Pirates of the Caribbean (And the Goddamn Donkey!)
Prologue
July 19th, 2004 (night)
"Hey, look! It's a chicken!"
Melissa squealed excitedly. Of course, this was induced by liberal amounts of coke and rum balls. Jacynthe and Steph burst out laughing. Poor Melissa.
"Hey! Wouldn't it be great if we could be there when this happened?"
Jacynthe's face went white.
"BEKKA! NO!"
And all Bekka had time to say before the world went black was…
"Oops."
Port Royale 1763 (Morning)
Captain James Norrington looked out over another glorious morning on the ocean. This was the life he'd always dreamed of. He straightened his uniform, this was a very important day- he was about to be given the title of Commodore Norrington. A lazy smile spread across his face. This was the day he was going to ask Elizabeth to marry him. He was interrupted in his thoughts by the sound of screaming. Frowning, he looked around for the source. Then he realized it was coming from…the sky. Just as he looked up, four bodies landed on his head. Four very feminine bodies.
"Ouch! DAMMIT! What the hell is going on?" Steph screeched.
"Jacynthe! Get off my leg! You're on my bruise!" Melissa yelled.
Norrington struggled out from underneath the pile of girls.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" He yelled over the din. All four girls stopped and looked at him, taking in his attire. Suddenly they all burst into hysterical laughter. James frowned and crossed his arms.
"I fail to see the humor here."
The blonde girl fought off her laughter and spoke first.
"I-I'm sorry (gasp) your clothing is just really, really funny looking."
"No! It's stupid-looking!" Melissa choked out.
Then they all sobered up. Only then did Stephanie and Melissa realize that they…weren't in Kansas anymore.
"Uhmm…Jacynthe…why do I have the feeling you know something I don't know?"
Jacynthe rounded on Bekka.
"Rebecca. Christine. Leonard. What, pray tell are we doing here?"
Bekka backed away defensively.
"Well don't blame me!"
"Oh, I blame you." Jacynthe hissed.
Melissa broke in with her standard answer for everything.
"You should blame Geoff."
Jacynthe narrowed her eyes at her friend.
"Stay. Out. Of. This. I will explain AFTER I finish yelling at Bekka, 'kay?"
Melissa shrank.
"I'll be good." She squeaked.
Rounding on Bekka again, Jacynthe began a tirade of yelling. Along with plenty of arm waving as well.
"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP THIS UP? WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS SOOOOOOOOOO MANY TIMES, I'VE LOST COUNT!"
Bekka sighed, by now she was used to this reaction.
"Look. I'm sorry Okay?"
Jacynthe deflated.
"Yeah…I know."
Stephanie's Irish heritage was beginning to show. She hissed through clenched teeth,
"Someone better explain what is going on here before heads start to roll."
Jacynthe, Bekka and Melissa went white.
"Okay." Jacynthe spoke quickly so as to avoid the vengeful wrath of Stephanie Peters. "See, me and Bekka have this problem. You know Elrond from Middle earth? Well he seems to have this twisted idea that only we can save the world from complete and utter destruction. Although, it seems that we're not very good at it…I mean, just look at the whole Pearl Harbor fiasco."
Steph struggled to take it all in.
"Sooo, he sends you on these trips often?"
"Yup. You remember the time you came over and I looked as though I'd been to hell and back? Well, I had."
Norrington had had enough of this.
"Who are you? Where did you come from? You have thirty seconds to tell me, or we go straight to the Governor and I charge you with indecency and spying."
All four girls narrowed their eyes at James.
"Uhmm…excuse me? But I am not indecent. I happen to be fairly covered up!" Jacynthe snapped. Looking to the heavens as if to ask WHY, James led them down the tower to the Governors office. The girls were chattering away excitedly. Then a woman in a VERY low cut gown strode by. Stephanie did a double take then turned to James.
"Hey! How can you say that we're indecent when that chick has her boobs shoved up to her chin?"
James looked scandalized. Jacynthe rolled her eyes and went into damage control mode.
"Steph. Down girl."
Stephanie pouted.
"What? I'm just saying."
They would have continued their argument, but (thankfully) they had reached the Governors residence. Jacynthe's eyes were as big as saucers.
"Dude, this is the life. I am never leaving."
The foyer was just as gorgeous as the grounds. The girls piled in behind James, looking around eagerly. There was another man standing in the room, younger than James. He turned around and locked eyes with a blonde girl. Jacynthe's eyes went wide and a cat-like smile spread over her faery like features.
"Excuse me miss, do I know you?"
Jacynthe's smile grew coquettish and charming.
"I highly doubt it. Although, I wouldn't say no to getting to know you now."
James rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm.
"Excuse me miss but this is no time for flirting."
Jacynthe's eyes narrowed at him.
"It's ALWAYS time for flirting."
Before they could continue, two people came down the grand staircase. One, an older man, who could only be the Governor, and a young woman who looked about twenty. The woman's face lit up as she laid eyes on James.
"Good morning Captain, or should I say Commodore?"
James smiled shyly, going red behind the ears. Jacynthe and Steph burst into peals of uncontrollable laughter. Will had to agree, seeing the Commodore blush was incredibly entertaining. James recovered quickly and bowed his head to the governor.
"Good morning Governor Swan. I have here four very…unique ladies. I don't know what to make of them. It could be they are pirates, or possibly spies. I decided you would know how to deal with them."
Governor Swan frowned at them.
"Have you no man to speak for you ladies?"
Stephanie went red. She opened her mouth to thoroughly trash him, but Jacynthe elbowed her in the ribs.
"I will speak for us Governor. We do not need a man to do so."
Governor Swan was going to protest, but Jacynthe raised her eyebrow threateningly.
"Alright. What are your names?"
"Well, I'm Jacynthe- gorgeous and diplomatic, the tall girl with the resigned look is Rebecca, Melissa is the annoying know-it-all, and that little hellion over there is Stephanie. As for how we got here, that's a story perhaps beyond the scope of this meeting."
William moved to Jacynthe's side.
"Perhaps I can show you around a little?"
Jacynthe smiled stupidly.
"Okay."
As William and Jacynthe started to walk out of the hall, Stephanie yelled out.
"JUST WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING! You are going no where without us! Get back here!"
William looked back in alarm, but Jacynthe just laughed.
"Okay, okay. Calm down hon, you can come. I wouldn't want to leave you alone with these dunces anyway." She motioned towards James.
"YAY! Road trip!" Melissa screamed out excitedly.
Stephanie and Jacynthe looked at her strangely, and shared the same exasperated look while Bekka just rolled her eyes.
"This is going to be a very interesting trip isn't it?" Jacynthe shoots at Bekka, "And once again, thank-you soooooo much for brining us here!"
"I'm sorry, I um… forgot. Hehehe…" Bekka looked for the nearest exit, but the only one she found was where they were already headed. She resigned herself to follow, although, it was at quite a distance.
"Alright then…" Will said slowly "Shall we go then?"
"Please yes!" Melissa said excitedly, "I think we should stop at an emu farm? PUHLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE?"
The other three girls looked around at her as if staring at an impatient two year old. "For the last bloody time, WE ARE NOT STOPPING AT AN EMU FARM! Got it!"
"O…Kay… I'm done now." Melissa sniffed out. "If I have to be."
"MELISSA! WILL YOU CUT IT OUT?" Jacynthe, in a moment of undiplomatic character, screamed at her. "Sorry about that. It had to be done."
Later that day in the streets
"Are we there yet?"
"MELISSA!" The three other girls yelled out at her. "If you ask that one more time, I swear I will tape you upside down to the wall and leave you there for a week."
The girls and William were walking when he suddenly stopped.
"What's up? Why're we stopping?"
Stephanie was quite perplexed.
"Oh, well, I need to stop into the blacksmiths shop for a few minutes, just to make sure it was how I left it."
"Mmm… You're a blacksmith, eh? You must have such strong hands."
Jacynthe was looking at him with her sexy smile flickering across her face.
William looked at her, glowing at her flirtatious energy.
"Yes, I'm a blacksmith. I could show you a few things as well I think."
"Okay, don't make me get cold water and dump it on you two." Bekka burst out. "Honestly, Jacynthe, I don't think we are here so you can pick up an albeit hot guy."
William turned red at being called hot, but otherwise ignored the comment from Bekka.
"Well, let's go in then."
They all walked in and Will walked to the back, where a very drunk man was sleeping like the dead.
"Right where I left you."
The he looked towards his tools and saw a hammer out of place.
"Not where I left you."
It was then that he noticed a strange hat.
"Hello, not even mine."
At that point, the startling silver of a sword blade came to rest on Will's hand. He looked up only to see a man that could only be a pirate. He had silver teeth, long untamed hair, and was covered in filth.
"Wow…" Stephanie breathed, "He is so hot!"
The two men just looked at her for a second then went back to their 'conversation'.
"You must be the pirate." William spat out.
"And you must be the eunuch." The pirate replied. "My name is Jack Sparrow."
The blonde and the redhead looked at each other, and shared the same "yummy!" look about him.
"He's mine. You have Will." Stephanie stated bluntly.
"Alright with me… OH MY GOD! LOOK AT THEM!"
Jacynthe's yell made the other three girls whip around to look at Jack and Will. They had just started sword fighting. As they watched, they saw the talent of both men.
Jacynthe's and Stephanie's eyes had glazed over. It was too perfect.
"Oh my God. This is so fabulous!"
The girls were shocked at the fight unfolding in front of them, but they just couldn't stop watching.
While the Jacynthe and Stephanie watched the fight, and Bekka just stood there looking impatient at the stupidity of men, Melissa wandered over to a lonely donkey, who was attached to gear.
"Aww! Look at the cute little donkey! Can I keep it?" She asked the other three. Just then Melissa saw a large burn mark on the donkey's rear end. "Wha… wha… what did they do to you?" Melissa looked as though she was on the verge of tears. "You poor, poor donkey! I'm gonna take you away, so no one will ever hurt you again." She smiled, "That is if I can sneak you out without anyone else noticing." Melissa began to walk out, but Stephanie noticed her.
"What the hell are you doing with the donkey? Drop it!"
"I… was borrowing the donkey. Yes, that's it, borrowing. I just wanted to borrow it for a few, ahem, years, and then, well, I would have returned it. Maybe…"
"Melissa. You are not borrowing the donkey. No way. Besides, that would be stealing the donkey, and I don't need you to be hanged any time today for grand theft mammal."
"Fine, then I need a pet chicken. HAHA! I WIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"
"I'm going to kill you!" Jacynthe spat out. "Unless, and this would be a real miracle, unless you SHUT UP!"
"Okay… I'll be good." Melissa moped away.
As all this was happening, the fight still remained as strong as ever, until, the soldiers burst in.
"Jack Sparrow, we meet again." Commodore Norrington said. "Did you really think you could get away from my soldiers? It's the gallows for you."
Jack gulped. "Are you sure that's necessary? I don't think I need to be killed per se. You could just, you know, let me go and banish me from this… lovely… place."
The Commodore rolled his eyes. Bloody Pirates.
Later that night in a jail cell
Jack sat alone in his cell, Norrington hadn't trusted him to be with anyone else at the moment, the fear of corruption was a wonderful thing. He watched the four disgusting men in the cell next to his as they tried to make the dog that held the keys come.
"Come 'ere you. Come on. Come 'ere!"
Jack rolled his eyes at them.
"You can do that forever, but that dog is never going to come."
They all looked up at them, they hadn't heard him speak yet.
"Well forgive us for not resigning us to the gallows yet. We still have some hope of escape."
And before Jack could respond, there came the sound of footsteps down the stairs.
"We were wondering when we'd be able to sneak down." Bekka's voice echoed slightly against the stone walls. "Jacynthe and Stephanie unfortunately couldn't come with us though, they got stuck with bloody Norrington. I hate that guy."
"Which one was Stephanie? The blonde or the gorgeous redhead? I've always had a thing for redheads." Jack smiled to himself slightly.
"Stephanie's the redhead. Jacynthe's the blonde. I believe that Will already has a claim on her though."
"Interesting. So have a way to get me out yet?"
"We're working on it, aren't we Melissa?"
Melissa however, was a little preoccupied by the fact that she couldn't keep the donkey.
"Well, if I can't have the donkey, I think I should get a chicken. Or an emu farm. It's not asking much… Just something. Though, I really did want that donkey. His poor burns… How cruel they are…"
"Melissa right? Do us a favour… and stop rambling to yourself."
"Right, sorry…"
As they spoke, the distant sound of cannon-fire could be heard.
"What's that?"
Jack jumped up and looked out of his 'window'.
"It's the Pearl!"
"What pearl? What's so scary about a pearl?" Melissa asked.
"It's the Black Pearl, a pirate ship that has been destroying ships and settlements for near ten years." The voice came from one cell over, where all four occupants had suddenly gone silent with fear. "I've heard the stories; I heard they never left anyone alive."
"Then where do the stories come from I wonder?" Jack said venomously.
As all this was happening, Jacynthe and Stephanie were sitting in Elizabeth's room, talking about everything.
"I can't believe the day we've had. It's insane! We would never have seen all this at home." Stephanie was very excited at the day she had just had.
"I know. It was incredible. And William seemed very interested in me. I'm going to have fun with that." Jacynthe was more excited about the hot guy that was dropped in front of her.
They had been talking for hours, ever since the Commodore brought them back from the blacksmith's shop. He felt that spending some time with a proper girl like Elizabeth would be the best thing for them.
"Where are you from? Your attire is the strangest I've ever seen." Elizabeth was very curious as to why they hadn't told James where they were from.
"That is an incredibly long story from what I hear, and I still don't understand it. Jacynthe, care to explain to both of us in detail?" Stephanie was still a little on the edgy side as to why they were forced to go to Port Royale.
Just before Jacynthe could answer, there came the sudden sound that could only be made by a cannon ball hitting a stone wall.
"What the hell was that!" Stephanie asked in a shocked voice.
The cannon fire continued, as Elizabeth, Jacynthe, and Stephanie raced to the window to see what was happening. At that point, they had seen a large group of what could only be pirates crashing through the gates.
"Oh my goodness!" Elizabeth breathed. And she ran out of the room.
Stephanie and Jacynthe followed quickly, only to see the doors being opened by the housekeeper.
"DON'T…!" All three girls yelled at the housekeeper. The yell had been too late however, and two particularly frightening looking pirates ran up the stairs towards them. They had ran as fast as they could, and had managed to close and lock the bedroom door only seconds before the two pirates had reached it.
"What are we going to do?" Jacynthe had started to loose her calm air, and was worried. "I mean, how are we going to get out of here?"
"Um… yeah, Elizabeth, any plans?" Stephanie enquired of her new friend. "I really don't just want to stand here and wait for them to get in."
Elizabeth seemed to get the point, because she called in her personal maid.
"They haven't seen you yet, so at the first opportunity you get, run out and to the Fort!" Elizabeth commanded. She led the other two girls out into a drawing room, and locked the french doors with a candelabra.
"Is that going to hold them off, or are we in need of a backup plan?" Stephanie asked in a worried voice. "Because really, I'm not in the mood to be killed by pirates. But that's just me personally."
Elizabeth pointed to a door, opened it and revealed a closet. Jacynthe and Stephanie shared the same doubtful look, but followed her in anyway.
"I don't think this is going to work." Jacynthe spoke out at last, after being silent ever since the front doors were opened. "I just think they will find us."
At that point, Stephanie silenced Jacynthe with her hand. Elizabeth looked at the door, while with one hand grabbed the necklace around her neck. They all waited, holding their breath for fear that they might be heard. The sound of footsteps, then the doors being broken open reached their ears, and they stopped making any movements of any kind. The footsteps moved closer and closer, until all the light that was shining from between the doors was blocked.
"There you are. Come out, we won't hurt you." One pirate said.
"Parley!" Elizabeth yelled out.
"What!" The pirate with a wooden eye yelled.
"We invoke the right of parley, my friends and I do. That means you have to take us to your captain." Elizabeth was very well educated on the subject of pirate codes, a fact that shocked Jacynthe and Stephanie.
"How do you know that? Do you like study pirate books or something?" Stephanie asked of Elizabeth, while Jacynthe looked at her with an awed look in her eyes.
Elizabeth however did not have time to answer before her, Stephanie, and Jacynthe were grabbed and dragged away by the pirates.
Back in town, William was also battling the pirates. He had heard the initial commotion and immediately grabbed a few choice weapons that he had crafted and went to help. While being outside, he heard the distinct sound of people being dragged away. He looked around and saw Jacynthe, Stephanie and Elizabeth being dragged away, all three of them giving him pleading looks as if to say "Help us!"
And at that, the world went dark. Will had unfortunately been hit over the head at that particular moment by one of the pirates, and was knocked out cold.
When he came too, it was morning. The girls were long gone, and there was destruction everywhere.
"They've taken them!" Will exclaimed as he strode towards Norrington. "The girls, my Jacynthe, they're gone!"
"We can't tell for sure that it was the pirates, and even if it was, which is likely, what are we supposed to do about it. We can't go gallivanting around the ocean searching for them." Norrington replied.
"What are we supposed to do then?" Will said back.
"If you know anything about my daughter, just tell me now, or get out of my sight. I can't send people out to find her. I don't have any way to tell where she is." Governor Swan spoke out.
"What about Sparrow? He's a pirate. He might be able to help us." Will pleaded.
"I'm not going to some low life pirate for help!" Norrington shouted. "Now get out of my sight!"
Will turned around and headed straight for the jail, he hoped that Sparrow would be willing to help him.
He reached the jail and went down the stairs. There he found the other two girls from the initial four. Melissa and Bekka had hidden behind a gate during the fight. However, once it ended, they came back out and were talking to Jack.
"You Sparrow!" William spoke with authority. "You know the Black Pearl, and you will take us to it."
"What gives you that idea? Believe it or not, I don't just do things to be nice." Jack replied.
"What's so urgent anyway?" Bekka asked.
"The pirates took Elizabeth, Stephanie, and Jacynthe. We need to get them back!"
"What's your name?" Jack asked Will.
"Will Turner. Short for William. I was named after my father." Will replied with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Fine, get me out, and I'll help you, but only because my poor Stephanie is stuck with those barbarians."
Will picked up a bench, and broke the hinges of the cell door. The four of them ran up the stairs, and prepared themselves for whatever Jack had planned for them.
It was soon found out that they were stealing, no borrowing, a ship of the Royal Navy.
"Are you sure we can do this?" Bekka was a little more than skeptical of this plan, for many reasons, the main one- the fact that they were stealing a ship.
"We'll be fine, they won't even notice until it's too late to stop us." Jack assured them.
They all walked down to a rowboat, climbed underneath it, and walked underwater to the Dauntless. There, they took control of the ship, and got ready for the switch.
"Once Norrington realizes that we have this ship, he will bring the Interceptor over here to try to get us. They will all transfer over here, and we will get the Interceptor all to ourselves." Jack told his makeshift crew.
Just as Jack said he would, Norrington brought the Interceptor over to where the Dauntless was, and they all moved to search for Jack, Will, Melissa, and Bekka. What they didn't know, was that the four had already moved onto the Interceptor, and were sailing away.
"Commodore!" One of the soldiers yelled, "They've taken the Interceptor!"
"Bloody pirates!" Norrington replied.
At that, the four went off to search for Jacynthe, Stephanie, and Elizabeth.
Later that day on the Interceptor
"I know where I've seen you before!" Jack said, "Your father, he was a pirate with me on the Pearl. You look exactly like him."
"How is that possible? My father was a merchant sailor." Will replied with a bite in his voice.
"Hate to break it to you, but he was a pirate and a scallywag. And that means pirate is in your blood. You'd better get used to it, because you'll have to square with that someday."
After the struggle that broke out between Jack and Will (which involved William dangling precariously over the open water courtesy of the ships boom) had ended, they sailed to Tortuga to pick up a proper crew.
On the Pearl
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all! What do they want with us?" Stephanie asked Elizabeth.
"You see this medallion, that's what they want. They've been searching for it for nearly ten years." Elizabeth replied. Jacynthe and Stephanie blinked.
"Why?" They asked in unison. It seemed like a really stupid thing to spend almost a decade looking for, why not a sword or something? Elizabeth sighed.
"I have no idea."
Captain Barbossa's Cabin
"So, tell me about our visitors."
The pirates looked at each other nervously.
"Well Cap'n, we found 'em in the Gov'ners house, they seemed the righ' age 'n all…but we weren't sure which of them was the one, so we jus' grabbed all three. Barbossa rolled his eyes, absently tossing an apple up and down in one hand.
"Very well," he launched himself out of the chair. "I will meet them. Tell them they will be having dinner with me. And if not…"
Back in the Pearls Brig
Jacynthe was restless, pacing back and forth like some kind of cat, agitated and nervous.
"Well? What are we going to do? We can't just sit here and wait for them to kill us or…other things."
Stephanie wrinkled her nose at the thoughts, and visibly shuddered. Elizabeth sighed impatiently.
"Well, what do you propose we do Miss Practical? Maybe it hasn't occurred to you yet, but umm…WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN!"
Jacynthe was about to reply, when the two pirates (hereafter named Freak'n'Weasel) burst in on them.
"The Cap'n requests that you dine with 'im tonight, ad requests that you wear these." He held out three ball gowns to them. Jacynthe narrowed her eyes, and drew herself up to her full 5'8" height.
"Well,
you may tell the captain that we are disinclined to aquiest
his request."
Freak chuckled.
"He said you'd say tha'. He also said that, if that be the case, you'll be dining with the crew…and you'll be naked."
He and Weasel leered lecherously at the three girls. Simultaneously, they reached out and grabbed the garments. The smiles on the pirates' faces dropped like dead flies.
"Get lost Freak'n'Weasel." Stephanie snapped. As soon as the men were gone, the girls changed into their dresses. Elizabeth wore a deep maroon and gold gown with a plunging neckline. Jacynthe and Steph's gowns were much the same, only Jacynthe's was black and silver, and Steph's was navy blue and white.
"Ugh." Steph complained.
"I second that revulsion." Jacynthe echoed her friends distaste. Elizabeth just sighed and shook her head.
"Well." Steph said, "Here goes nothing."
The girls waited impatiently for Barbossa to take them to the dining room. As he came in, they dreaded what he would do to them.
"Well…" Barbossa said as he walked in "Don't we all look pretty." He looked all three girls up and down, and came to rest on Stephanie. "Especially you. What are your names?"
The girls were startled at the way he had looked them up and down, but answered non-the less.
"I'm Elizabeth… Turner, that's Stephanie Turner, and Jacynthe Turner. We are all maids in the Governors mansion." Elizabeth spoke out. Stephanie and Jacynthe looked at each other discretely as Elizabeth said the names and silently questioned why all of a sudden all of them shared the same last name, Turner.
Barbossa led them down the hall into the makeshift dining hall. Already there was food spread over the entire table, with four chairs waiting for their occupants. The girls all sat down on one side, across from Barbossa, and looked warily at the food.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Stephanie whispered to Elizabeth.
"Yes, it will be fine. At least, I think it will be. Unless, no… it's safe."
"Unless what?" Jacynthe said.
"If you girls are finished your little chat, I think it's time to eat." Barbossa's harsh voice cut through their conversation, and they fell silent.
"There we go, now eat."
The girls all put a little food on their plates and began to eat it slowly, still a little wary of it. It tasted fairly normal, so they kept eating.
"Come now, no need to stand on tradition here, you must be hungry."
At that all three girls started stuffing their faces.
"Try the wine." Barbossa said, pouring them each a glass.
They all drank some wine and continued eating.
"And an apple, have one of those next." Barbossa held out three perfectly red apples to the girls. They stopped eating and looked at him in alarm.
"It's poisoned!" Elizabeth whispered.
Barbossa just laughed. "Now, now, there's no sense to be killing you." At that he held out the medallion that he had removed from Elizabeth's neck when they first arrived on the Pearl.
"But you have your trinket! Why not just release us?" Elizabeth replied, while Stephanie and Jacynthe followed the conversation back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match.
"You girls don't know what this is do you?" Barbossa laughed again. "This is Aztec gold. One of eight hundred eighty two pieces delivered in a chest, by Cortez himself. Now the Gods looked at the bloodshed caused by Cortez, and placed upon the gold a curse, a terrible curse, that stated that whoever lifted a single piece of gold out of the chest would be cursed forever. The only way the curse can be lifted is to return all the gold pieces, and the blood to be repaid. Thanks to ye, we have the final piece."
"And the blood to be repaid?" Elizabeth asked slowly.
"That's why there'd be no sense to be killin' you… yet."
Stephanie, finally snapping, jumped out of her chair and grabbed a knife. She drove it straight into where Barbossa's heart should have been, then screamed.
Barbossa just pulled the knife out, "I'm curious, after killin' me, what exactly were you planning to do next?"
The three girls ran out of the room, onto the deck. What they saw there was enough to scare anyone. All the members of the crew were skeletons, wearing ragged, ripped clothing and going about with their work.
"What the…?" Jacynthe said to herself.
The girls ran, hoping to get away from the pirates, but only ran into Barbossa once again. He was also in the skeletal state.
"The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not among the living so we cannot die, but neither are we dead. We are cursed men ladies."
The girls ran inside, and didn't emerge until they were summoned once again.
In Tortuga
"Feast your eyes Cap'n. Here stand the bravest, best scallywags on the ocean. Every man worth his salt, and all just as crazy as you."
Rebecca raised her eyebrow.
"This is your able bodied crew?" She asked Jack and Gibbs. Gibbs was an old friend of Jacks, and a fellow pirate. Jack simply glared at her. But William had to agree…it was a pretty sorry looking bunch. Jack stopped in front of one man.
"You sir."
"Mr. Cotton sir." Gibbs supplied.
"Mr. Cotton do you have the courage and fortitude to fight and stay loyal in the face of danger and almost certain death?" The man looked at Gibbs.
"Mr. Cotton! Answer me." Jack barked.
Gibbs came to the rescue.
"He can't sir…poor blighter had his tongue cut out. We trained the parrot to speak for him."
"How come he gets a parrot but I can't have one little emu?" Melissa asked pouting.
Jack frowned.
"Mr. Cottons…parrot…same question."
The parrot squawked an answer.
"Wind in his sails! Wind in his sails!"
Jack turned to Gibbs for interpretation.
"Mostly, we think that means yes."
Jack turned to Bekka, Melissa and Will.
"Of course it does! There. Are you satisfied?"
Melissa snorted.
"Well, you proved their mad."
Then a high, clear voice rang out from the end of the line.
"And what's the benefit for us?"
Jack was confused, and the group went and stood in front of the owner of the voice. It was clearly a woman. She wore a wide brimmed hat that shaded her face from prying eyes. Jack reached up and removed it, setting free a tumble of brown hair.
"Ana Maria."
Before he could say another word, she hauled off and smacked him hard across the face. Rebecca and William burst out laughing. Melissa and Gibbs didn't notice…they were arguing over the proper ways to care for a badly burned donkey.
'I'll take it you didn't deserve that?" William smirked.
Jack sighed.
"No, that one I deserved."
Ana Maria nodded.
"You stole my BOAT!"
Jack was quick to correct her.
"Borrowed! Borrowed without permission, but with every intention of returning it to you."
Now Ana was furious.
"BUT YOU DIDN'T!"
Jack spluttered, not really sure how he could get this harpy to relax. He really didn't like to be slapped.
"You'll get another one!" He said.
She pointed her finger in his face, warning him.
"I will."
William decided it was time to help Jack, who was looking a little lost.
"A better one!"
"Yes!" Jack agreed. "A better one!"
"That one!" Will said, motioning towards the Interceptor.
Jack whirled at him.
"That one?" He growled. But Will just looked at him.
"Yes." Jack agreed. "That one. What say you?"
Everyone, including Ana Maria yelled AYE, and moved towards the rowboats. Ana glared at Jack and snatched her hat back, jamming it on her head. Rebecca recovered from her laughing fit and patted Jacks arm.
"You really have a lot to learn about women Jack." She then proceeded to tell Melissa what had happened, as she had obviously won the argument by saying…
'Yes, it's true! That's how you cure it. TIMES INFINITY TIMES WHATEVER YOU SAY!"
On the Black Pearl, just off shore of the Isla de Muerta
The three girls stood looking out on the desolate rocks that made up the Isla de Muerta.
"I wonder what that means…" Elizabeth queried. Jacynthe and Stephanie both supplied her with an automatic answer.
"Isle of the Dead."
Elizabeth blanched noticeably.
"Oh."
Then, the door burst open and Freak trudged in, accompanied by Weasel and two other pirates whose names the girls did not know.
"Time to go poppets." He reached out to take Stephanie's arm, but she yanked away and growled menacingly.
"Touch me, and I will rip your arm off and feed you to the sharks."
He only laughed, disbelieving her. But Jacynthe, being the helpful young woman that she was, leaned over and whispered,
"Trust me when I say, she'd do it."
Freak shut up. The girls all made their ways to the rowboat to transport them to shore. But Barbossa stopped them.
"There's only one amulet. So we only need one girl. You're all related…same parents, same blood." His yellow gaze landed on Jacynthe.
"You girl. You'll do jus' fine."
Stephanie could only watch in growing horror as three pirate men grabbed her best friend and tied her wrists together. Then, with the utmost care and gentleness, Captain Barbossa fastened the amulet around Jacynthe's neck. Then, with a cheer from the crowd, all three girls were herded onto boats, Jacynthe in one, and Steph and Elizabeth in another. Stephanie could feel tears burning her eyes. Not tears of sadness, but of anger and frustration that she was completely helpless. The rowboats made their way into the caves, where the pirates had been dumping loot for over ten years. On the top of one pile of gold and silver coins was a stone chest emblazoned with the face of the Aztec god Montezuma, the God of vengeance. Jacynthe was hauled up to the top with Barbossa, while the other pirates and girls looked on from the bottom. Something had to be done…and soon.
On board the Interceptor
Rebecca looked out over the endless ocean, feeling dwarfed compared to its infinite vastness. Melissa stood beside her. They were quiet, each lost to their own thoughts. Melissa broke the silence first.
"Do you think they're okay?"
Rebecca sighed.
"I really don't know Melissa. Judging by what Jack has said about Captain Barbossa, I have a sneaking suspicion that they aren't."
They were silent again until Jack came up beside them.
"You'd best tell me what you know about the girls. How they'd react in situations like this."
Rebecca, being the only one present that had any idea whatsoever as to what was going on, smirked humorlessly.
"Well, I can tell you what Jacynthe'd do. She'd threaten and posture and snap. But deep down, she's one of the toughest people I know. I mean, just look at her history with the guys she's dated, that Corey guy….she ran with him for ten months, and he hurt her real bad…in lots of different ways. She won't back down in a fight. You threaten her, she'll get in your face and threaten right back. Let this be a warning to you William Turner. She's a fighter, but if you hurt her, I will beat you to death with a shovel."
Will looked scared and kind of shocked. Rebecca patted his shoulder.
"Hey. A vague disclaimer's nobody's friend. Anyway, she'll be alright. We've gotten out of worse scrapes than this. There was that one time when she and I were nearly killed for being spies…totally unnecessary…long story. And Stephanie? Well, there's a firebrand with a serious punch. She may be small in stature, but that chick can send even the biggest men running for their mothers. She has a tongue made of steel. You can totally tell she's Irish. In fact, they both are. But Steph has the hair to prove it. Tempers aside, their both such wonderful people. They care about everyone around them. They have a strong sense of justice and fair play." Jack nodded and looked out on the horizon.
"There it is. Isla de Muerta. And there's my Pearl. All hands on deck!"
In the Caves
Geez this guy likes to hear himself speak! Thought Jacynthe. He'd been making this big long speech about how they all deserved to be human again…and how her blood would lift the curse, blah, blah, blah. She locked eyes with Stephanie, who was thinking frantically for some sort of plan. But then, Barbossa took the amulet from Jacynthe's neck, put it in her hand, and cut across her palm with a sharp bone dagger. He squeezed her hand tightly and then she dropped the medallion onto the pile.
"That's it?" She said, disbelief evident in her voice.
Barbossa smiled.
"Waste not!" He said in a sing song voice. Then all the pirates shut their eyes and waited for something to happen. One of them asked,
"Did it work?"
Another replied,
"I don't feel no different."
Barbossa rolled his eyes, grabbed his pistol and shot Freak in the chest. Nothing happened.
"You're not dead." Said Weasel.
"No…he shot me!" Said Freak, both shocked and incredulous.
A pirate with dreadlocks called out.
"It didn't work."
Barbossa grabbed Jacynthe by the shoulders, and shook her.
"You, Maid! What was your fathers' name? Was your father William Turner?"
Jacynthe looked him in the eye.
"No."
Barbossa shook her violently.
"Where is his child? The child who sailed from England eight years ago?"
Jacynthe remained defiantly silent. Enraged, Barbossa backhanded her across the face. Stephanie and Elizabeth went to help her up. They were muffled by the sounds of the pirates yelling at each other, claiming mutiny and such things. Steph was surprised to see William pop up in the water next to an unconscious Jacynthe. Motioning for them to be silent, he put a wet hand over Jacynthe's mouth, waking her instantly. Silently, they all slipped into the water and away towards the cave opening. Jack was nowhere in sight. The pirates had finished their argument, and one yelled;
"I think we should kill her, and spill ALL her blood, just in case!"
Barbossa turned back to grab Jacynthe, but she was gone, as were the other two girls. His pet monkey screeched and pointed towards the cave opening.
"AFTER THEM!" Barbossa screamed at his crew. They all ran back to the boats, but found the oars missing. There was no way they'd be able to catch them now.
Outside, on the Interceptor
William helped a sodden Jacynthe up onto the deck of the ship. She looked up at the crew and groaned.
"No more pirates."
Then, two familiar faces appeared in front of her.
"O my God! Bekka! Melissa!"
They all hugged excitedly. Stephanie joined them, too happy to see her friends to bother removing that damned dress. William took Jacynthe by the hand and made to lead her below deck, but Gibbs asked,
"Where be Jack?"
Will sighed.
"He fell behind."
There was a moment of silence, and then Ana Maria took command. Jacynthe and William went down below.
"Did you have fun?" Melissa asked, trying to be annoying.
Stephanie gave her the look that said 'don't even go there on pain of death', and Melissa stopped.
"I'm so glad you're back!" Bekka said as she hugged Stephanie. "I was so worried, even though I knew you and Jacynthe could handle yourselves."
"I'm so glad we're back too. I was worried. I must say. Although, I don't think Barbossa is done with us quite yet. We kinda pissed him off royally."
Ana Maria told the girls to go inside, so that they could not be seen, and the girls went.
Melissa had wandered away from Stephanie and Bekka and went to explore below deck. It was then that she heard a thumping noise coming from the brig. Frowning, she pulled open the wooden door to reveal a tiny baby donkey lying on the floor asleep.
"Awwwwwwwww! BEKKA! STEPH! COME QUICK!"
The baby donkey looked at Melissa, rising on four tiny feet to come nuzzle her hand. His big brown eyes looked at Melissa adoringly as she pet his head, and his large ears twitched happily at all the attention.
"YAY! I get a donkey! A little, itty, baby donkey all for me! I'm keeping him! I wiiiiiiiiin!" Melissa screamed excitedly.
Meanwhile below deck…
"What sort of man would sell someone's life for a ship!" Jacynthe screamed "Who would do something like that?"
"A pirate…" was Will's reply.
Jacynthe continued bandaging her hand, but was so enraged that she couldn't do it.
"Here, let me help you." Will finished the bandaging just as Jacynthe pulled her hand away. "Blacksmiths hands. I know they're rough."
"Yes, I mean no. But don't stop."
Will leaned slowly forward, with the intention of kissing Jacynthe. But as he got close, Jacynthe took his hand and ran it slowly down her chest. There she grabbed the medallion still around her neck and put it into Will's hand.
"It's yours."
"Why'd you take it?" Will was indignant.
Jacynthe was on the verge of tears. "Elizabeth had it. She said she took it because she thought you were a pirate…that would have been awful."
Just then the sound of cannon fire came from above. Will and Jacynthe ran up the steps to the main deck.
"It was a good plan, until now." Ana Maria had been saying to Stephanie.
"What's going on!" Jacynthe asked frantically.
"The Pearl, it's caught up to us." Bekka stated.
"What are we going to do guys?" Melissa questioned them all.
"We have to take a stand." Elizabeth said.
"The Pearl will come up behind us. She'll be able to hit us without ever presenting a target." Ana Maria argued.
"Lower the anchor on the right side." Stephanie said quietly.
"What?"
"The starboard side! The ship will pull around and come up right beside the Pearl! They won't be expecting it!" Stephanie continued on.
"There's an idea…" Jacynthe said.
"You're mad! The both of you!" Ana Maria was getting very frustrated.
"Mad like Jack! Lower the anchor you scabbers' dogs!" Gibbs jumped down to help the crew.
The anchor was dropped with many nervous looks from the crew and Ana Maria. Just as the Pearl was pulling up behind them, the anchor took hold and pulled the ship around. The two ships were side by side, and the crews were egging each other on.
As the ships slowed to a stop, the crews looked to the leaders for command.
"Guns at the ready! FIRE!" Barbossa yelled out.
"FIRE!" Stephanie yelled back, and the two ships were engulfed in cannon fire.
Melissa, Bekka, Jacynthe, and Stephanie all stood there with guns in their hands, just waiting for the crew of the Pearl to board.
On the Pearl
"Apparently there's a leak." Jack said sarcastically to a tall pirate with scars all over his face and chest, as he was locked in the brig.
The yells of the crew could be heard yelling and screaming, getting ready for the fight before them. Jack sat alone, below the deck, and looked out of a small hole in the side of the Pearl.
"Fire!" Jack heard Barbossa yell, and quickly jumped backwards to avoid being hit.
At that point a cannon ball, or more like a case full of cutlery and other random objects from the
Interceptor, crashed through the side of the ship, only a foot away from where Jack was sitting.
"Stop blowing holes in my ship!" He screamed out.
A small canteen floated past, and Jack immediately recognized it as Gibbs'. As he turned around to face the gate, Jack noticed that the lock had been blasted open by the makeshift cannon ball. Jack pushed on it gingerly, unsure if it would open, and listened to it creak as it swung open easily. He pocketed the canteen and raced up to the deck, where all hell had broken loose.
Back on the Interceptor
The four girls were crouched down, protected from the gunfire coming from the Pearl.
"This is fun!" Stephanie said sarcastically. "I just love being shot at!" She shot a dirty look at the others.
"Calm down sweetie." Jacynthe said calmly. "None of us really like this, but it will all be okay."
"This isn't working! We need more men!" Gibbs called out.
"I know! We'll give them her!" Ana Maria grabbed Jacynthe and put a gun to her head.
"She's not the one they're after" Will replied.
Jacynthe then put her hand to her chest. "The medallion!"
Will ran down to where they had been sitting earlier. The medallion was no where to be found. Will searched for about five minutes until a sudden impact knocked him off his feet. A well placed cannonball from Freak 'n' Weasel had shattered the mast.
"Jacynthe! Help!" Will cried out.
Jacynthe ran to try to move the heavy mast, but was unable. "I can't move it!" And before she could try again, two pirates came up behind her and dragged her away.
"Now that's not very nice." Came the sudden voice of Jack Sparrow, who unnoticed to all of them, had returned to the Interceptor.
His speech distracted the pirates long enough for Jacynthe to escape their grip, and hit one in the face with the butt of her gun. Stephanie had run after her as she was dragged away, and proceeded to punch the other into the water.
"Thanks." Jacynthe breathed.
"What are friends for?" Stephanie replied.
Meanwhile down below deck Will struggled to get out. The rushing water was rising so fast around him that Will could barely stay above water, let alone force his way out.
Just then a screeching noise reached Will's ears. Barbossa's disgusting monkey was running up and out of the hold with the medallion clutched in his paw.
The monkey was noticed by Stephanie as it raced across the deck of the ship.
"Jack! The monkey has the medallion!" She yelled out.
"Monkey!" Jack crawled quickly across the broken mast to the Pearl.
"Why thank ye Jack." Barbossa's voice drawled from above.
"You're welcome." Jack replied.
"Not you. We named the monkey Jack." The monkey tilted his head at Jack, and gave his screeching call again.
The fighting lasted a while longer, the exact time is unknown, but not long after Barbossa had the medallion, the crew of the Interceptor found themselves tied to the mast of the Pearl.
"If any of you so much as thinks the work 'parley', I'll have your guts for garters!" Freak cried.
The pirates paced menacingly around the mast watching their captives to make sure they didn't try to escape. They all watched in silence as the Interceptor sank slowly before their eyes.
"Will…" Jacynthe broke out of her binds, and Stephanie, Bekka, Elizabeth and Melissa followed suit.
"Oh he'll come back missies. You took advantage of our hospitality last time, now all's fair you return the favour. He tossed the five women into the crowd of pirates. They struggled for a few minutes before a new voice reached their ears.
"They go free!" Will yelled out.
"What's in your head boy?" Barbossa spat.
"They go free." Will repeated as he pointed Jack's gun at Barbossa.
Barbossa just laughed at Will's intimidation.
"You only have one shot, and we can't die."
"You can't, but I can." Will held the gun under his chin, and waited for a response.
"Who are you anyway?"
Jack then stepped in, not wanting people to know who William really was.
"He's no one! My aunt's cousin's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice. Snip. Snip."
"My name is William Turner, son of Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood flows in my veins." William cut in. Jack slunk away, defeated.
"He's the spitting image of old Bootstrap Bill! Come back to haunt us!" Weasel cried out.
"Very well Mr. Turner, name your terms." Barbossa replied to Will.
"The girls go free."
"Yes, we got that one. Anything else?"
Jack was pointing to himself expectantly.
"And the crew, the crew are not to be harmed." Will replied.
"Agreed." Barbossa drawled.
A little while later Barbossa ordered the ship to be slowed. He grabbed Jacynthe, Stephanie, and Elizabeth, who all happened to be wearing their gowns still, and shoved them towards the plank.
"Barbossa you lying bastard! You swore they'd go free!" Will yelled.
"Don't dare impugn me honour boy. I agreed they'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." Barbossa laughed maniacally. "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, so I'll be having those dresses back before you go."
The girls took the horrid gowns off and threw them at Barbossa.
"They go with your black heart!" Stephanie spat.
At that, they were forced to walk the plank. After Stephanie, Jacynthe, and Elizabeth were in the water, Bekka and Melissa were also forced to walk the horrible walk into the ocean. The five girls started to swim towards the island that they were dropped in front of, while Jack tried to convince Barbossa not to throw him in as well.
"Aren't we passed all this?" Jack asked warily.
"Jack, Jack, did you not notice, that be the same little island we made you governor of on our last little trip." Barbossa replied.
"I did notice. Last time, you gave me a pistol with one shot in it."
"By the powers you're right. Where be Jack's pistol?" The gun and sword were handed to Barbossa by a member of his crew.
"Since there are six of us, as gentlemen, we should get six pistols." Jack eyed Barbossa hopefully.
"It will be one pistol as before. You be the gentleman and kill the ladies and starve to death yourself." At that the pistol was thrown in the water, and Jack dove in after it.
On shore
"But you were marooned on this island before weren't you?" Stephanie demanded "How did you escape last time?"
"Last time… I was here a grand total of three days alright?" It had cost Jack everything to tell his love this. "Last time, the rum runners used this island as a cache, and I was able to barter passage off. But by the looks of things, they've long been out of business. Probably thanks to your bloody friend Norrington." The last comment was aimed directly at Elizabeth.
"So you spent three days, lying on a beach, drinking rum?" Elizabeth was furious.
"Welcome to the Caribbean love." And Jack handed each of the girls a bottle of rum, and all but Elizabeth began to drink. About half an hour later, they were all completely and totally wasted. They were all dancing and skipping around a huge bonfire madly singing "A Pirates Life For Me". All that is…except Elizabeth. Still frustrated on being marooned here at all, she had moved away to sit on the beach and watch the sea. Jack sat down hard on the sand and pulled Stephanie down with him.
"When I get the Pearl back, I'll teach this song to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!"
"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main." Steph agreed, slurring her words. Jack looked at her seriously.
"Not just the Spanish Main my love, the entire ocean. That what a ship is you know. It's not just a keel and a hold and a mast and the sails, that's what a ship needs…but what a ship is…what the Black Pearl really is… is freedom."
Stephanie sighed and snuggled up to Jack.
"It must be really terrible for you Jack, to be stuck here on this island."
Jack looked down at her, partly shocked, but very happy.
"Yes terrible. But I must admit the company is immensely better than last time. The scenery is much improved."
Steph sat up, seemingly insulted.
"Mishter Shparrow! I h…hardly think I've had e-enuf rum…to allow that kin' of talk."
He could tell she was joking.
'Oh? How much more would it take to do this?"
He pounced on her and pinned her, beginning a raucous game of tickle torture. Stephanie shrieked and laughed, smacking him on the head and chest. Then he stopped bent low and kissed her. Thoughts swirled around in her head…from "Oh my God he's kissing me I can't breathe!" to "Ouch. There's a root jabbing into my back." She broke away and grimaced. Jack frowned.
"Wha's wrong lovey? You're not angry are ye?"
Steph shook her head no.
"No, it's just, there's a dirty great root stabbing me in the back."
Jack laughed and picked her up, and he carried her away into the palm trees.
Out on the Beach
Jacynthe sat on a boulder in the middle of the water, looking out into the star strewn night.
"Why must this happen? I'm so lost." Jacynthe said to herself. "I don't know where I should be in all of this, I don't feel like I even belong. I just don't know."
She continued looking out towards the water, deep in her thoughts. "I just want to get out of this safely, so I feel like I belong again."
Jacynthe sighed deeply and began to quietly sing one of her and Stephanie's favorite songs.
"May it
be
An evening star
Shines down
Upon you
May it
be
When darkness falls
Your heart
Will be true
You
walk a lonely road
Oh how far you are from home
Mornié
Utúlié
Believe and you
Will find your
way
Mornié Alantié
A promise lives
Within
you now
May it be
The shadow's call
Will fly away
May
it be
You journey on
To light the day
When the night is
overcome
You may rise
To find the sun
Mornié
Utúlie
Believe and you
Will find your way
Mornié
Alantié
A promise lives
Within you now
A promise
lives
Within you now..."
Her gentle voice gave way to sobs as the song ended. Unknown to Jacynthe, Stephanie and Jack stood hidden in the trees, and heard every word she had said.
"I know how she feels. That even when you are surrounded by people, you feel like you are alone. I feel it too. Being here, away from our families, our other friends. We're alone." Stephanie was the first to break the silence.
Jack looked at her and in an uncharacteristically caring voice said "You will never be alone, lovey. Not while you're with me."
"Thank you."
Stephanie walked away from Jack's side and went to sit with Jacynthe. As she walked up, Jacynthe took notice. The sadness in her eyes was so pronounced, that even Jack could see it.
"I don't know why I'm doing this. I don't know why I feel like this. I need to stop it. I need to get out." Jacynthe cried to Stephanie. "I can't stop it. I don't know why, but I just can't."
"Shh… It's okay. I know how it feels. I mean, I burst out in tears because I put the wrong time on the sign-out sheet at work. I can't explain it. You just feel hopeless, like you don't belong. But it always passes, and you feel much better. Don't worry. It'll all be okay."
Jacynthe hugged Stephanie, and they walked back towards Jack.
"And of course…if all else fails…you can always just get drunk."
Laughter filled the air.
The next morning, Jacynthe, Steph, and Jack were all sound asleep under the shade of the palms. Jacynthe was leaning up against a tree trunk, while Jack and Steph were curled up together in the sand. Bekka and Melissa were making a bonfire. This bonfire was changed into a full on blaze when Elizabeth had the bright idea to throw all the alcohol on the fire. An especially loud explosion woke the others from their hangover induced sleep. Jack's eyes widened as he watched all three girls chuck three more barrels of rum into the flames.
"No! Not Good! You burned all the food, the shade, the rum!"
"Yes," Elizabeth confirmed. "The rum is gone."
"Why is the rum gone?" Jack demanded.
Elizabeth rounded on him.
"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels, two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. Do you really think there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?"
"But why is the rum gone?" Jack re-iterated, still not quite comprehending. Elizabeth threw herself down beside Melissa and Rebecca on the sand.
"Just wait Captain Sparrow." Rebecca assured him. "Give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye open and you will see white sails on that horizon."
Furious, Jack spun around to rouse Stephanie and Jacynthe from their own respective stupors.
"Mmm…no. I don't like you today." Stephanie grumbled as she turned over.
"Lovey! Come on girl wake up. Elizabeth burned all the rum!"
Jacynthe yawned and grimaced at the pain pounding out a rhythm behind her eyes.
'Well good for her. What with the way I feel now, I'd probably do the same thing. You are an evil, evil man Jack Sparrow." Jacynthe groaned, glaring daggers at her best friends' new boyfriend. Jack took out his pistol, the pistol with only one shot and pointed it for a moment at Elizabeth. However, he could not use that shot on anyone but Barbossa. He jammed the pistol back into his waistband and strode off eager to get away from the girls.
After he got to the other side of this island, which took little time for it was a tiny island, he looked up and saw the Dauntless anchored offshore, and the sailors rowing to this island.
"There'll be no living with them after this."
On the Dauntless
"But we have to save him!" Jacynthe cried. "He's trapped with Barbossa, and the murderous pirates!"
"And they have my donkey!" Melissa added.
Commodore Norrington and Governor Swan just ignored Melissa, and went back to Jacynthe.
"The boy's fate is regrettable, but so was his decision to engage in acts of piracy."
"To rescue us! To prevent anything from happening to us!" Stephanie replied.
"Please Commodore. Do this for me, as a wedding present." Elizabeth said.
Her father and Norrington looked shocked for a few minutes. They knew Elizabeth loved James, but weren't sure if she was ready for marriage yet.
"Does this mean you are accepting the Commodore's proposal?" Governor Swan asked hurriedly after he had recovered from the shock.
"Yes."
"Oh a wedding! I love weddings! Drinks all around!" Jack burst out. Stephanie reached out and grabbed his arm to try to shut him up, but with no success.
"Clap 'im in irons right?" Jack said.
"Mister Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide them with the bearings to Isla de Muerta. After that you will spend the rest of the journey contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave'. Is that clear?" Norrington said.
"Inescapably." Jack muttered as he was dragged off.
The five girls went into the main cabin and changed into decent clothing. There they stayed and talked until they saw Isla de Muerta. It was then that Jacynthe began to tie sheets together, so they could get off the ship with out being noticed.
Once in the rowboat, the girls paddled their way to the entrance into the caves, and saw all the pirates assembled once more.
Jack arrived shortly there after, having convinced Norrington to let him go into the caves alone and make the pirates leave. He walked in and saw that Barbossa had gotten the crew all riled up, and was about to cut William's throat.
Jack walked through the crowds until he caught Barbossa's attention.
"It's not possible." Barbossa said.
"Not probable." Jack corrected.
"Fine! You're next!"
Jack cringed at the thought of his throat being slit by his enemy. "You don't want to be doing that." He said as Barbossa put the knife to William's neck.
"No, I really think I do." Barbossa replied.
"Your funeral."
Barbossa sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Why don't I want to be doing this?"
"Because the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore."
All the pirates went silent at that comment. Only William had moved to look at Jack, silently questioning what was going on.
"Now I say you send your men out there with their little boats, and they do what they do best, and then there you are with two ships. A making of your own fleet. Of course you will take the grandest as your flagship, and who can blame you, but what of the Pearl? Name me captain of the Pearl, and I'll sail under your command, and give you ten percent of me plunder. What say you?" Jack stated.
"I want fifty percent." Barbossa bartered.
"Fifteen."
"Forty."
"Twenty five. And I'll buy you the hat, a really big one. Do we have an accord?" Jack made his final offer.
Barbossa smiled and he and Jack shook hands. "We have an accord."
"I suppose in all this, you don't want me to kill the whelp." Barbossa said pointing at William.
"No by all means, kill the whelp; just wait for the opportune moment. (he looked pointedly at Will) Like when your men kill all of the Commodore's men, every last one." As the last three words were spoken, Jack picked up a handful of gold from the open chest, and was dropping them down. When he finished speaking, William noticed Jack pocketing one of the medallions, and gave him a searching look.
"You've been planning this from the beginning! Ever since you learned my name!" William burst out.
"Yeah." Jack replied. Then as he turned to Barbossa, and yelled out "all hands to the boats!"
Barbossa stared at him.
"Apologies, you give the orders." Jack shrank back.
"Gents. Take a walk!" All the pirates save a handful who were left to guard the girls and Will, left the caves yelling and screaming.
"You're a difficult man to figure out Jack Sparrow." Barbossa commented while Jack was rummaging through all the wealth.
"Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest person you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch for, you never know when they will do something incredibly stupid."
At his last words, Jack grabbed the sword of one of the pirates, and tossed a second one to William. Barbossa and his remaining crewmates jumped into action, fighting the two men.
"Maybe we should help…" Melissa said to the other girls.
The other four just looked at her, but stayed where they were, and watched the heated battle between Jack and Barbossa unfold.
"You can't beat me Jack!" Barbossa yelled out throwing down his sword.
Jack took his sword and jammed it into Barbossa's chest. Barbossa sighed and then impaled Jack upon the sword. Jack swaggered backwards, into a beam of moonlight. All five girls gasped at what they saw.
"Whose side is Jack on anyway?" Bekka asked Stephanie, for when Jack had moved backwards into the moonlight, he had taken the same form as Barbossa and his crew did; skeletal.
"That's interesting." Jack commented lightly as he played with the medallion. "Sorry mate couldn't resist."
Barbossa was furious and threw a handful of gold coins into Jack's face before the fighting commenced once more.
After a few more minutes of fighting, Barbossa laid down on a flat rock and threw his sword down.
"So what now Jack Sparrow? Are we to be two immortals locked in this epic battle until judgment day and the trumpets sound?" Barbossa smirked.
"Dammit! I wish I had my trumpet with me! Then they could stop fighting, and Jack and I could go off and get married and spend the rest of our days pillaging." The other four just stared at her, and she added, "What? It's true."
Once they looked back at the fight, Jack was responding to Barbossa's taunts. "Or you could surrender."
Barbossa jumped up, and Jack, taking advantage of a moment when his opponent's back was turned, took the medallion in his hand and cut himself. The medallion he then threw to William, who was making his way to the chest.
Barbossa quickly turned around, having heard the sound of falling coins. The sight that met his eyes did not please him in the least. William was standing next to the chest, with the knife in one hand, and the two medallions, covered in blood, in the other. When he turned back, Jack had pulled out his gun and was pointing it at Barbossa's chest.
This was too much for Stephanie. She raced forwards, but stopped due to Barbossa pointing his gun at her. One shot was fired. Barbossa looked back at Jack.
"Ten years you carry that gun and now you wasted your shot."
"He didn't waste it!" Will yelled, and he dropped the medallions into the chest.
Blood began to pour from Barbossa's wound as he looked down. "I feel… cold." And then he collapsed. Jack, and the girl all breathed sighs of relief. That was it. It was done. No doubt, the ambush on the Dauntless was having the same success. Jacynthe turned to Will.
"Are you ok? No broken bones or anything?"
Will smiled lovingly down at her.
"Nope. Nothing. Just you and me. In a dark cave, where no one can see us…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. Jacynthe swatted him on the arm.
"Beast." But she kissed him none the less. Tired, bloody and elated, they all piled into a rowboat. Jack was eager to take Stephanie aboard his Pearl, but when the got out of the cave, the only ship in the water was the Dauntless.
"I'm sorry Jack." Jacynthe called. Jack's shoulders slumped.
"They done whats right by them. Can't expect anythin' less."
The Dauntless, captained by a very relieved Commodore Norrington, and Governor Swann hauled the group up on deck. Jack was instantly clapped in irons and was about to be taken below to the brig when Stephanie spoke up.
"Wherever he goes, I go too. And if that means spending the remainder of this trip in the brig, then so be it."
The two guards looked at one another and shrugged. One reached out and yanked on Steph's arm.
"Hey! I didn't mean it literally! Why can't he just stay up here? It's not like he has anywhere else to go!"
Commodore Norrington pondered the thought for a moment. Then he agreed.
"Very well. Mister Sparrow will stay with you for the entirety of the trip Miss Peters. He will be dealt with further upon our return to Port Royal." And with that he turned to fuss over Elizabeth. Steph looked worried.
"What's he mean dealt with further Jack? What's going to happen?" Jack sighed and wrapped her in a hug, made much easier by the removal of the irons.
"I don't rightly know luv. I don't know at all."
In Port Royal, the Fort
"You can't do this! This isn't right! He's a good man! Please!" Stephanie's screams fell on deaf ears.
"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law…as are we all." Governor Swann intoned. The group was assembled at the fort, preparing for the hanging of Captain Jack Sparrow.
"You pompous, self serving, biased, PRICK!" Stephanie screamed at Norrington. She was so hysterical three burly soldiers and all her friends had to grab her and pin her down. Slowly, her hysteria lessened to quiet sobs. It seemed all hope was lost. Then Melissa whispered in her ear.
"Sssh! Look, Will is going to help him."
Indeed, Will was making his way towards the group.
"Jacynthe. I should have told you from the first time I met you…I love you."
Jacynthe smiled.
"I know."
And with a nod, Will plunged into the crowd. Elizabeth, sensing the need for a distraction, fainted dead away.
"Elizabeth!" Cried James, thus distracting him from the escape attempt now in progress. The drums stopped, and the hatch fell open. In the split second before Jack fell, Will threw a cutlass and jammed the lever. Jack struggled to find footing on the thin sheet of metal.
"Yes! Well done Will." Stephanie hollered. She and the girls ran out to help the men, as they were avidly evading the soldiers. But they were soon surrounded at gunpoint.
"I expected some ill-planned escape attempt from Sparrow here, but not by you Mr. Turner."
Governor Swann was livid.
"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you all clemency. And this is how you repay me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate!"
"And a good man." Stephanie and Will chorused. "If that means that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, then so be it."
"You forget your place Turner." Norrington spat.
"It's right here. Between you and Jack." Will said calmly. Elizabeth, feeling that James would not budge, save for if a drastic measure was used, stepped up beside Will.
"So is mine."
"And mine." Steph echoed, wrapping her arms around Jack's neck. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to go through me too."
James, duly chastised, motioned for the men to drop their guns to their sides.
"Thank you James." Elizabeth whispered. Jack and Stephanie smiled at one another, and the atmosphere was light and happy again. James took Elizabeth's hand, and they left the fort. All was quiet until Melissa shrieked.
"OH MY GOSH! Look!" They all ran to see a huge barge filled with all kinds of exotic animals. In one of the cages was…an Emu and her two chicks.
"There! See! There are Emus here. Let's go down and see them!" And with that, she bounded away towards the docks. Laughing hysterically, the others followed.
FIN.
