Here's Chapter 8, guys. Hope you like it!
Chapter 8: The Dagger of Black Death
The green flash sparked in the middle of the ocean as the Flying Dutchman came in. Will's eyes set sight onto the real world once again.
"So, what now cap'n?" Bootstrap asked him. "To Port Royal?"
"Aye," Will said. "Hopefully she is there…she will be there. With haste! Hoist the sails!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting against the wall, Tsau untied a package from his waist and opened the small bag. Jack wandered around the house to look for some rum, because numerous good hours had passed, and midnight came soon enough. Elizabeth sat on the other side and noticed the black dagger on his waist when he lifted his coat to expose it.
"You seemed a bit defensive about that dagger when Zi reached for it," Elizabeth said. "Why?"
"Yeah," Tsau
replied, opening the small bag, then pulling out the dagger. "This
dagger is much more important than you think. It's a little
souvenir that was given to me before…"
"Before what?" she
asked.
Tsau slipped the dagger back and went back to his small bag. "Never mind," he said. He pulled out many shuriken from the bag.
"What's that?" she said.
"My God, you ask a lot of questions," he responded. "This is called a shuriken, a Japanese throwing weapon used by practitioners of Ninjutsu. They began appearing in feudal Japan in the 14th century, displaying incredible techniques of assassination. This kind of model is called the hira-shuriken, which is shaped much like a star. I prefer it over guns."
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, but aren't guns more powerful?"
"Not when the shooter doesn't see you," Tsau replied, spinning a shuriken in his hand. "It's much quieter, and not as loud as guns are. Especially in the night. It'll help a lot."
She watched as he put them away for close access. "So do you really think we'll get out of this alive?"
"Well, putting the circumstances on hand," Tsau started, standing up. "That Mr. Blackwell of yours might come back by tonight because his soldiers didn't return. Seeing that the captain was quite sadistic, Blackwell could assume that he's taking his time, which buys us more time to leave."
"Aren't you supposed to say, 'Yes, we will make it out of this alive, don't worry'?" she then asked. "Just have a tad bit of faith, please."
"Sorry," Tsau said. "I'm a man of little faith, Elizabeth. The way I am is based on the life I was given, so I could say the same for you. Not everything works out for me, so I don't get my hopes up. It's either a sure victory or not. Don't hope. Do."
Elizabeth crossed her arms. "Your view on life is a bit…negative."
"Welcome to my world," he said, tightening his belt. "You should open your eyes every once in awhile. You're far better off than some people, namely, me."
Elizabeth turned towards the window as she stood up, and looked outside.
"Do you see them yet?" Tsau asked.
Elizabeth shook her head. "No. I'm worried about Bill."
"Blackwell won't do anything to him," Tsau responded.
She looked at him. "How do you know that?"
Tsau straightened his coat. "You have something he wants, and he has something you want. He might try to strike a deal with you."
"You could be wrong, you know," she stated.
Nodding, he walked and stood next to her. "Could be, but the fact that your governor shares the same last name with Rufus is questionable."
Her eyes widened. "What? What do you mean?"
"Rufus the Black, releaser of the Necromortalis. His real name was Rufus Blackwell, a merchant trader turned pirate who released the Necro a couple of centuries ago, like I explained. This Governor Blackwell of yours could be a connection," Tsau explained. "He might want that chest to control the Necromortalis. That's why he probably asked only for the chest, not the heart of your husband."
"Where do you expect to find further information about this?" Elizabeth asked.
Tsau shrugged. "Where else do you go when you need answers about a myth? Find the myth itself. We'll need to board the Dutchman. Hassan told me a way to find more answers on that ship."
"What is the real reason why you're helping us, Tsau?" Elizabeth asked. "You don't seem to be the kind of man to lend a helping hand."
The Pearl appeared in the cove that was in her house's backyard, and Tsau was ready to leave. "I have my own reasons. They'll be clear soon enough."
Footsteps walked into the bedroom. "Of course, an assassin always has a reason for doing something," Jack said as he walked in.
"As do pirates," he replied, causing Elizabeth to look at Sparrow in a suspicious manner. "It's just a little odd that the most wanted pirate alive has never killed a person."
"An example of morality then," Jack countered. "But no one has ever successfully executed the now immortal Captain Jack Sparrow."
Tsau had a smirk. "Funny. No one has ever caught Tsau the Assassin before. He always gets away cleanly."
Jack scowled. "I see. I'm wanted for 10,001 Guineas, the most wanted pirate alive, and you?"
"100,000," Tsau replied. "Most wanted man alive, but they can't seem to figure out which Falcon I am. 722 assassinations are my count, the highest in the history of any assassin that ever existed."
"Then I guess we have some differences, but overall similar," Jack replied with Tsau rolling his eyes. "But I am immortal."
"How did you manage to get the bottles to package them?" Tsau asked.
Jack smiled. "Well, my friend. I am the world's biggest fan of rum, and we carry a lot of rum containers. Unfortunately, I gave my last bottle to Elizabeth. Living forever should be fun, eh?"
"It's not about living forever, Jack," Tsau said. "It's about living with yourself forever."
Jack had a puzzled look on his face, because those were the exact words that his father told him at the last gathering of the Brethren Court. Elizabeth gave Tsau a look as well, wondering if he also meant those words towards himself in that quote.
"I stay immortal to preserve piracy, mate," Jack replied. "And so does the Pearl."
"Everything comes to an end at some point," Tsau said. "What matters most is what you do in that period of time."
After another quiet moment, the three headed outside and towards the Black Pearl.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After that night, the passage towards sea was smooth and undisturbed, although the sky was still grey with clouds. They were back on the ship deck, sailing off into the sea. Elizabeth didn't want to think about what was happening to her son right now, but maybe Tsau is right. Hopefully her son is being kept safe in Blackwell's quarters.
"So, what be our plan?" Barbossa asked while up at the helm that morning.
Jack walked up the steps. "We search for the Dutchman. Head towards Davy Jones's Locker."
"Aye," Barbossa acknowledged. "Prepare, mateys, for the trip ahead will be a long one."
The ship sailed off further for the next few hours into midday, with a dead silence in the air. No one spoke of what had just happened or what will happened, but everyone just kept quiet and listened to the waves crashing against the ship. Tsau sat on the steps once again, and shut his eyes, daydreaming of his past and what used to be his heaven. Now, it has all passed, but meeting these new people, Elizabeth, Jack, Barbossa, young Bill, and reuniting with Zi sparked a very dim light in his dark world. It will be over soon, he thought. Hopefully the Angel of Death will forgive him, and wipe his sins away.
"Tsau?" Zi said.
Tsau sighed and opened his eyes, lifting his hood-covered head up. "What is it, Izzi?"
"Thanks for saving me," she said. "We really almost died yesterday."
"I needed you guys to survive so we could find that chest," Tsau replied, dropping his head back down.
Zi came and closely sat next to him. "That's all?" she asked in an almost sweet tone.
He could feel her almost leaning on him, and he was a bit uncomfortable with what she was trying to do. "Why else?" Tsau said expressionlessly.
A quiet period passed. She stood up and walked away quietly, without replying to what he said, and left him sitting alone on the steps, seemingly taking his last quote bitterly. Tsau sighed and shut his eyes again. Maybe he is just an ass. Maybe he just didn't have real social skills. Maybe his mindset really matches that of an assassin now. Maybe it was his nature to push everyone away from him. Whatever it was, it left Zi wondering about his personality. A long bit of time passed before the sky began drizzling.
"God, what is it with this weather?" Tsau whispered to himself. He sat quietly, and steps rushed towards him.
"Tsau!" Zi exclaimed.
"What is it now, Izzi?" Tsau asked. "I didn't do anything else worth thanking."
Zi leaned over the side of the ship, looking towards the distance. "There's a black cloud over there!"
Tsau's eyes immediately opened and he stood up. The cold drizzle ran against his hood as he stared in slight tension.
"Barbossa!" he said loudly.
"Arr, what comes upon ye?" the captain replied.
Tsau looked up to him. "Go faster!"
Barbossa looked towards his direction and saw the black cloud. "Aye!"
Elizabeth rushed from her cabin, and so did Jack from the captain's quarters. They were wondering what was happening, and looked at what Tsau's eyes rested on. The black cloud collapsed and a black ship formed. He shook his head and headed towards the lower deck.
"What's happening, Tsau?!" Elizabeth asked loudly as the wind began picking up and the rain fell harder.
Tsau looked at her as he walked past. "Ready your weapons. The undead come."
"Barbossa!" Elizabeth yelled over the wind. "Go faster!"
Barbossa rolled his eyes because Tsau had already told him that, but she was stopped by Tsau. "Don't. We can't outrun them, but I know how to fend them off."
She nodded, but Jack rushed past them to the lower decks, yelling for the crew to prepare for battle. The crew loaded the cannons and waited for the black ship to pull up next to them. The undead soldiers on the black deck were intensely intimidating, groaning and roaring because they did not have tongues. Tsau went to his cabin and fetched his dual katana, rushing back up to the deck, awaiting their move. Elizabeth drew her rapier, and so did Jack, Barbossa, and the crew. Pintel and Ragetti, along with other crewmembers loaded the cannons. The undead bodies retreated to the opposite side of the ship.
"Look, they're retreating," Elizabeth noted.
Tsau turned to Jack. "Fire."
Jack hesitated for a moment, because there was no logic in firing if they were retreating. But he soon called for it when they began running towards the ship. "Fire!"
The cannons blew holes into the black ship, and halved the undead crew. The rest landed safely on the Pearl, and they began attacking the crew. Tsau began slashing them one by one, and the rest of the crew fought. Gunshots, slashing, and cannonfire filled the air between the two ships as they struggled against one another. The undead soldiers began depleting in numbers, but as soon as one died, another came up from the deck. Tsau killed more and more, then rushed down to the lower deck.
"The black ship keeps growing back, Assassin Man!" Pintel yelled as Ragetti lit up another cannon.
"Apply more cannons. The black ship will collapse eventually," Tsau replied, rushing back up to the deck.
As he came up, killing more soldiers on the way, the captain swung from his ship to theirs. He towered a couple of feet over a normal man's height and had four arms, wielding four cutlasses in each. He had snake eyes and was very masculine with a steel helmet covering his head. Tsau drew both of his blades and began fighting with him, but all that was wasted was time and energy. Finally, after a long struggle, the undead captain managed to knock a katana from his hand, leaving him with only one.
"Tsau!" Zi shouted as she saw. Tsau signaled for her to stay back.
He evaded and parried many blows that came from the four armed beast, trying to survive long enough to pull off his counterattack. Finally, when the timing was right, Tsau somersaulted backwards away from the captain and pulled a shuriken from his waist. In a quick snap of his wrist and forearm, the shuriken cut through the air and rain quickly, and pierced one of the captain's snake eyes. Roaring in pain and aggravation, Tsau rushed back into confrontation. With a desperate right handed swing from the captain, Tsau rolled under the blade's path and ended up kneeling behind the captain. With his one katana, he cut all the supporting tendons to the captain's legs and the captain collapsed to his knees. Backflipping from behind the captain to the front of him, Tsau stood up as the captain's head was now chest level to him. He was now weak and tried one last hack at Tsau with his upper right hand, but Tsau quickly reacted and sliced off his arm. The undead captain shrieked a snake-roar, but Tsau followed through with a swift, lefty baseball-like stroke across his neck. The head of the captain went flying off into the air as Tsau's katana decapitated him, and the rest of the undead soldiers looked towards Tsau. When the head dropped, the soldiers began groaning as if in pain and they all collapsed into sand slowly. Everyone had their eyes at Tsau, too.
The captain's head lay beside Tsau's foot, and not wasting another moment, Tsau pulled the black dagger from his waist and ruthlessly stabbed the captain in his cranium. The black dagger began to glow, and all the sands from the crew and the captain himself gathered into the dagger. The ship turned to sand, as well, and all the black sand went towards Tsau's weapon. When all the sand disappeared, Tsau spun the dagger a few times before sheathing it onto his waist again. Everyone stared in bemusement, and he sighed. The crew began shouting in victory and Barbossa traveled back up the helm to continue moving. Jack, along with Elizabeth and Zi, came up to Tsau, glancing at the sheathed dagger on his waist.
"What was that?" Zi asked.
Tsau picked up both of his katana. "That is just a small taste of the Necromortalis Army."
"Where did you get that dagger?" Jack asked him.
Tsau's eyes drew to him. "You know what this is?"
"The Dagger of Black Death," Jack replied in a confident manner. "It is a myth around the pirate world."
"Myths are based on reality, aren't they?" Tsau said. "This dagger is what will help us seal the Necromortalis into the chest of Davy Jones…or William Turner. I had to keep quiet about it so that Blackwell did not take it."
"Yes, I noticed how the dagger collects the sands of the undead," Elizabeth stated. "After you defeated the captain, of course."
Tsau nodded. "Strike the heart of the crew and the rest will take care of itself."
"Well spoken," Jack said.
"So, now you know just how serious this is, then?" Tsau told Elizabeth. "We need to find the Dutchman."
Jack stepped up to the helm. "Right. To Tortuga!"
"Tortuga?" Zi asked.
He nodded. "Aye, I have a hunch that the Dutchman is already in this world." and pulled out his compass and passed it to Elizabeth. She looked at the compass and it pointed to the reverse direction they came from. "Aye?"
She looked up at him. "Aye! To Tortuga!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will rushed up the streets of Port Royal and sprinted all the way to Elizabeth's house. He was happy to be home again, and wanted to ensure her safety. The only one accompanying him was his father, Bootstrap, while the ship was docked at a remote area outside the port. Will was huffing for air by the time he reached the outside of the house. He walked up the porch steps with his father and opened the door, only to discover excessive amounts of blood and bodies left behind. He began breathing heavily and fell to his knees. Was this really what life would give him for his return? Almost breaking into tears, his father rested his hand on his shoulder.
"Son," he spoke. "Open your eyes. Investigate the scene, because it's not what it looks like."
Will stood up and watched the bodies, trying to figure out what had happened. The stains of blood and the fresh wounds looked only a day old. "This just happened yesterday," he said, walking around the scene. "Elizabeth was right here, and a woman was with her. Probably a friend," he continued, walking around some more, past the path of the three dead bodies towards the other room, where a very graphic display of blood and limbs decorated the walls and furniture. "The British soldiers brought someone else over here, most likely a man, judging from the very gruesome scene he left behind. I know that neither Elizabeth nor her friends would make a scene like this. Apparently, this 'hero' is very good at killing people. He managed to best the soldiers in the room with nothing but a blade against their rifles. It's odd how one man here is only dressed in his undergarments."
Bootstrap watched his son investigate the scene further as they retreated back to the main hall. One man had a bag over his head, pieces of clothing rested on the wood floors, along with a dead captain and another soldier shot in the back.
"This man had a bag over his head. Scraps of clothing and a pair of trousers that looked like they were taken off are very odd. The skilled 'hero' escaped the room dressed as one of the guards, explaining the soldier only in his undergarments, apparently dressing up this one with the bag over his head in his own clothing. The pistol next to the captain indicates that he mistakenly shot his own man in the head," Will continued to canvass the scene. "The 'hero' then tossed his rifle aside. He stepped this way as the captain turned around to face Elizabeth," he said.
He saw the puncture in the captain's neck. "The 'hero' had a small blade that he used to kill the captain with," and also noticed the cut-up scraps of cloth and the soldier who was shot in the back. "And released Elizabeth and her woman accomplice from their cloth ties. This soldier confronted them coming from that way, from the bathroom, and was shot in the back…but by who? Someone else. Someone managed to stay outside the whole event and killed the last person."
Will then followed the path upstairs because of the mud spots along the steps. "They came up here, and went into the bathroom," he said, then looked at the uncovered boards on the floor. "Apparently, Elizabeth reached for the chest, and they escaped…back down."
Making his way down and following the path outside, he found the path in the tall grass and followed it. "They walked down this way. Down to the cove," he explained. He and Bootstrap walked down the pathway towards the cove and continued with the footprints. "They apparently were down here…and here is where the footprints stop…" Will sighed as he tried to figure out where they went.
"Will," Bootstrap said. "You know what happened next?"
Will looked at his father. "What?"
Bootstrap noticed the sand having a dented path as water washed up onto the shore. "A ship was here. Not just any ship, Will. It was the Pearl."
"The Pearl?" Will repeated. "So, I guess she's been doing some adventuring on her own. Hopefully our son is alright."
They traveled back up the hill towards the house, but noticed that troops were outside the house. Bootstrap pushed Will into the tall grass far aside the house as they watched what was happening. They laid on their stomachs and watched carefully.
"Damn it!!!" a voice yelled from the house. "I want that damned assassin found right away. I thought we had him!"
A soldier rushed up to the aggravated man who stepped outside. "Guv'na! They headed back out to sea, sir!"
"I want that chest!" the man, or governor, yelled. "But…this could be a sign that I should make a deal with Mrs. Turner instead. I have her son…yes. She will return soon for him, but we should still find her. Got to stay civilized," he spoke to himself.
Will and his father watched intently. "He has my son," Will whispered.
"We should get him back," Bootstrap suggested. "That man doesn't look too stable."
"Then look for Elizabeth," Will continued.
Chapter 9 will be posted soon. Hope you guys liked Chap 8!
