Hello! I have in deed returned from the dead and I am so sorry for disappearing for so long. I was stuck on this chapter for the past year and it was frustrating me, and work was frustrating me, so I guess it turned into a very long mental break. But I am back now! Hopefully with some new drive to finish this story along with a new job that won't be so frustrating. So here you are! Short but I wanted to get something out.
Thank you to everyone who is still following this story and has been encouraging me to continue it throughout the past year. I know, it's been a terrible wait.
Chapter 6
Lena's brown eyes stared up towards the sky, trying to spot any tell above them that proved the difference between the real world and the locker. She knew there wasn't much, but it was something to do. Left drifting on the water, what else was there to do? The weather didn't change despite the daylight changing, so little help was needed with the ship. And with little direction, it hardly mattered if they went off course. They didn't have one.
That just topped off everything else they no longer had, such as food and fresh water. All this way just to die of hunger. What a way to go.
As her stomach protested its current state, Lena placed a hand over it, as if it would quiet it, before she shifted her attention to Jack, sitting across from her, focus completely on the map in front of him. With how long he had been studying it, she had to wonder if he even knew she was there. Either way, all he did was turn the map and mutter to himself, which honestly was no different than when he was aware of her presence.
Curious if he was getting anywhere, Lena listened to his words, though they were very familiar, as she had heard the same thing multiple times from just about every person that looked at it.
"Up is down," Jack repeated for the millionth time as Lena rolled her eyes and continued looking up. "Well, that's just maddeningly unhelpful. Why are these things never clear?"
Ignoring his words, Lena turned her attention towards the crew working and standing around the deck.
"Come again?" Jack asked.
Confused by his sudden question, Lena looked at him, though his attention was focused elsewhere.
"Well that's more than less than unhelpful," Jack continued as he glanced between his shoulder and the map.
"Jack?" Lena called quietly, though his focus never wavered, completely ignoring her.
"I love the sea."
His conversation had her puzzled as she watched it continue. She had seen Jack talk to himself plenty of times while working out his thoughts, but this just seemed different. It felt like half a conversation and she suddenly wondered if he was as alright as she originally thought. Thinking back to when they first found him, she knew he thought they were a hallucination, and certainly not the first he had.
"I prefer rum. Rum's good," Jack said, followed by a pause. "Once every ten years… Even longer given the deficit of rum… Oh, I like that."
Perhaps it was time she sat down with him and tried to get him to share more about his time in the locker. She couldn't ignore the concern she felt as she watched everything happening. Eccentric personality or not, it seemed worse than usual. Concerningly worse.
"Not sunset, sundown and rise," he said in realization, turning the center ship on the map upside down before he grinned and looked at Lena, locking eyes for the first time. She could see it immediately, some sort of plan behind those eyes as he stood up and pulled her towards him, harder than needed in his excitement. "Up," he said, as if that was all the explanation she needed, though she was loath to admit she had no idea what was going through his head at the moment. And then he was off, pulling her along as he raced towards the side of the ship. "Oh! What's what?" he asked out loud, peering over the edge.
"What?" Lena muttered to herself, staring at him in confusion before she glanced towards the sea in front of them. She knew for a fact that nothing out there had caught his attention, so clearly this tied into the plan she wasn't privy to. It was moments like this that she truly wished he shared his thoughts more, or more clearly. But in the end, it didn't matter. No matter how crazy his plan may be, she would always go along with it. With that in mind, she played along even without knowing how the game would end.
Lena leaned over the railing, looking out as if seeing what Jack was, as some of the crew showed up beside them.
"Where?" Gibbs questioned, looking out at the still sea.
"There!" Jack pointed despite nothing in sight.
A pause settled as everyone looked for the mysterious sighting, and with eyes distracted, Lena shot Jack a curious look but didn't let it linger long. It seemed he was on the move again. With little word, Jack crossed the deck and Lena followed without hesitation, though she had little choice in the matter when Jack continued guiding her with a hand either on her back or a quick tug on her wrist.
Finally, after two more trips back and forth across the ship, they paused as all of the crew seemed to join in the search.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked beside Lena.
While Lena gave no reply, considering she had nothing to point out anyway, it seemed Jacks' reply was no better as a jumble of nonsense left his mouth before he darted to the other side again, the crew just a few steps behind him.
And so it continued, back and forth, each time they crossed, Jack pivoted around, crossing again. With barely enough time to turn, all anyone could do was push against the ship's rails and run again. With each push, the ship lurched a little more, tipping from side to side. And with each sway, it was impossible not to notice what was happening as each step moved uphill against the rock of the ship.
"He's rockin' the ship!" Pintel shouted in realization as Gibbs confirmed it as well, shouting in excitement, "We're rockin' the ship!"
As they continued running, Lena spotted Barbossa leaving his spot by the map and disappearing below deck. It seemed he had some ideas as well to help.
With each step taking them to a higher angle, Lena tried not to think about what would happen once they reached their goal. With a deep breath, Lena glanced at Jack who's sole focus was on the edge of the ship. Surely this wasn't the craziest plan he had ever come up with. And it's not the first time she's followed along blindly. He believed in this plan and that's all she needed to know.
Closing the gap between them, Lena found her place beside Jack once again just as they reached the railing. With her hands gripped tightly, Lena held on as her feet slid out from beneath her. Hanging in the air, eyes pressed closed, took the moment to calm her hammering heart as she hung over the open ocean.
With one final tip of the ship, the water was rushing back towards them as she heard Jack utter, "now up is down." Her brown eyes slid towards Jack as she caught his gaze, the childish grin on his face comforting as she took a final breath. And then they were plunged under, the chilling water crashed over everyone, dragging them down with the pull.
A constant push and pull of the water was disorienting as Lena could hardly keep track of where the ship was compared to where she was. The endless pressure of water was overwhelming. And just when it seemed like too much, it was gone. In one final rush of water, a flash of green was seen, and then it was fresh air surrounding them.
Soaking wet and sprawled across the deck, Lena caught her breath as she adjusted to the sensation of being in open air after being thrust through such a force of water unexpectedly.
"Blessed sweet westerlies, we're back!" Gibbs cried from beside her as he climbed to his own feet.
Following his gaze, she took in the sky before them, soft oranges and pinks replaced the never changing tone she had gotten used to. It was almost impossible to believe despite the sight laying before her eyes. They were back, no longer trapped in the Locker.
"It's the sunrise," Elizabeth said in disbelief as Lena walked closer to the railing, taking in the same view.
But the moment could only last a second. In an instant the sound of sharp movement caught Lena's attention as she spun around, shock freezing her in place at the sight before her. Jack, Will, Elizabeth, and Barbossa stood, guns drawn as they aimed at each other in a circle.
"Are you out of your minds?" Lena cried, exasperated by their actions. Why she thought everything would be fine now, she didn't know. It seemed they couldn't go a single minute without needing to argue if not even this moment could keep the peace.
Fake laughter filled the space then as the four lowered their guns, looking between each other as if they were part of a joke, though Lena found nothing about it funny. Annoyed as she stood to the side, she didn't know what to do when they pulled their guns up once again. Like hell she would allow any of them to kill Jack again, but she hardly had it in her to shoot any of them either. As rough as some of their relationships may be, she'd still consider them all friends. Thankfully, it seems Gibbs didn't have the same moral dilemma as she did as he stepped forward with his own gun drawn to have Jack's back.
"All right, then," Barbossa said. The Brethren Court's a gatherin' at Shipwreck Cove. And Jack, you and I are going', and there'll be no arguing' that point."
Not missing a beat, Jack argued back, "I is arguing the point. If there's pirates gathering, I'm pointing my ship the other way."
"The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you're a pirate," Elizabeth added in, clearly annoyed with his choice.
"Fight or not, you're not running, Jack," Will said.
Lena clenched her fists as she glared at each of them with every word they said, as if they could force Jack to do as they pleased. She certainly understood why they needed him to go to the Brethren Court, but she doubted that it needed to be done at gunpoint.
"If we don't stand together, they'll hunt us down one by one, till there be none left, but you," Barbossa finished as he stared down Jack, hoping he'd made his point.
It seemed that Jack had other thoughts however. "I quite like the sound of that. Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate." Whether he was joking or not, Lena almost considered smacking him since he surely couldn't see the annoyance on her face as he continued focusing on his previous first mate.
"Aye, and you'll be fightin' Jones alone," Barbossa added. "And how does that figure into your plan?"
"I'm still working on that," Jack admitted, the tone of his voice catching Lena's attention. "But I'll not be going back to the locker, mate, count on that." And then he fired, gun aimed at Barbossa, only to hear the empty click of a misfire. The sound was relief to her as she let out a breath and instantly closed the space between her and Jack to stand by his side despite the other guns still raised. As she moved, she watched as everyone else attempted to fire their own gun to no luck.
"Wet powder," Gibbs explained as he gave up on his own gun.
And just like that, everyone dispersed as if they hadn't just been threatening each other. Somedays, Lena wasn't sure how she made it as a pirate. Shifting her eyes from her friends back to her lover, she didn't hesitate to wrap her arm around his as she looked at him questioningly, though she didn't know what to say then and there.
