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𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐑𝐀𝐍 over to jack, who slowly came around. he looked up at her then immediately hurried to his feet and ran after the wheel.
she scoffed when he left her, and followed.
jack caught up with the wheel and jumped within it, running on the inside. she couldn't see anything, but bella assumed he was trying to obtain the key.
jack finally grabbed hold of a palm leaf and jumped off the wheel, then landed safely on the ground, key in hand.
"thank god," sighed bella in relief.
"missed me?" he replied.
"not the best time to start flirting again, jack."
"i'm not flirting," he denied. "i'm just genuinely enthralled by you."
bella gave him an irritated glance.
"my apologies," jack said quickly off her expression, but he was clearly not sorry.
bella looked at him. there was that dashing grin, the alluring smile that would be cruel not to kiss. rolling her eyes but laughing at the same time, she gave in and pressed her lips against his for a light moment.
they were interrupted by the rustling of leaves to their right. the two saw a member of davy jones' crew running through the trees, holding the chest. jack picked up one of the coconuts at their feet and hurled it in the direction of the pirate, knocking him over.
"first try," commented bella as they ran to the chest, which had fallen to the ground.
"follow my voice! follow my voice!" exclaimed the pirate, whose head had been knocked off.
"oh, shut it!" jack shouted, kneeling down, bella beside him.
carefully, he took the key and placed it into the lock. the chest unlocked with a dusty click. he lifted open the top, revealing a shriveled, greasy organ huddled in the corner. jack and bella exchanged a look before he slowly reached into the chest and picked up the heart of davy jones.
they both examined it for a second, but heard voices behind them. with lightning speed, jack shoved the heart beneath his shirt and slammed the chest shut. he grabbed bella's hand and they sprinted back to the longboat.
"jar of dirt!" jack muttered, arriving at the longboat. he spilled some dirt out, and stuffed the heart inside. he covered it with some of the dirt he spilled out.
just as he closed the lid, a member of jones's crew attacked him. jack spun around and fought back with an oar. another barnacle-covered crew member approached the longboat, going for bella. she drew her sword and returned with an attack on him.
in the distance, she spotted elizabeth, pintel, and ragetti running back to the beach. the wheel, still spinning furiously, finally made its way back to the water. with a groan, it stopped rolling and fell over.
bella's fight was growing steadily more intense. behind her, will approached the longboat. he picked up the chest, but jack noticed and knocked will out with his oar.
"will!" elizabeth screamed. she ran over to will who was lying halfway in the boat.
"leave him lie!" jack shouted. "unless you plan on using him to hit something with."
jones's crew slowly closed in on the group of them huddled around the longboat.
"we're not getting out of this," bella said.
"not with the chest!" norrington exclaimed. "into the boat!" he grabbed the chest.
"you're mad!" elizabeth looked at him in disbelief.
"don't wait for me," norrington told her, running off with the chest. the barnacle crew ran after him, leaving the group shocked.
"i—i say we respect his final wish!" jack declared.
"aye!" they agreed, pushing off quickly.
* * *
"where's the commodore?" gibbs asked as they boarded the pearl.
"fell behind," jack informed him, clutching his dirt protectively.
"my prayers be with him," gibbs spoke.
bella shrugged. "best not wallow in our grief."
"aye. the bright side is: you're back," gibbs stated. "and made it off free and clear."
suddenly, a deafening splash echoed from behind them. the flying dutchman came, emerging from the sea, much more menacing in the daylight.
"lord, on high, deliver us," gibbs breathed in shock, crossing himself.
jack shoved gibbs out of the way.
"i'll handle this, mate. oi, fish face!" he held up his jar of dirt with a wide grin. "lose something, eh? scungilli!" he lost his footing and tripped down the stairs with his dirt. the whole crew cringed in sympathy at his fall, but he held up his dirt again. "got it! come to negotiate, have you, you slimy git?! look what i got. i've got a jar of di-irt, i've got a jar of di-irt, and guess what's inside it?" he exclaimed in a sing-song voice.
threateningly, the flying dutchman cannons slid out. jar of dirt still above his head, jack lost his smile.
". . . hard to starboard," he mumbled.
"hard to starboard!!!!!!!" bella screamed. the crew scrambled into a chaotic state. gibbs frantically whipped the wheel around. "raise up the foreyard!" she yelled.
the flying dutchman's cannons exploded loudly, blowing holes in the back of the pearl as she retreated.
"she's on us! she's on us!" pintel screamed.
even more shots were fired, further damaging the ship. jack finally got back to the helm and grabbed the wheel to take over steering.
"make fast!!" will shouted.
"come on . . ." bella muttered, urging the pearl to pick up more speed.
"she's falling behind!" elizabeth soon yelled.
"aye, we've got her," gibbs said.
"we're the faster?" will questioned.
"against the wind, the dutchman beats us. that's how she takes her prey," bella told him. "but with the wind . . ."
"we rob her advantage," he finished.
"aye," agreed gibbs.
"they're givin' up! yeaaaaah!" marty yelled. the crew all cheered. pintel and ragetti did a jig in the middle of the deck.
bella saw a sliver of a smile cross jack's face. she walked over to him and took his hand. he looked at her gratefully. it seemed they were going to make it out of this.
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