Disclaimer: BOTCOTT DISNEY! DEMAND POTC!! We are all the fans- we deserve
it anyway! But alas, the stupid mouse owns it...
Chapter 16: A Battle Unfolds
Abbi and Jack just sat there, watching Faith dutifully clean her knife. Abbi and Jack fidgeted when she made no attempt at conversation.
"So..." Abbi began, "why?"
Faith forced a hard and short laugh, looking to Abbi as if she should already know. Faith shot a warning glance at Jack before giving an exasperated sigh and grabbing a rope, swinging onto the deck. Abbi turned to Jack and sighed.
"I thought she might do that," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, come on love. We have to follow her."
When they reached the deck, they found themselves in front Faith, who was leaning casually against the mast in the center of the circle the crew had formed around her. She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"We just want to know what 'e did, love. No more than that," Jack pleaded, trying to understand why usually good-natured Faith acted so ruthless to Donigan.
"Isn't it obvious?" Faith said quietly, anger slowly appearing in her tone. "He tried to have his way with me, and I refused. It was a simple act of self-defense."
"Well, you could have just knocked him out or somethin'! You bloody killed the man!"
Faith waited a moment before saying coolly, "I told him that any man to say or do anything improper would die by my dagger."
At this, Abbi butted into the conversation. "She was only keeping her word Captain. She's completely justified."
"Justified?!? She's a bloody pirate, and no pirate keeps their word unless they're a Captain!... and even then there are exceptions!"
"Incorrect," Faith interrupted. "I am a piratess, indicating I am a woman. A woman always keeps her word, as does a piratess."
Abbi looked at Faith knowingly. "She has a point there, Jack. And besides, you told me to do whatever I needed to if something like that ever happened to me. Why shouldn't the same apply to Faith?"
"Donigan was a member o' me crew! He was a helpful scoundrel! Now he's dead! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Jack, he..." Abbi began, but Faith came around her and faced Jack squarely as she said, "He was a menace and a threat. And now he's gone. My work is done concerning him. "She turned on her heel to face Abbi. "And I don't need your help- I am perfectly capable of defending myself."
Abbi's mouth was agape at Faith last comment. She quickly closed it and it turned into an angry and sarcastic smile. "Fine. I suppose after your little display of courage that you think you're so tough." Abbi walked up to Faith and got so close to her that their faces were only inches apart. "But remember this:" she began in a dangerous whisper, so low that the surrounding crew could not have heard if they tried. "I was the one that saved you from Donigan in the first place. If it wasn't for me, you'd be in his arms right now, because he would have taken advantage of you the first night you were here." With that, Abbi turned on her heel and parted her way through the crowd to the railing of the ship. She took a seat on the railing and looked out to sea, still seething anger toward Faith.
Faith felt a twinge of guilt, but quickly shoved it away with the glowing embers of anger still inside her. She too parted the crowd and headed toward the helm in the opposite direction of Abbi. Jack shrugged his shoulders and sighed deeply, not ever recalling either girl acting so angry toward one another. Thomas watched everything from the crow's nest before looking back out over the water. Spotting something unusual, he took out his telescope to confirm his sighting.
"Captain! Captain Sparrow!" he yelled, effectively grabbing the attention of everyone on board. ""We've got company coming up fast on the starboard side!" He pointed to the ship that was drawing closer every minute.
There was a silence for a moment before everyone scrambled to prepare for battle. Jack went to the starboard side to investigate for himself. Faith watched in confusion. 'What are these idiots doing?' she thought. She looked on as swords and pistols were pulled from the armory and everyone went to the side to watch the ship's progress.
The ship pulled up to the side and faced the same direction as the Pearl. The crisp white lettering could be seen on the opposing ship: The Swann. The pirates stared across at the tidy, dressed up British Royal Navy soldiers. In a matter of seconds, the Pearl was being raided.
The pirates immediately began to fight to keep their ship and their lives. Abbi fought easily and instinctively, not even thinking about what she was doing. Jack fought whoever came his way, looking frantically around for the Captain of the other ship. Faith drew her dagger and wreaked havoc among the soldiers. Thomas swung down to join the fray, pulling out pistol as soon as he hit the deck.
Faith was very afraid. She was not particularly in danger- she was perfectly capable of handling herself, but she was still afraid. She had proved that she could handle herself by killing Donigan. However, that fact didn't change the thought of how disturbing it was to watch him die. Her skirt swirled as she kicked and stabbed, turning to fight anyone who was near her. "Faith?" Faith whirled around to recognize with horror the last person she had ever expected to see on a in the heat of battle. It was none other than Sir Blanche de Blakely.
She stared open-mouthed in absolute horror. She spotted a gun that had been knocked from a soldier's hand sliding across the deck. She moved quickly and picked up the pistol. She stared at Blakely before looking over his shoulder and seeing a disturbing sight. She saw a man on the other side of the deck, sneaking up on Abbi, sword drawn at the ready. Faith quickly aimed at the target and fired, missing Sir Blanche de Blakely's head by a few inches to her left. She killed the man that was a threat to Abbi and caused Sir Blanche de Blakely to faint and collapse. Faith soon realized what she had done and threw the gun down on the deck, looking at it as if it was the key to the gates of Hell. "Oh, my..." she gasped.
*
Jack had finally spotted him. He fought his way through the crowd to him and a rather short battle ensued. Jack disarmed the commander and aimed his own famous pistol squarely between his eyes. "Why hello, Commodore."
Norrington gulped as the soldiers realized what had happened. Jack, still keeping his gun toward Norrington, turned his eyes away from him to look and his crew and declare, "This ship is still ours, gentlemen... and women!" he added, seeing Faith and Abbi.
Norrington, seeing an opportunity, kicked Jack in the gut and seized his pistol. He aimed the gun at Jack and cocked it. Abbi, thinking quickly, took her pistol and aimed carefully, firing before anyone could stop her. Norrington fell to the ground, clutching his thigh in pain. Jack got to his feet and looked around, eager to see who was the one to save their ship. Abbi caught his eye and saluted with her pistol, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. 'That's my girl!' Jack thought.
"You little whore!" a soldier near Abbi cried. Abbi turned around to see who had made the rude comment, but before she could identify anyone, the man pulled out his sword and slashed Abbi across the stomach. Abbi yelled in pain as she slumped to the deck. The man raised his sword to finish Abbi off, but a bang was heard, and the man slumped over dead. Commotion ensued as everyone tried to find who had fired. Jack looked up to a Faith standing on the upper deck, a pistol in her hand, her face resolute and hard.
~Seconds Earlier~
Faith had watched her best friend fall to the ground in pain. She had witnessed it all, and she was going to make sure the man did not live. She had grabbed the pistol of another dead soldier and aimed. She fired and the man fell dead to the ground. She held the gun out, unflinchingly before she put it in her belt and headed toward her friend on the other side of the deck. Jack was soon near her as well, shouting orders. "Lock the bloody scallywags in the brig of their own ship and set it adrift. Disable the rudder chain and rip the sails! Make sure they can't escape. There should be no hope for these fools!"
He stuffed his own pistol in his belt, handed Abbi's to Faith, and scooped the piratess up in his arms. He carried her to his own cabin and laid her onto his bed. Faith laid Abbi's pistol on Jack's desk and moved over to Abbi's side. The piratess was in a lot of pain, but she was still basically conscious.
"Faith... I..." Abbi winced.
"It's okay Abbi. I'm right here. Don't talk," Faith said, taking Abbi's hand and stroking her forehead, which was now feverish. The sweat stood out all over her face as Faith called for cool water and a cloth. As soon as it arrived, Faith went about cleaning the wound, lifting up Abbi's shirt just enough to see the damage. She was still bleeding badly. Jack handed her a roll of gauze and Faith quickly bandaged Abbi's profusely bleeding stomach. She prayed for the first time in her life, asking God to save her only true friend.
Faith backed away and Jack took her place. He took Abbi's hand and whispered. "You can't die on me now Abigail. Not now."
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~
How's THAT for a cliffy? Abbi's always the one getting hurt, isn't she?
DaneJade: I know, you told us at church- you're not happy with Faith getting all piratey all of a sudden... did you not like this chappy either? I hope it was a little better... if not, sorry. Ary and I have had this chappy planned for a LONG time before we ever got to it, so really we'd rather not change it. But it makes a huge difference later on. I hope you still like our story! I know I love to see your reviews!
margo: Jack slept in the crew's quarters. End of story. Nothing funny. Anyways, I'm SO glad you liked the last chappy! How about this one? Ready for the next one? Sorry- you'll have to wait until Wed. Check back then and see what happens! Oh and by the way- I talked to Ary about a sequel... she's a little caught up in a Harry Potter fanfic right now, but we agreed that we could do it over the summer, and we've already got a plot forming. YEAH! They all return! We've still got some kinks to work out, but hey- Elizabeth and Will will probably be in the sequel!! I personally can't wait to get started!
randomdreamr: How was this for an Abbi chappy? Yes, Faith's strength does come rather suddenly, but hey- she's been on a pirate ship for almost a month now! She should be picking SOMETHING up! Isn't it ironic that we worry for Faith when Abbi ia always the one getting hurt? Funny ol' world, isn't it? Glad you reviewed! Hope you enjoyed!
foxgirlangie: Glad you like our story! Here's more of it! Enjoy!
Well, usually I have a lot more to say here, but actually, today I don't. All I can say is if y'all out there r&r then maybe I'll post sooner... but there is no guarantee in that! It all depends on you: the readers!
Keep R&R!
~Joey (& Ary, but she's grounded, so she's here in spirit! Darn her grounding!!!!)~
Chapter 16: A Battle Unfolds
Abbi and Jack just sat there, watching Faith dutifully clean her knife. Abbi and Jack fidgeted when she made no attempt at conversation.
"So..." Abbi began, "why?"
Faith forced a hard and short laugh, looking to Abbi as if she should already know. Faith shot a warning glance at Jack before giving an exasperated sigh and grabbing a rope, swinging onto the deck. Abbi turned to Jack and sighed.
"I thought she might do that," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, come on love. We have to follow her."
When they reached the deck, they found themselves in front Faith, who was leaning casually against the mast in the center of the circle the crew had formed around her. She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"We just want to know what 'e did, love. No more than that," Jack pleaded, trying to understand why usually good-natured Faith acted so ruthless to Donigan.
"Isn't it obvious?" Faith said quietly, anger slowly appearing in her tone. "He tried to have his way with me, and I refused. It was a simple act of self-defense."
"Well, you could have just knocked him out or somethin'! You bloody killed the man!"
Faith waited a moment before saying coolly, "I told him that any man to say or do anything improper would die by my dagger."
At this, Abbi butted into the conversation. "She was only keeping her word Captain. She's completely justified."
"Justified?!? She's a bloody pirate, and no pirate keeps their word unless they're a Captain!... and even then there are exceptions!"
"Incorrect," Faith interrupted. "I am a piratess, indicating I am a woman. A woman always keeps her word, as does a piratess."
Abbi looked at Faith knowingly. "She has a point there, Jack. And besides, you told me to do whatever I needed to if something like that ever happened to me. Why shouldn't the same apply to Faith?"
"Donigan was a member o' me crew! He was a helpful scoundrel! Now he's dead! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Jack, he..." Abbi began, but Faith came around her and faced Jack squarely as she said, "He was a menace and a threat. And now he's gone. My work is done concerning him. "She turned on her heel to face Abbi. "And I don't need your help- I am perfectly capable of defending myself."
Abbi's mouth was agape at Faith last comment. She quickly closed it and it turned into an angry and sarcastic smile. "Fine. I suppose after your little display of courage that you think you're so tough." Abbi walked up to Faith and got so close to her that their faces were only inches apart. "But remember this:" she began in a dangerous whisper, so low that the surrounding crew could not have heard if they tried. "I was the one that saved you from Donigan in the first place. If it wasn't for me, you'd be in his arms right now, because he would have taken advantage of you the first night you were here." With that, Abbi turned on her heel and parted her way through the crowd to the railing of the ship. She took a seat on the railing and looked out to sea, still seething anger toward Faith.
Faith felt a twinge of guilt, but quickly shoved it away with the glowing embers of anger still inside her. She too parted the crowd and headed toward the helm in the opposite direction of Abbi. Jack shrugged his shoulders and sighed deeply, not ever recalling either girl acting so angry toward one another. Thomas watched everything from the crow's nest before looking back out over the water. Spotting something unusual, he took out his telescope to confirm his sighting.
"Captain! Captain Sparrow!" he yelled, effectively grabbing the attention of everyone on board. ""We've got company coming up fast on the starboard side!" He pointed to the ship that was drawing closer every minute.
There was a silence for a moment before everyone scrambled to prepare for battle. Jack went to the starboard side to investigate for himself. Faith watched in confusion. 'What are these idiots doing?' she thought. She looked on as swords and pistols were pulled from the armory and everyone went to the side to watch the ship's progress.
The ship pulled up to the side and faced the same direction as the Pearl. The crisp white lettering could be seen on the opposing ship: The Swann. The pirates stared across at the tidy, dressed up British Royal Navy soldiers. In a matter of seconds, the Pearl was being raided.
The pirates immediately began to fight to keep their ship and their lives. Abbi fought easily and instinctively, not even thinking about what she was doing. Jack fought whoever came his way, looking frantically around for the Captain of the other ship. Faith drew her dagger and wreaked havoc among the soldiers. Thomas swung down to join the fray, pulling out pistol as soon as he hit the deck.
Faith was very afraid. She was not particularly in danger- she was perfectly capable of handling herself, but she was still afraid. She had proved that she could handle herself by killing Donigan. However, that fact didn't change the thought of how disturbing it was to watch him die. Her skirt swirled as she kicked and stabbed, turning to fight anyone who was near her. "Faith?" Faith whirled around to recognize with horror the last person she had ever expected to see on a in the heat of battle. It was none other than Sir Blanche de Blakely.
She stared open-mouthed in absolute horror. She spotted a gun that had been knocked from a soldier's hand sliding across the deck. She moved quickly and picked up the pistol. She stared at Blakely before looking over his shoulder and seeing a disturbing sight. She saw a man on the other side of the deck, sneaking up on Abbi, sword drawn at the ready. Faith quickly aimed at the target and fired, missing Sir Blanche de Blakely's head by a few inches to her left. She killed the man that was a threat to Abbi and caused Sir Blanche de Blakely to faint and collapse. Faith soon realized what she had done and threw the gun down on the deck, looking at it as if it was the key to the gates of Hell. "Oh, my..." she gasped.
*
Jack had finally spotted him. He fought his way through the crowd to him and a rather short battle ensued. Jack disarmed the commander and aimed his own famous pistol squarely between his eyes. "Why hello, Commodore."
Norrington gulped as the soldiers realized what had happened. Jack, still keeping his gun toward Norrington, turned his eyes away from him to look and his crew and declare, "This ship is still ours, gentlemen... and women!" he added, seeing Faith and Abbi.
Norrington, seeing an opportunity, kicked Jack in the gut and seized his pistol. He aimed the gun at Jack and cocked it. Abbi, thinking quickly, took her pistol and aimed carefully, firing before anyone could stop her. Norrington fell to the ground, clutching his thigh in pain. Jack got to his feet and looked around, eager to see who was the one to save their ship. Abbi caught his eye and saluted with her pistol, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. 'That's my girl!' Jack thought.
"You little whore!" a soldier near Abbi cried. Abbi turned around to see who had made the rude comment, but before she could identify anyone, the man pulled out his sword and slashed Abbi across the stomach. Abbi yelled in pain as she slumped to the deck. The man raised his sword to finish Abbi off, but a bang was heard, and the man slumped over dead. Commotion ensued as everyone tried to find who had fired. Jack looked up to a Faith standing on the upper deck, a pistol in her hand, her face resolute and hard.
~Seconds Earlier~
Faith had watched her best friend fall to the ground in pain. She had witnessed it all, and she was going to make sure the man did not live. She had grabbed the pistol of another dead soldier and aimed. She fired and the man fell dead to the ground. She held the gun out, unflinchingly before she put it in her belt and headed toward her friend on the other side of the deck. Jack was soon near her as well, shouting orders. "Lock the bloody scallywags in the brig of their own ship and set it adrift. Disable the rudder chain and rip the sails! Make sure they can't escape. There should be no hope for these fools!"
He stuffed his own pistol in his belt, handed Abbi's to Faith, and scooped the piratess up in his arms. He carried her to his own cabin and laid her onto his bed. Faith laid Abbi's pistol on Jack's desk and moved over to Abbi's side. The piratess was in a lot of pain, but she was still basically conscious.
"Faith... I..." Abbi winced.
"It's okay Abbi. I'm right here. Don't talk," Faith said, taking Abbi's hand and stroking her forehead, which was now feverish. The sweat stood out all over her face as Faith called for cool water and a cloth. As soon as it arrived, Faith went about cleaning the wound, lifting up Abbi's shirt just enough to see the damage. She was still bleeding badly. Jack handed her a roll of gauze and Faith quickly bandaged Abbi's profusely bleeding stomach. She prayed for the first time in her life, asking God to save her only true friend.
Faith backed away and Jack took her place. He took Abbi's hand and whispered. "You can't die on me now Abigail. Not now."
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~
How's THAT for a cliffy? Abbi's always the one getting hurt, isn't she?
DaneJade: I know, you told us at church- you're not happy with Faith getting all piratey all of a sudden... did you not like this chappy either? I hope it was a little better... if not, sorry. Ary and I have had this chappy planned for a LONG time before we ever got to it, so really we'd rather not change it. But it makes a huge difference later on. I hope you still like our story! I know I love to see your reviews!
margo: Jack slept in the crew's quarters. End of story. Nothing funny. Anyways, I'm SO glad you liked the last chappy! How about this one? Ready for the next one? Sorry- you'll have to wait until Wed. Check back then and see what happens! Oh and by the way- I talked to Ary about a sequel... she's a little caught up in a Harry Potter fanfic right now, but we agreed that we could do it over the summer, and we've already got a plot forming. YEAH! They all return! We've still got some kinks to work out, but hey- Elizabeth and Will will probably be in the sequel!! I personally can't wait to get started!
randomdreamr: How was this for an Abbi chappy? Yes, Faith's strength does come rather suddenly, but hey- she's been on a pirate ship for almost a month now! She should be picking SOMETHING up! Isn't it ironic that we worry for Faith when Abbi ia always the one getting hurt? Funny ol' world, isn't it? Glad you reviewed! Hope you enjoyed!
foxgirlangie: Glad you like our story! Here's more of it! Enjoy!
Well, usually I have a lot more to say here, but actually, today I don't. All I can say is if y'all out there r&r then maybe I'll post sooner... but there is no guarantee in that! It all depends on you: the readers!
Keep R&R!
~Joey (& Ary, but she's grounded, so she's here in spirit! Darn her grounding!!!!)~