End of Monkey Island

by cmanuk

A sequal to the Curse of Monkey Island. This story finds Guybrush and Elaine living together happily, unaware that LeChuck has returned with a new and deadly ally

THE END OF MONKEY ISLAND - A SEQUEL TO CMI

By Craig McMartin

Prologue:

"And then we sailed off to Melee Island for our…honeymoon" finished Guybrush in the most exotic voice he could muster.

His three companions, the Barbary Coast barber/pirates groaned at the mental image that word generated and took another swig of grog to try to block them out.

"Aye lad so you've told us" sighed Haggis.

"Every Saturday since you got back it's that same story" moaned Cutthroat Bill. "When are you going to get some new ones"

Guybrush shrugged. It had been almost a year since he had married Elaine, after that whole incident with the cursed diamond ring he had found on LeChuck's ship, and ever since they had got back to Plunder Island his life had been pretty uneventful. Being the governor of three separate islands meant that Elaine was always active but all Guybrush had to do was wander around the island during the week, and tell tales of his adventures at the weekend. Unfortunately the three barber pirates were the only ones one would listen any more without passing out or threatening to kill him and since they did participate in much of his last adventure, there wasn't much to tell. Guybrush let out a long sigh. It was times like these that he longed for the days when his arch nemesis LeChuck was still around. But with the demon pirate safely buried under a hundred tons of ice and his skeletal hordes scattered throughout the farthest corners of the Caribbean it looked like his days as a pirate were over. Just then Blondebeard looked out the window at the big clock tower.

"Sorry boys but the taverns closed, time to clear out" he said as he wiped the bar with a dirty rag, spreading more dirt rather than cleaning anything.

Four sets of eyes rolled into their sockets and reluctantly the quartet got up and departed. Feeling wicked from a little too much grog Guybrush paused at the door.

"Any chance of getting an order of chicken to go?"

The three barbers chuckled at the irony of the pun but Blondebeard just smouldered.

"Why ya little scamp, ya know that's a sensitive subject for old Captain Blondebeard" he grumbled before turning on his heel and disappearing into the kitchen, grumbling as he went.

Now asking for some take-away chicken may not seem like too big a deal to most people but it certainly was to Captain Blondebeard. It seemed that over a year ago Blondebeard had lost his gold tooth under mysterious circumstances. Try as he might he couldn't find it anywhere. At that time his chicken shop was doing bad enough, what with El Puello Diablo, the devil chicken, roaming the island setting free his smaller brethren. But as it turned out, losing his gold tooth was the worst thing that could have happened. For you see, the devil chicken had only one fear, one terrible, unquenchable fear that had kept him at bay for so long. And that fear was gold teeth. For some reason the giant bird was terrified of them, perhaps because only gold teeth were strong enough to breach its strong hide, and that fear had kept the bird from doing more than small acts of aggression against Blondebeard. But with the tooth gone, El Puello Diablo was free to do whatever it wanted. So it went on a mad rampage, smashing up everything chicken related and leading all the chickens into the wilderness where they were never heard from again. Many believed they had escaped from the island somehow but this was largely dismissed. They had probably just been eaten by the resident predator, the snake that tried to eat Guybrush and ended up with a permanent case of gas. With Blondebeard's main source of income gone he decided to convert his chicken shop into a tavern which proved much more popular with the locals. Still, there were times when he pined for the taste of chicken.

"Heading home lad?" asked Haggis, dragging Guybrush away from his pondering.

"I suppose so" sighed Guybrush.

"Something wrong lad?" asked Haggis sympathetically.

"Elaine's off at Booty Island attending some conference with the other governors. I hear they even got Governor Phatt to attend for once." replied Guybrush.

"So what is the matter then?" asked Edward VanHelgan in his typical refined accent.

"Well she won't be back for another week and let's just say I don't like sleeping alone any more if you get my meaning"

The three barber pirates exchanged 'that's more than we needed to know' expressions as those same mental images came flooding back again. The three pirates said their goodbyes and headed back to the Barbary Coast, which doubled as their business and there home. With the sun low in the sky Guybrush made his way back to the mansion situated just beyond the town. On the way he passed a few of the local pirates and he received polite nods from them. Being the husband of a well-loved governor did have its advantages as some of the respect Elaine received had rubbed off on him. Of coarse there were disadvantages to the situation as well. It was going to be another long and lonely night.

Meanwhile, far away on Monkey Island, deep inside a cold, dark cave there was a flurry of activity. Skeleton pirates numbering in the hundreds worked furiously to break through the tons of ice blocking their way. They had been working for more than three weeks non stop, smashing the ice with their picks and carrying the loosened pieces away in wheelbarrows. But their progress had been slow and clumsy and there seemed to be no end in sight. Their only comfort was that as undead skeletons they would not die of fatigue or hunger, although almost a hundred had so far been lost to various cave-ins and other accidents. Suddenly, one of them hit their pick against the cold ice and was surprised to see the surrounding ice crumble away, revealing their objective.

"My lord" it grated "Iv found him"

A strange being, almost concealed by a cloak and hood, entered the tunnel of ice. Inside the hood was an unnatural darkness that veiled the figure's face. The undead pirates nearest scurried aside for fear of getting in his way. They had seen what awful fates had befallen those stupid enough to do so. As it reached the discovered prize, the hooded figure looked down at it. There before him was the corpse of the demon pirate LeChuck, his flaming beard and hair extinguished in death and his eyes wide open and unblinking. He looked pathetic the figure thought as he scrutinised the body. Hardly worth the effort of finding.

"Sir…what would you like us to do with…him?" asked the head skeleton dubiously.

"Nothing!" boomed the demonic voice without looking up "Leave him to me"

The figure raised his head then and turned to look at the skeleton, which almost died (again) from fear. In place of total darkness from the hood was a pair of red glowing eyes. The figure raised its head high and laughed evilly, its demonic cackling echoing down the long tunnel and unnerving even the bravest of the skeletons. The laughing grew louder and louder and reached the furthest corners of Monkey Island before being carried away on the wind.

Chapter 1 - Elaine goes missing

A week later, it was a frustrated Guybrush that was woken by a cock's crowing to once again find himself alone in the king sized bed. God how he'd love to sell that blasted thing to Blondebeard one morning and by eating it by lunch time. He had thought that, with the disappearance of all the chickens from Plunder Island, he would be free of this early morning ritual. But Elaine, who liked getting up early had had it sent from Booty Island shortly after they had moved in to the mansion. Guybrush's annoyance was short lived however as this was the day that his wife was due to come home to him. That though alone was enough to make him smile. So it was an upbeat Guybrush that dressed to impress and strolled into town. Like the mansion on Booty, their house was covered on all side by nature, with a single path connecting it to the town. He bought his customary lemonade from Kenny, who had been forced to return to his original line of work after Elaine shut down his gun running operation due to a lack of proper permits and storage facilities and then made his way to the Brimstone Beach Club. As he was now a full member the toadying Cabana Boy was forced to treat him with a small hint of respect, although it was clear he didn't like it. Not even being married to a governor or a Captain in charge of her pirate navy would make Guybrush seem civilised in his eyes.

"Life sure is good" mused Guybrush to no one in particular as he strolled across the beach.

At the far end of the beach he met the man who had provided him with a map to Blood Island the year before sunbathing and still as pale as he was before. He had recently had his tattoo redone and he always seemed to be just a little cautious about turning his back on Guybrush, suspecting he might tear it off again

"Hey Guybrush babe! How's every little thing with you?" the man asked, peering up at him.

"Fine thanks Palido. I see your resemblance to cream is still strong"

"Hey babe!" said Palido, sounding a little annoyed "My tan was going great until you came along and ruined it by tearing off my tattoo!"

"Palido, that was more than a year ago, you've had plenty on time to get a new tan and yet you still look like a bleached god"

"Very true babe but I'll have to wait for the hot season to start again before my months of tanning really start to pay off!"

Guybrush thought about mentioning that in the Caribbean every season was a hot season but decided against it. He was in too good a mood to let it be spoiled by a silly argument. As he walked away Paildo called out for him to give his regards to the 'little woman' and Guybrush called back that he would. Not that he would be stupid enough to phrase it like that though when he saw her again. Elaine had one hell of a fist and could certainly use it if properly provoked. As he returned to the mansion he felt very good indeed but just as he was about to walk through the main door a man ran out of the woods and towards him very quickly. From the uniform he was wearing he appeared to be one of the crew of the Sea Cucumber, his own ship and he seemed upset about something.

"Captain Threepwood! Captain Threepwood! Come quick!" called the man.

Guybrush was confused and by the time the man had ran up and caught his breath again he was getting rather inpatient.

"What's the problem crewman? Guybrush asked trying to sound commanding.

"Captain, its Governor Mar…I mean Threepwood's ship. It just floated into port"

Guybrush suddenly felt uneasy about this conversation, especially the way the man had said 'floated' into port instead of 'sailed'.

"What's the problem then?" Guybrush asked uneasily.

"Well sir…I, that is…well" the man started but then just said "I think you should come with me right way"

Guybrush nodded and with that the sailor ran back towards town, with Guybrush hot on his heals. As he ran Guybrush began to panic. What had happened? Was Elaine injured or…dead? No, he wouldn't let himself believe it. She had to be all right; she just had to be. At the port he first saw a small crowd that had gathered nearby, who were whispering among themselves. But then he saw what they were staring at. Sitting in the port, aside the Sea Cucumber, was what once could have been called Elaine's ship, The Reliable. Most of her cannons were destroyed, the sails were tattered and burned and there was massive damage to the deck and hull. There was no sign of the two ships that accompanied The Reliable as escorts.

"She looks like she's been in a war!" exclaimed someone in the crowd.

In blind panic Guybrush charged towards the ship, right through the crowd who made room for him when they realised whom he was. The crewman who had been left behind struggled to keep up as the crowd came together again and blocked his way. Guybrush, having reached the ship, jumped onto and climbed up the anchor. He immediately began searching the ship.

"ELAINE! ELAINE WHERE ARE YOU?" he practically screamed over and over.

All around him were the bodies of the crew, all apparently killed in some kind of hand-to-hand combat but there was no sign of Elaine anywhere. The ship itself was a total wreck. Everywhere there were strange scorch marks and smashed sections of hull. And then as he entered Elaine's stateroom, he saw it. Strewn across the floor were the remains of an undead skeleton, almost blown in half by a rifle. There was a pouch attached to its waist and Guybrush snatched it up and opened it, hoping to find a clue to Elaine's location. He found several complementary passes to the Carnival of The Damned and this just confirmed his worst fears. He pocketed one of the passes and just at that moment the crewman finally caught up with him and did a double take when he saw the skeleton.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked nervously.

"It's one of LeChuck's undead pirates" Guybrush confirmed". "He must have Elaine captive" said Guybrush slowly.

"But LeChuck's dead sir" the man countered. "You buried him under all that ice back on Monkey Island didn't you?"

Guybrush who had been searching the room for more clues while they had been talking suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.

"The voodoo lady once told me that he would grow more powerful with every incarnation. Big Whoop made him a ghost, then he was resurrected as a zombie and finally as a flaming demon. Who knows what he's come back as this time" reflected Guybrush and then with a start it suddenly came to him "The voodoo lady! She'll be able to help me! She always has in the past"

Guybrush immediately went into action. He called together the crew of the Sea Cucumber, all eight of them, and ordered them to secure Elaine's ship and search it for any clues that may have been overlooked. He also ordered the other ships at port to take the bodies of The Reliable crew out to sea for burial, and once done to return for further orders. With Elaine missing he was acting governor now and he had to make sure everything was taken care of. Once he was sure that all the loose ends had been tied up he headed for the swamp to see his old friend and adviser, the voodoo priestess. So hard did he pull on the alligator tongue in her shipwreck home that he nearly ripped it off, but it worked all the same and a pulley lifted up the chair containing the familiar woman.

"You've got to help me!" exclaimed Guybrush. "LeChuck has returned and he has Elaine"

"Then my feelings were correct" she stated. "I felt a tremendous evil force coming from Monkey Island but it seemed different to the one I usually detected from LeChuck"

"Are you saying someone other than LeChuck is behind this?" demanded Guybrush.

"No I am sure LeChuck is involved somehow but it is strange…" the voodoo priestess said, sounding almost puzzled. "I feel that there is a new evil force working alongside LeChuck. Someone who is connected in some way with him."

Guybrush asked who this evil force was but the voodoo priestess stated that that knowledge was not within her grasp. Desperately, Guybrush changed tactics.

"Well can you tell me how do defeat him for good?" he asked.

"As I have told you before I know not how to destroy LeChuck" she answered back.

"Then how about a one off method to kill of this version of LeChuck?" pleaded Guybrush but the priestess merely shook her head and said he had grown to powerful for that to work anymore. Guybrush began to panic. "But you're the only one I can turn to for help and if…"

"NO" boomed the priestess, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "Once before I told you that there was another that could give you the help you sought"

This was enough to confuse Guybrush, not that that took very much to do at the best of times.

"But I though that was Madame Xima, when she helped me on Blood Island" said Guybrush dubiously.

"You are wrong Guybrush. She was not the one I spoke of. Besides she was always mean to me at voodoo school" stated the voodoo priestess angrily. Then calming down she continued. "The one I speak of is someone you have yet to meet; someone who is connected with your enemy in a very personal way. Only she can tell you how to defeat him, although she may not want to part with the information".

"Why would this woman want to protect LeChuck?" asked Guybrush, confused.

The voodoo priestess paused for dramatic effect. Guybrush suspected this was going to be something major.

"Because Guybrush, she is LeChuck's twin sister, Amanette.

Guybrush almost fell over with the shock. He never realised that LeChuck had any family still alive. The closest Guybrush imagined he had come to it was the time when he tried to convince Guybrush he was his brother at the Big Whoop carnival. But that had turned out to be nothing but a lie designed to confuse him long enough for LeChuck to slip off and go after Elaine, who had returned to her fort on plunder Island, and was still there when Guybrush arrived in a floating bumper car.

"Where can I find her?" asked Guybrush sternly. "If she knows anything I'll make her tell me"

"She lives on the fabled Bounty Island, in the farthest corner of the Caribbean. But beware for the journey is long and hard and many obstacles protect the Island and it's many treasures. No one who has sailed off to Bounty Island has ever returned alive. That is probably why Amanette chose to live there" explained the priestess.

"How do I get to Bounty Island?" asked Guybrush confidently.

He had heard a few stories about Bounty Island and its magical traps protecting fabulous treasure and it didn't sound like an ideal tourist destination. But if LeChuck's sister was there, and she knew how to get rid of him for good, then he would to it. He would do it to save Elaine. The voodoo priestess held out her hand and with a whoosh there was a flash of light and a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared Guybrush saw, much to his surprise, a scroll resting in her hand where there had not been a second ago. Creepy thought Guybrush. The priestess handed the scroll to Guybrush and he quickly opened it. The scroll was actually a map and seemed to lead to Bounty Island, with diagrams dotted around it indicating various creatures and other demonic beasts. Guybrush thought perhaps it was just artsy stuff put on to make the map look more impressive, but when had his luck ever been that good. As he rolled the map back up she warned him that that was the only map to Bounty Island that existed and if he wanted to survive the journey he should set a course that avoided the various traps, marked by the diagrams. With a gleam in his eye Guybrush declared that he and his crew would sail to Bounty Island, find out what LeChuck's sister knew and then use that information to destroy him for good and save his Elaine. The voodoo priestess said nothing. Thanking her he headed for the door but before the chair could descend again he twirled round.

"You know, even after all the times you've helped me, I still don't know your name"

The voodoo priestess merely smiled and winked at him as the chair was lowered from sight. Oh well then Guybrush though. I guess I never will. With a renewed sense of confidence and a purpose Guybrush headed back into town to tell the crew of their new mission. His crew on the other hand was less than enthusiastic about the idea when he explained it to them aboard the Sea Cucumber.

"I don't know Captain" grumbled first mate Finley, who had first alerted him to the situation back at the mansion. "Bounty Island is supposed to be a myth"

"No its worse than that!" exclaimed one of the others. "It's a demon island filled with monsters protecting their unholy treasure. No one that goes looking for it ever comes back".

Guybrush who was sitting at the head of the rectangular table stood up and went to the window, looking out at the sea.

"Look I know there are risks involved and it could be a suicide mission"; this caused uncomfortable grunts from the others. "That's why I won't order you to go if you don't want to but those who do come will…" his voice trailed off as he turned round to face them.

The table before him was vacant; several of the chairs were toppled over as though their occupants had left in one hell of a hurry. Typical. Walking out onto the deck he saw the crew disappear over the horizon, running like crazy. They could certainly run fast enough when they were motivated. With a sigh Guybrush contemplated having to sail to Bounty Island alone. He couldn't spare any of the crews from the Plunder Island defence fleet stationed off the coast. They had skeleton crews as it was (pun intended) and they would be needed to defend the island from an undead attack. Then with a start he remembered the Barbary Coast trio. They were all very found of Elaine and Guybrush, or Elaine anyway and would surely help him. And after he explained the situation to them they agreed to go with him remarkably readily. There would be no need for gold teeth extracting, caber tossing and banjo shooting this time it seemed. For once things were going easy for Guybrush.

"We will be getting hazard pay for this right?" inquired Bill as he packed some supplies.

Guybrush blinked in surprise. Perhaps not so easy after all.

"What do you mean?" he questioned".

"Well lad, ye be the husband of a governor and you have access to her fortune and her estate in her absence. Surely, you'll be able to pay us" commented Haggis.

"Yes indeed" agreed VanHelgan. "If we are to risk our lives to help you then surely some sort of compensation is in order".

Guybrush let out a long sigh. Why him? Why always him? What kind of crime had he committed against Mother Nature to warrant this kind of abuse? In the end he had to promise to reward the trio handsomely once their mission was completed and Elaine was saved. So they loaded the ship with the supplies for the remainder of the day, got a good nights sleep and set of the next morning, after Guybrush had put the commander of the fort in charge of the island. As they sailed out of the bay and set the course the map suggested Guybrush wondered what dangers awaited them in the murky waters ahead.

At that moment on Monkey Island two figures were seated comfortably on large thrones, covered with skulls and other ghastly items to gruesome to mention. Behind them was Big Whoop, the volcanic portal to the netherworld that granted immortality by killing its victims and binding their souls to their corpses. The roller coaster ride had been restored and as the two figures sat by, a car full of unsuspecting pirates approached and was plunged into the lava below, emerging at the other side as surprised skeleton 'recruits' for LeChuck's undead army. Previous victims of Big Whoop were gathered around them like some kind of unholy entourage. On the larger throne sat LeChuck, who had been reincarnated and restored to full power. The ice had replaced his flaming beard and hair with cold blue flames, his eyes shone blue and he now possessed the ability to create and manipulate ice with his mind and hands. To his left on a slightly smaller throne sat the hooded figure that had revived him with his dark powers that matched, if not surpassed his own. To his right was a vacant throne the same size as the one to his left. But unlike there's this one had no skulls, was made of pure gold and was very plush. This was the throne he had had made especially for Elaine. As if on cue a small group of skeletons approached, with Elaine ahead of them, one holding her right arm in order to keep her secure. As they stopped before LeChuck she looked up at him with an air of defiance. Ah she was even more beautiful when she was angry thought LeChuck.

"Welcome back my pet" he said gleefully". "I doubt I be needin to tell ye why you're here"

"You're wasting your time LeChuck" she snorted angrily. "I'm already married to Guybrush so you may as well let me go". Unlikely she knew but worth a try.

LeChuck almost recoiled in horror at these words. That was something that his hooded partner had not told him when he had set out to ambush her ship as it returned from some meeting on Booty Island. He had not even mentioned it when he had returned with Elaine in tow and had thrown her in a cell to calm down.

"That won't stop me from marrying ye" countered LeChuck, determined.

"Actually it will" said Elaine, smiling smugly. "Under Caribbean law a person that is already married can't get married again. Why the only way you could marry me would be if I were a…" her eyes grew wide in horror as she realised the awful truth.

"Widow?" enquired the hooded figure in a demonic voice, his red eyes glowing.

Both he and LeChuck began laughing at the idea and at once Elaine saw her opportunity. She was going to put a stop to this once and for all. Twisting violently to her side she broke free of the grip of the undead pirate holding her arm, grabbed his sword and before he could move to stop her she rushed forward. With a howl she raised the sword high above her and brought it down as hard as she could in a deadly arc towards the hooded figures head. The hooded figure made no move to stop her and the sword sailed down and then stopped dead just centimetres from making contact. The blow would surely have split his head like a melon had it connected. Elaine tried to move the sword but it wouldn't budge, something was holding it in place. Her intended victim calmly raised a hand and at his gesture the deadly blade pulled out of her grasp, lifted high into the air and went spiralling down towards the skeleton that had been holding Elaine, decapitating its head with one clean slice. The undead pirate fell to the ground, no more.

"I never accept failure from my followers" the figure said simply.

"How did you do that?" demanded Elaine, incredulously.

"That is nothing compared to my true powers. The power of voodoo magic that I wield with much more ease than you did that clumsy blade" he cackled.

And before she could say another word he lifted the hood up and over his head revealing for the first time a dark and demonic skull burning with mystical voodoo flames. So overwhelming was it that Elaine almost passed out from the sight of it. And considering how many times she'd had to look at LeChuck's ugly face that was saying something. Fortunately however the nightmare was short lived as he replaced the hood, once more obscuring all but the burning red eyes from view, despite the intense flame that surely was still burning inside the hood. Elaine speculated that the hood itself must be magical as well since it showed no sign of catching fire. This creature was truly powerful.

"For you see my dear I am the dark sorcerer DeadBeard and I will kill your husband so that my partner LeChuck may marry you in a legally binding ceremony"

Had it not been for what he had just said Elaine would have laughed hysterically at the stupid name given to such a powerful being. And what he said next made here want to laugh even less.

"Prepare my ship" he ordered the skeletons. "We'll set sail for Plunder Island and destroy this Guybrush Threepwood without delay". He rose and began to walk away but turned to face Elaine first. "Until we meet again Miss Marley he said with feeling, as if to suggest her marriage was as good as over. And without another word he turned and strode away, many of the skeletons following close behind. Elaine knew this was bad. Very bad. If DeadBeard was able to catch the fort off guard he could invade the island and get to Guybrush. And she doubted there was anything the poor fool could do against someone so powerful although she knew he would die trying. That thought alone was enough to bring tears to her eyes, which LeChuck noticed immediately and decided to put right.

"Don't cry my pet" he said warmly, placing his cold hand on her shoulder. "Once Thripweed is out of the way we can get married and you can join my in undeath. You'll forget him in no time"

Elaine's blood boiled in fury and she aimed a solid fist at his head, but he grabbed her wrist before it could connect. Suddenly he reached down and placed his lips over hers, holding her in a freezing kiss. She began to panic as she felt the cold travel through her face and down her body. She was still struggling to free herself as she felt her body go rigid, and just as the numbing cold sensation reached her feet she blacked out all together. LeChuck lifted his lips from Elaine's and scrutinised his soon to be bride. A thin lair of clear ice covered her body, making her resemble an ice sculpture and she still held the same pose, trying to fight off LeChuck's kiss.

"You just need to cool off for a while my pet" LeChuck chuckled. "Eventually you'll come round to my way of thinking. With my new ally not even Guybrush and his unpredictable nature can stop me now".

LeChuck returned to his throne and settled into it. Soon he thought. Soon the whole world would call him master and this time no one could stand in his way. And he laughed a long and evil laugh, leaving Elaine frozen to the spot as another car full of unsuspecting 'recruits' plummeted into the lava below and were transferred into his undead warriors of darkness.

Chapter 2 - The Search for Bounty Island

The Sea Cucumber was four days out of port and heading for Bounty Island, a strong wind speeding up their journey. So far there had been no attacks from monsters, as their course took them around them, or even other pirate ships in these deserted waters but Guybrush was constantly on alert. Despite the warm, clear sky and gentle waters there seemed to be something oppressive in the air and he felt like an attack could come at any moment. Guybrush busied himself with the map and compass, while Haggis took the wheel and Bill and VanHelgan did various other tasks around the ship. At that moment Bill was adjusting the sails and VanHelgan was in the crows nest.

"Course correction!" ordered Guybrush. "Two degrees to port"

"Aye sir" responded Haggis and turned the ship's wheel slightly so they were moving slightly more to port than before.

"By my calculations that should shave three hours off our journey" said Guybrush.

The others seemed pleased by this and Guybrush just hoped they believed him. Although he acted like he was completely in control of the situation in fact he was struggling with the navigation side, although he was too proud to admit it. Instead he decided to fake it and ordered these minor course changes that he had determined would actually have no impact on their journey, neither speeding them up nor slowing them down. Guybrush knew that something was wrong. If this journey were so easy to make then surely more people would have made it to the island. That suggested that the danger lay in the island itself, although the map seemed to disagree and Guybrush didn't feel brave enough to take a different course. Just then the tranquil voyage was interrupted.

"LAND HO" called VanHelgan from the crow's nest.

"WHERE?" called back Guybrush.

"STRAIGHT AHEAD!" replied VanHelgan urgently.

Guybrush ran to the bow of the ship, extended his telescope and peered out ahead of them. Sure enough there was land ahead of them. But it didn't look big enough to be an island. Running back to the map he noticed a system of rapids that ran between two jagged cliffs in a long winding corridor. The cliffs formed a perfect circle around the island and this seemed to be the only way for a boat to pass. On either side of the corridor were pictures of giant sea serpents and other unrecognisable creatures suggesting that scaling the cliffs and passing through that way was inadvisable. They were just going to have to cope. As they drew closer the water around them grew rougher and faster and Guybrush could now make out the details of the cliffs. They were indeed jagged, with a space twice the length on the Sea Cucumber between them. The cliffs themselves stretched in either direction well beyond his field of vision and several smashed wrecks of unwary travellers dotted the passageway at unnerving regular intervals. Guybrush ran back to the wheel and steadied himself, as the passageway grew nearer and nearer by the second. Then with a lurch the Sea Cucumber plunged headfirst into the rapids. For several minutes Guybrush fought with the wheel with everything he had but the ship wasn't designed for these kinds of rapids and he almost lost control. Time and again the ship came perilously close to the sharp cliff sides or the shipwrecks attached to them and by the time the rapids spat them out the other side into calmer seas the sails had been shredded and the hull was leaking in several places. It took almost an hour to plug the leaks and they just managed to keep the ship from sinking. With the ship out of immediate danger the crew went up on deck and scrutinised their surroundings. Ahead of them, drawing slowly closer, was Bounty Island. It was large and covered with thick forests, with a large mountain in the centre. Was it Guybrush's imagination or were all the islands in the Caribbean more or less the same.

"Looks like there's somebody home" said Bill pointing at the island.

Guybrush followed Bill's finger to where it was pointing. Just a little ways up the mountain was some kind of castle, black stone obscuring most of the details from this distance, although there were lights coming from several of the windows. There was no sign of a dock on the island but there was a beach so they dropped anchor and headed out on one of the rowboats. By the time they got to the shore the sun was beginning to go down. The barber trio announced that they would gather some lumber and repair the damage to the ship and without another word headed off.

"Alone again" said Guybrush to himself. "Why do I always end up alone when I need help the most? It's almost like its planned or something"

So it was a rather reluctant Guybrush that traipsed of into the forest not knowing what dangers he was about to face. The forest was thick and he found it difficult to make his way through it without getting tangled or lost. When the sun went down completely and the forest was plunged into eerie darkness the situation only got worse. Guybrush considered going back but since he couldn't tell where 'back' was he decided to press on. There were strange, unearthly sounds all around him and he almost screamed in terror when he saw something rustle a bush in front of him. There seemed to be some kind of creature directly ahead of him, mostly obscured by the bush. Guybrush could swear there was something familiar about it.

"WHO GOES THERE?" boomed the voice.

"Err…I'm Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate" Guybrush said trying to keep his voice from showing fear.

This information seemed to unnerve the unknown being. It took several moments before it spoke again.

"AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" the booming voice demanded.

Guybrush considered his answer carefully. This creature could be some kind of protection for Amanette. He decided to lie.

"I'm selling these fine leather jackets" Guybrush offered innocently.

"What would a powerful demonic force want with such a garment? Now leave this place before I strike you down with my power. Bwahahahahaha.

In an instant Guybrush realised who this being was. Rushing forward he found the bodiless skull, Murray, lying atop a pedestal with a coat around it, simulating a body. Murray looked up at him, looking defeated.

"It was the laugh that gave me away wasn't it?" asked Murray flatly. "Why do I always have to laugh like that?"

"Because it makes you more fearsome?" offered Guybrush kindly.

"Really?" said Murray hopefully. "Then at last I have become omnipotent Bwahahahahahaha"

"That's not the way I would have put it Murray" Guybrush said.

"Oh!" said Murray, dejected. "Well I'm not talking to you anyway. It's your fault I'm stuck on this cursed island" he added in a huff.

"Me?" Guybrush became defensive. "What did I do?"

Murray bristled and wobbled on the pedestal angrily. "It all started when you picked that stupid anchor instead of me" he began. "After you left I was won by some stupid treasure hunters that thought I would bring them good luck or something. But then the ship hit those cliffs in the passageway and sunk". This made him grin evilly. "I ended up washing up on the beach".

This may have explained how he got to Bounty Island but it didn't explain what he was doing on this pedestal. He said as much to Murray.

"Well after a week or so some woman found me. I told her I was an evil demonic skull but she just laughed and said she would put me to good use. So, despite my complaints and efforts to bite her she ended up sticking me on this pedestal as some kind of deterrent to anyone that made it to the island". Murray looked really irritated now. "But apart from you Iv had no chance to terrify anybody".

His sad tale completed he settled down and grumbled to himself. A woman Guybrush thought. That could be Amanette.

"What do you know about this woman?" asked Guybrush curiously.

"Other than the fact I want to take my revenge on her not very much. She kind of looks like LeChuck and she's got some kind of voodoo powers" said Murray.

That pretty much confirmed what Guybrush already suspected, that Amanette had strange powers like her brother. It made sense because it only made Guybrush's job that much harder. That seemed to be the way of things. Guybrush asked Murray where he could find this woman but Murray didn't think the knowledge would help him. It turned out that the woman was holed up in the castle and that to enter you had to say the correct password to a magical door that barred the way. Anyone who said the wrong word was reduced to a pile of ash by powerful voodoo flames.

"It's a shame no one knows the password then" said Guybrush coyly.

"You are wrong mortal fool. I Murray know the password to the door of evil"

Guybrush smirked, his trick successful, and picked Murray up.

"Then you can come with me and open the door for me can't you?" asked Guybrush in triumph.

"Oh…I never thought of that" said Murray, once again sounding defeated.

So once again Guybrush took off, a little more confidently with Murray to guide the way. Apparently Murray could see very well in the dark and more than once he alerted Guybrush of potholes or tree stumps that would have sent him tumbling otherwise. Before long they reached the other side of the forest and found a winding path that led up to the mysterious castle at the base of the mountain. The moon provided surprisingly good amounts of illumination, lighting up the surrounding area and a cold chill had found it's way into the air. A mighty wall that stretched as high as the trees in the forest and connected with the mountain at both ends protected the castle itself. Deadly spikes ran the length of the wall, making scaling it almost impossible. Strange thought Guybrush. Why hadn't he noticed this wall from the ship? The path up to the castle was not steep however and they presently found themselves at an impressive looking steel gate that seemed to be the only way past. Another passageway leading through a deadly barrier. This seemed to be a popular theme on this island. Glancing up Guybrush saw a large stone gargoyle sitting atop the gate. It seemed to be of some kind of horned demon and it didn't look like it had a friendly disposition. Suddenly it looked even less friendly as its eyes began to glow with a fiery golden light and it peered down at them coldly.

"What is you business here human?" it grated evilly.

"I'm here to see the master of this castle" replied Guybrush, deciding to keep as much information over his plans to himself.

The gargoyle raised its stony eyebrow in contemplation then laughed evilly for a moment.

"If you knew the master of this castle you would not wish to see her again" it warned, the she part giving Guybrush more reason to believe he was at the right place. "But if you want to enter then you must give me the password. Be warned though" it said with relish "If the next word out of your mouth is not the correct password then I will turn you into a charcoal briquette"

Unsure of whether it would work or whether he was about to become barbecued pirate, Guybrush held out Murray in his hands, who had been silent until now.

"Well well well, look who's come crawling…no, rolling back" sneered the gargoyle. "Found yourself a pair of legs at last eh Murray? You poor excuse for a skull"

Murray merely grinned up at it "TEDDY BEAR" he retorted.

The gargoyle stared back in horror as the gates began to part, disappearing into the wall. With a roar it tried to send flames from its eyes to consume them but as the gates opened it's magical powers diminished and with a final guttural choke it froze in position and its eyes stopped glowing.

"Teddy bear?" Guybrush asked, bemused.

Murray made a little hop that Guybrush assumed was his way of shrugging.

"Don't ask me, I didn't pick it" he said simply. "I would have chosen something evil like…well…umm…well I would have picked something more demonic anyway"

Now it was Guybrush who shrugged as he strolled through the gate and surveyed their new surroundings. The castle was made of black stone, with large stain-glass windows, containing pictures of skeletons and voodoo fireballs raining down on towns and villages. Guybrush noticed that the people in the pictures all wore expressions of extreme terror. Strange statues of viscous beasts surrounded the castle and a series of steps led up to a huge oak door, bracketed by two marble pillars. Standing in front of each pillar was…Guybrush gasped and quickly ducked behind one of the larger statues of a hydra, a mythical lizard with several heads. Glancing over at the pillars for a moment he was able to confirm what he had seen. Standing there, large as life, was two undead skeletons, deadly blades at the ready, scanning the perimeter. Fortunately it seemed that they had not noticed him.

"Murray" he whispered, turning the skull to face him "Why didn't you tell me LeChuck's forces were already here?"

The skull looked back at him in what could only be described as puzzlement.

"What are you talking about Guybrush?" he asked. "Those are that woman's undead servants. This used to be a smuggler's castle you see and when that woman arrived she used a spell to turn them into undead slaves and took over the island".

The way Murray explained this seemed to suggest that this was common knowledge and that only an idiot would make such a mistake. So she had undead followers as well. It seemed there were a lot of similarities between Amanette and LeChuck.

"You there!" came a booming voice behind. Guybrush spun round and almost dropped Murray. Directly in front of him were four skeletons, donned in tattered rags, pointing their swords menacingly at him. He had not heard their approach.

"Who are you?" demanded one of them.

Guybrush's mind reeled and he couldn't come up with a witty reply so he was honest. "I'm Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate" he said nervously.

The four skeletons almost doubled over in shock and if they had eyes they would have bulged out of their sockets. It seemed they knew who he was. Either that or they were surprised to see Murray again.

"Our mistress will want to see you" it said plainly "follow us".

So with two skeletons in front of him and two behind Guybrush walked up to the large oak doors. The two guards he had originally seen only spared him a passing glance before returning to their task of watching the perimeter. Without a word from anyone the huge doors swung open to admit them and then slammed shut behind them.

"Spooky" said Murray, clearly in his element in this evil place.

The undead servants of Amanette guided them across a large courtyard, laid out with a central fountain and a wide variety of plants and through another set of doors with undead guards by them. Guybrush found himself in a large throne room with another dozen skeletons dotted around the room. Boy did this lady believe in protection. Then he saw her. Sitting atop an overwhelmingly impressive throne, raised several feet above the room was what could only be described as the female version of LeChuck (well, apart from the fact she was attractive that is). She looked down at him imperiously and Guybrush could sense terrible power emanating from her.

"So this is Guybrush Threepwood?" she said, not bothering to hide her disappointment. "If this is the kind of person that can destroy LeChuck then his powers truly were weak"

"Sibling rivalry is such an ugly thing" said Guybrush. "It's a shame you and your brother don't get along Amanette"

The woman's eyes grew wide in shock and she raised her hand to her mouth. That would seem to confirm Guybrush's suspicions that this was LeChuck's sister.

"LEAVE US" she commanded her undead followers.

Without a moment's hesitation the skeletons turned and walked quickly out of the room, the last one closing the door behind it. Once they were gone Amanette stood, raised her arms to her sides and calmly stepped forward, off the throne and into mid-air. Guybrush gasped, expecting her to fall and then gasped again as he watched her slowly float to the ground. She landed softly and rushed up to Guybrush.

"How did you know I was LeChuck's sister?" she asked him urgently. "It was supposed to be a closely guarded secret"

Guybrush shrugged, not seeing a reason to lie. "The voodoo priestess on Plunder Island told me. She said only you knew how to destroy LeChuck for good"

"The voodoo priestess was it? She always had to interfere in matters that don't concern her" she spat venomously. "And yes I do know how to defeat LeChuck although there's a long story behind it"

Guybrush was used to those "That's OK, Iv got the time" he said.

Amanette sighed but gave in. "Well it all started around thirty years ago on a remote Island in the Caribbean" she began. "It seemed that two people fell in love and got married. Both were strong in the ways of voodoo and a year later the woman gave birth to non-identical twins, LeChuck and myself. Unfortunately, unlike other twins we were both born at the same moment and as anyone could guess that caused some messy complications and my mother died shortly afterwards" she paused at this and looked upset for a moment but then continued. "With mother gone, father tried to raise us as best he could but he didn't do a very good job. When LeChuck was old enough he sailed away for Melee Island, where he fell for the local governor and the rest of his tail is history. But I stayed longer and eventually learned how to develop the voodoo powers I inherited from my parents"

"Did LeChuck inherit those powers as well?" cut in Guybrush.

"I was getting to that" she said irritably. "LeChuck did have the same powers as me but he entered Big Whoop before he developed them fully. But the powers he received from that infernal netherworld made up for that"

"Does this story last much longer, my foots gone to sleep" complained Guybrush.

Amanette shot him a piercing glare but carried on. "Eventually I left home to seek out my own destiny and when I did my father gave me a flaming voodoo cannonball which he told me to save for the right moment. He gave one to LeChuck too. So I made my way to this island and found the smuggler's base. Needless to say they weren't too thrilled to see an outsider snooping around and they tried to kill me. So do you know what I did?"

Guybrush considered his response for a moment. "Did you say you were the Avon lady?" he asked.

"No" she scorned. "I combined the voodoo cannonball my father gave me with my own powers and hurled it at them. There was a blinding flash and when I looked up they had been transformed into undead skeletons, willing to obey my every command. I used my powers to form the rapids in the passageway and to create the other creature that protect the island. Since then Iv kept my head down and did everything I could to make sure LeChuck never knew I was still alive. I know his only weakness so its obvious he'd want to get rid of me in order to protect himself"

"He'd kill his own sister?" Guybrush was appalled by the idea.

Amanette shrugged "You said it yourself, sibling rivalry can be an ugly thing"

Now that he knew the background history of LeChuck's family he asked the more pressing question of how to destroy LeChuck once and for all.

"The reason you've never been able to destroy him completely is that you always attack him in a way that will only kill of his most recent incarnation. Eventually, as his powers increase, you will find that there will be no more ways to stop him. At least not a conventional method" she paused, unsure, but Guybrush urged her to continue. "To destroy my brother entirely you must first purge him of the voodoo powers he received from Big Whoop. As long as he has those he is truly invincible"

"How do I do that?" Guybrush asked.

"You must travel to Mystique Island, the voodoo priestess knows where it is. Once there you must enter the Great Voodoo Cave and take from the shrine there the wand of the ancients. The power it contains is powerful enough to counter act any magic spell. If used on LeChuck it will return him to his original form and you will finally be able to kill him"

Guybrush couldn't believe it. After all this time he had finally found a way to defeat his nemesis for good. If Elaine weren't still in danger he would have jumped for joy. Guybrush asked Murray if he wanted to come along for the ride but Murray wasn't so sure. But once Guybrush mentioned that there was still a chance there would be pain and suffering along the way he agreed to go immediately. Guybrush was about to turn and leave when it suddenly hit him. There was no way back through the passageway. They were stuck here. After a brief word with Amanette however the situation was soon resolved. It turned out that Amanette had a powerful spell that could return travellers to their point of origin, in this case right back to the Plunder Island docks. So Amanette escorted them back to the beach, much to the annoyance of the gargoyle at the gate, and shared some brief introductions with the barber trio, saying only that she was a powerful voodoo sorceress. Guybrush, who had promised not to reveal her secret as long as LeChuck lived, said nothing to add to this. Before they headed out in the rowboat however Amanette took Guybrush aside where the others could not here, Murray being held by a rather nervous Haggis.

"There's one more thing you need to know. As you already know the voodoo force is strong in my family. I have it. My brother has it. And my father, he has it most of all. Compared to him, both LeChuck's powers and mine are as nothing"

Guybrush failed to see the relevance. "So…what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying that only my father would have been strong enough to revive LeChuck after his last death. He must be involved in some way and if he is you may need that wand more than ever" she said cryptically.

Guybrush nodded in thanks and stepped into the rowboat, taking Murray from Haggis's grateful hands, who was beginning to tire of the skulls crazed ranting. Within a few minutes they were safely back aboard the Sea Cucumber and from a glance Guybrush could see that the three barber pirates had not been inactive during his absence. The sails had been repaired, as had the damaged portions of the hull still weak after their ordeal in the passageway. However Guybrush never got the chance to make a more thorough inspection of the ship. Glancing back at shore he saw Amanette raise her hands to the sky and began to chant; the sounds not carrying to the ship making it appear as though she was simply mouthing the words. Suddenly the ship began to spin, slowly at first but then faster. And then as it span it began to rise into the air. Guybrush's view of the island was cut off moments later as a glowing green sphere surrounded the spinning ship. Guybrush's head began to spin faster than the ship now was and the last image he saw before blacking out was of the ship being consumed by a blinding white light

Chapter 3 - The Wand of the Ancients

Guybrush woke with a start to the sound of bird song. He rose slowly; his head still throbbed slightly from all that spinning. Standing up and looking over the deck however he became as alert as though someone had splashed cold water on his face. The Sea Cucumber was docked at Plunder Island, at the same spot they had been before they left. Strangely it was now morning when it had been the middle of the night when they had left Bounty Island. Since the spell was supposed to be instantaneous Guybrush assumed they had lain unconscious all night. The others slowly got to their feet as well and looked at their surroundings in surprise. But then surprise turned to concern and concern quickly turned to fear. Guybrush noticed it too. The harbour was a wreck. Impact craters from cannonballs were everywhere and there was a surprising lack of people. Looking over at the other side of the island Guybrush saw that the fort was almost completely destroyed and was surrounded by sunken wrecks from the Plunder Island defence fleet, only a few broken masts and sails remaining above the water. Something terrible had happened here and Guybrush had a feeling he knew what it was. His fears were soon justified when he spoke to the fort commander. It turned out that on the evening of the day they left a giant and mysterious ship sailed into the bay area. It was jet black and glowed with evil energy. It refused to slow or halt its advance when signalled to and the commander of the fort ordered the cannons to be fired. But as the volley of deadly projectiles reached the ship, they just froze in mid-air and then landed with a harmless splash in the ocean. The fort fired again and the ships stationed at the port also joined in the fray, but each time a shot was fired it was simply caught by an invisible force and dropped into the sea. Then the dark ship returned fire and sunk the entire armada within minutes, using super powerful cannonballs. It then turned its attention on the fort and while its cannons smashed it to oblivion a large number of long boats were lowered into the sea. These were filled with undead and once they were ashore they quickly fought their way inland and raided the governors mansion. But just minutes later they left the mansion, fought their way back to the boats and rowed out to the ship, which had finished pulverising the fort by then. When all the undead were aboard the ship turned and sailed away, no one capable of stopping them.

"LeChuck must have thought he could capture me here" Guybrush said to the commander.

"But Captain Threepwood sir" the man interjected "It wasn't LeChuck commanding that undead ship. It was some hooded figure Iv never seen before"

Guybrush tried to remember everything that Amanette had told him and then remembered what she had said about her father. That only he could have raised LeChuck from the dead once more and that he was more powerful than both his children combined. If this truly had been his handiwork then it did not bode well for the future. A person who was that strong would be almost impossible to defeat. Guybrush could only prey that the voodoo priestess knew the answers as she always did. Announcing that he was off to see her the barber pirates told him they would wait at their shop until he was ready to leave again. Murray declined to go with Guybrush as the swamp had bad memories for him. So once again Haggis was left holding the demonic skull while Guybrush took off to see his long-term friend and adviser. The voodoo priestess was sitting in her chair as always but was at entrance level, meaning there was no need to pull the tongue this time. She was sipping some sort of tea from a china cup and politely offered some to Guybrush. Guybrush, who was parched, was about to accept when he saw something small and slimy surface inside her cup, fight desperately to say afloat and then submerge again with a tiny, almost inaudible squeak. Quickly he declined any tea saying that he simply wasn't a big tea drinking person. The formality aside the voodoo priestess got down to the business at hand.

"So what did you find out on Bounty Island?" she asked him.

Guybrush told her of the uneventful voyage there, the passageway, meeting Murray and his encounter with Amanette. He even mentioned the amazing way in which they were returned to Plunder Island so quickly. The voodoo priestess sighed mentally. Why did the boy have to put so much detail into his stories? It only ended up boring his audience to tears. The conversation soon turned however to the subject of the wand of the ancients.

"Yes, Mystique Island, I know where it is" she told him. "It lies beyond the realms of our reality. To enter it you must sail for a day from a port and then chant the sacred incantation passed down from mother to daughter in my family for generations. That will transport you to the island. However there is a risk" she warned.

Wasn't there always thought Guybrush. "What is it?" he asked.

"No one has ever tried to reach Mystique Island before. Even if you make it I have no real information on how to get back. You could end up stuck there forever"

Guybrush put his head in his hand and sighed deeply. If it wasn't one thing it was another but he would do anything that he had to save Elaine. That was the only thing that mattered to him. Going over what he had been told, something suddenly began to nag at his mind.

"Wait a minute" Guybrush said "you just said that that stuff about Mystique Island was a family secret you kept. If that's true then how does Amanette know"

The voodoo priestess looked around uncomfortably, refusing to meet Guybrush's eye. It looked like she was actually upset about something and that was an emotion Guybrush had never seen in her before. Moving closer he placed his hand over hers comfortingly and soothingly asked her to tell her what was wrong.

"The reason that Amanette knows my family's secret is because she's a part of my family, if only a distant part. You see…" she looked up at him sadly "Amanette is my cousin and I told her the secret when we were at voodoo school together".

The gear that represented deductive reasoning in Guybrush's mind, old and rusty from lack of use, turned violently as Guybrush put two and two together and actually got four.

"But if Amanette is your cousin then that means…" his voice trailed off.

"Yes Guybrush" she said glumly "I am LeChuck's cousin as well. The truth is you see that our family has been guilty of many terrible atrocities. Both of my parents and LeChuck's parents were pure evil and all were gifted with amazing voodoo abilities. They later passed these powers onto their children but Amanette and myself were not truly evil. If LeChuck had stayed longer he may have not been evil too but fate led him to Elaine and his love of Elaine warped whatever remained of his soul that was good and turned him into an agent of evil.

"And now his father has returned to revive his son" Guybrush added, in case she was unaware of these facts.

"Yes" she nodded "uncle DeadBeard was always the most powerful member of our family and I suppose he felt responsible for him in some way even though they never really got along". She handed Guybrush another scroll and then regained her composure. "Now go and find the wand" she boomed "and end this cycle of pain we are all trapped in"

And without another word the chair descended from view, perceivably faster than normal. This was all too much to take in. First he had been told that LeChuck had a twin sister, then he had been told that his father was still alive and was helping him and now he had found out that the voodoo priestess, his long standing adviser, was LeChuck's cousin. Unfolding the scroll he was surprised to see a strange poem, with the words 'Sail for a day in any direction and then recite this verse as the sun rises' at the top. So once again he was off. Heading back to Puerto Pullo he told his crew of their new mission to head of to Mystique Island and retrieve the wand. The barber trio was sceptical at first but soon came around when Guybrush promised them a hefty bonus on top of what they were already getting. Murray on the other hand was very enthusiastic about going, saying that any place full of evil voodoo magic was the place for him. The fort commander was busily organising the rebuilding of the fort and once again Guybrush put him in charge. He merely nodded in agreement but pointed out that they would have no way to repel any serious attack for a while, since they only had two working cannons for the moment. An hour later, as the town clock struck noon, the Sea Cucumber pulled out of port and sailed due north, seeing as how one direction was no more or less preferable to reaching their destination. As they sailed away, the barber pirates singing and Murray laughing maniacally, Guybrush shut himself up in his cabin and tried to learn the strange verse on the scroll of by heart. Apparently it would only work at sunrise and he was running out of time.

Time was also running out for Elaine back on Monkey Island. After she had thawed out she had been rudely escorted back to her cell by undead. Hours later she was finally able to pick the lock on her cell door and escape. But she had not gone two hundred yards when a strange tingling sensation crept over her body and she suddenly found herself floating helplessly above the ground. Twisting round she saw the hooded figure standing at the end of the corridor, a glowing hand stretched out towards her.

"You won't keep me prisoner forever you know!" she yelled determinedly.

"No" he said dryly "you are indeed a formidable adversary. But soon my child you will no longer wish to run…or fight us either for that matter. Soon the power of Big Whoop will allow you to join us in undeath and when that happens your evil side will be set free and your good side will be destroyed forever"

Elaine tried to struggle but it was no use. This mysterious figure, who Elaine did not know was LeChuck's father held her in mid-air with no effort at all. Calmly he turned and made his way back to the throne room, Elaine floating a short distance behind him, wild fists punching at the air in a vain attempt to free herself. LeChuck looked up at her curiously as DeadBeard passed between his hordes of undead followers, Elaine following just behind.

"Tried to escape again?" LeChuck inquired, bemused. "You have an amazing knack for getting out of a predicament my dear but it won't help you this time"

Elaine looked down at him smugly and LeChuck prepared for her counter.

"You can't find him can you?" she asked happily.

LeChuck's smile dropped for a moment but he was able to compose himself again and he looked to DeadBeard expectantly. DeadBeard turned to face her.

"Not yet but we will" he said coldly. "Iv scoured Plunder, Melee, Scabb, Booty, Phatt, Blood, Hook, Skull and even Dinky Island and he hasn't turned up in any of them. With so few potential islands left to search it's only a matter of time before he turns up somewhere. And when he does…" he pulled something from his long sleeve "We'll be able to put this to some good use"

Elaine gasped as she took in the object he held in his hand. It was a golden wedding band with a black gemstone set into it. But the gold band burned lightly with voodoo flames and the gem glowed eerily under it's own power. Sensing the question on the tip of Elaine's tongue he explained.

"This ring could best be described as the portable version of Big Whoop as it turns it's wearer into a member of the undead. But it's only good for one use and will only work on single, divorced or widowed women. It has no power over those who are already married" said DeadBeard.

By way of demonstration he thrust the ring upwards and onto Elaine's finger before she could move to stop him. As the ring slipped on the flames seemed to react as though they were aware of her. They licked and curled around her finger for several seconds and then, apparently unsatisfied with what they found there, returned to their previous position on the ring. An instant later the ring loosened and fell from her finger, into DeadBeard's expectant hand. Glancing at her hand curiously Elaine noticed that the flames had not burned her in any way and she had felt no pain. Then her eyes focused on the diamond ring of Blood Island; the one Guybrush had used to save her from the curse he put her under in the first place, albeit accidentally. Even in the dim light on this place it seemed to sparkle beautifully. Suddenly DeadBeard allowed her to float to the ground and she landed unsteadily and tottered slightly. Glancing round at DeadBeard she saw that the man had in fact not meant to let her down but apparently had lost the ability to keep her in mid-air. He actually looked tired through the lairs of robes that hid him and even his glowing eyes had lost some of their shine. In a weakened voice he declared he was going to go and rest before he set out again and with that he turned and walked slowly away. Elaine refocused her attention on LeChuck, who had been entertaining himself by forming icicles on the arm of his throne with his finger.

"You know I'll never marry you LeChuck" she said calmly, trying to engage him in some real conversation "I love Guybrush and he's going to do whatever he has to too stop you. Nothing you do will ever change the way I feel about you"

LeChuck said nothing but Elaine had to try to get through to him.

"You condemned yourself to undeath because of your obsession with me buts it not too late for you to start over" she urged "Don't let your hate destroy you"

This was too much for LeChuck to bear. Raising his hands into balled fists he sent waves of ice flying through the air that engulfed Elaine. When he lowered his hands again she was encased within a solid block of ice, that melted more slowly than normal ice. She wouldn't thaw out for about ten hours, which would give him some time to cool down (figuratively speaking of coarse) and prepare for their next meeting. Hopefully he would have received news of Guybrush's death by then and they could proceed with the plan. He had been a little worried when his father had had to go and rest and Elaine's words had only served to infuriate him. But there was no real cause for concern. DeadBeard would regain his strength and Elaine would still become his undead bride, despite her short-sighted appraisal of the situation. As some of his undead pirates pushed the block of ice back to Elaine's cell LeChuck tried to laugh evilly, as was his style. But in spite of himself the laughter wouldn't come. He was still convinced that his plan would succeed but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be the most glorious victory.

The next morning, just before dawn, the Sea Cucumber crew stumbled out of bed and assembled on deck with Guybrush, who had been up all night learning the sacred verse that opened the way to Mystique Island. The barber trio grumbled irritably about needing more beauty sleep and Murray still donned a night-cap. With great pomp and dramatic flare Guybrush unrolled the scroll and held it out before them. For several minutes they stood in near total darkness, hardly daring to breathe. Then, on the horizon, the sun appeared and slowly rose into the sky. At the exact moment that dawn began to break Guybrush began to chant in a sing song voice:

When first the sun lifts to the sky

In ancient glory my oh my

We pray that the ancients will here our prayer

And open a doorway just over there

A big one, a small one, it matters not

As long as it's not filled with monkey snot

We hope that you'll send us off on our way

Not sometime next week, but right here TODAY!!!

The last word he almost yelled as the scroll instructed him to do. For several moments nothing happened and Guybrush began to fidget uncomfortably, fearing he had made some mistake and had acted like a fool for nothing. But then as the sun continued to rise in the distance they heard a soft rumbling sound. Peering out into the distance they saw a wall of fog heading towards them at breakneck speeds. Desperately they tried to turn the ship away from it but it was no use. The fog enveloped the Sea Cucumber and blocked out their view entirely. Feeling around blindly for the ships wheel Guybrush suddenly felt the ship lurch forward, despite the fact that the anchor had been lowered prior to the little ceremony. The ship was definitely moving forward now and Guybrush thought he knew where it was heading. Just ahead of them, through the fog, he could see a strange light fighting to break through the fog and barely succeeding. As they drew closer he saw the amazing source of the light in all its wonder. A strange tunnel of energy had formed in the sea. It glowed with mystical energy and wrapped the water around it in the same way a tornado did, picking it up at one end and throwing it out at the other, except that this tunnel was horizontal and not vertical. Peering through the tunnel Guybrush saw a mysterious island surrounded by a clear sky. Strangely, when he looked around the tunnel all he could see was more fog. He didn't have long to marvel at this however as the ship surged through the tunnel at almost unnatural speeds and was deposited on the other side without ceremony. Looking back Guybrush was just in time to see the tunnel collapse in on itself and disappear entirely. Instead of the fog the Sea Cucumber now sat in a clear, calm sea with Mystique Island sitting of their port side. Although there was no real way to tell, apparently they were now in another plain of existence, with this island as the only landmass. The island wasn't so much an island but rather one huge mountain with a few trees and a man made wharf at the base. A long winding path led up from the wharf to the very top of the mountain, where a deep cave led inside to where the wand was supposedly stored. Even from this distance they could all the oppressive energy that was being radiated by the island. Seeing the risks involved with entering the mountain Guybrush decided he should go alone. Unsurprisingly the barber pirates weren't exactly going to argue over the point and actually seemed relieved that they were being left behind. Murray on the other hand was not feeling co-operative.

"I'm going with you Guybrush" he insisted.

"But it's dangerous Murray. Who knows what dangers are waiting?" he warned.

"I know all to well about dangers" said Murray. "I am Murray and I am an unstoppable demonic force. Bwahahahaha"

"Uh-huh" said Guybrush flatly, picking Murray up from the little stool he sat upon.

"Oh alright" he said exasperated "I just don't want to see anything happen to you when I can do something to help out"

Guybrush asked if this meant that Murray actually cared about him but the skull merely stared back at him. If he did it appeared as though he wasn't going to spoil his demonic image by admitting it. Either way Guybrush got into the rowboat with him and was soon on his way to the island. Getting to the wharf was easy enough but the trek up the mountain was a long and hard one. The path itself was quite narrow with deadly drops to either side. By the time Guybrush finally managed to reach the mouth of the cave he was exhausted and suffering from acute vertigo. Murray, who had been tucked into Guybrush's pocket for safekeeping pointed out that Guybrush could use some more exercise. Guybrush considered drop kicking Murray into the ocean below, but that didn't work back at LeChuck's ghost ship, and he didn't suppose it would work now. Instead he descended into the dark cave, using Murray's good eyesight as a lantern. They made their way down a long tunnel, which seemed to go on for a long way. Eventually they entered into a large circular chamber with six different corridors connecting to it. The one they had came through made seven and Guybrush couldn't see any distinguishing marks to tell them apart. Then he saw a packet of matches, a large container of lantern oil and a lantern. Picking them up he filled the lantern with oil and lit it with one of the matches. He pocketed the remaining oil and matches and sighed in relief as the room filled with a warm glow.

"Hey Guybrush look at this" said Murray, looking down at the floor.

Looking down at where Murray was indicating Guybrush was amazed to see a diagram sketched out on the floor. It took up the entire cavern and seemed to be a map of the tunnels. There was a 'you are here' symbol at one end of the room and a red line led marked a route through the tunnels to a large circle that probably represented a cavern of some sort. Worryingly many of the tunnels seemed to lead of to dead ends or various traps. Whoever drew this diagram certainly put a lot of effort into it. Taking our a piece of paper and a pen Guybrush made the crudest possible copy of the diagram, only marking the important details to conserve room on the tiny piece of paper. By the time he was done, the piece of paper was covered with a chaotic jumble of lines and symbols, but Guybrush understood it (at least as much as he understands anything), and they were soon making their way through the tunnels, heading down one identical tunnel after another. Each tunnel led to another circular cavern and each cavern had seven tunnels leading off them. Without his map there was no way Guybrush would ever have found his way, as there were absolutely no markings of any kind that highlighted one tunnel over another. Eventually, though, they reached the end of the tunnels and came out into an overwhelmingly huge cavern. The roof spiralled upwards for what could have been hundreds of feet and the walls stretched beyond the view from the lantern. In the centre of the room was a strange marble and gold shrine, raised above the room, with a long and narrow bridge leading from it to the tunnel entrance. Crossing the bridge Guybrush peered down and saw that the floor was over twenty feet away and was completely covered by natural formations of crystal. Reaching the shrine Guybrush found a solid gold altar with a velvet pillow lying on top of it. Resting on the pillow was the one thing strong enough to destroy LeChuck and his father for good. It was the wand of the ancients. Guybrush picked it up and held it close to the lantern to get a better look at it. It was a long crystal shaft with an emerald set into the end. It refracted the light from the lantern and a prism of colours ran its full length.

"You know, Murray," Guybrush said as he started back across the bridge, "if this thing can reverse all magical spells, then maybe it can undo the effects that Big Whoop had on you and make you human again."

"Really?" asked Murray excitedly. "Can we try it now?"

"Not right now Murray. I have to save it for defeating LeChuck. After that we'll talk," said Guybrush.

"Drat!" Murray hopped around irritably for a moment but soon clamed down.

They were half way across the bridge when Murray suddenly noticed something was peculiar. Guybrush noticed it a moment later. It seemed that the room was a little too well lit with only their little lantern providing illumination. Peering down Guybrush was shocked to see that the crystal formations on the floor had begun to glow brightly, lighting up the whole cavern. Knowing a booby trap when he saw one he took off into a run, but, before he could get to the tunnel, entrance something large dropped from the ceiling and blocked his way. It was over eight feet tall, made of solid rock, and roughly resembled a penguin. Blood red rubies adorned its eye sockets, and it looked down at them menacingly.

"YOU HAVE TOUCHED THE FORBIDDEN TREASURE! NOW YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY!" it boomed furiously.

"Cool, an evil demonic force," said Murray excitedly.

Guybrush told Murray to shush and then looked up at the large creature nervously.

"So," he ventured, "what's a bird like you doing in a place like this?"

The stone penguin aimed its powerful beak at Guybrush and landed it just inches in front of him before retracting it again. That must have been the warning shot.

"Don't get cute with me little man," it grated "If you ever wish to return to your own reality you must first answer me a riddle. A riddle thought up by the ancient ones millennia ago, which no man or woman can answer."

Guybrush shrugged and told it to go ahead and ask it's silly riddle so they could get out of there.

The penguin's eyes lit up with evil delight "If a tree falls in the wood and there's no one around to hear it what colour is…"

"All colours," butted in Guybrush and Murray together. It seemed Murray had heard it as well.

The penguin roared in fury, shaking the cavern and loosening some rocks, but then it turned and aimed one of its flippers into the distance. It glowed for a moment.

"There," it said huffily "I have re-opened the doorway to your realm. I see that humans have made some advancements since I was placed here to guard the wand. That used to be considered to be impossible to solve except to those told the answer by the ancients." It muttered angrily to itself about being behind the times on this worthless island but then shot a piercing gaze at Guybrush. "Even though your comrades may escape from this place you will never leave here alive."

And without another word it lunged towards them and sent its beak plummeting down, aiming right for Guybrush's head. Guybrush screamed, closed his eyes and held his hand out before him in a vain effort to protect him. Minutes passed uneventfully, and eventually Guybrush plucked up the courage to open his eyes. Mere inches from his outstretched hand, which still held the crystal wand, was the penguin, its powerful beak curved towards him in a deadly arc that would have surely crushed him if it had connected. Experimentally Guybrush reached out his hand and tapped the penguin. Almost at once it crumbled into dust and reduced Guybrush to a coughing fit as he was covered by it. He even had to shake dust out of Murray's eye sockets so he could see again. Once again Guybrush examined the wand of the ancients in his hands. The gem sparkled softly and Guybrush knew at once that this truly could dispel any magical force. Just then he noticed that it was getting a little too warm and he could smell a hint of sulphur in the air. Peering over the side of the bridge he saw, to his horror, that the glowing crystal formations were beginning to melt into molten lava that was quickly rising. It would reach the bridge's level in minutes so Guybrush held out the wand and concentrated. Nothing happened and the lava continued to rise. Either Guybrush was using it incorrectly or this lava wasn't magical. Perhaps instead the crystals had been placed there to stop a volcanic eruption but when Guybrush used the wand, the magical force that did this was undone and the lava was free to flow. Either way Guybrush knew it was time to leave. Pocketing the wand and Murray he ran across the bridge and into the tunnel. Seconds later the lava rose high enough to swallow up the bridge and the shrine and a large rock fell from the ceiling, sending a large wave of lava into the tunnel as well. As Guybrush entered the first circular cavern on the route back he scanned the map to try to find the right way to go. Just then the cavern shook and he dropped the map and the lantern. Before he could retrieve them he saw the lava approaching from the tunnel and took off down another. There was almost no light now so he used Murray to guide him and tried to get back to the main entrance by memory alone. For several minutes he ran blindly along the network of tunnels, picking one random corridor after another, constantly feeling the heat of the lava at his back. If he picked the wrong path even once, he would be toast, and Elaine would be doomed. But, by some miracle, he soon found himself back in the diagram room and he ran up the long corridor at a furious pace. The lava was mere seconds behind him and began to follow him up towards the light of the sun. Just as Guybrush reached the mouth of the cave, however, the mountain shook again and a huge cave-in buried the tunnel with rubble, blocking the lava's way.

"Safe," sighed Guybrush.

"Er…not quite," replied Murray, looking back.

Looking back Guybrush saw the rubble begin to melt under the heat from the lava. They had mere minutes to get out of there. Guybrush took off at an insane speed down the treacherous path and dived into the rowboat. So fast did he row that the oars looked like propellers and Murray yelled stroke, stroke, stroke as way of encouragement. Haggis helped haul him onto the ship and seconds later a huge volcanic eruption smashed through the peak of the mountain, poured lava over the entire island and with a terrible shrieking sound the island collapsed into the sea. Plumes of smoke and steam rose from the bubbling water and Mystique Island was gone forever. Guybrush noticed that the spiralling tunnel had indeed reappeared but it was slowly shrinking in on itself so they he sailed the Sea Cucumber back through it and reached the other side just before it closed completely. They were back in their own reality, surrounded by the same fog as before. Presently however the sun began to shine through the fog, and after only a few minutes the fog had dissipated completely.

"Did you get what you wanted lad?" asked Haggis curiously.

In response to this Guybrush held out the wand of the ancients and showed it to the others. He received various amazed murmurs and then hearty congratulations from the barber pirates and then Haggis asked:

"Where to now, Captain Threepwood?"

Guybrush took the wheel and struck a commanding pose. "On to Monkey Island and LeChuck," he said dramatically, pointing his finger to the horizon.

"Err…but how do you get to Monkey Island?" the barber trio and Murray asked in unison.

Guybrush dropped his pose and sighed. It had been a long time since he had been to Monkey Island on purpose and he wasn't quite sure of the route that you were supposed to take to get there. Then he remembered. Running back to his cabin he found what he was looking for and returned holding his travelling case. Opening it he sifted through the various trinkets and paraphernalia he had acquired in his pervious adventures, seemingly looking for something. The others noticed what looked like a sheet of dancing lessons; the lyrics to 'Dem Bones' on some spit covered paper, some minutes, various memos and pamphlets, some bottles of root beer and the four pieces of the map to Big Whoop, which were inside a small picture frame. There was various other junk but finally Guybrush found what he was looking for. It was an old and dusty piece of paper with a bizarre recipe on it; most of the ingredients seemed to be of the inedible type.

"I'll be in the galley if you need me," Guybrush said heading for the door and then said quietly to himself. "It's just as well I had the foresight to pack away all the stuff for this spell six months ago, otherwise we'd really be in trouble"

"Yes but…" interjected VanHelgan, but it was too late. Guybrush was gone "He doesn't expect us to eat that slop, does he?" he asked, horrified.

The others merely shrugged, or hopped in Murray's case. Life as it turned out was never, and I mean never, easy. And, just over an hour later, a strange cloud of gas poured out of the galley and covered the deck, sending them all into a deep sleep. With the entire crew flat out, the ship's wheel turned under its own power and steered the ship towards the mysterious waters of Monkey Island.

Chapter 4 - Reunion's for All

Many hours, or possibly days, weeks or potentially years later, Guybrush awoke on the galley with a splitting headache and cramp down his left side, which he had been lying on the whole time. The huge ships cooking pot full of the various ingredients used in the spell had been reduced to a vile and congealed slush but Guybrush assumed that it had served his purpose. Going up onto the deck he saw the familiar sight of Monkey Island lying on their port sides. The barber pirates were rubbing their eyes groggily as they slowly woke up from their magically induced sleep. They looked at Monkey Island with unhidden astonishment. The island was more or less identical to the way it looked the last time he had been here, with the Carnival of the Damned sitting on the far side, and eerie carnival type music drifting through the wind. A noticeable difference, however, was that now there was a dock at the beach with every available space taken up by ships. There were also a number of ships moored around the island at various places, of both pirate and civilian type. It seemed that people were unconvinced by what Guybrush and Elaine had told them about the evils of Big Whoop, and so they still came and fell victim to it. The most striking was a jet-black galleon, of immense proportions sitting just off the carnival. The sails were tattered, and, from what the fort commander of Plunder Island had told him, Guybrush suspected this was the same ship that had attacked Plunder Island. As the Sea Cucumber drew closer, Guybrush noticed patrols of undead skeletons roaming the beach and carnival area so Guybrush decided to play it safe and head in alone. Once again Murray insisted on going along and once again they set off in the rowboat. With all the patrols around they had to take a wide course around the island and brought their boat in just behind the old cannibal's village. The village was deserted and had been mostly trashed by LeChuck's forces, but Guybrush did find a Lemonhead mask, a cutlass and a banana which he pocketed, hoping they would come in useful. Heading away from the village he made his way to the carnival, where he expected to find LeChuck, but on the way a patrol appeared just ahead of them. Guybrush ducked behind a tree just in time to avoid being seen, but the patrol was drawing closer by the second. There was a rustling sound behind him, and, glancing round, Guybrush was amazed to see the same three-headed monkey he had seen on his original trip to this island. Suddenly he was hit with a crazy idea.

"Would you like to earn yourself a banana?" he asked sceptically.

"I'm listening," said the head on the left in a high pitched voice.

"I might be," said the centre head in an ordinary voice.

"No, I'm not," said the right head in a deep voice.

Guybrush was both shocked and confused by this. One, this monkey could talk, and two, it couldn't seem to agree on things.

"If I give you this banana will you run out in front of that patrol of undead and lead them away from here?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes," said the left head.

"Maybe," said the middle head.

"No!" exclaimed the right head.

Guybrush had no way of knowing how well this conversation was going at all. One head agreed with him, one was unsure and one disagreed with him. It would all depend on which head had control of the body, assuming only one did. Tentatively he held out the banana and the monkey snatched it up and each head took a bite out of it before the right head ate the skin as well. For several moments the heads argued in monkey talk about something, but then they ran out in the open, jumped and waved for a few seconds, and then took off into the jungle. Guybrush ducked down low and watched as almost a dozen skeletons ran past his position and headed after it.

"Stop, you filthy creature!" ordered one as they ran after it.

From somewhere ahead of them the monkey called back.

"I will in a moment," reassured a high pitched voice.

"I'll think about it," said an ordinary voice.

"Like hell," sneered a deep voice.

Guybrush waited for a few minutes, until he was sure they were gone and then came out from hiding.

"Hey Murray," said Guybrush "Why didn't you ask that three-headed monkey to join with your demonic power to take over the world?"

"Are you kidding?" asked Murray "That was just some mutant monkey, there's nothing magical or demonic about it."

Guybrush hadn't considered that. Turning around he suddenly found himself staring at a gun's barrel. Holding the gun was a short little pirate with flaming red hair (literally), and a monocle over a glowing red eye. He was dressed in black and looked really dangerous despite his size. Guybrush gasped as he recognised his old friend.

"Wally!" he exclaimed "Don't you recognise me, it's Guybrush Threepwood."

"I recognise you all right, Mr Brush," he grated demonically. "You left me to rot in that mountain roller coaster ride. After you left, that DeadBeard guy threw me into Big Whoop and turned me into this." Wally ran a hand loosely over his body to emphasise his point. "But at last I was put in charge of an island patrol group, and now I'm going to get my revenge on you for all you've done."

Sensing an attack, Guybrush leapt to one side as Wally fired, just avoiding the bullet and landing in an awkward shoulder roll on the soft ground. Tossing the gun aside Wally produced a deadly looking blade from the holder at his side and advanced towards Guybrush slowly, an evil smile on his lips. In a flash Guybrush whipped out the wand, aimed it at Wally and willed it to work. Almost instantly the emerald glowed brightly and sent a beam of white light straight into Wally's chest. The little undead pirate stopped dead in his tracks and was held still by the light for several seconds. The light became too bright to look at, however, and Guybrush had to shield his eyes to protect them. When the light faded and the beam cut out, he looked up again and saw that Wally was slumped out on the floor, unconscious. His hair and eye had been returned to their natural state, but it seemed to Guybrush that the wand had killed him in the process of cancelling out the effects of Big Whoop. Fortunately, the little guy soon began to stir, and his eyes opened slowly as he sat up.

"Wally, you're all right," said Guybrush in relief.

"Mr Brush…is…is that you?" he asked, still a little out of it.

Guybrush helped Wally to his feet and asked him what the last thing he remembered was.

"Well," Wally said. "This hooded guy with glowing eyes found me hanging from that wall in the mountain, just days after I last saw you. I was really dehydrated by then, but he said something about putting me to good use before taking me to this big lava pit and throwing me into it. After that I don't remember anything until I woke up here. How did I survive that, by the way?" he asked, puzzled.

Briefly Guybrush explained the powers of Big Whoop, and that Wally had been the undead servant of DeadBeard for just over a year. Wally was shocked at how much time he had missed and Guybrush sincerely apologised for forgetting to come back for him. Wally, with his kind heart, soon forgave him, and asked to hear what had been happening to Guybrush while he had been 'away.' Guybrush told him about marrying Elaine, his life at Plunder Island, and finished by giving him a brief summary of his latest adventure, including his trip to Bounty and Mystique Island. But he left out the details of Amanette's and the voodoo priestess's relationship to LeChuck, since he had promised to keep those facts to himself in order to protect them. Wally listened with interest and congratulated him on marrying Elaine, but he soon became worried about their location and asked if could get out of there. Guybrush told him to find the rowboat next to the abandoned cannibal village and sail out to the Sea Cucumber, where his friends would look after him until his mission was over.

"Aren't you coming with me?" asked Wally urgently.

"No, Wally," said Guybrush calmly. "I've got a date with destiny."

Wally wished Guybrush good luck and then took off through the woods in the direction Guybrush had indicated. So now he had positive proof that the wand could even cancel out the demonic powers of Big Whoop and restore people back to human form. He headed on through the woods, having to avoid three more patrols with a combination of rock and voice throwing (which he had learned the year before) to send them in the wrong direction. Eventually, he reached the end of the woods, and just ahead of him was the main entrance to the Carnival. There was a path leading to and from the docks, and many groups of people, including families, went back and forth at regular intervals. A man in a Goofy Goat costume collected tickets, while several skeletons stood at either side of the big gates, watching for trouble. None of the people there paid any attention to them, probably thinking they were just security guards in costumes. Guybrush thought he might be able to sneak past them, but then he saw a wanted poster of himself near to where they were standing, offering a million pieces of eight to whomever turned him in. LeChuck obviously was expecting him to show up here sooner or later and had planned ahead. A head, thought Guybrush. Of course. Moments later a man wearing a lemon shaped head mask walked up to gate, gave Goofy Goat his complementary pass, and was waved inside without incident. The guards, who had seen all manner of freaks during this shift alone, didn't give him a second glance. The carnival itself was more or less the same as the last time with the same corny rides and games. Guybrush felt like taking a spin on the Madly Rotating Buccaneer but knew that he really didn't have the time to waste on such things while his wife was still in peril. Besides the queue was really long, and Guybrush always hated waiting in line for anything. A number of costumed entertainers wandered up and down, and most had small bands of children following them around. There was Mighty Moose, Chuckling Cheetah, Funny Frog and Hugging Horse, who were all laughing and playing with the little kids, which seemed a little out of place for a carnival full of undead or soon-to-be undead. Some however, such as Sadistic Shark, Vicious Varmint, and Dwarf Rat, roamed around menacingly, and no one dared to approach them for fear of being trampled under foot.

"Boy, this place brings back some bad memories," whispered Murray.

Ignoring him and removing the Lemonhead mask, Guybrush made his way towards the Monkey Mountain roller coaster rise, where LeChuck would no doubt be. He wanted to warn the small groups heading there about Big Whoop and what it would do to them, but if he did, and assuming he was believed, it would cause a panic and his cover would be blown. He hadn't gone twenty feet, however, when something hard hit him on the back of the head, and he collapsed at the feet of an undead skeleton in a costume who looked down at him in contempt. He called over some of his colleagues and together they dragged Guybrush away, telling anyone who asked that they had found a drunk and were taking him to sleep it off in the cells. No one thought to question this and they looked down at Guybrush disapprovingly before going back to their business. About an hour later Guybrush awoke with a start to find himself inside a large cage, suspended a few feet above the ground by a sturdy looking rope. There were several other cages, but their occupents were all skeletons, and Guybrush suspected they didn't get put into them looking like that. LeChuck looked at him in open triumph, and with dismay Guybrush noticed that all his possessions were lying at the far end of the room, except for the remaining lantern oil in the little container which the undead guards must have missed when they searched him. The room was made of rough stone and Guybrush could only assume they were inside LeChuck's mountain headquarters.

"Ah, so you're awake at last," chuckled LeChuck.

"Where's Elaine?" demanded Guybrush.

"Relax Threepwood," sneered LeChuck. "Elaine is safe and sound and at my side as she was always destined to be. And now I can finish you once and for all. Prepare to meet your maker Threepwood."

And he raised his hand, formed an ice sword in it, and was about to plunge it through Guybrush's heart when Guybrush cried out, "WAIT!" Curiosity overcame him, and he asked what Guybrush wanted.

"Doesn't a condemned man get a last request?" asked Guybrush innocently.

LeChuck sighed and asked him what he wanted. Guybrush said he wanted one last cigarette, and when LeChuck pointed out they were bad for the health, Guybrush merely observed that he was about to be killed anyway, so LeChuck gave in and handed him a cigar from his pocket. Guybrush asked when LeChuck started smoking, but LeChuck said he didn't, and that he had got it free with a packet of cereal when he was a child. Guybrush put the cigar in his mouth and then told LeChuck that he wanted to be alone to smoke it, which made LeChuck bristle.

"Very well Threepwood, but I'll be back in a few minutes with my father, DeadBeard, whom you probably know all about by now, to finish you off."

LeChuck turned to leave, but then Guybrush called out to him, saying that he needed a light for the cigar. LeChuck checked his pockets, came up empty and then noticed the matches on the floor and flung them over to him. Then he turned and marched out of the room, laughing as he went. When he was sure he was gone, Guybrush pocketed the cigar (out of habit only), poured lantern oil over the rope and lit it with a match. The rope burned through in seconds and the cage crashed to the floor, causing the metal seams to split and one of the sides to clatter to the floor. Climbing out quickly, he pocketed his cutlass, his remaining matches, the crystal wand which had been overlooked as unimportant, and Murray, who had avoided detection by pretending to be an ordinary skull that Guybrush had picked up in his travels. And, considering the kind of things that Guybrush usually had in his inventory, that wouldn't be too unusual.

"Boy, I'm glad he's gone," said Murray in relief.

"So am I…now let's go find Elaine, and end this once and for all," said Guybrush.

Guybrush headed for the door, peeked out to make sure no one was there, and took off into the vile heart of LeChuck's lair, not knowing what he'd find.

Chapter 5 - The End of a Legend

Almost five minutes later a smug LeChuck led his father through the hellish corridors of his headquarters, undead skeletons leaping aside as they strode past.

"Ye see now that I was right," gloated LeChuck. "Ye spent so much time searching for him when in the end he was the one who came to us."

LeChuck laughed, and DeadBeard let out a low mutter. Ever since his son had come to the throne room and told him of his success, he had been annoyed that he had got to Threepwood first. Just then, however, they reached the holding area, and LeChuck roared in fury as he took in the view of the open cage lying on the floor. Spinning round and heading back out of the room, he cursed himself for falling for Guybrush's tricks yet again. The next time he saw him, he would not bother to engage in idle chit chat; he would rip Threepwood's still beating heart out of his chest and show it to him before he died. Walking up to one of their undead servants, LeChuck ordered search parties to begin searching the mountain for Guybrush, as he wasn't going to try to escape until he had got Elaine back. Within a few minutes, patrols of undead were scouring the corridors and rooms, looking for him, and LeChuck and DeadBeard headed off to await Threepwood's arrival.

Elsewhere in the vast network of tunnels, Guybrush and Murray made their way around with only a vague idea of where they were going. Both had been here before, but neither remembered the layout of the place.

"How did you first become a member of the undead, Murray?" asked Guybrush.

"I was sailing aboard the Floating Scum as a cannon gunner when we heard tale of a fabulous new carnival on Monkey Island," explained Murray somberly. "Our captain decided we needed some R&R, so we set sail, and, even though no one is supposed to know where it was, we arrived less than a week later. The carnival itself was okay, but we wanted some real excitement, and, being tough pirates, we decided to go on the Monkey Mountain roller coaster. Then we got plunged into Big Whoop, turned into skeletons, and told we had a straight choice between serving the zombie pirate LeChuck or being destroyed completely. We all chose to serve and when you a shot that longboat I was in back at Plunder Island, I started my career as an demonic skull."

"I have apologised about that you know," said Guybrush defensively.

Murray said he understood why he did it, although he was still a little annoyed about it. Proceeding down the corridor Guybrush suddenly noticed some movement ahead and ducked into a side room just in time to avoid being seen by over a dozen well-armed skeletons that were heading in the other direction. Guybrush tried to stay as still as he could and thankfully they continued on down the corridor and were soon out of earshot. Searching the room he was now in, Guybrush discovered it was an old storage area full of empty boxes. One box, however, was not quite so empty, and Guybrush pocketed a compass, a family sized bottle of grog, an old Fuzzy Fox costume, and a map of the complex. Opening it, Guybrush discovered that they had made their way from the holding area to the storage area. Running alongside their current location were the undead living quarters, and on the opposite side of that was the throne room and Big Whoop, where Elaine was no doubt being held. There were several others routes to the throne room, but this seemed to be the safest way to go, with no guard posts and fewer patrols. Heading back into the corridor, Guybrush took the route that the map suggested and soon found himself at one end of a very long corridor, with several adjoining corridors leading off to sleeping quarters and recreational facilities, (which the undead didn't really need but used out of habit). At the other end was the command area with the throne room, and, as he headed towards it, it looked like there was nothing to stop him. But then, half way there, he saw a large door to his left with a banner atop it. The banner read UAA: Undead Alcoholic's Anonymous, and, peering inside, he saw there was some kind of lecture going on. Many undead were seated facing a podium at the far side of the room which was occupied by an intellectual looking skeleton with a monocle in one eye socket. There was no way Guybrush could slip past the door before he was seen by the skeleton facing the door. Then he noticed the pile of mugs and barrel of near-grog sitting on a table to the right of the audience, and an idea struck him.

"Murray, create a distraction," said Guybrush, placing the skull on the floor.

"Okay," replied Murray excitedly.

The little skull rolled into the room, hopped up onto a table to the left of the audience and took a deep breath.

"Remember," droned the lecturer, unaware of Murray, "even though you may want to drink very badly, you must remember that you are all undead and as such you have no real need to eat or drink…"

"Bwahahahahahahahah," interrupted Murray, getting the crowds attention. "I am Murray and I have no weaknesses for drink. The demonic powers I possess have made me omnipotent…Bwahahahahahaha."

Murray continued to rant and rave (and laugh), and while the attention was on him, Guybrush rushed into the room, poured the huge bottle of grog into the near-grog barrel, and ran back out again. Under the yells from the crowd to go away and stop bothering them, Murray hopped down from the table and rolled out after him.

"Well!" snorted the lecturer angrily, "I think that little fiasco has got us all a little worked up…why don't we have a little break before we restart."

He indicated the near-grog barrel, and all the skeletons, including the lecturer, grabbed mugs and helped themselves. The effect was almost immediate. As they drank, the effects of the alcohol kicked in, and their reactions began to slow down. Then some went for more and squabbles broke out over hogging all the grog. Arguments soon turned to fights as the barrel was polished off, and before long they were all lying unconscious on the floor, some hiccuping or snoring drunkenly.

"So that's the power of the 'demon drink,'" mused Guybrush.

"A demon…where?" asked Murray excitedly.

Guybrush sighed and told him that it was only a figure of speech, so he shouldn't get his hopes up. Continuing on, Guybrush soon found himself at the other side of the long corridor and a large metal door blocked his way. The door was unlocked, however, but when he opened it and went through he found himself in a large square room with another metal door at the opposite end, this one locked. Looking down at his map Guybrush saw no sign of this room and could only assume that this had been recently added to the place, which made this map obsolete and probably explained why it had been put in storage. The room itself was tiled, and on many of the tiles was a burning candle. The central tile had a large X on it and, looking up, Guybrush saw that the ceiling was covered with spikes, pointing down at him ominously. On the left wall was a list of instructions, which Guybrush read:

TO PASS THROUGH TO THE COMMAND LEVEL YOU MUST ONLY EXTINGUISH THE CORRECT CANDLE BY FOLLOWING THE PATTERN AND STARTING AT THE X - ALL OTHERS WILL RESULT IN UNTIMELY DEATHS (QUITE NASTY ONES AT THAT).

South West West North East East South North West East South West South West South East South West North West West South South West North West South

Walking up to the X and using the compass, Guybrush carefully followed the instructions, having to go back and check several times while using Murray to mark his progress, and eventually found himself in front of a candle near the south west of the room. He wasn't completely sure if he had picked the right one but with a deep breath he blew on the candle and the flame extinguished into a plume of smoke. For about five suspense-filled seconds nothing happened. But then, with a groan and a clank, the lock to the metal door sprung open, and the door opened slightly. Heaving a sigh of relief, Guybrush opened the door the rest of the way and passed through. An instant later there was a snapping sound, and the ceiling of spikes went crashing into the floor, reducing the remaining candles to a pulp.

"Wow," said Guybrush and Murray together. That had been a close one.

Then Guybrush gasped. They were in a truly enormous cavern with Big Whoop at the far end, with the roller coaster track entering at their level and plummeting down to the lava pit, which must have been below them. Just in front of it were three thrones, and one of them was occupied by…ELAINE. Her legs and arms were shackled to the throne by glowing voodoo chains, she was gagged, and she looked more than a little annoyed at her situation. However there was no sign of LeChuck, DeadBeard or any other undead guards, so Guybrush got up out of hiding, ran across the little bridge to the throne area and up to Elaine. She looked at him urgently and she seemed to be trying to say something, but Guybrush had to hurry. Taking out the wand, he aimed it at the chains, and a beam of light fired out and reduced the magical chains to dust. Reaching up he removed the gag, but before he could say anything Elaine butted in.

"IT'S A TRAP!" she yelled.

But it was too late. Glancing round he saw LeChuck and DeadBeard crossing the bridge towards him, several dozen skeletons following them. Before he could move DeadBeard raised his hand and sent him flying through the air into the far wall, the wand falling several feet away. Now LeChuck approached him and formed another ice sword in his hand. Guybrush had to buy some time.

"Aren't you at least going to tell me the secret of Monkey Island?" he asked.

"I've already told ye I don't know what it is," LeChuck stated flatly.

As LeChuck drew even closer, deadly ice blade at the ready, Guybrush tried again.

"Well how about some insult and sword type duelling then?" Guybrush offered.

"Not this time Threepwood," LeChuck said coldly.

With the wand out of reach, LeChuck mere feet away, and no time to draw his own blade, Guybrush braced himself for the end. LeChuck stood over him, aimed the blade downwards and thrust it towards him. But, before it could connect, the mountain shook violently for a moment, causing LeChuck to waver and miss, giving Guybrush the time to leap up and whip out his sword. Guybrush and LeChuck stood a few feet apart, their swords pointing towards each other.

"What was that?" demanded LeChuck.

In answer DeadBeard waved his hands in the air, and a bubble appeared in the middle of the room. Within the bubble was a view of the island from above and to one side. All around the island, the visiting ships were drawing anchor and sailing out of the port as the numerous 'recruits' abandoned the carnival and returned to their respective crafts. Then they saw what they were fleeing from. Just a little further out was a massive armada of ships, flying the colours of nearly every island DeadBeard had attacked while looking for Guybrush, with the exception of Phatt and Plunder, because governor Phatt was lazy and cowardly, and the Plunder Island fleet had been completely destroyed already. The Sea Cucumber had joined up with them, and, all at once, they fired an impressive salvo of cannonballs from their long-range guns. Many hit the Carnival, while some hit the longboats full of undead that were heading towards them, and a few even hit the side of the mountain, causing some milder shaking. To DeadBeard's dismay, he saw that his personal galleon, that was as black as his heart, had been sunk by a volley of root bear soaked cannonballs. It seemed that someone had rallied the troops and taught them to fight the undead, but no one there could imagine who it had been. Their view was cut short, however, as a white ball of energy flew through the bubble and burst it. Everyone swung round and saw a familiar (to most of them) woman standing there.

"Amanette!" exclaimed Guybrush.

"My sister!" exclaimed LeChuck.

"My daughter!" exclaimed DeadBeard.

"Amanette…sister…daughter…what?" said Elaine, confused.

"Hey Guybrush. I thought you would end up needing my help, so I organised a little rescue plan and came to your rescue," she said cheerily.

Several of the undead skeletons rushed her, but she calmly formed another ball of energy in her hand and hurled it at them, reducing them to dust. DeadBeard ordered the rest of the skeletons to help defend the island outside, and they all rushed past Amanette and out of the room without argument. Now there was only five of them; Guybrush and LeChuck, who were still facing each other, Amanette and DeadBeard, who were now facing each other from across the room, and Elaine, who was completely baffled by the entire situation, was left standing on her own. Well, technically Murray was also there, but he didn't really count. For a moment there was stillness, but then the room degenerated into anarchy as Guybrush and LeChuck exchanged sword blows, and Amanette and DeadBeard threw black and white energy balls at each other, dodging the others shots using supernatural speeds to run and dive out of the way. Guybrush thrust and parried with his sword, but without the insults to back him up he wasn't very good at all, and LeChuck soon knocked the sword from his hand, and knocked him onto his back by creating an ice ramp below Guybrush's feet. Before LeChuck could close in on him, though, Elaine came up behind him and tried to wrestle him to the ground. LeChuck merely knocked her sideways, and she fell to the floor and passed out.

"ELAINE!" cried out Guybrush.

Enraged, Guybrush pulled out Murray and hurled him at LeChuck, bouncing him off his head, sending LeChuck reeling back and Murray flying down near the wand, which glowed calmly even in all this chaos.

"Murray! Get the Wand!" Guybrush yelled to the skull.

"Okay!" Murray yelled back.

Seeing a potential threat in the wand, LeChuck turned to go after it, but Guybrush struck out his leg and sent him sprawling to the ground. Murray rolled over to the wand and picked it up in his teeth. As he rolled back towards Guybrush, the battle was heating up between Amanette and DeadBeard. DeadBeard threw a black energy ball at his daughter, and she blocked it with an energy barrier before firing back. Each shot that missed blew chunks out of the walls, and, with the added damage from the armada outside, the mountain was shaking violently under the strain. As LeChuck got back to his feet, Murray reached Guybrush and he scooped him up and aimed the wand at LeChuck. Victory seemed certain, but then the mountain shook with incredible force under a full salvo of cannonballs, and Guybrush lost his concentration. This gave LeChuck the time he needed to slap the wand from his hand, along with Murray who went spiralling over the ledge into Big Whoop, while the wand landed next to the still passed out Elaine. With his only weapon out of reach and Murray gone, Guybrush aimed a strong fist at LeChuck, but it didn't hurt him at all, and he batted Guybrush to the ground with incredible force. Guybrush lay dazed and bruised on the floor as LeChuck advanced, an ice axe gripped tightly in his hands. Raising it high above his head, he grinned down at him in satisfaction.

"Now I end this," said LeChuck.

With a roar he began to swing the axe downwards, but at that moment a beam of white light struck LeChuck in the chest and froze him to the spot. He managed to turn his head slightly and saw, to his horror, Elaine still lying on the ground and aiming the wand at him with all her strength. But then the last of her strength was gone, and as she passed out again, the beam of light petered out with her. But it had been enough. From that brief exposure LeChuck began to glow with amazing white light. The light grew in intensity for several seconds, making Guybrush shield his eyes, but then it faded, and when it did the pirate LeChuck, no longer a ghost, zombie or any kind of demon, slumped to his knees in defeat. The power of Big Whoop had left him and he was now a mere mortal again. But the battle was not over yet. Realising that their energy balls weren't working on each other, father and daughter were grappling with each other, aiming glowing fists and throwing objects at each other with their minds. With two such powerful people fighting, someone like Guybrush could only watch as he cradled Elaine's head in his arms. As the two voodoo wielding figures got even closer to the edge of Big Whoop, however, DeadBeard knocked Amanette back several feet with a punch to the stomach and seizing his chance, used his mind to send the wand up and into his hand. He glanced at LeChuck, still slumped on the floor, dazed and then looked down at it.

"So this is the wand of the ancients. You did well to retrieve it," this he said to Guybrush, and then, looking at Amanette, "Let's see how you compete with me without your powers, my dear daughter."

He raised the wand to point it at her, but at that moment she ran forward and lunged at him. As the beam shot out of the gemstone, their bodies connected and her forward momentum knocked them both over the edge and down into the bubbling lava of Big Whoop, the wand still firing. Lowering Elaine's head gently Guybrush quickly ran over to the edge and peered down at the lava pit. There was no sign of either of them, but then he saw Murray, staring up at him, his teeth gripping an outcropping of rock in a desperate attempt to hold on. Dangling over the edge and reaching out as far as he could Guybrush was able to grab Murray and pull him back up. He looked back down at the lava but there was no sign of activity.

"I'm sorry Murray, I don't think I can make you human now," said Guybrush.

"Well I…" started Murray but he didn't get the chance to finish. From below them there came a deep rumbling sound, and, looking over, Guybrush could see that the lava pit of Big Whoop was hardening as a white glow shone from its centre. The rumbling grew even louder and the mountain shook with amazing force as the wand of the ancients dispelled the power of Big Whoop itself. With a massive explosion, the lava turned into a wall of stream and shot up towards them, knocking Guybrush over before shooting up towards the ceiling and blowing the top of the mountain, sending tons or rock into the air. Guybrush didn't see it, but that rock only just cleared the armada of ships that had begun to land troops on the island and landed all around the island with big splashes. Then all was silent as the glow disappeared, and Big Whoop was reduced to a dead crater, taking DeadBeard and Amanette along with it. A senseless waste of life, thought Guybrush as he turned and headed back to Elaine. But someone was standing in his way.

"Do you think this is over?" asked LeChuck, much less impressive looking in human form than he had been in undeath. He was however, holding Guybrush's sword, his own, being magically produced, had been destroyed by the wand.

"It is over LeChuck," stated Guybrush flatly. "Why can't you admit that you've lost?"

"No!" he rasped back angrily. "Now that I'm mortal again, there can be no reason for Elaine to not love me."

And he lunged at Guybrush, the sword outstretched. But his reactions were slower than before, and Guybrush dodged aside easily and tripped him with his foot. LeChuck fell forward helplessly and landed on the sword, which went straight through his heart and ended his life in one guttural choke. Guybrush looked down at him in only mild shock as a pool of blood seeped out of his body and stained the floor around him. He really hadn't intended for that to happenm but it was probably for the best that LeChuck was dead. At least he died as a human being and not as some undead monster. Who knows, thought Guybrush. Maybe his soul has finally found some peace.

Guybrush ran over to Elaine and said her name gently and rubbed her cheek lightly as he supported her, trying to wake her. Thankfully a few moments later her eyelids fluttered open, and she looked up at him happily, if weakly.

"Is it over?" she asked him hopefully.

"Yes Elaine its over" he told her. "LeChuck is dead for good and Big Whoop has been destroyed."

And with that he bent down and kissed the wife he had not seen in so many weeks. Murray, out of both respect and embarrassment, looked away to give them some privacy. It was not very long before a squad of armed soldiers, from Melee Island burst in, expecting a fight and finding only them. Relieved at not having to fight LeChuck, the troops were happy to assist the two of them back to the Sea Cucumber, while Guybrush briefly explained what had happened. After he had finished, the captain of the squad told Guybrush, who was carrying Elaine in his arms, that the destruction of Big Whoop had collapsed most of the tunnels in the mountain and killed nearly all of the undead. The few that remained had been picked off by the armada's vast supply of soldiers and the Carnival of the Damned now lay in ruins. He also offered his regrets over the loss of Amanette, and explained how she had appeared in a flash before all the islands' governors, and, once she had convinced them all, (except Phatt) to join her in defeating LeChuck, she had teleported the entire armada of ships to Monkey Island. As they reached the rowboat that took them to the Sea Cucumber, Guybrush was only vaguely aware of how badly the island had been damaged. The mountain was smashed open, the carnival was reduced to rubble, and most of the surrounding forest was flattened, as human troops searched for any remaining undead. He was also only vaguely aware of the congratulations he received over the destruction of LeChuck and Big Whoop. There was only one thing he cared about at this moment, and that had to be attended to first. Fortunately the armada had many doctors among it, and Guybrush had one sent for while he put Elaine into his cabin. The doctor arrived presently, and, after fifteen minutes examining Elaine, he came back out of the cabin to speak with Guybrush.

"So, is she going to be alright?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Yes I'd say so," the doctor replied warmly.

"But she fainted, and she was so weak," protested Guybrush.

"Well yes that's common for woman in that condition. You see your wife is…"

And the next words out of his mouth came as suck a shock that Guybrush doubled over and fainted himself, much to the surprise of the barber pirates and Wally, who nearly fainted as well when they heard what he said.

Epilogue:

It was three days later and the armada was sailing away from Monkey Island and heading back to their homeports. It was early evening and Elaine and Guybrush were snuggled up in bed together, Elaine lying in Guybrush's arms and sleeping soundly, a very rich and maternal smile on her lips. Guybrush was not really tired, though, so he gently slipped out of his wife's embrace and quietly left the cabin and walked up on deck, wearing a long blue night robe over his underclothes. As it had transpired, the reason that Elaine had collapsed was because she was two months pregnant and the stress of the situation had been two much for her weakened body to cope with. Thankfully, the doctor had pronounced both her and the baby to be in excellent health, and they had received countless congratulations from everyone they saw, the news apparently spreading very quickly. He looked back at the fading image of Monkey Island on the horizon and sighed contentedly. The island was no longer a cause for any concern, as Big Whoop had been officially been declared dead, and so had LeChuck. In order that no one could resurrect him again, Guybrush had ordered that his body be burned and the ashes be spread on the sea. So that's what was done. His body was burned after a brief ceremony from the armada's only minister and his ashes were scattered in the waters between Monkey and Dinky Islands. No one shed any tears over his death, and now it was finally over. As he looked out at the ocean a bony figure walked up to him and Guybrush turned to see Murray, now a full skeleton after taking the body of a fallen undead follower of LeChuck. He wore a fine suit over his bones and had a pirate hat on his skull.

"How do you feel Murray?" he asked him. "Are you sorry the wand was destroyed before I could restore you?"

Murray shook his head. "Nah…I got what I wanted. We all got our revenge on LeChuck and I got myself a new body. Plus everyone will remember me now."

"Why?" asked Guybrush, amused.

The skull smiled at him. "Because I am Murray the demonic skeleton. And now I truly will be a force to be reckoned with…Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha."

Guybrush laughed but asked him to keep it down as his wife was sleeping and needed her rest in her present condition. Murray apologised sheepishly and bid Guybrush goodnight before heading off to his cabin. Ten minutes later Haggis, whose shift at the wheel had just ended, walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Congratulations lad," he said warmly "How does it feel to be havin a wee one on the way?"

"It feels pretty great Haggis," admitted Guybrush proudly. "I just hope I can be a better parent than DeadBeard was with his kids."

"I know you will lad…you've got a good heart and that's what counts in a father," Haggis reassured him.

"Your probably right Haggis," said Guybrush and after a tired stretch he said, "I'm going for a quick stroll around the deck before I turn in, care to join me, old friend?"

Haggis said he would love to and together they strolled towards the front on the ship as the sun set on the tranquil waters. It seemed to Guybrush that at last his days of pirate adventures were over and that his adventurers as a father were just beginning. And that was a thought that made him very happy indeed.

Not too far away, inside the ruined mountain of Monkey Island, the moon shone through the gaping hole in the mountain onto the cold rock face that had once been a boiling pit of lava. The wind howled eerily through the remaining tunnels, and smoke still rose into the sky from the aftermath of its destruction. Several cracks suddenly ran along the surface of Big Whoop's cold stone surface and with a low yell a fist thrust out of it, followed by the rest of the body of Amanette. The wand of the ancients had taken all of her powers but at least she had managed to survive, unlike her father who had been reduced to a pile of ash by the lava. Or, for that matter, her brother who had no doubt succumbed to the attacks of that Threepwood character. It took her over an hour, but she was eventually able to scramble to the top of the wall that she had fallen from. She looked around and her hopes were confirmed. There on the floor before her was the ring that DeadBeard had intended to use on Elaine Threepwood to turn her into a member of the undead. It still glowed with the same voodoo flames and she was glad that it had fallen out of DeadBeard's pocket while they had been battling. If it had fallen into Big Whoop with them, then it would have lost all its power and all hope would be lost. Snatching it up she placed it over her right wedding finger, and since she was single it reacted immediately. The flames snaked up her finger and liking what they found there grew in size and snaked around her whole body. Suddenly she was seized by a terrible coldness and was consumed by a terrible black light, as the overwhelming pain she was feeling forced her to her knees. When it cleared she rose to her feet and shook the dust off her body. Raising her hand she created voodoo mirror in mid-air and scrutinised her appearance. Her hair now burned warmly, but not hotly, on her scalp, and her eyes had a healthy yellow glow to them. The ring was still on her finger, but the flames had disappeared, their magic power spent, so she took it off and threw it away in disgust. Now she truly felt powerful in a way she never had before. She had been wrong to fight the evil impulses that had plagued her for her entire life. She knew that now. Now she would follow the path that almost every member of her family had taken before her. But, unlike all the others, she would be successful in taking over first the Caribbean, and then the world. Of coarse that didn't mean she would have to do it alone. She turned and raised her hand again, and in a puff of smoke, her undead smuggler followers from Bounty Island appeared before her, and after gazing around them in surprise they came forward and bowed low.

"What do you wish, my queen?" one asked respectfully.

Amanette, the undead sorceress queen of the Caribbean smiled back at them evilly. What do I wish? she thought in wonder, her mind filling with evil images.

But that is another story.

THE END