A/N: So I hear all the Sparrabethers have moved to tumblr? I've just joined and am still figuring it out. Slowly. Come find me as apirateslifeforme123 . I've just posted a graphic of the rings I had in mind for this fic. :)

Chapter 25: Flow With the Tao

With a portion of his crew and the majority of his marines Commodore James Norrington watched the scene unfold in the clearing. They had scrambled to catch up to Barbossa's crew, and sweat poured out of them in buckets. Despite their deal, Norrington trusted Barbossa not one whit. Now it seemed Barbossa intended to keep the treasure for himself, which was no surprise. Likewise, Norrington never intended to let Hector and his crew leave the island alive. There would be far more to go around, only split two ways between his crew and Henry Morgan. Some of it would need to go to the prize committee for appearances sake, but some could be kept under the table, he had no doubt. They would all be heroes for quashing the notorious buccaneers, and no one the wiser.

Never mind the fact that Barbossa had kidnapped his fiancée, again. Her reputation would take a right flogging, again, when finally they returned, but hopefully it was nothing a little pomp couldn't fix. They would marry first thing upon their return, he decided, and could put this whole business behind them once and for all.

James held up his arm, ready to signal his men to fire. Then Elizabeth crossed the clearing, the blacksmith trailing behind her like a sad puppy dog. Despite her second go-round with pirates she remained statuesque, holding her head high as a queen. The sight of her never failed to catch his breath in his throat, even now.

Despite it all, James truly did love Elizabeth.

To his horror, he watched as she and Jack seemed to exchange tender words, the pirate touching her face gently. He could not ignore the doe-eyed way she looked to him, her eyes positively gleaming with admiration, and… no.

He couldn't even think it.

When that blackguard began to draw her into a kiss James saw red.

His arm twitched with fury, which his all-too-nervous marines took for the signal.

All hell broke loose.

Jack could not say what gave him warning. Some small signal won of hard experience—the cry of a bird, the snap of a twig. Whatever the culprit, he threw himself over Elizabeth as the crack of gunfire pierced the clearing, taking them both to the ground.

Elizabeth hardly knew what to make of it, it all happened so fast. Jack's weight pressed her into the ground, and the cloud of smoke drifted over them, obscuring the clearing. She touched Jack's back, and found a hot slickness covering her fingers. She drew back her hand to find it smeared crimson. "Oh God, Jack!"

With a groan he sat up on elbows, wincing. "Bloody hell. Undead or not, that's still not fun."

Bewildered, Elizabeth regarded him with wide eyes.

"Jack?"

"S'alright, luv." With a conjurer's dexterity he flicked his wrist, an Aztec coin appearing in his hand. "Couldn't resist."

Elizabeth wasn't sure if she laughed or cried in the next moment, burying her face in the bend of his neck. Jack allowed himself to enjoy it for only a beat, before taking stock of the mayhem unleashed around them, undead pirates fighting the redcoats, and winning by a landslide. Jack felt his wounds re-knit, the lead balls expelling from his body.

Eww.

Time to even the playing field, he reckoned.

Jack smeared some of his blood upon the gold piece and tossed it back into the chest. "Oy, Will!" he barked, jerking his head towards the chest. With astonishment written upon the young blacksmith's face, it took a moment for the whelp to take Jack's meaning. But once it settled in he wasted no time in returning his own blood-stained piece to the chest.

"Come on, luv," said Jack, hauling Elizabeth to her feet. "This is what I call the opportune moment to beat a hasty retreat."

There was a bone-rattling BOOM that rocked the island like thunder. Elizabeth ducked, but Jack's lips only spread in a gold-glinting grin. "That would be the Pearl, darlin'," he explained, not pausing in their escape, her hand gripped firmly in his. "Hopefully taking the Dauntless and the Endeavor by surprise, and they won't have the man-power to resist her persuasion."

Quickly her mind followed along his trail of thought, and Jack's infectious smile spread to her own lips. He'd done it again, and all the pieces seemed to be falling nicely into place.

They would be free!

The pair skirted the edge of the battle. Everywhere, now pirates and marines alike fell wounded and worse. Jack began to lead her down a trail between two boulders, when Norrington stepped into their path, leveling his sword upon Jack.

"That's far enough, Sparrow."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, so tired of her life being interrupted by this man.

"Let us go, James."

The Commodore paid her an incredulous look. "Gowhere, Elizabeth? What kind of life do you think this scoundrel could possibly give you? He will use you and drop you at the next convenient port."

Hot fire ignited in her breast. After the way James himself had used her, it infuriated her to no end that he dared claim moral high ground. Indignantly she spat, "He gives me everything. Everything I want. Everything I need. We are done, James. Now get out of our way."

James felt his heart shattering in his chest, and the hole inside filling with the blackest rage he'd ever known. "You made me a promise, Elizabeth."

"I made a deal, which is slightly different," she mused in a rather Jack-ish distinction of semantics.

"I cannot accept this!"

Jack rolled his eyes, finally stepping in. "Bloody hell, mate. Ye've lost. Now move."

James made a threatening step towards Jack, which was met by the raising of one of the pirate's pistols. Looking down the barrel of the flintlock, the Commodore reconsidered, calculation shining in his green eyes.

"She's made her choice, Commodore," said Jack quietly, knowing he should just pull the trigger and save them all some trouble.

Out the corner of her eye Elizabeth sensed movement. She turned to find one of Barbossa's pirates charging them, cutlass raised high. "Jack!"

Without hesitation Jack fired to the side, dropping their attacker. James lost no time in pouncing, swiping at Jack with his razor-sharp sword. The pirate captain sidestepped with a movement that was so wobble-legged it was graceful.

The fray had found them, another pirate making war. As Jack engaged with Norrington, Elizabeth picked up a cutlass, and joined the melee.

XXXXX

"I should have hung you when I had the chance, Sparrow," growled Norrington, swiping for Jack with his sword. The pirate parried the blow and side-stepped another, staying ahead of James' blade by a hair's breadth. The Commodore was actually a much better swordsman than Jack, a fact of which the pirate compensated for with fancy footwork and misdirection.

"Probably should have. Won't be givin' ye the chance again, mate, sorry."

Norrington laughed bitterly. "Don't worry. I intend to drive this blade straight through your heart."

Jack made a face at the thought, though his comedic efforts were clearly unappreciated by the good Commodore. "And then what?" asked Jack, hoping to distract James. "Kill the rest of the pirates, gather up the gold, and haul the girl back to Port Royal in chains?"

"I don't think the chains will be necessary."

Jack hissed as James managed to just slip past a parry, slicing open his upper arm. A minor wound, but it stung like the devil. "Shows how little ye really know her then. Haven't ye been paying attention?"

Fury came over James' features again, and Jack noticed that it made his next barrage of attacks wild and a little sloppy. This was good. "You. Are. Not. The. Man. She. Needs!" Every word was punctuated by a swipe or lunge.

"Probably so," Jack went on, locked in the deadly dance of keeping ahead of James' sword. There was an outcropping not far away, and slowly Jack began to work in that direction, hoping James to be too infuriated to notice his surroundings. "But I am the man she wants. And that, dear Commodore, is what truly matters out here in the real world. Not titles, tea parties, or who is who in the upper echelons of le beau monde. Out here we are free, and if a man and a woman love each other…it's enough. It's more than enough."

Jack grimaced a little. He'd not meant to make a mushy speech to the raging Commodore, but he supposed when one is engaged in a duel to the death over a woman a man can be excused for such things.

"No!" James launched himself at Jack, their swords crossing before them. Both men strained with all their strength to hold the other at bay. "I will make her happy. Once you're gone she will forget all about pirates, treasure islands, and this ridiculous obsession with freedom. No one is free in this life," James snarled. "Everyone pays a price. Everyone loses a piece of themselves in this world, if they want to live well. That is the truth, Sparrow, and you can take it to the Devil!"

He strained with all his strength against Jack, the pirate's boots sliding a little upon the loose gravel.

Rather than continue to fight James with force, suddenly Jack shifted his weight to the side, adding his own little push to Norrington's foreward momentum. The Commodore went head over heels over the outcropping, a short surprised shout punctuated by a thud below.

Jack peeked over the edge of the outcropping to see James sprawled a good fifteen feet below, a trickle of blood running down his temple. Unconscious or dead, Jack did not know.

"And that is called flowing with the Tao," muttered Jack to no one in particular, turning back to the battle, his eyes immediately searching for Elizabeth. His blood ran cold when he found her fighting with Hector Barbossa himself, and quickly losing ground.

Elizabeth cut down one pirate, then two.

It did not bring her the pleasure she thought it might, though the excitement of the fray ran hot in her veins. She turned to find Hector Barbossa himself pointing his cutlass in her direction. It was a fight she knew she could not easily win, and Hector's yellowed smile displayed in full as he watched the fear form upon her face.

"Having fun playing pirates, Miss Swann?"

"I'm not sure fun is the word I would chose," she cautiously answered, even if up to a second ago it was a bald faced lie.

Hector's grin was borderline beatific, almost proud, though Elizabeth still felt certain he was envisioning cutting her to ribbons.

Where was Jack?

With a glance she found he was still engaged with Norrington, cutlasses locked in a struggle for the upper hand. He was fighting for his own life, and hers. Well, if she wanted to live in this world, she couldn't depend on Jack to win her every battle for her, she reckoned. Furthermore, she didn't want to.

Barbossa watched as the resolution to stand and fight settled in upon her. He smiled like a shark, all teeth but no warmth. He granted her a rather civilized "En garde," before launching at her. At first Elizabeth managed to hold her own in their bout. But as time went on the weight of the unfamiliar sword, much heavier than what she was used to, began to catch up to her. Barbossa saw her flagging, and showed no mercy.

She lunged too heavily for what looked like an opening in his guard, and only too late did she realize it was a trap. Hector knocked her sword from her hand, and tripped her to the ground. She found herself on her back, the pirate's blade at her throat.

"Apologies, Miss Swann. It's nothin' personal, really. Ye fought bravely, but Jack's side was just the wrong one to choose."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, and said a silent apology to Jack.

I'm so sorry. I tried. I love you.

She waited for the painful bite of Barbossa's blade.