Fight For The Right

51~ A Battle Against All Odds -part one-

*Third Person*

Onboard the Endeavour, Beckett was sitting on the front deck enjoying his tea. One of his lieutenants approached. "We have a favorable wind, sir."

Beckett merely raised his eyebrows skyward. "Oh, so we do." He continued to stir his tea. "Signal Jones to give no quarter. That should brighten his day."

The signal was given to the crew aboard the Flying Dutchman, and Mercer saw this and bellowed to the crew, "To arms! We give no quarter!"

Cheering met this announcement, but Jones was distracted as the winds picked up and he looked to the sky, the clouds darkening and thunder rumbling overhead. He felt a pang in his chest, and one hand flew to where his heart should be, a look of grief and dismay on his octopus face.

"Calypso," he muttered. A clap of thunder responded and as the heavens suddenly opened up, showering them all with cold droplets of rain, Davy Jones closed his eyes against the feeling, his anger building up to the point where he raged aloud at the stormy sky, knowing his love had been released.

With another clap of thunder, the Flying Dutchman surged forward, and across the churning ocean waters, the Black Pearl did the same, the two ships coming to meet in battle. There was a mad rush to prepare as everything and everyone was drenched in mere seconds.

Pintel and Ragetti pointed this out. "Have you noticed, on top of everything, it's raining?" Pintel scowled.

"That's a bad sign," Ragetti answered.

Gibbs strode past them on the deck, all serious. "Man the capstan. Raise the top yard. Keep that powder dry."

Grapple and Maddie strode down onto the deck from the helm. They clasped one another's forearms and faced each other, pressing their foreheads together. "I'll be below deck," Grapple told her. "Don't do anything stupid."

"No promises." Maddie pieced his lips briefly. "Just don't die."

Grapple smirked and pecked her lips back. "Good tip." And then he ran below deck to set up the cannons while Maddie ran to the railing , checking to see how close they were to the Dutchman. The closer they got, even though it was still a fair distance, the bigger the pit grew in her gut. Her head shot skyward as there were several claps of thunder, rain was stinging her eyes, but she looked ahead and felt her heart sink.

"Gibbs!" She called him over and he joined her at the railing as the waters ahead of the two ships churned about, looking very much like a -

"Maelstrom!" Gibbs shouted up to those at the helm, which consisted of Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa and Cotton.

Elizabeth's eyes widened, and she looked to the man on her right, who seemed abnormally calm despite what they were about to face. "Captain Barbossa!" She stepped closer to him along with Will. "We need you at the helm."

Barbossa turned to them, and after a moment said, "Aye, that be true." He stepped up to the helm, shoving poor Cotton aside as he gained somewhat of a cocky demeanour at being at the wheel of a ship once more, making Elizabeth and Will smile. "Brace up yards, you cack handed apes," he shouted to the crew above the din of the storm. "Dying is the day worth living for."

Maddie ran back up to the helm beside her sister and Will, exchanging a look with them about Barbossa's sudden change in behavior, but she didn't question it, knowing they would need the most experienced of hands to get them through this war - and this storm.

As Barbossa steered them towards the starboard side, the Black Pearl sailed into the outer rim of the swirling waters, and instantly they were sucked into the intensity of it, being powered forward not only by the strong winds but the water itself. Maddie clenched her teeth and held the hilt of her sword out of habit, searching for a sign of comfort. She wasn't going to lie, to herself or anyone else; she was terrified. Elizabeth felt the same, as did many of the crew, but they kept their thoughts to themselves as they braced themselves for what could be one heck of a wild ride.