280o.o Avast! The sequel to Hoofin' It With Pirates has arrived! Well, the first chapter, anyways xd... Anywho, here you go, hope you enjoy, and if you haven't read the first one, then don't read this, savvy? Please keep in mind that, while there is quite a bit about church in the first few chapters here, it is not meant to be offensive and really doesn't focus on the religion, but rather the art of learning what service to others really means.
Disclaimer: Avast! Pineapple ho! ...Yeah, if I owned PotC, it'd be WAAAYY more than a pineapple, savvy? o-e
Finding the Warmth of Light
Chapter One: A Visiting Mate and Reacting Others
It was a chilly winter day in Center City, Philadelphia. Today had been labeled a 'code blue', and everyone was inside keeping warm. ...Or...in their cars. ...The streets were irritatingly congested. Even more now than usual. Amy Xyphir sighed, looking out the window, her breath fogging the glass. The other four girls were chattering excitedly, completely un-bored by the long drive from home to here, made longer by the traffic backup. They were on a mission trip with their church, Aton Presbyterian, doing service to their own city for a change. It was true, she wasn't exactly looking forward to the trip. All her friends in church had been unable to come, and thus would she be stuck with perky and preppy and other people she didn't know too well. She hated perky. She also disliked being with people-at least those she didn't know too well, or wasn't friends with. She blamed her introvertedness. The only person she was even relatively comfortable around was the Youth Pastor who was accompanying them. However, he was in one of the other two vans. But that was all right, she reasoned. She was content with her own silence and the promise of a weekend filled with new experiences and opportunities. However, without her parents or her friends there with her for a whole weekend, she would be a wee bit timid about her work.
Oh well, thought she, watching a small group of people hastening down the sidewalk, hurrying to their (hopefully) warmer destinations. She sighed again, this time in relief, glad for the heating in the van. Yay, we're moving again! I can't wait to see where we'll be staying this weekend, she thought as the traffic began to pick up. But it seemed her thinking had jinxed things, for as they were going over a bridge, that said traffic decided to come to a standstill.
"They say it's like this every morning," said Mrs. Kel, the driver, and the three girls in the back seat groaned. "But we won't have to come this way, I don't think." Everyone sighed in relief. Battling this kind of jam was the last thing any of them wanted.
Amy had to blink a few times behind her new glasses before she realized it had begun to snow. Tiny white crystals flurried lazily about, landing on windows and cars, melting immediately. Minutes passed faster than the cars did, and the flurries eventually grew into clumps. A rather large one landed on her windows, obscuring the gray view of the bridge's sidewalk, the bridge which they were still stuck on. She watched in mild fascination as the white fuzz became clear and liquid. Through it, she could see a blurry, blue blotch on the walkway. The water dripped leisurely down the pane, revealing the figure: A man in a powdered wig and standard 1700's read Admiral naval uniform, hat in hand. He whipped his head around, looking this way and that, looking confused, as if with absolutely no idea where he was, or where he was going, or perhaps even whether he was going anywhere at all. A car sped past, filling a hole made by someone turning off, and he recoiled, watching it as if he'd never before seen a sedan. To the average Philadelphian passerby (or driverby, in this case), what with their common lack of knowledge of actual wear from certain times and locations, he was just one of the people who dressed up old-fashioned like and gave tours of historical sites and landmarks and such in the city. Another passing car beeped its horn at him before turning off, thinking him some new attraction to Philly. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Well, he really only seemed to startle slightly, but Ames had a way of seeing these things. ...Just like when they had first met...
Her eyes widened with recognition, and without a second thought, she flung open the door and stepped out into the unmoving mass of automobiles and cold. "Ellie!" she called to the figure, hands cupped around her mouth, breath forming a cloud in the air before her, glasses steaming up. The man looked to her, and she beckoned him closer.
"Amy?" he asked as he wove through the still-standing cars to her.
"James!" He rushed to her and they embraced. "What are you doing here, where—," she stopped. "Never mind. I'm sure we both have questions to bombard one another with, and we can take care of that once we get you off the streets." She led him to the door of the van. "Come on, get in."
He peered cautiously inside. "What is it?"
"It's a carriage. Go on, go on," and she gently shoved him inside the teal/grey automobile, climbing in after. She directed him to sit right in between the seats that made up the middle row, and again took her seat, buckling her seatbelt."
"Amy, you can't just bring a stranger off the streets—," Mrs. Kel began.
But Amy interrupted. "—I think you'll find that I can. Look, I'll explain everything later, with all the chaperones so as I won't have to repeat myself, savvy?" Mrs. Kel agreed grudgingly. As if on cue, the traffic light changed, and they were soon leaving behind that accursed traffic backup.
"Where are we?" murmured James.
Ames grinned that crazed grin of hers and said in an uber cheap French accent, "Welcome to de esteemed citee of Philadelphia, my friend."
He blinked. "Truly nothing like the Port I once knew, then."
"Save for, maybe, the Delaware," she added. He nodded agreement.
Finally removing his wig, he set it before him, atop his elaborate hat, and ran a hand through his short, tousled, light brown hair. "So this is your kind of carriage, then?"
"Yep."
"Curious. No steeds. Then how does it move?"
"Believe me when I say it's too complicated and am not fully sure of any of it."
"Eh?"
"Summat about gasoline, oil, turbines, motors, cylinders, suspension systems, batteries, brakes, electricity and suchwhat energy, and—man, it'd take all day to explain it, and I don't really even know what I'm explaining. Let's leave that to the experts, huh?"
He gaped back at her, frozen in place, brows raised, moments later snapping out of it and bobbing his head. "Yes."
"So, uh...stupid question, I know, but...what'cha doing here?"
"I was in trouble and asked to come here."
Her eyebrows shot up. "Trouble? You? Jaaaammmes...?"
He smiled somewhat shamefully up at her. "I betrayed the Navy, pet."
She watched him with an incredulous, shocked, surprised expression. "No way!"
"It's true, love."
"...Whad'ja do?"
He smiled again, this time less shameful. "I let my brother go free."
She beamed in pride at him and reached out with one hand to squeeze his shoulder, as her seatbelt wouldn't allow her to glomp him as a proud aunt should. "That's m'boy. Remind me to give you a cookie."
He glanced up at her, a puzzled expression on his face. "Cookie?"
She smiled mischievously. "You'll see."
"Uh oh."
"You'll love it, I promise."
"Of course I will," was his somewhat resigned reply. "So this is Philadelphia, eh?"
"Meerw! ...Wait, sorry, that's catfrog for yes."
He shook his head almost sympathetically, visibly holding back laughter. "I thought you said you lived in the 'suburbs.'"
"I do. I'm here to do mission work with my church. Service. You know."
"Service?"
"Perhaps you don't know," she amended. "Rebuilding and/or cleaning up old churches, feeding the hungry, bringing warm wintry garments to the homeless, and so on and such forth."
"Homeless?" James lowered his eyes, looking somewhat unnerved. "You know, I never asked...what social class you are in."
Her jaw dropped, and her soft brown gaze shifted into a sharp, black glare. "Does it matter? If I were a lower class, would you see me as scum of the Earth, unacceptable to socialize with?" Her voice was soft and calm, almost as if trying to hold back sadness, rather than anger.
"No...no. My apologies." He looked away ashamedly. "It's just...in our world, it's usually only certain classes that would burden themselves with that, who would lower themselves to such a point."
"LOWER!" He flinched visibly. "I'm sorry. But why must it be dirt under a brick to help those in need?"
"It's their own fault that they need such that they do," he muttered crossly but softly. "They should get themselves out of such a situation."
"God's bread, James!" The van went silent a moment as she quieted. "You know, maybe it's a really good thing you showed up here and now. Perhaps we can turn you around."
He looked up to see her studying him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, fingers stroking an 'imaginary beard,' all former signs of hostility nonexistent. "What?" he startled.
"Nothing, nothing, nothing at all," she replied, voice betraying a hidden laughter as she continued to study him.
He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Y-yes. Right, sure. Of course. ..."
"Oy?" Ames suggested.
"That's the word."
"See? More proof."
"Not that I doubt it."
"Heh."
"We're here," said Mrs. Kel as they turned down a narrow road, ended up going the complete wrong way, drove around the block since it was all one-way, and parking before a decrepit-looking building.
"Great, now we can get this all sorted out," sighed Amy with a dreading relief.
"We have to wait for the others to get here."
"Are we the first ones here?" asked one of the aforementioned girls in the backseat.
"Yup," was Mrs. Kel's response. "Oh, there comes Justin." She pointed out another van parking some distance up the street.
The first van emptied as everyone stepped out into the cold to wait for the final two vans. James pulled his coat more snugly around him. "Gracious. Is it always this cold here?"
"Only on a code blue at the peak of winter. What, doesn't it get cold down in the Caribbean?"
"I thought it did. But now that I experience it, our winter must be like spring to you. By the by, what is a code blue?"
"I knew you were going to ask. It's where it's so cold that the police and all them official poeple get everyone off the streets because it's a health hazard to be out. Is why the streets're so congested." She sniffled. "...Like my nose." The wind picked up and James shivered. "Okay, share body heat time, come on." And she huddled closer. However, even as she was beginning to get him warm, his lips and hands were starting on blue. "Ohp. That's why it's called a code blue, huh." He nodded, trying not to shiver.
The other vans pulled up. Out stepped the rest of the high schoolers...And the rest of the chaperones. James immediately stopped shivering and straightened, composing himself for confrontation, reverting to 'unyielding-Commodore' mode. "Hey everyone," called a fairly young man, perhaps in his early thirties, with short, dark hair and ice blue eyes.
"That's out pastor, Scott," Ames murmured to her nephew. They watched as Mrs. Kel gathered with the chaperones and Scott, and spoke to them in a huddle in somewhat hushed tones. The young minister glanced at James, listening intently, thoughtful frown on his face. "Oh-oh, here it goes..."
True enough, Scott approached moments later, appearing as amiable and eager to make a new friend as ever. "Hello there," chirruped he in his friendly tenor, smiling affably to show no hostility. "So, it looks like you came to join us. Scott Mako." He extended his hand, which the Navy man shook.
"Former Commodore James Norrington."
"Now why does that sound familiar?" The young pastor scrunched up his face, racking his memory.
"You'll find out once I explain," cut the girl into his train of thought. "But I'll need to talk to everyone, as in chaperones, in private, kay?"
The reverend bobbed his head. "Cool. Let's get everyone settled first, and then we can talk."
"Sounds like a plan."
So everyone was gathered and led inside to a lounge that looked (and was) comfortable and cozy, rather than cold and decrepit and falling apart as the exterior gave pretense to. There, they met two representatives of the Foundation they were working with, then shown to the two bunk rooms up a couple of steep flights of stairs; one for the girls, one for the boys, the 'no purple' rule applying as always. Girls were off the landing at the peak of the first flight, the boys atop the second. They received an introduction and orientation, then left to unpack and claim their mattresses.
Ames made certain to finish quickly, and was back down in the lounge where James was, to wait for the chaperones. She happened upon him studying the mural on the wall of the Philadelphia skyline, hat on head, wig in hand. "It' rather bewildering. ...So many things I don't understand, after coming from a life where everything I saw I understood; now I find there is so much more that I will never know-that even with all my knowledge, I know truly nothing."
"Such intrigue be the world," the girl mused wisely.
"Aye."
He was about to continue, but she cut him off before he had the chance to begin. "Lemme guess; you want to know what they are," she gestured to the silhouetted skyscrapers.
He smiled at her powerful intuition. "Yes."
She grinned. "Two in a row, I'm on fire!—Only an expression!" she added quickly at hit alarmed expression. "These, dear boy, are buildings. Offices, stock markets, trade, shopping centres...landmarks..."
His eyes widened. "And yet they stand steady? Remarkable. It's as though they touch the skies..."
"Hence the term 'sky scrapers.'"
"Ah."
"Yep."
"All right, so what's going on?" asked a voice. The two turned around to see Scott, along with the other assembled adults, at the top of the stair leading from the main level landing down to the lounge. They descended and sat in the couches and armchairs, waiting for her to explain.
Thus she took a long, deep breath to calm her nerves—public speaking wasn't one of her strong points—and began.
All right, all right, I'll admit it...I came out with this a day before the one year anniversary for Hoofin' It, but, well, I was just so excited I couldn't bear to make you all wait another moment! So please: was it worth the wait? Does it seem interesting in any way shape or form? Should I continue? Should I completely redo my idea? Anybody got any ideas with which I may expand the storyline with? And comments at all! That's what the reviewing system is for, people. Please make use of it.
In other words...REVIEW! Spleeeeeee