The sun was reaching higher into the sky as the trio realized that the sooner that they could set sail, the sooner William would be free. They gathered every one of the bottles onto the Flying Dutchman... William would settle for no less. He wanted... desperately needed... every letter that Elizabeth wrote... every stroke of her quill lifted his spirits to such heights that he almost felt as though he were already holding her in his arms. William had composed himself quickly, and had uncharacteristically thrown his arms around his friend in such gratitude and jubilation for what he had done on the Turners' behalf that it startled poor Jack dreadfully ... it was then decided that they needed to make great haste... each second that ticked away was time lost that he could be mortal, again. William almost pushed Jack physically into the longboat, then rowed with all of his immortal might in order to get Jack to the helm and to get the Dutchman and the Pearl on their way.
Captain Jack Sparrow climbed aboard the Black Pearl with as much haste as his skinny legs could muster, up the rigging cast over the side by Gibbs when he had heard Jack bellowing for a rope with which to board the Pearl. He rather looked much like the monkey that had been named for him, as he clambered up the side of the ship. He grabbed Pintel and Ragetti to pull up the rigging, with Mr. Gibbs' help, and turned to yell down at the tall, happy figure in the longboat. "Ye'll have t' give us some time, lad! Even as fast as me Pearl is, she can't always keep up wif th' Dutchman, unless the wind is wif 'er!" He grinned, swaying and pointing his hands at the sails above.
"... Time is wasting, Jack! Set sail now! Now!!!" William waved his arms excitedly, looking, to Gibbs' amusement, very much like Jack. "It's off to the China Sea, to my release, to my wife! We must meet with my successor and we must make haste! Its a long journey for the Pearl, so I will meet you there! You will see why the Flying Dutchman has her name!"
And with that, William was gone... the long boat was left drifting aimlessly in the water, as William simply vanished into thin air. Jack frowned for a fleeting moment... he still wished he could do things like that. He dismissed the thought and ran to the steps up to the quarterdeck.
"Wot th' hell is goin' on, Jack?" Joshamee Gibbs exclaimed, as Jack bounded up to the helm, falling up the steps once, and untied the wheel, muttering, "... OW...Bugger!"
"No time t' explain right now, Gibbs! OI! LOOK ALIVE, YE SCABROUS BILGERATS! WEIGH ANCHOR! DROP SAIL AN' CATCH THIS WIND! WE HAVE A RESOLUTE AN' UNYIELDIN' NEED T' BE UNDER WAY!" Jack bellowed, huskily, at the tops of his lungs. The crew leaped into action... excitement was suddenly in the morning air, crackling like lightning.
Turning to Gibbs so quickly that he smacked himself in the face with a long strand of heavy beads and several dreadlocks, the captain ordered, "Bring me my charts to Singapore, along wif me reconciliatory navigational instruments, Gibbs! And rum! I need rum!"
Gibbs' mouth dropped open and he yelled, "Singapore??? We're goin' back t' Singapore???"
Jack jumped up and down in frustration, "Bugger!!! Who's th' bloody captain, here??? Look alive, man! Bring me th' charts and rum, or ye'll be left here in Madagascar! RUM!"
At that, Gibbs scrambled into action, nearly falling over a barrel, as the anchor was being hauled up as fast as the crew could run it up. They did not know what was afoot, but Captain Sparrow was at the helm again, and the Flying Dutchman had already dipped below the waves and disappeared. For whatever reason that they were heading back to the China Sea, spirits were soaring... and no one even knew why except for Jack Sparrow and William Turner the Second.
The Black Pearl caught the wind, her sails snapping to attention, and the crew happily watched their captain as he masterfully spoke words of love to his Black Pearl... only he knew how to coax such speed as she was famous for from his Dark Lady. With the urgency that got the ship under way, it did not even occur to Jack that this was his first time back at the wheel of his beloved since he had been dumped in Tortuga.
"Alright, my lass! Show ol' Jack tha' Barbossa don' know wot it takes t' get 'is way wif ye..." the captain cooed to his ship, "The Flying Dutchman is about t' have a new captain, an' a bonny lass is soon t' have 'er whelp!" he grinned.."if we can jus' reunite William wif that pesky livin' heart o' his..." Jack's dark face clouded over for a moment... that one will be a tough one... but they would try to figure that one out on the journey to the China Sea... trifles, he thought... just a dagger and plop, in it goes. He stopped to think about that, wrinkled his nose and put his mind back to the task at hand... heading out from the coast of Africa for the Orient.
"Come on, me lady... just a bit of speed, darling," he purred to the wheel, as the sails billowed out and the Pearl leaped forward..."Take us t' the Orient...Let's go find Izzy... an' th' Dead Man's Chest"...
The man had been summoned to the China Sea... in this strange, foggy netherworld that he had been thrown into, somehow, in his mind, he knew that someone was calling him to meet with ... someone...in the China Sea... A voice, soft and feminine, was saying his name.
He felt himself being pulled through the mist, abstractly watching others as they drifted by him, going the way that he had been going, but now, they raised their eyes in hope as he passed by them, a tall, handsome, strong figure. He had a questioning look as he looked back at them, as though he were being shaken awake from a dream.
He was led to a watery shore... there was ... what was that?... could it be a longboat? He stared around him, as he could then see others like him stepping out of longboats, but once again, a mysterious force pulled him forward. He was guided to step into the boat. What was happening to him? Why was he being summoned?
He sat, alone, as the boat made its way through the dark, yet strangely crystal clear, waters. As he looked all around, he saw more and more longboats going the way that he had just come from, and he could see forms down in the waters, making their way along. He felt an overwhelming urge to help them... to guide them... to lead them... but he knew not how... it seemed like he was being pulled along for a very long time, but in this place, there was no time...
Where was he being taken, and for what purpose? In life, he had purpose, and direction, and had taken those attributes and put them to the wrong use. His overwhelming ambition had taken its lead over all else, and had blurred the lines of right and wrong. In life, the lines were always so clear to him, until the day that Captain Jack Sparrow had stumbled in. Suddenly, those lines were no longer so clearly drawn, and he found that the man was so confoundingly right so many times. A black hearted scamp, a pirate, a thief, a man with no morals, but a man with a skewered sense of honor and honesty... and so damnably truthful. Many, many times, those truths hurt.
The man kept looking about... wondering what was happening to him... he had been in a state of dreamlike confusion for so long, it seemed. But as he drifted in the boat, things were slowly becoming clearer... and clearer... and clearer...
It was she who was summoning him... she, whose name he had heard on the lips of many of those as they had emerged from the mists of his netherworld since leaving his other life. He had not been ferried to the his final destination, yet... it was as though many had gone ahead of him, yet he waited. It was she... Calypso... who had summoned him, and who was taking him in another direction of the others.
As he looked ahead, he could see a form taking shape before him, and the mists were parting... a form of a large ship in the darkness... he looked at it in wonder... and he finally recognized it. It was the ship where he had met his very end, saving the woman that he loved in life... still loved... the woman that he had given his life for, because he knew that the cause that she fought for, the cause that William Turner and Jack Sparrow were fighting for... was the true and honorable cause.
As he looked up, he saw the misty shadows of two men watching him... waiting for him. One shadow was a tall, muscular young man with long, curly hair tied in a long bandana, broadshouldered and standing straight and proud, a sword strapped to his side and arms crossed over his chest.
The other shadow was shorter, very slender and narrow of shoulders, standing with a relaxed slouch, one hand draped lazily over the hilt of a sword, the other hand resting benignly upon the handle of a pistol shoved into a red striped sash. A leather tricorn hat was perched crookedly upon his tilted head.
As the longboat bumped up to the side of the ship, a familiar voice came from the tall young man, as a smile could be detected. The man in the boat looked up into the familiar faces, as the voice of William Turner said, "Welcome to the Flying Dutchman, Admiral James Norrington."...
To be continued...