"ELIZABETH—-"
A shout drew everyone's attention in the cell.
Looking toward the source of the sound, they saw the previously unconscious Will open his eyes wide and scream as he sat up.
"Will!" Elizabeth ran to him and placed her hand on his back.
"Elizabeth!" Seeing her by his side, Will's anxious heart and groggy head slowly began to calm.
"Oh, looks like the sleepyhead finally woke up," Jack teased nearby, sitting with his back against the inside of the ship's hull.
"Jack?!" Will looked at him, dazed.
"Was the hit too strong, or has he always been this clueless?" Puss joined in the teasing, leaning against the bars with his shoulder in a relaxed pose.
"Puss?!" Will turned his head toward the cat when he heard his voice, his head spinning in confusion.
"I don't know, but I'd go with the second option," Jack replied to Puss, placing his hat over his face and resting against the wooden wall, clearly bored.
Puss grinned wider at Will's continuously confused expression.
With no one answering his questions, he could only look at the one person in the room he trusted.
"Elizabeth, what's going on?" Will asked anxiously.
Somehow, he was locked up with his beloved Elizabeth and the famous pirate Jack Sparkle in the same cell, in a place he didn't recognize, while Puss—the mysterious cat he had met before—was outside the bars for some reason.
From the swaying of the room, he guessed they were on some kind of ship.
"What do you remember?" Elizabeth asked, helpless at Will's confusion.
"Ugh... we saw pirates attacking the governor's mansion, I ran to help... and... I think that's it?" Will said, confused, rubbing the back of his neck—feeling a bit of pain there. It was similar to the pain from when he had been Kicked by a horse horse and hit his head a few hours ago... minus the kicking part.
"You ran like an idiot, and didn't see the pirate behind you. Before I could warn you, he bashed your head with a piece of wood. Luckily for you, he didn't want to kill you, or it would've been a sword. You should thank your golden necklace for that," Jack took over the explanation, voice muffled under his hat as he gestured lazily with his arms, still seated.
Will looked at him speechless, slightly embarrassed. He had panicked when he saw Elizabeth's house being taken over. But at the mention of the necklace, he immediately clutched his chest—only to freeze in alarm when he didn't find the Aztec gold coin there.
But Jack wasn't done with the story.
"And unfortunately, we must learn to choose our idiot companions better. You drew their attention to me too, so I—and you, unconscious, to be precise—got surrounded by all the pirates there. Then Tornado appeared and started fighting, but he got surrounded too, which makes me admire your courage… or your stupidity. After all, they were dozens of immortal pirates. I think you're both crazy," said Jack, the man with the hat-face, his voice muffled as he waved dismissively.
"Snort!" Tornado snorted, clearly offended.
"He said he's not stupid. He just came to save you, Jack," Puss translated beside him, amused, now fully understanding the story.
"Oh! Then you're forgiven, my horseshoe friend," Jack, still leaning against the wall and with the hat covering his face, pointed toward Tornado—missing by a few inches and pointing at nothing—then gave a thumbs up.
Puss just shook his head, amused.
"Well, I'll just hide over there in the corner. Someone might come down because of his yelling… or not. Either way, when we arrive, I'll act accordingly—preferably once they break the curse," Puss explained, looking at them, then pushed off from the bars and walked to a dark corner.
The three inside the cell, including Jack who lifted his hat to reveal one eye, looked like they wanted to say something, but in the end, stayed silent.
Puss settled into a shadowy spot and lay down to get some rest, since he didn't know how long it would take, and it was best to recover a bit for the battle to come.
With his sharpened senses, he wouldn't be caught off guard, even if asleep.
And so, to the soft whispers of Elizabeth and William, Puss slowly drifted into sleep.
…
Time passed slowly, and dawn arrived, but the journey continued calmly.
A few hours later, some pirates came to check on the prisoners, but seeing that nothing had changed, they didn't pay much attention.
The voyage went on, and once again night fell, with no notable events—except for Will discovering that the reason Elizabeth had taken his necklace when they were children was to hide his identity and protect him. After all, if it had been discovered that he had roots and ties to pirates, his future could have been ruined.
As for the immortal pirates, they didn't seem to care about the well-being of their prisoners. No food or water was offered, but everyone held strong. They knew begging was useless, and asking Puss to fetch something wasn't a good idea.
So they endured for the day.
Puss also considered bringing food, but decided to be cautious until the curse was broken, not wanting to stir up more trouble for himself at sea.
In this way, around midday the following day, the Black Pearl sailed into a mysterious fog in the middle of the ocean.
"We've arrived…" Jack, peeking through a small hole in the hull, could see the misty surroundings outside, and even though he had never been there before, he knew enough about the place.
The Pearl sailed slowly through the grey mist, which obscured their view, passing between the skeletons of ancient shipwrecks—doomed vessels cursed to follow the damned island for all eternity.
Those were the remains of the ships from Cortés's fleet—the Conquistador.
With everyone on alert after Jack's words, it wasn't long before a group of pirates came down the stairs, grinning excitedly and joking with each other as they made their way to the cells.
"Haha! I can't wait to eat again, to touch women again, to feel anything again!" They laughed and joked with one another, their eyes filled with anticipation, but also malice and lust.
They approached the bars and began unlocking them.
"What are they doing?" Will murmured, confused.
He didn't understand why they were there instead of breaking the curse.
A large, bald, dark-skinned man was leading the group, and he gave a wicked grin as he opened the cell and reached in to grab Will by the collar.
"What are you doing?!" Will shouted in anger, struggling—but the man he faced was strong, immortal, and felt no pain.
And he wasn't alone. In just moments, Will was overpowered and carried away.
"Hehe, boy. Your father would be thrilled to know you're helping us break the curse," the man leading the group mocked, smiling cruelly.
"Will!" Elizabeth screamed, terrified, not expecting things to escalate so quickly. But she wasn't a coward and ran to fight, only to be thrown back with a single shove from the large man, landing and rolling on the floor.
Will's eyes widened in desperation at the scene.
"Elizabeth! Damn it, how dare you—you cowards! Do you dare face me properly in a fair duel?! All you know is how to strike from behind, gang up, and intimidate women!" Will shouted in fury, fighting frantically.
"Wow, he's really angry. Hahaha!"
Unfortunately, his furious shouts only made the pirates laugh more as they dragged him out of the cell and locked it again.
One of the pirates, a skinny, sickly-looking man, grinned with yellowed teeth as he looked at Elizabeth still inside the cell.
"You think the captain will let us have some fun with her after we break the curse?" he asked his companions, full of vile intent.
"Hehe, can't hurt to ask. But we'll want a turn too. Hahaha!" Some of the others laughed and agreed, clearly eager to join in.
Will grew even more furious, and Elizabeth couldn't help but go pale.
Then, despite Will's fierce struggle, he was taken away up the stairs, while the pirates' cruel laughter grew fainter and fainter.
Puss casually stepped out from his hidden corner and placed his hat on his head as he approached the bars.
"Why all the drama? Did you forget I was here?" Puss asked, puzzled, looking at Elizabeth.
"I didn't make any drama." Jack stood up from the floor, raising a finger to speak.
Puss rolled his eyes at him but smiled.
Elizabeth, however, did not seem pleased with either Puss or Jack.
"They took Will, and you two just stood there watching or hiding," Elizabeth said, upset and angry.
But Puss merely shrugged.
"I said they wouldn't hurt any of you. But it looks like they need Will to break the curse. I'll keep an eye on him, and I won't let him die—you have my word. But if we don't break the curse, I can't guarantee our odds in a fight. Do you really prefer to take that risk by being impulsive?" Puss said plainly, locking eyes with her seriously.
Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. She knew he was right, so she finally nodded slowly.
"Good. Now, don't mess up my plans again. And don't make me regret doing this." Puss said, his smile returning.
"Doing what?" Jack asked, confused.
Puss didn't answer. But under Jack's widening eyes, he leapt up, and ten claws extended from his front paws. With a swift, flexible cross-swipe, he slashed toward the lock on the cell.
Screech! Screech!
Clink! Clink! Clink!
With a clean strike, the lock broke apart and fell to the ground in pieces.
The door swung open by itself.
Jack and Elizabeth stared, impressed and alarmed, at Puss's claws. But Puss had already turned and done the same to Tornado's cell.
"Snort!" Tornado snorted, pleased, and stepped out of the cell, stretching his limbs after a day of confinement.
Puss smiled at him, then turned to the others with a serious expression.
"Stay here for now. I'm going up to take a look," Puss ordered, and swiftly dropped to all fours, leaping up the stairs with fluid elegance.