"Rotten Rogers?!" Archibell and Elise both gasped.

"Who the sea shell is he?" Elise said, but Archibell only gave a solemn nod.

"That name, my dear, is a name I never thought I'd hear again...except when that wretched sea reaper stuffs me in his locker with an old lurkey sandwich."

The man in the grass skirt jabbed the spear at Archibell's throat. "State your relation to Rogers or I'll stake you by the throat."

"Yeesh!" Archibell cried. "He's one of the four pirate lords, each of whom terrorize their respective corner of the sea. Rogers is known to keep the corpses of navy men until they rot and then sends them back to taunt their military foes."

The tan skinned man growled. "But what relation is he to you, you nudist scoundrel?"

Archibell was silent, but he turned his head away from everyone. He didn't even look at Elise, which troubled her. "I killed Rotten Rogers with my original crew."

The captain's usually mirthful eyes darkened like the sea at night. "We got into a dispute over treasure we plundered from the Ghost Cove. He mutinied and shot a member of my crew. We scrambled to our ships and did battle like real men and women of the sea."

Archibell was silent, before he said starkly, "For what he did, I took that scurvy brother's arm clean off, killed his first mate and he and his crew went down with their ship."

As the captain recounted his sordid tale, the man with the spear watched him carefully. "In summation," Archibell remarked. "Rotten Rogers is no friend o' mine and if he knows I'm here, he'll kill me before any of you."

A chill traveled down Elise's spine. She had never met a real pirate before. Sure there was Captain Archibell, but she could handle him, (and Tony was even more of a softy.) Rotten Rogers sounded like the kind of man who would make her walk the plank. And when she stood at the edge, she'd be forced at sword point into an ocean infested with shark people. (The Lyre didn't even have a plank for that matter, Archibell took pride in handling standard mutinys in court, which in his words was 'even more messy.')

The man continued to look Archibell and Elise over, but his face didn't budge. "Normally we'd take you before our elder, but he's been incapacitated for reasons that are none of the business to outsiders like you."

"I'm sure he's more fair than you," Elise said sticking her tongue out at him.

"Correct," the man said, "And the elder is a better judge of character than I...but I guess I can release you if you promise to leave and…"

A solider in a grass skirt entered the coconut carrying a fish on a plaque. The fish was rambling about something and Elise and Archibell immediately knew who it was. "Tony!" Elise and Archibell exclaimed.

"I warn you. I am no mere fish," Tony said in a surprisingly deep voice. "I AM THE FAMILIAR OF YOUR GOD…"

"What is he doing?" Elise whispered to Archibell.

The solider carrying Tony skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Which God?"

Tony was suddenly flabbergasted. "Fincarus, the famous flying fish god."

The man who was holding Elise and Archibell hostage narrowed his eyes. "If you can fly, where are your wings?"

Tony made a few more ums and ahs before muttering, "Haven't your heard my tragic tale? They melted off in the sun when I was swimming upstream".

The man motioned to the guard who brought Tony over. He placed Tony at Elise and Archibell's feet. "What are you doing?" Tony blubbered, but the man shook his head.

"We are a community of agnostic Islanders," the man said. "And are skeptical of any existence of gods...especially those invented by a talking trout."

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"Thanks a lot, bozo," Archibell said, kicking Tony with his bare feet. "He was going to let us go before your fishy scam."

"Why are you naked, by the way?" Tony asked curiously.

Archibell turned red and turned his head away. "I was hoping one of you could explain that to me."

"Well," the agnostic man in the grass skirt said, "If you're done talking, we'll have you executed for trying to defraud our people."

"Execution!?" Elise gasped. So did Archibell. Tony, however, shrieked at the top of his gills.

Elise and Archibell looked down at Tony, stunned by his impressive octave."What?" he said, "I gots a classic trained falsetto."

"Do your worst," Archibell hissed at the man with the spear. "You can puncture us but we'll still cry "Friendship is our booty!"

"I don't wanna get stabbed," Elise sobbed, unable to put on a brace face.

"Relax," the man said, and he produced a pistol from his grass skirt. "We got these from the mainland, so our executions will be quick and easy."

Elise thanked progress for making her death a lot more efficient, but she shut her eyes all the same. She waited for the end, but instead of a gunshot, a boyish voice filled the air.

"Javier," a boy said. "I got word that one of Rotten's massagers will be here soon."

Elise opened her eyes and saw a particularly handsome boy of twelve or thirteen, wearing a white shirt and khaki pants. He had tanned skin like the agnostic man and his short dark hair was full and nearly shaped. She gasped when she realized he might be the boy she heard about in her vision. He certain was dashing enough.

His black eyes surveyed the prisoners and when they contacted Elise and Archibell, his face brightened and he gave a sly smirk.

"Thank you, Tito," Javier said, "We will take the necessary precautions to negotiate with Rogers, but first, let me take care of these pirate scum who tried to bring their so-called religion to our already skeptical community."

Archibell shook his head in disbelief upon seeing Tito. "Wait a minute," the captain said, "Don't I know you? You're the…?"

Tito quickly piped up. "You're friends of the great Kolama, my uncle."

"I know him," Elise said, bouncing up and down excitedly. "He's the jolly merchant who taught me about capitalism."

Tito put his hands behind his head. "Kolama's Kollectables is one of the most famous merch chains in the four oceans. They spread the true meaning of capitalism all across the sea…"

"Yeah," Archibell said and he eyed Tito like a hawk…"And you're the kid who…"

Tito immediately cut him off. "My uncle, the brother of our great elder would not appreciate you killing his friends, Javier, so I advise you to let them go."

"Yessity yes," Elise added, quite taken by Alphonso's ruse...and his handsomeness. "We even have Kolama's sail to prove it."

Javier eyed Tito suspiciously before lowering his gun. "Well then, if those pirates are who you say they are….then I guess can let them go...if they leave immediately "

"And they will," Tito said, sweeping his dark bangs back that were parted on one side. "especially that naked guy."

After having a staring contest with the young lad, Javier sighed and had his soldier untie them. The three walked (or flopped in Tony's case) free and walked as fast as they could out of the coconut.

But once they were outside, Archibell squawked accusingly at Alphonso. Elise got the notion that the two had encountered each other before.

"I know you!" Archibell shouted as Elise gasped over his words. "You're the small shrimp scampi who swindled me out of my pieces of nine on the high seas."

"So what if I did," Tito chuckled. "I saved your booty right now, didn't I?"

Archibell crossed his arms. "Even if I appreciate that. I resent how you managed to steal from a master sea thief."

Tito, displaying a big air of confidence for someone so young, simply smiled. "Hey now, is stealing from a thief really stealing, pantless Joe?"

"He's got ya there," Tony said.

Archibell looked down and immedatetely fetched a palm leave from the ground, tying it around his waist like a loin cloth.

"Why did you save us?" Elise asked, holding Tony who had a similar look of confusion."

Tito leaned on the side of the giant coconut. "So he,"--Tito pointed at Archibell--"wouldn't rat me out to Javier, my grandpa's head advisor."

Archibell growled at the kid. "I can still do that, you son of a sea witch."

The kid side eyed Archibell. "And I can tell him you tricked me into setting you free. Oh and that's a poison palm leaf, by the way."

Archibell yelped and tore the leaf off before Tito chuckled. "Just kidding, it's a regular one."

The captain uttered a few pirate swears beneath his breath as he retrieved the leaf.

"Um…" Elise said, putting her finger to her chin. "Are you a navigator?"

A cocky grin spread on young Tito's face. "I'm what you call a prodigy. I've already mapped out the whole western ocean.

She sells sea shells!" Elise exclaimed, "It is you! Would you like to come on a pirate adventure and help us navigate the four great seas?"

Tito's grin vanished quickly. "I'd love to, glasses girl...if my village wasn' t filled with ghost blight and about to be pillaged by the most fearsome pirate in the western ocean."