Disclaimer: I don't own POTC. Disney all the way and drinks all around!

Quote of the day, as I say it: Where would all the heroes be without the villains?

Chapter 7: Past Events

When Natie first met the crew of the Black Pearl, it took her a while to get comfortable around them. She hadn't been sure if trusting pirates was a wise thing, especially after what she had been forced to ordeal. On the Burning Death, it took a total of three seconds to decide that she didn't like this crew at all. Then again, for the past six years, she had hated them.

All around the blackened ship, crewmen raced everywhere. Pulling lines and loading cannons. She tried to see how the Velocity and Pearl were fairing, but she was shoved below deck, and rough hands put her back into her cell. As she fell in, she felt a sharp kick in her side.

"That'll teach you to try and escape," a gruff voice said. The pirate stalked back off to the main deck, back to the fighting and bloodlust. Leaving Natie alone in her cell with an unconscious Jack Turner. She felt bad for him. Tied up like some prize pig, taken from his family, left with only a girl he had just met.

Her moments of freedom had been worth it. Surreptitiously pulling a hidden knife from her shirt, she started to cut his bonds. Ironic, he'd be free in a sense but still trapped. Natie shook her head. She was letting the captain's weird proverbs get into her head.

Waiting alone in the dark was never fun. She cringed with every cannon shot. Normally, if she was on the Pearl, the noise would somehow be comforting. Here it was scary. Every shot was heading towards the Pearl, or maybe the Navy ship. It all depended on whether or not these pirates had pillaged Port Royal. For the first time, she was frightened. If the crew didn't know that she and Jack had been taken, they wouldn't hesitate to open fire on the Death. Had they discovered their disappearance, then they might hesitate to fire, and that would lead to their own demise at the hands of the cursed crew. A lose-lose situation. Another of Jack's sayings wandered into her head. It doesn't matter if you win, as long as you don't lose. Natie wracked her brain, trying to figure out how to escape. Parley wouldn't work, it was a bit late for that. A groan distracted her. Jack was finally getting up.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Jack seemed confused as he shook the last bits of sleep from his eyes.

"I wasn't asleep," he muttered. Natie snorted. He hadn't been sleeping initially, but the body always transferred through sleep whenever it was knocked out. But she wasn't going to sympathize for Jack. She didn't want to baby him. He got up, stretching his legs and arms. After a few moments, he looked around the brig.

"You're a blacksmith. Get us out," Natie demanded. There were no guards, but that wouldn't last long depending on how the fight above was going. Jack picked up the cell's only bench, and placed it against the bars.

"A little trick my dad taught me. I had no idea why he told me. Until now," he said sheepishly. With a grunt of effort, he pushed the high end of the bench and the wall of the cage came off. He dropped the bench and grabbed the bars, keeping it from falling. "Too much noise," he grunted. Natie crawled under the elevated side, and held it aloft for Jack. The two placed it back, hoping no one would notice their disappearance for a long time.

"If we're ever put in there again, it'll take seconds for us to get out again," Jack said proudly.

"Depending on what's going on above deck, we might be back there sooner than you think. Unless the fighting has--" before Natie could finish, a cannon ball blasted directly between her and Jack. The two stared at the newly formed holes.

"I don't think they'll notice," Jack said, and he allowed Natie to lead the way to the deck.

Elizabeth was very concerned. On the starboard side, Norrington was unrelenting in his attack. Or had been, until another pirate ship had appeared through the fog. At first, she had hoped that they were on Jack's side. When they had fired on both the Pearl and the Velocity, she knew that this was a newcomer. The odd thing was, the only place it could have come from was Port Royal, and there had been no ships like this one. Luckily, the rain had brought a heavy wind, and the three ships were now circling one another.

Times like these made her feel sorry for Norrington. He started chasing one pirate vessel, and a second had popped up. Now he was under fire from both. It was a three-way battle, and it looked as if the black ship, the one Will told her was called the Burning Death, was winning. There was only one possible option; retreat.

She remembered all those years ago, when the Interceptor was trying to outrun the Black Pearl, before Jack became it's captain. The Interceptor was supposed to be the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and the Pearl had caught it. Now, Elizabeth could only hope that it was still as fast as it once was, and that this other ship wasn't.

As the Pearl started sailing away, she looked to the Velocity. It seemed as if Norrington was going to try to escape as well. She silently wished him luck. The commodore could be somewhat power hungry at times, but he was a great asset to her father and the Navy. And she owed him a great lot. When she had followed her heart and wished to marry Will, instead of him, Norrington had mutually broken off the engagement.

That reminded her. Now that the fighting was over, Jack and Natie could come out. And maybe the other Jack could finally explain why he had taken them from Port Royal. Across the deck, she heard Jack calling them out, and turned, expecting them to come running. They didn't. Her heart sank. Something was wrong.

Bwahahahahaha!