Chapter 60: cannibal conundrum
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 find jack sparrow! I hope sora believes the truth he's not a skywalker and he needs to tell the truth to his friends.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
"Jack has been traveling with you, Sora?" Elizabeth asked in surprise through her jail cell.
"Yeah, he's been helping us," Sora explained through the bars. "He said that he wanted to help and I believed him. And he was been a kind of help. Then he just sort of...left."
Elizabeth blinked. "And you didn't see this coming?"
"Uh...no. No I didn't."
"Oh Sora," Elizabeth sighed pitifully.
Will entered the dungeon then. The guards barred his way, but he presented them with a signed letter that allowed him to pass. "Elizabeth!" They both ran to each other, but were separated by the bars.
"Will, what's going on?" Elizabeth whispered, holding his hand through the cell.
"It's terrible, Elizabeth. Beckett means to hang us all if we don't do as he wishes."
"What?!" Sora exclaimed, casually walking out of his cell after opening it with his Keyblade, just as the astonished guard was about to open it himself. "What does he want?"
"He want's Jack's compass of all things," Will answered. "I couldn't understand it either." Sora frowned. Jack's compass had become the key chain for his Keyblade. The only one who could remove it was Jack himself. Unfortunately he wasn't sure if Jack would be so generous, or if he was even here. "But it doesn't matter. Once I bring it back, Beckett has agreed to drop all charges against us, including Jack."
"Where will you look?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.
"Tortuga," Sora suddenly interjected. "Jack brought Kairi and I there before we brought him with us. He said it was his favourite place to go."
"It's worth a look," Will agreed, turning back to Elizabeth. "I'll bring it back. And then I will marry you. If you'll still have me." Elizabeth smiled prettily.
"I believe in you. Both of you." She squeezed Will's hand tighter. "Hurry back."
"Keep an eye on the horizon." Will reluctantly let go of his fiancee's hand, turned and left with Sora, leaving Elizabeth all alone in her cell.
"Tortuga, huh?" Will said as they left the dungeon. "I heard it's a real nasty place."
"Don't worry," Sora replied eagerly. "It's nothing I can't handle."
KHKHKHKH
"Jack Sparrow?" the brawny fisherman growled. "Aye! I know him! Sunk my ship, he did! If you see him, give him one of these!" He punched Sora square in the face.
"Jack Sparrow?" the large Chinese man snarled. "He stole my gold then made off with my woman! If you see him, give him this!" He punched Sora right in the stomach.
"Jack Sparrow?" the saucily dressed bar maid sneered. "Haven't seen him in a month. If you see him, give him this!" Sora cringed and covered his face. "Actually I was going to kiss you."
"Really?" Sora asked uncovering his face.
"No!" She slapped Sora across the face. He spun around and landed hard on the ground.
"Maybe this is why Jack went with us," Sora growled as he got back up.
Will Turner walked up then. "Sora! I've found members of a ship's crew that say they've seen the Black Pearl."
"Really? Where?"
"They say its beached on the coast of an strange island that no one sets foot on. They also said they were willing to take us there for a small fee."
"If Jack really has come back, then he'll have hooked up with his pirate crew again," Sora said. "If the Black Pearl is there, then so is Jack! Let's go!" Together they ran off for the docks to the ship Will had hired.
KHKHKHKH
On an island far from civilization lay the Black Pearl, beached on the sandbanks and held fast by mooring lines. Beyond the beach lay a tropical jungle and further still mountainous regions covered with dense vegetation. "That's the Black Pearl, alright," Will muttered gazing through his telescope.
"Any sign of Jack?" Sora asked.
"No," Will said collapsing his telescope. "There's no sign of anyone, the crew or Jack."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go check it out!"
But the man rowing their boat shook his head and started speaking quickly in French. He pointed at the shore, then at the two of them. Will and Sora looked at each other, then shrugged. They stood up in the boat, the man giving them a quick 'bon voyage' before dove they into the water and started swimming for shore. The boatman turned his rowboat round and rowed away as fast as he could.
They reached the shore and investigated the Black Pearl. It towered above them on the sand, but it was completely abandoned. No Gibbs, no Marty, no Jack.
Will peered into the jungle that lay beyond. "They must be in there somewhere."
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Sora said.
They wandered into the jungle leaving the Pearl behind them, the denseness of the trees making the air hot and humid. "I still can't believe you trusted Jack to travel with you, Sora," Will said aloud. "To trust a pirate, it borders on desperate."
"We were desperate!" Sora argued. "Jack seemed happy to help us at the time. Then he just...left."
"And you didn't see this coming?"
"No, I didn't see it coming!" Sora growled, having had this conversation before.
"Don't eat me!" Sora and Will whipped out their weapons and looked around for the voice. "AWK! Don't eat me!" A parrot was perched in the trees above them, tilting his head at them curiously. "Don't eat me!" it squawked again.
"Hey, I know him!" Sora said. "That's Cotton's parrot. He's one of Jack's men." He reached up to stroke the bird. "Don't worry, buddy, I'm not gonna eat you." A hidden vine wrapped around his leg when he took a step forward and yanked him off the ground, yelling and flailing helplessly.
"Sora!" Will cried, only to step blindly into another trap, hoisting him into the air beside Sora. Will could only grin in apology.
"Hang on, I think I can get us down!" Sora struggled to aim his Keyblade at the vine, hoping to burn through it with a firaga, when the bushes rustled all around them. Creeping from the trees like they'd been there all along came dozens of island natives, camouflaged by war paint, clad in nothing but little thongs, and bones and sticks piercing all kinds of places on their bodies. Sora gulped nervously as they closed in wielding sharp spears. "Uh...you guys haven't seen Jack Sparrow around here, have you?" One native came before them with a blowpipe, and before they could do anything shot a dart at him and Will. Sora reached for his neck instantly, but was out like a light in no time.
When Sora came to (with a bad headache), he found he and Will had been trussed up like pigs on sticks, and were being carried through the jungle. It wasn't long before they came upon a village of huts. Skulls mounted on pikes, belts and necklaces made from toes and shrunken heads, and blood stained cooking instruments revealed these people for what they really were. Cannibals. Drums pounded throughout the village, alerting all that two new delicacies had arrived.
After crossing a wooden bridge, the cannibals brought them to a clearing and stopped before a fire pit, which had obviously been used for past meals. Sora's eyes came to rest on a throne made of skulls and bones, with pretty native girls fanning its lone occupant. When they pulled back their palm leaves, Will and Sora's jaws dropped.
There he was, eight eyeballs painted on his face, big toes dangling around his neck, ceremonial headdress where his hat should be. Captain Jack Sparrow. The painted eyes on his face slid away as he opened his real eyes, resting them upon the two captives.
"Jack!" they both yelled. Jack stood from his throne and swaggered over to them. His Keyblade was in his hand and he waved it about like a sceptre. "Jack! What are you doing here!?" Sora shouted. "Why did you leave? What's going on, Jack?" Jack didn't seem to be listening, checking Sora's teeth and peering into Will's ears. When he did, Will saw the black compass that dangled from Jack's weapon.
"Jack! The compass!" he said. "Elizabeth is in danger, Jack! She's going to be hanged, we all are...for helping you! All they want is your compass!"
"HELP ME," Jack hissed, quickly shuffling off again. "Oh, yes! Nice, tasty mates you've rounded up here!" he announced to the cannibals. "Yummy yummy, good for the tummy, eh? Now go! Lock em' up! I am chief! Obey me!" He quickly went to Sora and Will again. "SAVE ME." That was all he got to say to them as the cannibals carried the two off again, more than a little confused.
Not far off a little rowboat carried two men through the rough seas, one of them a short, stocky fellow with bad teeth, the other a tall skinny man with one wooden eye. "Will you help me with the rowing, Ragetti?" the fat one growled.
Ragetti sniffed disdainfully, closing shut the Bible that was in his hands. "I'm just trying to read up on the immortality of the soul, Pintel. What with the Aztec curse being lifted and all we ain't immortal no more! We gotta look after ourselves, you know?"
"You're just trying to get out of work," Pintel growled begrudgingly. "It was all my hard work that got us out of jail. Not any divine providence or whatever!"
"You better watch what you say, mate," Ragetti warned. "According to this, bad sayings against the Man Topdeck will earn you a one way voyage to the sea of flames."
"You can't even read!"
"It's the Bible, you get points for trying!" Ragetti suddenly blinked, both his normal and wooden eye. "Hey, look! Looky!" Pintel turned behind him. There was on an island not far off, and marooned on its beach was...
Pintel's eyes sparkled. "Come on! Row, man, row!" Ragetti grabbed an oar and they made for the island. As they neared it they caught a rather large wave that capsized their boat and dumped them on shore.
Pintel spat the fish out of his mouth and gazed greedily at none other than the Black Pearl. "It ain't a mirage! It's real! And it's ours! Ours for the taking!"
"Let's unfasten the mooring lines!" Ragetti chuckled, running up to it.
"I thought you were a saved man?"
"Well, I am saved," Ragetti said calmly. "And as a saved man I find its my duty to save this ship."
"Ain't that the truth of it!" Pintel cackled. Suddenly, deep, ominous drum beats started coming from the mountains, spreading over the entire jungle, reaching the ears of both startled pirates.
"I suppose we should save it fast, then," Ragetti pointed out nervously. "What with our souls being in a vulnerable state and all."
"Amen," Pintel said.
Meanwhile, Sora and Will had been imprisoned with the rest of the Black Pearl's crew, the drums reaching them as well. They were in two spherical cages suspended thousands of feet over a bottomless gorge with nothing but a thick vine to keep them from falling to a perilous death. "You know," Gibbs sighed. "Just the other day I was thinking how boring it was without Jack."
Will looked around his cage and the one hanging a few feet away. "Where's the rest of the crew?"
"See these cages we're in?" Gibbs said. "They weren't made till after we got here." Sora and Will looked at the cage, realizing the whole thing was made of bones, and yelped in disgust.
"If Jack is their chief, why doesn't he get us out of this?" Sora asked.
"He's not just their chief," Gibbs chuckled. "He's their god!"
"Then why doesn't he use his divine influence to get us out of this!" Sora growled.
"Jack may be their god chief but only so much as he acts like it. These cannibals believe Jack's body is an earthly vessel for his godly powers. They wish to release him from his fleshy prison." Cotton took hold of Gibb's hand and bit it. Gibbs cursed loudly, but Sora and Will certainly got the message. "They'll roast Jack and eat him," Gibbs went on, nursing his sore thumb. "When the drums stop, Jack will die."
Will gripped the cage tighter. "Well we can't let that happen now, can we."
Back at the cannibal village, Jack sat patiently at his throne while they prepared the bonfire. He took one of the toes hanging on a neckless his subjects had so graciously provided him, and took a nibble. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad. "Would go great with rum," he muttered. Idly he drummed his fingers on his leg, when he felt something. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the gold orb. He had completely forgotten about it. He looked at it, then at the cannibals.
"Hey, mini-headhunter." The child cannibal he addressed turned to him. "Look at this thing! Shiny, ain't it? You want it, you got it!" He tossed the sphere into the child's hands. The boy stared at it in wonder, turning it around in his hands, accidently pressing a button. Instantly, the holographic universe map burst from inside it, surrounding the cannibals with planets and stars, much to their astonishment. They reached out to touch the planets, poking them with their spears; the young native pressed the button again, and the whole thing disappeared.
And, as they found out, so had Jack.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Jack ran with all the speed he could find in his legs to where the prisoners were being held. On the way he found the hut that held the crew's confiscated items, as well as many blood-stained cooking utensils, Jack noted with disgust. He gathered up all the swords and pistols he could carry, when he noticed an assorted number of spices, one of them bearing the logo EIC. Jack stuck out his tongue and slipped back outside.
Only to find every cannibal in the village waiting for him.
"Oh, bugger," he stammered. "Uh, I wasn't running away. Just, uh, stretching the ole' legs. Making the meat nice and tender!" The cannibals didn't move or even bat an eyelash. Jack sighed in defeat.
They trussed him up like a pig and carried him back to the bonfire pit. They stuck him over the pit, where they had piled plenty of wood. "Good work, mates," Jack sighed. "You make me proud to be your chief."
Back in the gorge, things were going swingingly - literally. "Heave!" Will hollered as all together the crew swung their cages, trying to grab the vines running down the sides of the cliffs. "Heave!" They held out their arms trying desperately to grab onto the wall, coming within several inches...but it was just out of reach. "Heave! Come on! We almost got it!" On their biggest swing yet, they managed to grab the vines.
"Put your legs through! Start climbing!" Gibbs yelled. Slowly and steadily they began the long vertical climb, pulling themselves up, cage and all. Sora and the rest gave it their all. When he looked around, he spotted a native patrolling the rope bridge above them. He winced.
"Shh!" he hissed to the others, motioning for them to stop. He pointed to the cannibal up top, but luckily they hadn't been spotted yet.
The prisoners in the other cage shook their heads and started climbing again. "No!" Will hissed at them. "Stop, you idiots!" They didn't listen, laughing as they got well ahead of them, all the while the cannibal guard moving along, oblivious to what was happening below him. They had almost reached the top of the cliff, when something went wrong. One man yanked out a vine, except it wasn't a vine, but a snake. The men screamed, the ruckus causing many men to lose their grip, the rest of the vines they held snapping. Everyone screamed as the fell back down, and the vine holding them snapped as well, sending them all plummeting to a horrible death below.
Sora, Will and the crew looked on in horror but, what was worse, the patrolling cannibal had been alerted by their screams, seeing that they were making an escape. He screamed something, then ran off to warn the others. "MOVE!" Will shouted and they started climbing once again.
They were just about to light the fire and release Jack from his earthly vessel when the cannibal came running in, spouting in odd language what was happening. The other natives gasped, and turned to their chief for guidance. Jack mulled it over a bit. "Well, what are you waiting for? Stop them!" The cannibals howled, grabbed their spears and charged off, but the one holding the torch dropped it within inches of the bonfire. "Hey! Hey wait! Oi!" Jack groaned hopelessly as they all ran off and the wind started to blow the flaming embers onto the dry kindling. "Oh bugger!"
Captain Jack started shaking like crazy, his poll bouncing up and down until it popped out of the supports holding him up. He rolled away from the fire, managing to free his tied legs in the process, but his hands were still bound and the bamboo pole still strapped to his back. Nonetheless he ran, over the bridge, through the village, past the little native boy holding the golden sphere...
Jack went back a few steps to the boy staring wide eyed at him and holding the map of the universe, shuffled up to him and snatched the ball back. "Mine!" The boy then ran off empty handed. Jack proceeded to use the valuable object to beat on the ropes binding his hands until they broke apart, grinning triumphantly and pocketing the map once again. "Easy as can be," he said, only to turn around to find two native women bearing trays of fruit. They screamed, causing him to scream and charge them blindly with his pole. They easily sidestepped his clumsy attack.
The women then started pelting him with their fruit; he spun around, batting them aside with the pole. All manner of tropical fruit, from coconuts to melons began to collect on both pointed ends of his pole, making it heavier and more lopsided. So, Jack did what he always did when faced with adversity: run away. The women pelted him still as he ran for a cliff, causing him to trip, the front end of the pole lodging into the ground, unexpectedly pole vaulting him up and over the cliff to land nimbly on the other side. Jack looked around, smiling at his own cleverness, until the fruit on the pole made him lose balance.
Jack sighed. "Bugger..." And went over the side.
The pole got wedged as the cliffs narrowed, breaking the ropes and unfurling Jack like a yo-yo. He slammed through a wooden bridge and kept on falling, slamming through another bridge on the way. He slammed through a third bridge before he finally crashed to the ground below. Just then, the very same pole that had held him came falling from above, impaling itself into the ground, right between his legs.
Meanwhile, what remained of the Black Pearl crew had reached the top of the cliff, and Sora quickly cut through the vine. At that moment, the cannibals came bursting from the jungle, screaming their battle cries and brandishing spears. "We've got company!" Sora shouted.
"Roll it! Roll the cage!" Will ordered. They all started the cage off rolling like a ball, the natives hot on their tails. They kept this up for as long as they could, when suddenly they hit a steep hill that sent them rolling uncontrollably, screaming and cursing all the way, the cannibals tearing through the jungle after them.
They bounced painfully off trees, spinning upside and rightside all around the cage, until they went careening off a cliff and slammed into the stream below, their cage smashing in half. As they swam to the surface, the cannibals shot arrows and threw their spears down at them. "We're trapped!" Gibbs shouted. The cannibals were about to send another volley of spears and arrows, when a little native boy came running up, shouting quickly in his native tongue and pointing off in the direction he came. Whatever he said it caused great distress among the natives, so much that they forgot about the crew and ran off with the boy.
Back on the beach where the Black Pearl waited, two men were readying the ship for departure, but there was one little problem. "Me eye! Give it back! It's mine!" Ragetti cried chasing after the monkey in tiny clothes. It cackled and screeched, dodging all attempts the man made to catch it.
"AWK! Anchors away!" Cotton's parrot squawked from the crows nest.
"You heard the bird!" Pintel yelled from the beach, untying the mooring ropes. "Now help me untie these lines!"
As those words left Pintel's mouth, the crew came running out of the jungle. "Perfect!" Gibbs shouted bowling Pintel over. "You did half our work for us! Get on board, lads!"
"Uh, yeah!" Pintel stammered. "We knew you were coming back so we wanted everything to be ready!"
"Wait a minute!" Sora interrupted. "We're not leaving without Jack!"
"That's right! We need him!" Will declared. Gibbs looked over their shoulders and pointed behind them.
There he came, Captain Jack Sparrow, running around the bend and down the beach towards them. Sora and Will smiled in relief. They were smiles that quickly dropped, because right behind him, shouting their war cries and wielding their spears, came what must have been every cannibal on the island. Hundreds upon hundreds of flesh-eating maniacs
Will and Sora looked at each other. "LET"S GO!"
Jack screamed at the top of lungs, spears and arrows flying everywhere behind him. The crew quickly boarded the Black Pearl as it began ease away on the rising tide. In a flash, Jack whipped out his Keyblade and swung it at his feet, the blast of wind propelling him off the ground and through the air; he grabbed the last rope ladder as the ship floated away. The cannibals stopped at the shore shouting their pleas and protests.
"Alas, my children!" Jack laughed saluting them with his Keyblade. "You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" A large wave smashed into him, tarnishing much of the luster in his speech.
Captain Jack was hauled aboard by Pintel and Ragetti, bringing him his coat and saluting nervously. He eyed them askance, clearly recognizing them, though it was the two other crew members that drew his attention. "Ah, Sora! What brings you here?"
"What do you think brings me here?" Sora growled marching up to him. "What are you doing Jack? Why did you leave?"
"All very fine questions. Ones I will be glad to answer as soon as we put some distance between us and this island. Though, sticking to the shallows of course."
"Jack, we need to talk," Will said when he came up.
"Ah, William. How I've missed your soprano voice. What, pray tell, brings you aboard my ship?"
"Elizabeth is in danger. The only thing that can save her is your compass. I need your compass, Jack." Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Very well, then," he shrugged. "I am an honorable person/pirate. What kind of friend would I be if didn't help out a lad and his bonny lass? Here you go, mate." He held up his Keyblade and the compass dangling at the hilt, smiling cheerfully. Will had not been expecting such generosity. He reached to take the compass, when it suddenly vanished, along with the Keyblade. "Oops! My bad! Sorry to lead you on like that." Will looked ready to punch the pirate now. "No can do, mate. Of all the times you need the thing, I happen to need it."
"Look, Jack," Sora said. "You don't have to come back with me, but I need that map you stole. A lot is riding on it."
"It's always want, want, want with you people, isn't it? What about what I want? I want rum but no one's helping me with that." Marty came up and handed a bottle of rum to the captain. "Oh, thank you, mate!"
"Jack, what is going on?" Sora demanded.
"Aye, Captain," Gibbs said. "I'm afraid I must agree with Master Sora on this one. I'm not to thrilled about risking life and limb if I don't know what I'm risking it for."
Jack Sparrow stopped walking and turned to face them, smiling wryly. "Very well, mates. All answers will come. As soon as we pay a little visit to Tia Dalma." Gibbs' eyes widened in shock.
"Uh, on second thought, Jack, we have no real need to know what you're up to," he stammered. "No need to visit her, now!"
"Take the helm, Gibbs," Jack ordered. "We must travel upriver." Gibbs turned pale all of a sudden, nodded reluctantly then staggered off to take the wheel. "Alright, lads, I'll cut you a deal," he then said to Sora and Will. "I will give you both the compass..." He summoned his Keyblade. "And map..." He took the gold ball out with pocket. "If you help me with this." Jack made both objects disappear and pulled out his final one. He unfurled a small cloth, revealing the picture printed on it.
Sora blinked. "It's a key."
"It is actually a drawing of a key. And it will solve all our problems, mark my words. Quick question, though." Jack pulled them in close. "What do you know about Davy Jones?"
Will and Sora looked at each other. "Not much," Will answered.
Jack smiled again, a certain glint in his eyes. "Oh, yes. This is going to solve all our problems."
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!