[Chapter List]

CHAPTER 1

The of the crew of the Black Nancy waited anxiously in one of the many large waiting rooms of Gambino Mansion. At each door stood a rather burly security guard, looking like he stepped right out of a "Men In Black" film. Every so often, one would glance over at the group of pirates (presumably to make sure they weren't doing anything... piratey), give them a strange look of scorn, and then go back to looking like a statue.

Isaviel glanced at Bilious, her captain; the reason they were summoned to the room in the first place. The crew had all been invited to Gambino's mansion to help in preparations for his annual huge Halloween bash. Gambino was renowned for (among some other things that shall remain silent) his lavish parties and bashes, with free gifts to remember the occasion by (which would be a hard thing to do anyway). Though this year it seemed that there were rumours of something underhand going on around the Gambino property was making people wary about turning up this year. In an effort to turn this around, he asked the infamous crew of pirates to help him set up (swearing that he wasn't the one who called the press as he grinned into the camera).

Bilious was wandering around the mansion, as lost as one could possibly be. He had gone "on a quest to find the water closet of spiffyness", in his own words after the fact, but had stumbled into the south wing. Before a long search for the way back to the main building was over, he accidentally stumbled upon the Gambino wine cellar. "The bottles were all so shiny... and the labels were so... so pristine..." His eyes sparkled as he recounted his tale to his crewmembers only moments earlier. They couldn't help but imagine how he would have pounced, purring gently, "y helu thar." He was close to tears, telling of how after only one glass, he was cruelly torn apart from the bottle like Romeo from Juliet.

Of course, his tale was slightly interrupted by the guards, who dragged Bilious, Isaviel and Page into the waiting room, throwing the rest of the crew out of the building.

The center door opened slightly, and the guard stepped out of the way to let Gino Gambino into the room. "Father will be here any moment. Apologies for the delay," he said, curtly. Then, never lifting his head, he walked back out of the room, shoulders slightly slumped.

Isaviel watched the door close and the guard move back to where he was, then turned to whisper to Page and Bilious. "I've always wondered why Gino's always so miserable. I mean, he's hot and he's rich. What's there to be sad about?"

"True," Bilious whispered back. Then glanced at the guards to be sure she wasn't heard. "But I heard rumours about how Gambino treats his son..."

Gambino chose that exact moment to enter the room. He was holding a scroll in one large hand, a pumpkin in the other and a huge cigar in his mouth. He grinned. "Bilious!" He said, throwing his arms open, completely forgetting the pumpkin he was holding. The nearest guard gave a look of horror and did a spectacular diving roll to catch the pumpkin before it fell onto the floor, and stopped just before he slammed right into the sideboard. Everyone in the room (apart from Mr Gambino, of course), gave a heavy sigh of relief. Amazingly, his cigar never fell. It's powers of defying gravity is said to astound many a scientist.

"Bilious!" he exclaimed again, clasping Bilious' hand. "My man! Good to see you!"

"Err, it is? I mean, it is!" Bilious laughed nervously.

"Of course," he rested a hand on Bilious' shoulder, whilst using the other to hold the cigar. "I've not forgotten why I called you into this room."

The captain's shoulders slumped. "Oh."

"Why didn't you want the whole crew here?"

Gambino sat in a large chair opposite the couch the three Nancies were on, putting the cigar back in his mouth. "I'd rather deal with organ grinders here-"

"Are you calling us monkeys?" Page asked, unimpressed.

Gambino gave a raucous laugh. "Hell no, I was just saying, why have lunch with all the advisors and CEOs of a company if all you want to do is talk to the MD?"

Page sank back into the couch, still unconvinced with the answer, but satisfied for now.

"As I was saying, I didn't want to have to explain to the entire crew the reason behind why I want you to pay for the wine you... tried."

"So it's bad?"

"It can't be. I only had a glass."

"Bil. You /stole/ a glass."

"It was only one glass of the thousands of bottles of wine there were down there. I just... didn't see the harm in trying one. I didn't even get to have a proper taste!"

Gambino quirked an eyebrow. "You do realise what you had a glass of, don't you?"

The three Nancies gave him a questioning look.

"That was one of my bottles of "Chateau de Vin Cher 1850."

Page and Isaviel exchanged horrified looks, but Bilious seemed totally oblivious to the implications of which wine he chose. He glanced at the two girls, still looking as confused as ever. "Err... so is there anything special about this Shat or deh Van Share?"

"Bilious..." Isaviel put her head in her hands. "There are only 20 bottles of Vin Cher that are known to exist, in all of Gaia. The last bottle that went to the open market went for over two million gold."

Bilious looked at Isaviel for a while. Then at Page. Then at Gambino. He then proceeded to foam at the mouth and faint.

Gambino raised his eyebrows. "Well. I'll continue, regardless. As the bottle was opened, it is now rendered completely worthless, so he can keep that. But the fact remains that what I could have had over two million gold for is now worth one thousand at best. And while one thousand is fine, two million is better." He grinned.

Page gave Gambino a nervous look. "We don't have any money, Mr G. Since the Corsairs have swooped in, it's all we can do to Pirate around the Isle de Gambino area. I guess we could make payments, but even then, it would take years to-"

"Yes, yes. I know that." He waved his hand, dismissively. "That's not what I was going to say. Instead, I'd like you to work of your debts another way."

"Listen, as much as Andy loves to flaunt that man thong of his, it might take a lot of convincing and bribery for him to-"

"Is, I don't think he means /that/," Page hissed.

"Oh. My bad."

"...as I was saying... I've thought of something else." He placed a scroll onto the coffee table in front of the girls. "This is the reason I was late in coming here. I was looking for this scroll. Or rather, map."

"Of what?"

"Not what. Where. I got this from one of the bots in Aekea for a fair price a few years ago." He smoothed it out on the table, using a vase and a lamp to hold the edges in place. The map was torn and tattered, typical wear and tear for an old map. In one small corner was the port of Gambino. And then there was a dotted line leading from the port, and wriggling its way all over the map, finally getting to the far top right corner of the map.

"Where's that?"

"I have no idea. I've sent the greatest scouts and seamen there are, and not one has returned. Whether Corsair got them, or whether they're missing, I have no idea."

"Did you show them the map?" Isaviel asked, still staring at the piece of parchment.

"What do you think I am! I'm smarter than that! No, I just told them to sail as far North-East as they possibly could, then come back when they find something."

"And they never came back?" Isaviel glanced over.

"No."

"And you want us to go as well?" Page screwed her face up.

Gambino gave a shit-eating grin.

"But what if we-"

"I'm sorry, how much were you in debt?"

"...what will we be looking for, anyway?"

"Great treasure."

Bilious came to attention. "Greattreasure!?"

Everyone stared at Bilious.

"What? I have an inbuilt radar when it comes to treasure." He puffed his chest out, proudly.

"Yes," Isaviel said, eyebrow raised. "But apparently not for incredibly rare and expensive wines."

Bilious gulped, guiltily. "Yes. Well. Let's... move on from that topic. Tell me about the great treasure."

"Well, the bot I got this map from-"

"You got it from a bot?!"

"Captain, with all due respect," Page smiled, patting his arm. "Shut the hell up." After Bilious sank back, Gambino went on. "The bot mentioned that the map was meant to have led to an island created by the Gaia Gods. They had hidden a great treasure on this small island which is many, many miles away. One of these treasures is said to be the Diamond Dagger... a weapon made entirely of diamond, crafted by the Gods eons ago... Everything on the island is said to be a puzzle leading onto a puzzle leading onto a puzzle. If you make one mistake, you are sent to the shores to start again. Also, the seas around the island are filled with many unmentionable horrors to truly test the heart, soul and stomach of a sailor, with monsters unseen for centuries... They get up to 100 feet long, and have many, many huge teeth. About the size of your hand... Well, Godspeed, pirates!"

Bilious blinked, turning his look of utter horror onto Gambino. "But we haven't said yes!"

"Well, if you think of another way of getting me my two million gold, let me know. Until then I will assume you have gone on this. Here's a copy of the map," he laid a clean and perfect copy of the old map on the table and rolled the other one up. "Talk to the boy about taking one of my falcons, just so we can keep in contact."

"B-b-b..."

"I shall stop sending replied if the time between each is too long. I wouldn't want to lose a prized falcon now." He then made his way to the door. "Oh yes, you may take any treasure you may find on the island. But the dagger is mine. Is that understood?"

The Nancies nodded, mute.

"Good. Now get to it! I have a party to organise!" He stalked away, throwing the door open on his way. It hit the sideboard on which the pumpkin was sat, and everyone watched as it wobbled slightly, then rested. Then plummeted to the ground, making a pumpkin mess all over the marble floor.

"...I really hope that wasn't some sort of an omen."

"So let me get this right..." DK said, rubbing his temples. "You drank a glass of the most expensive wine in existence, and Gambino wants us to pay him back by going to an island surrounded by sea monsters that get up to 100 feet long?"

"Yes."

"Well, I suggested Andy and his man thong could repay him somehow, but he didn't really go for that." Isaviel sighed.

Luthienne snorted. "That probably would have put us even further in debt."

"That smarts, Luthie," Andy whimpered.

"Aww. Poor diddums."

The crew had met up outside a café just by the port, and the group of them had sat at a large table to discuss what had gone on. Bilious, though unconscious for half the conversation, did most of the talking. Each crewmember's face was slowly turning sour and by the time the recounting was finished, they looked completely mortified.

"And we're going accept this... adventure?" Andy asked, incredulously.

"Yes. We got the falcon from Gino before leaving the mansion. So we just need to collect some essential items like food, ammunition, armour, that sort of thing. Oh, and any swords should possibly be sharpened too." Bilious was checking things off, seemingly excited about the journey ahead of them. His crew, however, couldn't be further from happy.

"We're so gonna die," Andy whimpered, putting his head on the table.

"Umm, excuse me, I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Bilious turned to see a young girl glancing about, nervously. "Ooh, yeah, sorry about that Lilly!" Bilious turned to his crew. "This is our new recruit. Lilly Warner." He turned back to Lilly. "This motley crew are," he pointed to each crewmember as he went along. "Page, DK, Nakago, Isaviel, Andy and Luthienne. Falingard, Masamune and Barbie are waiting for us back at the Nancy."

Lilly grinned. "Nice you meet you all!"

"You know where the ship is, right?"

"Right. The only one in the port that's not silver."

Bilious sighed. "Har har. Funny girl. Go and wait at the ship for us. Just talk to Barbie, she'll know who you are."

"Okay, will do. See you all later," she smiled, waved, then walked out, heading to the port.

"Are you sure we should be taking on new crew when we're stretched as it is with the ten of us?"

"Well, we can't go off to the other side of the ocean with less crew than we need. Besides, more crew means less work on the rest of you."

"I suppose so. But still..."

"Things will be fine!" Bilious exclaimed, grinning. "Trust me"

"You said that when we visited Catgirl island. We ended up being mugged, mauled, and they stole our pants!" Andy sobbed at the memory.

"Are you sure you didn't enjoy it, Andy?" Nakago asked, eyebrow raised.

"Oh. Did I leave out the bit where they gave me a wedgie?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Nakago sniggered.

"Well. That might have been a minor blip in the "trust me" scene, but at least we got the Corsairs to pay them a visit as well."

"Uh oh, speak of the devils... Look out. Corsairs."

The crew looked around to see the familiar black and white uniforms of Corsair Ltd's pirates. Wearing them were three members of the Pieces of Eight; the 8 pirates that were each in charge of a fleet of ships, and as cold and soulless as their uniforms. These 8 pirates were the elite; the Marquis chose them because of their skills, not because their heart was in pirating. Of them, those who were stood by the counter were Roxanne Parish, Davey Cutter and Alena Sharkson, the three best pirates of even the Eight.

"Just ignore them and they might just go away," Nakago said, half hopefully.

Davey noticed the Nancies and nudged Roxanne. She looked over to where Davey was motioning and tilted her head slightly. "Well, Captain, fancy meeting you here." She smiled and wandered over. "How are things with you?"

Bilious sank back slightly. He never liked conflicts. It was handy having crewmembers who had no qualms about fighting their corner, though.

"You should know. You and your boss are trying your hardest to make things as impossible as you utterly can!" Luthienne held Andy's arm to stop him from attempting to launch himself at Roxanne.

"Then why don't you just join us? It would make your lives so much easier. Besides, you'd have far more luck pirating than you do now, working against us. If that's not enough, we get good dental too." Roxanne gave a small smile. "Besides, you could probably get to where you need to go much more easily with one of our ships."

"You can stick your ships up your arse, you self-conceited little bitch," Andy snarled, with Luthienne still calmly holding him to the chair.

Davey moved to get his sword out, but Roxanne held her arm out to stop him. "I'm deeply hurt. Can't we all just get along?"

"We'll get along fine once you turn into a cold, dead corpse."

The Corsair frowned. "Well, I was only trying to be polite."

"Sure. How about you take your 100% fattening donuts and be polite to your ass later." Isaviel glowered and Roxanne returned the look. For a while, neither of them moved. Then Roxanne gave a quiet snort.

"Well, don't say we never warned you." She stepped back to the counter where Davey and Alena had been watching the conflict. She motioned for them to leave. At the door, she turned back as if she had just remembered something. "Oh, and do watch out. Wouldn't want to scratch our ships with your termite infested piece of crap now, do we?" She then turned and stalked out of the shop, flanked by the other two Corsairs.

"Lemme at her! I'm going to RIP HER HEART OUT!" Isaviel shrieked, moving to dive over the table. The rest of the crew clung onto her to keep her from destroying the café. Bilious scuttled over to the owner and apologised about the confrontation. He then paid and ushered his crew to get out.

"Isa, I know you hate Roxanne with the fiery passion of a hundred thousand phoenixes, but really, that might have been overdoing it." Bilious glanced around to make sure none of the Corsairs were about.

"Overdoing it? Bilious, you didn't say a single word to defend yourself. She called your ship, Nancy, a termite infested piece of crap for god's sake!"

"Is has a point, Bil," DK agreed. "She took it there, we just joined her."

"Ah well. It's finished now. We should get prepared and set off before anything else can happen," Luthienne said. "Although I have a bad feeling we'll be seeing more of those Corsairs before long."

"Oh, the bitch can BRING IT," Andy snarled.

"And you say I'm bad." Isaviel whispered to Bilious.

"And you're sure they're heading out at Gambino's request?"

"Yes, sir. Our scouts say that they saw three of the crew leaving the Gambino mansion with a falcon," Roxanne reported. "And they've been stocking their ship with supplies, and maintaining their weapons."

"Hmm..." The Marquis sat in his chair with his back to Roxanne, as usual. He never looked at people when they addressed him. Instead, he would stare out of his office windows onto the town below him. "Follow them. The seas have been rather quiet of late. You can all spare the time."

"Yes, sir." She turned to leave.

"Oh, and Roxanne?"

She stopped and half-turned. "Sir?"

"Don't hurt a single hair on their heads until you know exactly what they're looking for. So I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." He waved a hand, dismissing her. After Roxanne left the room, the Marquis stood and paced around the room. "What on earth are you thinking about, Bilious?"

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