Longest part yet at 41.5KB/17 pages without the author's notes.
If you hadn't noticed, I like counting how long each part is. I'm starting to think that my cast commentary is starting to develop it's own storyline, at that. Amusing, non? In any case, plot points are explained (slightly), things start happening, and stuff gets blown up. It's a wonderful chapter!
Have any of you guessed how I'm going to end this yet? Or will I get exclamations of surprise when I do? Or will Selphie slap me as silly as she did Sora for being an idiot?
Yes, I'm randomly babbling. It's fun.
Heh, I started this last night, just after listening to Pirates of the Caribbean-- had it playing in the background as I finished the rewrite of False Identity chapter three. I love my laptop's DVD player ^__^. And this morning, as I finished it off, I listened to the soundtrack. Obsessive? Maybe slightly.
Review response time!
Farli - That is the most all-encompasing review I have ever read. Thanks! Tortuga... yes, they do go back, though the scene is hardly as amusing as the first time.
MiDnIgHt-JaGuAr - *grins* You're amusing.
Ryasha - Yes, please email me the picture of Sora! I'll put it up on my fanfiction website (li_xiang.anifics.com). Well, everyone would expect Riku to be Jack, so I couldn't just _do_ that, non?
Disclaimer in Part One.
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Pirates of Destiny Isle
Part Four
Priest Li Xiang
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"Ten years of hoarding swag," he grinned to his partner, dark eyes glinting gleefully.
"And now we're finally getting to spend it!" Hook returned with a laugh, as he and Jafar hefted a trunk up, but his wooden hook was not a hand, and the trunk tumbled out of their grasp, clattering to the ground. It shattered upon impact, sending the contents flying-- dresses and parasols, and other women's clothing. The pair blinked stupidly at the mess for a moment, before Hook picked up a pale pink parasol and propped it against his shoulder. Jafar bent to snatch up his own, wondering in his head if it matched his robe-like apparel.
"Once we're quit of the curse, we'll be rich men," Jafar proclaimed with a smug smile, "And you can buy a hook that fits properly, and is made of gold."
"This one does tend to break quite often," Hook agreed, poking at the wooden appendage from which he took his name.
"Idiots," Malificent muttered with a roll of the eyes as she passed them, wondering what, exactly, Sparrow had been on when he had decided to allow those two to be a part of his crew. Then again, the same could be said of herself and Ansem, true enough. They _did_ eventually cause a mutiny, after all.
---
He was surprised at the lack of revulsion, and the lack of shock as they drifted past skeleton after skeleton, working their way deeper into the caverns of the Isla de Bastion. Instead, he found himself calmly holding the lamp at the prow of the life boat they had taken in, while Sora rowed it.
"What code is Donald to keep to if the worst should happen?"
"Pirates code," Sora's voice was even as he spoke, "Any man that falls behind... is left behind." His sentence was punctuated by the skeleton that lay sprawled on the east bank, a sword pinning it through the back. Obviously, someone had found the dank island, at the same time it's "owners" had been about, and had been cut down as they tired to escape. It was a gruesome thought, but for some reason, Riku could almost see it happening in his mind.
"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" he almost chuckled, but held it back for the sake of propriety. Something about these caverns sent a chill down his spine-- not that they frightened him, but he had the feeling that... he'd been here before? How strange.
"You know," Sora drawled, clearly amused by Riku's mental battles, "for having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga..." the pirate grinned as Riku's attention shifted from their passage, to what laid in the waters below them, "... and you're completely obsessed with treasure."
"That's not true," Riku grumbled as they came ashore. The youth had to pause, however, as he found himself snatching up a small golden babble as they passed. He stared at the item in his hand for a moment, before shoving it into his pocket, "Alright, so maybe it is. I'm a blacksmith. I work with such things quite frequently. I merely like it because of my work."
"Keep telling yourself that, lad. Maybe you'll come to believe it someday," Sora's grin was mocking.
"Gentlemen!" the voice rang out and both pirate and blacksmith fell silent, peering over a small ledge stacked with gold, down at the pirates that stood below. They were scattered throughout the main room of the cavern, some toying with their loot, others watching their captain avidly. The man stood atop a mound of rock and treasure, a thick stone chest before him, "The time has come! Salvation is nigh! Our torment is near its end!"
"Kairi..." Riku whispered, eyes catching on the redheaded figure bound and standing beside the white haired form of Ansem. Something cold crawled through the boy's chest as his eyes landed on the captain, and a seething rage boiled just beneath his skin. The intensity of the emotion startled him, his fingers clenching and unclenching, as something... unlocked. And seeing Captain Ansem was the key to it all.
"For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" he was bellowing over the cheers of the men.
"Suffered I have," Hook murmured, somewhat whimsically.
"Punished we were!" Ansem leapt upon his words to continue his speech. It was no wonder Ansem had gathered so many pirates under his wing, and managed to toss Sora out of the running-- he was a master when it came to speeches, "The lot of us-- disproportionate to our crime! Here it is..." and he lifted his foot, kicking the stone lid right off of the chest, sending it tumbling down the mound to crash heavily into the waters at the feet of his crew, "... the cursed treasure of Cortez himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned... save for this." With a wave, he indicated the golden coin that hung on a chain about Kairi's neck.
The fury within raged against his control, and Riku was moving without having meant to-- only to find a hand upon his leg, yanking him back. Several coins tumbled off the ledge, but the only one to hear was the only one that could not speak-- the monkey.
"Sora!" Riku whirled to face the man, gaze doubling for a minute, seeing two versions of the man before him. The first was, of course, the real one, with the half-crazed gleam in his eye, and the drunken swagger to his sea-crafted walk. The second, however, was younger, with a bright smile, and brighter eyes. His hair was wild and so was his laugh. The Sora of ten years ago.
"Not yet. We wait for the opportune moment."
He could recall... himself...? once saying the same to the younger version.
"And when's that?" Riku spat, glaring at the man who had brought him this far, the distant and often unheard voice right in his ear, whispering to trust the man, but yet, not to trust him all that much. It was rather confusing, to say the least. Especially with the voice sounding more and more like himself as the seconds ticked by, "When it's of greatest profit to you?"
"May I ask you something?" there was no doubt to the annoyed tone in the man's voice, "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Do us a favor, I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here... and try not to do anything... stupid." The boy, Sora had learned, could be as rash as his father, although Bootstrap had always had the muscle and the weaponry to back up his stupid mistakes. Well, at least until it could be pounded into his head that he was the one in the wrong.
"And who among us," Ansem was continuing, "has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?"
"Us!"
"And whose blood must yet be paid?"
"Hers!"
"You know the first thing I'm goin' to do after the curse is lifted...?" he turned to the girl with a grin and a leer, "Eat a whole bushel of apples."
"What is it with you and apples?" Kairi muttered, mustering her courage. With him watching her like that, she couldn't get her tonfa out, although she had worked her fingers into a hole above one on the side where the man wasn't. Just a little bit more, and she'd be able to just tear the damned thing out and attack the man, before trying to escape. Not the best of plans, but it was currently her only plan.
"Begun by blood," the man rumbled, yanking on the hand that had been, moments ago tucked into her dress, and slapping the medallion into her hand, "By blood undone!" And the blade slashed across her palm.
At the same moment, Sora was collapsing to the ground, an oar clattering along with it, as Riku looked dispassionately down at the man, "Sorry, old friend. I'm not going to be your leverage. Not again."
He slipped around the insensate body, soundlessly dropping into the deep waters, even as Kairi was staring at her bloody hand, "That's it?"
"Waste not," came the chuckle, and he forced her hand open, the metal falling in the hushed, anticipatory silence. It hit the rest in the chest, and the sound resounded throughout the cavern. Several pirates, including Ansem himself, closed their eyes, holding their breaths to wait to see if it had worked. To feel any change at all about them.
"Did it work?" one of the pirates wondered, slitting his eyes opened to look upon his Captain.
"I don't feel no different," Hook muttered, scratching his chin.
His partner tipped his head in confusion, "How do we tell?"
The white haired devil that led them rolled his eyes, before drawing his pistol. Like the coin hitting it's brethren, the shot fired echoed throughout the cavern, and Jafar gave an indignant yelp, even as another pirate stated the obvious.
"You're not dead!"
"No... he shot me! And I didn't die!"
"It didn't work," Hades snapped, "The curse is still upon us!"
Furious, Ansem turned his attention to what they had hoped to be their savior, even if she was unwilling, "You, maid! Your father, what was his name? Was your father Riku Turner?"
The smile that crossed her face could only be considered as smug, "No."
"Where is his child?" Ansem snarled, glaring at her, snatching up the coin with her blood on it, and thrusting it into her face, "The child that came from England, eight years ago with this coin! The child in whose veins flows the blood of Riku Turner! Where is he?!" He was demanding an answer that she would not give, however. She kept only her smug smile, and dancing vengeful eyes upon the man.
Furious at her deception, Ansem lashed out, gloved hand cracking her hard enough across the face, to force her to tumble down the mound they stood upon. She was barely conscious as she landed, though she realized that the medallion had flown from Ansem's hand when he smacked her, following her trajectory, and landing within her reach.
"You two," Malificent's voice hissed, and Kairi wondered how she could speak so quietly, only to be heard throughout the cavern, "You brought us the wrong person!"
"No!" Jafar's own hiss came in return, just as furiously, "She had the medallion, she's the proper age!"
Consciousness came abruptly back to the girl, however, as a wet hand covered her mouth and nose, stopping her ability to breath. Eyes flying open wide, she found herself staring at the familiar, silver maned head of her best friend. He made a quick motion, to get her to follow, and she nodded, snatching up the medallion that lay near her, before slipping into the dark waters with Riku.
Again, the only one to see it was the one that could not speak. The monkey hopped up and down, pointing, but the argument between the pirates gathered only drowned out it's squeaking attempts to catch it's master's attention.
"You brought us here for nothing," Hades spat, eyes almost glowing.
"I won't take questions and second guesses from the likes of you, Master Hades," Ansem shot back, furious at the disruption of their ultimate goal.
"Who's to blame? Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse!" the voice barked from close to the back of the ranks of the pirates.
Another voice, closer to the front agreed, "It was you who corrupted Bootstraps' body!"
"And it's you who brought us here in the first place," Malificent added her own frosty opinion.
Power seemed to flow off of the enraged captain, filling the cavern, his voice echoing as he bellowed, "Any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!" This time, there was no response, and Ansem nodded, "As I thought."
"I say, we cut her throat and spill all her blood, just in case," a dark skinned pirate offered up a solution to their woes, be it right or wrong. Ansem let a chill smile cross his lips; it would be a fitting punishment for the deception of the girl, even if she did not share blood with Bootstrap. Turning, he gazed down at where she had landed, only to be brought up short by her missing form. Eyes raising, he finally spotted the monkey, pointing frantically to an empty passage that lead out of the caverns.
His lips drew back from his lips, in an animalistic snarl, "The medallion! She's taken it! Well, after her, you pack of ingrates!"
Bellows and shouts echoed through the halls as the pirates raced out to find their missing captive. The noise was enough to draw Sora out of his enforced slumber, and he pushed himself to his feet, rocking back and forth all the while. The back of his head hurt like a bitch, and the culprit was right there on the floor beside him. Heavily, he reached down to grab the oar, using it to support his weight. Dammit all if Riku didn't have some power behind that swing of his.
Bloody bastard.
Eh, well, might as well let the boy get himself killed-- Sora was going to go back out to the Highwind. Or maybe the Pearl. He was pretty sure he'd seen his ship moored nearby. It wouldn't take much to take it and get the hell out of the vicinity of the Isla de Bastion, now would it? So he stumbled, rather awkwardly, and appearing rather drunk, towards where he and Riku had landed the life boat they'd come to shore in. He was just about there when the sharp voice of Ansem's first mate floated to his ears.
"The oars have gone missing! Find them!"
"You!" Sora blinked a few times, twisting about to see if Jafar had been yelling at him, "You're supposed to be dead!"
"Am I not?" he wondered, still slightly at odds with himself thanks to the Riku-induced headache that pounded in his skull. He turned to head back the way he came, only to find pirates in the way. Again he turned, this time to see a lot of pistols aimed at his face. One blink. Two blinks. They weren't doing anything yet, which Sora found odd, so he decided to go about not getting himself killed, "Puhluley. Publulehvoos. Pareleli. Parsmi. Pasley, parle, parle..."
"Parlay?" Hook wondered.
"Parlay! That's the one! Parlay! Parlay!" Okay, so he didn't have to say it three times but really-- what if the second one had cancelled out the first? Precautions had to be taken, after all, he was Captain Sora Sparrow, and he had survived far more than one would have thought he had. No thanks to Bootstrap, Squall, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie, however...
"Parlay?" Jafar sent a scowl Hook's way, and the wavy-haired pirate winced at it, "Damned to the depths whatever mad man thought of parlay."
"That," Sora smiled, pushing the pistol down to grin into Jafar's face, "Would be the French."
---
Oddly enough, Kairi had found it rather liberating to be throwing the oars out behind them as they rowed towards the Highwind. Riku had just given her a slightly strained smile, and continued forwards. She would have offered to let him have a go at it, but really, someone had to bring them to the ship, right? Being the gentleman that he was, Riku let Kairi go up first, helping her along by being a convenient stepping stool every now and again. It was rather annoying, but the things he suffered for his friendships.
Almost over the edge he paused, looking back. His thoughts were surprisingly light. You'd better get out of this one, Sora, just to prove to me that you actually have learned something these past ten years.
Kairi's voice, weak and exasperated at the same time, carried across to him as he pulled himself up and over, "Not more pirates..."
"Welcome aboard, Miss Kairi," Donald's welcoming voice was somewhat amusing, Riku reflected, especially with that big cheesy grin on his face. Then again, Donald hasn't seen the girl in eight years, now has he? Right then, stop talking to yourself, Turner. Don't want to be going as mad as Sparrow has, now do we?
"Mister Donald...?" to say Kairi was surprised would have been an understatement. Last she had heard, the man had died at sea, but here he was, healthy as could be, aboard a commandeered ship of the Royal Navy.
"Hey, boy, where be Sora?"
"I'm no boy, Donald," Riku gave the man a flat look, "And Sora fell behind." The look he gave the stout man clearly meant 'I'll explain later', and he guided Kairi away. Donald was silent for a long time, before he raised his head and spoke.
"Keep to the code."
Yuffie's voice was loud and commanding, "Raise anchor! Hoist the sails! Make quickly, men!"
---
"How in blazes did you get off that island?" Ansem was scowling at the other man, while he, in turn, offered a lazy smile.
"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate... I'm Captain Sora Sparrow," there was no arrogance in that voice. Not one whit of it; Sora merely spoke his name as though it held all the answers to the universe. And in his mind, perhaps it did.
"Ah, well, I won't be making that mistake again. Gents, you all remember Captain Sora Sparrow, right?" the grins from his crew were all the confirmation he needed, "Kill him."
There were several laughs, and the clicking of several guns having their ammunition set and ready to be shot. Sora was unperturbed, still smiling, and leaning against the oar he had been using as a crutch mere moments before, "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"
Ansem froze, midstep, and placed his foot carefully upon the ground. He kept his back to the young man for a long moment, before turning and glaring, "You know who's blood we need?"
"I know whose blood ye need," the deep purr was oddly out of place for the man, and Ansem waved a hand, his men dropping their guns, disappointment clear on their faces. Sora's grin widened, before vanishing after a moment, confusion crossing his brow.
"Might I ask you a question?"
"You might as well," all present knew that Ansem would kill Sora the moment he got the information he needed, including Sora himself. The brown haired captain grinned a toothy grin.
"You're to kind to me. What happened to you, mate? Last time I saw you... well, you had different scars, and your hair was red."
"People change, Sora," Ansem returned, though he knew his answer wouldn't satisfy Sparrow's incorrigible curiosity. Sometimes, the man thought and acted like a child. It was why he had decided to take the Pearl away from him in the first place, to be honest.
"Now then, that's not really an answer. Scars don't change just like that-- especially facial scars," he tipped his head to one side, beads jangling, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you swapped your scars with Bootstrap's."
He got a toothy grin in response, "Oh... something like that."
---
He was leaning against the side of the boat, eyes distant, but on Yuffie as she took over the Captain's duties. The woman looked at him out of the corner of her eye, clearly perturbed by this change of attitude in the young man, "So. We sail for Port Royal, then?"
"No."
"No?"
"No," Riku pushed up, looking out over the waters, having guided the Highwind about to be hidden by the Isla de Bastion, where they waited for the Pearl to take sail and go off in search of them. Sora had been told, he knew, that the Highwind was the fastest military ship in the Caribbean-- so it would cause no problems for Sora not to be able to see them out on the waters; something helped by the generally overcast day and the muted colors of the Highwind, "That's where Sora, and therefore Ansem, will think we've headed."
"We've come all this way for the lass, and you're not taking her home?" this confused Yuffie, who had been forced to listen to Riku's occasional rant about getting the boat to go faster in order to find the young miss.
"Not yet. We need to head into Tortuga."
"Might I ask why, Mister Turner?"
"There's an old friend there," Riku shrugged, "He owes me a favor, and knowing Sparrow, he's likely got a plan that no one else could possibly have thought up."
She eyed him with an appreciative glance, "You've known him for... what, a month?... and you already know him well enough to decide that?"
"That's where you're wrong, Yuffie," he smiled a smile that was rather disheartening to see, "I've known him a lot longer than that; I just forgot."
"How does one go about forgetting someone like Sora?" Donald's voice came from the steps, as the man came up, "The Pearl has finally taken up anchor. They're leaving the island."
"Good. We'll hold here for another day, then head for Tortuga," Yuffie decided, gauging the speed of the Pearl and the distance between the Isla de Bastion and Port Royal.
"It's rather easy, actually," Riku shook his head, giving Donald a wry grin, "You just need a bastard like Ansem to steal your body."
"That makes not one whit of sense, lad."
"Ah, but it does," Riku's lips curved into a tiny, dry smirk, "When you consider that even though Ansem and his crew be cursed to be Heartless forever and eternity, and yet still have their Hearts; it be the only reason they still look human when not in Moonlight."
"Heartless?"
"Aye, Heartless," the silver haired youth nodded, his eyes gaining that distant sheen once again, "A myth that isn't quite a myth at all. The Aztec gold created them, made the Heartless a reality, and as Heartless they must do as they were crafted."
"To steal Hearts," Donald rumbled, thoughts whizzing, "But... if Ansem stole your Heart, lad, wouldn't you have died?"
"I would have become a Heartless like them. But I didn't say he'd taken my Heart-- I said he took my body. Punishment, for sending one of the coins away and not telling him where it was, you see. Ansem did what he was to do, and ripped my Heart from my body. But he didn't absorb it, or use it like any other Heartless would have. He let it go."
The two pirates were staring at him now, the dots connecting within their minds, and Yuffie was the first to speak, "Bootstrap?"
"Aye," Riku agreed, winking, "But let's keep this between the three of us for now. No sense in letting it be a secret that gets out and about, to the waiting ears of Ansem. Long as I'm only 'Bootstrap's Boy', then I've less to fear than if it's discovered that I'm Bootstrap himself. After all... I'm not cursed, am I?"
"Riku?"
The three pirates started, twisting about to see Kairi standing on the deck below, and they barely held in a breath of relief. She was to far away to be hearing their conversation-- not that she would have had she been near, as she looked worried and quite clearly out of it as she stood, gnawing on her lip.
"What is it, Kairi?" it amazed Donald and Yuffie how easily Bootstrap slipped back into being Riku as he spoke with the girl they had rescued.
"Can I... can I speak with you, Riku? It's rather important," she was twisting her hands about, picking at the bandage across her slashed palm. With a nod, he went quickly to her side, and they sequestered themselves in the Captain's Cabin with nary a second look. Once inside, Kairi plucked all that much harder at her bandages, until Riku's hands stilled hers.
"What did you want to speak to me about, then?"
"I... do you know why they took me, when they left Port Royal?"
"I have my suspicions, but nothing solid," Riku tipped his head as he spoke, curious gaze upon her face. Kairi sighed, tilting her head forwards and letting the long crimson strands hide her gaze.
"I gave Ansem your name as my own."
Riku nodded, "I thought it would be something like that, though I don't really know why they came to Port Royal."
She fidgeted for a moment, then withdrew the gold medallion she had swiped as they had left the caverns. His gaze went immediately to it, and she dropped it into his upturned palm, chain and all, "It's yours."
"I thought I'd lost it to the ocean eight years ago," Riku murmured, "Why did you take it?"
"Because I was afraid that you were a pirate," there was a whine in her voice, and he knew that she hadn't been afraid of the fact that he was a pirate-- but of the fact that he would have been killed for being one, child or not, "The would have been awful. I'm so sorry... please, forgive me."
---
It was kind of... dank, he reflected morosely. What had Ansem done to his precious ship? There were holes in it's sails, boards rotting away, and the entire thing was encumbered by a feel of dankness that got on his nerves. Bloody hell.
"So," Ansem was saying to his proposal, "You expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need, and watch you sail away in my ship?"
Sora frowned at him, "No. I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on my ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy?" Really, it was an ingenious plan. And he would even give the boy's name to Ansem. That it would be the right Turner, however, was a completely different story. Ah, it was good to be friends with one who had such a common name.
"But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need," the bastard still liked blowing holes in all his carefully constructed plans, Sora mentally raged. It was the same reason he had allowed the man to be his First Mate ten years earlier, but right now it was just pissing him off. Not that anyone could tell, as Sora sprawled himself in a chair across the desk from Ansem, plucking an apple off the table.
"Of the two of us," he explained, "I'm the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore, my word is the one we'll be trusting. Although, I suppose I should be thanking you, because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share of that curse same as you," the man grinned, biting into the apple he'd swiped, and mentally snickering in the look Ansem was giving him, "Funny ol' world, innit?"
"Indeed..." Ansem frowned at him, before switching topics, "We should have come up on the Highwind by now."
Sora shrugged, "Perhaps they have better minds on board than I thought. They got the lass they came after, so one would assume that they would be heading back to Port Royal."
"But they're not. We've not seen hide nor hair of them since we set out, three days ago."
"Well," Sora took another bite of his apple, and reminded himself to do so more often. The faces Ansem was making were quite hilarious to watch, "What do you expect me to do about it, mate? S'not like I know what goes on in Yuffie's mind."
---
What was going on in Yuffie's mind, was generally exasperated amazement at Bootstrap's acting skills. The man in the boy's body was quite clearly donning a completely different hat about the rest of the crew, and it was stunning how skilled he was at it. Of course, one had to take into mind that he had been acting in such a manor for ten or so years now, but the fact remained that Riku 'Bootstrap' Turner had been as he was for twenty or so years before becoming the boy.
Although, Yuffie mused, now that she actually thought it through, if Riku had truly been Bootstrap's son, that would have meant Bootstrap had been active when he was ten or eleven. Not impossible just... improbable.
The Black Pearl was always a speck on the horizon to them, as they sailed, something Yuffie was quite grateful for as they had come into Tortuga. It meant that they, too, were merely a speck, and their course to Tortuga would not raise many brows on the cursed ship. Mooring in the bay about the pirate town, the female pirate wondered who would be going into Tortuga to pick up what supplies Ol'Bootstrap felt the need to gather.
Obviously, Bootstrap would go in-- and the young Miss Swann had pitched a fit to be allowed to go along, but all it had taken was a few words from Riku to calm her-- and Donald would go as well, the man knowing Tortuga better than any man alive; he had, after all, been living there for seven years. Bootstrap had refused any one else to go, so here they were, watching the boy and the man rowing in to the pirate town.
"Miss Yuffie?"
"Aye, Miss Kairi?" the pirate turned, and found herself looking at the small girl, and the odd iron weapons she held in hand.
"Would you mind practicing with me? I didn't get much of a chance on the Black Pearl."
---
It wasn't all the hard to recall where Selphie had been before, and Riku moved swiftly through the pirates with a confidence he hadn't had the last time he was in the town. Here and there, he flinched a valuable off a man to drunk to notice, and made a strict reminder to himself to never get that pissed.
As he had expected, the young woman was right where she had been before; fixing the make-up of one of the prostitutes as she came about from whatever liaison she had been at before, "Be with you boys in a moment, Donald!"
Finishing the job, the woman straightened her traditional yellow dress, before stepping aside and motioning for the two males to follow her. Once out of the reach of any possible attempts by the drunkards to steal any items off of them, the brunette stared them down, gaze shifting between the two men, "Alright, where's Sora?"
"Most likely bartering my life for the Black Pearl," Riku chuckled slightly, "He loves that ship a touch to much if you ask me."
"Aye," Donald agreed, "But that's not what we're here for."
"Oh? What are you here for-- and you two will be explaining what Sora's doing on the Pearl, won't you?"
"If we have the time, Selph, if we have the time," Riku shrugged with a grin, "But right now, I'd like to know where the old gang is."
"The old gang?" Selphie gave the youth a hard look, "Now, who's been telling you stories, lad?"
"No stories, Miss Selphie," Donald gave a grim smile, "This here is Bootstrap himself."
"Bootstrap..." her eyes widened, as she took in the cocky stance that Riku had not been in the last time he'd been about, and the grin on his face, "Riku Turner, where the hell have you been?!"
"Fighting with Squall, mostly," Riku shrugged, "Port Royal, actually. Had some memory problems thanks to Captain Ansem-- but really, Selph, now is not the time. Where's the old gang holed up?"
"Tidus and Wakka are with Wakka's wife's family; they left the island about four days ago, love," she sighed, "You're out of luck in that department, as you know well as I do where Squall is. The old gang's split and frayed at the edges till there was nothing left."
"Dammit all!"
"How much does this affect your plan, Bootstrap?" Donald queried, giving him a long look. Riku raked his fingers through his hair.
"Not as much as you would think, Donald. I was just hoping for a little back up, but supplies will have to do instead. We need food and drinking water, Selphie," he rubbed at his chin, amused by the stubble that had grown while he hadn't been all that big on hygiene. It was hardly the beard he'd sported before-- one that Sora seemed content to emulate, he thought with a smile-- but it would just take a little time to get it back, "Your husband should be able to provide it for us, right?"
"Do you have any blackmail material on Irvine, Bootstrap, or are you grasping at straw?" she drawled, eyes half lidded. Bootstrap offered her a wry grin.
"Well, I was certainly hoping that you could be the one to offer the blackmail material, m'dear. There's not much a pirate is ashamed of, and his wife would be the only one who knew."
"You're as dirty as you ever were, Riku Turner!" Selphie laughed, motioning the two men to follow her, "Come on then! Lets get you two loaded down with what you need. Food and water, of course, and I would assume some ammunition?"
"Only extra shot, Selph," Riku's gaze shifted to the sky high above, "We're going to need to arm myself and Kairi, that's about it. We're not going into war-- we're trying to break a curse."
"You never quite struck me as a curse-breaker."
"Not really; once we're out of Tortuga, we'll be headed back the way we came. You send notice to Leon Loire, would you? The Black Pearl will be ripe for the taking soon enough."
---
"It's about damned time," Ansem growled, following Malificent out of his cabin. Sora tagged along, munching on yet another apple, as he did so. They'd been out at sea for weeks, and yet there had been no sign of the Highwind at all-- even when they had been in sight of Port Royal. So they had set sail back towards the Isla de Bastion, only to have the ship they had been searching for be spotted. It was a right awful feeling to Ansem, to have been outsmarted.
"I'm having a thought here, Ansem," Sora stepping in front of the captain, disrupting the view through the spyglass, "What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the Highwind, and I negotiate the return of your medallion, aye? What say you to that?"
"Now you see, Sora," Ansem clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "That's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they're dead. Lock him in the brig."
"Wha...?" Sora blinked as Malificent hauled him off by his coat. Twisting, he called back to the white haired man, "At least think about it!"
He got no response as he was dragged down, and through into one of the cages that made up the Pearl's brig. Water sloshed about his ankles, and he gave a pained sigh, "Apparently, mate, there's a leak."
Malificent smirked at him, before striding away, and Sora was left to stare at the ground. Well, at least now he knew why his ship was so bloody dank.
---
The squawked warning of Goofy's Parrot came a moment before the curses of Donald. Shading his eyes, Riku turned to stare behind them, and let loose his own epitaphs, "The Black Pearl!"
"She's gaining on us," Yuffie cursed, "Damn, almost back to the island, and they catch up to us!"
"This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" Kairi protested, eyes wide. To her eternal surprise, Riku was the one to respond to her-- with a sharp barking laugh.
"You can tell them that after they've caught us!"
"Riku..." she shook her head, before her eyes raced about, searching for something she could do as the crew flew into panic-sped motions in an attempt to stay out of the Black Pearl's reach, "We're shallow on the draft, right?"
"Aye..."
"Well, then can't we lose them amongst those shoals?"
Donald had come up behind her, and was grinning, "We don't have to outrun them long... just long enough."
Yuffie stared in silence, weighing the idea for it's merit, and finally decided to try it. There wasn't much else they could do, "Lighten the ship, stem to stern!"
The grizzled man whirled about, calling to the men, "Anything that we can afford to lose-- see that it's lost!"
Riku went to work, helping the men throw their supplies overboard-- better to be sick than dead, after all. Though the sick may not agree with that, he was a survivor, and dammit, he wasn't going to get killed by the man who had stolen his body! These thoughts in mind, he peered out to check the progress of their opponents, and cursed.
They'd brought out the oars.
His foot came down atop one of the cannons, seconds before it would have been shoved off, "We're going to need that."
"It was a good plan, lass, up 'til now," Yuffie muttered, catching sight of the same thing Bootstrap had. The other pirate bounded up the stairs, a grim set to his face.
"We have to make a stand, we must fight! Load the guns!"
"With what?" spat the current Captain.
"Anything. Everything! Anything we have left!" Riku's look had darkened, "I'm not going to let Ansem win again, Yuffie."
"Aye," Donald agreed, "We've done to much to allow for the bastard to get his hands on what he wants."
"I thought that was what we were doing," Kairi muttered, having been clued in on Riku's plan to uncurse the pirates then wait for Loire to shoot them out of the water. It looked, however, like that plan had been utterly defeated by this sudden turn of events.
Her words were ignored as Donald went half-way down the stairs to the deck and bellowed, "Load the guns! With anything that's left, lads, load the guns!" And promptly had his rum flask swiped as one of those 'anythings left'.
"She'll rake us without ever presenting a target," Riku muttered, glaring at the ominous ship that was fast approaching.
"Lower the anchor on the right side!" Kairi seemingly proclaimed out of thin air. With a realization that came only from being friends with her for so long, Riku suddenly knew what she was up to, as she repeated her words, "The starboard side!"
"It's the only one that has the element of surprise," Riku offered, grim smile still in place. Bootstrap, Yuffie reflected on the stories somewhat affectionately, had always been one for surprising opponents.
"You're daft, the both of you!" She snapped, though she was smiling slightly; it was a plan. Not a good one, but a plan none the less.
"Daft like Sora," Donald laughed from his position on the stairs, and he bellowed another order, "Lower the starboard anchor! Do it ye dogs or it's you we'll load into the cannons!"
"Now what?" Yuffie wondered, and Riku gave her a grin that Kairi matched tooth-for-tooth.
"Let go."
Off the wheel went the Captain's hands, and the ship spun about, bringing the Highwind's guns to bare. Bootstrap's voice rang out, loud enough to be heard on the Black Pearl, "Keep us steady, now... FIRE!"
Ansem's echoing roar of the same sent a volley of cannonballs into the Highwind, while they pelted the Pearl with cutlery and crushed glass.
Riku could have sworn he heard Sora shout, "Stop blowing holes in my ship!" but he couldn't be sure, with the explosions going on about them. The pirates of the Black Pearl began to board them, and Donald cursed, turning to Kairi, "We could use a few more ideas, lass."
The redhead could only shrug in apology, "Your turn."
"Then we need a devil's dowry," it was the only think Donald could think of.
"We'll give them her," Yuffie growled, drawing her pistol and setting it against the girl's temple. Riku shook his head.
"It's not her what they're after, Yuffie."
Kairi slapped her hand against her chest, then froze, "The medallion! Riku, I gave it to you, where is it?!"
"Below," was Riku's only answer, before he bolted. They had to find the medallion, else everything was lost. Well, no, his blood, _and_ the medallion were what were needed to break the curse, but he wouldn't give his blood up willingly if the medallion was stolen.
He sighed as he scrambled through the water that was filling the hold, looking for that accursed piece. Why had Kairi taken it in the first place? If she had just left it, then maybe-- maybe-- Ansem wouldn't have come after them. Dammit all.
He could hear more explosions come from above, and the ship rocking with each successive hit. Then came the sound of... falling wood? His head snapped up, and he stared in shock and horror as the mask came down across the only entrance into the hold. He was trapped. Panicked as he was, he didn't even see the monkey bound through the holes in the grill.
On the Pearl, Sora grinned to himself, snagging a rope. While he wasn't all that happy that his ship was being blasted to pieces, at least one blast had shot through the lock on the door to his cell and allowed him his freedom. Cheerfully, he swung across to the Highwind, planting both feet on the ground beside Donald.
"Sora?!"
"Hey mate, s'bloody empty," and Sparrow slapped the swiped flask against Donald's chest, grinning. Donald chuckled despite the situation and stuffed it into his vest. Casting about, Sora's eyes fell upon the reason for this entire venture, and the pirate that was about to take off her head with a sword. Catching the bastard's wrist, he clucked his tongue, "Now... that's not very nice. Where's the medallion?"
"Wretch," Kairi snapped, arm swinging back to crack him across the face with the tonfa she had been using to block the pirate's previous attacks, but like he had the pirate, he caught the girl's wrist.
"Ah... where's dear Riku?"
"Riku?" Startled, she whirled about, eyes landing on the hold entrance that was held shut by the fallen mast, "Riku!" With nary another thought in her head, the girl raced over to her best friend, and began shoving at the mast, trying to move it.
"Kairi!"
"I can't move it," she whimpered, but continued to attempt to shove it off of the entrance despite this. Sora cast about for any other troubles, and his true blue eyes landed on the monkey escaping from the hold-- the monkey with the Aztec gold in hand.
"Monkey!" And the pirate tore off after the creature, scrambling on hands and knees over the mast back toward the Black Pearl. His forward momentum was brought to a halt when the monkey scrambled up the body on one Captain Ansem. Sora froze.
"Why thank you, Sora."
"You're welcome."
"Oh, not you," the pirate grinned widely, "We named the monkey Sora."
Ouch, Sora winced, there's a blow to the ego.
"Gents!" Ansem roared, and Sora watched as Kairi was dragged off the Highwind, kicking, screaming and even going so far as to bite her captor's arm-- not something he would want to do, knowing that they were Heartless, but let the girl do what she wanted, "Our hope is restored!"
There was a mighty roar from the Heartless Pirates, the last of them coming across with the rounded up members of Yuffie's crew, including Yuffie herself. The cheer was soon drowned out by the Highwind exploding, flames rocketing into the air as the gun powder within ignited.
"...Riku..."
---
End Part Four
Riku: ... Well, now everyone knows why I was chosen to be Will.
Sora: Never would have thought of that myself, actually.
Riku: Would you take those damned beads out?
Sora: No. I like them. *smiles*
Kairi: I think they're cute.
Sora: See? Kairi likes them!
Riku: Who? I see no one here but the two of us, Sora.
Kairi: You're still not mad at me, are you?
Riku: So, how do you think I'm going to kill Ansem?
Sora: Hey! I'm the one who gets to kill Ansem!
Kairi: It was just a joke, Riku...
Riku: He screwed _my_ life over. I get to kill him!
Sora: No way! I killed him in my game, I'm going to kill him in my story!
Kairi: Okay, so now neither of you are listening to me?
Riku: Who said this was _your_ story?!
Sora: Obviously, the movie is Jack's. I'm playing Jack. So it's _my_ story!
Riku: *tackles Sora and they proceed to wrestle*
Kairi: Guys! Guys, stop it! Guys!
If you hadn't noticed, I like counting how long each part is. I'm starting to think that my cast commentary is starting to develop it's own storyline, at that. Amusing, non? In any case, plot points are explained (slightly), things start happening, and stuff gets blown up. It's a wonderful chapter!
Have any of you guessed how I'm going to end this yet? Or will I get exclamations of surprise when I do? Or will Selphie slap me as silly as she did Sora for being an idiot?
Yes, I'm randomly babbling. It's fun.
Heh, I started this last night, just after listening to Pirates of the Caribbean-- had it playing in the background as I finished the rewrite of False Identity chapter three. I love my laptop's DVD player ^__^. And this morning, as I finished it off, I listened to the soundtrack. Obsessive? Maybe slightly.
Review response time!
Farli - That is the most all-encompasing review I have ever read. Thanks! Tortuga... yes, they do go back, though the scene is hardly as amusing as the first time.
MiDnIgHt-JaGuAr - *grins* You're amusing.
Ryasha - Yes, please email me the picture of Sora! I'll put it up on my fanfiction website (li_xiang.anifics.com). Well, everyone would expect Riku to be Jack, so I couldn't just _do_ that, non?
Disclaimer in Part One.
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Pirates of Destiny Isle
Part Four
Priest Li Xiang
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"Ten years of hoarding swag," he grinned to his partner, dark eyes glinting gleefully.
"And now we're finally getting to spend it!" Hook returned with a laugh, as he and Jafar hefted a trunk up, but his wooden hook was not a hand, and the trunk tumbled out of their grasp, clattering to the ground. It shattered upon impact, sending the contents flying-- dresses and parasols, and other women's clothing. The pair blinked stupidly at the mess for a moment, before Hook picked up a pale pink parasol and propped it against his shoulder. Jafar bent to snatch up his own, wondering in his head if it matched his robe-like apparel.
"Once we're quit of the curse, we'll be rich men," Jafar proclaimed with a smug smile, "And you can buy a hook that fits properly, and is made of gold."
"This one does tend to break quite often," Hook agreed, poking at the wooden appendage from which he took his name.
"Idiots," Malificent muttered with a roll of the eyes as she passed them, wondering what, exactly, Sparrow had been on when he had decided to allow those two to be a part of his crew. Then again, the same could be said of herself and Ansem, true enough. They _did_ eventually cause a mutiny, after all.
---
He was surprised at the lack of revulsion, and the lack of shock as they drifted past skeleton after skeleton, working their way deeper into the caverns of the Isla de Bastion. Instead, he found himself calmly holding the lamp at the prow of the life boat they had taken in, while Sora rowed it.
"What code is Donald to keep to if the worst should happen?"
"Pirates code," Sora's voice was even as he spoke, "Any man that falls behind... is left behind." His sentence was punctuated by the skeleton that lay sprawled on the east bank, a sword pinning it through the back. Obviously, someone had found the dank island, at the same time it's "owners" had been about, and had been cut down as they tired to escape. It was a gruesome thought, but for some reason, Riku could almost see it happening in his mind.
"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" he almost chuckled, but held it back for the sake of propriety. Something about these caverns sent a chill down his spine-- not that they frightened him, but he had the feeling that... he'd been here before? How strange.
"You know," Sora drawled, clearly amused by Riku's mental battles, "for having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga..." the pirate grinned as Riku's attention shifted from their passage, to what laid in the waters below them, "... and you're completely obsessed with treasure."
"That's not true," Riku grumbled as they came ashore. The youth had to pause, however, as he found himself snatching up a small golden babble as they passed. He stared at the item in his hand for a moment, before shoving it into his pocket, "Alright, so maybe it is. I'm a blacksmith. I work with such things quite frequently. I merely like it because of my work."
"Keep telling yourself that, lad. Maybe you'll come to believe it someday," Sora's grin was mocking.
"Gentlemen!" the voice rang out and both pirate and blacksmith fell silent, peering over a small ledge stacked with gold, down at the pirates that stood below. They were scattered throughout the main room of the cavern, some toying with their loot, others watching their captain avidly. The man stood atop a mound of rock and treasure, a thick stone chest before him, "The time has come! Salvation is nigh! Our torment is near its end!"
"Kairi..." Riku whispered, eyes catching on the redheaded figure bound and standing beside the white haired form of Ansem. Something cold crawled through the boy's chest as his eyes landed on the captain, and a seething rage boiled just beneath his skin. The intensity of the emotion startled him, his fingers clenching and unclenching, as something... unlocked. And seeing Captain Ansem was the key to it all.
"For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" he was bellowing over the cheers of the men.
"Suffered I have," Hook murmured, somewhat whimsically.
"Punished we were!" Ansem leapt upon his words to continue his speech. It was no wonder Ansem had gathered so many pirates under his wing, and managed to toss Sora out of the running-- he was a master when it came to speeches, "The lot of us-- disproportionate to our crime! Here it is..." and he lifted his foot, kicking the stone lid right off of the chest, sending it tumbling down the mound to crash heavily into the waters at the feet of his crew, "... the cursed treasure of Cortez himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned... save for this." With a wave, he indicated the golden coin that hung on a chain about Kairi's neck.
The fury within raged against his control, and Riku was moving without having meant to-- only to find a hand upon his leg, yanking him back. Several coins tumbled off the ledge, but the only one to hear was the only one that could not speak-- the monkey.
"Sora!" Riku whirled to face the man, gaze doubling for a minute, seeing two versions of the man before him. The first was, of course, the real one, with the half-crazed gleam in his eye, and the drunken swagger to his sea-crafted walk. The second, however, was younger, with a bright smile, and brighter eyes. His hair was wild and so was his laugh. The Sora of ten years ago.
"Not yet. We wait for the opportune moment."
He could recall... himself...? once saying the same to the younger version.
"And when's that?" Riku spat, glaring at the man who had brought him this far, the distant and often unheard voice right in his ear, whispering to trust the man, but yet, not to trust him all that much. It was rather confusing, to say the least. Especially with the voice sounding more and more like himself as the seconds ticked by, "When it's of greatest profit to you?"
"May I ask you something?" there was no doubt to the annoyed tone in the man's voice, "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Do us a favor, I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here... and try not to do anything... stupid." The boy, Sora had learned, could be as rash as his father, although Bootstrap had always had the muscle and the weaponry to back up his stupid mistakes. Well, at least until it could be pounded into his head that he was the one in the wrong.
"And who among us," Ansem was continuing, "has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?"
"Us!"
"And whose blood must yet be paid?"
"Hers!"
"You know the first thing I'm goin' to do after the curse is lifted...?" he turned to the girl with a grin and a leer, "Eat a whole bushel of apples."
"What is it with you and apples?" Kairi muttered, mustering her courage. With him watching her like that, she couldn't get her tonfa out, although she had worked her fingers into a hole above one on the side where the man wasn't. Just a little bit more, and she'd be able to just tear the damned thing out and attack the man, before trying to escape. Not the best of plans, but it was currently her only plan.
"Begun by blood," the man rumbled, yanking on the hand that had been, moments ago tucked into her dress, and slapping the medallion into her hand, "By blood undone!" And the blade slashed across her palm.
At the same moment, Sora was collapsing to the ground, an oar clattering along with it, as Riku looked dispassionately down at the man, "Sorry, old friend. I'm not going to be your leverage. Not again."
He slipped around the insensate body, soundlessly dropping into the deep waters, even as Kairi was staring at her bloody hand, "That's it?"
"Waste not," came the chuckle, and he forced her hand open, the metal falling in the hushed, anticipatory silence. It hit the rest in the chest, and the sound resounded throughout the cavern. Several pirates, including Ansem himself, closed their eyes, holding their breaths to wait to see if it had worked. To feel any change at all about them.
"Did it work?" one of the pirates wondered, slitting his eyes opened to look upon his Captain.
"I don't feel no different," Hook muttered, scratching his chin.
His partner tipped his head in confusion, "How do we tell?"
The white haired devil that led them rolled his eyes, before drawing his pistol. Like the coin hitting it's brethren, the shot fired echoed throughout the cavern, and Jafar gave an indignant yelp, even as another pirate stated the obvious.
"You're not dead!"
"No... he shot me! And I didn't die!"
"It didn't work," Hades snapped, "The curse is still upon us!"
Furious, Ansem turned his attention to what they had hoped to be their savior, even if she was unwilling, "You, maid! Your father, what was his name? Was your father Riku Turner?"
The smile that crossed her face could only be considered as smug, "No."
"Where is his child?" Ansem snarled, glaring at her, snatching up the coin with her blood on it, and thrusting it into her face, "The child that came from England, eight years ago with this coin! The child in whose veins flows the blood of Riku Turner! Where is he?!" He was demanding an answer that she would not give, however. She kept only her smug smile, and dancing vengeful eyes upon the man.
Furious at her deception, Ansem lashed out, gloved hand cracking her hard enough across the face, to force her to tumble down the mound they stood upon. She was barely conscious as she landed, though she realized that the medallion had flown from Ansem's hand when he smacked her, following her trajectory, and landing within her reach.
"You two," Malificent's voice hissed, and Kairi wondered how she could speak so quietly, only to be heard throughout the cavern, "You brought us the wrong person!"
"No!" Jafar's own hiss came in return, just as furiously, "She had the medallion, she's the proper age!"
Consciousness came abruptly back to the girl, however, as a wet hand covered her mouth and nose, stopping her ability to breath. Eyes flying open wide, she found herself staring at the familiar, silver maned head of her best friend. He made a quick motion, to get her to follow, and she nodded, snatching up the medallion that lay near her, before slipping into the dark waters with Riku.
Again, the only one to see it was the one that could not speak. The monkey hopped up and down, pointing, but the argument between the pirates gathered only drowned out it's squeaking attempts to catch it's master's attention.
"You brought us here for nothing," Hades spat, eyes almost glowing.
"I won't take questions and second guesses from the likes of you, Master Hades," Ansem shot back, furious at the disruption of their ultimate goal.
"Who's to blame? Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse!" the voice barked from close to the back of the ranks of the pirates.
Another voice, closer to the front agreed, "It was you who corrupted Bootstraps' body!"
"And it's you who brought us here in the first place," Malificent added her own frosty opinion.
Power seemed to flow off of the enraged captain, filling the cavern, his voice echoing as he bellowed, "Any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!" This time, there was no response, and Ansem nodded, "As I thought."
"I say, we cut her throat and spill all her blood, just in case," a dark skinned pirate offered up a solution to their woes, be it right or wrong. Ansem let a chill smile cross his lips; it would be a fitting punishment for the deception of the girl, even if she did not share blood with Bootstrap. Turning, he gazed down at where she had landed, only to be brought up short by her missing form. Eyes raising, he finally spotted the monkey, pointing frantically to an empty passage that lead out of the caverns.
His lips drew back from his lips, in an animalistic snarl, "The medallion! She's taken it! Well, after her, you pack of ingrates!"
Bellows and shouts echoed through the halls as the pirates raced out to find their missing captive. The noise was enough to draw Sora out of his enforced slumber, and he pushed himself to his feet, rocking back and forth all the while. The back of his head hurt like a bitch, and the culprit was right there on the floor beside him. Heavily, he reached down to grab the oar, using it to support his weight. Dammit all if Riku didn't have some power behind that swing of his.
Bloody bastard.
Eh, well, might as well let the boy get himself killed-- Sora was going to go back out to the Highwind. Or maybe the Pearl. He was pretty sure he'd seen his ship moored nearby. It wouldn't take much to take it and get the hell out of the vicinity of the Isla de Bastion, now would it? So he stumbled, rather awkwardly, and appearing rather drunk, towards where he and Riku had landed the life boat they'd come to shore in. He was just about there when the sharp voice of Ansem's first mate floated to his ears.
"The oars have gone missing! Find them!"
"You!" Sora blinked a few times, twisting about to see if Jafar had been yelling at him, "You're supposed to be dead!"
"Am I not?" he wondered, still slightly at odds with himself thanks to the Riku-induced headache that pounded in his skull. He turned to head back the way he came, only to find pirates in the way. Again he turned, this time to see a lot of pistols aimed at his face. One blink. Two blinks. They weren't doing anything yet, which Sora found odd, so he decided to go about not getting himself killed, "Puhluley. Publulehvoos. Pareleli. Parsmi. Pasley, parle, parle..."
"Parlay?" Hook wondered.
"Parlay! That's the one! Parlay! Parlay!" Okay, so he didn't have to say it three times but really-- what if the second one had cancelled out the first? Precautions had to be taken, after all, he was Captain Sora Sparrow, and he had survived far more than one would have thought he had. No thanks to Bootstrap, Squall, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie, however...
"Parlay?" Jafar sent a scowl Hook's way, and the wavy-haired pirate winced at it, "Damned to the depths whatever mad man thought of parlay."
"That," Sora smiled, pushing the pistol down to grin into Jafar's face, "Would be the French."
---
Oddly enough, Kairi had found it rather liberating to be throwing the oars out behind them as they rowed towards the Highwind. Riku had just given her a slightly strained smile, and continued forwards. She would have offered to let him have a go at it, but really, someone had to bring them to the ship, right? Being the gentleman that he was, Riku let Kairi go up first, helping her along by being a convenient stepping stool every now and again. It was rather annoying, but the things he suffered for his friendships.
Almost over the edge he paused, looking back. His thoughts were surprisingly light. You'd better get out of this one, Sora, just to prove to me that you actually have learned something these past ten years.
Kairi's voice, weak and exasperated at the same time, carried across to him as he pulled himself up and over, "Not more pirates..."
"Welcome aboard, Miss Kairi," Donald's welcoming voice was somewhat amusing, Riku reflected, especially with that big cheesy grin on his face. Then again, Donald hasn't seen the girl in eight years, now has he? Right then, stop talking to yourself, Turner. Don't want to be going as mad as Sparrow has, now do we?
"Mister Donald...?" to say Kairi was surprised would have been an understatement. Last she had heard, the man had died at sea, but here he was, healthy as could be, aboard a commandeered ship of the Royal Navy.
"Hey, boy, where be Sora?"
"I'm no boy, Donald," Riku gave the man a flat look, "And Sora fell behind." The look he gave the stout man clearly meant 'I'll explain later', and he guided Kairi away. Donald was silent for a long time, before he raised his head and spoke.
"Keep to the code."
Yuffie's voice was loud and commanding, "Raise anchor! Hoist the sails! Make quickly, men!"
---
"How in blazes did you get off that island?" Ansem was scowling at the other man, while he, in turn, offered a lazy smile.
"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate... I'm Captain Sora Sparrow," there was no arrogance in that voice. Not one whit of it; Sora merely spoke his name as though it held all the answers to the universe. And in his mind, perhaps it did.
"Ah, well, I won't be making that mistake again. Gents, you all remember Captain Sora Sparrow, right?" the grins from his crew were all the confirmation he needed, "Kill him."
There were several laughs, and the clicking of several guns having their ammunition set and ready to be shot. Sora was unperturbed, still smiling, and leaning against the oar he had been using as a crutch mere moments before, "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"
Ansem froze, midstep, and placed his foot carefully upon the ground. He kept his back to the young man for a long moment, before turning and glaring, "You know who's blood we need?"
"I know whose blood ye need," the deep purr was oddly out of place for the man, and Ansem waved a hand, his men dropping their guns, disappointment clear on their faces. Sora's grin widened, before vanishing after a moment, confusion crossing his brow.
"Might I ask you a question?"
"You might as well," all present knew that Ansem would kill Sora the moment he got the information he needed, including Sora himself. The brown haired captain grinned a toothy grin.
"You're to kind to me. What happened to you, mate? Last time I saw you... well, you had different scars, and your hair was red."
"People change, Sora," Ansem returned, though he knew his answer wouldn't satisfy Sparrow's incorrigible curiosity. Sometimes, the man thought and acted like a child. It was why he had decided to take the Pearl away from him in the first place, to be honest.
"Now then, that's not really an answer. Scars don't change just like that-- especially facial scars," he tipped his head to one side, beads jangling, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you swapped your scars with Bootstrap's."
He got a toothy grin in response, "Oh... something like that."
---
He was leaning against the side of the boat, eyes distant, but on Yuffie as she took over the Captain's duties. The woman looked at him out of the corner of her eye, clearly perturbed by this change of attitude in the young man, "So. We sail for Port Royal, then?"
"No."
"No?"
"No," Riku pushed up, looking out over the waters, having guided the Highwind about to be hidden by the Isla de Bastion, where they waited for the Pearl to take sail and go off in search of them. Sora had been told, he knew, that the Highwind was the fastest military ship in the Caribbean-- so it would cause no problems for Sora not to be able to see them out on the waters; something helped by the generally overcast day and the muted colors of the Highwind, "That's where Sora, and therefore Ansem, will think we've headed."
"We've come all this way for the lass, and you're not taking her home?" this confused Yuffie, who had been forced to listen to Riku's occasional rant about getting the boat to go faster in order to find the young miss.
"Not yet. We need to head into Tortuga."
"Might I ask why, Mister Turner?"
"There's an old friend there," Riku shrugged, "He owes me a favor, and knowing Sparrow, he's likely got a plan that no one else could possibly have thought up."
She eyed him with an appreciative glance, "You've known him for... what, a month?... and you already know him well enough to decide that?"
"That's where you're wrong, Yuffie," he smiled a smile that was rather disheartening to see, "I've known him a lot longer than that; I just forgot."
"How does one go about forgetting someone like Sora?" Donald's voice came from the steps, as the man came up, "The Pearl has finally taken up anchor. They're leaving the island."
"Good. We'll hold here for another day, then head for Tortuga," Yuffie decided, gauging the speed of the Pearl and the distance between the Isla de Bastion and Port Royal.
"It's rather easy, actually," Riku shook his head, giving Donald a wry grin, "You just need a bastard like Ansem to steal your body."
"That makes not one whit of sense, lad."
"Ah, but it does," Riku's lips curved into a tiny, dry smirk, "When you consider that even though Ansem and his crew be cursed to be Heartless forever and eternity, and yet still have their Hearts; it be the only reason they still look human when not in Moonlight."
"Heartless?"
"Aye, Heartless," the silver haired youth nodded, his eyes gaining that distant sheen once again, "A myth that isn't quite a myth at all. The Aztec gold created them, made the Heartless a reality, and as Heartless they must do as they were crafted."
"To steal Hearts," Donald rumbled, thoughts whizzing, "But... if Ansem stole your Heart, lad, wouldn't you have died?"
"I would have become a Heartless like them. But I didn't say he'd taken my Heart-- I said he took my body. Punishment, for sending one of the coins away and not telling him where it was, you see. Ansem did what he was to do, and ripped my Heart from my body. But he didn't absorb it, or use it like any other Heartless would have. He let it go."
The two pirates were staring at him now, the dots connecting within their minds, and Yuffie was the first to speak, "Bootstrap?"
"Aye," Riku agreed, winking, "But let's keep this between the three of us for now. No sense in letting it be a secret that gets out and about, to the waiting ears of Ansem. Long as I'm only 'Bootstrap's Boy', then I've less to fear than if it's discovered that I'm Bootstrap himself. After all... I'm not cursed, am I?"
"Riku?"
The three pirates started, twisting about to see Kairi standing on the deck below, and they barely held in a breath of relief. She was to far away to be hearing their conversation-- not that she would have had she been near, as she looked worried and quite clearly out of it as she stood, gnawing on her lip.
"What is it, Kairi?" it amazed Donald and Yuffie how easily Bootstrap slipped back into being Riku as he spoke with the girl they had rescued.
"Can I... can I speak with you, Riku? It's rather important," she was twisting her hands about, picking at the bandage across her slashed palm. With a nod, he went quickly to her side, and they sequestered themselves in the Captain's Cabin with nary a second look. Once inside, Kairi plucked all that much harder at her bandages, until Riku's hands stilled hers.
"What did you want to speak to me about, then?"
"I... do you know why they took me, when they left Port Royal?"
"I have my suspicions, but nothing solid," Riku tipped his head as he spoke, curious gaze upon her face. Kairi sighed, tilting her head forwards and letting the long crimson strands hide her gaze.
"I gave Ansem your name as my own."
Riku nodded, "I thought it would be something like that, though I don't really know why they came to Port Royal."
She fidgeted for a moment, then withdrew the gold medallion she had swiped as they had left the caverns. His gaze went immediately to it, and she dropped it into his upturned palm, chain and all, "It's yours."
"I thought I'd lost it to the ocean eight years ago," Riku murmured, "Why did you take it?"
"Because I was afraid that you were a pirate," there was a whine in her voice, and he knew that she hadn't been afraid of the fact that he was a pirate-- but of the fact that he would have been killed for being one, child or not, "The would have been awful. I'm so sorry... please, forgive me."
---
It was kind of... dank, he reflected morosely. What had Ansem done to his precious ship? There were holes in it's sails, boards rotting away, and the entire thing was encumbered by a feel of dankness that got on his nerves. Bloody hell.
"So," Ansem was saying to his proposal, "You expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need, and watch you sail away in my ship?"
Sora frowned at him, "No. I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on my ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy?" Really, it was an ingenious plan. And he would even give the boy's name to Ansem. That it would be the right Turner, however, was a completely different story. Ah, it was good to be friends with one who had such a common name.
"But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need," the bastard still liked blowing holes in all his carefully constructed plans, Sora mentally raged. It was the same reason he had allowed the man to be his First Mate ten years earlier, but right now it was just pissing him off. Not that anyone could tell, as Sora sprawled himself in a chair across the desk from Ansem, plucking an apple off the table.
"Of the two of us," he explained, "I'm the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore, my word is the one we'll be trusting. Although, I suppose I should be thanking you, because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share of that curse same as you," the man grinned, biting into the apple he'd swiped, and mentally snickering in the look Ansem was giving him, "Funny ol' world, innit?"
"Indeed..." Ansem frowned at him, before switching topics, "We should have come up on the Highwind by now."
Sora shrugged, "Perhaps they have better minds on board than I thought. They got the lass they came after, so one would assume that they would be heading back to Port Royal."
"But they're not. We've not seen hide nor hair of them since we set out, three days ago."
"Well," Sora took another bite of his apple, and reminded himself to do so more often. The faces Ansem was making were quite hilarious to watch, "What do you expect me to do about it, mate? S'not like I know what goes on in Yuffie's mind."
---
What was going on in Yuffie's mind, was generally exasperated amazement at Bootstrap's acting skills. The man in the boy's body was quite clearly donning a completely different hat about the rest of the crew, and it was stunning how skilled he was at it. Of course, one had to take into mind that he had been acting in such a manor for ten or so years now, but the fact remained that Riku 'Bootstrap' Turner had been as he was for twenty or so years before becoming the boy.
Although, Yuffie mused, now that she actually thought it through, if Riku had truly been Bootstrap's son, that would have meant Bootstrap had been active when he was ten or eleven. Not impossible just... improbable.
The Black Pearl was always a speck on the horizon to them, as they sailed, something Yuffie was quite grateful for as they had come into Tortuga. It meant that they, too, were merely a speck, and their course to Tortuga would not raise many brows on the cursed ship. Mooring in the bay about the pirate town, the female pirate wondered who would be going into Tortuga to pick up what supplies Ol'Bootstrap felt the need to gather.
Obviously, Bootstrap would go in-- and the young Miss Swann had pitched a fit to be allowed to go along, but all it had taken was a few words from Riku to calm her-- and Donald would go as well, the man knowing Tortuga better than any man alive; he had, after all, been living there for seven years. Bootstrap had refused any one else to go, so here they were, watching the boy and the man rowing in to the pirate town.
"Miss Yuffie?"
"Aye, Miss Kairi?" the pirate turned, and found herself looking at the small girl, and the odd iron weapons she held in hand.
"Would you mind practicing with me? I didn't get much of a chance on the Black Pearl."
---
It wasn't all the hard to recall where Selphie had been before, and Riku moved swiftly through the pirates with a confidence he hadn't had the last time he was in the town. Here and there, he flinched a valuable off a man to drunk to notice, and made a strict reminder to himself to never get that pissed.
As he had expected, the young woman was right where she had been before; fixing the make-up of one of the prostitutes as she came about from whatever liaison she had been at before, "Be with you boys in a moment, Donald!"
Finishing the job, the woman straightened her traditional yellow dress, before stepping aside and motioning for the two males to follow her. Once out of the reach of any possible attempts by the drunkards to steal any items off of them, the brunette stared them down, gaze shifting between the two men, "Alright, where's Sora?"
"Most likely bartering my life for the Black Pearl," Riku chuckled slightly, "He loves that ship a touch to much if you ask me."
"Aye," Donald agreed, "But that's not what we're here for."
"Oh? What are you here for-- and you two will be explaining what Sora's doing on the Pearl, won't you?"
"If we have the time, Selph, if we have the time," Riku shrugged with a grin, "But right now, I'd like to know where the old gang is."
"The old gang?" Selphie gave the youth a hard look, "Now, who's been telling you stories, lad?"
"No stories, Miss Selphie," Donald gave a grim smile, "This here is Bootstrap himself."
"Bootstrap..." her eyes widened, as she took in the cocky stance that Riku had not been in the last time he'd been about, and the grin on his face, "Riku Turner, where the hell have you been?!"
"Fighting with Squall, mostly," Riku shrugged, "Port Royal, actually. Had some memory problems thanks to Captain Ansem-- but really, Selph, now is not the time. Where's the old gang holed up?"
"Tidus and Wakka are with Wakka's wife's family; they left the island about four days ago, love," she sighed, "You're out of luck in that department, as you know well as I do where Squall is. The old gang's split and frayed at the edges till there was nothing left."
"Dammit all!"
"How much does this affect your plan, Bootstrap?" Donald queried, giving him a long look. Riku raked his fingers through his hair.
"Not as much as you would think, Donald. I was just hoping for a little back up, but supplies will have to do instead. We need food and drinking water, Selphie," he rubbed at his chin, amused by the stubble that had grown while he hadn't been all that big on hygiene. It was hardly the beard he'd sported before-- one that Sora seemed content to emulate, he thought with a smile-- but it would just take a little time to get it back, "Your husband should be able to provide it for us, right?"
"Do you have any blackmail material on Irvine, Bootstrap, or are you grasping at straw?" she drawled, eyes half lidded. Bootstrap offered her a wry grin.
"Well, I was certainly hoping that you could be the one to offer the blackmail material, m'dear. There's not much a pirate is ashamed of, and his wife would be the only one who knew."
"You're as dirty as you ever were, Riku Turner!" Selphie laughed, motioning the two men to follow her, "Come on then! Lets get you two loaded down with what you need. Food and water, of course, and I would assume some ammunition?"
"Only extra shot, Selph," Riku's gaze shifted to the sky high above, "We're going to need to arm myself and Kairi, that's about it. We're not going into war-- we're trying to break a curse."
"You never quite struck me as a curse-breaker."
"Not really; once we're out of Tortuga, we'll be headed back the way we came. You send notice to Leon Loire, would you? The Black Pearl will be ripe for the taking soon enough."
---
"It's about damned time," Ansem growled, following Malificent out of his cabin. Sora tagged along, munching on yet another apple, as he did so. They'd been out at sea for weeks, and yet there had been no sign of the Highwind at all-- even when they had been in sight of Port Royal. So they had set sail back towards the Isla de Bastion, only to have the ship they had been searching for be spotted. It was a right awful feeling to Ansem, to have been outsmarted.
"I'm having a thought here, Ansem," Sora stepping in front of the captain, disrupting the view through the spyglass, "What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the Highwind, and I negotiate the return of your medallion, aye? What say you to that?"
"Now you see, Sora," Ansem clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "That's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they're dead. Lock him in the brig."
"Wha...?" Sora blinked as Malificent hauled him off by his coat. Twisting, he called back to the white haired man, "At least think about it!"
He got no response as he was dragged down, and through into one of the cages that made up the Pearl's brig. Water sloshed about his ankles, and he gave a pained sigh, "Apparently, mate, there's a leak."
Malificent smirked at him, before striding away, and Sora was left to stare at the ground. Well, at least now he knew why his ship was so bloody dank.
---
The squawked warning of Goofy's Parrot came a moment before the curses of Donald. Shading his eyes, Riku turned to stare behind them, and let loose his own epitaphs, "The Black Pearl!"
"She's gaining on us," Yuffie cursed, "Damn, almost back to the island, and they catch up to us!"
"This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" Kairi protested, eyes wide. To her eternal surprise, Riku was the one to respond to her-- with a sharp barking laugh.
"You can tell them that after they've caught us!"
"Riku..." she shook her head, before her eyes raced about, searching for something she could do as the crew flew into panic-sped motions in an attempt to stay out of the Black Pearl's reach, "We're shallow on the draft, right?"
"Aye..."
"Well, then can't we lose them amongst those shoals?"
Donald had come up behind her, and was grinning, "We don't have to outrun them long... just long enough."
Yuffie stared in silence, weighing the idea for it's merit, and finally decided to try it. There wasn't much else they could do, "Lighten the ship, stem to stern!"
The grizzled man whirled about, calling to the men, "Anything that we can afford to lose-- see that it's lost!"
Riku went to work, helping the men throw their supplies overboard-- better to be sick than dead, after all. Though the sick may not agree with that, he was a survivor, and dammit, he wasn't going to get killed by the man who had stolen his body! These thoughts in mind, he peered out to check the progress of their opponents, and cursed.
They'd brought out the oars.
His foot came down atop one of the cannons, seconds before it would have been shoved off, "We're going to need that."
"It was a good plan, lass, up 'til now," Yuffie muttered, catching sight of the same thing Bootstrap had. The other pirate bounded up the stairs, a grim set to his face.
"We have to make a stand, we must fight! Load the guns!"
"With what?" spat the current Captain.
"Anything. Everything! Anything we have left!" Riku's look had darkened, "I'm not going to let Ansem win again, Yuffie."
"Aye," Donald agreed, "We've done to much to allow for the bastard to get his hands on what he wants."
"I thought that was what we were doing," Kairi muttered, having been clued in on Riku's plan to uncurse the pirates then wait for Loire to shoot them out of the water. It looked, however, like that plan had been utterly defeated by this sudden turn of events.
Her words were ignored as Donald went half-way down the stairs to the deck and bellowed, "Load the guns! With anything that's left, lads, load the guns!" And promptly had his rum flask swiped as one of those 'anythings left'.
"She'll rake us without ever presenting a target," Riku muttered, glaring at the ominous ship that was fast approaching.
"Lower the anchor on the right side!" Kairi seemingly proclaimed out of thin air. With a realization that came only from being friends with her for so long, Riku suddenly knew what she was up to, as she repeated her words, "The starboard side!"
"It's the only one that has the element of surprise," Riku offered, grim smile still in place. Bootstrap, Yuffie reflected on the stories somewhat affectionately, had always been one for surprising opponents.
"You're daft, the both of you!" She snapped, though she was smiling slightly; it was a plan. Not a good one, but a plan none the less.
"Daft like Sora," Donald laughed from his position on the stairs, and he bellowed another order, "Lower the starboard anchor! Do it ye dogs or it's you we'll load into the cannons!"
"Now what?" Yuffie wondered, and Riku gave her a grin that Kairi matched tooth-for-tooth.
"Let go."
Off the wheel went the Captain's hands, and the ship spun about, bringing the Highwind's guns to bare. Bootstrap's voice rang out, loud enough to be heard on the Black Pearl, "Keep us steady, now... FIRE!"
Ansem's echoing roar of the same sent a volley of cannonballs into the Highwind, while they pelted the Pearl with cutlery and crushed glass.
Riku could have sworn he heard Sora shout, "Stop blowing holes in my ship!" but he couldn't be sure, with the explosions going on about them. The pirates of the Black Pearl began to board them, and Donald cursed, turning to Kairi, "We could use a few more ideas, lass."
The redhead could only shrug in apology, "Your turn."
"Then we need a devil's dowry," it was the only think Donald could think of.
"We'll give them her," Yuffie growled, drawing her pistol and setting it against the girl's temple. Riku shook his head.
"It's not her what they're after, Yuffie."
Kairi slapped her hand against her chest, then froze, "The medallion! Riku, I gave it to you, where is it?!"
"Below," was Riku's only answer, before he bolted. They had to find the medallion, else everything was lost. Well, no, his blood, _and_ the medallion were what were needed to break the curse, but he wouldn't give his blood up willingly if the medallion was stolen.
He sighed as he scrambled through the water that was filling the hold, looking for that accursed piece. Why had Kairi taken it in the first place? If she had just left it, then maybe-- maybe-- Ansem wouldn't have come after them. Dammit all.
He could hear more explosions come from above, and the ship rocking with each successive hit. Then came the sound of... falling wood? His head snapped up, and he stared in shock and horror as the mask came down across the only entrance into the hold. He was trapped. Panicked as he was, he didn't even see the monkey bound through the holes in the grill.
On the Pearl, Sora grinned to himself, snagging a rope. While he wasn't all that happy that his ship was being blasted to pieces, at least one blast had shot through the lock on the door to his cell and allowed him his freedom. Cheerfully, he swung across to the Highwind, planting both feet on the ground beside Donald.
"Sora?!"
"Hey mate, s'bloody empty," and Sparrow slapped the swiped flask against Donald's chest, grinning. Donald chuckled despite the situation and stuffed it into his vest. Casting about, Sora's eyes fell upon the reason for this entire venture, and the pirate that was about to take off her head with a sword. Catching the bastard's wrist, he clucked his tongue, "Now... that's not very nice. Where's the medallion?"
"Wretch," Kairi snapped, arm swinging back to crack him across the face with the tonfa she had been using to block the pirate's previous attacks, but like he had the pirate, he caught the girl's wrist.
"Ah... where's dear Riku?"
"Riku?" Startled, she whirled about, eyes landing on the hold entrance that was held shut by the fallen mast, "Riku!" With nary another thought in her head, the girl raced over to her best friend, and began shoving at the mast, trying to move it.
"Kairi!"
"I can't move it," she whimpered, but continued to attempt to shove it off of the entrance despite this. Sora cast about for any other troubles, and his true blue eyes landed on the monkey escaping from the hold-- the monkey with the Aztec gold in hand.
"Monkey!" And the pirate tore off after the creature, scrambling on hands and knees over the mast back toward the Black Pearl. His forward momentum was brought to a halt when the monkey scrambled up the body on one Captain Ansem. Sora froze.
"Why thank you, Sora."
"You're welcome."
"Oh, not you," the pirate grinned widely, "We named the monkey Sora."
Ouch, Sora winced, there's a blow to the ego.
"Gents!" Ansem roared, and Sora watched as Kairi was dragged off the Highwind, kicking, screaming and even going so far as to bite her captor's arm-- not something he would want to do, knowing that they were Heartless, but let the girl do what she wanted, "Our hope is restored!"
There was a mighty roar from the Heartless Pirates, the last of them coming across with the rounded up members of Yuffie's crew, including Yuffie herself. The cheer was soon drowned out by the Highwind exploding, flames rocketing into the air as the gun powder within ignited.
"...Riku..."
---
End Part Four
Riku: ... Well, now everyone knows why I was chosen to be Will.
Sora: Never would have thought of that myself, actually.
Riku: Would you take those damned beads out?
Sora: No. I like them. *smiles*
Kairi: I think they're cute.
Sora: See? Kairi likes them!
Riku: Who? I see no one here but the two of us, Sora.
Kairi: You're still not mad at me, are you?
Riku: So, how do you think I'm going to kill Ansem?
Sora: Hey! I'm the one who gets to kill Ansem!
Kairi: It was just a joke, Riku...
Riku: He screwed _my_ life over. I get to kill him!
Sora: No way! I killed him in my game, I'm going to kill him in my story!
Kairi: Okay, so now neither of you are listening to me?
Riku: Who said this was _your_ story?!
Sora: Obviously, the movie is Jack's. I'm playing Jack. So it's _my_ story!
Riku: *tackles Sora and they proceed to wrestle*
Kairi: Guys! Guys, stop it! Guys!