Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish I owned Jack Sparrow, but he belongs to Disney.

AN: I love my reviewers! You rock my world, and make me feel so loved and appreciated, so you all get Jack Sparrow dreams for tonight! And I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Girl-on-the-Bridge, who had her account erased for some reason and who I greatly admire. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Thoughts and Plans of Attack:

Angela's POV:

Pots and cauldrons bubbled and steamed as Angela moved between them, pouring their contents into specifically colored bottles. She had been brewing potions for hours, ever since Jack had assured her that they would soon catch up with whoever had taken their child. After pouring the potions into their bottles and putting them in small baskets, Angela began all over again, this time adding different things to different pots. After adding the final herbs to the last cauldron, she could feel eyes watching her and immediately knew it was Jack; he always worried when she had been in the medicine room for longer than he thought was necessary.

"I'm sort of busy right now, Jack," she said, not looking up; she stayed focused on one specific pot that had blue steam coming off of it. Taking a small whiff of the stuff, Angela smiled as she felt strong arms around her waist, holding her tightly.

"Darling, ye've been down here for six hours," Jack whispered into her ear. "Why don't ye come to bed, it's nearly midnight." He tried to pull her away from the steaming pots, but she refused to be moved.

"I'll finish these last few brews and be there soon, I promise," she said, turning her head slightly so she could kiss her husband on the lips. "Why don't you go to the cabin and warm the bed up for me?"

Jack's eyes sparkled. "Are ye suggesting something, luv?" he asked, leaning in so that their lips were nearly brushing.

"Maybe," Angela replied, giving him a kiss. "The sooner I finish here, the sooner I join you in the cabin, savvy?"

Her pirate husband grinned at her use of his word. "Savvy, darling," he said, giving her a quick, deep kiss before leaving. "Just be sure to finish soon!"

"Fifteen minutes," she called to his retreating figure. As soon as he was out of sight, the witch turned back towards her work, giving them a good stir.

Jack's POV:

As he slipped a warming pan under their mattress and turned down the bed-sheets, Jack couldn't help but worry about what was happening to his family. They were the most important things in his life, besides freedom and piracy, but nothing could match the love he felt for his wife and child; he couldn't believe that he had exposed them to so much danger. Before meeting and marrying Angela, Jack had thought that the freedom and wonders of the sea could fulfill his every need in life. Oh, how wrong he was; Angela had brought magic to the Black Pearl and love into his life, but the most important thing was that the two of them had created the most beautiful things in the world.

Life.

Jack bit his lip, hard, at the thought of what he had helped create. When Athena had been born, Jack had been scared stupid of holding her for the first time; he'd honestly thought that he might break her, she had been so small and helpless! For weeks afterwards, he had panicked whenever his baby girl had cried while he was holding her, frightened that he had harmed her in some way. Annamaria had rolled her eyes and told him it was normal for babies to cry, but still, what did the pirate-woman know about babies? And when Athena had begun to crawl (and soon afterwards, walk) around the ship, Jack had always been close by, even though there were plenty of crewmates around to look after her. Watching Athena experience the Pearl from the first moment she was able to gave Jack a feeling of wonder and pride, and he had begun teaching her about the ship as soon as she could understand speech. She was his little pirate lass, his little Pearl, and his pride and joy, the jewel of his eye.

"And now she's missing," he muttered, his fists clenching in anger.

If he ever got his hand on the person who had taken his little girl, he'd tear a new hole in the man's belly and let the sharks tear his legs off while the man watched. After that, well, he was sure the crew would have some creative torture ideas of their own to try out on the kidnapper.

"Jack?" a soft voice whispered; a gentle hand touched his shoulder, causing him to turn around quickly. Lovely violet eyes met his brown ones. "Are you alright?" his wife asked.

"Fine, darling," he said, giving her a small smile. Her hand left his shoulder and came to rest on his cheek.

"We'll find her, Jack," she said, smiling at him. "And she'll be fine, don't worry."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to say to ye, luv?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Angela chuckled. "Well, for now, I'm switching roles," she said, leaning in and giving him a loving kiss on the lips.

Jack grinned broadly. "Switching roles are we?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Does that mean yer the captain tonight?"

"Shut up and kiss me, Jack."

"Aye, Captain," he said, following her orders.

Athena's POV:

After hours of tossing and turning on her cot, Athena sighed before sitting up in bed. Looking out the tiny window just above her head, she studied the placement of the moon and figured that it was not long after midnight. Knowing that she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, she reached over to the table next to her and felt around for the candleholder and the new candle it held.

Athena silently thanked the Powers Above that the she had allowed to have it; she didn't like the idea of being alone on this strange ship in the dark. The previous nights she had spent onboard had been terrifying, and Athena had slept with a light lit the whole time, even though it was dangerous to do so. Finding the candle, she carefully located the wick and focused, lighting the candle with her magic. Sighing with relief, Athena set the candle back on the desk and stared at the tiny flame, watching it dance back and forth. She had discovered her new ability to light candles last night, when she had discovered that someone had forgotten to give her a match to light it with. When the sun had set, fear and a need for a light had filled her. Athena had been clutching her candle while desperately thinking of a flame, and the wick had lit. Now the little witch no longer feared being in the dark, for her new ability provided light and the light protected her from the frightening darkness of the Blade.

Glancing out the window, Athena saw something on the horizon, but an instant later, it vanished from view. Sighing, the little girl reached into her dress and pulled out her toy balls.

Jack's POV:

Jack was jerked out of a sound sleep when he heard someone pounding on the cabin door. Grumbling curses under his breath, he reluctantly pulled away from his still-sleeping wife and pulled on his shirt before opening the door. There stood a fully armed Annamaria with a flustered look on her face.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Cotton's spotted a ship off the starboard side, Cap'n, and it appears to be the ship that Angela found. The crew's ready and waiting for yer orders."

Jack felt the last bit of drowsiness vanish from his mind as the thrill for battle replaced it. A savage grin lit his face and Annamaria returned it. He simply nodded at his second mate and she went off to ready the crew for the upcoming battle. As Jack searched the cabin for his pistol and cutlass, he heard movement from the bed.

"Jack, what's going on?" Angela said, her voice drowsy from being asleep.

Jack armed himself as he turned towards his wife. "Cotton's spotted the Forgotten Blade, darling," he said, adjusting his bandana.

Angela immediately sat up, violet eyes flashing. "Then I'd better get the potions ready," she said, reaching for her clothes. Her hands were stopped by his.

"I'm not risking ye out there, luv," he said, looking her in the eye. "This'll be a night time battle, and it'll be darker than Hell out there; you won't be able to see a thing."

Angela's eyes narrowed. "You can't stop me from being involved, Jack," she said. "Athena's in danger, and I am her mother; you can't expect me to sit here while you fight to get her back!"

She pushed his hands aside as she began pulling on a set of pirate's gear: shirt, pants, boots, and a belt with two pistols hanging from it. Jack watched her dress with mixed feelings; he didn't want her involved in this fight, but this was their daughter at stake, so that made this battle very personal to the both of them. If it were any other fight, he might have persuaded her to keep out of this, but with Athena's life and safety at stake, there was obviously no way that she was going to stay in the cabin and be silent. He had to give her this chance for vengeance, the same chance he would give to the other members of the crew; after all, she was his wife, and she deserved the same treatment as they did.

Once the two of them were ready, they headed up on deck and walked towards the helm. There, Mr. Cotton handed over the telescope and pointed in the direction of the enemy vessel. Jack put the scope up to his eye and looked out over the pitch-black water. Just then, the moon peeked out from behind a cloud, shining a small beam of ghostly pale light onto the sea. Jack grinned savagely as the moonlight fell onto the vague outlines of a ship on the horizon, no more than an hour or two away.

"Gibbs, Annamaria!" he called to his first and second mates. "Load the cannons on both sides and ready the crew for a night siege!" He turned towards his wife. "Darling, now would be a good time to bring out those brews of yers and to teach the crew exactly what to do with them." Angela nodded once before heading below.

Jack once again held the telescope up to his eye and gritted his teeth. It wouldn't be long now, and his fingers were itching to wrap themselves around the neck of his daughter's kidnapper. One thing was for sure: there wouldn't be much left of the bastard when Jack and his wife and crew got through with him!

Meanwhile, the moon faded behind a cloud as the Black Pearl crept silently towards their target.

Athena's POV:

Staring at the ceiling of her cabin, Athena felt as though the walls were closing in on her. After all, who wouldn't have felt the same way after being constantly locked up in that room, especially when there was nothing to do but stare at the walls? However, Athena was more affected by this than a normal person. She was used to being able to go where she wanted, whenever she wanted. Her father had allowed her do as she pleased (as long as it didn't harm anyone or put her in danger), so she had taken to exploring the Black Pearl during every spare moment of her time. Athena truly was her father's daughter; she needed freedom in order to survive, and locking her up temporarily in her cabin was a punishment her parents had used whenever she had disobeyed. Even though they'd never locked her up for very long and she'd had her toys to play with, Athena was always quick to learn her lesson and was always frantic to enjoy her freedom on the Black Pearl. Now, after being locked up for three days in a tiny cabin with almost nothing to amuse her, Athena began to feel as though she were going to knock a hole in the wall with her head! Her toy balls had long since lacked the ability to amuse her, and if she didn't get out soon, she'd go mad. Looking out her window, she again thought of being at home, in her parents' cabin, enjoying her father's stories, especially the one where he had used sea turtles to escape an island!

At that final thought of her family, Athena decided that she had to get back to her mama and papa. She could use her papa's adventures to help her! After all, Papa could do and escape anything, and since she was his daughter, she should be able to do something, too! Nodding to herself, Athena made sure her toys were in her pocket before getting off of the cot. Besides, she was hungry, so this adventure would also have some fun rewards, too!

Silently making her way to the door, Athena put her head against the keyhole and listened. The ship was silent, and there were no sounds coming from the other side of the door; no breathing, no snoring, nothing. That meant no guards! Growing excited, she focused on the lock, willing it to open for her, just like her mama had taught her. The quiet click of the door unlocking signaled her success. Quietly cracking open the door, Athena peeked out; sure enough, the hall was empty, the only sounds coming from the top deck, signaling that only the night crew was up. Edging her way out, she quietly closed the door behind her and took a quick look to make sure that no one was around before heading down the hallway, heading towards what she hoped was the galley.

Taking her time, Athena crept down the hall, keeping her eyes and ears open, her magical abilities ready for anything. Reaching the end of the hall, she took a quick sniff, hoping to smell any leftover scents from dinner. The delicious scent of roasted meat met her nose, meaning that someone was making a late-night snack! Licking her lips, Athena followed her nose to a door and peeked inside to find an empty galley with a nice chunk of beef roasting on the stove!

Swallowing hard, Athena once again checked the hallway and the kitchen to make sure she was alone. Once she was sure, she crept closer to the stove and climbed on top of a box to peer over the stove's edge. As she became eye-level with her future snack, she spotted a small carving knife and grabbed it. Mama and Papa had always told her to never play with knives, but Auntie Annamaria and Uncle Gibbs had taught her how to use them, just in case she needed it. She was glad they had, because really wanted that meat! So, picking up the knife, Athena carefully cut a large piece and speared it with the knife tip. Blowing on it to cool it, she was about to take a large bite when she heard approaching footsteps. Panicking, she quickly hid behind an apple barrel and held her breath as two crewmen came in, stomping their feet.

"Wish I knew why the Cap'n was so keen on keeping the little brat," a gruff voice muttered, approaching the barrel, but not reaching it.

"Heard that she's got some witchy powers or somethin'," another voice replied. "Cap'n says she might be useful."

The other man snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it! Now, gimme a chunk o' that meat!"

Athena heard someone slap something. "Hands off!" the second man said. "That's for the Cap'n!"

The first man muttered some curses, and the sound of retreating footsteps and the slamming of the door signaled their departure. Allowing herself to relax, Athena polished off her stolen food, extremely satisfied that she had robbed Captain Flint of some of his late-night snack. Wiping her hands on a nearby towel, she gripped her stolen knife as she snuck on deck. Glancing around, she saw only three crewmen walking around and heard the creek of the helm, meaning that someone was steering. That made four, unless someone was in the crow's nest, which made five. She could handle five. Gripping the handle of her stolen knife, Athena looked up at the sky and smiled when she noticed that the moon was hidden; this would keep her out of sight, as long as she avoided lamps and stayed in the shadows!

Taking a step on deck, a large hand covered her mouth as an arm wrapped around her waist. Struggling, Athena tried to kick and bite her way free, but it was useless. The sailor was too strong and she was only a child.

"Shouldn't have tried to escape, poppet," he whispered. "Now, what should I do to punish you?"

The only reply he got was the shatter of glass, followed by a shriek of agony. A crewman ran by, his skin covered in huge, painful welts. Another glass shattered and more cries of pain filled the air. The sailor holding Athena released her and went to investigate. As Athena hid herself behind a crate, her former captor let out a tremendous howl of pain, causing the rest of his crewmates to race on deck.

"What's going on?" Captain Flint roared as he came out of his cabin.

"We're under attack!" cried a voice from the helm. Athena felt her heart fill with hope when she heard the cry from the crow's nest.

"Cap'n, it's the Black Pearl!"

AN: I've decided to hold out the last few chapters until I reach a goal of 49 reviews, which will be more than the reviews I received for my first fic, "Servant Girl." I know it's asking a lot, but I feel that it's a very reasonable number.