Chapter 17: Yo Ho, Yo Ho...

Elizabeth suddenly came at Jack Sparrow, and pressed her lips onto his. Surprised, but not displeased, Jack allowed her to push him backwards across the rubble-strewn deck, backing him into the mast. Then—

Click. Ah. That's the game. For the second time in his life, Jack was betrayed by someone he trusted.

"It's after you; not the ship, not us." Elizabeth looked into his eyes as he put forth, for the first time in a long time, his true emotions; hurt, sadness, wan humor, and a little bit of regret...perhaps, deep down, he really did have feelings for Lizzie after all. But now, I'll never find out, will I?

"I'm not sorry," she said one thing, as her eyes said quite another, tears forming in them.

Jack only grinned softly, and said one word: "Pirate."

Then she was gone.

For the longest time, Jack stood there, stumped at what had happened, and sad that it had.

Jack suddenly came to his senses.

He was Captain Jack Sparrow; he was not going to die like this.

He eyed the lantern a few feet away. He drew his sword, and, straining himself, reached it, looped the sword tip through the loop, and smashed it against the wood he was chained to. He grinned in triumph as the slick fuel dripped over his hand.

Struggling, he wriggled his hand free of the irons. He grinned in triumph once more.

Then he sensed something behind him. The grin fell. He turned. Oh, bugger.

The Kraken roared.

As Gibbs had so eloquently described it, there was the reeking stench of a thousand decaying corpses, plus a couple other things that Jack wasn't interested in identifying. Globules of cream-colored spittle flew out and coated Jack's face and outfit. As this happened, something made a 'thunk' noise nearby.

Finally, the thing ran out of breath. Jack regarded the spittle as he removed it from his face. "Not so bad," he said, thinking of the breath.

"Oh." The 'thunk' had been the return of his hat. Jack really did not want to know how it ended up in the Kraken's belly, and never found out. He reached down, and picked it up. He swung it back and forth a bit to shake off the spit on it. He then firmly affixed it on his head. Now he was ready for action. He grinned, and drew his sword, remembering the words his true father told him long before his death.

FLASHBACK

"Jack, my boy, never forget this, ever. The urge to save yerself may be strong, but it's not the noble thing to do. Go back and save whomever ye be abandoning, and if the need be, sacrifice yerself fer them. There may be some cursed things that give physical immortality, but glory lasts forever, and glory is what such an end gets you.

"Never back down, never be afraid of death, and when it comes, greet it smiling all the way. You'll be just fine."

END FLASHBACK

"'Ello, beastie," Jack greeted the monster. Charging forward, he swung the sword towards the creature as its mouth closed around him. Funny, he thought, I'm actually not scared. Well, Davy Jones, I guess my debt is settled.

Then he and the Black Pearl were gone.