(MC and I are walking down a deep dark forest)

Hey everyone.

MC: Okay, now I'm sure you're asking us. Why are we walking in a forest?

Well... let's just say a certain someone got us lost. (Eyes MC)

MC: Okay, so I had the map set upside down..

And look where that got us... but anyways, let's focus on this chapter. Today, it's time for Cubby's story.

MC: I wonder if he'll be able to come up with a good story, one that won't scare himself.

Who knows, and let's find out! MC, care to do the disclaimer this time?

MC: Sure. As always folks, me and Nellie only own our respective OCs. Not the actual characters!

Chapter 5: The map of Captain Jacob

"Okay, uh... my story is called... The Map of Captain Jacob.." Cubby spoke.

And once again, lightning immediately flashes, with even louder thunder than before. Cubby jumped and began to shiver, but nevertheless, continued to tell his story, "Um... once upon a night... there was this pirate crew. There was a captain, his sisters, first mate... and the one with the map."

In the mind of Cubby's story, we see a pirate ship on the seas. We see the captain at the wheel (Played by James), his sisters sitting and relaxing (Played by Amber and Sofia of course), his first mate (Played by Izzy), and... the one with the map (Played by Cubby).

Right now these five kids were sailing across the ocean, off on another fun filled day of adventure... that is, until this happens, "Okay, crew. Hands on deck! Looks like a storm's coming!" James called.

Indeed a storm was coming as dark clouds starts to roll in, immediately, the crew prepared the ship for the storm, which was strong and hazardous. Huge drops of rain fell down hard on the pirate ship, with the waves becoming fierce and dangerous.

As for the crew, they were doing their best to keep the shape steady. But suddenly... they heard evil laughter!

Cubby got startled, as he quickly hid in one of the sheds. As for the other crew members, they heard a most menacing voice, "Foolish pirates, all who enter my domains shall pay the ultimate price."

"You don't scare me, pirate ghost!" James yelled back.

That's when a scary face appeared in the dark clouds, laughing maniacally. "Care to reconsider your comment?!"

Suddenly, a huge wave appeared in front of the ship... something they could not escape. The crew looked on with fear...

"The crew knew they couldn't dodge this big wave, so the captain had only one other option..."

"Abandon ship!" James shouted.

They tried their best to do so, but just as they were... the wave hit, and the impact was proven to be both brutal and deadly...

"But, luckily they all survived, finding themselves on an island... a very cloudy island."

Indeed, the pirate crew were found stranded on a strange, cloudy, and spooky looking island. James stood up and stretched, "Is everyone okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sofia replied.

"I'm not, my dress is all wet." Amber complained.

"I'm okay." Izzy added.

"Me too, and so are the maps!" Cubby responded, holding a crate of treasure maps, and all of the maps were completely soaked. At least they were the only thing that could be saved from the ship.

As for James, he took a look around the island. It looked pretty gloomy, that was for sure. And it looked pretty menacing... and he had a bad feeling about this place, especially with what happened moments ago. Could this be the island he thought it was?

"Crew... I have a feeling that we may be on Captain Jacob's island."

Captain Jacob?

The crewmates were obviously confused, until James decided to tell them, " Captain Jacob was a kid pirate... but he was the most ruthless and cruel kid pirate captain that has ever sailed the seas. He bossed his crewmates around, made them walk the plank, harmed anyone who got in his way, and claimed all the treasure that he found. It's said that his spirit and ghost still haunts this very island..."

The more James told the tale, the more Cubby got severely frightened. As his legs shook uncontrollably with quaking fear. "And I heard that the treasure he long buried... is still on this island... and I wanna find it!"

Sofia quickly spoke up, "Are you sure you wanna do that, James?"

"Sure I'm sure. I'm not scared of some pirate ghost. Besides, think of all the treasure he's hiding."

Cubby was still rather nervous about this.

"The map boy wasn't so sure if this was a good idea. Because if they took his treasure, he might get really mad."

But of course, James, being captain, didn't really care. If there's treasure, he wanted to find it, "So, I say we go and find this treasure before anybody else does. But first, we need the map. Cubby. Map me!"

Cubby went and did his duties as he searched the crate for the right map, but as he did, he noticed something... that was glowing... it was a map. It took it out, and carefully gave it to James, who began to look at it, and smirked, "Yep! This is the right map. Lead the way, Cubby!" He then gave Cubby the map.

"Wait, you want me to lead the way... but..." Cubby was timid again.

"Yeah. You are the map boy. Don't worry, it'll be fun." The captain replied.

Cubby gulped nervously. If by fun, he meant terrifying, then yes. And so the crew ventured into the jungle, with Cubby leading the way, they first found themselves at a canyon, "Okay... so it looks like we're at... Death Canyon."

Izzy immediately spoke up, "So, how are we gonna get across that?"

"Yes. How? I don't want to get my dress dirty." Amber added.

James began to think as he looked around his surroundings. But that's when Cubby saw a rope of vines nearby, and that gave him an idea "Everybody grab a vine."

"And so, map boy's idea had gotten everyone across the canyon in one piece."

Soon they all indeed made it across. "Good thinking, Cubby!" James said.

"Thanks, Captain James."

The pirate crew then continued forth on the quest for the treasure. However, they were unaware of a certain... ghost watching them with a sneer, "That little boy, he'll end up causing me problems. I'll have to fix that."

That's when the crew made it to some sort of valley, "According to my map... this place is... Murderous Valley."

Cubby paled upon the word "Murderous". The valley itself looked very deadly, as if something could just pop out and kill them. James however, wasn't so scared, "Well, we won't get to the treasure standing around here, let's go!"

The crew followed the captain's orders and began to travel through the valley. Well.. almost everyone, cause Cubby was about to do the same. When suddenly, he heard an evil snicker, "Um... who goes there?"

There was even more evil snickers, as a sinister voice spoke to the little boy, "You shouldn't have meddled in someone else's affair. And now you and you alone shall pay."

"What, what do you mean?"

Suddenly, to his complete horror, he was suddenly lifted into the air as the voice laughed, "Prepare to meet your faith!"

*SWISH* *SLASH*

That's when Cubby was swung towards his crewmates, knocking them all down. The voice laughed again, "And it all begins within Murderous Valley."

Whoooooooo...

Ghosts, all looking unholy, screeched at the crewmates, frightening all of them, except for James though, "You ghosts still don't scare me!" With that, he started to charge through the valley, with the others quickly following behind. However Cubby wasn't so lucky as the ghost picked him up, and shot him out of the Valley, and into a bush.

"The ghosts wouldn't leave the crew alone. They knew that this was going to be a long treasure hunt. But the captain still wasn't so frightened."

If only they were aware of the fate the ghosts had planned for one of their mateys, aka Cubby... but the ghosts also had plans for each of the crewmembers as well. The head ghost looked at all of them and smirked, "Next step.. Cause some frustration from within. Turn them all against one another."

The crew began to venture farther into the island, when Cubby looked at his map once again, "Okay... right here is the Kill Devil Hills..."

Oh great... another name referencing the term of death.

As for the hills themselves... they sure did look like they could kill you, especially with those narrowed and crumbled paths for one thing. That's when the ghost began to bother them again, as they began poking the crew, shoving them towards the hills.

"Still don't scare me..." James said.

Rather the ghosts started to annoy James, "Will you guys buzz off? We're trying to find treasure."

One ghost chuckled, "But we're just having some fun is all."

"James! Make them stop!" Amber whimpered.

Another ghost smirked, "Boo!"

This made Amber shriek as she hid behind her brother, "I hate this!"

"Why are you doing this?" Izzy asked.

"For planning to steal our treasure from us."

James frowned, "But you guys are dead. We're gonna find that treasure, and you can't stop us."

Suddenly, SLASH! One ghost slashed through the air, and appeared in front of the crew. He appeared to be the captain, as he wore captain's attire, and was a kid just like them (Played by Jake). But Cubby seemed to recognize him, "It's... it's Captain Jacob..."

Oh no...

Jake smirked as he floated towards the frightened crew (Even James looked a little nervous), wielding his deadly sword. James then drew his own sword, "You still don't scare me, ghost. So leave or fight!"

The ghost raised his sword, preparing to strike, as James blocked his blow. The two then engaged in a deadly sword fight, moving all around Kill Devil Hills.

"The captain fought the evil ghost, and it was a tough battle. Who would win? The outcome will surprise you."

As the battle between captains ensued, Jake began to mock James, "Your moves are pretty stale. You can't keep up with me at all."

"That's what you think!" James shot back. He attempted his signature sword strike down move, but to his shock, it only went through the evil pirate ghost. James had almost forgotten that he was, in fact, a ghost, and now he paled, "Uh oh..."

That's when the ghost struck James in the chest with a beam, sending him to the ground. Before the girls can react, he does the same to them as he laughed evilly, you don't suppose they're..

No... they're not. But they are unconscious as Jake snapped his fingers, putting them all in cages, except for Cubby for some reason. Well, that was mostly because the little boy was hiding.

As for the ghost, they began to carry the cages as their leader spoke to them, "Time to dispose all of you for trying to steal my treasure."

With that, they began to leave. Cubby, hiding behind the bush, peeked to see his crew being taken away by the evil ghost, "Aw coconuts..." He squeaked. What was he suppose to do now? He was only the map boy, and how could a mere map boy save his friends?!

"The map boy felt helpless. His friends were in trouble, but he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, he noticed that his map was glowing again."

Cubby took out the map and looked at it... as it spoke to him. "To save your friends, there is but only one way to do so."

"Really?" He asked, as he stared at the map, "How...?"

"The only way to save your closest friends, is to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"W-What...?"

"Whomever possesses this map, must make the ultimate sacrifice of themselves, only then can they be able to save those he loves most from this wrath."

Cubby had no idea on how he was suppose to make the ultimate sacrifice. But besides the map, the only thing that he has on him.. is himself. That's when he realized what sacrifice he had to make.

"I... have to risk my life to save my friends... that's what I have to do..."

"The map boy realized his only decision, he had to face his fears in order to save his friends... escape the deadly island's paths..."

It was official, the only way to save his friends is to sacrifice his own life in the process. But... he didn't want to die... he just needed to...

"Face your fears..." The map said to him.

It wasn't going to be easy, but he had to suck it up and risk it. The fate of his mateys depends on it. So, he took a deep breath, and began to walk through the island once more. navigating himself through the most treacherous parts of this whole island.

Which included, the Valley of Doom, Deadly Lake, Evil Lanes, and who knows what else. It wasn't easy as said before, but Cubby managed to get through all of them, with a few injuries.

And now he was at the final point of this journey, the place where Captain Jacob resides. It was a deep dark cave, and as soon as Cubby approached it, he heard evil voices inside, "Prepare to join the afterlife."

Uh oh...

Cubby winced when he heard that sentence, but he had to save his friends. So taking a deep breath, he walked into the cave. And what he saw next horrified him... his friends... tied to tables, and the evil ghosts surrounding them about to perform some kind of ghostly ritual. Captain Jake smirked evilly.

"You couldn't bother trying to take my treasure, and now it's going to cost you."

"Please. Is there anyway to spare us?" James asked, "We won't take your treasure."

"It's far too late to turning back and apologizing now. Had you done it earlier, you would not be going through this."

Cubby walked into the room, and quickly hid behind a rock, as he watched the evil pirate captain raise his sword high in the air, "Let the ritual begin. Time for these thieves to become one of us."

The other ghosts laughed like they were drunk as the sword glowed intensively. The crew began to get scared as James tried effortlessly to break free. Cubby watched all of this unfold with growing fear. Part of him wanted to go and save his friends, while another part told him to stay put. But the map said he had to make a sacrifice.

So with a gulp, Cubby stepped out and jumped in between his friends and the ghost, "NO!"

... Just as Captain Jake shot a beam out of his sword, striking down Cubby instead.

"The beam from the sword turned the map boy into a GHOST!"

Cubby groaned, and then screamed as he looked at himself. He was see through, "Aw, coconuts! I'm a GHOST!"

"Well now.. This was quite unexpected." Jake said, but then he quickly chuckled, "Looks like we have at least one new matey to join the afterlife."

"But I don't wanna join the afterlife..." Cubby whimpered, "I'm too young..."

"Any mortal who gets struck by the ghostly beam becomes a ghost permanently, and since you took the shot, your mortal body is gone forever. And there's no cure or spell to change you back."

"But wait! I know we tried to find your treasure... but is there anyway we can share it?"

Captain Jake raised an eyebrow as he glared at the little boy, "What do you mean by.. share?"

"I mean, my friends and I can take half of the treasure, and you can keep half of it. That way, there will be no problems at all. I guess you never shared with anybody before, huh?"

All Captain Jacob did in response was glare angrily at Cubby, "Sorry child, but no deal. I already have what I need, you remain one of us. But I suppose I'll let your friends go."

"But wait! What if we can make an offer?" Cubby asked. "Some sort of offer..."

Jake then seemed interest as he chuckled, "I'm listening."

"The map boy told the ghost that if he could find a most valuable jewel, he'll spare him and his friends."

The Captain thought it over, then smirked. "Very well then."

Cubby smiled a little, "Thanks. I won't let you down... I hope."

"And so, he ran out of the cave, and searched high and low for the jewel. It was a big risk... a lot of obstacles in the way... until... he found it."

Cubby held up a big diamond, that shined bright, "Whoa... I know he'll love this..." With that, he returned to the cave, and presented the diamond to Captain Jake, And surprisingly, the captain took big interest in it. "Well now.. you found something valuable."

Cubby nodded, "Yep. The biggest jewel I could find. I hope you like it."

The captain takes a good look at the diamond, and as he did, he smirked at Cubby, "Alright then, I suppose a deal's a deal."

"Awesome!"

Suddenly, Cubby began to glow brightly. When the glow died down...

"The map boy... was back to normal!"

"You and your friends are free to go."

James, Sofia, Amber, and Izzy are then released as they reunited with Cubby, who turned to Captain Jake, "Thanks, captain. You're not so bad after all."

So with that, the pirate crew proceeded to take their leave. But as they reached the seaside, they realized one sudden problem. Their ship was destroyed, so they're still stranded.

"But how are we suppose to get home?" James asked.

That's when Captain Jake appeared behind them, chuckling evilly...

"Oh that's right, I forgot I wrecked your ship thanks to that storm. So I'm afraid you're all stuck here forever."

The response to that was five little screams of terror, as we go back to the real world, "As for what happens next... I guess you'll have to find that out for yourself..." Cubby concluded.

Everyone was a bit shaken from that story, as Shawn spoke up, "Well.. I have to say Cubby, that was a pretty scary one."

"I knew you could tell a good story, matey." Jake said.

"Thanks, I guess."

Peter then spoke up, "Alright. Who's next?"

Sofia raised her hand, "My turn." She says as she walks up to the fireplace.

"I have a story that's going to be short and sweet, but also very intimidating."

(MC and I are looking at a map, still walking through the dark forest)

I told you we should've taken that left turn at Albuquerque.

MC: Well, what do you suggest we do?!

Uh... stop and ask for directions... (Spots a nearby house) Let's check at that house. Maybe someone can help us.

MC: Okay.. I suppose.

But anyways, we hope you guys enjoyed Cubby's story. Next is Sofia's.

MC: Yep..

So, we'll see you guys, later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you.