A/N: Well, here I am, putting down several other projects to give everyone a prologue to a sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. In fact, The Little Things is on hiatus for reasons explained more fully in my profile (in case anyone wanted to know :P).
Summary: Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and crew are all setting sail to rescue Jack from what seem to be the jaws of death. But the newly reinstated Commodore Norrington has been sent to kill Jack Sparrow and anyone with him -- and Davy Jones is after first his heart and then the infamous Captain Jack. And where is Jack anyway? Action, adventure, romance, and comedy on the high seas are sure to ensue -- this is a Pirates fanfic after all.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates -- either the first two, or the soon-to-come third movie.
It was dark. Dark and rather wet. And out of the darkness came a voice.
"Women." The voice said. It paused, then spoke again. "Women. They aren't worth it you know. Bloody amazing and then they start obsessing over moral centers."
There was another pause.
"My hat is bloody sopping." The voice remarked almost as though expecting an apology. Whoever it was did not make any apologies.
"I don't know about you," the voice said, "but I'm not particularly enjoying this situation. Not," it added quickly, "that I'm asking to be swallowed any time soon. No. They say never to look a gift horse in the mouth and who am I to argue with them? Whoever they are."
This time the pause was longer.
"Have you noticed there's no rum here?" Inquired the voice. There was still no answer. There was a sigh from the darkness. "You know mate, you're not the best conversationalist."
Still no reply.
"Listen, I know you're very busy, and you have your own problems, but I'd be much obliged if you'd just drop me off somewhere. Some nice island maybe. This may come as a surprise to you mate, but this isn't the most comfortable place to live. I've seen worse, but still."
Nothing but the somewhat muffled sound of rushing water.
"You know," Captain Jack Sparrow said, "they say that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, but I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to the inside of a Kraken, so that should be alright, don't you think?"
"What is this?" Elizabeth was the first to break the astonished silence that enveloped Tia Dalma's hut. "Some kind of...of hoax?"
There before a disbelieving crew stood the supposedly late Captain Barbossa, the monkey named Jack on his shoulder.
"Hoax?" It was Barbossa himself who spoke, raising one eyebrow in question. "And what kind of hoax would this be, missy?"
"She's right sir, beggin' your pardon but we were all of one mind regarding your, er, status sir." Gibbs mumbled.
"Oh yes?" Barbossa asked.
"We thought you was dead!" Ragetti announced bluntly, his wooden eye rolling in its socket.
The monkey started chattering on Barbossa's shoulder.
"I saw you die with my own eyes, I was there!" Elizabeth said, her voice rising.
"It's true Barbossa." Will said levelly, not bothering to disguise the distaste for the pirate captain in his voice. "I was there when Jack shot you. If you've somehow cheated death--"
"Not cheated death." Tia Dalma interjected immediately, her voice harsh. "No one cheats death. It cannot be done."
Barbossa opened his mouth to pick up the tale again, but Tia was continuing on, her heavily accented voice commanding the room's attention.
"No one can cheat death, not even me. But when Captain Jack Sparrow," she gave the name false airs, "shot his mutinous first mate, he did it when the curse had not yet been lifted. The bullet was inside Barbossa before the curse was lifted by young Mr. Turner. It wounded him -- yes. It almost killed him. But instead he wandered in the world of the half-dead -- those pirates who've not yet caught the attention of Davy Jones. He was lucky not to catch the attention of other, less friendly things before I found him. No one cheats death." She repeated the four words once more, scanning the room, finding the gaze of every person. "And now he has agreed to be your captain."
"Why?" Elizabeth said, at the same time Will said, "To where?"
Barbossa smiled. "I'm doin' it out of the goodness of my heart, Miss. Turner -- or Miss. Swann, isn't it?" Elizabeth winced slightly.
"It was to be Mrs. Turner." She said under her breath. "Before this mess."
Will ignored Barbossa.
"To where?" He repeated, this time directing his question to Tia Dalma.
"To the ends of the earth William Turner."
"And we're going there to save Jack?" Will asked, sounding doubtful.
"You think he does not live? You think the Kraken killed him? It should have." Everyone waited for her to offer some kind of explanation, but she said nothing for a time. Then she threw her hands up into the air.
"He stole my ring!" She exclaimed. "When he was here, the dirty pirate stole my ring. It gave him luck beyond the usual -- it doesn't stop death," she added, shooting a glance at Barbossa, "just gives you a bit of extra luck. And Jack Sparrow already had an uncanny knack for staying among the living. Now you can find him. But only with Barbossa's help."
"Oh yes? And why do we need the aid of a pirate?" Elizabeth asked. For a moment she stood a bit taller and threw her head back as though she were attending a ball in Port Royal. Tia Dalma simply laughed.
"Have you forgotten what you're wearin' then? Forgotten what you've done, these last few days? You are a pirate now dearie."
"Elizabeth is not a pirate." Will said.
"How honorable of you William Turner." Tia Dalma said, shooting an unreadable glance in his direction. "But if you all want to find Captain Jack Sparrow, I suggest you sail with Barbossa. He's the only one here who can find him."
Her tone said that there would be no more questions asked.
The crowds, in all their finery, had dispersed, going back to their respective homes. The sun beat down on the fort at Port Royal as the newly reinstated Commodore Norrington twirled his sword.
"Reinstated at full rank?" Governor Swann inquired in an undertone as he walked past. "He must want something from you --"
"Silence governor," Lord Beckett said, "or I will be forced to drop even the pretence that you are in control here, and that could be very bad for your daughter. Understood?"
"Do you even know where Elizabeth is?" The Governor asked, but he allowed himself to be led away from the fort without receiving an answer. He had presided over the ceremony, but both he and Lord Beckett knew that he was no longer in a position of power in Port Royal. The East India Trading Company controlled this particular outpost of the British Empire now.
Commodore Norrington followed Lord Beckett into his private offices, once the governor's.
"Governor Swann has hit upon the point with an unerring accuracy Commodore Norrington." Beckett said in a business-like tone. "The missions you perform for the East India Company will be strictly off the record. And your first one ought to be simple for a man of your power and status: deliver a message on the behalf of Governor Swann to a tiny little outpost in the Caribbean. Of course, if in the course of your duties you should happen to find and kill Captain Jack Sparrow and all who sail with him, well, that would not be frowned upon. Do you understand, Commodore?"
"Perfectly."
"Excellent. A crew has been gathered and a ship supplied -- The Dauntless has been made ready for you."
Norrington shuddered slightly. It had been The Interceptor that had been caught in the hurricane and fallen apart. Norrington was always haunted by the fear that if he had decided to take Dauntless, it would not have fallen apart. The Dauntless was a sturdier ship -- made of far sterner stuff than The Interceptor.
"Is there a problem Commodore Norrington?" Lord Beckett asked.
"No Lord Beckett."
"You leave tomorrow morning with the tide."
"I will not disappoint you Lord Beckett."
"I should hope not."
There was something strange about the ship.
The sailor on night watch had spotted it from the crow's nest and had been about to call out when something had stayed his tongue. There she sat on the water, just like any ordinary ship. And yet...he shuddered. There was something...off about that ship.
And then as he watched in horror and disbelief the ship sank straight down under the water, its mast plowing the surface for a moment before it disappeared entirely beneath the waves.
The man shook his head. "Just been awake to long." He comforted himself, and went to ask the other men if he could come off of duty a bit early tonight.
Onboard the impossible ship an enraged man stood. His face was covered in tentacles, but his furious shouting could be heard perfectly well just the same.
"Jack Sparrow is not dead! His debt has not been repaid! First we will find the chest and then...I will collect my payment once and for all!"
The ship flew on through the moonlit water, holding an unerring course towards Port Royal.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading -- please tell me what you thought of it.
Just a few quick notes about this story...
This is just a prologue. Not a lot of depth, nor character development: just establishing where everyone is and what's going on.
Also, I know that there are already spoilers out there for POTC 3. I'm not adhering to those. There are just to many gaping holes in the information we have about it, and I don't feel up to filling them in. However, I do feel up to attempting a Pirates story written and plotted by myself.
Once again, please give me some feedback and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks!
- AmazinglyMe
