Down to the Depths

Aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge…

The rain was coming down in torrents. The waves were wild, pitching the ship from side to side as the wind whipped across the deck. Barbossa had changed their course to Shipwreck Cove, and the storm was baring down on them quickly. Barking orders at the crew over the howling wind, he glared at Jack. "Are ye going to just stand there?" He asked Jack, visibly irritated by their current situation.

Jack stood near the stern railing staring back at the city shrinking into the distance. Something didn't seem right to him, but he wasn't about to voice his concerns. He turned to face Barbossa who was focused on the burning sea in front of him. "Looks like things are well covered from my vantage point" Jack said as he stepped to the side of Hector.

"Get your ass up the main mast and drop the top sail" Barbossa screamed at him. "Since it was your brilliant planning that got us caught up in this infernal weather."

"As you command," Jack said with a bow "Captain" He added with a bite before he headed toward the mast.

After a few hours of difficult sailing they were able to make their way out of the storm. As Jack jumped down to the main deck, a voice rang out from the crow's nest "Captain! We've got company. Behind us!"

Jack ran up the quarter deck to the stern. Barbossa stood with his spyglass trained on a trailing ship.

"Colors?" Jack asked impatiently, squinting into the distance.

"Spanish." Barbossa said as he snapped the spyglass shut. Jack winced visibly. "Any particular reason why the Spanish would be following us?" Barbossa rounded on Jack.

Jack threw his hands up in the air. "No idea, mate." He wasn't about to tell Barbossa of his dealings, not now anyway.

"What are you not telling me?" Barbossa asked, reaching for his pistol.

"It's possible that the Spanish are also looking for this particular chest, and they employed me to find it for them."

"In exchange for?"

"My life."

"Doesn't explain why they're following us."

"Well, they either are keeping a safe distance, ensuring I do what was asked, or they hope to follow us to Shipwreck Cove and get the information straight from the source. Either way would lead them straight to Shipwreck Cove, endangering our safe haven.

"Give me one good reason not to shoot you right now."

Jack's eyes lit up as the thought struck him, and grinned at Barbossa. "What an excellent idea!"

"What are you on about, Sparrow?"

"I need you to kill me"

"With pleasure" Barbossa said moving the pistol up to Jack's forehead.

"Wait!" Jack put up his hands "I need you to kill me at the opportune moment."

"And when might that be?"

"After we let them catch up to us."

"Are you mad?"

"Quite possibly, but I might also be a genius."

"Alright, I'll bite. Explain." He said lowering his pistol.

"We can't very well lead them straight to Shipwreck Cove"

"Obviously."

"And the Revenge isn't fast enough to outrun them, so, as I see it, we only have one option." Jack pulled a letter from inside his coat bearing the seal of the Pirate King.

"What's that?" Barbossa asked of the letter

"Our illustrious King instructed me to deliver this letter to her bonny undead husband" Jack said matter of factly.

"So?"

"So, as the ship approaches, they'll see the two of us arguing. You do what you've been dying to do for years and ensure I make it into the water. You'll let them take you captive, and since they've just bore witness to my murder at your hands, they'll assume you have no loyalties to me and will try to extract whatever information they can. Of course you won't have any for them, and while the lot of you are treating with each other, you will gather any information you can and get yourself to safety. I'll come to find you as soon as I can and we can resume our search."

"How do you plan to accomplish all of this as a dead man?"

"Mate, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow…and Will owes me one." Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, far be it from me to deny a man his dying wish. Just say the word and I'll happily send you to your watery end."

Jack clapped his hands "Wonderful".

Barbossa signaled his crew to slow the ship down.

While they waited for the other ship to catch up to them Barbossa fiddled with his pistol making sure all was in order "So, Jack, how would you like to go?" he asked.

"As quickly and painlessly as possible." Jack said stiffening slightly, staring at his finger nails.

"I have to say I'm surprised you're so willing to forego your miserable existence. When we rescued you from the locker you seemed rather adamant on staying out of the afterlife. It's a bit of long shot, don't you think? You can't guarantee Turner even has the means to return you to the land of the living."

"It's a risk I have to take." He said quietly.

"For her?" Barbossa asked knowingly.

Jack looked down "We can't let them get to the cove."

Barbossa chuckled to himself. "How you ever managed to survive all of these years, I'll never understand. Although, I suppose Elizabeth managed to get the best of you didn't she?"

"Alright, it's time." Jack said picking up a canon ball and ignoring Barbossa's comments.

"Do you want I should hang on to the Pearl for ye, just in case?" Barbossa asked slyly.

"Out of the question." Jack said clutching his satchel possessively.

"Very well. Good luck, Jack" Barbossa said, almost sincerely.

"You too." Jack paused "One last request?"

"Aye"

"No matter what happens, Elizabeth is never to know about any of this."

"As you wish, Sparrow." He said with a shrug and aimed his pistol at Jack's heart. Yelling a few obscenities, Barbossa cocked the pistol and fired, sending Jack into the dark abyss below. "I hope this works, Sparrow." He whispered to himself as he watched Jack's body sink beneath the waves.

A crewman yelled behind him "They're signaling to board, Captain"

Hector turned, "Aye, let them on."

—

Jack's lifeless body continued to sink further and further toward the ocean floor. When he finally reached the seabed, a small pulse echoed across the sand. Within a few moments Captain William Turner stood at the feet of his old acquaintance with a perplexed look on his face. He made note of the two ships above him and slowly bent down toward Jack. With just the touch of his hand, the two were instantly transported to the deck of the Flying Dutchman. Jack came to with a raucous cough, spitting out a rather large amount of seawater.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise." Will said amused. "What the hell happened to you, Jack?"

"Barbossa." Jack said, getting to his feet, still catching his breath. "He's been after the Pearl for a while now. I let my guard down and gave him the opportunity he needed to take me out of the equation." Jack added, hoping that Will's new station didn't grant him the power to know he was lying.

"You've no manner of luck at all." Will chuckled.

"Tell me about it. I love what you've done with the place" Jack said taking a look around the ship. "So, what happens next?" he asked.

"I ferry your soul to the afterlife."

"That's it. You're not going to ask me to be on your crew?"

"The Dutchman already has a captain." He smiled cheekily. "It's not a very long trip. It's actually quite peaceful."

"Is there rum?" Jack asked hopefully.

Will just laughed and sent him below deck. Jack walked slowly down the steps into the hold and made his way to the galley. He sat down and pulled Elizabeth's letter from his coat and set it on the table in front of him. I hope whatever is in this letter doesn't turn Turner all tentacle-y, Jack mused.

A few moments later Will came through the galley doors with a bottle of rum in his hand. Setting it on the table, he sat down across from Jack. "So, why are you really here, Jack?"

"I told you, mate."

"While I have no doubt that Barbossa was the one who so kindly sent you to me, I'm loathe to think you would ever let him get the better of you a second time unless you had a plan. So, I'll ask you again; what are you doing here, Jack?" Will said with a smile. He was eerily calm, but Jack could see he was tired. Maybe tired wasn't the way to describe it. The living are tired, Will was…something else.

Jack looked at the letter in his hands for a brief moment, still nervous that whatever words Elizabeth had written would make a mess of his whole plan. But he had to give it to him, or death was an idea much more permanent than he intended it to be. "I'm here because of this." Jack said, handing Will the letter.

"What's this?" Will asked confused, taking the letter from Jack.

As will noticed the seal, Jack answered. "Elizabeth asked me to deliver this to you. Barbossa was only a means to an end wherein I fulfill my promise to your wife and Barbossa thinks he's finally bested Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Thinks?" Will asked with his eyebrow cocked.

"Well" Jack shifted nervously "I had rather hoped that you would find in your heart…er…that you'd be so kind as to repay me forsavingyourlife" The last words came out in a jumbled mess, and Jack stared hopefully at Will Turner.

Will stared dumbly at Jack for a moment, letting it the words sink in. Before giving Jack an answer he asked quietly, slightly nervous "What does the letter say?"

"I was not privy to its contents. I'm just the messenger. Though, I think reading it would be the best way to find out." Jack said with such a sincere tone that took Will by surprise.

Will opened the letter in front of Jack and began to read

My dearest Will,

This last year has been the most difficult of my life. I miss you more than you could possibly imagine. Some days I can't breathe knowing that I won't see your face. Ten years. It is a high price to be paid indeed. The purpose is pure again, but it is a cruel punishment.

There's so much that I want to say, need to say, but I don't have much time to say it, nor do I know how to get the words out correctly. I've faced cursed pirates and defeated a naval fleet, but now that I need to face you, my courage has abandoned me. I was with child, Will. Our own little creation growing inside me. A piece of you to hold onto until you returned to me. But I wasn't strong enough and I think he knew. He knew I wasn't ready to be a mother, he could tell that I wasn't certain if I wanted him. But I did want him. I wanted him because I wanted you, but it wasn't enough. I was ill. I was ill and I lost him. If Jack hadn't been with me, I would have died along with him.

I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry for everything. Some days I think fate was always trying to tear us apart, teasing happiness and ripping it away. Other days I know the fault was my own. My need to find a place in this world, to find a purpose, did its own damage. I'm still searching for that purpose, for happiness, trying to fill the empty space where my heart used to be. I think I'm close to finding it, but I don't know.

I will always love you. You have to know that. But I need to chart the next course of my life without any attachments. I need to be truly free. I hope you understand my intention is not to hurt you. I don't want you to end up like Jones. I will be there for you in ten years just like I promised, but I think it best for both of us if we are no longer held prisoner by the vows we made half crazed in the heat of battle, never knowing what was to befall us.

I'm so sorry,

Elizabeth

Will read the letter three times before folding it and putting it in his coat. Jack looked at him expectantly, but Will said nothing. He stared ahead blankly for what seemed like an eternity before he stood up and stormed out of the galley. Jack winced as the door slammed.

"Damn." He said laying his forehead on the table.

A few hours later, Bootstrap Bill Turner entered the galley. Jack was startled out of his musings of coming to terms with his failure.

"Captain Turner would like to see you" He said stiffly.

"So this is it then?" Jack asked, but received no response.

It was a terribly long walk to the Captain's quarters. Dreary and cold, it was worse than his walk to the gallows all those years ago. They reached the door and Bootstrap gave a quick knock.

"Send him in" He heard from the other side. Jack couldn't gauge his tone. It was very unsettling.

When he entered the room Will stood with his back to him. The door shut quickly behind Jack making him jump slightly.

"You were with Elizabeth when it happened?" He asked solemnly. For a moment Jack wasn't sure what he was talking about, but the memories came rushing back quickly.

"I was. We were sailing to Singapore, but I didn't know. She didn't tell anyone. I wouldn't have let her come, if I'd known." Jack said with a hint of anger, not at Will, but at Elizabeth.

"As if you could stop Elizabeth from doing anything" Will said with a sad smirk, turning to face Jack. "Thank you. I'm glad she didn't have to go through it alone."

Jack shifted nervously, still unsure what was about to happen to him. "Your welcome."

Will walked slowly to his desk. "I need you to give this to Elizabeth." He said, picking up a sealed letter and handing it to Jack.

Jack looked surprised. "Does that mean?"

"Yes, consider my debt to you repaid." Will said with a wide smile.

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin "You're a gem, mate. Thank ye." Jack said shaking Will's hand.

Will clutched his hand for a second with a deathly grip. Growing serious, he said, "Take good care of her, Jack. If any harm comes to her, it will be on your head."

"Of course" Jack said just as serious.

Dropping his defenses, Will gave Jack's shoulder a slap and the two shared an awkward laugh.

"So, should I drop you off at the cove?" Will asked much more relaxed than he'd been since Jack came aboard.

"Tortuga. I've got a bit of business to take care of."

"As you wish." Will said.

The next thing Jack knew he was knee deep in water, the shore of Tortuga just ahead of him and the city behind it. He took a look behind him and smiled before trudging through the sand to the road ahead.

It was a short walk down the road to the Faithful Bride. As he passed the docks, he noticed a familiar ship in the harbor. The Red Devil? What's Teague doing here? He thought to himself.

Upon entering the tavern, he took a quick look around and located Teague sharing a drink with a vivacious looking wench in the shadows. Jack carefully made his way over to their table without being noticed and pulled up a chair next to his father who was leaning in to steal a kiss from his female companion.

"Mind if I join you?" Jack asked flagging down the bar maid.

Teague paused and slowly turned his head toward Jack. "What are you doing here, boy?" Teague was certainly surprised to see Jack. He and Elizabeth had all but given up hope that he was still among the living, but Teague gave no indication of that fact.

"I could ask you the same question. Aren't you supposed to be advising our beloved king back at the cove?" Jack snagged a mug from the bar maids tray and tossed her a few coins.

"Elizabeth sent me for supplies." Teague replied gruffly.

"Is she one of them?" Jack indicated the woman "Seems an odd request, even for Elizabeth." Jack smiled widely at his father and took a sip from his mug.

"Weren't you supposed to return to the cove six months ago?" Teague attempted to change the subject.

"Has it been that long?" He pondered thoughtfully. "I was, but an unforeseen circumstance arose that I needed to address." Jack said matter of fact.

"What was her name?" Teague goaded.

"How dare you assume it was a woman? For your information, there were a few particulars that were brought to my attention that required completion before I could find the fountain."

"And who brought these particulars, to your attention, Jackie?" Teague asked skeptically.

"I don't really think that matters, does it?" Jack mumbled as he turned his head away.

"That's because it was, in fact, a woman" Teague said to the lady next to him. "You'll have to excuse us, Marie, I need to have a chat with my son. Perhaps I'll see you the next time I return to Tortuga." He grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. Marie giggled and blushed before excusing herself from the table and heading toward the back stairs of the tavern.

"She seems nice." Jack added after she left.

"So, did you find it?" Teague asked with impatience, disregarding Jack's appraisal.

"Find what?" Jack feigned ignorance.

"The fountain, you nit wit."

"Aye, that I did, but that's not all I found. Do you remember Angelica?"

Teague smiled mischievously as he stared into the distance. "Aye, she was a pretty one"

Disgusted, Jack continued, "Yes, well, guess who her father is?" Teague's eyes widened for a moment before Jack corrected him. "Don't worry, she's not yours. She belongs to Edward Teach, or should I say the former Captain Edward Teach, since he's dead now."

"Blackbeard's dead? How did someone manage to accomplish that?"

"You mean how did I accomplish that? The fountain houses a nefarious bit of liquid. For eternal life, one must sacrifice the life of another."

"You're not telling me that you're immortal, are you?"

"Sadly, no. Blackbeard intended on sacrificing Angelica, and you know my honest streak." Teague nodded. "But she did try to kill me, so I stranded her on a very nice spit of land off the coast of Madagascar."

Teague laughed. "I'm guessing you have the Revenge, then?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "No, Barbossa has her. He was kind enough not to maroon me with Angelica and dropped me off here." He said with an affirmative nod, satisfied with his lie. "I had planned to commandeer a ship, but since you're here, could I hitch a ride back to Shipwreck Cove with you?"

"I suppose it's possible. The king will be wanting to know your safe. She's been frightful worried, lately. Almost as unbearable as when she first showed up in the Cove." Teague said taking a sip of his own mug.

"Is that so? Well, I'll leave you to whatever it is you were doing before." Jack said, standing up. He drained the rest of his drink and headed toward the door.

"We leave at dawn. Don't be late!" Teague called to Jack before he exited the tavern.

Jack turned and waved him off and headed toward the smithy. On his way, a drunken Gibbs stumbled into him.

"Jack! Where've you been?" He slurred at him. "One day we're having drinks and the next you up and disappeared. I feared the worst."

"Mister Gibbs, fear not, your fearless leader has returned. Your timing really couldn't be more perfect. I need you to do something for me."

"Of course, Captain, anything."

"I need you to find me a crew. Ten to twelve good men ought to do it. The tougher the better. I'm heading to Shipwreck cove with Teague in the morning and I'll be back as soon as I can. Can you accomplish this?"

"Aye, Cap'n." Gibbs answered with a dopey nod.

"Excellent. I'm off to the smithy." Jack gave him a pat on the back and continued up the road.

"What for?" Gibbs called after Jack.

"A little friendly persuasion." Jack called back, deeply hoping that if he could entice Elizabeth enough to come with him to search for the chest, having a little present waiting for her in Tortuga would only sweeten the deal that much more. The bigger problem was how he was going to keep her out of the hands of the Spanish once they departed. All in good time he thought to himself as he continued to saunter up the road.

Shipwreck Cove, The morning after the pub…

It was a few hours past dawn. Captain Teague sat in the great hall, plucking at his guitar, a plate of biscuits in front of him as per his usual morning routine. Jack, divested of his usual attire, entered the hall in just breeches and a shirt loosely tucked. He had a slight lift to his gait instead of the drunken swagger he normally carried.

"Good morning." Jack said cheerily.

"You were out late." Teague said emotionless.

"Information doesn't gather itself, you know? No sign of her majesty?"

"Not yet."

"She had quite an eventful evening." Jack chuckled.

"So I heard. Did you find what you were looking for?" Teague asked trying to contain his curiosity."

"A location, nothing more." There was a long silence before Jack spoke again. "At what point are you going to stop pretending you know nothing about this chest?"

"What do you mean?"

"I remember the stories you told me. Is it true about the prophecy?"

"What prophecy?"

"Don't play games with me, old man."

"Who told you of the prophecy?" He asked with grave seriousness

"It doesn't matter. Answer the question."

"It matters a great deal." Teague jumped out of his chair cornering his son. "Who is the chest really for?" Teague grunted, grasping Jack by his shirt.

Caught off guard by his father's reaction, Jack explained the whole story of what happened with the Spanish, still leaving out his encounter with Barbossa and the Flying Dutchman.

"You can't hand her over to them" Teague said solemnly, sitting back down at the table. "You know as well as anyone what they're capable of.

"You think I don't know that? I just need to get there before them with enough time to come up with a plan. At the very least they will believe I'm honoring our agreement in case they're following us."

"It's a risky venture. She'll kill you if she finds out."

"At least I know to expect it this time." Jack chuckled to himself while Teague merely shook his head.