Back on the Pearl, Sao Feng had weighted his options and finally chose a side, even if it was the losing side. He turned to Barbossa who had his eyes on Mercer, the man in black being ignorant of what would take place very soon.

"What are you proposing, Captain?" he asked the bearded man.

"What be accepted, Captain?"

Sao Feng turned and looked at Elizabeth. "The girl"

"What?" the blond exclaimed while Artemis peered her head from behind some crewmen, her eyes landing on Barbossa.

He turned to look at her, his blue eyes showing that he had a plan, but she was not certain how much she liked the idea of Sao Feng having Elizabeth for any reason what so ever. However, their time was almost up, and they had to make a decision, or they would all be dead.

Will, fought against the crew members that held him once he had heard the words leaving his mouth. "Elizabeth is not part of any bargain!"

"Out of the question" Barbossa agreed, surprising Artemis who stayed quiet.

"It was not a question" Sao Feng argued.

Elizabeth, having enough of men deciding for her; took a few steps forward. "Done"

"What? Not done!" Will argued, trying to stand close to Elizabeth and cover her from the Pirate Lord.

"You got us into this mess! If this is what frees us, then done!"

"Elizabeth! They're pirates!"

"I've had more than enough experience dealing with pirates!" she shoved him to the side, coming face to face with the two Captain.

Artemis watched with her mouth slightly open and blinked. She knew that the younger woman had a fire within her and when she was pissed, she was dangerous. However, she would have never expected her to do such a thing.

She smiled faintly, feeling immense pride at how much the girl had matured. She didn't just care about Will, she cared about all and valued freedom more than anything. She knew that accepting the deal was the only way to escape from all of this.

"So we have an accord?" Barbossa asked.

To her surprise, the blond turned to look at the redhead who had been observing from the shadows. After the incident with her father, the rift between them had become much smaller and they were once again; closer.

She shallowed the lump in her throat, feeling most eyes on her and understanding that she had to make the final decision.


While a mutiny was about to take place, Jack and Beckett were kept going with the deal; slowly each one showing their aces and waiting for the other to show a flaw which they could fix and make their final plan flawless.

"Jack! I've just recalled, I have this wonderful compass which points to whatever I want. So for what do I need you?" Beckett asked as he held the said compass from the string, making Jack's eye to land on it but the smirk stayed on his face.

"It points to what you want most, and that's not the Brethren Court, is it?"

"Then what is?"

"Me. Dead"

Beckett pointed his gun at Jack. "Although if I kill you, then I can use the compass to find... Shipwreck Cove, was it? Cut out the middleman, as it were"

Jack smirked and walked closer, unfazed by the weapon that could put a bullet between his eyes in a blink of an eye. "With me killed, you'd arrive at Shipwreck Cove, find its stronghold nigh impregnable, able to withstand blockade for years, and then you'd wish, 'Oh, if only there were someone I had not killed inside to assure that the pirates then come outside'..."

"And you can accomplish all this, can you?" he lowered his gun

"You may kill me, but you may never insult me. Who am I? *Beckett flounders* I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" Suddenly, the ship was blasted by a cannonball and caused them to almost lose their balance. Jack grabbed the chance to shake Beckett's hand. "Done!"

He wasted, then, no time running out of the cabin. He watched around, seeing the pirate crew on the pearl fighting against the soldiers and tossing them to the water while cannonballs were damaging the British ship.

He headed for the deck and quickly loaded a cannon with a rope tied around the cannonball. He then tied the other end of the rope to his ankle and got ready. Beckett and one of his officers quickly followed, stopping at a safe distance and watching the bizarre and suicidal trick.

"You're mad!"

"Thank goodness for that, because if I wasn't, this would probably never work" with those words, he fired the cannon which hit the mast and vaulted jack on the air.


On top of the Pearl, the Pirates were victorious. They either killed or tossed over the soldiers with the exception of Mercer who had jumped into the sea before they could catch him. Since he was out of the way, Artemis had wasted no time in shouting orders and quickly helping with the sails.

Elizabeth had joined Sao Feng and his crew. They had made an agreement to meet at the Brothering Court and Artemis silently prayed that nothing would go wrong after that.

Once all of them foreign men were finished and the pearl was ready, they had started to sail. However, they all came to a halt and stopped what they were doing when they heard a familiar cry.

Above their heads, Jack flew with his ankle tied to cannonball by a rope. The cannonball kept going, passing above the desk and towards the sea at the other side. Everyone followed, the sound of splashing water forcing them to look down in worry.

They all wondered and some thought that Jack was dead or that he would swim up, but nothing like that happened.

Then Barbossa pulled away and his eye caught something on top of some statues. Turning his head, everyone followed, and they watched Jack being safe and sound and free. He had his hands in front of his chest, a smug smirk on his face.

"And that was without a single drop of rum" he gloated, earning an eye roll from his former first mate. He then jumped down and looked at Will. "Send this pestilent traitorous cow hearted yeasty codpiece to the brig"

As his orders were followed, Artemis approached him with a smile. "I see no limps missing or an angry hoard of British soldiers behind you" she joked as she stood in front of him.

"Lassie…who am I?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow" He grinned as the ship kept going, the sound of falling mass made them look behind and see Beckett's ship in bad condition. "Nicely done"

He gave a theatrical bow and caused her to chuckle but then his face turned serious as he remembered one specific thing. "How do you know Beckett?"

Her smile dropped and she took a deep breath, averting her eyes to the side. She should have seen it coming, she couldn't keep it away from him for much longer. Without saying a word, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bow where almost no one was.

She looked around, making sure that no one would over listen, and she then turned to look at him, his brown eyes staring into her guilty soul.

"What did he tell you?"

"He seemed quite fond of you. Now, you know that I do not like secrets Lassie *pushes a strand behind her ear* I want the truth"

She left out a sigh. "You are right…You see…Beckett and I met when I was still staying with the Governor. We met at one ball and then in many others, he constantly kept inviting me…that when it happens, it usually leads to-"

"Marriage" he continued, quickly connecting the dots.

"Considering my age, I was pressured and he had sent many letters voicing such idea but I never replied. His last one was a day before you show and he exclaimed how he would come to make me his fiancé…even though I had tried to turn him down"

Jack kept looking at her but she had turned her head to the side. She was not proud of having any sort of contact with the man who literally hunted them down. He left out a sigh of his own and put his hand under her chin, redirecting her attention to him.

"I presume those plans have been put on hold"

"More like cancelled. If we lose this battle, I am taking myself to the Locker Jack. I am not going back"

He smiled, seeing that fire which had drawn him to her so long ago. She would never go down without a fight and he found himself relieved. She had no feelings for the man in stockings but instead despised him pretty much as he did.

"That is good to hear Lassie"

"Jack"

"Hmm"

"How do you know him?"

Her question made his smile drop, painful memories passing through his mind. He let go of her chin and left out a sigh before taking a step back. "He is the man from my story, Lassie. He is the one who sunk my ship and branded me as a Pirate"

His brown eyes cast a shadow and his hand with the symbol was subconsciously stiff as he recalled the hot iron against his skin and the cold chains around his wrists. A hand grabbed it, a sense of warmth spreading and soothing the burning sensation.

"Do not worry Jack. You can always join me to the Locker"

He found a very faint smile across his lips and he turned his head to look at her, seeing her now standing next to him. She leaned her body against his, her head resting on his shoulder in a moment of comfort.

"Thank you, Lassie,"