Chapter 14
The crew were rowed back to the Pearl, with all manner of weaponry at the Pearl's crew's throats. With Sao Feng's men all on board, the rest were in shackles. Barbossa climbed up on deck ahead of the Sparrows. Once they saw that Sao Feng as on board himself, the two quickly hid behind Barbossa.
"Sao Feng, you showing up here, 'tis truly a remarkable coincidence." Barbossa commented. The two Sparrows peeked around Barbossa to see Sao Feng. He noticed them though, and decided to start with Jack.
"Jack Sparrow," he started. Somebody grabbed Jewel's shirt collar and pulled her away as Jack came out of his hiding place in front of Sao Feng.
"You paid me great insult once." Sao Feng continued
"That doesn't sound like me." Jack said. Suddenly, Sao Feng quickly punched Jack in the face, breaking his nose. Jewel winced and pushed on the hand that held her. Jack put a hand to his nose to push it back in place.
"Shall we just call it square, then?" he asked
"Not quite yet." Sao Feng said as somebody grabbed one of Jack's arms while he held his nose. The man holding Jewel let her go.
"And you, Jewel Sparrow. The vixen who stole the hearts of my sons." Sao Feng said
"That does not sound like her." Jack commented, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll tell you another time." Jewel said, leaning to her right to look back at her father, before looking up at Sao Feng, "And I'm so-" Before she could finish, Sao Feng backhanded her across the face. Then he grabbed her by the throat, picked her up, then threw her away. Jack stuggled to get free to help her. Jewel pushed herself up shakily to her feet, coughing a couple times.
"So you won't accept my apology?" she asked with a hoarse voice. Jack was let go. He reached out his free arm to hug his daughter, but slowly pulled it back, remembering their argument in the locker. Will pushed through the crew to reach Sao Feng.
"Release her." Will said, pointing to Elizabeth, "She's not part of the bargain."
"And what bargain be that?" Barbossa asked
"You heard Captain Turner. Release her." Sao Feng said, looking to his crew. Everybody's eyes widened at the title.
"... Did he say..." Jewel started
"Captain Turner?" Jack finished
"Aye, the profidious rotter led a mutiny against us." Gibbs said
"Will, you betrayed us?" Jewel asked, just shocked that he would turn on them after everything.
"I need the Pearl to free my father. That's the only reason I came on this voyage." Will explained. With her shackles removed, Elizabeth hurried to Will.
"Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?" she asked
"It was my burden to bear." Will said. There was silence as everybody digested the news.
"He needs the Pearl!" Jack said, pointing to Will, "Captain Turner needs the Pearl!" he motioned to Elizabeth "And you felt guilty." He pointed to Jewel, "And you wanted your father back." he pointed to Barbossa, "And you and your Brethren Court! Did no one come to save me just because they missed me?" He held his arms out waiting for a response. Jewel started to raise her hand, but Jack pushed it back down. He smiled and pointed at Marty when he raised his hand. Pintel and Ragetti raised their hands too. Even the monkey raised one of his little hands.
"I'm standing over there with them." Jack said with a smile. Before he could join the group, Sao Feng grabbed the back of Jack's shirt and pulled him away, toward a side of the Pearl.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but there's an old friend who wants to see you first." he said
"I'm not certain I can survive any more visits from old friends." Jack replied nervously
"Here's your chance to find out." he said, making Jack face a navy ship sailing toward them. All pirates winced at the sight. It was the Endeavour, Beckett's ship.
"I'm certain I will not survive a visit with that friend." Jack said
"Come along now, captain." Sao Feng said, leading Jack to where a boat was waiting. He struggled to free himself from Sao Feng's grasp. He succeeded and looked at the pirate lord of Singapore.
"I request to bring my daughter with me." Jack said, pointing back at Jewel, "Either we both go, or I won't."
"Either you go alone, or else." Sao Feng said. He nodded to his men. They all pulled out their swords and pistols, aiming them directly at Jewel. Jack looked like he was going to rush in to save her, but stopped himself.
"Dad, go. I'll be fine." Jewel said, feeling uncomfortable with the weaponry surrounding her. Jack sighed and nodded. Without looking away from his daughter, he climbed down a rope ladder to reach the boat in the water.
"Put these pirates in irons," Sao Feng ordered, motioning to the rest of the Black Pearl's crew, "Especially her." He pointed at Jewel, who glared at him. She made no move to attack or fight back as her hands were clasped in shackles. With the last of the Black Pearl's crew chained, more crewmen began boarding the ship. Their uniforms belonged to the East India Trading Company. Once Mercer arrived on deck, Sao Feng stood in front of him.
"My men are crew enough." He said, a hint of outrage in his voice.
"Company ship, company crew." Mercer replied, walking away. Jewel observed the company crew as they took positions, readying to make sail.
"You agreed, the Black Pearl was to be mine." Will said, just as outraged as Sao Feng.
"And so it was." Sao Feng said before he nodded to one of his men. The man grabbed Will's shoulder and punched him in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Will and Elizabeth were quickly put in irons as more of Beckett's men came on board. Jewel let out a short laugh.
"I think Beckett's turning the tables on you." Jewel commented to Sao Feng. The glare he gave her made her start wishing she hadn't spoken. He walked up to her.
"And what makes you say that?" he asked
"W-Well, look around. Why is he not letting your own men crew the Pearl when you took it?" Jewel asked. Barbossa looked down at her, seeing where she was going with her thought.
"Aye. Either he feels you need more men to crew a ship at least six men can sail, or there be an issue of trusting you to sail it overall." he said. Sao Feng looked furious as he started to realize the pirates were right.
"No. We had a deal." he seethed
"Did ye now?" Barbossa asked, raising his eyebrows. Sao Feng stormed off, looking for Mercer. Jewel and Barbossa looked at each other, smiling at a job well done. Mercer started walking in front of the pirates before Sao Feng put a hand on his shoulder.
"Beckett agreed the Black Pearl was to be mine." he said
"Lord Beckett's not going to give up the only ship that can outrun the Dutchman, now, is he?" Mercer replied, before looking down at Sao Feng's hand. He lifted it up and pulled it back, letting Mercer walk away.
"So it is an issue of him not trusting you at all." Jewel said with a smirk. Sao Feng growled, looking at them.
"It's a shame they're not bound to honor the Code of the Brethren, ain't it? Because honor's a hard thing to come by nowadays." Barbossa said
"Aye. It seems what honor that is had is saved for special occasions and when the opportune moment comes along." Jewel said
"There's no honor in remaining with the losing side. Leaving it for the winning side, that's just good business." Sao Feng said
"The losing side, you say Sao Feng?" Barbossa asked
"They have the Dutchman, now the Pearl!" Sao Feng said, his fury over the situation showing, "And what do the Brethren have?"
"We have... Calypso." Barbossa whispered. Sao Feng stared at Barbossa in silence, before he started to laugh.
"Heh, Calypso! An old legend." he said, mockingly. Barbossa glanced to Tia Dalma for a moment, looking back at the pirate lord just as quickly.
"No," he said, shaking his head, "the goddess herself, bound in human form. I intend to release her, but for that I need the Court," he reached out for the necklace Sao Feng had and held it up, "all the Court." Barbossa let it go to fall against Sao Feng's chest.
"I would go to the Brethren Court and help in freeing Calypso?" Sao Feng asked. He looked away and stroked his beard in thought.
"Is that all that you wish to do?" Barbossa asked
"What are you proposing, Captain?" Sao Feng asked, smirking.
"What be accepted, Captain?" Barbossa asked
"The girl." he said
"What?" Elizabeth and Jewel asked in unison
"Which one?" Jewel asked
"Miss Swann." Sao Feng said, before walking up to Jewel, "Although having the daughter of my enemy in my hold may prove useful leverage against Jack. To make her suffer is tempting." He reached out and stroked Jewel's cheek. She looked away, trying to think of anything but what was happening. She was quickly slapped though, pulling her from her thoughts.
"No. It will be Miss Swann, and only Miss Swann." Sao Feng decided
"Elizabeth is not part of any bargain!" Will said, outraged at such an idea.
"Out of the question." Barbossa said, shaking his head.
"It was not a question." Sao Feng said, insistently. "I only wish to spend time with her, cause no harm, not get any revenge. That is all."
"I don't believe you." Jewel said flatly
"Done." Elizabeth said.
"What? Not done!" Will quickly said
"You got us into this mess! If this is what frees us, then done!" Elizabeth said
"Elizabeth! They're pirates!" Will said
"Will, you're a pirate!" Jewel yelled, "We're all pirates! Did you forget that we are even on a pirate ship?"
"I've had more than enough experience dealing with pirates!" Elizabeth said shoving Will.
"So we have an accord?" Barbossa asked Sao Feng. The two lords smiled at each other. Sao Feng snapped his fingers. A man with several keys hurried forward. He started unlocking the shackles, freeing them all. Once they weren't bound though, that was when they drew their swords and pistols and fought as hard as they could.
"Pintel, Ragetti, get down to the cannons and fire on the Endeavor!" Jewel ordered, having noticed them hiding during the battle. The two nodded and ducked their heads to scurry down to the cannons. Jewel sheathed her sword and pulled out her pistols, firing them at whoever was wearing a uniform. Sao Feng grabbed her left arm, his long nails digging into her skin.
"Rest assured, I will have vengeance for my sons, Sparrow." he said. Jewel grabbed onto his hand to push him away. He let go of her and climbed down to a boat with the rest of his men, and Elizabeth, in tow. Jewel looked up to the helm, where she saw Barbossa fighting Mercer. She aimed her pistol carefully and fired, knocking the hat off his head. The man reached up instinctively, looked at Jewel, looked at Barbossa, then jumped off the ship into the water. Jewel ran up to him and looked back over the deck.
"Seems like they're all dead." she commented. She looked back at the Endeavor and saw her father on deck next to a cannon. The man she assumed was Beckett was nearby him. Jack lowered the lighter to the cannon. When it fired, the rope he was hanging onto pulled him up, and launched him into the air, screaming and flailing his arms all the way.
"My dad is insane." Jewel said, shaking her head, looking up. They had all lost him in the rigging and all ran to the port side where he should have landed. The rope he used slid off the railing and into the water, making everyone look overboard. There was no sign of him in the waters below.
"Dad!" Jewel screamed, worried. Barbossa turned around then stopped. Everybody looked in the direction he was staring. Jack stood on the statues that stood at the stern, just behind the helm, leaning on it with one arm, with the other on his hip, and one leg crossed in front of the other.
"And that was without a single drop of rum." he said. Jewel laughed at her father's antics.
"That was amazing!" Jewel complimented. Jack climbed down and ignored his daughter, looking at Will instead. His wrists were in irons, Pintel and Ragetti stood on both of his sides, holding an arm.
"Send this pestilent traitorous cowhearted yeasty codpiece to the brig." Jack ordered, his voice low and deadly. Jewel watched sadly as Will was taken away. She reached a hand in her trouser pocket and hurried to him.
"Will!" She said, making them stop. She hugged him tightly and, without a single person noticing, slipped what she had in her pocket into one of Will's. With the deed done, she returned to the helm where her father stood with his arms crossed.
"You are not to see him Jewel. That's an order." Jack said
"I understand." Jewel nodded her head