A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I was away for the week on vacation. Didn't have computer access. So, here's the third part mates! Enjoy.
A/N2: Decided to add in a little more to this chapter, so it's going to be a wee bit long. Sorry 'bout that!
Captain Jack Sparrow awoke this time to someone checking on his wound and changing the bandages. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find Will doing this, and not Elizabeth. He cringed as the lad's hands moved the wrong way. "Not very ladylike and nimble are we, man?"
"I must've gotten it from my father, the pirate," he retorted, and finished the wrapping with a tug. "Besides, I am a blacksmith, Jack."
"So, do you still practice three hours a day to kill us pirates?"
"Only have time for one hour now," he admitted.
"I knew it! I knew a girl would help! But tell me," A searching look in his eyes now. "Still do it to kill us pirates?"
"Of course," Will replied, expression utterly serious. Jack cocked his head. "As for "getting myself a girl" as you so readily put it, why don't you follow your own advice?"
Jack rubbed his cheek, grimacing. "Followed that advice more times 'an I can count, mate."
Will contemplated this for a moment, wasn't about to argue that point, and stood up, pacing the length of the room once before coming back to the bed. "Jack, what happened to you? How did… this happen?"
Jack Sparrow lay back. "P'raps we should wait for your dear Miss Turner, mate. Would certainly be faster than explaining it all twice." Will agreed, excused himself, and left the room for a good ten minutes, leaving Jack to ponder over the whole tale with mixed feelings. This wasn't exactly something he looked to forward to in its reliving. His reverie was interrupted when Will finally returned, Elizabeth in two.
"All right. Tell us, what happened Jack?" She never missed a beat, that one. Almost made him wish he'd gotten her a far beat drunker on the island, and stayed a bit more sober himself. That would only confuse matters now though,
With a melancholy yet dramatic air that was truly Jack, the pirate began to relate his tale, this tale:
It was a routine plundering and pillaging, no one seriously injured on either ship, and all the gold and silver going straight to the pirate ship known as the Black Pearl, still the most fearsome ship in the Spanish Main even after the curse was lifted, and all of Barbosa's men sent to swing on the gallows. That had been a nice day, that had, and all had been smooth sailing ever since, leaving Jack and the rest of his crew with a feeling of overall contentment.
Jack was calmly at the wheel, steering his ship on another adventure when another ship was spotted on the horizon, one that was just barely in sight. In all likelihood, the other vessel had not even seen them yet. The Black Pearl kept on sailing, although at a course that veered slightly more to that other ship. On closer inspection, it certainly appeared promising, and, well, one could always use some extra treasure, could one not? After all, a pirate was completely obsessed with it.
Before long, they caught up to the second craft, or perhaps it was the second craft that caught up to them. After the events that followed, that was certainly the more likely scenario.
The first thing noticed about the other ship, noticed not too long after its being spotted in fact, was that, it too, carried black sails. This could only mean one thing: more pirates. Left with the decision of fight or flee, Jack Sparrow, captain of the Black Pearl, chose fight.
Things happened fast enough with the clashing of the two great vessels. Cannon fire, wood splintering and holes being blown into the hulls of both ships, yells, screams, quick maneuvering, fast-paced orders, and finally, the crew of the second ship, the Crimson Star, the name of which Jack sadly did not take the time to see, boarded. Swords were drawn ever which way, and the air was filled with cursing, blade meeting blade, gunshots, although not many, and pirates upon pirates dead set on claiming the day as their own. It was pure chaos. Here was one who fell, here another cut down, here yet a third killed. The only one who seemed to be having an easy time of it was Jack, up on the quarterdeck beside the wheel, who cut through the enemy like butter. Ever since the events of a year or so ago, he had a real thing about people either blowing holes in or boarding his ship. Or both. Especially both.
"They better have something we can use, Jack!" Anamaria yelled over the din, delivering a swift kick to the short, dirty man's groin, and a right blow of her sword into his chest, before moving on to the next unlucky soul. "And ye still owe me my ship!"
"You'll get one, luv, you'll get one!" he yelled back, dodging a clumsy slash and delivering a skilled one of his own.
The battle raged on just this way for a few minutes in which neither side gained any clear advantage or received that many casualties, after which there was a small but major change. The very captain of the Crimson Star decided to join in the fray, as a large portion of her crew not stationed firmly on the ship had already done, and boarded also. Grabbing a tope, she appeared strangely like Jack as she swung across the small expanse of ocean and swung over to the Black Pearl, far more gracefully than Jack seemed to ever be able to do it. On her landing, she kicked aside one of her own crew members, and he landed with a barely audible splash in the ocean. She didn't bother to deal with any of the "small fry" that made up Jack's crew, but made her way directly up the steps to the wheel. Jack was facing in the complete opposite direction, and took care of a pesky little pirate from the Crimson Star before twisting around to take a swipe at whoever was sneaking up behind him, but froze just as the sword was at the tip of its arc, taking in the vision of this particular captain. "Jill?" he managed, completely in disbelief. This was someone he had not seen in over twelve years.
Jill Sparrow, the captain of the Crimson Star, smiled icily. 'Why hello Jack!" she said in cheerful greeting, and thrust her sword forward, a direct shot to his gut. Jack jumped back at the very last moment, narrowly missing the blade himself. His shirt had a tear now, though. That was close. "Long time no see," she continued. "How've ya been?"
"Oh, just fine," he replied, regaining himself, but still a little on guard over that close call. Shaking it off, he moved forward, delivering a blow of his own that Jill lithely dodged. This gave Jack a split second to take in his sister's appearance. Around his height now-that hadn't changed in all these years. She appeared harder now, more worn, wearing men's breeches and a loose-fitting white shirt, much like his. He wasn't wearing the brown vest on this particular day, so the outfits appeared strikingly similar. Her black hair, on the other hand, was completely different than his. It was pulled back in a ponytail, cascading all the way to her buttocks. She also had her very own hat, no bandanna. "And tell me, how have you been," (Some sword clashing and fancy footwork that led up to the two getting themselves on opposite sides of the wheel…) "dear sister?"
She swiped to the left, and he dodged to the right. "Oh, you know…" she began, and the two engaged in some more swordplay and quick movements that led to them moving a full 360 degrees around the wheel. "Gold, riches, the usual. That's what the life or a pirate is, is it not?"
Just as Jack found his moment and swung the wheel away from him, the sail cascading across the quarterdeck, Jill dove forward towards him, narrowly missing it and getting a shot at her brother all at once. Jack leapt aside and, catching her at the very last moment, slashed her upper left arm. It was only a flesh wound, but it sure bled fast enough to make it seem more serious than it really was.
The female of the two straightened up and, swapping the sword over to her left hand, clamped her right to the cut, then bringing it back in front of her eyes. The hand came back bloody. Jill switched the sword back over to her right, eyes blazing forward at the one who had caused this. Her crimsoned fingers clung to the blade, making the hilt both moist and sticky, something most people would find uncomfortable and even repulsive. Not her. Jill relished it, relished the feel of the blood. That didn't stop her mad rage, though. "You're going to pay for that, Jack," she hissed, sword extended before here.
"You always were so touchy, Jill," he sighed nonchalantly, easily blocking an angry thrust and returning with one of his own. She really had been too. One of these days, he had to take her out on a relaxing excursion of some sort. A trip to Tortuga or even Port Royal would be good.
All eyes were on the pair of them now, these two siblings dueling it out. None of the fighting had actually ceased, but everyone on either one of the two ships knew that the outcome all depended upon the two battling upon the quarterdeck, which kind of made the fighting of the two crews just a tad bit pointless. Didn't really matter, though, at least not to Jill's crew. This was the whole fun of it, even if those two were constantly observed out of the corner of everyone's eye.
"You know what would do you some good, Jill?" Down the stairs and up the stairs they went, across roping and back, up and down, left and right; they were all over. "Get out some, lie down on a beach, drink some rum!" Jack stopped and looked her up and down for the briefest second. "You could use it."
Through the clanging of swords, the two ended up right back on the quarterdeck, fighting as far away from the steering wheel as they could. That had gotten them nowhere, that thing had.
And neither was this. They were both just about equally skilled with a blade.
"You know what would do you some good, Jack?" Jill bent back quickly, narrowly missing a blow that would have cut her throat, and the two swords met again.
"What's that Jill?" he inquired, appearing actually a little curious.
"For you… To. Shut. Up." Ducking low to dodge a wide arc made by Jack's weapon, she caught him off guard and thrust herself up behind her sword, catching him in the shoulder, the one that didn't currently hold the sword in it. Mercilessly, she drove it in some more, jiggled it around, and pulled it back out. Miraculously, she had missed any major arteries or veins, or anything major at all really, not anyone, either on the Crimson Star or Black Pearl, noticed. Blood began pouring out immediately. Jack was actually frozen in shock in pain, without even being capable of delivering a wordy comeback of his own for what could have been the first time in his life.
"See," she smirked, gazing with glee at the blood gushing from the wound. "Such an improvement!" And without any further ado, Jill Sparrow lifted her sword high and brought the hilt down upon his head. "Goodnight, dear brother."