Author's Note: This is definitely the last chapter of Port Royal, yet the main story is not yet over, and this will definitely be my longest fanfic story on record. Get ready for it!
I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy.
CH41: Farewell to a Companion.
The battle was getting so intensed that no one really payed attention to either helms of both ships anymore. All that mattered at the moment was who would win and survive and who would lose and die, but it didn't seem to be ending in anyone's favor as it came to the fact that this was a fight to the death. It didn't help mattered that Dulor had now been hellbent on just simply attacking anyone that came near him even as Lea continously sliced up his cards into pieces, he conjoured up more.
And no matter how many cure magics or potions the worldly travellers used, they were becoming dangerously exhausted and that wasn't a good thing.
Dulor send out shooting cards right at Lea who tried to block them with his Chakrams but several eventually hit him and he was sent flying backwards, crashing into the stairwell and his weapons dismissing themselves. The former No.10 laughed as he now had the advantage to finish the former No.8 off once and for all. The redhead panted, nearly out of energy and couldn't move even though he tried to will himself to move, but knew that as Dulor prepared for the final attack to either kill him or imprison him in his cards, it was no use.
"NO!" Roxas' voice exclaimed as Dulor stopped what he was doing, turning only to meet Roxas' double-Keyblades in attacking him and shoving him away from Lea who was shocked as Xion then approached and used her Curaga Spell while Isa quickly joined Roxas in dueling with Dulor now, avoiding the enemy's attacks as well as attacking him in return.
"Remind me to thank all of you guys later if we live through this." Lea commented to Xion who helped him stand up.
"We wouldn't live without you, Axel. You're family to us!" Xion pointed out with a warm smile.
Lea smiled in return, before the two friends hurried over to help Roxas and Isa to finish off Dulor once and for all.
Meanwhile, Jack and Davy Jones continued their brutal fight against each other, even though the former was in very deep trouble as he fought and struggled with Jones over the Chest. Jack may have had more balance and poise than a lot of other people, but even he was hard-pressed to keep up the pretence in the middle of a violent storm, and it didn't help that his opponent was an undead monster who appeared to be in a murderous rage.
Eventually the two locked swords and their eyes met, though Jack tried very hard not to let his opponent's monsterous gaze faze him, no matter how terrifying they were.
"You can do nothing without the key!" Davy Jones stated.
"I already have the key." Jack blurted out, thinking that the immortal Pirate was talking about the Keyblade, and mentally smacked himself for revealing that.
However, it seemed Jack didn't need to worry at the moment, because Davy Jones didn't think of the Keyblade, and instead showed him the key to the Dead Man's Chest, pointing out smugly, "No, you don't."
A short pause.
"Oh, that key." Jack replied, realising his misunderstanding. No problem at all then. The two then spun around their swords, and this was the opening Jack needed. First he caught his enemy off guard by slicing the tentacle with the key off while it fell onto the deck somewhere as Davy Jones roared in pain.
He then tried to attack again, but this time Jack successfully knocked his sword out from his grasp where it landed onto the deck as well, before whacking him in the face with the iron chest. However, Jack's victory couldn't last. He made to slice off Davy Jones' clawed arm only for the immortal pirate to cut the blade into a short dagger with his claw.
'Bugger.' Jack thought as he glanced at his broken sword. Even though Jack could still use his Keyblade, he knew that Davy Jones was dangerous because of his body, and that he was worried that Davy Jones could easily destroy the Keyblade as well.
Onboard the Black Pearl, Barbossa was having trouble of his own as he struggled against a Fish-Pirate as the two locked swords, though the former cursed Pirate was cornered and knew that he was stuck. Fortunately, Cloud sliced the Fish-Pirate in half at the last second and the two men then tossed the two pieces of the enemies overboard before they were forced to fight more enemies.
Unfortunately, the swirling waters of the maelstrom had gradually brought the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman closer and closer together. But no one had been really paying attention to just how close until it was too late. The masts of the two ships collided in a bone-jarring jolt, becoming tangled with each other and making the war far more dangerous. It caused several pirates who were still swinging to land onto either ship to swing out of control. At least the ones who were higher, but still.
The force of the impact caused Jack to lose his balance and would've fallen to his death had not only he held a tight grip on the chest, but also Davy Jones, in his panic, grab onto the chest as well to save his heart(and himself), but was very annoyed that Jack was hanging on and refused to let go.
Sora, who had dismissed his Valor form, had just finished off another Pirate-Heartless by thrusting his Keyblade down on it when the jolt nearly made him lose his balance but managed to stand up. When he looked to see what happened, his eyes widened in horror as he saw Jack dangling for dear life on the Chest, with Davy Jones holding a grasp on it.
"Jack!" Sora cried out worriedly, which Riku and Kairi both noticed, before the trio shared a glance and Sora told them, "I have to help him!"
"We'll be fine. Go!" Kairi told him, while she and Riku both quickly finished off two more Heartless.
The spiky-haired teen nodded and mouthed 'be careful' two his best friends who did the same and then he raced over to grab a rope before swinging himself towards the Flying Dutchmen while praying that his friends onboard the Black Pearl would be alright. The moment he landed, Sora was quickly surrounded by more of Davy Jones' crew which made him block each of their attacks as well as the attacks from the Heartless.
"No time for you!" Sora shouted, tossing his Keyblade as it spun around and knocked away many enemies as possible before he caught it again and then continued the fight with many opponents while trying to make his way to Jack.
He then gasped in horror as Davy Jones then flinged Jack into the air as the mortal Pirate screamed. Fortunately, Sora breathed a sigh of relief when Jack was unexpectedly saved when another Fish-Pirate caught him and he held onto the rope while swung around. Jack then noticed a familiar pistol on the Fish-man's belt.
"Oi! My pistol!" Jack pouted as he yanked it before clubbing the enemy in the forehead, knocking him down to his demise while Jack now had the rope to himself.
This done, Jack carefully aimed as he swung towards Davy Jones. He aimed carefully while Davy Jones, who was relieved to have his Chest back, then noticed too late as his most hated enemy fired a gunshot, hitting Davy's hand and causing him to drop the chest where it landed onto the deck. Only two seconds did that happen came Will, who also noticed that Jack was in trouble and having seen Sora swing over to help.
Though when he saw the Chest, he quickly grabbed it and knew what to do. But Will was quickly blocked when a familiar Fish-Pirate noticed him and hissed, "Turner!" before attacking him, yet Will used the Chest as a shield to avoid in getting sliced into pieces.
Fortuantely, Sora noticed and gasped that Will came onboard the Dutchmen as well and that he was in trouble. After quickly finishing off another Heartless and before he himself ended up ambushed himself, the Keyblade Master aimed and fired another Orb of Light which knocked over the Fish-Pirate overboard, saving his friend's life.
"Thank you, Sora!" Will said to his friend.
"We owe each other apologises later when we get out of this!" Sora replied, giving Will a thumbs up before finding himself forcing to fight more enemies again.
Will nodded, knowing that he did owe Sora and his friends an apology. Right now, though, he had to get the Chest back to Jack in order to make things work and to end this war once and for all. But as he neared the doors to the Captain's Cabin, he was attacked and ambushed by Bootstrap who, his mind completely bound to the ship, did not recongise his own son who dropped the chest onto the deck. This left Will with no choice but to fight his father, despite his pleads to make him stop and recongise him.
Jack in the meantime kicked away a flying Heartless before eventually landing on the deck in front of the chest just as Davy Jones, who landed on the deck earlier, neared it. But when Jack reached for his cutlass, he forgot that it was nothing more than a small dagger until it was too late. He then ran when Davy Jones cackled until the two were on both sides of the crank wheel. Davy Jones phase his way through it, though Jack quickly spun it, giving the immortal Pirate a spinning ride.
However, it hadn't worked out well as Davy Jones once again faced Jack and yelled monsterously and his tentacles spasming out in response.
"AAHHH!" Jack screamed, terrified, before running for his life but was blocked when Davy Jones came at him again.
Just as Davy Jones was about to attack again, he was knocked to the side when Sora whacked him with his Keyblade and rejoined his friend's side, asking incrediously, "You didn't think of using your Keyblade!?"
"Didn't think it would be good idea...until now." Jack admitted, as he and Sora turned to face Davy Jones again who growled like a dangerous animal. This left Jack now with no choice but to use his Keyblade in this fight. So he quickly summoned it and the two Keyblade wielders stood for another round.
This only increased Davy Jones' fury as he attacked, swiping his sword at the two Keyblade wielders who blocked his attack and again the clashes once again occured, this time Sora was added and it was three-way battle. Sora quickly chanted Firaga which burnt off parts of Davy Jones' tentacles, before he was slashed on the arm by an unexpect attack of the immortal Pirate. Jack quickly blocked the enemy's attempts to stab his friend and the two men clashed again, Sora returning the favor in saving Jack. The two kicked Davy Jones in the stomach which made him stumble back a little, but he whacked them back with his clawed hand as they landed on the deck.
Sora used Curaga on himself and Jack before the two stood up again and dodge-rolled out of the way when Davy Jones fired a gunshot at them which missed. The teenager then chanted Thunderaga, though it didn't do much damage and he and Jack both blocked Davy Jones' sword again, the duo struggling against the immortal Pirate's brutal strength. Eventually Sora and Jack shoved him back and hit several hits on Davy Jones who blocked most of them. It didn't help that Heartless appeared which forced Sora and Jack to divert into fighting Davy Jones and the Heartless.
Jack sliced three Heartless at different times while ducking to avoid Davy Jones' sword, and Sora used his Omninish burrowed from Cloud due their connections of their Hearts, and glowed in light before he dashed around the deck and took out as many Heartless as possible before going for Davy Jones who screamed when he was hit before the attack wore off. Instead Sora soon used his Strike Raid and attacked Davy Jones who somehow managed to block most of the attack while Jack shot five more Heartless with his pistol before quickly turning and blocked another Pirate-Heartless's sword. He kicked it in the stomach to push it back and finished off in a slash with his Keyblade.
However, Davy Jones proved too much for them even with Sora's status as a Keyblade wielder. The evil Pirate successfully stuck him and Jack violently on their heads and the two wielders dropped to the deck, unconscious and their Keyblades dismissed themselves.
While the battle raged on, Mourtogg and the terrified Mullroy, holding a tight grip of a rope together, swung straight towards the Black Pearl, Mourtogg giving out a battle cry which turned into a worried cry, and Mullroy giving out a blood-curdling scream, only that they were too low from the deck and smacked face first onto the side of the ship, but it wasn't enough for them to fall into the abyss. Seeing the two of them, Donald and Goofy quickly pulled them onboard the Black Pearl to safety despite that they were with Beckett, but they were unconscious for now.
In the meantime, Roxas, Xion, Lea and Isa continously destroyed and/or avoided Dulor's attacks until Roxas and Xion both tossed their Keyblade towards Dulor who tried to shield himself with his cards, only for Isa to capture him with the power of his wind from his Keyblade, causing their former co-work to scream in agony when he was hit by the teenagers' weapons. Finally, Lea dashed forward and to Dulor's horror, the redhead sliced him through the chest with his Keyblade which not only fatually wounded him into the heart, but also knocked him over towards the railing, where he stumbled and fell.
"Nooooooooooooooo!" Dulor's dying screams filled the air until it faded while he vanished into the abyss below. Dulor was now definitely gone for good.
The four of them looked over the railing as the battle was finally going into the Black Pearl's favor, though the fight won't be over until Davy Jones and Beckett are dead.
"Well, that's that." Lea muttered, panting. He and his three friends then sensed movement and quickly stepped out of the way to avoid more Heartless before the four of them were forced to continue the fight, this time aiding the rest of their friends and allies.
Elizabeth in the meantime, seeing Will, Jack and Sora in trouble, despite worrying about the rest of her friends, swung over at Gibbs' encouragement. The female Pirate King swung over and landed in front of the chest just after Davy Jones knocked down Sora and Jack and blocked him from getting to the chest, much to the evil Pirate's fury.
"Go ahead! Ye'll see no mercy from me!" He bellowed.
"That's why I brought this!" Elizabeth replied as she pulled out her sword and fought against Davy Jones herself despite the cursed Pirate being stronger than her.
Both Sora and Jack soon regained conscious as the two groggily awoke and not only did they see Elizabeth now fight against Davy Jones, which Sora quickly shook away the dizziness and hurried to help her when she was knocked down onto the deck, unconscious, but Jack saw the the tentacle that he had sliced from Jones' face, crawling across the deck right in front of his face. Clutched in the tentacle was the key to the Dead Man's Chest.
That was when Jack knew what he had to do, and now the time had come to make his sacrifice in order to save his friends.
Sora attempted to slash down at Davy Jones, but was caught by the neck by the latter's claw and then tossed to the side, knocking the wind out of the Keyblade wielder. Will in the meantime was still fighting his father until he finally knocked away the latter's sword and had him cornered and exhausted. He then turned and saw, to his horror, that both Elizabeth and Sora were knocked down and knew there was only one way to save them.
He turned back to his father, and struck the dagger into the wood beside him. Bootstraps' unthinking eyes were alight with confusion.
"I'm not going to kill you. I made you a promise." Will told him, before stabbing his father's knife onto the board next to Bootstrap, and then rushed over behind Davy Jones who attempted to finish off Elizabeth first. The young man quickly thrust his sword right through the evil Pirate's chest. Davy Jones let out a roar, though its origins were more from surprise than from pain. Except that Davy Jones didn't die.
"Missed." Davy Jones told him, and it was now that Will forgot that the man's heart was in the iron chest, not where it should be. "Did you forget? I'm a heartless wretch."
Davy Jones reached up and twisted up the metal blade of the sword so that Will couldn't pull it out. He then rounded upon Will while also swinging at Sakura. Will tried to stay behind Jones, ducking away But Jones was swift, and got Will right where he wanted after only a few seconds. He kicked Will savagely in the gut, knocking him against the side of the Flying Dutchman's railing just as Sora stood near him, and Elizabeth regained consciousness, and she locked eyes with Will, which caught Davy Jones' attention.
He then realised what this meant and smirked coldly, "Ah. Love. A dreadful bond. And yet," He turned to Will and walked towards him, the sword outstretched, hovering only inches from Will's body. "So easily severed. Tell me, William Turner, do you fear death?"
Sora's eyes widened in horror, and was about to strike at Davy Jones when Jack's voice stopped him while challengingly asked the evil Pirate, "Do you?"
All four of them turned to see Jack standing there behind Davy Jones, with the latter's heart in his left hand which was inches close to being stabbed by Jack's broken sword, having used the key to open the Dead Man's Chest. Sora's eyes widened, realising that this was what he and Will planned all this time; Jack was going to sacrifice his own heart and become the new Captain of the Flying Dutchmen, in order to free Bootstrap as well as having Will to have a future with Elizabeth, togther as a married couple. Sora's own heart ached, but he knew, this was their only chance now. Jack had made his decision to avoid anyone else to do it.
Yet Sora couldn't help but know that he was going to lose a friend, and that's what Jack was-pirate or not.
"Ironic, isn't it? Holding life and death in the palm of one's hand?" Jack mused with a smirk.
"You're a cruel man, Jack Sparr'a!" Davy Jones growled vemonously.
"Cruel is a matter of perspective." Jack pointed out.
"Is it?" Davy Jones asked with a deadly look in his eyes. Before anyone else could react, he turned and plunged the sword into Will's chest. Will let out a strangled, agonized gasp, the incredible pain flooding through his body. Elizabeth gasped in pure horror.
"WILL!" Sora screamed out, horrified, his heart and blood freezing cold.
Even Jack gasped in absolute shock and horror. No. This supposed to happen! He stood frozen, unable to move while Davy Jones took pleasure in twisting his sword deeper into Will's chest while the younger man felt his strength quickly leaving him. Davy Jones eventually let go of the sword while Sora hurried over and tried to use Curaga and healing Potions to save his friend, but none of them worked.
"No, no, no, no, no! Curaga! CURAGA! C'mon, work, Curaga! You did it for Axel! Why can't you save Will now!?" Sora cried out, on the verge of tears as he continued try and save Will, but it was far too late. It was already bad enough that he would've lost Jack. Now Davy Jones just made things worse and Will was quickly fading from life before the teenager's eyes. And just Sora's, but also Elizabeth who went over, pleading him to stay strong, as well as Jack's who now didn't know what to do, unable to keep to his promise.
"Will, stay with me! You'll be alright...!" Elizabeth pleaded as her hands cupped her husband's face, willing to do anything to save his life. She couldn't lose him. Not now. Not when they've only been married for fifteen minutes.
Bootstrap had witnessed the whole thing, and when Davy Jones had stabbed Will, and Sora and Elizabeth spoke their dying friend's name, the bond over him finally faded and in horrifized realization as his memories finally returned to him, Bootstrap's heart froze.
"William...my son!" Bootstrap muttered, and in agonized scream that his son was now dying, he jumped and attacked Davy Jones who was caught by surprise before he was forced to fight against his own crew member who now remembered everything and was furious and devastated.
Jack saw what was going on and mentally fought with himself. Should he still become Captain of the Flying Dutchmen, or sacrifice his immortality to save his friend? It was tempting to do the former, but soon as he gazed at three of his close friends, memories of everything they went through together, along with the rest of the worldly travellers, flooded his mind. Even though Jack had been on exile, that adventure had been worth it. He learned so much about companionship, more than ever, even from last year's adventure.
Plus, as Mickey had said, helping others always come before asking others for help. Jack did not think nor hesitate in saving Sora from Caius' attack, because he cared for the teenager as a friend. Not only that, either way, it became clear that Will would lose Elizabeth, either by death or as replacement of Davy Jones, but if Elizabeth had to choose, she would rather wait for him for ten years rather than having to wait until she died to rejoin him in the Afterlife.
That was then Jack made his decision.
Davy Jones by then knocked Bootstrap to the railing, bellowing, "You will not forestall my judgement!" and made for the killing blow...
Only for Will's weakened hand holding on Jack's broken dagger to stab right into the heart, which Davy Jones gasped as he felt the agony instantly. Shocked and horror filled the evil Pirate's expression, he turned to see what happened. Jack had helped Will to stab the Heart and was kneeling by his three friends' side.
Dying as the prophecy has been fufilled, Davy Jones weakly gazed up at the stormy sky, whispering in sorrow and, perhaps guilt and apology, mentally asking for forgiveness for everything he'd done. "Calypso..."
With that, he fell over the side of the ship and into the whirlpool, disappearing into the abyss, never to be seen again.
But Sora, Jack and Elizabeth payed no mind of Davy Jones falling to his death. Instead, their eyes turned to the dying Will who layed there. Yet there wasn't anything more they could do, as Will Turner's strength at last left him, and with a final breath, his eyes closed and he went limp.
"Will...Will, no!" Sora sobbed, lowering his head and cried, his face soaked by not just the rain, but by his hot tears mixing in. He never even got the chance to say he was sorry for being angry at him, or to say that he now forgiven him for his actions.
"No, no...NO!" Elizabeth screamed, heartbroken and devastated.
Jack stared in devastated disbelief. He did what he could, but maybe it wasn't enough. To think that Will's death effected him badly wrenched his own heart. If only he acted sooner, then none of this would've happened.
They were so glued to the fact that Will was dead that neither three of them even would've thought of escaping as both the Flying Dutchmen and the Black Pearl were both dangerously close into falling into the abyss of the Maelstrom, even as the battle finally ended.
"She's taking us down!" Barbossa shouted, having taken the helm once more and knew that if they didn't do something now, they were all doing to die. "Make quick or it's the Locker for us all!"
"But what about Sora, Jack, Will and Elizabeth!?" Goofy exclaimed hysterically as he and the rest of his friends gazed at the quickly sinking Flying Dutchmen, while Ragetti and Pintel placed iron-chained balls into the cannon which was pointed up towards the two tangled masts.
"We can't just leave them!" Ven added.
Cloud gasped as he shouted loudly over the other ship, hoping against hope that his friend could hear him, but deep down knew that Sora couldn't, no matter how much the young swordsman wanted. "Sora!"
"Sora! No!" Kairi screamed out as she was about to use a rope to swing over to the Flying Dutchmen, but was pulled back by Tseng and Elena who held her tightly to stop her from doing anything reckless. "Let go! I'm not leaving without Sora!"
Too late as the pirates fired the cannon and freed the Black Pearl, allowing Barbossa to steer the ship to the right and towards safety away from the Maelstrom, despite the worldly travellers' protests.
Though Aqua, unable to leave four of their friends behind, nodded and tossed her Keyblade into the air which transformed into her Glider, yet she used her connection and magic to guide it down towards the Flying Dutchmen to allow Sora to temporarely use it to get himself, Jack, Elizabeth and Will out of there, calling out, "Sora!"
The Keyblade Glider successfully reached the sinking Flying Dutchmen and hovered behind the trio which a tearful Sora and a sorrowed Jack noticed when they looked behind them, instantly recongising Aqua's Glider and realised that she sent it to help them and Elizabeth to escape. Then they noticed another problem.
The mutated members of Davy Jones' crew were approaching now that the ship was without a Captain, as they chanted hauntingly, "Part of the crew, Part of the ship, part of the crew, part of the ship, part of the crew."
"We have to go!" Jack told Sora.
"But-"
"There's nothing more we can do, mate." The pirate cut him off, and his eyes held the serious but sorrowed look which told Sora that he was right. As much as they didn't want to, they and Elizabeth had to leave now, for Will's sake, and had to use Aqua's Glider to leave.
Still not wanting to leave, Sora hesitatedly nodded, before he and Jack both grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her away from Will's body despite her struggling against their grip.
"No, no! No! Will! Won't leave you!" Elizabeth screamed, but soon stopped as she was placed into the strange vessel, along with Sora who had a fair idea how it worked and Jack soon climbed onboard.
The crew by then surrounded Will's body, one of them holding the empty chest, and Bootstrap holding his knife and knelt over his son, knowing that this was the only way to save him.
"The Dutchmen must have a Captain." With a thrust of the knife that Will gave back to him, he slashed at Will's cut.
"Hold on tight!" Sora and Jack both yelled, as Sora willed the Glider to fly, which, under the younger Keyblade wielder, it did as it was told and soon the trio flew up into the sky and as soon as they made their escape, Sora, Jack and Elizabeth could only watch as the Flying Dutchmen tipped to the side before it was swallowed up by the whirlpool which soon began to stop and fade as the storm finally calmed and disappeared.
Sora lowered his head slightly, his eyes closing for a moment in the guilt for not having to save his friend. It was like losing Jack when he sacrificed himself to save him from Caius, but this time, there was no coming back and no rescue. Will was gone.
As the storm finally passed, Sora opened his eyes before guiding the Glider towards the Black Pearl and landed gently onto the deck, before he, Jack and Elizabeth got off. The Glider then returned into it's Keyblade form and Sora sorrowly handed it back to the relieved but quickly concerned Aqua, as everyone else gathered with mixtures of relief.
"Sora!" Kairi cried out in relief, hugging her friend. But Sora didn't have the heart to return it.
"Where's Will?" Tifa asked, noticing that Will was missing. Realization then quickly dawned onto her and everyone else, given Sora's slight shake of head and silence, and on the verge of tears again before he finally hugged Kairi, that Will had perished. Upon this realization, Tifa, and soon Kairi, Elena, Skuld, Strelitzia, Xion, Serah and Aqua soon sobbed silently as their tears began to form, while Riku, Cloud, Zack, Vincent, Myde, Tseng, Reno, Rude, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Lea, Isa, Mickey, Donald and Goofy all lowered their heads at the loss in sorrow.
"No way..." Myde muttered, horrified and sorrowed.
"Kupo..." Mog moaned in sorrow, slumping in sadness. Goofy and Donald both took off their hats and placed them to their hearts in sadness to honor Will's memory.
Though they couldn't be sad for long, as while Davy Jones was dead, everyone still had the East Indian Trading Company to worry about.
"Thank goodness, Jack. The armand's still out there, the Endeavor's comin' hard to starboard an' I think it's time we embraced that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions." Gibbs told Jack almost hurriedly.
"Never actually been one for tradition." Jack muttered, gazing out at the ocean and at the enemy ships.
"What're you doing, Kupo?" Mog asked, confused.
"Hoping for a miracle." Jack replied, before turning and shouted out orders to the Crew, "Close haul her, luff the sails and lay 'er in irons."
"Belay that, or we'll be a sittin' duck!" Barbossa objected.
"Hey!" Donald yelled at the former cursed Pirate, feeling insulted. But he was ignored.
"Belay that 'belay that'!" Jack stated.
"But, Capt-" Gibbs tried.
"Belay!"
"The arma-"
"Belay!"
"The Endeav-"
"Stow, shut it!" Jack finalized firmly.
It became clear that nothing was going to change Jack's mind and so with no choice, everyone stood waiting, while Jack, Gibbs, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Barbossa stood by the helm as the Endeavor sailed closer.
Onboard the said vessel, one Elite Soldier noticed something odd, and asked Beckett next to him, "What are they waiting for?"
"He expects us to honor our agreement." Beckett replied slyly, much to his employee's confusion as the other man held a dumbfounded expression.
Under his direct command, the cannons of the Endeavor were prepared and extended, aimed at the Black Pearl. Not only will Beckett destroy all Pirates, he will also honor his agreement to eliminate Sora and all of his friends and allies and give Maleficent half control of all worlds.
"Nothing personal, Jack. It's just good business." Beckett smiled.
But as the Endeavor made to approach and attack the Black Pearl, the sea parted and with a great breach of water, the prow of the Flying Dutchman flew into view, having returned. Everyone's eyes widened in confusion and shock, though some did notice something happened to it: it changed it's appearence from it's terrifying monsterous form into almost like a normal ship, magnificent and somewhat beautiful.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Zack groaned in dismay.
"I thought that thing sunk!" Lea grunted.
That's when Mickey finally noticed a definite change and he called out with wide eyes of disbelief, and some hope filling up his heart, "Wait! Look at the crew!"
True to the King's words, everyone onboard the Flying Dutchmen, the Fish-Crew that did survive the battle, all lost their monsterous and sea-life appearences. Instead, they now looked completely human and even they were stunned and amazed by this transformation. They could even feel their human emotions and souls and hearts once more.
Especially Bootstrap who removed the starfish that had been stuck on his face for many years until now, before he and the crew turned to look up at the helm. There stood their new Captain, revived and very alive.
"WILL!" Sora's group, Elizabeth, Serah, Strelitzia, Tifa, Zack, even Cloud, and Vincent exclaimed in relief and happiness. Will was alive!
"Holy Shiva! Now that's what I call a miracle!" Reno exclaimed, shocked and almost immediately relieved. Rude, Tseng and a very happy Elena shared those feelings.
"Ready on the guns!" Will commanded his new crew, and hearing their new Captain's more passionate personality compared to their previous one's, they immediately did so with new excitement.
Even Jack grinned happily to see Will alive after all, and knew what had to be done.
"Full canvas!" Jack ordered the Black Pearl crew.
"Aye, full canvas!" Barbossa, for once, agreed after a moment of shock and disbelief, until he realised that the situation changed in their favor.
The dark sails of the Black Pearl were let down and a wind seemed to spring up from the very sea itself, propelling forward to the Endeavor, which was being boxed in by both the Pearl and the Dutchman. So much so that Beckett hadn't realised until it was too late that the situation has changed against him, and now, in complete shock and disbelief, his ship was soon sandwiched by the two Pirate Ships.
"Orders sir?" The Elite Soldier immediately asked, quickly panicking. But Beckett said nothing. "Sir?"
"Cap'n?" Gibbs inquired to Jack.
"Fire." Jack ordered with a grin.
"Fire!" Gibbs shouted.
"Fire!" Will shouted.
"Fire!" Barbossa shouted.
"Fire all!" Elizabeth shouted.
Soon enough both the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchmen's cannons fired at the Endeavor, destroying and shattering it as they sailed past by, leaving behind the British vessel into it's flaming demise, and still Beckett could not move or even give orders to his own crew who tried and failed to request his orders. All he could do was stand there, feeling himself shattering on the inside. All his work, all of his goals...were blown away into nothing. Just like the Endeavor.
"It's just...good business." He muttered.
"Abandon ship!" The Elite Soldier finally ordered the crew himself, seeing no alternatives. "ABANDON SHIP!" he shouted before leaping off the ship himself and soon almost everyone else who did managed to do so did, while those who couldn't, along with the Heartless that lingered, were all eliminated themselves.
Beckett did not abandon ship. In the state of shock, he merely descend from the helm and onto the deck, while the stairs behind him was destroyed, not hitting him until he paused, stood waiting for his end. All he could do was stare out before the final explosion rocked the ship, turning it into nothing but rubble, the flaming inferno engulfing him and his vessel.
The remaining armanda, having seen what become of the Endeavor, were terrified of what would happen to them if they foolishly tried to attack the priate vessels, especially since now the Flying Dutchmen was on the Pirates' side. So to save themselves and admitting defeat as Beckett's reign of terror was now finally over forever, the armanda quickly turned tail and began to sail away.
"They're turnin' away!" Marty shouted when he saw this. Soon everyone broke out into wild cheers of relief and celebration. They all knew what this meant. They had won! All of the pirates threw their hats in the air in the celebrations, even as Mullroy and Mourtogg, who had discarded their Royal Navy clothes and now wore Pirate attires after deciding to become pirates themselves, joined in, much to Pintel and Ragetti's confusion before they just shrugged it off and rejoined the celebration.
Even Cotton's Parrot, who sensed that it was safe now, returned to his master's side on his shoulder, squawking, "Awk! Wind in the sails."
All the other pirates of the Brethren Court cheered as well in victory, as the nightmare of Davy Jones and Beckett was finally gone. Even Teague onboard his own ship, while he didn't cheer, he smiled as he threw his hat into the air happily. More than anything, he was proud at his own son who, having made Elizabeth, who guided them through this battle, King of all Pirates, had made all this possible.
"Mr. Gibbs." Jack told his First Mate, handing him his hat. "You may throw my hat, if you like."
"Aye, aye, Cap'n." Gibbs said happily, throwing Jack's hat into the air, cheering, "Hooray!"
"Now go and get it." Jack ordered, which Gibbs then looked at the deck worriedly before he quickly went down the stairs to do his next hard task.
Though despite the celebrations and miracles, there was a sacrifice that most knew, and while Will was alive, his destiny and path have already been fufilled.
Two hours later, as everything calmed down, while the other Pirate Ships sailed back to their domination oceans, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchmen sailed side by side, and on both decks, Elizabeth and Will could only gaze at each other, knowing what this meant as soon as the sun would set.
Bootstrap came up to his son, asking, "Orders, sir?"
Will turned to look at his father, saying "You're no longer bound to the Dutchman. You're free."
"Aye, that's a fine thing, but..." Bootstrap began. "...By my reckoning, I still have a debt that needs paying, if you'll have me."
Will smiled, knowing what he meant. "On the wheel then, Mr. Turner."
"Aye, Captain Turner." Bootstrap replied, taking the helm, before saying once he noticed his soon gazing out back to his now daughter-in-law, knowing in regret of this came to be. "This ship has a purpose again, and where we are bound, she cannot come. One day ashore, ten years at sea, that's a steep price for what's been done."
"Depends on the one day." Will replied when he turned to him again.
On the Black Pearl, Elizabeth's heart ached, knowing she would have to wait for ten years to see her husband again, but it was the only to see him again. Unlike Calypso, Elizabeth Swann Turner vowed to keep to her promise, and she was going to do it. No matter how long she would have to wait.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Gibbs came up to her, gesturing at the longboat that was ready for her to use to sail towards Port Royal, to a village where Elizabeth decided she would stay for the rest of her life. She nodded before heading down the stairs onto the deck, where everyone, her friends and allies stood respectfully in line to stay their goodbyes.
"Mrs. Turner." Barbossa nodded respectfully, for once without his usual sarcasm.
Elizabeth smiled at the man who, despite his bad ways, had been the one who along with Jack made this possible in her life. Without either them, Elizabeth wouldn't even be married to Will.
She then went down to everyone else who all said their own goodbyes, even as Cloud smiled with a nod of a goodbye himself. Finally Elizabeth went up Sora's group, saying to them, "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Kairi, Riku, Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion, Myde, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Skuld, Strelitzia, Mog, Serah. Thank you for everything."
"Glad we could help." Kairi replied as the others nodded.
"And Lea, you really are a good man. You make a wonderful brother." Elizabeth added to Lea, while gazing at Isa, Roxas and Xion who smiled while Lea blushed heavilly in embarrassment.
"Uh...Thanks. I guess." Lea replied, awkwardly which made everyone else smile and/or laugh a little.
"Hey, um, Elizabeth? Could you, tell Will that I'm sorry and that I forgive him for everything?" Sora requested, awkwardly. He would've done it himself, but he didn't want to drag away Elizabeth and Will's time alone before the latter would have to leave to fufill his duty for the next decade.
"Of course. I'm glad that you found what you were looking for, Sora." Elizabeth replied, gazing at Kairi and Riku who both smiled.
"Thanks. See you soon." Sora waved a sad farewell.
Elizabeth nodded, and finally approached Jack who looked a bit self-conscious. Jack wasn't exactly what one could call sentimental, and he was not partial to long, sloppy goodbyes. Both had made it this far, and despite they put each other through, in the end they were still friends, and now their world has been saved from the darkness.
"Jack...it would never have worked out between us." Elizabeth told him.
Jack smiled. Even if that woman had put him on exile, he had to admit he'd seen what no other pirate has seen, and he was more than thankful and forgiving now.
So he replied, "Keep tellin' yourself that, darlin'."
"Thank you." Elizabeth replied, before she boarded the longboat and began to row herself away from the Black Pearl for the final time and onto the shore where she would spend the day with Will before he too would leave.
"I guess it's time for us to get going too." Cloud announced softly to his friends and the Turks who all nodded. "We still have Chaos, Aced, Caius and Ardyn to worry about."
"Yeah." Sora nodded, sad to be leaving but knew that the journey was far from over.
"Best of luck, mates. You'll need it." Jack told them, much to everyone else's surprise.
"You're not coming?" Xion asked, saddened.
The Pirate Captain shook his head, "It had been fun and all, despite all the other dangers, but now we must partways. Besides, don't you lot think it would be best to have at least one Keyblade wielder in this world in case those bloody Heartless come back again?"
"How the blazes did you get yer Keyblade, Sparrow?" Barbossa inquired, having briefly seen Jack use his mystical weapon.
"Long story." Jack replied.
Terra snorted and turned to Barbossa, saying apologetically, "And sadly, Keyblades are picky for their users."
"Ye can all keep those blades. They be not treasure to me." The former cursed Pirate declared, shaking his head and decided he didn't want to really know the long and complicated story.
"Well, at least you're not cursed anymore. We already dumped that stupid other chest of the cursed gold into the ocean last year." Sora pointed out with a shrug.
"Good riddence." Barbossa replied, nodding in agreement.
"Uh, hate to break the mood and all, but how can we get outta here?" Reno asked, pointing out the obvious that they were stuck. Or so he thought.
Strelitzia smiled, "Don't worry. I can take you and the other Turks back to your world. Plus, Serah, Mog and I still have our own investigation to continue."
"I think I'll head back there too. I know I can take Zack and Tifa with me." Cloud shrugged.
"But what about us? We left our transport back at the other world before we went to save Jack." Myde reminded, which the rest of the worldly travellers realised that they had indeed left the Gummiship back at Olympus Coliseum.
"Use your Keyblades to take you back. They will create portals to take you where you need to go or where you want to go." Strelitzia advised, causing the others to turn to her as she continued, "May your hearts be your guiding keys."
"May our hearts be our guiding keys..." Mickey repeated, before nodding as he realised what she meant. "You got it, Strelizia!"
"I like that saying." Ragetti said to Pintel who blinked, not understanding what that comment really meant.
Before anyone else could say anything, to their surprise, Jack's Compass glittered in light and a deja vu hit him when it floated in the air, much to the other pirates' and even the Midgar Residents' surprise and amazement. Even Strelitzia, Serah and Mog were stunned in awe, while the rest of the worldly travellers knew what this meant.
Sora nodded as he summoned his Keyblade before holding it out as the crown shape appearing underneath him as the world's Keyhole appeared via a beam of light shooting out from the Compass. Sora then thrusted the Kingdom Key upward and via another beam of light, he locked up the world's keyhole, protecting it from the darkness before things returned to normal.
"Wow!" Serah breathed.
"That was really amazing, Kupo!" Mog exclaimed in awe.
"I have to admit, I never knew Keyblades could do that before." Strelitzia said, gazing at Sora in amazement.
"How did you do that?" Tseng asked, awestruck.
"Well, it's hard to explain. I guess it happens when certain world's really big problems are solved." Sora shrugged, sheepishly.
"This means this world is safe again and it's time for us to go." Kairi said.
"If you happen to be around the next time we make port, you're welcome for a ride of an adventure on the Black Pearl, mates. Send my regards and wishes to Noctis and his allies and whomever else you come across with." Jack told his friends, his former travelling companions. He was going to miss in travelling with them, but his heart belonged here in this world, especially now that he had the Black Pearl back. The only downside was that Barbossa was alive, but he's nothing compared to Beckett and Davy Jones.
"Farewell, lads and lasses." Barbossa said, and the other pirates said their goodbyes to their non-pirate allies.
"Thanks, guys." Sora replied, and his companions and other friends waved a farewell to the pirates as well, and farewelled a travelling companion who was finally home and free to sail the seas of his own world once more.
"We'll meet up soon in either Radiant Garden or Midgar." Cloud told Sora who nodded. "Be careful."
"Right." Sora nodded.
With that, Strelizia summoned her Keyblade and held it out, creating a portal of light which amazed the Pirates and almost everyone else. She, Serah and Mog then led the Turks and Vincent into the Corridor of Light back to Midgar, while Cloud, Zack and Tifa headed to ashore before leaving on Cloud's Motorcycle for the Lanes between.
Finally, Sora then attempted to copy Strelitzia and smiled in relief when another Corridor of Light opened up. He nodded to the rest of his companions and once more waved a goodbye to Captain Jack Sparrow before they entered it, back towards Olympus Coliseum as their adventures in this world was now once again over, and Jack was no longer on exile.
He was finally home.
{PORT ROYAL}
{THE CARIBBEAN}
Back at Olympus Coliseum, Hercules, Meg, Phil, Pegasus, Noctis, Prompto, Gladio and Ignis were still waiting just outside the Coliseum's doors to the lobby for the return of Sora and the others, as it's been a week and a half since they left to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow from the Locker, and couldn't help but fear for the worst.
The Heartless had been a bit fewer, but that didn't ease their minds.
Just then, a strange tingling sound echoed in their ears and a glow of light caught their attention near the gates. When Noctis and everyone else turned to see what it was, a Corridor of Light suddenly appeared, and to their shock, amazement and relief, most of the worldly travellers stepped out and onto the field while it closed behind them.
When Sora and the others noticed that they were back, they shared a relieved and excited expression.
"We did it!" Sora cheered happily.
"We're back at the Coliseum!" Goofy cheered.
"Where've you guys been?" Hercules asked, relieved as he and the others approached their friends who noticed and also sighed in relief.
"Where're Jack, Strelitzia, Serah and Mog?" Noctis asked, noticing that the four of them were missing and couldn't help but fear the worst.
Thankfully, the Prince didn't need to worry, as Sora replied, "Well, Jack's back in his world, alive and all, and well..." before he and his companions, minus Jack Sparrow, explained what had happened in the Locker and at the Caribbean. Then, at Lea's nod since things were slightly calmer now and given that Sora had intended to tell them once Davy Jones and Beckett were killed, nervously revealed his own secrets and, to his friends' shock, told them about Vanitas stuck inside him and what that embodiment of darkness showed him.
"WHAT!?" All except Lea exclaimed, shocked.
"Vanitas is...inside you!?" Ven asked, shocked.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Kairi demanded, hurt and shocked.
Sora sighed, guilty for having kept it for so long. "Because...I didn't to worry you guys and think I was crazy. I was gonna ask Master Yen Sid about this problem when I found out earlier and...I just didn't know how to explain it. I'm really, really sorry for not telling you guys sooner."
"Wait a minute. Who in Zeus' name is Vanitas?" Phil demanded, dumbfounded.
"My darkness." Ven replied this time. "He...was stripped from my heart by Master Xehanort sixteen years ago and became his own being. Me and Vanitas were part of Xehanort's evil plans and...when he took over my body, I had to fight him within my heart. He's the reason why my heart left me and landed in Sora's heart, and I ended up asleep until recently. I thought I destroyed him when that happened."
"What did Vanitas do to you, Sora?" Terra asked, firmly.
"Just trying to talk me into darkness, most likely. I've been ignoring him even though he just couldn't keep quiet when he felt like it." Sora replied, "There were a few times I fought him in my nightmares and won. I'm not sure if he's getting stronger or not, and...I thought it was best to try and fight him off until I had an idea how to get him out of me without reviving him."
"You can't blame the kid for havin' that guy stuck in him." Lea spoke up firmly, adding, "I had a similiar problem last year when I realised the fusion between me and my Nobody hadn't been fully completed and I didn't say anything until just before me, Roxas and Xion managed to stop the Brotherhood of Darkness."
"I guess we all have own worries and secrets, for many reasons. Why it's not a good thing to keep it for so long, none of us really noticed any difference in Sora. I could sense a familiar darkness, but even now, it's really weak. In fact, I think it's getting weaker, but it's stronger in voice too." Aqua informed, causing everyone to look at her.
"Why do ya' say that, Aqua?" Mickey asked, now worried.
The blue-haired woman sighed, saying, "While Serah, Isa, Elizabeth and I were on Sao Feng's ship, just before he died, I had...I'm not sure what it was, but I had a vision; I saw you and Riku, Mickey. You both looked horrified, as if I...gave into the darkness, and what I said in that vision, I had said, 'I had no choice'."
"Or maybe it was some kind of a weird vision of what could've happened if Sora and Roxas didn't save me." Lea muttered worriedly, mixing in what Vanitas showed Sora and what Aqua had seen earlier together.
"I can't really blame Sora about Vanitas. Not when I had my own secrets." Riku said, understanding why it happened. He turned to his best friend and said, "We'll keep an eye on you, just in case Vanitas does try and attack you."
"Right." Sora nodded. "I'm really sorry, guys."
"Gee, Sora. Ya' don't hav'ta apologuise. Of course we were gonna worry. We'll figure out how to that mean o'l Vantitus, er, that Van feller outta your heart without hurtin' ya'." Goofy pointed out optimistically, and to Sora's surprise everyone, even Kairi as she calmed down but was a bit miffed for not being told about this, yet she understood now why Sora hadn't said anything much since before Jack's exile, all nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and plus, with eveything else going on, we understand that you didn't want to add another problem on our list." Roxas said.
"I'll say. Given that Sora's still himself and hasn't changed a bit means that that Van-whatever it was is just an annoying little voice in Sora's head." Myde agreed.
"I heard that too." Vanitas grumbled, but Sora again ignored him. To his surprise, he sounded weaker this time and wondered that maybe telling his friends about Vanitas somehow managed to weaken the embodiment of darkenss.
"Don't worry, fellas. I'm sure Sora and Aqua will be okay. The darkness hasn't gotten to them yet, and if they do, we'll be right there to get 'em outta it." Mickey added.
Kairi approached Sora and said, "Next time you have that kind of thing or something else, you tell me first, okay? I want to help you stop Vanitas."
Realising that his friends had taken this a lot better than he dreaded, Sora smiled emotionally at all of them, saying, "Thanks, guys."
"This...is really complicating." Gladio admitted.
"Yeah, they pretty much lost me." Prompto nodded in agreement.
"With everything else happening, I understand why Sora had hesitated in revealing something like this when there are other more important matters to worry about." Ignis pointed out.
Even Noctis, Hercules, Meg and Phil nodded in agreement, as Noctis said, "You got that right. We still have to figure out how to stop Chaos and the other bad guys."
"Right." Isa agreed. "We should move on to continue with our journey."
"I agree. Plus with Calypso free, we should be more careful now." Skuld informed.
The others nodded, just as suddenly the entire Coliseum building glowed in light and instantly Sora's Keyblade appeared in his hand, which made the worldly travellers realised that again he was going to lock this world's keyhole.
Nodding, the teenager held it out as the crown shape appearing underneath him as the world's Keyhole appeared via a beam of light shooting out from the Coliseum Building. Sora then thrusted the Kingdom Key upward and via another beam of light, he locked up the world's keyhole, protecting it from the darkness before things returned to normal.
"That was a fancy light show." Gladio admitted, amazed.
"That never stops being amazing." Noctis smiled, still amazed, as were Prompto and Ignis.
"You guys be careful out there and come back soon." Hercules told Sora and his companions who all nodded.
"We'll meet up again soon, right?" Noctis asked.
"Yeah, you bet." Sora nodded.
Mickey, knowing that they still had more worlds to attend to as well as figuring out how to solve the current situation, said, "C'mon, fellas. Let's get goin'."
With that, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa, Terra, Ven, Aqua, Myde and Skuld promised to meet up with Noctis' group, and Hercules's group again really soon before they boarded the gummiship and once again left Olympus Coliseum, to continue their adventure in hopes of finding the Book of Prophecies and the mysterious black box, as well as the whereabouts of Yen Sid, Genesis and Angeal and stop Aced, Chaos, Arydn, Caius and if they had to, Bhunivelze and now Calypso.
Even though they didn't know about this other goddess that Strelitzia, Serah and Mog knew about, but they would find out soon enough.
{Olympus Coliseum}
A/N: And where finally done with Port Royal/The Caribbean and even Olympus Coliseum. The next chapter we'll be heading to another world which I think I have a fair idea where our heroes will go next.
Sad that Captain Jack Sparrow isn't travelling with them anymore, but he was bound to return and stay in his homeworld eventually. Yet we're noe done yet.
See you in the next chapter!