Winter's Tide

✅

Winter's Tide is a story centered around the Adelie brothers, Chub 777 and Buhc 777, and their quest of adventure around the Ninja Archipelago. Accompanying them are the Hochstadt Gang and two puffles, Daniel Highwater and Duncan Mistrol, who have escaped from the wrath of Cutlass, an evil pirate of the seas.

Prologue
It was a sunny morning on the small island of Club Penguin. The midnight sun was starting to set as Antarctica began to enter winter. A small breeze picked up, blowing tiny grains of snow through the small streets. The wind picked up a Club Penguin Times newspaper and blew it over to the door of an igloo. The door opened up to Chub 777, shivering as he picked the paper up. He glanced at it and read the headline.



Chub 777: "About time..."

We went back inside, holding the newspaper as he read it. He kicked the door closed as someone slammed into it. He turned around and opened the door.

Buhc 777: "Have you seen this?"

Buhc shoved his copy of the newspaper into Chub, who pushed it back.

Chub: "Yeah, I saw it too. Come in."

The two waddled into Chub's igloo. Chub made two cups of coffee, offering one to his brother. The two drank as they talked.

Buhc: "Apparently they all want to split Yow up between them."

Chub: "Who wants to do what?"

Buhc: "Split it up. Shops, Castilla, Puffle'and, Snowzerland and Culldrome."

Chub: "Ah, yes...Culldrome..."

The two sipped their coffee in silence. Chub changed the subject.

Chub: "You know I've always wanted to visit the Ninja Archipelago."

Buhc: "Same here. We should go there, actually."

Chub: "Where in particular?"

Buhc opened up the newspaper to a page showing the proposed Yowien partitions. He covered his eyes with one flipper and aimlessly move his other over the map. He stopped and looked at where his flipper had landed.

Buhc: "Snowzerland...not on my watch..."

Buhc did the same thing again. He stopped and looked at his flipper.

Buhc: "Culldrome. Been there done that."

He did the same thing again.

Buhc: "Castilla...hmm...why not?"

Chub: "Why not, indeed. It seems like a great place to visit. Pack your bags, CASTILLA HERE WE COME!" - Hours later, the two were still in Chub's igloo. They both had their laptops out, searching the internet for information. The whole table in front of them was absolutely filled with papers and opened books. In fact the whole ''igloo' itself was filled with random papers and books scattered on the floor.

Chub: "What about this? Pacifica Airlines has a flight tomorrow for Metido. They have a two for one deal on economy tickets.

Buhc: "Pfft. We can get it cheaper by hopping to Culldrome and then to Metido. Sure, it's two flights, but overall, it would be much less hassle."

Chub: "No, no, no-"

Buhc: "No, no-"

Chub: "Okay fine. Let's just..."

Chub spotted a leaflet on the floor. He bent down and picked it up.

Chub: "Hey, look at this."

Chub went up to Buhc and handed him the leaflet.

Buhc: " 'NINJA ARCHIPELAGOIAN CRUISES.'  Cruises, eh?"

Chub: "Why not? We could have a nice, relaxing 14 day cruise. It would be a wonderful change to just flying around."

Buhc: "But that's the best part!"

Chub: "Come on. This cruise would be great."

Buhc looked back down at the leaflet. On it was a picture of a large cruise liner, sailing the ocean with the sun setting behind it. Indeed it would be a relaxing trip.

Buhc: "Okay. Cruise it is." - Meanwhile, off the coast of Puffle'and, lies an old sailing ship. Trapped in the harsh winds and raging storms, the ship is tossed around here and there. The sea spills onto the deck as the sails billow about. Loose ropes fly around and Cream Soda barrels roll around. At the helm of the ship lies a Puffle. With a small hop, he steers the ship. A thunder clap fills the air as the seas are lit up brightly. The shadow of this puffle is cast down onto the main deck, where other sailors panic at the sight. They turn around to see their captain at the helm and then with another thunder clap, he was gone. The crew gasped as the puffle appeared next to them. This captain was not any other captain, but a pirate. Not a nice pirate like Rockhopper, but an evil one...Cutlass Brindley.

Cutlass: "Get to work crew."

At the sound of his voice, the crew on deck scattered off...all but two.

Cutlass: "I believe I have said, GET TO WORK!"

He took out a small sword and pointed it at the two puffles.

Cutlass: "This is the last time, Daniel and Duncan. I SAID-"

Daniel: "NO!"

Cutlass: "WHAT?!? YOU DARE QUESTION MY COMMAND?"

Duncan: "YES!"

Cutlass: "Wait, WHAT?"

Dan: "We've had enough of you!"

Duncan: "...and this ship!"

The pirate captain was furious.

Cutlass: "I SAID...GET. TO. WORK! "

Duncan and Dan shut their eyes. Just as Cutlass swung his sword, lightning stuck the mast of the ship.

Sailor: "CAPTAIN! OUR MAST IS ON FIRE!"

Cutlass stopped and put his sword away. He went off but turned back to the two puffles.

Cutlass: "I do say that a punishment is needed. Mark my words you two."

Cutlass went off as the two puffles went in the other direction, being glared on by the other sailors.

Chapter 1: Wide Blue Oceans
The ship's horn blared loudly as Chub and Buhc waited to board their cruise ship.

Buhc: "Aaahh, this is awesome! I've never been on a cruise ship before."

Chub: "Nor I. This will be a wonderful experience."

Ticketmaster: "NEXT PLEASE!"

Chub and Buhc picked up their bulging suitcases, filled with clothes, money and other assorted things. They went up to the ticketmaster, who stood in a small booth.

Ticketmaster: "Tickets please, gentlemen."

They both handed over their tickets.

Ticketmaster: "Passports please."

The two handed over their passports. The ticketmaster looked at Buhc and then back down at the passport. Then, he looked at Chub and down at his passport. He made a strange face as he checked the passport. Chub began to panic a little, but then the ticketmaster proceeded. He stamped the passports, ripped off the ticket stub and handed it all back to the two.

Ticketmaster: "Here you go. Have a wonderful time."

Chub and Buhc picked up their suitcases and ran up the corridor leading to the ship's entrance.

Buhc: "What was that all about?"

Chub: "Remember the time when I dueled Swiss Ninja?"

Buhc: "Oh, right..."

Chub: "So anyway..."

The two laughed as they eagerly boarded the cruise ship, bound for good times and lots of adventure. - The large cruise ship had cast off and was now sailing into the wide blue sea, bound for Castilla. It was nearly sunset and the two had been exploring the ship. Although there was much to do, they didn't know where to start.

Chub: "Hmm...we should check out these spas on the upper decks. We can watch the sunset as we relax."

Buhc: "Well I think that we should head down to the ship's buffet. It's nearly time for dinner and I want an early start."

They both paced the ship's deck, unsure of what to do. Chub gazed off into the orange sky when he had an idea.

Chub: "I know...this way!"

With that Chub was off running on the deck.

Buhc: "Where are you going?"

Chub: "You'll see!"

Buhc began to follow Chub. There were many passengers in the way and so they started to freerun. They jumped over crates and slid through the crowds of penguins.

Bystander 1: "Hey!"

Bystander 2: "Watch where you're going!"

Chub climbed a small over hanging crane on the side of the ship and swung on it. The crane turned with Chub on and landed on a stack of crates. He kicked the crane back so that Buhc would do the same. Buhc was trying all that he could to catch up but his brother has very fast and skilled. Eventually, Chub reached the stern of the ship and stopped. Buhc followed behind. Unlike other parts of the deck, the stern area was completely empty. Buhc went up to Chub, who was gazing out into the large sea and the sunset. Chub turned around to face Buhc.

Chub: "It is a good life we lead, brother."

Buhc: "The best...may it never change..."

Chub: "...And may it never change us..."

Chub turned out to look back at the horizon and wrapped his arm on Buhc's back. Buhc also gazed at the beautiful scenery in front of them.



Buhc: "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Chub: "Indeed."

That was all that had to be said. The sun set and the two made their way to the inside of the ship. Chub took out a complimentary pamphlet that he had received.

Chub: "Well, what shall we do now?"

Buhc: "I was thinking that we should go see the exhibition hall. Apparently they have an exhibition on some old Castillian artifacts."

Chub: "Seems interesting. Let's go!"

The two made their way into the enormous exhibition hall. It resembled a large ballroom, complete with ornate arches and pillars on the walls and wooden flooring. Above shone a large golden chandelier. In the room itself were many small tables with glass cases on them. They waddled up to a table and looked down at the glass case. Inside it was an old, rusty sword and wood that belonged to an old Castillan galleon.

Buhc: "Look. This is dated back to the 1600s, when Castilla was a vast empire."

Chub: "Hey look at this."

Chub pointed over to another table, also with a glass case on top. They both peered in and saw a stack of gold coins. The coins had long lost their vibrant yellow shine and instead were dim and dusty.

Buhc: "'Rare Castillian treasures circa 1790s.'"

Chub: "They don't really seem rare any more..."

Buhc continued to read a plaque on the table.

Buhc: "'There are only an estimated half a dozen chests on this type of Castillan gold, which was considered very valuable. These chests were hidden away to prevent thieves and pirates from stealing them.'"

Chub: "Wouldn't this be stealing, then?"

Buhc: "'Today, archaeologists from all around Antarctica have been searching for these coins as they want to preserve this rare piece of history.'"

Chub: "Seems alright...I guess..."

An old Puffish puffle went up to the two. The puffle was wearing a top hat and a monocle and carried around a short walking stick.

Puffle: "I do say! This is a stack of the old Castillian gold coins!"

Chub: "They-they-they're just coins."

Puffle: "Ah, mah fellow, they're not just coins! They're artifacts! Treasures! Valuables! Keepsakes! You name it!"

Buhc: "We know they're rare-"

Puffle: "Rare?! Pfft! Why-why that's...pre-"

Chub: "Preposterous?"

Puffle: "-cise! Precise, indeed, young one. There are only a small number of these coins in existence! Many have wanted to own these, me included."

Chub: "They're just coins-"

Puffle: "J-just coins?! My boy! Just coins?! These aren't just regular, rare, gold coins. These coins have been sought after by hundreds, no, thousands of pirates! These use to be...just coins, but now there are very few numbers of them remaining in existence! So, good day to you, sirs!"

The puffle went away, angrily. Chub and Buhc just stood there, staring at the puffle.

Buhc: "Oookaaay then..."

Chub: "So these are rare coins...I get that bit."

The two waddled over to another table with a glass case over them. Inside was an old, dusty pirate hat and a rusty sword that had snapped in two. Buhc read the plaque.

Buhc: "'These artifacts once belonged to Penguin Mar Espantosa, a dreaded Castillan pirate. He was once in the possession of several chests of the rare Castillan gold coins: Please see opposite table.'"

Chub: "So this guy once had those coins..."

Buhc: "I guess it was a really big deal back then.

A penguin in a suit came up to the two and began to talk to them.

Penguin: "Ah. I believe that you have found the hat and sword of the famous Castillan pirate, Penguin Mar Espantosa."

Chub: "Yes. we have."

Penguin: "He's most known for pillaging and looting many ships in search for those coins over there. Ironic that its all just in a museum, now."

Buhc: "What's so special about these coins, anyway?"

Penguin: "Well...nothing really! Many believed that these coins had special powers or something. There were many myths and legends surrounding them. The coins were also briefly in the possession of Castillia's most wealthy and prestigious penguins."

Chub: "So, that's it?!"

Penguin: "Not quite. Since they were so valuable in the day, archaeologists and other ruin maniacs-"

Chub: "Wha-"

Penguin: "-have been hunting for them all over. So, I guess you could consider them very valuable, even today. In fact, in Toledo, there is a massive archeological dig going on. Many say that there is a chest of coins hidden in there, somewhere."

Buhc turned to his brother.

Buhc: "This ship is headed for Castilla right?"

Chub: "Of course it is! What else were you think-ooooh..."

Buhc: "You know what I mean?"

Chub: "Our next adventure?"

Buhc: "Yeah, why not."

Chub: "It's settled then. Once this ship hits the dock, we'll be off in Toledo.

Penguin: "Ah, nice. Well I guess I'll be seeing you two then. Good day!"

The suited penguin waddled off. Chub and Buhc, excited about their next adventure, decided to be off as well. They made their way to the massive dining hall just as dinner began. - After dinner had finished, Chub and Buhc were waddling through the many promenades on the ship. The sun had long ago set and the moon was shining down from above. The wavy sea was illuminated by the moon light as it softly crashed into the ship.

Chub: "Well, so far this cruise has been going well."

Buhc: "It has. I've been enjoying this cruise."

Chub: "Same here."

The two continued strolling down the wooden decks in the moonlight. After a moment of silence, Chub began to speak again.

Chub: "So, now what shall we do?"

Buhc pulled out the pamphlet from earlier out of his pocket.

Buhc: "Well...I was thinking that we should-"

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a loud bang.

Chub: "What was that?!"

The air around them whistled. There was a bright explosion in front of them as the wooden deck splintered and broke, creating a small crater. In the middle of the smouldering crater was a big, black ball. The two began to step back from the crater.

Buhc: "What's going-"

*BOOM*

Buhc: "There it is again!"

A whistling sound filled the air. Chub swiftly put one flipper on Buhc's head and the other covering his face.

Chub: "QUICK DUCK!"

Chub pulled himself and his brother down just in time as a cannon ball came whizzing past above them.

Buhc: "Cannonba-"

The cannonball impacted on the wall next to them, creating a hole. Chub got up and peered through.

Chub: "Everyone alright?!"

On the inside, everyone was frozen in shock. None of them noticed Chub.

*BOOM*

Buhc: CHUB! GET OUT OF THERE!

Buhc yanked his brother to the floor as another cannonball flew past, this time into the roof above them.

Buhc: "COME ON!"

The two rushed off as splinters from the roof rained above them.

*BOOM* *BOOM*

Chub: "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!"

*BOOM*

Buhc: "LET'S JUST GET OUT OF THERE!"

The two continued running down the promenade as cannonballs narrowly missed them. One of the ship's sailors came out of a door on deck.

Sailor 1: "What's going o-"

*WOOSH*

The cannonball hit the sailor, knocking him down onto the deck. More sailors came out from the door, this time shocked and alarmed. One rushed over to the sailor who was hit.

Sailor 2: "Are you alright?"

Sailor 1: "Yeah..."

Chub and Buhc also rushed over.

Sailor 2: "You! What was that?"

Chub: "I think they're cannon balls!"

Sailor 2: "Cannonballs?!"

'*BOOM*'

This time, the cannonball impacted the lower portion of the ship's hull, just above the waterline.

Sailor 2: "Why?!"

*BOOM* *BOOM*

The two cannonballs hit close to where it hit before...only lower...

Buhc: "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Water poured in as the ship's hull gaped open wide. The outer metal skin of the ship started to buckle inwards as the ship slowly began to sink.

Chub: "I THINK WE'RE SINKING!"

Buhc: "YA THINK?!"

Sailor 2: "WE'RE SINKING?!"

Chub: "I'M PRETTY SURE!"

The sailor left them and rushed over to peer down the side of the ship. Chub and Buhc followed behind. They saw a large hole in the side of the ship, where cold, salty sea water was gushing into. He sailor left in disbelief and went over to the group of sailors, who were standing back.

Sailor 2: "EVACUATE EVERYONE ON THE LOWER DECKS! ACTUALLY, EVACUATE EVERYONE!"

Sailor 3: "I'll inform the captain!"

Sailor 4: "I'll get the life boats!"

They all rushed off, even the injured sailor. Chub and Buhc were all alone on the deck, but soon it was bustling with activity as the passengers and crew prepared to abandon the ship. The scene was utter chaos, with passengers running about everywhere, frightened and confused.

Passenger 1: "What's going on!?"

Passenger 2: "Are we sinking?!"

Passenger 3: "WHAT?!?"

*BOOM*

The sound of a distant cannon silenced everyone.

*WOOSH* *CRASH*

The cannonball impacted the ship just under the deck. Luckily, none of the passengers on the deck were hurt. The captain of the ship, who had now joined in the crowd, took this as his chance. He climbed on top of a Cream Soda barrel on deck and began to talk.

Captain: "ATTENTION EVERYONE! We have run into some...er...technical difficulties...and we have no choice but to abandon ship."

At the words 'abandon ship' the crowd went wild.

*BOOM*

The sound silenced everyone again.

Captain: "Now, please, in an orderly fashion, please board the life boats in accordance with the crew's instructions."

The crowd began to panic again. They all ran around, pushing and pulling, trying to get to a life boat first.

*CRASH*

The cannonball hit one of the life boats, destroying it, and narrowly missed a sailor. Again, the crowd went silent.

Captain: "PLEASE FOLLOW THE CREW'S INSTRUCTIONS IN AN ORDERLY...MANNER...THANK YOU!"

As the captain finished talking, the crowd once again went into a chaotic mess.

'*BOOM*'

The crowd went silent.

Chub: "What's this? Another cannonball?"

Chub was wrong. Instead of a cannonball hurtling at the ship, an actual ship had impacted. Within a few short seconds, a gangway was laid out connecting the two ships and a pirate-hat-wearing puffle stepped out.

Cutlass: "Good evening, everyone. How do you do?"

The crowd was silent as they stayed a distance away from the pirate, forming a circle around him. The captain fought through the crowd until he reached the circle. The crowd backed off some more, enclosing the two inside a rectangular box.

Captain: "HEY! YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SHIP?"

Cutlass: "Oh, you're the captain, I take?"

Captain: "TELL ME!"

At that, Cutlass pulled out a snowball pistol and shot it directly at the captain's face. The crowd backed off more.

Cutlass: "No."

Some more puffle pirates went down the gangplank onto the cruise ship. They all had smirks on and carried all sorts of (illegal) weaponry. They were also covered in a layer of grime and dust, turning them into a darker color than normal. Cutlass and the pirates cackled as he ordered them off.

Cutlass: "Alright! Get below decks and see if you can find it!"

Cutlass fired his pistol again, this time at the sky. With the boom, the pirates dispersed into the crowd. Those who had gathered on the deck began to fall over, knocked down by the pirates. Even more pirates came down the gangplank. Cutlass turned around to face them.

Cutlass: "You! Make sure no-one moves!"

He turned around to face the crowd again.

Cutlass: "If anyone moves, you will wish that you didn't..."

With that Cutlass followed the other pirates below decks. The crowd began to talk and mumble to each other. However, none of them dared to move closer towards the pirates, still keeping a box around them. Chub and Buhc, who were located in the middle of the crowd, started to talk to each other in hushed voices.

Buhc: "Pirates?!"

Chub: "It looks like our journey's met a wall..."

Buhc: "You think we could get off?"

Chub: "Possibly. But what about everyone?"

Buhc: "We'll have to drive the pirates off of the ship."

Chub: "Are you crazy?! That would be impossible!"

Buhc: "Well, do you have any other ideas?"

Chub: "Ummm...no...but do you have a plan?"

Buhc: "Uhh...nope..."

They both sighed.

Buhc: "Well what are we going to do? What are the pirates even doing here?"

Chub thought for a moment and remembered the puffle they had spoken to earlier.

Puffle: "These coins have been sought after by hundreds, no, thousands of pirates!

Chub grabbed the scuff of Buhc's pilot jacket.

Chub: "THEY'RE AFTER THE COINS!"

Buhc: "WHAT?!?

Chub: "Remember? Pirates used to steal them!"

Buhc: "My goodness..."

Chub: "Come on!"

Chub pulled his brother and ran down the decks, into a stairwell.

Buhc: "What are we doing?!"

Chub: "We must protect those coins!"

Buhc: "THEY'RE JUST COINS!"

Chub: "I don't care, those pirates are after them!"

Buhc: "But what about getting the pirates of this ship?"

Chub: "We'll have to drive them off ourselves."

Buhc: "...and the passengers?"

Chub: "This is why we need to act quickly."

As they went down the stairwell, they met a pirate.

Pirate: "HEY YOU!"

Chub punched the pirate, knocking him out. He reached into his messenger bag and grabbed out a rifle.

Buhc: "You brought a rifle?!"

Chub: "Hey, I thought we would need it. Besides, watch."

He aimed the rifle at a random newspaper on the floor and fired at it. Instead of snow or ice bullets coming out, compressed air came out and pushed the newspaper down the stairs. They both made their way down.

Buhc: "You brought your air cannon?!"

Chub: "Got a problem?"

Buhc: "I didn't bring mine..."

They made their way down into a large hallway. It was desolate and empty. They ran to where the exhibition hall was, but stopped as they neared the wide entrance way. The two peered into the hall as they listened to the conversations that the pirates had.

Pirate 1: "Ahaha! Here it is!"

Pirate 2: "The Castillian coins are finally ours."

*thud*

Cutlass: "Quiet, please. These coins are to be in my possession."

Cutlass placed the coins into a bag, which he placed inside his pirate hat.

Pirate 1: "Your possession?!"

Cutlass: "That was the deal, wasn't it? Now take whatever you want in this room. We're leaving soon."

Chub turned around the corner of the entrance.

Chub: "NOT ON MY WATCH!"

Cutlass: "WHAT?! GET OUT OF HERE!"

Chub aimed the cannon at Cutlass and fired it. With a loud woosh a blast of compressed air came out and hit Cutlass, pushing him against the wall.

Chub: "TAKE THAT!"

Cutlass got up, carrying his sack of coins and straightened his hat up.

Cutlass: "Get them, both please!"

The puffle pirates rushed over towards Chub, who fended himself off with blasts from his cannon. They got blasted towards the wall as Cutlass whacked Buhc with his sack.

Buhc: "OOF!"

Chub: "NOBODY DOES THAT TO MY BROTHER!"

Chub aimed the cannon at Cutlass, blasting him off towards the other side of the hall. The other pirates had regained their strength and were running towards the two. One puffle jumped into Buhc's face, but he was quickly knocked off by a brush of a flipper. Cutlass was getting furious.

Cutlass: "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! GET THEM!"

Chub: "I've had enough of this. CATCH!"

Chub tossed his cannon at Buhc, who began to use it against the pirates. Chub, on the other hand, pulled out a Banana Blaster out of his messenger bag.

Buhc: "You brought that as well?"

Chub: "It comes in handy!"

Chub swiftly took out the pirates, who were now covered all over in banana splatter. Cutlass was making his way towards the two.

Cutlass: "...I. Said. Get. Out-"

Cutlass grabbed his snowball pistol and aimed straight at Chub's head. However, Buhc aimed first and blasted him off to the wall again.

Chub: "Nice."

Buhc: "Thanks."

The two went up to Cutlass. Chub fired his pistol at him, spraying him with banana fragments as well. Buhc picked up the sack full of coins. Holding it up, he peered in and saw absolutely nothing.

Buhc: "Wait a minute..."

They both looked at Cutlass. Everything was the same...the only difference was that he wasn't there. They both peered behind and saw Cutlass and the pirates, lugging behind a large sack of stolen things.

Cutlass: "Nice try, gentleman. But not good enough."

Chub: "HEY!"

Chub and Buhc ran off into the hall way outside the exhibition hall. There was nothing; Cutlass and the pirates had escaped.

Buhc: "What now?"

Chub: "Let's get them off of this ship."

Suddenly, a wall at the end of the hall way burst open, spilling cold sea water everywhere.

Chub: "I forgot we were sinking!"

Buhc: "Let's get out of here!"

The two made their way to the stairwell and escaped out onto the deck. The crowd of passengers were still there, afraid to do anything. No-one had noticed them escaping upwards. The pirates, however, had noticed them.

Pirate: "GET THEM!"

The pirates surrounding the crowd dispersed. At once, it was chaos everywhere. The passengers all scrambled off to the lifeboats, and the crew had gotten them prepared and ready. Within a few minutes, the boat started to drain of passengers. In all the chaos, the pirates couldn't reach Chub and Buhc. Instead they were sent flying off with the air cannon, and landed in the sea. Chub and Buhc made their way to the gangplank was, which was now gone. The pirate ship was preparing to leave, but Chub wasn't going to let them.

Chub: "Let's do this..."

Looking around, he spotted a strap of metal, possibly from a barrel. He turned around to Buhc and showed him.

Chub: "I want you to shoot this at the sails."

Buhc: "Wha?"

Chub: "JUST DO IT!"

Buhc aimed the cannon and shot the metal strap out towards the pirate ships' cloth sails.

Buhc: "Bah! Cheap pirates and their 1800s ships..."

The strip caught onto the upper part of the sail and, as it fell out, ripped the sail into two. The pirates, however, just wanted to leave.

Cutlass: "Good day to you two, gentlemen!"

With that, the crippled pirate ship sailed off slowly into the distance.

*BOOM*

Another cannonball hit the ship, shattering more of the wooden deck.

Chub: "Come on. We should get off before we sink."

Buhc: "Yes, good idea."

The two Adelie brothers went to the last lifeboat on the ship, which was packed. They were lowered and sailed away as the cruise ship sank beneath the waves.

Chapter 2: Castilla
By morning, the next day, the large fleet of lifeboats were intercepted by the Castillan Navy. Everyone was rescued and was safe and sound. After a week or so of journeying, the naval ships reached Castilla. At the dock, Chub and Buhc disembarked on a sunny morning.

Chub: "Ahhh, Castilla! Land of exquisite culture!"

Buhc: "It looks like we've finally arrived at our destination."

Chub: "Safe and sound as well."

Buhc: "Safe and sound indeed."

They strolled down the dock towards the land. Around them were many sailors loading and unloading cargo from their ships. The other passengers from the cruise ship had also got off the ship. Penguins here and there chatted as they recalled their times on the sea. The sun above shone down onto the sea, which was slightly wavy as the wind's gentle breeze spread through the docks. Everyone was cheerful and happy.

Chub: "Castilla is just incredible."

Buhc: "Indeed. That is all that has to be said."

The two continued waddling down the dock and onto land. They both looked around. All around them were the vivid sights of Castilla. They saw the white and cream colored buildings, topped off by orange roof tiles. On the balconies and window sills of the buildings grew beautiful and bright flowers. Cars drove on the narrow cobblestone roads, which were flanked by rows of tall trees which swayed in the breeze. Many penguins and puffles made their way about on the paths. Street vendors cried out as they marketed their wares and busy couriers buzzed around on scooters.

Chub: "Now, where were we supposed to be headed?"

Buhc: "We decided to head for Toledo, didn't we?"

Chub: "Oh right! Come on. Let's head there now."

Buhc: "I can't wait to explore more of this country!" - A few hours later, the Adelie brothers had arrived in Toledo. They had caught one of Castilla's high speed trains to it, which was very cheap compared to those in the USA. As they got off the train and exited the large, grand train station, they arrived at the streets of the Castillan city.

Chub: "This is the best!"

Buhc: "Hey look at that!"

Buhc pointed to a tall, old bell tower, which was next to a large Telenacle. The bell tower was a yellowy-orange color, as was the majority of the buildings in the city. The two gazed upwards at the tall spires of the tower. The roof was made out of orange, clay tiles, which looked dusty and old. On the walls of the tower were many small and ornate decorations ranging from inscriptions to pictures. Above the tower were bands of soft clouds floating above as the sun began to set. The sky glowed a tiny bit of orange.

Chub: "Beautiful..."

Buhc: "Look!"

Chub pointed to a small sign next to the bottom of the bell tower, near an entrance to it. It read out a message in Spanish, but underneath it was a message saying 'ACCESS TO BELL TOWER - PANORAMA POINT'.

Chub: "Come on then. Let's go."

The two went inside and went up the many flight of stairs towards the top of the bell tower. After a long time, they reached the top of the tower. Next to Chub and Buhc was a large, brass bell hanging from the top. Although it was rusting a little bit, the bell still showed a symbol of power. The two brothers waddled up to the outside of the tower, onto a balcony. Standing there, Chub and Buhc gazed out into Toledo. The view they had was amazing. There were many Castillan buildings and even a larger Telenacle in the foreground. Out into the distance, they could see the grassy hills and plains of the Castillan countryside. As the fluffy clouds floated by, the two looked off into the beautiful Castillan sunset.



Chub: "Wow..."

Buhc: "Mhm...Castilla is so nice."

Chub: "Well, we have a whole city, no, a whole country for us to explore. What shall we do?"

Buhc: "Hmm, I don't know. Why don't we try the unique and special Castillan cuisine."

Chub: "That's a good idea! I'm sure there's a restaurant somewhere here..."

Buhc: "Come on."

The two went down and exited the belltower. Chub took out his icePhone and searched for a nearby Castillan restaurant. Buhc looked around them. He saw cars traveling down on the cobblestone roads. There were even many more riding scooters down the narrow roads, squeezing past the cars. Both penguins and puffles alike walked down the sidewalks, past Chub and Buhc, minding their own business.

Chub: "It looks like the nearest restaurant is...a block or so away..."

Buhc: "Let's go then! Lead the way!"

The two made their way past to the Castillan restaurant. It was tucked inside the corner of a building, next to a street intersection. There was a small balcony extending out above, acting as shade for those who wanted to eat outside. There were many eating there already, even though it was not time for dinner yet. The walls on both the inside and outside of the restaurant were in the familiar yellowy-orange. Chub and Buhc went over to a waiter at a small podium on the outside of the restaurant, ready to seat them.

Waiter: "Buenas tardes, señores. Una mesa para dos?" (Good afternoon, gentlemen. A table for two?)

Chub, not knowing how to speak any Spanish, replied back with the only phrase he knew.

Chub: "Um hola?"

Waiter: "Hola. ¿Quieres una mesa para dos?" (Hello. Do you want a table for two?)

Chub: "Uhh..."

Buhc stepped forward and tried to remedy the situation.

Buhc: "Do you speak English?"

Waiter: "¿Eh? ¿Te refieres a Inglés?" (Huh? You mean English?)

Buhc: "No, no, no, no. English."

Chub: "Do. You. Speak. English?"

Waiter: "Inglés? No." (English? No.)

Buhc: "Not Inglés...ENGLISH."

Waiter: "English? Inglés? ¿Qué quieres decir? ¿Hablas español?" (English? English? What do you mean? Do you speak Spanish?)

Chub: "YES! English!"

Waiter: "Inglés?" (English?)

Chub: ARGH!

Annoyed, Chub fumbled around in his pocket to get his phone, hoping to reach a translator service.

Chub: "Where is that phone...?"

Buhc continued the misunderstanding.

Buhc: "Misunderstanding?! Look can we please just get a table for two?"

Waiter: "Lo siento, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?" (I'm sorry, may I help you?)

Buhc sighed as Chub pulled out his phone and spoke into it.

Chub: "Do. You. Speak. English?"

The phone proccessed the information for a few seconds before speaking back.

Phone: "Halbo Eeenglish?"

Waiter: "Lo siento, ¿qué?" (I'm sorry, what?)

Phone: "I'm not sorry. Wot.

With that, Chub broke down and got really annoyed.

Chub: "Not sorry? NOT SORRY?! NOT...SORRY?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT SO-"

Waiter: "Por favor, cálmate señor!" (Please calm down sir!)

???: "¡Alto!" (Stop!)

Chub and Buhc stopped fighting with the poor waiter and turned around. The waiter looked up behind their shoulders and saw a large group of penguins and a few puffles enter the restaurant.

Waiter: "¡Ah! Los Hochstadts! Es un lugar muy agradable placer de conocerte!" (Ah! The Hochstadts! It is a very nice pleasure to meet you!)

The group went forward behind the two brothers. A penguin in a jester outfit waddled forward and spoke to the waiter.

???: "Lo siento. Deja que yo me ocupe de esto." (Sorry. Let me handle this.)

The penguin turned to Chub.

???: "Hello. I presume you don't speak Spanish?"

Chub: "Uhh...er...no..."

???: "Let me help you out."

He penguin turned back to the waiter and began to speak to him in Spanish. Chub and Buhc whispered to each other.

Chub: "Did you hear the waiter? Hochstadt!"

Buhc: "Yeah, I did. I wonder who they are."

Chub: "I think I have a feeling..."

The penguin stopped talking to the waiter and turned back to Chub and Buhc.

???: "Okay. I've booked you two a table for two. That's it I presume?"

Buhc: "Thanks!"

Chub: "Thank you, as well. By the way, who are you?"

Clovis: "Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Clovis Hochstadt, nice to meet you."

Chub: "Wait. Hochstadt?!"

Clovis ignored Chub and shook flippers with Buhc.

Buhc: "Pleasure. I'm Buhc Adelie, and this is my brother, Chub."

Clovis: "Ah! I believe I have heard of you two. You were both in Culldrome last year, right?"

Chub: "Yes. Nice to meet you, Clovis."

Chub shook flippers with Clovis.

Clovis: "I heard you fought off my brother, Swiss Ninja."

Chub: "Yes...indeed..."

Clovis: "Well let me introduce you do the whole gang."

The three turned around and Clovis introduced Chub and Buhc to everyone else.

Clovis: "Here we have Jock, Piper, Leonardo, Gottfried and Fisch. Gottfried and Fisch here are visiting us."

They all introduced each other and shook their flippers. After a while of exchanging pleasantries, they decided to join each other for their meal.

Gottfried: "I have a good idea! We should all eat together. We're going to be eating here anyway."

Buhc: "That's a great idea!"

Jock: "Why not. I'll let the waiter know."

- Around an hour later, they had all finished eating and headed out the restaurant.

Clovis: "So, where are you both staying? A hotel?"

Gottfried: "We could accompany you to your hotel."

Buhc stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment.

Chub: "What?"

Buhc: "The hotels..."

Chub sighed.

Chub: "What did you do?"

Buhc: "Umm...I think that..."

Chub: "''You forgot to book the hotel, didn't you...'"

Buhc: "Err...possibly.

Clovis: "You could stay over at my place for the night."

Gottfried: "Why not? That would be a noble thing, Clovis."

Jock: "But what about Gottfried and Fis-"

Clovis: "Don't worry. I'm sure we can all sleep soundly."

Chub: "Thank you very much."

Clovis: "It's nothing."

Gottfried: "Good!"

Jock: "You know what, since we're all here, why don't we show you all around the city."

Fisch: "That would be wonderful!"

Buhc: "Thank you, all."

Clovis: "No problem. It's a plan then, tomorrow we shall give you two a tour around the city."

Gottfried: "Excellent!" - Later that evening, they had all made their way to Clovis' house. Jock and Piper had left for their own homes, while Fisch and Gottfried stayed. Chub and Buhc had also stayed. Eventually they all began to close their eyes and sleep. They were all deeply fast asleep, but Chub was dreaming about something. In the dream, he found himself standing all alone on an old wooden sailing ship, similar to the pirate ship earlier. Not knowing he was in a dream, Chub began to walk around.

Chub: "Where am I?"

The ship was sailing along in the middle of a large ocean, with flat horizons all around. The winds were calm and the sails were not billowing. Chub looked up and saw a black flag with the picture of a puffle and bones on it.

Chub: "Pirates..."

As he said the word, hundreds and thousands of puffle pirates crowded the deck, coming from the doors below decks. At once the puffles surrounded Chub, forming a circle around him. The puffles were a distance away, but they slowly closed in. There was the sound of a dramatic drum beat, slowly getting faster. Chub looked around him and the puffles were getting even closer. The calm seas turned violent as gale force winds blew the sails. The boat started to rock violently, as the waves crashed onto the sides of the hull, reaching the deck. Thunder and lightning clapped as the puffles got even closer, closing the distance between them and Chub. A black puffle with a pirate hat on went up to the ship's helm as Chub looked at it. The pirate was Cutlass the one he had met days ago. Then two puffles, one green and one red, went up and flanked Cutlass. The puffles were scared and terrified. Cutlass cackled loudly as the lightning hit. Then, the ghost of a penguin flew around as Chub continued to be encircled.

Mark the Warrior: "Chub Adelie. It is I, Mark the Warrior, your ancestor-"

Chub: "HELP!"

Mark: "It is your destiny to become a warrior."

Chub: "I KNOW BUT I NEED HELP!"

Mark: "In time you will know your true destiny."

Chub: "TRUE DESTINY?!"

Mark: "However, for now, your quest will take you over oceans and seas, through good and evil."

Chub: "SO?!"

Mark: "The two puffles...their names are Duncan and Daniel."

Chub: "PUFFLES?!"

Mark: "Save them and good luck on your quest...for the Winter's Tide!"

Chub: "WINTER'S TIDE?!"

The ghost of Mark flew away as the puffles got closer. They all chanted in unison.

Puffles: "WINTER'S TIDE! WINTER'S TIDE! WINTER'S TIDE!"

Cutlass continued to laugh as the two puffles looked even more scared. Chub jumped up and towards the direction of the two, but fell into the sea of the puffles.

Puffles: "WINTER'S TIDE! WINTER'S TIDE! WINTER'S TIDE!"

The puffles surrounded Chub and trampled him to the floor when suddenly he screamed and awoke.

Chub: " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! "

In his screaming fit, Chub tossed his icePhone at the wall, smashing it. Buhc waddled in from another room.

Buhc: "Everything alright?"

Chub looked around and saw that it was daytime and the sun was shining in from a window.

Chub: "Uhh-uhh-uh..."

He looked around and saw his phone all smashed up.

Chub: "Uhh-yeah. I just...um...tripped over with my phone...and broke it..."

Buhc: "Again?"

Chub: "Yeah..."

Buhc: "Well get ready, we're leaving soon."

Buhc went off as Chub picked up the shattered pieces of his phone. He thought for a moment, but could not remember anything about his dream. Confused, he set off for breakfast with the Hochstadts. - The group had set out and had a Castillian breakfast. They had finished and were all moving out to see the sights of the city.

Leonardo: "Ah! I know! We should visit La gran Telenacle, a large Telenacle Cathedral in the central city! You can see the marvelous architec-"

Piper: "Cathedral? What about the city square? Zocodover Square anyone?"

Clovis: "What about La Alcazar de Toledo? It has a rich history, and today it's now a library."

Chub: "There's just too many places around the city!"

Buhc: "Yeah. So many things to see and do!"

Clovis: "Indeed. Toledo is an interesting place. We have an interesting and culturally rich history. You'll love it here."

Chub: "We do."

Buhc: "We would visit this place again in the future."

Clovis: "Then you are welcome by place anytime."

Buhc: "Oh goo-"

Chub elbowed Buhc.

Chub: "Ehh, you don't have to."

Clovis: "Nonsense! Be sure to visit us!"

Chub: "We sure will."

The group continued to waddle down the path that they were on. It was a beautiful, sunny morning in Toledo. Compared to yesterday, a few wispy clouds had gathered up in the sky. Chub continued to look around the scenery when suddenly a sewerage hole cover just in front of them moved about.

Leonardo: "What was that?"

The cover moved about some more before it busted open, landing on a nearby bush. Out of the sewerage hole came out two puffles, a green one and a red one. The green puffle wore a jester hat, similar to Clovis', but the two puffles looked dirty and scruffy. Chub vaguely remembered his dream, but instantly forgot about it.

Green Puffle: "Have we escaped?"

Red Puffle: "I-I-I think so..."

Green Puffle: "Where are we?"

Piper: "Toledo in Castilla!"

The two puffles were shocked and tripped backwards.

Leonardo: "Welcome to Castilla!"

Gottfried: "Might I ask...who are you?"

The red puffle got up and dusted himself.

Daniel Highwater: "Sorry about that. My name's Daniel Highwater, pleased to meet you."

The green puffle got up as well and righted up his crooked hat.

Duncan: "...and my name is Duncan Mistrol. Pleased to meet you, too."

Duncan's hat kept on falling sideways, so he too kept on re-adjusting his hat. Daniel did all the talking.

Dan: "So Castilla, you say?"

Piper: "Yup!"

Dan: "You might you all be?"

They all introduced themselves to Duncan and Dan.

Chub: "So why are you...so...er..."

Buhc: "Dirty?"

Gottfried: "I believe, unkempt is a better word."

Chub: "Yes. What happened to you two?"

Dan: "Oh, uh, nothing. Just escaped from pirates and what not."

Chub and Buhc: "PIRATES?!"

Dan: "Yeah. Didn't see them did you? You see, we're both trying to run away from them."

Clovis: "Pirates, eh? In this day and age?"

Fisch: "Why yes. Look at Rockhopper."

Clovis: "No, no, no, no. Actual pirates."

Dan: "You mean the looting and slavery? Then, oh yes..."

Clovis: "You realize that this is a serious matter?"

Dan: "Of course!"

Chub: "Actually, Clovis, Buhc and I did meet some pirates along the way here."

Clovis: "Really?!"

Buhc: "Yeah. You see..."

The two then recounted their story to the rest of the Hochstadts and the puffles.

Jock: "Interesting..."

Dan: "Interesting, indeed! I WAS ABOARD THAT SHIP!"

Clovis: "This is interesting..."

Jock: "You know what, we should stop by somewhere to keep on discussing this."

Gottfried: "Indeed. We're keeping up penguins on the side walk."

Leonardo: "I know! There's a small park here, nearby. Let's go there."

Clovis: "Come on then."

They all went off in the direction of the park. Dan and Duncan continued to talk with Clovis as Chub and Buhc followed from behind.

Chub: "You know, this holiday just got a whole lot interesting."

Buhc: "Well...adventure here we come..."

Chapter 3: Puffle Pirates
The group had reached the park and they all sat down on a bench. The two puffles began to relay their story to everyone. Everyone who was listening listened intently, completely silent and absorbed in the story. After what seemed like an hour, Duncan and Daniel had told of their story to the Hochdstadts and the Adelie brothers.

Chub: "That's very interesting."

Buhc: "Yeah. How come there are still pirates even today."

Jock: "Pirates in sailing ships..."

Clovis: "...and how come this was never noticed...?"

Duncan: "It has been going on for years. It's a good thing we actually managed to escape without being tracked down."

When Duncan had finished his sentence, a nearby bush rustled around. Chub noticed it and looked at the corner of his eyes. At first he thought it was the wind...but there was no wind about.

Gottfried: "I suggest that we should go and stop these pirates."

Fisch: "I agree. It would make an excellent adventure-"

Chub and Buhc: "ADVENTURE?!"

Jock: "Why not? It would be for the good of all."

Clovis pointed to Gottfried and Fisch.

Clovis: "What about you two...and your vacation?"

Fisch: "It's alright."

Gottfried: "Yes. Like Jock pointed out, we would be doing good."

Clovis nodded.

Clovis: "So be it. I understand."

Piper turned to Chub and Buhc.

Piper: "How about you? Are you game?"

Chub: "Of course!"

Buhc: "Absolutely!"

Leonardo: "Well then. Where are we off to?"

Dan: "We need to find the ship, Winter's Tide."

Leonardo: "Any idea to where it would be?"

Duncan: "It could be anywhere!"

Dan: "Our best bet would be Puffle'and, where his ship's home port is."

Chub: "Home port? For a pirate?"

Dan: "Cutlass managed to find a small abandoned port town. The town was later turned into the port."

Buhc: "Illega-"

Dan and Duncan: "Yup."

Chub: "So, are we off to Puffle'and?"

Piper: "Yup!"

Chub: "Well, let's go!"

???: "NOT SO FAST!"

Everyone turned around to where the voice came from. They looked at the bush that Chub saw rustle earlier. Deciding that it was nothing they turned back to Dan and Duncan...only they weren't there.

Duncan: "HELP!"

Everyone turned around to the bush again. They saw Duncan up in a tree, tied up with rope which was held by another puffle.

Dan: "HE-"

Everyone turned around again. This time, they saw Dan up in the tree, also tied up in rope. The rope was, again, held by another puffle. This time, however, another puffle had came up and taped Dan's mouth. Dan continued to muffle for help as the same was done to Duncan. The Hochstadts and Adelies stayed below, frozen and shocked; not knowing what to do.

Leonardo: "We should help them!"

Buhc (sarcastically): "Good idea..."

Everyone stood up. Immediately, Chub began to split the group off into two groups.

Chub: "Clovis, Jock, Piper and Fisch, you get the green puffle. Buhc, Gottfried, Leonardo and myself will get the red puffle."

Piper: "They have nam-"

Chub: "Well I forgot. Now, let's split up!"

The large group split up into two groups, one following a separate puffle. - The puffle with Duncan began to pull him along, like a penguin walking a reluctant puffle. Duncan did all he could to stop, but continued to be pulled off. Another puffle came up and began to talk.

Puffle 1: "Ah ha! You have caught him."

Puffle 2: "Yes, indeed. Would you help me to pull?"

Puffle 1: "BAH! PULL IT YOURSELF!"

Puffle 2: "WHAT?!?"

Puffle 1: "I SAID-"

The loud shouted had attracted the group that was chasing after them.

Jock: "STOP!"

The puffle who had commanded the other puffle quickly took the rope and began to pull. Duncan tried ever so harder to pull back, but he was not strong enough. He stopped pulling back and was dragged by the other two puffles.

Jock: "I SAID STOP! STOP YOU PUFFLES!"

Puffle 1: "NEVER!"

Jock: "STOP! JUST STOP!"

Piper: "Don't worry! I'll get you!"

Piper jumped up onto Jock's head and flung himself forward, landing on the rope.

Piper: "LET GO!"

Puffle 2: "NO!"

Annoyed and absolutely frustrated, Piper pulled out his pistol. He tried to aim at the two puffles, but was dragged around.

Jock: "Wait up, Piper!"

Fisch: "We're behind you!"

Piper was being tossed and turned around as he tried to hold onto the rope and his pistol.

Piper: "Who are you?! What do you want, anyway?!

One of the puffles turned around and smirked an evil smile that was etched into Piper's mind.

Puffle 1 : " WE'RE PIRATES! "

Piper was stunned in shock and almost dropped his gun. In fact, however, he was so shocked that he let go of the rope. Piper rolled behind the two and just looked off at the three puffles, growing smaller in the distance.

Jock: "PIPER!"

Jock, Fisch and Clovis ran up from behind. Jock bent down, scooped up Piper and placed him on his shoulder. The three continued to run off after the puffle pirates. - Chub, Buhc, Gottfried and Leonardo were busy chasing after the other puffles. Chub and Buhc were busy free running over everything while Gottfried and Leonardo stumbled behind, with Gottfried's noisy armor clanging about.

Gottfried: "Wait up!"

Chub, however, was far away at front, followed closely by Buhc.

Chub: "STOP! STOP RUNNING! STOP!"

Puffle: "NEVER!"

Like Piper, Chub reached for his air cannon. As he was running, he took aim, but again, he couldn't.

Buhc: "JUST. PLEASE. STOP!"

Puffle: "NO!"

Chub began to steady his aim and fired.

*WOOSH*

A blast of compressed air shot out of the cannon and directly at the target...which, since Chub's aim was off, was a street vendor and his cart. The vendor was furious and began to shout loudly and rapidly in Spanish.

Vendor: "¿Qué has hecho?! Míralo! Mi carro! Mis verduras! Mis clientes!" (What have you done! Look at it! My car! My vegetables! My customers!)

Chub: "Sorry, SORRY! Apologies! I'm so sorry!"

Chub bent down and tried to help the vendor pick up his vegetables, which were scattered everywhere.

Buhc: "They're getting away!"

Chub: "I'm sorry!"

Chub continued after Buhc with the chase.

Gottfried: "But what about the man?!"

Leonardo: "What about the puffle?!"

Buhc: "Just follow!"

Gottfried and Leonardo continued to follow behind Chub and Buhc, who had nearly lost the chase. Chub stopped in his tracks and took a steady aim. He fired out a large blast of air towards the puffles. However, they were too far off, and the puffles were not affected at all. After a long chase, Chub had finally caught up to just behind the two puffles.

Chub: "STOP! STOP OR I WILL SHOOT!"

Puffle: "THEN GO ON! SHOOT! COME AT ME!"

Chub was annoyed. So he aimed and fired.

*WOOSH*

This time, the aim was straight and true. The blast of air impacted the two puffles. But it did not stop them. In fact, all it did was speed them up. The two puffles were shot out and disappeared into the distance.

Chub: "WHAT?!? WAIT...stop..."

Buhc: "What's that?!"

The two turned around to hear the crowds screaming about. The crowd parted open and a small, black puffle with a pirate hat came out.

Cutlass: "I see it that we have met again, gentlemen."

Cutlass pulled out a short but dangerous dagger.

Cutlass: "You see...I don't think we have had a...hmm...how should I say it...proper meeting..."

Cutlass jumped up wildly, screaming maniacally. He lunged towards Chub, with his dagger out stretched and prepared to attack him.

*SHING*

Gottfried: "I'M GOTTFRIED HOCHSTADT! PLEASED TO MEET YOU!"

Gottfried and Leonardo had caught up. He has pulled out his sword and blocked Cutlass' attack. Chub just stood back, shocked and completely surprised. Cutlass got down onto the ground and was locked in a duel with Gottfried. Cutlass deflected an attack and climbed up to Gottfried's helmet and spoke to him.

Cutlass: "Pleased to meet you too. The name is Cutlass Brindley...a pirate."

The two battled it out as the crowd formed a circle around them. Gottfried had the upper flipper, with a larger sword, armor and was physically bigger. Cutlass however, did not give up and jumped up and around, making use of his surroundings to battle and attack Gottfried.

Gottfried: "Schön, Sie kennen zu lernen!" (Nice to meet you!)

The two continued to shout remarks at each other as they dueled. Chub, Buhc and Leonardo just stood back, not knowing what to do.

Chub: "This is getting nowhere..."

He began to aim the air cannon towards Cutlass. Buhc stuck out his flipper and pulled the cannon down.

Buhc: "No. You might hit Gottfried."

Chub: "But we need to stop this fight!"

Chub began to aim again. Cutlass and Gottfried were still busy dueling each other. Suddenly, however the crowd parted again and in between came Clovis, Jock, Fisch and Piper.

Clovis: "Gottfried!"

Jock: "I've got this!"

Jock pulled out his sword as well and joined in the fray.

Cutlass: "Ah! I see we have another one!"

Jock: "JUST SHUT UP!"

Clovis went up to Chub and talked to him.

Clovis: "Where are the puffles? Have you found them?"

Chub: "No. They got away. You?"

Clovis: "No, they got away, too."

Chub: "Come on. We need to end this."

Chub, yet again, began to aim his air cannon. This time, however, the crowd noticed the cannon and began to back off, screaming. Cutlass noticed this and began to back away as well.

Cutlass: "I believe that we're done, gentlemen. Pleasure to duel against you."

Jock: "THIS ISN'T A DUEL YOU FOOL-"

Cutlass: "I don't care. Farewell, gentlemen!"

Cutlass deflected both Gottfried's and Jock's swords and then disappeared into the crowd.

Jock: "Darn. So close..."

Chub: "So now what?"

Clovis: "I guess...that..."

Buhc: "We have to set off for them?"

Piper: "You mean find them? That's impossible!"

Jock: "Well when we do find them, what will we do?"

Clovis: "Put and end to this nasty regime."

Gottfried: "We would be doing Antarctica a good favor."

Piper: "But...how...?"

Chub: "Time for adventure..."

Leonardo: "Anything is possible...anything."

Fisch: "Leonardo is right. Even though all hopes look slim, we must do what is right for the greater good."

Chub: "For the greater good..."

Buhc: "Well where should we start looking? We barely have anything to go by!"

Leonardo: "Fly to Puffle'and?"

Buhc: "Ooh, flyi-"

Chub: "No I have a better idea..."

Chub beckoned everyone closer and they formed a circle. Chub discussed their idea quietly, making sure that no one would hear. After a while of shaking heads, nodding and murmuring, they all got up and agreed to the plan. - A few hours later, they were all aboard Buhc's private Smearjet 45. They were soaring high up above the sea and over the clouds. Most of the clouds were very white and fluffy, with some other small wispy clouds higher above. On the horizon were a few darker clouds, slowly making their way towards them. The tiny business jet cruised along, occasionally running into a cloud, leaving twirls of air in their wake. Everyone managed to fit inside the small jet and they began to talk about their plan.

Buhc: "Okay. So this plane has some sweet gadgets built into it."

Clovis: "What sort of gadgets?"

Buhc: "All kinds. But the one we're most interested in is a tracking device."

Everyone: "Tracking device?!"

Chub: "Pfft. Why are you all surprised?"

Buhc: "Anyway...this tracking device uses a combination of sonar technology and all sorts of technical stuff. We don't really care about that. We can use this device to track down those puffle pirates."

Fisch: "How, exactly?"

Buhc: "Well Chub and I remembered seeing a large wooden ship...the pirate's ship."

Leonardo: "Yes...?"

Buhc: "Tell me...how many ships are made out of wood nowadays?"

Jock: "Viking Longboats?"

Chub: "Well besides that."

Piper: "Well other than that...the pirate ship!"

Buhc: "Exactly!"

Clovis: "Ah! Smart!"

Buhc: "Yeah...well...it's nothing..."

Gottfried: "So are we any closer to finding that ship?"

Immediately after Gottfried said that, a loud beeping noise came from the cockpit.

Chub: "What's that? ILS morse code?"

Buhc: "No. That would be the sensors. Let me check that."

*BOOM*

All of a sudden, there was a deafening noise as dozens of alarms started blazing in the cockpit. The plane lurched to the side but quickly regained their course.

Leonardo: "What was that?!"

Chub and Buhc rushed into the cockpit and took their seats; Buhc on the left and Chub on the right. They put on their headsets and began to frantically assess the situation.

Chub: "What happened?!"

Buhc: "Somebody set up us-"

Chub: "OH SHUT UP! QUICK!"

Buhc: *ahem* "Okay. Let's see...we've lost all of our hydraulic systems... we're leaking fuel...the engine's on fire..."

Chub: "What is going on?!"

*BOOM*

Chub: "Disaster checklist?"

Buhc: "THAT DOESN'T EXIST!"

Chub: "Well, what are we going to do?!"

Buhc: "ARGH!"

Buhc, reacting swiftly, switched off the autopilot and turned on the seat belt sign. He looked back out the back of the cockpit and looked at the Hochstadts in the cabin.

Buhc: "SEAT BELTS ON! PREPARE TO BRACE!"

Chub: "We're going to crash?!"

Buhc (sarcastically): "Nahhh..."

The plane plummeted even further as Chub looked out the window.

Chub: "Is that...?"

Buhc: "THE SHIP!"

Chub: "THEY SHOT US! THEY ATTACKED US! OHH THEY'RE GOING TO GET IT WHEN WE-"

Buhc: "BRACE!"

Everyone adopted the brace position, except Chub, as the crash landed into the ocean. Within a few minutes, everyone had got out of the sinking wreckage and clung onto a piece of floating debris.

Chub: "Oww...my head..."

Buhc: "Well at least we know where the ship is."

Leonardo: "Bah! It's gone!"

Gottfried: "Never lose faith, Leonardo."

Clovis: "Well shall we just wait?"

Chub: "I guess..."

They all held onto the piece of debris as they continued to drift for what seemed like hours. Soon after, however a ship began to near them.

Piper: "Hey rescue!"

The ship was headed to their direction. It sailed closer to them and eventually stopped. A rope ladder was cast down to them and a few life preservers were thrown. They floated over to the ladder and climbed aboard the ship. There on the deck was a group of sailors waiting for them. They were aboard a large container ship, full of many containers. Everyone was still shivering from the cold sea water as they were clothed in towels by the crew.

Chub: "T-t-thank you for r-r-rescuing u-us..."

Captain: "No worries! We would always help a penguin in need. I'm the captain of this ship, pleased to meet you all."

Chub: "P-p-pleased to m-meet you t-too..."

Captain: "So what were you all doing in the ocean?!"

Buhc: "O-o-our plane...crashed..."

Captain: "Plane crash?! Good thing we found you!"

Chub: "Y-yeah...so where a-are you h-headed?"

Captain: "We're a cargo ship bound for Club Penguin! However our next stop is Highlaw Island. We're just off the coast of it."

Chub: "H-H-Highlaw I-Island, e-eh...?"

Chapter 4: The C-Pengaberg
The cargo ship made it's way to Highlaw Island. Located in the Weddell Sea, the small island was a flourishing port, with many ships docking there frequently. The cargo ship made it's way to a nearby dock, casting off some ropes to tie it into place. Within a few minutes, the Adelie brothers and the Hochstadt Gang said thanks once again before disembarking.

Chub: "Guys, I have another idea!"

Fisch: "What is it this time?"

Chub: "I've been to this island before. This was where I set out to build my ship."

Gottfried: "Ship?! My, my, Gaston will be jealous..."

Buhc: "Who's Ga-"

Chub: "Anyway, I decommissioned the ship a few years ago. It's still docked here as a museum ship, but I can get it back into use!"

Buhc: "Then we shall be able to catch down those pirates!"

Fisch: "Excellent! How fast is it?"

Chub: "It could do Sydney to Hobart in less than 12 miles!"

Leonardo: "That doesn't sound right-"

Piper: "-But it's good enough for me!"

Jock: "What's a Syd-"

Chub: "Never mind. We could get one step closer to catching them down...so let's go!" - The group made their way to a dock nearby. Highlaw Island was very small, so they could go over to anywhere very quickly. The aqua blue sea crashed into the rocks on the coast as the sun shone down onto the bright yellow sand beside. Tall trees swayed in the salty ocean breeze. Chub gazed upwards and noticed the C-Pengaberg the private ship that he had ordered to be built. It was this ship that had discovered Lowlaw Island a few years ago. The ship's large, white sails were tucked and tied up, with the many ropes dangling around the ship being blown around in the wind. He had not seen the ship for months, and he was eager to get it sailing again.

Chub: "Ah, yes. The C-Pengaberg, my ship."

Clovis: "Gaston would be jealous, indeed..."

Chub: "It's more magnificent when it's out in the sea. Just wait until the sails are unfurled."

Fisch: "So how do we get it into sea?"

Chub: "It's currently a museum ship, but I, as the owner, have the right to move everything and sail it away. Let me go see the curator for a moment..."

Chub waddled off to a nearby warehouse, which had been converted to a museum. Everyone else stayed behind, outside. They looked around as the wind began to pick up. High up above, the clouds started to form into dark storm clouds. Buhc looked over to Jock.

Buhc: "Do you think the weather is good for sailing?"

Jock: "Well...it's not bad. The wind is starting to speed up."

Piper: "Hopefully, though, we won't have to face rough seas."

After a few minutes, Chub came back out.

Chub: "The ship's been cleared and we can be off! Come on, I want to get out of here before a storm comes in."

Everyone boarded the ship as Chub and Buhc started to cast off and get ready to sail away, chasing after the pirates. - About half an hour later, the C-Pengaberg was off! The eight large sails on the large clipper ship were being blown around by the wind, which was starting to pick up even more. The seas were also starting to get more rough. The clouds started to cover all of the sky as the distant sound of thunder boomed through the open seas. Chub was standing on the upper deck, holding the steering wheel of the ship and gazing off in deep thought at the horizon. Buhc was next to him looking through a telescope.

Buhc: "We're starting to leave Highlaw Island behind."

Chub: "Mhm."

Buhc: "It's just disappearing under the horizon."

Chub: "Mhm."

Buhc: "This weather won't be good for sailing."

Chub: "Mhm."

Buhc: "So what's our heading?"

Chub: "Mhm."

Buhc: "OI!"

Chub: "Mhm."

Buhc: "HEY!"

Chub: "Huh? Sorry, what?"

Buhc: "Where are we headed?"

Chub: "What was the last known location of those pirates?"

Buhc: "Umm...I-I-"

Chub: "Did-did you...forget...?"

Buhc: "Uhh...that depends...?"

Chub lurched in front of Buhc and grabbed him by his collar and began to shout at him.

Chub: "YOU FORGOT THE LOCATION?! THEN-"

Piper and Leonardo, who were both up top at the two Crow's Nests, called down to Chub and Buhc.

Piper: "HEY! You two!"

Leonardo: "We see a ship!"

Chub let go of Buhc and gazed off into the distance. Buhc took out the telescope as well and looked through it.

Buhc: "Drat."

Chub: "What?"

Buhc: "They're headed for an island."

Chub: "What else?"

Buhc: "They've got some cannons...pointed at us..."

Chub snatched the telescope from Buhc and looked through it.

Chub: "Drat, indeed."

Buhc: "What are we going to do? We don't have cannons..."

Chub: "Two words: Clipper. Ship."

Buhc: "You're not-"

Chub: "We have a clipper ship at our disposal! We have state of the art 18th century technology, for crying out loud!"

Chub pushed the telescope closed and thrusted it to Buhc's chest. Chub stepped forward, cupped his flippers and began to shout out orders. They were in for a hard battle.

Buhc: "Actually, they might not have seen us."

*BOOM*

Buhc: "I retract that statement."

Chub: "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Luckily, the cannon ball fired by the pirate ship narrowly missed them, smashing into the sea just shy of the ship. The sea water splashed up onto the deck, washing Fisch and Gottfried with sea water.

Gottfried: "Argh! This dreaded water is freezing!"

Fisch: "I'd say otherwise. I like the water...and the sea actually. I should become a sailor..."

Jock: "Hey, both of you! Help me with this ropes, will you?"

Gottfried and Fisch: "Sure!"

The two penguins went up to Jock and began to tie down some ropes. The massive sails of the ship opened up and billowed around with the wind. By now, the ksy was dark with lots of clouds. It had begun to rain a bit, with small droplets of rain splattering around the wooden deck of the ship. The waves were also starting to pick up as Chub struggled to keep the ship straight and level.

Chub: "This is dreadful weather."

Buhc: "Told you so!"

Chub: "No time for that. We must keep up with those pirates."

Buhc: "And then what? Slash them with our swords?!"

Chub: "YES!"

Buhc: "We don't have swords!"

Chub: "I don't care! Use planks of wood, ropes, barrels...anything!"

*BOOM*

Buhc: "So we're going to try and out run this?"

Chub: "-OR BE DELETED TRYING!"

Chub continued to frantically spin the ship's wheel around. The sails billowed wildly as the rain poured down. Buhc took out his telescope again and looked at the ship. At the top of the mast was a black flag with the picture of a white puffle on it...the symbol of a pirate. The tattered flag blew about in the strong winds. The Winter's Tide was facing so that it's side was facing directly at the C-Pengaberg. Small doors on the side opened up, exposing the large cannons towards them. Buhc knew it was any second that they would be hit by a barrage of cannon balls. Clovis ran up from the mid-deck to the upper deck where Chub and Buhc were.

Clovis: "What are we going to do?"

Chub: "Follow them I guess!"

Buhc: "We can't really do anything else. All we have is a ship without cannons!"

Clovis: "That's all?! Are you mad?!"

Chub: "We don't really have a choice! We can follow them and wait until they run out of cannons!"

Buhc: "We could even board the ship and duel them."

Clovis: "I don't think we'll stand a chance."

Chub: "Actually...that's a good idea, Buhc."

Buhc: "I told you that before-"

Chub: "Well, Clovis...arm yourselves and get ready. It looks like that our only course of action is to bring the fight into our hands."

Clovis: "Are you even sure this will work?"

With that Chub laughed as he spun the wheel around, making the C-Pengaberg head more directly to the Winter's Tide.

Chub: "Ha ha! I have no idea!

The C-Pengaberg spun around wildly and started to head for the Winter's Tide. The ship was turning so sharply that it nearly tipped over.

Chub: "Everyone grab hold of something! We're in for a ride!" - On the Winter's Tide, it was a different story. A pirate approached Cutlass, who was looking through his own telescope.

Pirate: "Captain?"

Cutlass: "Good grief...they're coming for an attack run...what a load of persistent-"

Pirate: "Captain!"

Cutlass: "What?!"

Pirate: "We're nearing our destination."

Cutlass spun around and faced forward, still looking through his telescope. He gazed down into an island straight ahead. It was filled with lush forests and high mountains.

Cutlass: "Ahh...Isle of Swords...an appropriate name for an appropriate island..."

Pirate: "Are you certain that the next group of coins will be here?"

Cutlass: "Of course!"

Cutlass folded up his telescope as pushed it into the pirate before barking orders at him.

Cutlass: "Get the crew ready. We shall be on the island by mid-afternoon, in time for tea."

Pirate: "Tea-"

Cutlass: "Yes, tea you fool..."

Pirate: "What about the two puffles?"

Cutlass gazed down at Duncan and Dan, who were tied up onto the ship's main mast.

Cutlass: "Send them into the hold and lock them up. We don't want their nonsense here."

Cutlass then went off towards his room, before being stopped by the pirate again.

Pirate: "But what about the penguins?"

Cutlass: "I don't care. Just get them out of my sight." - A few minutes later, the C-Pengaberg was directly behind the Winter's Tide, chasing it. The two ships had all of their sails unfurled, catching as much wind as possible. Chub was struggling to keep up with the pirate ship, who tried mightily to evade them.

Chub: "See if you can coax any more wind into the sails!"

Buhc: "We can't! We're risking the sails ripping apart!"

Chub: "Well then we won't be able to keep up!"

Buhc: "I thought this was a fast ship!"

Chub: "It is! Shut up!"

As the two argued, they did not notice the pirates moving their cannons to the stern of the ship.

Chub and Buhc: "Cannons?!" - Cutlass was staring behind at the C-Pengaberg. In front of him was a large cannon, with a few pirates gathered around it.

Cutlass: "Well, it's all yours. Happy shooting."

A pirate loaded a large cannonball into the cannon. Another pirate lit a piece of rope on fire and placed it on the cannon.

*BOOM* - Back on the C-Pengaberg, the shockwave from the cannon reached them.

Chub: "Everybody duck!"

Everyone ducked down and laid flat on the deck. Everything went in slow motion. Instantly, the cannonball whizzed past, just above the deck. The aim was surprisingly very straight. It impacted one of the main masts, splintering it and making it collapse. The cannonball continued onwards, narrowly missing the other mast. It impacted the deck, falling below into the storage hold and shaking up cases of Cream Soda. The, now volatile, drink fizzed up and exploded with a massive boom. Bubbling and sticky Cream Soda spilled out onto the decks. Chub could do nothing but watch as the pirates escaped while his ship was damaged.

Chub: "Umm...crap..."

Chapter 5: Isle of Swords
The Winter's Tide was sailing towards the Isle of Swords, a small island located in the middle of no-where. The deep blue sea turned into an aqua color as it neared the coast. A large gaping beach spread out in front of the ship, with a few rocks dotted here and there. On the edge of the beach was a forest with many small trees. However the trees got bigger and bigger the father it is from the coast. Cutlass looked up at the towering mountain in the middle of the island, stretching far up into the clouds. The mountain was once a massive and violent volcano, but time has made it age into a peaceful mountain densely covered in tall trees. The midday sun shone onto the island and illuminated the glowing water.



Cutlass: "Ah, such beautiful scenery. Too bad not many know about this."

The ship continued to make it's way towards the sandy coastline, getting faster and faster. Cutlass did not seem to notice.

Pirate: "Captain! Captain!"

Cutlass ignored the cry of a pirate as he continued staring at the island.

Pirate: "CAPTAIN!"

*BOOM* *CRACK*

The ship impacted on the sandy shore, shocking everyone and making everyone fall onto the deck. Cutlass got up from his daze as he heard the devastating sound of splintering wood.

Cutlass: "You fool! We crashed onto the beach!"

Pirate: "We we're trying to tell y-"

Cutlass: "No excuses!"

Angry, Cutlass picked up his sword, a small bottle and a map. He ran towards the forward edge of the upper deck and addressed the crew.

Cutlass: "Alright! Half of you come with me! The rest of you, stay here and fix the ship! Once you're done, follow us! Now, MOVE!"

Cutlass got down as the rest of the crew started to bustle around the ship frantically, going about their jobs. - A couple of hours later, the C-Pengaberg limped on and also crashed into a beach. It was a mess. The sails were ripped apart, the hull was splintered and the deck was covered in sticky Cream Soda. Everyone was busy cleaning up, while Chub was in the Captain's Quarters, messing about with maps. Buhc knocked on the door leading in, startling Chub.

Chub: "Come in."

Buhc waddled in and went in front of Chub's desk.

Buhc: "Whatcha doing?"

Chub: "Looking at my maps. I don't think this place has even been discovered."

Buhc: "Well good...are we any closer to chasing down those pirates?"

Chub: "Umm...not really...no..."

Buhc: "Well then why don't we go out and find them?!"

Chub: "Are you being sarcastic?"

Buhc: "NO!"

Chub: "Well, if you can't see, the ship is battered into pieces. It will take us a while to get it running again."

Buhc: "So we're just going to stay here and do nothing?!"

Chub: "Well...we're fixing the ship!"

Buhc: "ARGH!"

Buhc began to storm out of the room, picking up Chub's air cannon, which was leaning on a wall.

Chub: "H-hey! What are you doing! Where are you taking my cannon?"

Buhc: "I'm going out...to the island..."

Buhc opened the door in front of him just as Chub stood up, knocking several maps and papers onto the floor.

Chub: "WAIT!"

Buhc stopped and turned around.

Chub: "I'm coming." - Later, Chub, Buhc, Jock, Clovis and Leonardo had left the ship and made their way onto the beach.

Leonardo: "What is this place?"

Jock: "Paradise..."

The group waddled for what seemed like an hour. They had encountered nothing but wide beaches and sprawling forests. However, Buhc began to see something far off on the horizon.

Buhc: "What's that?"

Buhc snatched Chub's telescope and looked through it.

Buhc: "The pirate ship!"

Chub: "Aha! They've landed there, I presume."

Buhc: "Yeah...no-one seems to be aboard."

Chub: "What if we burn it down? They can't get off the island."

Clovis: "Well...think of the long run."

Chub: "Fine. What if we loot it?"

Leonardo: "Well...they're pirates, so it wouldn't matter, I guess."

Chub: "Well, then. Let's see if we can find anything of value...and maybe even those coins."

Jock: "Sounds good!"

So, the group began to run off into the distance towards the pirate ship. - Pirate 1: "T-t-they're coming towards us..."

Pirate 2: "WHAT?!?"

Pirate 3: "Shhh!"

Pirate 1: "They're coming this way."

The Winter's Tide was not empty, but full of pirates!

Pirate 4: "So...do we chase them down? Capture them?"

Pirate 2: "No, I have a better idea..."

Pirate 5: "What?"

Pirate 2: "Everyone hide-"

Pirate 3: "Hide? HIDE?! Are you serious?"

Pirate 2: "Well you don't know the plan do you?"

Pirate 3: "Go on, then. Tell us your 'mighty plan'."

All of the pirates huddled together and began to whisper in hushed voices. - Chub, Buhc, Jock, Clovis and Leonardo made their way to the Winter's Tide. The massive ship towered above them, casting down a large shadow.

Clovis: "¡Dios mío! Look at the size of this thing!"

Jock: "This is a fine ship."

Chub: "Indeed."

Buhc: "What's that over there?"

Buhc pointed off into the distance, at the bottom of the ship.

Chub: "Cannons."

Clovis: "I wonder why they're here..."

Buhc: "I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to take these, would it?"

Leonardo: "No. But it would be a good idea if we had cannons."

Chub: "I agree. We have some barrels of gunpowder, and I'm sure we can use something as a makeshift cannonball."

Buhc: "What? Like...a chair?"

Chub: "In theory...I guess...so, who would like-"

Jock: "I'll do it! I'll take those cannons back!"

Chub: "Okay. You can do that while we explore the ship."

Chub stepped forward and began to fiddle something about in his pocket.

Leonardo: "How do we get on board?"

Chub pulled a small gadget out of his pocket and attached it to his flipper.

Chub: "Grappling hook!" - Chub helped Clovis and Leonardo onto the Winter's Tide as they looked off at Jock in the distance, pulling a cannon back towards their ship, leaving behind twin trails from the wheels on the sandy beach.

Clovis: "Thanks. Now, where were we?"

Buhc: "Looting the ship?"

Chub: "Well if you put it so bluntly, then yes. We're going to loot the ship."

The group made their way around the ship's deck, each of them going out to explore something on their own. There was nothing of interest on the deck, just the odd barrel of Cream Soda and a dirty mop. By a few minutes, they had gotten bored and regrouped.

Leonardo: "Well, did you find anything."

Chub, Buhc and Clovis: "Nope."

Leonardo: "So now what? Do we go below decks?"

Chub, Buhc and Clovis: "Yup."

So Chub, Buhc, Clovis and Leonardo went up to a door leading under the deck. The opened it slowly, causing it to creak very loudly. The are below the deck was very dark and dimly lit by small candles on the walls.

Clovis: "Strange...they didn't put out the candles."

One by one, they all descended the old, creaky ladder leading underneath. They had gathered at the foot of the ladder on the lower deck. The bright morning sun shone down from the door, illuminating the area around the ladder and the many floating motes of dust. The group split up below decks to look for items of interest. As they waddled around the wooden floor below them creaked about. There was a sense of dread and fear among everyone. It felt as if darkness and the shadows were evil. Simply put, wandering about in an old, dark pirate ship is not fun.

Chub: "There's not really much of interest."

Leonardo: "Mhm."

Buhc: "Well if we can't find anything then let's just get out of here. This placing is freaking scary..."

Chub glared at Buhc, who then shrugged.

Buhc: "Pun not intended!"

Everyone continued to explore around the bottom decks of the ship. The wooden flooring creaked as they all waddled around. By now they had delved deep into the ship and had taken out phones, flashlights or anything that would light up the darkness in front of them.

Chub: "It's nothing in here! Just old hammocks, cannonballs and barrels of gunpowder."

Clovis: "What kinds of pirates are these? In fact I still can't believe that in this day and age, there as even pirates. It baffles me."

Buhc: "The world can be a dark place."

Leonardo: "Oh, tell me about it."

Buhc: "Well, are we done yet?"

Chub: "We might be able to find something of use in the Captain's Quarters. Some maps, maybe?"

Buhc: "That's all you care about? Maps?"

Chub: "Well, if you think about it, maps are information...knowledge, if you will."

Buhc: "Okay fine-"

Clovis: "Guys, just stop blabbering and get into the captain's room!"

After what seemed like half an hour, they had finally located the door into the Captain's Quarters. It was located deep inside the ship, with no form of sunlight leeching in whatsoever. It was dark and creepy, but there was no turning back now.

Leonardo: "Well?"

Clovis: "The moment of truth..."

Chub: "As the narrator said-"

Clovis and Leonardo: "What?"

Chub: "No backing out now..."

Chub leaned forward and pushed the door handle. It creaked ominously as it opened forward into an even darker room. Chub took a step forward and put his phone up so that the light would shine into the room. His step creaked on the floor below as suddenly his phone turned off! They were all plunged into darkness. There were several creaking noises as Chub hurried to turn his phone back on. He fumbled around quickly and dropped his phone. Buhc, Clovis and Leonardo were now shivering, both with fright and cold, as the darkness covered all of them like a shroud. Then all of a sudden-

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Everyone turned around quickly to find out that Clovis had disappeared into the shadows!

Leonardo: "Clovis? Clovis?!"

Chub (scared): "W-w-what's going on?"

Buhc: "And I say-"

Chub: "NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR THAT!"

Leonardo: "What is happening?!"

Chub: "I don't know but this is starting to seem like a bad idea."

Buhc: "I'm leaving-"

Chub: "But what about Clovis?! We can't just leave them here!"

Buhc: "I'm sure he can fend for himself-"

Chub grabbed Buhc on his collar as he was starting to leave.

Chub: "No just stay! I'm going to get whatever we can."

Buhc: "No, stop!"

Leonardo: "Don't Chub! No!"

Ignoring the two, Chub stamped forward into the darkness of the Captain's Quarters. He managed to make his way to the captain's desk, which was covered in a sprawl of papers and maps. In great swiftness, Chub grabbed everything that he could and ran out of the room, with his flippers loaded with the papers.

Chub: "Time to go-"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Leonardo: "What was that?!"

Chub turned around and instead of finding Buhc, all he saw was thin air. He was gone, left with Leonardo in the darkness.

Chub: "WHAT?!?"

Leonardo: "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, CHUB!"

Chub: "Y-y-yeah..."

Leonardo: "COME ON!"

Leonardo, gathering up all of his strength, pushed Chub, nearly knocking him over.

Leonardo: "GO, GO, GO!"

Chub: "Uhh...right...COME ON!"

Chub picked up Leonardo and perched him on his shoulder. Then, gathering back up all of the papers he stole, he ran as fast as he could out of the ship. The wood around him creaked. But they didn't care. The darkness wrapped around them all. But they didn't care. All sorts of strange noises echoed throughout the ship. But they didn't care. The hidden puffle pirates were appearing from the shadows, catching up to them and hunting them down. As before, they. Did. Not. Ca-

Chub: "OH JUST SHUT UP! BE QUIET YOU TOP HAT BOASTING BIRD!"

Leonardo: "Who ar-"

Chub: "NEVERMIND!"

The two scrambled out onto the deck, slipping over onto the deck. The pirates, brandishing their swords, caught up to them. Chub quickly got up on his feet and nearly slipped again. He hastily picked up Leonardo and the papers.

Chub: "HANG ON!"

He flung himself onto a plank of wood balancing like a seesaw. The force of him landing on the wood forced a crate on the opposite side up into the air. It slammed back down, forcing Chub and Leonardo into the air.

Leonardo: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

The two face-planted onto the sandy beach below. They both got up and began to run off into the distance, back to their ship.

Chub: "I think we've lost them!"

Leonardo: "I-I-I w-w-well u-umm..."

Chub: "Oh please don't-"

Leonardo: "They're umm..."

Chub: "Catching..."

Leonardo: "Up.".

Chub turned around and saw a massive army of puffles, all of them scruffy and holding their swords up high, rushing towards them like a massive stampede. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Pirates: "AAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Chub and Leonardo: "AAAAAAHHHH!!!" - Jock was happily strolling down the beach towards the Winter's Tide. He had hauled a cannon back to the C-Pengaberg and was now heading back to get another cannon. Jock hummed as he waddled down the sandy beach, with a spring in his step. Everything was fine. That was until he noticed the ground rumbling.

Jock: "Mhm? What's-?"

He stopped in his tracks and looked down at the floor, which did not shake visibly. He looked towards his side at the forest of trees and saw them all swaying calmly in the wind. As he looked, he had glanced at something on the horizon. Jock looked in front of him and saw the faint figures of a penguin and a puffle, being chased down by a massive cloud of...something...

Jock: "Is that...?"

Leonardo: "JOCK!"

Jock: "Wha? Is...is that Leonardo?"

Leonardo: "JOCK!"

Jock: "L-L-Leonardo?"

Leonardo: "JOCK! JOCK! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

Jock: "My, it is Leonardo! What's with the rush?"

Chub: "WE'RE BEING CHASED DOWN BY PIRATES!"

Jock: "What?"

Chub: "RUUUN!"

Jock: "Uhh..."

Jock began to hesitantly look at the two and back towards their ship. Deciding that simply standing in the middle of a beach, exposed in all directions, was not the best idea. He began to run back towards the C-Pengaberg, with Chub and Leonardo trailing behind...but don't forget the pirate horde chasing after them. - Gottfried was busy hammering a plank of wood into the deck. They had no hammers on board and so he had resorted to using his trusty sword. It worked excellently, at not being a hammer. He stood the sword up onto the side of a railing as he adjusted his helmet and tried to catch his breath.

Gottfried: "Do you have any hammer substitutes, Fisch?"

Fisch was helping Piper pull down on a piece of rope, trying to hoist the sails up.

Fisch: "Nope, sorry."

Piper: "Actually, could you help us with this rope. We can't seem to pull it."

Gottfried: "Sure, I'll be happy to help you."

Gottfried waddled over towards them, but he was distracted by something.

Fisch: "What's the matter?"

Gottfried: "Can you hear that?"

Fisch: "Hear what? I hear nothing."

Piper: "Yeah, same her-"

Chub:  "OI! GOTTFRIED, FISCH, PIPER!"

Gottfried: "Might that be Chub?"

Chub: "HEY! GET THE SHIP READY TO SAIL!"

Fisch: "What's he saying?"

Piper: "Get the swings ready to mail? What?"

Chub: "GET THE SHIP READY TO SAIL!"

Gottfried:"Get the ship ready to sail?"

Chub: "YES!"

Fisch: "Well we need to hoist the sails up-"

Chub: "NO TIME!"

Piper let go off the rope, causing Fisch to fall to the floor, and went over to the ship's edge.

Piper: "Where are they, actually?"

Piper gazed out and saw Chub, Jock and Leonardo, being chased by a large group of pirates.

Piper: "Uhh...guys...umm...we need to hoist the sails ASAP..."

Gottfried and Fisch joined Piper at the side of the ship.

Gottfried: "That might be for the best."

Fisch: "Well let's go!"

Everyone hurriedly got everything ready, and finally hoisted the pesky sails up. The C-Pengaberg was ready to sail.

Leonardo: "Help!"

Piper pushed a coil of rope down onto the beach. Quickly, Chub began to climb up, followed by Jock and Leonardo.

Chub: "PIPER! PUSH THE RETRACT ANCHOR BUTTON AT THE HELM!"

Piper: "Right!"

Piper rushed off to the helm on the ship's upper deck. He pressed a button, which had a picture of an anchor on it. The button lit up and started blinking. There was a mechanical whirring sound as the anchor was raised. There was a thud and then the button stopped blinking. Despite the 18th century sailing technology, the C-Pengaberg was loaded with many gadgets, like Buhc's private jet. Piper looked back in front of him and saw Gottfried and Fisch helping Chub, Jock and Leonardo on board. The pirate horde were now closing in on the ship, about to hold onto it and chase them down. Chub rushed down towards Piper and patted him.

Chub: "Good work. Now, let's get going!"

Piper: "Thanks...but how are we going to make a quick escape?"

Chub: "I have a little thing on this ship. You better hold on tight..."

Piper clung onto the ship's helm as Chub pushed another button. This time, the button showed a picture of a rocket.

Piper: "You're not saying-"

Chub: "OH YES I AM!"

The button lit up as the sound of whirring started again. The button started blinking.

Gottfried: "ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET AWAY?! THE PIRATES ARE LITERALLY ON US!"

Chub: "Hold on...I got this..."

The whirring and blinking stopped. There was silence. Everyone held their breath as the silence was quickly filled with the extremely loud noise of a rocket. The ship budged itself off the sand bank on the beach and into deeper water as a cloud of smoke engulfed all of the pirates. Those who had managed to hold onto the sides of the ship let go in fright and fell into the sea. The ship ploughed the water as it began to pick up speed. The sails flailed around as the wind blew at them in all directions. Within seconds, the C-Pengaberg was out in the ocean, with the Isle of Swords disappearing behind them. Soon, the rockets started to sputter before finally going out and dropping into the ocean with a splash.

Piper: "Isn't that polluting?"

Chub: "Nah. It's just dead weight anyway."

Chapter 6: New Horizons
The C-Pengaberg was out in the big, blue sea. Wide and empty, with nothing in sight. The curvature of the earth could be seen on the distant horizon. The wind and rain had stopped and the sails had dropped down, not filled with wind. Everyone on the ship was in poor spirits. They had left Buhc and Clovis behind at the pirate ship. Who knows what had happened to them? Placed into the pirate ship's hold? Left behind on the island? Deleted? No one knew. The C-Pengaberg continued sailing onwards, with no destination in mind. Chub, who was leaning on the ship's wheel, was in deep thought, until Gottfried approached him.

Gottfried: "Hey. Wie geht es Ihnen?"

Chub: "Sorry?"

Gottfried: "How are you?"

Chub: "Meh."

Gottfried (sarcastically): "Really?"

Chub: "Well we lost Buhc and Clovis."

Gottfried: "Lost. We can get them back."

Chub: "How? Sailing straight into the lion's den?"

Gottfried: "Well, er...not quite..."

Chub: "What are you suggesting?"

Gottfried: "Well we don't just simply rush in. You need to think. You need to plan."

Chub: "Well..."

Chub chuckled as he turned around and leaned on the helm. He gazed out into the wide blue ocean.

Chub: "...I guess I'm like that. Rushing in without thinking...  hashtag YOLO...

Gottfried: "Excuse me?"

Chub: "Nothing. Just I'm a rash penguin."

Gottfried: "Well it's not a bad thing. It's good that you're eager to get into it all."

Chub: "I guess so."

The two gazed off into the ocean, both silent. Jock and Piper stepped up onto the ship's upper deck, where they were.

Jock: "Hey. We've been doing nothing for the past hour or so."

Piper: "Yeah. What happened to the adventurous Chub that I know."

Gottfried: "Come on. Let's catch those pirates."

Chub spun around on one foot and placed both of his flippers onto the helm. He spun it around wildly, nearly knocking Gottfried off the deck.

Chub: "Well...let's do this..." - Back on the Winter's Tide, Buhc and Clovis were tied up and held captive on the ship's mast.

*SLAP*

Pirate 1: "For the last time...what were you doing on our ship?"

Buhc: "I'll never tell you!"

*SLAP*

Pirate 2: "TELL US!"

Clovis: "NO!"

*SLAP*

Pirate 1: "Okay, okay...clearly this isn't working..."

???: "What isn't working?"

Everyone turned around to look at Cutlass, who had just boarded the ship along with his group of pirates.

Pirate 1: "Uh, er, um...well..."

Cutlass: "What? Spit it out."

Pirate 1: "Well...these..."

Cutlass: "I'm waiting."

Pirate 1: "You see..."

Cutlass: "Come on..."

Pirate 1: "Err..."

Cutlass: "You're useless."

Cutlass grabbed a pistol from a pirate and shot the pirate in front of him, instantly deleting him into the CyberVoid.

Cutlass: "Anyone else care to explain what happened?"

Buhc: "ME!"

Cutlass turned around to face Buhc and Clovis. All the pirates backed off and formed a circle around the captain and his prisoners.

Cutlass: "Ah, it's you. The one from that ship. What do you want and how did you get here? State your intentions."

Buhc: "Pfft! What is this? ATC?"

Cutlass: "Now, now. We can settle this discussion like civilized gentlemen..."

Cutlass pulled out his sword and swung it around in front of him.

Cutlass: "...or we could, of course, do this the...'hard way'..."

Clovis: "We're not going to say anything."

Cutlass: "Now, who do we have here?"

Clovis: "Why do you care, pirate."

Cutlass: "Why, it's a good thing to know many penguins. But, again, pardon me for asking. What are you doing here."

Buhc: "I told you. We're not telling you."

Cutlass: "I am not a fan of word puns, I'll have you know."

Cutlass tossed his sword onto the deck; sliding across as the pirates stood back and let it pass in front of them. Cutlass retreated into the crowd for a few seconds and reappeared carrying a snowball pistol.

Cutlass: "Last chance, gentlemen. What were you doing on my ship?"

Buhc and Clovis: "We'll never tell you!"

Cutlass: "Well, so be it. We shall start small and work our way up..."

Cutlass aimed the snowball pistol at the two and fired. - Below decks, the two puffles, Dan and Duncan, were still locked up in the hold. The two have been placed in the ship's old prisoner cell. The wood around them was soaking wet with salty sea water, some of which seeped in through the gaps in the ship. The rusty nails on holding the planks together creaked nosily whenever the ship rocked. Only a small crack of light from a hole in the hull was let through into the cell, which was made out of old, rusty iron bars, held together by badly fitted rivets.

Their condition was bad. Dan and Duncan had not eaten in days and they were sick from the constant rocking of the ship and the attitude of the pirates. They were both scruffy, messy and dirty; covered in grime and wet with sea water. They were extremely tired and weak from all of this and it took them all of their might to keep going.

All of a sudden, a faint scream issued from up above, startling the two.

Duncan: "H-Hey, did you hear that?"

Dan: "What?"

The scream could be heard again.

Dan: "Who's that?"

Duncan: "Another prisoner of this ship?"

Dan: "Oh no. I hope they're alright..." - Back on the C-Pengaberg, despite all the problems, spirits were high. All of the sails were fully opened and the crew continued sailing in the wide blue ocean. They had all began to sail back to their last location, the Isle of Swords. Estimating that it would take a while to get there, Chub set up the single cannon they captured and tried to experiment with it.

Chub: "Let's see what this thing's got..."

Jock and Piper went up next to Chub and watched him.

Jock: "Need help with that?"

Chub began to load the cannon with a small amount of gunpowder from a barrel.

Chub: "Well, I do need something to test out this cannon. Got any cannonballs? lying around"

Jock: "Hahaha. Nope. But what could we use?"

Piper: "I have an idea..."

Chub: "Heh. Don't tell me that you're-"

Piper: "Oh, yes I am." - Chub: "Are you really sure about this?"

Piper, who was wearing a helmet that he had gotten from hammerspace, was sitting snug inside the cannon ready to be fired.

Piper: "Yup! I'm absolutely sure!"

Chub: "Well then...here goes..."

Chub aimed the cannon up high and ignited the rope leading into the gunpowder chamber.

*HISS*

Chub: "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

*BOOM*

Piper was shot out of the cannon with great force. He wooshed out of the cannon and flew up high into the air, startling everyone on the ship (and Fisch, who was the look out on the Crow's Nest). Piper soared high before slowing down and starting to fall back down.

Piper: "WOOOOOO!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!"

Falling down at considerable speed, he opened his parachute and splashed into the ocean. Within a few minutes, Piper was back on board, with a towel rapped around him.

Piper: "T-t-that was a-awesome..."

Jock: "It was."

Chub: "Well at least we know the cannon works. This will come in handy later."

Fisch: "CAPTAIN! CHUB!"

Chub looked up at Fisch in the Crow's Nest, gazing through a telescope.

Chub: "What is it, Fisch?"

Fisch: "It looks like your cannon will come in later sooner that you thought!"

Chub dashed off to the upper deck and grabbed a telescope from a table. He looked through it and saw the island, far away in the distance. In between the island and the ship was the Winter's Tide. It was looming closer to them, dark and ominous. At the top, Chub saw a blag flag with the classic pirate symbol on it. Looking down onto the deck, he saw several puffles gazing towards them, some with their own telescopes.

Chub: "Oh...snap..."

He turned around and began issuing orders.

Chub: "EVERYONE BATTLE STATIONS! GRAB WEAPONS FROM THE ARMORY AND GET READY FOR A FIGHT! GO, GO, GO!" - Cutlass was gazing through his telescope at the C-Pengaberg.

Cutlass: "You two have the power to call this off, you know. It's not too late..."

Buhc and Clovis were still tied up to the ship's mast, battered and bruised after constantly resisting the pirates' interrogation. The two looked at each other before calling out.

Buhc: "Okay, okay! Stop!"

Clovis: "We'll tell you whatever you want, as long as you don't hurt them!"

Cutlass tossed his telescope to a pirate and went down to talk to Buhc and Clovis.

Cutlass: "Good, good...so tell me, now...what were you doing on my ship?"

Clovis: "W-w-we w-were looking for s-s-supplies..."

Cutlass: "Supplies, eh? Seems like a likely story!"

Buhc: "We were, we were!"

Cutlass: "Tell me, what supplies did you take, exactly?"

Buhc: "I-I-I don't kn-"

Cutlass: "YOU FOOL! TELL ME!"

Buhc: "W-we took a cannon...and some maps...that's all!"

Clovis: "It's true!"

Cutlass: "Pfft! Preposterous! Stealing a cannon? I believe that your ship over there is an 19th century mail delivery ship! One does not simply bolt a cannon onto it!"

Buhc: "It's true! I swear!"

Clovis: "We've told you everything you wanted! Just don't hurt anyone on that ship!"

Cutlass hopped up onto Clovis' shoulder and whispered into his ear.

Cutlass: "There's one thing that you forgot about us... WE'RE PIRATES!"

Buhc and Clovis: "WHAT?!?"

Cutlass: "LOCK THEM UP! LOCK THEM UP IN THE HOLD! I DON'T WANT THEM TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY ANYMORE! LOCK THEM UP!"

At once, several pirates came up to Buhc and Clovis, untied them and dragged them off into the hold. The two tried their best to fight off the pirates.

Cutlass: "GET THE CANNONS READY! WE'RE GOING TO ATTACK!"

Buhc: "ARGH! I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL!"

Clovis: "YOU WRETCHED PIRATE! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"

Cutlass: "Why thank you. I am a wretched pirate, and I prefer to keep it that way!"

Buhc: "WHY YOU-"

At once, Buhc and Clovis were knocked out cold and dragged down into the hold.

Cutlass: "GET THE CANNONS READY! GO, GO, GO!" - Gottfried: "What do you see?"

Chub was looking through his telescope at the Winter's Tide, behind them.

Chub: "I don't know...but I have a feeling that Buhc and Clovis are on board."

Piper: "What about those two puffles?"

Chub: "They must be. Probably locked up or something."

Jock: "So what's our plan?"

Chub: "We have to somehow get rid of their cannons. Then, we can get up close, board them, take back the penguins and the puffles then we can destroy them."

Jock: "Sink their ship?"

Chub: "Precisely."

Gottfried: "Exactly how do we do that?"

Chub: "I don't know. With only one cannon, this will be hard."

Gottfried: "We need to somehow use this ship's speed. It's about the only strength we've got."

Chub: "True. We need to out run them, while attacking them at the same time."

Piper: "How?"

Chub: "I have a plan!" - Cutlass, who was standing on the upper deck of his pirate ship, had an evil grin on his face. Another pirate approached him from behind and talked to him.

Pirate: "Sir. All of our cannons are prepared and ready. Awaiting your orders, sir."

Cutlass: "Excellent. Wait for my signal to fire. Let's sink those pesky sailors.

Cutlass hopped onto the helm and began to steer the Winter's Tide, lining up his cannons with the enemy ship.

Cutlass: "Well, gentlemen...let's do this..."

Chapter 7: Battle!
The two ships began to face each other and rush forward. The seas got rougher and rougher as the rain started to pour down. The winds started to gush, blowing the sails and ropes wildly about. On the C-Pengaberg, preparations for battle were underway.

Chub: "Okay...are you ready?"

Chub was talking to Piper, who was wearing his helmet and was inside the only cannon on the ship.

Piper: "As ready as I can ever get."

Chub: "Okay. Everybody else ready?"

Everyone: "Yes!"

Chub: "Okay. Let's put this plan into action. Jock, if you may?"

Jock: "Certainly!"

Jock lit a small match and used it to ignite the rope on the cannon, in turn lighting the gunpowder and shooting Piper.

*BOOM*

The plan was in action.

Piper: "WHOOOOOOO!!!" - The pirates on the Winter's Tide were startled.

Pirate 1: "What was that?!"

Cutlass: "It looks like their cannon is operational."

Pirate 2: "What was that?!"

Cutlass: "The cannon, you-"

Pirate 3: "No...THAT!"

Everyone looked up to see a red ball of fur drop down from above. Piper hit the decks with a thud as he took off his helmet and brought out his famous signature pistol.

Piper: "Say hello to my little friend!"

Piper went on a rampage, shooting pirates left and right. They could only run and hide as they got sucked into the Cyber-Void.

Cutlass: "EVERYONE! GET HIM!"

Cutlass stood back as he watched his crew attempt to apprehend the rouge puffle. Any pirate that got within a certain distance of Piper was immediately deleted.

Piper: "I CAN KEEP DOING THIS ALL DAY!"

Cutlass: "Good. I've got dozens more of those good-for-nothing pirates." - Back on the C-Pengaberg, things were working like clockwork. Chub was at the helm, using his might to steer his ship from any danger. Leonardo was up at the Crow's Nest, keeping a look out. Fisch, Gottfried and Jock were all working together to fire the cannon. They passed down gunpowder and any odd object to shoot at the pirates.

*BOOM* *BOOM*

Jock: "Take that you pirate scum!"

The pirates, busy trying to fight off Piper, forgot all about the other ship. The 'cannonballs' took them by surprise.

Cutlass: "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Pirate: "Cannonballs, Captain!"

Cutlass: "SHUT UP! I KNEW THAT!"

The 'cannonballs' flew past them and hit part of the ship's wooden masts.

Cutlass: "Goodness...that was close."

Pirate: "What was that?"

Cutlass: "NOTHING! LOOK, IF YOU CAN'T GET THAT STUPID PUFFLE, I WILL!"

Cutlass jumped down and took out his sword. Everyone backed off as he got locked with Piper in a battle.

Cutlass: "Come on, now. Let's settle this like gentlemen."

Piper: "With swords? Pfft! Welcome to the 21st century!"

Cutlass: "Now, now. Let us not blow this out of proportion."

Piper: "I'll do whatever I want with it!"

Piper ran off and began climbing up the mast, which was dangerously broken. Cutlass, furious, followed him up.

Cutlass: "EVERYONE JUST GET TO THE CANNONS! SHOOT THEM!" - Leonardo: "It looks like that they're distracted, alright!"

Chub: "Good! How's the cannon situation?"

Gottfried: "We still have lots of gunpowder and things to shoot. The only problem being is the fact that we only have a single cannon."

Fisch: "Well, it's the best that we've got."

Jock: "Come on, now! Continue firing!" - Piper: "Come and get me, you pirate!"

Cutlass: "When I'm done with you, I swear!"

Another 'cannonball' went whizzing into the mast. The mast was only being held up by a thread. Cutlass began to shout more commands back down.

Cutlass: "GET TO THE FREAKING CANNONS! GO, GO, GO! GO I SAY!"

At once the cannons on the Winter's Tide fired off...into the ocean. The ship was pointed straight at the C-Pengaberg while the cannons were on the sides.

Cutlass: "WHY CAN'T ANYONE ON THIS SHIP DO ANYTHING USEFUL!"

Giving Piper up, Cutlass let go off the mast and landed back on deck. He rushed over to the helm and began to make the ship's cannons face the opposing ship.

Cutlass: "NOW YOU FIRE!"

The pirate cannons opened fire, shooting a volley of cannonballs. The C-Pengaberg took a bad beating. It's entire front end was filled with holes and some of the sails had holes in them.

Chub: "Darn it! Look's like we need to initiate the second part of our plan!"

Fisch: "Second part?!"

Chub: "I'm making this up as I go!"

The C-Pengaberg accelerated forward, straight into the cannons of the Winter's Tide.

Cutlass: "They have an idiot captain! Sailing straight into the cannons! Ha!"

Piper: "Idiot captain?! TAKE THAT BACK!"

Cutlass: "You again?!"

Piper had come down from the mast and had his pistol aimed straight at Cutlass. The captain turned around and used his sword to knock the pistol off of Piper. The pistol slid onto the floor for a while before stopping. The two puffles looked at the pistol then back at each other.

Cutlass and Piper: "Drat."

The two rushed for the pistol, pushing it ever farther from their reach. Above them, explosions were happening. Cannonballs flew around everywhere. The sound of splintering wood echoed loudly as the two 18th century ships battled each other, as if they had traveled back in time. There were holes in both ships; the two crews wanted the battle to end.

Chub: "Aim at the decks! I need a clear path ahead!"

Jock: "Aye aye, Captain!"

Jock aimed the cannon and fired it, knocking over several pirates on deck. The C-Pengaberg continued forward and eventually got close to the deck of the Winter's Tide.

Chub: "OKAY GUYS! GET WEAPONS AND BOARD THAT SHIP!"

Everyone: "WHAT?!?"

Chub: "WE MUST RESCUE BUHC AND CLOVIS!"

Everyone shouted in agreement as they all grabbed the nearest weapon they could find. Chub got his air cannon, Leonardo used a telescope, Fisch found a mop while Jock and Gottfried managed to retrieve their swords. Chub ran quickly and leaped onto the pirate ship. He was followed by Jock, Gottfried, Leonardo and then Fisch. They all engaged in battle with the closest pirate that they found.

Chub: "Make sure no one gets to the ship! I'll get the two!"

Chub, with his cannon, blasted anyone who came near him. He cleared a path down into the hold. He began to search for Buhc and Clovis in the dark and damp cargo hold. - Buhc and Clovis awoke from their daze. They saw themselves locked up in a prison cell. They both rubbed their eyes open as they began to take in everything.

Buhc: "W-W-Where are we?"

Duncan: "You're in the prison cell."

Buhc and Clovis immediately recovered from their condition and took notice of the green puffle in front of them

Buch and Clovis: "IT'S YOU!"

They both looked at Dan, the red puffle, who was also in the hold.

Clovis: "You, too!"

Buhc: "At least you two are safe! We went looking for you!"

Dan: "We appreciate the effort, but we can't really get out."

Buhc: "Well...you do have a point."

Clovis stood up and waddled towards the metal cage door.

Duncan: "There's nothing there you can do. We've tried everything."

Clovis: "Are you s-"

*BOOM*

Clovis was knocked to the floor as the ship lurched.

Clovis: "What was that?"

Dan: "The ship's cannons, possibly."

Buhc: "That's the C-Pengaberg...our ship!"

Duncan: "Ah! Rescue!"

Buhc: "Yes, hopefully!" - Piper and Cutlass were still fighting over the pistol.

Cutlass: "I've had enough!"

The pirate knocked Piper over and down onto the floor. He rushed forward, grabbed the pistol and aimed at Piper.

Cutlass: "Shame. You would've made a great crew member."

???: "NO!"

Cutlass looked off and saw Jock with his sword. He swung it at Cutlass, making him drop the pistol. He quickly pulled out his own sword and the two got locked in a duel.

Piper: "Finally! You've arrived!"

Jock: "Now's not the time! Help Chub find Buhc and Clovis!"

Piper ran off, getting his pistol back in the process. Cutlass and Jock began swinging their swords, clashing and smashing them with great intensity. The two were both very experienced sword fighters and would not back down.

Cutlass: "Quit fighting, you fool! You'll do nothing but tire yourself out!"

Jock: "I would tell you the same thing!"

Cutlass: "Give it up already!"

Jock: "Why? You growing tired you old thing?"

Cutlass: "It looks like that I will have to teach you some manners!"

Jock: "I'd like to see you try!"

At once, Cutlass leaped up, spun his sword around and aimed at Jock, who had been pushed onto the deck. Jock quickly raised his sword upwards to deflect Cutlass. But all of a sudden, Cutlass spun himself forward and aimed at Jock's head. It was all instantaneous.

*SHWING*

Cutlass: "WHAT?!"

All of a sudden, Gottfried had appeared and began to deflect Cutlass' sword. Jock got up and helped Gottfried with the fight.

Jock: "Thanks fo-"

Gottfried: "No time! Just hit!" - Below decks, Chub was still scurring around looking for the captives. He had his air cannon ready to fire at anyone who came near him. Suddenly a voice came from the darkness.

???: "OI! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Chub turned around and saw the silhouette of a puffle.

Chub: "W-W-who? Me?"

??? (sarcastically): "NAH! THE OTHER ONE!"

Chub cautiously checked around him and saw no-one. He aimed his cannon at the silhouette.

Chub: "Well...I...er...was...leaving..."

The puffle took out a sword and began to approach Chub.

???: "HEH...AND NOW?"

A few other puffles came out of the darkness, all taking out their own swords.

Chub: "I'm going to feed you your fur..."

With that, Chub launched himself forward and fired the air cannon. The weak wood of the ship in front of him cracked open. The group of puffles were all launched out of the hole and into the sea. Chub, on the other hand, was blown back by the blast of air, knocking him onto another group of puffles.

Pirate 1: "HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Chub: "NO!"

Chub fired another blast of air towards the group. The majority of them were blown back, but two had managed to brace themselves. They took out their swords and began advancing forward.

Pirate 2: "ATTACK!"

Pirate 3: "GET HIM!"

Chub: "Again, no!"

Chub blasted the two with air. One of the pirates dropped their sword as he was flying up in the air, falling down and cutting Chub on the face.

Chub: "Ow! I'll get you for that-"

A door behind him burst open, revealing another pirate with a sword.

Pirate 4: "I'm afraid that won't happen...hehehe..."

Chub quickly analyzed the situation. It was a stand off. In one motion, he spun around and fired at the pirate behind him and ran off.

Pirate 4: "ARGH! FOLLOW HIM!" - Piper had found Leonardo and had disappeared into the cargo hold of the ship. They could not see much in the darkness and strained their eyes to look around. Piper had his pistol ready to fire and Leonardo was ready to swing his telescope at anyone. The tension was building up.

Piper: "Where are they...?"

Leonardo: "They should be here somewhere..."

All of a sudden, there was a clatter and a smash. Chub came barreling out from behind a stack of crates.

Piper: "WOAH!"

Leonardo unknowingly swung his telescope at Chub.

Chub: "OW!"

Leonardo: "Oh, sorry! I didn't know it was you!"

Chub: "Doesn't matter. We've got pirates behind us!"

At that, a flood of pirates came out from behind the stack of crates. Chub, Piper and Leonardo all engaged the pirates in battle, slowly defeating them one by one. Within a few minutes, the group were all defeated. The trio stood there and wondered about their next move.

Piper: "So now what? Which way do we go?"

Leonardo: "Yeah. This place is a maze."

Chub: "I might have an idea..."

Piper: "What?"

Chub: "I was analyzing the ship's charts before. I think I know where they keep the prisoners..."

Leonardo: "Where?"

Chub: "Apparently, this ship used to carry large amounts of cargo. It has a huge cargo hold."

Leonardo: "Really now?"

Chub: "Yeah. Seeing that this is a pirate ship, their only cargo right now would probably be prisoners."

Piper: "But what about those coins? Don't forget about them."

Chub: "Dunno. Chances are they're kept in the Captain's Quarters, anyway."

Leonardo: "Right...so they're in the cargo hold."

Chub: "Yes. Somewhere in there."

Piper: "Well come on then! Before any other pirates come back."

With that, Chub, Piper and Leonardo went off into the cargo hold, looking for their friends. - Buhc, Clovis, Dan and Duncan were still trapped in the prison cell. The two puffles had given up on escaping and were tucked in a corner. Buhc and Clovis, however, were still looking around for a way out.

Clovis: "Come on...there has to be a way..."

Buhc: "Mhm. I'm really surprised that we cannot escape this primitive piece of pirate technology."

Duncan: "You're just tiring yourself out...really."

Clovis: "No. You must never give up hope."

Buhc: "Clovis is right. Whenever in times of extreme need, and when everything seems bad, never give up."

Clovis: "Yeah. I've been in many situations worse than this. Never give up."

Buhc: "In the words of Shops Island's motto: 'Never, never, never-"

All of a sudden, Chub, Piper and Leonardo come crashing through another stack of crates.

Buhc: "-Give up."

Chub: "What?"

Buhc: "Nothing...but how did you get here?!"

Chub: "Long story. There's a battle going on outside."

Piper: "We're here to rescue you!"

Dan: "You can't we're trapped."

Duncan stepped back and leaned on the wall.

Duncan: "Never, never, never...give up!"

Duncan began to run to the iron bars of the prison cell. With a bang, the bars fell off the rusted hinges and fell onto their rescuers.

Chub: "Well then...come on!" - Buhc, Clovis, Duncan, Dan and their rescuers ran out of the cargo hold doors and onto the deck, some of them limping. The battle was still going on. Jock and Gottfried were still locked into battle with Cutlass, swinging their swords about. Fisch was still swinging his mop around, flinging off any pirates who came across them. In between them and the C-Pengaberg were dozens of pirates.

Buhc: "Looks like we'll just have to cross this carnage onto our ship."

Chub: "Yeah..."

Chub pulled out his air cannon from his bag.

Buhc: "Isn't that a little overpowered?"

Chub: "Nah, it's fine."

He ran forward and shot any pirate out of his way. Everyone else followed behind, staggering along. Fisch noticed everyone running along.

Fisch: "Hey! You got them out!"

Piper: "Yeah! Come on, let's get off this pirate hulk!"

Fisch relucantly followed behind them. One by one, they all managed to get back onto their ship. Buhc, Clovis, Dan and Duncan were placed down into the ship's medical bay, where Fisch and Leonardo treated them. Chub and Piper went back to the bow of their ship.

Piper: "I think we should get going..."

Chub: "Yeah, so do I."

The two shouted at their crew still on the pirate ship.

Chub: "OI! COME BACK ON THE SHIP!"

Piper: "WE'RE LEAVING!"

Gottfried and Jock heard the shout, but so did Cutlass.

Cutlass: "Leaving so soon?"

Gottfried swung his sword towards Cutlass, but was deflected.

Gottfried: "We've got a party to attend."

Cutlass: "Really now?"

Jock swung his sword mightily towards Cutlass.

Jock: "Yeah, celebrating your defeat!"

Jock pushed Cutlass over onto the deck. Jock and Gottfried took off and jumped onto the C-Pengaberg.

Gottfried: "Get us out from here!"

Chub replied back as he was trying to get the cannon ready again.

Chub: "I'm trying! Just keep them off the ship!"

Gottfried and Jock stood on the ship's bow and deflected the swords of anyone who tried to hit them. Cutlass got up and tried to board the C-Pengaberg.

Cutlass: "I wish to join you in your 'party'."

Gottfried: "Pirates are not invited!"

Chub was just about to get the cannon ready.

Chub: "Okay. This should have to do."

Piper loaded a mashed up ball of whatever scrap they could find on the ship.

Piper: "Where are we shooting it at?"

Chub pointed to Cutlass.

Chub: "Over there. That big ball of fluff."

Piper: "Hey!"

Chub: "Well, you're not a pirate."

Chub aimed the cannon before lighting the gunpowder.

*BOOM*

The 'cannonball' shot past Gottfried and Jock and destroyed the bow of the Winter's Tide, sending Cutlass and several other pirates into the water.

Cutlass: "GET THEM!"

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Jock: "What was that?"

Chub: "Bad news..."

Dozens of cannonballs began to rain upon the C-Pengaberg. Holes were torn into the hull, the deck and the sails. The large main mast fell over and was destroyed. More and more cannonballs fell onto the ship. The pirates were not letting up.

Gottfried: "This looks really bad."

Piper: "It is!"

Chub: "I think it may be time to abandon ship."

Jock: "Abandon ship?!"

Chub: "We're clearly outnumbered and the pirates have an endless supply of cannonballs and gunpowder."

Piper: "But the ship-"

Chub: "-Has been a good one. It would be sad to see her go, but we must."

Jock: "Fine then."

Gottfried: "I'll let everyone below decks know."

Gottfried went down to tell of the plan to the others.

Chub: "Well then, we must make great haste. I'll get the life boat out. Everyone else, get whatever equipment you need and get ready to evacuate and abandon ship!" - Cutlass had gotten back onto the Winter's Tide and was inspecting the situation.

Pirate: "We're firing all of our starboard cannons at the ship. It should be down within a few minutes."

Cutlass: "Excellent. After we're done, we shall head straight back to our port. There we shall unload our precious coin cargo."

Pirate: "Hah. I had almost forgotten about those coins."

Cutlass: "It's the only reason why we're here in the first place, you fool." - Everyone of the C-Pengaberg crew had assembled on deck. The former pirate prisoners had been bandaged up and treated. The boat was being attached to a winch on the side facing away from the pirate ship.

Chub: "Well, everyone, I believe that it is time to abandon ship."

Buhc: "Really?"

Chub: "The C-Pengaberg has been a good ship, in my service for six years-"

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Chub: "-and I don't think there is enough time for words. EVERYONE IN THE BOAT!"

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Everyone quickly got into the boat and loaded it with food supplies, maps and anything else the might need.

Chub: "Come on. This thing's fitted with electrical winches."

With a push of a button the life boat began to lower.

*BOOM*

The ship tilted suddenly as water started to pour into the hold.

*BOOM*

The ship's other mast fell down as the sound of creaking wood could be heard.

*BOOM*

The ship tilted again and began to lean forward, taking in more water.

*BOOM*

The life boat finally touched down onto the water, and Chub unhooked the ropes holding it to the winch. He grabbed an oar and pushed the boat away from the ship.

Chub: "Farewell, C-Pengaberg...farewell..."

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

The C-Pengaberg put up it's last fight before snapping into two and falling onto it's side. With a mighty splash, the ship's wood fragmented, sending planks of wood everywhere. The life boat was pushed back with the splash. Barrels, crates and other ship cargo began to surface and float. An Antarctic flag began to float by, which Buhc picked up. The pirate ship in the distance began to get smaller as the life boat floated away. - Back on the pirate ship, celebrations were erupting.

Pirate: "Sir, the ship has sunk."

Cutlass: "Yes I can see that. Plot a course to our home port. We should be there by tomorrow morning."

Pirate: "Yes, sir."

The pirate walked off as Cutlass stared into the wreckage of the C-Pengaberg, slowing sinking down into the depths of the wide blue ocean.

Chapter 8: Winter's Tide
A while had passed. Chub woke up from his daze. He looked around. He was still on the life boat with everyone else, stuffed inside along with some of their equipment. Everyone on board was either asleep or passed out. Chub stood up on the ship, feeling a little dizzy. He stared up at the bright morning sun beating down. Chub looked around and saw the wide blue ocean. Completely empty...except for a tiny dot on the horizon.

Chub: "What's that...?"

Squinting and shielding his eyes from the sun, Chub looked closer. It was a grey object, resembling a ship. It didn't look like the pirate ship, but more of a modern day, cargo ship. Chub didn't know much about ships, other than sailing them, so he had no idea who or what the ship was.

Clovis: "Uugh..."

Chub turned around and saw Clovis waking up. Chub helped him up.

Chub: "Oh hey."

Clovis: "W-where are we?"

Chub: "Far away from the pirates, that's for sure."

The two looked off into the horizon at the grey blob in the distance.

Clovis: "Is that a ship?"

Chub: "I think so...it looks like one."

There was a groan and Chub and Clovis looked behind them. They saw Dan waking up as well.

Dan: "Ugh...what did I miss?"

Chub: "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere."

Clovis: "Well there's a ship over there...I think."

Dan: "Did we bring a telescope?"

Chub: "Let me check."

Chub began to rummage around a crate loaded with all of their possessions. He took out a small telescope and a flare.

Chub: "This could come in handy."

Chub handed the flare to Clovis and looked through the telescope at the grey thing.

Chub: "That is indeed a ship. You know what to do, Clovis."

Clovis pulled out a matchbox from the crate and lit the flare.

*CRACKLE* *WOOSH*

The flare lit up, glowing bright red and spreading out red smoke. The noise immediately woke everyone from their daze.

Gottfried: "My, what was that?"

Buhc: "The heck-?"

Clovis began to wave the flare around and jumping up and down.

Chub: "Keep doing that. I think they're turning around..."

Fisch: "Where are we?"

Dan: "In the middle of the ocean, with a possible ship in the distance."

Everyone looked towards the grey dot on the horizon, very slowly getting bigger.

Chub: "I think they've seen us!"

Everyone on board the tiny life boat erupted into cheer and applause. - An hour later, they were all aboard the grey ship, along with their life boat and supplies. The group were all huddled together on the deck of the ship, with several sailors around them. Looking around, Chub saw that the ship was a naval ship. Soon, the ship's captain waddled up to the group.

Captain: "Ciao, c'è. Benvenuti a bordo della Auditore. Io sono il capitano. Piacere di conoscerti." (Hello, there. Welcome aboard the Auditore. I am the captain. Nice to meet you.)

Chub: "Uhh...sorry? We speak English. English."

Captain: "Ah, inglese. Sì."

The captain cleared his throat and began to talk in English, with a heavy Ligurian accent.

Captain: "As I was saying, welcome aboard the Auditore! I'm the captain of the ship. Pleased to meet you."

Everyone in the group introduced themselves to the captain.

Captain: "Come on, let us go inside."

The captain led them all inside the ship and into the dining hall, which was empty. The group told their story to the captain.

Buhc: "...And that was how we got here."

Captain: "Interesting. Pirates have always been a nuisance on the seas, not just for the Ligurian Navy."

Piper: "I still don't understand why there are still pirates in this day and age."

Buhc: "Mhm."

Captain: "Yes. They still do exist. It's a wonder that you've escaped from them, actually."

Gottfried: "Yes, indeed. They're such a menace on the seas."

Captain: "Well it would be good to get away from it all."

Chub: "That reminds me, when are we pulling into port?"

Captain: "Later this evening, actually! We're pulling into Yenoa, Liguria. We've picked you up with excellent timing."

Chub: "Great!"

Captain: "Really excellent timing actually. Winter has just started. Had you have been left there until nightfall, you would've frozen to death. The winter tide has kicked in..."

Everyone was surprised.

Chub: "W-winter tide?"

Captain: "Yes. The cold, high-tide...winter's tide, as it were."

Chub: "Oh, well...again, thank you for rescuing us."

Captain: "Ah it's nothing. Just doing my job."

The captain stood up.

Captain: "Well then. I need to be on the bridge, now. I'll lead you to the deck and you can wait until we pull into port.

Everyone agreed to the plan. - Everyone had assembled on the deck. They were all leaning on the railing on the edge of the deck. Everyone gazed at the beautiful sunset as the Ligurian naval ship pulled into the port of Yenoa.

Duncan: "Beautiful sunset."

Fisch: "Indeed. What a fantastic end to this adventure of ours."

Everyone murmured an agreement.

Gottfried: "Truly a holiday of a lifetime. It's a shame that I have to return home."

Chub: "Well, we all do. We're on the other side of the Ninja Archipelago!"

Dan: "That reminds me, where would Duncan and I go?"

Duncan: "I've nearly forgotten about that, with all this adventuring."

Buhc: "Well you could come with us."

Chub: "True! That would be a great idea!"

Dan: "Excellent!"

Duncan: "I agree!"

Jock: "Well then, I see it's all settled."

Fisch: "Yes. A very happy ending for us all."

Chub: "I guess it would be a good idea for one of you to go with Buhc and the other with me."

Chub and Buhc turned around and faced Dan and Duncan.

Leonardo: "Hah, everything works out."

Chub: "Of course it does!"

Buhc: "Well who goes with who?"

Chub: "Your call, puffles."

Dan: "I'll go with Chub!"

Duncan: "Then I'll go with Buhc!"

Chub: "Good! Excellent! Another addition to the Adelie Family."

Chub and Buhc both turned back to look at the port, slowly approaching. Dan hopped onto Chub's shoulder and Duncan onto Buhc's.

Chub: "Well that was a holiday of a life time, don't you think?"

Gottfried and Fisch: "Yeah."

Buhc: "Very much indeed. Although I do have one thing to say."

Duncan: "Which is?"

Buhc: "I'm never going back to the Ninja Archipelago again.

Chub chuckled, followed slowly by Dan, Duncan and Buhc. Everyone caught onto the joke and began to laugh uncontrollably. Eventually they all began to cry with laughter. And with that, the Auditore pulled into the harbor side, unloading with it sailors, cargo, a jester, a Viking, a knight, a fish, a pilot, an artist, two brothers, their two new puffles and memories that would last forever with best wishes.

THE END!