Chapter Text
You were sitting on the Black Pearl, waiting for Jack to return from his venture in the nearby town. It had been almost a year since you joined Jacks's crew. It had been amazing so far getting to know everyone and learning the necessary skills to be a pirate and a captain. Today, it was fairly windy and rainy as you sat on a barrel watching the dark clouds when you heard Mr. Gibbs start to sing a small shanty.
" Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum." He sang in an unsavory tune," Drink, and the devil had done for the rest, Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum."
He would then laugh while you rolled your eyes, saying," drunk again, Mr.Gibbs? How much rum must you all drink daily to get your due?"
He was about to answer with a smile before the two of you heard bell tolls making you both alarmed. The two of you would look in the direction of where the bell tolls came from, suspicious of where they came from. The two of you would then hear crows cawing, making you look up and around the damp, dark, foggy area. It was creepy enough to send chills for you, but not enough to scare you to death.
You would sigh as you sat there, watching Gibbs and his slightly intoxicated state before perking up at gunfire and quickly going to the side of the ship to see Jack sitting up and out of a coffin floating at sea.
You would sit there, worried about Jack as you watched the sky. Ever since Jack had taken you under his wing; you felt as though you had a parental figure. It felt nice having someone to look over you and help you instead of doing everything by yourself. You would be shaken from your thoughts as Jack came back on board.
" Not quite according to plan." Mr. Gibbs stated as he observed the rotting foot corpse handed to him by Jack.
Jack would simply swagger his way on the ship stating, "Complications arose, ensued, were overcome."
Jack would smile at you as he held his arms wide open as you embraced him into a hug.
You would keep him close for a bit before pulling back and saying, "I'm so glad you're alright."
"And why wouldn't i be? I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, after all." He said with a smirk before standing and starting to walk towards the helm of the ship.
Mr. Gibbs would follow behind after handing the foot away, saying, "You got what you went in for, then?"
Jack would give a confirming hum before pulling out a folded piece of cloth and waving it a bit before being confronted by some of his crew. You sighed at this as you slowly got up and went to stand by Mr. Gibbs. They had been restless and frustrated since they haven't gone and done any pillaging or any adventures that would turn them a profit in a very long while.
" Captain, I think the crew, meaning me as well, were expecting something a bit more...shiny," Gibbs stated using his hands to emphasize the word 'shiny', "with the Isla de Muerta going pear-shaped, and reclaimed by the sea with the treasure."
" And the Royal Navy chasing us around the Atlantic." Stated one of the men with a glare.
Another would speak up saying, "And the hurricane!"
This would cause the crew to agree, clearly unhappy with the current circumstances.
"All ini all, it seems some time since we did a speck of honest pirating." Gibbs finished with a hoping tone, wanting Jack to agree to pillage some town nearby.
" Everyone is fairly unhappy Jack." You stated with a concerned look.
"Shiny?" jack asked with Gibbs replying,"Aye, Shiny."
" Is that how you're all feeling then?" Jack questioned with a curious tone and one that seemed to be trying to guilt-trip the crew."That perhaps dear old Jack is not serving your best interest as captain?"
The crew would look to each other a bit before Mr. Cottons parrot spoke saying, "Walk the plank!"
Jack would quickly draw his pistol and aimed it at the bird saying sternly, "What did the bird say?!"
You would quickly react to this, going to pull at Jack's arm to have him lower the pistol as one of the crew men said, "do not blame the bird. Show us, what is on that piece of cloth there."
suddenly Barbossa's old undead monkey Jack got in front of Jack's face out of nowhere screeching. This caused Jack to jump and try to fire his pistol which didn't work before the monkey grabbed the piece of cloth and began to run off with it. Before he could get far though, you quickly shot it with your pistol before running and grabbing the piece of cloth to see what was on it.
" You know that don't do no good." Mr. Gibbs stated about you shooting the monkey with Jack refuting, saying, "It does me."
You would look to the cloth to see an imprint of a key before looking to Jack with slight disappointment and disbelief saying, "it's a key."
" No!" Jack stated before coming over and taking it from your hand. "Much more better."
" It is a drawing of a key." He said proudly before holding it up for everyone to see.
The crew would go to take a closer look, confused as to how this would get them any treasure before Jack said slightly sarcastically," Gentlemen, what do keys do?"
"Keys...unlock things?" One of them answered, making you facepalm at how ignorant some of these men were.
Mr. Gibbs would light up as he would try to sound smart to Jack saying, "And whatever this key unlocks, inside there's something valuable! So we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks."
" No," Jack said simply with a smile, making Mr. Gibbs confused a bit.
Jack was about to speak up before you did saying, " If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever it unlocks so in return we must find the key first."
The crew would nod in understanding while Jack ruffled your hair with a smile before looking to the crew sternly saying, "Any more questions?"
" So... We have a heading?" One of the men asked which would get Jack's attention.
" Ah! A heading!" He said with a smile before opening his compus and holding a finger up circling it," set sail in a.... um.... general..."
You watched Jack's expressions including his fingers movement, something clearly wrong as it took him some time before saying, "That-way direction."
" Captain?" Mr. Gibbs questioned, noticing this as well before Jack would interrupt him.
" come on, snap to and make sail." He said quickly to Mr. Gibbs, "You know how this works. Go on."
He would then go back to his quarters, you watching him leave with a concerned expression before going to lean on the railing of the ship.
Mr. Gibbs would join you, deciding to ask Mr. Gibbs, you said, " Mr. Gibbs... Have you noticed that Jacks been acting much more strange recently?"
" Setting sail without knowing his own heading?" Mr. Gibbs said simply, looking to the seas with a concerned expression," Something's got Jack vexed and mark me words, what bodes ill for Jack Sparrow bodes ill for us all."
You would nod, sighing before thanking Gibbs on his insight and went on to join Jack in his quarters. You would watch Jack quietly as he was working on finding the correct heading and navigating the sea. You would go beside him, curious as you watched him work.
He would notice this and said with a smile, "Would you like to learn how to navigate (y/n)?"
You would nod as he pulled out a seat for you, going to teach you the ropes of how to figure out the distance the ship could travel in a certain amount of days. You would enjoy the teachings, nightfall soon reaching and Jack would tuck you into bed there. He didn't seem to be in a sleeping mood due to his duties so he allowed you to use his bed.
" You aren't going to sleep tonight Jack?" you asked with a slight frown.
He would smile and chuckle at this, going to pull the blankets up to you and kissed your forehead saying, " Sorry (y/n) not tonight. I still have my navigating duties to do."
" Must be extremely difficult to be a captain, huh.." You said with a yawn, Jack nodding as a reply to your comment. " Well, don't take long. Captains need their rests too to lead the men properly."
" Good night (y/n)," Jack said with a small smile, going to kiss your forehead once more before heading back to his desk.
" Good night Jack." You mumbled before falling asleep entirely, your dreams sweet and lovely.
Sometime later though, you were suddenly awakened by men scurrying about outside and Jack shouting orders to everyone. You grumbled as you got out of bed, putting on your vest before leaving the quarters to see what was going on. You would see everyone scurrying about and working on getting it moving much faster. Jack could be seen scurrying around the ship trying to hide from something with Mr. Gibbs following looking concerned.
Eventually, he would hide in the captain's quarters, you and Gibbs looking confused by this. You would turn to Gibbs, sighing as you rubbed your eyes to become more awake before asking what was going on.
" Aye, Jack woke us up in a fury, shouting orders at us to do this and that." Mr. Gibbs sighed," When asked what was wrong and where to, he simply said land and wouldn't reply to what was wrong. Mark my words (y/n), Jack is terrified of something and keepin' it from us. He even let the damn monkey take his hat and throw it over board. Maybe you'll have better luck knowing what the devils gotten into him."
You nodded, thanking Gibbs for the information before heading to the quarters and looked around for Jack. You would see him cowering, looking around fearfully.
" what's going on Jack?" you whined as you went over to him.
He would perk up at your question and reply quickly with," Nothing. Nothing of any actual importance."
" Jack, I know you're lying!" You said simply with a pout, not in the mood for his hidden agenda before noticing his bandaged hand, " what happened to your hand?"
Jack would quickly pull his hand away from you before looking calming a bit and saying, " Nothing... I promise you it's nothing you have to worry about."
You would take your shoulders, getting down to your level saying, " I promise... Nothing is wrong... besides, I have you watching my back."
You would nod, smiling a bit at this before hugging him close and tight.
You would soon pull back with Jack stating, " You should go back to sleep. I'm sorry for all this ruckus awakening you. Wake tomorrow and I'll let you be in charge of the crew with Mr. Gibbs."
You smiled at this and nodded before scurrying to bed and went to rest, getting a good night kiss from Jack again.
Some time would pass, you helping the crew frequently before the ship landed on the shore of an island. Jack would order you to stay on the ship to guard it while he scurried off with the crew in tow. You would frown at the order but followed it as you trusted Jacks' words and wanted the ship to stay safe from anyone wanting to steal it. Time would pass though, Jack and the crew not having returned making you concerned. You wanted to go and search but found it too dangerous to do it on your own. You would simply stay on the ship and care for it and yourself before one day while watching the clouds pass; you heard a familiar voice near the boat.
" Jack!" A familiar voice shouted," Jack Sparrow!"
You quickly went to look over the side of the ship, smiling brightly before shouting, " Will!"
Will would smile seeing you, you quickly climbing down the ship and embracing Will in a huge hug.
" (y/n), it's been too long." Will said with a chuckle and smile, ruffling your hair, " How have you been? Is Jack treating you well?"
You would nod saying, " Everything has been amazing so far! And yes, Jack has been taking great care of me."
" Where is Jack? Where's the crew for that matter?" Will asked as he looked around, searching for them.
" They're not here." You said with a frown and concerned expression. " They went into the jungle and i haven't seen them in days. I would go after them, but Jack told me to stay here and watch the ship since he believed it would too dangerous for me."
" Well, that was a smart thing of him to do." Will said with an approving nod, " I'll be going to look for Jack, you stay here and follow Jack's orders."
You would nod before perking up and asking, " Wait, why are you here? Why did you come this far to find Jack?"
"I'll tell you later." He said simply, seeming hesitant to tell you before he kissed your head and wished you well.
He would go on into the jungle himself, you waving him bye before going to climb back onto the ship to keep it well and clean.
After Will's departure though, you wouldn't see him again, making you extremely worried and wish you had gone with him. You decided you had enough of waiting and stalling before you got your effects and slowly made your way off the ship and to the entrance of the jungle. You would stare at the large place hesitantly, the large unknown making the imagination of your mind go wild. You shook your head to get your fears out of the way before you carefully made your way into the jungle, being as stealthily as possible. You would find some of the crew's effects, collecting them before eventually hearing the sound of what seemed like ' effects, collecting them. It would seem like such a long time since you left the ship, questioning whether you should head back to the ship before eventually hearing the sound of what seemed like drums in a far distance.
You would look a bit confused by this before hearing footsteps heading your way. You quickly got your sword out, gripping it tightly as you were afraid of what might be heading to you. You were surprised as you say, Mr. Gibbs, Will, and some of the crew running in your direction.
" Mr. Gibbs?! Will?!" You shouted before Will quickly grabbed your hand and began to drag you with them.
" We'll explain later, for now, keep running with us!" Will said quickly as the lot of you went.
Eventually you would get to the ship with them, noticing two men who were working on getting the ship ready to sail. You recognized them as the men from Barbossa's old crew before most, if not all, had died.
You were about to shout at the two to get away from the ship before Mr. Gibbs shouted in joy saying, "excellent! Our works half done!"
" We done it for you, knowing you'd be coming back!" one of Barbossa's old crew mates said with a smile.
You would glare at him, receiving a nervous smile in return before you were helped onto the deck of the ship. You would quickly help Mr. Gibbs with getting the ship ready and ordering those to their duties, wondering where Jack was.
" What about Jack?" Will asked sternly," I won't leave without him!"
You nodded, agreeing with Will before perking up at Jack's voice in the distance. You all would turn to see Jack running to the shore fairly far from you all. You smiled seeing him, but that smile disappeared when you say a huge wave of natives running behind him.
" Time to go," Will said quickly, you looking at him shocked that he would do such a thing, and before you could protest you were grabbed by Will and pulled onto the ship.
Everyone was terrified of them; you were still extremely confused by their fear but ignored it as you helped them.
Jack would get to the ship quickly, making his way through the shallow water to the vessel, and was able to get ahold of the ratlines on the side of the boat while the natives stayed on land.
Jack would look to the natives with a smirk, saying proudly," Alas, my children, this is the day you shall always remember, as the day that you almost-"
Jack was interrupted as a large wave hit him, making you chuckle as you watched him before he muttered the final part of his little quote and helped him up. The ship was sailing fairly far now, and everyone was extremely relieved to be away from the natives and their land.
" Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea." Mr. Gibbs suggested, you nodding.
Jack would look a bit hesitant saying, " Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only in so far as we keep so far as we keep to the shallows as much as possible."
You were puzzled by his answer, glaring at the two men who tried to steal the ship and were putting Jack's coat on his shoulders to try and win his trust.
You would shoo them away as Mr. Gibbs told Jack, " That seems to be contradictory Captain."
" I have faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Master Gibbs," Jack said with a small smile before looking upset, " Now where is that monkey? I want to shoot something."
You would hear the monkey's hiss before it dropped the fake eyeball of one of Barbossa's men, the man grabbing it and putting it in his eye socket after cleaning it.
Jack would get handed a pistol as he searched for the monkey to shoot it before Will came over saying sternly, "Jack. Elizabeth is in danger."
" Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her? Maybe just locking her up somewhere?" Jack asked curiously before walking away from Will.
" She is locked up, bound to hang for helping you!" Will said sternly, upset at Jack's response.
You would follow, alarmed by the news and getting upset yourself at Jack's responses.
" There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes," Jack said quickly, occupied with getting away from the land but not into open sea.
Jack would quickly take one of the men's swords and held it against Jack's throat saying sternly, " I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."
" Will!" You said sternly, grabbing his arm and pulling it a bit to try and get him to stop.
Jack would take a hard look at Will before merely moving the sword to the side, saying, "Mr. Gibbs."
" Captain." Mr. Gibbs responded at the helm of the ship.
Jack would get up close to Mr. Gibbs, muttering, "We have a need to travel upriver."
" By need, do you mean a trifling need?" Mr.Gibbs asked, looking a bit frightened at the request. "Fleeting? As in, say, a passing fancy?"
" No, a resolute and unyielding need," Jack replied, not wanting to go wherever they were going himself.
" What we need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste. "Will said sternly, extremely worried for Elizabeth's safety.
"William," Jack stated confidently," I shall trade you the compass, If you will help me to find this."
He would take out the drawing of the key, this catching your eye as you explained to Will, " We need to find that key."
" You want me to find this?" Will said in a tone that was clearly through with Jack.
"No" Jack said simply in return, turning to Will, " You want you to find this... because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating in your discovering the detecting a way to save your dolly belle, ol' what's-her-face."
" Elizabeth." You scolded Jack, crossing your arms with a frown.
Jack would nod at your correction before looking to Will with a smile, Will taking the drawing with a defeated expression saying, " This is going to save Elizabeth?"
" how much do you know about Davy Jones?" Jack asked quietly, you perking up at this and looking concerned.
Will looked a bit hesitant to answer before saying, " Not much."
" Yeah, it's going to save Elizabeth," Jack replied with a confident look.
You would quickly pull Jack aside whispering, "Davy Jones. Davy Jones! This is who's treasure you're after?!"
" No worries, my dear (y/n), it will all be alright," Jack reassured, trying to leave before pulling him back.
" Alright?? You are clearly going to use William to get to whatever it is Davy Jones has that you want!" You said with a big and upset frown. " I am going to tell Will!"
He would quickly stop you saying, " Please don't (y/n). I promise to you Will will be safe. He won't get hurt."
" He better not." You said sternly. " Because if he does you'll be hearing a unpleasant message from me."
You would then head off to check on Will, making sure he was alright and such, as well as reassuring that Elizabeth would be okay. Will thanked you for your assistance, you just nodding in reply before heading off to help the crew.
Eventually, the ship would stop at a river canal entrance, and all of you went into the small dinghies to travel upriver to who knows where. It was very eerie as you all went, the forest around giving a slightly hesitant and superstitious atmosphere. You were sitting with Mr. Gibbs and Will, looking around curiously after what felt like a half an hour row.
" Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean?" Will asked Mr. Gibbs, knowing he probably knew the answer.
" Well, if you believe such things," Mr. Gibbs began, " There's a beast that does the bidding of Davy Jones. A fearsome creature with giant tentacles that'll suction your face clean off. And drag an entire ship down to the crushing darkness. The Kraken."
You perked up at this and said quickly, " That was what Jack feared about a week back? The Kraken?"
Mr Gibbs nodded before continuing.
" They say the stench of its breath is like..." He would shudder before continuing, " Imagine the last thing you know on God's green earth is the roar of the Kraken and the reeking odor of a thousand rotting corpses. If you believe such things."
You would shiver a bit at the thought, finding the creature terrifying yet intriguing.
" And the key will spare him that?" Will questioned curiously.
" We'll, that's the very question Jack wants answered." Mr. Gibbs explained, " Bad enough even to go visit... her."
" Her?" You and Will questioned at the same time only to receive a nod from Mr. Gibbs.
" Aye," He replied simply.
The journey would continue into night, the lot of you taking turns to row the boat before soon coming to a stop at what seemed like a swamp village with huts near the river. You would all stop at a specific one before getting onto the front porch of the place.
" No worries, mates," Jack reassured," Tia Dalma and I go way back. Thick as thieves. Nigh inseparable, we are. Were. Have been. Before."
His words were not reassuring to you at all, Gibbs stating, " I'll watch your back."
" It's me front I'm worried about." Jack stated hesitantly before starting to head in," Mind the boat."
The message would be sent to G, who sent it to Will, who sent it to you, who sent to Ragetti ( you learned their names after talking to them on the Pearl when you all escaped the natives), and so on.
You looked at the ominous-looking hut, taking a deep breath before slowly entering the place to see who this 'Tia Dalma' was and how she could help.