Title: Reclaiming Glory

Pairings: JS/OC, WT/ES

Overview: When your entire world is taken from you, will you sit still and watch it sail away? What is worth the cost of Reclaiming Glory? (Part Two of the Kindred Spirit Series – Continuation of Send Her My Love)

Disclaimer: Pirates – not mine. Ships – not mine. Films – not mine. Guess that about sums it up.

A/N: Weeeell, would you lookie at the time. Yeah, I'm awful. It's been nearly a year since I updated, and I'm a horrible horrible author. You guys would be full right to smack me across the face for this delay. I've lost all my material on this story, so now I'm going to piece together what I remember and hope for the best with whatever else I can create.

To reviews!

PrincessMaiden – when have I ever done anything the easy way? And I'm glad you're so attached to Payton.
Sirenne Claire – thanks for your interest, and you're the reason I got back to writing.

Kim – Glad you liked it! Here's some more – finally.

Last but not least, I'd like to warn y'all that this is going to be not so nice chapter, with some situations that may be squick-inducing to some members of the audience (references to rape, lots of blood and guts, etc). I know I haven't been too good with warnings in the past, but I'm planning on changing that as well.

Chapter Three: Immediacy
Short-term liberation from what ails our cast.

Jack stared up into the looming darkness of the sky. Clouds had run over the starred ceiling, making the atmosphere feel even more gloomy as a harsh wind cut through the palm trees he was sitting under for shelter. He sighed, rolling over and snuggling deeper into the sandy grass beneath the tree to get away from the wind. The next gust of air sliced through his shirt and left him shivering. Staring sleeplessly out over the water, a burning restlessness gnawed at him, making his fingers twitch involuntarily. Gritting his teeth, he forced his heavy eyelids closed, thinking of calmer things. One thing was for certain – he couldn't keep hoping for a rescue. He had to think of something for himself.

On the Pearl, Anamarie hacked off the arm of one of the crewmates of the Helio. The man screamed, writhing in agony before she sliced off his head. Hair swirling around her as she glanced along the ship, she saw crew massing on the enemy ship. "Make this quick men!"

Cotton had managed to get up the stairs and beaten off the crew guarding the helm. Ragetti and Pintel were guarding the stairs, each holding a sword while Cotton spun the Black Pearl away from the Helio as crew began to swing over.

Anamarie flinched as she heard yelling coming from below decks, but grinned when she saw Gibbs leading a charge of the liberated crew of the Pearl. He fought his way over to her, occasionally taking a swig from his flask. "These are the last of 'em."

Anamarie merely nodded, ducking under a vicious swipe from a gnarled sailor. Angrily, she booted him in the stomach, making the man stagger back into another man's sabre. The man in question turned in confusion when he found his sword no longer moving like it was supposed to, and was quickly dispatched by another member of the Pearl's crew. The numbers of crew from the Helio was dwindling rapidly, like the image of the ship on the horizon. Finally, as the last members were dealt with, Anamarie took stock of the casualties. Most of the bodies on deck belonged to men from the Helio, but here and there were crew of the Pearl. Most would be missed. The only one who Anamarie didn't think she'd miss would be Abraham, who was lying in a pool of his own blood. Her only regret was that she hadn't been able to give the man a piece of her mind for screw the entire plan over. With a swish of fabric, she made an about face, marching to the helm. "Let's clear this mess up!"

The pirates began to drag the bodies to the rail to shove into the ocean, while a few tended to the more severely injured. Anamarie stopped beside Cotton and Gibbs. "We're headed back?"

"Aye, Cotton's already set course."

"Good."

Payton half-walked and was half-dragged up to the helm of the Helio, where Calico was currently stewing.

"Gilles?"

She winced as she heard the terse question, and drew in a steadying breath to prepare herself.

"Captain. She orchestrated it."

The captain turned his beady eyes to glower at the shaking girl. "Oh ouais? Fille, is this correct?"

"Yes," she whispered, voice cracking painfully as she forced the word out.

"What was that?" Calico growled his demand.

"Yes," she said again, standing straighter. Stars invaded her vision as he backhanded her against the railing.

"And whhhhhy is this fille?"

Payton winced, trying to stand up again while cradling her aching skull. Gilles aided her – pulling her up by her hair. She screamed.

"Answer you ungrateful bitch!" Gilles shoved her body away from him, making Payton sway unsteadily.

"Because it was the right thing to do."

Calico looked at her, then waved a hand. Gilles grabbed her arm, dragging her down the stairs, across the deck and down another set of stairs, out of view. There, he slammed her against the wall, eyes burning.

"Do you know what you've done?!" His hot breath on her face made her choke and cough. He shook her, knocking her head back against the wall with each jerk of her body. "Are you trying to get yourself killed you stupid whore?"
Payton shook her head, trying to clear it as the world spun dizzyingly in front of her eyes. With a growl, Gilles grabbed the front of her dress and yanked it down, pawing at her breasts. Weakly, she tried to push him off but he forced her back against the wall, choking her with his other hand. Payton clawed at his hand, but it closed tighter around her throat, and gradually her already weak struggles grew weaker until they stopped entirely. The last thing she felt before she lost consciousness was Gilles' hand reaching up her skirt.

Jack woke to the water lapping of water against the shore. He scowled at the cheerful sun hanging above, and rolled over, looking to the pile of half-burnt wood from his previous stay. With tremendous effort and an iron will, Jack pushed him up off of the sand that shifted beneath his booted feet and headed to the pile of half-charred wood to find something remotely sea worthy. He had waited long enough.

"How much longer?"

"Another couple of days, maybe day and a half?" Gibbs shrugged. "We're makin' good time, we won't get there any faster by worryin'. He'll be fine."

Anamarie scowled at the sails that lounged half full against the mast. "The sooner we get him back, the sooner we can regroup and go get Payton back."

"I'm sure the lass can take care of 'erself."

"She can't. You know it, I know it, hell, everyone but she knows it!"

Gibbs shook his head. "She's decent in a fight, an' a good study. Ye're not giving her half the credit she's owed."

Anamarie snorted. "Just tell me when land's sighted." She stalked away to bark more orders at the crew cleaning the deck.

Pulling half-charred wood out of the remains of a giant bonfire was no easy task. Jack fell back into the sand, hand covering his brow as he panted, exhausted. So far, he had managed to liberate all of three semi-useable planks. And that was the best of the pile. His self-appointed task seemed near impossible, and Jack wished that Calico had had the consideration to maroon him with a few of the crew from his Pearl.

Muscles weary and sore, Jack pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, limping over to the shade of a coconut tree. Early in his scavenging, a pile of wood had teetered and fallen onto his left boot. This resulting in Jack dropping the wood he had gathered and shout curses before wrenching his foot out from under the heavy wood. He had glared at the wreckage before diving back in, sorting the planks and splinters into piles of what was useable and what was not.

Jack pulled a coconut towards himself, leaning back against the tree with a sigh. Even if he could fashion himself a boat, he had nothing to hold it together. Finding nails – and making a hammer – would be just as difficult as finding the hull for the sea-craft. With a grunt, he slammed the coconut against a rock, splitting the fruit and shaking the tree. As he bit into the coconut's sweet flesh, another coconut chose at that time to fall directly onto his head with a loud thunk. "Mary mother of god!" He cursed, glaring up at the green branches.

It took him all of that day, and most of the next to just reach the bottom of the wood Elizabeth had used for the bonfire. Finally having sorted all his materials, Jack examined the materials he deemed acceptable for building a ship.

Of course they'd need submerged for at least a day before he could try using them. And he'd have to find something to keep them from floating away. And nails. And a hammer.

He sighed again, dejected. He had been sighing a lot – if he didn't watch it, he'd become morose. Then he'd be pretty useless. Hefting his pile of wood, he moved it to the beach, planning to find nails after lunch.

Anamarie was pacing, yelling at anyone who entered the path of her vision. The island where Jack had been marooned was not even visible from the crows nest – and she'd know if it was. She climbed up just to check. And double checked with aid of a spyglass. At that point, Gibbs had insisted she go do something productive instead of making him queasy. Sending him a dark glare, she had stalked off to harass the crew into levels of productivity never before seen on the Pearl.

She was about to yell at an unfortunate man scrubbing the deck until she heard the pirate in the crows nest shout "land ho!" Filled with hope, Anamarie dashed up to the helm, taking the spyglass off of Gibbs.

"Looks like we've arrived."

She let out a breath. "Finally."

Jack was kneeling, hunting through the gritty sand for nails. His pants were covered in splinters, and his face was beaded with sweat from the hot sun. Holding his prize – five nails – in his hand, Jack leant back on his haunches, and nearly fell over in shock. On the horizon was a ship with black sails, barely discernable, but moving closer. Looking up into the cloudless sky, he grinned, thanking whoever had been listening for providing him a way out of this mess.

As he moved to the shore, a thought occurred to him. What if Calico Jacques had come back in the Pearl to kill him, to make sure he actually died? Jack pursed his lips, squinting at the tiny ship. It would likely be at the island by nightfall, he would know by then. But there was no sense in not being prepared. That in mind, Jack started planning.

A crescent moon hung overhead, stars shimmering over the endless water. The Pearl moored in the deeper waters, a fair distance away from the island. Anamarie looked at the darkened shore.

"Are we sure this is the right island?" She stood at the rail beside Gibbs.

"Aye, looks like it." He climbed over the rail and down into the waiting boat. Without further words, the five crewmembers pushed away from the hull of the Pearl and began rowing to shore.

Half hidden behind a coconut tree, Jack watched their approach. In his hand was a hastily constructed club made of a plank with a nail in the end. He didn't think it would last too long, but the element of surprise was all he was going for – he would steal the boat and then figure out how to take back the Pearl and free his crew. If all went well.

As the boat drew closer, Jack heard a familiar voice shouting his name. Popping his head out from behind the tree trunk, he recognized Gibbs holding a lantern as he jumped ashore. Hesitantly, Jack called back, "Mister Gibbs?"

"Capt'n? We've got the Pearl back. S'ready for ye."

"And pray tell how did you manage that Mister Gibbs?"

Gibbs shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Payton got us out."

Jack's heart leapt. "Is she here?"

"Uh, no Capt'n. We weren't able to get her out."

Jack moved out from behind the tree, looking intently at Gibbs. "We're going to have to go get her then. And I expect a full explaination."

"Aye Capt'n!"

A/N: Reviews always appreciated, and I'll hopefully have four done within the next week for posting.