Their hideout worked beautifully. With all its stores of food and ammunition, they could comfortably live for years if not decades. But it was not a place to live out their lives. Their small fleet had no intentions of leaving, even for the bathroom. It smelled of piss and rotting fish. Until one day when a familiar face showed up. It was Dogg. Pearl was so relieved and happy to see him she embraced him, smothering him with kisses. He chuckled, before sighing. "Pity about Nassau. And Anne flying the coup." "Ranger left to visit her, and we're following soon." Jackdaw yawned as he woke, suffering a heavy hangover. "Is this what's left of your experiment with democracy?" "Aye. We do as we please and we take our time doing it." "Christ, Jackdaw, does anything but the stench of riches wrinkle your nose?" "What's gotten into you?" "Reality, mate. Reality." he eyed Interceptor as the brig approached, "See to it you aren't pulled into the drink by this drowning rat!" "We're trying to." Pearl sighed. "But if we don't have a new place to go soon we might end up joining him." "I'll get on that." Interceptor murmured, "I'll head west, into the Pacific. There are thousands of uncharted islands, and the Kingdoms don't plunder the Pacific." "Be careful. It might be called the Pacific but the name is deceptive." Pearl said. "I will be. Don't be surprised if it takes me a few years to return to you. Never lose hope. I'll always return to you." he murmured, nuzzling her fiercely. She kissed him. "I will wait forever." She promised. "Shall we get going to see Anne?" Jackdaw stretched as Interceptor set sail out of the cove. It would be the last time in a while that he would be seen, if ever again.
The small group set sail north for the Colonies. Anne and her small fleet were on an uncharted beach in the southern most part of North Carolina. They seemed to be partying. Ranger was talking to the frigate and didn't seem polite. "What a disappointment you are, Anne. Leaving us when we need you. Damn you. And hang all you lot that follow this sorry bastard into obscurity!" he growled, stalking off. Anne grimaced before looking at Pearl and Jackdaw. She spit. "That brig is a prick." "Tell me about it." Pearl sighed. "He's, very overzealous that's for sure. A thousand apologies Anne." "No need to be sorry...anyway, I heard a rumor about a treasure down south by Kingston. I have plenty of gold to last me in my retirement. If you want it, the quest is yours. Look for a man o war named Royal Fortune. His real name is Black Bart. Ask around Kingston." Pearl shuddered, not wanting anything to do with that port or the Royal Navy. "Anne the last time we faced the British, Britannia was killed. No treasure is worth a second confrontation." She said although Jackdaw was clearly interested. "With the British focusing on Nassau, Kingston will be left lightly guarded. Plus, we could finally pick up Prince." Jackdaw nudged her, reminding her of her youngest child. Pearl swallowed hard and looked at Passionate. "Would he come?" She asked. "After the death of Britannia...and my disappearance...and revealing who you are to him...yeah. He'll come." her daughter nodded. "Then go we shall." Pearl sighed. She turned to Anne. "You have done well for yourself. I only hope I can do the same for my family when my own time comes." "Well don't just sit there like a barrel of wet fish. We're celebrating my retirement! Uncork these ships' breakfasts!" she called out to her fleet.
But Pearl spotted one ship near the back sneaking out and farther up the coast. "Anne." She nudged her, directing her attention to the strange vessel. "Well go on, then. I'll save you a few bottles." she nodded, gesturing for Pearl to go follow. "I'll see what he's up to." She said. "And Anne, eyes open. I sense trouble." She moved out to sea. The small schooner seemed to be rushing up north, stopping when he came across a few British frigates. "Lieutenant!" "Jericho, what's the situation?" "They're partying and drunk as all hell. I suspect that Black Pearl knows something. She doesn't miss much. But the rest of them are clueless as to what's going on." "Good...then light the signal. And always remember this day." The schooner nodded, and Pearl watched as he lit a rocket off into the air. On the misty horizon were several flashes, revealing the outlines of a fleet of warships. It was the British! Mortar fire rained down back south where Anne and her children were. "No..." Pearl whispered, turning heel and running as fast as she could back down the coast. She was grateful she had the breeze working with her.
The harbor was on fire, with several ships dead and burning. Anne, Jackdaw and Passionate were scrambling through the maze of debris, meeting up with Pearl as the British fleet approached. Many of Anne's surviving fleet joined up with them. "Note the day, lads! Today, we send the King's finest to their graves!" Anne hissed. "Anne, its an Armada out there. I know you want to fight but come back to the hideout with us, we'll figure something out." Pearl begged her. "We need to break through if we want to head back to your hideout, Pearl! We need to fight!" she hissed. The flagship of this fleet approached. It wasn't Alexander, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how it was looked at, but the vessel was still a mighty intimidating first rate nonetheless. Pearl moved alongside Anne. "I stand with you." She promised and attacked. The four outnumbered the first rate, but the first rate had firepower. As they exchanged shots, the rest of the Armada fell into place, flanking both sides and pushing in hard. Suddenly, it was a maze of yellow and black hulls as the pirates clashed hull to hull with the British.
Pearl was alongside Anne when it happened. The black ship had a shallow draft and so wasn't affected but the British's method was to drive them into the shallows. And Anne was the first casualty. "Anne, reef!" She cried in warning. The frigate attempted to move, but got distracted. A shot into her flank made her collapse. Jackdaw cried out and tried to get to her, but found himself pushed back by a frigate. "Pearl! Jackdaw! Nngh...in a world without gold, we might have been heroes!" Anne grunted. Jackdaw struggled. "ANNE!" he cried as a first rate fired a broadside into her head. The world around him seemed to slow, and his heart dropped. He couldn't believe it...he was brought back by a frigate biting into him and tossing him aside. The last thing Anne heard was Pearl's anguished scream.
When Anne fell, Pearl saw red. She became a ferocious monster, tearing the first rate apart. Spitting his blood from her mouth she turned to Jackdaw. "Run!" She cried, making a break through the hole in the blockade. As she, Jackdaw and Passionate broke out, the vessels in Anne's fleet attempted to do the same. But all around them, the pirate ships fell, one by one. Through the heavy smoke, they were the only vessels to survive the slaughter.
They retreated to a safe distance and Pearl took stock of their situation. Passionate was wounded. However, Jackdaw was silently crying. Pearl moved to comfort her son. None of them could believe what had happened. What was happening. After countless years, decades, centuries of free vessels challenging the kingdoms of the Old World, the age of piracy was coming to an end. Tortuga was destroyed. Nassau was fallen. And the veterans of piracy were slowly being turned or eradicated. Passionate bit her lip at her brother's sobs. Jackdaw had loved Anne. And she felt for him. Pearl sighed. "We have no choice but to return to the hideout. Its our one and only place left, until Interceptor returns." She said. "What about the ship Anne mentioned? This Black Bart?" Dogg asked. "I'll look into it." Pearl promised. "We need all the allies we can get right now." "Then we need to get Prince. He has more firepower than even Alexander." Passionate murmured. "Agreed." Pearl said. "Dogg, lead the rest of the pirates back to the hideout. Passionate and I will go and find Prince. We won't return without him." "Ask about Black Bart. Anne said he usually hangs about in Kingston anyway. Answers to the handle of Royal Fortune." Dogg nodded.
The pair set out to for Kingston. Pearl dropped her distinctive black sails, in fact they both did and replaced them with white canvas. Their hulls could not be so easily covered so markings were added. Pearl wore a gold racing stripe, Passionate green. The latter wore the same colors her half-sister would 40 years on. They split up to cover more ground. The harbor was huge, with mazes of docks and piers. British warships dotted the water. Passionate had the idea to leave their flags hidden beneath some barrels so that any bee hulls that might stop to inspect them wouldn't find out their identity. Eventually, Pearl would find her daughter talking angrily with a larger merchant. "What's going on?" She asked, coming up alongside her. "Tell her what you told me!" Passionate hissed. The merchant shrugged. "Haven't seen Royal Fortune in eight months, meaning, he may soon be back." "And?" "I thought this slaver belonged to the other ships that were asking about Fortune." Now Pearl was angry. "She belongs to herself. As do I." She growled. "Now, if you won't issue an apology then the least you could do is tell us where HMS Prince is." "No idea who that is. Look, I just thought she was a trader, since she's a slaver and some official looking ships were asking about Royal Fortune earlier." "You're forgiven. Now be on your way and we'll be on ours." "Hold on." Passionate said, "What officials?" "I don't know their names. One was a big British first rate, the other an armored and mean looking schooner." Pearl looked at her daughter. Not recognizing the pair but it didn't sound good. "We better get going." She said to her. "It's Alex and Benjamin. They're here, and they're looking for Bart too...maybe they know where he is. If we can find them we can follow and eavesdrop on their conversation..." Passionate suggested. "It's too dangerous." Pearl said. "If we're caught..." "Then why don't you find them? If you do get caught you can outrun them. I can search around for anyone that knows anything on Prince." Pearl sighed. "Alright. You my dear keep your head on a swivel. This is not a place to linger." "Fair enough, mother." she nodded before setting off on her own once again.
Pearl went out to sea to search for Alex. With her white canvas she looked nothing like her pirate self, from a distance at least. Best keep that distance when she found him. It didn't take long. He was heading out of the merchant docks towards the Navy piers, talking with none other than Benjamin. Pearl found a place to hide behind an outcropping. Close enough to listen in but well covered in case they looked her way. "What do the vials do with our blood?" Benjamin asked. "It's a device that looks through the eyes of whoever the blood belongs to. We can see where anyone is at all times. Listen to their secrets. Decipher their plans. This is the Observatory's promise, and Black Bart is the only one who can take us to it." Alex explained. They sailed onwards, picking up some escorts at the Navy piers. "I see. Well, Burgess and Cockrahm are fast ships with firm hearts, they'll have no problem in bringing him back from Principe." "Scrap." Pearl whispered, ducking down as she pondered the implications. Such a device could destroy them all. Alex could discover their hideout if he so chose. "I must warn Passionate." She muttered. But how to get past Alex without being seen. The answer came in a most unexpected way. It had been years but Pearl still shuddered as she felt the familiar brush against her keel. "Hello again, my sister's friend." She whispered. "Think you can pass on a message for me." "Of course." Her voice was soft, almost musical.
Their conversation was interrupted. As Alex began talking with the escorts, Benjamin saw something and narrowed his eyes. He removed the barrel that had been hiding her flag. "Black Pearl! Imagine my surprise at seeing your flag hidden here. Have you heard all you came to hear? Will you now rescue Black Bart from our clutching hands?" he asked outloud, not knowing where she was but knowing she was listening. She said nothing, not risking giving away her position. She could outrun them but at this distance they'd have plenty of time to put cannonballs into her hull. "Send warning to Burgess and Cockrahm. The Nassau runners are after Black Bart." Benjamin said, to which Alex agreed. They and their escorts left Kingston, and the Navy was checking every vessel they came across. It would make slipping out difficulty. Or it would, if Pearl didn't have an ace up her sleeve. And that ace was named Campe. Pearl had no choice. She had to run so run she did! She was counting on Campe to cover her. Her path was cleared by the Royal Navy vessels blocking her route being pulled under the surface. Passionate had the same help, and soon, they rendezvoused outside of Kingston. "Now that was fun." Pearl panted, sending Campe a silent thanks. "Yeah it was. Next time, let's just put the flags DEEP under deck. In the brig!" "Agreed." Pearl said. "Alex and Ben are indeed going after Bart. We need to find him before they do. And there's more. Ben has this, blood machine. All he needs is a vile of blood and he can track us." "You didn't spill any, did you?" "Not recently. But who says it needs to be recent." Pearl said. "Then we need to hurry." Passionate nodded, "Oh! I found out where Prince is!" "Where?" Pearl asked. "He's not too far away. The southeast just off where we are now! That Fog bank that encases the Devil's Triangle, that's where he is." "His favorite hunting spot..." Pearl mused. "What are the chances he'll look before he shoots?" "Very good, really. Just fly old Georgie's Jack and he'll not harm you." She nodded. She despised the British flag but a false flag operation was always a good time.
