Chapter 2

Hiding from the Royal Navy was always a pain considering how they would always be in a huge group, marching everywhere they go. Like now for instance. Soldiers, marching practically every street in the town while double-checking the alleyways.

Once the soldiers had marched by, Jack grabbed his sword out of the statue's grip that he had set there and peeked out of his hiding. When he saw that the coast was clear for now, he quickly entered the closest building, which just so happened to be the blacksmith. Jack quickly closed the door behind him when he entered and checked his surroundings.

The place wasn't much considering it was your usual blacksmith. Anvils, hammers, irons, and other materials that one would usually see. Jack didn't care much about it though since he had entered here for one thing and one thing only. To get the darn iron shackles off of his wrists and go back to find his Aria and make his way off this island with the ship that he had come for. So when his eyes spotted the hanged hammer near the anvil, Jack made no hesitation to make his way towards it.

Hanging his hat so it wouldn't be in the way, Jack had just grabbed a hammer in his hand until a sound of a glass bottle falling and rolling on the ground made him put his guard up instantly. Turning quickly to where the sound had come from, Jack looked around until his sight landed on a snoring aproned man, whom he had to guess was probably the blacksmith of the shop. Wondering if the man was truly asleep, Jack cautiously walked up to the still snoring man and started to poke him. When he didn't wake, Jack tried shouting at him, but the drunken man still hadn't awakened.

Seeing this as his greatest opportunity without having to worry about anyone stopping him, Jack went back to the anvil and started hammering away at the chains. Course, no matter how many times he swung, the chain just wouldn't break. Instead, it merely bent in places from his hammering. Sighing in frustration, Jack started tugging it, hoping the damn thing would snap.

But it was too good to be true since it stayed strong. About to give up on it, Jack looked around to see if there was anything else around here that could snap the damn chains until his sight landed on the gears above. Gears that connected to a harnessed donkey.

Walking by the still-burning furnace, Jack grabs an iron stick out of it and sees the heated metal burning a bright red glow. Looking over at the donkey, he sent a mental apology to it but it had to be done if he wanted the chains to be broken. Making his way towards it, Jack went behind the donkey and poked the heated end at its rear. The poor thing squealed at the pain and started walking, powering the gears to life as the furnace puffs out smoke.

Powering the gears achieved, Jack quickly made his way back to the furnace, putting the heated stick back into it, and made his way to the gears. He grabbed the chains in his hands and looped the thing onto the gaps of it as he followed it and watched as another gear successfully snapped the chain in half. Bringing the broken chain up to his eye level, Jack grinned at finally succeeding. With the chains finally broken, he could now go and look for Aria until the sound of the blacksmith's front door started rattling, snapping his attention to it.

When he saw the door start to open, Jack quickly looked around and hid beside the furnace near the darkest corner where he hoped no one would see him if it was the Royal Navy soldiers.

Instead of soldiers like he thought, Jack saw a lad walk into the building, closing the door behind him. He quietly watched as the young lad quickly went over to the donkey, calming it as it stopped powering the furnace. Sighing, the young man got back up on his feet and started to take off his coat as he made his way to the forging station.

Stopping a few feet in front of the still snoring blacksmith, Will sighed, "Right where I left you."

Turning to the station, he eyed it confusedly when he saw one of his hammers on the anvil, "Not where I left you."

Looking over, Jack quietly cursed at himself for forgetting his hat when he saw the young lad had seen it. When he saw him reaching out for it, Jack slowly unsheathed his sword and slapped the flat of his blade onto the outstretched hand.

Will, surprised by the blade, jumped back when he saw the pirate captain who was the owner wielding the said weapon. Keeping his sword on him, Jack started backing him far away from his hat.

"You're the one they're hunting. The pirate," said Will, keeping his eyes on Jack while keeping an eye on the sword too in case the pirate decided to take a swing at him.

Looking at him a bit closer, Jack frowned when he got a good look at the young lad's face, "You seem somewhat familiar… have I threatened you before?"

"I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates."

Jack ah'd, "Ah. Well, then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record. So if you'll excuse me…"

Turning behind him to reach for his hat, Jack stopped mid-reach when he heard the familiar sound of an unsheathed blade behind him. He hoped the young lad did not do what he thought he did as he turned around to face him. There, pointing in front of his face was the tip of a blade that the young lad now held in his hand.

Inwardly sighing at how these young lads always wanted to play the hero because they are either accepted or not accepted in the Royal Navy, Jack narrows his eyes at him, "Do you think this wise, boy? Crossing blades with a pirate?"

In response to his question, Will got into a stance, telling Jack that he was dumb enough to fight him, "You threatened Miss Aria."

Surprised that this lad knew about his Aria, Jack starts to wonder if this boy was one of her so-called suitors. Giving him a quick look, the lad didn't look like much to him. Handsome face, though not as good looking as Jack himself, but that's pretty much all he sees in this young lad. Though seeing him brandishing a sword at him, Jack decided to test him just how good he was as he ran his blade along with his, telling Will that he accepted his challenge, "Only a little." The lad didn't need to know that he would never harm her in the first place.

As the two stood still, eyes narrowing at each other, Jack attacked first. Feints, thrusts, and parries were thrown so fast that Jack was a bit impressed that the lad had no problem matching him.

He smirked, "You know what you're doing, I'll give you that… Excellent form… But how's your footwork? If I step here-"

Taking a step to his right, Jack saw the lad follow his steps by going to his right and immediately attack and defend every parry with his own.

"Very good! And now I step again."

This time going to his left, Jack feint and parried as he moved around the lad. Once they stopped, Jack grinned at their position that is now opposite from where they first stood, "Ta!"

Sheathing his sword, Jack spun on his heel and climbed up the edge so he could make his way out of the blacksmith to be on his way. However, what he hadn't anticipated was a sword thrown two inches away from his head, right above the latch. Grabbing the thing, Jack tugged it a few times as he rattled the latch to try and get the darn thing open for him to exit. But the darn sword wouldn't move an inch, locking him in the building.

Trying to keep his cool, Jack took a deep breath before swiftly turning on his heel to look back at the lad, smiling, "That is a wonderful trick. Except, once again, you are between me and my way out."

And his way back to Aria, though he still wonders if she still remembers him. Focusing back at the lad in front of him, Jack drew his sword once more from its sheath, "And now you have no weapon."

Apparently, he had spoken a bit too soon for Will had grabbed an unfinished sword from the furnace and held it up in front of him. Jack looked warily at it seeing as it was still hot and burning red from being in the fire. The donkey, who had gotten burned by Jack, got scared of the thing as it remembered the pain and started walking, powering the furnace once more.

Trying to find a way out of this mess, Jack frantically looked around until he saw a back exit. The very exit that the young lad was now in front of. And it would seem that Will had seen what he was about to do because when Jack had leaped around the machinery to try and make it, the young lad swung and stopped him.

Locked back into their duel, Jack, not wanting to be burnt from the darn unfinished sword, used his chain after deflecting Will's parry. He swung his left chained wrist at the lad, the thing missing him by a few inches. Will was a bit surprised by that which gave Jack the chance to swing his chain again. This time, it wrapped around the lad's weapon, Jack pulling it free from his hand and threw it somewhere behind him, leaving poor Will weaponless once more.

Of course, he didn't stay weaponless for long until Jack saw him make a grab for another sword. Parrying and deflecting, the pirate captain then finally noticed all the swords that were displayed on the machinery from where Will had grabbed the one, "Who makes all these?"

"I do!" answered Will, dodging thrown tools from the pirate while parrying to try to get a hit in, "And I practice with them three hours a day!"

Jack looked incredulously at the lad. Three hours a day? Now, he just didn't know whether to be impressed or feel sorry for him. Dodging from another swing at his head, Jack moved around the machinery, now taking the young lad's spot as he smirked, "You need to find yourself a girl, mate!"

Angry at the insult, Will swung harder, hoping to at least land a hit but Jack was able to block every swing. Backing away from the machine, Jack made a grab for another tool when he saw the lad make a grab for a second-bladed sword. He then starts blocking and deflecting every swing aimed at him with only his one sword.

When he managed to block both swords with his, Jack then thought of a reason, "Or, perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one - and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet." As he said that, a thought occurred to him as he looked at the lad from head to toe, "You're not a eunuch, are you?"

Will coils in anger, "I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate… I can kill it."

Swinging his sword, Will starts to drive Jack backward, and up, onto a two-wheeled cart. When Jack passed the midpoint, the wood that held the cart in place rolled away from their weight while the two men fought, trying to keep their balance on the thing.

Will, seeing Jack's chain, free and unattended, swung one of his swords at it. Twisting the handle of his guard through a link, he then stabs the sword up onto a beam above them.

Jack frowned at his predicament since his manacled left arm is now suspended from the ceiling. Looking in front of him, his eyes widen when he sees the young lad make a swing at him with his other sword. Not good. Bringing his sword up, Jack parries using one hand, twisting and dodging.

Will is proud of himself for his small accomplishment of getting the pirate stuck. However, that feeling didn't last long until Jack slammed his foot down on one of the boards, making it fly up, hitting Will in the chin and sending him flying off the cart.

Jack knew that the young lad wouldn't stay down for long, considering how young his heroic heart is, he instantly focused his attention on his left arm. Pulling on the damn sword out of the beam, Jack cursed when the thing wouldn't budge a bit just like the one that the young lad had lodged above the latch of the door. He then sees the lad start to get up from the ground. Grounding his teeth in frustration, Jack jumps up, putting his feet on the beam, and uses all of his force to free the sword.

He grins when he finally pulls it out of the beam until quickly losing it when he remembers his position. Eyes widening, he fell straight down onto the cart, rolling off of the thing, as his head hit the stone step. He was dazed for a bit when he got back up to his feet on the cart and held his sword out, ready for the lad to take a swing at him. But when his eyes focused, he couldn't find him anywhere until he looked up... just in time to see the lad cutting the rope that holds a bunch of casks, making them fall onto the other end of the cart, sending Jack flying.

Grabbing onto the beam, Jack hung there for a bit as he tried to catch his breath before getting to his feet and carefully balances himself on the thing so as not to fall while the two continue back to their fighting. Jack was so focused on trying not to fall while keeping his balance that he had accidentally swung too far, giving the lad the opportunity to knock the sword from his hand. The pirate captain, looking at his empty hand, then jumps off the beam. Will quickly follows, making onto the ground first, and points his sword at the unarmed pirate.

Having enough of this, Jack takes the hanging bag next to him and compresses it, blowing a shower of dirt and ashes into the young lad's face. Seeing him quickly covering his eyes, Jack kicked the sword out of his hand and got back down on the ground, holding his pistol aiming it right between the lad's eyes.

He didn't want to resort to this. He really didn't. But the lad was just too strong-hearted and wouldn't let him go. Which Jack didn't like because every second he was spent fighting in here, was every second wasted away from Aria and getting off this island while trying not to get captured by the Royal Navy. So when the young lad was able to compose himself, he grabbed an iron stick and was about to swing it at the pirate captain until he stopped, finally noticing the pistol pointed at him.

"You cheated," said Will, disbelieving that this pirate had no honor in a sword fight.

Jack simply replied, "Pirate."

The two stood before one another until the sound of the back door rattled and opened. Wondering who had come in, their curiosity was answered when both heard the familiar feminine voice.

"Will, did you get those nails ready for me like I requested?" asked Aria, looking down at a small booklet when she entered.

When none answered her, she looked up, her eyes widening when Jack saw them landed on him. He watches her look at their situation, him pointing his pistol at the young lad Will's face. There, even though the room may be dark, he saw curiosity, shock, and mostly amusement dancing in her eyes even though she didn't express it.

"Miss Aria?" asked Will, shocked that she was standing there with no fear as the very same pirate that had hurt her not too long ago stood in front of him.

Jack almost huffed in annoyance when her eyes strayed from his to look at the young lad in front of him, "Am I interrupting something? If so, I'll just be on my way."

Jack almost smiled in front of Will when he heard the amusement in her voice. But his mind focused back to attention when he heard the banging sound of the locked front door. From the noises and shouts of orders that he could hear, he knew instantly that they were the Royal Navy soldiers this time.

Making his way towards the back door that Aria had just entered from, Jack was stopped in his tracks when the lad moved in front of him. Keeping his pistol still pointing at him, Jack ordered, "Move away."

"No," said Will, not wanting this pirate to escape nor get anywhere near Aria, who still stood near the back doors.

Frustrated at the young lad's strong-hearted determination of trying to keep him here, Jack kindly asked, hoping he would do as he said, "Please move!"

Instead of heeding his plea request, Will strongly denied, "No! I can not just step aside and let

you escape."

Hearing the doors slowly breaking, Jack clocks his pistol, really hoping he didn't have to use his only shot at the young lad, "This shot is not meant for you."

Will looked confused by his words while Aria raised an eyebrow, curious about what the pirate captain had meant by that. Though, the next thing Jack felt was a glass bottle slamming onto the back of his head, making black spots appear in his vision before he felt his body crumple to the ground.

Dazed from the hit, Jack heard the door splinter open and knew that the cavalry had arrived. He mentally slurred a curse as his eyes shut from the black spots practically encased his vision. Though his ears still worked perfectly as he heard Norrington's voice in the room along with a bunch of the soldiers' footsteps that he knew now surrounded his body.

"Excellent work, Mr. Brown. You've assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive."

"Just doing my civic duty, sir," said a deep and older voice, one that Jack knew instantly that couldn't be the lad and was probably owned by the drunken man by the way he sounded drunk and dehydrated. Jack knew then that the drunkard must've woken up from his sleep some while ago while he and the lad were fighting and had taken the opportunity to hit him in the head with his empty rum bottle.

Jack actually felt kind of sorry for the young lad. Kind of. Seeing how he was the one who had bravely fought the pirate and yet, in the end, someone else ended up getting the credit. Well, Jack could care less seeing as how it was the lad's fault that he was in this predicament now. And it is also the second time that he will have to leave his Aria once more.

Trying to move his head, Jack groans at the still aching pain. This, however, did not go unnoticed by Norrington's attention as he knew that the pirate captain was still awake and mocked, "Well, I trust you will always remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped."

Turning to his men, he ordered, "Take him away."

Doing as he says, Jack could feel hands grabbing a tight grip on his arms as they hefted him up on his feet. He groaned at the sudden movement, however, none of the soldiers cared for his pain as they roughly hauled him away. Before they fully left the shop though, Jack was able to have one last squint to see a look of amusement dancing in Aria's ocean blue eyes on her non-expressional face as she watched them leave.

Jack, knowing that it would be a while until he got to see her again, slurred like a drunken man through his pain, "Aria, my love, fore it woe me so. I, your Romeo- wait, no, that's stupid…"

Mumbling to himself, Jack threw an arm up towards her direction, "I, your Pirate Captain, shall take thee and hither with me to the horizon! If I'm not dead yet by dawn."

A chime of laughter came from the shipwright woman, "If that is your way of Shakespeare, Captain Jack Sparrow. It was truly awful. You should just stick to being a pirate."

Jack grins at her before he is pushed from behind by one of the soldiers, following them to where they kept all pirates and troublemakers at. Behind bars where none can escape.

Unless Lady Luck is on his side then he will have no trouble at all. Though he doubts that considering how lucky he has been so far. One, instead of commandeering the ship, he gets shackled. Two, instead of leaving to try and go back to commandeer the ship after freeing himself of the shackles, he gets stopped by a blacksmith boy. Who might or might not be a Eunuch. And three, hoping to escape and not get captured, he gets captured anyway!

Huh, now that he thinks about it, luck really wasn't in his favor today.

Jack was snapped out of his thoughts when the guards took his effects off of his person and led him to the opened door that he knew would lead down to the prison cells. Leading him down the stairs, one of them unlocked the empty cell next to the one that was already occupied by several captured ragged pirates. The soldier that was still holding onto him, pushed him into the now opened cell, the other slamming the door shut behind him.

Stumbling on his feet, Jack swiftly turned around to them when one of them spoke, "We'll be back for you all at dawn to take you to the gallows."

With that said, they left.

Apparently, the prisoners in the adjoining cell didn't seem to like that as they started murmuring among themselves. The soldiers, not heeding them any mind, left the cellars.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get out of this one, Jack decided to sit and wait for his fate.

A couple of hours, night has fallen, and the lads, desperate to not face the noose of death, were trying to get the keys from the dog, which it held their very freedom in its mouth. They were using a big piece of bone to try and bait it towards them.

"Come here, boy."

"Want a nice juicy bone?"

Rolling his eyes at their desperate attempt, Jack lowered his hat, the only thing that the guards let him keep, over his eyes as he drawled, "You can keep doing that forever, the dog is never going to move."

The lads stopped their whistling as they turned to him and replied, "Oh, excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows just yet!"

Jack smiles at their words, knowing exactly how they felt. But, what can you do stuck in a cell, waiting as the hours, the minutes, the seconds slowly tick by as you wait for their life to cease? That is unless Lady Luck finally decides to play a part and finally save them. So as he sat there, he perks up when he heard soldiers started shouting.

"Cannon Fire!"

Frowning at what he just heard, Jack sat up and listened closely. He instantly recognized the cannons being fired as cannonballs whistled through the air.

"I know those guns!"

Quickly getting up from where he sat, he peers out through the bars of the window. There, down by the docks, anchored the very ship that Jack heartily missed. Just seeing its beauty from afar, he could still see its magnificent build that he remembers wholeheartedly by memory.

"It's the Pearl," Jack said softly.

Hearing what he said, one of the lads came up to the bar that separated him from them, "The Black Pearl? I've heard stories… she's been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years… never leaves any survivors."

Jack inwardly scoffs as he turns to the lad, "No survivors? Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?"

The lads frowned, starting to wonder about that themselves now that they think about it.

Turning his attention back out on his ex-pirate crew raiding the town, Jack frowned in worry, hoping that Aria had found a safe place to hide. Though remembering that she could handle herself just as well with a sword and gun a long time ago, he doubts that any of the crewmen would get an upper hand on her. Unless the legend was true then he hopes she runs like the wind and stays unharmed until he is able to meet with her again.

As he watched and listened to soldiers firing back at the raiding pirates, men and women screaming as they ran, Jack's eyes widen when he heard a whistling of a fired cannonball from the ship heading straight in his direction. Not wanting to be blown to bits, he quickly jumped away from the wall as the cannonball burst through the lads' wall, freeing them.

Seeing their chance of freedom, they all quickly started to scramble through the open wall as one of the lads spoke to him, "My sympathies, friend - you've no manner of luck at all!"

Getting up, Jack slowly walked towards the adjoined cell and watches in resignation as the lads cackled in glee, fleeing within the chaos. He couldn't believe that Lady Luck would help these other prisoners from their fate and yet leaves him stuck here to face the gallows. Jack couldn't help but tighten his hands into fists as he shook them angrily, wondering what he had done for her to not help him in his situation.

Sighing in defeat, he dropped his hands and looks over at the now-empty cell and saw the very bone that the lads were using to bait. Can't believe that he has to resort to the very thing that he had told them that the dog would never move for, Jack can only hope that the dog would go for it this time. So, kneeling down and grabbing the bone, he stuck his arm out through the cell bars and waved it, whistling, "Come on, doggie… it's just you and me now. It's you and ol' Jack, come on…"

To his surprise, the dog actually moved for him. Maybe Lady Luck was finally on his side! Whistling for the dog, Jack kept urging it to come closer, "Come 'ere, that's a boy... Good boy. Come get the bone. That's a good boy, come on! Bit closer, bit closer. That's it, that's it, doggie."

Smiling in glee at how close the keys were, Jack was getting impatient at how slow the dog was. It was only just two feet away from him as he kept waving the bone for it to come closer, "Come on you filthy, slimy, mangy cur."

However, Lady Luck decided to abandon him once again when a loud bang came from the entrance of the dungeon just up the stairs, scaring the dog away as it took the keys with it.

Jack reached an arm out at it, watching as the keys to his freedom of the noose were taken away from him, "No, no, no, don't do that. No, no, I didn't mean it. I didn't…"

He dropped and softly banged his head on the cell bar, inwardly whining why Lady Luck would do this to him. Jack didn't get to dwell in his misery for long when a sentry fell to the bottom of the stairs. Looking away from the dead sentry, Jack slowly stood up when a pair of his ex-pirate mates came stumbling down the stairs. He instantly recognized them as Koehler and Twigg, the very two who were loyal to the very wretched pirate captain who mutinied against him and took his very treasure.

Looking around the place, Twigg growled, "This ain't the armory."

He was about to make his way to go back until Koehler spotted Jack within the cell in front of them. Sheathing his sword, he spoke, catching Twigg's attention, "Well, well, well... Look what we have here, Twigg. Captain Jack Sparrow."

Jack inwardly applauded. Finally, someone called him by his title. However, Koehler spits on the ground as if calling Jack's name and his title gave a bad taste in his mouth.

"Last time I saw you, you were all alone on a God-forsaken island, shrinking into the distance. His fortunes aren't improved much," said Twigg, taunting Jack of what they had done to him as the two laughed.

Feeling the burning anger of the remembrance of what they had done to him ten years ago, Jack didn't show his fury as he taunted them back, "Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen. The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers… and mutineers."

The two stopped laughing at his words. Koehler angered at what Jack just said, lashes out as he grabbed him by the throat through the bars. Jack looks down at the arm and was shocked that it had changed into a skeletal arm within the moonlight.

"So there is a curse. That's interesting."

Koehler sneered, "You know nothing of hell."

Shoving Jack backward, hard, both he and Twigg made their way back outside. Leaving the still prisoned captain to contemplate what he just saw.

"That's very interesting."

So, the information that he was given about the very gold was true. This means, the gold coin that he saw the young woman, Elizabeth, wore around her neck. They had come for it because of the pulse that it had given when it touched the ocean water. That very thing called them here, like a beacon. Well, if he had known that he would've done that ages ago.

Then again, he wouldn't have been reunited with Aria. He would've kept drinking his sorrow away from the loss of the very woman who is his other half… Oh well, guess he'll just have to wait and hope that Lady Luck would be on his side this time when morning comes. With what the pirate raid has done, he knew the soldiers and Commodore would be too busy trying to get the town in order so his execution will be delayed. For now at least.

The only thing that he hopes now, is Aria being safe and sound now that he knows that his old crew was cursed with the ability of not being able to die.