Jack Sparrow 12
Chapter Twelve: A Touch of Destiny
The dark skinned woman had her black hair in dreadlocks just like Jack, some of the tangled strands nearly reaching her waist. Her lips were thick and covered in black lipstick, the inky blackness darker than her caramel colored skin. She wore a simple dress in vibrant browns and reds, the colors of the earth. It was homespun material, far from what one would expect a goddess to wear. The sleeves ended at her elbows, the fabric there loose. Bits of seashell were tied onto her clothing in various places as well as a covering of lace on her sleeves. A large silvery pendant hung from her neck on a metal beaded chain; it being her music box that reminded her of Davey Jones. She stood there on the deck, surveying those around her with deep brown all-seeing eyes.
When the white rocks had started to rain from the sky, most of the deck crew had run for the safety of the ship's interior, their hands shielding their heads. Pintel and Ragetti, being two who had sailed with both Jack and Barbossa during some very strange events, had stayed where they were. And so when the white crabs had transformed into the goddess Calypso they had cheered wildly, clasping hands and swinging each other around the deck while hopping about in excitement. Then they raced to Elizabeth and pulled her to her feet.
"It's Calypso!" Pintel shouted at her with glee. "Now we'll get somewhere! She'll smite whoever's hexing the Captain!"
"I thoughts I'd never see her again…" Ragetti sniffed a bit sadly as he recalled how he had said the incantation to free her. Without a doubt, it had been one of the most touching moments in his life. He was just an average pirate, a nobody, without any real hope of having his own ship or anything like that, but he had freed a goddess. That moment was something he'd always remember. "I gave ups me eye for her…"
Elizabeth nodded at her two friends. "Yes, it's why I called her."
Eric and Alan watched the two scruffy pirates talking to Elizabeth in amazement, as neither could imagine how two dirt ridden pirates could know a goddess. They still knelt on the hard deck on their knees where they had fallen a few moments before, too shocked to move. The next moment the short balding pirate seemed to notice them there and locked his dark eyes upon them. Up until now they had managed to avoid contact with the pirates save for Jack Sparrow, the deck crew avoiding them due to their too-clean appearance and odd mode of dress but they feared that was about to end.
Pintel raced towards them, a wide smile on his greasy face. "It's Calypso!"
The next moment the pirate gripped Alan about his wrist and pulled him to his feet, an unpleasant odor of sweat and grime wafting off of him. Ragetti quickly did the same to Eric.
Pintel rubbed his hands together in pleasure. "Last time she created the Maelstrom! Wonder what she'll do this time?"
"But it's was scary sailing into that…" Ragetti admitted nervously as he recalled the incident. His real eye flittered to where the goddess was standing on the deck surveying those around her, his other covered by a black eye patch. "Never saw nothing like that before…"
"What's a maelstrom?" Alan asked somewhat uneasily. The word was unfamiliar and he had never heard it before.
"It's this great circular area of rushing water, the water white capped and spinning rapidly down into a deep pit in the center!" Pintel spread his arms wide with a flourish, a glint in his dark eyes. The short pirate loved telling stories about his many adventures, especially the odd and exciting ones.
"And we sailed into it…" Ragetti quickly added.
Pintel shot his taller nephew a dirty look. "I'm telling the story!"
"Sorry…" Ragetti replied.
"And so we sailed into the Maelstrom, Captain Barbossa at the helm. We were on the Pearl, of course, and we battled the Flying Dutchman. She's a cursed ship of evil fish-men and captained by Davey Jones. We went deeper in, the waters faster than ever! The deck was titled at a crazy angle and then the Dutchman was across from up. Our masts got tangled together then and we fought the fish-men!"
"Freaky they were…" Ragetti said in a hushed whisper as he shivered.
"Yeah, they were un-natural. You couldn't kill them. Slice one open and live fish spilled out of his gut! One guy's head fell off and it grew legs and walked off!" Pintel scowled at the memory. "But we won! Davey Jones heart was stabbed and Will Turner became the new captain of the Dutchman."
"And the fish-men went back to normal men…" Ragetti added as he raised a hand to his cheek. "All of the stuff fell off of them, the sea urchins and starfish…"
"But it's still a cursed ship." Pintel eyed the two neat and tidy grim reapers, still scowling a bit. "What kind of pirates are you two anyway?"
"Yeah, we've been speculating." Ragetti waited eagerly to hear what the newcomers would say.
"Look, we're not pirates." Eric explained with a wave of his hand. "And the Flying Dutchman is not a cursed ship. It's a ship of reapers."
Elizabeth sighed, knowing that the blonde had just dropped a bombshell on her two pirate friends. It would probably start an argument. The only good thing is that both Pintel and Ragetti were very familiar with the supernatural and handled it well.
"What the heck is a reaper?" Pintel asked with a dumb expression on his face, his mouth hanging open a bit. His dark eyes, however, had a suspicious glint to them as he stared at the blonde with the black cornrows near one ear.
"A reaper, a grim reaper?" Eric repeated unbelieving the two didn't know the term. "I'm sure you heard of it before…"
"DEATH!" Grell exclaimed as he suddenly appeared next to his two co-workers, Madame Red at his side. The redheaded Shinigami grinned and made his trademark hand signal with two fingers plus his thumb up in the air. The two had come down the stairs from the poop deck when they realized something was going on. "We are glorious DEATH!"
Pintel and Ragetti exchanged glances.
"We gots to call them something now that they're not fish-men…" Ragetti slowly said as he thought the matter over carefully.
"Yeah, but I still say they're cursed!" Pintel exclaimed loudly, his views firm.
"I am not cursed!" Grell bristled at the words, clearly insulted. His green ringed eyes took on a yellowish cast.
"I didn't say you were." Pintel glared at the redhead as if he were stupid. "I said the Dutchman was cursed! What do you think you are; one of them grim reaper things?"
"But we are reapers!" Grell proudly exclaimed as he leaned closer to the balding pirate, allowing the man to see his unearthly ringed eyes. "Really, do you think I'm a human with eyes like these?"
Pintel gulped nervously. He hadn't noticed the eyes before, mainly because he hadn't been close enough to see them in any detail. He had seen they were green, yes, but not had noticed the unusual rings in them. An uneasy laugh came out of his mouth and he took a few steps away from the wild redhead. "No offense!"
"They look kind of pretty…" Ragetti added as he tried to smooth things over, but the news startled him as well. He hadn't realized that the funny dressed men on the ship were reapers like the crew of the Dutchman.
"I just hope the goddess can get us moving again." Alan said softly. "We need to reach Isla de Muerta."
"Why would we be going there?" Pintel asked as the pirate knew all about the Island of the Dead and had been there many times before.
"Alan is sick." Eric explained as he wrapped a comforting arm around the shorter brunette's shoulders. "He has the Thorns of Death and the Captain told us about those coins…"
"The cursed Aztec gold!" Ragetti shouted as his eye lit up with understanding. "You can't die when you have one of them coins…"
"We had them coins before…" Pintel admitted. "They made us immortal, but it was still a curse! I was glad to be free of them. But it's moot, as ye can't get to them coins anyway."
"What do you mean?" Alan asked a bit fearfully. "Captain Sparrow said they're in a cave…"
"That they are, but the sea swallowed the cave and all!" Pintel informed them as he frowned. "We spent years gathering treasure in that cave and it was all for nothing! It's all under water and the sea there is infested with sharks. No one in their right mind would go swimming in that water!"
"Otherwise we'd be rich men now and I could buy a new eye…" Ragetti thought sadly of all of the priceless treasure that was out of his reach. He lifted his single eye onto Alan, a sad expression on his face. "You don't want that coin. It does things to you. Them Aztecs and their god Qutza…"
"Quetzalcoatl…" Pintel spat. "I hate that name…"
"Yeah, him. He cursed them coins and they only bring misery." Ragetti thought of the long years he had spent starving under the curse. He wouldn't wish that fate on anyone.
"Look, it doesn't matter." Eric said firmly. "We'll get there and we'll reach the coins somehow. I doubt if shark infested water will stop that demon…"
"D-demon?" Ragetti's face paled at the word. "W-what demon?"
"Sebastian." Eric replied as he answered the question. His face darkened a bit though as he began to realize that Jack Sparrow hadn't told them everything. The pirate hadn't told them the cave was under water. What else did he not mention?
Pintel turned to gape open mouthed at Elizabeth. "Your father is a demon?"
"Yes, he is." Elizabeth admitted with a small nod of her head. "And I'm a grim reaper now. So's Jack."
"Well, I hope he's a nice demon…" Ragetti cautiously said. An idea seemed to occur to him then and he counted on his fingers. His one remaining eye grew wide and he quickly pointed a finger at Alan, giggling. "Trice cursed! Bootstrap was only twice cursed…"
Pintel thought it was hilarious and started to laugh too, slapping Ragetti on his back in a friendly manner.
Elizabeth looked apologetic over the two pirates' rude behavior. "They mean well, they just don't have very many manners I'm afraid…"
It was clear to the reapers and Madame Red that Pintel and Ragetti were not the brightest, no, they were scruffy pirates.
"Don't worry about it." Alan told her as he thought over what the pirates had told them. Was the coin the temporary answer as Jack claimed or was it bad news as the thin but tall pirate said? Ragetti's words had seemed earnest and heart-felt. What exactly would the coin do to him and who was this Quetzalcoatl? He doubted if he could even pronounce that tongue-twister of a name. But there was little he could do at the moment and so he waited to see what the goddess would do, if anything.
000
The moment she appeared on deck, Sebastian noticed the power surge from where he was within the cabin attending to Ciel. It was unmistakable, that gush of raw power. It had been ages since he had felt the strange tingling sensation that made his skin crawl and he frowned.
"What is that?" Ciel asked as he glanced up at Sebastian with confusion, as he felt it too. The young demon had no experience with other beings except reapers and so he did not recognize the energy signature he was now feeling.
"Trouble…" The older demon explained with a frown, making his displeasure known. "A god has apparently come down from the Heavens above…"
"A g-god?" Ciel gasped in utter shock as it was the last thing he had been expecting. He jumped out of the ornate chair he had been sitting in, his mouth agape and his blue eye round as a saucer. He had accepted his fate long ago, knowing that he would never see Heaven or any of his long dead family members that had gone there. His mind whirled with confusion. "But why would a god come here? I thought no one has ever seen God!"
"There are many gods and pantheons…" the elder demon explained to the younger one. "In centuries long gone their appearances to mortals was much more common than it is today. They are pests truthfully and cause much havoc. They love interfering in peoples' lives and making them miserable."
"But…" Ciel was shocked by the words, as that was not what he had been raised to believe. Of course a lot of that fell apart that dreadful day of the fire. His parents had been murdered and he had been kidnapped by that crazy cult. Then he had summoned Sebastian. Without a doubt, his faith had burned away with his original home and warm family. Still, he did not expect this at all.
"Really, Bocchan, didn't you ever read Homer?" Sebastian looked disappointed in his lack of education. He moved towards the door of the cabin, his long tail coats fluttering in his wake. He was curious to see which god he would have to deal with. He saw that Spears was already standing there in the doorway, the ever present hedge trimmer in his hand, and he moved to stand next to him. Ciel then squeezed between the two as he gazed at the dark skinned woman with open curiosity.
Was she really a goddess? Her appearance did not match the idea Ciel had in his head at all. He had imagined smoothed hair that glistened like gold, fair skin and fine robes and other things that shouted high quality and expensive tastes. This was the exact opposite. "Who is she?"
"I am uncertain." The elder demon replied.
Jack Sparrow appeared then as he emerged from his captain's cabin that was nearby, a rum bottle clutched in one hand. The pirate's dark eyes landed on the goddess and a large grin spread out across his face. Eagerly he headed towards her, his arms spread in a warm welcome. "Tia Dalma! How nice of ye to drop in for a visit!"
"Jack Sparrow…" A wide grin spread over the goddess's face upon seeing him, warmth lighting her chocolate eyes. She moved towards Jack, her long skirt dragging on the wooden deck behind her. Her toes poked out from under the long skirts and it soon became clear she was barefoot.
"It appears," William T. Spears said dryly as he watched the unexpected exchange. "That Mr. Sparrow is on a first name basis with a heathen goddess…"
"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Jack asked as he gazed upon her, his mind clicking rapidly. He placed his palms together as if in prayer and leaned forward, a hopeful expression on his face. "I don't suppose ye could spare a bit of wind, aye?"
"I notice you're working fer me now, Jack." Tia Dalma's eyes scanned the Pirate Lord from head to foot and then back up again. White teeth flashed in her mouth as she spoke, her accent strong. "A touch of destiny…"
Jack knew all too well what the phrase meant. Tia Dalma had said the phrase to Will Turner and later he had become the Captain of the Flying Dutchman, ferrying the souls to the other side. Of course, Jack had seen the other side now and all that it entailed: desks, a sour supervisor and too much paperwork. The disagreeable image of Davey Jones flashed through his mind; the man's face an abnormal color with nasty tentacles wiggling on his chin. A cold hand seemed to travel down his spine and he shivered despite the heat on the ship. He did not like tentacles, no. He quickly raised a finger of questionable cleanness into the air. "We are on a mission, an important mission, missions even!"
Ronald chose that moment to come up behind William, Sebastian and Ciel as he realized something was going on. He peered between the gap between William's and Sebastian's shoulders, his mouth opening to form an 'O'. There was a strange woman on board, one that he had never seen before and for the life of him he couldn't figure out where she had come from. "Who's that, William-san?"
"A heathen goddess, the one named Calypso apparently." William replied in a sour tone.
A gasping sound came from the blonde's mouth, his green ringed eyes growing even larger behind his dark framed glasses. Before the new recruits had joined up, he had been the youngest Dispatch Officer.
"Gods are more trouble than they're worth." Sebastian stated firmly.
"Only a demon would say such a thing." William said as he adjusted his glasses with a finger. "Although I know nothing of these heathen gods or goddesses, as we work for Heaven and do the Lord's will."
Tia Dalma turned towards them, intense eyes locking onto the speakers who had been talking about her. A finger pointed at William's chest. "You work for me, William T. Spears."
The fact that she knew his name startled him, as he hadn't expected some heathen goddess to know that. His grip tightened on his hedge trimmer and suddenly he felt uneasy. He was used to being in charge, of knowing things but she was the unknowable, a loose cannon. His mouth grew dry and he swallowed uneasily. He thought of denying it but then he recalled what Will Turner had said; that Calypso had been the one to assign him to the Flying Dutchman. Maybe grim reapers did work for Calypso and just didn't know it. Were there not many higher positions above his, countless others who knew more than he did? Who knew what secrets they were privy to?
"You all work for me, everyone aboard this ship." Tia Dalma waved her hand through the air to indicate everyone. "Yes, you will all serve me."
With a flick of her hand, all of their names appeared on the ship's roster. Most of their names had already been there but the few who hadn't been joined the others. As the roster was kept in the captain's cabin this bit of magic went unseen.
"Tia Dalma, love, could ye spare a bit of wind?" Jack asked hopefully for a second time. He really wanted to get moving as he hated being trapped like this.
"De map of me father was stolen." Tia Dalma said as she poked a long fingernail into Jack's chest. "You will get it back fer me. In exchange I will get yer ship a moving, but I cannot give ye de wind at dis time."
"And ye father is…?" Jack's face twisted into uncertainty at her statement. He realized that there was a lot of gods and goddesses out there, but Tia Dalma was the only one he was well acquainted with. "And how can the Pearl move without wind? That doesn't make any sense, love."
"Poseidon is me father." She informed him. "He be the mighty sea god! Long ago he made de map with de jewels from his gauntlets and bracers. This map was hidden away but it be stolen now. You will get it back fer me, Jack Sparrow."
Jack frowned at this, as he feared that Angelica had it. "I thought that's what was hexing us…"
"There be another matter though, Jack." The goddess stated.
"And what would that be?" Jack eyed her somewhat nervously. For some reason Tia Dalma always made him nervous. He could never be certain what she would do and she could do some really freaky stuff.
"You broke the Fountain, Jack." The goddess accused him with a dark glint in her eyes.
"I did not! I did not break the Fountain! It was those bloody Spanish that broke it!" Jack quickly exclaimed as he fought to prove his innocence of the matter.
"The Fountain of Youth is broken?" Ciel gasped in utter shock, as this was the first he had heard that bit of news.
"You have the chalices, Jack." Tia Dalma waved her hand and the two silver chalices fell out of the bit of fabric about his waist where he had been keeping them for safe measures. They hit the deck with a loud clatter and rolled about until they came to a stop. The bright sunlight gleamed on them, revealing a few dents.
The dreadlocked pirate quickly bent and picked them back up, holding one in each hand. "So? That doesn't mean I broke it."
"Nether less you will fix it. You have the means to do that now." The goddess stated firmly as her eyes flittered to the demon. "Me father created the Fountain many ages ago. The Earth was new. He took him trident and thrust it into da rock. Instantly water sprang forth. Dat water is the source of all water, of de water ye drink and of de water that makes de sea currents. Without de Fountain, de water will dry up. And without de sea currents,, de Earth will cool. Warm places grow cold, colder places be frozen."
"I didn't know all of that!" Jack protested as he imagined his beloved seas drying up. It was a most horrible notion, one he had to prevent right away! "How was I supposed to know that? No one bloody tells me these things!"
"You accept de missions?" She asked him.
"Aye!" Jack quickly shouted. He waved both hands in the air towards the front of the ship. "Get me moving!"
"You recall Davey Jones?" Tia Dalma asked him. "Him had pet that me give him."
"That bloody thing was a menace, not a pet!" The Pirate Lord protested.
"Now that you like Jones me give you pet." She simply stated as she raised a hand in the air.
At the unexpected words, Jack dark eyes bugged out in panic and he shook his head, his dreadlocks flying about. "No, no, no, no, no! No kraken! I don't want a kraken!"
An amused smile graced Calypso's lips. "There be other sea creatures besides the kraken, Jack Sparrow. Me would think ye know dis."
A loud exclamation came from atop the poop deck then as Mr. Gibbs had spotted something out at sea heading their way rapidly. "Jack! Something be heading straight for us!"
Everyone turned then and they saw it. The thing, whatever it was as it definitely was not another ship, rose up high in the air, higher even than their spars or the main mast. The sun was behind it so all they could make out was a tall dark shadowy shape that was tall and thin.
"My God, what is that thing?" Theodore Groves said as he stared at it open mouthed.
"Yet another odd creature no doubt." James Norrington remarked dryly. For him, the odd and unusual was rapidly becoming an everyday occurrence.
As the creature came closer it soon became apparent that it had a long tubular body like a snake. It was longer than the Black Pearl herself, a real feat for a creature indeed as only the kraken had been that immense. It was dark brown in color, almost chocolate, except for a patch of the brightest yellow on its inner throat right under its chin. It had a somewhat pointed snout and otherwise its head was shaped like a snake. High bony ridges were above its eyes, the eyes themselves glistened like black pearls. As it opened its mouth, it soon became clear the beast was a carnivore as long dagger-like teeth were revealed. Its body was covered in hard scales much akin to a fish or a reptile, but the scales looked smooth and slick, wet from the sea. Some type of mane grew from the back of its head and it fluttered in the sea breeze caused by its rapid travel. Whether this was hair or some other substance it was not known but it was as black as night and it grew down its incredibly long neck and onto its back as well. Four large fins propelled it through the water with ease, a long wake left in its rear. A snake-like tail was in the rear, the tail giving it even more length.
Elizabeth gasped, quickly backing away from the side rail. The way it was raised high in the air like that and its shape, it reminded her too much of the kraken's tentacles. She recalled how easily those deadly tentacles had smashed the wood of the Pearl as if they were matchsticks. This thing, whatever it was, could do the same. At least they had been ready for the kraken… Still, she tried to calm herself, to remember that Tia Dalma had called this beast over and that hopefully it meant them no harm. But that shape still drew up bad memories.
Ciel never dreamed such a thing could exist. It was just so incredibly massive. "Sebastian, protect my aunt! I can't allow anything to happen to her!"
The young Earl knew he shouldn't have allowed Madame Red to come on this journey, but she had been insistent. She saw it all as some pleasure cruise, a sea excursion when it was in fact a dangerous mission fraught with threats everywhere. So far she had spent most of the voyage up on the rear of the poop deck, enjoying the salty sea air and the sun. Her broad brimmed hat and a parasol protected her from sunburn. There she rested drinking tea that Grell brought her and ogling the officers that stood before her, most likely without them knowing. She also had some books to read and that ate up the hours. In fact, she had been so caught up in some steamy romance novel that Grell had given her, the book horribly dog-eared, that she had missed out on the singing and rowing. When he had asked her about it later, she had proclaimed that she had been at the 'best part' of the story and couldn't possibly be interrupted for some trivial thing.
"At once, My Lord." Sebastian bowed to the young demon and darted to Madame Red's side instantly. Even he had to admit he had never seen such a creature. He had heard tales of them, yes, but humans were always making up wild stories. One thing was clear though: his Phantomhive silverware would not do much to such a creature.
Madame Red was gazing upward with large red eyes, one hand holding her hat onto her head. With her head tilted back as far as it was, she feared her hat may tumble off of her head and onto the dirty deck. "What on Earth is that thing?"
Ronald felt jittery , his feet shifting about of their own free will. He thought of dashing into the safety of the cabin but pondered if it was really safe in there. The thing could easily swallow a man whole by the looks of it. "William-san?"
William was at a loss of what he should or could do.
Alan pressed himself against Eric's side as if that would protect him. He was no coward but he had never seen anything so massive before. Suddenly Elizabeth's tall tales of the kraken became all too real and easy to believe. This thing was proof that things that large did indeed exist.
Mr. Gibbs' head was swiveling from the rapidly approaching beast to the captain. He left the wheel and raced down the stairs to the captain's side. Raw panic was clear on his face. "Jack! Jack, what should we do? It's almost upon us!"
"Be calm!" Tia Dalma said loudly so everyone may here her. "This creature be mine and it mean you no harm!"
Then the creature was alongside the Pearl and it stuck its long neck over the rail, its neck curved in a smooth arch. Lowering its head, it purred in pleasure as Tia Dalma stroked its pointed snout.
"That be a sea serpent." Jack stated, relieved that it was not a kraken. He had no issues with sea serpents as he had never actually seen one before. He had heard of them, yes. Every sailor had heard of sea serpents just as they had heard of mermaids.
"It be yours, Jack Sparrow. It will pull you where ye wish to go." The goddess informed him with a grin. "When ye get de map back, ye know where to find me."
Then Tia Dalma turned into hundreds of white crabs, the crabs falling to the deck and scrambling over the edge and into the sea.
The Pirate Lord was left with a sea serpent gazing at him with curiosity. He stared back at it for a moment. He had a funny feeling in his gut and he wasn't sure if he liked it. Still, a dry ocean bed he liked even less. "Mr. Gibbs, bring me a long rope! We need to tie this beast to the Pearl."
"Aye, Captain!" Mr. Gibbs was all too glad to run off below, away from the terrifying beast that had shark-like teeth. He was sure it had been eyeing him hungrily.
To be continued…