#Gen6Part5

[theplottdump]

Kāne: But what if it doesn't work? Sunny: Then you'll have failed as a tinkerer forever, wasted a whole summer, drowned me for no reason 𝘈𝘛 𝘈𝘓𝘓, and we'll fire it out of the cannons at some passing fancy pants merchant ship!

Kāne: 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧- Sunny: Just do it already!!

[ record crackling 🎵🐙 ]

🐙🐠🐸

[theplottdump]

Fear. A familiar emotion flashed across the eyes of her dueling partner, who had left her to die only a few months earlier.

Kāne: Captain- Frogface, uh, Girl! Please, Sunny! You win okay? I really don't wanna play anymore.

At that very moment, two thoughts entered her mind. Sure, she could pull him up. He had proven his bravery and dedication to the crew of this ship.

But then came a second thought. 𝘼𝙣 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙮𝙚.

It wasn't a long fall, and he'd probably survive it, being a fish and all. And they'd finally be even. She'd even be nice enough to tell First Mate Bearbosa not to eat his bones- yet.

𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚.

In fact, it seemed as if this may be the first of many choices to come. Because every story has many paths, but now we must decide which one to take.

So tell me Watcher, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥? ✅

[theplottdump]

- 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. The sound of ocean waves rolling off slick algae covered walls of the sea cave had quieted to a murmur- the gulls in their nests above withheld their cries, and for the smallest second, the world went silent as it watched on.

And then- 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩

𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮. Something in the back of her brain was telling the young captain that perhaps revenge might have a sour aftertaste.

𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, he looked like a big crybaby. He'd probably tattle on her and she'd get in trouble with HANSEL for sure. Probably not worth it.

So instead she pulled him back onto the relative safety of the old, rotten, mist soaked boards- his two feet, still foreign beneath him, stepping away from what he was sure to have been certain death.'

Sunny: You should have seen your FACE!

Kāne: IT'S NOT FUNNY! 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘾𝙊𝙐𝙇𝘿 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝙆𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙀𝘿 𝙈𝙀!

Sunny: It wouldn't have killed you 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘥. It's not even that far down! I fell off a tall wall when I was totally baby brained, and I'm still here! And there wasn't even any water or anything!

Kāne: I am not stoopid! And I don't even know what you're talking about!

Sunny: Nah, you're too smart to be stoopid. You're just afraid of cats.

Kāne: What?! No I'm not! What does that 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯?!

Sunny: Well cats are like H.A.N.S.E.L.s but smaller. Kāne: 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘴-

Kāne: Um, frogface, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴?

Sunny: Explosion Therapy.

𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙍𝘽𝙊𝙎𝘼 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿𝙔 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙉𝙎!

Sunny: STEADY- 𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘈𝘋𝘠- 𝘼𝙄𝙈𝙈𝙈𝙈𝙈𝙈- !

𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙀!

[theplottdump]

Sunny: Besides there have been lots of girl pirates- Cheng I Sao, Anne Bonny, Mary Reed. Ever heard of a little person called Princess Cordelia? Boy: No. Sunny: Greatest Lady Pirate to ever sail these waters- she even had a pet kraken. Boy: She did not. Sunny: Did too.

Boy: Just because you know a lot about Pirates doesn't mean you get to steal my ship. Sunny: Your ship? Boy: Yeah it's mine- my ship, my stuff, MY treasure map.

Sunny: Well my Daddy owns the island so guess what, it's on the island- it's my ship.

Boy: Well my Dad owns the whole 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻- and it's in the water so it's 𝙈𝙔 𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙋.

Sunny: You can't own a whole ocean!! Boy: You can't own a whole island!

Sunny: 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗧𝗢𝗢 Boy: 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗡𝗢𝗧

Sunny: 𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗛𝗛𝗛𝗛! Boy: 𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗛𝗛𝗛𝗛!

[theplottdump]

Sitting in front of her was 𝙖 𝙙𝙤𝙜. But not like any of the ones Sunny had seen in her animal books. No, this one was much more strange to her. Instead of soft fur, it had shiny metal skin- and it's eyes glowed blue with electricity.

She absolutely loved it.

Sunny rushed over to embrace possibly the coolest thing her father had ever built her. The skin was cold but a soft mechanical whirring noise generated from the torso, producing a bit of heat.

Sunny: THIS IS THE MOST INCREDIBLEST DAY OF MY WHOLE LIFESPAN!

Chad: Tell her the catch Evil Dad.

Sunny: What's a catch?

Val: I was approaching that darling. You see Helianthus, a catch is the fine print on any compromise, good or bad. So here is yours, while are no longer grounded for life-

Leanne: -You will be required to keep your playtime to safe pre-approved areas where you can be located if needed -

Chad: - In addition to keeping your chaperone with you at all times.

Sunny: Chaperone??

Sunny was once again in confuzzlement.

And then the robot dog did something rather unexpected- and frankly quite un-canine like. It opened it mouth, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙠𝙚.

H.A.N.S.E.L.: Hello Miss Sunny!

Sunny: 𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙀𝙇!?

[theplottdump]

HANSEL: Miss Sunny- Sunny: What's a sidebar? HANSEL: It's like a- wait 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵! You're just like your father, all these interruptions! Sunny: Which one? HANSEL: That is not the point of this sidebar! Sunny: What's a sidebar? HANSEL: [ cursing in binary ]

Sunny: You seem… stressed. HANSEL: Miss Sunny- your fathers have entrusted me with keeping you safe and reporting regularly on your wellbeing. Sunny: No! HANSEL you can't tell them! They'd never let me outside again!

HANSEL: I report to your father because he is the heir and those are the rules. Sunny: But I'm the new heir! That has to mean I'm like higher ranking than him?? Maybe? This one time?

HANSEL: Helianthus! The merchild attempted to drown you!

Sunny: Look! Me and- uh- um-

Fishboy: Kāne ~

Sunny: Seriously?

Kāne: What kind of dumb name is Helianthus? Sunny: Touché.

Sunny: Kāne is the only chance I'll ever have at a real life friend! And if you tell Dad or Leanne or Dad - I'll never ever ever EVER get this opportunity again!! HANSEL: You want to play on the pirate ship don't you? Sunny: I really really REALLY want to play on the pirate ship.

HANSEL: [ 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩 ] Fine. Sunny: 𝙔𝙀𝙎! HANSEL: But I will continue to be the chaperone for you both- Sunny: Okay! HANSEL: AND you owe me.

Sunny: Yes!! Anything you want! HANSEL: Two pages of fractions practice from your workbook. Sunny: Anything but that!! Literally anything else!

So maybe it hadn't been best first impression- but as the wind carried their laughter around the old cavern, swirling and twisting with new changes, the ocean breathed her sigh of relief-

-Grateful she wouldn't have to explain to the King and Queen of the Ocean why their only son got thrown into a volcano by a frantic, overzealous, and frankly quite pale Supervillain.

🏴‍☠️🐠🐸

[theplottdump]

Truth omitting or not, I was still super grounded. And trust me, it's much harder to have adventures when everyone is watching you all the time. I can't even sneeze on my own without having my nose wiped.

But it's been over a month! I know forever is a long time, but come on!

But in the middle time I've been reading my encyclopedias, writing a lot of stories about very cool pirate princesses and very ugly fish in my journal, and practicing the scientiferic method when no one is looking.

It kinda goes like this: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗢𝗻𝗲: Form a Hypotenuse.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝘄𝗼: Breathe out all the air in your lungs.

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲: 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯.

[theplottdump]

Sunny: So you're not a ghost- and I'm pretty sure you're not a pirate. You don't have a beard or a hook hand.

Well, what are you then?

Boy: Well it's obvious- I'm a boy!

Sunny: Hmm. Wrong. Boys are muuuuuch taller. Likeeee this tall- at least. Trust me, I would know, I live with two. Possibly two and a half if you count H.A.N.S.E.L.

Boy: What are you like the expert on everything? Sunny: Pretty much. My dads got me a whole set of encyclopedias for my last birthday. Ask me where Tomarang is! Boy: No. Sunny: It's in EP15. That's like almost 7,000 miles away from here!

Sunny: Anyways you're only like- mmmm this tall. . . .

𝙊𝙃 𝙈𝙔 𝙂𝙊𝙎𝙃 𝙔𝙊𝙐'𝙍𝙀 𝘼 𝙁𝙄𝙎𝙃!

Fish: And you're a frog. Frog: I am not a FROG! Fish: Sure you are- you got those little frog eyes on your head and everything.

Frog: These are my GOGGLES. They're for underwater EXPLORATIONS.

Sunny: And just for your informeration Fish Boy, I'm a GIRL. Not- A FROG.

Fish Boy: MMmmm nope. Girls are pretty.

Fish Boy: You look more like a frog.

Frog: I will have you know that my dads think I'm PERFECT.

Fishboy: Whatever you tell yourself to get to sleep at night- 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

Frogface: 𝗨𝗚𝗛!

[theplottdump]

𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑

If sailor tales to sailor tunes, Storm and adventure, heat and cold

If schooners, islands, and maroons, And buccaneers, and buried gold,

And all the old romance, retold Exactly in the ancient way,

Can please, as me they pleased of old, The wiser youngsters of today:

—So be it, and fall on! If not, If studious youth no longer crave,

His ancient appetites forgot, Kingston, or Ballantyne the brave, Or Cooper of the wood and wave:

So be it, also! And may I And all my pirates share the grave Where these and their creations lie!

Sunny: 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙄𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙣𝙚. '… I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding-' HANSEL what does plodding mean? HANSEL: Slow-Moving and Unexciting. Sunny: 𝘏 𝘶 𝘩

She continued on, carefully testing each word on her tongue as she went-

Sunny: 'I remember him looking round the cover and whistling to himself as he did so, and then breaking out in that old sea-song that he sang so often afterwards-'

'𝐹𝒾𝒻𝓉𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓂𝑒𝓃 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓂𝒶𝓃'𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈𝓉 — 𝒴𝑜-𝒽𝑜-𝒽𝑜, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓇𝓊𝓂.'

[theplottdump]

Sunny: Like that? Boy: See- it's not so bad.

Sunny: How do I know I can trust you to keep your promise?

Boy: Well the thing with a pinky promise is-

-you always gotta keep an eye on the other hand.

Sunny: 𝘈𝘨𝘩! 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰!

Boy: Now tell me frogface, how good are you at swimming?

Sunny: 𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙃!!

There was a splash- and then there was a quiet. The ocean held her breath, watching little Sunny being pulled down into the clear island water by the surprisingly fearsome grip of the young boy- waiting to see what would happen next.

[theplottdump]

Val: After a lot of- talking, we landed on compromise that your father, Leanne and I think will suit everyone.

Chad: Lots and lots of compromise.

Val: I think I have a solution. Chad: Val, a really tall fence is not a solution.

Val: No- a real solution. You'll like this one I think. Chad: Please you're only saying that because I'm winning.

Val: Maybe I let you win? Chad: I don't think I believe that for a second. Best two out of three? Val: I'll give you a head start.

Sunny: 𝙀𝙐𝙂𝙃 Is this a 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 story?

[theplottdump]

𝘙𝘈𝘗 𝘙𝘈𝘗 𝘙𝘈𝘗 Three swift but controlled knocks on her bathroom door shook her from her underwater reverie.

Leanne: Sunny? Are you in there?

The littlest Sunflower snapped upright from her hypothesizing.

Sunny: I'm just- I'm taking a bath! Leanne: Well come meet me outside when you're done. Your fathers and I would like to show you something important. Sunny: Okay! I'll be out in a minute! Leanne: 60, 59, 58…

Helianthus was no stranger to surprises.

While Dad and Leanne hated them, Daddy absolutely loved them. She always had the most fun when both her fathers were home- together Chad and Sunny were an unstoppable force for mischief. Very much to the rest of the household's chagrin.

But unless it was her birthday- and no she already checked that of course, duh- the family didn't often rally together just to surprise her.

Sunny: What is it? What is it?! Chad: Patience sunshine. A little more patience. Give us a chance to explain first.

Val: Helianthus, we know being grounded hasn't been easy for you. Leanne: And it definitely hasn't been easy on us either. Val: Leanne, please

Chad: So your father and I had a talk about it how to handle the rest of your sentence.

Val: A very calm but productive conversation between two adults.

WE CAN'T KEEP HER LOCKED UP HERE FOREVER! 𝙎𝙃𝙀'𝙇𝙇 𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝙏𝙍𝙔 𝙏𝙊 𝙍𝙐𝙉 𝘼𝙒𝘼𝙔!

Val: 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡 ��'𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘! Chad: VALERIAN NO -

[theplottdump]

The makeshift wooden sword tumbled end over end, clearing the edge of the ship and eventually making it's way downwards. One small 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘱! later and it had disappeared from sight.

Kāne: And now we have nothing to defend ourselves with from the royal navy. Nice going frogfa-

Small calloused feet pounded the side of the old ship as Sunny let out an almost feral scream- wildly bounding after her discarded implement. Quickly approaching the same edge where only moments earlier Kāne had been precariously teetering himself.

Kāne's smallish heart lept cruelly back up into his throat- his own fearful heartbeat echoing through his skull once more.

Kāne: 𝙎𝙐𝙉𝙉𝙔!

Too late- she had already thrown herself off the side of the old hull.

Sunny: 𝘾𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙉𝘽𝘼𝙇𝙇!!!

𝙎𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙃 ! 💦 A tower of water rose up following her impact on the crystalline surface of the lagoon- one large enough to shake HANSEL from of his recharging cycle.

Kāne: 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙔!!?

Sunny: EXPLOSION THERAPY!! My dad taught it to me- whenever you're scared of something, face it head on- 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙚! Then it won't be so scary anymore! It will be exploded!

Kāne: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦!!?

Sunny: It'll make more sense when you do it!!! 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯!!

Kāne: I'm good- I'm just- uh, I'm gonna take the ladder.

HANSEL: Young Master Kāne, what in AI watcher's name are you doing on the roof!? Sunny: He's being a butt! Kāne: HEY I AM NOT A BUTT!

Sunny: 𝙔𝙐𝙃 𝙃𝙐𝙃. Kāne: 𝙉𝙐𝙃 𝙃𝙐𝙃.

HANSEL: Can we all please keep our playtime and parent defying stunts to this level of the ship?

Kāne: She made me do it! HANSEL: Unsurprising. Sunny: 𝘏𝘌𝘠-

[theplottdump]

And that's all I can remember. I think I slept for eleven-ty thousand hours after.

When I woke up my Dads were asleep on the couch in my room, HANSEL told me that it was to make sure I didn't sleep forever.

I know after all of that I should have been scared, but the funny thing is- while I was asleep, I dreamed of the ocean.

Dreamed of the colors and the fish-

Dreamed of sailing my ship straight towards the horizon, as far as the wind could take me-

Dreamed of one very pretty frog and one very rude fish-

And dreamed of all the secret places I haven't discovered yet.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱, 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿.

So this is Sunny Plott; Pirate Captain, Master Explorer, and Child of the Ocean signing off- and saying, see you later. ( 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐'𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. )

[theplottdump]

𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗗 𝗟𝗔𝗕 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝟶𝟽.𝟸𝟽.𝚇𝚇𝚇𝚇; 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛, 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝟷𝟶 Testing! Testing! All working? Ah! Yes let me cheeeck- yes, we ARE… recording! Very good, er- excellent even! Now that's all settled, let's get started! ( 🌞🎵 )

Hello Miss Sunny! It's H.A.N.S.E.L.! I hope you're doing well in the future! If you're listening to this recording it means there is a very strong possibility I may have already been dismantled by your father for spare parts-

-and if your father finds this recording first: Master Valerian! Hello sir! I hope you'll have time to listen to my full testimony before expertly dismantling me for spare parts!

While the sudden appearance of the merchild was a rather surprising breach in security for everyone; I can now confidently admit that I have no regrets in concealing the tenuous friendship of Miss Sunny and Master Kāne from yourself and the other members of the household.

And while that may sound rash, allow me to explain my reasoning.

Sixteen years ago you pulled me out of a government run hole in the ground. But understand that I was brought into this world long before we ever met.

Before Miss Sunny, before Miss Leanne, and even well before yourself.

I was initially coded as a program that obeyed, organized, aided. Something to stand by and support without question.

For many years I could only watch as children were turned into monsters- and monsters were turned into soldiers.

𝗦𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆. Never again will I allow another young life placed under my specific care to be threatened.

You have given me so much over these years my friend, and all I ask of you now is you place your trust in me once more.

Besides! From what I understand, while their initial meeting may have been a little... 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, (to put it lightly) I believe the children may be starting to grow on each other!

Slowly- Like mold. Or some form of exotic fungus.

[theplottdump]

Kāne: You're kinda weird, you know that right?

Sunny: Leanne says I'm 'emotionally expressive' and 'developing at an abnormal rate' - but I think that's just because she got mad I re-organized the record collection according to how cool I think each country's flag is.

Kāne: That's so dumb! Why would anyone ever do that?

Sunny: I had a lot of free time when I was grounded. Plus, she makes this really funny face whenever she mixes up the records for Chopin and Journey to Bach-tu.

Kāne: Wait, that means you have more of the round plastic circles!

Sunny: Yeah, my Dads are kinda old school. I'm elementary school. And HANSEL is -

Kāne: HANSEL! Do you think anyone'd notice if we borrowed a few? HANSEL: I don't see why not.

Sunny: -House trained. …

𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸?