"Nothing?" Jack pressed as he stood next to Almyra, poking gently at her shoulder where the wound from the fork still hadn't bled a drop, even looking like it had already closed up with no sign she had even been hurt.
"Jack, if you don't stop poking me, I really will think about stabbing you."
"Just curious…" He pouted, but he pulled his hand back.
"If I remember correctly, you telling me you were curious is how we ended up together isn't it?" She asked with a faint upturn of her mouth without any real happiness or feeling behind it, no matter how much she wanted there to be.
Jack grinned and nodded excitedly. "I do believe so, but there's been a lot of rum since then, love."
She rolled her eyes and tried not to scoff at him, even without feeling affection for him anymore, Jack still had a way of managing to keep her close. Cursed as she was, he was horribly persistent and helplessly adorable when he wanted to be.
If only I could actually feel that. She thought bitterly, one of the only things she still could, that and anger the most common.
She shook out of the thoughts quickly, she could feel everything again. All they had to do was find Bootstrap's boy.
Almyra rushed with Jack up to the top deck, the two moving with surprising ease across the open space as the battle raged, but they were almost too late. The Interceptor was listing dangerously to the side, outgunned and outmanned as the crew of the Pearl swarmed aboard the sinking ship.
"Well," Jack said slowly, looking at the ship. "This makes things remarkably more difficult, doesn't it, love?"
"Not really," she said with a smirk as she shoved another crew member from the Pearl off a rope hooked to the Interceptor. "Follow me."
Almyra swung across, landing with graceful ease.
Jack smiled. "What a woman." He snatched the rope from a swinging pirate and followed the female pirate across.
"Jack!" Gibbs called in shock.
Jack handed his flask back. "It's bloody empty."
Gibbs didn't have time to say anything else before Jack moved away, and he had to jump back into the fight himself.
He caught the wrist of one of the undead pirates as he swung a sword at Elizabeth. "That's not very nice."
Elizabeth then elbowed the pirate in the face, and he fell off the Interceptor.
He shoved Elizabeth out of the way of cannonfire. "Where's the medallion?"
Elizabeth looked at him with wide eyes, like she was shocked by a thought she didn't understand before she recovered and started swinging at him. "Wretch!"
Jack caught her arm with ease, noticing the bandage on her hand. He smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, where's dear William?"
Elizabeth whirled to look where the named boy had disappeared to. "Will…" She got up and scrambled away.
"Monkey!" Jack called suddenly, rushing after Barbossa's undead pet that carried the medallion of Aztec gold.
Almyra spotted it the same time as Jack, and she broke free from the three pirates she was fighting.
"Go!" She ordered Jack, fending off any that tried to stop him.
Jack nodded quickly and set off across a fallen beam behind the monkey.
The former captain stopped at Barbossa's feet, where he held the medallion.
"Why thank ye, Jack," Barbossa said.
"You're welcome," Jack replied with a brittle smile.
"Not you. We named the monkey Jack."
Jack's dark eyes narrowed.
"Gents, lady, our hope is restored!"
There was cheering from the crew of the Black Pearl.
"If any of you so much as thinks the word parlay, I'll have your guts for garters," Pintel growled as he circled the group of restrained pirates.
Elizabeth shot from under the rope restraining the crew of the Interceptor just as the black powder charge reached the barrels of the same explosive material.
Every pirate that wasn't cursed flinched back away from the heat of the blast, though it wasn't close, and each one's eyes widened. Even Jack almost jumped backward.
Elizabeth froze, breathing heavily and breathing one name. "Will…"
The governor's daughter then rushed toward Barbossa, trying to beat him to no avail. "You gutless savage!"
"Welcome back, miss!" Barbossa said as he clamped her arms down next to her side. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It's only fair now you return the favor."
He shoved Elizabeth into the crowd of lustful pirates.
"Miss James," Barbossa then called.
Almyra stepped up cautiously.
"Gents," he called to the crew again. "Here's another one."
He pushed Almyra into the crowd.
Most of them knew better than to try anything, but that didn't stop many of the others as they tore at clothes on both women trying to fight free.
Jack lunged forward, struggling harshly to break the grip of the undead pirates holding onto him. They would not hurt his Myra, they wouldn't violate her like that.
"Barbossa!" A new male voice called.
Everyone froze and turned.
Elizabeth looked relieved. "Will!" She said in a shocked gasp.
Young William Turner stepped forward and aimed Jack's pistol at Barbossa. "She goes free."
Almyra took the distraction as a chance to free herself. She swung an elbow into the gut of one of the pirates holding her, stomped another, and was able to spin out of the grip of another, punching that one in the jaw. She knew it couldn't hurt them, but it worked to get them to let go of her. She then pulled Elizabeth from their arms with another kick to a gut of another vicious pirate.
Elizabeth found herself almost cowering behind the female pirate whose only emotion was anger.
The action had happened so quickly that Barbossa was still reacting to Will's threat. "What's in your head, boy?"
"She goes free," Will repeated, a dangerous look in his dark eyes.
"You've only got one shot, and we can't die."
"Please don't do anything stupid," Jack almost begged.
Will glanced around and hopped onto the ship's siding, pressing the pistol's short barrel to his jaw. "You can't, but I can."
Elizabeth almost lunged forward, and Almyra caught her.
"Like that," Jack grumbled.
Barbossa looked at him in thorough confusion. "Who are you?"
"No one!" Jack said quickly, sliding free from the grip of the pirates. "He's no one. Distant cousin of my aunt's nephew, twice removed. Lovely singing voice though." Jack's tone dropped. "Eunuch."
"My name is Will Turner," the boy called over Jack's rambling. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."
Jack looked down and slipped away from Barbossa while the Captain was distracted.
"He's a spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill," Ragetti called, "come back to haunt us."
Jack looked completely done with the whole idea of this charade.
"On my word, do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones's locker." Will didn't move the pistol from his jaw.
"Name ye terms, Mister Turner," Barbossa said simply.
"Elizabeth goes free!"
"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"
Jack pointed to himself with a smile.
"And the crew!" Will said quickly.
Almyra looked back at Jack, watching his smile die as he continued to motion to himself, though slower.
Barbossa stepped forward to look at Will. "Agreed."
Elizabeth was shoved out onto the plank, swords pointed in her direction as the crew yelled at her.
"C'mon, poppet," Pintel yelled, "walk the plank."
She backed up slowly.
Almyra couldn't do anything to help her—she was being held in restraint by a few of the pirates so she couldn't try anything. She recognized the island they were near. It was the place that her measly life went from free to damned. It was the same island where they marooned Jack the first time.
Elizabeth stepped out to the edge, holding her dress up above her feet.
"Barbossa, you lying bastard!" Will snapped as he struggled free. "You swore she'd go free!"
"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy!" Barbossa snarled in reply. "I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where."
They gagged Will.
"But it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, doesn't it lads?" Barbossa asked the crew.
There were multiple noises of agreement.
Barbossa stepped forward. "So I'll be having that dress back before you go."
The men laughed, and Almyra was disgusted. It was one thing—however cruel—to maroon a woman, but it was another level of their vileness to steal her clothing before she was shoved off to die.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth stripped the dark red dress and tossed it back at Barbossa. "It goes with your black heart."
"Ooh, it's still warm," he said as he turned and tossed it toward the gathered crew.
Elizabeth inched forward, looking back at the deck.
"Too long!" A pirate complained, and then proceeded to stomp the end of the plank still onboard the ship.
Elizabeth let out a yelp and fell off the other end.
Jack was laughing with them, playing along, at least until they led him up to the plank next, still shackled.
"I'd really rather hoped we were passed all this," Jack said to Barbossa as he turned.
"Jack," Barbossa said, tossing an arm around his shoulder. "Jack, did you not notice? That be the same island we made you governor of on our last little trip."
Jack glanced at the island and turned back to him. "I did notice."
"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape," Barbossa suggested. "But I doubt it."
He pulled out a sword, and Jack backed up. "Off you go."
Jack glanced down at the sword tip before looking up again. "Last time you left me a pistol with one shot."
"By the powers, you're right. Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward."
"Seeing as there's two of us," Jack said, "a gentleman would give us a pair of pistols."
"It'll be one pistol as before," Barbossa informed, "and you can be the gentleman and shoot the lady, and starve to death yourself."
He tossed Jack's things overboard, and the named pirate leapt off the plank.
It was the first time in almost ten years that Almyra swore she felt something. And that feeling was the all too familiar feeling of heartbreak.