

Astro's Adventures: Neptune's Trident!

by

Susan Day

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Susan Day on Smashwords

Astro's Adventures: Neptune's Trident!

Copyright © 2014 by Susan Day

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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Astro's Adventures: Neptune's Trident!

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the dogs of the world that don't have a warm bed to curl up in,

toys to play with or a cat to chase. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to rescue shelters to help you all.

SPYLINKS

This book contains secret Spylinks. When you find them just click on the link and you'll be taken to webpages that no one can get to unless they're have a copy of this book – they're that secret! On the pages you'll find games, activities and puzzles. Look for the Spylinks Hound (below) and enjoy these special pages from Astro and the gang.

### Neptune's Trident!

Chapter 1

They walked along the streets in the dark. It was just before sunrise on Christmas morning and everything was very quiet. No one noticed seven dogs returning from their latest mission.

Just as they got closer to headquarters a loud beep came from Commander Rocky's microchip. Microchips were put in dogs and cats by their owners so they could be identified if they got lost. The secret Organisation these dogs belonged to had changed them so they could be used as communication devices.

Rocky scratched at his neck seven times and a frantic voice screamed, "Commander! We're in a lot of trouble here!"

"What's the problem?" Rocky asked.

Just then Astro pointed down the street. "What's that?" he cried.

Astro and the others squinted and could just make out a large blob rocking backwards and forwards at the front of their headquarters. Rocky stared too. It was a huge black shape that took up all the space in the car park. It was swaying from side to side.

"It's huge!" yelled Alfie.

"Looks like some kind of monster!" whimpered Dingo and he began to shake.

"What is that smell?" cried Digger turning to Alfie.

"What?" Alfie cried. "It's not me; not this time!"

"We had better find out what it wants, and fast. It's banging on the doors and windows trying to get into headquarters," shouted Commander Rocky and with that they all ran down the street.

Only Stella D'oro stood still. She was staring at the ground and concentrating.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she said but it was too late.

Commander Rocky and all the Operatives ran straight up to the large creature. It was a huge sea monster and it had seaweed hanging from its green slimy body. It had fins sticking out of its head and large gills that flapped in and out as it breathed. It smelt of rotten fish. It looked down at the small creatures running towards it. It recognized them as dogs but wasn't sure who they were. It shrugged its shoulders.

"You'll do," it croaked and then proceeded to swallow each dog whole!

Stella D'oro lifted up her head and heard the dogs yell out but there was nothing she could do.

"Oh, dear," she said. "I wonder why Sherman did that."

Chapter 2

Inside the Conference Room the dogs sat wet and bedraggled. Dingo was wrapped in blanket but he was still shivering. He was a small Rat Terrier who had large ears which helped him hear things from a long way off and in incredible detail.

Next to him sat Operative Indy who was a strong Blue heeler. She was dripping all over the floor. Her paws were clasped tightly and she was very angry. "Does anyone here know how hard it is to dry out a stink bomb?!!" she spat between gritted teeth.

On the other side of Indy sat Operative Digger. He was a Terrier and a tunnelling expert. He was wringing water out of his green beret. "Look at my coat! My beautiful soft coat!" He swung himself around pulling slime out of his fur. "This is just horrid!" he moaned.

On the other side of the table Hans slumped in his chair. He was resting his head on his paws and shaking his head. He was a small, brown Dachshund and assistant to Commander Rocky. He was wrapped in a towel to keep him warm. Next to him was his wife, Roxy. "It's a good job I came in to see where you were," she tutted and shook her head. "Look at the state of you."

"It's not my fault," Hans moaned. "The monster swallowed us whole. I didn't stand a chance."

"Well, it's a good job I'm here. Our twelve puppies missed you. And it's Christmas Day! I came to see what you were doing. If I'd had known you were going to be swallowed by a giant sea monster I wouldn't have let you out of my sight!" Roxy rubbed Hans' head quickly. He pulled the towel around his shoulders and sulked.

"It's not his fault," said Astro. He was a large grey shaggy dog who always looked a little bit messy. He stopped licking his fur dry and turned to Roxy. "Everyone except Stella D'oro thought that Sherman was trying to break into headquarters."

On the other side of Astro sat Alfie. He was a strong Doberman and he was looking for biscuits under the table. Biscuits and water were always given to the dogs at a meeting. Alfie didn't know how Commander Rocky did it but when he pushed a button two bowls would come up through the table in front of each dog. One would have delicious crunchy biscuits and the other sparkling fresh water. Alfie's mouth was watering just thinking about them. He didn't care about smelling like rotting fish, he was too hungry. He also didn't care that a large puddle was forming under his chair.

At the head of the table sat Commander Rocky and Stella D'oro. Commander Rocky was a large black Border collie and he was in charge of The Organisation - a secret group of dogs that saved other dogs that were being mistreated or neglected. The Organisation was hidden inside a Doggy Day Care Centre and no one knew it was there.

Stella D'oro was a golden Cocker spaniel and she was blind. This didn't stop her from being part of the team. Stella had special powers that enabled her to see things inside her mind and communicate without talking. She knew things were going to happen before they did and even though she looked like a young puppy she was said to be hundreds of years old.

Commander Rocky tapped at a small computer and a screen dropped down at the other end of the table. On it a blurry picture appeared.

"Can you hear me Sherman Aquatic Gulper?" bellowed Commander Rocky.

The sea monster was scratching his head and looking confused. The Operatives were all staring at the screen. They could hear the voices of the Tech Canines, a special team of dogs set up to manage computer problems, video links and technical issues. "Just look into the camera," one of the dogs barked.

Sherman looked a little bit puzzled. "Where is it?" he asked.

A paw blocked the lens and made a loud thudding noise. "Here in the window," the dog said.

They had been unable to get Sherman into the building because he was so big so the Tech Canines had set up a video camera in the second-storey window and linked it to the computer system. This meant he could be part of the meeting in the Conference Room.

Sherman stared into the window until he finally saw a red blinking light. "Oh, I see it!" he cried. "I can't see as well as dogs. Sea creatures don't need good eye sight just a great sense of direction!"

Commander Rocky let out a long sigh. "Can we start the meeting now, Sherman?" he asked.

"Of course!" bellowed Sherman. "But before we do I'd like to apologise for swallowing you all. I was told to find the dogs from The Organisation and bring them back. I didn't realise that you wouldn't be happy travelling inside me."

"That's in the past now," Commander Rocky stated but the other dogs were grumbling with displeasure. They would certainly not forget being swallowed by a huge slimy monster. Nor would they forget being spewed back up again! Not in a hurry anyway.

Stella was chuckling to herself. Even though she was blind she could just imagine how silly all the dogs must have looked as Sherman sucked them into his wide mouth. She was the only one who knew who Sherman was and where he had come from. She didn't say anything. Instead, she waited patiently for Sherman to tell the others what he wanted.

Sherman cleared his throat and leaned closer to the camera. His image went blurry and Digger and Hans jumped back in fright. The other dogs weren't so easily scared.

"Well, my boss has lost his special stick and he said that dogs love sticks and that you guys were the best at finding things, so he said I should come here and get you lot to come to our place and then you can find his stick." Sherman ran out of breath.

"Your boss?" queried Rocky. "And a stick?"

"Yep!" smiled the sea monster.

"We are specially trained dogs who belong to a secret organisation. We find golden treasures; battle giant metal rats, gypsy cats; we even saved Christmas twice and your boss wants us to find a stick?"

"Must be some stick!" laughed Alfie. "There are hundreds of sticks lying on the ground at the park. Why doesn't he just get one of those?"

"Oh, this is not a normal stick," smiled Sherman. "It's got special powers and it's made of solid gold!"

All the Operatives turned and stared at the screen. If Sherman hadn't got their full attention before he sure had now.

Stella spoke. "Perhaps you should tell them who your boss is and what he calls the... um... stick," she suggested.

Sherman let out a long sigh. The morning sun was getting hot and he was getting tired. "Well, it's Neptune's Stick. I think he calls it his Trojan... No, that's not right. It's his, um ... Tri... something." Sherman bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes. He was thinking very hard.

"Trident?" Stella suggested.

"Yes! That's it!" Sherman was relieved. "My boss, Neptune, King of the Sea and all the Oceans, has lost his Trident. He uses his Trident to control the waves, start storms, turn animals into other animals and punish the bad fish in the sea. And he has sent me to ask for your help. He says you're the best and you'll be able to get his Trident back for him. If he doesn't get it back there will be no waves or storms which might not sound too bad but they are an important part of life in the sea. It's got something to do with the natural order of things or something like that."

Sherman had remembered the message exactly as Neptune had told him and he was very pleased.

Commander Rocky looked around at his team. They were all sitting with their mouths open in surprise. Well, all except Alfie. He was still looking for biscuits. He could live without water but he was going to be very disappointed if he didn't get his Happy Yappy Shapes.

Digger was the first to speak. "Neptune? The sea? But we'll get wet!"

"The real Neptune?" asked Astro. "Wow. He must be so cool! Can we go?"

"What about all the sharks and eels and sea monsters? They'll gobble up a tiny little dog like me in one bite," squealed Dingo.

"I'm not frightened of a bunch of silly sea monsters and a silly sea king," grumbled Indy. "But how are we going to breathe under water? I'm not travelling there in a sea monster's tummy. Once inside that thing was one time too many for this dog!"

"Neptune sent me some magic stones," said Sherman fumbling around in the folds of his scaly skin. "They're here somewhere."

After a few seconds of poking and pulling at his own flab, he pulled out eight bright red stones and held them up to the camera. Each one had a chain made from knotted seaweed threaded through it so it could be worn around the neck.

"See?" he said. "If you wear these you'll be able to breathe underwater. They create a magic force field around your head so your lungs won't fill up with water."

Stella nodded her head in approval.

Commander Rocky spoke. "Well, team, this looks like a difficult mission but I know that you are all strong and capable. You are also determined and focused canines who will make sure that we find the Trident and return it to Neptune. Are there any questions?"

The dogs didn't want to argue with their commander so they sat quietly and didn't move. However, Alfie shot up his arm.

"What is it, Operative Alfie?" Commander Rocky asked.

"Biscuits? Why haven't we got any biscuits?" he enquired.

Commander Rocky let out a long sigh and hit the red button. Magically two bowls appeared in front of each dog; one with biscuits the other with water.

"Yummo!" cried Alfie and he devoured all of the biscuits in one gulp.

Commander Rocky shook his head. 'It's going to be a long mission,' he thought to himself. 'A long, long mission.'

You found the Spylinks Hound. Well Done! Now all you have to do is click on this link to discover mysterious puzzles and games not available to anyone else!

<http://www.astrosadventures.com/spylinks_nt_101.html>

Chapter 3

A rattly old bus jerked to a stop in the car park. The automatic door creaked and then snapped open quickly. Eight dogs stepped or stumbled out of it. The last one was Commander Rocky. He brushed the dust from his coat and threw his nose up into the air.

"Ah, the sea air! It's been too long since I visited the beach," he said.

Alfie turned to him. "Do you think there's time to build a sand castle?"

Astro answered. "No, Alfie, I told you on the bus this wasn't going to be a fun trip. It'll be hard work. And it's going to be a very dangerous mission."

Indy nodded in agreement and rubbed her hunting bone. "I can't wait," she muttered to herself. "I've already taken a crocodile out of action so a shark or a giant octopus should be easy."

Dingo looked up at her and shook his head. "We're supposed to be finding Neptune's stick thingy not hitting scary sharks on the head. What if they get cross and come after us? I can't swim as well as you!"

"Trident," Digger corrected Dingo. "It's called a Trident. I don't think King Neptune is going to be pleased if we keep referring to it as a stick!"

Stella took the stones out of her pocket. "Here are the stones that will make sure we can breathe under water," she said handing one to each dog and then putting one around her neck.

"Hmmm," moaned Astro, "Mine is nice and warm!"

Alfie bit into his. "Mine tastes like a hamburger!" he declared. "Delicious!!"

"Mine tastes like tofu!" cried Digger licking his stone. "Delicious!"

Alfie made a funny face, "Yucky!"

"Mine tastes like strawberries," said Dingo nibbling on the stone.

"Sausages!" shrieked Hans, "Real German sausages! Yummo!!"

"And mine tastes like a protein shake," said Indy nodding her head approvingly.

Rocky put the magic stone around his neck and looked into it. He resisted the urge to lick it but instead stared into the depths of the stone. For a second he could hear a beautiful soft voice whispering to him. His concentration was broken by Stella.

"That's funny," Stella said. "There seems to be an extra stone. How strange. I'm sure Sherman only gave me eight."

The dogs were so intrigued by the different tastes they didn't notice another small dog hiding behind a rubbish bin. He was very small and skinny. He was watching everything that was going on. He was a funny looking dog with hair sticking out from the top of his head but nowhere else. In fact, he had no fur at all. He was completely bald! He had seen the Operatives arrive and was watching what they were doing very carefully.

He cleared his throat to get their attention. "I think you'll find they are designed to taste like your favourite food."

All the dogs turned together and looked at him.

"I understand from my own experiences that this is common with stones created by super beings. Am I correct?"

Still silence.

All the dogs were staring at him not because he was talking to them but because of the way he looked. Alfie and Dingo had their mouths wide open.

The little dog ignored them.

"It's quite common, like I said," Then he smiled broadly and held out his paw as a way of introduction. "I'm Icky by the way." He waited for the other dogs to respond. Only Digger muttered under his breath, "I can see that!"

There was a long moment of awkward silence. A seagull squawked and a beach ball rolled silently past the group of dogs. No one moved.

Eventually Stella cleared her throat. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Icky. I'm Stella D'oro." She held out her paw and stepped towards him.

"Oh, I know who you are," Icky said happily. "My mother told me stories about you when I was just a young pup. You're amazing! It's an honour to meet you."

Commander Rocky looked down at Stella and shrugged his shoulders. 'There are so many things I still don't know about her and we've been working together for years.'

'And there's still plenty of time to learn more,' Stella answered but only Rocky heard her.

Rocky walked over and introduced himself. "I'm Comman..."

The little dog interrupted him. "I know who you are too!" he was beaming with joy. "You're the famous Commander Rocky. All the dogs at the rescue centre talk about you. And the other dogs? Is that Alfie and Digger? And Indy and Dingo? And of course, Astro! How wonderful to meet you all! But I don't know the little brown one."

Commander Rocky turned to Hans and held out his paws. "This is my assistant, Hans. He has twelve puppies you know!"

Icky stepped out from behind the rubbish bin. "Well, it sure is great to meet you, Hans. And the rest of the Operatives too. I have heard so much about you. I can't tell you how exciting it is to finally meet you."

He shook paws with everyone.

"What are you doing here on the beach? Where are your owners?" asked Astro.

"I'm afraid I'm lost. I was on a boat filming a TV commercial and a wave knocked me overboard. I hitched a ride on the back of a turtle and landed here. I've survived so far on scraps but I really would like to go home. Can you help me?"

"Of course!" Alfie beamed. "But you sure are strange looking not to mention ugly. What kind of dog are you?"

"Alfie! Where are your manners?" Hans exclaimed. "You shouldn't tell anyone that they look strange."

"But he does," answered Alfie. He always believed honesty was the best policy.

"That's okay," smiled Icky. He walked up to Alfie and stood just off to the left. "Do you mind if I stand in your shadow? I'm a Chinese Crested Hairless and the strong Australian sun is burning my skin."

"Not a problem!" Alfie stretched his head up and made his shadow longer for the little dog.

"My full name is Icky the Ugly Dog and I've been on television and in the movies and you won't be surprised to learn, I won the Ugliest Dog in the World Competition!"

"Oh, that's a bit harsh," Indy said.

"No, I don't mind," continued Icky, "Because when people meet me they soon learn that beauty is only skin deep. All creatures should be appreciated for their kindness and generosity. It's what's inside your heart that matters."

"It sure is, Icky," smiled Commander Rocky. He was beginning to like this funny little dog. "I'm afraid we're on a mission and I don't think we can help you get home."

Icky looked around and stared at the last remaining stone Stella was still holding in her paw. "Well, perhaps I could help? Where are you going?"

Alfie pointed into the ocean. "We are going into the sea, over the oceans, past the scary sharks and giant whales..." His voice drifted off on the wind.

"To see Neptune?" Icky asked.

"How do you know?" Digger exclaimed.

"The seagulls have not stopped chattering about how Neptune has lost his Trident and how he expects a group of dogs to find it. They actually said 'stupid' dogs. They're very rude," Icky answered.

Alfie looked at a group of seagulls poking their beaks into the sand. "I'll get those silly birds. No one calls my friends stupid!" He dropped down low and was about to run after them when Indy stopped him.

"Stay where you are, hero," muttered Indy. "Save your energy for fighting sharks."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," smiled Alfie. Then he shot a deadly stare at the seagulls as a warning. They ignored him.

"Well, Icky, if you think you would like to join us and lend a hand we would certainly appreciate it," Commander Rocky said. "The more paws the better."

Stella smiled and held out the stone. Icky took it and licked it quickly.

"Hmmm, tastes like pizza," he said licking his lips.

"Oh, I want that one!" cried Alfie.

They all laughed at him. The seagulls took off and started to squawk loudly. "What's going on?" Icky asked them.

"In the sea, in the sea, there's a monster in the sea!" they shrieked. They flew in circles and squawked louder.

Commander Rocky stared out over the horizon and saw a large blob. It was dark and menacing. It bounced about in the waves. Above it was a dark cloud that floated eerily. "Looks like our ride has arrived, team. Let's go!"

Chapter 4

Far away in the deep ocean a small crab floated on a piece of rubbish. The crab bobbed up and down on his unreliable raft. It had once been a plastic bucket but it had been broken and then tossed away by careless people. After floating in the sea for a while it had picked up other pieces of rubbish. Pieces of plastic bags, bits of wood, fishing nets and tin cans had caught on the sharp broken pieces of the bucket and added to its size.

The raft was ugly and untidy and it smelt funny but the crab didn't mind. He had been thrown from his rocky home by a huge wave. Before he could swim back he had been taken out to sea by the tide. He thought he was going to drown when he spotted the bucket and climbed on board. Now, he was just waiting to see where it took him. He hoped it would take him home.

It didn't take long before he felt very hungry. He decided to see if there were any scraps tangled up in his rubbish raft. He picked up an old soup can and then a tangled mass of fishing line. Then he spotted some seaweed trailing from the handle of the bucket. He grabbed it quickly and stuffed it into this mouth.

He was munching away and reeling it in when much to his surprise he saw a note attached to the end of it. He used his sharp claws to cut it free. He wasn't very clever at reading and he had to turn the note over to try and make sense of it. He read it and although he wasn't sure exactly what it said he was able to make out the words, "Neptune", "Trident", "stolen" and "pirate".

"Oh, dear," he said swallowing the seaweed in one gulp. "I had better get this to Neptune a-sap!"

He looked around quickly and spotted a school of flying fish. "Hey you guys," he called out. "Can you take this note to Neptune's palace? It's really important!"

One of the flying fish leapt out of the water and grabbed the note. "No problem!" it called and it quickly disappeared into the deep sea.

"That was easy," thought the little crab and he looked out towards the endless horizon. He let out a long sigh. "Hopefully I'll be home soon."

Below the little crab the world of the King of the Sea and all the Oceans, Neptune, was hidden deep in the watery valleys. Nestled between two sea mountains was a pair of large white pillars. This was the entrance. Each one had a turret stretching up into the sea that had blue and green banners flying from the tips.

In the middle of the kingdom was Neptune's palace. It was made of white marble and gold. There were five gates to the palace: One for every ocean - the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, the Arctic and the Southern Ocean.

Neptune had trained Hammerhead sharks to be his guards. There were two on every gate and each one wore silver armour decorated with blue and green sapphires. They held giant mallets made from steel mined from deep beneath the ocean. It was said that they could destroy a large ship with one blow.

Inside, the palace had lots of caves which were home to all manner of creatures of the sea - fish, turtles, mermaids and they all lived there. They went about their business in peace and were never bothered by things outside of the palace. There were shops and cafes, schools and a special library where ancient books held the history of Neptune and the seas.

That was until Neptune's Trident went missing. Neptune was becoming weaker and less powerful. He used his Trident to keep things in order. He could create waves and storms. He could make special potions and also banish those who tried to undermine and destroy him. He could even use it to change animals into objects or other animals.

As well, Neptune's Palace was protected by a force field that kept his enemies out and his subjects safe. But the force field was weakening it could not be strengthened without the Trident.

Inside Neptune's own room his throne sat very tall. It almost touched the ceiling. It was made of gold and had copper and silver fishes inlaid into its legs and arms. Neptune's seat was plush green velvet and was decorated with small embroidered gold tridents.

On either side of the throne stood Neptune's personal body guards. They were tall and strong Hammerhead sharks. They were named Proteus, Sao, Larissa, Nereid and Neso.

Each one wore silver armour and had a red jewel shaped like a trident embedded in their chest plate. They held long hammers and wore silver swords at their belts.

Neptune drummed his fingers on the gold armrest and sighed deeply. Every now and then he uncrossed his feet and then re-crossed them again. In front of Neptune stood his advisor; an old turtle nicknamed Waggles. They were waiting for word about the dogs.

Suddenly there was a scuffle at the entrance and a seahorse came flying in. It stopped at the feet of Neptune and bowed its head.

"Speak!" ordered the Sea King. He bent forward and eyed the seahorse menacingly.

"Oh, Great Neptune, King of all the Seas and Oceans, I have word about the progress of the dogs," the seahorse panted.

"What is it?" Boomed the god.

The seahorse took in a deep breath. "They have gathered on the shores of the land mass known as Australia. Sherman and the others are waiting just off shore. They will be here shortly."

"Who reported this information to you?" Neptune questioned the small creature.

"The seagulls have been gossiping but a school of fairy penguins confirmed that they had seen the dogs," answered the seahorse.

"Good! Then I will not have to wait long to discover what has happened to my Trident," said Neptune. He began to pick at a loose thread that was hanging from the bottom of his robe.

He looked at the stand where his Trident normally sat. "I miss it, you know," he said sadly. "It was like my friend, my best buddy. You have no idea how many storms we created together and the tsunamis, phew, there must have been hundreds!" He slumped back into this throne and let out a long sigh.

The little seahorse looked from the empty stand and back to Neptune. "There's one more thing," the seahorse gulped nervously and held up a sheet of paper. "This was found on a rubbish raft by a small crab."

The seahorse held up the piece of paper and bowed his head. Neptune's advisor took the paper and handed it to the god. Neptune unfolded it and read it carefully. No one in the room needed to be told that it was bad news. Neptune's face became red and steam seemed to blow out of his ears.

"What?!" he cried. "My Trident has been stolen!!" Neptune jumped to his feet and held up the piece of paper. "Send in my guards and bring me my sword!"

He stepped down and the little seahorse scuttled out of his way. His advisor bent his head and bowed. "Here read it for yourself, Waggles," said Neptune thrusting the note into his fins.

The advisor took the note and opened it carefully. He gasped and staggered backwards. Others ran behind him to see what the note said.

_Dear Speed Bump Charlie, Neptune's Trident was successfully stolen right from under his nose as you ordered. He didn't even notice! He thinks it's been lost! What an idiot! Soon we will be able to take over the oceans and the seas. Soon we will be Kings of the sea and Neptune will be forced to be_ _our_ _servant!! We await your next orders, Captain Black the Catfish Pirate._

"Pirates!" exclaimed Waggles.

"Take over the ocean?!" cried a guard.

"Be _their_ servants?" gulped another.

They all stopped and looked up at Neptune. He had returned to his throne and was thinking hard. "Captain Black, eh? Well, we will see how he looks turned into a sea slug. Oh, if I could only get my Trident back! I'd soon sort those wicked pirates out!"

He looked down at the seahorse and bellowed his orders. "Make sure those dogs get here as quickly as possible. I am going to need all the help I can get."

The seahorse nodded and shot quickly out of the room. The advisor was re-reading the note.

"Sir?" Waggles quietly interrupted his leader. "We know who Captain Black and his gang of cruel Catfish Pirates are but who is this Speed Bump Charlie? Is he fish? Or man? Or god?"

"Clearly he must be a very powerful, wicked god!" Neptune said thoughtfully.

The advisor nodded.

"He must be big and strong like me. And he must have magical powers like I do," Neptune continued throwing his fists into the air.

Waggles nodded. Neptune turned quickly to them. "We are going to need an army with many mallets, heavy hammers and sharp swords to defeat such an enemy. Gather up all the weapons you can find and bring me my generals. No god called Speed Bump Charlie is going to beat me, Neptune, the King of all the Seas and Oceans! This is war!"

Chapter 5

On a luxury ocean liner a hundred miles away an old alley cat was relaxing in a deck chair. He had a cocktail in one hand and recipe book in the other. He motioned to the sailor standing behind him. "Fan faster, you dope. It's boiling in the sun."

The servant began to wave the fan faster. "Perhaps Sir would like an umbrella?" the servant suggested.

"No Sir would not!" screeched the old cat. "Sir, would like to be left alone to read his book!"

The old alley cat settled back into his deck chair. He felt the breeze from the fan ruffle his fur. "That's better. Now, where was I?" He flicked through the book until a picture of sautéed sardine steaks caught his eye. "Oh, wow. Now, that's what I want. When I get my paws on all those delicious fish I am going to have the greatest feast that has ever been devoured by a cat! No stupid dog or under water god will be able to stop me!"

He began to laugh at his devious plan. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Would you like another drink, Speed Bump Charlie, Sir?" the servant asked.

"Shut up and just keep fanning me!" Speed Bump Charlie ordered. "You interrupted my train of thought. Can't you see I'm dreaming of delicious fish, fish, fish, fish ..."

And with that he nodded off to sleep and dreamt about eating clown fish and angel fish and tuna, hundreds and hundreds of tuna fish. He dreamt of a banquet of octopus and eel and fish, lots and lots of lovely fish. And roasted dolphin and barbequed seahorse. Oh, how yummy, Speed Bump Charlie dreamt.

Dingo jumped on Astro's shoulders and stared out to sea. "I can see dolphins, sea horses, some really big turtles and a big black blob." He twisted his head so his ears could pick up what they were saying. "It is Sherman! I recognise his voice. There are other voices too. I don't understand what they are saying but they it sounds like they are singing or humming."

"That's the way dolphins and seahorses speak," explained Stella.

"That'll be our lift then," nodded Commander Rocky. "The blob is Sherman I'm guessing."

"How are we going to get out there?" asked Digger. "I don't want to get wet!" he moaned.

"Are we supposed to ride them?" asked Astro. "What if I fall off? I can't swim!"

"Don't worry," said Stella D'oro. "You're wearing Neptune's stone. It will help you breathe under water. I'm sure you'll be completely safe. Neptune would have sent his fastest and strongest creatures."

As they spoke the sea animals moved as close as they could. Sherman stood up in the water and waved to them.

"That's our signal, team," Commander Rocky said. "I'm afraid you are going to have to paddle out to them."

"Agghh!!" cried Digger. "My beautiful white coat will get wet!"

"Don't worry, Diggs," said Alfie, "You can ride with me." And with that he picked up his small friend and plopped him on his wide shoulders.

The rest of the team ran into the sea. Even Icky didn't mind getting wet. They didn't have to go far when three large turtles came forward. They allowed all of the dogs to climb aboard and then swam out to the sea animals.

Once they had reached them the dogs hopped onto their backs and tried to make themselves comfortable. Sherman counted the dogs and then scratched his head. "That's not right. Why is there one more?"

"Oh, Icky is joining us," Commander Rocky said pointed to the little dog. "I almost forgot about him. He needs a lift home and has offered to help us. He's been on television, you know."

"Well, the more fins the better!" Sherman said and he shook Icky's tiny paw.

"That's what I said, sort of," smiled Commander Rocky.

"I only brought enough dolphins and seahorses for you all. You'll have to ride with me, Icky," And with that the giant sea monster picked up the hairless dog and settled him on his wide shoulders. "Are you wearing your stone?" he asked him.

"Sure am! It tastes like pizza!" said Icky.

"Oh, Ok," said Sherman. "They are supposed to taste like things you like. What's pizza? Do you like it?"

"Do I!" exclaimed Icky. "It's the best food in the world!"

"Sure is," agreed Alfie. He was making himself comfortable on the back of a large dolphin. He wiggled his bottom from side to side and clutched the dolphin's dorsal fin with both paws.

Indy was sitting on a very sleek dolphin. She adjusted her utility belt that held her hunting bone and stink bomb. "How fast can you go?" she whispered into its ear.

"236 miles per hour," the dolphin whispered back.

"Awesome!" Indy declared. "Let's go!"

The dolphin smiled and lowered its head. Then it let out a loud whistle and zoomed off into the sea. The others looked up in surprise.

"Hey, wait for me!" yelled Dingo. He was sitting on the back of a long orange seahorse.

"Don't worry," it answered him. "We seahorses can go pretty fast too!" Then it uncurled its tail and re-curled it so fast it shot forward after Indy and the dolphin.

Commander Rocky shrugged his shoulders and motioned the others to follow. Soon, they were all zooming through the waves together. Sherman was just running through the water like a dog might run along the grass but he was very fast and had no trouble keeping up with the others.

In no time at all the land had disappeared behind them. A flock of seagulls kept up with them for a while but soon lost interest. Sherman knew they would repeat everything they saw and soon Neptune would know they were on their way.

On their journey they saw ocean liners, sailing boats and a huge humpback whale. It had a baby with it and they marvelled when it leapt out of the water and came crashing down. They also saw a little crab clinging to a raft of rubbish. He waved to them and they waved back.

The sea horses and the dolphins soon came to a stop. They swam in circles then one by one they dove into the sea. The dogs held their breath but there was no need. The magic stones were working well and they could breathe normally.

Deeper and deeper they went. It got darker and darker until the dogs struggled to see anything at all. Just when it got so dark Rocky thought he might have to ask them to stop, a light appeared in front of them. It grew brighter and they realised that they were approaching Neptune's Kingdom.

Silently they glided in between the white pillars. Inside, Neptune's palace glowed in the darkness. They couldn't believe how beautiful it looked. One by one they entered through the Pacific Gate and stared in wonder at the huge statues that towered above it.

Indy was impressed with the weaponry of the guards and Digger was dazzled by the sapphires in their armour. Commander Rocky was impressed with the grandness of the palace and Hans was wondering who was in charge of keeping everything so clean. Icky, Dingo and Astro were waving to the creatures who had lined the seabed to greet them. Alfie was staring over the heads of the crowd. He was hungry and wondering if they'd be having lunch when they arrived.

They all hopped down and stood in the impressive courtyard. All the creatures that lived in the palace came out to see them. Everyone seemed very friendly. Sherman lowered Icky to the ground slowly. Icky shook his body from nose to tail repeatedly. His skin vibrated so intensely it made the funniest juddering noise. Alfie giggled but a sharp poke in the ribs from Digger's elbow soon stopped him.

Stella stepped forward. "Follow me, team," she said. "The Throne Room is this way."

They all frowned and looked at each other. No one said anything. Stella was very wise and knew about many strange and wonderful things. They just assumed that she must have been here before and obediently followed her.

Chapter 6

The Pirate Catfish had spies everywhere. Just as the dogs arrived at Neptune's palace they heard about it. Many miles away they had a secret hideout inside a series of dark caves. The caves were nestled between two large mountains under the sea and connected by long tunnels.

There was only one entrance and that was hidden behind a thick forest of seaweed. It was guarded by electric eels who were black and very strong. They would slip and glide around any intruder and then zap them with an electric shock.

Captain Black was sitting with his gang around a large boulder they used as a conference table. To his left was Pirate Scratchy, so called for his ability to scratch his back with his own whiskers. He could also use his whiskers to whip his enemies and tie them up. Although he was very old he was still very strong and many fish in the sea feared him.

Next to him sat Pirate Pearl. She wore a pearl necklace and it was rumoured that her jaws were so strong she could roll sand around inside her mouth and turn it into a pearl. Then she could spit out the pearl like a bullet and hurt her enemies.

Pirate Sandy sat next to Pearl. She was lighter in colour than the other fish and had been given the name Sandy by her parents. As she grew, however, her scales became rough as if they were covered in sandpaper. If she brushed up against another fish she could easily rip off their scales.

Lastly, Pirate Reefy sat between Sandy and Captain Black. He was very big and strong. He was so big in fact it was rumoured that he must be a mixed breed fish. It was often whispered behind his back that his great-grandfather on his mother's side had been a mean, grumpy Sturgeon. Reefy always denied it and threatened to punch any fish who dared mention it. Not many dared.

A small mackerel was bobbing up and down in the middle of the table.

"Well, what else did you see?" bellowed Captain Black.

"Well," stuttered the small fish, "Like I said, there were heaps of dogs of all different shapes and sizes. They rode on the back of dolphins and seahorses. And there was that big stupid sea monster; the blue one. They were all led straight into Neptune's Throne Room. One of them even seemed to know the way."

The small fish's eyes darted around the room quickly. He was very nervous because he didn't want to be eaten by the catfish. He was so scared of them he did whatever they asked him to do.

Reefy leaned forward and sniffed the mackerel. The little fish quivered in fear.

"And?? Anything else?" bellowed Captain Black.

The little fish swallowed a lump in his throat. "Well, the old squid that cleans Neptune's throne said that he was preparing for war. He said something about another god challenging Neptune's power and stealing his Trident."

Captain Black grinned widely. "Oh, did he? And did the squid have a name for this god by chance?"

The mackerel's eyes darted around the table. He felt something move around his tail and spun around quickly. Scratchy whipped back one of his whiskers and winked at the fish. He smiled and licked his lips.

"Umm, it sounded like Speed Hump, or something like that," the little fish said.

Captain Black tossed back his head and laughed. The rest of the pirates joined him. He beat his fins on the table and sucked water into his mouth and shot it quickly out of his gills. "Speed Hump you say? A god? Well, well, it looks like we have Neptune really upset now, doesn't it?"

The pirates all laughed and the little fish spun around trying to keep an eye on all of them at once.

Then Reefy stopped. "What if he finds out who the real Speedie is and punishes us?" he whispered to Captain Black.

"What with?" Captain Black chuckled. "You're forgetting, my slippery friend, without his precious Trident he's powerless. Completely powerless!"

They all laughed together and while no one was watching the tiny mackerel disappeared before he became lunch.

"This calls for a celebration!" Captain Black cried nodding to Scratchy.

Scratchy jumped up and ran over to the cupboard. He brought out a large decanter and several glasses. He filled each one with a bluey-black liquid and the pirates took a glass each. They held them up high.

Captain Black jumped on the table and saluted each one. "This day marks the greatest day in Catfish domination. This is the day that we are going to take over the world!"

The gang of pirates all laughed and looked at each other. They were happy to be part of such a grand scheme.

Then Pearl stopped and looked puzzled. "But we started last Tuesday," she said.

Captain Black spun around and stared at her. "Yes, but today is important because we know that Neptune is running scared and he thinks a great god is coming after him when in fact it's just a silly old alley cat."

"Wasn't it Monday?" asked Sandy. "I mean it is hard to keep track of days here on the International Date Line but I thought we started last Monday?"

"Oh, alright!" Captain Black shook his head. "If you must know, I got the idea Wednesday before last. So, if we're going to be technical then that's when it started."

"Really?" asked Scratchy. "Was that before or after we watched the DVD about shark nets?"

"What does it matter?!!" bellowed Captain Black. He let out a long sigh. "All I'm saying is today is important. Okay?"

They all sat still for a few seconds. Reefy nodded. "Yes, I see," he mumbled. "We should celebrate every day." And with that he swallowed the contents of his glass. "This is the best squid ink I've tasted." He wiped up the dregs from the bottom of the glass with his whiskers and licked the ends of them.

"So, what's next?" asked Pearl. "When's the real Speed Hump coming?"

"Speed Bump!" Captain Black corrected her.

She shrugged and drank the rest of her squid ink. "You know, I'm not sure this is as good as last year's batch." she said to Scratchy.

He was about to answer when a loud beep echoed around the cave. It came from Captain Black's phone.

"That'll be the evil genius Speed Bump Charlie himself," smiled Captain Black. "Right on time too!"

You found the Spylinks Hound. Well Done! Now all you have to do is click on this link to discover mysterious puzzles and games not available to anyone else!

<http://www.astrosadventures.com/spylinks_nt_102.html>

Chapter 7

The dogs walked slowly into the grand Throne Room. On each wall hung delicate tapestries showing the great battles Neptune had won. There were rows and rows of marble columns and the floor was covered in stone inlaid with small tridents. Each one was said to be made of solid gold, silver or crystal blue sapphires.

As they approached Neptune's throne they noticed that there were guards standing silently in the shadows. They were very tall and each one of the dogs felt a little bit afraid. There was an old turtle waiting beside the throne and a few servants milling about. The dogs slowly reached the throne together but when they got there Neptune was nowhere to be seen.

Rocky looked around the room but couldn't see any sign of the god. Stella cocked her head from side to side and listened patiently. The rest of the dogs stood there a little confused. Even Sherman wondered where the great god was. He cleared his throat then listened. There was no response.

Then Icky stepped forward. "Well, where is he?" he asked impatiently. "I've got to help find his Trident and then get home. It's taken a long time to get here. I don't have all day!" He sighed impatiently.

A clanking noise came from the throne. They all looked to see what it was. Astro and Alfie stepped forward and peered around the back of the throne.

"Well?" asked Rocky. "Is he there?"

Astro shook his head. "Nope. No sign of him at all."

"That's because I'm here!" roared a loud voice and a bolt of lightning shot over their heads. They all ducked and Dingo jumped with fright into Indy's arms. Hans grabbed hold of Digger and began to squeeze him hard.

From the shadows they could see hundreds of sea worms inching towards them. They were brown and slimy and smelt horrible. They appeared from everywhere and quickly surrounded the dogs. They didn't know what to do. Was it a trap? Had they been lured here falsely only to be eaten by hundreds of horrible slimy worms?

Stella stepped forward. She raised up her paws to the sea worms. "Oh, great King of the Sea and all the Oceans, we respectfully pay homage to your greatness and watery-ness-ness. We are here as your humble servants, ready to obey your every command." She dropped her head and bowed.

The sea worms stopped and then began to spin around. They piled onto each other and began to take on another shape. The shape grew and grew until it was the size of a large man. Then it dramatically changed colour. The sea worms had turned into Neptune himself.

All the dogs except Stella stood staring with their mouths wide open.

Neptune was very tall and strong. He had green eyes and his white beard floated in the water. His hair was also white and it stuck out from his head. It made him look like a wild creature. He wore a gold arm band and his robes were made of aqua blue silk.

The god held up his hands and nodded his head. "Pretty cool, trick, eh?" he smiled at the dogs. "I bet you've never seen anyone do anything like that before? Even without my Trident I can still do some cool stuff."

He spun around in a circle and clapped his hands together. The noise echoed around the room. He nodded and waited for the dogs to respond. Stella began to clap and slowly, one by one, the others followed her.

Neptune laughed. "I can see by your applause you were impressed," he said. "So, which one of you is in charge?"

Rocky smiled nervously. He stepped forward and offered his paw as a way of introducing himself to the great god.

"Oh, I don't do paw shakes," Neptune said. "I can't stand the feeling of fur on my skin. Makes me giddy and weak at the knees." He pulled his hands behind his back and made a funny face at Rocky.

"Still, you can shake paws and claws with my advisor. He's an old and wise turtle. I call him Waggles because when he gets excited his little weenie tail waggles. It's very cute!" He laughed and pointed to the turtle waiting beside the throne. Then he strode powerfully towards his throne and sat down.

The dogs politely introduced themselves to Waggles one by one while Neptune waited. He let out a long sigh and cleared his throat. They all knew that this was his way of saying his patience had run out.

"Let's get down to business," he said. "I have word that my Trident has actually been stolen by a gang of wicked pirates and a great god, not unlike myself," he told the dogs. "I think you'll agree this makes matters much worse." He stopped and looked around at the dogs' faces.

"Don't be scared now," Neptune continued. "I have amassed my great army. There will be hundreds of hammerhead sharks clad in impenetrable armour and equipped with mallets, hammers and swords. They will go with you and destroy and capture these terrible pirates and this most terrible god. And then afterwards, we can all come back here and have a bite to eat. How does that sound?"

He smiled at them all and waited for a response.

Rocky knew it was his job to speak because he was in charge. However, he was a little confused about Neptune's behaviour. He seemed to go from being determined and focused one minute to happy go lucky the next. Icky looked up at Rocky and understood the confusion on his face. "He's stark raving mad," he whispered. "Get us out of here as quickly as possible!"

Neptune noticed Icky for the first time. He was intrigued by the little dog. "Well, who do we have here?" he asked. "You certainly are a funny looking creature. Step forward."

Icky shot a sideways glance at Rocky and then turned and faced the god. "My name is Icky, your magnificent wetness. I have travelled with these dogs to help return your Trident. Then they are going to help me find my way home." Icky smiled broadly at the god and bowed lowly.

Neptune's eyes widened. "Why, if I'm not mistaken are you Icky the Ugliest Dog in the World? The famous dog who is on television? Is it really you?"

Now it was Icky's turn to be surprised. "Well, Ummm, Yes, that's right but..."

Neptune interrupted him. "I've seen you on T.V." he cried. "Oh, how splendid to have a celebrity in my Throne Room."

"You have a TV?" Icky asked.

"Yes, of course we do!" laughed Neptune. "Watch it all the time. I used my Trident to change channels, you know. I didn't need the remote. Just another thing I miss about it," then he sighed deeply.

"Well," said Rocky summoning his courage. "Where do you think we can find these pirates and this god?"

"They are a very tricky and mean bunch of individuals, you know. Catfish are so yucky; whiskers and barbs sticking out from their heads. Ewww! However, they are sneaky and wicked. I'll send my soldiers with you but I think I'll keep a few here to protect my palace. Without the Trident I can't keep the force field in check, you know."

"What does the force field do?" asked Icky.

"Well, it keeps our enemies out and the air we need to breathe in!" laughed Neptune. Then he lent forward. "Icky, step closer," he ordered.

The other dogs looked at each other suspiciously. Icky gingerly moved towards the god. Neptune lent further forward and beckoned Icky to come closer. Then he reached out and touched Icky with one finger.

"You don't have any fur!" laughed the god. "How wonderful! What a great dog you are! I think I'll keep you as a pet!"

Icky glanced back at the others. His eyes pleaded with them to save him.

"Oh, sorry, Neptune, King of the Sea and all the Oceans," said Stella bowing, "We need Icky to come with us. You see he is a very important member of our team. We'll never be able to find your Trident without him," she smiled and nodded. "I'm sure you understand."

Neptune looked disappointed. "Oh, Okay then. My advisor will show you where to find the pirates. As to this god; I'm not sure where he lives but I might find him myself. You know, I think I'll go on my magic chariot and destroy him while you deal with the pirates!" He banged his fists on the armrests of the throne as he remembered glorious battles of old.

Then the great god stood up and twirled his robe around dramatically. He then strode confidently out of the room.

They all watched him leave in silence. Then Waggles went over to a table and from underneath it he produced a large map. He laid it out and pointed to where the Pirates had their cave. "We'll send Sherman with you and Neptune's guards. He doesn't have as many as he thinks, though. I'm afraid apart from the five here there are only six more," he told Commander Rocky.

"That's not many," Astro said. "You'd think a god as great as Neptune would have hundreds."

"Millions," Indy agreed.

"Ah, well you see it's very boring work and most of them left. Sharks can't keep still for long so the hammerheads went off to find other employment," the advisor explained.

Then he turned to the guards. "Proteus and Neso step forward," he ordered. "Take the dogs to the Pirates' cave and help them in whatever way you can to return the Trident to Neptune."

He turned to Rocky and Stella. "Apart from changing channels I'm afraid Neptune's Kingdom will not exist without it. The homes of hundreds of sea creatures would be lost."

"We understand," said Stella.

Rocky turned to the dogs. "Okay, canines. I think you all understand what we have to do but before we leave are there any questions?"

Only Alfie put up his paw. "Will we be having lunch before we go?" he asked hopefully.

Chapter 8

Speed Bump Charlie glanced at his watch. "Crikey!" he exclaimed. "I've nearly missed the jump off!"

He quickly checked his whereabouts using a navigation guide built into his watch. He then jumped out of the deck chair. The startled sailor stumbled backwards.

"Keep this dry for me," Speed Bump ordered throwing the recipe book at the poor man. He pulled a funny looking red stone out of his pocket and pulled it over his head. Then he jumped into the sea.

The sailor ran to the barrier and looked over. There was no sign of the old alley cat. He had disappeared into the waves. He went to grab a life saver but then he hesitated. "No use wasting a good life saver on a mean old cat," he thought to himself. So, he quietly tidied up and removed all evidence that an old tabby cat had travelled on a prestigious ocean liner. Then he went off to have some lunch.

Speed Bump Charlie was a good swimmer. He dove into the water and swum deep into the sea. He kept his arms tightly tucked into his body and thrust himself through the water using his back paws as flippers. His eyes soon adjusted to the dark water and he made his way quickly into the deep.

When he reached a large seaweed reef he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Captain Black Pirate. It read, "On my way. Be there in a jiffy!"

Speed Bump tucked his phone back into his pocket and then checked which direction he needed to go in using his watch. He looked around and noted that there wasn't a fish to be seen. 'That's a shame,' he thought to himself. 'I was feeling a little peckish.'

He turned around and swum deeper into the seaweed forest. He made his way into the valley created by two underwater mountains. It didn't take long before he reached the entrance to the Pirate Catfish's cave.

He saluted the eels guarding the door. They looked suspiciously at him and then they wound around each other and made themselves very tall and threatening. "Keep away or we'll zap you!" the eels chimed together.

Speed Bump let out a long sigh. "You know me," he reminded them. "I'm the cat from Orstralia." He was making fun of their deep gruff voices. "Let me in or I'll slice the pair of you into bite size pieces with my claws!"

Speed Bump Charlie unsheathed his claws and held the glistening blades up to show the eels he meant business. They got the message and slunk away. Speed Bump made his way inside.

He strolled into the cave but stopped when he heard his stomach rumbling. "Hmmm," he thought to himself. "I am very hungry. What a shame I can't eat catfish. They are so very delicious but they are out of bounds because we can't eat family or so I've been told." He shrugged his shoulders and went in further.

Speed Bump Charlie entered the main room where Captain Black and the others were waiting for him.

"And here is the Master Genius himself!" Captain Black yelled throwing his arms into the air to welcome the old cat.

Scratchy, Pearl, Sandy and Reefy all turned and looked at the small cat. Pearl was the first to move forward.

"Your whiskers are not very impressive. Mine are much longer and stronger," she said winding her whiskers around Speed Bump.

"Maybe so but my whiskers are usually accompanied by my steel claws and sharp fangs," hissed Speed Bump. He held up his paws and released one steel-like claw after the other. Then he bared his razor sharp teeth.

Pearl whipped her whiskers back quickly and stepped away.

Next Sandy brushed up against Speed Bump's fur. "Notice anything alarming about my coarse scales?" she asked.

Speed Bump laughed. "You call that rough? The feel of my sandpaper tongue on your juicy flesh will out match your abrasive scales, you stupid fish!" the old cat spat.

Sandy gasped and hid behind Pearl.

Captain Black glided forward. "Now, now. Is this any way to treat our guest?" he looked sternly around at his team. Then he turned to Speed Bump.

"Welcome to our cave," he bowed to show his respect. "We have done as you asked and stolen Neptune's Trident. We have been waiting for you to arrive so we can start the next stage of our plans."

"Where is it?" said Speed Bump rudely. He was running out of patience with these silly creatures.

"It's in a secret location hidden in this cave," Captain Black said nodding. "It's very big and heavy but we managed to hide it where no one else will ever find it!" The pirate catfish was very pleased with himself.

"Well, I need food and then I want to see it!" Speed Bump Charlie ordered.

Captain Black clapped his fins together. "You heard him!" he ordered and the other catfish quickly sprang into action. They prepared a meal of dried fish and fresh drinking water for the old cat.

"Perhaps you would like to look at the Trident while you are dining?" Captain Black suggested.

Speed Bump looked up from his plate and nodded. His mouth was bursting with delicious morsels of fins and scales. "Good idea. No need to waste time," he mumbled.

Captain Black turned to Reefy. "Go and get the Trident," he ordered. Then he turned back to the old cat.

"I have some news to report," he sat down across from the hungry cat.

"What?" mumbled Speed Bump. He poked a fish tail back in his mouth.

"Neptune has got some dogs to help him."

Speed Bump Charlie stopped chewing and looked directly at the catfish. "What dogs?" he asked.

"I dunno," Captain Black shrugged his shoulders. "We just got word that they have entered his palace. Oh, and he thinks that a great demon god is after him."

Captain Black looked at Speed Bump and smiled. "That's you!" he chuckled to himself. "He thinks you are some sort of great god!"

Speed Bump didn't see the joke. "I don't care what your stupid god thinks. I want to know more about the dogs. Who are they and where did they come from?"

Captain Black sat up straight. "Why? What does it matter? They're dogs, how can they hurt a wicked genius like you?"

"You'd be surprised," Speed Bump Charlie muttered under his breath remembering a singed tail, a stint in gaol and other unsatisfactory endings that spoilt his plans. "If it's that stupid hairy mutt, Astro, and the rest of his flaky gang I'm not going to be happy."

Reefy walked into the room empty handed. "Umm, Captain Black," he said slowly. "I can't find the Trident."

"What?!" screamed the catfish and the cat together.

"What do you mean? It's in the safest possible place in the ocean!" Captain Black yelled.

"How did you manage to lose it?!" cried Speed Bump.

"I think it floated away," offered Reefy meekly.

The other catfish gathered around. "What are we going to do, boss?" asked Pearl.

Captain Black and the other catfish looked at Speed Bump Charlie.

"Well, don't just stand there! Do something!" the old cat yelled at them.

Chapter 9

Many miles away the little crab's raft was still floating on the sea. It had grown very big since he had seen the dogs. Pieces of plastic and other rubbish had caught on the edges. There were all sorts of shapes and colours. The raft was so big the little crab was often joined by sea birds as they made their way across the ocean. They would often stop for a rest and share news with him. He learnt who the dogs were and what they were doing. He learnt about Neptune's plans to fight a god as magnificent and powerful as he was.

In between visitors, the little crab kept himself busy running backwards and forwards nibbling morsels that had been caught up in the rubbish. He was scratching at a large plastic bag when he noticed something shiny floating under it.

"I wonder what that is?" he mumbled to himself leaning further into the water. He stared down and saw gold and blue sapphires.

"I've found a treasure!" he yelled excitedly. "I'm rich, rich!" He jumped about waving his claws in the air.

His yells caught the attention of a large albatross named Barbara who was gliding high above him. She circled around and slowly descended towards the rubbish raft.

"What has got you so excited?" the albatross asked. She bent towards the little crab and tilted her head to one side.

"It's mine!" shouted the crab. "I found it and that makes it mine!" He jumped over the hole where the treasure was hidden so the large bird couldn't see.

"What are you going to do with your treasure?" she smiled. "You are a small crab lost on a large raft of garbage."

"I'll be rich and I'll be able to buy myself a boat and then I'll be able to go home!" he said.

Barbara clucked her tongue. "Let's have a look at your treasure. I promise not to take it off you," she said.

The crab thought about it for a few seconds. He didn't want to give up his treasure but he knew the albatross was right. He stepped aside slowly and pointed into the sea. "It's stuck on some rubbish," he said.

The albatross leaned down and saw the crab's treasure. She looked up at him. "You know what you've found don't you?" she said.

"Gold? Silver?" the crab nodded.

"Yes, it's certainly made of gold and silver. It also has beautiful jewels inlaid in its stem. Have another look. Do you recognise the symbols on it?" she asked.

The little crab scurried back to the hole and stared deeper. Then he gasped and jumped back in fright.

"It's... it's..." he stammered.

Barbara nodded. "You are one lucky crab," she smiled. "I think you've found Neptune's Trident. Neptune is sure to reward you for finding it." Then she stopped and looked at the little crab. "Unless it was you who stole it?" she added.

"Me?" The little crab shook his head. "No, not me! I wouldn't do anything like that! I've been stuck on this raft for ages! I'm just a small crab. How could I steal a god's Trident?"

"Well, I hope for your sake you're telling the truth. I'd hate to see what Neptune might do to you if he thinks you've stolen it."

"I found the note about it being stolen!" the little crab exclaimed. "I sent it with the flying fish to Neptune himself!"

The albatross smiled and nodded. "If you say so," she said. "But that could have been a clever trick. If I were you I'd be careful. That's all I'm saying."

The little crab looked at the large bird then back to the Trident. He went to defend himself again but the thought of being zapped and turned into an entrée was too scary. His eyes rolled back in his head and he promptly fainted.

The albatross laughed and helped the little crab back onto his six feet. She waved the tip of her long wing under his nose to encourage him to regain his senses. She laughed. "I was only teasing you," she said softly. "Take a deep breath and stay calm."

The little crab sat up and scratched his head. "But what am I going to do?" he said.

Barbara leaned into the hole and pulled the large Trident onto the raft.

"It's beautiful!" the little crab cried. He ran over and touched it gently with his claws. Then he tapped a large sapphire at the top of the handle. Immediately, electricity began to jump between the three prongs. The Trident began to tremble. The albatross and the crab jumped back out of the way. Then a lightning bolt shot across the water. Several hundred miles away a seagull's tail feathers were burnt off.

The albatross and the crab looked at each other.

"Best leave it alone," the bird suggested and the crab nodded.

"But how are we going to get it back to Neptune?" the crab asked.

The albatross didn't answer him straight away. She was looking far out to sea. "I don't know," she said.

Then she beat her long wings and took off. She wheeled around the raft and shouted down to him, "Make sure you don't lose it whatever you do!" she called and disappeared into the blue sky.

Chapter 10

Meanwhile the dogs were making their way through the ocean. They stayed together in a group for safety. On either side of the dogs, Neptune's guards flanked them to keep them safe. Sherman stayed behind the group so he could see ahead and also protect them from behind. The dogs swum together. All accept Icky. He chose to ride on Sherman's shoulders. He felt safe up there with the sea monster and besides, he could see for miles because Sherman was so tall.

On the way, they saw many marvels of the sea. They saw schools of fish of all different shapes and sizes. Some of the fish poked their heads in and out of rocks. Others slipped under shells or between the long strands of seaweed that grew everywhere.

They even came across the ship wreck of a large ocean liner. They all stopped and stared at it. It had once glided smoothly across the water filled with people enjoying their holidays. Now, it sat in the dark water with seaweed growing out of the port holes and fish darting around its deck.

"This looks like a good place to take a break," Commander Rocky ordered. The dogs were glad of the rest. The guards, however, remained on duty and stood to attention. Sherman was very tired so he decided to make himself comfortable. He wedged his large bulk in the hole in the side of the ship and quickly fell asleep.

Icky, Dingo and Hans went off to explore the wreck. While Rocky and Stella checked their location using their microchips to see how far they needed to go. Astro decided he would practise swimming through the seaweed.

Indy spotted a young swordfish gliding past the wreck. "Hey you," she called. "Wanna play?" She held up her hunting bone and nodded. The large fish turned around slowly and grinned.

"En guard!" it cried and then lunged quickly at the little blue dog. Indy laughed and quickly jumped out of the way bopping the sword fish playfully on the head as it swooped past her. It spun around and jabbed at her bottom three times. With the last jab, it connected and Indy jumped up and squealed.

"Ha! Got you!" The swordfish cried.

"Just you wait!" laughed Indy and she swam after the fish.

Off in the distance, Digger saw a silvery shape moving slowly. He swam towards it. The shape got closer and closer. Digger thought he could hear a soft voice singing to him. As he drew near he saw that the silver shape was a mermaid. She was sitting on a rock brushing her long blue hair. As Digger got closer she smiled at him but she was puzzled.

"What a funny looking creature you are," she said sweetly.

Digger didn't answer her. He was in a trance. He couldn't keep his eyes from her beautiful smile. She patted the rock inviting Digger to come and sit next to her. He sat down quietly.

He noticed her tail was made of shiny silver scales that had rubies embedded in it. She was dressed in a fine garment made of silver and gold threads.

"What is your name?" the mermaid asked.

Digger stared at her. "They call me Digger," he said.

The mermaid giggled. "That is a funny name. You are covered in fur not scales. What kind of creature are you? What are you doing in the ocean?"

Digger slowly came to his senses. "I'm a dog and I'm on a mission to find Neptune's Trident," he told her proudly.

"Well, isn't that wonderful!" laughed the mermaid. "Are you all by yourself?"

"No, there's a whole team of us," Digger said pointing towards the ship wreck. "We normally save dogs but..." He stopped and looked around but the mermaid was gone.

He jumped from the rock and looked everywhere. "Where are you?" he called. There was no response. Digger was confused. How could such a beautiful creature disappear so quickly? He swum around calling to her but she had vanished into the sea. He looked over and saw Alfie waving to him.

"Must be time to go," Digger muttered to himself. He was sad. He had never seen anything as beautiful as the mermaid before. He really wanted to get to know her but he hadn't been given the chance. He waved back to Alfie and swam towards the others.

"Good bye, Digger," a voice sang sweetly.

Digger spun around but there was no one behind him. For a few seconds he felt like he was the only creature in the whole ocean.

Back at the shipwreck, Alfie had caused a stir looking for food. He had managed to find the galley, the ship's kitchen, and was opening tinned food with his teeth. Most of the tins had peas and beans in them but a few of them had sausages. They were Alfie's favourite! He drifted around in the water swallowing the floating sausages when a large shape cast a shadow over him. He stopped what he was doing and looked around. Neso, Neptune's guard, was standing watching him.

"The others are looking for you," Neso said. "Your commander is furious!"

"I can't help myself. I found tinned sausages. They're delicious!"

Neso shook his head and smiled. "Why eat sausages when you can dine on oyster, lobster and sweet crab meat?"

Alfie looked around and noticed a small crab running for cover. "You know, it's a bit creepy how you guys tend to eat each other," he remarked.

Neso laughed and slapped Alfie on the back. "You'll get used to it, my friend. It is the way things work down here. After all, Dog fish are very delicious too!"

Alfie laughed nervously and looked up at the hammerhead shark. Neso guided Alfie back to the others.

"Where have you been?" yelled Commander Rocky. "And where's Digger?"

Alfie wiped sausage juice from his chin and looked around. "Look, there he is!" he said waving to a small white shape. "He's talking to a fish person!"

The others stared into the water and could just make out the little dog and the mermaid.

"Oh, I hope he's being careful," Sherman moaned rubbing his tired eyes. "Those mermaids can be tricky. They can cast spells on fish and make them do crazy things!"

Stella was staring at the sea floor. She was deep in thought. "I think Digger is going to be fine," she smiled to herself.

Digger soon joined the team and they decided to move on. Sherman suggested they travel around the edge of the underwater mountains just to be safe.

"It'll take a bit longer but with only two hammerhead guards to protect us I think it's the safest option," he said.

Commander Rocky agreed and the team went on together.

You found the Spylinks Hound. Well Done! Now all you have to do is click on this link to discover mysterious puzzles and games not available to anyone else!

<http://www.astrosadventures.com/spylinks_nt_103.html>

Chapter 11

Back at the pirate's cave, Speed Bump Charlie was deciding whether to just go home and give up on his mission or eat the catfish. He was standing on top of the table looking down at them all. Maybe he'd do both.

"What are we going to do now?" he shouted at them. "We can hardly take over the ocean without Neptune's Trident! Can we?!"

"I have an idea," said Pearl. "We could find it."

"Yeah, we'll ask the eels to help us," agreed Scratchy.

Captain Black stood up. "And think about this," he added. "Neptune doesn't know that we stole the Trident so he doesn't know that we've lost it!"

Speed Bump Charlie looked at him and shook his head. Why did he entrust this important job to these stupid fish? "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, we could pretend we found it and demand gold and jewels in exchange for it. Neptune is sure to give us whatever we ask for because he's powerless without it," reasoned Captain Black.

"But how are we going to take over the ocean if we give it back?" asked Reefy.

"We're not really going to give it back!" declared Captain Black. "We'll trick Neptune into thinking we are but instead we are going to become all powerful. We should have enough time to find the Trident ourselves while he gets the reward!"

Speed Bump scratched his chin and thought about the catfish's idea. "Maybe you've got something," he said. "Which one of you can write?" he asked.

All of the catfish shook their heads except their Captain. "Just me," he said meekly.

"Good. Grab a sheet of paper and a pen. We're going to send a ransom note to your stupid god. Meanwhile, the rest of these goons can search the sea until they find it!"

They slunk out of the cave one by one. Outside Pearl looked back and shook her head. "Who does that bossy cat think he is?" she muttered to herself. "We could bite him in half and eat him, you know."

"Don't say such a thing!" Sandy said. "He's so ferocious. He could kill us all with those knives he has hidden in his paws. Did you see them?!"

Reefy and Scratchy agreed.

"I don't care. I don't like him," Pearl grumbled.

"What you like or don't like doesn't matter," said Captain Black coming out behind them. "You're not in charge. I am! Now, give this note to the eels and tell them to deliver it to one of Neptune's guards."

Pearl looked around. "The eels are gone, boss," she said. "They're not standing guard anymore."

"Wait!" Speed Bump Charlie ordered. He walked up behind them. "I think I might deliver the ransom note myself." He turned to the pirate catfish. "Your so called brave eels took one look at me and ran for their lives. I'll deliver the note. After all, I've never met an underwater sea god before; might be fun."

Captain Black turned to his gang. "The rest of you send word that I want the Trident found. There'll be a huge reward for the fish who finds it!"

"What's the reward, boss?" asked Reefy.

"I won't eat them!" yelled Captain Black. "Now, let's get going!"

Outside the Throne Room, Neptune climbed up into his chariot. It was crafted from silver and there were sapphires and diamonds set all around it. There were three powerful dolphins harnessed to the front. Each one had a silver harness and the leader wore a crown set with rubies. On the back, two of Neptune's guards stood to attention. Neptune stood up straight and spread his arms wide.

A crowd had gathered around the chariot. Most of them were children and older fish. The others were far too busy doing their daily chores to worry about what Neptune was up to. The fish were happy to live in the palace. It made life a lot easier. They didn't have to hunt for food and Neptune kept them safe. They were all aware he was a bit nutty but in truth they didn't mind. He left them alone to go about their business. They were concerned that the Trident had gone missing but most of them believed it would be returned. The ocean was a big place but it was teaming with sea creatures. One of them was bound to find it eventually.

"My humble servants," Neptune addressed the crowd. "I, Neptune, King of the Sea and all the Oceans, am about to embark on a dangerous mission. Your noble leader has been challenged by a powerful and wicked god. One so cruel and jealous of my powers he has stolen my Trident. I am going to find it and save my kingdom. I will crush this terrible god and find the culprits who stole the all-powerful Trident and I will fry them into a million tiny pieces and feed them to the sharks!"

The crowd leaned back and gasped. Neptune sounded very impressive. He lifted up the reins. "Wish me luck, humble servants!" he cried and he lashed the dolphins. Immediately they sped off and the crowd cheered. The little ones followed behind the chariot until it disappeared out of the Atlantic Gate, cheering and whooping as they ran.

"What was that about?" asked an old seahorse.

"Not sure," answered a turtle. "I think he's lost something."

"His mind has been missing for a long time!" chuckled the old seahorse.

Chapter 12

Speed Bump Charlie tucked the ransom note into this pocket and made his way quickly towards Neptune's palace. He was a good swimmer and had no trouble moving quickly through the water. As he went he saw lots of beautiful fish. There were yellow ones with black stripes, red ones with bright white eyes and little green fish with blue spots.

He smiled at all of them. "I'm going to eat you... and you... and you!" he whispered as they went zooming past. He chuckled when he saw a blowfish bobbing amongst the reeds. "Hmmm, I might eat you too," Speed Bump thought. "Albeit, very carefully."

A dark shadow glided over Speed Bump. He dodged quickly and hid behind a rock. A manta ray gracefully swept above him in a circle. It tilted to one side and looked directly at the old cat before moving off.

"And yes, I'm going to eat you too!" Speed Bump whispered under his breath.

He was about to swim off when he noticed schools of fish swimming towards him. They were squealing and babbling in fright. "What's going on?" Speed Bump said.

Then he noticed a very unusual sight off in the distance. Speed Bump Charlie squinted to see more clearly. Then he gasped and squeezed himself deeper behind the rock. "Blast! Blast! And double Blast!" he gasped. "It is Astro, Rocky and the rest of those stupid mutts. They've even got a sea monster and hammerhead sharks to help them! Blast again!"

Off in the distance the dogs moved closer to the pirates' cave. Just ahead of them still making their way through the seaweed forest were Captain Black and his gang. Only Speed Bump Charlie could see what was about to happen.

"Are we nearly there?" moaned Dingo. "I'm getting tired."

"Stop complaining," ordered Commander Rocky. "We will get there in good time."

Stella D'oro stopped and tilted her head from side to side. "I think we are about to find what we're looking for," she whispered.

Neptune's guards stopped and drew their long swords.

"What is it?" whispered Icky but no one answered him.

Up ahead the seaweed was swaying from side to side and the dogs could hear strange voices complaining about an old cat.

Rocky stepped forward and motioned his team to move away. He whispered to the guards to stand on either side of the exit and wait. They did as they were told and raised their swords ready for battle. Sherman and Icky moved back behind the dogs.

"I have no idea why we needed to bring that stupid Speed Hump into our plans," moaned Pearl. "Why couldn't we just take over the ocean on our own?"

"Because he's clever and he knows how to fight!" Captain Black growled. "And because I said so!"

"Yeah but we are smart too," Scratchy muttered.

"Not that smart!" yelled Captain Black. He stepped out of the seaweed forest. "And besides, we will need..."

His voice trailed off. Standing quietly on the seabed in front of him were nine dogs, two hammerhead sharks and a large sea monster.

"Swim!!" he shouted. "Every fish for himself!" He turned and ran back into the seaweed.

Scratchy followed him but Pearl, Sandy and Reefy tried to swim into the open sea.

"Get them!" declared Commander Rocky.

The dogs jumped into action.

The two hammerhead sharks shot into the seaweed after Captain Black and Scratchy. Astro and Alfie jumped up and grabbed Sandy. "Ouch!" they screamed as her sandpaper scales ripped the skin from their paws. She laughed and swam away but Indy leapt up and grabbed her. "Your rough scales are no match for me!" she declared gripping Sandy tightly.

Astro and Alfie looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Alfie looked down. "Let's get that one," he said pointing towards Reefy. "He's more our size!" And with that the two big dogs swum quickly after Reefy. They caught up with him and grabbed his fins. He was quick and strong and he flipped up his tail and smacked Astro then Alfie so hard they let go.

"Ouch!" they both cried rubbing their heads.

"These fish are too slippery," said Astro angrily. "Let's get 'em!" And he lunged at the big fish. Alfie followed him but this time he grabbed Reefy by the tail.

"I've got him!" he yelled.

Astro jumped on Reefy's back and reached around his head and grabbed his whiskers. Reefy screamed and tried to hit out at Astro with his fins but he couldn't reach. He squirmed and twisted his body trying to shake off the big dogs. It didn't work. Astro and Alfie hung on tight.

Pearl tried to out swim Digger and Hans but they were too fast. She stopped quickly and turned towards them. They stopped short and stared at the large fish. She motioned to them with her fins. "Come and get me, hounds. I'm not afraid of you!"

She quickly swallowed some sand and took in a deep breath. She began to roll the sand around in her mouth. She was making pearls to shoot at the dogs.

Digger and Hans were small and not as good at fighting as the others but they were clever. Digger quickly looked around and then a plan formed in his head. He whispered something into Hans' ears and Hans nodded.

Digger pulled his green beret from his head and clutched it to his heart. "Oh, please great fish. Don't hurt us. We are just weak and defenceless dogs." Then he fainted and slumped to the ground.

Pearl looked suspiciously at Hans and then down at Digger. "Looks like it's you against me, sausage dog!" she laughed. She moved forward licking her lips. Hans smiled nervously and began to back away.

"Now, let's get something clear," he said trying to buy time. "You are surrounded by dogs, sharks and a large sea monster. Don't you think it would be a good idea just to give up quietly?"

Pearl laughed and moved closer to Hans. She didn't see Digger turn himself over and begin digging. He was, after all, the Organisation's tunnelling expert and it was at times like these that he worked at his best. Without Pearl noticing he quickly tunnelled deep into the sand and under her. She moved closer to Hans grinning.

Then she opened her mouth and clamped her jaws shut so quickly it made a noise like a thunder clap. "My jaws are so strong I can break open clam shells with just one chomp! Biting you will be very easy!" she threatened.

Hans gulped nervously. 'Hurry up, Digger,' he thought.

Just then Pearl shot five pearls out of her mouth like bullets. Hans quickly jumped out of the way but the last one got him on the leg.

"Ouch!" he cried.

Pearl laughed. She bent down and swallowed some more sand but then she heard a loud shriek from behind her. Before she knew what was happening, Digger leapt out of a hole and launched himself at her. He karate-chopped the large fish from behind several times before she knew what was happening. Then Hans joined in kicking and chopping with his paws just like Digger.

Pearl swallowed the sand by accident and began to choke. Digger ran up and slapped her back hard. She spat out some pearls and began to cough and choke. Hans and Digger jumped up and grabbed her fins and she was soon overpowered by two small dogs.

"Well done!" laughed Digger patting Hans on the back. "You're a quick learner."

Hans gasped to get his breath. "All in a day's work," he said but inside he was trembling with fear.

Dingo saw what had happed and rushed to help. "I'll get some seaweed to tie her up!" he said rushing into the forest. He used his sharp teeth to chop through the long strands. Then he quickly took them over to Digger and Hans.

Then he gave some to Indy. She grabbed one end and spun Sandy so fast the seaweed wrapped itself around the fish. Indy smiled and patted the fish on the head. "Now, who's all tied up then?" she laughed.

"Over here, Dingo," Alfie called out. Reefy wasn't giving up and Dingo had to laugh as his two friends were being tossed about by the large fish. He swam over to them and gave them some seaweed so they could tie Reefy up.

The two hammerheads came out of the seaweed with Scratchy squirming between them. "We could only find this one," Neso said. They bowed their heads. "We are sorry. The other one got away."

Dingo quickly tied up Scratchy taking special care to make sure his long whiskers didn't whip him. Scratchy snarled and growled at Dingo. Dingo didn't care. He felt very brave knowing that two strong sharks were holding the wicked fish.

"Where's Rocky?" asked Astro. "I haven't seen him since the fighting started."

They all looked around but there was no sign of their commander. Icky, who was still sitting on Sherman's shoulders, looked and pointed into the distance, "He's over there! I can see him from up here. He's fighting the pirate fish."

When the commotion started Rocky had crept along the edge of the seaweed and listened carefully. He heard Captain Black tell Scratchy to go back knowing he would be caught by the hammerheads.

'He wants the hammerheads to catch him while he gets away. What a sneak!' Rocky thought. He lowered himself down and waited for the fish to come out of the seaweed. He tried to grab Captain Black but he was too slippery.

Captain Black whipped his whiskers at Rocky and stung him on the chest. Rocky staggered back and gasped. Then he noticed two pieces of coral lying on the sand. He grabbed them quickly and held one in each paw.

When Captain Black flicked his whiskers at Rocky again Rocky spun the coral around quickly so the whiskers became tangled around them. Then he jumped up and kicked out at the large fish. Both his back paws landed squarely on Captain Black's chest knocking the fish on his back. The two pieces of coral came down on Captain Black's head one at a time knocking him unconscious.

The dogs spun around and saw the pirate fish fall backwards sending clouds of sand up into the sea. Dingo rushed towards him and held up the two last pieces of seaweed.

"May I?" he asked his Commander.

"You certainly may," said Rocky stepping back to allow Dingo to quickly tie up the fish.

Rocky took Captain Black back to the others. He pushed him towards his gang and wiped his paws.

"Well, that takes care of them," said Stella, "But where's the Trident?"

"Proteus and Neso stand guard and watch these fish. Whatever you do make sure they don't get away," Rocky ordered. "The rest of us will search for the Trident."

Sherman and Icky looked on with surprise. They had never seen such tremendous bravery and cleverness. "Let me help," pleaded Icky. "I might not be very strong and I can't fight but I might be able to help find the stolen Trident."

"Certainly," said Commander Rocky. "Sherman, lead us to the pirate's cave. I'm sure we will soon have the Trident," he added confidently.

Speed Bump Charlie had seen and heard everything. "Well, that's interesting. Looks like the riches of the seas are going to be mine, all mine! I won't have to share them with the catfish. And while the stupid dogs are looking in the wrong place for the Trident I will get the ransom and then find it myself!" he sniggered rubbing his paws together. Then he slipped off quietly unnoticed by anyone.

Chapter 13

Speed Bump Charlie had been swimming for a while and he was beginning to feel tired. "The ocean is a big place," he grumbled to himself. "I think I'm going to need some help."

Just then he spied a large fish swimming in the water. He swam over to it bravely. As he got closer Speed Bump had second thoughts. The fish was actually a large white pointer shark. He was about to swim away when the shark spotted him and turned around and swam directly at him. It bared rows and rows of sharp teeth and licked its lips. The old cat gulped in fear.

"Hello! What do we have here?" the shark smiled. "You are certainly the strangest cat-fish I've ever seen!"

Speed Bump Charlie thought quickly. "I'm surprised you can see at all with those beady eyes," he said loudly. "And what's with the jagged teeth? Eaten too many tin cans? And look at you! You're smooth – not a scale or blade to be seen. I need the help of the cleverest fish in the sea. I'm about to become the richest and most powerful creature in the ocean. But by the looks of you, I doubt you'll be able to help me." He pushed past the shark and began to swim away.

"Wait!" the shark roared. "What do you mean the richest and most powerful creature in the ocean? What are you talking about?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to tell a weak looking creature like you," Speed Bump called over his shoulder.

The shark was angry. It shot past Speed Bump, turned around and met him head on. "Tell me more, breakfast!" it threatened him.

Speed Bump Charlie kept his wits. He held up his small white paw. "See these," he said. "I bet you don't have anything as sharp as my claws!" And then he unsheathed one claw at a time. Even in the dim light of the ocean floor they sparkled and gleamed. Speed Bump waved them in front of the shark's nose. The shark jumped back in fright. He looked down at his own useless fins and shook his head.

"And I have claws just like these hidden in my other paws too!" laughed the old cat.

"How did you do that?" the shark asked. "My teeth are sharp but I don't have any claws like that hidden in my fins."

"Don't worry," smiled Speed Bump wickedly. "I've heard shark fins are delicious!" And he licked his lips and grinned at the shark.

The shark jumped back in fright. "Okay, okay. I won't hurt you," it pleaded holding its fins up.

Speed Bump Charlie looked at the shark for a second. "As weak as you are I might have another use for you," he said scratching his chin.

"Oh, what is it, oh great one?" the shark said meekly.

"I need you to take me to Neptune," said the old cat. "I have business to do with him – one god to another you see, and time is wasting."

"Neptune? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" shouted Speed Bump. "Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, sure, he's not that hard to find," muttered the shark looking around. "Everywhere he goes he makes such a racket I'm sure I can find him."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" ordered Speed Bump. He climbed onto the shark's back and kicked it with his legs. "Let's go!"

The shark was utterly convinced that if he didn't do as he was told the small alley cat would tear him to pieces with his razor claws. As he shot through the water he let out signals to the other fish asking if anyone knew the whereabouts of Neptune. Within a few minutes he got a reply. The shark dodged around an old ship wreck and tore through the ocean at what felt like a million miles an hour.

Meanwhile back at the pirate's cave, the dogs searched every nook and cranny for the Trident.

"It's not here," sighed Digger crawling out from behind a treasure chest.

"And it's not in here!" said Icky popping up from inside the treasure chest. "Nothing but old fish bones!" he said wiping them off his skin.

"I've looked out back and there's nothing there either," said Astro coming back into the pirate's meeting room.

Commander Rocky let out a long whistle and all the dogs returned from their search. He turned to Stella D'oro. "Anything?" he asked her.

She was sitting at the table with her head bowed. "I'm afraid not. My powers are weaker under the sea. I can sense the Trident is close by but I can't tell you exactly where it is," she said.

Rocky turned to the other dogs. "We have been asked to find it but it's definitely not here. Sherman, you live in this vast sea, where should we look next?"

Sherman scratched his head and let out a long sigh. He looked up at the roof of the cave. Alfie looked up too and wondered what he was looking at. Sherman turned to Commander Rocky.

"The sea birds are the biggest gossips in the ocean. If anyone knows anything, they will be able to tell us," he suggested.

"Take us to them!" ordered Commander Rocky.

The dogs and the sea monster made their way through the seaweed forest to where the hammerhead sharks were waiting with the pirates. "Bring them along too!" ordered Rocky. "I have a feeling they are going to be useful."

Sherman led the way with Icky on his shoulders. Every few feet he cupped his fins to his mouth and made a high pitched call. Then he stopped and listened. "This way!" he declared.

Behind Sherman came the dogs and behind them the Hammerhead sharks pulled the catfish. They had been tied together and were being dragged along the rough ocean bed. The Hammerhead sharks let the catfish bump into things and bounce from rock to crag. Each one in turn crashed and knocked and they complained bitterly all the way.

Chapter 14

Speed Bump Charlie looked ahead and saw a terrible commotion. There were clouds of sand billowing up into the water and pieces of wood and strange objects being thrown up into the sea. The shark slowed to a stop.

"That's him," he whispered. "Neptune."

"What's he doing?" Speed Bump whispered back. He didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"Where's that terrible god and where's my Trident?!" bellowed the sea god. He was walking through the middle of an old ship wreck picking up pieces of debris and tossing them angrily out of his way. Just above the wreck his chariot waited.

"Move closer," Speed Bump Charlie ordered.

"Are you sure? He's pretty crazy!" the shark whispered in fright.

"Just follow my lead."

The shark slid quietly over to the ship wreck. Speed Bump Charlie pulled out the ransom note. He waved it above his head.

"Yoo-hoo! Oh great god, Neptune! Look what I've got!" he cried.

Neptune stopped what he was doing and turned quickly towards the voice. He dropped the rock he was about to throw and strode quickly towards them. Hundreds of small frightened fish swam out of his way.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he bellowed loudly. The cat and the shark reeled back from the force of his powerful voice.

Speed Bump Charlie quickly regained his composure. "Why, great god Neptune, king of all the Seas and Oceans, I have a message for you from that terrible god, Speed Hump, and those wicked pirates." He held up the note.

"What?" Neptune demanded. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I am just a silly cat-shark-fish. I cannot read," Speed Bump grinned. He leaned forward and gave Neptune the note. Neptune snapped it out of the cat's paw and read it quickly. As his eyes scanned each line his face got redder and redder and steam came out of his ears. The shark moved backwards.

"A ransom?! Jewels? Gold? Sapphires? Diamonds? They want all my treasure in return for my Trident? The nerve of that god and those pirates!! I am going to kill every one of them!" he roared. He turned to his chariot. "Dolphins, take me to the pirate cave, at once!"

Speed Bump Charlie cleared his throat. "Perhaps I can save you the trouble," he said. "The pirates are very clever. They have hidden the Trident far away from their cave just in case you came after them. They told me they were going to wait at a secret location."

"Where?" Neptune demanded.

"Well, I'm afraid I don't know but I do know it's where the great god Speed Hump Charlie lives. As soon as I've got the treasure my friend the shark here is going to send a special signal that only Speed Hump himself can hear. When he does, he will send me the location of the Trident," Speed Bump Charlie smiled and patted the shark's head. He could tell by the confused look on Neptune's face that he had convinced him.

"This great god, Speed Hump, is he very powerful?" Neptune asked leaning closer to the cat.

"Extremely!" Speed Bump nodded. "It is said that he is so powerful he can kill any fish with one flick of his tongue!"

"No!" exclaimed the god.

"And," Speed Bump continued, "He has claws hidden in his paws, I mean hands."

Neptune looked down at his own ordinary hands and nodded. "I may be a great god but I know when I've met my match," he said sadly. "And I really miss my Trident."

He turned towards his chariot and spoke to the hammerhead sharks on guard. "Larissa and Nereid return to my palace with the chariot and gather all my treasure. Bring it back here as quickly as you can." They nodded and swum away.

Neptune looked at the old cat and the white pointer shark. "Are you one creature or two?" he asked.

"Well, sometimes we are both," smiled the old cat. "Sometimes I appear as an ordinary cat but at others I summon my shark body and we join together." The shark looked confused but Neptune nodded as if he understood.

"I can change shapes too, you know?" he said looking at his watch. "Larissa and Nereid might be a while do you know any card games?" he asked.

"I know _fish_!" smiled Speed Bump Charlie.

"Oh, good, that's my favourite," said the great god and he pulled out a packet of playing cards from his pocket. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Speed...," Speed Bump Charlie stopped himself. He let out a sigh of relief and then answered, "Steve. My name is Steve."

"Humph! Funny name for a catfish," mumbled Neptune. "Should I deal?"

"Of course, great gods should always go first!" smiled Speed Bump sheepishly.

They played several rounds of _Fish_. They used the shark as a table and Speed Bump Charlie let Neptune win every time. It wasn't easy. The great god had very poor eyesight and couldn't see the difference between hearts and diamonds and spades and clubs. The old cat had to give Neptune hint after hint when two of the same cards landed on top of each other. The shark was becoming restless and Speed Bump was getting bored.

"I won again!" the great god declared. "You're not very good, are you?"

Just then Neptune's chariot returned and it was loaded with the most magnificent treasure. Speed Bump Charlie's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Ahh, you're back," said Neptune. "Did you get it all?" he asked the guards. They nodded.

Speed Bump Charlie swum over to the chariot and pushed his paws into the mass of gold and silver. He picked up a green diamond and looked deeply into it. Then he ran a pearl necklace around his paws and marvelled at its beauty. He saw red, blue, pink and amber diamonds; cold and silver coins and other jewels.

'I'm going to be rich!' Speed Bump Charlie thought. 'Rich, rich, rich!' He licked his lips.

Suddenly he remembered what he was supposed to do. He turned to the shark. "Send the signal!" he ordered and winked at the shark.

The shark looked around nervously. He had no idea how to send a signal so he wiggled his bottom and clapped his front fins together three times.

"Done!" he smiled.

They all stared at the shark's strange behaviour. Speed Bump Charlie shook his head in disbelief but he saw that Neptune had believed the shark.

"What's that?" the old cat said loudly jumping up and looking around.

"What's what?" Neptune asked.

He jumped and cried, "I'm getting a signal, a strong signal!"

Neptune spun around but couldn't hear anything and he couldn't see anything.

The shark lifted up his head knocking the playing cards everywhere. "It's coming from the middle of the ocean!" he declared.

"Yes, yes! I can hear it too!" Speed Bump shouted.

Neptune bent down to pick up the cards. He had them bunched in his arms but just as he grabbed one another one managed to escape. "Oh, I hate losing cards," he moaned. "I won't be able to play if there are cards missing."

"The great god Speed Hump has given me the location of the Trident!" yelled the old cat. "I will go and get it."

Then he turned to Neptune. "You had better stay here and keep your eye on the treasure. I'd hate to see what the great god, Speed Hump, will do to you if it's not here when I get back. He may even destroy the Trident forever!"

Neptune stepped back and gasped. More cards floated away. "Okay, okay! I understand."

Speed Bump jumped on the back of the shark and kicked its sides. "Mush! Lead me to the great god, Speed Hump!" And with that the shark whisked him quickly out of sight.

Neptune looked dumbfounded as he watched them disappear into the sea. He started to pile the playing cards together when he got an idea.

"I could change shape and follow them," he thought out loud. "They wouldn't recognise me in a different form. Hmmm, but what kind of creature could I be? I'd have to be something that could swim fast and was really smart."

He looked around at the fish swimming past him. Then he looked up at his chariot. "I've got it! I'll become an octopus!"

"Stay here and guard my treasure," he ordered the guards. "Make sure that cat-shark-fish doesn't see you. If the great god, Speed Hump, sees us he might break my Trident and I'll have to go back to using the remote. Imagine that!" he shouted at them.

Chapter 15

"Where are we going?" the shark asked Speed Bump Charlie.

"To the surface!" he ordered. "I have an idea."

The shark took Speed Bump to the surface of the sea and the old cat popped his head out of the water and looked around. He looked over the surface of the water and into the sky. Then he saw two large sea birds bobbing up and down on the waves.

"Move over towards them," he ordered the shark.

Once he got closer, Speed Bump sat just under the water and listened carefully.

"Are you sure?" one of the birds asked the other.

"Absolutely! It was the strangest thing I've ever heard!" replied the other.

"A crab on a raft of rubbish?"

"That's what Barbara the albatross said. She said the crab had found Neptune's Trident but was too scared to return it!"

"But why?"

"Because he thinks he'll get the blame for stealing it!" laughed the second bird.

"Crabs are so stupid!" said the first bird.

"What's going on?" asked the shark. "I can't hear what they are saying."

Speed Bump Charlie whispered to the shark. "Where can I find a raft of rubbish?" he asked him.

"Oh that's easy. There's lots of rubbish in the sea. Thrown there by lazy humans. It floats about until it gets caught in the currents. Then it gathers together to make rafts and then more and more rubbish gets added until there's a whole island. The humans call it the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," answered the shark. "Disgusting when you think about it. All that rubbish polluting our oceans."

Speed Bump Charlie didn't care. "Terrible!" he lied. "Let's go there now. I think there's something else floating about with the rubbish."

The shark slipped away quietly and they were soon on their way.

Sherman had led the dogs for some time but they hadn't any found birds. Icky was sitting on his shoulder and was looking at the surface of the water for anything that might look like a bird resting on the sea.

"I think we're lost," mumbled Alfie to Digger behind them.

"I think so too," Digger agreed.

"I could have sworn we've swam past that ship wreck before," added Hans.

Indy stood with her hands on her hips. "Why don't I just grab one of these stupid fish and bop them on the head with my hunting bone until they tell us where the Trident is!"

"Because it might eat us!" cried Dingo.

"It might eat you," smiled Indy. "I am happy to fight any one of these stupid fish!"

"What's that over there?" asked Astro. "It looks like a shark with a cat riding on its back."

"Get down!" ordered Commander Rocky and all the dogs hid behind the ship wreck. Even poor Sherman tried to hide. He squeezed himself between two rocks but he was too big and bits of him stuck out everywhere.

"It _is_ a shark with a cat riding on its back!" declared Icky. "How strange!"

"That's Speed Bump Charlie," cried Stella. "I can sense his evil presence from here!"

"So, he is behind this wicked plot!" declared Commander Rocky. "I should have known!"

"Let's get him!" yelled Alfie rushing off.

"Wait!" cried Astro. "He looks like he's going somewhere. He might lead us to the Trident."

"Astro's right," Commander Rocky said. "We'll follow him. I'm sure he's behind all this trouble. I can feel it in my paws!"

Slowly, the dogs crept behind Speed Bump. Behind them Sherman swam with Icky. Behind him two hammerhead sharks dragged five catfish bound with seaweed. And behind them a funny blue octopus swam slowly along. He looked like any other octopus except if you looked carefully you would see he had faint blue tridents glowing under his skin.

Speed Bump Charlie had no idea what was going on behind him. He couldn't help laughing and chuckling to himself. "I'm going to be rich, rich, rich! I'm going to be the most powerful cat in all the world! And, I'm going to eat all the delicious fish I want!"

"Eat who?" asked the shark slowing down.

Speed Bump Charlie realised he'd said too much. "I said 'love'. I'm going to love and care for all the fish in the sea!"

The shark didn't really believe him but he kept swimming.

"Are we there yet?" asked Speed Bump. "I've had just about enough of all this water!"

The shark slowed down and spun in a circle. "Look up there," he said.

Above them the sea had become darker. Speed Bump could see odd shapes bobbing about on the surface of the water. There were bits of seaweed tangled around pieces of plastic and wood.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" the shark said shaking his head.

"Yeah, terrible!" muttered Speed Bump Charlie. He kicked away from the shark and swam up to the surface. There he saw a monstrous mass of rubbish floating in the sea.

"Brilliant!" he cried happily. "I've found it!"

Then he put his head back in the water. "You can rack off now," he said to the shark. "I don't need your help anymore."

The shark looked viciously at the old cat and snarled at him. Then he remembered the sharp claws he had hidden in his paws. He turned around and swam away. Much to his surprise he passed nine dogs, a sea monster, two hammerhead sharks and five tightly bound catfish. He was looking so intensely that he didn't notice the big octopus and bumped into it.

"Watch where you're going!" the octopus shrieked and slapped the shark on the back of his head with a tentacle.

The shark was so surprised he didn't retaliate. He rubbed his head and thought that the best thing he could do is go home to his family, have his dinner and watch Shark TV. "Hopefully after a good night's rest things will go back to normal tomorrow," he said to himself.

You found the Spylinks Hound. Well Done! Now all you have to do is click on this link to discover mysterious puzzles and games not available to anyone else!

<http://www.astrosadventures.com/spylinks_nt_104.html>

Chapter 16

Speed Bump Charlie pulled himself up onto the raft. He stood tall and wiped his paws together. "Now, it can't be that hard to find a crab and a Trident up here!" he laughed to himself but then he looked behind him and his heart sank.

The raft was huge. It stretched as far as the eye could see. The rubbish was all different shapes and colours and Speed Bump couldn't make out anything that looked like it might be a crab or a Trident.

"Blast and double blast! This place stinks!" he said kicking a box.

He picked up a stick and stepped between the rubbish. He used the stick to poke between things but there was no sign of the crab or the Trident. He was so busy he didn't notice a small hairless dog crawling onto the raft behind him.

Icky looked up at the burning sun. "This is not going to do my furless body any good at all," he muttered. So, he picked up a board and used it to shade himself. It also offered him the perfect camouflage. Even when Speed Bump Charlie looked directly at him, the board just blended in with the rest of the rubbish and Icky was safely hidden behind it.

Under the raft, the others waited. Icky was small and very nimble so Commander Rocky had chosen him to find out what was happening. They could see him moving above them. Icky had activated his microchip and headquarters was relaying everything Icky heard to the others under the water.

Speed Bump Charlie continued to poke at the rubbish. "Oh, lovely Trident! Where are you?" he sang to himself. He had walked some way when something caught his eye. It was a row of tiny stars dancing on the surface of the rubbish.

"Jewels!" Speed Bump cried. He dropped the stick and raced over to them.

Sure enough it was Neptune's Trident. It was sitting on top of a pile of torn fishing nets. Speed Bump clasped his paws together and jumped around with glee.

"I'm rich! I'm rich! Filthy, filthy rich! Oh joy!" he danced around. "And powerful! Oh, boy am I powerful. I am now the most powerful cat in the world!" And he let out the longest, meow the world had ever heard. Icky and the dogs under the sea covered their ears it was so piercing.

The little crab had fallen asleep in the hot sun. Speed Bump's cry woke him up. He jumped up and ran along the length of the Trident waving his claws in the air. Speed Bump laughed and leaned down to the little crab.

"Oh, look an all-powerful Trident and lunch!" He poked at the little crab who snapped his sharp claws at the old cat. Speed Bump quickly stepped back and avoided being pinched.

"Get away from my Trident!" the little crab cried. "I found it!"

"Really?" Speed Bump Charlie smiled. "I think it belongs to a real god. Someone who has great wisdom and someone who is very brave. You, my friend, are just an annoying snack!"

"I am not!" cried the little crab. "This is Neptune's Trident and he is coming back to get it. Then you'll be in trouble!"

"I am quite confident he is not on his way here because he's waiting miles away for me to bring it to him!" laughed Speed Bump. "Now, nip off... oh, ha ha, wasn't that a funny joke? And give me the Trident."

"Over my dead body!" the crab cried bravely.

Speed Bump Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "So be it, then," and he grabbed at the Trident.

Speed Bump thought that it would be easy to take the Trident away from the little crab. He was mistaken.

The little crab hooked his back legs into a fishing net and clung tightly to the Trident. He was quite strong and he nearly pulled Speed Bump off his feet. Speed Bump stumbled back and it took him a few seconds to catch his breath.

"Well, aren't we a strong little crab, then?" he said yanking the Trident back.

The little crab was very determined. He wasn't going to let go under any circumstances.

The old alley cat and the little crab wrestled with the Trident. Icky crept up closer and Commander Rocky decided that they had better help. All the dogs climbed onto the raft behind Icky. They crept down low and tried to get as close as possible. They were just about to launch an attack when Astro tapped Commander Rocky on the arm and pointed behind the crab. There, climbing onto the raft, was an enormous octopus.

"What's that doing here?" whispered Rocky.

"Looks like it's coming after the Trident too," Astro commented.

Just then the little crab noticed the dogs and yelled out. "Oh, I see you've brought help!"

Speed Bump pulled the Trident up high dislodging the crab from the nets. "What are you talking about? I always work alone!"

He shook the Trident up and down trying to shake the little crab loose. "You sure are a determined little crustacean!" Speed Bump muttered under his breath.

"Put the Trident down!" ordered Commander Rocky.

Speed Bump Charlie was completely taken by surprise but he didn't let go of the Trident. "What the...?" he yelled. "How did you stupid mutts find me?"

Just then the giant octopus raised itself up tall and let out a terrible scream. It frightened the little crab so much he let go of the Trident. Speed Bump Charlie and the dogs were also taken by surprise but when the old cat realised he had the Trident to himself he turned it around and pointed it at the octopus.

"You, dinner, keep your distance!" Then he turned to the dogs. "And you lot too. I have the Trident now and I am all powerful!"

Commander Rocky and the other dogs stopped and looked at Speed Bump Charlie. Only Alfie kept his eyes on the octopus. Rocky put up his paws to calm the old cat down. He tried to reason with him.

"Now, now, Speedie. We all know you're not going to get far. I don't think you stand a chance. Why not give up now? As soon as Neptune finds out where his Trident is he's going to want it back. He's an impressive god and you're just a cat."

Speed Bump boasted. "Not only am I going to be the most powerful creature on Earth; I'm going to be the richest. Neptune is miles away guarding my jewels which he thinks I'm going to exchange for his stupid trident!"

Alfie tugged at Rocky's arm. "I don't think he's very far away at all!" he whispered. "Look!"

Chapter 17

Rocky turned around and was about to yell at Alfie for interrupting him when he saw the octopus changing shape. First it changed colour and then swirls of red smoke twisted around its body. Then it got taller and taller and began to take the shape of a man.

All the dogs stared with their mouths open. Even the little crab had seen what was happening.

Speed Bump Charlie was thumping the Trident with his paws. "How do you get this thing to work," he mumbled. He stood it up and banged it up and down on the rubbish.

"Here let me show you!" a voice boomed.

The old cat spun around and was astonished to see Neptune, god of all the Seas and the Oceans. He looked quickly at the dogs and saw that they were as surprised as he was.

He pointed the Trident at the little crab. "Come any closer and the crab gets it!" he cried.

Neptune looked down at the crab and shrugged his shoulders. "Do your best, feline. There are plenty of crabs in the ocean. No one will miss this little one!" Neptune roared.

The little crab was very upset. He may be little but he was important just like every other creature in the sea.

"Well, what about these mutts," Speed Bump declared pointing the Trident at the dogs.

The dogs all jumped back and tried to hide behind each other except Icky. He was feeling very brave. He wanted to run at the cat but Rocky pushed him back behind his legs.

Neptune stepped closer. "The dogs are not sea creatures so therefore they're not my concern. Kill them if you like!"

All the dogs gasped.

Hans cried then fainted. "I'll never see my puppies again!"

"What about me? I'm too young to die!" wailed Dingo.

Alfie and Astro hugged each other and Digger began to sob.

"Let me get one good swing at him!" yelled Indy swinging her hunting bone above her head.

Stella had her head bowed. She was sending a special message to Sherman, Proteus and Neso. They all heard the message at the same time. The guards knew exactly what to do. Sherman shook his head and bashed his ears.

"I'm hearing voices!" he declared. "It sounds like Stella. Did you hear it too?"

He looked at Proteus and Neso. They nodded and pointed up to the surface. "Oh, I see!" Sherman said and he followed the hammerhead sharks to the rubbish raft.

On the raft, Commander Rocky put up his paw to silence the dogs.

Speed Bump Charlie waved the powerful Trident between Neptune and the dogs. "Oh, I'm definitely going to kill them but who do I start with first?" he grinned at the defenceless dogs.

He lifted up the Trident and by sheer luck he managed to tap the large sapphire diamond at the top of the handle.

"Oh, that's how it works!" Speed Bump Charlie giggled and jumped up and down. "Oh, goody, goody!"

Lightning began to sizzle around the three prongs then all of a sudden a lightning bolt shot straight up into the sky. Then another, then another.

"Wow! Did you see that?" Speed Bump Charlie was ecstatic. "That was awesome!"

Neptune was furious. He moved closer. "Give it back to me! It's mine!" he roared.

Speed Bump Charlie pointed it directly at him. "No, it's mine now! And I am going to rule the whole world!"

He tapped the sapphire again. This time he aimed the Trident towards the dogs. It let out a sizzling sound then 'ZAP!' the lightning bolt shot straight at Astro's feet. He jumped quickly out of the way but the lightning bolt left a huge hole in the raft. There was also the terrible smell of burning plastic and dog fur. Astro rubbed his toes.

Speed Bump Charlie cursed Astro. "Blast you, Astro, hairy mutt! Next time you're toast!" He tapped the sapphire again.

"I am the ruler now. I am in charge. I will fry every dog in the world and every cat will be my slave. The humans will soon fear me and they will give me gold, silver and jewels to appease my anger. And I will eat all the fish in the sea! I AM the RULER of the WORLD!!!"

Speed Bump Charlie threw his head back and laughed loudly. Then he began to howl and hoot. Lastly, he let out a long, shrill meow that echoed across the waves.

"Not that noise again!" the little crab muttered. He ran towards the old cat and used his sharp claws to pinch Speed Bump Charlie's toes. He squeezed so tightly he thought he might pinch the cat's toe right off.

Speed Bump Charlie's meow turned to a scream. He fell backwards throwing the Trident up into the air. The little crab let go and tried to catch it. All the dogs leapt into action and also tried to catch it.

Neptune, however, was too fast for them all. He pushed the dogs out of the way and grabbed the Trident with both hands.

Speed Bump Charlie looked up and saw what had happened. "Uh oh! This is not turning out as I planned!" he muttered and quickly jumped off the raft.

He planned to swim away but waiting for him just under surface was a large sea monster and two hammerhead sharks. They quickly grabbed him and tied him up with the pirate catfish.

"Let me go!" he yelled. "I will not be tied up like a common thief!"

They ignored him and tossed him back onto the raft along with the pirate catfish. They were still bound with seaweed and they squirmed and rolled around trying to get free.

The dogs brushed themselves down and helped the little crab back onto his feet. Alfie nudged Astro and pointed towards Neptune. "Have a look. He's doing it again," he sniggered.

They all stopped and looked. Neptune was dancing around clutching the Trident close to his chest. He was singing softly, "You are mine and I love you. You are my world and I love you. Love, love, love yooouuu!"

Digger whispered to Hans, "Who's he talking to?"

"His stick thingy," Hans answered. "The Trident."

Even Commander Rocky was surprised. "He sure is a little bit strange," he muttered to Stella. She nodded and agreed.

Chapter 18

Neptune came to his senses and walked quickly up to the captives. He pointed to each one with his Trident and growled at them.

"Now, which one of you am I going to fry first?" he said jabbing each one in turn. "Or maybe I'll turn you into sea worms. How does that sound?"

The catfish squealed. "No, no, not me," each one cried in turn. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Or me!"

"Not me either!"

Speed Bump Charlie rolled his eyes in disgust.

Captain Black managed to stand up. He hung his head. "What my colleagues are trying to say is that we are all very sorry and we beg your forgiveness, your magnificence!"

Neptune stopped and looked at him. "Why should I forgive you?" he asked them.

"Because we are your humble servants and we will do anything you ask!" pleaded the pirate.

"Anything?" Neptune mused. "Anything at all?""

"Oh, yes, anything at all!"

"Will you bite the barnacles from a whale's bottom?!" Neptune asked. Behind him Alfie giggled but he was soon silenced by a sharp dig in the ribs from Digger's elbow.

"Yes, yes, anything!" the pirate pleaded.

"Will you suck the pus from the corns on my feet?!" Neptune asked waving his foot in the air. This time Alfie nearly gagged and Hans felt faint again.

"Of course, your magnificence, of course!"

Neptune was about to launch into another disgusting punishment when Stella cleared her throat. She bravely stepped forward and lowered her head.

"While they are all worthy and just punishments," she said. "May I suggest an even worse one?"

All the dogs looked at each other and then at their Commander. Rocky shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't for the life of him think of anything worse than sucking the puss out of a sea god's corns.

"Perhaps the wicked catfish could travel the sea collecting up debris and rubbish. That way the seas and oceans will stay clean," Stella suggested.

Neptune looked around him and scratched his head. "I suppose it is a disgusting sight. But what are they going to do with the rubbish once they've collected it up?"

"You could zap it away with your Trident," Stella recommended.

Neptune nodded. "What a great idea! Canines, free the pirates so they can start straight away!"

Astro, Alfie and Dingo ran forward and untied the fish.

"Leave the real cat," Neptune ordered. "I will have to find a very special punishment for him."

He leaned closer to the little crab. "You know, I think he cheats at cards!"

Neptune pointed the Trident at Speed Bump Charlie. He stepped forward and bopped the cat on his nose.

"You've been a very naughty boy, haven't you?" Neptune said. "I have a good mind to zap you into dust right here and now. I can do that, you know. I can't believe that I thought that Speed Hump was a real god. One more powerful and cleverer than I am! Did you think that you could trick me, King of all the oceans and the seas? Didn't you think I knew you were letting me win at cards? Did you really think I would hand over all my treasure to a stupid cat-shark-fish thing? You're nothing but a weak, old cat!"

Speed Bump Charlie stared back at the god. He wasn't afraid. He had got out of some pretty sticky situations in the past and he was confident he would get out of this one.

Again Stella cleared her throat. "Why don't you let us take him back so he can be punished by the vilest thing that exists on land?" she offered.

"Not those horrible kids again!" Speed Bump remembered when he tried to ruin Christmas and Santa had given him to twenty six little girls.

Stella shook her head, "No," she said.

"You're not going to lock me in gaol again are you?" sneered the old cat.

"Oh, no. I have a much worse punishment than that!" Stella declared.

"You're not going to burn the end of my tail again!" Speed Bump yelled.

Stella looked at Neptune and spoke. "If you hand him over to us I promise you he won't come back to the sea and you'll never see him again."

Neptune had got distracted and wasn't paying any attention. He was sitting on a pile of boxes cleaning his finger nails. He looked up and all of them were looking at him. "What?" he asked.

Then he suddenly remembered what was going on. "Oh, well, I am very fond of turning things to dust. What are you going to do with him?"

Stella smiled and turned to Commander Rocky. She looked back at the old cat then turned back to Neptune. She bowed her head and said, "We are going to take the cat to the zoo."

"Oh, I love the zoo!" Alfie declared. "What fun!"

Stella ignored him. "And at the zoo it will be Speed Bump Charlie's job to clean up all the poo of the animals that live there!"

"Noooo!" cried the old cat. "Anything but that!"

"Yes, that's right. He'll have to shovel up mountains of elephant poo; net pads of hippo poo from the water and best of all, quickly run into the lion's den and scoop up their poo and quickly run out again!"

Neptune smiled. "That is a good punishment!" he agreed. "Now, take him away before I get bored and zap you all!"

He turned around and aimed his Trident at the other end of the raft. He tapped the sapphire and shot the end of the rubbish. It exploded into dust – gone forever.

"This is fun," the great god declared and he did it over and over again.

Commander Rocky turned to his team. "We had better get going before he destroys the whole raft and we are left floating in the sea."

He walked up to Neptune. "Oh great god, could you possibly create a wave large enough to carry our friend Icky and the little crab home?"

"Sure," Neptune agreed, "One tsunami coming up!"

"Ummm, perhaps not that big of a wave," Commander Rocky suggested.

"Whatever," the god shrugged his shoulders. He turned to the little dog and the crab. "Grab something and hang on tight!" They did as they were told and within seconds a huge wave swelled under them and began to carry them away.

"Thanks for everything!" Icky cried over his shoulder. "It's been great fun!"

"No, thank you for all your help!" Rocky yelled after them.

They were soon taken out of sight.

"How are we going to get home?" asked Indy.

Just then they heard the long moan of an ocean liner's horn.

"On that?" Astro suggested.

Neptune was busy blasting the rubbish into dust. He wasn't paying them any attention at all.

"Let's go," Stella suggested.

They all jumped into the ocean and swam towards the ship. Sherman swam after them waving good-bye.

"I'm going to miss those guys," he sniffed sadly. "What an adventure!"

He turned to speak to Neptune when the rubbish he was standing on was blasted right out from under his feet. He stared at the god and then back at his feet. He dropped into the water and made his way home.

Chapter 19

The dogs swam towards the ocean liner. When they got close Commander Rocky found a rope hanging down the side of the ship. He pulled on it to make sure it was strong enough to hold the weight of the dogs. Then, one by one they climbed onto the deck of the ship much to the surprise of the sunbathers.

Each dog shook themselves vigorously to get the water out of their coats. The sunbathers were not impressed and they jumped up and ran away. Alfie and Astro shrugged their shoulders and laid down on their sunbeds. The other dogs followed them. It had been a long adventure and each of the dogs thought they deserved a break.

The whole time Alfie had Speed Bump Charlie tucked tightly under his arm. The old cat wiggled and tried to get free but Alfie was too strong.

"Let me go, you brute!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled at Alfie.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Alfie hummed squeezing his grip tighter on the old cat.

Once he was lying on the sunbed, Alfie called to one of the waiters.

"Excuse me, my good man, but I am a little bit peckish," he explained.

"Would Sir like some dinner?" the waiter asked politely.

"Why, yes, sir would!" Alfie smiled.

"What would Sir like?"

Alfie stopped for a second and thought deeply. "I would like four hamburgers, eight pizzas, ten salad rolls, fourteen chocolate biscuits and a large bowl of fresh water."

The waiter rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that all?" he remarked sarcastically. "I mean would Sir like fresh lobster or salmon?"

Alfie nearly jumped out of the bed in shock. "Nooo, definitely, no fish!!"

The others laughed and the waiter quickly walked away.

Just then Digger noticed something glimmering in the sky.

"Look!" he cried. "It's a star! A shooting star!"

"So, it is," said Astro sitting up.

"It's beautiful!" Hans said.

Indy looked up at the star and then at the others. They were all staring at the star. "Guys! It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon! A bit early for a shooting star, don't you think? And besides, it's heading straight towards us!" she pointed at it.

Only Commander Rocky heard her.

"What?" he mumbled as if woken from a dream.

"I don't think it's a shooting star. I think it's a..." Indy was interrupted.

"Oh, look, there's another one!" cried Dingo.

"And another!" yelled Alfie.

Stella jumped up. "Something tells me Indy's right. They're not shooting stars! They're meteorites!"

"What!!" Astro cried.

As they stared in disbelief more meteorites appeared and sped towards them. When they got closer they could see that they were made of burning hot lava. When they crashed into the sea great splashes of water leapt up the side of the ship and wet the dogs. Steam rose from each spot creating mist all over the surface of the ocean.

"That one's heading straight for the ship!" cried Digger.

"Let's get to a lifeboat!" Stella suggested.

They all ran and jumped into a lifeboat. Alfie and Astro lowered it down and Indy pulled the cover over so none of the meteorites could hurt them.

They sat still for a few seconds listening. They could hear people running about on the ship calling for help. More lifeboats landed in the sea and they could hear the captain shouting orders.

"What's going on?" cried Hans but he didn't have to wait long for an answer.

He had no sooner spoken when Commander Rocky's microchip beeped. He scratched at his collar seven times to activate it. Then he pulled on his tags to activate the loud speaker.

"Commander Rocky! Commander Rocky! It's headquarters! We have an emergency!" a voice squeaked.

"What is it? We are in a bit of trouble here!" Commander Rocky said.

"It's the moon!"

All the dogs stopped and looked at each other in surprise.

"The moon?" Commander Rocky asked. "What about it?"

"It's been destroyed!" the voice said. "There are bits of it falling all over the Earth. NASA said it was destroyed by three lightning bolts. They said they came from the Pacific Ocean."

"Oh, dear!" Stella exclaimed. "Speed Bump Charlie must have done that when he had the Trident!"

"Where is that sneaky cat?" Commander Rocky roared.

They all turned to Alfie.

He looked under his arm and suddenly realised he'd forgotten the cat.

"I must have dropped him in the confusion," he said. "Sorry."

Meanwhile, floating miles away an old alley cat freed himself from the seaweed ropes he'd been tied up with. He looked around at the sky and checked his location on his watch.

"This is the spot," he said confidently and took a deep breath. He dropped into the water and swam deep into the sea.

Just as he had guessed Neptune had forgotten all about the treasure and the chariot. It didn't take long before Speed Bump Charlie spotted it lying on the seabed. He glanced around quickly to see if there were any of those nasty dogs or bossy Hammerheads lurking nearby.

"The coast is clear. How lovely!" he cried.

He grabbed the reins and began to drag the chariot full of treasure. His destination – the coast of Australia!

"Shouldn't take long at this rate," Speed Bump huffed as he dragged the heavy chariot over rocks and coral. "According to my watch it's only about 4,695 miles."

Speed Bump Charlie chuckled to himself. "Imagine what I could do with all this treasure! The robots I could build; the dogs I could destroy; the rockets I could build! Now, that's a thought," the old cat stopped and scratched his chin. "I just need those pesky dogs to be so far away they don't cause me any trouble at all. Be nice if they were on the moon!"

He laughed and continued with his journey.

Rocky sat shaking his head looking at his crew as they bobbed up and down in the life raft.

"Sir?" the voice from headquarters called.

"What is it?" Commander Rocky said.

"NASA wants The Organisation to find a replacement. They are saying it's sort of our fault. They said without the moon there will be no tides. If there are no tides they'll be no fish and no beaches. It could mean the end of the world!"

"How are we going to replace the moon?!! That's crazy!" Commander Rocky snorted.

"I'm not sure but they said they've got a spaceship waiting for all of you," the voice said.

Commander Rocky shook his head and let out a long sigh.

"Turn the lifeboat around, Indy," he ordered. "Looks like we're going into space!"

The End... for now

You found the Spylinks Hound. Well Done! Now all you have to do is click on this link to discover mysterious puzzles and games not available to anyone else!

<http://www.astrosadventures.com/spylinks_nt_105.html>

If you've enjoyed this book please consider reviewing it at your place of purchase. Reviews help independent authors to gain further interest in their books. The review needs only to be a few lines – 20 words or more – but would mean a lot to the author.

EBook titles in the Astro's Adventures series (also available in print):

The Great Escape http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/76524

Golden Treasure https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85532

Rampaging Rats https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238862

Major Dakota's Ghost https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/300649

The Gypsy Curse https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/307863

Other eBook titles written by Susan Day:

Understanding Your Dog http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72942

Whispering Castle https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/76991

The Christmas Mouse https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/81084

Thank you for reading the seventh book in the series, Astro's Adventures. The dogs and cats in this book are based on real ones. The goal of these books is to raise awareness for the need for dogs to have lots of exercise and stimulation and to be cared for properly. A percentage of sales goes to our local animal shelter.

If you'd like to read more in this series please visit our website: Astro's Adventures

You are also welcome to connect with my online. I keep an online diary of my writing where I share free ideas and activities to inspire children to be better writers. Please join me at: Susan Day Author

Yours in Paws,

Susan Day
