Fanfic: Submerged, Chapter 3
Well now. This chapter, I must admit, is one of those annoying space-filling drones. Poor Jack's basically just being shoved from one end of his tether to the other, but things are CERTAINLY going to step up after this one. This is...merely travel. Lol. Good bit of mental imagery in amongst the rather mundane feeling our hero casts over all this.
Enjoy.
Title: Submerged
Author: ShaleSubaru / Shale
Rating: PG ...few words some might deem a bit ripe. Thanks Jack.
Pairing: None so far. *whistles innocently*
Disclaimer: I don't own PotC or any characters within. Disney does. I don't own any Tekken character either, Namco does. Oh yeah. Broke as a joke and earn NOTHING from this folly!
Warnings: Some AWE spoilers, as it is WAY post-AWE. Might want to hold off reading til' you've watched. Also, this is a crossover...modern-day for the most part...you have been warned.
Summary: One of those boring chapters in a story where it simply passes time...a few little surprises, and kind of an important one, but yeah. Jack gets shunted from one end of the world to the other, taking with him some valuable information...
Despite the cold, dry air and the deadly silence in the echoing chamber, Jack Sparrow hardly made a sound as he tip-toed around. The room could only really be described as just that, a chamber; its high ceiling saw no light and the walls were so far away once he reached the centre that they seemed to be shrouded in darkness.
Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. It had been over a month since Jack had last snuck out of his bedroom for anything more than a meal, but curiosity and the desperation for freedom had once again led him on a mission.
There had been some odd rumours about the place lately that it seemed no one had noticed Jack had overheard. One was that he was to be 'released' because he was of 'no use', being a pirate rather than a 'man of morals' (whatever the hell that meant).
Another was that there were several more like him that had caused sheer chaos; two in particular were rebellious souls, desiring freedom as much as Jack. Possibly more. One mysterious character had managed to find himself a gun and had pistol-whipped his way to freedom. According to the rumours, not one shot was fired - but he had wrangled his way free with feet and fists alone, dealing plenty of blows in the gun-vs-face method. The other had flipped out and wielded a kitchen knife as he forced his way clear of the place.
Not that Jack hadn't made his own attempts. On an away-mission to educate him about 'cars' - specifically not to run in front of them - he had tried to slip away, and managed to hide for a good ten minutes before he was swiftly tracked down. Playing dumb and using the hungry excuse had worked well; the people around here believed Jack to be far less intelligent than he was, which more than worked to his advantage.
And now here he was, staring at a rather strange sight indeed. The far wall, as he discovered, were lined with large, frosted-over glass tubes...interesting. Curiosity burned within his veins as strongly as the urge to seek and pilfer treasure; before he knew it he was wiping away some of the frost on one of the tanks with his bare hand.
What was inside was more than a surprise for him - the sight of a human body within the tank had him almost breech his silence, though he managed to swallow his startled cry. What the...
He pressed his face up against the frost-free patch he had created. It was an adult, caucasian in origin as far as he could tell. A woman too. Nice tits...
So this was where G-Corporation did their 'resurrection' business.
A few other tanks showed a few other facets of their research...one contained a man who had lost limbs and flesh all over his body, and it seemed to be growing back flesh-over-bone within the tank. Another was a mere skeleton with organs and flesh forming over the top; not pleasant.
However, the final tank in the room had him reeling back in shock. Perhaps he was going mad...but perhaps the figure inside was indeed as familiar as he thought; he could have sworn that face belonged to someone he never wanted to see ever again.
That better not be you, Beckett.
Jack glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist...nearly seven in the morning...breakfast time. A quick check of the other tanks over his shoulder showed the frost-free patches to be icing over rapidly - good. No one has to know. Beating a hasty but stealthy retreat, Jack navigated his way out of the chamber and back down the maze of hallways towards the cafeteria, determined that no one would realise he'd been anywhere other than his quarters or the cafeteria.
By the time Akio arrived in the cafeteria, Jack was halfway through the usual enormous breakfast.
"Good morning, Mr Sparrow." Akio pulled up a chair and parked himself opposite the feasting pirate.
"'ello Akio. What hoops have you got for me to jump through today?" The sarcasm in Jack's voice was perhaps a little too subtle to be caught by anyone not looking for it.
"None today." Akio beamed. "We believe you're ready to live your own life out here in the new world now...you can use a computer, you understand traffic, you understand electricity, you can perform basic tasks..."
Jack paused halfway through obliterating a rasher of bacon. "So...you're letting me out of this brig of a place? Free to do my own bidding?" Laughing triumphantly, he slapped Akio on the shoulder a couple of times from across the table. "I knew you'd come 'round!"
Akio smiled nervously. Naturally, he still hadn't quite adjusted to Jack's enthusiastic mannerisms. "Well, uh...there is something. We will not be keeping you in Japan...too busy, too scary. We are sending you somewhere a bit more...familiar, I suppose."
"Familiar?" Bit of a strong word to use in regards to this place, Jack thought to himself. "How do you get 'familiar' out of being stuck three centuries ahead of oneself?"
"Less technology, less people. Trust me Jack, you will like it."
***
So how'd I wind up in this mess now? Jack pondered.
He was standing in between a few rows of chairs, surrounded by bags, a large cardboard ticket in one hand and another clenched tightly by his side, resisting the urge to beat the nearest muppet senseless.
Apparently they were sending him across the world.
Not only that, but to add to the indignity, it was via a method Jack had very quickly decided he loathed.
Sitting outside the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows was the biggest metal bird he'd ever laid eyes on. He knew what it did too...by some force of dark magic, it propelled itself through the sky at blistering speed, carrying with it several hundred people and tonnes upon tonnes of cargo. This particular one was predominantly white, but had a deep green tail with a white arrow emblazoning it, curled in on itself on the ends. Strange design...
"You ready, Mr Sparrow?" Akio was standing beside him, as always, trying to be helpful but essentially just getting in the larger man's way.
"No." Jack responded bluntly. "I'm not a bloody bird, I don't fly."
"Plane flies for you." Akio stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes, but I'd rather sail. Hell, I'll even swim if it means I don't have to bloody fly." He wrinkled his nose as people started to head down the long corridor toward the plane. "If I live through this, I'm going to come back and kill you."
Akio laughed nervously. "You'll be fine, Mr Sparrow. There is a stewardess aboard who will take care of you...and someone to meet you at the other end and show you around." He gently pushed his shoulder in the general direction of the boarding gate. "Go...and good luck!"
Jack sauntered forward awkwardly, an expression of total bedazzlement, apprehension and confusion welded firmly across his features. What the hell was he getting himself into...
"Ticket please, sir." A rather attractive-looking Japanese woman held her hand out, smiling sweetly.
Jack handed her his ticket, staring down blankly at the machine that ate it and spat it out the other end. Such a strange world...
Grasping it again as it was handed back, he sauntered down the corridor towards the plane. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...
Everything was a wild but distant buzz around him as he finally stepped foot on the plane and was shown his seat. The vacant, lost expression on his face gave away his complete bewilderment and before he knew it, his bags were taken and stowed in compartments above his head, and he was practically pushed down into his seat. Right by a window. Oh bugger...
Time seemed to stand still as people packed themselves in and the plane finally began to slowly trundle away from the terminal; the captain made the usual announcement as the plane taxied towards the runway and the stewardesses marched up and down offering drinks. Naturally...Jack grabbed at least a few.
Final warning for the madness that he had grown to fear. Time to take off. With his wine already downed like candy-water, Jack shoved the plastic cups aside and gripped onto the armrests like a crab on a fisherman's pants. Oh bugger...oh bugger...
Engines let out a roar from the depths of Hell and Jack felt his entire body being sucked into the seat; he did all he could do to save himself. And that thing was pray like never before...to the gods, to Calypso, to anyone that would listen...
...pray that the rum would be served soon so he could simply sleep through this madness!
***
Twelve long hours later, his feet finally hit solid ground again; it took all of his self-control not to throw himself on the carpet and cling to it with joy. Nope...he would never 'fly' again. There was nowhere near enough rum, way too much being thrown about like a ragdoll, not nearly enough room and far too many people. Yuck.
At least the final section had been interesting. The place he was going to seemed to be mostly coastal, with very little land mass and more than enough beaches, harbours, bays...and boats! Perhaps Akio was right...perhaps he would be happier here.
Following instructions proved to be harder than he had originally thought. This strange 'customs' rigmerole had him baffled for the better half of thirty minutes but at least when it was all over there was some large brown guy waving a banner with his name on it. Great, a fanclub...or at least, a welcome party.
Once Jack had approached the man and given his name, his hand was grabbed in a bone-crunching handshake and the opposite shoulder slapped with the force of a buffalo. "Kia Ora, bro! Welcome to Aotearoa!"
Confusion flooded his sensibilities. "I thought I was being sent to New Zealand or something to that effect."
The man laughed loudly. "New Zealand is the Pakeha name for it, bro! Anyway...I'm Paul, and I'm going to show you around the place then take you to your new home..." He picked up all of Jack's bags and hauled them onward as if they were empty, leaving Jack to scuttle after him in an attempt to catch up.
Once he did, he thought he'd better ask a pertinant question - considering he couldn't understand half what this thick-accented Paul fellow was saying. "I don't have to learn an entirely different language here, do I?"
Again, Paul laughed enthusiastically. "Nah, bro. English is sweet as...though by the sounds of it you'll find New Zealand English to be pretty different from yours."
"That's an understatement." He muttered under his breath.
Within no time his bags were loaded into the back of a large, white car, and they were off. Paul had gone to task explaining anything and everything - Auckland was the city they were in, and it was far smaller than Tokyo. Less technology, far more nature. Jack had been given money, a house, belongings, and had been offered training for any job he might like to take up. Still...G-Corporation would support him for as long as he needed.
Though it was all rather overwhelming, Jack tried to absorb as much as he could. Information was a dangerous weapon, and he'd need the biggest armada of weaponry he could muster in order to get some control over his runaway life.
After all, one is not a pirate if not an opportunist.
The sun had begun to set as his tour of the city ended, and he was taken to his new residence. It was a quiet, leafy suburb a little south of the city, and a little house hidden down a long driveway was where he would live from now on. For a while, anyway, he mused.
A quick tour of the house revealed three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two living areas. There was a TV, a computer (damned if he could tell the difference to be honest, they were both strange, alien concepts and both things he could live without), a fridge, an oven with a stovetop, a microwave (a device invented to make metal objects catch fire and explode, he had learned - the hard way)...everything needed for a modern lifestyle and thus things he couldn't see he had a use for.
Leaving him with the information that the bus stop was a few doors down and the supermarket (which he explained to be a shop that sells EVERYTHING) just up the road within walking distance, Paul headed off for the evening. Completely overloaded by so much new information and yet another new environment, Jack neglected to do the usual search-and-pilfer mission and simply crashed into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as he hit the covers. It had been a hard six weeks...nothing was familiar any more, nothing was in his control, and frankly, he was lonely.
What was isolation?
A complete vacuum of things you know and love.
Jack had to admit...he was isolated. Completely, totally isolated.
Still, his dreams were more positive than usual as he drifted off into the land of nod. There were so many boats here - Auckland was known as the 'City of Sails', and there were so many bays near his new home. With this information, what would any red-blooded pirate dream about?
A boat. A ship, perhaps. Freedom from this new world, this madness. The freedom to be reunited with his one true love.
The Sea.
Mmm, Emo Jackie.
Oh well. Nothing if not an opportunist...you just KNOW that given time he'll be the master of his environment as always...though perhaps not to the same extent as a certain someone else waiting in the wings ;D
Enjoy.
Title: Submerged
Author: ShaleSubaru / Shale
Rating: PG ...few words some might deem a bit ripe. Thanks Jack.
Pairing: None so far. *whistles innocently*
Disclaimer: I don't own PotC or any characters within. Disney does. I don't own any Tekken character either, Namco does. Oh yeah. Broke as a joke and earn NOTHING from this folly!
Warnings: Some AWE spoilers, as it is WAY post-AWE. Might want to hold off reading til' you've watched. Also, this is a crossover...modern-day for the most part...you have been warned.
Summary: One of those boring chapters in a story where it simply passes time...a few little surprises, and kind of an important one, but yeah. Jack gets shunted from one end of the world to the other, taking with him some valuable information...
Despite the cold, dry air and the deadly silence in the echoing chamber, Jack Sparrow hardly made a sound as he tip-toed around. The room could only really be described as just that, a chamber; its high ceiling saw no light and the walls were so far away once he reached the centre that they seemed to be shrouded in darkness.
Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. It had been over a month since Jack had last snuck out of his bedroom for anything more than a meal, but curiosity and the desperation for freedom had once again led him on a mission.
There had been some odd rumours about the place lately that it seemed no one had noticed Jack had overheard. One was that he was to be 'released' because he was of 'no use', being a pirate rather than a 'man of morals' (whatever the hell that meant).
Another was that there were several more like him that had caused sheer chaos; two in particular were rebellious souls, desiring freedom as much as Jack. Possibly more. One mysterious character had managed to find himself a gun and had pistol-whipped his way to freedom. According to the rumours, not one shot was fired - but he had wrangled his way free with feet and fists alone, dealing plenty of blows in the gun-vs-face method. The other had flipped out and wielded a kitchen knife as he forced his way clear of the place.
Not that Jack hadn't made his own attempts. On an away-mission to educate him about 'cars' - specifically not to run in front of them - he had tried to slip away, and managed to hide for a good ten minutes before he was swiftly tracked down. Playing dumb and using the hungry excuse had worked well; the people around here believed Jack to be far less intelligent than he was, which more than worked to his advantage.
And now here he was, staring at a rather strange sight indeed. The far wall, as he discovered, were lined with large, frosted-over glass tubes...interesting. Curiosity burned within his veins as strongly as the urge to seek and pilfer treasure; before he knew it he was wiping away some of the frost on one of the tanks with his bare hand.
What was inside was more than a surprise for him - the sight of a human body within the tank had him almost breech his silence, though he managed to swallow his startled cry. What the...
He pressed his face up against the frost-free patch he had created. It was an adult, caucasian in origin as far as he could tell. A woman too. Nice tits...
So this was where G-Corporation did their 'resurrection' business.
A few other tanks showed a few other facets of their research...one contained a man who had lost limbs and flesh all over his body, and it seemed to be growing back flesh-over-bone within the tank. Another was a mere skeleton with organs and flesh forming over the top; not pleasant.
However, the final tank in the room had him reeling back in shock. Perhaps he was going mad...but perhaps the figure inside was indeed as familiar as he thought; he could have sworn that face belonged to someone he never wanted to see ever again.
That better not be you, Beckett.
Jack glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist...nearly seven in the morning...breakfast time. A quick check of the other tanks over his shoulder showed the frost-free patches to be icing over rapidly - good. No one has to know. Beating a hasty but stealthy retreat, Jack navigated his way out of the chamber and back down the maze of hallways towards the cafeteria, determined that no one would realise he'd been anywhere other than his quarters or the cafeteria.
By the time Akio arrived in the cafeteria, Jack was halfway through the usual enormous breakfast.
"Good morning, Mr Sparrow." Akio pulled up a chair and parked himself opposite the feasting pirate.
"'ello Akio. What hoops have you got for me to jump through today?" The sarcasm in Jack's voice was perhaps a little too subtle to be caught by anyone not looking for it.
"None today." Akio beamed. "We believe you're ready to live your own life out here in the new world now...you can use a computer, you understand traffic, you understand electricity, you can perform basic tasks..."
Jack paused halfway through obliterating a rasher of bacon. "So...you're letting me out of this brig of a place? Free to do my own bidding?" Laughing triumphantly, he slapped Akio on the shoulder a couple of times from across the table. "I knew you'd come 'round!"
Akio smiled nervously. Naturally, he still hadn't quite adjusted to Jack's enthusiastic mannerisms. "Well, uh...there is something. We will not be keeping you in Japan...too busy, too scary. We are sending you somewhere a bit more...familiar, I suppose."
"Familiar?" Bit of a strong word to use in regards to this place, Jack thought to himself. "How do you get 'familiar' out of being stuck three centuries ahead of oneself?"
"Less technology, less people. Trust me Jack, you will like it."
***
So how'd I wind up in this mess now? Jack pondered.
He was standing in between a few rows of chairs, surrounded by bags, a large cardboard ticket in one hand and another clenched tightly by his side, resisting the urge to beat the nearest muppet senseless.
Apparently they were sending him across the world.
Not only that, but to add to the indignity, it was via a method Jack had very quickly decided he loathed.
Sitting outside the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows was the biggest metal bird he'd ever laid eyes on. He knew what it did too...by some force of dark magic, it propelled itself through the sky at blistering speed, carrying with it several hundred people and tonnes upon tonnes of cargo. This particular one was predominantly white, but had a deep green tail with a white arrow emblazoning it, curled in on itself on the ends. Strange design...
"You ready, Mr Sparrow?" Akio was standing beside him, as always, trying to be helpful but essentially just getting in the larger man's way.
"No." Jack responded bluntly. "I'm not a bloody bird, I don't fly."
"Plane flies for you." Akio stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes, but I'd rather sail. Hell, I'll even swim if it means I don't have to bloody fly." He wrinkled his nose as people started to head down the long corridor toward the plane. "If I live through this, I'm going to come back and kill you."
Akio laughed nervously. "You'll be fine, Mr Sparrow. There is a stewardess aboard who will take care of you...and someone to meet you at the other end and show you around." He gently pushed his shoulder in the general direction of the boarding gate. "Go...and good luck!"
Jack sauntered forward awkwardly, an expression of total bedazzlement, apprehension and confusion welded firmly across his features. What the hell was he getting himself into...
"Ticket please, sir." A rather attractive-looking Japanese woman held her hand out, smiling sweetly.
Jack handed her his ticket, staring down blankly at the machine that ate it and spat it out the other end. Such a strange world...
Grasping it again as it was handed back, he sauntered down the corridor towards the plane. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...
Everything was a wild but distant buzz around him as he finally stepped foot on the plane and was shown his seat. The vacant, lost expression on his face gave away his complete bewilderment and before he knew it, his bags were taken and stowed in compartments above his head, and he was practically pushed down into his seat. Right by a window. Oh bugger...
Time seemed to stand still as people packed themselves in and the plane finally began to slowly trundle away from the terminal; the captain made the usual announcement as the plane taxied towards the runway and the stewardesses marched up and down offering drinks. Naturally...Jack grabbed at least a few.
Final warning for the madness that he had grown to fear. Time to take off. With his wine already downed like candy-water, Jack shoved the plastic cups aside and gripped onto the armrests like a crab on a fisherman's pants. Oh bugger...oh bugger...
Engines let out a roar from the depths of Hell and Jack felt his entire body being sucked into the seat; he did all he could do to save himself. And that thing was pray like never before...to the gods, to Calypso, to anyone that would listen...
...pray that the rum would be served soon so he could simply sleep through this madness!
***
Twelve long hours later, his feet finally hit solid ground again; it took all of his self-control not to throw himself on the carpet and cling to it with joy. Nope...he would never 'fly' again. There was nowhere near enough rum, way too much being thrown about like a ragdoll, not nearly enough room and far too many people. Yuck.
At least the final section had been interesting. The place he was going to seemed to be mostly coastal, with very little land mass and more than enough beaches, harbours, bays...and boats! Perhaps Akio was right...perhaps he would be happier here.
Following instructions proved to be harder than he had originally thought. This strange 'customs' rigmerole had him baffled for the better half of thirty minutes but at least when it was all over there was some large brown guy waving a banner with his name on it. Great, a fanclub...or at least, a welcome party.
Once Jack had approached the man and given his name, his hand was grabbed in a bone-crunching handshake and the opposite shoulder slapped with the force of a buffalo. "Kia Ora, bro! Welcome to Aotearoa!"
Confusion flooded his sensibilities. "I thought I was being sent to New Zealand or something to that effect."
The man laughed loudly. "New Zealand is the Pakeha name for it, bro! Anyway...I'm Paul, and I'm going to show you around the place then take you to your new home..." He picked up all of Jack's bags and hauled them onward as if they were empty, leaving Jack to scuttle after him in an attempt to catch up.
Once he did, he thought he'd better ask a pertinant question - considering he couldn't understand half what this thick-accented Paul fellow was saying. "I don't have to learn an entirely different language here, do I?"
Again, Paul laughed enthusiastically. "Nah, bro. English is sweet as...though by the sounds of it you'll find New Zealand English to be pretty different from yours."
"That's an understatement." He muttered under his breath.
Within no time his bags were loaded into the back of a large, white car, and they were off. Paul had gone to task explaining anything and everything - Auckland was the city they were in, and it was far smaller than Tokyo. Less technology, far more nature. Jack had been given money, a house, belongings, and had been offered training for any job he might like to take up. Still...G-Corporation would support him for as long as he needed.
Though it was all rather overwhelming, Jack tried to absorb as much as he could. Information was a dangerous weapon, and he'd need the biggest armada of weaponry he could muster in order to get some control over his runaway life.
After all, one is not a pirate if not an opportunist.
The sun had begun to set as his tour of the city ended, and he was taken to his new residence. It was a quiet, leafy suburb a little south of the city, and a little house hidden down a long driveway was where he would live from now on. For a while, anyway, he mused.
A quick tour of the house revealed three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two living areas. There was a TV, a computer (damned if he could tell the difference to be honest, they were both strange, alien concepts and both things he could live without), a fridge, an oven with a stovetop, a microwave (a device invented to make metal objects catch fire and explode, he had learned - the hard way)...everything needed for a modern lifestyle and thus things he couldn't see he had a use for.
Leaving him with the information that the bus stop was a few doors down and the supermarket (which he explained to be a shop that sells EVERYTHING) just up the road within walking distance, Paul headed off for the evening. Completely overloaded by so much new information and yet another new environment, Jack neglected to do the usual search-and-pilfer mission and simply crashed into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as he hit the covers. It had been a hard six weeks...nothing was familiar any more, nothing was in his control, and frankly, he was lonely.
What was isolation?
A complete vacuum of things you know and love.
Jack had to admit...he was isolated. Completely, totally isolated.
Still, his dreams were more positive than usual as he drifted off into the land of nod. There were so many boats here - Auckland was known as the 'City of Sails', and there were so many bays near his new home. With this information, what would any red-blooded pirate dream about?
A boat. A ship, perhaps. Freedom from this new world, this madness. The freedom to be reunited with his one true love.
The Sea.
Mmm, Emo Jackie.
Oh well. Nothing if not an opportunist...you just KNOW that given time he'll be the master of his environment as always...though perhaps not to the same extent as a certain someone else waiting in the wings ;D