Author's Note: Here's your second to last chapter, folks! Once again, a big huge thanks to all my reviewers; just two more times, my friends, and that's that!

Chapter Twenty-Five—The Beginning of the End

When Jessie came to, the first thing she realized was that there was no more pain. Her arm didn't hurt at all—experimentally, she tried to wiggle her fingers or bend her elbow. But nothing moved. For one terrible, stomach sickening second she thought she didn't have an arm at all; but she opened her eyes and there lay her right arm, heavily bandaged and immovable.

"Oh, good," a happy voice beside her said. "You're awake." Jessie turned her head and saw Amber sitting on a chair just beside her bed, her dress ripped and bloody, her hair a mess; she couldn't even see her friend's skin past the dirt on her arms. Jessie smiled.

"You look terrible," she said hoarsely.

"So do you," Amber replied, grinning.

Jessie looked at her arm again. The last thing she remembered was pain—terrible, terrible pain—and blood; so much blood… "What happened?" she asked, shaking her head slightly to clear the vision of her mangled arm from her head.

"You passed out as soon as you were capable of feeling pain again—right after the curse was broken," Amber told her. "Something about blood loss, and shock. I don't really know. But we couldn't wake you up—Will had to carry you back to the Interceptor." She smiled mischievously. "If I knew that's what it took to get that close to him, I'd have cut my arm a long time ago."

Jessie laughed softly, but it turned into a cough. Amber's smile melted, worry in its place. But Jessie got control over herself a moment later and closed her eyes as if to sleep. "That's where you are now," Amber said; "the Interceptor. We're nearly to Port Royal, though. You've been out all night.

"Elizabeth and I had to argue with Norrington for a good half hour, maybe more," Amber continued, just to keep her friend awake and alert. Jessie didn't open her eyes again, but she could tell her friend was listening. "In the end we got him to agree not to hang you after your life had just been saved. We kept telling him you were young and injured, and would certainly repent of your piratical ways when you recovered." Amber grinned. "The Governor gave you a full pardon."

Jessie opened her eyes again. "And Jack?" she whispered; it was almost impossible to hear her, she spoke so quietly.

"He passed out around the same time you did. Took two guards to carry him on board." Amber's smile faltered. "We couldn't convince Norrington to pardon him, though you should have heard Elizabeth—and Will, even—try their hardest. Nothing would change his mind; in the end, he agreed to treat his shoulder, so Jack would live long enough to see the gallows. They're going to hang him—and Anamaria, too; the pirates left without her and Jack, it seems—as soon as we reach Port Royal. They're in the brig now."

Jessie grimaced as she pushed herself upright with her good arm. "I want to see them," she said, making as if to get out of bed. Amber stopped her.

"No, you just woke up. If you want to make sure they're okay, they are. Anamaria's barely got a scratch. She's a little angry with Jack, though; thinks it's his fault she's bound for the gallows." Amber smiled softly. "And Jack's shoulder's going to heal just fine—much better than you, actually. He'll have nothing more to show after all this but a scar and a story to tell. You arm may never heal completely. They're saying you'll never have full use of it again."

Jessie looked at her injured right arm. "Well, I always wanted to learn to be left-handed," she said, managing a tiny chuckle without going into another coughing fit. She was content enough by Amber's answers to sit back in bed; but only as long as Amber swore that the Governor said she would likely be well enough to attend the hanging in a few days' time. The two girls talked for a little bit, until Jessie began to grow tired.

"How are Elizabeth and Will?" she asked, eyelids dropping.

"Tired," Amber simply said, "and worried. But completely fine, both of them. They'll be glad to know you're awake." Jessie nodded, and muttered something about getting some rest; her head lolled to one side and she was breathing lightly as soon as closed her eyes completely. Amber smiled and got up, leaving her friend to sleep.

-o0o-

They sailed into Port Royal the next day. News of two pirates captured had already spread throughout the little town; people seemed to regard Commodore Norrington as a hero. The Governor and his daughter, as well as her two female guests, were settled comfortably in his mansion and did not come out to greet the gossiping folk in the town—which only made them gossip more.

"One of them was actually raised by the pirates, you say?" they would whisper to each other. "That's what I heard. But the Governor adopted her as his own! My, my, he's grown quite soft."

"Yes," the whispers said. "And then Miss Swann and her friend, they were captured by other pirates, taken right from their beds! The Commodore saved them right from the clutches of death, and the rash young apprentice to Blacksmith Brown, who had sneaked on board the pirates' ship to save them and was taken himself. Governor pardoned him, too, I hear."

"Commodore Norrington killed most of the crew single-handily, I heard! And he also proposed to the Governor's daughter shortly after that; she was so grateful and excited she jumped right into his arms, couldn't say yes fast enough, lovesick thing. Anyway, that's what's one of the guards told me; said he was there."

"What of the pirates in jail now?"

"Commodore captured them right easily, didn't he? A man and woman, they is. The hanging is scheduled to happen on noon morrow."

This last was perhaps the only true thing they had said—the signs around town proved that much: there would be a double hanging tomorrow at noon, just one day after they had arrived in Port Royal.

Most of the town was planning to attend; not only were those one of the few entertainment in their small port, but it was also said that the Governor, Miss Swann, and his two mysterious guests would be coming out to see the hanging as well.

-o0o-

The day of the hanging arrived. Amber was fidgeting uncomfortably, tugging at her formal dress and wishing the corset would just disappear. She couldn't believe they had got her one of these things again. "I hate you," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Jessie, who was dressed in second-hand boys clothes that made her look like she really was a young boy and not a girl.

Jessie grinned. She had been too short to fit into one of Elizabeth's dresses; and what's more, her injured arm was so covered in bandages she had used it as an excuse—a feeble one, mind, but still an excuse—that she couldn't get the garments on.

The Governor did not have time to arrange for a dress to be fitted just for her; the hanging was to happen sooner than the fitting could. So he had found a boy the same height and size as Jessie and had taken some of his clothing. It was obvious he found her attire disgusting, especially out in such a formal event—but he could do nothing about it.

"…for your willful commission of crimes against the crown. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, the most egregious of these to be cited herewith, piracy, smuggling…"

"This is wrong." Beside the two girls, Elizabeth muttered her disapproval to her father and future husband, speaking over the rather lengthy list of Jack's crimes. The pirate stood first in line, hands bound before him, under the hangman's noose. Anamaria, chained and held by a guard, would be next.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law," Governor Swann said; "as are we all." Jessie wanted to scoff, but had promised herself she would be on her best behavior around the Governor—he was still a bit testy over her loyalties.

Amber, on the other hand, had no holdbacks in rolling her eyes. As she tugged as subtly as she could at the top of her dress, trying to get it in a more bearable position, she felt the cool metal of her medallion against her skin; she had kept her fake one close by since Jessie had lost hers. What else was there to do with it?

Jessie was wearing her own necklace: hanging from a scrap piece of leather string she had found, rested a beautiful ring, featuring a green stone. She had never had time to give it back to Jack as she had intended, and was keeping it close and safe until she could later. Amber personally thought her friend's jewelry was better than her own.

She noticed movement out in the crowd; Will was approaching them. "Governor Swann," he said, nodding his head in greeting. "Commodore Norrington. Girls." He smiled at Jessie and Amber once before turning to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth," he began, "I-I should have told you everyday since the first day I met you…"

Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up in question. Amber and Jessie exchanged excited smiles.

"I love you."

The youngest girls squealed happily; Elizabeth's eyebrows went even higher. The men beside them looked like they had stopped breathing. Will stood there a moment more, awkwardly, and then turned without another word back into the crowd.

"Well, it might not have been the most opportune moment," Jessie began, still grinning.

"But it's still so romantic!" Amber finished, jumping up and down as best she could in her corset. She nudged Elizabeth in the ribs gently (she knew Elizabeth also wore a corset); "I told you so all along, didn't I?" she whispered. Elizabeth barely managed a nod.

"I…can't breathe," she said, falling over without another sound. Amber silently complimented her; her father and husband to be had both stooped beside her in a panic. Amber turned to her friend, who already knew what she planned to do. With Elizabeth being their distraction, they raced off through the crowd towards the sound of the drums picking up speed.

"Over there!" Amber cried, pointing at Will and Jack with one hand while holding her dress up a little over her ankles with the other. Will had freed Jack already, and the two men were working together quite nicely to get the best of the guards.

"Let's get Anamaria," Jessie said, because the female buccaneer was missing out in all the fun, her wrists tied together and still being held by a single guard; the only one not after Jack and Will. While quite unable to do anything, Anamaria was far from silent; her shouts, however, were far from decent.

"Is she screaming at her captor or Jack?" Amber wondered absent-mindedly. Both were equally possible, considering she didn't seem to be too keen either of them at the moment. "How are we going to get rid of the guard?" she asked then; neither she nor Jessie had swords.

Jessie bit her lip. "Make it up as you go along," she said, and they rushed on; she was much more capable of maneuvering through the crowd than Amber since she didn't wear all those clothes. Her injured arm caused a bit of trouble, however; she had to be sure not to let it bump anyone or she'd regret it later. But still, she managed to make it the top of the gallows just ahead of Amber.

"Hey, Red Lobster!" Jessie called to the redcoat, louder than need be as she stood beside him; he looked her way, and she kicked him as hard as she could in the shins. He howled and hopped up and down on his good leg; he couldn't risk letting Anamaria go to grab it, though.

Amber, on his other side, gave him a hearty shove when he wasn't facing her; as he stood on one leg, this threw him greatly off balance. But what really threw him off was Anamaria, not content just to stand there, shoving her tied arms up behind her back, knocking him in the nose, and kneeing him where it hurt. He howled in pain again and released her to grasp at his injuries.

"HA!" Anamaria shouted, smirking. She twisted her arms ways Jessie didn't even know arms could go; somehow, they ended up in front of her instead of behind her, where she raised them to her lips and freed herself with her teeth.

"How in the world did you do that?" Jessie asked, amazed and impressed.

Anamaria spit the rope out of her mouth. "Double jointed," she said shortly, shouldering past the girls and sprinted towards Jack and Will were fighting on the cliff. Jessie and Amber followed after her quickly; not far off, they could see Elizabeth making her way towards the little group as well.

Amber decided to stay outside the circle near Elizabeth, until the moment arises when she could come closer. Jessie, since she was the shorter and smaller, managed to shove her way to the center of the circle that had formed, emerging next to Jack. Anamaria was already there on Jack's other side, between him and Will. From where Jessie stood, she could see the bandage on Jack's shoulder clearly. She studied it sadly.

"You," Norrington shifted his sword from Will to Jessie, who looked up in surprise. "I should have known. I thought we'd have to endure some kind of ill-conceived attempt from you and them." Sneering at Jack and Ana. "But certainly not from you." And the sword moved back to Will.

"On our return to Port Royal, I granted both of you clemency!" Governor Swann exclaimed, obviously disappointed. So much for being on her best behaviour in front of him, Jessie thought without any regret at all. "And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with them?" he continued. "They're pirates!"

"And good people!" Will declared. Jack pointed at himself, as if to say, "that's me". Anamaria scowled at him and slapped him on the back of the head sharply. Obviously, she was still angry. Will's voice lowered determinedly, and he went on: "if all I have achieved here is that that the hangman will earn three pairs of boots instead of two—"

"Make that four, mate," Jessie piped up. She found herself rather pleased at the disapproving look on Norrington's face.

"Four pairs of boots," Will corrected, the hints of smile on his mouth, "then so be it. At least out conscience will be clear."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Jessie cheered. Jack turned to look at her harshly. Shut up, he mouthed. Jessie wanted to retort how good a greeting that was when he hadn't seen her in two days, but kept her mouth shut and listened to him, for once.

"You forget your place, Turner," Norrington said harshly, moving the sword even closer to Will's throat threateningly. Will didn't even flinch, but instead took a step forward towards the blade to stare Norrington right in the eye.

"It's right here. Between you and Jack."

Jessie wanted to cheer again. Go, Will! But Anamaria cleared her throat loudly first.

"And Anamaria," Will added hastily, ruining the moment.

It was then Elizabeth pushed a few men aside to come and stand by Will. She took his hand as Amber came through and stood at his other side. "As it mine," Elizabeth said.

"And mine." Amber cocked her head, a silent challenge to Norrington. But it was the Governor who spoke, ordering the men to lower their guns 'for goodness sake'. Norrington deflated, looking only at Elizabeth.

"So this is where your heart…truly lies, then?"

Elizabeth nodded. "It is," she stated surely. Jack took the moment to come forward.

"I think we've all arrived at a very special place here," he said, moving around to look at each of them individually. "spiritually…ecumenically…grammatically." He pulled away from Governor Swann's face to get right up next to Norrington. "I want you to know I was rooting for you, mate. Know that," he said seriously.

"Elizabeth." He turned to her. "It would have never worked out between us, darling. I'm sorry. And, er, Will…nice hat," he said impulsively. He began to leave, turning around one more time. "Jessie," he said, and she perked up expectantly. "You're a very bad drinker…and a total lunatic." He shook his head, then continued, "it was real, and it was fun…but I can't say it was real fun."

She made a face at him, but he only smirked.

"Amber." The girl turned to face the pirate. "Never really talked to you. Barbossa liked you, though," he added, smirking again.

He turned back around, facing the crowd even as he backed up closer and closer to the edge—and to freedom. He paused at the very edge, a sarcastic smile on his lips and he looked at the black woman and pirate. "Ana-mari-aaaaaaaaa," he trilled expectantly, "aren't you coming?"

She scowled, but walked up to him anyway. This seemed to bring the navy men, who had merely been standing there stupidly, back to their senses and they advanced on the two escaping pirates. Jack grinned slyly. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said in conclusion, "you will always remember this as the day—"

"Oh, get over yerself," Anamaria said angrily, pushing him in the chest so that he tumbled over the edge with a yell. She scanned the crowd quickly, catching Jessie's and Amber's eyes once and winking. Then she turned and dived in after her captain.

"So…" Jessie said uncomfortably as all the guards turned to look at the her, Amber, Will, and Elizabeth. "This is awkward." She looked over her shoulder at the sea below. She hadn't even thought about what would happen to them when the movie reached its end. Would they end up on the ship with Jack? Or back at home?

"Guards." Norrington only said the single summon, but it was enough for Jessie and Amber to jump into action.

"We're sorry, but we just can't measure up to that display." Amber nodded to the tiny little figures of Jack and Anamaria swimming towards a toy-sized ship in the distance. She casually moved closer to edge of the cliff. Jessie followed her, looking sideways at Amber.

Her friend looked a little nauseous; she didn't swim and dive like Jessie did. She wasn't as familiar with heights. Even Jessie, looking down, felt her stomach tumble. She'd never dived off anything this high.

"We'll do it together," she said quietly, and grabbed Amber's hand. Amber nodded and shut her eyes tightly. "One," Jessie started slowly, "two…Good-bye, everyone; maybe we'll see you soon." She drew a deep breath and shut her own eyes, clutching the ring around her neck with her free hand. "And…THREE!"

The two girls jumped at the same time and fell, screaming the entire way down and still holding hands, to land with a splash in the salty waters below. It was a miracle they missed the rocks.