Disclaimer: I don't own it. Disney does. No disrespect is intended. I am making no money from this and write it only for my own amusement.
A Pirate's Life and Death part 11 by Ecri
Jack managed to round up half of his landlocked crew as he raced towards the Pearl's berth. At first, he'd been walking quickly, but, as he drew closer and saw the figures on the deck engaged in battle, he broke into a run, his long strides eating up the distance to his ship. He'd seen Killian. Even from this distance, he recognized the monster. It was an image that came to him often enough in his dreams. He sprinted the last few yards to the Pearl. He would tolerate neither losing the Pearl to the likes of Killian, nor losing Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann to a bloodthirsty, vengeful monster with a failed supernatural ritual.
Pushing that thought aside, he leaped from the docks to the Pearl's deck vaulting smoothly over the rail. He moved with an athletic grace and ease rarely seen in his normal sauntering, foppish gait, but there was no time now to act insane. This was the time to be insane.
He could think of no better evidence of insanity that to rush headlong into a fight with the undead, but, on the other hand, he supposed was getting rather good at that.
As Jack neared the ship, he saw Killian looming menacingly before Will. He wasn't sure how Killian had survivedand he was less sure you could use that word to describe an undead pirate.
The Commodore's attention was focused solely on Will. Will, to Jack's unending surprise, was actually standing and holding a sword, albeit shakily. It was what Killian held, however, that caused Jack's heart to skip a beat. That box. The infernal thing was back!
Frustration flooded through him at the thought of all that box had cost himall that it could still cost himand Jack would have thrown caution to the wind had he now possessed enough to throw anywhere. As he raced towards Will and Killian, he let loose a scream louder than any he had ever heard or uttered.
**
Elizabeth and Anamaria circled slowly behind Killian. Elizabeth's eyes roamed towards Will. She could see the exhaustion that plagued him and saw the tremble in his form. He would not last long if it was indeed Killian's intention to kill the Port Royal Blacksmith. Another intention seemed more likely, she realized, as Killian's hand held a strange box out towards Will.
From the look on Will's face, she knew what the box must be. She glanced at Anamaria. "We've got to help Will!" Franticly, she scanned the area looking for a way to help him, but it seemed unlikely when all she had as a weapon was a mop.
Anamaria turned towards her. "I'll go to the left and you to the right. He can't fight us all"
Elizabeth knew she would have said more, but a bloodcurdling howl swept over the Pearl, and the attention of every pirate aboard, save Will and Killian, turned to see the braided, beaded form of Captain Jack Sparrow as he hurled across the decks towards the two combatants.
Anamaria smiled. "It's Jack!"
Elizabeth shook her head. "It's Captain Jack Sparrow." She whispered the words, finally understanding the difference between Jack and The Captain. She only hoped either or both of them could help. Moving swiftly in the direction Anamaria had assigned to her, Elizabeth kept her eyes on Jack.
**
Will dared not glance away from Killian. He could still see the box from the corner of his eye, but it took all of his concentration to hold himself upright and still maintain a firm grip on his sword. The fresh salt air had helped at first, smelling sweet and clean and clearing the grogginess from his head, but now, perhaps compounded by the unaccustomed exertion, the sun had quickly drenched the still-recovering Blacksmith in sweat and the unrelenting heat seemed to sap what little strength he had. The stench of a sickroom clung to him. The fatigue in his muscles astonished and mortified him. He had been accustomed to long hours working at a forge, and to practicing with his blade for hours at a time. Feeling the tremble in his limbs and the intense concentration he needed to perform a task that had once been one of muscle memory rather than conscious thought made him feel a failure.
Wavering slightly as he took the smallest step back from Killian, Will felt his strength fading. The fight, such as it had so far been, had drained him. His eyes stung with sweat and sunlight, and the evil look on Killian's face told him the Commodore expected to win this battle.
He felt a surge of determination well up inside of him. He would not surrender to this evil man's whim. He had fought against the odds all his life and would not –could not–give up now just because defeat seemed more likely than victory. No. If not for his sake, then for Elizabeth's, he would fight. He would not have her see him give up for he could think of no more definitive failure than that.
Slowly, by strength of will alone, Will Turner forced his recalcitrant limbs to still their tremors. Breathing deeply, he stood straight and tall, and though he did not know it, his eyes flashed in defiance of the fate this Pirate wished upon him.
Raising his sword, he gave his opponent a small salute and slight nod of the head before striking out with a strength he should not have possessed, that indeed, he had not possessed mere moments before.
Killian's shock showed plainly upon his face as he stepped back from the blow, his grip on his precious box fumbling awkwardly for a moment.
Will's eyes never left Killian's as the young man's long years of solitary practice reawakened his long unused skills. His feet moved of their own accord, keeping Killian immediately before him, while his blade found his target again and again.
It was Will's third blow that sent the box flying from Killian's hand and skittering across the deck. Grim satisfaction spilled forth from Will's smile, though he did not drop his attack to appreciate its results. Instead, he pressed his advantage.
**
Killian's attention was now divided half on Will Turner and his miraculous recovery and half on the box he so desperately had to reach. When he turned to check the box's location, Turner would step up his attack, and Killian would be forced to return his full attention to his own defense. When he felt sure enough to glance away again, something he knew well he should not do in any duel, Turner's blows would take on a ferocity unequaled.
Tiring of the game, Killian took a step towards Will, menace and rage in his eyes. "That will be your last mistake, boy!"
Killian raised his sword and swung down knowing Will would deflect the blow. The moment he heard the clang of sword meeting sword, he pulled a wicked long knife from his belt and swung at Will's throat prepared to see the swell and spurt of deep red blood as he sliced through the blacksmith's artery. Once he lay dying upon the deck, Killian would seize the box and finish the ritual.
When the long knife connected with a solid thud, he turned in surprise to behold his knife imbedded in a mop handle. He blinked in shock and beheld another fierce gaze as Elizabeth Swann glared at him as though daring him to try again to kill the man she loved. Elizabeth yanked on the mop handle, breaking the startled Killian's grip, and, pulling the knife from the mop, she tossed the mop aside and brandished the knife at the Commodore.
He laughed. He raised his sword and was about to do just as the glare seemed to instruct him when he heard a familiar voice to his left and slightly behind him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate. No tellin' what might 'appen."
Killian turned keeping his weapons where they were and found himself staring at Captain Jack Sparrow. The man stood far enough away that Killian would need to take more than a few steps to reach him, and in his hand, the Captain of the Black Pearl held a glowing box.
**
Jack watched as Will Turner visibly forced his body to cease trembling. The boy hadn't been free of the tremors for more than a short while since he had come aboard the Pearl, but now he stood motionless before Killian, a look of menace and determination on his face. The lad looked the spitting image of the irate and overzealous blacksmith who had fought with him while racing through the rafters of the smithy back in Port Royal so long ago.
Since the moment they'd met, Will Turner had always found a way to surprise the pirate, and, honestly, it sometimes irked Jack. Now was not one of those times. Realizing that Will meant to fight–likely to the death, which was fine by Killian anyway since it was Will's life the cursed Commodore required–Jack couldn't help but whisper under his breath. "'E's yer own son, Bootstrap, head to toe. No doubt."
Seeing Elizabeth take Killian's knife, and Killian preparing to strike his next blow drove all thoughts of bloodlines from Jack's mind. Coming to a halt a few feet from Killian, he called out to the other pirate. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate. No tellin' what might 'appen."
He watched as Killian spun around to face him, noting out of the corner of his eye that Elizabeth and Will didn't relax their stances, though Anamaria did join them and stood by Elizabeth with her sword at the ready.
Jack had no time to notice anything else the trio was doing since Killian took a step towards him just then.
"Leave Will alone." Jack put every bit of confidence and arrogance he didn't feel into those words, counting on bluster and a touch of madness to carry what menace it would. For a touch of the dramatic, he widened his eyes a bit, and glared from behind the kohl at thisthis devil who could not seem to leave him alone. "I've 'ad enough of you, mate. If you promise to leave now, I'll let you go. Otherwise, I'll 'ave to kill you."
Will called out to Jack, his voice raspy from disuse, but loud enough to carry across the deck. "We can't let him go, Jack! He'll do this again!"
Exasperated at having his rescue interrupted, Jack glared at his friend. "As long as it's not to you, mate!"
"Jack! We can't"
Killian's laughter, loud and sinister, cut him off. "I will not leave him! I need him. Once begun, the ritual must continue. I started to take his life, so I must finish it or forfeit my claim!" The dead man's voice took on a startling tinge of insanity rivaling Jack's own.
"Forfeit? Go ahead, then, mate. We'll go with that one."
Killian snarled. "You can't save him! Don't you see? The ritual had gone too far by the time you interfered. My drugs, my incantations, the long period of minute exposure to the boxhe's mine!"
As he said the words, he moved imperceptibly closer to Jack, whose position had not changed. Then with a sudden lunge, Killian held out his hand–just that and nothing else–and to Jack's shock the box was torn from his grip to land gracefully in Killian's outstretched hand. A maniacal grin spread across the Commodore's features as he turned towards Will.
He held his hand out towards the blacksmith and the box began to glow even as Killian began to salivate in anticipation.
As soon as the box was closer to the lad, Killian opened it with a flick of his wrist. The glow inside was pulsing in time to a loud repeated drumminga drumming that Jack realized was Will's amplified heartbeat, though how the sound could be so loud, the Pirate couldn't guess. Will cried out, and his sword fell from his nerveless hand as his knees buckled. He managed to stay on his knees, frantically waving Elizabeth away as soon as she'd started towards him.
**
Elizabeth heard Killian's words as he spoke to Jack, but her eyes were transfixed by the sight of Will still struggling to stand. Reaching out to him, she was surprised at Will's vehemence as he waved her away. He would accept no help from her. She knew he feared for her safety, but honestly, sometimes he was simply too much!
She felt her own ire rise. She had not fought pirates and the undead–yet again!–to be pushed aside now! "Will, let me help you!" She hoped he heard the love and concern in her request, but if requests did not work, she was quite prepared to use demands.
Before she could say another word, however, Anamaria got her attention and nodded towards two pirates who were coming up behind Jack. There was little time to go to his aide, so Elizabeth hefted the knife in her hand and, holding it by the blade, brought it back over her shoulder. Throwing it with all her might, she was more surprised than anyone when it struck one of the men soundly in his sword arm piercing flesh and muscle. Before the man could fall, Trilby, having found the last bit of nerve he possessed hiding behind the overwhelming fear within his heart, raced at the man and picked up the sword that had clattered upon the deck the moment Elizabeth's blade had skewered the man's arm. He held it menacingly out at the second man forcing him and a few of his braver compatriots to step back and allow Sparrow and Killian's confrontation.
Elizabeth sighed in relief, but it was short lived as the exchange between Jack and Killian again drew her attention. She'd lost track of the conversation, but luckily. Jack seemed determined to provide the vital information by questioning Killian's words.
**
Jack stared at Killian. "You're sayin' 'e's already given you some of 'imself, aren't ye? That his life is partially yours already. That's why you're still" he stopped himself from saying alive, but wasn't sure what term would serve.
Killian's laughter, tinged even more heavily than before with insanity, rang across the deck sending chills through the bodies of anyone who heard. "You were trying to cure him, weren't you?" He laughed even louder. "You were trying to ease the addiction to the drugs! It can't be done! His addiction was only the beginning. By my reckoning, I've gained a good ten years from him already!"
Jack's eyes widened, but he spoke in a soft whisper to himself. "That's why he's been so tired. Interesting." His mind was working frantically for a solution to this, for he held strongly to one belief above all others. There was a way out of any situation. Sometimes it was obvious. Sometimes you had to search frantically for it. Then there were the times like these where nothing was obvious, searching seemed of no avail, and any stupid idea that popped into your head could well save you from having your life force drained from your body by a mystical box and a cursed undead pirate.
As Jack pondered these things, Killian turned to the trembling boy kneeling once again upon the deck though still staring up at him defiantly. "This is too precious! The defiance right up to the end!" He approached Will and reached out the hand that still gripped his sword until the flat of the blade caressed the boy's cheek too lightly to do damage, yet firmly enough to reinforce the idea that Killian was in control here and would do as he pleased with the boy. "It can't be done, boy." He whispered in a tone that sent chills through anyone who heard it. "You're mine already."
Will just glared up at the man, rage and frustration in equal measures upon his face.
Jack took in all of this, and, coming up with no better plan despite reasoning, pleading, and cajoling any and all omnipotent beings who might be in the vicinity, he threw himself forward and wrestled Killian to the ground. "Not 'appenin'. 'E's. Not. Yours!" Tearing the box from the Commodore's hand he tossed it aside.
Breaking Killian's grip on the thing seemed to make him all the more frantic, as if the touch of it had been all that anchored the Commodore to reality. An inhuman screech emanated from Killian as he hit Jack in desperation.
Jack blocked easily as the Commodore's eyes searched the deck for his precious possession. The Captain of the Black Pearl threw himself at his lifelong enemy and the two became a mass of tangled limbs as each struggled to rise first and keep the other down. Jack drew his sword, and held it against Killian's throat. "You 'aven't been invited aboard, mate. You'd best be going."
"I want what's mine!" Killian roared with eyes wide and face red.
A small strange smile graced Jack's face. "That's fine, but 'e ain't yours!"
With a strength Jack wouldn't have believed if he'd heard tell of it, Killian tossed Jack away from him escaping the Pirate Captain's blade and scrambling backwards to scoop up the discarded box. Triumphantly, he whirled to face Will Turner, who was getting shakily to his feet.
Before Killian could make a single threatening gesture or word, Captain Jack Sparrow moved quickly and stood before his friend, shielding the younger man from the Undead Pirate's view. He raised his sword in one hand and held his pistol in the other, both pointing steadily at his adversary.
Killian seethed. "Jack! I taught you to be a Pirate! I taught you what can happen to you if you displease me! Move aside, Sparrow! You forget your place!"
Sparrow nodded as though agreeing. "Aye, I did for awhile, but I've recently been reminded of it. Just as always, it's here between you and a man named Turner."
Without another word and with no warning whatsoever, Jack lunged for the Commodore and ran his blade through Killian's black heart. As Killian fell, his face frozen in surprise, Jack twisted the blade viciously, not blinking an eye when blood spurted violently from the wound. With a powerful yank, he withdrew the blade not at all surprised to see the rougue's heart still skewered upon it. Black and beating it was, and in the direct sunlight it began to pulse in time to the light within the box that was still clutched in Killian's hand. After only a few moments, the heart began to smolder before crumbling to ash and blowing away with the wind.
Jack stared speechless at the blade as the last bit of blood blackened to ash and drifted away on the dying breeze. Looking down at the body, he watched much the same transformation as what had mere moments ago been as flesh and blood became a pile of greasy looking soot upon the decks. Glancing about at his crew, he called out to them as they came out of their various hiding places, though each was pretending a bravery he had not displayed as they herded what was left of Killian's men together.
Just when Sparrow thought the danger was over, the box, sitting atop a bit of the ash, shook slightly. The pulsing light from within gained speed until it was a steady glow. Then a bolt as bright as lightning leaped from the box and straight towards Will Turner. Though Jack stood between box and blacksmith, the bolt found no hindrance there, though whether it went through or around him somehow, Jack was never certain.
Striking Will squarely upon the chest, the light caused Will's body to glow and convulse. Will took in a breath as it hit as he again tumbled down to land upon his knees. Before he could fall face first upon the deck of the Pearl, Jack caught him having dropped his weapons to do so. When the light faded, the box shimmered and disappeared
Sparrow stared in concern at the lad, not sure at first if he was breathing and deciding he was not at the precise moment that Will took in a sharp breath as though breaking through the surface of the ocean after too many minutes beneath it.
"Will?" Jack whispered afraid his friend might not be behind those pain-filled eyes. He'd seen men go through less and keep breathing but lose all mobility, strength, and capacity for thought. The idea that Will might join the ranks of such men seized Jack's heart with a pain he'd never thought to feel again. "Will? Are you with us, lad?"
Will blinked and looked up at Jack confusion clear upon his face, though Jack was relived to see intelligence in those brown eyes. "Jack? Is itover? Isis itdone?"
Jack smiled at his friend–the son of his friend–and counted himself lucky to have known both William Turner the Older and William Turner the Younger. "Aye, lad. That it is."
"Whatwhat was that? What happened?" Will spoke softly and with great difficulty.
Jack shifted him a bit so he'd be a bit more comfortable until Jack could be sure that Will could be moved. "The boxthe ritual was never finished. I think it must have given you back whatever years it had drained from you."
"Can it do that?" Elizabeth's voice sounded from behind Will, and Jack looked up surprised to see the depth of uncertainty and fear in the eyes of a woman he usually considered confident and courageous.
Jack considered the question and shrugged. "I'd like to think so, love. Any other explanation doesn't bear thinking about."
Will's breath was coming back to him and he could feel his lungs expanding properly now and with less pain. He reached back towards the sound of Elizabeth's voice. Glancing over to her, he waited for her to take his hand. She did so immediately, frightened eyes scanning his pale form for signs of new injuries or distress.
Sparrow was often surprised at the depth of love and devotion he read in Will's eyes whenever Port Royal's finest Blacksmith looked at or spoke of Port Royal's Governor's daughter. He clucked at them faintly. "Tut, now, you little lovebirds! Let's get you back to the cabin, Will. You need to rest after that." For I've got news for you that might take the wind out of yer sails, so to speak, Sparrow thought as he pondered ways to tell Will about his father.
He stood easing Will to his feet, surprised at the strength the boy now possessed. His guess must have been more right than he had known. Killian's words about the ritual having been interrupted but not actually reversed had chilled his blood the way only learning that Bootstrap had been flung into the sea tied to a cannon had done before.
It had certainly explained why Will's recovery had been so slow and arduous, and why it had seemed so much worse than Bootstrap's own illness. He'd gotten to Bootstrap Bill long before the ritual had begun. With effort, he cut off his thoughts. He did not have the strength now to consider exactly the chain of events that had taken place on Scratch all those years ago. Not now. He hoped not ever, but the memory of it, and the recent talk from Ol' Joe had resurrected thoughts he'd long thought buried.
He occupied his time with helping Elizabeth settle Will back into his bed. Will, who felt much better, was actually just shaky enough to allow the ministrations of his friends without too much complaint.
**
Elizabeth watched as Will drifted off to sleep. His exhaustion was plain, but he seemed so much more himself that she wanted to weep in relief. She would not allow a tear to fall, however, for she was afraid the sound of it might wake him. She would save her tears for her own pillow.
Sitting near to his bed, lightly holding his hand in her hands, her thoughts strayed to how empty her life would have been if this had ended badly. Right now, Will was the only important thing in her life. She realized she hadn't thought of Port Royal much in the last few days, or of her father, and it was that sudden insight that sent a wave of guilt washing over her. How could she have so completely discarded any thought of what had become of her father? How could she have spared not a bit of concern over the wellbeing of everyone and everything that had been a part of her life for so long?
Even as she asked herself the questions, she knew the answers. Will was her everything. With him, she had the strength to ask herself such things. Without him, she worried only for him, thought only of him, wished only to be by his side.
She had known it when she'd first found him, but had not admitted it to herself until he'd come after her to save her from Barbossa's crew. It was while being held by that Cursed Crew, that Elizabeth had found her thoughts straying again and again to Will. Why else would she have given his name as her own? She had been afraid she'd never see him again, and when he had appeared there in that cavern to save her, she'd been astonished. Fighting by his side, fighting to save him when their positions had been reversed, she had promised herself she would never be separated from him again. Killian had made her break that promise once, but she vowed she would not let it happen again. She would help him recover from this ordeal. She would be by his side for all the days of her life.
Gently, she brushed a stray lock of hair from his eyes, and, standing, she moved closer to his side and kissed him lightly on the forehead. It was a sign of his exhaustion that even this did not wake him.
She got up then and moved to the door. She was sharing space with Anamaria, and had promised the woman she would not stay up too late.
As she opened the door and slipped out, she turned back to see Will, sleeping a healing sleep. She smiled. He would be well, so she would be, no matter what else happened before this voyage was over.
**
As night descended, and the crew of the Black Pearl, carefully removed all trace of soot and ash from stem to stern of their beloved ship, Captain Jack Sparrow stood upon the deck staring at the moon. Bright and beautiful as he'd only seen it in the Caribbean, the moon's light seemed to beckon to the sailor's soul as the warm evening breezes, kissed by the scents of oleander and rum, pulled playfully at Jack's braids, beads, and bangles.
He closed his eyes thinking to block the sight would block the call, but it didn't work, and he hadn't truly expected it would. Will was asleep, as was Elizabeth. She had worked herself to a frazzle worrying over her blacksmith, but in the end, he'd been in better shape than any of them had expected. Surely, he wasn't exactly himself, but Jack suspected a good night's rest would put him well on the road to recovery.
He'd put Killian's men ashore with little further incident, telling them they had best not cross him again or he would see them dead. After seeing what had happened to Killian, there was little in the way of fight left in them.
Still anchored, the Pearl would remain in its berth until its Captain said otherwise. Though his crew was anxious to set out and put the events of the last day or so behind them, Captain Jack Sparrow didn't give a single order that usually led to the Pearl's departure from port.
Part of the reason for his reluctance to depart gnawed at him now, and he was unable to put it out of his mind. He knew he must lay a choice before the pair of reunited lovebirds still stinging from their most recent harrowing experiences. He felt an obligation to these two that he thought he should resent, but that he found was simply becoming a part of him, like the freedom he found on the horizon, and the love he felt for the Pearl. They would have to know all he knewor at least as much as he might be willing to tell them. They would have to decide if they wished him to return them to Port Royal to find Elizabeth's father and learn the fate of their home, or if they preferred to accompany him on a search for Bootstrap Bill.
Either choice, or both, could prove fruitless. That Port Royal had been devastated by Killian's raid upon her shores could not easily be forgotten. Even if they might have done so, rumors and innuendo about the raid had flooded through every bar in port. Every one of his crew who had been ashore had learned another variation of the tale, each one more unbelievable than the last.
Opening his eyes again, and taking in the sight of the moon's reflection upon the sea, Jack pondered the things he would have to explain to Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, and, sighed. "This tale ain't quite ended, Bootstrap, and where ye might be, and 'ow it might endthat's something I won't even try to imagine."
To Be Continued
ao_hoshi: Here's what happens!
hpdancer92: Thanks!
jack the pirate: I tried to keep it upthe action and suspense I mean. I hope you liked it!
Emiri-chan: Wow! Such enthusiasm! LOL! I won't answer your specific questions because you'll just have to read to find out. I know that's mean of me, but what can I sayauthors are like that! (As I am sure you know!)
Rachel the insane unicorn: Yes, and he's even better now! Will's recovery is finally speeding up! Can't have an action hero out of action for too longthey get depressed! (Of course, angst can be fun, but it can be overdone, too!)
Ariana Deralte: Yes, you aren't the first to mention that about the Keelhauling. I went back and fixed it, or thought I did, but then I realized I must have only vividly imagined doing that. I think it's fixed now. I do hope it didn't throw you out of the story too much. That's what I get for using a dictionary for a quick reference rather than properly researching. From now on, I will triple check my facts. (I don't want to use the figures unless I have three sourcesoh, um, sorry. Quoting the West Wing in a POTC fic is probably too crossover-ish to bear repeating.)
Yugi-chan aka Yami Rose: Why did I stop? Why do any of us stop with cliffhangers? To make sure our readers want to come back. At least I was much more timely with my update this time! BTW, anticliffie spray is like mosquito spray. It only attracts what it claims to repel!
Unplugged32 aka Chris: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the plot twists and Will angst! I'm going to try to work in a bit of Jack angst as well. As for the plot twists, some of them are surprising me. This was meant to be only about 6 or 7 chapters, but seems to have taken on a life of its own!
Wellduh: Okay!
KawaiiRyu: I think you intimidated my muse. It's been much more cooperative lately! Thanks! I'm glad you like the story!
Voldemortsucks18: Superduper awesome? Wow! Thanks! I'm overjoyed that you think it was worth the wait. I've tried to keep the swashbuckling going a bit. I hope you liked it!
Catherinexxix: Wow! All ten? Fabulous! I hope you like chapter 11! Thanks for the flattering review. You've made me proud.
Scarlett Burns: Thanks for the great review! On the edge of your seat, great plot, and in character are some of my favorite phrases! LOL!
Steff7: I'm glad you liked it!