God, I really need to get to the climax soon. Next chapter, almost for
sure but this chapter is still building up. I'm working on making the
chapters longer, as well. Here it goes.
***
James really wasn't that bad. He did pay attention to Nick and didn't just pull him along every where. And though he was quite fond of drinking (everyone here was) he never over did it. He had managed to find Nick the one good part of town with a fairly respectable Inn. Nick, remembering that he had brought some money, decided to stay there. He didn't want to risk another confrontation with Tori or Reph, both of whom where spending the nights on the Pearl.
Despite it's dangerous crowd, Tortuga was a rather interesting place. True you couldn't walk down the street without running into a fight but there were many interesting shops. Nick had been surprised to come across a blacksmith shop, one day and even more surprised to see an assortment of weapons he'd never seen in his life. The harbor was also quite a sight. It was stretched on for miles, containing ships of all shapes and sizes.
The first time he had been there, Nick had seen a gigantic gray ship. It was a bit farther out than most of the others and didn't look like it was there completely: it blended into the fog. Nick stared at it. It was even bigger than the Pearl and quite a sight. He wished for a closer look. "What ship is that?" he asked James.
"Which one?" James had been talking to a passerby. He now looked where Nick was pointing. "Ah, I'm not sure. That's a nice ship. Heard someone say it was called the Shadow but I don't know if that's true."
The Shadow. The name sent a shiver down Nick's spine. "Who Captain's it?" he questioned.
"Can't tell ya that," James shook his head, "I don't know."
He turned back to a poker discussion with the grizzly old man he'd been talking to. Nick stared at the ship a little longer but couldn't find anything overly strange about it except that it had black sails. Quite a lot of the ships around had Black sails as well so that really didn't say much.
Meanwhile, Gibbs had managed to find someone to repair the mast. The job would take three or for weeks, however and cost no less than eighty pounds. The crew grumbled at this. They had the wealth on board but didn't want to use it. Most of them didn't like the sound of spending another three weeks in Tortuga. They were all anxious to get back at sea.
Gibbs pointed out that they couldn't sail well without a main mast, anyway so the construction on the mast began the following day. Everyone lodging on the Pearl was pushed out to stay in Inns.
The crew was back at the Faithful Bride that night. Nick sat watching the normal gambling and card playing. He wouldn't mind playing but refused to waste any money to a game. Sighing ruefully as James lost another round, he got up to get a tankard of rum. He didn't mind it so much now. If you hung around pirates, you got used to rum.
Walking back to the table with his rum, Nick run straight into someone. His rum went flying and crashed against the wall. Nick's sword came out immediately, in case someone was attacking him.
The person shook her head and got off the ground. "Oh sorry," came a familiar voice.
It was Tori. Nick's stomach flipped. She looked up and saw him. "Oh, it's you."
Her face colored. "Sorry about yer rum."
She gave it a glance with raised eyebrows. No doubt she was wondering why he was drinking. Turning, she slipped away through the crowd. "Tori!" Nick yelled after her, not quite sure what he would say if she came back but she didn't.
He saw her sit down at a table with Reph, in the corner. Nick sighed: just perfect. He turned back to watching the game, forgetting completely about the rum he got up to get. About an hour later, Gibbs burst into the Faithful Bride, completely out of breath. Quite a few heads turned.
He hurried over to the crew. "I think I might know where yer parents are, Nick," he gasped, holding a stitch in his side.
"What? Where are they? We have to save them, let's leave."
"It's too late, Nick," Gibbs shook his head sadly, "Where's Tori? She needs to hear this, too."
"What do you mean, it's too late?" Nick asked, feeling sick.
Gibbs just shook his head and motioned him to follow. He stopped at Tori's table. "I think I might know where Jack and Ana are," he said, gruffly.
"WHAT?" Tori stood up quickly, knocking over her chair.
"Calm down," Gibbs told her, "Let me explain."
Tori gave him an impatient look and remained standing. "What are we waitin' for?" she asked.
"Their GONE," Gibbs told her, exasperatedly, "The Shadow, that is. I finally found that it belongs ta Barbossa..."
"He's dead," interrupted Tori.
"His son, apparently," Gibbs continued, "Naturally, Barbossa is the main suspect. But the Shadow left this mornin'."
"Well then, let's follow it," Tori cried.
"You've forgotten that the Pearl is bein' worked on. It's not fit ta sail anywhere yet. How can we follow with no ship?"
Tori slumped down in her chair. "I need a drink," she muttered, dropping her head into her hand.
"I'll get it," Reph bounced up and left the table.
"Tori," Gibbs growled, "The last thing we need is for ya ta get drunk."
"I know how ta drink just a little, thank ya very much," Tori snapped.
"Trust a Sparrow ta say that," Gibbs muttered, "Mad, the whole lot of them."
Under other circumstances, Nick would have found this funny but he didn't now. He slammed his fist down on the table. "We may not have a ship but we can't just sit here and do nothing," he spat, in annoyance.
"And just what would ya propose, Master Turner?" Gibbs asked, incredulously.
"I know!" Tori jumped up, "Let's commandeer a ship."
"Impossible," Gibbs said, shortly.
"Improbable," Tori corrected, "But it isn't."
"These people aren't thick," Gibbs told her, "There's a guard on everyone of the ships docked here, mark my word."
"We could overthrow them."
"It's risky business, stealin' anythin' in Tortuga. These people are like us. They know every trick in the book."
"We 'ave ta get my parents back," Tori replied.
"And mine," cut in Nick.
"Don't ya want yer Captain back?" Tori asked Gibbs.
Gibbs bit his lip. "I'm the only sensible one in this entire crew," he muttered, "But I guess I'll forget that, just this once. Let's go choose a ship."
***
"We're comandeerin' that one," Gibbs told the crew, pointing to a large ship called the Grey Hawk.
"Nice boat," Reph commented.
Gibbs nodded to Tori, "Go on."
Tori jauntily strode onto the dock and then up the Grey Hawk's gangplank. A man jumped into her path: no doubt left to guard the ship. "Where do ya think ya're goin'?" he asked.
Tori gave him a wide-eyed innocent expression. "I just wanted ta see yer big pretty boat."
"Ship," he growled.
"Sorry," Tori smirked.
"What's a kid like ya doin' here by yerself, anyway?" the man asked.
"I'm not that young," Tori answered, absentmindedly, "Nice mast ya've got there." She pointed.
The man automatically looked where she was pointing. A dagger was on his throat in seconds. "Don't move an inch," Tori hissed.
The man's eyes went wide. "Ya..." he started.
Tori grabbed his sword and hit him in the head with the hilt. He collapsed immediately. Tori gave a low piercing whistle. This was what the crew had been waiting for. They quickly boarded the ship. Gibbs knelt down to check if the guard of the ship was still breathing. Assured that he was, Gibbs lugged him off the ship and onto the dock. Leaving him there, he boarded the Grey Hawk just as Tori began to lift the plank.
The Grey Hawk set sail out of Tortuga's harbor, Tori at the wheel. "Any directions, Gibbs?" she yelled.
"Northwest," he yelled back, throwing her a compass.
Opening it, she thought sadly of her father's compass. She was so close to finding him. She would not give up now, no matter what.
***
Later, Nick who was staying on deck, looked out and saw a glimmer of a ship. A second later it was gone. Remembering the way the Shadow had blended into the fog before, Nick grabbed a telescope and focused it on the place he thought he had seen something.
Sure enough, the tiny figure of a ship was etched against the horizon. "Ship ahead," he yelled.
"What?" Tori turned to look at him.
"There's a ship ahead!" Nick yelled, again.
"Full sail," Tori cried out to the crew, immediately.
"With these winds?" Gibbs called, "We'll burst a sail!"
"Full sail," Tori repeated, "Let's see how fast this ship can go."
***
Barbossa looked through his telescope and cursed. There was a ship following The Shadow. 'It doesn't look like the Pearl,' he thought to himself.
He immediately pondered on whether or not to attack it. The ship looked like it was somewhere around the size of the Shadow and he didn't want to attack a ship stronger than his. He finally came to the conclusion that if he didn't attack, he would be attacked. 'Better to strike first,' he thought. "Turn 'er around," he yelled to his crew, "We're attackin'."
The crew rushed to do his command. "Long distance cannons should do trick," Barbossa muttered.
He quickly went below deck to oversee the loading process.
"Get down!" yelled Gibbs for the third time.
The cannonball missed again and sprayed them all with water. "Fire back!" a drenched Gibbs yelled.
"No!"
Tori had braided many beads and bones into her hair so that the resemblance between her and Jack was undeniable. She was armed with six daggers strapped to her belt as well as a pistol and cutlass. "If we fire, we may hurt my parent."
"We'll be blown up before we get there ta see if their there, at this rate."
"No!"
Tori's jaw was set. She looked unstoppable. "We'll get there," she muttered, "And show there bastards what a Sparrow is made of."
"Ya don't know their all males," cut in Nick.
For the first time in a few days, Tori gave him a fleeting glimpse of a smile. "Bastards and bitches," she murmured.
Then she turned back to Gibbs, "This ship is fast as we've seen," she told him, "No matter how much they fire at us, just keep 'er movin'. Eventually we'll get ta close ta them for them ta fire," she grinned, "Then it's man ta man combat."
"And woman ta man," she added as an afterthought.
There was another blast from the Shadow's cannons. Everyone automatically dropped onto the deck. There was a crash as the cannonball connected with one of the smaller mast. The people under it ran as it toppled into he water.
Tori growled. "Fire at their masts," she commanded, "But masts ONLY."
Half the crew ran to load the cannons. Tori watched the Grey Hawk's attempts to fire at the Shadow. It took three tries and then a shot toppled the Shadow's main mast. Tori grinned. "Now they can't get away if they want ta," she murmured.
The Shadow was coming into clear view. Their shots were overreaching the Grey Hawk. "Gibbs," Tori called.
"Aye?" Gibbs asked, turning around.
"Take over the tiller for me."
"Why?" Gibbs looked confused.
"Just do it."
She left her place to Gibbs, grabbed the rigging and began to climb.
***
Barbossa growled. The ship was too close to fire at. He really didn't want to have to fight sword to sword. He raised his telescope, again and focused it on the ship. He immediately lowered it, in shock. "WHAT THE BLOODY 'ELL IS JACK SPARROW DOIN' STANDIN' AT THE TOP OF THAT SHIP?" he yelled.
The reply came back, faintly, but not from his own ship. "I am Jack Sparrow's daughter! Surrender or face the plenty of death," Tori yelled, as loud as possible.
"His daughter?" Barbossa gave a snort of laughter, "Will someone get that girl ta stop playin' games?"
"Do ya surrender?" Tori yelled.
"Bloody 'ell, NO!" bellowed Barbossa.
The Grey Hawk was drawing alongside the Shadow. As the rest of the crew choose their own ways of unboarding the Grey Hawk, Tori grabbed the nearest rope and swung to the Shadow, landing directly in front of Barbossa.
***
Okay so that was pretty long. Next chapter might actually be interesting. *Dances around happily.* I'm very sorry but the longest I can get on the internet is just enough time to post this so I can't reply to reviews this chapter. Okay so I remember one review at the moment so I'll answer to that. Everyone else will get a reply when I get home (I'm not at my house.)
totallyobsessedwithLOTR: Thanks for correcting the LOTR quote. I'm really overly obsessive over LOTR but I'm just not good about memorizing the exact quote. About the one in Deleted scenes from POTC, that wasn't supposed to be Smeagol's exact line: it was supposed to be Elizabeth's with a Gollum voice (so you see that saying Smeagol's voice doesn't really make a difference since they pretty much have the same voice.)
***
James really wasn't that bad. He did pay attention to Nick and didn't just pull him along every where. And though he was quite fond of drinking (everyone here was) he never over did it. He had managed to find Nick the one good part of town with a fairly respectable Inn. Nick, remembering that he had brought some money, decided to stay there. He didn't want to risk another confrontation with Tori or Reph, both of whom where spending the nights on the Pearl.
Despite it's dangerous crowd, Tortuga was a rather interesting place. True you couldn't walk down the street without running into a fight but there were many interesting shops. Nick had been surprised to come across a blacksmith shop, one day and even more surprised to see an assortment of weapons he'd never seen in his life. The harbor was also quite a sight. It was stretched on for miles, containing ships of all shapes and sizes.
The first time he had been there, Nick had seen a gigantic gray ship. It was a bit farther out than most of the others and didn't look like it was there completely: it blended into the fog. Nick stared at it. It was even bigger than the Pearl and quite a sight. He wished for a closer look. "What ship is that?" he asked James.
"Which one?" James had been talking to a passerby. He now looked where Nick was pointing. "Ah, I'm not sure. That's a nice ship. Heard someone say it was called the Shadow but I don't know if that's true."
The Shadow. The name sent a shiver down Nick's spine. "Who Captain's it?" he questioned.
"Can't tell ya that," James shook his head, "I don't know."
He turned back to a poker discussion with the grizzly old man he'd been talking to. Nick stared at the ship a little longer but couldn't find anything overly strange about it except that it had black sails. Quite a lot of the ships around had Black sails as well so that really didn't say much.
Meanwhile, Gibbs had managed to find someone to repair the mast. The job would take three or for weeks, however and cost no less than eighty pounds. The crew grumbled at this. They had the wealth on board but didn't want to use it. Most of them didn't like the sound of spending another three weeks in Tortuga. They were all anxious to get back at sea.
Gibbs pointed out that they couldn't sail well without a main mast, anyway so the construction on the mast began the following day. Everyone lodging on the Pearl was pushed out to stay in Inns.
The crew was back at the Faithful Bride that night. Nick sat watching the normal gambling and card playing. He wouldn't mind playing but refused to waste any money to a game. Sighing ruefully as James lost another round, he got up to get a tankard of rum. He didn't mind it so much now. If you hung around pirates, you got used to rum.
Walking back to the table with his rum, Nick run straight into someone. His rum went flying and crashed against the wall. Nick's sword came out immediately, in case someone was attacking him.
The person shook her head and got off the ground. "Oh sorry," came a familiar voice.
It was Tori. Nick's stomach flipped. She looked up and saw him. "Oh, it's you."
Her face colored. "Sorry about yer rum."
She gave it a glance with raised eyebrows. No doubt she was wondering why he was drinking. Turning, she slipped away through the crowd. "Tori!" Nick yelled after her, not quite sure what he would say if she came back but she didn't.
He saw her sit down at a table with Reph, in the corner. Nick sighed: just perfect. He turned back to watching the game, forgetting completely about the rum he got up to get. About an hour later, Gibbs burst into the Faithful Bride, completely out of breath. Quite a few heads turned.
He hurried over to the crew. "I think I might know where yer parents are, Nick," he gasped, holding a stitch in his side.
"What? Where are they? We have to save them, let's leave."
"It's too late, Nick," Gibbs shook his head sadly, "Where's Tori? She needs to hear this, too."
"What do you mean, it's too late?" Nick asked, feeling sick.
Gibbs just shook his head and motioned him to follow. He stopped at Tori's table. "I think I might know where Jack and Ana are," he said, gruffly.
"WHAT?" Tori stood up quickly, knocking over her chair.
"Calm down," Gibbs told her, "Let me explain."
Tori gave him an impatient look and remained standing. "What are we waitin' for?" she asked.
"Their GONE," Gibbs told her, exasperatedly, "The Shadow, that is. I finally found that it belongs ta Barbossa..."
"He's dead," interrupted Tori.
"His son, apparently," Gibbs continued, "Naturally, Barbossa is the main suspect. But the Shadow left this mornin'."
"Well then, let's follow it," Tori cried.
"You've forgotten that the Pearl is bein' worked on. It's not fit ta sail anywhere yet. How can we follow with no ship?"
Tori slumped down in her chair. "I need a drink," she muttered, dropping her head into her hand.
"I'll get it," Reph bounced up and left the table.
"Tori," Gibbs growled, "The last thing we need is for ya ta get drunk."
"I know how ta drink just a little, thank ya very much," Tori snapped.
"Trust a Sparrow ta say that," Gibbs muttered, "Mad, the whole lot of them."
Under other circumstances, Nick would have found this funny but he didn't now. He slammed his fist down on the table. "We may not have a ship but we can't just sit here and do nothing," he spat, in annoyance.
"And just what would ya propose, Master Turner?" Gibbs asked, incredulously.
"I know!" Tori jumped up, "Let's commandeer a ship."
"Impossible," Gibbs said, shortly.
"Improbable," Tori corrected, "But it isn't."
"These people aren't thick," Gibbs told her, "There's a guard on everyone of the ships docked here, mark my word."
"We could overthrow them."
"It's risky business, stealin' anythin' in Tortuga. These people are like us. They know every trick in the book."
"We 'ave ta get my parents back," Tori replied.
"And mine," cut in Nick.
"Don't ya want yer Captain back?" Tori asked Gibbs.
Gibbs bit his lip. "I'm the only sensible one in this entire crew," he muttered, "But I guess I'll forget that, just this once. Let's go choose a ship."
***
"We're comandeerin' that one," Gibbs told the crew, pointing to a large ship called the Grey Hawk.
"Nice boat," Reph commented.
Gibbs nodded to Tori, "Go on."
Tori jauntily strode onto the dock and then up the Grey Hawk's gangplank. A man jumped into her path: no doubt left to guard the ship. "Where do ya think ya're goin'?" he asked.
Tori gave him a wide-eyed innocent expression. "I just wanted ta see yer big pretty boat."
"Ship," he growled.
"Sorry," Tori smirked.
"What's a kid like ya doin' here by yerself, anyway?" the man asked.
"I'm not that young," Tori answered, absentmindedly, "Nice mast ya've got there." She pointed.
The man automatically looked where she was pointing. A dagger was on his throat in seconds. "Don't move an inch," Tori hissed.
The man's eyes went wide. "Ya..." he started.
Tori grabbed his sword and hit him in the head with the hilt. He collapsed immediately. Tori gave a low piercing whistle. This was what the crew had been waiting for. They quickly boarded the ship. Gibbs knelt down to check if the guard of the ship was still breathing. Assured that he was, Gibbs lugged him off the ship and onto the dock. Leaving him there, he boarded the Grey Hawk just as Tori began to lift the plank.
The Grey Hawk set sail out of Tortuga's harbor, Tori at the wheel. "Any directions, Gibbs?" she yelled.
"Northwest," he yelled back, throwing her a compass.
Opening it, she thought sadly of her father's compass. She was so close to finding him. She would not give up now, no matter what.
***
Later, Nick who was staying on deck, looked out and saw a glimmer of a ship. A second later it was gone. Remembering the way the Shadow had blended into the fog before, Nick grabbed a telescope and focused it on the place he thought he had seen something.
Sure enough, the tiny figure of a ship was etched against the horizon. "Ship ahead," he yelled.
"What?" Tori turned to look at him.
"There's a ship ahead!" Nick yelled, again.
"Full sail," Tori cried out to the crew, immediately.
"With these winds?" Gibbs called, "We'll burst a sail!"
"Full sail," Tori repeated, "Let's see how fast this ship can go."
***
Barbossa looked through his telescope and cursed. There was a ship following The Shadow. 'It doesn't look like the Pearl,' he thought to himself.
He immediately pondered on whether or not to attack it. The ship looked like it was somewhere around the size of the Shadow and he didn't want to attack a ship stronger than his. He finally came to the conclusion that if he didn't attack, he would be attacked. 'Better to strike first,' he thought. "Turn 'er around," he yelled to his crew, "We're attackin'."
The crew rushed to do his command. "Long distance cannons should do trick," Barbossa muttered.
He quickly went below deck to oversee the loading process.
"Get down!" yelled Gibbs for the third time.
The cannonball missed again and sprayed them all with water. "Fire back!" a drenched Gibbs yelled.
"No!"
Tori had braided many beads and bones into her hair so that the resemblance between her and Jack was undeniable. She was armed with six daggers strapped to her belt as well as a pistol and cutlass. "If we fire, we may hurt my parent."
"We'll be blown up before we get there ta see if their there, at this rate."
"No!"
Tori's jaw was set. She looked unstoppable. "We'll get there," she muttered, "And show there bastards what a Sparrow is made of."
"Ya don't know their all males," cut in Nick.
For the first time in a few days, Tori gave him a fleeting glimpse of a smile. "Bastards and bitches," she murmured.
Then she turned back to Gibbs, "This ship is fast as we've seen," she told him, "No matter how much they fire at us, just keep 'er movin'. Eventually we'll get ta close ta them for them ta fire," she grinned, "Then it's man ta man combat."
"And woman ta man," she added as an afterthought.
There was another blast from the Shadow's cannons. Everyone automatically dropped onto the deck. There was a crash as the cannonball connected with one of the smaller mast. The people under it ran as it toppled into he water.
Tori growled. "Fire at their masts," she commanded, "But masts ONLY."
Half the crew ran to load the cannons. Tori watched the Grey Hawk's attempts to fire at the Shadow. It took three tries and then a shot toppled the Shadow's main mast. Tori grinned. "Now they can't get away if they want ta," she murmured.
The Shadow was coming into clear view. Their shots were overreaching the Grey Hawk. "Gibbs," Tori called.
"Aye?" Gibbs asked, turning around.
"Take over the tiller for me."
"Why?" Gibbs looked confused.
"Just do it."
She left her place to Gibbs, grabbed the rigging and began to climb.
***
Barbossa growled. The ship was too close to fire at. He really didn't want to have to fight sword to sword. He raised his telescope, again and focused it on the ship. He immediately lowered it, in shock. "WHAT THE BLOODY 'ELL IS JACK SPARROW DOIN' STANDIN' AT THE TOP OF THAT SHIP?" he yelled.
The reply came back, faintly, but not from his own ship. "I am Jack Sparrow's daughter! Surrender or face the plenty of death," Tori yelled, as loud as possible.
"His daughter?" Barbossa gave a snort of laughter, "Will someone get that girl ta stop playin' games?"
"Do ya surrender?" Tori yelled.
"Bloody 'ell, NO!" bellowed Barbossa.
The Grey Hawk was drawing alongside the Shadow. As the rest of the crew choose their own ways of unboarding the Grey Hawk, Tori grabbed the nearest rope and swung to the Shadow, landing directly in front of Barbossa.
***
Okay so that was pretty long. Next chapter might actually be interesting. *Dances around happily.* I'm very sorry but the longest I can get on the internet is just enough time to post this so I can't reply to reviews this chapter. Okay so I remember one review at the moment so I'll answer to that. Everyone else will get a reply when I get home (I'm not at my house.)
totallyobsessedwithLOTR: Thanks for correcting the LOTR quote. I'm really overly obsessive over LOTR but I'm just not good about memorizing the exact quote. About the one in Deleted scenes from POTC, that wasn't supposed to be Smeagol's exact line: it was supposed to be Elizabeth's with a Gollum voice (so you see that saying Smeagol's voice doesn't really make a difference since they pretty much have the same voice.)