"Pirate." Captain Jack Sparrow's face was pulled into a tight, uncomfortable smiled as he watched Elizabeth (the wench who had seconds ago bestowed him with a kiss of death) retreat from him, a telltale guilt lingering in her eyes.
The pirate was doomed, as was his ship, the Black Pearl. There was no escape their twin fates; they were literally bound together by the shackles that locked him to the mainmast.
Jack loathed that his freedom had been so easy to snatch away again. Beyond the Pearl, his first and only love, the sea, taunted; flirted with him. Filled his heart with despair.
But there was one thing he would kill himself to accomplish: flail both hands in the face of his death. Take some of its glory and stamp it flat into the ground.
First, he would need to break free of the shackles.
Captain Jack Sparrow tugged and pulled and heaved.
The shackles jiggled and jangled and clinked.
Not that it made any difference whatsoever. Shackles weren't meant to have their purpose defeated so easily.
"Would you like some assistance with those?" an unfamiliar voice muttered in his ear.
Jack waved his free hand, too distracted to think much, and he grumbled, "Fine. Be my welcome stranger."
Poof. The shackles disappeared.
Rubbing his wrist painfully, the pirate forgot that anyone was there, and he silently rejoiced that he was free.
Or, not.
As he forced himself to face in the other direction, Jack noted the strong presence of Murphy's Law coming into effect, glaring him in the face. The monstrous Kraken had reared up out of the depths, its maw exposed, especially for the pirate to get a preview of what his life/ death would be like very soon. Murphy was an optimist, so that didn't make Captain Jack Sparrow's situation very appealing to the target audience.
"Well, hey there."
"RAAWWWR!!! COUGH COUGH ENCOUGH!!!"
As the Kraken gave Jack its loud greeting, it spluttered and spat up his long-lost tricorne hat on the deck of the Black Pearl.
Plastered in what could only be described nicely as beastie spittle, Captain Jack Sparrow gingerly picked up the hat and gave it a hefty swing, in the hope of the action removing the large blob that it was stuck to.
As Jack placed the hat back on his head, he surveyed his poor ship. "Ye gods, someone has been a very bad little- er, big, beastie. Excuse my slip." He placed one hand on his hip and waggled the index finger of his other hand condescendingly, as if rebuking a naughty child whom had tracked mud inside a house.
"If you're not too busy-
"If you paid a bit more attention, you'd notice that I am in fact too busy," Jack interrupted, waving a hand for silence at the voice without a face.
The voice persisted. "Ah, but your being busy doesn't necessarily get anything accomplished. I don't believe you've noticed yet, but your mighty foe cannot hear you, comprehending or not."
"What the bloody hell-
Jack Sparrow stared hard at the Kraken's maw, observing its many rows of sharp, huge teeth. Was it just him, or was it not moving?
Something stirred in the shadows, and Jack Sparrow jumped, frightened. A young man, probably in his early twenties, silently approached him. He had short, bluish-silver hair, with eyes like cold sapphires. The traced the pirate's movements in an eerie manner.
Jack's eyes widened. "Where did you come from?"
The stranger rolled his eyes. "Thought you might have wanted to know who I was, but I'll humour you… not. You wouldn't even have heard of the name."
"Is that so?" Jack Sparrow fired back defensively, "How can you tell that I have not heard of it if you do not ask me do I know said homeland? Or, whatever said region means to you."
"Indeed…" The stranger placed his hand o his chin thoughtfully. "Well, soon fixed. Have you heard of a place called Marapor, land of Shadow?"
The pirate flailed his hands in the air and lied in excitement, "Oh yes, I've heard of it! Me murderous Grandmama's second cousin Patricia was transferred there several years ago, to my relief. Apparently she's taken a liking to a straitjacket."
The stranger looked suspicious. "Considering the fact that it's an entirely different world, how in the Starpath's name did she get there?"
"By way of a magical boat- er, ship. It's mind-muddling what can be done these days." Jack pretended to stifle a yawn.
"Gummi Ship?"
Jack stared at the young man for a moment and then snapped his fingers in dismissal. "Yes, a Gummi Ship." The pirate had been fortunate enough to hear the strange boy with the key for a sword (What was his name? Zola? Sorry?), Whatever-his-name and Donald and Goofy talking about a Gummi Ship when they had visited Port Royal some time ago. "Anywho. So who were you? Wasn't listening when you said who you were."
"I didn't say," the stranger replied.
"You didn't? Yet." Jack looked pointedly at him.
The young man sighed impatiently. "I am Xabbos."
Jack put his finger in his ear and frowned. "Pardon? You are 'the boss'? I find myself contradicting that theory, savvy?"
Xabbos glanced at the pirate knowingly. "Yes, because you are in fact Captain Jack Sparrow. Stressing 'Captain'. Xabbos is my name."
Grimacing, Jack slapped his hand against his forehead. "Seems to me like mothers are naming their children in gibberish. That hardly inspires sanity in any form. What the hell is this world falling to?
"The darkness," Xabbos replied, not caring that the pirate's rant had been entirely composed of sarcasm. "Not that that concerns your purpose."
Jack Sparrow laughed a dry, defeated laugh. "Oh, my purpose. Has much variation lately." He glanced back at the Kraken, paused in time, waiting.
Xabbos shook his head pityingly. "It's not a destiny you have to choose for yourself."
"I did not choose it!" Jack suddenly shouted, clenching his fists tightly in his anger. "Bloody Elizabeth forced it upon me, to save her precious William!" He spat on the ground in revulsion.
He looked at Xabbos, whose expression had not changed after the pirate's tirade.
"I said 'have', not 'had'," he commented.
Jack's eyes narrowed. "Oh happy day. You said 'have' instead of 'had'! It makes a world of difference."
"Rather, a universe of difference," Xabbos replied, his blue eyes now cool pools of serenity. "But that depends on you, Jack. I offer you a new aversion to Fate."
The pirate rubbed his palms together uneasily. "Your offer doesn't seem to deviate much from that of Davy Jones's plan."
"He sent this monster after you, didn't he?" Xabbos glanced down at Jack's hand thoughtfully.
Jack didn't answer.
Xabbos walked past the pirate casually, towards the Kraken's maw. He leaned forward, observing the teeth like goods in a souvenir shop.
"Now, the way I offer won't hound you with debts, bloodlust, deadlines…" The strange young man pointed back at the Kraken in an offhand manner. "Or that."
"No raging beasties that look at me like afternoon tea? Sounds like a lovely idea, eh?" Jack Sparrow smiled in anticipation.
Xabbos shook his head. "There will always be monsters, no matter how many trespassing notices you stick up."
Jack's face fell. "When you point at a beastie and say I won't get… what was it I wouldn't be getting?"
"Death. We'd never force it on you for failing." Xabbos grinned. "There will be monsters that stand in your way, blocking your path. I suspect you know what they offer." He sniffed in disgust.
Understanding, Jack nodded. "So, what do you offer me?"
Xabbos smiled, knowing that what he was going to say would appeal to the pirate. "Freedom. The chance to see other worlds. Strength. Wisdom. And did I mention 'freedom' clearly enough?"
"How do you propose such qualities?" The word 'freedom' had sparked his imagination. Freedom!"
Holding out his hand, Xabbos summoned a weapon that was suspiciously familiar in the pirate's mind.
"The Keyblade?"
"No." Before Jack could ask what it was, Xabbos answered. "A Keyblade. There are more of them in existence than you know. And I know that you know. My trackers have informed me that you met Sora, a Keyblade bearer."
Jack looked slightly miffed at his confession. "You've been following me? You're as bad as Fitzy. Why should I trust you?"
Xabbos rolled his eyes again. "Mere details, Jack. Why should you trust me? Because you want to, that's why."
"No I don't."
"Actually, you do." Xabbos stepped closer to Jack, holding the Keyblade out in front of him. He noticed that the pirate's pupils dilated with interest. "You want my Keyblade."
"Never!" Jack turned his head away, folding his arms stubbornly, but he could still see the Keyblade in the corner of his eye.
"It can save you from your demise."
Jack frowned at Xabbos. "Who said anything about a- oh." The younger man was pointing at the maw of the Kraken for emphasis. "Funny about that."
"My Keyblade, if it became yours, could make this monster look more like an obstacle in your path to you than the hand of death, as you see it now."
The pirate's hand involuntarily clenched around an invisible Keyblade's hilt. "How long do I have to muse over this? Weigh the pros and cons- sort of."
"Not long." Xabbos glanced back at the Kraken. "The magic is fading."
"You have the Keyblade! Couldn't you shut it up a bit? Sprinkle of Keyblade power… et cetera, et cetera?"
Xabbos shrugged. "I sure could. But that removes your panic, and gives you back any existing logic that you dropped aside earlier. We can't have that happening, can we?"
Without another thought, Jack reached out his hand. "Then hand it over, handsomely now!"
"Now that's altogether rude of you." Xabbos shook his head, appearing disappointed.
Then, without another word, Xabbos lunged for the pirate and trust the Keyblade through his heart.
Jack gasped in agony, his hands attempting to pull the foreign object out of his chest, but Xabbos held it there, forcing the swell of the Keyblade's power into the pirate's body. Jack Sparrow was helpless as tiny pulses of electricity headed up, hijacking his veins, making their way towards his brain.
Mentally, he found himself fighting a losing battle. Jack placed his Strength at the entrance to his mind, defending against the invaders.
The enemy was visible this way. The creatures were the colour of light, but his Strength was not fooled by their appearance. They came to attack, to pry away the possession of his mind. But he wasn't going to let them get their way.
"Get out!" His Strength roared.
Something formed in his Strength's hand. Curious, his Strength looked down. A broadsword. His Strength instinctively gripped the blade and rushed to attack.
The sword sang as his Strength fought in a way that he had never fought before. The light creatures were herded backward, the way they had come. His Strength's path sloped, informing him that his heart was near.
His Strength entered the cavern of his heart. The sight of the Keyblade piercing through the northern wall caught his Strength's attention. It was the source of the light creatures, which were creeping in- and heading towards his Strength en masse.
"Take a hint and get out of my bloody heart!"
The broadsword hacked through the light creatures. His Strength advanced towards the Keyblade's point. Only hesitating for a moment, his Strength stepped straight through the middle of it.
The Keyblade's corridor was small in size, so his Strength had to get down on all fours and crawl. Soon, the corridor widened, exposing the teeth of the Keyblade. Three orbs, gold, silver and obsidian, hung in space in each of the teeth. His Strength continued, having to pull himself along on his stomach through the chain.
Scaring the light creatures away with his blade, his Strength reached out to a psychedelic portal and was warped into a cavern. It reminded his Strength of the one in his own body, but whose was this? Who was the man? Xabbos. Right. It was his heart.
Suddenly, his Strength was sent flying.
With a loud slam, his Strength was cracked against the cavern wall. His Strength looked painfully up. A transparent rendition of Xabbos nearly five times his own Strength's size was towering over him with a smirk on his face.
"You shouldn't have come here, Jack."
"Jack? I'm not Jack. He's the one you attacked, remember?"
The transparent Xabbos shrugged before raising his blurry version of the Keyblade. "I'm surprised you managed to leave your body behind. You're not even a Keyblade bearer!"
His Strength stared at the intertwined colours of gold, silver and obsidian that formed a stone pendant on a loop around the transparent Xabbos's neck.
Thinking quickly, his Strength snatched the pendant, avoided the blurry Keyblade that was swinging for his head and raced toward the return portal. His Strength smiled as he thought of how the transparent Xabbos was far too big to chase after him.
When his Strength was about halfway along the Keyblade corridor, everything shook violently, and his Strength was thrown off of his feet.
A thought from Jack's mind was passed to his Strength. Get back! He's removing the Keyblade…
Another thought, belonging to Xabbos, knocked into him from the other direction. You're trapped…
His Strength only just managed to get back to his body before his only escape was yanked away. Grinning, his Strength tied the stolen pendant around his own neck…
Captain Jack Sparrow stared up at Xabbos, who no longer held the Keyblade.
The younger man looked defeated. "As they said, you are ready to wield Duskwake."
"I was more or less after the Keyblade," the pirate weakly complained. He hadn't yet recovered from the invasion.
Xabbos nodded down at Jack's left hand. The pirate managed to recognise the Keyblade there before its former bearer cast a spell over him, sending him into a void of pitch black.
