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Disclaimer: POTC belongs to Disney
Unnoticed, Jack climbed onto the Pearl's rail and perched there, wondering. The space between himself and the Interceptor was not to be taken lightly, as it was wide and streaked with bullets, cannonballs, and other questionable projectiles.
Secret agendas required bravery, of course. No, not bravery. Stupidity. Jack smiled to himself. He could reasonably manage that.
At that moment, a pirate from the Black Pearl–who definitely had less luck than Jack did– attempted to swing to the Interceptor.
His aim was bad, Jack noted immediately. He watched the hapless idiot bounce off a ratline and careen back, twisting and yelling. As the immortal came over the Pearl's rail, Jack reached out and took the rope, leaving him to slam to the deck. "Thanks very much," Jack said politely, then pushed off.
Over the water he swung, over the Interceptor's rail, and over a pirate who was fighting–and winning, it seemed–against his good friend Mr. Gibbs.
Then, with a sickened slowing, Jack's momentum ran out, just when he had no good place to land, if he wanted to live. It was most inconvenient, but yes, he did want to live, so, with no other choice, he clutched his rope and careened backward. His rear connected rather painfully with somebody's back and then he was flying out over the water again, toward the Pearl.
He shouted wordlessly and clung tighter to his rope, letting it again reverse direction for the Interceptor. Instead of enjoying the view this time, he landed straightaway and did not fall on his rump. More savvy-points for me.
"Jack!" An overjoyed and alive Gibbs peeled himself gingerly off the rail.
Jack shoved the canteen into his hands, "Bloody empty."
Elizabeth was out of ammunition. As an immortal came at leering at her she surged to her feet, wielding her musket like a club. He apparently hadn't heard that she had stabbed his captain without thought, because when she hit him, he looked surprised and plopped right to the deck. Someone grabbed her by the arm and wrenched her around. Another immortal, dripping sweat and blood. She drew back to hit him, too, but he hefted a sword and she froze, bracing herself for the blow.
A lean, tan hand caught the pirate's wrist, staying the sword. Both the immortal and Elizabeth turned to see a face that was far too familiar to them both.
"That's not very nice," Jack Sparrow told the immortal.
Elizabeth pulled free and hit the immortal hard enough to dent his skull. Jack lunged over his senseless form and pulled her with him into the relative shelter of the rail. "Where's the medallion?"
"Wretch!" Furious, she hit at him with her bound hand; he deftly caught her wrist and looked at the bandaging.
"Ah." His eyes lifted to her face. "And where is dear William?"
Will! Elizabeth almost choked. She tore herself away from Jack and rushed to the hatch Will had opened. It was now pinned under part of the mainmast. She could see fingers curled around the grating and she threw herself on it, peering down. "Will!"
"Elizabeth!" She caught a glimpse of his panicked eyes.
How long had he been stuck down there? She could see massive, displaced beams crisscrossing all around his pale face, trapping him. Worst of all, she could hear the gurgle of rising water. She yanked wildly at the hatch, breaking her fingernails on the wood. It didn't budge. "I can't move it!" Suddenly, cruel hands seized her arms. She screamed as two immortal pirates yanked her away.
"Elizabeth!" Will yelled, peering up. He shoved violently again at the beams, but they refused to budge. And still the water rose.
Jack was still waiting patiently, but then his eyes widened. "Monkey!" Oh no you don't you flea-infested rat! He leaped up and ran to the collapsed mainmast. Barbossa's monkey was using it as a bridge to reach the Black Pearl, carrying the medallion in one paw. Jack lunged onto the mainmast and scurried across it, looking for the entire world like a huge monkey. He was gaining...he caught up just in time to freeze with an outstretched hand.
Captain Barbossa stood two feet away, smiling as he took the medallion from his pet. "Why, thank you, Jack."
"You're welcome." Jack returned Barbossa's smile.
"Not you. We named the monkey 'Jack'." On Barbossa's shoulder, the monkey grinned. Barbossa held up the medallion. "Gents! Our hope is restored!"
In the dimness of the Interceptor's powder magazine, Twigg and Khoeler admired their handiwork. A path of loose planks made its way to a mountain of explosives, carrying a thick trail of gunpowder. The rising water was inches from washing the powder away.
The emaciated Twigg lit the gunpowder and a hot burst of flame snapped up. He and Khoeler fled as the flame devoured the gunpowder, spitting and snapping, careening down the planks toward utter devastation.
His heart thumped the seconds of his life's last minutes as he tilted his head back and water lapped icily into his ears. There was no time to panic, much less weigh the scanty options.
Will gulped a great lungful of air then shoved off, down into the dread murkiness.
Will futilely pushed at one submerged beam and then another, each attempt weaker than the previous. Bubbles seeped from his numb lips, his eyes screamed whenever he opened them, and his chest was ready to explode.
Slowly, he pushed himself downwards, toward the incoming rush of water he could feel on his legs.
He wasn't sure if he was blacking out or if he was simply leaving the sunlight behind, but everything dimmed.
And dimmed.
And dimmed.
And…
"Any a' you so much as thinks the word 'parlay', I'll have your guts for garters!"
Pintel stalked like a lion–a bald lion–about his prisoners. Well, his and Barbossa's. Well, his and Barbossa's and Ragetti's. Well, aye, everyone else's. Backs against the mainmast, rope snug at their waists, the pirates of the Interceptor squinted miserably at him and thanks to the pistol he brandished, issued not one peep. Not even his poppet uttered a word. Power was indeed delicious.
As Pintel moved his terrible glare onto a tall pirate with a parrot he saw a blur in the corner of his eye. He whirled. He cursed. It was his poppet, leaping at his captain's unguarded back like a lioness and she was already halfway there and his mates were too shocked to stop her and he was too far away–
An explosion rent the air and in the distance, the Interceptor erupted. The fountain of water went fifty feet into the air and shards of wood were all that remained.
Somewhere behind Pintel, Jacoby gave a happy little squeak. AnaMaría moaned. Elizabeth stood stunned mere feet behind Barbossa. "Will!" she gasped.
The leap she took at Barbossa put her earlier lunge to shame. He didn't know what hit him. "You've got to stop!" she shrilled, kicking and scratching him in a frenzy of grief. "Stop it!"
It was all very dramatic and the Interceptor's crew brightened to see Barbossa getting a taste of his own medicine, but the pirate captain was larger than his fiery attacker. He captured her clawing hands in an instant. "Welcome back, miss," he sneered as she struggled. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time; it holds fair you return the favor!" He chortled in her face and shoved her across the deck and his crew surged to meet her, arms outstretched. Their eager hands enveloped her, too many for her to repulse though she shrieked and fought with everything she had.
The very decent Mr. Gibbs turned away, as did the other prisoners, even a regretful Jack. Barbossa smugly did not, and that was why he didn't see a drenched Will Turner climb onto the Black Pearl's rail and stand there holding a ratline, eyes burning the instant they landed on the besieged Elizabeth.
"Barbossa!" he bellowed over her cries. The captain turned. His crew stilled, though they refused to relinquish their prize.
"Will!" She stared, face aglow.
He glanced at her, but his gaze was darkly flat. He leaped down onto the deck and grabbed a forgotten pistol from a cannon. Dripping, he pointed it at Barbossa. "She goes free."
Barbossa advanced. "What's in your head, boy?"
Will repeated, "She goes free."
Though Elizabeth inhaled sharply as the pirates tightened their hold, Will's eyes never shifted from Barbossa's. The pirate captain halted when his nose was inches from the youth's weapon. He glanced at it. "You've got only one shot, and we can't die."
"Don't do anything stupid." Jack had his hands together, prayerful.
Will shot Jack a black look then clambered back up onto the rail, hoping no one saw how his legs shook. "You can't." He pointed at Barbossa with the gun. Then he put the muzzle to his own jaw. "I can."
No! Elizabeth renewed her struggles and the pirates again restrained her. Jack's hands were over his mouth. "Like that," he murmured.
Barbossa was taken aback. "Who are you?"
Jack ducked free of the rope. "No one!" He placed himself in front of Barbossa. "He's no one. Distant– cousin of my aunt's nephew, twice removed. Lovely singing voice though." Conspiratorially he squinted and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Eunuch."
"My name is Will Turner," Will rasped. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner, his blood runs in my veins."
"He's the spittin' image a' old Bootstrap Bill," Ragetti cried, "come back t'haunt us!"
And there he be, our little oar-stealer, ain't he, Jack? Barbossa shot a grin at his nemesis, who slumped mournfully and retreated.
"On my word, do as I say," Will snapped, "or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' locker!"
That firm voice, the reckless courage. These were Turner trademarks that erased every doubt in Barbossa's mind, for he'd known Bootstrap the same as Jack. "Name your terms, Mr. Turner."
"Elizabeth goes free!"
"Yes, we know that one." Barbossa smiled obligingly. "Anythin' else?"
Will did not see Jack motioning to himself. "And the crew." He gestured briefly with the pistol. "The crew are not to be harmed."
Barbossa stepped forward, disturbing teeth revealed in a crooked grin.
"Agreed."
The silence after Barbossa's assent was incredibly awkward. Fortunately, it lasted only two seconds. Barbossa nodded to his men and Elizabeth was suddenly released. Her captors dispersed, some into the rigging, others across the deck. She shakily straightened her clothing and looked to Will with tears in her eyes.
He dropped the pistol. The instant his feet touched the deck he was nearly tackled and would've gone down if the rail hadn't been at his back. But they pushed him down anyway, flat to the deck. The vulnerable sound of the air being knocked from his lungs twisted Elizabeth's middle and she started forward, but Barbossa was suddenly blocking her way. She stopped in her tracks and retreated, hands clenched. He gave her a goading smile and moved off.
"Make for those shoals!" he yelled. An instant after the Pearl turned her back on the remains of the Interceptor. It would be mere minutes until she reached her destination.
Pintel and Ragetti tightened the ropes about the remaining prisoners. Standing alone, Jack tried to be inconspicuous, but very quickly had Khoeler and Twigg keeping him company.
Barbossa approached Elizabeth. She shrank for a moment, then lifted her chin and glared at him.
"You're apparently worth quite a bit, Miss…" He halted two feet away. "What's yer name, actually?"
She could hear Will struggling to breathe. Beyond Barbossa's left arm, they were binding his hands behind his back. A spear of rage pierced the lump of tears in her throat, drying her mouth completely. "I don't need to tell you anything," she grated.
Barbossa's crusty beard blew in the wind. "If that be the way y'want it." He grinned as the order to weigh anchor was given. "I'm a man a' my word. You're t'be set free right quick…an' you'll be wantin' to take a good look at that." He nodded over her shoulder.
She twisted around. Some ways off rested the island, a completely deserted patch of white sand with a heavy head of palm trees. Filled with dread, she whirled back around, but Barbossa was already across the deck. "Men! Bring out the plank!"
A roar of approval went up. By the time the plank had been pushed out and secured Elizabeth had been dragged to its base. She had no time to express her outrage, to even struggle, before she was pushed beyond the rail. "Go on, poppet, go!" Pintel jabbed at her with his sword. "Walk the plank!"
Others gleefully followed suit, and soon the space in the rail bristled. Swallowing, Elizabeth deliberately lifted her skirt and turned her back on them. It was not supposed to happen this way. She wanted to kill that smirking old man like nothing else.
The island was too far off. The sky was too blue and too huge, curving all the way down to her elbows. Though she did not look down, the distance she could sense between herself and the rail, between herself and the water, filled her with fear she had hoped to never feel again. Sharks. Jellyfish. Starvation. Swimming! Two feet out and she simply could not take another step. She trembled fiercely as the wood heaved beneath her and the sea wind tore though her loose hair.
"Barbossa, you lying bastard!"
Elizabeth turned at Will's yell. He was up and lunging at Barbossa, face twisted with rage. "You swore she'd go free!" He was hauled back before he could touch Barbossa but it took three pirates to do the job. Barbossa turned, tall and imposing in his righteous anger. Quiet fell.
"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy! I agreed she'd go free." He smirked, "It was you who failed to specify when or where."
The prisoners put up a cry. Barbossa's crew jeered. Jack gave Barbossa a dirty look that he never saw. Barbossa just savored the Turner boy's desperation as Twigg and Khoeler forced a ragged gag between his teeth. Then, flushed with wickedness, Barbossa turned to Elizabeth. "Though it does seem a shame t'lose somethin' so fine, doesn't it?"
All eyes fell on Elizabeth, and she faced them bravely. Barbossa glanced once at the Turner boy and was delighted. The unguarded expression on the youth's face as he looked at Elizabeth was all that a heartless love-sundering pirate could hope for.
He stepped to the base of the plank, smiled at Elizabeth. "So I'll be havin' that dress back before y'go."
They all laughed at her wide eyes, and then went intently quiet as she clenched her jaw and unlaced the gown with furious, shaking fingers.
Jack took this moment to address Khoeler, whose face was an awfully convenient inch or two from his. "I've always liked you." Khoeler just grunted like an angry gorilla and shoved his face forward; Jack was forced to lean back to maintain the two inches.
Whistles and hooting filled the air when Elizabeth pulled the dress completely off, revealing her ankle-length under-gown. Skin burning, she crumpled the dress and savagely threw it to Barbossa's open hands. "Goes with your black heart!"
He grinned then turned away, pressing the material to his cheek. "Mmm, it's still warm." He tossed it to his men and they tore it to pieces.
"Off you go!" Pintel cried.
There would be no rescue this time. Elizabeth suddenly saw herself taking the medallion from a senseless boy's form and wondered if her life was flashing before her eyes, but it couldn't be because the vision never went beyond her taking Will Turner's only precious possession. The nightmare that had come of it was vivid enough. And it was all her fault.
She turned.
Jacoby had his arms; he could hardly keep his face up for Grapple's pulling on the gag, but his frantic eyes met hers. He was trying to shake his head as if he couldn't believe what was happening.
"Too long!" The bosun's voice boomed. His boot came down on the plank and it jerked beneath her bare feet. She teetered, then tumbled out of sight with a shriek, arms flailing. The splash she made could not be heard over the crew's cheers. As she struggled to swim toward land, grateful that Hattie's brother had been kind enough to secretly teach her, Will sagged against his howling captors, devastated.
The noise faded expectantly and Barbossa turned…
Turned to Jack, who still chuckling sourly with everybody else. His captors shoved him at the plank but he reeled away, lips pursed, eyes huge, and came face to face with Barbossa.
"I really had rather hoped we were past all this," Jack managed.
"Jack..." Barbossa put companionable arm around Jack's shoulders and looked him earnestly in the eyes, "Jack. Did ya not notice? That be the same island–" he nodded to the lump of land "–we made you governor of on our last little trip."
Jack glanced over. When his eyes met Barbossa's again, they were no longer brown but a miserable black. "I did notice."
"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape," said Barbossa, "but I doubt it." He pulled away and unsheathed his sword, pointed it with relish at his cowering archenemy. "Off you go."
Over the pirate crews' agreement, Jack mumbled, "Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot."
Barbossa started and lowered his blade. "By the powers, you're right! Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward." With the air of a British officer he rested his sword's tip on the deck and turned to take Jack's effects from a short, half-blind pirate.
Jack glanced down. Elizabeth was flailing off. "Seeing as there's two of us, a gentleman would give us a pair of pistols."
"It'll be one pistol, as before," Barbossa said. "You can be the gentleman and shoot the lady and starve to death yourself." And with a leer, he tossed Jack's effects over the rail.
Jack grimaced downward then dove into the turquoise water before he could hear them heckling him. He swam like obsessed man to the pearly sea floor, and snatched his effects from a knobby boulder.
Clutching them, he curled and pushed off the stone, straining for the sun.
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