Note: There is a fair amount of violence and blood in this chapter, so beware if you have a weak stomach. Also, there is a 'Bad Wolf' reference in this chapter.

Chapter 5: The Ultimate Showdown

Jack stood on the rocking deck of the Black Pearl, harpoon in hand. He had stripped down to his boxers, giving Sparrow's clothes back to him. The man was waiting for the rowboat to be lowered down so he could get into it. The crew was standing around the deck, excited to see what was going to happen. Captain Jack was at the helm, gradually slowing down the ship.

The noon breeze made the sails flap and ruffled Sparrow's hair, and dried the sweat on Jack's face. Although he didn't look it, he was nervous about the upcoming battle. He was going head-to-head with a thirty foot great white shark who could swallow him with one bite. All he had was a wooden boat and a stick with a bit of sharp metal at the end. This was going to be tricky…

Seeing that the boat was in position, Jack sighed and headed over to it. Just as he was about to step into the small craft, a hand clamped down on his left shoulder. Smiling, the time traveller turned around and gazed up into Jack Sparrow's twinkling eyes. Leaning in close so that only Jack could hear him, he murmured, "Aim for the head of the shark. If possible, stay on it's back. Use this if ya need to." Still gazing into the pirate's eyes, Jack accepted the item that Sparrow pressed into his hands. Smiling fondly, the older man gave the stone around Jack's neck a playful tug and stepped back.

Raising his voice, Jack Sparrow said. "Alrighty lad, go send that shark to Davy Jones' Locker." Grinning, the younger Jack turned and stepped into the swaying boat, setting Jack's gift on the floor. Glancing at it, he chuckled and signalled to one of the crew to lower that boat.

The craft lurched then started to descend towards the ocean below. As he sank beneath the rail of the boat, he saw Captain Jack take off his hat in a salute. Giving a solemn nod in return, Jack lowered his gaze to the back of the boat. There, circling slowly, was Sha-Sha. Grinning at the evil fish, Jack steadied himself as the boat dropped into the sea. Unhooking the ropes that lowered it, the man picked up the oars and started to paddle out into the open sea. He needed to put some room between Sha-Sha and the Black Pearl. Watching the pirate ship pick up speed and sail off into the distance, Jack wrapped the rope attached to the harpoon around his right wrist, picked up the harpoon in that same hand, and stuffed Jack's present into the waistband of his boxers. Time to go fishing…

Watching the fin stop as the boat moved on, Jack took a deep breath as the shark spotted the his little rowboat. The fin sped towards him, then suddenly dipped beneath the waves. Blinking in confusion, Jack glanced around wondering why it had vanished. The he realized that Sha-Sha was going to attack him…from underneath.

Realizing that he had to move fast in order to escape becoming lunch, Jack dove over the side of the boat, swimming downwards rapidly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large white mass rush past him, and the heard the crunch of wood as the white shark chomped down on the boat. Kicking his feet, Jack swam beneath the shark, watching as his only mean of transportation got smashed into kindling. Good thing he had moved…

Sha-Sha shook it's mighty head from side to side, spitting out the remains of the boat. Realizing that now was a good time to try and attack, Jack swam upwards along the shark's back. Grabbing a hold of the fin that had taunted him, Jack swung the harpoon though the water and slashed at the creature's neck region. He wasn't close enough to get at the head, but at least he could wound the thing.

As the steel point dug into the flesh of the shark, the fish convulsed in pain, shaking Jack off. Blood stained the water red as the shark thrashed about, the attacker barely avoiding the swinging tail. Needing air, Jack swam to the surface and took a deep lungful before plunging back into the ocean.

Angry at the human, Sha-Sha spun around and made a beeline for Jack. It could see the sunlight flickering off of the quartz stone around his neck, and the shark wanted to taste human blood. Prepared this time, Jack swam to one side, lashing out with the harpoon and making another long gash along the shark's ribcage.

Enraged by the smell of blood, Sha-Sha whipped around, it's tail hitting Jack square in the chest. Stars exploded in Jack's vision as he was tossed backwards, the air rushing from his lungs. It was then her realized just how bad the natives had treated him. The wounds on his back and shoulders opened up instantly, soaking the bandages within seconds. Still dazed from the blow, Jack dimly saw that the shark was coming straight at him.

The harpoon had been knocked out of his hand by the hit, but he still held onto the rope attacked to the end. Jerking the rope, he send the harpoon hurtling towards the oncoming fish. The tip embedded itself in the nose of the shark, causing Sha-Sha to veer upwards, dragging Jack along on the end of the rope. Desperately needing air, Jack was forced to let go of the rope and make a retreat to the surface.

Popping out of the water, Jack took several deep breaths, wincing at the pain in his back. He main weapon was unusable at the moment, so that left Sparrow's gift. Pulling the small item out of his waistband, he grinned. Seeing the blurry outline of the shark beneath the waves, he took a deep breath and dove down to meet his enemy.

Holding the item in his left hand, he charged towards the angry shark, watching the blood pour from the two wounds he had inflicted. If he had his way, there was soon going to be a whole lot more. Sha-Sha still had the harpoon sticking out of it's nose, making it look quite comical. As the Sark opened its' jaws to swallow Jack, the time traveller stopped and reversed direction, swimming up and slightly above the path of the fish. As the end of the harpoon went by, Jack reach out and grabbed it, yanking the weapon out of the shark. Confused by the fact it's prey had vanished, the shark slowed down, allowing jack to stab the blade into the skull of the giant fish. Blood gushed from the wound, and jack held on for dear life as Sha-Sha tried to fling him off and get rid weapon sticking out of it's head.

Making his way down the harpoon shaft, Jack stepped onto the broad head of the shark. Sha-Sha was thrashing about, but by keeping a firm hold onto the harpoon, Jack found he could stay on. Narrowing his brown eyes, he wrapped and arm around the wooden pole and freeing up his right hand. Meanwhile, she shark had started to dive towards the ocean floor, and Jack felt his ears pop.

Grasping the object with both hands, Jack pulled and grinned at the result. Now if only this shark would slow down…Sticking part of the item back into the waistband, Jack grabbed onto the pole again and took a step forward. Feeling the change in weight, the white shark shifted direction, moving from going down to moving straight ahead. Not exactly the result he had wanted, but at least he was on a level surface. Feeling the effects of a lack of air, the man knew he had to finish this fast, or risk getting killed.

Mentally thanking Captain Jack for giving him a dagger, Jack raised his left arm up, the blade glinting in the red haze that surrounded the pair. Estimating where the brain of Sha-Sha was wasn't that hard; for a creature as big as this one, it would have a larger than normal brain. Narrowing his eyes, Jack plunged the sharp dagger into the shark's skull, hitting exactly where the brain was located. Fresh blood spilled out of the fatal wound, turning the water around them a deeper shade of red.

As it's movements slowed, Jack wrenched the harpoon out of the shark, swimming towards the surface. Beneath him, the shark rolled over and sank, leaving a red trail in it's passing.

- - -

"Doctor, now what are going to do?" Rose asked her companion as the ship they were riding on drifted up to a warf. After the TARDIS had malfunctioned, leaving Jack behind, the Doctor had spent the next couple of days attempting the remedy the situation. So far, they had fixed the TARDIS and had landed back in the same area where they had left Jack. Unfortunately, all they had found was a burned-out campfire, some rope, a rowboat, and a lot of footprints.

Telling Rose to go back to the TARDIS and stay there, the Doctor had left in boat, heading for the next island over. He had been gone the better part of the day, and had returned near sundown. Even when she had questioned him, the Time Lord had refused to tell her what he had seen, said that it wasn't important.

They had left the island behind, opting to hide out on a pirate island known as Tortuga, and had boarded a ship to go search for Jack. After several days of finding nothing, they had returned aboard the Mau Lobo, a ship manned by Portuguese pirates.

Turning to look at her, the Doctor gave a tired smile and spoke. "We'll find him, even if we have to spend a while here. I'm not leaving him behind." Gazing out at the busy docks, he closed his bluish-grey eyes and sighed. The Doctor blamed himself for not noticing that something was wrong with the TARDIS. Of course, he hadn't told Rose about his feelings, knowing that she would worry even more.

As the gangplank was put in place, the Doctor headed over and said goodbye to the ships' captain, thanking him for allowing to strangers aboard. The man brushed off the thanks, saying that it was the least he could do. After all, the Doctor had helped him shake off a British naval vessel.

Leaving the ship behind, the pair made their way to where they had parked the time machine. Knowing that a blue box would stick out in this place, the Doctor had hidden it behind a run-down shed. It was times like these that he wished the TARDIS still had it's shape-changing abilities…

As they passed a band of drunken pirates, the Time Lord turned to Rose and said sternly, "I'm going to go gather some more information. You go straight back to the TARDIS. Don't wander off!" Making his point by shaking his finger at her, the spun around and headed in the direction of the nearest tavern.

Rose sighed as she watched him walk off, wondering why she couldn't go too. Shrugging, she lifted up her skirts to avoid a large mud puddle and made her way back to the TARDIS. Rounding the side of the dilapidated shed, the girl froze as she saw someone standing in front of the time machine. Since the figure was in the shadows, Rose could only make out that he wore a overcoat and a three-cornered hat.

Realizing that she had to go find the Doctor, Rose turned to go but paused when a voice said. "Tis alright, lass. I ain't gonna hurt you." Turning back around, the girl eyed the stranger warily, wondering what he wanted. The man took a step forward, moving into the light. He wore a brown sea coat of some sort, a ragged vest and shirt, black pants, and heavy boots. Atop his head was a three-cornered hat which covered up a bandana and his tangled hair.

Smiling, the pirate nodded encouragingly. "See? I'm harmless." On closer inspection, Rose realized it was true. He had no weapons on him that she could see, and he didn't appear to want to attack her. "Alright…Who are you?" the teen asked, relaxing slightly.

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl. Who might you be, lass?"

"Nice to meet you, Jack. I'm Rose Tyler" Rose found it strange to be calling another person Jack, but she supposed that it was a common name.

"Grand. Now, might you know a man by the name of Jack Harkness?"

"Yes, I do know him. He is a close friend of mine. Do you know where he is?" Rose said, a feeling of excitement coming over her. This man might help her and the Doctor find Jack!

"Aye…well, sort of…" Sparrow replied, a downcast expression on his face. "But never mind that. I'll go grab your companion and we'll go find him. Savvy?"

Ignoring the sadness in his voice, Rose nodded at the suggestion. She missed Jack terribly, and hoped he was alright. As Jack Sparrow motioned for her to follow along, they turned and headed back towards the docks.