All hail my wonderful beta JackFan2

Chapter 14 - Something Stupid

Time seemed to have slowed down for those spending it in the brig of the Black Pearl. In their own cell, Will and Elizabeth sat on the wood floor, while Ana, Gibbs and the rest of Jack's crew had been crowded in an adjacent cell. All had long since given up seeking a way to escape. It didn't take long to see that even with the right 'leverage' it would be impossible.

However, even given their circumstances, the atmosphere down the brig had surprisingly improved. At least they were all able to laugh and joke again, probably only because they had nothing else to do. Toomey had not been seen again, they only heard him scream orders occasionally. The only member of his crew they'd seen was the man delegated to bring them food as he hobbled in on his one wooden leg, set their food down and leave. Despite their attempts to get the man to talk, the only reaction they'd received from the older man was when he spat on the ground and left.

Perhaps the greatest frustration for them all was that they had no idea where they were. Anamaria and Gibbs could tell that they were still somewhere in the Caribbean, but that was all the information they could give. When they peeked through one of the small holes in the ship they only saw ocean, horizon and sun. Nothing more and nothing less.

"I wish Jack was here," sighed Elizabeth. "I'm sure he would have thought of something insane already… something that nobody in his right mind would think of."

"Aye, Miss Elizabeth," Gibbs agreed. Elizabeth had also long ago given up telling him to call her 'Elizabeth' instead of Miss Elizabeth. "'E would 'ave…"

"Maybe we should try to think as Jack?" Will suggested, not knowing what else to do.

Elizabeth laughed. "Well, that would be interesting!" She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she brought her hands up in a Sparrow-like manor.

"Well, whelp," she spoke, imitating the eccentric pirate captain, "Ye just have to wait fer the opportune moment!" She waved with one finger to Will. "Ye should have learned tha' by now, eunuch."

"Hey!" Will said, laughing at his fiancé's behaviour. "Don't you start as well, bonnie lass."

"He calls ye a eunuch often then, lad?" Ana asked amused, interrupting the teasing of the two. Will turned to the female pirate, for a moment he had completely forgotten the situation they were in, but this question brought him right back to reality.

"Yes. I really don't recall why he started to call that…"

"I can think of reasons," muttered Gibbs, while Will felt his ears turn pink. Ana just laughed.

"Well, matey… If I remember well ol' Bootstrap loved to call Jack a eunuch."

"Jack? Be called a eunuch?!?" Even Elizabeth looked startled at this revelation.

"Aye… but I believe 'e meant something else with it… Never found out what. Guess it was one of those between best friends something… Those two 'ad tha' a lot."

Will found it very hard to imagine his dad, calling Jack a eunuch, but it did explain why Jack referred to him in that way.

"You know," Elizabeth suddenly started, "James was right all along… Jack is the worst pirate ever seen."

"What do you mean with that?" asked Will surprised.

"Well… In the stories I've heard pirates always kill and betray everybody who stand in their way and never allow friendship to grow. After I met him I never believed the stories about Jack killing entire crews…"

"Yer a good lass, Miss Elizabeth," Gibbs spoke. "Jack might be a fool, but 'e's not foolish enough to kill fer pleasure."

"Indeed. And he has friends," she sat up straight. "That's why you returned with the Pearl, right? Out of friendship."

The pirates exchanged looks.

"Of course you did!" Elizabeth answered for them, "At first you reacted like every other normal pirate would: you seized the opportune moment and took the Pearl. But when you sailed away things went wrong, right? You realized that you missed Jack… that he had become a friend."

"The Pearl is nothing without her Sparrow," Gibbs muttered under his breath, and Elizabeth wasn't even sure if she had heard it right.

Ana smiled friendly at Elizabeth. "Yer smarter than ye'd think, missy. Aye, I don't think I could leave tha' daft fool ever again."

All the pirates muttered an agreement to that reply, along with Mr. Cotton who would not be left out as he nodded vehemently.

"So…" Will started. "That means… you are all terrible pirates then?" He wasn't even sure what their reaction would be. To his relief most of them chuckled, and some even looked proud!

Marty, the little pirate, laughed out loud. "You could say it like tha'!"

"Well, that explains a lot," Will said dryly.

"I guess it's something about him," Elizabeth thinks out loud. "I can't really explain it… his aura I guess."

"Aura?"

Suddenly Elizabeth was strongly reminded of Barbossa with his 'We're naught but humble pirates'.

"Yes, aura. Something that hangs around him that makes you feel attracted to him in some form. I guess you can only choose between liking and hating him, nothing in between." She sighed. "I guess this also means that when Jack creates enemies, he makes them for life."

"Just our luck."

Elizabeth laughed. "I guess indeed."

Suddenly a commotion began above them. The sounds of running feet echoed on the blanks above and shouted commands shattered their quiet camaraderie.

"What the devil are they doing up there?" Gibbs said annoyed. "Are we under attack? Or are they planning to attack some poor sod?"

More yelling was heard and it seemed that the entire crew had been roused. Mr. Cotton tried to peek through a hole in the ship, but the only thing he saw was that very same calm Caribbean ocean they always saw. Nothing more and nothing less. 

Elizabeth suddenly felt really uncomfortable as if something was about to happen. "I hope we are not going to attack someone, although… that could be our opportune moment to escape!"

"Gentlemen…" Shouted a familiar voice from on deck.

For a moment nobody down in the brig dared to breathe.

"W-wasn't that Jack?" Elizabeth managed to say.

"It sounded suspiciously like him," Will replied while he jumped on his feet, helping Elizabeth up as well. Soon every one of them were standing and, when able, pressing their face against the bars of their cells as if they were hoping those would suddenly disappear. Their heartbeats were racing and not a single one of them dared to believe what their ears were trying to tell them.

"Jack Sparrow!" Toomey's voice answered. "Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, you daft fool. Ye should've stayed away! But, alas… ye always were too arrogant fer yer own good."

Other things were said, but the crew in the brig couldn't hear that.

"What's he doing here!" hissed Elizabeth. "Toomey will get him again!"

"Saving us," muttered Ana, "Jack, ye bloody daft fool! Ye shouldn't have bothered!" She desperately wanted to slap him right now. She wanted to slap him like she had never done before. And she wanted to tell him so badly that he was a daft fool, a daft insane fool, who could only do stupid things. But still, deep in her heart, she was immensely relieved to hear his voice again… even though it was probably the last time she would hear it.

"Have faith in 'im!" Gibbs said, the only one who somehow managed to stay optimistic. "Remember what we just said 'bout 'im…? Daft as he is, he can do things that people in their right minds can not."

They all remembered, but suddenly it was simply way to hard to trust, to believe in miracles.

"Please Jack," Will muttered so softly that even Elizabeth, who was standing only inches away from him, couldn't hear, "Please… don't do anything stupid!"

 When he heard the next thing that Jack said, Will closed his eyes in despair.

Too late. Something stupid was already done.

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