Aftermath
By: L'Morgan
Disclaimer: I guess I really do need to remind you all that anything and everything related to Pirates of the Caribbean, their characters and settings are all the property of Disney - Disney - Disney - nobody - but -Disney ---- I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-and-giving-back. Only Disney can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. NOT ME!
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Summary: Port Royal lies in ruins and the Black Pearl is sitting in the bay.. What is Jack Sparrow up to now?!!
Chapter 5: Fight to the Death
Jack bid a quiet goodbye to his friends and silently the door closed behind him. Well, that had gone better than he expected. It felt good to know that the friendship begun that time ago was still intact. Of course it probably helped that he had survivors to return, but they had made it clear that wasn't the only reason he was gladly welcomed. The 'miniature earthquake' he could have lived happily without, but nothing in the house seemed upset by it. It was definitely time now to get back to the Pearl and carry out this little arrangement. AnaMaria and Gibbs - the entire crew would be glad he was sure. He was very eager to be back on the sea, which was supposed to move: unlike the fickle earth that apparently was inclined to betray itself and shiver and jump the way no piece of land had any business doing.
Thinking about the eventful evening now behind him, Jack perhaps wasn't quite as alert to other noises as he normally would have been - but one sound froze him in his tracks - that of a sword being drawn close by and behind him.
He stopped, then turned very slowly to find Commodore Norrington himself not more than 4 yards behind him. ' Oh merciful heavens - this was NOT what I need.' He thought, tilting his head with a rather put-upon sigh.
"Well, well, if it isn't Jack Sparrow." Norrington growled and Jack smiled.
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow - Captain. Is it really so hard for you to say the word?" he countered insolently, as he warily circled left, and away from the house.
"How did you end up here anyway?" he asked unhappily, looking for something to distract the military man with, but Norrington advanced a step, looking very threatening.
"I was checking to be certain there were no damages to the Governor's house after the tremor, and saw a row boat on the beach. I thought it might be wise to make sure that the young Mr. and Mrs. Turner weren't being molested by some - pirate" he growled, advancing again, and now Jack drew his own sword. Obviously the man had no intention of letting him pass unmolested.
Jack turned suddenly and darted away from the house and into the trees. He did not want the lad coming out and getting involved in this matter, thank you very much.
Norrington pursued him until Jack realized there was a cliff not far before him. He turned and met Norrington 's down stroke with a block.
"Now that's not very nice mate! You'd think you were trying to kill a fellow here!" he protested as he struck back and Norrington gave him a 'cat that has the canary smile'.
"It would be doing the world a favor to rid them of you Sparrow." He said, making a vicsious cut at Jack's middle that the man danced away from. They clashed back and forth, around trees and bushes, over rocks and roots, sparks flying sometimes from the strength of the blows. Jack made sure they got further and further from the house each minute.
"You won't be getting away Sparrow, not this time," Norrington growled, anticipating the pirates' rounding a tree. He swung as hard as he could, and Jack barely managed to turn and pull back in time, but cried out softly as the sword caught him hard and deep across his left bicep.
He countered, but the pain in his arm and the wetness quickly coating his arm told him that he couldn't afford to let this go on much longer. But no matter how he tried to get away, Norrington leapt in front of him, trying to cleave him in two with great enthusiasm. Jack stumbled over a root and nearly fell, barely managing to deflect the next thrust to his chest. He retreated to the more open area nearer the cliff and struck back.
Enough of this nonsense! He'd had enough! With a thrust and twist he flipped Norrington's sword out of his hand. It flew up and then across the dew wet grass, towards the cliff, with it's owner making a desperate lunge for it. Just at that perfect moment, the earth again decided to display it's ability to imitate the motion of a wave, upsetting the balance of both men. Norrington, off balance already, tripped over a rock of some sort and went sliding across across the wet grass towards the cliff as well - and suddenly realized there was no ground before him!
He clutched desperately at the grass itself, but couldn't stop the momentum. His body slid off the cliff- and he was jerked to a sudden stop by his wrist. He looked up to find Jack Sparrow, prone on the ground, his face screwed up with effort and holding onto his wrist as Norrington dangled over the abyss below. Far, far, below he heard the sound of his sword hitting the rocks.
"You bloody fool!" Sparrow hissed as his other hand came down to grab the Commodore's arm as well. Norrington used his other hand and scrabbled at the sheer dirt wall before him, but every effort he made to grab onto a rock, only dislodged that rock and sent it also crashing below.
"Grab my arm!" Jack shouted commandingly, and Norrington did, only to find the pirate's arm heavily slick with his blood and his hand slipped further.
"No!" Jack shouted and grabbed him securely, arm for arm now. For a long moment they stared at each other.
"You're going to let go." Norrington stated, and the pirate shook his head.
"Bloody hell not! That's something only YOU would do!" the pirate said rather shakily, his face glistening with perspiration as he re-fixed his grip with his good hand.
"Then pull me up!" Norrington whispered and the other shook his head.
"I can't mate - my arm" Jack hissed, tugging him up only an inch or so and his strength seeming to give out. He was breathing very heavily now, his arm was in agony and he was hanging onto well over 150 pounds mostly by the strength in the grip of one hand.
"William!!! Some body!" he half looked back and yelled loudly. But the lights from the house were quite a ways off, and they couldn't hear him by any means. He felt Norrington try to grab further up his arm, and his hand slid down again from the wetness that coated that one more and more as time passed.
'Other side - " he gasped and Norrington got a better grip there, but still dangled and they seemed caught like that, unable to move.
The Commodore could feel the pirate's grip fading in his injured arm, and the tremble of exertion in his other. The man wasn't going to be able to hold onto him much longer, even if he wanted to.. Although why the pirate would be saving his life was an absurdity in itself! Why hadn't the man just let him fall? Sparrow obviously was well aware that just moments ago he had been intent on killing the man if the opportunity presented itself.
"Look you bloody fool," Jack growled fiercely, as now his face tightened and he managed to get the man an inch further up.
'You'd better be able to help me mate - I'm getting awfully dizzy here," the pirate breathed as now he somehow managed to get the man up another inch, then another before he paused, gasping for breath.
"Pull!" Norrington almost begged, his voice uneven. Suddenly one of his hands slipped off Jack's blood soaked arm entirely. He dangled and was slipping, then just as quickly the pirate had him back in his grip.
"I swear by Neptunes' trident that you are the BIGGEST idiot I have ever 'ad the misfortune to meet! Tryin' to blow holes in my ship when all I want is to return a few stragglers we found floatin' in the water. If you aren't the world's biggest fool, I don't know who is!" Jack swore, getting angry now at the thought of not being able to save the man and using that anger to drag Norrington up more and more. How in the name of all that was holy did he manage to keep getting himself into such situations as this!
Unsteadily he managed to get his knees under him. He grabbed onto the man, then yanked as hard as he possibly could, using his own weight as leverage as he tugged. He shakily managed to get the Commodore's head, chest, torso and hips up over the edge - then he suddenly collapsed backwards with the heavy man on top of him, and everything faded away into blackness in an instant.
Commodore Norrington lay there breathing hard, to stunned and weak to move, trying to stop the shaking that consumed his body. He realized his head was on the pirate's chest and he could hear the man's racing heartbeat beneath his ear.
"Sparrow - I owe you my -" he started breathlessly, lifting his head, only to find the pirate's face turned towards him. Jack's features were slack and his eyes were closed heavily. And blood, he could smell blood.
"Sparrow?" he asked as he managed to rise to his elbows, but there was no response from the man.
"Wake up man!" he said louder, reaching up to slap the pirate's cheek in attempt to wake him, but still got no response at all. He pulled the man's arm in front of him to feel for a pulse in his injured arm. He was immediately stuck by the fact that although Jack was clad in a white shirt, the entire left sleeve was dark in color, and very, very wet. Gently he felt up the man's arm and encountered the deep gash, freely bleeding in a profuse flow even now. Instinctively he closed the wound with his hand, applying heavy pressure and the pirate frowned vaguely with a soft grunt of pain.
Again he tried slapping the man's cheek, but he just was not waking up. He scowled. If he just left him here like he was, the man would bleed to death within an a few hours at the most. He'd already lost a quite a bit of blood. The sword had gone deep. He rose to his knees, still holding the pirate's wound closed and spotted the sash at the man's waist. With one hand he managed to pull it off, then quickly wound it around the man's arm and tied it very tightly.
He was still shaking from his experience as he rose to his feet, grabbed the pirate under the arms and pulled him away from the cliff. Gently he laid Jack down and considered his still slack features, then put his fingers at the side of his neck for a pulse and felt relieved to find one. He looked back at the house some distance away. He was so shaken that he didn't think he could drag the unconscious man all that way, and automatically it occurred to him that it would probably worsen the pirate's condition.
Unsteadily Norrington rose to his feet and hurried to the house where he pounded on the door as hard as he could manage with hands that barely followed his command. Quickly the door was opened by Will, who looked shocked as he stepped back.
Commodore Norrington stepped forward into the room as Elizabeth came from the bedroom area and she gasped at seeing him.
"Commodore! Are you alright? You're covered in - blood" she breathed with a sudden frown, and he looked down to see that he was indeed brilliantly coated in the pirate's blood.
"Jack Sparrow... Out there.. by the cliffs. He's - he's still alive. He - he needs - your assistance," he managed to stammer unevenly, then staggered out and literally fled into the darkness. He paused once away and turned to watch as the young man and lady hurried out along the cliff with a lantern. Eventually they stopped and he saw the lantern put down on the ground. They had found the unconscious man. At that he turned and left, still shaking and in semi-shock and not realizing it as his feet automatically took him down the path back towards the fort.
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Disclaimer: I guess I really do need to remind you all that anything and everything related to Pirates of the Caribbean, their characters and settings are all the property of Disney - Disney - Disney - nobody - but -Disney ---- I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-and-giving-back. Only Disney can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. NOT ME!
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Summary: Port Royal lies in ruins and the Black Pearl is sitting in the bay.. What is Jack Sparrow up to now?!!
Chapter 5: Fight to the Death
Jack bid a quiet goodbye to his friends and silently the door closed behind him. Well, that had gone better than he expected. It felt good to know that the friendship begun that time ago was still intact. Of course it probably helped that he had survivors to return, but they had made it clear that wasn't the only reason he was gladly welcomed. The 'miniature earthquake' he could have lived happily without, but nothing in the house seemed upset by it. It was definitely time now to get back to the Pearl and carry out this little arrangement. AnaMaria and Gibbs - the entire crew would be glad he was sure. He was very eager to be back on the sea, which was supposed to move: unlike the fickle earth that apparently was inclined to betray itself and shiver and jump the way no piece of land had any business doing.
Thinking about the eventful evening now behind him, Jack perhaps wasn't quite as alert to other noises as he normally would have been - but one sound froze him in his tracks - that of a sword being drawn close by and behind him.
He stopped, then turned very slowly to find Commodore Norrington himself not more than 4 yards behind him. ' Oh merciful heavens - this was NOT what I need.' He thought, tilting his head with a rather put-upon sigh.
"Well, well, if it isn't Jack Sparrow." Norrington growled and Jack smiled.
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow - Captain. Is it really so hard for you to say the word?" he countered insolently, as he warily circled left, and away from the house.
"How did you end up here anyway?" he asked unhappily, looking for something to distract the military man with, but Norrington advanced a step, looking very threatening.
"I was checking to be certain there were no damages to the Governor's house after the tremor, and saw a row boat on the beach. I thought it might be wise to make sure that the young Mr. and Mrs. Turner weren't being molested by some - pirate" he growled, advancing again, and now Jack drew his own sword. Obviously the man had no intention of letting him pass unmolested.
Jack turned suddenly and darted away from the house and into the trees. He did not want the lad coming out and getting involved in this matter, thank you very much.
Norrington pursued him until Jack realized there was a cliff not far before him. He turned and met Norrington 's down stroke with a block.
"Now that's not very nice mate! You'd think you were trying to kill a fellow here!" he protested as he struck back and Norrington gave him a 'cat that has the canary smile'.
"It would be doing the world a favor to rid them of you Sparrow." He said, making a vicsious cut at Jack's middle that the man danced away from. They clashed back and forth, around trees and bushes, over rocks and roots, sparks flying sometimes from the strength of the blows. Jack made sure they got further and further from the house each minute.
"You won't be getting away Sparrow, not this time," Norrington growled, anticipating the pirates' rounding a tree. He swung as hard as he could, and Jack barely managed to turn and pull back in time, but cried out softly as the sword caught him hard and deep across his left bicep.
He countered, but the pain in his arm and the wetness quickly coating his arm told him that he couldn't afford to let this go on much longer. But no matter how he tried to get away, Norrington leapt in front of him, trying to cleave him in two with great enthusiasm. Jack stumbled over a root and nearly fell, barely managing to deflect the next thrust to his chest. He retreated to the more open area nearer the cliff and struck back.
Enough of this nonsense! He'd had enough! With a thrust and twist he flipped Norrington's sword out of his hand. It flew up and then across the dew wet grass, towards the cliff, with it's owner making a desperate lunge for it. Just at that perfect moment, the earth again decided to display it's ability to imitate the motion of a wave, upsetting the balance of both men. Norrington, off balance already, tripped over a rock of some sort and went sliding across across the wet grass towards the cliff as well - and suddenly realized there was no ground before him!
He clutched desperately at the grass itself, but couldn't stop the momentum. His body slid off the cliff- and he was jerked to a sudden stop by his wrist. He looked up to find Jack Sparrow, prone on the ground, his face screwed up with effort and holding onto his wrist as Norrington dangled over the abyss below. Far, far, below he heard the sound of his sword hitting the rocks.
"You bloody fool!" Sparrow hissed as his other hand came down to grab the Commodore's arm as well. Norrington used his other hand and scrabbled at the sheer dirt wall before him, but every effort he made to grab onto a rock, only dislodged that rock and sent it also crashing below.
"Grab my arm!" Jack shouted commandingly, and Norrington did, only to find the pirate's arm heavily slick with his blood and his hand slipped further.
"No!" Jack shouted and grabbed him securely, arm for arm now. For a long moment they stared at each other.
"You're going to let go." Norrington stated, and the pirate shook his head.
"Bloody hell not! That's something only YOU would do!" the pirate said rather shakily, his face glistening with perspiration as he re-fixed his grip with his good hand.
"Then pull me up!" Norrington whispered and the other shook his head.
"I can't mate - my arm" Jack hissed, tugging him up only an inch or so and his strength seeming to give out. He was breathing very heavily now, his arm was in agony and he was hanging onto well over 150 pounds mostly by the strength in the grip of one hand.
"William!!! Some body!" he half looked back and yelled loudly. But the lights from the house were quite a ways off, and they couldn't hear him by any means. He felt Norrington try to grab further up his arm, and his hand slid down again from the wetness that coated that one more and more as time passed.
'Other side - " he gasped and Norrington got a better grip there, but still dangled and they seemed caught like that, unable to move.
The Commodore could feel the pirate's grip fading in his injured arm, and the tremble of exertion in his other. The man wasn't going to be able to hold onto him much longer, even if he wanted to.. Although why the pirate would be saving his life was an absurdity in itself! Why hadn't the man just let him fall? Sparrow obviously was well aware that just moments ago he had been intent on killing the man if the opportunity presented itself.
"Look you bloody fool," Jack growled fiercely, as now his face tightened and he managed to get the man an inch further up.
'You'd better be able to help me mate - I'm getting awfully dizzy here," the pirate breathed as now he somehow managed to get the man up another inch, then another before he paused, gasping for breath.
"Pull!" Norrington almost begged, his voice uneven. Suddenly one of his hands slipped off Jack's blood soaked arm entirely. He dangled and was slipping, then just as quickly the pirate had him back in his grip.
"I swear by Neptunes' trident that you are the BIGGEST idiot I have ever 'ad the misfortune to meet! Tryin' to blow holes in my ship when all I want is to return a few stragglers we found floatin' in the water. If you aren't the world's biggest fool, I don't know who is!" Jack swore, getting angry now at the thought of not being able to save the man and using that anger to drag Norrington up more and more. How in the name of all that was holy did he manage to keep getting himself into such situations as this!
Unsteadily he managed to get his knees under him. He grabbed onto the man, then yanked as hard as he possibly could, using his own weight as leverage as he tugged. He shakily managed to get the Commodore's head, chest, torso and hips up over the edge - then he suddenly collapsed backwards with the heavy man on top of him, and everything faded away into blackness in an instant.
Commodore Norrington lay there breathing hard, to stunned and weak to move, trying to stop the shaking that consumed his body. He realized his head was on the pirate's chest and he could hear the man's racing heartbeat beneath his ear.
"Sparrow - I owe you my -" he started breathlessly, lifting his head, only to find the pirate's face turned towards him. Jack's features were slack and his eyes were closed heavily. And blood, he could smell blood.
"Sparrow?" he asked as he managed to rise to his elbows, but there was no response from the man.
"Wake up man!" he said louder, reaching up to slap the pirate's cheek in attempt to wake him, but still got no response at all. He pulled the man's arm in front of him to feel for a pulse in his injured arm. He was immediately stuck by the fact that although Jack was clad in a white shirt, the entire left sleeve was dark in color, and very, very wet. Gently he felt up the man's arm and encountered the deep gash, freely bleeding in a profuse flow even now. Instinctively he closed the wound with his hand, applying heavy pressure and the pirate frowned vaguely with a soft grunt of pain.
Again he tried slapping the man's cheek, but he just was not waking up. He scowled. If he just left him here like he was, the man would bleed to death within an a few hours at the most. He'd already lost a quite a bit of blood. The sword had gone deep. He rose to his knees, still holding the pirate's wound closed and spotted the sash at the man's waist. With one hand he managed to pull it off, then quickly wound it around the man's arm and tied it very tightly.
He was still shaking from his experience as he rose to his feet, grabbed the pirate under the arms and pulled him away from the cliff. Gently he laid Jack down and considered his still slack features, then put his fingers at the side of his neck for a pulse and felt relieved to find one. He looked back at the house some distance away. He was so shaken that he didn't think he could drag the unconscious man all that way, and automatically it occurred to him that it would probably worsen the pirate's condition.
Unsteadily Norrington rose to his feet and hurried to the house where he pounded on the door as hard as he could manage with hands that barely followed his command. Quickly the door was opened by Will, who looked shocked as he stepped back.
Commodore Norrington stepped forward into the room as Elizabeth came from the bedroom area and she gasped at seeing him.
"Commodore! Are you alright? You're covered in - blood" she breathed with a sudden frown, and he looked down to see that he was indeed brilliantly coated in the pirate's blood.
"Jack Sparrow... Out there.. by the cliffs. He's - he's still alive. He - he needs - your assistance," he managed to stammer unevenly, then staggered out and literally fled into the darkness. He paused once away and turned to watch as the young man and lady hurried out along the cliff with a lantern. Eventually they stopped and he saw the lantern put down on the ground. They had found the unconscious man. At that he turned and left, still shaking and in semi-shock and not realizing it as his feet automatically took him down the path back towards the fort.
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