A/N: I'm sorry for being so late with this chapter; it has been really hectic at school with getting ready for exams etc. so I haven't been able to squeeze in much time for writing. We have one chapter and the epilogue left to go, so we're really close to the end of our story now. *weep* Also I'm really sorry if this chapter seems really poorly written, I will try to edit it up at some point.
Not thinking, Jack charged forward towards the lifeless body of his first mate. He bent down and poked at Gibbs' face, not wanting to believe the awful truth. But it was no use.
Gibbs did not stir; he was dead.
Jack's spirits fell; Gibbs shouldn't have died fighting for him. He felt Jones heavy footsteps behind him and grabbed the hilt of his sword, pulling it from its sheath as he span around to face Gibbs' killer. He came face to face with Jones' satisfied sneer.
"Oh, I think I might have left some dung on the floor." He cackled in his thick Scottish tongue as the rain began to fall hard and heavy, "Mind cleaning it up for me? Took me long enough to cleanse the vermin from my sword."
Something snapped inside of Jack and he lunged forward to aim a blow at Jones, despite knowing that it would do no good. He wasn't thinking rationally, he only knew that he wanted revenge for Gibbs. It was as if his instincts had taken over.
The sound of the clashing swords barely registered in Jack's mind as he gritted his teeth. Jones' sword came into contact with his leg and at first he felt nothing, then the burning set in. He hissed and focussed his eyes on Jones and his sword. In the end he was only brought back to reality by the sight of Jones' eyes travelling down to the chest, that Jack realised he was still holding on to.
For a second Jones looked a little worried but then a smug smile covered his face, "You may have the chest Sparrow, but there's no way you're getting in to it."
Jack glared at the other Captain through the rainfall.
"Where's the key?" he yelled.
"What key?" He acted clueless, and then a tentacle reached under his slimy beard and pulled out an equally slimy key. "Oh, do you mean this key?" He held out the key in front of him.
Knowing that Jones would have the key back in its place within seconds, Jack took his chance and lashed out towards him. The sound of metal slicing through Jones' skin infiltrated Jack's ears until he heard the clanging of a key on the deck. Taking advantage of Jones' distraction as he yelled from the pain of the injury, Jack bent down and scooped up the key, stuffing it into his sash.
"Sparrow!"
Jack wasted no time in getting as far away from Jones as he could, to the other side of the ship. Relief washed over him- he had it! He crouched down behind the wheel and placed the chest on the floor in front of him. He was just about to open it when he felt the edge of someone's sword lay down on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly and grimaced; if the sword had come down with any more force he would have had a large gash across his shoulder blade.
"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you." A gurgling voice came from behind him. Hiding his hand from his opponents view, he reached a hand under his coat and grabbed a hold of the hilt of his sword.
Jack span around, ready to face the pirate. But the pirate wasn't concentrating on him; it was arched backwards, looking up at the sky. Then he noticed the blade that had pierced the pirate right through the back and out through his chest. Jack heard the sound of the sword being pulled from the body, and the pirate fell to the floor, revealing Jack's saviour behind it.
Elizabeth!
Jack gasped and pulled Elizabeth to him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, remembering why he hadn't wanted her there in the first place, "I told you to stay at Shipwreck Cove. Where is Arianna?"
"She's safe, don't worry. I came to help you." She replied and pressed her lips to his. He felt her hands wander down his back and chuckled, pulled back.
"Later love."
"Jack I brought someone else, too." Elizabeth said more quietly, and turned to look at the woman ascending the stairs as she kicked her boot into the side of one on Jones' crew.
"What is she doing here?" Jack yelled.
"Jack, please. I-" Amelia started, as she ran over to them.
"I don't want to hear it." Jack replied, feeling the anger resurface.
"Jack don't over react!" Elizabeth pleaded and turned to Amelia, "He's not himself. He doesn't mean it."
"Yes I do. I don't know you." Jack said, glaring at Amelia who had the beginnings of tears in the bottom of her eyes. Deep in the back of his head voices were screaming for him to just tell the truth. He didn't mean it. But she had hurt him so badly, making him think that she had died all of those years ago. He didn't know what to think anymore.
"I'm your sister!"
"No. I don't have a sister."
The wind made the silence between them all the more pronounced, until Amelia turned and ran back onto the deck.
Jack's eyes returned to Elizabeth as she threw him a disappointed look and followed after her.
Laughing bitterly under his breath, he bent down again and reached into his sash for the key to open the chest.
But there was no key.
He rummaged around desperately, trying to find it. But it was gone. Where could he have lost it? No one had gotten close enough to take it. Except… He remembered the feeling of wandering hands.
Elizabeth.
Jack cursed under his breath and jumped back over the rail onto the main deck, fighting the pain in his leg, to search for her. What was she thinking, taking the key? He could have just saved them all from death. He exhaled through gritted teeth. He loved her spirit. In fact, that was one of the main reasons he loved her. But sometime he wished she would just do as he asked.
He spotted her, fighting with one of Jones' crew near the mast. She was a frightful thing when she was fighting, and he hoped never to be on the wrong side of that blade. With a long sweep of her sword, she sliced the pirate's head clean off and it rolled along the deck away from its body.
"Elizabeth!" Jack yelled, running towards her. She span around, the fire of the fight still in her eyes, but it faded when she saw that it was him.
"Jack?" she asked.
"Elizabeth, where is it?"
Her brow creased. Jack sighed, knowing that she was trying to play dumb.
"The key Elizabeth, I know you took it." He sighed, "Just give it to me and all of our troubles will be over."
He waited in silence for her to answer. Was it really that hard for her to decide between death and a key? He knew the price that he would have to pay, but it was worth it if he could save his family. If someone had told him a few years ago that he would be giving his own life for a woman and a child, he probably would have laughed in their face. But times had changed, and so had he.
"I don't have it." She murmured.
"Don't lie to me, 'Lizabeth. I know you have it." He replied, grinding his teeth.
She reached forward to place a hand on his arm.
"Jack, I really don't have it. I gave it to Amelia."
"Why?" he asked incredulously.
"She's not such a bad sister you know. She loves you. Maybe soon you'll see that."
Elizabeth's words ran through his head, replaying over and over until it suddenly clicked.
"No." he whispered, and turned back around toward the helm. His fear had been right; Amelia was up there. He sheathed his sword and ran back to the helm, ignoring the pleading from his injured leg.
"Amelia!" He shouted as he climbed the steps. He came around to the wheel and saw her with the key and the chest at her feet, already opened.
"Don't do it." Jack yelled and his eyes flitted over the deck, searching for Jones. Spotting the other Captain at the other end of the ship, he brought his eyes back to Amelia. "Elizabeth was right. I do know you."
"You don't care for me. Maybe if I do this thing for you, I can gain your forgiveness. That's all I've wanted these past months. I searched for you across the seas, and I'm glad I did even if the feeling isn't mutual." Amelia explained.
"Of course I care for you. You are my sister. I was angry, I still am. But that doesn't mean I want you to give up your freedom for me." He replied, "Just give me the heart and this will all be over."
She looked as if she didn't know what she was going to do, herself. The heart pulsed in her hand as she held her blade above it. This was the most scared he had ever seen her. He'd always thought of her as strong, ever since she had first boarded the Pearl, but this was a different girl. Her eyes softened and she smiled at him. He smiled back, holding out his hand for the heart.
"I am sorry Jack." She whispered, and before he could do anything to stop her, she plunged her sword into the heart.
The sound of Davy Jones' dying scream filled the air as Amelia's eyes rolled back into her head and her body fell limp to the deck.
