Blade of Light: He's a Pirate
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
Author's Note:
GAH! I'm so so so so so soooo X 1 million, sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter done. It was one of those things that just kept not getting done. I just recently got into an MMORPG and it completely ate my life for a week, and then I have a Anime convention that I'm going to at the end of this week and of course I have like nothing done on my cosutmes O.O''. Lets just say its been a rough few weeks. So, thank you thank you thank you for being so patient with me, and for all of your reviews, and for just reading, because I know that a lot of you guys have already started school (I start next week), so thank you for taking time to read this! Read and Review! Please Enjoy!
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Elizabeth sat at a elaborately set table filled with all manor of foods. She was wearing a dark red dress, and an angry look on her face.
"Ah, Miss. Turner, so sorry to keep you waiting."
Elizabeth looked up to see Barbossa enter the cabin and take a seat opposite from her at the table. A nameless crew member came in and started serving the two diners.
"Captain Barbossa," Elizabeth said glaring across the table as the crew member set a plate in front of her. She started to cut the food into small, bite sized pieces.
"Theres no need for ceremony in order to impress anyone," Barbossa said, watching Elizabeth eat in a very lady like fashion, "You must be hungry."
Elizabeth gave Barbossa a begrudging look but began to wolf down the food that occupied her plate. Chicken, bread, wine, it all disappeared instantly before her eyes.
"Have some more wine," Barbossa said, grinning, "and the apples, one of those next."
Elizabeth stopped eating and looked up at Barbossa with a terrified look on her face, "Its poisoned," She gasped, dropping the bread she was holding back onto the plate.
"Now, now Miss. Swann, theres no need for me to be killing you yet."
"Then why did you kidnap me? Is it for ransom? Because my father would never pay money to filthy pirates like yourselves."
"An intriguing offer, but no, I'm afraid you presence here is a mistake Miss," Barbossa said, leaning back in his chair, "Or maybe its destiny, would you care to hand over that medallion that you've so cleverly hidden?"
"I don't know what medallion you talking about Captain Barbossa," Elizabeth said flippantly.
"Don't waste you time trying to trick me Miss. Turner, you don't know what it is, do ya?" Barbossa said, leaning forward again.
"It's a pirate medallion," Elizabeth said matter of factly.
"Oh, it be much more then that," Barbossa said, grinning, "It be Aztec gold, one of hundreds of identical pieces Cortes hid on the Isla de Muerta. Took it we did, we spent it, traded it and frittered it away on food, drink and pleasurable company alike. But soon we came to realize that the drink did not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company alike could not stave our lust."
"I hardly believe in ghost story's anymore Captain Barbossa," Elizabeth said skeptically.
"Well, you best start believing in ghost story's Miss. Turner," Came a voice from the door way, "You're in one."
Elizabeth turned to see a tall, blond man in a black coat standing in the doorway. The door was open behind him and she could see the crew standing in a group just outside of the door. But it wasn't the crew she had seen when she was brought aboard the ship, it was a crew of ragged looking skeletons.
"What...!" Elizabeth gasped, looking horrified at the skeleton crew.
"The moon light shows us for what we really are," Barbossa said, with a bemused look on his face at Elizabeth's reaction. "We be cursed men Miss. Turner, we are not among the living, but yet, we cannot die."
"Then what do you want with me? The medallion? Well, take it," Elizabeth pulled the medallion off her neck and threw it across the table to Barbossa.
"Oh, I'm afraid thats not all we want," Barbossa said, smiling and pocketing the medallion. "You see, now we have the final piece, but we still need the blood to be repaid to the heathen gods."
"Blood to be repaid?"
"Thats why there's no sense to be killing you...yet."
Barbossa laughed at the horrified expression on Elizabeth's face. "But don't worry Miss Turner, thats not the nature of our present business, Luxord?"
The tall blond closed the door behind him and took up a seat at the table.
"Wh-Who are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"My name is Luxord, and I work for Organization XIII. And now a question for you Miss. Turner, where is the key bearer?"
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Sora stood peering over the side of the ship, watching the blackness of the sea wash by. They were headed for the Ilsa de Muerta, a place where Jack promised Barbossa would turn up, but Sora couldn't help but feel like things were going to go wrong.
"I shouldn't drag Will and the others into this," he thought wishing he could be swallowed up by the black ocean, "I can't allow the Organization to hurt anyone else."
"Feeling a little sea sick?" Sora looked up to see Will standing next to him, smiling kindly.
"Uh...yeah," Sora replied, feeling guilty for getting a nice guy like Will involved with the Organization.
"Don't worry mate, it happens to most people. We'll be entering port soon, so just hold out a little longer ok?"
"Entering port? But I thought that the Ilsa de Muerta was really far off!"
"It is, which is why we'll be stopping in Tortuga to resupply." Will looked unhappy at this, but gave Sora a reassuring look. "Don't worry, just stay close to me or Jack and you'll be fine."
"Yeah, ok..." Sora said, turning back to stare at the ocean.
Will gave him a closer look, "Something tells me that its not just sea sickness thats bothering you."
"What? Oh, its just that...I don't want you or Elizabeth getting hurt," Sora said, "Last time someone tried to help me, they...well...the Organization wasn't very forgiving. I don't want you or Elizabeth to get tangled up in this mess."
"Look Sora, I don't know whats happened in the past, or why you decided to get involved with Organization XIII," Will said.
"I told you, they want to open Kingdom Hearts and destroy the universe."
"Yes, well, it seems to me that theres another reason beyond saving the universe, but thats your business, but no matter what happens, I've got you back Sora, ok?" Will gave Sora a reassuring smile.
"Thanks Will..." Sora said, giving him a weak smile but feeling his insides clench with guilt.
"No problem Sora," Will said, smiling and leaving Sora alone again.
Sora sighed, and looked back down towards the water, he felt bad that he would be ditching Will, especially after seeing how worried he was about Elizabeth, but he couldn't let the Organization kill anyone else. He would save Elizabeth and stop the Organization on his own.
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"We will reconvene here tomorrow morning, Savvy?" Jack said, standing in front of his crew, "Does everyone remember their jobs?"
"Aye!" The crew yelled, eager to get off the boat.
"Excellent! Have at it then!"
The rest of the crew swarmed off the boat leaving Sora, Will and Jack standing alone on the deck.
"You haven't given us a job yet Jack," Will said, as Jack tried to sneak off without talking to them.
"Oh, er...don't do anything stupid," Jack said, slipping away before Will could say anymore.
"I guess we're pretty much free to do what ever we want," Will said, watching Jack sneak off down an alley. "Do you want to get a drink?" Will asked, starting down the gangplank.
"Um...I'm not really of age," Sora said, following Will down a crowded street.
"Oh, right, well, do you want to walk around then?"
"Uh, why don't you go get a drink, I can meet you back here when you're done."
"You sure? I don't want you to get hurt or anything, Tortuga is a pretty rough place."
"Yeah its fine, I can take care of myself, besides, I've always got the keyblade."
"Ok," Will said, sounding unsure, "Don't wander to far." Will walked into a building to the right and disappeared.
Sora turned around and started towards the dock, hoping to find someone who could take him to the Ilsa de Muerta.
"Excuse me," he said, walking up to a weather beaten man loading supplies onto his ship, "Do you think you could give me passage to the Ilsa de Muerta?"
"Sorry mate," the man said giving Sora a frightened look, "No one knows where to find the Ilsa de Muerta except for Barbossa, and you'd be a fool to try and find it." The man turned away from Sora and went back to his work.
Half an hour later, Sora walked down another dock that was on the far side of the town. He had gotten all kinds of reactions from the people he asked, but none of them had agreed to take him to the Ilsa de Muerta. Frustrated, he kicked a near by bucket and sent it sprawling down the dock.
"You shouldn't get so angry," Said a voice behind him, "It could get you in trouble someday."
Sora turned to see a redheaded boy standing behind him wearing a black coat.
"Stay back!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade.
"Woah, you've got it all wrong kid, I'm on your side." Said the redheaded boy nervously.
"Yeah right," Sora said, pointing his keyblade at the boy, "I'm going to finish you here and now, you're not getting this world!" Sora lunged for the boy, but the keyblade only hit air. Looking around he saw that the boy had dodged behind him.
"I don't want to fight you," the boy said, "I've been sent by the king, to bring you back to Radiant Garden."
"You're lying!" Sora yelled, swinging his keyblade at the boy again and missing.
"I swear to you that I'm not," the boy said, keeping a careful distance away from Sora, "I used to work for the Organization, until your friend Riku showed up. I tried to help him escape, but they caught me before I could get him out, I've been marked as a traitor. They imprisoned me, but I escaped, and now I'm here to help you stop them."
"Why would you do something like that?" Sora asked wearily, "You should try to come up with more believable stories when you try to trick people."
"I'm not making this up," the boy said irritatedly, "I tried to help Riku because he reminded me of my friend, Roxas before he went crazy. I didn't want him to turn to darkness, and I didn't want you to have to suffer like I did."
Sora stood motionless, stunned at what the redheaded boy had told him.
"You...but...why?"
"I told you, I didn't want you two to go through the same thing I did when Roxas turned to darkness. We used to be best friends, until...until he decided to seek revenge on you and Riku. I hoped that if Riku escaped, he would give up and turn back into the Roxas I used to know."
"Why does Roxas want revenge on me and Riku? What did we ever do to him?"
"I don't know, he never told me the whole story. He just said that you two took away the power that he so desperately wanted. So Sora, do you trust me now?" the boy asked, holding out his hand.
Sora clasped the other boy's hand and smiled at him, "My heart tells me I can."
"I'm Axel," the redhead said, smiling back at Sora, "So, you ready to head back to Radiant Garden?"
Sora's smile faded, "I can't go back, not yet at least. I have to stop the Organization from winning this worlds heart, and I have to save Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth?" Axel asked, confused, "I thought you were in love with Riku."
At this Sora turned bright red, "Well...I'm not in love with Elizabeth, Will is. But I don't want to get him involved, I don't want anyone else getting hurt because they try to help me."
"Hey what about me?" Axel asked taken aback, "Your ok with me getting hurt?"
"Well, no, but you know what the Organization is capable of, so you wouldn't go rushing into things, at least I hope you wouldn't." Sora said, giving Axel a skeptical look. "Will you help me Axel? I promise I'll go back once I make sure the Organization is stopped, and Elizabeth is safe."
Axel chuckled at this, "You're so much like him its uncanny."
"What?" Sora asked, confused, "Like who?"
"Oh, I'll tell you later," Axel said, still looking amused, "Lets go save this damsel in distress and stop the bad guy's ok? And then its strait back to Radiant Garden, your sister is worried about you."
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Elizabeth gave Luxord a confused look, "Key bearer? I don't know who you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me Miss, my patience is running thin. You had the key bearer's clothes in your house, there for you must have met him recently."
"Clothes...Do you mean Sora?"
"Yes, that is one of his many titles. So, where is he?" Luxord said.
"With Will I expect, trying to find me. What ever it is your trying to do, you won't get away with it, they'll stop you." Elizabeth said, glaring at Luxord.
"Ha, we'll see about that Miss," said Luxord smiling at Elizabeth's comment, "Even though it was an accident that the heartless brought you here, your presence here will be of use to me and if I'm not mistaken, my friend Barbossa here as well."
"Aye," Barbossa said grinning at Elizabeth, "Bo'Sun!" he shouted.
A shirtless crew member with strange body markings came into the room, "Aye sir?"
"Show Miss. Turner here to her quarters, I'm sure she must be tired."
"Aye captain," Bo'sun said, grabbing Elizabeth's arm and dragging her out of the room.
"Now," said Barbossa, once Elizabeth had left the room, "You wanted to speak about our deal?"
"Yes," Luxord said, "I want the help of your pirates to capture the key bearer. I wish to use the girl as a trap."
"And what are you willing to pay for such a service?"
"This," Luxord held up the pirate medallion that Elizabeth had thrown at Barbossa.
"Why you filthy, stinking, bilge rat!" Barbossa exclaimed, stuffing his hand into his pocket, but finding nothing.
"The deal, Barbossa, is you help me capture the key bearer, and I'll lift your little curse, agreed?"
"Agreed," Barbossa growled angrily, "Now get out of my sight."
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Luxord smiled at Barbossa and bowed before he turned and walked out the door.
"Jack!" Will came sprinting down the dock towards the Interceptor where Jack was supervising the loading of supplies.
"Ah young William, just in time." Jack said, "We shall be departing as soon as we load all the rum."
"Jack," Will panted, trying to catch his breath, "Sora—he gave me the slip. We have to find him."
"Yes, yes, thats all well and go—What!" Jack screamed, turning to look at Will. "You let him get away!"
"He just disappeared, I went into the pub for about twenty minutes to get a drink and gather information, and when I came back out he was gone. I asked around to see if anyone had seen him."
"And!" Jack asked desperately.
"Well, it seems that he's already left, and he was with a strange looking redheaded boy." Will said, "Nobody knew where they went though, or what ship they left on."
"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid!" Sora heard Jack yell at Will from the other side of the ship.
"Come on, we can hide in the cargo hold." He whispered to Axel who was floating in the water next to him. They swam over to one of the mooring ropes and climbed up it towards the holes that housed the cannons. Pushing the cannon back, Sora pulled himself through the small hole. Looking behind him he saw Axel poke his head through the hole and then pull himself through.
The two boys made there way through the cannons to the stairs that led down to the hold. Peaking around the wall, Sora saw the crew bringing box upon box down into the cargo hold.
"No good," He said, turning back to Axel, who was waiting behind him, "We'll have to wait here until there done loading the hold."
"But Jack!" they heard Will shout from the stairs, Sora looked around the corner again to see Will following Jack angrily down the stairs. "We cannot leave him here!"
"Ah, that is where you are wrong dear William." Jack said, inspecting one of the crates that a crew member was carrying and pulling a bottle from it. "We are not leaving him here, for as you have said, he has already left Tortuga. From what I gather, he has decided to pursue Barbossa on his own, so," Jack said, taking a swig from the bottle, "He must still be on this ship."
"What! But the man on the dock said that he had left on another ship."
"Dear William, since when have you trusted a pirate?" Jack asked, looking amused, "Seeing as he is headed for the Isla de Muerta, there is no other ship he could possibly be on, for I am the only one besides Barbossa who knows its location, savvy? So, Sora, its time to come out of your hidey-hole, where are you hiding?"
"What now?" Axel whispered to Sora, moving back towards the shadows.
Sora sighed and walked around the corner, revealing his hiding place.
"There you are dear William, he's safe and sound," Jack said, taking another drink from the bottle, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a ship to run."
Sora and Axel sat on pile of ropes under a brilliant night sky. As punishment for running away, they had to sleep outside of the crew quarters. Jack had offered them the brig, but Sora wasn't keen on spending anymore time there, and so they had been sent to the deck to sleep.
"At least its a nice night," Sora said to an angry looking Axel.
"I don't know why I'm being punished with you, I wasn't the one who ran away," Axel grumbled, "Or revealed our hiding spot."
"They would have found us eventually," Sora said, leaning back to look up at the sky, "We'll be at the Ilsa de Muerta soon anyway."
"Yeah," Axel said, also leaning back, "So what are you going to do now?"
"Wait until we get to Ilsa de Muerta I guess. Once we're there, we'll sneak off the ship on its only row boat. That way Will can't get involved, we can save Elizabeth and stop the Organization."
"Hmm, sounds like a fail proof plan chief," Axel said sarcastically, "Whats your problem with this Will guy anyway? What are you so afraid of?"
"I'm afraid he'll die, like Tron," Sora said quietly, "And it will be all my fault."
"Tron?" Axel asked, gently, "Who's Tron Sora?"
"He...he was my friend. He was a security program in Space Paranoids. When the Organization attacked, I went to Space paranoids and ended up in a pit cell with him. He wanted to help me escape, so we broke out of the cell and were trying to make it to the I.O. Tower," Sora said, trying to hold back tears, "But before we got there, we encountered Riku. He wanted the password to the DTD, and he...he attacked me. Tron, he tried to help me stop Riku, and then...then..." Tears started running down Sora's face, "I told him to go on, to get to the I.O. Tower, but he wouldn't listen. Riku...Riku killed him, and it was all my fault."
"Sora, it wasn't your fault," Axel said gently, putting a hand on Sora's head, "Tron did what he did to protect you, it was his choice and his choice alone."
"But if I didn't get him involved in the first place," Sora sobbed.
"You would be dead," Axel said, "and the Organization would have destroyed the universe. You can't change the past Sora, all you can do is keep fighting."
"Fighting for what?" Sora asked looking up, eyes glinting with tears.
"For a better future." Axel said, reaching over and wiping a tear from Sora's cheek.
"Axel earlier you said that I reminded you of someone," Sora said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
"Yeah, actually, you remind me of two people. Its almost scary how alike you are."
"Who are they?"
"You know them, very well in fact. Its unusual for a person to have two nobodies, but you do. It must have something to do with your heart, but when you became a heartless as a young child, and then again when you were at Hollow Bastion you created two nobodies."
"I have...two nobodies?" Sora asked shocked.
"Yup, one of them is Roxas," Axel said, "And the other is Riku."
"What!" Sora gasped, shocked.
"Thats right," Axel said, "I don't know how, but thats what Roxas told me. I'm sorry no one told you until now Sora."
"My dream..." Sora gasped, "But why does Roxas want to kill me? If he's my nobody, wont that mean he'll die with me?"
"I don't know," Axel said shrugging, "I wasn't told much about it, but some how Riku's different then other nobodies."
"Different...?" Sora began, but he was cut off by the crows nest.
"Land ho!" called a voice from the crows nest.
Sora and Axel both stood up and ran to the edge of the deck. Leaning over the side, they saw a dark rock face approaching the ship.
"Excellent," they heard a voice behind them say. Turning around they saw Jack Sparrow standing behind them grinning as they pulled into a small bay. "Welcome to Ilsa de Muerta lads." he said cheerily, "I hope you're ready for a fight." Jack turned to the crew who were lined up, awaiting instruction. "Young Mr. Turner, Sora, his...er...little friend and I will go a shore." Jack said, addressing the crew, then turning to join Will, Sora and Axel in the row boat that had been lowered for them.
"Sir, what if the worst should happen?" Mr. Gibbs called to them as they rowed away.
"Keep to the code," Jack yelled, before the boat was swallowed up by the thick fog that was rolling in.
"What code is Gibbs supposed to keep to if the worst should happen?" Sora asked worriedly.
"Pirates code," Jack replied smiling, "Any man that falls behind, is left behind."
"I guess theres no honor amongst thieves," Axel said sarcastically, leaning back against the side of the small row boat.
"No, theres not," Will said coldly, "Whats you plan once we get in there Jack?"
"Well, you, Sora and er...Sora's friend, sneak around behind Barbossa. I'll distract him, and you grab Elizabeth, savvy?"
"Thats it?" Will asked.
Jack paused for a moment, as if to think. "Yeah thats it." He said, rowing the boat through the mouth of a cavern.
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Elizabeth stood atop a large mound of treasure, accompanied by Barbossa and his tall, blond friend. In front of her lay a sea worn stone chest, filled with coins identical to the coin Barbossa had taken from her.
"What now?" she asked with a scared look.
"Now we wait Miss. Turner," Barbossa said angrily, "We wait for this friend of yours to show himself."
"But why do you want Sora? He's just a boy!" Elizabeth said.
"Oh, he's much more then that Miss," Luxord said smiling, "He is the chosen one, the keyblade master."
"The what!" Elizabeth asked confused.
"All you need to know Miss is that it is important that I catch him," Luxord said, giving Elizabeth a warm smile. Elizabeth glared back at Luxord with her most livid look.
"Well you wont catch him," Elizabeth said arrogantly, "both him and Will will stop you."
"I'm glad you have so much confidence in them," Luxord said, still smiling, "But unfortunately, I'm afraid its wasted. I will catch the key bearer, and then I'll kill off your pathetic little boyfriend, he knows to much."
Sora saw Elizabeth launch herself at Luxord and start punching him from his hiding place behind a rock.
"Woah," he heard Axel mutter next to him, "And she's the one we're supposed to be saving?"
"I've had it! I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum soaked PIRATES!" they heard her shriek as two of Barbossa's crewmen wrestled her off Luxord.
"Yeah, she's the one." Sora muttered glancing around and making sure that hadn't been seen. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Axel said, summoning his chakram.
Sora nodded, and they both charged forward into the mass of loitering pirates.
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Riku was sitting in his favorite chair when Roxas came bursting into the room.
"Luxord's back!" He shouted, "Lord Xemnas has called a meeting."
Following Roxas out of the room, Riku ran after him down hall after hall until they reached the study. Taking a minute to fix their black coats, they knocked on the door and entered. The study was filled with all the remaining members of the Organization, Xigbar, Xaldin, Saïx, and a battered, bloody looking Luxord. Demyx was missing from the group of black coats, and Riku realized sadly that he must have been eliminated.
Xemnas was sitting in his usual spot behind the desk, with his usual relaxed look. Roxas and Riku bowed and joined the rest of the members around the desk.
"Now that everyone's here," Xemnas said quietly, shooting Riku and Roxas a look, "We can begin out meeting. We have been working towards this for many years and tonight our plan is finally completed. Tonight, we have collected all the hearts we need to prepare Kingdom Hearts for the key bearers heart."
There was little rejoicing in the room, but a wave of excitement passed through the small group as Xemnas called for silence.
"We have Luxord and his research to thank for this," Xemnas said calmly, nodding towards Luxord, "Tonight we welcome him back from Port Royal as a hero."
There was a smattering of light applause, and the room fell silent once again.
"We shall now begin on the second half of our plan," Xemnas said, a glint of excitement in his eye, "You all know your assignments, you are dismissed."
One by one, the black coated members left the room until there were only four left. Roxas glared at satisfied looking Luxord, while Riku sat quietly off to the side.
"Do you know what the definition of a hero is Luxord?" Roxas asked angrily, "Someone who gets other people killed."
At this Luxord spat out a pained laugh, "Well thats what we wanted in this case isn't it?"
"Stop it you two," Xemnas said calmly from his desk, "Luxord, mission report."
"Right, I'm sorry sir," Luxord said nodding his head, "Well, as you can see, I had a spot of trouble at the very end, but all went according to plan beyond that."
"What did happen to you?" Riku asked, eying the bruses that were starting to form on Luxord's face.
"Well, lets see," Luxord said, "First I got jumped by an angry young woman, then the key bearer and Axel rushed in and started killing off the pirates, and then they started attacking me when some friends of theirs had shown up."
At this Roxas started to snicker, "You got beaten up by a girl!"
"She surprised me," Luxord muttered defensively.
"Axel? So he's joined forces with the key bearer now?" Xemnas asked concerned.
"Yes, but the key bearer seems to have gotten stronger," Luxord said, trying to ignore Roxas's constant snickers, "Even though Axel was with him, he only attacked me for a little bit and then left the key bearer to fight me alone. He's gotten much stronger, I was only able to escape."
"Hmm...You have done well Luxord," Xemnas said, "You are dismissed, go get yourself cleaned up."
Luxord stood up and gave Xemnas a pained bow and then limped out of the room. As soon as Luxord had left, Roxas burst out laughing.
"What a goon!" he shouted, laughing uncontrollably, "He nearly gets killed on his own mission! And then gets beat up by a girl!"
"Shut up you fool," Xemnas said coolly to Roxas, "I don't like this business with the key bearer, he is becoming dangerous."
"Do you really think he's gotten stronger?" Riku asked, while Roxas tried to pull himself together.
"Yes, I'm afraid he has," Xemnas said worriedly, "I'm also worried about what our little traitor has told him. If he finds out all of out plans it could mean the end."
"Well you won't have to worry about that," Roxas said, still chuckling, "I made sure that Axel never learned all of our plans, he only knows about me and Riku."
"What does he know about me?" Riku asked surprised.
"Oh, nothing, I'll tell you later," Roxas said dodging Riku's question, "Anyway, its not enough for the key bearer to stop us, I assure you."
"Good, but I want to test the key bearer's strength," Xemnas said, "Riku, you are to depart for Radiant Garden immediately."
"Yes sir," Riku said, bowing to Xemnas, "Will that be all?"
"Yes, you two are dismissed."
Both Riku and Roxas bowed again and left the study, leaving Xemnas to his own thoughts.
"What will you do next, key bearer?" He thought, his brow furrowed with worry, "What surprises do you have in store for us?"
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Jack awoke with a pounding headache, his vision blurred. Slowly sitting up he saw that he was lying by the water in a cavern. The last thing he had remembered was an oar swinging towards his head.
"Bloody kids," he grumbled, standing up and stumbling towards the main treasure cavern. The sight that met his eyes made his jaw drop. The cavern was littered with the bodies of Barbossa's crew, and at the top of the treasure pile, draped over the chest of Cortes, was Barbossa himself. "It looks like they figured out how to lift the curse," he mumbled astonished, going over to Barbossa and poking him.
Barbossa's arm started moving where Jack had poked it and Jack sprang back, drawing his pistol. Barbossa's arm moved again, and then his pet monkey wriggled out from underneath it. "Oh, its only you mate," Jack said, lowering his pistol.
The monkey stared at Jack for a moment, then grabbed a coin out of the chest and started to scamper away.
"Monkey!" Jack yelled, chasing after the monkey and firing his pistol.
Jack chased the monkey into a cavern that overlooked the bay in front of the entrance to the caverns. Jack stopped and stared at the empty bay, "Where's my bloody ship!" he bellowed, searching the horizon for any sign of a ship.
"Bloody pirates!" he mumbled, wading into the water and started to swim out into the bay.
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Sora and Axel stood on the dock, bidding goodbye to Will and Elizabeth.
"Are you sure that thing can take you home?" Will asked skeptically, eying Axel's Gummi ship.
"Yeah, it will get us back to where we came from," Sora reassured Will, smiling.
"Thank you for everything," Elizabeth said, "Especially for rescuing me."
She stepped forward and kissed both Sora and Axel on the cheek. Axel's face turned almost as red as his hair and he was rendered momentarily speechless. Sora laughed at Axel's reaction and turned to Will, who was looking surly.
"I helped too you know!" He said defensively, "Even if you two knocked me out for half of the fight!"
"Yeah, we're really sorry about that," Sora said sheepishly, "But we both agreed that it was probably a trap, and we didn't want you getting involved right away in case something happened." Axel managed to nod, his face still bright red. "But its a good thing you woke up when you did, otherwise we could have never broken the curse."
"Yes Will, you really did save us all," Elizabeth said, smiling and squeezing Will's hand, "Thank you." she said, pulling him into a full on kiss.
Sora heard a strangled noise behind him and turn to see Axel fuming with anger.
"I'll be on the ship," he muttered, walking off sulking.
Sora laughed again and turned back to Will and Elizabeth, who were both looking equally embarrassed.
"So, do you think Jack's alright?" Sora asked worriedly, "We did just leave him unconscious on the Ilsa de Muerta."
"Who cares?" Will answered angrily, "He was going to sell us out to Barbossa! Why do you think he was so keen on keeping you aboard the Interceptor?"
"I wasn't going to sell you out to Barbossa mate," Came a voice from the end of the dock, "I was going to use you to get the Black Pearl from Barbossa and then rescue with it. I thought I told you not to do anything stupid."
All three of them turned to see a wet looking Jack Sparrow clamber up on the dock.
"Bloody boat," he muttered, "So many bloody holes you would think the Swiss made it."
Sora looked over to see the mast of a once floating boat poking out of the water behind Jack.
"How the blazes did you get of that island?" Will asked astonished.
"Sea turtles mate," Jack said grinning, "Two of them, tied to me feet."
Sora laughed at the dumbfounded expression on Will's face and turned to get on the Gummi ship.
"I should be going," he said, "I'm sure my sister is waiting for me to return. Thanks for everything, Will, Elizabeth, I'll never forget you guys."
"Oy! What about me!" Jack said angrily.
"I'll never forget you either, Captain Jack," Sora said smiling.
"Will we ever see you again?" Elizabeth asked as Sora was halfway through the hatch.
"No, probably not, but I'll always be in your hearts," Sora said, turning to smile at his friends, "And you'll always be in mine."
Sora waved and then closed the hatch to the Gummi ship. Climbing up to the cockpit, he took his seat next to Axel.
"You ready to go home?" Axel asked, starting the engine.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Sora said, "I guess its time for me to stop running away and start fighting, huh?"
"Looks like," Axel said, steering the ship into the evening sky. "What are you going to fight for?"
"Well," Sora said smiling at Axel, "I think I'm going to fight for a better future."
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Blabbing:
Wooo! This was a long one to write. So, much new information has been reveled about Riku and Sora (I'm sorry for that really inarticulate sentence, I'm so fried right now.). And Axel is finally back! Yay! Thank you to those awesome people who review every chapter, you guys ROCK! So, probably no new chapter until next weekend, seeing as I still have to make a costume and then its the con and then School (Joy...not...). So hang in there, I'll try to get another chapter done ASAP. Please review! Thanks for reading!