GAH!!! TOMORROW!!! Twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes from now!!! WEEEEE!!! If you are going to an 8 PM showing tomorrow, huzzah for you!! My theater in town just decided to add the 8 PM show tow days ago, and the best part is that there's no advanced ticket sales for my theater, so I have a chance to get in!!! LoL... I'm sorry. I'm on my pirate kick right now, I probably will be for a long time!! EEEEEEE!!!
Wow. Pirates 3. Tomorrow.
I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Dis/Claimer -

x x x

SparrowsVixon
Hehe, Jack could be such a softy if he ran into a kid, and I know it. That's why i did this - I wanted to have Jack interect with some random little kid, and so far it's gotten good results! Thanks for the review, and enjoy! Pirates 3 tomorrow! Woot!

blacklabluver07
I'll swing by and drop a line ASAP. I'm probably gonna be up all night with excitement from my pirate kick (n. Erica's extreme state of giddyness/hyperness/love of all things pirate. synonyms - my natural high, lol). Thanks for the review, and go see Pirates 3!!! YES!!!

dumbblonde76
Thank you very much! I hope you like it enough to stick around and keep reading! I know you won't be disappointed! Thanks for reviewing, and have fun going to see Pirates 3! Enjoy the new chapter, too!

Norma Jean
LoL... Creda is the ultimate four-year-old (even though she did grow up in Tortuga, lol)! Would you believe I didn't even have a name for her when I stared writing this? Haha... Thanks for the luck-wiching and the review, and have fun At World's End!! Enjoy!

ForensicPhotographer711
Okay, I am officially going to shorten your penname in further chapters to FP711, lol. I love the name, though, and that you've liked the story so much thus far! Keep reading, and enjoy it! I'm stll debating whether to end it with DMC or continue to World's End, but I'll let you know! Enjoy PotC 3!!!

Kenny
OMG, I had such an adventure just getting to know I would see it! see, my dad wouldn't let me go to the midnight show, and the closest 8 PM show was 60 miles away, so I couldn't do that. And then after school Friday, I'm leaving to go camping all weekend! I was panicking, but then Carmikes in town decided to add the 8 PM show a few days ago, and there's a chance I might get in because they don't sell or accept advanced ticket sales!! I'm so PUMPED!!! Well, thank you for reviewing, and have fun at Pirates 3!! WOOT!!!

. x X x .

Chapter Seven
The Flying Dutchman

"Creda."

The young girl sat stubbornly in the rowboat, arm folded over her chest with an angry scowl. She was the last in the rowboat, and Jack's arm was getting tired from holding onto the ladder on the side of the ship.

"Creda, get out of the boat."

"You left Norrington," was all she would have to say to him.

Jack rolled his eyes. What? Did she actually like him or something?

"Creda, darling. Last chance."

The girl suddenly stood on the seat, lifted her skirt, and held a foot over the water. She looked back at Jack, and his eyes got narrow.

"Don't you do it," he warned.

"You left Norrington!"

"I'll leave you, too!"

An empty threat, but it was all he had left. Finally, after she raised her leg a little higher to drop into the water, Jack scowled himself and picked her up around the waist.

"Hey!"

Creda broke out into screams, beating on his shoulder as he climbed the ladder with much difficulty and low tolerance. When they got on deck, Jack put her down, and her tantrum instantly stopped. He just looked at her sadly, almost apologetically. She was four. She didn't know anything about the world yet; especially not a pirate's world…

Still, Creda glared at him. Then, out of nowhere, she stomped on his foot unforgivingly and stormed off. Jack winced painfully as Gibbs came up beside him with a questionable look after the girl. He and Jack exchanged looks, and then he handed the captain his jar of dirt.

"She's a bit sore with you," Gibbs said. Jack made a face.

"Imagine that."

"What happened?"

"Commodore fell behind."

Creda stomped off to the opposite side of the ship, folding her arms over her chest. She looked out at the sky and sea with a hateful scorn, but eventually, the scorn deteriorated into a watery frown. Creda sniffed back a tear, beginning to sob.

Suddenly, a huge wave rose out of the ocean, and Creda stepped back frightfully from the edge as the Flying Dutchman materialized right in front of her very eyes from the ocean. On the deck, the crew laughed, mocked, and jeered at the Pearl, and Creda stepped back even more until she bumped into Gibbs and Jack.

"I'll handle this, mate," Jack said casually, pushing Gibbs aside. Creda went to follow, but Gibbs grabbed her shoulder absentmindedly, a look of terror still on his face as he stared at the Flying Dutchman.

The next thing Creda realized was that Jack was falling down the stairs. The entire crew made expressions of pain and worry, and Creda went to run after him again, but again Gibbs held not only one, but both of her shoulders now.

"But-"

"Shh."

"But Jack-"

"Shh."

Then, she heard Jack shout something as he got to his feet and smiled.

"He's okay," she whispered to Gibbs who gave no response. She watched as Jack stood and carried around his jar of dirt talking to someone over on the other ship. Then, he began singing!

"I got a jar of di-irt! I got a jar of di-irt! And guess what's inside it!" he taunted.

Creda smiled, jumping excitedly. "Leverage!" she shouted in the dead silence.

Jack looked over at her somewhat horrified. At this, Gibbs clapped his hand over her mouth, looking over at Davy Jones with nervous laugh. He went silent with huge eyes as guns were brought out of the Dutchman's hull.

Then, everything changed drastically.

Gibbs ran from Creda as everyone on the boat began screaming at one another, and she looked around helplessly as the Pearl began to move perpendicular with the Dutchman. A blast came form the Dutchman and rocked the entire ship, cutting through its length. Creda fell to the ground, cowering against the railing.

All around her was pandemonium. What was happening? Why were they fighting? Where was Jack?

A long time passed that Creda had no record of, and Elizabeth was suddenly there. She ran by and stopped, coming back to pick Creda up.

"Come on, honey," she said hastily, taking her hand. Elizabeth led her down the stairs as they dodged fire, Creda letting out a squeak of fear every other stair they descended.

"Behind the stairs," Elizabeth ordered, hiding Creda there.

"I'm scared," Creda told her. Elizabeth sighed, seeing her hands trembling. She touched her face, knowing she had to go and help the others.

"I know," she said. "I'll be right back. Don't move."

Creda's lip quivered under a shaky intake of breath. She listened to the intense gunfire and shouts surrounding her and was very confused. Creda closed her eyes, hoping it would all go away. But then, the sounds of shots began to decrease, and cheers could be heard in place of fearful shrieks.

She opened an eye and peeked out, the men congratulating one another. With both eyes open, she looked back into the destroyed remains of Jack's cabin. Through the giant hole in the stern, she could see the Dutchman getting smaller and smaller. A smile bloomed onto her face.

"Yay!"

She walked out happily to join the festive atmosphere of celebration, but the destruction of Jack's room drew her attention more. He smiled lessened some as she stepped outside of where the large double doors once were. That hole was hu-

SMASH

Jack looked down from the railing, terrified at the sight below him – his jar of dirt was broke, he didn't see Davy Jones's heart, and Creda was lying unconscious beneath it all.

He ran down the stairs almost tripping over himself to get to it. Once there, Jack fell to his knees scraping at the wood and dirt continuously in search of the missing heart with one hand as he picked Creda up with the other.

Where was it? The heart? His only way out?

"Creda… wake up…" he called faintly, an edge present in his voice of fear. She remained limp against his body.

"Creda!"

Finally, he stopped shuffling sand and patted her face and shook her.

"Come on! Up!"

A lifeless moan came from the girl as he moved his hand through the dirt more.

"There's a girl… Come on, wake up."

Creda opened her painful eyes, head thumping atrociously. It pounded in competition against Jack's heart making it hurt more. She sat up with difficulty, blurrily watching him produce a dust cloud. She coughed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The leverage is missing!" he hissed urgently.

"It is?"

Creda crawled out of his arm in onto the deck, messing around in the dirt next to the Jack. Men were beginning to shout around them again, but she kept her attention on finding that thing from the island in the treasure chest. Jack wanted it, so it must be important.

"Where is it?" she asked Jack. When she got no reply, she looked up only to find him gone. She looked around, seeing him run up the stairs. Without hesitation, she ran after him.

When she was on the upper deck, Jack was looking over his shoulder secretively as he pulled the ropes around the boat they had just been in. She walked over to him as giant tentacles began to encompass and rise above the ship. She clung to his leg, and Jack looked up with his mouth agape.

"Oh bugger."

A huge detonation rumbled beneath them, and they looked at the beast, its tentacles charred and burning. Creda buried her face in Jack's leg and he smiled somewhat as the Kraken retreated into the depths. Given its damages however, Jack still turned, readying the boat for launch again. Creda stepped back.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting out of here," he said, hopping into the boat, "before that bloody sea monster eats me."

Without a word, Creda dived into the boat. Jack gave her a look as she sat up, but as much of a pirate that he was, he very well couldn't let the dreaded sea monster eat her, too. He would worry about getting her off his tail later, do a good thing, and save the two of them for now.

"Here," he said, tossing her his compass before he began to lower. "Play with that and stay quiet. And don't drop it."

Creda opened her beloved magic compass as the rowboat dropped into the water. It pointed to Jack. This caught his eye, and he just rolled his eyes and kept lowering.

Why couldn't he just say 'no' to her? For once?

. Please Review .