Disclaimer: Refer to the last chapter because I'm too lazy to write it out. Being the typical teenager I am, this chapter will be like 2000 words anyway and the disclaimer will still be this.

Chapter 10:

Jack didn't sleep; not at all. The storm lasted late into the night, the clouds clearing not long before dawn. The sky was a bright pink. It almost hurt to look at it, but he did anyway.

The torture chamber smelled of death and decay. Looked like it too. It was almost pitch black, save a few candles. The walls, floor, and ceiling were stained red with the blood of past victims. Rotting bodies sat in the darkened corners, out of the way, flies buzzing around them. A wooden table occupied the center of the room, various other devices scattered about. There were chains hanging from the ceiling to the right of the table, matching chains resting on the floor.

He recalled various words and events from the first day in that room.

"You'll be in so much pain when we're done, Sparrow, that you'll wish we'd killed you anyway."

"An' seein' as I refuse to be tortured, we're at a stalemate, mate."

"Shoot him, you idiots!" Hampton bellowed.

"I thought ye weren't goin' to kill me!" Jack called to him, whilst dodging musket shots.

The pirate didn't notice the executioner approaching him. As he turned to his right, his face was met hard with the flat of the axe blade. He was thrown onto his back, vision spotted with black spots, groaning. He attempted to get back up, but found himself too disoriented to do so properly.

"Start with the cat o' nine."

Crack! Crack! Crack!

He stayed silent, unwilling to give in. He could feel the heat in his raw back, and he could see the blood pool beneath him on the wood. He didn't hear the order for the executioner to switch to a steel pipe. He felt it collide with his back, jolting his whole body forward. It hit repeatedly, and he was sure that if anything of his back remained that it would be bruised beyond recognition.

All of Jack's senses were numb by the time his face collided with the pool of his own blood on the floor. He lay there for a few minutes. He could not feel anything, the pain beyond being painful now. He weakly used his arms to support his upper body, his right moving up to wipe blood from the side of his face that had been lying on the floor.

"Your spirit doesn't break as easily as your body, does it?" Hampton frowned.

There was a knock on the cabin door. It snapped Jack from his memories, back into reality. He sighed heavily, lifting his hanging, bruised head as he got up from his chair. He limped over to the wooden door, his weak hand opening it. He was met with the sight of Elizabeth.

"Hey, Jack." She greeted with a small, concerned smile. "How are you feeling?"

He cleared his throat. "'M alright."

"You were remembering again." The young woman observed sadly. "I can see it in your face."

Jack gave a small nod. "I can't stay busy enough. Or focused enough."

"Why don't you practice sword fighting with Will?" She suggested helpfully.

He quickly shook his head, remembering the agony in his torso and the taste of blood in his mouth from the last time he'd encountered the blacksmith.

"Jack, Will isn't going to hurt you."

The pirate shot her a skeptical look.

"I won't let him hurt you. I'll watch and make sure everything goes well." Elizabeth assured him. "He didn't mean to injure you when he stopped you from boarding Hampton's ship."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Alright." It took him a moment before he finally nodded in reluctant agreement. "Alright. Where is he then?"

"He's in the crow's nest aboard the Dauntless. I'll go get him." She answered.

"Ye're goin' up there?" He slurred, surprised.

"It can't be nearly as bad as fighting cursed pirates." Elizabeth countered, over her shoulder, as she headed for the gangplank between the two ships.

"Right...I'll catch ye when ye fall then." Jack retorted good-humouredly.

"One: I am not going to fall. Two: You are in no condition to catch anyone." She snapped, not catching the mischievous tone in his distorted voice.

He remained silent, amusedly waiting for her to turn around.

"Jack?" She sounded regretfully, stopping to look back at him.

She was met by his white and gold grin. "Lighten up, love. I still have some sense of humor."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile from creeping up on her face. She gestured to the Dauntless. "Come on, Jack."

He followed her to and across the gangplank, watching as she began climbing the ratlines to the crow's nest. A faint smile played across his lips. Hardly ever see a woman with guts.

Jack watched her from the main deck. He could tell when she was uncertain and when she was petrified, but he felt a certain respect towards her as she continued climbing up towards Will. That's why you love her.

The pirate reluctantly tore his gaze away when he heard footsteps approaching him. He turned to his right to face Commodore Norrington.

"Come to lecture me on followin' orders?" He wondered aloud.

"No." Norrington replied calmly.

"Oh, good." Jack commented. "I wouldn't listen to ye if ye did."

"Precisely why I've decided not to bother trying."

"Ah."

The Commodore's voice had lowered when he spoke again. "How've you been feeling?"

The pirate frowned thoughtfully. "Well...I've been in worse situations, I reckon. Guess I'm jus' bloody lucky ye're helpin' me, mate. I don't know where I'd be if ye weren't."

"And to think I was intent on hunting you down just a few months ago." He shook his head.

Jack snorted softly, his lips curling upwards ever so slightly. "Feels like ages ago, doesn't it?"

"Yes."

The unlikely pair fell silent, listening to the sounds of the waves against the hulls of the ships and the shouts of crewmen working. There were few clouds in the sky and the breeze was taking the edge off of the Caribbean heat. The waves were gentle, making for smooth sailing after the time lost in the storm the previous night.

Glancing at the Pearl, Jack could see men patching up the burned sail and others replacing the section of charred wood that made up the top of the mainmast. Gibbs and Cotton were tightening the various ropes on the main deck, making sure everything was secure.

All was well, for the moment.

*X*

Elizabeth hefted herself up to the lip of the crow's nest, never feeling happier to touch the wooden planking. Will stood where she'd last seen him, turned away from her, gazing out over the gentle waves of the sea.

"Will?" She called as she climbed fully into the crow's nest.

"Elizabeth." He greeted, turning to face her. "What are you doing up here?"

"Jack needs something to do." She explained. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sword fighting with him."

"Of course. I was getting rather bored of sitting up here anyway." The blacksmith agreed. "How is he?"

"He's scared of you, Will."

"Scared of me? Why?"

"I think he keeps associating the pain from when he passed out with your face." Elizabeth told him.

"Doesn't he know that I didn't mean to hurt him?" Will asked, frowning.

"He knows he shouldn't be scared of you, but he can't not be scared." She nodded. "I've hardly seen him even remotely relaxed since I first saw him in Port Royal. He's scared of everything, Will. Everything except me."

He nodded slowly. "I guess he has a good reason to be, given what happened to him before he was brought to Norrington."

*X*

Jack was leaning against the portside gunwale when Will and Elizabeth finally reached the main deck and came over to him. He watched the blacksmith warily, still unsure of him despite Elizabeth's claims and reassurance.

"I was wonderin' if ye'd ever get 'ere." The pirate commented, fingering the hilt of the sword at his side patiently.

"If I'd have gone any faster, I fear I'd have fallen off." She explained.

"Like I said, I would've caught ye if ye did." Jack reminded her, his lips curling upward slightly.

"Yes, but that would hurt you." Elizabeth pointed out.

"It's the thought that counts." He slurred with a shrug, giving a nod to Will.

"Are you ready, Jack?" The blacksmith asked.

He merely nodded, unable to fight off a wave of uncertainty.

The pair moved towards the center of the deck, where neither one of them could be pinned up against anything. Then they drew their swords, Will extending his out like he had during their first duel. Jack held his against it for a moment, the memory of their first encounter flashing before him.

"No cheating." Will warned, likely remembering the same memory.

A ghost of a smirk flickered over the pirate's lips briefly.

"You cheated." The blacksmith frowned, holding up a bar that would be of no use against the pistol pointed at his face.

"Pirate." Jack retorted easily.

He quickly withdrew his blade, blocking Will's attack as he struck against him. They traded blows for a quick moment, before Jack was forced backwards. He parried one last attack, taking a couple paces forward.

"Ye know what ye're doin', I'll give ye that. Excellent form. But how's your footwork?"

"Your footwork still good?"

"Never better." Will assured him.

They slowly started circling to the right, trading strikes as they did. It wasn't long before they were each in the opposite position of the last. Jack unintentionally took a step back, flinching as he saw Will's arm begin to move into a throwing position. But the blacksmith noticed his error and repositioned his weapon before him instead.

Jack blinked, but Will had disappeared. Rapid footsteps approaching him on his left made the pirate raise his sword before his body, hearing his opponent's weapon clash against it. He fought off a wave of panic, unable to turn to get Will in his vision between the flurry of blows. Before he knew it, his sword had been thrown from his hand and he could sense a blade pointing at his throat.

There was the clatter of metal hitting the deck.

"I...er...that was my blind side." He stammered quietly, glancing between the weapon on the wooden planking and his empty hand.

Will was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Jack. I should have remembered."

The pirate felt Elizabeth grab onto his left arm supportively, to let him know that no harm had been meant and that he was alright. He sighed, lowering his head.

*X*

"Y'know, ye need me alive to get the reward for capturin' me, right?" Jack reminded them, anxiety getting the best of him.

"Makes it all the more fun. You'll be in so much pain when we're done, Sparrow, that you'll wish we'd killed you anyway." The Navy captain told him.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Pain flowed through his back. Though he could see his blood pooling on the planks beneath him, he didn't make a sound. The cool, round shape of a metal pipe hit him next, jolting him forward. If he had any skin left, it would certainly be bruised.

"The boy is next." Hampton told the executioner.

"Ye are not touchin' that boy!" A burst of rage ignited in Jack.

They briefly dueled, before the pirate's weapon was knocked from his hand and onto his foot. A knee slammed into his side, bowling him over.

Hampton towered over him, sneering. "You are going to defend the boy? Really, Sparrow? You can't even fight for yourself."

Jack spat out an insult as he attempted to get up.

The other man kicked him angrily, knocking the wind out of him. "You wouldn't be able to fight off my whole crew for that boy even if you were in your best condition! You're weak! The whole lot of your kind are! You think you're strong enough to disobey the world's laws, so you make your own that contradict ours, then you wonder why we punish you! Weak and foolish! There's a reason we hang the lot of you; there's only room for the strong men in this world. You're not built for this world, Sparrow!"

And then he broke, his English accent showing through. "THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU KILLED ME YET?! Better yet, shoot yourself! That's one less person for the law followers to worry about!"

Hampton snapped. "SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY PIRATE!"

A foot slammed into the pirate's stomach with such force that it was sure to leave a nasty bruise. He cried out in pain properly for the first time since being brought down into the torture chamber, curling in on himself for protection. He found himself begging to make a compromise with his captor.

In return, a knife was drawn.

"No. No, no, no, no. No! GET AWAY FROM ME!" The last few words turned into a snarl as his captor advanced on him.

Jack's head was banged against the floor until he went blind in his left eye and his mouth opened for air. Arms pinned to the planks above his head, the knife was thrust between his teeth, tearing the end of his tongue off, going on to plunge through his cheek. When released, he spat out the chunk of flesh that had been part of his tongue, finding himself unable to speak. Blood streaming down his face, he slowly lifted his head to look at Hampton.

He couldn't talk his way out of this anymore.

Hampton's harsh laugh filled the air and sent a chill down his prisoner's spine. He began untying his breeches, the words "You hurt mine, now I'm going to hurt yours" embedding themselves in the pirate's memory forever.

"No!" Jack cried, snapping awake, sitting bolt upright.

Pain flew through his ribs and back at the sudden movement. He was left gasping for breath, trying to gain some semblance of self control.

Movement caught his eye and he froze. He could make out his guard for the night- someone in a navy uniform- approaching him. A new wave of fear rose up at the sight of the uniform. He needed this person out. He didn't care who it was, they needed to leave.

The approaching man began to speak. "Sparrow-"

"Get out." Jack ordered, voice shaking uncontrollably.

The man stopped in his steps, but didn't leave. He seemed uncertain of what to do. "Are you alright?"

"Get out." The pirate repeated desperately, reaching for something- anything- he could throw. When the figure stayed put, he found himself doing anything he could to get him to leave; screaming; throwing anything he could get his hands on. "GET OUT! Get out, get out, get out! GET OUT! GO AWAY! GET!"

The uniformed man did as told, leaving the door open as he called for backup above Jack's panicked screams. "ELIZABETH!"

Jack, slowly realizing the man had left the cabin, curled up on what was left of the bed that he hadn't thrown. He wrapped his arms around his knees, closing his eyes tightly as he buried his face in them. His eyes were moist, but he didn't cry. He fought to control his wheezing breaths.

He heard quick footsteps enter, but he didn't move. Through his eyelid, he could see the light of a candle fill the darkness. He felt a weight on the bed beside him, could feel smooth arms wrap around him comfortingly.

"You're alright, Jack. You're alright." Elizabeth murmured. "You're safe."

He didn't reply.

"Look at me." She gently grabbed a hold of his chin.

He resisted.

"Jack, please."

The pirate sighed heavily, opening his eye and slowly withdrawing from himself. His voice was a whisper. "'M sorry."

"It's alright, Jack. Commodore Norrington's fine."