Curse of the Cruise Ship
Chapter Seven
The First Battle
ESF's Author's Note: Hmm, what should I offer...how about a bottle of pop to whoever finds Kiera's (no, not Elizabeth's) line. And two bottles of pop to anyone who reviews! Yeah. Who wouldn't want three bottles of pop? Yummy!
Does anyone else think it's really funny that in DMC, Elizabeth hugs Jack's legs while he aims at the net? I didn't notice it at first, but when I did, I laughed. I mean, she was acting like a scared little kid!
The other day I found out that Johnny Depp's daughter's middle name is Melody. Isn't that weird? I honestly had no idea when wendystwin and I named our characters. Something like this has happened to me before. In my Harry Potter story, (before book six was released) I gave an original character a wand that was the same as Neville's new wand in book six, so I had to change my character's wand. But don't worry, I'm not going to change Melody's name. Bit too much work for this overworked college student.
RHrWilLizKataangPrincess2010: Thanks very much. I like to hope they're not Mary-Sue. Wendystwin wants to hunt down whoever came up with the term 'Mary-Sue', as I've had to put my foot down on a few things she wanted that might have resulted in flames. I've only had one really bad flame, when I first started writing fan fiction, but I try to avoid them anyway.
Fae's Fiyero: Sorry, but that's not the right quote. It was, "We're in for a bumpy ride." The shrunken head said it in the third movie on the Knight Bus. You do get two brownies for reviewing, though.
wendystwin's Author's Note: I'm tired, I'm wired, I'm walking through the fire.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Munchkins. Mr. L. Frank Baum owns them. But if I did own them, I would listen to the Lullaby League sing to me every night.
I've taken up enough of your reading time. Please remember to review!
The Interceptor was only ten minutes from the Isla de Muerta when Melody and Wendy (who seemed to be the only ones watching) finally spotted the Black Pearl on the horizon. Wendy grew more and more nervous as they stared out at the Pearl, which none of the crew had yet noticed. But it was quickly gaining on them.
"Uh, Anamaria?" said Wendy.
She turned from the wheel. "Aye?"
"I think they're coming."
She looked past them, out to the horizon, and her eyes widened. "Gibbs!" He turned. "It's the Pearl! She's coming after us!"
Gibbs immediately began shouting orders to the crew, most of which didn't make much sense to either Melody or Wendy. "Hands aloft to loose t'gallants! With this wind to the stern, she'll carry every sail we've got!"
"What's happening?" Elizabeth had come up from below.
"The Black Pearl," said Anamaria. "She's gaining on us."
Elizabeth hung off the starboard side to look back at the Pearl. "This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" she exclaimed to Gibbs as she climbed the stairs.
"You can tell them that after they've caught us," said Anamaria.
Elizabeth approached Anamaria. "We're shallower on the draft, right?"
"Aye?"
"Well, then can't we loose them amongst those shoals?"
They all looked out ahead of the ship, to where some sort of land was visible.
Gibbs looked back at Anamaria. "We don't have to outrun 'em long, just long enough."
"Lighten the ship!" ordered Anamaria. "Stem to stern!"
"Anything we can afford to loose," said Gibbs, "see that it's lost!"
The girls, desperate to do anything they could to help, hurried to help the crew empty the ship. They threw overboard everything they didn't need. After a couple of minutes, Will came up on deck to see what the commotion was. Wendy watched him as he leaned over the starboard side to look back at the Pearl. When he stopped Marty (the Munchkin pirate) from pushing a cannon overboard, she spoke up, and her sister looked up.
"What is it Will?"
"It's no use lightening the ship anymore, they're too fast." He jumped down. "They're going to attack."
They followed him up to the helm. "Gibbs!" he said. "We have to make a stand! We must fight!"
"Yeah," agreed Melody, drawing her pistol to double-check that it was loaded. "If I'm going to die, I'd rather go down fighting."
Gibbs looked skeptical. He knew they had no chance against the Pearl and the cursed pirates.
"Load the guns!" Will pressed.
"With what?" asked Anamaria.
"Anything. Everything!" He turned to Gibbs. "Anything we have left."
He hesitated for a second, then turned to the crew. "Load the guns!" he ordered, coming down from the helm. "Case shot and langrage! Nails and crushed glass! With a will!"
Will and Elizabeth hurried to go help, and the girls, having no clue about cannons and loading them, stayed at the helm with Anamaria, who was struggling to maintain control in the choppy waters. Once the guns were loaded, Gibbs, Will, and Elizabeth returned to the helm. Gibbs looked back at the Pearl.
"The Pearl's gonna luff up on our port quarter!" he said. "She'll rake us without ever presentin' a target!"
"Lower the anchor on the right side," said Elizabeth. Everyone stared at her. "On the starboard side!"
"It certainly has the element of surprise," reasoned Will.
"You're daft, lady!" said Anamaria. "You both are!"
Gibbs seemed to realize something. "Daft like Jack!" He turned to face the crew. "Lower the starboard anchor!" They looked at each other in confusion. "Do it, you dogs, or it's you we'll load into the cannons!" They hurried off. He turned to Melody and Wendy. "I would advise finding something to hold on to, Misses."
They quickly grabbed hold of the nearest line. When the anchor caught hold of something, the ship jerked sharply, and both girls shrieked in surprise, though they were fully expecting it. The ship began to lean as though the ship was about to tip over.
"Let go!" Elizabeth yelled to Anamaria, who had not yet let go of the helm. She did so, and the ship straightened out, doing a one-eighty. Barbossa realized what they were up to, and the Pearl turned sharply to the left. Within seconds, the Pearl and the Interceptor were parallel. Both crews were yelling what could only be described as war cries.
"Now!" said Will. Wendy and Melody cocked their pistols.
"Fire!" they heard Barbossa shout.
"Fire all!" yelled Elizabeth.
The sound of cannon fire was deafening, and Melody and Wendy took turns shooting at the cursed pirates, knowing it would do no good. The pistols could only hold one shot at a time, so they had to reload each time after they fired. They were kneeling between Gibbs and Will.
"We could use a few more ideas, lass," said Gibbs over the noise after a few minutes of battle.
"Your turn!" said Elizabeth as she reloaded her rifle.
"We need a devil's dowry!" said Melody. Wendy wasn't the only one who could steal lines.
Anamaria grabbed Elizabeth and held her pistol to her head. "We'll give 'em her."
Will stared at Elizabeth. "She's not what they're after."
She looked down at her chest to find the medallion gone and looked up at Will. "The medallion."
Realizing it was still below deck, Will hurried off to get it, dodging bullets. About a minute later, a cannonball took out the Interceptor's main mast and it fell, creating a sort of bridge between the two ships. Wendy watched in amusement as Barbossa's crew dived out of the way of the mast, while Barbossa himself just moved calmly. For a moment, everyone was silent, and once they had regained their bearings, the battle continued.
Barbossa's crew began boarding the Interceptor. Gibbs drew his sword and ran off to fight, and Melody and Wendy stayed with Elizabeth.
"Who are you two?" Elizabeth shouted to the girls as she fired her now-loaded rifle.
"Now's really not the time for that story, now is it?" replied Wendy.
Two cursed pirated then converged on the three women. Elizabeth fought one while the girls took the other. The girls each fired a shot at their pirate, then they attacked him, delivering punches, kicks, and anything else she could think of. They had been fighting the pirate for about a minute, when, out of nowhere, a fist that wasn't one of theirs connected with the guy's head, and he fell to the deck, unconscious.
Jack Sparrow had arrived.
"Jack!" exclaimed Melody. "You're alive!"
"Of course I am!" he told her, with a typical 'are-you-crazy' look. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!"
The twins grinned, and they followed Jack over to where Elizabeth was still fighting with her pirate. He grabbed the pirate's hand just as he was about to swing his sword. The pirate looked at him.
"That's not very nice," said Jack. While the pirate was distracted, Elizabeth hit him in the face with the rifle and he fell overboard.
Jack pulled Elizabeth down out of the way of a shot. The girls followed them, feeling exhausted.
Gripping her shoulders, Jack asked, "Where's the medallion?"
"Wretch!" Elizabeth went to backhand him, but he caught her hand and looked at the cloth covering her cut hand. "Ahh..." he said, understanding. "Where's dear William?"
With horrified realization, she looked toward the hatch that led below deck, which was blocked by the broken mast. "Will."
She ran to help Will, and Jack turned to the girls. "Well?" he asked. "Why aren't you fighting?"
"Well," began Wendy, "I'm out of shot and powder, and – "
"Jack!" exclaimed Melody, pointing.
He looked at her, then where she was pointing. Jack the Monkey was scurrying across the broken mast, carrying the medallion. "Monkey!" He ran off as well.
"Damn monkey," muttered Melody. "C'mon!"
Wendy followed her sister over to where Elizabeth was trying to move the mast.
"Help me!" Elizabeth pleaded desperately when she spotted them. Together, they tried to move the mast, but it was useless.
"Sorry, Will," said Wendy, "we can't move it!"
"Is there any other way out?" asked Elizabeth.
"The water's rising," he gasped, "and some monkey took the medallion."
"We saw. Jack – "
Suddenly, a group of pirates grabbed them. The girls gasped in shock, but allowed them to take them, knowing it would be useless to try and fight them off. Elizabeth, on the other hand, kicked and screamed.
"Will!"
"Elizabeth! Misses Parks!"
They, along with the surviving crew, were brought over to the Pearl just in time to see Jack run into Barbossa.
"Why, thank ye, Jack," drawled Barbossa.
"You're welcome," said Captain Jack.
"Not you, we named the monkey Jack." Melody glared at the monkey. "Gents," Barbossa announced, "our hope is restored!" Barbossa's crew cheered. "Twigg! Koehler! Is it done?"
The black pirate with dreadlocks grinned evilly. "Aye, Cap'n."
"Make sail for the island!" ordered Barbossa. "And tie them up." Pintel and Ragetti began tying everyone but Jack to the main mast, while the rest of the crew prepared to make way. Melody was between Wendy and Mr. Cotton. Elizabeth was on Wendy's other side. Will had not showed up yet. Barbossa was staring out at the severely damaged Interceptor as it drifted away from them, fondling the medallion.
"If any of you so much as thinks the word 'parley'," threatened Pintel, aiming his pistol at each of them as he passed, "I'll have your guts for garters."
Elizabeth ducked under the still-loose rope and began to run toward Barbossa. To do what, Melody wasn't sure. Maybe push him overboard?
The Interceptor suddenly exploded, stopping Elizabeth in her tracks. Barbossa's crew laughed, and Elizabeth attacked Barbossa. "You've got to stop it!" she shrieked. Barbossa fought her off, then grabbed her arms, holding her back.
"Welcome back, Miss," he said. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time, it holds fair now you return the favor." With that, he shoved her toward a group of pirates, who caught her and began touching her. She started screaming.
"Barbossa!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Will, who was standing on the railing, holding on to the rigging, and looking rather heroic and very sexy. He jumped down and spotted Jack's pistol. He grabbed it, aimed it at Barbossa, and pulled back the hammer. "She goes free!"
Melody and Wendy couldn't help but share an obsessed fan, 'oh-my-god-that's-so-cool' look.
Barbossa stared at him and began walking toward Will. "What's in your head, boy?"
"She goes free," he repeated. Elizabeth began struggling again.
"You've only got one shot, and we can't die."
Will glanced over at Jack, who pressed his hands together and said quietly, "Don't do anything stupid."
After a moment's pause, Will turned and climbed back up on the railing. He aimed the pistol at Barbossa. "You can't," he said, then put the gun barrel under his jaw. "I can." At this, Elizabeth struggled even more.
Jack nodded. "Like that," he said, and looked down.
Barbossa looked at Jack suspiciously, then back at Will. "Who are you?"
"No one," said Jack. He walked over to stand in front of Barbossa. "He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though." He added quietly and pointed a thumb at Will, "Eunuch."
"My name is Will Turner," said Will. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins."
Looking downright ashamed of Will, Jack hung his head and returned to his original spot.
"'E's the spittin' image of old Bootstrap Bill," said Ragetti, pointing, "come back to 'aunt us!"
Wendy giggled quietly. Ragetti and Pintel, who happened to be standing right in front of them, heard her, and gave her funny looks. She ignored them.
"On my word, do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger, and be lost to Davy Jones's locker."
Melody rolled her eyes. "You've no idea." She then clapped a hand to her mouth, horrified that she'd said it aloud. No one except Wendy seemed to notice though. They were all to busy watching the scene before them. But Wendy did give her sister a warning glare.
"Name your terms, Mr. Turner," said Barbossa finally.
"Elizabeth goes free!"
"Yes, we know that one, anything else?"
Jack was gesturing to himself pointedly.
Will, thinking he understood, added, "And the crew! The crew are not to be harmed."
Barbossa took a few steps forward. "Agreed." Will jumped down from the railing and put down the gun. "Men!" Barbossa announced, turning to face his crew and smiling creepily. "We have a change in heading."
About half an hour later, the Pearl was anchored off the coast of the deserted island, and Elizabeth was walking the plank. The crew (which Will apparently considered Melody and Wendy to be a part of) were now securely tied to the main mast. Barbossa and his crew had gathered by the plank and were laughing and calling to Elizabeth.
"Go on, poppet, go!"
"Walk the plank!"
She nervously continued down the plank, and Will finally managed to free himself from the pirates holding him.
"Barbossa, you lying bastard!" Elizabeth turned back when she heard him. "You swore she'd go free!"
He turned to face him, livid. "Don't dare impugn me honor, boy! I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where."
His crew laughed, and one of the pirates tied a gag in his mouth and pushed him back.
Barbossa turned back to Elizabeth. "Though it does seem a shame to loose somethin' so fine, don't it, lads?" His crew muttered their agreement. "So I'll be having that dress back before yeh go."
Elizabeth, looking thoroughly pissed off at the pirate, removed the dress to catcalls and whistles.
"Pigs," Wendy muttered. Melody nodded her agreement.
Elizabeth threw the dress at Barbossa. "Goes with your black heart," she spat.
Barbossa turned away and pressed the dress to his cheek. "Ooh, it's still warm." The crew laughed, and he threw the dress to a crew member.
Elizabeth continued down the plank in her shift. She turned back to look at Will, and they stared at each other for a while, before a large, bald pirate said, "Too long!" and stomped on the end on the plank. It was enough to make her loose her balance and fall. The pirates cheered when they heard the splash. Then Jack was pushed forward.
"I'd really rather hoped we were past all this," he told his former first mate.
Barbossa smiled. "Jack..." He put an arm around him. "Jack. Did you not notice? That be the same little island that we made you governor of on our last little trip."
Jack glanced out at the island. "I did notice."
Melody suddenly noticed that her sister was staring longingly at the island. Then she had an idea.
"Hey, Wendy."
"Yeah?"
"I want to stuff the monkey, where did he go?" she said, loudly enough for Barbossa to hear. The two of them burst into wild laughter, and everyone stared at them as if they were insane.
Unfortunately, Barbossa had heard them. The entire ship fell silent when they realized what Melody had said. He left Jack standing by the plank and marched over to where the girls were tied to the mast. Melody was suddenly terrified. She had apparently struck a nerve. A very sensitive one. Barbossa stood in front of them, looking very scary. Melody prepared herself for death.
Then he smiled. "Let 'em go, gents," he told his men, not taking his eyes off the girls. The crew chuckled darkly and one man began untying the ropes that bound them.
"Wait, what?" said Melody, completely confused. Once they were freed of the ropes, they were forced over to the side of the ship.
"Hey, wait a minute!" exclaimed Wendy, realizing what was going on. "I went for a swim yesterday, I don't really want to – " she shrieked as they tossed her overboard.
Melody shook the pirates off of her. "Let go of me, you idiots! I'll throw myself overboard, thanks." She climbed up on the railing, jumped, and did a cannonball into the water without looking back.