Terminus Part II: The Sea Itself (Draft)

Chapter 76: The Gogh Strait

 The Detective Pirates approached the Gogh Strait, preparing to ride this bizarre current up to Farewell Island. As they were anchored at a distance far enough to observe the strait and the ships surrounding them, they took in the sights. A large hole in the ocean separated the Terminus from the Atlas, and it was exactly as it was described: the Air Wall. They were awaiting the passing of a ship that was slightly ahead of them.

The ship was about the size of theirs, and clearly well-fitted for adventure. The only bizarre thing about it at a glance was its figurehead: a chimpanzee playing the bongos. However, if one were to look closer, they would see a young girl looking out on the fore.

"Captain Anna!" said a young boy's voice. "A group of pirates has stopped short of the strait, allowing our passage."

"That's considerate of them, I wonder what kind of pirates they are," said the young girl, who was apparently the captain of the ship. "The world has many different types of people, after all."

A young girl could be heard over the ship's megaphones, "The flag bears the Roger of the Detective Pirates!"

As the Detective Pirates would come to realise, this ship was operated primarily by children, a pirate group known as the Ponytail Pirates. James was left speechless by the idea, and wondered what would prompt children to become pirates.

They could hardly ponder the existence of this group however, as they were soon on their way up the current. Right as this was happening, another ship pulled up, and anchored, as if to allow the Detective Pirates to go next.

"We saw you extend a courtesy to that other ship and thought we should do the same," said the captain of this ship.

The ship was a bit larger than the Psychic's Revenge, and was a bright red all over. The figurehead appeared to be a giant skull. The Detective Pirates noticed the Roger on the side of the ship, something that was not as pronounced on the ship of the Ponytail Pirates. The design was a skull above a crossbones, and one drop of blood on either side.

On the fore, Redbeard stood smiling.

"It's the last day of the year, and everyone's trying to use that legendary current," said Redbeard. "Some others may have gotten here ahead of us, others still yet to come. If you wish to go first, we will give you this opportunity."

"Captain, they're in the distance, I doubt they can hear you," said Ethan 'The Gallant' Shirtman.

Except this was not the case, as Munge's Audio parasite allowed her to pick up sounds farther away than most people without sensory enhancement. She relayed the information to James and he gave the order to weigh anchor.

As the Psychic's Revenge moved forward, Redbeard laughed and turned to his first mate. "You were saying?"

The Gogh Strait, named after the infamous explorer Wilhelm Gogh, was a fairly uncomplicated stretch of water, and one could find themselves in its current rather quickly once close enough. If a ship started going up the current, the most important thing for the ship in that situation is to stay straight and maintain the balance of the ship. Very few ships have ever failed to utilise this current, but every now and then, a fool will not properly turn their ship, or cause it to go off balance, and doom their crew to a watery grave, or a fall down the Air Wall.

The experience would only last a couple hours at most, but the time that the crew spent looking out at the surrounding oceans, the Air Wall on either side of the strait, and the island and legendary sea that lie ahead of them, it would seem to last forever, and the memories would last a lifetime.

James Baron, who had resolved to explore this sea on a whim and hardly expected to make it this far, thought back to that fateful moment where Crock had assured him that this sea of mysteries was a place worth going to.