Sugarcane

They went about their pirate duties into the afternoon, sailing the snowy seas, and no one mentioned Toucan Kid. At one point, Octopus Kid sent Moth Kid -- the best flyer -- up into the air to scout around. When she came back, they talked in her rebuilt captain's quarters for a long time. Then Cap'n Octopus Kid emerged to make an announcement.\n\n"Arr, me hearties -- we been piratin' all t'afternoon, and we ain't taken nothin' but our freedom. That's about to change." She climbed into the crow's nest with octopodulous grace.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/023.jpg]]\n\n"Thanks to Moth Kid's flyin' spyin', we were able to follow Toucan Kid. That's right -- the traitor made it outta the snowcean. And he led us right to the snowfort built by Skunk Kid and company, those cowards who refused to join our scarvy crew." Octopus Kid drew a long, crooked icicle, and held it high in the air like a sword. "And we're going after them! We'll get the traitor, and we'll get all the wintry treasures they've stowed away in their little snow village! And it's not even dark out yet, so NO ONE WILL STOP US!"\n\nThe pirates cheered. Dinosaur Kid knew that this was what they'd been waiting for. Standing around on the ship had been getting boring, and Elephant Kid was getting tired. But now they had new energy. The <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> surged forward, and there in the not-so-far distance, they could see the collection of igloos and snow-walls that made up their target.\n\nBut he couldn't help asking himself ... //Is this what// I've //been waiting for?// He just wasn't [[sure|Attack on Snowfort]].

"It's ... it's ... " Octopus Kid's eyes widened and she lifted a brand new snowboot from the box.\n\n"It's ... fuzzy!" she squealed.\n\n"It's called //faux// fur," said Dinosaur Kid. "You're always wishin' that you had fur, so I figured, ya know, why not?"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/071.jpg]]\n\nOctopus Kid climbed in, and it looked like a perfect fit. She twisted side-to-side, checking the flexibility out. Then she used her arms to take a few big strides. "This is the single best thing that has ever happened to anyone in the history of ever, forever," she said. "Hands down."\n\n"I definitely learned somethin' today," said Dinosaur Kid. "It's not about the print of your boot, but scarves can be scratchy, and when they are, it's not good. And //friends.//"\n\n"I don't follow," said Octopus Kid.\n\n"Hey, it's not quite supper time yet," Dinosaur Kid said. "Do you wanna go dig for treasure in my backyard?"\n\n"I've been given all the treasure in the world," Octopus Kid said, "but YES."\n\nThey wobbled off together, galumphing like a couple of [[bowling pins|End]].\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"I don't get it," said Toucan Kid to all the other bystanders. "What does //foe// mean?"\n\n"//Faux// means fake," said Skunk Kid. "But //foe// means enemy."\n\n"So ... they were fake enemies?"\n\n"What?" said Mouse Kid.\n\n"Faux foes?" asked Toucan Kid.\n\n"Faux //fur//," Skunk Kid said.\n\n"Gopher? Gopher Kid? Who's that?"\n\nMouse Kid sighed.\n\n<<stopbgm QrR0xdWgbPA>>

Defeated and presentless, Dinosaur Kid didn't know what else to do, so he headed back towards the park. When he got there, he only found a handful of animal kids -- the leftovers who'd managed to stay in their own little worlds while Octopus Kid drew her line in the snow. There was Ant Kid, Kid, Whale Kid, <<silently>><<if $ShipName gte 1>> and ... Toucan Kid?\n\n"What're you doin' here?" Dinosaur Kid asked him.\n\nToucan Kid hopped forward and hugged him. "It was you! While you distracted everybody, I escaped over the other side of the ship."\n\n"Well, I'm glad I didn't get my butt kicked for nothin'," DK said.\n\n<<else>>and Toucan Kid.\n\n"What're you guys doin' here?" DK asked.<<endif>><<endsilently>>\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/060.jpg]]\n\n"Octopus Kid's gone totally evil," said Toucan Kid. "She's taken the pirate game to a whole 'nother level."\n\n"We thought we could all hide out here," said Whale Kid, "but they keep sailing by and yelling threats.\n\n"We don't feel safe," said Ant Kid, quietly clicking his mandible.\n\n"I know how y'all feel." Dinosaur Kid made sharp little fists. "Those takers took my present ... but I'm fixin' to take it back."\n\n"How're you gonna do that?" Toucan Kid asked.\n\n"Easy," said Dinosaur Kid. "We'll make [[our own crew|The Leftovers]]!"\n\n<<stopbgm puLjpy2LF8w>>\n<<stopbgm 70g81Z-fx3A>>\n<<stopbgm ZW0Pb829g1U>>\n<<loopbgm fA627z8gORU>>\n\n<<stopbgm g2WEq2QOt-E>>

As he trudged on into the wild snowsea, Dinosaur Kid didn't look back at the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>>. The winds whistled and grew around him, kicking up miniature blizzards. Snow soaked into his boots, his gloves, and the neck of his coat, leaving him cold and damp from headish to toe-abouts.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/021.jpg]]\n\nHe squinted and winced and stomped on for what seemed like hours, days, weeks at sea, adrift in unlimited white. The gray sky did nothing to guide him. For all he knew, he was floating in circles, endlessly circumnavigating his own little globe of nothing, imagining the things he could've done differently. Imagining his family, and friends, and seeing them again. Imagining warmth. Imagining a little village made of snow, protected by a wall of snow, with Skunk Kid and Mouse Kid and Chameleon Kid, frosty, skin the same color as the snow ...\n\nWait. That wasn't his imagination. Dinosaur Kid rubbed his eyes and straightened up.\n\nHe had stumbled across the other animal kids' [[snowfort|Fort Snowfort]].\n\n<<stopbgm -y1rf0gQFho>>\n<<loopbgm ZW0Pb829g1U>>\n\n<<stopbgm l1xHHNpT4Nc>>

It was winter, and the clouds came in like a floaty gray ocean. From the ground, they looked bulky and patient, slow as sailboats comin' over the horizon. But if you could fly into the sky and see them up close -- they were a fleet of battleclouds, frothy and furious, splitting and folding and converging into superdestroyers, loading their cannons with boulders of snow. \n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/002.jpg]]\n\nThey washed over the neighborhood in a single night, dumping everything they had. By morning, every street -- every shingle -- every withered blade of grass -- was whited out. Enblanketed. The whole world was squichy and edgeless and camouflaged.\n\nAlso, school -- and with it, all order -- was [[canceled]].\n\n<<stopbgm bWKhdWnLzfo>>\n<<loopbgm 0riDq1usBCM>>\n\n<<stopbgm W_cTNBYNZZE>>

The mood of the ship burst like a water balloon, and silence drenched the snowpirates.\n\nDinosaur Kid cleared his throat. "It was an accident, Cap'n," he said.\n\nThen Octopus Kid grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in close. "You're my first mate," she said, "and I gave you an order."\n\nDinosaur Kid looked at her, looked around, looked at Toucan Kid. \n\n"No," said Toucan Kid. "No, no, no! I'm sorry!"\n\nDinosaur Kid put his hands up and walked over to Toucan Kid, trying to calm him down. "Hang on, hang on. Let's figure this out." He got nice and close, then leaned in and whispered, "Toucan Kid -- it's no big deal. You can fly, right?"\n\n"No," whispered Toucan Kid. His eyes were wide and he barely moved his beak when he talked. "I can't fly real good." He started looking left and looking right, quick and panicked. "DK, don't make me do it. I don't wanna walk the plank. I didn't even know we //had// a plank."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/014.jpg]]\n\nDinosaur Kid could see how scared Toucan Kid was. About twenty-nine thoughts rushed through DK's head. If he was playing pirate, he had a duty to obey the captain -- but what good was a crew that didn't take care of each other? And if the captain wasn't going to take care of the crew, then did she deserve to be captain? But wasn't Octopus Kid his best friend? But/and/or and, wasn't he the first mate? There was too much to consider and not enough time. He made the only decision he thought he could make.\n\n [[- Make Toucan Kid walk the plank.|Punishment]]\n [[- Refuse to administer punishment.|You Plank]]\n [[- Rebel against the captain.|Mutiny]]\n\n<<stopbgm vhL5Ca8h4hE>>\n<<loopbgm DtFJZ2GoViA>>\n\n<<stopbgm MWkInhZkFok>>

Everyone turned to look. Even Elephant Kid had halted, bringing the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> to a standstill. The captain's quarters -- the dome of snow at the back of the ship -- had collapsed. Toucan Kid was slowly backing away, looking scared.\n\n"I didn't mean to," he said. "It was an accident."\n\n"Cap'n!" Dinosaur Kid shouted and stomped forward. He dug at the caved-in snow until a tubey tentacle burst free and wrapped around his hand. He pulled Octopus Kid out. She was slick with snow, and shivering.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/013.jpg]]\n\n"Are you okay, Octopus Kid?" DK asked.\n\n"I'm sorry," said Toucan Kid, still nervous, "I didn't mean to."\n\n"Punish him," Octopus Kid said between shivers. \n\n"What'd you say?" DK could barely hear her.\n\n"First mate," she said, louder, "Toucan Kid is a traitor. Traitors walk [[the plank]]."\n\n<<stopbgm 6_gBiCzHysw>>\n<<loopbgm vhL5Ca8h4hE>>\n\n<<stopbgm DtFJZ2GoViA>>

"Howzabout we make a deal?" said Dinosaur Kid. "Pirates love a good b//arrr//gain."\n\n"What did you have in mind?" asked Ostrich Kid.\n\n"If you let me go," DK said, "um ... I'll give you ... a hug."\n\nThe pirates looked at each other.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/035.jpg]]\n\n"I have a question about the hug," Ostrich Kid said. "When was the last time you took a bath?"\n\n"Do we each get a hug?" asked Elephant Kid. "Or is it, like, a group hug?"\n\n"Nobody's gettin' a hug," Hawk Kid said. "You're forgetting, DK, that you don't //give// us stuff. We //take// it."\n\n"Okay, fine," said Dinosaur Kid. "What do you want?"\n\nOstrich Kid and Elephant Kid looked at each other. (It seemed like they both kinda wanted the hug.) But Hawk Kid looked at Dinosaur Kid's [[present|A Trade]] ...\n\n<<stopbgm oWkFU_1Hcck>>\n<<loopbgm 70g81Z-fx3A>>

"Stop!" he declared --\n\n-- but he was too late. The ninjas were gone, and they'd taken the present with them.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/057.jpg]]\n\nDinosaur Kid got the jar of peanut butter out of the pantry, sat on the floor, and ate a big, sad, [[sobby glob|Your Own Crew]].\n\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>\n<<loopbgm puLjpy2LF8w>>\n\n<<stopbgm fA627z8gORU>>

"Hey, look!" Chameleon Kid saw him first, with his loopy eyes. "It's Dinosaur Kid!" he shouted.\n\n<<silently>><<if $ShipName gte 1>>"Stay back, you evil pirate!" yelled Mouse Kid. "This is a peaceful place, where kids play in the snow and don't take anything from anybody!"\n\n"Wait," said Skunk Kid, popping up from behind the wall. "He's a mess. Something must've happened."\n<<else>>"Whoa, he looks cold!" yelled Mouse Kid. "Get him in here!"<<endif>><<endsilently>>\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/039.jpg]]\n\nThey ushered him into the village and put him in one of the igloos with one of those cool lanterny flashlights. Then they dumped the snow from his boots and gave him a dry scarf.\n\nAfter DK'd had a chance to warm up, Skunk Kid sat with him. She smelled really good, but Dinosaur Kid couldn't tell her so and he wasn't sure why.\n\n"Listen, DK," she said to him, "We dunno how you got here, but we don't care. You're safe now. Those pirate jerks don't even know where this village is."\n\n"Thanks," he told her, "but I wish our other friends hadn't lost their marbles so they could be here, too."\n\n"Yeah, but we'll see them when we go back to school. C'mon -- I'll [[show you around|small beauties]]."\n\n<<stopbgm KsAYxqqF_Xc>>\n<<stopbgm dtn44NPxrgQ>>\n<<stopbgm ZW0Pb829g1U>>\n<<loopbgm l1xHHNpT4Nc>>

" ... ake up."\n\nDinosaur Kid curled and rolled beneath the blanketbundle. The pillowpuffs hugged his orange head.\n\n"Hey. Time to wake up, DK."\n\nHe opened his eyes to see Duck Mom, sitting over him. The light in the room was fuzzy and crystalicious.\n\n"Hi, Mom," he said, yaaaawning.\n\n"I'm about to leave for work," she said, "but I wanted to wake you up first. Guess what." She nodded her beak at the window beside his bed. He rolled over and saw that it was bright, white, and foggy ... then he sat up in a rush and rubbed the fog away.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/003.jpg]]\n\nThe neighborhood he knew was completely gone. A brand new world had fallen out of the sky while he slept.\n\n"It's a winter wonterland!" he said, eyes opening wide for the first time that day.\n\n"Yep," said Mom. "And with no school, you'll just have to go out there and try to [[learn something]]."\n\n<<stopbgm 0riDq1usBCM>>\n<<loopbgm W_cTNBYNZZE>>

They ran at full speed. While Dinosaur Kid and Ant Kid carried the wading pool, Whale Kid and Toucan Kid let go and lowered their hands to the ground. They each scooped snow into a ball and rolled it along, letting it build before their feet as they kept pace with the submarine. By the time they were close to Octopus Kid's pirate ship, they had big old snow boulders.\n\n"Let 'em have it!" Dinosaur Kid shouted, and Whale Kid and Toucan Kid stepped out from under the submarine to hurl their snowy cannonballs. One blew up on the deck, covering multiple sleds with slippery snow. The other hit Jellyfish Kid straight on and knocked him clean off the boat.\n\n"It's an ambush!" Octopus Kid hollered from her post. "Elephant Kid -- full speed ahead! Moth Kid -- take off! Giraffe Kid, Ostrich Kid, Jellyfish Kid -- FIRE EVERYTHING!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/062.jpg]]\n\nA bajillion tiny, pre-made snowballs peppered the submarine. Whale Kid and Toucan Kid ducked back underneath. Snowballs plunk-a-chunked on the roof, but they were protected. They circled the pirate ship while the cannoneers prepared another volley.\n\n"Get them!" said Octopus Kid as Whale Kid and Toucan Kid stepped out to launch their giant snowballs. Toucan Kid hit Octopus Kid's quarters, the igloo on the back of the ship, and caved it right in. But before he could throw his snowball, Whale Kid took one right between the eyes. He said, "Doof!" and went down.\n\nThey parked the submarine over him and lowered it to the ground, like a turtleshell. "He's totally out of it," said Ant Kid. Whale Kid's eyes had gone all swirly. Then -- an enormous snowball dented the roof of the submarine.\n\n"It's Moth Kid," said Toucan Kid. "She's flyin' around, droppin' the big bombs. What can we do?"\n\nTo Dinosaur Kid, it looked like they were almost out of options. If they gave up, the craziness would end -- but they'd be at Octopus Kid's mercy. On the other hand, they could charge ahead and ram the pirates -- but they'd all go down with the ship, and Whale Kid would be stranded. What could he do?\n\n [[- Raise the white flag of surrender.|Sink Me]]\n [[- Take them down with you. Ramming speed.|Sink You]]\n\n<<stopbgm 4uLPduUKzM4>>\n<<loopbgm zghNdBUfkKY>>

The snow crunched under his feet, and the leaves crunched under the snow. He hadn't gotten very far before he heard someone else double-crunchin' after him. It was Hawk Kid, Elephant Kid, and Ostrich Kid -- and they were totally pirated out. Kinda.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/032.jpg]]\n\n"Oh, hi you guys!" said Dinosaur Kid. "I like your costumes."\n\n"We ... don't really have costumes yet," said Hawk Kid. "But I've got a sword! We've got a captain now, too. And the captain says we can't just let you go."\n\n"Aw, shucks," Dinosaur Kid mumbled. "I guess I shoulda guessed as much."\n\nIt looked like these scarvy pirates weren't about to let him go, but he wasn't about to fight anybody. So what did Dinosaur Kid do?\n\n [[- Make a break for it.|Chase]]\n [[- Bargain with 'em.|Bargaining]]\n [[- Hide in the snow.|Coldblooded]]\n\n<<stopbgm _Iis3vnAxTY>>\n<<loopbgm oWkFU_1Hcck>>\n\n<<stopbgm KsAYxqqF_Xc>>\n<<stopbgm 70g81Z-fx3A>>

Dinosaur Kid turned to the rest of the ship. "Look at Toucan Kid!" he said. "That could be any one of us -- punished for something we did on accident. We can't live like this, you guys! It's time for Octopus Kid to give somebody else a turn to be captain."\n\n"DK, what are you doing?" Octopus Kid said. Her face was calm, but her eyes were narrow.\n\n"You said you wanted to take everything from now on," Dinosaur Kid told her, "but now I'm takin' the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> from //you.//"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/015.jpg]]\n\n"Bravo, first mate. Or should I say ... //last// mate." She turned to the crew herself. "You're supposed to be afraid of your captain," she said to them. "It's what keeps you in line. Just imagine what I would do to you if you tried to take my ship away."\n\n"Don't listen to her!" said Dinosaur Kid. "Mutiny! We can win!" He leaned over the side of the ship and plucked a wicked crooked stick out of the snowsea.\n\n"[[En guarde|Skirmish]]!"\n\n<<stopbgm 11txxRHta_k>>

But then a shadow glided over the three of them.\n\n"What was that?"\n\n"Look up there!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/074.jpg]]\n\nHigh overhead, something circled the village. It was wide and rounded, like a floating piece of toast, mysterious and delicious -- but Dinosaur Kid recognized the fluttery way that the shadow rose and fell. He had seen someone fly like that before.\n\n"It's Moth Kid!" he told the others. "She's part of Octopus Kid's scarvy crew!"\n\nThey watched her dip, dive, and dither, making slow circles around the village, until she finally turned and drifted off towards the frosty, foresty horizon.\n\nSkunk Kid crossed her arms. "If Moth Kid knows we're here, then Octopus Kid'll know. And if Octopus Kid knows we're here ... " \n\nDinosaur Kid did a cartoony gulp before Skunk Kid could finish.\n\n"She's [[coming|Defender]]."\n\n<<stopbgm l1xHHNpT4Nc>>\n<<loopbgm O9qkN1GP22M>>\n\n<<stopbgm KDBQsiqvSuY>>

<<silently>><<set $ShipName = 1>><<endsilently>>\n"The Chilled Cannonade," Dinosaur Kid said. "It's real ... cold."\n\n"What's a cannonade?" Octopus Kid said, her eyes extra round with wonder.\n\n"It's like lemonade," said Dinosaur Kid. "Pirates drink it. Only instead of sugar, you use gunpowder."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/009.jpg]]\n\n"It'll do," said Octopus Kid. "I'm gonna go make battle plans in my quarters. You watch over the crew." She wriggled to the back of the ship, where someone had built a little igloo. "Ant Kid -- brew me some cannonade."\n\nAnd with that, the Chilled Cannonade charted a course across the suburban [[snowy seas]].

[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/072.jpg]]\n\nThanks for reading all the way through! This took me, like, two months to put together, but it was easily worth it.\n\nClick [[here|http://www.jimmygrist.net]] to go back to my website, use the restart button on the sidebar to read through and make different decisions, or just close this tab and be on your merry way. Or or or -- maybe stick around for seven minutes to listen to the ending theme. That's what I'd do.\n\nThanks again.\n\n<<stopbgm ismmSr-DUhQ>>\n<<playbgm QrR0xdWgbPA>>

They clashed and clapped and clomped through snow, slashed-n-swapped-n-blocked each blow, with everybody watching. Each attack took another drop of precious energy. Each swipe made a little wind that lifted snow from the dunes.\n\n"Just what -- do you hope -- to //accomplish//?" Octopus Kid grunted between flurries.\n\nDK locked his sword with hers, struggled, and brought his face in close. "I wanna show you you're mistaken," he growled. "That you shouldn't just //take// everything all the time."\n\n"And why NOT?" she roared as she pushed him away and kicked a wave of snow over him.\n\nDinosaur Kid wiped the frost from his face. "Cuz the world's a better place when we give," he said, determination heavy in his throat.\n\n"Well here," said Octopus Kid. "LET ME GIVE //YOU// SOMETHING." She sprung out of her boot with six legs at once, shot up cannon-style, and spread out in the air like a firework. At the peak of her jump, she raised her sword overhead, squeezed up her face, and fell straight for him with the force of a bajillion piratical snowderbolts.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/067.jpg]]\n\nIn a moment of clarity, Dinosaur Kid saw just how vulnerable Octopus Kid had made herself with this attack. If she landed it, he was a goner -- that much was for sure. But she was taking a huge risk, totally exposing herself to a well-timed counterstrike. He realized that his action -- or inaction -- would determine the winner of the duel, and quite possibly, the fate of the neighborhood.\n\n [[- Give her nothing.|Win]]\n [[- Let her win.|Lose]]\n\n

Octopus Kid grabbed DK's present with her rubbery, angry arms.\n\n"Give it back!" Dinosaur Kid said.\n\n"I just said I don't //give// anymore!" said Octopus Kid, and they wrangled with the present until DK finally wrestled it away. Octopus Kid waved him off like whatever.\n\n"Every year, every birthday, it's all give-gib-give," she said to herself, though now the other kids were starting to watch and listen. "I'm sick of it. I'm from the sea! You know who else is from the sea? PIRATES. And they take everything! Who says I can't sail the seven snows, like some kinda snow-pirate, taking whatever I //want?//"\n\nElephant Kid, one of the strongest kids in class, strode forward. "I can't let you do that," he said, "without //me.//" And he threw down his awesome, superslick sled at Octopus Kid's feet.\n\n"We're totally free," Octopus Kid said. "No school, no parents. No one can stop us!"\n\n"From what?" one kid asked.\n\n"From //anything,//" said Octopus Kid. Then she roared in a pirate voice, "Me fellows! Cast off the shackles that enshackle you! We were not meant to sit around, waiting to receive and expected to give in return! We were meant to be strong! To sail! And smash! And loot! And take! Let us be pirates for a day, and see who has the salty guts to stand in our way!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/006.jpg]]\n\nNearly all of the animal kids cheered, though a handful looked around, quiet and uncomfortable in the sudden heat of their friends. Together, everybody was like a volcano erupting -- if some of the volcano's corners were kind of like, "Hey, wait, hang on; do we really wanna do this?"\n\nDinosaur Kid watched as other kids rushed forward, adding their own sleds, or -- even worse -- stealing the sleds of the kids beside them. "That's right!" jeered Octopus Kid, "Join me scarvy crew!" \n\nA line was being drawn in the snow. On one side, the piratical takers; on the other, the sobby tookedeners. Dinosaur Kid was going to have to make a choice.\n\nHe looked down at the present in his arms, took a deep breath, and ...\n\n [[- joined the snow-pirates! Yarr.|Join 'Em]]\n [[- refused! Piracy ain't even nice.|Refusal]]\n [[- politely excused himself.|Polite Excuse]]\n\n<<stopbgm W_cTNBYNZZE>>\n<<loopbgm _Iis3vnAxTY>>\n\n<<stopbgm 3W1JrJU-lUs>>

Snowballs peppered the fortress walls, and snowboulders from above caved in their igloos. Elephant Kid dragged the ship back and forth, dodging as much enemy fire as he could -- but the citizens of the snowfort were ready, and they had plenty of snowballs for the chuckin'. Even worse, Dinosaur Kid could hear the sounds of fighting from inside -- and judging from Octopus Kid's exasperated screams, she was having a tough time.\n\n"We need to do something drastic," Dinosaur Kid said, and then he realized no one was listening. He looked up in the sky, where Moth Kid was circling around weakly. "Hey, Moth Kid!" he yelled, "We need to do something drastic!"\n\nShe fluttered down beside him. "I can't drop any more enormous snowballs. My arms hurt."\n\n"I got this idea," he told her, "but let's just jump to the part where we make it happen."\n\nSo he told her, and Moth Kid flew down to where Hawk Kid was making her giant snowballs. They grasped hands, then Hawk Kid pushed Moth Kid backwards. Her big ol' wings acted like a snowplow and made an enormous snowball -- probably the biggest snowball //ever.//\n\n"Everybody, get behind it!" Dinosaur Kid commanded. They abandoned ship and puuuuuuushed the big snowball into the snowfort, straight through the wall, where it crumbled in a big mess that filled the whole fort up.\n\nThe debris was stuffed with stickswords and winter gear, like mittens and scarves. The pirates and the snowfortizens picked through the aftermath, until DK came across a half-buried Octopus Kid.\n\n"Whoa, Cap'n!" Dinosaur Kid pulled her out. "You okay?"\n\n"I knew it -- you wanted me gone!" She swept her iciclesword at him, at everyone. "You //all// wanted me gone!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/028.jpg]]\n\n"Hey, Octopus Kid, nobody meant to hurt you," DK said. "We were just trying to win the battle. You should calm down."\n\n"I'm the CAPTAIN," she said. "You can't attack me, and you definitely can't tell me to CALM DOWN." With one of her legs, she pegged Dinosaur Kid with a snowball. He hadn't even seen it coming.\n\n"Maybe we shouldn't play pirates anymore," Dinosaur Kid said. "I think it's goin' to your head and flumltrummin' your brain."\n\n"Pick up your sword," she said. Everyone was watching.\n\n"//Pick up your sword,//" she said again.\n\nAnd because Dinosaur Kid knew his friend -- how proud she was, how stubborn, how convinced of her own superiority and rightness and stuff all the time, always, forever -- he felt like he had no other [[choice|The Duel]].\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>

"Hit 'em with the blizzard!" Dinosaur Kid said as he picked up a snowball, packed it real tight, and flung it over the wall. It spun high into the air, and a dozen others followed. They leveled out around the same spot, then fall in a smatter on the oncoming pirates.\n\n"Keep firing!" said Dinosaur Kid, and all the villagers listened, dodging counterfire from the pirate ship. Elephant Kid was out in front, dragging the sledship along single-handedly. "Target Elephant Kid," Dinosaur Kid said. "Take out their engine!"\n\nMultiple snowballs whacked the poor guy, and he ran around to the back of the ship. A lot of the other pirates jumped overboard, too, and ran around to the back of their ship.\n\n"They're fleeing!" glubbed Carp Kid. "We're doing it!"\n\n"Hang on," said Dinosaur Kid. The ship lurched forward. "Hold fire!" he called, and as the last snowball dropped on the empty pirate ship, an eerie silence descended with it. The ship lurched again, and the silence was broken by Octopus Kid's captainimous voice.\n\n"Now!" she shouted. "Do it now!"\n\nAnd the ship didn't just lurch; it //flew// forward. Faster and faster. Ramming speed. Instead of just Elephant Kid dragging it along, all the pirates were in back -- and all of them were pushing.\n\n"They're gonna plow through the wall!" Dinosaur Kid yelled. "Everybody off! Take cover! Don't let it collapse on you!"\n\nAnd as the animal kids of Fort Snowfort fled from their defensive positions, the pirates drove their ship straight through the reinforced wall.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/044.jpg]]\n\nEvery pirate ran around to the front, weapons ready, but Octopus Kid was the one who stepped forward.\n\n"An admirable attempt at defense," she declared, "but I've outthunk ye, I'm claiming this snowfort and everything in it as //mine.//"\n\n"Wait," said Dinosaur Kid. "We won't just //give// it to you. That's not the pirate way."\n\n"Don't you tell me about the pirate way," said Octopus Kid. "I //invented// the pirate way. I'm the pirate queen and king and jack and ace." She snapped her tentacle at Moth Kid, but it didn't really make a snap noise. More of a //flub.// "You and me, Dinosaur Kid."\n\n"What about us?"\n\n"For ownership of this place, and dominion over the neighborhood ... you and me [[duel|The Duel]]."\n\n<<stopbgm KDBQsiqvSuY>>\n<<loopbgm ytn85jdSIic>>\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>

[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/065.jpg]]\n\n[[Continue ...|duel 1.5]]\n\n<<stopbgm IsxGy1OK-yw>>\n<<stopbgm ygsEB1DMAvo>>\n<<stopbgm ytn85jdSIic>>\n<<stopbgm zghNdBUfkKY>>\n<<loopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>\n\n<<stopbgm h9GpuGO3xyo>>

[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/018.jpg]]\n\n[[Continue ...|what next]]\n\n<<stopbgm DtFJZ2GoViA>>\n<<loopbgm MWkInhZkFok>>\n\n<<stopbgm Demsu4kbU_Q>>

"Welcome to Fort Snowfort," Skunk Kid said as they crawled out of the igloo, and for the first time, Dinosaur Kid took it all in.\n\nThere were lots of animal kids, maybe a dozen -- or even a //baker's// dozen. There were igloos for everybody, and one group of kids was helpin' build another. A different construction crew was adding to the wall that ran around the whole village, singin' songs and tellin' jokes while they worked. There was a lookout tower, where Chameleon Kid stood and caught snowflake after snowflake with his super-stretcho-tongue. Carp Kid had even brought his dad's accordion, and was twoodling songs for everyone from the town square.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/073.jpg]]\n\n"This is amazin'," said Dinosaur Kid as two kids flashed by on one sled. "I thought Octopus Kid took everybody's sleds!"\n\n"Yeah, that's what Octopus Kid thought, too," said Skunk Kid, and she smiled all sly-like. They saw Mouse Kid sittin' on the ground, concentrating and working her hands on something. Skunk Kid asked, "Whatcha doin', Mouse Kid?"\n\n"Crafting perfect snowballs," said Mouse Kid, and held the sphere out for DK to take. It fit in his hands like magic. He twisted it every which way, and from every angle, it was a flawless globe. Then he saw that there were hundreds more on the ground behind her.\n\n"You must be a snowball champion," Dinosaur Kid said.\n\n"It's my ears," she told him. "I can //hear// the imperfections, and I unmake 'em."\n\nDinosaur Kid had seen enough. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of the day with his friends at [[Fort Snowfort.|gasp]]\n\n<<stopbgm O9qkN1GP22M>>

"Ho-ha!" Dinosaur Kid said as he somersaulted into the kitchen pantry. He quickly stood, turned around, and held the door shut from the inside.\n\n"Just try to get to me in here," he said through the door. "I got food for days!"\n\nHe could hear the ninjas mumbling outside. He sat tight. He could see a jar of peanut butter, and he suddenly had the urge to dunk his hand in it and eat a big glop. But just then, the door rattled. They were trying to pull it open! Dinosaur Kid kept both hands on the door and tried to forgot about the peanut butter.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/056.jpg]]\n\n"Okay," he heard Jellyfish Kid say from outside. "I guess we can't get to you after all."\n\n"Yep," said Moth Kid, "Looks like we'll just have to take this present."\n\nThe present! He'd left it outside! He couldn't let it fall into the hands of pirates. He threw open the [[pantry doors|Counter-Piracy]].\n\n<<stopbgm puLjpy2LF8w>>

"Mouse Kid's right," said Dinosaur Kid. "We can't count on the defenses to hold. Everybody here's gotta be able to protect themselves."\n\n"So you're just gonna let them come in the front door?" Skunk Kid asked. Her tail was bristlin'.\n\n"They'll think it's a surrender," said Mouse Kid. "They won't expect us to start a close-quarters fight." She threw her snowball at the igloo wall and it knocked a brick clean out of place. "So that's exactly what we're gonna do."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/041.gif]]\n\nSkunk Kid and Dinosaur Kid went to collect branches while Mouse Kid rounded up all the animal kids in Fort Snowfort. They gave everyone the sword that felt right for them -- short or long, thick or thin, barky or unbarky -- and under Mouse Kid's direction, they started training. She taught them to swing and poke and thwack, to parry and riposte, to roll in the snow and all kinds of fancy footwork. They practiced the techniques over and over, on the air and on snowdummies and on each other. Of course, it wasn't enough time.\n\nWhen they heard scary accordion music coming from the wall, they knew Carp Kid had spotted the pirates. Everybody buried their sticksword in the snow at their feet, then watched nervously as the pirates sailed, uninhibited, straight through Fort Snowfort's [[front door|Small Battle]].\n\n<<stopbgm ygsEB1DMAvo>>

"Count me out," said Dinosaur Kid. "I am orally mopposed to piracism."\n\n"You sure about that?" Octopus Kid called as she was lifted onto the shoulders of the cheering animal kids. "The way these things usually go, if you're not with us, you're against us."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/031.jpg]]\n\n"Well I ain't playin'," DK said. "This gift ain't for takin'; it's for givin'." \n\nHe turned with his present and waddled [[into the woods]].\n\n<<stopbgm oWkFU_1Hcck>>

Dinosaur Kid couldn't take it. "This isn't right," he said, turning to Octopus Kid. "I thought we were just playin' a game."\n\nOctopus Kid's eyes narrowed. "You thought this was a game? Piracy is no //game//."\n\n(A few pirates in the crowd murmured: "Did she say //pie-racing?//" "Sounds like a game to me." "Sounds like an //awesome// game.")\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/019.jpg]]\n\n"We can't be mean to Toucan Kid," said Dinosaur Kid. "He's our friend." \n\n"You would disobey my order?" Octopus Kid was statue-still.\n\n"You're still the captain, and I'm still your first mate," DK explained, "but I'm not gonna be mean to Toucan Kid just cuz you said so."\n\n"Fine," said Octopus Kid, " ... then //you// can [[walk the plank]]."\n\n<<stopbgm -y1rf0gQFho>>

"You guys, it's been an honor," Dinosaur Kid said, "but there's no way we're getting out of this one." Ant Kid nodded. Toucan Kid patted DK's back. Whale Kid blinked a few times and said, "Uhhh ... " from his position on the ground.\n\n"Charge on three?" DK asked.\n\nAnt Kid said, "One."\n\nToucan Kid, "Two."\n\nDinosaur Kid -- "Three!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/063.jpg]]\n\nThey stood, lowered the wading pool, and ran as hard as they could, blind and brave and desperate to complete their mission at whatever cost. The submarine hit the sledship with the force of a snowplow. They ripped through the first few sleds, nearly slipping the ship in half, then lost control and flipped the submarine over. It flung them like a catapult, and they all landed on the other side of the ship.\n\n"Abandon ship!" Elephant Kid called, and the pirates leapt overboard.\n\n"Bravo!" said Octopus Kid as she kerplurnked into the snow. "I admire your salty courage, McMatey. It's too bad I'll have to cut ye down."\n\nDinosaur Kid pulled himself out of the snow and dusted the snow off his tummy. "What do you mean?" he asked.\n\n"You -- me -- here -- now -- the [[duel|The Duel]]."\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>

At the last moment, he stepped to the side and brought up his sticksword. Octopus Kid looked like a softball, and Dinosaur Kid looked like an all-star batter. But he didn't thwap her -- instead, in what looked like a strikeout, he whacked over her head and broke her icicle into infinity pieces.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/068.jpg]]\n\nOctopus Kid bellyflopped -- only, her head is like her belly, so -- she headyflopped against the cold ground. Dinosaur Kid lowered his sticksword and poked her gently.\n\n"Surrender," he demanded.\n\nOctopus Kid glanced back at him, then looked away and mumbled something surrendery, probably.\n\n"Good enough," said Dinosaur Kid, and he helped her stand up. "I'm sorry I had to smash your icicle."\n\n"I'm sorry I made you," Octopus Kid said. "I get kinda carried away sometimes with, you know ... stuff."\n\nDinosaur Kid bit his sticksword in half and threw both pieces away into the snowsea. Octopus Kid emptied the snow out of her boot and paused. "I think this thing might cut off the circulation to my head."\n\nThen she turned to her crew and said, "Elephant Kid ... nevermind, I'll do it." She wriggled back to the pirate ship, disappeared into the treasure hold, and re-emerged with a shiny-shiny-bo-biny giftwrapped [[package|The Present]].\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>\n<<loopbgm h9GpuGO3xyo>>\n\n<<stopbgm ismmSr-DUhQ>>

Dinosaur Kid turned around to scope out the inside of the igloo, and that's when he saw it: a sled loaded up with goodies. Warm, dry snowgear; snacks and juiceboxes; some really cool-shaped ice formations; frisbees and whiffleball bats and all kinds of great playgear; and a flashlight?! Wow!\n\n"Whoa, look at all this treasure!" he said.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/030.jpg]]\n\n"I KNEW IT," Octopus Kid said. Dinosaur Kid whirled around and there she was, standing in the door, with glassy fury in her glassy eyes. "You only chose to lead the ground assault because you wanted all the loot for //yourself.//"\n\n"I just found it," said Dinosaur Kid.\n\n"Don't lie to me, first mate. You're doing exactly what //I// would have done. It's the pirate way: if you want it, take it."\n\n"I don't know if I //want// it," Dinosaur Kid said. "I just thought it was supes-cool."\n\n"You might be able to take it from them," she said, gesturing to Skunk Kid and the rest, "but you also have to take it from //me.//"\n\nShe pointed her iciclesword at him, and Dinosaur Kid knew what was going to happen. Once Octopus Kid had made up her mind about something, there was no changing it. \n\nWhether he liked it or not, there was gonna be a [[duel|The Duel]].\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>

"DK," hollered T-Rex Dad from the front door of the house, "your friends are here."\n\nTwo ninjas dashed into the kitchen, pumping their legs like robots. They were dressed in black snow-gear from head to toe ... but it looked like one of them was Jellyfish Kid, and the other one had big, round wings -- so that was probably Moth Kid ... ? Or Elephant Kid's ears were bigger than DK remembered ....\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/051.jpg]]\n\n"Octopus Kid sent us!" said Jellyfish Kid. "We're here to steal that present." \n\nMoth Kid said, "Shhhh! You weren't supposed to tell."\n\n"When did pirates learn the way of the ninja?" Dinosaur Kid wondered out loud. He had tried to keep away from Octopus Kid's snow piracy, but it had followed him home. What to eat for lunch wasn't going to be the only tough choice he made that day; he had to decide how to deal with these ninjas.\n\nBut he only had a split second. Dinosaur Kid thought fast, and then ...\n\n[[ - tried to run! Ninjas hate running ... maybe?|Kidnapped]]\n[[ - fought those ninjas! They're breakin' all kinds of laws.|Dumb Ninjas]]\n[[ - hid in the pantry and held the door shut! Ninjas're scary.|Robbed]]\n\n<<stopbgm wan7cpuheD8>>\n<<loopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>

html {\nbackground: #FFFFFF\n}\nbody {\nbackground-color: #FFFFFF\n}\ndiv { font-size:medium; }\n.passage \n{\nwidth: 600px !important;\ncolor: #000000\n}

Dinosaur Kid gulped and spread his feet a little bit. This ... was gonna hurt.\n\nThe iciclesword crashed down on the center of his face -- along his nose, between his eyes, and over his big bald noggin. It splintered into a bawhateverillion pieces, forming a slow-motion cloud of frostchips and dewdrops, scintillating like liquid quartz. It was like nothing he'd ever witnessed, exploding in his face, seen through crossed eyes and painstars. And there, on the other side of it all, was his friend Octopus Kid. In that crystalline, articulated hypermoment, he saw her fury melt away into "ohnowhatdidido-y." And then he didn't see much of anything.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/069.jpg]]\n\n"Dinosaur Kid," someone was saying, "Dinosaur Kid, wake up!"\n\nIt was Skunk Kid, hovering over him. Mouse Kid stood behind her.\n\n"What happened? Where did you come from?"\n\nThey shared a look, then Mouse Kid said, "You got brained hard, dude. But on the plus side, the pirate queen is no more." She pointed over to Octopus Kid, who was sitting on her boot -- not in it -- a few yards away. She looked real sorry.\n\n"She wanted me to give this to you," said Elephant Kid. He strode up and set down a big, shiny, inexpertly-wrapped [[package|The Present]].\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>\n<<loopbgm h9GpuGO3xyo>>\n\n<<stopbgm ismmSr-DUhQ>>

"My parents said I had to be back for lunchtime," Dinosaur Kid said, "and the neighborhood's all the way on the other side of them woods. I guess I'll just hafta maybe be seein' y'all later."\n\nOctopus Kid was being lifted up on the shoulders of her scarvy crew. "Let him go," she said to her minions. "DK! When next we meet, I'll be the Queen of Thieves!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/045.jpg]]\n\n"Okay, OK," said Dinosaur Kid. "Hasta mañana." He turned away with his present and meandered back home for [[lunch]].\n\n<<stopbgm wan7cpuheD8>>

When Dinosaur Kid stomped to the park in his snowboots and puffy winter coat, he found all of the other animal kids were already playin' up a blizzard. His whole class was throwin' snowballs and sculptin' snowcritters and sleddin' at superspeeds. He saw Ostrich Kid rolling down a hill like a bowling pin, and Hawk Kid was doing somersaults into snowdrifts.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/005.jpg]]\n\n"We're gonna go down the hill and make a snowfort if anybody wants to come!" Chameleon Kid yelled, tongue rolling around like //gah-bah-buh-blah-bluh,// and he ran into the trees with Skunk Kid and Mouse Kid.\n\n"DK! LOOK OUUUT!"\n\nDinosaur Kid turned. A pink blob blazed over the snow, spitting flakes on both sides, and took DK's legs out from under him. His present went flying and he fell on his face.\n\n"Aw, shoot," Octopus Kid said, climbing out of the snow and dusting herself off. She wobbled over to her sled, one of those cool disc ones, and unwedged it from the ground. "I lost the race," she said, and made a fist at Elephant Kid, who had sledded on by in an awesome new sled.\n\n"Hey, is that your present?" she asked.\n\n"Nope," said Dinosaur Kid. "It is a //gift// for me to give."\n\n"Give? Didn't anybody tell you giving's for suckers? I'm tired of giving," Octopus Kid said. "Now I'm all about [[taking|Big Decision]]!"\n\n<<stopbgm _Iis3vnAxTY>>

"Dude, give up!" Ostrich Kid said, almost right behind him. "You're gonna run right into that pine-patch!"\n\nSomehow, DK hadn't even noticed: up ahead, a wild tangle of branches blocked his escape. It was like a huge pine tree had fallen over, or some branches of pure evil had just grown straight up out of the ground to prick as many people as possible. He couldn't even see through to the other side. No one wanted to run through that needlepit ...\n\n... which was exactly why he had to do it.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/034.jpg]]\n\nDinosaur Kid put his head down and plunged into the pine needles, screaming all the way. "GRAAAAAAAHHH!!!" They snipped and whipped and scratched and stung -- a spiky, deep green blizzard -- and then they spat him out.\n\nHe opened his eyes to see a wide open field, totally snowtally. The cold air tingled on all the places he'd been needled. But he'd gotten away. And there, waiting to greet him, was a village made of snow with a big snow-wall around the outside. It was the snowfort that Skunk Kid had gone to build, a place without pirates or present-snatchers.\n\nDinosaur Kid headed straight for the [[front gate|Fort Snowfort]].\n\n<<stopbgm l1xHHNpT4Nc>>

"Sayonara, suckers!" DK said as he made a break for it, under the dining room table and towards the front of the house. \n\n"Big mistake," Jellyfish Kid burbled. "Ninjas are so fast!"\n\nAnd just as he said it, Moth Kid swooshed out in front of Dinosaur Kid. DK skidded and turned, powersliding around the corner. He could see the front door -- his dad had left it wide open! He only had to sprint a little further!\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/052.jpg]]\n\nBut gumballs -- jawbreakers? -- some kinda candies, hard and colorful and //round// -- came rolling in a wave from the side. DK slipped, tripped, lost his footing, flipped -- and on the way down, he saw the ninja formerly known as Jellyfish Kid, chucklin' it up.\n\nHe didn't lose consciousness from hitting his head or anything, but they put a blindfold on him and it made him sleepy, so he actually //did// lose consciousness because he fell [[asleep.|Captured]] But eating lunch'll do that to you sometimes.\n\n<<stopbgm c67lUswGaUs>>

"I wanna charge in," said Dinosaur Kid. "I'm sick of standin' on these sea-legs."\n\n"Hey, Cap'n," Giraffe Kid said, sticking his head into the igloo, "it's time."\n\nDinosaur Kid took a place at the front of the boat, along with all the pirates who couldn't really throw a snowball. "We are the snowcean's pitchfork!" he told them. "We are the neighborhood scaryberries! We are the smashycrumbs at the bottom of the bag-o potato chips! Now let's get in their and swing our swords and then go home for supper!"\n\nThey cheered and jumped overboard, all together -- and DK led them straight into the snowfort.\n\nThe snowfortizens were ready. While their walls protected them from Octopus Kid and the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>>'s artillery, they peppered Dinosaur Kid and the shock troops with infinity snowballs.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/029.jpg]]\n\n"Back here!" DK said, and led them behind a big igloo. "They're up above, on the walls. I'm gonna take half of us this way and distract them. You other half, you guys creep around to those stairs and sneak up on them."\n\nHe yelled, jumped out from behind the igloo, and ran as fast as he could across the snow. A handful followed him, while the others waited to sneak off. Snowballs splashed all around, and the wind whistled in his ears over the pounding of his heart. He couldn't really see -- he just knew that he had to run, and jump, and duck, and dive, and hope he didn't stop.\n\nBut his sides were achey, and his feet were gettin' stumbly. Up ahead, an open igloo waited. He ignored the aches and ran harder, faster, zigzagging towards shelter, and finally -- wet with sweat and snowpuff -- fell faceforward into the igloo.\n\nWhen he pulled himself up, he looked back and saw that the diversion had worked. The other ground troops had, um ... snucken up on the enemy, and had their stickswords pressed against them. They'd done it. They'd taken the [[snowfort|The Stash]].\n\n<<stopbgm Demsu4kbU_Q>>\n<<loopbgm IsxGy1OK-yw>>

Dinosaur Kid pulled Giraffe Kid aside and gave her the present he'd been carrying around all morning.\n\n"You're the tallest member of the crew," DK said, "so I think you'd make a good guard because you can see what's goin' on. Take this treasure to the treasure hold and await further orders."\n\n"Aye-aye, junior captain," she said.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/010.jpg]]\n\nThe winds blew, the powder swirled, and Elephant Kid chugged along, dragging the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> over the snowdrift ocean. Distant trees watched them pass, and the houses on the horizon seemed to shrink in fear.\n\n"It's a beautiful day for sailin'," said Dinosaur Kid, "but I don't really feel like a snowpirate. I'd better do something piratical."\n\n[[ - Sing some sea-shanties.|sing shanties]]\n[[ - Climb up in the crow's nest and peer through the telescope.|use telescope]]\n\n<<stopbgm 3W1JrJU-lUs>>\n<<loopbgm 6_gBiCzHysw>>

He crawled to the top of his hiding spot and just barely peeked over. The pirates were still confused, looking in every direction for him. Eventually, they'd probably get bored and just give up, or head off in the wrong direction. All he had to do was wait them out.\n\nDinosaur Kid watched them wander for a little bit. He was starting to get cold, lying still on the snow, and that was making him kind of slee. Kind of sleepy. He closed his eyes a few times. Sometimes, when he blinked, the pirates would move a lot -- as if his eyes had been shut longer than just a blink. He wanted to move, to get his blood pum. Get his blood pumping. But he knew that he shouldn't.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/038.jpg]]\n\n//Don't move,// he told himself. //If you don't move, they can't find you.// But it was cold. So cold. Getting colder. In fact, Dinosaur Kid was getting extra cold -- because he was coldblooded. His skin got tight and numb. His breathing slowed and difficultified. His heart was pumping less and luss and his brayne ... his braiyene suhlowwwed dowwn like iciciciciclesss and ... hee cudint seeee but buhhhhlaaaackkkk ... but coooooaaallllllddddddd ... f---frroooooozeannn ... buhhhrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. ... ... .............. [[...|Captured]]\n\n<<stopbgm c67lUswGaUs>>

Dinosaur Kid led the ninjas to a big empty field. In the summer, there was tall grass that made for awesome ninja fights -- but right now, it was all beneath the snow.\n\n"Alright," he said, "you ready?"\n\n"Are //you//?" asked Moth Kid. "You're outnumbered, like, two-to-one."\n\n"It doesn't matter," he said, "because if you guys have ninja knowledge, then so do I. Check this out."\n\nDinosaur Kid closed his eyes and concentrated. He could hear the ninjas wondering what he was doing, calling to him, until he blocked them out. He could hear them, but he didn't hear them. He chose not to. Instead, he focused on the elements around him -- the sky that pulsed white beyond his shuttered eyelids, the trees that cracked and stood waist-deep in snow, the flakes that pooled around his feet like sand against a pyramid. He saw them all, felt them out, learned their names and told them his. He breathed so as not to disturb the natural state of things, then thought so that he might. And with those thoughts he read the energy that pulsed through everything and all the no-things, and he redirected that energy, and built a snowball. It hovered in front of him, just big enough to throw. Then, vacuumous, it grew before his closed eyes.\n\nBasically, it was A+ mystical.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/054.jpg]]\n\n"What is that?!" Jellyfish Kid asked, totes aquiver.\n\n"It's a snowblossom," DK said, as the sphere swiveled and levitated in front of him. It was enormous -- bigger than big. Bigger than Whale Kid. It rose over them like a low-flying moon.\n\n"What does it do?" Moth Kid said. The snowblossom reflected in her eyes, and she seemed hypnotized.\n\n"Um ... it blossoms."\n\nDeep in his head, where Dinosaur Kid held all that energy in place, he let go. And the snowblossom blossomed, alright. It blossomed colossal.\n\nIt outright [[exploded|aftermath]].\n\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>\n<<loopbgm aQskdQAPhYQ>>\n\n<<stopbgm dtn44NPxrgQ>>

"I hadn't thought about it," Octopus Kid said. "What do you think, first mate?"\n\n"I dunno. Lemme put on my thinkin' bananda."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/008.jpg]]\n\nThere was a lot to a name. It would give the supersledship its personality. Did they want to be imposing, like a mountain? Rugged, like the salt of the sea? Grandiose, like a fancy dinner with forks of different sizes? Dinosaur Kid thought about it for a minute, and a few ideas kept popping up in his orange head. \n\nFinally, he just said something.\n\n [[- The Chilled Cannonade.|n1]]\n [[- The Spotted Speckle.|n2]]\n [[- The Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was.|n3]]\n [[- The Knock-Knock.|n4]]\n [[- Let the captain decide.|n5]]\n\n<<stopbgm _Iis3vnAxTY>>\n<<loopbgm 3W1JrJU-lUs>>\n\n<<stopbgm 6_gBiCzHysw>>

Dinosaur Kid crawled up out of the aftermath. All the snow in his snowblossom -- or snowbomb, more like -- had added an extra couple of feet to the field. He walked over to where Jellyfish Kid and Moth Kid had been, careful not to fall through. Then he reached in and pulled them both out. Not all the way -- just so they could breathe and stuff.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/055.jpg]]\n\n"How did you do that?" Moth Kid moaned.\n\n"I dunno," said Dinosaur Kid. "I'm pretty sure, the way magic works, if you have any idea of how to do it, you can't do it. Also, I'll probably never be able to do it again." //At least not before I've had some supper,// he thought. "But that was fun, though."\n\nJellyfish Kid looked exhausted, like all that snow had knocked the air out of him. "Please don't leave us here in your psychic avalanche," he said.\n\n"Aw, you'll be okay. Just feel the snowergy, or whatever. It's not so hard. Tell Octopus Kid I don't wanna play pirates when you see her, okay?"\n\n"Ughhh."\n\nDinosaur Kid toddled off out of the field as they pulled themselves out of the snow. He was still covered in the stuff, but he felt good. At peace with the world. He walked until he saw a tiny village, made of snow, with a snow-wall running all the way around the outside.\n\n"That must be the place Skunk Kid went to build," he said. So he went [[straight there|Fort Snowfort]].\n\n<<stopbgm aQskdQAPhYQ>>\n<<loopbgm dtn44NPxrgQ>>\n\n<<stopbgm l1xHHNpT4Nc>>

"I should do somethin' useful. I'll climb up in the crow's nest and have a lookout."\n\nThe crow's nest was Octopus Kid's disc sled, perched on top of Ostrich Kid's head. Dinosaur Kid approached him and said, "I need a boost." So Ostrich Kid picked him up and DK climbed onto the disc.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/012.jpg]]\n\n"Thanks, matey," DK said. He had a good look through the telescope. In the distance, he could see a little village made out of snow. "I wonder if that's where Skunk Kid and them are buildin' their fort. We should go say hi."\n\n"I don't know what you're talking about," said Ostrich Kid.\n\n"Keep up the good work," DK said as he hopped down.\n\nAll at once, there was a commotion from the [[back of the boat|first mate]].\n\n<<stopbgm vhL5Ca8h4hE>>

Dinosaur Kid understood; it couldn't have ended any other way. He scooped up a straightish, swordy stick. Octopus Kid drew her own long, sabery icicle.\n\n"Well, if it isn't my former best friend," said Octopus Kid.\n\n"I still //am// your best friend, Octopus Kid." Dinosaur Kid took his action stance. "That's why I'm doin' this."\n\n"Elephant Kid -- my boot." Elephant Kid tossed the boot to her. It landed upright in the snow, and Octopus Kid climbed in.\n\n"You can't duel in your boot," said Dinosaur Kid. "It slows you down too much."\n\nBut Octopus Kid leapt forward, big time, as if she were on a pogo stick. She stabbed straight at DK, and after he ducked it, she whirled around and slashed the front of his winter coat.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/066.jpg]]\n\n"My puffies!" he yelped as the fabric split and the stuffing popped out. He knocked her icicle away, then hit a homerun on the side of her boot. Octopus Kid rolled head-over-heel but landed upright again, making it look like a perfectly planned cartwheel. She patted the side of her sturdy boot.\n\n"I didn't feel a thing," she said. "But you're likely to start feeling cold real soon with that gash in your coat. I wonder how long you'll last out here."\n\n"Long enough," said Dinosaur Kid, and he charged forward [[again|duel 2]].

"I'm with Skunk Kid," said Dinosaur Kid, "and it's not just because I think she smells good. We gotta keep everybody safe, and we'll do that the best if the pirates never even get inside."\n\n"And if they //do// get inside?" said Mouse Kid, rolling a perfectoball in her hands.\n\n"They //won't//," Skunk Kid said.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/042.jpg]]\n\nSo they got all the villagers together and assigned construction duties: bulkin' up the outer wall, buildin' ramparts to hide behind, and stockpilin' Mouse Kid-style projectiles. They raced the clock to do as much as they could, but of course, it was never enough time. When Carp Kid, the lookout, started playing the scary song on his accordion, everybody dropped what they were doing and reported to their posts.\n\nThere, straight for Fort Snowfort, in a ship made of strung-together stolen sleds, came the [[snowpirates|Big Battle]].\n\n<<stopbgm ytn85jdSIic>>

<<silently>><<set $ShipName = 4>><<endsilently>>\n"The Knock-Knock," said Dinosaur Kid.\n\n"OOH! Who's there?" asked Octopus Kid.\n\n"Arrrr."\n\n"Arr who?"\n\n"Arrr you home?" said Dinosaur Kid, grinning.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/009.jpg]]\n\nOctopus Kid's face was blank. "You would turn this ship ... into a joke?"\n\n"It's a pirate joke! Get it?" Dinosaur Kid didn't mind explaining. "See, when you make someone laugh, you're taking away their //blues//."\n\n"This -- " Octopus Kid made a fist. "This is why you're first mate. Now, keep an eye on this crummy crew. I'm gonna go to my quarters and sharpen my crayons." Then she hobbled to the back of the boat, where someone had made a little igloo.\n\nAnd with that, the Knock-Knock set off across the suburban [[snowy seas]].

By the time Dinosaur Kid got home, his stomach-rumbles were louder than the snow-crunches beneath his feet. Because of the snow day, T-Rex Dad had stayed home from work. Dad helped DK climb out of his wet winter clothes, and then they went to the kitchen.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/046.jpg]]\n\n"I bet you've worked up a big appetite," Dad said as DK sat at the table. "What do you want for lunch?"\n\n"Pudding?"\n\n"Try again," said T-Rex Dad.\n\nDinosaur Kid thought about it, pushing the pudding out of his mind. "I would like ... "\n\n [[- Spaghetti!|Spaghetti]]\n [[- Tofu nuggets!|Tofu]]\n [[- PB&J!|PB&J]]\n [[- Vegetable circus! A circus of vegetables!|Veggies]]\n\n<<stopbgm _Iis3vnAxTY>>\n<<loopbgm wan7cpuheD8>>

The pirates leapt off their ship, crunching into the snow. Octopus Kid squirmed down with a plop.\n\n"Dinosaur Kid. Skunk Kid. Bigears Kid." Octopus Kid surveyed the area with her big, inky eyes and said, "I expected a little more resistance." \n\nDinosaur Kid shrugged -- he was trying not to smile and spoil the surprise.\n\n"Pirates -- round them up." She said to the villagers, "You'll join me scarvy crew or you'll walk me gnarly plank. Here's the rules: no one disobeys the captain; no one betrays a matey; no one goes home for dinner without bringing some back for me."\n\nEach pirate lined up with a prisoner, one-on-one. The odds were even. Now was the time to strike.\n\n"Okay, everybody!" Dinosaur Kid said, "Let's do this!" They might've been scared, but each villager reached into the snow and drew out their stickswords -- then pointed them at the nearest pirate.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/043.jpg]]\n\nThe fight was fast and fierce. The animal kids of Fort Snowfort took full advantage of the surprise, rushing the pirates with fast swipes from unexpected directions. A poke in the gut -- a swipe to the side -- a feint from the left and a thwack from the right.\n\nBut the pirates were no slouches. They took their lickin' and fought right back with dirty pirate tricks. There was tripping -- snow to the face -- two stickswords at once. Wood clattered and kids yelped. Dinosaur Kid took one to the face that stuffed up his nose. But he wouldn't let that stop him.\n\nHe headed straight for [[Octopus Kid.|The Duel]]\n\n<<stopbgm KDBQsiqvSuY>>\n<<loopbgm ygsEB1DMAvo>>\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>

"Yarr!" Dinosaur Kid growled, "You've never steered me wrong, Octopus Kid. I'm in. And you can start by taking this present."\n\n"Then you'll be my first mate," Octopus Kid said, climbing down from the crowd of animal kids.\n\n"What about me?" Elephant Kid asked.\n\n"Your brawn is needed elsewhere." Octopus Kid rubbed her tentacles together slyly.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/007.jpg]]\n\nUnder Octopus Kid's orders, the whole crew put their sleds together with with rope and tape and scarves and whatever they could plunder. They formed a monstrous supersled of all different colors, with plastic parts and wood parts, and Elephant Kid got out in front to pull.\n\n"Avast, ye ragamuffins!" yelled Octopus Kid, "Today's the day we take until there's nothing left to take, and then we take tomorrow!"\n\nThey cheered one final time and piled onto the ship. Elephant Kid lumbered to the front, took up the puller, and started marching forward. If you got real close to the front of the ship and listened, you could hear him murmuring, "I'm the strongest kid alive. I'm the strongest kid alive."\n\n"Hey," Dinosaur Kid said, "What's the name of this here [[vessel|ship name]]?"\n\n<<stopbgm 3W1JrJU-lUs>>

dinosaur kid and the snow that had pirates on it

"Ho ho," Octopus Kid said as she grabbed the stick with two tentacles and yanked it out of DK's hands. "Your rebellion is short-lived, me matey."\n\nAnybody who looked like they maybe wanted a mutiny suddenly got very small and very quiet, and the crew loyal to Octopus Kid surrounded DK.\n\n"You don't even //deserve// the plank," she said as Giraffe Kid and Hawk Kid took him by the arms. "I reward those who are loyal, and punish those who aren't. As long as I'm in charge of the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>>, that's how it's gonna be. //And I don't plan on giving anyone else a turn.//\n\n"Oh, and DK?" she said. He looked in her direction, and saw her pointing casually to the treasure hold. "Thanks for the present."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/022.jpg]]\n\nThen she signalled with another tentacle, and they chucked him unceremoniously [[overboard|Overboard]].\n\n<<stopbgm DtFJZ2GoViA>>\n<<loopbgm 11txxRHta_k>>\n\n<<stopbgm ZW0Pb829g1U>>

They steered their submarine over the salty sidewalks and back to the snowy seas. Octopus Kid's pirate ship left a big trail that was easy to follow, and with all four of them moving together, they traveled much faster. \n\nThey started in the park, then crossed snowdunes and fields. They skirted the edge of the woods, circumnavigated the neighborhood globe, and swam wide circles under the steely sky.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/061.jpg]]\n\n"Thank you guys for helping me out," said Dinosaur Kid. "Those pirates took my present, and I've gotta get it back."\n\n"I saw you carryin' that around," said Toucan Kid. "What's in there, anyway?"\n\n"I can't tell you," DK said. "It's a secret."\n\n"But what if Octopus Kid's already opened it?" Ant Kid asked.\n\n"I think we're about to find out," said Whale Kid as they crested a hill. "Look -- there it is!"\n\nAnd there it was. Octopus Kid's pirate ship, a dozen sleds packed together, crawling along at the bottom of the hill.\n\n"We've got the elementary of surprise," Dinosaur Kid said. "Let's put an end to this!"\n\nThey started running, holding the submarine over their heads. The wind whistled under the wading pool. The snowfoam blew up in their faces. They left their doubts at the top of the hill and drove straight to the imminent [[showdown|Naval Battle]].\n\n<<stopbgm g2WEq2QOt-E>>\n<<loopbgm 4uLPduUKzM4>>\n\n<<stopbgm zghNdBUfkKY>>

Before he could hide, he'd need a distraction. He bent down and scooped up two handfuls of snow.\n\n"Have you noticed the snow in this forest?" he asked the pirates.\n\n"What're you talkin' about?" Hawk Kid crossed her wings over her chest.\n\n"This snow. Look. There's something different with it."\n\n"What is it?" Ostrich Kid asked.\n\n"It's weird. It's like it's -- it's -- I can't describe it. It's like it's extra ... snowy."\n\n"I wanna see," said Elephant Kid.\n\n"Here, have a look," Dinosaur Kid said as he took a step forward. The pirates creeped over, then leaned in, then put their faces real close ...\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/037.jpg]]\n\nAnd Dinosaur Kid said "BUH!" and threw the snow if their faces.\n\n"Aw, what happened?" "I can't see!" "The snow is ALIVE!"\n\nWhile they were stumbling around, he picked up his present and ran off, then hunkered down on the backside of a big ol' [[snowdune|Sooo Cooold]].

"Well, you're ninjas now, so I guess we hafta fight," said Dinosaur Kid.\n\nJellyfish Kid and Moth Kid looked at each other. //I've gotta lead them away from the house,// he thought. //Keep Dad safe.//\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/053.jpg]]\n\n"I don't remember if we were supposed to fight you or not," said Jellyfish Kid. "Octopus Kid didn't say."\n\n"Dude!" Moth Kid elbowed him. "Don't mention the //tain-cap//, or I'll have to fight //you.//"\n\n"We don't have a choice," DK said. "But we can't do it here. The kitchen's too small. You've gotta follow me, you [[boogerheads|Victory Over Ninjas]]."\n\n<<stopbgm aQskdQAPhYQ>>

//When you're a pirate, you're a pirate all the way,// Dinosaur Kid thought to himself, //and the Cap'n gave me an order.//\n\n"Toucan Kid," he said, loud enough so everyone could hear, "you're under pirate arrest for treason against your Cap'n. Your punishment is to walk the plank."\n\nToucan Kid looked at his feet and sniffled. Dinosaur Kid felt sorry and wanted to say something else, but Pirate First Mate DK knew that this was justice. He was loyal to the captain, and Toucan Kid was getting what he deserved. (And in the back of his mind, he tried to convince himself that Toucan Kid wasn't really sad -- just playing along.)\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/016.jpg]]\n\nA minute later, Toucan Kid was standing at the tip of the plank while all the pirates watched. Beneath him, the waves of snow looked stony and smooth. The <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> was idle as a painted ship upon a painted painting of an ocean that was painted.\n\n"Any last words?" Octopus Kid said.\n\nToucan Kid smoothed his feathers, lookin' real sad. "Tell my mom ... I love her. And ... I might be home kinda late."\n\nThen Octopus Kid nodded at Dinosaur Kid, and DK ran out to Toucan Kid and shoved him hard, facefirst, [[into the snow|No looking back]].\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/017.jpg]]

So Dinosaur Kid's dad got the bread out and smeared lots of peanut butter and jelly on both slices. "You're gonna be a sticky mess," he said as he set the sandwich down in front of DK. DK took a bite and said, "Ffmmmfmmmmffahhh." It took him a long time to chew through all of it, but he even ate the crusts.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/049.jpg]]\n\nWhen he was done, he rinsed his dishes and put 'em in the dishwasher. He was just wiping off his little hands when he got the eerie sensation -- like someone opening a cold door right behind you -- that he was [[being watched|Ninja Attack!]] ...\n\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>

In an anonymous igloo, Dinosaur Kid, Skunk Kid, and Mouse Kid quickly discussed their options.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/040.jpg]]\n\n"I vote that we train to fight by hand," said Mouse Kid. "If we can't beat the pirates ourselves, one-on-one, then we don't stand a chance."\n\n"No, we need to build up Fort Snowfort's defenses, "Skunk Kid argued. "We won't have to fight the pirates if they can't even get inside."\n\n"Uh oh," said Dinosaur Kid, "does that make me the tiebreaker?"\n\nYep.\n\nBoth ideas were good ideas, and he wished that there was time to make both a reality -- but with the pirates on their way, they couldn't risk being double-unprepared. They had to focus all their energy on one strategy and make it as good as it could be. So what would it be?\n\n [[- Train for close-quarters combat.|Train to Fight]]\n [[- Bulk up Fort Snowfort's defenses.|Build Up Defenses]]\n\n<<stopbgm O9qkN1GP22M>>\n<<loopbgm KDBQsiqvSuY>>\n\n<<stopbgm ytn85jdSIic>>\n<<stopbgm ygsEB1DMAvo>>

"But DK," said Ant Kid, "we don't have a boat."\n\n"Yeah," said Toucan Kid, "Octopus Kid took all the sleds for herself."\n\n"Then we won't //make// a boat," Dinosaur Kid said. "C'mon!"\n\nHe led the crew back to his house, then opened the garage door and dragged out the old wading pool -- a big, plastic circle, like a bottlecap, only, you know, enormous.\n\n"Do I have to pull that around, like Elephant Kid pulls the pirate ship?" Toucan Kid shook his head. "I can't pull that."\n\n"I might be able to pull it," said Whale Kid, "but I don't want to."\n\n"No one has to pull it around," said Dinosaur Kid. He flipped the wading pool over, then stood under it. "It's a submarine! And we can all //carry// it!"\n\nThe other kids' faces lit up, and they joined him under the wading pool. They looked like a hockey puck with eight little legs.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/059.jpg]]\n\n"They'll never see us comin'," said Dinosaur Kid.\n\n"We need name for our submarine," Ant Kid said.\n\n"I got it," said Toucan Kid. "I dub this ship ... the Leftovers!"\n\nThey all cheered.\n\n"Now let's go out there and find us those [[baddies|Pursuit]]," Dinosaur Kid said.\n\n<<stopbgm fA627z8gORU>>\n<<loopbgm g2WEq2QOt-E>>\n\n<<stopbgm 4uLPduUKzM4>>

<<silently>><<set $ShipName = 3>><<endsilently>>\n"Okay," said Dinosaur Kid, "howzabout The Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was?"\n\nOctopus Kid maybe frowned -- it's always hard to tell with her. "That name is very ... you."\n\n"I'll take that as a comblimmint," DK said.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/009.jpg]]\n\n"Alright." Octopus Kid sighed. "You keep the crew under control. I'm gonna go to my quarters and spy on all of you through the peepholes." Then she squirmed to the back of the ship, where someone had built a little igloo.\n\nAnd with that, the Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was set off across the suburban [[snowy seas]].

"It's no use, you guys," Dinosaur Kid said. "Octopus Kid won. I'm gonna let her know."\n\nOne more enormous snowboulder caved in the roof of the submarine. They wouldn't be able to withstand another direct hit if they'd tried. Dinosaur Kid threw off the wading pool and waded out into the smoking snowsea.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/064.jpg]]\n\n"It's over, Octopus Kid," he called to the pirate ship. "You won."\n\n"You think this is over? This isn't over." Octopus Kid leapt over the edge of her ship and plurnked into the snow. She was short, but she looked mighty tall. "You've disrespected a pirate -- a //captain// of pirates -- and there's only one way that can end."\n\n"With ... dessert?" Dinosaur Kid crossed his fingers for dessert.\n\nOctopus Kid rolled up her arms, then let them unfurl. "You and me, DK -- we [[duel|The Duel]]."\n\n<<stopbgm vRV0jtAj0Ns>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $ShipName = 0>>\n<<endsilently>>\nWelcome to Dinosaur Kid's second illustrated prose adventure (which is //not// a catchy name but I have to somehow make it clear that this isn't a comic), the first being [[Dinosaur Kid and the Ghost Who Was at School|http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Dinosaur-Kid-and-the-Ghost-Who-Was-at-School-part-FINAL.html#]]. If you've read through that one, you'll notice some key differences here.\n\n 1) This adventure's nonlinear, meaning that there are branching paths. If you and a friend both play, or if you play twice in a row, odds are you'll see different storylines based on the choices you make. And nearly every path has different illustrations! But THERE'S ONLY ONE ENDING. Just so you know.\n\n 2) Because of the different paths, this adventure has nearly 4 times the wordcount of the first one. Depending on your reading speed, it might take a while to finish -- but if you need to take any breaks, you can just bookmark the page in your web browser.\n\nAll of the music (there's music!) is taken directly from the videogame Final Fantasy IX (Square, 2000), and is streaming from the YouTube channel [[UnlimitedMusicOST|http://www.youtube.com/user/UnlimitedMusicOST/about]]. I did all of the notmusic things, and you can read Dinosaur Kid's main webcomic adventures [[here|http://www.jimmygrist.net]].\n\nFinally, if you change your mind about a decision, just use your browser's back button. Boom. The "restart" button in the sidebar will bring you back to this page.\n\nWith all that out of the way, I present [[Dinosaur Kid and the Snow That Had Pirates On It|Title Page]].

"We don't want you on our crew, since you're so anti-pirate," Hawk Kid said, "so instead, we'll take that shiny present."\n\n"No, not that!" said Dinosaur Kid. "It's not for you."\n\n"Then who's it for?" she asked.\n\n"It's a secret."\n\n"Wrong answer," Hawk Kid said. "Elephant Kid?"\n\nThe big blue bully came right up, frowned, and yoinked the present from DK's hands. "I want you to know," he said, quiet so only DK could hear, "I woulda settled for a hug."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/036.jpg]]\n\nThe pirates turned and walked away, shaking the present and making joke-guesses at what might be inside. "I think it's a toilet seat." "It's probably an ugly hat that only a //dinosaur// would wear." "It sounds like the world's biggest potato."\n\n"Pirates are stupid," he [[mumbled|Your Own Crew]].\n\n<<stopbgm fA627z8gORU>>

"What?" said Dinosaur Kid, but he was already surrounded. Giraffe Kid and Hawk Kid had him by the arms.\n\n"Since DK is taking all the plank for himself, Toucan Kid will stay onboard as a swabby and clean up our messes," said Octopus Kid. She slid over to DK and put her face close to his. "Looks like you get what you wanted, and I get a new first mate who won't refuse the captain."\n\nThe pirates dragged Dinosaur Kid forward. "Lemme go!" he said, wrestling and fighting -- but he had no power in his tiny arms to break free. They shoved him out onto the plank, where he looked down into the snow about a foot below. He turned to face the crowded pirate ship.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/020.jpg]]\n\n"Octopus Kid," he said, "I don't hold this against you. I just hope you come to your senses before it's too late." And with that, he stepped [[off the ship|Adrift]].\n\n<<stopbgm DtFJZ2GoViA>>\n<<loopbgm -y1rf0gQFho>>\n\n<<stopbgm ZW0Pb829g1U>>

"My present!" Dinosaur Kid said. "I almost mostly forgot!" He took the gift and strolled over to Octopus Kid, who was sitting in the cold snow and pouting.\n\n"I'm sorry I tried to take your present," she said. She wouldn't look at him because maybe she was too ashamed.\n\n"You are?"\n\n"Yeah," she said. "I know I shouldn't take stuff that isn't mine. It's just ... it's hard when it's so easy. But it's not right."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/070.jpg]]\n\n"Octopus Kid," said Dinosaur Kid, "this present's really important to me. I'd be really upset if you took it -- because if you take it, I can't //give// it to you."\n\n"What?" Octopus Kid said.\n\n"This present: it's for you!"\n\n"But ... but I don't deserve it."\n\n"Sure you do," said Dinosaur Kid. "You're my friend."\n\n"But, but I don't have a gift for you."\n\n"That doesn't matter. Gifts are about givin', and all you need to give me is the gift of acceptin' my gift. Now stop comin' up with excuses and open it."\n\nHe set the present on the ground. Octopus Kid got up slowly, brushed the snow off herself, and softly tore into the [[wrapping paper|The Boot!]].\n\n<<stopbgm h9GpuGO3xyo>>\n<<loopbgm ismmSr-DUhQ>>

So Dinosaur Kid's dad microwaved some tofu nuggets, and Dinosaur Kid ate them one at a time with a dab of ketchup on the side. He liked to pretend that the nuggets were people and he was a giant monster, gobbling them up -- so he sat at the counter and made little screams and roars under his breath.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/048.jpg]]\n\nWhen he was done, he rinsed his dishes and put 'em in the dishwasher. He was just wiping off his little hands when he got the eerie sensation -- like someone opening a cold door right behind you -- that he was [[being watched|Ninja Attack!]] ...\n\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $ShipName = 5>>\n<<endsilently>>\n"I dunno," said Dinosaur Kid. "I'm just first mate. I think the captain should get that honor."\n\n"You're right," said Octopus Kid. "That was a test, and you passed." She rubbed her un-chin and furrowed her generous brow. "I will call it ... The Kravalanche: Dread Bringer of Ivory Umbrage, and Scourge to yon Doodyheads."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/009.jpg]]\n\n"I'm gonna have trouble remembering all that," Dinosaur Kid said.\n\n"Just make up an acronym. KDBIUSD -- Kookaburra Doctor something something. You'll figure it out. Now keep an eye on the ship for me. I'm gonna go to my quarters and wait patiently in the darkness." Then she toddled off to an igloo that someone had built at the back of the ship.\n\nAnd with that, the Kravalanche: Dread Doody, etc., set off across the suburban [[snowy seas]].

T-Rex Dad made hot oatmeal for breakfast, and Dinosaur Kid had it with //banana slices.// Then his dad helped him get all his winter clothes on. But as Dinosaur Kid was leaving, his dad said, "Wait -- don't forget your present!"\n\n"You're right!" said Dinosaur Kid. He went back upstairs and came down with a shiny, bow-topped package in his tiny arms. "I've been saving it for the right day, and a snow day's perfect."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/004.jpg]]\n\n"Stick with your friends out there," Dad said. "And don't do anything dangerous. And keep all your gear on. And don't forget to come home when you're hungry for lunch."\n\n"Lunch!" Dinosaur Kid said. "I can't wait." Then he ran out the front door and up the fluffy white sidewalk, humming "Lunch-munch-buncha-funch, [[lunch-munch-MOPE|at the park]]."

"I wanna try steerin' the boat for a little bit," said Dinosaur Kid.\n\n"Hey, Cap'n," Giraffe Kid said, sticking his head into the igloo, "we're here."\n\nThey took up their positions. Octopus Kid readied her ground troopers, and the rest of the pirates went to their snowball piles on the ship. At the snowfort, Skunk Kid, Mouse Kid, Carp Kid, and an empty winter coat that was probably Chameleon Kid had all lined up on the wall to watch.\n\n"Remember, everybody," Octopus Kid called with her iciclesword held high, "it's no fun if they surrender!" She leapt over the edge of the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> and her squad followed. Moth Kid took to the sky. Dinosaur Kid said, "Okay, everybody -- let 'em have it!"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/026.gif]]\n\nThe battle had [[begun|Shellshock]].\n\n<<stopbgm Demsu4kbU_Q>>\n<<loopbgm IsxGy1OK-yw>>

"I think I got a hankerin' for some shanties," Dinosaur Kid said. So he gathered the crew and they had a pirate sing-a-long.\n\nThey sang the Matey Game: "Maties-maties-bo-baties, banana-fana-fo-faties, me-mi-mo-maties -- may-teez!"\n\nThey sang Ninety-Nine Boxes of Juice on the Wall: "But let's start at twenty-nine, okay?" Dinosaur Kid said. "Cuz I dunno what comes after that."\n\nThey sang No More Monkies Jumpin' on the Sled: "Cheer up, Monkey Kid!" DK had to say in between chants. "It's no more mun-KEEZ. We're allowed to have //one.//"\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/011.jpg]]\n\nEverything was goin' great, until there was a sudden commotion from the [[back of the boat|first mate]].\n\n<<stopbgm vhL5Ca8h4hE>>

So Dinosaur Kid's dad got out all the fresh vegetables and arranged them in three rings on Dinosaur Kid's plate. There were broccoli tops juggling carrots, baby tomato trapeze artists, cucumber clowns, and a big old cauliflower that kind of looked like an elephant shooting out of a cannon. DK made them all perform, then ate them when they were finished.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/050.jpg]]\n\nWhen he was done, he rinsed his dishes and put 'em in the dishwasher. He was just wiping off his little hands when he got the eerie sensation -- like someone opening a cold door right behind you -- that he was [[being watched|Ninja Attack!]] ...\n\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>

[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/024.jpg]]\n\nHe went into the snowsea headfirst, dunked and dazed, attacked by monstrous wetcold. He wanted to see, but there was no light. He tried to shout, but there was no air. He kicked at the upside-down world, clawed ineffectually -- and finally flung himself from the sea's icy grasp.\n\nDinosaur Kid shivered and shook off the snow. In the distance, the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> was on its way over the horizon.\n\n"Well, shucks," he mumbled, sitting and watching it go. "Piracy ain't [[easy|Your Own Crew]]."\n\n<<stopbgm 11txxRHta_k>>\n<<loopbgm ZW0Pb829g1U>>\n\n<<stopbgm fA627z8gORU>>

by [[jimmy grist|http://www.jimmygrist.net]]

<<silently>><<set $ShipName = 2>><<endsilently>>\n"The Spotted Speckle," said Dinosaur Kid. "It's cuz it's got so many different colors and different sleds."\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/009.jpg]]\n\n"That doesn't //sound// like a pirate ship, but it's smart," Octopus Kid said. "Also, I like the spuh-spuh noise. This is why you're first mate."\n\n"Thanks!" said DK.\n\n"I'm gonna go to my quarters and try to melt this icicle into a sword. You keep an eye on the ship." Then Octopus Kid squiggled to the back of the boat, where someone had built a little igloo.\n\nAnd with that, the Spotted Speckle set off across the suburban [[snowy seas]].

"Whoa, look!" Dinosaur Kid said, pointing over the pirates' shoulders. "It's an extra-jumbo treasure chest!"\n\n"Say whaaat?" Ostrich Kid twisted her long neck to see, and Hawk Kid and Elephant Kid turned completely around. Dinosaur Kid took off without saying a word, pumping his powerpacked thunderfeet as hard as he could, trying not to drop his present.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/033.jpg]]\n\n"Hey, he's gettin' away!" he heard someone shout. His tail whapped against tree trunks as he bolted over snowdunes, and he felt his breath smashing into and out of his ears.\n\nHe turned to look, and there they were: Elephant Kid stomp-a-lompin', Hawk Kid flap-dashing from on-the-ground to off-the-ground, and Ostrich Kid -- way out in front -- sprinting like nobody's business.\n\nHe was gonna get [[caught|Chase 2]].\n\n<<stopbgm oWkFU_1Hcck>>\n<<loopbgm KsAYxqqF_Xc>>

So Dinosaur Kid's dad made him some spaghetti. It took a little while for the noodles to boil and the sauce to simmer, and it didn't help that DK was standin' there watchin' the whole time, but when it was finally done, it was worth the wait.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/047.jpg]]\n\nWhen he was done, he rinsed his dishes and put 'em in the dishwasher. He was just wiping off his little hands when he got the eerie sensation -- like someone opening a cold door right behind you -- that he was [[being watched|Ninja Attack!]] ...\n\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>

In the captain's cabin, the snowpirates made their war plans. Octopus Kid was in charge, but Dinosaur Kid was present as first mate, and Moth Kid as aerial commander of the snowskypirate division.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/025.jpg]]\n\n"The enemy defenses demand a multi-pronged assault," Octopus Kid said.\n\nDinosaur Kid raised his hand. "What's a prong?"\n\n"The pointy-doodles on a fork. I've got it all figured out: our prongs're gonna be snowballs from the ship, big bomber boulders from above, and shock troops on the ground. Moth Kid, you're obviously in charge of droppin' the boombooms. Hand-select one crewmate to make your snowballs."\n\n"Hawk Kid," said Moth Kid quickly, with her wings kind of fluterry. "And it's not even because I have a crush on her, because I totally don't."\n\n"DK," Octopus Kid said, "as my first mate, you've been a bajousand percent loyal. I want you to pick your position. Will you command the <<if $ShipName eq 1>>Chilled Cannonade<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 2>>Spotted Speckle<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 3>>Biggest, Strongest, Sledliest Ship That Ever Was<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 4>>Knock-Knock<<endif>><<if $ShipName eq 5>>Kravalanche<<endif>> in my absence or lead the ground assault?"\n\n [[- Command the ship.|Stay Aboard]]\n [[- Command the ground forces.|Hit the Ground]]\n\n<<stopbgm MWkInhZkFok>>\n<<loopbgm Demsu4kbU_Q>>\n\n<<stopbgm IsxGy1OK-yw>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $ShipName = 5>>\n<<endsilently>>\nDinosaur Kid awoke on somebody else's sled. But that sled was tied to another sled -- and they were both frozen to more sleds. Where was he? He sat up.\n\nIt was an entire ship ... made of stuck-together sleds. Full of pirate kids. And Elephant Kid was pulling it along from the front, all by himself.\n\n[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/007.jpg]]\n\n"DK! DK!" It was Octopus Kid, wearing a trifold hat. "You made it! I wanna welcome you to the Kravalanche: Dread Bringer of Ivory Umbrage, and Scourge to yon Doodyheads."\n\n"I think my brain is broken," Dinosaur Kid said. "I dunno what you just said."\n\n"This is my pirate ship!" she said, spreading her tentacles. "You already know the scarvy crew. And as my best friend, I've selected //you// to be my first mate."\n\n"Me? Well, I guess now that I'm here, I might as well make the best of it."\n\n"Excellicent," said Octopus Kid. "Hang on, I gotta go get something from my quarters." She flopped to a small igloo at the back of the boat and disappeared inside. \n\nDinosaur Kid stood up and had a look around. "So this is sailin' the seven snowseas, huh? It's kinda nice."\n\nThen he heard a commotion from the [[back of the boat|first mate]].\n\n<<stopbgm oWkFU_1Hcck>>\n<<stopbgm cSj2JV8o2yA>>\n<<loopbgm c67lUswGaUs>>\n\n<<stopbgm vhL5Ca8h4hE>>

[img[http://jimmygrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/001.jpg]]\n\n [[> Start!|Winter]]\n\n<<playbgm bWKhdWnLzfo 48>>\n\n<<stopbgm 0riDq1usBCM>>