A/N: I bet that this was unexpected. Yes, I'm still alive and well. I'm sorry I haven't updated in six months. Getting used to the college life is pretty hard.
In case you haven't heard, there are strong signs that point to a Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in the works. I'm debating on whether I want this fanfic to enter that territory. If you want me to, leave a review saying so. If you don't want me to, do the same.
Please review!
Fight For the Dead Man's Chest
"Isla Cruses!" Marty shouted from the from of the ship. The little man pointed forward to where an island was present not a league away. Since the ocean was getting shallow, the Black Pearl couldn't go much further in. Jack had to take a longboat with them to the island. He gathered the crew to the side of the ship.
"Gentlemen," Jack began, but then noticed Elizabeth. "This may be the most dangerous trip any of us have ever taken. So I'll need the bravest of the brave, the strongest of the strong, the wisest of the wise, to accompany me." He stopped. "So, get in the longboat Norrington, Pintel, Ragetti, Elizabeth, and Calvin." Only Elizabeth seemed to notice the sarcasm in his voice.
"Woohoo!" Calvin shouted, as he pushed his way into the longboats. He got there first, and laid down over the seats, taking up much of the space. He was followed by Ragetti, then Pintel, and then Norrington, who sat opposite to him. Jack was about to hop in, when Elizabeth stopped him.
"Jack," She said. "You're positive the chest is here?"
"I don't know, love," Jack smiled. "You're the one holding the compass." The two climbed in.
Calvin looked over the side of the rowboat as it was lowered. It soon splashed into the bright blue water and they were on their way. Jack was holding his jar of dirt, Elizabeth was holding the compass, Pintel and Ragetti were rowing. That left Norrington and Calvin alone.
"Man," Calvin whispered. "I can't wait to get my own ship. What was it like, Norry?" Calvin asked.
Norrington stared up at the sky. "Being captain of a ship…" he began longingly. "Is one of the most prestigious honors anybody could ever hope to obtain.", his face turned grave as he paused. "And it's one of the hardest positions to lose."
Calvin looked at Norrington. "Yea," he said. "You know what?"
"What?"
"Jack's been through both," Calvin said as he pointed to the captain. "And look at him now. He's got his own ship and crew, better than the one before."
"Yes," Norrington said. "He's running for his life and owes his soul to some sea demon."
"Okay," Calvin said. "Good point. But if I know Jack, he'll get out of this situation unscathed."
Norrington laughed. "Are you so sure?"
"Hey," Calvin said. "As long as Hobbes and I are there to back him up, he'll be fine."
The rowboat finally touched down on the mysterious Isla Cruces. The six got out and stepped onto the shore. There was a jungle like on the Isla de Pelegosto, but the island was much flatter. The beach led to a little plain, where an old abandoned church sat, with a waterwheel hanging in disuse next to it. Except for a slight breeze, all was calm.
"Not very lively, eh?" Jack said. He told Norrington, Pintel, and Calvin to grab the three shovels from the longboat and to follow Elizabeth.
"I don't see why I get stuck with the manual labor," Calvin muttered as he grabbed the shortest shovel.
The six followed Elizabeth up the beach about fifty feet, when Elizabeth stopped. She shook Jack's compass in confusion, and then sat down angrily.
"This compass doesn't work," Elizabeth said, pouting. "And it certainly doesn't show what you want most." Jack stared at the compass.
"Yes it does," he said, excitement tingling in his voice. "You're sitting on it."
Elizabeth got up, and Calvin, Norrington and Pintel got to work digging. "You know," Calvin said between shovel fulls. "I actually practiced digging for pirate treasure in my backyard. So if you can't keep up with me, it's understandable." Actually, Calvin was right; he was slightly faster than the other two.
About six minutes later, Calvin's shovel struck something solid. Everyone looked at the hole. There was something…wooden. Everyone spent a minute uncovering it. It was a wooden crate. Jack pulled it out of the sand, and busted it open. Inside contained some rings and necklaces, some old letters, and an ominous looking chest.
"This must be it…" Calvin said, greedy in anticipation. He heaved the chest out of the box. Everybody put an ear to it.
…thump thump…thump thump…
"So the legend really is true," Norrington said, taken aback.
"Now all we need is the key," Jack said.
"Don't worry, we've got you covered!" came a voice from behind. Everyone turned. Behind them were the lost Will and Hobbes.
"Will!" Elizabeth said, and ran over to him.
"HOBBES!" Calvin yelled. He ran over and embraced his buddy in a hug. "I knew you'd get away from Davy Jones."
"Yep," Hobbes said. "Jones took one look at me, and just about wet his pants."
"I knew it," Calvin said. The two looked over at the chest, and saw Will bent over it.
"I'm going to kill Jones," Will said. "And set my father free."
Suddenly, Jack whipped out his cutlass and pointed it at Will. "I can't let you do that, mate. See, I need that heart to square my debt with Jones."
Will then pulled out his sword, and pointed it at Jack. "I keep the promises I make, Jack."
Then Norrington pulled out his sword…on Will. "I can't let you do that either," he said. "So sorry."
"I knew you were on my side," Jack started, but then Norrington pointed his sword at Jack.
"Beckett want's the chest. I give it to him, I get my life back."
"Hey!" Calvin said, running in. "You said you were going to give me the heart!" Calvin pointed his flame sword at Norrington.
"What would a brat want with a heart of a monster?" Jack asked.
"Oh, I'm a brat now?" Calvin said. He took out his lightning sword, and pointed it at Jack.
Jack was pointing at Will, Will was pointing at Norrington, Norrington was pointing at Calvin, and Calvin was pointing at both Norrington and Jack.
"Ha ha!" Calvin laughed. "As you can see, I have the clear advantage. Do you give up?"
The four stood silent for a moment. Suddenly, Will grabbed the chest, and threw it at Calvin. "Catch," he said.
"Wait, don't my hands are full!" Calvin yelled. He dropped both of his swords, and tried to catch the chest. But the weight was too much. The chest knocked Calvin back and landed on his stomach. Quickly, Will, holding the key, ran off. Norrington and Jack chased after him. Calvin quickly recovered, grabbed his two cutlasses, and took off after the three.
Meanwhile, Hobbes, Elizabeth, Pintel, and Ragetti were standing at the sidelines of the action.
"This is ridiculous," Elizabeth said. "We have to do something."
Hobbes watched as Calvin finally caught up to the three. "I don't know. Let's let them fight for a couple of minutes more." Elizabeth had left Hobbes and ran towards the quartet of fighters, leaving Hobbes with Pintel and Ragetti.
"How'd this happen?" Pintel asked.
"Well," Ragetti began. "Jack, of course, wants the heart of Jones as leverage for his soul. Norrington, I think, wants it to regain a bit of honor. Will wants to stab the heart to free his cursed father. And Calvin wants the heart to trade for a ship, much like Jack did thirteen years ago."
"Shame," Pintel muttered.
"Such terrible temptation," Ragetti agreed.
"If we was any kind of decent, we'd remove temptation from their grasp." The two smiled greedily.
"Oh no," Hobbes muttered. "Do I recognize that look."
Pintel and Ragetti took off towards the Dead Man's Chest. Hobbes glanced at Calvin fighting in the distance, and decided to chase after Pintel and Ragetti. "Humans…" he muttered. Luckily, Elizabeth also noticed Pintel and Ragetti, and joined Hobbes.
Calvin used his short height to his advantage to grab the key from Norrington. "HA HA!" he yelled, holding the key up in triumph. The other three turned their cutlasses on Calvin. Calvin did a backwards roll, and ran off towards the ruins of a church. Norrington was hot on his heels, but Jack and Will were still exchanging blade strikes with each other.
Just as Calvin reached the base of the church steeple, Norrington smacked him from behind with the flat of his cutlass. Calvin tumbled to the ground, and Norrington grabbed the key from his hand. But Calvin wasn't done yet. Calvin jumped up and spun like a top, the edge of his swords sticking out. His fire sword nicked Norrington's shin, causing him to wince in pain. Calvin took a horizontal swipe, but Norrington easily blocked it. Norrington counterattacked with a downward smash, but Calvin backstepped. Calvin leapt up as high as he could, and threw his lightening sword at Norrington. Norrington dodged, but this is what Calvin wanted. As Norrington ducked, Calvin slid under him, and grabbed the key. Now behind Norrington, Calvin recovered his other sword.
Norrington spun around, blade out, to make a slash. But the blade was blocked by Will, who was now behind him. Calvin slid under Norrington's legs again and ran up the bell tower of the church. Norrington began fighting Will, and Jack just ran by the two. He had seen Calvin take the key.
Not too far off, Elizabeth and Hobbes were facing down Pintel and Ragetti for the Dead Man's Chest. Pintel and Ragetti had the advantage, since Elizabeth didn't have a weapon. Both chuckled evilly, dropped the chest behind them, and approached Elizabeth and Hobbes, swords drawn.
Suddenly, a sound like a thump came from two feet beside them. All four turned to see a hatchet protruding from a tree. They all turned towards the direction of the beach, and saw Davy Jones' cursed crew charging towards them. Pintel and Ragetti tossed their swords to Elizabeth, grabbed the chest, and made a run for it leaving Elizabeth and Hobbes to fight Jones' crew.
Elizabeth looked nervous, but Hobbes stood his ground. "I'll handle these guys, Elizabeth," Hobbes said. "You grab the chest."
The crew quickly caught up to where Hobbes was, but they stopped when they saw the tiger. "Oh boy," Hobbes growled, getting down on all fours. "A seafood buffet!" The entire crew screamed as Hobbes pounced onto the closest crewman.
Jack, Norrington, Will, and Calvin were all fighting Calvin on top of the church. The fact that Calvin had two swords, and was small made him a hard target to hit. But Calvin was quickly losing stamina. But then he got an idea. Between an attack from Will and Norrington, Calvin picked up a small loose stone, and chucked it off the roof into the nearby jungle grove. "There goes the key!" Calvin said.
The other three men looked on in horror at the place Calvin had thrown the "key".
"Well," Norrington said, regaining composure. "As long as we're all here, why don't I kill the man responsible for ruining my life?" Norrington brought his cutlass up to Jack's throat.
"Let us examine that statement from the former commodore, shall we?" Jack quickly said. Interested, Norrington paused and listened. "Let us ask ourselves. Who was it that when you had a notorious pirate safely locked away in chains, saw fit to free said pirate, and win the heart of your bonnie lass, eh? Whose fault was it really, that you've become a rum soaked beggar what takes orders from pirates?"
"Enough!" Norrington yelled in anger, as he swung his sword at Jack. At the last second, Jack rolled to the side, off of the church, and landed safely on the ground below.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Turner…" Norrington began. "He's right!" Norrington began attacking Will. Calvin, meanwhile, looked at the two fighting in front of him, and looked at the pirate on the ground.
"Well, I'll just leave you two alone," Calvin said. He checked his hand for the key, but to his astonishment, it wasn't there. "What the--?" Calvin said confused. He looked around his feet, and then looked down at the ground to see if he had dropped it. And he spotted Jack, holding the key in his hand, smiling.
"You…pirate!" Calvin yelled, jumping down to Jack.
"A word to the wise," Jack responded, taking out his cutlass. "Don't try to trick a trickster, mate." Calvin gritted his teeth, took out his swords, and ran towards Jack. When he was only a few feet away, Calvin suddenly felt the ground beneath him disappear and he landed face-first in dirt. Looking around, he saw he was in an empty grave.
Hobbes was keeping up a good fight. He used the jungle to his advantage, ambushing crewman after crewman, then slinking back into the brush. It wasn't long before the had the entire crew in a tight circle. Hobbes circled in the grass, then pounced, managing to grab a piece of swordfish. After enjoying his prize, he would repeat the process. Soon however, the crew caught on to Hobbes trick. Hobbes pounced again, but this time, the entire crew chained itself together. Hobbes tried to rip a crewman away, but the crew held together.
"Sorry kitty," the hammer headed first mate said. "The kitchen is now closed. Weapons!" The entire crew pulled out their various instruments of death.
"Um…" Hobbes said nervously, taking a step back. "Gotta run!" Hobbes streaked away as fast as he could, followed by Davy Jones' very angry crew.
Hobbes zigzagged through the jungle, but he couldn't quite lose the mutated men. Suddenly, he crashed into something rather large and fleshy. It was Pintel, who was currently trying to get the chest back from Elizabeth (who had taken it from Ragetti).
"Look, it's the tiger!" Ragetti pointed out.
"We have bigger problems!" Elizabeth said, noticing the crew chasing him.
"Protect the chest!" Hobbes yelled.
It wasn't long before the crew was upon our heroes. There were only two swords for three people, so Elizabeth, Pintel, and Ragetti had to keep trading off. With their support, Hobbes grabbed the chest and swung it around as a weapon, keeping the crewmen at bay.
"Okay, this time I got you--" Calvin began, before falling into another grave. Jack simply stood, still holding the key.
"Give it up mate," Jack mocked, the key hung around his neck.
Calvin got up again, and cautiously approached Jack. Once he was sure that there were no more pitfalls, he ran full speed with both swords pointed out. Just as his attack was about to connect, Calvin and Jack suddenly found themselves pinned together.
Norrington and Will had taken their fight to the top of a rotting waterwheel, and the extra weight made it snap off it's axel. The two men kept fighting, causing the wheel to start rolling. The wheel rolled over Calvin and Jack, and the two were jammed in the rim. The wheel continued, with Will and Norrington fighting on top, and Calvin and Jack stuck spinning.
When Jack and Calvin were upside down, the key slid out from under Jack's shirt and dangled. Calvin quickly grabbed the key with his teeth, and huffed a "ha!" When the wheel rolled back, bringing Calvin and Jack back to normal, their legs hit the ground, pushing the both of them into the interior of the wheel.
Calvin ran, and Jack chased, but like hamsters running on an exercise wheel, Jack and Calvin were stuck in an endless cycle. That is, until Jack hit his head on a cross bar and fell out. Calvin, being shorter, missed the bar completely.
Calvin grabbed onto the side, and screamed triumphantly "I HAVE THE KEY!" Which told Will and Norrington who their best target was. "Uh oh," Calvin uttered.
Norrington and Will jumped into the wheel, and began fighting Calvin. Calvin did the best he could, but due the constant rotation of the wheel and the unfair advantage of two-on-one, Calvin quickly dropped it. The wheel moved on, leaving the key, and Jack, behind.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Hobbes were putting up a valiant fight. Standing back to back, they were able to hold off the pirate hoard. They were able to counter every blade slash, stop every chain swing, and smashed every block.
"I think we've got this under control!" Hobbes panted between attacks. Elizabeth smiled in response. But in an instant, the crew retreated, leaving Hobbes and Elizabeth bewildered.
"That's rather…odd," Elizabeth noted, breathing heavily.
"I wonder what they're up to," Hobbes thought out loud.
Behind them, two hands grabbed their shoulders. Elizabeth and Hobbes quickly turned around and hit the enemies behind them.
"Oww!" Pintel yelled, rubbing his head. "Not so hard, poppet!"
"Eh Hobbes," Ragetti said, adjusting his wooden eye. "Ya almost knocked me eye out!"
"Sorry guys," Hobbes said. "What are you up to?"
Ragetti and Pintel exchanged glasses. "Well…you see…"
"Where's the chest?" Elizabeth asked. Upon hearing this, Hobbes looked around, but the Dead Man's Chest was no where to be seen.
"Heh heh…" The two gruffy pirates laughed nervously.
"Let's say that the crew made us an offer we couldn't refuse," Pintel said.
"Yea," Ragetti added. "Our lives."
"Do you realize what you've done?" Elizabeth asked.
When Jack came to, he groggily sat up. After a moment, his senses were working again, and the first thing he noticed was that Calvin, Norrington, and Will were gone. The second thing he noticed was something resting on his boot. It was a key.
"Hrm," Jack grunted. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and pocketed the key. As luck would have it, a moment later, Jack heard a rustling from a nearby pocket of trees. Out came a lone member of the Flying Dutchman crew, grasping the chest in his slimy hands. And he hadn't noticed Captain Jack.
Jack picked up a nearby rock, and threw it at the cursed sailor. The rock flew and hit the pirate square in the head, actually knocking it clean off. Without it's head, the body stumbled a bit before smashing into a tree and dropping the chest, all while the head was trying to direct it.
"Oh shut it," Jack said to the sailor, as he sat in front of the chest. He inserted the key into the heart shaped lock. As he turned it, the chest clicked, turning the heart emblem into a crab. Jack grabbed both sides of the lid and slowly lifted it. Inside was the still beating heart of Davy Jones. It was slowly thumping, with a few barnacles growing on it, but it was a human heart. Jack picked it up. It was slimy, yet mysteriously warm, as if the blood of its owner was still flowing through it.
Jack had no more time to admire the heart, because he heard a rather large mass of people approaching. Thinking quickly, he stuffed the heart into his vest, and closed the chest. He grabbed the chest, and ran towards the longboat.
"Ug…" Calvin said, sitting up, as dizzy as he had ever been in his life. After some swordplay between him, Will, and Norrington, the wheel reached the beach where it toppled over. Calvin was the last of the three to get up. He clutched his head. "Man, I have to do that again," he smiled.
Eventually, Calvin got up, and grabbed his two swords. Will and Norrington were fighting on the beach. Elizabeth, Pintel, Ragetti, and Hobbes had just run out of the dense jungle, and were making their way to the longboat. Jack, similarly, was coming from another direction, and he was holding the chest. Calvin decided to engage Jack.
He ran at him with his two swords drawn. But suddenly, Calvin spotted the Flying Dutchman crew approaching from behind Jack. Calvin did a 180 and made his way back to the longboat. He was followed quickly by Jack.
Calvin reached the boat first, a few seconds before the captain. Jack quickly took the heart out of his vest, and stuffed it in his jar of dirt.
"So that's why that crazy lady gave us the dirt…" Calvin said. Soon, the two were joined by the rest of the landing party. The Dutchman crew was closing in quickly. Jack grabbed an oar, and Pintel and Ragetti grabbed a net.
"Looks like we'll have to hold them off for a bit!" Norrington yelled. The crew finally arrived, and took on our heroes.
Each person did their best to defend against the crew. In a match of eight versus twenty, the Black Pearl crew were holding out surprisingly well. Jack used the length of the oar to his advantage, keeping the cursed crew away from the longboat. Calvin switched between his fire and thunder swords, and cut away at the bellies of the fish-like sailors, who especially hated the sting of his thunder blade. Pintel and Ragetti used a strategy involving throwing the net around to create easy targets, which Norrington happily battled. Will and Elizabeth were using their swords to the best of their ability. When Will began to tire, Elizabeth would step forward to take his place, and vice versa. Hobbes provided support for the gang, knocking down distracted enemies and finishing off crewmen that escaped the fury of the others.
Everybody fought valiantly, but they could not defend the heart for long. Norrington left the fight for a moment to push the longboat into the water so they could escape. He came back holding the chest.
"Norrington, what are you doing?" Will asked.
"Don't wait for me!" Norrington commanded, and ran off with the chest. The entire crew followed him.
"I say we respect his final wish," Jack said.
"Agreed!" Calvin replied, crawling into the longboat. He was followed by everyone else (minus Norrington, of course). Pintel and Ragetti took to the oars. Jack was standing up front in victory, clutching the jar of dirt. Will and Elizabeth sat in the middle. Calvin and Hobbes were in the back.
"I don't get it," Hobbes said, once they were far enough from shore. "If Norrington has the heart now, why are we running?"
"Because Norrington doesn't have the heart," Calvin replied.
"Then who does?" Hobbes asked.
"It's in the jar of dirt." Calvin pointed to the jar their captain was holding.
"So we're just going to let Norrington get killed then?" Hobbes asked.
"Relax," Calvin said. "Norrie can handle himself. Besides, by the time the crew reach him, they'll realize that he doesn't have the heart, and by then, we'll have Davy Jones in our hands."
"Don't you mean that Jack will have Davy Jones in his hands?"
"Oh yea…" Calvin remembered. "Hey captain!" Calvin yelled to Jack.
"Aye?" Jack turned.
"You know I was just kidding back on that island. Of course I wanted you to have the heart."
"You're almost too nice to be a pirate," Jack replied. "A pirate always looks out for his best interest. I would have done the same thing in your shoes."
"Really?" Calvin asked, offended. Hobbes chuckled, resulting in an evil glare from Calvin.