"Hey, mon, you guys alright?" Davey poked his head over the rim of the
chamber.
"ARR, we be fine," Barnacle replied. "Where did those four little demons
go?"
Jones popped up next to his brother. "They went back to the beach!"
"And then they stole the Lucas!" Davey added.
"What!?" Barnacle cried out.
"We tried to stop them," Davey said.
"Yeah, mon, but Mars had that axe!" Jones said.
"Yeah, the axe!"
"Quick!" Kracken said. "Throw us the rope so we can get out of this pit!"
"Right!" The two Bushwoolies disappeared for a moment, but quickly returned
with a jumbled mass of rope in their arms. "Look out!" they said as they dropped it down into the
pit. All of it fell in a pile at Barnacle's feet.
"Why isn't this tied onto something up there?" Kracken asked.
"Mars cut it with his axe," Jones said.
"Yeah, yeah, with his axe!" Davey added.
Barnacle and Kracken both sighed.
"Okay, hold on guys," Kracken said as he took one end of the rope in hand. "I'm
gonna throw this up to you, you catch it, and then tie it off to something, alright?"
Jones looked kind of irritated. "Wouldn't that have been easier to do
before we threw the rope down?"
"Yeah," Davey added.
"ARR! Just catch the rope!" Barnacle said as Kracken tossed it into the air. Davey
lunged for it but just as his hand closed around the end, he lost his balance and started to fall into
the pit as well! Jones jumped forward and grabbed hold of his brother's other hand which just
barely kept both of them from falling! With a great deal of effort, they managed to regain their
balance and fall over onto their backs.
"ARR," Barnacle said. "That was too close."
"Aye," Kracken agreed. Then, calling up to the Bushwoolies, he said, "Now you
guys have to tie it off to that tree where it was before, okay?"
"Okay!" they cried in unison as they jumped to their feet and dragged the end of the
rope towards the big tree Kracken had tied it to earlier. Davey threw the rope around one of the
massive roots and then suddenly stopped and scratched his head.
After a very long wait, Barnacle cried out, "ARR! What be takin' so long?"
Jones hopped to the edge and said, "He can't remember how to tie a knot!"
"Okay, okay, okay," Kracken said. "Just calm down and take a deep breath. Do
you guys know that little rhyme about tieing a knot? ‘The rabbit runs around the tree and through
the hole...' or something like that..."
"Oh, yeah!" Davey exclaimed. "Rabbit, I remember!"
Taking the end of the rope, he ran around the tree and crawled under the huge root,
saying the little rhyme to himself.
"Rabbit? What rabbit?" Jones asked. But seeing what Davey was doing, he
grabbed hold of the rope, too, and ran around the tree the other way!
"And goes through the hole--" Davey was saying.
"--and trades with Davey," Jones said as they switched lengths of rope. "Thanks,
mon!"
Jones and Davey both crawled around and weaved through all the roots and
branches like this, making up rhymes as they went. Finally, they ended-up tieing
themselves into a huge bundle of knots that completely encircled the tree!
"Help, help!" they both cried out. "We're stuck!"
"Arr..." Barnacle said in exasperation. "Just hold on to the rope and hope that it
holds!"
Frantically, the two Bushwoolies grabbed hold of anything they could but in the end
wound-up grabbing hold of each other! Giving the rope a few quick tugs, Barnacle began to
climb out of the pit. Luck was on their sides, however, and the strange knot held just long
enough for Barnacle and Kracken to climb out.
But, as Kracken set foot outside of the pit, the rope suddenly slipped off the tree
completely! While this left Kracken standing on the edge waving his arms frantically trying to
regain his balance, it did free Davey and Jones. Grabbing Kracken's shirt-front, Barnacle pulled
his first mate forward and saved him from another drop into the pit.
"Yea! Yea!" Jones and Davey cried happily as they jumped up and down. "We
made it!"
"ARR!" Barnacle said as he ran to the break in the trees and looked out at the sea.
"It's not over yet. We still have to stop those four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse! No!!
They've already taken me ship! She's nowhere to be seen!!"
"Oh, no," Kracken said. "What are we going to do now?"
"ARR, we'll find a way to stop them yet!" Barnacle snapped. "I'll not be lettin' the
world come to an end because those four little demons stole my ship!!"
With that, he stormed off down the beach. Davey and Jones shrugged their
shoulders and followed after him. Kracken took a moment to shake his head in hopelessness and
then went after the others.
Night was starting to fall by the time they made it the beach. This just worked to
further lower their spirits. Barnacle paced up and down the beach as Kracken sat on a nearby
boulder playing with a large conch shell he had found.
"I suppose we should build a raft," Kracken said. "I doubt there are any ships that
come through here."
"ARR," Barnacle replied. "That'd take days or even weeks! We need to get off
this island, now!"
"Well, I'm out of ideas," Kracken said. "Jones, Davey, you got any ideas?"
They stopped with what it was they were doing and through for a moment.
"We should call for help," Jones said.
"Yeah, mon, that be the ticket!" Davey said.
"Call who?" Kracken asked.
"ARR, and how?" Barnacle added.
The Bushwoolies just shrugged their shoulders.
"Yep," Kracken said. "We're doomed."
Lifting the conch to his lips, he blew into it. He was rather surprised to find that it
produced a deep echoing sound like a fog horn. "Hmm," he said. "I thought that only worked in
the movies."
He was just about to do it again when a haunting sound floated in from out at sea.
Jumping to his feet, Kracken exclaimed, "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Davey asked.
"That," Jones replied. "Hear it?"
"No."
"Good, neither did I," Jones said.
Again, the strange siren's call drifted in from the surf; only this time it was more
clear and everyone heard it. The two Bushwoolies instantly clutched each other in fear, but
Barnacle and Kracken boldly walked out closer to the surf.
"ARR," Barnacle said as he strained his eyes against the blackness to see what was
making the sound. "It be soundin' like sighin'."
And then, once again, the tune was heard and this time it sounded very much like,
"Shoo shoo Bee Doo!"
"I be knowin' that!" Barnacle exclaimed. "ARR!" Just then, the head of a pony
popped out of the water in front of them.
"Sea Ponies! ARR!" Barnacle cried.
Davey and Jones suddenly stopped cowering in fear and began to hop around
excitedly.
"Yea, Sea Ponies!"
"We're saved, mon!"
"Did someone call for help?" the Sea Pony asked.
Kracken looked at the conch he was holding and threw it over his shoulder. "You
bet we did! We need a way off this island ASAP!"
Looking around, the Sea Pony asked, "So how did you guys get stuck here? And
by the way, my name's Sea Mist."
"Um, well..."
Barnacle interrupted at this point and said, "We're trying to stop four demons who
are determined to destroy the world! ARR!"
"Yeah," Kracken added. "And they stole our boat and left us stranded here!"
"ARR, we need to get to Judgement Day Island right away!"
"Judgement Day Island!?" Sea Mist exclaimed. "Are you sure you want to go
there? That place is pure evil."
"Aye," Barnacle replied. "That's where they went to...do what ever it is they are
going to do."
"--complete the un-holy ritual that will free their master's: Death, Pestilence, War,
and Famine; and allow them to ride unchecked across the globe!" Kracken added for clarity.
Everyone suddenly stopped and looked at him.
"What?" Kracken asked.
"So can you help us?" Barnacle asked of the Sea Pony.
"Yes, yes, of course!" she replied with a sense of urgency. "Hold on just one
minute." With that, she dove back down into the water and disappeared.
"What!?" Kracken asked again.
No one responded, however, and then Sea Mist reappeared with two companions.
All three of them were pulling some kind of gigantic shell that was lashed off with lengths of sea
weed. "All aboard!" she called out.
Barnacle was the first to jump onto the raft, followed quickly thereafter by Kracken
and the Bushwoolies.
"ARR! Full steam ahead!" Barnacle exclaimed. "We ain't got time to
waste!"
"Yeah," Kracken added. "You've got to help us, Sea Mist; you're our only
hope!"
"Will do then!" she said. "Hang on now; this ain't no pony ride!"
"Actually, it-- Argh!!" Kracken was saying as they rocketed away from Doomsday
Island at astounding speed.
Barnacle laughed a laugh only a pirate could laugh as he stood at the front of the
shell and leaned forward, letting the wind catch his mane. Davey and Jones giggled with delight
as they clung to his ankles and Kracken wearily hung on for dear life.
Traveling so fast, they arrived at Judgement Day Island in no time at all. As the
three Sea Ponies pulled the shell raft to a stop on the beach of the island, the moon came out from
behind a cloud and showed them all they needed to know that this island was, in fact, pure
evil.
A narrow beach curved along the base of a high rocky cliff. Into this cliff was
carved an elaborate stone ediface with a dark passageway that lead back into the stone. From
somewhere on top of the cliff, an eerie blue glow emanated through the trees.
"This place gives me the creeps," Kracken said as he disembarked.
"Aye," Barnacle agreed; but pointing down the beach he added, "But ain't' that a
pretty sight!"
"It's the Lucas!" Davey cried.
"ARR! Then that means we've caught up to those little demons," Barnacle
said.
"In that case," Kracken said, turning to the Sea Ponies. "I guess that's it for you;
thanks a million for the ride."
"Oh, it was nothing," Sea Mist replied. "Good luck with what lies ahead."
"Thanks, I think we'll need it," Kracken replied.
"Bye now!" Sea Mist called out and as she disappeared into the sea added, "And
may the Force be with you, always!"
Puzzled, Kracken asked, "Force? What's that?"
"ARR, Sea Ponies, who can understand them," Barnacle replied. "But now we
need a plan..." Quickly he took in the surroundings and the situation. Then, from atop the cliff,
somewhere around where the blue glow was coming from, they heard a burst of diabolical
laughter. There was no mistaking it as Zanatos!
"ARR," Barnacle said grimly, "definitely the right place. Now, here's the way I see
it... that thing carved into the cliff there is probably where their masters be locked-up. But for
some reason, they be up there on top of the cliff... Davey, Jones, you two go up to the Lucas, get
the barrels of gun powder out of the hold, and put them all over that temple-thing. ARR?"
"Right, mon," Davey said.
"Aye, aye," Jones replied.
"And then what?" Davey asked.
"Blow it up," Barnacle said simply. "I'm gonna make sure these four Ponies of the
Apocalypse are never set free."
"ARR, to that!" Kracken exclaimed. "So while they are doing that, what are we
going to be doing?"
Barnacle drew his sword and said, "Keeping the four Bushwoolies of the
Apocalypse busy."
"Oh, boy," Kracken said a little nervously.
Following the evil Bushwoolie's tracks across the beach led Barnacle and Kracken
into a dense forest with a narrow footpath going up behind the cliff. In the light of the full moon,
they made their way up this path. While their steps where well-placed to avoid falling, they
moved quickly and with a sense of urgency.
When, finally, they reached the end of the path it simply faded away into thick
jungle. Under normal circumstances, this would have been disastrous and they would have been
hopelessly lost. But in this instance, they were now very close to the source of the blue glow and
this guided their course as they advanced toward it.
Suddenly, the forest thinned-out into a barren clearing that was a small distance
back from the edge of the cliff. Here they found their quarry sitting in a circle around a giant
piece of crystal that glowed with an eerie blue light. At the base of this crystal that stood nearly
as tall as Kracken, there were four slots into which each of the evil Bushwoolies had placed their
staffs.
While three just sat there waiting, Zanatos was talking and waving his arms like
crazy. Barnacle and Kracken stayed back at first and just listened to him hoping that he would let
some important information slip. It didn't take long...
"Yes, my brothers," Zanatos said excitedly. "Once the moon reaches it peak, our
staffs will be fully charged and we can then unlock out masters' tombs in the cliff below!"
"ARR," Barnacle whispered. "I guess I was right about the temple-thing."
"Congrats," Kracken replied. "But what's the plan?"
"ARR, it be simple," Barnacle said. "All we be havin' to do is keep these scalawags
busy long enough for Davey and Jones to destroy the temple-thing and then we high-tail it off the
island on the Lucas."
"Thus, leaving these guys stranded on the island," Kracken added and shrugged his
shoulders. "Works for me."
"Aye, and we don't be havin' much time left," Barnacle said as he pointed up to the
moon. It was nearly at its peak already.
"Great, then I suppose the direct approach would work the best, huh?"
"ARR, you mean to charge into the middle of the clearing with swords
drawn?"
"Right."
"Aye," Barnacle agree. "Then let's do it!"
"ARR!" Kracken said as they tapped their swords together in a sort of toast.
Bursting forth from the foliage, screaming with conviction, Barnacle and Kracken
stormed towards the four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse! The Bushwoolies were completely
taken by surprise; not one of them had expected anyone else to even be on the island, let alone
two beings they had stranded on a completely different island!
Though startled, Mars, Discord, and Tiny quickly snatched their staffs from the
slots in the crystal to attack the intruders.
"ARR!" Barnacle howled. "I'll take Tiny and Discord! You get Mars!"
"What about Zanatos?" Kracken was about the ask but he didn't get the chance as
Mars swung his axe right at Kracken's mid-section. Only by jumping backwards was he able to
avoid being sliced in two. And as the armored Bushwoolie charged at him, wielding his weapon
with expert precision, Kracken realized he was going to have his hands full with just one
opponent!
On the other side of the clearing, Barnacle was battling Tiny and Discord. As he
charged Tiny with his sword drawn, Discord leapt at him from the top of a boulder with his staff
held over his head screaming, "You look like a sensible man-- horse; might I be able to interest
you in a sharp blow to the head?"
"No," Barnacle said simply as he kicked him out of the air with his rear hoof.
"IEEEE!" Discord cried as he tumbled to the ground in a heap. But no sooner was
he out of the picture for the moment than did Tiny charge forward swinging his gnarled
stick!
"ARR, this had better be a joke," Barnacle said as the skinny Bushwoolie took a
swing at him. He ducked just in time to avoid being clocked in the head but it was plainly clear
that Tiny was much stronger than he looked.
Mars, too, was exceptionally strong for his size, even more so than Tiny; and this
was a fact Kracken was quickly learning. Raising his sword to parry a blow from Mars' axe,
Kracken realized Mars even out-classed himself. It was all he could do just to maintain control of
his weapon and not have his opponent beat it out of his hands.
But just as it looked like the heroes might have a small chance of defeating the four
Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse, Zanatos suddenly snatched his staff from the slot and let loose
with a burst of diabolical laughter.
"It is done, my brothers!" he cried, and held his staff aloft. The eyes of the dark
skull that was mounted at the top of the staff were now glowing with the same eerie blue light as
the crystal. "It is now midnight and my staff is fully charged and coursing with the mystical
energies that will set my master free! Come with me, my brothers, and we will rally behind Death
as he vanquishes these nonsenses once and for all! Than we shall set your own masters free at our
own leisure!"
Everyone stopped to hear Zanatos speak, and now the four evil Bushwoolies turned
from the fight and fled back to the beach.
As Barnacle and Kracken took up pursuit, they also learned that the Bushwoolies
were much faster than they were and the Bushwoolies out-paced the pirates almost
immediately.
"Did you hear him!?" Kracken asked as the ran. "They're gonna let Death
loose! DEATH! I mean, like, Death!"
"Aye, and I don't think we'd be have'n a chance against him. Arr..."
Meanwhile, back on the beach, Jones and Davey were just finishing up with their
task. The entire entrance to the tomb had been rigged with several barrels of gun powder. Davey
was carrying one on his back as he walked across the beach and made a trail of the black powder
to work like a fuse. He stopped at the ramp to the Lucas to have a word with Jones.
"Everything ready?" he asked.
"A' think so, mon," Jones replied. "Let's see... we got the gun powder."
"Check," Davey said.
"We got the fuse."
"Check."
"And I be havin' the torch to set it off." As Jones said this he held up a small,
burning stick.
"Yeap, yeap, that's everything, mon," Davey said. "Now let me put this barrel
away back in the hold and then we can blow this thing and go home."
Hurrying up the ramp, Davey returned quickly to the beach and stood next to Jones
as he got ready to light the fuse.
"On three," Jones said.
"One," they said together.
"Two."
"Five!" Jones yelled and dropped the torch.
"You mean three!" Davey said.
"Three? Oh yeah, three; thanks, mon," Jones replied.
"No problem."
As Davey and Jones stood and watched the little spark move across the beach
towards the tomb, the four evil Bushwoolies suddenly came hopping out from around the cliff.
Too pre-occupied to take notice of what was happening around them, they ran right into the cave
without even noticing the explosives piled around the entrance.
"Oh, no," Davey said matter-of-factly. "That wasn't part of the plan."
"Um, Davey," Jones said as he tugged on Davey's sleeve and pointed at the Lucas.
"I don't be thinkin' that was either."
Davey turned and screamed; when he had put the barrel of gun powder away, he
had forgotten to close it and now a trail of the stuff was leading right back into the hold where all
the rest of the gun powder was stored! And sure enough, when Jones had lit the one trail he also
ignited the other as well.
Both Bushwoolies watched in stark horror as the trail burned down into the
hold.
"Quick, get some water!" Davey cried.
"No, get some sand!" Jones said.
Both of them scurried to get something to put the fire out with, but instead, only
ran head-long into each other and fell flat on their backs.
Winded, and short of breath, Barnacle and Kracken came around the cliff and on to
the beach just in time to see the tomb entrance explode in a brilliant red and yellow fire ball.
However, a moment later, another blast racked the island from the other side of the beach.
Barnacle turned just in time to see his ship reduced to a pile of splinters!
He was speechless as he stared at the burning wreckage of his boat. The crisis with
the four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse temporarily forgotten, all he could do was mutter, "Me
ship..."
Kracken kept a more level head and ran to the tomb. Sure enough, the entrance
had completely collapsed and sealed off the cave forever.
"We did it!" he cried. "We saved the world!"
Barnacle, who had regained some of his composure, walked over to Kracken's side.
"ARR, all I wanted was a little gold and maybe a few gems... what I got was four demons who
wanted to destroy the world, my ship destroyed, and us stranded on an island! I be thinkin' this is
not one of me better days."
At this point, Jones and Davey hopped over as well.
"Hey, mon," Davey said as he stared at his feet. "I, ah, think we mighta' broke the
Lucas, a little bit."
"Yeah," Jones added in a similar tone.
"ARR," Barnacle sighed. "Kracken, would you just be callin' the sea ponies so we
can ask for a lift home?"
"Hmm..." Kracken replied. "Just for the sake of argument, what would you say if I
told you I had left the conch on Doomsday Island?"
Placing his head in his hooves, Barnacle sighed, "This has gotta be the worst day of
me life..."