A/N: Okay, I might be getting on the bandwagon here, and ya'll might hate me for starting a new story when I haven't updated a lot of my old ones, but I saw DMC today and I HAD to write my version of what will happen next! Because one, I'm sick of all the Jack/Elizabeth oneshots reflecting on The Kiss, two I still don't think Jack and Elizabeth could ever be a couple because they're too alike, three, Disney would not break poor Will's heart like that, that would just make a another story arch. And four...I saw a little clue in DMC that I think may explain so much. So this story is basically my predictions for the thrid movie. And don't you J/E shippers worry, I'll include some of that junk too, but W/E action will occur as will J/OC...cause I'm an OC kinda gal, Savvy?
On that note, I must explain the OC Arabella Morgan is slightly based on the Disney Press book character from the Jack Sparrow series by Rob Kidd. Mostly her backstory. But since that series has just begun, and we don't know where that's headed, I think it's safe to say myArabella is an OC.
So read, review and enjoy...cause we've got another ten months before Disney helps us off that cliffhanger they threw at us!
peace, love and lipgloss,
Mlle.Fox
ps: Doesn't anyone want to enter my fanart contest?
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End
Captain Jack Sparrow is dead. Captain Hector Barbossa is alive. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are on the skids. And now they must all sail to the ends of the Earth to rescue Jack and the Black Pearl from their watery grave. But Barbossa knows this meager crew is going to need some major help. He calls in Arabella Morgan, Lady Pirate Extraordinaire. Turns out this tough talking, cigar smoking, whip carrying Welsh redhead has a few secrets of her own. First of which is her soft spot for Jack. Second is she's under a terrible curse that strikes only when the moon is full. Thirdly, she knows a secret about Davy Jones that just may save them and all pirates everywhere.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! PLUS SOME OF MINE OWN THEORIES OF HOW THE THRID MOVIE WILL GO, SAVVY? DON'T OWN A THING BUT MY OC; WILL FEATURE W/E, J/E, AND J/OC ROMANCE.
Captain Hector Barbossa was no naïve fool. This crew of seven was hardly seaworthy. What he wouldn't give to be command of the Pearl again! Then he smirked to himself knowing that if all went according to plan, he very well would be and soon. Once again he took stock of his ship mates as they sailed around the bay towards Tortuga. Joshamee Gibbs, that barrel chested Scotsman with the graying muttonchops was a bit of a drunk, but he knew how to work a crew and command as a first mate. The bald midget Marty made up for his physical shortcomings (pardon the pun) with his quick wit and willingness to work and follow command. The mute Cotton was old, hard to understand with that bloody parrot he trained to speak for him, but loyal. Then with a roll of his eyes Barbossa evaluated the two mates he knew the best. Of all his old crew from the Pearl to survive the noose, why'd it have to be those two nits Pintel and Ragetti? Together they had one brain. They even complimented each other in appearance. Pintel being short, fat and bald and Ragetti being tall, skinny with shaggy hair. They only truly special thing about them was Ragetti had a wooden eye. Stupid git kept dropping it all the time too...or Barbossa's monkey Jack would steal it.
Then there was the whelp, Will Turner. A lot had changed in the boy, that Barbossa could tell. He was smarter, more confident, stronger. And with a little wonder Barbossa concluded he was wiser too. For no man is truly wise until they see a female for who they really are. And apparently, Will had discovered something about the fair Miss Elizabeth Swann his fiancée, for the lad was cold as ice towards the girl right now. They hadn't spoken a word with each other since they left the mystic Tia Dalma. And that had been over a week ago. Miss Swann herself wasn't saying much either. But Barbossa sensed guilt radiating off her and keeping her silent. And he resolved that by the end of this adventure, he would learn what that guilt came from. Guilt leads to lovely profit.
But first they had to rescue that rat, Jack Sparrow. Barbossa found great irony in that. Everyone on board mistrusted him right now, thinking he was in this only to kill Jack once he saved him. But the truth of the matter was Jack Sparrow was his ticket to a second shot at life. Tia Dalma had revived him from the dead, but on the condition that he must help save Jack Sparrow and once he'd done that, never bring or bring cause to harm him. If he didn't honor that promise to not kill Jack or set something else up to kill Jack, it'd be back to the grave. But the lovely mystic never said anything about claiming the Pearl for himself once they rescued her. He loved loopholes.
Finally docking their small fishing boat at the docks of Tortuga, Will walked up to Barbossa and asked, showing no sincere respect in his tone,
"Alright, we're here...Now what do we need in Tortuga that will help us save Jack?" Barbossa grinned at the boy before heading down towards the lowered gangplank,
"Not what, Mr. Turner...who!" Will and Elizabeth exchanged a confused glance as they followed behind Barbossa, leaving Gibbs in command of the supplies.
The fishing boat had anchored itself in the open ocean, casting their nets out, farming the ocean beds for her rich crops. One sailor commented to the captain as he pasted by,
"Sir...a large animal seems to have met their end. Bits and pieces be floating around in the water." The captain, a middle aged merchant sailor nodded and ordered,
"If it's still fresh and not rotted out, haul it in. Might make for good meat." The crew did as commanded, but astonishment and curiosity caused creases in their brows as they hauled up huge tentacles, bloody chunks of slimy meat and large internal organs. But the largest of them all was the animal's stomach. They hauled up the heavy thing, every man on board pulling the net in. They lowered it to the deck and untangled the nets from it. A sailor was about to start slicing the thing to manageable pieces, when a cutlass poked through the stomach, from the inside out. The crew yelled in terror and backed up slowly as the cutlass sawed and hacked a large slit in the side. The sword disappeared and then suddenly , jeweled hand covered in slime shot out, followed by an arm, then a shoulder, then a head covered in dreadlocks, beadings, and a red bandanna.
"HHAAHHAAHHHH!" gasped the man taking a large breath of fresh air before the rest of him fell out the opening.
"He's alive! Pull him out!" shouted the Captain as his men bent over to haul the tall, slim man in worn, and now slimy clothes to his tanned Cavalier boot covered feet. They man with high cheekbones, scruffy bread and mustache, Roman nose blinked his brown eyes from the sunlight as the Captain spoke to him,
"Sir? Sir are you alright?" The man tried to focus his fuzzy world on the owner of the voice as he answered in a slurred, but precise Cockney,
"Is this Davy Jones Locker?" The crew gasped and muttered to themselves, as they're Captain answered confused,
"Uh...no..."
"Is this hell? Purgatory?"
"No...what makes you think it is?" the Captain asked wondering if his ship and crew were at risk. Confusion now graced the handsome survivor's face,
"Am I not dead?" The Captain smiled,
"No sir...Thanks to the Lord Almighty, you have been granted a mercy like Jonah's, rescued from the belly of a beast." The man paused in thought, before crossing himself and lifting the fingers to his temple in a salute towards the heavens,
"So I have...what day is this?"
"Well...May 8th...Thursday." the Captain answered.
"Same year?" the stranger asked. Then he turned and the crew watched in stunned silence as he reached in the beast's belly and pulled out a slime covered brown leather tricorne.
"If you mean the year of our Lord 1676, then yes...why? How long were you in there?" the Captain asked as the man put the hat on his head. It suited him.
"Since last Wednesday Mate...now if you'll excuse me..." And with that, the stranger's brown eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted back into the crew's arm.
"Captain! What do we do with him?" asked one man.
"Place him in my cabin. Richards, take three of the men and clean him up, treat any wounds and get some food and drink in him." the Captain ordered as the rest of the crew returned to their duties.
"But sir! He must be bad luck! What if whatever caused him to go overboard and into the innards of a beast comes after us?" asked the man Richards. The captain looked at the curious and unconscious stranger and said,
"Then we'll place him in a place that could stand a little bad luck...Tortuga..."
James Norrington breathed in the fresh sea air trying not to think about the week before. He knew he had sold out Sparrow, Turner and Elizabeth...but he could not handle being in that world...that world he hated...that world that took his family away...The world of Pirates.
He tried to tell himself that being a privateer for the East Indian Trading Company was not the same as being a pirate. But tomorrow he would set sail under the strict orders of Lord Beckett to locate the Flying Dutchmen and approach Davy Jones himself. A week ago he scoffed at the idea of the famed character of myth and legend. But Jones cursed crew, looking like the sea bed itself was all Norrington needed to convince him the truth. It seemed the Caribbean was full of magic and supernatural elements few men dare dream of. And though in his previous adventurers he had not seen Davy Jones face to face, he knew very soon he would and have to be on his guard.
As if on cue to turn his mood worst, Cutler Beckett walked up beside him to look out onto the ocean horizon. The short, well dressed man looked down at the ships in the harbor and pointed out a fourteen gunner at the end,
"There she is Captain...The Lady Virginia. How do you like her? She can do twelve knots in an hour."
"I'm sure she will be satisfactory." Norrington said tight lipped. A week ago he thought all he had to do was turn in Davy Jones heart and the Letters of Marque and he'd be appointed the Commodore once more. But such would not be the case. Letters of Marque meant he was back to being a Captain, and a Captain under the power of Lord Beckett. Now he understood why Sparrow spoke of him with disdain. The man was a weasily little prick, always smug and sure of his power. Now he even had Governor Swann under his thumb, using him as a puppet to control Port Royal. Norrington already could see the East India Company favored with better tariffs, better trade, better goods. Greed and money were beginning to corrupt Port Royal as the common masses struggled to survive and keep some of their hard earned wages from going into East India Agents and Merchants. Norrington knew it was only a matter of time before crime would run rampant in Port Royal.
His thoughts drifted back to the Black Pearl for a moment. Yes he hated Sparrow...but he had to admit the man was a brilliant Captain and sailor. And Norrington had been surprised to learn there was a democracy on board like that of the ancient Greeks. Every man got a vote in the activities of the crew...even him. He turned up the corner of his lips in a small smile as he remembered the pirate's quip when Norrington had shown surprise for being included in the vote,
"Come come James...afraid to vote and admit you've gone on account?" James Norrington wondered about that. Was he a pirate after all? He was shaken from his musings when Beckett said coldly,
"Are you even listening, Norrington?" Norrington looked at the man,
"Sir?"
"I said...bring me back Davy Jones...he's the only one who can command the sea...the only one the pirates fear...and should you cross paths again...bring me Jack Sparrow..." Beckett said his eyes glaring.
"I thought you no longer needed his compass now that you had Jones heart?" Norrington asked. Becket turned his glare to the horizon,
"We have other scores to settle...Sparrow and I...Just save him for me..."
Barbossa grinned and looked around in amusement. He laughed and told Will and Elizabeth,
"My Ol' Tortuga's changed! Half the buildings I knew are gone, old shacks made of ship parts in their stead...Still...good to be alive again and able to enjoy it!"
"I'm sure...who is this person we're trying to find?" Elizabeth asked.
"Ah...straight to business as always Miss Swann. But to answer your question, the person we are referring to is the sharpest, steadiest and craftiest pirate since myself and Jack Sparrow." Barbossa answered,
"Captain!" Will and Elizabeth corrected him at once. Barbossa rolled his eyes as he led them inside the Faithful Bride. The crowd was just as raunchy, drunk and loud and rollicking as it always was. Barbossa scanned the crowd hoping for a familiar face, when he grinned seeing a redhead in a red dress.
"Scarlett!" he called the wench over.
"Scarlett?" asked Elizabeth hoping the wench wasn't the pirate while Will distanced himself between himself and the woman. Scarlett smiled seductively and battered her eyelashes,
"Why Hector Barbossa...thought you was dead!"
"I was dead...but now I'm living and need information...Know where I can find Morgan?" Barbossa asked.
"You're in luck. Morgan sailed in port last night. She's over in the corner playing cards."Scarlett answered pointing in the general direction.
"She?" asked Will.
"Scarlett...you're an angel of heaven itself! Save a dance for me next time I pull into port?" Barbossa said kissing her hand. Scarlett laughed before slinking away,
"Always...you remember to pay..." When she had gone, Barbossa set his sights on the corner when Will held him back by the arm,
"She? This pirate is a woman?"
"Piracy you'll find...is an equal opportunity profession, Mr. Turner...Come." Barbossa said leading the way. A table with four men holding cards also held a petite red headed woman with ivory skin, just slightly tanned by the sun. She dressed in black wool breeches, a worn red Chinese silk waistcoat with the frog clasp closings, a stolen gray coat of the Spanish navy and tall black boots from an English marine that came up past her knee. In her full lips she smoked a thin Cuban cigar. Her red hair was in a French braid and her cool chestnut eyes were looking lazily at the cards she held in her hands. She tossed two coins in and said,
"I'm in two bits...Gents...what's the name of the game?" A fat pirate with a large floppy hat replied stupidly,
"Gin?" With a smirk she laid her cards on the table and began to collect the pot as the other players groaned in defeat. Barbossa said from behind her,
"Arabella Morgan! Ain't you a sight for sore eyes!" She took a long drag on her cigar and then took the cigar out in one hand, not lifting her eyes from her money as she used her left hand to place the money in the coin purse.
"Hector Barbossa...heard you were dead." she said in a breathy Welsh accent.
"Vicious rumor. As you can plainly see by my standing here, and hear by listening to my voice flapping in the breeze, I'm definitely alive and well and not shot in the heart like some people might be inclined to believe." Barbossa said as she stood and turned to face them. She crossed her arms over her chest, taking another long drag of her cigar. She looked at Barbossa and his two young companions before saying,
"Oh I knew it was a rumor..." She began to walk past Barbossa saying right in his face, "Because you don't have a heart..." Then she blew a smoke ring right in Elizabeth's face. As Elizabeth hacked up a lung, Barbossa followed Arabella as she weaved her way through the bar,
"Arabella lass! How'd you like an adventure?"
"What's the profit?" Arabella asked knocking some ashes into a pirates hat as she past.
"Well there's no gold to be made if that's what you mean." Barbossa replied.
"Gold? Gold is no longer the wealth of kings Barbossa. You can't trade gold for more than a wench and a rum these days. No nowadays all you need to earn your fortune is a barrel of spice, a keg of fine wine, silks, cotton, fine china, arms...no Barbossa...give me something I can trade and make my profits on...not gold...not jewels...more practical things." Arabella replied cutting them off but stepping up into a chair and tipping it back and stepping down. Barbossa had to fight a moment to go between two crowds of fights, when Will interrupted, .
"Then what's more practical than a man's life?"
"Stand down boy!" ordered Barbossa.
"And what man might that be?" asked Arabella turning to them and stopping before the bar.
"Captain Jack Sparrow..."Will replied.
"Never heard of him." Arabella said.
"But Arabella..."Barbossa started.
"Sorry Hector...you have the wrong girl and you've been away too long. I know no Jack Sparrow...Barkeep! Pint of grog!" Arabella ordered sitting on a soon and leaning an elbow on the counter. But as her Chinese silk waistcoat was pulled open a bit, Elizabeth's honey eyes caught the markings of a very familiar tattoo. She stepped forward and pulled the clothing off Arabella's right shoulder.
"HEY! Get off me git!" Arabella spat at Elizabeth. Seeing the blue ink tattoo of a sparrow flying over an ocean horizon against a setting sun, the name 'Arabella' written in cursive script below the picture, Elizabeth looked the redhead right in the eye and said,
"You do know Jack...That's his special seal!" Arabella glared at Elizabeth and shook her off, adjusting her clothes,
"What if I do? As far as I'm concerned, Jack Sparrow is dead to me!" She began to stomp off and up the stairs to the rooms of the inn, when Barbossa called after her in a serious tone,
"Jack Sparrow is dead, Pet..." Arabella stopped, clutching the railing till her knuckles turned white.
"What?" she whispered stunned.
"Jack is trapped in Davy's Jones Locker Arabella." Barbossa told her. Arabella turned her head to the side,
"So...it's been thirteen years...Told Jack no ship was worth his soul."
"Will you help us?" asked Will. Arabella turned and dropped her cigar to the landing, rubbing it out with her boot.
"Aye..."she nodded, "I'll help ye."