The Tale of the Black Pearl

Disclaimer: Same as before…

The Misfits and their handlers were crammed into the living room of Misfit Manor while Alan Breck, Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Mr. Gibbs stood in the middle of the floor. The Black Pearl had anchored offshore, under the protection of GI Joe's air cover. Elizabeth had been brought ashore, and after a medical examination on the health of her baby was now sitting on the couch, next to Will.

"The creatures you've been finding are called Heartless." Jack began, "They destroyed me world."

"And mine as well." Alan replied, as he wiped down the gleaming sword with a rag, wiping away the sticky black blood of the Heartless he had killed.

"Where do they come from?" Emily asked.

"They come from an experiment gone bad." Gibbs replied, "In a faraway land, there was a king named Ansem, whose fascination with the dark lead him to unspeakable acts."

"What do you mean?" Cover Girl asked.

"Within a person's heart there is light and there is dark. The Heartless are born of the darkness inside people's hearts." Will began.

"So what about this Ansem guy?" Shipwreck began.

"Ansem sought to experiment on the darkness in people's heart. He experimented on his own people." Alan picked up the slack, "He extracted the darkness from peoples' hearts and injected it into pure ones. Overcome by the darkness creatures began to emerge…"

"Heartless?" Althea asked.

"Yes." Alan replied.

"What about those other weird armed ones that we killed?" Low Light asked.

"These were artificial Heartless, created in Ansem's other experiments. They are stamped with the crossed out heart." Elizabeth chimed in.

"So what do they want?" Emily asked.

"The Heartless seek the hearts of other beings." Jack replied, "And the hearts of worlds."

"What?" Lance asked, "Hearts of worlds?"

"Worlds, like men, have hearts." Alan replied, "And the Heartless seek to consume both, as they did to my world."

Alan remembered the final clash. The sound of cannons roaring, as the traitor MacDonald stood atop a hill, with the men of his clan, watching as the Highlanders charged the Heartless ranks. Two ranks of Lowlanders had already broken and fled the field; the right flank of under the Duke of Argyll was fighting valiantly against a force of Fat Bandits, Fire Bandits, and Soldiers. Many men of Prince James' army met their end that day.

"Alan?" Will asked his crewmate, concerned.

"Yes." Alan replied, "My world, my Scotland is now a memory. I will not rest until I've restored it and killed the traitor."

"Traitor? Why would someone side with the Heartless?" Shipwreck asked.

"Easy." Alan replied, "Wealth, personal gain, for the traitor, prestige and the throne. What more could you ask for than a great and powerful force like the Heartless. But there comes a price for making a deal with the Heartless. The Heartless ultimately consume those who call upon them."

"So whoever your greatest enemy is, he may call on the Heartless." Gibbs asked.

"Who is he?" Alan asked.

"You want a list?" Lance asked, "We've got tons of enemies. Magneto, The Hellfire Club, The Acolytes. That list is longer than Gibbs' sideburns! No offense."

"Non taken." Gibbs replied.

"If any of them side with the Heartless…" Blind Master began.

"…Then we could have a problem." Cover Girl concluded.

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one." Ted replied.

"How can we stop them? That's my million dollar question." Shipwreck quipped.

"The only sure way to stop them is with the Keyblade." Alan replied, "But we do not know where or when it shall be found."

"We're not getting anywhere staying up late. So I propose we go end the debate." Roadblock said, "And get some rest, that would be best."

"Agreed." Lowlight said.

"Emily, you and Ted are on watch till one, when Cover Girl and Shipwreck relieve you." Roadblock ordered.

"Are you sure he is the one?" Alan Breck asked as the two men walked outside.

"The wielder of the Keyblade is here. I know it." Jack Sparrow replied.

"But who is it?" Alan replied, "The Oracle foretold that it is my destiny to shield him."

"It is the young Avalanche who we seek." Jack replied.

"Are you sure?" Alan replied, "Are you sure Lance is whom we seek?"

"It is this world that is the focal point." Jack replied, "The needle on the compass indicated it."

"Are you sure he is the one who will wield the Keyblade?" Alan asked.

"The compass has never led us astray. We found the Scrolls of Prophesy with them. We found the pages of Ansem's Report. We have found the Keyblade's wielder." Jack replied.

"Why not tell them, then?" Alan replied.

"We don't know anything about them, or this world." Jack said, "Or if we can trust them…"

The two men did not see a shimmering shape sneak away from them. As they walked on, Xi revealed himself. Silently he headed to where Emily and Ted were hiding. His golden glowing eyes widened when he heard the news. That Lance was the welder of the Keyblade.

Meanwhile, Ted walked into the kitchen and Emily handed him a cup of coffee, "You're too kind."

"I just updated the security cameras and recalibrated the sensors to alert us if the Heartless put in another appearance." Emily said.

"I had Xi shadow our new friends. Call it paranoid, but years with Israeli Security Forces taught me that." Ted replied.

"And speak of the devil." Emily began, when Xi walked into the room.

"I have some news of interest." Xi began, "It seems our new friends are not being entirely truthful."

"What did you find?" Emily asked.

"Well, they know who the wielder of the Keyblade is." Xi replied, "But for some reason they don't trust us."

"Who is it?" Ted replied.

"Lance." Xi replied.

It was then that all further conversation was disrupted by screaming from upstairs, the screaming of a lost soul.

Lance felt the softness of Kitty's touch, her fingers gently stroking his cheek. He smiled lovingly at her, gazing into those lovely blue eyes. He drew her close to him, his left arm around her shoulders. Her slender arms wrapped themselves around his neck as she drew closer to him. Kitty tilted her head slightly so their noses wouldn't bump and Lance felt sheer bliss as her soft, warm lips pressed against his own…

…And then Kitty was seized suddenly by things that looked like those Heartless creatures the adults fought earlier that day. These things were just like them, but had huge leathery wings. Despite Lance's best efforts they carried Kitty away and somehow she was unable to phase through their grasps.

Now Lance found himself in what looked like a medieval dungeon. The stench of straw rotting mixed with that of mildew and carried the unmistakable copper scent of blood. The light was barely present, coming from thin shafts of sunlight poking through small and narrow windows and the occasional torch.

He heard a moan just then, of someone in great pain. He rushed over the source and froze in horror. Kitty was chained to the wall by her wrists, a power inhibitor around her neck, and kneeling on the floor. Her left eye was swollen shut, her right barely open as she struggled to maintain consciousness. There were cuts and bruises all over her and the unmistakable scent of burned flesh from electric shock emanated from her.

"Lance…" Kitty groaned in pain.

"Oh my God, Kitty, don't worry! I'm here to help you!" Lance shouted.

Just as he got to a little over an arm's length an invisible force lifted Kitty up, so that she hung in midair, as far as her chains would allow. It was then that a hooded figure bearing a staff stepped into the light. It muttered a few inarticulate words and sent bolts of pure magical energy ripping into Kitty…

"NO!" Lance screamed and sat bolt upright in bed.

Just then the door to his room opened, Alan and Jack charged in swords drawn, followed by Emily and Ted with drawn pistols.

"Lance, what happened?" Emily asked.

"I…I just had a dream…I saw something…Kitty, she was in pain." Lance stammered.

"Lance, she's fine." Ted reassured, "She's safe and in bed back at the Institute."

"You don't know that!" Lance spat back.

"Lance, calm down…" Ted began, "We'll talk to Xavier and find out what's going on."

"Can I talk to her, please?" Lance pleaded.

Ted nodded and walked downstairs with Lance, leaving Emily, Jack, and Alan upstairs. "Listen," Emily began, "I wonder why you weren't being entirely truthful with us."

"What do you mean?" Alan replied.

"Your furtive conversation about Lance wielding the Keyblade, for one thing, was a dead give away." Emily replied.

"How do you know about that?" Jack asked, menacingly.

"The walls have ears here." Emily replied, not wanting to give Xi away as a source just yet.

"The Oracle told us not to reveal to the wielder of the Keyblade until he is ready." Alan began.

"And Lance is supposed to know how to wield this thing?" Emily asked, skeptically.

"He should." Alan replied.

"But he's no sword fighter." Emily protested, "Someone should train him to wield a sword, if he's to carry one."

"We will tell him in the morning." Jack replied, "He must know what it is his destiny to do."

Somehow Jack's tone didn't assure Emily in the least, and she was only one of the junior members of the Misfits.

"Yeah, I'm glad your OK. I'm really sorry I called so late, but I was really worried about you." Lance said, "OK, I'll see you later."

Lance breathed an audible sigh of relief as he hung up the phone. Spirit came downstairs just then, having been awakened by Emily during the course of his phone call.

"Dad, I can explain…" Lance began.

"No need." Spirit said, calmly, "Emily explained everything to me, including your nightmare. What did you see?"

"It was Kitty. She was in pain. I know that things are kind of on hold with us right now, but I'm still afraid. I still love her." Lance replied, "Something's wrong, I know it."

"It was just a dream." Ted interjected, "You know she's alright."

"I still think something's really wrong." Lance replied.

"Dreams are like reflections in a pool, sometimes visions are clear, or they are like shadows in a pond, never taking shape." Spirit replied soothingly.

"I still…" Lance stammered.

"I know you still care for her, and your worried. Who wouldn't be if they had such a disturbing dream." Spirit said, leading his son back upstairs to his bedroom.

Firefly remained hidden in the brush. The Joes had increased the sensory coverage all around the Pit since the Heartless attacked, he had to be cautious. If he wished to contact them, without compromising himself, he would have to be stealthy.

He stank, he itched, he chafed. His stomach growled from not having eaten in several days, only drinking mouthfuls of water from the river. His uniform was torn, after fleeing the horrific scene he had witnessed with barely any weapons or supplies. He knew that the Joes were his only aid, the enemy of his enemy was his friend…

TBC