Disclaimer - This one may seem a little redundant, but - at least we get a different view of things. A pirate's view, that is, and one not savvy with mutant turtles, especially the ninja-trained variety. :0)
Once again, I own nothing other than my OC's, which - so far - has been the now-deceased gator - um - Caiman. (Rein glances over at Don and gets a nod of approval from him and one of his famous smiles. She swoons. Her day is now complete!)
Read if you feel led, review if you want, but enjoy this as much as I did in writing it.
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Chapter 12 - These Aren't Your Average Turtles!
They had anchored the Black Pearl just off shore from Isla De Muerta's main promontory, where the entrance to the treasure cave was. After lowering the dinghies to sea level, they climbed down the side of the bigger ship and eased into the smaller boats. Making their way slowly through the channel leading into the mouth of the cave, Jack sat in one boat as Gibbs steered and four men rowed. In the other vessel were Will and Elizabeth, along with a similar accompaniment of seamen as the first boat doing the work. They made their way slowly to where they could moor the dinghies and climb out onto the rocks without getting too wet.
Nevertheless, in disembarking, they did manage to soak their shoes rather well, yet not one of them complained - not even Elizabeth. In fact, the mood was so solemn that only the resounding boom of waves crashing repeatedly against the nearby rocks broke the silence. The sky was still cloud-covered and dreary-looking, too, casting a somber mood over the group.
In the same way as they arrived, though, they walked quietly into the wide-mouthed cave, keeping to the path edging the salt-water tide that fed the stream deep within. They kept their steps soft, not wanting to make a sound. It was as if they feared any noise at all would waken the curse. None of them wanted it, of course, yet they all knew that it was for only a little while, until they could get the gold back to where it belonged. It was paramount, then, that they act quickly in retrieving the cache and getting it to its final destinationIn short, it effectively quelled any conversation and - for Jack Sparrow - it was a blessing.
Considering how talkative Elizabeth had been during the journey, the pirate was glad the seriousness of their situation had muted the girl's incessant nagging.
With Jack leading the way, Will and Elizabeth followed, while Gibbs and the rest of the men took up the rear. They managed well enough through the narrow passageways, silent but for the occasional and gentle scrape of sole on rock.
However, the closer they came to their destination they began hearing strange voices filtering back to them from the cave up ahead. Jack motioned for silence and caution. Raising a finger to his lips in a hushed gesture, he then crouched. This - isn't right, he thought to himself, no one should be here.
Whispering low, he caught Mr. Gibbs' attention, "Was there another boat tied up - at all - even a small one?"
Gibbs shook his head no. Of course, had there been another vessel, Jack was certain any of them would have seen it. Considering that this cave had the only access to the island - and as far as he knew there wasn't a way up to land even with that - it was a given there wouldn't have been an appropriate place to weigh anchor. Yet, it was apparent to Jack that someone had.
Sparrow looked towards the cavern again and sighed softly, "Well, someone's here."
He nodded once towards the grotto ahead of him and removed his pistol, cocking back its hammer in preparation for the unexpected. He indicated the same to Will Turner and Gibbs. They complied eagerly, removing their guns from their belts. The rest of the men did the same. They all knew that to engage with swords would not be as effective against unsuspecting intruders as a well-aimed bullet would be.
Just as the men had done, Elizabeth unsecured her own pistol, but didn't engage the hammer, not yet. Although she was a fine shot - a skill she thanked her father's tutoring for - she knew that one nervous finger could bring disaster. That didn't mean, of course, that she couldn't keep her thumb at the ready along the cock.
As the group continued to edge their way forward, they heard a shout from the cavern ahead of them. Whomever it was, seemed to be talking about ruling the world. Then, the sound of something hard hitting against metal rang out, as said metal protested with an echoing shring. Almost immediately, a complaint issued forth from the first voice they had heard, with someone else replying right after. It was a deeper and surlier utterance accusing the first of being a fool. Jack looked back at his men and shook his head, not at all sure what was going on.
"Accents - not Spanish," he mouthed cautiously, exaggerating his enunciation so the others would understand. He shrugged for emphasis, whispering low, "nor French!"
He pointed to Will and gestured for him to follow, but then pointed harder at Elizabeth and mouthed the word 'stay'. Her eyes widened angrily to challenge him, but when Jack gave Gibbs a look and a nod, an unspoken command passed between them. In response, his first mate took the girl's one arm and held it firmly. In reply, though, Elizabeth jerked it free, but then conceded, nodding in reluctant agreement. She huffed and folded her arms across her chest, then glared at him. Clearly, she wasn't pleased with the pirate's decision.
Creeping quietly, now, and keeping a low profile, the two men edged their way around protrusions of rock and entered the short tunnel leading into the cavern. The sound of crashing waves from outside the cave echoed in behind them, covering any noise they might have made. To further aid in their attempt to stay undiscovered, a series of boulders up ahead provided enough cover to allow them a decent viewing of whatever lay beyond in the grotto. For a moment, Jack Sparrow had a bit of deje vu, remembering, not long ago, how he had come upon Elizabeth's near-sacrifice with Will in tow, how he ended up bartering with Barbossa, hoping to lure the cursed man to Norrington, how it all failed, for a time, but he shook it off. Now, he peered between the same two larger rocks as he had done then, with Will doing the same.
And, in that moment, they nearly gave away their position.
Still, Jack Sparrow and Will Turner managed to gulp down their shock and verbal surprise, lowering themselves further behind the rocks, yet keeping their focus on the scene beyond.
As they turned to face the other, though, each man mouthed only one word, "Demons!"
In fact, there were four of them.
However, before the two friends could even consider the validity of such a thing, one of the demons took up a sword. It was rather decorative, certainly not one for battle, but Jack and Will still watched with great interest, as the demon called out to the other three, begging for their attention.
"It talked," Will whispered low, mouthing the words more than saying them, yet his surprise was quite obvious.
"Seems so," was his friend's equally quiet reply.
Then, the creature with the sword paused, seeming to consider the blade, and before either man in hiding could determine why it had done so, it launched into a series of movements that both amazed and terrified them.
As another echo of crashing waves from outside spilled over them and again helped to hide their presence, "Impossible!" Will exclaimed, his voice barely audible, but louder than it had been before. He realized it almost immediately and crouched lower behind the rock-wall, hoping the creatures beyond hadn't heard him. They seemed to carry on, though, as if nothing had happened, so the man relaxed. Then, as the creature with the sword worked faster with the implement, pitching and swinging the weapon in a sort of dance, Turner turned to Jack, keeping his utterances soft and undetectable to the creatures beyond, "Look at him, I've - never seen anything or anyone move like that with a blade." He narrowed his eyes as he tried to discern what in the world he was watching, "What kind of…"
"Tis a sea turtle, mate," Jack's voice barely registered, but Will clearly heard him, "an' pro'lly a demon as well, an' one only Davy Jones hisself could dream up. Might'n even be one of his hands, in fact." Jack was certain, now, that his assessment of the four creatures was spot on.
"What do we do, then, Jack?"
"We watch and wait for an opportunity."
"To - do what?"
Jack suddenly realized that he had far too little time than what he first thought he had, while still out on the open sea. If Jones had already sent his henchmen to fetch him…well…Jack had to do something, he had to think fast with how best to get out of this one. He took one worried glance at his left hand, holding his breath, then when he opened it - he sighed, almost relieved. It was barren of any black spot, so he still had some time. Just the same, he balled his hand into a fist again and hugged it close to him. Looking back between the two rocks he assured Will, "You'll know when I know, mate."
The two men witnessed the end of the sea turtle's strange sword dance. They listened to the creature's assessment of the decorative blade, comparing it to one that he suddenly pulled from a scabbard on his back. That surprised Jack and Will the most, that this creature would carry swords and in such a strange way, too.
The men assessed the others, then, noting that two were on the treasure side of the grotto as the one with the sword, while the fourth seemed more interested in discarded clothing and weaponry. They watched as he looked over at where his brethren was, finally moving in that direction. He easily forded the stream and climbed up to where the chest of gold sat.
As yet another echo of crashing waves from outside reverberated through the tunnel, it drowned out the next bit of conversation between the creatures. Ignoring them for the moment, Jack turned a curious look to his friend, "Well, at least they speak English, sort of. Strange accent, though, can't quite fig'r where it's from."
Then, Jack and Will stared at the strange animals again. That was when they noticed that three of the four sea turtles wore material around their faces, with openings for eyes - like masks. The 'masks' tied in the back, producing long, flowing trails. The one that appeared naked of such adornment on his face had a similar material tied around his arm, so the men assumed that it, too, was a mask. Why he had tied it on his arm rather than his face puzzled them, but they did notice that all the masks were of different colors.
There was blue - the one with the sword, and purple, who, by now, stood by the chest. Another one, smaller and chunkier than the first two (and wearing a crown on his head, no less), wore orange while the fourth one seemed to favor red.
Nevertheless, the creatures were as bizarre and as strange as anything they had ever seen - and they had seen a lot in the past year. The more Will and Jack thought about it, though, the more worrisome they became.
Suddenly, Purple called out to his brethren and begged them over to where he stood by the stone chest.
"They better not touch the gold…" Jack hunkered down behind the rocks even more, now, hoping against hope, watching the other three join Purple at the chest.
After a long debate between the four demons about the treasure, with Blue taking the crown from Orange and Red removing jeweled bands from his arms, there was some mention about the New World colony of New York and the month of April. However, Sparrow's hope for the coins to remain untouched dashed to pieces the moment Orange plunged his hand into the golden pile. It then pulled out a fistful of coins and said something to one of the others about taking some back with them.
"Obviously not from around here," Will shrugged casually.
"If they're from New York City; maybe they're Dutch? Still, not the right accent, though. Bugger, where are they from?" Jack pursed his lips in thought.
The two men watched as Purple took a gold coin. The creature talked quite a lot about it, most of it confusing to the pair who hid among the rocks, but Purple's mention of the Aztecs with relationship to the treasure piqued Will's interest.
"How'd he know about them?"
"Davy Jones' men, remember?" Jack sneered, "should'a known."
Red also took up one of the doubloons and then Purple handed Blue one as well.
"Now, they're cursed. Bugger all!" Jack spat softly, "We have t'do somethin', can't let them leave. They takes the coins with'em, we'll never get'em back and we'd have to leave the treasure here or be cursed forever, like Barbossa!"
"If they're Davy Jone's men, wouldn't they be dead already? How can they be affected by the curse?"
Jack eyed his friend for a moment, digesting what Gibbs had just said, and it seemed to make perfect sense. He then smiled, "Maybe not. Maybe - they're just - demons after all." He looked back between the rocks, his mood lighter than it had been, and watched as the reptilian quartet still gathered around the stone chest.
Finally, Jack shrugged, "I'm not sure how quickly the curse begins, mate, an' I'm not sure if bein' sea beasties would matter, but I'm not takin' chances." The pirate grinned, then, "An' I'm sure me men wouldn't mind a little turtle stew, either."
In the next moment, Sparrow stood, aimed, and picked the one creature that worried him the most - then fired his pistol.
The instant Blue fell, there was a moment of shock, then pandemonium, as screams of desperation rose from the other three demon turtles.
As Will joined Jack in standing and as Jack tried to reload his pistol, the blacksmith prepared to fire his own. It was then when two things happened at once.
The first one was hearing Gibbs and the rest of Jack's men drawn there by the sound of pistol fire, their shouts of alarm closing in on where the two stood.
The second one was when two very angry 'demon turtles' turned to see who had fired the shot. Then, as they spied the two men, they charged towards the source, faster than Sparrow or Turner thought possible, and wielding the strangest weapons that any of the men had seen before.
As he nervously gulped and as his brow pinched with concern, the only thing Jack could say in response was, "An' I thought sea turtles were passive beasties."
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A/N - Some of you might have the habit of re-reading stories. If so, then this chapter is new. I don't know how I forgot to add it here, but - I did. So, consider this a little extra surprise for my faithful readers. :0) It picks up in the next chapter with the aftermath of Leo getting shot. :0)