It had been four days since Barbossa, Pintel, Ragetti, and Monica had set out from Tortuga. They had been sailing through the day and night, leaving them exhausted, anxious, and cranky.
One example of this--well, several, actually--was whenever Barbossa nearly lost his temper with the odd fifteen-year-old girl he soon came to loathe. Not that she could help it, of course.
He never missed an opportunity to curse her lack of brain capacity whenever she seemed to be doing something wrong.
"YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!" he roared one day as she tripped over a rope conveniently placed in her path by a giggling Ragetti. She had fallen grandly, the bucket of dirty water from swabbing the deck flying out of her hands, crashing to the deck, spraying water everywhere, and rolling to his feet.
Monica thought he was about to beat her. She had gotten up hurriedly, apologizing profusely as she grabbed the bucket. When she straightened up, she found Barbossa's glaring eyes burning into hers.
He didn't say anything, just growled and snatched the bucket, turning away from her and storming off to the helm. Monica had held off her anger with Ragetti, but after a couple days of this she was bound to loose her temper soon.
Monica supposed this had all started the night they had left Tortuga on the Jolly Roger, when he had told her he would kill her if she got in the way of his plans to take the Pearl for himself. She had tried to stay on his good side, but it had been hard with Pintel and Ragetti against her, too.
She often wondered how they found the time to torment her--although they were on a small ship, there was still an immense amount of work to be done. She rarely found any sleep, and if she did, it was usually interrupted after a few minutes, thanks to the antics of her crewmates.
There had been the time Ragetti dropped the spider on her face as she tried to take a short nap. Or the time Pintel had dumped water all over her to wake her up. All in all, the terrible twosome were almost all she could bear.
But then there was Barbossa. There was no doubt about it; he hated having her in his presence. Although she tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut around him, he always seemed to find something to complain about.
Take the next day after they left, for example. Barbossa had been watching, slightly amused, as Pintel struggled to heave the heavy sail up the mast.
"That tough enough for you?" Barbossa had asked, smirking.
"No, not hard enough," Pintel had panted, eager to prove that he wasn't a weakling.
At that moment, Monica had happened to be walking by. "That's what she said!" she cracked before she could stop herself.
The two pirates had just stared at her, Pintel looking incredulous, Barbossa looking furious. Monica had grimaced, cursing herself for letting the dirty joke slip, and continued walking, avoiding looking at the pair of them.
Now, four days later, things weren't much better off. She had been working her ass off on the ship only to be tortured by the three pirates. Her usual job was cleaning up after them--you have to remember, they ate a lot, still remembering the effects of the old curse--when they left a mess in the galley. She also scrubbed the deck, cooked (badly, but they hardly cared--food was food), and sometimes Barbossa would let her take over at the helm if he needed some sleep.
"How do I know where to go?" she had asked dubiously the first time this had happened.
"Don't worry, I don't think even you could get us that far off course," Barbossa had replied, yawning.
"Thanks," Monica had muttered as he retreated to the captain's quarters.
This was usually at night, as Pintel and Ragetti usually slept then too, leaving her alone above deck in the darkness, her only light from the moon and the stars, the warm, soft breeze tickling her cheeks, the moonlight reflecting off her hair and the sea.
These were her favorite moments. Without the pressure of not pissing off Barbossa for the day, she was free to have time to think.
Her thoughts usually went to her sisters, lots of times to Jack, but every so often she would wonder why she was there, why this had happened to her, and where the hell her parents had bought a magical dryer.
As for Jack, usually she mused about how she missed him, about what she would do when she finally saw him again, about what would happen if they couldn't find him...
When she came around to this question of whether they would be able to rescue him, she quickly veered her mind to her sisters, whom she worried about all the time. Were they okay? Were they afraid? Was Alison finally able to accept what was happening as the truth?
And this brought her back to why this had happened--why her dryer had brought her here in the first place.
So, in this way, her nights were spent thinking in circles, but she welcomed the change all the same. It was much better than being around Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti all day, anyway.
Now, back to the present. Finally. Anyway, Monica was at the helm this afternoon, as Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti had gone into the captain's quarters, obviously having a heated discussion. Monica had listened intently to hear what they were arguing about, but to no avail. She didn't dare try to get closer to the room, fearing Barbossa's wrath. So she stood at the helm, pretending to be Steamboat Willy.
She whistled and danced like Mickey Mouse, only to break out into giggles. She sobered up quickly, however, as Barbossa threw the doors open furiously, striding out onto the deck, with Pintel and Ragetti at his heels.
"Cap'n, if we don't find him--" Pintel was saying desperately, trying to get his point in.
"I don't want to hear any more about it!" Barbossa growled, whirling around to face the pirate.
"But, cap'n--"
"ENOUGH!" Barbossa shouted angrily. "You think I have nothing better to do than listen to your foolish ideas? Hmm!"
At that, all three of them started talking at once, each one's voice trying to rise above the others'.
Monica stared at them dubiously, wondering if they would be stopping anytime soon. When their arugument only got more heated, she felt herself growing angry.
"Hey!" she yelled from the helm. No one noticed her.
"Hey!" she repeated, louder this time, but there was still no response. This didn't daunt her, however.
"HEY! Cut it out, guys! Shut up, or I swear I will turn this ship around!" she screamed over them, but they only got louder and ignored her.
Furious, Monica heaved the wheel as hard as she could to the left, a la Jack in The Curse of the Black Pearl. The sail swung around, heading straight for the three arguing pirates. Luckily, they noticed in time and ducked just as it flew over them.
Barbossa looked up at Monica mutinously. She almost balked, but stared back determinatedly.
Well, at least that shut them up, she thought darkly as Barbossa walked up to her.
He took hold of the helm, glaring down at her. Monica backed up a step instinctively, but didn't break his gaze.
"Now why would you go and do a thing like that?" Barbossa growled at her.
"What, turn the ship around?" Monica asked dubiously.
Barbossa clenched his jaw and closed his eyes briefly as if asking why he had to deal with this girl. Monica's eyes widened as she realized her mistake.
"Oh! You mean nearly whacking you with the sail, of course," she said, smiling weakly. "Of course..."
"I know you wouldn't do anything to anger me, as I'm taking you to rescue your precious Jack...after I've already done so much for you..." Barbossa said in a low, dangerous voice that was dripping with sarcasm.
Monica got the hint and dropped her eyes. "Sorry," she muttered. When she thought about losing her pride or losing her life, she would definitely choose to save her life.
"That's what I thought," he growled. Monica didn't look up, but scowled at her feet.
"Go get some sleep," he said.
Monica left without a word, edging past each of the three pirates as she made her way below deck.
Once she was sure she was out of earshot when she was down below, she immediately started grumbling to herself.
"Of course, it's always me who's doing something wrong...don't blame me if you're all fighting like drunken idiots...'I've done soooo much to help you...'...oh, yeah? Name three things you've done, asshole."
When she reached her quarters, she sat down on the bed and rubbed her eyes. She hadn't realized how long it had been since she had last slept...had it really been four days since she had actually gotten a good night's sleep?
Yeah, well, I'm overdue, she thought darkly as she blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. She glanced around the room, her eyes tired from too many hours spent open and now from the furious rubbing they had gotten, and eventually her gaze fell upon her belt hanging on a chair in her room.
Monica stared at it for a while, contemplating the strange circumstances in which she had gotten it.
How did they end up at that blacksmith's shop in Tortuga? she wondered, rising to finger the leather belt. I left it with Jack, didn't I?
Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember where it had been the day she left Jack, the last day of her first trip to the Pirates world. Her thinking was interrupted, however, when there was a knock on her door.
"Yeah?" she called, still frowning at her belt.
The door creaked open, revealing Ragetti standing outside.
"What?" Monica asked, her thoughts distracted with memories.
"Cap'n wants to see ya," Ragetti said, his eye swerving around in his socket haphazardly.
"Okay...just a minute," Monica replied, still not fully recovered from her reverie. Ragetti nodded and left.
Monica stood still for a moment, then started putting the belt on. Hell, she wasn't taking any chances--what if Barbossa had finally snapped and was about to kill her?
Then I'd kick his ass! Monica thought grimly. Instead of toughening her up, however, this thought only made her laugh. She chuckled as she fastened the buckle across her chest, finding the thought of her fighting Barbossa highly amusing.
By the time she jumped up above deck, she was humming a song that had been stuck in her head all day. She saw Barbossa beckoning her by the helm and walked over, going over the chorus in her head.
When she neared him, he walked to the side of the ship. She followed, now tapping her hands against her thighs along with the song in her head.
"That's an enchanting tune...what song is it?" Barbossa asked. Monica was surprised to see he was smiling slightly.
"Uh...it's 'Stickwitu' by the The Pussycat Dolls," she replied, her eyebrows raised.
Barbossa frowned at her slightly, but didn't have a chance to answer.
"Cap'n, look!" Pintel exclaimed, pointing out across the sea.
There as a large island coming into view ahead of them.
Monica figured whatever Barbossa had wanted to talk about with her wasn't that important, as at the sighting of the island he left her side immediately to consult his maps. He was gone for almost five minutes before he emerged from his quarters, grinning and revealing his yellowing teeth.
"That's it," was all he said.
About an hour later, the Jolly Roger was anchored in the shallow waters in front of the island. Its crew was a ways down the beach, walking along the water.
"Uh...can I ask what we're doing?" Monica asked cautiously, afraid Barbossa would blow up at her.
"We're looking for Sparrow," he replied shortly. Monica glanced at him, wondering if he would say any more, but he remained silent.
"Umm..." Monica frowned and looked along the beach. The bright afternoon sun had been covered by some low gray clouds, casting a gloomy look over the island. The sand, which had been white when they had arrived, had turned a depressing shade of gray. The breeze had stopped, leaving the humid air still, not stirring the trees in the jungle that started up about 100 yards from the edge of the beach.
"I'm curious as to why we're on an island..." Monica continued, her eyes straining to see down the beach. "I mean...Jack was eaten by a kraken...so unless he, you know...went all the way through--"
"Shut up!" Barbossa growled. Monica obeyed, snapping her mouth shut, her eyes wide.
What a charming man, she thought dryly. She veered off to the side to walk in the gentle waves that were lapping up on the beach. She looked down at her feet through the clear water, watched the spray on her boots, watched her pants turn dark as the water splashed them. She sighed dejectedly, thinking of Barbossa's refusal to explain what he was doing, and looked up.
She frowned. What was that ahead of her, in the water? It looked like...
Suddenly she started striding to it, with a bit of difficulty as the water splashed about her calves. She didn't care, though: she was too shocked.
Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti exchanged glances and stopped, staring at the strange behavior of the girl. They gathered at the edge of the water, wondering what had gotten her so excited.
Monica stopped in front of the object, blocking the pirates' view of what she was staring at. She bent down slowly and picked it up.
It was Jack's hat.
Monica stared at it, not sure what to think. Did this mean he was near? Or could he have lost this a long time ago? What if it had fallen off or something when the kraken had--
Monica felt the pirates' eyes on her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying not to think about all the bad things that could have happened to Jack. Why hadn't she prepared herself for this before? Why hadn't she considered the possibility that maybe she wouldn't be able to save him?
Monica slowly lifted the hat and placed it on her head.
She wasn't sure why she did it. Maybe it was because she didn't know what to do next. Maybe it was to hide the tears in her eyes.
Maybe it was because she wanted to feel closer to him.
Well, that worked.
She heard Pintel gasp behind her. She turned around dejectedly, her eyes shaded by Jack's hat, to see what was the matter.
All three of them were staring at something behind her. Confused, she turned back around again.
Her eyes widened. She tipped the hat up further on her forehead to get a better look, her jaw dropping slightly.
Captain Jack Sparrow was sailing towards Barbossa, Pintel, Ragetti, and Monica...on a pair of sea turtles.
He had a foot on each one of them. A rope was tied around each one, and he held the ends of the ropes in his hands, as a sort of makeshift set of reins.
He looked very strange, actually, but it was quite an entrance. He sailed past Monica, picking the hat up off her head as he passed.
Monica turned and stared at him as he hopped off the turtles, mashing the hat onto his head. He glanced at Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti, who were gaping back at him. Only then did he turn around and see, really see, Monica.
He blinked and stared at her. She stared at him.
"Is this a dream?" he asked dubiously, frowning.
"Of course not; then there'd be rum," Monica said, still in shock.
Then her face broke into a smile.
She ran through the water and leaped for him, throwing her arms around his neck and squealing like a six-year-old.
"Okay, now it's a nightmare," he grumbled, trying to push her away.
But she wouldn't have it. She only hugged him tighter, hardly daring to believe that he was here. She had dreamed of seeing him again for so long...his death had haunted her dreams...she had spent weeks worrying about him...she had been split up with her sisters only to sail for four days with pirates that hated her...and now, finally, he was here, in her arms.
Monica couldn't control her giggling. She knew she looked like an idiot, but she didn't care. She kissed Jack's cheek and gave him one last hug, then finally stepped back, clearing her throat and trying to compose herself.
"Oh, good, I think I was going to be sick," Barbossa said witheringly from behind Jack, who rolled his eyes.
"Oh, so that means you're real, too," he said, sounding highly disappointed. Then he did a double take. "Wait, you're real?" he asked incredulously. "I shot you!"
Barbossa chuckled. "You've got Tia Dalma to thank for this," he said, grinning.
Jack raised his eyebrows briefly. "Now I wish this was a dream," he said darkly.
"Jack, how did you escape the kraken?" Monica asked earnestly, still excited about seeing her old friend again.
Jack smirked and placed a foot on one of the turtles, who were still swimming about in the shallow waters. "You've got them to thank for that," he said, grinning. "And...Tia Dalma."
Monica nodded, amused. "And how did she help you out?"
Jack held out his hand, revealing some of the rings he had stolen from the voodoo woman's shack in Dead Man's Chest.
Monica shook her head, scoffing. "I should have known," she muttered.
"Why?" Jack asked, frowning.
"Because that idea's been floating around the Internet for ages!" Monica said, rolling her eyes.
Jack stared at her. "What's an Internet?" he asked. Then he shook his head as if trying to get rid of a distraction. "No, wait--why is he here? And why are you here?" he asked Monica, looking pathetically confused.
"Well, ya see, Tia Dalma kinda brought Barbossa back from the dead--"
"You don't need to speak that way; I'm right here," Barbossa interrupted sourly.
"--well, anyway, she was like, 'Well, you dudes need a guy who can help you save Jack, and he knows where to go,' and everyone else was like, 'Ohmigod! No way!'...or at least I guess they were, becasue that's when the movie ended...well, anyway, that's when me and my sisters got here--"
"There are more of you?" Jack asked desperately, looking more confused by the minute.
"Oh, yeah, but they went off with Will, Elizabeth--"
Jack suddenly turned somber as Monica mentioned Elizabeth. Monica smirked at his reaction.
"Don't worry about it, man, she feels terrible...wait, where was I? Oh, yeah, my sisters. Well, there's two of them, 18 and 21, and Tia Dalma was all like 'You have to help Will and Elizabeth!' and they were like '...okay...' so they went with them...but I had to come help find you, and now here I am, and you obviously didn't need much rescuing, I mean, look, you've come up on sea turtles, just like you said..." she trailed off, frowning suddenly. "How much back hair do you really have?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the rope that was floating in the water.
Jack rolled his eyes. "That's real rope, thank-you-very-much."
"Oh, sorry," Monica said, raising her eyebrows. "You never know. What, did you find it inside the kraken or something?" she asked.
"Yeah. Seems he has an appetite for big ships," Jack said. "Which brings me to my next point: where's my ship?"
"If you're talking about the Pearl, that's my ship," Barbossa growled.
Jack turned to him, his upper body swivelling around haphazardly. "We made a deal about this last time," he said, as if surprised that Barbossa had forgotten.
"Well, the deal's off," Barbossa snapped. "Has been ever since I returned to life."
And he drew his sword. Jack did the same, but Monica jumped to stand between them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, can't we just work this out, guys?" she asked anxiously, extending an arm to each pirate on either side of her. "Come on, we've had a long day, and I'm sure being in a kraken was no picnic--"
"No, it wasn't," Jack said helpfully.
"Right. So let's just calm down, put our swords away, and talk this out like adults," Monica continued.
Barbossa chuckled. "Since when were you an adult?" he asked condescendingly, making Pintel and Ragetti laugh with him.
Monica gave him a sour look, but kept trying. "Look, we don't even know where the Pearl is! Why should we start fighting over it now?"
"Well, it'd be nice to have you two out of the way," Barbossa said calmly.
At this, he, Pintel, and Ragetti started chuckling in unison. Monica backed away slowly next to Jack, feeling a sick sense of dread at the pirates' menacing laughs.
"Got any 'loopholes' to get out of this one?" Monica asked him nervously.
"What?" Jack asked cluelessly.
"You know, 'loopholes'! Our little code word from last time?" Monica reminded him.
Jack frowned, appearing to be thinking. "How did you remember that?" he asked dubiously.
Monica grinned. "Fangirl!" she said with a little chuckle.
They continued backing away as the pirates advanced toward them, leering at them. Monica's mind raced on how to get out of this, but she knew she had to fight. She resolutely drew her sword, kept backing away, and...
...tripped on a sea turtle. She fell backwards with a splash, her arms--one with a sword--flailing madly to try to keep her balance, but all she managed was a sore ass--not to mention a pretty damaged pride.
Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti roared with laughter. Monica even could have sworn she heard Jack stifle a snort.
Her sword had been flung out of her hand with her fall. As the sea turtle swam away, she felt around frantically for her weapon. The splash she had made had stirred up the water too much to see clearly.
Finally, her hand closed on the leather grip of her sword. She pulled it up and stood up, her whole backside dripping with water.
She had hoped to run by the three evil pirates while they were busy laughing at her, but she had no luck. They were advancing again, pushing Jack and Monica deeper into the water.
Finally, Barbossa attacked. He headed for Jack, an ominous "Arrr!" serving as his battle cry. This left Monica open to attack by Pintel and Ragetti.
Grimacing, she managed to hold them off, throwing her sword up against theirs. She played by a defensive tactic, mainly because she knew she wouldn't be able to beat the two of them. Plus, it was difficult to move freely in the knee-deep water.
Eventually, she was able to get rid of Ragetti by making him stumble hard, which in turn made his eye pop out. While he howled and dropped to his knees to look for his precious eye (which floated, luckily for him), Pintel and Monica locked sabers.
Monica's mind raced back to a time when Michelle had bought a computer game for her--The Legend of Jack Sparrow, in fact. Grinning, she remembered a move from the game.
"F, 8!" she yelled, kneeing Pintel in the crotch.
He groaned in pain and doubled over. At that moment, Jack had managed to knock Barbossa down into the water. He nodded at her, and the two started sprinting for the beach.
When they were out of the water, Monica glanced back to see the three furious pirates chasing them.
"Where are we going?" she asked anxiously as they picked up speed.
"I have no idea!" Jack yelled back.
They reached the jungle. Jack used his sword to hack and slash through the vines, branches, and leaves, but Monica was so frantic that she just tried to run through them.
Soon she was caught in the vines. Jack kept running ahead of her.
"Wait!" Monica screamed, but Jack didn't hear her. She groaned and tried to cut through the vines with her sword, only to lose her balance and fall flat on her face.
I'll never be able to catch up to him, Monica thought wildly. And they must be catching up!
Sure enough, she heard thrashing in the jungle behind her. She stifled a gasp and rolled over under a large bush.
Barbossa emerged from the vines. Pintel appeared soon after, looking mutinous. Ragetti followed next, blowing on his eye frantically.
He was so close that Monica could have caught the drops falling from his wet clothes on her tongue, if her hands weren't clasped over her mouth for fear of breathing too loudly. Terrified, she wondered if they would find her.
But she was lucky. Once the little group had reformed, Barbossa motioned them forward with a hand.
"Find those two idiots! I want them dead or alive!" he snarled as they tore through the jungle.
When Monica could no longer hear their thrashing, she let out a long breath. She crawled out from under the bush and stood slowly, panting from holding her breath for so long.
She wondered what to do. Should she try to go after them? Should she return to the beach to see if Jack had somehow managed to arrive there, too? Should she--
A gunshot pierced the still, muggy air somewhere further inland on the island.
Monica's blood ran cold. Jack, she thought numbly. I have to get to Jack...
And she started pushing her way through the brush.
Then there was another gunshot. And another. And a hellish roar.
Monica froze, looking up to see a flock of tropical birds fly up from the center of the island. She was pretty sure the yell had been Barbossa's, but was he happy, angry, or hurt?
Monica swallowed hard and kept tramping through the jungle.
Soon, by walking in the trampled path Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti had already made, she came upon a large clearing. She stood still immediately, seeing the three of them leaving the clearing, Barbossa shouting to his cronies.
Once they were gone, Monica took a deep breath and walked to the center of the clearing, looking around cautiously.
Not much here, she thought, breathing heavily from all the running and clearing she had been doing. It's just that there are no trees here...I wonder what--OH MY GOD!
Someone had grabbed her from behind, seizing her waist and pulling her backward while clamping a hand over her mouth.
Whoa, deja vu, she managed to think dryly before panicking.
She thrashed and kicked as hard as she could. Eventually her captor loosened his or her grip and turned her around.
Monica was about to stab her assailant when she saw him.
Jack was standing in front of her, one hand still on her shoulder as he panted. It seemed he had been running for a very long time, or else very fast, just to find her again.
Monica was about to speak, but Jack held a finger to his lips, nodding towards the end of the clearing where their enemies had just disappeared. Monica nodded and waited for him to speak.
"I think we should wait and rest a bit," he said quietly after a few deep breaths.
Monica shook her head furiously as another flock of birds sailed into the air above them, no doubt miffed at Monica and Jack for disturbing their peace. "No, we have to get away! 'Move along,' the All American Rejects said! 'And even when your hope is gone, move along, move along, like I know ya do!'"
A bullet sailed past her head.
"Move along!" Jack yelped anxiously, grabbing her arm.
The three angry pirates had evidently seen the birds flying away, put two and two together, and were heading back into the clearing.
"Come on!" Jack yelled, no longer worried about keeping his voice down. He started pullng her along by the arm he had grabbed.
A bullet whizzed past Monica's ear. She yelped and ducked, tearing her arm from Jack's to shield her head. Jack swore and kept running as another bullet threatened to pierce his side.
The next shot, Monica wasn't so lucky.
She shouted as she felt the bullet hit her arm. It had sliced through the skin on her right shoulder, making her drop her sword immediately. Pain shot through her arm and she stumbled, nearly falling.
Jack noticed. He turned around, wide-eyed, as he watched her fall to her knees.
Grimacing, Monica moved a hand to her arm, wincing horribly as her palm pressed the wound. She brought it back in front of her and saw it covered with her own blood.
She felt herself swoon. Jack crouched beside her. For a minute she thought he was going to throw her over his shoulder, but she knew he was too heavy for him.
Instead, he pulled the bullet out.
Monica full-out screamed in pain. Jack tossed the bullet away and began to help her up, but it was too late--Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti were upon them.
Monica looked up weakly, turning her head so she could see them. She felt weak with pain. She had never been shot before, living in 21st century Houston, and there was no doubt that this was the worst pain she had ever experienced.
Barbossa smirked down at her pale face. "Weak," he sneered. "Just like your friend."
Jack said nothing. He only had a slight pout on his face, as if he knew his adversary had won this round.
"We'll lock 'em up," Barbossa said, nodding towards Pintel, who moved forward with a length of rope he had produced.
"Any of you so much as thinks the word 'parley,' I'll have your guts for garters!" he snarled as he tied Monica's hands behind her back.
Monica snorted through the pain. "You wear garters?" she asked, scoffing slightly as she recognized his line from The Curse of the Black Pearl.
This only earned her a smack in the wound. She yelped and leaned forward, biting down hard to keep from screaming out.
When she looked up again, Jack's hands had been tied, too. She looked wearily up at Barbossa.
"You can't kill us," she said softly, her arm pounding painfully. "You can't sail that ship with three people."
Barbossa smirked. "True, missy. We may have use for you yet...at least until we get the Pearl back."
"The Pearl won't sail with only five people to crew her. Especially if one of them is a wounded girl," Jack spoke up. "I'm afraid you're gonna have to put your search for the Pearl on hold, mate."
Barbossa gave him a sour look. "I think I know how to captain my own ship," he said darkly.
"Ah," said Jack. "But the man who does the captaining knows more about the ship than the man who's in the crew. And you've spent more time under me than I have under anyone. Therefore, my word is the one we'll be trusting, as I most certainly know my ship better than my mutinous first mate. Savvy?"
He smirked at Barbossa, clearly thinking he'd won. But Barbossa returned the smile.
"You forget, Jack, that I'm the one who had you marooned on that island. You weren't captain of the Pearl for ten years, while I was in charge. Therefore, the way I see it is...I've been captain of the Pearl longer than you have."
Barbossa grinned, his yellow teeh matching his eyes. Jack smiled and stared back.
"You have no idea how long I'd been captaining that ship before you came along," he said, smiling faintly.
Barbossa's smile faded, and his face contorted into a scowl.
"Take 'em to the ship!" he ordered Pintel and Ragetti.
Monica had had all that she could take. She passed out.
Monica woke up with a throbbing arm, a million questions, and a smelly pirate next to her.
"Good morning," Jack said cheerfully as she opened her eyes.
She jumped and looked around to see him sitting cross-legged next to her in the single cell of the brig of the Jolly Roger.
"Is it really morning?" she asked , groaning as she sat up.
"No, it's still afternoon," Jack assured her.
"The same afternoon, right?" she asked. He nodded. "Good. I need to keep track of the days."
Jack frowned. "You're here for thirty days again?" he asked.
Monica grinned in spite of the pain in her arm. "What, sorry to see me go again?" she teased.
"No, I'm glad you're leaving," he huffed. Monica laughed and shook her head. They were still playing true to their former conversations, mostly teasing each other on how much the other liked or missed them.
"Man, you smell," Monica remarked, bringing her hand to her nose.
Jack shrugged. "Kraken spit," he said. "Sorry. I guess I've gotten used to it."
He sniffed under his armpits, making Monica laugh again. Then, the door to the brig burst open.
Barbossa strode in, carrying two apples. He threw them between the bars at his prisoners.
"Whoa! This seems familiar," Monica said, smirking at Jack. "Some hotshot pirate captain with a stupid hat holding us prisoner."
Barbossa only rolled his eyes and left. Monica arched her eyebrows.
"Not as easy to annoy as Troy, huh?" she remarked, rubbing the apple on her shirt.
Jack sighed reminiscently. "Those were the days, eh? A shipful of pirates to annoy...an angry one with hair like a rat's nest who tried to kill you every chance he got..."
"No pain in my arm," Monica muttered, grimacing slightly. She had tried to lift the apple with her arm, but had had to stop.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, if you're gonna complain about it." He motioned her closer to him and started ripping a shred of cloth off of his shirt.
Monica watched wearily, thinking how much easier the job would be if he had his knife. She glumly noticed that her own weapons were nowhere in sight. Then she remembered something.
"Jack," she said slowly. "What did you do with my sword and stuff after I left last time?"
Jack frowned while pulling at his shirt. "Let's see..." His brow furrowed slightly as he thought. "I can't remember," he admitted finally.
"Really? Because I found them in a shop in Tortuga," Monica said, watching his face carefully.
"Oh, right! I think I remember now," he said, yanking the last of the strip from his shirt. Monica obediently turned to move her wounded arm closer to him.
"So you brought it to Tortuga?" she continued, wincing as he tied the cloth around her arm. "Why would you do that? And when would you have the time? I mean, didn't you start looking for the key right away?"
Monica could have sworn she saw Jack's face twitch nervously. "Yes, I brought it there..." he sighed, as if resigning himself for what he was about to say. "I sold it for rum," he admitted.
Monica arched her eyebrows. "When?" she asked curiously.
Jack sighed impatiently. "After you left! We went to Tortuga, and I sold your weapons there for rum money," Jack said quickly.
Moncia frowned. "So...you wanted to drink right after I left?" Her face slowly changed into a wild grin. "You missed me!" she gasped, her eyes widening. "You just couldn't bear to have me gone, and you tried to drink me away!"
"No, that's not it!" Jack said angrily. "Can't a man do some honest drinking without getting yelled at for it? It's like all you women do is complain about how men like to drink."
"Hey, I never said I was complaining," Monica said, grinning.
Jack said nothing, but scowled. Monica sat still, happy with her discovery.
"Fine, I'll drop it...but I'll always know the truth!" she sang happily.
"The truth is that you're a little--" Jack began muttering, but Monica's laughter drowned him out.
He glanced up at her, mollified. Monica was reduced to giggles and tried to stifle them.
"I'm sorry. Really. It's just that I'm happy to see you again," Monica said sincerely.
"So you missed me, then?" Jack asked, tying the final careful knot around her arm.
"Of course! How could anyone not miss you?" Monica said, grinning.
Jack grinned and was about to respond when the door opened again.
"I, for one, never missed him," Barbossa said.
Jack and Monica glanced at each other and then looked up at Barbossa, staying silent.
"Oh, no comments this time?" Barbossa asked, sounding surprised.
Monica began to speak, but Jack caught her eye and shook his head slightly. Monica smiled pleasantly and looked back up at Barbossa innocently.
Barbossa watched her suspiciously before speaking again. "We've decided to let you out for now...if we want to go anywhere, we are going to need as many people as possible," he said.
"Who's 'we,' the frog in your pocket?" Monica blurted.
Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. Barbossa just gave her a funny look.
"Wait, where are we going?" Jack asked, giving Monica a stern look as if warning her not to speak again.
Barbossa grinned. "Somewhere," he said, his yellow eyes glinting. "Anyway...you can come out now, provided you're willing to help," he finished, drawing the keys to the cell from a pocket inside his jacket.
"And if we aren't willing?" Jack asked.
Barbossa smirked. "Then you die," he said, looking quite happy at this prospect.
Jack glanced at Monica. "I think we're willing to help," he said, smiling up at Barbossa. Monica nodded earnestly, knowing her questions for Jack would have to wait for another time.
