Rose opened her eyes to darkness. Though she had no idea where she was or how she got there, she hoisted herself up to her elbows, finding herself on what appeared to be a murky lake shrouded in fog. She was in a black rowboat without oars, bobbing along on its own into the void. The sky was as black as the lacquer of the boat, and a simple lantern providing some vision golden light levitated behind her.
For once, her mind was completely empty. Thoughtless. Although there was nothing to see, she saw clearer now than ever before. She leaned over the edge of the starboard side of the boat, and instinctively felt the need to place her outstretched arm into the deep, clear water below. Before her index finger made contact with the surface, however, water droplets bounced and danced along the length of her arm.
She smiled. "Hello, Calypso," she murmured.
She let the droplets roll off her skin and back to their shadowy home, then touched her neck where the Calypso's locket hung. She looked down at it, but in doing so, noticed her appearance. Her hair draped down in waves, sitting gently upon a red dress with a black bodice, one that she recalled in some dream, but never wore in person. Every trinket she had ever worn on voyages long since past hung from a belt around her waist. That's when Rose realized that she was most certainly dead. This must be the afterlife. She sat back in the boat and looked around her, wondering if Will would be by soon to ferry her to the other side. She wondered who or what she might find there, but wasn't sorrowful in the slightest. She was oddly accepting of her fate, whatever it might be.
What she was not anticipating, however, was rain. A steady patter of droplets began to pour down her from above, but this was no ordinary rain. After a moment, Rose suddenly heard Calypso speak in her head, though it sounded like Rose's own voice.
"I made you promise to a task before they freed me, did I not?" she said.
Rose's heart raced, as she looked around for Calypso, whose presence was there though she took no form. "Aye?" she said uncertainly.
"My locket which you wear. You are endowed with great power."
Rose's eyes went wide with realization as she smiled, finally understanding. "When Barbossa freed you," she said, "And I collapsed on deck… Calypso? What happened to me?"
"No man will ever bind me to human form again," Calypso replied. "To ensure this, I share my powers with you. They cannot find me if my form it split." Then, her voice echoed in Rose's mind as she whispered, "There is a touch of destiny about you, Rose Hexfury."
Tears came to Rose's eyes as nearly two decades of Calypso's promised prophecies started to finally make sense. "I control the seas?" she asked. "I have since that day?"
"Aye," responded Calypso. "We were never meant to be separated, the Dutchman and the sea. Now you are united."
The tears fell as Rose grinned. "I'm promised to Will's crew, then. I have died and will work to help the Dutchman?"
Calypso didn't respond at this, surprisingly. Though Rose was unsettled by this, she continued by asking, "Am I to be free of the black magic then? And how will I harness your powers?"
The rain then grew increasingly powerful, and Rose froze as a strange feeling came over her. She took a large intake of air on a gasp, then grew incredibly still as every nerve in her body quivered. Her eyes flew open and felt icy cold and her fingertips shook violently with a sudden surge of energy. This lasted for a moment or two, then Rose took another gasp of air.
Then, she opened her eyes. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the blaring sunlight she now found herself surrounded by. Suddenly, forms became clear, and her eyes focused upon Will's face, leaning over her. Suddenly, she remembered…just a faint memory… Elizabeth had brought her aboard the Dutchman… Will asking her to join his crew…she had said yes.
Slowly, she sat up, and Will helped her the rest of the way. Her eyes felt so heavy and weak and struggled to focus on anything specific, and instead meandered over many things. She wore the red dress from the vision…the same trinkets, the locket still around her neck…the Dutchman's deck…but a water shield surrounded the area where they both sat…Calypso.
"What do you know?" she finally asked Will.
Will blinked at her, and his expression looked vague for a moment, until he ultimately replied, "This was planned."
Rose squinted at him, her head feeling gradually more clear with each passing moment. A smile spread across her face. "This," she said, reaching to touch the locket around her neck. "This means we are to sail together, yes?"
Will nodded. "Aye."
"And," she said, examining her hands, which she now new shared the power to control the seas. "You know of…what I can do?" she asked him.
"I do now," he replied, grinning. "We are to be allies."
Rose suddenly grew somber. "But…what of Elizabeth and Henry? I can't-"
Will laid a hand on her shoulder. "You have done more than enough, Rose," he said. "I trust they can prosper without you."
"It is planned," spoke Calypso again. "Destined," she replied.
Rose shook her head, "Will," she said, "Blackbeard is threat. He vowed to return to find the chest."
"No longer," Calypso replied. "Another man now commands his ship."
Rose looked to the shield. "He's dead?"
No reply came, but Will said again, "This is how it was willed, Rose. There is…much to figure out, but Calypso has willed it for you to be here."
Rose shook her head. This was all so convoluted, but it must be so; Calypso had made Rose vow before she was freed to take on her duties, endowed part of her sprit into Rose so that no man could even bind Calypso's being into a human host again, and now Jones and Calypso could work in tandem, now in the form of Will and Rose, to traverse the world in search of souls to ferry to the afterlife.
"I'm going to need help in all of this," Rose finally said to Will. "I haven't sailed in years, and I now have powers I never knew I had."
He embraced her, saying quietly, "We'll keep you safe here, I promise."
Looking up, Rose spoke aloud a "thank you," to Calypso. The water shield then collapsed, falling to the deck and pouring off the side of the ship through the railing. Rose and Will found themselves back in the Locker, surrounded by the Dutchman crew and Elizabeth, who raced towards them.
Rose stood and embraced her, though they both were in tears. "I tried so hard to help you," Elizabeth said, pulling away. "I'm so sorry I couldn't do more!"
"No," Rose insisted. "I…I'm here now. This was as it should be."
Elizabeth looked between Rose and her husband. "Rose will sail with you?"
Will nodded, rising to his feet. He then turned to his men and announced, "Gentlemen, welcome aboard Rose Hexfury, the next member of our crew."
Commotion broke out among them, and suddenly Rose was surrounded by unfamiliar faces as they stepped forward to greet her, shaking her hand, giving her a clap on the back, and the like. She and Elizabeth exchanged a bewildered look, but laughed as Rose was suddenly overtaken by curious questions and various greetings by her new cohorts. She gave in fully to the chaos, trying desperately hard to take in all of the new information she was presented with while still struggling to grasp her new life. …her new life in death. More and more faces passed by her, shouting out welcomes, embracing her warmly, laughing with her. She briefly reunited with Bootstrap, but was soon interrupted by another sailor who wanted to introduce himself.
Bootstrap let it happen, shouldering his way out of the crowd and back towards where Will still stood, his expression oddly forlorn and looking away from the celebration. Bootstrap followed his gaze and discovered that he was looking at one of the crew who stood in a distant corner of the ship, looking at the elated activity but keeping purposefully separate from it.
Bootstrap continued towards Will, breaking his gaze off the man. "Well," he said to his son, "I've seen a lot in my time aboard this ship, but this has to be the oddest yet." Will snorted at the understatement. Bootstrap continued, "You've got some explaining to do."
Will looked completely at a loss. "Where do I even begin? I've never encountered anything like this before."
"Why wasn't Rose freed instantly upon you promising her to the crew?" Bootstrap said. "That never happens. Was it because she was a woman? We've never had a woman aboard."
Will shook his head. "It's because she's been a god for years and never knew it."
Bootstrap still looked confused. "And what are these, 'charges,' Calypso gave you?" His eyes went wide with fear as he asked, "She didn't give you more years of servitude, did she?"
"No," Will quickly answered. "There's no penalty for taking her aboard. Only secrets."
"Secrets?"
"I can't get into it here, but yes. This is more complicated than you know, and Calypso has charged me with keeping it as silent as possible." He gave Bootstrap a sidelong glance. "I'm going to need your help, though."
"Of course," his father agreed. "Does Rose know these secrets?"
"No," Will said. "And Calypso wants to keep it that way. Rose cannot know 'until the time is right,' whatever that means." He gave one more unsettled glance to the outsider, still hovering on his own away from Rose's welcoming party. "There's something else," he said, lowering his voice. "And I want to take care of it before it has a chance to start."
"What is it?" asked Bootstrap, leaning in.
"Calypso told me that a man aboard will bring Rose harm."
Bootstrap narrowed his eyes, motioning with his head towards the outsider. "You think it's him?"
"Who else?" Will asked. "He has motive."
"True," Bootstrap replied. "Do you reckon you should send him back to the Locker?"
"No," Will replied immediately. "That's cruel. You saw what state he was in. He seems docile enough to take orders if there are a few threats attached. It's a small ship…they'll inevitably meet, but…I think we can end this quietly."
"So," Bootstrap said, "After we return Elizabeth to Shipwreck, should I send him in?"
"Aye," Will replied, looking back towards Rose. "We'll end this before it can begin."
