A few weeks of sailing had past, and the storm was now long gone. All three ships had survived the dastardly weather, but there was still a long journey to go. Jack was getting impatient, and the longer he traveled from his precious Pearl, the more he fretted. Jack had never been much of a worrier, but with his baby held captive, like a prisoner of war, he paced about the ship like a prisoner with a death sentence.
It happened one day when Jack woke up, as usual, with the cuffs on his wrist, chained to the headboard during the night. Except it was still night, and there would be no one to let him out should he call for the keys. So he sat there, his legs itching to pace, until he heard a rap on the small window to the side of his cabin. He sat up abruptly, and tugged on the headboard, but it didn't move.
The insistent knocking returned, and it started to give Jack a headache.
"Ah can't move, love, I'm chained t'the wall!" he groaned out. What was on the other side must have heard him, because the knocking stopped. "Thank you…" he began but it turned into a scream when the window suddenly broke and shards of glass fell on the wooden floor. The dark head of Angelica appeared through the window and she slipped through without cutting herself on the sides.
"Hello, Jack," she crooned, slinking closer to him like a black cat in the night, only her eyes flashing.
Jack swallowed as he took her in, struggling a bit against his bonds while trying to ignore the accelerated patter of his heart. "Funny how most o' our encounters start with hello, an' end with a gun pointed at me head?"
"Now, now, Jack. It isn't my fault you can't behave yourself. You can hardly blame me for being frustrated sometimes."
She was playing with him, mesmerizing the tied up Captain with every swish of her damned Spanish hips, her cursed Spanish voice that flowed like honey through his system. Funny thing about that honey was that it could change to venom before he could even blink. And that was just what he did, and after a few blinks and shake of his head, he frowned. "What're you doin' here, Angelica?"
He couldn't see her face in the shadows, but he could just feel her frown as he forfeited from their game. "I want to know what's in it for me. I'm not a simpleton; I know what the stakes are. I do not want to show my hand and lose this time, not again. The less blood that's shed, the better."
"Ah've told you before, love, they're English."
She didn't say a thing at first, and before he knew it, he could feel the imprints of her nails on his chest, the silkiness of her hair tickling his throat. "You've said that. I guess what I'm asking is how much."
She smelled of lilacs, somehow after being surrounded by stinky men and dusty cabins for so long, and Spanish spices, and it was intoxicating Jack. He'd never had much restraint before, but the power it took not to take her into his arms, ignoring the fact that he was chained up, was overwhelming. Knowing Angelica, she'd just as soon kill him as she would kiss him, but he'd always been one for danger.
"I don't make promises I can't keep, love."
"Yes you do," she breathed out and he chuckled.
"I can't do much, but I can promise you and your sorry crew that I will milk the English peoples as much as I can." She made an approving noise, mewing against his ear, and he turned his head towards her face. "Now, don't break me heart an' tell me th' only reason you've gone and visited me is just ta ask me 'bout some reward?"
She laughed almost darkly, pushing off his chest and finally stepped into the beam of moonlight flowing freely into the room from the broken window. There, standing so intimidating above him, he realized he finally met his match. She was the person that could ruin him. She was the one that could finally take the fight out of Captain Jack Sparrow.
"You know me, Jack, always after a reward."
He shook his head at the irony of the situation. When she left, he closed his eyes and felt the ocean's winds blow through his hair. "An' you say we ain't the same."
"What's that out there, Porter?"
"Captain Porter," he snapped in reply to the pirate's question. He'd been having a bad day already, for they had already run out of his favorite year of red wine. And it had crossed his mind more than once that Jack Sparrow was one of the reasons for the early shortage. Judging by his charts, they should be pretty close, closer than the open seas were implying. Still, this was only the first half of the journey, and there would surely not be enough alcohol for the rest of the crew on the way back. He'd never been much of an alcoholic before, but Jack Sparrow always brought out the best in people. "What's it to you what's out there? When we get to land you'll just be in irons the entire time."
"We'll see about that, mate," Jack warned. He wasn't in the mood for Porter, and he sensed something in the air.
The Flying Dutchman came closer to them, Turner leaning over the side railing. "Porter! Sparrow!" he called, worried. "We're coming up on something, something unreal. I should've warned you sooner, but I thought it was a myth."
"There's nothing out there, Turner!" Porter screamed, his hat falling askew. Done with pirates, he stormed from the deck and to his cabin, where he pulled out a map and willed them to be there already.
"Jack, there are monsters out there! They're calling out to us. We have to ready the crew!"
"Tell Angelica!" Jack called back, running over to the bow of the ship, looking out on the horizon and seeing two specks that got steadily larger as they approached. His eyes widening, he ran over to a particularly large looking sailor. "Let me out of these!"
"You'll just go off and leave!" The sailor shook his head, but looking hesitant as he noticed the specks too.
"Where've I to go?" he growled, getting frustrated with the impudence of the navy. "I have experience, if you don't let me go, I won't be any help t'you." The man gulped, his eyes darting between the still unknown creatures and the Captain's cabin. "Do you have a family?" Jack asked desperately, his own eyes fixated upon the black spots. The man nodded. "How d'you think they'd feel if ya'didn't come home only 'cause you refused ta release a pirate? I ain't gonna try anything funny." Without another moment's hesitation, the man pried the cuffs off Jack and he got to work.
"Pull the sail's in, the wind's changing and whatever's out there, we need to reach them with some speed on our backs!" They got to work, the crew pulling on ropes and climbing ladders to make sure the sails didn't luff. He looked down at his compass, which, instead of pointing at England, at the moment it was pointing directly between the two dots, which at this point were now blotches. One was smaller than the other, but seemed to have tentacles or some other extra limbs that were flailing. The other one was bigger, and also wider, and the wind and the water seemed to abruptly turn in that general direction.
"Steer clear of the big one!"
"Sir, we'd be going against the wind!"
'Sure, call me sir when I'm saving yer lives!' Jack thought venomously to himself. "We have no choice! Stay away from the big one!"
"Jack, I know what those are!" Will called as his ship turned up next to his own. The Flying Dutchman, while almost as fast as the Black Pearl, it was much faster than the English ship. Will zoomed around him to the point of annoyance for Jack, but he put his jealousy aside. "They're from Greek Mythology, both sisters. Scylla, the smaller one, has over a million heads and eats sailors from where they stand. Then she destroys the ship. The bigger one, Charybdis, uses her mouth to suck in surrounding ships!"
"Well, that is a dilemma, now, isn't it?" Jack called, his brow furrowing. "Is Angelica sticking close to us?"
"She said she would, but she didn't look all that happy about it. I wouldn't put it past her to try something of her own if we can't think of something."
"Is there anything we can do to kill the beasties?"
"Not that I know of, I wouldn't try it. I think the only way back is through them as well, maybe we can try something when her back is turned. Unique as my powers are, can't do much."
"Well, what can you do?"
Will hesitated, thinking it over. "Not much, but I am able to raise sailors that were never transferred to the next world from their graves, there must be a lot of them around here. That's with the promise that I will move them into the next world after their debts are paid."
"That could be helpful!" Jack cried incredulously, surprised at Will's impunity.
Will shook his head. They were quickly running out of time, and the outlines of the monsters could be seen more clearly. The green teeth of Charybdis were sharp and there were many rows. The sister, Scylla, had heads that vaguely resembled an Angler Fish that were attached to long purple necks close to fifty meters long. Still too far to notice the detail on the heads, but that was swiftly about to change. They were getting closer and closer and the Captains began to panic.
"Swords and muskets at the ready!" Jack yelled to the crew, who scrambled to comply. They were going to lose a lot of men, he knew, but there was no other way. Hopefully on the way back they would be avenged. Turning to Will, he looked more serious than Will had ever seen him before. Probably because he was somber. "We're goin' t'a aim fer the middle o' them two, but lean more towards th' spindly heads one. At least there we won't all die in one go."
Will nodded soberly, but then turned to his crew and repeated Jack's instructions. Sparrow watched as Will's ship pulled ahead of his own in an act of martyrdom. "Follow that ship, lads! What ev'r you chose ta do, don't go near that sucky one!"
The hearts nearly beat out of the men's chests, but Jack remained somewhat calm as they approached. The sea turned almost sickly green in warning of some sort, and the wind picked up. Clouds rolled in, but even they seemed to be abnormally close to the Earth, getting sucked into Charybdis along with everything else. Sparing a glance at the giant head, Jack shuddered.
He'd seen some pretty ugly things in his life, the ugliest being the inside of the Kraken's mouth, lined with sharp teeth and fluids. That was nothing in comparison to this creature. She, if that was even right, reminded him of a giant slug, her entirely green eyes placed on the very top of her head popped out, and the purple pupil swirled all around, and at one time even twirled to the back of her, what Jack could only assume, skull. While the mouth never moved, Jack now knew that this sister could see behind her back. There was a small mop of hair, but it was bright red and clashed terribly with her yellowish green papery skin. There was a lot of skin, not only covering the giant face but also hanging in extra flaps. It was utterly disgusting.
The English Navy, to their credit, showed their worth that day and Jack found himself praising them for their usefulness. They followed every instruction and kept the same course Will had created, aiming to curve between the two. Jack knew it was risky for three ships to get through, and his heart couldn't help aching for Angelica, wanting more than anything for her to make it through this alright. He could only hope that she got the message and planned on following it.
Will's ship was attacked by the heads first, and Jack got a glimpse of the purple head. The eyes were clear and seemed to have no pupils. The mouth took up most of the face though, and Jack thought sarcastically that big mouths and sharp teeth must run in the family.
The shots rang out loud and didn't stop, the first few necks that attacked the crew came up without heads or swinging off a little flap of neck, but then one didn't. The first man that died was dragged up from the ship with the giant mouth wrapped around his midriff. The man was then flipped and about a hundred of the uncountable heads caught it and began to rip it apart. Just as Jack saw this, it was their turn to be attacked. The soldiers were fast and they were accurate, for once, but their heavy uniforms definitely slowed them down. Some were smart enough to drop their heavy coats and hats before the battle began, but judging by the glares they received, Jack guessed that it was against protocol.
Yet, it was these men that got the most kills, survived the longest. Not long after the heads began to bang against the deck Porter came out from his hideaway, his eyes widening at the sight. He managed to duck a few heads and watched with horror as a man, right in front of his eyes, was snagged at the neck and tossed in the air. "Sparrow, I am in charge! How dare you!" He screamed as he reached the pirate, who was among the men, slashing and hacking.
"Sir, I believe you've gone and lost the respect o' yer men. You weren't there, an' I was, an' I bet they won't respond t'ya. If I were you, I'd get active instead of sulkin' around. That's what gets ya killed, it does."
"Oh does it now? Well-" he began but out of the corner of his eye he saw another man get snatched. Gulping, he drew his sword and began to get to work. "We'll talk about this later!" he threatened, then ran across the deck.
Jack was aware of a lot of things while fighting, and he noticed that Will had already began to turn to make it through the safe alcove right through the middle. The man at the wheel was trembling as the rough seas rocked the boat and as his companions were taken right before his eyes.
"Follow Turner!" he screamed towards the frightened man, who jumped and threw the wheel in the right direction.
Soon, but not soon enough, the heads became less and less until they were safe. Only then did Jack dare to look behind him at Angelica's ship.
There were horribly deep holes in the sides, but luckily they weren't anywhere immediate, and while they were still fighting, he could see Angelica's feminine form, dirtied but alive, and a rush of relief came over him. Turning back to his own ship, he surveyed the damage. Whatever was left of his crew were complaining in fear, their eyes skirting from one broken plank of wood to another, unprofessionally misjudging the extent of the damage.
Luckily, Jack was able to milk the most out of any ship even with a hole dead through it, and knew that these injuries, while extensive, wouldn't condemn them.
The crew looked rather like freed rats, scurrying around and trying to avoid any grotesque reminders of what they just went through, as there were a lot of souvenirs. Pools of crimson and a few monster heads were scattered about, and some of them were just starting to notice that a few of their own were missing.
They were about twenty five down, and while not an exceeding amount for this ship in particular, it was still too much life wasted. Jack calmly stood in front of them all, looking every last one of them in the eye. Seemingly without a thought, they straightened, strength flowing through them.
"Now, I'm gonna tell you what we're gonna do," Jack began, his voice quiet but strong, and he heard the last of the screams die down from the boat behind him, knowing at last that Angelica was out of danger. "We are-"
"And just what do you think you're going on about? If you think-" Porter began, a blood drop slowly climbing down his face, the cut on his cheek reopened.
"We listen to the pirate now, sir," a shy looking lad spoke up quietly. "Without him we woulda died."
"How dare you defy your commander in chief? I could kill you for that!" Porter was so angry that he began to spit. Unconsciously, the group around him was tightening their ranks, closing in on the furious Englishman.
"You won't, because then you'll have to kill all of us," another officer commented, his previously scared face replaced with a defiant one. "You left us."
"This… is… mutiny!" Porter hissed, his wig going a bit askew.
Jack during this entire episode was merely standing in the center, watching a ring form around him and Porter, knowing that this would be a showdown. The normally talkative pirate stood silently, watching the upperclassman crumble in front of his eyes.
"You did this to me!" Porter screamed, turning towards Jack, his eyes wild and finger pointing. "You tricked me! I'll be killed for this when we return! And so will you! I'll make sure you never get you're ship back you-"
"That's enough, mate," Jack said, his voice cutting through the Captain's words. "You'll remain the Captain of this vessel, and these men'll still take orders from you. But I won't, I want that understood, eh? An' if we find ourselves in another supernatural problem, well, I'll be the one ta go to now, righ'?"
Porter's lips were clenched so tight they turned white. His face was turning a sickly purple and the vein in his head was throbbing, contrasting greatly with his white wig. "You dare-"
"Yes, I do. An' you better accept it, 'cause we still need ta get th' ship back into sailing condition 'fore we start up again. Quickly. Now, get to it you lot!"
Swiftly, with this command, the crew got to work. The bravest of the men took care of the heads scattered across the deck and mopped up the crimson stains. The men with the weaker stomachs worked on bandaging the injured and fixing the damages to the ship. In the meantime, Porter had stormed up to Jack and stuck his face so close to Jacks that Jack breathed in the same air the Captain did.
"I will ruin you," Porter whispered madly, his eyes wide and sweat pouring down his cheeks, stinging his cut.
Suddenly Jack broke out in a grin, gold teeth glistening in the sunlight, as the sky had cleared up not too long ago. "I know."
"We're approaching some giant rocks, sir!" a young attendant in charge of mopping came up to Jack and told him.
Jack bounded up the stairs in his usual fashion, elbows bent a hundred and eight degrees upward, and looked out at the sea. And so they were. The rocks were as tall as the ship itself, and goodness knows how wide. Jack's ship had long come before Will's ship and they would now be first in the navigation.
"Prepare yerselves fer a lot o' fast maneuvering!" he told the attendant. He took out his compass for the thousandth time in the past few days, and saw that it was pointing directly towards the thick of the rocks, dead ahead. There was no room for error, and Jack knew that even should their aim be perfect, there was no guarantee that the entrance to the underworld wouldn't have some sort of protective measures.
"Left!" he screeched as the first large rock came into view. The large birds circling around them weren't helping very much either, and they didn't look like anything Jack had ever seen before. He wouldn't put it past the makers of this Godforsaken place to put a bunch of monsters here that weren't of this Earth.
"That's mighty bad luck," Gibbs commented in Jack's ear. He'd noticed the birds too, and his deep rooted superstitions came back full circle.
"Oi, where've you been!" Jack exclaimed, briefly diverting his attention before swinging back into motion. "Right!" he shouted.
"I've been around, Cap, guess you 'aven't noticed what with all the chaos goin' about. Yeah, I'm still alive."
"That's mighty good of you, keep it up." Jack hardly looked at his friend, but up at the sky, which seemed to be darkening with more and more of… whatever they were. "Sharp left, then right, then a second right, then another two lefts!" He screeched.
Suddenly, an arrow buried itself in the mast directly next to his head. Quickly taking it off, he ran his fingers about the stalk blindly, still staring out at sea. When his fingers brushed against something rough near the arrow head, Jack handed it to Gibbs. "Pull it off and read it to me." Jack quickly addressed Gibbs, but then shouted again. "Starboard!"
Gibbs unraveled the paper and unfurled it to read the slanted and educated handwriting of William Turner. "Confound it all, it's too fancy!" he cussed as he squinted to try and separate the loops from one another in his mind.
"Do the best you can! PORT YOU DOGS! FASTER!"
"Er, Jack, them… crunchers? No, those creatures! Them up above, they be… sorry, they are! They are Symphalian birds, agents of war. They are man-eating creatures with bronze beaks that attack without abandon. We must be careful, with weapons at the ready."
Jack sneered at the birds above, slightly excited at the challenge. However, it was a challenge that seemed one sided, for the birds weren't moving, only circling about overhead. As the ship rocked among the sharp formations, Jack analyzed how the birds were circling.
"They're not in any attack form, they're the assurance."
"The assurance for what, Cap't?" Gibbs sped up to follow Jack as he tore himself away from the sky and swaggered down the stairs to help the crew maneuver.
"They're the leaving committee, to make sure we don't leave with what we've come for."
Gibbs pursed his lips, only slightly understanding. All he knew was that the bronze beaks were getting him nervous, the light reflecting off them somehow making them all the more terrifying and threatening. "Should we do something about 'em now, so they don't get a chance to er… say goodbye later?"
Jack stopped and Gibbs bumped into his back. "Eh, worry about it later then, shall we?"
Soon enough there was something new to worry about, the giant gaping hole in front of them in between two close mountains. Stalactites hung from the top of it, and it seemed to be breathing.
"Light the lanterns!" Jack shouted. "And hold on to your corsets. It's going to be a bumpy ride."