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The Joy of the Hunt

By: Dragon Demon

Rating: PG-13 for violence, brief language and sensuality.

Summary: Set in motion after Jack's escape from Port Royal, the crew of the Black Pearl pay a visit to Tortuga where Jack repossess a valuable trinket he left behind. In doing so, he has unleashed a chain of events that will lead him on a wild goose chase for treasure, love and survival.

---

"An' so it begins."

The words had long since passed and their meaning almost lost to the wind. The silence had lingered among the crew, each knowing that something wrong was in the air.

Jack had returned to the helm and began to let his mind wander when a voice broke through to him.

"Cap'n," a deep voice spoke softly. "Cotton says we be comin' up on shore, sir."

Gibbs stood there uncertainly watching the captain, awaiting any orders he might have. Jack nodded. "Thank ye Gibbs. Tell all hands to prepare to dock."

The quartermaster eyed him but acknowledged the order with an, "Aye," and then quickly disappeared.

"Now where be me compass-?" Jack asked himself as he began to search his pockets.

---

"CAP'N!" A swabbie came bustling into Jack's cabin where the eccentric pirate was rummaging through his desk looking for his compass.

Jack's head came up at the shout, the quick movement causing him to fall out of his seat. "Bloody 'ell! Can't anyone knock 'round here!"

The swabbie offered an apology before launching into the reason of his appearance. "Cap'n, sir! We've a situation on deck that requires your attention!"

Jack regarded him cautiously. "What kind o' situation?"

The swabbie looked nerve racked before replying, "Ship on th' horizon."

The captain wasted no time in getting to the helm where Gibbs stood warily. "Cap'n," he greeted Jack as he walked by.

"What do we have, Gibbs?"

The older man frowned. "Hard t' say, Jack. It sails no flag friendly t' us or the bloody redcoats."

"Interesting." Jack mumbled as he took the spyglass and watched the ship with curiosity. His lips drew together into a thin line as his eyes narrowed. "Make no mistake, mate. That there ship be no friend o' ours. Have the crew prepare the cannons, Gibbs and tell them to be ready to attack or defend, which ever comes first."

Gibbs' face fell. "Jack, do ye think it be wise to do this now?"

The stare Jack gave Gibbs chilled him to the bone and he nodded without another word and scurried off to do as he was told.

---

Anamaria was idly sprawled out on her bunk below deck thinking of what Jack had told her that morning. She had been given specific orders to rest and was excused from the daily chores she usually tended to. She had protested, but Jack had reassured her that as soon as she was back in tiptop shape, she'd make up for her slack.

She had finally consented, all but happily and retired to her cabin. In her hand she fondled a glass marble; it's smooth surface kissing her skin as she flipped it through her fingers.

It was a small token of something- she wasn't sure what- from Jack on a previous raid. It wasn't much, but it was a lovely little trinket in which Anamaria had come to find soothing for when she was frustrated.

What intrigued her most about it was, when moved it produced a soft tinkling noise that was both comforting and relaxing. She often found herself gently rolling it in her hands, especially when she had had a rough day. And this past week had been full of nothing but rough days.

Sighing, she held the marble up in the path of a thin ray of sunshine filtering through the tiny window in her cabin watching it sparkle.

Anamaria eased herself onto her side, her back to the window. She glanced around her cabin and smiled. It was small in comparison to the captain's quarters, but larger in comparison to the other few cabins onboard.

Being a woman had its advantages.

She allowed her arm to drop to the bed as she closed her eyes. Her mind raged with thoughts keeping her from the sleep she wanted. Just as she felt herself drift off, she heard the sounds of numerous feet pounding on the floor outside accompanied by shouts.

There was a sudden knock on her door as some one shouted, "ALL HANDS TOPSIDE!"

Anamaria flung herself out of her bed, threw some boots on and quickly headed up with the other crewmembers.

Several men rushed past her and she had to hug the wall to keep from being knocked down. As she exited the holds, she saw the crew pulling in the rigging while others ran back below deck to man the cannons.

Jack stood at the helm yelling out orders as the men scurried back and forth. Anamaria made her way through the hustle and marched up to Jack.

"Jack! What's goin on?" She asked as she pushed her way to the captain only to bump into someone on the way.

Jack turned just in time to stop Anamaria from tripping and steadied her on her feet. He watched her momentarily before looking away.

"What's goin' on?" Anamaria questioned again as she used Jack as a leaning post.

He tilted his head to the bow of the ship. "Unmarked ship headin' this way. And it ain't a friendly one at that."

"Cap'n!" Gibbs shouted from nearby. "They be turnin'."

Jack and Anamaria gazed on in wonder as the approaching ship turned briefly, their hull slanted en route to the Black Pearl. Anamaria's eyes snapped open as she pointed to the ship. "Jack! They're goin' to ram us!"

The captain steered the ship to avoid the impact, his kohl-rimmed eyes never leaving the opposing vessel. "Gibbs! Ready the cannons on my mark!"

Jack twisted around to meet Anamaria as she stood by quietly, her eyes narrow slits. "Ana! I want ye to go to me cabin and stay there. I don't care what ye have to do, but no one gets in and ye don't come out, savvy?"

The woman stared at him with disbelief. "I won't sit by an' hide while the crew fights."

"You're already injured, ye won't last five minutes out here, now go! That's an order." Jack reprimanded.

Anamaria defiantly took a step back. She refused to allow him to order her around this way, especially when the lives of the crew- and the captain himself- were on the line. She wasn't a coward and she had never run from a fight before; and she wasn't going to start now.

She would fight along side her crew- her captain. If the ship went down, she knew deep down that Jack would probably go as well and if that were the case, she was going to go down with it too.

The Pearl had served as her home for the past two years- the crew, her family- and she wasn't going to stand by and watch it all be destroyed. She had already witnessed the destruction of one home, and she watched in horror as her family was slaughtered before her eyes protecting her and their village.

She wasn't going to let that happen, not again. She wasn't going to hide; she was going to fight. And she wasn't going to let Jack die protecting her.

Anamaria's face was bunched up as the internal conflict inside fought between her heart and her mind. Her mind told her to run, to obey, just as she had been taught to do. But her heart told her to stay. And that's exactly what she was going to do.

She glared at Jack and tried to turn from him when the captain's arm shot out and grabbed her from behind the neck. As rough as his action was, he gently pulled her close and spoke to her in a voice so low, that it frightened her.

"Ana, don't make the mistake of not heedin' my order. I want ye in me cabin now, not out here in the line o' fire. I'm not askin' ye, I'm tellin' ye. Now get goin'."

Anamaria closed her eyes and gave a slight shake of her head. No, I can't. I won't. I'm so sorry, Jack. But I won't do it, I won't let ye fight and die for me. I can't.

She looked up at him, her eyes cold as she whispered something to him and pulled from his grasp. She ran to the deck below leaving Jack behind, a look of shock, concern and disbelief on his face as the wind carried off her answer.

"No!"

---

"CAP'N!"

Jack brought his head around to see that during his argument with Anamaria that the other ship had successfully reached them, the cannons prepared to sink the Pearl.

Before Jack could yell out, another voice broke through the confusion and yelling of the two ships and their crews.

"FIRE!"

He saw Anamaria, running to the front of the line, a sword in her hand as her voice rang out to the ears of everyone, "FIRE NOW!"

There was yelling, explosions and the sound of metal on metal as the two crews clashed. Without warning, the crew of the unmarked ship began to over-run the Pearl, fighting and killing.

Jack saw his crew bravely charge against the other, Gibbs and Anamaria at the front of the lines. An idea quickly caused Jack to sharply turn hard to port resulting in most of the opposing crew to teeter and fall backwards into the water. Leaving the helm, he unsheathed his sword and joined in the battle fighting his way to the front.

Having to duck and sidestep several blows, Jack soon found himself surrounded by three of what Jack considered to be- the ugliest men he'd ever seen in the Caribbean. One of the pirates smirked, his sword rusted and tipped red. Jack guessed by his position in front of the others that he was the leader of this ill-formed group.

Jack gave them a sly grin as he said "Well now gentlemen, it seems ye have the upper hand in this one, but no one impugns Captain Jack Sparrow and gets away with it, savvy?"

"'fraid we dun Sparrow. We was giv'n orders t' bring ye 'board our boat wit' nay a scratch. But 'iffen ye put up a fight, we might 'ave to 'urt ye an' yer fancy lil' boat." The pirate boasted with a laugh.

"Uh-huhn, I see. And just who might I ask is inquiring me glorious presence over there?" Jack pondered.

"Dah Cap'n, thet's who!" The pirate insisted with a spray of spit.

A look of disgust crossed Jack's face as the spit landed mere inches from his boot. "Hasn't anyone ever told ye to 'say it, not spray it?"

This infuriated the pirate and he brought his sword down only to miss as Jack dodged the blow. He weaved his way past the man and came to a screeching halt as the other two pirates blocked his path. Jack turned around, anger in his eyes.

"Looks like ye got nowhere t' go, Sparrow."

Jack rolled his eyes, "That's Captain!" He exclaimed as he swung his sword in the direction of the man.

The pirate fought back, the two dancing across the deck dangerously. Jack backed up precariously on the deck, his opponent following closely behind. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the carnage below, the many bodies, some belonging to his crew, some belonging to the other.

Jack spotted Gibbs near the bow of the ship fighting, an old sword in one hand and his flask in the other. Cotton stood on the quarterdeck holding his own as well as his parrot flew overhead screeching, "Cut 'em up! Shiver me timbers!"

Bloody bird, Jack thought briefly before stopping another blow from his assailant. Casting another glance around him, he searched the bloodied bodies and faces of the crews trying to see if he could spot Anamaria.

His eyes made several sweeps across the battlefield below; each time being met with disappointment as his mind began to fill with dread.

Jack felt his foot teeter off the edge of the deck as he felt the pressure of the pirates weight against his chest as his sword quivered. Moving quickly to the side, Jack watched as the pirate he was fighting fell over the railing onto the deck below, his fall being broken by several of his comrades.

Making his way towards Gibbs' Jack shouted, "Gibbs! Where's Anamaria?"

The old drunken sailor toppled over and grunted, "I don't know, Jack."

Skimming the crowded ship, Jack fought his way towards the back of the ship. He jumped over a body only to come crashing back down as something slammed into his chest. A sear of pain flared as Jack inhaled trying to catch his breath. He looked up to see one of the pirates who had surrounded him earlier, leering overhead.

Jack groped for his sword that he had lost during the fall. He withdrew his hand to find it empty and looked around to find something to defend himself with, only to find nothing. Jack stared at the man who had him cornered, helpless and unarmed.

The pirate laughed. "I'm gonna enjoy watchin' ye die, Sparrow."

He brought his sword down and Jack instinctively withered as he waited the blow, but one never came. Instead he was met with a loud thud. Opening one eye, Jack saw the body of the pirate lying on the deck, the hilt of small dagger protruding from his back.

Cocking his head, Jack mumbled to himself, "Now that's interesting." He suddenly jumped back as a hand was shoved into his face, it's grip offering him help up from the ground.

Accepting it, Jack stood and looked at the person who had helped him.

It was Anamaria. Her hair was a mess, her brow covered in sweat and her clothes stained with blood. She stood limply on one side putting all her weight onto her left foot. Her eyes held a tint of coldness to them and her face was etched with fatigue. Her sword hung idly by her side, its blade and hilt colored red.

Jack held back the urge to take her in his arms and protect her, but he knew that now was not the time. They were in the middle of a heated battle, both unsure of which side was, for the moment, winning.

Instead Jack grinned and retrieved his sword. Glancing at her, he nodded his head in the direction of the battle below as he said, "Anamaria."

Anamaria smiled. "Captain." She made her way past him and headed back down to help her crew, Jack tagging close behind.

"Sparrow!"

Jack turned at the call of his name and was about to correct the idiot who had yelled out that is was- Captain Sparrow, when something caught him from behind causing his world to go black.

---

Cotton and Gibbs trudged through the bodies trying to find anyone still alive. Several of the crew who had invaded the Pearl was still aboard being held at bay by Anamaria and some others.

"Gibbs! Get to the helm and get us out of here!" Anamaria shouted back to the quartermaster.

Gibbs didn't have to be told twice as he made for the helm with Cotton on his heels. Anamaria was quickly growing tired and her body ached. She had just disarmed a rather large pirate when a short member of Jack's crew called out catching her attention.

He pointed at the other ship as he said, "Look! They got Jack!"

Anamaria spotted the unconscious captain being drug onto the other ship by two burly men as another man barked out orders. Boiling with rage, Anamaria ran her captive through and headed for the other ship. On her way, she told the remaining crew "We take NO prisoners! Leave not a one alive!"

"And what are ye gonna do?" Someone else shouted out.

She cut a rigging rope and looked back. "I'm goin' after Jack."

---

Author's Corner- Hmm, ok, sorry to cut it off there. I was going to allow this chapter to go a bit farther, but I figured, I'd better stop while I was ahead. The next chapter is already under way and should be hitting fanfiction.net sometime within the day, possibly late Sunday evening.

Ok, I'm hoping this chapter was somewhat realistic, seeing as, I've never been in a battle before, especially one involving pirates. I tried to intensify the setting a bit, all the while trying to keep it at a smooth pace.

I know the appearing of the enemy ship was a bit abrupt, but it was the best I could do without dragging the story out with boring and meaningless rubbish. There's not much to say about this chapter except that I hope that it has piqued your curiosity. Even more so knowing that things have just been taken up a notch. A lot more action to come now that things are starting to heat up! So stay tuned!

Review Thanks-

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Jorja- Hi! And thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed my story and I hope that you will enjoy the rest to come.