Cannon fire ripped through the hull of the Seagallop, the ship's wooden deck shook violently, almost rumbling.
"Hard starboard!!" Captain Rhymes shouted. The helmsman responded, turning the wheel. The Seagallop turned sharply, tearing through the waves, trying desperately to get a better position on the enemy.
"Are we turning or listing? Oh buck, I can't tell anymore," the first mate said, holding onto the railing. Captain Rhymes held onto the bannister himself on the command deck, his eyes firmly forward. The sea stallion didn't have to look over his shoulder; he could almost feel the enemy ship off the port side of them, gunning for them. He practically sensed the hunger of the enemy ship's crew, hungry for the kill as they closed in on his vessel.
"We got the fires out!" Twilight Sparkle, one of his VIP passengers called from below decks.
"Fantastic, now instead of burning to death slowly we can all just get blasted to pieces," Lemon responded sarcastically.
"Blasted to pieces?!" Twilight shrieked back the question. Another cannon blast shook the vessel. Thankfully, the dogs weren't too accurate but their ship was clearly built for combat. The H.M.S Seagallop was built for everything, which meant it had been prepared and outfitted for everything, which meant it excelled at absolutely nothing. Even now The dog's vessel was turning to match their maneuver and continue their deadly barrage too quickly. At least half of their shots had flown over or around Captain Rhymes' ship but there was still only so much damage they could take from the remaining ones that had hit their mark.
"They're matching our speed!" first-mate Lemon called out. The yellow-coated stallion had a few more years on the water than Rhymes but he was prone to erratic behaviour at times. More than likely, it came with the job.
Captain Rhymes closed his eyes. "I know," he muttered. Lemon almost didn't hear the reply, he looked over his shoulder. The captain could almost feel the enemy ship shift its position through the waves around them.
Their ship was outfitted for defense but not prolonged engagement. Still, they did have a few cannons and the dogs apparently didn't know about them. Otherwise, they would be warry of trying to attack again from the same side. That, or they were incompetent, impatient, or just plain stupid.
"What are we going to do?" Twilight Sparkle asked, bracing herself on the deck. His passengers had never experienced anything like this before.
"Is there any sort of spell you can use to speed us up?"
"Um, well, I don't think so-" Splash, another cannonball landed off their side, spraying seawater over the ship.
"Can you teleport the ship?!" the captain asked, getting desperate. They were running out of time and options, if his plan didn't work...
"I don't know, I-" the deck beneath Twilight shook as a cannonball ripped through the ship's stern.
Over the sounds of shouting, the captain yelled, "Wing spell?!!" The purple unicorn shook her head.
"GotDAMN it, why does magic NEVER work when you need it?!!" the captain yelled in frustration, slamming a hoof on the bannister.
"They're almost on us, cap'!" the helmsman called out. They had one shot at this. He spared one glance at the enemy ship. A dark thing, odd, rounded sails, dark-brown hull and dogs crawling all over it. They carried swords, daggers, knives and eagerly waited the chance to board and slaughter Captain Rhymes, his crew and make off with their cargo. The Seagallop continued its sharp turn along with the other vessel until both ships were side-to-side with each other.
"Orders, captain?" Lemon asked. Rhymes closed his eyes again. Lemon got closer to him, almost starting to panic. "Orders?!" The captain said nothing.
Captain Rhymes and Lemon were not the only captain and first-mate having difficulty at that moment. On the other side of the map...
"Ship-in-a-bottle! Get your very own ship-in-a-bottle!" Gibbs shouted to the passersby. He forced himself to smile and stifled the feeling in his stomach that made him want to vomit. Fleet of ships liberated from Blackbeard's hoard and he and Jack were forced to sell them off as trinkets just so they wouldn't starve. Must've been at least thirty ships, all sealed in bottles by way of some strange sorcery. If he and Jack could only find a way to get the boats out and intact, they could sell them for a fortune. Instead, they were having to sell part of them as toys to make end's meat. Of course, there was one ship that neither of them would ever sell.
Gibbs ceased his peddling as people kept ignoring him. He sat on a barrel in front of his stall and took a moment just to look at his various 'bizarre wares'. He picked up one of the bottles and looked into it, seeing the ship inside. No one believed him that they were ALL actual sailing vessels, captured by Blackbeard himself and cursed to be trapped inside the glass containers. As of the moment, they were utterly useless to everyone including Gibbs. To make matters worse, being around all of these bottles made the old sailor thirsty for liquor and the two were out of rum.
The two men had bartered their way off the island of Aqua Da Vida a few days ago. It had taken every shilling they had just to get them back to Tortuga. Jack had gone off to visit the local tavern for information while Gibbs had been left to try and secure them any funds he could. More than once, Gibbs fantasized about uncorking one of the bottled ships and drinking the contents.
At the local tavern, Captain Jack Sparrow wasn't having better luck.
"Priestess? Shaman? Voodoo doctor, medicine man?" he asked. "You know where any one of those might be?"
The bar patron he was asking looked over to him through thoroughly intoxicated eyes. "Doctor... medicine... you do realize, this is Tortuga, right?"
"Yer in a bar, mate," another one, steadying himself on the counter said. "This is where we keep the medicine!"
Of course, that made sense. Jack and Gibbs had frequented the port of Tortuga many times in the past but they'd never asked for a doctor. Usually, they stopped at this very bar and would enlist the help, either voluntarily or involuntarily of some of the patrons and be on the way to their next desire.
Reaching into his vest pocket, Jack pulled out his compass. While it didn't point north, consulting it did indicate the general direction of his next desire but there was a catch; if one's desires conflicted, the compass would be equally conflicted. Jack focused on the thing he wanted most, the Pearl and seeing her on the open waves again. His hands on the wheel, wind at his back and nothing but sea before him. He knew in order to get one he needed to consult someone in the 'dark arts' so that's what he focused on: the word 'magic'.
He opened his eyes and looked down at the compass. The arrow pointed firmly, unwaveringly in one direction. Jack turned to where the compass was pointing and noticed a dimly lit corner of the bar where someone seemed to be sitting alone.
Jack slunk his way through the bar, arms up in a manner that some would see as non-chalant and others would see as gaudy or strange. But to anyone who knew Jack, it was his trademark characteristic. He approached the corner of the bar his compass had pointed to.
"Didn't expect to see you here," Jack said to the 'stranger', sitting down.
"No, but I knew you'd find your way here eventually," the stranger pulled back his long hair as he spoke. "This town... it expects you often, Jackie. I didn't expect to find you having trouble, though."
"So, what're you doing here, dad? Following me?"
Jack's father remained stoic. "It seems you're the one following me if you keep coming to me every time you need help."
"It's the Pearl, daddy," Jack half-whispered. He pulled out his ship-in-a-bottle and set it on the table. His father leaned in to examine it. Peering inside, the ship sailed a miniature stormy sea complete with a portion of stormy night. Thunder clapped, the ocean roared and the ship churned through an angry sea. The tiny vessel pitched left and right, its sails taut as if it threatened to break out on its own.
"I see... she makes a prettier trophy than I would've imagined. I have to give it to Eddie; he treated her well," Jack's dad remarked.
Jack fidgeted a bit in his seat. He'd struggled to understand his father even when he was little. The way he spoke in riddles, seemed to see things that only he could see was confusing.
"Do you know of any way of getting her out?" Jack asked point blank.
His father sat the bottle down. "Why do you care so much about one ship, Jackie?"
Jack smiled. "Maybe I'm sentimental?"
"Sentimental..." his father repeated. "Is that what you call getting indebted to Jones for all those years about after you begged him to raise her from the depths?"
"Had to do something... can't be captain without a ship."
His father raised an eyebrow. "So, why choose her when you could've had any other?"
"She's the prettiest. Haven't seen a more beautiful boat than the Pearl," Jack responded goofily.
Jack's dad looked at the bottle again. He was silent for a few seconds. "I was the one who lost the Pearl, Jack, not you," he finally said.
Jack silenced himself to listen. Jack's father was the original captain of the Black Pearl but he hadn't mentioned hardly any of his time with the vessel to his son. Decades ago, Jack's father lost the Black Pearl somehow. The ship had been sunk with Jack's father barely escaping with his life. Years later, Jack would make a deal with the infamous Davey Jones to raise his father's ship from the depths so he could take command, refusing to let the ship be lost. It had earned him a 100-year debt to Jones, one he had gotten out of after several long ordeals. Yet it seemed he still couldn't keep ahold of his father's beloved boat for very long.
When his father remained silent, Jack asked, "How did you lose her? What happened?" The light above them flickered as he asked the question, as if a fell wind blew through the bar. Everything became slightly quieter for a few heartbeats.
His father handed him back the bottle. "It's hard to make out what's written on the map's edge. Easier just to go there."
Jack tucked the bottle into his vest again. "I had a map. Had to rip the center out of it to get ahead of Barbossa."
It was Jack's dad's turn to grin. "Your old friend was in town, had himself a new ship. I don't think he's that much concerned with you, though. Seems he's busy trying to secure payment from his former employers."
So Barbossa had his sights on England and not Jack? That was at least a relief. "Gibbs set fire to the map after memorizing the routes... but he's probably forgotten by now." Joshamee Gibbs was a loyal friend and first mate but not always the most fortunate one. His penchant for bad luck was balanced out by Jack's natural ability to win against the fates.
"I paid a visit to the Queen Anne's Revenge after its newest captain made port in town," Jack's dad pulled out a large, black roll. "Helped myself to a little of Barbossa's hospitality."
Jack unfurled it, recognizing it immediately from the gaping hole in the center. The hole that he'd cut into it. A special map obtained from Sao Fang's most revered uncle in Singapore, it detailed the routes leading to the most secretive and dangerous places in the world. Or, at least it did when it was complete.
"And what exactly am I supposed to do with this?" Jack asked, holding it aloft before him. "What good's a map with the middle cut out?"
"What good's a compass that doesn't point north?" Jack's father asked in return, standing up.
Jack turned his attention back to the map. "But... this is a bit different than the compass; the middle is missing!" he whined in frustration. "What am I supposed to do with a map with a missing middle?!"
"Middle's not missing," Jack's father replied, walking away. "You've already filled in the middle. The edge is what you're missing. Head to the edge of the map, Jackie," he cast a smile. "That's what you're missing." His father turned around and walked to the door.
"Well that's just... maddeningly unhelpful," Jack muttered to himself, defeated. He grasped the bottle in his vest. "Well, how am I supposed to get there? How do I get the Pearl out?"
Opening the door, Jack's father turned to him one last time. "I'd think you'd have plenty of experience emptying bottles by now, Jackie." With that, Jack's dad exited.
Jack rolled up his father's 'parting gift' and tucked it under his shoulder, considering his next options. Despite what dad had told him, the center of the map was missing making navigation to its destinations near-impossible. Yet there were things, notes most likely, scribbled on the corners of the chart. It might be something worth looking at while trying to figure out how to get his ship back to normal size.
He got up from the table and stopped halfway to the door, thinking about his father's last words. "Experience emptying bottles..." could it really be that simple? He removed the bottle containing the Pearl and looked at it again, frowning. He then turned back towards the bar, deciding he could probably use a little more 'experience' while he was there. Removing the Black Pearl was most likely going to be another combination riddle and puzzle. And as with all trickery, Jack had no intention of conducting it sober.
Author's Note
Apologies to anyone reading this for the delay; this story was submitted during a mass submission of fics that I'd had around for quite some time. Considering as how it became a bit popular on its own, I feel I owe it to the audience to accelerate the writing process a tad and pick it up sooner than I planned. I hope you do enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.
