THUMP.
Manfred opened his eyes when he realised he had stopped moving. There, plastered to his face, was that totally annoying sloth who had bumped into him earlier in the day.
"You have beautiful eyes," Sid commented.
Manfred glared back at the sloth's large eyes. "Get off my face," he grunted, standing up and shaking Sid off in the process.
Sid laughed dizzily. While the shock of falling – or rather being pushed – down a cliff had worn off the mammoth, the sloth was still feeling the side effects. He hopped up and wobbled after the Manfred. "Whoa!" he shouted. "You and me, we make a great team. What do you say we head south together?" Sid was hoping he could have a big tough mammal as his friend so the rhinos – or any other nasty animal for that matter – wouldn't attack him.
Manfred chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah! Great! Jump on my back and relax the whole way!"
"Wow, really?" Sid missed out on the sarcasm.
"No."
Suddenly, Sid noticed that Manfred wasn't heading southwards, along the seaside route now devoid of migrating animals. Instead he was heading north, towards the large glaciers, shimmering light blue in the afternoon light.
"Wait! Aren't you going south?" the sloth asked.
Manfred didn't bother to reply.
"The colder weather? Changing of seasons? Migration instinct? Any of this a-ringing a bell?"
"Nope, I guess not. Bye!" called Manfred.
Sid puffed himself up as much as I could. 'Actually,' he thought, 'I really don't need a big fat mammoth around with me. He and I would attract too much attention.' "Alright. I can take it from here. Thanks for the help." He turned and shuffled off southwards.
But just as he passed the cliff that he had just fallen down with Manfred, four silhouettes appeared at the top of the bank.
"Hey, you overgrown weasel!" shouted Carl. "Just you wait 'till we get down there!"
"Yeah!" added Murtogg. "We'll teach you to disobey the British authority!"
Sid had absolutely no idea what the authority was, but he sure didn't want to be skewered on a rhino's horn like a kebab. Perhaps he did need a big mammal around to help protect him after all. He turned on his tail and ran back to the large mammoth.
"Whoa! Wait up, buddy!"
Manfred groaned and cursed under his breath. He had really hoped that he had seen and smelled the last of the sloth.
"I've just been thinking, and I reckon this south thing is way overrated. The heat, the crowds, who needs it?" Sid continued rambling on. "And isn't this great? We're two of a kind. Two bachelors, knocking about in the wild…woo hoo!"
The mammoth glared at the sloth. "No, you just want a bodyguard, so you don't end up somebody's side dish."
Sid laughed. "You're a very shrewd mammal. Now, you lead the way, Mr Big…uhhh…didn't catch the name."
"Manfred."
"Manfred? Ew, yuck. That's a stupid name. How about…Manny? Manny the Moody Mammoth, Manny the Melancholy, Manny the…"
Manfred turned with a blazing glare and chased Sid up to the top of a large tree.
"Stop – following – me!" Manfred growled, pulling the tree close to his face before letting it go. It swayed wildly back and forth. Sid climbed down and wobbled on unsteady legs after Manfred.
"Okay, you've got problems. I'll still call you Manny, but you won't even know that I'm here. I'll just zip the lip, and all you'll here is mmph mmmmph mmmmmmm…"
Manfred sighed. It was going to be a long trip north.
Red-coated marines dashed through the passageways of the British settlement. The news had been spread; the infamous pirate Jack Sparrow was loose in the town and he had to be captured and brought to justice as soon as possible. Special patrols checked every nook and cranny, but none of them noticed that something was out of place near John Brown's Blacksmith Shop.
When the footsteps of the patrols finally faded into the distance, a pair of eyes peeked out from behind a statue. Jack Sparrow pulled his knife out of the statues hand and tiptoed into the building.
Inside, he surveyed the workshop. It was dim and musty inside. Hammers, pliers, and other tools hung from racks or leaned against the stone walls. A fire crackled merrily in the hearth. Harnessed in a pit was an old grey donkey that was totally unconcerned with the new visitor. Captain Jack smiled. Luck had picked his side. It was certain that he could get his manacles off using the many tools in the forge.
Suddenly a loud clang echoed around in the dusty air. Jack jumped, his keen brown eyes searching for the source. Slumped over a chair in the corner was a dirty, unshaved man, his hands cradling a non-existent bottle of rum – now lying on the straw-covered floor. From the looks of him, Jack assumed he was the blacksmith, but judging by his condition, he was no threat.
The pirate set to work. He walked over to the glowing furnace. Picking up a large sledge-hammer from the wall, he held the hammer in his left hand and held his right hand over the furnace. The metal chains of the handcuff started to glow. Just when he felt his hand begin to burn, he swung the hammer and brought the heavy head down on the chain.
The chain didn't break. Jack winced. Another burn on his right hand, all for nothing. He plunged his stinging hand into a bucket of cold water to cool it down.
Then he looked at the donkey. It was harnessed to a chain that turned a system of cogs attached to the roof. A smile formed on the pirate captain's face. Picking up a rod that had been lying in the furnace, he strode over to the donkey and poked it's behind with the glowing end.
The effect was instantaneous. The donkey shrieked and set off at a trot, causing the cogs to clank and spin, clattering and squeaking as they turned. Jack chucked the rod back at the anvil and watched the largest spinning cog. Timing his jump perfectly, Sparrow hooked his manacles over one of the teeth and hung on.
CRACK!
As a smaller cog tooth interlocked with the adjacent gap in the large cog, it snapped clean through the manacles. Captain Jack Sparrow smiled, satisfied. At last he was free of his chains. Literally.
CREE-EEE…
Turning with a start, Jack was horrified to see the door of the blacksmiths opening. Someone was coming inside!
'Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger.'
Will Turner closed the door of the forge. He had just been out to measure the feet of a new horse to make some new horseshoes, and was mentally preparing himself to face the heat of the furnace to carve the horseshoes. Will was also trying to get his catastrophic meeting with Elizabeth out of his mind.
Noticing the clattering of cogs and the snorting donkey, he raced down the steps and patted the donkey on the head. The donkey quickly calmed down, and soon the clatter clatter of metal upon metal had ceased.
Now that the noise was gone, Will could get fully prepared. He walked out of the donkey's pit and hung his coat on a hook. He glanced at his drunken, sleeping master, and a quirky grin came to his face.
"Right where I left you."
Then young Turner paced over to the anvil – where he noticed the hammer, normally leaning against the stone wall, lying on top of the heavy iron.
"Not where I left you…" Will mused.
Then something else caught his eye. A battered, faded, tricorn hat. Will frowned. Neither he nor his master had any hat like that.
He reached out to grab it and investigate it when he felt something metal slap his hand.
Will, startled, jerked his head to behold a sword held by a very strange man.
He wore a red bandanna, which covered his forehead but left the top and back of his head exposed. Various shiny coins, beads, and other bits hung from his greasy brown dreadlocks. And he grasped a curved longsword in his right hand. William didn't need a millisecond to figure out who this was.
"You're the one they're hunting. The pirate," he accused.
Jack Sparrow didn't seem to notice the accusation. He studied Will's face. "You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?" he asked as he bore down on the blacksmith.
"I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates," Will replied.
"Ah. Well then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record then, wouldn't it?" Jack Sparrow replied, lowering his sword and making his way towards the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"
In a flash, Will pulled out his own sword – a simple, but deadly sabre – and pointed it at Jack's throat.
However, Captain Jack Sparrow was not scared. He merely brought up his own sword and crossed blades with Turner. "Do you think this wise, boy? Crossing blades with a pirate?"
Will pushed his sword closer to Jack's throat. "You threatened Miss Swann," he growled.
"Only a little," Jack chuckled. Then he lunged with his sword towards William's chest.
Will smartly blocked, then struck back with a swing that would've cut off Jack's head – if he hadn't ducked.
They duelled back and forth, their blades clashing with incredible speed. First, Sparrow pushed Turner back towards the door, but before he could strike again, Will launched a savage counter-attack that drove Jack right back against the furnace.
Captain Jack Sparrow laughed. "Well, you know what you're doing, I'll give you that. Excellent form. But what about your footwork?"
Jack Sparrow started slowly stepping in a circle. Will matched Jack's every move.
"Very good!" Jack said, complimenting William like a teacher. "Now I step again…"
Jack quickly leaped around in a quick circle, blocking the blacksmith's strikes. Soon, he had himself where he wanted to be – with quick access to the door.
"Ta,' he said, and quick as a flash, Captain Jack Sparrow sheathed his sword, and dashed up the steps towards the door.
But Will Turner was not done yet. He flung his sword at the door.
THUNK!
The sword sunk deep into the wood just above the latch, blocking it – and effectively locking the door!
Jack Sparrow watched the sword flex back and forth right in front of his nose. After a moment, he tried to pull the sword out of the door. With all his might, he heaved on the sword. It didn't budge. 'Bugger.'
Will Turner watched with satisfaction as the pirate jiggled up and down, trying to free the blade from the wood. He did pride himself on his aim and sword-throwing skills.
Finally, Jack gave up, and sauntered towards Will. "That is a wonderful trick," he said. "Except once again, you are between me and my other way out, and now…" Jack Sparrow unsheathed his weapon, "…you don't have a weapon!"
William didn't bother to answer. Instead he picked up a sword which had been lying in the furnace, and pointed the glowing end right between Jack's eyes. The donkey let out a moan and started moving. Jack's eyes widened. This was not very good. He needed to escape, but this boy would not give up.
Jack dashed towards the back door, but Will met him. Sparks flew as the hot metal collided with the cold.
TING TING TING WHOOSH
The swords clashed over and over again. Then Jack flicked the weapon out of Will's hand. Quick as a flash, Will rolled over a moving bar, set in motion by the terrified donkey, and grabbed another sword. Turning quick as a flash, he parried another blow from the pirate.
All of a sudden, Jack Sparrow noticed that there were swords everywhere, hanging on the walls and in racks attached to spinning poles. "Who makes all these?"
"I do!" Will cried. "And I practice with them three hours every day!"
"Well, you need to find yourself a girl, mate!" Jack replied. Noticing William's pained expression of fury and anguish, he grinned. "Or, perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you've already found one, and is otherwise incapable of wooing your damsel." Jack put on a false expression of disgust, and looked down uncomfortably. "You're not a eunuch by any chance, are you?"
That was a direct hit on Will's pride. The blacksmith growled, and picked up another sword from yet another nearby rack. "I practice with these swords three hours a day," he shouted, "so if I meet a pirate, I can kill him!"
With a ferocious yell, William drove Jack back onto a leaning platform on wheels, before jumping onto the wood. The platform, unsettled by the shifting weight of the pirate and the blacksmith, broke free of its ropes and started rocking back and forth. Will was unsteady on his landlubber feet, but Jack Sparrow, used to the pitching of a vessel under his boots, stayed steady, and swung his sword at Will.
TING TING WHOOSH TING
Suddenly, the chain still attached to Jack Sparrow's left hand flicked around the end of Will's sword. Not missing a beat, Will rammed his sword into a rafter beam. Now the pirate was half hanging from the wooden beam, his legs dangling just above the platform. The blacksmith smirked.
But his smirk was cut off abruptly by a large plank in his chin. Jack had kicked the plank and caused the end to whack the blacksmith. Will Turner flew backwards and landed hard on the hay-covered floor.
Jack Sparrow pulled himself up with all his strength, and hung, upside down, on the rafter. With his feet firmly planted, he grabbed onto the hilt of Will's sword and pulled.
Will was now back on his feet. Grabbing his sword from the ground, he raced back onto the platform.
Captain Jack Sparrow felt the sword start to slide out of the wooden beam. Suddenly, he realised he was not in a very good position.
He fell back onto the platform. The sudden impact sent William flying.
Jack rolled back onto the ground. Shaking himself off, he jumped back onto the platform and started searching for Will.
There was an ominous hacking sound from above. Jack's eyes had just enough time to register the blacksmith cutting through a large bag of barrels, before he too was flung up onto a rafter.
But thanks to years of life at sea, the pirate was able to land on his feet and quickly move to engage the blacksmith again.
TING WHOOSH TING WHOOSH
Will and Jack leaped from rafter to rafter, swords clashing continuously. But suddenly, Will flicked his sword through the hilt of Jack's sword. It clattered uselessly on the ground.
Suddenly unarmed, Jack Sparrow decided to run. He swung down to the floor, with Will in hot pursuit, and picked up a large bag of hot ashes. When Will Turner reached him, Jack emptied the bag in the blacksmith's face.
Yowling, Will dropped his sword and started brushing the ash out of his face. When he lifted his face, he found himself looking down the barrel of a flintlock pistol.
"You cheated," Will cried in amazement.
"I'm a pirate." Jack replied.
BANG! BANG!
The front door started flexing back and forth, and through the gaps, several red-coated marines could be seen trying to break in. They had discovered where the pirate was.
"Move away!" Sparrow ordered. Will merely shook his head.
"Please move!"
"No. I cannot just step aside and let you escape."
The pirate cocked his pistol. His hand started shaking. "This shot is not meant for you…"
CRASH!
Before Jack could finish his sentence, an empty bottle came down upon his head. Slowly, the pirate captain toppled over, unconscious. Mr Brown stood behind him, holding the broken bottle, with a confused expression on his face.
Finally, with a crash, the front door was broken open, and soldiers burst in, rifles loaded and at the ready. Commodore Norrington followed them, his pistol held high in ceremonial fashion.
The marines surrounded the unconscious pirate lying on the ground. Norrington smiled. "Excellent work, Mr Brown. You've assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive."
Will felt like screaming. Sure, his master had knocked out Sparrow, but Will had kept him from escaping, and done all the hard work. It was so unfair.
"Just doing my civil duty, sir," muttered John Brown in a hoarse voice.
Norrington laughed. "Well, I trust all of you will remember this as the day Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped. Take him away."
The marines shackled Jack Sparrow once again, and hauled him roughly out of the forge and along the streets towards Fort Charles.
Chapter 4 done! Okay, not much crossover stuff here, but there is more on the way!
Please review if you like it!
