Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes

by Blackdrag-rose

Nobody: Cursed Treasure

As the group got the ship ready for departure Sombra learned a few things, like the fact that Will was a blacksmith who likely practices with his own blades, Elizabeth's father happened to be one of his most important customers, and the pirate captain was called Barbossa, who used to be part of Jack's crew before he mutinied. That allowed them to understand that Jack wanted his ship back and that he already had a replacement crew in another location, waiting for him to return with the Black Pearl, or at least that seemed to be the plan that he had in mind, even if he offered up nothing else on the matter, as if he wanted to keep parts of his plan a secret. Once the ship was fully ready they raised the anchor, unfurled the sails, and steered the ship out to sea, as it was time for them to track Barbossa down and save Elizabeth from his plans, and stop him at the same time since that was the right thing to do. While they did so Sombra kept her senses open, keeping an eye out for more Heartless that were on Barbossa's side, since Pete was on this world and that meant he was likely calling forth more creatures for them to fight, even though he claimed to be looking for Heartless for Maleficent's army.

In fact her thoughts were proven correct not too long after their departure from Port Royal, as Cannon Guns and Air Pirates attacked them, more Heartless for them to deal with, where Will and Jack watched as the group attacked the figures and brought each one down, all while Sombra captured their hearts before they could escape.

"Hey, Jack, why are you so fixated on that compass?" Sora asked, because the entire time they had been fighting, or even sailing, he and the others had noticed how their Captain was focused on the device that was in his hand, though while he did know such a thing was important for navigation he also realized that the pirate was oddly focused on his.

"Oh, this. It'll be she that leads us to the Isla de Muerta... that's where Barbossa's going. Savvy?" Jack replied, though at the same time he noticed how some of them were looking at him and realized that a number of them were curious about what he was talking about, causing him to close the compass for a moment before he held it up, "This compass doesn't point north, like most compasses do... rather, it points to the thing in the world that you want the most. Once upon a time that was Isla de Muerta and the Aztec Gold, as Hector and I were searching for it, but after finding the treasure he and the crew turned on me... that is why the compass is now pointing in the direction of my ship, the Black Pearl, which will be docked at the hidden island in question."

"But... if he already has the treasure, then why go back?" Will inquired, because it seemed like Barbossa had everything he could possibly want right now, ancient and legendary treasure and a legendary ship that could outrun anyone else that was on the seas, showing them that he was just lost right now.

"Because the treasure's cursed, right? Since his crew turned into skeletons in the moonlight, I would have to imagine that it ruined their lives when they tried to enjoy the gold," Sombra answered, because it was a curse she had considered once in the past, to deal with potential trespassers, though her version was designed to cripple individuals and not give them a sort of twisted immortality, where she and the others found that Jack nodded to confirm her statement, "which means that to break the curse Barbossa will have to return every piece of gold to the container they were cursed in... and I'm willing to bet a blood offering must be made, a repayment of sorts for stealing the treasure in the first place."

"Give the lass a hand, she's right on all accounts. Tell me, then, why would they kidnap Miss Swann?" Jack remarked, as he was rightly impressed by how well, and how quickly, Sombra had weaved together all of the information she had been given so far, somehow correctly and accurately figuring out exactly what the story was, so this was mostly for fun as he sailed in the direction of their final destination.

"The most likely answer is that one of your crew died around the time that the curse was activated, likely killed in a way that made it permanent without the others knowing." Sombra said, though at the same time she had to smile a little, because if she was right this curse was even more interesting than she originally thought, like it was multiple weaved into one, and she could see that everyone was eager to hear what she had to say, "If that's true Barbossa likely took Elizabeth because he or his crew believe that she's the child of the slain crew member, so their blood would run in her veins... meaning they'll likely sacrifice some of her blood to the container to try and break the curse. If it's successful Elizabeth might live to see another day, since the pirates might be grateful to have their curse broken... but if the curse remains, and her blood goes nothing for them, you can bet that the pirates will either kill her for lying to them or they'll hold her for ransom the next time they visit Port Royal."

"What's the name of the deceased member of the crew?" Radiant asked, because there was only one way for them to figure out if Elizabeth was who Barbossa was looking for, learn the name of the one who had perished and see if the lady was the key or not.

"William Turner... Senior, in this case." Jack answered, something that caused Will to pause for a moment, because now he knew that his father was a pirate and that his blood was required to break the curse, along with the fact that the pirates had taken the wrong person, someone who was about to pay the price that he should be paying in his father's stead, "He was a good man... a good pirate as well... though I was one of the few that knew him by his actual name, as everyone else called him 'Bootstrap' or 'Bootstrap Will'."

Will sighed and filled in the missing piece of the puzzle, that once upon a time he was sure his father had sent him a coin, one he was sure was a piece of the Aztec treasure Barbossa had looted, and he ended up losing it, but now he suspected it had been taken by Elizabeth's family when he was found and she happened to be in possession of it when the pirates showed up in Port Royal. Fluttershy and Seras realized why the pirates had taken her in the first place, she must have said that her name was Will's, meaning she was either in love with him, which was actually kind of sweet and dangerous of her, or the pirates assumed she was Bootstrap's child because she had the coin and didn't care about her truth. That meant that the one Barbossa and the others were after was actually Will, meaning that he held the key to breaking their curse and he now had leverage to use against the pirates if he so desired, but Sombra said it was a stupid idea to barter with Barbossa. The best thing to do was attack Isla de Muerta, force their way to where the treasure was resting, and then fight their foes, as she knew Pete would likely summon a powerful Heartless to fight them, so while Jack fought Barbossa, and they fought the rest of their enemies, Will could break the curse while everyone was distracted.

Jack was fine with the idea, he even had a single shot in his gun that he had been saving to take Barbossa down, so they had to time it right and everyone would win in the end, save for his mutinous crew, though before anyone could say anything else he spotted the Black Pearl up ahead, causing Jack to dock the ship across the bay from his ship.

As they departed from the ship, however, Sombra made sure to shield it with a bit of magic before they headed into the area that was ahead of them, though it wasn't long before they found more Cannon Guns, Shadows, and Air Pirates guarding the exterior of the island. Such a thing confirmed that Pete was present and was trying to keep the pirates focused on what they were doing right now, no doubt so the Heartless could steal the hearts of the pirates and turn all of them into Heartless for Maleficent, though it didn't take them long to run right into Barbossa's forces. It was clear that the pirates weren't expecting them to be there, in fact some seemed surprised to see Jack again, though that didn't stop Sombra and the others from just wrecking them, making sure to expose them to the moonlight before taking them out. Despite having years of experience on the seas, plundering whatever they wanted to and killing whoever got in their way, the pirates fell to their own arrogance, as in they were too used to their invulnerable bodies and failed to protect themselves when they were fulled into the vast area that the moonlight covered.

The path brought them to a chamber that was full of treasure, complete with a large stone coffin that was full of gold coins, where Barbossa was standing in the center with Elizabeth behind the container, though before anything could happen Seras rushed between the pair and forced the pirate away from the lady, allowing Will to catch her and the medallion that she was holding onto.

Such a thing caused the pirates to attack them for interrupting their ritual, or whatever it was that they needed to do to break their curse, though while that happened Jack went after Barbossa, where Sombra noticed their ally making sure he pocketed one of the other coins, without their foe noticing, no doubt to even the odds. While that happened the rest of the pirates came after her and the others, which was perfectly fine as they clashed with them, pushing them into the moonlight to wipe them out, something that caused Barbossa to call for Pete to lend him some aid. As that happened Barbossa and the others discovered the side effect of Jack taking the coin, it had cursed him into a skeletal form as well to even the odds, while at the same time Pete finally summoned the Heartless that would be aiding Barbossa in battle, a lizard type that clung to the walls and had a lantern of sorts on it's tail that sucked in the light. Such a thing meant that it's purpose was purely to keep Barbossa alive by removing the moonlight, basically allowing him to fight as much as he wants without having to worry about being harmed by the one weakness the curse had inflicted upon him and his crew.

"You know, this is a really bad match up for you, Barbossa." Sombra remarked, because the power that the World had given her, for saving Disney Castle despite the danger being near the Cornerstone of Light had put her in, made it so she could draw on the full power of her light magic, causing her to create an orb of light in the air that restored their sight and also mimicked the properties of the moonlight, much to their foe's dismay.

Sure, the downside of this was that Jack was exposed to the weakness as well, but he didn't seem surprised by this fact, as his left hand was like a fist as Sombra noticed that he was holding the coin he had taken, causing her to realize that he was already prepared to deal with Barbossa. Will, sensing that there was a plan in motion, made sure to collect the coin that was in Elizabeth's possession and used his own knife to cut open his palm as well, causing the two to share a quick glance with each other as the fighting went on, everyone just dominating Barbossa like he was nothing to them. Of course they had an unfair advantage over him since there were so many of them and only one of him, something that had caused Pete to flee as he realized that this world was a total disaster for Maleficent's plans as well, meaning no more Heartless were going to come out and fight them. Eventually the group seized upon the opportunity that Jack was looking for as he tossed his coin over to Will, something that Barbossa noticed as he drew his gun and pointed it at Elizabeth, though before he could fire Jack did so as he pierced the chest of their foe, who chuckled for a few seconds before feeling the cold grip of death claim him, which was when he noticed Will having returned both bloody coins to the chest, breaking the curse.

As Barbossa collapsed Elizabeth joined Will as everyone left the cavern, because they were the only ones who knew where to find the treasure and it didn't look like it would be bothered anytime soon, though in the process Sora found another gate to open, the beam was created by Jack's compass, causing them to wish the trio well as they returned to their own ship so they could set out for whatever world was next on their adventure.

Comments

[Xalok]

The ability to not feel, liked to being undying is such a odd yet well working curse, for not being able to feel takes away the joys of life, and not being able to die makes it so your only escape is gone, making it so your only way out is to remove the curse.

[HeartfireFirebrand 2]

11890317
Barbossa and Baldur have a chat.