Willa and James had gone all over Tortuga, looking for Jack and trying to learn where they could find him, one person said Jack was dead, another said Jack would show up in Singapore, then they had encountered Giselle. She hadn't seen him either, but she had asked that they pass on a message for her, she had slapped James silly, finally they heard of a sailor, who while he didn't know where Jack was, he did know where a ship matching the description of the Black Pearl was. "Can't say about Jack Sparrow," the man told them as he mended a net, "But this island just south of the straits where I trade spice for . . . delicious long pork, cannot say about Jack, but you'll find that ship there, a ship with black sails." At last they had gotten a solid lead on Jack, they quickly arranged for passage to the island, "You did notice the pause before he said he was trading for pork didn't you," Willa asked James, "Yes," he nodded, "He was lying about that at the very least, but not about the Pearl being there."
"My brother will take you ashore," the man told them as James looked through a spyglass and spotted the Pearl sitting on the beach, they got in the boat and the man started rowing them to the shore, but he stopped suddenly a about a hundred yards from the shore. "What's wrong," Willa asked, "The beach is right there," the man started to babble in French, "Ne bougeais pas, c'set beaucoup trop dangereaux," Willa looked at James, since she couldn't speak a word of French. James shook his head, his French was rather rusty, Willa sighed and they both stood in the boat, preparing to swim for shore, "Je ne pois, c'est trop dangereaux, j'avais le dit, bon voyage," they both dived in and started to swim for shore. They scrambled up on the beach a few minutes later, they walked around the Pearl, "Jack," Willa yelled, "Jack Sparrow, Marty, Cotton, Gibbs, Anamaria, father, anybody," "No one's here," James told her. They both looked at the forest and started searching for anyone, James blinked as a parrot flew towards them, "Don't eat me," it squawked landed on a branch in front of them, "Ah, a familiar face," Willa sighed in mock relief.
"Don't eat me," the parrot squawked again before it flew off, "I'm not going to eat you," Willa said and blinked in surprise as she and James exchanged looks and went deeper into the forest, following a rough trial of some sort. Willa stopped when she spotted something very familiar, "Gibbs," she murmured, showing James the flask, James sighed recognizing it, Gibbs had gotten kicked out of the Royal Navy for his drinking problem, Willa detached a thin vine from the flask. "Might as well follow it," James murmured as they trailed the vine through the forest, suddenly their feet were swept out from under them as they hung upside down, they had fallen into a trap, moments later they were surrounded by painted savages. Instantly they drew their swords and started slashing at the savages, but a moment later they were hit in the neck by something and passed out, the savages quickly tied them to a roasting stick and carried them into the village. They were shocked to find Jack there and apparently in charge of this madness, he said something to the savages in their own language, Jack wouldn't speak to them, hell, he acted as if they didn't even exist, then they were taken away from the village.
Elizabeth glared at the men in the cell next to her, they were all crooning at her to come closer, as if that was going to happen, they had all gotten their daily meal and already she could see that some of them were becoming drowsy. She smirked as the last of them fell asleep, a moment later the guards fell to the floor, having fallen victim to a blow to the head, "Hurry my lady," the fort cook hissed and unlocked her cell, "We can get you out of the jail, but after that you're on your own, anymore help would be noticed." "Of course," she nodded, taking the pistol he handed her, "My father," "Is already safely away, Gillette is taking him to somewhere, Anna slipped him something that would make your father sleep, I only know Gillette is taking him somewhere out of Port Royal completely," "My thanks," she told the cook and darted out of the jail, she needed to have a little talk with Beckett.
Beckett walked into his study and instantly noticed that the box contained the Letters of Marque had been disturbed, instantly he knew who had done it, what with the Governor and Lieutenant Gillette mysteriously vanishing into thin air and then word that Miss. Swann had escaped from jail. "No doubt you've discovered that loyalty is no longer the currency of the realm as your father believes," he said to the seemingly empty room, "Then what is it," Elizabeth asked as she stepped out of the shadows behind Beckett. "I'm afraid currency is the currency of the realm," Beckett as Elizabeth moved to stand in front of him, silently he had to admit the woman was stunning and that Norrington had been lucky in having a woman with such fire in her for a bride. "I expect then that we can come to some sort of understanding," Elizabeth said as they moved closer to each other, "I'm here to negotiate," "I'm listening," Beckett smirked at her, in response she pulled out her pistol and aimed between Beckett's eyes, "I'm listening intently," Beckett said, serious now, because he knew without a doubt that she would pull the trigger if he pushed her hard enough.
"These Letter of Marque," Elizabeth held up the papers, the pistol stayed steady, "They are signed by the King," "Yes," Beckett confirmed, "And they're not valid until they bear my signature and seal," "Or else I would not be here," Elizabeth smirked, "You sent Willa and James to get you the compass and Jack Sparrow, it will do you no good." "Do explain," Beckett said, honestly wondering what she meant, "I have been to Isla de Muerta, I have seen the treasure myself, there is something you need to know," she leaned forward, forcing Beckett to lean back as she spoke. "Ahh, I see," Beckett smirked, "You think the compass leads only to Isla de Muerta and so you hope to save me from an evil fate, but you mustn't worry," he looked at the massive map on his wall and stepped towards it. "I care not for cursed Aztec Gold, my desires are not so provincial," Beckett tucked his hands into the pockets of his waistcoat, "There's more than one chest of value in these waters, so perhaps you may wish to enhance your offer."
Elizabeth placed her pistol under Beckett's chin and cocked it, "Consider it into your calculations that you robbed me of my wedding night," she said coldly, "So I did," Beckett reached out and signed the letter and sealed it, "A marriage interrupted, or fate intervenes, you're making great efforts to ensure Jack Sparrow's freedom." "These are not going to Jack," Elizabeth answered with a smirk, "Oh really," Beckett said, not that surprised, "To ensure Mr. Norrington's freedom, or Miss. Turner's, either way I'll still want that compass, consider that into your calculations." Elizabeth snatched the Letters of Marque from Beckett and slowly started to back out of the room, then she turned and ran out, she had a long ways to go before she was home free, she had to get away from Port Royal to find James and Willa. She sneaked out on the docks and quickly stowed away on a merchant ship, she knew she had to find some more suitable clothing than her wedding dress and disguise the fact that she was a woman, she just hoped she got to James and Willa in time.
Out on the sea two men rowed a boat, well one man did, the other was concentrating on a book with his one good eye, "Well, I say it was divine providence what escaped us from jail," Ragetti said as he turned the pages of the bible in his hand. "And I'll say it was me being clever," Pintel snapped as he rowed, as the jail house dog popped up behind him with the keys still in his mouth, "Ain't that right poochy," "Well how d'you know it weren't divine providence what inspired you to be clever," Ragetti argued, "Anyways, I'm no' stealing no ship." "It ain't stealing," Pintel corrected his friend, "It's salvaging, and since when did you care," "Since we're not immortal no more," Ragetti answered, "We've got to take care of our immortal souls," pointing to the page of the bible in his hand. "You know you can't read," Pintel snorted, "Its the bible you get credit for trying," Ragetti retorted, "Pretending to read the bible," Pintel shook his head, "That's a laugh, its a mark against . . . . ," he pointed up to the sky, then they were distracted by the dog barking.
"Look," Pintel said, spotting the Black Pearl beached up on the shore, "There it is," the dog jumped out of the boat and started swimming for shore, "Its gonna swim," Ragetti said in surprise, "Must have seen a catfish," Pintel laughed, a moment later Ragetti realized when he was joking about and joined in laughing. As they got closer to shore they shouted at the dog, already on dry land, "Stupid mongrel," Ragetti yelled, a moment later a wave overturned the boat, they ended up swimming the short distance to the shore and ran over to the Pearl. "Come on," Pintel cackled as they circled the ship, "Its ours for the taking," "Tides coming in," Ragetti observed, "That should help, salvaging is saving in a manner of speaking," "There's the truth of it," Pintel agreed. They started grabbing ropes to prepare the ship to go to sea again, but they stopped and looked towards the mountains when they heard the sounds of drums, "Suppose we better save it as soon as we can," Ragetti said quickly, "What with us in such a vulnerable state y'know," Pintel hastily crossed himself, "Amen to that," he agreed.
"Why would he do this to us," James asked the crew of the Black Pearl, currently he and Willa were hanging in one of two cages, currently Willa was leaning on her father and catching up on all that had happened in their lives since they had last seen each other, "If Jack is the chief-." "Aye," Gibbs agreed, "The Pelegostos have made Jack their chief, but he only remains chief as long as he acts like a chief," "That won't last long," Willa muttered, making them all snort in agreement, "So he has no choice," James realized, "He's a captive there as much as the rest of us." "Worse as it turns out," Gibbs continued explaining the situation, "You see, the Pelegostos believe that Jack is a god in human form and they intend to do him the honor of releasing him from his fleshy prison," here Cotton grabbed Gibbs hand and tried to bite it, Gibbs snatched his hand back and glared, "They'll roast him and eat him," Gibbs finished. Willa looked around and did a head count of the amount of people in the two cages, she was coming up short, "Where is the rest of the crew," she asked, "These cages weren't built until after we got here, Willa," Bootstrap told her gently. Willa gagged in horror and disgust, while James jerked back in disgust as he realized the cages were made out of the bones of the crew. Anamaria patted Willa on the shoulder, "Nasty isn't it," then the sound of drums reached them, instantly the crew went quiet, "The feast is about to begin," Gibbs said, "Jack's life will end . . . when the drums stop." "Well," James said after looking over the situation, "We can't just sit around and wait then, can we," quickly he told them his idea to escape and by this point they were willing to try anything if there was a chance for it to work, they didn't want to be eaten after all.
"I believe Elizabeth and I have rubbed off on you James," Willa couldn't help saying as the two cages swung back and forth over the ravine, "It not entirely you and Elizabeth," James retorted as they tried to grab the vines on the cliff. "I don't have to worry about acting the proper English gentleman and officer, along with being the heir to the Norrington military dynasty with you and Elizabeth, not to mention this bunch," he explained quickly as they finally managed to grab vines strong enough to hold their weight. "There may be hope for him yet dear," Anamaria muttered to Bootstrap, who nodded in agreement, "Put your legs through," Gibbs yelled, "Start the climb," slowly the two cages started climbing the cliff side. "Come on men, and Anamaria," Willa yelled, "It will take all of us to crew the Black Pearl," "Actually you won't need everyone, about six would do," a pirate wearing a turban from the other cage said, then they all exchanged long looks, "Oooh dear," he said as he realized what that meant.
James and Willa looked at Gibbs who nodded, "Hurry," James yelled, instantly they started racing to reach the top of the cliff first, "Heave," Marty yelled, "Is that all you got," then Willa noticed that they had company above them. "Stop," she whispered yelled at everyone, pointing up, "Stop," she hissed at the others, they all looked up and spotted a young man walking across the bridge above them, the pirate from the other cages made a noise and they started to climb. "Stop," James hissed at them, but they ignored them, no surprise there, but then they grabbed a poisonous snake instead of a vine, instantly they all started to scream, "Snake, aaahhh," they all fell back and the vine they were holding broke. They swung back over the ravine and their cage broke, they all fell to their their deaths below, but now their escape had been seen and the young man started running back to the village to tell the others. "Move," James yelled as they started climbing again as fast as they could, they didn't have a lot of time before they would have a village of cannibals on their tail, that was something that none of them wanted at all.
Jack gulped as he hung over the fire, a cannibals was about to light the wood under him, wood that had been soaked in oil, this was not how he wanted to go out, then a younger member of the tribe ran into the village, "La esta so, la pelesa so. Eva kaka seisei," he yelled. Instantly everyone stopped and looked at him, Jack sighed in relief, "Well, go on, go get them, helalla," he yelled at them, they looked at him for a moment. Then they started chanting loudly and ran out of the village to reclaim their captives and food supply, waving their spears around like mad men, Jack turned his attention to escaping, since the torch had been dropped dangerously close to the wood under him for his comfort.
They finally reached the top of the cliff, "Find a rock," Bootstrap yelled, "Bash this thing apart," they all looked for a rock when they heard yells, they looked behind them to see the cannibals running towards them. "Roll the cage," James yelled as they started to roll down hill, out pacing the cannibals pretty quickly, until they rolled into a tree, which stopped them in their tracks, "Lift the cage," Willa yelled as the yells of the cannibals got closer. "Hurry," Anamaria yelled as they all lifted up the cage, "Lift it high like a lady's skirt," Gibbs yelled as they took off running, until they fell into a ravine and the cage broke around them on its own, they gasped as they frantically started to swim. Above them the cannibals threw spears and shot arrows at them, they all ducked down, "This way lads," Gibbs yelled, leading the way to a depression in the rock that would hide them from the cannibals, they waited for several tense moments before the cannibals went away. "They're gone," Willa breathed in relief, "This way," Gibbs hissed quietly and waved, "The Pearl is this way," the crew nodded and they made their way through the rocks, until finally the ship was in sight.
They were surprised to see a man walking around the ship, "Pull loose the mooring line," Pintel yelled, he had a rope in his hands and was standing in the surf, "The mooring line," on deck Ragetti was having some trouble as he chased the monkey. "Its got me eye," Ragetti yelled, pointing to his empty eye socket, "It won't give it back," "Well, how'd you get it back the last time," Pintel yelled the question, "Excellent," Gibbs yelled, thumping Pintel on the back as he ran past him, "Our work's half done." "We done it for you," Pintel called after him, knowing he couldn't take them on and win, "Knew you'd be coming back for it," the crew all swarmed over the ship, getting it ready to sail, "Make ready to sail boys," Gibbs yelled, "What about Jack," Willa yelled, "We can't leave without him," James agreed. "Oi," they turned when they heard that familiar yell, they saw Jack running down the beach to them with the entire village of cannibals on his tail, "Time to go," Willa said as she and James scrambled aboard. "Cast off those lines," Gibbs yelled as they started floating away from the beach, "Make ready to cast off," Ragetti yelled, Jack ran past the prison dog, "Good doggy," he muttered, knowing that the dog would distract the cannibals for a moment.
Jack swam out to the ship and grabbed a bit of netting that was hanging off the side, he turned and looked back at the cannibals, "Alas my children," he could never resist making a grand exit, "This is the day you shall always remember as the day you almost,-" a wave splashed over him, "Captain Jack Sparrow," he muttered. Jack quickly scrambled aboard, "Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea," Gibbs said walking over to Jack, with Willa and James hot on his heels. "Yes to the first," Jack agreed, "Yes to the second, but only so far as we keep to the shallows as much as possible," Pintel and Ragetti draped Jack's coat over his shoulder, Jack gave them a look, Pintel actually saluted him. "Now that seems a bit contradictory Captain," Gibbs observed, "I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills Mr. Gibbs," Jack told him with a grin, "Now, where is that monkey I need to shoot something." As if on cue Ragetti's eyeball dropped on the deck in front of them, Ragetti grinned and brushed it off before popping it into his eye socket, Willa frowned as Jack moved off, James following him, "What is wrong with him," she asked her father and Anamaria.
"We don't know," Bootstrap shrugged, "He's been like this for about a month now," "I heard rumors that he made a deal with Davy Jones or something thirteen years ago," Anamaria whispered, "If that's true then we're all in a lot of trouble." Willa shook her head and hurried over to Jack and James, "Jack," James was saying, "Ah," Jack barely looked at him, "Elizabeth is in danger from Beckett," Willa told Jack point blank, instantly getting his attention, Beckett was not a joking matter. "Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her," Jack asked as he moved off, eying the monkey, "Maybe just lock her up somewhere," "I have been tempted," James muttered, making Willa give him a look. "Becket locked her in prison for helping you, but I doubt she's there now," Willa told Jack, "We made arrangements when you sent us that letter," James nodded, "But now, something must be done about Beckett," "And I am in complete agreement," Jack said, "What did Beckett send you after that I have?" "Your compass," Willa answered, "We are supposed to trade it for Elizabeth's freedom," "Mr. Gibbs," Jack said after a moment, "Captain," Gibbs answered, "We have a need to travel upriver," Jack told him.
"By need, do you mean a trifling need, fleeting, as in a passing fancy," Gibbs asked, looking distinctly nervous, "No a resolute and unyielding need," Jack answered, that made Gibbs very worried, "Jack," James growled. "James, Willa," Jack looked at them, "I shall trade you the compass in case the worst comes to pass, if you will help me find this," he produced a drawing of a key and showed it to them, both Willa and James exchanged looks, clearly not seeing what was so important about a key. "You want me to find this," James asked, just to be sure, "No," Jack shook his head, "You want you to find this, because finding this, finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating in your discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle ol' what's her face." "This can save Elizabeth," James asked, taking the cloth, "How much do you know about Davy Jones," Jack asked, "Not much," Willa answered for both of them, "Yeah, its going to save Elizabeth," Jack told them.
Bryce Gillette sighed and adjusted the sails of the small vessel that had been hidden away for just this purpose, it was a fishing vessel and only needed one person to crew it, there was a small cabin that contained his passenger along with a couple trunks of belongings. He knew that with this action he had pretty much ruins his chances with the military, but his loyalty to Norrington overrode his loyalty to His Majesty's Navy, frankly he would have done this even if James hadn't asked him to. He grimaced as he heard a yell from the cabin, it seemed that the Governor had woken and was not pleased with his environment, quickly he entered the cabin, hoping that the Governor would be reasonable about this. "Governor, please calm down," he pleaded, "Calm down, you drugged me and what about Elizabeth," Weatherby Swann demanded, Bryce sighed, he should have expected this, "Sorry, but it was the only way to get you out of Port Royal without being caught and plans to rescue Miss Elizabeth were already being put in motion as we left, word will reach us soon enough once we reach our destination."
"Confound it all," the Governor snapped, "What in the devil is going on, its a conspiracy is what this is," "To a point sir, yes," Bryce nodded, "A couple months ago Willa received a letter from Jack Sparrow with a warning, he had heard rumors that Beckett was planning to come to the Caribbean. She took the letter to James and they, along with Miss. Elizabeth, quickly worked out a plan, Willa discreetly let a few key players in town aware of Beckett's crimes, in turn they would inform others and escape routes were put into place, caches of supplies were scattered around Port Royal and the surrounding area. Apparently Sparrow also gave them the location of an island where he had a house, offering it up as a refuge, that is where we are going now, sir, I am sorry for drugging you, but it allowed us a safe escape, Beckett and his men were led to believe I am taking the body of a friend back to his family." "Why wasn't I informed of this," the Governor demanded, "James told me the reason, sir," Bryce admitted, "And it was a good one, sir, you don't have much of a poker face and they were afraid you would accidentally do something that would give their plans away to Beckett." "What about clothing and such," the Governor asked for a moment, silently admitting that James and Elizabeth had a good reason for not telling him, there was a reason he was a horrible card player, "I have a couple trunks of clothing and belongings with us sir," Bryce assured him, "Your servants in Port Royal have their own orders, they have hidden away your belongings that are important to you and will make arrangements to have them brought to us."