Young Evan Swann stood on the deck of the Dauntless, one of the strongest ships in the Royal Navy. He was dreaming of adventures in Port Royal, where he and his mother, Weatherly Swann, were going to live.
He remembered a song from long ago, and slowly began to sing, because he secretly thought it'd be exciting to meet a pirate.
"Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate's life for me…" The boy whispered singing, "Yo, ho, yo, ho, it's a pirate's life for me…"
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Evan turned and found himself face-to-face with a crew member named Joslin Gibbs.
"Quiet, kiddo!" Joslin snarled, "Cursed pirates sail these wayers. You don't wanna call them down here on us, do you?"
Just then, a commanding voice appeared. "Alright, Ms. Gibbs. That'll do."
Striding over to the two was Lieutenant Norrington. She'd been ordered to accompany Evan and his mother to Port Royal.
"He's just singing about pirates," Joslin argued. "Bad luck to do that, with us in this unusual fog - so mark my words."
"Consider them marked," Norrington responded.
Gibbs shrugged and turned to go, while Evan didn't notice the remark. His mind was still reeling from what Joslin said earlier. Cursed pirates roamed these waters.
"I think it would be excited to meet one," he said dreamily.
Suddenly, Evan got distracted by something across the waves. He leaned over to the rail to get a closer look. Then, he realizes what it was.
"Look!" Evan cried. "There's a girl in the water!"
The sailors, who'd been looking overboard, leaped into action. Swinging one of the Dauntless's hooks out over the rail, they lowered it down and quickly hauled the unconscious girl aboard.
Then, Norrington ordered the crew to search for survivors. If the girl had made it, there be a chance that the others had made it as well.
As they did, Evan was kneeling beside the girl with a concerned look when Weatherly made her way to her son's side.
"Evan, the girl is in your care now. You'll watch her?" Weatherly asked.
Evan nodded and returned his attention to the girl. She seemed so sad and lost. He brushed a lock of her hair from her forehead, wanting to find out what happened.
"My name's Evan Swann," he said, placing his hand in hers. "What's yours?"
With a cough, the girl tried to speak, and finally she managed. "Willia Turner."
Then, Willia passed out. Around her neck, Evan saw a gold medallion with an Aztec skull carved on it. Evan came to a quick conclusion. Willia must be a pirate!
Quickly, Evan hid the medallion under his coat. He couldn't let the lieutenant and his mom see it. If they did, Willia's life would most certainly be in danger.
Many years passed, and Evan and Willia grew up. They cared very much for each other, but Willia was just a blacksmith and Evan was the governor's son, so they believed they could never marry. But some things were about to change.
So, when Evan woke up on the day of the promotion ceremony, he'd been dreaming again of Willia and even the pirate ship he had seen 8 years earlier on his way here, to Port Royal. And as always, the dream was vivid and real to him.
Since Norrington accompanied Evan and his mother to Port Royal, she'd only grown in standing with the Royal Navy. Now she's being made a commodore. Evan knew his mom would like nothing more than to see her son wedded to such a noble woman.
A moment later, the fitting of Evan's new outfit as a gift from his mother was soon interrupted by a servant who announced a visitor.
Weatherly headed downstairs. Shortly after, Evan followed. At the top of the stairs he caught a sight of the visitor and his frown was replaced by a beaming smile.
"Ms. Turner!" Weatherly exclaimed from below. "Good to see you."
Willia Turner was downstairs, studying a sconce while carrying a case that holds a dress sword and scabbard. The frightened girl Evan rescued 8 years before was gone, replaced by a sassy, tomboyish but well-mannered teenaged girl.
"Good day, miss," Willia replied. "I have your order."
"Very impressive," Weatherly said when Willia was done. "Do pass my compliments on to your master."
"I shall," Willia said. "A craftswoman is always pleased to hear her work is appreciated..." Her voice off.
Evan was walking down the stairs with a smile and Willia took an involuntary step forward.
"Evan, you look stunning," Weatherly said, but Evan didn't notice his mother or her compliments. His eyes were on the young girl standing beside her.
"Willia! It's so good to see you," Evan said warmly. "I had a dream you last night..."
"About me?" Willia asked, blushing. "That, uh, very much like you..."
"About the day we met...do you remember anything?"
"I could never forget that, Mister Swann."
Oblivious to the effect he had on her, Evan pressed on, "Please, just call me Evan."
"Oh, right..." Willia nodded as her cheeks were blushing pink.
Weatherly soon interrupted the moment when their eyes met, filling them both with a wonderful energy, "See? At least, she has sense of polite...ness. Well, we better be going."
Right before he and his mother walked out the door, Evan turned. "Good day, Ms. Turner."
Without another word, he walked out the door and into the carriage, leaving Willia Turner behind.
"Good day...Evan," Willia said softly as she was watching the carriage until it disappeared into the busy streets of Port Royal.
But what Willia and Evan didn't know was that someone else was out there who would change everything.
Her name was Jacklynn Sparrow, and she was a pirate. A clever yet tricky one, to be precise. As Evan and his mother were attending Jamie Norrington's promotion ceremony at Fort Charles, she was on the docks below.
Jacklynn had come to try to steal a ship, and she was talking with two dimwitted sentries who were just guarding the fastest ship in the harbor, the Interceptor.
"Well, there's no ship that can match it for speed," One of the two sentries pointed out.
"That so," Jacklynn said, looking thoughtfully at the Interceptor. "I've heard of one, supposed to be fast, nigh uncatchable...the Black Pearl."
The sentries were confused. The Black Pearl was a legend, an old ghost story to scare kids. They thought Jacklynn wasn't clearly thinking straight.
"What's your business in Port Royal, miss?" The second marine asked.
Jacklynn just smiled. If it's the truth the duo want, then she would give it to them. "Here's the thing: I intend to commandeer one of these ships, pick up my crew from Tortuga, and do a little honest pirating."
The two sentries exchanged confused faces.
But they were interrupted from any discussion of Jacklynn's plans for any ships by a commotion from above. Looking up, the three watched as a young man teetered on the edge of Fort Charles's wall.
It was Evan Swann, who was just plummeting toward the sea, hitting the water below with a splash.
It seemed that moments before, Evan stood in the hot sun throughout the ceremony, causing him to feel fainted, and his vision began to grow blurry while Jamie asked him for his hand in marriage. Evan fainted, tumbling over the wall of the fort...and into thin air. Jamie watched this and headed for the harbor.
"Are you gonna rescue him?" Jacklynn asked the two marines.
"I can't swim," They both replied, while shaking their heads.
Jacklynn sighed as she takes off her coat, pistol, and the rest. It looked like she would have to wait to steal the Interceptor after she saved the lad.
As Evan drifted towards the sea floor, the medallion that he wore around his neck floated up. Suddenly, a shaft of light slanted through the water, illuminating the medallion.
Jacklynn, unaware of the shock on shore or even the odd change, managed to save Evan and pulled him and herself onto the dock.
Finally! Jacklynn thought. She was more interested in getting her own breath back. Suddenly, she felt overcome with curiosity as she saw the Aztec medallion on Evan's neck.
Just then, Evan woke up, "What happened?"
Jacklynn asked him, "Who are you and where did you get that medallion?"
Evan tried to reassured the pirate, "I don't know who you are, nor how I got the medallion, but may I just say...?"
Suddenly, Evan noticed that Jacklynn raised her eyebrow and gave him a grin. "How 'ya doing? The name's Jacklynn Sparrow. Captain Jacklynn Sparrow. How's your day going?"
Evan had no idea what the pirate was trying to do, but she looked really weird. Maybe she was being friendly or being completely nuts!
Suddenly, Jamie Norrington and her men were there with swords at Jacklynn's throat. She saw the letter P - for pirate - branded on Jacklynn's arm. "Well, well...Jacklynn Sparrow, isn't it?"
Jacklynn grimaced, "It's Captain Jacklynn Sparrow. If you please," she said, dropping into an elaborate bow.
But Jacklynn was clever and lightning fast. She sidestepped across the dock and grabbed Evan as her shield as Norrington's men drew their weapons.
"You're despicable," Evan groaned.
"I save your life, handsome; now you've saved mine. We're square," Jacklynn said. Then, she addressed to Norrington, Weatherly, and the marines who had gathered as she smiled. "You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jacklynn Sparrow."
Shoving Evan away, Jacklynn grabbed a rope and swung away from the dock and over the streets. She dropped to the ground and ran.
As Norrington and the others took off after Jacklynn, Evan turned and headed for home as a breeze began to blow. On the harbor's edge, a thick and eerie fog made its way toward town...
Slipping through the streets, Jacklynn ducked into a blacksmith shop, owned by Willia's employer, Ms. Brown. She was hammering the chains from her arms when Willia Turner came in.
Willia stared with wide eyes at Jacklynn. "You're the one they're looking for," she said. Then, with a sneer, she added, "The pirate."
With a tip of her hat, Jacklynn acknowledged Willia's statement. From her point, the girl didn't seem like a threat.
Jacklynn tried to studied Willia's face, for she was unsure at first who this teenaged girl was. "You seem awfully familiar. Haven't I threatened you before?"
Willia's glare grew darker as she answered, "I make it a point to avoid familiarity with pirates."
Willia grabbed a sword and began to fight with Jacklynn. The two dueled on and on as their blades were ringing and flashing. Willia was an excellent swordswoman, but Jacklynn was trickier.
Once the dust cleared as well as the ashes from her face, Willia looked up. Pointed directly between her innocent eyes was Jacklynn's pistol.
"You cheated," Willia cried.
Smiling, Jacklynn smiled. She was a pirate. What did Willia expect? It looked as if Jacklynn might escape, until...
BANG! Something hit Jacklynn in the back of her head. Then, her world went black.
Ms. Brown stood over Jacklynn's unconscious body with a confused look on her face.
"Thanks," Willia said.
"Don't mention it," Ms. Brown replied.
At that moment, Jamie Norrington and the marines arrived. This time, there was no escape.
"I believe you'll always remember this as the day Captain Jacklynn Sparrow almost escaped," Norrington said with a laugh as she and her men left the shop with an unconscious Jacklynn in tow.
As night fell on Port Royal, the fog that appeared on the harbor's edge grew even more thicker than before, blanketing the streets, houses, and taverns in an eerie mist. Only Fort Charles could be seen above.
But out on the water, something moved. Cutting through the fog was the topmast of a tall, black ship flying the skull and crossbones...
The fog brought a strange uneasiness with it.
Evan Swann was getting cozy in his bed, reading when his lamp went out. He tried to turn it on, but it was no use.
In the blacksmith's shop, Willia was hard at work, trying to erase the events of that day. The morning at Weatherly's, Evan's fall, and then the run-in with wily Jacklynn. But it was no use. Suddenly, she thought she heard a strange noise and stepped outside, with an ax, to look down the alley...but everything was still and silent.
Jamie Norrington and Weatherly were walking along the parapet, overlooking the gallows when the sudden boom of cannon on fire knocked them both off their feet.
The two glanced at each other. Who was attacking them? Who had arrived in Port Royal?
Only Jacklynn had no fear of what might be lurking in the fog as she was now stuck in a prison cell that's next to another of three prisoners who were about to be hanged in the morning. They were trying to tempt a dog to bring them the keys to their cell.
Suddenly, the explosion rocked the cell, sending Jacklynn to looked out into the dark. A smile formed in her mouth as explosions lit up the night sky, like fireworks.
"I know those guns," Jacklynn shouted happily. "It's the Pearl!"
The others looked at her in shock.
"The Black Pearl?" One spoke up and caused Jacklynn to look at him. "I've heard stories. She's been preying on ships and settlements for nearly 10 years. Never leaves any survivors."
Jacklynn laughed at that statement, "No survivors? Then, I wonder where do those stories come from, eh?"
The prisoners looked at each other in shock and wonder.
Indeed, it was, for the fog lit up around the black ship each time it fired its cannon on the town. Buildings, streets, and docks exploded into bits. The people of Port Royal ran in horror through the streets in search of safety.
Out of the fog came longboats loaded with pirates. Swarming ashore and carrying torches, swords, and guns, they quickly overtook the town, running through the streets, setting fires, and murdering anyone who aren't quick enough to get away.
Two pirates stopped for a moment and looked around. They made an odd pair - One named Baljetti and the other named Buftel.
As they took in the chaotic scene, Buftel was unease. "I can't believe we sailed all the way to this town and for what? Rampaging the streets?" he complained. "It's way past my lunchtime."
"But they did say that the Aztec gold is calling to us, somewhere in this town," Baljetti reassured.
As it turned out, Baljetti could've been more right or wrong. The shock illuminating the medallion must've called the pirates to come to Port Royal, thinking that the 'Aztec gold' called to them.
"Let's just find it and get out of this place," Buftel replied, grabbing Baljetti.
"I stand corrected," Baljetti sighed as they took off, following the rest of the Black Pearl's crew into Port Royal.
Evan heard them crashing into the mansion. It was too late to warn the butler not to open the door to a mob of pirates, led by Buftel and Baljetti. He ran, trying to escape, but wherever he goes, a pirate was waiting.
At last, Evan ducked into the closet. As he did, he heard Baljetti and Buftel's voices.
"We know you're here, poppet," Buftel said. "Come on out."
"Uh, Buftel. He's not a poppet, he's a grown man," Baljetti groaned.
Buftel rolled his eyes as he continued, "We will find you... You've got something of ours, and it calls to us. The gold calls to us."
Evan shrank back against the closet shelves and looked down at the medallion. Could it be the gold the two were talking about?
Suddenly, Buftel yanked the closet door open. Thinking quickly, Evan yelled out, "Parlay! I invoke the right of parlay. According to the Code, you have to take me to your captain."
As Buftel took a threatening step forward, Baljetti put out his hand to stop him. "He wants to see the captain. And as honorable pirates, we must always honor the Code."
While Evan was busy invoking the right of parlay, Willia Turner found herself in the middle of a sword fight with a few pirates. After that, she turned and headed back into the streets of Port Royal when a flash of light caught her attention.
Looking over, she saw Evan being carried by two pirates. Feeling her gaze on him, Evan turned with his eyes seeking her out across the street.
"Evan!" Willia cried. "You pirates are making a big mistake! He has rights!"
"Well, you have the right to shut your mouth," One pirate said as he knocked Willia out on the head with his fist. With a groan, she collapsed to the ground.
Meanwhile, in her prison cell, Jacklynn stared out at the window, watching as bombs continued to blow Port Royal to smithereens. Just then, two pirates named Koralia and Twilla came in.
"Well, well, well...if it isn't Captain Jacklynn Sparrow," said Koralia as she sheathed her sword.
"Last time we saw you, you were on that island," shrinking into the distance," said Twilla. "Your fortunes haven't been improved so much."
Jacklynn scoffed as she said with a smug smile, "Worry about your own fortunes, ladies. The deepest circle of Davida Jones's Locker is for betrayers and mutineers."
With a growl, Koralia reached the through the bars of the cell and Jacklynn dodged it. As she did, her eyes were widened, because in the moonlight, Koralia's arm and hand appeared to be nothing but skeleton bones.
"So, there is a curse," Jacklynn said. "That's interesting."
"You know nothing of pain," Koralia snarled.
As the pair ran off, Jacklynn smiled. The night had taken a decidedly positive turn for her, but it had taken a negative one for Evan Swann.
Speaking of Evan, he was now on the Black Pearl. All of the ship's crew were sunburned, savage men and women. The female ones had their eyes on Evan!
"He invoked the right of parlay with Captain Hecuba Barbossa," announced Baljetti while Buftel pushed Evan onto the deck.
Then, as if on cue, the dark figure of an extravagant, sneaky, boastful, uptight slender-tanned girl slowly stepped out of the smoke and onto the main deck.
It was the captain of the Black Pearl - Hecuba Barbossa.
A monkey named Jack jumped out and landed on her shoulder, scaring Evan senseless.
"I'm here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal," Evan began.
"Lot of long words in you, Mister, and we're not but humble pirates," Hecuba said, laughing. "What is it you want?"
Evan paused as he replied, "What I want is for you to leave and not come back."
Now all of the crew laughed. Evan was telling their captain to just sail away. It was a laughable request and Hecuba told him that it wouldn't be possible.
"Very well," Evan pulled the Aztec medallion from his neck as he walked to the ship's edge. "I'll drop it."
Hecuba took a step back and a long look at Evan. "You have a name, boy?"
Evan tried to think. He didn't want the pirates to know he's Weatherly Swann's son. "Evan... Turner."
"Very well, then," Hecuba said. "But first things first. You returning to shore wasn't part of the negotiations/agreement, so I do nothing. Secondly, you're pirate to apply the Code. And thirdly, the Pirate's Code is more guidelines than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl...Mister Turner."
Hecuba Barbossa sailed the Black Pearl out to sea, with Evan as a prisoner now.
Willia woke up with a headache the next morning, brushing off the spot where she'd been knocked out the night before and rubbing the bump on her head as she looked at the destruction.
Realizing that Evan was being kidnapped by pirates, Willia raced to Fort Charles.
"They've taken Evan!" Willia shouted as she burst into Jamie Norrington's office.
"Will someone please remove this girl from my office?" Jamie ordered her men. The two soldiers went up behind Willia and went to grab her. She shoved the soldiers away from her when fear ran through her body.
Willia stared at Jamie in disbelief. She wasn't going to look for Evan?
"You don't understand," Willia shouted. "We have to hunt them down! We must save him!"
Just then, Weatherly appeared, who was also worried about Evan, "And where do you propose we start?"
"I don't know, but if only I knew...," Willia replied, sadly.
But Norrington had dealt with worse things than an angered Willia. "Ms. Turner, you have nothing to value to contribute. Don't make a mistake, thinking that you're the only one who cares for Evan."
Without another word, she pushed Willia out of the archway.
"Doesn't it bother you that the fate of one man is at stake?" Willia angrily shouted.
Reluctantly, Weatherly Swann decided to let Willia go find her son, "Willia, look...I know that you cared for Evan so much, and I know that you two are very different people. But this is your chance to try to make things up. I don't want to lose him."
Willia nodded and went outside. Then, she began to think, Oh, what to do? I can't let the pirates take away Evan. Okay, just think... I need someone to help me and Norrington won't help. But I don't know where that black ship is going...
Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization as Willia thought once more, I got it! That pirate I fought back at the shop. She may know where it is.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." Willia muttered as she headed toward prison...and to the one person who would know of the Pearl, Jacklynn Sparrow.
Inside her cell, Jacklynn Sparrow was unaware of Evan's kidnapping or Willia's plan to get him back. Sunlight filtered through her cell as she seemed to be asleep, looking inconspicuous.
Suddenly, Willia stormed in, waking Jacklynn up with a bucket of water. When Jacklynn woke up, she recognized the lass from the blacksmith shop. It was she who'd helped get her captured and placed her in the first place.
"Well, well, well," Jacklynn raised her eyebrow and gave Willia a devilish grin. "If it ain't the little teenaged swordswoman. How's your day going?"
"I'm asking the questions here, pirate!" Willia demanded. She needed to know everything before she proceeded with her plan.
Jacklynn sighed. "Listen, kid. Here's the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the seas. I came across your town, and I-" Jacklynn stopped short, because Willia splashed her with water again. "Would you stop that? It's bad luck."
"I said I'M asking the questions here...and I don't care if it's bad luck," Willia just said, feeling more confident. "So, what were you pirate friends doing in Port Royal? To bust you out?" she asked, accusingly. "Help you escape?"
"No! The only thing I want to do with them is to give them a taste of their medicine and take back what was mine," Jacklynn said. "Literally."
"Wait. You aren't aligned with them? They didn't come here to rescue you?" Willia asked in disbelief.
Jamie Norrington did say that the pirates who invaded Fort Charles left Jacklynn locked up in her cell. Ergo, they were not her allies.
"Now why on earth would you think that I would be conspire with them?" Jacklynn asked. "Look, I was being marooned, I needed a faster yet cooler ship, I came here for one, okay? End of story."
"You're...telling the truth," Willia asked.
"YES!"
Willia eyed Jacklynn as Jacklynn eyed her back. If she weren't allied with the invading pirates, then she could trust her! Bracing herself, Willia got ready to take the next step.
"Okay, Jacklynn," Willia said finally. "If what you said is true, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."
"A deal?" Jacklynn said, willing to listen.
"Just listen," Willia told her. "Are you familiar with the ship called the Black Pearl?"
"Oh, yeah, I've heard of it," Jacklynn drawled.
"Where does it make berth?"
"Where does it make berth?" Jacklynn repeated, looking at Willia in disbelief. "You haven't heard the stories? Captain Hecuba Barbossa and her crew of miscreants sailed from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that can't be found except by those who already know where it is."
"The ship's real enough, and so is that island," Willia said. "Where is it?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because you're a pirate," Willia answered. "And-"
"And you want to be turn into a pirate yourself, is that it?" Jacklynn questioned, interrupting her. "Tough world for a woman."
"No!" Willia shouted, blushed, and muttered. She needed Jacklynn's help. She was the only one who could help, as far as she knew. So, she continued, "And secondly, they took Mister Swann-I mean, Evan Swann, on this Black Pearl. You will act as my captain and guide, take me to this Isla de Muerta, and help me rescue Evan safely. Then, and only then, will your debt's repaid. That is my deal."
"Oh, so it is that you've found a man," Jacklynn said with a knowing smile, but then she refused at first. "Well, first off, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to his rescue and so win a fair man's heart, you'd best do it on your own. And secondly, the crew on the Pearl and I weren't exactly 'simpatico' at the moment, so I see no profit in it for me."
Willia sighed for a moment. Then, she said in her strongest voice, "Something brought you here, Jacklynn Sparrow. Call it what you will: fate, destiny... So, I have made my decision to trust you."
"A crazy decision, really." Jacklynn added.
"I am serious," Willia said.
Jacklynn then looked at Willia, suspiciously, as she asked, "What's your name?"
"Willia Turner," Willia answered.
Upon hearing the name, Jacklynn sat up. "Is that so? I thought it'd be short for Williamette. No doubt a name given by your mother?" Up on her feet, she walked over and smiled at Willia. "So, let me just get this straight. I take you to the Black Pearl, save your bonnie lad, and then my debt be repaid?"
"I promise," Willia nodded.
"This is kind of an off day for me," Jacklynn said. "All right, then. Fine, I'll take you. But on one condition: My crew mates come along."
With Willia's help, Jacklynn was free at the moment.
"Come on." Willia muttered and walked away.
Jacklynn watched the young girl go ahead and follow her as she wondered what caused her to change from the innocent girl she met the day before to a hardened woman.
"One question about your business, girl, or there's no use going. This boy? How far are you willing to go to save him?" Jacklynn asked, surprised that Willia answered with no hesitation seconds later.
"I'd die for him." Willia answered. Jacklynn nodded and stated that there were no worries anymore.
The two ran for the docks, where they managed to commandeer the fastest ship around, the Interceptor.
Out on the open seas, now commandeering the Interceptor, Jacklynn and Willia had much on their minds.
"When I was little, my dad raised me himself," Willia explained. "And after he died, I came out here...looking for my mother."
"Is that so?" Jacklynn asked, slyly.
"My mother. Bertha Turner?" Willia pressed. "Back at the jail cell, it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jacklynn. You knew my mother?"
Jacklynn stared at Willia for a while and looked at every feature that reminded her of Mermaidstrap Bertha. She sighed, "I knew her. Probably a few who knew her as Bertha. Most just called her Mermaidstrap or Mermaidstrap Bertha of the Mermaidstrap Sisters. She was a good woman. Good pirate. I swear I thought you look just like her. Did I mention you had six aunts who are pirates, too?"
Willia looked shocked. Her mother was a pirate? All these years, she'd thought her mother was a proper lady and a law-abiding citizen.
If Jacklynn was telling the truth, everything she'd believed was a lie and her mother was just the one thing she hated most - pirates. She also can't believe that her father had fallen in love with a female pirate.
"But...that's impossible," Willia declared as she glared at Jacklynn. "She was just like everyone else. A proper lady, a good, respectable woman who obey the law."
"If she was, she still be the same scallywag I know, and a bloody pirate!" Jacklynn said.
"My mom was not a pirate!" exclaimed Willia, pulling out her sword.
"Put it away, sweetie," Jacklynn said to Willia. "It's not worth of you getting beaten again."
Realizing that Willia wasn't going to let up and rolling her eyes at her childish behavior, Jacklynn did what any self-respecting pirate do - cheat.
"Now pay attention," Jacklynn told Willia as she put her down on a barrel, clarifying a few matters before they sailed any farther. "The only rules that really, really matters are these: what a woman can do. And what a woman can't do. For instance, you can accept the fact that your mother was a pirate and a good woman...or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, so you'll have to square with it someday. So... can you sail under the command of a pirate or not?"
Willia assessed her situation. Jacklynn hadn't killed her because she's Mermaidstrap Bertha's daughter and she had promised to help her rescue Evan. Reluctantly, Willia agreed to follow Jacklynn and Jacklynn, who's now pleased with Willia's decision with a smile, set the course.
They needed Jacklynn's crew for her new ship and there was only one place to do so - the rough and tumble town of Tortuga.
"You know," Jacklynn said, gently. "I can't help but knowing...that you seem a little bit at war with yourself here."
"What?" Willia asked, feebly, still sitting on a barrel.
"I'm just picking up bits and pieces," Jacklynn said to her. "Of course, you had a normal life, a job, and a crush on some bonnie lad. I mean, this is serious stuff. But let me ease your little conscience: this is all part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little adventure, a little knowing the truth about your past, that's good! And healthy, even."
"You think?" Willia looked up a little.
"I know!" Jacklynn said, confidently. "You're way overthinking this, savvy. Trust me. Does your Evan deserve it? No. Would this break his heart and blow his mind? Of course. But you've just got to accept it!"
"You mean break his heart?"
"In half," Jacklynn answered.
"Blow his mind?"
"Like dynamite," Jacklynn nodded.
"He would be heartbroken," Willia concluded.
"Oh, bother," Jacklynn sighed. "All right, I can't believe I'm saying this, but...I've been also clarifying the matters of our deal."
"What?" Willia asked.
"Don't thank me," Jacklynn said. "Let's just hurry up, get my crew, and do the rest. After that, I get back to do some pirating, you get back a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship based on mutual love and trust, and voilà! - we part ways as unlikely friends."
Willia sighed. "Yeah, probably for the best."
"Are you hungry?" Jacklynn said with a smile. "I know a great place for lunch."
"Is it in Tortuga?"
"Trust me," Jacklynn told her, grinning. "You'll know it when you smell it."
By nightfall, The Interceptor slowly drifted toward the docks of Tortuga. Walking ashore, Jacklynn smiled. To be a pirate meant to love Tortuga with its crowded taverns, feisty folks, and flowing ale.
Willia, however, was NOT convinced of its charms. Tortuga was just a dank, dirty town, filled with echoed sounds of fighting and gunfire. She could hear the laughter of drunk pirates.
"Welcome to Tortuga!" Jacklynn said. "The roughest and toughest town around. Don't want you getting scared and giving up on this whole journey, now, don't we?"
"No," Willia answered, looking at her.
"I'll tell you, mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted," Jacklynn shouted and some people nearby toasted to what she had said.
Willia rolled her eyes at the statement. She thought how no one would truly want to live in a place like Tortuga for their whole lives.
A few minutes later, they found an old friend of Jacklynn, Joslin Gibbs - the very same sea girl who warned Evan of pirates 8 years before.
"Jacklynn," Joslin Gibbs said. "So good to see you!"
Leaning down, Jacklynn pulled Joslin to her feet and together the three women made their way into one of Tortuga's many taverns - the Faithful Bride.
"Garçon!" Joslin Gibbs shouted to the tavern keeper as they entered the establishment. "Your finest table, please!"
Jacklynn showed Willia around, "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose." She sniffed the air of the tavern as she continued, "What are you getting? Because to me, it's part pirate smell and the other part is really bad pirate smell. I don't know why, but overall, it smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?"
Moments later, Joslin and Jacklynn sat at a table, with tankards of ale in front of them. Willia kept a lookout as well, looking at the debauchery around her.
"I'm going after the Black Pearl." whispered Jacklynn. "I know where it's going to be, and I'm going to take it."
"That's a fool's errand," Joslin told Jacklynn. "You know better than me the tales of the Black Pearl. But what makes you think that?"
"Let's just say I've got a matter of leverage," Jacklynn answered, jerking her head to Willia.
"The girl?" Joslin Gibbs asked, confused.
"That 'girl' is the child of Mermaidstrap Bertha Turner. Her only child." Jacklynn grinned.
Joslin Gibbs looked at Willia and smiled. This was indeed fortuitous.
"I feel a change in the wind, says I," Joslin Gibbs said. "I'll gather our crew."
"One can only hope!" Jacklynn lifted her tankard in a toast with Gibbs following suit. "Take what you can."
"Give nothing back!"
The two clinked their tankards together and drank the rest of the alcohol. When they finished, they slammed their cups down on the table.
The loud bang caused Willia to squeak and jump. She turned and looked at the two women with a glare.
Gibbs looked at Jacklynn, both wide-eyed at how Willia jumped. When she gave up and turned back, Gibbs spoke, "She's a bit of a stick, isn't she?"
"You have no idea." Jacklynn smiled as she answered. She was one step closer to Hecuba Barbossa...and the Pearl.
With Joslin Gibbs' help, Jacklynn's crew was assembled, including some new ones, Martina and Naomi.
Joslin Gibbs had lined up the crew, awaiting their captain, Jacklynn, to arrive.
There was Butcher Boy with his brightly colored parrot as he's the muscle and he speaks parrot and other animals; Felony with a wide hat and a little learning of history; Pyro with his medical knowledge and skills; Little Debbie with navigating potential; and good sailor girls, Martina and Naomi, who are the heart and fighters of the crew.
"Mates!" Jacklynn called them as she's glad to see them. "You're all here, and just in time."
Butcher Boy noticed Willia, looking around, and asked, "Who's she, Captain?"
"Oh, that would be Willia Turner," Jacklynn introduced them to Willia. "She's just a little, teenaged blacksmith and a good swordswoman. But she's the child of Mermaidstrap Bertha Turner. Pirate is in her blood, so give her a few minutes to get used to it."
"Bertha had a kid?" Mertina asked, excitedly. She seemed to be a big fan of the Mermaidstrap Sisters.
"She's just a little at war with herself," Jacklynn added.
"A little more than a little," Little Debbie suggested.
"More like a lot," Felony said.
"Yeah," Naomi nodded.
Willia looked at them, a little startled, and pulled out her sword. "Stand back. Who are you all?!"
"I told you before: they're my crew," Jacklynn reassured Willia and then introduced her to them, "May I introduce...Butcher Boy, Felony, Little Debbie, Pyro, Martina-"
"Martina!" Martina introduced herself to Willia, interrupted Jacklynn and excitedly shaking Willia's hands.
"And I'm Naomi. Pleased to meet you," Naomi spoke up to her.
"It's...nice to meet you, too. I'm Willia Turner," Willia was relieved.
"Maybe we're cousins," Naomi shrugged.
With a full crew, a stocked Interceptor, and Jacklynn's trusty compass, they were all now ready. It was time to sail for Isla de Muerta...and the Black Pearl.
Meanwhile, aboard the Black Pearl, Evan finds himself dined with Captain Hecuba Barbossa.
"You can release me!" Evan said to the captain. "You have your trinket. I'm of no further value to you!"
Hecuba Barbossa chuckled as she pulled out Evan's medallion, "You don't know what this is, do you?"
Evan shrugged, "A pirate medallion?"
"This is cursed Aztec gold." Hecuba went on, "One of the 882 identical pieces that were delivered in a stone chest to Cortes himself. Blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon them with his armies. But his greed was insatiable, so the heathen gods put a terrible curse over the gold against anyone who would try to take it. One piece removed from the chest, BOOM! You get eternal punishment."
"I hardly believe in ghost stories anymore, Captain Hecuba," Evan scoffed.
"That's exactly what I thought when we first learned of it," Hecuba told Evan. But how quickly she had been more wrong?
Hecuba Barbossa explained that she and her crew found the chest on Isla de Muerta and plundered the gold, quickly spending it on drink, food, and pleasurable company.
But then, something oddly weird happened. The more they gave the gold away, the more they came to realize...the drink wouldn't satisfy, the food turned to ash in their mouths, and the pleasurable company couldn't slake their lust.
"We are cursed people, Mister Turner," Hecuba continued. "We were compelled by greed like Cortes, or you could say we were compelled by Cortes's greed, but now we're consumed by it."
"Is that all?" Evan asked while Jack the monkey began to shiver as if the tale was too much for him to bear.
Hecuba continued, "There is one way we can end our curse. All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be gathered and restored to the stone chest. And the blood of every soul who touched a piece of the treasure must be repaid. You see, for 10 years we've searched every league of these waters, every town, village, preying on settlers alike! We found 881 pieces, but we despaired of ever finding the last. All those years, you'd been safe in your bed, reading your pirate stories, dreaming of adventure on the high seas...while we've endured torments worse than death itself!"
Hecuba then placed Jack on her shoulder and handed to it Evan's piece of gold. "But now, thanks to you...," she said, "We have the final piece-at last. When this precious medallion of yours is restored to the chest, we'll be free to roam the seas as the living. No longer will we be ghosts!"
Evan shivered as he asked, "And the blood that's to be repaid? What of it?"
"That's why there's no sense to be killing you...," Hecuba Barbossa replied calmly. "Yet."
Suddenly, Evan realized the truth and setup. They think it was his blood that'll the curse. He swirled around, looking for an escape, only to discovered that by her crew.
As the moonlight steamed down on them, Evan saw not flesh and blood, but skeletons.
"You see, the moonlight shows us for what we really are," Hecuba said as she, too, turned into a grinning skull. "We're not among the living, and so we can't die. But we're neither dead. I've suffered for too long! You'd best start believin' in ghost stories, Mister Turner. For you see, tonight...you're in one!"
While Evan Swann was busy facing a crew of cursed pirates, Willia Turner was on a hammock aboard the Interceptor, muttering herself about the mess she got herself into for a few minutes before she felt better.
Just then, storms gathered and waves buffeted the Interceptor. Willia went up to help Jacklynn and the others.
"How can we find an island no one finds with a compass that doesn't work?" Willia asked Joslin.
"It doesn't point north," Joslin Gibbs answered as she laughed, "but we're not trying to find north, are we?"
Jacklynn stood tall as if no wind had touched her. She struggled to move the wheel as the ship tilted with the ocean.
"Should we drop canvas?!" Naomi shouted at Jacklynn.
"She can hold a bit longer," Jacklynn yelled back.
"What's in your head that puts you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Martina asked.
"We're catching up!" Jacklynn grinned and moved the ship as if she were enjoying the storm, as did the crew. All except Willia.
As Jacklynn steered the Interceptor through a graveyard of wrecked ships that are surrounding Isla de Muerta, Willia asked Joslin Gibbs about Jacklynn's backstory.
"How's it that Jacklynn came by that compass?" Willia asked.
"Not a lot's known about Jacklynn before she showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of Isla de Muerta," Gibbs said. "That was before I'd met her, back when she was captain of the Black Pearl."
"What?" Willia asked, surprised to hear that the Black Pearl once belonged to Jacklynn. "I guess she failed to mention that."
Joslin continued explaining that when Jacklynn was captain of the Black Pearl, the first mate tricked her into giving up the secret route to the Aztec treasure. Then, she led a mutiny and marooned both Jacklynn and some crew mates on a deserted island with a pistol and a single bullet.
Willia looked at Jacklynn, finally understanding her eagerness to help her. Jacklynn hadn't cared about Evan's safety. She just wanted the Pearl back...and revenge.
"But Jacklynn, she and the crew escaped the island. And she still has that single shot," Joslin continued. "Oh, but she won't use it, though, save for one woman. Her mutinous first mate..."
"Barbossa." Willia sighed, and Gibbs nodded.
"Are you two done?" came Jacklynn's voice. While Joslin had been telling Willia the story, the captain made her way over and stood there, glaring down at them, unimpressed.
Willia glared at Jacklynn back.
This was no time for storytelling. They'd just arrived. It was time to go ashore.
As the longboat was lowered, Jacklynn turned to her crew. "Keep to the Code. Anyone who falls behind is left behind."
Rowing to a hiding place, Jacklynn and Willia looked over the top into a vast cavern filled with the most spectacular treasure, where Hecuba stood gripping Evan beside the stone chest.
It was the very same chest that once carried the cursed blood money and which was now filled with 881 pieces of Aztec gold, waiting for the last piece.
Jacklynn and Willia looked through the hole and listened as Hecuba Barbossa addressed her crew.
"Our torment is near an end!" Hecuba shouted, causing the crew to cheer in agreement. "Here it is, the cursed treasure of Cortes himself! We have returned every last piece that went astray, save for this." Then, she pointed to the medallion around Evan's neck, "And now, the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever!"
Willia tried to scramble to save Evan, but Jacklynn hold her back. "NO! Not yet!" she whispered. "We wait for the opportune moment!"
But Willia didn't want to wait. Evan's life was at stake. "When it's of greatest profit to you?" she asked, frustrated.
"May I ask you something?" Jacklynn said to Willia. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"
Willia didn't answer.
"I know this is difficult for you, but please, stay here and try not to do anything stupid."
"Sorry, Jacklynn...but I'm not going to be your leverage." Knocking Jacklynn out with an oar, Willia went down to save Evan.
At the same time, Hecuba raised her knife and sliced the middle of Evan's palm. She placed the medallion in his hand and closed his fist around it.
"Begone by blood, by blood undone!" Hecuba shouted as she dropped the bloody medallion into the chest with the matching pieces.
For a few moments...nothing happened. Something didn't feel right.
"I don't feel anything," Baljetti said.
"Me neither," Buftel added.
The curse hadn't been bbroken as angry shouts rang out across the cavern, and the crew's stormy glares fixed on Evan.
"You!" Hecuba Barbossa snarled at Evan, grabbing his wrist and hand. "You mother. Was your mother Bertha Turner?"
"No," Evan answered as he smirked at Barbossa and shook his head.
Hecuba slapped him in the face and caused him to fall down the back side of the pile. He laid near the water's edge with the medallion near him as he recuperated from the slap.
The pirates got angry as some looked at Buftel and Baljetti, "You brought us the wrong person!"
"How was we supposed to know?" Buftel argued. "He had the medallion!"
"And he did say his name was Turner!" Baljetti added.
While the pirates argued, Willia helped Evan slip away, taking the medallion with them.
Jack the monkey saw it all and his screeching echoed as he pointed toward the two. Hecuba looked around and yelled, "The medallion! After them, you ingrates!"
Willia and Evan continued to run through the tunnels, Willia turned to Evan, with panic in her eyes.
"I-I didn't think this far enough!" Willia whispered.
"Willia, calm down." Evan smiled at the girl, happy that she had found him. "You have done a lot, coming to save me."
Willia nodded.
Dazed from the whack she'd gotten from Willia, Jacklynn noticed and saw Willia and Evan's escape. Upset about all of this, she called out to them, "Fine, you two go on ahead! I'll deal with them!"
Sticking to the Code, Jacklynn appeared into the middle of the confusion. She stood face-to-face with her old first mate and current enemy, Hecuba Barbossa.
"How in blazes did you-?!" Hecuba began to ask, but Jacklynn halted her.
"When you sailed away in my ship and marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, with naught but a pistol and a single shot," Jacklynn said slowly, "you forgot one very important thing, mate. I'm Captain Jacklynn Sparrow."
"Then I won't be making that mistake again," said Hecuba.
"The boy's blood didn't work, huh?" Jacklynn leveled her eyes with Hecuba's as she smiled, "I know whose blood you need."
When Willia and Evan reached the Interceptor, Willia told them that Jacklynn stayed behind.
Evan was stunned to realize that he'd been saved not only by Willia, but also by Jacklynn. It was very unlikely, but now Joslin Gibbs, who Evan quickly recognized as the sailor girl he'd met 8 years ago, had just asked for Jacklynn's whereabouts.
Keeping to the Code, the crew weighed anchor and sailed away, leaving Jacklynn.
In the cabin on the Interceptor, Evan Swann sat and tried to bandage his wounded hand. Willia sat beside him.
"So, is it true…?" Willia cleared her throat as blushes formed on her cheeks, "You gave Barbossa my name instead of yours. Why choose my name?"
"I don't know." Evan sighed as he smiled slightly. Willia leaned on his shoulder, then her eyes were on the medallion.
"Where did you get that?" Willia asked Evan the same question Jacklynn asked him.
"It's yours," Evan explained. "From that day we found you, drifting at sea."
Suddenly, Willia remembered. "After all this time... I thought I'd lost it. It was a gift from my mother...she sent it to me."
Willia stared at the medallion when Evan gave it to her as she asked him, "Why did you take it?"
"Because...," Evan swallowed and forced his emotions down. "I was afraid...that you were a pirate. That would've been awful, you know..."
Realization and understanding flooded through Willia. At last, it all made sense. Evan had told the pirates his name was Turner. Willia then recalled Jacklynn mentioning that her mother was Mermaidstrap Bertha, a pirate. Therefore, the pirates believed they held the pirate's child captive.
"Of course," Willia said aloud, with tears rolled into her eyes. "Don't you see? It wasn't your blood they needed. It was my mom's blood. My blood. The blood...," Willia came to Evan, hugging him and crying. "...of a pirate."
"I'm sorry," Evan said softly, knowing that his words were no use and hugged her back.
On board the Black Pearl, Jacklynn Sparrow roamed the cabin and examined the sorry state of affairs it was in.
"I'm disappointed, Hecuba," Jacklynn said. "I expected more from you to take care of MY ship."
"Then, that's another mistake I won't make again," Hecuba Barbossa replied.
"Then what say you to put the past behind us and let me negotiate the return of your medallion, eh?" Jacklynn said in a serious tone. "What say you to that?"
Hecuba laughed as she glared at Jacklynn, "Seein' as how the Black Pearl's mine now, it doesn't seem to fall within my interest."
"Odd, I'm not actually concerned with YOUR INTEREST," Jacklynn replied, angrily. "Give me back the Pearl!"
Hecuba refused. She vowed to chase down the Interceptor and get the medallion back. And this time, she'd spare no one.
Turning, Hecuba ordered the crew to lock Jacklynn up in the brig. Now she needed to get to that ship...and the medallion.
With the Black Pearl gaining on them, Jacklynn's crew tossed cannonballs overboard to lighten their head and increase speed.
But it wasn't enough. They had to stand and fight, so they loaded the cannons with anything they find, including silverware, and fired.
The fight was still in full force as Hecuba ordered her men and female pirates to board the Interceptor. "Find me that medallion!" she shouted.
Jacklynn, meanwhile, escaped and swung over to the Interceptor, but it was badly damaged and out of ammo.
Willia made her decision. It was actually her blood Hecuba needed, so she'll give herself and the medallion to save the others. But before she can do anything else, Jack the monkey grabbed the medallion and scampered off.
It seemed all hope was lost. Hecuba's pirates had overtaken the Interceptor, and it was sinking fast.
"Our hope is restored," Hecuba shouted to her cheering pirates.
Jacklynn and her crew were tied up on the deck of the Black Pearl by Buftel and Baljetti.
"If any of you said 'parlay' one more time, I'll frail your head so bad it won't fit through your shirt hole," Buftel said, holding his pistol on them.
Suddenly, the Interceptor exploded, sending debris high into the air.
"Willia!" Evan shouted. With rage in his eyes, he attacked Hecuba.
Hecuba just laughed. "Welcome back, handsome. You've took advantage of our hospitality last time. Now you return the favor."
But they were interrupted by a shout, "BARBOSSA!"
Climbing up, soaking wet, was Willia Turner, who demanded while holding a pistol as she gestured to Evan. "He goes free."
"Go ahead, girl. Shoot," Hecuba said, not bothered by Willia's dramatic appearance. "You only got one shot - and we can't die!"
Jacklynn shook her head, "Don't do anything stupid!"
But it was too late. Willia pointed a pistol...at herself. "You can't. But I can. My name is Willia Turner. My mother was Mermaidstrap Bertha Turner. Her blood runs in my veins."
Jacklynn shook her head in dismay, "And there it is..."
As Willia trailed off from her explanation, the crew of the Black Pearl started to shout at Hecuba Barbossa about how Willia looked very much like her mother.
"On my word," Willia said as she cocked the trigger. "Do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davida Jones's Locker."
"Name your terms, Ms. Turner," Hecuba Barbossa said.
Willia demanded that Evan and the crew go free. She did, however, included Jacklynn...and she would return with Hecuba to Isla de Muerta.
But Hecuba Barbossa was tricky. She had finally gotten what she needed - the medallion and the blood.
As for her promises? Instead of harming Evan and Jacklynn, she marooned them on a deserted island, the very same one she'd left Jacklynn and her crew on before. It was a smuggler's island, with caves full of stolen rum.
"That's the second time I've had to watch her sail away with my ship," Jacklynn sighed.
Jacklynn laid herself on the ground and started to look at her gun. Minutes passed, and Evan appeared on her side.
"You were going to tell Barbossa about Willia in exchange for a ship!" Evan shouted as he curled his fists.
"We could use a ship," Jacklynn shouted back. "The fact is, I was going to not tell Hecuba about Willia in exchange for a ship because as long as she didn't know about her, I had something to bargain with, which no one has, thanks to her!"
Jacklynn stood up and started to head slightly inland with her pistol. Evan stood up and followed after her.
"Willia still risked her life to save ours," Evan replied. "So, we have to do something to rescue her!"
"Off you go, then." Jacklynn shooed Evan. "Let me know how that turns out."
"But you were marooned before," Evan said as he caught up to Jacklynn. "We can get off the same way you did, and-"
"And to what point and purpose?!" Jacklynn yelled angrily. "My Black Pearl is gone, and unless you have another ship, young Willia will be dead long before you reach her!"
For a moment, Jacklynn was uncertain about what to say. Sighing, she confessed. "Last time my crew and I were here, it was a grand total of three days. The rumrunners who used the island as a cache by, and we bartered passage off."
Evan was shocked. "That's it? You guys spent 3 days, lying on the beach, drinking rum?"
"Welcome to the Caribbean," Jacklynn said, drinking.
Beneath the starry night sky, Jacklynn and Evan settled around a large fire.
"When I get my Pearl back," Jacklynn said. "I'm gonna teach that song to my crew and we'll sing it all the time! What the ship is - what the Black Pearl is - is freedom."
With a sigh, Jacklynn turned toward the sea, lost in thoughts of her ship.
Evan could hear Jacklynn's pain, "It must be bad for you to be trapped on the island."
"Don't be," Jacklynn replied. "It's just fine. This time, with some company."
Evan see that this new side of Jacklynn, a softer side, made him feel guilty for all that had been happening so far. But now he was determined to help not only Willia, but also Jacklynn.
Evan heard a thud and see that Jacklynn fell back into the sand, unconscious or sleeping. He sighed.
The next morning, an explosion rocked the island. It wasn't coming from the fire Jacklynn built that night. Evan had poured rum on anything that would burn and set it ablaze.
"NO!" shouted Jacklynn, leaping to her feet. "What are you doing? You've burned all the food, shade...the rum!"
"Yes," Evan shouted back as he continued to fuel the fire. "The rum is gone."
"But why is the rum gone?"
Evan pointed to the smoke, "Because that signal goes up 1,000 feet. And also, the entire Royal Navy is looking for me. Do you ever think there's even a slightest chance that they won't see it?"
Jacklynn, furious, asked in disbelief. "You... You burned up the whole island just for a chance to be rescued?"
"Just wait, Captain Sparrow," Evan raised proudly. "In 2 hours, there'll be white sails on the horizon. Don't you get it? Willia's in danger, and for what? A stupid curse! Because of you pirates, I'm now stuck in this godforsaken island!"
"Nooooo, it's YOUR fault," Jacklynn replied. "Ever since Willia told me you've been kidnapped, you didn't know what else to do, and now look where we are! I was about this close to get my Pearl back, and you two ruined it!"
Suddenly, on the horizon, Jacklynn saw white sails.
"There'll be no living with him after this," she murmured.
Within hours, Evan and Jacklynn were safely aboard the HMS Dauntless with his mother and Jamie Norrington.
"We have to go back!" Evan shouted. "We have to rescue Willia!"
"That girl's fate was regrettable," Jamie said. "But so was her decision to engage in piracy."
"To rescue me!" Evan shouted, exasperated. "To prevent anything from happening to me! And she sure did a better job at it than any of you!"
The ship went silent at the accusation. But there was no further discussion. The Dauntless go back to Port Royal, Jacklynn would be hang, and the rest will go on with their lives.
"Evan," Weatherly Swann looked at him. "I am so crossed with you! Do you have any idea what you've put us through? I had to go with Jamie through all of the ocean's perils, looking for you. Now that I see that you'd been kidnapped by pirates, you didn't tell them your real name and now look what had got you! We were about to have a wedding for you and Jamie. Everything would've been better!"
"None of that matters now!" Evan just said, hammering away.
Weatherly was shocked to hear that. "None of it matters? Wait a second, ... None of it matters?!"
Evan didn't answer. Weatherly can see in her son's eyes that he really cared for Willia Turner.
"Oh, great...," Weatherly Swann just said, lost for words. "So, the whole truth came out, did it?"
Jacklynn listened quietly and shuffling toward Jamie and Weatherly, "If I may be so bold to interject my opinion, the Pearl was listening near to scuppers after battle. Think about it, Commodore...the last pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass up?"
"Please, Jamie," Evan said. "Do it for me...as a wedding gift."
"Evan," Weatherly was stunned. "Are you accepting her proposal?"
"Yes," Evan replied.
At Evan's affirmation, Jacklynn began to shout, "A wedding?! I love weddings! Drinks all around!"
When the two finally agreed to help rescue Willia, Jacklynn told them her plan. She would go into the cavern and send the pirates out.
While the HMS Dauntless changed course and head to Isla de Muerta, the Black Pearl was already on the way. In the brig below the decks, Jacklynn's crew members stood and watched Baljetti and Buftel mopped the floors.
Willia was in a separate cell and asked, "You knew Bertha Turner?"
Buftel looked up at her, "Ol' Mermaidstrap Bertha? Oh yeah, we knew her. Let's just say it never sat well with her. What we did to Jacklynn, the mutiny and all. Saying that it wasn't right with the Code. That's why she sent off a piece of the treasure to you, saying that we deserved to be cursed."
Willia lowered her head. Her mom was a woman who made these pirates pay. She really was a good woman and a pirate, just like Jacklynn had told her.
Willia had spent her life, hating pirates. But now, everything changed.
Baljetti then added, "So, Hecuba got rid of her and the rest of the Mermaidstrap Sisters by sending them drowning and the last time we saw them, they were sinking to the oblivion to Davida Jones's Locker...but that was after we forgot to know that we need her blood to lift the curse."
"Ooooh, plot twist!" Martina exclaimed, listening the whole thing.
"I know," Baljetti nodded.
Willia thought of her mother in a new light as more and more of her genuine personality was revealed. Now she knew that no real pirate would want the mutineers to suffer for what they've done, as it would have benefited them as well. She smiled lightly at her thoughts.
Suddenly, they had finally arrived at Isla de Muerta. It was time to end the curse once and for all.
"Bring her in," Hecuba ordered, nodding in the direction of Willia.
When the HMS Dauntless arrived, Jamie Norrington surrounded the cave entrance with longboats full of marines. At the same time, Evan escaped from his cabin and rowed to the Black Pearl to free Jacklynn's crew.
Inside the cave, a moments later, Hecuba addressed her crew, "Now let's be tryin' this again! The last piece of the Aztec treasure has been returned." She then pointed her knife at Willia as she continued, "And now, the blood will be repaid to free us from this curse forever! This time for sure!"
Suddenly, as the pirates cheered, a voice rang out. "Excuse me. Pardon me...ah, begun by blood."
"Jacklynn!" Willia shouted happily when the pirate made her way to the front.
"Impossible," Hecuba Barbossa hissed. It was clear that Jacklynn was more of a curse to her than the one caused by the Aztec Gold.
"Not probable," Jacklynn said, knowing that anything was possible.
"Where's Evan?" Willia asked.
"He's safe, like I promised," Jacklynn assured, before adding that Evan promised to marry Jamie Norrington and that Willia had promised to die for him. So, they were all good on their promises.
"Enough already!" Hecuba pointed her knife at Jacklynn. "You're next!"
Hecuba was about to put the knife back to Willia's neck, but Jacklynn interrupted.
"You don't want to do that."
"Why not?!"
"Because the HMS Dauntless, the pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore, waiting for you," Jacklynn answered. "So, you order your men to row out to the Dauntless; they do what they do best...and there you are with two ships. But what of the Pearl?"
As Hecuba dreamed of a fleet at her command, Jacklynn made one suggestion, "Name me Captain. I'll sail under your colors, give you 10 percent of my plunder, and you'll be introduced as...Commodore Barbossa."
Willia, curious after hearing Jacklynn use the familiar phrase, saw her flip one coin up in her shirt sleeve.
"You plan this," Willia said, not sure what Jacklynn was up to, but she was willing to help - if only to save herself.
"Agreed," Hecuba smiled. But instead of ordering her crew to row to the Dauntless, she told them to walk. This wasn't part of Jacklynn's plan.
Silently, they stepped into the water. One by one, they turned to skeletons by the moonlight, climbed aboard the Dauntless, and attacked the unsuspecting marines as swords were clashing and pistol shots rang out.
But Jacklynn wouldn't give up. Tossing Willia a sword, and grabbing one for herself, Jacklynn attacked Hecuba Barbossa. The two dueled while Willia hold off the remaining pirates as sounds of clashing swords rang the cavern.
Suddenly, Hecuba plunged her sword into Jacklynn.
"Jacklynn!" Willia gasped.
"You're a fool, Jacklynn Sparrow," Hecuba laughed as Jacklynn staggered back into the moonlight.
But Jacklynn wasn't wounded when she smirked at Hecuba. Instead, she turned into a skeleton...with an Aztec coin.
"I couldn't resist, mate," Jacklynn said to Hecuba, who was shocked and stunned. She then turned to Willia, who smiled at her.
With a cry of rage, Hecuba lunged. On and on, the two fought, locked in a battle that neither could win.
Meanwhile, Evan reached the Black Pearl. He freed Jacklynn's crew and helped them rid the ship of the remaining pirates. But there was more to be done.
"All of you! With me!" Evan said. "Willia's in that cave, and we must save her!"
But no one moved.
"Any port! In a storm!" The parrot squawked.
"The bird is right." Joslin Gibbs gestured at the empty ship they stood on. "We've got the Pearl."
"What about Jacklynn? You're just going to leave her?" Evan looked at the crew with an incredulous expression on his face.
Jacklynn did gave them a ship and now they had one. Plus, there was the Code as Joslin Gibbs, Martina, Naomi, and the rest pointed out.
Furious, Evan rowed to the island alone while the Black Pearl sailed.
"Pirates..." Evan grumbled.
In the cavern, Jacklynn and Hecuba dueled in and out of the moonlight, turning from living and women to skeletons and back again.
Just then, Evan arrived to Willia's side. The two of them turned toward the duel between Jacklynn and Hecuba.
"Whose side is Jacklynn on?" Evan asked.
"At the moment...," Willa shrugged.
As the battle raged on, Jacklynn threw her piece of gold across the cave and watched as Willia caught it in her hand.
At the same moment, Hecuba aimed her pistol at Evan as she said to him, smiling. "I should've just killed you when I had the chance..."
But before she fired, another shot echoed through the cavern. But it wasn't Hecuba's gun that'd fired. It was Jacklynn, who held a smoking pistol at Hecuba.
"What say you we call it-a draw?" Jacklynn said.
Hecuba laughed, "10 years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot?"
"She didn't," Willia said as she was beside the Aztec chest. She opened her bleeding fist and dropped two pieces of gold - One the medallion Evan carried for so long and the other, Jacklynn's piece - into the chest.
The curse was lifted. Hecuba and her crew were mortal, and Jacklynn's pistol shot had finished her off.
"I feel...cold," Hecuba said softly as she fell forward.
They had finally won. Hecuba had been defeated, the curse was lifted, and Evan had helped saved Willia. But the price had been high.
When he left the cave, Evan would go back to the Dauntless and be Jamie Norrington's fiancé.
Hearing footsteps, Evan found himself looking into the eyes of the girl he truly loved and now could never have - Willia Turner.
Willia grinned, happy that the two of them had survived the battle. Evan grabbed Willia, and the two embraced.
After minutes of holding each other, they separated and looked at each other in silence. Evan moved his hand and rested it on Willia's cheek, about to lean in, when a crash echoed behind them.
The two of them looked over to see that Jacklynn had started to gather up pieces of treasure.
"WHAT?!" Jacklynn asked. "I couldn't resist. No pirate worth his salt ignores treasure."
Moments later, Jacklynn can see that her ship was gone.
"I'm sorry...," Willia said sadly. "About everything and your ship."
Jacklynn sighed and shook her head, "Don't be. They did what's right by then. Can't expect more than that."
Willia gave Jacklynn a long-warming, friendly hug. It was the hug of an unlikely friendship the two had during the entire adventure.
Captain Jacklynn Sparrow, who had defeated a cursed crew and saved the governor's son and Willia's true love, found herself in an all-too-familiar. She was once again a captain without a ship.
The next morning, Jacklynn's luck had just seemed to have fail her as she stood on the gallows with a noose around her neck.
"This is all wrong," Evan felt a sense of loss. He was with his mom and Jamie.
Suddenly, someone shoved through the crowd and cut Jacklynn free. It was Willia, wearing new clothes.
"Evan," she said. "I should have told you every day from the moment I met you...I love you."
Willia and Jacklynn raced for the dock, but Jamie Norrington and her men surrounded them.
"You're throwing in your lot with her?" Weatherly was shocked. "But she's a pirate."
"And a good woman," Willia said as behind her, Jacklynn nodded and pointed a finger at herself, just to emphasize the point.
"You forget your place, Turner." Jamie replied.
But Willa didn't as she smirked and said, "It's right here, between you and Jack."
Her place was beside Jacklynn, who'd helped her rescue Evan and told her the truth about her mother.
And apparently, Evan moved passed everyone and stood next to Willa as his place was beside her. He slowly blocked her from being attacked when he stepped between the two as he said, "As is mine."
"Evan!" Weatherly gasped, but Jamie took it in and realized Evan's true feelings.
"This is where your heart lies, then?" Jamie asked.
"Yes," Evan replied.
Jacklynn sprang to the top of the sea wall. Behind her, the Black Pearl sailed into view. Her crew had come back for her.
"Friends!" Jacklynn said, dramatically. "This is the day you will always remember as the day that you almost caught Captain Jacklynn Sparrow!"
Jacklynn leap into the water and swam to her ship and crew.
"So, this is the path you've chose, huh?" Weatherly asked her son. "After all, she is a blacksmith."
"No," Evan said proudly, then turned back to Willia and gently easing the hat off her head, "she's a pirate."
Weatherly smiled back at her son and turned away. Then, Evan and Willia finally shared a long and lingering kiss...and they lived happily ever after.
Jacklynn and her crew, including Joslin Gibbs, Martina, Naomi, Butcher Boy, Felony, Pyro, and Little Debbie, watched the two lovers as they were now free to roam the Caribbean.
THE END!
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