A/N: Okay, so it's been a while, but I promise you it's worth the wait. Calypso's Fury is officially back in progress!
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Chapter 8
Cheng Lo stood astutely with three of his henchmen on a boarding dock, the slits that served as his eyes staring intently at the ship currently making port. One hand was resting upon his right hip whilst the other was placed ever so gently upon the hilt of the razor-sharp sword tucked into its sheath. The three henchmen flanking him all wore coldly blank expressions as well as specially-made armor that was engraved with unique Chinese symbols, some of which formed animals of combat. It didn't show on the outside, but Cheng Lo was experiencing immense pleasure right now. Finally, he could get his hands on the killers of Sao Feng and do whatever he wished with them.
From the massive docking ship departed a small contingent of people, five of them with their wrists bound together in front of them. These prisoners were escorted by two other individuals, one who sported unusual physical characteristics and the other simply human. The human wore a red bandanna across the top of his head and had a thin collection of neatly trimmed facial hair encasing his hard face. As this group approached the light of the lanterns, Cheng Lo was able to get a better look at the prisoners themselves: three were male, with one being a child, and the other two were female, with yet another child. The older female was dressed in normal piratical attire and had brownish blonde hair which hung limply on either side of her face, which was a mask of despair. The two children each had the expected faces of two frightened kids placed in a decidedly dangerous situation. The two bound men, meanwhile, wore looks of defiance on their faces to show that neither one of them were intimidated by their current predicament. One of them Cheng Lo didn't recognize, but the other he did: Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack in particular had a smug expression on his face, almost suggesting that he expected to find a way out of all this. That was something Cheng Lo knew was a typical trait in the good Captain.
Once the new arrivals had reached Cheng Lo and his men, he and Will stared each other down. Finally, it was Cheng Lo who spoke the first words.
"So, it's true. Calypso really did have Sparrow in custody. And here I thought I was being played for a fool."
Will narrowed his eyes even more. "How is it you knew about this ahead of time?"
"That is of no importance," said Cheng Lo idly, waving the question off. He then looked at Michael and Jacquelyn curiously. "Who are the children and why are they here?"
"That is of no importance," Will replied evenly. "What is important is that you give me your word that these pirates will not further interfere with Calypso's plans."
Cheng Lo cocked his head in amusement while smiling at Will. "'These pirates'? You speak of them as if you aren't one yourself."
"I'm not."
"And yet here you are, trading people over to a notorious Pirate Lord who will make a point in torturing them so badly, they'll wish they were dead. And you're doing so with apparently no remorse. If that isn't a trait of a true pirate, I don't know what is."
"Drawing conclusions about me is none of your concern. Your only concern should be taking care of these…miscreants before they can attempt anything clever, otherwise I will personally see to it that you die the most horrible death possible."
"You're threatening a Pirate Lord?" Cheng Lo stroked his short beard with a curious air of confidence. "That's brave of you, sir. If not foolish."
"I don't make threats, Cheng Lo. Only promises; those I can keep. I merely represent the interests of Calypso, and her interests are very specific: make sure her enemies cannot cause her any distress while she conducts her business, otherwise the consequences will weigh heavily down upon you."
These words did not seem to faze Cheng Lo in the slightest, and if they did, he certainly did an excellent job of hiding it. "I would ask you to remind Calypso that it was us, The Brethren Court, who imprisoned her in human form and we can just as easily kill her in that form if she becomes a problem."
Without showing any trace of emotion, Will took a leering step forward, his hand gripped firmly on his sheathed sword. "I'll repeat myself one more time for your benefit. If you try in any way to disrupt our progress in our obtaining the Hurricane's Eye, your fate will be worse than death."
Instead of offering another reply, Cheng Lo turned swiftly on his feet and walked back toward shore, leaving his three henchmen to gather their new prisoners, which they did diligently. Jack, Bootstrap, Elizabeth and the children were hauled away roughly in Cheng Lo's wake, his henchmen's grips tight on everybody's arms. Will watched emotionlessly as they were carried away, his face similar to that of a stone statue.
But at the last minute, Elizabeth managed to look over her shoulder and stare desperately, deeply into Will's eyes. And in that same brief moment, Elizabeth thought she saw a flicker of something in Will, something that her think and know that the man she married was still in there somewhere, lying behind the hardened demon who now possessed his body, and that one flicker of emotion in Will's eyes made Elizabeth determined to find a way to help him.
Elizabeth then jumped as she was jerked forward by the pirate leading her away. And as she and the others disappeared from the lantern light, Will turned around and headed back to Calypso's ship.
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Back onboard, Will walked up beside Calypso as the ship was disembarking from the dock. Both of them stared straight out at the reflective surface of the ocean before them, spending about a minute in silence before Calypso finally spoke.
"It's taken care of, I assume?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Good."
"So, what's our next step?" Will inquired.
"We're going to track down a puzzle maker, one who I'm certain will be able to make sense of this map," she held up the item in question.
"And if he refuses?"
"That's why I have you. I have full confidence in your matters of persuasion."
Calypso's massive ship began to pick up speed as the strong wind caught the sails. Being towed along behind it was The Black Pearl, which had some of Calypso's men aboard it in order to ensure that nothing happened to it. But also onboard were two other individuals who weren't in Calypso's echelons of evil.
They happened to be below deck, hiding in a secret compartment and they had been there ever since the massacre that had claimed the lives of the rest of Jack's crew.
"Oy! Your elbow's in my eye!" Ragetti snapped.
"Which eye? Cause if it's the wooden one, I'm not really in a hurry to remove it," Pintel said back. "And besides, your foot is in a place it shouldn't be!"
"Sorry."
Pintel and Ragetti squirmed around inside a confined, closet-like space, trying to shift themselves so that they could be in a more comfortable and relatively less awkward position.
"It doesn't sound like anyone's out there," Ragetti said.
"Maybe that goddess seized the ship," suggested Pintel.
"Then why does it feel like we're moving?"
"Maybe she's taking the ship somewhere."
Ragetti looked down at his feet for a few moments, then back up at his friend. "Then why don't we stay hidden and see if we can discover what Calypso's up to? If we do find that out, then maybe we can find a way to stop her."
"And if we do that, we can become famous!" Pintel exclaimed in a gleeful whisper. "Think about it for a minute. Pintel and Ragetti: Goddess Killers!"
"Quite like the sound of that," admitted Ragetti. "So we should stay hidden a bit more, and see if we can overhear something important."
"This could be fun," said Pintel.
Although if they knew about their captain's current predicament, they'd be calling their little mission anything but "fun".
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Bright moonlight filtered in through from above by way of a checkered cover of a surprisingly large part of Cheng Lo's ship, where Elizabeth was currently being held prisoner. Her legs and arms were connected by a rusty bur firm iron chain that snaked from manacles encasing Elizabeth's limbs directly into the floor of the ship, where there was an iron piece built to hold down the restraints. The moonlight came down in a beam to spotlight Elizabeth inside a relatively dark and dank section of the pirate ship where additional light came only from the steadily dying torches resting lazily upon the wall. For a pirate ship to have such things was truly unique.
Elizabeth's attire had also changed since being dragged aboard. Once Cheng Lo's vessel had departed from its port, Elizabeth had been taken away by a group of Chinese women she could only assume were slaves, blindfolded and had her original pirate clothes stripped from her body. They were replaced by an "outfit" that was particularly skimpy. It was made of a thin type of fabric colored emerald green, yet not thin enough that it was see-through. There were no sleeves, as the cloth cut off at her shoulders, after V-necking under her throat. The bottom was just as unjustly skimpy, as it cut off a few inches above Elizabeth's knees, showing more of her legs than Elizabeth was comfortable with. One extremely fast or swift movement involving Elizabeth's legs, and basically, her secret would be out. Her boots were gone, replaced by sandals which had additional straps that spiraled up to Elizabeth's knees.
Suddenly, the door that allowed entry into this cell-like area opened, and Cheng Lo walked in with a smug smile on his face and his hands on his hips. Elizabeth immediately narrowed her eyes in hatred, tracking Cheng Lo as he paced around her. The sound of the cell door closing reverberated off the walls momentarily before Cheng Lo finally spoke up.
"I must apologize for the rather cruel treatment of you, Mrs. Turner," Cheng Lo said smoothly.
Elizabeth regarded the Pirate Lord curiously. "How is it you know my name?"
Cheng Lo's smile widened. "Curious thing, wouldn't you agree…that children will say anything?"
Elizabeth felt her blood run cold at the pirate's mention of Michael and Jacquelyn. Had he done something to them? "What have you done to them?"
"Absolutely nothing, I assure you. And it will remain that way so long as you cooperate."
"Cooperate? I thought you just wanted to kill me and Jack for whatever twisted reason. Isn't that how amoral fiends such as you usually operate?" There was a note of dry bitterness in Elizabeth's voice.
"Usually," Cheng Lo nodded, "but I like to think of myself as a gentleman who's able to put the welfare of others before me."
"Kind words coming from a captor," Elizabeth sneered, "but the chains wrapped around me at the moment discredit your claim."
Cheng Lo shrugged. "Can I be blamed for my efforts? You're only in this situation right now for the benefit of my crew." When Elizabeth eyed him with the utmost curiosity, Cheng Lo continued. "You do not strike me as the murdering type, Mrs. Turner. Nine years ago, you and a crew embarked on a mission to reach the end of the world. Your purpose: to free a prisoner being held captive there, and in so doing, you assisted in the assassination of Sao Feng, who was Pirate Lord of Singapore at the time."
"Is that why Jack, the others and I are being held captive? For something that occurred nine years ago?"
"You'd be surprised how long certain people hold grudges."
"If you have no intention of killing me, then what exactly do you intend to do with me?"
"To offer you a chance to redeem yourself. But first, I wish to test your dueling capabilities."
"What?"
"Just a little duel with one of my women slaves. If you win, then I will set you free, but only after you complete a certain task for me."
"And what if I lose?"
Cheng Lo reverted back to his smug sneer while advancing closer to Elizabeth. "If you lose, Mrs. Turner, then I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to allow my crew to take pleasure in your company for however long they see fit."
Cheng Lo circled around Elizabeth once again, but this time, he was closer; closer than Elizabeth was comfortable with. Cheng Lo proceeded to whisper in her ear, which caused Elizabeth to slightly gasp and incline her head enough to be next to Cheng Lo's. "You can imagine how much they've longed for the pleasurable company of a woman. And it seems that you could give them hours of pleasure."
"Careful…pleasure can just as easily turn into pain."
Cheng Lo let out a devious laugh. "Here I am, offering you a reprieve, and yet you continue to make idle threats."
"Merely because I can't be entirely sure you'll stay true to your word to let me go."
"Oh, I have every intention to. You know why? Because you'll do anything to protect those you love most." When Elizabeth looked at him quizzically, Cheng Lo continued. "I've been studying you closely, Mrs. Turner. And from your apparent despair, I can surmise that you're currently experiencing some sort of tragedy."
Elizabeth looked away from the pirate captain, quickly attempting to keep her emotions in check. "That's none of your concern."
"Oh, the wedding ring on your left hand speaks for itself. And seeing as there's not a handsome man in your company, offering you words of comfort at the moment, your husband must be in quite a predicament…perhaps also due to Calypso?"
Elizabeth's solemn expression served as the catalyst for Cheng Lo pressing on. "He is. And I promise you, Mrs. Turner, that if you agree to assist me, it will help save your husband from any dire circumstance Calypso may thrust upon him. Think about it…what would you do to save your husband? To preserve the safety of your family?"
Cheng Lo let Elizabeth contemplate the question in silence as he paced over to one of the torches mounted on the ship wall. Finally, after long minutes had passed in the same contemplative silence, he heard Elizabeth speak up; he turned around, hands once again on his hips.
"I'm going to do whatever I can to save the man I love. As well as my family."
Cheng Lo made his way back over to Elizabeth, and posed the penultimate question. "Even if it meant betraying Jack Sparrow?"
The question seemed to cause a storm of uncertainty and confliction to rage inside of Elizabeth, swarming around her stomach like a maelstrom of emotions. On the one hand, she wanted to get Will back to her more than anything in the world, but on the other, Jack was an extremely close friend and Elizabeth knew that going against their friendship in any way would have possible repercussions that might resonate for years. Although, if Elizabeth just stood by and let Calypso manipulate, perhaps kill, Will then that was something that Elizabeth had no chance of reeling back from. If Elizabeth had any hope whatsoever to get Will back, then she knew it was in agreeing to help Cheng Lo in whatever it was he requested. Everything else, including Jack, currently didn't matter.
Elizabeth looked steadily at Cheng Lo, hesitating before giving her answer, but nonetheless managed to keep her voice firm and steady. "Yes."
"Excellent."
Cheng Lo barked out an order in Chinese, the cell door opened, and one of his slaves came in, carrying a ring of keys. The slave then went about unlocking Elizabeth's restraints, and when she was done, Elizabeth rubbed at her wrists where the iron shackles had been seconds before.
"Follow me," said Cheng Lo, swiftly walking out of the cell. After giving her surroundings one last look, Elizabeth followed in the Pirate Lord's footsteps.
Along the way, Elizabeth couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size and scope of Cheng Lo's ship. It seemed larger than a normal pirate ship should be, even from the inside. The hallways seemed wider and it appeared to have more rooms and sections than was possible for a floating vessel. No doubt Cheng Lo had worked out some sort of arrangement which allowed him to possess a bigger and more elaborate ship; the man certainly enjoyed power.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Elizabeth. "I want you to guarantee me something along with my safety and freedom."
"Which is?" Cheng Lo asked without breaking his stride.
"That you will release the children as well. They're completely innocent and don't deserve to be punished for our actions."
This time, Cheng Lo gave Elizabeth a quick look as they reached a short set of stairs and began to ascend them. "I'll guarantee the release of only one. After all, I still require some leverage over you if you suddenly decide to abandon your obligations to me."
"I won't."
"But I can't be so sure of that, now, can I?"
By this time, Elizabeth and Cheng Lo had reached a new level of the impossibly enormous ship, and it contrasted greatly from the level they had just been on. Here, the ship resembled a small arena, as this was a circular room where lanterns were hung according to that configuration while countless filthy-faced crew members stood around the center of the floor, leaving enough room in the middle for two people to, say, carry on a duel. However, the floor was the most unusual thing about this place. Instead of being the regular, expected flat space, it was punctuated by numerous gaping holes, leaving limited space to actually fight if this was indeed where Cheng Lo wished Elizabeth to combat his slave. Elizabeth turned to Cheng Lo for confirmation, and the look he was giving her served as all the confirmation she needed.
Cheng Lo tersely called out to one of his crew members in Chinese, and the crew member obediently came forward, holding a slender and long black box; a box long enough to contain a sword. Indeed, when Cheng Lo undid the latches that were holding it closed, it opened to reveal an expertly crafted sword with a silver hilt, inlaid with tiny emeralds. Cheng Lo carefully lifted the weapon from its resting place, holding it gently so as to not tarnish it with any dirty fingerprints. He then offered the sword to Elizabeth, much to her surprise, holding it out so that she could grab it by the hilt, which she did.
Elizabeth examined the blade by twisting it around with her hand, looking at it from every possible angle. "Very impressive," she commented. "Where did you steal it from?"
Cheng Lo laughed heartily, a truly eerie sound in and of itself. "You assume too much, Mrs. Turner. Now…now comes the part where you either prove or disprove your worth to me." He once again shouted an order in his native tongue, and his group of crew members parted in order to allow one of Cheng Lo's slaves to walk up to stand in front of Elizabeth. Whereas the rest of Cheng Lo's women slaves seemed depressed and unwilling to carry out the Pirate Lord's requests, this particular one appeared determined and set on one thing: to defeat Elizabeth in their upcoming duel. Elizabeth could only guess that Cheng Lo had promised her freedom as well if she won this fight. If Elizabeth was right, then she needed to make sure that she won.
From her own scrawny robe, the slave withdrew her own sword, but hers was rusty and not as special. After swinging her weapon in a series of impressive arcs, the slave held her sword in a battle-like stance, a silent beckoning for Elizabeth to give her all she had. Cheng Lo stepped back so that he was standing with the rest of his crew, at a perfect vantage point to observe the entertainment.
Exhaling deeply while steeling herself in preparation for what was to come, Elizabeth gripped the hilt of the silver sword tighter and made the first move. The slave easily countered it by leading Elizabeth into three more successive moves, one below their waists, the other at chest level and the last above their heads. They each swiped away their blades by spinning them in circles an continued with swipes that landed in the vicinity around the top halves of their bodies. The new movements served as an advantage for Elizabeth, as she was able to push her opponent toward one of the gaping holes in the floor. However, the slave noticed this and, moving faster than Elizabeth could see, she used her right leg to kick both of Elizabeth's out from under her, causing Elizabeth to fall over backwards, allowing the slave time to perform an amazing and agile leap over Elizabeth, landing on her feet just inches from Elizabeth's head. Elizabeth looked up and pulled herself to her feet, still filled with energy.
Oh great, she thought, this is going to be VERY easy.
Elizabeth didn't waste any time in re-engaging the Chinese woman, bringing her blade up from underneath her, but the slave seemed to have been anticipating this move as she parried the blow as if it were nothing. Then, the slave swung her sword in an upward arc that caused Elizabeth to lean back to avoid being it and then completely duck down to avoid the second swipe. Right at that very instant, Elizabeth decided to take the advantage and landed a swift punch to the slave's gut, causing the slave to double over in pain and for Elizabeth to attack by grabbing her while she was in that position, but the slave quickly recovered and in turn grabbed Elizabeth by her middle, and pushed her off and slammed her to the ground. This caused the wind to be knocked from Elizabeth, but she quickly recovered, and just in time to block the slave's next move. While the slave and her were struggling for control over the situation, Elizabeth managed to get her feet underneath the slave and when she was sure she could pull it off, Elizabeth used her feet to shove the slave back and jumped back up. Immediately, the slave lashed out again, but this time, Elizabeth was able to spin in a circle before blocking the blow with a swipe that landed both swords at eye-level. Next, Elizabeth pushed forward while freeing her blade, then she ran in the opposite direction to perform her next move. But before she knew it, Elizabeth found herself face-to-face with her opponent yet again. Even more sword swipes followed, the blades a blur as each fighter clinked their weapons together loudly, grunts included. As the duel continued, it took the two women around the open floor, and they managed to dodge the holes leading into stark, black nothingness.
However, Elizabeth finally managed to get the upper hand as she saw an opening in the battle to do so. While parrying the latest swing, she exerted just enough force to cause Cheng Lo's slave to go tumbling backward into the hole in the floor that was mere inches behind her feet. But the slave managed to catch the wooden edge, therefore preventing herself from being completely knocked down into whatever abyss lay in the blackness. This caused her weapon to go skittering across the floor and Elizabeth to place the tip of her own sword directly in between the slave's eyes. The slave stared back at Elizabeth, anger and disappointment in her eyes.
Just then, Elizabeth felt a new presence at her side; Cheng Lo.
"Well played, Mrs. Turner. It appears as I can put your talents to good use after all." He looked down the length of the blade at his slave. "And you can keep this sword. Think of it as a gift for your commitment to me."
Elizabeth sighed loudly, bringing the blade down to her side. "If you're quite through with these pretentions, I'd just like to get right to what you want me to do."
"Fair enough," Cheng Lo replied. "Why don't we retire to my quarters, where we can fully discuss our arrangement." Cheng Lo's men rushed forward, pulled the slave up from the hole and hauled her away to another part of the ship while Cheng Lo motioned for Elizabeth, who was still holding the silver sword, to follow him to his Captain's Cabin.
She did so, but not before a long hesitation.
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Meanwhile, in Port Royal, Johnathan Barnet was standing in front of the window inside the Governor's office with an air of confidence and self-satisfaction about him. The sunshine from the outside filtered inside through the window, giving the office most of its light.
There was a knock on the door and Mercer came in.
Barnet turned to face him. "Is everything taken care of?"
"Yes," Mercer answered. "As of this moment, you have complete authority as Governor. The only way they can be revoked is if the Turners return to Port Royal."
"Which will never happen."
After a long pause, Mercer spoke again. "Are you absolutely certain about this? About condemning the Turners to their fate in Singapore?"
"Of course I am, Mr. Mercer. After all, as my brother used to say, it's just good business."
