Henry didn't know what was going on with Jack. One minute he'd be carefree and jovial, taking things in stride even if they were pressing life-and-death situations, and the next he was downright sullen and melancholy. Just now, even, he looked like he was on the verge of breaking down in tears. Henry had no idea what to expect when he met Jack, but nothing could have prepared him for seeing him as an old man who's lost his way. He remembers his mother's stories about him, where he would nearly always be smiling every time he spoke. But Jack wasn't smiling. Not as often as Henry expected him to, at least.
He supposed the old man aboard the Monarch was right after all. Jack, in a way, had died. But Henry had no idea what he could do to bring him out of it.
It was odd, though. Even with Jack in his current state, Henry still somewhat looked up to him. Maybe it was the part of him that was hoping that the old Jack would shine through and be that man he heard about in those stories from when he was a boy. Jack Sparrow, captain of the Black Pearl, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, a deceitful rogue with a heart of gold, and a penchant for adventure and mischief.
But there was something else to it as well. He admired the guy, even in his deep melancholia. Henry had expected Jack to be a lot more selfish given the content of his mother's stories, but so far he had stuck his neck out for him at every turn. For that, he was eternally grateful. If not, he'd probably be dead. Carina too.
Something occurred to Henry as he watched Jack lean over the Pearl's edge, and it was about what he had said mere moments before. He said that his father was a better man than he'd ever be, but why? What reason did he have to say that? The only conclusion that Henry could draw in his mind was that Jack knew that Henry looked up to him, and not just as a pirate.
It was crazy, yes, but it was true. Factually speaking, he had spent more time with Jack in the past week than he had with his father his entire life. He never really knew what it was like to have a father given the nature of Will's curse, but Jack, for better or worse, was filling that void for him.
But it didn't explain why Jack looked so utterly destroyed. Maybe, just maybe, he cared about him too. But that was a longshot.
Maybe when they found the Trident, he could find out more.
Henry shook his head as his finally caught himself daydreaming, and looked away from Jack who was still hanging his head over the rail. Sighing, he walked away from where Jack was and found Marty, who was descending from the rigging. Once he had gotten down, the dwarf asked Henry if he could take over duties in the crow's nest, and he agreed. After Marty handed him a spyglass, Henry climbed the rigging and got himself situated in the crow's nest.
Henry felt a shiver along his neck. There was a chill in the night air, but something felt off. The low sounds of thunder in the distance didn't help his nerves one bit.
He extended the spyglass and looked ahead to see what was up in the distance. It was too dark to make out anything, and all he saw was a black shroud engulfing the way in front of them. Hopefully Carina knew where she was going. She hadn't led them astray yet, and he didn't expect that she would.
But as Henry observed the darkened horizon before him, he saw a glint of something. Like a little light.
Another one popped up not long after that.
And another.
And another.
And ano-
"Oh no," Henry uttered, as the images before him started to get more clear.
At least a dozen British warships lay ahead of them. Some of the sails bore the cross of England, others of Scotland, all flying the Union Jack.
Henry looked closely at the decks and saw the soldiers aboard assuming battle positions.
They were waiting for them. In the time they spent lost in Hangman's Bay, the British were able to build up their forces ahead of them, waiting for the pirates to come.
It was an ambush.
They were going to be slaughtered.
The spyglass fell through Henry's grip into the crow's nest. His mouth, agape in abject horror, was now trying to remember how to speak because the sight of the armada before them sapped every last ounce of his courage.
Fortunately, he was able to quickly regain some of his lost nerve.
"R- r- re- red- red-" Henry stammered, before he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "REDCOATS! REDCOATS OFF THE BOW! AT LEAST A DOZEN WARSHIPS! ROYAL BLOODY NAVY!"
Jack, Carina, Barbossa, and the rest of the crew turned their heads upward towards Henry's shouting.
"IT'S AN AMBUSH!" Henry bellowed again, and there was a state of panic among the crew of the Black Pearl.
Jack was shaken out of his despair almost instantaneously at the sound of Henry's shouting. Quickly wiping whatever tears were on his face away, he took a deep breath and regained his composure. Now was not the time for self-pity.
He quickly made his way over towards the bow of the ship where some of the other crew were gathering, including Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Murtogg, Mullroy, Marty, Cotton, and the still-tied Barbossa. Carina was still at the wheel but she could see and hear everything.
"Captain," Gibbs said, handing Jack a spyglass. Jack opened it and looked out over the ocean to observe the British fleet ahead. Henry wasn't lying. There were at least a dozen warships, maybe more, most of them brigs and frigates. At the center, there was a man o' war leading them all, the HMS Essex, which appeared to be under the command of one Captain John Scarfield.
"Dear God," was all that came out of Jack's mouth as he lowered the spyglass, and by then Henry had climbed down and joined them. There was an entire fleet of British warships right in front of them, one of them was a man o' war of all things, they were directly in the path of them finding the Trident of Poseidon, and they only had a modest amount of guns and ammunition to defend themselves with.
Jack tried to think of all the ways he could get out of this situation, all options terrible, each one worse than the last.
"You've got a plan, right Jack?" Gibbs worriedly asked his captain, to which Jack replied, "I've only one in mind."
"What it be? We turn back 'round, try to evade them in the darkness?" Gibbs suggested.
"No," Jack said sternly, "We're not running."
Jack was tired of running away. He had done that his entire life.
"We'll fight," Jack spoke low.
Gibbs looked flabbergasted, "W- we'll- we'll what, Captain?"
Jack turned around quickly and saw the masses of his crew standing before him. He looked upon each of their faces, each one anxiously awaiting him to give orders for them to follow.
Well, if you're going to act like a real pirate captain, then you better do it now.
"We will fight, gentlemen!" Jack addressed the whole crew, each man surprised that this was to be Jack Sparrow's course of action. Usually his plans would involve deception or some form of cleverness that would render a full-scale confrontation avoidable, but here he was, giving the command to fight it out against the full might of the Royal Navy.
"We will fight to the last man if we have to!" Jack shouted, "If we try to run, we die! If we surrender, we die! If we stand and fight, at least we'll have a chance, and that is all we'll need!"
Jack got up on the edge of the bow and grabbed one of the lines above him to balance himself.
"Look ahead, and you'll see an armada stacked against us, blocking the path to the Trident!" Jack gestured out towards the encroaching British fleet, "I know many of you think this is suicide, that to face an enemy of this size means certain death! But I'm going to tell you right now... what better way is there to die?"
A hushed tone overcame the crowd of pirates.
"I know you fear death, we all do," Jack continued, "God knows I do... but is this not what we strive for? To live and die on our own terms? A great friend of mine once said that if we have nothing to fight for, then what shall we die for!? Any man that doesn't believe so isn't a true pirate!"
Jack drew his sword from his scabbard and raised it high.
"If we are to die this day, then we shall die as free men! If we survive this day, then we shall live as free men! People will remember this as the glorious day that the Black Pearl took on the power of the British Empire singlehandedly, and by doing so we make sure that we shall never die!"
"So that is what we will do! We will fight! We will die! We will have the courage and fortitude to stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death! And no matter what happens, WE WILL BE FREE!"
The crew began to cheer as Jack's speech came to a close. All the men raised their swords and pistols in the air and began to cheer loudly as Jack stepped off the ledge back onto the deck. He knew that they were all fit and ready for a fight.
"MAN THE TOPSAILS! BEAT TO QUARTERS AND LOAD THE GUNS!" Jack ordered, "HOIST THE COLOURS!"
Every man standing atop the deck made their way to their positions throughout the ship. The alarm bell was ringing throughout the ship signifying the call to arms. Barrels of gunpowder and cannonballs were being carried from the magazine to the gun deck and the weather deck, being rammed in by the crewmembers that were making haste to prepare for battle. Spare swords and muskets were grabbed from below, and the men made sure to sharpen their blades and load in their shot and powder. The crew hoisted some lines which raised the Pearl's Jolly Roger, and the wind blew hard against the black flag.
Jack remained at the bow as he watched his crew at work, the impending battle mere moments away. While he was standing there, he heard Barbossa say, "That be quite a speech ye gave, Jack. Highly impressive."
"Just came off the top of me head," Jack commented.
"Taken a page from Ms. Swann's book, I see," Barbossa quipped, "If this truly be your course of action, Jack, then let me help."
"So you can backstab me and take the Pearl from me again? Yeah, I think I'll pass on that one," Jack commented.
"You're going to need every hand in this fight if you want to win," Barbossa said, but Jack just scoffed, "And besides, I got an idea."
Carina was still standing at the wheel, holding steady while she saw the several pirates aboard the Pearl rushing to their battle stations. At her sides, she saw Murtogg and Mullroy loading the Puckle guns there, shouting back and forth at each other.
"I don't think this many shots go in it!" Murtogg said.
"I don't understand!" Mullroy shouted back, "Eight fit in mine, why not yours?"
"Because there's six barrels!" Murtogg explained.
"Now that's absurd! Why would a single ship have two different types of guns?" Mullroy asked, incredulous.
"Maybe one's a different Puckle gun model, on account of the cylinder size and such," Murtogg suggested.
"Oh! And no other multi-barreled cannon could possibly have the same number of barrels and therefore couldn't possibly be anything other than a Puckle gun, is that what you're saying?" Mullroy snapped back.
"Both of you, shut up!" Carina shouted suddenly, "You're making my ears bleed!"
The two former Royal Marines shut their mouths instantly. Carina smirked.
But that brief moment did little to keep her spirits up. She knew that they were close to the Trident of Poseidon. Something in her gut said that they were. And then, out of nowhere, half the Royal Navy shows up to ambush them. Her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest, probably even harder than when she saw Salazar and his ghostly crew for the first time. Carina had been in plenty of near-death situations over the past few days, but tonight she was not confident they would survive this. One old pirate ship against an entire fleet? It was madness.
"Man the capstan! Raise the main topyard! Keep that powder dry!" she heard Gibbs order as he paced along the weather deck of the Pearl. Afterwards, he rushed his way up to the quarter deck to make sure Murtogg and Mullroy had loaded the Puckle guns correctly.
"Carina!" Henry's voice called out, and Carina saw him rushing up the stairs towards where she was at the helm, holding his musket in his grasp.
"Henry!" Carina called back, and by then Henry had made it over to her.
"You alright?" he asked, his tone nervous and concerned.
"I'll manage," she replied, trying to keep herself together.
"How long do you think before we'll reach the Trident?" Henry asked.
"Nearly there, but we have to make it past that blockade or we're all dead!" Carina told him.
"Fine then," Henry replied, giving her a reassuring nod, "We'll try to hold them off for as long as we can. Hey, we're going to make it. Don't worry."
"I wish I shared your confidence," Carina said.
"We will, trust me," Henry said, and with that he rushed back down towards the cannons on the top deck.
"The Essex is veering port, coming up off the starboard bow!" Jack shouted to his crew, "We will fight to the last! I'm not losing the Pearl again!"
As he said this, he looked up towards the helm and saw Carina standing there, doing her best to keep her grip steady on the wheel.
Jack kept his emotions in check this time when staring at her this time, but he still felt overwhelming guilt for putting her in this position. Because of him, her life was in danger. She could very well die in the upcoming fight, and the thought of that terrified him. The very life that he was responsible for creating was now at risk because of the choices he made. But what's done is done, and so now the only thing he could focus on was keeping her alive. He wanted to tell himself it was because she knew the way to the Trident, and it could be their only salvation against Salazar. But he already knew why.
I'll keep our daughter safe, Maggie. I promise you.
"Oi," Jack called out to Pintel and Ragetti, who were busy loading one of the starboard cannons.
"What is it, Captain?" Pintel inquired.
"Gimme your pistol, sailor," Jack ordered.
"Beggin' your pardon, sir?" Pintel asked, incredulous.
"Now," Jack spoke sternly, and a reluctant Pintel reached to his belt and pulled out his signature double-barreled pistol, placing it in Jack's hand.
"Much obliged," Jack stated, and he quickly walked towards the helm, his eyes transfixed on Carina the entire time.
God, she reminded him so much of Maggie.
"Carina," Jack called out to her when he reached the helm, and she turned her head at the sound of his voice. Looking at her face, he could tell that she still wasn't fully past what had transpired earlier between them.
Jack raised the pistol up towards her, his grip on the gun's barrel, and Carina looked down at it with an expression of shock and apprehension.
"You take this, you hear me?" Jack said, and Carina looked up towards him in confusion.
"What?" was all that came out of her mouth, "What are you expecting me to-"
"It's for your protection," Jack cut her off, "Look, anything that gets near you that looks like a Redcoat or a ghost, shoot it, okay?"
Carina looked down at the gun again. She never used one before. She wasn't prepared to take another person's life.
"I don't know if I can do this," Carina said, her voice uneasy as she continued to stare at the weapon. Jack grimaced, because he didn't want her to have to do this either; she didn't deserve any of this. But he knew that if he didn't take the necessary precautions that she would be hurt. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to his daughter.
"Carina, look at me," Jack said, and Carina looked up towards him again. The pirate then placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "You're going to be alright. Do you understand?"
Carina looked away for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts on the matter. Reluctantly, she took the gun from Jack's hand and tucked it on her belt.
"Whatever happens," Jack continued, his arm still on her shoulder, "Promise me that you will stay your course. Else we'll all be killed."
"Alright, I promise," Carina replied, and Jack gave a weak smile to her. He took his hand off his shoulder and was beginning to turn away from her.
"Jack," she said, and Jack turned back around to face her, "For what it's worth, I just want to say that I'm sorry."
Jack gave a light chuckle. She didn't have to apologize to him for anything.
"As am I, Carina. As am I," he sighed, "Though I do have to say, you have a pretty mean right hook."
Carina laughed, and with that he turned and walked away from Carina and made his way over to Gibbs who was behind them.
"Mr. Gibbs!" Jack called out, and Gibbs directed his attention towards him.
"Aye, Captain?" Gibbs asked.
"Time to release the fleet," Jack said with a smirk.
Though only moments had passed since the preparations for battle had begun, the wait felt like an eternity for Barbossa, who could do little but stay tied to the foremast while the crew prepped for battle. It wasn't like him to just sit back when there was a battle to be fought. He just hoped that Jack would be back in enough time for their idea to work.
As luck would have it, Jack and Gibbs came to the bow not a moment too soon.
"About time you got here!" Barbossa complained, "Figured we should do this now before we're under fire."
"I only agreed to this because I don't know how to work your magic sword thingy," Jack replied, and Gibbs started to cut through the ropes binding Barbossa. When he was finished, Barbossa was released and it took him a few moments to gain his balance.
"You bring the ships?" Barbossa asked, facing Jack. Immediately afterwards, Gibbs lifted up the bagful of miniaturized ships he had taken from the Queen Anne's Revenge. Barbossa gave a hearty laugh when he saw that they brought them.
"The Redcoats won't know what hit them!" Barbossa said, taking the bag from Gibbs and walking over towards the starboard rail. One by one, he pulled each of the ships out of the bag and set them all along the rail, whereupon he threw the empty bag down on the deck.
"Captain Barbossa," Gibbs spoke up, and Barbossa turned his head to see Gibbs holding out the Sword of Triton towards him.
"Thank ye, Master Gibbs," Barbossa smiled, and then he directed his attention back towards the ships in the bottles.
"I don't know if ye can hear me from in there, but if ye can, hear this!" Barbossa bellowed, "We're about to face impossible odds against a powerful foe, but we won't be doin' it alone! We'll set ye free, but know that the price of freedom is always steep! Ye want to keep your freedom, ye have to be willin' to die for it!"
With that, Barbossa raised the Sword of Triton, and quickly cut cracks into each and every one of the bottles along the rails. After doing so, Gibbs picked each bottle up, one at a time, fitted them along his crossbow, and fired them all out towards the sea.
"This'd better work, Hector," Jack said nervously as he watched the bottles splash and sink into the ocean.
"It will, rest assured," Barbossa replied.
"MAN O' WAR COMING UP OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!" they heard Marty shout as he hung from the rigging, "ORDERS, CAPTAIN!"
"Hold fast, men! At the ready!" Jack ordered, "Wait for the order!"
None of the ships had risen up from the water yet. Barbossa was getting nervous now. The Pearl had risen much sooner than this. The Essex was nearly on top of them.
"JACK!" Henry shouted out, taking up position with his musket next to Pintel and Ragetti's cannon.
"Wait for it... wait for it..." Barbossa said.
The Essex had gotten so close that Jack could see Scarfield standing at the bow, sneering at him.
SPLASH!
A sudden shockwave of the sea slammed into the pirate ship, causing it to rock. Every head aboard the Pearl craned right to take a look at what caused the ocean to shake like that. And they were beholden by a most glorious sight.
A pirate ship had risen out of the sea, its sails soaking wet and water draining out of the hull. Over on the ship, the crew of the Pearl could see that there were men aboard the recently released ship, some of them on the top deck, all of them coughing up water. The captain of the ship was leaned over the port rail, emptying his lungs of all the water he had taken in. When he'd finished, he looked upward to see the night sky, and his face broke out into a wide grin as he saw the world without a glass barrier for the first time in years.
"WE'RE FREE, MEN! WE'RE FINALLY FREE!" he called out to his crew, and the crew that had stopped coughing up water began to cheer heartily along with their captain.
Soon after, they weren't the only ones celebrating. More pirate ships of all varieties, big and small, shot up out of the water, and the crews of those ships cheered after finally being freed after all of the years they were trapped in their bottles by Blackbeard.
"We're not alone!" Henry called out, and the crew of the Pearl began to cheer as they realized they now had an alliance to help them fight the British.
Scarfield recognized this too, for soon enough he began barking orders at his own crew, shouting, "Veer off, bring her around!"
The Essex turned hard to starboard while they were very close to the Pearl. They knew that if they engaged the Pearl directly, the newly released pirate ships would make an easy target of their port side. Fortunately for them, the Pearl had no bow cannons so they could not open fire on them. The Essex retreated back towards the rest of the British fleet so they could regroup and form a new strategy.
"I must say," Barbossa spoke to Jack, "That be a mighty fleet ye got yourself there, Captain."
Jack smirked.
"Admiral," Jack corrected him, "Admiral Jack Sparrow."
The crew of the Pearl continued to cheer as they saw the Essex retreating back towards their fleet. While they were doing so, the crews of the other ships wasted no time in getting themselves prepped for battle. Guns were loaded, blades were sharpened, and pirate colours were hoisted high for the British to see.
Jack was beaming at the sight of the fleet. It seemed piracy wasn't dying after all.
"Steady as she goes, boys!" Gibbs called out, "The wind's in our favor!"
The Essex, like its cowardly captain, had retreated to the back of its line of ships. Once it had done so, the smaller ships hauled anchor and began sailing towards the pirate fleet. Multiple ships began to sail on either side of the Black Pearl, which seemed to be the flagship of this little alliance.
"Alright, ya bunch of cack-handed deck apes!" Barbossa shouted, finishing loading his blunderbuss cane, "Show these lobsterbacks what we're made of!"
A frigate was coming up along the starboard bow of the Pearl, and there were several Royal Marines loading the cannons on their starboard side.
"Hands to starboard guns!" Jack ordered, pacing away from the bow up along the deck where several of his men were manning the starboard cannons. They didn't have too many men to spare, so every man was stationed to starboard to make their broadside the most effective it could be. The downside is that their port side would be completely vulnerable to attack.
"Orders, Captain!" Gibbs called out as the frigate was now starting to pass by their starboard. Tensions were high as each crew member held their breath in anxiety. Henry had to wipe sweat away from his brow as he took aim at one of the soldiers manning the guns. Carina's hands were shaking as she attempted to keep her grip on the wheel.
Jack made his way up to the quarter deck, right next to where Murtogg was manning his Puckle gun. Pulling out his hanger and one of his pistols, he extended his sword outward and shouted, "FIRE!"
"FIRE!" Gibbs relayed.
"POUR IT INTO THEM, BOYS!" Barbossa shouted.
All at once, at least thirty guns roared to life with deafening firepower. Cannonballs from both the warship and the pirate ship smacked hard into each other's hulls, splintering the wooden outer protection.
Carina had ducked down as a cannonball almost hit her, one hand still gripped on the wheel. She stayed down, her ears ringing from the sounds of the artillery. She wanted to squeeze her hands over her ears to stop the ringing, but she couldn't let go of the wheel while she was piloting the Pearl.
Jack and Barbossa ducked down as well behind the battlements of the ship, as did the rest of the crew throughout the ship after they had fired their broadside. A couple of pirates were killed in the barrage, but no substantial damage had been done to the Pearl and they took some of the Redcoats with them.
No time passed as the sound of small arms fire immediately succeeded that of the big guns. The British soldiers squaring off against them fired a volley of muskets, while the pirates fired back with an odd assortment of muskets, pistols, and blunderbusses. Jack fired off his pistols but was unsure if he had hit anything. Henry fired off his musket with deadly aim and managed to strike a Redcoat just as he was about to load in another cannonball in the cannon across from him at the moment. Murtogg, manning the Puckle gun, started firing off multiple small cannon shots, blowing some of the British troops back and mananging to disable two of their starboard cannons.
"That's right! Yeah, I got some for you there, don't I!?" Murtogg shouted out as he was firing.
The frigate had passed through the Pearl's field of fire, but soon found itself engaged by one of the recently freed pirate ships on it's port side. They would take care of what the Pearl started.
"Reload! At the double-quick!" Gibbs ordered in their brief moment to spare, but was immediately cut off by Barbossa shouting, "NAY! BELAY THAT! SCHOONER COMING UP TO PORT!"
Jack, Gibbs, Henry, Carina, and the rest of the crew turned their heads the opposite direction where Barbossa was pointing, seeing the approaching British schooner on their port side. While smaller than the frigate, it still posed an imminent threat. With haste, Jack and the crew ran over to their port side and made ready the guns. Fortunately, they were already loaded, so all they needed to do was to be ignited to fire.
"Hold fast, you filthy toads!" Jack ordered, and the crew had finished prepping themselves for the next barrage. Henry had just finished ramming in his next cartridge into his musket when he took up position next to where Pintel and Ragetti were prepping their cannon.
"Could you believe our luck!?" Pintel complained, "Enemy ships - on both sides!"
"That thunder ain't promisin' either!" Ragetti said, looking up at the clouds that only partially obscured the starry night sky.
"It's just thunder!" Henry commented, sliding his ramrod back under his gun, "Unless there's lightning, we should be fine!"
"Consider yourself lucky you've never sailed through a maelstrom, lad!" Pintel argued, but Henry knew that this was not the time nor place to argue.
"She comes to port, gents! Put yer back into it, ya pack of ingrates!" Barbossa limped back and forth observing the crew with his blunderbuss cane.
The schooner was coming up close on their port side. There wasn't even enough time for either Jack or Barbossa to give the order to fire as the men began firing at will at the smaller ship. There would've been chastising of them for not holding for orders had the cannonballs ripped through the hull of the smaller ship. Fire spread quickly throughout the British warship, and the Redcoats aboard there was nothing they could do to save their vessel. Acting quickly, the surviving British got up on the top deck and began to throw grappling hooks towards the Pearl's rigging.
"Prepare to board, men!" one of the officers shouted as the Redcoats began to climb their way over to the deck of the Pearl.
"Steel yourselves, mates! Prepare to be boarded! Pistol and cutlass at the ready!" Barbossa ordered as he unsheathed the Sword of Triton. By then, several British troops had made their way onto the deck of the ship.
Jack did a double take and saw Carina looking fearful as she handled the wheel. Not a single one of these bastards would lay a finger on her if he had anything to say about it.
"DEFEND YOURSELVES! TO THE DEATH!" Barbossa bellowed, and the air was soon filled with the sounds of steel blades colliding with each other. The fighting was ferocious between the British and the pirates, and many a man fell dead upon the deck of the Pearl.
Henry began to use his empty musket as a melee weapon, and used the butt of his gun to knock a Redcoat off the ship and into the water. Another one came at him with his sword, and Henry had to deflect the strikes with his gun's barrel. He eventually saw an opening and he hit the soldier first in the leg and then in the stomach, causing him to fall down on the deck.
Jack was engaged with another Redcoat slashing his sword at him, and Jack did his best to parry all the advances. Seeing an opportunity, he was able to disarm the soldier and then kicked him back. Another soldier came charging towards him with his rifle, and so Jack pulled out one of his pistols and shot him.
Henry eventually made his way over to Jack and said, "We certainly have their attention now! What's our next move?"
"Well, you see, er…" Jack began, "I actually didn't think that far ahead."
"What!?" Henry exclaimed, fending off another soldier, "Are you saying that you had us engage a bloody armada and you didn't have a plan!?"
"Relax, mate," Jack said nonchalantly, "I make these things up as I go!"
"But- that's- I mean- oh, forget it!" Henry complained, and resumed fighting the British still on the ship.
Despite the pirates outnumbering them, the British troops still aboard the Pearl still posed a threat. Carina was watching the whole battle unfold as she kept a tight grip on the Pearl's wheel. Her heart was beating out of her chest as gunshots rang in her ears and adrenaline surged through her body in panic.
The fire from the burning schooner had spread to the powder magazine, and there was a tremendous explosion aboard that caused the British warship to sink beneath the waves. The shockwave from the explosion had knocked every man aboard the Pearl down onto the deck, as well as knocking the ship sharply to starboard. Carina kept her grip on the wheel to prevent herself from falling, but the force of the explosion had put them off course.
Pintel had fallen down on top of Ragetti, and the latter complained, "Get off! You're crushin' my sternum!"
"Oh, posh! Sternum's a female body part!" Pintel retorted.
"No, it's not!" Ragetti argued back.
Straightening herself out, Carina looked upward to see that the ship was no longer in alignment with the constellation. She had to get them back on course else they would never be able to get to the Trident on time.
Reaffirming her grip on the Pearl's wheel, Carina used all of her strength to turn the ship hard to port, grunting while she did so and gritting her teeth together. The force of her hard turn caused everyone who had managed to stand back up to fall again, and this time it was Ragetti who fell on top of Pintel.
"I prefer being on top, anyway," Ragetti quipped, but Pintel wasn't having any of it, pushing him aside while chiding, "Geroff me!"
Carina looked up to see that the Pearl was now on the proper course.
"Could you pick one direction and stick with it, lass!?" Pintel shouted up to her as he and Ragetti got up off the ground.
"Sorry!" Carina shouted back, "Give me a break! It's my first time!"
Barbossa, after having blasted back two Redcoats at once with his blunderbuss cane, turned his attention up towards Carina and asked, "Have ye found what yer lookin' for yet, Ms. Smyth!?"
"I'm trying!" Carina replied angrily.
The pirates were still engaged with the British soldiers in a fierce frenzy of blades and bullets, and while that was happening Carina looked off the starboard side and saw that there was a brig sailing right towards them.
"Oh no," Carina spoke aloud. The pirates were occupied with the British, and their port side was completely unprotected.
"BRIG COMING UP OFF STARBOARD!" Marty shouts as he hangs from the rigging. As the dwarf climbed down, the pirates had managed to defeat the British soldiers that were aboard the Pearl, and every man directed their attention towards the approaching ship. Every man rushed over to the other side to make ready the guns, but all were empty and there wouldn't be enough time to load them before the ship got there. They would be defenseless by the time their foes unleased their broadside.
"Load the guns else we'll be slaughtered!" Gibbs anxiously called out, but it was too late. The British ship had turned sharply to port and were now side by side with the Pearl.
"Brace yourselves, mates!" Barbossa called out, and the pirates shut their eyes tight and waited to meet their maker.
Instead, a brilliant blaze of flame suddenly engulfed the British warship. The crewmembers of the Pearl opened their eyes and saw the brig was disabled, consumed by fire. They looked to their right and saw a large sloop-of-the-line shooting Greek Fire out of its bow cannonades. It had over forty broadside cannons per side, its sails were blood-red, and it had the Jolly Roger raised high.
"IT BE THE QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE!" Barbossa called out, and the crew erupted in a cheer now that Blackbeard's legendary ship had joined the fight.
"Alright, boys!" Scrum called out as he piloted the Revenge, "Let's show these lobsterbacks what we're made of!"
Jack laughed in joy. Not only had they a whole fleet of ships to face off against the British armada, but they had the Revenge as well. The odds were most certainly in their favor tonight.
The Revenge came up alongside the Pearl, and a large number of pirates dispersed from the former to the latter to provide the overwhelmed Pearl crew with some much needed reinforcements. Soon after, the Revenge veered away from the Pearl to give it room for firing, and the crew made haste to load the cannons and prepare to finish with the British fleet once and for all.
Over on the HMS Essex, Scarfield closed his spyglass in frustration. They had the Pearl outnumbered and outgunned, and yet now there was a pirate fleet with more firepower than he'd ever seen supporting them.
"Raise the mains and haul anchor! I want those pirates dead!" Scarfield barked.
"But sir!" one of his lieutenants spoke up to him, "We won't be able to match that kind of firepower!"
Scarfield didn't care what he had to say, merely replying, "Only the British Empire will hold the power of the sea."
Without another word, the Essex began to make ready it's hefty amount of firepower. A double broadside from this ship should be more than enough to crush the pirates once and for all. After making preparations, the man o' war began to sail ahead of the fleet directly towards the flagships.
Jack felt braver than he did before. This was going to be simple. The Black Pearl and the Queen Anne's Revenge would hit the Essex from both sides and send it down to see Old Hob. This would be the HMS Endeavor all over again.
Henry finished ramming in another shot in his rifle and took up position next to Pintel and Ragetti yet again. Pintel cleaned the cannon, Ragetti put in the ball, and Henry rammed it in, prepping it for the upcoming barrage.
"Prepare to fire, ye bloomin' cockroaches!" Barbossa shouted, raising his sword up high. At this action, lightning filled the sky as well as thunder.
Jack went back up to the helm and stood next to Carina, asking, "How much farther till we find the island?"
"Nearly there!" Carina said, "Long as we get through here without any more undue surprises!"
"Just prepare for this next barrage, savvy?" Jack suggested, "You're doing great!"
The Black Pearl readied her starboard cannons, the Queen Anne's Revenge her port, and both were ready to meet the HMS Essex.
Scarfield sneered as the ship sailed closer. He would kill those pirates for certain.
But then, the British captain heard a terrible noise that sounded like creaking wood. Surely it couldn't be the Essex. This was one of the finest ships ever constructed.
He heard panicking among his crew, all of whom were backing up in terror as they faced towards their port side. The creaking became louder and louder, and Scarfield then turned his head to face whatever was making the noise. It was too dark to tell what it was for certain, but he thought he saw something when the lightning flashed. Something horrific.
Scarfield felt water dripping on his uniform, and the monstrous form that had been making the noise was now close enough for him to see.
The underside of a ship, with the ribs divided like a set of jagged, sharp teeth, raised high in the air.
The Silent Mary closed its teeth upon the Essex, crashing against its decks and causing the British man o' war to explode in a fiery wreck. The fire from the ship lingered, illuminating the Spaniards' presence to every ship in the area. The crew of ghosts looked to have evil grins upon their faces as some of them cheered at their handiwork, while Armando Salazar had one of his clammy, rotten hands on the wheel, and a look of insane, absolute rage.
Jack's face went pale with shock, and he dropped his raised sword upon the deck.
No.
This couldn't be happening.
Not now.
Not when they were so close.
"Christ alive!" Gibbs cried out in terror as he saw the Mary emerge from the fiery wreck of the Essex.
Up ahead, two frigates, one British and one pirate, foolishly attempted to engage the ghostly ship from both sides. But before they could unleash their barrage, both of the Mary's sides unleashed a hellish double-broadside that looked like fire at the two ships.
"Hit them below the water line! Vamos, vamos!" Salazar barked at his men, that look of rage not once wavering from his expression, and the undead Spaniards kept on firing at the ships until nothing was left of them but ash and burning wood. They did not stop to check their progress for the ships were completely obliterated, and now they began to sail their way towards the Revenge and the Pearl.
Everyone on board began to panic. Whatever spirit they had to fight was crushed by the sight of the Silent Mary right for them. They would not survive this.
"Oh my God," Carina said plainly, but she was in shock as well from the horror she just witnessed.
"We need to get out of here. Now," Jack spoke low, his eyes transfixed on the approaching ship captained by a revenant thirsting for his blood.
Carina was brought out of her state of shock, and was now looking towards Jack, who was still staring at the approaching Mary.
"What?" Carina asked in confusion, "Why would we leave when we're so near the end?"
Jack turned to face her and said, "Are you mad!? We'll die if we continue on!"
"I thought you were the one who said that we had to stand and fight not long ago," Carina began, "Now you want to back out?"
"That's when I thought we had a chance," Jack explained, "But we don't have a chance... not against that."
He pointed out towards the decrepit ship getting closer to them.
"Henry told me stories about you," Carina said, "He said that you faced down a kraken without fear, that you braved against Davy Jones in a maelstrom, that you were the greatest pirate of all time. Was he just telling tales?"
Jack wanted to say that this was different, that Salazar was a different beast altogether. He wanted to tell her that he didn't want her to get hurt because she was his child. But he couldn't. He just stood there not saying a word. And he hated himself for it.
"You told me that whatever happens, I would stay my course," Carina spoke up, "I'm staying my course, Captain. This is my choice. I will make my father proud."
Those words struck something inside the old pirate. She didn't have to prove anything to him. But he couldn't be more proud than he was in that moment. She was an adult, able to make her own decisions, having courage to stare death in the face where he lacked it.
Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, and he cryptically said, "He already is, Ms. Smyth."
Taking his hand off her shoulder, he picked up his sword from the deck, and he said, "WE'RE NOT FINISHED HERE! WE FIGHT ON!"
The crew looked up towards Jack, and immediately they started to regain some of their courage. They stood close at the guns, prepping for the incoming attack.
"AYE, HE BE RIGHT!" Barbossa relayed, "HOLD FAST, MEN! DYIN' IS THE DAY WORTH LIVIN' FOR!"
The Silent Mary was now within firing range of the two pirate ships. Salazar's eyes scanned the deck of the blackened ship, and his gaze rested upon the man that had caused him so much agony: Jack Sparrow.
At the mere sight of his face, Salazar gritted his teeth, and black blood began to drip from his mouth again. He was fuming with anger, his wheezing more audible than it had ever been. He would kill Sparrow this night, along with every other pirate and soldier here, and he would finally have his revenge.
"For you, Maria," Salazar muttered under his breath, "For you, Anton. For you, Raoul."
As the crew's of the Pearl and the Revenge prepared for the onslaught, Salazar used his connection to the Mary to raise the ship up again. This would be quick and clean. Not the suffering he wanted to inflict, but Jack would be killed nonetheless.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Pintel commented, and Ragetti formed the sign of the cross.
"RAWK!" Cotton's parrot squawked, "DON'T EAT ME! DON'T EAT ME!"
Acting quickly, Barbossa raised the Sword of Triton up on high and used its magical properties to freeze the Mary before it could come crashing down on the Pearl.
"Maldito!" Salazar cursed, but truth be told he was glad that it wouldn't end so soon. Now he could take his time in tearing Jack apart, limb from limb.
"I can keep his infernal wreck off of us, but not much else!" Barbossa shouted as he continued to point his sword towards the Mary, which was requiring all his effort to keep from crashing down on top of them.
"Capitan!" Lezaro called out to Salazar, "What do we do now?"
Salazar's face cracked into a wicked grin.
"We engage, Teniente," Salazar responded. He veered the ship to port where the ship was now raised over the water, and used what power he could to bring the ship back down to sail along the water. They would be unable to use the ship-killer, but that wouldn't stop them from fighting.
"Prepare to fire double-broadside!" Salazar ordered, stepping away from the wheel as another of his men took it, "Send this pirate scum back to hell!"
"Haul on the main brace! Make ready the guns!" Scrum ordered from the deck of the Revenge. Over on the Pearl, the same preparations were being made to fight the ghostly Spaniards. Jack had just finished reloading his pistols as he stood next to Murtogg who was at the Puckle gun.
"Prepare for attack!" Jack called out, "Get ready to show these wretched, soulless, transparent jobbernowls who we are!"
The Mary was now in the field of fire of the Pearl and the Revenge; they could hear the cries of the undead seagulls flying around the broadside might not be enough to kill them, but it would be enough to damage their ship and slow them down. If Carina was right, the Trident of Poseidon wasn't far away and they could finally kill them.
"FUEGO!" Salazar bellowed.
"FIRE!" Jack ordered.
"FIRE!" Barbossa shouted.
"FIRE ALL!" Scrum screamed.
"FUEGO TODO!" Lezaro relayed.
Dozens upon dozens of cannons fired out. The smoke from the first few seconds of the four-way barrage was so sulfurous and cloudy that it was impossible to make out an inch of detail.
"Concentrate fire at the stern!" Jack called out. More cannon fire rang out through the night. The Mary's fiery cannon shot struck the Revenge's port and the Pearl's starboard, but both ships had held off surprisingly well from the onslaught. The cannonballs of the two pirate ships didn't do as much damage to the cursed ship, but damage was inflicted nonetheless.
Carina had to duck again because one of the Mary's cannon shots almost hit her head and took off one of the wheel's handles. If she hadn't moved when she did, she'd probably be missing a hand.
The Mary had made it past the two pirate ships without inflicting too much damage. Soon after, Salazar gave the order to his men to reload, and then the ship veered hard to port to get itself moving in the same direction as the pirate ships.
"Come along their sides and prepare for another double!" Salazar ordered, and then, somehow, the Mary started to pick up immense speed despite its burnt sails. Somehow, it's cursed state made it faster than the Black Pearl and her fantastical properties.
"How's that even possible!?" Henry asked aloud, "I thought the Pearl was the fastest ship in the Caribbean!"
"It was," Ragetti spoke up, "Until now."
The pirate crews of both ships made haste to reload their guns and prepared for the next broadside. The orders to fire came again, and sulfurous smoke filled the air as the massive barrage was unleased. A few cannons on the pirate ships were knocked out of place, but they still remained afloat and their numbers were plenty.
"BOARD! NOW, MI AMIGOS!" Salazar ordered, and the Spanish let out a mighty war cry.
"Jack, hide!" Carina called out, "He's after you!"
Jack turned to face Carina, and he knew she was right. He was top priority for Salazar right now. With haste, he leapt off the top deck and proceeded to take cover behind the main mast.
Lezaro gave Salazar his rapier and scabbard, and afterwards the pair of them and about half the crew (the other half having leapt onto the Revenge) leapt off the Mary onto the deck of the Pearl.
"Jack Spaaaaa-rrrroooooowwww!" Salazar called out in a sing-song voice, giddy as a schoolboy, "Jack Spaaaa-rrrroooooooowwwww! Time to give El Diablo his due!"
Jack remained behind the main mast, and soon enough the ghosts became engaged in fearsome hand-to-hand combat with the pirates aboard. Unlike the British, the ghosts could not be killed. Guns only worked as a stunning tool. The most they could do was hold them off with their swords until they got to the Trident.
Salazar's eyes turned to his left and he saw Carina standing at the wheel of the Pearl. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what this young woman was doing aboard a pirate ship. Perhaps she knew where Sparrow was.
He quickly limped towards the deck with his rapier, cutting down two pirates that stood in his path as he neared her. Carina just then noticed that Salazar was walking directly towards her, and her eyes widened in both shock and fear. Grinning, Salazar stuck his rapier on the bottom step up towards the helm, but before he could take another step, he heard that voice again.
"Oi, Spaniard!"
Salazar quickly turned around, his wavy hair obscuring his vision for a brief moment, before he saw Jack Sparrow standing near the bow of the ship, waving his arms to get his attention.
"You lookin' for me, Cap-EE-tan?" Jack said in a confident tone, but there was an underlying hint of his fear of what was about to happen. Salazar had no idea why he'd expose himself like this, but nevertheless his eyes filled with hatred as he limped hastily towards him, not even bothering with the pirates in his pathway.
"Sparrow," Salazar muttered with venom in his voice, "At last."
"How do you do, Armando?" Jack tried to put on a brave face, mocking a bow for good measure, but it wasn't working as well as he hoped.
"Tonight is the night I kill you," Salazar spoke again, spitting black blood out of his mouth.
"I'd like to see you try," Jack smirked, "The terms from before still apply, you know."
"That being?" Salazar asked.
"Surrender to me now, and I will let you live," Jack taunted, using the same threat he made to him thirty years ago.
Salazar lost his temper, and immediately he lunged forward with his rapier in an attempt to pierce Jack through his heart. Jack immediately pulled out his hanger and deflected the strike to his left, and Salazar attempted to attack again by swinging from the top. Jack blocked that advance as well, and then Salazar gave a rapid mixture of high and low attacks. Jack was being forced back by Salazar's attacks, but he was able to defend against each one. For how long, he didn't know.
Salazar was throwing all his energy into his thrusts, and soon enough he had pushed Jack all the way over to the edge of the bow. He struck a particularly hard blow that sent him back into the rail, and Jack breathed heavily for a moment. Seizing this moment of weakness, Salazar lunged forward and tried to decapitate Jack, only for the pirate to block the ghost's advance and hold the blades in place for a moment. Reeling back, Salazar tried to go for another decapitation shot, but missed when Jack ducked and rolled out of the way at the last minute. Getting his bearings, Salazar saw Jack standing next to the foremast.
Reeling his sword back, Salazar attempted once again to strike at Jack's head, but Jack ducked at the last second and the only things the Spaniard's rapier made contact with was the wood of the foremast and the lantern hanging there, which fell onto the deck with a crash.
Jack had run over to the port rail, and he could see the British fleet engaged with the other pirate ships. He was thinking this was good, because as long as the British's attention was off of them, they could deal with the Spanish.
Salazar pulled his sword out of the foremast, and resumed his attention towards Jack, who held his own sword in a firm grip as he tried to keep a focused face on his enemy. Salazar began to run towards him, and then stepping on the back of an unmanned cannon propelled himself upward and was prepared to strike down upon him. Jack leapt back at the last second as Salazar's rapier sunk through the deck, but the motion of which caused him to fall down on the deck himself. Quickly getting up, he was able to parry Salazar's incoming blows as he was pushed back further towards the stern of the ship. Along the way, Jack noticed the rest of his crew engaged with Salazar's, and noticed they were able to hold their own. Henry was using his musket's barrel to protect himself from incoming sword strikes, while Barbossa was standing in place holding out the Sword of Triton making sure the Mary didn't crush them.
Focusing his attention back on Salazar, Jack realized that he had to do something to even the odds. He swung his sword offensively at the same time Salazar's did, and their blades came together once more. The hold was maintained as both men grunted to maintain it. Salazar's eyes were seething with rage, and Jack could feel his foul breath on him.
Acting quickly, Jack raised his right leg and kneed Salazar in the chest. It elicited only a mere grunt from Salazar, but Jack took the opportunity and, using his left arm, pushed the ghost over the port rail and into the water.
Jack looked over the rail to see what had become of Salazar, only to see him lying face-first on top of the water like it were a floor.
"Bugger," Jack spoke, and he began to run over towards the starboard bow as Salazar picked himself up and started running across the top of the water back towards the Pearl. Getting back on the deck, Salazar scanned the area to see where Jack had gone, and he saw that he had made his way to the bow again. Limping forward, Salazar, ever committed to his goal of revenge, made his way to the bow, only to see that Jack had disappeared.
"Que?" Salazar asked himself, and then he heard the sounds of rope being pulled. Turning his head to his right, he saw Jack standing on the bow rail holding one of the ship lines facing away from him. Before he could do anything, Jack had leapt off the ship holding on the rope, using it as a pendulum to get onto the deck of the Mary and away from Salazar, screaming while he did so.
Salazar raised an eyebrow in confusion.
As Jack was nearing the deck of the Mary, he realized the rope wasn't going as far as he was hoping, and he started swinging back the other direction. Screaming, he started swinging back the other way and his grip on the rope became weak. His hands slipped, and he ended up smacking against the side of one of the Mary's guns. Jack had to grip on it to prevent from falling in the ocean.
Salazar leapt off the deck of the Pearl and grabbed one of the wooden planks on the side of the Mary. Jack looked up and screamed when he saw Salazar before him.
"There's nowhere to hide!" Salazar shouted, swinging his rapier at him. Acting quickly, Jack leapt off the cannon and landed on one of the Pearl's lower guns instead. He picked himself up and saw that Salazar was now standing on one of the Mary's guns level with his own. Salazar leapt forward onto another one of his guns closer to Jack, and raised his sword upward. Jack put his back towards his own ship as he raised his sword and prepared to fight.
Salazar let out a blood-curdling yell, and swung towards Jack. Jack blocked it and met a series of quick strikes from Salazar's blade. Both men were careful to keep their footing on the guns as the raging ocean lie just beneath them.
Jack thought this was insane, but then he reminded himself that he'd seen stranger.
A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for being so patient! Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter of this story. I'm ending it sooner than I'd like to, so that's why I'm splitting this sequence into two chapters. I felt you guys had waited long enough, so I just decided that enough was enough and that it was time to post. Don't worry, the rest of this epic battle will continue soon, with even more twists and surprises to come. As always, if you have anything you'd like to discuss, be sure to review or PM me and I promise I'll get back to you as soon as possible! Thanks everyone and stay classy!
- Spent