Sorry, I thought I made myself clearer, but I guess I didn't. Everything
that happened in the last story happened 8 years ago, so Will Jr. is 27,
and Jack is ageless, but you'll see what I mean about that later. Will
didn't have anyone to support him through his grief like how Jamie and
Louisa had each other, and so he forced himself to forget everything. I
didn't mention that he hasn't always been at Tortuga – he tried to live at
sea for a few years afterwards, but everything reminded him about Isabelle,
so he went to land, and eventually ended up in Tortuga where he hid his
problems at the bottom of a bottle.
The 25 years ago thing was about when Jack and the Pearl disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle. It obviously happened more than 25 years ago, but that seemed a big enough number to cover a long time, if you get what I mean. I hope that's cleared a bit up for everyone, and I apologize for not having names and stuff, but that changes in this chapter. Happy Reading! - Queen of the Caribbean
~~~~~ "You don't even remember who I am, how can you expect me to remember twenty five years ago?" the Captain asked, and he smiled, "I have your name in my mind somewhere, as do I have what happened, but I don't want to remember. I want to find a way to gain the courage to end it all, to leave this life behind and join her. I've got nothing here. Nothing at all." ~~~~~
Chapter 2: To start a tale... Tortuga was left shaken. The few who hadn't been killed initially weren't sure wether to be grateful or sorry that the Captain hadn't killed them. After all, only a few had much to live for, and lesser still would live for much longer anyway.
The Captain and the people's saviour left quietly, not saying a word, but each person wondered the same thing – would the young man come back alive, or would the Captain come back to destroy them? It wasn't something pleasant to think about, but at least it drove away their own worries and troubles for a short time.
~~~~~
The Captain stood at the edge of the dock, looking out over the ocean. The mists continued to circle him, to surround him. Closing his eyes, he tried to stop the few memoires he still had from closing in and choking him. It was hard, but he'd gotten good at it.
~Flashback~ The small island drifted further and further into the distance. The people there went about their way, unaware that their Captain was deserting them. Many who had gone through the Triangle with him, who trusted him with not only their lives, but the lives of their wives, and children, who had formed a bond that only those who owe their lives to someone can understand.
He knew where he was going, and he took only one thing as a companion. A compass. As old as time, and as strong as the ocean, the compass would be the last thing he needed. Someone on the shore saw the ship sailing away, and raised the alarm, thinking it had somehow broken its moorings and slipped away unnoticed. But when they went to tell the Captain, they realised that he was gone with it. Men were angry; they trusted their Captain enough to go to their deaths, and yet he'd left them. Riots started, and the Captain knew that many a man would be keelhauled over the next short while, in accordance with the rules. ~End Flashback~
"What is it that ye want to know?" he asked finally, turning to look at the young man sitting on the pile of ropes, fiddling with his sword. "Everything," he replied, not looking anywhere except the sword. "From when you left, to when you returned, and everything in between. You know it, I don't. I want to know why...." He didn't finish the sentence; he didn't have to – the Captain knew, because he too wanted to know the answer. Maybe it was in his mind somewhere, maybe when it all came out, they'd both know, but then again, there was a chance that no one knew, and in that case, then no one would ever find out.
The Captain said nothing to the young man; he turned towards the ocean and whispered something that no one else could hear. The mists parted, and the Black Pearl came into sight, as beautiful and terrifying as every it was, even more so than it had been during it's time with Barbossa. The sails were again tattered, the flags were again shredded, but the ship itself seemed so different.
The Captain waited until the ship was at the edge of the dock before he turned and said jubilantly, "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl!" The young man hesitantly climbed aboard, fearful of every moment when the ship could indeed sail away into nothingness, and take him with it, back out into the ocean where he didn't want to go.
"You're the first living thing to set foot upon this ship since I left the island," the Captain stated, stepping aboard behind him. "What about you?" came the reply, and the Captain laughed. "There was a reason I returned to the Isla de Meurta, though I left somewhat different to what I'd expected to." The young man turned around, looking at the Captain. Suddenly, he realised that the Captain didn't seem as old as what he was in truth. He looked as though he'd stepped back in time, back to when the Pearl had been under the control of Barbossa, and brought forwards that image. "You didn't expect me to be a truthful pirate, did ye? Pirates lie all the time – especially about their age. Why else d'ye think that there's very few pirates over forty? I've just taken the lie a step further, and become what I was back then."
"How?" was the only reply, and the Captain laughed. "My name's Captain Jack Sparrow, Nine-cat, and if there's a will, there's a way, and you, my friend, happen to be a Will." At this, the younger reacted violently, grabbing the Captain by the shirtfront and jerking him forwards. "Don't say that name," he warned, but the Captain paid no notice. "William Charles Turner the Third, else known as Will Junior, else known as Nine-cat. I know who you are, and hiding from your existence isn't going to change anything, not in this life, not in any other life to follow."
Letting go of the Captain's shirt, Will stepped backwards. "Tell me how you can live as though you can't die, as though you can't ever get older." Jack laughed, and the ship suddenly jolted. Will looked back at the shore to see it starting to grow further and further away. "Because I can't grow older. When I returned to the Isla de Meurta I met someone who offered me a deal. I won't change again, and I'm living as I was before all this happened. I'm a pirate, through and through, and it's taken me this long to realise it."
Will turned and walked to the side of the ship. He placed his hands on the edge hesitantly, and was swamped at once with memories, one in particular that stood out as clear as a picture.
~Flashback~ Kicking for the surface, he found himself face to face with a thick piece of rope. Above the roar of the ocean, he could hear someone yelling, "Grab th' rope, Nine-cat!" Reaching for the rope, another wave sent him under, and it slipped from his grasp.
The man's voice echoed yet again, "It will end in disaster, William Turner, it will end in DEATH!" The last word rung through several times, almost as though shock waves were running through the whole of the ocean. ~End Flashback~
"You have the same flashes of Grey, aye?" asked Jack behind Will's shoulder. Without turning, Will nodded, "Aye. If we'd taken heed of his warning, she'd still be here. I was the first one Grey spoke to... I should have listened...." Jack cut Will of by swinging him around and grasping his shoulders, "You weren't the Captain. How could you have done anything when it wasn't your call to make?"
Will retorted, "Fine, so it's your fault she died?" Jack let go of the other man's shoulders, and walked to the other side of the ship. "What is it that you want to know, Will?" he asked finally, not turning around. "Why did she have to go back?" came the reply.
"You want to know why she had to go back? How 'bout I tell you the whole story, from when I first started out, an' you come t' your own conclusion?"
~~~~~
Will and Jack stood on opposite sides of the chest. Jack wore a grin to rival a child who learns Christmas has come early. "So, what will it be, Will. Do ye agree t' the terms o' the bargain, or will ye fight me for it?" Will stood, arms crossed, fingers playing on the top of his sword. "I willna fight ye for anything, Jack. There is naught t' be gained in this cavern 'cept deceit an' downfall - you know that as well as I."
Jack said nothing, just played with the Aztec coins in front of him - they still had the power to draw people towards them, to tempt their removal. Finally he looked up at Will, and grinned, "Aye, I know that well - it caused me t' lose the Pearl. But this cavern... this cavern should not be left unused - it has storage capabilities much more extensive than those o' the Isle." Will shook his head, "I'll not have it, Jack. The Isla de Meurta must be left alone - it has caused the deaths of far too many people!"
Jack glanced behind him, through a small hole blasted by a cannon, where the still-burning remains of one of Will's ships could still be seen. "Aye, well, that were naught but an accident, Will, ye know that as well as I," he said, turning back to Will to see a reaction. Will clenched his fists under his arms, "That accident killed over a hundred o' my best men, Jack! If ye canna see what dangers the Isla de Meurta holds, then you're not only daft, but blind as well!"
Jack dropped the last of the coins into the chest, Will watching to make sure he hadn't concealed any, and stepped back. "Aye? I'm daft *and* blind, am I now? Let me ask ye a question, Will - who has helped ye in the las' two years, besides me? Have I *ever* given ye reason t' doubt me?" Will smirked, "Aye, Jack, ye have - when ye blew apart one o' me ships withou' warnin', killin' 'most the entire crew. *That's* when ye gave me reason t' doubt ye!"
Jack grinned suddenly, a quick smile that was gone before Will had even registered the fact it was there. "Will, I always thought ye were a person o' near-sight, but now ye jus' proved it t' me. Half o' your *crew*, Will, were men o' the Navy. An' they're the ones who died, not so many o' your pirates as what ye think!" Will was too angry with Jack to speak for several minutes. Once he'd forced his anger into a small hollow at the pit of his stomach, he spoke. "Jack, ye can take ye ship, ye men, an' leave the Caribbean. I've enough ships t' sink ye in th' blink o' an eye - an' was it you who said to Elizabeth once that ye wouldn't jus' be the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main, but the whole ocean? Ye havna left the Caribbean yet, Jack - the ocean is a whole lot bigger than this!"
Jack said nothing, just turned on his heel and stalked out of the cavern, taking one of the two long boats, and heading back for his ship. Will hadn't had time to explain that he *knew* about most of crew being Naval officers, or that he'd had his own plan for them. He reached the Dauntless, and the remaining crew, before Jack reached the Pearl - anchored quite a way past the Dauntless.
Climbing onboard, Jack laughed at the expressions on everyone face. "Oh, don' look so downhearted – we're headin' for Tortuga, then makin' for Bermuda." Gibbs stepped forwards shakily, "Bermuda ain't such a good idea, Cap'n – there's been a right many ships lost in Bermuda that ain't never been heard of again." Jack laughed, "That ain't nothin' but one o' your folk tales, Gibbs. I may have been cursed once, and lost my ship over it all, but that don't mean that every little thing on earth has a curse attached!"
Gibbs said nothing, but made a mental note to stay in Tortuga when they arrived.
It wasn't too much later, after a series of quick conversations, that the Black Pearl farewelled three men in Tortuga, and gained a woman and a child. Anamaria agreed to Jack's proposition, and rejoined the crew of the Black Pearl, though she refused to leave the child with someone on land. The crew was suspicious, but said nothing, especially when the child pointed to their Captain and said something that sounded strangely like 'Dada'. Anamaria was adamant that her son would stay out of the way of the general activities of the rest of the crew, and not cause any trouble, but it was no surprise when Jack insisted the two stay, with him, in his cabin.
It was Rat, a sailer who lived in the riggings and knew the ropes better than Jack himself, who made the move to speak up while they were still close enough to shore to swim should their Captain lose his temper, "Uh, Cap'n, ye know how I don' like t' intrude on any one's own business, but is that kid *your* kid?" Jack glanced at Anamaria, who pointedly looked away and turned her attention to her son, before looking back at Rat, and the rest of the crew who were watching with bated breath. "Aye, he is. An' if I hear anything 'bout someone wi' a plan t' rid the Pearl of a kid, then that person ain't goin' t' have even the luxury of being left on an island! Now, get your lazy arse's back to work afore I start shooting!"
The crew jumped at Jack's last remark and ran so fast to their posts they were practically blurred. Jack walked over to Anamaria, who raised her eyebrows at him, "I thought ye weren't goin' t' tell them 'bout Jamie," she started, but Jack grinned, "Well, I didn't want no other layabout sayin' my son were his, an' asides, they'll all watch out for him now, instead of lookin' th' other way should he head towards the edge, savvy?" Anamaria nodded, "Aye, Jack, jus' so long as *you* don' forget he's your son." Jack picked up the small boy and headed towards the helm, "An' why would I do that?" he asked over his shoulder. Anamaria said nothing, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she followed Jack and Jamie.
~~~~~
Will looked up from his seat on a barrel, "You left the Caribbean because my... father... was upset that you sunk his ship? What happened when you reached the Triangle?" Jack sighed, and leaned against the railing, "A hell of a lot."
~~~~~~
A/N: I'll leave it there, and keep going with the next chap for later!
The 25 years ago thing was about when Jack and the Pearl disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle. It obviously happened more than 25 years ago, but that seemed a big enough number to cover a long time, if you get what I mean. I hope that's cleared a bit up for everyone, and I apologize for not having names and stuff, but that changes in this chapter. Happy Reading! - Queen of the Caribbean
~~~~~ "You don't even remember who I am, how can you expect me to remember twenty five years ago?" the Captain asked, and he smiled, "I have your name in my mind somewhere, as do I have what happened, but I don't want to remember. I want to find a way to gain the courage to end it all, to leave this life behind and join her. I've got nothing here. Nothing at all." ~~~~~
Chapter 2: To start a tale... Tortuga was left shaken. The few who hadn't been killed initially weren't sure wether to be grateful or sorry that the Captain hadn't killed them. After all, only a few had much to live for, and lesser still would live for much longer anyway.
The Captain and the people's saviour left quietly, not saying a word, but each person wondered the same thing – would the young man come back alive, or would the Captain come back to destroy them? It wasn't something pleasant to think about, but at least it drove away their own worries and troubles for a short time.
~~~~~
The Captain stood at the edge of the dock, looking out over the ocean. The mists continued to circle him, to surround him. Closing his eyes, he tried to stop the few memoires he still had from closing in and choking him. It was hard, but he'd gotten good at it.
~Flashback~ The small island drifted further and further into the distance. The people there went about their way, unaware that their Captain was deserting them. Many who had gone through the Triangle with him, who trusted him with not only their lives, but the lives of their wives, and children, who had formed a bond that only those who owe their lives to someone can understand.
He knew where he was going, and he took only one thing as a companion. A compass. As old as time, and as strong as the ocean, the compass would be the last thing he needed. Someone on the shore saw the ship sailing away, and raised the alarm, thinking it had somehow broken its moorings and slipped away unnoticed. But when they went to tell the Captain, they realised that he was gone with it. Men were angry; they trusted their Captain enough to go to their deaths, and yet he'd left them. Riots started, and the Captain knew that many a man would be keelhauled over the next short while, in accordance with the rules. ~End Flashback~
"What is it that ye want to know?" he asked finally, turning to look at the young man sitting on the pile of ropes, fiddling with his sword. "Everything," he replied, not looking anywhere except the sword. "From when you left, to when you returned, and everything in between. You know it, I don't. I want to know why...." He didn't finish the sentence; he didn't have to – the Captain knew, because he too wanted to know the answer. Maybe it was in his mind somewhere, maybe when it all came out, they'd both know, but then again, there was a chance that no one knew, and in that case, then no one would ever find out.
The Captain said nothing to the young man; he turned towards the ocean and whispered something that no one else could hear. The mists parted, and the Black Pearl came into sight, as beautiful and terrifying as every it was, even more so than it had been during it's time with Barbossa. The sails were again tattered, the flags were again shredded, but the ship itself seemed so different.
The Captain waited until the ship was at the edge of the dock before he turned and said jubilantly, "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl!" The young man hesitantly climbed aboard, fearful of every moment when the ship could indeed sail away into nothingness, and take him with it, back out into the ocean where he didn't want to go.
"You're the first living thing to set foot upon this ship since I left the island," the Captain stated, stepping aboard behind him. "What about you?" came the reply, and the Captain laughed. "There was a reason I returned to the Isla de Meurta, though I left somewhat different to what I'd expected to." The young man turned around, looking at the Captain. Suddenly, he realised that the Captain didn't seem as old as what he was in truth. He looked as though he'd stepped back in time, back to when the Pearl had been under the control of Barbossa, and brought forwards that image. "You didn't expect me to be a truthful pirate, did ye? Pirates lie all the time – especially about their age. Why else d'ye think that there's very few pirates over forty? I've just taken the lie a step further, and become what I was back then."
"How?" was the only reply, and the Captain laughed. "My name's Captain Jack Sparrow, Nine-cat, and if there's a will, there's a way, and you, my friend, happen to be a Will." At this, the younger reacted violently, grabbing the Captain by the shirtfront and jerking him forwards. "Don't say that name," he warned, but the Captain paid no notice. "William Charles Turner the Third, else known as Will Junior, else known as Nine-cat. I know who you are, and hiding from your existence isn't going to change anything, not in this life, not in any other life to follow."
Letting go of the Captain's shirt, Will stepped backwards. "Tell me how you can live as though you can't die, as though you can't ever get older." Jack laughed, and the ship suddenly jolted. Will looked back at the shore to see it starting to grow further and further away. "Because I can't grow older. When I returned to the Isla de Meurta I met someone who offered me a deal. I won't change again, and I'm living as I was before all this happened. I'm a pirate, through and through, and it's taken me this long to realise it."
Will turned and walked to the side of the ship. He placed his hands on the edge hesitantly, and was swamped at once with memories, one in particular that stood out as clear as a picture.
~Flashback~ Kicking for the surface, he found himself face to face with a thick piece of rope. Above the roar of the ocean, he could hear someone yelling, "Grab th' rope, Nine-cat!" Reaching for the rope, another wave sent him under, and it slipped from his grasp.
The man's voice echoed yet again, "It will end in disaster, William Turner, it will end in DEATH!" The last word rung through several times, almost as though shock waves were running through the whole of the ocean. ~End Flashback~
"You have the same flashes of Grey, aye?" asked Jack behind Will's shoulder. Without turning, Will nodded, "Aye. If we'd taken heed of his warning, she'd still be here. I was the first one Grey spoke to... I should have listened...." Jack cut Will of by swinging him around and grasping his shoulders, "You weren't the Captain. How could you have done anything when it wasn't your call to make?"
Will retorted, "Fine, so it's your fault she died?" Jack let go of the other man's shoulders, and walked to the other side of the ship. "What is it that you want to know, Will?" he asked finally, not turning around. "Why did she have to go back?" came the reply.
"You want to know why she had to go back? How 'bout I tell you the whole story, from when I first started out, an' you come t' your own conclusion?"
~~~~~
Will and Jack stood on opposite sides of the chest. Jack wore a grin to rival a child who learns Christmas has come early. "So, what will it be, Will. Do ye agree t' the terms o' the bargain, or will ye fight me for it?" Will stood, arms crossed, fingers playing on the top of his sword. "I willna fight ye for anything, Jack. There is naught t' be gained in this cavern 'cept deceit an' downfall - you know that as well as I."
Jack said nothing, just played with the Aztec coins in front of him - they still had the power to draw people towards them, to tempt their removal. Finally he looked up at Will, and grinned, "Aye, I know that well - it caused me t' lose the Pearl. But this cavern... this cavern should not be left unused - it has storage capabilities much more extensive than those o' the Isle." Will shook his head, "I'll not have it, Jack. The Isla de Meurta must be left alone - it has caused the deaths of far too many people!"
Jack glanced behind him, through a small hole blasted by a cannon, where the still-burning remains of one of Will's ships could still be seen. "Aye, well, that were naught but an accident, Will, ye know that as well as I," he said, turning back to Will to see a reaction. Will clenched his fists under his arms, "That accident killed over a hundred o' my best men, Jack! If ye canna see what dangers the Isla de Meurta holds, then you're not only daft, but blind as well!"
Jack dropped the last of the coins into the chest, Will watching to make sure he hadn't concealed any, and stepped back. "Aye? I'm daft *and* blind, am I now? Let me ask ye a question, Will - who has helped ye in the las' two years, besides me? Have I *ever* given ye reason t' doubt me?" Will smirked, "Aye, Jack, ye have - when ye blew apart one o' me ships withou' warnin', killin' 'most the entire crew. *That's* when ye gave me reason t' doubt ye!"
Jack grinned suddenly, a quick smile that was gone before Will had even registered the fact it was there. "Will, I always thought ye were a person o' near-sight, but now ye jus' proved it t' me. Half o' your *crew*, Will, were men o' the Navy. An' they're the ones who died, not so many o' your pirates as what ye think!" Will was too angry with Jack to speak for several minutes. Once he'd forced his anger into a small hollow at the pit of his stomach, he spoke. "Jack, ye can take ye ship, ye men, an' leave the Caribbean. I've enough ships t' sink ye in th' blink o' an eye - an' was it you who said to Elizabeth once that ye wouldn't jus' be the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main, but the whole ocean? Ye havna left the Caribbean yet, Jack - the ocean is a whole lot bigger than this!"
Jack said nothing, just turned on his heel and stalked out of the cavern, taking one of the two long boats, and heading back for his ship. Will hadn't had time to explain that he *knew* about most of crew being Naval officers, or that he'd had his own plan for them. He reached the Dauntless, and the remaining crew, before Jack reached the Pearl - anchored quite a way past the Dauntless.
Climbing onboard, Jack laughed at the expressions on everyone face. "Oh, don' look so downhearted – we're headin' for Tortuga, then makin' for Bermuda." Gibbs stepped forwards shakily, "Bermuda ain't such a good idea, Cap'n – there's been a right many ships lost in Bermuda that ain't never been heard of again." Jack laughed, "That ain't nothin' but one o' your folk tales, Gibbs. I may have been cursed once, and lost my ship over it all, but that don't mean that every little thing on earth has a curse attached!"
Gibbs said nothing, but made a mental note to stay in Tortuga when they arrived.
It wasn't too much later, after a series of quick conversations, that the Black Pearl farewelled three men in Tortuga, and gained a woman and a child. Anamaria agreed to Jack's proposition, and rejoined the crew of the Black Pearl, though she refused to leave the child with someone on land. The crew was suspicious, but said nothing, especially when the child pointed to their Captain and said something that sounded strangely like 'Dada'. Anamaria was adamant that her son would stay out of the way of the general activities of the rest of the crew, and not cause any trouble, but it was no surprise when Jack insisted the two stay, with him, in his cabin.
It was Rat, a sailer who lived in the riggings and knew the ropes better than Jack himself, who made the move to speak up while they were still close enough to shore to swim should their Captain lose his temper, "Uh, Cap'n, ye know how I don' like t' intrude on any one's own business, but is that kid *your* kid?" Jack glanced at Anamaria, who pointedly looked away and turned her attention to her son, before looking back at Rat, and the rest of the crew who were watching with bated breath. "Aye, he is. An' if I hear anything 'bout someone wi' a plan t' rid the Pearl of a kid, then that person ain't goin' t' have even the luxury of being left on an island! Now, get your lazy arse's back to work afore I start shooting!"
The crew jumped at Jack's last remark and ran so fast to their posts they were practically blurred. Jack walked over to Anamaria, who raised her eyebrows at him, "I thought ye weren't goin' t' tell them 'bout Jamie," she started, but Jack grinned, "Well, I didn't want no other layabout sayin' my son were his, an' asides, they'll all watch out for him now, instead of lookin' th' other way should he head towards the edge, savvy?" Anamaria nodded, "Aye, Jack, jus' so long as *you* don' forget he's your son." Jack picked up the small boy and headed towards the helm, "An' why would I do that?" he asked over his shoulder. Anamaria said nothing, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she followed Jack and Jamie.
~~~~~
Will looked up from his seat on a barrel, "You left the Caribbean because my... father... was upset that you sunk his ship? What happened when you reached the Triangle?" Jack sighed, and leaned against the railing, "A hell of a lot."
~~~~~~
A/N: I'll leave it there, and keep going with the next chap for later!