Lord Knows I Can't Change
Chapter Fourteen
He missed her and he didn't know why.
He had not missed her any in the last ten years. Not one minute, not one second, had been wasted for grieving over the past. Instead, he had planned the future. Planned Barbossa's death, planned the way in which he would find his son, planned his revenge against the Pearl's crew. All he had done was plan, not once had he frowned, not once had he cried, not once had he screamed why at a sky that would not shout back a response. Not once he hadn't, and it had been ten years.
He missed her now, though.
Maybe it had just taken ten years for him to accept and to face the uncouth mistress reality.
Bootstrap hated that mistress with a passion as thick as the world is round.
The mistress had proven countless times over and countless times again that she was not overly fond of him either.
He shifted his weight from his left leg to his right and let his hands hang unconsciously over the railing of the Pearl. He hadn't slept much, if at all, the night before. Half of the night had consisted of sitting and watching as his son, Elizabeth and his best friend slept. Memories and yesterdays eventually consumed him and he had spent the second half of the night reliving all that he had tried to put behind him. Jack's mutiny, his wife's death, his time spent with Davy Jones', his conversation with Will… -Everything that he had been foolish enough to believe that he was over. Bootstrap was slowly starting to believe that you weren't meant to get over happenings along the lines of what he had been through. It just got different as time went on, you got different as time went on, but you never really truly get over it.
Bootstrap didn't even know which incident held the most pain.
Jack's mutiny, his time spent with Davy Jones', his conversation with Will, his wife's death.
All of them had hurt.
And all of them still hurt. He didn't know why, didn't understand why they still hurt.
Jack was alive and well, he had broken free from Davy Jones', Will had hopefully forgiven him and his wife… -His wife…
She was dead. Murdered in cold blood. Wren had been killed ten years ago. Ten bloody years ago.
It was the past, though, as they all were. Jack's mutiny, his visit with Davy Jones', Wren's death, his and Will's conversation… -All of them were the past, were merely just yesterdays and memories, things that had happened a day ago, ten years ago and twelve years ago. Incidents that he should have been over, but he wasn't. Incidents that should not have hurt anymore, but they did. They were scars that had not faded with time. Wounds that still bled.
All because of Barbossa.
He had been the cause of each one.
The incidents were yesterdays and memories, but Barbossa was today and present. Perhaps that was why they still hurt. The reason for their continuous ache had not been rid of.
He was still there. Salt to the wounds; rips to the scars. Barbossa was still there!
Bootstrap sighed.
"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties, yo ho." The words were simply yesterdays and memories that were escaping from his mouth and traveling to his eyes. Why was the sea blurry?... "We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot, drink up me 'earties, yo ho." It had been a decade since his wife's death, why start mourning now? What was the point in crying over yesterdays; at letting memories slowly turn your heart to ash? "We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, drink up me 'earties, yo ho." There wasn't a point, and Bootstrap knew that, he wasn't a fool, he knew that. Why was the sea blurrier?... "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me." Or perhaps he was a fool.
A decade. Ten years. Ten bloody years. Not one tear, not one frown, not one shout…
In ten years. Not one, not once.
Reality was hitting him like a hammer to a nail.
"I see you remember the song." Bootstrap shifted his weight from his right leg back to the left and said nothing. "Surprises me." The older man looked over at the pirate captain.
"Why is that? I knew it before you and hell; I didn't even know you knew it." Jack shrugged his shoulders as he leaned against the railing as well, hissing slightly as he jostled his shoulder wound.
"Rum Burner taught it to me. Now we can get drunk and sing it together." He looked over at the older man and grinned. "Won't that be delightful?"
Bootstrap smiled wryly. "Oh yes, Jack, I definitely fancy getting drunk and singing songs."
"You should, William." Jack frowned and turned his eyes to the sea. "It's a part of being a pirate. Drunken songs and a lot of rum. And women." Bootstrap laughed softly at his friend and rested his eyes on the sea as well. It must have been morning by then, being that Jack was up, yet there were no oranges, reds, or yellows lying across the sea. The sky looked ominous and the sea seemed agitated. Bootstrap didn't like the way that she was rocking the Pearl either.
"Eunuch Jr. and Rum Burner are awake, by the way," Jack said and Bootstrap nodded as his eyes roamed over the sky. It seemed to be growing darker by the minute. "He gave me the coin." Bootstrap nodded again and Jack rose an eyebrow at the man. "There's a mermaid down there with a crate of rum." Jack shook his head as Bootstrap's head merely bobbed up and down once more. "What are you looking at, mate?"
"The sky."
"Why?"
"Look at it, Jack. It's dark… really dark. It is morning, correct?" He briefly looked at the pirate before resting his eyes back on the sky. He saw Jack nodding from the corner of his eye and sighed; slamming a fist down onto the railing of the ship. "Shit!" He yelled. "A storm! Just what we need!"
"Are you sure?!" Jack's eyes frantically scanned the sky for any sign that the older man was incorrect.
There was none.
The minor breeze that had been gently tossing around their hair that was growing in force didn't help.
"Damn it!" Both men unconsciously cringed as the first crack of thunder rumbled menacingly in the distance. Lightening filled the sky with an almost blinding flash as rain began to pound down from the clouds with an intensity that made it sound more like guns being fired than like rain falling. The sea responded to the blows and soon the Pearl was dangerously rocking back and forth on the waves. Water spilled over the ship's railings and started to drench the deck.
Bootstrap and Jack both stumbled, half from impact and half from shock, as a wave crashed into them.
"We need to get back to your cabin, Jack!" Another crack of thunder erupted in the distance and an even brighter flash filled the sky. Seemingly annoyed by the loud noises, the rain beat down faster and harder. The angry sea continued to pound the Pearl with a fierce desire to sink her. Each wave held more intensity than the previous. "Jack!" Bootstrap cried out as the younger man lost his footing when a wave plummeted into him. He fell to the deck and the sea quickly sent him rolling opposite of the railing that Bootstrap was clinging onto.
"Dad!" Bootstrap's eyes ran from Jack to his son. Will grabbed hold of the cabin door as the remnants of a wave struck him. He stumbled before regaining his footing enough to look back at his dad with bright, frantic eyes. "You need to get back in here!" Angrier waves crashed into the ship as the sky roared and lit up in bright flashes. Bootstrap's hands slipped from off of the railing and the Pearl practically threw him across her and into Jack. The pirate captain gasped as the body smacked into him and he mechanically jumped at the impact. His left hand, which was clutched securely around his ship's railing, lost its hold and he went sliding down the deck as another strong wave grabbed hold of the Pearl. Bootstrap cried out something inaudible and wrapped his arm around the railing; snatching Jack's right hand as the pirate captain went sliding by him.
The pirate yelped in pain as the wound to his shoulder got torn open and blood poured out onto the already crimson cloth that was tied around it.
"William!" Bootstrap rose his eyes from Jack to Elizabeth. Both the lass and Will fell to their feet as a wave hit the cabin head-on. The strength of it left the two sprawled out on the stairs that led to Jack's cabin. Will shook his head and climbed the last two stairs and ran onto the deck, immediately falling to his feet and falling to the right as the ship lurched again. It threw Elizabeth against the railing and she wrapped her arm around it, reaching out towards Will with her free hand. The ship reeled and she winced as she heard the pirate captain cry out when his wound got even more ripped open. "Will! Quick! My hand!" The blacksmith reached for his fiancés hand and gasped in shock as the ship threw him into her.
Elizabeth screamed as both the force of the wave and of Will smacking into her pushed her off of the deck.
"Elizabeth-"
"Will! Look out!" Will's head snapped around when he heard Jack's voice and he gasped when he saw a huge board flying towards him. He quickly rolled out of its path and to the left of him where another wave rammed him into Jack.
The pirate captain wrapped his arm around the boy's waist as he tried to roll back to Elizabeth.
"I have to save Elizabeth!"
"You'll fall overboard!"
"I don't care!" Jack tightened his grip around him and Will growled, yelling various threats to the pirate and cursing as his kicking didn't loosen his grip. Elizabeth gradually started to pull herself back up and screamed again as a wave toppled over her and pulled one of her arms free from the railing. Bootstrap watched her.
She reminded him of Wren. Too young, too brave, too strong…-
Not old enough to die.
Bootstrap shook his head and peered down at Jack and Will, his eyes holding a seriousness to them that they had not held in twelve years. "When I let go of your hand, Jack, you two are to force yourselves down those stairs and into that cabin. Savvy?"
Jack looked at Bootstrap. "What?" His tone was bewildered. "What the hell are you going to do, William?!"
"Don't worry about it, Jack! Now go!"
"But dad-" Bootstrap said nothing as he let go of Jack's hand. Jack fell back against Will and the two rolled to the edge of the stairs, the swaying of the ship sending them down them with a series of bumps and off into the cabin.
Jack hit against the table and Will was thrown against the wall.
The table fell on top of Jack before the Pearl sent it sliding off of him and towards where Will was. The blacksmith hurriedly got to his feet and jumped out of the way and landed beside Jack, nearly on top of him. They quickly got to their feet but were soon on the floor again as the waves moved around more of Jack's furniture in the tiny cabin.
The bed slammed into Will and he gasped in pain before trying to push the larger, heavier object away.
Jack dodged the lantern that fell from the table beside his bed and shielded his eyes against the flying glass before running over and helping the blacksmith.
Bootstrap forcefully swung himself back to the right side of the ship where Elizabeth was clinging onto the railing.
An unforeseen wave sent him rolling further than he had initially intended and he gasped; grabbing at a cannon as some means to keep from sliding off of the deck. Grasping the cannon securely, and silently thanking God that someone had tied it to the railing, he reached to Elizabeth with his free hand and called for the lass to grab hold of it. Elizabeth stretched out her arm and snatched his hand just as the railing that she had been hanging onto collapsed. She threw her free arm over her head and hid her face the best she could as pieces of wood went tumbling over her and down into the sea. Bootstrap tugged at her hand and she looked back up and started to aid the man in his attempt to pull her back onto the deck. Once Bootstrap had her back on the ship, he threw the lass much in the same fashion he had Will and Jack and she went stumbling down the stairs. She hit Will and the two smacked into Jack. They hit the wall with a start and barely had enough time to cover their heads as a large wave broke the glass in the two windows that were in the small cabin.
The water rushed into the fallen table and slammed it into the door, effectively closing and jamming it shut.
Glass showered down over the three bodies as water continued to pour in from the busted windows.
Will ran his hand across his forehead and grimaced when his fingers ran into a cut that the glass had probably created. He looked around the cabin and his eyes widened in fear.
William. Where was William?!
"Dad!" He hastily got to his feet and half ran, half stumbled through the water and practically ran into the door. Will shook it off and grabbed the handle as he tried to pull the door open.
It wouldn't budge.
Bootstrap slowly started to use the cannon as a ladder so that he could thrust himself down the stairs as well. Inch by inch with wet hands streaked with blood and not even sure whose it was, he gradually started to make his way back onto the deck.
Suddenly the rope snapped in half and the cannon went rolling to the edge of the ship where the railing had been broken and washed away.
Bootstrap grabbed the end of the broken railing as the cannon went tumbling into the sea. A brutal wave jerked the rest of his body off of the deck and he tightened his grip around the railing.
He winced as the wood dug into his hands. Blood slowly trickled down from his palms down the length of his arms.
"Having difficulties?" Bootstrap's eyed snapped up as the voice broke the silence and his focus. He narrowed his eyes at the man and at the sword he was holding.
Barbossa had cut the rope that had kept the cannon tied to the railing.
"You bloody bastard!" Bootstrap screamed in fury and Barbossa grinned.
"I always did like to watch you struggle." He stumbled as another vast wave rocked the Pearl but somehow, unlike the rest of them, kept himself remaining upright. "It's so very entertaining. Reminds me of the look on Wren's face when I ran that sword through her heart." He laughed at Bootstrap's expression and at the unsuccessful attempt to pull himself back onto the Pearl. "I wonder if you bleed as Wren does." Bootstrap had no time to react. Barbossa threw his sword's tilt across Bootstrap's left hand and out of shock, the man let go, dangling by only his right hand with wood boring into it. Barbossa chuckled. "Nah, she was a little more entertaining. Too bad. I shouldn't have killed her as quickly as I did."
"You fucking traitor!" More waves rocked the ship and Barbossa merely just stumbled once more.
"Now I feel bad. Bad pirate." He teasingly tapped his hand before grinning at Bootstrap once more. "Hate to cut this short, William, but Jack has something of mine that I'll be needin' back." Bootstrap's eyes widened. "Should be fairly easy to get. People are easy to search when they are dead, you see."
"Don't you dare hurt him, Barbossa, none of them!" Barbossa chuckled.
"You forget yourself, William Turner, because, this time, you can die." Barbossa slid the tilt of his sword across Bootstrap's right hand and the man fell.
Bootstrap's screams and voice were cut off by the sea.
Barbossa grinned.
* * *
Jack's shoulder was saturated with blood as he, Will and Elizabeth threw their weight into the door once more, hoping that by now, it would budge and they would be able to get out. It had been about an hour and in that time, the storm had calmed down, and Bootstrap had not shone up. Jack was numb to the pain that was searing through his shoulder, as Will and Elizabeth were to the various cuts and scrapes that they had earned.
None of them were numb to Bootstrap missing, though.
With a loud crack the door gave way and collapsed, the three falling forward and landing atop one another. Jack got to his feet first and ran onto the deck of his destroyed ship. Bits of wood and pieces of God only knew what else were thrown around the deck and the railing, in certain spots on both the left side and right side of the Pearl, were no more. Jack was surprised that she was still floating.
He shook his head as he walked out further on the deck.
Will and Elizabeth ran up the stairs to the helm in an anxious attempt to find the missing man. He was no where in sight.
Jack heard Will as the lad cursed piercingly and slammed his fist on the Pearl's wheel.
Jack said nothing as he walked to the right side of the ship where a vast chunk of the railing had been torn away. Jostling his injured shoulder caused more blood to leak out and the crimson drops fell downward and hit the sea with an eerie silence. Jack knew that eerie silence.
Blood and water. Twelve years ago.
Bootstrap had fallen overboard.
Jack backed away from the sea as if she had threatened him and fell to his knees in, what he thought, after twelve years, was defeat. Complete and utter defeat.
Bootstrap had fallen overboard. His best friend was gone.
And this time, he could not come back.
To Be Continued…
AN: Cliff hanger! I think. Sort of. So, this was part one of the three part big fat final fight scene. I tried my hardest at the action and I'm sorry if it's not written well.
Also, if you're thinking, "How could a storm come up that quickly?" check chapter 13 again. At the end of the chapter I had Will say something that hinted that a storm was coming, and it was: "The sea seems a bit rough tonight," he slowly rested his eyes back on his father, "strange." So yes.
Also, I did a bit of research and if a storm was strong enough, it could very well damage a ship as I described.
Chapter fourteen will be up ASAP! Check for it around Saturday night/Sunday. And I'm still guessing eighteen'll be the last one.
Please review on your way out! :)