"Blessed sweet westerlies! We're back!" gasped Gibbs Narcissa got to her feet and looked out of the sunrise with her father then quick as lighting both of them had a pistol trained on Jack. This immediately led to several pistols being pointed at the two of them. Even Jack the monkey drew a small gun and pointed it at cotton's parrot who screeched
"Parley?"
Elizabeth now had one gun pointed at Narcissa's father and the other at Jack. Will was likewise. At Will's action Jack swapped his pistol to Elizabeth. They stood like that for a minute and then Captain Barbossa began laughing. The rest awkwardly joined it and slowly relaxed their pistols only seconds later to jump back into the same position.
"All right, then! The Brethren Court is a-gathering at Shipwreck Cove. And, Jack, you and I are a-going. There'll be no arguing that point." snarled Narcissa's father.
"I is arguing the point. If there's pirates a-gathering, I'm pointing my ship the other way," replied Jack.
"The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you're a pirate." snapped Elizabeth swapping both her guns to Jack who did the same to her. Will now pointed his pistols both at Jack as well While Narcissa kept one trained on Gibbs who was pointing at her father.
"Fight or not,
you're not running, Jack," Will told the man sternly.
"If we don't stand together, they'll hunt us down one by one, till there be none left but you," said Narcissa sharply. Jack smirked.
"Quite like the sound of that. Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate."
"Aye. And you'll be fighting Jones alone. How does that figure into your plan?" argued Captain Barbossa.
"I'm still working on that. But I will not be going back to the Locker, mate. Count on that." replied Jack seriously before pulling the trigger on his pistol only for water to squirt out. Everyone did the same resulting in only the more water being squirted around.
"Wet powder," grumbled Gibbs and they broke apart."
"Wait! We can still use them as clubs!" suggested Pintel. Ragetti took him up on the off and knocked Pintel's head with the but of his gun."
"Ow!" said Pintel.
"Sorry. Effective though," replied Ragetti and Narcissa laughed glad to have something to relieve the tension.
PotC
They all ended up gathered around a map of a nearby island.
"There's fresh water on this island.
We can resupply there and get back to shooting each other later," suggested Will. Narcissa nodded in agreement.
"You lead the shore party. I'll stay with my ship," Jack said to Narcissa's father who scoffed.
"I'll not be leaving my ship in your command." Narcissa sighed.
"Why don't you both go ashore and leave the ship in my command?" Both men looked unconvinced.
"Temporarily," she added and they both grudgingly agreed looking more like petulant children then fearsome pirate lords. A landing party was formed and Narcissa watched them row off into the distance.
"Well done," said Will from behind her.
"Yes, they just need a strong hand. Much like we did as children." She squinted at the beach on which lay something exceptionally large though she couldn't make it out. She hoped it wasn't something the landing party would need to deal with.
"A strong hand never changed you," replied Will.
"True. But those were the easy days," replied Narcissa.
"I know. Which is why I'm sorry," replied Will. Narcissa's heart dropped and she heard the sound of scraping steal. She whipped around drawing her blade just in time to see it clash with Will's
PotC
Captain Barbossa wasn't thrilled about leaving his ship behind but at least trusted his daughter to command it more than he would trust Sparrow. Then again were it not for the situation with the Brethren Court he might have done exactly what he knew Jack planned and run of with it.
They reached the shore and saw what Barbossa assumed must have been the Kraken lying dead on the beach. For all the destruction it had caused it was a somewhat sad sight. Jack stood looking at it from a distance and Barbossa decided to try a different technique to convince him.
"Still thinking of running, Jack? Think you can outrun the world? You know, the problem with being the last of anything...by and by, there be none left at all."
"Sometimes things come back, mate. We're living proof, you and me," Jack pointed out.
"Aye, but that's a gamble of long odds, ain't it? There's never a guarantee of coming back. But passing on, that's dead certain." He might have gotten lucky and received a second chance but Weatherby Swann was proof that people like Hector and Jack were exceptions to the rule.
"Summoning the Brethren Court, then, is it?" sighed Jack.
"It's our only hope, lad," replied Barbossa. Truthfully when they weren't arguing over the Pearl he didn't mind Jack. And he couldn't really blame the man for acting exactly as Hector would have if their places were reversed in regards to the mutiny.
"That's a sad commentary in and of itself," muttered Jack and Barbossa knew he had won.
"The world used to be a bigger place," agreed Barbossa. He knew his daughter wanted to follow in his footsteps and he only hoped the age of piracy would last long enough for her to do so.
"The world's still the same. There's just... less in it," Jack told him and turned away.
PotC
"What the hell are you doing?!" demanded Narcissa Will had turned on her and so had the Chinese crew who were now battling it out with the Pearl's original crew though they were severely outnumbered.
"What I have to," replied Will as the dueled. Narcissa and Will were a fairly even match however Narcissa became distracted when she saw a chinese ship. Will took advantage of her distraction and disarmed her. By now the rest of the crew was tied up.
"It's too late Cissa. Give up. Sao Feng is coming."
Narcissa didn't want to give up without a fight but could tell she was outnumbered especially with the rest of the crew out of commision. Two Chinese crew members grabbed her and, not without a struggle, restrained her in chains with the rest of the crew. Narcissa was pleased at least to see that her sister had given her guard a black eye.
It wasn't long before Sao Feng came aboard followed by the landing party. Inscrutible as ever her father said,
"Sao Feng...you showing up here, it is truly a remarkable coincidence." He was ignored as Sao Feng turned to Jack
"Jack Sparrow. You paid me great insult once."
"That doesn't sound like me," said Jack. In response Sao Feng punched Jack in the nose who groaned but then added.
"Shall we just call it square then?"
"Release Elizabeth and Narcissa. They weren't part of the bargain," ordered Will. to
"And what bargain be that?" asked Narcissa's father voicing the same question that had been burning inside Narcissa.
"You heard Captain Turner, release them!" ordered Sao Feng.
"Captain Turner?" asked Jack in disbelief.
"Aye, the perfidious rotter led a mutiny against us!" snarled Gibbs. Narcissa shot her father an apologetic look. She felt bad that the ship had only been in her custody for less then three minutes before it was taken over.
"I need the Pearl to free my father," explained Will. "That's the only reason I came on this voyage."
"Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?" demanded Elizabeth.
"It was my burden to bear. And you would have never betrayed Cissa," answered Will regretfully.
"Something you have absolutely NO problem with," growled Narcissa. She felt both furious and betrayed. Jack scoffed.
"He needs the Pearl. Captain Turner needs the Pearl," he turned to Elizabeth.. "And you felt guilty," then he moved on to the Barbossa's "And you and your Brethren Court. Did no one come to save me just because they missed me?" Marty, Gibbs, and Cotton all raised their hands. Seeing which way the wind was blowing Pintel and Ragetti followed shooting a regretful look at Narcissa who shrugged.
"I'm standing with them," said Jack with a grin only to be caught by Sao Feng.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but there is an old friend who wants to see you first." Jack looked horrified and resigned.
"I'm not certain I can survive any more visits from old friends."
PotC
Jack was led off, and soon Mercer and other EITC soldiers boarded the ship.
"Prepare the brig," ordered Mercer.
"Beckett agreed the Black Pearl was to be mine." argued Sao Feng. Mercer scoffed.
"He's not going to give up the only ship as can outrun the Dutchman, is he?"
"Shame they're not bound to honor the code of the Brethren, isn't it?" drawled Narcissa's father.
"Because honor's a hard thing to come by nowadays," Narcissa tagged on as the EITC soldiers left to obey Mercer's orders. Sao Feng glared.
"There is no honor to remaining with the losing side. Leaving it for the winning side,
that's just good business."
"The losing side, you say?" questioned Captain Barbossa and Narcissa wondered what her father was up to.
"They have the Dutchman. Now the Pearl! And what do the Brethren have?" Sao Feng questioned.
"We have Calypso," replied Narcissa's father mysteriously. Sao Feng laughed.
"Calypso. An old legend." Narcissa's father shook his head and she saw him briefly glance at Elizabeth.
"No. The goddess herself, bound in human form. Imagine all the power of the seas brought to bear against our enemy. I intend to release her. But for that I need the Brethren Court. All the Court."
"What are you proposing Captain," Sao Feng asked.
"What be you accept'n?" replied her father.
"The girl," said Sao Feng also looking at Elizabeth and Narcissa suddenly understood her father's bluff though she wasn't fond of it.
"What?" said Will also realizing at least part of what was going on. "Elizabeth isn't part of any bargain!"
"Oh because you cared so much before," muttered Narcissa.
"Out of the question," snapped Will.
"There is no question," replied Sao Feng.
"An you aren't the one giving orders given what you landed us in," Narcissa added and to her slight surprise Elizabeth spoke up.
"Done."
"No not done!" argued Will. Elizabeth fixed him with a glare worthy of Narcissa.
"Cissy is right you got us into this mess. If this frees us then it's done."
"Elizabeth they're pirates," Will told her.
"You say that like I'm not one," said Narcissa.
"I've had more than enough experience dealing with pirates," said Elizabeth holding her head high.
"Then we have an accord," asked Narcissa's father.
"Almost, your daughter will be coming with me as well. As insurance," replied Sao Feng. Now it was her father's turn to disagree. He opened his mouth to object but Narcissa grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.
"Trust me," she said softly. They stared at each other for a moment before her father nodded. Narcissa turned back to Sao Feng.
"Then the deal is struck."
Author's Note: Well, looks like we've turned another page in the story. I always got the sense that after Barbossa's death and resurrection it was really a much more friendly rivalry between him and Barbossa. I tried to foreshadow a bit of that with Jack saying in the first book that for as bad as Barbossa was he wouldn't kill his own daughter and the flashback to the two of them in DMC so I hope this doesn't seem to out of nowhere. I may be updating a bit sooner than usual as I'm trying to finish this story up soon before I go on a trip. But I'll certainly have something up by next week at the latest.
