(A/N: Here we go, next chapter. After a pretty big cliffhanger last time, it looked as if Jack pulled a Barbossa and sacrificed himself to save his own daughter. With the Jolly Roger in a free-fall, is our favorite pirate going to find a way out of this one, or is this finally the end for old Jack?)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 15: Gunshot
The crew of the Black Pearl had no idea what was happening aboard the Jolly Roger. It was too far away and too high up to see what was going on. Even with the telescope, Jolene could just barely make out anything.
The most she had been able to see was someone fling themself up into the riggings, and then someone fly up to meet them for a brief sword fight before the former tumbled down the netting. She assumed the former was Jack and the latter was Hook, who followed him back down and flew around the deck for a bit before seemingly landing and disappearing from view.
Most of the crew stood around her, eagerly waiting for her to tell them something. Others were working on putting as much distance between the Jolly Roger and themselves as they could. Jolene didn't see what the point was to try; there would be no escaping if Hook decided to come after them.
But maybe Jack could pull off some miracle. Maybe he would manage to kill Hook and then convince his crew to leave them be. Although, if he killed Hook, he would need to kill Smee too; the man was a sociopath who was completely devoted to Hook, and therefore would most likely continue what his captain had set out to do.
"Well?" Pintel asked impatiently next to her. "Do you see anything?"
"Is the captain alright?" Murtogg asked.
"Course he's alright," Mullroy insisted. "He's Captain Jack Sparrow."
He still sounded doubtful saying it though, and Jolene couldn't blame him. She too was incredibly worried for her father. She hated the fact that she had roped him into this, but her life had been at stake. She'd hoped that when she had initially told Hook about the compass that it would buy her enough time to sneak away, or if that plan failed, that Jack would simply hand the compass over. She hadn't expected all these complications.
Likewise, when she had been captured back on the island, she'd hoped that they would either be able to make a deal with Hook that would last long enough for her to escape, or that Jack would be able to outwit him. After everything she had heard about him, and seeing the incredible amount of luck he seemed to possess, a part of her actually believed that there was really no situation he couldn't get himself out of.
But even so, she hadn't wanted him to trade himself for her, and she especially hadn't wanted him to sacrifice himself for her. She had thought, hoped, that he would be able to get them all out of this whole sticky situation, but it seemed that she had overestimated him. Or maybe his luck had finally run out.
Whatever the case, Jack was now stuck aboard the Jolly Roger with a crew of bloodthirsty cutthroats, and there was no way for them to help him. She knew that this likely would have been the outcome anyway. Hook would have chased down the Pearl and sent it to the depths whether she had admitted to being Jack's daughter or not. But that didn't stop her from feeling guilty for allowing herself to be traded. Why couldn't Hook have just taken the stupid compass and left?
"Mr. Cotton," she said, not taking her eyes off the Jolly Roger, "can your parrot fly up there and get the compass? Maybe we can renegotiate Jack's return."
Before the mute pirate, or rather, his parrot, could answer, Gibbs shook his head. "That won't do no good. If we go back on our deal, Hook will just kill Jack on the spot, then send the Pearl to the depths.
"Shoot bird down," Cotton's parrot squawked. "Rawk! Bye, bye, birdie."
Gibbs inclined his head. "That too."
"It wasn't a deal, it was an ultimatum," Jolene insisted.
"More of an impasse really," Scrum added.
Jolene resisted the urge to scream in frustration. "Whatever, I don't care. Look, I don't even think Hook is going to let us leave. And he's certainly not going to let Jack live. Once he gets the compass and kills him, he'll come for us. Any promises or deals he makes, he finds a way around them."
"You're not tellin' us anything we don't already know, lass," Gibbs told her. "But as I told you already, I made a promise to Jack to get you ta safety."
"That won't matter if Hook just sinks the Pearl anyway!"
"I'm aware, lass, but what else can we do?"
Jolene didn't have an answer to that. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Gibbs was right, there weas nothing they could do. When the cave-in failed to end Hook and his crew, any chance of escape had been lost. There was simply no way to flee from or fight the Jolly Roger once it had you in its sights. The only thing she or anyone else could do was buy time and hope that Hook would keep his word.
Letting out a frustrated groan, Jolene raised the telescope to her eye again. She watched for several long moments, unable to see what was happening onboard. And then the Jolly Roger started to move.
It dipped forward into a nose-dive and began to descend. At first Jolene thought it was simply flying downward, but the she realized that it was coming in too fast, it's position and motion too uncontrolled. The ship wasn't descending, it was falling.
The others started to notice as well, even without a telescope, and Cotton's parrot flapped its wings furiously. "Rawk! Falling ship! Falling ship!"
Gibbs nodded. "Aye, he's right! The Jolly Roger falls!"
The telescope fell from Jolene's hands and she rushed to the side of the ship as if she were about to leap overboard. Gibbs grabbed hold of her before she even had a chance, and she screamed Jack's name.
The Jolly Roger hit the water, sending up a shower of water as it was smash to pieces from the impact. Jolene let out another cry as shocked gasps and exclamations escaped the rest of the crew. Even from this far away, they could see that the Jolly Roger was completely destroyed, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the chances of those onboard surviving was almost nonexistent.
"Jack!" Jolene shouted as she pulled out of Gibbs hold and grabbed onto the side of the ship. "Jack! Father!"
But there was nothing to be done, nothing that could be done for anyone onboard the ship. Even if there were a few lucky survivors, they would be in no condition to even get out of the shattered ship, let alone swim, even if there were any land close enough to get to, and the remains of the Jolly Roger were already beginning to sink.
Jolene couldn't believe her eyes. This couldn't be happening. Gibbs had told her to have faith in Jack, but she was betting that not even he had anticipated something like this happening. Others joined her at the side of the ship, looking on in disbelief as what was left of the flying pirate ship fell apart even further.
"What happened to it?" Marty wondered out loud. "Why'd it fall?"
"A ship got no business flying in the first place," Pintel commented.
Gibbs stared at the sinking remains and recalled what Jolene had told them about what she had learned about the Jolly Roger. "The fairy. The one Hook was usin' ta make the ship fly. Jack must have released it somehow." He looked at Jolene. "I'm so sorry, lass."
Jolene didn't say anything, unable to tear her eyes away from the wreckage. She still couldn't believe this was happening. Now she had lost both her parents. First her mother was lost to her, and then any hope she had of bringing her back was shot down. And now, just a few days later, she had lost her father, just when she had been getting to know him.
Her thoughts immediately jumped to what she had been planning for her mother, only now for Jack instead. Her mother may be lost to her, but maybe there was a way to bring him back.
That thought process was cut off almost immediately. She remembered all the methods of resurrection she had heard of that she thought could be tried to bring her other back, only to be told that none of them would work. If they wouldn't work on her mother, what made her think they would work on her father?
"He's really gone, isn't he?" she said quietly.
A sorrowful sigh escaped Gibbs as he lowered his head. "Aye, lass, I'm afraid he is," he said sadly. "No man could have survived. Seems Death finally managed to catch Old Jack."
All around, crewmembers with hats began removing them and placing them over their hearts as they lowered their heads. Even Jack the Monkey crouched down as if he too were showing respect. Jolene barely noticed, still unable to look away. She felt numb inside, but that was quickly building up. She knew it was only a matter of time before it hit her, but-
"Rawk! The captain's flying! The captain's flying!" Cotton's parrot squawked.
Gibbs nodded as he blinked back tears for the loss of his best friend. "Aye, Jack be flying with the angels now."
"Please, Gibbs, you should know me better than that by now."
All heads shot up in disbelief. All but Jolene's. Her grip on the side of the ship tightened at the sound of the voice. She was almost afraid to look up in case her mind was playing tricks on her, but slowly her gaze rose to the sky.
There, floating amongst the sails, was none other than Jack Sparrow. He slowly descended as he hovered in the air. Circling around him, Jolene saw what appeared to be the fairy she had seen on the Jolly Roger. Sparkles rained down from it as it buzzed around Jack's head.
Everyone stared as Jack floated down and settled on the deck. The fairy stopped flying around him and simply hovered by his head. Jack paid it no mind as he smiled at his crew and held out his hands as if to present himself.
"Why do you look so sad?" he asked with a big grin on his face. "Have you forgotten who I am? I'm Captain Jack-"
The air was suddenly knocked out of him as Jolene ran forward and threw herself at him. Jack stumbled, looking startled at the sudden embrace, and a little uncomfortable at the public display of affection, and he awkwardly patted her head.
"Jack!" Gibbs exclaimed. "It's Jack!"
"Jack! Jack!" Marty called as he and the others hurried over to him.
The crew gathered around their captain, expressing their joy. Jack received many back-pats and handshakes from his crew, all who were openly relieved that he was alive. Jack the Monkey hopped up and onto his shoulder and let out a happy cry, but Jack recoiled from it slightly.
"Ah, monkey," he muttered at it.
Jolene pulled back and looked up at him. "I thought I lost you too."
Jack just smirked at her. "It be harder to get rid of me than that."
Reaching out, Gibbs grasped Jack's arm. "What happened, Jack? How'd you manage it? We really thought we'd lost you this time."
Jack glanced at him. "Wasn't easy. Nearly had my head taken off a time or two. Actually thought I'd end up going down with the ship for a minute. But you know what they say, I scratch your back, you scratch mine."
Gibbs looked like he was trying to make sense of what Jack was saying, but his brow only furrowed in confusion. "Sir?"
Jack rolled his eyes, as if what he was saying was obvious, and motioned to the fairy flying over his head. "Went and freed my new fairy friend here, I did. The little thing decided to return the favor. Flew me right out the window as the ship was falling." He winked up at the fairy. "Thanks for that, mate."
What sounded like a bell being jingled emitted from the fairy, and it flew around Jack's head a few times before flying up into the air. Jack gave it a small salute in gratitude, and it let out one last jingle. Then it took off, flying out into the ocean and disappearing upon the horizon.
"Saved by a fairy," Gibbs commented with a laugh of disbelief. "Ain't no one who's goin' ta believe that."
Jack smiled at him. "No need to mention it. Let the people fill in the gaps themselves." He waved his hand through the air, as if he were reading a banner. "Captain Jack Sparrow escapes from the flying ship, the Jolly Roger, and the clutches of the notorious Captain Hook. We need not say anything more." He winked at his first mate. "Sea turtles, mate."
Jolene didn't understand the reference, but it seemed that Gibbs did, as he let out a laugh and clapped Jack on the back. "Aye, that'll do it. This'll surely make a fine sea tale."
Before Jolene could ask what any of this had to do with sea turtles, a gunshot rang out, interrupting the moment. Everyone ducked down on reflex and began looking for the source. They all looked up, and in a mimicry of Jack's return, they all looked on as Captain Hook floated down from the sky.
His gun was in his hand, and it was pointed at the crew as he floated down, and his heavy boots set down on the railing of the ship. His red eyes blazed furiously as he kept his pistol pointed at the others, daring any of them to try anything.
"I'm afraid this tale isn't going to end the way you want it to," he snarled furiously.
No one made a move. They were all keenly aware that they outnumbered the captain, but with that gun pointed at them, no one was eager to be the hero and take one for the team.
Ragetti slowly pointed at him. "He was flying. He was flying without a fairy to fly him. How?"
"Pixie dust," Jolene growled as she glared at Hook. "He got it from the fairy. It lets him fly."
Jack stared at the captain challengingly. "Seems I wasn't the only one to make it off the Roger before it went smashy-smashy."
Hook pointed the gun directly at Jack, all pretenses gone. "Shut up, Sparrow! Just keep your damn mouth shut! If you or any of your men so much as twitch, I'll put a bullet in their head. Now, all of you, drop your weapons."
He looked like he was indeed a moment away from shooting them anyway. He didn't though as he stood on the railing, breathing heavily as the crewmembers reluctantly removed their swords, guns, and knives, dropping them to the floor. Jack the Monkey let out a despairing screech as the weapons dropped down around him and leapt up onto Jack, clinging to his chest as if he were afraid, and Jack awkwardly glanced down at it before patting its head.
Hook's eyes briefly went to what was left of the Jolly Roger that hadn't sunk yet, which was not much, then returned to Jack. "Unbelievable," he said quietly, his voice dripping with suppressed anger. "I never thought I would want someone dead as much as Pan, but you've managed to prove me wrong, Jack Sparrow, now that you've taken everything from me."
Jack made a dramatic show of holding up his index fingers. "Not to split hairs, but none of this would have happened if you hadn't been so intent on killing me for your own pride. I just did what I needed to survive; it's you who wouldn't let that happen. So, if anything, all this is your fault."
Hook didn't respond for a moment, seemingly too incised to find his voice. His closed mouth moved as if he wanted to start raging and he was having trouble controlling himself.
"No more games, Jack," he finally replied. "No more tricks, no more deals. I'm telling you what is going to happen from here on out. And if anyone has a problem with that, then they can join my former crew." His eyes scanned them, waiting for any argument, but he received none. "Now then, I will be commandeering this ship. Your crew will swear loyalty to me, and you and your whore of a daughter will meet a most fitting end."
"Rawk! Learn to count," Cotton's parrot squawked.
Gibbs pointed to the mute crewmember and nodded. "Cotton's right." He looked back at Hook. "You're greatly outnumbered. You've lost your ship, your crew, everythin'. You stand alone. And you certainly don't have enough shots for us all."
There were mutters of agreement from a few of the crewmembers. Hook didn't seem bothered by this though as he leveled his gun at Gibbs.
"If that be the case," he said coldly and seriously, "then just try and take me. Every man has his breaking point, and it seems I've reached mine. I fully intend to go down fighting. I'll fire every shot I have upon you all. I'm sure you'll manage to take me down, but how many of you will die before that happens? This is what this has come down to. So, if you choose to challenge me, then feel free to come at me; I'll put a bullet in the first man that moves." The gun in his hand trailed over the crew. "So, which of you wants to die a hero?"
No one made a move. They could all see that Hook was serious in his threat, he fully intended to go down killing as many of the as he could if they didn't comply. He knew that he wouldn't be able to kill them all, and yet he didn't care.
The crew did though. None of them wanted to die, and so none of them made a move, unwilling to be the first to be gunned down for anyone else. Hook seemed to realize that none of them were going to try anything and leveled his gun at Jack once more.
"You see, Jack," he told the Pearl's captain. "This is true power. This is true authority. Fear. Your crew should fear you above anything else, even death. If they did, then they would be more inclined to rise up right now. Fear trumps loyalty every time."
Jack gave him a serious, but also pitiful look, almost as if he felt bad for the captain. "I suppose that's just the difference between you and me, mate. And just look where we've both ended up with our different philosophies. You without a ship or crew, and me, with a loyal crew that willingly sailed to World's End to save me from Davy Jones' locker in the Land of the Dead. Can you say that your crew would have done the same had our places been switched?
Hook's face twisted with anger, but he didn't rise to Jack's bait. "I don't need loyalty, I need obedience. So unless any of you wish to die, I will have it. And Jack, if you open your mouth again, I'll put a bullet in you. I'm the captain now, and you all answer to me. The Pearl has no need for two captains, so Jack, I'm afraid you'll be leaving, and you'll be taking your seed with you. And if anyone else wishes to join them, then…"
As Hook began to ramble, Jack's eyes shifted downward to one of the discarded guns. He looked back up at Hook as the captain ranted. His gun was still pointed at him, and Jack wondered if he could make a grab for the pistol and fire one off at the captain before Hook realized what he was doing and shot him.
It wasn't like he had much of a choice. Hook had made it clear that he was going to kill at least both him and Jolene, probably by making them walk the plank or something. No one else was going to make a go for Hook as long as he had that gun. But a chance for survival was better than no chance at all.
Just as he was about to make a go for the nearest gun, he felt Jolene grip his sleeve to stop him, and he glanced at her, realizing that she knew what he was about to do. He was about to whisper for her to let him go when she said something quietly to him instead.
"Do you hear that?" she asked in a low voice.
Hook's rambling? Yes, he heard it; how could he not with the way the captain was loudly droning on? But as he listened, he began to hear something else, a sound that could just barely be made out over Hook's ranting.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Looking up at the captain, Jack held up an index finger. "Excuse me-"
Bang! Hook fired, and Jack went down. Shocked cries rang out from the crew as Jack the Monkey let out a screech and took off. Jolene screamed and immediately dropped to her father's side and began searching for a bullet wound.
"I warned you," Hook growled. "Anyone else want to disobey?"
Jolene looked up at him with a cold fury in her eyes. "You should have listened to what he had to say."
Hook pointed the gun at her. "About what?"
The water exploded behind him, and a moment later, the large jaws of an enormous crocodile closed over the captain. Hook barely had time to cry out as he was snatched up by the beast before it disappeared over the side of the ship, taking the captain with it.
As everyone else stared in shock at the spot Hook had once stood, Jolene looked on uncaringly at the empty space. "About that."
"Lord above," Gibbs exclaimed in a whisper as he found his voice. "That beast snatched him straight up."
Jolene turned away and looked back down at Jack. "Seems it finally got what it wanted."
She began looking Jack over, trying to find where he had been shot. It hadn't been in the head, thank God, but it was still in his upper body. There was a good chance the shot was fatal, but she had to find the bullet wound so it could be treated. She had just gotten him back after she thought she had lost him when the Jolly Roger went down, she couldn't lose him now.
The rest of the crew gathered around to check on Jack as well. Jolene was in the process of trying to open his short when a loud gasp escaped Jack and he suddenly sat up, startling them all.
"I'm up!" he cried loudly. "I'm up!" He began looking around in confusion at the surprised looks on everyone's face. "What happened?"
"That's what we'd like to know," said Scrum as he stared at Jack in disbelief.
"Aye, Jack, we all saw Hook shoot you down," Gibbs replied. "And yet you defy death again."
Jack's brow furrowed in confusion. "Hook shot me?"
He looked down at himself and began feeling around. This caused him to wince in pain. Reaching up, he pulled down his shirt collar so his left shoulder was exposed. He pulled it down lower, and there, embedded in his left side of his chest, was a bullet.
Wincing, Jack reached up and plucked the bullet from his flesh. He hissed as the bullet peeled away from his flesh, leaving behind a round, bloody welt. Jack stared at the bullet in his hand, as did everyone else. Slowly, he brought the bullet to his mouth and bit down on it before pulling it away and lightly spitting, as few times, as if to clean his lips.
"The bullet didn't go through," Marty asked. He exchanged looks with other crewmembers. "Did it misfire?"
Jolene shook her head. "That was no misfire. The bullet just didn't penetrate."
Gibbs gave the captain a suspicious look. "Is there something you'd like to yell us, Jack?"
Jack glanced at him, looking mildly annoyed. "If I'd obtained immortality or something of the like, don't you think I'd tell you?"
"More like brag about it," Scrum commented.
Jack threw him a dirty look, but before he could say anything, a squeak came from Jack the Monkey. Slowly, all heads turned to the undead primate, who was sitting on a barrel. He was fiddling with his little jacket, which now had a hole in it; a hole the size of a bullet, one that was identical to the one in Jack's own shirt and jacket.
Gibbs pointed at him in realization. "The bullet hit Jack!" he exclaimed, then turned to gesture between the human and the monkey. "Not you, Jack, the monkey Jack! He was hangin' on ya when Hook fired."
"He must have taken the brute of the impact," Pintel noted. "By the time the bullet actually hit, it lost most of its force."
"Rawk! Monkey meat shield," said Cotton's parrot.
Letting out a joyful laugh, Gibbs clapped Jack on the back. "You truly do have the Devil's luck!"
Still staring at the monkey, Jack got to his feet. He dropped the bullet and slowly made his way over to his former rival's old pet. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out and petting the monkey.
A smile spread across his face as he scratched behind the primate's ear. "I owe you one, beastie-beastie."
Jack the Monkey squeaked and plucked at his little jacket, holding it up for Jack to see the hole. The smile on Jack's face widened, and he let out a little laugh.
"Don't you worry," he assured him. "We'll get that fixed right up for you."
As if the monkey understood him, he let out a small squeak and hopped onto Jack's shoulder. The captain winced slightly as he looked at the monkey on his shoulder before giving a somewhat forced smile and nodded.
Jolene had been watching the whole exchange, felt somewhat confused. "How could the monkey have taken the bullet? It would be dead if it did, but it's fine."
Jack turned back to her and motioned to the monkey on his shoulder. "Oh, the monkey's immortal," he told her, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, not so much immortal as he is undead. You should see him in the moonlight."
Jolene's mouth dropped open and she looked at the primate. Jack the Monkey simply flashed her a quick grin, as if he knew what they were talking about. She briefly wondered where they found an undead monkey before she decided that she didn't care and was simply glad that they had it, otherwise her father would be dead right now.
The monkey had been in the right place at the right time. And upon seeing that, and everything else she had encountered since meeting her father, she was starting to believe that Gibbs was right, the man really did have the Devil's luck. And with all the stuff that had happened since setting out on this crazy adventure, she decided that an undead monkey wasn't so surprising, not compared to things like flying ships, fairies, ship controlling swords, giant ghostly zombies, and cursed skeletons that turned anything that touched them to gold. If she encountered all this in the short time since she had ended up on the Jolly Roger, what other strange and fantastical things would she come across if she stayed with Jack and his crew?
It seemed she wasn't the only one who's thoughts had turned to the future as Ragetti addressed Jack. "So what now? We'll never be able to get to Midas' remains now. No one will."
Pintel's face fell into a scowl as he realized his friend was right. "Looks like this job's a bust."
Without missing a beat, Jack pointed at them. "Ah-ha! But that be the beauty of pirating. When one treasure becomes lost to you, there's always another one to find. And, fortunately, I happen to know of a few others that should make quite the payday."
Gibbs grinned. "Aye, that's our Jack. Always with a plan." But then his smile faded a bit and he lowered his voice "Course, we did lose a few men back there on the island in the tomb. Wouldn't hurt to have a few more for whatever you have in mind."
Jack beamed. "Couldn't agree more, Gibbs. And imagine what people will say about us now. Jack Sparrow, discoverer of King Midas' tomb, conqueror of Captain Hook and the Jolly Roger. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Gibbs nodded in agreement. "Folk's will be lining up to join the crew."
Jolene couldn't resist scoffing at the exaggerated way Jack had phrased what had happened. "If anyone actually believes you, you mean."
Looking offended, Jack gave her an irritated look. "I never lie. I simply stretch the truth. Unlike a certain someone making certain claims about certain parentages."
Jolene's shoulders sank and she let out a deep sigh. "Are you still denying it? Even now?"
"I've still yet to see any evidence to indicate otherwise," he stubbornly replied, not even looking at her, and she simply rolled her eyes, deciding that this was simply going to be the way things were between them. After everything that happened, after everything he did, Jolene was sure that Jack knew. Even if he never admitted it out loud, he knew.
"If you say so," she said in a resigned voice.
"Yes," Jack insisted, "I do say so."
Jolene flapped her hands at her side. "Then what's our next destination?"
Jack smirked. "If you seek to be a pirate, then the answer should already be obvious."
Jolene inclined her head. "Tortuga?"
Jack's smile widened. "Tortuga."
(A/N: Things always seem to work out for Jack in the end. And now it looks like the danger is finally over. Well, this adventure certainly is. But the story is not! We've still got one chapter left. Well, an epilogue actually. That will be out next week since it won't be as long. And just a reminder, I posted my 100th story last week, the Alien/Species crossover, so don't forget to take a look at that if you're interested. I'll see you next week with the final installment. Yes, next week, not in two weeks, because it's just the epilogue.)