FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

34—A Not-So-Clean Escape

DISCLAIMER: Jack'n'Lizzie etc. do not belong to me. I make no money from the writing of this fan-fiction.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! You guys are great!

I used a little bit of creative license in this chapter (a polite way of saying I blatantly ignored some technicalities of both the movie and, well, gravity/weight), but it was necessary to not just rehash everything that happened in DMC. I know you'll all be thinking "that would never happen!" but it moves the story forward and, hopefully, makes it more interesting. So yes, I know some of this stuff is impossible, even form Disney, but bear with me.

Thanks again! Hope you like it!

It had been nearly an hour since a group of scantily clad natives, complete with loin cloths and tribal painting, had dragged Elizabeth (kicking and screaming) in one direction and Jack (who, in Elizabeth's point of view, was disturbingly passive) in the other. Or at least she thought it had been an hour. She wasn't really sure… it was quite difficult to tell what time it was from her current position.

They brought her (just in time, as a matter of fact) to join what was left of Jack's crew in their cages. Just over a dozen men were left, including her and Rosalind, who she was relieved to see hadn't been hurt. She immediately asked Gibbs what had happened to the others and immediately wished she hadn't.

She screamed her cries of protest at their captors, watching helplessly as the cage was hoisted high above a ravine, until her throat stung. Helplessly, she plopped down and let her legs dangle from the open spaces between the bones, frustrated with her thoughts. She could hardly believe all that had happened in the course of a short day, but no matter what she did she couldn't escape her reality. Six men had been placed in the cage opposite them. Seven were in their own cage, including Rosalind, Gibbs, Marty, Cotton and herself.

"This is hopeless," Rosalind finally uttered, breaking the silence. Elizabeth popped an eye open, shielding it from the sun with her hand, looking up at her as she knelt beside her. "Jack always manages to get himself out of trouble," she said. "What would he do?"

Elizabeth smiled, only slightly. "I wish I knew," she sighed. "I've been attempting to think like him since they tied us up here and I've come to one conclusion."

"Oh?" Elizabeth instantly mourned the hopefulness in her friend's voice.

"It's impossible. No one can think like Jack," she said quietly.

"Oh." Rosalind was silent for a few moments, breathing in deeply. "Where did they take him, then?"

"Back to the main village, I suppose," she sighed again.

"What are they planning on doing to him there?"

"They'll cook 'im and eat 'im," Gibbs cut in.

"Eat him?" Rosalind sounded horrified as her eyes grew wider.

"Although knowing Jack, he's probably further along with a plan of escape than we are," Elizabeth said nonchalantly.

"Aye," Gibbs agreed. "He escaped just fine last time he was here."

"They tried to eat him last time?" Elizabeth asked. "Then why would he stop here again?"

"Asked him that meself," Gibbs answered with a wry chuckle. "Said his priorities 'ad changed and he was most concerned with gettin' ye onto dry land an' out of harm's way… whatever that means. An' he also seemed to think he could talk 'is way out of it. Probably can… Jack's got better negotiatin' skills than any navy man I've ever seen."

"That he does," Elizabeth said. "Well, even if he does get himself out of it, he won't have the means to save all of us. We have to get ourselves out of this."

"How do we do that?" Marty asked with sudden interest. Elizabeth looked up to see that all eyes were on her, including those from the other cage, and suddenly she felt very self-conscious. She suddenly felt a great deal of pressure, and not just to prove herself as a worthy member of the crew, but to get everyone out safely.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought, begging any god in heaven for a burst of inspiration. But the only thing she felt was discomfort, and she subconsciously shifted positions. As she did so, she felt something lightly poke her side, and she suddenly remembered the supply hut. She also remembered shoving whatever useful tools she could find into her pockets, including a small, but very sharp, dagger, complete with leather shield.

"Where'd you get that?" Gibbs asked.

"I borrowed it," Elizabeth replied, taking his hand as he helped her to her feet. She balanced herself before beginning a steady climb up the side of the cage to the top, where a series of makeshift ropes were wound together, dangling the cage in mid-air. "If we can manage to break these bones…" she explained, "…here, here and here… the opening will be big enough to climb through."

"An' then what?" one of the other men quipped. "If ye haven't noticed, there's no place for us to go."

"If you haven't noticed, we're anchored to that bridge up there," Elizabeth whispered loudly. "All we have to do is climb up that rope and to the bridge and we're free. And if you have a better idea, I suggest you share it." She looked around at the blank faces staring at her. "Well? Are you with me or not?"

Rosalind smirked. "You're more capable of thinking like Jack than you realize, Lizzie."

Elizabeth smiled before turning to the other cage. "Do any of you have a dagger or a knife on you?" Not surprisingly, all six of them had at least one on their person. "If you score some of the bones, they'll be easier to break," she suggested, beginning to score several herself.

It was grueling work, but eventually she managed to cut halfway through three different bones. She then crawled down, allowing Gibbs and Cotton to use their sheer strength to snap the weakened bones in half, pulling them out from where they had been jointed together. The men in the opposite cage finished seconds afterwards and upon Elizabeth's orders to keep quiet for risk of being caught, they slowly began to climb upwards, one by one.

Rosalind, who hadn't any experience with this sort of thing (compared to Elizabeth's slight experience with this sort of thing) was all too happy to accept Gibbs' offer of holding onto his shoulders as he climbed. It might have been embarrassing, but reality was reality… she didn't have the upper-arm strength or the calloused hands to make it on her own. Marty, too, whose short arms and legs would have given out quickly, clung to Vincent, another in their cage who was strongest next to Gibbs.

The ascent was slow and Elizabeth had to ignore the burn as she climbed hand-over-fist. "Careful, men," she urged, trying her best to be encouraging and firm at the same time. "It'll take all of us to prepare the Pearl to leave, even if the tide's started to come in."

"Actually," replied Leech, a man from the other cage, "we've more than enough. About six or so will do the job."

Elizabeth halted, her eyes wide with a frightening realization. She locked eyes with Leech, who had apparently made the same realization.

"Hurry!" she screamed, looking down at her own group as the race started. She knew they had a disadvantage, with two of their own forced to carry another, but they had to try. She would never forgive herself if she lost Jack the Pearl, even if he himself was able to get over it. Besides, the ship was their only chance at survival. Otherwise, they'd all likely be eaten, a fate she would not, could not, accept.

She was just starting to get ahead of the other group when she felt a slight swaying from the bridge above her. She stopped again as she looked upwards and, to her utter horror, a Pelegostos guard was making his way across to the other side. "STOP!" she whispered, just loudly enough to capture her opponents' attention. Her order was quietly echoed amongst the crew as all came to a halt.

For a few moments, everyone was silent and absolutely still, until Elizabeth heard a snicker from the other side. Her mouth dropped open in terror as she noticed the others were going ahead with their climb, cheating, as she should have expected.

"Lousy, good-for-nothing pirates!" she hissed.

"You're going to get us all killed!" Rosalind added, narrowing her eyes to angry slits.

Elizabeth focused on Leech, who had no doubt taken over as their leader, as he was first on the rope. Suddenly, she heard him gasp, and looked up to see a black, hairy, spider, almost half as large as his hand, making his way down his arm. He was clearly terrified, a fact which she would have to find amusement in later, should they make it out alive.

"Spider!" Leech cried. "SPIDER!" His fear caused him to lose his grip, which Elizabeth instantly knew would be deadly for the rest of the men with him. As he fell, he grabbed onto the shirt of another, trying to catch himself, but all it did was create panic and chaos amongst them. In rapid fashion, they all started falling, screaming as they plummeted below to their deaths.

Elizabeth looked down, her jaw still hanging open, wide-eyed, to see Gibbs and a few others wince at the fate of their crew-mates. Then, returning to more pressing matters, she shot her head upwards, instantly catching the eyes of the guard. He had seen everything. A brief, silent moment passed before he ran, screaming for help in the other direction.

"HURRY!" Elizabeth shouted. And hurry they did. In a fashion that astounded her she reached the top. With three swift punches (and a whole new onslaught of pain, more of which she would have to ignore and fuss over later), she was able to get through one plank of the bridge, allowing more ease and breaking away two more, leaving a big enough gap for everyone to crawl through.

She knelt at the top, helping Rosalind climb up and over Gibbs' shoulders. Once Gibbs was through, he helped her get the rest through, and together, they started to run in the opposite direction from where the guard had gone.

"Come on!" she cried, making sure everyone was in toe as they ran. They ran until they reached a small clearing and she saw, much to her delight and surprise, Jack. Unfortunately, she had little time to rejoice, as he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, a large pole strapped to his back and an assortment of what appeared to be tropical fruit beginning to shift his weight in a less-than-ideal direction.

He caught her eyes right as he stared to waver and, using what little strength and energy she had left over from the climb, ran at him at full speed. She managed to grab onto a small, loose bit of rope at the last possible second, pulling him with a force strong enough to knock them both over. Jack landed on top of her with a magnificent thud, to which he immediately rolled to the side.

"Lizzie…" he trailed off. "…there are no words."

"Coming from you, Jack," she panted, completely out of breath, "that's a shock."

"Can ye move, luv?" he asked. He was on his side, wrapped up in rope like a caterpillar in a cocoon, facing her.

"I think so," she replied, allowing her eyes to close, just for a moment.

"Good. Then if ye don't mind…?"

She popped an eye open and looked at him, glancing up to see that the others were catching up.

"Mother of God, Jack!" Gibbs panted.

"How lucky can one man possibly be?" Rosalind wondered aloud, placing her hands on her hips.

Elizabeth chuckled and forced her tired body up onto her knees. She pulled out the dagger, pleased she had it for it had come in handy yet again, and, as quickly as she could, sliced through the ropes that bound Jack to the pole.

"I'll ask later how you got wrapped up in this," she said as he shrugged them from his body.

"Good," he replied, climbing onto his feet. "I take it we've got an escapin' to do?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"Dead."

"Oh," he grimaced. Before another word could be said, a faint chorus of shouts and cries from the Pelegostos was heard. "Time to go then!" Jack instructed, taking over command. Elizabeth has expected him to once they found him, but she had to admit, she didn't mind playing the role of captain in his absence. It was oddly liberating and somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if Jack would allow her the same authority again sometime.

Following Jack, who seemed to know his way around the island as if he had grown up there, they all made their way towards the beach. Elizabeth nearly stumbled when her feet hit the soft sand, for it was a far cry from the hardened terrain she had gotten used to. A few others did stumble, but they were quickly on their feet again as the tribe seemed to be gaining on them.

"Hurry, men!" Gibbs shouted, quickly wading into the water as they approached the Black Pearl. "All of ye to work!"

"We done some of it for you!" It was then that Elizabeth became aware of the one-and-only Pintel, one of Barbossa's former crew mates, a rope from the ship slung over his shoulder.

"Aye! What with knowin' ye'd be comin' back for it an' all!" Her head shot up to see Ragetti, Pintel's dubious sidekick, already on board.

"How did you two get here?!" she snapped, knowing full well their real intentions.

"Later, Lizzie," Jack quickly said, practically pushing her towards the ship. "Ye can fuss over 'em all ye want once yer aboard." She glared daggers at Pintel, who was closest to her, before silently agreeing with Jack by beginning to climb. She took hold of Rosalind's hand and together, the both of them made their way up the ship.

Jack was last on board. Elizabeth stopped at the rail, peering down at him as he climbed. She was finally able to breath, whole-heartedly relieved at knowing that they'd made a not-so-clean escape, but an escape nonetheless.

About halfway up, Jack paused, turning back to face the clearly dejected Pelegostos. "Alas, my children!" he cried. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, knowing he couldn't resist a moment to indulge his legend. "Today is the day that you almost caught—" She didn't bother to stifle her giggles as a wave came crashing against the side of the ship, interrupting Jack's ego and soaking him to boot.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm not very good at the action stuff, so I hope that was okay.

Thanks again! Now go review!

See you next time!