DISCLAIMER (IN CROATIAN, FOR NO REASON): Ne.

That night was, without a doubt, the blackest which the crew had ever seen. The moon and stars had decided to take the night off, making it all but impossible to steer the ship. They anchored it a short distance from the island and resolved to go ashore in the lifeboat. But first, there was the discussion of their plan. Specifically, the Pirate Captain's plan.

While the Pirate Captain went on and on, emphasizing the importance of their mission and downplaying the possibility of violent death while occasionally throwing in a bit of Shakespeare, Charles kept glancing out at the island. From the light of the ship's lanterns, he could faintly see some of its features. Mainly how it was consumed by a sprawling, tangled wall-like mass of jungle. He suppressed a shudder as he wondered what might be lurking inside. Even now it could be hiding dozens of the Illuminati, watching and mocking their prey.

The Pirate Captain, meanwhile, had finally gotten around to explaining his strategy. "To be brief," he was saying, "we land, sneak about, find their base of operations and give them the Leeroy Jenkins treatment. Any questions?"

"They can probably find their way around this island with their eyes closed," Charles said, taking another worried look at it. "Even if we find where they're hiding, they'd catch us in a - "

He turned back around and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Don't worry, it's us! The pirates!" his friend said from beneath a makeshift Illuminati mask which didn't even cover his beard. "Masters of disguise, remember?"

"Yes..."

He held up another mask. "Made one for you, too."

"Splendid. Just splendid."

How do they even see in these things?

"Hurry up," the Pirate With A Scarf called back.

"I'm trying..."

Charles didn't have the slightest idea of where he was going. The two eyeholes in the mask were barely big enough to look through, and everything seemed black anyway. Plus, simply wearing the thing put him on the verge of a panic attack.

He tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but then seriously considered the option of lying there. Maybe they'll forget about me.

A hand gently grasped his arm and helped him to his feet. "If it makes you feel any better," he heard the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate say, "you look terrible in that."

"Good." He couldn't help but think that the person trapped inside his head wouldn't feel the same.

The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate stooped down to examine the rock. "Captain!" he called after a few seconds.

He came crashing back with the others behind him, waving his sword wildly. "What is it? Where are they?"

"I think we've found them." Snatching the Pirate With A Scarf's lantern, the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate held it down to the rock. A black arrow pointing west was painted on it, along with the eye.

"Clever," the Pirate Captain said admirably. "But not clever enough for us. Come on, lads!" He headed off in the direction of the arrow while the others followed reluctantly, Charles most of all.

Many more of the rocks were found. Some pointed them in the direction they were going, while others indicated a new direction. The pirates dutifully went where they were told, their path twisting and turning and going in more than a few circles.

"Captain," the Pirate With A Scarf finally said, "don't you think it's possible that - "

"Is it sunup already?" asked the Albino Pirate.

"We can't have been walking that long!"

"But it's right there."

They all looked in the direction he was pointing. Just over a cliff up ahead was the glow of flickering lights.

"Doesn't look like any sunup I've ever seen," said the Pirate With Gout.

Mr. Bobo crept to the cliff's edge, then turned back to the others with wide eyes. You. Need. To. See. This.

The others followed him. "Well," said the Pirate Captain when he'd gotten over his shock, "that's a tad anachronistic."

A row of steps led down the cliffside into a large clearing, and in that clearing sat the last thing Charles wanted to see right then.

The pyramid looked exactly as it had in the drawing. Huge and foreboding, it loomed over the surrounding flora. The limestone bricks used to make it were chipped, cracked and quite obviously ancient. The top, however, was capped with a triangle of gold. The eye was etched into it, staring soullessly ahead. Dozens of brightly burning torches lined the steps and created a path to the base of the building. A set of monolithic bronze doors were embedded there, the torchlight giving them a glow which seemed to beckon to the travelers.

Plucking a torch from the ground, the Pirate Captain began to slowly descend the cliffside. "Coast is clear, lads." Indeed, there were no guards to be seen.

Charles fell to the back of the line. Perhaps I can run. Find my way back to the ship and say I got lost. No, they'd never believe that. If I even found the ship. I'd just be killed out there. Then again, I stand a much higher chance of dying in here...oh, what's the point? No one will miss me either way.

He tried to stop, turn around, do anything other than walk forward, but he couldn't even feel his feet. He could only watch helplessly as they moved him along the path and up to the doors. This, he thought, is going to be most unpleasant.

The Pirate Captain approached the doors and cautiously prodded them. To his surprise, they swung open easily. On the other side was a gloomy corridor concealed by shadows. Holding up the torch, the captain led his crew into it. Dust and dirt carpeted the stone floor, and cobwebs were in every corner. It seemed as though the hall had never even been used.

A sickening feeling arose in Charles, and he began pushing his way to the front of the group. "Captain? Captain, I think we should - "

"Not now, Chuck! New developments!"

The hallway abruptly ended at another pair of bronze doors. These also swung open with just a touch, revealing a round, dimly-lit room. The captain was just about to step grandly over the threshold when Charles grabbed his arm. "Captain, don't."

"Why not?"

The man didn't seem to hear him. "Do you have anything we can toss?" he asked.

Rummaging around in his beard, the Pirate Captain eventually pulled out a dead squid. "Don't think I'm using this for anything. Then again - "

Charles snatched it out of his hand. "You might want to step back," he told the others. Holding the squid just over the threshold of the room, he let it drop to the floor.

It was amazing how much happened in one second. The squid landed right where the captain was about to step, a clanking noise came from above, and then a yard-long sword shot from the ceiling and skewered the cephalapod like tissue paper. The shocked pirates watched as the blade ascended out of view, carrying the corpse with it.

"Sweet Neptune," the Pirate Captain squeaked after a long silence. "How on earth did you know about that, Charles?"

"I...I just..."

"Help! It's trying to eat me!"

A large hole in the wall had appeared where the Albino Pirate had been standing. The others watched as he staggered out of it, shivering in fear. "I leaned on it and it tried to eat me!" he was saying.

They peered through the secret door. A spiral stairway led underground, and torches lined its walls.

"See?" said the captain. "Not clever enough."

The passageway seemed to go on forever. The torches had stopped appearing after the first few turns, and the captain's own was growing faint. Soon they would be in complete darkness.

"Where do they live, the center of the earth?" the Pirate Captain asked in frustration.

"It could be another trap," the Pirate With A Scarf said. "We should go back - "

"Do you hear that?" Charles suddenly asked.

"Hear what?"

Charles was already heading swiftly down the stairs, focused on the faint noise. Or rather, the music. The feeling of sickness returned as the sound got clearer; it was the waltz from his dreams, no doubt about it.

He bumped into yet another door. The source of the music was on the other side of it, along with dozens of voices. He felt for a doorknob, but there didn't seem to be one.

"For goodness sakes, Chuck, what's gotten into you?" the Pirate Captain said as he and the rest of the crew stumbled after their friend.

The Pirate With A Scarf pulled him aside. "Captain, there's something I have to tell you..."

There was a tiny hole in the door, Charles noticed. A hole exactly the same size and shape as the ruby on his ring. Checking to see that no one was watching, he took it out and stuck it into the hole with the band facing outwards. He turned it like a key, and the door softly unlocked. "There we go."

Scarf whirled back around with an expression of surprise and anger. "How did - "

Charles had already hidden the ring again. He opened the door, and the pirates found themselves staring into what might as well have been another world.

Before them was a huge, lavish ballroom filled with dozens of people. Some were dancing, some were chatting in corners, some of them had formed a band and were playing the waltz. All were dressed elegantly and wearing the masks.

The Pirate Captain entered first. "Act natural, lads," he told the crew as he strode towards a group of masked figures in dresses. "Evening, mademoiselles." The women looked at him and quickly moved away, shaking their heads.

Meanwhile, Charles had backed into a corner, his head pounding. He looked around. Torches lining the walls were the only source of light, and they cast long, twisted shadows over everything. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, twinkling like stars. A mural was painted on one wall, depicting a barren battlefield with people being killed in numerous gruesome ways. Above it all hung a red banner emblazoned with the one-eyed skull and crossbones, which seemed to watch the proceedings. There was something else he noticed; everyone was wearing a ring just like his.

Slowly, almost subconsciously, he removed the ring, took it off its ribbon and slipped it onto his finger. And once again, it served as a key.

He was scampering around the room, laughing and dancing to the music. The adults all stared down at him with approval. "A fine child," they always said of him. "So young and yet so accomplished. Almost as if he knows he will be chosen..."

His vision, which had grown hazy, cleared. His headache, which had dissipated, returned with a vengeance.

The Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate was at his side. "What's wrong?"

Charles gripped his friend's arm to keep himself upright from the force of this new blow. "I've been here before."

The waltz abruptly stopped, and so did everyone in the room. One of the women the captain had spoken to looked around, raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

And in the blink of an eye, the pirates were surrounded.

Well, that's enough for now. Since summer is coming to an end and I'm going to be in a play, you might not get another update for a while. Just giving you a heads-up.

I must go now. I have three episodes left before I finish the Tennant era of Doctor Who, and then I have to go find a vibranium shield. After the ending of the next chapter, I'll probably be needing it...*evil grin*

~ A. Kingsleigh