Chapter 26: Seas of the Dead
Night…
"I'm just glad the pest isn't here." J said, referring to Ryan, "He'd be driving us nuts about being a pirate."
"Do you ALWAYS have to be so hard on the little guy?" Scott asked.
"I tried asking him when we met. He wouldn't listen." J replied.
"That's downright macabre!" Pintel's voice said.
The shapeshifter and Aussie looked over the edge to see the ghostly forms of people, floating across the water in small boats. April saw it and she instantly freaked out, but caught herself before she could be TOO freaked.
"I wonder what would happen if you dropped a cannonball on one…" Ragetti said, grinning.
The two grabbed a set of cannonballs, but someone cleared her throat. Both turned to meet Tia Dalma, whose expression indicated that she'd like nothing more than to gut them personally.
"Me best guess is that it'd be disrespectful." Scott warned the two.
"They should be in the care of Davy Jones." Tia Dalma said, "That was the job him was charged with by the goddess, Calypso—to carry them who died at sea to the other side." She looked at the four with a longing expression, "Then, once every ten years, him could come ashore and be with the woman who loved him, truly." Her face then hardened as she said, "But the man has become a monster."
"You mean he wasn't always so…tentacle-y?" Ragetti asked, waggling his fingers to emphasize his point.
"No, him was a man…once." Tia Dalma replied, touching a locket around her neck that resembled a crab/heart.
The next day…
The sun beat down on the group like a boxer who had a bad day. Sweat came out of everyone's pores, filling the ship with the smell of perspiration. J growled as he looked at an empty bottle.
"Out of water." J growled, "Why's everything EXCEPT the rum gone?"
"It gets worse, mate." Scott said, showing an empty bottle, "The rum's gone, too. Jack, Gibbs, Pintel, and Ragetti really had at it."
Scott tossed the rum bottle into the water, though this didn't do a lot of good. He looked over the rail of the ship and soon, Tia Dalma joined him.
"I dunno how much longer we can last." Scott groaned, "Most of our supplies were used to get 'ere in the first place and we're outta water."
"If we do not escape before sunset, I fear we will be cursed to sail these waters forever." Tia Dalma stated, grimly.
"And, without water, forever seems like a mite too long." Gibbs stated, wiping sweat off his head.
Jack the monkey swiped J's sunglasses and Ragetti's wooden eye and was running around the ship with the shapeshifter and one-eyed pirate in hot pursuit.
"I'M GONNA KILL THAT MONKEY!" J roared.
"But the green flash comes at sunrise, not sunset." Will stated.
"So…how can we kill Davy Jones?" April asked, changing the subject.
"You must find the Dead Man's chest and stab the heathen heart." Barbossa replied.
"Wait, we're here dragging back Jack when we can end this now and stab Jones' heart?" J asked, swiping his sunglasses back from the primate version of Jack.
"It's not that easy." Will replied, quashing J's plan in an instant, "If you stab the heart…your own must take its place."
"THAT and Davy Jones is part of the King's accursed Navy, which has the heart under lock and key." Barbossa added.
"He's got ya beat THERE, mate." Scott grinned.
"Shut up, Scott." J hissed.
Jack was using the chart to find some form of solution to their precarious predicament. He turned it once and soon found the next inscription, which read as follows…
"Up is down." Jack said, frowning "Well, that's just maddeningly unhelpful. Why can't these things ever be clear?"
"Clear as mud, huh, Jackie?" A voice asked.
Jack looked to his right to see a miniature version of himself, no bigger than his thumb, standing on his shoulder.
"Stab the heart." The Mini-Jack said.
"DON'T stab the heart!" Another Mini-Jack said, appearing on Jack's other shoulder, "The Dutchman MUST have a captain."
"Well, that's even LESS helpful." Jack stated.
"Forever sail the sea." Mini-Jack 1 said.
"I love the sea." Jack admitted with a simple shrug.
"What about port?" Mini-Jack 2 asked.
"I prefer rum. Rum is GOOD." Jack said as the prospect of alcohol presented itself.
"He means MAKING port." Mini-Jack 1 stated.
"Where we can GET rum and salty wenches once every ten years." Mini-Jack 2 continued.
"What'd he say?" Mini-Jack 1 asked, seeing as he was clearing his excess earwax with his index finger.
"Uh…something about rum, wenches, and ten years." Jack replied, hurriedly.
"Ten years is a LONG time." Mini-Jack 2 stated.
"Even LONGER, given the deficit of rum." Jack said, horrified.
"Eternity's longer still." Mini-Jack 1 said.
"And how will YOU be spending it? Dead?" Mini-Jack 2 asked.
"The IMMORTAL Jack Sparrow." Mini-Jack 1 said, gloriously.
"That sounds good." Jack said, nodding at the title.
"Come sunset, it won't matter." Mini-Jack 2 deadpanned.
"Not sunset…" Jack said, eyes widening, "SunDOWN and rise…UP!" Jack bolted up and shouted, "WHAT'S THAT?!"
Jack ran over to one side of the ship for reasons hither-to unknown. Curious, everyone followed him.
"What's that?" Jack asked himself before saying, "I dunno. What do YOU think?"
"I'd say the pressure's finally gotten to Jack, but WHAT pressure?" Scott stated.
"Oh, now it's moved!" Jack shouted, bolting over to the other side of the ship. Most of the crew (save Ragetti, who was chasing the monkey, and Barbossa) followed the captain.
Barbossa took the wooden eye from Jack the Monkey and spat on it before jamming it into Ragetti's empty socket.
"Hey, I realized what the bloke's doin'." Scott said.
"He's having us rock the ship!" Gibbs said.
Barbossa fiddled with the charts before coming at the 'Up is Down' symbol. "He's got it!" Barbossa exclaimed. He looked over to Pintel, "Untie EVERYTHING in the cargo hold!"
J pulled out a knife and bolted down before Pintel could. He used it to cut the ropes, allowing the barrels to roll and untied the cannons. THIS would shift more weight, making the ship rock easier.
During the running back and forth, Pintel and Ragetti picked up a piece of rope. "We'll tie ourselves upside-down!" Pintel explained.
"So, when the ship flips, we'll be right side-up!" Ragetti said, excitedly.
Back and forth, back and forth ran the crew. Roll and CRASH went the cargo. The ship eventually came to a point that it was almost vertical. One member of the Singapore Pirates lost his grip and landed on the deck below and a cannon fell down. The group looked off so they couldn't see his sorry fate.
Pintel and Ragetti grinned at each other, though they were upside-down.
The rest of the crew grabbed the rail of the ship as the Black Pearl, steadily began to tip over.
"And now UP…" Jack said moments before being submerged, "Is DOWN!"
With one final movement, the Black Pearl completely capsized.
A cascade of bubbles flew up as air leaked from everyone's lungs. Everyone struggled to stay on, because no one knew what would happen if they let go. Everything was pouring out as the ship remained upside-down in the freezing water.
Suddenly, the ship righted itself and they were…back in their old world. A flash of green appeared at sunrise, heralding their arrival.
Looked like someone at the arctic was right…
The ENTIRE crew was sopping wet as they recognized the scenery was the same for their home world. Everyone suddenly pulled out their guns and pointed at each other. J had a pistol, which he pointed at Scott, who had a bony spike pointing at the shapeshifter.
"Why're we doin' this?" Scott asked.
"We're just playing along." J answered.
April suddenly noticed J's pistol. "How long have you had that pistol?" she asked, eyeing it, suspiciously.
J gave the gun a hard look, then looked up at Scott. "You'd sleep better NOT knowing." J replied.
Everyone then began laughing, lowering their guns. Suddenly, they raised their guns again, pointing two at different people.
"Alright, the Brethren Court be gatherin' at Shipwreck Cove and there be NO ARGUIN' at this point!" Barbossa said to Jack in a business-like voice.
"Ah, but I IS arguin' the point." Jack replied.
"Beckett is HUNTING down every single pirate." J growled.
"And he's got the Heartless AND this Jones bloke on 'is side to boot." Scott added.
"And, if it works, what'll you do?" April asked, "Just let Jones and Beckett hunt down every pirate until YOU'RE the only one who's left?"
"Actually, miss, I like the sound of that." Jack said, "Captain Jack Sparrow, the Last Pirate."
"And then you be fighting Davy Jones and Beckett by yerself and how does THAT work into yer plan?" Barbossa asked.
"I'm still working on it." Jack shrugged before pointing his gun at Barbossa, "But I'm not goin' back to the Locker. THAT you can count on…"
CLICK.
Splat.
Instead of a musket ball, a small burst of water came out of Jack's pistol. Everyone with a flintlock pistol tried firing, but got the same result as Jack.
"Wet powder." Gibbs griped.
Scott retracted his bone spike as J shoved his pistol back into his pocket. Pintel and Ragetti, who had gotten untied through some unknown means, were looking disappointed.
"WE CAN STILL USE 'EM AS CLUBS!" Pintel shouted. And Ragetti, jumping immediately to the point, thumped Pintel on the head with his pistol, "OW!"
"Sorry. Effective, though…"
Scott had gone flying with April for a while and came back JUST in time to hear…
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Jack Sparrow and Barbossa were obviously arguing over who was officially the captain. Jack owned the Black Pearl, but Barbossa stole it and had it for many years.
"The CAPTAIN gives orders!" Jack barked.
"The captain IS givin' orders!" Barbossa shot back.
"My ship, makes me captain."
"They be MY charts!"
"Then, that makes you…CHARTMAN!"
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" J barked, "THAT'S AN ORDER!" there was an awkward silence as J shrugged and said, "What? I figured with the position of captain being in question, I could submit my name for consideration."
Jack and Barbossa walked off to continue their argument somewhere else. Scott and April landed next to J.
"I'd vote for ya, mate." Scott said, "Only fer lack of a better option."
"Shut up, Highflier." J stated, sulking off.
Will pulled out a slightly waterlogged map and slapped it on the table. He pointed to an island on the map.
"There's a fresh water spring on this island. We can restock our supplies here and get to shooting each other later." Will suggested.
"We'll have to send a party down there." Elizabeth said.
"I'll stay on the ship." Jack said.
"I'LL stay on the ship!" Barbossa said, suspiciously.
"You could BOTH go and leave me in charge of the ship." Will suggested, upon suspicious glances, he added, "Temporarily."
Not long after, a small group was on the island—it was composed of Jack, Barbossa, J, Scott, April, Pintel, Ragetti, old Cotton (who had his tongue cut out and trained a parrot to talk FOR him), Martin (a midget), and Gibbs. Scott's eyes bulged and his mouth fell open as he saw what was on the beach.
"CRIKEY!" the Aussie swore.
On the shore was what was obviously the largest octopus that had ever lived. It was easily the size of a whale, a sickly-green color, and had a gaping maw full of teeth. Its eyes were glazed completely over, but just to make sure, Pintel poked its massive tentacle with a stick.
"It's dead." Pintel reported, "Dead fish."
"Cephalopod." J corrected under his breath.
Barbossa walked over to the surprisingly quiet Jack Sparrow and said, "You can't run, even if you wanted to, Jack. The world's smaller than it once was."
"World's the same size as it ever was." Jack corrected, "There's just less in it."
"Crikey, you pirates got it rough." Scott said, "Just wanna be free, but the world doesn't like that. I know how THAT feels…"
"Mr. Highflier, have you ever gazed upon the land of Australia?" Barbossa asked.
"Gazed on it?" Scott asked with a laugh, "I LIVED in it for YEARS!"
"Then, since ye seem to be sympathetic to our cause, I christen ye the Pirate Lord of Australia." Barbossa said, clapping the Aussie on the back.
"Strewth. ME, a pirate lord." Scott chuckled, "Wouldn't me dad love to see this…"
"Just don't let it go to your head, Scott." J warned.
The group was soon exploring the jungle of the island interior. They immediately found a spring…with a corpse inside of it and flies buzzing around.
"Oh Lord!" April said, covering her mouth and looking a bit sick.
Barbossa stuck his finger in and tasted it before spitting.
"Poisoned, fouled by the body." Barbossa stated, disgusted.
Pintel rolled the body over to show that it had a hunk of wood shoved into its mouth, piercing the brain case.
"I know him!" Pintel said, "He's from Singapore!"
"CRAP!" J swore as he wheeled over to the ship.
"CAPTAIN!" Shouted Martin the midget.
The group bolted out to see another ship was next to the Pearl…
Jack the Monkey
A monkey kept by Barbossa as a pet. Even though the curse was lifted over a year ago, he still turns into a skeleton in the moonlight. He first appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl 2003.
Cotton
One of Jack Sparrow's crew. He had his tongue cut out and trained a parrot to talk for him (no one knows how, though…). He first appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl 2003.
Martin
A midget member of Jack Sparrow's crew. He sometimes seems to have a position higher than his stature as he constantly shouts in order to gain Jack Sparrow's immediate attention when the situation is dire. He first appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl 2003.