FicWad

My jaw dropped and I stared from Jack to Cutler. Cutler's blue eyes widened and he opened and closed his mouth for a few minutes without saying anything. Finally, he shook his head and replied, "No. How many times must I repeat this to you, Jack? Jenna stays here with me. She's not going anywhere. But aside from that, your deal sounds like it just might work."

Abruptly, Cutler's eyes lit up. Walking across the room, he exclaimed, "Jack! I've just recalled, I have this wonderful compass which points to whatever I want. So for what do I need you?" Jack looked confused for a minute while Cutler picked up a compass that I had never seen before. Jack's eyes lit up with recognition and he said, "It leads to whatever you want most. And that's not Shipwreck Cove, is it?" Cutler flicked the compass open. It pointed in Jack's direction.

"Then what is, Jack?" Cutler asked, approaching him with compass in hand. Looking excited, Jack burst out, "Me!" He faltered for a moment and added, "Dead." Cutler nodded and abruptly pulled a small silver pistol from his pocket, saying, "Although if I kill you, then I can use the compass to find...Shipwreck Cove, was it? Cut out the middleman, as it were."

Jack didn't move even though Cutler was approaching him with the pistol. Instead, he stepped towards Cutler and retorted, "And if you do that, you'll find Shipwreck Cove to be an impregnable fortress that even you won't be able to break through. And then you'll be wishing you hadn't killed me after all." Cutler raised his eyebrows suspiciously as Jack pinned him against his desk and asked, "And so you think you can do all this?" Jack spread his arms wide and looked down at Cutler imperiously.

"You may kill me, but you may never insult me," Jack remarked. "Who am I?" Cutler faltered and looked at Jack in confusion. Looking put out, Jack replied a-matter-of-factly, "Why, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" Abruptly, there was a loud smash as a cannonball hit the ship. The glass in the window shattered and I gave a little squeal of alarm.

"Done!" Jack shouted, quickly reaching down to shake Cutler's hand as he landed on the floor. Jack started to run out of the office and hesitated when he saw me. I could tell he was thinking about grabbing me, but at the last moment, he decided not to and instead ran the hell out of Cutler's office. Cutler recovered quickly and followed him out of the office.

I was the one still in shock. I stayed where I was standing in a paralysis for a few moments before going out to find Cutler. When I reached the deck of the Endeavor, I found Cutler standing next to Theodore Groves. I went to stand on Cutler's side and nodded to Groves. He smiled when he saw me and nodded back in acknowledgment. Cutler stood looking thoughtful.

"Which ship do we plan to follow, Sir?" Groves asked, looking at Cutler curiously. Cutler turned his gaze to Groves and said, "Signal the Dutchman to track down Sao Feng. We follow the Pearl. How soon can we have a ship ready in pursuit?" Groves hesitated just as there was a loud crack. Looking behind us, I watched as the mast fell over.

Groves tilted his head as he looked at Jack who was now on the Black Pearl. Looking at him curiously, Groves asked, "Do you think he has it planned all out? Or do you think he just makes it up as he goes?" Cutler shot Groves a stern look. Groves looked sorry and went off to prepare the ship to follow the Black Pearl, which I assumed was the ship Jack was currently on.

I looked at Jack and then at Cutler, asking, "Now how did he get over on that ship?" Cutler rolled his eyes and leaned down to take my hand, "Don't ask." He took my hand and lead me back to the office, shutting the door and locking it behind us so that we could have some privacy. He kicked the glass pieces into the corner and rearranged his desk.

I was bursting with questions, but Cutler seemed kind of irritated, so I decided that I had better pick and choose my questions carefully. Giving Cutler a nervous look, I asked, "How do you know Jack?" Still shuffling papers, Cutler replied, "Ah, well, we did business years ago when he was a respectable man and now he is a dirty, thieving pirate."

"So what exactly is the plan here?" I asked Cutler, still trying to figure out what was going on with this Sao Feng person and the Brethren Court. Cutler sat down at his desk and replied, "Jack is going to lead us to Shipwreck Cove, which is where the pirate lords are assembling. He will bring them out to meet us. After that, we will fight and they will all die."

I liked the way Cutler was so confident about this, but really, what made him so confident? What if those pirate lord people were really strong? Deciding that talk like that would only bother Cutler, I stayed quiet and tried to come up with something else to say. However, Cutler seemed to be too busy staring at a map to have any time for me.

I kept quiet the rest of the day and into the next morning. Cutler was busy with something or another and I was bored. Finally, I decided I wanted to go see James again the next evening. Cautiously, I approached Cutler's desk, unsure of how he was going to react to my request. He was staring carefully at his map and was marking something down.

"Cutler," I started out cautiously, "I would really like to go visit James again." Absorbed in his own thoughts, Cutler had no idea what I was talking about and said blankly, "James?" Sighing, I nodded and confirmed, "Admiral Norrington. May I go?" I thought it was kind of weird that I had to ask Cutler's permission, but it only seemed like the right thing to do.

"Oh, the Admiral," Cutler murmured, "The Flying Dutchman is a good ways away from here. But I suppose I could have Groves take you over there. You are rather bored, aren't you?" Cutler finally looked up at me and gave me a knowing look. Since I was quite bored, all I could do was kind of shrug. Cutler nodded and stood up to go talk to Groves.

I pulled on a shawl and met Groves on the deck of the ship. He helped me down into the rowboat and started after the Flying Dutchman. I helped Groves row along. We didn't speak much. Groves seemed absorbed in his own thoughts and to be honest, so was I. Should I accept James' marriage offer or not? I just couldn't seem to make up my mind.

"Are you sure you want to go on the Flying Dutchman?" Groves asked me, raising an eyebrow. "There are lots of fish people on there." The comment did make me hesitate. I hated those fish people. They were very strange looking and seemed quite dangerous, but seeing James was worth it. I shrugged and just said, "I'm okay. Are we almost there?"

Groves responded by pointing to a large, crusty ship ahead of us. Apparently, we had reached the Dutchman faster than we had thought. Groves helped me out of the rowboat and up to the Dutchman. He kept me close to him until we reached James. James was pacing back and forth on deck, looking irritable and conflicted. Something was wrong here.

"Hey," I called out to James, going to stand by his side. Groves took a few steps backward and murmured, "Well, I'll just be going now. Come find me when you're ready to leave, Miss Cook." Nodding, I watched Groves disappear. Then I turned to James and wrapped an arm around his waist, saying, "You look tired. Is something wrong?"

James looked down at me and nodded, "Elizabeth was taken captive during the battle. She's down in the brig. I just can't stand the thought of her locked up and in danger. I feel like I must let her go." James' voice was confident and yet unsure at the same time. I could tell he was battling with so many different emotions. This was a decision that could change his life.

"Well, it's up to you," I finally said, worried about him. "But wouldn't that be dangerous? You know, letting the prisoners escape?" James nodded, "Yes, I suppose so. But I'd easily lay down my life for Miss Swann or you. And speaking of that, have you reached a decision?" James searched my blue eyes with his green ones. Oh dear, I still hadn't decided what to do. However, in the impulse of that moment, I knew what I had to do. James needed a woman in his life. I would marry him.

"Yes, I have," I nodded to James. Taking a deep breath, I replied, "James, it would be an honor to marry you." James' dark face suddenly lit up and he leaned down to kiss me passionately. Looking determined, he said, "Right then. I'll release Elizabeth and the other prisoners and then we'll sail to the nearest island with that rowboat, settle down, and get married."

"But what about everyone on the Endeavor?" I questioned, looking nervous. Actually, my question was really suppose to be what about Cutler? I couldn't just leave him, could I? James tossed me a funny look, do you honestly think I'd be safe going back to them after this? No, we need to find a way out of this battle. I'm tired of the fighting, aren't you?"

I nodded. Of course I was tired of the fighting and wanted it to be done as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Cutler didn't seem to think the same way. Taking my hand, James started tugging me below deck, whispering, "Come on!" I followed him down to the brig, fighting a sick feeling in my stomach. Something didn't quite feel right here.

James led us down to Elizabeth's cell and opened the door. He motioned for the prisoners to get out, saying, "Come!" Nobody moved. Elizabeth stared at him distrustfully. God, she had changed so much than when we were childhood best friends. But then again, I supposed I had changed a lot too. Looking nervous, James added, "Quickly!"

Elizabeth finally nodded for the crew members to go ahead and escape. Everyone hurried up to the deck, Elizabeth looking mistrustful as she asked, "What are you doing?" James looked her evenly in the eye and said, "Choosing a side." The three of us hurried up to above deck. There was a rope above the water linking the Flying Dutchman to Elizabeth's ship.

My jaw dropped as the prisoners used the rope to climb across to the other ship. I didn't know how they did that. I would be much too scared to even dare climb across the water like that. Lizzy still was in an irritated mood as she said, "This still doesn't mean I forgive you." Her dark eyes contained lots of sorrow and hate. I wondered why.

Sighing, James replied, "Elizabeth, I had nothing to do with your father's death. But that still does not absolve me of my other sins." At that, Elizabeth finally softened. She leaned forward and looked James in the eye, "Come with me. James, come with me." James hesitated, looking from Elizabeth to me. It was a choice he had to make. He couldn't have us both.

Reaching out, he gave her a hug and one last kiss, saying, "Our fates have entwined, but never joined. Go on. I will follow." Suddenly, Elizabeth looked in my direction. Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she asked in disbelief, "Jenna? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Before I could answer, footsteps sounded and a large fish person appeared.

"Go, now!" James said, giving Elizabeth a push towards the rope. Sighing, she swung herself up onto it and started climbing across to the other ship. The large fish person continued approaching us very steadily. James pushed me behind him to protect me. James pulled out a sword and pistol, pointing them at the fish person as he commanded, "Back to your station, sailor!"

The fish person didn't move. His greenish eyes were twisted with dementia. When he still didn't move, James added harshly, "That's an order!" The fish person really did go crazy, he started reciting, "Part of the crew, part of the ship. Part of the crew, part of the ship. PART OF THE CREW, PART OF THE SHIP! CAPTAIN, PRISONERS ESCAPING!"

From across on the rope, Elizabeth screamed, "James!" She started climbing back to him. Looking torn, James turned behind him and shot the rope, causing it to drop and fall into the water. Lizzy's ship was no longer bound to the Dutchman. In the few seconds when James had turned around, the fish person grabbed a knife from his belt. I could see what was going to happen before it actually did happen. It was like slow motion as James turned around, I screamed in warning, and the fish person stabbed James in the heart.