Legends of the Treasure Child

----Thanks for lovely and inspiring reviews, Hell_on_Earth----

The Black Pearl was burning. She was crying in terror as her black sails burnt with rapid speed, and most of her bough on starboard side burned as well, the wood screeching in the searing flames. Wreathed in hot flames, she screamed out to the world for help, sensing that her time had finally come. Her attacker, the stolen East Indiaman The Tryall, was relentlessly firing at her, blowing up her hulls with its cannonballs, wood and splinters exploding, leaving large gaps. She was helpless, outgunned and unable to move. Impending doom had crashed down on her.
Jack Sparrow felt his insides churn into a nauseous haze as he saw his beloved ship succumbing to flames. He wanted to jump over to her immediately and put out the flames, and he leaned over the railing of the Dutchman until he almost lost his balance. His first mate Joshamee Gibbs was still alive. Jack could see him on board the Pearl, skulking, hiding and ducking from the bullets, avoiding the cannonballs and the explosions, knowing that if he went into the water he faced a death more certain than staying onboard the incinerated Pearl.

“They’re blowing her to bits! The bloody bastards!” Jack shouted and cursed, waving at the Tryall with his fists. The Dutchman came up alongside the Tryall, and before Will could open his mouth, the Dutchman’s cannons roared, firing away two salves at the Tryall. Will froze, not understanding how or what made the Dutchman fire. He certainly hadn’t given the order, but it was more than enough to get Captain Teague’s attention, ceasing the attack on The Pearl. Teague didn’t hesitate, and smiled broadly when he saw Jack, vanishing into his cabin.

John and Bill ran back up on deck, slapping each other’s shoulders, obviously proud of their handiwork on The Tryall’s hulls. But their grins were soon lost when they saw Captain Teague re-emerge from the cabin, dragging out none other than a battered and bruised Elisabeth. Her hands were tied behind her back. She seemed otherwise unharmed, her perfect little nose obstinately in the air as always, tugging hard in the ropes to get free. Her brown eyes opened wide as she saw the Dutchman, instantly finding Will at the helm.

Will went weak in the knees, almost doubling over by the shock, his brown eyes flying open in disbelief. Jack grabbed hold of him just in time, as Will literally tried to dive over the railing to get to her.

“Will, no!” she screamed in response, urging him to stay.

“Sorry to interrupt the happy family reunion”, Captain Teague shouted while grinning, “I just have to say, captain, I regret not findin’ that heart of yours. But that’s not important, since ye won’t have a reason for livin’, would ye, once she dies. I figured since I already know Jackie’s view on the matter, I’ll make a bargain with ye in stead.”

“What do you want, Teague?! A trade?!” Will shouted.

“Aye!”

“The Treasure child in exchange for Elisabeth?! Then you have to swear to hand her over unharmed and alive. Do not touch her, or I’ll rip your throat!”

“Hey, good idea!” John shouted, an imaginary light bulb igniting above his head. He stepped over to the railing next to Will and Jack, making sure Teague got to see him in clear view. He obviously caught Teague by surprise, as Teague recognized him, having expected to see a boy and not a man. John stretched out his right arm, open his hand, grabbing something imaginary with his fingers. Teague immediately convulsed, his eyes bulging in his eye sockets. He uttered a gurgling noise, raising his left arm and a fist clutching a piece of wrinkled paper. Then his chest shattered, exploding outwards, and his heart came flying out over the railing at high speed until John caught it his right hand as if it had been a small ball. Teague’s body went limp and dropped to the floor. The action didn’t go unnoticed, and Will tore himself loose from Jack, caught the nearest rope and swung himself across, nearly landing on Elisabeth as he dropped himself down. Jack followed suit by another rope, his reaching for the nearest cutlass and then cut his way through, jumping across to the Black Pearl. John remained standing with Captain Teague’s bloody heart in his right palm, grinning from ear to ear. Father Irons who’d witnessed the entire thing, felt himself drop to his knees and then immediately vomited, the image of John tasting the heart with the tip of his tongue etched onto his retina. If there was a Hell on Earth, then this was obviously it.

“Well well, God. Are you happy now?” he spoke afterwards, gazing at the blue skies and the perfect day which had turned into a searing red, baptized in blood, filled with the stench of burnt timber and singed flesh. “Can I go now?” he asked mockingly to the sky again, sighing.

“He’s not finished with you yet, Irons.” John said, turning to face him, dropping the heart to the ground. “One more thing remains” he said, smiling secretively, walking towards Father Irons. He grabbed him by the collar and then dragged him over to the barrels on port side, away from view.

Will’s lips met those of his wife’s, and he closed his eyes in utter joy, attempting to free her while kissing her. She immediately embraced him once free, grinding herself towards his body, kissing him passionately over and over again. Wrapped in the glow that was love, either failed to hear Father Irons scream, failed to see him thrash in the death grip John held him in, sucking his soul out through two holes in his neck made by John’s fangs. Then the priest went limp, and John then hauled his body overboard, dropping him into the ocean on the other side of the railing. He had to hold on to the railing for a moment afterwards as the rush of energy and information in Father Iron’s soul filled him, added to his powers, and had anyone looked, they would have seen his golden eyes glowing all molten red, high as he was, and enjoying it. He laughed at himself and his reaction, as he’d just made his first step on his way to become a new Thyrion. And when that happened, he was going to rule the Underworld, he was going to feast on every criminal’s soul, partying every day like it was his last. He would keep a harem, a big one with many delicious men in it, devouring them time after time, he’d have them line up and he’d make them all with child, breeding forth an army of unholy angels, tearing the Underworld apart and—, hang on this sounded familiar, didn’t it?“ John stopped dead in his tracks. Buggering hell, he thought, there he went and did it again, being no better than the other Thyrions before him. The Earth beneath his feet would be his, aye, no doubt about it. *This* World, as it were, belonged to Will, Jack and all other living creatures. He had no interest of it, other than that it harbored the people he loved and they depended on it. It was littered with dangerous people, scavengers and murderers who wanted to hurt those he loved and therefore it made sense to hang around. Aye, he saw it all clearly now, licking away the taste of Father Irons on his lips as the sky continued to spin above him. He noticed movement, and saw Will and Elisabeth above his head. They stared down at him, and he realized he was laying flat on the deck of the Dutchman, next to the wheel.

“John, this is Elisabeth, my wife.”

“Mrs. Turner”, John said, trying to greet her with a nod but he had trouble getting his bearings straight, ending up smashing the back of his head into the deck instead. Ouch.

“Are you drunk?” Will wanted to know.

“Aye” John said, not seeing the point about lying.

“Where’s Father Irons?!”

“He fell. Over the railing. I mean, his appointed task was finished, so he went to Hell. To meet his maker, his God, I mean. Could—could you stop spinning now, please?“ John said to Will, trying to point at him with his index finger. He closed his eyes, giving up, as Elisabeth began to talk to Will, urging him to bring her back home. They moved away from him for some privacy during their talk, and John failed to register William who stood dumbfounded once Elisabeth told him she couldn’t stay for someone was waiting for her back home. She spoke hectically, having so much to share with him, kissing him now and then, and told him of how she’d managed to get their son away before she’d been kidnapped, her last glimpse of him was of the boy sprinting towards the neighbours stone fence, making, it climbing over then disappearing over the green hill in direction of the chimneys. William didn’t know what to do with himself after this, his eyes watering over, hugging her intensely, his body shaking with the breakdown. John didn’t see him. He was too dizzy to keep his eyes open, but he felt Will’s intense feeling. They were screaming at him and he picked them up like water to a sponge. Perhaps Dominion of the Underworld could wait a while longer until they had resolved the issue of getting Will and Elisabeth back together. For Will was obviously in misery, more than John had thought, and he frankly pitied him, for John compared it to how it would have been to have to live separately from Jack.
John achieved the action to roll over onto his stomach, immediately feeling nauseous. It was so horrible and painful that he cringed, feeling the need to vomit. And so he did, all out over the deck, Father Irons’ soul floating out of his mouth. The Essence took shape, hovering above the boards, and the smoky image of Father Irons with folded his arms, angrily babbling away to him with words that came out as mere whispers. John simply waved him away, looking up at the blue sky, speaking: “Aye I knew it wasn’t the way you would have wanted it, but hey, what can I do? I’m the Treasure Child, savvy? Take me as I am.”

Jack was finished, having cut down the last of Teague’s men. He peered over to the Dutchman to find John with his eye as the boy rose to his feet, not looking too good. But there was no blood, so he assumed John would be all right. He turned his attention to Mr. Gibbs and helped him up from underneath some debris. Gibbs was thrilled to see him again, hugging him tight to the point where Jack almost couldn’t breathe. Then they started to haul buckets full of water, trying to salvage as much of the Pearl as possible. Being on board his boat again was indescribable, and Jack felt vibrant and alive again for the first time in ages.