The girl behind them finally moved, getting up in silence and moving smoothly to the ladder with speed she hadn't seemed capable of moments before. Blake stared at her, and felt a strange jolt when she smiled at him. His mouth opened, but a stifled yelp emerged from it a moment later as she shouldered past him, knocking him aside as she started to ascend. He stared after her, confused, before realizing he was supposed to be going up with the others.<br/><br/>"Alrigh' Mal," he said, wondering what fate waited for them up above. He feared being thrown overboard, but not because of sharks. He suppressed a shudder as he remembered a certain fish<span style="font-style: italic">not</span>named Codie. The last thing he wanted to do was run into it again.<br/><br/>A short time later Blake was straightening up on the deck of the ship, noting how different it looked from before. Although, that was probably because last time he'd been recovering from having his lights knocked out. He fell into line behind the other kids, with Mallory at his side, and looked on as a man paced back and forth in front of them all. The other pirates were watching him expectantly, and it was clear he was the 'Cap'n' fellow that the other man had mentioned. Blake couldn't help but feel some awe at the sight of a real pirate captain. It was all he and Mall wanted, and this man had it in his possession.<br/><br/>"You little shits might be wonderin' why I called you up here," he said to the children in a loud, booming voice that somewhat offset his less than impressive height. "Well, at least for a few of ya, ya ain't gonna be swabbing decks, or dumping shit out from the chamber pots today. I got an importan' job for you, and if you do well you might just find yourselves gettin' a little prize, for your efforts. But if you don't get it done, I'll make you<span style="font-style: italic">wish</span>I'd feed your sorry asses to the briny deep."<br/><br/>The other pirates were watching them all with vaguely interested looks on their faces; whatever was going to happen next, they didn't seem to know exactly what it was. The thought made Blake feel rather nervous.<br/><br/>"I need three volunteers for this little task. Three brave souls, who fear nothin'. Three people who know they got what it takes to be pirate<span style="font-style: italic">legends</span>."<br/><br/>Blake thought he caught a momentary whiff of shit, and turned to see a distraught looking Shitsack taking a step back, announcing his reluctance to volunteer.<span style="font-style: italic">Poor fella,</span>he thought with a rush of sympathy.<span style="font-style: italic">Needs a new name now</span>. A moment later it dawned on him that something about the captain's offer, tempting as it sounded, had scared the others rather badly. Unsure of what to do, he looked at Mallory.