I beg forgiveness for the long delay. I'm back on track and my plan is to finish this before the end of the year.

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Beyond World's End

By Ecri

CHAPTER 8

The battle would soon be under way. Captain Barbossa longed for the moment when he could lose himself in the chaos of it all. The smell of gunpowder mixed with the coppery tinge of blood filled the salt sea air while the cacophony of cannon fire blended with the sound of splintering wood, of splashing water, of the screams of men either dying or shouting out orders…or calling for help.

It would be a relief to be dealing with things of a purely piratical nature once more rather than of curses and councils and otherworldly phenomena. This was real. This was why he'd become a pirate. He'd known pirates in his life who'd avoided outright confrontation. Jack Sparrow hadn't gone so far as that, but if he were able to take a port town with minimum bloodshed, he would. It had always struck Barbossa as odd. Then again, Sparrow himself had always struck him as odd. He'd thought so from the moment they'd me and the more he'd dealt with the eccentric pirate, the more firmly he'd believed it.

He could recall a time when he'd considered the possibility that he and Jack might be friends, but Pirates didn't have real friends. That's where Jack had gone wrong. He'd thought William Turner the Senior had been his friend. He'd thought Barbossa had been his friend, but all he'd gotten for his trouble was a mutiny.

Jack's eccentricities had seemed to worsen the older the man got, though he never really seemed to age. Barbossa had wondered at that once upon a time, but then had considered it a trick of make up. A man who'd taken to wearing kohl on his eyes would surely not be above using other types of cosmetic secrets. He'd considered it a vanity, thinking Jack must be a bit of a fop, but kohl was the least of his bizarre habits.

He'd once come across Jack sitting on deck peering between the rails and talking to the sea. Sure, pirates often spoke of the sea as a woman, but how many actually had conversations with the water? And conversations they were, for Jack always reacted as though he were getting replies. It sent a shiver down Barbossa's spine even now.

The enigma that was Captain Jack Sparrow had always plagued Barbossa, and he was certain that was the reason he felt such animosity toward the younger man. He could never fathom an honest man, but he could fathom a pirate. What did that say about Sparrow? The man was anything but honest, yet he had a strange unpredictability about him. This had not diminished in all the time he'd known Jack.

Even now, Barbossa knew, Jack was trying to keep Will Turner safe, and Barbossa could not understand that. The protective streak Jack seemed to have for the whelp…even back when they'd been trying to remove the curse of the Aztec gold, had surprised him. Was he protective of the Young Mr. Turner because of the older Mr. Turner? That didn't seem enough somehow. There had to be more to it. He didn't know as much about Tia Dalma as Beckett and Jack did. Perhaps there was something in their previous meetings. Perhaps there was a debt owed from Jack to Tia Dalma…like the one Jack owed to Davy Jones…and Jack was using Turner to pay it.

Barbossa liked that explanation. It was acceptable pirate behavior, but it didn't explain why Jack hadn't allowed Tia Dalma to take the whelp yet. No, there was something he still couldn't quite grasp, and until he did, he would do nothing. He would hate to learn of the boy's value later after he'd managed to bring about his death.

Now, scanning the deck of the Dutchman, he wondered what the other Captain had up his voluminous sleeve.

**

Jack made his way across the deck of the Dutchman shadowed by the Water Sparrow as he picked his way carefully through the battle dodging swords and stepping around those locked in fighting. His watery companion was helpful on occasion extracting him from difficult moments and keeping him balanced when he was about to fall overboard.

"Where's Jones?" He asked the question aloud, but he didn't expect an answer. He was surprised, therefore, when a wet but oddly firm grip on his shoulder halted his progress and an equally wet arm pointed toward the Pearl. There, fighting Will Turner, was the Dutchman's captain.

Jack offered a smile to his salty duplicate. "Thanks, mate." He reached for the rigging, his eyes upon a loose rope he could use to swing to the deck of the other ship. He reached the rope and looked down in time to see Water Sparrow as he soared through the air to land with a splash by Jones's side.

The Water Sparrow was momentarily absent, disappearing in a splash, but managed to coalesce into shape once more almost immediately.

Jack, nonplussed at the odd form of transportation and more than a little miffed that he hadn't been offered a ride, mumbled to himself as he gripped the chest in one hand and the rope in the other. He pushed off and landed next to the now fully re-formed Water Sparrow.

Jack held the chest aloft, waving it until he caught Jones's attention. When he finally did, the Captain let out a roar, enraged to see it in Sparrow's possession. "Release it!"

"Oh, I don't think so, mate."

Jones stopped fighting, his sword hanging limply at his side. Will also stepped back, though he held his sword at the ready. Elizabeth stood nearby, her attention on the man/beast she was fighting, though she was obviously positioning herself so she would be aware of whatever happened between Jack and the Cursed Captain.

A slow smile spread across Jack's face as he opened the chest and grasped the beating heart.

Jones's eyes narrowed, and in a move so swift it had to be enhanced by some magic or sorcery, he brought up his sword, disarmed Will Turner and grabbed hold of the young man, holding his own sword to the young man's throat.

Jones smiled at the wide-eyed look on Jack's face. "Stalemate," he cackled.

Elizabeth, finally dispatching her opponent, turned to see the shocking tableau. "Will!" She cried, and Will chanced the slightest of movements in an attempt to bring her into his sight.

Jones cackled again. "I will kill him, Jack, if you don't return what's mine!"

A howl of unearthly rage stopped them all. Jack turned, his eyes scanning the area to see what had made the sound, but he knew. He hadn't expected her to wait so patiently, but wait she had, and now she made her way to the small group that held the outcome of the entire day in its collective grasp.

Tia Dalma's eyes were wide and seemed to spark in her outrage. "Dat heart is mine! You gave it to me!" She moved closer to Will, who dared not move so firmly was he held by Jones, and so close to his unprotected heart was the Pirate's sword.

"As is dis one…" she pointed a finger at Will who grimaced as though he once more felt pain flare in his heart, and Jack thought, for a moment, that Jones had run him through. It was obvious that only Jones's firm grip kept him on his feet.

The fighting around them was a distant cacophony, and Jack barely heard the cannon or the kiss of steel on steel. Things had taken on an odd slowness as though time for them had stood still while the battle raged on around them at its own, more hurried, pace.

Tia Dalma took a step closer to Will and Jones, and both seemed powerless to stop her.

"One more step, darlin', and I'll end him now." Jack spoke softly, but with a savage ferocity that surprised even him.

Tia Dalma turned to face him.

"That's it, love! Come and get it!" Sparrow urged.

"What is it you want, Jack Sparrow?" Tia Dalma's voice was cold but demanding.

"Captain…Captain Jack Sparrow, and what I want should be obvious, or haven't you seen my mate?" He gestured beside him, but, when everyone stared back at him blankly, he turned to look. His duplicate, the Water Sparrow, was gone. His smile faltered, but he cleared his throat. "Well, he's…stepped away for a moment. Not to worry. I'm sure he'll be back."

Tia Dalma scowled at him. "You are a man forever tryin' ta escape yer destiny, Jack Sparrow, but ye cannot run any longer!"

"We had this out a long time ago. I'm not payment for whatever Beck promised you." He tightened his grip on the heart and brought his sword up to within inches of the hideous thing. Tia Dalmas stopped in her tracks. "Give it 'ere, Jack." She whispered.

Tia Dalma turned again this time to face Jones. "Ye know it's mine!"

"You spurned it! I'll kill the whelp!" He brought his sword closer to Will, releasing his crushing grip on Will's throat, forsaking the awkwardness of piercing his heart for the ease of cutting his throat. Jones's sword left a thin trail of blood on Turner's throat as he moved swiftly to show how serious he was.

Will raised his head, struggling to keep the blade at a distance, but Tia Dalma had not given up her hold on him. In anger, she clenched her hand into a fist high above her head. Will's breath came in strangled gasps. His arms immobile by the grip Jones had on him, he moved his legs, feebly trying to force Jones to release him.

Jack saw time was short. The two were playing a game and Will was stuck in the middle. He glanced to Elizabeth who looked at him pleadingly, and then to Bootstrap who seemed at least momentarily himself and struggled through several others to reach his son.

Things seemed to slow down…to take on a plodding slowness that helped Jack see more clearly than he had before. That was the only reason he saw Bootstrap Bill make his move. Unsure of his friend's sanity, he could only stand in mute horror as Bootstrap rushed him running Jones' heart through with his own sword.

The first effect this had was to speed time back up to its proper pace. Tia Dalma's scream shattered the still silence. "'e was mine! It was my right to take 'im life!"

Jack smiled as the watery duplicate removed his seawater hand from the hilt of the sword letting it clatter to the deck. Jack shook his head. "He wasn't yours. He gave you his heart, but you rejected it. You never loved him. You needed him!"

"What do you know of it?" She spat the words, but her eyes drifted to the watery figure beside him.

Jack smiled, his gold teeth glittering in the light not as obvious as the glint of anger in his eyes. "Oh, I know more than you think, Tia Dalma."

Tia Dalma's eyes momentarily showed a fear unfamiliar to any who knew her well. She turned her back on both Sparrow and stared instead at the prone form of Will Turner. She placed a hand tenderly on Will's cheek. He looked up at her trying to scramble out of her way.

Jack turned his attention to her as she continued to caress Will's cheek. Elizabeth ran toward the pair, fire in her eyes. Jack caught her around the waist and swung in a circle with her until she pummeled him.

"Let me go!"

"No…Elizabeth…" His serious tone caught her attention. "I am more equipped to handle this than you. Grant me that, and step aside." She nodded, however reluctantly.

Jack faced Tia Dalma who still stood over Will, though Will was somehow, to Jack's amazement, struggling to stand. "Will…don't do anything stupid," he called to the young man having recognized the look in his eyes and the set to his jaw.

Will, finding he lacked the strength to stand, backed away from Tia Dalma scrambling awkwardly half on his side. He caught Jack's eye and nodded, acquiescing for the moment at least to remain silent and permit Jack to handle what he so little understood.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and turned to his water companion. "You've not been much help so far, mate. You can step in anytime, you know."

The watery figure shimmered and took on a more opaque appearance, but in doing so, it lost its likeness to Jack. Instead, the image of a man, not young and not old, whose edges seemed to waver like he might once again become water at any moment, stared back them all.

"I regret not getting involved sooner. I should not have permitted the Brethren Court to muddle things."

"That's one way of putting it," Jack mumbled.

Barbossa stepped forward. "What is this? Who are you? What do you mean you shouldn't have permitted the Brethren Court…? We do as we please! We take what we can…"

"And give nothing back. Yes, I've heard." The man faced Barbossa. "I should have held more firmly to you once you died, Hector."

Jack smiled at Barbossa's discomfiture. "Maybe I should make introductions." He gestured to the man beside him. "This is Poseidon. He's here to set a few things right."

Barbossa was visibly shaken and took a tentative half-step away.

Jack only smirked and continued. "I met him in the Locker. He explained a few things."

Tia Dalma scoffed. "Like what, Jack Sparrow?" She was visibly shaken by Poseidon's appearance, but struggling to maintain her control.

In reply, Jack cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"AMPHITRITE!"

Tia Dalma turned to face him. The expression on her face was an odd mixture of fury, disbelief, and fear. "No!" She cried, finally releasing Will Turner.

She took several steps toward Jack before seeing his double. "NO!" She cried again. "I have been denied too long!"

She spoke to Jack, though her eyes never left Poseidon's. "He come to claim 'im book and blade? Let 'im 'ave dem!" She gestured around her, the movement encompassing Will Turner, the Pearl, the other ships still engaged in battle, even the sea they sailed upon. "I will not be denied!"

Jack laughed, a hard edge to the sound none present had heard before. "Oh, you'll be denied. Did you never think it odd that I wasn't who you thought I was? Did you never wonder why you'd been so sure I was the one you now believe Will to be?" He took a step toward her, his hand shooting out from his side to clutch hers in an iron grip.

"I'm not the prophecy. I'm the prophet."

Tia Dalma's eyes widened in surprise. "Dat ye cannot be! De prophet be Immortal and 'ave no desire for treasure."

"My desire is none of your concern, Tia Dalma. You need to know only that I've never been what I seem. Shouldn't be too hard a lesson for a woman who's never been what she seems." His grip on her wrist tightened until she yelped in pain and glanced down at his hand.

"Release me, Jack Sparrow!"

"Release the whelp first. Completely and irrevocably. You've no claim on him. He's mine." Jack's eyes never wavered from Tia Dalma's and the woman's eyes widened in shock. She stared deeply into his bright, mad eyes, and then dropped her gaze to the deck. Dropping her own arm, she seemed nothing if not utterly defeated.

Will lurched forward as though suddenly released from some invisible hold.

Jack smiled at Poseidon. "Take her with you, mate. I've got plenty to sort out down here."

"Jack, you're not meant to stay…"

Jack's eyes narrowed and he turned to face the Water God. "I'll stay where I please. Like I said, I've got plenty to sort out down here."

Poseidon smiled. "Go on, then. Get to it. I'll take her off your hands."

"I cannot until the other Gods agree and the Brethren release me, and well you know it!"

He turned to Jack. "You will release her."

Jack looked to Barbossa, who fingered a bag that held the pieces of eight. Jack removed his own from where it hung upon his head and waited. Barbossa's eyes narrowed. "What are ye playin' at, Jack?"

"Poseidon has come to claim his wife."

"Poseidon?" Barbossa looked as if he would like to dismiss the notion, but seemed to think better of it. He tossed the bag to Jack a bit harder than was strictly necessary. "I'll expect the story from ye soon, Jack."

Jack smiled. "You'll have it."

The ritual was a simple one, and Jack let Barbossa have the honors. When nothing happened, Tia Dalma let out a roar that deafened all present for a moment. Jack stepped in and did it once more, speaking in softer, pleasant tones, and Tia Dalma was immediately transformed. She shimmered and lost shape, she wavered and coalesced, and, in mere moments, Poseidon and Amphitrite clasped watery hands and disappeared beneath the sea. Jack followed them, running toward the rail, calling out to them. "Hang on a minute! What about me? We had a deal, Poseidon! You can't leave me here on my onesies!"

The pair was gone, and as they disappeared, absorbed by the ocean itself, the water began to swirl and the sky to darken. Buffeted by wind and rain, the Pearl began to list a bit until Barbossa again began giving orders to right the ship. Jack spun away from the rail and saw Elizabeth kneeling by Will Turner. He was beside them in a moment. "Will, are you all right?" The Captain asked, holding his breath for the answer.

Will was blinking slightly and rubbing a hand across his chest. "I'm well enough." His eyes scanned the area, but, though his free hand clutched Elizabeth's like a lifeline, he seemed lost. "Where is my father?"

Jack looked around noticing for the first time that the Flying Dutchman was gone. Had it gone down? Had it disappeared? Had Beck recalled it? "We'll find him."

Will looked away, his eyes betraying his doubt in Jack's word. Jack gripped Will's shoulders and shook slightly forcing him to look back at the pirate. "I promise, Will. We'll find him."

Will nodded, and Elizabeth and Jack helped him stand. Finding him steady enough on his feet, the trio joined the fight. Endeavor was still engaged in battle with several other ships, and the Pearl rejoined the fray, sailing easily to Endeavor's side.

As Jack reached for a bit of rope and prepared to swing over to the Endeavor, he called out to Barbossa. "Keep my Pearl safe!"

Norrington, Elizabeth, and Will followed Sparrow, and Barbossa nodded, though he muttered to himself. "My Pearl."

To be continued