As Kit and Molly listened, his heart dropped at hearing that Karnage was such a deceiver and murderer.
"So tell me Karnage, were you the captain of the Hellfire?" Lenny asked, popping the cap off of bottle of beer.
Karnage looked up with a smile on his face. "No, not I," he said, taking the bottle from Lenny. "Klang was captain. I was his combat leader because of my influence over the crew in battle. I was there to see Pastmaster lose his eyes. That was some time we had," Karnage said, raising the bottle high to honor Pastmaster's death.
"Damn right," Mad Dog said. "We were the best there ever was when it came to being pirates."
"Indeed we were," boasted Karnage, as he took a drink from the bottle. "And we got ourselves plenty of gold on those raids. That's how I was able to buy myself that little tavern and wait for the time to find the rest of Klang's treasure." As he took another drink, his nose picked up a familiar scent, one he knew well.
Then Hacksaw, Ratchet, and Gibber came into the kitchen, and took seats next to the apple barrel were Kit and Molly were hiding.
"What I want to know is," asked Ratchet, "how long we intend to sit here quietly and wait?"
"Yeah," Hacksaw growled. "I've just about had it with Feral. I want those hotshots to know who we we really are before I run my blade through their hearts."
Karnage knew that Hacksaw's lust for killing could ruin his great plan, so he put Hacksaw in his place. "I'll give the word, mister I-have-the-brains-of-a-duck-you-know," he said, pulling the dingo close to his face, "and it won't happen until the very last moment. Captain Feral is a first-rate commander, and we'll let him fly the Iron Vulture for us."
Hacksaw stared at Karnage. "But what about the map?"
Karnage slowly let Hacksaw go. "Shere Khan, Dr. Sinian, or Kit Cloudkicker most likely have the map. When the time is right, we'll kill them all when they find the treasure," he said, taking another drink from the bottle. "But of course, I'll let Kit live, because he reminds me of myself."
"As our good friend Viper would say, 'Dead men don't talk,'" Ratchet said, with a cruel smile on his face.
Just then Hacksaw spoke up. "One question, Karnage."
"What is it?" he asked, finishing the bottle off.
"How come we didn't ask Baloo to join the crew again?" Hacksaw asked with a frown.
"Because Baloo has quit the life of a pirate, that's why." Karnage said.
What Kit heard terrified him-Baloo was once a pirate, Karnage, once his friend, was now an enemy, and most of the crew were pirates. As soon as the men left, Molly and Kit jumped out of the barrel, and hurried off to tell the captain.
As Kit explained what he had heard, Captain Feral asked for suggestions on how to save their lives. They decided that Kit would make a fake map for Karnage to steal, so when he took his men to the island, the officers would be able to overpower the ones that stayed on board.
When the crew finally spotted the island, they rushed up on the outer flight deck. Everyone was talking and gesturing with wild excitement. When Kit saw Karnage, he put the plan into action.
"Karnage," Kit said walking up to him with a fake smile on his face, "I think that this will turn out to be quite an adventure and-," but was interrupted.
"You know Kit, you and your little friend should have not have eavesdropped on that conversation," he said, showing his teeth.
Kit began to run as fast as he could to warn the others, but someone grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"Going somewhere?" Dumptruck asked, as Kit struggled to get free.
Karnage made his way over to the frighted cub. "My boy, you will learn not to play around with pirates," he said, reaching into Kit's shirt pocket and taking the fake map. "Now I have the map and you will help us find the treasure, or your little friend Molly will be sleeping with the fishes."
Kit saw that Molly was also a prisoner. He had no choice but to do as Karnage told him. They were taken to the flight deck where some helicopters were waiting to take off. Dumptruck held Kit tightly and loaded the cubs onto the helicopter. As they took off, Molly and Kit could see their friends watching from the command deck. They were helpless to stop the pirates. The Iron Vulture became smaller as the helicopters headed for the island.
When the ships got close, they could see how the island floated in the sky. There was an energy light shield that formed itself around the island.
Hacksaw let go of Molly, so he could open the door to get a better look at the strange sight. Kit remembered the air foil Jake had given him. Ripping it out, he ran straight for the open door. Molly saw what Kit was doing and grabbed onto his waist as they jumped out of the helicopter. They could see the fury in the pirates' faces as Kit used the air foil to glide safely down to the jungle floor below. But when they landed, the helicopters flew by, not even trying to come back for them. Molly tugged on the sleeve of his sweater.
"Let's do that again," Molly said with excitement.
But first they had to find a way to signal the Iron Vulture. After walking for half an hour, Kit heard Karnage and Lenny talking not too far off. Kit told Molly to hide inside a hollow log, as he crept close to hear what Karnage was saying. He saw that Lotta, the woman from the picture, was with them.
"Karnage, I thought we were going to do this like gentlemen, not like barbarians," Lenny said with a frown. "Mutiny is not my style, and kidnapping two kids? You're out of your mind."
"Well Lenny, you can join or die. That's about all I can say," Karnage said calmly, as he gave Lotta a quick kiss on the cheek. "And if you do join, you might get a little extra."
Suddenly they heard a horrible scream of pain.
"In the name of God, what was that?" shouted Lenny.
"That was the last sound of your friend Buzz—another honest man. He wouldn't go along with my little plan."
"Buzz!" cried Lenny. "God rest his soul! And as for you, Don Karnage, you're no friend of mine!"
"You need to think on what you're saying, before you say something you might regret," Lotta said calmly.
"Karnage can kill me if he wants, but I'll do what's right." Lenny said turning his back on Karnage and setting off toward the helicopters.
He did not get very far. With a cry, Lotta pulled out a spear from behind a tree, and sent it hurtling through the air. It struck Lenny with such force that he fell face forward to the ground. As he lay there groaning in pain, Karnage's shadow appeared over him. He raised his sword in the air, and buried it into Lenny's heart. Pulling it out, he cleaned the blood off the blade as if nothing had happened, and then put it away.
"I see you still can kill without hesitation," Lotta said wrapping her arms around Karnage's neck. "Now prove to me that you still love me." And with that, Lotta and Karnage's lips met in a passionate kiss.
Kit's heart was pounding as he ran silently back to Molly. They had to get away from this place fast. When he got to Molly's hiding spot, he saw two people with Molly, a man and a woman.