Adventures of The Pirate & Crew - How Did We Get In This Kitchen? (Pen to the Paper One Shot)

"Rick.... Cerissa.... Essie.... are you all ok?"

"Yeah, I think so Mitch." Rick replied to the pirate checking on him and the rest of their crew. The sixteen year old quickly confirmed that he was wearing the dark helmet that came from Hugh's hero network, the helmet that provided him body armor and weapons that appeared by thought. "Essie.... Cerissa.... how are you two?"

"I'm ok Rick." Essie answered, showing her usual beautiful smile, which always made Rick's heart flutter. "Cerissa, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, no issues here." Cerissa said in her soft, yet strong voice.

Cerissa and Essie were both mages whose memories had been erased by an evil warlock named Glicko. Essie was about the same age as Rick, while Cerissa was ten years older. Mitch was the senior of the group, being in his mid 40's. He managed to act young though, and having the ability to turn into a powerful pirate helped with that.

"Last I remember, I was fighting Petunia in her mutated form on the beach." Mitch mused, still in his Pirate transformation. "Wait, where are Doug and Dirk?"

"They aren't here!" Cerissa said with concern. "Wait, where is here anyway?"

The group found themselves standing in a kitchen. A towering refrigerator was in front of them, and a countertop made of marble was next to the refrigerator. They stood on a blue carpeted floor. There were no shelves, just multiple marble countertops that floated around the kitchen. If there was a ceiling, it wasn't visible in the vastness above them. Even without visible lights, the kitchen was well lit.

"This is a strange kitchen, starting with the carpet on the floor." Cerissa remarked. "My memories aren't back yet, but I don't remember coming into this kitchen, let alone whatever house we are in. Do any of you remember anything?"

"I got nothing." Rick shrugged. "I remember we had just helped you make a new sword for The Pirate to help him fend off Petunia's diamond arms, then all of a sudden we woke up here. Could this be a filler story arc?"

"Maybe." Essie said with a hint of concern. "This strange adventure we are in doesn't sound like it is going to be canon."

"Canon or not, that's the writer's call." The Pirate chimed in. "I also have no idea where we are, or how we got here. All I know is we are all here, and we need to find out what's going on. I don't see any doorways in this kitchen, it seems like the only way out would be by climbing these marble countertops. Didn't expect to be in a real life platform game, but let's see what we can find up higher."

Before the heroes could climb up, they noticed a heavy smoke filling the kitchen. A giant bowl of burnt macaroni & cheese floated towards the crew. The bowl had a face, and it was not a happy one.

"She didn't add water before microwaving me! And now I will take out my frustration on you intruders!"

Charred pieces of macaroni floated out of the bowl before flying rapidly at The Pirate and his crew. The Pirate quickly drew his sword and deflected the macaroni away from his allies. While he did this, Cerissa pointed her finger at the bowl of mac & cheese. Although she was still relearning the content of her spellbook due to her lost memories, she had some combat magic to work with. Reciting the spell in her head, Cerissa fired an icy blast at the bowl, freezing it solid.

"That should keep it at bay." Cerissa said with relief. "Pirate, can you use your sword and send it to the Reflection Dimension?"

The Reflection Dimension was an alternate world created by Hugh to contain the most dangerous criminals. Its residents would be taken care of while there, and could return to the normal world with no further consequences if they vowed to change their ways (the Reflection Dimension debuted here https://theprose.com/post/416925/redemption-in-another-dimension). The Pirate lept at the frozen bowl and sliced it in half. The halves disappeared, then reappeared as a fully intact bowl filled with delicious, perfectly cooked macaroni and cheese. The bowl was no longer scowling, but now looked at the crew apologetically.

"I'm so sorry!" The bowl cried out. "My name is Mac, and Shiner purposely put me in the microwave without water, and caused the macaroni within me to burn. It hurt so bad, and I wasn't thinking straight!"

"Apology accepted Mac." Cerissa said kindly. "Can you tell us where we are, and who Shiner is?"

"This is an alternate world that only consists of this kitchen and a room above it." Mac answered. "Shiner is the one that not only lights up this world, but rules it too. If you climb those marble countertop platforms, you will find her. She likes to bring random objects to life and torment them, like she did to me. She will also drag random people into this world and do the same. If you defeat her you will return to your own storyline. But all that have tried before have died!"

"We'll stop her." The Pirate said reassuringly. "Thanks for letting us know what we need to do to escape."

Mac smiled and winked at the heroes. The Pirate, Rick, Cerissa and Essie climbed onto the countertop next to the giant fridge and jumped onto the other ascending countertops. The last countertop had a long ladder on it, and the crew climbed the ladder until they found themselves in a vast, empty living room. Besides a grey carpeted floor and seemingly endless space, they found a woman whose body consisted of a featureless silhouette that was not a dark shadow like the villain Leftover (https://theprose.com/post/438456/leftover-villains-wiki), but shone bright yellow instead.

"I see you survived Mac's burn, but his heat pales in comparison to mine!" The silhouette taunted.

"You must be Shiner!" Rick said heatedly (no pun intended). "You will burn no one else ever again once we're done with you!"

"Boy, the only thing you have right is my name!" Shiner mocked. "You will die in my world, just like everyone else I have brought here!"

Shiner lunged at Rick, throwing punches and kicks at him. Had the blows landed, Rick's armor would have melted on impact. Luckily, Rick had drawn his sword in time and lit it up into a laser sword, using it to deflect Shiner's strikes. While Rick defended himself, Essie pointed at Shiner and recited a spell in her head that sent a green cloud out of her fingertip. The cloud engulfed Shiner before absorbing into her body. Shiner then slumped down onto one knee, panting and sweating profusely.

"What is happening to me?" Shiner asked in horror. "My body is used to heat, why is it a problem that I'm overheating now?"

"I hit you with a poison spell." Essie explained. "You won't die, but you also won't be able to fight anymore. You will pass out right about.... now!"

Shiner fell face first onto the living room floor, unconscious just like Essie had predicted.

"Shiner won't be kidnapping people from other dimensions, or tormenting other lives anymore." Rick said reassuringly, making a laser gun appear in his hand. "Time for her to go to another dimension this time, the Reflection one!"

Rick blasted Shiner's sleeping body, and she disappeared, safely transported to the Reflection Dimension. The only issue was Shiner had provided the light for this strange world, and with her gone, everything went dark....

*****

Cerissa, Rick and The Pirate found themselves at Doug and Dirk's house, back in the beginning of their current story arc. Their memories of the strange world they had escaped from were gone, along with their memories of everything that had happened after this point in time that they had been transferred back to. Their memories of their ally Essie were also gone, but they would meet her soon for the second first time once they ventured to the beach together. No one was aware, but outside of the house Mac was flying through the sky, squealing with delight....

The Pirate and his crew's adventures continue here: https://theprose.com/post/425756/dirk-s-fate