I could hear the loud banging against the side of the pearl. She hadn't been hit, but if she had a voice, she would be cowering behind her screams.

I hid in my chamber, impatiently pacing the floor, jumping at the sound of canons firing and battle cries erupting. What was going on outside? I constantly wondered. Who were the attackers? Why were they attacking?

So many questions raced through my mind, with little to no understanding as to the answers. But, above all else, the one thing that troubled me even further was the fact that we were minutes away from Midnight. Minutes away from my 20th birthday.

I knew I had nothing to worry about, but I couldn't help the sting of thinking that something either fascinating or devastating may happen. I began to think of all the possible reasons why I was chosen to be the blood child, all the possible things that made this curse real and I, its victim. I thought of my mother, my sister, my father and what they would think if they saw me now. I began to see myself as a monster, as some sort of abomination, but a prized one at that. Nothing about it made me feel beautiful, instead I felt...cold?

the temperature suddenly dropped. I held my arms as I began to shake vigorously, breathing out heavily as I watched my breath crystallize in front of me. Why the sudden drop in temperature. Then began the burning.

*Luke's P.O.V*

I ran up to the poop deck to secure the sails so the pearl wouldn't blow away from the massive winds that came following the ambush.

"Where's Jack?" I yelled to Bones as he rushed passed me, carrying cannonballs.

"Along the frontline, there be pirates trying to get aboard the Pearl!" he said, not stopping.

Shit!

Why was this happening?

A thick fog had bloomed only minutes after the arrival on the unknown enemy, making it difficult for us to firmly lock on to a target and fire our canons effectively. this fact aggravated me even more than it did before. We were blinded in the middle of the ocean and the pearl would surely fall if she wasn't carefully protected. Even more alarming, winds were picking up in the middle of the night and I didn't know why.

Swiftly, I made my way to the frontline to find Jack, dodging scurrying sailors who were about as little tempered as I was at the moment. My thoughts lingered to Clarice and the opinion on whether or not she was safe in her chamber alone but before I could act on this, Jack rushed passed me in a drunken frenzy, his face clouded by his rumpled thoughts. I stopped in my tracks.

"Jack!" I cried.

"No time to speak, have to get to the captain's quarters!" He replied, climbing the steps, knocking over barrels of gun powder and other essentials at this time of need.

"Why? The fight is THAT way!" I stopped and yelled, pointing in the direction that I resumed the ship was. All the men began protecting the decks of the pearl, firing cannons at the fog and screaming filthy words when they heard no sound of impact.

"No you don't understand, we can't fight the ship...only one thing will do." Jack replied.

I followed him.

What on earth was he blabbering about?

He pushed open the door with purpose and began scattering papers, documents and objects off and around the table, as if searching for something of deep importance.

"Jack can you please tell me what's going on?" I asked him.

"Help me search, check those cupboards over there..." He simply replied, his head buried in pointless documents.

Cursing under my breath, I did as he asked me to. I walked towards a cupboard that stood beside his king bed and reached out my hand.

"NO NOT THAT ONE!" He yelled and lunged forward infront of me, protecting the hidden contents inside the cupboard. I raised an eyebrow in wonder.

"THEN WHICH ONE THEN?" I yelled back.

He pointed over to the small cupboard beside his table.

was he being serious right now?

I shrugged it off and began to search, tossing stupid finger art and maps out like they were old socks.

"You know this would be make more sense if you told me what I was searching for?!" I told him as his head was buried in the cupboard he previously shooed me away from. I could hear the sound of bottles clicking.

"An artifact given to me by an old friend."

"Which was?"

I tossed out more paper.

"AHA! Found it!" Jack yelled out. I turned around to see him hold up a jar of what looked like...dirt?

"What the fu-"

CRASH!

We felt the ship lunge to the side heavily.

"She's been hit!" I whispered, looking up at the ceiling.

"Time to go!" Jack said and hopped over random items on the floor as he proceeded out the door.

I followed.

"WE'VE BEEN HIT!" was all that was being screamed from the crew as they frantically ran in and out of the cellar, trying to get as much water out as possible.

"Step aside!" Jack called out, holding the jar of dirt above his head. the fog was as thick as it was previously, we still couldn't see any ship.

I watched from the starboard as Jack climbed up onto the railing and carefully balanced himself.

"what's he doing?" Ryan came up behind me and asked.

"No one..ever knows..." I replied.

I watched him open the jar of dirt and reach in for a handful. He then blew it onto the fog.

The entire crew watched with arched eyebrows as their Captain, to combat an ambush, blew dirt onto the fog that blinded the Pearl. I facepalmed myself as I watched the dust spread out in the thick atmosphere. He blew out some more.

"why isn't it working?" we all heard him say as he kept blowing more dirt.

I began to question whether he was my father or not.

Suddenly, the dirt faded into the fog, perfectly outlining where it stopped and where it began, and, without total understanding of how, and why, the fog began to lift.

We all stared in awe as the fog lifted and the image of a large brown, diseased looking ship formed before us. The ship looked as if it had journeyed many times into Davy Jones locker and not even once, had it managed to stay sunken. My first thought was that it was indeed the ship of Davy Jones, but something told me not to jump to conclusions, so I walked up further to analyze it deeper. turns out, I wasn't the only one with this idea. The crew gathered near to where Jack still stood and watched the silent ship. No battle cries could be heard, nor could any crew member be seen.

"They're not there..." Jack said silently.

I could feel the tenseness rise in the pearl. He was right. They weren't on the ship. which could only mean...

"ATTACK!" we heard a deadly voice call as we turned to witness grotesque,zombie like creatures scale the sides of the pearl and hop aboard her. All swords were drawn at this point as Jack was pushed back onto the ground by a zombie lunging forward infront of him.

And with the clash of a sword, the battle begun.

Men were knocked to the ground, Swords were tainted with blood, red and black. Ryan and I fought along side each other, having each other's back as we swiftly maintained control of our posture and stood our ground. I turned just in time to see Jack push the zombie off of himself and pull out his sword. He then joined the fight as all hell broke loose.

Who were these pirates? Why were they undead? Who was there Captain? All these questions raced through my mind but my worries instantly shifted to Clarice. Was it her they were truly after?

I turned my gaze to the door leading to her chambers and watched as two pirates headed that way, one with swords for hands and the other with dread locks.

"Clarice!" I yelled out. Ryan heard me and followed.

At that moment however, before we could stop them, a gust of wind blew, knocking everyone over. All fighting seized as everyone watched the midnight sky darken with thunderous clouds while the waves of the ocean began to lash violently against the pearl. What was happening?

"What's going on?" Ryan asked.

I couldn't answer. I din't know myself.

The two pirates slowly and painfully got up, moaning as they did so and proceeded to open the door. As one placed their rotting hand on the knob, the door flung off its hinges, lashing both pirates into the air and out to sea. Ryan and I ducked just in time before we were beheaded.

A furious blue light illuminated the pathway. I squinted to see what it was. All was silent aboard the pearl as everyone watched in awe the godly spectacle that played out before them.

A figure soon appeared at the doorway, silently hovering slightly above the ground, their toes dangling freely. Upon further squinting, I made out the face to be that of...Clarice?

"Clarice!" I yelled and tried to get up. Ryan held me back.

"No. Its time." He said to me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked him.

"It's after midnight." he said.

Then the thought hit me. It was her 20th birthday. The ritual had begun.

I watched as she gracefully floated, her hair levitated as if it was in water. Her eyes glowed brightly with a blue flame. She didn't seem to be looking at anything, she just stared. Her hand s were away from her sides, her palms opened outwards.

Nothing happened, she just...floated. I began to get agitated.

"Clarice?" I said and crawled to her slightly.

"No Luke." Ryan whispered.

I didn't pay any mind to him.

"Clarice?..." I said and touched her feet.

Suddenly, a loud cry was heard as she bent back her head and allowed a wave of light to project upwards into the sky. The sheer force of the cry sent many lunging back, including myself and sent those standing near rails, overboard. Blue, glowing, tribal markings covered her body in sequences, as if writing a book all around her. Her eyes pulsed brightly with blue flames and she began to speak in a godly voice that wasn't her own.

"Follow a path not easily read,

look for the man without a head.

Cover your ears as night time falls,

But follow the compass, most of all."

Everyone leaned in and listened as she looked down on us. It was as if a goddess had appeared to her people.

"Take the blood of he who breathes fire,

Sacrifice the life of a liar.

Do not follow the calls of hunger,

and you will find, that for which you plunder."

"TAKE THE GIRL!" we heard a pirate say from behind. Everyone's senses soon returned to normal as they remembered they were all aboard a ship of enemies and allies all after the same thing. And so the fighting continued.

I drew my sword and stood my ground infront of Clarice, I wouldn't dare let anyone hurt nor take her.

She screamed once more and lifted her hands into the air.

A blue mist followed her lead and lifted four pirates off the ground, one of which was a member of the pearl.

they cowered in the air like puppies dangling from their mother's mouth. The mist formed around their throats and they began to choke. Everyone dropped their swords at that point and watched in fear at the wrath the blood child brought out upon these unfortunate souls.

We all heard they plead in stretched out voices for mercy as the air was suffocated out of them.

"No Clarice!" I heard Jack yell.

Clarice folded in her palms in a crushing motion and I watched as the men fell to the floor, lifeless.

the enemy soon began to retreat back to their ship, crawling over the sides and plunging themselves into the ocean.

But there were no battle cries coming from the Pearl. Clarice had also just killed one of our own.

Was this really Clarice?

I looked at her as she shifted her fiery gaze from one lifeless soul to the other.

Who would be her next victim?

She looked down at me.

I stared into her eyes. Never before had I been so entranced. Not by beauty, but by fear. I couldn't move.

She reached out her hand and I could see the mist intertwine around me.

"no Clarice..." I whispered to her. She smiled devilishly.

CRASH!

glass shattered across her head. I saw the light fade from her eyes as she hit the floor with a loud thud! The blue light faded from her markings, leaving an imprint as if her skin was burned. Her eyes were closed and watched her return to normal.

was she really about to kill me?

looking up above, I saw Jack holding nothing but the cover of his jar over his head as he too watched her return to normal.

"well...that wasn't what I was expecting." He said.

Before anyone could respond, we heard a call from the ghost ship.

"Captain Jack Sparrow!"

We walked to the rails to view who was calling out to Jack.

A ghostly looking man, with an eye-patch over one eye stepped forward from his crew of grotesque zombies.

Jack along with myself stood silent and in bewilderment.

"Hello old friend..." He waved his crooked hand.

"If you thought for a minute that you would be the only one to find that treasure, you're wrong... I was so full of joy when I realized you had found the blood child...even after DEATH, does the feel of gold between my fingers entice me. BlackBeard didn't enjoy my company, but surely you will...I promise you."

the rage in my body filled to a point where there was no justifying what I wanted to do at this traitor.

"Benjamin Hornigold...the bastard." I said as we all watched the fog return and his ship disappear behind it.

"Do you like my ship? my crew?...well...even if you don't...expect to see us...REALLY soon...you can't keep her for yourself forever jackie."

His voice trailed off as the fog faded and along with it, the ship.

Everyone stared at Jack and each other, confused as to what to do.

"Captain?" we heard Gibbs say.

All eyes on Jack.

Jack glanced over to the unconscious Clarice then back to his crew, then to the now calm waters where, over the horizon, a hot glare from the sun was beginning to slightly show.

For the first time in my life, I had never seen Jack look so scared, so confused, so full of regret and with him, the entire crew.

ULTRA MEGA PLOT TWIST!

Did it have you on the edge of your seat? huh? huh? did it?

my finger were literally trembling while writing this chapter! haha! xD

anywhoo...No school for me tomorrow so..possibly you'll have your new chapter then? ;) haha.

Anyway, tell me what you thought of the chapter and the chapters before this. I love getting reviews.

btw, if you're a fan of all the characters played by johnny Depp: Mad Hatter, Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney todd etc, I have a Christmas Surprise for you! you'll get it on the 25th at 12:00am!

So keep your eyes out for that.

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thank you for all those who already have! you guys keep encouraging me to continue with this story! :)

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Love you guys! xx

~Vendetta.