Chapter 65: at world's end
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 start off the at world's end arc! 2007 was notorious of releasing threequels at that time of year! Speaking of which A big shoutout to spiderfan626! I'm exited to play marvel's spider-man 2 too even it heavily burrows the storyline of spider-man 3!
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Leon stared into the medical tank that held Shalua Rui. "Leon?" he heard someone call, and Quistis entered the room. "There you are," she sighed as she came to him. "I've been looking all over for you." She came up beside him, and, with sadness, looked upon Shalua herself. "How is she?"
"Not good and getting worse," Leon answered, stroking the scar on the bridge of his nose. "That Chaser really did a number on her. The trauma sustained by her head was too much to recover from. The doctors give her a couple of weeks, maybe less." Quistis frowned sadly.
"Should we tell Shelke?" she asked. "They are sisters after all."
"Not yet. She has a job to do. There's no telling how this could affect her." In all honesty, Quistis wasn't sure this would affect her at all. The little girl was like a robot. "Speaking of Shelke," Leon said as he faced her. "How's her progress?"
Quistis cleared her throat. "That's what I came here to tell you. She's making steady progress, but there's still layers of encryption. It'll be a while before we can get anything from the Keyblade War files."
"Hopefully we can get some information from it. There must be someway to deal with those Chasers. Nothing is invincible."
"And that's not all we have to worry about. There's still the Empire, and this Death Star thing they're building." Leon scowled at the mention of the Empire.
"Well, we can't do anything about that right now," he replied. "Not without knowing where it is. And for that, we need the map."
"Yeah," Quistis growled, occasionally fingering the whip at her waist. "If Sora does bring Jack Sparrow back I'll give him a demonstration of what I think about pirates."
"Leon! Yo Leon!" The doors burst open and Jake, Kim and Ron ran inside. Despite the Empire no longer maintaining a presence on Radiant Garden many in the resistance had chosen to stay on board and help out the best they can. "There's someone flying in!" Jake reported, out of breath from running. "He says he wants to see you!"
"He said he had news about Sora!" Kim also gasped. Leon and Quistis exchanged looks of alarm. Without a word the two of them left the room and followed the three kids.
They went outside to a landing platform connected to the citadel. Princess Leia and the Jedi named Luke were already there to meet them. "What is this all about?" Leon asked as he approached.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Leia replied. "This man hailed the Rebel Fleet from orbit. He appeared out of nowhere, saying that he wanted to speak to whomever was in charge."
"Who is he?" Leon asked.
"He didn't say. What he did say, though, was that he knew about Sora's whereabouts. That's the only reason I allowed him to pass."
"Sora has been gone a long time," Quistis muttered. "Not to mention that Kairi and the others went after them, and we haven't heard from them either."
"Whoever he is, he'd better give us some answers," Leon stated.
"Look! He's coming!" Jake cried pointing to the sky. A ship was descending from the sky towards them, but it wasn't a ship that they were familiar with. In fact, it looked like...a boat. A flying longboat with booster rockets and a sail made of solar panels. It came to the platform and hovered briefly above it before it touched down to land.
"Mercy me!" the large man sighed as he climbed out of his ship. But the shocking thing was his right arm and leg were made of metal, and his right eye bionic. "I need to get me a bigger ship." He grinned cheerfully at everyone. "Hello all!"
"Captain Silver!" Kim and Ron yelped, the latter hiding behind the former.
"You know him?" Quistis asked, eyeing the man's metal attachments in amazement.
"Sure we do," Kim growled as Ron gulped nervously behind her. "You don't easily forget a guy who nearly kills you. He's a pirate, and he almost fried us a while back." Leon immediately grasped the hilt of his Gunblade.
Silver rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. "I was hoping no one would remember me so we could start off at the right foot. Guess there's no chance of that, huh? Not to worry though. I'm a changed cyborg! A pirate at heart, but an all around good guy!"
"You'll have to forgive my doubts, Captain Silver," Leia said. "But due to recent events I'm not exactly trusting of...pirates."
"Fair enough. Speaking of which, though..." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out, and he tossed that same something to Leon. The stout man caught it, and his eyes widened in surprise at what it was.
"That's-" Quistis gasped.
"Special delivery, one map of the universe," Silver laughed. Leon now held in his hand the golden sphere of Captain Flint. The very same one Jack Sparrow had stolen and Sora had gone after to retrieve.
Leon clenched it tightly and glowered at Silver. "Where did you get this?" he demanded.
"He probably stole it again," Kim spat disdainfully. Rufus blew raspberries at him.
"Now hold on right there!" Silver halted indignantly. "I would never do such a thing as to steal that...more than once." He grinned innocently at everyone's suspicious looks. "I'm merely the delivery man. Here on behalf of me old cabin boy Sora. I owe him that much at least for our past troubles."
"Why isn't Sora giving this to us himself?" Leia asked in confusion.
Again Silver smiled, but this one seemed to be of sadness. "Sora's...got his own problems to deal with right now. He said not to worry though. He'll be back before you know it." Leon and Leia exchanged confused and worried looks. "Well, I best be gettin' back, then. They won't last a day without me to look after them."
"Hold on!" Leon shouted when Silver turned his back on them. "You think you can just walk away after that? Where is Sora? What's happened?"
"Sorry," Silver answered as he climbed back aboard his solar sailor. "Lad swore me to secrecy. And I ain't no snitch."
"That's not good enough. What's-"
"It's okay." Everyone turned to Luke, who had so far been silent throughout the whole exchange, smiling calmly. "Don't you guys trust that Sora knows what he's doing?" Silver tipped his hat in thanks to Luke.
"Well, if that'll be all." Silver hopped into his solar sailor and started it up again. "A pleasure to meet ya all! Maybe now you'll think better of ole' Silver! Hahahaha!" The sails lit to life, the engines roared and the cyborg pirate blasted off into the sky. Where he was going they couldn't say.
Leon watched him go, the pirate's words still fresh in his head, before he tossed the map into Ron's hands. "Get that to Cid immediately. We need to find Endor and we need to do it fast." Kim, Jake and Ron saluted smartly, then rushed off to do as ordered. "Gather everyone together," he then told Quistis. "It's time we start making our plans." The two of them then left the platform to find their friends.
Leia was left with Luke then. The Jedi was still staring off into the sky where Silver had flown off. "Luke," Leia began, tearing his eyes away from upward. "Is something wrong?"
Luke only smiled though. "What do you mean?" Unfortunately, Leia knew him better than that.
"Something's happened, hasn't it?"
Luke's smile slowly disappeared from his face, replaced by a grim frown. "I'm...not sure," he silently confessed. "There's a been a disturbance in the Force." He looked back to the sky. There wasn't a cloud in it today. "Where there was once a great light, now there is nothing. Only...pain." Leia frowned in confusion when Luke turned back to her.
"Something has caused Sora great pain."
KHKHKHKH
The king and his men, stole the queen from her bed, and bound her in her bones.
The seas be ours and by the powers, where we will we'll roam.
It was dark that night in the seaside city. Dark and quiet. The dilapidated shanty town was home to many, from hard adults working the markets to children playing with sparklers. Seawater ran through the city in canals. It was the kind of city where many secrets were kept, and kept well. No one would notice the single figure sailing the canals that night in a boat, face hidden under a circular hat, quietly singing to whomever may be listening.
The bell has been raised from its watery grave
Hear its sepulchral tone?
Several soldiers dressed in blue uniforms carrying muskets marched in formation on a bridge crossing the canal, just as the mysterious singer sailed underneath it. He quickly ducked his head as several Knight Heartless and Omega Heartless followed behind the soldiers, the later snarling and drooling as they went on.
A call to all, pay heed the squall
And turn your sails toward home.
The singer finally docked his boat nearby a sewer grate and carefully stepped onto land.
Yo ho, all together, hoist the colours high.
Yo ho, thieves-
"Thieves and beggar!" The figure jumped startled as four men emerged from the shadows, all of Chinese origin, and all looking ruthless. "Never say we die!" the leader finished, a man with a long mustache and hair in a ponytail, smiling cruelly with rotting teeth. "It is a dangerous song to be singing for all who are ignorant of its meaning. Particularly for a woman." The singer then removed the straw hat, revealing it to be none other than the steel faced Elizabeth Swann. The man's smile grew wider. "Particularly for a woman travelling alone."
"And what makes you think she be alone?" The four men rounded, for descending the stone steps, was Captain Hector Barbossa. He sized them all up, his face looking particularly wicked that night.
The leader scowled though. "You protect her?" he asked, and suddenly he felt a blade pressed against his throat.
"And what makes you think I need protecting?" Elizabeth whispered in his ear. His three men made to draw their weapons, when two of them were suddenly lifted off their feet, the Beast growling at their frightened faces. The last one also found a blade across his throat, this one belonging to Will Turner.
"Your master's expecting us, Tai Huang," Barbossa stated amusingly, drumming his fingers on his sword hilt. "An unexpected death would occasion a slight delay to our meeting. And Sao Feng doesn't like to be kept waiting." Huang scowled but had no choice in the matter.
"Follow me," he hissed. He brushed off Elizabeth and lead the way through the mysterious city. They followed him through the many tunnels to avoid the patrolling Heartless.
"What is Sao Feng like?" Elizabeth asked Barbossa as they walked.
"He's much like myself," Barbossa replied, then smiled. "Minus my merciful nature and sense of fair play." Elizabeth frowned uncertainly.
"Do you think Sora has gotten the charts yet?" she asked.
"You don't have to worry about Sora," Will assured as he followed along. "He's had tougher jobs than this. He's a true blue hero."
"Aye, but how good is he a thief?" Barbossa chuckled.
Meanwhile, they were being followed, but through a slightly different route. "I can't believe we're doing this...," sonic muttered, wading through the water of the canals that ran through town. "Why are we doing this?"
"Because if things go wrong for them we're the only chance they've got," Gibbs whispered back. With Mulan, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty and Cotton they swam down the canals in the same direction Elizabeth's group was going. "Sao Feng may have agreed to this meeting but he's no fool. He'll have some trick up his sleeve."
"Why don't we just storm the place?" sonic asked irritably.
"Because we want his help, not his blood," Mulan explained dryly. sonic humphed.
Soon they came upon an old sewer tunnel; they climbed from the water and went for the grate. Not far off, a dark skinned woman pushed a cart through the streets, her face hidden underneath a straw hat. She began to wind a crank in the cart, and a soft musical tune began to play. A smile came across her features, and Tia Dalma chuckled.
Back at the sewer grate, the group heard the music as well. "That's the signal! Quick! Cut though it!" Gibbs ordered. Pintel and Ragetti with hacksaws in hand started to saw through the grate, making slow but steady progress. Mulan stopped them, tapped the grate lightly with her Keyblade, and the door simply swung open. Mulan smiled happily and went on ahead.
"Showoff," Pintel grumbled bitterly as they followed.
Tai Huang eventually lead Barbossa and his entourage to a bathhouse deep in the backwaters of town. The front entrance was heavily guarded, not only by saucy Chinese wenches, but by heavily armed pirates. On Huang's orders they were let inside, but were abruptly halted at the entrance. "There will be no weapons in the presence of Sao Feng. Remove, please," Huang ordered.
Barbossa humbly surrendered his sword and pistol. Will did the same. Elizabeth removed her sword and knife. Beast had nothing but his teeth and claws which they could do nothing about, so he shrugged innocently. They were about to go in but Huang stopped them again.
"You think because she is a woman we would not suspect her of treachery?" he asked patiently, looking in Elizabeth's direction. Elizabeth glared at him. This time, she removed two pistols, another knife, three bombs, a leather harness containing several more guns, and lastly, reaching behind her, struggling as she did so, she removed a small cannon. She shrugged sheepishly, and went forward, only to be stopped again. "Remove." Huang looked at the lower portion of her outfit, and grinned sneakily. "Please."
Elizabeth's mouth fell open in horror. She turned to Will and Beast and they looked away awkwardly. She turned to Barbossa but he only shrugged, though to her dismay, he wore a malicious smile.
They finally entered the bath house, Elizabeth one less article of clothing than before, and proceded though it. It was a large chamber with an array of bellows, boilers and bamboo pipes to service the many baths and the many men that waded inside. The humid environment gave birth to numerous mushrooms and fungi growing in the baths and, to Elizabeth's disgust, on the skin of some of the men as well. Still, it wasn't all that shocking compared to the company she kept.
They reached the end of the room and a platform that was engulfed by steam coming from the floor. Two beautiful attendants stood by as man emerged from the steam. He was an imposing figure indeed, with a shaved head and a thin beard and mustache, garbed in ceremonial robes layered with shoulder guards. Numerous scars from past battles criss-crossed his face.
"Captain Barbossa," Captain Sao Feng greeted, smiling in welcome, yet with a hint of malice. "Welcome to Singapore."
Meanwhile, the sewer traversing group had reached their destination and were now inside the bathhouse as well, actually underneath the floor where the meeting was taking place right now. Many boilers provided steam to the baths above and strong men shovelled coal into them. "Alright," Gibbs said, all of them ducking behind a corner. "Once we take control here, we can give them backup." Gibbs was about to follow through with this plan, until he got another look at the broad looking men working there. "Uh, you go first," he said to Ragetti, who gulped fearfully.
"Excuse me," sonic chuckled, and he went out into the open. The sound of fists striking flesh and pained grunts followed soon after, everyone wincing as the hedgehog did what he did best.
Back above, and above still, three figures moved stealthily through the rafters of the bathhouse, settling themselves down to watch the meeting themselves. "Best seats in the house," po whispered grinning. "If that Sao guy tries anything, I'll give him a piece of number one dragon warrior!"
"Your confidence inspires me," Jack Skellington commented, idly munching on the popcorn he had brought to watch the scene. "Too bad Sora had to go steal some charts, he'd likes a good show almost as much as I do."
"Hopefully he got them and got out of there," Aladdin muttered, clinging to the rafters. "It should have been me that went. I'm supposed to be the thief here."
"Ah, you'd probably just get captured," po snickered, earning a glare from Aladdin. "Leave it to Sora. He'll take care of it." The three of them hushed themselves as the meeting began to unfold.
"Sao Feng," Barbossa greeted while bowing respectfully, gesturing for the others to do the same. "We come before you in an hour of need."
"I am aware," Sao Feng informed, his eyes scanning each person before him. "Why else would you risk the trip here? What is it your request?"
"Nothing that someone of your stature cannot provide, I'm sure. I've a venture underway and I find myself in need of a ship and a crew. I was hoping maybe you could accommodate." Sao Feng's eyes narrowed, and he put a hand to his chin as if pondering.
"It is an odd coincidence," he muttered aloud.
"Because you happen to have a ship and crew you don't need?" Will asked hopefully.
"No," Sao Feng replied, scratching his head idly. "Because earlier today, not that far from here, a thief broke into my most revered uncle's temple. It appears he wanted these." One of his attendants handed him a furled chart made of rice paper. "The navigational charts. Able to lead one from this dimension, to the next." The assembled group looked at each other nervously. "Wouldn't it be an amazing coincidence if this venture of yours took you to the world beyond this one?"
"Small world, huh?" Beast pitched. Sao Feng smirked knowingly. He gave a gesture to his men, and they reached into one of the baths. Coughing, spluttering and gasping for air, they pulled out Sora from under the boiling water, his hands bound by a wooden pole across his shoulders. How long he had been under there was anyone's guess.
po's eyes widened in disbelief. "Spoke to soon..."
"This is the thief," Sao Feng went on pointing at Sora. "You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?" Barbossa, Elizabeth, Will and Beast looked at each other nervously, but they said nothing. Sao Feng's expression did not change as he pulled out a thick wooden spike. "Very well, then. I guess he is of no further use." And he made to ram the pike through Sora's skull. Elizabeth gasped in horror before she could stop herself. Sao Feng paused in killing the boy, because now he knew everything.
"You think you can deceive me? In my city?" he demanded of Barbossa.
"Sao Feng, I had no idea-"
"That he would get caught!" the Chinese pirate snarled. "It is bad enough with the East India Trading Company breathing down our necks and bringing with them creatures not of this world, but to be betrayed like this? There is only one reason you would want those charts. You are attempting a voyage to Davy Jones' Locker, and I cannot help but wonder, why?"
Barbossa scowled, and unexpectedly tossed something. Sao Feng caught it and brought to his eyes. It was a silver coin; a piece of eight to be exact. Sao Feng's eyes widened as he looked at it. He held it to his ear, and to his shock, a soft ringing could be heard emanating. "The song has been sung," Barbossa whispered. "You and I are two of the nine Pirate Lords, and you must honour the call. It is time for us to convene with the Brethren Court." Sao Feng clutched the coin tightly, scowling as he did.
"The Brethren Court," he spat. "There is a price on all our heads. Against the East India Trading Company, what value is the Brethren Court? What can any of us do?"
"You can fight!" Elizabeth shouted, by now fed up with the whole exchange, marching up to the pirate before Will could stop her. The fact she had no pants didn't help her mood. "You are Sao Feng, Pirate Lord of Singapore, one of the most feared men in the seven seas! Would you have that era come to an end? The most notorious pirates from around the world are uniting against our enemies, and yet you sit here, cowering in your bath water!" Sao Feng's eyes narrowed dangerously at her. Such a look only emphasized the fact he was one of the most feared men on the seas.
"Elizabeth Swann," he whispered calmly. "There is more to you than meets the eye. But I cannot help but notice you have failed to answer my question. Just what is it that awaits you in Davy Jones Locker?"
"It's to find our friends," Sora suddenly answered. Sao Feng regarded him questionably. "They were taken by Davy Jones. We're going to save them."
Sao Feng sniffed disdainfully. "Very noble, boy. Now, tell me why should I care?"
"Because one of them is Jack Sparrow!" Will replied. Sao Feng rounded to him. And suddenly every woman in the bath house giggled naughtily at the pirate captain's name. "He's one of the Pirate Lords." Barbossa slapped his forehead in despair.
Sao Feng's eyes grew dark and angry, his face contorting with rage, and his hand idly going to one of the many scars he possessed on his face.
"The only reason," he whispered dangerously. "I would bring Jack Sparrow back from the land of the dead, is so I can send him back there MYSELF!" He kicked over a table in his anger.
"So he doesn't like Jack," Beast grumbled to Will. "Imagine that."
"If anyone is happy Jack Sparrow is dead, it'd be me," Barbossa stated cruelly. "But unlike you, Sao Feng, I look at the bigger picture. Jack is one of the Pirate Lords, he holds one of the nine pieces of eight, and he failed to pass it to a successor before his demise. We need him if we are to stand any chance against Cutler Beckett." Sao Feng's face twisted angrily. Something then caught his attention. One of the dragon tattoos that all of his pirates wore was dripping off one of his men. It was a fake.
Sao Feng scowled. "So," he growled. "Even now you continue to deceive me. WEAPONS!" Suddenly all his men leapt from the baths, revealing the swords they had been hiding under the water. The group quickly found themselves surrounded.
"This didn't exactly go smoothly," Will commented as they backed away.
"Does it ever?" Beast growled. His paw filled with light and his Keyblade appeared, and he swung it in a wide arc to keep the pirates at bay.
Sao Feng drew his sword and grabbed the man with the dripping tattoo, pressing the blade against his neck. "Drop your weapon! Or I'll kill your man!" The man in question made no reaction to the fact he was being threatened, his face blank like a zombie.
Barbossa looked at the others questionably, but they only shrugged. "Go ahead, he's not our man." Sao Feng raised an eyebrow.
"Wait," Sora interrupted, still restrained. "If he's not with you, and he's not with us, then who-?" The man in question suddenly lurched and Sao Feng let go of him in his surprise. He was engulfed in shadow, and in an instant, a snarling Omega Heartless was in his place.
Barbossa cursed. "Heartless!" The front entrance exploded then and there. Heartless followed by soldiers loyal to the Company stormed into the bath house, lead by Beckett's right hand man Mercer, and immediately clashed with Sao Feng's pirates. Swords clashed, muskets fired, Heartless exploded, and the heroes found themselves in the middle of it all.
Jack Skellington swallowed the rest of his popcorn. "That's our cue!" Then he smashed through the roof, and he, Aladdin and po fell into the fray, knocking back soldiers and destroying Heartless around their friends.
Sora used the poll he was strapped across to block a soldier's sword and whacked him cross the face with it. He then summoned his Keyblade and cut himself free. "Let's get out of here!"
"Retreat!" Sao Feng shouted. With the help of the Key bearers they cut a swath through the Heartless and soldiers to the exit.
"No! Stop them! Don't let them escape!" Mercer shouted. A battalion of soldiers took their positions, one line kneeling in the front the other standing behind them, and all took aim with their bayonets to the fleeing heroes. "Ready! Aim!"
"RAAAGGHH!" sonic snarled as he burst from the floor, knocking the formation of soldiers everywhere. He leapt from the hole he created, brandishing his Keyblade. he leapt in to engage the soldiers. Mulan, Gibbs, Marty, Cotton, Pintel and Ragetti followed suit, guns and Keyblade blazing.
Everyone retreated outside where fighting had erupted throughout the entire town. The soldiers were the least of their worries, as Heartless had all but overtaken the city, and were swarming the streets by the dozens, lashing out against pirate and civilians alike and transforming them into Heartless as well. Even some of the Company soldiers fell prey to their unsatiable thirst for hearts.
"This is awful," Sora whispered dreadfully. "I have to help them!"
"You'll not be doing anything of the sort!" Barbossa growled grabbing Sora by the shoulder before he could rush off. "You stay here; if you're captured by the Company, you'll be of no use to anyone. Do you want to save your maiden or not?" Sora scowled in frustration. For a former villain, he made a lot of sense. "Then I suggest you stop worrying about them and start worrying about getting to the docks!"
"And we'll take as many of them down on the way!" Beast snarled, and with a roar he jumped into battle, backhanding two soldiers at once into the water.
"Now that's more like it!" Sora grinned and ran off into battle himself. All around town the Keyblade bearers helped out the best they could during their escape.
"Get out of here! Run!" Aladdin shouted to the townsfolk rushing past him, dodging the stab of a soldier's bayonet, then slamming the hilt of his Keyblade into his face. "I think I'm getting the hang of this Keyblade bearing thing!"
"Oh yeah?" Mulan asked, twirling her own Keyblade. "Can you do this?" She threw her Keyblade as it was engulfed in flame, and it collided with a bridge just as several Omega Heartless were crossing it, reducing it to kindling and sending the Heartless to the water.
Aladdin sniffed disdainfully. "It's not a contest..."
"You're at the edge of the map now, boys!" Barbossa laughed, wielding two swords at once and making good use of them. "Here there be monsters!" He stabbed a soldier that was sneaking up on him, then spun to slice the head clean off a Heartless Knight, laughing madly all the while.
"He's scary," po whimpered.
"Yeah," sonic agreed, then grinned. "I like him." His green eyes then widened. "Uh oh." Standing across a canal from them was another battalion of soldiers, all of them taking aim with their bayonets. But none of them noticed the musical cart they had taken position in front of, quietly playing a tune as the soldiers readied to fire. Then the music stopped - and the cart exploded, sending soldiers screaming as they went flying into the water or through the roofs of houses. po and sonic gawked in surprise, until they saw Tia Dalma standing not far off, and she smiled wickedly at them, then calmly walked off.
"On second thought, she scares me more," po whimpered. sonic nodded slowly.
Will had just cut down an Omega Heartless when he was suddenly pulled aside and pinned up against a wall, by none other than Sao Feng. "It is an odd coincidence," he growled. "The East India Trading Company finds me the day you show up in Singapore!"
"It is coincidence only," Will shot back, and he pushed Sao Feng back to switch their positions, pressing his knife against the man's throat. "If you want to get out of this alive, Sao Feng, you'll hear what I have to offer." Sao Feng frowned, but didn't object. "I can help you make a deal with Beckett."
"You cross Barbossa," Sao Feng spat, narrowing his eyes. "You are willing to cross Jack Sparrow. Why should I expect any different?" Will scowled, and he unexpectedly removed the knife, the same knife he had received that fateful night on the Flying Dutchman.
"Because I need the Black Pearl to free my father." Sao Feng raised an eyebrow questionably. "And you're going to help me."
Elsewhere, Sora, Jack Skellington, Pintel and Ragetti were piling up boxes of fireworks. "Alright," Sora sighed wiping his brow. "These should be able to cover our escape."
"Cover our escape?" Jack Skellington asked as he piled the last box. "Is that why we're doing this? " He shrugged and snapped his fingers, and a tiny flame appeared on his thumb. Grinning from cheek to cheek, he lit the fuse, and they all ran like madmen. Seconds later the fireworks ignited in a fantastic, and theatrical, explosion. Many soldiers dodged, ducked and dove into the water to avoid the streaking projectiles, and many Heartless were obliterated.
Everyone managed to meet up at the docks. They were haggard and tired, but otherwise okay. "Where's Will?" Elizabeth asked once everyone had gathered. Everyone except Will. But they didn't have to wait long, as Will came marching up, with Tai Huang and many of Sao Feng's pirates in tow.
"Where's Sao Feng?" Sora asked.
"He said he'd cover our escape and meet us in Shipwreck Cove," Will explained once he reached them.
"Do you have the charts?" Barbossa asked as he sheathed his sword.
Will hefted the rice paper charts triumphantly. "And better yet," he said, gesturing to Tai Huang and his men. "A ship and crew."
"Well, then we don't have to stay here any longer," Gibbs said all to eagerly. "Let's go!" They all ran for the shipyards.
Soon enough they were onboard their new vessel, an old junk ship that was diligently crewed by Sao Feng's pirates. The seaside town of Singapore burned behind them, engulfed in flames by the fireworks explosion, but luckily the citizens had escaped before things had gotten too hot. The screeches of Omega Heartless could be heard even as they sailed away. "Eyes on your stations ya bilge rats!" Barbossa shouted, immediately assuming the role as captain. "Loose the sheets and tighten the ropes! We make for World's End!"
Sora watched as the town burned, sad that he could not have done more for them. Could he still be called a hero after all that had happened. He decided to approach Tia Dalma, the only one who's advice he truly valued on this ship. "Do you think Sao Feng will help us?" he asked.
"I cannot say," Tia whispered, staring out at sea with a forlorn expression on her face. "There is an evil that haunts these waters that even the most staunch and bloodthirsty pirates have come to fear."
KHKHKHKH
Elsewhere, the peaceful reverie of the sea was broken when a giant form burst from the surface. It was no animal or any kind of sea dweller, but a massive galleon made almost entirely of sea life. This ship was known and feared by many as the Flying Dutchman, and its course was the three ships set before it, ships flying the skull of crossbones flag of pirates. It fell upon them, cannons firing from the sides, triple-cannons blasting from the front, tearing the helpless ships into pieces, an unstoppable juggernaut of the seas. Pirates screamed as they were sent to their deaths, having no chance or desire to fight back. No chance for surrender, no survivors, no mercy.
Meanwhile, watching from a good distance was Lord Beckett's flagship, the Endeavour, and many other ships of the East India Trading Company. The Lord himself sat behind his desk in his stateroom, listening to the report of his right-hand man. "Nine pieces of eight?" Beckett questioned.
"Yes, nine of them," Mercer reported, occasionally wincing from the pain in his shoulder. "Our new friend in Singapore was very specific regarding them."
"Did he tell you of their purpose?" Mercer shook his head. "Then he knows the value of information." Beckett idly twirled a piece of eight in his hands, not one of the pieces in question, but it still made him ponder. "And what of this girl that our new benefactors are looking for? This...Kairi?"
"I didn't see her. It's possible they kept her hidden." Mercer cleared his throat nervously. "Regarding our...benefactors, sir, there was a problem with the Heartless. We lost control of them during the battle. Many of our men were lost."
"Many sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of power," Beckett replied offhandedly, setting the coin on the desk. "Did our new friend happen to mention where the Brethren Court are meeting?"
"He was mum on that, sir." Beckett frowned. This informant was indeed picky. "But does it matter?" Mercer asked, smiling confidently. "There's nothing that could stop us now. Not with the Heartless. Not with the Flying Dutchman."
"Nothing that we know of." Mercer's smile fell at Beckett's statement. Beckett eyes went to what was now his most prized possession, even though it wasn't really his at the moment. The Dead Man's Chest sat on his desk.
"And the Governor?" Mercer asked, looking behind him. Sitting at another desk and working drearily on piles of paperwork was Governor Weatherby Swann. Or former Governor Weatherby Swann. After aiding in the escape of his daughter he had been stripped of his title and forced to become a loyal employee of the East India Trading Company. Only on the agreement that Elizabeth would be unharmed when the Company caught her.
"What about him?" Beckett asked. Mercer leaned in to speak more quietly.
"He's been asking questions about the heart." Beckett raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the chest on his desk, and could even hear the steady heartbeat inside.
"Does he know?" Mercer eyes showed his uncertainty. Beckett smiled cruelly. "Then perhaps his usefulness has run its course." The doors to the room opened, and someone was allowed inside. "Ah, Admiral Norrington."
James Norrington shuffled uncomfortably as he stood. Upon delivering the heart he had been promoted to Admiral of the Company Armada and, as a result, given back his old uniform. Even so, he wasn't exactly happy these days.
"You summoned me, Lord Beckett?" he asked. His gaze caught that of Weatherby Swann's, and the man regarded him coldly before turning back to his paperwork.
"Yes, actually. I have something for you." He gestured to a table, where a long wooden box was sitting. Norrington's eyes widened when he caught sight of it. "Your new station deserves an old friend." The Admiral opened the box, and was greeted by the glistening steel of his old sword. The same sword forged by one William Turner.
Beckett smiled darkly. "Use it as I see fit."
On the top deck, all of the crewmen keeping their distance from him, the Horned King looked with grim satisfaction at the destruction wrought by his newest toy. The only remains of the pirate ships were burning wreckage slowly sinking into the sea. "My God," Maleficent breathed as she came up beside him. "There's nothing left." The Horned King smiled wider.
"Jones is indeed a loose cannon," he chuckled. "One that will draw Sora out of hiding and, with him, Kairi. Unfortunately, Jones has a nasty habit of killing everybody before we can interrogate them."
"Yes," Maleficent agreed, then her eyes narrowed. "But have you noticed something?"
"Unfortunately, I have," he growled, his smile dropping. "He seems to refuse to use his Keyblade."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I don't know. Maybe a part of him still holds on to that honour he once felt as a Keyblade bearer. Or maybe...he doesn't want to be reminded of his past."
"How very noble," Maleficent mused.
"Annoying, you mean." The Horned King turned to his servant, the silent Miss Heartily. "Send for Beckett. We're going aboard." She bowed low and went to the captain's stateroom.
Maleficent watched her go until she went inside. "I've been meaning to ask for some time. Who is that girl? She seems much too fair to be one of your servants."
"And yours are the cream of the crop?" he sneered. Not far off Gantu was hurling over the side of the ship due to seasickness, with Pete patting him on the back. Maleficent glared at the Horned King. "Very well, then. It was over ten years ago. I saved her from a world consumed by the Heartless. Perhaps you know which one?" Maleficent raised an eyebrow; she did indeed. "Even then I could see the vast potential she possessed as a mage, someone who had the potential to be my apprentice. So I took her in, and trained her to be magic user worthy of my presence. But more than that, she has an innate talent. Apparently she has some kind of connection to the Princesses of Heart." Maleficent looked at him with all her attention now. "She can sense them. Wherever they are, she can feel them, almost see them. To her they are like massive columns of light. Even better, combining this power with the magic of my Black Cauldron, enables me to locate them, no matter where they are."
"Then why do we not simply use her to find Kairi?" the witch asked. "Why are we forced to rely on Beckett to find these pirates she is currently with?"
"Because wherever Kairi is, not even the Black Cauldron can say," Horned King growled frustratingly, clenching his hand in a fist. "Beckett has his uses. And with Davy Jones and his Keyblade under our command it is only a matter of time before we find her."
"That is if Jones uses his Keyblade," Maleficent muttered.
The Horned King smiled again. "Well, that's why we're paying him a visit."
Miss Heartily returned soon enough, with an annoyed looking Beckett behind her. "I understand you wish to see me?" he said irritably.
"Yes," the Horned King confirmed. "Is there any news?"
"Actually, yes. It seems our old acquaintances were last spotted in Singapore. Unfortunately, they escaped before we could capture them."
"And Kairi?" Maleficent questioned.
"No sign of her, I'm afraid." The two sorcerers exchanged confused looks. "Which brings me to my next point, actually. As thankful as I am for your recent services, I'm afraid the East India Trading Company has much more trying matters to deal with right now than with the finding of one little girl." The Horned King raised an eyebrow. "It is my duty to eradicate the pirates of these seas, which cannot happen if Jones is playing errand boy for you to find a lost child." The Horned King glared coldly, and Beckett's confidence drained.
"You forget your place," the villain growled. "Whatever these pirates are up to Sora and Kairi are undoubtably involved. We find her, we find these Pirate Lords, and they will all fall in one fell swoop. All will come in due time, Lord Beckett. Let's just not forget who helped you get that title." Beckett swallowed nervously, lowered his eyes and nodded.
Aboard the Flying Dutchman, in the cabin of the captain, where the mournful music played, Davy Jones sat before his organ, his tentacle beard slowly playing the keys. Davy Jones had been many things in his long life. Hero, villain, rogue, and now he was nothing more than a tool. He was something else once, long ago. A lover.
Sadly he looked at the heart-shaped locket that sat on the organ and took it is his tentacle hand. He suddenly felt something on his face. Using a single tentacle he scooped it up and brought it before his face. It was a single tear. He was...crying.
His slimy face twisted angrily, teeth clenched tightly, and he stormed for the door outside to pay a visit to the unwelcome visitors on his ship.
Company soldiers filed aboard the Dutchman one by one, taking positions all over the ship. Admiral Norrington directed them, and Pete and Gantu followed behind him, Pete carrying with him the Dead Man's Chest. From the ship's hold came its crew, sea-creatures that were once men, now monsters, confronting the soldiers on the deck. Davy Jones pushed himself to the front, and recoiled angrily when he spotted the chest. "Get that...infernal thing out of here!" he snarled, Pete cringing at his anger. "I will not have it on my ship!"
"Really?" Beckett asked as he came down to meet him. "That's a shame. Because I will. It seems to be the only way to ensure this ship does as directed by the Company. We need prisoners to interrogate, and that tends to work better when they're still alive."
"You meddle in affairs you cannot even begin to comprehend, Beckett," Jones snarled, spitting at Beckett's feet. "Know this. As soon as your new friends get what they want, they will toss you aside like the snivelling worm that you are. The Dutchman sails as its captain commands."
"And its captain is to sail as commanded." All eyes turned to the Horned King and Maleficent as they came to confront Jones as well. "You're no longer in charge here, Jones," the Horned King sneered, their inhuman faces coming within inches of each other. "It would do you well to remember that. So if you do not start using your Keyblade..." Jones scowled fiercely. "...you might find yourself more broken hearted than you were before. You are aware of what the Heartless eat?" Maleficent smirked and nodded at Pete. Several Shadow Heartless appeared around Pete's feet, and they jumped at the chest as he held it just out of their reach, laughing as he did so.
"Do we understand each other?" the Horned King asked smugly. Jones narrowed his blue eyes. In a flash his Keyblade appeared, and he thrust it under the Horned King's chin. The Company soldiers quickly pointed their bayonets at the lord of the locker , but Norrington held them off.
"Perfectly," Jones hissed, spinning around and leaving for his cabin. The Horned King rubbed his neck, and glared at Davy's back as he went.
KHKHKHKH
On their new ship the Hai Peng the heroes sailed through the night. The waters were calm and quiet, perfectly reflecting the night sky above them, making it seem like they were sailing on a sea of stars. It was all very nice to Sora, but as he leaned against the rail and looked into the sky, he couldn't help but think Kairi would've liked it more.
"Aw, cheer up, Sora!" po cheered throwing an arm around the other spiky-haired boy. "You'll get her back! This is what you're good at!"
"Huh?" Sora asked.
"You know!" Jack Skellington said as he came around the other side of him. "Damsels in distress! You save them all the time! It's like, your thing!"
"You've rescued all the Princesses of Heart before," po backed up, nudging Sora in the side. "And those were seven damsels! Kairi included!"
"But...they were all captured again," Sora realized morosely. "Jasmine and Belle from right under my nose!" Jack and po winced sympathetically. "And then the same thing happened with Kairi!" The dragon warrior and Skellington winced further, looking at each other awkwardly.
"Uh, hey look! A barrel!" Jack Skellington stammered.
"Wow! No kidding?" po gulped. And they quickly shuffled off before they made the situation any worse. Sora groaned dejected, and slammed his head against the railing.
Mulan watched Sora sadly from afar. She had never seen the boy so down. It was her fault he was like that. If she hadn't done what she had done to Jack then... "What's your problem?" sonic asked disdainfully leaning back against the rail. "You've been acting weird ever since what happened."
"Once we save Kairi and Jack everything will be alright again," she muttered turning away.
"You don't actually miss him, do you?" Beast asked in disgust. "Kairi I can understand, but Jack Sparrow? The guy almost set me on fire because he thought inflammable meant not flammable. How can anyone miss him?"
"But...you said you missed him," Aladdin stated leaning against the mast.
Beast grunted and crossed his arms. "I was just...caught up in the moment," he muttered lamely. "But why would you miss him? He harassed you almost as much as me."
"Well, she did kiss him."
Everyone blinked and Mulan froze, as everyone turned to Ragetti, who was sitting beside Pintel on a barrel, carving a pupil into his wooden eye. He stopped carving at everyone's questionable stare. "Didn't everybody know that?" he asked.
"Could you...say that again?" sonic requested in disbelief, thinking he was hearing things.
"Well, actually-" Mulan was on him in a flash, slapping her hand over his mouth.
"You talk, you die," she hissed menacingly. She removed her hand and walked away
Ragetti blinked with his one eye and popped the wooden one back in place. "I like her," he grinned to Pintel. His friend gave a thumbs up of approval.
Will was the one who would look over Sao Feng's charts, with Tai Huang . He discovered that it was more like a puzzle than an actual. There were seven rings, each imprinted with mysterious words and beautiful pictures and, when rotated and matched up, formed entirely new shapes and forms. In the he centre ring was the picture of a ship, much like their own. "This makes no sense..." he muttered. "How could these find anything? They can't be as accurate as modern charts."
"No," Tai Huang agreed. "But it leads to more places." Will frowned. It seems everyone stuck him with the hard jobs. He spun the rings again, and set them in a new order. This time he could make out a sentence.
"'Over the edge, over again,'" he read aloud. "'Sunrise sets. Flash of green.'" To him and Tai Huang, it made no sense. Fortunately, they had someone who just might to able to make sense of it. "Care to interpret, Captain Barbossa?"
Barbossa smiled derisively from the helm. "The Green Flash," he chuckled. "It happens on a rare occasion. At the last glimpse of a sunset, a green flash of light shoots up into the sky. Some go their whole lives without seeing it. Some claim to have seen it but haven't Some say-"
"It signals when a soul comes back to this world, from the dead!" Pintel finished excitedly, effectively taking away the best part of the story. He gulped when Barbossa sent him a death glare. "Sorry..."
"Trust me, Master Turner," Barbossa went on in spite of him, smiling his cruel smile once again. "It's not gettin' to the land of the dead that's the problem." His smile grew wider. "It's gettin' back."
Sora was still leaning against the railings of the ship, looking out over the sea, thinking of Kairi and wondering if he would ever see her again, when he noticed something about the water he hadn't noticed a few minutes ago. The once calm and peaceful waters that reflected the sky only a moment ago were becoming rough and torrential.
"For what we want most..." Sora jumped when Tia Dalma was suddenly beside him, staring ahead, her tattooed features. "...there is a price that must be paid in the end." Sora gulped audibly, not liking the sound of that, and he turned to where she was looking. There was something up ahead. The water was growing more and more violent the farther they went in.
"Uh, guys," he called worriedly. "I think something's wrong!" Everyone turned their attention at the mention of trouble.
"We're picking up speed!" Gibbs shouted out. The Hai Peng was being pulled by a increasingly strong current.
"But...how?" Will asked himself. "We're on open sea!"
"Barbossa!" Sora shouted running to the ship's helm. "Something's wrong!"
"Aye!" Barbossa laughed, grinning as he stared straight ahead. "We're good and lost now!"
"L-Lost?" Elizabeth repeated in confusion.
"For certain you have to be lost to find places that can't be found." Barbossa smiled with his rotting teeth. "Elseways, everyone would know where it was!" They going even faster. The water was pulling them forward with growing strength, as well as something else. There was some kind of thundering sound in the air, growing louder and fiercer the farther in they went.
"What's that?" sonic asked aloud. They all quickly ran to the front of the ship to see what was happening. po, however, took a different route, planting his feet on the mast and swiftly running up to the crows nest. Once he was inside he got a better look than anyone else at what the cause of all this was.
"Oh...crud..." po whimpered.
Up ahead and getting closer, the entire ocean simply ended in a massive waterfall that spanned the entire length of the sea. Water fell down into an endless abyss, right off the face of the earth.
Jack Skellington blinked. "Well that's not good." Everyone screamed and did the only thing that this situation called for: panicked.
"Calm down!" Will shouted to Sao Feng's pirates, taking charge of this dreadful situation. "To stations! All hands to stations! Hard to starboard! Turn her about!"
"Belay that!" Captain Barbossa hollered to everyone's shock. "Let her run straight and true!" He stared ahead with a fearless, confident, almost insane grin on his face.
"You've doomed us all!" Elizabeth snarled marching up to the crazed captain.
"What did you expect, missy? Would it not make sense that to get to the land of the dead, we would have to die ourselves?" Looks of alarm passed over everybody's faces, making Barbossa laugh.
"He's crazy!" Aladdin yelped in horror.
"He's insane!" Mulan cried.
"He's my kinda guy!" Jack Skellington laughed.
Soon it was much too late to turn around. Their ship was completely caught within the waterfall's current, too close to escape. "HOLD ON!" Sora screamed and held tightly to the mast. Everyone else clutched the closest thing they could find; ropes, rails, each other, as the Hai Peng began to tip over the edge, Barbossa's mad laughter rising over the thundering falls. Finally they fell, ship and all, off the face of the earth, over the edge, over World's End.
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!