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Jack, Elizabeth, Bootstrap, Gibbs, Cotton, Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, Maccus, Ratlin and Hadras all moved off the shoreline and onto flat ground. They looked around. They were still surrounded by forest, thicker then ever. Trees, bush, grass, all kinds of vegetation lined the edge. As well as God-knows-what else.
Jack and Elizabeth turned to Will. 'Mind the boats,' he instructed.
Elizabeth's parting remark was a kiss. 'Be safe,' she whispered.
'Always,' he replied in the same tone.
The party started walking across thick dirt which floated off the ground onto their boots. Their shoes left tracks in the dirt behind them. They were quiet, no one making even a whisper. All knew that some unknown dangers lied head.
Jack still had one question on his mind. Where was the Black Pearl? Jack hadn't seen it tied on the edge of the island neither anywhere along the river. And this was now a dirt track. Barbossa couldn't have put it anywhere else.
Unless Barbossa had already left the island.
But Jack had only been behind him by one day. Barbossa wouldn't have had enough time to be in and out of the island. The dangers were called 'unimaginable', but surely it would have taken awhile to overcome them?
Jack shook his head. Barbossa had to be in here somewhere. Jack would find him and kill him. He vowed that. And then Jack would take back his ship. Again. For good this time.
Jack started to walk slower. The other's also slowed and looked at him. 'What is it Jack,' Elizabeth asked uncertainly.
'It seems.....strange that nothing has attacked us or harmed us in any way. It was not like I expected.'
'But that's good, isn't it?' Gibbs queried.
Jack shook his head. 'No. When there should be danger and there's not that's never a good sign.'
Gibbs kept that in mind.
'I wonder where he could be,' Elizabeth mused. Jack knew who she meant.
'Aye, I was just thinking that, luv, and I have absolutely no idea as to the answer.'
They kept walking in silence again, each thinking what he (or she) would do when they saw Barbossa. In all minds were ways to kill him.
Jack was starting to feel unnerved. It had been about thirty minutes, and still there was nothing but piercing silence. The others, too, were getting worried.
And then they had a blockage. Thicket spread across the path, cutting them off.
'It's a dead end,' Elizabeth observed.
Jack kept moving forward, drawing his sword and batting away the shrub. The others stared after him, then followed, each pulling out their swords and cutting down the leaves or bush in their path.
After awhile Jack stopped. Elizabeth ran into him, and made everyone else stop too. 'What is it?' came Pintel's voice from the back of the line.
'Listen,' Jack instructed. Everyone obeyed the Captain, and then started. They could hear Barbossa's voice, yelling loudly, as if to a crowd of people. The voice sounded triumphant.
That could only mean one thing.
Jack started running, Elizabeth following close behind, along with everyone else. They only had little time. Barbossa had a way of playing with his 'food', or in this case, water. He was known to make a huge speech before he did something dramatic or life-changing. And this was certainly life changing. But the crew had to get there in time, before he drunk the water. But how much time did they have?
After a few minutes of running, Jack burst out of the jungle. He stopped just before he ran into a pirate, obviously one of Barbossa. Said man himself was standing upon a huge rock, speaking out to the on gathered pirates. Jack did a rough count. About twenty. Behind him the party had all come to a stop, looking over each other's shoulders as to see the gathering. But then Pintel, who was at the back of the line, stumbled on a rock whilst on his toes, and bumped into Maccus, who was in front of him. The party was squashed together so a domino effect took place. But unluckily, this made Jack just touches the man in front, who turned around. He yelled in warning.
Barbossa looked up. He looked furious to see Jack there, once again stealing his moment of glory and triumph. But so be it. Barbossa put his bottle aside for the moment.
'Jaaack,' he drawled. 'What ye be doin' here Jack?'
'Well that's really none of your business is it? Anyway I would have thought it was quite obvious but to a shallow-minded cursed man like you obviously did not. '
Barbossa snorted. 'I know what you want Jack. But you can't have it. For years I've wanted to be immortal, live forever, but still be fully alive. The curse worked but we could taste naught but ash. This is my final chance, and I'm not going to have you ruin it for me Jack. I am a legendary pirate, and legendary I will stay. You are just an obstacle in my path.'
Jack grimaced. 'I can't believe we are at this again, mate. We've been there, done that way too many times. It can't be doin' any good for your health.'
Barbossa frowned at him. 'What would you of all people know about health? Or hygiene?! You're not standing in my way this time Jack.
Barbossa drew out a vile from his coat. Jack could see it filled with a clear liquid. The Water of Youth! Barbossa popped the lid, than downed the fluid. Barbossa looked around at them.
'Ha ha, you're too late Jack. I'm now immortal. Boys, get the crew. I want Sparrow for myself!'
Barbossa's men started moving towards the party. They stayed put, ready for the challenge. Elizabeth leaned up to Jack. 'I'm going with you. I'll let you kill Barbossa but I want to be there to see him die,' Elizabeth whispered in his ear. Jack nodded. He could use some help.
Barbossa's men suddenly lunged. Jack and Elizabeth ducked and moved slyly to the side, stepping around the mob. Jack saw his crew leap forward to take the prey. He was glad that he didn't have a group of frightened bilge rats. Jack kept moving, holding onto Elizabeth's arm to guide her forward. Barbossa was waiting for them, still on his rock. He smiled when he saw Elizabeth.
'Ah, Jack. You need help to fight me? That's weak, Jack.'
But Elizabeth stood her ground. 'I did not come to help fight. I came to watch you DIE!'
Elizabeth ran forward and drew her sword at the same time. She slashed at Barbossa, who repeated the movement. But Jack was annoyed. He, too, pulled out his sword, but nudged Elizabeth out of the line of Barbossa's sword.
'What are you doing?!' she screamed.
'This is my fight. Help if I get hurt.' Jack instructed.
Elizabeth crossed her arms like a little girl. 'No!' she objected. But then she had a thought. 'Alright, Jack, I'll be right over here,' she shouted to him and then ran off to go help fight. After killing one of Barbossa's men, Elizabeth sneaked over behind the rock that Barbossa in front of. Sword in hand, she screamed and ran out from the rock, ready to cut Barbossa's back. But Barbossa had heard her scream and turned, swiping the air. Elizabeth blocked, then started to parry with Barbossa. Jack just stood there, wondering what to do.
Whilst this was going on, Jack's small crew had slowly started to overpower Barbossa's crew. There were only a few left, and these few were having troubles with the fighting, now as each person had either one or two of Jack's crew on them. They were having serious doubts.
Barbossa was fighting Elizabeth, with his back turned to Jack. Elizabeth saw Jack raise his hand, and lowered her guard for a few seconds. That was all that Barbossa needed. He plunged his sword into Elizabeth's leg. She cried out in pan and fell to the ground, clutching the wound. Jack looked at Elizabeth and then at Barbossa, who was still staring at his prey. Jack knew what to do. He brung his sword up to Barbossa's back, then stabbed it in. Barbossa cried out. He swivelled around, his sword still in his back. It was poking out through the front of his shirt. Jack drew it back out.
'That was for the first time you mutinied me,' Jack said.
He plunged the sword through Barbossa's chest again.
'That was for stealing my ship.'
He pulled it out again and jabbed it back in.
'And that,' he grunted, 'was for stealing my position as Captain. You might have been legendary, Barbossa, but now your nothing but dead.'
Barbossa now had several holes in his chest. Staring open mouthed at Jack, he fell to the ground.
The rest of Barbossa's crew dropped their weapons. Jack had won. They agreed to join Jack's crew. Jack now felt a much happier man. But then he heard a whimper.
Elizabeth.
Jack knelt down by her side. Her right leg was covered in blood. He took his piece of cloth off his hand and wrapped it around her leg. 'Are you okay?' he asked seriously. Elizabeth nodded.
'It's not a deep cut. It'll he'll. Thankyou, Jack, for helping me. I wanted to kill him but obviously I didn't have it in me.' Elizabeth whispered.
'Darling, you had it in you. He just got you first. But he's dead now. I made sure of that.'
Elizabeth looked over to where Barbossa was lying on the ground. He was a bloody mess. She grimaced. The rest of Jack's crew came over to Jack.
'Jack, the water!' Gibbs reminded him. Jack nodded.
'You guys stay here. I must get the water alone.' But Elizabeth wouldn't hear of it.
'Jack, I am going with you.'
'Luv, you're hurt-'
'I can stand it. You're not leaving without me.'
Jack sighed. He knew he wouldn't win this argument. He agreed. The crew also agreed to stay at the battlefield. They had no intensions of going anywhere near danger, and they didn't really believe that the water really did give long life. It was just a bit out of reach of their belief.
Jack gave Elizabeth a hand up, and when she was up she dusted herself down. Jack looked doubtful.
'I'm fine, really,' she assured him.
'Than let's get going!'
*
Will waited anxiously at the boats. He hated this torture – not being able to step on land. He loved the sea, but sometimes he needed a break.
Will started chewing on his thumbnail, hoping Elizabeth didn't get hurt in any way. He would never forgive himself if she had. It would be his fault. He should never have let her go with the shore party. Now Will thought of it, Elizabeth was very certainly going to get hurt, and that worried Will.
Will stretched over the benches in one of the boats, placing his hands behind his head. Now all he had to do was wait for the party to come back.
Suddenly a glimmer caught Will's eye. He sat up. The sun was reflecting of something bright. He peered through the trees. And that's when he saw it. Another river, hiding behind a thin layer of trees. Glancing around to make sure the party wasn't nearing, he picked up two oars and started to row the boat towards the river, drawing his sword to swipe away the vegetation. Yes, it was a river, a slow, clear one, with no rocks or sticks in sight. Wills wonderment took over, and he started to move down the river. It was smooth, he thought. Nothing like the one on the way. Will continued down the river. The water was the colour of silver, and looking down, Will could see clearly down to the bottom. He wondered where the river was taking him.
Will saw that he was approaching a dead end. What was the point of the river then? he wondered. But then Will heard a whisper coming from all around him. 'Left,' it spoke. Will looked to the left, but could see nothing but forest. He tried to squint and peer through but could still see nothing.
'You may come ashore,' the voice whispered. 'The Water of Life spreads through the ground. This is the only land you may walk on.' Will wondered how the voices knew that he could not step on land normally. But he didn't question it too much. He believed anything nowadays. He had seen magical objects – cursed gold, a compass that points to what you want, he himself was of a magical being. Could he not go under water to the land of the dead? Why should he question magic?
Will decided to obey the voice and see where it took him. He drew his boat up to the left, as the voice had first instructed him. He took a deep breath, then stepped out onto the soil.
Nothing happened.
He took another step. Still nothing. Will decided that maybe he could walk on this land. It seemed like it.
Will pulled out his sword once again and batted away at the trees. This forest was dense, thick, and it took a while for him to get through enough that he could see light through the trees. He smiled then kept moving.
*
They had finally done it. After facing and killing facing monsters, they had arrived. Jack was actually amazed at how easy it was. He wondered how no-one had ever succeeded at collecting the Water of Youth before. They were probably too chicken to try it, or else didn't believe in magical water.
Jack and Elizabeth marvelled at the sight. A lake swam before them, its contents crystal clear. The lake sparkled like a million tiny diamonds. Elizabeth's mouth dropped open. Jack reached up and closed it again.
'It's........beautiful!' Elizabeth proclaimed.
Jack nodded. 'It really is.'
Jack reached into his coat and pulled out two rum bottles. Elizabeth looked quizzically at him.
'They were the only bottles I had around,' he explained.
Only then did Elizabeth notice that he was holding two rum bottles. 'Who's the other one for?' she questioned. Jack raised his eyebrows.
'And I thought you were meant to be smart.'
Then it dawned on Elizabeth. 'Is that meant for me, Jack?'
Jack rolled his eyes. 'Obviously.'
Elizabeth was stunned. 'But, Jack, why would you do that? You could have gotten one for Gibbs, Marty, anyone. Why me?'
'Simple. You can now live forever with your un-dead husband. We can be the three most legendary pirates, Elizabeth. We can live forever!'
Elizabeth was speechless. Then, to show her gratitude, she gave Jack a kiss, a slow, thankful, delicate one.
*
It was then that Will finally cut through all the vegetation. He looked out, and saw the scene, not ten metres away. His mouth opened opened in shock. Now he really did believe that Elizabeth loved Jack. That was the second time he had seen her kiss him. He felt hate for Jack Sparrow rise up in his throat. But Jack hadn't done anything. It had been Elizabeth both times. So why should he blame Jack? Because it was Jack that Elizabeth loved, not him. Will took a deep breath, but he knew he couldn't stay there. He turned around and walked back down to the boat.
*
Elizabeth drew back. 'Really, thankyou.'
Jack didn't say anything. He just stared at Elizabeth. 'Well done,' he commented stupidly.
Elizabeth looked down at the lake. 'Well, we should get this water, Jack.'
'Probably.'
Jack placed one bottle at his feet, and went to dip one into the water. The water flooded over Jack's hand. It was cool to the touch. Jack completely filled up the bottle. He drew it out.
And then stared at his hand.
His hand had been covered with cuts and dirt. His hand was now perfectly clean and soft. He stared at it. Elizabeth contemplated it over his shoulder. 'It must heal as well!' she exclaimed.
'I never knew that,' Jack stated. 'But I don't want to bath in that. I'm too unhygienic for that.'
'Yes, of course you are,' Elizabeth said sarcastically. But then Elizabeth noticed the dried blood on Jack's cheeks. 'I'm not even going to ask,' she declared, 'but wash them; otherwise they're going to get sore.'
Jack nodded and scooped up some water into his hand, rubbing it only onto the cuts He didn't want to rid the dirt off his face. He liked it there.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Typical pirate. Elizabeth didn't have any injuries but her leg. She wondered if the Water would heal something as big as that. She decided to find out. Elizabeth dipped her whole leg into the lake. She instantly felt relief at the wound in her leg. She could actually feel the cut heal itself. She was amazed.
'The Water is magical. What did you expect?' Jack asked.
Elizabeth shrugged. 'Not this,' she admitted.
Jack nodded and reached to the other bottle. He held it by the neck and lifted it to scoop in the water. But then he felt an unknown force push him back, and heard a voice whisper from all around him. 'Only one.' Jack tried to ignore the voice, and once again tried to dip the bottle in, but the same thing happened, only the voice harsher this time. Jack didn't try again. God – knows what else could happen.
Elizabeth turned to Jack. 'Let me try. We might only get one each.'
Jack nodded and gave Elizabeth the rum bottle. She lowered it to scoop up the water. She, too, faced the force. She looked disbelievingly at the water. 'ONLY ONE!' the voice whispered, though it sounded like a shout to Elizabeth and Jack.
'How could that be?' Elizabeth asked.
Jack shrugged. He had no idea how all these magical objects worked.
Jack turned to Elizabeth and held out the bottle to her. 'It's yours.'
Elizabeth tried to argue but Jack cut her off. 'No, it's yours. You can now be with your husband for eternity. Just as you wished.' Jack finished sadly, pressed the bottle into Elizabeth's hand and turned around to trudge back down the hill. Elizabeth couldn't stand to see him so down.
'We'll divide it back at the ship, away from where anything can harm us.' Jack liked this plan and brightened up.
Back at the crew, they found a surprise waiting for them. 'Sir,' Gibbs said, 'we found this in Barbossa's coat.' Gibbs drew out a vial; similar to the one Barbossa had shown Jack during his speech. Jack was surprised.
'How could he have two?' But Jack thought he knew the answer.
Barbossa would have sounded the gong. Jack believed that that might have allowed one more glass. Oh, well. It was his now.
Jack took the glass of Gibbs. 'Thankyou, Gibbs. And cheers to you!'
Jack raised the vile, and drank.
