Battle of Isla Cruces

*"Well, each wants the chest for hisself, don't he? Mr. Norrington, I think, is trying to regain a bit of honor. Ol' Jack's looking to trade it, save his own skin. And Turner there, I think he's trying to settle some unresolved business twixt him and his twice-cursed pirate father.*" - Pintel

## Battle of Isla Cruces

### Location

Isla Cruces, Caribbean Sea

The **Battle of Isla Cruces** was a large scale battle between the *Black Pearl* and the *Flying Dutchman* that took place on and around the Spanish Isla de Cruces. The objective of all those present during the conflict was to capture and secure the contents of the Dead Man's Chest that had been hidden on the island for over centuries. After a large duel and skirmish across the island, James Norrington left the island with the heart of Davy Jones in his possession, while Jack believed he had it hidden in a jar of dirt, all the while Jones thought his crew was successful in recovering it. As Jack and his crew sailed away aboard the *Black Pearl*, Davy Jones unleashed the kraken onto the ship. Jack was able to save his crew in time for them to escape, while he went down with his ship.

## Prelude

##### Previous: Destruction of the *Edinburgh Trader*

To save himself from servitude aboard the *Flying Dutchman* under the cruel oversight of Davy Jones, Jack Sparrow had set out on a quest to find the Dead Man's Chest and unlock it using a specific key, something that would allow him leverage and control over Jones. When Will Turner had arrived on Jack's doorstep asking after his compass, Jack made a deal with Will that he would give Will the compass in return for his aid in stealing the key that unlocked the chest from Davy Jones himself. Will did so successfully, all the while Jack worked with Elizabeth Swann and James Norrington to locate the chest. Elizabeth was able to lead the way to Isla Cruces, where the chest was buried, Jack's magic compass leading the way to the island. Knowing Jack was en route to finding the chest, and his key having been stolen by Will Turner, Davy Jones felt his chest was vulnerable and also set out for Isla Cruces to stop Jack from finding it. Little did Day Jones' know that Will Turner had stowed away on his ship, thus allowing Will passage to reunite with Jack.

##### Arriving on the Island

Within the last moments of their journey, Jack spoke with Elizabeth about being able to marry her as captain of the ship. He also noticed during the conversation the return of the black spot to his hand. He quickly got his jar of dirt that he had taken from Tia Dalma, leaving the *Pearl* with it in his rowing boat, alongside Pintel, Ragetti, Elizabeth and James Norrington. They ran aground on Isla Cruces in the shallow water. Pintel and Ragetti stayed with the ship while the others walked inland with spades and the compass. Elizabeth lead the way with Jack's compass, leading them straight to where the chest was buried. Nearly at the same time as they began digging, Davy Jones arrived nearby the islands, spotting Pintel and Ragetti on the shore. Unable to step on land, he sent out his crew to capture the chest. They brought the *Dutchman* below the depths so that they could rise out on the shore of the island. At that time, Norrington finally dug far enough to hit the chest. They brought a large chest out from the sand, opening it to reveal a much smaller chest; The Dead Man's Chest. They had found it. Having leapt from the *Dutchman*, Turner brought himself ashore, revealing himself to Jack and Elizabeth. Will walked to the chest, preparing to open it to reveal the heart inside and stab it, believing it would save "Bootstrap".

## Recount

##### The Duel

Jack asked Will what he was doing before the chest, and Will rebuked that he was going to kill Jones. Jack unsheathed his sword, holding it to Will, asking who would call off the kraken if Jones was dead. Will then took Elizabeth's sword, pointing it at Jack, unwilling to break his promise to save his father. The standoff between Jack and Will was interrupted by James Norrington, who also brought out his weapon, stating that if he delivered the chest to Lord Beckett he would get his life back. The three way standoff between them began. James Norrington struck first, throwing his sword at Will, a slice that was deflected. Fighting broke out between all three of them. During the fight, Jack slipped past Will, stealing the key from him. Elizabeth ran after them, calling for them to end their incessant duel. Pintel and Ragetti took the opportunity of their distracted fighting to make a grab for the chest themselves, running away with it. They were however spotted by Elizabeth, who immediately made chase. Norrington was able to knock down Sparrow, allowing Will to run past and retake the key. Jack quickly retook it however as the duel continued. Unknown to them, the crew of the *Flying Dutchman* approached at the shore.

Jack ran away from Norrington, who chased him down into the hills where an old abandoned church stood isolated. Norrington threw Jack from a church rung as they dueled and climbed the stairs within an abandoned church. This gave Norrington possession of the key for only a moment until Will was lifted by a counterweight rope to Jack's lifting him up and past Norrington so he could grab the key from his grasp. The fight was brought onto the rooftop of the church, balancing across the thin roof tiles and slabs. Jack caught up to the fight, taking the key from Norrington while he was occupied fighting Will. Norrington turned his attention back to Jack, disarming him. The fighting paused for a moment, Norrington asking for Will to excuse him while he killed the man who ruined his life. Norrington swung at Jack, missing however as Jack leapt from the roof and landed on soft ground beneath them, leaving Norrington and Will to fight between themselves. With the key in his possession, Jack began walking away from the fight.

The fight between Will and Norrington took them onto a rotten water wheel that broke off its hinges, beginning to roll as they fought. It rolled through the land surrounding the church, rolling over Jack, causing him to be lifted up off the ground and spun through the wheel as it turned. He eventually was lifted up through the wood and run through the inside before hitting his head on a metal beam, causing him to fall out of the wheel as it continued to roll. Meanwhile, Pintel and Ragetti were caught up by Elizabeth. She faced off against them, however they attempted to intimidate her by unsheathing their swords. They were quickly warned off by an ax that was thrown into a nearby tree by the advancing *Dutchman* crew who had found them. Terrified, Pintel and Ragetti gave Elizabeth their swords, grabbed the chest and sprinted away. Elizabeth ran not far behind them. When Pintel the Ragetti dropped the chest, Elizabeth was forced to face them in a sword fight directly. Jack was able to hop back onto the wheel, however was beaten to the key by Will. Will flung himself into the inside of the wheel, fighting Jack, followed by Norrington. Pintel, Ragetti and Elizabeth fought off the evil crew, passing two swords between the 3 of them. While everyone was distracted, Hadras found the chest, taking it away. Jack was able to snatch the key from Will, taking it off the chain. With the key in hand, Jack leapt from the wheel, letting it roll away with the others still on board. Almost as soon as he had escaped the three way duel he spotted Hadras sprinting through the jungle with the chest.

Jack took a coconut and threw it at Hadras, knocking his head off and the chest out of his hands. While Hadras was preoccupied trying to lead his body back to his head, Jack, with now both the key and the chest, opened the chest, revealing Davy Jones' heart. Hoping to distract the others, Jack hid the heart on his person, closing the chest. As they attempted to escape their pursuers, Pintel and Ragetti picked up the chest and continued to run away, unaware that it had just been opened. Jack fled back to the shore where he had anchored his rowboat. He quickly hid the heart within the jar of dirt he had got from Tia Dalma, before he was attacked by Koleniko. Before long everyone was on the beach, Elizabeth, Pintel, Ragetti and their pursuers had ran onto the beach, still in a duel. The old water wheel had rolled downhill back to the oceanfront, landing in the water. Will and Norrington took some time to recover from the dizziness before re-entering the fight. Eventually, everyone was pushed back to the rowing boat in a retreat against the advancing crew. Norrington saw and stole the letters of marque from Jack's pocket, also seeing his jar of dirt. After searching the jar, Norrington found Jones' heart and stole it from Jack. Similarly, Will spotted that the key had been used on the chest, but before he could accuse Jack of anything, Jack knocked him unconscious. To lure the crew away, Norrington took the chest, speeding way back into the mainland of the island. It plan worked, the crew chasing after Norrington and the chest. Meanwhile, the others climbed back into the rowing boat. Eventually, Norrington was caught up. Wishing to save himself, Norrington gave up the chest, suspecting it to be empty anyway, running from the crew and letting them leave with the chest, while he escaped with the heart.

##### *Black Pearl* vs *Flying Dutchman*

The others returned to the *Black Pearl.* Jack, thinking the heart was still inside the jar, kept it on him at all times. Elizabeth stayed with Will until he awoke on the deck. Pintel and Ragetti struggled with bringing the row boat aboard. When Gibbs inquired about the fate of Norrington, Jack noted that he fell behind. Just as the ship set out, the *Flying Dutchman* leapt from the waters to land right beside the *Pearl.* Jack taunted Davy Jones with his jar of dirt, suggesting that something important was inside it. While others had their suspicions, Jack thought he was the only person who knew for sure that Jones' heart rested inside. Tired of Jack's antics, Jones called for cannons to open on Jack's ship. The *Black Pearl* fled hard to starboard to try and escape. Davy Jones gave Maccus the order to send the *Black Pearl* back to the depths. The *Flying Dutchman* opened fire on the *Pearl* as it attempted to escape. As the *Dutchman* was forced to follow in pursuit of Jack, the ship opened fire using its front facing triple cannons. All efforts were made aboard the *Pearl* to aid their escape. Using the wind to their advantage, the *Pearl* was able to outrun the *Dutchman* and get away. They crew of the *Pearl* began to celebrate, thinking that the *Dutchman* was giving up.

##### The Kraken takes the *Pearl*

In truth, Davy Jones had called of their attack to allow the crew to call in the kraken and unleash it upon the *Black Pearl*. Will urged Jack to turn and fight Jones, wanting to keep his promise of rescuing his father. Jack made note of the heart within his jar of dirt, stating that he needn't fight when he could negotiate. At that second however the kraken latched onto the ship, knocking the jar off a ledge and smashing across the deck. Jack rushed down, searching the dirt that had spread across the floor, unable to find the heart. Will understood that the kraken was upon them, taking control and shouting a call to arms. The cannons were prepared and those on deck were armed with spears. They watched as the tentacles slowly made their way up the side of the ship. Will called to fire, unleashing cannonball fire upon the tentacles. Burning and charred, the tentacles retreated back into the water. The crew celebration was cut short by Will who knew it would return, calling for more preparations. He demanded a net be lifted holding the ships gunpowder and the rum. Jack meanwhile took a rowboat to escape the chaos. During the loading of the gunpowder, the kraken resumed it's attack, unleashing it's tentacles into the ship, killing men inside. Jack watched as the kraken destroyed his ship and his men. Doubting his instincts to return to the ship and help, he checked his compass. For the first time in a long time, the compass showed him that his desire was to return to the ship. Proving himself a good man, Jack turned and began to return to the ship. The kraken continued to wreak havoc upon the ship. Will was unable to free himself, his shoot being stuck in the net holding the gunpowder as it was lifted up-deck. He called for Elizabeth to fire on the gunfire, but she hesitated to shoot while Will was in the danger zone.

Before she could fire, Elizabeth was grabbed by the kraken, dragging her away. She was saved by Ragetti, who used a cleaver to severe the tentacle that threatened to drag Elizabeth from the ship. As she recovered, the set out to retrieve the gun she had been using. Just as she reached it, a boot came down, stopping her from taking it. Looking up she saw Jack Sparrow who had returned to save his ship, or go down with it. He grabbed the gun, taking aim at the barrels of gunpowder. As soon as Will cut himself free and fell back to the deck, Jack fired, shooting the gunpowder barrels. The barrels exploded, destroying the arms of the kraken completely that were in close quarters of the explosion. Charred meaty remains of the kraken splashed across the deck as the creature retreated for a second time. In the silence, Jack called for an abandon ship aboard the longboat. When Gibbs asked about the *Pearl* Jack rebuked that she was only a ship.

Jack said his final goodbyes to the *Black Pearl* as the crew boarded the ship. Elizabeth came to Jack, thanking him for returning. She used the pretense of admiration to lure him into a kiss, distracting him long enough to chain him to the mast. By keeping Jack on the ship, Swann believed the rest of the crew would be safe. Unknown to Elizabeth, Will had seen the kiss as he boarded the ship. Elizabeth then joined the others on the longboat, telling them Jack had willingly chosen to stay behind. The crew left Jack. Jack struggled with the chains on the ship, managing to escape them just in time for the kraken to rise once more. This time the main body of the kraken revealed itself, baring it's teeth to Jack. Jack brought out his sword, standing brave before the kraken's maw. The kraken came down over Jack, devouring the pirate and taking him down with his ship. The crew watched as Jack Sparrow and the ship went down from their rowboat.

## Aftermath

##### A Debt Settled

Jack Sparrow was transported to the barren dimension known as Davy Jones' Locker, a form of purgatory for souls taken by the sea. Knowing that Jack was trapped in this realm, technically dead to the real world, Davy Jones considered his debt with Jack Sparrow settled. Jones was still however concerned about the whereabouts of his heart. He opened the chest, finding that it no longer rested inside. He cursed the name Jack Sparrow.

##### Norrington's Redemption

Norrington, with Jones' heart in his possession, returned to Port Royal having stowed away on an East India Trading Company vessel. He was arrested and brought to Lord Beckett. Norrington came to claim the letters of marque on his name and clear his crimes. He presented Beckett with the heart of Davy Jones. With the heart now in his possession, able to hold leverage over Jones, Beckett became the lord of the ocean. For his aid in the taking of the heart, Norrington was reinstated into the East India Trading Company as an admiral and earn't his life back.

##### Mourning Jack

The crew, beaten and defeated, took their boat back to Cuba, rowing to Tia Dalma's shack. The crew sat in her shack, mourning the loss of their captain. Tia mourned with them, offering warm drinks to fight the cold and the sorrow. Joshamee Gibbs remarked that already the world was less bright without Jack. The crew toasted their lost captain, thinking about if only there was a way to get him back. Tia Dalma interjected. Asking how far any of them would go to get him back. She asked if they would sail to the ends of the Earth and beyond to save Jack and the *Pearl*. They all replied that they would. To sail and chart those waters, Tia said that they would need a captain who knew those waters. As if on command, Hector Barbossa, who had been resurrected by Dalma's magic, revealed himself to the crew.

## List of Combatants

(Those who lost their lives in combat are noted with a star)

### Jack Sparrow's *Black Pearl* Crew

1. Jack Sparrow\*
2. Will Turner
3. Elizabeth Swann
4. James Norrington
5. Joshamee Gibbs
6. Pintel
7. Ragetti
8. Cotton
9. Marty

### Crew of the *Flying Dutchman*

1. Davy Jones
2. Maccus
3. Ratlin
4. Penrod
5. Angler
6. Quartermaster
7. Jimmy Legs
8. Ogilvey
9. Koleniko
10. Greenbeard
11. Clanker
12. Crash
13. Hadras
14. Wyvern
15. Palifico
16. Cannon Arm
17. Morey

## Appearances

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest