Chapter Forty Eight – Victory?

Jack reached the Pearl just in time. His limbs were going back to normal. Aboard, he acknowledged that the other ship had already captured nearly twenty merpeople, and that it was preparing to leave.

"Then, we'll attack." He stated firmly, the fact that beings were having their freedom threatened screaming in his chest.

The Black Pearl left its hiding place and quickly caught up with the other ship. It was called Medusa. The Medusa's crew was surprised with the rapidity of the black ship which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. When he was close enough to be heard, Jack cried:

"I wan' ter talk ter the captain!"

"I am the captain!" replied a stout man wearing a white twig and a uniform.

"I'll give yeh only one chance ter release those fellows an' go away forever." Jack pointed at the nets containing the struggling merpeople.

The captain of the Medusa and his crew laughed at Jack's drunken-like manner.

"Or?" The captain asked defiantly.

"Or yeh an' yer men will have the unique opportunity ter hunt merpeople undersea."

The men on the Black Pearl smiled mischievously, showing their pistols and knives.

"I don't have time for pirates' games." The captain's face got red with anger. "Go back to your rum, bloody bastards."

"Yer wish's our command, noble captain…" Jack smirked, affecting a courtesy. "We'll have a great reason ter celebrate with rum…" his eyes sparkled fiercely. "When yer ship's restin' at the bottom o' the ocean."

He turned to his crew.

"Attack!" he commanded.

Almost immediately, the cannons were exposed. The men aboard the Medusa barely had time to run before the first shots hit the ship. The pirates started throwing ropes towards the Medusa in order to invade it. In the middle of the chaos, the captain of the Medusa shouted orders. The Medusa's crew ran to their positions, but some pirates had already completed their way to the rival ship. Pintel was among them. One of the soldiers aimed his pistol at him. However, much to Pintel's surprise, the man's face went rigid and he fell forward on the floor. There was an arrow made of bone buried in his back.

As Pintel and many other men looked at the sea, they saw a real army of merpeople swimming towards the ships. They carried arrows made of shark bones and pieces of stones as sharp as knives. The rain of arrows projected by the merpeople hit many of the soldiers, who fell down, hurt or dead. Some of the merpeople started climbing the ship holding on fallen ropes for support. The cannons of the Pearl attacked mercilessly.

However, the number of soldiers aboard the Medusa was still much bigger than the number of pirates, which was beginning to worry Jack.

"Jack!" Sarah's voice could be heard in the middle of the chaos.

She was climbing the side of the Pearl with the help of a rope. Jack helped her to ascend to the ship.

"I've got an idea." She said hurriedly, urging Jack to bow so she could whisper in his ear. Her idea made Jack smirk.

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The battle was cruel aboard the Medusa. A big number of soldiers and pirates were lying on the deck, hurt or dead. Suddenly, a deafening sound filled the air. Many of the merpeople were singing, or rather, screaming in a very high-pitched tone. The men dropped their guns and weapons so they could cover their ears, falling to their knees or curling down on the floor.

It was in that moment that some pirates that had remained aboard the Pearl invaded the Medusa. Jack commanded them. All of them had their ears well covered with rags, being immune to the merpeople's singing. The crew of the Medusa succumbed quickly to the double attack. The ones left alive were made prisoners. Pirates and merpeople together cut the nets, releasing the imprisoned merpeople, who gladly jumped back to the waters.

Jack caught a sight of Sarah on the deck of the Medusa, some feet before him. She celebrated the victory with other merpeople. When she saw him, she smiled proudly and invitingly at him, her turquoise eyes sparkling.

Only one member of the Medusa's crew was still free, its captain. He had hid behind some barrels on the deck, from where he watched the destruction of his ship. His eyes were inflamed with hatred. As Jack contemplated the victory of his attack, the captain of the Medusa grabbed the handle of his pistol. Jack gladly inspected the prisoners, a smirk of contentment curling his lips. He raised his fist in the air, receiving loud cheers from the crowd.

"An' yeh'll always remember this day as the one in which yeh almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow's fellow mer…"

A loud boom echoed. It was all very fast. Jack could not see what was happening. He could only feel his body pushed downwards by something heavy that had been thrown over him. He fell to the ground, hitting his head painfully against the floor. Dizzy, he saw many blurred figures hurry and bend over him, their voices indistinct. He felt that the heavy thing that had hit him still lingered on his chest. Looking towards it, the only thing Jack could distinguish was that his upper body was covered by a mass of blue hair, which seemed to belong to an inert figure. To his despair, it did not take long for Jack to realize that the load pressing his body to the floor was, in fact, Sarah's own body.

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The fic's getting to its end… But it isn't finished yet, so keep reading & reviewing!!