Chapter 65
Isla Cruces
Aboard the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones spied the longboats hitting the beach through his telescope. He lowered the telescope and handed it off to a crewman next to him.
"They're here," he announced, "and I cannot set foot on land again for near of a decade.
"Do you trust us to act in your stead?" Maccus asked.
"I'll trust you to know what awaits you should you fail!" Jones spat back angrily. "Down, then!"
The monstrous sailors surrounding him relayed the message. The ship pitched forward and lowered bow-first into the water.
Riku cursed as he saw the water approaching fast. His obscenity was drowned out by Donald shouting "Oxyale". As the Dutchman submerged beneath the waves, Riku, Will, and the transformed Donald and Goofy swam out of the maw structure and away from the ship.
Pintel and Ragetti, who had agreed to remain behind to guard the longboats, stared in shock as they witnessed the Flying Dutchman disappear under the water. After a moment of bewilderment, they clambered up and ran to warn the others that the Dutchman had arrived.
Mickey and Norrington carried shovels as the party walked across the beach. The occasional Pirate and Emerald Blues appeared to try to attack them, but they were quickly vanquished. Elizabeth held the compass and led the group in the direction it pointed. After crossing a certain point, the needle suddenly turned backwards. Confused, she turned around and walked in the other direction, only for the needle to point the opposite way again.
"This doesn't work," she said, annoyed. "And it certainly doesn't show you what you want most." She dropped the compass into the sand and sat on the ground in a huff.
Sora crossed his arms, confused. "It's buried, right? What would happen if you hold the compass vertically?" he asked, curious as to how the compass worked.
Mickey frowned and regarded the compass, taking care not to touch it and throw it off. Jack did the same, and they both noticed that the needle was pointing directly at Elizabeth.
"Yes it does," Jack said, arguing against Elizabeth's complaint. "You're sitting on it!"
"Beg your pardon?" Elizabeth asked.
"Move," Jack ordered, waving his hands. Elizabeth stood up and stepped away. Mickey and Norrington took their shovels and began to scoop sand from the spot where Elizabeth had been sitting. Jack sat down nearby and waited patiently for the act to yield results.
Jack's eyes shot open when they all heard Norrington's shovel striking metal. The group dove in and brushed the sand away, revealing a black iron surface. Sora and Jack reached around and found a handle on either side. They closed their hands around the handles and hoisted the object out of the hole, revealing a large chest, then dropped it onto the ground near the others.
Sora summoned his Keyblade. He swung it around with a flourish and threw it slightly, letting it spin in the air before catching it again, then brought the rounded side down on the box's lid, shouting "Okay!" A thin white light illuminated from the slit where the box would be opened, and the lid tilted backward on a hinge.
The first things they saw when the chest had opened were a pearl necklace, some old documents, and other miscellaneous items. Kairi took one of the documents and examined it curiously. She recognized it as a love letter and squinted to read the name of the addressee.
"Who's Calypso?" she asked. This prompted a raised eyebrow from Jack and a bemused look of contemplation from Mickey, but no one else had the slightest recognition of the name.
Sora and Jack pushed the extra items aside and found a smaller chest hidden within. They lifted it up and put it down a short distance away. They all leaned in close until they could hear a distinct thump-thump of a regular, relaxed heartbeat.
"It's real!" Elizabeth exclaimed, amazed.
"You actually were telling the truth," Norrington conceded, impressed.
"I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised," Jack admitted.
It was then that they heard a familiar voice (well, familiar to all save for Kairi and Mickey) call out from a distance. "With good reason!"
They all turned around to see Will Turner marching across the sand, accompanied by Riku, Donald and Goofy.
"Will!" Elizabeth shouted in delight. She ran up to him and embraced him. "You're alright! I came to find you!"
The star-crossed lovers kissed. It warmed Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Goofy's hearts to see them together, particularly Sora and Goofy, who had already gotten to know them both previously.
Sora, Kairi and Mickey met up with Riku, Donald and Goofy. "Where'd you guys end up?" Sora asked.
"An island populated by a tribe of cannibals," Riku answered. Sora and Kairi grimaced. "Fortunately, we were able to hold off on danger after saving them from some Heartless before we were picked up by a trading ship."
Jack chuckled. "Would you believe those Pelegostos thought I was a god in human form and made me their chief?" he asked mirthfully. His grin quickly faded as he recalled the events that had transpired on that island. "Then they tried to cook me for dinner."
Kairi stuck her tongue out in disgust. "So glad I wasn't there," she remarked. She turned back to Riku. "We got into a bar fight."
Will broke off from kissing Elizabeth and turned to look at Jack. "I owe you thanks, Jack," he said sincerely.
"You do?" the captain asked, surprised.
"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones…"
"What?!" Elizabeth gasped.
"What?" Jack asked, doing a poor job of feigning ignorance in front of the others. Norrington snickered.
"…I was reunited with my father," Will finished.
"Oh! Well, you're welcome, then," Jack replied.
Elizabeth turned to face Jack, her mouth agape in shock. "Everything you said to me, every word, was a lie!" she accused.
"What?!" Sora blurted in mock surprise, putting his hands on his cheeks and affecting a slack-jawed stare. "What a twist! I can't believe I never saw that coming!"
"Pretty much," Jack admitted. "Time and tide, love."
Will approached the Dead Man's Chest, taking a unique iron key, which had two shafts attached to the same head with teeth on either side, from of his pocket as he did so. He stopped mid-stride, realizing that Sora was with them. He looked down at the key and grinned in amusement.
"Yeah, that job Jack gave you must be getting more redundant by the minute," Riku quipped. He shrugged. "But, since you went to all that trouble, you might as well do the honors."
Will nodded toward him, then completed his march to the chest and crouched down to one knee. "Now, to kill Jones," he resolved.
Jack drew his sword and held it so that the tip was pointed at Will's neck. "Can't let you do that, William," he said. "'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt?" Will sighed, apparently conceding, and stood up. Jack held his free hand out. "Now, if you please, the key."
Will suddenly took Elizabeth's sword and pointed it at Jack, much to the woman's surprise. "I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father. I hope you're here to see it."
Norrington drew his own sword and pointed it at Will's neck as well. "I can't let you do that either. So sorry," he said. Sora and Riku tensed up, ready to intervene, though Riku could only wonder who this man was.
Jack smiled at him. "I knew you'd warm up to me eventually."
Norrington rolled his eyes and turned his sword toward Jack, catching him by surprise. Will turned his sword at Norrington and Jack uncertainly pointed his sword back toward Will. "From what I have been able to ascertain, Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, and I get my life back," he asserted.
Riku glared at him. "The dark side of ambition, I see," he said in a deadpan tone, recognizing his motives all too well.
"I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption," Norrington clarified. He swung his sword at Will, who parried the blow. Jack desperately thrust his sword in to get an edge, and the three started clashing swords together. Will ducked under Jack and Norrington's blades and made a break for it. The others pursued him.
"Stop it!" Elizabeth yelled, but to no avail. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy could only watch as the fighting continued, trying to process what was going on.
Norrington went after Will, but the younger blacksmith pushed him to the ground. Jack grabbed the key out of Will's hand and ran away. Norrington ran after him, but then noticed that Will was behind him and swung at him. Will ducked, but Norrington kicked him in the stomach, knocking him down.
"Will!" Elizabeth called, running to see if he was alright.
"Guard the chest!" Will ordered, before picking himself up and giving chase again.
Elizabeth could not believe how childish he was acting. "No!" she shouted defiantly. As she watched the three men fight over the key, she groaned, stood up, and walked over to join the others who had abstained from the ludicrous battle.
"This is barbaric!" she complained. "This is no way for grown men to settle…" She threw her hands up in exasperation, shooting a glare at Jack, Will and Norrington. She ran out into the open and continued shouting her gripes.
Sora shrugged and turned to Riku, a thought coming to mind. "So, how did you guys get here, anyway?" he asked.
"We hitched a ride on the Flying Dutchman," Riku answered. Sora, Kairi and Mickey's eyes widened. "Yeah, we should probably get ready for a fight."
Donald nodded. "Right. We need to hold down the fort until those nincompoops finish with their slap-fight," he asserted.
As the sword fight continued and the sensible heroes set up their defense, Pintel and Ragetti ran up along the beach, meaning to warn everyone about the arrival of the Flying Dutchman. However, they stopped and noticed the silly squabble, with Elizabeth throwing rock-shaped tantrums in the foreground, which flew about as far as they would have when she was six.
"How'd this go all screwy?" Pintel asked, utterly baffled.
"Well, each wants the chest for hisself, don't 'e?" Ragetti guessed. "Mister Norrington, I think he's tryna regain a bit of honor. Old Jack's lookin' to trade it, save his own skin. And Turner there, I figure he's tryna settle some unresolved business 'twist him and his twice-cursed pirate father."
"Sad," Pintel lamented. Even he could tell how silly the situation had become. Then, an idea came to his head. "That chest must be worth more than a shiny penny."
"Oh! Tsk-tsk-tsk. Terrible temptation," Ragetti agreed.
"If we were any kind of 'decent', we'd remove the temptation from their path."
The two scoundrels giggled and ran over to the chest. Each grabbing a handle, they lifted it up and began running up the beach, heading into a wooded area rife with trees and shrubbery.
Elizabeth sat down and crossed her arms and legs, pouting irritably. She heard Pintel and Ragetti run by with the chest and turned to see what was going on. She stood back up and ran after them.
Mickey watched this occur. "We should keep an eye on them," he suggested. He ran off after them, followed by Kairi and Donald. Sora, Riku and Goofy remained, waiting for their enemies to arrive.
An Air Pirate and two Heartless resembling small blue cannons materialized to keep them busy. One of the Cannon Guns leaned forward and fired a projectile at Goofy, but the knight blocked it. The force of the blow pushed him back a few feet in the sand, but he remained standing. Sora swung his Keyblade at the Air Pirate, but it soared over his head. It turned around and flew right at him, its feet pointing in his direction. Sora failed to recover in time and was kicked across the sand. Riku hit one of the Cannon Guns, destroying it in a combo, and Goofy defeated the other one with several hits. Sora retaliated against the Air Pirate, dealing a combo that sent it flying. Riku went after it, but the burly flier punched him in the chest, knocking him down. It hovered in the air, preparing to deliver a flying punch at Sora, but Goofy threw his shield, hitting it in the wing and throwing its balance off. Before it could regain its bearings, it was hit in the face with a Blizzara spell, slammed into the ground with a Gravira spell, and then carved through with a Sonic Blade thrust.
In the meantime, the swordfight continued. Jack and Norrington tripped over each other and fell to the ground, giving Will an opening to retake the key and run. They clashed swords in circles. Jack ducked and sliced at Will's leg, stunning him long enough to steal the key again. Will parried a few blows from Norrington before running after Jack, but Norrington grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground, then kicked sand into his face for good measure.
"By your leave, Mister Turner," Norrington taunted with a mock bow before running through the shrubbery and pursuing Jack to an old abandoned church with a defunct waterwheel. Will quickly regained his footing and followed after them.
Returning to sanity and seriousness, Sora, Riku and Goofy watched as the coral- and barnacle-covered crew of the Flying Dutchman marched out from under the surf and up the beach. One of the cursed sailors growled when he took notice of the beach's defenders and drew his sword, prompting the others to do the same.
"Here's hoping that there's no gimmick like needing to fight only under the light of a full moon," Sora griped. Goofy groaned, remembering their struggles with the skeleton pirates that had served under Barbossa.
The crewmen charged. Sora, Riku and Goofy stood their ground. The first few swung their swords and whatever weapons they had on hand at their foes, but the heroes expertly parried each blow and retaliated swiftly. Recalling how magic affected the skeletal pirates and how lightning reacted to the Turquoise March, Sora beckoned for Riku and Goofy to step back. Once they were far enough away from the attackers, Sora cast Thundaga. The electricity struck all of the mutant sailors, sending some of them into a shock, but the rest shook the pain off and continued charging.
A green-skinned man with a conch shell on his head noticed the hole that had been dug up and saw the footprints leading up to the trees. "Forget this lot! Find the chest!" he barked. He broke off from the group and ran up the beach.
"You heard Hadras!" another crewman shouted. As an effect, most of the mutant sailors separated from the fight to charge up the beach. Enough of them remained, however, to keep Sora, Riku and Goofy occupied.
Sora, Riku and Goofy proved to be more than a match for their enemies, who largely lacked the combat experience necessary to go up against regular pirates and soldiers, let alone Keyblade wielders and a shield-bearing knight. Sora cast Stopga on one of them and delivered an Ars Arcanum onslaught, then moved onto the next guy while he waited for the spell to wear off and the damage to pile onto him all at once. Riku sliced his opponent's stomach open, not expecting it to cut so easily, and gagged as dozens of fish poured out. The opponent blurted a complaint and turned his attention away from the fight so that he could collect the fish back up. Riku took a step back, seeing no need to continue fighting this man while also withholding the urge to puke his guts out. Goofy blocked a punch from his opponent with his shield, wincing as he heard a sickening crunch from the guy's wrist, then pushed him into his compatriots.
With those foes defeated, Sora, Riku and Goofy turned and looked in the direction that the others had gone. "Come on!" Riku said sharply. Sora and Goofy nodded, and the three of them charged up the beach to join the fight further up.
Elizabeth continued her chase of Pintel and Ragetti through the trees. Since they were weighed down by the chest, she was able to gain ground. She ran around some trees until she had gone past them, then jumped in front of them, blocking their path.
Pintel and Ragetti dropped the chest and drew their swords. Elizabeth reached for hers only to remember that it was not in its scabbard. Her confident smirk faded, then turned into a nervous smile.
"'Ello, Poppet," Pintel greeted maliciously.
Mickey, Donald and Kairi stepped out from behind some trees and surrounded the scoundrels, raising their weapons at them. Pintel and Ragetti's grins faded.
They heard a rumbling noise and turned to locate the source. They watched an old waterwheel roll across their view. Will and Norrington stood on top, clashing swords and adjusting their footing so that they remained on top. Jack followed behind on foot. Kairi and Donald tilted their heads in bemusement. Just what in the world had those three gotten themselves into?
Pintel shrugged. All present turned their attention back to the confrontation at hand. Ragetti was quick to notice that he and Pintel were sorely outnumbered and outmatched, though he also realized that Mickey, Kairi, and the funny-looking short one seemed to only be positioned in defense of Elizabeth. He reasoned that the best option would to avoid threatening anyone and simply try to find a way out of conflict.
Before any resolution could come to the confrontation, however, an ax flew by and embedded itself in a tree. Everyone turned around and saw Jones' crew charging through the shrubbery and barreling toward them, screaming angrily. Mickey, Donald and Kairi took up defensive positions while Pintel and Ragetti turned and ran, passing their swords off to Elizabeth and grabbing the chest. After looking back and forth from the swords to the mob in shock and confusion, Elizabeth turned and ran as well. Mickey, Donald and Kairi traded glances, shrugged, then followed their example.
As they ran, a tree appeared directly in their path, and the two scoundrels did not have time to consider maneuvering around it to compensate for the chest and proceeded to run past it, dropping the chest when it hit the tree. They, Elizabeth, Mickey, Donald, and Kairi stopped when they realized that the chest had fallen. The mutant crewmen ignored the chest and charged at them, and an inevitable fight broke out. This time, the heroes did not hold their own as deftly as Sora, Riku and Goofy had; Mickey was the only powerhouse, Donald had to keep a distance so that he could use his magic without getting lopped to pieces, Kairi resorted to dodging brute strikes and delivering quick blows in an unsuccessful effort to disable the attackers, and Elizabeth, Pintel and Ragetti had to trade two swords between the three of them in order to fend for themselves. Sorely overwhelmed, they deemed that the best course of action was to make their way back to the beach while fighting off the onslaught.
Only one crew member avoided the battle and remembered his goal. Hadras found the chest, picked it up, and started to run off with it.
In the meantime, Jack had managed to take the key for himself and hopped off of the waterwheel, leaving it to roll through the landscape with Will and Norrington still trading blows inside. As he sheathed his sword, he saw Hadras running off with the chest. He looked down and saw a coconut on the ground. He picked it up and threw it at the crewman, knocking him down. The chest fell out of Hadras' grip and his head rolled across the ground, spitting out complaints. The head shouted orders, giving directions for his body to follow, but the still-moving body walked around aimlessly, unable to locate the head or, of course, hear its instructions.
Jack crouched down in front of the chest and put the key into the two keyholes in the center, then turned. The mechanisms spun and block-shaped knobs shot out around the base of the lid. He opened the lid and peered inside. However, he frowned when what he saw did not at all match what he had expected: the chest was empty!
"Ahem!" Jack turned around to find where the voice had come from. Sora stood over him with his arms crossed, flanked by Riku and Goofy. Sora and Riku were glaring at him disapprovingly.
"You morons do remember that there are four Keyblades between us, right?" Sora asked rhetorically in a deadpan tone.
Jack's gaze shifted from side to side, betraying his embarrassment. He made eye contact with Sora and held his hand out. "So, what'd you do with it?" he asked.
Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather pouch that was slightly larger than a fist. The leather rippled, indicating that the beating heart of Davy Jones was inside.
"To be honest, we think you have the best idea," Sora admitted. "But don't you think we can take Davy Jones and his crew? And Donald, Goofy and I can probably beat that Kraken head-on."
Jack shook his head. "I wouldn't count on it, mate."
"No you can't," Riku agreed sternly. Goofy shook his head, agreeing with Riku's assessment.
"So while we're at it, it might be better if that were in my hands," Jack suggested, gesturing for Sora to give him the pouch. Sora shrugged and complied. Jack stuffed the pouch into his jacket.
They heard a commotion and realized that the cursed crew was charging back. Jack quickly closed the lid down and ran. Sora, Riku and Goofy followed.
Mickey, Kairi and Elizabeth fought back any fiend that drew too close. Elizabeth, who was now in possession of both swords once again, blocked an ax with both weapons and kicked the attacker to the ground. She quickly turned around and positioned the swords so that they were pointing backward under her arms. Two crewmen charged after her and found themselves impaled. She pulled the blades out and let them fall. Kairi slashed at one sailor's leg and cast Blizzard at the wound. The sailor screamed in pain, and Mickey pushed him, sending him tumbling into the mob. Pintel and Ragetti grabbed the chest and continued to run off with it.
Jack, Sora, Riku, and Goofy bolted back to the beach. Jack made a beeline for his longboat and searched it for something. The only clue that he gave the others as he searched was a muttered "Jar of dirt," which only left them confused. A moment later, he found what he was looking for. He popped the lid off of the jar and poured some dirt out. He took the pouch out of his jacket and stuffed it into the jar, then put some dirt back in to cover it.
A crew member charged at Jack, screaming, ready to bring his sword down on him, but Jack dodged to the right. He grabbed an oar and held off the crew member's attacks until Sora and Riku joined the fight, overwhelming the attacker and knocking him down. Sora cast Graviga, causing the crew member to sink halfway into the sand.
Goofy turned and saw that Mickey, Kairi, Donald, Elizabeth, Pintel, and Ragetti were also making their way back to the beach, with the sailors in hot pursuit. The fight spilled out to where the sand met the surf. It became apparent that whatever injuries had been sustained did nothing to put the crewmen down for good or even for long. Pintel and Ragetti ran off with the chest, leaving Elizabeth, Mickey, Kairi, and Donald to face the increasingly-temperamental mob.
As the good guys were about to be overwhelmed, the waterwheel came barreling down the beach and ran over almost all of the crewmen, much to everyone else's bewilderment. Will and Norrington were still inside, but now they could only hold on for dear life. Everyone watched in bewilderment as the wheel rolled through the water until it finally stopped and fell over on its side. Donald took a moment to remember that one of the crewmen was still standing next to them and cast Zero Gravira to lift him into the air where he could not try to attack them.
Kairi realized that her muscles were aching and that she had a bruise on her left arm. She also noticed that Mickey's ear was bent slightly, Donald had a few feathers ruffled, and Elizabeth had cuts on her hands and face. She raised her Keyblade and shouted "Heal!" A shower of green light dust fell over them and all injuries were repaired.
Will and Norrington climbed out of the wheel. Will slumped over the side, exhausted, but Norrington made a break for the longboat. He ran past Sora, Riku, Jack, and Goofy, who had gotten into a fight with more of Jones' crew. As he leaned over the side of the longboat, panting heavily, he noticed the jar filled with dirt. He remembered Jack being meticulous about stocking the jar in the longboat, not that he understood why, but he was quite certain that it did not get spilled on the way to the island. And the lid was still secured…
Will saw Pintel and Ragetti put the chest in their longboat and confronted them. The scoundrels reached for their swords only to realize that they were gone once again. They chuckled and dodged aside. Will looked at the chest and realized that the key was still in it. He reached over to turn it, his other hand reaching for his dagger, when he felt something hit him from behind and lost consciousness.
Jack dropped his oar into the longboat and shoved Will inside, making sure nobody noticed what he had done.
The party finally had a chance to reunite at the longboats, giving them an opportunity to assess their situation.
"We're not getting out of this," Elizabeth observed.
"If we even get the chance to set off, they'll just come after us and capsize us," Mickey agreed, worried.
"We won't make it with the chest," Norrington advised. "Into the boats."
"What?" Sora asked. However, after a stern glare from Norrington, they all piled into the boats.
Norrington grabbed the chest. "Don't wait for me," he ordered before he turned and ran.
"I say we respect his final wish," Jack said. Pintel nodded in agreement.
"Whoa! Hold it! I won't let anyone get left behind!" Sora protested.
"Suit yourself then, mate," Jack said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, Sora, but I'm afraid we don't have a choice," Riku retorted.
Sora held one last stare as he watched the Dutchman's crew chase Norrington back into the jungle. He sighed and turned his gaze away. Resignedly, he pushed the longboat, now cramped by the added presence of Riku and Donald, out to sea, then climbed in and helped Mickey row back to the Black Pearl.
Norrington ran through the trees but stopped when he found himself confronted by Hadras, who held his still-dislodged head under his arm.
"Your bravery is wasted," the head taunted. "I shall pry that chest from your cold dead hands!"
Norrington looked around, noticing that he was surrounded. He wagged his head to the side, conceding that he was outmatched, and shoved the chest into Hadras' chest, causing the crewman to drop his head and catch the chest with both arms. "Here you go," he said. He bolted before the crew members had time to realize what had happened.
The crew members cheered, seeing that the chest was in their possession again. They seemed oblivious to the fact that the key was in the keyhole and ignored how easily their enemies had given up the object of their hunt. They marched off to return to the Flying Dutchman, victorious, forgetting about Hadras' head which laid on the ground, shouting pleas for assistance. Eventually, the head sighed and turned around in its shell. The head and legs of a hermit crab crawled out of the back of the head and began scurrying after its body and companions. Hopefully, it could catch up before they went into the water.
While both crews returned to their respective ships, Norrington ran through the jungle, satisfied that he had gotten what he had wanted, with no one the wiser. All he needed now was an appointment with Lord Beckett, and his honor will be restored.
A/N: You all heard the criticisms this movie had. Honestly, on rewatching it for these chapters, I didn't think it was too bad, albeit overly reliant on slapstick in certain parts, such as the cannibal island scene. However, there is nothing I can say or think that can forgive the stupidity that permeates through the entire Isla Cruces scene. So, rather than copy it straight, I left the main party to serve as a surrogate for my opinions on the matter, and left most of the three-way fight to the background.