Aquatic Kingdom Hearts
Chapter 16: It's the Pearl; Parley with Barbossa
Saturday Night
Thatch Residence
After they had gotten back from the beach, the two teens, now official boyfriend and girlfriend were sitting in the living room. They had cleaned up and dressed as they sat at the couch and looked through the photo album. Eric was dressed in his usual attire; white T-Shirt with a surfboard glyph on it with black trim, blue jeans with the knee sections torn, and a red and black jacket tied around his waist. Even Ariel was in her usual outfit; white long sleeved shirt that went down to her elbows, and had no shoulders, with a black spaghetti strap shirt on top, with a blue skirt that ended at her knees, but she didn't have on her brown boots, so she was barefoot as she sat on the couch. On her left wrist, she wore her purple upper arm bracelet, and around her neck, her mother's treasured necklace. Even though it had been shot at by a full blast of Triton's trident, the teens had discovered that there were still some pages that had not been damaged completely.
They were currently looking at a picture that had Milo, Eric at the age of nine, and a man in his sixties. He was sitting in a lounge chair, with Eric sitting on his lap, and dressed as an explorer. He had on a friendly and loving smile, that wasn't hidden by the thick gray mustache on his face. Ariel had learned that this man was Thaddeus Thatch, Eric's grandfather. He had told her a few stories of him, stating that it was he who sparked his uncle's interest in the legend of Atlantis. She smiled as she looked to Eric, saying, "Your uncle must have really loved your grandfather."
Eric nodded, "Yeah. I mean, it was only because that after my grandma died, my grandpa was the only parent left to raise both my mom and uncle when they were young." He then chuckled, "It's funny. He was also the one who had me become interested in learning more about stories about the legends of the sea."
Ariel smiled at the picture and to Eric, "He sounds like a great person." But then they turned the page and saw a picture of Eric when he was only six years old, but in the picture was a man of nineteen kneeling right next to him so they were at eye level. He was a handsome man with shoulder-length, brown hair; it was worn loose or tied back into a short ponytail. He was physically fit, just like Eric's current build; he wore a white button-up shirt, a black combat vest, and on top a brown duster jacket, a pair of blue jeans with a military-like belt around his waist, and leather combat boots with metal buckles. He also had a small and thin mustache with a goatee to match, but had on his face a kind smile.
Ariel looked at the picture a little puzzled; she was confused as to who the person in the picture was. So far she had been told about Eric's parents, Grandfather, and even met his Uncle Milo, but this one she had not known much. She looked to Eric puzzled, "Eric?", as soon as his attention was turned, she pointed to the man, "Who is this?"
Eric looked at the picture, and let out a half-smirk, "That's my older brother; William Turner Thatch."
Ariel was a little surprised by that as she asked, "You have a brother?", Eric nodded at that, and then she looked back at the picture as she commented with a smile to her boyfriend. She then smirked at Eric as she commented, "I can see you two look almost the same. He certainly looks as handsome as you." Eric slightly blushed from embarrassment as he cleared his throat, but then was a little nervous and stunned as Ariel asked, "Where is he now?"
He looked around, trying to avoid the subject, and then saw the newspaper nearby. He then had remembered something that he was sure that Ariel had not done yet, and probably had wanted to do. He then cleared his throat and looked to Ariel as he asked, "Um, do you…wanna…go and see a movie?"
Ariel, a little disappointed that Eric didn't answer her question, was taken aback by that. She had heard all about them from around the streets; they were sort of like TV screens, but they showed wondrous stories on them. If anything she wanted to see one more than ever. She smiled brightly as she glomped at him, causing them to fall on the floor comically. However, they still remained on the floor as Ariel nuzzled at Eric's face as she cheerfully said, "Yeah…I'd like that very much, Eric."
But then the two stopped as they heard a clanging sound and got up. They sat up and saw that the album had fallen off the table. And when it did, something fell out of it; a small gold coin fell out of the pages between Eric's brother, Will, and a few other pages. When Ariel had scooted over to pick up the gold medallion, she noticed that it had sort of a pirate design to it. She then looked on over to Eric as she asked, "Eric, what is this?"
Eric got up and looked at the coin with much troubled emotions. He looked at the coin carefully as he answered, "It was something my brother mailed to me." He then sighed a little as he finished, "It was the last thing he ever mailed to me, until he disappeared." But then he got up as he put on a fake smile and said, "Well, I'm gonna go get my shoes. I think we should get going as soon as possible if we want to get to the theater." And with that, he walked towards the front door to where his shoes were and began putting them on.
Ariel got up as well, still holding on to the medallion coin. She looked back at Eric, and then back at the coin, still slightly confused. She knew something had Eric bothered, not only when he saw his brother's picture or when she asked what he was doing now, but also when he saw the gold skull coin medallion. She then sighed as she silently told herself, "I guess I'll just have to ask him when he's ready."
"Ariel, are you ready?", Eric asked by the front door.
Ariel snapped out of it, and put the coin in her purse as she replied, "Sorry, Eric. I'm coming.", and with that, she raced up to the front door to get her boots on. And with that, the two were out and about to head for the movie theaters. Unknown to them, Sebastian and Dax had heard the entire conversation.
Dax had a mischievous grin on his face as he looked to Sebastian and said, "Bet ya never been to a theater."
Sebastian scoffed at that as he replied, "Are ya kiddin', mon? As the royal court composure, I had performed for many of da sea theaters in all of the Sea Kingdoms. From the Mer-Orcas of the North Pole, to the Mariana's Trench of da Pacific; I've performed some of my finest…"
Dax sighed, stopping Sebastian's rant as he corrected, "Ohohoho, my dear naïve crustacean. This…is a different kind of theater." Catching the crab's attention, Dax scurried over to the nearest way out as Sebastian followed; now seeming a bit interested in this human theater.
Port Royal Fort
Gallows Prison
It was a dark foggy night near the Fort's gallows, as the dim lights kept it lit inside. Down within the bowels of the fort were the prison barracks, where most of the inmates, being mostly pirates or thieves, were awaiting their sentences tomorrow. Tomorrow, which was Sunday, was the day that they would all receive the gallows' punishment: hang by the neck until death. However, they were not about to let that happen as they tried to escape. Their only chance of that was with a simple bone, which they waved at the guard…a shaggy dog who taunted them with the keys in his mouth.
One of the inmates was whistling him over, while the other teased him to come over, "Come here, boy! Can you smell it?"
The other cellmate beckoned, "Come on, boy; it's a marrowbone. It's a nice, juicy bone." But no matter what they said or offered, the dog just sat there, looking at them uninterested, and not budging from his spot.
Next into the other cell was a familiar fellow, who had his hat over his face. It was none other than the infamous pirate, Jack Sparrow. He had his back on the wall to the next cell, doing his best to ignore the others. They had been going on about it ever since he was thrown in here on Wednesday. Finally breaking the silence, and not turning to face the idiots, he simply groaned out, "You can keep doing that forever. The dog is never going to move."
The pirates stopped as they turned towards the once great pirate, Jack Sparrow. And then the one who was holding the bone, simply and sarcastically, shot out, "Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the Gallows just yet." And then they proceeded back to their task at hand, which wasn't getting any better. Jack just turned back to their direction, and then slightly smiled at this, but then turned his attention back to the window at the full moon that was coming out tonight.
Back in Town
Raven Motion Picture Theater
The two teens had arrived forty minutes ago and were seated in the middle row. They had purchased a large popcorn and diet soda; and were currently watching the film, Pirates on Cutthroat Island. Ariel insisted on watching it, considering it sounded pretty good. Eric didn't complain as much, seeing as how he wanted to see it as well and just sat down with his girlfriend, enjoying the movie. The two were actually having a good time; the movie was pretty entertaining and exciting, as the two teens were just drawn into the swashbuckling, the ship fights, and the swordfights. Ariel looked around her and saw a few couples watching the movie; the girls had their arms looped around their boyfriend's arms. She felt a little nervous about it, but then she took a deep breath, and took action on this bold move. She slowly laced her arm around Eric's, and leaned over to him, to rest her head on his shoulder.
Eric looked at Ariel, a little startled by this action as he blushed a little. But then smiled at this as he returned his gaze to the screen as the two continued to watch the rest of the movie. Not too far away, up on the balcony and over the projector, a familiar duo were watching the two from on top. Sebastian and Dax were currently keeping an eye on the two teens, and were keeping at being entertained by the movie. Dax just leaned back as he smirked at the movie, "Ha! Only one woman pirate? Back then there was three female pirate captains, and they were as beautiful as they were feared."
Sebastian looked to Dax, a little unconfused, but raised an eyebrow, as he asked, "You act like you were dere back den."
Dax smirked as he shrugged, "I pretty much was."
Sebastian nodded at that, but then went into shock as he then stated, "Wait a codfish minute!", looking at Dax, he interrogated, "Wat do you mean, 'You were dere back den'?" He then shook his head as he stated matter of fact, "Dat's Impossible! You would have to be around five hundred…no, six…hundred years old."
Dax looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he asked, not feeling pretty phased by this, "Yeah, so what?"
Sebastian looked at him dumbfounded, but then regained his composure as he changed the subject, "Um…please pass de popcorn." Dax shrugged as he did so; he passed a large drink cup filled with popcorn that he had gotten from the snack lobby. Just as Sebastian took some of the popcorn, he noticed Dax shook like he had a shiver racing down his spine. He looked at the otter, getting a little fed up with him, and asked out of annoyance, "Now, wat is it, man?"
Dax, looking a little disturbed, looked to Sebastian, plenty freaked out. He then said, "I…I don't know. I just felt like there was something out there." He turned behind, him, imagining he was looking out to the ocean, and finished, "Something drawn to Port Royal."
Outside
Little did the otter and crab, nor anyone else know that he was right…for something was being drawn to Port Royal…and it was nothing friendly about it. For out at the bay, a dense and smoky fog was coming in that engulfed the nearby water. The wind blew in mighty eerie as the fog stretched into the docks, and the wind blew in. And then if things couldn't get even stranger or even more out of a ghost story, something was slowly coming out of the fog. What came out of the fog, was a US LSC-1 Stealth ship. The ship looked to be a semi-planing monohull 377 feet (115 m) in length, displacing 3,000 metric tons and can go faster than 40 knots (70 km/h). The core crew looked it could hold about 40 sailors, usually if it was joined by a mission package crew and an aviation detachment for a total crew of about 75.
But it also had on the back of it a flight deck for Rescue Helicopters. The flight deck was 1.5 times the size of that of a standard surface ship, and was designed to use a Trigon traversing system to move helicopters in and out of the hangar, but now it was redesigned to move something else. It had two ways to launch and recover boats: a stern ramp and a starboard side door near the waterline with a crane. It had a roll-on/roll-off ramp. The mission module bay had a 3-axis crane for positioning modules or cargo. The fore deck had a modular weapons zone which could be used for a 57 mm gun turret or missile launcher. A Rolling Airframe Missile launcher was mounted above the hangar for short-range defense against aircraft and cruise missiles, and .50-caliber gun mounts were provided topside. On the front bow, four missile cannons were built inot the front sides of the bow, as well as two harpoon torpedo launders bolted on top.
It was designed to be a fast, maneuverable and networked surface combatant for missions such as mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and humanitarian relief, but despite it looking like it needed work, it was redesigned for mostly speed, semi-power, and mostly stealth as well. It was also painted with black wings at the side of the ship…and the insignia name of Black Pearl, printed in bold letters on the left front side of the nose of the ship.
The ship slithered on over into the waters, being completely undetected by anyone. Not even the Navy could pick it up as it went further in, getting close to the ports. On board the ship, dark men with swords, guns, bazookas, and other deadly weapons were waiting….with a singular dark purpose in mind.
Back at the Theater
Everyone was coming out of it, after the end of the movie. Out of the crowd of people that came out, Ariel and Eric walked out amongst them, as they went down the street for a walk that headed for the museum. Following them, were also Sebastian and Dax, as they made close sure that the two were alright. However, things seemed to be going pretty good, as the teens didn't realize that they had made their way to the museum without even noticing it. However, as they reached it, Ariel had a troubled thought on her mind. She had noticed that ever since she had mentioned Eric's brother, he had seemed a little dour.
Deciding it would be best to let it out, she asked him straight out, "Eric…how come you didn't answer my question about your brother?" He was a little surprised by that but didn't answer as they stopped. He turned away sourly, not wanting to press on the matter. But Ariel wouldn't stop as she reached out to him and pleaded, "Why won't you tell me? I'm not going to stop until you tell me..."
"I don't want to talk about him!", Eric yelled out as he turned towards Ariel, a little angered. She stepped back a little, out of fright from the outburst that he made at her. Realizing what he did, he sighed sadly and apologized, "Sorry, Ariel. I just…I don't really want to talk about him right now."
Ariel looked confused at him, and walked back to him, and then cupped his face with her right hand. She turned him to her direction as she asked, this time out of concern, "Eric, please. I want to know. What happened?"
Eric sighed, and looked at the girl that had his heart. Here she wanted to know more about him, and he just shot at her with anger. 'Some boyfriend I'm turning out to be.', he thought, and then sighed again as he reached up and held Ariel's hand. He then decided it would be best to tell her as he started, "My brother was sort of…what you'd call a tomb raider of sorts." Ariel seemed to understand, as she let him continue, "He wasn't always around, so it wasn't the best time for us to know one another."
Ariel looked at Eric, seeming to understand as she stated it out loud, "You felt like he abandoned you."
Eric nodded at that as he replied, "It would seem pretty obvious, considering he hasn't even tried to come back for the past ten years since he disappeared on us." The two then broke apart as he pointed out to Ariel, "The only thing I ever received from him was that gold coin medallion."
Ariel was then about to say something, until they heard and explosion. They looked around but then saw the Fort there was an explosion. Ariel looked at it in fear as she asked, "What was that?" She then looked over to Eric, who seemed pretty terrified at this. She then walked over to him as she tugged his sleeve, getting his attention as she asked again, "Eric, what's wrong? What was that?"
"Missile fire.", Eric stated as he, and now Ariel, both looked back at the town and fort as there were small explosions going on.
Back at the Fort Gallows
Jack Sparrow was resting comfortably at where he sat. That is until he heard the explosions and gun fire coming from outside. But then he lifted his hat as he looked somewhat surprised as he looked at his window, "I know those guns. Couldn't be…", but then he got up to see if it was true. The prisoners from the other cell looked over to where Jack was looking at, awaiting to see or hear what all the commotion was all about. And then it was true to Jack what he saw; outside, the mysterious LSC-1 Stealth Ship, the Black Pearl was outside, firing its missile silos and Gattling machine guns at the town, nearly decimating it. Jack smirked at opportunity arising as he saw the ship that he once mentioned when he first arrived here in search of a ship, and said it out loud so the others could hear, "It's the Pearl."
The guards nearly froze in place, in fear of such a name. They had heard rumors of that ship; some stated that it was cursed, others thought it was the Flying Dutchman's subordinate ship, but some were just too scared to even be mentioned by anyone. One of the prisoners stated in fear in his voice, "The Pearl? You don't mean the Black Pearl?" Jack didn't say anything, but the others knew it was true. The prisoner then said to the others in fear as his face became pale and clammy, "I've heard stories about that ship. She's been prayin' on ships and ports for nearly ten years now." He then looked to his friends with much dread in his voice as he finished, "She never leaves any survivors."
"No survivors, eh?", Jack said, with a raised eyebrow and a half-smirk as he turned towards the other and asked, "Then where to the stories come from, I wonder?", and then turned back to watch the one-sided battle continue. The prisoner looked a little baffled by that, turned to look at his buddies, and then just shrugged as they waited on the battle at hand.
Back in Town
The Black Pearl was relentless in its one-sided battle against the defenseless citizens of Port Royal. The four missile cannons shot in every direction, destroying almost half the port city. The harpoon torpedo launchers shot in front of them, firing torpedoes at the port docks; they hit their intended targets, which were the docks containing civilian ships. The Gattling gun turrets fired bullets anywhere or everywhere; making Swiss cheese out of anything the bullets hit. The citizens of Port Royal were running and hiding, trying their best to escape this unwanted and unexpected carnage that had been thrown to them, not wanting this to happen to them or their small island community. Some were able to run to anywhere that was missed, but a few were unlucky as the bullets hit those dead on, or were flown into the sky and into a wall by a nearby explosion.
And while the carnage was being done, eight lifeboats with engines on them were porting themselves to the beach cove. And what came off of them, was the most vicious band of villainous cutthroat pirates you've ever seen in your life. There were over thirty of them, and one was leading them to shore. He was a fellow of thirty, physically fit, wearing a combat vest with a tattered yellow shirt, blue Marine pants, combat boots, a belt over his chest, and brandishing two cutlasses. He was Caucasian, bald, and had a tattoo on his right eye's side, as well as one on his chin. He was known as Monk, the enforcer, as he shouted to the other pirates with his right sword raised up high, "COME ON, YOU! GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The pirates all shouted together as they ran straight towards the town, preparing to raid it. A handful of pirates stayed behind, being led by two other pirates. The first one was only 4'9 feet in height, Caucasian, slightly balding in his grayish brown hair going down the sides to hide his ears, a straggly short beard that didn't hide his yellow teeth, and a scowl on his face that made him look menacing. He wore messed brown trousers with two gun holster belts around his waist, crossing one another. He also had on a worn out leather jacket with a few urine stains on it. He then looked over to his side as he asked, "Ya done with that eye, Ragetti?"
His companion, known as Ragetti, was a laky fellow, about two centimeters taller than the short one. He was dressed in a raggedy old gray business suit, with the shirt buttoned up but with the collar open, and the suit's jacket's sleeves torn at the shoulders, but still held the sleeves on. Also the suit's trousers and combat shoes were covered in tar to make them water-proof. There was also a belt over his shoulder and around his waist, that held not only a gun holster for a Silver Eagle and cutlass, but behind him was also a sawed off shotgun on his back with a few rounds showing up front. He had short blonde hair that was cut in a bowl shape, with a stubble of hair on his chin. At the moment however, he was carving out a piece of what appeared to be a wooden eye, seeing as how he was missing his right eye. After he was done shaving it and blowing off the wood flakes, he popped it back into his empty eye socket, as it twisted and squeaked around, until it was fixed back into position. He then turned to his comrade as he nodded, "Got it back, Pintel."
And with that, the duo rejoined on the others as they ran towards where the group was going towards. Unfortunately as they ran towards their destination, they also caused a considerable amount of damage as they rampaged towards their destination, especially one fellow in particular. He was a guy in his thirties, with a crazy look in his eyes, and dressed in what appeared to be red and white Arabic clothing and had belts all over him, with grenades and dynamite strapped onto them for his weapons, as well as a cutlass, and a grenade launcher on his back. He also had a long dreadlock like beard that was always wreathed with smoke, as if the tips were aflame. He was known as Jacoby, the Demolitions man.
He laughed insanely as he grabbed on to a few grenades and pulled the pins. Along the way, he threw them all over the unsuspecting town, crashing them into the windows and into the building. And when they were done, they blew up instantly, causing unforeseen mayhem. This continued as they headed straight towards where they were drawn to: the museum.
Back at the Museum
Hoping to do their best to stay safe from all the commotion, Ariel and Eric had gone into the Museum. Eric, having worked alongside his uncle most of the time when he could, had learned a thing or two about the museum. One of those things was learning on where the main locking mechanisms were at the front guard post, and how to operate it. which was a good thing too, because once they saw movement and torches heading for the museum, they spotted them to be the pirates that were attacking. The two took no chances to get to someplace safe; after he and Ariel got inside, Eric immediately typed in the commands on the computer console to seal the doors. Metal plating began to slide into place, all over the windows, doors, or any other vulnerably exposed area. As soon as the blast shields were down, Ariel walked over to Eric, a little uncertain as she worriedly looked at the blast shields, "Are you sure those will keep them out?"
Eric took a huge sigh as he looked at Ariel, and then back at the doors. He heard banging and bashing sounds coming from outside of it as the two knew that the pirates were trying their best to get inside. He then looked at Ariel as the two strode away from the doors as he answered, "Those doors were made to withstand anyone from breaking in. The blast shields should hold."
Ariel then looked to Eric, a little worried about that as she asked, "Should?"
Eric looked back at the doors, and then a feeling of dread came over him. He had to do something to keep Ariel out of danger; it was then that he thought up an idea. He then turned towards Ariel as he stated, "Ariel, listen to me. I've got an idea…."
Back outside, the pirates were banging and slashing at the metal door with their cutlasses and any blunt object that they had. Though mostly of the blunt tool banging was done by one individual named Mallot, who like his namesake, was wielding a large mallet for a weapon. He was banging at the door while another one, named Grapple, who was brandishing a nasty oversized grappling iron and an axe to boot, on the wall. The other pirates were getting fed up, as Jacoby pushed the two aside as he shouted, "Argh! Ya're takin' all night with it!", he grabbed his grenade launcher, loaded it, got some distance away from the door as did the others, and fired at the door, creating a huge smoke cloud.
As soon as the smoke cleared away, a huge hole was what was remained of the iron plating. The pirates made their way inside, even as Pintel grabbed a Walkie Talkie from his coat. He turned it on and spoke into it, giving his report, "Captain. We're getting' close to the gold. We can hear it callin'."
And then someone else spoke from the other end of the call. A voice so evil and menacing, that this guy could have taken lessons from Davy Jones and Ursula, "Aye, that be a spot of good news, Master Pintel.", and then the voice shouted loudly, mixed with both anger and impatience, "Now stop wastin' me time. Have the men search all over, until you've gotten that medallion and the one who has it!"
And with that, Pintel cut off the call, and joined the others as they all ran inside. However, what they didn't expect was retaliation from someone, as something flew towards them. A small axe weapon was thrown straight at them, and hit Jacoby straight into the right side of his chest. Jacoby yelled and groaned in pain as he looked at the axe embedded into his chest, and then fell to the floor, dead as a doornail. The other pirates were a little stunned by this, as they looked forward to see who it was that threw the axe.
Standing there with two swords strapped to his back by his red jacket and one sword in his hand was none other than Eric. He knew that he would have to fight them, so he ran over to the old Port Royal exhibit, and grabbed the weapons to do it. The pirates then snarled at him and ran towards him, with Eric leading them away as he said, "Got there attention now. Gotta lead them away from Ariel."
However, when Pintel and Ragetti were gonna go after the others, Pintel stopped his partner. It was then that whatever it was that led them there, was drawing them closer, but not to the boy. The two ran towards another exhibit, the Victorian Mansion set as they entered the corridor to where the Living Room was. They stopped for a moment, until Ragetti pointed towards a doorway, "There, that's where it is!", and they ran towards it.
And as soon as Pintel entered the doorway, he was greeted face first with a pan of sorts, very fast and very hard. Pintel stood there, a little dazed by the sudden strike, and then fell flat on his back. Ariel stood at the side of the doorway, shakily holding the pan in her hand, and sighed in relief, but then stood her guard as the other pirate made his way in. Ragetti charged at the girl as Ariel swung her pan at him, but then he caught it, "Gotcha!", Ariel tried her best to break his grip but to no avail. Ariel was a little freaked out by this guy, as Ragetti's wooden eye turned and twisted disgustingly, as he taunted her, "Boo! Gotcha, Girlie!"
But then suddenly, their attention was turned by someone who shouted out. It was Sebastian as he jumped from Ariel's shoulder, and pinched at Ragetti's nose. The pirate screamed in pain and fear as he was surprised by the crab's attack, and did his best to pull him off. Ariel smirked to Sebastian as she thanked, "Thanks, Sebastian." This gave time for Ariel to make a break for it; she then looked around, while the pirates were distracted and remembered what Eric had told her.
Ragetti was finally able to grab Sebastian as he threw the screaming crab at the makeshift couch. Pintel was finally getting up as he groaned and looked around. He then asked, "Where's the girl?"
Ragetti groaned, while pinching his nose, "I don't know. Some crazy crustacean came out of nowhere and pinched me nose!"
Pintel looked at his partner, slightly freaked out, but shook it off as he grumbled while he shouted, "Come on!" and then the two proceeded to run out of the room, until Pintel realized something. The presence that called them had not left the room at all; the two realized the girl was still there. Pintel then spoke up in a songful tone, "We know you're hear, Poppet." Ragetti chuckled as his partner then spoke regularly as they looked around, "Come out! And we promise we won't hurt you."
Ragetti looked to his partner in crime, rather confused, "Eh?" Pintel rolled his eyes, and then gave him a look, telling him, 'What do you think?' to him. Ragetti smirked at this as he pointed to his nose, telling him he understood.
What they didn't know was that Ariel was hiding in a secret room. It was designed for the attraction purposes and was working pretty good so far. Ariel clutched her purse to her chest, in hoping that the two were going to give up. She thought to herself long and hard, 'Please, don't let them find me…please….'
And then Pintel spoke up once again as he looked around, "We will find you, poppet. You've got somethin' of ours and it calls to us." It was then that they stopped and they saw something. It was a wall, but on it were lines depicting a doorway was built right into it…not only that, but the rug next to it was moved slightly. Pintel then spoke up again as he chuckled slightly and smirked evilly at the cracks, "The gold calls to us."
Ariel then looked stunned as she silently looked to her purse. She then quietly pulled out the item, and looked at the gold coin that she held on to. She then thought to herself silently as she looked at the coin puzzled, 'Is this why they're here? Is this the source of the problem?' but while she was in thought, it suddenly got a little darker in the room. She looked at the cracks and gasped as she saw the pirate, Pintel, looking at her through the cracks.
He then evilly grinned as he and Ragetti readied their guns, "'Ello, poppet.", and then opened the doors and aimed at Ariel.
In a quick desperate attempt to do something, Ariel remembered something she had read. It was from an old sunken pirate ship she had explored when she was younger. In one of the rooms it had a book that was based on a title called, The Pirate Codex, and detailed much about pirates and their rules. She was going to try it as she hastily, shouted, "Parley!"
The two pirates stopped for a moment, looking rather confused at the girl. Sebastian had regained consciousness a while ago, and heard that as well, as he looked at the princess with much confusion. Then Ragetti asked the girl, a smidge of confusion on his face, "What'd you say?"
Ariel took a deep and calmed breath as she stated, "Parley. I invoke the right of Parley." Figuring they didn't understand what she was talking about, she explained, "According to the Code set down by the First Brethren Court of the Pirate Lords, you have to take me to your captain, right?"
Pintel groaned in annoyance at this girl, and simply stated with a look saying he knew, "We know the code, miss. We're pirates."
Ariel then pointed out, a little of her confidence returning as she half-smirked, "Well, do you know that if an adversary demands Parley, you can't do them harm until it's completed?"
Ragetti was getting fed up as he aimed for Ariel's head, "To blazes with the code!" But he was stopped by Pintel who looked at him annoyed; Ragetti lowered his head in respect.
Pintel, with his teeth clenched, growled at Ragetti, "She wants to be taken to Captain Barbossa." He then holstered his weapon as he looked to Ariel with a half-smirk of his own, "And she'll go without a fuss. We must honor the code, after all."
Back Downstairs
The pirates had chased Eric down the Dinosaur exhibit as Eric was dodging the maniac, Grapple. On top of the T-Rex skeleton, where the two were duking it out, Dax was standing on top of the head as he saw the battle. He snarled at the pirate as he sneered, "Mess with this guardian's guardee, will ya?" He then pulled at the bone to where the neck connected the head at as best as he could.
Eric did his best to dodge Grapple, but to no avail as when he dodged one swipe, the pirate grabbed him. Grapple then held the boy up, who was struggling to free himself, and he raised his hook up. After seeing the hook, Eric stopped as he and Grapple were now face-to-face, and the pirate viciously smiled, "Say goodbye." And then suddenly, the giant T-Rex head crashed straight down upon Grapple, causing him to let go of Eric.
Eric didn't know what to make of this, but then saw Dax sitting on top of the skull as he smirked, "Goodbye."
Eric smiled, seeing a friendly face save his neck, "Dax."
The little otter then jumped on Eric's shoulder as he nudged him, and grinned, "What would you do without me?"
Eric smirked as he stated, "Let's hope it never comes to that." But then the victory was short lived as they saw some movement not too far away from them, considering that the pirates were suddenly leaving. It was leaving towards the main door in the form of three people; namely Ariel, being pulled away by both Pintel and Ragetti as she was held prisoner. Eric and Dax paled at this as he shouted, "Ariel!", she turned to see him, with an equal frightened face, as he ran towards her. Unfortunately, at the last second, Jacoby suddenly appeared. He was completely unharmed, and the axe was out of his back. Eric didn't get it at all; he was sure that axe was thrown straight into his chest pretty hard, and was sure he had killed him.
However, he didn't have time to figure that out, as Grapple, who was completely unharmed as well, had gotten up, and shouted, "Outta my way, Scum!", and using the blunt end of his axe, knocked Eric out. Eric stood there, as lump as a log, and then fell down to the floor like one.
Ariel saw what had happened, and tried to go back, but Pintel and Ragetti's grips were too much. She struggled as she cried out to her loved one, "ERIC! NOOO!", and then they were gone out of there.
Dax jumped off his buddy, shaking him awake as he knew the pirates were getting away with Ariel. He pulled on Eric's face as he nerve-wrenchingly smiled and spoke through his teeth, "C'mon, Eric. Wake up, kiddo. C'mon! C'mon. Eric…", and then, getting fed up as Eric still lay motionless, shook Eric's face harder as he hysterically yelled, "PUT SOME EFFORT INTO IT!"
Back at the Fort
The missile and cannon fire was still going on about, as the Navy officers did their best. Among them was Commodore Norrington, who was doing his best to ensure that there was some measure of victory. It was one of the cannon or missile fire shots, which struck at the gallows prison cell walls. The wall to which bordered Jack's cell and the others; unfortunately for Jack, their side was blown off a little more, giving the prisoners a chance to escape. As the last prisoner made his way out, he shouted out to a not-too-worried Jack, "My sympathies, friend. You've no manner of luck at all." And with that, they were out of there; even as the night's cloudy sky became clear, showing a bright full moon shining down the battlefield.
Even as the light shined through a few cracks, Jack was scheming up a plan. He saw the bone that the cellmates had left behind and saw that the dog was sitting nearby. He picked it up as he whistled for the dog, "Come on, boy. Come here.", he caught the dog's attention finally, as he waved the bone around, "It's just you and me now. Just you and old Jack." The dog was getting closer, slowly but surely, being drawn to the bone as Jack went on, "That's it, boy. Come on. Come on." The dog was getting so close that Jack's teeth started to grit as he spoke through them with an annoyed smile, "Come here, you…filthy, slimy, mangy cur." But then a loud banging sound was made, causing the dog to run away down the stairwell; Jack shouted in a pleading fashion, "No, no, no. I didn't mean it! I didn't…", and then slumped over as he saw his window of opportunity run away.
But then he heard footsteps running down the stairs as he saw who it was that had foiled his chances of escape. Walking down the stairs were two of the pirates; one African American with a dreadlock hairstyle, and a Caucasian with a straggly brown beard and mustache. The African American was wearing a weathered blue Duster with black pants, white shirt, combat boots, and had a belt across his chest, and a holster belt with two swords and a 9 mm gun. The Caucasian was wearing a worn out yellow jacket with a pair of worn out green pants, holster belt holding two dangerous machine guns, combat boots, and had on his head a red bandana cap. These two were respectfully named Koehler and Twigg. The Caucasian, known as Twigg, looked around as he spoke to his partner, Koehler, "This ain't the armory."
It was then that Koehler's attention was caught by someone he didn't expect. His showed Twigg his attention as they walked towards Jack's Cell. And then Koehler mocked, "Well, well. Look who we have here, Twigg. Our old friend, Captain Jack Sparrow.", he then spat at Jack, who dodged it.
Then it was Twigg's turn as he tauntingly mocked Jack, "Last time I saw you…you were all alone, on a god-forsaken island. Shrinking into the distance as we sailed away on your ship.", he then looked over to his partner as he smirked, "Looks like his fortunes haven't improved much."
But then it was Jack's turn as he smirked, but seriously pointed out, "Worry about your own fortunes gentlemen. The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers." Koehler growled in anger, and letting his anger get the better of him, he quickly grabbed at Jack's throat through the barred door. However, something odd happened; as the moonlight touched Koehler's arm, the sleeve was completely torn and worn….and it was revealed that the flesh was gone to show only a rotting skeleton's arm and hand. Jack, completely amazed by this, simply looked in awe as he looked at the two pirates, "So there is a curse?", eh then nervously chuckled and smirked, "That's interesting."
Then Koehler looked back at the former captain, as he simply growled in a voice that sounded like he had been tortured for almost an eternity, "You know nothing of hell.", and with that, he let go of the pirate's throat, pulling it out of the moonlight as his hand and arm returned to normal, and he and Twigg made their way out of there.
The clouds moved back to hide the moon, as Jack was in deep thought. He looked at the bone in his hand, and remembered Koehler's arm for a moment, as he simply said to himself, "That's very interesting, indeed."
Aboard the Black Pearl
The mighty vessel that was the Black Pearl, was darkened by the night sky. Its very presence, when up close by anyone, would make a person's blood run cold by the mere sight of it. And that was what Ariel felt when she was being taken aboard it by Pintel and Ragetti as they boarded the ship. Pirates left and right were working nonstop as they continued to bombard Port Royal. Most of the ships were coming back, including a few of the water skii pirates, and were boarding the ship for a final assault on the Port. But that wasn't what caught Ariel's attention; the one thing on board, which was exiting the Helm, was the man who was the captain.
He was covered in shadows, but he looked like a man in his forties. He was physically fit for someone his age, and not at all fat, but menacing by his visage, with a short orange-red straggly beard and mustache, with yellow eyes that pierced anyone who looked into them. He appeared to be dressed in a white Navy shirt with a strange medallion around his neck, a blue leather duster jacket with the shoulders having metal armor to them, and the sleeves slashed open, with blue pants that had a holster belt, with a belt going across his chest, with a dangerous-looking Walter P38 and cutlass on it, with a yellow scarf tied around and to it, and black combat boots with black buckled boot-straps to them. And finally, he wore a nice blue velvet hat with a feather on top. A little monkey could be seen landing on his shoulder, looking around.
But then Ariel was snapped back to reality as she, and her two pirate guards, bumped into a huge menacing fellow. He was an African American, heavily muscled, in his thirties, bald, and wore military pocket pants, black combat boots, and a belt across his chest, with two huge and dangerous looking battle axes. But all over his body, he had thick ritual scarring all over him. He dwarfed the two as he spoke to them in a menacing yet thick accent, "I didn't know we was taking on captives."
Pintel, on the verge of wetting himself, pointed to Ariel as he stated, "She's invoke the right of Parley, with Captain Barbossa, Bo'sun.."
Ariel then broke the two pirate's grips, letting her princess blood get the better of her. she then looked up to the one called Bo'sun, and demanded, "I'm here to ne…", but then gagged as by surprising speed, Bo'sun grabbed her by the neck, tightly.
Bo'sun then lifted the girl off the ground by her throat. His grip tightened as Ariel grabbed it, and strained, trying to break the brute's hold. He then scolded, "You will speak when spoken to! Understand?"
But then someone grabbed the arm that held Ariel, and nearly broke off Bo'sun's arm as the tight grip on it was too much for the boatswain. The grip caused Ariel to be free as she dropped to her knees, coughing up air as she looked up. it was the same man that she saw before, as she saw he spoke to Bo'sun in a menacingly calm voice, "And ye will not lay a hand on those under the protection of Parley.", and then let Bo'sun go as he turned his direction towards the young lady. He extended a hand to her, and for a little hesitation, Ariel accepted it as he helped her up, and calmly smiled, "My apologies, miss."
Ariel then finally gained enough courage to stand up and state to the man she now knew to be Captain Barbossa, "Captain Barbossa, I am here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal."
Barbossa merely responded to that with a light chuckle as he stated, "There are a lot of long words in there, Miss; we're naught but humble pirates." He then looked to Ariel once more and asked seriously, "What is it that you want?
Ariel then looked seriously as she stated, "It means I want you to leave my home and never come back."
All the pirates chuckled or cackled at this as Barbossa smirked as he stated, "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request.", after seeing Ariel having a clueless look on her face, Barbossa translated, "Means "no"."
Ariel sighed as she knew this wasn't going anywhere. Even the pirates were laughing at this, so she knew what she had to do, "Alright then." She walked over to the side of the ship, and then pulled out the medallion as she dangled it over the sea, "If you won't then I'll drop this."
As soon as the coin was shown, the pirates were silent. They didn't get a good look at the coin so they didn't know while Barbossa taunted, "Me holds are burstin' with swag. That bit of shine matters to us?", he then asked, not the slight bit amused, "Why?"
It was Ariel, who then answered, "Because it's what you've been searching for.", she then pointed to Pintel and Ragetti as she stated; "They told me that the gold called to them. It's the reason why they were after me."
Barbossa crossed his arms, as he looked at Pintel and Ragetti with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Did they, now?", but then he, and the rest of the crew caught a glimpse of the coin, and realized what it was now.
Seeing that this wasn't getting anywhere, she tried pushing it a little more. She acted unsatisfied as she stated, "Okay. Then I guess if this doesn't matter to you…", she then loosened her grip on the coin, causing it to drop a bit. The pirates, except for Barbossa who was calm, lunged forward, trying to get her to stop, but stopped as they saw she still held on to it. She then smirked as they stopped when she caught it, "Oooh, so it does mean something."
Taking it into consideration, Barbossa walked up to Ariel calmly, and chuckled as he asked, "Ya have a name…Missy?"
Ariel took a calm breath as she answered, but hesitated as she tried to think up a last name for herself, "Ariel…Thatch. I work at the museum part-time with my uncle."
After hearing that name, Barbossa lit up as he turned towards the stunned crew, "Miss Thatch…?" The crew murmured to one another, making Ariel feel a little confused and suspicious as she heard one name being mentioned by the crew: Honest Will. Then Barbossa turned back towards Ariel as he asked, "And how does a young maid, like yourself, come to own a trinket such as that? Family heirloom…perhaps?"
Ariel quickly answered as she lied, "It was given to me by my brother, Will."
Seemingly satisfied by the answer, strangely to Ariel, Barbossa held out his opened right hand as he calmly agreed to the bargain, "Very well, you hand it over and we'll put your town to our rudder and ne'er return."
Ariel held the coin back from the sea, but then asked, "How do I know you'll keep your word?"
Barbossa merely chuckled as he stated, "Miss Thatch, when a pirate gives his word by the Code…he's bound to it for the rest of his life, or on pain of death." He then smirked, "I give ye my word."
A little hesitant, Ariel then gave the coin to Barbossa, who then gave it to his pet monkey for safe keeping. After that was made sure, Barbossa looked over to Bo'sun and walked away. Ariel wasn't sure if the deal was made, but was reassured when Bo'san ordered out for the crew to set sail out of Port Royal. But then she remembered that she was still on their ship. She ran over to where Barbossa was as she stated, "Wait! Wait a minute, Capt. Barbossa! You have to take me back to shore. According to the Code of the Order of the Brethren..."
Then Barbossa sharply turned towards Ariel, as he nearly startled her, by shouting, "FIRST…!". He then stated, catching her attention when she calmed a little, "…your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply and you're not. And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules." He then smirked evilly as Pintel and Ragetti grabbed Ariel by the arms, as she helplessly looked at Barbossa who then stated to her mockingly, "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Thatch." And with that, the ship roared to life as the Black Pearl turned around, and headed back to sea, with its treasure and newfound prisoner.
Next Chapter: Dealing with a Pirate; Training and Tortuga