Chapter 59: port royal panic
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now time to return to port royal for the third time! The actual game didn't feature the plot of dead man's chest.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Memories of last night came flooding back to Sora as soon as he woke up. Suddenly he didn't want to get out of bed. His father. His father. Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader. One in the same. It was a lot to digest. It gave Sora whole new perspective on whom he really was.
Just what was he doing? Why was he a so-called hero? Was it subconsciously to repent for the actions of his evil father? Just what was he to think of himself? What was anyone to think of him if they knew the truth themselves? Would they still hold him the same regard that they do now?
Too many questions, not enough answers. For now, he must keep this to himself. He could only trust that Ellone would keep it a secret as well. She had so far, and knew about this long before he did, so he felt he could trust her. He would deal with his personal issues later; there was still a universe to save after all. He just needed to calm down.
Unfortunately, there was little calm to be found in the citadel that day as he soon found out. Rebel soldiers were running frantically all over the place. Everywhere Sora walked, they were running down the halls, up the stairs. Something had gotten everyone riled up. What was going on?
"Spread out and search," he heard princess Leia order a couple of Rebel soldiers. "I want this place combed from top to bottom until you find him. Now go!" The soldiers ran off in hurry.
"What's going on?" Sora asked as he approached.
"Sora," Leon said once he was with them. "We've got a problem."
"What's up?" he asked anxiously.
"It's Jack. He's gone."
"No, he isn't. He's right there."
"Hello there!" Jack Skellington greeted as he walked by.
"Not him," Leon growled. "The other Jack. Jack Sparrow."
"Captain Jack Sparrow."
"Whatever! The point is he's gone! He ditched us!"
"What?" Kairi gasped as she, Beast and Mulan came in. "Are you sure?"
"Wait a minute," Beast interrupted, an odd smile forming on his face. "Let me make sure I understand this. Jack is gone? As in, not here?" Suddenly, the big bad Beast started laughing, then walked off to spread his newfound happiness to everyone else. Mulan, on the other hand, seemed to have the opposite reaction to the news.
Admiral Ackbar entered then, his fishy face frowning. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," he announced solemnly. "Late last night the Fleet sighted a single ship leaving the planet. Unfortunately, it jumped to warp before it could be stopped."
"Dammit, he's already gone!" Leia growled. "There's no telling where he might go."
"What is it that you think Jack did?" Sora asked.
"I'll tell you what he did do," Cid growled from the other side of the room. For some reason or another, he was holding a zucchini. "That lousy, two-faced son-of-a bitch-stole the map of the universe!" The vegetable in his hands was crushed within his grip.
"The map?" Sora repeated in confusion. "Why would Jack take that? How are you even sure he did this?"
"We can't find him anywhere," Aerith explained. "He's not anywhere in the citadel or on the Shera."
"That could mean anything!" Sora argued. "He might just be in the city somewhere. It doesn't mean he ditched us!"
"The rum is gone," Leon dead panned.
"That jerk ditched us!"
"But...why?" Mulan whispered silently.
"It doesn't matter why," Leia growled angrily. "All that matters is that we have to find him. And get that map back."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Beast suddenly shouted, waving his paws around. "Am I the only one who thinks this is a good thing? Jack is gone! Gone! The only thing he's done since he joined us is driven us insane! Me in particular! So he stole the map. Big deal! That's what he does! Give me one good reason why we should go find him!" Princess Leia, of all people, marched up to Beast and glared him in the eye.
"I'll tell you why," she growled. "Because that map contains vital information about the whereabouts of the Empire's ultimate weapon, something that could destroy us all if it isn't stopped in time. And we can't stop it without the map to show us where it is!"
Beast blinked twice. "That's...actually a pretty good reason..."
"Personally, I don't care about Jack," Leon sighed, nursing a growing headache. "You're right, he's a nuisance. But the fact remains that he stole something vital to our plans. And we need to get it back."
"How?" Cid asked disdainfully. "We don't know where he is or what he's doing. It's like trying to find a needle in the vast majority of space!"
"I cannot spare the fleet to search for one man," Admiral Ackbar said firmly. "Radiant Garden is still under the threat of Imperial attack. We need every ship we can muster for its defense."
"Then I'll go," Sora declared stepping up.
This apparently did not please everyone else.
"I have to," Sora argued. "There's only one place where he'd want to go: back to his world, back to where his ship and pirate crew are. Jack's my friend. I'm the one who recruited him. He's my responsibility. There has to be some reason why he would do this. And I want to find out."
"Yeah, but-," Leia started.
"Let him go." Out of nowhere came the mysterious Jedi known as Luke, his brown cloak removed to reveal a simple black outfit underneath. When he spoke, everyone listened. "If this is what Sora believes must be done, than I say we respect his wishes. Besides, I think out of all of us Sora is the most qualified to go, wouldn't you say?" Sora grinned in thanks to Luke.
"Alright, Sora," Leon eventually relented. "You can go. You find that pirate and get that map. Whether Jack wants to come back with you or not is his business, but you make sure you get that map back." Sora nodded resolutely.
"I'll go with you!" Kairi said.
Sora flinched. "Uh, no offense, Kairi, but, maybe you better not."
"Excuse me?" Kairi asked offensively.
"Don't get me wrong! It's just...well..." Kairi crossed her arms and frowned impatiently. "Kairi, practically every bad guy in the universe is after you right now! You're the last Princess of Heart that's still free! You're the only thing that the Horned King and Maleficent need to get Kingdom Hearts. And now that we know the Emperor is after it as well, he'll probably be coming for you too!" Kairi's angry expression generally softened as Sora made each point clear.
"He's right Kairi," Aerith agreed. "The safest place for you right now is here, where we'll be able to protect you." Kairi bowed her head, knowing they were right.
"Alright," she sighed in defeat, then smiled. "But you don't get to leave me behind again. It's becoming a habit." Sora smiled and nodded. As he went to leave to find a gummi ship to take, he was suddenly stopped by a hand on his shoulder. It was Mulan.
"Sora," she said softly, her eyes giving away her nervousness. "I don't know why Jack did it but...please. If it's possible, please try to bring him back." Sora was taken aback by the request. But the look on Mulan's face had him nodding in agreement, despite the site of Beast standing behind her, frantically waving his arms and shaking his head.
KHKHKHKH
As sora heads to the gummi ship hangar an old man appears out of nowhere.
"we've meet at last sora of the keyblade."
He turns around and sees an older looking version of himself. Is this another trick of his dreams? No! but sora the younger sora couldn't recognize despite his appearance.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Never mind of who I am. But I know you sora…scion of skywalker."
Upon hearing this sora gasped. How did this man knows what's been dreaming of?
"How do you know who I am and what do you know of what I've been dreaming of?"
"Always the questions." Admitted the old man sadly. "there's an old saying that says curiosity will get the best of you." he walked over to sora. "You should've stayed away from what you don't understand."
"Understand what?" said sora.
"The mighty skywalker blood."
Sora blanched. How does he know about his family? "Tell me sora since when did a keyblade master like you be related to the jedi and have a stronger blood tie to someone named skywalker? You don't have any of them."
"Why? Do you know something about it?"
"You should've known by now sora. This whole thing is a trap!" said the old man. "you're just plain sora for crying out loud! Not a skywalker! Vader's been using you the whole time!"
"What are you talking about?" sora asked the old man.
"Whatever you do don't be tempted of those visions. They lead you to darkness! Think of what happened to your friend!" sora winced. Is he referring to riku? "You must abandon this path sora those visions will destroy you! because if you don't you won't be who you really are!
"i-I can't abandon my friend. I thank you for your offer. But I gotta go." Said sora knowing he can't waste any more time with this crazy old man.
"you're going after jack sparrow aren't you?" sora stops and turns around upon hearing that. "Leave that pirate be. Your friends don't mean anything to you."
"I can't! he's got the map-"
"To captain flint?" sora's eyes widened. How did this old man know so much? "The map may be the very thing to where the empire is striking next but the least you could do is to just forget it and accept those friends don't matter to you."
"Are you saying I must abandon jack?" the old man remain silent. "you're crazy! I would never do such a thing for my friends!"
"Then why are you abandoning them now?" asked the old man. Sora blinked in surprise. "You told kairi to remain safely in radiant garden and the same goes for the others. You might need them if you have any chance of finding jack."
"I don't want her involved! Maleficent and the horned king got six of the seven princesses-"
"you're only make matters worse for yourself if you can't do a better job properly of protecting her!" shouted the old man. Sora staggered at the old man upon hearing that outburst. "Understand this sora. If you keep on pushing your friends without telling the truth of what's been happening in your mind or throw them away. But they can help you." he turns around and walks away. "we're done here. You're very foolish of going after him. I can't interfere. I was like you once but…I shouldn't stayed on my home a long time ago. But remember this sora I know you."
But sora shakes off the old man's outburst and yelled at him. "don't act like you know me! You don't know anything about me! I gonna get back the map by myself with or without jack!"
And he boards the gummi ship and leaves radiant garden. A hidden smirk spreads across the old sora's face.
"Then may your heart be your guiding key sora. May we meet again as soon as possible. You'll figured out the truth one way or another. The same goes for your friends. You're gonna need them."
Sora's gummi ship left the atmosphere of Radiant Garden, passing the Rebel Fleet in orbit and heading into open space. Sora had long ago learned the coordinates to his friends' home worlds so he knew exactly where Jack's was. Once the coordinates were set in, Sora activated the warp and was on his way to the world of the pirate capital of the universe.
Now that the ship was on autopilot Sora had time to think about this situation. Why would Jack do this? Never had he imagined that one of his friends would just take up and leave. All of his friends who were chosen by the Keyblade had their own reasons for joining the fight. Mulan joined after the Heartless destroyed her world, hoping that on their adventures they'd find some way to restore her home. po wished to be the dragon warrior. sonic did so on the wishes of the people of mobius. Beast and Aladdin had the same reasons for joining, both wanting to reclaim their lost princesses from the clutches of Maleficent and the Horned King. Jack Skellington...
Well, he was bored.
But not once had he ever pondered why Captain Jack Sparrow, of all people, had wanted to help. Out of all of his friends, he was the one that Sora had the most trouble understanding. At times he seemed like a good guy. Other times...not so much. Jack had seemed very eager to get off his world for some reason. Sora had never thought much about it at the time but now he couldn't help but wonder. Just what was going on in the mind of Jack Sparrow?
Whatever the reason was, he'd find out. Suddenly dropping out of warp speed, he arrived at his destination and Jack's world was now before him. With a firm resolve, Sora made his way towards it.
Port Royal was as good a place as any to start looking. If nothing else, he could see his old friends Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan again. He'd often wondered what had become of those two after he last saw them. He was about to find out. Sora beamed down to the surface with the press of a button and found himself once again in the streets of Port Royal.
It was pouring rain when he arrived. Other than that, it hadn't changed much, except...it was eerily quiet. There wasn't a soul on the streets. The rain only added to the dreariness of it.
"I hope everyone's okay," Sora muttered to himself. "Maybe Jack came by here?" Idly he heard thunder from the storm. Though, for some reason, this thunder was growing louder. Sora looked behind him, and his blue eyes widened at the mounted soldiers charging towards him on horseback. "Whoa!" Sora dove out of the way and landed with a large splat in the mud. The red uniformed soldiers galloped on, unconcerned with whether they had hit him or not. "Hey! What's your problem!? You could have killed me!" They ignored him and galloped on. Sora then saw that soldiers were flooding into the town from the harbour, all of them armed with muskets. People peeked nervously out of the windows of their homes, quickly ducking inside as the soldiers passed.
"What's going on?" he whispered. He then saw another battalion of soldiers marching down the street, this one escorting a prisoner. It was a fresh-faced young man dressed in fancy clothes, his wrists shackled in chains. Sora's eyes narrowed to focus on his face.
"Will?" he whispered. It was none other than Sora' friend Will Turner that the soldiers were escorting down the street. "Will!" He ran off after the soldiers and their prisoner, as they made their way up to the hill, all the way to the governor's mansion.
After a great effort at keeping up, Sora managed to reach them as they passed through the mansion gates. "Will!" he called out, running to meet him, only to be harshly pushed back by the red uniformed soldiers. "Hey! What are you doing!?"
Will blinked in astonishment. "Sora! Am I glad to see you!"
"I can see that. Will, what's going on?"
"Your guess is as good as mine I'm afraid," Will sighed. They arrived at the mansion and saw the disaster area. A beautiful banquet had been set up, immaculate white lace drapes making for tents and pavilions, and a great number of chairs before an altar that must have meant to seat the entire town. Before the altar sat a woman in a very beautiful, very wet dress, her face showing sadness and confusion. "Elizabeth!" Elizabeth Swann raised her head, and broke out into a run, throwing her arms around Will when she reached him.
"Oh, Will, are you all right?" she cried.
"I'm fine," he answered gently. He smiled warmly when she pulled away. "You look beautiful."
Elizabeth smiled back. "I believe it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."
Sora ogled in disbelief. "Wedding? You guys are getting married?" The two of them smiled awkwardly.
"Make way, make way!" The throng of soldiers parted for Elizabeth's father, Governor Swann, to make his way to them. "What is the meaning of this? How dare you enter my property like this. On who's authority do you have the right?!"
"That would be mine, Governor Swann." The soldiers made way again for another man to step up, one wearing a neat powdered wig and pointed hat, smiling arrogantly.
Governor Swann was flabbergasted. "Cutler Beckett?"
"It's Lord Beckett, now, Governor," Beckett replied smugly. "And I'm here strictly on the business of the King. Mister Mercer." An older looking man in black clothes with a scar across his cheek stepped up and handed Beckett an envelope. "I have an arrest warrant here for one William Turner."
"What!" Sora and Elizabeth shouted. "Father, this can't be!" Elizabeth cried helplessly.
The Governor, utterly dumbstruck, took the arrest warrant and quickly read through it. A strange look came upon his face. "This is an arrest warrant for Elizabeth Swann."
"Oh, dear, that's my mistake," Beckett sighed. "Arrest her, too."
"What!" Elizabeth gasped as the soldiers immediately restrained her. Will was pushed back when he tried to interfere.
"Hey! Let them go!" Sora warned.
"And who might you be?" Beckett asked.
"My name's Sora! And those are my friends you're messing with!"
"Sora, Sora," Beckett muttered, flipping through the paperwork until he found what he needed. "Ah! Here we are. Arrest warrant for Sora. Very good. Arrest him as well." Sora gaped in disbelief when the soldiers grabbed him as well.
"Lord Beckett, I demand to know the charges behind this preposterousness," Will growled angrily.
"The charges," Governor Swann said, reading from his daughter's arrest warrant. "Are aiding in the escape of a man convicted of crimes against the crown and condemned to death. For which the-" The Governor didn't read the rest aloud, his mouth frozen in horror.
"For which the punishment, regrettably, is also death," Beckett finished coldly. He seemed to take great pleasure at the looks of alarm that passed over their faces. "I wonder if you remember a certain pirate by the name of Jack Sparrow?"
"Captain Jack Sparrow!" Sora, Will and Elizabeth corrected together.
"Captain Jack Sparrow," Beckett whispered amusingly. "Yes, I thought you might. Take them to them to the dungeon. Except for you, Mr. Turner. You and I have business to discuss." The soldiers grabbed the prisoners and lead them off, Will sharing fleeting glances with Elizabeth and Sora as they were separated.
Will was lead to Governor Swann's office though, instead of the Governor, it was Cutler Beckett who took a seat at the desk. "Those won't be necessary," he said gesturing at Will's shackles. Beckett poured himself a glass of brandy as the guards unlocked Will's wrists. "The East India Trading Company has need of your services, Mr. Turner."
"And how would they involve Jack Sparrow?" Will asked bitingly.
"Straight to the point, I see. I've had dealings with Captain Sparrow in the past, as have you. We've both left our mark on the other."
"What mark did he leave on you?" Will asked.
Beckett's face darkened considerably.
"You know something of Jack Sparrow's habits," Beckett went on, "of his usual haunts, where he might be now. I want you to find him and recover from him a certain item of his possession."
"Let me guess?" Will sighed annoyingly. "The Black Pearl?"
"A ship? Hardly. No, the item I'm referring to is considerably smaller, something Jack carries with him at all times." Will frowned uncertainly. "A compass. I'm sure you've seen it."
"His compass?" Will repeated confused. "What use is it to you?"
"That's not part of the deal. You will find Sparrow, relieve him of his compass, and return it to me. In exchange, both you and your blushing bride shall receive full pardons."
"Relieve him?" Will scoffed. "At the point of a sword?"
"Bargain, Mr. Turner." Beckett took opened a small box and produced several parchments. "These are letters of marque. Jack will be offered a full pardon for all of his nefarious deeds. He will be free, a privateer under the employ of the Queen."
"Somehow I doubt Jack will consider employment the same as being free."
"Freedom," Beckett scoffed, walking to the fireplace. "The world as we know it is getting smaller. Jack Sparrow is a dying breed. He must find his place in the new world or perish. Your situation is not much better, Mr. Turner. You and your fiancée face the hangman's noose, something you can change by agreeing to the terms. Do we have a deal?"
"On one condition" Will declared. Beckett raised an eyebrow. "I wish to take Sora with me. I'll need his help if I'm to find Jack."
"Ah, yes," Beckett said suddenly. "The boy. A rather curious individual indeed. I've heard a number of strange rumours surrounding him. Apparently he wields a rather odd weapon, a key of all things. A key that could open just about anything. Such a talent would be quite an asset to the East India Trading Company. Especially for what I have in mind." Beckett smiled like a cold fish. "But you don't believe in such rumours, do you, Mr. Turner?" Will's eyes narrowed. Becket again smiled. "Very well. You and the boy shall find Jack, and Miss Swann shall remain here. Consider her collateral, if you should ever go back on your word."
KHKHKHKH
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
Drink and the devil have done the rest.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
Gibbs had one thing to say about being the Black Pearl's temporary captain, there was certainly a lot more rum to go around.
It was another one of those nights aboard the pirate ship, the rest of the crew slumbering below deck and he himself up top, singing to the night air all by his lonesome. Gibbs sighed tiredly. Stand-in-captain he may be but without Jack around things were just so frightfully boring. It was made all the worse because before the Captain left he had forbidden them from doing a speck of honest pirating. Naturally this didn't sit well with a ship full of pirates. The Captain wanted them to keep a low profile until he got back, and not to draw any attention to themselves.
Gibbs downed some more rum and leaned his head back against a cannon. "If something doesn't happen soon, I'll be going through more rum than the Captain."
Head comfortably leaned back, Gibbs could look into the sky and star gaze...but then he frowned. There was something in the sky. A light that was growing bigger and brighter the closer it got. Narrowing his eyes, Gibbs could see it was some kind of vessel, careening and spinning uncontrollably through the air, so close it now soared right over the Pearl. Gibbs had seen a lot of things in his life, but this was one of the strangest.
So it could only be one person.
Gibbs grinned like the pirate he was. "All hands! All hands on deck!" he called down below, rousing the rest of the crew from their sleep. "To your stations, the lot of you! Captain soon to be on deck!" A flock of simple crows flew overhead the Black Pearl then, heading out towards the open sea.
One of the more curious crows broke off from the group and headed on its own course for adventures more glamorous. It had already found its first good time, a crashed gummi ship floating alone in the water. It landed on the cockpit glass, and started pecking away.
BLAM
Black feathers flew everywhere. A smoking pistol reached out of the newly formed hole in the glass, pointing around blindly to scare off any one else in the area. The pistol retracted back into the gummi ship, and a boot smashed a bigger hole through the cockpit. Captain Jack Sparrow emerged triumphantly, happily breathing in the Caribbean air. His nose wrinkled when he also smelt toasted crow. "Sorry, mate," he shrugged. "Fortune favours the man with the gun." Jack crawled out of the ship, holding in his hand the golden ball that had got him there. He tossed it once in the air before pocketing it. Maybe he could pawn it off later. He gazed out into the night and sighed contentedly. He was home. Unfortunately, the homey feeling quickly passed when he realized just where he was.
Water.
Open water.
No land in sight.
"Oh bugger me bugger," Jack whimpered, clutching his hat like a lifeline. Just when he thought all was lost, a bell started ringing behind him, and he rounded to its source. Never had he seen a more beautiful sight than his ship the Black Pearl emerging from the fog at that moment, black sails spread. "Yes! Over here! Move it, you bilge rats! Sail like the devil was on your bow!" The Pearl moved up beside the gummi ship and the crew lowered a rope for Jack to climb.
"Ahoy, Jack!" Gibbs greeted cheerfully. "Welcome back aboard the Black-"
"No time for pleasantries, Mr. Gibbs!" Jack yelled shoving Gibbs by the face. "There are things to be doing that aren't being done! What are you all standing around for!?" he shouted at the stunned pirate crew. "I'm still captain, aren't I! To your stations! Do what you do to get this ship moving! Make for land!"
The crew looked completely uncertain, turning to Gibbs for guidance. "Aye, to your stations!" Gibbs shouted after awhile. "Jack, are you alright?" Gibbs asked the captain, who was hiding behind ship's boon. In answer, Jack sucked his thumb. "You only just got back, Jack. Must we make port so soon? Why don't we celebrate? Break out the good rum?"
"No! No time for rum!" Gibbs mouth fell open in disbelief. "And I didn't say 'port', I said 'land'! Any land! Preferably dry land!" Suddenly, a frightening little beast popped down and screeched at Jack, making him jump five feet in the air. It was a monkey, but a monkey that was all bones and rotting skin. Taking advantage of Jack's state he snatched his hat up. "Oh, I did not miss you!" The monkey jumped up onto the railing and held Jack's hat over the water. It seemed to grin before he let it drop.
"JACK'S HAT!" Gibbs screamed. The crew gasped in horror, everyone running to the side of the ship to see the hat floating away. Jack may have been gone for awhile but they still knew what he placed above their own lives. "Bring her about! We have to get it back!"
"LEAVE IT!" Jack yelled.
Everyone turned, flabbergasted, to their captain.
Something was definitely wrong.
"Leave it! Run! No time!" Jack stammered. "We make for land, me 'earties, and we make for it fast! I know I haven't been around much lately, off saving the universe, being a hero, blah blah blah, but let me ask you this. Have I ever steered you wrong before?" Jack was met with a very uncomfortable silence. "Well, if I valued your opinions I'd be paying you."
"So...do we have a heading?" Marty asked uncertainly.
"Yes! Wherever the wind takes us!" Everyone stumbled back in surprise when Jack's Keyblade was summoned, and were even more surprised when a great windy blast was expelled from its blade, filling up the sails instantly, propelling the Black Pearl faster than it had ever gone before.
Meanwhile, Jack's hat floated off with the tide, lost and forgotten; its owner had left it behind. Night became morning and morning passed into day when the hat was picked up by a fishing boat. The sailor who plucked it out studied it curiously and before long, put it on his head. He showed it to his friend and they both laughed heartily, when his friend snatched the hat and put it on himself. Naturally this started a whole big argument that had them fighting over the hat.
Until the ship suddenly shook.
The two's arguing quickly stopped. They clutched each other in fear when the ship shook again. Instantly they tried to pawn the hat off on each other, passing it back and forth, all the while the shaking growing worse and worse and worse and-
KA-BOOOM!
KER-SPLASH!
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum...
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!