Author's note: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Lord of the Rings trilogy are some of my favourite films of all time. I simply love adventure stories, quests and treasure hunts. The more fantastical the prize, the more perilous the lands/seas, and the greater the villain, all makes the story better in my humble opinion. This yarn of mine concerning the POTC characters is very much an adventure tale. There is a lot of action and suspense, a liberal amount of attention on the villains, and a fast pace. The different style in which I have written it is due to my desire for a quick pace.
This story loosely follows on from DMC, revolving around the search for Jack Sparrow in the sinister Davy Jones' Locker, and the subsequent quest for eight magical coins that hold the secret to safety in the waters. I hope you enjoy!
Pirates of the Caribbean: Treasures of the Lost Abyss
by Jonathan Newman
"Blink...blink...And then the eye opens. Welcome back, Captain Jack. He is lying flat on his back in sand. His clothes are drenched but his body bears none of the battle scars he endured opposing the Flying Dutchman and the Kraken. He squints in the sunlight, as though he has been asleep for a long time, before grogily rising to his feet and looking around.
He is on a beach, very similar to the one Barbossa marooned him on before. The sand is clear and a tangled forest dwells behind him. Jack walks to the sea and tries to place his hand in it... but it is impenetrable... Jack cannot leave this place.
A familiar voice sounds from behind him and Jack turns to see Captain Barbossa in all of his non-ghostly glory. The pirate bears no wounds either. He and Jack exchange words. Jack is confused about his present situation and, heaven forbid, a little scared. Also, remember, Jack and Barbossa are not really very fond of each other. Jack asks where he is and Barbossa explains that this place is purgatory, the holding place for the souls of all those seamen taken by Davy Jones. Barbossa jokes that he wishes he had mutinied before he and Jack had promised their souls to Jones in exchange for the Black Pearl. It is revealed that Jones keeps their souls first, but if they refuse to serve him aboard the Duchman, they will be destroyed forever. Jack comments that at least he's getting a decent tan...
Tortuga. A bearded and gaunt individual leaves the tavern and retreats to a nearby, damaged and ancient vessel, the St. George, that is his current home. The vessel is a wreck, as is its captain, a drunken, decrepid old man who hasn't set foot on dry land for five years. His name his Captain Holtz, formerly of the Royal Navy. The bearded man acknowledges the captain and retreats to his quarters. The place is marked with the babbled scrolls of a mad man. Two prominent words amongst the words are 'Elizabeth' and 'Jack'. This man is William Turner. He is disshevelled and beaten, having abandoned Elizabeth for her murder of Jack, and gone in to seclusion, unable to face the guilt. He is working as a deckhand aboard the St.George for now.
Holtz enters and asks where Rostow - the first mate - is.
At that same moment, Rostow is returning to the ship having done a full deal with a local merchant. He is now carrying a map in his pocket. Behind him, watching from the shadows, is the 'merchant'. He slinks back happily into the shadows, satisfied with his work. But we get a final glimpse - Bootstrap Bill.
Rostow returns aboard the St.George and gives the map to Holtz,claiming that this is where we'll find "what we need". They have a heading and set off in that direction, though they adamantly refuse to tell the rest of the crew - Will, a young cabin boy Porter, the cripple Nathaniel and the blind Robin - their destination. Uneasy, Will returns to his cabin and sleeps, a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
That night, Rostow spots another ship on the horizon, a Royal Navy vessel. Holtz and his crew are all pirates and wanted men, but this ship is hunting them for another reason. The St.George is pathetically slow and cannot hope to outrun a navy ship. They are ran down and forced to anchor, and be boarded. The British soldiers raid the ship and take the crew prisoner, dragging Will from his cabin at gunpoint and throwing him on deck. The lieutenant pays the traitor, Nathaniel, for his betrayal of the ship's heading, and then has them all - except Will - taken back to the navy ship - for "the noose". The lieuntenant and the others become wary and nervous as another officer boards - Lord Cutler Beckett. He mocks Will for his appearance and his situation, before getting to the point - he knows Norrington has the chest - his 'other' prisoners told him so - and he knows he is on Isla Cruces. Unfortunately, none but a select few have been there. "Take me there" Beckett insists. Will is drunk and says sure and provides a heading. Will is taken to the navy ship and thrown in the cells - where he spies his former comrades Cotton and Annamaria - both tortured to death.
Beckett has the St.George destroyed and they head off in search of Isla Muertes. "The age of piracy is at an end", Beckett murmers.
Back on Purgatory Island, Jack is growing impatient with the wait. Barbossa asks if he will agree to serve Jones, but Sparrow says only if the pay is good. Barbossa explains that he is bemused by Jones' absence - he (Barbossa) has not yet been visited by Jones, as the Sea-Phantom was pre-occupied with capturing Jack, but now his lack of appearance makes no sense. Barbossa pulls up his shirt and shows Jack the perfect hole where he was shot. Jack shrugs uncaringly, but his back is turned, Barbossa slugs him over the head with a log, knocking him unconscious, saying "This place has its benefits. Sun, warm air and a fine view... but immunity to injury isn't one of them. I'm afraid you're mine now, Jack"
Will and Beckett's ship sail in the day. Beckett visits Will in his cell and asks him about Elizabeth's whereabouts. "After the Black Pearl went down with her captain," the officer says, "I would have thought you two would have been married immediately. Mr.Norrington will be pleased". Will shrugs, "She became a pirate... immoral". Beckett kneels down close to the bars and whispers to Will, "So did you, Turner, a long time ago..."
Jack awakes (again) to find himself tied to a tree by vines, whilst Barbossa sits across from him eating an apple (yay!). Barbossa says he used to miss apples so very much when he was trapped in his cursed form... he missed so many things... the feel of the ocean spray more than anything... he loved the sea... now he will never touch it again. He is sad, mourning that he has simply swapped one prison for another... a worse one... he misses the Pearl. Barbossa laments that he misses Jack. Jack says he is right here - unfortunately. Barbossa laughs, "Not you. We named the monkey Jack. I miss him so much".
A call is heard that IslaCruces has been sighted and Will is brought up to the deck - in chains - and loaded into one of the longboats with a host of soldiers. Beckett clambers into another one with the lieutenant and his private guard. A dark figure can be seen on the island's beach horizon. It disappears quickly.
They reach the island and go aboard. Will, at gunpoint, says that Norrington took the chest into the forest, but he does not know where it is now. Suddenly, the church bell begins to ring out and they head off towards it. At the church they find a ragged and babling man, laughing hysterically at their presence. It is Norrington, and he is quite mad. He bows clumsily to Beckett - who is disgusted - and chuckles at Will, saying "my, my, she will be pleased". He leads them outside to where a host of Sea-Phantoms now stand, surrounding an open grave. Beckett orders his men to open fire, but quickly realises that the mutants are responding to Norrington's orders. A hideously beaten figure is dragged towards the grave - Davy Jones. His crew have turned on him and he is bleeding with squid-like mucus from the mouth. Beckett is delighted, but Will is nervous at the sight of a former enemy so weak. Norrington says that HE IS THE SEA NOW and Jones no longer matters. He moves close to Jones, who is bordering consciousness, and slips his heart into his top pocket, before shooting the so-called devil of the sea in the back and throwing him into the grave. The Flying Dutchman's first mate, Maccuus, throws in the chest too, and they begin to throw dirt in. A soldier comes running in, saying that the Dutchman has been sighted on the other side of the island. "It's mine," says Beckett and looks towards the sea-phantoms to now obey him. Instead, Norrington laughs and orders the soldiers to kill their commanding officer. Beckett is furious, but the soldiers are terrified of the Dutchman's crew, and turn on their commander. Too late, Norrington kills Beckett with his sword before they get the chance. One loyal soldier fires at Norrington, but a phantom throws himself in front of the bullet, other soldiers open fire and engage the sea-mutants. Will headbutts his guard and slips off towards the church. Some mutants follow him and, spying a grid in the floor, Will slips inside to hide.
In the darkness below, Will finds a prison, and those imprisoned are oddly familiar - the remaining crew of the Black Pearl. Gibbs is delighted, but saddened when he hears of Cotton and Annamaria's - the only ones to escape - deaths. He says that the sea-mutants have been delighting in killing them one by one, but only the presence of a certain crewmember prevented Norrington from executing them all. A ragged, dirty female pirate turns around - Elizabeth. Her and Will are frozen in shock, but Gibbs urges Will to release them, which he subsequently does, and they sneak off out of the church. "Where are we going?" asks Gibbs. "The Dutchman," Will replies.
Norrington and his monsters are winning easily but are still too distracted to notice Will, Elizabeth and co. heading into the forest towards the other side of the island. Norrington suddenly notices this out of the corner of his eye and orders Maccuus and some others to go after them.
Emerging on the other side of the island, Will tells the crew to get into the sea and swim for the ship (remember. Jones' crew do not use longboats). A few of the crew are cut down by Maccuus and his gang, but Gibbs and the others scramble into the sea and swim for it. Elizabeth and Will are last. She trips on the sand and Maccuus looms over her, poised for the kill. Will turns and seas this, hesitating slightly, but suddenly runs back, swinging his sword and decapitating Maccuus. He takes out the reamining mutants and drags Elizabeth into the sea. They swim for the Dutchman. Raghetti and Pintel arrive on the deathly vessel first and shimmy up the anchor quietly. Under Gibbs' command, they stealth it through the ship and take out the two remaining guards. Will and Elizabeth arrive last, and share a moment.They almost kiss, but Will turns away hurriedly. "How do we use this ship?" asks Elizabeth. "I've heard you just tell it where you want to go," says Gibbs, "It's like Jack's compass". Elizabeth and Will both say anywhere but here, but Gibbs asks what about Jack. Will says he's dead, but Gibbs explains that he's not, just lost. Jack can be found again. Will asks how, and Gibbs says Tia Dalma - but in prison they heard that after they visited Dalma, the Royal Navy did too, and she fled to where she has friends and the British cannot find her - the Uncharted Waters. Will goes to the wheel of the Dutchman and says "the Uncharted Waters". The ship lurches and suddenly plunges beneath the waves.
Through the forest, Norrington emerges with his mutant crew - but also a few rebellious soldiers. He seas the churning water where the Dutchman once was and sighs, "It does not matter. Summon the Kraken, we have a navy to claim". And they return to the forest towards the other beach to Beckett's ship. Norrington is going to go to control the Royal Navy with the backing of his sea-phantoms and a Kraken behind him. Oh dear...
And Will, Elizabeth and the others are on their way to the Uncharted Waters, aboard the ultimate vessel of evil.
And Jack, well, Jack's just plain bored..."
