Four

- Once bitten, twice shy does not apply to him -

Somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean Sea – well, closer to Hispaniola actually and heading north to Tortuga, was a black ship.

Black, as in black sails and wooden hull darkened so much as to be nearly the same inky hue. When seen from afar in daylight, it was an ominous sight, striking fear among respectable sailors and the King's Navy alike. At night, it became one with the darkness, which made the ship even more dangerous for no one could spot it coming until it was alongside the hapless victim.

They called it the cursed ship, or the ship of the undead. They whispered its name – the Black Pearl – in hushed whispers and furtive gossips. There were stories abound, legends about the ship that grew taller with each telling until facts were no longer distinguishable from fiction.

And they spoke about the Black Pearl's captain in the same manner. They described him as so fearsome that he sacked Port Nessau without even firing a shot, so daring that he fought the undead and won, and so cunning that even the Devil was wary of him. It was widely believed that the captain of the Black Pearl was utterly, completely insane, gone mad from hate and too much sun.

Truth was Captain Jack Sparrow wasn't that crazy; he just liked people to think he was. But he's definitely more intelligent than his looks and speech indicated. Combine the two traits and throw in his complete disregard for character integrity and toeing the conventional lines, what Jack was is an opportunist, be it crossing his way or created by his truly.

Take the stories for example. Their origins came from Jack himself. He told it to his crew, to strangers hungry for good stories in taverns and inns. He seized every chance he got to embellish the stories somewhat (after all, the people wanted to be entertained and he really liked the attention, as well as the rum they plied him with) and let the crowd 'spread the word by mouth'. By the time the stories circulated back to him, he could hardly recognize them as his own creations.

The other thing about Captain Jack Sparrow was he had a knack for discerning the moods and characters of the human nature. It was a hard-learned lesson that began with the betrayal of his mutinous old crew and honed over ten years of wandering and seeking ways to restore himself to his ship. In those ten years, it was probably his main and best tool of survival. By the time he met up with Will Turner, he knew exactly how to play the people around him.

When he overheard Mr. Gibbs telling another one of his wild stories to the crew of the Black Pearl, he paid it scant attention. Gibbs loved his drink and telling tall tales (which could never compare to his tall tales of course). Gibbs wasn't a very good pirate and really quite harmless, but he was a good man, loyal to Jack and that was a quality Jack prized very highly.

But when Mr. Gibbs mentioned the word 'gold', Jack gave him his full attention.

He was a pirate after all.

"-So the Injuns took their gold to a secret island, where no man can find except for their royalty, and buried it there to prevent the Spanish from layin' their filthy hands on every single piece."

Hmmm…every story has a grain of truth in it and this story of Mr. Gibbs might have said grain of truth.

"But that's not all the Injuns did," Gibbs continued.

Of course not, that was what they called upping the stakes. It made for good storytelling.

"What this sailor told me that the Injuns had with them a walkin' dead."

No. Not again.

"And their witchdoctor bespelled the walkin' dead to remain on that island to guard their gold for eternity."

Not. Another. Undead story.

"Not 'nother undead story," groaned Marty, unintentionally echoing Jack's thoughts. "We fought th' real thang, 'member?"

Bloody pirates.

"Tis true!" Gibbs insisted. "That scallywag was deep in his cups. He ain't in no condition to lie."

"Stories 'bout th' undead are th' talk of th' town. 'Specially now after wha' we went thru'," Marty countered.

"He's right," Jack drawled as he swayed/staggered his way up to his gossipy crew. "Ev'ryone wants a share of me Black Pearl's fame. But they ain't me nor do they have me ship an' they sure did nuthin' close to wha' we've done." He paused a moment to let that sink in before growling, "back to work, ye scallywags! I want to lavish me swag on some nice whores in Tortuga by week's end!"

Bloody, lazy pirates trying to cash in on his reputation.

There's only one Captain Jack Sparrow and he's it.

Grumbling under his breath about the dire lack of real pirates these days (which was why people were trying to snitch his fame – real pirates would go out and make their own fame at the expense of some honest folk), Jack swayed his way back to the helm as his crew quickly hastened back to their chores.

However, he resolved to keep his ears open for the rest of the voyage and probably in Tortuga as well.

This story of Mr. Gibbs might sound like another imitation want-to-be, but Jack wanted to be sure. He had nothing against seeking treasures really (only the overwhelming greed that could prompt betrayals and mutinies), but pirates were practical and realistic breed and he was no different. Unless he had some kind of solid clue, he was not about to go chasing after what amounted to nothing more than just sailor's talk.

But the moment the story proved to have some basis of truth in it, well, Captain Jack Sparrow would be there to seize the opportunity, all in the name of increasing his Pearl's fame and his reputation.

Of course said treasure was a great motivator too.

But that went without saying naturally.

Go to Five