As Spike and his crew left Tapu Rui, Spike asked his crew, "So, where should we go next? We can't avenge Zecora with such a small crew. As much as I hate to say it, Finn was right, we're rookies trying to fight the big players."

Bulk Biceps sighed, "You've got a point. Maybe we could use some of the gold we got from Avery and the HMS Pinafore to hire some more crewmates."

The Doctor tipped his hat in agreement saying, "A good idea, but in a place like Skull Island, we have no idea what people will want for their service, and we only have about 60 grand after buying the ship."

Adagio suggested, "Perhaps we should hunt for treasure?"

Suddenly, in a cloud of purple smoke, Bonnie Anne appeared and said, "Treasure you say? Well, I think I have something to help." Before taking out a bottle with some paper in it, "This here is Captain Gunn's last will and testament. I was in charge of keeping watch on it, since I was the coin master of the ship. Thus, all things treasure related went to me. I'll give it to you as an apology for my rudeness about Zecora's death."

Bulk Biceps growled lightly before Spike interrupted him, "Hmm, why though?" questioned Spike.

"Why what?" she smiled innocently.

"Why give this to us when you could have taken the treasure for yourself and run?" he shot back, not buying this innocent little act.

"I just want to apologize for my actions earlier and earn your trust. Is that really so hard to believe?" she said, giving a little pout at the end.

"...Very well," Spike growled, knowing that he really didn't have any other choice in the matter. He was desperate for some much need cash and this being the only option presented to him, he had no choice but to trust her.

"So, where do we start?"

Bonnie smiled nervously, "Well, that's the bit of bad news. We have to go back to Skull Island. Ben and my old crew were there to talk to Morgan Laffite. She's fluent in Valencian, that's what the will is written in, so Ben and crew were heading to convince her to help us with the hunt."

Spike thought for a moment, "Well, at this point, the HMS Pinafore has probably left Skull Island by now, since they know I wouldn't stay in one place for too long with them on my tail. What about Ben though? Don't you think he'd want the will back?"

Bonnie chuckled, "Well, that is true, but it's not like he has the guts to take it back. Besides, him and his crew are nothing but a bunch of drunk thugs. If they tried to force us to give the will back while they're drunk, it wouldn't go very well for them."

Spike chuckled lightly, "Well, let's get back to Skull Island then." before steering the ship back towards the Skull Island docks

As the ship headed back to Skull Island, Adagio was talking with Bonnie Anne and asked her, "So, can you keep a secret, girl to girl?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah, you can trust me."

Adagio blushed as she whispered, "This is embarrassing, but I think that Spike is kind of cute. I feel that I'm punching above my weight class though."

Bonnie giggled lightly, "Well, he's certainly better looking than any of the men on my old crew, and much more of a gentleman too."

As they continued to talk about girl things, Spike sighed as it got dark and stormy. "Well, I'm not steering through a storm like this in the dark. The closest dock is over at Blood Shoals. We'll go there and rest for the night." before steering the ship towards the closest docks, which was only a half hour away from where they were. Spike lowered the anchor with the help of Bulk Biceps and watched the rain come in. He never fully understood how anchors really held a ship in place, since there was no bottom of the skies. All his life he'd questioned why the islands of the Spiral floated, and how anchors could stop a ship from moving in midair, but he'd never been able to get a straight answer, so it seemed as though nobody actually knew the answer. He looked to Bulk Biceps and asked, "When you were below deck, did you find anything we could cook up for dinner?"

Bulk Biceps face palmed, "I completely forgot to go back and check with Bonnie Anne and all. I'll go see what we've got Cap'n." before heading back down below deck into the cargo hold. When Spike came to check on him, he held a crate on his shoulder saying, "We've got some Batacuda steaks we could cook up, plus a lot of Buffaloon hides, some exotic spices, and three barrels of rum."

Spike smiled and said, "Well, I've never had Batacuda before, let's give it a go. Grab some spices so we can have a decent dinner."

When Bulk Biceps and Spike walked into the galley, Time Turner could smell the spices and smiled, "Ooh, is that Rivia Nut I smell? With that and a bit of Swamp Saffron, I can make a great meal!" As Bulk Biceps set the crates down, Time Turner took out some Batacuda Steaks and the spices he needed before starting to cook.

As the Batacuda cooked, Spike could smell the mix of spices and smiled, "Smells great Doc. I can't wait to try some of this."

Time Turner smiled, "Wait no longer, grilled Batacuda with Rivia Nut and Swamp Saffron, with a side of steamed Blood Moss." as he brought a plate to each of the waiting pirates and himself.

Spike licked his lips as the seasoned Batacuda steak was placed in front of him and thanked Time Turner, "Looks delicious Doctor, thanks for cooking this up."

Time Turner smiled, "It's nothing, there's two things I'm an expert in, guns and cooking." before sitting down and cutting into his own Batacuda steak.

Spike cut into his steak and took a bite. His taste buds were overflowing with the sweet flavor from the Rivia Nut and the heat of the Swamp Saffron. The steamed Blood Moss was creamy and smooth, going down his throat like a smooth drink. "This is the best meal I've had in a long time Doctor; you really are a great cook."

After dinner, most of the crew had gone to sleep, whereas Spike stood at the nose of the bow, looking out to the stars, and more importantly, an aurora. It put Spike's heart at ease, the way that the Zebra elder had said that Zecora's spirit would be flying in the aurora. If he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn he saw her stripes flowing in the lights. He smiled lightly, before heading to the captain's quarters and heading to bed.

The next morning...

Spike awoke in his quarters before heading up to the deck to find his crew getting ready to sail back to Skull Island. Spike smiled, but then asked, "Did I oversleep or something?"

Adagio shook her head, "No, it's just that Blood Shoals isn't a very great place to stay, it's an absolute rat hole, so we want to get out of here as fast as we can.

Spike nodded, getting up to the wheel as his crew lifted the anchor and got the sails ready. As they headed back to Skull Island, Spike wondered how'd they deal with Ben if they ran into conflict with him. Then again, it wouldn't be hard to deal with a man who was either drunk or had a horrible hangover. As they docked, Spike asked Bonnie Anne, "So where is this Morgan Lafitte character?"

Bonnie told him, "She's up in the Skull Fort, in Swashbuckler's Hall. Just a warning, she romanticizes piracy, so she may be a bit unusual."

"I'll keep that in mind," he nodded.

Yet as Spike and his crew were walking up to the Swashbuckler's Hall to meet Morgan Lafitte, they soon ran into a drunken looking figure.

"Aye ya bastards! I want my ship and Gunn's will back!" said the man they presumed to be Captain Benjamin.

Spike knew there was no reasoning with this drunkard and walked up to him before drawing his sword and holding it up to Ben's neck. "You have two choices, either you can fight us so you can get your ship and treasure map back, or you can leave immediately-" before shouting in his natural rough Equestrian accent, "-because I will rip your spine out of your arse if you pick option one!"

His crew, even Bulk Biceps was surprised by their captain's outburst and Time Turner whispered to Adagio, "What's gotten into the captain? He's never been this aggressive before."

Adagio whispered back, "How should I know? Maybe he just doesn't want to deal with a drunk idiot."

When Ben smashed his beer bottle against Spike's helmet, which probably saved Spike a lot of pain from the broken glass, he said, "Thank you for picking option one. Now prepare for Equestrian justice!" before sheathing his sword and delivering a swift uppercut to Ben's jaw.

As Ben tried to swing at Spike, he dodged and grabbed his arm, to which Ben replied with slurred speech, "Please don't break my arm."

Spike smirked and said, "No" before slamming Ben's arm between the armored kneecaps of his suit and his elbow, the sound of breaking bones could be clearly heard.

After having his arm broken, Ben screamed, "All right, all right, you win! Just let me live and get my arm in a cast!"

Spike thought he'd had enough punishment and throwing his arm over his shoulder said, "All right, get out of here." as Benjamin stumbled off, holding his broken arm in pain.

Bonnie chuckled, "Gotta say, that was satisfying to watch the old bastard get what's been coming to him for the past three years."

Spike smiled and acted as though nothing big had happened, "Well, let's get going to Morgan Laffite then." before continuing to walk towards Swashbuckler's Hall.

Next Chapter: The Treasure is a Test Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 36 Minutes