Twilight Poet: CHAPTER 13! CHAPTER 13! Please sit back and enjoy.

Disclaimer: as usual Twilight Poet owns nothing…

Twilight Poet: You're starting to sound like a broken record!

Disclaimer: as usual Twilight Poet owns nothing…

Twilight Poet: wait… you ARE a broken record! And I've been PAYING you!

Chapter 13 – In which WE FIGHT!

-- Anamaria & Ruby --

Gibbs roared out to the rest of the crew, "Hands aloft to loose t'gallants! With this wind at her stern, she'll carry every sail we've got."

Ruby dodged the frantic crew and made it over to Anamaria, "What's happening? Are they here already?"

"Yep," Ana nodded, "The Black Pearl's gaining on us." She looked back at the huge ship, fear in her expression.

"So much for the fastest ship in the Caribbean," Ruby smirked

"So true," Ana laughed. Quieter she added, "Good luck Sarah. Don't get shot."

"Same to you," Ruby winked before adding, louder, "We're shallow on the draft, right?"

"Aye."

"Well, then can't we lose them amongst those shoals?"

Gibbs mused the idea, "We don't have to outrun them long, just long enough."

Anamaria yelled out to the crew, "Lighten the ship, stem to stern!"

"Anything that we can afford to lose… see that it's lost!"

-- GIN --

Back on the Black Pearl, Jack and Gin were locked in the brig by Bo'sun.

Jack sloshed in the water, "Apparently there's a leak."

Kneeling in the watery muck, Gin scrubbed at her hands and clothes, but no matter how hard she tried, the red wouldn't come off. Still she grabbed a loose scrap of cloth and continued, rubbing her hands raw. Jack shook his head and took the cloth from her, his face thoughtful.

"So," Jack looked her in the eye, "when you said that I was the only one that hadn't committed mutiny… did you mean that you HAVE?"

Gin seemed to snap, "HOW SHOULD I KNOW! I know nothing about the life of Gin Hawkins before you yanked my sorry excuse for a pirate butt out of the water." She jumped up, her voice rasing in volume with every word, "I couldn't even save my friend! SHE'S DEAD BECAUSE OF ME! And if that's not a mutiny of some kind, I don't know what is… I just don't know."

Jack stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, "Just CALM DOWN ok?"

What happened next took even the unshockable Captain Jack Sparrow by surprise. Gin took one look at his serious face and crumbled. Wrapping her arms around his chest, she buried her face into the pirates slightly stained shirt and cried her heart out. Not sure what to do, Sparrow patted the girl awkwardly on the back. Deep down the tiny little gentleman that lives in every man, even those most vile, kicked in and politely Jack put his own arms around Gin and let her bring an end to the hardest part of her grief.

-- Ruby & Anamaria --

Back on the Interceptor, barrels and barrels of the most random things were being tossed over the side

Anamaria spotted the oars on the black pearl and watched as Will stopped a man from throwing off one of the cannons. She looked over at Ruby, "You know, it WAS a good plan… even in the real story."

"Gibbs!" cried Will, running up to them, "We have to make a stand. We must fight! Load the guns!"

Anamaria laughed, "With what? All our ammo is swimming with the fishies. Unless you plan to load some of THEM into the cannons!"

Ruby chuckled as Will, put off for a second finally answered, "No, just anything. Everything! Anything we have left. Yes, even FISH if we have to!"

"Load the guns!" Gibbs cried, "Take shot and langrage. Nails and crushed glass! With a will!" they began to stuff cutlery and other assorted items into the cannons, "The Pearl is going to luff up on our port quarter. She'll rake us without ever presenting a target."

"Lower the anchor on the right side." Ruby cried, "On the starboard side!"

Will grinned, "It certainly has the element of surprise."

Anamaria scowled humourously at Ruby, "You liked that just a liiittle too much!"

"Of course," Ruby beamed

"You're daft!"

"Daft like Jack!" Gibbs piped in, "Lower the starboard anchor! Do it, ye dogs, or it's you we'll load into the cannons!"

The crew gave a 'great, they've finally lost it' eye-roll and did as they were told. Ana let go of the wheel and everyone held on tight to anything they could reach as the ship swung around.

"Keep us steady now." Will yelled as the ships came side-to-side with each other, "Now!"

"Fire!" cried Barbossa at the same time as Ruby and Anamaria screamed, "Fire all!"

-- GIN --

The explosions were sudden and deafening. A cannon ball came flying into the side of the ship and whizzed past the startled faces of Gin and Jack.

"Stop blowing holes in my ship!" Jack yelled, truly miserable.

Suddenly they both noticed that the shot from the cannon destroyed the lock on the cell door.

Gin wiped her eyes, "Come on, now we both have a revenge to seek."

Jack looked at her, "revenge is a dangerous mistress, lass. Are you sure you can handle her."

"You're forgetting one thing," Gin laughed, opening the cell door, "I'm Gin Hawkins, Pirate of the seven seas! Savvy?" And with that she bolted up the stairs, sword in her hand and a war cry on her lips.

"Crazy girl," Jack muttered, following after.

-- Ruby & Anamaria --

"We could use a few more ideas, lass." Gibbs shouted

"Your turn," Ruby growled

Gibbs cringed, "We need us a devil's dowry."

Anamaria pointed her pistol at Ruby, "We'll give them her."

"Hey!" cried Ruby, truly offended

Ana sniggered, "Sorry, honestly couldn't resist"

"She's not what they're after."

Ruby clutched at her neck, "Oh damn! The medallion."

Will looked back at the pirates before running towards the hatch opening and diving below deck. Ruby could feel her own heart skip a beat as the mast slammed with a thud on the hatch opening.

-- GIN --

Knowing Jack would be fine with his own pursuits, Gin sought only to find Ruby and Anamaria – even if only to assure herself of their safety. Finally she spotted Ruby trying to pull the mast off and having no success. Running over she knocked a pirate out of the way and grabbed her friend.

"ALEX!" Ruby hugged Gin tight, "Oh thank God you're safe. How's Liz?"

Gin coughed and whispered something inaudible. What could she say? Ruby looked at her, "Alex… where is Elizabeth?"

"She… she went home." Gin mentally kicked herself, but what more could she say.

Ruby blinked, "but… why?"

Suddenly a pirate came running up to the shrieking like a mad man. Gin turned around and roared back at him, "CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION? HONESTLY, HOW RUDE CAN YOU BE?"

The pirate stopped, an eyebrow raised in confusion. But it was soon followed by a grin as the girls realized they were surrounded. A short trip to the Black Pearl soon found them both, and Anamaria, tied up.

Pintel was walking up and down, "If any of you as much as thinks the word "parley," I'll have your guts for garters."

Gin thought for a moment to tease him, but the look on his face made her think better of it. Instead she looked over to Anamaria. The red head grinned and mouthed the offending word with an exaggerated expression. Gin couldn't help it, she cracked up laughing. The rest of the crew looked at her with a little confusion.

"Her tree's missing the top few branches," Gibbs muttered. The rest of the pirates just nodded and slowly backed away from her.

Suddenly Barbossa grabbed Ruby. An action that stopped both Gin's and Anamaria's antics, "Welcome back, Miss. You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favour." The girls yelled out in fury as he threw their friend to the pirates.

"Barbossa!"

Ruby sighed with relief, "Saved by the Will."

"She goes free." Cried Will, pointing a pistol at Barbossa

Gin scoffed, "And you guys said I was loony?"

"What's in your head, boy?"

"She goes free!"

Barbossa laughed out loud, "You've only got one shot, and we can't die."

Jack looked pleadingly at Will, "Don't do anything stupid."

"You're talking to the wrong guy Captain," Gin mumbled

Will changed the guns aim to himself, "You can't. I can."

Jack hung his head, "Like that."

Gin gave a smug look, "some how, 'told you so' doesn't really cover it."

Barbossa looked up at Will like he was looking at a rather simply six year old, "Who are you?"

Jack leapt forward, "No one! He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though – eunuch."

"My name is Will Turner," Will answered as Jack's shoulders drooped and he dejectedly returned to his place. Gin patted him awkwardly on the shoulder as Will continued his suicidal talk, "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."

Ragetti cried out, "He's the spitting image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us."

Anamaria leant over to Gin and Ruby, "Can the dead haunt the dead?"

The girls shrugged. Gin mused, "I'm more curious about the phrase 'spitting image'. What the hell does that mean anyway?" She spat on the ground, "Ohmigawd! Look it's Uncle Bob!"

The girls stifled a laughed and turned back to hear the end of the dramatic conversation.

"Ruby goes free."

Barbossa rolled his eyes, "Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

Jack, Gin and Anamaria pulled happy faces at him, "And the crew – the crew are not to be harmed."

"Agreed."

Anamaria smiled at Gin, "Sorry Alex, you know the drill."

"Yeah, yeah… Man and I HATE swimming. What if there are sharks down there?"

Ruby shrugged, "Swim fast?"

Half an hour later they found themselves floating off the shore of a small deserted island.

Pintel laughed at Ruby in the plank, "Go on, Poppet, go! Walk the plank!"

"Barbossa, you lying bastard!" cried Will, struggling against the pirates that held him, "You swore she'd go free!"

"Don't dare impugn me honour, boy." The old pirate glared, "I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." He grinned as they gagged the young blacksmith, "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?"

"Aye." The pirates chortled

Barbossa exposed the group of rotting flesh that was his mouth – even when he wasn't a skeleton, "So I'll be having that dress back before you go."

Ruby practically tore off the dress, "FINALLY! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for someone to say that?" Even Gin had to look at her friend in shock. Ruby smirked, "Don't look at me like that! It's, what, 80 degrees out here and you had me dressed in BLACK! You truly are evil." She threw the dress at him, "It goes with your black heart."

Shocked, but none-the-less amused, Barbossa pressed the garment to his face, "Ooh, it's still warm."

Even Anamaria, who had been relocated to below deck with the rest of the crew, gagged inwardly at the infamous line.

To spare herself the embarrassment of being knocked off, Ruby dived into the water and immediately headed for shore.

Next Jack was dragged up to the plank, "I'd really rather hoped we were past all this."

Barbossa grinned, "Jack…. Jack . Did ya not notice? That be the same little island that we made you Governor of on our last little trip."

"I did notice." Jack murmured, blanching

"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape…but I doubt it." He unsheathed his sword and brandished it at Jack's throat, "Off you go."

"Last time," Jack stalled, "you left me a pistol with one shot."

Barbossa put on an expression of mock surprise, "By the powers, you're right. Were be Jack 's pistol? Bring it forward."

Jack looked hopeful, "Seeing as there's two of us, a gentleman…would give us a pair of pistols."

"It'll be one pistol as before," Barbossa frowned, "and your little whore will be going too, so you can be the gentleman and shoot one of the ladies and starve to death with the other." He threw the pistol into the sea, Jack quickly following it.

There was an awkward silence as Gin looked at the pirates around her, "You know… I'm not a very good swimmer…"

The next few seconds found her sitting on the end of the plank, looking own at Jack who had swam to the bottom to regain his property.

"You can stay if you want to," Barbossa leered, "You can keep the men company at night."

At this the rest of the crew grinned and sneered. Gin gulped and looked over at Ragetti, "Don't loose that eye, ok? It suits you nicely."

As the pirate smiled and scuffed his foot – the end result being a hit over the head by Pintel – Gin bit her lip and jumped.

"CANNON BALL!"

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Twilight Poet: Ooooh, things are coming along nicely don't you think? Oh, and don't worry Jack Sparrow fangirls. There isn't much of a chance between Jack and Gin, she's just there to be the comic relief for the story. Or perhaps I'll hint at something? Bah, I don't know – What do you guys think?

Kudos and cookies kittens!