Chapter One
As soon as James was dressed, he reached out and took from its resting place the one part of himself that he hated more than any other. He grimaced as he attached it to where his hand had once been. He looked at Samuel and smiled. "Guess it'll have to wait, love, but I'll look forward to it."
Samuel was swiftly redressing when James turned back to him. He grinned, his face and eyes shining with a light as bright as the sun's. To think that the Captain no longer wanted to hide their relationship and was even openly looking forward to their time together! The thought alone made him feel ten feet taller!
James reached out, taking his sword and putting it into its scabbard. Then he reached for his blunderbuss. He walked boldly toward the door and opened it, going out on the deck with Samuel following right on his heels. "You say there's treasure to be had?" he inquired of the look-out.
"Aye, Captain! Appears to be quite a lot!"
"Good! We could use the booty!" James called back up. He watched as the men lowered the longboat and then lowered his own lanky frame to the boat. Taking a seat, he waited impatiently for the crew to row them ashore.
Samuel tried to follow his Captain, but as was his usual luck, he was pushed from one Pirate to the next until he was the last man on deck. With his chest puffed out in a furious huff, he finally began to lower himself into the boat only to have one of the other Pirates holler out in complaint. His taunting words froze poor Samuel in the midst of dropping his hefty frame into the longboat.
"Hey! You need to stay with the boat!" Realizing that he had spoken out, the Pirate quickly gulped and turned baleful eyes on the Captain. "Right, Capt'n? We can't leave the ship unguarded, and he," he jerked his thumb toward Samuel, "won't be much of a help with this hauling!"
With a snarl, James turned to look at the complainant. His temper jumping to the fore, he returned, "You have three minutes to get off this boat and back onto the ship, or you'll gonna swim with the fishes in Davy Jones' locker! MOVE," he bellowed, "BEFORE YOU CHASE MY GOOD MOOD COMPLETELY AWAY!"
Samuel only barely managed to hide his grin at James' quick defense, but his smile vanished as the Pirate, who was again looking back up at him, demanded, "Well? You heard the Capt'n! Get your load moving back up there!"
"Excuse me?" James snarled out. "I was talking to you!" He took his sword and pointed it straight at the other man's throat. "Move it NOW or lose it! It matters not to me! Samuel?" James called up to him in a much gentler voice. "Hurry and come down!"
Whispers ran rampant amongst the rest of the men, but the one with the Captain's sword laid against his throat knew better than to push his luck any further. Though he wondered why the Captain had suddenly grown so defensive of the one he was calling Samuel, he dared not ask as he scurried backwards and then up. His retreat was so swift that it beat Samuel's settling into the boat. Samuel sat beside the Captain, ignoring the whispers that rang through the boat and gazing lovingly up at James.
"There will be no more complaints from this day forward or mistreatment of Mister Smee! If there are, whoever voices it will walk the plank! Samuel is with me!" James then sat back down, his hand sneaking out to grab Samuel's hand.
Though all the Pirates were shocked, all but one knew to keep silent. It was a young blonde who piped up in curiosity. "With you?" he repeated, confusion creasing his brow. "I'm sorry, Captain, but what do you mean?" It was only then that his blue eyes fell upon the Captain's hand holding Smee's.
"What I mean, Frederic, is that Samuel belongs with me and I belong with him! We are partners." He glared angrily at Frederic. "Any more questions?"
Frederic quickly shook his curly head. He settled down with the others yet continued to gaze at the Captain and his new partner, realizing that he would now have to take the Captain out before he could do Smee the needed justice. He had thought that at least Smee would be an easy one!
Smee, meanwhile, sat beside his Captain with a smile so huge that it threatened to burst his face apart.
James squeezed Samuel's hand gently before yelling to Frederic. "Wipe that smile off of your face, Frederic! I can read your mind, and the first time you lift your blade toward me, you'd better be damn sure you know what you're doing, because even though I love you like my own son, I'll run you through if you ever lay one finger on Samuel or dare to try to fight me!"
Connor, sitting beside Frederic, hit him in the ribs and whispered, "Better shut up. You piss him off, he's gonna fight you, and you know what happened the last time!"
Frederic nodded mutely. Both boys knew that James had only held himself back, choosing not to fight with sword or pistol when Frederic had decided to stand up against him. Still, with only one hand, James had beat the crap out of him and not used his hook. It would be a long time before either of them ever thought about standing up to him again.
Connor could not believe that James had chosen Samuel in front of the men! He had known for a long time that the two of them were a pair. He didn't know if Frederic knew it or not, but he had come across them when he was much younger and never told a soul. He had been rescued by Peter Pan and taken to Neverland, and Pan had taught him all the things that a Lost Boy needed to know but had also taught him that Pirates were evil through and through. When he had been out hiding, he had run across Smee and Hook having a moment and realized that it was not necessarily true as Hook had been very gentle with Smee and Smee had been likewise.
He had never gone back to be with Peter Pan but had run boldly forward to join the Pirates. Hook hated Pan, and when he had found out that Pan had cut off Hook's hand and fed it to the croc who constantly buggered Hook for more, he realized that Pan was to blame. Hook had never mistreated him but had done what he could for him. Outside of his duty, he had never seen him do a bad thing. He didn't understand the where and the whys of the fight between Pan and Hook, but he had often heard Samuel and James talking about James' past. He had done a lot of thinking on it and had still not come to any conclusion. He now turned back to watching the shore come closer.
James looked from one boy to the other and shook his head. For the life of him, he could not figure out why, although being raised together, neither of them acted like the other. He loved both of his boys with a true parent's love, but sometimes he just couldn't figure them out. Continuing to hold Samuel's hand, he waited impatiently to reach the shore. Eagerness to delve into the treasure filled him so that it made the tips of his mustache quiver in sweet anticipation.
The crew had nearly completely settled in for the row to shore when icy winds began to whip up all around them. They fought against them and put their backs into the rowing. The wind blurred their vision so that they could barely see and were forced to focus solely on the approaching shoreline. It was thus that they missed the figure materializing in front of the Captain. Smee and Frederic both let out yelps at the sight of the being, who looked more like a boy than a man despite his age, appearing out of empty air.
The figure got right to the point as he quickly dismissed the rest of the crew and concentrated his attention on the Captain, whose far more regal clothes clearly stated his position. "Excuse me, but have you seen a blonde about this tall . . . " he shot up about six feet higher and then dropped swiftly back down.
James' mouth fell open. What the Hell was Pan doing there, and in blue when he was usually green! What had he gotten himself into that even his skin was blue? It must not be Pan, James thought, but just who the Hell could it be! "Who the devil are you, boi, and what do you want with me? Are you kin to Pan?" He released Smee's hand even as he talked to the boy, easing his hand toward his blunderbuss.
"Look. I don't really have a lot of time for this whole 'how-do-you-do' introduction bit. I . . . " The figure paused. His mouth remained open, but no sound came out for a moment as he looked at the Captain's hook. "Pan . . . Hook . . . " His eyes grew wide as he looked back up at the Captain's face. "You're Captain Hook! What are you doing here?"
James smiled even as he pulled his blunderbuss out. "Boi, you have two seconds to tell me who the Devil you are and what you're wanting with me before I blow you to smithereens!" How dare the impertinent youth wish to know how he had managed to get out of Neverland! He was certainly not going to tell him!
The blunderbuss did not appear to bother the figure in the least. Instead, he breathed across it, turning the metal to instant ice within Hook's hand. "Word of advice?" he told him flatly. "Never threaten an Elemental."
"An Elemental WHAT!" Hook roared even as he dropped the icy gun to the floor. It shattered in a million pieces, and he was glad that he had another one hidden on his body.
"Name's Jack Frost," Jack finally announced, "but I don't have time for that. Now have you seen a beautiful blonde with strange animals around here or not? Or maybe another ship?" he continued before Hook could answer. "Or an Angel fellow? Or a, hum . . . " He paused as he raked his brain for the other's name. "A Lorne?" he finally burst out again even as Hook had been about to speak.
"Jack Frost? Don't you belong to the North Pole? What are you doing here? And I haven't seen any blondes except for Frederic. You can have him if you want him."
Frederic's mouth fell open in shock.
Jack barely bothered to even glance at the indicated boy. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't swing that way, though I'm happy for those who do," he quickly continued at the remembrance of who he was speaking to. "I'm looking for my cousin. She was on a ship around here when I lost contact with her. The Captain's name was . . . Hum . . . What was the Captain's name? . . . Oh! Xena! . . . No, wait, she was only the sub-Captain. Well, sort of the sub-Captain any way. She was the Captain of one of the ships, but she didn't own it and that wasn't the one Crys was on any way. What was that Captain's name! It was something birdlike . . . "
"Birds? I know very few Captains with birds for names. In fact, I only know one. The last I heard, he wasn't in these waters. He goes by the name of Jack Sparrow. I haven't seen him in years."
"That's it!" Jack practically crowed. "That's the Captain's name! Captain Jack Sparrow! Have you seen any other ships around here? I know they were right in this area!"
It was at that moment that they reached land, and the crew rushed madly forward. James got slowly to his feet. "Haven't seen him in a very long time. Now out of my way, boi! I have booty to claim!"
"Booty?" Jack repeated in confusion. What booty? It was only then that he turned his attention toward the island, and his heart nearly stopped beating completely at the sight that awaited him. "If you harm any of them, I'll turn the whole lot of you to ice!" It would be a first for him to turn any living mammal to ice, but if they harmed his cousin or any of the others, he would do just that! He knew the wreck had to belong to them; there could be no other explanation as to why Crys had suddenly vanished on him. He could only pray she was alive, however, as he flew toward the wreck and began to dip his body through the boards in a hurried search for survivors.
James stood looking at the crazy blue boy, scarcely believing that he was able to go in and out of the busted woods. His mind was busily connecting what he could see and what the boy had said. Could this possibly be Jack's ships? It had been ages since he had seen Jack, and Jack probably thought that James was dead. He rushed forward, frantically looking for the name of the ship or anything that would tell him that this was Jack's ship. "Samuel, help me look for the names of the ships!" He was almost in a blind panic even as his men continued to run amuck, grabbing jewels here and there and stuffing them into their pockets.
Samuel dug into the wreckage and was not surprised to be quickly joined by two other sets of hands. Eight hands made the digging a great deal faster, and Smee was soon able to grab hold to a plaque. "Captain!" he called, turning huge, sad eyes onto James. "The Sea Witch!"
"Oh my Gods! It has to be him!" James yelled. "STOP! PUT STUFF BACK! START DIGGING FOR SURVIVORS! I'LL SHOOT THE FIRST ONE OF YOU WHO TRIES TO RUN OFF WITH ANY TREASURE!" He began to dig frantically, hoping to find somebody's body. He knew that the Sea Witch was the sister ship to the Black Pearl, and he was desperate to find Jack. He just had to be alive!
Smee looked at the boys. "Spread out," he whispered to them, knowing that the Captain was in no shape to think of commanding the two, "but try to keep an eye on the rest of the crew. You see any one doing anything they shouldn't, you come tell me."
"Like you would actually . . . " Frederic had started to say only to have his mouth covered by Connor's hand.
"Hush before the Captain hears you! He'll run you through with a sword! You don't know what Jack Sparrow means to him, and if Jack's dead, I don't want to be around when his body's found! The Captain will go bloody well mad and probably kill everything in his path!"
Frederic looked at Connor with disbelieving eyes. What Pirate actually cared about some one other than their own greedy self and their beloved jewels? Before Frederic could speak again, however, Jack's voice cried out, "I FOUND ONE!"
James rushed over and began to dig frantically with his one hand, helping the boy to uncover a man and a woman. He had no ideal who they were, but the man was holding tightly to the woman and both were completely unconscious. "SAMUEL!" James called. "WHAT DO WE DO?"
Samuel bustled quickly towards James. "Check for heartbeats! Put your ear to their chest, and listen!"
James obediently laid his head on the man's chest. "It's faint, but I can hear it!" He was loath to touch the woman; he turned to Connor and told him to check her out.
Connor simply kneeled and stared at her. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Very carefully, he leaned forward, laying his head on her chest. "She's barely breathing."
"Now what?" James asked Samuel.
"We have to get the water out," Samuel began to explain even as he dropped to his knees beside the man. He turned the mustached man onto his back and gently laid his head to the side. Still explaining to the ones around him what he was doing and why, he began to try to pump the water out of the man's stomach.
It was at just that time that another shout went up. One was a scream, but the other called to the Captain. "Captain, you wouldn't believe what we found! We should be able to get some real money for these freaks!"
Connor worked on the girl the same as Samuel was working on the man. He was very gentle with her. James, however, walked over to where the two Pirates were beaming happily down at something laying on the ground. Oh my Gods! he thought. Catpeople! They really exist! "You'll not do anything to harm them!" he told the two Pirates. "Follow Smee's example and help them or die where you stand." After watching for a minute to make sure that they were following his command, he began to walk around the first ship, searching for the Black Pearl. He knew it had to be there somewhere. He prayed that Jack was not dead.
As the Pirates continued to work, so did Jack. He called Pirates to the spots where he found people and animals alike, not telling them which it was as he knew they would probably not help the animals. Finally, he found one of his own! "Hey, blondie!" he called to the boy named Frederic. "Stop standing around looking like you've lost your duty, and come help me!"
Frederic shook his head, trying to make some sense of all that he was seeing, and rushed over to assist Jack. "What is it?" he asked as he uncovered what he thought was a blue, overgrown lizard with wings.
"A Hell of a good friend." Jack had to fight to keep the emotions from his voice even as he checked Blue's heartbeat. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found it beating, though shallowly. "Shake him for me, Frederic, but not too hard. Be careful of his wings."
Frederic hesitated only a moment and then, with a small gulp, reached out and touched the scaly being, shaking him gently. He didn't know what it was; he only hoped it wouldn't bite him when it woke up.
"Come on, Blue. Come on." Jack did not realize that he was whispering the mantra over and over to himself as Frederic shook Blue, but he released a whoop of relief when the dragon's eyes finally blinked open.
"Coo?" Blue asked weakly, a puff of smoke exhaling.
Frederic was so startled that he fell backwards on his butt. "What . . . the . . . ?" his voice trailed off. "What are you!" he asked the little blue lizard.
"He's a dragon," a voice from behind them announced.
"Ain't no way! There's no such thing as a dragon! It's only make believe!"
"Yeah," the other Pirate grunted, "and so's Immortal boys, pixies, faerie dust, and all that crap. Now hand him over. The Captain'll be thrilled with the money he'll bring."
James heard the entire conversation. "Leave the dragon be, Smitts! Go about and help others!"
Jack continued to stare at Smitts until the Pirate had melted back into the others. He then turned his attention back to Blue. "Rest easy, little fellow," he told him gently, blowing a gust of chilly air over his weak body. "I'll find her." Without a further word to any one, he dove back into the wreckage.
James continued his search for Jack, turning over every piece of wood he came across. He had about given up hope when he finally found the name: The Black Pearl. He could not believe that the infamous ship was laying in splinters everywhere! He had once seen her in full sail and had thought her to be quite a beauty. He prayed that Jack was somewhere under all that and still alive.
Blue, left to lay alone with only a stranger for company, turned his head to look up at the boy. "Coo?" he asked weakly. He hated being this weak. He wanted to look for his family, but his body ached so that he could barely move.
Angel had no ideal where he was at, only that he was held down by what felt like a thousand pounds of weight. He struggled, but he could barely shift the thing. His head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, and he was extremely weak. He needed blood and quickly! He didn't think he'd get any where he was at now. He let the man's mind go and the Vampire take over. The Vampire clawed its way upward, encountering something soft and sweet-smelling. Grasping hold of it, he drug it with him. As soon as the Vamp saw daylight, he stopped, allowing Angel to come back out.
Angel pushed at the small amount of debris that was now covering them. He sniffed Cordelia and then felt for her heartbeat. Thank the Gods, he breathed, she's alive! Seconds later, he was out right up under the face of a kid who screamed and fell back onto his butt. Angel ignored him. He carried Cordelia to what he thought would prove to be a shaded area, but it only turned out to be another part of the wreckage. He knew he'd have to move her soon, or she'd become too dehydrated. He blinked, wiping the dust and debris off of his face, and looked around.
James had heard Connor's yelp of fright and raced over. Now taking in the situation, he saw a man he did not know protecting a woman he found to be very beautiful. "Smee," he called, "we have two survivors. We need water." James called for Smee for everything, because he knew Smee would never fail him. He looked up to see where Smee was only to have the answer come from behind him.
"We've already several unburied, Capt'n, and they all appear to be living so far. They're the only ones who are awake yet, but we're going to need a lot of water. Maybe some one should fetch a barrel from the ship?"
"Good ideal," James said and looked up to catch two of his Pirates running straight for him.
"Capt'n, look! We found jewels!"
"Put it down!" James commanded. "I told you: no running with the booty! It's not ours!" They looked at him as though he was nuts. "You two go to the ship and fetch a barrel of water. We're going to need a lot of it."
"But, Capt'n! The booty!"
"LEAVE IT OR ELSE!"
The two ran toward the longboat. Once James turned his back, they scooped some more booty up and ran again. James shook his head as he turned around and calmly shot both of them. "Get rid of them," he said, talking to another Pirate. "I need two more of you to go fetch a barrel. If you have booty, leave it or you'll join them!"
The Pirates looked at him, shaking their heads. "I ain't got no booty, Capt'n!"
"Be sure you don't!" He watched as the two headed for the longboat. They did not appear to be carrying anything. He heard some one running and turned just in time to find Smitts grab the dragon and run. He could see the dragon's mouth crying open, but his voice was still too weak to carry distance.
Angel also had heard some one running. Even in his groggy state, he realized it was some one trying to steal Blue. Before he could react, he heard the shot and then saw the impact going straight into the running Pirate. He ran forward to catch Blue and barely managed to catch the little dragon. Carrying him gently in his hands, he took him over and laid him down beside Cordelia.
The fresh blood oozing out of the Pirate was driving Angel crazy. It filled his senses and stirred his instincts so that he could think of nothing but the gnawing need to satisfy his hunger. He grabbed the dead Pirate and dragged him around on the other side of the ship where none could see. He then drank his fill of the now-cooling blood. Feeling its energy seeping into each of his cells, he suddenly felt renewed, refreshed, and able to go on.
He dropped the corpse, wiping his hands on the man's clothes, and went back on the other side of the ship. Angel's eyes scanned his surroundings, and his gaze fell upon the man who had shot the one who had tried to steal Blue. It seemed he did not know the Captain but that he was an able, capable man.
James did not give Angel a second glance even though, when Angel had taken the Pirate, he had realized him for what he was. He was glad that he was on their side. "We must find the others!" he called.
"My name is Angel. The woman is mine, and so is the dragon. I have other family around here, as well."
James started to reply but was drowned out by the Elemental's voice thundering out. Jack had came back up just in time to catch the part about the dragon belonging to some pale-skinned man in black; he had not caught the man's name. "THAT DRAGON IS NOT YOURS! HE'S MY COUSIN'S!"
Angel turned to look at the blue-skinned boy. "You're Jack? Crys is my sister. She's under there somewhere, and I'm going to find her."
Jack eyed the man suspiciously. "Your name . . . ?"
"Angel." Angel looked at him. "Do you know of me?"
The conversation was not making much sense to James. Would he not be this blue boy's cousin, so shouldn't the lad know his own cousin? He shook his head in disgust. I knew that boy was just as crazy as Pan! Doesn't even know his own cousin! "My name is Captain James Hook."
Angel's mouth fell open. "But you're a fairy tale!"
"I'm just as real as you are. Reach out and touch me."
Angel did just that. "How -- How did you get out of that story?"
"It's a long tale best told much later, after we get through rescuing everybody."
Angel knew now he'd have to keep his eyes on James. He had heard the story of Peter Pan many times, and he knew Hook was the villain.
Connor had not gotten off of the ground. He was still staring holes in the man calling himself Angel. He had known that Angel had not been around when he had first come to the pile of debris he was working on, or if he had, he had had to have been way down under or Connor knew he would have smelled him and he had not smelled anything. He knew he'd have to keep his eye on Angel.
Meanwhile, Jack was looking at Angel with a grin despite the circumstances. He wished he could take the time to solidify himself more so that he might shake the hand of the man who was as determined as he to protect his cousin both from Frostbite and from herself. "Angel," he called the Vampire's attention back to him, "it's a pleasure to meet you! Crys told me all about how crazy you were making her!" He winked.
"She should have told you how crazy she was making us. I never met a woman more determined to sacrifice herself!" He grinned back at Jack. "Now let's get to it!" With Angel's superhuman strength and supernose, he began to sniff out and uncover people left and right. The next one he uncovered was Lorne, who was still holding on to Crys. "Jack," Angel called, "I've found her!"
"Cindy and Elvira are under here," Jack returned even as he flew over to where Angel stood. He looked down at his cousin and was not surprised to find a green man holding tightly to her. "Lorne, I take it?"
"Yes," Angel said. "Fresh air should revive them soon. Maybe you should keep an eye on her? I'll carry her over here and come back for Lorne." He was talking even as he was scooping Crys up and carrying her over to lay beside Cordy.
Jack was torn. He wanted to be able to be with his family, but at the same time, he knew the others could use his help in locating more survivors. He floated beside Angel as he carried Crys to join his woman. He could see her chest lifting and falling in shallow breathing and knew she'd be okay but be out for some time yet. That made his mind up: He'd help where he could for the time being, but once Crys came around, they had some serious talking to do.
Angel shook his head. "Jack, you need to stay with her. She may be playing a game again. She's good at that. Turn your back on her, she'll be out of here so fast we won't be able to catch her."
Jack shook his head. "I know she's good at games, Angel, but I can also read right through her. I've been doing it for years. Trust me on this one. If I thought there was any chance of her getting away, I wouldn't go anywhere but stay right beside her."
"Still keep an eye on her. Now shall we get back to it?"
Jack nodded but flew over to the debris he'd been at previously. "Elvira and Cindy are under here," he reminded him before diving into more debris.
Angel joined him, and it took him no time to get Elvira and Cindy out. He left them laying and breathing while he carried Lorne over to lay beside Crys. Angel smiled when he saw Lorne's hand sneak out and grab Crys. His voice was very weak. "I'll watch her," he told Angel.
"Good. I'll bring the other two over." He headed after the remaining two babies.
To Be Continued . . .
