An Endless Tale

Part 3

                Ana took in a sharp breath when she glanced over at Jack.  From what she could tell, he wasn't breathing, but he didn't look completely dead—yet.  Muent collected his breath, laughing hoarsely at having beaten the infamous pirate so thoroughly.

                "Jack…?" Ana called lightly, hoping he would respond.

                She was greatly disappointed.

                "Go toss th' body overboard…let 'im drown.  No.  Better yet, dunk 'im.  Multiple times, o' course."  Muent ordered coldly, jerking his head towards the stairs.

                One of the henchmen stepped forward, then lifted Jack's body effortlessly and carried it up to the deck to fulfill Muent's wishes.

                "As fer you, Ana…"

                Muent stopped cold as a howl of pain and a splash echoed from above decks.  A evil grin once again marred his otherwise decent features.  "Well, sounds like Jack Sparrow-"

                "Tha's Captain Jack Sparrow."  A slurred, familiar voice echoed down into the confines of the hold, causing Muent to freeze mid-sentence.  Moments later, the owner of the voice stumbled down the stairs, twirling a length of rope casually.  "An' I'm right here."

                Muent glared at the pirate, his hand traveling to rest on the hilt of his sword.  "What—how—"

                "Not important."  Jack interrupted evenly, his eyes glowing with a chestnut-colored fire.

                "Quite right, not important."  Muent agreed sarcastically, unsheathing another knife and throwing it at Jack's heart.

                Jack pressed himself against the ship's hull to avoid the knife and falling off the stairs.  Unfortunately, the action did not put enough distance between himself and the knife's trajectory and the cold blade embedded itself in Jack's left shoulder, spilling even more blood.  Jack hissed and winced in agony, sliding down the hull to a precarious sitting position on the stairs.  With a fortifying breath, he yanked the knife from his flesh, the action rougher than he had intended.  He slowly dragged himself to his feet once more, brandishing the knife coated in his blood.

                "Still want t' fight?"

                "Aye."  Jack said slowly, the calmness in his voice terrifying.  "But one thing, first:  you agree t' let Joanna go."

                Muent looked about the hold, apparently unaware of who Jack was referring to.  "Joanna…?"

                "He means me."  Ana said, shame in her voice.

                Muent cocked an eyebrow, then looked back at Jack.  "Hmph.  Lucky you, mate…tha's not her real name."

                "Figured as much."

                "Then why would you want a girl who tried t' kill ye—along with lyin' t' ye—to go free when you're condemning yerself t' death?"

                Ana also perked up, curious about his coming answer.  For once, Muent had posed a good question.

                "Well," Jack began, completing his trek down the stairs, tossing the rope to the side and casually wiping the blood from the knife's blade on his shirt.  "S'been my experience that," he began, circling Muent and keeping his gaze locked with that of his enemy's.  "When one needs assistance, one should take th' opportune moment."  He finished, surreptitiously tossing the knife to Ana, who caught it in her teeth.

                "Say wha'?!"

                Jack merely grinned before landing a punch across the other man's face.  As Muent's head snapped around, the two remaining ruffians stepped forward, fists raised.  Ana quickly cut her bonds and was at Jack's side in an instant, the sharp-bladed knife raised in a fighting position.

                "Any more brilliant plans, Jack?" she asked.

                "Jus' one…you git outta here."  Jack answered, his voice void of emotion.

                Ana's eyes narrowed.  "I'm not leavin'…not because ye told me to.  I don't take orders from anyone anymore."

                "What if I said it were for yer own good?"  Jack questioned knowingly.  "Jus' go…I can handle them."          

                Ana glared at Jack before handing him the knife.  "You're death won't be on my head."

                Jack nodded, his attention fixed on the three large men circling them.  "Git outta here while ye still can."

                Ana quickly slipped from her place beside Jack and dashed from the dark boundaries of the small ship's hold, not once looking back.  Jack stashed the knife in the sash tied around his waist and raised his own fists.  From the glint in his eyes, he seemed ready to fight to the death.  As Ana disappeared, the three sailors closed in on Jack, trapping him inside their circle.

                "Y'know Jack, that were a big mistake, lettin' her go."

                "I'll live with it."

                With that last statement, the fists began flying.  Jack dodged as many blows as possible, but despite his best efforts, more hit their mark than missed.  Muent landed the first, his fist driving itself into Jack's gut and knocking the air from his lungs.  As Jack doubled over from the blow, another fist caught him under his jaw, pushing his body upwards once more.

                All three of the fists came in at once, landing their blows before Jack could dodge or defend.  When the fists withdrew, Jack was breathless and shifting his gaze constantly like a nervous, trapped animal.  He carelessly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and cheek with his shirtsleeve, only succeeding in further smearing the red liquid.

                "Yer in o'er yer head, Sparrow."

                Jack grinned, then winced as the cut on his cheek split further.  He struck out with his own fists, catching one of the brutes in the nose and the other in the gut.  As they came at him once more, he seemed more cautious, moving like an experienced hunter instead of the hunted.  He disabled one of them with an uppercut to his nose, killing the man instantly.  The large bulk dropped to the ground, blood pooling around his head.

                Hearing the other coming at him from behind, Jack swiftly drew the knife from his sash.  Spinning on his heel, he met the man halfway, and his opponent dropped to the ground with the knife stuck in his chest.  Jack pulled the knife from the corpse and slowly rose, more alert than usual.  He scanned the dark corners of the hold, searching out his true adversary.

                "Lookin' fer me, Jack?"

                Jack whirled to face the voice and was met with the wooden pole cuffing him across the head, but not hard enough to knock him out.  He landed on the wooden floor with a hollow thud, the knife skittering well out of his reach.  Not that having it in his reach would have done him any good.  Muent hauled Jack to his feet, keeping a tight grip on the pirate's shirtfront.  He placed the pole beneath Jack's chin, then shoved the shorter man up against the beam, using the pole beneath his chin to lift him off the ground.

                "So Jack, ready t' die?"

                "Wasn'…plannin'…on…it…" Jack muttered sarcastically through gritted teeth, the pole at his throat slowly cutting off his air supply.

                Moments later, Jack's eyes fluttered shut despite his desperate attempts to free himself and his body fell limp, dragged into unconsciousness by the lack of oxygen.  The pole was sharply removed from his neck, allowing the dead weight to drop to the ground.  Muent spat down at his fallen foe, grinning darkly.  He shoved the toe of his boot under Jack's side, then flipped the pirate over.  He grinned evilly when he was absolutely sure the pirate was a suppressed threat…

                "Soon to be a non-existent threat," Muent muttered to himself, placing the tip of the blade at Jack's throat.

                "That's right, you will be."  A voice echoed, twisting the meaning of his spoken thought.

                Muent spun to face the too-familiar voice, only to find Ana with a pistol strapped to her side and a cutlass pointed at his throat.  He smiled, the expression sending a chill down Ana's spine.

                "Ye wouldn't kill me…as you said before, if you do, 'your own flesh and blood'll be on you'."

                Ana shrugged indifferently, acting unnervingly much like Jack.  "I'd rather that then Jack's blood on me."

                Muent's eyes widened before his face settled back into the evil smirk.  "Ah, then my suspicions were righ'?  Ye 'ave feelings fer him."

                Ana's eyes narrowed dangerously before she went on the attack, swinging the cutlass expertly at Muent's midsection.  Muent jumped back, having anticipated the attack and blocked her next strike with his own cutlass.  The two exchanged blows, moving through the cramped hold as best as possible and remarkably, neither stepped on, or tripped over, Jack's body.

                The two came around for another lap of the hold, but Ana stopped their progress by landing a sound hit to Muent's side, severing the flesh to the bone with a clean swipe.  Muent doubled and grabbed his side, red pooling between his fingers.

                Ana stepped back, a smug look on her face as she raised the cutlass, which glinted red in the waning light.

                "You do realize this'll curse ye?  Sheddin' yer own blood…"

                Ana stopped Muent's mouth by stepping forward and heartlessly shoving the already bloodied weapon through his chest.  She pushed it again, bringing the guard to meet his chest.  Muent's eyes widened, glazing over quickly.

                "Sorry, but this had t' end…brother."  Ana whispered, removing the blade from Muent's body and watching his legs buckle, dropping the lifeless body to the floor.  She staggered away from the fresh kill, putting a hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples.  The lantern burned itself out, dousing the small, musty room in complete darkness.

~*~

                Jack flinched noticeably away from the cool, damp feeling wiping itself over his brow.  He groggily tried to bring his left hand up to shoo the feeling away, but found he couldn't move his arm without fire-like pain shooting through his body.  He tensed and took in short breaths, trying to fight the pain.

                "Jack, relax, s'okay," a gentle voice soothed, accompanied by a tender hand running down the side of his face.

                Jack slowly opened his eyes and when the world came into focus, he found himself looking up into Ana's face.  The second thing he noticed was that he was lying on a very familiar bed.  He grinned weakly up at Ana, the light coming back to his eyes.  "Joanna?"

                "Ana-Maria."

                Jack nodded feebly.  "Y'know luv…"

                Ana quirked her eyebrow at the use of the word 'luv' in reference to herself, but she allowed him to continue all the same.

                "I'd like it if ye'd refrain from playin' wit' pillows thi' time," he finished softly, still grinning.

                Ana returned the grin then lightly punched his good arm.  "Bloody pirate."

~*~

                "BLOODY PIRATE!!"  Ana screamed, running to the edge of the dock and shaking a fist at the retreating vessel.  "JACK SPARROW, BRING BACK MY BOAT, YE THIEF!!!"

                "I'm merely borrowing without permission…hopefully I can give it back someday!"  Jack called back, directing the small craft out of the bay.  "Sorry luv."

[a/n:  And that's that.  Hope you liked it and please review!]