applepirate | 01. Shipwreck [Action]

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01. Shipwreck [Action]

[Little did Captain Barbossa know that day at Tortuga that he won't exactly wake up in the same place he had fallen asleep in - that is, the captain's cabin on the Queen Anne's Revenge. So when his eyes snapped open, it wasn't the hull of the ship they were looking at, but instead it was several tall trees they saw looming over him, along with the overcast sky.

The pirate captain proceeded to stand up from the ground, immediately feeling a new sensation in his back - that of a... pair of wings?]

Shiver me timbers... What is this wretched place?

[Fittingly enough, it was then when a chill ran up his spine and caused his body to quiver, making him notice that he was also shirtless - save for the white cotton pants on his legs.

Wait... did that mean...

Yes, turning his head around, Barbossa also saw no sign of his hat anywhere in the forest he was now in. The hat he had only just regained possession of.]

Arrr! Where be me hat? I swear, if somebody took me hat...

[Speaking of, what had happened to his ship that he had just acquired? Did his crew commandeer it somehow and left him here to perish while he was asleep? Just what in the world had happened in Tortuga? And what was up with this drastic season change? And that journal lying on the ground, which he knelt down to pick up - it wasn't a treasure he remembered uncovering. He was too confused and angry right now to make any sense of it.

Was this all that scalawag Jack Sparrow's doing again? If it was, he should better pray that Barbossa doesn't get his hands on him. Just marooning him on that bloody island wouldn't do this time... No, his fellow pirate would remember him as the scourge of the seven seas...

The (former) captain was already walking through the forest, trying to find anything - a path, a tavern, a port. It's there where somebody could find him and possibly help him understand what's going on.]

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[His eyes narrow briefly, but he laughs.]

I am the Captain of the Moby Dick, Marco. As neither our ships nor crews are here, you could say we have both been forsaken, matey.

The Malnosso are the dimwits that gave you the barcode tattoo on the back of your neck and decided to dump you in the forest. As for Luceti, this world delights in removing people from their home worlds and dragging them here for purposes unknown.

[Marco had the look of a pirate about him, but Barbossa still wouldn't have guessed that he was captain of anything.]

A captain, are ye now? Well, forgive me if I'm disinclined to believe ye right away, boy, for I have not heard of a Moby Dick. A sloop, was it? A merchant vessel?

[Barbossa had to narrow his eyes a bit at the mention of a barcode, and then he narrowed them even more when he learned that there was apparently a tattoo of it on the back of his neck. He couldn't quite see it, but he only turned his head around a bit for so long, wanting to keep his eyes on Marco for as long as he could.]

These Malnosso folk - are they the same... dimwits who put this pair of wings on me back, as well? [Feather ones, at that. He would've preferred skeletal or bat wings if he had the choice.]

[A lot of things didn't make much sense. Being taken here for no apparent reason, having these wings strapped on his back, having that barcode on his neck...]

[An eyeroll.] The flagship of a fleet of identical galleons that carried sixteen hundred between them. As she has burned up right now, I suppose it is all rather moot. Not to mention none of the ships are here in this world.

And no. The wings are from being in this world at all, supposedly. How much of that is true remains to be seen. The Malnosso erected the barrier that holds us all in here, however. Were it not for that, we would all be running wild on the high seas. Or deserts. One of those. Perhaps both.

[Flagship, eh? Barbossa didn't have quite that (not that he would have it be otherwise), but still - Marco's fortunes might've been even worse than his own.]

Well, isn't that interesting... Captain Marco. Impressive, if true. What color were yer sails, I wonder?

[It sure sounded like he didn't come from the world he had known, so it got him naturally curious as a fellow pirate captain. And also, he wanted to find out more about the validity of what Marco was telling him. Naturally]

Ye're certainly correct that it's all moot. Me own ship better be intact when I return, though... If that's possible, given our new friends, the Malnosso.

[So on top of this barrier would prevent him from seeing anything close to the vast open waters he was used to.]

I gather that there is no outlet to sea close by that we may head to, at all, then?

White. Our previous captain, my father, was known as Whitebeard, and white became something of our theme.

What kind of ship is the Queen's Anne Revenge, matey?

Aye, there is an ocean, if it can even be called that, but it is closed off. A little taste of freedom to mock us for still being enclosed, eh.

Always been partial to black, myself. [And such was the color of his sails.] The Jolly Roger is quite appropriate for a man of me profession, I feel.

[Quite appropriately, it caused fright to some, and brought about respect from others.]

It's very interesting ye haven't heard of the Queen Anne's Revenge, Captain Marco, though that only proves that perhaps ye do hail from a different world than mine, I would guess.

[A smile crept up on his face as he went on to explain.]

The frigate used to be Blackbeard's, but unfortunately for him, I took it for me own after he regrettably perished. She's got an array of forty cannons and a speed of mighty twenty knots.

[Perhaps it was unwise sharing all of that information with a fellow pirate captain, but he still went on and did it - refraining from proudly talking about his current ship was never easy.

As for the mention of the ocean that was apparently closed off, that only made Barbossa sigh with exasperation.]

At least there is a bloody ocean... perhaps it can be regained with time.

Indeed.

[But at the mention of Blackbeard, his eyes widen and then shut entirely.] Blackbeard? What was his real name? How did you defeat him?

[For now everything else is forgotten, that comes first, and urgently so.]

[Always everybody interested about Blackbeard - that was true for his own world too, before and after his reign as pirate captain was over. Barbossa didn't see anything wrong with sharing the information about him, in fact he liked doing so, especially the detail of his eventual defeat.]

I've only heard tales, but I reckon the man's real name is Edward Teach, if I'm not mistaken.

[He took a step forward, even if him and Marco weren't quite at the same eye level yet.]

What saw the end of him was poison, lad. I struck him with a sword filled with venom at the legendary Fountain of Youth.

[Another grin began spreading on his lips.]

I didn't take any chances this time, certainly not after he sunk me ship.

[Edward Teach...]

E-Edward? Not Marshall? Marshall D. Teach? [That was just... fucked up. Edward was his father's name, the one Teach killed. The idea of Blackbeard sharing anything in common with Whitebeard still gnawed at Marco in a way nothing else could.]

[So poison killed Blackbeard? A good way to kill Blackbeard, to be sure but...] Fountain of Youth? [This could be the same Blackbeard Jack dealt with in his own world, but what did the Fountain of Youth have to do with it? And it gave Marco a chill to even consider.]

[Barbossa's brows lifted a bit in sudden curiosity, not really having an idea as to what was causing the turmoil in his fellow pirate. He proceeded to fold his arms, looking at the man inquisitively.]

Say, ye look quite flustered all of a sudden, Captain Marco. I can't help but be curious as to what the matter is. Both Blackbeard and Fountain of Youth are fairly... notorious subjects among all folk like us, I should say.

[A story like that would cause awe among his peers indeed, but this wasn't quite the reaction he was expecting. Was it related to some discrepancy related to the different worlds they came from?]

So they are, and that is a problem in itself.

My Blackbeard is not dead yet, and more than anything I wish to kill him. Edward Newgate was the name of my father, Blackbeard's father until Teach, my world's Teach, killed a brother and then Pops. So to hear of a Blackbeard named Edward Teach... it is rather startling, as I'm sure you can understand.

[He needed a moment to put the story together; after all, he was still getting used to the concept of different, alternate worlds. And to have a couple of them be so similar, yet different, was appropriately confusing.]

Isn't this rather peculiar of a coincidence, hmm? [...] The folk in our tales may be different, but the situation sounds eerily familiar, I should say. Ye're after yer Blackbeard for the same reason I was after the one who sunk me ship - for vengeance, that is.

[Barbossa motioned to his wooden leg as he replied, and shook his head a bit at the sudden recollection before looking up to Marco again.]

If ye ever get back to where ye hail from, then, ye better put an end to him. It'll feel immeasurably good, I can assure ye of that.

[Grins.] I think I like you matey.

Aye, I am rather intimately familiar with vengeance. [Gestures to the tattoo on his neck. It's still a little raw looking for reasons that are kind of complicated.] We made this symbol synonymous with it in my world. It is our flag outline, eh.

Teach used to be in my crew. An underling and bootlicker, but of course it was all a lie.

If I may, you wouldn't happen to be familiar with a Jack Sparrow, would ye? [He wouldn't normally volunteer such things, but he really is taking a liking to Barbossa.]

[And when he showed it, Barbossa looked at the tattoo with his brows lifted, nodding his head as he listened to what Marco had to say about it. When he finished, he smiled as he replied, his eyes widening a bit.]

Color me impressed, Captain Marco. Sounds to me that ye were a force to be reckoned with back in yer waters. And I doubt ye'd find yerself an organized pirate crew that large in a port such as the wretched Tortuga back home.

[His smile turned into a frown soon enough though, specifically around the mention of a certain pirate's name that he didn't expect or have a particular desire to hear. Jack Sparrow... How did Marco know his name unless he had met the man in Luceti?]

...More familiar than I'd like to be, to be sure, aye... Don't tell me that the scalawag is among us as well, here?

[His voice was a perfect mix of disbelief and foreboding. Was it too much to hope that there was a Jack Sparrow in Marco's world that the other pirate was mentioning now?]

He is. My Blackbeard was here as well, and Jack tried to dupe him, though I am still unclear how well that went over.

I take it you are not a fan of the man? [He seems pretty delighted by Barbossa's dislike of Jack.]

...Aye, sounds like old Jack.

[Barbossa scoffed a bit at the question and put his hands on his waist, a look of mild irritation on his face.]

The fellow's a bloody menace, certainly the most slippery and outlandish sailor the seas have ever been witness to. Ye could say the two of us have... tangled before, and on more than one occasion.

[A lot of stealing each other's ships and roles as captains was involved, several of his hunts for treasure gone awry because of the man. Though the fact that he always seemed to find a way around the situation he was put in was indeed impressive.]

That almost sounds like a compliment if he could keep up with ye, Captain.

[But it made sense then, it sounded like Jack was the Shanks of their world, which would make Barbossa like Marco himself! He can get behind this.]

[Barbossa gave a faint smile at Marco's comment, but the frown quickly returned as he thought about the fact that Jack Sparrow was indeed here in Luceti, his mind briefly processing it. The two men were clearly destined to clash time and time again wherever they found themselves to be, and whatever ship they happened to command at the time. And it didn't make him particularly happy. And one began to ponder as a result, who else could have come from Barbossa's world?]

Old Jack is certainly a hard man to predict at times, I'm inclined to say. I've found that ye can never really know what plan a man this crazy can come up with.

[The smile that had begun to pull at the old pirate's lips returned for a brief moment.]

Last time I saw him, though, he was in a rather curious predicament... His ship was trapped in a bottle, ye see, while I was busy sailin' away to Tortuga with me own. His fortunes haven't changed much.

Oh, I'd say he is as unpredictable and crazy as ever. Last I heard he found a ship here, though whether it was his captive one, or one stolen from Blackbeard, I cannot say. Of course, if it is the latter, it seems like that ship should belong to you, no?

[Barbossa narrowed his eyes a bit at the mention of a ship, briefly forgetting about Jack for a moment. That knowledge would imply that it was still possible to get a naval vessel, even if was virtually unusable in this foul place.]

That scalawag actually has a ship, ye say?... Well, I be afraid that a ship like that - a ship that offers not the freedom one such as ourselves desire - will do him about as much good as it would for us, captain Marco.

[That was not to say that Barbossa wouldn't still want to have a ship. And from the sound of it, there was at least an opportunity to find or build one. Somehow. He would find a way.]

...Ye're certainly correct, however, in sayin' that I should claim my ship if its name happens to be the Queen Anne's Revenge and if there be a skull and a pair of swords on its sails.

[There was a both a threatening and an inquisitive tone to his words as the old pirate looked Marco's way, the thought of Jack Sparrow monkeying around his ship certainly unpleasant and prevalent in his mind.]

True enough. [Having a ship was as useful in Luceti as being able to fly. Sure it was still a freedom, but a limited taste within the large enclosure.]

I will admit, I do not recollect the name completely. The Blackbeard of my world and time does not yet have a flagship, nor will he obtain one if I have any say in it.

Well, well! [Suddenly, the name Blackbeard didn't carry the same connotations of fear and awe anymore. At least, in Marco's world.] Ye had the Moby Dick, Captain Marco, along with those other galleons ye mentioned. I can't imagine what would make yer Blackbeard a worthy foe if he didn't even have a ship.

[Certainly, if not for the Queen Anne's Revenge, Barbossa would've still had his Pearl and his leg, for that matter. Of course, until he was eventually sucked into this world anyway, so that was kind of moot right now.]

...Unless, of course, he cowardly runs away from yer prying eyes, and that be the reason ye haven't dealt with him yet?

Aye, that is precisely correct. [Dark eyes glitter angrily.] He hides behind the shadows of big friends, murdered my father, the man he used to call Pops himself, and even in a place such as this, he passed himself off as an idiot to try to let that Jack fool take the fault.

We used to be in the same crew, until he killed his captain leaving me to take up Pops' place. But I will catch him yet.

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