Pirates of the Caribbean: The Bermudan Treasure Chapter 22: The Black Pearl Vs The Destroyer, a pirates of the caribbean fanfic

Chapter 22

Once outside, Jack and his three comrades hopped out of the longboat the moment the tip of it made contact with land, swords still drawn and at the ready. Jack wheeled around and saw the other longboats racing towards them.

"Run! We're not in the clear yet!"

Jack sped away at a breakneck pace with Will, Elizabeth and Gibbs on his heels.

"Jack, wait!" Will called out as he finally managed to come up beside Jack. "Why are we hurrying away? Remember what Tia Dalma said? Once we've uncovered the treasure, we'll be protected from the dangers here!"

"We'll be protected as long as the treasure is in our possession, which it's not. So what purpose can be served in acting under a false assumption such as believing we have the magical protection of a vast treasure, which we don't have, as if we do have it? Savvy?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and Gibbs were sprinting towards the Bermudan Prison, Blackbeard and his crew came out of the cave and watched them go.

"Damn them," growled Blackbeard. "They're going to free the prisoners and then attempt to sail away to freedom."

"What do you propose we do?" asked a nearby crewmate.

Blackbeard grinned ruthlessly. "Let's awaken a dormant volcano."

The crew of four arrived outside the Bermudan Prison and met two guards posted inside at the gate. Jack swiftly lifted his blade to the nearest's throat.

"Would you be so kind as to lift this barrier?" Jack asked in a calm tone.

The other guard immediately obliged, pulling back the heavy lever on the opposite side of the gate. Once there was enough space to get inside, Jack and the others ran in.

"Thanks. You're a diamond, mate." Jack smiled politely at the guard before abruptly landing the hilt of his sword against the pirate's temple; the guard slumped to the ground in a crumpled heap. Will then took it upon himself to do the same by knocking the second guard unconscious merely seconds later. Next, Jack retrieved the keys hanging from the first guard's belt and raced over towards the cell currently holding the rest of his crew. Once the steel door had been pulled open, everyone bounded for the exit; Gibbs accompanied them and called out to Jack.

"We'll get a head start and prepare the Pearl for departure! I trust you won't be far behind?"

"Not at all, go ahead!"

Gibbs nodded before running away. Jack then went about unlocking the rest of the cells, which allowed the grateful prisoners to escape without so much as a second thought. As Jack came to his last cell, however, a voice called out his name.

"Jack Sparrow!" The call had originated from within the cell.

Jack curiously glanced up to look into the eyes of a haggard man whose clothes were dirty and torn, and his eyes wide as saucers. "Do I know you?" he asked the prisoner.

"No, but I know you. Allow me to introduce myself, Admiral Nathaniel Wilkins of the British Royal Navy."

"Oh, bugger!" Jack left the rusted key that he was grasping between his fingers suspended before the keyhole. "Someone like you is the last thing I need at the moment. You see. I'm pretty busy."

"I can see that. Now, free us."

"Why?"

"Because we came here to arrest you."

"Sure, that's incentive enough for me. I'm currently in the middle of a strategy that may grant me victory over the infamous Blackbeard...perhaps you've heard of him?"

Before Wilkins could retort, Will interjected. "Jack," he began, "we don't have the luxury of time. Wilkins," he addressed the Admiral, "we'll be back for you in due time. Right now, we have a pirate to defeat."

Will and Elizabeth raced outside, leaving Jack alone with Wilkins and his men. "You heard the Governor's son-in-law, we'll be back for you later."

With that, Jack raced outside to join Will and Elizabeth.

Outside, once again, the trio made a break for their ship. However, a sudden violent rumble beneath their feet caused them to halt in their tracks. They curiously turned around and saw something that caused them to become queasy inside. The top, or mouth, of the Bermudan Prison had a dangerous-looking orange-red substance bubbling at its edges; lava. And within minutes, the lava was sliding down the sides of the volcano at an alarming rate.

Without a word, Jack ran away, leaving Will and Elizabeth still standing in awe. The couple noticed this, and gave each other a worried look before promptly following suit.

They had not gotten far, however, as three of Blackbeard's men emerged out of nowhere, swords drawn and angry expressions etched on their faces; they had taken their demonic forms. Jack, Will and Elizabeth immediately unsheathed their blades and attacked their opposition.

Will managed to take down his adversary in three swift swipes of his sword, while it only took Elizabeth two. Both of them checked on Jack, then the status of the flowing lava. The fiery substance was sliding across the ground fast, and was only a few feet away now. Finally, Jack was able to defeat his current opponent and the monster was thrown away, landing on top of the lava. The wraith let out a loud scream of agony as the lava slowly consumed his body, along with the bodies of the other two dead henchmen.

Jack, Will, and Elizabeth resumed their sprint towards the shore, which was now a short distance away. After two painfully slow minutes, the thick green trees and bushes gave way to the sandy shore that was the trio's salvation. As they kept running towards the Black Pearl, Jack spoke up.

"You know how we were planning on returning to the prison to free that Admiral person? Forget that, we can't do it now." Jack indicated the thick ocean of lava behind them.

"Agreed," replied Will heavily.

Just then, they reached the ropes that were holding the Pearl to the shore. Once they had successfully made it onto the deck, members of the crew who were waiting with swords and axes severed the ropes with one powerful swing each. The gusts of wind in the crisp air caught the sails, causing the Pearl to depart from the shore quickly. And not a moment too soon, because the instant the ship had left land, a torrent of lava came to rest right where the edge of the Black Pearl had been only moments before.

Jack, Will and Elizabeth slumped against the rail and breathed deep sighs of relief each. They were safe...for the moment.

While everyone aboard the Black Pearl caught their breath, a massive pirate ship shot out of a large crack within the seabed, furiously working hard to break the barrier of ocean that was right beside the Pearl...

A sudden noise caused every member of the Pearl crew to jump to their feet. What they saw caused their complexion to turn considerably pale: a pirate ship with the title Destroyer painted in blood-red across the side. And standing right where everybody could clearly see him was Blackbeard, whose current expression was like snake venom.

Will turned to Jack. "I think we'd better run out the guns."

"I second that," replied Jack.

The rest of the crew went about their duties as Will an Elizabeth walked nearer to the opposite railing.

"Should we try and escape while we fight?" asked Elizabeth.

"No," said Will firmly. "We stay and see this through."

Just then, cannons emerged from the sides of both ships at the same time. For a few moments, each vessel held fire.

On The Destroyer, Blackbeard turned to his first mate.

"Blast them to Hell."

The first mate grinned. "FIRE!!"

"FIRE!!" Will shouted.

The deafening roar of cannonfire invaded everyone's ears as the round balls of metal were blasted from the cannons. Each iron weapon impacted each ship hard, tearing through the wooden barriers and sending shrapnel flying into the ocean. Other cannonballs blasted apart glass windows, lantern holders, etc. Some members of Blackbeard's crew were unfortunate enough to be in the path of the deadly cannons, and were blasted away the moment the metal balls came into contact with their bodies.

Just then, gunfire erupted from the railings of The Destroyer, causing members of Jack's crew who were present aboard the deck to duck for cover. From their safe point on the deck, Will called out to Jack, "We need weapons and ammunition!"

Jack nodded and moments later, crates containing rifles and pistols were hauled on deck and cracked open. Will helped Jack pass them out, along with extra ammunition, to each person. Once everyone had a weapon, they loaded their guns and slunk their way towards the railing and carefully poked their heads and guns out from the cover and took aim. Once clear shots were within their range, everyone pulled the trigger of their rifles and pistols.

Across from them, enemies jolted backwards and disappeared from view. Within minutes, the line of opposition had been defeated, but explosions still rang out around them. As Will ducked down to reload, he peered over his shoulder and spotted two of Blackbeard's men hauling barrels of gunpowder across their deck. Immediately, a sudden idea formulated inside Will's head. He promptly reloaded his rifle and took careful aim, the Pearl's cannonfire still persisting.

As Will closed his left eye while still keeping his right open for his looming shot, he waited for a barrel of gunpowder to come into his range. Will knew that since The Destroyer had suffered enough damage from all the cannonfire, an explosion would finish their job for them. At last, Will spotted a barrel and reaffirmed his grip on the rifle with his sweaty palms.

When he was satisfied with his aim, Will squeezed his finger over the trigger. The bullet seemed to exit the rifle in slow motion as it shot out of the hole and glided across the space between the ships until finally, it impacted the gunpowder barrel.

Soon, The Destroyer became engulfed with flames as an explosion rang out, sending charred and shattered pieces of wood flying into the open air. The flaming vessel soon began to sink down into the depths below, never to be seen again.

Will soon came to the conclusion that there must have been more than one barrel of gunpowder present on the main deck when he had fired off the shot, causing a chain reaction of explosions. But before Will could dwell on that fact too long, yells of triumph soon filled the air and Will was knocked on his back as Elizabeth threw her arms around him, smothering him with proud hugs and kisses.

Jack stood above them, grinning madly. "Not too shabby, mate," he commended Will.

"Thanks," Will grinned as he pulled both Elizabeth and himself to their feet.

But as quickly as the celebration had started, it went away even faster. Only seconds later, monsters materialized on the deck of the Black Pearl, each emanating fierce anger. One of them, Blackbeard in his frightful transformation, stepped forward. He spoke in a deep, nightmarish voice.

"You can't beat us that easily, I'm afraid."

Cruel laughter escaped each creature's mouth, a taunting insult in its own way. Blackbeard the monster drew his massive and bloodstained blade.

"Let's settle this like civilized pirates."