Happy Birthday, Schmergo! Have an update! Yeah, I'm back. Finally. Blame my teachers for me being gone. Anyway, this chapter is complete rubbish, and even heavy editing couldn't save it, but since I don't want to rewrite it, and I want to get through this part, here it is. Ick.
Disclaimer: I did not purchase PotC while I was away. Sorry.
"We're going to steal a ship? That ship?" asked Will in disbelief.
"Commandeer," corrected Jack, "we're going to commandeer that ship." He motioned toward the Dauntless, which was floating peacefully in the bay.
"Nautical term," added Ivy, helpfully. Ted grinned, a wide wolfish smile. He'd managed to put the issue of Ivy's unusual behavior at the back of his mind for the time being, but it was really a pleasant change to see her willingly adding things to a conversation, and showing some enthusiasm. That this enthusiasm was about stealing a Navy ship and traveling with a crew of pirates to the self-proclaimed island of death didn't matter. Ted would protect her, just like he always had.
"One question about your business, boy, or there's no going. This girl: how far are you willing to go for her?" Jack asked, seriously.
"I'd die for her," answered Will, not batting an eye. Jack looked relieved.
"Oh, good!" Jack exclaimed, "No worries, then." He turned to look at Ted and Ivy.
"We'd rather not die, if that's all right," Ted replied. Ivy surprised him by once again adding her two cents. This new Ivy would take some getting used to.
"Although, we know there's a risk." Jack nodded.
"Fair enough. I suppose being psychic ups your chances of staying alive?"
Ted's eyebrows flew up. Apparently, she'd need a lot of getting used to.
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A few minutes later, walking on the ocean floor and breathing the air trapped in the top of a canoe, Will grumbled, "This is either madness or brilliance."
"Brilliance if it works, madness if it doesn't," explained Ted, shaking the water out of his sandy hair in a manner very similar to that of a wet dog. The conditions were a bit cramped with four people underneath a single canoe, so Jack and Will were both hit in the face with wet hair. Ivy, at the back of the line, was spared. Since she was used to the effects of lycanthropy on her friend, Ivy hardly noticed, but Will and Jack looked at the boy strangely.
"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Jack muttered. Apparently, he liked that line enough to try and stuff it in when it was no longer necessary. This made Ted chuckle, softly. Both he and Ivy tended to notice things that others passed over, but Ted's mind jumped from thought to thought unpredictably, making strange connections that other people missed. Ivy, however, didn't see anything that wasn't rooted strictly in the situation at the moment. She was never able to draw anything she hadn't seen before, while Ted routinely invented things in his mind. As the werewolf liked to put it, his mind worked like a poem, hers an essay.
"Oops," remarked Ted, sheepishly, "I stepped in a lobster trap."
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Jordan and a large number of the Royal Navy were on the Dauntless, preparing her for chase. To avoid having to admit he had no clue how to ready the sails, or whatever it was they were doing, he had joined Gillette in taking the management side of the task. Jordan, who could easily make complaining an art form, took on the job with gusto.
"Check the holds again; make sure we have a sufficient supply of… erm… cannonballs!" he told one group, who scampered away like the obedient and brainless little pawns they were. If anyone thought Jordan's orders were a bit vague, they didn't speak up. Jordan couldn't figure out whether it was because he was higher in rank than they were, or whether it was just his commanding personality and clear genius. Although in truth, it was probably closer to the first option, Jordan chose to go with the second. He was discovering that he was a natural at making random combinations of nautical commands from movies and things he'd heard Ivy talk about sound valid and important, even when they were definitely not. "Clear off the anchor!"
Suddenly, the ship went silent. Four figures stood on the deck, three of them brandishing swords with varying levels of competency, and the fourth with a pistol.
"Everyone stay calm! We are taking over the ship," the one with the gun announced. Another look showed Jordan that it was none other than Johnny Depp. Jack Sparrow, the boy corrected himself. The one who looked like he actually knew what he was doing with the sword was clearly Will Turner, but the other two… Jordan stared at Ted and Ivy, who hadn't seen him yet, and who were holding up their own blades rather nervously.
"Aye! Avast!" added Will, in all seriousness. Jordan didn't join the rest of the crew in laughing. He was still trying to figure this out. Jack turned around and glared at the blacksmith, and Ted grinned. Jordan decided not to let his friends know he was here. Jack and Will were both in the sequel, so it was assumed they survived. He hoped Ivy and Ted would be safe as an extension of that. It was Haley he had to worry about.
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"This ship cannot be crewed by three men. You'll never make it out of the bay," laughed Gillette. Ted looked at Ivy in as highly exaggerated a way as he could. She didn't seem to care about being left out of the lieutenant's head count, but that was typical Ivy. No matter how many times she was proved wrong, she expected people to ignore or dislike her.
"Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," said Jack, stepping forward and holding his pistol against Gillette's nose. "Savvy?"
The crew loaded themselves into a rowboat and set off, not particularly thrilled, as Ivy and Jack scampered off to disable the rudder chain. Ted would not have been much help, since all he knew was that it somehow prevented anyone from steering the ship. He and Will stood on the deck of the Dauntless, awkwardly looking in random directions.
"So," the werewolf commented, finally, "here we are, two law-abiding citizens joining a pirate in stealing a ship of the Royal Navy. This was not how I planned to spend my day." Will laughed nervously, but his eyes were on the Interceptor.
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To Jordan's immense surprise, Jack, Will, Ted, and Ivy actually managed to take the Dauntless. Now, he and the rest of the sailors were stuck trying to get the commodore's attention.
"Sir, they've taken the Dauntless!" screamed Gillette, whose voice was surprisingly loud. "They've taken the ship! Sparrow and Turner and Baggins and… "There was a pause as he tried to remember Ted's name. He failed and so went on without it. "They've taken the Dauntless!"
Jordan sighed, staring at the approaching vessel. In the movie, didn't Jack get thrown in jail? Or had that already happened? He shook his head and helped Gillette scream.
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Ivy smiled slightly. She and the other three were busy throwing ropes about in a way that suggested they actually planned to do something with this ship, but she had just paused and glanced over at the Interceptor.
"Those are without a doubt the worst pirates I've ever seen," she muttered. Ted chuckled, and Jack treated them both to a dead fish look.
"What?" he asked.
"Just something Norrington said," explained Ivy. The pirate raised an eyebrow, but decided it was just her psychic abilities.
"Well, let's prove him wrong, then, eh?"
"Here they come," warned Will, striding over. Jack motioned with his head to hide behind a large crate. They did. It smelled like rotten eggs. By the time Norrington and his men swung over to the Dauntless, they were all more than ready to get out of there. Jack and Will both grabbed the used ropes and easily moved to the other ship, but Ted glanced at Ivy, who was staring at the rope in her hands like it had just sprouted feet. The tall boy plucked the rope from her hands, wrapped one arm around her, and swung over to the Interceptor.
"Thanks," mumbled Ivy, then kicked over the boards connecting the two ships.
"Quickly, men! Back to the Interceptor!" screamed Norrington a second later, once he noticed the four of them weren't where they were supposed to be. A few soldiers tried to follow his command, but fell into the icy water of the bay.
"Thank you, Commodore, for getting ready to make way," hollered Jack. "We'd have had a hard time of it by ourselves!" The new crew of the Interceptor grinned, and, with the wind at quarter astern, made their way into the open ocean.
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"Abandon ship!" yelled Gillette, as the larger vessel plowed toward their rowboat. Jordan paled. Would now be a good time to admit he couldn't swim very well? Wisely, instead of bringing this up, he chose to dive into the waves, scrambling to put as much distance between himself and the massive ship as possible. It passed directly above him, disturbing the water, and sending Jordan tumbling. He longed for air from a breath he'd forgotten to take.
The bottom of the ship, barnacle-encrusted and deadly, completely blocked the sun. Jordan didn't know which way was up and he'd lost all sense of time. He flailed helplessly in the churning ocean. Feels like I'm being keelhauled, he thought. Keelhauling, his oxygen-deprived brain uselessly informed him, a punishment used mostly by Navy captains in the 1700s, in which a man was passed under the ship by a rope. Usually fatal. This thought did nothing to cheer him up.
Right as he first gave up and let the harsh sea-water pour into his lungs, the Interceptor was gone. Summoning up more energy than he had, Jordan pulled himself to the surface, coughing up water. His throat burned as he inhaled deeply. Gillette paddled over to him, his wig miraculously still on.
"That was embarrassing," he sputtered. Jordan stared at him. Embarrassing? Terrifying, lethal, horrible, those would all work, but embarrassing?
"Highly," he agreed a moment later.
Right, so… please review.
When I go to see the 3rd movie, I'm going to dress up as Scarlett and slap every fool dressed up as Jack. If you review, you won't suffer the same fate.