Quest for the Omnistone

Chapter 21: Shipwreck Scavenging

Steven:

It's not that I didn't care. It's just that I have so much on my plate that I'm trying to get some off. Meaning, I want to finish this mission first. Then I'll ask Crystal about her strange behavior. It probably wasn't much to worry about... right?

Max tapped my shoulder and pointed to a shipwreck wedged between two boulders. "Is that it?"

I looked at my com-link for the coordinates. "This is it." In case you're wondering, we were all armored up, blocking water from reaching us and giving us air to breathe.

We circled the ship twice to check for danger. Finding none amongst the wreckage, we entered one of the cabins. "Spread out and search for the amethyst." I ordered.

"Hey, Steven." Max called. I looked to see him hunched over an open chest. Was the amethyst there? Max turned and faced us, holding...

"It's a dinglehopper!" he joked, laughing like a maniac. Lazlo swam up to him, grabbed the rusty old fork and threw it away. Instead of floating slowly, it went out the door like a bullet. Being Water Emperor had its perks.

"Focus, Max!" he exclaimed.

"Geez, I was just kidding." Max muttered, going back to searching for the amethyst.

After two hours of searching, we still didn't find the amethyst. I was about to give up and call it a day when...

"Steven! Guys! Over here!" Johnny shouted.

We swam down below deck where the crew must've slept. Johnny was in the middle of the room, holding a dilapidated purple box the size of my old Nintendo DS.

"Cool, Johnny! You found it!" Danny exclaimed.

"It's empty." Johnny stated.

"So why'd you call us down then?" Max asked, annoyed.

"Because," he explained. "It's not completely empty. There's a note inside. I saw it with my X-ray vision. If we open it now, the note will get damaged. Maybe we should head back to base."

"How do you know that it has something to do with the amethyst?" I asked.

"It's mentioned in the note," he replied. "Along with Xehanort's name."

~

"Back so soon?" Raj asked. "It's only been ten minutes."

"Timestream." Clam explained.

"Yeah, Raj. Don't forget it." Lazlo added.

"Oops." Raj smiled sheepishly then frowned. "Where are Danny and Max?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "They were right—" I turned to see the portal closed. Danny and Max were nowhere to be found. "Behind us." Johnny finished quietly.

'THUD!'

A sound came from the kitchen. We all ran towards it, hoping that Max and Danny had just gotten hungry. We rounded the corner and looked through the doorway. Max and Danny were unconscious on the floor. Black Hood was standing over them.

"Don't move." Johnny threatened, an arrow nocked in his bow.

Footsteps came from a nearby corridor and Black Hood glanced in its direction. "Take better care of your friends." He said, turning back to us. We were momentarily surprised. Black Hood's voice was deep and low. We hadn't expected him to speak. He then disappeared in a puff of black smoke. We all ran towards Max and Danny.

"Max? Max, wake up!" Johnny shouted, shaking him gently. "Danny, wake up!"

The footsteps outside got louder and closer until Crystal rounded the corner. "Hey guys, what's— whoa. What happened?" Crystal asked, kneeling beside us.