TIGR4
patreon
Chapter 45 - An Attack Approaches
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 16:03:20 +0000 UTC"My name is Will Turner, pirate." Will replied angrily to Jack.
He hated pirates, and now they had come to his doorstep, insulting the memory of his father and stealing the necklace from his beloved… which she had technically stolen from him. But that was beside the point.
"Will Turner?" Jack began biting his nail, thoughtful.
Puss looked at him, feigning curiosity.
"Jack, do you know the origin of the necklace and his?" Puss asked, staring at the pirate who was still chewing his nails.
"Huh? Me?! I don't know anything." Jack stopped biting his nail and pointed at himself in confusion, shaking his head.
Puss rolled his eyes at him, impatient.
"You felt a pulse in the water today? That was the necklace. It sent a signal—I believe it was calling something or someone. So, if you know anything, now is the time to say it." He insisted, looking firmly at Jack.
The pirate's eyes widened at the news, and his expression turned serious.
After pondering for a moment, he made up his mind.
"Alright, this might be shocking… but the truth is, I lied. I do know a few things." He revealed, his face now serious and bitter.
Puss, Will, and Tornado all rolled their eyes at once.
"Stop stalling, get on with it." Puss said, annoyed.
"Okay, hold your fur, amigo, no need to stress,." Jack joked, imitating Puss's accent and waving his hand to calm him down. "The necklace, if I'm not mistaken, is cursed Aztec gold. And the kid is probably the son of Bootstrap Bill Turner, one of my old crewmates."
"Impossible. My father was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law." Will, still unarmed and with a sword pointed at his chest, shouted angrily at Jack.
"No, he wasn't. He was a good man—but a pirate." Jack said, unfazed.
"You—" Will started, but was interrupted.
"Enough of that. What does this Bill Turner guy have to do with the Aztec gold?" Puss interrupted, not wanting to watch any more drama.
"The Aztec gold was something my crew and I were after. But when I told my right-hand man, a fellow named Hector Barbossa, where it was, he led a mutiny with the crew against me and stole my Black Pearl." Jack stopped holding back and revealed the story.
He already knew that since the gold had called someone, it had to be the cursed ones—and a fight that night was inevitable.
"Interesting, go on." Puss raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.
"Well, legend has it that during the conquest of Hernán Cortés, to stop the massacre he was committing among his people, the Aztecs offered him a chest with 882 gold coins. But the blood price, instead of stopping the massacres, only fueled Cortés's greed. As his slaughter continued, the angered gods cursed Cortés and his gold… or so the story goes. And ever since the crew mutinied against me, rumors of an immortal crew aboard a ship with black sails started to spread across the seas, so… I imagine that part about the curse is true." Jack explained, once again pulling the bottle from his coat and taking another swig.
"So, his father sent the cursed gold to him—why?" Puss asked, though he already knew the answer.
To this, Jack just shrugged.
"Who knows what might go on in a man's head? But if I know Bootstrap like I think I did, maybe he did it to punish Barbossa and the crew for betraying me—keeping them from breaking the curse." He offered his theory, nonchalantly.
"Pirate, the things you say don't make sense. If the curse makes them immortal, how is that a punishment?" Will said, furrowing his brows at him, not buying the story.
"Hehe… you're such an innocent boy. I've seen stranger things in this world than men cursed with immortality. But for every curse on these seas, one thing's always true… there's always a steep price to pay." Jack said with a knowing look and a small smile on his lips.
That surprised Will, and he couldn't help but feel it made sense.
"You said my father was a good man. Did he take part in the mutiny?" Will asked, his heart aching a little, realizing he was starting to believe what the pirate said—that his father wasn't the man he thought he was.
"Oh!" Jack was surprised by the question, and smiled at him while resting his arm on the hilt of his sword. "A good man—but still a pirate. Your father wouldn't have risked his neck against the entire crew just to fight for me. It was a lost battle." He finished, shrugging.
He held no resentment against Bootstrap. He knew the man well, and he himself would have done the same in that situation. But it was a different story with the other crewmates who had truly wanted the mutiny.
"Well, then, to sum up, we've got an immortal ship heading our way. We need to set sail—we can't let them hurt the people of Port Royal." Puss said, preparing to leave, lowering his sword and sheathing it, freeing Will from his position.
"Hey, wait—what do you mean, set sail?" Jack widened his eyes and quickly ran to stand in front of Puss.
"I'm going to face Barbossa and his men. I alone am enough. But if they reach Port Royal, they'll start firing before we can stop them." Puss replied, stopping and facing Jack.
"Are you crazy? Didn't you hear the part where they're immortal?!" Jack looked at him, dumbfounded.
"I am Puss in Boots—yo no temo a nada! Especially not a few men I can go all out on without mercy." Puss said, unable to hide the smile creeping across his lips.
But Jack just stared at him blankly.
"In English, please."
"I said I fear nothing! Stop ruining my cool moment by asking for translations!" Puss snapped, clearly annoyed.
But just as quickly, he perked up again.
He had never killed a human in his life, always holding back. So even he didn't know just how deadly he could be when unrestrained. And against immortals, he had no reason to hold back.
And this was why he had set out in search of adventure—to see the world, leave behind legendary tales, have beauties in his arms, and fight battles that set his blood ablaze.
"No, no! You'll be at a huge disadvantage going alone on a ship." Jack objected. The orange cat was his hope, and he didn't want this powerful ally to die out of recklessness.
"Then what do you suggest? I won't let them fire on the city and kill people I could save." Puss shook his head, unwilling to back down.
He had many complicated thoughts about being a hero, but he still wouldn't let those thoughts stop him from saving lives when he could.
Will, standing to the side, was stunned by the discussion. He hadn't expected that the cat he assumed to be a pirate would have such a strong sense of justice. His blood stirred at the feline's courage, and he couldn't help but act recklessly.
"We could warn the governor and have the battle contained in the city." He suddenly said, interrupting the argument and drawing everyone's attention.
…
At the governor's mansion, Elizabeth was drying her hair after bathing, having fallen into the sea earlier.
While lost in thought about the day's events, she heard a heated argument coming from outside the mansion.
"You can't come in! The governor isn't receiving visitors!" Came a servant's voice.
Then, a voice familiar to her answered.
"It's urgent! It concerns the safety of Port Royal!"
"Don't be absurd, leave immediately. The governor isn't seeing blacksmith apprentices right now. Guards! Get them out." The servant barked again, rude and dismissive.
Elizabeth's eyes widened. She immediately dropped the towel she'd been using to dry her hair and rushed outside.
As she started running, a voice with a thick Spanish accent rang out.
"You already tried talking with reason, Señor Turner. Now it's my turn to speak with motivation…"
Eyes widening in recognition, she hurried faster.
But as she began to descend the stairs, the clash of swords echoed through the air. By the time she reached the lower floor, the main doors to the hall burst open as a guard was thrown violently through them.
Walking confidently through the wreckage was an elegant cat wearing a hat, belt, cape, and boots, sheathing his sword with a smile.
He was followed by a man she recognized from some wanted posters — a pirate named Jack Sparkle.
And lastly came Will, looking bitter.
"I'm regretting this decision." He muttered bitterly.
"Will!" Elizabeth cried out, startled and confused, drawing the young man's attention.
"Elizabeth!" Will replied softly, almost unconsciously.
"Elizabeth!" This time it was the governor shouting, running toward his daughter with guards following behind.
"Governor!" Puss said with a grin, greeting the man.
"The cat!" The governor reacted, surprised.
"Captain Jack!" Jack finally called out, pointing at himself with both hands, eyes wide in feigned astonishment.
But in response, he received odd stares from everyone around.
"Wanted to be included…" He added with a smile, but as everyone continued staring at him, his grin turned awkward, and he raised his hand to his mouth, chewing a nail, hoping to be ignored.
Regaining his composure, the governor turned to face the intruders.
"What is the meaning of this?" He asked, frowning.
"Sir, there will be a pirate attack tonight. We must shelter the civilians and prepare!" Will stepped forward and spoke urgently.
"Pirate attack? What are you talking about?" The governor Swann asked, his frown deepening in confusion and annoyance.
"I mean exactly that, sir—pirates are going to attack! And not just any pirates, it's the cursed crew of the Black Pearl!" Will said, deadly serious.
"Cursed crew? What nonsense are you spouting, boy?" The governor was clearly displeased now, disturbed by what he saw as madness.
The young man he had once held in high regard had just dropped significantly in his opinion.
"It's not a lie, sir! They're being drawn here by this!" Will raised his hand, revealing a gold necklace with a skull carved into the coin pendant.
"That's cursed Aztec gold. It was around Elizabeth's neck when she fell into the sea, which sent a signal—one they're following now. Sir, even I have my doubts, but it wouldn't hurt to prepare, would it?" Will said with both conviction and desperation.
Hearing that the issue might have originated from his daughter, the governor shook his head more firmly, convinced they were talking nonsense.
"Don't be ridiculous and accuse my daughter. She's never owned a necklace like that—" The governor began, his tone impatient, but he was abruptly cut off.
It was Elizabeth who interrupted.
"Father… I really was wearing that necklace when I fell into the sea." She said, stepping forward and grasping her father's arm.
"Elizabeth?!" The governor shouted, shocked that his daughter had been hiding things from him.
"Father, this isn't the time for questions. When I fell, I subconsciously felt the necklace give off a strange pulse. I thought it might've been a hallucination due to my condition at the time, but now that they've said it, I believe it might've been a signal too." She looked him in the eyes, speaking seriously while avoiding any mention of the necklace's origin.
"Sir." A butler who had come in with the governor also spoke, drawing his attention. "When Miss Swann fell, I too noticed the sea behaving strangely, and the weather turned odd. Perhaps we should at least prepare for the worst, so we don't regret inaction later. If it turns out to be nothing, we haven't lost much." He said, offering calm advice.
The governor frowned in thought until he finally made a decision.
"Summon Commodore Norrington…" He ordered, then turned to the three who had broken into his house.
"…as for them, put them in the dungeon until this matter passes. We must be ready in case this is some elaborate trap." He concluded, and the guards immediately moved toward the trio.
Puss just shook his head in amusement and rested his hand on his sword.
