For Once Upon A Time

Michael had led the pirate crew out of the mountain, after they'd been untied. He didn't bother chasing after the one ninja that was with The Prince of Surprise. Instead, he figured quickly going after the eighth key was a much smarter idea. His plan was stopped almost immediately after the party stepped foot onto the beach, however. Night had fallen and the island was dark, but the members of the group in front of him were holding torches, illuminating their creepy faces. They were the ninja and clowns. Twenty to thirty of them and standing in front, with his arms folded across his chest, was Bob.

"Hey kid, glad to see you're alive and well." Bob told him. "Thanks for telling me where you guys got off to, by the way."

"I didn't tell you anything!" Michael spat.

"I wasn't talking to you, idiot." Bob said. "You see... I have a double-agent in your group. They've been telling me what you've been up to this whole journey." Suddenly Michael remembered another prophecy: One will betray you. This was it. One of his crew members wasn't really loyal. But who? Rachel? Jamall? Traytor? It was impossible to tell... he trusted all of them, except Traytor, with his life. Who was it? Who was the traitor?

"You can rejoin us, now." Bob said. "There's no need for secrecy anymore." The double-agent stepped forward and walked over to Bob. Every gasped except the spy.

"Jamall!" Michael yelled as he approached Bob. "You... you betrayed us?" Screecher covered his eyes and hid behind Rachel.

"Sorry, Mike." He said. "But I'm not really a human like the rest of you... I'm a ninja." Jamall reached into his pocket and pulled out a red headband, as the pirate crew drew their various weapons and started yelling.

"No, no, no. Let's not fight here. Let's save it for when you finally catch up to us. Go get that last key, Mikey, then talk to me." Bob told him. Jamall tied the red headband around his forehead. "Ninja!" Bob yelled, "Clowns! Let's move out!" Someone dropped a smoke bomb and the group disappeared.

"Arg! Blast ye ninja and yar disappearing!" Yelled a pirate. Michael was still pretty stunned. He looked at Traytor. "Did you have any knowledge of this?"

"No." Traytor said. "But while we're revealing the plot twists in this story, I have something to tell you, too. I haven't been completely honest with you, Michael. I know you probably didn't figure this out, but Traytor Benedict McTreason isn't my real name."

Traytor then reached towards the back of his neck and pulled down a zipper. Traytor's "skin" fell to the ground and out of the costume stepped a much taller and stronger person. He had short black hair, black sunglasses, a black suit and a little white cord that ran from his ear, down to the back of his shirt. "My real name is Agent Three." Said Agent Three in a very deep, official voice. "The government wanted an inside man to keep track of you during the journey, so I volunteered. I'm sorry for deceiving you, but it was necessary."

Michael scratched his head, now thoroughly confused with the recent events that had transpired. "Okay, so... Jamall was actually a ninja working for Bob, you were actually a government agent working for the government, and our worst enemies, the pirates, now want to help us?"

"Correct." Agent Three said. Michael remembered the prophecy, one of them will surprise you. Well, he was definitely surprised.

Screecher climbed up Michael and sat on his shoulder. "Let's do this, then." Michael said.

Bloodstump then led the way back to his pirate ship. Knowing it was too late to set sail now, the pirate crew made camp on the beach. They were much more successful at starting fires than Rachel and Traytor... er... Agent Three had been.

After most of the crew had fallen asleep and just a few embers were left glowing in the fire, Rachel approached Michael. "Come with me." She said silently, then took his hand and led him down to the water. From there they walked along the shoreline for a while, holding hands, watching the stars and the moon, and not speaking. Finally, Rachel stopped and looked at Michael. Her hair looked much better than it had been the last few days. She must have washed it recently, because it looked long and straight and silky again.

"Michael..." She began, taking his hands. "You've... really helped me grow on this journey. In the beginning, I only joined your crew because Jane did... and we were best friends. I was weak and a coward and sometimes a little slow... but I've changed a lot since then." Michael wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded. "And... I want you to know you're a great leader. I really believe that you are... things have happened that weren't so good... but they were out of your control. You've done everything you could've done... and nothing less... and for that, I'm proud of you." She kissed him softly.

"Why are you telling me this?" Michael asked.

Rachel looked away, then down at the water, staring at her beautiful reflection. "Because... I'm leaving." She said.

"You're leaving?" He asked, knowing that this was coming. He knew this was coming. One will give up. From the start, Michael knew he would never give up... so at this point, it had to be her.

"Yeah." She said. "I just... I just can't do it anymore... I... I lost my best friend... and... I won't be much help when you reach Bob... so I'm leaving. I'm going to take one of the pirates' life boats and sail back to City..." Michael didn't try to talk her out of it. He knew he couldn't. Instead he just wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"Are you sure you'll be able to make it all the way back on your own?" He asked.

"I plan on stopping at The Islands of the Storyline... I'll get help from the key bearers... I'm sure I can make it."

"Okay..." Was all he said. The two of them then walked back to camp. Michael thought about how all the prophecies had come true. Jane died, Jamall betrayed him, Traytor surprised him, Rachel gave up... and he failed. He failed at keeping Jane alive, he failed at keeping his team together and he failed at being a leader. When the finally made it back to camp, Michael watched as Rachel boarded the pirate ship and lowered one of their life boats to the water. He then waded out into the ocean to see her one last time.

"I'll miss you..." She told him.

Michael smiled, "I'll miss you too." He said.