Grateful laughed as he ducked under the trees and headed up the path, Kawi loping ahead with his tongue lolling out of the corner of his mouth, clearly excited.

As he watched the dog run, he yelled: “X did mark the spot!”

Shaking his head at the irony, Grateful set off into the jungle towards the ruins in the island’s interior.

Grateful followed the path as best he could, winding his way through the jungle as the trail continued to lead him deeper in, the jungle becoming even more dense, with clusters of ferns and bushes making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. The air was hot and muggy, and chirping insects and birds filled the air. Kawi began to stick closer to Grateful as they made their way along the path, the gloom closing around them.

The path began to climb steeply, winding its way up a rocky slope where the trees were massive, with twisted roots and branches reaching out in all directions. The path became treacherous, with loose stones and jagged rocks making it difficult to keep a steady footing. Grateful relying on Kawi to find the safest route, the dog’s senses and footing far better than his own.

After a grueling climb, the path leveled out and began to cut further through a dense stand of trees with barely enough space for them to squeeze through. The canopy overhead was so thick that it blocked out most of the sunlight, creating a dark and eerie atmosphere.

When Grateful had finally made it through the tangled trees, he stopped next to Kawi, who was waiting patiently on the other side of the trees in a circle of freshly pounded dirt surrounded by a ring of stones, the path ending in a large clearing.

“This must be the place,” he said.

Kawi nodded his large head and wagged his tail, waiting for Grateful to decide what to do next.

In the center of the clearing stood the ancient ruin, a crumbling temple of stone and moss, its spires towering through the canopy above, which must have been what he saw from the airship’s deck. The air here was thick with the musty smell of age and decay, and the only sound was the gentle rustling of the leaves in the wind and… something else.“Is that… music?” Grateful gasped!

His eyes widened as he looked down at Kawi, whose tail wagged even faster, seeing that Grateful had heard the music.

Grateful, taking his cap off, scratched his head as he stared up the staircase leading to the ruin’s entrance.

The entrance to the ancient ruin was hidden behind a thick wall of vines and overgrown foliage. The doorway was a large, intricately carved stone archway adorned with symbols and images of long-forgotten gods and goddesses.

When Grateful and Kawi reached the top of the stairs and pushed aside the vines, the entrance revealed itself as a narrow, crumbling archway made of rough-hewn stone blocks worn smooth by time and weather. The air around the opening was as musty and stale as the clearing below, and there was a sense of mystery and danger lurking around it.“No one has been here in ages,” he said to the dog.

Kawi barked and nosed aside a dangle of vines obscuring something behind it.

“What is THAT?! Grateful exclaimed as he pushed the vines aside, revealing a shining metal panel and a keypad.

“No way! This crumbling ruin is older than old, and that metal looks like it was polished yesterday!”

Squinting through his visor, he saw a cable jack and a small red light at the bottom of the panel.

Kawi barked again.

Grateful shrugged and pulled the connector feeds from his visor, plugging into the jack and letting the visor connect to the system. A beep from the panel on the wall vibrated, the stone facade tumbled down and away from the archway as a concealed metal door slid open and disappeared into the rock wall to either side. The previously soft music they had heard when first entering the clearing increased in volume as the door opened. A faint yellow-green glow emanated from within the passageway beyond.

As Grateful and Kawi stepped through the archway and into the darkness, the chirping birds and rustling leaves faded and were replaced by the hum of unknown technology.

The ruin, which he had thought to be an abandoned, forgotten place, had just been revealed to be a hidden laboratory filled with banks of machines and a giant glowing screen. Three stone walls were lined with shelves and cabinets, filled with mysterious gadgets and inventions that hinted at the knowledge and technology hidden within the chamber. As Grateful peered closer, the nearest wall was stacked floor to ceiling with crates and boxes of chocolates, a somewhat familiar stamp on the packaging. Not quite able to place the image, the pair followed the sound that filled the space. It became clear that this hidden chamber was the source of the music as they stepped further into the laboratory beyond the closing doors behind them.

Before the glowing screen, a white-furred ape in a lab coat was slowly bobbing his head and tapping his feet resting on the desk where he was sitting. He hadn’t seen Grateful and Kawi enter the room, as he didn’t even turn around when the pair walked up behind him.

Reaching out to touch the scientist’s shoulder, Grateful flinched back as the white-furred ape suddenly spun around in his chair, his piercing eyes locking with Grateful’s own behind the visor.

The scientist smiled.

Grateful’s mouth gaped open.

Kawi barked.

“Hello there,” the scientist quietly said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“For me?” Grateful was taken aback. How could the scientist have known he was coming? “How?”

“Well, I did send you my laboratory's coordinates, after all,” the scientist said, smiling. “Come, sit with me. I’ll tell you everything.”

Grateful quietly sat down before the wizened ape, unaware of what was happening. Kawi joined him, curling up at his feet, his eyes on the scientist.

“My name is Dr. Virgil Morgan,” he said as he recounted his grand story.

The scientist, once a world-renowned inventor, was a reclusive and eccentric individual who had dedicated his life to exploring the depths of science and technology. He had developed a brilliant mind through countless hours and days of intensive study, with a passion for uncovering the universe’s secrets and creating incredible inventions that pushed the boundaries of what was possible.

As a young man, he traveled the cosmos, seeking new knowledge and experiences. Eventually, he was drawn to this remote island's dense and mysterious jungles. Here, he stumbled upon the ancient ruin, hidden deep within the wilderness, and decided to make it his home.

Using his incredible knowledge and skill, he transformed the ruin into a secret workshop where he could work on his inventions in peace and solitude. He spent countless hours tinkering with his gadgets and machines, using the jungle's resources to fuel his creations.

Despite his isolation, Dr. Morgan remained dedicated to his work and continued to push the limits of what was possible. His latest inventions were way ahead of their time, and many of his ideas, he knew, would not be fully realized until years after his death or, if they ever would be, locked away in this hidden laboratory.

But in the end, his passion for exploration and discovery drove him to create some of the most incredible inventions the universe would ever see if there was someone he could trust to bring them into the light of a world so wrought with darkness and turmoil.

As Virgil finished his tale, he held out his hand to Grateful.

In his hand, the old ape held what he had designed this entire laboratory for.

Back at the yacht club, Grateful sat at the bar, his favorite tea in the cup before him, boasting loudly to anyone who could hear him, “... and after that, I became known as one of the greatest airship captains and adventurers in history, while my name is whispered with awe and admiration by all who hears it.”

Alula narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a look far beyond skepticism.

“What the hell are you talking about? You just walked in from the swamp and sat at the bar!? It’s just like you to claim the fame before you even know if the damn thing will work or what to do with it!”

“Oh, it works all right! I installed it on the Dew… I’ll show you!” Grateful said as he stood up and whistled to Kawi.

The three friends walked out onto the docks in front of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, where the airship was tethered to the power connection at the end of the gangway.