Chapter 40 I'm a Pirate
Flashback with Jack and Will:
Barbarossa and Elizabeth stood before a chest that contained the rest of the medallions like the one Elizabeth had. It was placed on a small mountain of gold as the rest of the Pirates cheered on.
"And now the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever." Barbarossa cheered.
From not too far away, Will and Jack watched. Will started to get worried and was about to run down to Elizabeth, but Jack stopped him.
"No! Not yet! We wait for the opportune moment." Jack whispered.
"And when is that opportune moment? When it's most opportune to you?" Will argued.
"Let me asked you something. Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?" Jack asked. Will didn't respond. "Stay here. And try not to do anything stupid."
When Jack turned around, Will hit him in the head with an oar, knocking him out cold. Will then headed down towards Elizabeth.
Back with Elizabeth, Barbarossa had made a cut in her hand, getting the medallion soaked in her blood as Barbarossa held her hand closed.
"Begun by blood…By blood undone." Barbarossa said as he let go of her hand causing her to drop the medallion into the chest.
Everyone was silent for a moment.
"Well? Did it work?" One pirate asked.
Barbarossa responded by pulling out his gun and shooting the pirate that asked.
To everyone's shock and anger, he didn't die. Barbarossa then turned to Elizabeth.
"You! Maid! Your father. Was your father William Turner?" Barbarossa asked.
"No." Elizabeth spat.
Barbarossa shoved her off the pile and onto the ground in anger before turning to his pirates that were all shouting complaints.
"Who brought this wench to us?" Barbarossa demanded.
"She said her name was Turner!" One pirate defended.
"Well she wasn't, you nimrod!" Barbarossa shouted.
Elizabeth saw Will's medallion land in front of her. As she reached to grab it, Will grabbed her hand and helped her up.
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Will urged and Elizabeth nodded. Picking up the Medallion, the two headed for the exit. Though as they did, Barbarossa spotted them, and to his horror, the medallion in their hands.
"The medallion! After them, you ingrates!" Barbarossa ordered as the Pirates gave chase.
Flashback ends:
"And that's what happened." Will finished his explanation to the group.
"So, you left Jack behind?" Sora asked concerned.
"I had to. Jack is no fairy tale pirate Sora. Real pirates aren't to be trusted." Will said.
"But still..." Sora muttered in concern. Pirate or not, Sora wasn't too keen on leaving someone behind.
"There is something I've been meaning to ask. Why did they take you Elizabeth?" Corrin asked.
"To break the curse of the Aztec Gold. According to Barbarossa, there is supposed to be one hundred and eighty-two identical pieces in a stone chest on that island. Barbarossa said he and his crew found the gold and took them all. But as they spent it, they became cursed as you all no doubt saw." Elizabeth said.
"Yeah. They turned into those skeletons when under the moon light." Goofy said and Elizabeth nodded.
"Yes. In order to break the curse, they need to not only return every piece to the chest, but must also take some blood from every soul that has ever touched it." Elizabeth said as she showed the others the cut on her hand.
"So, the curse is broken?" Takumi asked but Elizabeth shook her head.
"No. They thought I was someone else." Elizabeth said.
"You gave them my name...But why did you give Barbarossa my name instead of yours?" Will asked having heard Barbarossa speak after his failed attempt to break the curse.
"I…I don't know." Elizabeth muttered. Will then noticed the medallion in her hand.
"Where did you get that?" Will asked.
"It's yours. From the day we found you-drifting at sea." Elizabeth said sadly.
"I thought I lost that." Will muttered as Elizabeth handed the medallion to him. "This was a gift from my father…He sent it to me." Will was silent for a moment. "Why did you take it?"
"I was afraid that you were a pirate." Elizabeth admitted. "That would have been awful."
Will was silent again before it finally dawned on him. "I see now. It wasn't your blood they needed. It was my father's blood…my blood…the blood of a pirate." Will muttered.
"So now what?" Corrin asked getting both of their attention. "If you have that medallion, that means that Barbarossa will be after us again…And you if they figure out, you're the one they want."
Will nodded. "Let's get Elizabeth back to town first. Then we'll figure out what to do with those pirates."
"C-Couldn't we just let them break the curse?" Sakura asked.
"Problem with that is that who knows if they will negotiate Sakura. They could just kill us ether way." Takumi argued.
"Plus with Pete helping them out, that is very likely. Regardless of what we do, it would be best to do it on our terms." Corrin added.
Everyone agreed and got to work on stirring the boat.
Sora however looked out at the sea in the direction of Isla de Muerta as it was no longer in view.
"I hope Jack is okay." He muttered.
On the Black Pearl:
Jack was currently on the deck of the Black Pearl he wanted back so much. Sadly, it wasn't as its captain, but its prisoner as he was tied up with Barbarossa approached him.
"How in the blazes did you even get off that island Jack?" Barbarossa asked.
"When you sailed away in my ship and marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, with naught but a pistol and a single shot, you forgot one important thing mate. I'm captain Jack Sparrow." Jack said.
"Well, I won't be making that mistake again." Barbarossa said.
"Then let's say we put the past behind us, untie these ropes, and I'll negotiate the return of your medallion? What say you to that?" Jack offered.
"Seeing as how the Black Pearl is mine now, letting you go just doesn't seem to fall within my interests." Barbarossa said.
"Odd…I'm not actually concerned with YOUR INTEREST! Give me back the Pearl." Jack demanded.
Barbarossa however, just laughed. "Lock him in the brig."
As one pirate pushed Jack down into the brig, another pirate called out.
"We're coming up onto the Interceptor. What do we do captain?" The pirate asked.
"What do you think you idiot?" Barbarossa snapped annoyed.
Back on the Interceptor:
It was rather quite on the Interceptor. Will was at the wheel, while everyone else was lost to their own thoughts. Sora in particular.
'Corrin didn't let me fight because I held back in town. Because I was afraid of using my drive forms…How do I get over this?' Sora thought.
"Will look!" Elizabeth suddenly called out.
Everyone looked to where Elizabeth was pointing, and sure enough, it was the Black Pearl approaching them fast.
"It's not a surprise, but it is shocking that they caught up so fast." Takumi said.
"Barbarossa really wants that medallion." Kaze said.
"So, what do we do?" Goofy asked worried.
"What would Jack do?" Sora asked.
"I'm not sure…I suppose, he'd run for it." Will said.
"Sounds like a plan." Sora said.
Suddenly, the ship was hit by a cannonball, causing it to shake. Will lost his balance and fell off the ship's rails, dropping the medallion in the process.
"Will!" Elizabeth gasped as she ran to the side of the ship and looked down for her friend.
Sora got up and picked up the medallion. "Looks like we have to fight our way out of this."
"I don't think we have a choice. If we run now, they'll just keep firing on us." Corrin said as he ran for the wheel. Corrin gave a sharp turn on the ship causing it to turn towards the pirates.
The Black Pearl approached the Interceptor, and upon being close enough, pirates started to jump aboard.
"Okay kiddies. We'll ask just one time nicely. Hand over the Medallion, and we might let you go." One of the pirates laughed.
"Like we'd believe you." Takumi spat as he readied the Fujin Yumi.
"Your loss." The pirate shrugged as he and the other prepared for battle.
"Let's go everyone!" Sora declared.
"I think not." Barbarossa said. Everyone looked to the side, and to their shock, Barbarossa and some pirates were standing with a tied-up Jack, and Elizabeth held at gun point. "I don't fully understand how you are able to do it, but it seems that you can actually hurt us despite the curse. But that ends here. Hand over that medallion, or we kill these two."
The group growled.
"You coward." Takumi spat but the group complied and lowered their weapons.
"Drop your weapons and hand over the medallion or we shoot." Barbarossa said.
The group complied dismissing their weapons.
"She goes free!" Will shouted.
Everyone turned to see Will, finally managing to pull himself back onto the ship with a gun in his hand that was pointing at Barbarossa.
Barbarossa however looked unconcerned.
"Go ahead boy, shoot. We can't die." Barbarossa said.
"You're right. You can't…" Will said lowering the gun for a moment before pointing it at his head much to everyone's surprise. "But I can! My name is Will Turner. My father is Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."
"What?!" Barbarossa and the pirates gasped.
"On my word, do as I say, or I pull the trigger and be lost to Davey Jones Locker." Will declared.
Barbarossa growled. If what this guy said was true, then he was the one they were looking for. Granted it could be another lie, but that wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
"Name your terms… Mr. Turner." Barbarossa said.
"Release Elizabeth…And Sora, Corrin, Donald, Goofy, Kaze, Sakura, and Takumi too." Will demanded.
"Anything else?" Barbarossa asked. Jack made some movements to get Will's attention, but Will ignored him.
"Leave now!" Will demanded.
"Agreed. Leave we shall…" Barbarossa said with a bow. But a smirk appeared on his face as he rose his head. "But the Heartless stay."
"Will, look out!" Kaze suddenly warned, but it was too late. Will felt a pain in the back of his head and was out like a light.
Pete had snuck up from behind Will, and hit him in the head with an oar. He then grabbed the unconscious man and ran to Barbarossa's side. As he did, multiple Air Pirate Heartless appeared and surrounded the unarmed group.
"No fair!" Sora cried out as the pirates and Heartless moved in on them.
"And in you go!" Pete sang as he tossed Sora into the lower decks of the Interceptor with the rest of the group minus Will. All of them were tied up. "Good work Barbarossa, that was too easy."
"Barbarossa you coward!" Elizabeth spat.
"That's the last time I trust a pirate." Sora said.
"Why would you trust one in the first place?" Takumi demanded.
"A straight up fight against ye would likely not end well for me. Especially with that magic you somehow have that can actually hurt us. But worry not. I am keeping my word and leaving ya. With a parting gift no less." Barbarossa laughed.
"The Power Kegs are ready captain." A pirate shouted much to the group's surprise.
"Then I bid ye farewell." Barbarossa smirked as he left.
"I can't wait to see the look on Maleficent's face when I tell her about this. And I did it without her." Pete sang as he closed the door and left.
Soon enough, the sound of movement on the deck had vanished as the Black Pearl sailed away.
"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked afraid.
"We're going to be blown to smithereens!" Goofy cried out.
"Why struggle mate? A pirate knows when to surrender." Jack said.
"Are you serious Jack?" Elizabeth demanded.
"Well, your average pirate anyway." Jack said suddenly standing up with the ropes cut and falling to the ground. Jack was shown to have a knife in his hand as he faced the door. "First we need to see to that gunpowder. I could use your help if…" Jack stopped talking when he turned to see that Kaze had not only managed to free himself, but the others as well.
"If what?" Kaze asked.
"Impressive." Jack commented.
"It seems that Barbarossa and Pete have no knowledge of ninjas. Their method of restraining me was amateur at best." Kaze said putting away his own hidden blade he used to cut the rope.
"Good to know. Now then. Let us deal with that gunpowder. I don't plan on losing this ship." Jack said.
"I don't trust pirates." Takumi stated.
"Wise policy lad." Jack said. "But even you have to admit that if that gun powder goes off, we'll all be killed right?"
"True, but its not like we need your help to take out some Heartless and dispose of some gun powder. We can still toss you over board after." Takumi argued.
"Throw me overboard if you wish, but let me ask you something else? How do you plan on getting to Isla de Marta without me? Like I said before, it is an island that is only known to those who know where it is. I know where it is, but do you?" Jack challenged.
No one was able to retort that.
"I hate to admit it, but we do need Jack. Not only to get to the island, but he knows how Barbarossa works." Corrin pointed out reluctantly. He wasn't thrilled with the chances of trusting a pirate, but they had no choice.
"Then we'd best hurry." Jack sang as the group ran up to the deck, minus Elizabeth as she didn't have a weapon to fight with.
On the deck, many Air Pirate Heartless were getting ready to light five barrels of gunpowder on fire to blow up the ship.
"Split up! Me, Sora, Kaze, Takumi, and Jack will each take a barrel. Sakura, Donald, and Goofy, keep the Heartless off our backs.
Everyone nodded and did their duty. In a few moments, all the barrels were successfully launched into the sea and any remaining Heartless fled.
Jack immediately ran to the wheel and sailed the ship back to the island.
"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship. But I'll be having her back soon enough." Jack vowed.
And that's a wrap!
My apologies if it feels like I'm trying to skim through this. Like I said, the Pirates movies aren't my biggest thing, and I'm not as familiar with them as I am with these other worlds, nor do I have the time to go and watch the movies again. That is why I didn't add in any extra characters from the movie.
I should finish up with the Pirates World next chapter, though I am questioning if I will do the second visit as a result. When it gets closer to it (And by that I mean after the big climax in Hollow Bastion) I might throw up a poll for your opinions on if I should or skip it. And for those worried about Luxord, I can ether skip it, as his meeting in that world wasn't there to tell us anything about the overall story, or himself as a character; or I can throw his meeting with the group elsewhere. I'll worry about that later though. We have three more worlds left before Sora returns to Twilight Town, so I want to focus on that for the time being.
Anyway, next time, Sora and the gang have their showdown with Barbarossa.
Be sure to leave a follow and a review and I will see you guys next time.
Guestwithideas: In terms of Jack's advice, I literally had to look that speech up since I had no idea what you were talking about. I don't know If I will use it though. As for the Kairi thing:
First of all, don't feel the need to apologies for speaking your thoughts about that. It's not like you're a jerk about it. And if I didn't want to listen to your opinion on the subject, I wouldn't have given mine. XD
Second, at least from the people I spoke to, what I said was more to what they complained about. They got so worked up about seeing concept art of Kairi with a Keyblade, that they expected her to play a larger role in the climax. There may have been some who think like how you said, but that was just from my experience with the aftermath. Plus my main point was mostly to tell people to chill and wait about the end of Melody of Memories as people assumed Kairi was going to be useless in this next arc as well.
Kingdom Hearts 3's biggest problem was that it had so much to do, and waited to the end to deal with it for a sort of road trip, so it had to do it all in a short amount of time. (Not the best idea there)
Get Aqua back, Get Ventus back, deal with Vanitas, Find Terra, get Roxas back, bring Xion back into existence, bring back Namine, Ansem, the former apprentices of Ansem, Lea and Isa's little relationship problem, stop Xehanort and the new Organization, etc.
Kairi and Lea's training wasn't the only thing that was side lined. Xion's return was just kind of out of nowhere, and Namine's return felt more of an after thought, even with re Mind. Some stuff was bound to get the short end of the stick.
On another note, I don't think I'd say Terra's fall was from his lack of knowledge on how the world works, but rather being native to being manipulated. Xehanort's manipulation, added with Aqua's little accusation at Radiant Garden (Kind of) and Eraqus's hatred for the darkness set him right up for falling into Xehanort's plans.