Disclaimer: If I owned Jack, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. Savvy?
Jack sat silently, not hearing the threats and curses of Captain Paolo, nor feeling the blows from his two bodyguards.
She's dead. She's gone.
"Where's the Isla de Muerta, Sparrow? Tell us!"
Jack hung his head, tears still coursing down his cheeks. She's dead. She's gone.
Paolo swore, and his two bodyguards started pummelling Jack again. A vein rose on the Spaniard's forehead. "Tell us where the treasure is, and we'll let you live!"
"Not all treasure is silver and gold. And my treasure's gone." Jack stares into nothingness. She's dead. She's gone. She's dead. She's gone. She's dead… She's gone…
"Dammit." Paolo scowled. "Where's Inigo? He's the best at this." There was a soft knock at the door. Paolo whirled. "Get in here you useless worm!" The door creaked open, obediently. Then there was a soft thud, and the door slammed shut again. The three Spaniards stared, puzzled. One of the bodyguards went over to investigate, and nearly tripped over something on the floor. He picked it up, and turned to face Paolo.
It was a noose. The other bodyguard stifled a gasp.
Paolo sneered. "Inigo! This kind of trick does not become you!" The Spanish captain snatched the noose from a pale-faced bodyguard. "Get in here right now and stop this foolishness!"
There was no response from the other side of the door. Paolo bit back impatient curses, and motioned for his guards to deal with it. The two men, terrified of the unknown, were even more scared of what their captain would do if they failed to obey. They rushed out of the cabin, and the door slammed shut behind them.
There were two screams of fear, followed by two bodily thuds and a peal of mocking laughter.
"Inigo?" Paolo barely hid the tremble in his voice. "Damn ye, Inigo, stop this nonsense! Get in here now!"
The door slowly creaked open. And Paolo saw three things.
First of all, the ship he'd just raided and left at the mercy of wind and water was there, black sails primed, cannons readied, and anchored close enough to his own ship he could spit overboard and hit the Black Pearl's hull. Secondly, there were none of the Black Pearl's crew aboard the ship, but it moved as though hands were steadying the ropes, and Paolo would swear he could hear footsteps as unseen sailors ran back and forth across the decks.
And thirdly, standing in the doorway as the door swung slowly open, was a grey-cloaked figure. The very same one Paolo had seen die up in the rigging.
Jack Sparrow gave a strangled gasp, but Paolo was not able to turn around. Like Jack, his eyes were fixed on the apparition before him. The Spaniard struggled to breathe.
"Hello, captain." The figure intoned. Their hood was low, and Paolo could not see their face. "We've come."
"Come?" Paolo forced a laugh. "Come for whom?"
The figure said nothing, and did not move at all. There was no shrug, no sign of breathing, nothing. Paolo reached slowly for his necklace.
"Back, demon!" He screamed, thrusting the gold-gilt cross at the grey figure. "Back to the dark pit from whence you came!"
The figure lifted their head slightly, and Paolo saw the noose around their neck. "Death is indeed a dark pit, Captain Paolo." The ghost stepped forward. "But I'm not going back without taking my murderer with me."
Paolo dropped to the floor and crawled backwards, whimpering. He passed Jack Sparrow and kept crawling until he hit the wall. "Have mercy!"
The grey-cloaked figure pulled the noose from around their neck and held it in their hands. Paolo noticed how slim and pale those hands were. The figure pulled the hood from off their face.
"Mercy?" The word came coldly from the dead woman's mouth. "What kind of mercy does a killer of women deserve?" If the ghost was going to say anything more, it had no effect on the Spaniard. He was dead to the world.
Squirrel dropped the noose at the unconscious captain's feet, then rushed to Jack's side. He looked at her, unbelieving, fearful.
"Did he kill me then?" Jack rasped. Squirrel kissed Jack's bandana gently, and wiped away the blood from his cut lip.
"No, Jack." She said gently. "We're still alive. Both of us." She smiled. "Come on, Jack, the Pearl's waiting."
Jack frowned. "Both of us? You mean you're not dead?"
Squirrel shook her head. "Not this time." She helped Jack to his feet.
"Besides," she added, "I can't die yet. What would Johnny think?" She reached out and took one of Jack's hands. "If I died, what would happen to everyone who depends on me?" She placed his hand on her stomach.
Jack's eyes widened, and he almost fell over. He leaned lightly on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "You're…"
Squirrel nodded. The life inside her gave another impatient kick. Jack smiled, then grinned.
"Well, you gave me quite a bit of a scare, luv. Honestly." Jack took a deep breath, then looked around. "What about the crew?"
"I already freed them." Squirrel smiled as she helped Jack out of Paolo's cabin. "And we took everything from Paolo's ship."
"How?" Jack asked, clearly impressed.
"I locked his crew in the galley while they were getting plastered." Jack whistled in amazement. Squirrel continued, "And we took all the supplies, rope, and sails that we could carry."
Jack looked up at the naked masts of Paolo's ship and grinned. "You're a born pirate, you are." He frowned. "So, if you were faking it up in the ropes, how did you catch up?"
Squirrel smiled a secretive smile. "Come on, Jack. The Pearl's waiting."
The two pirates reached for the two ropes draped over the deck and swung over onto the Pearl. The ship, as though sensing the return of her captain, turned and sailed away, leaving Paolo's ship far behind, roasting in the late-afternoon sun.
A/N: Ain't over yet, folks! Jousting Elf with Sabre and Sentinel Sparrow, you are welcome to join the crew of the Black Pearl if ye wish!