A Pirate's Life: New Adventures
Chapter 7: Like Magic
Following after Nerissa and her two sisters Atkinson, his crew and Jack's were lead back to the silver cave.
"Mother, where's captain Sparrow?" young Will asked.
But there was no time for an answer as they were forced into the water by the shaking ground, and each mermaid then swam across to them avoiding the debris falling into the water. Taking the people by their arms the mermaids swam deep into the water.
The shallows made way for deep, dark waters and Elizabeth felt the same burning sensation tale hold of her lungs once more. He tried to free herself from the tight grip of the mermaid but she wouldn't let go. And they were dragged further into the waters.
Before they knew it they were in the dark, black cave that they had vacated what felt like only minutes ago. Coughing and squinting around at one another. The mermaids were gone and Elizabeth began to force herself back on her feet remembering that the French fleet had arrived.
As she began making her way out of the cave it began to shake again, just as the other cave had. The dark rock shook and trembled and Elizabeth helped her son to stand then helped him out of the cave, away from falling debris. Then she stopped dead in her tracks.
In the stormy ocean Elizabeth could see the French fleet, there were at least a dozen, heavily armed ships, many of which were firing at large, blue tentacles emerging from the waters. There was a ship firing at the cave attempting to destroy it and across the coast the 'Pearl' and the 'Troubadour' were waging war against three French galleons. The navy ships were also busy themselves.
Unseen to them however were the scores of mermaids swimming beneath the fleet taking the ships apart and calling the sailors to the depths.
"Wow, mother, look at that!" she glanced down at her son who was watching the fighting with excited eyes. Was it wrong of her to be a pirate herself and yet want something...safer for her son? "The captain's missing out on everything," he smiled as he watched a French ship sink into the water.
She had to get back to the 'Pearl,' but they had only brought one boat ashore...which Atkinson would no doubt use to return to his own ship. Elizabeth glanced across at Gibbs and Anamaria who were gazing out with apprehensive looks at their ship.
Their pistols were useless...and she wouldn't shoot men in front of her son anyway. That left only their swords. But they were outnumbered two to one. The boat was being tossed by the waves where it was moored and she edged closer to it. When she got the attention of Jack's first mates they followed her gaze to the long boat and nodded.
They were pirates after all, they were allowed to fight dirty.
Anamaria kicked the first man out with surprise on her side, but once that was done the navy men were alerted and the fight began. Elizabeth pushed she son into the cave telling him to stay hidden while she pulled out her sword and blocked the attack from Atkinson.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, already knowing the answer.
"You know what! There's only one boat, and I'll not be leaving the 'Pearl'," she replied. This was an opportunity to finally settle her debt to Jack. If she helped save his beloved ship then she could finally start to forgive herself for leaving a good man, and a friend, to die alone.
"And I'll not be leaving my ship, either, my lady," the captain replied as the two continued to fight.
Gibbs had overpowered the young Edwards who would be nursing one hell of a headache when he awoke, and was now fighting the rather large man; Thompson. The man was a bumbling fighter but his attacks had raw power behind them which made him a considerable threat.
Anamaria was fighting Rogers and Oliver at once, but she had already paid the price in the form of a large gash on her left arm leaving her vulnerable. and Captain Herron was now aiding Atkinson in fighting Elizabeth.
All the while young Will was staring in more fear at the thought that his mother could get hurt...
Meanwhile, Jack himself was running through the caves of Isle Sirena, he was alone now that the mermaids had gone to fight on the surface. But he'd come this far and put up with the blasted navy for days now, he'd been forced to leave his ship and he was not leaving empty handed.
The ground still quivered beneath his feet, sending his left and right as he ran on and on. He soon came to the cavern that had once been filled with shining crystals but that he had smashed and destroyed in his youth. It was still a beautiful place. And at the far end of the room lay the object of his desire.
The powerful sword of Cortés himself, resting within its jewelled scabbard. It was nested within an alcove in the wall.
He snatched up the sword while darting his head from side to side fearing discovery. Jack fixed the beautiful scabbard to his belt where it hung beside his trusty old sword.
Then with a satisfied look Jack returned to the silver cave and dove back into the water. He swam as fast as he could and prayed that the swords power would allow him to make the journey unaided by a mermaid.
Jack swam through the shadows and soon felt the same burning sensation in his lungs grip him. He pushed aside the claws of unconsciousness that threatened to take him and reached for the hilt of the sword.
Instead of darkness taking him like last time he saw the water get lighter and lighter. There was a flash of gold light and soon he was swimming towards the surface. He emerged from the water and took a moment to breathe again, then he looked around. He had made it back to the dark cave...the sword...he checked his belt and was relieved to find it still there. He had done it.
But that still left the fleet of French ships unaccounted for. Jack stumbled to his feet and ran out of the cave only to hear the clashing of swords.
"Captain!" a quiet but excited voice called and Jack turned to see young Will Turner running towards him.
"'Ello, kid," Jack smiled back at him.
"Captain, my mother needs help, she won't let me fight..." Will started pulling on Jack's arm, dragging him to the mouth of the cave. Jack instantly pulled the boy back into the shadows to hide him and watched as his two first mates and Elizabeth fought off the two navy captains and their three remaining crewmen.
He had to admit that Will had taught Elizabeth well, she was an excellent swords-woman. And no doubt their child would be too. He could see that Anamaria was already injured and since she was fighting two against one. Gibbs had just immobilised his opponent and went to aid Ana.
He should probably help them since they were his crew...and his...friends.
Taking the sword of Cortés quietly from its scabbard he quickly recalled his childhood and the few times he had wielded its power. It could manipulate the winds and change objects from own form to another.
So he quickly concentrated and changed the swords of the navy men into harmless feathers and the swords of his own crew into working pistols. Of course the men soon surrendered tossing the useless feathers aside with loos if wonder and surprise as Jack and young Will laughed.
"Mother's love...Jack!" Gibbs uttered as they watched the pirate captain emerge from the cave holding a black blade. It caught the moonlight and shone in the shadows of the night. "Yer go' wo' yer came for then?" Gibbs asked as he stared at the sword.
"Aye," Jack replied and walked to the waters edge.
"You were never after the trident?" Atkinson asked. He and his men were being held at the gun points of Ana and Gibbs while young Will ran over to his mother.
"Nah, yer 'ave ter be king o' th' fish people if yer want that piece o' scrap metal," Jack answered the man. "Yer should'a known better than ter come lookin' fer i'. This is much more powerful," he told Atkinson as he held up the blade to his eyes.
"Then why not come looking for it before now?" the captain asked Jack.
"You lot gave ol' Kingy the perfect distraction, an' of course the French did too. So I really should. Be thanking you, ma'e," Jack said smugly. He raised the blade to the heavens and a strong wind began to pick up.
The wind turned into a howling gale and it rocked the French ships, tearing gaping holes in their sails and toppling their masts. Men were tossed overboard like rag dolls and the mermaids had surfaced to watch the storm.
Jack ran across to the long boat and gestured this crew to follow him, leaving the navy men stranded they rowed out to the 'Pearl', with the sea around them calming as they passed.
"Jack, that sword...what is it?" Anamaria shouted over the howling winds as they quickly rowed to the black ship that was pitching in the sea.
"Magic," he replied simply. He gazed across at the tentacled creature that was dragging another ship down into the depths and Jack was reminded strongly of the Kraken. The vile, disgusting beast that had swallowed him and his beloved 'Pearl' whole. He could only hope that this beast wouldn't do the same...since the sword of Cortés was useless against supernatural or otherworldly beings he wouldn't be able to do much if it turned on them too.
Despite the choppy sea they soon reached the 'Pearl' and Jack climbed onto the deck, instantly taking command. His crew had defended the ship well but they had taken some damage to the hull which could, in the long run prove fatal. So using the power of the sword Jack repeated the damage and created a spiralling wind around the 'Pearl' to fill her sails.
He walked up to the helm and took the wheel, he then looked across at the fleet to see that at least two ships had been sunk by the sea beast, and many more had been immobilised by the mermaids and the barrage of attacks from his own ship.
His fathers' crew were looking a little worse for the wear as well and the 'Troubadour' had certainly seen better days. So again, Jack used the sword to repair the damage to the old ship and her sails were soon filled with supernatural winds. And he saw Teague stare across at him with a look of surprise that he hadn't seen on his father for a long while.
"Load the guns!" Jack shouted at the crew, in case the fleet tried to fire on them. His crew ran across the ship carrying chain shot and cannon balls.
Together the 'Pearl' and the 'Troubadour' were propelled by the wind and were almost flying over the waves towards the French fleet. When they reached what appeared to be the flag ship, somehow still afloat Jack shouted at the top of his lungs across at the man standing at the helm.
"Dernière chance, les congés et ne reviennent pas. Ou nous allons vous souffler de la mer!" (*1) Many of Jack's crew, and even Teague's stared across at the pirate and his perfect French accent, and Elizabeth was particularly surprised.
"Vous êtes toujours plus nombreux que par nous, monsieur. Les chances sont en notre faveur!" (*2) the man shouted back aggressively.
"Alors au revoir, mon ami!" (*3) Jack smirked and raised the sword of Cortés once more.
The sea seemed to pick up around the fleet, almost as though the waves were crawling up the hulls and up onto the railings to get to the decks of the ships. The white horses that rode the waves galloped onto the ships sweeping away the men running away and effortlessly dumping them into the ocean.
Once in the water they fell under the mermaids' spell and were dragged down into the dark depths of the sea. The air was filled with the beautiful sound of their song, it carried over the wind and roaring ocean calling the sailors to their deaths. The tentacled creature disappeared into the sea once more and Jack couldn't help but feel a strong sense of relief wash over him.
Jack stared out back to the cliff face and saw that Atkinson and his men were waiting on a second long boat. It was rowed by two more men from the navy crew, and the pirate captain smirked. He remembered that his hat and coat were still aboard the 'Conquerer', so, using to swords power he sent a small wave to nudge the boat to shore.
Then he watched as it returned the men to the navy ships which were, at this minute also surrounded by mermaids under the waves.
Within minutes the French fleet was decimated and the remaining men were calling out for mercy. Part of him didn't want to act, Jack felt that he had been merciful in the past and it had gotten him nothing but trouble...but when all was said and done the majority of those men had just been following orders. So he called off the waves and the men scurried aboard the remaining ships.
Jack searched for Atkinson and his men to find them already back aboard the 'Conquerer' and heading for the remnants of the fleet. It appeared as though the man was planning on finishing it off. But to what point and purpose? I was already clear that the French had lost, so why bother?
And the mermaids were doing nothing...what was going on? Was he missing something? He had been keeping things from Atkinson so could the man had been keeping things from him?
He was definitely missing something here...and Jack was determined to find out what.
(*1) Last chance, leave and don't come back. Or we'll blast you out of the sea!
(*2) You are still outnumbered by us, sir. The odds are in our favour!
(*3) Then goodbye, my friend!