Chapter 25.

Through the air echoed a deafening, heartwrenching scream, accompanied by a roar, just as loud and heartbreaking.

Both Jack and Angelica ran towards the railing, punching, kicking and scratching at the pirates that dared to pull them back. Will tried his best to pull Jack away from the railing, but it seemed like he was taken over by someone else. He was stronger than ever.

''JACK!'', Will screamed as he grabbed Jack's face in his hands. He didn't listen. Instead, he pushed Will aside, punched Pintel until he let him go, and ran back towards the railing. Just as he put one leg over it, in a desperate attempt to dive after Sophia, Will grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back so hard that Jack smashed onto the deck and he gasped for air.

Angelica was still fighting, but as soon as she saw Jack laying on the deck, staring at the sky, frozen, something inside of her snapped. She fell onto her knees, her fingers in her hair as tears started rolling down her cheeks. ''MY BABY'', she screamed as she crawled towards Jack and punched him on the chest.

Jack didn't move. He just layed there, staring at the clouds above him as Angelica kept pulling on him, crying and screaming.

''YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HER'', Angelica screamed, and she hit Jack on his stomach. ''BASTARDO! YOU SHOULD'VE STOPPED HER, HOW COULD YOU?!''.

The crew, both Will's and Jack's, stood still on the deck, staring at Angelica in Jack in disbelief. No one could really wrap their heads around what just happened. Sophia was gone. The little girl they had seen grow up, here on the Black Pearl, that had turned into a fierce pirate, was gone.

She died because she tried to save her father.

Angelica's fury became more agressive and she started punching Jack, screaming and crying at him, until finally, Gibbs, Cotton and Viggo pulled her up and away, into Jack's chamber.

Still, Jack didn't move. Before his eyes, he saw flashes of Sophia's eyes, filled with shock as that monster dragged her overboard.

She had saved his life. Without Sophia, he'd be dead now. But in return for his life, she was now dead. There was nothing anyone could do to save her.

When he finally realised that, he felt a heavy, pressing feeling in his chest. His throat started burning and soon after, tears welled up in his dark eyes.

Will saw Jack breaking, so he sent his crew back to the Dutchman, and sent the others to their restchambers.

Soon, it was just Will and Jack on the deck of the Pearl. And suddenly, a soft, aching sound escaped Jack's throat, followed by crying. Though he tried his best to stay quiet, the sounds he made were filled with nothing but grief and agony.

Will immediately walked towards his friend, sat down next to him, and without saying another word, he pulled Jack against him and held him as tight as Jack's shaking body allowed him.

Angelica's daughter, Jack's daughter, a family member, friend, and little sister to everyone else on the ship, was dead. And gone forever.

Something hot shun down on her face. Underneath her body layed something soft, something familiar that she couldn't yet place. She felt a warm summer breeze play with her hair, and painful stings in the right side of her body.

Sophia tried to open her eyes, but it seemed as if her lids were glued together. Her body felt strangely heavy, numb, almost.

''Mom'', someone suddenly said.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realised she wasn't alone. Slowly, hoping no one around her would notice, she felt for her knife, but there was nothing. Her weapons were gone!

''I think she's waking up'', the voice continued.

Sophia heard footsteps approaching her, faster and faster.

Sophia couldn't remember a thing, but she knew very well that whoever she was with, they posed a threat. They'd taken her weapons. And taking a pirate's weapons could mean only two things. One; you're either really stupid or two; you want to kill that pirate later on.

As soon as the footsteps were close enough, Sophia opened her eyes and immediately sat upright. The first thing she saw was a thick, long branch, so she grabbed it and held it before her like a weapon.

The young man before her quickly raised his hands in the air and smiled softly. ''She's awake!'', he called out.

Sophia's eyes glanched from the boy in front of her to the blonde woman that came walking towards him.

She looked at Sophia and smiled a friendly, warm smile. ''There's no need to be afraid. We won't hurt you''.

Maybe it was because of the pain in her body, the exhaustion, maybe it was just because of the woman's friendly smile, but Sophia put down the branch next to her and looked at the people in front of her.

''You've slept for an entire week'', the woman said as she handed Sophia a flask of water. Greedily, Sophia put the flask to her lips and drank it empty within seconds. Her throat felt dry and raw, but the cool water helped her speak.

''What happened?'', she whispered.

The young man behind her, who was around her age, a little older, she suspected, went through his knees and handed Sophia a handful of grapes, which she happily took.

''We found you. A week ago, stranded on the beach. I brought you here and woke you up. You ate a little and then went back to sleep. Do you remember that?'', he asked.

Sophia shook her head.

''What is the last thing you remember?'', the woman asked. Sophia noticed both of them had foreign accents. She couldn't place where from, but they were there.

''Well'', she started softly as she chewed on a couple of grapes. Her head hurt, but when she thought back, all she could remember was an explosion, fire, and a strange-looking mermaid. ''An explosion'', she answered softly.

The young man and the woman exchanged a short look and nodded slowly.

Suddenly, Sophia remembered her parents. She remembered the crew, Will, everyone, stuck in a small room as mermaids tried to get in. Her heart skipped a beat and suddenly she felt like crying, but she refused to. Her parents probably thought she was dead. They hadn't searched for her.

Though Sophia was very thankful for the water and the grapes, she didn't know the people in front of her, and her father had always said not to trust strangers until they give you reason to, so when the woman asked Sophia her name, she answered; ''Anna''.

''Well, Anna, welcome to our humble home'', the boy smiled as he spread his arms.

Sophia looked around. She was laying in warm sand, the sun shun down on top of her, a few feet away was the ocean. Behind her were dense woods, filled with flowers, plants, and palmtrees. Hidden behind a couple of palmtrees was a small, handmade cottage.

''You are very welcome'', the woman added.