Pirates of the Caribbean: The Amulet Of Atlantis Chapter 12: The Island Of The Mists, a pirates of the caribbean fanfic

Chapter 10

Dawn was only moments away. The blanket of dark blue was beginning to evaporate from the sky, allowing the faintest traces of red and orange to appear, signaling the start of a new day. The Black Pearl was peacefully gliding through the calm ocean. Onboard, the crew members were just starting to awaken from their deep slumbers and ready to meet any new challenges that may present themselves. Michael Turner stealthily bounded up from the lower decks and came to a halt at the railing. He then gazed out at the wide expanse of sea all around the ship.

However, two people were wide awake, having been up for quite some time. Will and Elizabeth lay in their bed, each filled with a sense of worry that was powerful enough to keep them from getting any rest. The Black Pearl had been at sea for another couple of days, yet Elizabeth Turner had just told her husband about what Tia Dalma had told her in confidence before they had departed from her shack only days before. Elizabeth was laying contentedly in her husband's arms as he gently stroked her hair in an attempt to not only calm her nerves, but his as well. Finally, Will managed to find his voice.

"I guarantee that nothing will happen to you, Elizabeth. And whatever fate awaits you and I, we'll face it together."

Elizabeth, who had her arms wrapped around Will's chest, tightened her hold. "I'm just scared."

"I know. And another thing, whatever this is about our devotion to one another being tested some time in the future...I know we'll survive it because I love you too much to let you go."

"But Tia Dalma said that nobody can manufacture fate."

"Fate will never be able to tear us apart."

"Oh, Will!" Elizabeth kissed Will with all her might, not stopping until they both had to break away for air. After that, Will and Elizabeth gazed deeply into each other's eyes until Will voiced a question that had been brewing in his mind for quite some time.

"One thing still bothers me about what Tia Dalma said. She told you that you would soon endure harsh tests in order to unravel the mystery of the person that you thought you lost forever. Who could that be?"

Elizabeth desperately probed her mind, searching for an answer, but ultimately couldn't find one. "I honestly have no idea. Try as I might, I can't think of a person I'd consider lost forever."

"Do you think she was referring to a death that has yet to happen?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. Tia Dalma said that all of this would start with a tragedy in my life."

"So in order to uncover the truth behind a person who is supposedly dead, someone else has to die so that you can start down this...path to the truth? Ironic."

"Tia Dalma told me that the truth comes at a costly price sometimes. But she also said that these forthcoming events are unavoidable...that there's no way around fate."

"Tell me what her exact words were again," Will persisted.

Elizabeth sighed. "Tragedy, followed by a desire for revenge, then desperation, and finally curiosity amongst torment. All these emotions will inevitably lead me to this mysterious person."

"And here I thought we were free of these adventures."

"Wasn't it you who said piracy was in our blood? Maybe it's our destiny to live out at sea, constantly getting involved in these types of situations."

Will shrugged. "Perhaps. But what I find curious about destinies is that they're never specific about how we feel as they are being fulfilled."

"Well, my destiny hasn't begun yet."

Suddenly, the ship gave a lurch, slightly pushing everything forward a few feet. To keep from sliding off the bed, Will firmly grasped the side and pulled Elizabeth closer.

"We must be there. Come on."

Will and Elizabeth both stood up and made their way to the main deck. Every crew member was running to and fro, either going about the duties of securing the ship, or simply dashing over to the railing to try to catch a glimpse of their abrupt halt. Will and Elizabeth did the same, but to no avail; there wasn't even a hint of a landmass within plain sight. Suddenly, Tia Dalma came up beside them, as if she materialized out of thin air. Her eyes were fixed intently upon a spot a few feet away. Seconds later, Jack walked up to her right side.

"Is there a particular reason why we are staring at a seemingly bare portion of sea?"

"Yes," Tia Dalma replied with a devilish grin.

"And what, pray tell, would that reason be?"

"We've arrived."

Jack glanced around in confusion. "I don't see any island. Where is it?"

Without saying a word, Tia Dalma pulled a small, flat object out from her robes. One side of the object was completely wooden, while the other side seemed to contain a miniature rainbow within its four borders. This multicolored spectrum flashed brilliantly in the early morning sun, entrancing anyone who glanced at it. Tia Dalma angled this mirror-like artifact so that the sun's rays reflected off its surface and came down to meet the calm waters. The moment the ray of sunshine made contact with the sea, its color immediately changed from a hazy gold to a violent sapphire blue within a matter of mere seconds. The ray of blinding blue light caused the few miles of ocean surrounding it to froth in a mass of bubbles. Then, slowly but surely, something large began to appear virtually out of thin air. It was a landmass; one that was fuzzy at first, but turned solid and clear all too soon. Mountains rose into the sky in countless locations on the island, with trees and such surrounding them. On what appeared to be the highest mountain was a castle-like structure that rested peacefully on the mountain's tip. To add to the sudden jolt of shock that coursed through everyone's veins, the sky above abruptly transformed from a beautiful early morning yellow-orange to a dark, impenetrable blanket of gray; a bolt of lightning pierced the clouds seconds later.

"There," Tia Dalma smirked. "The Island Of The Mists."

"Whoa," Will gazed at the island in awe.

"And here I thought it would look foreboding," Jack said in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. "So, this scroll...it's inside that fortress?" Jack pointed to the castle that was elevated above everything else.

"Yes," Tia Dalma nodded. "We must fight our way past the supernatural warriors patrolling the grounds, then find a way up that mountain so we can sneak inside the castle, disguised as Atlantis people, and retrieve the scroll."

"That's your plan, is it?" Jack asked.

"It most certainly is."

"I like it. Simple, and easy to remember. Now, what say we go ashore?"

Jack then went about preparing to go onto land, and the rest soon followed.

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A short distance away, covertly concealed by an invisible barrier, Henry Morgan stood on the deck of his ship. He was gazing through a long scope, carefully observing jack and the crew's departure from the Black Pearl. Next, he lowered the scope, a sinister grin stretching across his face.

"Time to go," he told his men. "After all, we can't afford to lose their trail. If we do, there will be no one to guide us to the scroll."

Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Michael, Tia Dalma, Gibbs, Pintel and Ragetti all hopped out of the longboats, stepped foot on land, and secured their means of tansportation to the shore. Will and Elizabeth had been reluctant to bring Michael along, but they found that they simply could not deny his protests. Both parents walked protectively in front of Michael in an attempt to ensure his safety. Jack, meanwhile, had pulled out his rather unique compass and opened it. For a few seconds, the needle inside spun around wildly until at last, it came to a rest as it pointed in the north direction. Without a word, the wily captain led his congregation of pirates north just as an ominous breeze ruffled everyone's hair and clothes slightly.

Will, Elizabeth and the others had been walking for what they estimated to be at least half an hour before they finally came to a clearing in the dense surrounding of trees that had seemed to be gradually closing in around them. Will peered ahead, and saw a portion of the base of the mountain which he surmised touted the enormous castle on its tip. Next, Will glanced around for any trace of security, but oddly enough, did not spot any. However, he swiftly drew his sword from its sheath just to be cautious. He then looked toward Jack.

"What's our next move?" Will asked.

Jack shrugged and pointed his thumb at Tia Dalma. "Why don't you ask her that?" He gave the fortuneteller a confused expression. "Aren't there supposed to be guards here?"

Tia Dalma smiled in her usual manner. "Jack, haven't you gotten used to these things? We are on an enchanted island, so naturally, the security measures would be enchanted as well."

"Funny, I don't see any signs of mystical forces at work."

"Just wait."

Jack followed Tia Dalma's eyes, and to his astonishment, was met with a sight that was quite extraordinary. First of all, mounds of dirt and grass were coming up from their resting places and were being melded together by what seemed like invisible hands to form a bulking, ominous figure that held a massive sword in its right hand. Its eyes were glowing blue rocks.

Next, a bolt of red lightning struck the earth right beside the first guard, exploding in bright red flames in a shape that also resembled a human being. The flames soon receded into a ball directly on top of an evil-looking man's heart, or at least the spot where a heart is supposed to be. The ball of flames virtually sank into this man's flesh, as if it were his heart, and it was being replaced inside his body. This guard's very eyes seemed to flash danger as if the emotion itself were a flame from a burning fire.

As a postlude to this last villain, a torrent of water dropped from the clouds above, glaring bright in that same sapphire blue light from earlier. The water slowly formed yet another figure of a person until, when it finished, the figure turned from pure water into a solid, muscular human being with pale skin and an assortment of weapons tucked into his belt.

And finally, strong gushes of wind swirled in a miniature cyclone, a cyclone that also became a solid person with dangerous-looking features about him. The first set of guardians who protected the Scroll of Lost Souls were warriors forged from the four Earth elements: earth, fire, water and wind. And each warrior was trained in the art of killing.

From behind the protection of thick bushes and leaves, the crew of the Black Pearl stood transfixed as they observed these events transpire right before their very eyes. When it was all over, Jack heaved a tremendous sigh.

"I'm really not in the mood to duel right now," he groaned.

Will, however, was looking beyond the four new obstacles and spotted some objects with interesting appearances. They looked like large stone ovals, but they had holes in them large enough to fit, Will estimated, four people inside. Along their outer area, intricately carved and abnormal shapes and symbols were evident. Protruding from the front of these stone objects were many small, finger-sized crystals; one in each stone cylinder, which was about five, and each crystal was obviously colored sapphire blue, which was only barely visible due to the dim lighting. It was apparent to Will that blue seemed to be a popular color with the citizens of Atlantis. But the most fascinating thing about these designs was that each one was hovering a few inches above the ground and tethered to the mountain by means of some rope.

Upon seeing this, an idea began to formulate inside Will's mind. Once it had been fully formed, Will leaned in close to Jack. "I have a plan. See those stone objects behind the guards?" Will indicated that which he spoke of. "I think those things can get us to the top of the mountain, where the scroll is. Now, there are four guards; that means that four of us can duel them while the rest of us secretly get to those...crafts and get them ready for an escape. And considering the fact that these warriors may be immortal, this may be the best plan we have."

"They are not immortal," Tia Dalma interjected tonelessly.

Jack absorbed all of this quickly and quietly, carefully coming to the proper conclusion. "Very well. You, Elizabeth, Gibbs and I will fight those brutes while the rest of you can inconspicuously sneak behind us and prepare those...stone thingys for departure from land. Doesn't sound so bad, does it?" He glanced around at everyone else, each of whom had stern expressions stamped across their faces. Jack smiled genuinely, "Didn't think so."

Jack drew his sword, as did Elizabeth and Gibbs; Will already had his clutched tightly in his fingers. Slowly, they exited their lush surroundings and approached the four guardians. The moment each pirate was face to face with a different demon, the wraiths began to chuckle as if they were amused.

"So, you've come for the scroll, have you?" asked the fire guard.

"Yes," Jack answered simply. "And we're prepared to fight you lot in order to get to it."

The earth guard shrugged. "Have it your way, then."

Without warning, the ferocious battle began. Jack took on the water demon, Will the fire one, Elizabeth engaged the earth creature, and Gibbs took the wind guardian. In the sky above, lightning pierced the sky as thunder boomed loudly, however this did not seem to faze anyone in the swordfights.

Will furiously swung his blade in every possible direction, succeeding each time in deflecting the fire demon's red sword. Both opponents stepped this way and that as they continued on. The fire demon suddenly managed to lunge his blade toward Will's heart, but Will dodged the attack just in time. He immediately swung his blade under his adversary's and shoved it away. Next, Will's lightning-fast reflexes came in handy as he managed to land a hard blow to the side of the fire demon's face. The wraith staggered back, but was able to compose himself within the course of a mere few seconds. He charged at Will, and Will darted away. As he ran, the fire demon raised his sword in front of him, aimed it carefully, and watched in maniacal glee as a jet of flames erupted from the tip of the sword. Will noticed this and swiftly took refuge behind a thick tree trunk; the trunk melted away in no time. As the fire demon continued his onslaught, Will dashed and dodged each ray of flaming death that came his way. Then, risking everything, he raced toward the demon and jumped into midair just as the latest jet of fire came at him. As Will descended, he raised his own sword over his head and forcefully brought it down upon his opponent, but to no avail; the demon was successful in blocking the blow with the steel of his own blade. Will and the fire demon then began to struggle back and forth, each fighting for the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and the earth guardian were relentlessly landing blows, each time the steel of their swords would clang loudly. The earth demon's latest lunge managed to cause Elizabeth to trip backwards and fall to the ground, but Elizabeth forcefully kicked the guardian full-on in the face and then landed another blow to the chest. Elizabeth took the opportunity to leap back up and recommence the duel. She spun around while sticking her sword out, and this resulted in three gashes being left on the demon's chest. But instead of leaking blood, this wraith seemed to bleed a mixture of dirt and knotted grass. Elizabeth allowed herself only a moment to gaze at the sight in mild amazement before promptly slicing both the demon's leg in one wide, lethal swipe of her sword. Immediately, the guardian fell off the stubs that used to be the bottom halves of his legs and onto his back. Now without a huge advantage, the demon could do nothing except make feeble attempts to slash at Elizabeth; Elizabeth simply lopped off both arms and plunged her blade deep into the region where the heart is located. After Elizabeth had pulled her sword out of the demon's chest, what was left of the wraith slowly evaporated into thin air, the chopped-off arms and leg stubs included. Wiping her blade clean of the dirt, mud and grass that now stained it on the side of her pants, Elizabeth spotted Will and without hesitation went to help him.

Will was currently busy dueling both the fire demon and the wind demon; Gibbs had been knocked out while fighting with the wind wraith himself. Will was obviously having difficulty in keeping up with his two equally agile adversaries, so it came as a great relief when Elizabeth showed up at his side. They managed to smirk slyly at each other before taking on each enemy individually. Will re-engaged the fire demon as Elizabeth took on the wind demon. Each proved a worthy opponent for the couple as sweat began to escape from the pores on their skin. Will and Elizabeth were fighting with all the strength they could muster, and soon their muscles began to ache from the invigorating yet tiresome activity. Suddenly, Will and Elizabeth had their swords abruptly knocked from their grasp; the blades flew to the left. As the fire demon pointed his red blade at the couple, the wind demon outstretched his palms ominously. Realizing what was about to happen, Will and Elizabeth dived for their swords just as flames shot out from the fire demon's sword; those flames followed the couple by means of the gusts of air that were being provided by the wind demon. The flames set ablaze any piece of the surrounding forest that they touched, but Will and Elizabeth were too fast for them. They were able to retrieve their swords, dash back toward their opponent, but when they did were met with the tips of other swords pointed directly between their eyes. Will and Elizabeth slowly lowered their weapons.

"You've lost," sneered the wind demon.

Will and Elizabeth looked at each other solemnly and turned so that they were directly facing one another.

Will sighed. "We gave it our best."

Elizabeth nodded. "At least we went out fighting bravely."

As the two demons began to circle around the couple, both Will and Elizabeth inconspicuously winked at each other. As their two opponents closed in on them, Will and Elizabeth slowly approached each other. The instant the two demons lunged at them, Will and Elizabeth enveloped each other in a tight hug, but this action also allowed them to plunge their swords deep into the chests of their opponents on each side. Immediately, Will and Elizabeth ripped their blades out of the demons and watched as the wind demon evaporated in a gray mist and the fire demon became engulfed in flames before disintegrating into nothing more than a wisp of smoke. Once their adversaries had vanished, Will and Elizabeth grinned at each other.

"We've still got it!" said Will.

"We certainly do."

They kissed passionately for a few moments before rushing over to help Jack.

Jack was currently engaged in a vigorous battle with the water demon, the only guardian left. The water demon appeared to be extremely athletic, as he easily matched each and every one of Jack's lunges. Every now and then, the dueling duo would spin and turn and leap in midair with impressive agility, however neither one of them seemed to gain the upper hand. The water demon shoved Jack away just as Will and Elizabeth came to his aid. The trio wasted no time whatsoever in attempting to tire their enemy out. But after a few minutes of fast and furious dueling, which was given a ferocious appearance due to the flaming trees, the water demon had managed to once again shove his opponents to the ground. He then raised his hands to the heavens just as another round of lightning cracked the sky and thunder roared overhead. Within seconds, a shower of rain began to beat down upon everyone relentlessly. Jack, Will, and Elizabeth got to their feat, unfazed, and continued the fierce swordfight.

With the rain shower, the water demon seemed to have an advantage. The pellets of rain soon changed from harmless drops of water to weapons that were used against the trio of pirates. Drops of rain were melded together to form flying disks that caused small jolts of sharp pain every time they smashed into human flesh. Jack, Will, and Elizabeth were able to push aside the pain and keep trying to defeat this evil wraith before them. However, that was next to impossible, because the water demon had the ability to disappear into thin air, blending in with the curtain of water. Even though the massive fire in the woods was still vibrantly alive, that did nothing to help Jack, Will, and Elizabeth distinguish their opponent from the rain.

As Jack was squinting through the rain, a forceful jab caught him on the right side of his jaw. When he made to slash at the source of it, he discovered no one there.

Will saw this transpire, but certainly did not expect another forceful blow of equal power to send him staggering back a few steps.

Elizabeth watched this happen, and began to glance around her, trying to locate where the invisible villain would attack her. But before Elizabeth knew it, a hit to her back sent her falling down to the wet ground. She then felt Will's hands help lift her to her feet.

It went on this way for a few minutes, with the now invisible water demon landing blows to the trio, and the trio slashing at empty air and liquid. But all of a sudden, a great white light shone from the other direction; Tia Dalma was pointing some type of handheld object at them, and it was radiating a strong white light. If this was meant to illuminate the outline of the invisible water demon, then the beam of light served its purpose. The trio saw that the demon was standing directly in front of them, looking at his outlined arms in confusion. Jack, Will, and Elizabeth immediately plunged each of their swords into the outlined figure. The moment each sword tip touched solid flesh, the demons power of invisibility went away, and he stood before them looking shell-shocked. Finally, the water demon exploded into many drops of water that flew in every direction. Shortly preceding that spectacle, the torrent of rain abruptly stopped and the violent flames in the forest died away, and amazingly there were no burn marks on any of the trees, nor were the leaves torched.

Jack, Will, and Elizabeth all heaved a deep sigh of relief now that their current terrible ordeal was over. Gibbs seemed to have been revived upon the defeat of the final guardian, and he was now on his feet and heading toward his comrades.

The four of them slowly made their way over to the rest of their party, who was waiting by the small hovering vehicles of Atlantis. The moment Will and Elizabeth were close enough, they were both enveloped in a tight hug by their son. Michael grabbed both pairs of legs and squeezed tightly.

"I have the best parents in the whole world!" he exclaimed to them.

Will and Elizabeth found that they could do nothing except return the warm embrace, grateful for the comfort after the tiring battle. Each of them helped scoop Michael up so that they could give him a proper hug. Elizabeth smiled at Will, and in return Will kissed his wife's cheek. Meanwhile, Jack was talking with Tia Dalma.

"So, how do these things work?"

Tia Dalma pointed at a light blue crystal that was resting in an engraved hole toward the front of the craft she was sitting in.

"These hovercrafts are powered by these crystals. Crystals were really popular with the inhabitants of Atlantis."

"Crystals?" Jack asked. "Didn't they ever hear about gold? Much more valuable...and shiny, at that."

Tia Dalma ignored Jack's remark. "We must fly these to the top of the mountain, disguise ourselves as Atlantians, and steal the Scroll of Lost Souls."

"Oh, goodie," Jack groaned.

Within a few minutes, everyone was situated in two separate hovercrafts and did their best to relax as the crafts slowly rose into the air toward the top of the mountain, where they would have to steal the Scroll of Lost Souls from under the noses of numerous reincarnated people.

Back on the ground, Henry Morgan and his crew patiently waited for the hovercrafts to return.