⭬ Chapter XVII

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༺ T H E B A T T L E ༻

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When the four got to the island, they were not expecting to be able to hear the commotion inside, but they were thankful for it for they now knew how dire the situation with Barbossa had become. Finding anything that could do any sort of harm to the skeletons, the girls made their way into the fight, jumping in at seemingly odd times.

Elizabeth saw Will struggling to jab at his assailant, looking to Clara, who nodded, she jumped at the man, knocking him aside with a gaffe. "Do you like pain? Try wearing a corset." She pulled Will up, the blacksmith looking surprised in all the best ways. The two smiled at each other but the noise of metal on metal interrupted their moment.

They glanced over finding Jack, Barbossa, and Catalina in the middle of a fight.

"When the hell did she get over there?" Clara asked.

"She is an odd woman," muttered Archer.

Jack was pushed into a beam of moonlight, transforming into a skeleton before their eyes. That was new.

"Whose side is Jack on?" Elizabeth questioned.

Will shrugged. "At the moment?" He turned with Elizabeth to fight off the three other pirates who were there.

A pirate laughed, finally removing his head from a vase. Archer swung his oar at his old crewmate ere he could lift his sword. "Shame, he was a good man."

The other two pirates jumped on them and with the gaffe, Will and Elizabeth deflected their blows. They managed to corral the three men, jabbing through their middle with the gaffe all at once. They moved but were stuck as the largest tried to remove it.

Jacoby, the pirate Archer knocked away earlier had prepared a bomb, but as the four corralled them, Archer told Clara to grab it. She did, holding it at a distance, unsure what she should do. "What am I doing with this?!"

"Place it in him!"

"In him?!"

Rolling his eyes at his sister, Archer took the bomb in hand and shoved it inside Jacoby's ribcage, pushing the three into the shadows, and turning human once again.

"No fair!" Jacoby said as the four ran away before they got hit in the crossfire.

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The second Catalina spotted Jack she did not hesitate to jump into the fray. His brow raised when he saw her, a little confused as to how she escaped the Pearl and how she managed to find a sword. Perhaps she had hidden it in that wonderful bodice of hers.

"Glad that you could join us, my dear!" he shouted over the noise.

"Anytime, Captain."

His heart stopped a moment but his movement never faltered once. It was quite explicit, going with having to say a word, that Anamaria was her captain. Yet, she called him by his title. This girl - no, woman - was very odd, indeed.

They danced around the cave, never truly knowing where they were going or would end up.

There was an explosion and Barbossa looked over his shoulder, pausing his fighting just a moment, letting Jack slice his palm. Clara did not relent, however, and drove him back, him stumbling over a pile of treasure.

Jack threw Will the medallion he took just as Barbossa drew his pistol, aiming it at Elizabeth. She stopped, teetering on the rock she stood on.

A gunshot echoed through the cabin.

Barbossa looked back at Jack. His pistol was raised and smoking.

"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot."

"He didn't waste it," countered Will. He stood upon the mount of gold coins, hand over the chest of Cortés. He dropped what was in his hand: the two medallions, red with blood.

Barbossa dropped his sword and gun, and looking down, saw blood pooling from the wound at his heart. He scoffed, looking Jack in the eye. "I feel . . . cold." The pirate fell back, an apple tumbling from his grasp with eyes wide open, glazing over.

The curse was lifted and Barbossa was dead.

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"With all this gold you wouldn't have to commit piracy ever again," Catalina said to Jack as they searched through the many piles of golden objects. "You could sail the seas under the guise of being a merchant or a fisherman or you could . . ."

Jack looked up from the goblet her was inspecting. "Or I could what?"

"You could find a remote island, settle down-"

"And do what? Get married? Raise a family? I'm not made for that life."

Catalina placed a hand on her hip. "How do you know, when you have never given it a chance?"

His eyes flash a glimmer of pain. Catalina was a beautiful woman, with an enchanting voice that sounded like no other, for a moment he pondered the idea of what she said, but he knew it was too good to be true. It was too good for him.

He shook his head and handed her a jewel-encrusted necklace. "You should be the one to do such a thing, love." He could not deny that he felt the spark between them, yet, he knew it must be placed at bay before he found himself another weakness. She was a strong lady, but he could never risk seeing someone he cared about get hurt on his watch. "I don't deserve a life of peace, not until the King pardons the whole lot of us."

"Very well." She turned to leave. "Jack?"

"Hum?"

"Thank you, for being a wonderful captain and a caring man. One day you'll come to realize that you do deserve the things your heart desires."

With those words, he was left in shock.


"I'm sorry, Jack," said Elizabeth.

"They done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that," he responded, but Cata knew better, the darkening of his eyes told her such.

She reached out, placing a hand on top of his. "You can expect more. I am here, am I not?"

The four others shared a look - what had happened between the two?

Jack glanced at her, giving a small smile. He was grateful to have her but in doing so she condemned herself to death. "You are, but now you are in danger, Norrington will not be as kind to us even though we saved his arse."

The young woman placed a hand on his cheek, making him face her again. "It does not matter," she whispered. "I have faith that everything will work itself out."

"And when it doesn't?"

"That's all part of the adventure, Captain. Jack. Sparrow."

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