Me: One of my favorite chapters -grin- And it's long, too.
Char: -noncommittal grunt-
Me: Yeah, so, anyway, I wrote all of this today -insert Miranda laughter here- I just thought I'd post it now, because I'm leaving for a swimteam-related party in about forty-five minutes. If I don't return hideously humiliated... it'll be a miracle.
Lexi: Oh, come on. It won't be so bad.
Me: Oh, won't it? Anyway, here 'tis. (Wow, that was one of my shorter A/Ns XD)
Disclaimer- Dude. No.
As they crossed the moss-laden bridge, with Char shuddering a bit as a raindrop fell off of a tree branch above, the redhead allowed herself to fully take in Port Royal. She frowned to herself, irritation growing within her at the thought that so far, the pirates had exceeded her original expectations of "desire" – had risen far above them, actually, if their behavior in front of her back there was any indication. She told herself that it was only a case of severely untamed lust on the undead pirates' parts, but that still couldn't keep back the annoyance at earlier. And Sora… For some reason she didn't really mind the fact that he had tried to protect her – key word being "tried", of course – but Char knew better than anyone that she could take care of herself. A couple of lecherous pirates were no problem.
A couple of lecherous, undead pirates.
The group trekked through the underbrush in silence, until, quite suddenly, they found themselves standing in an all-but-deserted town. Char blinked; she'd expected people to be bustling and haggling for wares even at this time of night.
Suddenly Donald cried out and pointed, and the others followed his gaze. A single pirate was walking away from them, but that obviously hadn't been what had gotten the mage's attention: the pirate had heaved a struggling young woman with long brown hair over his shoulder and was carrying her off. "Where are you taking me?!" she demanded haughtily, pounding her fists uselessly against the back of his shoulder. "Let me go!"
"Elizabeth!" a masculine voice shouted from nearby, and a young man clad in an open gray-and-white shirt rushed forward. "Stop –"
Almost in a direct caricature of his own order, the man halted abruptly in his tracks. Char caught sight of the glowing yellow eyes in the darkness.
"Heartless," she muttered.
"What are they?" he murmured, staring wide-eyed down at the creatures.
"It's the Heartless! Watch out!" Donald squawked. One of the black ants moved forward to attack the young man and Donald quickly brought his staff up; the Heartless vanished as the thunder attack scythed right through it.
"Let's go," Sora cried, running forward and brandishing the Hero's Crest. The older man looked on in shock, his eyes lingering in particular on the Keyblade.
Char realized how strange Sora must look – a boy no older than fifteen wielding a giant key, of all things – but she still turned her head and cast the man an expectant glare. "We'll take care of these guys. Just take cover, got it?"
Seeming to snap out of his surprise, the man gave a swift nod and obeyed. Char looked back at the Heartless and took a deep breath before letting out a snarl and bringing both swords up to drive down into the nearest one. It disappeared in an all-but-concealed puff of black smoke. She could hear Donald yelling "I got it!" and Sora grunting with the force of swinging the Hero's Crest as she quickly whipped away from the next Heartless' claws – it still managed to shallowly scratch her legs; compared to the pain from Hades' attack, though, this was nothing – and laid into it with one sword.
"Looks like you're doing really well with those new weapons, Char," Sora called from her side.
The redhead turned her head briefly to acknowledge his statement. "Thanks; I got used to using them when I found them at the Po – gods damn it!" she suddenly snarled, barely blocking the Heartless' attack in time. She narrowed her eyes as she held up her swords to guard. What the hell are these? she wondered, glaring down at the little dog-like Heartless. I've never seen these before… Don't tell me the Heartless are evolving!
But then a flash of lightning impaled the dog Heartless, and it fell backward and disappeared with a howl of pain. Donald stood there, a smirk on his feathered face. "You're welcome."
"Tch," Char muttered, looking away. "That had better be the last of them…"
Thankfully, that was the way things seemed. Sora straightened from his battle stance and the rest of the group came to stand near him. "Good effort, guys. Hey, Char, do you want that leg looked at?" he added worriedly, looking at the series of reddening lines from where the Heartless had slashed her.
She simply gave him a skeptical look, a look that said it's the same leg Hades burned, moron.
"Oh yeah… right." Sora laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.
The anonymous young man came running back up to them, stumbling in his effort to stop right before knocking Sora over. "Well done!" he congratulated. "My own fencing skills are not to be ashamed of… but I've never faced foes such as that before…" He stared at the spot where the Heartless had been.
"Those are Heartless. We'll take care of them," Sora told him.
Char nudged him. "Sora, don't take it so lightly," she muttered. "Just because we know how to take them out doesn't mean that things will work out as well for him."
The young man hesitated; clearly he didn't know whether to agree or take offense. "She has a point," he conceded.
"So… you really think we're that good?" Sora put his arms behind his head again, only to lower them at once when a burst of pain suddenly became tangible in his skull.
Oh, come on, Roxas, you're not that good yet…
Try summoning your Samurais again…
Again…
Perhaps if Number XIII worked harder we would see more results…
"Hey Sora, you okay?" Donald asked, concern etched into every feather on his face.
Sora shook his head to clear it. Fortunately, that seemed to work. "Yeah, it's fine." He didn't even want to imagine the pained look that must have contorted his facial features a few moments ago.
The young man was giving Sora an odd look, but his chocolate-colored gaze went to Goofy when the knight spoke. "Did you find your friend?"
"No," the young man sighed, his eyes falling toward the ground. "I was too late. But –" he jerked his head up determinedly – "I must rescue her!" He looked pleadingly at the group. "Would you help me?" The look on his face was so honest, so sincere, that Char couldn't help but wish that all people loved like that.
"Of course," Sora agreed immediately. "I'm Sora."
I think he gathered that much from earlier… Char thought; nevertheless, introducing himself had been the best course of action at that time.
"This is Donald, Goofy, and Char," he continued, looking from one companion to the other as he said their name. Char realized that she didn't mind the fact that Sora had introduced her.
"And I'm William Turner, but call me Will," Will answered.
"Okay, Will. Let's go!"
"Right – we've got to get to the docks!" And with that he took off at a steady run through the corridors.
Char put one hand to her temple. "Geez, just run in there without even thinking of the danger, why don't you?"
They reached the docks relatively quickly and the five of them skidded to an unsteady halt along the dew-soaked grass. Char followed Will's gaze and felt a twinge of sympathy for Will as he stared out at the departing ship, visible only due to the lights showing from its windows. From what Char could glean from just a few minutes ago, the woman that the pirates had taken was far from a "friend" in Will's eyes. Must be tough on him, the redhead thought.
"We're too late," Will murmured, his eyes despondently following the ship as it made its way out toward the all-but-concealed horizon. "Those pirates kidnapped Miss Swann and took her to their ship, and now that they've sailed, I'll never be able to find her!"
"Then she's long gone," a cocky, distinctively masculine voice reached them from one of the boats nearby. The group turned and spotted a man standing on the ramp leading up to one of the ships. Char blinked at the sudden interruption, but then narrowed her eyes as she took in the man's scruffy look. After the previous encounter with that captain and his crew, she couldn't help but feel a bit disinclined to trust this pirate; for that was definitely what this man was, if the loose white shirt and dreadlocks were any indication. Sora, Donald, and Goofy just looked curious as to who the man was, observing him in the quiet way they'd apparently gained from their journeys.
"The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable," the man continued loftily. To Will, he continued, "Best find yourself another girl, mate." As he spoke, the pirate turned and started toward the deck of the ship, casually hopping down from the upraised ramp to the floor of the ship.
Will surveyed the man cautiously. "You…" he murmured warily, stepping forward. Instinctively, Sora followed, his curiosity piqued. "What are you doing aboard the Interceptor? She's off-limits to civilians."
"Something tells me that that's not going to stop him," Char muttered.
"Yeah," Sora agreed under his breath.
"Ah, fortunate that I'm going to commandeer her, then. She'll make a fine pirate ship."
Sora abruptly stopped in his tracks. "A pirate?" he asked incredulously, a grin weaving itself across his face. He knew that his words before about "taking a pirate ship for a spin" had been just what he'd said – a joke – but despite that, he did feel a certain amount of awed fascination for them. After seeing all the men that stopped by at Destiny Island's mainland to get supplies and haggle, it wasn't like Sora was unfamiliar with the concept; if anything, he reflected, perhaps he was a bit too familiar.
"Aye," the man grunted, and as the five of them approached, they got a better look at the pirate – for that was obviously his "occupation" – that had spoken to them. His long dreadlocks swayed in the chill nighttime air and he lifted a finger to make a point. "Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please," he sighed, almost as though any reference to him without an honorific was an insult.
Char glanced over to the others. Sora still looked slightly in wonder of the fact that he was getting to meet a real live pirate, but Will had a suspicious look on his fine features. She hesitated, but then decided to let Will make the decision; he was the resident of this world, after all.
He finally let out a sound between a sigh and a murmur. "Take me with you," he said steadily, meeting Sparrow's eyes in what was clearly an effort. "Help me hunt down the Black Pearl and save Miss Swann." He broke the eye contact and put his hands on his hips. "I got you out of that jail cell, Sparrow. Do this and your debt's repaid."
"Wait, you know this guy?" Sora asked.
Will gave a half-hearted shrug, shame clouding his countenance at the memory. "Unfortunately, yes, I do."
"Let's just say our dear lovesick boy here saved me from a fine predicament," Sparrow cut in. Returning his gaze to Will, who now looked indignant at being referred to as "lovesick", the captain continued, his dark eyebrows slightly raised in skepticism. "But you'll have to win fair lady's heart alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."
"Oh, come on," Char said, folding her arms and tilting her head to properly glower at him. His eyebrows lifted slightly more as he fully took her in, but she continued nonetheless. "A captain can't run his ship all alone, can he? You're going to need some help if we're going to catch the Black Pearl."
"Who said there was any 'we' involved?" Sparrow lifted one hand, a couple of his fingers raised in an odd thoughtful gesture. Then he lowered his arm. "But you've a point there, darling." He stepped over to the entrance to the ship and swept his arms out in a mock welcoming way. "All aboard."
"All right!" Sora murmured, his grin returning as they all entered, with Will in the lead. Aside from a few crates and barrels here and there, the deck looked devoid of actual life.
"Thank you, Sparrow," Will said to the captain.
"Captain Sparrow," Jack corrected instantly.
"I'm Sora," Sora introduced, his voice carrying just a bit more confidence than usual. "This is Donald, Goofy, and Char."
"Charmed, I'm sure," Jack answered loftily, and turned to Will. "And you?"
"I'm Will Turner."
Jack blinked; but just as soon as the surprise had appeared, it was gone, hidden behind his usual arrogant façade. "That would be short for William, I imagine. No doubt named for your father, eh?"
Will's eyes widened. "Yes. How did you –"
"Never you mind that. Well, then, Mr. Turner. Get the ship ready. I've some effects to liberate."
"Aye-aye. B-but hurry!" Will added hastily.
"Naturally," Jack tossed over his shoulder, waving his hand nonchalantly as he stepped out onto the ramp.
"Sora…" Char muttered.
"You really wanna be a pirate?" asked Goofy, looking a bit bewildered.
"Of course not!"
"Somehow I don't believe that," Char said. She stopped in her tracks abruptly when she noticed a certain mage wasn't following them. "Donald…?" she asked, voice trailing off as she turned around. Donald was standing there, one feathered hand on his chin in thought. She let out a sigh. "Oh, geez. Don't tell me…"
"Donald!" Sora chided.
The duck seemed to jolt in surprise. "Oh, right!" he squawked hurriedly, and rushed after them.
Sora started forward, but was stopped by a certain Jack Sparrow. "Hm?" he asked, not quite knowing what to say.
"What do you make of this Will?" the captain queried in a stage whisper, one hand slightly in front of his face in a conspiratorial manner.
Sora hesitated and glanced over his shoulder. Will was adjusting the sails a bit, and gave Sora a tentative smile when he saw him.
"I don't know," the Keybearer admitted, turning back to Sparrow. "We just met him."
"Hm," Jack mused, and a little smile appeared on his face. "I think my luck's about to change."
"What makes you say that?" Char asked.
"Oh, nothing. I'll stand by over here; let me know when you want to leave, savvy?" Without waiting for a response, Jack made his way over to the wheel that steered the ship.
"Hmph." Char didn't take her eyes off of Sparrow, her arms still folded across her chest in her trademark irritable gesture. "I don't trust him."
"You sure you're not just a tiny bit biased because of those other pirates?" Sora laughed sheepishly at the glare that his comment induced. "Look, I'm sure it'll be fine. Will seems to trust the guy."
"I don't know…" Donald muttered, his own dark gaze narrowed. "I think Will would do anything to save that woman the pirates kidnapped."
"My question is, why'd they kidnap her in the first place?" Char mused, reaching up to brush a strand of windblown red hair out of her eyes.
"Maybe it's got somethin' to do with that medallion," Goofy suggested.
"Yeah, maybe. We won't know until we catch the Black Pearl."
"Yeah," Char muttered. Sora guessed that she hated not knowing what was going on; for him, it was a familiar feeling, what with his previous journey and the Organization calling him "Roxas" and all, but he felt certain that she'd always known most of the answers. And even if she hadn't, she'd probably always been able to look them up in a book or something.
"We'll be fine," he assured her. She turned to face him. "It's not like Will's going to let those pirates get away with it. People do all kinds of things when they're in love, right?"
"It's not that I'm worried about," she answered. "It's just that…"
She hesitated then, and Sora blinked at how uncharacteristic the gesture was for her. For some reason, that worried him more than anything else.
He opened his mouth to reply, but then Will appeared next to them. "Are you all ready to set sail?" he asked, looking anxious for the positive response.
"Yeah," Sora responded. He moved in preparation to go inform Sparrow, but the captain in question's voice drifted down to them.
"I can hear every word you're saying, you know. Right then, let's go."
Almost immediately after the last words had escaped Jack's lips, the ship abruptly moved forward in a way that caused it to groan loudly. Will grabbed onto the rail of the ship to keep from falling, but Donald and Goofy were less fortunate. Char stumbled, but Sora reached out and caught her just in time.
"Oh, I probably should've warned you about that," Sparrow said, putting one hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"You think?" Donald growled indignantly, getting up and dusting himself off while glaring at the pirate.
"Oh, such animosity, mate!" Jack said, eyes widening. "I think it'd be better if we could all just get along."
"A pirate, suggesting such things?" Will sighed and shook his head.
"Yeah…" Sora chuckled.
"Uh, Sora?" Char's voice cut into his amusement, and he turned his head to look at her, very nearly bumping noses with her. "What?"
"You can let go of me now," she said dryly, her eyes flicking down to where he still held her waist.
Sora realized that little fact almost as soon as she'd spoken, and embarrassment promptly flamed inside him. "S-sorry!" he blurted out, releasing her at once and hastily stepping back for good measure.
Char brushed herself off and stared at him. "It's fine," she said; but at that moment the clouds revealed the moon, the silvery light shining down, and he thought he caught a glimpse of red staining her cheeks the same shade as her hair.
"They say young love never lasts." Sparrow's airy voice caused them both to jump in surprise and look over at him: Sora with surprise and Char with angry skepticism.
"Oh – shut up!" the girl shouted at him, and a low growl issued from her when her threatening tone produced only a wide grin from Sparrow.
"Tut-tut, what a temper," he sighed, staring back out at the horizon again. A flicker of movement caught Sora's eye, and the brunette watched Sparrow take out a strange-looking compass. Keeping one hand on the wheel and another on the compass, Sparrow kept his kohl-lined eyes on the compass, every once in a while glancing up at the sea around them.
"Why are you so fixated on that compass?" Sora questioned, walking up the stairs to where Sparrow was. Seeing as she had nothing much else to do, Char followed.
"It'll be she that leads us to the Isla de Muerta – where Barbossa's headed. Savvy?"
"Isla de Muerta – the Island of the Dead." Char leaned over slightly to get a better look at the compass, but as the clouds had obscured the moon again, she had to pull back again with no results. "It makes sense."
"Barbossa? Is that the name of that pirate captain back there?" Donald asked.
"Aye, that it is." Jack's grip tightened almost imperceptibly on the wheel. "He and I once had our eyes on the same treasure – Aztec gold. 'Twas hidden on the Isla de Muerta. But he turned traitor and stole my ship."
"The Black Pearl was once yours?" A surprised look covered Will's countenance.
"So he's after that treasure, then," Sora assumed.
"Treasure's already his," Sparrow said. "So's the curse upon it. And I have no desire for such treacherous spoils." He ignored the way the other five's faces lit up with realization: that the Aztec gold had somehow caused the undead pirates to become the way they were. "But I will have back what's mine – the Black Pearl."
"Well," Char sighed, "as charming as all this is, I'm gonna go to the cabin for a while."
"Seasick?" Donald taunted.
"Of course not!" the redhead retorted, folding her arms. "I'm just… going to get some downtime, is all."
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," Jack quoted. "Alright. I've no problem with it. The lady shouldn't be exerting herself too much, anyway."
Char was already halfway down the stairs that led to the lower deck, but she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Excuse me?"
"All I'm saying is that maintaining the ship is a man's job. And you'll be doing your share of fighting when we get to the Isla de Muerta, anyway."
Char turned back around fully, her hands on her hips. "Just what is that supposed to mean? Just because I'm female doesn't mean I can't do my share of the work!"
"Whatever you say, darling." Jack looked back down at his compass, clearly having finished his end of the conversation.
Char glowered at him for a moment longer; then turned away again and started haughtily back down the stairs again.
As the door of the cabin was closed with a resounding slam, Sparrow sighed. "I was so certain that would've swayed her."
"Wait – so you wanted her to work?"
"In a nutshell, yes."
"You're terrible," Sora murmured, his brow wrinkled in bemusement.
He walked over to the side of the ship and looked out, arms resting on the rail and his chin propped against his arms. Watching the sea go by was a feeling he knew, but somehow he got the feeling that this was unlike anything he'd ever watched pass him before.
"You okay, Sora?" asked Goofy. Sora realized that his two allies were standing on either side of him. The knowledge that he would never be alone was still there, but it nevertheless helped to have that reinforced every once in a while.
Like now.
"Yeah," he said, grinning at his companions. They smiled back, reassured as to their leader's status, and a sudden feeling of guilt went through him. Telling himself he had no reason to feel that way, Sora straightened. The ship was seemingly flying through the waters with the speed Jack was using, so they were more than likely almost to their destination. The brunette shivered; he couldn't help but wonder what was waiting for them at the Isla de Muerta – more of Barbossa's pirates, no doubt.
"We're here," Sparrow suddenly called. Sora rushed over to the other side of the ship, Donald and Goofy following after him, and looked over the rail, his upper body practically already over the side with the way he was looking. A series of strange-looking rock formations greeted his gaze, and a murmur of awe escaped him as they fully came into view.
"Are you sure this is it?" Will asked, his first words spoken since they had left the port. Until now he had been standing near the captain, tight-lipped and his teeth obviously clenched, probably tormenting himself with thoughts of what the pirates were doing to Elizabeth. Now, however, he spoke, eyeing Sparrow warily.
"I'd know this place anywhere," Jack answered smoothly. The ship came to a halt. "Go get your lady friend, Zola," he said, speaking in Sora's general direction.
The Keybearer sighed. "It's Sora," he tossed over his shoulder as he walked off in the direction of the cabin, ignoring Donald and Goofy's snickers that rang out behind him.
"Char?" he called, knocking tentatively on the door. He wasn't exactly sure what the redhead would do upon being interrupted, but he felt certain that it wouldn't be too pleasant. "We're here." Upon hearing no response, he rested one hand on the doorknob, hesitated, but then he took a deep breath and turned the knob. The door opened in response and he stepped inside.
In stark contrast to the outside of the ship, the inside was cluttered, with maps and binoculars and gods knew what all. A scroll along the wall read East India Trading Company in ornate letters; papers were scattered all along the floor and a single chair was propped up in the corner. He scanned the room and caught a glimpse of red. "Char?" he asked quietly, stepping forward again.
When he spotted her, it came as a shock to him, mostly because she was… sleeping? He peered a little closer and realized that it was true; Char had fallen asleep on the floor, leaning against the back of the chair with an atlas still opened on her lap.
"Char?" he repeated, the fact that he now seemed to only have a one-word vocabulary nagging at him. She only stirred in response, and he stood by stupidly as she shifted. The word she spoke, slurred a little by sleep as it was, made his eyes widen and his body freeze up.
"Riku…"
Riku? Immediately a mixture of shock and wonder shot through him with the force of a raging wildfire and much the same effect as one. How did she know Riku? If she did, though, that probably explained why she had been so determined to join Sora at the beginning.
But that just led to more and more questions, the query as to how exactly she knew Riku at the very center. Sora reached up and raked his fingers through his brown hair, stopping at his temples so he could rub them in confusion.
"Hm… mm… Sora?" Char's eyes opened a bit so that only a sliver of ice-blue was visible. "Hi," she mumbled, her tone somehow sounding far too intimate for his liking.
Sora hesitated, not knowing how exactly to address her after what she'd just said. "We're here," was all he said.
"Okay." Char blearily lifted her body into a half-standing position, leaning against the chair with her eyes still narrowed against the light of the room. She blinked a few times and focused on him. "Sorry about that; I guess it's the time zone of this world or something, because I got in here and started reading and then… well…" She chuckled and shrugged. "Anyway, we're at the Isla de Muerta, right? Let's go," she said a little more briskly, adjusting her jacket.
"Right," Sora said, and turned away.
He heard a huffy sigh come from her direction. "All right, Key-boy, what's wrong? You're acting less annoyingly friendly than usual."
"Nothing," the brunette answered, carefully pausing just long enough to make her think she was being honest. In reality, her sleep-spoken mention of Riku was still whirling through his mind. Somehow, Sora couldn't convince himself that she had said something else.
"C'mon, guys!" Donald's somewhat-muffled voice called from outside.
"Keep your pants on; we're coming!" Char yelled back, and gave Sora a tentative smile. "Guess we should go."
"Yeah."
They stepped out of the cabin and found that the ramp had already been set up, so they headed down the ramp to the island itself. Donald, Goofy, Will, and Jack were already there. Donald crossed his arms as the two of them approached. "Took you long enough."
"Whatever, duck-boy," Char grunted. She looked over at Jack. "So, what's the deal here?"
"You all wait here," the captain said, gesturing to the four of them. "Young Turner and I will rescue the lady."
"Hey! What about us?" Sora protested.
Sparrow appraised the Keybearer carefully, if only for an instant, and then he spoke again. "You four," he fluttered his fingers toward them in indication, "get the task of staying behind and guarding the ship. It's a task given only to the bravest of pirates."
"All right…" Sora said after a moment, not trusting Sparrow's air of giving large responsibility to them.
Jack and Will turned toward the winding pathway ahead that led into the yawning cavern. "Shall we?" Jack said extravagantly, and they ran toward the entrance. As they vanished into the darkness, a noisy sigh was heard from Char's direction, causing the other three to look over at her. She folded her arms as she leaned against the side of the barely-shifting boat. "You do realize he just tricked us, right?"
"W-well, maybe we are supposed to guard it," Sora said lamely.
"Whatever…" Char sighed again and looked up at the clouds.
Sora wasn't exactly sure how much time passed – though the sky did remain clad in the darkened garb of night, so it was probably about an hour or so – but the silence was starting to press in upon him. He knew Char was right, that Jack was pulling a bluff just to make them stay there. Donald tapped his feet in an irritated-sounding, impatient rhythm, while Goofy just kept his eyes on the ever-moving waves around them. As for Char, she watched the clouds go by above them, eyes narrowing every so often against the moonlight that occasionally revealed itself. Sora wondered what exactly she was thinking about. He stared down at the ground, watching a few bugs crawl past his shoes, and wondered what Kairi was doing right now; he took comfort in the fact that after defeating Ansem, though they had gone their separate ways, she was obviously safe. And then after that came a giant blank spot in Sora's mind, almost as though that part of the slate of his memories had been wiped clean, and then he had woken up in Twilight Town… and, not long after that, met Char.
Sora was allowing himself to think ahead, to himself fully telling the tale of his journeys to Kairi. The warmth at the thought of her listening attentively at his side was just seeping through him when he heard Char speak, the annoyance back in her voice in full force. "I think he was just trying to fast-talk us," she muttered, shaking her head.
"You think?" Donald commented dryly.
"And we fell for it," Goofy added, a little guiltily.
"What's keeping those two?" Sora mused. "They sure are taking their time…"
"That's probably because they're in trouble," Char pointed out. She straightened from where she'd been leaning against the ship and summoned her swords in dual flashes of light that briefly rent the thick darkness. "If Pete's hanging around here, there must be Heartless."
"And Jack and Will aren't used to fighting those," Sora finished, recalling the way Will had – or rather, hadn't – handled the Heartless earlier. He called the Hero's Crest to his side. "Let's go check it out."
"Hey, Sora," Goofy suddenly said. The brunette glanced over and saw the dog leaned over. He approached the knight with his head of spiky brown hair tilted to the side. "What is it, Goofy?"
"Look," Goofy said, holding up something that caught the scant moonlight strangely. Sora took it from Goofy's gloved hand to get a better look and gasped when he realized what it was. "Another Keychain…" he murmured, eyes wide.
"So you have another Keyblade now," Donald assumed.
"Yeah," Sora responded absently. Even now, a good ways into his second journey, he still couldn't figure out for the life of him how he always found the chains for his Keyblades just lying around the worlds.
"Right," Char said briskly. "Let's go."
Sora couldn't help but feel surprised; he'd expected Char to ask to examine it herself. However, he swept that aside and led them toward the cave mouth.
They fought their way through a few pirate-like Heartless and some more of the dogs that had attacked them back at the port. Sora noted the easy way Char wielded her swords, despite how new they were, and knew that she must have gotten some practice in back at Hollow Bastion. He tore his eyes away from the impressive arcs her blades were currently carving into the airborne Heartless and lifted his Keyblade to block the claws of one of the Heartless pirates. Upon pushing the Keyblade forward, he managed to knock it to the ground, and promptly finished it off.
"About time," Donald muttered, shaking his staff. "Now let's –"
He didn't get to finish, because Will and the young woman Elizabeth appeared out of the darkness of the cave, approaching them at a sprint. "Quick, they're after us!" Will panted, skidding to an ungraceful stop before them.
The two of them whirled around upon hearing a few snarled curses coming from the cave, and the pirates came running out, weapons brandished and teeth bared. "Crap," Char spat, going into her battle stance. "Not you bastards again!"
"We'll hold them off," Sora said to Will and Elizabeth, readying his Keyblade. "Give us a sign when the ship's ready to sail!"
Will hesitated, as though reluctant to leave behind his allies, but relented. "Right; we'll light the signal fire!"
He and Elizabeth ran off toward the ship. "Look who's back again – the duck, the doggy, the key kid and his girlfriend!" one of the pirates sneered.
"I still can't fathom why she'd rather stick with such a scrawny lad," one of his comrades added, smirking with broken and darkened teeth.
Sora growled, feeling only party insulted.
"Breathe, Sora!" Char yelled, leaping away from a gunshot. "They're just trying to piss you off. Don't let them get to you!"
"Yeah, you heard the lady. Don't let us get to you," one of the pirates cackled, raising his scimitar and bringing it down hard on Sora's head. The brunette barely blocked it in time.
"Come on, Will…" he murmured urgently, glancing briefly backward toward the ship.
"Back off!" Donald snarled, and cast Thunder on the pirate attacking Sora. Being that they were in the shadow of the cave, it didn't do much, but it startled the pirate enough for him to step back into the light, where Goofy laid into him with his shield. Sora gave the mage a grateful look before joining Goofy.
They fought like this for some time before Char heard a sound from behind her. She blocked another gunshot with one of her blades and tore into the pirate in front of her with the other blade as she looked over her shoulder. "The signal!" she shouted, nodding furiously toward the light rising up from the horizon.
"Let's go!" Sora cried, striking one pirate down and racing toward the ship. The others followed him at a steady run.
"Well, I don't know what's more fun: running from pirates or getting hit on by them," Char grunted as she ran beside him.
Sora laughed, but the sound was a little obscured by his heavy breathing. "Same here," he responded.
They made it onto the deck of the Interceptor, where the four of them stopped to catch their breath. Sora put one hand on a barrel and bent over, breathing hard. A thought struck him and he looked up curiously at Will. "Where's Jack?" the Keybearer panted.
Will hesitated. "Well…"
"And now," Barbossa snarled, leering at Elizabeth as he brandished the Aztec gold in one fist, "the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever!"
His crew broke out into roaring encouragement, and Will fidgeted from where he hid behind a pile of gold with Jack. "I can't sit like this much longer," Will whispered, glancing urgently around.
"Not yet," Jack hissed, shaking his head at Will. "We wait for the opportune moment."
Will snorted, anxiety making him testy. "When it's of greatest profit to you?"
"May I ask you something?" Jack said suddenly, causing Will to stop and blink. He certainly hadn't expected that – but then again, this pirate was proving to be full of surprises.
Jack stepped forward so he was very close to Will. "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" the captain asked quietly.
Will hesitated, and Jack took that moment to speak. "Stay here – and try not to do anything stupid."
He made as if to walk right into the ring of pirates, and, suddenly struck by an impulse, Will seized one of the oars nearby and clubbed Jack on the back of the head with it. Without a sound, Jack slumped forward to the ground, unconscious. Will allowed himself a moment of disbelief that he'd been able to do that before remembering the situation. He dropped the oar and started toward the group.
Elizabeth let out a gasp as Barbossa seized her hand and made a shallow cut on her hand with a knife. "Begun by blood… by blood undone," the captain hissed, releasing her hand so that the bloodstained medallion fell into the chest. It hit the pile of gold inside with a resounding clink, and everyone in the cavern seemed to hold their breath. Barbossa raised his head, arms outstretched to the sky, and stared down at himself. When nothing happened, he growled softly and grabbed Elizabeth's arm. "You! Maid!" he barked. "Your father – was your father William Turner?"
"No," Elizabeth answered defiantly.
Barbossa stared at her, chest heaving, then snarled more loudly and tossed her away. Will winced as she fell to the ground, a mixture of anger and worry roiling through him; then he realized that this was his chance and, his heart pounding against his chest, made his way quietly toward her.
While the other pirates murmured amongst themselves, shocked and concerned, Barbossa's demand rose above all of them. "Who brought this wench to us?"
"She said her name was Turner!" one of the pirates said defensively.
Murmurs akin to this followed, and Elizabeth raised her head with a groan. The bloody medallion clanked down beside her and she almost instinctively grabbed it with her wounded hand.
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, and she jerked her head up, fearing it was one of the pirates; but she relaxed when she saw Will. The smile on her features vanished when he spoke. "Hurry!" he hissed, looking around frantically. She nodded in response and allowed him to help her up.
"You there!" a pirate snarled, and both of them winced. "I knew I should've gone the other way around," Will murmured, his grip tightening on her wrist.
"The medallion!" another pirate gasped.
"After them, you ingrates!" Barbossa roared. Some of the pirates winced, and, not wanting to be subject to their captain's wrath, followed their orders and chased after them.
"I had to," Will said defensively at seeing the shocked look on the group's faces. "Jack's no fairy-tale pirate. The real ones aren't to be trusted."
"Yeah," Sora sighed. "Well… I guess we have to head back to the port now."
"Right," Will acquiesced. "We'll be safe there."
"Can you steer the ship, Will?" asked Elizabeth, looking worriedly at him.
He glanced over at her, his eyes briefly flickering down to her wounded hand; then his face darkened. "Yes."
"Don't look now," Char suddenly said, her swords appearing in her hands, "but we've got company."
They all looked over and saw that she was right. A few pirates – obviously from Barbossa's crew, from their skeletal look and empty-looking sneers – were climbing over the rail.
"Oh, no," Sora cried. "Will, Elizabeth, get in the cabin. We'll handle them."
They defeated the pirates by driving them over the ship's edge and back onto the rock face, where the moonlight was brightest. Thankfully, no clouds currently passed over the moon, so the four of them finished off the enemies relatively quickly.
Char leaped back onto the ship when the last pirate had fallen, his body twitching on the ground alongside his crewmates'. "Sora, can you steer this thing?" she yelled at him.
"Uh, sort of…"
"Oh, fine, I'll do it then," she snorted, casting frantic looks over at the pirates in case they got up. She eschewed the stairs and just leaped over the rail, making her blades disappear so she could grip the wheel. "All right, here we go," she grunted, pushing the wheel as far to the left as she could.
"What are you doing?" Will shouted from below. He ran up the stairs and grabbed the wheel. "You don't know how –"
"Yeah, well, I never knew how to hold a single sword, but that's never stopped me," she growled, clearly recalling when the Hydra had bitten her old weapons in half. Despite her words, she let go of the wheel. "Just drive!"
"Of course!" Will cried back, and obeyed. A pirate that was trying to get onto the ship collapsed backward into the water with a roar of defeat.
"So long!" Donald laughed as the shore of the Isla de Muerta grew distant, but he winced as he caught sight of the pirate giving him a rather rude hand gesture. "Well, that's pleasant."
"Whew," Sora sighed, slumping down against the side of the ship. "That was too close."
"They really want that medallion," Goofy said obviously.
"Will said that Barbossa said something about 'freeing them from a curse'. Maybe the medallion has something to do with that?" Char suggested.
"Either way, I'm glad they're gone for now," Sora said.
"Sora!" Will called from above them, and they looked up toward the upper deck. "I've set the Interceptor on a straight course back to Port Royal. I'm going to talk to Elizabeth in the cabin for a bit."
"Oh, yeah, she's still in there, isn't she?" Sora murmured. More loudly, he called back, "All right. We'll just rest for a while."
Will nodded and, jumping down from above so he was near the cabin's entrance, entered the cabin.
As the door closed behind him, Sora sighed. "I wonder… what it'd be like to live like this all the time?" he murmured.
"Like what?" Donald tilted his head to the side, plopping down beside Sora. Goofy joined them on Sora's other side.
Sora shrugged. "Like a pirate. Traveling the high seas… making narrow escapes from danger…"
"Don't we already do that last part too much?" Donald pointed out dryly, and Goofy and Sora laughed.
"But like I said, I wonder what doing this all the time would be like."
"Yeah," Char's voice suddenly sounded. Sora jumped in surprise. "Traveling the high seas, escaping from danger… booze…"
"Eh?" Sora blinked at that last part and turned to where her voice had come from. Char brandished a bottle of rum in each hand, a smirk stretched wide across her features. With a burst of slight dread, Sora recognized that face; it was the face she'd gotten when she'd asked if she could drive the Gummi ship to the Olympus Coliseum. Needless to say, he didn't expect a positive result this time around, either.
"Bon appetit, guys," Char laughed, plopping down next to them and opening the bottles.
Sora wrinkled his nose. "Uh, Char? I don't really think that's such a good –"
"We're not out of danger yet," Donald pointed out, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
Char returned the glare. "I know that! It's just that I've never done this before."
"So why pick now?" the mage grumbled.
"It's because we're in such dire danger, moron." Without waiting for a response, Char lifted one bottle and downed most of it in one gulp. Sora watched, his eyebrows gradually arching further and further into his bangs, as she swallowed it. Apparently it was more acrid-tasting than she'd first thought, because a small coughing noise escaped her and she shook her head.
"Oh, yeah… so delicious," Donald snorted.
She gave him a glare that told him to shut up and finished off the bottle.
By the time she had gotten ready for the second bottle, she was actually getting a little cross-eyed. "Damn right it's delicious," she mumbled. "Nothin' like a little alcohol to get you feeling good, right?"
"You've never even had the stuff before," Sora couldn't help but point out.
"Oh, shut up," she ordered, though the edge of her command was slightly deadened by the slur of her voice.
And then she giggled, which, really, shocked him more than her abrupt decision to drink all this rum in the first place. "Y'know, Sora," she hiccuped, "this reminds me of the good ole days, when Braig would sneak some alcohol from Uncle Scrooge's shop – yeah, your uncle, right?" she added at the look on Donald's face. "Yeah, that's what I thought… Anyway, yeah, Braig… he'd, like, sneak in the back when the guy wasn't looking and, like… just pluck 'em… pluck 'em right outta the storage. Pluck! Haha, that's kind of a funny word, isn't it… pluck…" She giggled a little more as she tilted her head back for another long swig. When she lowered the bottle, her body was starting to sway a bit.
As for Char herself, she had a faint semblance of what was going on, but to her alcohol-addled mind, her impulse to take advantages of the rum stores in the barrels around them had been a justified one. How long had it been, anyway, since she'd laughed like this? Too long, in her opinion. Not since the last few months with Riku had the feeling come so strongly – not the buzz of the alcohol fizzing in the back of her mind and throat, but just the pleasure and the good feelings.
Besides, now that she thought about it, "pluck" really was a funny word.
"Anyway, he'd, like, take it back to our rooms and sometimes share it with us… I mean, it wasn't… wasn't like Ienzo and I could have any of it, 'cause we were, like… gods, how old were we, twelve, thirteen, something like that? Oh, what does it matter… age is relative, anyway… So yeah, Xehanort sometimes… he sometimes had a bit of it, and then they'd start walking around weird and talking all funny…"
"Kind of like you're doing now?" Donald queried dryly.
"Yes! Exactly!" Clearly, sarcasm was lost on a drunken Char. "Dude, though, seriously, I don't regret a minute of this."
Sora was getting the feeling that she would before long, a feeling that intensified when she abruptly swaggered forward and sagged into his lap. Goofy and Donald let out cries of shock, while Sora simply stared down at her, eyes wide and face heating. It didn't help that a very, very traitorous part of him was actually liking this.
"You smell good," Char mumbled into his leg.
Now that their initial surprise and bemusement were wearing off, Donald and Goofy produced reactions of their own; Donald was making the weird snorting noises of one who is trying extremely hard not to laugh, while Goofy looked caught between sympathy and confusion.
"Char, I don't think you should have any more of that stuff," Sora stammered, grabbing the half-filled bottle with one hand and moving it out of her reach.
"Hmph!" Char abruptly raised herself up to glare at him, and he leaned back a little at how disarmingly close she was, so close that he could smell the rum on her breath. "Joy-killer." She sat back, cross-legged with her elbows propped against her legs and her fists resting on either cheek.
"You know what, guys?" she suddenly announced. "Take it from me – love is fake. It's all just some stupid fricking hormones designed to make sure we reproduce before we die – I mean, like… Ienzo, he was nice, but it's not, like… it's not very fun. N-not worth it, really… It's just retarded."
"Char," Donald said bluntly, and his next statement was so obvious it nearly made Sora laugh aloud, "you're drunk."
"Pfft, shut up," Char said again.
"Char…" Sora hesitated; his face was still flaming from the incident a minute ago. "I hate to say this, but you should probably go to the cabin for a bit."
"No, I shouldn't," she retorted, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "You're lying, Sora. You're a liar."
"And that just proves our point," Donald grunted, pushing himself against her legs – presumably, to make her move toward the cabin.
"At least until the alcohol wears off…" Sora's voice trailed off when Goofy suddenly let out a cry and pointed. At the same moment, Elizabeth, who had apparently followed Will onto the deck from the cabin, shouted, "Will, look!"
The man followed her gaze, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy leaped up so they could look over the side. The sight made them all gasp in horror: the Black Pearl, cutting an imposing swath in the sea as it approached them.
"What now?" Donald demanded.
"I wonder what Jack would do," Sora commented, folding his arms. He cast a glance at Char. She'd gotten unsteadily to her feet and was now clinging to the rail.
"I suppose he'd run for it," Will sighed.
"Hey, isn't that the… the ship thingy?" she slurred, pointing out at the sea just next to the Black Pearl's shape.
Will raised one eyebrow as he looked from Char to Sora. "Rum?"
Sora let out a noise of defeat. "Rum."
"I think for once, Jack might have the right idea," Elizabeth pointed out.
A sudden impact struck the ship, shaking it to its core and causing them all to stumble and fall. "Are we playing battleship now?" Char asked. "Can I be the one that wins?"
"Will!" Elizabeth suddenly screamed. They all quickly looked over and caught a glimpse of Will before he disappeared beneath the waves.
"Will!" she yelled again, practically throwing her entire body over the edge of the ship with how she was looking over.
"Everyone hit the deck!" Goofy shouted, the instant before another cannonball sliced into the side of the Interceptor and they all fell to the ground again. Sora narrowly avoided falling face-first into the deck floor, catching himself with his hands. He looked around frantically before the telltale flash of gold caught his eye. Quickly he pocketed the medallion and got shakily to his feet. "I guess we're just gonna have to fight!" he said, his voice braver than he felt. He glanced over at Char, wondering how they were expected to make allowances for her – not to mention her absence in battle…
This is gonna be hard.
Thankfully, though, no pirates emerged from the Black Pearl to strike them down as the two ships connected, the impact rather gentle for the speed at which the larger ship glided into the Interceptor. Instead, Barbossa appeared, stepping languidly onto the deck, with a few of his crew following. Behind him stood none other than a bound Jack Sparrow.
"Captain!" Sora cried.
"Let me go!" a feminine voice shouted from behind him. Two pirates were pulling a struggling Elizabeth forward to stand beside Jack.
"Long time no see, eh?" Sparrow grunted.
"Now then," Barbossa purred, stepping forward with one hand outstretched. "I'll be having back that medallion."
"Pfft, you and what army?" Char challenged, getting unsteadily to her feet.
Barbossa's eyebrows lifted high on his forehead when he saw the redhead; then his eyes narrowed and his teeth glinted in an expectant grin, not unlike a caricature of a child waiting for a piece of candy. "So the lass is sweetly intoxicated, is she? That should make my job much easier."
In the moment of tense silence that followed, it was broken by Char's comment of "I think we're screwed."
Gee, Char, ya think? -sarcasm-
I love Jack's take on the Sora/Char thing. "Young love never lasts"... eheheh.
Anyway, a bit of shameless plugging here - if you're a Pokemon (games) fan, could you please check out my Legendary-lurve-triangle fic, Requiem for the Living? My fellow Legend shippers (who are really very nice people, by the way) seem to like it, but I'd like some more opinions, please. :) I am also considering starting a Kanda/Fem!Allen/Lavi (D.Gray-Man) fic, and maybe a Yuri/older!Rita (Tales of Vesperia) thing as well. (Yes, I like weird pairings. DEAL WITH IT.) If I do either of those, though, that means my .hack fic will probably be put on hold until this and RftL are finished.
Also, due to school (and, due to swimpractice, not getting home from school until 7, hurr), geometry, and pre-AP Espanol, I will only be able to write on weekends. Buuut you already knew that, right? XD