"Will, ye been silent, lad. What be the trouble?" Gibbs asked him, taking a swig from his flask.
"Oh, just, just worried. That's all." He had spent the morning waiting for Mary to appear again and direct them to the others, but so far there had been no interaction whatsoever, leading Will to speculate he had dreamed her. He led their search party through the woods, the salty smell of the sea never leaving them. The wind even carried it with it, spraying them once or twice with a mist.
"If we go much farther it'll be a day's journey just to get back to the ship," Barbossa said, stating what everyone had been thinking. "I, for one, am not sure just how we'll manage that without another mysterious tent full of food."
"We'd manage." Will pushed aside a few wiry shrubs blocking his path, hoping for Mary to show herself just to prove to himself he hadn't gone mad. There was enough madness on the Pearl without him engaging in it.
"The sooner we all arrive to Shipwreck Cove, the better," Barbossa grunted. His fingers examined a branch. "Aye, the best we can hope for is for Calypso to let us free her. None should challenge that once they see we have her with us."
"Ye be forgettin' we don't have her with us at the moment," Gibbs snapped. "It don't take a sailor long to learn not to make deals with her kind."
Will spun around and stopped in his tracks, a million thoughts circling through his head.
"But, Jack bartered his compass from her, and that turned out all right. He brought us to her to find the location of the Flying Dutchman and she did it all for that stupid monkey." He averted Barbossa's glare. "She was the only one who knew for a fact Jack could be rescued from this place. Like it or not, we've already made a deal with her."
"Aye, and we ain't out of the woods yet." Gibbs nodded. "T'won't be long before we be all feelin' a might sorry for coming. As for the compass…look, I ain't one to discuss Jack when he ain't around, but that cost him something fierce, same with the Flying Dutchman." Will knew all he had to do was wait for his answers. "Now, Will, ye do know when the first brethren court bound Calypso into human form, they left her where she would be picked up years later, many years later, by Jack, eh? Her and her people were picked up by the East India Trading Company, ye know?"
Will hadn't, but refused to open his mouth until he had heard everything.
"Ole Jack knew there was somethin' funny about her and when he'd lost the Pearl the first time, he went to see her, at his wit's end about what to do. She gave him that compass and then decided they'd get more friendly-like. Ye know how she is, don't ye? Even looked into his future, she did."
"She be only half nigh enjoyable and that's at a distance," Barbossa interrupted before chuckling. "Don't tell me she roped Jack into that."
"Aye, but at the last second…well, you heard it from his own lips she'd tried to kill him."
"How exactly does one free Calypso?" Will asked, his eyes wide in confusion. Barbossa edged closer to him.
"Ye need all the Pieces of Eight together first. Then ye get a Pirate Lord and leave him alone with her," he said with a smirk. "That ain't the hard part. Even lookin' the way she does she still got that way about her. But ye take her, and then ye take her." His eyebrows lifted in emphasis. "And after ye done, ye gather her up as you would a lover and take her to the sea. All ye do then is put her in it, and let it consume her."
"Drown her?"
"It ain't really," Gibbs said. "It sets her free, just no lord ever done so. Too afraid."
"And Jack?"
"Well," Gibbs coughed, puffing up his chest. "He wouldn't give me all the details, naturally, but it was a mighty strange picture it was, finishing with her and then dodgin' a knife. Not sure if whatever she found out from him was worth it, seein' as he don't have no memory of that part…But Tia Dalma, that one…" He shuddered. "She ain't one to scoff at, Will. We'll be payin' a hefty price for depending on her, I'd wager."
Will licked his lips, clearing his throat before asking, "Gibbs, have you ever heard of Mary Read?"
"Ah, pirate lass, that. Was presumably hanged, if I remember."
"Ha! If only it t'were a hanging and not a fever," Mary's voice thundered above them, eliciting an amused smile from Will. "T'was a fever 'bout finished me off." She materialized right in front of them, her transparent hands on her hips. She giggled at their astonishment. "Did ye decide to go back to the ship yet, Mr. Turner?"
"Will, remember? No. We have to make sure everyone is accounted for." She sped in front of him, facing him with more than a hint of authority in her face. She held a finger up to her white lips.
"Shush. One of them is nearby in the thicket there."
Before Barbossa or Gibbs could question the winged sprite in front of them, their heads snapped towards the thicket. Will kept a hand on his pistol, just in case, he told himself, each rustle building in volume until Governor Swann emerged from the thick patch, his shirt torn and dark bags under his eyes.
"Will?"
"Governor Swann?"
"Ye see?" Mary said. "Didn't take no time, nor effort, either, and one is already found." She flew to Governor Swann and held the back of his neck. "Some scratches you have back here, sir. Don't fret. What Mary breaks, she mends." Governor Swann held still, his pleading eyes like saucers to Will. "There we are!" Releasing him, he stumbled forward towards the rest of the group. "Good as new."
"Er, thank you," Swann said, patting the back of his neck. His hand on Will's shoulder, he regained his footing, gawking at his surroundings.
"Ahem, Governor Swann, I'd like you to meet Mr. Gibbs, Captain Barbossa, and Mary Read," Will offered, knowing his face matched the addled ones all focused on him.
"Uh…please to make your acquaintance, Governor." Gibbs approached first, his hefty hand jerked out for a handshake. "Ye probably don't remember me, but we made the passage from England together, back when Miss Elizabeth was, oh, was it twelve? Ye must be worried sick about her, sir. Rest assured, that's what we're all out here doing, looking for her and the others. We took on quite a tidal wave, we did." Draping his arm around Swann's shoulder, he turned back and winked at Will, who could only mouth a silent "thank you."
"Tell me, Governor, what news from the real world? Seems like we been here as long as Jack sometimes, always somethin' new. Who would have thought we'd see ye of all people?"
"Beckett." Swann paused. "Beckett sent Admiral Norrington and me here, removing himself from our objections. I haven't the slightest idea where he is. But tell me, Mr. Gibbs, you said Elizabeth is well?"
"Well, er, she's a strong one, that," Gibbs said, holding up a hand to keep Will from speaking. "Woulda done ya proud, I'm sure, takin' on a kraken and all."
Will's face fell into his palm.
"Don't worry, Will. She is well. He tells no lie."
Leaping a few feet at how close Mary's voice had been, he straightened his back and walked next to her hovering form. "I know she is."
"Then why do ye snap at me so?"
Had he snapped at her? Her frown tugged at him.
"I'm sorry, Mary. I suppose I'm feeling a little guilty. I've been looking at Elizabeth's recovery as something to dread rather than rejoice over. I, I'm not sure she'll be happy to see me. I'm not even sure we're still engaged at this point."
"You're engaged?" she gasped, stopping in midair. Will backtracked to her, wondering if the soft glimmer on her face was a tear.
"I don't know. I was." For a pirate, or former pirate, she was certainly sensitive, but why should she act betrayed? He'd only met her last night, not even seeing her until he was minutes from going to sleep. He caught something that resembled hope in her eyes. "Will you still come with us?" She nodded and they proceeded through the thick woods. With every step, he found himself pouring out everything that had happened in the last year, a great liberating feeling overcoming him. Just telling someone about the choice he would have to make when he returned made him feel that he could make the best decision possible, even if he didn't know what it was.
"I understand," Mary whispered. "Well, I understand playin' a part for a parent. Me mum would dress me as a boy to keep getting' support from me father's father. T'wasn't till I was marryin' me husband, God rest his soul, that I knew what it was to wear a dress."
Giving her an attentive laugh, Will said, "Did you fancy you would be reacquainting yourself with pirates?"
"The sea's in me blood, so as long as pirates sail the waters, I'm bound to run into a few of 'em." She paused, her finger tapping her chin in thought. "Still can't say I've run into such a crew as this one."
The group continued their hike, the rough, ragged ground taking its toll on their knees. Glimpses of white sand ahead triggered everyone to hold their breaths. The opposite coast of where they started, the lack of anyone there could be more discouraging than anything they had yet faced.
"Father!"
Elizabeth scurried to her father and threw her arms around him. His kiss on her cheek, he pulled away just enough to look at her.
"Elizabeth! Oh, I was so worried about you!"
"Ye loathsome, odious little whoreson!" she heard before she could spill out everything she had rehearsed explaining to her father when and if she ever saw him again. Barbossa, sword drawn, marched up to Jack and lunged for him. Drawing out his sword with equal speed, Jack blocked the advance.
"Foul, swag-bellied clotpole! I can do it, too!"
"Sailin' my ship into this island of horrors…" Barbossa charged back at him.
"Your ship?" They exchanged blades for a few seconds, half-circling. "Careful, mate. What would Tia Dalma have to say about ye comin' all this way for me just to cut me down, eh?"
"Didn't say nothin' about removin' a couple things of yours, though." Barbossa sneered, his gaze lowering.
"Stop!" Will ran with his sword unsheathed, clanging it into the middle of their battle. Hadn't they just been through this sort of ordeal, Elizabeth thought, shaking her head at the sight.
"Stay out of this, lad," Barbossa snapped, tackling Will's sword. Rolling her eyes, she broke out of her father's embrace only to be swept up into Pintel's.
"Don't want to be interfering now, poppet."
Elbowing him, she spun around and stole his sword from him, pointing it right under his chin.
"Don't do that again!" she snarled at the same time Pintel spat out, "She stole my sword!"
"Don't go attackin' Mr. Turner, Miss Elizabeth!" Ragetti whined. "It ain't his fault he made that deal with Sao Feng."
The swords paused, all eyes on Will.
"Was I not supposed to mention that?" Ragetti whispered to Pintel.
"What deals ye be makin' behind our backs?" Barbossa demanded.
"Nothing that concerns…"
"What deal, Will?" Elizabeth approached.
"Sao Feng demanded the Pearl. He would have been waiting for us with his entire fleet if I hadn't…I promised him Jack in exchange for the Pearl."
Jack abandoned Barbossa and went straight for Will, a much faster-paced and aggressive parry this time. Elizabeth took the opportunity to grind her sword against Barbossa's. Grinning at her, he drove his sword right into where her throat would have been had she not ducked in time. This sword was heavier than her own, but still light enough for her to wield with one hand. All the minuets and waltzes in her adolescent years called back to her, the footwork much the same now as it was then. So close the crosses of their swords banged together, she waited for their blades to touch again before pushing into it, shoving him backwards.
"My daughter's fighting Captain Barbossa," Swann uttered, all breath knocked out of him.
"Aye, that does seem to be the case," Ragetti said, folding his arms. "See, you get to sailin' with these folks for a long time and certain tensions seem to build. Obviously, Jack's a might out of sorts that Turner decided to turn on him and betray him to Sao Feng. Of course, he's also got a rivalry with Barbossa going, vying for the Pearl. Miss Elizabeth, I think, might be seizing an opportunity to loose some rage and seein' as we did kidnap her last year…" He looked over at his audience. "Oh."
"Why ain't you in this, Gibbs?" Pintel asked, turning to Gibbs, who was taking a swig from his flask.
"Wasn't finished." Drawing out his sword, Gibbs let out a gravelly cry and exploded into the action, joining Elizabeth against Barbossa.
"No, no, no, no!" Mary cried, wringing her hands together. "Stop! Stop!" She spread her arms and propelled them into the air. All the swords immediately clattered to the ground, the fighters clutching their dominant hands in their other ones. A scorching pain burned through Elizabeth's hand, feeling as though she'd touched a branding iron. Shaking her hand out, she looked up and saw everyone around her following suit.
"This was the very thing I didn't want to have happen!" Mary howled at them. "Everyone was supposed to reconcile their differences, not go gallivanting about destroyin' each other!"
"Ye never explained yourself, missy," Gibbs spoke first. "Just what is your business with us?"
"I was sent by Calypso to guard the ship," she sighed. "Ye couldn't all go back to the world the way ye was, so the tempest had to come and send ye here until everything could be sorted. But it isn't working! I'll just be bringin' the ship to this side of the island then. Do we have everyone?"
"Norrington," Swann said, rushing to Elizabeth's side. "Where is Norrington?"
"Oh. Very well. I'll just put him on the ship to save time."
The Black Pearl came into view, gliding through the sparkling shallows, the silhouettes of the crew still in her clutching the rails, looking every which way at the unseen force sending them forward.
"Ye have all day until sunset, so I 'spect the lot of ye to let each other alone," Mary scolded them, pulling a longboat up to the beach for them.
A/N: "Hell is empty and all the devils are here" comes from The Tempest. Between Mary, Gibbs, and Barbossa's speech patterns and Jack's occasional (read: intentional) grammatical mistakes, this took a long time to write. Let me know how it was!