Just an Illusion, by Ortain
Chapter 16 – One Can Only Hope
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, it belongs to Disney.
Author's Note: Sorry 'bout the cliffie last time [winks]. I'm not promising the end of this won't be a cliffie. This is the climax of the story.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At that moment Josephine heard that terrible voice again. "Kill him, finish him for me."
Josephine's head felt like it was about to explode, this voice, it was taking over her thoughts. It could command her to do anything, even if she didn't want to it.
Barbossa smiled as Josephine blindly stumbled over to him and took the sword from his hands. He stepped away from the two and watched as Jack looked up in a mixture of surprise and fear.
"Josie..." (A/N: Nickname from one of my beloved reviewers, CrazyCanoeingGIT) he started to say. Josephine heard no more, Barbossa's voice was growing louder in her head.
"You failed me thrice, you will finish him off today." The voice in Josephine's head became hypnotic. The sword was in her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to do what she was told to do.
Barbossa could see that Josephine needed a bit of encouraging. "Blood, you need to see blood, your own blood. Then show me his blood."
Josephine automatically felt herself raise the sword over finger, she cut herself. A drop of blood fell.
"Now, that's what you want to see, from him." said the voice in her head. Josephine hesitated to obey. She looked around, Jack was saying something she couldn't hear. Barbossa was looking at her expectantly and impatiently.
She held the sword to Jack's neck. "He cheated on you, kill him...now." The voice was becoming deafeningly loud in Josephine's head. She pressed the sword to Jack's neck, almost drawing blood.
But then she saw the look on his face, she looked into his eyes and saw the man she loved. She had tried to deny this feeling for so long it had curled up inside her, waiting to be forgotten.
She remembered the day he promised to love her for eternity, when she had defined love for him.
~*FLASHBACK*~
"Love is the feeling that makes your heart beat faster when the object of your love walks past. Love is the everlasting passion that keeps you awake at night thinking about the object of your love. Love is the feeling of eternal affection for a man or woman. Love is forgetting everything in the world, leaving all your cares behind when you're with the object of your love. Love is the act of being willing to give up anything and everything for the man or woman you love."
* * *
"I'll prove to you that love lasts forever, in some way or another
* * *
Jack moved closer to her and placed his arm around her waist. She rested her head against his chest and they were locked there in that perfect moment for a short time.
* * *
Josephine often woke up in the morning to find Jack's arm draped around her waist and herself curled up in his warm embrace. She felt the presence of infatuation when he was near regardless of how hard she tried not to. Infatuation, and maybe the presence of lust, and ultimately, love.
~*END OF FLASHBACK*~
Josephine's conscience kicked in and she dropped the sword, realizing what 'the voice' wanted her to do. She would never kill Jack. She turned to Barbossa "No!" she sneered very firmly.
A look of panic came over Barbossa. "But...wait." He tried to break into her mind again. "Kill him." This had no effect on Josephine whatsoever. He picked up the sword on the floor holding the handle out to Josephine.
She ignored him and knelt beside Jack trying to undo the ropes that tightly bound his hands behind his back.
Barbossa turned the sword around so he was holding the handle and the blade was facing Josephine and Jack. He pointed the sword at Josephine forcing her to stand up.
"Kill him." threatened Barbossa, clearly panicking. Josephine's mind had been cleared by the pain. She was no longer afraid.
"I have nothing to lose, you can't make me." (Josephine)
"Either you choose to watch Jack die slowly and painfully, and then meet your own miserable end, or you choose to kill Jack, the fast way, and save your own pathetic life." Barbossa felt proud of himself for thinking up a solution so quickly.
"You can't scare me with this." Josephine found herself face to face with Jack's adversary, and ultimately, her own. Barbossa slapped Josephine across the face with such force that she was thrown to the ground with a split lip.
Jack struggled to untie the ropes around his wrists, they were looser than before. Josephine had fallen on a pile of gold coins and necklaces. She tried to get up but Barbossa aimed a kick at her stomach and she fell. He squatted beside her. "You've been so strong, you're not afraid of anything are you." Josephine tried to punch Barbossa in the nose but her hand went right through his head. Barbossa wiped the blood off Josephine's chin (from her lip) with a finger. "It's time you showed me your self worth."
"And what would that be? Your personal hit man?" Josephine smirked. Getting to her feet. "Bite me. I don't give a shit."
Barbossa ripped the bottom half of Josephine's shirt. The cut was healing. "Why do you think you haven't even the slightest chance of beating me? You still get up, why don't you kill Jack and save yourself, he's not worth all that. What do you think you're fighting for here? Is it love? It's just an illusion Miss Crowne, just an illusion."
"No, you're the illusion." Spat Josephine. This angered Barbossa, "You will find, that I am much much more than that." Barbossa thrust his sword towards Josephine's abdomen. She started to dodge but then a large object came hurling out of nowhere knocking her to the ground into a pool of water.
There was a yelp, blood, and the ground started to shake. Josephine tried to scramble out of the pool but she could not get a firm footing and slipped back in. She tried to see what was happening.
Barbossa's outline seemed to be fading, he became almost invisible, and then he broke into a dozen pieces as if he were a jigsaw. These pieces fell to the ground, but instead of landing on the ground they went into the ground.
As abruptly as it had started, the floor stopped shaking and everything was still. Josephine clambered out of the pool, dripping wet and feeling cold. "Just an illusion, he was just an illusion."
Josephine wiped the blood from her lip on her shirt. She tried to walk over to where Barbossa had disappeared but tripped on the same large object that had knocked her into the pool.
To her horror it was Jack, it was Jack with a sword sticking out of his chest lying unconscious on the pool side. In the 'excitement' of Barbossa disappearing into thin air Josephine had forgotten all about Jack.
She knelt by his side, she touched his face, it was pale, cold and sweaty. She snapped back into action, pulling the sword out of his chest (it wasn't impaled too deeply) she tried to stop the blood with her bare hands. "Jack...Jack wake up."
Then suddenly she understood everything, Barbossa's unfinished business was to kill Jack, now he had done that he was gone. But then he wouldn't be gone unless Jack was...no he couldn't be.
Just couldn't be. 'One can only hope' said a small, unsure voice in Josephine's head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That wasn't supposed to be a cliffie, I just had to end it somewhere, couldn't go on forever. Sorry to all reviewers who hate cliffies but I'll update very soon, I promises.
One and a half year early tickets to the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Treasures of the lost Abyss for all my beloved reviewers.
Ortain
Chapter 16 – One Can Only Hope
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, it belongs to Disney.
Author's Note: Sorry 'bout the cliffie last time [winks]. I'm not promising the end of this won't be a cliffie. This is the climax of the story.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At that moment Josephine heard that terrible voice again. "Kill him, finish him for me."
Josephine's head felt like it was about to explode, this voice, it was taking over her thoughts. It could command her to do anything, even if she didn't want to it.
Barbossa smiled as Josephine blindly stumbled over to him and took the sword from his hands. He stepped away from the two and watched as Jack looked up in a mixture of surprise and fear.
"Josie..." (A/N: Nickname from one of my beloved reviewers, CrazyCanoeingGIT) he started to say. Josephine heard no more, Barbossa's voice was growing louder in her head.
"You failed me thrice, you will finish him off today." The voice in Josephine's head became hypnotic. The sword was in her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to do what she was told to do.
Barbossa could see that Josephine needed a bit of encouraging. "Blood, you need to see blood, your own blood. Then show me his blood."
Josephine automatically felt herself raise the sword over finger, she cut herself. A drop of blood fell.
"Now, that's what you want to see, from him." said the voice in her head. Josephine hesitated to obey. She looked around, Jack was saying something she couldn't hear. Barbossa was looking at her expectantly and impatiently.
She held the sword to Jack's neck. "He cheated on you, kill him...now." The voice was becoming deafeningly loud in Josephine's head. She pressed the sword to Jack's neck, almost drawing blood.
But then she saw the look on his face, she looked into his eyes and saw the man she loved. She had tried to deny this feeling for so long it had curled up inside her, waiting to be forgotten.
She remembered the day he promised to love her for eternity, when she had defined love for him.
~*FLASHBACK*~
"Love is the feeling that makes your heart beat faster when the object of your love walks past. Love is the everlasting passion that keeps you awake at night thinking about the object of your love. Love is the feeling of eternal affection for a man or woman. Love is forgetting everything in the world, leaving all your cares behind when you're with the object of your love. Love is the act of being willing to give up anything and everything for the man or woman you love."
* * *
"I'll prove to you that love lasts forever, in some way or another
* * *
Jack moved closer to her and placed his arm around her waist. She rested her head against his chest and they were locked there in that perfect moment for a short time.
* * *
Josephine often woke up in the morning to find Jack's arm draped around her waist and herself curled up in his warm embrace. She felt the presence of infatuation when he was near regardless of how hard she tried not to. Infatuation, and maybe the presence of lust, and ultimately, love.
~*END OF FLASHBACK*~
Josephine's conscience kicked in and she dropped the sword, realizing what 'the voice' wanted her to do. She would never kill Jack. She turned to Barbossa "No!" she sneered very firmly.
A look of panic came over Barbossa. "But...wait." He tried to break into her mind again. "Kill him." This had no effect on Josephine whatsoever. He picked up the sword on the floor holding the handle out to Josephine.
She ignored him and knelt beside Jack trying to undo the ropes that tightly bound his hands behind his back.
Barbossa turned the sword around so he was holding the handle and the blade was facing Josephine and Jack. He pointed the sword at Josephine forcing her to stand up.
"Kill him." threatened Barbossa, clearly panicking. Josephine's mind had been cleared by the pain. She was no longer afraid.
"I have nothing to lose, you can't make me." (Josephine)
"Either you choose to watch Jack die slowly and painfully, and then meet your own miserable end, or you choose to kill Jack, the fast way, and save your own pathetic life." Barbossa felt proud of himself for thinking up a solution so quickly.
"You can't scare me with this." Josephine found herself face to face with Jack's adversary, and ultimately, her own. Barbossa slapped Josephine across the face with such force that she was thrown to the ground with a split lip.
Jack struggled to untie the ropes around his wrists, they were looser than before. Josephine had fallen on a pile of gold coins and necklaces. She tried to get up but Barbossa aimed a kick at her stomach and she fell. He squatted beside her. "You've been so strong, you're not afraid of anything are you." Josephine tried to punch Barbossa in the nose but her hand went right through his head. Barbossa wiped the blood off Josephine's chin (from her lip) with a finger. "It's time you showed me your self worth."
"And what would that be? Your personal hit man?" Josephine smirked. Getting to her feet. "Bite me. I don't give a shit."
Barbossa ripped the bottom half of Josephine's shirt. The cut was healing. "Why do you think you haven't even the slightest chance of beating me? You still get up, why don't you kill Jack and save yourself, he's not worth all that. What do you think you're fighting for here? Is it love? It's just an illusion Miss Crowne, just an illusion."
"No, you're the illusion." Spat Josephine. This angered Barbossa, "You will find, that I am much much more than that." Barbossa thrust his sword towards Josephine's abdomen. She started to dodge but then a large object came hurling out of nowhere knocking her to the ground into a pool of water.
There was a yelp, blood, and the ground started to shake. Josephine tried to scramble out of the pool but she could not get a firm footing and slipped back in. She tried to see what was happening.
Barbossa's outline seemed to be fading, he became almost invisible, and then he broke into a dozen pieces as if he were a jigsaw. These pieces fell to the ground, but instead of landing on the ground they went into the ground.
As abruptly as it had started, the floor stopped shaking and everything was still. Josephine clambered out of the pool, dripping wet and feeling cold. "Just an illusion, he was just an illusion."
Josephine wiped the blood from her lip on her shirt. She tried to walk over to where Barbossa had disappeared but tripped on the same large object that had knocked her into the pool.
To her horror it was Jack, it was Jack with a sword sticking out of his chest lying unconscious on the pool side. In the 'excitement' of Barbossa disappearing into thin air Josephine had forgotten all about Jack.
She knelt by his side, she touched his face, it was pale, cold and sweaty. She snapped back into action, pulling the sword out of his chest (it wasn't impaled too deeply) she tried to stop the blood with her bare hands. "Jack...Jack wake up."
Then suddenly she understood everything, Barbossa's unfinished business was to kill Jack, now he had done that he was gone. But then he wouldn't be gone unless Jack was...no he couldn't be.
Just couldn't be. 'One can only hope' said a small, unsure voice in Josephine's head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That wasn't supposed to be a cliffie, I just had to end it somewhere, couldn't go on forever. Sorry to all reviewers who hate cliffies but I'll update very soon, I promises.
One and a half year early tickets to the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Treasures of the lost Abyss for all my beloved reviewers.
Ortain