Jackie rubbed at the back of his head as he watched the sea plane zooming off into the sky and sighed. "Great..." he mumbled to himself. "Now what?" Before he could say anymore, a cyan blur followed by a rainbow colored contrail zipped past him. "Wha-?"
"Don't worry Jackie!" Jade called out from atop Cumulo, the three fillies alongside her. "We'll track 'em!"
"We need to finish our report!" Sweetie Belle added.
Jackie groaned as he stared after them. "Bad day..." he groaned out. Turning, he saw Ratso running out of the aquarium with an octopus on his head. "...that can work."
Jade and the others tracked the sea plane to a far dock. Once there, they found a spot where they could spy from to plan their next move. "Okay," Scootaloo began. "We need to find a way to recover the Talisman and Aesop without getting captured ourselves. Any ideas?"
"Charge in and beat the crap out of them?" Jade suggested eagerly, punching the air.
Sweetie Belle gazed at her flatly. "Chao's the smallest of them, and he outweighs the four of us combined. And there's four or five of them, including Tohru."
"Huh," Jade mused, rubbing her chin. "Well, couldn't you do that magic thing you did back at the aquarium?"
"That took all three of us to keep contained," Scootaloo explained. "And that was in a confined area. Even if we managed to get something like that stirred up out here, we couldn't contain it and would likely level a good chunk of San Francisco if we lost control of it." She turned to Apple Bloom. "Don't suppose you could call Audrey?"
"He's too far away, and salt water doesn't agree with him," Apple Bloom explained. "Swoop in and snatch Aesop and the Talisman when they aren't looking?"
"Cumulo's having enough trouble maintaining speed and altitude with just the four of us," Jade pointed out. "How much does a giant tortoise weigh again?"
"About 417 kg, or 919 pounds at the heaviest," Sweetie Belle explained quickly. "Aesop himself only hits 700 pounds, but-"
"And Tohru just hefted him like he was groceries?" Scootaloo squeaked out. "Just how strong is that guy?"
"Too strong," Jade murmured worriedly. "And El Toro and Viper are too far to call in for help, too..."
The four girls put their heads together as they tried to figure out a method of attack. Finally, Apple Bloom spoke up. "Wait for Jackie to find his way here and cover whatever he misses?" she offered.
Jade sighed. "Probably our best bet," she grumbled to herself.
The wait wasn't as dull as it could have been, since Sweetie Belle had a deck of cards on her and they happened to find a metal roof panel they could all sit on while watching the dock to see what happened. It wasn't until after sunset, however, that anything interesting happened. Just as they caught sight of Jackie tailing Ratso to the dock, a ship pulled in and someone stepped off it.
Grinning, Scootaloo pulled a strange device attached to a speaker out of her bags. "Borrowed this from Section 13," she explained as she turned it on. With it on, all four of them could clearly hear the discussion on the dock as the red suited man with a goatee introduced himself as Dr. Carl Nibor, an acquaintance of Valmont's who was, apparently, interested in purchasing Aesop.
As the discussion moved on, a man dressed as a chef stepped off the boat to give Tohru money for Aesop. "Wonder why he wants to buy Aesop-" Apple Bloom's words died as Dr. Nibor's next words came through, speaking of having an 'endangered' 'turtle soup' for dinner. "He's...he's gonna..." Apple Bloom looked ill just contemplating it.
"He's gonna eat Aesop..." Jade murmured, her voice terrified.
"New plan," Scootaloo spoke up. "Our pendants should help hide the three of us from anyone on that ship, and in that confined space we should be able to take care of any single person we come across. We let them take Aesop onto the ship and sail off, then take over the ship and steer it back to the aquarium, and let Jackie handle getting the Talisman back."
"But...won't he need our help?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.
"That's the beauty of it," Scootaloo explained. "We let Jackie see Cumulo on our way out, so he knows we aren't there. Without having to worry about us being in immediate danger from the fight, he won't have to hold back...but the Dark Hand thugs will be constantly looking around for us because they'll expect us to be there!"
"Good plan, let's do it!" Jade agreed quickly, now glaring daggers at the back of Nibor's head.
It didn't take long for Nibor's chef to fetch a forklift to get Aesop onto the boat, and the four quickly followed. Down below, Jackie - as they'd expected - prioritized the Talisman, proving well capable of handling the Dark Hand.
As the four reached the ship, they discovered that it was almost empty. "Huh," Sweetie Belle murmured. "Must be completely automated or something."
"Then the only ones on board are going to be Nibor and his chef?" Jade clarified.
"Probably," Scootaloo agreed. "So let's split up. Jade, Apple Bloom, you two see about getting this ship turned around. Sweetie Belle and I will see about making sure Aesop doesn't get cooked in the meantime."
The four nodded and split up for their tasks, Jade and Apple Bloom heading for the bridge, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo heading for the kitchen.
At the bridge, Jade and Apple Bloom found their most significant hurdle being that the controls were entirely computerized, and needed a password to access. "Well, so much for that plan," Jade murmured. "Now how are we going to get Aesop back to shore?"
Apple Bloom shrugged her shoulders. "Think he can swim?" she asked hopefully. When she got no answer, she sighed. "Hope Sweetie and Scoot are doing better..."
Unfortunately, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had encountered their own problems. Aesop proved incredibly difficult to move, and Nibor's chef had proven unexpectedly quick and strong. The pair now found themselves being held by the backs of their necks before Carl Nibor himself...who seemed to be staring at them in an uncomfortably unwholesome manner.
Eventually, he spoke up. "You know, a man of my palate has to be careful. Too many would seek to deceive me with creatures made to look like something endangered in order to cheat me. There's been...unpleasantness over that. Still, it's led me to be exceptionally skilled at gauging the true nature of any creature before me, no matter how it is concealed."
He leaned forward, licking his lips as the pair flinched back. "Which is why I'm certain you'll be shocked when I say...I never thought I'd get the chance to sample unicorn or pegasus." Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gasped in shock as he licked his lips. "Tonight's feast will be of...mythical proportions."
Huh... Brother's Grimm eat your hearts out.
I wish violence upon this man. Bloody violence from 1000 valkyries while choirs sing from the heavens!
Or something. This is Everyone, so it might have to be toned down...
and I thought he was sick in the show
Yeah... no. Not going to pun this part.
I think I read somewhere that, after Darwin discovered the place, other sailors found that Galapagos turtles were delicious. Not only that, but they could live exceptionally long on practically nothing. But in over one hundred years, no ship was ever able to bring any back to Europe for breeding/consumption. And the reason why? On every voyage, the hungry sailors eventually caved in and ate the turtles before arriving at port. Every single time.
Sad, but true. And mildly amusing if you have a dark sense of humor.
So we are talking about someone who would eat another sophont, just because he can.
...can we please feed him to Audrey III?
I'm not sure if I want to see Uncle or Jackie beat this guy into raw hamburger more... but he needs a beating!!!!
ok if sweetie was ever going to learn to summon, now would be the time, i'm not saying something crazy mind you, maybe just an ogre or something?
So shifu stupidheads the chef and Nibor are planning to eat them huh? Well they're screwed. Quick Sweetie Belle use your magic and summon Monkey D. Luffy, so he can kick their butts badly!
Ooooooooh shit.
7503749 Nah, let's go for crazy monster from the void with the ability to rip whole continents and use them as weapons!
7503673 I guess even you have your limits, huh?
7503687
No! We do not want to get Audrey sick! Please think of the health of the fun singing plant!
Find some rabid Mets instead. They'll eat anything!
Back in the late 19th century they used to say
"There is no Sunday west of St Louis and no God west of the Pecos (river)"
Judge Roy Bean was"the law west of the Pecos". A friend asked him why he was often harsher on horse thieves than on murderers. He said "Because I never met a horse that needed stealing"
Here in the USA many of us still feel the same way. There are some people I just don't want on my planet.
7503796 There's nothing to laugh at in this chapter really and if there are heavier emotional elements then I won't pun either out of respect for it.
7503816 And for that, I thank you. You've instantly gone from a nine to a ten.
Well, that plan didn't last long, did it?
7503768 Actually, I think Chuck Greene would do nicely.
Excuse me for a moment...I need to fetch something...
...
...
38.media.tumblr.com/7659dedee74f90aa4216fe3258003b47/tumblr_ndvdycXaXh1ro55weo2_500.gif
INITIATE SMASH-THE-FREAK MODE!!!!
Nibor's gonna find out just how much damage Jackie can dish out when he's seriously pissed.
Well...
I had a feeling he would see through the pendants, but actually wanting to eat the fillies...
7503992 Indeed perhaps we can see Jackie seeing red before the Dragon Talisman.
Well fuck. This is NOT looking good T______T
Yeah, Nibor's in trouble.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good work.
Really REALLY bad day!
Nibor will get what's coming to him. Eventually.
Meanwhile, I'm imagining what I would do to him, if I had the Monkey Talisman. Mouse, Goldfish, Grasshopper, Jellyfish, Sea Sponge.......
7504164
Well, in the actual episode he suggested Jade might taste good with a red wine and a side of fava beans...only to say he was joking because "Human children are too common for my palette." So...
Oh...Jackie is gonna be pissed.
7503659 I would tie his are up with a magic rope so he couldn't get out then drop him in piranha infested water. Who's the meal now hummm?
Someone feed this Dck to Audrey.
a man of my pallet -- palate
7503699 I wanna see Uncle get First dibs... or have Tohru come to the rescue.
7503914
Methinks Audrey will be having some fun...
I feel a shift in the force. HEY DEADPOOL!!! I need you to pull Overwatch in on this guy.
Deadpool: One mega beat down coming right up! Oh, and I got Jackie one of Tony's Ironman suits.
I really hope this doesn't just end with this monster going to jail, I'm hoping this ends with either and ironic death or a fate worse than death.
Chapter Thirty Nine
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 24
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 43
7504237 It's always fava beans, isn't it. Never pinto beans or navy beans. Nope, fava.
(It's usually also Chianti wine. Because reasons.)
So, I was about to ask 'How dead is this guy?' But the comments have properly answered that. Looking forward to the comeuppance.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
Oh boy...
Just keep it up, "Doctor" Nibor. We dragons think humans are quite delectable. Concentrated villainy makes the meat all the sweeter.
7505340 There is an old saying, "Do not earn the ire of a dragon for you are chewy with a crunchy center".
threating the cmc. that's a beating.
.... Girls... Buck him in the groin! All three of you.. at the same time!... Hard as ya can.., creepy nutter...
7503749 No, elder dragon, since they're at sea the flames can't spread, and they can ride him to the aquarium after.
7504879 Ironic death, or Uncle kicking his ass.... well... Uncle or Tohru.
7505479
I always thought it was, "Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup"?
7505935 Ketchup is a fairly new creation in the grand design. Dragons less so. But yes that is the modern version of it.
7506105
I only asked because I have a shirt with that written on it. The ketchup one.
7506108 And now I wish the camera was working properly, given what I have with the former on it.