Author's Notes
Hello everyone! I did not forget about this story, and over the years it has been so heartening to receive follows, reviews, and favorites. I have seen them all.
I have greatly matured as a writer over the years, and am thankful to have waited. I made the decision to hold off until the film, Dead Men Tell No Tales (henceforth I will refer to it as DMTNT), was released. I knew where I wanted to take the story, but I felt DMTNT would provide me more material, a more solid direction, and an important update on all our favorite characters.
If you read this chapter before, please reread, much has changed. Thank you! Happy reading!
I own absolutely nothing of Pirates of the Caribbean, and I never will! That wonderful honor goes to Disney and many others!
Angelica sat up in the sand, annoyed. The sand was sticking to her body, making her feel horribly uncomfortable. She stared down at the voodoo doll in her right hand. What was she supposed to do with this?
"Mierda," Angelica mumbled as she stood up while attempting to dust her clothes off from sand.
She had half a mind to throw the voodoo back to the ocean – she wanted nothing to do with Sparrow any longer! As the sun set, she stared out to the vast ocean. Jack was the person who caused her life to crumble. She no longer had a life or a family to return to. Her mother had died many years prior, which was why she had poured so much dedication to finding her father. Her mother was the only relative she ever knew. She was such a just woman who deserved so much more from life. Her mother, Carmen, worked until the day of her death. Angelica was always a handful, such a burden on her mother. She was an only child, yet managed to cause such large situations and problems. This was why Angelica had decided to become a nun. She would have lived a simple life; her mother would no longer had to worry for them both…Angelica shook her head to stop the incoming pain of regret when old memories resurfaced.
Her right fist tightened around the doll as she spun toward the small jungle the island had. While the clouds were still a good measure away, she needed to make a camp soon to be safe from the incoming storm.
Gibbs let out a very loud snore which had awaken Jack. The pair were lying on several banana leaves on the shore of the island, with a fire between them. He sighed and turned on his back, placing his arm across his forehead. The sun had fully set, and the bright stars lit the sky. His head throbbed painfully and his body felt sore. He closed his eyes slowly and took a few deep breathes. The crackling of their fire along with the smell of smoke were able to calm him somewhat. Slowly, wondering why his body was in so much pain, Jack raised himself up and walked across to Gibbs to nudge him with his boot. Gibbs let out another loud snore. With a roll of his eyes, Jack made his way up and started to walk across the shore. The sand made satisfying crunches underneath his worn leather boots. Eventually he became tired and sat on the shore, close enough for the ocean to touch his boots. As he stared at the calm and dark sea, he felt his headache recede a bit.
With a slow, and steady hand Jack pulled the Black Pearl from behind the left breast of his jacket. Holding it in both hands, he stared at it as he held it in his lap. The Black Pearl was finally his once more – she was finally free from everyone else's greedy hands! Yet, he truly had no idea how to set her free from this final cage. Out of curiosity, he slowly rubbed the bottle…perhaps it was like those genie bottles other pirates hunted for? Alas, to no avail the ship was not freed.
"Bugger," Jack muttered as he rolled his eyes. He was half mad at himself that he considered such a foolish thought, but also half mad that it did not work.
A a long sigh escaped his lips, the large and bright moon caught his eye. He held the bottle in front of the moon and observed it. Thankfully, the darned monkey didn't pop out screaming on cue. He then moved the bottle toward the ocean. He held it in a way that the Black Pearl would seem to be resting on the ocean. Oh, how beautiful she looked in the night. With that thought, his headache and body soreness returned more painfully. Resigned and desperate, Jack headed back toward Gibbs and his banana leaf mat. How much he would give for an inn and a woman to keep his bed warm right now.
The next morning, Jack left Gibbs to making a crossbow on the beach while he searched for more kindling to feed their fire. In the end, they both knew Jack would be the one to make the crossbow. Poor Gibbs truly only knew how to work a gun, but Jack didn't have the patience to deal with it himself right now. His patience left him when an ensuing string of bad luck started when he arrived at Port Royal on a sinking dingy boat. Jack grumbled to himself. It was that damn William Turner and Elizabeth Swann! If he hadn't rescued said damsel, he would not have met said love struck male. Perhaps he would not have had such a giant fiasco with Davy Jones, and certainly would love have had to dive head first in to the Kraken. Did everyone forget he was left alone to face the Kraken? That he died once already by being swallowed by it? Jack kicked a few mossy rocks in slight frustration. He's tried to do so much, but no one ever noticed. Jack stopped, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and touched the handle of his gun.
"All I've ever wanted was to lead my men faithfully, so that they would never doubt me as their captain…"
Lost in his thoughts, he continued to walk among the greenery. He took a minute to survey his surroundings, which were quite pitiful. He shrugged and walked back toward the beach with the various kindling he had collected. Hopefully Gibbs managed to finish the crossbow without his help.
Jack and Gibbs stayed on the shore for the rest of the morning, attempting to create and collect as much supplies at they could. They had made an actual makeshift camp, no longer just comprising of banana leaf mats and a fire. In between various tasks they both attempted different ways to free the Black Pearl, but none had worked. It had been two days, and his Pearl was still in a that forsaken bottle.
"I wonder how that lass is faring," Gibbs chuckled as he thought of Angelica. Jack restrained himself from rolling his eyes or sighing. They both still had so much work to do, and this was the subject he chooses to talk about? Jack was already in a foul mood, and he didn't feel like making himself more miserable. Yes, he had held a fancy for her, but he wanted to leave their relationship separated. She was too much of a liability for him and his travels. She talked too much and half the time he couldn't understand what she was saying. Angelica was also always far too clingy, hotheaded…Jack knew he was making up excuses for himself. He had broken off their relationship early to save her more heartbreak in the future. It probably didn't help that he had saved her at the Fountain of Youth. He had wooed said female to get over the one woman he could never forget.
"Jack!" Gibbs yelled. Jack blinked and shook his head before looking at Gibbs.
"I've been a calling you're name for a while now! Something be ailing ye?" Gibbs asked Jack with a confused face. Jack silently shook his head before smirking at Gibbs.
With a thousand thoughts swimming in his mind, Jack fell asleep on his leaf mat underneath some shade for a quick early afternoon nap. Not soon after he settled in to the mat did he start to feel very uncomfortable. It was as if there were light scratches being created all over his back and chest.
"Jack, ye be good?" Gibbs called from his spot, awoken by the rustling.
"Aye," Jack replied shakily. He sat up and stared toward the beach. He took a swig of rum and hazily tried to reason out why he was feeling this pain. Oddly, it almost felt like a type of ghost or phantom pain. Taking another swing, he figured that it must have been from the leaves themselves.
The third day arrived and they still made no major progress. There would not enough resources for them to last much longer. He had to figure out some way to get that wretched bottle off his ship. Over the course of the last night and morning, he learned to ignore the occasional random pain. It wasn't too severe at this point, he just hoped it wouldn't get worse. As the day was coming soon to a close, he swaggered toward the beach, rum bottle in hand, and sat down. Meanwhile, Gibbs was still working on that crossbow.
"Eh, Jack, I think I 'ought to leave this for ye." Gibbs said pitifully looking down at the mess of string and wood he created these last few days.
"Ha! I knew it!" Jack exclaimed as he practically jumped off the sand, scaring Gibbs. Gibbs moved out of the way as Jack ran from the beach to grab the Pearl. Following close behind, Gibbs saw Jack swagger back towards the beach hastily. Jacks final idea had to work because they were both running out of ideas very fast – especially since they still had no crossbow, goats, a trumpet, or an hourglass. Their ultimate, final, and last resort was asking Barbosa or Will for help, which was something Jack would never do regardless.
"Eh…ah, Jack? What is it ye be tryin' to do?" Gibbs asked curiously.
"Why, Mister Gibbs….don't you remember? The ocean, she is our key to unlock everything! It is all tied to her…Up is Down? The Kraken? Bootstrap's son? It all begins and ends with her, doesn't it?" Jack replied with his tone light and a large smile. His eyes had a glint of rational madness to them.
"Look here, Gibbs!" Jack said excitedly and loudly after taking another swig of rum. Gibbs muttered to himself, wondering what solution Jack had pulled out of his sleeve.
Smirking, Jack looked back toward the horizon through bottle. The sunset would be their ticket.
"The opportune moment is now," Jack whispered to himself, still smirking smirked, as he stared at the last gleams of daylight. He took the cork off the bottle and placed the bottle in the ocean right before the sun disappeared.
Before either could blink, the bottle shattered and the Black Pearl started to expand larger and larger. Jack and Gibbs scrambled as fast as they could to get out of her path. Jack could not believe his eyes, if he was alone perhaps a few tears would have slipped out.
"She's beautiful Jack, and she's yours. For real this time." Gibbs spoke with nostalgia.
"Well, Gibbs, the lot isn't going to get itself!" Jack told Gibbs and smirked. Gibbs ran back to their small camp to retrieve their last bit of supplies. Jack took one last look at the island and climbed on to the Pearl, his steps heavy with a maelstrom of emotions.