Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean.

Chapter 6

Pursuing the right course can demand an act of piracy.

Governor Swann looked down at Will and shook his head. Will's sword was lying not far away. He had been trying to defend his wife and daughter. He bent down and shook him by the shoulder. Will opened his eyes.

"Will?" said Swann, "Are you alright?"

"Governor?" said Will, confused.

"Will, Elizabeth and Emma are gone!" said Swann, "Smith is dead!"

Will sat up and looked around. He saw his sword lying nearby. He raised his hand to his face and winced as he touched the dried blood around his nose.

"Good God, they were real," he said

"The pirates?" said Swann

"Yes, there were two of them, they were teenagers," said Will.

Norrington appeared, out of breath.

"Governor Swann, Mr. Brown and some others have been found dead," he said

"Pirates!" snarled Swann, "They've taken Elizabeth and Emma! Probably freed Sparrow as well."

"No," said Norrington, "Sparrow is still in her cell. Pintel and Ragetti, however, got out."

"How do they do that?" said Will, "Did you ask Annie if she knew anything?"

"Yes, but she refuses to talk to me," said Norrington, "Governor Swann, someone recognized one of the pirates so we have an idea of where they may be headed."

Swann left with Norrington.

Annie was using her hair pin to pick the lock. All she had managed to do was jam it in the lock. The sound of someone coming down the stairs made her freeze. She quickly sat down against the wall and pulled her hat over her eyes. Will came down the stairs, fully dressed and went up to the cell.

"Annie?" he said.

Annie pushed her hat up and looked at him.

"What do you know about the pirates who attacked last night?" he asked

"What's it to you?" asked Annie

"They took my wife and daughter," said Will, "And killed a friend."

"Oh," said Annie, thoughtfully.

"What do you know?" asked Will

"Quite a lot actually," said Annie, "I used to work on the ship. It's called the Blue Horizon. Its captain is Daniel Barbossa.

"Barbossa?" said Will

"Aye, the son of the guy my dad killed," said Annie, "I grew up with him in Tortuga. In fact, I grew up with all of them."

"Do you know where their going?" asked Will

"I have an idea," said Annie, "Get me out and I'll take you there. Will, this wasn't a random kidnapping. It was for a reason. Last night confirmed my fears. They have my dad."

"Why do they need Elizabeth and Emma?" asked Will.

"Get me out," said Annie.

Will looked at the lock and saw the hair pin. He looked at Annie.

"Can't blame me for trying," she said, standing up and shrugging.

Will grabbed a nearby bench and put it against the bars. He pushed down on the bench and the door lifted free. He threw it down and it landed on the floor with a clatter.

"Sorry, someone will have heard that," said Will

Annie took her coat, pistol and sword off the rack on the opposite wall.

"Let's go," she said.

Their feet splashed as they snuck under the bridge.

"I haven't stepped off dry land since my last adventure," whispered Will as he looked round the corner with Annie.

"Well," she said, "you're not getting on a ship just yet."

"How do you mean?" he asked.

Annie pointed to a small boat nearby.

"Not again," muttered Will, knowing just what Annie was thinking.

Will stared at the young girl in front of him as they passed unseen under the water, breathing the air trapped under the boat.

"Both you and your father are geniuses," he said.

"Not really," said Annie, "We're just mad."

The Hunter was the magnificent ship built to replace the Interceptor. It bore the colours of the British Navy. Will and Annie had climbed aboard. Annie told Will to stay out of sight while she dealt with the small crew of ten. Lt. Gillette was in charge so Annie went for him first. She pulled out her pistol and crept up behind him. She grabbed him by the neck and put the pistol to his head. She gently whispered to him.

"Can you swim?" she asked

Gillette didn't answer.

"I said, can you swim?" she growled

"Sailors!" shouted Gillette.

The sailors came forward; all of them were twice Annie's size.

"I really didn't want to do this," she said, putting her pistol back on her belt.

She took hold of Gillette's collar and threw him overboard. There was a loud splash as he hit the water. The sailors closed in on Annie. One took a run at her. She dropped down, grabbed his jacket and used her feet to push him over the side of the ship. Annie got back to her feet.

"Anyone else?" Annie asked.

The sailors raised their eyebrows.

"Why should we be afraid of you, little missy?" asked one of the sailors.

"Mate, " said Annie, "I'm Annie Sparrow, savvy?"

Norrington stared in disbelief at the men who were dripping wet in front of him.

"What happened?" demanded Norrington

"Sparrow, sir," said Gillette, "She's taken the ship."

"She's only a child," said Norrington.

"She's the daughter of Jack Sparrow," said a sailor, "I've heard stories. She's got no remorse. She'd kill a man if she had to."

"How did she escape?" said Norrington

"We don't know," said Gillette

"Prepare the Dauntless," shouted Norrington, "We're going after them."

Annie watched the Dauntless get closer, a frown on her face. She turned to look at Will.

"C'mon," she said.

Norrington stepped onto the Hunter and looked around. There was no sign of Sparrow. He doubted she was alone. He didn't see Will and Annie hiding as he and the marines came aboard. When she was sure all of them were on the Hunter, Annie poked Will.

"Now's our chance," she whispered.

She and Will swung across to the Dauntless. Will released all the sails while Annie took the helm. Gillette saw the Dauntless begin to float away. He pointed in disbelief that they had been tricked a second time.

"Admiral! The Dauntless!" shouted Gillette.

Norrington turned and saw the Dauntless too far away to be captured. Annie was still at the helm. She turned and winked at Norrington. She took off her hat and put it over her heart.

"Goodbye, darlings," she shouted, "Thank you so much!"

She blew a kiss to them. Will came into view of the others. He waved to them and began to laugh. Norrington looked at the man at the helm.

"Has she?" he began.

"Disabled our rudder chain, sir," finished the man.

"She's good, sir," said Gillette, "I'll give her that."

Curt the parrot flew over Norrington, tastefully leaving some droppings on his shoulder before flying and landing on Annie's hat.

Port Royal was out of sight when Will finally managed to ask the question that had been bugging him all day.

"Annie, why did Daniel take Elizabeth and Emma?"

Annie stopped what she was doing.

"It all started centuries ago," said Annie, "There was an Aztec priest. He built this temple. A temple containing magic, magic to bring the dead back to life. My guess is that Danny wants to bring his father back. Now this priest made a prophecy on his deathbed. That there would always be someone in the world who knew how to get to the temple. They would bare the skull and crossbones as a symbol."

"Emma's birthmark?" said Will. Annie nodded.

"Every pirate knows this story because the priest made an amulet which would allow the wearer to conquer the world," said Annie, "When I touched Emma's birthmark, it sent a psychic message to all true pirates. That's how Danny knew how to find Emma."

"So what's his plan?" asked Will

"Who? Danny?" said Annie, frowning, "He's probably gonna get to Isla de Meurta, collect his fathers remains and then follow Emma's directions to the temple."

"And ours?" asked Will

"Get to Tortuga, get the crew and some supplies and try to stop Danny before he gets to Isla de Meurta," replied Annie

"What if we can't stop him?" said Will.

"We follow him to the temple," said Annie

"But if Emma is the only one who knows the way, how can we track him?" asked Will

"Jack, answer me!" said Elizabeth, a sleeping Emma in her arms.

"Look, we're gonna be fine," said Jack, "If I know Will and Annie, they'll be following us. They'll find us."

"Oh really," said Elizabeth, "How is that?"

"About four years ago, a man came into my father in law's pub," explained Jack, "He had a few too many to drink and blabbed to me and Annie the location. He died that night, May third."

"May third?" said Elizabeth, "Emma was born that night."

"She inherited it, savvy?" said Jack, grinning.

"So how would Danny restore his father?" asked Will, following Annie to the helm.

"Ceremony's a basic chant and the blood of the killer poured down the corpse's throat," said Annie.

"That's why they have Jack," said Will

Annie nodded.

"How come you know so much about Danny?" asked Will

"We grew up together in Tortuga," said Annie, "He was friends with my half-brother, Smut."

"Half-brother?"

"Yeah, my dad had an affair while he was seeing my mother," said Annie, "He only married my mother because he got her pregnant with me and my twin. We're going to get the Pearl."

"Where is it?"

"Tortuga, badly damaged but Gramps should be fixing it," said Annie

"Who?"

"Gramps is my grandfather on dad's side," said Annie, "Family is important to me, Will. Unfortunately being a Sparrow can have painful consequences with the stubbornness that comes with love."

"How do you mean?" asked Will. Annie rolled up her sleeves. She showed Will scars from her wrist to elbow. She pulled up her shirt to reveal a cross burnt into her skin above her waist. She pulled her shirt off her shoulder, revealing two dark bullet wounds.

"Good God," said Will, as his eyes scanned the wounds.

"I've gotten all these in the last five years," said Annie, "People reckon I'll grass on my dad under the slightest bit of pain."

Will looked at his feet then at Annie.

"Annie, how will we get to Isla de Meurta without Jack's compass?" he asked

"You mean this?" she said, pulling the compass out of her pocket.

"How'd you get that?" asked Will

"Picked his pocket," said Annie, grinning.