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.
"Aha, I found it!" Jack crowed some twenty minutes later, clapping his hands in delight and drawing out an elegant, long black bow and an arrow quiver from the chest. He frowned thoughtfully at the black bow and arrows and pouted. ''Why is everything I used to own black now?'' He checked over the weapon, finding it in no worst a state. It was fairly well care for, but, then again, it had been built well and needed only little tending to. "Do I even use it anymore?"
"You know the fine art of archery?" Gillete asked in a half present voice, just now recovering from the tease show that Sparrow had unintentionally been giving them.
"Of course! Learned from natives when I was a little boy when my Da took me to meet my Mum's people." The pirate smiled sheepishly. "They said I had a knack for it." He took out an arrow, inspecting the sharpness of the tip and how straight the wood was. He obviously knew what he was doing, with how critically he was inspecting it. "Did we get enough supplies?"
"We got enough for two, maybe three days of sailing with good wind." Philip answered, snapping out of his daze a little faster than the rest. Then again, he, unlike the others, was not as fond of Sparrow or as involved with him. He was the only one not hesitant to hang Sparrow four years ago. He had no attachment to him whatsoever. His fellow officers ... Well, Theodor admired the pirate while James was pretty much obsessed with him.
"That won't be enough." James, duty calling, fought to resurface from under his strange waves of ... something that had all but drowned his brain due to the show Jack had been making without even being aware of it. "We'll need at least five days to reach the nearest port."
"And we can't waste any more time here," Jack pondered, turning away from the crew to nook an arrow experimentally. More than a few eyes fell on his backside again, drawn to it and awaiting any more delicious wiggling and swaying. The gentle rocking of the Black Pearl ensured the latter but Jack wasn't bent over the chest anymore. Still, it seemed distracting enough just to watch him balance on the deck with the movement of the waves.
"We won't make it with so little supplies!" Tai Hung protested, his own survival instincts taking over his lust, jumping to his feet with his men, but they all stopped short when Jack whirled around with six cocked arrows, expertly perfectly aimed at Tai Hung and the five men standing closest to him. They froze while the rest of the crew started bustling with activity, snapping out of their daze with wide eyes, not sure what was going on but Jack wasn't budging. "What is the meaning of this!?" The scared and outraged Singapore pirate demanded, looking at the arrowhead with almost crossed eyes.
"You're fired, is what it is." The young Pirate Lord answered coolly, his hands not wavering.
"Really, Sparrow?" The foreign pirate mocked. "A bow and arrow? Such obsolete weaponry? Do not mock us. And why should you fire us? We are the best men here. You won't be able to sail away without our help."
"Of course we will. This ship needs six men at best to sail away and I don't need traitors among my crew." He replied, drawing the arrows further, closer to his chest to better the killing speed if he were to release them.
"Traitors?" Alarmed, Elizabeth stood to her feet, reaching for her own weaponry, along with the other pirates, Navy men and Will. Soon enough, they had the men from Singapore surrounded in a loose circle, all of them like targets in the center. If they so much as blinked wrong, one of the pirates was bound to open fire. Under such scrutiny, they won't be able to draw their weapons without dying first.
"Aye. They set off a signal known only to those in the East. Had I not met Liang Dao, I probably would have never known, but he's a good man. Taught me some of the most interesting things I know, like light signals, finding trap doors and Chinese. They're hailing a ship, one of theirs, no doubt." He narrowed his eyes just a little more, mouth set in a thin line of displeasure. "That signal can be seen a day's sail away. We need to get out of here. Besides, less mouths to feed, more food for us. And we can always find more crew the next time we make port."
"You won't last without us. We're not the only traitors here." Tai Hung said but raised his hands over his head in surrender when he was ordered to by Groves.
Jack gave him a bitter smile. "I know." He gestured with his head towards the railing. "Off you get. Nice and slow. Oh, do leave the weapons right here. You won't have need for it. Your mates will be here soon." He watched with alert, sharp eyes as they did as they were told, glaring at the teen every chance they got. He was unaffected by it and just arched an unimpressed eyebrow at them. He held them on target until they had all took a few steps away from the boat. "Wight anchor and set sail. Set course North-East, if you please, Mr Gibbs."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Said old sailor barked the orders at the remaining crew, watching them scramble to do as they were told. Jack remained where he was, standing on the railing, keeping the glaring and cursing men in his sight, never lowering his bow and arrows, keeping them as his targets until the Black Pearl sailed out of the little cove. Then, he finally put them down and released a tired sigh.
"You okay, Capt'in?" He looked down to see Marty frowning up at him as he carried some cannonballs to the other side of the ship. The little man was one of the very few who had sailed through hell with Sparrow, even if the Captain didn't know that quite yet, and he was fond of him. He was as worried as Gibbs had been when the man had been acting strange before they learned it was because Davy Jones had sent the Kraken after him. It was a relief to have the man back, after having lost him, even if it was not the Captain he was used to. But surely, no matter the age, Captain Jack Sparrow was still Captain Jack Sparrow, right? Right. He seemed even better off now than he had before the whole Kraken business, and yet there was a ... cloud of something like sadness around the teen. Marty had noticed it only now, but he realized it had been there since they first laid eyes on the de-aged pirate. The little dwarf was a lot more perceptive than most would give him credit for. He wondered if anyone else had seen it and if they had, would anyone do anything about it? Capt'in deserved it, for sure, since he had the habit of offhandedly helping everyone who was sulking in his presence.
Jack smiled at his short crew mate and bobbed his head, something like a mask falling into place. He couldn't show a weakness in front of his crew, especially if they knew him only through some great feats he'd done in the future. Besides, he doubted they'd understand. He'd rather not hear their fumbling comforts since he can well do without them. "I'm fine. Just ... Well, first day on the job and already preventing mutinies? A bit over the top, don't you think?" He winked and jumped off the railing, putting the arrows back into their quiver before putting it and the bow back into his chest. He swiftly put everything back into it, his hands lingering on the soft fabric of the dark red gown before it, too, was put back and the chest was closed and locked. The key once again seemed to disappear into its hiding place and Sparrow turned to survey his crew.
They seemed like decent enough sailors and good men, even though it might sound strange to say something like that about a group of pirates. Well, Jack knew that pirates weren't necessarily all bad folk, having met all sorts of pirates and being a rather unique sort himself, but it was rare to find a honestly loyal crew, or so he'd heard. And experienced. He shook away the thoughts of a long lost time, looking away from Norrington - who was helping Will and Mr Cotton with the sails - as he did. It was no use thinking about it. It had happened a long time ago. They had been kids who would rather survive to see their thirties than actually live. It was a wonder they had stayed with him as long as they had and he tried hard not to think about from where he might know James and who else he was related to. He wouldn't hold it against the man that someone who shares his blood had betrayed him. It was bad form.
He heard a whisper in his ear and smiled as he scaled up the rigging. He knew people were unnerved when they saw him talking seemingly to himself when he was conversing with his beloved ship. Even when she had not been his, exactly, she had spoken to him. She used to be shy yet now she was strong and proud and bold and fearless. Not that she'd ever been a coward, but she was wearing that fearlessness like a cape now. She whispered in his ears adventures the likes of which had him sitting in the crows-nest, captivated even as he watched the horizon. He stroked the wood beneath his fingers and mourned the blackness that met him. His hand once used to match the color of her beautiful wood, like it was as much a part of her as her yardarm was. Yet, even as he no longer looked like a living part of her, he felt her so deeply in his soul, their essences intertwined so that not even hands of fate could separate them. His Wicked Wench, nay, his Black Pearl. His crew might have changed but she never will. Not so much as to not be his anymore.
"Capt'n!" He looked up - well, down - at the call, waiting to see what Mr Gibbs wanted. "Miss Dalma says a storm be in our course. What should we do, Capt'n?"
Jack thought about it while he slid down the rope that would usually hoist the jolly rodger, but he didn't let the rope take him, instead using his hands and legs to slide down the rope. When he landed, he found that most of the crew were watching him expectantly, even his fellow scowling Pirate Lord. "Any idea how long it might last?"
The question was directed to the voodoo witch, so Tia Dalma just shrugged. "A few hours. It be headin' West, so it will move outta our way soon enough."
Sparrow looked towards the slowly setting sun. In just two hours, two and a half, the orange-ish orb would disappear beyond the horizon and it would be dangerous to sail into a storm with so few a people manning a ship as big as the Black Pearl. Not to mention that if anyone were to fall overboard during the storm, they wouldn't be able to see or properly hear them over it. It would be poor captaining to just go straight into it if he knew that he could avoid it. He didn't know these men, not the current him at least, but they were loyal to him and they looked to him, even when he was apparently twenty years younger than their usual Captain Jack Sparrow, for directions even with Barbossa, a currently much more experienced Captain, just a few feet away.
It was an easy decision to make, all things considered. Easy as the last decision he'd made with his crew in mind, if not as life-changing.
"Anchor. Pull up the sails. We'll stay the night here and in the morning will continue our journey. It will give us some time to rest and we've made good time already." He nodded at his men, turning around to help on instinct with the sails. He'd been a real Captain for only a month and was still too used to helping sail his bonny ship to stop himself at times.
"What about the ship that is following us?" Elizabeth asked even as she and the rest of the crew followed the orders, helping the fast ship slow down and come to a stop. It took a but longer for such a fast ship to safely weight anchor but that got them a mile or so more of their journey and away from their would be hunters.
"They wouldn't have arrived yet, if what Captain Sparrow says is true." Theodor offered as he helped hoist the mainsails, Raggeti, Pintel, Marty and Jack already climbing the rigging so they can tie them up. Gibbs and Gillete were helping with the hind ones while James tied them up, Will mimicking him on the front sails that were hoisted up by Barbossa and Mr Cotton. Tia Dalma had disappeared into the galley to start on dinner for the crew, so Elizabeth tied off the helm so the wheel won't spin and accidentally set them off course, even though the ship has already come to a stop and won't be moving any time soon. But she had seen Jack insisting on it in the past and she wanted to make herself useful. It felt like everyone was doing something to contribute to this except her. She was not good at cooking or stitching sails, being a Governor's daughter and born in a rich family with servants weighting on her every whim. For all that she'd learned about sailing over the past few years, she could still not do all the tasks men did on a ship. Had someone not climbed up to tie up the sails, she would have gladly taken their place. "We probably will still have a good head start if we continue with first light."
"Of course we will!" Jack called from high above, grinning at them from his high perch, already having finished his part and a bit of Raggeti's and Marty's. He looked completely comfortable just crouching there like his namesake, elbows on his knees, hands hanging between his legs. Despite his precarious position, he acted as though not even a hurricane would be able to knock him off of the mainmast. "My ship is the fastest ship to sail these seas! Even with a little delay, we'll be a good number of miles in front of them. They won't even be able to see us."
"See? Nothin' ta worry about, Miss Elizabeth." Gibbs smiled at the young woman before continuing with his work. In half an hour, the Black Pearl was ready to wait out the storm, her crew enjoying the food Tia Dalma had prepared for them, each crew member telling Jack stories about what they'd seen or done before the Pearl and ever since they joined her crew. Will told the story of his father, still half expecting some recognition to cross the teen's face, knowing Jack and Bill had been extremely close before the mutiny. His father, during his stay on the Flying Dutchman, had had only fond and good memories to speak of when Jack Sparrow's name was brought up in conversation, having considered the young Captain like a brother.
Yet Jack could only wistfully think about it as he heard the adventures being told - some corrected with the Pearl's whisper in his ear - adventures he'd led these people on but could not remember. His beloved ship offered to tell it all to him, to remind him of who he had become, but he gently refused her. Tia Dalma no doubt had her own agenda if she had left her little shack in the swamp to come and get Jack out of the Locker, but whatever it was, Jack knew one thing for certain. Tia was infinitely fond of him, almost like a mother would be. Considering his first visits to her had been when he had been six years younger than he was now, it was to be expected. He'd been a skinny, short boy, not at all having the makings of a pirate in build and appearance, but she had said he would one day do great things and often said he had been touched by the gods - or goddesses, to be precise. Jack hadn't questioned her back then but he had soon learned what she might have meant.
Barbossa surprised them all by plainly informing Jack that he had once been his first mate and that he had led a mutiny against him. He explained how they had marooned him with one pistol and one shot as his only companions before sailing away on his ship to search for the cursed treasure of Cortez, only to be cursed for ten years. Seeing that the story of how they met Jack was intertwined with Barbossa's story of how Jack had exacted his revenge, the five from Port Royal told their part of the story as well, before Gibbs and Marty threw in theirs. The easy air of their meal evaporated faster than a mist as Jack's face, open and smiling just moment ago, closed off and Tia Dalma glared daggers of death at them as he excused himself.
"Wot do ya t'ink yer doin'? I erased him memories so 'e can recover!" She practically glowered at them, looking particularly pissed with Barbossa. At least they had stopped after Jack was rescued from Port Royal and given a day's head start instead of continuing all the way to his fate at the Kraken's jaw and tentacles. "If ya continue doin' dis, de Jack Sparrow ye've all come ta know will never be back. Da spell will wear off but 'e'll never trust an'one ag'in." She also stood up and stormed off the deck, trying to get Jack to let her into his cabin but failing.
With one last glare at the responsible group, she left the deck entirely, leaving them to wallow in their guilt.