It's been a few days, huh? Haha. I've been busy, but managed to finish Chapter 6. Hope you guys like it.
Chapter 6: Retracing Steps
"We've managed to avoid drowning!" Bootstrap exclaimed, holding on to a wooden plank.
Will looked up as rain began to fall from the sky. It wasn't much of a storm, but just a light drizzle. "Well done, men. Let's get back to the Dutchman, shall we?"
Swimming with some of his crewmembers, Will made way towards his ship. The battle with the black vessel was intensely surprising, but he made it through. Somehow, after awhile, the undead bodies started turning back into sand, and the black sand blew away out into the sea. It didn't matter, though. Will still had a job to do. Not only carrying over the souls, but he had to find the lost ones Davy Jones never cleaned up. Climbing up to his ship, he stepped up towards the helm and turned it around, heading towards the other world. A soul stepped out from the cabin of the ship and rushed upstairs.
"Captain!" he exclaimed. "I heard some cannon fire. Is something wrong?"
Will looked at the man, and noticed that it was Elizabeth's father, former Governor Weatherby Swann. "Mr. Swann."
The old man's eyes lit up. "Mr. Turner! It is so good to see you. Oh, I never thought I would see you again. I was lost for a long period of time."
Mr. Swann spoke hastily, but Will just nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Where's the captain? Shouldn't you be with Elizabeth right now? How is she? How was the wedding? I saw you with her yesterday. You should go back, this is no place for the living, you know. I'm dead, remember? I saw you with that Jack Sparrow a few days ago," he spoke.
Bootstrap's eyes kept flying over to whoever was talking. Will scratched his head and cleared his throat. "Umm, Mr. Swann. That was eight years ago. I'm the new captain of the ship."
Mr. Swann laughed. "Oh, quit your lollygagging, William. Is that supposed to be a father/son-in-law joke?"
Will's face was dead serious. "No, Mr. Swann. You've been in a deep sleep from being lost. I was almost killed by Davy Jones, but in the end, I was made captain of this ship. Your daughter—my wife—holds my heart at the moment."
After a good laugh, the governor began breaking into tears. "I knew it. Somehow I just did. I could feel the sadness in the air; I just never came to accept it. Do you ever get to see Elizabeth anymore?"
"I'm sure we have a son, but I won't get to see him for another two years," Will explained. "You're a grandfather. Both of you, actually. Mr. Swann, meet my father, William Turner."
Bill shook the governor's hand. "Call me Bootstrap or Bill."
"Governor Weatherby Swann. A pleasure to meet you in my dead state," he replied. "Will, I'm sure Elizabeth will be pleased to see you again, but what was that disturbance just now?"
"I don't know, Mr. Swann," Will responded. "Something is hunting us. I don't plan to move any slower than we are now. We're going at maximum speed. I won't take any chances."
"Do you think it might have to do with your status as captain?" Swann asked.
Will looked down. "Maybe. In the meantime, why don't you go to your cabin with the other souls until we arrive to the other side?"
"No, let me explain," he insisted.
Will looked up to him. "Explain what?"
"See, when that disturbance occurred, one of the souls on the ship, Mr. Johnson, complained of a headache. Knowing that he was dead already, a group of us decided to check on him. When we saw him, he was pale and his eyes were completely pitch black. Shortly thereafter, a black cloud formed in the center of his cabin, and it ate his soul. He is gone now, Mr. Turner," Mr. Swann explained.
Will was shocked to hear this. "Since when do souls die?" he asked, then looked at his father, who shrugged. "We better hurry. That black cloud is a bigger threat to us than anything we know. If it can wipe out souls from existence, than we should make haste."
"Say 'hello' to Elizabeth for me when you see her," his father-in-law added.
"I will, Mr. Swann. I want to see her soon," Will said.
After the governor retreated back to the cabin decks, Will returned to his duties at the helm. "A soul…wiped away."
"That's worse than death, Will," his father said.
"The Dutchman is no longer safe," Will asserted. "I must find answers soon, or else the black cloud will return and take away the souls of our passengers. I might have to postpone the job."
"Right," his father said. "If there is a disturbance with death, then there shouldn't be any penalty with the captain. A similar, less alarming situation came upon Davy Jones one time, and we did not suffer for it."
"After we arrive and depart, I'll have to journey back to the live world," Will said. "Maybe she'll be on the waters. I might catch a glimpse of her."
Bootstrap nodded. "Or the same thing could be happening to their world."
"That's what I fear," Will replied. "Let's hurry."
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The assassin had his knapsack hanging on his shoulder as he walked towards the dock. Everyone looked at him and showed him a decent amount of respect while he walked through. Finally, when he came to the Black Pearl, he was surprised that the ship was pretty sizable compared to the others he has seen. Walking up the wooden plank to the deck, he noticed that the ship was lively, with people at work and captains ordering them around. He continued walking until he ran into Elizabeth.
"Mrs. Turner," he greeted with a bow.
"Call me Elizabeth," she said. "Your cabin is downstairs with the rest of the crew, but you'll be getting a separate guest room, because frankly I don't know who could survive down there anyway."
"Thanks, Elizabeth," he replied. "I'll meet you in the captain's quarters after I set my stuff down."
"I'll see you there," she said.
Tsau walked towards the steps to the lower deck, but bumped into Zi on the way up. "Oops, sorry."
"Excuse me," he returned, not looking back. He could've sworn he saw her before, but he couldn't remember.
"Is that the guy?" Zi asked Elizabeth.
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, that's him. He'll be traveling with us. Don't get too curious, though, he might try to assassinate you."
Zi laughed. "Yeah, sure. Well, it's a bit late, so I'm going to turn in. Good night, Elizabeth."
"Good night," Elizabeth said, parting with her for the night.
Tsau walked into his room and set his bag down, then proceeding to setting up the room to his liking. Soon after, he walked back out and up the stairs again, headed towards the captains, quarters, catching almost all of the attention of the working crew. All of them looked slightly intimidated, which discouraged Tsau on whether the Black Pearl had a flawless pirate crew. He opened the door to the captain's quarters, where Elizabeth, Jack, and Barbossa sat around a round table, leaving one empty seat for him. Tsau uncovered his hood and took off his coat, leaving only his homemade undershirt, which showed his compact muscular physique. The only thing left behind was his wristblade, which he still kept strapped to his left forearm. Sitting down, he eyed all of the captains and exhaled a breath.
"My name is Tsau Nu Tua of the Order of the White Falcon. Who would like to start?" Tsau said. "Should we take turns telling each other our names and short backgrounds or get to the point?"
Barbossa, who did not get the chance to meet Tsau yet, let out a pirate-y chuckle. "Ye picked up a clever one. I like that."
Elizabeth's glance flung towards Tsau. "Okay. How do we free the Dutchman?"
Tsau sighed. "The origins of the Dutchman come from Calypso, the sea goddess. Of course, you have already heard this story if your husband is the captain," he explained. Everyone's attention was drawn to him as he spoke. "If you want the bare truth, down to the cold, hard facts, then I'll just say it. The Dutchman was never supposed to exist. Of course, superstitious pirates will always deny this, but it is a fact."
"Then why was it created?" Elizabeth asked. Jack crossed his arms and kept his attention close.
Clearing his throat, Tsau leaned back in his chair. "The Dutchman's purpose was to substitute for one being, and one being only…"
"And that is…?" Jack asked.
"The Angel of Death…" Tsau said straightforwardly. "There is always an angel of death in any religion, just different names. The Angel governs only one purpose, which is to carry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. It's not entirely evil, but more of a necessary being because it transports souls. Centuries ago, a British pirate by the name of Rufus the Black disturbed the Angel, causing injury and crippled the process of carrying souls. In the event, the Angel's soul collapsed within itself, and the end result was an antagonistic doppelganger, known as Necromortalis. In Latin, it means 'The Death of Mortals.' It no longer carried souls, but it brought death. Free to kill anyone it pleases. Sometimes, when a man dies by the Necromortalis, they don't even get to enter heaven nor see the gates of hell. The select lives taken by the Necro disappear into nothingness, and the souls suffer an eternity of boredom in an endless purgatory. This is where the Dutchman comes in. Calypso, the pirates' sea god, ordered for a ship to be in place of the Angel. The ship selected was of course, the Flying Dutchman."
"…Yes, but how to do we free it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Easy, I'm getting there," Tsau said in slight irritation. "The only way I know of to free it is to find a way to trap the whole Necromortalis into the chest of Davy Jones. Since I haven't looked into how to trap it, there could be other ways, but right now, this is all I know. Do you have the chest?"
Everyone at the table turned to Elizabeth. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words failed to come out. "I-I might have left it back at Port Royal."
"Then we should head there immediately," Tsau said.
"But why? There's no hurry," she interrupted.
Tsau sighed and kept a strong gaze. "Look, I told you earlier today that there is much more at stake here than you think. It's not just your husband, Elizabeth. The Necromortalis grows hungry, and if someone just happened to know how to manipulate it, just ONE person, then no one is safe. Today I had to kill members of the East India Trading Company. Their new leader might be, or has been using the Necro. Why rule only the sea with the Dutchman when you can own both sea and land? Death itself is more powerful than your husband's ship. It will manipulate you, anger you, smother you with guilt, or destroy you. It is much smarter and deceptive than you think, and it turns into what you fear the most, and uses it against you."
"How do ye know all this much about Death?" Barbossa asked.
"My blades have crossed with it one too many times," Tsau replied. "I am lucky to be alive. Time is running out. I could feel Death around the corner. Someone has assumed control of it, and the East India Trading Company just might be the cause. Now, our first objective is to head towards Port Royal and get the chest and the heart. That is what I'd be looking for if I controlled death. If the Dutchman is out of the way, then there is nothing that can stop it. The Necromortalis can also amass an entire undead army in the blink of an eye. You have an instant infantry if you control it."
"Really?" Jack asked, being quite interested.
"I wouldn't try to control death, Mr. Sparrow. It's a curse, I heard," Tsau stated.
Elizabeth nodded. "Right. So, shall we head back to Port Royal, then?"
"Yeah," Tsau said. "It's time to backtrack."
Don't know when I'll be back with Chapter 7, but I hope it'll be soon if I'm not busy. Hope you liked it!