Elder Kolama never looked more weary than when Rotten Rogers brought his daughter before him at gunpoint. He also widened his squinted eyes over the platter that brought a bound, naked Archibell before them. Javier, with a bandaged arm, demanded an answer but he couldn't do it harshly.

"What do you want, Rotten Rogers?" the head advisor demanded, "Why must you torment the elder and his family?"

"Oh dishonorable elder of this dinky village," Rogers said. "I wouldn't advise you do anything rash. I hold all the cards after all."

Rogers pulled out three solitaire cards. "A heart, a diamond and a spade in this case."

"You forgot the joker," Archibell muttered. "Oh wait, if we count you, it's a full house!"

Roger took the back of his sabre and struck Archibell.

"Owch!" Archibell squawked. Elise cried and put her hand on his back. He looked at Elise, "I deserved that, kiddo."

"Yes indeedy-doo, you deserved that," Rogers shouted. "But that's beside the point"--he drew his sabre from its sheath. "My point, that is! Now elder, if you don't want anyone to die, unveil the location of the crystal coconut!"

The elder moved his lips, but nothing came out but elderly creaking and moaning. Javier scowled at the unruly pirates. "You want to destroy this whole island simply to possess this magical crystal?"

Rotten Rogers chuckled in a deep threatening voice, "Awww you're making me sound like a bad person. But yes, for what I'm trying to accomplish you can kiss your island goodbye."

"Bye bye!" Nasty Ned chimed in from Rotten's hand.

Rogers leveled his sabre at Astrid's neck. "You can kiss her goodbye too...unless you tell me where it is!"

Astrid shook her head. "No father. Please don't tell him. I'd rather die than be the reason we lose our source of life itself."

But the elder's eyes softened when he saw the sword at his daughter's neck. "The pedestal is near the east jungle outside the village," he creaked. "A totem touched only by our bloodline."

"My heart is melting!" Rogers said in a maudlin voice. "Seems this old coot would do anything for his sweet babygirl."

Astrid turned her head away from the elder, defiantly, but as Elise gazed at him, he gave her a sly wink. Elise wanted to tell Astrid and Archiebell, but it was best not to alert the Rubber Chin Pirates.

As the pirates made their way of town, Rogers conversed with his first mate, Nasty Ned, on his hand.

"Hey boss," the Nasty Ned puppet asked in his infantile voice. "How much did it cost for the pirate to get a tattoo at the parlor?"

"I dunno," Rogers answered in his deep voice.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"A BUCK-A-TATOO! It's a very cheap tattoo parlor, you see."

Tony and Elise both groaned. "It's a buccaneer at a piercing parlor!" Elise said, so angry that he messed up an incredibly simple joke.

"The only thing more rotten den him is his sense of humor!" Tony muttered, watching Rotten walk far ahead of them.

As Rogers began to cackle like a kook at his own joke, only Archibell gave a surprisingly serious answer. "Pssst…Second mate!" he whispered to Terrible Tom. "What happened to Rotten Rogers? He used to be the sharpest durian in the bunch, but now he's crazy in the coconut."

Tom's shifty eyes turned to meet Archibell's. "You should know better than anyone else why he's like that…"

An uneasy smile formed on Archibell's face. "Right…" he said.

"Nasty Ned," Terrible Tom began, "Wasn't only Rotten Rogers' first mate….he was his best mate and he refuses to accept that his friend is dead."

Archibell shook his head. "Rotten Rogers sent one of my favorite crew members to the Shadow Captain's locker, but you don't see me acting like a total moony loony!"

"About that…" Elise and Tony both said in unison.

"You know what I mean," Archibell snapped. "Maybe I'm a bit bonkers, but my best friend ain't a sock with googly eyes."

Terrible Tom sighed. "For somebody as sea worthy as you are, Captain Archibell, you sure ain't empathetic."

Archibell puffed out his bony chest. "I simply don't display it for my adversaries. Your captain could learn a thing or two from me."

But before the second mate could answer, they had arrived at a giant stone platform inside the jungle. At the center was a pedestal with a coconut shaped sphere that glistened before their eyes. The sun refracted though the coconut and it shone like a rainbow prism

Immediately, Rotten Rogers began to draw near it with a hungry look in his eyes, but Nasty Ned cried out. "Hold on a second, cap'm, it could be a trap."

Rogers moved the puppet in front of his body. "Good thinking, first mate. One of you louts! Get over here and grab the coconut!"

A hapless pirate lacky with a dumb look on his face lumbered near the crystal and touched it. "Looks safe to me, boss!" he said and he sprouted leaves and turned into a palm tree.

"This coconut be cursed!" Rogers screamed. "What do we do?!"

Astrid, Archibell, Tony and Elise exchanged glances. Elise smiled. So this is why the elder winked at her.

The Rubber Chin Pirates spent fifteen minutes mulling over what to do next, but fortunately their IQ didn't add up to much. At last, Terrible Tom raised his finger. "Cap'm, think back to what the elder said. The totem can only be touched by their bloodline!"

"What was that, second mate?" Rotten Rogers said, "My first mate was talking to me."

Rotten made Nasty Ned twiddle his floppy sock hands. "Cap'm," the puppet said in his squeaky voice. "Think back to what the elder said. The totem is only touched by their bloodline."

A giant, idiotic grin spread itself on Rogers maw. "Why thank you, first mate," and he made Nasty Ned take a bow.

"But I…" Terrible Tom gasped, but Rogers decked him.

"Silence second mate," Rotten Rogers childed him, "The real men in this crew are talking."

Rogers turned to Astrid. "You, Hellohaian beauty. Pick up this crystal coconut for me."

Astrid reluctantly looked back at a Rogers but he lifted his gun. "If you have any children, I'm sure they'd miss their mom if she got shot…"

"Twice…" Nasty Ned squeaked, holding his own felt gun.

After some silent deliberation, Astrid walked briskly to the crystal coconut. She slowly inched her hand to it, causing Rogers to prompt her, "Go on!"

She picked it up and held it. Much to everyone's relief she didn't turn into a tree. "Carry it back to the ship!" Rogers demanded.

The island seemed ok at first, but as soon as they left the platform, an enormous tremor surged through the ground.

"It's an earthshake!" Elise exclaimed. "This island is imploding!"