SPACE PIRATES

A role-playing story by MightiestPirate, AskCocky and featuring Ask_Otto_Lagomorph

MightiestPirate: Guybrush sat in the empty kitchen, nervously tapping at the dinner table with his eyes not focusing on anything in particular. He wasn’t normally this jittery, but tonight of all nights he felt… unsure of himself, almost scared.

AskCocky: Crossing the big blue sky, Cocky was trying to figure out what was wrong with his controls. There seemed to be a huge magnetic field somewhere, skewing it all. His ship tilted to the right, and he manually struggled to fix himself horizontal. “Agh, no, please, no, I’m in the middle of the sea, no, no no…” But the more he struggled the more everything was SNAFU. “NO!” He screamed as his ship started going down.

MightiestPirate: He heard something… whining from outside, but he wasn’t sure. Picking himself up from the table, Guybrush made his way to the deck of the ship when he noticed a dot in the sky swerving all over the place. “What the heck…?” Guybrush mumbled at the falling star. With unceremonious splash, he quickly covered his face as the sudden tidal wave came crashing into him, knocking him flat on the deck and rocking the ship.

AskCocky: Three seconds too late, an unconscious small form, clad in an astronaut suit, was ejected from the crashed ship and landed 50 ft away, followed by a sad, deflated-looking parachute. The glass of the helmet was splattered with blood.

As the parachute got soaked around it, it started pulling Cocky down, making him sink slowly.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush quickly pushed himself up and ran towards the rail of the ship, curious to see the life form that was ejected. His eyes widen at the brief glimpse red, he took a deep breath, leaped over the rails, and dived into the water, swimming as close and as he fast as he could, with only the parachute being his indicator of where the being was.

Seeing the figure sink at the weight of the parachute, he did have much of a choice and unsheathed his cutlass, beginning to cut at the ropes in hopes to lighten the load. Feeling the ropes break free, Guybrush grabbed hold around the figure’s waist and swam up.

AskCocky: Lying face down over the planks, the white stranger remained immobile. After a while, he twitched. Inside the suit, a sing-song female voice adviced: “Oxygen levels: 14%. Attaching a new oxygen tank is recommended.” But there was not an oxygen tank to begin. Cocky heard all this but he was very far away still, and had no idea the voice was directed to him or what an oxygen tank was. Right next to him, a fish that had got stuck in his suit flapped desperately on the deck. Cocky turned his eyes towards it with the vague sensation it was related to him.

MightiestPirate: He sat on a crate taking the time to catch his breath and scratched his chin in curiosity, while he has seen many things in his adventures, this was for sure something new. When Guybrush saw the stranger stirring, Guybrush almost stumbled over himself as he bent down and placed a hand on the figure’s back, nudging it gently and spoke in a soft tone.

“H-Hey, hey, are you alright?”

AskCocky: Cocky wasn’t alright, as he soon started gasping for air inside his suit. He kind of pawed around his neck to release his helmet and let him breathe, but he was just too uncoordinated still. He tried to turn himself around to ask whoever or whatever was next to him for help, without any success. Soon his struggle got weaker as his poisoned blood buzzed in his ears, drowning it all.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush jumped back and saw the figure struggling with what looked to be it’s head. Falling on his knees, Guybrush looked over at what it was clawing at. “Okay Guybrush… you can do this… i-it’s just diving helmet… a weird, foreign-from-space looking diving helmet…” he mumbled to himself, trying to keep calm as the creature was struggling less and less. “N-no panic…”

Not wasting another minute, he began to look for anything resembling a latch that he could hit. He ran his hand throughout the neck when his finger brushed on something sticking out, and not wanting to waste a minute he hit what he assumed was the latch, hearing a silent hiss sound, and hoped he did the right thing.

AskCocky: The fresh air hit Cocky’s face suddenly, and for a while the only thing he could do was to concentrate on breathing. His long ears, now free from their prison, twitched around. A cut on his right eyebrow was still bleeding, but he looked more or less unharmed. Finally he managed to open his eyes a bit and try to focus. It was a human of course, althought a really funny-looking one.

MightiestPirate: The creature was…

“A bunny?” He noted.

Eyebrow cocked in confusion and curiosity, he gave the bunny a look over, noting the injury. Definitely new grounds for Guybrush. After a few minutes of trying to understand what was on his ship, Guybrush snapped back into focus. “Um… probably a very, well, stupid question but if you can hear me, just uh… blink twice if you can hear me.”

AskCocky: Cocky frowned a bit. Couldn’t help but smile a bit sarcastically, but he wasn’t going to be a jerk to the guy who had just saved his ass, or at least he assumed so. “Blink twice if you speak english, blink once if you speak spanish? I…” He tried to get himself upright and immediatly regretted it. “OW. No. No, forget that, I think I’ll just lie here forever,” he said, with a pained look. Cocky turned to look at the stranger. “Who are you?”

MightiestPirate: No one could blame Guybrush for raising his eyebrows at the bunny talking, let alone in English. He then gave a smirk at the small creature, “Blink three times for German.” Guybrush remarked with a bit of a chuckle, two can play the smart-ass game. “Annnnd you might want to take it easy with the sitting… you were underwater for a bit.”

He slowly helped the bunny sit up right, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over, “I’m Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™, and you are?”

AskCocky: “Pirate???” Cocky thought, and noticed for the first time the old-fashioned looking garb the man was wearing. Everything was so strange. Time rift? “Frikking frakking Bermuda Triangle…” he muttered. The lago didn’t know what was happening, but he decided to play along. “My name is Cockwell, but you can call me Cocky. And. I accept your token of friendship. Sorry, I sort of left yours in my ship.” The lago took the handkerchief, evidently oblivious to the fact he was wounded. MightiestPirate: Speaking from experience, Guybrush knew not to laugh at other people’s names… but the bunny’s was for sure unforgettable. He sat in a more comfortable position and gave a small smile, “Pleasure to meet you and um… the handkerchief is less of a token and more for, well…” Guybrush pointed to his own forehead, indicating it for Cocky.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he figured he’d start with the most obvious one “Stating the the obvious here, but you’re not from around these parts… and that whack to the head has some kind of story to it, what happened?”

AskCocky: Cocky touched his brow and noticed the bright red. “Aw, numbstacks,” he muttered, and wiped his face the best he could, leaving the handkerchief pressed against the wound. He had no idea if it was bad or not, but given that he remained more or less as much of an idiot as before, maybe it wasn’t that serious. He turned to look at the blonde guy. “Thanks. Well, um. Mr. Threepwood. Let’s just say I have my own ship, like you, assuming this ship is yours. You navigate the seas, I navigate the stars. And my ship betrayed me horribly and I plummeted down and I have no idea what happened next, but I’m assuming I managed to get ejected out of it. Also, judging by the pain in my bum, I’m also assuming I hit the sea ass first. Uh. I need to…” He tried to stand up.

MightiestPirate: “And how.” Guybrush recalled at the sight of the falling figure, when he noticed Cocky attempting to stand up, he quickly stood up as well, placing a hand to his back to keep the rabbit steady. “Whoa, after that graceful spectacle you might want to take it a bit easy…” seeing the handkerchief just putting a temporary pause at best, Guybrush pressed his lips together and tried to think what would be best for something like this.

“I have some kind of bandaid somewhere in my ship… it’s not much, but it should help with the bleeding.”

AskCocky: “Yes, that… can wait… ow…” Gods, everything hurted. He stumbled around and pointed out there weakly. “Guybrush… my ship. It’s going to get lost. We need to get to it b-before it gets lost… “ he dropped to his knees.

MightiestPirate: “Also a good point… frick.” Guybrush muttered, on the one hand, Cocky needed addressing, there was no tap dancing around that. But on the other he had a point and that his ship was slowly sinking and neither of them had time to spare. He couldn’t have weighed a lot, and figuring he wasn’t up for a struggle, Guybrush swept Cocky up bridal-fashion and placed him on a crate that was placed in the shade.

“We’ll get to your ship, I promise. Just wait here for a few seconds and I’ll be right back with the bandaid and then we’ll go for your ship.” Guybrush explained before booking it inside the cabin and going for the first-aid kit.

AskCocky: With everything spinning around, there was very little Cocky could do except stay put, as he suspected if he tried to move he would fall off the crate. “Forget my head… my ship, get my ship, I don’t want to be stranded in this god forsaken planet again…” But the blond lanky guy had already disappeared elsewhere and the lago sighed and closed his eyes, hoping everything would stop spinning soon. He had no choice but to trust Guybrush Threepwood, as his fate was in his hands now.

MightiestPirate: He made a mental note to thank Elaine later for thinking up the first-aid kit in the first place… as well as apologizing for nearly wrecking the kitchen in search for said kit. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he grabbed the whole thing and went back to where Cocky was hunched over, “Sorry about that… it shouldn’t take too long.” Guybrush apologized, placing the kit next to the bunny and looking for the proper items.

The wraps, the gauze, and what looked to be disinfectant (honestly he couldn’t stand it seeing as he was usually the one on the receiving end of getting treated), this all seemed to be the right thing. Checking the bottle once more, he was happy to see it was just that and began to work. “So um… I apologize in advance for this.” Guybrush placed a small amount of it on a cloth and lightly wiped at the area.

AskCocky: “SSSSSSS!” Cocky hissed in pain and clenched his fists, but he didn’t move. He had no idea what the guy was putting on him, but he assumed it was that or nothing. “Argh,” he moaned quietly, then he said in a teary-eyed voice: “That feels actually worse than an infection, mate.”

MightiestPirate: “Preaching to the choir here, buddy.” Guybrush muttered, knowing all too well of it’s stinging, “But it does an excellent job dealing with wounds… and I can speak this out of experience.” Putting the cloth aside, Guybrush reached for the bandaid and dressed it on the wound in a way the he recalled Elaine doing it. Doing one more look over, he crossed his arms feeling kind of proud with himself, “Yeah I think that should be fine.”

AskCocky: Cocky touched his bandage experimentally. It seemed to do the job. “Thanks, mate. At least I’ll stop leaking, hopefully.” He took a look at the bottle and cringed. “Guybrush, I think this is actually poison.”

MightiestPirate: “Wait, what?” Guybrush remarked. He took hold of the bottle, giving it another look over. He was sure he’s seen Elaine use that very bottle, he opened the kit to give it a look over and saw no other bottle in there except for some aspirin.

AskCocky: “I mean, the herbs listed there. One is an antibiotic: good. One is an astringent: good. The rest are a mix of slight to moderately toxic or irritant plants. I guess the motto is, no pain no gain.” Cocky sighed. “Thank you for trying, however. Hey, we should retrieve my ship. I have this huge bottle of disinfectant there. It does not hurt at all, and I barely use it. You can have it, as you seem the accumulative damage sort.”

MightiestPirate: There was a slight tint of red on his cheek with embarrassment as Cocky was listing off the ingredients, why that was the case Guybrush didn’t know but that did explain why he hated being treated so much. “Uh… yeah that sounds like a good idea.” Guybrush agreed, scratching his chin sheepishly. “So that brings up another question, how do we get your ship?” AskCocky: Cocky thought about this for a while. “I don’t know. I think I need to see it first. I have no idea what the damage was. It’s designed to float in the event of a sea crash landing, but of course, that doesn’t always work. Um…” Instead of getting down from the crate, Cocky slowly kneeled on it and brought himself up on some wobbly legs. He had to steady himself with Threepwood’s shoulder, but he managed to stand up and look around. “There it is! I think it’s half- floating, or at least a part of it. But we should really… I dunno, tie it to your own ship so it doesn’t float away.” He sat down again, unsure of his own footing and looked at Guybrush pleadingly. “I’m probably in no condition to do it myself, however.”

MightiestPirate: He turned his head to the direction of Cocky’s ship, it looked like half-submerged metallic island. Placing a hand on his chin, Guybrush thought of how to solve this particular problem “I could swim there and tie a rope around it… and then sail close to the ship.” He thought out loud. “Or if I use the anchor’s rope and then use the crank to bring it closer… it might be a bit heavy to pull to the ship, but not entirely impossible.” Placing his hands to his hips he gave a sigh, “Either one means I go swimming.”

AskCocky: Cocky shook his head. “Go for the option that is safest for you and your own ship. If you get in trouble, I’m in no condition to rescue you, and if your ship gets damaged we’ll both be stranded here.” Saying that he sort of slid off the crate, eyed a pile of net on the deck floor, and just curled up there with his eyes closed. “Sorry to be this much trouble.”

MightiestPirate: “It’s fine.” Guybrush acknowledged, tying the rope and sailing close seemed to be the safest option. He over to get the rope and noticed Cocky going to the net, he rubbed the back of his neck and placed the ropes down for a second and went for the kitchen. When Guybrush came out, he had the rope in tow and a glass of water he placed next to Cocky. “I’ll be back in a bit… I think it’d be best if you drank something.” Guybrush then turned around and took a dive into the water, swimming towards the metallic ship.

AskCocky: “Thank you. Be careful,” Cocky said, and slowly drank the glass of water. It ocurred to him that he liked Guybrush, he seemed like one of the good guys. And with this thought he fell asleep, hoping the pirate knew what he was doing.

MightiestPirate: He was happy that it didn’t take long to get to the ship itself, but what did take some time was securing the rope around the ship. Guybrush would occasionally tug at it underwater to make sure it was steady but would see it slip off to his frustration. But once he was able to finally get the rope to stay in place, he swam back to the ship and climbed aboard, giving the rope another tug to be sure and was glad to see it hold still.

“Hey I– Oh…” Guybrush quickly placed a hand over his mouth at the sight of Cocky sleeping. Scratching his cheek, he grabbed some cloth and draped it over the bunny, making his way to the wheel and steering his ship closer to the other.

AskCocky: Cocky woke up a couple of hours afterwards after he attempted to shift his position and realized he was in a very strange environment. He got up wobbily and realized he somehow felt even worse than before, stiffness added to the multiple aches, but he was definitely stronger, or at least not dizzy anymore.

Moving slowly, he made his way to the rails and saw his ship secured with rope to Guybrush’s own ship. He sighed in relief and smiled. He had to thank Guybrush for this… but where was he?

MightiestPirate: Guybrush walked out from the cabin, holding a couple of bananas when he noticed Cocky by the railing, he gave a small smile to see the bunny at least standing up fine. “Glad to see you’re up and about.” He spoke up, handing over one of the fruit to his (he’d imagine) guest. “How are you feeling?”

AskCocky: Cocky saw the fruit. “Better and worse, but overall, at least not like I’m about to faint like a damsel every other minute. Oooh, potasium! Uh, hang on…” He took the banana but instead of eating it, he set it aside on a crate. He reached for the automatic mag lock of his space suit, and it fell around him, pretty much like he was a banana himself. Under it, he was clad in his usual shirtless, feathery manner. He checked for damage, but there was no blood, only a lot of big bruises. Cocky made a face and picked up his suit and started to fold it. “Thank you for saving my ship, Guybrush. I owe you one.”

MightiestPirate: The wings were a surprise, but after everything that has been going on, Guybrush just chalked up to another part of the day filled with eventful things. “Oh uh… no problem, a-and it’s fine. Finally got the proper exercise I’ve been procrastinating for some time now.” Guybrush smirked as he unpeeled the banana. “Plus it’s not everyday you get to meet someone from the stars.”

He took a bite from the banana and took another look over. “How did you stuff the wings into the suit anyways if you don’t mind me asking?”

AskCocky: “Phuings??” Cocky said, wide-eyed, through a mouthful. It finally dawned on him what the other was talking about. “Hahaha, no! They’re not wings. It’s a feather cape, see?” And he turned around for the other to see. “Really not that bulky. It’s much harder to remember to turn my ears back when putting my helmet on,” he smiled.

MightiestPirate: Impressed by the wings, he gave a nod as he chewed his own food, after a while Guybrush chuckled about the ears, “Shame to think that there isn’t a helmet to accommodate for that, but I’m not gonna deny but feel a bit jealous… I bet it’s amazing to travel around in space.”

AskCocky: “It honestly is,” Cocky leaned on the rail. “I know of people who gets bored, but to me it never gets old.” He looked at the pirate. “But you don’t have to feel jealous. When my ship is fixed, we can take it out for a spin, see how you like to be a space pirate,” he chuckled.

MightiestPirate: “Wait, really? I don’t mean to impose at all, I know what you mean regarding traveling… that’s for me and sailing out here in the ocean, but just…” Guybrush couldn’t stop that excited smile on his face, he felt like a kid at a candy shop to the idea alone “That… that would be awesome.” AskCocky: Cocky laughed. He decided he REALLY liked Guybrush, he seemed just so chill. “No problem at all. My ship is really fast, so I can even take you to another planet or two for a visit. Hey! We could even go to your Moon and goof off there, it’s very fun to jump around in the low gravity. Of course, we would have to get a spacesuit for you first, and…” He stopped. “Uh, and get the spaceship fixed first as well…” He looked worriedly at it. “How far are we from shore?”

MightiestPirate: It took every inch in his body to stop himself from basically jumping up and down like a hyperactive child, it was at the glance of the ship currently submerged in the water that brought Guybrush metaphorically back to Earth. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to recall the closest island he was near. “If memory serves right… we’re a good, I wanna say fifteen-twenty minutes. I just recently stocked up from that island so we can bring it to port there.”

AskCocky: “Ah! Perfect.” Cocky was relieved, it wouldn’t take a whole month of sailing or something. “I just need a bit of land so the ship is not submerged. Then I can get in the ship and get to work. Also I can get all these bruises fixed, because I don’t like this kind of natural camo at all.” He winced. “Also I can get access to my kitchen and can prepare us something to eat. Would you like that? Are you hungry?”

MightiestPirate: “Food, huh…?” Placing his hand on his stomach as a low grumble emitted, Guybrush nodded sheepishly in understanding, “That sounds like a good idea, plus I don’t think spots really is your thing. I’ll go ahead and steer the ship towards land and hopefully the wind shouldn’t be against us.”

AskCocky: Cocky just followed Guybrush and watched him handle the wheel, admiring the mechanism that allowed the ship to be manipulated using the wind. From time to time he looked over the rail to check his ship was still being towed. He would have liked to climb the mast to see the land from afar, but he was simply too achy to do that. So he settled for sitting on a crate next to his lanky companion and they chatted it up a bit about life in the sea. In spite of it all, Cocky felt happy to be there in the sea breeze. He realized he had been extremely lucky to survive a crash with nothing but a few bruises and scraps, and also find someone who would help him out.

Soon Cocky saw some seagulls circling the ship. “We must be close,” he said, although he still couldn’t see anything.

MightiestPirate: From feeling anxious this morning to helping his now new friend from space fix their ship, this was a very interesting but a much welcome adventure. He enjoyed hearing about things from outside his world as well as telling Cocky about the things he does, realizing that he doesn’t really talk about his career with anyone seeing as everyone else was also a pirate or someone who live out at sea anyways… it was actually fun to explain. A few laughs here and there, he looked at the seagulls as well, Guybrush leaned over to see a shore near by.

“This is as close as I can get my ship to the ground before it hits the sand anyways, I’ll drop anchor here and your ship should be easy enough to push to shore.” AskCocky: “My turn to go into the water,” Cocky said. He took off his collar and his feather cape along with it. He pondered on taking off his pants, then decided against it… he’d have access to dry clothes soon enough. Cocky nimbly slid down the rope, hand-in-hand, and was soon wobbily standing on the floating part of his ship. He swam around it for a while, looking for something. Finally, he produced a knife, seemingly out of nowhere, and cut the rope holding his ship tethered to Guybrush’s. “Got this crazy idea, and it just might work… um… let’s see…” He disappeared under the surface of water for an unnervingly long time.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush leaned over the railings to where the metallic ship was, scanning for anything that looked unusual, well, more-so than usual. When he didn’t see his friend emerge from the water for some time, Guybrush bit his lip a bit nervously, he should be fine, it just felt longer because maybe it was just that he wasn’t use to someone else diving into the water… that was it… yeah…

“C’mon… show me a sign you’re okay.” Guybrush muttered to the ocean, leaning even closer against the railings ready to jump in, “Anything at all…”

AskCocky: The sign soon came. There was a rumble coming from the water. Cocky’s face emerged from the water, gasping for air and in full-blown panic. “AARGH!” he gasped. “Bad idea, BAD IDEA!” He swam desperately towards the semi-floating rope and clawed himself upward. Just as he hanging in the air the ship suddenly propelled itself forward, spraying everything with a huge jet of water. The metallic form of Cocky’s ship just kept sliding towards the shore in an uncontrolled manner. Finally, it slid upwards to the sand, kept sliding on it, and embedded itself on a poor palm tree, who in revenge pelted it with some coconuts.

Back at Guybrush’s ship everything was covered in steam. The water next to it had instantly boiled, and it bubbled menacingly.

Hanging just a few inches above the boiling water, soaked and very pale, Cocky turned to see Guybrush and smiled at him brightly. “HAHAHA I KIND OF SUCK DON’T I” he laughed loudly and nervously.

MightiestPirate: “Whoa!!” Guybrush proclaimed as the ship emerged from the sea at such a rate only to land into a palm tree, Guybrush stared with wide eyes in both awe and horror, clinging to dear life on the railing during those last few seconds of easily absolute insanity. But seeing Cocky just dangling there and grinning, he blinked several times before shaking his head back into focus and helping the bunny back on his ship, away from getting painfully burned by the water below.

There were so many things he could’ve said, a tree-branch list of options of appropriate reactions, but through all the choice, of all the wording, the only thing that managed to escape Guybrush was a simple choice of carefully thought up words.

“What the hell just happened?!” AskCocky: “Eeeeeh…” Cocky looked at Guybrush sheepishly. He sat down to recover, and after catching his breath, he explained. “Mechanics have a way to test if the engine is working properly when they’re outside ships. It is supposed to release a small boost from the engine, but of course, of course…” He stood up and shook like a dog, spraying everything with water. “Have I mentioned my mechanic… BOTH of my mechanics are crazy?? They kind of have a contest going on on who can make my ship faster. Sooooo….” Cocky pointed to the beach. “Small boost.” The lago sat again and winced. “Have I mentioned I’m kind of an…uh… ‘eventful’ person? I apologize in advance for the very maelstrom of trouble I always seem to be getting into.” He seemed sincerely embarrassed.

MightiestPirate: Finger on his chin, Guybrush nodded his head almost sage-like. “I have this one crew mate that had this weird fetish to people pointing at the map… and being intimate with the ship’s mast.” He shivered at the recollection,

“And if it helps, there was this one time I was trying to find my then fiancee who I erm… turned into gold by accident.” Guybrush quickly added, “So I enlisted some help from a crew who were a barber quartet, and their idea of a mutiny was to “break up” with me after they not only got my map stolen cause they were too busy staring at whales, but decided to break into a song when I was trying to get them to do their jobs. I even had to find them tar so they can patch up the ship and leave me. …Luckily they changed their minds but, still.“

He gave Cocky a pat on the shoulder. “So when it comes to rather… charismatic crew-members and eventful mishaps, I know first hand what it’s like. Apparently it’s kind of my trademark with the pirate community.”

AskCocky: Listening to all this ridiculous events, Cocky was wide-eyed and honestly not very sure if his friend was just pulling his leg or not. But seeing as such a story was kind of hard to improvise, he just started laughing real loud. Finally, when he could catch his breath, he said: “Well, what do you know?? Maybe YOU are the weirdness magnet and I’m just your latest catch!” He put on his collar and feathers and grabbed his spacesuit. “Let’s go to land, Captain, and see if we can do something about that space trip.”

MightiestPirate: “If that’s the case, then I’m actually really glad for this weird magnet.” Guybrush couldn’t help but laugh as well. Saying the story out loud to someone else, it really did put in perspective just how ludicrous his stories sounded… no wonder most people never believed him. Once the laughter subsided and the smile still on his face, Guybrush pointed over his shoulder. “Heh, sounds like a plan. I should still have a rowboat left on the side of the ship.”

AskCocky: Guybrush and the space lagomorph rowed till the boat touched the sand and then pushed it off the reach of the tide. Soon they walked towards the ship and the poor palm three, which now was bowing like a lady in court.

Cocky peered inside. “Good news, it looks like the water didn’t get in!” Manipulating the controls, the door slid open. “Welcome to my evil lair!” He stepped inside the ship. “Aw, flark!” he exclaimed in a dismayed tone, when he saw several of his glass sculptures had shattered to a million pieces.

MightiestPirate: Already in awe seeing the door open by it self, Guybrush took a steady step into the metallic ship, and as obvious as it was, it felt like entering another world all together. “This is amazing…” he said in awe, looking around the place, seeing the buttons and sleek look all around him, it was nothing like his ship which consisted mostly of rubber tree wood.

He heard a silent crunch from underneath him and quickly jumped back, feeling a bit bad for stepping on the broken shard which could have possibly held some form of sentimental value. “Oh man… um, I actually know a glass blower on a different island if that’s any help.” Guybrush quickly offered.

AskCocky: “Thanks, mate, but I AM a glass blower,” Cocky said, with a sad voice. “That was a bouquet of glass roses, and it took me three days to complete. Ah, hell,” he said, frustrated, with his ears down. Finally, he sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter, I can remake them, or do a new piece instead.” The works had been mag glued in place, but evidently the power had failed or blinked out at some point, and that had been enough for some pieces to fall off and shatter. “At least these are right, because I didn’t make them, and they are irreplaceable to me,” he said, lightly caressing a glass berry and a golden heart. Cocky smiled softly. Those were okay, and… “Ah, I’m glad this one’s not broken either!” he said, and switched on the mechanism that bathed the sculpture in a flickering orange light from below, making it look almost like real fire.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was impressed when he learned that trivia, but didn’t want to come off as inconsiderate at the sad tone by giving a smile. He rubbed his own arm awkwardly trying to think of something to lighten the mood a bit when the orange light turned, causing Guybrush to look at it in awe like a deer in headlights instantly feeling a bit less awkward than he did a few minutes ago.

“That’s really pretty… did you make those as well?” He asked in a quiet by interested tone.

AskCocky: “Yeah,” Cocky smiled brightly at Guybrush. He was obviously proud. “I think this is the third one I make. The first one I sold it, the second one broke when my former ship crashed into a river and, well… dissolved.” He shook his head. “Well I did the glass part, the lights are a novelty, my Crazy Mechanic Number One did that for me. I think it adds a lot to the piece.”

MightiestPirate: “It certainly does, gives it a nice spark even.” Guybrush agreed, “Heh… kinda reminds me of this engagement ring I got my wife, it was massive but it shines very nicely in the right light.” A slight blush crept his face as he looked at the heart, the red light reminded him of Elaine in a way as well. Unable to stop giving a bit of a smirk, Guybrush glanced over towards Cocky. “Crashed into the river…? How often do you crash your ship into bodies of water anyways?”

AskCocky: “Not very often, honestly. I think…” Cocky started counting mentally with his fingers, then he ran out of fingers. “Uuuh… not THAT often. Ha. Ha. And anyway, you’re married? Didn’t think pirates were the marrying kind! Maybe I shouldn’t ask this question, but where is she? I mean, I’m asking because you mention her? And you smile, so I don’t have any reason to think it’s an uncomfortable question.”

MightiestPirate: The slight blush slowly became a bit more prominent as he scratched his cheek recalling the red head. “Y-yeah… it’s not… it’s not really usual because of just how dangerous being a pirate can be and the absurd amount of back stabbing… or punches to the face.” Guybrush acknowledged. “As for my wi–Elaine, she’s currently on some ‘ambassador’ thing with this local island or something for a few days… honesty I kinda tuned out by accident around that point.” He admitted with a nervous chuckle.

“What about you? U-unless it’s something you’d rather not talk about then I totally understand.”

AskCocky: “Nah, it’s cool. My boyfriend is actually Crazy Mechanic Number Two. His name is Otto, and he’s a lago, like me.” He opened a drawer and produced a pic. “See? He’s a cutie.” Cocky gave the pic to Guybrush and then he started looking for something.

MightiestPirate: He took hold of the picture and gave it a look over, it was silly, but for some reason Otto reminded Guybrush of one of those stuff dolls he saw at a local fair once. “Yeah, he’s pretty cute. Kinda wish I had a picture of Elaine to show ya, but that’s back on my ship.” He chuckled and handed the picture back. “So a lago, huh? And I’ve been mistaking you for a bunny this whole time… um… my bad.”

AskCocky: “Well, how were you supposed to know? You took the closest familiar thing, which I guess is a bunny.” Cocky opened a drawer and found a thing that looked like a gun. “I was born in a planet called B’eel. Unfortunately, I can’t come back, since I’ve been banished.” He pointed the gun at his own head.

MightiestPirate: “Whoa whoa whoa!!” Guybrush eyes widen as he saw Cocky revealed the gun, feeling his heart leap into his throat. He cautiously raised his arms and took a small step forward. “Before you think of doing something this… drastic, I’m sure we can talk about it.”

AskCocky: “What?” Cocky said, puzzled. Then he looked at the gun. “OOoh, oh no. Haha! No, I’m not killing myself. This is just my healing gun, mate… will help me get rid of all these cuts and bruises… watch.” And he pulled the trigger. He moaned as he was bathed in a blue light, but when it was over, he smiled. The bruises were still there, but much fainter, as if they were several days old. He pulled off his bandage, wincing more about the ripped fur than the wound underneath, which had now vanished, only the smeared dry blood left behind. Cocky smiled at his pirate friend. “Eeeeeh?”

MightiestPirate: “Healing… gun?” He went from scared and concerned to mesmerized and amazed, even going so far as giving a bit of an applause like it was a magic trick. “That… that is really impressive.” Guybrush said, eyeing over at the once painful looking marks that covered Cocky. “Definitely way more effective than any voodoo charms I had to put up with.” He paused in silence and recalled an event, giving a slight shiver at the recollection. AskCocky: “Voodoo charms? I sense there’s a story there.” Cocky, satisfied that he could move now swiftly without his body protesting loudly, quickly tested his long comm. It was apparently functional, but he couldn’t find a signal, and he didn’t have the patience at the moment to look for it. “You can tell me over some good food… what do you want to eat? Chicken? meat? I’d offer fish, but I’m sure you eat that all the time. I can cook lots of things and then you can tell me all about your voodoos.”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah… it was before Elaine and I got married and before I learned how to somewhat properly treat myself or others.” He rubbed the back of his neck habitually. “And as long as it’s not bugs, manatees, monkeys, or haggis, I’m honestly up for anything.” Guybrush answered, leaning a bit on the wall and still amazed by the ship. “I’m a bit of a foodie.”

AskCocky: Cocky thought about this for a while and nodded. Then he got some minced mixed meat from the fridge. “I’m going to make us something simple, spaghetti and meatballs, as I’m honestly starving and it’s pretty quick to make. You’ll love it,” he said, without an inch of humility. He put a pot with water to the fire and while he waited it to boil, he put on his food prep gloves and started putting spices and an egg in the meat, mixing it all. He signaled with his head towards one of the kitchen chairs. “Well, now while I’m working you can tell me your voodoo story. I have always been wary of magic, I think it’s somewhat scary.”

MightiestPirate: “Magic isn’t so bad if you know how to use it right. Or at least know the voodoo rules that are apparently out there and know the ways to loop hole it to death.” Guybrush started, picking up the healing gun and looking it over.

“Just so long as it’s done by the right person or something like that. It was actually how I was able to revive myself several times after I was killed once during one of my adventures. Um… need help with the cooking?”

AskCocky: “Reviving???” Cocky’s ears went up. “Now that’s better than technology! And you’re not a zombie or anything like that?” He added worcestershire sauce to the meat and hesitated, then pointed to the chopping board. “Actually yeah, if you can peel and mince those garlic cloves and that onion? Because I’m kinda…” He showed his hands full of minced meat.

MightiestPirate: “Heh, say no more.” Guybrush placed the gun to the side and went over to the cutting board. “Yeah, see… about that. I actually was a zombie at one point… and a ghost. Both of which is not fun in the slightest and I needed to follow some sort of voodoo recipe to open a rift and save Elaine.” He recalled as he peeled some of the garlic. “I ended up looking all over the afterlife and then some just to find the right ingredients to just allow me back into the world of the living, but I did it.”

He picked up the knife and started dicing “And it all happened cause I wasn’t paying attention and should’ve known better than to trust a two-bit lowlife jerk who played me like a fiddle…” Guybrush stopped as he placed the knife down and held his hand, wincing in pain after having accidentally cut himself. AskCocky: But Cocky never noticed the incident, as he was checking if the water had started boiling already and had his back turned. Then, still without noticing and frowning a bit, he started making the meatballs quickly. Something seemed to be troubling him. “Oooookay, I AM kind of impressed. Um… what… what’s the afterlife like?”

MightiestPirate: “It’s dark… a bit vacant, but also has this calm ambiance to make things less scary. But then again that was just the crossroads… I never really picked somewhere to cross over.” Guybrush explained, trying to use a napkin to stop some of the bleeding.

The cut was a lot deeper than Guybrush thought it was, try to just put a napkin on it did little to nothing aside from adding a bit of a sting. He picked up the gun to the side and aimed it at his hand, remembering how Cocky used it to help clear up his own wounds and fired. There was a momentary blue ray and the cut healed itself somewhat, he flexed his hand as if it was good as new and continued worked on the food.

AskCocky: Cocky was just then busy washing his gloved hands and adding the dry pasta to the boiling pot. “Oh,” he said in a disappointed voice. So that was not like the afterlife-afterLIFE. Just some sort of waiting room? And…” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s not even the same kind of thing for lagos and humans, but at least I can hope there is something after all.” He put olive oil in a pan and started frying the meatballs. ”And you said you saved Elaine?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded his head, “Yeah, last thing I saw before I died was her about to face off against that monster of a pirate that killed me… so when I came to I knew I had to help her…”

“Honestly I don’t know if it’s the same crossroad for pirates and non-pirates… was told that the place I was at was for pirates only so… there’s that.” Guybrush added, finishing up dicing the onions and went for the garlic.

AskCocky: “That is… really super specific. But hey, maybe I count as a space pirate. If I stretch the definition… really stretch it.” Cocky fished out a long spaghetti and threw it against the fridge. It stuck. “Niiice,” he commented, and strained it to put it aside.

MightiestPirate: “Heh, that’s voodoo for ya, works like a monkey’s paw, but with that said while it is a bit of a stretch to be a kinda not really pirate… you never know. It’s worth a shot… like that spaghetti string there.” Guybrush chuckled. There was a moment of silence before he spoke up again.

AskCocky: Cocky put more oil in a pan and took the garlic and onion, lightly frying them. Then he added the sauce, some diced mushrooms, and stirred. Then, casually: “I dunno, does it count if I sometimes board another ship and kill everyone inside? That’s kinda piratey, I’d say.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh… uh…” Guybrush thought about it for a few minutes before finally replying. “I suppose… I mean… did you maybe take treasure from those ships? Cause that’s usually what pirates do.” That thought from earlier appeared once again before he turned to look at Cocky, “Um… is there anyone in particular you’re looking for?”

AskCocky: The lago added the meatballs to the bubbling sauce and stirred. “Sometimes I loot, yeah. It entirely depends on the circumstances. Most of the time I leave behind goods that can be traced to me or that I consider that might have sentimental value to the dead. I guess it’s my way of apologizing for killing them?” Cocky put a drop of the sauce on a spoon and tasted it. He nodded, approvingly. Everything was ready to get mixed, so he put the salsa and meat in the spaghetti bowl. Then he shredded some parmesan cheese and oregano all over it. It was really an ungodly amount of food, but in his experience, the tall and rail-thin guys were the ones with the biggest appetite. So he put the plates on the table and smiled at Guybrush. “I would like to look for so many people, but since we’re getting specific, I’m thinking my parents. It’d be nice to get to meet them sometime. Oh, and serve yourself as much as you want,” he added, taking his gloves off and going to the fridge to look for something to drink.

MightiestPirate: “You never met your parents? …I know that feeling, or at least kinda do–” Guybrush jumped a bit before he placed his hand on his stomach as a small rumble made itself present once again, he gave a sheepish smile before reaching for the pasta. “Heh, it smells really good. Thanks.” He grabbed a decent amount on his plate, rather to go for seconds as oppose to taking too much, not finishing it, and then regretting it later.

AskCocky: Cocky grabbed a couple of beer bottles and set one before Guybrush. He pushed a button and the napkins and condiments rose from a platform in the center of the table. He sighed before digging in. “Nope, lost them as a baby. I don’t even know who they are.” Cocky smiled. “Maybe I’m a secret princess,” he said, through a mouthful, his mood considerably lighted by the food.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush laughed at bit, “Well, you’re definitely the most charismatic princess I’ve ever met.” Taking another bite of the pasta, he then picked up the beer bottle and took a sip of it, at least alcohol tasted the same no matter where. “This tastes really good, by the way. Then again I don’t have pasta nearly that frequent.”

AskCocky: “SPACE princess,” Cocky added, and he smiled. “Glad you like it. Eat all you want, by the way, this is usually all I eat,” He pointed at his plate and skewered a meatball. They ate a bit in silence, then Cocky turned to see Guybrush. “Say, mate…” he started to ask, but the question died in his mouth as he stopped chewing and looked at the pirate in horror.

MightiestPirate: “Ah yeah, of course your highness, my bad.” Guybrush laughed, spinning the fork with pasta. When he heard Cocky stop speaking mid-way, he looked up to wonder what it was to distract the lago. “Um… something up? Did we forget something for the food?”

AskCocky: Cocky painfully swallowed the rest of the mouthful and stared at his friend with eyes like plates. “Uh, Guybrush. I, I don’t want to alarm you, but… your ears. Your…” he pointed at the pirate’s face, where suddenly his human ears were getting longer and covered in blond fur. MightiestPirate: Eyebrows raised, Guybrush raised his hands to where his ears are… or at least was. Eyes wide and feeling his heart drop to his stomach, he followed his hand upward and felt the elongated ears that (thankfully) still had his piercings and dropped his fork in the process. “Is… there a mirror… I can look at…?” He barely managed to say, hand still on the ear.

AskCocky: “Why is this happening…” Cocky moaned. He just grabbed Guybrush’s hand and led him towards the bathroom, where there was a full-body sized mirror. “Just look!!”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush didn’t even put up a fight as he was being pulled to the mirror by Cocky. It was an out of body experience when he stood in front of it, immediately feeling all the blood rush from his face as he stared at his own reflection. He was shorter… but not nearly as short as Cocky, the tall blonde ears that was on his head were on edge, the small almost button-like nose instead of the usual long one and his beard… his beard was now dominating all of his face as fur. He was almost too scared to turn around for the final nail in the bunny coffin but did it anyways, and it was at that point that he just felt tongue tied at the sight as the room started to spin.

“I…. ah…. heh heh o-okay… ahm just… gonna….” Guybrush rolled his eyes back and passed out from shock.

AskCocky: “Guybrush? Guybrush!!” Cocky sprinkled some water on the pirate’s face. His transformation was now complete, and he was swimming in his clothes. Cocky had carried him to the couch. “I swear it was just normal spaghetti and meatballs! What the Hell, man?” The space lago shook the blond, semiconscious lago on his couch.

MightiestPirate: ‘Am I back on my ship?’ Guybrush thought as he was being shook, it reminded him of the way it would rock to the waves every now and again. He cautiously opened his eyes only to be greeted with Cocky as well as recognizing the interior of the metallic ship. Taking a deep breath, Guybrush cautiously sat up and placing a hand on his face… a very… soft fur-like face. He closed his eyes and placed both hands on his face, he let out a groan.

“That wasn’t a dream was it…”

AskCocky: Cocky felt extremely guilty, although he didn’t know idea why, as he had done nothing to make such a thing happen. “Told you I was an eventful person,” Cocky said sheepishly. “I’m sorry, mate. I don’t know why this happened. But um. I’ll find a way to turn you back into a human, I promise,” he said, although he had no idea how to do that.

MightiestPirate: He let his hands slip from his face to his lap as he looked over to Cocky making that promise. Guybrush recognized that look instantly… it was one he sported when he accidentally turned Elaine into a gold statue, letting out a sigh he gave Cocky a small smile “Well… I mean, I did say that I always find myself in weird predicaments, I’d imagine this isn’t any different. It’s just…” He looked over at his hand took another deep breath, “…new.”

Guybrush gazed back at the lago and chuckled, putting up a front so as to ease any guilt Cocky might have. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” AskCocky: Cocky nodded humbly and looked at Guybrush. “In the meantime, your clothes don’t fit anymore. I’ll find you something to wear while we sort out this mess. And some shoes, as your boots uuuh… kind of exploded.” He looked at the pirate and made some mental calculations. “Be right back, mate.”

MightiestPirate: He looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes, “That explains the tight feeling from earlier. Um… can I at least have my coat?” Guybrush asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. He may not fit in his own clothing anymore, but he’ll be damned if he was going anywhere without that coat.

AskCocky: Cocky was back with a couple of pants. “Try those on, see which one fits you better. And one of my shirts… black or blue, your choice.” He quickly compared the boots he had brought to the other lago’s feet. “Naw, these won’t fit. I guess we’ll have to borrow some from Brock. Try on the clothes while I look for them.” And he left again.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush slipped on the black shirt, and proceeded to reach for one of the pants. Realizing that he couldn’t have put them on laying on the couch, he stood up and put them on, jumping a bit to get it past the now large feet but managing to get the long brown pants on when he felt something stab him. Guybrush fell back on the couch hissing in pain as he was holding on to his foot, seeing the sharp glass embedded into it.

“That’s perfect…” he grumbled as he tried to get the shard out.

AskCocky: Cocky saw what happened. “Oh, mate, sorry, everything is full of glass… hang on…” He put the boots down and reached for the healing gun. Before Guybrush could protest, he was bathed in the blue light, but nothing happened. The shard was embedded as snuggly as before. “What the Hell?” Cocky muttered. “Huh. I guess it doesn’t work in humans recently turned lagos.”

MightiestPirate: He glanced at his foot and shifted his gaze back at the healing gun, giving it a puzzled look, “That’s… weird. It worked fine before when I cut my hand earlier.” Guybrush tried to think of something, but felt like he couldn’t help assist the situation much.

AskCocky: “You cut your…” Cocky frowned. “Whoa whoa whoa. It worked before?? When you where HUMAN? Uum. I DON’T think you’re supposed to use a healing gun if you’re not a lago, mate… it was designed for us, and…” The lago raised his ears. “Aw, flark. Guybrush. I think the gun ‘healed’ you from your human condition.”

MightiestPirate: “It… oh… clam dip.” His eyes widen and his ears dropped at the realization of what the healing gun did. “That… makes sense…” He slapped his own forehead mostly in embarrassment as he felt red at the cheeks, “Ugggggh, I am really sorry for all of this, Cocky.”

AskCocky: But Cocky was sympathetic. “Well, how were you supposed to know? I should have noticed the gun was empty. It normally holds three good shots before needing to recharge. Also, that explains why it didn’t work this time, as it only works once every 24-ish hours.” While Guybrush was distracted with his talking, he swiftly took the glass shard out. MightiestPirate: He gave a small yelp as the shard was removed, quickly rubbing his foot when he could. “Ah… thanks for that.” Guybrush thanked, still feeling a bit embarrassed with what was happening, he tried to keep his mind focused… on the bright side, at least this wasn’t permanent… at least he hoped it wasn’t. And the last thing he wanted to do was go to the Voodoo Lady for any help, it was then when a thought came to mind, “Hey… shot in the dark here, but if the healing gun caused this… maybe there’s a way to use it to reverse it or something?”

AskCocky: “I’d guess so. Well, the first thing we could try is simply shooting you again, maybe this time it’ll cure you from your lago condition. But we’ll have to wait an entire day for that. I don’t mind if you don’t mind.” He gave the pirate the boots. “We should probably finish eating, if your reduced stomach is not full yet.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush gave a shrug, “Not like I got much of a choice in the matter anyways.” He slipped on a boot and gave it a small tap on the floor, glad that it was the right fit and stood up from the couch, looking around for his coat before making way to the dinner table. “And at least I’m with good company so, that’s already a plus.” He gave Cocky a smile.

AskCocky: “And now we won’t need a spacesuit of your size!” Cocky added cheerfully. They sat to eat again, but at least the self-heating plates kept their meal warm. As they were downing their second beer, a sudden THUD startled them. Cocky ran to look outside. “Uh, Guybrush. It seems we have company.” He pointed to the pretty angry-looking crowd in the window. “Friends of yours?”

MightiestPirate: He tilted his head in confusion and looked towards the crowd when the sudden feeling of dread creapt up. “I can safely say they’re not. I don’t even know them, but if I were to wager a guest… I don’t think they like your ship.” Guybrush nervously responded.

AskCocky: “Too bad you’re not a human anymore so you can explain to them I’m not a monster from the stars that will eat them.” Cocky frowned. “On the other hand, maybe that’s a good thing.” He suddenly grinned. “Hey, are you in the mood for fighting or diplomacy. Haha, why am I asking?? You’re a pirate, right??”

MightiestPirate: Cocky had a point and Guybrush wish he was still human-looking.

“I ah…heh see, the thing is, while I know how to hold my own with a sword I ah… I’m more known for talking my way out of things over fighting.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck.

AskCocky: The lago looked a bit disappointed. “Diplomacy, eh? I’m better at the punching. I’ll let you do the talking, then… let’s make some new friends.” He opened the door and gently pushed Guybrush out. Cocky stood a bit behind and to the left. Hidden of sight by the pirate’s body, Cocky already had his knife out.

MightiestPirate: “Heh… sorry.” Guybrush gave a small shoulder shrug before Cocky hid. Finding his coat, he drapped it on himself, taking a deep breath and mustering up enough faux courage as he could in this new form. As the door open, he tried to stand as tall as could and gave a wave to the crowd. “Uh… hey there everyone, how are you all doing?”

AskCocky: “Avast! T’ demons talk!” The crowd gasped. One of them, wielding a torch, exclaimed. “Demons will feast on our entrails, lest we do it first!” They didn’t probably have a dozen teeth collectively and probably a combined IQ to match, pirates and sailors, and they looked smelly, dangerous, and ready to disembowel the lagos. Cocky still forcing a smile, spoke from the corner of his mouth. “Hey, is diplomacy still on, or…?”

MightiestPirate: “Not yet.” Guybrush muttered through a grin, quickly putting both hands in front of him, almost defensively.

“Whoa whoa whoa, before you start swinging around those torches and pitchforks, allow me to lay a proposition for you all. After all, a real pirate listens to deals.” He spoke to the pirates in front of him.

AskCocky: “Deal?” The single eye of the pirate lit up at the mention of loot. He turned to his companions, who seemed wary but interested. As they nodded, he turned around, but still distrustful. “Deals with the Devil always end bad,” he spit on the beach. “But speak, quick and no folly,” the end of his sword danced in front of Guybrush.

Well, things looked a bit hopeful, although Cocky had no idea what kind of deal Guybrush was going to offer this lot. In any case, he would never knew, as one pirate in the back suddenly shouted: “Threepwood’s coat! He’s got the coat!” Another voice. “The demons ate him.” A murmur. The crowd advanced.

“So about that diplomacy thing…” Cocky started saying.

MightiestPirate: He could feel his eye twitch, it was almost like a friendly reminder just how dense pirates could be… but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride that they recognized his coat as his own. “I got this…” Guybrush answered, keeping his eyes locked on the one pirate holding the sword in front of him.

“N-n-now I know what this looks like, but I can explain. It was… um… a bargain. I promised Threepwood that I’ll return his coat if he could find me the rarest treasure.” Guybrush began to negotiate “And you know that Threepwood fella, always follows through with a deal, y’know?”

AskCocky: The same pirate walked to the front. “Then what be Threepwood’s ship doing thar? Did he learn t’ walk the seas, mayhaps, or is he joinin’ a flock of seagulls, ye rats?” More restlessness.

MightiestPirate: “I… er… I can explain um… LOOK BEHIND YOU, A THREE HEADED MONKEY!!” Guybrush shouted and pointed behind the pirates’ heads, and for that split second the pirate with the sword was distracted, he bummed rush into the smelly brute and made a grab for the sword.

Diplomacy was out, but he was not about to go in unarmed. AskCocky: “I can’t believe you used the old three-headed-monkey bit,” Cocky wanted to say, but he couldn’t, as he had to dodge a sword that just stabbed the space his head was in just a second ago. He heard sounds of fight to his right, but Guybrush was on his own for the time being, as he was being almost stabbed/skewered/crushed from all sides. It was impossible to dodge, so he just started killing, knife in hand. In one brief respite, as he climbed the leaning palm tree and was momentarily out of reach, he noticed Guybrush had lost his sword and was cornered. Thinking quickly he reached into his belt and got his lightsaber out. He activated it and shouted: “GUYBRUSH!”, and tossed the blinding white weapon his way.

MightiestPirate: His back against a tree and armless, Guybrush tried to bury deep the rising feeling of fear as the swords drew closer in. He was having a hard time learning how to fight in his new form, primarily with his new height and having to now pay close attention to his exposed ears whose only benefit so far has been helping him hear the swords swinging before it made contact to him.

His ear twitched when he heard his name being called out and looked at the general vicinity as a metal handle came flying at him. With a yelp, he placed his hand in front of him and was able to grab onto that as oppose to the glowing blade. After giving is a quick look over, he gave Cocky a glance, “Thanks for the assist!!” he called out before he took his stance as the pirates surrounded him, realizing that there was no way he could tackle them all down… at least, not in one go. Guybrush looked at the tree his back was against and noted the coconuts and gave a smirk before swinging the lightsaber into the bark to knock the loose fruits onto the unsuspected skulls of the pirates, knocking most of them out.

AskCocky: Kicking and punching the pirates who were trying to climb the tree to grab him, Cocky saw the crowd stand stupefied, looking in terror at the light sword. It was a good opportunity to end it all.

“WE ATE GUYBRUSH THREEPWOOD!” He roared, all his fur standing on end. He pointed to a random pirate. “And you look appetizing, too! Prepare to be ingested!” Then, using the tree as a trampoline, he somersaulted right into the middle of the crowd, screaming bloody murder.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush and another pirate watched as Cocky stage dived onto the surrounding pirates, hearing the crowd basically scream in terror. The pirate gave the blonde lago a raised eyebrow in confusion, and honestly Guybrush had no idea how to respond himself. Instead, Guybrush turned his attention to the confused pirate and put his hands to his face.

“Bleh bleh bleh!!” He taunted, causing the pirate to run in terror and face first into a palm tree, releasing a coconut to fall on them for good measure. Guybrush just stood there in stunned silence. “That worked way better than I was expecting it to…” Guybrush mumbled to no one in particular.

AskCocky: Cocky screeched and bared his huge front teeth, but only had to bite a couple of pirates before the rest ran away in terror, too confused by the situation and firmly believing they were about to become demon bunny lunch. “Come back!” Cocky shouted like a madman. “Come back, I’m still hungry, COME BACK!” He panted, a bit out of breath, and went to join Guybrush. “You alright?”

MightiestPirate: “I’m fine… just need to get adjusted is all…” Guybrush answered, his arms crossed while he watched the group run away screaming in the distance before looking over to Cocky and giving a smirk, “Heh, I see you had plenty of fun playing the whole demon bunny angle.”

AskCocky: “Roar,” Cocky commented, sweetly. He hugged Guybrush briefly. “Kind of a close shave, however. I think we need to get out of here before they decide to come back or these guys wake up.” He pointed vaguely to the people on the ground. “Um, some of them, at least,” he chuckled, then grabbed the lightsaber from the sand, which was already cooking into glass.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was a little surprised by the hug but didn’t mind it, seeing as it was a very close battle. “Yeah… that’s probably a good idea.” He agreed, giving the unconscious pirate a few kicks in the shins to make sure they were still out before scratching his cheek, “Um… before we go anywhere, think there’s a way we can hide my ship? I’m honestly not in the mood to look for another one in case it goes missing.”

AskCocky: Cocky frowned and thought about this for a while. “Kind of in a conundrum, here… we can’t just leave your ship there. Unfortunately, if they think you’re dead, that means your ship and everything inside is up for the grabs. Uugh!” He turned to look at his friend. “Listen, the safest thing is you rowing to your ship and sail away. I’ll see what I can do to repair my own. You have done enough for me, and I’ll come looking for you when I get this thing in the air.”

MightiestPirate: He tried to think of where he could hide his ship, thinking of maybe using past connections to keep an eye over it for the time being or something of that extent. “You sure? I mean, I know you are more than capable at being able to fix your ship and all… but still.”

AskCocky: Cocky hesitated. “Yeah, I’m sure. Although… maybe I should see what’s the problem first. I mean, if my ship is basically dead, I’m probaby better off just taking my long comm equipment and leaving with you, instead of waiting around to be disemboweled or torched to death.” Without waiting to see if the other would stick around, Cocky ran inside his ship and started manipulating the panels. “All right, running diagnostics…”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush couldn’t help but feel like he might’ve said something to hurt Cocky and rubbed his arm awkwardly, so when he saw the lago run back into the ship, he followed as well. He’d much rather be with someone he knows and give them company than out on the beach shore alone and exposed for more pirates to come.

AskCocky: “20%. All right, that’ll take a few minutes.” Seeing Guybrush inside his ship, Cocky closed the door. “I’ll open it if you decide to leave… in the meantime, those guys are still outside.” Long comm was still unresponsive, and he decided to take out the modules in case they needed to evacuate in a hurry. “45%,” he noted. Cocky took a look out of the window and he saw, alarmed, that the pirates were coming down the beach, pushing something black and long through the sand. “Um, Guybrush? Is that a cannon?”

MightiestPirate: His ears dropped at the sight and looked like a deer in headlights as he nodded his head rapidly. “Yep. Yep that is most definitely a cannon, and not only that, it’s the newest model that just recently came out and is rumored for being able to shoot through buildings like it’s paper.” Guybrush confirmed and beginning to try and think of something that didn’t get either the ship exploded or the two of them getting hurt.

AskCocky: “These guys are pissing me off!” He checked the progress. “65%… ugh, we’re not going to make it…” Cocky ran around franctically. “Stop the diagnostics, the shields! Get the shields up!”

“Calibrating shields, 20%,” was the smooth response from the computer.

“AAGH, I hate youuuu!”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was always the type to try and avoid as much confrontation as possible and only draw out his sword when he absolutely needed to, someone who would rather talk than fight and would more often than not be able to use his environment to his advantage.

“Hey… Cocky? Where’s that lightsaber sword of yours?”

AskCocky: “You can’t go to a cannon fight with a lightsaber, Guybrush! They’ll tear you apart before… oh CRAP!” The pirates had the cannon aimed right at the door, and judging by the way they were covering their ears, the fuse had already been lit. “Get down!” Cocky just tackled Guybrush to the ground. A loud BOOM was heard and the ship rattled, but there was no apparent damage.

“Status of shields, 100%” the voice sang.

MightiestPirate: He felt his heart almost jump out of his chest as the cannon rang out, placing a hand over it to try and slow down the beating while hearing the robotic voice… Guybrush wasn’t sure if he loved the ship or hated it’s sense of dramatic flare. He quickly pushed himself up and gave Cocky a hand to stand up.

“Does this ship have any weapons, and if so does it need to take a while to charge up?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: Cocky was very pale. “This ship has defenses, of course, but it was not designed to fire while buried in sand. We really need to get out of here.” Cocky started running the diagnostics again. He looked at Guybrush. “Kind of hate doing this, but…” He opened a box and got an incendiary grenade out. “Guybrush, could you do me a favor? Run outside for a second… press this blue button and this green button at the same time. You’ll hear a beep. As soon as you do, as SOON as you do… throw it at them and get the Hell inside. GO.” Cocky kept on looking at his diagnostics screen. MightiestPirate: Guybrush took hold of the bomb and ran out of the ship, not even taking a second to ask what it was for various reasons. As soon as he stepped outside the pirates surrounding the cannon took notice of Guybrush, some quickly drawing out their swords and firing their guns.

He yelped and jumped back as a shot rang out and tried bobbing and weaving around the various pirates swinging their swords, clinging onto the grenade so as not to have them lay a finger on it. “Okay… okay I can do this, I can do this just need to toss this here… thing into the cannon and book it it. I can do th–YIPES!!” Guybrush fell backwards as he barely dodged a sword being swung over his head and the bomb fell out of his hands. They gathered around him as he reached out for the grenade only to have one pirate step on his hand. He winced in pain as one of them picked it up, giving it a look over and asking their fellow crew-mates what this “devil contraption was” when an idea sprung in Guybrush’s head.

“Y’know… if you press those two buttons, you’ll get the biggest loot of your life. Bigger than Big Whoop™ even.” Guybrush spoke smugly. After a few seconds of quiet, they all ganged around the bomb, clawing for the buttons and freeing his hand from under one of their boots, giving Guybrush enough time to get up and seeing the two buttons being clicked simultaneously.

“Gottarungottarungottarungottarun…” Guybrush chanted to himself in a panic tone as he bee- lined straight to the ship.

Cocky had even time to look outside and see a pair of blond ears sticking out of the pirate crowd. “GUYBRUSH WHY” Cocky exclaimed dismayedly, and ran outside, only to almost slam his nose into Guybrush.

The grenade went off.

“Gottarungottarungottaru–” He ran as fast as he could and nearly collided into Cocky only to have the explosion fling him into said lago at full force. When he crashed back on the ground, Guybrush grabbed his face and went into a fetal position in pain.

The day was chalking itself up be easily the weirdest and most explosive adventure in his entire life.

AskCocky: Cocky went flying backwards and slammed himself on the floor. As a bonus, Guybrush fell on top of him. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, as apparently they were both on fire. But Cocky’s clothes were highly resistant to fire, and Guybrush’s were not, so Cocky started slapping him around to put them out.

MightiestPirate: It was true, his clothes was not resistant to fire. His coat however, due to it being covered from his previous adventures in other questionable substances, ended up becoming the only article of clothing in his entire wardrobe resistant to fire. And all of that for the price that the hint scent of bacon will never leave the coat. “Okay, okay I think you got it all. You can stop now.” Guybrush said as he felt the constant swatting from Cocky.

AskCocky: Cocky stopped and rolled away from Guybrush, because one pirate had managed to get in and was running crazily around the ship, pretty much also in fire. So the lago started running after the flailing flaming figure. “Stay put! Stay put, you!” Finally he intercepted the pirate at the door and planted a boot firmly on his ass. “AND STAY OUT!” he moaned in an alarmingly angry voice. Cocky practically punched the button that closed the door. Then, he dropped himself to the floor, exhausted.

MightiestPirate: He had no idea who that pirate or that crew was, and was pretty sure he has never met them in his entire life. But seeing the way Cocky dropped, Guybrush couldn’t help but feel guilty… between that hoard and him accidentally turning into a bunny, it felt like they were his own problem to deal with and not the lago’s. Rubbing his arm awkwardly, Guybrush made his way to Cocky and stood in front of him.

“Hey um… thanks for the help earlier… with the erm… with the fire… look, if you want me to leave so you can fix your ship in peace, I totally get it.”

AskCocky: Cocky pointed at the door. “Does it look like you’re the one preventing me from being able to fix my ship in peace, Threepwood?” he asked, rather sarcastically. “And does it look like I’m actually fixing my ship, instead of sitting on the floor and smelling like a hamburger?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush winced a bit at the snark but held his ground. “No, you’re right. It doesn’t look like any of that right now. And if I could, I would help with the repairs but I don’t know squat about how your ship works.” He paused a bit before sighing.

“What went from just fixing the ship to dealing with a bunch of idiots to… to… this.” Guybrush made a gesture at himself as he continued to speak, “I get it, it’s stressful, and you have every right to be pissed. But yes, it does look like I’m preventing you from fixing the ship. And honestly I don’t even know HOW I’m doing that, but it just… it just does. So if you need me to leave the ship so you can collect yourself or something, I get it. I don’t want to add on to the probably growing list of things to fix.”

AskCocky: Cocky started laughing exhaustedly. “Guybrush, I am pissed because when I saw you with the pirates, I was 100% sure I was about to watch you fly in several flaming pieces. I honestly have no idea what happened, but I’m glad that it wasn’t worse. Forgive me for being snappy. I used to be military; we deal with things by yelling at people.” Cocky stood up, wincing. “And I’m not about to send you out there so the remaining pirates can finish the job you started, either.”

MightiestPirate: He felt his shoulders sag a bit as he allowed himself to relax, rubbing the back of his neck and noting the change of feeling guilty to embarrassed. “Sorry… didn’t mean to worry you like that. I um… I actually know someone who also yells when they get nervous so I tend to try to get them to calm down by doing a lot of talking…” AskCocky: “So I have noticed,” Cocky said, without an edge this time. He lightly patted Guybrush’s shoulder and walked past him. He looked outside, and there was no one except some flaming bits and a quite forlorn-looking cannon. “Report,” he said, talking to the computer. The graphics on the screen changed. “Weird,” Cocky said. “It says we’re 100% operational. But that can’t be, for if there is not a malfunction, why did I crash?” He scratched his head. “Nevermind. Let’s just get up in the air and figure things later.” He pushed a few buttons and sat in the pilot chair. “You may want to sit down and put that belt around yourself. I’m not expecting to crash, but we can’t rule it out.”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah… yeah that’s an excellent point.” Guybrush nodded and sat in the closest seat, fashioning the seatbelt around him as best as he could and held on to the edge of the chair for an extra measure when a thought popped up. “Didn’t you say you hit a Bermuda triangle or something?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: Cocky locked the belt in place. “Well, that was just wild speculation on my part, but you know what, it might be just be that. That would explain why I don’t have any long comm… all my frequencies are…” He stopped himself, noticing he didn’t make any sense to the pirate. “There are certain regions of Earth that seem affected by mysterious forces. My ex-girlfriend had a theory about that, when she was not too busy cracking skulls. She said there was probably a rift… a torn entry to another dimension. Another Universe or time. And sometimes it caused ships to go missing or crash. So… I not only come from outer space. I’m also from the future. Neat, huh?” Cocky was manually checking the systems in preparation for take-off.

MightiestPirate: “The… the future?” Guybrush spoke in disbelief. “I um… I mean I guess it makes sense cause of the whole space thing but… wow.” He leaned back in his chair taking in the information, it was a lot but it was also impressive that he gave a small smile about it. “I’ve only ever heard about it through tarot cards and even that was vaguely described.”

AskCocky: “Humans don’t really travel through space in my time, actually. They’re kind of still behind.” He didn’t know if it was wise to talk to Guybrush about the future, considering it was kind of terrible, but he wasn’t going to lie to him either. “Some do, however. And now, you,” Cocky smiled and pushed the red button. The ship started to float and soon they were so high they could see the coastline.

MightiestPirate: At that, Guybrush beamed with excitement. In all of the commotion, he almost forgot about the fun trip. As the ship was taking off, Guybrush instinctively grabbed hold of the chair even tighter, not wanting to find out he was afraid of heights. Instead, when he looked out the mirror he felt like a kid again and that basic smile turned into a full giddy-like grin.

“This… this is amazing.” He said in awe.

AskCocky: Cocky couldn’t help but smile at Guybrush’s excitement. He was like a little kid. A part of him wanted to show off his pilot skills, perhaps do a couple of barrel rolls, but he refrained. It had been too exciting a day for the pirate, so he figured out he’d take it easy until his friend got accustomed to the idea of flying.

“Let’s take her for a real quick test flight,” Cocky said. “And then we’ll have to see what we do about your ship.” He flied even higher, and suddenly he knew. “Ooh, you’ll like this,” Cocky said, and broke through the clouds. The ship kept gliding through them as if it was a boat. “It’s like I’m sailing in a fluffy sea!”

MightiestPirate: There were so many things he wanted to say and it felt like all the words were clogging in his mouth trying to escape so he could vocally express himself. His eyes were watering, but wouldn’t leave the window for a second as he watched the clouds float by like waves.

It was honestly like a dream.

AskCocky: Cocky released his belt and Guybrush’s. “Hey, wanna touch that?” He manipulated some controls. “Only… lemme slow down, we don’t want your arm ripped off by the wind and then you’ll need one of them sexy hooks.” Another button and the window retreated into the hull of the ship. The inside of the ship suddenly got very cold. Cocky got his hand out through the surrounding mist. “It’s perfectly safe, try it.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush got up from his seat and slowly placed his hand outside. The clouds moved through his hand as he moved his fingers against it, completely in awe. It felt cold, but it was soft, he let out a laugh as he continued to play with it.

“Never thought I’d be able to touch a cloud…” Guybrush said through his laugh.

AskCocky: “Technically if you spent like a million years climbing a mountain you could even without flying, but this is way easier, at least for lazy-os like me.” Cocky snickered, delighted the pirate was apparently enjoying all that a lot. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, so he waited for a bit and then said: “Let’s go back and get your ship to a safe place so we can go to the Moon.”

MightiestPirate: “Closest I got to a mountain was a lactose intolerant volcano.” Guybrush answered, still playing with the clouds. He leaned back into the ship and nodded when Cocky made reminded him of his ship, as fun as it was to play in the cloud… that ship sitting in the ocean was his home after having it for so long. “Alright, I think I know a port I can leave it in… kinda like a parking spot for pirates.”

AskCocky: “Let’s go get it,” Cocky said. He returned to where Guybrush’s ship was serenely floating. Cocky surpassed it and went to get the boat. “Now here’s a nice trick,” the space lago said, and manipulated what seemed to be a small joystick. A beam of light, almost solid, descended from the ship and bathed the small boat below. A twist of the stick, and the boat started to float in the air.

MightiestPirate: “That… that works too.” Guybrush watched as his ship was lifted with his mouth almost open, inwardly glad that Elaine wasn’t on the ship for the time being. “So… the pier I told you about… twenty minutes north, not hard to miss… there’s a giant lighthouse with a flag that has a boat on it.”

AskCocky: “Right on!” But it took Cocky only five minutes to arrive there. “Sorry about the slowness, I had to take it easy as you had your sails open and I didn’t want to stress the mast.” Skillfully manipulating the stick, he lowered the ship carefully into the water. “Wanna go down there and check everything’s alright, or do we just split?”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, thanks for that.” Guybrush looked out the window at his ship. He placed a hand on his chin in thought, “I would say leave… but I’m just gonna drop in to check. I know someone there who has good ties with Elaine so he knows who I am. It’ll only be a sec, I promise.”

AskCocky: “All right, I’ll wait for you. Erm…” He pushed a button and the beam appeared again, this time over the dock. Another button, and a hole appeared in the floor of the cockpit. “This is going to sound scary, but you kind of have to stand in the air in the middle of the hole and I’ll lower you down with the light.”

MightiestPirate: His ears dropped as the hole appeared. “Ah… I um…. o-o-okay yeah, okay. It’s just a trip down. Like an elevator… okay.” He gulped and took a hesitant step forward. “So do I just… walk into the hole or just kinda cannonball jump into it or…?”

AskCocky: Instead of answering, Cocky just grabbed Guybrush and placed him over the hole. The pirate immediatly started floating. “Like that.” Then he pushed another button and Guybrush slowly floated down like the slightest snowflake.

MightiestPirate: He flailed a bit as he hovered down, realizing that it wasn’t as scary mid-drop and he didn’t need to wave his arm like a flapping bird learning how to fly. The second his feet touch the ground, he looked up at the ship like it was a puzzle before stepping out of the beam and entered the building in front of him. “Okay, that wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was.”

Thankfully, the pirate in charge was blind so all he needed to hear was Guybrush’s voice to know it was him. After a few minutes of negotiation and mini-catch up, Guybrush left the building towards where he was dropped off and adjusted his coat.

AskCocky: Cocky just took the opportunity to clean up a bit, especially the kitchen, as some leftovers had been left out. He activated the dishwasher and a dozen robot mice. They started running along the floor picking up all the debris, dirt, soot and glass. Then he looked out of the window and saw Guybrush waving his arms and shouting. “Ooops,” he said, and activated the beam again, this time with a slow pull upwards until the recently-turned lago reached the ship.

“Sorry about that, this place is filthy and I got distracted getting it to look a bit more decent,” he apologized.

MightiestPirate: “Nah, no need to apologize. At the very least there isn’t any broken glass so that’s already a plus.” Guybrush placed a hand on his hips, “I got my ship docked… granted I had to make a deal that the next time we meet I owe him.” He paused for a moment before giving a shrug, “Long story short: Ship is covered and in safe hands until I come back.”

AskCocky: Cocky smiled. “I’m sure we’ll find something interesting enough in our trip to compensate him. In the meantime, let’s sit and buckle up, at least until I get out of the atmosphere and out of the possible interference of more magnetic fields.” Cocky sat down and started getting the ship elevated, until they soared through the clouds and still up. The sky started turning dark.

MightiestPirate: As soon as they took off, Guybrush went back to clinging on to the chair trying to keep his mind off from feeling the increasing pressure in his ears the higher up they went. He was staring out the window, watching the familiar white swirly clouds and blue sky turn dark and filled with stars, Guybrush’s breath got caught in his throat as he tried to see what was being left behind and blinked in the new sight.

AskCocky: “Oooh yeah, honey, I’m home!” Cocky was honestly relieved, as few thoughts were more horrifying than getting stranded on Earth again. And this time indefinitely as he doubted he could find any parts for his ship in this century. He unbuckled and stood up and saw the pirate do the same. “Uuugh! Man, do I need a shower and a change of clothes! And probably tending to whatever wounds we collected from the last battles. Sadly, without the healing gun… uh… Guybrush? Hey, mate!”

MightiestPirate: His face was basically planted onto the glass, taking in the sight and trying to remember the sight of it all. “I never realized how small everything was. It… it kinda puts things in perspective.” Guybrush continued to stare at the window, quickly rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand and pulled himself away from the window to turn and face Cocky, the small smile still on his face. “Ah… sorry about that… not usually like that… heh.”

AskCocky: “Like what?” Cocky said, pretending he had not noticed. “Anyway, never apologize for being you, and even less to me. I’m practically dialed up to eleven one hundred percent of the time.” He slightly chuckled. “I’m sure you can entertain yourself while I take a shower. And help yourself to whatever you need.” He left, but for good measure he locked the controls so no more accidents would happen.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… you go ahead, I’ll be fine.”

As soon as Cocky left, he let his arm drop and took in the sight of the ship now it was in its proper element. He walked around a bit, keeping his hands to himself so as not to cause any more shenanigans when he noticed how much his sleeves have been in the way of his hands. With a sigh, he decided to finally roll it up so he can look less like a child wearing their dad’s clothes and more or less like himself.

AskCocky: Cocky felt all the stress melting from his shoulders as the hot shower hit his back. His mood up now, he started to sing in his baritone voice. “Moooon Riveeer wiiiider than a mile…” Soon he felt clean as good as new. Assessing the damage, it was nothing beyond some cuts and bruises. Then he noticed he had not brought fresh clothes. He shrugged, toweled off, and then wrapped that very same towel around himself to go out.

MightiestPirate: He heard the singing and nodded approvingly when the door open and turned around towards it, wanting to ask what that song was. “Was that you–” Guybrush began to say when he saw Cocky in nothing but a towel, instinctively turning away while having his hand cover his eyes, “in a towel. That’s you in a towel. I saw nothing… my bad.”

AskCocky: Cocky sincerely laughed. “You’re quite shy for a pirate, Captain Threepwood!” He checked to see if something was actually showing, but nope. “Anyway, I’m not worried about you seeing me at all.” And with that, and caring very little for Guybrush’s embarrassment, he pawed around in a cabinet until he found a large bottle and some gauze. Singing, he started tending to his many scratches and scrapes. “OOooh dreeeam maker, you heaaaart breaker…”

MightiestPirate: “I-I-I suppose. Just not use to seeing someone in a towel other than… other than my wife…” He mumbled the last part, clearing his throat as he shifted his eyes on anything other then Cocky out of respect of privacy. Hand still over his eyes, Guybrush continued listening to his singing “So it was you that was singing… you sing really nice. What’s the name of it?”

AskCocky: “Oooooooo,” Cocky waggled his eyebrows at the wife remark, then was disappointed because he noticed Guybrush was staring at the ceiling really hard. “So to answer your question, the name of the song is Moon River. Just popped into my head, I guess considering we’re going there. To the Moon, not to any rivers, cuz no rivers on the Moon. Also THANK YOU for saying I sing nice. I’m honestly sick of all my friends being better musicians-slash-singers than me. It can really shrink a healthy ego.” He looked around for more wounds, but all had been taken care of. He grabbed some bandaids and started applying them here and there.

MightiestPirate: “I know what that feels like, had it happen to me several times.” Placing his hand down, Guybrush leaned against a wall and went to play with the ring around his finger, giving a bit of a chuckle “I was told once to take an oath to Man and God to never sing again once. Didn’t help that I ended up being in a banjo duel with the guy, he just destroyed me with this solo and all I could do was do a few chords. Talk about a blow to an ego.” Letting the chuckle become a genuine laugh at the recollection.

AskCocky: “What, was your singing that bad, or why were you not supposed to sing, ever?” He frowned. “Did swirly lights come out of a medallion and put everybody to sleep… or… something?” Cocky finished using the disinfectant and started putting some gauzes in a plastic bag, along with some bandaids.

MightiestPirate: He shook his head “Nah, that wasn’t the case. It was a part of that barber quartet I mentioned earlier, they had a um… specific singing standard and I just didn’t hit the right vocal range.” Guybrush shrugged and crossed his arm, “I ended up shooting the guy’s banjo mid-solo… and somehow managed to gain his respect. I still don’t get how I did that.” AskCocky: “Screw standards, that’s what I always say!!” Cocky unsettingly adjusted his towel and pushed Guybrush inside the still steamy bathroom. “Listen, forget about the towel. I’ll just get dressed in a minute, but while I’m at it, you need a shower too, you need to get cleaned up and tend to whatever wounds you may have.” He showed the pirate the bag. “Disinfectant, gauzes, some bandaids. I’ll leave it here in the bathroom for you to use. If you run out of whatever just let me know. If you have a knick in a place you can’t reach you let me know too. You scratch my back, etc, etc.” Cocky was not aware he had lapsed into his military manner again, giving orders around. “Now,” he grabbed the other’s face. “I need you to stop looking at the ceiling and pay attention to what I’m going to say.”

MightiestPirate: It was odd, the last time he was told something like this in that specific tone of voice was with Elaine, and as such, Guybrush instinctively jumped when he was pushed into the bathroom, but nodded at the quick instructions the lago was giving. He felt his heart stop as soon as Cocky grabbed his face, knowing that it didn’t come from a bad place, but unable to still feel a bit uneased.

“I… o-okay… I’m listening.” Guybrush gulped.

AskCocky: Cocky looked into Guybrush’s eyes for a couple of seconds. Then he said: “Guybrush. Lagos’ anatomy as you might have noticed is quite different from humans’. And if you have NOT noticed, you will in a couple of minutes. What I mean is, I don’t want to hear panicked screams from the other room. Nothing is lost, it’s all there, don’t worry. It’s just a bit different, just… roll with it, as you always do with everything else, okay?” The lago adjusted the temp of the water and turned on the shower. “And NO fainting, ya hear?” He said as he hurried out.

MightiestPirate: He closed the door as soon the lago left and pondered in thought as he took of his own clothing what he meant by “nothing is lost”, why Cocky was telling him not to faint, and not wanting to hear any screaming… honestly he figured being a bunny to being with was worthy enough to meet the fainting quota on this adventure. As soon as the pants went off, his ears dropped and he held a deer in headlights expression as his right eye twitched.

“That’s… that’s what he meant…” Guybrush spoke barely above a whisper.

Mystery solved.

AskCocky: Cocky just waited near the door in case he heard a THUD or any unequivocal sign that Guybrush had just brained himself with the edge of the bathtub. Warning or not, he was in for a shock, and unfortunately he couldn’t be there to catch Guybrush in case he fainted.

As the shower kept going on and nothing happened, Cocky just went to dress himself in some comfortable pants and a t-shirt, along with some canvas shoes that were less bulky than his boots. He grabbed his spare spacesuit, and he figured Guybrush could fit in Brocky’s; he was not as tall as him, but it would work. Also, he prepared a clean set of clothes for Guybrush and slipped inside the bathroom without a noise and just left it all on a shelf. Then he left, still unseen and unheard, and went to prepare the space suits. MightiestPirate: At first Guybrush just grabbed the edge of the sink and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths and mentally reminding himself that this wasn’t permanent and that everything was under control. He looked towards the shower and went in without looking back down, having the hot water help calm him down as he cleaned himself. It didn’t take him long to clean himself (minus a minor incident where he got a bit of soap in his ear that he quickly remedied), but he stayed just a few seconds more just to enjoy the warm water.

Once all was said and done (and after a bit of trial and error), Guybrush turned the shower off and looked over and saw the change of clothes. Giving a bit of a small chuckle, he changed into it while slipping back on his coat and stepped outside.

AskCocky: Cocky was out there, attaching the oxygen tanks to the suits. “Heey,” he smiled. Then he extended his hand. “You’re not going to be needing that coat.”

MightiestPirate: He blinked in confusion and held the edge of his coat hesitantly as he took it off. “Um… okay. Why?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: “It’s too big for you and hangs almost to your knees. You’re going to be using a form- fitting spacesuit like the one I was wearing when you rescued me from drowning. Besides,” he made a face. “It’s kind of… well. Kind of filthy. So while we’re doing things in spacesuits I thought I would just toss it into my washing machine for a little wash-dry cycle.” He looked at Guybrush. “Unless you want me to throw it into my incinerator, I have that too.”

MightiestPirate: “Form fitting space suit…? As in space? A-a-and the whole going outside?” He asked eagerly before he paused momentarily and hugging on to his coat like a precious child of his. “Burn it and I will end you. Where’s the washing machine?” Guybrush asked as he looked around.

AskCocky: “In that room,” Cocky pointed to his glass-blowing workshop. “You toss it in and push a button and it’s clean.” He crossed his arms, unamused. “On the other hand, maybe I won’t touch your precious coat. Don’t want to risk you ending me.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush bit his lip and closed his eyes. “That came off rude and I apologize for that. I’m just gonna shut up now and shove this into the machine before I do anything else that can be stupid.” He turned towards the area Cocky pointed to to drop off his coat.

AskCocky: Cocky preferred to say nothing and kept calibrating the oxygen tanks, testing the communicators within the suits, and verifying everything was working. He knew he had offended the pirate when he suggested burning the coat, but he had been operating under the presumption Guybrush could only be wearing such a tattered, filthy thing because it was the only one he had. It was clear now to Cocky that the coat had some sort of sentimental value for Guybrush; maybe it was a gift from his wife or it was just his lucky coat. He’d have to apologize as well, but only after the coat was clean. The lago didn’t want to touch the subject for the moment, and the moon walk, he hoped, would lighten the mood a lot. MightiestPirate: He placed the coat inside the machine and pressed the button, hands on his hips impressed with technology. He took a deep breath, feeling like he needed to apologize to the lago. In truth, he was very appreciative of the opportunity he was given, it wasn’t everyday you meet someone from space and have a once in a lifetime trip to the moon. Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck before leaving back to the room Cocky was in, deciding to leave the coat topic to the side.

AskCocky: “I think these are ready,” Cocky told Guybrush, then smiled. “Now, you might be wondering why we need this. The answer is, there’s no air to breathe on the Moon or in space. So. I guess you have seen a diving suit before, this is the same. Only instead of water, it’s vaccuum. We won’t be able to hear each other, so we have these communicators, that means you’ll talk to me and I’ll hear it, even if our heads are inside the helmets, and…” Cocky’s ears went up and he smelled the air. “What’s that smell? Is something burning??” Alarmed, he dropped the spacesuit and ran to his workshop. His heart dropped to his feet when he understood what had happened.

MightiestPirate: He couldn’t explain it, but he felt some form of dread brewing at the pit of his stomach. “Wh - what’s happening? Cocky?” Guybrush followed the panic looking lago, pushing down the worried tone in his own voice.

AskCocky: Cocky ran and pushed a button. The burning smell was everywhere. He turned to see his friend. “Mmmmate. THIS one is my glass-melting oven. THAT over there is my washing machine.” He pointed to a rather large squareish device. Dreading what he’d find, he pushed the button that opened the oven and winced. Cocky just stood there, without knowing what to say.

MightiestPirate: He didn’t need to be told, that silence said everything. Mentally, he wanted to shrug it off, like it wasn’t as big of a deal and to say that while it stung it was just some article of clothing… but he honestly couldn’t bring himself to say that.

“Wow… what is wrong with me…?”

His ears just lowered as he took a breath, covering his face. So far everything he has been touching has made things go from bad to worse, and all without the assist of anyone.

AskCocky: Cocky felt really bad. It had technically not been his fault, and yet it was, for he had forgotten Guybrush had never seen a washing machine before. Not knowing what to do, the lago hugged his friend and caressed his head a bit. “I’m very sorry, Guybrush. I should had never let this happen.” Then, hesitatingly. “I know it’s not the same, but maybe we can find a way to replace your coat.”

MightiestPirate: He felt stupid. Plain and simple. But the gesture Cocky was offering was more than welcome and he remained there for a bit, trying to mentally compose himself and to just carry on. Guybrush felt terrible knowing he caused it to happen. It was just a coat for heaven sake!! Guybrush managed to pull himself away and rub his eyes with the heel of his hand, deciding that as painful as it was, this was a problem that he’ll figure later and putting a small smile on. “I… I will take you up on that offer of a new coat.”

AskCocky: “We’ll get it done. Promise.” Cocky nodded, matter-of-factly. A very bright beam of light traveled across his face as something white and huge passed by. “In the meantime… you might want to look out of the window.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush tilted his head in confusion and looked towards the window, his eyes widening at the sight. Without really thinking it, he ran over and placed his face as close as he could to the window, looking like a child staring at a candy store.

“Whoa… it’s so huge!!” He gasped at the moon.

AskCocky: Cocky laughed merrily. “We’re just floating around it right now. I could have landed while you were in the shower, but didn’t want you to miss it. C’mon, let’s look for a good place to land,” Cocky sat on the cockpit and fastened his belt and started manipulating the controls as the ship started to descend on the Moon.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush followed suit, although this time feeling butterflies in his stomach as the ship descended… as well as his ears feeling like they were being clogged up, but that didn’t stop him from having the sensation of excitement the closer they got towards the moon’s surface.

As the ship softly landed on the surface of the Moon, Cocky helped Guybrush get into his space suit. He talked to him through the communicator. “Can you hear me alright?”

He initially jumped but realized it was the communicator that Cocky had made mention before. Guybrush nodded his head and gave a thumbs up, “Loud and clear. Can you hear me?” he double checked, the last thing he wanted to do was somehow mess up and get flung into space.

AskCocky: “Mooooooon Riiiiiver… “ Cocky sang a bit and saw the other smile behind the helmet. “Let’s go out now. It’s going to be a bit disconcerting, but don’t worry, you’re not going to fall upwards!” He opened the airlock and they were welcomed by Luna’s strange landscape. Cocky just jumped ahead a really long distance, falling slowly. “WOOOO!”

MightiestPirate: He stood still on the ship while Cocky jumped out, hearing clearly the sound of excitement. Guybrush took a deep breath, feeling mixed between excitement and nerves, having one foot hanging over the empty hole. “Here goes nothing…!” Guybrush muttered before falling down, or rather floated down, having all sense of fear drift away.

AskCocky: Cocky only was sure Guybrush was following. Then he started somersaulting around, sometimes spinning 4 or 5 times before finally landing while laughing wildly. He turned to his friend. “It’s a bit like being underwater, right, mate?”

MightiestPirate: As soon as his feet made contact, he got thrown back into the air, flipping around a bit before Guybrush got his baring, giggling a bit at the sudden rush of adrenalin. “Yep!! Except this time I don’t need to mentally remind myself of my ten minute limit and there are stars instead of fish.” Guybrush admitted before leaping up as high as he could to float a bit.

AskCocky: Cocky came rushing to his side. “Higher! Higher! Like this!!” He suddenly grabbed Guybrush’s arm and spun him around two or three times before letting him go. “SLINGSHOT!!!”

MightiestPirate: “WH-WHOOOA!!” Guybrush shouted as he was flung by Cocky, feeling his body float in the air. It was nothing but stars as far as the eye can see, it was mesmerizing almost like… almost like… “I’m swimming in a sea of stars.“

AskCocky: “If you really want to swim in a sea of stars we can do a space walk later.” Cocky laughed merrily while catching up to the pirate. “I suggested this first because it’s only low-gravity. Zero-gravity can make some people very very nauseous. I’m used to it, but I don’t know how you’d fare, althought it’s up to you if you wanna try.” He jumped in place excitedly and offered his arm. “My turn! Fling me as far as you can. Bonus points if you shout AND DON’T COME BACK, BITCH!”

MightiestPirate: “Spacewalk?” Guybrush asked as he landed back on the moon’s surface, “Hmm… sounds like a roller coaster but I wouldn’t mind giving it a shot, and speaking of shots…” He smirked and rotated his arm while holding on to his shoulder, hearing a few clicks in the shoulder blade. “Challenge accepted.”

Guybrush grabbed Cocky’s arm and launched the lago at full force over his own body with a mischievous grin on his face.

“AND STAY OUT, BITCH!!” One he saw Cocky in the air he rubbed the back of his neck, giggling a bit “Sounds so much weirder when I say it…”

AskCocky: “OH NO, REJECTION!! MY FEEEEEELIIIINGS!” Cocky wailed dramatically as he was tossed like a boomerang in the air. He landed on his back in a cloud of silvery moon dust. “DEAD,” he moaned. Then, he snickered, and he started fanning his legs and arms, making a dust angel.

MightiestPirate: “I didn’t mean to leave a moon-sized hole in your heart there.” Guybrush applauded, “Annnnnd scene, heh heh.” He floated around for a bit and landed on an edge, “I know I said several times now but… this really is incredibl– WHOA!!” He stumbled over the edge as he felt the rock beneath his feet give way, causing the blonde lago to tumble into a crater and land flat on his back.

“Yep… I still stand by it…” he grunted.

AskCocky: Cocky got up and looked around, startled by the transmission. “Mate? You alright?” He looked around but the pirate was nowhere to be seen. “Guybrush?”

MightiestPirate: He picked himself up and brushed off some dust that laid on his spacesuit. “Y- yeah… yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you like that…” Guybrush apologized, “I ah… appear to have fallen in a hole, that’s all.”

AskCocky: “Well, can you get out on your own, or do you need help?” Cocky still didn’t know where Guybrush was. He noticed they were a bit far from the spaceship. Idly, he picked a moon rock and threw it in a completely random direction. Cocky saw the rock fall slowly, and he was surprised when a THUD and an “ow” could be heard through the communicator.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush looked around and tried leaping up, his fingers just a few inches below the rim of the crater itself. “Just… gotta… reach…. so… close– gah.” He fell back to the hole and paused for a second before picking up a random piece of moon rock. “Ah… yeah. Yeah, I um… kinda need help. It’s literally right out of my reach.”

AskCocky: Cocky tried to sound as calm as possible to not alarm the other. “It’s okay, I’ll give you a hand. Don’t worry, just stay where you are. If I can’t reach you either, I can just go to the ship and pick you up with the beam.” He looked around once more. “The only problem is that I have no idea where you are. Please toss something in the air so I can locate you.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh… okay. One sec.” Guybrush, still holding on the moon rock gave it a toss and saw it wasn’t reaching the rim. Giving a sigh, he squatted and pushed off as strong as he could with one more leap and tossed the rock as high as he could, silently thanking that the gravity on the moon was loose and should the rock fall back down it won’t be as painful.

AskCocky: The lago caught the sight of the rock and rushed to it. He almost fell down himself, as the stark dark-and-light contrast made it somewhat difficult to calculate distances. “Whoa, this is actually pretty deep,” Cocky said. He knelt down and extended a hand. “Guybrush! I’m here. Let’s try now, mate.”

”MightiestPirate: Yeah, no kidding.” Guybrush looked up and smiled, crouching down as low as he could in order to push himself up as high as he could, his arm extended and reaching out for Cocky’s hand and successfully grabbed hold of it.

“Ha, got it!!” Guybrush called out, hanging on to the lago’s hand.

AskCocky: Cocky pulled Guybrush carefully. He felt the ground shift below him, so he rolled on the ground, dragging his friend with him. The lagos even had time to see the ground crumble away and into the hole. “Whoa, hahaha. Kind of close, huh?”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah, no kidding. I was in that.” Guybrush watched the rocks crumble and gave an honestly impressed whistle. “Talk about deep… thanks for giving me a hand there by the way.”

AskCocky: “Pfft, what was I supposed to do, just leave you there?” Cocky snickered. “Moon’s all dry, so things crumble away easily, unless it’s solid rock. Super dead. Unlike that.” He pointed to the blue planet in the sky. “Hello, Earth.”

MightiestPirate: “That’s the Earth? Whoa… it’s so small from here.” He officially lost count how many times he looked like a deer in headlights, but compared to everything he’s seen thus far, seeing the Earth the way it was… it was breathtaking. Guybrush’s eyes were locked on the small blue planet. “Whoa… hey. Remember how I when I saw the stars that it helped put things in perspective? I take it back. This… this puts it in perspective.”

AskCocky: Cocky sat down, disturbing a small amount of dust that fell slowly. He crossed his legs and looked at Earth. It really was a beautiful planet, it was too bad it was so full of people. “And with that perspective, my friend,” Cocky asked softly, “what did you learn?”

MightiestPirate: He bent down and picked up a piece of moon rock, tossing it up and down against the gravity of the planet. “That everything I had to go up against, that all the trouble I had to put up with, all that trial and tribulation, heh, it’s laughable, ridiculous and… small.” Guybrush held onto the rock as it landed back in his hand, turning over to Cocky and giving a genuine smile.

“…But it also makes me happy.”

AskCocky: “Small, yes. Laughable, no.” Cocky balanced his boot on top of the other. “If you travelled for some time with me, you’d quickly lose that first impression. Your neighborhood looks big until you travel to another city, another island, or another world. Then, as you do it constantly, everything seems to be small, even the Universe. Everything’s small, everything’s big. When you were back at the hole, just a few inches looked like a lot. If you had been alone, these few inches would have meant your death, as you would have run out of oxygen without being able to go back to the ship.” He tried to scratch the scar on his right cheek and was frustrated because it was behind the helmet. “’In the grand scale of things, nothing really matters’ is an argument used by tyrants while blowing up entire planets, so it’s actually kind of a dangerous mindset.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush shook his head, “I understand what you mean but… that’s not what I meant. I mean, yeah, it’s not… the most ideal mindset to have, in fact trying to take over an island or a world is usually pretty evil.” He played with the rock in his hand trying to think of how to word himself. “What I meant was… that the Earth, as vast as it is being on it and as small as it is from a distance, I was able to meet the people that matter to me, like my wife on that little blue planet.” Guybrush spoke almost excitedly.

“…I even got the chance to meet you.“

AskCocky: “Aaah! Yeah, now that’s more like it. That’s what I was trying to say. I was trying to say… we matter. Because we are…” he pointed to his helmet with his gloved hand. “Tiny universes ourselves, see?” Then, after a pause. “What’s your wife like?”

MightiestPirate: He tossed the rock over his shoulder, thinking of how to describe the red head. “Well she’s brave, strong… both metaphorically and literally. She knows how to hold herself no matter what the circumstances are, and is pretty much a natural born leader. She’s… she’s incredible.” Guybrush looked up at the stars for a moment before continuing, “And then there’s the way she looks at me in this kind of way that no one ever has… like I’m this priceless treasure. It honestly makes my heart skip a beat. I still wake up surprise to see her married to me even after all these years.”

Guybrush blushed a bit before rubbing the back of his neck. “So ah… Otto, right? What’s he like?”

AskCocky: “I’d like to meet your woman, she sounds pretty amazing.” Cocky just let his laziness took over and lied down to look at the black sky. After a pause, he said: “Otto is like the sea. He’s apparently calm, but with undercurrents of fury and sadness. Mysteriously deep… I have no idea what he’s thinking half the time. And sometimes he makes me sad, when I wake up at night and I look at him, because he’s just so beautiful and sweet he makes me want to cry.” The lago shrugged inside his space suit. “I guess I’m not good at describing him without resorting to grunts and whimpers,” he laughed.

MightiestPirate: “Heh… yeah she is.” He tried scratching his cheek but for a moment forgot there was glass between his finger to his face, instead choosing to clear his throat from the pause. “I bet it’s like music to your ears.” Guybrush joked with a bit of a chuckle, silently understanding what Cocky meant of having a hard time describing. “But I wouldn’t mind meeting him.”

AskCocky: “He’s a bit shy around strangers, but very polite. You’d like him. Maybe we…” But he was interrupted by another voice, warning: “Oxygen levels: 25 percent.” Cocky got up. “Ah, crap. Moon time is over, Captain, at least if we want to keep on breathing. Let’s go back to the ship.” MightiestPirate: “EEP… eh… yeah that sounds like a good idea. I like breathing a lot.” Guybrush nodded, very quickly picking up a small piece of moon rock to keep as a memento. It was silly, but how often would Guybrush Threepwood go to the moon?

AskCocky: Cocky noticed that. “Take your time to pick one up. 25% is more than enough to go back to the ship. I just want to walk calmly and not be worried or in a rush, plus I always take Murphy’s Law in account, and I think that’s a good thing, especially around you. No offense.”

MightiestPirate: “Ah heh… yeah I understand. And well, likewise. No offense.” Guybrush chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, looking around to find one that was reasonable in size and eventually finding one that was roughly the size of his hand.

AskCocky: “None taken,” Cocky said. Then, while Guybrush had his back turned, he took a small ziploc bag and put some silvery moon dust in it. Then he pocketed it, and when the other was done, started walking towards the ship. It was not a very long walk, and they had quite a lot of fun jumping around in the moon gravity. They reached the ship when they were at roughly 10% of oxygen reserve in the tanks, plus whatever was inside their suits. They got in the airlock and ran a bit of decontamination routine before taking off their helmets and getting out of the suits. “Well,” Cocky said to his companion, “did you like it?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush never realized just how much he loved not having glass in front of him and took a deep breath as he took of the helmet, finally scratching the bridge of his nose that had an itch that was building up. “That was easily the coolest thing I’ve ever done. Ever.” He smiled happily, feeling this renewed energy when he took off the suit. “Heh, the next time I’ll look at the moon… I can know happily that I was jumping around and doing flips on it.”

AskCocky: “Maybe you should not mention this outside your closest circle of friends,” Cocky commented. “The most likely thing to happen is that people are going to say you’re crazy, and that’s not particularly pleasant.”

MightiestPirate: He gave a shrug, “Eh, no matter what I say, nobody believes me. Even if I literally risked my life saving most, if not everyone’s, life several times. Hell, I still have a hard time convincing bars that I’m a good decade above the age limit and yet they still won’t believe me.“ Guybrush gave a small chuckle, looking over the rock, “But yeah, I get where you’re coming from. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna go blab about it.”

AskCocky: “Okey,” Cocky smiled. He walked to the control panels and set a course on the autopilot. “We’re gonna be traveling some distance, and it’s getting late, so we should probably eat some dinner and get some sleep, but we have to do something first, if that’s alright with you. Also, uh, how old are you again?”

MightiestPirate: “Hm? Oh, I’m thirty four. Annnnd I’m guessing in this form it ah… it doesn’t look like that. What about you?” He paused for a moment “Erm… where are we heading to?” Guybrush asked sheepishly, not really use to being the one to ask and notbeing the one setting a course. AskCocky: “I’m honestly don’t really know,” Cocky shrugged. “I’m around 36, by my calculations. And no, you don’t look your age, even in human form, so in that sense you’re like a lago.” Cocky subtly directed Guybrush to his glass workshop. “To answer your question, I’m taking you to look at some pretty things, and also to meet a couple of people. Rather be a surprise if you don’t mind.”

MightiestPirate: “I suppose.” He rubbed his neck and let out a sheepish chuckle before looking at the glass workshop and back towards Cocky, the glasswork, or at least the few that he saw still intact on the ship, were something to behold and so far everything has been upping itself with each new thing. Placing his hands to his hips he gave a smirk, “Lead the way then.”

AskCocky: “It’ll be fun,” Cocky said, grinning. Then he locked the metal door of the workshop, and he started moving things around. He moved the work bench and slid it inside the wall and locked it in place, and glanced around the room to see if he was forgetting something.

“Hey, lemme know if you get sick, okay?”

Then he pushed a button and gravity was cancelled.

MightiestPirate: “W-w-wait? Sick? Why would you say tha– whoa!!” He felt his body being lifted up and instinctively began to flap his arms to maintain some semblance of, well, balance. When Guybrush realized that this was fine based on how calm Cocky appeared to be, he stopped waving his arms and shifted himself as if he was underwater.

“Now THIS is more like swimming.” He remarked with a huge grin on his face.

AskCocky: “I’d say!” Cocky impulsed himself a little and started gyrating in the air, snickering. “I got this feature in this room… well, actually it was worked out by Otto. I wanted to experiment working on glass in Zero G, and it turns you can do some incredible stuff with it.” He impulsed himself to the other side of the room. “Mind your force, however, or you’ll end up all bruised from bouncing all around the place like a bean in a can.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded in understanding as he gently pushed himself from the wall and float on his back, arms behind his head, and staring at the ceiling. “Zero gravity glass blowing… sounds dangerous a bit considering. What were you able to make?” He asked, lazily floating around.

AskCocky: “Things that have not survived my decidedly wild life,” Cocky lamented. “Anyway, for example, I could simulate water very accurately, the droplets splashing upwards… I had this fish… ooooh, my fish,” he said, sadly, and curled up in a ball.

MightiestPirate: He winced at the lago’s lament and swam to the curled form, gently patting him on the back but held his other hand underneath in case of something happening with zero gravity. “Sorry to hear about that… but I bet you can make a better one.” Guybrush attempted to pep-talk.

AskCocky: “That’s what I keep telling myself,” Cocky said. “But I probably won’t have the time.” He planked and stood like that for a while, turning around in the air like a Mars Bar. Finally, he asked. “What’s your wife’s favorite fragance?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush floated upside down, testing out what that sensation felt like seeing as if he did that in the water it would be straight up his nose, cocked his eyebrows and placed a finger on his chin, trying to recall the scent she was always sporting.

“Hmm… she always smells like honey and lavender. So like this… sweet and fresh kind of smell. Why?”

AskCocky: “Honey and lavender, got it.” Cocky smiled mysteriously. “No reason. Hey! Hey Guybrush! ZERO G HIGH FIVE!” And he raised his hand as he passed the pirate.

MightiestPirate: “Huh, wha– oh!!” His eyes widen and a grin appeared, he pushed himself forward while upside down, raised his hand up, and made contact with Cocky’s. “Zero G Five!!”

AskCocky: There was a quite satisfying SLAP and Cocky laughed. “Good stuff, good stuff,” he muttered reflectively. Zero G time would be over soon, but he had an idea. He went to the water cooler inside the wall and pushed the button. A small blob of water started floating around. “Look!”

MightiestPirate: He laughed as he shook his hand after, knowing that it indicated that it was, in fact, a fantastic high five. It was when he saw the water blob hover gently over his face that Guybrush looked at it hypnotically, more cat-like than bunny. “And we’re officially under the sea.” He joked as he poked at the blob, seeing it ripple and still maintain it’s blobby shape. “And instead of fish we have rabbits.”

AskCocky: Cocky pointed to the blob. “Glass behaves a bit like this, only much much slower, of course. Anyway, kids, don’t do this at home!” He suddenly stuck his head into the blob and stuck his tongue out at Guybrush.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush attempted to stifle his laugh but failed at doing so, letting himself laugh at Cocky’s antic. He wiped away some tears only to see a few of the drops float away when an idea struck him. “Hey, pass it over here, I wanna try something.”

AskCocky: Cocky got his face out of the blob and as soon as it recovered its shape, he blew it softly in Guybrush’s direction. “One blob, coming up. Or down. Or whatever.” MightiestPirate: He turned himself right-side up and clasped his hands together, he may be in space, but water is the same no matter where it may be.

Guybrush took a deep breath and poked his head in the bubble, having this weird sense of familiarity. Once Guybrush became accustomed to the water, he gave a grin and proceeded to pucker his mouth like a fish and began making bubbles, moving like a fish as well but being careful with the water bubble.

AskCocky: Cocky laughed heartily at Guybrush’s impression of a fish, but then he was baffled as the pirate keep doing it for a really long time. He raised an eyebrow. “Yo, Guybrush, are you one of the Deep Ones, or what? How can you hold your breath for so long???”

MightiestPirate: He could speak underwater… but that would take up time in the bubble, so Guybrush freed himself from the bubble, mentally clocking at about five minutes in deep submersion. “I can hold my breath for ten minutes. Comes in really handy when I go underwater for buried treasure.” Guybrush practically beamed.

AskCocky: “T-that’s crazy.” Cocky didn’t know if Guybrush was serious, but he had just witnessed that he could indeed last a really long time without even looking worried. “I’m actually very impressed. One minute is all I last, and here I thought I lasted a pretty long time. You must have lungs made of steel.”

MightiestPirate: “Well, for as long as I can remember, it was kinda one of those things that I always did and not really thing about it if that makes sense?” He paused for a bit before looking from the water back to Cocky. In his mind, Guybrush was absolutely convinced he was giving a smug grin, but that child-like smile said otherwise, “Wanna see me hold my breath?”

AskCocky: Cocky thought about this for a while. “All right, but no cheating.” He programmed the timer on his wall, the one he used for the glass oven, although without turning the oven on. Then he adopted a pose as if he was sitting in the comfiest lazy chair on the world, but still with his hand on the button, waiting for Guybrush to start. “Go on.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, not sure how I can cheat with that.” Guybrush smirked before taking another deep breath and placing the water bubble that acted like that space helmet back on his head, having one leg lay on the other, his arms crossed and having a confident smile placed on his face while mentally keeping tabs on the minutes for his own well being.

AskCocky: Cocky started to eye the clock nervously around the four minute mark, although Guybrush looked as flippant as ever. But hitting the seven minute mark Cocky looked really worried. “Uh, you know what, I believe you. You can stop now.”

MightiestPirate: A confused expression went on his face. He had another three minutes easily left to go, and while normally he would just continue, seeing Cocky look worried made Guybrush decide to stop as oppose to showing off. Guybrush popped his head from the water bubble and gave a grin.

“And with three minutes to spare. Didn’t mean for it to scare you though.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck.

AskCocky: Cocky grimaced. “Well, I got worried because… okay, you last 10 minutes holding your breath, I can believe that… but you’re in Zero G… things act a lot different at the molecular level. And you have a whole new body you know nothing about… for starters, it’s smaller, and your lungs along with it.” Cocky stopped the timer. “Lagos also have accelerated metabolisms, everything’s faster… heartbeat, and therefore oxygen consumption.” The lago shrugged. “Seven minutes, very impressive though, but I feel kind of responsible for you in this new environment. I’d hate for you to get hurt.” MightiestPirate: He bit his lips and looked back at his hand, it was weird but for the last few hours he honestly forgot about his new form, and naturally forgot that while mentally he was the same, physically it was basically a stranger’s. “Fair enough… at least I know I can hold my breath for seven minutes as a lago. So… that’s… that’s valuable information.” Guybrush acknowledged, “And who knows, maybe it’ll be useful. I-I mean, hopefully we’ll never get to be into a situation like that but… at least it’s good that it happened here while we were… y’know… messing around.”

AskCocky: Cocky just stretched his body in mid air. “Hopefully our magnetism for bad luck has run out of the day.” He gently pulled his friend along the wall and closer to the floor. Then he activated gravity again. “Time to go eat something and then catch some Z’s, fishie.”

MightiestPirate: “I think with our combined skills of Murphy’s Law, Lady Luck has got to start feeling sorry for us.” He joked, pushing the water bubble as far from his possible. When the gravity turned on, Guybrush’s legs felt wobbly as he touched the ground and was thankful that Cocky had a bit of a hold on him. “Food and sleep… that sounds like a good idea, moon princess.”

AskCocky: “Pfft, that’s a new one,” Cocky chuckled, while shaking his limbs. The puddle disappeared into the floor. He pushed a button and the closed glass oven started cleaning itself. It was a good idea to get rid of Guybrush’s coat ashes, as he had plans for the oven later.

In the meanwhile he stepped into the kitchen and washed his hands. As always he goofed around in zero g, he was slightly queasy. He looked around in the fridge. “Oooh, there’s still half of that dough. Um, say, pirate bunny, wanna try a thing called a pizza?”

MightiestPirate: “Pirate bunny?” Guybrush raised an amused eyebrow. He remembered a time when he was younger and how he would swim for hours, eventually building up an appetite while his limbs felt like they were on fire. Floating around in zero gravity, as similar as it was to swimming in the ocean, made Guybrush want to just sit in a chair for a bit and get his bearing.

Which was exactly what he did when he entered the kitchen, releasing a big sigh in the process. “Pizza… could’ve sworn I heard that from someone once. What is it?”

AskCocky: “It’s this big round thing… tell you what. I’ll make it and if you don’t like it, there’s still leftover spaghetti. But almost everybody loves pizza, so I’m not particularly concerned about that possibility. It’s a classic with the kids, and kids are the most particularly picky eaters, sooooo…” He started getting everything ready. Cocky put on his food prep gloves and started kneading the dough. “How do you like cheese? Is cheese your thing?”

MightiestPirate: “I’m a fan of all cheese, no need to be picky.” He stretched his arms across the table, hearing a satisfying click in his joints. “Comes in real handy for food, as means to solve puzzles, and silly putty to make ridiculous faces with.”

AskCocky: “Silly putty, huh?” Cocky just teared a piece off the dough he was kneading and tossed it to Guybrush for him to play with. He seemed like the type to enjoy that. “Well, good to know, I’m in the mood for extra-cheesey pizza. And what do you mean, puzzles?” MightiestPirate: He saw the piece of dough flung at him and fumbled a bit before getting firm grasp on it, eyeing it for a few seconds before just shrugging and making various shapes with it.

“Well, there was this one time I was stuck on this island where the wind blew inward… and in order to get the winds to blow out so I can leave, there were these various machines that required the proper faces in order to activate them.” Guybrush began, making a little dough-man, “So of course, ONE of them just had to have it’s eyes missing and make the puzzle harder than it needed to be. But then I remembered I had a cheese wheel on me and there were these eye shapes on a jail cell so… kinda used the two together and bam, did the trick.”

AskCocky: Cocky just lifted one ear. “What is it with people and puzzles? My friends Sam and Max are always substituting things, mcgyvering up stuff, switching pies with screwdrivers, and all sorts of crazy things.” He started tossing up the dough like a flying disk in the air. “Just carry a swiss knife and a roll of duct tape, that’s my motto.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush tilted his head in confusion, “Wait, there are others who also put up with puzzles? Huh… and here I thought I was the only one.” He looked back at his dough-man and shaped it to be boat.

“And trust me, if only all the puzzles could be solved with some tape, that would make MY life a lot easier. Most often than not, it’s the people that require some puzzle work, like, there was one time where I could’ve easily solved the puzzle right in front of me, I literally had the item needed, but this… jerk” he growled almost, “wouldn’t let me do my job and instead not only did I have to go and get the pieces, but I also I had to instruct him how to solve the stupid puzzle.”

There was a mischievous smirk.

“Of course I had a bit of fun mocking him without his knowing so… I guess that was a plus.”

AskCocky: Cocky settled down the pizza dough and started spreading sauce on it. “I must be a terrible puzzle-solver, cuz still. I would have threatened the guy with the knife, and if he didn’t comply, just punched him unconscious and tied him up with the duct tape.” He pointed at Guybrush with a red-dripping wooden spoon. “But then again, I’m just kind of a jerk,” he said, sprinkling oregano on the pizza and starting to line it with sliced up ham.

MightiestPirate: “Well, that is one way to solve a puzzle.” Guybrush smirked, “I actually knew someone who had the same train of thought…” He managed to make a wonky looking skull out of the dough and poked at it. “I’m not known for being the scariest pirate to roam the seven seas… but I haven’t been known as the nicest either. I did some pretty… pretty nasty things that range from bad to worst.”

AskCocky: “Oooh, really?” Cocky was very curious, as Guybrush seemed really like one of the nicest persons he had ever met. “Like what, if you don’t mind me asking?” The layer of ham was over and Cocky started adding some pepperoni, mushroom and sausage. MightiestPirate: “Hmm… let’s see…” Guybrush leaned back and started to count on one hand the things he’s done during Big Whoop alone, “I threw a rat into a vat of soup so I can get someone fired, I cheated a drinking contest at an old man’s house just so I can break into his house for a piece of a map, got a woman wrongfully arrested after placing her ad on my ‘Wanted’ poster, I kidnapped a dog, and stole a cartographer’s monocle which he needed to see… and that’s just skimming over one adventure.”

AskCocky: Cocky just looked at Guybrush. “Seriously?? That’s it??” He shook his head, then started layering a lot of cheese on the pizza, while laughing.

MightiestPirate: “No no… there’s plenty of more where that came from.” Guybrush smiled and continued, “I released a dangerous animal into a town, sawed off someone’s leg, locked a man in a coffin, and after that… I… think I ripped someone’s leg off… it kind of becomes a blur the last part. And like I said, that’s just one adventure.”

AskCocky: “Mmhhh.” Cocky continued the cheese sprinkling until he was satisfied, then painted some butter and herbs on the crust so it would golden up. “Are we talking about real legs, or peg legs here?”

MightiestPirate: “Sawed off a peg leg. The ripped one… I think it was real.” Guybrush shrugged, ending up making a perfect sphere with the dough. “All I remember about it was that it smelled really bad.”

AskCocky: Cocky stopped tampering with the pizza and just leaned over the table, closer to Guybrush. “Why is it a blur? Were you drunk?” He frowned. “In some sort of frenzy, perhaps? Real angry or crazy?”

MightiestPirate: Instinctively, Guybrush shrunk back as Cocky leaned closer and scratched at his cheek.

“No, aside from this one drinking contest, I was completely sober. And I wasn’t angry just… scared. Really scared. The last thing I remembered was I was in a tunnel facing against my arch nemesis and after that… it just sort of becomes hazy.” He furrowed his brows in thought, “The next time I was able to see and even think clearly… a year or so has passed and I was in the middle of the ocean in a bumper car.”

AskCocky: Cocky leaned back again and took off his gloves pensively. He looked haunted. “A whole year in the fog… the gods. And I thought I had it bad.” He washed off whatever flour he had in his arms, and put the pizza in the pre-heated oven. Then he started cleaning up the mess. “Well, you can’t really be blamed for whatever you did when you were clearly out of your wits, right?”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah, I suppose.” Guybrush agreed, “Would be nice to know what happened between that and how I got into a bumper car.” He watched as Cocky cleaned up the mess and crossed his arms on the table, “Kinda curious here, but did you experience something similar like that?” AskCocky: “Ooh, yeah. Yes, I did. And if your experience was anything like mine, believe me, you don’t want to know what happened in that lost time.” The lago finished cleaning and sat down. He looked distressed. “I can tell you about it, but not right now. It’s a very dangerous topic for me to talk about this close to bedtime. It’s likely to give me nightmares.” Cocky shrugged and made a face, looking at his slightly trembling hands. “Plus, it would probably ruin our appetite.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was familiar with that look and nodded in understanding. The silence lingered a bit before he was sparked with an idea to ease the tension and brighten the mood, “Okay, then how about this. Tell me a time where you found yourself in a ridiculous situation, if your luck is anything like mine, then there’s a story somewhere.”

AskCocky: “My whole LIFE is a ridiculous situation,” Cocky said, chuckling a bit. “And a lot of my stories seem to feature me losing my clothes, either voluntarily or involuntarily. For example, last week I was swimming in my friend’s pool, and the 64-tentacled octopus that lives in the bottom of it thought it was a good idea to snatch my swimming trunks away.”

MightiestPirate: He snorted and covered his mouth from laughing too loudly, the imagery was crystal clear in his mind. “What was an octopus doing in a swimming pool of all places?” Guybrush asked in-between laughs.

AskCocky: “Well, I put it there when it was a baby. See? I brought my own doom upon me!” Cocky laughed out loud. “I bought it for my friend to keep the filters clean. I dunno, maybe it’s its idea of a joke. We don’t really know how intelligent octopi are.” He got up to check on the pizza, and seeing it golden and bubbling, he nodded and put on his oven mitts. “Or maybe it’s fond of me and wanted something to remember me by. Anyway, it literally sat on my clothes forever, so I had to borrow some.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh man, either way that’s a smart little octopi for recognizing you. Heh, Mama Cocky, it has a very nice ring to it.” Guybrush wiped some tears from his face, “I bet it has your eyes.” When the oven opened, the smell danced around the in the room, causing Guybrush’s stomach to make itself known and him placing a hand on it as if to quell it. “It smells really good.”

AskCocky: “Maybe not my eyes, but my fondness for a good butt? Yes.” Cocky gave Guybrush one of his patented toothy smiles. The pizza was still bubbling. “It needs a few minutes to cool a bit before it can be cut. In the meantime, enjoy its tantalizing, domineering presence.” Cocky twirled the circular tray around and the delicious, steamy smell rose in a whirlwind of delight.

MightiestPirate: “Hey, it’s important skill set.” Guybrush chuckled at the grin. He rested his head on the table and just had the scent of pizza drift all over and sighed while his stomach grumbled. “Okay yeah see, that is absolute torture in the finest form. To have just the scent is one thing, I can live with that and would chalk it up as a great kitchen fragrance. But to have it be at arm’s length? That’s just pure evil.”

AskCocky: “I DID say I was a jerk,” Cocky smiled. “Anyway, while you try to resist the temptation of biting it into something that’s more or less as hot as lava, we could pick up what we’re going to drink.” He took off his gloves and opened the fridge. “There’s beer, and juice, and soda. What would you like?”

MightiestPirate: “Can’t be worse than the time I licked the world’s hottest pepper. Lost my sense of taste for half a year” And as tempting as the pizza was, Guybrush was not in the mood to feel the roof of his mouth burn and sat upright. “Beer works fine.”

AskCocky: “OOoh, I just looooove hot peppers. Have tasted some that are pretty evil too.” Cocky put a beer in front of Guybrush and opened it. “But the worst I’ve had made my entire body go numb for a day or two. It was kind of scary.” Cocky started slicing the pizza and serving the slices. The melting cheese was so thick it had to be cut with a swift stroke of the knife. “Here ya go. Here’s oregano and parmesan if there’s not enough cheese for ya, and there are some sauces here,” Cocky pointed to several bottles. “The only ones that are hot are these two, tabasco and habanero. That one hurts if you’re not accostumed to it,” he said, simply. He took off his gloves. “You don’t need a knife and fork, your hands are good enough, but careful, it might be too hot for you.” Cocky then proceeded to bite his slice with a heavenly expression.

MightiestPirate: “Ugh, that does not sound like a fun.” Guybrush took a sip from the drink. He raised an eyebrow at all the stuff that could possibly go on the pizza, but decided to try going at it as it was first just to see what it tasted like. He picked up the piece which, while hot, didn’t completely burn his fingers as he for some reason thought and took a cautious bite of it, more because of the heat as oppose to the unknown.

Stars could be spotted in Guybrush’s eyes as he took that wonderful bite.

AskCocky: Cocky started to say something, but whatever it was, it was muffled behind a mouthful of pizza. After swallowing, he smiled cheesily. “What? Not so bad, huh?”

MightiestPirate: He was too busy savoring the meal to give a proper response and a clever retort to Cocky. Instead, Guybrush opted to just nodding his head slowly while going eagerly for another bite.

AskCocky: “Yes, yes, I agree, my friend.” Cocky smacked his lips happily. “Ah, to taste pizza por the first time! I really envy you.” He continued to eat, and served himself and his companion another slice.

MightiestPirate: It has been ages since Guybrush tried something new and genuinely loved it. As he finished his first slice, he took a sip of the beer and had a smile on the whole time, already picking up second slice.

“Oh man… I hadn’t had something this good since I came across pork buns.”

AskCocky: “Oh, those are good. Don’t make them too often, but I have.” Cocky moaned as he ate, then suddenly stopped. “Hey, let me know I’m making erotic faces while eating, I kind of have a problem with that,” he said, blushing a little, then he snickered guiltily and resumed eating. MightiestPirate: Guybrush stared at Cocky like a blushing deer in headlights while a piece of cheese was dripping between his mouth and the pizza. He ripped off the piece of cheese and nodded his head, placing the pizza down a bit while sheepishly chuckling. “That’s um… yeah sure, okay I’ll keep tabs on that.”

AskCocky: “Seriously, don’t be afraid to point it out.” Cocky shrugged, as if having an erotic eating problem was the most normal thing in the world. He served himself another slice of pizza, and this time he added worcestershire sauce and more oregano. “So, Captain Threepwood,” the lago asked through a mouthful, “where is your crew, anyway?”

MightiestPirate: He chewed on his food and raised a thumbs up, not wanting to talk with his mouth full mostly out of fear of choking on the melting cheese. He took another sip of the beer to rinse down the food before speaking, “You mean from past adventures or now? Cause I ranged from the barber quartet I made mention of earlier to a bunch of lazy good-for-nothing mutineers who’d rather sun bathe and mock me than help.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush took another bite before continuing “Cause right now my crew consists of me, Elaine, and another crew-mate, Winslow… who, for the record, has been so far the ONLY crew-mate to not backstab me and been actually loyal.”

AskCocky: Cocky swallowed and licked his lips. “Well, if they were such a mutineering, lazy crew, why didn’t you kick their asses or keelhaul them or whatever it is captain pirates do?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush shrugged, “Cause at the time I was just starting out as a pirate, so I was inexperienced and the crew consisted of a sword-master, a con artist, and this huge guy with hooks for hands.” He took another slice after finishing the second piece, “That and I can’t… really stomach keelhauling. Especially after experiencing it myself.”

AskCocky: “No offense, but you’re probably too nice to be a pirate.” Cocky did some very complicated maneuvers to not miss a single string of cheese that was hanging off the slice he was eating. “And a crew of two seems awfully scarce. Of course, I wouldn’t mind a crew of one. In the Love Boat.” Some rather sinful chuckling later, he added. “But you look happy, so it’s none of my business, really.”

MightiestPirate: At that, Guybrush laughed, “That’s funny… actually, Elaine said the same thing about me when we first met. Said it was probably because my face was too sweet to be a pirate.” He took another bite before continuing, “And having a small crew isn’t so bad… especially seeing as my ship isn’t THAT large to begin with, it’s like being on a constant road trip with roommates.”

AskCocky: “Well, being too nice to be a pirate is actually a huge compliment. If the crew that wanted to blast us with a cannon is any representative of the average pirate. It really makes me wonder why you wanted to be a pirate in the first place.” Cocky finished his piece and leaned back contently. “Phew, so full. Help yourself to more pizza, I’m quite good as I am.” MightiestPirate: “I can’t explain why, just kinda washed up shore on an island and the only thing I knew I wanted to be was a pirate so… I guess for the thrill and the adventure really…” Already half way through his third pace, Guybrush wasn’t sure if he could finish the rest. “Thanks… but I feel like if I have anymore I’ll burst. What about you? What made you want to travel the stars?”

AskCocky: Cocky finished his beer. “Traveling the stars was not so much an objective as try to find a way to make a living. And as much as I love my ship, it gets a bit on my nerves after a while, to live in space… I would like to settle down in a house, and a planet to call my home.” He shrugged. “But that’s not gonna happen, not for a good while at least. Probably never…” The lago got up and started putting away the leftovers and cleaning the table.

MightiestPirate: “I tried living in one place. I ah… didn’t exactly adjust well.” With his meal finished and half finished beer bottle, Guybrush swirled the drink for a moment before wording himself, hoping he wasn’t stepping out of line. “But, and this is just a thought… but what about Otto? I mean, maybe not now but… maybe in the future?”

AskCocky: The lago looked at Guybrush, rather startled. Inadvertedly, his empty beer bottle fell and shattered on the ground. He sighed and shook his head. “Pfft. WHAT future?” Cocky said, rather bitterly. He left the room to look for a broom and a dust pan.

MightiestPirate: He winced at the laugh, unable to shake off the feeling that he touched a raw topic and stood up from his chair to pick up the larger glass piece to throw out, cautious of the glass to not jab him in the skin. At least he was wearing shoes this time.

AskCocky: The lago was back with the broom and the dust pan and noticed Guybrush was trying to pick up the broken bottle. “Oh no, that’s okay. That’s okay, I got this. I’m not going to throw it away, I will just grind the glass to recycle it.” And he started sweeping the remains of the bottle into the dust pan.

MightiestPirate: “I ah… yeah of course.” Guybrush blinked before placing the glass shards in his hand into the pan and standing a bit away from the mess so as not to get in the way. He rung his hands together, biting the inside of his cheek before speaking. “I um… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to speak out of line– if I did anyways.”

AskCocky: But Cocky shook his head. “Nah, you did nothing wrong. How were you supposed to know? Sorry I reacted that way. And sorry if I startled you.” He left the broom and the dust pan aside and out of the way for the moment, and he looked around, satisfied everything was mostly in place. Then he sat down and started drawing imaginary circles on the table with his finger. “I uh. I don’t expect to be alive around this time next year. I should have get accustomed to the idea of dying by now, but somehow I can’t.”

MightiestPirate: He could swear he felt his heart drop to his stomach when he heard Cocky say that. Taking a few strides, Guybrush pulled the other chair and sat as close as he could, eyes locked on the lago “What… what are you talking about? Why would you say that?” he asked, his voiced laced with concern. AskCocky: Cocky made a face. He hated himself for bringing the mood down, but he always also hated himself for lying to his friends. He thought they deserved the honesty, but the whole situation was kind of complicated, and he struggled to find a way to make it simple. “Uuum. There’s an invasion in my home planet, B’eel. I’m going to do something about it… soon. And when I do so, I will become the target of an entire race. Probably even more, if they get allies. I will do everything I can to survive, but really, things are not looking good for me…” He shrugged, then smiled a little. “It’s kind of a real bitch, huh?”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah… no kidding.” He couldn’t relate… not really. His life revolves around, for the most part, trying to avoid being the subject of interest and the truth was he had no idea how he could help not matter how hard he tried to think of different solutions. “And yet… I can’t help but feel like you’ll somehow make it out fine by just the skin of your teeth.” Guybrush sighed, returning a small bittersweet smile while having placed a hand on Cocky’s shoulder, giving a bit of a tight squeeze. It wasn’t much, but it was the least he could do.

AskCocky: Cocky patted Guybrush’s hand and smiled back. “I would like to think so, mate. And… I know you mean well. But really. Hope is just the worst.” He leaned on his hand and spoke quietly. “The best I can do is to finish my mission, or at least make it unstoppable before they manage to wipe me out. If I do, at least I’ll go happy, see? Silver linings, and all that.”

MightiestPirate: “A very grim one.” Guybrush reluctantly agreed. “There’s has to be some other way, right? There always is…” Guybrush spoke in a lowered and sad tone. It shouldn’t have bothered him nearly as much as it was, this was in a year’s time and he hadn’t even known the lago for that long and yet, he felt like they were friends for ages. He lowered his head, not sure what else to say that didn’t sound genuine.

AskCocky: Cocky looked at his friend and smiled. “Sometimes there isn’t. You understand that, don’t you? You said you risked your life several times to save everybody, and you didn’t even get some thanks for it. Then you understand that sometimes it’s up to you, and you just have to do it because you know you won’t be able to live with yourself later if you don’t try.” Cocky sniffled a bit, but then shook his head. “It’s late, and we should get some sleep, because there’s a lot to do tomorrow.” He got up.

MightiestPirate: “Yeah…” This sucked. Guybrush rubbed his face feeling exhaustion creeping on him unsure if it was from the discussion, the pizza, the beer, or all three at once. He stood up and looked over at the lago before pulling him into a hug. “Asking you to promise me something is probably a waste of breath but… at least try to make an effort and find a way to make it out alive, alright?“

AskCocky: He was a little surprised by the hug, but he accepted it nonetheless. Affection was always welcome. “It IS a waste of breath, Guybrush,” Cocky laughed a little. “But I’ll promise it anyway. Believe me: I have no intention of making it easy for those bastards to get rid of me.” He laughed a bit, then broke the hug. “There’s a new toothbrush inside a plastic bag on the shelf over the sink, in the bathroom. I buy them by the dozen since I love to have visitors. You can use it.” MightiestPirate: It wasn’t much, and he knew it wasn’t. Deep down he knew that there was little Guybrush could actually do to help out for various reason… but at the moment it was the best he could have done. He gave a tired smile and a nod while rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s always good to have. Also good to know… probably would’ve looked in the dumbest place if you haven’t told me.” Guybrush joked.

AskCocky: “Well, please don’t use the toilet brush to do it, at least.” Cocky stuck his tongue out at Guybrush. Then he gave him some sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Here, change into something more suitable for sleeping. I’ll go right after you.” He then got out some blankets for the bed bags.

MightiestPirate: “Golly me what contraption is that?” Guybrush teased with a smirk as he took the sleeping clothes and went to the bathroom. Before he closed the door he looked at the toilet and pointed at it, “Oh you mean that giant cereal bowl with the water!! Wowie.” He closed the door with a chuckle and began to change clothes.

AskCocky: “Dorkass,” Cocky muttered, snickering. He changed into a similar setup himself, he adjusted the temperature of the room, and checked the pillows. As he saw Guybrush getting out of the bathroom, he said: “Pick whatever you find more comfortable. Inflatable mattress or bed bag, it’s the same to me. Um. It’s like a hammock, only a bit more vertical… anyway, just suit yourself.” Then he got into the bathroom, already yawning his jaw out.

MightiestPirate: Thankfully there was a bottle that was clearly labeled “Toothpaste” for Guybrush, and the minty taste was a nice confirmation. As soon as he finished changed clothes, and folded the others nicely, taking it with him, he left the bathroom and saw the options. “Hmm… bed bag it is.” Guybrush said as Cocky passed by. Placing the folded clothes down, he climbed into the hammock (after various attempts to not fall off) and placed his hands behind his head, feeling a sense familiarity to the gentle swinging.

AskCocky: Cocky got out of the bathroom after a long while, then looked at the bun already set comfortably inside the bed bag. “Heh. Good night, you,” he said, and hugged his pillow. He briefly whistled a couple of notes and the lights went off on their own.

MightiestPirate: His eyes shut from the rest of the world and the gentle rocking of the swing easily put him to sleep, the last thing he heard aside from his own breathing was the few melodic notes and Cocky. “G’night…” Guybrush mumbled.

AskCocky: A good number of hours of rest later, Cocky woke up spontaneously in the darkness of the room. After stretching out, he suddenly saw the bulky bed bag. A few moments of confusion and he remembered Guybrush was there. He peered inside, but the pirate was deeply asleep. Better let the guy rest, he thought.

He himself got up and after brushing his teeth and drinking a glass of water, he remembered the bag of moon dust. Cocky went to retrieve it from a pouch in his space suit and looked at it, silvery and shiny. It looked like a good sample, or at least, good enough. Humming in a low tune to not wake his companion, he walked inside his glass workshop, where he blinked stupidly for a few minutes trying to remember something. The lago gave up and got out a tattered notebook from one of the metallic drawers inside the walls. One of the notes said: “dangerous to inhale, extremely sticky, harmful to electronics and equipment, needs neutralizer, highly ductile, melts at the lowest temp in just a few minutes.” He nodded while looking at the rest of the notes and shrugged. It shouldn’t really be that complicated, but still some precautions where needed.

Cocky put on a mask and gloves and loaded the moon dust into his glass oven and immediatly shut it close. After properly disposing of the bag, he took off his protective gear and turned the oven on. While he got his tools out, he thought about what he was going to do, and smiled.

MightiestPirate: He was peacefully asleep for a while, not too long, but reasonably enough. Hardly any tossing or turnings like usual, but the occasional shifting into a better position and not a single nightmare in sight. Just random images in his head from earlier that day forming their own stories, which was just the way Guybrush liked it.

Groggily opening his eyes, rubbing at it with the heel of his hand only to be in contact with something soft. Guybrush was greeted with the metallic plating of the ship, hearing the gentle hum as oppose to the usual wooden one, with sounds of the wave crashing into it giving the gentle rock and seagulls crowing from above.

‘Oh yeah…’ he mentally thought to himself, he stretched out his arms above his head, hearing the satisfying snap before placing them back down. He looked over, not seeing the ground and momentarily panicked before recalling that he chose a hammock to sleep in and cautiously climbed down, noting that the other bunny was missing.

AskCocky: Cocky was just placing the pieces in the cold oven when he heard footsteps. He closed it rather quickly and turned around just to see Guybrush standing on the doorframe. He smiled. “Good morning. Are you hungry? Sorry, I got distracted with stuff, I’ll get breakfast made right away.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush jumped a bit at how fast Cocky moved, not fully awake just yet he realized. Instead he slouched a bit, gave back a smile and rubbed the back of his neck. “Morning. I ah… I hope that I didn’t interrupt anything important, did I?”

AskCocky: “Nope, just doing a little glasswork, but I’m finished.” Cocky removed his tough gloves and his apron. As he put everything away and made sure everything was in order, he asked: “did you have a good sleep? What would you like to eat? Eggs, bacon, or something like pancakes, waffles, or…?” Cocky was trying really hard not to laugh at Guybrush’s hair, which seemed to be going in all directions at the same time.

MightiestPirate: “Oh, very nice um… slept just fine. Tea and eggs is more than enough.” Guybrush answered. He tilted his head in confusion at Cocky stifling his laugh. “W-what? Do I have something on my face?” He placed a hand near his own mouth, trying to find any clue to a possible drool if he had any.

AskCocky: The more he tried not to laugh, the more it was evident, finally, he couldn’t help himself and started laughing openly. “Sorry, sorry. I was just reminded of something funny.” He pointed to his own head. “Sometime I’ll tell you about the time I wore a starfish costume. In, in the meantime, you go wash your face and stuff while I fix the coffee.”

MightiestPirate: “Starfish?” He raised a confused eyebrow and touched the top of his head, “I ah… yeah. Yeah I’m gonna go get ready.” Guybrush chuckled as he went over to get his folded clothes before making way to the bathroom. As he shut the door, he looked at the mirror and lowered his head sheepishly, finally getting what Cocky meant.

The dawning realization finally caught up which in turn made Guybrush blush.

AskCocky: Cocky put water to boil and set the toaster. Then he started getting stuff out of the fridge, along with some juice, and a box of cookies Otto had baked. The lago saw Guybrush had gone out of the bathroom. “Much better! It was not quite a pirate-y look, really. Say, how would you like your eggs?”

MightiestPirate: “I didn’t know that my hair was gonna be all over the place in the literal sense… I’m usually just use to the bangs giving me issues. And scrambled is fine.” He matted down what strands of hair lair left till it resembled somewhat his usual do. “Need help?”

AskCocky: “You can just borrow one of my fur brushes, there are some in the bathroom,” Cocky smiled pleasantly and added eggs to a bowl and started beating them with a fork. “Just think of it as having a full-body beard.”

MightiestPirate: “I guess that’s one way to look at it… kinda did miss having my face with a beard and not a goatee.” Guybrush said, finger on his chin before heading to the bathroom to find said brush, a few moments later and he came back out, hair looking back in place again.

AskCocky: By the time Guybrush came back, Cocky was already serving the food. There was coffee for him, and orange juice. For Guybrush, a steaming cup of water, and a box with assorted tea bags so he could pick whatever he wanted. “Here you go. Eggs, and a bit of beans on the side. I was going to add chorizo, but you said plain scrambled eggs. Next thing you know, you’re going to think the monster from space is fattening you up to eat ya.”

MightiestPirate: “I usually make my own breakfast and it’s based on what I have on hand.” Guybrush smiled as he picked up the tea with caffine in it and dunked it a bit in the water. “And to be honest, I feel like I’ve been taken on a date. You took me to the moon, made dinner, let me crash here, and now you got me breakfast.” He chucked. AskCocky: Cocky smiled and took a sip of his orange juice. He pushed a button and the napkins appeared. “Well, you can tell your wife I took you out on a date, but better not mention we slept together,” the lago added maliciously.

MightiestPirate: He choked back on his tea before laughing. “I’ll be sure to word myself very carefully regarding that. I once told her I spent a few days inside a leviathan with this pirate hunter who was a woman. In her defense she was under this pox-like spell but still… ‘fun’ time explaining that.”

AskCocky: “And how come you’re still alive after that?? Well, I mean. I would have think she raised an eyebrow more about the being inside a leviathan.” Cocky started eating his eggs. “Boh da weh, whaffa leviaffan?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush swallowed his food first before talking, “Oh no, she did raise an eyebrow. And a sword. But the weapon was being raised at the very pirate hunter in a fit of pox- infected rage.” He took another bite out of his breakfast.

“I’ll try to nutshell it. So in my last adventure, I was out searching for this ancient artifact of sorts to suck up this pox that was infecting the Caribbean… and in order to find it I needed to travel in a leviathan-sized manatee, go to the lair where the artifact was, and face the guardian of the lair that protected said artifact which was another leviathan-sized manatee.” He answered unfazed, taking another sip from his tea.

AskCocky: “Typical. My boyfriend throws wrenches at whoever is making lovey-dovey eyes at me. At least it has not ocurred to him to use a sword.” Cocky shuddered. Then he sniffed the air. “Mmh, that’s done.” He got up to get the pieces of toast and put them on a plate in the middle of the table. “Serve yourself. Well, at least she understood no one in their right mind would get inside a giant manatee out of their free will, right?” He took a piece of toast and started munching on it.

MightiestPirate: “Thanks.” Guybrush smiled as he picked up a piece, dropping it on his plate and shook his hand a bit before reaching for the knife to spread the jam.

“Yeah, see I ah… needed to solve this one puzzle.” He stopped spreading the jam for a moment and blushed a bit “Had to… had to hook up my ride with the guardian so I can enter the lair. Thank God I was not in the manatee when it happened…” He gave an involuntary shake before taking a bite out of the toast. “Luckily Elaine more or less understood, if not gave me a very confused look.”

AskCocky: “Nah, it’s not a confused look. It’s THIS look.” Cocky just looked at Guybrush with a mix of exasperation, annoyment, disbelief and resignation. “I get that a lot, too.” Then he spread butter on his toast.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush almost spat out his drink before nodding, “Yup. That’s the expression she gave me.” He said while putting the cup down. “There should really be a name for that look.” He took a bite out of his toast before speaking. “So… what’s this about a starfish costume?”

AskCocky: The lago smiled fondly at the memories. “For some reason, some friends and I were doing a show for kids about nature. Don’t ask, I have no idea. Anyway, I got dibs on all the costumes. Starfish, and a blood cell, and who knows what else. Also, I got to jump through a ring of fire in a motorcycle. Best show ever, and I got out of it mostly unscathed.” He had finished all his food, so he opened up the cookie box and started dipping one in his coffee.

“Sounds like it was an amazing show, albeit confusing with the motorcycles and ring of fire.” Guybrush took another sip of his tea before he started giggling, “I’m sorry, I’m just… picturing you in a starfish costume on a motorcycle and…” His sentence eventually turned into laughter, the whole time apologizing through his fits.

AskCocky: “Oooh, I didn’t have the starfish costume while on the motorcycle. But I WAS playing the maracas while wearing the starfish costume. I can assure you I looked completely adorable,” Cocky said, and drank his coffee. “Are you saying you have never worn a costume that makes you look dumb, just for fun? Oh, and please, have some cookies. Otto baked them, and they’re super delish.”

MightiestPirate: “I bet, although seeing the starfish on motorcycle would’ve been a sight to see.” Guybrush said through his giggles as he wiped away his tears. After calming himself down he reached for the cookies and took a bite out of it, “Compliments to the chef.” He said happily before rinsing it down with tea. “Hmm… stupid costumes… ah! There were two occasions but they both were for a puzzle on two separate occasions.”

AskCocky: “And what were they?” The lago took another cookie and fragmented it in several pieces so it could be dunked in turn. “Man, I wish I had excuses to wear more dumb things. Then I would say: ‘Yes, but it was for a puzzle…’”

MightiestPirate: “Heh… well one time I was trying to break into my wife who was at the time my ex costume party to get a piece of a map. So I nabbed one of her guest’s reservation for a costume he had and ah… turned out he was a her and her costume was a pink dress.” Guybrush recalled, scratching his cheek sheepishly as he chuckled.

“The other time was that lactose intolerant volcano God. In order to enter you had to be a part of this fruit tribe that wore giant fruits as masks, so naturally I wore a giant piece of tofu on my head as a mask. It worked.”

AskCocky: “Whaaat, a dress is not a real costume!” Cocky started laughing really loud. “Well, not to me at least,” he said after he calmed down. “Also. lactose intolerant volcano God? Really?” And he gave Guybrush The Look.

MightiestPirate: “Hey, I’ll have you know I looked damn good in that pink dress!” Guybrush laughed before taking yet another sip from his tea, thankful that he swallowed before looking up to be greeted with The Look. “Okay, that one is complicated in terms with ridiculousness. My ex-crew needed tar-like substance and there was cheese that could and needed to be melted but the only source of heat for that was lava.” Guybrush began to explain, “So after I donned my fantastic tofu head, I part-took in the sacred sacrifice ceremont to the Volcano God. The Volcano God was, apparently, lactose intolerant. So I dumped a chunk of cheese in… and it worked.”

AskCocky: “Pfft,” Cocky got his lighter out of his pants and flicked it on. “Another one of those items I always carry around. Granted, it gets me in trouble when I’m angry-drunk, but at least I don’t have to find convoluted ways to find me a source of heat. I hope you killed that Volcano God, what kind of cheese bigot is he anyway…”

MightiestPirate: “Apparently the type of God that got indigestion when it was sacrificed humans in the past.” Guybrush twirled his drink a bit. “I use to be able to flick on matches, pretended it was a magic trick. Just need the box of it.”

AskCocky: Cocky thought about it, then pushed the lighter towards Guybrush. “Here you go. So you don’t have to sacrifice yourself to a Volcano God next time. This one is mostly new so it should last you for a while.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush blinked a bit before picking up the lighter, giving it a look over before flicking it on and quickly turning it off. “Whoa… that actually is really useful. But ah… are you sure?” He asked.

AskCocky: “Sure, I have another one right here.” Cocky got it out. “It’s nothing special, they give them away at bars as promotional items or I buy them at the gas station when I notice I don’t have one on me. And yes, they’re very useful, that’s why I always carry one or two around. Arson is very useful in my line of work as a quick clean-all solution.”

MightiestPirate: He nodded and gave the lighter another look before placing it in his pocket. “I always carry a shovel around, and if I’m lucky then a box of matches. So this works fine, thanks.” Guybrush smiled. “I’m curious though, have you ever been in a situation where you basically needed to solve it like a puzzle?”

AskCocky: Cocky finished his coffee and used a napkin to clean whatever cookies crumbs were left on his face. “Well, yes, but not very often. I mean, I sometimes have to improvise, yeah. But my solutions are usually not that convoluted, because most of the the times and most of my jobs are planned very very carefully. So if I need something, I usually have it with me or I know where to find it in a pinch. If there’s a door in the way, I know where the key is or I lockpick it or I already have a copy of the key. If there is a person in the way, I get rid of them. Everything is taken in account, so if I have to improvise, that is only due to unexpected circumstances.” He got up and started putting everything away and cleaning up. “I can’t afford to do a sloppy job.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush looked at Cocky impressed as he was finishing up his tea, he wiped his own face and went over to place the cup with the rest of the dishes. “Wish I can plan in advance, but everything tends to happen last minute for me and I don’t usually think of things in the future.”

AskCocky: “Good think your improvisational skills are this high then,” Cocky said while he finished cleaning and washing whatever few dishes and pans he used. “There’s nothing wrong with having a more general plan, or no plan at all. I used to belong to this group… eh, not important. But we had a motto. ‘Prevail’. Every one of us had different ways of approaching the same task. And my method works for ME because it takes in account how much of a weirdness magnet I am. I mean, I love surprises, but not while I’m on the job. Could get me killed. And knowing the kind of person I am… you have seen me. Planning still leaves a lot of room for chaos.” As he dried out his hands, he shrugged. “As soon as it all works out in the end, it doesn’t really matter how.”

MightiestPirate: “I suppose that’s true.” Guybrush shrugged, after a moment he just glanced at the clean pile and looked over to the lago, “Um… need any help with anything? I would ask about the kitchen but I think you got that covered just fine.”

AskCocky: “Well, you can help me pick up a destination. I mean, I have a couple of sightseeing spots already picked for you, but if you want to visit a planet, what kind would you like? Would you like to visit a city, a market, a natural spot, some otherworldy seas, what?”

MightiestPirate: “Hmm… all of those places sound amazing.” He placed a hand on his chin in thought. To see another ocean from a different planet could be fun, but Guybrush lives on the sea so it felt like it would be the equivalent of traveling to a different country but not trying out the different food. The same went to a natural spot “I never been to a city before come to think about it, always local villages. So… the city?”

AskCocky: “Sounds good! I know where to take you. In the meantime, you can look out of the window. I’m sure you’re familiar with whirlpools, right? Well, you can find them in space too. I picked this one because it’s eating up a star, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see it at all. Very pretty and deadly, so… we’re not getting any closer.” Cocky and Guybrush went to the cockpit.

MightiestPirate: “So pretty much exactly like a whirlpool.” He said, he was going to make a remark about how that description was the perfect way to explain Elaine but went quiet as his eyes widen as they got into the cockpit and saw the space whirlpool. Guybrush walked up to the window and watched as it happened, completely in awe of it all as little bits of white was getting pulled in.

“Whoa…”

AskCocky: Cocky stood there in silence for a while, the maelstrom reflected in his space-colored eyes. “This kind of thing is called a black hole. So here’s the thing about stars… they have lives, like us. And like us, they must die at some point, but of course, they last for a very, very long time. And when the time comes, some stars are assholes and decide well, if I have to die I’m taking everybody with me! And they sort of…” The lago waved his hand, struggling how to explain it. “Fall into themselves, is one way to put it. When they do, they become one of these beauts, and whatever is in the vicinity is sucked in and pulverized into nothing. Thank the gods, there were no civilizations around, or at least none that have been there for a really long time.”

MightiestPirate: While normally zoning out with any lessons, his eyes briefly looked at Cocky as he was explaining how blackholes worked with complete interest. Once it was done it went back to the other stars destruction, only imagining what that must feel like to be sucked in but at the same time look mesmerizing. After a while, he blinked, not realizing he hasn’t done it in a while and pulled away from the window.

“They’re amazing…” He said in awe.

AskCocky: “I agree! Kind of pretty, kind of terrifying. Just how I like things.” Cocky set the automatic course in his screen and pointed to a planet. “It’s going to get us a good fifteen minutes to arrive to the planet. It’s called Lacainana, and we’re going to a city called Nin. We’re going to arrive at night so you can see the lights of the buildings and stuff.” He pointed to the other room. “Let’s hang out in the couch for a while, there’s really nothing to see beyong this sucker.” He laughed. “You know, when you go back home, you’ll be able to say you saw the biggest whirlpool ever.”

MightiestPirate: “Nin…” Guybrush repeated, arms crossed but a smile was placed on his face. “Sounds like a blast.” He walked over to the couch, took a seat on it and giggled, “It’s not exactly a lie either. It IS a whirlpool… it’s just not in the sea and is in the sky. There are whirlpools that transport ships across the world intact.”

AskCocky: As they made their way to the couch, Cocky turned to look at Guybrush. “Huh? What does that mean? I don’t get it. Don’t they get crushed or torn apart?” He sat down.

MightiestPirate: “Normally, yes.” Guybrush began, “However, there are some islands that are pretty much impossible to get to unless you travel a certain way, like for example I needed to ride in a manatee in order to get to the artifact.”

He shifted his body to face Cocky, “But there is one island in particular that has only two ways to get there; a voodoo charm that knocks you out or a whirlpool that acts as a teleporter. Granted it tends to destroy ships, the people who were on it survive… usually.”

AskCocky: “Mmh. Well, that’s pretty crazy. I mean, I’m sure we could get to those islands in my ship, so why not a regular ship? Is this a magic thing, or something like that?” Cocky looked skeptical. “And this voodoo charm sounds like that thing where they blindfold you so you don’t know how to get to a place.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush, realizing how silly he must be sounding, continued. “In a way. There’s this… spell that makes the island impossible to find, many pirates have tried finding it but none of them came back. And I know I wasn’t blindfolded, because I was the one who used the spell before.” Instinctively, he reached for his coat to show the page when he grabbed at nothing and recalled how he didn’t have it anymore. “Right… but believe me when I say that it’s hidden for a good reason and I’d rather not go back there ever.”

AskCocky: “C’mon, man. You can’t just SAY something like that and expect me not to ask why.” Cocky suddenly turned serious. “Unless it’s a terrible thing that you’d rather not talk about. If that is it, then let’s just talk about anything else.”

MightiestPirate: “Well, I mean… it’s terrible by default cause it’s essentially the gateway to Hell or… something. And it’s just… I mean…” He looked over at Cocky, honestly feeling torn between telling or not. Instead, Guybrush took a deep breath before speaking again.

“It’s… the island I was trapped on.”

AskCocky: Seeing his friend was distressed, Cocky just smiled and waved it away. “Never mind, then, mate. I’m curious, but not THAT curious.” He got up. “I gotta brush my teeth, be right back, all right?”

MightiestPirate: “Ah… y-yeah, yeah alright. Oral hygiene is important.” Guybrush nodded his head, giving a small smile, “Gotta keep that award winning smile.” He stayed on the couch and slouched on a bit.

AskCocky: Cocky came back soon enough and flopped back on the couch. “So!” he said, to change topics. “We’re going shopping for a bit. Are you one of those people who hate shopping? I just need to pick up a couple of things. And, of course, we’re going to see if we can find you a coat.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush jumped when Cocky landed on the couch, but his ears perked up a bit at the mention of a coat. “If it’s tile shopping or any lawyer-esqe business work, then I can’t stand shopping. Bores me to tears. However, anything other than that, then I don’t mind it at all. What do you need to get?”

AskCocky: “You’ll see, you’ll see,” Cocky said. “A perfume is one of them. The other is… A MYSTEREEEEE.” The lago twiddled his fingers. “Hopefully you won’t chicken out when you find out what it is.”

MightiestPirate: “As long as it’s not anything with porcelain…” Guybrush muttered, noting the twiddling finger he cleared his throat and gave a smug grin while placing a hand on his hip and the other on his chest , “I mean after all, I am a Mighty Pirate™, and pirates such as myself never run from a challenge.”

AskCocky: “We’ll see about that. Hopefully we won’t have to both run from it. And what is this about porcelain?? You don’t like it? At least my hobby is glass-blowing and not pottery.” Cocky got his feathers from the coffee table and adjusted his collar on.

MightiestPirate: “Fingers crossed Lady Luck is on our side.” Guybrush crossed his own fingers as he spoke. “And it is a good thing you’re a glass blower. Porcelain kinda… it kinda freaks me out for some odd reason. Just the appearance of it is just… unnatural.” He then gave an involuntary shudder at it.

AskCocky: Cocky just frowned for a sec or two. “Oh, I get it. It’s some sort of phobia. Well, duly noted, won’t be taking you porcelain shopping. And at least my bathroom is all metallic.” He got up. “We should be getting close now, so scenery must be more interesting, and at least we can look at the other planets in the system. Let’s go.”

MightiestPirate: He sheepishly scratched his cheek before nodding “I suppose it is.” Guybrush then got up from the couch and followed Cocky, slowly becoming more and more eager at the mention of another world “Other planets? Wonder what that looks like.”

AskCocky: “Well, like that one. It’s pretty huge.” Coming from the side, a big, yellow and full of swirls planet. “Look at all that volcanic activity. Surely one of them gods is everything-intolerant. In most systems, you’ll find that there’s only one planet or two that can sustain life, and not always intelligent life, at that. Still. Doesn’t mean at some point there can't be some.”

MightiestPirate: “You mean intelligence?” Guybrush asked as the yellow planet came into view. “So basically most of the planets are like the islands I’ve been too. Inhabited, but not necessarily bright.” He continued star gazing before looking at Cocky like he had stars in his eyes, “Do other planets know about each other?”

AskCocky: “A lot of them do. Depending on their technology level, they may see, communicate, or attempt to travel to another worlds. A lot of intelligent life forms naturally evolved into umm. What we would call humanoid forms. Others are shapeless or pretty ugly.” Cocky went a little red. “Let’s just say I have seen a lot of these forms, uh, pretty close.”

MightiestPirate: There was a moment of silence between the two lagos. He had no idea how to respond to that, unsure if it was meant in the professional way or the other route, regardless of that Guybrush, whose hands were still on the window, gave Cocky The Look.

AskCocky: Cocky just burst out laughing. “I mean the HUMANOID ones, silly!” But seeing as Guybrush’s expression didn’t change, Cocky shrugged and smiled sheepishly, still pretty red. “EEeeh… I’m just a huuuge slut, you know. Completely hopeless. Hell, I’d probably shag you if we weren’t both taken and you were into guys.” Following the dead silence. “Just… so we can get THAT out of the way, y’ know.”

MightiestPirate: Now it was Guybrush’s turn to blush a deep shade of red while still being silent. Eventually he ended up breaking into laughter as well. “Well, can’t say I’m not flattered.” Guybrush answered through his laughter as he pushed himself off the window and wiping away at some tears. “Now I’m just curious. Do you mean as I am in this form or how I actually look like?”

AskCocky: “B-both.” Cocky went even redder. “…At the same time.” He turned away. “You’re cute in any shape so… eeeh.” He took a step back and covered his whole face and looked at Guybrush, horrified. “Ugh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’ll just shut up now.”

MightiestPirate: His blush was just as heavy but Guybrush couldn’t help but cover his mouth to stifle some of the laughter that was coming. “No no no, don’t be sorry it’s just… like I said it’s very flattering. Plus it’s actually really cute seeing you this fumbled over things.”

AskCocky: “I’m worst lago,” Cocky said quietly, mortified. He shook his head. “Let’s just focus on the balls… on the PLANETS,” he quickly corrected himself. He grabbed both his ears and pulled. “Get ahold of yourself, you,” he scolded, then, swallowing, he pointed outside. “And, and that one with the pretty ring, that’s… that’s all rocks, you know. I don’t remember the name. Thing’s dead and not exploitable in any way, so no one visits, and therefore no one has bothered to give it a name. I mean it DOES have a name, but it’s all numbers and letters.” He fixed his sight outside, his ears still trembling a little.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck, feeling it would be worse to laugh any further, regardless of it being funny seeing someone other than himself stumble over words. He looked at the window a bit and cleared his throat before shifting his gaze towards Cocky, noticing the ears. “Hey um… speaking as someone who tends to kinda stumble over my words and ah… holding the title of king of awkward situations… it’s um… it’s fine.” Guybrush placed a hand on Cocky’s shoulder.

AskCocky: Cocky jumped at the contact, but then turned his head around and gave Guybrush a strained smile. “My problem is not so much stumbling as being too sincere and speaking without connecting the brains first. Er. I’m glad I didn’t make you uncomfortable or something. Hopefully.” He turned his sight again. “Oh, there’s that small planet made entirely of diamond. You might want to take a look.”

MightiestPirate: He quickly retracted his hand when Cocky jumped, not wanting to make the situation any more awkward then needed. “Don’t worry about it, it’s actually nice to be honest… filter or not.” He cleared his throat once more and looked at the window, seeing the diamond planet sparkle the way it did was a sight to be seen. “It’s beautiful from here.”

AskCocky: Cocky pointed to a couple of other ships out there. “I know. It’s a popular spot for proposing. It’s a good thing they have never gone down there; I have been, and the mines are pretty filthy-looking.” He scratched his cheek, a bit more like himself. “Anyway, it’s a risky move. A lot of girls are not nearly that impressed; they usually prefer something small enough to wear on their hands.”

MightiestPirate: “Elaine wears her wedding ring as an earring, still have no idea how she got that to work.” Guybrush spoke, still looking at the sparkling planet. “Still though, I can see why people would want to propose there… diamonds have a nice meaning to it.”

AskCocky: Cocky thought about this for a while. “Maybe she got a jeweler to cut it for her?” He waved to the planet, already being left behind. “Goodbye, big-ass shiny!” He pulled Guybrush towards his chair. “C’mon, we’re about to arrive and traffic is heavy in the city, I’ll have to maneuver myself.” He sat down and buckled up.

MightiestPirate: He was not sure why, but he waved back at it as well. “Whoa um… okay.” Guybrush said as he was pulled to his chair, quickly strapping himself to his chair and held onto the edge of said seat instinctively. “Alright then, lead the ship away”

AskCocky: A couple of other planets passed by, along with some moons, and it all could be visible from the window. Traffic was starting to get heavy already, with a lot of ships coming and going, all different sizes and shapes. “Heehee, look at that cruise.” It was huge, and flying right above Cocky’s ship, and they could see its collosal mass sliding away.

MightiestPirate: “Whoa…” Guybrush spoke in awe, watching the ship sail by until it was no longer visible. “I can only imagine how cool it would be to see my own ship fly like that.” As soon as it was gone, he looked at the traffic and all the various different types of ships being flown. AskCocky: Cocky smiled while maneuvering out of the way of a space trailer. “Well, it’s pretty cool. Listen. When we get out of here and are back in deep space, we’ll pick a nice practice spot and I’ll let you take the wheel if you want to try and fly a ship. Would you like that?”

MightiestPirate: He whipped his head towards Cocky, eyes wide. “Oh uh… I-I’d be honored but it’s just um… you’d let me practice all that on your ship?” Guybrush asked, “I mean it is your ship after all and I just want to be sure, is all.”

AskCocky: Cocky reached the dark side of the planet and started the descent. “It’s okay. Once in deep space, there’s practically nothing you can crash on. I’ll teach you and of course be right next to you to direct you. Also, it’s not my ship, not really, it belongs to me and my two bffs and roomies. But eh. Really, I wouldn’t make the offer if I thought it was dangerous. I don’t want Elaine to haunt me for all eternity for killing you.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, fair enough.” Guybrush smiled as he watched the ship lower itself, tilting his head in confusion, he looked over to the pilot. “So um… speaking of roommates, where are they? I-i-if it’s alright to ask that is.”

AskCocky: “Eh. Brocky’s mom needed surgery, so they went to take care of her for a couple of weeks. Of COURSE, that’s in B’eel, and I can’t go to B’eel because I have a death warrant there.” Cocky made a face and shrugged. “Not that it has stopped me before, but it’s best if I don’t show my face around there until it’s the proper time.” He turned to look at Guybrush. “Where IS Winslow, by the way?”

MightiestPirate: “He tagged along with Elaine, apperantly he knew the locals well enough that he can act as a sort of median between her and the village chief or something” Guybrush answered, “I would’ve joined but someone needed to keep an eye on the ship while they were out.”

AskCocky: “Mmh.” Cocky suspected they have left Guybrush at the ship so the diplomatic mission didn’t turn into a neverending puzzle or a life-or-death situation. “Do they leave you watching over the ship a lot?”

MightiestPirate: He shook his head, “No, usually it’s me that’s out and about dealing with locals and other bizarre things while Winslow watches the ship. When we sailed near it’s shore, Winslow instantly recognized the place and waved at a local who was… more than eager to see him. So Elaine asked him to join along for it.”

AskCocky: Cocky just raised his eyebrow at this but preferred not to ask. “Ah, okay, then.” He pointed to the window. Over the blanket of clouds, in the darkness, several towers of curvy designs raised in pillars of wonderful colored lights. The blanket itself glowed with a radioactive blue look. “That’s Nin, under there. See? Some people are so fancy-shmancy they live above the clouds.”

MightiestPirate: His eyes widen as he leaned himself towards the window in awe, it was a polar opposite to where he was living. “It looks like an ocean…” Guybrush said, “Tallest place I lived in was briefly on top of a mountain, but I bet that living here has to be one heck of a view to wake up to every morning.” He continued looking at the light display the curved buildings were emitting.

AskCocky: “One thing I gotta concede is that it must be super fun to live up there during lightning storms.” Cocky started to descend. Soon they were brushing the radioactive cloud sea again. “Wheeeee!” he said festively, and dunked in the clouds to emerge on the other side. The landscape was an overwhelming sight of colorful lights that moved and danced, ships, buildings, bridges, trains, and spot lights crossing the sky in all directions.

MightiestPirate: “Oh, I bet that is something to watch.” He agreed. At this point, as the ship got closer to the city landscape, Guybrush leaned further trying to look at anything and everything outside the ship, it was like a festive carnival at full swing with everything on the go. “I’ve only seen a handful of islands that are as festive as this, but this… this is at a whole new level.” Guybrush spoke in wonder. “…It’s like if the circus never left.”

AskCocky: “Pretty, huh? But I honestly dislike living in big cities. I think they get overwhelming after a while. But I have no problem visiting, and shopping, and going to see shows or dancing or bar-hopping…” Cocky located a parking lot nearby and directed the ship there. He landed softly, and as soon as it stopped humming, Cocky unfastened his seat belt. “C’mon, let’s go explore,” he said chipperly.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was already three steps ahead, basically glowing as he was near the door with his eagerness to get out of the ship and see the city. It was practically taking over anything rational train of thought. That… and he didn’t realize how much he would like to step out of the metallic hold for a bit. He paused for a bit before scratching his cheek, “Um… we’re not gonna need spacesuits, will we?” Guybrush asked. He felt like he already knew the answer, but he wanted to be sure.

AskCocky: “Naaah…” Cocky started saying, but then he thought about it. “Not spacesuits, but maybe it’ll be cold. I’m kind of too half-naked, so I guess I’ll put on a jacket. And I’ll let you borrow one too, that is kind of a rather thin shirt.” He went to the bedroom and brought one jacket for him and another for Guybrush. Seeing as how the pirate was a bit confused by the zipper, he helped him out. “There, now we’re ready to romance Nin.”

MightiestPirate: After adjusting the zipper to not be so close to his face (as well as playing with it a bit), Guybrush placed his hands in his pockets and nodded in agreement, feeling a spring in his step and ready to go. “I agree, let’s.”

AskCocky: They stepped out to a wild variety of sensations. The smells were everywhere: food, fuel, smoke, and a variety of undefinable things, ranging from pleasant to weird. The noises were as well. There was a variety of land vehicles too, as well as traffic overheard, and Guybrush almost stepped into traffic if not for Cocky pulling him back. There was a light to cross, and everybody crossed at the same time. “Sorry, this is kind of a busy street, but a bit ahead it’s less hectic,” Cocky apologized. MightiestPirate: Loud. It was very loud. And it’s not that Guybrush was unfamiliar with being in a loud environment, in fact it was the opposite and he was more than use to it. It was just he wasn’t expecting it to be THIS loud outside of a bar… or in general. He held on to his own chest, feeling his heart racing during the last few minutes and nodded at Cocky in understanding as the crossed the street, it was partially his own fault for not really paying attention to when everyone stopped walking and instead was too busy looking up.

MightiestPirate: As they crossed the street, Guybrush didn’t really pay attention as the person in front of him suddenly stopped walking and proceeded to walk right into them. “Oof!! S-sorry!! I didn’t–” Guybrush began to apologize but immediately stopped when the bizarre creature in front of him gave him what he assumed a dirty look before huffing and walking away. “…Sorry.” Guybrush apologized to no one, noting that he was a few steps behind from Cocky and made a quick jog to catch up with him.

AskCocky: Cocky looked around, a bit alarmed, when he saw Guybrush catching up to him. He waited until they had crossed the street and said: “Mate, don’t go wandering about. If I lose you in this crowd I’ll never be able to find you, and hardly no one speaks english in this side of the galaxy.” He surveyed the street, but it was a sea of creatures. He took Guybrush’s hand. “C’mon, let’s just take a shortcut through here.”

MightiestPirate: “Ah… yeah. Sorry.” Guybrush muttered, allowing himself to be pulled by Cocky as he watch the creatures of various shapes and sizes pass by him, some even giving him a wink and a glance which in turn made Guybrush blush and lower his ears.

“S-so where are we heading to first?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: “Just a bit up the street, there’s a nice dancing fountain, we can stop a bit there to look around without being run over by this crowd.” He turned around and noticed Guybrush was blushing. He thought it was because of the hand-holding, so he let go.

“Oh, that actually sounds really nice.” Guybrush answered, when he felt Cocky let go of his hand, he felt himself slip back from the wave of the crowd and jogged once more, quickly grabbing Cocky’s hand once more as if it was his only lifeline in the sea of creatures.

AskCocky: Cocky was a little surprised and more than a bit confused, but he let Guybrush hold onto his hand. At least the initiative had been his own. It was a good thing, too, because even with the hand holding there was a real danger of Guybrush simple being pulled back into the crowd due to its thickness. Cocky was quite relieved when they got out of the street and reached the fountain.

The fountain was huge, several levels and layers of water that danced to the rhythm of music, illuminated by a million changing color lights. As they watched, several squirts traveled around as if they were playful water creatures. MightiestPirate: As soon as Guybrush saw the water fountain, his hand slowly let go of Cocky’s and dropped to his side. He looked like a deer in headlights, he’ll admit, and granted he has seen his fair share of water fountains, but this was at a whole new level. It easily put all the ones he saw in all the Governors Mansions to shame with the way the lights hit the liquid and how it jumped around from one place to another.

AskCocky: “Well, do you like it? Look at that part over there, you can see a shadow show, and over there the water is twirled around in several forms. And I like the music they have on at this hour, it’s pretty good.” Cocky started dancing without even noticing.

MightiestPirate: “There’s so much to look at.” Guybrush said with a smile, “I feel almost bad if I look at anything else that’s going on.” He tapped his foot to the music when he turned around to look at Cocky dancing, giggling a bit but not saying anything to ruin the bunny’s fantastic groove.

AskCocky: “Well, look at your heart’s content,” Cocky said, without even stopping dancing. “Also, look at the tall buildings all you want, you can do so here without getting run over by a vehicle or bumping into a traffic light.” The lago jumped on a low ledge of the fountain and resumed his dancing there, complete with acrobatic jumps and breakdancing.

MightiestPirate: “I suppose that’s true.” Guybrush agreed, recalling the huge creature from earlier. “Don’t want to run into them again…” He placed his hands on his hips and chuckled, “But, okay, see, NOW you’re just showing off with those dance moves.”

AskCocky: Cocky stopped and jumped down the ledge, laughing. “You’re right, I should not be attracting attention to myself like this. But sometimes music is just so irresistible! Ooooh,” he moaned, and bobbled his head around.

MightiestPirate: “Who knows, maybe you will get a talent agent to help you get a dance role.” Guybrush laughed at the theatrical Cocky. When he saw him look like he was swooning, Guybrush rushed over to catch the lago, unaware that with one hand on his back and the other holding his hand, he looked like he was dipping the white bunny.

AskCocky: Cocky’s eyes flew wide open. “Whoaa hey, I didn’t know you wanted to dance together!,” the lago laughed, and completed the dip by raising his knee.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s own eyes widen, and a hint of a blush appeared before he ended up laughing himself, “I ah… heh, wasn’t the original idea, but sure why not?“

AskCocky: Cocky straightened up, and twirled away from Guybrush, then twirls back near. He started laughing and moving with the rhythm, until he saw Guybrush doing something really strange with his legs. “Hahaha, what are you doing???”

MightiestPirate: The truth was he had no idea, “Um… dancing?” He stopped, rubbed the back of his neck and laughed embarrassingly. “I ah… I can’t dance. Got two left feet going on when it comes to rhythmic solo dancing… or any kind of dancing really. This is the best I got going solo.” AskCocky: But Cocky dismissed this. “No, no, no. This thing you’re doing. You take a step and you bend your knee and…” He tilted his head in puzzlement. “Teach me how to do that, I wanna do that too.”

MightiestPirate: He raised his eyebrows both in shock and confusion, “Oh um… sure.” Guybrush once more rubbed his neck before standing next to Cocky, “Okay so… keep your hands kinda to your side, but not so close and you put one foot down here, but have most of your weight like this so when you jump from one foot, you land on the one in the air and you just kinda… kinda flail it– okay no, don’t karate kick.”

After a while, Guybrush showed Cocky his “dance”. “Alright, there you go!! You got this.”

AskCocky: “Oooooh,” Cocky said as he repeated Guybrush’s moves. A failed attempt or two and then he suddenly got it and he started dancing like that. “Another one for my repertoire!” he said cheerfully. “Dance like a Pirate!”

“MightiestPirate: Heh heh, never hurts to have a series of dance moves.” Guybrush smiled, “What other styles of dancing do you have under your belt anyways, Cocky?” He asked in interest.

AskCocky: “Pfooooo! Everything!!” Cocky said, without ever stopping dancing. “Well, everything I have seen, at least. Recently a friend taught me how to tango. That was… enjoyable.” He blushed a little. “Anyway! I love to dance, and I’m a real fast learner, so I know at least three or four steps of everything. That way they can’t caught me just standing around in the dance floor, looking confused. Do you like dancing, too?”

MightiestPirate: He nodded, “Yeah, aside from the erm… dance moves earlier, I can do a little bit of tango myself but I fair better with ball room dancing oddly enough. Also I can hula pretty darn well if I do say so myself.” Guybrush placed a hand where the top of the zipper was on his jacket.

AskCocky: “Hula, really??” Cocky looked excited. “C’mon, show me your hula moves.”

MightiestPirate: “W-whoa wait, right here? Now?” Guybrush looked surprised as he turned and looked at the other residents walk by. “Alright.” He figured that since he was probably never going to see them again, he shrugged and cleared his throat and proceeded to hula almost flawlessly.

AskCocky: Cocky observed Guybrush dance attentively, and then started imitating him. Soon they were in sync. The lago never even stopped as applause erupted around them, and they noticed they have garnered quite an auddience.

MightiestPirate: He could’ve sworn he heard someone (or two) whistling that he quickly stopped and looked around at the audience surrounding them. Guybrush eye glanced at Cocky and gave him a small tap to his shoulder to acknowledge the people before taking a bow.

AskCocky: Cocky bowed as well, infinitely pleased. He knew it was a bad idea to attract attention like that, but it was still somehow more or less inevitable. He waved to the crowd and as it dispersed, he picked up some money off the ground. “Oooh, seems like we have a new career choice, Guybrush.”

MightiestPirate: He watched the people walk away some even trying to imitate what the two just did. “If pirating fails me, I know who to go to be my dance partner.” Guybrush smiled. He picked up a coin from the ground and flicked up and before catching it again. “Definitely beats joining the circus.”

AskCocky: “Or joining the army,” Cocky made a face. “Say, what do you want to do now?? We could go to the Arena and watch some machine fights, we could do the shopping, we could just walk around… what you in the mood for?”

MightiestPirate: “Machine fights? Like, animatronics? People actually watch that?” Guybrush made a confused face, “Still… that’s interesting, hmm…” He placed a hand on his chin trying to think of something to do in the city. “I guess for now stroll around a bit… I honestly don’t know much about massive cities so I don’t know what to check out.”

AskCocky: “Walking around it is. Let’s go in that direction, that way we won’t have to crowd-surf until we reach a place we can even stand on.” Cocky started walking and waved good-bye to the fountain. “So long, Big Wet!”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, lead the way then.” Guybrush said, giving one last look at the fountain and smiled. “Now all the other fountains I’ll ever see would disappoint me unless it reaches that level of intricacy.” He paused a moment before looking over to Cocky.

“Crowd surf?”

AskCocky: “Oh, you learn to appreciate the small things, Guybrush. This fountain is beautiful, and real fun, but a very small fountain is probably more relaxing to watch.” Cocky started walking along Guybrush, a little behind him so he could check they were still together and Guybrush could look around without fear of being lost. “And crowdsurfing is when… there’s a concert, and a crowd, and you jump on the crowd and they just pass you back and forth on their hands?” He tried to mimick it to explain it.

MightiestPirate: “So like sailing but without a boat in a sea of people.” Guybrush spoke, placing his hands in his pockets. “Kinda sounds like fun and a neat way to get across from one room to another… if not a bit unhygienic.” He looked up at the skyscrapers in awe, not really caring that he looked like a tourist.

AskCocky: “As experiences go, it’s super exhilarating. But yes, unhygienic. And you get groped a lot, or course.” Cocky smiled. “But very very fun! As long as some asshole doesn’t let you fall down for kicks. He pointed to the side. “Look, there goes the floating train. Those are not rails, they’re just an indication that’s the way the train rolls, and how big it is. That’s so flying vehicles don’t crash into it.” MightiestPirate: “Sounds like a party and then some.” He gave Cocky a smirk as he talked about the crowd surfing before looking at the train zooming on by. “Whoa… looks like something out of a dream.” Guybrush spoke in awe as it vanished towards the buildings, quickly looking towards the lago like a child “Where does the train go?”

AskCocky: “It has stops in several places of Nin. We can go to the market district by train to do the shopping, it’d be more fun than if we use my ship anyway. Hey, there’s a station like three blocks from here.” Cocky smiled at Guybrush, enjoying his excitement. “What do you say, mate? Wanna ride the train?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s ears perked up and that smile of his basically took up his entire face, his hands curled into a fist but close to his chest and glowing with excitement as he nodded his head eagerly. “Yes!! Let’s go!!” Guybrush almost jumping with joy.

AskCocky: Cocky laughed and patted Guybrush on the back. If there was something he respected, it was someone who was not afraid to show their emotions. “Let’s go ride the train, buddy.” As they walked along, some very intrusive ad holograms stood in their way. “Ugh, get the Hell out of my face,” Cocky complained, and tried to wave them away.

MightiestPirate: It was silly for him to be this excited, but it couldn’t be helped. He followed Cocky as close as he could when suddenly a creature popped in front of his face, it appeared as some humanoid figure though far from human and speaking in some foreign language. It caused Guybrush to jump back a bit, giving a yelp in surprise, “Ah… sorry but I need to get through.” Guybrush tried to circle around it but when it reached out for his face he instinctively attempted to swat it away, only to have his hand phase through it’s.

“Ahh…. C-Cocky….” Guybrush stuttered.

AskCocky: “Sorry, this things are everywhere.” Cocky yelled at the ad in the same foreign language and the creature vanished from existence. “Hahah, I think they were inviting you to some kind of cathouse. Or maybe it was a petting farm. I’m not sure, I don’t speak that language that well.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush looked between where the hologram was and his hand for a moment before putting his hand down. “R-Right… thanks for that” He said, trying to get as much distance as he could away from the petting ad. “I don’t think I wanna find out what they’ve been trying to say. What were those things anyway?”

AskCocky: Cocky thought about this a moment. “Well, basically, they’re like billboards? I mean, it’s not a real creature… just a very realistic image of one. And they’re trying to sell you something. They’re a real pest.” He smirked. “If you ever met a used boat salesman you should know what I’m talking about.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh…” He paused in thought before he made a face of utter annoyance. “Oh… God they evolved.” Guybrush muttered before placing a hand on his face and pulling it down until it dropped to his side. “Thank goodness Stan is not here to see any of this… I take it that there’s a lot of flashy in your face wavey arms kind of marketing?”

AskCocky: “Yes, exactly. I mean, I don’t mind those.” Cocky pointed up at the big screens with bright and colorful images flashing by. He also pointed to the neon signs. “Because they don’t get in my way and some of them are even entertaining. But the hologram thingies… ugh! And don’t EVEN get me started on those terrible jedi salesmen. ‘This is the vaccuum cleaner you’re looking for’. Wish I could strangle them, and with my real hands, too!” He huffed, then shook his head when he realized he was getting worked up. “Who’s Stan?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s arms were crossed and had raised an eyebrow at Cocky’s rant in amusement. Noting that advertisements have in fact changed it’s game. He snapped back to full attention when asked who the infamous Stan was. “Stan is that terrible jedi salesman you want to strangle.” He said with a smirk, “He sells used boats, coffins, death certificates, real estate, and the most recent one on the list, lawyers. But through it all he knows how to lower my patience and have the puzzle solution… kinda have a love/hate relationship going.”

He paused for a bit before tilting his head in confusion, “Real hands?”

AskCocky: “Uuuuugh,” Cocky rolled his eyes. “Jedis do this thing where they strangle someone at a distance, like this… imagine I’m strangling you, only I’m not touching you. Only they do still do it when they’re like a foot away from the person and it’s literally easier to strangle them with their actual hands instead of their freaky powers. If you ask me, they’re nothing more than a bunch of space wizards. And I really. REALLY. Hate. WIZARDS.” Cocky stopped in front of a beverage vending machine, pondering.

MightiestPirate: “I feel that… though not with jedis or wizards but with voodoo priestesses and anything related to all things spooky.” Guybrush answered while wiggling his fingers as if casting a charm before shoving his hands back in his pockets. “Trust one for a good decade till I found out she was behind all the crap I’ve been through and is partially the main reason my arch nemesis kept reviving over and over again.”

He looked at the vending machine and smiled at it when he recognized the familiar brand. “He- ey… I didn’t know they had Grog XD!!”

AskCocky: “See? SEE WHAT I’M SAYING? Screw wizards!! I…” Cocky paused. “What’s Grog? Is that any good?”

MightiestPirate: “My friend, you are preaching to the choir over here in terms of frustration with anything regarding arcane magic mambo jumbo nonsense.” Guybrush said as he walked up to the vending machine, pulled out the coin from earlier, and placed it in before punching in the number for it. “Grog is kinda like beer but WAY more intense to the point that it can burn through wood and metal. Granted this is ‘friendlier’ version of it and has far too much sugar than rum but it’s worth a try.” As soon as he heard it land to the bottom, he took the can and held it. “Wanna sip?”

AskCocky: Cocky nodded, thinking it sounded interesting at least. He took the can from Guybrush and took a swig. He swirled it around a bit, then swallowed. “Mate, this tastes like death took a crap in my mouth, and then that crap took another crap in my mouth. And then both craps died.” He returned the can. “I think I’ll have some ginger ale, thank you very much.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush laughed, “Well I never said that it was good. Just that it was the ‘friendlier’ version of it.” He took the can and gave it a bit of a swirl himself, “Although if you think this is intense, I am really curious to see how you handle actual grog.” He took a sip of it before making a face. “Yup… just as nauseatingly sweet as the one back home.” He stared at the drink for a bit before taking a massive swing at it and chugging the whole thing down. After a few minutes of a sour face, he tossed the can in the bin and gave a shudder.

“Uggh… and still just as terrible…”

AskCocky: “Well, I never said I thought it was intense. Remember, I ate that pepper?” Cocky swirled the ginger ale around his mouth to wash the taste off. It’s just, well, you said it yourself. Pretty terrible. I have no idea why you’re drinking it. Just as we speak, I can actually see your will to live diminishing.” The lago took another sip and started walking again. “I thought you wanted to try different things?”

MightiestPirate: “No no… I do remember what you said about the pepper and I’m still up for new things…more now than usual. I thought it was going to be less sugary and evil.” Guybrush spoke as he spat out any lingering taste in his mouth. “That and I didn’t want that coin to go to waste… well more so than it already was in any case.”

AskCocky: Cocky shook his head and put another coin in the machine. “Oh dear, I guess that one is gonna go to waste. Unless you pick another beverage, even if it’s only to wash off that terrible thing off your mouth.” He smiled.

MightiestPirate: “So it would seem.” He returned the smile and a chuckle. Guybrush saw a drink that looked dangerously close to root beer, deciding against it, he pointed at the lemonade instead.

AskCocky: Cocky pushed the button and gave Guybrush the can. “I didn’t know you liked xenki soda. Granted, not everybody can appreciate the health benefits of xenki liver bile and brain juice. And it’s funny how those little guys look exactly like lemons.”

MightiestPirate: After chugging some of the drink down and having the sugar finally rinse away, Guybrush did a spit-take with his drink and held the can at arms length with his eyes wide in shock. “I… there’s a whole alien species that look and taste like lemons?!” AskCocky: Cocky laughed. “I’m just kidding! That IS lemonade.” He started walking. “And xenki actually look like giant bugs that could stomp on your face if you speak to them before their morning coffee. Anyway, drink it, it’s good for your soul and prevents scurvy, which is a nice plus.”

MightiestPirate: His shoulders sagged and shook his head, “Smart-ass.” Guybrush remarked with a smile, giving the drink another look over before drinking the rest of the content in the can. When it was finished, he tossed the can into the bin and followed Cocky.

AskCocky: Cocky finished his own drink, crushed the can and tossed it in the blue recyclable garbage bin. They walked, admiring the city and pointing here and there. At some point, Cocky turned around and thought he saw someone he knew, but the face got lost in the crowd. He frowned and ran to catch up to Guybrush, who had continued walking without him and was at risk of getting lost. The foot traffic was not so heavy here, but it was still heavy.

“Nin has a very diverse population, and this is one of the reasons I brought you here. As you can see, there’s people from almost every intelligent race out there. That way you get to see them without us having to visit all those planets. Oh, and there are also the half robots, and the sentient robots. So, what do you think so far?”

MightiestPirate: He bumped into one of the sentient robots and instinctively apologized, but instead of expecting some disgruntled grunt, the robot just gave a few beeps and a thumbs up before walking away.

“It’s incredible.” Guybrush began, watching the robot disappear into the crowd and continuing his own people watching, “It’s like being at port where you can see everyone from around the world but just on a much bigger scale.”

AskCocky: “Yeah, exactly like that. And the better thing is you-” Cocky choked on his last word. Just a bit ahead on the street, a big, bird-like alien was standing on the doorstep of a cafe. It was really hard to know if he was looking at them. Nonetheless, a big brute that looked vaguely like a rhinoceros blocked his sight, and Cocky, trembling, just pulled Guybrush rather brusquely inside a dark shop.

MightiestPirate: “W-whoa!!” Guybrush gasped as he was suddenly yanked into the store. For a brief moment he saw a store clerk who looked at then but just shook their head and went back to reading. He looked from the clerk to Cocky, noticing that he was shaking and placed both hands on his shoulders.

“Cocky… Cocky what’s wrong? What happened?”

AskCocky: Cocky shook his head and pulled Guybrush further into the shop. He was not sure what was being sold there. Boxes of things. It didn’t matter. “There was one of them out there,” he said, looking at his friend with a tiny, helpless voice. “What is he doing here??? They usually stick to their own kind.” His fears were flat against his head in fear. “We can’t go out now.” MightiestPirate: He bit his lip, trying to understand but not wanting to upset the lago. They were pretty far back that Guybrush could barely see in front of him but was able to recognize Cocky’s form and spoke in a hush tone “Own kind… look, everything is going to be fine, alright? Let me help, who was out there?”

AskCocky: “One of my enemies. The enemies of B’eel, my planet. One of the Khail.” Cocky winced. “You know, it’s been a long time since I saw one in the flesh. Not since the slave camps… it’s been years. I almost expected him to have a sonic whip in his hand…” He rubbed his cheek scars almost compulsively, then looked at Guybrush. “You must think I’m crazy.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s heart went out to the bunny, he gave a sigh and kept both hands on his shoulders looking straight into Cocky’s eyes, “Okay, first off, if I thought you were crazy, I wouldn’t be here in this situation at all.” He began, keeping a calm tone, “And seeing something or someone that terrifies you is understandable. It’s normal even. Trust me, I know what it’s like.” He gave a smile “I’m your friend and I’m gonna do what I can to help, like I said… everything is going to be fine.”

AskCocky: “Thank you.” Cocky nodded. He felt sick, so he just steadied himself grabbing Guybrush’s arms and tried to concentrate on breathing. After a while, he said. “Could you… could you check if he’s gone? Tall, dark, bird-looking guy. Don’t let him see you. Remember, you’re a lago as well.”

MightiestPirate: He didn’t want to upset the lago anymore than needed and decided to not ask what would’ve happened if he was caught. Giving a nod, Guybrush gave Cocky another look of concern before gently letting go and heading towards the door to leave the store. He took a few steps out and looked around for the description of the creature.

“Tall dark bird… tall dark bird… where oh where is Mr. Tall-Dark-Bird.” Guybrush mumbled to himself when from the corner of his eyes he saw something that almost matched that description, he whipped his head at the direction and found the creature, only it’s back was facing him. Quickly ducking so as not to be seen, Guybrush peered from between people’s legs and saw the bird- creature stomp away, letting a sigh of relief escape that he didn’t know he was holding.

AskCocky: Cocky was in the darkest corner of the shop, his knife already out and in his fist, glistening in the dark. “Is he still out there? Is he?” he asked eagerly, with a very odd voice. Instead of fear, it showed anticipation. He was trembling with his whole body.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush walked back in the store and gave the clerk there a small wave as it rolled it’s various eyes and went back to reading “Different planet, same clerk…” Guybrush mumbled. The further he went in, the more dark it became and the more he had to squint when he saw the gleam of the knife, instinctively raising both hands to his chest to show he was harmless. “Whoa… easy there.” Guybrush began in a calm voice as he took gentle steps closer and calmly placed a hand over the Cocky’s that was wielding the weapon, “Everything is fine… Birdman left towards the opposite direction.”

AskCocky: “Gone?” Cocky looked at Guybrush’s hand over his own and stared at the knife, as if wondering how it got there. “Gone.” He shuddered a couple of times and then he put the knife back in his belt. He just stood there for a minute or two, blinking, and then he exhaled. “Let’s go, buddy. Sorry about all this.” He headed to the door.

MightiestPirate: “Um… no need to apologize.” He frowned a bit at what transpired, watching the knife being placed away. Guybrush went over to place a hand on Cocky’s shoulder. “Hey, uh… look if you want we can go somewhere that has little to no people in the area if you want. I’d be okay with that.”

AskCocky: Cocky shook his head. “No, it’s okay. I was their prisoner for too long, I sure as hell am not going to let them dictate what I do now.” He looked at Guybrush. “Let’s go catch that train and I can sit for a bit and try to calm down.” Pulling his sleeves back, he jumped up and scaled the brick wall as if he was a spider. Then, up in the ledge and grabbing a windowsill, he looked up and down the street. He saw nothing, so he quickly slid down a lamp post. “Bastard’s gone,” Cocky said, visibly more calm. “Let’s go.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush gave an impressed whistle to Cocky’s climbing “Wish I can climb that fast.” As soon as the lago landed back down, he gave a nod and a small smile in understanding. “Sounds like a plan. So ah… which way do we head?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: “It’s part of the trade,” Cocky smiled. “Just that way, as we were doing.” He was a bit nauseated still, but thankfully that was fading away. Idly, he looked at the store they had been in. “A whole store just to sell bolts and nuts. No surprise it was so freaking boring.” Then he started walking fast, but making sure Guybrush was following, and also making sure they were not followed.

MightiestPirate: “Would explain why the storekeep was pretty relaxed with us in there.” Guybrush added. Even in this new form, Guybrush was glad that he wasn’t that short and didn’t require much of a jog to keep up although it did mean keeping his focus on the white bunny so as not to get suddenly lost in the crowd that was zooming on by.

AskCocky: Cocky eventually started walking a bit slower, figuring that almost running would attract attention too. They reached the train station and walked up some stairs. Cocky bought two tickets off a machine in the wall, and he gave one to Guybrush. “Here is your ticket. It’s good for two trips, so don’t lose it. Here’s how you use it.” Cocky put it in a slot in what looked to be a plastic door frame. Cocky crossed to the other side and picked his ticket, which had been punched once. “Now it’s your turn.”

MightiestPirate: “Whoa, neat.” Guybrush remarked, he held to the ticket tightly and watched Cocky carefully. Once he saw how it worked, he copied exactly what was done and got to the other side, picking up the punched ticket and placing it cautiously in his pocket while giving the lago a smile.

AskCocky: Cocky smiled back. “C’mon, I think the next one is going out soon.” They rushed to the train as some loud beeping gave the signal the doors were about to close. They found two seats, and Cocky sat on the aisle one so Guybrush could have the window. The train had seatbelts. “Fasten up, this thing goes pretty fast.” As soon as they did, the train started moving, and soon they were flying over the city.

MightiestPirate: As soon as he stepped foot into the train, the door slammed shut behind him. Guybrush whipped his head at it but then followed Cocky and sat next to the window, quickly putting on his seatbelt without a moment hesitation and watched it take off. It was more like a ship than it was an actual train, and yet he saw several people just sitting and reading their books, checking weird devices, and so on and so forth. Instead of people watching, he looked over at the window, face practically pressed against it as he watched the train hover above the city below. It kinda reminded him of a roller coaster for a moment.

He was running out of words to describe how incredible all of this was, so he opted to just continue staring out the window in amazement.

AskCocky: As the train circled around the building, Cocky pointed to the landmarks of the city. “That there is the Library of Nin, it has millions of books in old-fashioned paper form. And that there is the art museum, and that is the Church of the Formless… see all the bonfires? The City of Nin has tried to shut that crap down for decades, but I guess the Church has people on top. And that over there is the aqueduct, and the sex district, and the nerd district…”

MightiestPirate: “Nerd district?” Guybrush raised an eyebrow at that while pulling his face away from the window. Sure there were plenty of other districts to snap Guybrush’s attention to what Cocky was saying but for some reason the last one stuck out the most. “What’s there? Bunch of people babbling about plot holes and inconsistencies?”

AskCocky: “All that and more,” Cocky admitted. “Card tournaments. Cosplay. Zombiewalks. People who roleplay all day without even getting sleep or food.” Cocky rolled his eyes. “It’s like Comic Con, the district. I mean, it does sound like a lot of fun, but not to do it 24/7, you know? I heard you can only get on the train outta there if you roll a perfect 20.”

MightiestPirate: “Ugh… that sounds both incredibly hard and terrible. Especially that role playing thing, I mean, who has the patience to stay in a role of some fictional character for more than a couple of minutes let alone for a few hours?” Guybrush made a disgusted face as the train went past the nerd district, seeing a group of them holding signs about an ‘oh-tee-pee’. “What a weird group of people…”

AskCocky: “OTP sounds like a hemorrhoid cream.” Cocky gave a derisive little laugh. “Granted, there are far more terrible outlets for the crazy. I mean… Church of the Formless? Just from the top of my head. Look! There’s the Arena! I guess there’s some kind of monster truck fight going on right now,” Cocky said, pointing to the mad machines.

MightiestPirate: “A church celebrate not having a form. …Yeah I suppose that is on the odd end of the spectrum…” Guybrush looked back at the window to see the carniage that was happening, being able to hear the cheers from all the way in the train. “So this Arena thing… it’s like a gladiator arena but with cars?” He asked, with a confused eyebrow raised.

AskCocky: The train stopped briefly to let the passengers that were going to the Arena off the train. “They have all sorts of fights down there. Even races. But mostly fights. Sports, beasts, robots, ships, cars, trucks… everything. From time to time, exhibition events too.” The train started again.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded in understanding before he heard a loud crunch followed by a roar of cheering from below, looking back at the Arena and seeing what looked like an explosion happening. “Multi-useful arena… got it. Do you check out that kind of stuff?” He asked out of curiosity.

AskCocky: “Heck yeah!” Cocky said enthusiastically. “Hahaha… I know a guy. For a little bribe, you and I could get inside of one of those monster trucks, if you’d like,” Cocky pointed to the wretched wreck.

MightiestPirate: “Ah…” One part of Guybrush was screeching that it was the dumbest and easily most dangerous thing he could toss himself into. And that he should really be responsible and politely decline the offer. Instead, what came out was Guybrush giving a smirk, “You know what… sure. Why not?”

AskCocky: The train had stopped again. It was as if a firework lit inside Cocky’s head. “SWEET, COME ON!” Cocky unfastened both seatbelts and grabbed Guybrush by the collar, pulling him out of the train just before the doors snapped shut. ARENA SOUTH, read the luminiscent markee. “Let’s do this! Come on come on come on!” Cocky grabbed Guybrush’s hand and ran.

MightiestPirate: “Heh, wha– WHOA!!” That smirk instantly disappeared the moment he got yanked from the train. Everything zoomed by faster than the ship or the train combined, he ran as fast as he could just to keep up with Cocky who seemed to have been doing most of the running, honestly he was surprised he wasn’t flying around like a rag doll just yet.

But he’d take Cocky being this happily energetic over what he saw earlier anytime of the week.

AskCocky: It all went in a flash and soon they found themselves strapped to the seats of a huge truck with monstruous, intimidating wheels with spikes on them. Everything had spikes, or skulls, or devils or flames. They were on a mound in the Arena, surrounded by 100,000 people roaring, and several other similar trucks, some of them even bigger. The engine was on, and it purred loudly. “OooohHOOHOHOOOO, they added a firepit, that’s new!!” Cocky turned to look at Guybrush, a mad grin like a Cheshire cat and eyes with evil lights swirling behind. “Well, Mighty Pirate™? Are you ready to do this??!”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was too busy having his fingers practically digging into the chair, ears completely down, and eyes wide staring at the death abyss in front of him, not even risking looking at Cocky for a second. “To be completely honest, absolutely not. But seeing as backing out now is not even an option and the hundred of thousands of people are currently looking right at us, might as well give them one hell of a show.”

He finally turned his head to give a very nervous chuckle and a shaky thumbs up before gulping when he heard someone honk their horn to the tune of the funeral march.

AskCocky: “WHAAAAT THIS WAS YOUR IDEA????” Cocky heard the horn and pointed out of the window. “Hahaha, good one, asshole!” He laughed madly again and honked his own horn, to the tune of La Cucaracha. The lago turned to Guybrush with that scary grin. “Anyway, Guybrush Threepwood, here we are, spitting in the face of Murphy’s Law!” Everyone started revving up their engines as the spotlight fell on the cars. The crowd was chanting. “One…. two…”

“LIVE FEARLESS!” Cocky roared. “DIE LIKE A LEGEND! HERE WE COME, BITCHES!!”

MightiestPirate: While it was inaudible over the roars of the crowd and the various engines, a high pitch girl scream was emitted out of Guybrush throat once Cocky slammed the gas petal at full force, but after the initial shock, Guybrush joined in the insanity with about just as much trash talk and laughter.

AskCocky: Something like twenty years later Guybrush and Cocky were doubled up in pain, laughing so much they could barely breath. They also could barely walk, and they were using each other as walking crutches. “And HAHAHHA did you see the HAHAHA, it, it was on fire and then the guy AAAaRHHHGH and we were like YOU’RE IN A HUGE PUDDLE OF WATER, just roll on the ground you idiot, and…”

MightiestPirate: Stumbling out of there like a drunk, clinging on to the lago, Guybrush was wheezing that he was convinced that his lungs have officially exploded with the amount of screaming he did. “NO NO…. it was HEH HEH HEH… it was that bit where that guy just…. PSHOOO!! RIGHT out the HEH HEH the window like a majestic eagle. Oh my God I can’t…. HEH HEH… I can’t breathe…” He hugged onto Cocky like a weak life support as he dry coughed a laugh.

AskCocky: “Like a majestic… like a majestic… no, no… please stop… HAHAHAHAIGGGH” Cocky wheezed, honestly he was starting to see black dots in his vision. He realized he needed to stop laughing or he’d faint. “W-wait…” he panted for a full ten seconds, then: “PFFFT HAAAHAHAHAAHAHA.” He just fell to the ground, grabbing his belly.

MightiestPirate: “Pffffft heh he–WHOA!!” Guybrush fell over as soon as his support did and landed on his knees, continuing to laugh just as hard as he did earlier with tears in his eyes. “He… HEH HEH… he was graceful a-a-a-and PFFFFT HEH HEH… a-a-and that scream from that other HEH HEH guy!! I haven’t heard it in YEARS HEH HEH HEH.” The rest after that was a garble of ‘I can’t’ and ‘Oh my God.’ between laughs.

AskCocky: Cocky, still laughing convulsively, got up shakily and helped Guybrush to get on his feet as well. “You know what, we should get out of here before we get arrested. I’m not sure everything we did back there was legal…. hahahaha! Oh no, please, no more.” He paused and shook his head. “Let’s take that train and stop a bit before the market district. A good chair and a good meal. We deserve it.”

MightiestPirate: He let out a dry cough as he was helped back on his feet, wiping away any lingering tears in his eyes. “Ah– hehe… yeah t-that sounds like an excellent reward.” Guybrush agreed, “Just need a few minutes of not… not… you know… BOOM a-a-and POW!!” Guybrush made an explosion gesture before giggling a bit and holding onto his ribs. “Oh man… heh I’m gonna feel that for a while.”

AskCocky: Cocky laughed and walked along with Guybrush and after putting their tickets in, they got in the train and buckled up, so visibly disheveled and dirty they attracted some looks from the other passengers. “So speaking of which, are you all right? Physically, I mean. We got roughed up a little down there.”

MightiestPirate: There was a kid on the train that gave Guybrush a look, and due to the adrenaline he was on he just stuck his tongue out as the kid returned the gesture before disappearing behind the chair giggling.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah I mean…” Guybrush began to answer as he rotated his arm around to stretch out the muscle before he heard a pop. “Sans the part where I hit my forehead on the dashboard and kinda got flung into the window, I could be worse for wear. How about you? You holding up okay?”

AskCocky: “Well, my ribs hurt some, I’m not sure if I cracked them or it’s just from all the laughing. Also, whiplash. And I think I sprained my middle finger, it really got a lot of exercise today.” He paused. “Who am I kidding, I feel half dead. But also very alive.” MightiestPirate: “Heh, not gonna lie, haven’t felt a rush like this in years.” Guybrush said as he was stretching both arms as high as he could till he felt a click in his back, finally having a relaxing sigh escape followed by a dry cough. “Gotta hand it over to ya, you make an excellent mad driver.” Guybrush smirked.

AskCocky: “Hey, gotta channel all that aggro into something, it better be something beautiful.” Cocky sighed and looked at Guybrush. “You weren’t half bad yourself, especially at the verbal jousting. I’m really good at growling at roaring, but what you do… it takes finesse.”

MightiestPirate: “Ah, heh… thanks.” Guybrush chuckled as he scratched his cheek, “That was the end result of several years insulting your opponents while sword fighting. Although I have never seen anyone get so thrown off being compared to a dairy farmer… especially a truck driver. That was priceless.”

AskCocky: “I loved it when you told that guy he drove like a cow. Especially because that species look very bovine. I thought he was going to kill you.” Cocky stretched his legs and shook his head. If he wasn’t careful he would fall asleep, and their stop was up soon. Some caffeine and food would perk him up. So he asked: “Well, since we’re eating out, I will not be able to pamper you myself. What are you in the mood for?”

MightiestPirate: “Wouldn’t be the first person I insulted that wanted me dead.” Guybrush smirked, he leaned his head against the window and thought for a moment what to have. “Hmm… there was this place way back when that served all sorts of weird food, one of them was a hamburger. Granted the place looked like their food came from the garbage and I had no appetite for it whatsoever, but I always kinda wanted to try it out.” He shifted his head to still be against the window but looked at Cocky.

“Unless you’re in the mood for something in particular.”

AskCocky: “Hamburgers sound real good right now. I know a place that serves a double-stacker with cheese and guacamole. I dunno, I tried several places and I still think that was the best one I got.” Cocky kicked his legs. “Ain’t it funny? It’s lunch for us, but for them it’s dinner. Oh, there’s our stop,” and he unbuckled and prepared to leave.

MightiestPirate: “Oooh, guacamole sounds really good right about now” Guybrush closed his eyes at the idea, he unbuckled the seatbelt and followed Cocky, “Plus after all that adrenaline rush, it practically feels like dinner right now so really it’s more like a… linner? Dunch? Hmm…”

AskCocky: “Yeah, living in space and then landing here and there can be super confusing for our poor systems. First it’s day, then it’s night, then it’s neither…” They got off the train and started walking. “Did you like riding the train? I have been to several train-based public transportation systems and this one’s pretty decent. At least it’s clean and you don’t sit on some pre-chewed gum.” Soon the air filled with the wonderful aromas of all sorts of food. There were restaurants, cafes, bars, diners, and lots and lots of food carts and street vendors. MightiestPirate: “Yeah, the closest I ever got to riding something like that was on a roller coaster that had a rail branch that would shoot you straight into lava. But this… this was incredible!!” Guybrush said enthusiastically, “Oh man, if I could have that travel between islands instead of rafts… I would take the train in a heartbeat, so long as I can lower the window as an option.” From the sweet, the salty, the sour, and everything else, the variety of scents danced around Guybrush that his ears dropped in a calm form.

AskCocky: “Oooh man, all this makes my stomach growl so bad. Monster truck fights are worse than working out.” They got to the restaurant, and since it was such an odd hour for eating, it was half-empty and nice and quiet. Cocky sat down in the red cushiony booth and sighed contently. “Commmmmmfy.”

MightiestPirate: “It’s a work out on my throat, that’s for sure.” Guybrush joked. Maybe it was the constant noise he was hearing for the past few hours, but once they walked into the quiet restaurant, there was a slight ringing in his ears. Mentally shrugging, Guybrush went to the booth across from Cocky and felt the slight bounce. “Ooh… very nice.” He smiled bouncing on it a bit before slouching.

AskCocky: Cocky touched the center of the table and the menu appeared on the glass itself. “Well, there’s the burger,” Cocky pointed and selected. “I’ll have that, some fries, ah, uh, yeah I think a Pepsi, I need the caffeine. Dessert here is nothing special, so I suggest getting that in a bakery or from one of the street vendors later. You?”

MightiestPirate: “Whoa…” Guybrush looked surprised before leaning in and looking at his choices. “Yeah, same with the burger and fries… and gonna have a root beer instead. Although I should probably get some water after all that shouting.” He pointed. Once he was done he folded his arms on the table and rested his head on it a bit, “Gotta say, this beats actually dealing with snooty waiters.”

AskCocky: “Well, there are still waiters. This is a small restaurant, and therefore not as mechanized as it could be.” Cocky looked at Guybrush. “Are you tired? We could call it quits if you want. That bit with the monster trucks was pretty exhausting.”

MightiestPirate: “Ah… guess that makes sense.” Guybrush looked around seeing the few people who worked there. “Nah, not tired, just kinda running on empty and the quiet ambiance is really calm compared to earlier. I’ll be fine soon enough.” He answered with a smile.

AskCocky: But that smile fell on empty eyes as Cocky had already fallen asleep and was snoring softly, reclined back in his seat, ears to one side.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s ears perked at the snore and chuckled. “Aww…” He looked around and then started leaning over the table to give the lago a gentle poke. “Ah… Cocky? You awake?” He asked quietly. AskCocky: The snoring stopped. Cocky’s eyes flew open. Fast as a snake, he grabbed Guybrush’s wrist with his left hand. With his right hand he grabbed his knife from his belt and put it one inch below the pirate’s snake with a snarl.

MightiestPirate: “Whoa whoa whoa Cocky wait, it’s me!! It’s me!!” Guybrush eyes widen as he called out to the bunny, feeling his heart beating fast and hard against his rib cage and the start of a few beads of sweat on his forehead. “It’s Guybrush!!”

AskCocky: Cocky frowned for a moment, then realized what he was doing. “AAGH!” He let the knife drop on the table as if it was a poisonous snake. “No, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!” He looked very pale and got up suddenly to rush at Guybrush’s side. “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?? Oh no, oh no, oh no…”

MightiestPirate: His ears sagged as he let a breath of relief escape, holding on to his wrist like a small pet. And naturally he jumped at the sudden rush but quickly stuffed away any signs of fear from earlier. “N-no no, Cocky, it’s okay. Honest, I’m fine.” Guybrush began to reassure with a small smile and placing his hands on the other’s shoulder. “Okay? See? I’m fine. Just… take a deep breath, alright? It was just a bad nap dream.”

AskCocky: Cocky just kind of melted into his seat again, shuddering. He took his knife and sheated it quietly. He squeezed Guybrush’s hand across the table. “Sorry. Sorry. I’m just on edge since I saw that guy. I’ll be okay. Sorry if I scared you.” He rubbed his cheek scars, embarrassed.

MightiestPirate: “I know what that’s like…” Guybrush bit his lip before he waved it off, “No need to apologize. It’s fine.” He crossed his arms on the table and relaxed his shoulders, showing that he wasn’t too bothered. “And besides, I’m use to sharp objects being pointed at me in my line of work.“

AskCocky: “But not by your friends, hopefully? Not by your friends.” Cocky’s voice was full of regret, and he covered his eyes. All that shame was interrupted by the robot that was bringing them their food and started putting it on the table. The smell was delicious and everything was piping hot.

MightiestPirate: The smell was tempting, but Guybrush figured he needed to cheer his friend up first. “Well actually… it’s practically a tradition for me when I meet close friends.” He awkwardly scratched his own cheek before clearing his throat. “One of them pointed a gun at me while trying to hold me hostage, I had one of them cut off my hand, Winslow dumped a bucket of pretty hot coal on me, and years before that, when I proposed to Elaine, she slugged me in the face… granted I DID propose to her using a cursed ring by accident, but the point remains the same.”

Guybrush looked at Cocky and gave a chuckle, “So I guess this means you’re now a close friend of mine.”

AskCocky: Cocky blinked a couple of times. “Who cut your what??” He was about to grab a fry when he looked at himself. “Ugh. Speaking of hands, I guess I’m filthy. Be right back real quick, going to wash a bit.” He disappeared into the bathroom for a couple of minutes but when he was back, it was almost as if he had showered. “There, MUCH better. Okay, no. WHO CUT YOUR WHAT??”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was about to take a bite out of his fry when Cocky walked back. “Huh? Oh, yeah… so during the Pox outbreak, my left hand which took the most hit of it, had enough mojo to power this… eternal life thing that this scientist who found out about it wanted to get a hold of my hand for more research by amputating me. I ran before he had the chance. So naturally he sent a Pirate Hunter to literally get my hand. And she did.” He nutshell’d it before pausing and looking the very left hand.

“Which way was the bathroom by the way?”

AskCocky: Cocky pushed a button on the table screen. “Right over there, that sign that looks like a squiggle, not the one that looks like a swirl.” The same robot appeared. “Hey, Clank, do you have any BBQ sauce? Please.” There was an electronic groan and the robot left.

MightiestPirate: “Got it.” Guybrush gave a thumbs up before getting out of the booth and towards the bathroom. The signs may be different, but at least toilets looked the same in space. After washing his hands (and some of the grime on his face) he made his way back to the booth and scooted back into his seat, rubbing his hands at the sight of the burger.

AskCocky: Cocky waited until Guybrush was seated to start putting sauces and things on his hamburger. He took a fry. “So what happened after that? You just became friends with her?” The robot brought the sauce. “Thanks, Hal.”

MightiestPirate: “Well not at first.” Guybrush said as he took a sip from his root beer, “She was um… was a fangirl of mine when we first met, so to her it was like meeting a celebrity. Which was flattering, not gonna lie. After she took my hand, I took her hook and had that for a while, until she showed up again. Turns out she needed all of me and not just my hand and that’s when we got eaten by the leviathan.” He took another sip before continuing, “We had a bit of a truce while there and we went from pirate and pirate hunter to actually being friends who shared tactics and the such. It was nice…”

Guybrush frowned a bit before shaking his head and reaching for another fry. “Granted things got… bad afterwards. But by the end, through all the mess, we were able to still be friends.”

AskCocky: “Was she hot? I bet she was hot. The crazy ones are always super-hot.” He dipped a fry in bbq sauce. Cocky smiled maliciously. “So. You ‘hooked’ up, huh?” This was so bad there was even a groan coming from the next table.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush, did a small spit take before wiping his mouth with a napkin, “And I thought I was bad with puns.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “I ah… I suppose she was rather pretty, although she was far from crazy.” He picked up his fry and pointed it at Cocky, giving a smirk. “And no. We didn’t ‘hook’ up, but she was sure to make a… ‘point’ with our relationship.” The groan from the next table turned into a loud slam.

AskCocky: Cocky turned around partially to the next booth. “C’mon, that was a good one!” He snickered. “Your loss, Bru-bru. Relationships with crazies are ‘hands down’, the best.” He took a bite from his hamburger and dodge an empty can of soda that whizzed through the air.

MightiestPirate: He ducked as the can went flying. “Maybe… but they tend to be more ‘hands on’ with intimacy the more out there they are.” Guybrush ended up laughing at the pun as he took a bite from his own burger, “Wow… this is really good.” Guybrush admitted while covering his mouth so as food won’t spray all over the place, hearing the sound of something being flipped over.

AskCocky: Cocky snickered in a rather evil way. “Someone doesn’t appreciate the beauty of puns. Anyway, we better stop before we get murdered with a pickle.” The burger was good and he was famished, so he said nothing for a while. Finally: “Would you like to go meet Otto after all this? We can stop by his moon on the way to Earth.”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah… I guess you’re right.” Guybrush took another bite, wanting to say a pun about radishes but opted against it in favor of not dying due to puns and food. Nearing the end of his burger, he looked up as soon as Cocky spoke. “Hm?” Guybrush swallowed his food and nodded, “Oh uh… yeah sure, that would be nice to actually meet him.”

AskCocky: “Good. We can drop by with something I’m getting for him. Maybe he’ll bake us something delish, too. Don’t get freaked out, however. He has a rather… unsettling pet.” Cocky stuffed some fries in his hamburger and took a bite.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush tilted his head in confusion as he sipped from his drink, “Erm… he’s not the one with the giant octopus pet is he? I mean, I’ve seen octopus before but not one that’s, well, Kraken-size and bathing suit hungry.”

AskCocky: “Nah, that’s my friend S. No, my boyfriend has a spider. A big spider. Like, yay size.” Cocky extended his arms in a circle. “It’s harmless, but it really freaks you out the first time you see it. I know I did freak out.” He made a face of pain.

MightiestPirate: “I want to say ‘sure thing’… but I feel like no amount of mental prepping will prevent a freakout. So for that, I apologize in advance.” Guybrush said with an embarrassed look on his face. “Um… what happened when you first met it? The spider that is.”

AskCocky: Cocky took a sip from his drink. “It’s a long story but summing it up: Otto and I were to a desert in planet Masoori to have a romantic picnic. We had a bit of an argument and stuff, and afterwards, we noticed there were scorpions in the area, so we decided to leave. But we didn’t know our picnic basket was full to the brim with scorpions.” Cocky shuddered and rubbed his arm, remembering, his feathers trembling over his jacket. MightiestPirate: “Ugh… that doesn’t sound pleasant.” Guybrush winced at the story as he ate some of his fries, “And I’m guessing Otto’s eight legged friend was in the basket as well?” He asked, munching on a bit more fries.

AskCocky: “No, that was a lot after.” Cocky shook his head as he finished his fries. “Turned out they were teleporting scorpions. They infested S’s ship as well, and spent a whole week getting rid of the little bastards and getting stung by them. The poison was dangerous too, fortunately, we had a doctor on board.” The lago sighed. “And after that hellish week, we found a giant spider in S’s ship, and I burned it to hell, and it it it was carrying babies and…” Another round of shuddering. “To my horror, to my absolute horror, Otto wanted one of the babies as a pet. I freaked out and we yelled at each other and suddenly it was more than I could take and I broke up with him,” he said, with a sad voice.

MightiestPirate: “Oh… I’m sorry to hear that.” Guybrush’s ears dropped at the sound of his voice. “Been on that boat before…” He twirled the straw in his drink idly for a moment before speaking up again, “But you call him your boyfriend still… so you made up eventually. …Right?”

AskCocky: “Yeah. Well, it was a stupid thing to do, anyway. I guess I was just exhausted.” He started folding and unfolding the empty burger wrapper. “After three days of pure hell I went to look for him, we yelled at each other even more, and I compromised on accepting the pet. That… that took a LOT of work on my part. But fortunately, the spider is pretty tame. He behaves like a dog in a lot of aspects. And he’s pretty smart, and loyal.” Cocky started packing all the trash together. “Sometimes we lose what we love the most over really stupid things, don’t you agree?”

MightiestPirate: He leaned back in the chair, his thumb playing with the wedding band on his finger in silence for a moment before nodding. “Incredibly stupid things… yeah.” Guybrush then gave a smile and a shrug, “But compromise is the name of the game… even for a pet that in every respect can make a grown man cry in absolute fear.”

AskCocky: “Eeeeh…” Cocky winced. “Honestly, I’m not going to lie, it kind of is. I just got used to the whole thing, but I guess that primal fear is kind of hard to overcome.” He smiled. “Let’s go, I need to walk off some of this food, I think I ate too much.”

MightiestPirate: “You’re scared of spiders? Well if it helps in anyways… I’m not a fan of snakes in the slightest.” Guybrush smiled as he hopped out of the booth. “Also I could use the cold breeze after something as nice and toasty as that burger.”

AskCocky: “Not especially, as long as they’re normal-sized. It’s when they’re bigger than my head that I start to get real nervous.” Cocky started walking. “Wait. I’m not actually that full. It’s just that I was sitting down. I’m in the mood for something sweet… how about some dessert?” As they walked, they approached an ice cream cart that was manned by some funny-looking, tall creature with a hair tuft that looked a lot like Cocky’s. The cart had “Nice Cream” written on the side.

MightiestPirate: “Fair enough, I tend to jump when I see one but after that I’m fine.” Guybrush answered, when they approached the cart, he tilted his head before he looked at the creature who seemed to beaming a smile that it was practically contagious. “Nice Cream…” He read the side of the cart and pointed at it, “With a name like that, you can’t go wrong.”

AskCocky: “Well, I hope it’s not gross or something. He’s a lago, so I’ll be buying mostly out of solidarity. Well. I THINK he’s a lago?” Cocky seemed confused. He approached the vendor and said “Hi” in B’eel. “Nee!”

MightiestPirate: “He’s a bunny so… who knows, maybe? Would be worth a shot.” Guybrush smiled as he looked at the interaction between the two bunnies and raised an ear to listen in on the conversation. He knew he wasn’t going to understand it in the slightest, but he figured he might learn a few words.

AskCocky: But the ice cream guy ignored the greeting. “Finally! Some customers! I haven’t sold a thing the whole day.” Cocky just smiled brightly and said: “Ummmm.” He spoke to Guybrush through his teeth. “We better get out of here. If he hasn’t sold anything, everything probably tastes like ass.” But then he say the ice cream guy looked about to start crying.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s ear fell as soon as the ice cream guy started crying. “Aww… don’t… don’t cry.” Guybrush walked over to the vender and started to sooth him by placing a hand on the guy’s shoulder after going a bit on his toes, “Maybe it’s just been a slow day for ya?” He then looked over towards Cocky with a sympathetic look in his eyes, feeling terrible if he left the guy as he was.

AskCocky: Cocky smiled, strained. “Don’t cry! You have customers. I mean, we’re going to buy some ice cream. What flavors you got?” The ice cream vendor, still crying, immediatly changed his attitude. “Ooh, ooh! Maybe my luck’s about to change! Let’s see, flavors… I have strawberry, made with real straw, too!! And, and snails. And petroleum jelly, and of course… spider flavor.”

MightiestPirate: “Ah…” Guybrush tried to cover his look of absolute shock and glanced back at the Cocky before facing the nice cream vendor once more and rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly, “Do you have anything erm… berry flavored?” He asked, watching the vendor dig into his cart he quickly walked backwards towards Cocky and gave a sheepish grin while whispering, “So… spider flavor?”

AskCocky: “HAHAHAHAHA NO!” Suddenly Cocky picked Guybrush up, firemen-style, and ran away as fast as he could considering he had a taller lago on his shoulders. Two blocks away he put Guybrush down. “Just no.”

MightiestPirate: “What just happened.” Guybrush mumbled as soon as he was placed back down on the floor. He looked over to Cocky and raised an eyebrow, “You alright over there? That was… that was one hell of an escape run.”

AskCocky: Cocky panted and shook his head, unhappily. “Sorry! I just panicked. I can’t stand to watch people cry. But I can’t eat snails ice cream, mate. Grosssssss.” He still felt guilty. “We’re… clearly not his demographic, I guess.” He started walking again, still trying to catch his breath.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush rubbed his arm awkwardly but walked alongside Cocky. “I guess not… though can’t say that those were the worst options of flavors for an ice cream I’ve heard of.” He said, deciding to end the topic by giving Cocky a pat on the shoulder. AskCocky: “I don’t even think he was a lago,” Cocky said. “He didn’t even speak B’eel. Of course, not every lago speaks B’eel, especially if they were born out of the planet. But he was weird. So weird and sadly misguided.” They kept walking but suddenly Cocky realized something. “Ooh, well, at least our first stop is here. Tell me, are you allergic to anything? Perhaps anything winged, fuzzy and buzzy?”

MightiestPirate: “Maybe he’s a different type of bunny?” He shrugged, “And I’d say blindly optimistic. Especially for a product that’s erm… questionable at best.” He placed a hand on his chin trying to think of anything he could get a reaction out of. “Um… none off the top of my head. But I know I’m not allergic to… bees?” He dropped his hand and looked at Cocky, “That’s… what you mean right, bees?”

AskCocky: “Oh goody, then let’s get inside. I want to give my Otto a nice present.” He stepped throught the doorstep and said: “Hello! I’m here to buy a bunch of bees, please!”

The only answer was the buzzing of a million bees in the shop. They were all behind nets, but there were definitely a dozen of strays flying lazily around.

MightiestPirate: “Bees… okay you actually did mean the buzzing bee. Gotcha.” He said as he looked around at the millions of them buzzing around. “Are you planning on getting a dozen of them?” He asked with a smirk and an eyebrow raised. Guybrush had one land on his nose, he held his breath as he starred at it cross eyed and tried not move to startle the insect.

After a few seconds, it managed to fly off his nose, letting Guybrush to breathe a sigh of relief. “But seriously, what are you planning to give Otto with bees?”

AskCocky: “Otto has a garden,” Cocky explained, as he browsed the store, seeing how there was no one to help him buy stuff. “There are hummingbirds and butterflies, but naturally, bees are simply the best pollinators. I want him to have the most beautiful garden ever! So I thought I’d buy a hive, one that has a mechanism integrated so collecting the honey is just a matter of turning a simple faucet. Like these ones!” He pointed to some. He noticed there were disposable cups around. “OOoh, free samples! Well, here’s something for your throat, and something for my dessert.” He served a tiny cup of honey for Guybrush and one for himself, and raised it. “Cheers!”

MightiestPirate: “Oh, neat! My uncle was a bee keeper and all I remember is something about the queen bee being important or something like that.” Guybrush replied, “It’s a sweet gesture… erm, both metaphorically and literally.” He happily took the cup in hand and raised it himself. “Cheers!” Guybrush smiled before drinking some of the honey. “Wow, this is good… like REALLY good.”

AskCocky: Cocky licked his lips. “I agree. I like it a lot. I’m just going to check…” He tasted from the other hives, and finally decided. “That one’s good, but I like this one the best.” He pointed to the last beehive. “Try it.”

MightiestPirate: Placing the cup down, Guybrush walked over to the hive Cocky pointed at and gave the honey a try. His ears perked up and he quickly turned to face the lago happily. “For sure this one, it’s incredible.” Guybrush confirmed.

AskCocky: “Mmhhm-hhmm,” Cocky approved, and smiled thinking of how Otto would love that honey in his tea. Finally, he was approached by the owner, a rather old-looking creature. “Hello, sir. I’d like to buy one of these hives. My only question is, are these nightbees? If they are not, could I get a honey that tastes likes this from a hive of nightbees?”

MightiestPirate: The salesman confirmed they were nightbees. He tried selling Cocky a fancier, more expensive hive, but Cocky wouldn’t budge. He wanted that hive, he said, and he paid for it and arranged for it to be delivered to his ship.

AskCocky: “Nightbees are like regular bees,” he explained to Guybrush as they walked out of the store. “But they work at night. That way my honey-bun can enjoy his garden without being worried of being stung by bees.”

MightiestPirate: “Awww, how sweet of you.” Guybrush spoke as he finished up the sample honey the salesman practically shoved into his hand to try out, “And a very cute nickname at that.” He tossed it to the nearest bin while wiping his hands together to remove any lingering sticky-ness on his person.

AskCocky: “When we get this installed I’ll give you some honeycomb, there’s a special slot in the back for that.” Cocky said, beaming at the perspective of showing Otto his gift. “And yeah, haha, I guess we’re pretty mushy. I’m Otto’s first boyfriend, and while he’s not, I have always been totally corny when it comes to that. My favorite nickname for him is “cinnamon roll” or “cinnabun”. What about you? Do you have a special name for that special lady?” MightiestPirate: “Oooh, sweet.” Guybrush smiled. Hearing how Cocky talked about Otto reminded him of Elaine, he then scratched his cheek as he blushed, “Ah… yeah. We got our fair share of nicknames that just seems to be growing as the years go by towards each other, but the two that I love to use the most is ‘Plunder Bunny’ and ‘Laineykins’… granted the former one she likes to call me as such as well.”

AskCocky: “Plunder Bunny? Plunder Bu-” Cocky started laughing really hard, so hard he had to lean on his knees.

MightiestPirate: “Yeah I know. The irony of it all considering my current circumstance.” His subtle blush became a bit more prominent as he crossed his arms and ducked his head while some creatures crossed by.

AskCocky: Cocky finished laughing. “I wonder what she’d say if she saw you now???” Then his expression changed to concern. “Let’s not find out. We’ll change you back before you go home, don’t worry.”

MightiestPirate: Blush subsiding, he gave a small chuckle, “Honestly, I have no idea how she’d react… probably give me The Look or something. Gotta admit, I’m kinda curious myself.” Uncrossing his arms he placed his hands on his hips, “So where to now?”

AskCocky: “Oh, it’s just two blocks away,” Cocky said, and he was about to say something else when he interrupted himself. A large headline, LAGO MAYHEM, had attracted his sight from the other side of the street, and he crossed hurriedly. There was a newspaper inside a machine, MACHINE WARS, the night edition. Through the glass it could plainly be seen a picture of Guybrush and Cocky, half-leaning out the window of a monster truck in mid-air. The vehicle was clearly on fire, and both lagos looked like madmen. “OOoooops,” Cocky said.

MightiestPirate: He stared at the headlines with wide eyes and ears falling flat, “That explains why the truck was suddenly scorching hot.” Guybrush muttered. He blinked a bit before pointing at the article and facing Cocky. “Would it be idiotic if I wanted a copy for myself?”

AskCocky: Cocky turned to look at Guybrush. “Hell no, that’s a wonderful memory I want to keep forever.” He put two coins in the machine and a couple of rather thin newspapers were spit out. Cocky simply loved that pic, but he was a little worried too. He was thinking of the Khail he had seen.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush held it close, taking in all the details of the image before giggling, “It’s kinda like the picture you get at the end of a roller coaster.” As he looked up from the newspaper he noticed Cocky’s look, recalling how they didn’t want to attract too much attention. “Hey… you alright?”

AskCocky: Cocky nodded slowly, then shook his head, laughing nervously. “Yeah. I just… I don’t want to attract attention, but with my personality, it’s like I have a flare attached to my butt.” He sighed in resignation. “Anyway, too old to change.” He pocketed the newspaper and said: “Hey, they got your good angle, too!”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, I suppose they did. Glad to know that no matter what form I take, at least my good side will always stay the same.” Guybrush joked as he folded the newspaper away into his jacket. “Maybe we should stick to less fire rallies and huge crowds for now… don’t want that flare of yours to become a bonfire.”

AskCocky: “Neither do I, man.” Cocky sniffed the air. It was swirling with a million scents. The name of the store was an unpronounceable squiggle, but the purpose was clear, it was a perfume store. “Aaaah, we’re here.” As they entered the store the scents became alive. “C’mon, we’re going to buy things that smell good.”

MightiestPirate: “Guess the squiggles can stand for ‘smell’.” Guybrush spoke as he looked at the sign before entering the store as well. The bottles all had different types of squiggles and some scents collided into each other that left a rather lingering scent, but there were some that smelled absolutely amazing.

AskCocky: “I want you to pick one for Elaine. It’ll be my gift to you so you can give it to her.” Cocky started browsing. “Remember, the scents in every column are the same, but the rows are organized by intensity. The higher the row, the stronger it smells. Just remember, everything smells a little strong to you now, since you’re a lago and our smell sense is better than that of humans. So take that in account, you don’t want to pick a weak-ass perfume.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh, ah… t-thanks for the present to be a present.” Guybrush smiled and started browsing the perfumes. There were scents that ranged from flowery to fresh and everything in between, but none of them were sticking out and he didn’t want to get yet another lavender/honey smelling perfume.

After going through different columns, Guybrush stumbled across one smell in particular. It was fresh, and had a bit of a musk to it that wasn’t obnoxiously sweet. He picked up a bottle from the lowest row and gave it a sniff, realizing that he was feeling relaxed with the scent and pictured Elaine with it. “Yeah… that one is good.” Guybrush spoke to himself and looked up, trying to figure which intensity would be best when he laid eyes on a row that was just a bit out of his reach, but being on his tippy toes was enough to do the job. Giving another whiff, he winced back at the sudden hit of the smell but shook his head, recalling what Cocky said about lago’s nose.

AskCocky: Cocky was looking for one for his boyfriend, but everything he picked seemed flowery, and Otto naturally smelled of flowers a lot of the time. Then he found one that smelled of cinnamon, and chuckled. “Oooh, this one,” he thought, thinking of Otto and automatically smiling. He wanted one for himself, but he didn’t know what to pick. Looking at Guybrush, he saw he had picked the perfume for Elaine already. “Lemme see what you got there,” Cocky opened the plastic bottle and put it at his waist’s level to not get knocked by the smell, designed for a human. He sniffed, then took a deep breath. “Sweetgrass. From the fields of B’eel,” he said, quietly. He swallowed hard, his eyes a little red. “Excelent choice.”

MightiestPirate: “Thanks Co–” Guybrush’s smile dropped when he saw Cocky’s expression “…Cocky?” He took hold of the perfume, unsure if there was something in there to cause that reaction, and gave it a look over before turning his head, “H-hey everything okay…?” He asked as he placed a hand on the other’s shoulder.

AskCocky: Cocky blinked rapidly. “Sorry, don’t mind me. Just… reminds me of my planet. Nostalgia and… painful longing.” The lago looked away. “I didn’t know they had that smell or I would have bought it a long time ago. I want one for myself, too.” He picked one bottle for the second lowest level, tried it, and nodded. “This one,” he said, turning to look at Guybrush and smiling.

MightiestPirate: “Your planet smells very nice…” He gave a soft smile as he held on to his on perfume “Wish I can get that for you, be like a present from me to you.”

A familiar scent whiffed under Guybrush’s nose, he closed his eyes and followed the smell until he stood in front of a column and picked up the bottle. Opening the top he took a deep breath and chuckled, the aroma of sea salt and wood over powering, “Huh, didn’t think they could recreate the smell of the ocean.”

AskCocky: Cocky smelled it. “Oooh, right! Well, it is. This one kind of smells like you. I guess it gets in your clothes and your hair after a while.” He smiled. “Smells very nice. I think I’ll get it too. To remember you.” He got all the bottles, including the ocean one. and went to pay for them.

MightiestPirate: “I guess so.” Guybrush smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck. He walked up to the cashier with Cocky and watched the interaction take place and noticing an extra bottle aside from the two Cocky got and his own. “Who is that one for?” Guybrush asked while pointing at it. “It smells kinda sweet. Kinda like…” He took a few sniffs before giving a content smile, “Cinnamon.”

AskCocky: “You can take a wild guess at that one,” Cocky said. “My boyfriend always smells of flowers, if he’s not reeking of engine grease. I… kind of like him in both.” He smiled sinfully. “Still, I’m getting that one for him so he can honor his name.” The lago again instructed everything to be delivered to his ship.

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh, fair enough.” Guybrush chuckled. He watched as the clerk did the same action as the one in the bee shop did and raised an eyebrow. “That’s the second time I see them doing that… where are they taking the stuff you’re buying?”

AskCocky: “I just give them the coordinates and they will deliver them to where my ship is parked,” Cocky noticed the air was getting chilly, so he stuck his hands inside his jacket. “This is convenient as I don’t have to carry a big-ass hive while I do my shopping. This is, after all, the shopping district, and they offer the service for a small fee because it’s just more conv-v-v,” Cocky stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in terror. Just some feet away from the lagos, a Khail was standing right in their way with an evil-looking gun pointing at them. “Long time no see, gnek,” he spoke in a voice that was like a mix between a low squak and a record skipping.

MightiestPirate: “Conv? What’s a con– oh. Clam dip.” Guybrush’s ears dropped at the sight, sword pointing at him was one thing. A gun though… that was another. He felt his heart beat fast and his eyes were locked on the bird creature, he could only imagine how Cocky was feeling. Which explained why when he snapped back into focus he was partially in front of the lago, mentally screaming at himself for being basically a massive idiot. “H-h-hey there… um…” Guybrush stuttered, “I um… I don’t suppose you’re just some old college friend just saying hello?” AskCocky: It was as if his whole life was reduced to a pinpoint. Cocky raised his hands instinctively, as a long-time learned lesson, and he almost expected to feel the weight of the shackles in them. He didn’t expect to see Guybrush stepping to cover him.

The Khail sneered. “Your little friend doesn’t know the rules, gnek? Never speak unless spoken to. He’ll have time to learn them too. I’m bringing you both where you belong.”

Cocky spoke then, with a voice that was trembling with hate. “Ten million units if alive. Five if dead. You’re not going to shoot me,” Cocky said.

The Khail moved the gun and pointed it at Guybrush’s head. “Still can wound you. And that guy is free, however. He can learn his lessons in Hell.”

MightiestPirate: “I’m standing right here you kno– oh.” Guybrush was cut off as soon as the gun tapped to his forehead, not realizing that his breathing getting a bit heavy. He was in too deep, he was in way too deep and he knew that. But Guybrush swallowed down his fear and stared at the bird with intensity and determination in his eyes and sporting cocky grin. “Been to Hell, can’t say I plan on going back there anytime soon so HOLY CRAP WHAT’S THAT?!”

Guybrush frantically pointed behind the bird’s head.

AskCocky: The move did not work. As it was, the guy with the bird-like head had his eyes on the sides of his head, and therefore poor depth perception but great peripheral range. He only needed to turn his head two degrees to the left… and the right eye was still staring right at them. But the shift in his attention was enough, or it would have to be. Cocky muttered: “Guybrush. Duck.”

MightiestPirate: “Okay maybe you don’t have the brain of a bird…” Guybrush muttered as it barely moved it’s head, the growing bubble of fear just about ready to burst. When he heard Cocky speak, he whipped his head at the lago, panic in his eyes and ducked. He had to trust the lago but there was that sense of dread at the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t shake off.

AskCocky: As Guybrush ducked, Cocky just jumped on his shoulders and then jumped at the Khail, knife in hand. The gun went off twice, opening a hole in the lago’s jacket. Cocky stabbed the bird- like being’s forehead, his whole weight behind the knife, which sank to the handle, spraying everything with blood. The Khail crashed down like a tree with the lago still attached to him, while a big crowd of people ran up the street, frightened by the gunshot. Cocky himself landed on a knee on the dying Khail’s chest, removed his knife from the wound, and ripped off the two black feathers sticking out at the top of the back of the head. Standing there with the feathers in his left hand and the dripping knife in his right, he turned to look at Guybrush with what looked a lot like grief. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed silently. Then he stepped into the running crowd and vanished as if he had never existed.

MightiestPirate: Still on the ground, he watched the entire event happen, a look of disbelief and bit of horror. “C-Cocky…” he muttered, not expecting Cocky to disappear in the crowd, Guybrush quickly pushed himself up and stood there, breathing heavily. “Wait!! Cocky!!” He called out, pushing him into the crowd trying to keep an eye out for a pair of white ears, a sense of panic starting to take over his train of thought as it slowly disappeared, “Coc– oof!!” Guybrush got caught off guard as he was knocked down, as soon as some of the crowd moved around him, he pulled himself up and looked at his surrounding, the sense of dread became apparent.

“Crap… crap!!” He grabbed at his head and closed his eyes as he was washed over with a sense of panic.

Guybrush was lost.

“Okay Guybrush. Breathe… breathe…” He muttered to himself, “You’ve been through worst… just think.” After a couple of deep breaths he finally dropped his hands to his side and opened his eyes, looking around his environment when he landed his eyes on the perfume shop. “That’s it…!” Guybrush made a speed run towards the store and bust the door open, startling the storekeep in the process. Slamming his hands on the table, and not willing to make any cute talk, he stared the clerk down. “The last purchase you made with a rabbit that looks like me but with white fur and feathers. Where’s the location?”

AskCocky: The clerk was unimpressed. Maybe the combined vapors of all the perfumes made him apathic. “If you want to double-check on the coordinates, you’re just in time, as our delivery guy is about to go there, amont other places.” MightiestPirate: “Good enough for me.” Guybrush said before making way to the delivery guy who was currently stacking the boxes into what looked like a truck. “Are you about to deliver those perfumes?”

AskCocky: “Sure I am,” the guy said, frowning. Then: “Wait, you’re not allowed to be here. Did the boss send you?”

MightiestPirate: Mentally, he didn’t know how to answer it. But instead Guybrush placed his fists on his hips and gave a stern look “Yes. And I was asked to keep an eye on a one of the package.”

AskCocky: A frown again. “…why?” But seeing as Guybrush didn’t answer but gave him an impatient look, the creature shrugged. “Whatever. Not going to get yelled at over this.” He pointed at the cabin of the truck. “Hop in, we’re leaving,” he said, as he loaded the rest of the boxes in the back of the truck.

MightiestPirate: His eyes locked on the delivery man, Guybrush gave a smirk before getting inside. ‘Still got it.’ He thought to himself, not wanting to risk breaking character he sat in the truck and waited for the driver to get inside as well.

AskCocky: Something like an hour later, Cocky, splattered in blood and looking as if he had been chewed and spitted out, spotted a lone figure standing by his ship, next to some boxes. “GUYBRUSH!!” He ran to embrace the other lago, feeling an immense relief wash over him.

MightiestPirate: It felt longer than an hour, but when he heard his name being called out, his ears perked and felt arms wrap around him. The truth was, he felt completely torn with everything. On the one hand, he was beyond relieved to see the lago, but on the other…

Instead, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Cocky tightly in a bear-hug.

AskCocky: Good as the hug -and the feeling that what he had done was not completely irredeemable- felt, Cocky broke the hug after a few seconds. He stared into Guybrush’s blue eyes with urgency. “Thank the gods you’re alright, I was worried sick! We have to go now!” He quickly put his fingerprint on a scanner and the mag lock that was holding his boxes to his parking spot was turned off. He opened the ship and grabbed the hive. “Get the perfumes, please.” He seemed to be trembling with his whole body.

MightiestPirate: As soon as he let go, Guybrush noticed some stains of red on him. He wanted to tell him… no. He needed to tell him how he felt, but seeing just how shaken up the other looked, as much as Guybrush knew it wasn’t ideal he figured he could put it on the back burner for the time being, the topic was bound to appear soon again regardless. With a sigh, he placed his hands on his hips and gave a quick nod “Right. On it.” Guybrush said as he picked up the perfume box and entered the ship. “Where should I place it?”

AskCocky: “Wherever!” Cocky punched the door close and ran to the controls. “Get your ass on the chair and put your seatbelt on!” he barked from the other room. Then he took off without even putting his own seatbelt on. The lago looked sick, but he managed to put the cloak on and get the ship on orbit without crashing into anyone. Finally, he programmed the autopilot, and without saying a word he dragged himself into the other room, taking off his bloody jacket on the way and finally curling up in the couch.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush stayed in his chair for a while, everything was happening too fast that he didn’t realize he was still holding onto the box of perfume the whole time like doll. He gently placed the box down and got up from his chair and made his way to where Cocky was, noticing the bloody jacket on the ground and hoping it was from the other guy and not Cocky’s because the last thing he wanted to do was to get mad at someone who was probably injured.

When he stood in front of the curled form, Guybrush cradled his wedding band on his finger nervously, trying to muster up anything that was left from the adrenaline rush earlier. With a heavy sigh, Guybrush spoke up. “Cocky.”

AskCocky: Cocky didn’t answer for a while, but finally he said: “I’m sorry, Guybrush.” He said nothing more, waiting for the other to speak.

MightiestPirate: He looked away from the curled form for a bit, trying to word he wanted to say exactly but without the risk completely wrecking the guy as it was. Instead Guybrush looked at his wedding ring and idly played with it. “I ah… I had to lie to a delivery guy at the perfume shop that I was sent by his boss to keep an eye on the particular package order. He bought it. When we got to your ship… I told him that I was gonna keep an eye on the package. He said there was no point but ah… he figured out soon enough that I’ve been lying after he asked to see my credentials. Heh… he rightfully got mad when I gave him a grin and zoomed off after he delivered the boxes.”

Still fidgeting with his ring, he focused on that as he spoke… as if it gave him strength. “Waited by the ship for a while… started to think about what happened within the last hour or so. I realized I felt pissed. Like really pissed. I mean… who just goes and ditches someone who has never been outside their own world on a literal alien planet?” Guybrush gave a dry chuckle, “Started to think ‘How the hell was I suppose to get back to Earth if you never came back or if the ship was never there?’ and after a spectacle like that? I… I was so ready to give you a piece of my mind. But… I didn’t know what to say.”

Guybrush stopped and sighed as he looked at Cocky, “You did show up… and you were fine. Well, more or less… and after all this rush I know exactly what I want to say.”

He took another step closer and gave Cocky a punch in the arm.

AskCocky: “GHHH! Son of a…” Cocky moaned and rubbed his arm. He looked up at Guybrush, who looked like he wanted to keep on hitting him. “I’m very sorry,” Cocky said, with a dead voice. “I literally had no choice. I know I abandoned you in a strange city and in a strange planet, without money or means to get back to your home. And yet, believe me, there are far things worse than that.” He reached for his bloodied jacket. “Like this.” Cocky pulled something from the left pocked and tossed it in the air. A dozen black feathers floated down. “If they had captured us both, I would have been tortured and then executed. You, on the other hand, would have been tortured, but kept alive.” He winced. “You would have been sent to a slave camp, where you would wither away, and you would never see Elaine again. I had to get them away from you.” Cocky curled up in a ball again. “You can punch me again if you want, I’ll barely feel it.”

MightiestPirate: His eyes widen at the mention of Elaine, but went back to anger as he punched Cocky again in the arm. “That’s not the point, you jerk!!” He shouted. “I was scared shitless worrying about YOU!!”

AskCocky: “OWW,” Cocky half-sobbed, his eyes wet now. He stood up slowly, shakily. He looked straight into Guybrush’s furious blue eyes and said, with a sad and angry voice. “Well, that’s your own freaking fault, Guybrush. That’s what you get from being my friend. You get to be scared shitless from time to time, that’s the baggage that comes along with being my friend.” Twin tears rolled down his cheeks now. “Either you accept that, or you don’t.”

MightiestPirate: “That’s the baggage– I deal with that fear all the damn time!!” He clenched his hand into a fist and kept it to his side, shaking in anger but not willing to throw punches anymore.

“This was different!! I’m used to seeing people I care about doing something incredibly reckless. Everything happened so fast and you just up and ran away like that without so much as an explanation. Even though all my adventures being for the most part on my own, at least it was out of my own volition and not being abandoned like that. I… I was terrified. I hadn’t felt that scared and helpless since I was trapped on that goddamn island!!”

He stopped to breathe, still shaking in rage but lowered his head and feeling his eyes burn.

AskCocky: Cocky wiped his tears off. “You weren’t helpless,” he said. “I would have never abandoned you if I didn’t think you could make it back on your own. I mean, there’s a chance you could not, but then again, looking for you would have still been easier than bringing you back from the dead.” The lago shook his head. “As your friend, I would have never abandoned you like that, but as a tactician it was just the best course of action. I just set a puzzle in front of you, and not a particularly hard one, and you solved it so flawlessly you found my ship one hour ahead of me.” The lago sighed. “Me, on the other hand, had to kill like seven of those monsters and evade a lot more climbing to the roofs. See?” Cocky pointed to Guybrush’s chest. “Puzzles.” He pointed to himself. “Killing.” He shrugged. “And here we are, both alive.” The white lago took his friend tight clenched fist and put it under his chin. “Go for it.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush looked surprised when his fist was lifted up under the lago’s chin. He stared at Cocky’s eyes and recognizing that look, it was the same look Elaine gave him when she explained her decision to be a demon bride and justified the tactical decision after Guybrush explained to her how scared he was then. And he hated it.

So he swung his fist under the lago’s chin as placed.

Feeling the contact of fist to chin, he felt the tears begin to fall and he wiped the tears away. “Jerk…”

AskCocky: This time the hit felt like a hammer, and Cocky went flying backwards, bleeding. He crashed on the couch violently and then fell and rolled out of it, slamming himself on the floor, among the feathers and his tattered jacket. Then he lied there, immobile.

MightiestPirate: He looked at Cocky laying there and his own fist stood there in silence, honestly scared of himself. He quickly wrapped his arms around himself, taking a step back, breathing heavy and tears falling. “I-I-I-I’m sorry I’m sorry I-I-I-I didn’t… I don’t….”

AskCocky: Cocky groaned on the floor. After some struggle he managed to half-sit, swaying in place. He spit out a tooth and just looked at it, blinking stupidly. “Well, there’s that,” he said, making a face.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush stood there shaking staring at Cocky. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t… I didn’t mean to…” He sighed and looked away, ears down in shame, unsure what else he could say. AskCocky: Cocky got up shakily again. He kicked the tooth away. He smiled at Guybrush bloodily, one visible gap in his lower jaw. “Well, shiver me timbers, I look like a pirate now!” Then he started laughing.

MightiestPirate: He raised a confused eyebrow at the sudden change of attitude, but the adrenaline that was coursing through him earlier was subsiding finally, leaving Guybrush to be emotionally exhausted as well as physically as he started laughing himself.

“Yeah… yeah I guess so.” Guybrush chuckled.

AskCocky: “I even look more like a pirate than YOU, babyface,” Cocky teased, affectionately. He took a step forward and hugged his friend tightly. “You’re right to be pissed at me, but I’ll take it if it means you’re still alive. Guybrush, you had no idea what I felt like when the Khail pointed that gun at your head. Talk about being scared shitless!” He broke the hug. “So I’m glad you’re here, even if you’re punching me, and I’ll let you punch me all you need,” he said, trembling, and sported his new smile.

MightiestPirate: “In that respect, I look more like a bunny than you.” Guybrush jabbed lightly. He jumped a bit at the tight hug but quickly relaxed when he realized it wasn’t anything more than that and listened to Cocky speak. When he was pulled out of the hug, he saw the trembling bloody grin, feeling a pang of guilt knowing that it was him that caused it and not the bird.

…But then again he did have it coming.

“Like I was just about to ditch my friend to fend for themselves, I’ll be damned before I let something like that happen again.” Guybrush smiled softly and gave a light tap to Cocky’s chest. “Guess we’re even scaring each other shitless.”

AskCocky: For some reason Cocky made a face of pain at the gesture. He rubbed the spot. “Say, if we’re gonna have a fistfight, can we at least do it over something useful? The winner gets to shower first, I say,” he half-whined.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush flinched and rubbed the back of his neck, “Fair enough, but ah… let’s raincheck any future fisticuffs. You… you go on first. Lord knows you could use the shower.” He sheepishly smiled after making a gesture to all of Cocky.

AskCocky: Cocky thought about it for a moment, then said: “You know what, I changed my mind. I need to lie down a bit first. And then I’ll need to soak for a bit in a hot bath. I’m absolutely beaten, mate.” He rubbed his face. Plus I need…” He made a face. “Hey, this is embarrassing, but if I take off my clothes, can you tell me if I have any wounds in my backside? Because I wasn’t kidding about the whiplash. I can barely turn my head around.” Cocky winced.

MightiestPirate: “Erm…” He tried to not blush and cleared his throat. “I ah… y-yeah sure. What should I be looking for?” Guybrush asked, placing his hands on his hips silently hoping it wasn’t anything more than a bruise at worst. AskCocky: “Anything that’s bleeding. Sorry, I have some nerve damage all around, I can literally be pinched and burned at some spots and not feel a thing.” He pointed to his backside in a vague way. “I just want to know if I need to use the healing gun now or later. While the healing gun is great for bruises and cuts, it somehow makes muscle pains even worse.” Cocky looked for some pants, underwear, and some t-shirts. He gave one set to Guybrush, then walked to the other room and flopped on the couch again with a sigh.

MightiestPirate: He watched as Cocky took to the couch once more, unsure if this was a sign he should shower first or check for the wounds and opted for the latter seeing as it was better to get that out of the way first. Still holding his own set of clean clothes, he reclined a bit on the wall, letting it take most of his weight off his feet. “You think you were shot there?” Guybrush asked, “I mean… in the butt that is.”

AskCocky: “I don’t know. Not shot, probably.” Cocky frowned, still curled up in the couch. “One of them had a spiky leh. Another had, yes, a sonic whip. Things get really fuzzy after that. I was in a daze for a while and when I came to I was huddled behind a trash container.” He shrugged. “Go ahead and shower, it’s okay.”

MightiestPirate: He bit his lip and nodded. “Alright, I’ll be quick.” Guybrush answered, quickly making his way to the shower and closing the door. As soon as it was shut, he undressed himself, making it his business to not stare at the mirror and noticed the blood splatter on his own clothing, “Must be from the hug…” He mumbled to himself and went ahead to shower.

A few minutes later and in a set of clean clothes (only looking at the mirror as soon as he was in clothes), he walked out of the bathroom, with crumpled dirty clothes under his arm so it can be placed in a laundry bin.

AskCocky: Cocky sat up. Apparently he had been dozing off, and he rubbed his eyes. He had already taken off the feathers and gloves, and they were nowhere to be seen. He limped to the kitchen. “Just leave them in a chair somewhere, we’ll clean this place up when I’m a little better,” Cocky said, then grabbed a box of salt from a shelf and walked to the bathroom. “You’ll check me in a minute, I just need to…” He filled up a glass with water and poured the salt in it, mixing it with his toothbrush. Then he examined the gap in his teeth in the bathroom mirror. “Won’t stop bleeding,” he commented, and started taking sips of salt water and swirling it around before spitting it in the sink.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded and placed it in a chair next to him. As Cocky went to the bathroom, he sat down on the couch and waited for a bit, knowing that he was going to get up again as soon as the mouth rinsing was done. He idly played with his ring and lowered his ears a bit. “I um… sorry about that. I didn’t think that it was going to cause a tooth to fly out.” Guybrush apologized. AskCocky: “It was loose already, Guybrush. One of those fuckers elbowed me in the face. That, at least, I remember,” Cocky said between rinses. “Hey, maybe I can get a gold tooth. Then I’d be double-pirate-more-than-you.”

MightiestPirate: While he winced at the story of how it came loose, Guybrush laughed about the tooth. “I don’t know about that. I thought hooks were in when I had one, but was delightfully told that having a glass eye were the ‘pirate trend’ at the time and ‘way cooler’.” He made quotation marks around the last two statements.

AskCocky: Cocky finished rinsing and went to check the inside of his mouth again in the mirror. “These two are loose too. The healing gun will fix that, however.” The lago saw the bleeding had mostly stopped. “Glass eyes are super creepy and I won’t sacrifice my depth perception over fashion.” He could see Guybrush in the mirror, so half-smiled at him and asked. “Also, you didn’t think it would knock one of my teeth off? Really, would that have stopped you?”

MightiestPirate: “Honestly, I don’t think so… but I would’ve pulled back the hit or at the very least aimed somewhere else that didn’t have any, y’know, potential loose body parts.” He scratched his cheek with a bit of a smirk while giving a shrug, “But then again I have no idea how to hold back my punches. So… y’know. There’s that.”

AskCocky: “Well, thank the Gods you didn’t, or maybe I would have to get that glass eye after all,” Cocky said, without an inch of irony. Then: “Don’t think too much about it, mate. Lago teeth grow back again. I’ll just have a goofy smile for some weeks.” He took off his shirt. “Well?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush raised a curious eyebrow, “Wait, seriously? That’s both creepy and neat.” He stood up and went over to get a look over Cocky’s back, seeing a series of bruises and cuts from what could probably be the whip he made mention of earlier. “Um… so from the back, you look like a dalmatian with all the bruise marks going and some cuts that I feel like if I touch will send you to the floor.”

AskCocky: “Oh, THOSE I feel. At least some. But is anything still bleeding visibly? Or do you think I can wait?”

MightiestPirate: “Just this one bruise that looks to be the size of my fist.” Guybrush said as he pointed at it, not getting close enough to actually touch it. “Unless you feel that too.”

AskCocky: “UUugh,” Cocky just winced. He didn’t know if he felt it or not because he hurt all over. He sat on the toilet to kick off his boots. Blood had pooled in the right one, and he saw at least a puncture mark from the leh. Cocky sighed, then unbuckled and took off his pants. In the mirror, he saw Guybrush covering his eyes. “Um, Guybrush.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh! R-right. Sorry.” Guybrush put his hand down to get a look at Cocky’s behind and winced at the sight of several more bruise marks as well as what looked like a cut. “The dalmatian pattern continues with a nice cut to add to it.” Guybrush said as he looked at it. “This is taking the term a ‘pain in the ass’ a bit too literally.” AskCocky: “I know, I know, those feathery bastards are true artists,” Cocky sighed. “There’s no way around it.” He pulled up his pants again. “Thanks, mate.” He opened one of the drawers and pulled the healing gun. He shoot himself with it, stifling a scream. Then he looked at Guybrush interrogatively. “Do you want to be a lago for a little while more or…?”

MightiestPirate: “I guess I could get those bruises from the truck ride cleared up and– wait.” He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, “Being a lago is under a time limit?” Guybrush asked in a confused tone.

AskCocky: Cocky pointed to the healing gun. “This was supposed to cure you from your lago-nity, remember?”

MightiestPirate: “Ah, right… kinda forgot about that.” Guybrush awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, he thought for a moment and shrugged “I don’t mind being being a lago for a bit longer.”

AskCocky: “All right,” Cocky smiled, then put the gun in the drawer. Then he dragged himself to the bathroom and opened the faucet of the bathtub. “Man, what the Hell. I don’t even feel THAT much better,” he complained. “I’m getting too old for this crap.” He leaned on the wall of the bathroom. “Aw, man. And we didn’t even get you a new coat.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush shrugged once more and leaned on the couch, crossing his arms as well while giving a soft smile, “Yeah… but it’s fine. I’d prefer missing out on a new coat to get out of a planet in alive and in one piece and not captured in a body bag with one, y’know?”

AskCocky: “Well, yeah. I honestly had no clue to where we could find a coat like that. I was going to try for a costume shop. Pirate garb.” Cocky closed the faucet and looked at Guybrush. “I’m going to take that bath now. You coming, or what?”

MightiestPirate: “I’m sure a peacoat would’ve had just as much of an effect and– wait what?” Guybrush answered before slipping off the couch and the famous blush of his returning. “I erm… uh… taking a bath?” He garbled up some words in confusion.

AskCocky: “I’m gonna be here for a long while. I could use the company, especially because I will probably fall asleep and drown if I’m alone.” Cocky leaned on the doorstep. “You already saw my naked ass, just like every other friend I have, along with half of the bar population in at least a dozen planets. So it’s not a big deal, right?”

MightiestPirate: “I… yeah, I suppose you have a point.” Guybrush pondered, scratching his cheek in thought and shrugged. “Eh, screw it.” He got up from the floor and made way to the bathroom “It’ll be like giving a bunny a bath.” He joked as he patted Cocky’s head.

AskCocky: “It’ll be like a bunny giving me a bath.” Cocky rolled his eyes. “Fine, big baby.” He tossed an entire bath bomb, the soothing edition, and soon the bathtub was full of pretty and concealing lather. “Get a chair from the kitchen, the toilet’s going to be uncomfortable after a while.” As soon as Guybrush went to do that, Cocky quickly took off the rest of his clothes and lowered himself in the bathtub, sighing.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush laughed as he went to get the chair, coming back with it as soon as Cocky entered the bathtub. He placed the chair in a way that he could place his feet on the toilet seat if he wanted to before sitting down on the chair, realizing that he hadn’t properly sat down in hours and allowing his feet to rest, sighing in relief himself. “What was that ball you tossed in the bathtub?” Guybrush asked after a few minutes of silence.

AskCocky: “Actually, no idea. It’s just a ball of something-something. You toss it in the bathtub and it makes it smell nice, plus it can be soothing, and also makes pretty bubbles.” Cocky’s ears went down in relaxation, starting to feel the very hot water working on his muscles. “They sold those at the perfumes shop too.”

MightiestPirate: “Ooh, neat, wish I knew that while we were there.” Guybrush responded, “Reminds me of this soothing lotion that smells like lavender that Elaine gets from this shop and it’s just really relaxing.”

AskCocky: “I have a lavender one in that basket over there. You can have it if you want,” Cocky shrugged. After a silence, he asked: “So aside from the bit where I abandoned to your luck, did you have fun? Did you enjoy Nin?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush picked up the ball and played with it in his hands as something to do. He raised his eyebrows at the question before chuckling, “I mean… aside from that whole ordeal that will for sure linger in my subconscious for years to come? Yeah, I actually had a blast in both the metaphorical and literal sense.” He dug into his pocket to hold out the folded newspaper with their picture. “Even got the coolest memento about the time we wrecked a monster truck rally that I’ll be sure to frame as soon as I can. How about you? Sans the whole trauma with the birds bit.”

AskCocky: “I had a blast, of course,” Cocky said. “The dancing fountain, the shopping, the monster truck. It was a nice good-bye to Nin. I’ll always remember it.” He sank a bit more in the water, the bubbles almost tickling his nose.

MightiestPirate: “Heh… same here. Gonna always remember that fantastic burger.” He smiled as he folded the newspaper back into his pocket and placing his feet on the toilet seat, continuing to play with the bath bomb as if it was a rubric cube.

AskCocky: “What the Hell was even the deal with that nice cream vendor,” Cocky mumbled sleepily and closed his eyes and sank a bit more, this time some foam stuck to his nose rather comically. “And sorry I threatened you with a knifffffe…”

MightiestPirate: “I dunno, I think he just happened to have a slow day going and was in the wrong area so it made things worse. It happens sometimes and I told you I’m not– Cocky?” Guybrush looked over seeing just half of Cocky’s head in the bathtub and quickly went to pick up the lago from the under arms so at least his head was no longer submerged.

AskCocky: Cocky woke up, startled, but at least in a non-aggressive way. “S-sorry. I fall asleep real fast, I guess.” He shook his head and started soaping off, wincing. After a while, he said: “You know you probably have a bounty on your head right now, right?”

MightiestPirate: He sighed in relief when Cocky didn’t panic when he woke up, taking that as a sign that he is getting better. "Really?” Guybrush said sounding almost impressed as his ears perked up at the mention of a bounty. “I mean, I always had one back on Earth but to have a space one as well… that’s pretty cool. Kinda curious for how much though.” He paused in thought before waving his hands “N-not that I’m saying I want to be caught but it’s just… I’m just gonna shut up about it now.”

AskCocky: “Oh, I mean to find out before I’m going to bed. I’ll take your pic, blurry it a bit, then see if it has a match in the database.” Cocky rubbed his right knee, which was purple and swollen, then hid it again under the bubbles. “My guess, you’re between 100 and 200 000 units. A good, tempting prize. You’re really lucky you can simply go back to be human and it’s like that bounty never existed,” Cocky smiled.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush gave an impressed whistle, “That sounds a lot. The coolest part about it is I can at least know that I’m wanted in space as well on Earth.” Guybrush smiled back, “Heh, how many pirates can say that about themselves?” He continued to play with the bath bomb in silence for a bit.

AskCocky: “Actually, none, unless you count space pirates, and practically like 50% of the database is space pirates.” He looked at Guybrush pleadingly, the sponge in his hand. “I don’t want to be a bother, but could you do my back? If I use the brush it’s going to be very unpleasant.”

MightiestPirate: “I… huh, good point.” He agreed. Guybrush looked over at Cocky’s plea, placing the bath bomb down, and took the sponge. “I’m already in the bathroom with you, Cocky. At this point, I’m pretty sure almost all things are off the table.” He smirked, and placed the sponge on his back enough that it can clean Cocky, “Just let me know how much pressure, alright?”

AskCocky: “As light as you can, please,” Cocky said. “And what does that mean, almost all things are off the table? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’d do the same for you, no hesitation, and why not? If you need me, I’ll be there. Or are we not friends anymore, just because I did something terrible?” He sounded extremely cranky.

MightiestPirate: “And that’s not… that’s not what I meant, okay? First off we are friends, and I have your back. Literally and metaphorically.” Guybrush began but quickly bit his lip and took a breath. “I was trying to be comedic. It backfired. I’m sorry.” He apologized sincerely, not in the mood to get into another verbal spat as he eased up drastically on Cocky’s back with the sponge. AskCocky: “All right,” Cocky said, meekly, wincing. “Sorry for… sorry. It’s embarrassing for me too. Not the nudity, but the helplessness. I’m not used to asking for help, understand?” He rubbed his cheek scars. “I hate feeling like this.”

MightiestPirate: “It’s fine.” Guybrush spoke gently, cautiously washing Cocky’s back. “Especially after everything that just happened, I ah… I don’t exactly blame you. Just… think of this as a spa experience but without the calm musical ambiance and incense candles.”

AskCocky: “If this is like a spa then spas suck.” He lowered his head. “Smells pretty nice while someone put burning-hot stones on your back. Pretty accurate.” He scratched the lightning shaped scar he had on the back of his neck. “Exfoliating, my ass,” he grunted, and let out a string of colorful curses and swears, some of them in very strange languages.

MightiestPirate: “I’m a pirate Cocky, not a masseur. Sue me.” Guybrush sighed, listening to the lago string together a sentence of colorful words in various languages. After seeing the back clean of any dried blood he handed the sponge over to Cocky. “Wanna wash your face?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: “Yeah, thanks for the help. Sorry, it was nothing against you. You have to rub hard because it’s a real bitch to get dried blood out of fur. And if you leave it there for some time, it leaves yellow stains.” Cocky laughed exhaustedly. “See, I’m a freaking genius, because I chose to be an assassin and a soldier, and I’m ALWAYS wearing white,” he pointed to himself in a rather derisive way. Then he started rubbing his face.

MightiestPirate: “I’d imagine it being a nightmare to wash off anything that was white. Like a mustard stain.” Guybrush acknowledged as he leaned back in his chair, “Also kinda figured it wasn’t against me, I just chalked it up to you being beyond exhausted which is making your stress worse and also very short tempered. Elaine does the same thing when she’s over stressed.” He crossed his arms and placed a foot on the toilet seat.

AskCocky: Cocky just leaned on his arms, placed on top of the bathtub lid. “Oh Guybrush, you understand me so well,” and he fluttered his eyelashes. But he was too sore to continue on the comedy and he just sighed as he rubbed the back of his legs. “Well, isn’t basically everybody like that? Even babies. What are YOU like when you’re exhausted? I mean, aren’t you exhausted right now, between the being lost and punching your friends bloody?”

MightiestPirate: “Oh, ha-ha you are such a charming comedian.” Guybrush jabbed, as he poked a finger to Cocky’s forehead “And you placed my fist there. I was content punching you in the arm.” He sighed and moved his head side to side stretching his muscle from looking down for a while. “And seeing as I’m more exhausted from chasing your butt than I am from that one-hit wonder, I’ve been told that everything I say is very dead-pan and my sarcasm is brutal.”

AskCocky: “Aah, you feel guilty, that’s why you run to justify yourself. Shame, shame, shame.’I was content punching you in the arm’ as if that’s any better.” Cocky rubbed his shoulders and opened the hot water once more, then he once more sank a bit in the water, soaking. “This is what I get for trying to protect you… shoulda taken you with me and let those guys give you a taste of that sonic whip.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush furrowed his brows in anger and stood up, feeling his anger rise. “My mistake was apparently saving you from drowning.” He went out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

AskCocky: Cocky looked at him go, kind of surprised and yet not surprised. He wondered if he should say something, or go after Guybrush. He resolved not to do it. If Guybrush started hitting him again, it was very probably he’d just hit him back. If their friendship was over, or in the way of being over, that’s not the way Cocky wanted it to end. He just sank in the steaming bath further, exhausted but in too much pain to be really sleepy anymore. He realized he would need some painkillers, because the pain in his chest and midsection wasn’t going away. Some obscure instinct told him the ship had stopped moving, so they were probably already stationed on Viewpoint, that spot in space where you could see -stare, really- at the Rainbow Dark Nebula, with all its changing colors and sparkles, filling up your windows.

MightiestPirate: He leaned on the window with his arms crossed and stared out into dark abyss surrounding the ship, needing the literal space to think clearly about what happened and taking in deep breaths to subside that familiar sense of anger. It was one thing to say exactly what Guybrush did to mess up or make someone angry, he could take that hit and try to better himself. But to ask for help and then proceed to just say how terrible he was for one action…

And that he was a mistake to help.

Guybrush clenched his jaw, trying to not let out anymore steam. Deep down he didn’t mean what he said in the slightest, that he regretted saving him from drowning, in fact he was actually really glad to have befriended the lago. He has always hated to resort to violence, always have and always will, but everything that happened in the last few hours were all a rush of emotions and adrenaline that for a while, his rational thinking kinda took a back seat. Guybrush knew he wasn’t exactly “Mr. Perfect” by a long shot, if anything he was “Mr. Fairly-Decent-Kinda” at best, he was a pirate after all.

He slid down and sat on the floor, arms still crossed and staring at the change of colors, missing being back on his own ship for the first time since he left Earth.

AskCocky: Cocky, freshly white and dressed in his pants, entered the room and sat quietly next to Guybrush, wincing slightly. He looked at the window and said: “So. That’s open to two interpretations.” He unscrewed the lid of a small white bottle and let two pills drop on his palm. “One, you wish I was dead. Two, you wish you’d never met me. Which one it is?” Cocky swallowed one of the pills.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush didn’t turn his head. “When I said it? The latter one…” He answered solemnly and stayed silent while continuing to stare at the window. There was so much more he wanted to say, but everything was pointing to a bad outcome that it made Guybrush frowned. AskCocky: “That hurts,” Cocky commented, then swallowed the second pill. “I was hoping it was the third meaning, where you were just being ultra sarcastic. But. Fair enough. I’m taking you home.” He got up to program the course.

MightiestPirate: ”Cocky, wait.” Guybrush got up and grabbed onto Cocky’s wrist carefully, not wanting him to leave just yet but not wanting to cause anymore harm. “I don’t regret being your friend. Not even for a second, I don’t want to end our friendship and I’m sorry for saying what I did but…” He paused for a moment, feeling his eyes beginning to burn and a lump in his throat, “Sarcasm or not, saying how you regret protecting me or how I should be flogged caught me off guard and well… it hurt.”

He stared at the floor, not wanting to show his face.

AskCocky: Cocky sat down again. “Except I never said that. I said you punched me because I tried to protect you, and apparently you think I should have taken you with me to be killed or sold into slavery. Isn’t that exactly why you punched me?” The lago sighed. “Seriously… serious question. What would you have done in my place? What was the right thing to do? What should I have done for you to not be perma-pissed at me?”

MightiestPirate: He wanted to say ‘Except that’s not how it sounded to me at all’, instead remained silent, sitting back down while resting the back of his head on the window, staring at the ceiling, he started thinking carefully of what he wanted to say out of fear that anything he would say would come out of context somehow.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush closed his eyes, trying to recall the event with a clearer head. “You could’ve worded ‘ship’ instead of ‘sorry’, before running off so at the very least I would’ve known where to go instead of staying the crowd. Maybe even have a code word after we saw that bird the first time around so at least it was more of a plan if we ran into it again.”

He stayed silent and placed his hands on his face, finally feeling exhausted about everything. “I’ll admit that my emotion got the best of me and I’m sorry for striking, but that wasn’t why I punched you… I wasn’t angry that you protected me. I got scared worrying for you.”

AskCocky: Cocky thought about this for a while. “That is true,” he finally said. “I guess I said sorry, not only about ditching you, but about everything… everything that had happened… or could happen. When I said it, I honestly thought it was very likely it would be the last word you’d ever hear from me, one way or the other.” He looked down at the bottle. “Anyway, there was another one of them coming up the street, and I needed him to follow me and stay clear from you. And did I really need to tell you to go to the ship? I didn’t think so at the moment, and I don’t think it now. I believed you were more than capable of solving the problem? And you did.” Cocky grabbed Guybrush’s hand and put a pill on it. “Take this, you’ll feel better.”

MightiestPirate: He didn’t have anything else to say, but felt a bit relieved that they cleared the air of everything that happened on Nim, if not entirely than at least somewhat. Guybrush looked at the pill and gave Cocky a confused eyebrow, “What’s it suppose to do?” AskCocky: “Blue half is a painkiller, red half is a muscle relaxant. Trust me, you’ll feel better after a while. I think you got slammed pretty hard on the passenger seat.” Cocky scratched his cheek scar. “So are we cool or not? I don’t care about the punching, screw that shit. Pssch, it was like 1+ point of damage over 10,000 I already had on. But I DO care if you’re going to be perma-pissed at me about making that decision. Are you going to forgive me, or what?”

MightiestPirate: After Guybrush swallowed the pill once it was explained, he turned over to look at Cocky “Yeah… we’re cool, I forgive ya. You forgive me for knocking a tooth out?” He asked as rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and gave a small dry chuckle. “Might be a plus one but it felt like a huge blow on my end… and I don’t normally enjoy punching my friends in the face.”

AskCocky: Cocky just hugged Guybrush, feeling very relieved. After a few moments he laughed and shrugged. “Of course I forgive you. Mate, I’m constantly losing teeth over dumber things. See this one?” Cocky pointed at a molar in the back that was apparently in the process of growing. “Got that punched out by a huge lizard-man during a drunk bar fight.”

MightiestPirate: After he happily returned the hug, feeling the tension get off his shoulder, Guybrush flinched at the story while giving a chuckle “Oof… that doesn’t sound pleasant in the slightest.” He remarked, “The biggest punch I ever received to the mouth was by Elaine, I saw stars afterwards.”

AskCocky: “Oh, I get it now. If a pirate punches you, it’s a sign of affection!” Cocky laughed, then grabbed his midsection making a face of pain. He shook his head and stood up, offering Guybrush a hand. “C’mon, we need some comfort food. I’m making some hot chocolate, and I baked cinnamon rolls the other day. Should have something in the stomach, or the pill will give us a stomach ache.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh… depends on the pirate, but yeah it means they’re interested.” Guybrush laughed as he took a hold of Cocky’s hand and pulled himself up. “Sounds good… but is having that many sweets a good thing? Not that I’m complaining just that it might give a whole different stomach ache.”

AskCocky: “Huh?” Cocky just frowned while he got four cinnamon rolls and stuck them in the oven. “Sweets give humans stomach aches? First thing I knew. Or is it something that just happens to you?” He took off the lid of the pot of chocolate and the kitchen filled with the aroma. He nodded and turned off the stove.

MightiestPirate: “Well… in over abundance it can be pretty painful. For me, I once stuffed down too many sweets in one sitting and well, kinda was in a fetal position for a few hours.” Guybrush sheepishly scratched his cheek as he took a whiff of the chocolate scent and smiled.

AskCocky: “Good! Then you’ll know how I feel,” Cocky smirked, rather mercilessly. He served the cups of chocolate and got the rolls out of the oven. “Of course, it is your choice. You could always only drink your savory chocolate.” The lago pointed to the steaming cups, the wonderful sweet smell elevating in swirls. “OOOOOOR you could eat my award-winning cinnamon rolls.” Cocky pointed to the rolls where the frosting was glistening and rolling down the sides, then grabbed his head dramatically. “OH NO! What a terrible dilemma, Guybrush Threepwood! Whatever you shall do??” He sat down and grabbed a roll and started munching on it. “Life is so cruel,” he said, through a mouthful.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush gave him a raised eyebrow, before placing the back of his hand on his forehead “Oh lordy this does seem to be a dilemma for me, Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™!!” He picked up the cinnamon roll and held it at arms length, “And this… this sinful cinnamon roll… this SINnamon roll!! I can’t… fight it…” Guybrush stopped to take a bite out of it and chewed on it a bit before dropping the act.

“Huh, this is really good.”

AskCocky: “Worth a stomach ache, I’d say,” Cocky snickered. “Hahaha. Sinnamon roll. Sometimes that’s a nickname too.” He giggled, blushing a little. “Try the chocolate, it’s good too. And good for the soul. We lived to beat Murphy’s law another day, Guybrush. I’d say we deserve some pampering. And some calories.” He munched happily. “Did you like the view, by the way? Prettiest corpse of a star ever.”

MightiestPirate: He gave Cocky a smirk as he took a small sip of the chocolate so as not to burn his tongue, savoring the taste of it none the less. “I’d cheer to that, I’d even call it a successful shopping trip.” Guybrush raised the mug as a toast before taking another sip. “Yeah… didn’t think I’d see so many colors on a star… it was kinda hypnotic even.”

AskCocky: “I knew you’d like it, it’s a pretty popular spot. See? Some stars are jerks when they die, others leave behind something nice to look at. And well, aside from the coat, we got everything we wanted, so yeah, a succesful shopping trip. The bruises were for free, even.” Cocky dunked a piece of roll in his chocolate with his spoon.

MightiestPirate: “How very considerate of the exploding star to leave such a fantastic view.” Guybrush complimented as he took a bite from the cinnamon roll followed by rinsing it down with the hot chocolate now that it was less likely to burn his tongue. “Kinda like how we left a nice explosion at the monster truck thing. And I’ll live, to be honest I kinda forgot about the coat after we did that… but then again I was too caught up with everything the city had to offer.”

AskCocky: Cocky laughed, then winced. “We left SEVERAL explosions. I think you didn’t even noticed, the way you were howling and firing insults like a well-oiled cannon.” The lago took a sip of chocolate. “I’m curious. Why were you so attached to that particular coat?”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, that’s probably the case…” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck. “Though that did explain the multiple sounds of firework.” He stirred the hot chocolate a bit, seeing some of the chocolate at the bottom. “It was the ten year anniversary preset I got from Elaine and she surprised me with it, recalling that I missed a blue coat I use to have a long time ago.” Guybrush explained. “It… it meant a lot.”

AskCocky: “Ugh, I KNEW it had to be something like that. I’m sorry. I guess it was irreplaceable after all,” Cocky said, sympathetic. “I hope you don’t get in trouble over this. I’m not sure how much you’re going to tell her about our adventures, but if you are going to tell the truth, I’m sure she will understand.”

MightiestPirate: “It’s fine…” Guybrush sighed, “At worst, I’ll probably gonna get an earful about it or something and a look of disbelief… heh, I can already hear her say how she wants to be surprised that I managed to do something as ridiculous as confusing a furnace and a washing machine but because it’s my style to do a mix up like that she’ll just add it to the list.” He chuckled, “But don’t worry about it, it’s fine.” Guybrush looked at Cocky and gave a sincere smile.

AskCocky: “Mmmmmh.” Cocky was not entirely convinced, but there was really nothing he could do about it. He finished his cup of hot chocolate and ate the last bit of cinnamon roll. “You can go wash your teeth while I clean up a bit, I really hate seeing all that mess.” The lago started rinsing the pot and his cup. “And I better do it right now; tomorrow everything’s just going to hurt worse.” MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded and stood up, placing his mug in the sink so as not to feel completely rude by leaving it on the table before making way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After having it be cleaned and his breath minty fresh, he headed back to the kitchen. “Need help with anything?” Guybrush pitched.

AskCocky: Cocky had finished with the kitchen and was carrying the dirty clothes to the washing machine. “Actually, yes, please. Pick the feathers off the ground and put them on the coffee table. I can’t even bend my knee properly to do it.” He left.

MightiestPirate: “On it.” Guybrush went over to pick up the feathers, “Kinda like fifty two pick up but with feathers instead of cards.” He lightly joked as he picked each one up, he held one of them and gave it a look before putting in the on-growing pile. “You and feathers… is there a story behind it?” He asked out of curiosity.

AskCocky: “Huh?” Cocky was coming out of the workshop carrying his feather cape, which had been left in the dry-clean cycle while he was taking a bath. “Of course there is.” He sat on the couch with the feathers and the cape, and he started skewering the new feathers in the tiny hooks that were in the mail under it. “These are my killings.”

MightiestPirate: “That’s… a lot of feathers.” Guybrush raised his eyebrows as he looked back at the black feather between his fingers and the growing pile in his arm. After collecting all the feathers, he went over to the couch and took a seat while placing the pile between him and Cocky. “Now is that each feather is one or…?”

AskCocky: “Two for each kill. Well, you saw me take them, unless it happened so fast you didn’t even catch it. Sometimes they have three, or one, but mostly, two.” Cocky started chuckling. “And this is nothing! I had another cape before, it went down almost to my knees. Really pretty. But they took it away when they…” the smile died on his face, and he suddenly stopped. Then he resumed placing the feathers. “It got burned down to ashes. Pretty much like your coat.”

MightiestPirate: “Ooh, so that’s what you took off from birdman… guess that answers that question.” Guybrush placing a chin on his finger impressed. He then winced at the familiar tale of the coat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah… sorry to hear about the first one burning up though. But hey, at least you’re able to re-make the coat, it’s like a wearable scrapbook.”

AskCocky: Cocky smirked. “Haha, that’s what I told the guy before he burned it. I told him ‘that’s alright, I can get another one.’ Boy, he didn’t like it at all!” Cocky took another feather. “My feathers give me luck, and when there’s a fight like the one we had today, they help me look a little more impressive. You saw them, they’re like 9 ft tall. One has to compensate with something for the size.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush chuckled, “Yeah, no kidding. It’s like a bragging rights of sort that you literally get to brag into said enemies face.” He reclined a bit more back and crossed his arms, giving Cocky and impressed grin, “I dare say that it’s very pirate-y of you. Because nothing pisses off an enemy than showing some swag and getting away with it.” AskCocky: Cocky stopped for a moment, thinking. “Actually, yeah. It IS kind of pirate-y. And thanks for not thinking it’s gross or that I’m a psychopath. A lot of people are impressed, but also a lot simply freak out at the thought. Hey, at least it’s not a collar of teeth or a jar of fingers, right?” He admired the final result. “How does it look?”

MightiestPirate: “Well if it was teeth or a jar of fingers, I would’ve assumed you were doing something voodoo related and that would’ve creeped me out.” Guybrush smirked before giving a thumbs up, “And I think you can add seamstress to your growing resume of things you are able to do just fine.”

AskCocky: “Heh. You know, it’s been a long while since I added feathers to this cape. At least months.” Cocky looked at Guybrush. “Wanna try it on? It’s a symbol of courage.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush raised his eyebrows. “I um… sure, it’d be honor to try it. Erm t-t-that is if it’s all fine with you.” He awkwardly rubbed his neck, “I mean… just wanna clarify and all.”

AskCocky: Cocky took the collar the cape was attached too and adjusted it around Guybrush’s neck. “If the question is, does the owner of the killings want to see how you look with my feathers on, the answer is yes.” He smiled sweetly. “And if the question is if you deserve it, remember you stepped between a Khail and his ten million prize. I’d say you have more than earned the right.”

MightiestPirate: “I told you, it wasn’t like I was going to leave my friend hanging there.” He smiled happily as well while scratching his cheek, having a sense of pride filling up with the cape sitting on him, it reminded him of his own coat. As soon as it was clipped on, he made a bit of a twirl watching the feathers around him. “Gotta hand it to ya, it looks stylish and is actually really comfortable.”

AskCocky: “Yeah, don’t believe I’ll be forgetting that anytime soon.” Cocky said, seriously. Then he looked at Guybrush and beamed. “You look so great! You gotta come look in the mirror.” He lead the pirate to the bathroom. “Of course they’re comfy. Honestly my first cape was a bit cumbersome, it got to the point where I had to take it off to fight. But in cold nights, with snow even, I could simply wrap myself in it and sleep like a baby. Feathers are great insulators.” He pointed to the Guybrush in the mirror. “TA-DAA!”

MightiestPirate: “Whoa…” Guybrush stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself amazed, the last time he stood in front of it with Cocky was when he first turned into a lago, but now he looked… confident. “The bird people are jerks, but they have some really nice feathers to make a coat.” He lightly joked as he turned to one side and than the other, looking at the coat at different angles. “Excellent taste you got.”

AskCocky: “Now you look like a warrior! Only the war paint is missing,” Cocky said, admiringly. “We should have painted ourselves for the monster truck fight… um…” He frowned. “Wait a minute…” He hurried to the couch worriedly. MightiestPirate: His face showing signs of concern, he followed Cocky to where the couch was but maintained some distance. “Cocky? Everything alright?” Guybrush asked as he took off the feather coat and held it like a fragile accessory.

AskCocky: Cocky didn’t answer as he picked up his bloodied jacket from the floor. He stuck his hand in one pocket and found a single, solitary black feather. It was broken, and Cocky threw it aside as he explored the other pocket. What he got out, wincing, was his copy of the newspaper. It had been cut in two cleanly as if by a sword. “Aw, man! I wanted to keep that, too!” he complained.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush frowned at the sight of the newspaper, “I can think of a few things you can do with it.” He weakly smiled as he gently placed the feather cape to the side and dug in his pocket, pulling out his own newspaper. “But if you want… here. You can have it.” He offered, extending his hand out with the article.

AskCocky: “Aw, man. You’re unbelievable.” Cocky was sincerely moved, because he knew just how much his friend wanted it for himself. “No, YOU keep that. I could always get another copy, although I’m probably wanted for murder in Nim, and…” He scratched his cheek scar and finally he took the newspaper from Guybrush. “You know what? I don’t really really need a physical copy. Considering my luck, the most probable thing is that it would be destroyed eventually anyway. I only need to take a digital pic of the newspaper and store it on the holonet, where it’ll be safe from Murphy’s affection.” He took out his phone from its titanium case and extended the newspaper on the table.

MightiestPirate: “Fair enough, Murphy be damned right?” He rubbed the back of his neck while he watched as Cocky held out the device over the picture with steadiness, even raising an eyebrow at it. It made the same clicking sound as the glass eye did when it took a picture of what it was looking at it. “What’s that thing?” Guybrush asked as he looked at the shiny device.

AskCocky: “It’s my phone. Um.” Cocky tried to remember if Guybrush was supposed to know what a phone was, but he explained it anyway. “Well, you can use it for many things. Mainly, to speak to other people who has a phone too. But, look!” Cocky side-hugged Guybrush and took a selfie, smiling. Then he showed him the screen with the picture he had just taken.

MightiestPirate: “Ooh, it’s a camera!!” Guybrush said happily as he looked at the picture, he looked a bit like a deer in headlights but at least he had an awkward grin as oppose to him looking completely startled. “Never knew it can be this small… neat.” He looked over at the phone throughly impressed and placed his hands on his hips.

AskCocky: “There are smaller,” Cocky pointed. “But then I can’t use the damn keyboard. Lagos, you might have noticed, have large hands.” He looked at the pic, then at Guybrush. “Let’s take another, but this time, put on your best pirate smile.” Cocky put an arm around Guybrush’s shoulders and took another selfie. Then he showed it at him. “How does it look?” MightiestPirate: “So I noticed.” Guybrush joked as he flexed his fingers. He looked over at the picture, glad that he placed an arm around Cocky as soon as he felt an arm around his shoulders and even more so when he gave an actual smile and not a cheesy grin he usually sports. Guybrush chuckled and gave a thumbs up at the picture. “That one looks much better.”

AskCocky: “Goody! I like it too!” Cocky nodded approvingly. “Let’s do stuff with these pics.” The lago brought down the big screen, just above the coffee table, and pushed a couple of buttons in the phone to send the pics wirelessly to the screen. A few clicks and a couple of pics emerged from a slot in the side of the coffee table itself. Then he started loading a website. “Being a lago rocks. I have a friend who used to be human, then he turned into a lago and never wanted to go back.”

MightiestPirate: “After being one for a while, I can see the appeal.” Guybrush acknowledged as he watched Cocky at work with the screen in front of them. He paused for a moment until the metaphorical lightbulb went on in his head and raised an eyebrow. “So wait, this friend of your’s, did he also use the healing gun on himself?”

AskCocky: “No, with him, it was magic.” Cocky was just waiting for the results. “One of the few instances of magic I actually liked, since his lago form is a lot hotter than his human form. Not that he wasn’t attractive before, but…” He interrupted himself and whistled, pointing to the screen and made a face. “Well, that pretty blond head of yours is now worth 400,000 units. Alive.”

MightiestPirate: “Magic?” Guybrush listened to Cocky explaining the human-turned-lago friend when both eyebrows raised up, he stared at the screen for a while before crossing his arms. “This is both extremely terrifying and yet pretty impressive. I mean, just short of half a million for my first offense? Not too shabby.” Guybrush cracked a sheepish grin.

AskCocky: “Uuummm.” Cocky crossed his arms. “Er, out of curiosity, and since the screen doesn’t say. What offense was that, you think?”

MightiestPirate: Arms still crossed and a finger on his chin, Guybrush thought back about the entire event. “Umm… ” He pondered. “He got more mad when I stood in front of you and talked… so doing that?”

AskCocky: Cocky shook his head. “Lemme explain a bit how the bounty board works. Unlike, I’m guessing, the ones you’re familiar with, the law has nothing to do with it. Basically anyone can post a bounty on anyone. Dead or alive. If it’s juicy enough, a bunch of bounty hunters are going to be chasing your ass. So. You pissed that guy when you tried to intervene, but they’d never put a bounty on you for that.” He pointed to the screen. “You’re wanted alive, and alive only. That means if you get caught, you’ll be put through the wringer so they can extract whatever information you can have about me,” Cocky said bitterly. “They pay 400,000 for you, which I assure you is a lot of money… but they can use you to get 5 or 10 million for me. A good business.” MightiestPirate: “That’ll be the second bounty to want me alive… and I’m gonna guess that it’s throughout space much like a bounty would be.” He winced a bit, rubbing his arms as if he got a sudden chill from the new found information. “They don’t recognize your ship, do that?” He asked, “I know that’s how one of the bounty hunters found me was through my ship back on Earth.”

AskCocky: “It’s a very common model, we purposefully chose it to be like that. Our serial number is constantly changing too. I’ve got about every safety measure that can be implemented by two engineering geniuses, so we’re mostly safe here.” Cocky sighed and checked his own bounty. It was 11 million now. “Aw, COME ON!!” he protested.

MightiestPirate: “Oh… so that’s a good thing then. Yay engineering geniuses.” He relaxed for a moment only flinch a bit at the outburst from the rising bounty and while biting his lip could only offer a sympathetic pat on Cocky’s back. “I’m guessing it only goes up every time you go on a crowded planet, encounter them, and get out of there alive?” He shrugged.

AskCocky: “No, it’s just… it’s been a while since I checked it. I’m guessing one of the guys I recently killed was sort of important, or had rich friends, or maybe it’s simply the rising threat I represent.” Cocky clenched his eyes shut, then scrolled down. “Aaand this is only from The Khail government. Additionally, there is… two million from B’eel. And etcetera, and etcetera, and etcetera.” He pointed to the list of bounties by several posters, ranging from 50k to 100k. Cocky laughed nervously. “Wow, hahaha, everybody hates me.”

MightiestPirate: “If it helps, if this was on Earth, pirates would probably admire you based on how ‘popular’ you are with the masses.” Guybrush chimed in as he watched the various prices rise up with each bounty and flinching at them. “Um… let’s just… exit out of that for now and not think about it, alright?” He suggested, sensing it was a long shot, “I think we both got an idea of how Murphy decided to retaliate on us.”

AskCocky: Cocky sighed. “You’re right, mate. It’s no use thinking about these things. Besides, I don’t want you to get worried. Remember, you will be human again and no one will know you.” He printed out the bounty for Guybrush and gave it to him. “For your pirate cred,” he smiled.

MightiestPirate: “Heh… thanks.” He took hold of the flyer and looked at it once more before folding it into his pocket, “Don’t think I’ll be going around bragging about it to the public… but it’s the thought of it that counts That and I have physical proof that it actually happened.” Guybrush returned the smile.

AskCocky: Cocky patted Guybrush on the back affectionately and chuckled. “Let’s just go to sleep now, we have earned that, too. You know the drill, pick wherever you want to sleep and I’ll catch up on you. Gotta brush my teeth and all that.”

MightiestPirate: “Right, yeah. On it.” Guybrush smiled before heading towards the area where they slept last time, not realizing he was beyond exhausted. And much like last time opted for the hammock-esqe bed now that he had finally mastered how to get into it without falling on his face. AskCocky: After a while Cocky got out of the bathroom and headed to bed, yawning. He saw his friend was already swinging in the bed bag. They bid each other good night, and Cocky whistled and the lights went out.

As he was settling down, hugging his pillow as always, he sighed. But the lago’s eyes flew open as he remembered something. “Hey, Guybrush? Um, did you see the bedroom’s door has a latch on the outside?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush swung harmlessly and gently on the hammock by the time Cocky came back, hands resting behind his head and ready to close his eyes from the world when he heard the question asked. He raised an eyebrow and tried to think of the hatch “I… I don’t recall.” Guybrush leaned his head a bit off the hammock to look over at the lago.

“Why?”

AskCocky: In the darkness, he perceived his friend had moved. Cocky turned around, leaning on his elbow. “Well. Remember what happened at the burger joint? With the knife? Er…” He sounded embarrassed. “Listen. If I start… whimpering, or crying, or screaming, or something… don’t. Don’t try to help me or comfort me or anything like that. Just… get down off your bed bag with your blanket, lock the door from the outside, and go sleep on the couch. It’s very comfortable, you will sleep like a baby.” He paused. “I could go sleep on the couch right now, actually.”

MightiestPirate: He bit his lip in thought about the options, recalling very well the knife to the neck at the burger joint. On the one hand, if he was on the hammock, there wasn’t much room for him to get out if anything were to go wrong… but the couch was just as open, but at least it wasn’t literally leaving him hanging in the air. “No no… it’s fine. I can go to the couch now… it’ll be like a pre-emptive measure or something like that.” Guybrush offered.

AskCocky: But Cocky was already getting up and leaving, with his blanket and pillows in tow. “It’s okay, I’m going.” He stopped on his way out. “This door has a latch on the inside, just so you know. Just in case.” The lago opened the door and waved before going. “See you in the morning, Guybrush,” then he left.

MightiestPirate: He couldn’t help but feel a little bit scared, swallowing back the paranoia Guybrush gave a nod. “Alright, see you in the A.M… good night.” Guybrush wished as he went back to the hammock and taking a deep breath. He was fine the first night, there wasn’t a reason to be scared now Guybrush thought before finally drifting off to sleep.

AskCocky: Cocky soon drifted to a deep sleep, trying not to worry about what could happen. He slept peacefully and quietly for some hours. But as if on cue, around three in the morning, he started mumbling and tossing and turning. His cries turned louder and more and more anguished, as he sobbed and pleaded and cursed in B’eel language.

MightiestPirate: “Hmm… what is it Winslow…” Guybrush mumbled, waking up groggily and rubbed his eyes when he heard the cries. “Wi– Cocky…?” He cautiously got out of the hammock only to land loudly and unceremoniously to the floor on all fours, cursing under his breath for the sudden impact. His ears perked up he slowly moved close to the door and became more awake as the pleads got more hectic. “Are you–” He quickly covered his mouth, recalling that he was told not to help… and for good reasons, but Guybrush felt terrible just standing there and going nothing.

AskCocky: Cocky started wailing as if he was in terrible pain, kicking and writhing in the couch. In between the screams he just sobbed in a heartbreaking manner, shaking with his whole body. He fell off the couch, but didn’t wake up, and just kept on screaming in B’eel.

MightiestPirate: He was told not to… and he knew first hand why. But hearing those cries broke his heart that he decided screw it and ran over to Cocky, knowing damn well that he could risk getting knifed. Or worst.

“Cocky! Cocky wake up!!” Guybrush began to call out as he kneeled over the lago while maintaining some distance.

AskCocky: Instead of waking up, Cocky curled up into a ball, covering his ears, and wailed and wailed. He was covered in tears and his nose was bloody from falling off the couch, but he didn’t notice one, or the other, or Guybrush’s presence or voice.

MightiestPirate: At least once Cocky snaps out of it, Guybrush could happily say that the bloody nose was not because of him this time around. Place his hands on Cocky, he gently placed him in a sitting position so that way at least he wasn’t hurting himself some more being on the floor and attempted to call out to him once more.

“Cocky, please, you gotta wake up.”

AskCocky: Cocky’s eyes flew open and looked at Guybrush as if he wasn’t really there, but something else. He answered by screaming and kicking Guybrush so hard in his midsection he actually got lifted in the air before crashing backwards. Then Cocky crawled to the corner and huddled there, crying in terror.

MightiestPirate: He crashed on the floor, feeling the air in his lungs being knocked out of him. “Oh… that’s gonna leave a mark…” Guybrush moaned as he held on to his stomach and wincing. He weakly got up and wobbled over to the curled up form that was Cocky, one hand still wrapped around his waist and the other holding it up defensively. “Cocky… Cocky it’s fine…” He managed to call out once more, albeit weaker as he tried to get air in him again.

AskCocky: ”NO!!” Cocky wiggled free. “Hit me with that thing again and I’ll make you EAT IT!” the lago wailed suddenly, a feral look in his eyes. Quick as a snake, he stabbed with his hand the place between Guybrush’s arm and his side. He found the nerve, and pressed real hard, knowing too well of the incapacitating pain that caused. MightiestPirate: “W-w-wait no,COC–!!” Guybrush cried out in pain, tears forming in his eyes from the intensity of the pressure. He tried to form a sentence, a better plan, a way out, anything really, but the nerve was unbearable that all he wanted to do was get away and back in the room with the latch…

The latch.

He needed to get to the latch, but the pain was unbearable that he couldn’t even think straight.

AskCocky: “HA!! HAHAHAHA, you dropped your whip!” Cocky punched Guybrush in the face, still screaming, and ran away stumbling and slamming himself on the walls. He got to the kitchen and looked around desperately. He grabbed one of the kitchen knives. He looked in Guybrush’s general direction and said with a voice that oozed darkness: “I am going to kill you all.”

He threw the knife at Guybrush.

MightiestPirate: He landed on the floor, a hand on his side breathing shakily as he held his jaw and sensing a minor relief that he didn’t feel any loose teeth from the blow. Once he saw Cocky scurry away, Guybrush quickly stumbled back up but keeping as much distance between him and the confused lago. He called out once more but felt his blood run cold when the knife gleamed in the dark. “C-C-Cocky… wait stop… it’s me!!”

He jumped out of the way, just barely feeling the knife graze his arm and made a mad dash towards the bed room.

AskCocky: The knife embedded itself on the couch, and Cocky, seeing the other run away, went running just as fast to retrieve it, still screaming in B’eel. The door slammed shut and he hit his nose again. “STOP CALLING ME A GNEK! Where is your whip now, bitch?? HUH??!!” Enraged, he started stabbing the door.

MightiestPirate: He saw the latch and quickly yanked it down hard, hearing the satisfying click of it working. Guybrush backed away from the door startled as soon as he heard the knife clanging over, cradling his arm as his heart raced like it was about to burst at any second, and his breathing became more and more difficult. He should’ve locked the door, Guybrush kept scolding himself mentally over and over again, but deep down knew that no matter the circumstance, the outcome would’ve been the same of Guybrush running into see if Cocky was alright.

Taking a deep and painful breath he closed his eyes and shouted one last time: “IT’S GUYBRUSH!!”

AskCocky: Cocky just shouted something back in B’eel, still stabbing away. After a while, he dropped the knife and just slid down the door and started crying on the floor, huddled against the door, his face buried on his knees, big sobs shaking his shoulders in an exhausted way.

MightiestPirate: He sat on the wall facing the door, ears down as he waited for the door stabbing to stop. As soon as he heard the metal clang to the floor, Guybrush gave a sigh of relief before wincing and holding his side. Pushing himself up, he stumbled to the door and sat next to it, too scared to open and console his friend properly but wise enough to know that the knife was still there as was Cocky being in a delirious state.

Instead he reclined his head back and closed his eyes, keeping one ear up for any changes and mumbled “Everything is fine…”

AskCocky: “Everything is pain,” Cocky agreed, having listened through the filter of his confused mind. “They won’t kill me. They won’t let me die. I want to die, please, I just want it to stop.” Cocky just cried harder, burying his fingers in his head hard enough to leave marks. MightiestPirate: Guybrush raised an eyebrow, was Cocky responding to him? Placing a finger to his chin he thought of what to say next while keeping the door closed. “Don’t say that.” He began speaking in a calm voice, shifting himself to be more comfortable, “Everything… everything sucks right now. And you’re probably mad… scared even. And that’s fine. But you’re not alone.”

AskCocky: “We’re not supposed to be speaking,” Cocky suddenly whispered. “They’ll punish you.” After a pause. “What’s your name? Not your number. Screw their fucking numbers,” he sobbed.

MightiestPirate: “I’ve been through worse.” He remarked, his arm still being held and giving a bit of a dry cough. “Please… don’t cry.” He started to console, but instead sighed, “I’m Guybrush. Guybrush Threepwood. What’s yours?”

AskCocky: “I’m…” Cocky paused. “First Lieutenant Cockwell, from the Blue division. Nice to meet you, soldier. Too bad it’sss under… these circumstancessszzzz.” Cocky just instantly fell to sleep again, still huddled against the door.

MightiestPirate: “Cockwell?” Guybrush mumbled, covering hand with a yawn when he heard the quiet snores and smiled. ‘Lights out.’ he thought to himself as he carefully unlocked the door to get a peek, and noticing the crumpled form. Taking the blanket that was next to him, he carefully draped it over the lago and closed the door gently.

“G’night, Cockwell.” Guybrush yawned once more before falling asleep.

AskCocky: Several hours later Cocky woke up in the darkness, under the blanket. He blinked, confused, feeling sore all over. Why was he sleeping on the floor? Then it dawned on him. With a gesture, the lights came back and he jumped to his feet and looked around. There was a knife lying around him and he noticed the edge had blood in it. The lago tried the bedroom door; it was locked.

Cocky took two steps back, covering his mouth in mounting horror. Then, swept by an unbearable nausea, he ran to the bathroom and started throwing his guts up in the toilet.

MightiestPirate: “I don’t need a rubber chicken… hmm?” Guybrush mumbled awake, hearing the sound of foot steps. He stretched his back, realizing he fell asleep against the wall and felt the satisfying pop “Cocky?” he asked, as memories flooded back like a quick reminder of what happened hours earlier that made Guybrush wake up quickly and unlock the latch, albeit hesitantly. He opened the door and looked around for any signs of the lago when he spotted the knife still on the groun and heard the sounds coming from the bathroom.

Without missing a beat, Guybrush ran to the bathroom where he found Cocky, placing a hand on his back. “Take it easy…” he consoled.

AskCocky: Cocky was startled when he felt the contact, but he was currently too busy retching to do anything else. Finally, without turning around, he asked in a sick voice: “What… what did I do to you? I don’t dare look,” he said, closing his eyes.

MightiestPirate: He bit his lip, not wanting to make the lago feel worse he looked to the side, “We’re even in terms of beating each other up.” Guybrush surmised, “And you barely grazed me with the knife toss, I’m not even bleeding from it anymore, see? It’s like a paper cut.”

AskCocky: Cocky looked up then. “I tossed a knife at you??” He looked at Guybrush with dead eyes, then returned to dry heave into the toilet. He got up wobbily, shaking, and brushed his teeth, still without looking at his friend. “My aim with the knife is deadly. I have been perfecting it for thirty years.” He started washing his face. “You should be dead.”

MightiestPirate: “Then it’s a good thing I jumped out of the way and not stand there like a deer in headlights.” Guybrush remarked with a shrug, keeping his eyes on the lago and ready to catch him in case he wobbled to the floor. “Maybe it was because you weren’t really focusing? I mean… you were kinda hallucinating throughout the whole thing so… there’s that.”

AskCocky: Cocky started laughing between his teeth, shaking his head. He was grabbing the sink so hard the tip of his fingers went numb. “Why can’t you people… why, why, Sweet Fluffy One… WHY??!” He smashed his fit on the metal sink, furious. He turned to face Guybrush, trembling with rage, his ears behind his head. “Two simple instructions. One, leave me alone. Two, close the fucking door. And no one ever. Ever. LISTENS TO ME!!” he roared.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush flinched back at the outburst, wrapping his arms around himself unknowingly. There were too many thoughts running in his mind, but one thing for sure was that he didn’t want to get into yet another fight. It was exhausting in so many ways. Although it raised even more questions, at least he wasn’t the only idiot to go running and check on him during his nightmares… still that didn’t calm Guybrush down by much.

“Because… you hurt yourself.” Guybrush muttered.

AskCocky: “Well, good job, Guybrush. Now I managed to hurt us BOTH!” Cocky yelled, rather sarcastically. “And why?? What for??” Cocky poked Guybrush’s chest.

MightiestPirate: ‘Because I’m an idiot who can never really follow the rules.’ He mentally thought.

“Because I’m your friend.” Guybrush stated. “And I’m not gonna stand around and do nothing.”

AskCocky: “And what am *I* supposed to do???” Cocky said, in a voice closer to despair than anger. “What do I do, Guybrush?? I KNOW how I am when I get like that. I have no control over what I do; I beat you up, I could have killed you, I could have damaged you beyond repair.” His eyes filled up with tears. “As YOUR friend, how am I going to protect you from myself, if you won’t do what I begged you to do??”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush contemplated if he should do what he was about to do, bracing himself for the absolute worst response. But the truth was He couldn’t think of a proper response. Not a single one. At least… not verbally.

He took a step, and held Cocky into a tight hug.

AskCocky: Cocky instantly stiffened and his first impulse was simply to push Guybrush violently away. He was mad, real mad. But before he could do that he broke up crying, and simply returned the hug because he needed to hold on to something, or someone, as he cried and cried. Finally he broke the hug. “You’re a fucking idiot,” he told the other, but he smiled. As he wiped his face with the back of his hand, he said quietly. “I’m sorry for everything.”

MightiestPirate: It wasn’t the smartest course of action, but it was the best one he could make. Giving a warm smile, Guybrush shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “So I’ve been told by various of people.” He leaned over to get some toilet paper and folded it up like a tissue as he handed it over to Cocky, “And no need to apologize, like I said before, I’m not gonna leave you hanging.”

AskCocky: “I appreciate it, even if it drives me crazy, it really does.” Cocky blew his nose and was surprised to find blood in the tissue. “What the Hell.” He looked at Guybrush and raised an eyebrow. “Did we actually get into a fight? And more importantly, who won?” he asked in a sardonic tone. MightiestPirate: “I’ve always had that problem that I don’t really use my head.” He scratched his cheek. Guybrush made a face at the sight of the blood and looked back up at Cocky’s confused face, making Guybrush give a smirk, “Actually funny story about that. You did that to yourself by falling off the couch and face-planting the floor. So technically, the floor won.”

AskCocky: “Huh.” Cocky sniffled and threw the tissue away. “All right, real talk now. Did I really hurt you? I just want to know if I have to take you to a doctor.” He grabbed his friend’s face and examined it. With his thumb, he spread the fur to look at the skin underneath. “Bruise under the cheekbone. You can see alright?”

MightiestPirate: He fliched at the contact, forgetting about the slam to the face. “Y-yeah, I can see fine. The punch and kick I could handle, and it was barely a graze with the knife toss…” he shrugged off, “You did this weird nerve pinch.” Guybrush recalled, wincing at the recollection of the wave of pain when it happened.

AskCocky: Cocky stopped looking and winced. “Oooow, mate. I’m so sorry. Those are super super nasty. Where?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush pointed at the area, too scared to touch out of fear that it might flare up again. “Nasty… but super effective.” He weakly joked.

AskCocky: But Cocky just extended his hand and pressed just a little. “Where? Here?”

MightiestPirate: He saw a flash of white as Cocky touched and instinctively moved back only to hit the wall giving a small yelp. His ears went down sheepishly as Guybrush took a steady breath. “Yep… right there…”

AskCocky: “Mmmh, all right. Okay now, here’s a question.” Cocky looked at his pirate friend in a serious way. “Do you trust me?”

MightiestPirate: “I… of course I do.” Ears perked and looking at Cocky, Guybrush answered with no hesitation.

AskCocky: “Here’s the thing,” Cocky said. “It’s going to keep on hurting unless I fix it. But to fix it, I have to pinch it again, and it’s definitely not going to be pleasant. However, once it’s done, you’ll feel a lot better.” He paused. “Do I have your permission?”

MightiestPirate: Why did anything that require medical attention needed to hurtl? Ears going back down he gave a weak smile. “Only if I’m allowed to scream like a wuss.” Guybrush joked before gulping. “But yeah… you have my permission…”

AskCocky: “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re not a wuss. Grab my hand, and squeeze if you need it, okay? Here we go.” Cocky started pressing hard, but with his thumb flat instead of digging in, in a slow circular manner. MightiestPirate: He closed his eyes, quickly grabbed hold of the hand, and took a deep breath as he saw Cocky place a hand to the area, bracing himself for the shock but mentally trying to calm himself down. ‘It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be fine. It’s going to be–’ Guybrush told himself but felt it quickly zip line into static white noise as soon as he felt pressure. Holding tightly to the other’s hand, he bit his lip as he whimpered from the pain.

AskCocky: “Shhhhh,” Cocky muttered, in a futile attempt to console the other. He suddenly pressed very hard and he felt something shift under his hand. Then his hand retreated, but he was alarmed as he saw his friend sway in place. “Guybrush!!”

MightiestPirate: “I’m… I’m fi–” That whimper became a cry when the pressure at the area was pressed, making the room begin to spin. Guybrush felt both numb and that white flare of pain, wanting nothing more but to curl up and hide, anything to get away from the pain.

AskCocky: Cocky, alarmed, just tossed Guybrush over his shoulder and carried him to the couch. “Hey. Hey it’s over. It’s okay. It should feel better now. It does, right?” He ran and came back with a glass of water. “Guybrush?”

MightiestPirate: The stab to his side finally went away, he heard Cocky and nodded, honestly more surprised with himself that it would take so much out of him instead of rejuvenate. “I’m… fine… really.” Guybrush mumbled as he felt like his eyes were closing on him.

AskCocky: Cocky noticed Guybrush was unconscious now, so he put the glass of water aside and sat next to him, caressing his head in hope that he soon would wake up. “You totally should have locked that door, you freaking idiot, like I told you,” Cocky scolded, even knowing the other couldn’t hear him. “But I think I would have probably done the same in your place, so I can’t really blame you.”

MightiestPirate: He didn’t hear a thing after the initial shock, but Guybrush still managed to mumble something as Cocky touched his head before falling into a deeper sleep. He wasn’t sure for how long he was out, but it sure felt like a well-rested sleep by the time he woke up on the couch, not recalling being anywhere near there.

AskCocky: Cocky already had a good stack of pancakes done by the time he heard Guybrush stirring on the couch. With his ears up, he let the batter to cook in the pan and came running to see. “Hey, you okay? You were out for a long while, I was starting to get worried.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush rubbed his eyes and sat up, he perked his ears up when Cocky walked in, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I ah… y-yeah, I’m okay. Um… at least now I am.” He stood up to make way to the kitchen, no longer feeling the pain in his side and raised an eyebrow before he recalled what happened. “Uh… sorry for worrying you but how did I get to the couch?” He asked sheepishly.

AskCocky: Cocky flipped the pancake with a movement of the wrist. “You fainted and I carried you. You know, you should eat more, you really don’t weight too much. A little roundness on the butt is always a hit with the ladies,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. Then he got serious. “Sorry about the whole thing with the pinch, I had to fix that or eventually you’d get lung trouble. I know it hurt a lot, but if it’s any consolation, you lasted a lot longer than I’d expected“

MightiestPirate: “Ah… yeah… butt hits.” He blushed and gave a sheepish chuckle while scratching his cheek. He cleared his throat and went towards the table. “A-and it’s fine, really. I’m willing to chalk it up to years of being tossed around for the pain tolerance… but um… still though, thanks.” Guybrush smiled.

AskCocky: “Well, you really do seem to bounce back just fine from a lot of things, don’t you?” Cocky smiled, then made a face. “And also sorry for the whole thing about the nightmares and going completely psychotic. I should have known it would happen, because just seeing the Khail brings back some terrible memories, and that almost always results in nightmares and having one of my freak-outs.” Cocky flipped the final pancake. “I can assure you that it doesn’t happen really often, or I’d simply never invite anyone aboard to spend the night. As your host, it is an absolute… d-disgrace you had to witness that,” he mumbled, starting to serve the pancakes.

MightiestPirate: “To my enemies annoyance.” Guybrush joked. He took a seat and rested his arms on the table, leaning on it a bit and listened to Cocky before giving a shrug, “Nah it’s fine… it happens, especially after dealing with something that traumatic and having to see it once again, even if not intentionally. I’ve had my fair share of night terrors before… still kinda do but they thankfully don’t come nearly as often as they use to.”

AskCocky: “You too, huh? Well, it’s kind of part of having all sorts of wacky adventures. Sooner or later you run into something that’ll leave marks.” Cocky cut four square pieces of butter and put them on top of the piles to melt. “Tea or coffee?”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah… marks.” He unconsciously placed a hand on his stomach and went into a daze before he snapped out of his stupor, shook his head and moved his hand to the back of his neck. “Oh!! Uh… tea that has caffeine in it would be great.”

AskCocky: But Cocky noticed. “Hey, what’s wrong? Was it something I said?” He served the hot water in two cups and got the tea box out. “You kind of spaced out there.”

MightiestPirate: “Hm? Oh uh, nothing’s wrong.” Guybrush answered truthfully as he reached for tea cup and placed his hands around it, enjoying the warmth it emitted. “It’s just something from way back… it’s fine, honest.”

AskCocky: Cocky grabbed the instant coffee, opened it, and stirred it in. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. But if you do want to talk about it, I’m all ears,” he twitched them, smiling. “Literally.”

MightiestPirate: He picked a packet and placed it in his tea, laughing at the ear display and thankful that he didn’t take a sip just yet. “Well… guess it’d be fair to share.” Guybrush scratched his cheek, “So back during the pox, I was running all over the Caribbean to find a cure, and throughout the adventure I ended up befriending my enemy because he was no longer pox infected and was human… and I trusted him. He… ended up betraying me and ran a cutlass through me just so he can get all that pox back and Elaine as well.”

Guybrush paused for a moment as he stirred the packet a bit before taking it out “So after splitting reality to get back to the world of the living he turned Elaine into his demon bride… and she raised the very same cutlass over me…” He winced at the recollection and took a sip.

“That’s… that’s usually what I have nightmares about…”

AskCocky: Cocky sat unblinking during the tale. “Well, you DIED. I guess that’s something to cause nightmares. Betrayals…” He closed his eyes. “They hurt worse because you’re not only angry at them for betraying you, you’re angrier at yourself for believing them.” He added some sugar cubes and cream to his coffee, then suddenly asked: “Does she feel guilty about that?”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah… exactly.” Guybrush said as he took another sip. “She told me that she knew I was going to be there to help, that I always am when she needs me most… but when I went through that nightmare the first night… she felt terrible. Still does when it happens.” He took a slice from the pancake as well as a deep breath.

AskCocky: “That’s good, actually. I’d be a little worried if she didn’t feel guilty. Let’s say that people like you… have the constant problem of being taken for granted, just because they’re forgiving and kind. And well. If you’re still together after THAT, it’s a great sign. I mean, the rest of the problems kind of seem minor in comparison.” Cocky took the honey bottle and was about to pour it on his pancakes, when he stopped. “Wait. You know what? We should get some of the honey from the new hive! I mean, it’s kind of wrapped, but we’re going to deliver it in just a while, so what’s the harm?”

MightiestPirate: “Probably helped that we already had a huge talk about respecting one another before the pox incident…” Guybrush shrugged “But you’re right.” He watched the honey being placed and gave a grin, “Sounds like a good idea, I’m sure Otto will be okay if we took some, right?” He paused for a moment before looking back at Cocky, “Probably should be careful about the bees though.”

AskCocky: “Sure, well we don’t even have to interact with them.” Cocky got up, excited to taste more of that exquisite honey. He quickly grabbed a small, empty glass jar out of the kitchen cupboard, and got a cutter out of the utensils drawer. He knelt down next to the hive, wrapped in paper with tiny holes all over it. “I think the faucet is here…” he blindly pawed the form, then he cut the paper.

MightiestPirate: “Oh, okay then.” He then turned in his chair to watch the process, both excited for the delicious honey but holding his breath as if Cocky was defusing a bomb that instead of blowing up, it’ll sting them. “Need any help?” Guybrush asked, he didn’t want to get in the way and risk anything to get the wrath of Murphy and his law on them. AskCocky: “Aw no, that’s the honeycomb compartment,” Cocky then moved to the other side and cut again. “Ha! There it is!” Cocky put the jar under the faucet and pressed for a while until it was full. “Should be enough for now and I’ll just keep a bit around. I’m curious how honey biscuits will turn out if I use this one.” After closing the lid, he thought for a bit. “Guybrush, come here.”

MightiestPirate: He released his breath that he was holding once Cocky found the faucet. “Probably will taste good with that honey in particular.” Guybrush replied before perking his ears up and hoping off his chair to where the lago was. “What’s up?” He asked.

AskCocky: Cocky just moved back to where he cut the paper in the first place. “I think this is… mmmh.” He opened the compartment and grabbed a piece of honeycomb. “Here, take this.” Cocky gave the honeycomb to Guybrush, careful not to drop any on the floor, and cut himself a piece as well. He licked it and closed his eyes. “Woooooowwww yesssssss.”

MightiestPirate: “O-oh okay…” Guybrush cautiously held onto the honeycomb and giving a quick lick as he saw a drop about to fall off of it. If he could, he would melt right there on the spot. “Yup… still just as good as when we got it.” He praised, shortly afterwards realizing his hands were a bit sticky from the honey but not minding it as much… or at least not yet.

AskCocky: Cocky closed the compartment and grabbed the honey jar, licking his lips contently. He put his piece of honeycomb in a napkin. “I’ll enjoy this later, now I need food.” He washed his hands in the sink and sat down to pour some honey from the jar on his hotcakes. He started eating as if it was pure ambrosia.

MightiestPirate: He saw where he got the napkin and got one himself, placing his honeycomb in there so his hands can feel less sticky. A hand wash later he sat back down and picked up the jar as soon as Cocky was done using it and placed it on his pancake. It was like a firework show went off in his mouth with the incredible flavor, that Guybrush closed his eyes and savored the moment with a smile on his face.

AskCocky: “You see now,” Cocky said, “just eating this made the whole ordeal with those beaked assholes worthy. I guess this is why humanity has been eaten honey from a million years despite bees being little assholes.” He kept eating as he was just in Heaven, his ears kind of melted in happiness.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded his head, eyes still shut in joy as he swallowed his piece. “Kinda like if you push through all the pain and all the trouble, the reward is sweet and, well, rewarding.” Guybrush answered before taking another happy bite from his pancake.

AskCocky: Cocky nodded. “Hopefully you’ll remember the moments like these when you remember me, instead of the whole punching each other and assorted drama.” His pancakes were disappearing really fast. “Right now we’re heading to Io, to meet my boyfriend, and we should be arriving soon. Oh, and I’m also going to give you something.” MightiestPirate: “Of course I’ll remember this.” Guybrush said with a smile, “Both the good and bad… can’t have one without the other, y’know?” He took a few more bites and eventually finished his food, all that was left was his cup of tea that took sips of so as not to wash away the taste of the honey just yet. Raising an eyebrow, Guybrush looked a Cocky, “Hm? What is it?”

AskCocky: “Something I did for you yesterday morning. You’ll like it, hopefully.” Cocky pushed away his empty plate, still beaming from how good it all was, and started drinking his coffee. Remembering something, he got up and grabbed the pain pills. He swallowed two and offered the bottle to his friend. “Do you need one of these happy babies? I’m not sure how you’re feeling right now.”

MightiestPirate: “I feel pretty fine but um… maybe just to take it and not jinx it later.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck and took the bottle, taking two pills himself and rinsing it down with the remainder of his tea. “I feel kinda bad that I didn’t get you a single thing throughout this entire adventure.” Guybrush admitted as placed the cup back on the table.

AskCocky: “What do you mean? You totally gave me a can of grog, back there,” Cocky chuckled. “Never mind about the gifts. In my culture, if a lago gives you a gift, it’s a sign of friendship. I’m not expecting anything back, I just like giving gifts, probably even more than I do receiving them.”

MightiestPirate: “I’m honored. And if you count the grog as a present, I assure you, when it comes to that kind of stuff I usually give better gifts and not something that tastes like sugar poison.” Guybrush laughed as he recalled about the grog.

AskCocky: “Oooh, really? What kind of gifts do you give, now?” Cocky got up and started washing everything.

MightiestPirate: “Hmm… depends on the person. Usually I get something that reminds me of them or something they might need.” Guybrush answered as picked up his dishes to place it in the sink.

AskCocky: “I accept ALL kinds of gifts, including lingerie,” Cocky said maliciously, and shook his tail a bit. Then, “HAHAHA, your face there!!” He laughed, slapping his knees.

MightiestPirate: His eyes were wide, ears were down, and it was apparent there was a blush beaming from underneath his fur. He quickly covered his face to hide the face he was making, mumbling nothing but ‘oh my God’ and ‘Why do I keep looking at butts’

AskCocky: “Why WOULDN’T you?? Bwahaha!” Cocky just put his arm around Guybrush’s shoulders, extremely amused. “Am I just the worst, or what??” Finally, he calmed down. “Heh, let’s just go to the workshop so I can give you your thingie. Oh, do me a favor and grab the perfume box, will ya?”

MightiestPirate: “Worst is not the word I’d use. ‘Deviant’ or ‘charismatic’ suits you better.” Guybrush mumbled through his hands which were still on his face. He placed his hands down and looked at Cocky with a smirk, “Already on it.” He patted Cocky’s shoulder and made his way to where the box was last placed.

AskCocky: “Why not the three at the same time? The worst charismatic deviant.” Cocky laughed merrily and opened the workshop. He opened one of the metal drawers and found a small metal funnel. He then went to the cold oven to retrieve his most recent pieces, which were several bottles of assorted colors and forms. He set aside the one that was colorless, then turned to Guybrush. “Pick one you’d like to have for your own perfume.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush laughed as he shook his head. With the box in tow, he went to the workstation and placed the box gently on the floor as he saw the many bottles on the counter. The one that stuck out the most to Guybrush was one that was a bright blue. “That one is pretty…” He answered before turning his attention on the lago, “Wait… my own perfume?”

AskCocky: “Yes, your own perfume. Only instead of being lavender and honey, it’s gonna be honey-honey, like the song.” Cocky smiled. “Yeah, I’m giving you some of that honey for you to take home. You can put it behind your ears, but I’d suggest just putting it behind your pancakes. Besides, surely you’d like Elaine to try it?”

MightiestPirate: “Oh, that sounds as good as it smells.” Guybrush smiled, “I’m sure Elaine will– wait.” He raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Cocky while pointing to the bottle. “You mean the perfume, the honey, or both?”

AskCocky: “Well, your bottle is for the honey. Of course, after you eat all of it, you can use the bottle for whatever you want.” Cocky chuckled. “For ELAINE, however, I’m giving you this one, for you to put the sweetgrass perfume.” He showed the bottle he set apart. It had a crescent shape, and it sparkled in a very mysterious, metallic way that, when turned in the light, gave multicolored reflections. “I know you loved your trip of the moon and took a rock, which is all fine and stuff, but still, it’s probably a chunk of meteor. I wanted you to have some from the Moon itself. Moon dust, however, is kind of… well, not actually toxic. But it’s harmful to breathe it, and it’s so fine it’s actually very easy to do that. So I melted it into glass and made this bottle.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh!! Uh… well, heh of course. That… that makes sense.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled sheepishly. When Cocky pulled out the moon-shapped bottle, he couldn’t stop looking at it in absolute awe. It was as if the beauty of seeing the Earth on the moon in bottle form, cautiously Guybrush reached for it before stopping and looking at Cocky, “Is it alright to hold it?” He asked.

AskCocky: “Of course it is. It’s yours. You could actually keep it for yourself, but if you’re like me, you will probably give it to your wife. It’s a very romantic gift… the Moon itself,” he chuckled, and gave the bottle to Guybrush.

MightiestPirate: “Romantic and how…” Guybrush reached for the bottle and held it carefully, turning it at different angles watching the lights gleam against the shape. “Cocky, this is… this is beautiful.” He carefully placed the bottle down while still looking at it. “Seriously, thank you.” AskCocky: Cocky beamed. “I’m glad you liked it. It’s not much, but it’s sincere. I just wanted you to have something unique.” Then, he smiled sinfully. “You’re welcome, and you’ll thank me for it even more later, I’m sure, when SHE thanks you for it.” He laughed merrily and pointed to the bottles. “I already washed these, so you can fill Elaine’s bottle right away, use that funnel so it’s easier. I’ll go look for an appropiate cork for them in the meantime.”

MightiestPirate: “I ah… heh… m-maybe yeah…” Guybrush giggled sheepishly as the blush returned and he scratched his cheek. Clearing his throat, he grab hold of the funnel and picked up the bottle of perfume he got for Elaine, carefully pouring it into the bottle. The smell occasionally drifting into his nose, and he sighed at it’s sweetness.

AskCocky: “These should do,” Cocky said, putting several corks on the table. He started trying them all until he found a fit for every one of them except Elaine’s bottle. “Hang on, I made a glass topper for that one, thought it’d be more elegant.” He went and grabbed it from the cold oven, then started looking for a translucid rubber washer so it would fit snugly. “Is it ready?”

MightiestPirate: “Juuuuust about…” Guybrush said as he finished pouring the right amount, satisfied with himself, he nodded and took a small step back to not block Cocky. “There we go, ready to be plugged up.” He watched the plug that was pulled out and stared at it as the light hit it gently.

AskCocky: Cocky sniffed the perfume and sighed contently. “Aaah. Hey, you know? The Moon smells of gunpowder. Well, moon dust does. Of course, you’re not supposed to smell it. It’s a good thing the melting process kills the smell, or you’d have your sweet wife smelling of gunpowder. Very pirate-y, right?” Cocky gave the bottle to Guybrush. “It’s done. Put it away until you’re ready to go home, since we’re prone to glass-breaking adventures.”

MightiestPirate: “Really? That answers that question for me and I should think of a place it’s… that is a good idea, actually.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck before picking it up gently and placing it in the box it was in earlier. “It’s the safest place I can think of… also Elaine usually smells like gun powder after a ship battle usually.” He acknowledged with a raised eyebrow.

AskCocky: Cocky filled Otto’s bottle and placed the rest of the corks, except the blue one, and walked with Guybrush to where the hive was. As he filled the bottle and put a cork on it, he said: “Girls who smell of gunpowder and dynamite are just the best.” He hummed and gave Guybrush his own honey gift. “Put it with the others and buckle up. We are descending to Io now.”

MightiestPirate: With a nod, Guybrush took the bottle and placed it with Elaine’s perfume. Once he was sure it was in, he made his way to his seat and buckled up, no longer in the need to cling on to anything like he use to earlier. “So is Io like Nim?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: “Well, Io is a planet, or rather, a planet-sized moon. There are several heavily populated cities, because Io is kind of a commerce hub. Due to the traffic of ships, it’s very good for a mechanic to live there. My cinnabun lives in the outskirts of a big city, so it’s actually rather nice instead of crowded and polluted. I’m just going to part the ship near his house and we’ll have to walk like a block or two.” Cocky said, as Io became gigantic in the bay window until it filled it all. They went past the clouds. They were yellowish, vanilla colored clouds.

MightiestPirate: “Sounds nice. And after the last adventure in the city, I think I could use some quiet for a bit.” Guybrush admitted as he watched the clouds passed on by, it wasn’t near as bright and illuminating as the ones he saw on the other planet, but there was something calm about it, and in a way it reminded him of puffy desserts. It was also a dawning realization that he hasn’t been on a planet in the day time.

AskCocky: Cocky spotted the familiar woods where Otto used to take walks and perhaps sing and play his guitar in solitude. “We’re almost there. I can’t wait for you to meet my honey-bun, you’ll love him.” The ship landed and Cocky unbuckled. “All right, we’re bringing…” He went to take Otto’s bottle, then he realized he was still in his pants. “Hahaha, no, I’m not that much of a slob. Let’s change into normal clothes.” He gave Guybrush a set. “Oh, I also think the first aid stuff is still in the bathroom, in case you want to clean up that cut,” he pointed to the pirate’s arm.

MightiestPirate: “From the way you talk about him, I can’t wait to meet him either.” Guybrush smiled. He took hold of the new clothes and raised an eyebrow when he looked back at the cut, “Oh! Yeah… that’d probably be a good idea. Kinda… kinda forgot about it, honestly.” Guybrush rubbed his arm a bit before going to the bathroom. After patching himself up, he changed into the new clothes and went out, placing the other clothes in the laundry now that he knew what it was.

AskCocky: Cocky changed in the bedroom in the meantime, pondered his feathers. He put them aside, as he decided to put on a simple shirt and jeans, because his bruises, although faint, where still visible. By the time Guybrush went out, Cocky was considering the jacket he had left carelessly on the floor. “Oh wow, I was thinking I could wash it, but look.” Cocky put a finger through the bullet hole on the back.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s eyes went wide and looked between the jacket and Cocky. “Does… I– you have a bullet in your back?” He worried, remembering the various injuries, but not recalling an actual bullet wound. “Does it hurt I mean… obviously but like, do you feel something lodged there?”

AskCocky: “No, this one missed me, even if it obviously had my name on it,” Cocky laughed. “I vaguely remember the guy I first killed shooting at me when I jumped him. Or maybe it happened later? You know, it’s all very fuzzy in my memory.” Cocky unceremoniously dumped the jacket in the garbage incinerator. “I have another jacket, anyway, I just really liked this one,” he said sadly. “Aah, let’s not weep over spilled leather. Grab yours, it sometimes gets chilly in the night here as well.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh… phew thank goodness for that then. Also preaching to the choir about favorite jackets, by the way.” He sighed in relief and went over to pick up his jacket, brushing off any dust or anything else that was on it and made it look relatively clean. Placing it on him and rolling up the sleeves, he went over to Cocky and looked ready to step off onto the new planet. AskCocky: “Oh, I know,” Cocky nodded. He put on his jacket, and then put the bottle of cinnamon perfume in the inside pocket. “Well, I guess we’re ready to roll, then!” He grabbed the hive, which was a bit heavy, but still managed to close the door ship behind them, and started walking to Otto’s house.

MightiestPirate: He followed Cocky, looking around at the new planet like he did back on Nim but was able to enjoy hearing the sounds around him and not feel overwhelmed. Guybrush noticed the weight of the hive and rubbed the back of his neck. “Um… need help carrying that?” Guybrush offered.

AskCocky: “Nah, I got this, thank you,” Cocky said cheerfully. “It’s not that bad. Remember how I carried your ass for two blocks to run away from the nice cream vendor? Hahaha, this is nothing.” Another lago, an unknown one, walked by them and when he noticed their presence, bowed to them in respect. Cocky just waved in a friendly way.

MightiestPirate: “Oh yeah…” Guybrush recalled the vendor, deep down still feeling kinda bad for just running like that but brushed it off shortly afterwards. When the lago walked by, Guybrush gave it a wave as well before raising an eyebrow at Cocky. “So I know I’m just gonna ask a series of ridiculous questions but is this planet also filled with lagos like your planet? And what was that about?”

AskCocky: “Why would I take you to new places if I didn’t expect you to ask questions?? And to answer those, there are lagos everywhere, mostly people who fled the war in B’eel,” Cocky explained. “Like I said, Io is a hub of commerce, and therefore you can find all sorts of people from other planets here, so it’s no surprise.” Cocky shifted the hive a bit to find a more comfortable position. “That gesture is how a lago shows respect to someone important or of a higher rank.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh… it’s a nice place to live in if one had to escape somewhere.” Guybrush listened to the answers while his hands were in his pockets when he placed one hand facing up and placed the other as a fist on it like a lightbulb went off in his head, “Ooh… so they did that because you’re a First Lieutenant, right?”

AskCocky: “Haha, no, they did that because…” Cocky stopped right in his tracks and frowned. “Uh, I don’t remember mentioning that to you? So… how did you know that?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush stopped after realizing he took a few steps ahead and looked at Cocky, recalling that he hasn’t told him that… at least consciously. Scratching his cheek, Guybrush looked at the ground for a bit. “You uh… you told me, actually. While you were having that nightmare last night.”

AskCocky: Cocky just looked at Guybrush and blushed, wondering just what else he had said. He dropped his sight and shrugged. “Ooooh, right. Well,” he shook his head, “disregard that, I’m currently First Nothing. I’m assuming they stripped me off my rank the moment they decided to execute me for treason. For some reason, I don’t feel like going to B’eel and asking them.” He kept walking. “No, that guy was actually bowing to you.” MightiestPirate: “…Fair enough.” He felt bad for bringing up that night but decided it was best to not pry into it anymore unless Cocky was comfortable to discuss about it. He quickly caught up with the lago and placed his hands on his pockets once more when he stopped once again and looked confused. “Wait… to me?”

AskCocky: “Pffft, yeah. It’s because of your ear piercings. Only the high ranks in the army or important people in the government wear ear piercings.” Cocky made a face. “I had some, but I took them off in my last year in the army. I no longer wanted to look as if I belonged with those guys.” He looked at Guybrush and smiled. “But they look great on you.”

MightiestPirate: He reached for his earrings and gave it a touch, “That’s an interesting way to rank someone… I just wear it for decoration and more often then not forget about ‘em.” Guybrush replied before putting his hand back down and returning the smile, “And an understandable reason to take them off. On Earth, for those who aren’t pirates find that the more you have it, the more rebellious you look.”

AskCocky: Cocky snickered. “Well, lagos can wear piercings in… other places.” He gestured toward his chest. “For example, my nipple piercing. I had no idea what I was thinking when I got it, but it turned out I liked it in the end.” They were arriving to Otto’s house, but just went around to the back. “Lagos also wear tattoos, and I’d love some, but sadly I’m allergic to the ink and…” he frowned. “Um, can you hold the hive for a second, please?”

MightiestPirate: “Ah.” Guybrush nodded in understanding. He looked over at Cocky before shrugging “Oh… uh yeah, sure. Hand it here.” Guybrush took hold of the wrapped hive, feeling the weight of it suddenly but managed to suck it up. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was a bit heavy.”

AskCocky: “Think of all as a delicious weight, and you’ll… aw nuts! The cork is faulty! Look, it leaked all over my shirt!” Cocky complained, opening his jacket. A strong smell of cinnamon drifted up.

Just then, Cocky noticed there were some bees flying around. “Um,” he said, but there was no time. Suddenly, there were bees EVERYWHERE.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto was inside his house, feeding Spoopie a few dried crickets. It was pretty quiet despise the crunching his pet made as he chew, but then-

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

He looked up quickly and panicked as someone was pounding his door, and screams followed suit. It was when he got closer to the door that he recognized Cocky among those screams, and the swung the door open. “Cocky-!?”

MightiestPirate: It happened so fast. The swarm of bees that came out of no where, Cocky banging on the door like a madman, and Guybrush standing there holding the hive unable to move and screaming along side the white lago, “DAMN YOU MURPHY!!” Guybrush yelled, not noticing the door opening.

AskCocky: Cocky ran inside screaming. Then he ran outside, still screaming, and took off his jacket and his shirt, then he ran inside screaming. Then he yelled: “WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL HOLDING THAT,” to Guybrush, snatched the hive off him, and ran outside screaming to leave the hive by the bush. Then he ran inside, screaming and screaming, the bees still following him around.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Acting quick, Otto grabbed a vase that held a few Marigold flowers from his dinning table and ran to Cocky’s side.He shook the flowers around and the bees, once they caught their smell, started to fly away and out of the house. Otto sighed as he closed the door to the garden, and walked back to put the flowers on the table.

“It’s a good thing Marigolds are not liked by most bugs.” He said calmly, leaving the two to catch their breath.

MightiestPirate: “T-thanks… for the… save… back there…” Guybrush managed to huff, “Also… really sorry… for attracting bees.” He placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath as if he just finished swimming the Atlantic ocean. With big breath, he looked up at the bunny that saved them and gave a weak smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Guybrush.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “I assume you are a new friend of Cocky’s, hm?” He chuckled softly. “I’m Otto, and that was quite the entrance you two did, you freaked us out.”

As on cue, Spoopie chirped at the new face, mouth still filled with his crunchy food. “By the way, that’s my pet. He’s really friendly, so don’t worry.”

MightiestPirate: “Yeah…” Guybrush took another breath before standing up straight and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “Ah… sorry for the scare and uh…” He stopped midway and stared at the spider, recalling Cocky making mention of it and being fairly big. And deep down, Guybrush was scared.

With a big gulp, Guybrush gave a smile to the spider, “It’s ah… it’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

AskCocky: Cocky was still catching his breath. “Sorry about that, babe. I’m a plague,” he hugged Otto apologetically. “Uh, the bees were actually a gift. They’re nightbees, and they shouldn’t be out, but I kind of spilled a sweet perfume on my shirt so they went crazy.” Looking at Guybrush’s distress, he leaned down to scratch Spoopie’s head. “Hey kiddo.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Gurrr~!” Spoopie was so pleased with the scratching that the rolled over so that Cocky could scratch his stomach. “So that’s why you smelled like cinnamon.” Otto blinked, but then smiled and kissed Cocky’s cheek scar. “But despise all that, it’s a wonderful gift, thanks hon!”

AskCocky: Cocky purred. “That’s not all, but I really need to sit down. Oh no, wait. I’ll be right back. Don’t move from here, just be ready to open the door, just in case.” Cocky walked out of the house.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush raised an eyebrow as Cocky left the house and looked back at the spider, bending down to be at eye level with it and scratched the top of it’s head. “What’s um… what’s the guy’s name?” Guybrush asked as he looked up at Otto.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Spoopie.” Otto laughed softly. “When I got him he was just a newborn, hardly four inches, or less.” He smiled as Spopie purred with the touch. “Now he’s five months, but he won’t get any bigger.”

“Squeak!” The spider smiled.

Otto then turned to Guybrush. “Hope you don’t mind me asking but… uh, how did you two meet each other? I’m asking because Cocky’s got… some odd ways of meeting people.” He smiled a bit.

MightiestPirate: “Heh, that’s a cute name.” He scratched the head of the spider a bit more, “And if that’s the case, than I for sure chalk up there.” Guybrush chuckled. “He crashed landed into the ocean and I happened to be there to help him out of the wreckage… or at least from drowning. After a bit he let me on his ship and well…”

He got up and scratched his cheek, “Kinda used the healing gun on myself by accident.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Accident?” He blinked, seeming a bit confused. “How so? If you were hurt, or not, I don’t see why it counts as an accident.”

MightiestPirate: “Well uh… I did cut myself at one point, and I saw Cocky use it and figured it can help me.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck and gave a nervous chuckle, “Turns out healing guns heal everything… including being a human.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “…Excuse me? Human?” Otto seemed shocked. “And here I thought I have heard of everything…” He then sighed. “Then again, with Cocky, anything is possible.”

MightiestPirate: “Ah, heh… so I’ve witnessed first hand.” Guybrush chuckled nervously before clearing his throat, “H-how did the two of you meet by the way? Cocky spoke very fondly of you.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Funny story, there.” He chuckled. “I just moved in, about ten months ago? I was trying to locate my new house where all my stuff was translated to, then I bump into him.” Otto then laughed a bit. “And then he just goes: HEY IT’S THAT GUY! I was really confused, and scared too, but then he offered to help me with my stuff and I agreed.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t say no, after all, at least a 90% of my stuff were metal scraps, tools, and heavy machinery that still needed fixing, and I couldn’t have set those all into my place in just one night.” He looked at Guybrush. “From that day, Cocky kept on paying me visits and making me company. The story is a lot longer than that, but let’s just said it all started from there.” The lago smiled.

MightiestPirate: “Aww, how adorable.” Guybrush tilted his head a bit and gave a warm smile, “What did he mean that you were that guy? Was he expecting someone to move in?”

AskCocky: But Cocky interrupted it all when he entered the room. “Good news, it didn’t break and it didn’t spill and I didn’t get any more bee stings!” He looked at the other two lagos suspiciously. “Hey, I know that face. Were you talking about me? Telling my dirty secrets?” He frowned.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Allll of them, and I was about to get to the one with the ribbons.” Otto said simply, but just laughed. “Naah, Guybrush only to know how we meet eachother, but enough of that. What didn’t break or spill?”

AskCocky: “Oooh, tell him about the ribbons, but I want to be present, Guybrush is just one of those people who look adorkable when blushing.” Cocky laughed, then gave Otto the bottle. “First present: a perfume. I made the bottle myself. The cork sucks, sorry, I’ll get you a replacement.” He kissed Otto. “I hope you like it.”

MightiestPirate: “I… oh yeah? Well…” Guybrush stuck his tongue out at Cocky before giving a smirk. He took a bit of a step back for the two lagos, and as he watched the exchange between Cocky and Otto, Guybrush couldn’t help but think of Elaine and rubbed his arm a bit.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto just smiled. “Are you kidding? I love it! Thank you…” He then looked at Guybrush, and smiled apologetically. “Oh, sorry, are we making you uncomfortable?”

MightiestPirate: “Hm? Oh!! Uh…” Guybrush shook his head, “N-no need to apologize about it… I ah… it’s just seeing the two of you got me thinking about my wife back home, that’s all.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “I see, I’m just asking because you wouldn’t be the first one to feel like that.” Otto said calmly. “We can stop with the affective gestures if you want.”

AskCocky: “Guybrush is a pirate, one of the rare ones with a wife and acceptable personal hygiene.” Cocky smiled, showing the gap in his teeth.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “…?” Otto looked at him. “H-hey, what happened to you?” He put his hands under Cocky’s chin after leaving the perfume bottle on the table, and inspected the gap worriedly.

AskCocky: Cocky, his eyes huge and liquid, pointed accusatorily to Guybrush. “He did it, babe! He punched my teeth right outta my face!” His lower lip wobbled.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush eyes widen as a hint of a blush started to form. He pointed a finger at Cocky. “I… wh– you put my fist there saying to hit you and I said I was sorry. Several times at that!” Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “…” Otto’s eyes then turned sharp.

“What happened.” He said. “I know I should’t be surprised by a fist fight, but that’s not all in it, is it.”

AskCocky: Cocky stopped his act and laughed. “Yeah, stuff has happened, he punched me, I pinched that nerve in his armpit that hurts like seven million hells. It’s a long long story, but the thing you should know is that I DID tell him to hit me.” Cocky stuck his tongue out at Guybrush. “Besides, punching is how pirates show affection!”

MightiestPirate: His face was in a scowl while Guybrush’s arm was crossed listening to Cocky give a nutshell of an explanation to Otto, but eventually warmed up and laughed. “Heh, yeah… especially when it’s regarding me befriending people. Needless to say, we’re pretty much even.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “…” Otto’s features remained solid for a while, but he eventually eased up. Sighing, he nodded. “Alright, then…” He looked at Cocky. “What are you two planning on doing now?”

AskCocky: “Well, I was just going to show you the hive I got for your garden, but let’s just wait until the bees have calmed down a bit. In the meantime, why don’t you show him the garden itself, actually?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush smiled about seeing the garden before making a face “Ah… wait. Isn’t the garden outside with the bees?” He asked out of concern. “Or are you talking about the night bees?”

AskCocky: “Well, yeah, I meant the nightbees. They’re actually slowly returning to the hive now, looking pretty drowsy. The’re after all, nightbees. No, I mean the big garden, the one in the back, where I was trying to find a spot for the hive until we got attacked by the swarm. Which reminds me, did you actually get stung?”

MightiestPirate: “Oh…” He looked at his arms and turned his head to check any signs on the back. “No I don’t think so… but if I did I probably didn’t feel it while I was too busy screaming and pumped with adrenaline-esqe fear when they swarmed us.”

AskCocky: “I got hit in a couple of places actually.” Cocky rubbed his neck. “Hang on.” He walked into the kitchen and the opening and closing of several cupboards could be heard. Then him shouting. “HEY HOTCAKES, WHERE DO YOU KEEP YOUR BAKING SODA?”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “It’s near the flour!” He called back. “And I’m really happy you mentioned those are night bees! I was worried the the birds would try to eat them… or Spoopie, for that matter.”

“Chirp!” Spoopie crawled up to rest on top of Otto’s head. AskCocky: “THANKS, HONEYBUN!” came from the kitchen. “I MAY NOT THINK THINGS THROUGH BUT I CERTAINLY THINK OF EVERYTHING!” Then whistling and more cupboards opening.

MightiestPirate: He gave a chuckle at the banter before looking back at Otto and Spoopie. “Not really use to seeing spider this big but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was kinda cute.” Guybrush complimented as he reached put to pet the spider.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto laughed softly. “You’d be one of the very few people I know who thinks that.” He smiled as Spoopie squeaked and purred as he allowed Guybrush to pet him. “He is fully domesticated, and knows a few commands… though he still hunts big preys.”

MightiestPirate: “So like an eight legged puppy.” Guybrush smiled as he continued to pet the spider, chuckling at it’s purrs and sqeaks. “I’ll admit I was kinda scared to meet your pet… so glad to have that disproved.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, a puppy that hunts snakes.”

“Meeep.” Said the spider between his purrs.

AskCocky: Cocky came back from the kitchen holding a paste of water and baking soda in one hand and applying it with the other to a lump in the back of his neck. He was making a face. “Hey, could you do my back, I can’t reach…” He stopped, as he realized he didn’t know who he was addressing. The obvious one would be Otto, but then, he’d see the bruises in his back. He blushed.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush noticed the blush and looked between the two lagos, scratching his cheek awkwardly. Figuring Otto would get on it, he turned his head to the lago, “So you want to do it or I should?”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “I can.” Otto nodded and looked at Cocky. “Is that alright?”

AskCocky: “Sure,” Cocky smiled awkwardly. “Right there in the small to the back, a bit to the right.” He put the paste in Otto’s hand, bracing for what the other could say.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “…Oh sweet fluffy…” He just sighed. “So I was right… but let’s not talk about it now.” He stared to run his paste-covered fingers over the injuries, lightly rubbing the area. “…Is this alright?” He asked, focused on his boyfriend’s back.

AskCocky: Cocky winced. “I agree, let’s not. Eeeh. That’s okay.” He turned to his boyfriend and seeing him worried, he kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s go see that garden now. I need to sit down in the grass for a while.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto planted a kiss on Cocky’s nose, and nodded. “Sure.” He then turned to Guybrush. “I hope you aren’t allergic to flowers, because my garden is filled with plant life.”

MightiestPirate: He missed Elaine. Guybrush smile and placed his hands in his pockets. “Nah, not allergic to any flowers. I’m use to being outdoors about… ninety five percent of the time anyways.” Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Good to know!” Otto smiled, and guided them outside. His garden was huge, with a tree that had tiny, colorful bird houses decorating it. The birds had their head poking out from their windows, singing and flying around, and not seeming bothered by their new buzzing neighbors.

The three took a seat on the grass, and Spoopie crawled away from Otto to find bugs in the berry bushes.

MightiestPirate: “It’s a beautiful garden you have here, Otto.” He complimented in awe, having the dawning realization of just how long he has been away from nature. With a deep breath Guybrush laid down on the grass and took in everything. The smell of the various plant life, the sounds of the birds, feeling the blades of the grass… all that was missing was the sounds of the ocean waves crashing in the distance.

“I never realized just how much I take all of this for granted.” Guybrush sighed.

AskCocky: “Isn’t it amazing?” Cocky just let himself drop lazily on the grass, lying. “He’s got a real green thumb, my honeybun. The most I have done is grown hydroponics, and they’re all kind of lackluster compared to this.” Cocky sighed. “Hey Otto, tell him the story about the birds.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Oh man, a CLASSIC.” Otto snickered and joined them on the grass, and help hands with Cocky. “OK so, one day I mentioned missing… an old garden of mines, because I used to have a lot of birds singing there each morning, and I loved to wake up with their singing.”

He looked at Spoopie as he came and cuddled next to him, and the lago smiled before continuing. “And next thing I know, Flawless brought three huge crates filled to the top of birds of all species.” Otto then started to giggle a bit. “A-and then… pfft. S-sorry.” He managed to say before starting to laugh softly.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush opened his eyes and turned his head towards Otto with a smile, “Then what? Can just leave someone hanging like that… I wanna know what happens next.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Y-you see…” He tried to explain, but he couldn’t help the chuckles coming out of him. “Babe, want to, uhh, fill the rest?”

AskCocky: “Uuuugh,” Cocky sighed. “So here I am, super happy that I will surprise my cinnabun with birdsong, romantic as heck I know. But when I open the crate the birds all go crazy and start flapping around and fighting among themselves and crapping everywhere, all over the mailbox and the front gate and the roof. And then I realize, well Cocky you’re a freaking idiot and this was the worst idea ever, fix it or else, dude. So I start yelling SHOO, SHOO you WINGED bastards and I think the mockinbirds were the first to give me the evil eye. I don’t know, they just SHWOOOOOM, diving to attack me, and suddenly it’s like everybody was HEY let’s attack that long-eared dumbass over there and SHWOOOOM and SHWOOM and they started pecking me all over, it was so Hitchcock, so I just gave up and went home and cried. Real story. Don’t laugh, it’s so sad.” MightiestPirate: Try as he might, Guybrush shoulders were shaking with laughter with one hand on his forehead. “I… oh man… ha ha ha j-just… just the visual of seeing birds fly at you like that I… oh man I’m sorry but that’s just… that’s just hilarious.” He placed both hands on his face and continued to laugh while saying muffled sorries in between each chuckle.

AskCocky: “So you see, I’m typically getting attacked by animals over my romantic gestures, but apparently I don’t learn. Cinnabun, you can tell the rest of the story if you’ve done laughing at my tragedy,” Cocky squeezed Otto’s hand.

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto hugged his boyfriend. “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing about your experience.” He apologized and kissed Cocky cheek, before turning to Guybrush. “After all that ruckus, and cleaning up the whole place… and having Spoopie devour a few birds.” The spider chirped. “Cocky returned and he was wrecked, saying how sorry he was and that he was sad the surprise backfired so badly.”

He squeezed Cocky’s hand softly. “But some birds did stay, and they’re the ones in the tree right now.” He smiled. “They were the greatest gift I could’ve asked for.”

MightiestPirate: “Maybe wearing some kind of helmet the next time you show a kind gesture should help… that or like one of those suits of armor.” Guybrush lightly joked, “Still, I’d imagine it’s the thought of it all that counts in the end.” Having his laughter finally subside, Guybrush placed his hands down to his chest and looked back up at the tree, having a red bird in particular catching his attention as it flew to the tree he gave a sighed.

“Elaine would’ve loved this place.”

AskCocky: “Maybe wearing a full-body suit of armor 100% of the time would help, because I always get attacked by something when I’m being a jerk, too,” Cocky snarked. Then he looked briefly at Guybrush and realized he was missing his life. He would have to take him home soon, he realized. It was a depressing thought, so he leaned into one elbow and said: “Hey, want to check if the nightbees are all home now? Maybe we can show Otto what the REAL gift is.”

MightiestPirate: He briefly rolled his eyes while having a bit of a smirk before he turned over to look at Cocky. Guybrush raised an eyebrow before giving a smile and a nod. “Yeah, sure… should be just about safe from any stinging wraths, right?” Guybrush spoke as he lifted himself up using his elbows.

AskCocky: “Yeah, it should.” Cocky just jumped himself upright, then helped the other buns up. “Let’s go find ourselves a sweet treat to celebrate his meeting.” They walked to the front lawn, where the hive had been left.

MightiestPirate: As Guybrush stood up, he brushed off any dirt or grass that might have been on his person. “I’m all in favor for something delicious.” He smiled, following Cocky to the lawn while still looking at the garden and everything it had to offer. Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Curious, Otto followed them after picking Spoopie and leaving the spider sit on his head. “What else is there to see?”

AskCocky: “Aaah, that’s a surprise. You’ll love it, I guarantee it. I was just so tempted to keep the hive to myself, but I’ll be happy knowing the bees will pollinate your garden and I can still drop by to steal this honey like a deranged Winnie the Pooh.” Cocky knelt down and unwrapped the hive. “We need to put this on the farther corner of your garden. And this here,” he pointed, “this is a faucet. Honey comes out of it, you don’t have to deal with the bees to collect it.”

MightiestPirate: “He’s not joking about wanting to steal the honey.” Guybrush added as he watched the the wrapping paper finally being taken off. “Trust me, if I didn’t know you or Cocky, I’d probably risk the bee stings just to steal the hive for myself.”

AskCocky: “This honey is almost as sweet as you, honeybun, and that’s everything I need to say about it.” Cocky chuckled. “In the meantime, opening this compartment back here you can take a piece of honeycomb itself.” He gave one piece to Otto, one to Guybrush and took one for himself. He raised it as if it was a glass. “Cheers!”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “That’s amazing.” Otto smiled as he was explained how it really worked, and once he had his own piece, he tried the honey with the tip of his tongue. The sweetness took over his mouth in a matter of seconds, and he made a happy noise. “!!”

Spoopie tried it as well, and made a noise similar to Otto’s. “!!!”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush raised his piece as a toast before to a sip from the honey, having a shiver run up his spine from the flavor. His ears drooped happily as he savored the honey’s taste in his mouth and gave a bit of a chuckle when he heard Otto and Spoopie’s ‘chirps’.

“Heh heh… you two make the same squeak sounds.” Guybrush pointed out.

AskCocky: “I sometimes… mmmmh, sometimes I call him ‘Squeaky’, hahahhaha, oooooh,” Cocky licked the honeycomb with a face of ecstasy, unaware of the erotic noises and gestures he was doing. “It’s just so… mmmh yeah, right there, oh gods, mmmmh…”

MightiestPirate: He covered his mouth for various reasons, making sure the honey wouldn’t spill, to cover the laugh, and the on-coming blush, but still he couldn’t help but raise a bit of an eyebrow. “Heh, hey Cocky, you’re ah… you’re doing that thing with the food again.”

AskCocky: Cocky’s eyes flew open and he blushed wildly. “Aaaw man. Sorry. Sorry, I’ll… I’ll stop.” He suddenly flipped the entire piece of honeycomb in his mouth and chewed it for a while, shuddering the whole time. “So goooooood,” he said. “Hey, anyone got a cigarette?”

MightiestPirate: Seeing Cocky blush like that got Guybrush to laugh out loud, “I guess… I guess it counts as you being brought breakfast then, huh?“ He joked as he took a breath and finished the last bite of his honeycomb, savoring each bite before swallowing it. “I could eat this stuff forever, honestly.” Guybrush sighed. Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: “Best honey ever~…” He said, fully content. Otto then looked at Cocky, licking his lips lightly because of the honey left there. “I don’t have any cigarette, why?”

AskCocky: “No reason,” Cocky smiled. He leaned to kiss Otto in the lips, a sweet, honey kiss. “I’m glad you liked your present, Squeaky. But we have to run. I gotta take this guy home now.”

Ask_Otto_Lagomorph: Otto purred as he was kissed, his ears giving a soft twitch. He looked at Cocky and nodded. “I can understand. Be careful on your trip.” His voice grew serious at that, before turning to Guybrush and smiling.

“It was great to have you over, you’re welcome anytime.” Spoopie chirped loudly. “And I’m sure Spoopie would like to see you again.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush turned to Otto and smiled, “I’ll be more than glad to come back for a visit. Maybe even bring Elaine along as well to see your garden.” He heard the chirp of Spoopie and scratch the spider’s head again, “And of course I’ll be happy to see you too.” Giving a good ruffle to the spider’s head.

AskCocky: Cocky did as well, and after a round of hugging they waved goodbye to the spotted lagomorph and his humongous yet fluffy pet.

As they walked to the ship Cocky said: “Well, mission accomplished in a more or less succesful way. I kind of wanted to put the hive in its final place, but knowing Otto he’ll be changing the place of the hive every two days until he finally is happy with it.” He smiled. “Time to go home now.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Heh, it’s important to be happy with the whole… fung sway thing. And hey, at least it only ended with a few bee stings.” Guybrush chimed in with a smile before sighing and placing his hands in his pockets. “Guess it’s time, huh.”

AskCocky: “Is it not?” Cocky stopped and looked at his friend. “Guybrush, I enjoy your company a lot, and if I’m completely honest, I would love to spend more time with you.” He scratched his cheek scars. “But I look at you and I think you miss your home, and your wife, and your planet. A lot of things have happened in two days, honestly, a lot of intense things, and it feels a lot longer. Am I wrong in this?”

“You’re not wrong…” He stopped and rubbed the back his neck. “I admit, past all the rather… complicated bits, I actually really enjoyed hanging out with you. It’s not often you meet someone who takes you to see other worlds and have an adventure. And it’s weird, but it feels like we’ve been friends for more than two days.” Guybrush admitted before sighing, “But yeah… you’re not wrong.”

AskCocky: “Well, so there’s that,” Cocky said. They walked in silence for a bit and then Cocky suddenly said. “Plus. I have the feelings my nightmares are not over, and they won’t be for a few days. I don’t want you to suffer through it again. And… and. There’s this other thing…” The idea of Cocky having to deal with the nightmares alone for a few days sat with Guybrush wrong, but he did his best to not make a face. Instead, he raised a confused eyebrow as he listened to Cocky. “Hm? What other thing? Is there somewhere you need to stop by?”

AskCocky: Cocky shook his head. “It occurred to me a while ago that we told a bunch of pirates that we killed and ate Guybrush Threepwood. I’m not sure how fast news fly in the Caribbean, but if they reach your wife’s ears, she’s going to freak out real bad. And if she finds out afterwards that while she was mourning you you were prancing around in dancing fountains and driving monster trucks, she’s going to be mighty-ultra-pissed. Dig?”

Guybrush froze in his track as his ears dropped and had a look of horror written all across his face. “Clam dip, I… forgot we said those things… and I even moved the boat to storage… aw crap.” He brushed back his bangs as he tried to think “Elaine though… she’s smart enough to not listen to rumors… s-she has to be… I… I can clear this up. She will be royally peeved, but I think… I think I can do it.”

AskCocky: “Don’t worry. I’m taking you home now. I’m sure she’ll make an exception when we explain those pirates were trying to kill us. Besides, it was me who said we ate you, so you can blame the bunny-guy on this one. In short, she will be pissed, but not for long hopefully. After all, she wasn’t expecting to see you in a few days?” They reached the ship and got in. “Yeah I suppose…” He scratched his cheek as they entered the ship. “Plus she probably wouldn’t have believed the rumors if we were only gone for two-three days… annoyed, maybe, especially since I docked the ship without either her or Winslow knowing on short notice, but not extremely mad.” Guybrush paused and dropped his hands to his sides, “…But I wouldn’t blame her if she did get mad.”

AskCocky: “Maybe she’ll just punch you several times in the arm and call you a jerk,” Cocky sneered, and sat down, buckling up. “I mean… if the damage is done, then the damage is done. But if it’s not, then maybe we can do something about it, and that’s one of the reasons I insist on going back: the longer you’re away the madder she will get.” He started the ship.

“Oh ha-ha.” Guybrush rolled his eyes, “And unlike me, she just needs one good swing to prove a point. No nerve pinches or knives tossing are needed.” He jabbed in return as he took a seat and buckled up. “But I see your point. No point in delaying anymore than needed. Should probably stop by the shipyard so I can retrieve my ship first… if it’s still there and Elaine didn’t get it already.”

AskCocky: “Nerve pinches don’t prove a point. They ARE the point.” Cocky just stuck his tongue briefly at Guybrush. “Ship retrieval first, gotcha.” They went past the vanilla clouds until the sky turned black. Cocky got up and cracked his back to program the course. “We have like an hour until we reach Earth. Let’s go hang out in the couch for a while.”

“If only our pun loving friend back at that hamburger joint could hear you.” Guybrush chuckled as he shook his head. He watched the flavorful looking clouds zoom away only to be greeted with sparkling black skies once more and unbuckled himself from the chair. He followed Cocky to the couch and plopped down on it, stretching his legs before finally having his body relax a bit. “So Otto is adorable.” Guybrush smiled.

AskCocky: Cocky smiled goofily. “Isn’t he?? He’s just the most… oooomph. Can’t. Deal. With it.” He pawed the air helplessly. “Remember what we said about the small things? Well, sometimes the entire Universe fits right in your arms.” He closed his eyes and sighed.

“Did anyone ever say that you being so love-struck is adorable?” He chuckled softly as he looked back at the ceiling, placing his hands on his stomach and enjoying some of the tranquility in the room. “It’s amazing how one person can leave such a mark that they feel like that to you.”

AskCocky: “Wait, are we talking about me, or you? Hahaha.” Cocky laughed, then he said sincerely. “At least some marks I can cherish and be happy I have them.” He kicked off his boots and hugged his knees. “Isn’t this the only way to love someone? With everything you have? I think you know what I’m talking about.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh… all I’ve know is that I forget how to speak basic English and look like a love- stricken puppy.” Guybrush answered, he stretched his arms above his head and rested his hands behind it. “But yeah, I know what you mean all too well. It’s like… it’s like everything just blurs except for that one person and it leaves you breathless.” AskCocky: “Yeah, exactly… you do understand.” Cocky smiled. Then he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, I’m an idiot, I just wanted to give you copies of the pic we took of us, not only your reward poster.” He brought down the screen and started manipulating it.

MightiestPirate: He raised an eyebrow before the screen came down, recalling their mini photo- shoot. “Oh yeah… kinda forgot about that for a moment.” Guybrush answered as he moved his hands back to his stomach. “And I know just where I’m gonna frame ‘em… along side the monster truck one on my desk, nicely framed.”

AskCocky: “I get to be on your DESK??” Cocky squealed like a schoolgirl and shook his tail a bit. He pressed a button on the screen and out of the coffee table came the pic. He just gave it to Guybrush. “Well, that’s your final gift, I guess,” Cocky said a bit sadly.

MightiestPirate: “I know, right?” Guybrush playfully answered as he placed both hands on his face. “Oh… uh… I guess so. Thanks.” He took hold of the picture and looked at it, feeling sad himself. He placed the picture away and sniffed a bit. “I-I appreciate everything you’ve done. Really.”

AskCocky: “Likewise, mate. I do a lot of things, but they’re not as fun when I do them alone, and there are few people who are capable of following my pace. Also, thank you for saving my life several times, or at least trying, let’s not forget that.” Cocky sat back down smiling, then he saw the new cut on his couch’s backrest. “What?? Aw, man, what the Hell? My roomies are going to kill me??” he said, puzzled.

MightiestPirate: He wiped his eye briefly before raising an eyebrow at the remark and looked over at the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah… that’s when you tossed your knife at me. It grazed me, murdered your couch, and wounded the door over there.” Guybrush pointed at the various scratch marks from the knife that night. “I’m sure your roommate will understand that it was from a night terror, right?”

AskCocky: Cocky blinked. “…oh. It was from… that.” He sat back. “Sure, they will understand. They love me, you know? Even if I drive them crazy. But. When I’m sure all the nightmares are over, I’ll just have everything repaired. Then it will be as if nothing has happened.” He shrugged. “It’s better that way.”

MightiestPirate: He bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking maybe he should’ve eased in the response to that. Guybrush looked at Cocky with concern, “They… they do know about it, right? I mean… repairs are good and all but… they are your roommates and I’m sure they know what the latch is for.”

AskCocky: “Yeah, they know,” Cocky said quietly. “Brock was even in the slave camp with me, too. Less time, but… he was. He has nightmares too, but not as bad, and he’s not dangerous. I am.” He scratched his cheek scars. “It’s not so much denying something is there as… looking away. Besides, I don’t wanna worry them. If they knew I was like that they’d insist on coming back to check on me.” Cocky rolled his eyes. “I told you, no one ever listens to me.” MightiestPirate: “I see…” Guybrush let out a sigh, partially out of relief knowing they also didn’t listen and were just as equally worried, and placed his hand on the lago’s shoulder while having a small smile on his face. “But y’know, all that means is that we care about you.”

AskCocky: Cocky smiled and looked down. “I know you do. And I do, too, that’s why I don’t want to accidentally kill you when I’m…” he twirled his finger around his temple. Then he bit his lip. “I think you’re under the impression I installed the latch so they could lock themselves in. No. I installed it so I can lock them out.”

MightiestPirate: “So you’re suppose to be the one in the room.” Guybrush figured he placed on finger on his chin before raising an eyebrow in mild confusion, “But wait… wouldn’t you just be able to unlock it while inside? Unless there’s some kinda mechanical computer lock system thingamajig that sort of helps with the whole thing?”

AskCocky: “Ummm. I normally don’t see any lock, at least not one that can be opened from the inside. I would pound my fists into bloody stumps and never ever see the latch, see? I just don’t see what’s in front of me.” Cocky hugged his knees again. “Remember when you asked me if I had ever been in the fog? Well, I didn’t want to tell you, but this is what I meant. Only one time, when I got back from the camps, I was like that for months. In the fog. Not here. Still there.” He leaned into his own arms. “This is why I insist on no one touching me or talking to me when I’m like that. I might break things or hurt myself, but I’m mostly fine, even if I’m suffering, it will pass. I won’t even remember it in the morning.” He made a face. “What it won’t pass is if I wake up and discover I decapitated my pirate friend.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh…” He bit his lip, familiar with that blurry feeling and finally understanding what Cocky meant. He remained silent for a bit before sighing giving a nod, “That… makes a lot more sense now. And I’m guessing that’s why you’re so familiar with the healing gun as well, right? For events like last night?” Guybrush questioned in curiosity.

AskCocky: Cocky just gave Guybrush The Look. “You have with me for two days, and you’re really asking me that?”

MightiestPirate: “I… am just gonna stop asking stupid questions now.” Guybrush mumbled as he tried to shrink into the couch.

AskCocky: Cocky laughed. “I’m kidding, mate! You can ask all the questions you want, and I mean it.” He grabbed his cape of feathers from the coffee table and started fluffing it up. “I just meant I’m prone to accidents, and whenever trouble doesn’t chase me I’m chasing it, and I have also a tendency to do stupid stuff. C’mon, ask me a question.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush blushed and gave a sheepish chuckle as he lifted himself back into a better sitting position while thinking of a better, not nearly as obvious, question. Or at least to the best of his abilities when finally a question popped up. “Okay um… I heard you speaking in this foreign language several times, I’m assuming it’s B’eel… so where did you learn English?” AskCocky: “I picked it up in the Thirteen, there were three humans, or half-human, I don’t know for sure. But a lot of people speak English in the galaxy, it’s one of the most common languages. It’s very easy to learn.” Cocky said. “No conjugations, and it’s mostly monosyllabic and stuff.”

MightiestPirate: “Oh… that’s neat.” Guybrush answered, “Good to know that if I ever find myself in the galaxy again, I’m not completely screwed with the language barrier… wait, the Thirteen? What’s that?”

AskCocky: “Eh. It’s an ancient elite organization… seriously, it’s like thousands of years old. You basically have thirteen warriors of all kinds, and they’re like… the last resource. It started as a bunch of bandits, but they were so good they soon started doing legit jobs. Granted, not all the jobs are legit. Sometimes we were required to rescue hostages or save a planet or go against a supervillain but sometimes the job was to acquire a massive destruction weapon. So. I was… uh, “borrowed” from B’eel’s army. In exchange, the Thirteen were their allies and did jobs here and there for them. Of course, I also got paid. I was the stealth assassin specialist of the group, along with another.” Cocky scratched his cheek. “I got kicked out when B’eel decided I was a traitor. I had a lot of fun there but it’s a very very dangerous job. It’s not rare that someone dies, so then another carefully selected guy takes their place.” The lago crossed his legs. “I’m much better working on my own, although I have to admit having a team who gets your back is good too.”

MightiestPirate: “Aside from that random banishment, it sounds like it was probably for the best that you left… all the dangerous after-math aside.” He took off his own shoes as he was listening to the story, picking his feet up on the couch and crossed it have on hand rest on it while the other propped his head up. “And if it means anything, it sounds like you went the route of a pirate by basically waving a finger to the rules after an unfair declaration.” Guybrush paused for a moment before another question rose up, “Is that how you met your roommates?”

AskCocky: “Oh, no, no! I have known my friend Brocky since my first day in the Academy. Booooy, he hated me! Somehow he ended up loving me, however, I don’t know why, I was a real pest, still am.” Cocky laughed merrily. “And since then we…” he intertwined his fingers for lack of a better explanation. “Now… now Des, Desiree I mean, she’s the actual captain of this ship, hahaha. I met her when she was under my command, back when we started liberating the slave camps. Man, you would love her too, she is just so badass and so, soooo hot.” Cocky blushed red, giddy.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush chuckled at how the lago was describing his roommates, “Heh… kinda reminds me of my own crew. Granted no academy of any sort, but still.” He then raised an eyebrow while giving Cocky a smirk and a playful nudge, “As for Desiree… sounds like your admire her a lot.” He paused for a moment before a thought him, “Kinda realized that I’ve been asking most of the questions… if you have any for me I don’t mind answering them.”

AskCocky: “Admire, shmire, I totally have a crush on her. One of those useless crushes that only hurt and lead nowhere.” Cocky smiled a bit sadly, then asked: “So tell me, how did you meet your own crew? The good crew, not the one that should have been keelhauled.”

MightiestPirate: He gave Cocky a sympathetic pat before figuring where to start.

“Hmm… with Winslow I met while I stranded on this island where wind kept blowing inward and I needed to get a ship to leave and the rules to be captain of it on the island was to knock the guy who was currently captain… only it was occupied by one Reginald Van Winslow, who for the record was a great sport about me trying to knock him off it so I can be captain. After a series of my puzzle shenanigans, I managed to get him off of it and he asked if he could join my crew from that point on… said he respected me for the dedication and my wit. And my beard.” Guybrush scratched his cheek in recollection.

“As for Elaine… I was first starting out as a pirate and I had to complete these three trials in order to be be seen as a pirate. One of the trials was to steal this idol from the Governor’s mansion, and I managed not only to break in but to steal it until I went kinda fisticuff with the local sheriff who was about to toss me out, but luckily Elaine came down those stairs and actually helped me lie about the statue belonging in a museum. After she kicked him out, she spoke with me saying how she was keeping tabs on my since my arrival and how she was the Governor… and like an idiot I just babbled gibberish.” Guybrush blushed. “She also went to out of her way to rescue me and make sure I was safe after the sheriff attempted to drown me…”

AskCocky: “Oooh, she liked you from the very start, mmmh? Well, who can blame her, honestly you’re kind of a supermodel compared to the other pirates.” Cocky wrinkled his nose. “And why did the sheriff attempt to drown you, isn’t that illegal?”

MightiestPirate: “Ah… heh… um thanks.” Guybrush blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck before shaking his head and clearing his throat, “Well, technically yes, and Elaine said he wasn’t acting on her orders… and that he was new. I honestly have no idea why he did that aside from him saying I was being a pest and in his way all the time… which is weird cause I only ran into him two times prior to that. It’s a good thing I was able to hold my breath otherwise I would’ve been screwed.”

AskCocky: “What a jerk! Maybe she was after you girl. Main two motivators in life are sex and money, and sexy money, and money sex. Anyway, I’m getting the vibe that Winslow didn’t like being a captain. Sometimes it’s more fun to be crew than captain, especially if you have been captain for a while.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush had his eyebrows raised and laughed about the money. “Possibly, it’s one of those mysteries that won’t be solved seeing as he disappeared entirely afterwards. As for Winslow, that might be the case… he seems happier steering the ship instead of being in charge of the ship.” He paused for a moment before wrinkling his nose, “But then again he is rather intimate with the mast…”

AskCocky: “Hahahaha, EWWW!” Cocky slapped Guybrush’s back. “Mate, why don’t you say ANYTHING?? Say, in your best captain-y voice!” Cocky imitated a deep, stern tone. “Hey Winnie, please stop mast-urbating with my ship.” He got into a fit of hysterical laughter, barely able to breathe.

MightiestPirate: “Winnie?! HA HA OH MY GOD!!” He held on to his sides, feeling like his lungs were going to explode as he laughed loudly, “I got… I got… I got to remember that for future use, holy crap.” Guybrush stated before going back to his laughing fits, “I don’t think I’ll be able to say that with a straight face either…”

AskCocky: Cocky stopped to breathe and then launched a new impression. “Pole-ase, Winnie, pole-ase. That’s not what I meant when I said to grease the cannon!” He kicked and kicked, doubling over in hysterics and leaning on his friend’s shoulder.

MightiestPirate: “PFFFFFT!! Wh–why do you keeping giving me that ridiculous voice?” Guybrush placed a hand to his forehead, flung his head back and laughed even harder, not minding the impersonation at all. “Okay okay…” Guybrush stopped laughing, puffing his chest up a bit and tried to deepen his own voice, “I said fish sticks, Winnie, fish STICKS!!” After a few seconds he ended up being back in his laughing fit.

AskCocky: Cocky just started wheezing in silent laughter, obviously out of breath and air, half- gasping, “oh my gods, please stop, haaahahaha, no no no,” just to be back to kicking again, in tears. Finally, a sing-song computer voice said. “Earth approaching, E.T.A. two minutes.”

“Aaah,” Cocky sighed, then got up, still kind of doubled over. “Curtain call, mate. Let’s go meet Winnie and the beautiful Elaine, then.”

MightiestPirate: “I… I don’t think I’ll be able to hear him be called Winnie and stand there with a straight face ever again.” Guybrush sighed, rubbing his face and some of the tears with while he took a few breaths before getting up from the couch, looking at the window and seeing the familiar blue planet in the distance.

AskCocky: Still chuckling, Cocky and Guybrush sat down and buckled up. Cocky had the coordinates of the dock in the ship’s computer. As they were getting closer, the ship started buckling like a colt. “Guybrush!” Cocky said, alarmed. “Hold on tight!”

MightiestPirate: Within the first shake, Guybrush was already grabbing hold of his seat as tightly as he could, just like when they initially took off from the planet and held his breath. “W-what’s going on?!” Guybrush asked trying to mask any signs of fear from his voice.

AskCocky: “The same thing… the same thing that happened before…” Cocky was trying to steer the ship. “AAAGH!! Guybrush, we’re going down!!” The ship started spiraling out of control and heading nose down towards the sea… then it completely shut down. “We’re gonna…” Cocky pawed blindly in Guybrush’s direction, trying to grab his hand in fear. From that height, they would not survive, and the lago knew that too well. MightiestPirate: He didn’t need to say anymore, they were going to crash. Guybrush quickly grabbed Cocky’s hand and held it tight, burying down his own fear so he can assure the scared lago even though he was not even sure himself how they’ll get out of this mess. “E-everything will be fine.” Guybrush attempted, “I promise.”

AskCocky: Cocky just briefly looked at Guybrush, and saw in his eyes that he knew it, too. “A-all right,” he simply said, and saw the sea coming to meet them at neck-breaking speed. Unable to contain himself, he clenched his eyes shut and screamed in the last three seconds before the splash, but somehow kept on screaming until he ran out of breath.

When he opened his eyes, it was nighttime and the ship was flying pleasantly over the Caribbean. Cocky gasped. Were they dead? He discovered he was squeezing Guybrush’s hand so hard he was probably hurting him.

MightiestPirate: The ship was spiraling downwards with no control and there was little either lagos could do but to close their eyes and wait for the impact to come. But it never came. Guybrush wasn’t sure what happened, but when he heard the seagulls cawing outside, he opened one eye and saw the bird flying by. He rubbed his eyes to be sure only to be greeted with the familiar swirls of clouds.

He turned his attention to the white bunny who seemed to have looked equally confused while clinging on to his hand tightly, not feeling the tight squeeze thanks to the adrenaline rush that was still coursing through him.

“I… think we’re alive.” Guybrush finally spoke. “Are you okay?”

AskCocky: “I don’t know,” Cocky said, finally letting go of Guybrush. He looked at his own hand. “Are we dead? What happened? It was daytime when we crashed, why is it dark outside?” The lago looked completely freaked out, dead pale.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush unbuckled himself and looked out the window, everything about it looked the same as he remembered… no sky scrapers or anything metallic as far as the eye can see, but there was that raising concern when a thought appeared in his head. “Hey… didn’t you say that the last time you came here, you went through the Bermuda triangle?” Guybrush pondered, “What if we went through that again?”

AskCocky: “What if we went through a time rift?” Cocky considered this, then shook his head, appalled. “What if as if we were about to die, time opened their mouth and swallowed us?” He started laughing in a very unsettling way.

MightiestPirate: “That’s… also a theory. What with our luck tending to sucker punch us right in the face more often than not…” He rubbed his arm nervously, “M-maybe w-we should probably check outside for anything… anything out of place.” Guybrush gulped. AskCocky: “A-alright.” Cocky stood up, his knees trembling hard. He felt a bit sick, but went to the windows. Just a bit ahead and to the left, he pointed to a moving set of lights. “Wait… is that a spaceship??” After a couple of seconds, stunned… “Holy shit… Guybrush. I think that’s us.”

MightiestPirate: He kept an arm behind Cocky just to be there in case the lago stumbled over. “Spaceship?” Guybrush asked before looking at the window recognizing the metallic craft, his eyes widen and he could swear his jaw hit the ground the way it was wide open. “I– but– we’er here and– I– What the Hell is going on?!”

AskCocky: Cocky quickly ran to the controls and cloaked his own ship. “I dunno. I dunno, but they… we… must not see us. Something bad will happen if they do, I’m sure.” He massaged his temples. “I think we’re in the past, but not that much in the past… just the day I arrived… look. Look, we’re towing the Screaming Narwhal. I think we’re going to the dock.”

MightiestPirate: He placed his face as close as he could to the window and watched as the ship was gently lifted up from the ocean water and taken away. “There she goes…” Guybrush muttered, he peeled himself off the window and looked over to Cocky, having confusion written all over his face, “So, now what do we do? We can’t stay this far in the past… can we?”

AskCocky: “We have no choice, I think.” Cocky tried to organize his thoughts. “There’s no way to go to our current time, so I think the best we can do is wait until the… other us go to space to moon-prance and everything we did. When they do, let’s just get your ship out of the dock. We’re them, they’re us, they’re not coming back unless they’re us… ugh, my head hurts,” the poor lago said, still following the ship at a distance.

MightiestPirate: “So once they leave… we’ve technically became our past self.” Guybrush tried to think about it but after a while felt like it was draining his energy and shook it off, deciding it was probably best not to tell Elaine this particular bit for her own sake. He sighed and looked over to Cocky, “Maybe we shouldn’t think too hard on this…”

AskCocky: “I agree, let’s just follow our guts. I mean, our guts and the other guys’ guts, which are also our guts… Hell.” Cocky squeezed his head. He saw his ship float by the dock and throw the beam down. “Hey look, that’s you. Hahaha, you were freaking out so hard.”

MightiestPirate: His past self was flailing around like a headless chicken trying to fly instead of just letting the beam gently lower him. And after he’s been through, he had to admit he did look ridiculous, “Heh, could you blame me?” Guybrush remarked, “I’m honestly surprised that the beam didn’t turn off midway.”

AskCocky: Cocky just saw Guybrush float down. “There’s no reason to think it would turn…” He trailed off. “Hey. Hey, I’ve got an idea. Just wait here and don’t move, I’m going down there to do something.” He waited until Guybrush disappeared into a shack and then turned his own beam on. MightiestPirate: He watched as the beam turned on and gazed at Cocky with confusion, “What are you doing…?” Guybrush asked, not moving from his spot but the sound of concern was obviously laced in his voice. “I-I thought we were trying to not be spotted by our past selves.”

AskCocky: “Hahaha. Just wait here… it’ll be fine.” Cocky grabbed what appeared to be a remote control and stepped into the beam, lowering himself to the ground. He turned off the beam, ran a few yards, and directed his remote to his past ship. The beam appeared, and he just stepped in it, mentally calculating the time and trying to remember what his past self had been doing. Bewildered, he saw himself getting busy cleaning up the place, stopped a second or two to consider his own fine ass, then quickly and silently walked to the workshop. Once there, he put the safety on his glass oven so it couldn’t be turned on without the override, a measure surely thought by the inventors thinking of the kids.

MightiestPirate: There was a really close shave when he just had to freeze like a statue as his past self walked just two feet from himself. But after that, he just lowered himself down and turned off the beam, just in time to disappear into the shadows as past Guybrush walked out of the shack and started waving and shouting to be let in. Once his past self wised out, Guybrush was quicky absorbed and disappeared into the ship, which just moved upwards until it was out of sight.

AskCocky: “What is he doing…?” Guybrush mumbled to himself as Cocky boarded his past self’s ship. He held his breath and kept looking at the shack for any signs of his own past self or of Cocky. A few minutes passed and he wondered if he should get off the ship when he saw the familiar white lago beam down and hide in bushes just as Guybrush’s past self appeared. Finally letting a sight of relief as the ship left he turned his attention back to the beam spot to meet up with present Cocky.

MightiestPirate: “So wanna explain what that close encounter of a past kind was about?” Guybrush asked, both as a joke and as a relief to see that nothing ill has happened to his friend.

AskCocky: Cocky just wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. “Phew!! Hahaha, that was close. Man. Dude.” He grabbed Guybrush by the shoulders, dead serious. “I am not kidding when I say I’m unbelievably hot.” Then he let go, smirking. “Hey, just a thought… check the inside of the washing machine, just in case.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush blinked in confusion, opening his mouth willing to say something but ended up closing it, feeling that there was nothing in the English language that could translate what his mind was trying to form and brushed it off. He looked at Cocky confused and went to the washing machine, “Um… okay… what I’m suppose to look for–” he opened the cover and stopped speaking midway, his eyes widen and at the verge of tears. “No way…” he mumbled and leaned in quickly to pick up the familiar blue cloth, gently examining the gold swirls and the bright red cuffs. “I don’t…” He looked up at Cocky expecting an explanation.

There was no question about it.

It was his coat. AskCocky: Cocky just beamed, very full of himself. “A magic trick! TADAAA!” He chuckled. “Honestly, I had no idea if that would work, and hopefully we haven’t damaged the fabric of time and reality in an irreversible way just to save your coat.” He smiled. “But it’s your coat, and I know it was important to you, so I said… what the Hell.”

MightiestPirate: His eyes burned as he held his coat, realizing that they could have possibly screwed up reality for a piece of cloth… but he didn’t care. And for the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything witty to say. Instead, with his coat still in hand, Guybrush rushed over to Cocky, almost tackling the lago, and held him in a tight hug.

“Thank you…”

AskCocky: Cocky didn’t say anything as he was tackle-hugged. Instead, he just hugged his friend back, his throat hurting a bit. “You’re welcome.” As they broke the hug, he held Guybrush by the shoulders. “And remember always that you have a coat that should not exist.” He laughed, feeling optimist, with the feeling everything would be alright. “Now, let’s go find your lovely wife.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, just makes this coat extra special for more than one reason now.” Guybrush smiled as they pulled from the hug and nodded, “R-right, just need to get my ship from the guy… I’m sure he’ll be confused seeing as I was just there literally minutes ago but eh, we’re already this far with screwing with the timeline.” He joked, just about to slip it on and paused for a moment. “Hey ah… you let me try on your cape… wanna try out my coat?”

AskCocky: “Hell yeah I want!!” Cocky rubbed his hands in anticipation. “I want to try on the non- existent coat from the past, rescued from the clutches of the inferno, mythical gift from a goddess! Gimme!”

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh… well gee when you put it like that.” Guybrush laughed and handed the coat over to the eager lago’s hands. “Now you’ll get to look like a real bonafide pirate.”

AskCocky: “Oooooo,” Cocky whistled as he put the coat on. “This is very nice! So light…” he admired the design. “Elaine has good taste,” he said, sincerely. He rushed to the bathroom, the hem of the sleeves past his fingertips. “Oooh yeah,” he cooed, looking at his reflection. It was too big for him, but he still looked good. Cocky smiled with his new pirate smile and tried to look fierce. “YAAARRR!”

MightiestPirate: “I can’t argue with that.” Guybrush’s arms were crossed as he watched the lago run to check the design of the coat in the bathroom, feeling flattered by the compliment. “The missing tooth and coat combo is the perfect fit for a pirate.” Guybrush started to laugh happily. “But y’know… you actually don’t look half bad in a pirate coat. You actually look really good in one, it’s actually rather fitting… erm… the idea not the size, obviously.”

AskCocky: Cocky turned around, beaming. “Guybrush, go get my cape of feathers and put them on, pronto! We just HAVE to take bathroom selfies of ourselves dressed like this!” He got out his phone. MightiestPirate: “That’s an excellent idea!!” Guybrush beamed a smile and nodded enthusiastically, rushing to get the black feather cape. As soon as he found it, he held onto it carefully and went back to the bathroom, placing it on himself and adjusting it accordingly. “Alrighty, ready for my glamor shot when you are.”

AskCocky: “Right, right! Now… put on your best Cocky face. I’ll do my best Guybrush face.” Cocky rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly and looking to the ceiling.

MightiestPirate: “Best Cocky express– oh!” Guybrush thought for a moment before he gave the best smile he could muster while having a bit of a smug look to him and pointing his fingers.

AskCocky: Cocky took the picture and looked at it. “Hahaha, UNCANNY! Another, let’s do another!” Cocky just placed his hands on his hips while giving a self-satisfied, proud smile.

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh that’s amazing!!” Guybrush looked over at the picture before posing again. It took him a few seconds, but he eventually gave a wicked grin while raising his middle finger in the air.

AskCocky: Cocky took the picture. “Holy crap I love the hell outta this one. Let’s get them printed, haha, they’re so awesome!!” He enthusiastically went to the screen and loaded the pics, then printing them. He gave Guybrush his copies. “For your awesome file,” he smiled.

MightiestPirate: “It’s like looking at a mirror.” Guybrush giggled as he looked over at the screen with all the pictures, eventually taking hold of the physical copies and placing it in his pocket with the other pictures. “And it couldn’t have been done without such a fantastic photographer. Round of applause for you.” AskCocky: Cocky bowed to an imaginary audience. “Thank you, thank you!!” He put the screen away again. “Such good memories…” he said, fondly. Then a silence. “Um… so how are we going to do it… you’re going to sail your ship? I’m going to tow it with the light beam?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush applauded as Cocky bowed. “I could sail it back into place… but it’d probably be faster if we just beamed the ship back to where it was.” Guybrush figured, “Plus it’s night so there’s not going to be anyone to see a flying– well, two flying ships.”

AskCocky: “Sooo… we’re just going to leave it where it was, and then we’re using the spaceship to go look for your wife, right?” Cocky turned the beam on. Then he said: “Hey, wait.” He went to the kitchen and looked around in the cupboards, then came back with a bottle of whisky and gave it to Guybrush. “For your friend.”

MightiestPirate: “Well, the ship wasn’t that far off from the island she and Winslow went to… but yeah we are going to leave my ship back where it last was. That way she won’t worry what happened to it or think the worst like having it be hijacked or something.” Guybrush answered, he held the bottle of whisky and gave a chuckle, “Heh… I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

AskCocky: “Okey!” Cocky took off Guybrush’s coat and he gave it back to him. “I dunno if the guy can recognize you by touch, but you better take this with you. And I hope he doesn’t recognize you by smell, because this coat is hella clean and smells of lilacs,” the lago said, snickering.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush took off the cape and handed it back to Cocky as he grabbed his own coat, placing it back on himself. “Man, it feels like it’s been months since I last put this on…” Guybrush smiled as he adjusted it, making his way towards the beam, “And worse case scenario, I’ll just tell him I fell in a vat of flowers or something. Wouldn’t be the first time that happened to me anyways.”

AskCocky: “Seems like a Guybrush thing to happen…ll right, then. Off you go,” Cocky gestured towards the beam and started putting on his own cape of feathers. “While you’re down there I’m going to do something real quick. Don’t worry, just wait for me for a bit.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded and stepped on the beam, this time not flailing around like he did the first time and actually enjoying himself.

As soon as he touched the ground, he made his way to the shack where he spoke with the blind man. The man, and rightfully so, was confused as to why minutes ago he was in there and now suddenly decided to change his mind. And after answering as many questions as he could, Guybrush finished dealing with boat keeper and stepped outside where the spaceship was and waited, keeping an eye out for any pirates that might be stumbling in.

AskCocky: Cocky let the beam down to get Guybrush, and as soon as he was in, he closed the hole and started manipulating the controls to lift the ship with the beam. He looked a bit unhappy. MightiestPirate: “So it turns out the keeper was more confused about why I suddenly changed my mind over why I smell like honey and flowers… but at least I was able to get out of the initial deal I had with him which is good cause I honestly can’t remember what it was.” Guybrush brushed his sleeve when he noticed Cocky and frowned.

“Hey… you alright?”

AskCocky: “Aw mate, I’m sorry.” Cocky rubbed his arm. “I just went real quick to where we left your rowboat to get it with the beam, but it looks like it was stolen.” The lago manipulated the joystick until The Screaming Narwhal was in the air. “I forgot to get it when we first towed your ship. I know we’re in the past and that was like 15 minutes ago, but I couldn’t find it.”

MightiestPirate: He paused before giving a shrug, “Eh… it’s fine. It’s actually a lot easier to come across an abandoned rowboat than an actual ship.” Guybrush reassured, “Probably stolen from the pirates we scared off earlier that day… I did see a few of them high-tailing it to the forest so maybe they came back afterwards.”

AskCocky: “Well, it’s a bunch of pirates, so what’s to be expected.” Cocky set the course back to the spot where he had crash-landed first. Thinking a bit, he said: “We should probably land somewhere and hide my ship, unless you want to make a grand entrance that’ll probable scare and enrage a lot of people.”

MightiestPirate: “And deal with that hoard of pirates and their cannon again? No way. Hiding your ship it is.” Guybrush answered with a bit of a smirk as he watched his ship be gently carried alongside the duo. “Heh, hey look, we have a fleet.”

AskCocky: Cocky smiled. “Ooh yes. One Impetus and one Screaming Narwhal. Say, that’s a very curious name, why is your ship called like that?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s face went into thought as he pulled himself away from the window. “I ah… have no idea why. When I knocked Winslow off the ship, it was already called that and has been that way even since before he arrived. We… never really thought about changing it. Though if I were to wager a guess…” Guybrush pointed at the ship’s long point at the front, “I’m willing to place a bet that it’s because of that thing.”

AskCocky: “Well, that makes sense! I love the name, by the way. Very metal.” Cocky started laughing. “I always like to call my ships by dumb names. My last ship was named The Ice Cream Sandwich. I didn’t name this one, got banned from doing it for a vote of two against one, as always.” The lago rolled his eyes.

MightiestPirate: “I can see why, they probably wanted something with a bit more ‘bang’ in the title.” Guybrush chuckled, “But it for sure sticks out when you think about it, like…” He cleared his throat and tried to deepen it, “Hey!! There she is… The Ice Cream Sandwich!”

AskCocky: “Well, whenever I need something more potent, I could simply change it to the I Scream Sandwich. Similarly, if you want to tone it down a notch you could call yours The Ice Creaming Narwhal.” Cocky chuckled guiltily, then made a face. “As long as it’s not the Nice Cream Sandwich everything is all right… oh! We arrived! Wanna go down there to check on your ship, or should we just drop her and go?”

MightiestPirate: “Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of enemies like the oncoming approach of a food-based ship… and I think Nice Cream Sandwich does a perfect job getting people to run away, just look at what happened to us!!” Guybrush joked as he looked down at his ship. “I know it hasn’t been much since I… erm… past me docked it but I wouldn’t mind giving it a quick look over.” Guybrush admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.

AskCocky: “You miss your ship, I get it,” Cocky said, smiling. “Do you want me to come with you or do I stay here? I’d like to stay, if only because it kind of makes me nervous to leave my ship alone while it’s floating in the air. Take your time, there’s no real hurry, I’ll just leave the beam on for when you need to come back.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush smiled, happy to know that Cocky understood why he wanted to see his ship. “I won’t be long, promise.” He said as he walked to the beam and went to his ship. As soon as his feet touch wood, Guybrush looked around the ship, feeling a sense of familiarity and yet it felt a bit like a dream.

He touched the wooden railing and made his way into the Captain’s hold, not a thing out of place except for the few pieces of paper and pens that fell on the floor during it’s flight, but still just as much of an organized mess as he left it. He knew he needed to clean it, but that can be saved for later, Guybrush thought as he strolled back to the ship’s deck and to it’s steering wheel. He touched the wheel and rested on it while he took a deep breath, taking in the sea salt air and the sounds of the ocean splashing against his ship. Guybrush never realized how much he actually did miss the silly thing, but it was his home no matter how much he travels.

AskCocky: Cocky saw Guybrush float down in the beam, then put the beam on stand-by so the only thing his friend needed to do was stand on it and float upwards. He smiled slightly, then sighed. He needed to lie down a bit, he hated to admit it but the whole crashing-into-the-sea-but- not-really had left him drained. He needed to lie down.

Just five minutes, Cocky thought. Don’t fall asleep, he reminded himself. You don’t want to do that.

Then he fell asleep and dreamed he was awake, still staring at the ceiling and thinking falling asleep was a bad idea.

MightiestPirate: He wasn’t sure how long he was on the ship for, but if he had to guess it was well over an hour. Guybrush looked at the ship from where he stood, it didn’t travel the stars, but it felt good to have the wind occasionally brushed against his hair and the sound of the mast flapping gently. He stood a bit longer when an idea struck him and he rushed back to the Captain quarters, as soon as he found the item, he stored it in his coat (as well as the pictures he has gotten from Cocky) and went back to the beam, figuring he did a good look of his ship.

Once he was back on the metallic ship, Guybrush began to look around “Sorry for taking so long, Cocky I…” He paused and looked confused until he heard the sound of gentle snoring coming from where the couch was.

Guybrush hesitantly walked over and saw the sleeping form, he froze in his step, “…Cocky?” Guybrush asked as he cautiously approached, noticing that there weren’t any cries coming, he sighed in relief and ruffled the lago’s hair.

AskCocky: Something like an hour passed and his stomach woke Cocky up, since it was around lunchtime. He blinked in his usual confused, sleepy manner and saw that Guybrush was sitting next to him. “Hey,” he tentatively smiled. The lago rubbed his eyes. “Please tell me nothing bad happened this time.”

MightiestPirate: “I’m happy to tell you that nothing has happened.” Guybrush smiled happily and gave a thumbs up, “I ah… didn’t want to wake you up and you looked like you needed the rest. Feeling better?” He asked as he shifted himself into a better position to look at Cocky.

AskCocky: “Yeah, honestly. Plummeting down to your death is kind of exhausting. Sorry, I really wasn’t planning on falling asleep because… you know.” Cocky stretched. “What about you, is she alright?”

MightiestPirate: “I’d imagine… especially if it’s twice in the same place.” Guybrush understood, “A- and it’s fine, as long as you feel better than all is good. As for the Narwhal, she’s in tip-top shape and just like I left her.”

AskCocky: “Great!” Cocky yawned and shook his head with a goofy smile. “Well, since it’s just a couple of hours since we left the pirates, do you think we can have some lunch before going to look for Elaine? Or do you prefer we pick something on the way?”

MightiestPirate: He chuckled and placed a hand on his chin in thought. “Yeah, I think we can have lunch… I mean technically speaking it is lunch time from where– when we came from. That and I’m sure we have time to eat something before facing the rising sun, y’know?”

AskCocky: “Mate, when you live in space, lunch time is when your tummy says so.” Cocky stretched satisfactorily. He felt refreshed and more alert, “And my tummy says: feed me you bastard, you’re going to kill me with all these near-death scares, feed me at least!” The lago stood up. “What would monsieur like for lunch? What are you in the mood for?”

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh, fair enough.” Guybrush scratched his cheek as he tried to think of what to eat, “Um… let’s see, honestly I can’t think of anything to eat right now… kinda… kinda drawing a blank on that. N-not to say I’m not hungry, it’s just that my brain is sort of flat-lining on me. Is there anything you’re in the mood for?” He asked as he turned his attention back on the lago. AskCocky: “I do. All right, let it all be a surprise then.” Cocky got up, washed his hands, and started getting things out of the cupboards. “Hopefully you’ll like it?” He started humming as he worked. Suddenly he stopped. “Oooooh you know what?? I completely forgot why I came to the Caribbean in the first place? Wow, I’m an idiot.”

MightiestPirate: “As long as it’s not nice cream, I’m up for the challenge.” He clapped his hand together, but then it was like a lightbulb went up, “Hey yeah… you never really did say why you came. Just that you flew by and crashed in the ocean. Why did you swing by Earth anyways?” Guybrush asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

AskCocky: “I came to harvest sand, actually.” Cocky started mixing flour in a bowl with other ingredients. “Certain beaches in the Caribbean have very special sand, very very fine, and it can be melted into ultra-thin glass. You can have the glass equivalent of soap bubbles… extremely beautiful. It’s worth the travel to another planet… one that I’m not really very fond of.”

MightiestPirate: “Oooh… I didn’t know the sands can do that.” Guybrush sounded impressed, he got up from the couch and went over to the kitchen to where Cocky was. “We can get some after we finish eating, I mean, there is an overabundance of it and is not hard or nearly as threatening to get. Are you going to make another one of those really pretty bottles?”

AskCocky: “Yes we should! No, this kind of glass is wasted in bottles. I’m going to try and make a sculpture of a woman in a very thin, gauze-like garb. Should be a challenge, and therefore, fun!” Cocky started pre-heating the oven, then he got his food-prep gloves on and started manipulating the dough into little balls. “Do you have a hobby or any sort of creative outlet, yourself?”

MightiestPirate: “Sounds like it’s going to be fun. Um… I write a lot in my journal, it’s kinda like creative writing only it’s based on things that happened to me, sometimes I go fishing or even play the banjo when I find some downtime and just kinda want to hear music.” Guybrush answered, “Although that one I didn’t do until ten years ago… finally got the hang of playing it and I have the marks on my fingers to prove it.”

AskCocky: “Ooooh, man. Are you gonna write about all this?? It’s going to eat the whole notebook!” Cocky snickered. “How are you going to describe me? Do tell, do tell.” The lago brushed the dough balls with butter and then put them in the oven.

MightiestPirate: “Well, it’s a work in progress so keep that in mind.” He leaned his head on the table and gave a smirk, “Let’s see… ‘an anthropomorphic bunny known as a lago who appeared to be about four feet tall, wearing a cape of shiny black feathers and equally shiny leather pants and boots while having two distinct scars on his cheek in the shape of a lightening bolt. And as intimidating as he appeared to be, once you get to know him… Cocky is someone you’d be honor to have as a friend.’ B-but like I said… it’s a work in progress.” Guybrush scratched his cheek.

AskCocky: Cocky just blushed a little and smiled sweetly. “That’s… a very nice description. I approve. I… I have a journal too. But I have no literary pretensions… it’s just something of an outlet for me, so it’s kind of…” He waved a hand dismissively. “Bad.” MightiestPirate: “I mean… journals are usually meant to help vent out your thoughts that you couldn’t normally do otherwise so… there’s that.” He shrugged and gave a sheepish grin, “Plus I only write like that because Elaine and everyone else said that I tell stories I tend to erm… babble. A lot. So I just translate it into writing.”

AskCocky: “Good!” Cocky said, grabbing the jar of honey he collected earlier and putting some in a pan along with butter. “I’d let you read my journal… I mean, every single one of my friends has done it… but it’s kind of R-rated, ahahahaha.” He smiled maliciously. “So my guess is you wouldn’t like to read my description of you.”

MightiestPirate: “I’m gonna kick myself for saying this but… I actually do want to hear your description of me.” He leaned in his chair and sighed, “Even if it’s R-rated level material. I can already tell a blush is in the works and I’m actually really curious, so you might as well go ahead. I’m all ears.”

AskCocky: “It would go like this.” Cocky just leaned on the counter. “Dear journal: Met a guy. Blond with ocean-blue eyes in full pirate garb, bootsies included. 100% bangable, would like to rename ship to Moaning Buccaneer.” The lago sported a toothy smile. “There, ready for the Pulitzer.”

MightiestPirate: “Moaning Buccaneer… oh my God…” The blush was just as he predicted and in full bloom, he covered his face and began laughing, “You deserve any and all written prizes and awards for these gems of an innuendo, Cocky.” Guybrush managed to say as he wiped away any tears from his laughing fit.

AskCocky: “You mock my art!” Cocky said, his lower lip trembling. Then he smirked while he put his gloves on. “I’m this boiling cauldron of perversion, some bubbles will inevitably pop in the surface.” He turned around to open the oven and get the trays out, then started painting the content with whatever was in the pot. “Anyway, your tales are very entertaining, so if you took your diaries to an editor, I’d totally buy a copy,” he said, sincerely.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush chuckled a bit before he looked over to Cocky with wide eyes, “I… you would? I ah… heh. T-thanks. A-and likewise with your glass work, if I saw it in the market, I would actually pay for a one to own.” He returned the compliment, there was a moment of silence before he leaned a bit, “So what is it you’re doing over there right now anyways?”

AskCocky: “More wicked, unholy things for you to remember me by,” Cocky said. “I do sell some pieces from time to time. They’re quite good money, I think I could actually retire and become a glass-blowing artist full time. Only… well.” He shrugged and started putting out the jam, hazelnut spread, chicken pate and cream cheese. “Well, time to unveil the mystery. It’s those honey biscuits I promised to try, and you can eat them with any or all of these.” He started serving them in a big plate to put in the center of the table. “Grab all you want, I made two batches so you can take some home, too.” MightiestPirate: “Oh ah… thank you.” He watched as the food was presented in front of him, already excited for just the taste of the honey again more than anything. “With all this presentation and skill, have you ever considered being a chef at a restaurant or something?” Guybrush asked as he waited for Cocky to sit down so he can eat alongside with him.

AskCocky: “It’s among the set of skills that can possibly save me from starving if for some injury or some reason I can’t fight anymore,” Cocky said. “But I don’t think I’d like cooking for strangers. I love to cook for my friends, it’s just one of the ways I can take care of them and make them happy, but doing it for money… hahaha, it’s just not the same, you know?” Cocky grabbed his knife and cut one of the biscuits in half, then started spreading cream cheese on it.

MightiestPirate: “It’s a good skill… the only meal I can make without burning anything with ease is breakfast.” Guybrush nodded in understanding as he grabbed for a biscuit, “And I guess that makes sense… more of a personal reward than a prize. Like an edible present.”

AskCocky: “Whoa, mate, you sound like my friend Lyndi.” Cocky took a bite and closed his eyes to enjoy the taste, muching happily. “Mmmmmh. Well, what can I say. It’s an extremely rewarding skill to have. Makes you and others happy on a daily basis. Also, haha, makes you popular! Another one of those skills I have is that I’m a good masseur.” He paused to put more cream cheese, eager to eat more. “Who’s the cook in your ship?”

MightiestPirate: “Which part, the burning breakfast or the edible reward?” He asked almost jokingly as he took a bite from the biscuit. “And you’re basically an entire crew in the form of a bunny heh heh.” Guybrush reached for the butter and spread it a bit on the biscuit and continued, “As for the cook… we normally take turns, but more often than not it’s Winslow. He apparently was a cook for a ship once so he knows a few recipes… shows me how to cook sometimes.” He took a bite from the biscuit.

“Whose Lyndi?”

AskCocky: “She’s a friend of mine, she’s a doctor. She’s not a lago, but she’s the tiniest, cutest thing ever. Also very good at her job, but somehow she almost always ends up making a mess in the kitchen.” Cocky grabbed another biscuit and the strawberry jam. “Well, I highly recommend you learn everything you can from Winslow and practice your cooking. If you’re like me, you’re prone to screwing up big time ocassionally. There’s no way people can stay mad at you when you put a bowl of steaming, tasty chili beans in front of them! Very useful. Only try not to put rats in the stew,” he chuckled.

MightiestPirate: ”Friends in different fields, always a good thing.” He chewed on his food and nodded in understanding. Swallowing the bite, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously before chuckling “Ah… yeah… funny story about that. I um… actually did toss a rat in a stew once to get this guy fired so I can get his job and paycheck. It worked. Thankfully the stew was more of a cold soup but ah… in hindsight, I feel bad for the rat.” AskCocky: “GROSS. And you didn’t feel bad for the guy? You’re the worst.” Cocky licked some honey drops off the surface of the biscuit. “So it turns you have worked as a cook before, ironically.”

MightiestPirate: “Pirate, remember?” Guybrush smirked as he took a bite from his biscuit while giving a shrug, “Eh… it was incredibly short lived with little to no cooking done whatsoever. I did, however, cook on my first adventure… even if it did knock everyone out by accident. Stupid voodoo recipe…”

AskCocky: “You know, that’s an excellent point.” Cocky took yet another biscuit and put some pate in it. The pate had bits of bacon. “You seem to run into voodoo things a lot. Tell me, does it work, or is it just a lot of mumbo-jumbo? For example, that thing with the dolls and the pins?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded his head as he swallowed, “Yep. It’s really effective when the right ingredients are used. And let me tell ya, it hurts like hell when it’s used against you. Especially when the decide to shock the doll… turns out you don’t need just the pins to do a painful hit on someone if you have a voodoo toy of them.”

AskCocky: Cocky winced. “Must be terrible, to be defenseless like that. And how do you even stop that? How do you even know who has a doll of you? What a terrible thing.” He stood and opened the fridge. “I forgot our drinks, what would you like to have?”

MightiestPirate: “There really isn’t anything you can do unless you have a voodoo doll of the person who has your doll… it’s… it’s not fun.” He took another biscuit and decided to try mixing two toppings on it when he looked up at the lago, “Um… whatever goes best with these biscuits I suppose.”

AskCocky: Cocky shrugged and just got two bottles of pepsi from the fridge. “And who hated you enough to have a voodoo doll of you, if I may ask? And how did you stop them?” the lago asked fearfully. All that stuff was so creepy.

MightiestPirate: “The same guy who trapped me in the fog.” Guybrush went quiet for a bit before he continued, “…I ah… I didn’t– couldn’t stop him. He got into my head before I could even do the finishing blow. Even ran me through ten years later.”

AskCocky: “Wow, what an asshole,” Cocky said. After a while, the lago offered: “Hey, do you want him dead? Just say the word and he’s dead,” he said, sincerely.

MightiestPirate: “No need to… he got killed during the Pox quest. The last I saw of him he was being stabbed by two different people in two different planes of existence at the same time… it’s been a few years and I haven’t heard of him, and I would like to keep that way.” Guybrush looked at Cocky and gave a smile, “But I appreciate the offer… if it ever comes to that, I know who to look for.” AskCocky: “Yes, deff. And it’s good to hear that jerk is dead. Also, haha, double-stabbed, what a way to go. I don’t see how you’d see him again if you’re sure he was dead, but then again you were dead too, sooooo….” Cocky raised his glass. “To our dead enemies. May they be perma- dead.”

MightiestPirate: “That’s what I kept saying every time I killed the guy. Still, knock on wood and all that jazz that he just… stays down for food this time.” He gave a smirk and raised his glass as well, “Heh, but I’ll toast to that. May they know better and just stay down after a good beating.”

AskCocky: “And may we always prevail, as we used to say in the Thirteen,” Cocky said, and drank from his glass. “If not, I could always help kick his carc-ass right back into the grave.“ The lago eyed the pile of golden biscuits. ”All right, you don’t have to insist, I’ll take another one of those biscuits with the nutella thing going. But only to make you happy, I swear,” and he just did.

MightiestPirate: “I– but– aw.” He sighed and rested his head in his hand, “No no, by all means I insist… nothing brings greater joy then seeing my friends eat one of those delicious golden treats from the heavens.” Guybrush laughed as he took a sip from his drink, “But in exchange I’m taking that one, because, y’know, fair is fair.” He reached out and grabbed one while going for the cream cheese spread.

AskCocky: “Thank you my friend, for accomodating my endless requests. I know it’s hard for you, and I acknowledge your bruhvuru nd sacrifuss,” Cocky said, through a mouthful. He suddenly decided to get the peanut butter out of the fridge and put some on his biscuit. “So after we shamelessly stuff our faces with these sinful things, you’ll direct me to the island your wife is, find somewhere to hide my ship, and be on our merry way. Maybe we should avoid crowds if possible, I don’t particularly feel like being chased with torches and pitchforks again.”

MightiestPirate: “Sounds like a plan, we could hide your ship somewhere deep in a forest where no one looks. Best part is there isn’t a lot of big city-esqe islands… at least none of them that are close by that is, so we shouldn’t run into any massive crowds where we’re going. And I think the island Elaine is on is mainly filled with natives of that island so… no pirates. I hope.” Guybrush spoke before chewing on his food once more.

AskCocky: Cocky nodded as he finished his meal, and as usual started washing everything right away. He also put the rest of the biscuits in an air-tight plastic container. “This should keep them fresh for a few days. You can eat these with practically anything, they’re versatile. Put this with the rest of your stuff so you don’t forget it.”

MightiestPirate: “Right, and thanks again for the meals.” Guybrush took the container and placed it in his coat, seeing the item he took from his own ship “So… I know you said you enjoy giving presents as oppose to getting them, and it’s probably not much compared to well, anything else out there, but I… um… here.” He handed over to Cocky a soft red sash. “It’s not a coat exactly… but it’s the next best thing that most pirates have.” AskCocky: “Oooo!” Cocky said, giddy. “What a wonderful thingie this is!! Eh. Um. What is it?” He proceeded to try to wrap it around his neck as if it was a scarf.

MightiestPirate: “That’s… one way you could use it, nothing wrong but ah…” Guybrush chuckled as he took the sash off and helped tie it around Cocky’s waist. “You wear the sash like this, but like I said, you could use it like a scarf or across your chest… think of it like a multi-use cloth.”

AskCocky: “…” Cocky looked down at the sash. He moved his hips experimentally, then ran to look at himself in the bathroom mirror. For some reason, the contrast of the red sash and the black pants looked really good on him. “Look at that beautiful thing in the mirror. And the sash is super nice too,” he said, sincerely. He turned to Guybrush and hugged him warmly. “You didn’t have to do that. Thanks, Guybrush.”

MightiestPirate: He returned the hug happily, “I know… but I kinda figured, what the hell.” Guybrush pulled from the hug and placed his hands on his hips, “Also red looks really good with you. Must be the white fur and having just about any color work in perfectly.”

AskCocky: “I KNOW! Just a simple accesory, and yet I look so pirate-y!! Like a real pirate. One of the good looking ones.” He shook his hips again, enjoying watching the sash sway. “Just so perfect.” The lago admired himself in the mirror once more, then turned around. “Speaking of white fur, I think it’s time we changed you back into a human… no?”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, you’d for sure distract them if you gave them a puppy eye look. …At least with some pirates.” Guybrush looked at his hand and flexed his fingers a bit, “I think… I think that’d be a good idea. It’d make the most sense to look like myself again now that we’re here, and in case we do run into pirates… I can at least talk my way out this time and be more useful.”

AskCocky: “Well, yes. Okay, let’s just do it.” Cocky went to the drawer to grab the healing gun, then his ears immediatly deflated down his head. “… this thing isn’t charged at all.”

MightiestPirate: “…What.” His ears mirrored Cocky, “But… but I thought it was left to charge after you used from the injuries in Nim I… maybe it’s…” Guybrush brushed back his bangs and tried to think when a thought hit him, “You don’t think it’s because of that time warp, do you?”

AskCocky: “No I didn’t,” Cocky said, feeling like a stupid idiot. “I was in too much pain to think straight, and then I forgot.” He looked at Guybrush apologetically. “Er… this thing is going to take like five hours to recharge. I’m sorry.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “It’s…. it’s fine. What’s a couple of hours longer as a lago compared to a few days, right? And besides, I’m already more or less adjusted to this form now than I was the first day so… I’ll live. Don’t worry about it.”

AskCocky: “Ugh. I’m sorry, again. Do you even imagine how hard Des would yell at me for doing this? At least we figured this out now and not when one of us was dying of a mortal wound.” Cocky put the gun to recharge and sighed. “Okay, so we have some time to kill. Why don’t we collect my sand first, then?”

MightiestPirate: “Why do I feel like Des and Elaine would hit it off as friends if they ever met?” Guybrush mumbled with an eyebrow raised before shaking his head, “And that’s true, no one was dying… just in pain based on ridiculous incidents. Plus it doesn’t matter what form your in when collecting sand.”

AskCocky: “Now that I think about it, they probably would.” Cocky set the course to a near beach. “Do you think you can help me? It’s not any kind of sand we must collect.” Cocky went to his workshop and opened one of the metal cabinets, then took out a couple of buckets and something that looked like goggles. “All right, so we need these visors… we’re in luck it’s nighttime, because they only work in the dark. The sand glows purple-ish, but usually it’s very small deposits. So what we need is to put them in the bucket with these small shovels.”

MightiestPirate: “Purple sand? Weird, I never heard of anything like that before… b-but yeah, I’ll be glad to help out but ah…” Guybrush tilted his head as he looked at the goggles, “What’s the purpose of the glasses? Is it like a light that’ll hurt your eyes if you look directly at it? And where exactly is this purple sand?”

AskCocky: “No, no, the sand looks normal when you look at it through your eyes, but with the visor the sand I need glows a little purple… I’ll just show you.” Cocky landed the ship, seeing as how it was a mostly deserted beach. He set the cloak so it couldn’t be easily detected and opened the door. Guybrush and Cocky looked like a couple of long-eared kids about to make castles in the sand. “Let’s go…”

MightiestPirate: “Oooh…” He followed the lago to the door and held the bucket eagerly. He then looked over at Cocky and gave a bit of a silly grin, “It’s probably a good thing no pirates are around right now other wise we’d definitely look like a couple of space invaders and I wouldn’t blame them if they mistaken us for wanting to harvest their organs or something.”

AskCocky: “Remember: WE ATE GUYBRUSH THREEPWOOOOOOD,” Cocky said in his best sinister voice. Then he chuckled and adjusted his friend’s goggles over his eyes. “There, tell me if it’s too tight or if it’s okay.” Then he put them on himself and looked around the beach. “A-HA!” he pointed excitedly in a direction.

MightiestPirate: “How could I forget…” He blinked as he was adjusting to the goggles on his face and looked around, for the most part it seem the same until he spotted something glowing. “W- whoa!! This is awesome!!” Guybrush smiled until he noticed that that was the direction Cocky was pointing at. “Shall we?” He asked as he lifted up his bucket.

AskCocky: “Yep!” As Cocky predicted, it was not much, just a couple of shovels worth of sand. “Now we harvest it like this… get the part in the middle and leave out what’s touching the other sand. I’ll separate it later anyway, but we don’t want to be carrying around a bunch of ordinary sand.” After he put it in Guybrush’s bucket to show him how it was done, he smiled and pointed in other direction. “I think there’s some deposits over there. Let’s split so we can do it faster, I’ll go that way,” Cocky said.

MightiestPirate: He watched carefully as Cocky placed the sand in the bucket and nodded in understanding, he looked at the direction Cocky was pointing, “Alrighty, I’ll go the other way the!!” he gave a playful salute and smiled as he made his way to the glowing sand and digging up only the ones that shined purple. “Would be cool if it was actually purple without these goggles…” Guybrush mumbled to himself as he placed the sand in the bucket.

AskCocky: As he worked, he started singing a song. “Flyyy me to the moooooon and let me play amooong the stars…” Cocky was so focused on harvesting sand and singing he never even heard the steps approaching or the big piece of driftwood being raised right over his head. Only at the last second a basic instinct told him to turn around.

“YOU ATE MY HUSBAND!!” The redhead roared. “PREPARE TO DIE!!!”

The club descended.

MightiestPirate: “Annnnd that should do it.” Guybrush said as he patted down the glowing sand in his bucket, listening to Cocky’s singing when he heard it abruptly stop. “Cocky?” He perked his ears up to be sure furrowed his brows and rushed towards where lago was. When he got near Cocky he froze in his spot and his breath caught in his throat.

“…Elaine?!”

–

She didn’t want to believe the rumors, it couldn’t have been true. But when Elaine saw the short rabbit figure mindlessly singing on the shores, a sense of dread brew in her stomach and instinctively reached for a piece of wood that laid nearby, rushing towards the creature and brought down the make-shift weapon with enough force to not kill him, but to render him unconscious. As she was about to swing it, she heard a familiar voice and froze, looking around for the source, and gazed upon the other rabbit figure in horror wearing her husband’s coat.

AskCocky: Cocky just managed to shift his head a bit before the club struck down, and he caught it on the forehead instead of the back of the head. WHAM, and his bucket of sand went flying as he hit the ground; mercifully it was at least soft. Nonetheless, he was out for some seconds and started moaning on the ground, having no idea what had happened and just vaguely hearing shouts and screaming.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush placed the bucket down and ran as fast as he could, standing between his wife and his friend, spreading his arms out. “E-Elaine!! Wait!! It’s me!! It’s Threep– WHOA!!” He ducked as Elaine swung the club once more, even taking a step back from another swing “Take off my husband’s coat, you monster.” Elaine growled, lifting the club up once more and holding her place while looking down at the blonde lago. “Laineykins, please!!” Guybrush placed his hands in front him, shaking in fear as he felt his blood run cold. “I swear, it’s me. It’s Guybrush.”

Elaine shifted and eased a bit. “I– if you’re really him… prove it.”

“Wait, calling you by our nicknames wasn’t enough?”

Elaine raised her club once again and Guybrush quickly shook his hands. “A-alright… but you have got to promise me you’ll not whack either me or him.” He pointed at the Cocky’s form. “Back when you were still Governor of the Tri-Island area, you decided to put a strand of your hair over your lips, mocking one of the lawyers out of frustration. And with a TERRIBLE American accent to boot that I swore to never reveal to anyone.”

She stood there in shock and lowered the club, “Guy– n-no… this has to be some sort of trick. I…” She looked him in the eyes and saw the familiar blue. “Guybrush? What… what on Earth happened to you? We’ve only been gone for two days!!”

Guybrush sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah I… look, it’s… it’s a long story. A-and I’ll be more than happy to tell you but can you please drop the club?”

AskCocky: Cocky just tried to roll around and completely failed. Seeing all sorts of constelations, and with a vague idea now that Elaine had managed to brain him with something in revenge for turning his husband into a bunny, he tried to cover his face and started pleading: “Plunder bunny… nooo, plunder bunny…”

MightiestPirate: “Oh man, Cocky… Cocky, everything is fine.” Guybrush said as he turned his attention to the lago, Elaine raised an eyebrow at the crumpled form and glared at Guybrush who appeared to have a blush creeping up on his face. “Want to explain why it’s calling you that?” She asked, Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Like I said, it’s a long story and I’ll explain it.” Guybrush answered as he turned around and carefully lifted Cocky to be in a sitting form.

“…His name is Cocky?” She asked, only to be responded with Guybrush giving a nod. She bit her lip, dropped the club and carefully moved to sit next to Guybrush, feeling a bit bad for attacking but still defensive.

AskCocky: Cocky spent a long while trying to focus his eyes and feeling very nauseous. Finally he saw Elaine and babbled: “Hi. You’re pretty. Please don’t kill me, I’m worth 11 million units now.” Then he turned his eyes up until the blanks showed and fell to a side, definitely unconscious this time.

MightiestPirate: “He is… very much like you, Guybrush.” Elaine muttered as Guybrush sheepishly scratched his cheek. “That was a first… hey uh… let’s go back to the ship, I’ll explain as much as I can along the way.” Guybrush decided, the red head gave a nod and picked up Cocky’s form. “I figure it’ll be easier if I do it, sweetie.” Elaine offered while the blonde lago chuckled, “Hey um… where’s Winslow?”

“Oh, he said something about staying with someone for the night… it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he means.” Elaine briefly answered while making a bit of a face.

They walked alongside the beach as Guybrush gave a very brief explanation to his new form and the events that happened. As soon as they got to their ship, Elaine placed Cocky down on their bed and looked over to her bunny husband. “So you said there’s a ‘healing gun’ on his ship that can help him?” Guybrush nodded “I… he needs it way more than I do right now.” She went silent for a bit before smiling and brushing Guybrush’s bangs, “You really do wear that heart of your’s on your sleeve, plunder bunny.” Guybrush chuckled sheepishly at the irony before exiting the room for a bit, leaving Elaine and Cocky alone.

AskCocky: “Uuugh,” Cocky groaned as he slowly recovered consciousness, then opened his eyes and blinked, seeing the redhead woman looking at him and frowning. Suddenly Cocky sat in bed and tried to run away. “Aaaaaah! I didn’t eat him, I SWEAR!!”

MightiestPirate: “I know, I know!!” Elaine lifted her hands to show she was weapon-less and meant no harm as she placed it on Cocky’s shoulders to relax him. “Guybrush explained everything to me. More or less. Apparently it was your fine idea to spread the word of his demise to scare off those drunkards and well, a job well done because it got to me. And for that I apologize for attacking. Please, calm down.”

AskCocky: Cocky, trembling, tried to put his racing heart to ease. “A-all right. Sorry, it’s been a while since a hot redhead rattled my brains out. I’m… kind of out of practice.” He rubbed his forehead, and after a while, he said: “How you managed to find out about all this in just a few hours is something both impressive and terrifying. S-sorry for scaring you, I-,” he said, and turned around to puke in a bucket that was nearby.

MightiestPirate: “Hm-hmm… Guybrush had that issue to.” Elaine chuckled, “And I have to give him credit for being able to condense it the way he did, I can tell by his face that he had a whole epic ready to tell.” She looked over and saw Cocky throwing up and quickly leaved to gently rub his back. “I suppose that makes us even, doesn’t it Cocky?”

She paused for a moment and made a bit of a face.

“That’s… a peculiar name you have there, by the way.”

AskCocky: Cocky just turned around in the bed and lied face up again. “Uuunnh,” he moaned. He opened an eye and looked at Elaine. “Funny how you mention the name and not the bunny-like features or the long ears,” he snarked, then got serious. “My name is actually Cockwell, by the way. But you can call me Cocky, as do all my friends. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the the woman that guy is so crazy about.” The lago looked around. “Where is he, by the way?” MightiestPirate: “I think whacking you in the head constituted as me finding the features initially odd.” Elaine smirked, “And it’s a pleasure to meet you,Cockwell, I’m Elaine… although I’m right to assume you knew that already because of Guybrush.” She leaned back on the chair and sighed, “Speaking of which, he went back to your ship… said he needed to get something to help you get well sooner.”

AskCocky: “My healing gun…?” Cocky frowned. “But it’s not charged yet. He needs to wait until it’s charged. Besides, we need it to turn him back. Er…” he winced. “Well, at least I hope that works. Honestly, I have no idea. And while him turning into a bunny from space was honestly not my fault, I feel partially responsible for leaving something like a healing gun around someone like Guybrush.”

MightiestPirate: “That sounds like him alright…” She crossed her arms and look at the bunny. “I don’t blame you for not exactly trusting something as delicate as that healing gun with Guybrush, he tends to slip up when trying to do fix things.” Elaine gave a bit of a smile and warmed up. “However if there is one thing about him that I’m confident of, it’s that he always finds a way to make things right… especially if it’s him that caused it in the first place.”

She got up from the chair to the table and picked up a glass of water as well as a pill, handing it over to Cocky.

AskCocky: Cocky never even asked what the pill was, he just swallowed it and drank the water, then lied down again. “I’m not saying I don’t trust him around things. Just that he’s endlessly curious and sometimes just a bit too… eh, let’s say he’s probably too optimistic about stuff.” He covered his eyes. “And I’m glad you’re feeling optimistic yourself, because if this does not work, you’ll be stuck with a bunny husband for freaking ever. What was that, by the way?”

MightiestPirate: “What can I say, after being with him for so long it rubbed off on me.” Elaine leaned back in the chair and sighed, “And trust me, I know about his… curiosity, it tends to get him in some bizarre scenarios such as this one or worse, he comes back injured. Which is why I have that pill.” She said as she pointed at it, “I have a secret stash of it from this doctor I went to see, it’s cures ailments from stiff muscles to massive headaches. Normally I’d put it in the drink, but I figured you would want to have that choice to take it or not.”

AskCocky: Cocky half-smiled. “Any black-market massive headache cure is very welcome right now.” He lied back for a while, then opened his eyes and looked at Elaine again, this time more carefully. The lago was about to say something, then refrained. “Forgive me for staring, and also forgive your hubby if I say something you think I’m not supposed to know. Guybrush never ever shuts up about you, ever.”

MightiestPirate: “It helps when you have connection as a former Governor.” Elaine chuckled, “I’m not surprised… Mr. Winslow said almost the same thing when I first met him. Guybrush tends to babble when he’s nervous or excited, and I have a feeling that now whenever we come across something, I’ll be hearing your name a lot.” She paused for a moment before speaking again, “I also want to say thank you for being with him during my absence.”

AskCocky: “Eeeeeh…” Cocky made a face. “I’m not sure how grateful you will be when the guy finally comes around to tell you everything I put him through, but the important thing is that he’s back into your arms and mostly unscathed, if only a bit furrier. Also, I made you guys honey biscuits, if it counts for something?” Cocky laughed this time, the pill was acting quite fast. “Did he tell you I am from the future?”

MightiestPirate: “The future?” She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “I’m sure the very literal plunder bunny will be telling me shortly, most likely in great detail. For the time being I’m looking at it as another one of Guybrush’s shenanigans. He has also told me about the biscuits, so I thank you for that.” She pulled up the box with dessert inside and gave a smile. “What exactly did he tell you about me?”

AskCocky: “Hahaha, millions of things. Mostly, we would look at something and he’d say ‘You know, this reminds me of Elaine, because…’ or ‘You know, if Elaine was here, she’d say…”. I rarely see someone so devoted to his significant other.” A toothy smile. “Also, he said he loves your butt.”

MightiestPirate: There was a slight hint of red on her face, but Elaine ended up covering her mouth and laughing. “Ha ha, I don’t doubt for a second about him saying those things, however that last bit about my bum does not sound like anything Guybrush would say.” She finished laughing and looked over the lago, “He did say you were devious, he wasn’t joking.”

AskCocky: “Oooh, he did not say it, but he definitely was thinking it, because I’m a lago from the future and outer space and I can read minds.” Another toothy smile, then he got serious. “Nah, you got me there. Yeah, he didn’t say anything about your butt. But he did mention you left him completely breathless, and we’re talking about a guy who can be underwater for 10 minutes.” He smiled. “That sounds more like him?”

MightiestPirate: “Ooh, so scary Mr. Future Bunny.” Elaine teased back, she smiled softly and gave a chuckle, “Now that sounds more like Guybrush with his poetic tendencies that make him sound less like a pirate. Do you have someone important in your life, Cocky? Someone who also takes your breath away?” Elaine asked.

AskCocky: “I do,” Cocky smiled. “Someone who kisses me and makes me feel I’m home. Also, I love his butt.” The lago chuckled and slowly tried to sit on the bed. He then looked around, rubbing the bump on his forehead. “Where are we, by the way? Is this the Screaming Narwhal? Where’s Winnie?”

MightiestPirate: “Winnie…?” She looked confused for a moment until she realized who he was referring to, “Mr. Winslow is currently at a village I was visiting with him, he apparently knows a few of the locals there and insisted that he stayed the night there. He’ll be back in the morning however.” Elaine got up and pushed the chair away, “And yes, this is that very ship, if I were you, I’d take it a bit easy when standing up.”

AskCocky: “Winnie got lucky, huh?” Cocky smirked, then, feeling the unapproving gaze of Elaine, he chose to meekly go back to bed. He lied on his side, however, to better look at her. “This has been a really eventful trip for all of us.”

MightiestPirate: “That appears to be an understatement in Guybrush’s case. Not sure what’s taking him so long to come back though… probably took a wrong turn somewhere.” Elaine answered and sighed, “Humor me here, but you said something about being worth eleven million units and Guybrush briefly mentioned you crashed here when the two of you met. But sans the obvious appearance and the sash around your waist, you don’t look to me like a pirate.”

AskCocky: “Uuuh… Guybrush gave me the sash, actually. As a gift. I’m no pirate.” He rubbed his head. “I’m an assassin, and yes I have a bounty on my head, several of them in fact. So yeah, I guess I am actually a monster from outer space after all, but I don’t find pirates have a lot of nutritional value, especially if they’re not grass-fed.” Cocky got serious. “I know I joke about a lot of things, but this time I’m telling the truth. My ship failed and crashed in the sea. Guybrush saved me from drowning and we became friends.”

MightiestPirate: Elaine remained silent for a while, listening to the lago’s story “It was a good thing he was there then. That sounds like something Guybrush would do.” She spoke up after a few minutes, brushing back a strand of red behind her ear and sighed. “For all that talk he does about being a pirate, he does things none of them would do like sticking his neck out when someone’s in trouble. Especially people who think lowly of themselves.”

AskCocky: “If you ask me, it’s just talk,” Cocky sighed. “But don’t tell him I said that, I’d break his heart. For some reason the concept of being a pirate seems to be very important to him. Forgive me, but sometimes I’m under the impression he constantly feels the need to prove himself, especially around others. Eh. It’s a harmless fiction anyway. But maybe I’m wrong,” he said, cautiously.

MightiestPirate: “He isn’t the most… traditional pirate, no. I admit that I too had my fair share of doubts as to why he chose this particular line of work. And even though Guybrush can be rude, he isn’t exactly the strongest, intimidating, or even the nastiest of the bunch, he’s too… different.” Elaine admitted.

“But when it comes to wits, there is no one that can surpass him. Guybrush is known to use his opponent’s strength against them by simply talking. I’m sure you noticed that he prefers to talk or use the his surroundings as oppose to fighting an enemy head on.”

AskCocky: “Er, exactly what I’m saying.” Cocky scratched his neck. “I can see him as an adventurer, even a treasure hunter, but a pirate?” He shrugged “It’s semantics only, anyway. And he can fight, too, anyway, I have seen him.” He scratched his neck again, then got up. “Aw, man, I’m getting sand all over your bed!!” Cocky took off his collar and cape of feathers and started patting the sand off them.

MightiestPirate: “I suppose it is semantics, but I would argue that it’s that wit that makes him the best pirate out there. Can’t really be a pirate without some amount anyways.” Elaine sighed as she gave a bit of a smirk, “It’s quite alright, you think Guybrush or even I can come back to this room and not track some amount of sand in here? It’s almost impossible.” She stood up and got a netted stick to hand over to Cocky. “Use this, it gets most of the sand out of things that are delicate.”

AskCocky: “Oh! Good idea. Thank you,” Cocky said, and put his cape in it and started shaking it over the bucket for lieu of a better place. “Elaine, I think we should definitely go look for Guybrush. I’m worried. Plus, I cloaked my ship, so I don’t even know if he can even find it.”

MightiestPirate: “It’s not a problem.” She brushed back some of her bangs and gave a sigh, “I’m willing to bet that he found it but just got lost. Knowing him he probably ended up going in a circle, Guybrush always does that when he gets lost in the forest. This way.” Elaine led as she opened the door to leave the room.

AskCocky: “All right, let’s go rescue the rescuer,” Cocky said, merrily. He felt a lot better although still with a slight headache. As he followed Elaine to the deck, he asked: “What time is here anyway? Are we close to dawn?”

MightiestPirate: “When I ran into you and Guybrush, it was about three forty in the morning. We spent a while talking, so I would say we have about an hour or so until the sunrises.” Elaine answered as she picked up a lantern and made way to the row boat. “So we best hurry and find him first before anyone else does, correct?”

AskCocky: “Uuuh. Demon bunny from outer space, I got it. Hopefully he has not been captured and scheduled to be sacrificed to that lactose-intolerant volcano god.” As he grabbed the oars, he said. “Waaaait. This is your rowboat. I thought it got stolen by those pirates! Or did you reclaim it? How can this be?” he said, as he rowed to the shore.

MightiestPirate: “So he’s told you about his time on Blood Island?” Elaine chuckled as she shook her head. “We have two. How else would Winslow and I have gotten to the island? Also, do you really think I’ll allow this ship to have just one rowboat? It is captained by Guybrush, remember?” Elaine gave a confident smirk as she took the other oar and helped.

AskCocky: “Well, that makes sense. Forgive me, I’m not the brightest bulb in the tree right now. And I get what you’re saying about Guybrush being the captain. Which brings me to the question, why are you not the Captain? Or are you the de facto Captain, in fact?”

MightiestPirate: “Technically speaking, we both are Captain Threepwood, so because of that we have this unspoken rule that if he’s missing, I take charge as Captain until he comes back. As to why I’m not captain, I spent most of my life as a Governor watching over three different islands whereas Guybrush worked hard to get the title of Captain… and even though I could do it with ease, it wouldn’t be right of me to take the title away from him.”

AskCocky: “De facto Captain it is,” Cocky thought, smiling, but said nothing. The rowboat reached shore, and they started walking towards where the ship was. Cocky found Guybrush’s bucket, and his own, along with the goggles. Cocky grabbed everything (at least Guybrush’s bucket was full) and pointed. “There’s my ship. It’s cloaked, but you can see it if you squint real hard.” Guybrush was nowhere to be seen.

MightiestPirate: She squinted her eyes and saw the odd deformation between the trees, looking down, she saw a set of footprints that were going towards the direction of the ship before making a sharp turn away from it. Curious, Elaine looked over towards Cocky’s feet and realized they were roughly the same, if not just a bit bigger. “I believe Guybrush left a clue.” Elaine stated as she pointed at the footprints.

AskCocky: Cocky scratched himself behind the ears. “Why would he do that? It’s clear he was seeing the ship. Just a sec…” The lago ran to the ship and opened the door. “Guybrush? HEY, GUYBRUSH!” No answer, and the healing gun was still in its place. It had one full charge already… Cocky thought of applying it to himself, then thought better. The headache was there, but very diminished, and maybe they’d need that shot for later, as he had no clue what the situation could be. He got out and looked at the red-headed woman. “Elaine, Guybrush is not here and in fact has not been here at all since we landed. We better follow the footprints, I have a bad feeling about this.”

MightiestPirate: There was a sense of dread at the pit of her stomach when she saw the sharp turn, instead she looked determined to find her husband as oppose to assuming the worse. “Then let’s hurry.” Elaine decided, using the lantern over the sand and following the foot prints as quickly as she could without disrupting the signs. As soon as they entered the forest, the sand marks started to disappear making the clues harder to find him, she bit her lip in frustration until she noticed a path from various broken twigs.

AskCocky: “The heck are you doing this time, Guybrush,” Cocky muttered, and looked briefly at Elaine. “We may run into trouble. Ummm, are you good at sword fighting?”

MightiestPirate: “Let’s put it this way. If Guybrush is to wits, I am to strength.” Elaine answered as she reached her hand toward her cutlass. “How about you? Are you any good at fighting?”

AskCocky: “Little bit,” Cocky smiled. Then he shook his head. “Um, scratch that, this is no time for fake modesty. Actually, I’m very very good at fighting. Don’t worry, we’ll be alright. I don’t have a sword, but I have a couple of knives in me.” He also had the lightsaber, just in case. But he preferred the redhead to fight with the sword she was accustomed to wield. “And I do believe you’re strong, I’ve been on the wrong end of your whacking stick.” He rubbed his forehead. “Hopefully this time we won’t need diplomacy, although I guess you’re very good at that too.” MightiestPirate: Elaine gave a smile, “It’s important to be able to negotiate in case they yell a parley. That and several years in government as well as a husband who excels in talking tends to rub off on you.” She held the lantern higher to get a better light of the environment, quickly scanning the area before lowering the light so as not to attract attention, “We should keep moving forward but quietly.” Elaine explained in a low tone.

AskCocky: Cocky nodded. “Quiet is my middle name,” Cocky said. “Since you have the lantern you should go ahead, but I’ll cover your back.” They resumed walking, but Cocky’s footsteps couldn’t be heard at all, as if he was a bunny-shaped ghost.

MightiestPirate: She nodded and went ahead, easing her steps and dodging any branches or leaves that could give away their position when she heard rustling and froze, lowering herself and dimming the light of her lantern. Ahead of them were a group she couldn’t recognize without the light glowing when she heard a weird sound followed by a light tap of her head from what appeared to be a nut. “What the…” Elaine whispered as she looked up at the tree and found a familiar form.

AskCocky: Cocky looked up as well and saw Guybrush. He signaled Elaine to stay where she was and put a finger to his lips to ask her to stay silent. Quick as a spider, he climbed the tree in a quiet, effortless way. “Yo, Guybrush, what’s going on?” he whispered once he was next to his friend. “We were worried about you.”

MightiestPirate: As the lago climbed up, Elaine kept her eyes on the forms that were still in the distance. Guybrush looked relieve once he saw the two but kept his tone low, “I was on my way to the ship to get the healing gun, when I heard several voices and made a run into the forest in hopes of loosing them but it ah… it barely worked seeing as they heard me. I just now got them distracted with a coconut so I can climb down but ah… there is one tiny problem.” Guybrush pointed at the various form, “It’s the same guys from earlier.”

AskCocky: “Ugh, what a pest.” Cocky considered the group. They were outnumbered severely, as the pirates apparently had taken several additional members for their lynching crew. Nonetheless, he shugged. “Well, what do you want to do this time, Bru-bru? Here’s a dialogue tree for you. Wait, Run, or Fight? I’m game for anything.” He pointed down. “Of course, there’s also what your woman will prefer you to do.”

MightiestPirate: “I think it’d be best if Elaine didn’t hear you call her that.” Guybrush sheepishly scratched his cheek before placing it on his chin to think. “Why be mutually exclusive with those three choices? I have an idea that I think Elaine and a trained assassin will enjoy.” He said with a smirk.

AskCocky: “Call her what, your woman?” Cocky was puzzled, but complied nevertheless. “If you say so, I won’t. But alright, tell me what this idea of yours is. Bonus points if it involves violence, dancing, or funny costumes.” MightiestPirate: “Well… it includes one of the three.” Guybrush chuckled, “I’m gonna do what I do best… and talk with them. It’ll distract them for a bit while you and Elaine can get the sneak behind them and knock ‘em out or do whatever it is you two do best, but keep it quiet so as not to get the other pirates attention.” He then looked over at Cocky and gave an eye brow, “By the way, ‘Bru-Bru’?”

AskCocky: “All right, so I won’t call you that, either,” Cocky rolled his eyes. “Still, you weren’t very effective in your bunny form. I have the healing gun with me, but it’d flash blue in the darkness, so I don’t recommend it. Still, let’s go with your plan.” He made a face. “Wait, knock them out? Are we really playing the no-kill game with the assassin, now?”

MightiestPirate: “No no… it’s fine. You can call me that it’s just… I’m not use to someone other than Elaine giving me a nickname that has some semblance to my name. I’m flattered by it.” Guybrush said sincerely before shifting his tone. “I would like a knock out… but knowing both you and Elaine… go for the kill. Just keep it quiet, alright?” He looked at Elaine who was staring at the two lagos up in the tree with concern, “…Don’t use the healing gun on me just yet. I’ll get their attention better in this form anyways.”

AskCocky: “Quiet is my name, and killing is my game,” Cocky said. “It’s a challenge, but let’s see how things fare. I’ll get down there and explain the plan to Elaine, okay? When you stop seeing us, it’s go time,” Cocky started climbing down.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush nodded and watched as Cocky explained to Elaine, who briefly looked back at Guybrush to give a warm but concerned smile. In return, Guybrush gave a thumbs up as he watched the two go hide. “…Showtime.” He said to no one in particular and climbed down, feeling his nerves starting to get the best of him. He walked up close enough to the pirates and hid himself, waiting for Cocky’s ears and Elaine’s red hair to vanish from sight even to him, as soon as they disappeared he stood up and cleared his throat.

“HEY THERE!!” Guybrush shouted delightfully, grabbed all the pirates attentions on him, some of them muttering about the demon bunny from space actually existed and started to charge. “Wh- whoa PARLEY!!” He yelled once more, freezing them dead in their tracks. “N-now… I bet you’re wondering how I know about that…” Guybrush began to over-explain and lie through his teeth as he successfully grabbed all their attention from attacking him, leaving their backs completely open for an attack.

Elaine saw the opportunity, and quickly grabbed one of the pirates by the mouth and pulled him into the bushes, quickly silencing the pirate for good.

AskCocky: Cocky approvingly saw Elaine deal with the pirate and moved in for the kill himself. His choice was the pirate that was mostly separated from the group. Already prepared, he tensed the steel cable he had in both hands. He jumped the other’s back, got the cable around the pirate’s neck, and clipped them both, then slid the clipper until the cable was asphyxiatingly tight. To top it off, he jumped in the other’s shoulders, grabbed a branch, and disappeared in the darkness of the foliage just as the crowd turned around.

The pirate stumbled into the crowd making gurgling, desperate noises. It was enough to trigger a general disconcert and panic. Cocky jumped to branch to branch and let himself drop behind the pirates, and managed to cut three throats before anyone even noticed.

MightiestPirate: One pirate looked at the sound of the source, raising an eyebrow of concern. Guybrush noticing the one pirate, quickly spoke up. “W-w-which is why I demand spider-tasting nice-cream!!” Another pirate sighed and yelled, unaware that the one that turned around was quickly grabbed into the darkness by Elaine, “For the las’ time, we don’t have none of those space flavor desserts you keep babblin’ about you dense bunny demon!!”

Guybrush pouted and crossed his arms, “Then I guess you WANT me to self destruct and to destroy this planet.” All the pirates went quiet and paid attention once more, allowing Elaine to grab two more pirates for the kill. There were only a handful left.

AskCocky: Noticing the Guybrush was running out of ridiculous things to say, Cocky decided to divert attraction from him before someone decided to run him through with a sword, as he noticed the pirates were too close to him and could decide to attack him at any moment. He grabbed a bottle of rum from one of the dead pirates, sniffed it and deemed it good enough. While Elaine single-picked pirates to murder them in the darkness, Cocky grabbed the bottle of rum and once more climbed the trees. Moving quickly and silently he positioned himself over three pirates which looked to be getting quite aggresive, bit the cork off the bottle and liberally poured the liquor over them. This they did notice, but before they even figured out what happened, Cocky got his lighter on, locked it, and dropped it on them with a very sincere smile.

MightiestPirate: “WHAT IN THE BLAZES?!” One of them shouted as they watched their mates in horror burn in front of them, “Poor word choice…” Guybrush muttered which aggravated the pirates beyond reasoning and raised their swords well over his head only to be met with Elaine’s blade as she dashed as fast as she could between the pirate and her husband, cover completely blown.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a spare sword on you by any chance, would you Laineykins?” Guybrush asked nervously. “Sorry, love… just the one.” Elaine grunted as she kicked the pirate away and went to deal the final blow. His ears twitched as he heard a pirate come up from behind him, he quickly turned around and made a dash between the pirate’s leg, make sure to give the goon a huge kick in-between and causing the giant to topple.

AskCocky: From above in the branches of the trees, Cocky got the lightsaber handle out. “Guybrush! You know the drill, mate!” he shouted, tossing it to his pirate friend. Then he jumped down and landed, heels first, on the back of one of the buccaneers’ skull. He rolled away, narrowly avoiding being skewered by one of the pirates. As the sword went down, the lago stepped on it. Since the pirate refused to leg go of his sword, Cocky administered a blow with the heel of the hand, hard, fracturing the nose and sending several bone shards into the brain. He looked around quickly and noticed someone creeping on Elaine, as Guybrush was trying to activate the lightsaber. “Hey!” He was too far away to do anything, so he grabbed his knife and tossed it hard. The blade sank to the hilt in the nape of the neck, and the pirate went down like a piano in a bad silent film.

MightiestPirate: Elaine whipped her head and gave an appreciative nod as she quickly ran her cutlass through another pirate coming at her at full force. As soon as Guybrush got the sword to activate, he sliced at the tree next to him which made it collapse head on to most of the pirates. “Heh. You could use the fiber…” He joked at the bodies as he looked up and saw a pirate charging behind Cocky, not wanting to miss a beat, Guybrush charged and ran his sword right into the unsuspecting pirate, watching as light of his sword burned through the pirate. As soon as Guybrush retracted, the pirate fell to his side, and the blonde lago gave Cocky a quick look, “Told you I had your back.”

AskCocky: “Thanks, Bru-bru,” Cocky said in a squeaky, fangirly voice. He didn’t have time to keep on laughing as they were both attacked by several pirates at the same time. Disarmed, Cocky just dodged, and ocassionally punched and kicked, but the pirates were too tough to be disabled by that. He ran, got his knife out, checked Elaine was doing okay on her own -more than okay, really, and started throwing his knife at whatever pirate had the misfortune of facing him. One of them burned his arm with a torch, and Cocky went down hard almost quietly, too well-trained to scream even in the face of terrible pain. So none of his friends heard him as he started fighting for his very own life.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush sliced through several pirates no problem, mostly in thanks to his lightsaber. His ears perked when he heard the sound of something whistling by and turned around, quickly moving to the left as a pirate soared by and crashed into the tree. He turned his head and saw Elaine in a pose that implied she had just tossed the man over her shoulder. “Elaine!! You okay?” Guybrush shouted as he swiped at another pirate. “Ugh… I’m fine for now.” She shouted back, protecting her face from the slice of an incoming sword. “What about you, Coc– Cocky?” He looked around and saw no signs of the white lago and felt dread growing. “Elaine, have you se– ELAINE!” He shouted as a pirate snuck up and grabbed her in a headlock. Guybrush ran towards the red head, when he saw in the corner of his eye a brute holding a torch looking down at something. He focused that line of sight and saw the white form.

For the first time, Guybrush felt like he stood in the middle of a crossroad. Every plan he thought of ended with someone getting killed, he couldn’t take any of them hand to hand, he couldn’t out- run them, and at this point he sure as hell couldn’t out-talk them.

…But he could do the next best thing.

He whipped out his wanted picture and held it right over his head. “HEY!!” Guybrush stood firmly and yelled, “COME AFTER ME. I’M WORTH FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.”

All eyes were now back on Guybrush.

AskCocky: Cocky saw the pirate hold the cutlass above his head, ready to slice him in two, when he heard Guybrush shout. There was a moment of momentary confusion and yelling, and the next thing he knew the pirate punched him in the gut with a fist that looked to be more or less the size of a demolition ball. Then he left the lago crumpled up on the floor and ran after Guybrush like the rest of the pirates. A couple of minutes later, after Cocky finally managed to stand up, he looked around.

Guybrush and Elaine were nowhere to be seen.

MightiestPirate: “G-Guybrush?” Elaine choked, hearing the sound of her husband’s voice as he shouted the bounty on his head. The pirates holding her chatted among themselves and decided to violently toss her against a tree before chasing the lago. After a while, she picked herself up, holding her back from the impact and stood up. The boot marks all on the ground went to one direction, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out and started to follow the trail with a quick, albeit painful, jog.

– He was going to get an earful from the both of them if all three of them survived this. He ran as fast as he could, feeling his lungs burn with each breath, trying to dodge the hoard of pirates who were now after his head, “Gotta think gotta think…” Guybrush chanted to himself, keeping his eyes around the environment as he held onto his lightsaber with almost a deathly grip. Making a sharp left he heard a few of them fall on their faces while others ran into trees, but didn’t stop running for a second to appreciate his work. Seeing a lowered tree Guybrush jumped and slashed at it, causing the branch to fall directly on top of them while a few coconuts landed on others. The hoard died down, but a good amount was still after him. “Just how many of you bastards are there?!” Guybrush shouted.

AskCocky: Cocky ran, or tried to run as fast as he could, still holding his midsection, which trembled and throbbed. Soon he saw the redhead ahead. “Elaine!” he called, as he caught up, stumbling. “Elaine, we can’t go after him, they are running too fast for us. We will never make it on time. Let’s just go.”

MightiestPirate: Elaine leaned on a tree when she heard Cocky’s voice and winced when she looked, he looked far worse than she did. “I… I don’t want to leave him on his own… they’ll catch him eventually.” Elaine spoke and paused for a second when an idea struck. “I have an idea… but it’ll require your ship.”

AskCocky: “Exactly what I was thinking,” Cocky smiled. “Let’s go, we can pick him up with the light beam, or if push comes to shove, my ship has guns.” He grabbed Elaine by the waist to help her walk.

MightiestPirate: “Well, I figured we might as well scare them silly. They want a demon bunny, they will get one.” She returned the smile and walked, “Wouldn’t it be easier if I carried you instead? You look like you could use the rest.” Elaine offered as they made way to the ship.

–

He breathed heavy against a tree, finally managing to give them the slip… at least jut enough for him to catch his breath. Guybrush finally turned off the lightsaber, realizing that as powerful as it was, it was in every sense of a word a light and explained how they followed him. His ears perked when he heard their voices and held his breath, ducking himself as lower to the ground as he could. He looked behind him, hearing the sounds of the ocean and made his way to the shore line… until he stepped on a twig and alerted the other pirates. “Clam dip!!” He cursed as he booked it for the shore.

AskCocky: “Let’s carry each other and we’ll get there faster,” Cocky joked, although laughing was painful and his arm was killing him. Pale, he swallowed hard. “Nah, it’s okay. My legs will carry me, I’m just a little wobby, I’ll be fine.” They arrived to the ship and Cocky opened the door. “Welcome to The Impetus, please sit down and buckle up, now let’s go rescue that guy before he runs out of witticisms.” MightiestPirate: “It’s a fine ship you have… we should probably speed along before he does another reckless idea.” She complimented as she sat down in the chair Guybrush would and buckled accordingly, giving a bit of a sigh, “And as much as I hate to admit it… that last second improve did buy us time. By the way, is that paper he held a real bounty?” Elaine asked.

AskCocky: Cocky put the ship in the air, cloaked it again and started going in the way he figured Guybrush did, following the trail of fallen trees. “Yes it is. That bit in particular was honestly entirely my fault.” He started scanning in infrared to see if he could see the silhouettes of either the pirates or his friend. “If it’s any consolation, as soon as he does not resemble a bunny anymore no one would recognize him as the one in the bounty.” Suddenly, he saw Guybrush. “There he is!!”

MightiestPirate: “Your fault?” Her brows lowered in confusion but figured that since she was going to hear it straight from Guybrush there was little point in asking. Looking at the window, her eyes widen as she saw the familiar blue coat on a bunny and leaned as much as she could to get a better view of her husband. She saw the him stop and turn around, the light of his sword turning on and swinging in the air, “What on Earth is he doing?” Elaine muttered when she saw less than a handful appear. “He’s… he’s signaling us!”

AskCocky: “Are those assholes still after him???” Cocky uncloaked the ship, then grabbed the fire controls. “Tell him to get down. It’s demon bunny time.”

MightiestPirate: “Hmph, they want one… they got it.” Elaine gave a smirk, turning around and making the universal hand signal to Guybrush.

–

Guybrush ran as fast as he could on the shore, hearing the few behind him shouting for his head “YOU SHOULD PICK UP A HOBBY LIKE KNITTING, THIS IS REALLY UNHEALTHY!!” Guybrush shouted back, not even turning around. He heard something go over his head and glanced up, seeing the distortion in the sky and smiled. “About time.” He muttered, finally decided to stop running, turned around, and activated his sword, signaling the ship in case they didn’t spot him. “Oh ho… yer a dead bun…” One of the pirates threatened, “Oh I doubt that, kelp sucker.” Guybrush boasted as he looked once more up before hitting the ground and covering his head like he did on Nim.

AskCocky: “Gods, I really hate this planet and everyone in it,” Cocky lamented bitterly, then hit the button as soon as Guybrush hit the ground. A huge blue ball of light emerged from the lower canon and hit the sand in the middle of the disconcerted pirate bunch. The ball lingered for half a second, then exploded, sending everybody flying backwards. He needed to get them away from Guybrush, so the kinetic cannon would have to do for the moment. He did this three times and everytime the pirates kept advancing. Finally, he loaded the fire cannon. “B’eel says hi,” Cocky muttered, almost sweetly, then pushed the button and white fire filled everything. MightiestPirate: For the most part, Guybrush’s head was covered in the sand, but as soon as he heard the sounds of their scream vanish, he looked up only to see the blinding light which caused him to shield his eyes. “Whoa…” Guybrush muttered as the fire dispersed. Picking himself up from the ground, he brushed off the sand off of him and looked at the space ship, giving a thumbs up with a sheepish grin.

–

Elaine’s focus was entirely on Guybrush, but that didn’t mean she didn’t hear the remark. She gave a side glance at the lago and remained silent, first thing first was her husband’s safety. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand that man and his plans.”

AskCocky: “Yeah! You’re safe now, buddy,” Cocky said enthusiastically, then pushed the button for the light beam to appear. He sighed in relief as he saw his friend appear. His first impulse was running to hug him, but he understood that right belonged to his wife, so he just stood there smiling and closed the beam after he was on board.

MightiestPirate: It was admittedly awkward considering the size and species, but that didn’t stop Elaine from going over to Guybrush and getting on her knees to hug him who returned the gesture to her but tighter. “Guybrush, your plan was ludicrous, impulsive, and downright poorly- thought out.” Elaine spoke but sighed, “But I’m glad you’re safe.”

“The feeling goes both ways… not the plan bit I ah… I’ll take the blame for that.” Guybrush chuckled as he opened his eyes and glanced at Cocky, giving him a look of “I’m use to this lecture”. Eventually Elaine pulled from the hug and stood up, Guybrush then opened his arm making grabbing gestures with his hands at Cocky while giving a smirk, “C’mon…”

AskCocky: Cocky not so much hugged as he fell into Guybrush’s arms. He ruffled his friend’s hair affectionately. “Thought you were a goner, you dumbass.” For a moment the lago thought of scolding Guybrush, but then again he no longer had the energy for it. So instead, he said: “Best plan ever,” with a pained smile.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush laughed as he held Cocky tightly while Elaine took a small step back allowing the two a moment. It wasn’t everyday the blonde met someone and stayed his friend. He pulled from the hug and gave a weak smile, “Eh… the last half could’ve been done better I– hey.” Guybrush looked at Cocky’s arm and his smile dropped. “I… who did… that needs to be treated!!”

AskCocky: “Er…” Cocky got the healing gun. “There’s only one charge. I have been saving it so you can turn back into a lago or anyone needed emergency treatment.” The lago looked interrogatively at the others. “So what about you guys? We can even use it on Elaine if she needs it, but of course, she’ll get turned into a lago.”

MightiestPirate: Elaine gave a baffled look but shook her head, “Thank you for the offer, but there’s no need. All I just need to get some shut eye for a bit and I’ll be fine. Guybrush?” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck, he needed to change back, but he’d feel bad if he used it on himself when he barely had any injuries. “One… one charge before waiting another few hours right?” He asked in an unsure tone.

AskCocky: Cocky nodded. Before the other could say anything, he pointed it at Guybrush and pulled the trigger. The pirate was bathed in a blue light.

Nothing happened at all.

MightiestPirate: Both pirates flinched, but it was Guybrush who kept his eyes closed. Elaine watched as the blue light faded and the other stood stiff with his eyes closed, she looked over at Cocky with a confused expression, “What as that suppose to do?” She asked as the blonde opened his eyes and looked at his hands, noticing it’s still covered in fur, his mouth forming a frown.

“It was suppose to change me back… in theory.” Guybrush answered for her, his tone laced with guilt.

AskCocky: Cocky looked at Guybrush and shook his head. “Ugh. I was so sure that’d work… I’m so sorry.” He flopped back into his seat, frustrated, and had the impulse of throwing the gun at the wall, but then he remembered he needed it, too. “Let’s go back to where you left your ship so we can keep an eye on it. I’m thinking I need to make a few calls to figure this out, surely someone knows what it’s to be done about it,” Cocky said, plugging the gun into the charger again.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush wanted to point out that he should’ve used the shot on Cocky instead of himself. But he didn’t have it in him as felt just as bad, if not worse. Elaine took noticed and brushed back Guybrush’s bangs, giving him a slight nudge to talk to the lago. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s… it’s fine, it was only a theory remember? I… at least we know that it doesn’t work both ways, right?” He tried to ease the atmosphere before dropping his hand and the act, “At least let me treat your arm. It was my fault seeing as it was my plan that got you… both of you, hurt.”

AskCocky: Cocky smiled a bit. “I voted for the violence, remember?” Then he shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but this is a burn, I’m not in danger of bleeding out or anything. It just hurts. A lot, yeah, and I’d prefer not to touch it until I can use the healing gun, I’m pretty sure I don’t need that kind of pain.” He sighed.

MightiestPirate: “Aloe. Do you have it?” Elaine asked point blank, catching Guybrush off guard with how direct she was being. “I know it’s not the be all cure, but at least to have the burn somewhat subside in the time being while we wait for that thing to be fully charged and figure what to do with Guybrush. If not, we’re going stop by our ship to get it.”

AskCocky: “Uh.. I eh, actually do have some…” Cocky turned to look at Guybrush, silently screaming for help. “I’m, I’m not sure…”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush noted the look and quickly jumped in, “I ah… it’s not… it’s not needed. Y-you wouldn’t believe the pain threshold he can handle, Laineykins. Just needs to not do anything excessive for the time being. Right, Cocky?” He looked at the lago to back him up if he wanted the topic to drop.

AskCocky: “I’m in a level of manageable pain right now. You gave me that pill, remember? But I’m pretty sure if we touch this thing…” Cocky vaguely pointed at his arm. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I don’t want anyone to touch it. I just need to take it easy.”

AskCocky: “Hmm…” Elaine eyed the two, suspecting something but just shrugged and played along with what they said. She leaned and crossed arms, “So that just leaves the matter with you.” She spoke that made Guybrush give a weak chuckle while he scratched his cheek and looked at the ceiling.

AskCocky: Cocky got up. “Let’s go to the couch so we can all have a seat, I’m sure we need it.” He turned to Elaine. “I didn’t have time for a proper greeting, but please feel right at home.” He flopped onto the couch.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush instinctively went to the couch and realized Elaine looked uncertain and still locked in thought. He walked over and held her hand, leading the red head to the couch as she mindlessly let him take control to sit her down. He followed shortly and felt everything wash away once he felt the cushion against his back and let his ears droop a bit.

AskCocky: The lago sighed as well and turned to his companions. “Considering everything… I still had fun,” Cocky smiled. “Hopefully you won’t get in any trouble for killing all that people, Elly, but at least you can be assured: we left no witnesses.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh, I had plenty of fun.” Guybrush smiled back. Elaine gave Cocky a look before chuckling, “I’ll admit, it was rather exciting to sneak up on them. And if anything, the both of you helped me out with them.” Guybrush, who was chuckling, stopped and glanced at his wife in confusion, “We did?”

AskCocky: “My favorite part was when I set those guys on fire, both times. So I guess turnabout was fair play, ahahahaha,” Cocky said, rather amusedly, then waited for Elaine to explain herself.

MightiestPirate: “Mm-hmm. Do you know why I went to that village, Guybrush?” Elaine asked her lago husband who was playing with his hands idly, “Um… to get potential recruits?” He answered, half playfully and half truthfully. She was about to shake her head until she nodded side to side, “No… well… not really recruit but more like to gain potential allies incase LeChuck ever shows up again.” Guybrush cringed at the name as Elaine continued, “Those villagers have a tight resource over herbs and the like, it ranges from medicinal to almost potential lethal weapons. They knew Winslow just fine, but the problem was they wanted me to prove loyalty.”

“Loyalty?”

Elaine nodded, “As it turned out, those pirates we faced against have been harassing the locals there, even taking some hostage. Winslow and I were about to face them ourselves when we heard rumors spread of a ‘space demon bunny that will eat pirates’… sound familiar?” She asked as she gave the two lagos a smug look.

AskCocky: “Rings a bell,” Cocky snickered. “Oh, so beautiful when everything lines up so nicely. Well, the villagers will have peace, because I expect this island will become a haunted house for a lot of pirates for a very long time.” He scratched his ear. “Who’s LeChuck?”

MightiestPirate: “I do believe demon space creatures who devour sailors is far more threatening than a village who has their ways with herbs. Thank you for that, Cockwell.” Elaine gave a devious grin as Guybrush remained silent and looking tense. She glanced at the blonde in confusion, “You never mentioned his name?”

Guybrush shook his head.

With a sigh, she leaned a bit forward and rested her hand over his back, moving it in a circle to try and relax him. “He’s a pirate that has been notorious for slaughtering any that get in his way, and he always targets us because his obsession with me won’t stay down in the grave he belongs in. We always find a way to beat him but… we barely managed to get out of our last predicament a few years ago with this pox.” Elaine explained.

“He’s the pirate who trapped me in the fog and killed me later down the road.” Guybrush finished bluntly, this time catching Elaine off guard.

AskCocky: “OooOOOoooh, the name of my future victim!” Cocky said, joking, but then looked at how upset his friend looked. “Sorry, mate. I must have guessed it was that asshole. Forgive me, I’m not thinking right at the moment.”

MightiestPirate: A few chuckle escaped. He shook his head and gave Cocky a smile, “Nah… don’t be sorry. I never really said his name because well… I am to him as you are to those things.” He pointed at the black feather coat, “If anything it’s him that should be sorry if he ever faces you. Hopefully… hopefully it’ll never come to that though.”

AskCocky: “You are to him as I am to the Khail?” Cocky smirked. “You mean a holy terror, a little son of a bitch and a real pain in the ass?” He laughed sincerely. “Well, never one of my targets has come back from the dead, that at least I can tell you.” He got up. “Speaking of which, I need to wash this thing. Be right back.” Cocky said, and disappeared into his workshop.

MightiestPirate: “That and then some.” Guybrush gave a bit of a nod while laughing, “To this one church of his I am an unholy terror.” As soon as Cocky left, Guybrush reclined back and sighed, “For someone who is devious, he’s sweet.” She pointed out, “Told you.” He answered as he closed his eyes for a bit. Elaine leaned on the arm rest, a hand holding her head up as she played with his ear with the other hand, “But I can see why you’d stick your neck out.” Guybrush sighed, never having someone play with his ears and found it oddly soothing.

“So how long is this epic you’re going to eventually tell me?” “Over seventy kay easily.”

“Gotcha.”

AskCocky: Cocky came back to see his friends on the couch, both with their eyes closed and talking. “Guybrush… uh… I don’t know how to say this but… your tail disappeared.” Suddenly he stopped. “Mate, you’re turning back into a human! Go to the bathroom and get naked! You’re going to burst out of your clothes!!” He started pulling his friend towards the bathroom.

MightiestPirate: He raised an eyebrow while Elaine out of curiosity leaned over and gasped. “It worked!!” She smiled, Guybrush whipping his head at the source and eyes widen, feeling a yank from on direction and a shove from behind. He was shoved in the bathroom and closed the door. quickly taking off the clothes that were already feeling the tight.

Meanwhile, outside the bathroom Elaine stood with Cocky crossed her arms. “You do have his human clothes with you, right?” She asked.

AskCocky: “I do, just lemme… let me remember where I put them.” Cocky looked around in the bedroom and saw them neatly folded near the door. He took everything and gave it to Elaine. “Here they are, give it all to him. Also, his boots? He should have his coat in there with him?”

MightiestPirate: She took the clothes and knocked on the bathroom door, “Guybrush… I have your clothes here to change into.” She heard nothing and leaned her ear against the door and knocked once more. “Guybrush…?” She asked again, a hand on the door knob ready to open when she heard it click open, followed by a very naked, non-furry hand came out palm up for his clothes.

AskCocky: “Kinda shy, ain’t he? I kinda figured it out when I was around parading around in only a towel and he looked like he wanted to dig himself a way out with only his fingernails.” Cocky scratched his long right ear. “Sorry about the whole healing gun thing, neither of us remembered the effect was not instantaneous in the case of him turning into a lago.”

MightiestPirate: “Hm-hmm. That sounds right. His face turned beat red once on our honey moon… it was actually adorable.” Elaine chuckled fondly as she handed the clothes over and watched the door close. “And it’s quite alright. After everything that has been going on, I’m sure it was the adrenaline that made you two forget that one detail.”

She paused for a moment and asked, “How did he turn into a lago in the first place?”

AskCocky: “OOoh, I was just making this delicious spaghetti for dinner, and he was helping me, but he cut himself when he was dicing the onion or something like that. Thing is, I didn’t see it happen. I also didn’t see him when he decided to shoot himself with the healing gun. He saw me using it on myself and he got curious, I guess. So you may just guess how badly I freaked out when he turned into a lago, because I did not know what he had done. It’s a good thing he got turned back.” Cocky saw the door of the bathroom opening. MightiestPirate: “That man never learns… ‘never touch things you’re not familiar with’, I thought I made that clear.” Elaine sighed as she placed a hand on her forehead. When the door clicked open, Guybrush walked out adjusting his shirt as he was re-familiarizing himself in his old form. “I forgot what it’s like seeing things that are not from hip height.” He said with his sheepish grin.

AskCocky: “Believe me, having this height has its advantages. For example, you’re just in line to punch people right on the balls,” Cocky said dryly. “Glad to see the gun worked tho, unless you wanted to go through a lot of laser hair-removal and plastic surgery.” He turned to Elaine. “There, I return your hubby, good as new!”

MightiestPirate: “Oh, believe me, I know first hand of that advantage. I managed to pull that particular move off not too long ago while all of us were facing those pirates.” Guybrush smirked. Elaine gave him a kiss on the cheek and rubbed her hand on his face as he blushed a bit. “So you have… and you also managed to restore a decent beard on him.” She pointed out to Cocky. It was at that Guybrush grinned like a child. “It’s not a goatee!!” She chuckled at his enthusiasm and looked over at the lago.

“And seeing as you are hellbent on not letting us treat your wound, I figure this is the next best thing.” She leaned down gave Cocky a kiss on the cheek and ruffled his hair a bit before standing back up.

AskCocky: Cocky’s fur instantly went up at the contact and he blushed and smiled. “That… that works too,” he stammered, dropping his sight, his ears twitching a bit. Then he looked a bit sad. “Uh, so now you’re a human… um, are you guys going to your ship now?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush looked more surprised with Cocky’s reaction then the gesture itself and stifled a laugh, “Kinda wish I had a camera for that” he admitted. Elaine crossed her arms and looked admittedly sad herself, “I suppose that would be the case…” She looked at Guybrush who ended up facing away and rubbed his arm, unsure if was because of the readjustment or not, while staring at the sun rising. There was a bit of silence.

“Would you like to join us for breakfast?” Guybrush offered. “You’ve hosted me a lot… think it’d be fair if I returned the gesture. That… and it’d give time for your gun to charge and you can heal yourself before… before you leave.”

AskCocky: “All right!” Cocky looked more chipper at the suggestion. He walked to the controls to cloak his ship, then threw the beam down while grabbing the remote control. “Breakfast sounds good, although for us it’s more like dinner, but then again, like being a pirate, it’s much more a question of semantics than anything.” He pointed to the hole. “Shall we?”

MightiestPirate: Elaine smirked at the remark and turned to her husband who was smiling, most likely not understanding what the bunny meant and decided to keep quiet about it. “Heh… let’s.” Guybrush said happily, holding Elaine’s hand as he went towards the hole. AskCocky: Cocky was the last to go, after checking the gun. It was still a good solid two hours away from any kind of complete charge, so he just sighed and floated slowly to the ship. As soon as his feet touched the planks of the Screaming Narwhal, he turned to Guybrush. “Home at last, huh?”

MightiestPirate: Once Guybrush and Elaine touched the ground, the red head went towards the kitchen, opting that she would prep the food as oppose to leaving her husband in charge. Especially after learning what caused him to be a lagomorph to begin with. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when he heard Cocky speak. “Yeah. It ah… it feels surreal. And it hasn’t even been that long yet it felt like months.” Guybrush answered, “Heh, kind of a whiplash going from metal to wood, y’know?”

AskCocky: “Well, we managed to pack a lot of happenings, good and bad, into a few days, so it’s not a surprise it feels like that to you.” Cocky sat carefully on a crate and looked at the door where Elaine had disappeared.. “Your wife is pretty awesome, by the way. No wonder men come back from the grave just for her.”

MightiestPirate: He leaned against the railing and had his arms crossed, also looking at the door. “I know, right? She’s awesome… while I can’t say I exactly blame them for resurrecting for her, no matter how annoying it is, I still wake up surprised knowing we’re married.” Guybrush spoke fondly, he turned his attention at lago “Y’know… if you ever find the need to just relax on a boat and get a couple of rays, my ship’s open for you.”

AskCocky: Cocky said nothing. He just scratched his cheek scars, then smiled slightly. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind, haha.” But the lago knew he’d probably never see Guybrush again, and that was something he didn’t want to think of at the moment. Like being a pirate, it was a harmless fiction. “Would be nice.”

MightiestPirate: There was silence between the two, only the sounds of the waves was heard. “Just… before that big thing happens, drop a visit…” Guybrush said in a calm tone, not wanting to dive more on subject. He mustered up a small smug grin, “And I don’t mean plummeting from the skies.”

AskCocky: But the lago looked away. “Both you and I know that’s not gonna happen, Guybrush. I don’t know what the odds are of finding the same rift again. And if I do, the most likely thing to happen is that I’m going to kill myself this time by crashing into the sea. You understand that, don’t you?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush sighed almost defeatedly and looked towards the ocean. As much as it pained him, anything he would say now would mean nothing no matter how sincere his words held and everything was piling up against his optimism that even he felt exhausted. “Yeah… I do.” He answered.

AskCocky: Cocky smiled, however. “I can try to come back. Maybe one of my crazy engineers will find a way to fix my ship so I don’t crash. Maybe I will survive the war. Maybe I’ll come back, and this time my cape will be down to my knees, like before. Maybe.” He looked at Guybrush then. “But I can’t promise it will happen. I can’t lie to you like that.”

MightiestPirate: He remained silent and kept looking at the ocean as he listened to Cocky speak, eventually he gave a small chuckle “I understand.” Guybrush turned to face the lago and gave back a smile “And I’ll take those chances, even if it’s most likely considered a sucker’s bet and the chance itself is both unreasonably small and incredibly rare of a chance.”

AskCocky: Cocky turned to look at Guybrush and smiled. “Well, betting on impossible odds… Isn’t that us, one hundred percent of the time?” The lago kicked his feet a bit. “I don’t know how to live any other way, and I have the feeling you don’t, either. So I can promise, as I promised you before… I will try.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh… that’s good enough for me.” Guybrush chuckled, “And besides, I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that we deep down enjoy making heavy wagers against everyone in the universe. Makes things more fun.”

AskCocky: “Haha, deff.” The sun was rising and the seagulls were squawking all around the ship. “At least, you’ll agree, they make good stories for others to disbelieve.” Cocky got off the crate. “Remind me to print your bounty again, I think you lost it?”

MightiestPirate: “I can already feel my wrist cramping up just thinking about all the things I’m gonna be writing down.” He held his wrist, Guybrush dug into his coat and pulled out a torn piece of it that had scorch marks on it, “I wouldn’t say lost but more like I dropped it when one of them tossed their torch at me and I ducked.”

AskCocky: “Lost it is,” Cocky said, laughing. “At least YOU ducked. But it’s easy to just print it again. Did you lose the lightsaber, by the way?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush shook his head and dug in his coat once more, pulling out the silver handle tp hand over to the lago. “Nope, got it right here… came in handy and I didn’t exactly wanted to let them get their hands on it.”

AskCocky: Cocky took the hilt, put the safety on and pocketed it, then he smiled. “You know, Guybrush, this is one of those things I’d give to you as a gift, if it wasn’t for the fact you have no way of charging it when it runs out of juice, and also I don’t want you to get killed when people try to steal it from you.”

MightiestPirate: He chuckled and re-crossed his arms, “Eh, it’s fine. It’s the thought of it that counts. That… and as strong as it was and incredibly useful, if I was running for my life again and didn’t turn it off immediately, it’d act as a giant ‘I Am Here’ sign for all to see.

AskCocky: “That, and you’re kind of accident-prone, and I don’t think you can recover easily from a lightsaber wound. Believe me, I have been on the wrong end of those things.” Cocky said, with a smirk. “Wouldn’t want you to chop off your own butt or something like that.” MightiestPirate: “After seeing what it did to that guy I stabbed it with, I don’t blame you. Then again I’d probably end up using it for something other than it’s intended use like I do most items.” Guybrush admitted with a grin, “And with that logic, I shouldn’t be trusted around any sharp items. Lasers or otherwise… not that I blame anyone for that.”

AskCocky: “Yeah, you’d probably use it to slice bread and toast it at the same time,” Cocky rolled his eyes. Then he winced, as all that talk about burning was reminding him of the ugly thing sobbing in his arm. “Anyway, in any case, if someone was to have this lightsaber it would be Elaine.” Cocky looked to the ocean. “Do you think she would like to have it? As a sort of… last resource thing?”

MightiestPirate: “Did you ever try using it to toast bread?” Guybrush asked in a curious tone. “But in all seriousness, I agree. She would make every strike count with a sword like that.” He stretched his arms above him and rest it behind his head and looked at the seagulls. “And I think she would appreciate it. Especially since it’s practical.”

AskCocky: “Never tried that, actually. I’m thinking it would probably be insta-burned and icky.” Cocky wanted to say something about how he considered it bad luck to fix your food with the same weapon you use to run people through, but he forgot when he noticed Elaine was back.

MightiestPirate: Elaine was leaning at the doorway for a good ten minutes watching the two talk, not wanting to interrupt whatever topic they were on that shifted their moods so many times. “So, unless you two gentlemen consider watching the sunrise as breakfast, there’s food hot and ready inside.” She chimed, seeing Guybrush caught off guard made her laugh. “You can still see the ocean indoors.” Elaine added as she went inside.

“So ah… guests first.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck.

AskCocky: “Fooooooood.” Cocky said in his best caveman voice as he went through the door. “They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And I agree, since we have had breakfast twice today, but ain’t complaining, because… foooooooood.” He climbed to his chair, which was too tall for him, leaving him with his feet dangling. The smell of the food made his stomach growl.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush attempted to nab some food that was still cooking but Elaine quickly smacked his hand away using a spatula, causing him to retreat his hand quickly and cradle it like a wounded child. “You can help set the plates down if you’re feeling grabby.” Elaine bluntly told him, “Ah…yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck and went to get the plates as she shook her head. “So Cocky, tea or coffee?” Elaine asked as she took out a kettle.

AskCocky: “Cooooooffeeeeee,” Cocky said, still with the caveman voice. He felt rather amused at the whole Guybrush acting like a kid around Elaine, especially at his patented Guybrush Pout™. He leaned on his right hand. “It’s a nice change of pace not to be the one cooking,” Cocky said, sincerely. MightiestPirate: “Hm-hmm, I bet. Especially when you’re with other crew-mates.” She chuckled and reached for a can that had some coffee beans in it while Guybrush went to get the utensils after he finished placing the plates down. “Be careful with the knives, love.” Elaine teased, “You’re not gonna let me live that down, now are you.” He mumbled leaving Elaine to laugh.

AskCocky: “I agree, be careful with the knives, love, because the next shot of the healing gun is mine,” Cocky chuckled. Then: “By the way, any of you guys need any help?” he offered, although not knowing where things were, he was surely going to be in the way more than actually helping at all.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush tossed his head back and rolled his eyes as Elaine quickly covered her mouth from laughing more. “Thank you but you don’t need to. And besides we don’t want to overwork that untreated arm, remember?” Elaine insisted as she pointed at the burned arm with the spatula. “Oh, you can put this down.” She tapped on Guybrush’s shoulder and pointed to the prepared food, a giant omelet with various veggies inside, some bacon strips, and slices of fruits as well. “So who taught you how to cook?” Elaine asked as she took a few cups from the cabinets, quickly telling Guybrush to go to the pantry to get the tea box.

AskCocky: “You have a point there, ma’am,” Cocky said, without an inch of irony or sarcasm. He looked at his friends move through the kitchen. “I taught myself, mostly. I like to look up recipes and try new things. Since I do all the cooking aboard my ship, I’ve had a lot of practice, because my roomies do nothing. Des can only cook a few things and she basically hates it. Brock would rather starve or eat terrible things like munching on untoasted bread or scarfing down handfuls of cereal.” His ears perked at the sight of the food.

MightiestPirate: The smell of coffee tangled with the smell of the food, she took the coffee mug and placed it in front of Cocky as she took a seat next to the lago. “Oh, so you have a crew.” Elaine sounded interested, “Are they on a trip, oh and please, help yourself.” Guybrush came with the tea box and placed it on the table, hearing the kettle sing to indicate it was ready pour the hot water in the cups and quickly attended to it.

AskCocky: “Well, our pilot and engineer had to go see his mom, she’s having surgery for something or other, and our captain went with him because they’re a couple. And since such a surgery is taking place in a planet where I had been banished under penalty of death, everybody agreed it was a bad idea for me to go with them.” Cocky tried to serve himself some food, although it was kind of difficult to do that with only one hand.

MightiestPirate: “Hmm, that’s unfortunate, but I can see their point.” Elaine understood, Guybrush came back with the two mugs and saw the lago’s struggle and took his plate, placing a good amount of food on it and handing it back. “If you want more, just let me know.” Guybrush said as he sat down and started placing food on his own plate, his stomach already making sounds at the sight of it. AskCocky: “Thanks. It’s more than enough, remember I’m kind of half your size now,” Cocky said happily and waited patiently for everybody to have their food to start eating. “This smells really good.” In the meantime, he started cutting the omelette to cool it off. “Honestly, I DID want to go, but the captain ordered me to stay in the ship. I know it’s kind of dangerous but I wanted to be with my friend. Show some support.”

MightiestPirate: Before she could even put food on her own plate, Guybrush already beat her to the punch and placed it in front of her. “I– oh, thanks sweetie.” She smiled as Guybrush shrugged. “Well, as I was saying. It’s understandable. And I think that as long as you share your friends’ condolences and listen to what they requested, you’re showing your support.”

“We could get a bouquet of flowers to give them.” Guybrush pointed out as he cut a piece from the omelet on his plate. Elaine simply turned and gave her husband the Look as he scratched his cheek.

AskCocky: Cocky was only glad he had not been eating anything because it would have been spitted out across the room. “Pfft hahaha. Ha. HA. HAHAHAHA! Oow,” he grabbed his midsection. “A bouquet of flowers! That’s a good one,” he snickered, and started eating.

MightiestPirate: “Oh Guybrush…” Elaine held her forehead and chuckled, Guybrush raised a confused eyebrow at the two, “What? I’m serious, if you can’t be there then it’s the gesture… right?” She sighed and took her hand off her face, “And how is he suppose to give them the flowers, sweetie?” He was about to answer but it died quickly and he blushed, “…Oh.”

AskCocky: “I’ll send Brocky a frittata by mail,” Cocky said through a mouthful. The food was great and filled Cocky with a warm feeling. “This is really good, Elaine,” he said, trying not to shovel the entire thing into his mouth. “And don’t feel bad, Bru-bru, I hardly connect my brain to my mouth once my blood sugar drops enough, either.”

MightiestPirate: “That appears to be the case…” Guybrush just covered his face while Elaine gave him a sympathetic pat on his head, trying not to laugh once more at her husband’s expense even though he made it too easy. “Thank you for the compliment, Cocky.” She thanked her guest, reaching for the fork and starting to dig into her meal.

AskCocky: “You deserve it. Also, I’ll ask you in turn… where did you learn to fight like that?? I’m kind of hard to impress, I’ll tell you, but consider me thoroughly impressed.” Cocky grabbed a slice of banana with his fork. “Those pirates never even saw what hit them.”

MightiestPirate: “I started learning how to sneak around when I was kidnapped by LeChuck for the first time and perfected it from there.” She admitted, “Over the years I realized that I could punch a bunch of pirates’ heads off as much as I wanted but once I was spotted, I was as good as captured. So I had to take them down quietly without them suspecting me.”

“I should that she gives a mean right hook.” Guybrush added quickly before sipping his tea. Elaine shook her head and looked at Cocky, “What about you? That was a professional level take- down you did to some of them back there.”

AskCocky: “Oooh, that’s because I’m a professional assassin. Granted, I’m better at the stealth game than dealing with crowds. Usually I only have one target, but of course, sometimes I have to fight to get away.” Cocky finished his meal. “Been fighting since I was a kid, and I know a lot of moves. Most of them involve me killing quickly and silently. Like you, and considering the size of my usual enemies, I can’t let them catch me.” Cocky put some sugar in his cup of coffee. “Although in ocassion they DO catch me. Such is life.”

MightiestPirate: “It’s true. I’ve seen some of them and I can say that the moves I saw are lethal if not incredibly cool and scary at the same time.” Guybrush complimented as he was finishing up his meal. "Ooh, so you’re familiar with those kind of situations.” She said looking impressed as she picked up her cup for a sip. “How long have you been in this line of work?”

AskCocky: “Just a few years, but I was a soldier my whole life before that, sooooo…” Cocky shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. “Basically, I went from killing some assholes to kill other assholes. With better pay. And a more cynical view of life.” He smirked.

MightiestPirate: Elaine raised an eyebrow “Cynicism comes if your profession requires going after someone and making sure they stay down. Be it an assassin or a pirate.” She then gave a smirk in return, “Plus I bet the view is wonderful when traveling.”

“You have no idea…” Guybrush muttered.

AskCocky: “Oh man, yes it is. I’d offer to take you to see for yourself, but there’s something about this area that causes my ship to crash. Until that is fixed, I can’t risk your life like that… Guybrush and I barely made it last time.” The lago finished his coffee. “And well, my cynicism comes less from killing and more from the fact the government I dedicated my whole life to defend decided to banish me from my own planet.” He sighed.

MightiestPirate: “Yeah it was… it was a ride in every sense of that word, Laineyins. But the view something straight from a dream.” Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck but gave her a trusting smile. “Fair enough, once that’s fixed I hope to see for myself someday.” Elaine sighed and smiled at the two. “By the way… I’ve been meaning to ask. Why did they ban you?” Guybrush asked.

AskCocky: “Hahaha, because I punched the President. Just like that. BAM!” Cocky started laughing, then grabbed his midsection in a wince of pain. “I don’t think I have landed a more satisfactory punch in my whole life.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush did a spit take while Elaine whipped her head at the lago, “you did WHAT?” She gasped as Guybrush looked highly impressed and laughed, “Holy crap, really?! What’d the guy do to warrant that?” AskCocky: Cocky gave her a toothy smile. “Oooh, I had just wanted to do that for a really… REALLY long time. I should honestly have been more subtle, but you know what, considering what he said to me, I’m not surprised.” He got serious. “Basically… he told me, oh no, that was not the word. He SUGGESTED me to stop trying to liberate more slave camps… uh, prisoner of war camps. Our guys, basically, used as slaves,” he explained, quietly. “He said the system couldn’t… how did he say it? Afford to rehabilitate them. It was at that moment I realized my own government had known all along I had been in that camp for a whole year… and did nothing about it.” Cocky’s voice trembled and he dropped his sight. “So I told that son of a bitch I was going to take over and that he’d be dead if he stood on my way.” There was a silence. “Great coffee!” Cocky said, suddenly chipper, “can I have some more?”

MightiestPirate: Elaine looked in shock, but for Guybrush it was as if the pieces fell together and he was finally understanding Cocky’s backstory. “Ah… y-yeah. Yeah sure. One sec.” Guybrush snapped back into focus and gave a sincere smile as he got up to get more. Elaine glanced at the blonde for a moment, surprised that he took the story remarkably well considering his history and shifted back towards Cocky. “I… I’m sorry to hear about that. At least you were able to lay that punch on him.” She sympathized.

AskCocky: Cocky leaned on one hand. “It was stupid to punch him, honestly. Would have worked a lot faster from the inside. Anyway, I have all the intention of making good on that promise, and since he decided to effectively stand in my way, his days are counted.” He made a face. “And it won’t even be about revenge. The guy’s just a coward. There was no malice on his part. No hard feelings at all, really, but he’s going to be just as dead.” He looked at Elaine. “You have been a governor, so you agree that the first task of a government is to protect its citizens, right?”

MightiestPirate: “It’s not easy when you take a role as a leader for a population, having to make the right choice for their well being even if they don’t like it. Granted that doesn’t mean that they need to like you, it’s a matter of respecting one another.” Elaine answered seriously. She watched as Guybrush returned with Cocky’s mug refilled with coffee, and gave a smile, “But at the end of the day, no matter what it is you’re facing, your first concern is always the well being of your citizens.”

AskCocky: “See? YOU get it.” Cocky took his cup of coffee. “There’s been a lot of discontent in B’eel about how the government is handing the war against the Khail invaders, and I was just there to pick it up. I was honestly not meant to be the president of anything, but you know the saying… sometimes when you want something to be done right you have to do it yourself, arrogant as that seems.” He looked at Elaine. “You don’t think I’m crazy for wanting to overthrow the government of a whole planet, do you?”

MightiestPirate: “I don’t exactly blame you for being mad at your government for something like that.” Guybrush winced recalling the encounter the two had with the bird creature, Elaine kept an eye at the statement before turning her attention back on the lago. “I don’t think so, overly ambitious… maybe. But not crazy. Then again I was a Governor for the pirate infested Tri-Island area and kept their best intentions in mind before becoming a full time pirate.” She smirked as leaned back on her chair.

“That’s her way of saying ‘You have the Governor of Melee Island’s approval to whoop some idiotic governments ass’.” Guybrush joked as Elaine leaned her head back and sighed.

AskCocky: “I’ll drink to that,” Cocky said, and raised his cup. “As for overambitious… well, what were we saying about always betting on the impossible odds?” He smiled. “Anyway, Guybrush. That’s the way I will have of sweeping my bounty clean. I’ll overthrow B’eels government, bye bye that bounty. I’ll exterminate the Khail government, farewell to that too. As for the rest, they’ll probably vanish on their own, seeing as how it’s going to get impossibly expensive to get a bounty hunter after the President of B’eel. Viva el Presidente.” He finished his cup and snickered.

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh. Now THAT I can drink to.” Guybrush chuckled and raised his cup at the bet statement, “The two of you have this thing with spitting in the face of reality at any given moment, don’t you?” Elaine once again feeling in the dark figured it being some sort of inside joke between the two. “As ridiculous and psychotic as that plan sounds, I can’t say that it’s worst plan. And this is coming from someone who’s husband found a way to screw over then save the Caribbean and all it took was dying and coming back to life.” Elaine smirked and raised her own cup briefly. “Cheers to you, Cockwell.”

AskCocky: “Thanks, I really appreciate that,” Cocky said. “And you’re right about the spitting in the face of reality thing. Guybrush, show her the newspaper,” he laughed.

MightiestPirate: “Newspaper?” Elaine raised an eyebrow at the two and noticed the glow on Guybrush’s face. “…What did you do.” He chuckled and took out from his coat the famous monster truck image, handing it over to the confused red head. He chuckled and rested on his arm, grinning. “Spitting in reality’s face.” The look on Elaine’s face was priceless as it was a mixture of confusion and amusement.

AskCocky: Cocky started explaining. “Sooooo we were in this other planet and they have an Arena there with monster truck fights and so I told Guybrush hey kid wanna be in one of those trucks with the fights and the fire and the skulls and he says HELL YEAH so I just bribe this guy I know down there, cool guy, and next thing you know we’re inside the truck and your husband looks like he’s about to give up the ghost but I know he’ll get into it once we start and I’m SUPER PUMPED UP but everything around is noise and there’s like a million people out there cheering and the whole thing starts and we start getting rammed everywhere, someone tries to crash into us to send us into the pit of fire but I braked first and WHOOOOOPS there they go, then we go around to try and see what the heck we were doing and BAM mindlessly drive all over the other truck, WHOOOOOOPS and then their buddies got pissed and they went at us at full speed trying to run us over in the same way but what happened is that the assholes just straight up ripped away the top of our truck, I swear we were so pissed, I think that’s when they took that picture.” MightiestPirate: “Heh heh… possibly! And don’t forget the bit where we went in reverse as they all rammed into each other, it was like seeing a bunch of metallic bulls run head first into each other.” Guybrush added in as he chuckled. Elaine looked between the two in shock, not as surprised with Cocky but more so with her husband. “You…” She then became highly impressed and glanced at the lago with the smile to match it “You got Guybrush to be PISSED?”

AskCocky: “Hahaha, several times, even! It’s kind of a natural talent I have.” Cocky showed Elaine the gap in his teeth. “See, I pissed your husband enough to punch me this hard. BAM, I went flying!” The lago pouted.

MightiestPirate: She leaned in to look at the gap, both in awe that her husband was capable of that as well as shocked that he went through with it. “Guybrush!” She scolded as he winced into his chair, “In my defense, he placed my fist there and the events that happened prior can justify the punch.” He explained, she briefly looked over and shook her head, “First off, just because someone told you to, doesn’t mean you should. That’s common sense and you of all people should know it.” She said before pointing at him, “And second. I told you so.”

AskCocky: Cocky just smiled sweetly. “The events prior were that I got severely beaten up by a bunch of jerks, so Guybrush here thought he’d add to the damage by punching me several times in the arm.” He shook his head sadly. “Tsk, tsk.” MightiestPirate: “Because you had me scared after you ran off on your own.” He added, sending death glares at his friend. Elaine sighed. “Didn’t peg you as the type to resort to violence, sweetie.” Guybrush whipped his head to his wife and felt flabbergasted at the two and just placed his head on the table. The red head gave the lago a side glance and a bit of a smirk, not minding the teasing.

AskCocky: Cocky couldn’t hold it in anymore and he just burst out laughing. He turned to Elaine. “See what I’m saying?? A REAL talent! In his defense, I’m a pest.” The lago just briefly patted Guybrush’s head. “Hey, don’t feel bad. Here, you can also tattle to Elaine about of all my misdeeds too.”

MightiestPirate: “I have to tell you, it takes A LOT to get under Guybrush’s skin. Applause to you.” Elaine laughed as a groan was emitted from Guybrush. He eventually picked his head up and stared at the two. “So the monster truck and running off was already mentioned. Also learn that Cocky here sleep fights.”

“Sleep fighting?” Elaine raised an eyebrow.

He nodded. “Has some pretty precise knife throwing aim. It’s wise to not touch him with a ten foot pole because chances are he’d beat you with said pole.” Guybrush muttered. “Also nerve pinches suck.”

AskCocky: The lago’s ears went up. “Whooooa no, I can’t be held responsible for what I do when I’m freaking asleep! And whose fault was that, anyway?? I told you to lock yourself up, I TOLD YOU and what did you do, mmmmh? Exactly the opposite. Because that’s what you do, exactly the opposite of what you’re told.” Cocky finished by clucking his tongue and snapping his fingers, as if he had just killed the discussion.

MightiestPirate: “He does have a point, love. You tend to do that even when I tell you not to do certain things.” Elaine admitted, his eye twitched as he blushed with embarrassment. And it wasn’t like he could counter that argument either. “So the worst thing, and I say that loosely, is him leaving you behind on an alien planet.” Elaine summed up.

AskCocky: “Guilty on that account,” Cocky admitted. “I didn’t want to do it, but I had a bunch of Khail hunters on my ass, and he was just going to be a very unfortunate collateral damage. Also, I believed he was able to go to the ship on his own. See, I had faith in him, and he didn’t disappoint me,” the lago said, serious for once.

MightiestPirate: “Over the years I’ve learn that sometimes that’s all you need with him.” Elaine noted the serious tone, she side glanced over at Guybrush whose blush faded and was away, scratching his cheek.

“How did you find your way back to the ship?” She asked him, “Earlier we went to this bee hive store and some other places, and every time Cocky bought something, instead of carrying it he’d have it sent to his ship. So after I was on my own I went back to the one we were at last and boarded the delivery guy’s ride.” Guybrush recalled.

AskCocky: The lago turned to see Elaine. “See? Easy as pie. How is being lost in a city harder than having to deal with a lactose intolerant volcano god? It’s not.” Cocky crossed his legs under the table. “And he would have been killed or worse if he had been with me. Oooh, hey mate, did I tell you that I actually DID got captured?”

MightiestPirate: “I think with everything else that has happened, dealing with a volcano is the least of my concern.” Guybrush spoke up, Elaine sipped on her tea and hummed in agreement, “But he has a point, darling.” She added as Guybrush sighed, “…I know. Wait… captured recently?” He raised a brow.

AskCocky: “Right, around the time… I’m guessing you were already waiting by my ship. I was fighting two of them at the same time and, uuuh, so remember I told you one of them had a sonic whip? Well he hit me twice and couldn’t even move for some minutes from the pain. I wouldn’t be here if they had not started fighting over me. I guess 10 million units will break a lot of friendships. Idiots!” Cocky chuckled bitterly. “So anyway, things got real hairy on my side too, it’s not like I ditched you to go to the movies or something. And I know you were worried. I was worried, too. Fortunately everything went alright.” Cocky smiled apologetically to Elaine. “Sorry, being my friend kind of sucks.”

MightiestPirate: “I… I suppose so.” Guybrush winced, giving Cocky a sympathetic look. “Sorry.” Elaine watched the two before giving back a small smile, “I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that there aren’t a lot of people we know who stick around for a long time. The fact that you trusted him and did all that says everything. Right?” She gave a bit of a nudge at Guybrush who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “Ah… yeah. When you put it like that it does.” He spoke sincerely. “Plus, if it wasn’t for my um…”

“Blundering?”

“Screw ups. None of this would’ve happened so… guess I’m just as crappy to have as a friend.” Guybrush joked.

AskCocky: “None of this would have happened if you had let me drown in the sea, either, so there’s that,” Cocky smiled. “I don’t think you’re a crappy friend, or someone as smart as Elaine wouldn’t have picked you, right? Like I said in the ship, she has good taste.” The lago briefly wiped his forehead and he noticed his hand was trembling. “I think the effect of your wonderful pills is wearing off, Elaine. Let’s go see if that gun is loaded with one charge I can use.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s smile went from small to big hearing him say that. Elaine nodded as she started to put the dishes away, “Sounds like a good idea, why don’t you two go on ahead, I’ll catch up soon enough.” Guybrush got up, “You sure you don’t need help?”

“Positive, next meal you’re cleaning up. Fair enough?” “Yeah.” He agreed and went towards Elaine, giving her a kiss on the cheek, “Thanks for the meal, Laineykins. Let’s go check the gun in the meantime.”

AskCocky: “It was wonderful,” Cocky agreed. He side-hugged the redhead. “Thank you, Elaine,” he smiled. He got the remote out of his pocket and summoned the beam. “Be right back,” he said, as he stepped into the beam.

MightiestPirate: She was caught off guard a bit but smiled warmly as she returned the hug. “Hm- hmm, I’m glad you liked it.” Guybrush watched as Cocky went up and suddenly remembered something. “I think I left something there.” Guybrush muttered. “You mean your shoes?” She asked as she pointed to him be barefooted. “Ah… uh no, it’s not that. But that does explain the weird feeling underneath my feet.”

AskCocky: “Aaagh, please be ready, please be ready,” Cocky muttered as in a prayer. He looked at the gun charger and let out a very explicit expletive in B’eel. “Dammit. Still 20 minutes to go. Aaah. Screw me over backwards, I hate everything,” he whined.

MightiestPirate: He came onboard Cocky’s ship a few minutes after the lago and saw the irritated look in his pose. “I’m… guessing it’s not fully charged?” Guybrush said looking concerned, holding a pill in his hand. “It likes to take it’s time… how much longer till it’s done?”

AskCocky: “Twenty minutes,” Cocky sighed. “Aaaagh,” he moaned, his eyes shut tight. “I… apologize in advance for anything I might say. You know how I get when I’m in pain.” The lago walked to the couch and flopped on his side.

MightiestPirate: “Noted. Which explains why Elaine told me to hand it to you.” Guybrush placed the pill on the table and leaned against the wall. “Said it’s more of a back-up plan in case it was longer… but I think twenty minutes is doable… if not really really annoying.”

AskCocky: “Ooooh, bless her. Bless her bless her bless her.” Cocky got up to serve himself a small cup of water to swallow the pill. “Kinda embarrassed to ask for one, she says she has some stashed for you. Knowing you, you’ll need them sooner or later.” Cocky flopped on his side on the couch again and eyed Guybrush. “Why don’t you sit down?” He moved a bit to make space for his friend.

MightiestPirate: “That’s Elaine for ya. Always a good ten steps ahead of everyone when nobody expects it.” Guybrush laughed as he took a seat on the couch, “…Though that does explain how she always finds a way to give me one after some sort of adventure or something. I always did wonder how she seems to have a surplus of those things.”

AskCocky: “Oooh, man, I hope that wasn’t a secret or something like that.” Cocky was cold- sweating now. “Also hopefully I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself in front of her. I sometimes forget to dial it down a couple of notches when I’m around decent company.” MightiestPirate: Guybrush shook his head, “Nah, it’s fine… even if I do know about it, I don’t know where she stores it. And in all honesty I don’t really want to. On the contrary, I think that was the fastest I’ve seen Elaine bond with anyone I introduced her to.” He leaned back on the couch relaxed and smiled, “ As you might’ve guess we’re not exactly use to people being honest, let alone straight forward, so normally she interrogates them at an in-depth level. For example, with Winslow, it took a few days for her to feel relaxed around him after a series of questions whereas with you it was only a few hours, if that.”

AskCocky: “Blunt sincerity finally pays off!” Cocky smirked. “I like her a lot, too. And I’m glad you have someone like that in your life, mate. You deserve each other, in the best sense of the word.” He closed his eyes. “Don’t let me go to sleep, please.”

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh, thanks for that… it’s actually a nice change of pace to hear that instead of the usual waves of ridiculous questions I get.” Guybrush agreed and sighed, “And don’t worry, I won’t.” There was silence for a bit before he turned his head, “You think Otto and Elaine would get along?”

AskCocky: “Probably would, why not? They’re both like… straight man… woman… to our crazyness. Both are smart and practical. Hell, they practically roll their eyes in the same way, ahahahah.” Cocky frowned. “Questions? What kind of questions do you get?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush thought back about Otto and recalled the amount of times he was silent to Cocky’s antics. “Good point.” He laughed for a bit and took a breath, “Usually it’s stuff like ‘Why are you married?’ or ‘Of all the women, you picked Marley?’ or ‘Should’ve gone for that Morgan girl, she’s more youthful and bubbly and blah blah blah’…” He rested his head back, “Some would ask– say, that Elaine could do better, but more often then not it’s alway ‘why’. Just… why. And no matter how many times I give my answer, it’s never enough.”

AskCocky: Cocky started curling up in a ball again. “Now imagine… imagine I’m callous enough… enough of a jerk to ask why. Mind you, it’s pretty obvious to me, but I just want to hear the answer you usually give to these people.”

MightiestPirate: There was a slight tint of red. “Elaine is… she’s my entire other half. Like, before I met her, I didn’t realize that there was this giant hole in me and being with her… it’s as if I finally found someone who completes it, leaves me feeling like I’m at home in a way that no treasure has. Hell, just being around her makes me want– know that I can be better. Seeing her that confident and brave, not scared of anything… it’s empowering. That’s what I usually tell them.” He paused for a bit and turned around to make sure he didn’t accidentally put the lago to sleep.

AskCocky: Cocky was not asleep, only half-lidded. “Wrong answer, mate. I mean, it’s the right answer too, because it’s the truth. But really, when someone asks you why did you even marry your wife, the right answer is a kick to the face. An awesome flying kick, really get your boot in there.” MightiestPirate: “Pfffffft, heh heh… that might be the better answer.” Guybrush giggled as he crossed his arms in thought, “Haven’t done any kind of kicking of that caliber in years though… maybe a crotch kick can be just as effective, especially with the pointy boots.”

AskCocky: “Why not both? G-go crazy.” Cocky shuddered a bit. “Who’s Morgan, by the by? Ex- girlfriend?”

MightiestPirate: “No… remember that bounty hunter friend of mine who was also a massive fan of my erm… my work? Her name was Morgan LeFlay. And like I said, she wasn’t bad looking but I’m already married and well… she died. Because of me.” Guybrush frowned, when he saw Cocky he quickly shifted himself to face the lago, taking off his coat and placing it carefully on the other with a look of worry on his face, “You… you’re not looking so good.”

AskCocky: “OOoh. The crazy one. The one you met in the afterlife.” Cocky just winced. “I’ll be fine, I just… just need to wait for the pill to work.” The lago moved a bit to use the other’s lap as a pillow. “All right, tell me that story about you killing her. I need the distraction, badly.”

MightiestPirate: He was at first surprised having Cocky lay down on him, but shrugged it off and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder. “Um… okay. But I didn’t kill her, at least not directly. After she knocked me out and took me back to Flotsam Island, I was pissed. She did it against my will after she lopped off my hand that meant nothing and I was charged to hang for various crimes, she tried to apologize but I… I was too angry to even listen, I mean, I thought we were friends. So she thought that the best– only way to redeem herself was to go back to her employer’s office and steal back my hand only… LeChuck got to her first.”

AskCocky: “Now that is a crappy friend, my friend. No good friend would kidnap you and chop your hand off. And they’re telling you you should have married her?? People are idiots.” Cocky’s skin was cold under the fur. A pause. “You know, LeChuck sounds like a fried chicken fast food chain.”

MightiestPirate: “She wasn’t the best, but she kinda redeemed herself in the end. But yeah, not gonna argue about them being idiots, then again not all of them have most of their brain cells in tact so… there’s that to consider.” He felt the shivers and gently rubbed Cocky to stimulate warmth. “Heh heh, I actually know a good place that sells chicken. I actually scared the owner once by looking like a chicken and saying I was El Pollo Diablo.”

AskCocky: “Why am I not surprised?” Cocky laughed a bit feebly. “I’m assuming you mean a costume, although with your weird happenings I wouldn’t be surprised if you actually turned into a chicken, either.” The lago propped himself up to a sitting position with some difficult.

MightiestPirate: “Eh… a little of column a and a little of column b. I was tarred and feathered.“ Guybrush laughed as he scratched his cheek. He carefully had his hand remain on Cocky’s back to keep him steady, “I can go and check on the gun… you stay on the couch and take it easy. No need to make any injuries worse than they are.” AskCocky: “Aaaw, man. And I missed it!” Cocky laughed a bit, but he was rather pale. The lago turned to see his friend with his ears down. “Will you do that for me? At least so I can know how much long I have to bite the bullet here.”

MightiestPirate: “And the manager didn’t miss whacking me over the head with a frying pan.” He chuckled as he got up from the couch and went over to the familiar gun. Carefully picking it up and finger away from the trigger, he went back and showed it to the lago, “So is it charged?”

AskCocky: Cocky looked at the digital display and sighed. “Five more minutes.” He gave the gun back to Guybrush and looked at his charred, blistered arm with a wince. “Why is time so slow when you’re suffering, but when you’re having fun it flies away? It is just not fair.” Then he wiped his brow again and smiled. “Elaine is going to wonder how we packed so much happenings in just a few hours.”

MightiestPirate: “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it. Especially when it’s something that can be done quickly but requires time.” He placed the gun back on the table and returned on the couch, careful to not make any moves that can hurt the lago. “Based on the way she reacted about the Monster Truck and the healing gun? She’s for sure going to wonder if we altered time for all the things we’ve done. And without a doubt she’ll raise an eyebrow when I tell her it all happened within a matter of two days… kinda wonder if I should tell her that bit.”

AskCocky: “What, the time lost thing? Do you think you shouldn’t? Why not?” Cocky shuddered. “Now here’s an horrifying thought, because we don’t know how the whole thing works… in three days, past us return to this timeline and find you already got dibs on the wife.” He closed his eyes.

MightiestPirate: “That’s exactly what has me worried but… I kinda thought about it. Since past us is going to return to the past, did we in someway make a new timeline? Like no matter what I always have a past version of myself taking off while the future version of myself returns?” Guybrush paused and made a face. “Time traveling is confusing.”

AskCocky: “That’s… that’s the thing. You will have a real problem in your hands if you do. Because since they’re past us, you can’t just deal with the problem by killing them. First of all, we’re going to be extremely hard to kill since past me will have my past spaceship. Second, even if you do succeed, such a thing would kill us, if your coat is any indication. Uuugh. I don’t know, I’m not thinking straight right now.” Cocky just leaned on his pirate friend.

MightiestPirate: Almost like a force of habit, Guybrush placed an arm around Cocky and gently rubbed. “And I thought voodoo was a fickle and confusing pain in the ass. Glad to know that there are things that can put it in it’s place.” He sighed, “So, on a topic outside of that because I think it’s just gonna fry both our brains more so than usual, are there lagos on Earth like Otto is on Io?”

AskCocky: “There are, actually. In the future, at least.” Cocky opened one eye. “Hey, if Elaine asks, I didn’t mean that remark about hating this planet and everyone in it. I was just frustrated.” MightiestPirate: “Oh, that’s neat to hear.” He paused to raise an eyebrow for a moment but nodded and continued, “I’m sure she understood where it came from… but I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if it ever comes up.”

AskCocky: “Yeah, uh. I crashed my ship near a city in the future, it’s a horrible city… cold… smelly… buildings so tall you can’t see the sky, like Nin. Full of rude, horrible people. Full of garbage. River was so contaminated the Ice Cream Sandwich disolved in the chemical muck. A true horror. And I was stranded there for months, with nothing on my back but my feathers and my will. Later on I came back and stayed for more time, the only reason being my girlfriend lived there. A redhead, like yours. There’s something about redheads…” Cocky babbled, leaning even more.

MightiestPirate: There’s going to be a city like that? Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t see it.” He gave a bit of a chuckle and only turned his head, “Red heads they… they have that hypnotic charm to them… I say it’s the flaming red hair. But I digress and spill the details, I told you about Morgan and you met Elaine after all my babbling, what was your girlfriend like?”

AskCocky: “Fiery. Violent. Full of pain and confusion. She was beautiful and she had one of those laughs… it ended so badly. I realized that we had incompatible life goals. We both had our duties.” Cocky realized he was starting to drool on Guybrush’s coat, so he straightened up. “She hates me now. Can’t blame her.”

MightiestPirate: “Hmm… I’m sorry to hear about that. But why would she hate you? She wasn’t also an assassin?” Guybrush asked, not minding Cocky sitting up. “U-unless it’s something you don’t want to talk about, then I totally understand.”

AskCocky: “I don’t especially mind talking about it anymore.” Cocky sighed. “Nah, she was a detective, tough as nails. I don’t know why she hates me. We were supposed to be friends when we broke up. It was just one of those things… I guess she was super angry at me for breaking up with her. It was easier for her to hate me; that’s okay with me. I honestly handled the whole thing really poorly.” He got up wobbily. “Time must be up.”

MightiestPirate: “That’s a shame…” Guybrush acknowledged before quickly getting up himself and gently putting Cocky back on the couch, “Whoa… I’ll just bring it over, no need for you to pass out mid-way to it. That’ll be, while hilariously ironic, pretty stupid. Just… wait right there.” Guybrush went and brought the healing gun over.

AskCocky: “Hilariously ironic and pretty stupid? Soundssss like.. my specialy…” Cocky muttered as he dropped on his side again and passed out on the couch.

MightiestPirate: His eyes widen as he watched the lago faint. “See, that’s what I meant!” Guybrush proclaimed as he sighed and walked over to Cocky. “Okay, so just like last time…” He spoke to himself as he raised the gun, aimed it at his friend and pulled the trigger.

AskCocky: The jolt suddenly brought Cocky back to reality and more expletives. Finally the lago shook his head and looked in relief at his arm, which looked pretty much like always, only bald- patched and with the skin in a more reddish tone than the usual pink. “All the gods bless the inventor of that thing. And thank you for taking care of that.” He looked pretty exhausted. “And thank you for putting up with me for this really long while.”

MightiestPirate: He jumped at the string of colorful words, glancing at the gun he gave a whistle. “I have got to get me one of these…” Guybrush muttered to himself, when he looked back up and saw Cocky looking better, he smiled in relief, “It’s no problem, it’s the least I could do.” Guybrush handed the gun back to Cocky and placed his hands on his hips, “Not like I had much of a choice in the matter… but I wouldn’t trade it for the world if given the option.”

AskCocky: Cocky just looked at Guybrush, frowning. “Now I don’t understand if it was the least you could do, you had no choice, or you really really wanted to do it.” He snorted and flopped back on the couch. “Nevermind, hahaha, I have no energy to guess it.” After a pause he said: “Is Elaine supposed to join us or are we supposed to go to your ship?”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was about explain himself but figured that it wasn’t worth it, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have no idea… she said she’d join us in a bit, and I’m sure if something happened she would’ve been here sooner.” He pondered as he looked at the hole in confusion. It was as if she had a sixth sense when Elaine came on-board. “Sorry about that… um… one of the locals came to our ship and I had to explain to them that everything was fine and there was nothing to fear regarding… well…” Elaine made a gesture to the whole ship. “…This. How are you feeling by the way?”

AskCocky: “Oh, I was kinda bad, but I’m okay now!” Cocky showed her his previously burned arm. “Headache’s gone too, mostly. Now…” the lago took the healing gun and put it in the charger. “That’ll never happen anymore, no sir, no more getting caught with my pants down. Although I say this now, and the more probable thing is that I’ll forget again at some point and my captain will yell at me.” The lago scratched his ear. “I should probably get going, if the locals are already getting restless, I don’t want a reprise of Being Shot With a Cannon in E-Flat Major. But there are some things to do first… okay, Guybrush. I’m printing your bounty again.” Cocky brought the screen down. “In the meantime, why don’t you show Elaine the things you’ve brought her?”

MightiestPirate: “Cannon fire?” Elaine asked as Guybrush rubbed his arm, “I’ll explain it later. But ah… here.” He held her hand and led her to the box where he stored everything, “Got a few things from our travels… like this for example.” He carefully pulled out the perfume bottle that was glistening and handed it to Elaine, who had her hand covering her mouth at the sight before she equally held it. “Oh, Guybrush… this is beautiful.” She said in awe, inspecting the bottle gently. “Heh… the bottle itself is from the moon… well, kinda. It’s made from moon rocks and you have that guy over there to thank for designing and making it.” Guybrush smiled at Cocky.

“I didn’t know you were a glassblower, Cocky.” Elaine smiled as she opened the top and took a sniff, she closed her eyes at the pleasant smell for a bit before giving Guybrush a kiss on the cheek who ended up blushing. “I love it.” AskCocky: Cocky saw Elaine turn around to kiss Guybrush and the lago beamed and gave his friend a silent thumbs-up. “I am! It’s a hobby, but I have gotten real good at it. I’m glad you like the perfume, it’s literally out of this world. The bottle is made from the moon… see? There are metallic silvery bits inside the glass. And the aroma is from the grasses in my own planet, B’eel. Guybrush picked it for you.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush briefly saw the thumbs up and silently laughed. “Well, your planet smells lovely… even if it’s government probably smells worse.” Elaine lightly jabbed as she closed the bottle and wrapped her arms around Guybrush. “Excellent choice though, Threepy.” He warmly smiled as he wrapped his arms around her as well. “G-glad you like it.”

AskCocky: Cocky turned around to give the couple some space, but he was very pleased. He found Guybrush’s bounty and printed it out. Out of curiosity he checked his own, it was up to 11,200,000 now. “Ugh,” he groaned, and checked what had happened. The city of Nin had added the 200k reward to the pile, probably as a diplomatic way to get out of the mess with the Khail empire. “Well, guess we’ll have to take our monster truck fights elsewhere, Bru-bruh,” he said, bitterly.

MightiestPirate: He took the newly printed paper and placed it in his coat, making a bit of a face at the news. “That’s a shame… kinda wouldn’t have mind a re-matched with the Eagle.” Guybrush admitted, “But at least we left a legacy in the ring forever and will probably tremble if they see a lago get in a car.” Elaine made a smug look, “You mean you traumatized the owner of the arena.” Guybrush sheepishly chuckled as he looked away, scratching his cheek. “Eh heh heh… that seems to be the case.”

AskCocky: “I bet we traumatized him but I also bet he thinks we’re super cool. Besides, we made him a lot of money. That can’t hurt.” Cocky snickered, satisfied. He closed the screen. “And speaking of things that smell nice, there’s also that bath-bomb?”

MightiestPirate: “Bomb?” Elaine’s eyes widen. “Oh, right.” Guybrush kneeled back at the box and pulled out the purple sphere, “It’s called a bath-bomb, you basically put it in tub and it acts like a soapy bubble thing. I know you like that lavender smelling soap… so it smells like that.” Elaine visibly gave a sigh of relief, “Oh thank heavens… for a moment I thought you got an actual bomb.”

AskCocky: “Well, no. Unless… you actually want that. I have got those. Guybrush… already knows how to use them.” The lago looked at Elaine, then opened a metal drawer and got a box out, then got a grenade out. “This one spits fire everywhere, but I have freeze ones, and lightning. There are also pulse ones, but they’re only really good to deal with robots.”

MightiestPirate: “Hey… those were the things that got rid of the pirates with the cannon.” Guybrush recalled, “That was you two? Wait. Of course it was you two.” Elaine quickly corrected herself, she looked at the grenade and placed a hand on her chin, “Hmm… are you sure you want to give us those things? I’d imagine it would be more beneficial with you. Especially that bit with the robots.”

“We dealt with a robot.” Guybrush added quickly. “Yes, but that was once and even you said the likeliness of encountering ‘anything incredibly stupid like a robot monkey again’ was one in a million.” Elaine countered without missing a beat.

AskCocky: “All right, you know what? I’ll give you two shock ones, two freeze ones and an incendiary one. They’re color coded, see? Yellow, blue, red. That way you can contain or incapacitate, as opposed to killing. The incendiary ones kind of destroy everything, so use that as a last resource or something. Remember, you can’t shoot them out of a cannon, but yes you can catapult them. Area of effect is…” Cocky put a finger on his chin. “About the lenght of the Screaming Narwhal, more or less, so don’t use them aboard. They go off after seven seconds.” He put everything in a cardboard box.

MightiestPirate: “A-are you sure?” Guybrush asked once again, “I know it’s a thing in your culture with the presents and all but… I would think you might need these for your travels.” Elaine turned to the blonde, “Culture? …Oh.” She pulled out her cutlass and pointed the handle first at the lago, “In that case, you can have this. No charging, reloading, or any of that needed. Just maybe the occasional polishing at best.”

AskCocky: Cocky suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He smiled. “There’s no really need for that, but I’ll take it anyway. The gods know I definitely need more training with the sword.” He waved it around. “It feels really good in my hand, thank you.” He then pawed around in his belt and got the lightsaber hilt. The lago activated it, and the white glowing laser blade appeared with a hum. Then he turned it off. “This is for you,” he said, putting the hilt on Elaine’s hand.

MightiestPirate: “Oh, this is the sword Guybrush used back in the forest.” She held onto the metallic hilt and eyed it, “It’s not as heavy as I was expecting it to be, I’ll be sure to take excellent care of it. Thank you, Cocky.” Elaine smiled and placed it in her pocket. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Guybrush rubbing his arm awkwardly, “Are you cold?” She asked, “Hm? O-oh n-no no. I’m fine. I ah… I’m just gonna place this stuff back on our ship. I’ll… I’ll be back in a bit.” Guybrush answered, picking up the box and going through the hole.

AskCocky: Cocky looked at Guybrush go, puzzled, wondering if he had said something wrong. When he was gone, he turned back to Elaine. “I’m sure you will put it to good use. Unfortunately, you have no way to recharge it, but if you use it judiciously, it’ll last for at least a few good years. And I know you will, because this is a very powerful weapon, and I’m sure you know what would happen if it fell in the wrong hands.” The lago looked up at Elaine in the eyes. “Never mind the bombs, they’re cheap and I have a friend who sells it even cheaper to me. The saber is a bit more valuable. But these are not JUST gifts. I’m giving them to you in case he comes back.” He licked his lips. “You know who I’m talking about.”

MightiestPirate: “That man always did have the worst poker face.” Elaine sighed and crossed her arms, watching her husband disappear before turning to face Cocky, “I do. His is the last hands I want grabbing a hold of, who knows what he would do with it and honestly I hope to never know… and most likely so does Guybrush. With that said, hopefully we won’t use the grenades or the sword… still, I appreciate that you trust me with something this valuable.” AskCocky: “I am very likely not gonna be around to be able to help you guys, so this is the next best thing. It’s in the best hands it could be. You…” Cocky dropped his sight. “You take care of my friend, please.” He took a step forward and hugged Elaine’s waist. “Take care of my friends.”

MightiestPirate: The hug took her by surprise but the pieces were finally connecting together for Elaine and her heart went out to the bunny. She wrapped her arm around Cocky, a hand brushing back the tuft of his hair. “There there, I will… I promise.” She stayed like that for as long as the lago held on.

AskCocky: When he broke up the hug, he did it with a smile. He blinked quickly and said. “I know you will, Elaine. Thank you for that.” He brushed his arm and said. “Let’s go catch up with Guybrush, there’s still one thing I need to do before I leave. Shall we?” Cocky offered his arm to the redhead.

MightiestPirate: “It’s no problem.” Elaine smiled. Chuckling a bit, she accepted the offer and hooked her arm around his. “Hm-hmm, why of course we shall, Cockwell.” Guybrush sat on the railing of his ship not too far from where the ship’s beam was when the two descended.

AskCocky: Cocky waved to Guybrush. “Hey mate. Why did you go? We were just nerding out a bit about swords.” He looked at Elaine, then at his friend. “Um, I’m going to leave now, but first… I realized I have a pic of you, but not her. Soooo….” The lago got his phone out, smiling pleadingly.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush rubbed the back of his neck, “Heh yeah I ah… I can’t really keep up with any talk about swords. But I can do that.” Deep down she knew he was lying but decided to not bring it up as Guybrush got off the rails “Alrighty, so how many ridiculous faces to make?” He lightly joked while Elaine raised an eyebrow, “Faces?”

“It’s a camera but just tiny.”

“Ooh, never would’ve thought of that.”

The two stood on both sides of Cocky and looked at the small cellphone. “Ready when you are.” Guybrush smiled.

AskCocky: Cocky took the selfie, then looked at it. “Naw, we’re too close. Only half of your faces showed. Besides, you people are too tall.” He was of course not going to say he was too small. “Hey, here’s an idea. This thing has an automatic feature. It will take a series of five pics, with an interval of 6 seconds between them.” The lago programmed the phone and carefully settled it on the rails in a very small tripod. Then he climbed on a crate. “C’mon!” He gestured with his arms to his friends to rush to his side.

MightiestPirate: They briefly glanced at each other before rushing to Cocky’s side, looking directly at the small device. Elaine wrapped an arm around Cocky both as a friendly gesture as well as to make sure he wouldn’t fall over by accident while Guybrush leaned as close as he could while having a steady hand on the lago’s back as well. “Okay, NOW we’re ready.” Guybrush chimed. AskCocky: The phone started making small clicking and whirring sounds. “Another one, guys! Say cheese!” Once that was done, Cocky giggled. “Now with duck faces! Make a duck face!!”

MightiestPirate: “Duck faces?” They both asked and saw Cocky press his lips, quickly they copied how he did it but Elaine bursted out laughing at the ridiculousness. “You can do it Elaine!!” Guybrush held his pose while trying his hardest not to laugh as well. “Alright alright… oh my…” Elaine took a breath and pressed her lips again.

AskCocky: Cocky just saw the camera went off as they were bursting in laugher. That’ll be a great one, he thought. “Great, you people are so beautiful, but now I need ugly faces! UGLY FACES!”

MightiestPirate: The two looked at each other when a devious idea formed, giving a nod Elaine counted down from three two one behind Cocky’s back using her hand. As soon as there was only one finger, the two leaned down kissed Cocky on the cheek from both sides, hearing the camera click.

AskCocky: That took Cocky by surprise, enough so he forgot to put on his ugly face and he instantly blushed and puffed up. The camera went off and he just stood there, blinking, giggling madly. “Oh, you people. YOUUUU PEOPLE.”

MightiestPirate: Guybrush was laughing while Elaine ruffled Cocky’s hair, “You left yourself wide open for that one.” She chuckled, “But this time we’ll make that ugly face, scout’s honor.” Meanwhile Guybrush was rubbing away some tears from his laughter, “Heh heh heh, sorry, it was too good to let up.”

AskCocky: Cocky covered his face, embarrassed but also infinitely pleased. “You got me good, I’ll admit that much. Still, I’m sure it made a great picture. Another round, then?” Cocky jumped off the crate to program the camera.

MightiestPirate: Elaine nodded while Guybrush gave a thumbs up, “Never hurts to have several back ups. Might get more gems like that one.” He added as he cleared his throat from his laughter.

AskCocky: “That is true, that is quite true!” Cocky jumped to the crate again. “All right… ugly faces then, please!! Do your worst!!”

MightiestPirate: “Heh heh, alright alright.” Guybrush laughed, he turned to his face away from the camera for a bit before finally facing the phone and making the ugliest face he could muster, which in turn made Elaine’s eyes bug out from stifling a laugh.

AskCocky: Cocky, in turn, fixed one eye on the camera and moved the other away with a certain effort, while he did his best to resemble a disjointed industrial excavator.

MightiestPirate: Seeing how ridiculous their expressions were, Elaine took a strand of red hair and placed it on her lips, puffing up her cheeks and squinting her eyes while having a wagging finger. AskCocky: The camera went off and Cocky started doubling up in laughter. “All right, all right. Now… look badass!” the lago adopted an action pose.

MightiestPirate: Elaine fell into the pose with ease, confident yet intimidating. Guybrush on the other could not grasp the concept of badass if his life depended on it. He looked over at the two and instead of holding his belt he crossed his arm and stared directly at the camera and gave confident smirk while having his brows lowered.

AskCocky: The camera clicked and Cocky looked at Guybrush. “Pffffft,” he said, but he said nothing. The lago jumped off the crate again to stop the automatic firing. “Okay, idea here… let’s turn our backs to the camera and do this cool pose…” Cocky demonstrated by doing the peace sign. “That’s the most badass Guybrush will ever look, apparently.”

MightiestPirate: “What? I thought I looked pretty cool.” Guybrush shrugged, “I know you did, sweetie, but I told you before, you’re too sweet to look like a badass.” Elaine rubbed his arm as he drooped his head a bit. The two soon imitated the pose Cocky did.

AskCocky: “Very good! Now that I subrepticiously manipulated you to take a memento of your lovely backsides, I would like one in profile, too? Like… let’s all look over there.” Cocky pointed at the ocean.

MightiestPirate: “Of course you’d find a way to get a picture of that.” Elaine held her forehead while Guybrush looked confused but chuckled, they shared a glance at each other and proceeded to look at the ocean.

AskCocky: “There was never any doubt about it!!” Cocky said cheerfully after the camera went off. “Now, the next one… last one, I promise. Would you be so kind to repeat the kiss one? I’ll fake the surprise if you want, unfortunately the camera went off early and the pic is not very good.” He looked at Guybrush and Elaine pleadingly.

MightiestPirate: “Ah… y-yeah, sure thing.” Guybrush scratched his cheek, blushing a little bit while Elaine looked at the lago, suspecting he was up to something but couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Hmm… why not.” She eventually agreed, they stood much like they did in the last picture posed and ready.

AskCocky: But as soon as the camera was ready to go off, Cocky simply pushed their heads together, their lips meeting in a natural way. To top it off, he propped himself over their heads and made the most fluttery, lovey-dovey face he had, turning his eyes to the sky in a romantic bliss. The camera clicked and whirred.

MightiestPirate: They had a face of absolute confusion and both were equally blushing making it look like a complete heart from the way they were kissing. But eventually the two ended up not minding it in the slightest, even if it was done in the silliest way possible and both felt equally silly that they fell for it. AskCocky: “Hahahaha, perfect,” Cocky commented, snickering. He jumped off the crate again and took his phone, then took it to his friends to show them the pics. “Aaaah, I love these so much!!”

MightiestPirate: The two leaned over and looked at the pictures, the blush on Guybrush’s face officially dominating him and Elaine noticed, laughing at and brushed back his bangs, “I think they are absolutely wonderful!” She agreed full heartedly, “That one being my absolute favorite.” She pointed at the bad-ass pose before looking up at her husband. “What about you, sweetie?”

“You mean aside from the first one? The uh… the ugly faces.” Guybrush admitted, “B-but I like them all.”

AskCocky: “Elaine cheated, she doesn’t look ugly at all. You and I, on the other hand, are ready to get the first prize on that one. Uh…. stay right here!!” Cocky ran to his ship and when he came back, he had copies of the pics for his friends. “Here, I think you should have them too. I love the last one, that one is my fave. All right, I love the first kiss too, but I wish I had not puffed up, I look so silly,” he laughed.

MightiestPirate: “Wow Elaine, you really don’t know how to make an ugly face.” Guybrush agreed as he looked at the picture. A rarity, but Elaine blushed and mumbled an embarrassed shut up. He flipped through the pictures and smiled at it all, “I dunno, I think you looked really adorable all puffed up. Makes me wanna hug you like one of those stuffed dolls. And if I look silly in the bad- ass picture, you get to look silly in this one.”

AskCocky: “Well, fair enough, and if looking puffed up gets me more hugs, then maybe I’ll start liking it.” Cocky laughed. There was a silence as the lago looked around at the ship, then at his friends. “In fact, I could go for a hug right now,” he said quietly.

MightiestPirate: Guybrush’s smile slowly faded, he kneeled down to be at eye level with Cocky and pulled him into a tight hug, Elaine looked at the two, not even questioning the sudden silence and did the same, hugging the other two as well but making sure not to suffocate the lago.

AskCocky: Cocky just held onto Guybrush and Elaine for a while, his eyes closed and his throat hurting. Finally he let go. “Farewell, pretty lady. See you later, space pirate.” Cocky smiled and waved goodbye as he stepped into the beam and disappeared into his ship.

MightiestPirate: “See ya later, little buddy.” Guybrush muttered as he watched the ship disappeared, waving at it until it was not even a spec in the sky. He rubbed his eyes trying not to cry but Elaine pulled him into a hug and led him back inside the ship.

THE END ------

Epilogue (written for a tumblr drabble request)

✏ - Post-RP askcocky answered:

Cocky turned off the beam and started ascending. He saw Guybrush waving, so he waved back, but as Earth receded fast, the wave died on his hand. The lago stood there with his ears down, his heart clawing inside his chest. “Get accostumed to saying good-bye, you idiot,” he scolded himself. “There’s gonna be a lot of that in your future.”

The lago programmed the course to Io’s orbit, then sighed. He flopped on the couch, exhausted, but then he noticed the screen was still out from where he had printed copies of the pics in a row. The last pic he had printed was still on the screen, all three of them smiling, and Cocky felt tears stinging his eyes. “He wasn’t that cool of a guy anyways,” the lago muttered, “and she was super bossy. It’s. It’s no big deal.” He dropped on his side and curled up, covering his eyes, unable to stop the flow now. “I hate this planet, and everyone in it.” mightiestpirate answered:

Guybrush sat silently at his desk looking over papers when Elaine walked into the Captain’s Quarters wiping her hands, “Well, that’s the last of that. All that cargo Winslow brought will be useful for the next few days.” She spoke as she placed the towel on a cabinet and looked at her husband who remained silent. She made a face and upon closer inspections realized he was looking over once more at the pictures that were taken. “Guybrush?” She called to him in a quiet voice, reclining a bit on his desk and placing a hand over his. He lifted his head up and his eyes looked to be at the verge of tears. There wasn’t anything that needed to be said based on how his lips were trembling, instead she pulled him into a hug, feeling his arms quickly wrap tightly around her and shaking.

She brushed his hair with her hand, feeling a stab at her chest with each cry. “I-it’s not… it’s not…” Guybrush tried to speak, but Elaine calmly hushed, “I know… I miss him too.” In that moment, the Mighty Pirate was just another person who missed their friend.

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