Grand Voyage- Log 90

Log 90: Let's All Work Together
D’Artagnan, first mate of the Marimo Pirates, runaway from the nomadic Majin Tribe and resident semi-expert on the fighting style known as Enchantment, stared up silently at the massive building that lay in front of him. The only sane way to describe a building such as this would be as an amalgam of some sort; it appeared that hundreds upon hundreds of various casinos and other gambling establishments had been smashed together into a nightmarish structure that spanned the entire island as if someone had dug it out of a pail and spread it there with a butter knife.

Faced with a building of this magnitude, the Majin first mate’s brain went into sarcasm mode, and promptly selected what it felt was the most prudent phrase.

“Well, this isn’t garish at all.”

“That’s the worst lie you’ve ever told,” Stormy said simply, sweatdropping as she stared up at the building herself.

It had taken the crew around 2 hours to follow the Eternal Pose that Gambull had given them, and they had finally arrived at the shore of the technicolor nightmare that rested before them. Almost as soon as they arrived, parts of the shore had seemed to extend outwards, then came together again, effectively trapping the Shooting Star where it lay anchored in the water. After a brief argument, the crew had elected to simply head to the shore together, while leaving Knave on the ship with the medicine he would need placed nearby him.

“So....” Sid broke in after a few minutes of the crew simply standing on the shore, “do you think they’ll be welcoming us?”

“WOW!” Mercuia cried, moving rapidly throughout the entrance to the building, examining every crevice she could, “THIS BUILDING IS INCREDIBLE! I’VE NEVER SEEN ONE CONSTRUCTED LIKE THIS!”

“Gao, gao gao!” Gopher cried frantically, waving his arms through the air at incredible speeds as he attempted to warn their archeologist away from the building they knew nothing about.

“I... could try cutting it open,” Pura said simply, partially unsheathing Yamiryuu.

“T-that seems a bit unnecessary right now, Pura-san!” Kagome warned their swordsman.

“Hmm... you have a point,” Pura observed, stroking her chin slightly as she got a closer look at the building, “it doesn’t look like a material I could cut through with my current level of skill...” She bopped her head slightly with her fist. “Train more, Pura! Train more!”

“I-I don’t think that that’s the point,” Kagome nervously observed.

At that moment, all of the lights on the entrance... vanished?!

“...Eh?” the crew collectively asked, question marks appearing above their heads.

And then the lights came back in full force, blasting light directly into the eyes of the pirates!

“EH?!” the crew collectively gasped, rapidly shielding their eyes!

And then the lights... vanished again?!

“....Eh?”

They returned!

“EH?!”

They... vanished?!

“STOP SCREWING WITH US!” the Marimos cried, slapping the air as one!

“My humblest apologies!” came Gambull’s voice over a hidden loudspeaker, “we haven’t done this in a while, you see. Some procedures got... rusty. Now apologize, Crowe!”

“Why do I have to do it? Do it yourself, dammit...” came a low, depressed voice from the individual known as Crowe.

“Leader’s orders! Now cow doo-doo it!”

“That sucked, dammit...”

“I SAID COW DOO-DOO IT!”

“Yeesh, fine. Sorry and all that, I guess, dammit...” The sounds of footsteps walking away were clearly heard.

“Well, that killed the mood,” D’Artagnan said.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the lights blared once more! However, this time they blared with a sense of order, forming truly massive words out of neon lights and pure, undiluted ocular pain! What did the world’s spell out, you ask?! Nothing less than...

“WELCOME TO COWSINO ISLAND!”

“THAT SIGN IS POINTLESS!” Art cried as he pointed angrily at it!

“Oh, sue us. It’s fun,” Gambull’s voice muttered over the livespeaker, before clearing his throat slightly, “now, let the games begin! I advise you all to take a few steps back...”

The pirates barely leaped out of the way in time as hidden panels in the island’s surface suddenly slid open! From the panels rose a gigantic wheel, decorated with a multitude of multicolored panels, as well as a large arrow in the center connected to a small rotating switch on the base. In addition, the panels surrounding it were quickly filled by a variety of people!

“And now, ladies and gentlemen,” Gambull said from his own panel, holding a megaphone in one hand, “your Cowsino Island players! I am your gracious host, Gambull! You may also call me-”

“Stupid Bull Guy,” Sid said blankly.

“Err... nevermind that, then!” the cow man continued, “next is...”

He pointed to a slightly petite girl with long pink hair and heavily tanned skin who seemed to have donned sheep’s garments.

“Lambia! My second-in-command, often referred to as-”

“GRRUGGHH!” Sid cried as he dropped to his knees, obviously struggling with some deep and life-changing thought! “O-Oddly Pretty Lamb Lady!”

The leader of the bounty hunters pressed on, evidently attempting to ignore Sid’s interruptions. He pointed next to a incredibly pale-skinned man wearing a light purple leather jacket with dark purple jeans. He had crow wing attachments on the sleeves of the jacket, and his hair slumped down over one of his eyes.

“Crowe! One of our two Game Masters, he has been nicknamed-”

“Stupidly Emo Crow Guy,” Sid offered simply.

Suppressing a growl, Gambull turned to the last of the bounty hunters in the panels, a truly massive, almost metallic pink bear wearing a yellow ascot.

“Pinkuma! Our Second Game Master and mascot, he is referred to in promotional materials as-”

“TERRIFYING BEAR GUY!” Sid cried with gusto!

“WILL YOU SHUT UP?!” Gambull cried, throwing his microphone to the ground, “we’re trying to do this seriously!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Sid apologized, rubbing the back of his head, “it’s just... you guys make it WAY to easy for me to do stuff like that.”

“Hmph,” the leader grumbled, then proceeded to point towards the wheel in the center of the assembly.

“This wheel, my friends, may appear to you as just an ordinary wheel with few distinguishing features, but... it, in fact... HOLDS YOUR FATES IN ITS HANDS! With a single pull of this level, we will decide which one of our staff you will face and what games you will play! But first... you must separate into teams!”

“Why?” the Marimos asked collectively.

“S-so it’s fair, of course!” Gambull stammered, “you wouldn’t want some of us to be bored while the rest of us get to play, right?”

“O-of course!” Kagome said, seeming genuinely concerned, “we wouldn’t want that to happen, right?”

“Kagome-chan?” Sid asked, “you can’t be serious, right?”

“W-well,” Kagome said, folding her hands over her chest, “we couldn’t have beaten those Sirius guys without working together, right? A-at least, that’s what I think, but... I-I wasn’t able to do anything during the whole event... I know you guys wouldn’t have wanted me to get into trouble or get hurt or a-anything like that, but... I want to prove that I can help too! That every one of us can help! So,” and at this she looked at the lot of them, “l-let’s all work together on this, okay? And win!”

“Gao...” Gopher said softly.

“Than that settles it!” D’Artagnan concluded, stepping a bit closer to the panels and slamming his fist into an open palm, “you with me, Captain the Second?”

Their navigator thought it over for a moment, then sighed, smiled, and walked up beside the first mate. “Right behind you, Captain the Before Second.”

The rest of the Marimos smiled softly as the Majin stepped forward....

“Alright!” Art said, pointing on them, “go on ahead and pull that wheel!”

“I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER SAY IT!” Gambull cried, “teams ready?”

“Me and Sid will go together,” D’Artagnan said at once.

“Gao!” Gopher said, pointing at Pinkuma.

“I-I’ll go with Gopher-san!” Kagome said, walking up beside him.

“Then I’ll head with you two,” Pura added, joining the small group.

“So that leaves you and me, Stormy-san?” Mercuia asked.

“Right!” Stormy answered, nodding.

“All present and counted for,” Sid said to the leader of the bounty hunters.

“THEN... LET’S.... BEGIN!!!” Gambull cried as he reached down and gave the switch three good pulls!

“The first team, D’Artagnan-kun and Sid Cheney-kun!” Gambull announced following spinning the wheel exactly three times, “you will be playing against Crowe, the king of brooding!”

“I’ll take care of you, I guess, dammit...” Crow muttered, scratching one of his ears.

“The second team, Gopher-kun, Kagome-chan, and Pura-chan! You will be playing against... Pinkuma, everyone’s favorite mascot!”

“Like hell you’ll be able to beat me, eyup!” Pinkuma snarled, bouncing up and down slightly while making boxing nosies.

“And finally.,..” Gambull finished, “the third team, Stormy-chan and Mercuia-chan, will be up against Lambia, our oddly cute (“So you used my nickname after all?!” Sid shouted indignantly) second-in-command!”

“Heh, let’s have a little fun, okay?” the girl asked, tossing some of her pink hair behind her head.

“Umm...” Kagome noticed, “w-what about you, Gambull-san? Who are you playing against?”

“I’ll be monitoring your games,” the cow man answered, “whoever I judge to be the most skilled at the art of gambling and similar games will be allowed to face me to decide the overall victor of our little battle. Clever, isn’t it? Moohoohoohoo!”

“WOW!” Mercuia cried, her eyes lighting up once more, “THAT’S ANOTHER STUPID LAUGH THAT I’VE NEVER HEARD BEFORE!”

“Stupid laugh?!” Gambull snorted, “you have NO idea how long it took for me to make this laugh a habit, do you?!”

“Boss, you’re embarrassing yourself, dammit...” Crowe murmured.

“Still, this is a point that must be made, young Crowe,” Gambull lectured, “you mustn’t let such things as pride get in the way of your passion in life.”

“Whatever, dammit...” Crowe grumbled as he turned his head away.

“Now, if you’re all ready to begin,” a Gambull with wounded pride muttered as he pulled out a small remote. A simple press of a few buttons lead to several doors popping open on the entrance to the building.

“Just enter through the corresponding doors, and the battle (game) will begin!”

~End of Log~

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