Disclaimer: By now, you should know I own nothing but a crummy computer , a multi Gb music library, and an overactive imagination.
If you think I own potc, Johnny depp, or Inuyasha……… (Apart from my acrylic painting of said Depp…) then I suggest help. Soon. Please.
Chapter (9): Aboard the Pearl
Kirara crouched on a tree branch, watching the well. Her mistress was down there…but…somehow not down there. She'd jumped down, but no sign of her, the monk, or Inuyasha and Kagome. Kirara laid down to watch the well, and stay out of sight of Shippo and Rin, who were both smiling and sitting in the clearing next to the well, each with huge piles of wildflowers in front of them. It was a terrifying sight.
Shippo and Rin were industriously making chains of flowers. Jaken crouched at the side of the clearing, making an enourmous effort to become invisible. He was not succeeding.
As soon as Rin had finished with her pink and yellow flowers, she picked some more, and then ran over to Jaken, Shippo trailing close behind with his own creations. Jaken cringed, and gulped, bulbous eyes bulging at the sight of all the flowers.
"Look what Rin made for you, Jaken-sama!" Rin's eyes shone with innocent joy.
Jaken's were filled with terror, and he started to run. "Nooooo!"
Too late.
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Kagome sat in a corner of the cabin, facing Elisabeth after they had both been put in the room. Kagome had started to get used to the blatant wrongness surrounding the pirates, and had started to work around it. She felt rather stupid for letting the shock get to her on the shore, and for not trying to get away when she had a chance.
By now the ship was too far away to even consider swimming. Mentally, Kagome kicked herself again.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Elisabeth asked her "Um…I don't know your name…but…do you know these pirates, since you're one as well?"
Kagome blinked. "I'm not a pirate. My names Kagome, and the only pirate in our group was Jack."
"You're not a pirate? Then why were you with one, and why wear…pants? And that long top…"
Kagome grinned. It was probably a good thing she hadn't been wearing the school uniform she was so fond of. Elisabeth looked horrified enough at the notion of wearing pants, let alone a miniskirt. "It's a haori. Long story. And getting stuck with the pirate was pure, dumb luck."
Kagome turned, and fished in her yellow knapsack, which the crew of the Black Pearl had, kindly, thrown in with her. She also checked her unstrung bow, sighing in relief as she saw nothing was touched, and zipped the backpack up. Kagome paused, then reached for her swiss army knife and slipped it in a pocket. Aparently, these pirates had never seen a Swiss army knife before, or were so overconfident they hadn't even took her weapons. Probably the later, since she still had her bow… or perhaps, they just didn't see a bow as a threat. Not smart.
Elisabeth turned it over, then decided to ask for the tale. It might be a long time she was in here with Kagome, and the information might be useful, if the other girl wanted to share her story.
"We have time…I wouldn't mind hearing that 'long story'"
Kagome shrugged. Why not? The girl was an important person from what she'd seen on the docks, despite giving her name as a maid, and she could use all the help she could get.
"I'll tell you...although I don't know how much you will believe…Well, let's see. Inuyasha and myself jumped through the well outside my home in Tokyo. Instead of letting us go through to the feudal era, it dropped us in Jacks boat. The two of us managed to get the portion of a shard he had. I don't know how Sesshoumaru managed to get through the well, but he did and we somehow persuaded him to not kill us long enough to talk. I'm not sure how I got him to argee to help us get home, but we did, and so we were looking for the last part of the shard Barbossa has, and for a way back when we got separated."
Kagome frowned slightly…Barbossa was the one who had her now, wasn't he? Since he also had a shard, she ought to be able to sense it nearby…but there was nothing. Why was that?
Elisabeth blinked at her. She seemed serious, but…the story didn't make a lot of sense. A well? Was it a magic well? For starters, where was Tokyo? Elizabeth opened her mouth to ask questions, when the door creaked open.
Two pirates walked in with a dark burgundy dress, and Elizabeth filed all her questions away for later.
"You'll both be dinin' with the captain. And he requests you wear this" said Pintel, shoving the dress at Elizabeth.
"Well, you may tell the captain that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request." Kagome laughed as Elisabeth crossed her arms, and looked back haughtily.
"He said you'd say that. He also said if that be the case, you'll be dinin' with the crew…and you'll be naked" Elisabeth snatched the dress with a grimace. Pintells face fell "Fine."
They left, allowing Elizabeth to get changed. As she pulled on the dress, she asked Kagome a few of the many questions, starting with the simplest.
"Which of the two with you is…Inuyasha?" she said, trying out the foreign word.
"He's the one in the red pants…actually, this is his haori…" Kagome said softly, eyes darkly shining as she fingered the red sleeve, before reaching down to one of her arrows, and carefully detaching the tip. She palmed the arrowhead, and Elisabeth blinked, then shrugged and pulled open the door, Kagome behind her.
'Hmm…' Elisabeth frowned slightly. Was it just her, or had Kagome's eyes changed when she was speaking of Inuyasha?
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In the captain's cabin, a feast awaited them. Kagome scanned the food, but it was all western. No oden. Not even ramen. Sigh. The few crewmembers who had set the table left, leaving her, Elizabeth and Barbossa alone.
Barbossa indicated they should each sit, and both pulled up a chair. Kagome started eating hungrily, famished after a long afternoon with no food, tearing at an apple, while Elizabeth picked daintily at her dish.
"There's no need to stand on ceremony, nor call to impress anyone. You must be hungry." Barbossa looked at Kagome, faintly amused. He handed a goblet with wine to Elizabeth "Try the wine." Kagome shook her head. Wine did not agree with her, or with miko powers.
"And the apples?" He held one out to Elizabeth "One of those next"
Elizabeth looked at it "It's poisoned."
Kagome blinked. Poison? But that made no sense…why waste poison on them when all these sharp swords were lying around? She leaned forwards as the Captain started speaking. A sleeping potion maybe, she could see, but poison…?
"There would be no sense to be killing ye, Miss Turner." Stated Barbossa.
Elizabeth frowned "Then release me, you have your trinket; I'm of no further value to you."
Barbossa pulled out the medallion. Kagome forced down the bile at the back of her throat. Ick. "You don't know what this is, do ye?"
Elizabeth shrugged "It's a pirate medallion."
"Yeah, an evil medallion to go with evil pirates" suggested Kagome. Elisabeth obviously couldn't feel anything to do with that medallion, or she wouldn't have shruggfed it off so easily.
Barbossa ignored that, and started telling the story. "This is Aztec gold… one of 882 identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest to Cortés himself"
'Who's Cortes?' wondered Kagome. 'Wasn't he some Spanish guy we had to learn about in history class….?'
"Blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon them with his armies. But the greed of Cortés was insatiable. So the heathen gods placed upon the gold…a terrible curse. Any mortal that removes but a single piece from that stone chest shall be punished for eternity."
'Well, that explains a lot. A curse…hmm.' Kagome pursed her lips, trying to think of what the curse might be. Obviously it had been caused by the gold, though she didn't know how. Simply handling it hadn't done anything to Elisabeth, hadn't tainted her like the pirates. Perhaps stealing it had activated the curse?
Elizabeth thought back to her chat with Kagome. Was it just her, or had the day gotten progressively weirder, starting with her dream about the crossing, and going from there?
"I hardly believe in ghost stories anymore, Captain Barbossa."
Kagome scrapped any thoughts of getting Elizabeth to believe her story right then and there. If Elisabeth didn't believe in curses, then she wouldn't believe in miko, youkai, or time travel.
Barbossa smiled at Elizabeth's casual dismissal of something so very real. "Aye! That's exactly what I thought when we were first told the tale. Buried on an Island of Dead what cannot be found except for those who know where it is. Find it, we did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold. And we took 'em all. We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company."
'Just as well Miroku's not here then' thought Kagome, amused. The whores of the Caribbean went hand in hand with stories of piracy. 'The monk would have had a field day…' She missed them, Shippo, Sango, Miroku, Kirara and Inuyasha. 'I hope you find me soon Inuyasha…'
"The more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize…the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed, we were, but now we are consumed by it."
Barbossa stood up, and turned. Unseen by Kagome or Barbossa, Elizabeth took a butter knife and laid it quietly on her lap. She wasn't sure what she'd do with it…but…it couldn't hurt. Kagome had an arrowhead, didn't she? Defense was a smart idea. Elisabeth wanted something as well.
Barbossa kept talking "There is one way we can end our curse. All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored and the blood repaid. Thanks to ye, we have the final piece."
'Almost like the Shikon no Tama' thought Kagome to herself wryly. Final pieces of a puzzle…. Except, hers was still missing. Hopefully, she would find it soon. At least she knew the last shard was not on the ship at this point. She'd been trying to find it since she'd come on board, and there was nothing. Kagome shrugged it off, and went back to listening to the conversation at hand. It sounded like Barbossa was leading up to some sort of blood sacrifice…
"And the… blood to be repaid?" Elizabeth looked nervous, even her dulled instincts for the arcane waking to the danger.
Barbossa loomed over her "That's why there's no sense to be killin' ye…yet."
'Damn. I was right…we both have to get out of here!' though Kagome, gripping the arrowhead in her hand tightly. Its small, sharp weight was some reassurance. She hoped the miko power at her call would help to ward off the pirates. There was no point to escape while they were in open waters, but later…
Barbossa followed this statement by calmly pulling out an apple, and offering it to Elizabeth "Apple?"
Elizabeth's face wore a mask of horror. She leapt up, clutching the knife as she whirled away from Barbossa, trying to escape. Kagome sprang to her feet as well, one-handedly trying to flick out the army knife while holding onto her arrowhead. Elisabeth didn't know what she was doing! They couldn't escape now, there was no point… She came up beside Elizabeth, but arrived just as Elizabeth, desperate, plunged the butter knife into Barbossa's chest.
Kagome looked at the wound, assessing it. He ought to at least be grasping it, trying to take it out…if he was a normal man. She had a feeling he wasn't…perhaps now the form of the curse might manifest.
Elizabeth stared, transfixed, at the knife buried in Barbossa's chest. He looked down at it, then pulled it out, stained shimmering crimson. Elizabeth seemed frozen, looking with wide eyes at the bloody blade. What had she done!
Behind her, Kagome had her army knife in her right hand, and between the fingers of her left the arrowhead. Not much, but…something, in case the whole thing got out of hand. "Elisabeth! Calm down!"
Barbossa looked at the knife, unflinching "I'm curious – after killin' me what was it you plannin' on doing next?" At this, Elizabeth seemed to unfreeze, and she dashed outside the cabin, screaming as she came face to face with her first undead pirate.
Barbossa walked towards the cabin door, watching as Elizabeth ran from the skeletal crew, screaming as one chased her. Kagome tried to get past Barbossa, and shoved him out of the way, one or two purple sparks lingering in the air where she touched him.
"Pull the steering wheel! Go Elizabeth!" Kagome yelled. Elizabeth did, then gasped as the pirate, neck broken, wrenched his head back on straight. She dove for the stairs, almost colliding with Kagome.
Both started to go for the cabin, but Barbossa blocked the way again. He grasped Elizabeth's shoulders. "Look! The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not among the living, and so we cannot die, but neither are we dead. For too long I've been parched with thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing – not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea, nor the warmth of a woman's flesh."
Barbossa's outreached hand entered the moonlight streaming onto the deck, turning it into greyed, decaying flesh that hung from the bones of his hand. "You best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner. You're in one!" He uncorked a bottle with his teeth, and drank it, the wine pouring down his ruined throat and washing over his ribcage.
Elizabeth stared for a moment in horrified fascination, before it all became too much and she ran for the minimal safety of the cabin.
Kagome blinked. Well, that certainly explained a lot. Cautiously she approached Barbossa, slightly sickened by the curse surrounding him and the appearance…but she'd seen worse, and forced it down. Elisabeth was being no help at the moment, and she wanted to find out about her own missing shard of the puzzle.
"10 years ago you took half a crystal from a man named Jack. Where is it?"
"What are ye looking at? Back to work!" snapped Barbossa to the crew, who were laughing at Elizabeth's terror. They were sill slightly puzzled why this other girl wasn't doing the same, but went back to work before that question was answered.
Barbossa turned to Kagome, suspicious at the mention of Jacks name "Why do ye wish to know?"
"It's mine and I'm looking for it?"
"Isle De Mureta. Why would you be looking for it?" Barbossa turned, and walked over to the crew, supervising the work.
"It is part of a jewel that was broken. I must fix it." Kagome turned and entered the cabin. He didn't need to know more than that, or the pirate might come after the Shikon as well as this Aztec gold she kept hearing about.
The first thing she saw was Elizabeth crouched down in the corner, curled up in terror. She jumped as Kagome entered the room, then sighed in relief.
"I…I thought you were one of them for a moment."
Kagome smiled, then tried to calm Elizabeth down a little. She could understand the reaction, seeing as Elizabeth, from what she knew, was the governor's daughter and was probably used to being treated with silk gloves.
She started to tell Elisabeth the rest of the story, telling her about a magical well, trying to get her to see that the other girl knew about this stuff, that it would be alright, that there were people looking for them.
After a while, Elizabeth was much calmer and her voice had steadied. "Well…I guess I'll have to believe your story now too…seeing as…"she laughed, slightly higher than normal. "Why…why weren't you scared? You even talked to Barbossa out there, and you didn't even blink when I…stabbed him"
"I've seen worse, many times. That's why." Kagome hadn't been
Elizabeth blinked "Maybe I spoke too soon about believing what you say…what could be worse?"
"A youkai ripped to pieces, someone's heart torn out, Inuyasha getting stabbed right through the chest a few times by Yura's katana…little things like that."
"Youkai…? What are those?" Elizabeth asked, almost afraid to ask any more, afraid of what the strange girl would say.
"I suppose…one could translate the terms as a spirit, or a demon. The name covers a broad range of things.
"Demons? Are they from hell, or…" Elisabeth stopped, as Kagome started to laugh.
"No! That's not it at all! That's the Christian definition. No, I meant as in a supernatural being. Some of them are evil, but most aren't that bad, really."
"When did you start to believe…? Did you always know?" Slightly reassured that she wouldn't be dragged off to pirate hell anytime soon, Elisabeth calmed down and listened once again.
" I used to think there were none…but then I met Inuyasha. He's half demon, and his brother Sesshoumaru is a full-blooded one, so you've seen the proof"
Elisabeth nodded. Those two certainly did look odd, what with the white hair and gold eyes. "Poor Inuyasha…someone stabbed him through the chest? And he's still here?"
"Yeah…and he even got up again to fight Yura after" said Kagome proudly "And we both got rid of…
Kagome started telling Elisabeth a little of her adventures. After all, what harm could it do? Elizabeth seemed like she'd help them, they could certainly use the help, and just sitting in the cabin for who knows how long was boring…
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Gibbs, followed by Jack, Will, Miroku, Sango, Sess and Inuyasha, walked proudly along the line of recruits "Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot."
Will raised an eyebrow. Sailing with a crazy crew, not to mention his other traveling companions, ought to be interesting. He hoped it didn't prove too interesting though…
Sango appraised the collection of individuals. At least they all looked strong, and presumably, they knew their business.
Will looked at Jack, raising an inquiring eyebrow "So this is your able-bodied crew?"
Jack looked slightly affronted "You, sailor!"
"Cotton, sir." supplied Gibbs.
Jack started again "Mr. Cotton … do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death? Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"
"He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out," Mr. Cotton opened his mouth, showing the stump of a tongue. Jack looked and winced a bit, while Miroku wondered what his tongue had been removed for. "So he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how." Explained Gibbs.
Jack looked at the parrot. "Mr. Cotton 's... parrot. Same question."
"Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" Proclaimed the parrot, bobbing up and down and ending with a croak.
Gibbs smiled lopsidedly "Mostly, we figure, that means 'yes.'"
Jack straightened "O'course it does." He looked at Will, and the rest of the company behind him "Satisfied?"
Sango shrugged. "They look capable enough"
"Your call." Shrugged Miroku
Will looked at Jack "Well, you've proved they're mad."
Sesshoumaru had no comments, and Inuyasha just crossed his arms, giving the trademark 'feh'.
"And what's the benefit for us?" came the loud question from the end of the row. Jack walked down to where the voice had come from a sailor with a large floppy brimmed hat. He winced, thinking he knew who it was.
Jack pulled the hat away, letting the woman's hair fall. "Anamaria."
Anamaria slapped him on the same cheek, hard. His face was turned back to where Will stood with the force of the blow.
"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either." Commented Will, while Miroku winced in sympathy. Looked like the woman would react the same way as Sango when he got around to trying something….
Jack rubbed at the handprint on his cheek "No, that one I deserved."
"You stole my boat!" said Anamaria, indignant with rage.
"Actually -" Jack started, before she slapped him again. He turned back and continued while Inuyasha smirked at him "Borrowed. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you."
"But you didn't!" Pointed out Anamaria loudly.
Jack winced, remembering the fate of the boat he had ridden into Port Royal on and muttered "Thank you so much Kagome…why me?" under his breath, before saying, louder, "You'll get another one."
Anamaria pointed her finger at him, shaking it "I will."
Miroku grinned, and decided to jump in with his own expertice "A better one."
Jack reached for the lifeline, smiling broadly "A better one!"
"That one." Will grinned widely, and pointed at the Interceptor riding the swell beyond the docks. That ought to be a good boat to give away.
Jack looked back, frowning "What one?" Will pointed out the interceptor, as Miroku shook his head, and Sango silently cheered Anamaria on. "That one!" Jack caught Anamaria's glare, and quickly smiled "Aye, that one. What say you?"
"Aye!" shouted the crew, Anamaria shouting with them.
"Anchors away." Croaked the parrot. Inuyasha looked at it, puzzled. It wasn't a demon…but it talked. Interesting
The crew started for the ship, including Miroku, Will, Inuyasha, Sango and Sesshoumaru. Gibbs grabbed Jack's shoulder and held him back, whispering "No, no, no, no, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir, much less two!"
Jack thought back to how Sango had thwacked Miroku during his stay on Tortuga for feeling up the barmaid.
Then he thought of how Anamaria would do much the same to him if he wasn't very, very careful.
"It'd be far worse not to have them!"
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Sango leaned against the door of where she and Anamaria would bunk. It would be nice to have another girl around she could talk to, but she missed Kagome.
"Erm…Anamaria...that's right, isn't it?"
"Aye" said Anamaria, fixing up where her few belongings would go.
"Where do they keep the spare swords on here? I know they have some, since I asked jack, but he was too busy to show me where they were."
"There's quite a few around…I'll take you down and you can pick one out." Said Anamaria, straightening. "You've used one before then?"
"I've used them, yes. Usually I use my boomerang, but I do know how to use a sword, and since I doubt there are any giant boomerangs around, I'll have to settle for a sword."
"Giant boomerang?"
"Yes. It's slightly taller than me and it…"
The two women disappeared in the direction of the armoire, comparing weapons and fighting skills, as well as the thickness of some men's skulls.
Above deck, Miroku and Jack sneezed.
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The clearing was dark, lit by a crescent moon and millions of brightly shinning stars.
In Jaken's dream, he ran, as far and as fast as possible, pursued by the rapidly closing, titanic forms of Shippo and Rin, each holding mounds of many hued flowers and smiling hugely.
Jaken screamed and ran faster…
In the shadows resting quietly underneath the trees, nothing stirred. No crickets sounded, nor grass whispered in the night breeze.
Jaken whimpered in his sleep, twitching. "Not the yellow ones…."
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That little above ramble said…please review:)
My homepage 'Dark Gardens', contains a large amount of writing, (original and fanfiction), and an art section. Come visit! (FF .net won't allow underscores to be posted in a ch, so you'll have to visit my profile for the site link.)
D. B. Sidhe/Lumbe
Originally Posted: July25 2004
Revised: July11 2006
