Once Every Decade, a series of PotC vignettes by Tsunami Storm
Chapter 3
-Two years after the EITC battle-
"Ahoy!" Came a cry from a passing vessel as a certain Mr. James Norrington made his lonely voyage to the land beyond the horizon in his one-man dinghy. A lit lantern revealed the man's slight surprise and confusion as he turned to gaze upon the source of the unexpected call. It was rare to hear anything beyond the gentle ebb and flow of the tides in the Doldrums beyond the edge of the world.
"Cast a line!" The same voice ordered someone else on his vessel, and a thick rope suddenly fell across the former Admiral's knees, causing him to lift his eyes further to study the deck of said vessel. It was a magnificent example of a Dutch fluyt, but someone with quite the imagination had modified the figurehead to resemble a monstrous, gaping maw complete with serrated teeth similar to that of a shark.
Recognizing the ship after a moment, and feeling himself both bemused and amused, the man grabbed the line that the crew had thrown to him and slowly began towing his small dinghy alongside the vessel until they were board-and-board. To his slight surprise- though it made sense in a weird way too- his one-man vessel dissipated into the ether the moment his booted foot lifted from the boat and braced itself against the broadside of the Dutchman. Sparing the briefest of moments for a quick shrug of his broad shoulders, the man scaled the vessel's side with little difficulty, having served more than fifteen years in the King's royal navy. A lengthy career of which any sailor would be proud.
"Welcome aboard." A more than familiar voice greeted cordially, though there was a distinct note of sadness behind the warm reception. "I'm sorry." The voice continued. "You needn't have died, James."
"I chose my own fate." The former Admiral countered solemnly, no trace of regret or malice in his voice. After all, these people were not responsible for their past actions, and were now only here to help him and all others who shared his lot. "And I fell defending the woman I had loved and her allies. I don't regret my decision. I only regret not making it sooner."
His companion nodded in what felt like approval, though the new arrival couldn't be sure because he'd yet to lift his head from staring down at the deck. But then his saviour's next words caused him to finally meet the other man's gaze. "This question may be coming a bit late, but I need to ask it of all my passengers eventually. Mr. James Norrington, do you fear death?"
A light chuckle came as his answer, but an elaboration soon followed. "I think a better question in this case would be 'Will you serve?' And I think you know the answer to that question as well- Captain."
Once again, the captain smiled and nodded in approval. "Then you may relieve Mr. Turner on the wheel, Quartermaster Norrington- that is going to be a mouthful, isn't it?" The captain laughed as both men ascended the staircases near the stern and James took the wheel of the iconic vessel with some understandable awe. "May I simply call you by your first name most of the time?" The captain continued as he glanced over from studying his charts.
"Aye, but only if you agree to reciprocate. 'Captain Turner' is also a bit of a mouthful, William." James laughed.
"Ah ah." The captain shook his head, a cheery smirk playing about the lower half of his face. "Only my father is allowed to call me by my full name. My close friends call me 'Will', and to everyone else it's 'Captain Turner' or 'Captain'."
Thoroughly chastised, James bowed his head in contrition. "Forgive me, Captain. I meant only to jest."
But then the captain did something unexpected. He clapped a hand on his contrite Quartermaster's shoulder. "It seems you still have a bit of seawater in your ears, James. I told you 'my close friends call me 'Will'." He grinned.
James grinned as well, then took the immortal's other hand in a manly handshake. "Understood. Will."
-Nearly five years after the EITC battle-
"Land Ho!" cried Hadras, the lookout, as The Flying Dutchman surfaced in the Caribbean, its young, immortal captain at the helm. He looked out over the starboard bow to spot the island that the lookout had spied, then nodded and adjusted the wheel accordingly to avoid running the ship aground in the shallow waters. But then something caught his eye. There was another ship docked on the island. A very familiar ship with ebony-coloured wood and pitch-black sails-
"It's the Pearl." Will Turner gasped to himself. "What's Jack doing on an island like this?"
As the Dutchman neared the unidentified island, he gasped when he saw the state of the iconic vessel. Whole boards were missing from her sides, and her sails were more riddled with holes than Swiss cheese. Her figurine was also missing from her prow, and it looked as though the cannons were absent as well.
Looks like they've been in quite a bit of trouble lately. As expected of Jack Sparrow. He's always getting himself into trouble. Will thought to himself wryly as he inspected the battered Black Pearl. I'm actually surprised she can still float.
As if thinking this jinxed the once-cursed ship, the proud mast of The Black Pearl suddenly shuddered and collapsed, taking part of the deck with it as it fell. Will winced. Jack's not gonna like that. His beloved Pearl has been reduced to timbers.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. How are they gonna get anywhere now? They don't even have a way off this island. Then he smirked. Guess my passengers today won't be the dearly departed. But how am I gonna bail them out of this mess? He asked himself. Looking around him, he spotted two objects lying on their sides on the deck of the Dutchman.
Why not? He thought to himself as he smirked again. It worked for Davy Jones.
-Further inland-
Jack Sparrow was indeed in quite a bit of trouble. In his search for the Fountain of Youth on the charts he'd- ahem, 'borrowed' from Barbossa, He'd mistakenly stumbled upon this island full of cursed undead and was now fighting for his life along with the rest of his crew. Though they didn't know how they were gonna get out of this one. He knew that the Pearl was in no fit condition to sail anymore, as the zombies had made quick work of smashing her hull. Grimacing grimly, he crossed blades with what must have been the fiftieth zombie that was about to attack his loyal First Mate, Mr. Gibbs.
"Gotta watch both ends at th' same time, Gibbs." Jack joked as he deflected a stab meant for the older sailor's kidney. Joshamee Gibbs grinned gratefully as he quickly dispatched his current opponent and focused on yet another one that was about to attack his beloved captain.
"Awright, this is gettin' ridiculous." Jack growled as he pulled out his trusty pistol and fired it at the zombie's head, effectively blowing its brains out. Or, what was left of them, anyway.
"Isn't that cheating, Cap'n?" Gibbs asked with a grin.
"Pirate." was Jack's only reply as the headless torso kept attacking him. He quickly disarmed his opponent- literally- then turned to yet another undead opponent and engaged it in battle.
-Some time later-
"Dunno how we're gonna make it outta this one, Gibbs." He growled as there seemed to be no end to their adversaries.
"Aye, there appears ta be no end in sight, Cap'n." Gibbs answered grimly as he hacked at another zombie's extremities and stole its sword. Well, his sword, actually. He'd lost it earlier, now he was able to take it back.
Suddenly, a miracle appeared before the good guys, his blade gleaming in the midday sunlight as he lopped off zombie heads left and right like cabbages. The Pearl's First Mate gaped when he caught a glimpse of their saviour's face.
"Will?!" He gasped, and the man winked at his old friend.
"Get back to the Dutchman!" He called to Jack's remaining crew. "I'll hold 'em off!"
"But what about you?" Gibbs asked of the heroic and temporarily immortal Lord of the Sea.
"I'm immortal, remember? I can't die. You- however- can. Get back to the Dutchman. We'll get you to a safe port." He answered as he sliced another assailant down the middle, cutting it right in half with a single stroke.
Not needing to be told thrice, Jack ordered a retreat to his remaining crew as his immortal best friend covered their escape. As they broke out of the undead hordes and made their way to the beach, Gibbs looked at his captain.
"Was it my imagination, or was Will wearing buckets strapped to his feet?"
-Aboard The Flying Dutchman-
Jack and the rest of his crew were feeling slightly out-of-place among the crew of the Dutchman, as they were still alive and the others were- decidedly not. Gibbs had always believed that the ship was cursed, and anyone who even spotted the vessel at sea was doomed to a horrifying, gruesome death. Needless to say, he was quite uncomfortable as he climbed the rope ladder to the deck of the legendary vessel.
"Welcome aboard, Mr. Gibbs." Will laughed as he suddenly appeared behind the living crew on the deck of the ship and made everyone jump, looking none the worse for having just been in a battle. "Did everyone make it?" He asked, slightly worried.
"Everyone that was still fightin' when ye showed up an' saved our backsides." Pintel grinned as he crossed his arms. "Good ta see ya again. That was some entrance back there."
Will grinned. "I couldn't let my friends get slaughtered by zombies, could I?" He laughed again, causing Jack to roll his eyes. It had been nearly five years since the Lord of the Caribbean had seen his friend, and the young former blacksmith hadn't changed a bit. Besides the immortality thing.
-Some time later-
"So, do I even want to know what you guys were doing on that island?" Will asked with a grin as he leaned on the port banister and faced the deck of the ship, looking sideways at his fellow captain and best friend.
"Prolly not." Jack chuckled, taking Sao Feng's old charts out of his coat and crossing off the island that they had just escaped with a swift stroke of his quill. "Got to 'member not to return to that island ever again." He sighed wryly. "I've no desire fer a repeat performance."
Will laughed. "Yeah, and next time I might not be there to bail you out, Jack. You were fortunate I was in the area."
"What were ye doin' in these waters, anyway?" Jack asked of his friend, and Will looked up at the cloudless blue sky. "Just doing The Duty, Jack. Just as I have been for the last five years. And I've got five more years to go before I can see her again." He sighed dejectedly.
There was no need for Jack to ask who her was. The immortal captain's young wife was always on his mind.
"Ye'll see 'er again, mate." Jack smiled as he put a comradely hand on the other's shoulder.
"Yeah. For one day every ten years." Will sighed. "And that's if we stay true to each other. Of course, I've no doubts on that score. But still, I've only got five- maybe six of those 'One Day's before I'll never see her again."* He looked down at his boots. "When that happens, I don't know what I'll do. Maybe Calypso will release me then, 'cause there's no way I'll be able to go on without her. It's hard enough as it is."
*[Remember, people didn't live as long back then as we do now.]
Jack looked at his friend sadly as he talked, not even able to imagine what the young immortal was going through. He'd missed people before, but he'd always been able to see them now and again- unless they were dead.
"Ye'll find a way, Will." Jack encouraged, squeezing the young man's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "Who knows, maybe after ten years a' stayin' true ta each other, an' after ten years a' doin' th' Duty, mayhap Calypso will let ya off th' hook. Fer good."
Will laughed sourly. "Yeah right, Jack. But thanks for trying to cheer me up." Then he walked to the middle of the deck and up one of the stairs to the ship's wheel, then turned to check his charts on a table that had been set up behind the wheel. Curious and still concerned, Jack followed.
"So, whereabouts should we drop you off?" Will asked genially as if nothing had happened. But Jack could tell it was just on the surface. Will was still hurting inside.
"Well, Port Royal's not too far away from 'ere." Jack joked to lighten the mood. "Mayhap we'll find a nice ship ta- ahem, 'commandeer'."
Will laughed and rolled his eyes, his mind eight years in the past as he remembered when he'd first met the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. "Oh, no you don't. You're not doing that again. You can pay for one fair and square this time. And then you can make it look just like The Black Pearl."
"How're we to do that, though?" Gibbs asked as he approached the captains. "We haven't 'liberated' any treasure of any kind since Isla de Muerta, an' that was th' cursed Aztec gold that we put back."
"No worries." Will smiled. "We've- ah, salvaged quite a few treasure chests from wrecks, and sometimes my passengers are quite a bit more generous than necessary. We've got more than enough to pay for a decent vessel."
"Ye sure 'bout that?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
Will laughed again. "Well, it's not like we need it for anything."
Jack laughed too, as did most of the crew of the Dutchman. "Tha's true."
End of Chapter 3
A single paragraph in this chapter is the one that sparked this whole idea. "Awright, this is gettin' ridiculous." Jack growled as he pulled out his trusty pistol and fired it at the zombie's head, effectively blowing its brains out. Or, what was left of them, anyway. And from that rather amusing image, a 32-page story eventually was born out of my rather boggled mind. XD
And then, when I was thinking how to get Jack and crew out of said mess, I wanted Will to save them, and I remembered that he can't set foot on land without some kind of finagling. Hence the unorthodox footwear. I can just see it now. *Bursts out laughing at the mental image* Bahahahaha!
Of course, then I have to offset the comedy with a little tragedy. You gotta feel sorry for the poor guy. Trapped in a Curse that he was never meant to take on, and not an hour after he and his true love were married at the quickest of all 'shotgun weddings' on the deck of the Pearl. And now, he has to wait a whole decade before he gets to see her for a measly one day. Not a fair trade, if you ask me. But I guess it wouldn't be a curse then, would it?
And then I come right back to comedy. What can I say? I love ending chapters on either a happy note or a cliffhanger. Keeps you lovely readers coming back for more, doesn't it?
On that note, see you next chapter!
God Bless!
Tsunami Storm
