Little Sparrow
Summary: "Now up is down," was the last thing any of them heard before the rush of water drowned everything else out. Later, waking up on a random, deserted island, they almost immediately notice that something was not right with their Captain. Sparrington, Salazak, Willabeth, maybe others mentioned.
They ran through the twisting forest for about fifteen minutes, following Sparrow's mad, seemingly random dash as he weaved between trees and jumped over logs or bushes, speeding in a direction known only to him. He would slow down only for a second, stilling his breathing as though still trying to hear something before darting away again, just barely within the following group's sight. They felt like they were following some fey creature through an enchanted forest as they ran after him, only James' long strides making it easier for him to follow and Elizabeth's and Tia Dalma's smaller bodies that more easily allowed them to twist in between the trees.
Soon enough, Norrington had had enough and he sped up when he saw Jack slow down, all but lunging for him, catching him before he could run off again. He was panting as though he'd been fighting for an hour instead of just a run but the teen seemed completely okay, not a trace of sweat or exhaustion on him. ''Slow down, Sparrow! Do you even know where you're going?''
''Of course I do! And I thought we were in a hurry, mate.'' The younger man replied, cocking his head again, listening. ''We're not far off, now. I can hear her more clearly now. She's just beyond this bend.''
''Hear her? Hear who?'' A panting Will asked as he caught up, bending over and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
''My ship, of course,'' Jack noted absently, looking up at James as though silently asking him to let him go. Norrington held on for a moment longer, waiting for everyone else to at least catch up with them before letting Sparrow go. And just like his namesake, Jack was off as soon as he was free, darting away and they had to run after him yet again. He at least slowed down a little now. However, he set out into a dead out run when they hit the beach, running towards what appeared to be a secluded cove or something, a grin on his face. Now that there were no obstacles, Turner could match Norrington as they dashed after Jack and Tia Dalma fell behind due to her dress.
''I never knew he were so damn fast!'' Raggeti complained to Pintel as they ran, but no one quite paid attention to them, focusing on not tripping in the sand as they all raced after Jack. Jack had darted around and entered the cove when a cry came from him and James sped up even more, both he and Will taking out their swords, coming to Jack's rescue ...
Only he wasn't in trouble. He was looking up at the magnificent sight of his Black Pearl with something like pain and sorrow, a distraught look on his features, staring at the black hull and sails, the only bit of color left on the magnificent ship her golden figurehead.
''My ship ... What have you done to her?! Her white sails, her brown hull, her golden lining! My Wench.'' He whimpered, curling in his shoulders, almost like a wounded animal. ''What have you done to my Wicked Wench?''
''What?'' The assembled pirate all breathed around their panting, staring at Sparrow as though he had gone mad.
''That be the Black Pearl, Sparrow.'' Barbossa sneered, coming up to the younger Captain. ''Or do ye not recognize 'er? Is she not yet yours? She be mine, then.'' He seemed rather cheered at the thought and reached out to clap Sparrow on the back, but the younger man caught his writ in a surprisingly strong grip without looking away from his ship.
''Aye, I recognize her. Aye, she is mine.'' He looked up through his lashes at the older Pirate Lord, black eyes flashing dangerously. ''She says you've put a curse on her for your own greed. I should kill you for that. Are you the reason her cloud white sails are black and her hull is covered in ashes?''
''What?'' Hector asked, surprised. ''Ashes?''
''Witty Jack,'' Tia Dalma called, coming up to the two pirate Captains. ''It not be Barbossa who did it.''
''Then who was it?'' Sparrow growled, showing a side of him none had seen so far. He didn't look like the harmless pirate he usually portrays himself as at the moment, instead he was brimming with aggression.
"We'll catch you up to speed in no time, Capt'n. Well, with the things we know." Gibbs offered. Jack looked at them all with not a small amount of distrust.
"No need. The Wicked Wench can tell me everything." The voodoo woman looked very interested at this. The rest just though Sparrow had lived through some kind of trauma that had made him crazier than ever if he thought a ship could talk.
"Ya still hear 'er?" Tia Dalma asked curiously.
"Of course. I always hear her, in my heart and in my soul." Jack replied immediately, voice softening as he placed a hand over his chest. "It's why I can always find her, why I chose her and not some other ship that day. She was calling to me and I went down to the docks and there she was. Looking at her, I knew no other ship will do, not after finding her and hearing her sing so shyly to me. She's bolder, now. Louder. I can hear her clearer."
"Dat be b'cause ye traded yer soul ta Davy Jones so 'e would bring 'er from the deep fer ya after she sank. She be black ever since." She said gently, almost cooing at him, as though not to startle a spooked animal. "Ya call 'er de Black Pearl dese days, Witty Jack. Whatever 'ad bound ya to 'er is much, much stronger now sat yer very soul is intertwined wit' 'er spirit."
"She sank," Jack almost whimpered, rushing towards his ship but stopping when Norrington held him back from simply diving into the deceptive shallows. If the Black Pearl was merrily floating in the cove, then the water must be much deeper and who knows what manner of sea creatures lived in the depths. "She sank."
"Aye, she did. Ya nearly died wit' 'er. She weren't 'lone." Tia Dalma continued, walking up to where the Admiral was holding back the Pirate Lord. She went to touch him but drew her hand black like she were burned, looking up at the black ship like a stubborn child denied their favorite toy. Jack had nearly folded himself into Norrington's hold and juat stood there, watching his beloved ship. And he smiled, almost teary smile, but he suddenly seemed a lot cheerier right then.
"She likes her new look better." He told James with a grin, not bothering to extract himself from strong Navy arms. "So, who are you people? I only really know Mr Gibbs and Tia Dalma. and I know you are a Norrington, but I don't know your name." He looked around James at will and winked at the blacksmith. "And you're Will Turner. Can I call you Will?" William answered just with a smile and a nod, still uneasy with not being remembered. "So, who are the rest of you? It seems only fair for you to tell me since you all know me but I don't know any of you."
"My name is Elizabeth Swann," said woman was the first to approach the de-aged Captain, voice a little shake as she introduced herself, many emotions warring in her as she gazed at the black eyes, so similar yet so different from the eyes she was used to seeing. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Captain Sparrow."
"Jack, if you will." He smiled but he was studying her. "Hm, a noblewoman, aren't you. A bit far away from civilized society, surrounded by pirates and dressed like one yourself. Like adventure, Miss Elizabeth?" He grinned as she gawked at him. How had he known? He looked back at Norrington, arching an expectant brow at him.
The man gave him a flat look but complied. "My names is James. These are my friends, Theodore Groves," said man waved a little. "And Philip Gillete." The other Lieutenant nodded as a greeting before going back to scowling at Sao Feng's men. They were rather disturbing with the way they were leering at Sparrow. He wasn't overly fond of the thoughts that must be running in their heads as they stared at the teen. Bloody pirates.
"Capt'n, these are Marty and Mr Cotton and Mr Cotton's parrot. Finer sailors you will have trouble findin' in these waters. We've sailed with 'em fer two years and they fought the Kraken with ya." Gibbs introduced the two, who grinned at their Captain and Jack smiled back. He liked those two. He looked over curiously to the bantering pair of silly pirates known as Pintel and Raggeti and Gibbs introduced them, too.
Jack stared at them as Raggeti lost his wooden eye - again - before rounding on Barbossa with a skeptical look in his eyes. "Are you sure you're a Pirate Lord? What sane Pirate Lord would leave their Piece of Eight, the very proof of their status in the Brethren Court, with a simpleton?!"
The Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea glared daggers at the younger man. "I am indeed a Pirate Lord, boy. The Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, Hector Barbossa. I've been so fer many years, you little brat. What would a whelp like ye know about what a Pirate Lord is?"
"Seeing as I'm the youngest Pirate Lord so far, I'd say I might know a bit more than you do." The cheeky youth responded before dismissing the monkey owner all together, muttering something under his breath about blood being thicker than rum before he focused on the men from Singapore. "Who are you?"
"I'm Tai Hung. These are my men." He replied much the same way he had not so long ago in the Locker, when the normal Jack Sparrow had asked him the very same thing. "I serve the highest bidder. Since you have a ship, that makes you the highest bidder."
"Is that so?" The teen asked with an arched eyebrow, looking them over before nodding decisively. "Now that we know each other - or rather now that I know you - let's get down to business. Do we have supplies or should we find some here?"
"I'm afraid we don't 'ave anythin', Capt'n. Not if we're to head fer Shipwreck Cove." Ever the dutiful first mate, Gibbs answered Jack's question immediately. "There should be a spring on the island and we can hunt down some grub, just enough to last us to the nearest port. Shouldn't take long."
Jack nodded, looking over the crew. "Very well. Mr Groves, please do take a handful of men with you to go for a hunt. Mr Gillete, I trust three men will be enough to find some drinking water." The two Lieutenants nodded, straightening their backs by habit when being given orders by a superior officer. "Mr Gibbs, I trust you can give me an adequate answer to my inquiry."
"Capt'n?"
"Do I still keep a big, black chest, locked in one of the secret compartments in my cabin?" The teen peered at the older man with trusting eyes but the first mate frowned in confusion.
"Not that I know of, Jack."
"I know of it." Barbossa threw in, leaning against said cabin's outer wall. "Broke the lock and rummaged through. Not much in there fer such a big chest."
Jack grinned and headed straight for the cabin. "That's the one! Will, do be a good man and see if I have any fishing rods in the chest on the far left. James, be a dear and try to identify the island we're on. Tia Dalma will help, I'm sure. Mr Gibbs! Give me a hand with this!"
"Aye, Capt'n!" Gibbs sent a warning glare at the crew before entering the cabin after his Captain, suspiciously eying the lot of Singapore men. Never trust a man from Singapore, an old saying went. The ever superstitious Gibbs was wary of the from day one.
James sighed and nodded to his fellow Navy men to go off and do their assigned duties before following after Turner, Sparrow, Gibbs and Barbossa into the great cabin, impressed by how uxorious it seemed. It looked more fit for an actual lord than it did for a pirate one. Then again, Sparrow had been all over the world so he must have plundered a lot in different countries. Some of the things Norrington could see at first glance were so exotic it stunned him by its mere presence aboard the ship. There was a grand table covered in maps of the Caribbean while one of the walls was occupied only by a very accurate hand drawn map of the entire world. James arched an eyebrow at some of the islands he had never heard of and wondered at the detail of the ones he knew by heart.
Tia Dalma came to stand at the table, riffling through the maps with a critic eye. James walked over to join her, keeping an eye on the three pirates and one blacksmith turned pirate on the room. Will soon enough found five fishing rods and Jack instructed him to hand them out and start fishing. The complaints that there was no bait were not heeded and Sparrow just shooed him along.
A few minutes later, Gibbs and Jack were hauling out a gigantic chest out of the great cabin, Barbossa watching in interest as Jack produced a key seemingly out of thin air and unlocked the chest. Unlike when Barbossa had opened it, it was full to the brim. Hector stared.
"Ya 'ave a magical chest?" His incredulous question drew the remaining crew's attention and they forgot about their assigned task to stare at their seemingly even more eccentric than they'd thought Captain unbashfully. Jack just grinned at them.
"Of course! A gift from a shogun that one time I went to Japan when I was sixteen. He was very nice. I don't think he realized that the Wicked Wench was a pirate ship." He patted a black railing before taking off his coat and hat, rolling up his sleeves so he can ruffle through his things. "Now, let's see what we've got here." He bent over and dove in. Gibbs rolled his eyes at the crew, took one fishing pole for himself and started on the ungrateful job of just sitting there and waiting for a fish to bite the hook without bait.
Half an hour later, Norrington and Tia Dalma exited the great cabin with a good idea of which island they were on and how many days of travel they had until the nearest port, about to share the relatively good news with the rest of the crew and the Captain, only to stop short at the sight that greeted them. Everyone save Gibbs and Jack were sitting on the deck of the Pearl, watching, as though hypnotized, as Jack rummaged through his things, unmoving and unblinking. The two exchanged looks when a strangled squeak escaped Will and an equally strangled groan came from one of the Singapore pirates before going over to see what the fuss was about. Almost as shameless as Sparrow was, Elizabeth took hold of both of their hands and tugged them both down to sit and look.
And enjoy the view of Sparrow's wiggling rear, high in the air, as the teen searched for something still. The big chest obviously had many a hidden compartments that could only be opened with the right key and he was still busy searching for something. He wasn't even aware of his audience or the show his posterior was making. Tia Dalma grinned and leaned back to enjoy the show while James choked on his own spit. He had always thought Sparrow's coat ratty and too worn out to be worth the care Sparrow showed it. And yet he now realized its true purpose: the protection of innocent people and their sanity from the all too enticing sight of Jack Sparrow's perky bottom. James wasn't sure if an outright battle going on right next to the ship could have drawn his gaze away. The others certainly would have been useless. For goodness' sake, even Barbossa and his monkey were under the spell!
He was very glad his mouth had gone dry when a gurgling sound tried to escape him when Sparrow wiggled before finally straightening out, frowning at a beautiful dark red gown. A familiar - to some - dark red gown of some of the finest silk. The following reaction to the next words out of Sparrow's might have been deadly if they had had any less luck.
"This dress has new tears and caresses. Did someone manage to get me to wear it again?"
"Uh, no. I wore it," Elizabeth's voice sounded faraway even to her own ears. It would seem even ladies were interested in what Jack might have looked like in the dress. He certainly had the booty for it! And the waist. Dear god, he had a narrow, thin waist. It should be added to his list of crimes that he hid under his coat.
Jack sent her an incredulous look. "Whatever for?"
"Barbossa made me when I stayed on the Pearl the first time." The girl explained absently, observing the way Jack was holding the dress against his body. It would look great on him. Far better than it had on her, Swann was sure.
Jack sent a dirty look as he tucked his dress away, completely unaware of just what sort of imaginary he'd kindled in the men's minds. James and Will were as red as the dress and Sao Feng's men were grinning lecherously at the youth. Barbossa looked torn between contemplative and appreciative as he imagined it.
Needless to say, when Gillete and Groves returned with their groups a little later, they were expectedly confused by the way everyone was just sitting there and staring at Jack as he searched for something else, a few other odd items strewn about his feet and the big chest, a suddenly overprotective Gibbs staring down disapprovingly at the assembled men and two women. Any questioning on their part only got them dragged down to the deck and they understood.
Jack remained oblivious.