lad won't be party to that, Navy or no.
And there's that ship of Kinestro's to catch up to. She's never seen such a ship! Small, but the way it sails is a marvel. Still, there's a way to slow him up. And she'll find it.
First mate Ann Stuart is left in charge. Captain Jess repairs to her cabin to tidy up a bit. What with being captured, tossed in a cooking pot, then slammed into that weird pink and blue ship of Tibozz's, she could use a little freshing up. And she'll be bedammed if she's setting foot on that Navy ship looking like a bedraggled bilge rat!

Crazy Em remembers her cousins are on deck. Eh, 'Rissa is with Fritz. Besides, when Andy is done talking with the captain, he'll find her easy enough. For now, she grins at weapons master McCaine.
"Armory, here we come!" On the way they make a detour by the galley, to snitch the last of the rum cake.
"Aaand here it is! What do you think? I made a lot of them. Do you want to try anything out?" She flings open a porthole. "We can shoot through there-there's lots of targets in sight! Oh, and the captain said you can stay!" For once she pauses. "Um...if you want to? We could use a weapons master..."
McCaine sees the usual swords and pistols, all high quality. And quite a few unusual ones too. As well as a few things he has no idea what they are, except destructive.

The Ruby surged ahead, wind and all other propulsion systems going full blast, as it traversed the glowing blue line. Pirate Queen Jane looked back. The Bonny Jean was falling somewhat behind them— something to do with the Navy ships following all of them— and, the Ruby was getting close to a point where the line steadied out, forming a circle.

Slowing, the Ruby came to a halt by the glowing circle, and a mechanical crane arm went into the water. It moved deeper and deeper in search of any prize.

What might it find....?

McCaine smiled, then nodded. "Aye, I suppose I could be using a spot on yer ship. Iffin' ya captain approves of having me as weapons trainer, o'course." Wallace paused, and looked at the walls. "Och... that being a Claymore? I lost mine, but... what's that there doohickey on te side?" He grabbed it off the wall, and hefted it gently. "Ya know, I wouldn't mind usein' this, but that's only iffin' ya want me to."

Crazy Emily grins at him. "That button? It electrifies it! Neat, huh? And, sure you can have it."
He said he'd take the job....Impulsively, she gives him a quick hug.
McCaine looks suprised, and she shrugs. "Just because? Hey, try out the claymore!"

Captain Jess is in her formal captain's finery. Black coat, silver trim, red hair pulled back in a short ponytail. She spurns the longboat, and rides over by clockwork kraken. As soon as she's on board, Tessie sinks beneath the waves. She shrugs at Tsiirox's glance. "She'll be back when I call. Now, about this truce...."
Tessie has her orders. Hidden, she follows the glowing trail, seeing if she can find the dropped talisman...

Wallace hesitated, before hugging her back. "Aye, I reckon just because is good enough for me." McCaine released her, and turned his attention back to the claymore. "So, ye says I can get electricity, aye? Hmmm..." With a few test swings, he declares himself satisfied with the balance. As the blade lights up with electricity, a grin lights up his face. "Aye, this be a good blade. What do you want for it? I'll need to be givin' you something, nae?"

Crazy Em looks suprised. "I gave it to you..you like it, right?" But McCaine is insistant that she needs something in return.
"Um...." She thinks furiously. "Tell you what. I like hearing you talk. Tell me a story sometime."

-Meanwhile-

"Well... GREAT."

Captain Toboz had been marooned. Once Pirate Queen Jane had deemed they no longer needed him, she'd dropped him, his alternate universe counterpart, and Montoya the Cleeselet right back on Ahi Island again. Without a ship. And with everyone running off towards that light in the sky, Captain Toboz was about as morose as he'd ever been. "Quite a roit smart rescue yew lot were..." he scowled. "We've got no ship, no crew, an' no RUM!"

David sighed. "I SAID I'm sorry! Look, my robot arm breaks down these days if I don't run maintenance on it every so often, and I don't really have the parts to fully fix it since none of the crazy worlds I've been in lately seem to have Mad Scientists in them at all... it's kinda strange, actually."

Captain Toboz stood up off the rock he was on. "Well, we ain't outta this yet! We've got an edge onnem, if'n we can get a boat. I know what that light was, an' it don't lead to the Bluelight Hoard PROPER..."

David looked at him. "Where does it lead?"

Captain Toboz stood up. "Well... that light was'a failsafe... a last ditch effort to point in the roit direction iff'n someone somehow lost the Monkey-Eagle talisman. It points ya ta a sunken treasure chest with gold an'na map inn it. A Map t'the Bluelight Hoard... but I know wot the map says already! It tells ya 'ow ta get to the legendary "Island wit' all those Monkeys onnit! That's where the Bluelight Hoard is hidden, an' that's where we're heading once we get OFFA this rock!"

David blinked. "...Monkey Is-"

Captain Toboz rushed forward and clamped a hand over his mouth. "Nay! We dinna wanna get sued, yew fool! It's just "That Island wit' all those Monkeys Onnit!" Not tha' other one!" He grinned. "Actually, tho... fer a lost treasure, the BLuelight Hoard's really makin' it easy fer people t'find it... what hidden artifact 'as a failsafe? Thot's kinda strange."

They suddenly realized that they were surrounded by Natives of Ahi Island who had snuck up on them while they had been feeling sorry for themselves.

The Man in the Lemon Mask walked forward. "Did yoooooou say yoooooou neeeded a ship, Mon?"

Captain Toboz, a bit unnerved, nodded. "Err...yes?"

The Man in the Lemon Mask smiled. "We've goooooooot a ship. We coooooooooould sell yoooooou that oooooone!" His smile turned into an evil smirk. "But first yooooooou've gooooooooot toooooo pay your bill foooooor yoooooooou and all yoooooour friends..."

Captain Toboz and David exchanged glances. "...do you take checks?"

With the Ruby resting over the source of the light, its recovery arm deployed, it looked as though things could not be better.

"This was such a great idea ever since I saw that kid in green using it..." Pirate Queen Jane muttered to herself, as the arm moved deeper and deeper into the water. Finally, it found something, deep below, and latched on.

With careful slowness, the arm's chain wheel began, first to take up slack, then to go taut and pull. The links in the chain stretched the farthest they were able— it looked as if the object might well be solid. Then, there was a sharp SPHNAP from below, and the arm began to reel in.

Jane carefully beheld the glowing blue prize as it came closer to the surface of the water. What could it be? A treasure chest? A statue?
The waves parted, and the arm returned. In its grip was, studded with sapphires and glowing with a strange blue light.....

.....a massive rubber drainplug.



Pirate Queen Jane, and all the people in the ships nearby, looked at the plug. After a few seconds, it happened. At the edge of hearing, there came a massive subsonic gurgle.

Then, the ocean began to drain in a massive wirlpool, pulling the Ruby in, and the other ships towards the roiling vortex.

(Coming tomorrow! The person writing this skips forward to the big finish!)