To the editor from Bluey, fluffy reporter. Subject: Showdown on the high seas.
A series of misadventures had gotten myself kidnapped by an underground ring of fluffy smugglers, with their intended destination being a remote island where a planned death game was being set. The Captain had managed to track my location and free me, but he himself had been caught. However, the captain has not been killed because the conspirators were planning to use him as leverage against a billionaire friend of ours, Samuel Adams.
“Search the ship! They’ve got to be around here somewhere!”
And that’s the sound of the men chasing after us. The Captain had freed two other fluffies, those being Wind and Zander. While trying to find the Captain, Wind informed me about Quesada, a large fluffy of the Castillan breed with immense strength and bravery. With his knight’s helmet, Quesada is the muscle of our group. But we still need the Captain, as only Johann knows the location of the boat that will apparently get us off this rotten ship.
“Captain Nala! It’s just like you said, that ABAP punk had a boat trailing us.”
Welp. There goes our escape plan. We could overhear their conversation as we kept crawling across the vents.
“Was there anybody else on the boat?”
“It was empty. I think the Captain intended for the it to be on autopilot if any of those fluffies got onboard. Hah, wouldn’t be surprised if those idiots drowned.”
“It’s not funny, Pedro. I don’t care if they’re in the water or still on this ship - we need to find them.”
And the four of us needed the captain. Even if he was one man, he was one man with four fluffies. And I had gotten out of bigger problems with the Captain before.
~
We managed to find our way back to the room where Captain Johann was being held hostage. With one swift quick, the Castillan was able to dislodge the grille, allowing the four of us to enter the room.
The Captain was surprised to see us. With a tinge of disappointment, he noted, “I told you to head to the boat.”
“Kapten, da gangstas tuuk da boat.”
“They did, huh? Blast. Now we’re really stuck.”
“No wowwies Captain. Fwuffy wiww twy to fwee ‘ou.”
Having said that, I brought my teeth upon the ropes that bound the captain. I tugged as hard as I could, but the ropes were not coming off. Wind then joined in, along with Zander and Quesada. Although our combined biting strength wasn’t very effective against the rope, the saliva did help the captain slow ease his hands out of the rope. Seeing that as an opportunity, we kept licking and biting at the rope around his feet, and then his arms. Though smelling of fluffy saliva, the Captain was free. That was the first step.
But where to next?
In order to formulate a plan, the Captain sent us to scout out the nearby rooms. Noticing our ability to move about the vents, he got Zander and Wind to crawl through the vents. For Quesada and I, we took turns to check the hallway to see if anyone was passing by. From what we understood, we were aboard a largely empty merchant ship with mostly empty cabins. Mobility was key – we had to avoid detection. Thankfully, whatever skeleton crew Nala was working with was not enough to check every room, nor were these mooks thorough enough when they searched each room we were hiding in. But after skulking about the many different rooms, the lot of us were getting tired.
SLAP!
Zander was the first to see it, and I was the next to notice it. In one of the newer rooms we were coming across, a man was busy berating a titanium white fluffy. This fluffy had a patch over his right eye with a red Greek cross on it. In front of the fluffy was a smartphone, obviously the Captain’s.
“You stupid rat! I thought you could hack this phone?”
“Fwuffy nu say can hackie phone! Fwuffy onwy say that see-pwace wowk with fone app!”
“Worthless! You’re worthless! No wonder Matsusmuta sent you to us – so that you can rot and die!”
As we heard the man slapping the white fluffy, both Quesada and I were feeling angry. But the Captain brought his finger to his lips. Carrying Quesada’s helmet in his hand, he motioned to the Castillan and myself. He held up three fingers. With one digit, it became two fingers, and then, only his index finger was left standing.
Within one secondie, the last digit collapsed into his first, as he yelled out, “Now!”
Rushing in, and with Quesada’s helmet in his two hands, he smashed the mask of iron upon the back of the gangster’s head. Knocked off the balance, the man started to reel as he groaned, “Who the hell was that?” Upon seeing the Captain, he instinctively reached for the gun around his waist. In that instant the Castillan and I rushed after his two legs, I on the right, Quesada on the left. And as hard we could, we bit down on the thick flesh of the man.
“OW!!”
Distracted by the Captain, the man tried to shake off the two of us. This gave the Captain enough time to deliver a few haymakers, finishing off with a one-two punch. It was enough to leave the mobster on the floor, unconscious.
The Captain went up to the white fluffy. Checking his injuries, he asked, “You alright, little fellow?”
“Am otay,” sobbed the white fluffy, “Nuu am bad fwuffy.”
“Don’t cry,” reassured the Captain, as he massaged the wounds on the injured fluffy. “You’re not a bad fluffy. Its clear these idiots can’t realize that you can’t hack a phone.”
Wondering about the eye patch, the Captain decided to lift it up. Instead of an injury, or a false eye, the Captain was shocked to see an optical implant installed into where this fluffy’s right eye should be.
“Who did this to you?”
“Nice daddeh gib Scwuffwes nyu eyesie!”
“Scruffles?”
The white fluffy nod, as he acknowledged, “Fwuffy am Scwuffles. Daddeh fwom Matsumata gib fwuffy nyu eyesie.”
Matsumata? That name sounded familiar.
The Captain checked his phone. Thank god, the idiots weren’t able to hack it. Browsing through the apps he had, he remembered he had a VR app, and he wonder who created it. As he checked the about, he could see the logo of the Matsumata Technologies. Interesting, but he wondered what was the relevance. Just then, his phone notified that there was possible Bluetooth connection between his phone, and a nearby ocular device.
Raising an eyebrow, the Captain allowed the connection to pass through. Within moments, he could see himself on the screen holding up the phone, similar but not exactly like a mirror image.
“Well. Looks like we have something to work with.”
~
Scruffles was now the fifth member of our party, and he had the one thing that the Captain needed – an additional eye he could also see through. With Scruffles, finding the communication room was easier, as the Captain was able to discretely direct Scruffles, Zander and Wind through vents. And better yet, Scruffles could position himself in the grille above the communications room.
Captain Nala was frustrated. So far, the man had not succeeded in finding Captain Johann and the four missing fluffies. Worse still, one of her men is missing, as the Captain had locked him up in one of the metal cabinets.
The communications room had the usual radio devices, but also had a computer. Its monitor came to life, and an old man with a thick beard and a handlebar moustache could be seen on the screen.
“Captain, your shipment was due over an hour ago. Where the hell is my cargo?”
Biting her lip, Nala tried to remain composed.
“There’s been a situation, sir. The special fluffy you wanted, Bluey, he’s currently missing.”
“Missing?! I told you to keep an eye on him! And what about the Castillan?!”
“I’m afraid that he’s also gone missing.”
“You fool! I told you to keep them away from each other!”
“Sir, we are trying our best to locate the fluffies. They can’t possible get far, and their only possible escape craft was captured.”
“Nala, you better report back with good results within the hour. I don’t want to remind you what will happen if you fail to deliver the cargo.”
Upon finishing that sentence, the image on the screen switched to that of an African man and two children in a jail cell of sorts. In front of them is a man wielding an AK-47, with the gun aimed at their heads.
“You know what happens to people who cross me, Nala.”
Just then, a man rushed into the communications room. It was Pedro.
“Captain! Sir! A US Coast guard ship is in the distance!”
“Now?!”
And true enough the radio beside Captain Nala came to life.
“This is the US Coast Guard calling the Diamond Dog. Please respond.”
Diamond dog. So that’s the name of the ship. No wonder that man was pointing at the dogs howling – he was trying to clue us the name of this ship.
Though hesitant, Nala picked up the receiver and responded, “This is Captain Nala of the Diamond Dog. We receive you loud and clear.”
“This is the US Coast Guard. We would like to conduct an inspection of the ship.”
Her eyes staring at her unwilling benefactor, Nala could see the old man’s nod through the screen, as she acknowledged the request.
“Roger that. The crew will be notified about the inspection.”
Upon placing the receiver back on the radiotelephone, the old man gave his final words for that moment.
“Deal with this Nala. We’ll settle this later.”
And with that, the screen went off.
Sweat could be seen on Nala’s forehead as she turned to Pedro.
“Have the cages been moved?”
“Not yet, Captain.”
“Tell the men to stop looking for Johann and the five missing fluffies. Get a few men to move the cargo into the secret compartment. Rodrigo, you and I, we’ll go meet the inspectors.”
This seemed to be the break we needed.
~
We waited about five minutes, but we could hear the men moving either to meet the coast guard, or move the caged fluffies into the aforementioned secret compartment. Since this was a skeleton crew, Captain Johann could already figure out a plan. He was going to radio for help, and then from there, gain access either to this tugboat that the smugglers had captured, or get onto the emergency raft with the five of us. Scruffles had already noticed that the room was empty, but Nala had locked up the communications room before leaving.
“BLECH!”
Though recoiling his face with disgust, the Captain did say “Thank you, Zander,” as he picked up his skeleton key.
The Captain was now in the communications room. Scruffles was told to scout out the deck of the ship to see how the inspection was going, while Zander would check on him with the Captain’s phone. Quesada and I took our terms to check the hallways, while the Captain manned the communications room. Wind, feeling tired after so much action, was sitting on the table, resting beside the monitor.
After a few minutes, the Captain had managed to reach his partner and fellow adventurer, Samuel Adams. He, along with a few other people, had also been looking into matter about this large fluffy smuggling ring.
“Sam, are you there?”
“Yes Johann. Are you alright?”
“I am. I managed to find Bluey, but I don’t know if I can get off this ship. Plus, I found out where they’re taking the fluffies. And worse still, Nala’s involved! They have her family hostage!!”
“Actually, I knew about the involvement of Captain Nala. The man that they had shot up in Plymouth a week ago was actually one of her crew mates. He balked when he found out what was happening to her family.”
“But how do you know that, Sam?!”
“Well, they didn’t succeed in killing him. The police allowed the newspapers to report his death, but the truth was that he was alive in hospital, and was able to give a testimony. Its why the Coast Guard will be raiding the Diamond Dog soon.”
“Alright, but what about Nala’s family?!”
“Well let’s just say that I have a little surprise waiting for their captors.”
“Sam, the Coast Guard have arrived, but Nala’s men are currently moving the cargo. I don’t think the Coast Guard will find the cargo that easily.”
There was a pause.
“If the Coast Guard leave, do you think you can reach the lifeboat or a tugboat?”
“I can only hope.”
“Just get out of there Johann. Bluey and you have been in enough danger as it is.”
While this was going on, I had taken after the Castillan’s shift, and was now checking the hallway. For the past half an hour, there seemed to be nobody in sight. But I think I got too careless.
Just beside me, a door opened, and one of the gangsters saw me. Fear took over my being and I ran as far as I could, hearing the man behind me yell out various obscenities, coupled with “Come back here, you blue vermin!!”
Almost there, almost near the communications room.
But a force of strength far surpassing mine grabbed my right leg. Within moments, a hand was holding me high above the ground, as I could see the sinister face of my captor.
~
As this was going on, Zander was in a safe area in the vents, watching a view of the deck through Scruffle’s implant. Scruffles managed to find a safe place that allowed him to see what was going on the deck. So far, the men had not suspected anything, while Nala led the US Coast Guard officers aboard the ship. As Pedro and her guarded the officers around, Scruffles could see that Pedro had a hidden gun, ready to be used at any time.
Most of the inspection was done, but for some reason of rather, the officers didn’t want to seem to leave.
“Well, we already showed you the cargo. We’re only carrying T-shirts and toys.”
“Well yeah,” said the officer, as he pointed out “I feel that there are some things you haven’t showed us yet.”
Nala could feel a lump in her throat. Pedro was getting agitated, and seemed ready to start a fight.
~
I don’t know who this man was, or what bad decisions in life had made him a trafficker of sapient biotoys. All I know was that he had a gun, and he was aiming it at the Captain. In his right hand, he had me in a close chokehold, threatening to the grip around my neck.
“Alright, ya punk. Looks like we finally got ya. Now, nice and easy.”
“Johann? Johann! Whats going on there?”
The man stepped up near the radio, as he yelled out, “I got your friend at gunpoint here, Mr Adams. Now I know you’re rich, and you’ve spent millions trying to save the lives of these pathetic creatures. But would you spend your millions to save a human friend of yours?”
“What have you done to Johann and Bluey?!”
“Oh, I’m not doing anything to them. But I could do see something to either of them.”
~
The following happened very quickly, and I hope that I am able to reconstruct the events.
I think what happened first was that Wind, who had been resting near the radio, had noticed this tense situation between my captor and Johann. She jumped up, landing her body on the gangster’s face.
“Get off me you little-”
As this happened, Quesada who had been resting in the corner had his head down. Running at full speed, he butted his helmet into the man’s ankle. Being a big, almost fluffalo-sized fluffy, and pumped with adrenaline, he delivered enough force to startle the man. The man, his finger on trigger, accidentally fired a shot into the ceiling.
BANG!
The inspector that was with Nala heard the sound, and was about to retrieve one of his pistols, when Pedro shot him.
“NO!” yelled out Nala.
The other inspector was much quicker, as he took out his pistol, and fired three shots, one at Pedro’s hand, and a second at Pedro’s head. As the lifeless body of Pedro fell to the ground, the inspector aimed the gun at Nala.
“DON’T MOVE!!”
The remaining men on the ship took out their guns, but the other inspectors started shooting, taking what cover they could find. As the hail of gunfire continued, Zander could hear the men radioing for help.
“MAYDAY! MAYDAY THEY HAVE US PINNED DOWN!”
Nala ran. As this happened, Zander then gave the command to Scruffles.
“Scruffles, come back tu fwens! Nu am safe!!”
~
Nala was now in the communications room with the Captain. The man who had threatened my life was now on the floor, unconscious and relieved of his weapon.
“You ruined everything, Johann,” she yelled out in helpless frustration and anger, as she pointed out, “My family, everything of mine will be lost!”
And then, the monitor screen came to life. The eyes of old man flared up as he saw the man responsible for bungling his plans.
“Johann Andersson! I knew it was you!!”
With an apologetic tone, Nala clasped her two palms together as she pleaded, “I’m sorry, sir. Pedro just shot one of the inspectors, and I think more of them will be coming.”
With anger, the old man snarled.
“Well, too late for you. I hope you enjoy seeing your family killed.”
The fear in Nala’s face turned to absolute sorrow, as she could only cry out, “NO!”
The screen did change back to the jail cell. But instead of the worst, something else happened. A large burly man, most likely a Russian, had the captor in a chokehold, as he held the AK-47. Within moments, this captor fell to the ground. Whether he was unconscious or dead, I wouldn’t know.
The Russian then turn to the family that had been huddled in the corner, as he said, “Privyet. I am here to bring you to safety.”
Cutting back to the previous scene, the man with the moustache face betrayed his expression of incredulity.
“Omar?! OMAR!! Whats the meaning of this?!!”
“Well, well, laddie, who do we have here?”
Two men came onto the screen. One looked like an Italian with long hair, the other was a redhead,d most likely an Irishman, with thick sideburns. The Italian placed his hands on the old man’s right elbow, startling him.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Us? That’s Finnegan over there, and I’m Frankie, bambino.”
Perspiration was dripping down the old man’s face, as the Irishman was next to talk.
“Aye. Now ‘ey call us monsters, but to abduct an innocent wee family, and hold ‘ere breadwinner hostage? Just to fuel yer sick fluffy abuse fantasy? Tsk tsk.”
“What do you say we do with him, da?”
“Oh, I can think of a few things.”
And with a bloodcurdling screen, the feed was cut off.
~
About half an hour later, the Coast Guard had managed to overcome the remaining crew onboard the ship. Relieved to know that her family was safe, Nala remained in the communication room with the Captain and the five of us, as we waited for the Coast Guard to relieve us. Over thirty fluffies were found aboard the ship. They all had different origins, and different levels of intelligence, but all of them had some quirk or talent that was of interest to whoever was running the death game.
Nala was reunited with her family, but still faced charges due to her involvement with illegal fluffy smuggling. That said, Mr Adams used his money to bail her out, and Nala was able to return to her family.
No one knows what became of the man responsible for the Fluffy death games. The island facility where the games were conducted was found, along with at least a few hundred captive fluffies, all that were about to be sent to slaughter. However, upon finding the island, the majority of the runners of the death game were found dead. The head of the ring, the old man responsible for the madness, was missing, his office ransacked. The only thing left on his table was a plate of spaghetti.
It was a harrowing ordeal, but thankfully, we all made it out alive. Scruffles was returned back to the Matsumata corporation. He became the face for the next release of their award-winning app. Wind returned to her owner. Though I may never see her again, I was happy that I had a hand in seeing her being rescued.
As for the Captain and I, well, I managed to convince the Captain to take in one new fluffy among the many ferals the ring had abducted. Looks like Zander’s going to stay with us for the foreseeable future.
~
Epilogue (click below)
Summary
The above adventure took place in the second year of Bluey’s Life, and was recounted in “The Adventures of Bluey: Aboard the Diamond Dog”. After four years of adventuring with Captain Johann and Zander, Bluey died of old age. Bluey was a feral born from a mixed pairing between a Trefolier breed fluffy and a Jberg. As fluffies of the Jberg line have a limited lifespan of five years, Bluey’s time was short, but fruitful.
Bluey died in his sleep peacefully at the ripe old age of six. Zander followed him to the grave a year later.
As a result, Captain Johan Andersson grew disillusioned with adventuring. Deciding to adopt a simpler fluffy, he adopting Erik of the AIDS breed from his own native Sweden.
And as for Quesada? No one knows. Legend has it that the Castillan is still out there, wandering the world, being a hero to fluffies in need and distress.
