Rose's eye might as well have been fused to that telescope throughout the battle. Teague stood by her side, waiting for word from her, but there was little to report. The maelstrom caused by Calypso grew ever stronger and the fighting went on for an exorbitant amount of time. The ships in Shipwreck's harbor were filled with thousands of spectators, all of whom were so silent, one could hear a pin drop.
For what seemed like hours it was like this. The ships turned and turned in the maelstrom, blasting away at one another with no clear victor in sight. Finally, Rose noticed something that finally shifted all activity.
"Good lord," she exclaimed.
"What is it?" asked Teague.
"The storm. It's clearing. And the Pearl is starting to leave her."
The fight hadn't been won, the Pearl was merely escaping the increasingly unstable maelstrom. The Dutchman was going down with the tide, presumably back to the Locker. All gunfire had ceased, and the the Pearl soon crested the top of these spinning waves and sailed back into stable waters. As soon as she cleared, Rose drew the telescope across the faces of the crewman.
Marty, Ragetti, Cotton, Gibbs and Barbossa at the wheel…there's Pintel… Oh no.
Jack, Will and Elizabeth were missing.
Just then, some commotion from nearby ships broke Rose's fixated gaze upon what was left of the Black Pearl. She followed the eyes and pointing hands of the pirates who looked up in the sky until she found what they had noticed. She raised the glass once again to her eye and breathed a massive sigh of relief when she saw that Jack had parachuted off the Dutchman and was about to land in the now calm seas. Jack the monkey clung for dear life to the lowest hanging ropes of the parachute, while someone else held on to Jack…Elizabeth! She had her face buried in Jack's chest as they soared through the sky, which made Rose feel unsettled.
That means… Rose meticulously counted the crewmen aboard the Pearl once again as they sailed past to retrieve Jack and Elizabeth from the water.
Will was gone.
"Oh god…" Rose whispered.
"What?"
She focused the glass upon a now soaking wet Elizabeth looking despondent. "Will Turner. My friend. He didn't make it."
Teague laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he murmured. She lowered the glass and stared at the Black Pearl. In just a day, she had gained back her brother, but lost two people who were very important to her. She knew it could have been so much worse, but still, what was lost hurt her deeply.
The war was nowhere near over, however. True, the Flying Dutchman was gone, but no one truly knew why. With its descent into the Locker, that must have meant that all Company officers aboard were dead, for they never would have survived that trip to the other world. Rose also wondered about Norrington's fate— Was he one of those unlucky souls? Had he made it off the ship before the maelstrom, or had he met his demise long before that time? Rose would have to suffer through the unknown, but whatever fate Norrington received, she sincerely hoped it accommodated her justice.
That's when the next stage in the war began. With the Dutchman out of the picture, it was time for the pirates' victor to face off against the Company's next champion, the Endeavour. The Endeavour had a three decks of cannons. With the Pearl already battle worn, things were looking grim for the pirates. If the Endeavour bested her, the rest of the Company fleet would sail right towards the pirates as they tried to turn and flee, and all out war would be engaged.
"There's no way the Pearl will make it out of this," Rose murmured to her father. "Can't we help them?"
Teague shook his head. "If one of ours comes to the Pearl's aid, then all of them will come to the Endeavour's. These are our victors—we must let this battle determine a winning side."
Rose's heart raced. "But they don't stand a chance! Why can't—" A large splash stopped her mid-sentence, and all of the pirates lying in wait watched in awe as the Flying Dutchman burst out of the water a few ship lengths away from the nearing Pearl and Endeavour. Noises of unrest began amongst the hundreds of pirate ships, and the Misty Lady was no exception. The Dutchman was back and was undoubtedly now going to side with the Endeavour. The three ships sailed right towards each other, almost as though they were going to collide head on at the same time.
Rose only stared at Teague in panic. "Father!" she cried. "What…" She couldn't even bring herself to finish her thought; What do we do? Teague shared her uncertainty, though he cried out, "Make sail! We turn back!" Soon Rose heard similar cries pouring out in different languages across the surrounding vessels. She stayed stationary, however, unable to move in sheer disbelief; She was going to watch her brother die all over again.
Just then, something strange caught her eye, and she raised the telescope once more to get a better view of it. Pieces of the Dutchman and bits of slime were falling off into the sea, and the ship now looked far less dilapidated and green. She was then alarmed to find that all of the crewmen…were men! Not seas creatures! That's when the Dutchman and the Pearl, almost in unison, changed directions and turned right towards the Endeavour, taking either side to blast her apart.
"WAIT!" Rose cried out in triumph. "The Dutchman is on our side!"
Teague rejoined her by her side and took the telescope from her to corroborate this. Finally, he handed it back to her and cried out, "Aye! Hold, men!"
So Davy Jones had had a change of heart after all…Rose traced the scope across the deck and nearly fell over when she saw it; Jones did indeed have a change of heart, for his heart had been replaced by none other than Will Turner. There he stood at the wheel, a large scar across his chest. Rose was absolutely elated that Will wasn't dead, but then her joy ceased when she realized that…he was. With Jones gone, the cursed appearance of the Dutchman was gone, though Calypso's sentence still remained. The Dutchman must always have a captain, and with Will as the new captain, that meant he could only go ashore once every ten years. The gravity of this situation was not lost on Rose as she watched Barbossa, Jack, Elizabeth, and Will all collaborate to take down the Endeavour.
They struck quickly and mercilessly, and the pirates cheered when Beckett's ship finally caved with a grand explosion and sank in a smoldering heap into the ocean waves.
"They're turning away!" Rose could hear Marty's voice cry from the Pearl's decks. Rose and Teague looked up to find that yes, the Company fleet was indeed retreating, their figurehead having gone down with his ship. All of the pirate ships erupted into cacophonous cheering and celebration. The war had been won, and the pirates were once again free from Company rule and the wrath of Davy Jones.
The Pearl and the Dutchman sailed alongside one another for a time, moving slowly with the gentle breeze as the merriment continued. Rose kept her eyes fixated upon Jack, looking proudly over his victory.
"You wish to go to him, don't you?" Teague said quietly from behind her.
She turned to him and smiled, "Yes of course. The Black Pearl is his now. For good. I can return to sail with him as was planned."
Teague grinned. "I figured as much." They then paused, and a silent moment was shared between father and daughter.
"Where will you go?" Rose finally asked.
He shrugged. "I'll be around. I'll be wherever the wind takes me. You can often find me here, though."
Rose narrowed her eyes. "To oversee the Code? Even though the Brethren's purpose is gone now?"
"It's…home. It's a place to weigh anchor and regroup. I'll be back here." He looked sincerely at her. "I can't imagine you'd need me, but if you do…you know where to find me."
Rose was moved at his words. Though simple, they were heartfelt, and she knew that this meant that a relationship with his daughter was important to Teague. "Of course," Rose said with a smile. "Of course I will see you again."
He nodded again, then said, "I'll get a man to row you to him, then."
Once she had climbed aboard the Pearl, Rose was instantly thrust into the still celebratory but exhausted crew. She had her hand shaken by strange men she had never seen before, got a warm embrace from Gibbs, and even got a slight tip of the hat from a stoic looking Barbossa. She then began to look around for Jack, but was distracted by the Dutchman, still moving in sync with the vessel.
She crossed the deck and leaned on the railing to see if she could hail anyone; She wanted to speak to Will. When she glanced across the unfamiliar faces onboard, however, she came across a man at the wheel Rose never thought she'd see again.
"Bootstrap!" she cried, rushing up to the forecastle deck to speak with him.
"Aye?" he called back, confused. She had changed so much, though he looked exactly the same as the day she had left him. There was no way he would have recognized her.
"It's me, Rose Hexfury! Jack's sister!" she called out.
Bootstrap thought about this for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Rose! My god!" he said in recognition. "How do you fare, child?"
"Better than you have, I'm afraid!" she called back. "But what of the crew now? Will—"
"Jones killed him. Right before he died," he explained. "Jack had Will stab the heart."
Rose was shocked at Jack's sacrifice. He didn't have to save Will's life by allowing him the immortality Jack so desperately craved, but he did.
"I'm sorry…in a sense," she shouted back. "But I'm thrilled for you! Will and I…we've been friends for awhile now. He'll make a fine captain!"
"Aye!" called Bootstrap. "It's…a bittersweet time. But you're doing fine, then?
"I'm doing fine, Bootstrap!" she called. "Is Will there? I would like to see him."
Bootstrap shook his head sadly. "He went ashore for his one day. By sunset, we'll be off. I'm sorry."
That was crushing. She loved the sea, but she couldn't imagine sailing it for ten years at a time. "No, I understand," she said. "Give him my love, will you?"
He nodded. "Of course, Rose. Take care!"
"And you, Bootsrap!" She turned away, pensive. This was a bittersweet ending indeed. Calypso was freed, but Tia Dalma was no more. The Company was defeated and Jones was dead, yet Will took his place. Rose righted her wrong, reunited with Teague and could now return to the Pearl…but something didn't feel right.
"Must we shout out our relations to undead sailors in broad daylight?" Jack's voice cut through her thoughts. "What did I tell you about that, love?"
Rose spun around and immediately embraced her brother, thankful for his safety. After a moment, however, she broke the embrace and swiftly punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" Jack cried.
"What did I tell you about keeping me aboard? You had no right to hand me off to Teague while you lot went off to fight! I wanted to be here!"
"You're here now, aren't you?" he protested, motioning towards the rest of his ship. "As are all of us. We did it. We've bested death itself."
"Have we all?" she asked pointedly, referring to Will. Her meaning was not lost on him, and he fell silent. "How's Elizabeth taking it?" she asked.
"We sent her ashore. She's with Will now." Jack flicked his wrist in the general direction of where Barbossa stood and said with a sneer. "Good ol' Barbie married them, it would appear."
"And what of you then, eh? I never thought you'd be so warmhearted as to act so selflessly for another."
"Pssh!" Jack said, deflecting her praise. "Will was…very persuasive with his…deadness. Thought I'd give him a go. Dutchman's much too slimy anyways. Not really my style, come to think of it."
She gave a crooked grin, unconvinced. "Uh huh. So what's next for the immortality plan?"
Jack craned his neck to make sure Barbossa was out of earshot, then leaned close to her to whisper, "Those charts from Sao Feng serve several purposes." He grinned. "I'll get my eternity somehow."
Rose rolled her eyes at her incorrigible, insatiable brother. Despite his machismo behavior, she was massively impressed by his decision to help keep Will and Elizabeth's relationship alive, limited though it now was. She looked to the island where the two currently were spending their very short time together. "So, what, Elizabeth now has to stay there and care for Will's heart?" she asked aloud.
"Aye."
Rose blinked. "Alone?"
Jack only looked at her, which gave her her answer.
Her gaze drifted across the water towards Shipwreck. She found herself feeling so conflicted about her future. The Pearl would restock and recover, then most likely sail away to whatever far off port struck Jack's fancy. The Pearl was bound to no one else but him now—she would be free to visit all those far off places she dreamed of. But there was all of a sudden an overwhelming desire for something…else.
Jack leaned against one of her shoulders, following her gaze towards the island. "S'pose it was wishful thinking to imagine you'd be the same person after all this time." He looked down at her. "You don't want to come anymore, do you?"
She turned to him. "No, I do! I would love nothing more, but I…Jack, for the first time ever, I have felt useful here. When you were dead, my life lost all meaning. The only thing that kept me going was coming here and helping others. And if there's one thing that I have learned, it's that you don't need me, Jack. And, actually…I don't need you either."
Jack scowled. "Thanks."
"No, do you understand what I mean? Over these past few months, I survived entirely on my own. I defied all odds and used my own abilities to make a difference." She looked back to Shipwreck and smiled. "I think…I think I'm needed here. I think I have purpose here."
She turned back to her brother, who wore a sad smile, but clearly understood. "Should I ready a boat, then?"
"Aye," she whispered sadly.
In the moments that followed, she said her goodbyes to the crew, then climbed into the boat next to the crewman who was to row her to shore. Jack stood right on the other side, still smiling at her. "You'll let me come back and visit of course, won't you?"
"I'd expect nothing less!" She leaned over the railing and embraced him once more. "No dying this time, you understand me?" she joked.
He pulled out of the embrace. "I've made it out before, haven't I? After all, who am I?"
Captain Jack Sparrow was what he wanted to hear. She knew that, but still she replied, "My half-brother."
Before she knew it, the boat was lowered into the ocean and she was making her way back towards Shipwreck Island, though she watched her sibling as long as she could. She watched as he reached into his pocket absentmindedly and felt the object Rose had slipped into his pocket during their embrace—both Indonesian pendants.
"ROSE!" he called out, assuming that it was a mistake.
"Keep them!" she cried back. "A good luck token!"
He smiled again, and watched her until they could no longer see each other's expressions. At this time, Rose shifted her body away from the Pearl. That was the past. Shipwreck Island was her future.
