AN: Spoiler Alert: Different teasers may include unseen material from established stories.
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Drop Your Oboe - Thank you so much for reviewing I've Come To Save You! It was a blast to write.
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Summary: Jack converses with an unfriendly parrot, Forthright's Captain Groves is left astonished & Lizzie should stay out of the water.
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NOT WHAT IS SEEN
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1) Which Way Lies True. Wherein Jack is unsure if he's found an ally or not.
"Down here, mate!" Jack called helpfully. "Where you be from, 'ey?"
"Ruuarrrk!" The bird rustled its colorful feathers, flew up to circle the roof, and then perch in the temple's right eye opening, as if deciding whether it wanted to respond or leave.
"Ahh. Touchy, 'eh?" the pirate ventured. "Look, I'm no danger to you - no weapons, see?" He held up both open palms, feeling slightly foolish that he was attempting to reassure a skeptical parrot of his harmlessness. "I'm just tryin' to have a conversation with -"
"Ruarrrkwkk!" The parrot apparently had decided that it didn't want to hear any more and rudely leapt out into the night in a flash of brilliant yellow and red.
"- an anti-social parrot," Jack finished sourly, lowering his arms to his sides. "Fine, off you go, then. Feathery nuisance, anyway. Would've been no help gettin' me outta here." He returned his attention to the fixed torch brackets, half-wondering why the water in-flow had stopped.
"Tides, that's it, mate," he informed himself, pulling at the bracket handle. "Natural overflow from the tide pools is what governs the input."
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2) A Pirates Life No More. Wherein Captain Groves is uncertain how to handle Jack's newest problem - or even believe it.
"Good God, Jack, this is insane! Even for you!"
"Can't deny ya that," the pirate returned, hesitating to accept Grove's arm for balance. He collapsed into the nearest chair, out of breath. "Need to be off… this bloody ship…"
"Not possible," Andrew returned, standing in the doorway. He peered out along the deck to see if anyone saw them, then quickly closed the cabin door to face his weary guest. "We're in the middle of the ocean."
Jack peered up at him reprovingly. "Didn't say… right now, did I?" He closed his eyes briefly, sighed and attempted to straighten, grimacing. "He means to… kill me, mate."
"What?" Groves was unsure that he'd right. "Who?"
"Bloody Walberg. He wants me… dead," Jack whispered, frustrated by the exertion to speak. His right hand cradling the sling, flew up to make frantic stabbing gestures at his own chest. "Savvy?"
"You're the gentlemanly Joshua Blackstone! How would it ever come to that?"
"Aye, Blackstone indeed," the pirate groaned, falling back. "Bloody stupid fool thinks I, we, er, one of us - wants his dolly belle, Lady Izzie." he managed a weak, half-pained laugh. "And Blackstone not even bein' a real person. But it'd be… my life was he to know." He shuddered. "Look, mate, I'd tell her myself… only it's very…possible, quite probable… a slap from a wench just now would… as likely kill… me."
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3) Misplaced Hearts. Wherein an exhausted, half-drowned Elizabeth loses Jack as she makes a desperate attempt to save the heart from the remaining thieves.
Elizabeth instantly latched onto the wooden pole and yanked, the downward force of it just enough leverage to surge her head and shoulders to the surface and the boat to tip dangerously low. She had blurred glimpse of Irving's stunned and outraged face before she gripped the side of his boat one-handed. The wind suddenly picked up, stirring frothing to pound the boat and toss fountains of spray high over Irving's back into her face.
"Stupid wench," Irving grated, water dripping from drenched brown hair into his colorless features. "You know what you've done?"
"Murdering bastard," she wheezed, spitting out salt water, half-wondering what he meant, but more aware that she had just gotten another chance to stop him from possibly destroying the captain of the Flying Dutchman - and her beloved husband. "I know what you have!"
Unmindful of the increasingly darkening sky, Elizabeth gathered up her Pirate King dignity and grabbed at the hovering oar with the intent of smacking him in the face with it. But Irving quickly swung it away, and may have meant to strike her with it when he suddenly froze, wide eyes on the choppy water to her left. A pale white flurry of motion below her legs equally caught her attention.
"Jack?"
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DISCLAIMER NOTE: Elements of Seas of Justice are woven into A Pirate's Life No More, Misplaced Hearts, and Which Way Lies True for the purposes of foundation, entertainment, development and/or continuity only. They don't presume to replace PotC's content.