Chapter 67: memories of calypso
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 onwards to shipwreck cove! 2007 was notorious of releasing Phineas and ferb! Another shoutout to spiderfan626! he must support on this fanfic too!
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
"Captain, we should do something!"
Davy Jones stood below the deck of his ship, the Flying Dutchman, with a portion of his crew with him. He did not face them as they talked, just looked out of the cannon port into the great blue sea. "I stopped taking orders from bureaucrats the moment I joined this crew," the Boson growled. "We should kill em' all! Take back the ship for the captain!"
"They have the heart," Hammerhead growled back, like he was talking to an idiot. "We can't make a move on those Company dogs without the captain being in danger." Jones didn't say anything throughout the exchange. He didn't even give a sign he was listening.
"But it's on the ship now!" Pufferfish backed up. "In the captain's cabin!"
"Under heavy guard," Hammerhead finished with an impatient tone.
"But the point is we might be able to get to it now," Pufferfish went on, the spines on his cheeks rising up and down as he breathed. "Maybe we can catch em' by surprise. Something they won't expect. Captain! Maybe you should use your Keyblade. They won't be expecting that!" Now Jones turned to them, but with an expression of pure rage.
"Won't they now?" He snarled and marched towards him, the rest of the crew backing away lest they feel his wrath. "And it is exactly comments like that show why I give the orders and not you!" He clamped his claw around Pufferfish's throat.
"Howdy, ya'll!" Davy Jones and his crew rounded in surprise at the loud and boisterous call behind them. Someone now stood there, and he was dressed head to toe in dark armour. "Davy Jones!" Charon the Chaser cackled, striding his way through the crew to reach Davy Jones, so he could pull him into a big hug. "You old seadog! It's been too long!"
Jones roughly pushed Charon off him. "You," he growled.
"Me!" Charon laughed. "You know, when Brisen told me, I couldn't believe it. Davy Jones, the Keyblade bearing captain! Whoa!" he gasped, finally getting a good look at Jones. "Man, you got ugly! I mean, you were ugly before, but now - geez, you went up a whole other level!"
"What is wrong with you?" Jones asked. This was not the same man he remembered.
Charon chuckled. "I guess you're referring to my oh so charming personality. Put it this way. You spend a little too much time in the darkness, you start to go a little CRAZY!" He cackled insanely, clearly proving his point. Jones rolled his eyes, stalked off and up the stairs to the top deck. "Hey, where you going? Don't you want to catch up?" Charon ran up the stairs after him. The crew, looking at each other in utmost confusion, quickly followed after.
Davy Jones emerged top deck of the Flying Dutchman into the shining sun to see his busy crew, which unfortunately included the occupying Company soldiers. Charon came out right behind him. "Boy, this ship brings back a lot of memories," Charon sighed. Many crew-monsters and soldiers stopped what they were doing to stare in wonder at the man in armour following Davy Jones wherever he hobbled. "I can see you've made a few changes to the place, of course. Yeah, a piece a seaweed there, some barnacles over there. The crew's a lot easier to look at, too. Out of my way, baldy!" he shouted, shoving a crewman aside. Sa'luk had mutated much more since joining the Flying Dutchman. His skin was now a shade of dark green, and his broad shoulders were now the home of many coral. His right hand was now webbed, and his signature golden triple-clawed weaponhad actually fused with his right hand.
"Now I'm not saying they were all good times," Charon went on. "I mean, I did turn to evil, and you disappeared after your girlfriend left you. That was a shame, she always a sweet little number. What was her name again? Cindy? Sally? Kayla? Cecilia?"
"WHAT do you want!?" Jones finally snapped, his tentacles flailing as he rounded to Charon, blue eyes blazing with restrained anger.
Charon held his hands up peacefully. "Easy, easy," he chuckled. "I just wanted to catch up. It's been a thousand years, after all. But you're right, I did touch on some sensitive issues there. You'd think a thousand years would be ample time to get over it." Jones scowled further. "Okay, okay! Here's the thing..." He tapped his helmet knowingly. "I've got a little proposition for you." Jones snorted, yet didn't turn Charon away. "I notice you're in a little bit of a bind here. Me and the other two can help you out with that."
"Make way. Make way!" Admiral Norrington ordered, pushing through the crowd that had formed as he arrived with a small battalion of soldiers. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
"Easy, soldier-boy," Charon replied, brushing Norrington off with a wave of his hand. "We're talking."
Norrington would not be brushed aside so easily. "Who are you? How did you get aboard this ship? What business-"
"I said," Charon snarled, his voice dropping to a feral level. "We're talking." His hand suddenly crackled with lightning as he prepared a thunder spell. Norrington and his soldiers staggered in surprise and fear, and the Admiral said nothing more. "Anyway," the Chaser went on to an unimpressed Davy Jones. "We're in the middle of a little mission of ours, and we've hit a bit of a snag. We're looking for this kid, you see. Little punk named Riku. But we just can't seem to find him. Kid's clever, and he's a Keyblade wielder. He's caught onto our ways of finding him. That's where you come in. You can help us look for him with those freaky powers of yours. Should be easy for you!"
"Why should I?" Jones scoffed.
"Well, for one, we can help you get out of this sticky situation. I know you're basically being held captive here. It doesn't have to be like that. We can bust you out of here, kill everyone of these suits, whatever you need. We're good at that sort of thing."
"Hey! Jones!" Pete suddenly pushed his way past the on looking crew. "What's going on here? Standing around with your mouths hanging open. Just what-" Pete stopped short and his blood ran cold when he saw the Chaser in front of him. "Cha-Cha-Cha-Chas-" he blubbered incoherently.
Charon chuckled again. "I mean, you can't like hanging with tubsy-wubsy over there," he said jerking his thumb in Pete's direction. "Come on, Jones, you can't like being a tool. It ain't cool!"
Jones spat out water. "What is this mission?" Charon smirked underneath his helmet.
"We're bringing back Xehanort." Davy Jones' eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Yeah, that's right. The big man's making a comeback, bigger and badder than ever. We know how to do it, so it's only a matter of time. But we could use your help." Charon stepped closer, and spoke in a low whisper. "You and I are a lot alike, Jones. We're both from an age where wielding a Keyblade meant something. And we both turned away from one path to find another. You belong with us. Masters of the Keyblade under the shadow of darkness." The Chaser held out his left hand, and seemed to smile beneath his armour. "So what do you say?"
Davy Jones stared calmly at the armoured hand. He glanced off to his anxiously waiting crew, the baffled Norrington, and the fearful Pete. Raising his deformed left hand, Jones clasped Charon's. Jones smiled.
And then he drove his claw into the Chaser's face.
"AAHH!" Charon cried, his head bouncing around his helmet like a dodgeball. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"I would rather suffer these fools than be a slave to that madman," Jones answered calmly, brushing dirt off his claw. Charon fumed.
"Are you insane?" he growled. "We're offering you the chance of a lifetime here."
"Better a servant than a blind cur who's mind has been broken by the darkness."
"Watch it, Davy. Keep talkin' like that and I'll-"
"You'll what?" Jones whispered dangerously, and took a step towards Charon until he towered over him. The Chaser went silent. He knew better than to challenge Davy Jones on his own ship, and the fact he was immortal didn't help things. With an angered growl, Charon backed off.
"If I knew where your heart was," Charon snarled. "I'd stomp it into the ground myself! You're nothing, Jones. You were nothing then and you're nothing now! Mark my words, you're gonna regret this." And with those chilling words Charon turned his back, and disappeared into the darkness.
Davy Jones glared at the spot where he had vanished. The man he knew underneath that armour was long gone, now nothing but a vessel for darkness.
He was just glad Charon didn't know his heart was in the captain's cabin.
KHKHKHKH
Walking across the plank that connected his ship to theirs, Captain Sao Feng boarded the Black Pearl, to the cheers of his crew, and to the dread of his captives. "Sao Feng," Barbossa greeted, now bound in manacles along with everyone else that the man had fooled. "Quite the coincidence running into you here."
"Less of a coincidence than you might think," Sao Feng sneered. It wasn't Barbossa Sao Feng wanted to speak with. It was the man that was cowering behind him. "Jack Sparrow." Jack nervously peaked out from over Barbossa's shoulder, grinning innocently. "You paid me great insult once."
"That doesn't sound like me." Everyone winced when Sao Feng punched Jack straight in the face. Jack grimaced, grabbed his nose, and snapped it back in its proper place. "Call it even then?"
Will Turner pushed his way past Sao Feng's crew. "Release Elizabeth," he ordered the Singapore Pirate Lord. "And Sora and his friends as well." Sao Feng narrowed his eyes and smirked.
"As you wish, Captain Turner," he complied, and gestured to his men to release Elizabeth.
"Captain who?" Jack stuttered.
"What's going on, Will?" Sora demanded.
"Hey, if he wants to let us go I say we don't argue," sonic pointed out, not exactly happy being in chains.
"I made a deal with Sao Feng," Will lividly shouting at everyone, voice unwavering. "I give him Jack, I get the Black Pearl. And then I can free my father from Davy Jones' control. You've seen my father, Sora. You know why I have to do this!"
"Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?" Elizabeth demanded, marching up to him when she was released by the pirates.
Will looked away from her awkwardly. "It was my burden to bear."
"So let me get this straight!" Jack Sparrow shouted, wrestling from his captor's grasp and standing before everyone. He pointed at Will. "Captain Turner here wanted the Pearl." He pointed at Barbossa. "You wanted the Brethren Court." He pointed to Mulan. "You felt guilty." And he pointed to Sora. "And you wanted to save your girlfriend, which I can only assume the rest of you wanted as well! Did anyone come to save me just because they missed me?!"
Jack was met with a very uncomfortable silence.
"Enough talk," Will said to Sao Feng, gratefully breaking the silence as Jack sulked away. "Release Sora and his friends. I'll be taking them all on the Black Pearl. Barbossa and Jack are yours to do with as you see fit."
But Sao Feng did nothing. In fact, he merely smiled. "I'm afraid our agreement has changed a bit," Sao Feng announced to Will's shock. "Lord Beckett has some rather peculiar friends, and they were quite interested in meeting all of you." And then he pointed out at sea. Not far off and getting closer, another ship was approaching, a galleon of massive proportions, flying the flag of the East India Trading Company. The Endeavour. Lord Beckett's flagship.
At that moment, green flames followed by black shadows sprang from the deck of the Pearl, and Sao Feng's pirates cringed in fear of the beings that stepped out from them. Maleficent and the Horned King emerged in all their dark glory, flanked by several Pirate Heartless.
"Greetings," Maleficent smiled upon arriving, sending chills down everyone's spine. "Miss us?"
KHKHKHKH
Jack Sparrow was unceremoniously shoved into Beckett's office, calmly dusting himself off as the guards left the room, shutting the doors behind them. "It's a curious thing." Jack turned at hearing the Lord himself, who had his back turned, as he twirled a silver coin in his hand. "Your friends seem quite desperate. Perhaps they no longer believe that an assembled group of ragtag characters can defeat the very powers of darkness. And so despair leads to betrayal." Jack was barely listening, walking around the stateroom, rummaging through what he could. "But you and I are no strangers to betrayal, are we, Jack?" Beckett asked, now turning to face the pirate, only to find him going through his drawers. "It's not here."
"Uh, what?" Jack asked innocently.
"The heart of Davy Jones. It's safely aboard the Dutchman."
Jack shrugged. "Didn't expect it to be here anyway. Why would it be in your office? Its not like you're in charge." Beckett narrowed his eyes but smiled, coldly.
"I must say I'm rather surprised to see you here, Jack. By my last reckoning you had died to settle your debt with Jones."
"What can I say?" Jack grinned. "I hate to leave things unsettled. But we're nice and even now."
"And what if Jones were to come here?" Beckett asked smugly. "Would he think the same?" Jack frowned at the prospect of seeing the Dutchman's captain again. Beckett smiled triumphantly, and casually poured them both a glass of brandy. "Perhaps you would consider an alternative arrangement, one that requires nothing from you but information." Jack took the glass of brandy when offered, and downed it in a single gulp.
"Were I in a divulgatory mode," he slurred, and snatched Beckett's own glass to drink himself. "What might I divulge?"
"Everything. Where are the Brethren Court meeting? Who are the Pirate Lords? What is the purpose of the nine pieces of eight? And lastly..." Here Beckett leaned in to whisper. "What is the importance of the girl?"
Jack blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting this, then smiled wryly. "That's what this is about, isn't it?" Beckett shrugged and turned to walk away from Jack. "Don't get me wrong, I understand. It must be terribly frustrating to be under the thumb of those two evil lords, who are much more evil than you. I know I'd be if I was evil."
"I owe the Horned King a favour, this is true," Beckett replied, walking towards an extravagant picture of himself. It was supposed to depict his power in these seas, but these days its meaning seemed to have diminished. "But I can't help being curious. They have so much already. Magical powers, the Heartless, and now the Flying Dutchman. What would make two sorcerers as powerful as them chase after one girl? Unless-"
"Unless it was for an even greater power," Jack finished, and mimicked the dramatic pose of Beckett's portrait.
Beckett smiled again. "So you do know."
"I've heard the explanation several times Rather complicated, if not silly. Imagine, if you will, a door. And behind this door, is a power unimaginable. Power in the form of a heart. You and I both know that hearts can be powerful things, don't we?" Beckett raised an inquisitive eyebrow, smiled, and sat down at his desk.
"Go on."
Outside on the deck of the Black Pearl, Company soldiers had boarded from the Endeavour, and were beginning to make the ship their own. The Heartless were on standby, awaiting orders from their evil masters. "Kairi," Maleficent whispered smiling, stroking the young girl's cheek. "It's been too long, my dear. Nearly three years since I cared for you in Hollow Bastion. You didn't think I'd forget about you and the other six Princesses, did you?"
If it weren't for the shackles on Kairi's wrist she'd show the witch just what she thought of her. "I had counted on it," Kairi growled flinching away from her green hand. Sora seethed at the sight.
"Well count on this," the Horned King chuckled. "You're coming with us. No more running." The Horned King noticed the sound of snarling, and turned to face Beast, barely containing his anger. The Horned King smirked. "Ah, the Beast. I see you're dealing with your transformation quite well. And don't worry. We're taking good care of Belle." Beast roared and would have ripped the horns from the king's head if several of Sao Feng's pirates hadn't held him back. One of them clocked him over the head with a pistol to calm him down.
"Beast!" Sora cried. He glared at them both. "You won't get away with this!"
"Silence," Maleficent snapped. They were all of them held hostage, by both Sao Feng's pirates and Company soldiers, as well as several Heartless. Their enemies were all around them, and they were at their mercy. But there was someone else that Sora couldn't make head nor tails of. There was a young woman that the witch and sorcerer had brought with them, with long, shiny black hair and, remarkably, small angel wings sprouting from her back. She kept ducking her eyes away every time Sora or someone else looked at her. What was her story?
"Thank you, Sao Feng," Horned King said to the Chinese pirate. "You're assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated." Sao Feng bowed his head respectfully.
"Sao Feng," Will growled, confronting him. "You swore they would have no part of this!"
"I cannot control what Beckett says or does," Sao Feng replied indifferently. "He chose to tell them. Not me." He then snapped his fingers, and Tai Haung and his men grabbed Will's arms.
"You agreed the Black Pearl was to be mine!" Will shouted as he was restrained.
Sao Feng smiled. "And so it was." One gesture and Will was dragged off to stand with the others.
"Sucks to be betrayed, doesn't it?" Sora asked snidely as Will was made to stand beside him. Will rolled his eyes and sighed.
"We have everything we need now," Maleficent cackled grabbing Kairi by her dress. Sora was once again held back when he tried to interfere. "But what of Jones?"
"Why we're taking him with us of course," the Horned King answered with a smile. "He is still a valuable ally. Beckett will just have to do without him. Davy Jones' power would be wasted in the hands of him."
"Then can we please leave this mudball of a world?" Maleficent sighed, throwing Kairi into the arms of the winged woman. Kairi looked up at her in wonder, but the woman looked back sadly, and held her shoulders tightly to prevent escape. "There's much to be done. Pete is on the Dutchman, I'll have him take the heart as we leave."
"And what of the Black Pearl?" Sao Feng demanded marching up to them.
The Horned King shrugged. "Let Beckett have it. We must leave him something, after all."
"But...I was promised the Pearl!" Sao Feng growled.
"And you seem to forget I don't care," the monster growled back. He simply turned his back and then he and Maleficent went off to contact the Flying Dutchman. Along the way the Horned King caught gazes with Tia Dalma. He glared at her, and with a eerie smile, she leered back. It actually made the Horned King flinch, and he growled angrily before he took off.
Sao Feng watched them leave, furious that they would deny him his prize, and frustrated that he could do nothing about it. "It's a shame," Barbossa sneered standing a few feet away. "They hold no honour. Not like the Brethren Court." Sao Feng clenched his teeth.
"There is no honour by remaining with the losing side," he growled.
"The losing side?" Barbossa chuckled. "What makes you say that?"
"They have the Heartless," Sao Feng snapped in Barbossa's face. "The Flying Dutchman, and now the Black Pearl! And what do the Brethren have?" Barbossa stood and smiled knowingly with his rotting teeth.
"We have Calypso." Sao Feng's features slackened when Barbossa whispered that name. "The goddess of the sea herself, bound in human form." Whatever shock Sao Feng experienced he quickly hid behind a mask of doubt.
"Impossible," he scoffed. "It is nothing but an old legend."
"No, she lives and breathes among mortal men, forever trapped in her fleshy prison. I intend to release her. Imagine, the power of the entire sea brought to bear against our enemies. Not even these darkness dwellers can contest against a god." Sao Feng frowned. His eyes scanned over each person in Barbossa's faction, Keyblade wielder and pirate alike. They were unusual in their own right, but they were hardly god material. And then his eyes fell upon Elizabeth Swann. "If Calypso is to be freed, I need the Court, and the nine pieces of eight." Barbossa then grasped the necklace around Sao Feng's neck. "All the pieces."
Sao Feng quickly grabbed his necklace back. He caught gazes with Elizabeth again. "On one condition," he said. And then he pointed at Elizabeth. "Her."
Elizabeth blinked. "What?"
"What?" Will growled.
"Give me the girl," Sao Feng restated. "Or there's no deal."
"Forget it!" Will shouted.
"I don't know, but I like it," sonic shrugged.
"Take one for the team, Will," Jack Skellington chided.
"Deal." Shockingly, it was Elizabeth who said this.
"What!?" Will exclaimed. "Elizabeth, you can't make a deal with these men!"
"Why? You did," Elizabeth shot back. "And look where it got us."
"But...but they're pirates!"
Elizabeth scowled at that remark. "I think I've had more than enough experience dealing with pirates!" Will flinched at the fierceness in her voice.
"So," Barbossa said to Sao Feng. "Do we have an accord?"
Sao Feng smiled maliciously.
"So this is the deal," Jack Sparrow explained as Beckett sat at his desk listening. "You can keep Barbossa, the belligerent homunculus and his friend with the wooden eye. And Turner, especially Turner. The rest go aboard with me on the Pearl, and I will lead you to Shipwreck Cove. There you can close in and they will be trapped, so that I can hand you over Kairi, the secret of her purpose, and I walk away a free man. Bloody fair deal, eh?"
"So it would seem," Beckett answered, cooling himself with a peacock feathered fan. "Except for one thing. My dear friends are out there right now about to take the girl away. So really, what use are you, Jack?" He was staring at a tiny pistol on his desk as he said this.
"Quite right," Jack shrugged, snatching Beckett's fan to cool himself off with it, much to his annoyance. "I'm sure everything's going swimmingly out there. The bad guys always win after all." Beckett narrowed his eyes.
"Very well. Say you do deliver Kairi. The Horned King is not just going to let me take her."
"It's all about leverage, mate. They are powerful, true enough. But you hold a trump card. Someone even they can't defeat." Beckett raised an eyebrow and Jack smiled. "Davy Jones. The immortal Keyblade wielding captain of the Flying Dutchman."
"But they control the heart."
Jack shrugged. "I can't do everything for you. You'll have to figure something out yourself with that big ole' brain of yours." Beckett kept his poker face, and his eyes turned back to the piece of eight he twirled in his hand.
"And you can accomplish all this?"
Jack grinned like always and spread his arms. "You can kill me but you can never insult me! Who am I?" Beckett floundered at the question. Jack pouted like a wounded puppy. "I'm...I'm Captain Jack Sparrow..."
BOOM
A cannonball blasted through Beckett's stateroom, missing both men but knocking Beckett off his feet. Jack blinked in surprise, unsure what just happened, but decided to go with the flow. He took a still stunned Beckett's hand and shook it. "Deal!" And before Beckett even knew what had happened Jack ran out of the room as more cannonballs started to pound on the Endeavour.
Outside had broken into chaos. Sao Feng's pirates had turned against Beckett's men, and were cutting them down or throwing them overboard to get them off the Black Pearl, while the ship's cannons blasted holes in the Endeavour to cover their escape. Sao Feng and the Empress had already begun to sail away. "Yeah, that's right!" sonic hollered in the midst of battle. "Run to your mommies! Forget fighting like men!" He snatched up a Pirate Heartless and threw it at a soldier, knocking the man overboard.
Sora blocked the strike from Maleficent's staff and held it against her. "You're always fighting, Sora," Maleficent growled, pushing back against his strength. "But you can't do it forever. Sooner or later you'll fail her. And then Kingdom Hearts shall be mine!" The witch broke the lock and made to attack again, only to be stopped by another Keyblade.
"Sora!" Mulan grunted after blocking Maleficent's staff. "Go save Kairi! I've got this!" Sora, initially taken by surprise, nodded resolutely, and went to do just as instructed. Maleficent growled as she watched him go, but Mulan wouldn't budge.
Kairi was still in the arms of the black-haired woman with the angel wings, who looked very distressed amongst all this bloodshed. "Kairi!" Sora called, punching and smashing his way through the soldiers between them.
"Sora!" Kairi cried, breaking into a smile upon seeing him. This time she wouldn't wait for Sora to save her. She summoned her Oathkeeper in her shackled hands, tapped them lightly, and then rounded on the surprised woman as the shackles fell off, barely missing cutting her across the gut. The woman stumbled backwards, and Kairi made to attack, until she saw the fear written across the woman's face. She looked so frightened, so helpless, that Kairi hesitated. It was then Sora arrived, and he kept his Keyblade level at her too. Seeing that they weren't going to attack, the woman quickly waved her hand, and vanished in flash of light.
The Horned King wielded a serrated sword against the steel of Barbossa's blade. "You think you can defeat me?" the Horned King snarled, striking out again. "I am the master of evil!"
"I'm not such a nice guy myself!" Barbossa cackled. The pirate parried again and then followed up with a kick to the Horned King's stomach. The dark lord grunted and doubled over, snarling in anger as he rose to strike back, only to see the Beast before him, and raised his sword to block his Keyblade. So powerful was the hit that the Horned King was thrown backwards, flying off the Pearl and painfully onto the deck of the Dauntless. Not far off Mulan continued against Maleficent, her Keyblade's fire against Maleficent's green fire. With a sudden spin that the witch didn't expect, Maleficent was also blasted off the pirate ship and onto Beckett's.
Jack Sparrow emerged on deck of the Dauntless then, strutting his way casually through cannon and gun fire, only to run into the Horned King. "Oh! Hello!" Jack grinned. The Horned King snarled and raised his sword, but Jack grabbed his red hood and pulled it over his eyes, blinding him momentarily so the pirate could slip past, just so he could run into Maleficent. The witch was still picking herself up off the deck when she spotted him, and he grinned and ran in the other direction, up the stairs to the helms deck. Beckett entered from his stateroom then, took note of the other two, and scowled. All three villains followed up the stairs.
When they reached the top they saw Jack had been busy. He had thrown a rope and looped it over one of the masts, tying the other end to a cannon, a cannon that was pointed straight at them.
Beckett's mouth fell open when he realized what Jack was planning. "You're...mad."
Jack grinned and held up a lit flint. "That's what they tell me." He lit the fuse, and the cannon fired. The three villains quickly ducked as the cannonball sailed over their heads, while the recoil tugged the rope the cannon was tied to, launching Captain Jack screaming off the Dauntless and right for the Black Pearl as it made its getaway. In mid-air Jack summoned his Keyblade and brought forth a windy blast to slow the rate he was falling, and he landed gracefully on the deck of his ship before everyone's disbelieving eyes.
"And that was without a single drop of rum!"
Maleficent sneered as she watched them attempt to sail away. "You think you can escape?!" Green flames surrounded her body, building up to strike the Black Pearl with all she had. Then there was a creaking sound. The cannon Jack had fired had plowed straight through one of the masts, and now it had begun to fall, straight for them. Maleficent and the Horned King screamed in alarm when the mast toppled on them, trapping them both beneath the sails.
Beckett stared with silent shock, then ordered his men to help them out of there, watching as the Pearl sailed further away. "Does he plan it all out, or make it up as he goes along?" he muttered to himself bitterly. "Signal Jones to give chase to Sao Feng," he ordered one of his lieutenants.
For if there was one thing Lord Beckett hated more than Jack Sparrow, it was betrayal.
Back on the retreating Pearl, Pintel and Ragetti brought Will to Captain Jack. "Throw this pestilent, traitorous, cow-hearted, yeasty codpiece into the brig," he ordered. Will glowered at Jack one last time before he was dragged off below deck. "Well, then. We've wasted enough time here. We must make all speed towards Shipwreck Cove! The Brethren are waiting!"
"Changed your mind, have you?" Barbossa asked disdainfully.
"Of course I have! This matter is too important to be left alone! We must convene with the other Pirate Lords. Even if I do owe them all money." Barbossa rolled his eyes and hobbled off.
Sora watched behind them at the Endeavour growing farther away, and the Empress that was almost a speck on the horizon. "You think Elizabeth will be okay?" Kairi asked worriedly.
"She'll be fine," Sora assured, grinning his trademark grin. "She's pretty tough. And also..." Sora grinned knowingly. "She'll have a bit of help."
KHKHKHKH
Night had come to the seafaring vessel known as the Empress. A deep fog had descended on the sea, and the ship moved stealthily through it. In Sao Feng's extravagant quarters the room was filled with the scent of incense, for a fragrant atmosphere, or something more. Elizabeth had been given ceremonial robes to wear, as well as jewellery and makeup from the captain's attendants. Although Sao Feng treated her like a guest, she was still his prisoner. Soon Sao Feng sent his attendants off, leaving him alone with her. "I imagine you're wondering why I asked for you."
"It crossed my mind," Elizabeth muttered.
Sao Feng smiled and came closer. "Do you know the stories of Calypso?" Elizabeth frowned in confusion. "She was a goddess, a deity that gave birth to the sea itself. Once she freely roamed the oceans, ruling and caring for all creation, until the Brethren Court, the very first Brethren Court, brought it upon themselves to end her reign. They wished for the seas to be under the rule of men, and not a goddess as unpredictable as her. So they captured her, and forever bound her in human form. I would have opposed such a decision."
"Why are you telling me this?" Elizabeth asked in confusion. Sao Feng closed the distance between them, until he was standing right in front of her.
"Because you areCalypso," he whispered.
"Excuse me?" she stammered. "No. You're mistaken."
"Why else would you be in Barbossa's care? He wishes to release you, as do I. One such as you should never be anything less than you are." Elizabeth frowned. She was certain he was wrong. Maybe she could use this to her advantage.
"Pretty speech from a captor," she whispered. "But words whispered through prison bars lose their charm." Sao Feng smirked.
"Can I be blamed for my efforts? All men are drawn to the sea, perilous though it may be." He moved closer to her. "I simply offer my desire."
Elizabeth took nervous note of how close he was getting. "And in return?"
"I would have your gifts, should you choose to give them."
"And if I choose not to?"
"Then I will take your fury!" In an instant Sao Feng was on her, pressing his lips against her's in a rough kiss. Elizabeth let out a muffled gasp of surprise, and tried to push him off, but Sao Feng was too strong for her. In an act of desperation, she ran her nails across the scarred side of his face. "AAHH!" he cried, breaking the kiss and stumbling backwards. Snarling, he turned back to her, and drew his sword.
There was a loud boom, and the wall was suddenly blown apart. An incoming cannonball knocked both Sao Feng and Elizabeth off their feet with startled screams; pieces of wood and debris flew everywhere. Outside, the crew of the Empress broke into a panic as the Flying Dutchman emerged silently from the night, bombarding their ship with cannon fire. Many unlucky men were sent screaming to their deaths. There was no escape, no chance to fight back. Davy Jones had come for them.
The captain himself stood at the forefront, his tentacle clad face twisted in a frown. "Alright Jones!" Pete shouted coming up beside the captain. "You heard Maleficent! You better start using that there Keyblade of yours, or your hearts gonna be Heartless food. You understand?" Pete stumbled back in surprise when Jones' Keyblade, Death's Deity, suddenly appeared in his hand.
"You want me to use this?" Jones asked darkly. Pete nodded, now quite fearful. The cursed captain raised his mythical weapon to the ready. "So be it." And with a mighty shout he raised his Keyblade above his head, before it burst with blinding light. For the first time in a thousand years, Davy Jones' true power was brought forth.
The waters around the Empress began to shift and churn. Out of the very seawater itself, tentacles began to take form, all around the vessel, a writhing mass in memory to the once mighty Kraken. The very ocean itself had come alive to Davy Jones' will. These watery appendages suddenly latched onto Sao Feng's ship, binding it to the sea, holding it in place, helpless to the mighty Dutchman. The monsters and Company soldiers that crewed it eagerly swung over on ropes to fall upon Sao Feng's men.
Elizabeth shook away the ringing in her ears when she stood back up, looking around in a daze. She then gasped in horror, for there lay Sao Feng, pinned against the wall by a large wooden stake impaled through his stomach. He gasped in pain; he was still alive. She quickly ran to him and kneeled by his side.
With a trembling hand Sao Feng reached for his necklace, and ripped it from his neck. "T-Take it," he whispered. "With all nine...pieces of eight, you will be free, Calypso."
"But...but I'm not-"
"Take it," he said again, placing the necklace in her hands. His breathing was becoming more laboured. He wouldn't last much longer. "Go in my place...to Shipwreck Cove. You are c-captain now." Elizabeth's eyes widened in disbelief. Captain? Her?
"Captain!" Tai Haung came running inside the cabin gripping his bleeding right arm. The clash of swords and the screams of men could be heard outside the door. "The ship will not move! We're being overrun! We cannot-" He stopped short when he caught sight of his dying captain.
Sao Feng clutched Elizabeth's arm tightly. "Forgive...me," he rasped. "Calypso." His grip on her began to slacken, his eyes glazed over, and Captain Sao Feng, Pirate Lord of Singapore, passed on.
Elizabeth was still trying to compute what she had been told, staring wide eyed at the necklace she had been given. "What did he tell you?" Haung growled behind her.
"He...he made me captain," she answered vacantly, and showed him the necklace. The symbol of her captainship, and Pirate Lord. Haung goggled in disbelief, before he snarled angrily.
"You will never be my captain!" he snarled.
Pufferfish and Coralface burst into the cabin then and, in their surprised and unarmed states, Elizabeth and Haung were quickly captured and dragged outside.
The Empress crew had been rounded up on deck, at the mercy of both the Dutchman's crew and Company soldiers. "Round up the crew!" a familiar voice ordered. "Kill only if you need to. Make sure they're unarmed." Soon the owner of this voice came into view, and Elizabeth was shocked to see that it was none other than James Norrington. "Elizabeth?"
"James?" Elizabeth gasped in surprise, wrestling free of Pufferfish's grip. Norrington was once again dressed in his fine officer's uniform, and quickly strode to her and pulled her into his arms.
"Thank God you're alive," he breathed in relief. "I didn't know what to think. Your father will be overjoyed to hear you're alright."
Elizabeth roughly pushed Norrington off her. "My father is dead," she whispered spitefully.
Norrington "What?" he gasped. "No. No, that can't be. H-He returned to England."
"Is that what Beckett told you?" Norrington flinched at the harshness of her words. "You have no idea about the kind of people you work for."
Davy Jones hobbled his way onto the scene. "Who among you do you name captain?" he snarled, in no mood for nonsense.
Tai Haung gulped fearfully. "C-Captain?" he stammered. "Her. Right there. She's the captain." And he and all the other men pointed at Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Captain," first-mate Hammerhead said as he walked up with more monsters. "We found this lot hiding in the cargo hold." The monsters then shoved three people forward; po, Aladdin and Jack Skellington.
Elizabeth goggled at them in disbelief. "What are you three doing here!?"
"Um, rescuing you," Jack Skellington answered sheepishly. Elizabeth glanced once more at the monsters and soldiers surrounding them.
"Good job," she said dryly.
Jones regarded these new arrivals with genuine surprise. "Keyblade bearers?"
"Tow the ship," Norrington ordered the Dutchman's captain, one of the only people to have the stones to do so. "Throw the crew in the brig. The captain shall have my quarters."
"Thank you," Elizabeth replied, glaring at him coldly, and she stepped back from him to stand with the captive men. "But I'd rather remain with my crew."
"Uh, is that us?" po whispered to Aladdin, who shrugged in return, before they were forcibly dragged off.
They were all thrown in the slimy brig aboard the Flying Dutchman, Elizabeth and her crew, which now included the three Keyblade bearers. "And don't even think about using Keyblades on these cells!" Boson laughed once he slammed the grate behind them. "It won't work. Captain knows a thing or two about them!" The monsters jeered and left them all to their fate.
Elizabeth pressed against the bars. "Bootstrap Bill?" she called to the monsters as they left one by one. "Are you Bootstrap Bill Turner?" But each monster she questioned merely laughed at her, and soon all of them left the brig.
"You know my name?"
po jumped in surprise at the voice from behind him. Slowly, he turned his head to the wall, where two eyes opened to reveal a man's face. The panda yelped in fear and leapt into Aladdin's arms. "You know my name?" the man asked again. His skin was pale green, and a starfish was latched onto his face. His body appeared to be cocooned into the wall by coral.
"Yes," Elizabeth replied breathlessly. "Yes, I know your son. Will Turner."
Bootstrap Bill's eyes lit up. "William?" he whispered hopefully. Elizabeth nodded slowly. "William!" he laughed right before he stepped out of the wall. The coral that encased him remained clinging to his shoulders. "I knew he was alive! I knew the Kraken didn't get him! And he's sent you to tell me he's coming to save me, right?"
"Yes, Will is alive," Elizabeth answered slowly. "And he will save you. He'll save both of us." Bootstrap continued staring at her, and the longer he did, the more his smile began to disappear.
"No he won't," he whispered. Elizabeth was baffled at his response. "I know who you are. He spoke of you. You're Elizabeth."
"Yes, I'm Elizabeth Swann," Elizabeth confirmed, still confused.
Bootstrap shook his head. "The one who slays Jones and stabs the heart must take his place, and be captain of the Flying Dutchman. Forever. The Dutchman must have a captain." He raised his arm and pointed a green finger at Elizabeth. "If he saves me, he loses you." Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock. No wonder Will was so desperate. He couldn't choose between them. "He won't pick me," Bootstrap grumbled, smiling sadly. "I wouldn't pick me." He made his way back to the wall, and climbed back into it, where it began to envelope him again. "Tell Will not to come. Tell him to stay away. I'm already part of the ship. Part of the crew..." His eyelids closed, and he was suddenly asleep.
"Bootstrap," Elizabeth whispered. Bootstrap quickly opened his eyes again.
"You know my name?" he asked hopefully. The three Keyblade bearers looked at each awkwardly.
Elizabeth choked back her sorrowful tears. "Y-Yes, I know your son."
This time it took much longer for Bootstrap to think. "William!" he gasped happily. "He's coming for me. He said he would." As he spoke the wall seemed to entomb him tighter. "You wait and see. He's coming for me. He promised." A warm smile graced his lips, and his eyes slowly closed again, drifting into another sleep. "He promised..."
KHKHKHKH
Will secured the rope tightly to the dead Company soldier he had tied to a barrel, then tossed the him overboard and watched him float away just like the many others he had tossed into the sea. He was already preparing another when a voice he'd come to loathe rang out. "You escaped the brig faster than I thought," Jack Sparrow grinned as he came waltzing around the corner. "You didn't use that half barrel hinges thing, did you?"
"We can't all have Keyblades," Will spat, wondering why Jack had not yet raised the alarm.
"Quite right," Jack agreed. "But don't you find that strange, William? That I, out of all the do-gooding and honest citizens of this world, was chosen to wield said legendary weapon. Why not a reliable and brave soul such as yourself? Though, I don't think you can still be called that considering your recent...activities." He glanced at the bodies tied to barrels. "Thought this up all by your lonesome, did you?"
"I thought to myself, what would Jack do?" Will replied grudgingly.
"And this is what you came up with? Leave this bread crumb trail, or in this case dead crumb trail, to lead the witch and sorcerer to Shipwreck Cove, therefore earning their trust to accomplish your own ends. Such as...free your father from Jones' control." Will scowled when Jack hit it dead on. "It's like you don't know me at all! Besides, I'm not sure our dear friend Sora would appreciate you selling out his bonny lass."
Will frowned sadly. "Sora wouldn't understand. He's still just a child."
"Of course. Age is the cutoff line for betrayal." That stung Will, and he leaned against the rail, putting his face in his hand.
"I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Jack," he confessed silently. "If I do kill Davy Jones, I must take his place, and then I'll be able to free my father. But then I'll lose Elizabeth... forever."
"It is quite the conundrum," Jack nodded. "But if I may lend a machete to your intellectual thicket." The night was briefly lit when Jack called out his Follow the Wind Keyblade. "Going back to my earlier point, there must be a reason why I was chosen for the Keyblade. Clearly, I am destined for something great. And I believe I've figured out what that is."
Will narrowed his eyes in thought, and then widened them in realization. "You want to stab the heart."
"Jones has a Keyblade, I have a Keyblade. I was made for the role." Jack strode about examining his weapon as he talked. "I sneak aboard the Flying Dutchman, stab the still beating heart, and become its one and only captain. And as a favour to you, I'll set free your father, and you'll be free to be with your bonny lass. The best of both worlds, I'd say."
"You're willing to carve out your own heart and bind yourself to the Dutchman?" Will asked incredulously.
"And become immortal, mate. Don't forget that. The immortal Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack grinned as he pictured it all in his head. "I'll be free. Free to sail to the edge of the map and beyond."
"But you have to do the job, Jack," Will reminded with an ominous whisper. "You must ferry souls from this world to the next for all eternity." Will wiggled his fingers under his chin. "Or else you'll end up just like Jones." Jack gagged and made a face.
"Don't have the face for tentacles," he muttered. "But immortality has to count for something!" He then unhooked his compass from his Keyblade, and placed it in Will's hand.
"What's this for?" Will asked confused.
"Think like me. It will come to you." Jack grinned sneakily, and then swung his Keyblade. A burst of wind blasted the surprised Will off the Black Pearl and into the water with a splash. Jack pushed a barrel overboard and waved Will goodbye as the ship sailed away. "My regards to Davy Jones!"
Will thrashed in the sea water and grabbed onto the barrel Jack had thrown him, clutching the black compass tightly in his hand. "I hate him," he growled.
KHKHKHKH
Jack Skellington played the blues on his harmonica, Aladdin rattled a steel mug back and forth against the bars, and po bounced a ball against the wall. Before any other jail house cliches could occur, Norrington arrived, with the cell keys. "Come with me," he said once the door was unlocked. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and did nothing. "Please, we must hurry!"
"Captain?" Jack Skellington asked. That's when Elizabeth noticed that the crew of the late Sao Feng was waiting on her expectantly. She was still getting used to the fact she was now captain of these men.
"Alright," she said. She lead the way out of their cell, and followed Norrington out of the ship's brig. They didn't bother to close the cell door behind them; there was no one left inside. But they had completely forgotten about the man in the wall. Bootstrap Bill slowly opened his eyes, resting them on the open door, and began working his way out of the wall.
Norrington hurried them across the Dutchman, staying under cover of darkness to avoid crew-monsters and Company soldiers. It was a good thing there were no Heartless aboard, or they'd be sniffed out immediately. Their ship, the Empress, was being towed behind the Dutchman by a long thick rope. It was at the bow of the ship where the rope was tied where Norrington lead them. "Get across," he urged. "Quickly! Before we're discovered." Jack Skellington was the first to vault himself onto the rope, wrapping his arms and legs around it and easing himself across. Elizabeth's crew followed suit. "Do not go to Shipwreck Cove," Norrington told Elizabeth. "The Horned King knows of the gathering of the Brethren. They're going use every resource they have at their disposal to wage war."
Elizabeth kept her eyes locked on him. "This doesn't mean I forgive you."
"I'm not asking for your forgiveness," Norrington whispered. "There are many deeds I've done that I'm not proud of, but believe me when I say I had nothing to do with your father's murder!" Elizabeth kept staring at him, to find any trace of a lie. But there was none. Only the urgency to hurry off.
"Come with us," she said. Norrington looked at her with utmost surprise. "James, come with us now."
"Who goes there?" Norrington and Elizabeth rounded to see Bootstrap Bill Turner, holding a broken oar in his hand. He stared at them blankly, and Elizabeth could tell that he did not recognize her. Whatever was left off Will's father was now gone, belonging entirely to the Flying Dutchman.
Norrington drew his sword and pointed it at Bootstrap to keep him at bay. "Elizabeth go! I'll follow you."
Elizabeth looked at him in alarm. "You're lying," she realized dreadfully. Norrington turned to face her, and she knew that she was right.
"Our destinies have always been entwined, Elizabeth," he whispered, looking into her eyes deeply. "But never joined." And much to Elizabeth's surprise, he kissed her right there. She had always known of Norrington's feelings towards her, but she had chosen Will. It seemed like those feelings never went away. When Norrington broke the kiss, he quickly turned back to Bootstrap. "Go now!" Elizabeth hesitated, realizing this may be the last time she's see him. But eventually she relented, and with one last look at Bootstrap, she climbed onto the rope and started across it. "Sailor, get back to your post."
Bootstrap didn't seem to listen, watching Elizabeth shimmy her way to freedom. "What's she doing?" he asked. "She can't do that. She can't leave the ship. No one leaves the ship. No one."
"Stand down," Norrington growled. "That's an order."
"That's an order...," Bootstrap muttered vacantly. "You don't give me orders. The captain gives me orders. Captain of the ship." His eyes glazed as he came to a realization. "I'm part of the crew. Part of the ship. Part of the ship, part of the crew. Part of the ship, part of the crew." He kept saying it over and over, louder and louder, as if he was losing himself the more he said it. "Part of the ship, part of the crew! Part of the ship, part of the crew! All hands! Prisoner escape!"
"Belay that!" Norrington yelled and drew his pistol as well, but it was too late. Alarmed shouts and the approaching footsteps of Jones' crew could already be heard. There was no more time now. Norrington rounded and aimed his pistol at the tow rope, then blasted right through it. Elizabeth and anyone else still climbing their way across fell into the dark ocean waters once they were cut loose from the Dutchman. Norrington turned back, and was met with a sharp blinding pain to his stomach, as Bootstrap stabbed him with the broken oar.
"JAMES!" Elizabeth screamed from the water. Norrington crumbled before Bootstrap, and moved no longer. "JAMES, NO! JAMES!"
"Come on!" Aladdin shouted from where he waded. "There's nothing we can do! We have to get out of here!" He and the rest of the crew made a swim for the Empress. Elizabeth gave one last look, and a silent goodbye to her friend before she took off herself.
Davy Jones and his crew came upon the scene. Jones looked to Bootstrap, and then to Norrington, slumped against the rail with the oar sticking through him. "He's dead!" Sa'luk observed all but too eagerly.
"Admiral's dead?" Hammerhead repeated. His sharp toothed mouth formed a grin. "This is our chance! Let's take back the ship!" The crew roared in unanimous agreement, gathered their weapons and went to pay a visit to their Company allies. Davy Jones didn't join them, because unlike his crew he could see that Norrington was not dead. Yet at least.
"James Norrington," he whispered quickly, kneeling down beside him. "Do you fear death?"
Norrington glared defiantly into Davy Jones' eyes, and rammed his sword into the captain's shoulder. It turned out to be his last act, and he drew his last breath, before James Norrington died.
Jones frowned, staring calmly at the blade impaled on him. "Guess that's a no," He ripped the sword from his body and stopped to examine it. "Nice sword," he complimented, and walked off without a second glance, stopping only to nod at Bootstrap Bill. To welcome him to the crew. Fully.
Jones hobbled away to his cabin. All around his crew fell upon and subdued surprised Company soldiers, caught off guard by this sudden mutiny. Hammerhead and Sa'luk joined him, and he entered his cabin to reclaim his heart, and be free of the Company's control once and for all.
Unfortunately what awaited him on the other side of the door was a battalion of Company soldiers, pointing their bayonets not at him, but at the open Dead Man's Chest, and the beating heart inside. "Sorry Davy." Pete stood at the head of the soldiers, tossing the key to the chest up and down in his large hand, grinning smugly as he did. "I'm still in charge."
Davy Jones narrowed his eyes, and sniffed. "For now."
KHKHKHKH
It was a long and difficult journey, but the crew of the Black Pearl had finally arrived at the island that hid Shipwreck Cove. It was a large island covered in trees and vegetation, with no sign of human habitation. But somewhere within lay the meeting place of the Pirate Lords. "Look alive, you sea dogs!" Gibbs hollered. "They don't call it Shipwreck Island for naught, wherein lies Shipwreck Cove and the town of Shipwreck!"
"You know, for being so clever, pirates are pretty boring when it comes to naming things," Beast commented looking out at the island.
"Have to agree," Jack Sparrow said beside him. "I once knew I man what lost both his arms and part of an eye."
"What'd you call him?" sonic asked curiously.
Jack shrugged indifferently. "Larry." Beast slapped his forehead.
Mulan tapped Jack on the shoulder. "Jack, we need to talk," she said uneasily.
"Hold that thought," Jack interrupted. He looked to his left, and then he looked to his right. "No Kraken in sight. Okay! Talk away." Mulan frowned at the shot.
"I deserved that."
"You think?" Jack scoffed before he walked away.
"You were right, Jack!" she called after him. The Black Pearl's captain stopped a few feet away, turning back and looking at her questioningly. "About what you said before, you were right. Deep in my heart...I was happy about what happened to my world." Jack turned back to her, now giving his full attention. "After the war, I was back where I started. I was in a rut. There was peace in my land, but I didn't care. I had found love...but even that didn't help." She closed her eyes sorrowfully, and looked at her hands.
"But the Keyblade, my world's destruction...it gave me purpose again. I could go where nowhere else could, do what no one else can." Jack frowned when he saw her hands were trembling, and started towards her. "But I don't care about that anymore. I just want to see my world again. My family...Shang." When she looked up she saw Jack was right in front of her. "That's why I did what I did, Jack," she whispered. "I need to survive. To redeem myself. And to bring back my world from the depths of darkness."
Jack stared at her for the longest time. "A kiss," he whispered. "Is one of many ways you could have distracted me." He smiled at her. "Interesting how you chose that one." Mulan's jaw dropped, and a faint blush came across her cheeks. With one last wry golden-toothed smile, Jack walked away.
"This is it," Sora said to Kairi as they looked at Shipwreck Island. "This is where we'll stop Maleficent and the Horned King. Hopefully once and for all."
"You really think that this will work?" Kairi asked.
"I don't know. But for some reason I actually...trust Barbossa." Sora then frowned sadly. "At least, more than I do Will now." He couldn't believe that Will would betray them the way he did. Then again, he wondered if he would have done the same thing if it was Kairi who was involved.
"Will only did what he thought was right," Kairi told him. "He's got a lot to deal with himself. Especially with Elizabeth. I'm just glad you thought to send Aladdin, Jack and po."
Sora nodded slowly. It was hard to judge the heroic actions of others when you were the one getting the raw end of the deal. He then blinked and looked around. "Where is Barbossa?"
At the Black Pearl's wheel, the once dead pirate was having a talk of his own, with Tia Dalma. "We've held this off long enough," he growled. "I've held up my end of the bargain, but we agreed to the ends only." He raised a hand to stroke her dread locked hair. "But the means be mine to decide."
Tia snatched his wrist away and gripped it tightly. "Tread carefully, Barbossa," she whispered darkly. "Do not forget that it was through my power that you do not still walk the Underworld under the foul gaze of Hades, or what it means should you fail me." Barbossa's eyes widened as the flesh on his hand withered away in her grasp, until it was nothing but bone. Then Tia let him go, and his hand was restored to normal, but the haunting reminder remained.
Barbossa growled and grabbed Tia's arm when she tried to walk away. "And don't forget why you needed to bring me back, and why I could not leave Jack to his well deserved fate. It took nine Pirate Lords to bind you, Calypso..." Tia looked away when he called her by that name. "And it'll take no less to set you free. Mister Pintel and Ragetti!" The two bumbling pirates hastily came before him. "Take this fish-wife to the brig," Barbossa ordered with a sneer.
Tia glared daggers at him, and wrenched her arms away when Pintel and Ragetti tried to grab her. With one last dirty look at Barbossa she turned away and made for the brig herself, Pintel and Ragetti nervously following behind.
Barbossa scowled as they went off. Then he looked at his hand again. An involuntary shiver ran through him and he stalked off to other matters.
KHKHKHKH
Crewmen of the Endeavour stumbled back in surprise when Davy Jones eased out of the deck, leaving a wet and slimy stain in his wake. With an angered snarl he stomped across the ship, past the pile of bodies tied to barrels that they had pulled from the sea, and into Lord Beckett's stateroom. He slammed open the doors where Beckett, Maleficent, and the Horned King waited.
"I cannot be summoned like some mongrel pup," Jones growled.
"Apparently you can," the Horned King said dryly. "I believe you two know each other." And he gestured at their guest who sat at the table having a casual tea with Beckett.
Will Turner raised his teacup to Jones. "Hello."
Jones raised a surprised eyebrow, and then sneered. "Come to join my crew again, Mister Turner?"
"Actually," Will replied, pausing to take another sip of tea. "I've come to join theirs." He gestured to the three villains he had been consorting with. "Oh, and Jack Sparrow sends his regards."
Jones eyes flared in surprise, and then with anger. "Sparrow?"
Will looked at Beckett in mock surprise. "You haven't told him? We rescued Jack from the Locker." Beckett narrowed his eyes at the man while Jones glared at him. "Oh, and Kairi as well."
"What?" both the Horned King and Maleficent growled. "You had Kairi in your possession?" Maleficent growled confronting the captain. "And you did not bother to tell us!?"
Jones sniffed disdainfully. "Oops."
"I believe we have more pressing matters to attend to," Beckett humbly reminded before things could get ugly. "Perhaps you are familiar with a person called Calypso?" Davy Jones suddenly stiffened. His teeth clenched and his eyes grew dark.
"Not a person," he whispered in a dangerous tone. "A heathen god. One who delights in cursing men with their wildest dreams and then revealing them to be hollow and naught but ash."
"A god?" the Horned King asked in disbelief. "On this world?"
"Nonsense," Maleficent scoffed. "We would have been aware of such a power."
"You were not aware because she has been dealt with," Jones answered bitterly. "She was imprisoned in human form a thousand years ago. This world is well rid of her."
"Not quite so actually." They all turned to Will, as he casually poured himself another cup of tea. "The Brethren Court intends to release her."
"What!" Jones snarled in shock. "No! They cannot! The first Court promised to imprison her forever! That was our agreement!"
"Your agreement?" the Horned King repeated questionably. Jones breathed heavily, bringing up memories that were better left locked away, but he had no choice now.
"I...showed them how to bind her," he confessed silently. "She could not be trusted. She...she gave me no choice." Will noticed his uneasiness. It was almost as if he felt...guilty. "But that doesn't matter! We must hurry before they can release her!"
"You loved her." Jones rounded to Will's voice. The man was staring at him, and from the captain's reaction, he knew he was right. "She's the one. The one you gave you loved more than the sea." Will narrowed his eyes accusingly. "And then you betrayed her."
"She pretended to love me," Jones snarled storming up to Will, his voice dropping to an almost sympathetic level. "She betrayed me!" Will stood up from his seat and calmly looked Jones in the eye.
"And after which betrayal did you carve out your heart?" Will's teacup shattered when Davy Jones slapped it out of his hand.
"Do not test me," the captain whispered dangerously. Will was undaunted, glancing at his shattered cup briefly.
"I wasn't finished with that." Jones glared at him as Will unflinchingly went to get another cup. "You will free my father," he ordered, no arguments in his tone. He turned to Beckett. "And you will guarantee Elizabeth's safety." He turned to Maleficent and the Horned King next. "I cannot promise you Kairi. But I can lead you to where she is. Where they all are. Shipwreck Cove."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Beckett asked skeptically. Will kept his face calm as he reached into his pocket, and then he pulled something out. Dangling from a chain was Jack Sparrow's magic black compass.
"What is it you want most?"
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!