I have returned from the dead once more! And not as a zombie this time. I think I'm getting the hang of this self-ressurection thing.
I hope everyone out there's had a good summer so far. I know I have. Except for the lack of internet access of course, but I digress.
Thanks to all who reviewed last time! You guys make my day!
Disclaimer: You know what? You all should've figured out by now that I only own my plot and OC's at this point.
Hopefully this was worth the wait. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Four: The Dead Man's Chest
Saturday, June 26th, 4794 P.C.
The Edinburgh Trader
Port Royal Harbor
Captain Bellamy prided himself in many things. He made an honest living in the world regardless of how difficult it was starting to become and he slept well every night because of it, thank you. He worked hard and rarely drank himself into a stupor. But above all, he prided himself in being a fairly even tempered man. As of late, he had found his patience wearing thin and the East India Trading Company with all of their new rules, fees and tariffs were to blame. This of course, led him to snapping at his crew more often when they behaved like idiots, just like the two sailors who were currently arguing over an off yellow-dress while the rest of the crew watched on.
"What's all this?" He demanded as he strode towards the arguing pair. The two men immediately fell silent and ceased their attempts to take the dress from the other. "If you both fancy the dress, you'll just have to share and wear it one after the other." He smirked as his comment earned several laughs from the rest of the crew.
"It's not like that, sir," one of the two men said. "This ship is haunted." Bellamy raised his eyebrow.
"Is it now?" He asked. He turned to the other man. "And you?"
"There's a female presence amongst us here, sir," the other man said. "All the men, they can feel it." Bellamy placed his hands on his hips. Did he really hire such simpletons?
"It's the ghost of a lady, widowed before her marriage, I figure it," a wiry young man said. "Searching for her husband, lost at sea."
"A virgin too, likely as not," a fourth man added. "And that bodes ill by all accounts." From the back of the crowd, Elizabeth and Kairi glanced up from where they were applying varnish to the ship's railing. Both of them were dressed like men to hide their feminine physiques and had their hair tied up into buns and tucked under ragged straw hats. The first man to explain his theory to Bellamy yanked the dress away from the other man.
"I say we throw the dress overboard and hope the spirit follows it," he said.
"No!" The second man said quickly. He lunged forward and took hold of the dress again. "That will just anger the spirit, sir. What we need to do is find out what the spirit needs, and then just get it back to her." Elizabeth and Kairi both exchanged smirks as the two men both started arguing again.
"Enough! Enough! You're a pair of superstitious goats and it's got the best of you," Bellamy shouted, causing the two men to look at him fearfully. He reached out and tore the dress away from the two men. "Now, this appears to be no more as we have a stowaway on board. A young woman, by the look of it."
"I think they're onto you," Kairi whispered to Elizabeth.
"I want you to search the ship and find her," Bellamy continued. "Oh and, uh… she's probably naked." That caught the men's attention. The crowd immediately broke apart as the men began searching every possible place on the ship for the young, naked woman. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves by behaving oddly, Kairi and Elizabeth cast their brushes aside and joined in the search.
LD
Elizabeth chuckled to herself as she adjusted the brooms in her hands, manipulating the strings that supported her wedding dress as it floated eerily through the air, passing in plain view of the windows in the captain's cabin. After the long day of 'searching' the ship with the crew of the Edinburgh, she had to admit that she was enjoying the idea of messing with their heads.
While the rest of the crew had gone to sleep, she and Kairi had remained awake, pitching ideas off of one another as to how they were going to make it to Tortuga to start their search for Will and Sora. Kairi had come up with the plan to use Elizabeth's wedding dress as a 'spirit' that would give a sign to the crew of the Edinburgh that they should make port in Tortuga.
So now, Kairi stood in the shadows, watching as her plan unfolded wonderfully. Captain Bellamy had been in his cabin with the two men who had been fighting over the dress earlier that day, complaining about the tariffs and fees the East India Trading Company was imposing on all of the ports they controlled. Now, the three men emerged onto the deck as the 'spirit' descended towards them from above. Kairi strode up behind the three men, careful to keep her face hidden from them, and nodded towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth lifted one of the ends of her brooms up, causing the dress to lift its arm and 'point' from Bellamy to the starboard side of the ship.
"She wants you to do something," Kairi said in a deep voice.
"She's trying to give a sign," Bellamy breathed. The dress flew out over the starboard railing and the three men, plus Kairi, ran to the rail to look for a sign, only for the dress to come sweeping back towards them. The four of them ducked as the dress flew across the deck, knocking over a lantern as it passed over the port-side rail. "Over there! Look for a sign!" Kairi and Elizabeth both let out exasperated sighs as the three men ran to the port-side railing.
"Look there, there it is!" The bald-headed man said. "There's the sign!"
"That's seaweed," the other snapped
"Seaweed can be a sign."
"Looks like entrails."
"That would be a bad sign," Bellamy muttered. Elizabeth grabbed hold of a rope and slid down to come to rest atop the ship's capstan.
"What's that over there?" She called out, pointing to the smashed lantern on the deck. Bellamy and the other men turned around and saw a fire burning on the deck. The smashed lantern had ignited the oil Kairi had laid out beforehand and now the flames burned bright, forming a single word on the deck: Tortuga.
LD
The Flying Dutchman
Somewhere in the Caribbean
The tentacles that made up Davy Jones' beard strummed across the three tiers of organ keys, playing a sorrowful, haunting tune that could only be achieved by three normal men playing all at once. The massive pipe organ was set near the back of his cabin, facing away from the door. The wood of the organ curved this way and that. At one point it had been beautiful; now it was covered in all sorts of sea life. The only unmarred portions of the organ were the keys, and the painting set into it at eye level of a woman with ebony hair, gazing longingly out at the sea, surrounded by angels, as a ship sailed off into the sunset. Jones breathed heavily as he played on, staring at the painting and lamenting his loss, just as he had done for countless centuries.
Outside, Sora grumbled quietly as he scrubbed away at the aged, wooden deck of the Flying Dutchman. He simply couldn't believe his luck. It had been just over a day since he and Will were tricked to serve on the ship by Jack and they had hardly had a moments rest. The minute they were brought onboard, the pair of them were assigned duties and began their servitude. Sora, being young and inexperienced, was given the job of scrubbing the deck while Will was assigned whatever the bosun felt necessary. And to top it all off, they were stuck out in the rain.
You know, it could be worse. Roxas pointed out. Kairi and Naminé could be here. Imagine what they might be forced to do.
I'd rather not think about it, thank you. Sora said irritably. He spared a glance over to where Will and at least a dozen other crew members were working together to hoist a cannon from the hold up to the deck. One of the lines came loose drawing the bosun's attention.
"Secure the mast tackle Mister Turner!" He ordered. "Set to it!" Both Will and another crew member abandoned their posts to secure the mast tackle. But I agree. It could be worse. The sooner Will and I find the key, the sooner we can escape.
Amen to that. The crew really freaks me out.
You've squared off against Heartless and these guys freak you out?
What's your point? A loud crash broke Sora away from his conversation with Roxas. He looked around in time to see Will dragged across the deck as the canon fell. Several crew members were knocked aside and seemed to be seriously injured.
"Haul that weevil to his feet!" The bosun ordered to a pair of crewmen. Will was forced to his feet and shoved face-first into a climbing net so that his back was exposed to the bosun as he pulled out a cat o' nine tails. Sora's eyes widened as the metal prongs on the tips of the lash glittered evilly in the light created by lightning flashes in the sky. "Five lashes will remind you to stay on 'em!"
"No!" Sora and another crewmember shouted. The two of them glanced at each other in confusion, both wondering why the other had spoken up in Will's defense.
"Impeding me in my duties?" The bosun asked with a sinister grin. Sora vaguely realized that the organ had stopped playing in the background. "You'll share the punishment."
"I'll take it all," the crewman who had spoken out with Sora said defiantly.
"Will you, now?" Davy Jones asked as he approached them. The crowd of crewman parted to let their captain through. "And what would prompt such an act of charity?" He stared expectantly at the man. The man turned to look at Will.
"My son," he said softly. "He's my son." Will glanced behind him and did a double-take, struggling against the crewmen that held him to the netting. Sora's mouth dropped open. He had heard about 'Bootstrap' Bill from Pintel and Ragetti, but he had assumed he was dead.
Well, he was cursed by the gold just like the rest of Barbossa's crew, right? Roxas pointed out. I guess that means he was stuck on the ocean floor. Talk about a living hell. Davy Jones took a closer look at Will and then briefly examined 'Bootstrap' with a chuckle.
"What fortuitous circumstance be this?" Jones asked the crew. He turned to the bosun and took the whip from him before offering it to 'Bootstrap'. "Five lashes be owed, I believe it is." 'Bootstrap' stared in shock at the whip in his captain's hand, realizing what he wanted him to do.
"No," he said with a nervous tone. "No, I won't!"
"The cat's out of the bag, Mister Turner!" Jones said with a smirk. "Your issue will feel its sting, be it by the bosun's hand or your own."
"No!" 'Bootstrap' said firmly. Jones' smirk vanished.
"Bosun!" He ordered, offering the whip to him.
"No!" 'Bootstrap' snatched the whip from Jones' hand. Jones smirked and glanced at Sora.
"Five lashes to the boy when he's done', bosun," he said with a cruel smirk before turning back to watch as his crewmen tore Will's shirt from his back so 'Bootstrap' could strike him. Sora winced as 'Bootstrap' lashed out five times, much to the sick enjoyment of the crew. To Will's credit, he never cried out in pain once. When 'Bootstrap' was finished, Will was tossed below deck and Sora was thrown against the netting next,
"Maybe this will teach you your place, boy," Jones said with a laugh as his crewmen stripped Sora of his jacket and shirt, casting them aside and exposing his back to the bosun's whip.
The first strike was excruciatingly painful and took almost all of Sora's will not to cry out. The second strike was worse. As the prongs dug deep into his flesh, Sora couldn't help but let out a gasp of pain that turned into a howl as the bosun pulled the whip back, cleaving chunks of flesh from Sora's bone. The next three strikes came swift and cruel. The crowd dispersed, and Sora was dropped to his knees. The pain in his back was intense and every slight movement caused it to feel like the whip was digging into him again.
Ignoring the pain to the best of his ability, Sora placed his hands on his shoulders and cast Curaga over himself. It seemed to take ages for the spell to work, but sure enough, Sora could feel muscle and flesh knitting themselves back together.
"That's quite a trick you've got there." Sora turned around, wincing slightly from a slight twinge in his back left over from the wound. 'Bootstrap' Bill stood over him, holding Sora's jacket and shirt in his graying hands. Will was leaning against the railing behind him for support. He held them out to the teen, who accepted them graciously. Putting his water soaked shirt back on proved to be more difficult then Sora had imagined. He fought with it for several minutes before 'Bootstrap' took pity on him and helped him put it on. "Though it looks like you'll have some scars left over from it."
"Thanks," Sora said, shivering slightly as he slid into his jacket. 'Bootstrap' nodded curtly and gestured for Sora and Will to follow him.
"You're probably wondering how I ended up here," 'Bootstrap said after a minute or so of silence. He glanced back at his son, who nodded. "I'm sure you know all about the mutiny Barbossa led against Jack Sparrow. I wanted no part of it. I tried to defend Jack, but no one would listen to me. So, after we found out about the curse on the gold, I sent a piece of it off to you so that the others would remain cursed for eternity.
"Barbossa didn't take to kindly to that. He tied a cannon to my feet and dropped me in the ocean. With the weight of the water crushing me, I couldn't move. I couldn't die. I nearly went mad. For years, I prayed for an escape.
"Then, Davy Jones found me and gave me a choice; I could either join his crew, or wait at the bottom of the ocean until Judgment Day. It wasn't a difficult choice. I'd rather serve here than wait out eternity in the darkness. Although, my choice isn't without cost." They finally walked below deck and out of the rain into warm candlelight. "One hundred years before the mast, losing who you were, bit by bit, until you end up… end up like poor Wyvern, here." He gestured towards a part of the Dutchman's hull. Sora and Will exchanged slightly startled looks as they realized that there was what appeared to be a sleeping man growing out of the wall. His body was covered with barnacles and coral, almost indistinguishable from the rest of the wall. His right arm was outstretched, forever clutching a lantern in his hand.
"Once you've sworn an oath to the Dutchman there's no leaving it," 'Bootstrap' said solemnly. "Not until your debt is paid."
"We've sworn no oath," Will told him. 'Bootstrap' looked at them with surprise.
"Then you must get away," he said in a hushed, worried tone. "Both of you. As far away as you can." Sora and Will exchanged a glance.
"We can't," Sora said. "Not yet."
"Well, why not?" 'Bootstrap' demanded.
"At least not until we find this," Will said. He pulled out the cloth drawing of the key and showed it to 'Bootstrap'. Wyvern gave a shuddering gasp and his eyes snapped open. He leaned his upper body away from the hull with several sickening crunching sounds, leaving his brain still attached as half of his head refused to move. Sora and Will turned to look at him.
"The Dead Man's Chest…" Wyvern said in a solemnly fearful tone.
"What do you know of this?" Will asked, showing the drawing to him. Wyvern glanced around, searching his memory.
"Open the chest with the key, and stab the heart," he said slowly. "No! No, don't stab the heart! The Dutchman needs a living heart, or there'll be no captain. And if there's no captain, there's no one to have the key."
"So the captain has the key?" Sora asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side as he did so. A guilty look crossed Wyvern's face, like he had accidentally divulged a terrible secret. "Where is it?"
"Hidden," Wyvern said in a hushed tone.
"Where is the chest?" Will asked.
"Hidden!" Wyvern's body snapped back to the wall and he shut his eyes.
You thinking what I'm thinking? Roxas asked.
Yup. Sora replied. Davy Jones is the only person who knows where the key is.
I get the feeling he won't want to share that kind of info with us.
You know, I was just thinking the same thing.
LD
Later on in the evening, shortly after a meal of undercooked fish that Sora had opted to throw out of the nearest porthole, he and Will watched a few members of the crew break out a dice game, which quickly drew a crowd.
As far as Sora could tell, the game played like this: each person had five dice which they shook up in a cup before turning the cup upside down on the playing surface to hide the face value of the dice from the other players. Each person would then make a bet on the number of dice that had a specific face value that they believed were currently in play. If the person guessed wrong and the next player in the rotation called them out on it, the person who was wrong lost the round and the entire process would begin again. The trick was to make your opponents guess wrong. It was a game of wit and lies.
"Wondering how it's played?" 'Bootstrap' asked the pair of them. Sora shook his head.
"I think I got it," he said.
"It's a game of deception," Will said. "Your bet includes all of the dice. Not just your own. What are they wagering?" The crewmember with a head shaped like a hammerhead shark let out a howl of anger as he lost a round.
"The only thing we have left," 'Bootstrap' explained. "Years of service."
"So, any crew member can be challenged?" Will asked.
"Aye, anyone."
"I challenge Davy Jones," Will said. The crew all looked around at him like he was insane. The background noise of Jones' pipe organ came to a sudden stop. A steady thump echoed around the ship as the crew began to chuckle. Jones appeared on the stairs leading down from the upper decks, staring straight at Will.
"I accept, mate."
At Jones' command, the crew brought forth a table and set it in front of Will along with a cup and five dice. Jones strode forward and stared down at Will.
"The stakes?" He asked.
"My soul," Will replied. "An eternity of servitude."
"No," 'Bootstrap' said quietly. He looked over at Sora and saw a similar look of worry on the spiky haired teen's face.
"Against?" Jones asked, silently wondering what would prompt Will to make such a risky gamble.
"I want this," Will said as he dropped the cloth with the drawing of the key onto the table. Jones picked up the drawing and unfolded it. A look of shock crossed his face. He threw the drawing down on the table and glared accusingly at Will.
"How do you know of the key?" Jones inquired. Will smirked and sat down.
"That's not part of the game, is it?" Will asked. "You can still walk away." For the briefest of moments, Jones looked as though he was considering it, as though he was weighing the risk of losing the key, before he slowly lowered himself onto his seat. The tentacles of his beard shifted and pulled the rusted key out from underneath a flab of flesh, dangling it out in the open for a moment before hiding it beneath the beard once more. Will and Jones tossed their dice into their cups, and shook them briefly before slamming them down onto the table, along with cups held by Sora and 'Bootstrap'. Jones looked around at them, irritated.
"What's this?" He demanded.
"We're in," 'Bootstrap' explained. "Matching his wager."
"No," Will pleaded. "Don't do this. This is my mission. Sora, think about Kairi."
"The die is cast," 'Bootstrap' said solemnly. "I bid three twos . It's your bid, captain." He glanced over at Jones, who chuckled softly.
"Four fours," Jones said with a smirk.
"Six fours," Sora said, as he swallowed a nervous lump that was forming in his throat.
"Six fives," Will said confidently.
"Eight threes," 'Bootstrap' said. Jones peered under his cup. He had four fives and a four. He smirked as he looked up at Will.
"Ten fives," he said smugly. Will glanced under his cup and counted five fives. Sora checked his and found that he had one five and four threes. Under 'Bootstrap's rested three twos and two threes.
"Eleven fives," Sora said, trying to fight back his nervousness.
"Thirteen fives," Will said after mulling it over for a minute or so. Jones and his crew all chuckled.
"Welcome to the crew, lad," Jones said smugly.
"Seventeen fives," 'Bootstrap' said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Seventeen fives. Call me a liar, or up the bid." A look of anger crossed Jones' face.
"And be called a liar myself for my trouble?" He growled as he lifted 'Bootstrap's cup, revealing his dice and proving him a liar.
"'Bootstrap' Bill, you're a liar and you will spend an eternity on this ship," Jones snapped at him. He turned to look at Sora and Will as he rose to his feet. "Master Turner, Master Arashi, feel free to go ashore." He turned to leave, but turned back to add "The very next time we make port!" He left for his cabin, laughing along with his crew as they all followed their captain away from the three remaining gamblers.
"Fool," Will whispered to his father. "Why did you do that?"
"I couldn't let you lose," 'Bootstrap' admitted. Will smiled slyly at him.
"It was never about winning or losing," Sora realized out loud. "You just wanted to know where the key was." 'Bootstrap's eyes widened in surprise at Will's cunning.
"And now we know where to find it," he said. "And I know how we're going to steal it."
I like this guy. Roxas said with a chuckle.
LD
Sunday, June 27th, 4794 P.C.
Lord Cutler Beckett's Office
Port Royal
Cutler Beckett stood on the balcony of his office that overlooked the harbor and watched with a satisfied smile as a trio of East India Trading Company ships began to arrive.
"Maleficent is growing impatient. I suggest you have an answer ready for her right away."
Beckett's smile fell from his face as he turned around to find himself face to face with the man in the tall black hat and dark glasses, Charden Flamberg. Beckett stepped around him and strode back into his office to pour himself a drink. He could feel Charden's hidden eyes watching him carefully.
"Every time you come here, Charden, you tell me that Maleficent wishes me to ally myself and my men with her," Beckett said as he poured his preferred drink into a small glass. "And yet, you never mention what's in it for me." He took a sip of his drink and gestured to the large map that was painted on one of his walls. "You see there? Proof of my influence in this world. I have power and soon I will control the seven seas. What would I need Maleficent for?"
"With Maleficent, you can control much more than your own world, you can control countless worlds," Charden said. "She can offer you power, power to reshape those worlds in your own image, to make them how you want them to be. Imagine a world without pirates. Isn't that what you're after?"
Beckett stared down at his drink. That was what he was after, there was no denying it. He could still remember the torture he was put through during the time he had spent captive aboard the ship of the pirate Christophe-Julien de Rapièr. He remembered being forced to clean his ship and being whipped cruelly by the crew if he didn't do a good job of it. His back still bore the scars. If it hadn't been for his mentor in the East India Trading Company, Beckett might have died aboard that ship. He had hated pirates with a burning passion ever since and had become determined to wipe them and anyone who sided with them from the world ever since.
"Perhaps," Beckett began slowly, "it would be in my interest to join forces with Maleficent." Charden smiled.
"I thought you'd say that," he said. He and Beckett shook hands briefly. "I shall inform Maleficent immediately. She will be pleased to hear that you've finally made your decision." He turned to leave and a portal of Darkness opened up in front of him. He paused and turned back to face Beckett. "Before I forget, Maleficent asked me to leave you with a parting gift should you accept her offer." Charden snapped his fingers and a purple and black aura surrounded Beckett's body for a brief moment.
"And the gift was?" Beckett asked, giving Charden a quizzical look.
"The ability to summon and control the Heartless," Charden said with a smirk. "Be careful though, only those with strong hearts or wills can control the Heartless. If you falter in your resolve, they won't hesitate to take your heart." Leaving the warning hanging in the air, he stepped into the portal and vanished.
LD
The Faithful Bride Tavern
Tortuga, The Caribbean
Naminé let out a low groan of boredom as she leaned up against a support beam inside the tavern. She had been standing in the same spot for what felt like hours and had a strong suspicion that the trio filling the tavern with music only knew the one song they had been playing all night long. Jack was over in nearby corner, repeatedly examining his compass, shaking it, pounding it against the wall, all while muttering something about how he knew what he wanted. Gibbs was seated at a small table with a bottle of rum and a roster laid out in front of him for new hires to sign. It had taken them nearly a full day to reach Tortuga and now she was stuck here, invisible so as to avoid drawing attention to herself.
Not that she felt like complaining about being invisible. She certainly preferred it to being stared at by a bunch of sailors who would like nothing better than to pin her to the ground and take turns using her body to satisfy their desires. Naminé shivered at the thought and glanced over to where the last of a line of men were turning away from Gibbs, all having just signed the roster.
Aside from the boredom she was currently experiencing, Naminé still felt a small twinge of anger towards Jack and the rest of his crew. If they hadn't been so careless, Sora and Will wouldn't have been captured by Davy Jones while she had been below deck being seasick and they wouldn't have to gather ninety-eight souls in three days to exchange for their freedom. A small part of her remained suspicious that Jack and the others were keeping something from her, but she wasn't sure what.
"How are we going?" Jack asked, still staring intently at his compass.
"Including those four?" Gibbs asked, twisting in his seat to stare at Jack. "That gives us… four." Naminé was pulled from her train of thought at his words and her mouth dropped open.
"Only four?" She whispered. "We've been at this for hours! How do we only have four?"
"The Black Pearl was made infamous when Barbossa was captain," Gibbs explained. "Some folks are still afraid of it." He turned in his chair and smiled up at the next applicant. "What's your story?"
"My story…" The applicant said in a low tone. "It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas." Jack closed his compass and looked around. He recognized that voice. "The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life." James Norrington snatched up Gibbs bottle of rum and took a swig from it. He was still dressed in his navy blue uniform, although now it was covered in dirt and who knew what else. His powdered white wig was gray and strands of his natural brown hair could be seen poking out from underneath it. Gibbs stared up at Norrington in mild disbelief.
"Commodore?" He asked, unsure if he could believe his eyes or not. Norrington finished of the rum and glared down at Gibbs.
"No, not anymore! Weren't you listening?" He snapped, leaning in closer to Gibbs. Naminé watched the exchange with mild interest. "I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I would have, if not for that hurricane." Unnoticed by anyone, Jack pulled a large leaf from a nearby plant and attempted to hide behind it as he began to sneak away.
"Lord," Gibbs said in shock. "You didn't try to sail through it?" Norrington smirked.
"So do I make your crew or not?" He asked. Gibbs glanced around nervously. "You haven't said where you're going. Somewhere nice!" He flipped the table and Gibbs backwards towards Naminé, who stepped out of the way to avoid being hit. The trio stopped playing and the entire tavern fell silent and stared on as Norrington strode into the middle of the room.
"So, am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?" He asked the patrons in a drunken, mocking tone. He drew a pistol from inside his coat and aimed at Jack as he still tried to sneak away. "Or should I just kill you now?" Jack froze in place and slowly abandoned his leaf shield.
"You're hired," he said after a moment of silence. Norrington let out a small chuckle.
"Sorry," he said, clearly not meaning it. "Old habits and all that." Two of Jack's newest crew members ran forward and grabbed hold of Norrington, forcing his arm to point the pistol up in the air. Their struggling caused Norrington to fire at the ceiling. The bullet ricocheted off of the iron chandelier and shattered a man's freshly refilled mug. Angry at his loss, the man decked the person sitting next to him and the entire tavern broke into a brawl.
Naminé ducked as a bottle flew towards her head. One man smashed a barstool over another man's back with a sickening crunch. Swords were drawn and the ringing of steel beating against steel joined the din. The trio continued playing the same song they had been, although they increased the tempo so it was much more lively and exciting. Naminé glanced around for Jack and Gibbs and spotted the two of them slipping out of the back door to the tavern. She quickly followed them while taking extra caution to avoid getting hit by flying bottles, mugs, furniture and people.
Kairi and Elizabeth pushed open the front door to the tavern and paused in surprise as they watched the fighting. Elizabeth's eyes scanned the crowd and spotted Norrington, recognizing the disheveled former-commodore immediately. He was surrounded by a multitude of men, all of whom had their swords drawn and were attempting to one-up the former commodore. Norrington did a fine job of holding his own despite being horrendously intoxicated and even managed to grab hold of a new bottle of alcohol every chance he got.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi saw a man rush her with his cutlass drawn. She let out a sigh and summoned Destiny's Embrace in time to block a drunken man's attack. The man seemed surprised that Kairi's blade had appeared out of nowhere. Kairi simply smirked and used her flexibility to her advantage by swinging her leg up to knock the man in the side of his head without so much as moving another muscle. She wasn't given time to enjoy her swift victory however. The man she had just knocked unconscious apparently had several large friends, none of whom seemed too happy that she had just knocked him out.
She sidestepped the first of her attackers and brought her elbow down on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. The second attacker took a blow to the stomach from one of the other brawls taking place throughout the tavern and dropped to the floor in pain. She swept the third man's legs out from underneath him as he charged, sending him tumbling face first into a wall. The other men all slowly began to circle Kairi, chuckling confidently amongst themselves. Kairi cocked an eyebrow at them and summoned a burst of fire that engulfed her Keyblade as the men began to move closer.
The men all let out cries of fear and stumbled back. Kairi couldn't help but smirk. Magic certainly had its advantages. The men, crying out something about a demon, ran for their lives. With satisfaction, Kairi released the spell and glanced around. The majority of the tavern had fallen silent. For a moment, she was worried that they had seen what she had done, but she quickly realized that they were all staring at Elizabeth and Norrington, the two of whom were standing on opposite sides of a support beam as nearly twenty men surrounded them in a lopsided circle, blades drawn and at the ready.
"Come on! Who wants some?" Norrington taunted, as he leaned against the beam for support. "Form an orderly line; I'll have you all one by one!" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and reached around the beam, grabbing the bottle of rum Norrington had clutched in his free hand. "Come on, who's first?" Elizabeth turned and smashed the bottle over Norrington's head and the former commodore crumpled to the ground unconscious. The other patrons of the tavern all stared at Elizabeth.
"I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself," she said with a smirk. Cheers erupted around them as men raised their glasses in a toast and sheathed their weapons. Several men grabbed hold of Norrington and carried him outside where he was unceremoniously thrown into a pigsty. Elizabeth and Kairi stepped out of the crowd as the men headed back into the tavern. Elizabeth knelt next to Norrington onto his back so she could get a better look at the shell of the former man he once was.
"James Norrington," she said with a sad sigh, "what has the world done to you?" Kairi watched as Elizabeth dragged Norrington out of the sty and slumped him against the side of a building. Her attention was drawn away from the pair very quickly by the sight of a girl in white with shoulder length blonde hair walking away towards the docks. It almost looked like…
"Naminé?" Kairi muttered to herself as the blonde vanished around a corner. She shook her head.
That couldn't have been Naminé. She told herself. Could it?
Unbeknownst to the two of them, Ian Mercer, Cutler Beckett's right hand, watched from the doorway to the Faithful Bride as Kairi and Elizabeth took off towards the docks. The two of them spent the better part of two hours searching the docks of Tortuga for the Black Pearl before they finally found it. The dock that the Pearl was moored to was bustling with activity as Jack's crew worked quickly to load the supplies they had gathered onto the ship. Kairi let out a gasp. Walking away from them with two older men was none other than Naminé. Before she could call out to her former-Nobody-now-twin-sister, Elizabeth had stepped past her and was walking briskly towards the trio.
"Captain Sparrow!" She called out. Jack gave a quick glance behind him as he, Gibbs and Naminé made their way towards the Pearl.
"Come to join me crew, lads?" He asked before turning back towards the ship. "Welcome aboard."
"I'm here to find the man I love," Elizabeth said. "So has my friend here." That stopped Jack dead in his tracks. He exchanged confused and slightly perturbed looks with Gibbs and Naminé.
"I'm deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea," he said before making a motion with his hand for Gibbs to get rid of the Kairi and Elizabeth.
"Meaning, William Turner, Captain Sparrow," Elizabeth said with a chuckle.
"And Sora," Kairi added. Naminé's eyes widened in surprise. She'd recognize that voice anywhere. The three of them turned around to face the smirking faces of Kairi and Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth!" Jack exclaimed. He paused, as if remembering something important and added in an undertone to Gibbs "Hide the rum." Gibbs glanced down at the bottle in his hand and attempted to conceal it in his waistcoat as Jack turned back to face Elizabeth, carefully examining her clothing choice. "You know, these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin."
"Kairi!" Naminé exclaimed, running forward to embrace her sister in a hug. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" Kairi let out a laugh as she hugged the blonde back.
"I missed you too, Naminé," she said with a huge grin on her face. Kairi glanced around and the smile slowly faded from her face. "Where's Sora and Will?" Naminé's smile vanished instantly.
"Jack, we know Sora and Will came to find you," Elizabeth said, getting straight to the point with the pirate captain and ignoring his comment that she should not wear men's clothes. "Where are they?"
"Yes, Jack," Kairi said, turning away from Naminé to stare at Jack. "Where are they?" Jack stroked his beard nervously and raised an eyebrow at Kairi.
"And you would be?" He asked, quickly giving her a once-over glance.
"Kairi," Kairi replied. "Sora's girlfriend." Jack nodded in understanding.
"Darlings, I'm truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that have nothing whatsoever to do with me, poor Will and Zola have been press ganged into Davy Jones' crew," Jack explained.
"His name is Sora," Kairi and Naminé pointed out in perfect unison.
"Davy Jones?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.
"Oh, please," Norrington said in disbelief, having arrived shortly after Kairi and Elizabeth without them knowing. "The captain of the Flying Dutchman?" He gave a wretch and leaned over the railing of the dock, vomiting into the ocean. Both Kairi and Naminé winced in disgust. Jack gave him a quizzical look.
"You look bloody awful," he said staring at the former Commodore. "What are you doing here?"
"You hired me," Norrington said as he wiped the vomit off of his mouth. "I can't help it if your standards are lax."
"You smell funny," Jack retorted. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and called out Jack's name to bring his attention back onto her.
"All we want is to find Will and Sora," she told him. Jack sighed.
"I know," he said, turning away from them to face his beloved Pearl. He paused mid-step as an idea occurred to him. He turned around and stared intently back and forth between Elizabeth and Kairi. "Are you certain? Is that really what the two of you want most?" Kairi and Elizabeth both nodded. "Because I would think you would want to find a way to save them most."
"And you'd have a way of doing that?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, there is a chest," Jack began.
"Oh, dear," Norrington said exasperatedly. Jack ignored him.
"A chest of unknown size and origin."
"What contains the still beatin' heart of Davy Jones!" Pintel explained as he and Ragetti shuffled past with a large crate. Ragetti mimed pulling his heart out of his chest, holding it in his hand and making heartbeat sounds with his mouth.
"How exactly does a chest containing Davy Jones' heart save Sora and Will?" Kairi asked. Jack looked over at her with a serious expression.
"Whoever possesses that chest possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants," Jack explained. "Including saving brave William and Zora from their grim fate."
"Sora," Kairi and Naminé corrected Jack in unison.
"You don't actually believe him, do you?" Norrington asked as he looked at the expressions of hope on the three females' faces.
"We've seen stranger," Naminé said with grin.
"How do we find it?" Elizabeth asked. Norrington rolled his eyes and leaned over the rail to vomit again.
"With this," Jack said as he raised his small, black compass up in front of him. "My compass is unique."
"'Unique' here having the meaning of 'broken'," Norrington added in. Jack ignored him.
"True enough, this compass does not point north," he said. Kairi and Naminé exchanged confused looks.
"If it doesn't point north, then where does it point?" Naminé asked.
"It points to the thing you want most in this world," Jack said.
"Oh, Jack," Elizabeth said with a small smile. "Are you telling the truth?"
"Every word, love," Jack said. "And the thing you want most in this world is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?" He took his compass and placed it in Elizabeth's hands.
"To save Will and Sora," she said. Jack grinned.
"By finding the chest of Davy Jones," he said as he quickly stepped away from her, opening the compass as he did so. Elizabeth stared down at the compass as the tiny red arrow spun around wildly, back and forth as if it were trying to decide where to point before finally settling on a direction that Elizabeth knew full well wasn't north. She let out a small gasp of disbelief. Jack peered cautiously at the face of the compass, doing his best to avoid interfering with it.
"Mr. Gibbs!"
"Cap'n!"
"We have our heading," Jack said eagerly.
"Finally!"
LD
The Flying Dutchman
"Captain says I'm to relieve you," 'Bootstrap' Bill said as he approached the helmsman, a man covered from head to toe in seaweed. The helmsman tightened his grip on the wheel slightly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at 'Bootstrap', who simply shrugged. "Captain's orders." The helmsman released the wheel, secretly relieved to have his duties taken over by someone else, and headed below deck. 'Bootstrap' watched him go before whistling a few soft notes.
Sora and Will emerged from their hiding place in a pair of barrels and quickly made their way to the door that led into Davy Jones' cabin. Will grabbed hold of the handle and attempted to give it a gentle twist. The handle refused to budge.
"Damn, it's locked," Will said in frustration. "We'll have to find another way in." Sora raised an eyebrow at him and summoned his Keyblade, aiming it at the lock. There was a brief flash of blue light and the door slowly opened.
"Or we could just do that," Sora said with a grin. He remained by the door to keep a lookout for any of the crewmembers that might manage to make it past 'Bootstrap' while Will crept as quietly as he could towards Davy Jones' sleeping form. The Dutchman's captain was sitting at a bench in front of his pipe organ, his head slumped forward and his shoulders rising and falling rhythmically with each light snore. Carefully, Will took hold of two pens from their resting places on the organ and began to gently move the tentacles of Jones' beard. He placed one of the pens in his mouth as he managed to get one of the larger tentacles to rest on it while he carefully prodded at a small flap of skin that concealed the key. Sora watched anxiously from the doorway, silently wishing Will would hurry up.
The two of them froze in place as the tentacle resting on the pen in Will's mouth slid off and struck one of the keys on the lowest row of the organ, sending a blast of sound through the pipes. Jones let out a snort and began to stir.
Oh crap. Roxas said from somewhere in the back of Sora's mind. If he wakes up, what do you we pull a Demyx and get the hell out of dodge by any means necessary?
Fortunately for them, Jones' tentacle had knocked into a heart-shaped silver locket, which had opened and begun playing its gentle, haunting tune. Jones' breathing became regular and steady once again as he slipped back into his deep sleep. Sora breathed a sigh of relief.
And you wanted to retreat. Sora said to Roxas with a smirk.
Hey, it's not retreating. It's advancing… towards future victories.
Will quickly checked to make sure Jones was completely asleep before he began poking around at the beard again. He managed to coax out the tentacle that was wrapped around the ring attached to the key and swapped out their prize for the cloth drawing of the key. He gently allowed Jones' tentacles to fall back into place before hurrying towards Sora.
"Let's get out of here before he wakes up," Will whispered. Sora nodded in agreement and the two of them slipped out of the cabin. Will immediately made a beeline for the longboat 'Bootstrap' was preparing for them as Sora took an extra moment to lock the door behind him.
"There's food and water for three days in here," 'Bootstrap' was saying to Will. "Now, get yourselves to land and stay there. It was always in my blood to die at sea, but it's not a fate I ever wanted for you."
"It's not a fate you had to choose for yourself, either," Sora pointed out as he walked up. 'Bootstrap' paid no attention to him, focusing solely on his son.
"I could say I did what I had to when I left you to go pirating, but it would taste a lie to say it wasn't what I wanted," he said sadly, clapping Will on the shoulder and handing him a small knife. "You owe me nothing, Will. Now go." Will stared at the knife in his hand for a few moments before looking sadly up at the father he had lost years ago and was about to lose again.
"They'll know you helped us," he said warningly. 'Bootstrap' chuckled.
"What more can they do to me?" He asked, gesturing at the sea-life covering his body
"I take this with a promise," Will said, shaking the knife in the air slightly. "I'll find a way to sever Jones' hold on you and not rest until this blade pierces his heart. I will not abandon you. I promise." 'Bootstrap' gave him a warm smile.
"Go," he said, as Sora and Will climbed into the longboat. "Get as far away as you can before someone wakes up and decides to take a nighttime stroll." He carefully lowered the boat into the water where Will and Sora both took up oars and began to row away from the Flying Dutchman and off into the black of night.
LD
Monday, June 28th, 4794 P.C.
Lord Cutler Beckett's Office
Port Royal
"There's something to knowing the exact shape of the world and one's place in it, don't you agree?" Beckett asked aloud as he stared at the sword in his hand.
"I assure you, these are not necessary," Governor Swann said, shaking the shackles clasped to his wrists. Beckett turned to look at him. Days in the Fort Charles prison had not done Weatherby Swann any good. He looked disheveled and defeated, and Beckett had to admit that the Governor did look better with his wig than he did without. Governor Swann was flanked by a pair of Beckett's newest soldiers, the Heartless. As disturbing as their appearances might be, Beckett enjoyed the fact that the Heartless essentially made the perfect soldiers.
They didn't question orders and followed them perfectly. They felt no pain, had no emotions and never hesitated. Best of all, replacing the ones who were defeated would be easy. After Charden had given him the power over the Heartless, Beckett had tested his new power and summoned several Shadows and Neoshadows to his side. Pleased to see that they really did come, he tested a theory of his, a way to make his own soldiers stronger. Overnight, nearly all of his men had been turned into Heartless, leaving only his officers and lieutenants unchanged.
The Bluecoat Heartless all stood at six and a half feet tall. Tricorne hats sat on their black heads. Their bodies were made up of long blue coats that fell past their waists. A pair of black belts crossed their torsos in an x-shape and were joined in the middle by an upside down Heartless emblem. Their legs were long and jet black, ending in dark blue boots. They stood and walked on the balls of their feet, and their heels never once hit the ground. They were each armed with a long-barreled musket that was topped with a jagged bayonet that glowed with a faint electric blue light. Unlike most Heartless, their glowing yellow eyes were slanted and the jagged white line that formed their mouths wasn't nearly as pronounced as it was on several other breeds of Heartless.
The pair of Bluecoats standing at Swann's side each held their muskets in one clawed hand while they kept the other tightly clamped to the governor's upper arms. Beckett smirked as Swann glared at him.
"I had you brought here because I thought you might be interested in the whereabouts of your daughter," Beckett continued pointing the blade at Swann. Swann's glare was immediately replaced by a look of surprise mixed with worry.
"You have news of her?" He asked. Beckett's smirk became more pronounced and he turned to look at Ian Mercer, who was casually examining something in the distance through a bronze telescope.
"Most recently seen on the island of Tortuga, and left in the company of a known pirate, Jack Sparrow," Mercer explained. "And other fugitives from justice." Swann scoffed.
"'Justice'! Hardly."
"Including the previous owner of this sword, I believe," Beckett mentioned as he sheathed the cutlass. Swann gave a start. He recognized that blade. It had been made by Will and given to the former Commodore Norrington on the day of his promotion. "Our ships are in pursuit. Justice will be dispensed by cannonade and cutlass and all manner of remorseless pieces of metal. I personally find it distasteful to even contemplate the horror facing all those on board." It was then that Swann realized that Beckett was building up to something important.
"What do you want from me?" He asked in a defeated tone. Beckett set the sword back in the case and closed it before turning to face the governor, glad that the older man had caught on.
"Your authority as governor, your influence in London," Beckett paused for effect before adding "and your loyalty to the East India Trading Company." Governor Swann understood the underlying message.
"To you, you mean," he said plainly. Beckett let out a small chuckle and strode up to stand next to the governor.
"Shall I remove these shackles?" He asked. Swann seemed to mull it over for a moment before sighing in defeat. He held out his wrists.
"Do what you can for my daughter," he pleaded. Beckett nodded to one of his officers to unlock the cuffs.
"So you see, Mercer," Beckett said as he turned away from the now-former governor, "every man has a price he will willingly accept. Even for what he hoped never to sell."
LD
The Edinburgh Trader
The Caribbean
"Strange thing to come upon a longboat so far out in open waters," Captain Bellamy asked. Sora and Will both shivered slightly underneath the blankets the crew of the Edinburgh had provided for them. The two of them had spent the entire night taking turns rowing while the other one slept. They had managed to avoid rowing into an oncoming storm, but still had somehow managed to get themselves soaked to the bone before the crew of the Edinburg spotted them and brought them aboard.
"Just put as many leagues behind us as you can, as fast as you can," Will said.
"And what are we running from?" Bellamy asked as Will's eyes fell on a familiar, off-yellow dress.
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Sora said as Will got up to examine the dress.
"Where did you get this?" He asked Bellamy.
"It was found aboard the ship," Bellamy replied. "The crew thought it was an omen of ill fate."
"That's foolish," Will said. He shared a glance with Sora. If Elizabeth's dress was here on board, that must mean that she and Kairi had escaped the Fort Charles prison somehow, they didn't have to worry about bringing Beckett Jack's compass anymore.
"Exceedingly foolish," Bellamy agreed. "But it did bring good fortune. The spirit told us to pull in at Tortuga and we made a nice bit of profit there. Off the books, of course."
"I imagine," Will began as he stared back at the dress, "that some of your crew may have jumped ship there."
"Just a couple," Bellamy said as his eyes began to narrow in suspicion. "Why do you ask?" Will and Sora shared another glance. That confirmed it for them. Elizabeth and Kairi definitely had been on this ship. A door slammed open above them and a crew member ran down the steps into the cabin.
"Captain! A ship's been spotted."
"Colors?" Bellamy asked.
"She isn't flying any," the crewmember said. Bellamy looked suspiciously at Sora and Will.
"Pirates," he spat.
"Or worse," Will said as the three of them went to follow the crew member onto the deck.
LD
The Flying Dutchman
Davy Jones watched as the Dutchman came up on the aft of the Edinburgh. He stared down at his hand and crushed the cloth drawing of the key in it before turning to 'Bootstrap' Bill where he was restrained by a pair of his crewmates. He clasped 'Bootstrap's throat tightly with his claw hand.
"You will watch this," Jones growled into 'Bootstrap's face. He tilted his head towards the bosun, who raised his whip and began to strike it against the nine crewmembers standing around the capstan's hammer. The nine all groaned with effort as they turned it and the center piece began to raise high into the air.
"Let no joyful voice be heard!" Jones called out. "Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake… the Kraken!" 'Bootstrap's eyes widened in horror.
"NO!" He shouted, struggling to pull away from the two who held him in place. The capstan's hammer reached its maximum height and slammed down. A deep thud echoed around the ship and a small ripple shot out across the water.
Deep beneath the ocean waves on a pile of bones and shipwreck debris, the Kraken opened its massive orange eyes and began to move in for the kill.
LD
The Black Pearl
"Beckett?" Gibbs asked. He, Jack and Naminé all had finished listening to Kairi and Elizabeth's story and now looked over Jack's shoulders as he skimmed the Letters of Marque.
"Yes," Kairi said. "They're signed by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company." Jack made a sound of disgust.
"Will and Sora were working for Beckett and never said a word," Gibbs said in disbelief. "Beckett wants the compass...only one reason for that."
"Of course," Jack said, glancing over at Gibbs. "He wants the chest."
"Yes, he did say something about a chest," Elizabeth mentioned.
"If the Company controls the chest, they controls the sea," Gibbs said darkly.
"A truly discomforting notion, love," Jack said to Elizabeth.
"And bad," Gibbs said in solemn, nervous tone, "bad for every mother's son what calls himself pirate. I think there's a bit more speed to be coaxed from these sails." He turned from the others and began shouting orders at the rest of the crew. Kairi and Naminé both shrugged at one another before following Gibbs to see if they could be of any use.
"Might I inquire how you came by these?" Jack asked, turning towards Elizabeth.
"Persuasion," she replied.
"Friendly?"
"Decidedly not."
"Will strikes a deal for these and upholds it with honor, yet you are the one standing here with the prize," He opened the Letters and read a small part of it out loud. "'Full pardon, commission as a privateer on behalf of England and the East India Trading Company.' As if I could be bought for such a low price." He tucked the Letters away in his waistcoat, unaware that Norrington was watching him carefully.
"Jack, the Letters...give them back," Elizabeth asked. She held out her hand to him.
"No. Persuade me."
"You do know Will taught me how to handle a sword," Elizabeth said threateningly.
"As I said. Persuade me."
"It's a curious thing," Norrington said as he leaned against the railing next to Elizabeth." "There was a time when I would have given anything for you to look like that while thinking about me."
"I don't know what you mean," Elizabeth said. Norrington chuckled.
"Oh, I think you do," he said in a knowing tone. Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock as she realized what he was suggesting.
"Don't be absurd," she said, looking away from him to hide the slight blush that had formed on her cheeks. "I trust him, that's all." Norrington laughed as he began to walk away. He paused and glanced back at Elizabeth.
"So you never wondered how your latest fiancé ended up on the Flying Dutchman in the first place?" Elizabeth had to admit that she was curious. She really wanted to know and everyone had avoided the subject with her so far. She waited until Norrington was far enough away before she pulled out Jack's compass. The arrow spun around once before pointing, to her dismay, straight at Jack.
LD
The Edinburgh Trader
"We've doomed us all," Sora said under his breath as he leaned over the railing to stare at the ship behind them. Sure enough, it was the Flying Dutchman, its skeletal frame, covered in driftwood and ocean life and its ragged torn sails that mysteriously still carried the wind were easily recognizable, even from this distance.
"What the devil?" Bellamy said as he stared at the Dutchman through a bronze spyglass.
"It's the Flying Dutchman!" Will shouted from on top of the main mast. Several members of the crew looked up at him in confusion before the ship lurched to a stop, throwing nearly everyone off of their feet.
"Mother Carey's chickens! What happened?" One sailor groaned as the crew all got to their feet.
"Must have hit a reef." Another one theorized. Bellamy straightened up and began shouting orders.
"Free the rudder!" He demanded. "Hard to port, then hard to starboard!" Sora pulled the barrel that he had comically ended up in off of himself and spat a fish out of his mouth.
"That 's disgusting," he said feeling slightly nauseous.
But funny. Roxas said. I wish I could have gotten that on film.
Shut it.
Sora glanced around while the crew scrambled to free the rudder. Captain Bellamy had vanished from sight and amidst the confused actions of the crew, a man stood, frozen in place with a look of fear on his face as he pointed out off the starboard side of the ship. Sora's gaze traveled in the direction of the man's pointing in time to see a massive tentacle rise from the water with a screaming Bellamy held tightly by it before it dragged him back into the depths.
"Kraken!" A man shouted in terror as a half a dozen tentacles rose up on the starboard side of the ship. One crewman began frantically ringing a bell while the others armed themselves with iron spears and hatchets. The weapons proved useless against the tentacles that were as thick as tree trunks. Railings were smashed easily, ropes snapped and men were thrown overboard. One of the crewmen even ran up to the edge of ship, waving Elizabeth's dress and offering it as tribute. Sora leapt over one of the smaller tentacles as it attempted to knock him off his feet. The Oblivion appeared in his hand in a flash of light and he severed the tip of the tentacle off.
The now injured appendage flailed around, knocking a trio of men into the water. Sora winced as he watched the men fall screaming to a certain death, but was left with no time to feel guilty about it. A larger tentacle attempted to crush him, only to have massive chunks of its flesh blown off by a Firaga spell Sora managed to cast at the last second. The smell of burnt fish flesh filled Sora's nostrils. The tentacle retreated from view as two more took its place.
The first of the new tentacles lashed out at Sora, who easily sidestepped the attack and sent a jolt of electricity into the tentacle with a Thundaga spell. The second tentacle ignored Sora and began wrapping itself around the main mast. Sora did his best to block out the horrified screams of the crewmembers as the Kraken tossed them around like rag dolls.
Sora rolled out of the way as another tentacles lashed out at him, missing him by inches. Instead, it smashed one of the staircases leading to the upper deck and Sora quickly found his legs pinned by a heavy piece of wood.
Sora! Roxas shouted. As the tentacle raised up, readying itself to crash down on Sora. Move!
"I can't!" Sora shouted out loud. "I'm stuck and if I try to use magic I might severely hurt myself." Roxas cursed inside the back of his mind as the tentacle swung down for the kill. Sora squeezed his eyes shut, bracing him for the worse, but it never came. Instead, there was a flash of blue light bright enough for him to see behind his eyelids. Sora nervously opened his eyes and, to his amazement, found Roxas standing over him, garbed in his Organization XIII outfit, with an Oblivion Keyblade in one hand and an Oathkeeper in the other, miraculously holding the Kraken's tentacle at bay. With a roar, Roxas sliced with his Keyblades and cut deeply into the flesh of the Kraken. The tentacle reared back and vanished from view. Grinning, Roxas dispelled his Keyblades and helped Sora shove the wood off his legs and hoisted him to his feet.
"I got my own body!" Roxas said excitedly as he and Sora high-fived.
"How?" Sora asked.
"Who cares?" Roxas asked. "I'm not a Nobody or a Nobody living in his Somebody's heart anymore! And I have clothes on, unlike when Naminé got her body. This day is fantastic!" A man was dragged in between him and Sora, screaming as the Kraken pulled him beneath the ocean surface. "Well, at least as fantastic as it can be, all things considered."
"Way to go," Sora said with a grin. He glanced up and his grin vanished. "Although you better enjoy it while you can. You might not have it for much longer."
Roxas gave him a confused look as he turned around to see what Sora was looking at. "What are you talking abo- oh." A pair of massive tentacles were rising on the Edinburgh's portside.
"Hey Sora," Roxas said nervously. "Do you remember what I said back on the Dutchman about advancing towards future victories?"
"Yeah?"
"I say we go with that plan right about now."
"Amen to that," Sora said and the two of them turned tail and ran to the starboard side of the ship where they promptly leapt overboard and swam to the nearest piece of driftwood the Kraken had knocked off of the ship. They looked back and watched as the two tentacles fell down and snapped the ship in two like it was a toothpick. Men slid into the center of the wreckage, where the massive jaws of the Kraken could just be seen over the turbulent water, swallowing them up. A shiver ran up their spines as the Kraken let out a triumphant roar.
Will fell from one of the masts and landed a short distance away from Roxas and Sora, just far enough away to allow him time to swim further away from the Kraken. The three of them huddled tightly to the driftwood and brief introductions were shared between Roxas and Will. They floated for a moment catching their breath before diving back into the ocean and swimming to the Flying Dutchman as it slowly sailed amongst the wreckage. The three of them climbed into the jaw-like bow of the ship and prepared to wait it out.
Davy Jones watched with grim satisfaction as his leviathan dragged the halves of the Edinburgh Trader to the crushing dark oblivion of the ocean floor.
"The boy's aren't here," Davy Jones' first mate, a man named Maccus whose head had mutated to look like that of a hammer-head shark, said. "They must've been claimed by the sea."
"I am the sea," Jones said darkly. He turned away from the wreckage of the ship to leer at 'Bootstrap', who was frozen in place by horror. "You need some time alone with your thoughts. Brig!" The two crewmen holding 'Bootstrap' in place dragged him off. 'Bootstrap' went with them, having lost the will to resist.
"What of the survivors?" Maccus asked, gesturing at the seven men Jones' crew had pulled from the wreckage. Jones glared at them.
"There are no survivors," he said with a tone of finality. Maccus gestured to the crewmen behind the survivors. Five axes were raised, five axes spilled innocent blood. Jones walked over the railing and stared out at the wreckage.
"The chest is no longer safe," he said to a crewman that had a puffer-fish-like face. "Chart a course for Isla Cruces. Get me there first or there'll be the devil to pay."
"First?" The crewman asked in confusion.
"Who sent those thieving charlatans onto my ship?" Jones asked. "Who told them of the key?" He glanced back out at the wreckage of the Edinburgh.
"Jack Sparrow."
LD
Isla Cruces
One of the Pearl's longboats had been lowered into the water and made its way to the shores of Isla Cruces, carrying Jack, Elizabeth, Norrington, Kairi, Naminé, Pintel and Ragetti along with it. Jack sat at the prow of the boat, clutching onto his jar of dirt for dear life, which made the others feel slightly nervous. No one was sure why Pintel and Ragetti had come along, but the others had agreed to it as long as they did the rowing. Although, none of them were prepared to listen to the pairs' pointless discussion.
"You're pulling too fast!" Pintel snapped.
"You're pulling too slow!" Ragetti retorted. "We don't want the Kraken to catch us."
"I'm saving my strength for when it comes. And I don't think it's 'Kraken' anyway. I always heard it said 'Kray-ken'."
"What with a long 'A'?"
"Aye."
"Nah, nah, nah, nah. 'Kroh-ken' is how it's pronounced in original Scandinavian and 'Kraken' is closer to that."
"Well, we ain't original Scandinavians, are we? 'Kray-ken'."
"It's a mythological creature. I can calls it what I wants!"
Kairi and Naminé both groaned. To the relief of everyone, the pair's debate came to an end as they reached the white, sandy shores of Isla Cruces. Jack turned to Pintel and Ragetti as the pair dragged the boat far enough inland so that it wouldn't be swept away by the tide and ordered the pair to guard the boat and watch the tide before warning them to not touch his jar of dirt.
Elizabeth led the others further inland and across the white sand for several minutes until they reached a small dune about halfway between where they had left Pintel and Ragetti and the edge of the island jungle. It was there that the compass began changing direction on her, forcing her to walk back and forth every few feet while, Jack, Norrington, Kairi and Naminé looked on. Finally, Elizabeth gave up.
"This doesn't work!" She snapped at Jack before tossing the compass down in the sand. "And it certainly doesn't show you what you want most." She crossed her arms and sat down angrily. Jack raised an eyebrow and stared at the compass face as the arrow twisted back and forth before pointing to Elizabeth.
"Yes it does," he said. Elizabeth looked at him in confusion. "You're sitting on it."
"Beg pardon?" She asked. Jack began shooing her away.
"Move," he said. Elizabeth obeyed and scrambled out of the way. Jack whistled to Norrington and gestured at the spot where Elizabeth had been sitting. Norrington tossed one of the two shovels he had been carrying aside and walked over to the spot Jack had indicated and began to dig
LD
It had only been twenty minutes since he had started digging, and already Norrington was worn out and sweating profusely. He wiped his brow as he plunged the shovel into the sand again, keeping his eyes fixated on the back of Elizabeth's head as he moved more sand out of the way. Jack sat cross-legged nearby in a meditative pose. Kairi and Naminé kept themselves entertained by playing tic-tac-toe in the sand, and to their confusion, managed to end each game in a draw.
They all looked around as Norrington's shovel hit something beneath the sand with a dull thud. They quickly unburied a large chest sealed with a sturdy padlock that proved to be no match for the unlocking power of a Keyblade. Inside the chest were a dozen, aged and dried out roses and countless love letters. Jack ignored all of these and went straight for his prize, a smaller, intricately decorated chest. He pulled it out and set it on the edge of the larger chest. The five of them stared at the chest for a moment before leaning in close to find out if the legend was true.
Thump-Thump.
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Alliance Fallback HQ Medical Ward
The Frozen Fields
Riku stared up at the ceiling if the medical ward, silently cursing his 'doctor' for not letting him get out of bed until she was positive he was completely healed. His mind was currently working at a higher rate than usual as he processed all of the information that had been given to him since he had woken up three hours before hand. He glanced to his left where the holographic projection of Dawn sat on a tray of medical equipment, having just explained everything to him.
"So, let me see if I got this straight," Riku began. "From what you've told me, after I fought with Keila and fell of the cliff to what should have been my death, those two women found me and brought me here. When they tried to heal him, my body rejected the restoration and I went into cardiac arrest."
That must've been when I had that crazy dream about that Hope person. Riku told himself. Dawn nodded.
"Then the restoration suddenly worked for no apparent reason and I was healed except for my new scars and a couple of fractures left over from the bones I broke. Right?" Riku stared expectantly at the AI. Dawn nodded again. "Now, explain to me again what this place is and who the two were that saved me."
"This is the Alliance Fallback Headquarters," Dawn said in a monotone, bored-sounding voice, almost as if she were reciting an encyclopedia entry from memory. "During the Keyblade War, it was known as the Forge and served the Chasers as their home. Now it is being refurbished and modified to be compatible with modern day technology.
"Overseeing the initial stages of preparation are Axel Ignis of Radiant Garden and the Disney Court, Number VII of the Chronos Numbers, Jenos Hazard, and their unwilling assistants, Pence Weyant and Hayner Ingram.
"In charge of the facility as a whole is the current High Chaser of the Keyblade, Master Xanthos Algor. His Apprentice is Olette Fairchild and they are the only two known Chasers who are active at this present time.
"The two women who rescued you from the snow are Master Jenna Algor, Superior Medicusi and Master Xanthos' twin sister. Her Apprentice, Nicole Case is the one who saw you fall from the cliff. You'd be dead, frozen under a pile of snow if it wasn't for her." Riku let out a groan.
"That's a lot to take in," he mumbled. "Especially after having a near death experience." Dawn smiled.
"I can explain it to you again if you'd like," she offered. "Or if that's too boring, I can give you a detailed account of the first battle of the Keyblade War. There's a data center in this facility that Master Xanthos allowed me access to while you were unconscious and there is just so much information stored there about life before the Keyblade War and the War itself too. It's rather fascinating."
"I can do without the history lesson for now, teach," Riku said sarcastically. Dawn's face fell slightly.
"Understood," she said. "Although I think you'll be interested to know that I have obtained new data on that anomaly I discovered. Remember?" That grabbed Riku's attention and spared him from the headache he felt coming on from the flood of information he had received today.
"What'd you find?" He asked.
"The Wielders back before the War had encountered weird areas just like the anomaly," Dawn explained, her body glowing slightly brighter as her excitement grew. "They called it a Metaworld. Apparently, they're formed when several worlds hearts fuse together to form one world. Aside from that, there really isn't that much to say except that Metaworlds have their own universal rules. Some of them prevent magic from working. Others move on a completely different timeline than the rest of the universe. And others prevented the Keyblade from-"
Without warning, the room went dark as all the power suddenly went out. Dawn's avatar projection flickered once, displaying a look of shock before she vanished.
"Dawn!" Riku shouted worriedly. "What the heck just happened?"
"Relax, Master Riku. I just shut off the power to this room. I can't have your AI being aware of our little 'conversation'. I'm not skilled enough with computers to erase that from her memory banks."
Riku looked around, straining his eyes in the sudden darkness for the source of the voice. He was nearly blinded as a bright red light flooded the room from a crystal set into the top of a staff. The man holding the staff was clothed in a silver robe and concealed his face with his hood.
Riku let out a growl and summoned the Way to Dawn to his hand. "Who are you and what do you want?" He demanded.
"I am Naleten," the man said. "I am a Nobody. I've come here to keep you in check, Lord of the Dawn." Naleten lowered his staff and lunged at Riku with a ferocious battle cry.
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Beast's Castle
Library
Belle looked up from the book that rested in her lap with a smile as she heard footsteps approaching. Her smile faded as she realized that a teenage girl in a black cloak was approaching her. To her surprise, the girl looked an awful lot like Sora. But something felt out of place. Belle could feel the presence of Darkness filling the room.
"Are you Belle?" The girl asked. Belle nodded.
"Yes," she replied. "Who are you?" The girl smiled. A flash of light lit up the room as a silver and gold Keyblade appeared in the girl's hand. Behind her, nine Neoshadows rose from the ground and began to advance on Belle. One of them leapt swiftly ahead of the others and clamped a claw over Belle's mouth, preventing her from calling out for help.
"Your captor," Keila answered smugly.
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Well, that's it for now everybody. As always, reviews are appreciated. They make me smile and let me know you care.
It's been awhile since there's been any new news in the Kingdom Hearts world, so I'm happy to inform those of you who don't already know that Nomura has confirmed that a playable demo of Dream Drop Distance will be at the Tokyo Game Show this year and is apparently going to focus on the hidden data Ansem put inside Sora. He's even hinted at an HD collection of previous titles for the 10th anniversary this year. Fingers crossed.
I just realized that Kingdom Hearts and Halo both have their 10th anniversaries this year. Have I ever mentioned how much I love 2011? No? Well, now you do.
Fun facts about this chapter:
1. My internet was down for almost three weeks and my work schedule kept me away from the public library so I couldn't get this published sooner. Sorry you guys!
2. I played around with about twenty different scenes involving Riku waking up and I just couldn't get any of them to work the way I wanted.
3. 'Medicusi' is based off of the Latin word 'Medicus', which means 'Doctor'.
A new poll is up to see what video games all of you are looking forward to at the end of the year. Feel free to stop on by and drop your opinion.
Until next time!
Aspicio, diluculo Infinitas Noctis.
Shadow Horizons