AN: What, did you think this rescue was going to be easy? *laughs wickedly*
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Chapter 12: More Confrontations
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Continued from Chapter 11:
He felt Ana trembling and tasted the salt of her tears on her lips. He kissed her forehead and muttered thickly, "I'm not dreamin' of ye again, am I Ana?"
Ana shook her head slowly, biting her lip. She took their joined hands and pressed the back of his palm against her heartbeat so he could feel it. Jack let out a tired but relieved sigh and bowed his head, burying it in her shoulder. He breathed in her hair and she could a few drops of moisture dampen her shirt. "No," she whispered.
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And from the shadows, hidden in darkness, a figure watched them menacingly, lips curling into a feral grin. "Gotcha," he whispered to himself.
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Will was fighting: thrust, block, lunge, block, and stab. Then: block, block, punch, jab, shove. A man wearing filthy tattered britches and a horrible smile showing his many missing teeth advanced on Will with his sword stained red with blood. Will frowned thoughtfully and flicked his sword up into ready position. He had been sliced lightly across the shoulder, not deep enough to cause serious damage. Will's eye was caught by the familiarity of the hat the man was wearing. His eyes widened.
Will blocked the man twice, holding the man's weight off by the two crossed swords. He lashed out with his foot and knocked the man's legs out from under him. The man fell flat on his back with a groan, blacking out. The hat, Jack's hat, fell to the deck beside him and Will scooped it up with an ironic grin and shoved it on his own head. "Thanks, mate," he told him and moved on to his next target.
Anamaria and her guards pushed open the door to topside, Anamaria and one other redcoat supporting Jack from both sides. The girl with the brown hair was following behind them, looking confused and rather unsteady. Ana's eyes searched the deck. She had to find a way to get Jack and this girl off the ship. The girl was the easy one. Anamaria handed her half of Jack Sparrow to the second recoat, motioning them to stay where they were and for the third to keep a lookout.
Ana grabbed the girl's arm and drew her over to the port side railing. She handed the girl a rope connected back to the Dauntless and helped the frightened girl with wild eyes up onto the railing. Ana wrapped the rope around her leg once to secure her to it. "Hold on tight," she told the girl, who squeezed her eyes shut and nodded quickly.
"James!" Ana yelled across the small stretch of water between the two boats. He looked up from where he had been aiming a rifle. "Catch!"
James looked confused, but he dropped his weapon and stood up straight. Ana shoved the girl off with all her might and she swung, letting out a frightened shriek across the way into the confused commodore's arms. James looked down at her, trembling as she was and a frown furrowed his brow. "Welcome aboard the Dauntless, miss," he told her formally.
She blinked at him through clear, wide eyes. "Thank you, sir. And what, pray tell, is going on?" she asked, sounding dangerously close to tears.
"We're here to rescue Captain Sparrow and give those men with him exactly what they deserve," James replied quickly with a wry smile. He seized the woman's arm as a fresh volley of gunshiots sprayed around them. He opened the door to his cabin. "I must insist you stay here, miss. For your own protection."
The girl bit her lip and nodded. "Thank you, sir."
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Anamaria spun back around to where she had left Jack. She started back towards him, darting her way around fighting bodies when the warning bells started to ring in her head. Evans! Where the bloody hell was he? Ana looked around her quickly, her eye catching on Jack himself, standing on his own and with some sword, heavens knew where he had found it, was walking precariously up to a particularly harsh knot of fighting.
Ana stepped forward, intent on stopping him only to be frozen by the feeling of cold metal against her nape. A rough arm slid around her waist and Ana winced as the gun barrel was pressed more harshly into her skin. She couldn't reach for her pistol without the person seeing. Ana heard a muffled crunch and the pressure was released.
She whirled around, pulling and cocking her pistol, to find herself face to face with a hardened-looking Elizabeth Swann dressed in men's clothing clutching a rifle butt. Ana only spared her a glance as she looked around for her assailant. It was Evans himself, and there he was, reaching for his fallen pistol. Ana stepped forward and aimed her gun-
When it was grabbed out of her hands. Ana found herself facing a mean- looking crewmember that grabbed her arms and twisted them around her back.
Elizabeth almost screamed, had it not been for Evans, who sprang to his feet with quickness that had Elizabeth dizzy. He had a tight grip on her hair and a pistol in her face before she could defend herself.
Anamaria spoke to the man in a soothing voice, throwing a concerned glance at Elizabeth. "She isn't what you want. Leave her alone."
Evans' arm drew back and he caught Elizabeth across the back of the neck with the butt of his gun. Anamaria jumped in horror, however there was no blood. Evans moved to join his crewman holding her. "Launch the boat," he ordered, taking a firm grip on Ana's arm and relieving her of her other pistol and sword.
He hauled Ana across the deck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack fighting off a man holding two swords and began to struggle violently against the Evans' grip. "Jack!" she yelled. Oh, dear lord, don't let him be killed. Someone please help him.
Evans turned back to her, and with a swipe of his hand the pistol met the back of Ana's head with a sickening crunch. He tossed her over his shoulder and threw her into the small boat hanging over the side of the ship.
Jack's strength flew back to him as he heard her shout and he rammed his sword through the man's shoulder and knocked the swords out of his hands easily and he spun around, the man all but forgotten. "Anamaria!" he called. Where was she? His eyes searched the deck, stopping on the mass of raven hair visible just over the line of the railing. He took a step forward and the thing she was in lowered, falling out of his view. "Ana!" he yelled again, running towards her. Not a good idea, his body protested. His vision swam and he stumbled and tripped over a rope lying on the deck. He found himself flat on his face, unable to move. Everything went black.
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Will heard Jack's cry over the din of the battle and caught sight of the man running across the deck. Frowning, Will watched as the pirate captain stumbled and fell. He didn't move. "Come on, Jack," Will urged, fighting his way through the throngs of conflict, "Get up." Will reached Jack's side and put his hand on the man's shoulder. Jack still didn't move, and the blacksmith realized that his back was slick with blood. Will shook him harder. "Jack, you have to help me."
Jack stirred and his eyelids fluttered. "Will m'boy" he slurred, "What'd they do w'Ana?"
"That's right, Jack, it's Will. Come on, we have to get you out of here." Will told him, ignoring his statement about Ana although a pang of panic went through him. Will pulled the pirate into a sitting position. Jack's eyes narrowed in pain and dizziness and his hand went to his head. Will hauled him to his feet, nearly all of Jack's now standing weight being supported across his shoulders. Will and the groggy pirate moved over to the side of the Incorrigible where the Pearl was floating.
"Gibbs!" Will shouted, waving his arm that was not supporting the captain. "Gibbs, put down a plank!"
Gibbs hollered orders at the crew, and they carefully put in place a rather narrow plank connecting the two ships. Will looked at it uneasily; how were they going to get Jack across?
Gibbs solved that problem for him. Gibbs crossed the plank easily and took Jack's other side. "Now," Gibbs told Will confidently, "I says, we gonna shuffle across 'ere sideways, easy does it, aye?"
The two men carefully mounted the plank, and with the captain supported between them, (currently mumbling incoherently) shuffled across the plank. Gibbs hopped down the little way to the Pearl's deck and carefully caught Jack as he semi-fell onto the deck. The two men brought him to his cabin and lay the man down on his bunk, knocking the hat that Will was wearing off in the process. He seemed to be floundering between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Gibbs looked at his captain with concerned eyes. "Is this 'ow ye found 'im?" Will nodded. "Has 'e said anythin' he questioned, carefully removing the man's boots and cutting off his blood and dirt stained shirt.
Will hesitated. "He asked about Anamaria," he said quietly.
Jack's eyes shot open. "Ana! They took my Ana! Gotta-" he tried to sit up and Gibbs roughly pushed him back down. "Gotta," he tried again, "save her." He managed to say, finally collapsing back down on the bed as both Gibbs and Will all but sat on him to keep him down.
"Yer in no condition t'go anywhere, Capt'n" Gibbs told him gruffly.
The captain looked at him through wide, panicked eyes and Will spoke up, "I'll look for her, Jack. You just rest" He said quietly.
Jack relaxed against the pillows and squeezed his eyes closed. "Thanks m'boy," he muttered. "I can't bloody think with this pounding in me head," he sighed and his features went slack.
Gibbs took his pulse and nodded. "Strong and steady, 'ee'll be alright, if 'e can rest and the infection doesn't set in."
Will nodded, leaving the pirates and striding back across to the Incorrigible to search for Anamaria.
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"We're going aboard," James announced to his quartermaster and lieutenant. The three men swung aboard the Incorrigible, where the fighting had seemed to have decreased drastically. He motioned to his men to bind the opposing crew's hands that were injured and no longer resisting.
James picked his way across the shambled deck, pieces of broken wood and canon holes lining the ship with bloody bodies of the wounded and dead strewn about. James glanced around, looking for Evans or anyone he recognized, namely Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, or Anamaria.
A man jumped down on him from above with a growl. James was flattened to the deck, his sword skittering out of reach. James knocked the man's gun out of his hand, slugging him on the side of the jaw. The commodore pushed the groggy assailant off of him, pulling one of several pairs of irons off his belt and securing the man's hands. James straightened up, touching his cheek gingerly, and was slightly surprised when his hand came away stained in blood.
James stopped beside a fallen soldier in a red coat and white britches and rolled the lad over. His eyes widened with horror. "Elizabeth," he murmured, relieved to see that she was still breathing. He felt the back of her neck and felt the stickiness of clotted blood in her hair. James lifted her up in his arms and handed her off to his lieutenant. "Take her to the Pearl right away," he told the man, seeing that it was closest.
James glanced around him once more and counted only three more members of the Incorrigible fighting back. "Gentlemen," he called out loudly, holding up his cocked pistol, "You will not win this battle. Surrender now and your lives will be spared."
There was a pregnant pause, and several swords and pistols thudded to the deck. James wiped off the small smile that had appeared on his face, as the British troops celebrated, replacing itself with an expression of concern.
Will Turner came running up to him, breathing hard and shirt stained with blood. The Commodore observed him with worry, "Good God, are you alright?"
The boy glanced downwards, as if noticing the blood was there for the first time. "Yes I'm fine, it isn't my blood," he said distractedly. "Jack Sparrow has been taken aboard the Pearl, sir. He's injured but he'll most likely pull through."
The Commodore breathed a sigh of relief, but his frown deepened with the boy's next anxious words.
"Commodore, have you seen Anamaria?"
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AN: Thanks a lot everyone for their reviews. I know Jack's rescue might have seemed a little too easy, but the fat lady hasn't sung yet, mes amis.
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Chapter 12: More Confrontations
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Continued from Chapter 11:
He felt Ana trembling and tasted the salt of her tears on her lips. He kissed her forehead and muttered thickly, "I'm not dreamin' of ye again, am I Ana?"
Ana shook her head slowly, biting her lip. She took their joined hands and pressed the back of his palm against her heartbeat so he could feel it. Jack let out a tired but relieved sigh and bowed his head, burying it in her shoulder. He breathed in her hair and she could a few drops of moisture dampen her shirt. "No," she whispered.
______________________
And from the shadows, hidden in darkness, a figure watched them menacingly, lips curling into a feral grin. "Gotcha," he whispered to himself.
______________________
Will was fighting: thrust, block, lunge, block, and stab. Then: block, block, punch, jab, shove. A man wearing filthy tattered britches and a horrible smile showing his many missing teeth advanced on Will with his sword stained red with blood. Will frowned thoughtfully and flicked his sword up into ready position. He had been sliced lightly across the shoulder, not deep enough to cause serious damage. Will's eye was caught by the familiarity of the hat the man was wearing. His eyes widened.
Will blocked the man twice, holding the man's weight off by the two crossed swords. He lashed out with his foot and knocked the man's legs out from under him. The man fell flat on his back with a groan, blacking out. The hat, Jack's hat, fell to the deck beside him and Will scooped it up with an ironic grin and shoved it on his own head. "Thanks, mate," he told him and moved on to his next target.
Anamaria and her guards pushed open the door to topside, Anamaria and one other redcoat supporting Jack from both sides. The girl with the brown hair was following behind them, looking confused and rather unsteady. Ana's eyes searched the deck. She had to find a way to get Jack and this girl off the ship. The girl was the easy one. Anamaria handed her half of Jack Sparrow to the second recoat, motioning them to stay where they were and for the third to keep a lookout.
Ana grabbed the girl's arm and drew her over to the port side railing. She handed the girl a rope connected back to the Dauntless and helped the frightened girl with wild eyes up onto the railing. Ana wrapped the rope around her leg once to secure her to it. "Hold on tight," she told the girl, who squeezed her eyes shut and nodded quickly.
"James!" Ana yelled across the small stretch of water between the two boats. He looked up from where he had been aiming a rifle. "Catch!"
James looked confused, but he dropped his weapon and stood up straight. Ana shoved the girl off with all her might and she swung, letting out a frightened shriek across the way into the confused commodore's arms. James looked down at her, trembling as she was and a frown furrowed his brow. "Welcome aboard the Dauntless, miss," he told her formally.
She blinked at him through clear, wide eyes. "Thank you, sir. And what, pray tell, is going on?" she asked, sounding dangerously close to tears.
"We're here to rescue Captain Sparrow and give those men with him exactly what they deserve," James replied quickly with a wry smile. He seized the woman's arm as a fresh volley of gunshiots sprayed around them. He opened the door to his cabin. "I must insist you stay here, miss. For your own protection."
The girl bit her lip and nodded. "Thank you, sir."
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Anamaria spun back around to where she had left Jack. She started back towards him, darting her way around fighting bodies when the warning bells started to ring in her head. Evans! Where the bloody hell was he? Ana looked around her quickly, her eye catching on Jack himself, standing on his own and with some sword, heavens knew where he had found it, was walking precariously up to a particularly harsh knot of fighting.
Ana stepped forward, intent on stopping him only to be frozen by the feeling of cold metal against her nape. A rough arm slid around her waist and Ana winced as the gun barrel was pressed more harshly into her skin. She couldn't reach for her pistol without the person seeing. Ana heard a muffled crunch and the pressure was released.
She whirled around, pulling and cocking her pistol, to find herself face to face with a hardened-looking Elizabeth Swann dressed in men's clothing clutching a rifle butt. Ana only spared her a glance as she looked around for her assailant. It was Evans himself, and there he was, reaching for his fallen pistol. Ana stepped forward and aimed her gun-
When it was grabbed out of her hands. Ana found herself facing a mean- looking crewmember that grabbed her arms and twisted them around her back.
Elizabeth almost screamed, had it not been for Evans, who sprang to his feet with quickness that had Elizabeth dizzy. He had a tight grip on her hair and a pistol in her face before she could defend herself.
Anamaria spoke to the man in a soothing voice, throwing a concerned glance at Elizabeth. "She isn't what you want. Leave her alone."
Evans' arm drew back and he caught Elizabeth across the back of the neck with the butt of his gun. Anamaria jumped in horror, however there was no blood. Evans moved to join his crewman holding her. "Launch the boat," he ordered, taking a firm grip on Ana's arm and relieving her of her other pistol and sword.
He hauled Ana across the deck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jack fighting off a man holding two swords and began to struggle violently against the Evans' grip. "Jack!" she yelled. Oh, dear lord, don't let him be killed. Someone please help him.
Evans turned back to her, and with a swipe of his hand the pistol met the back of Ana's head with a sickening crunch. He tossed her over his shoulder and threw her into the small boat hanging over the side of the ship.
Jack's strength flew back to him as he heard her shout and he rammed his sword through the man's shoulder and knocked the swords out of his hands easily and he spun around, the man all but forgotten. "Anamaria!" he called. Where was she? His eyes searched the deck, stopping on the mass of raven hair visible just over the line of the railing. He took a step forward and the thing she was in lowered, falling out of his view. "Ana!" he yelled again, running towards her. Not a good idea, his body protested. His vision swam and he stumbled and tripped over a rope lying on the deck. He found himself flat on his face, unable to move. Everything went black.
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Will heard Jack's cry over the din of the battle and caught sight of the man running across the deck. Frowning, Will watched as the pirate captain stumbled and fell. He didn't move. "Come on, Jack," Will urged, fighting his way through the throngs of conflict, "Get up." Will reached Jack's side and put his hand on the man's shoulder. Jack still didn't move, and the blacksmith realized that his back was slick with blood. Will shook him harder. "Jack, you have to help me."
Jack stirred and his eyelids fluttered. "Will m'boy" he slurred, "What'd they do w'Ana?"
"That's right, Jack, it's Will. Come on, we have to get you out of here." Will told him, ignoring his statement about Ana although a pang of panic went through him. Will pulled the pirate into a sitting position. Jack's eyes narrowed in pain and dizziness and his hand went to his head. Will hauled him to his feet, nearly all of Jack's now standing weight being supported across his shoulders. Will and the groggy pirate moved over to the side of the Incorrigible where the Pearl was floating.
"Gibbs!" Will shouted, waving his arm that was not supporting the captain. "Gibbs, put down a plank!"
Gibbs hollered orders at the crew, and they carefully put in place a rather narrow plank connecting the two ships. Will looked at it uneasily; how were they going to get Jack across?
Gibbs solved that problem for him. Gibbs crossed the plank easily and took Jack's other side. "Now," Gibbs told Will confidently, "I says, we gonna shuffle across 'ere sideways, easy does it, aye?"
The two men carefully mounted the plank, and with the captain supported between them, (currently mumbling incoherently) shuffled across the plank. Gibbs hopped down the little way to the Pearl's deck and carefully caught Jack as he semi-fell onto the deck. The two men brought him to his cabin and lay the man down on his bunk, knocking the hat that Will was wearing off in the process. He seemed to be floundering between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Gibbs looked at his captain with concerned eyes. "Is this 'ow ye found 'im?" Will nodded. "Has 'e said anythin' he questioned, carefully removing the man's boots and cutting off his blood and dirt stained shirt.
Will hesitated. "He asked about Anamaria," he said quietly.
Jack's eyes shot open. "Ana! They took my Ana! Gotta-" he tried to sit up and Gibbs roughly pushed him back down. "Gotta," he tried again, "save her." He managed to say, finally collapsing back down on the bed as both Gibbs and Will all but sat on him to keep him down.
"Yer in no condition t'go anywhere, Capt'n" Gibbs told him gruffly.
The captain looked at him through wide, panicked eyes and Will spoke up, "I'll look for her, Jack. You just rest" He said quietly.
Jack relaxed against the pillows and squeezed his eyes closed. "Thanks m'boy," he muttered. "I can't bloody think with this pounding in me head," he sighed and his features went slack.
Gibbs took his pulse and nodded. "Strong and steady, 'ee'll be alright, if 'e can rest and the infection doesn't set in."
Will nodded, leaving the pirates and striding back across to the Incorrigible to search for Anamaria.
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"We're going aboard," James announced to his quartermaster and lieutenant. The three men swung aboard the Incorrigible, where the fighting had seemed to have decreased drastically. He motioned to his men to bind the opposing crew's hands that were injured and no longer resisting.
James picked his way across the shambled deck, pieces of broken wood and canon holes lining the ship with bloody bodies of the wounded and dead strewn about. James glanced around, looking for Evans or anyone he recognized, namely Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, or Anamaria.
A man jumped down on him from above with a growl. James was flattened to the deck, his sword skittering out of reach. James knocked the man's gun out of his hand, slugging him on the side of the jaw. The commodore pushed the groggy assailant off of him, pulling one of several pairs of irons off his belt and securing the man's hands. James straightened up, touching his cheek gingerly, and was slightly surprised when his hand came away stained in blood.
James stopped beside a fallen soldier in a red coat and white britches and rolled the lad over. His eyes widened with horror. "Elizabeth," he murmured, relieved to see that she was still breathing. He felt the back of her neck and felt the stickiness of clotted blood in her hair. James lifted her up in his arms and handed her off to his lieutenant. "Take her to the Pearl right away," he told the man, seeing that it was closest.
James glanced around him once more and counted only three more members of the Incorrigible fighting back. "Gentlemen," he called out loudly, holding up his cocked pistol, "You will not win this battle. Surrender now and your lives will be spared."
There was a pregnant pause, and several swords and pistols thudded to the deck. James wiped off the small smile that had appeared on his face, as the British troops celebrated, replacing itself with an expression of concern.
Will Turner came running up to him, breathing hard and shirt stained with blood. The Commodore observed him with worry, "Good God, are you alright?"
The boy glanced downwards, as if noticing the blood was there for the first time. "Yes I'm fine, it isn't my blood," he said distractedly. "Jack Sparrow has been taken aboard the Pearl, sir. He's injured but he'll most likely pull through."
The Commodore breathed a sigh of relief, but his frown deepened with the boy's next anxious words.
"Commodore, have you seen Anamaria?"
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AN: Thanks a lot everyone for their reviews. I know Jack's rescue might have seemed a little too easy, but the fat lady hasn't sung yet, mes amis.
