Bluebird

Lost At Sea

Thank the Man Upstairs for the fog, was all Metalbeard could think as they lost sight of their pursuit- who hopefully had lost sight of them as well. The Sea Cow was one of the fastest ships to ever sail the seas, but even she couldn't outrun Bad Cop's flying forces for long.

"Captain, where are we?" Skeeter asked, squinting to try to see through the fog. It was so thick, they couldn't see the bow from where they stood at the wheel.

"I'll tell ye in a bit," Metalbeard murmured. "Methinks we lost 'em, at least for now."

"Land ho!" Mollie shouted.

"How is she actually seeing through this mess...?"

"We must be comin' out of it now." Sure enough, after a few more minutes they came through the other side. It was like someone had cut it with a knife, it ended so abruptly. There was no time to relax, though- they had to put as much distance between them and that fog as possible, lest Bad Cop find his way out, and them, again. They sailed on for several hours, hardly daring to speak as though they would be heard somehow, when once again Mollie called down to them.

"Captain! Look!" Metalbeard glanced in the direction she pointed. It was an island- not a very large one- and on its beach was the strangest thing. From a distance, it looked like a coffin had washed ashore.

"Oh that poor soul..." the pirate captain murmured, turning the ship toward the island. The crew didn't even need to be ordered to prepare the ship, apparently of the same mind as their captain. They got as close to the island as they dared to get before dropping the anchor. Metalbeard picked a handful of crew members to come ashore with him, taking a longboat the rest of the way.

"That be a strange coffin, Cap'n," Sly muttered. "Awful complicated."

"Aye," Metalbeard agreed. "Tis makin' funny noises..." He pressed his hand to the lid as he leaned in to get a better look, and startled when it gave a sudden hum and hiss, the lid popping loose. He gave it an experimental nudge; it slid aside easily enough. And inside was an equally strange sight.

It was a young man, as far as they could tell, dressed in a protective blue suit, his helmet cracked. The yellow glass of the visor had come loose and slid off at some point. Metalbeard recognized the logo on his suit; he was one of those astronauts from Cape Space. There was a faint beep, and the young man started screaming and thrashing, staring blindly into the sky.

"Sink me, he's still alive!" Metalbeard yelped, jerking back to avoid being smacked by a flailing limb. It was a few seconds later that he finally calmed, blinking quizzically at the sky before shoving his helmet off and gasping for air. "Easy, lad," Metalbeard soothed, helping him as he attempted to sit up. The young man looked at him. "Do ye know where ye be?"

The astronaut glanced around, taking in their surroundings then looked back at him. "Pirate's Cove, by the looks of you guys." Metalbeard nodded to himself, satisfied. He was coherent; that was a good sign.

"So he be as lost as we are," Ridge laughed.

"I'm not lost!" Metalbeard bellowed at his belligerent crew, earning a snicker from the astronaut. "I just need a bit to get me bearings!"

"We got chased out here by Bad Cop, and we've no idea where we be at," Ridge continued in explanation.

"Who's Bad Cop?"

The pirates fell silent. "...Ye don't know who Bad Cop is?"

"Uhh, duh? I wouldn't ask otherwise."

"Lord Business took over the world and outlawed Master Builders. Bad Cop's his attack dog, he's been hunting us down."

"You're all Master Builders?" The astronaut wrinkled his nose in distaste, and Skeeter rolled his eyes.