"Do you?" Jack asked, holding the beating heart of the cursed captain in his heart, blood falling between his fingers and landing on the floor below. He had managed to find the chest and the key, getting the heart out in time, from the looks of it. Artemis smirked, holding her aching stomach with one knee bent. Her sword was somewhere lost but her attention was on Jack and Jones. "Heady tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one's hand"
"You're a cruel man, Jack Sparrow," Davy Jones told him, not surprised that he would grab the chance now to stab the heart, and not give it to Will in order to free his father.
Jack simply and quickly glanced at Artemis for a moment, feeling more certain than ever. Then, he smiled and focused back on his arch-nemesis. "Cruel is a matter of perspective"
"Is it, now?" Jones asked and to prove his point, he was quick to spin and stab Will in the chest with his sword.
Elizabeth shouted his name, seeing him lying there with the sword stabbed right through his heart. Wasting no time, she rushed to her loved one, while Jack and Artemis could only watch with wide eyes.
Davy Jones pulled a move none expected and suddenly, it changed everything. The Cursed Captain simply laughed, feeling victorious. He knew Jack would never be that selfish, after all, the Black Pearl was proof of it. Plus, seeing Elizabeth and Will in love sickened him; so he had to make sure and end it, like how he had ended his long time ago.
"Will! Will! Look at me! Stay with me! You're all right!" Elizabeth begged, holding Will's head in her arms and whispering words to him, tears running down her eyes and mixing with the rain. She had just lost her father not so long ago, she could not lose him now...not after Barbossa married them mid-battle on top of the Pearl.
Jack suddenly hesitated to stab the heart, seeing the slowly dying Will on the floor and hearing the cries of Elizabeth. He could stab the heart right here and there but he would let Will die...surprising and ironic as it may sound, Jack could not find the heart to do it.
Suddenly, Bootstrap charged at Davy Jones. "William! My son!" he shouted as he tried to fight him, his memories back and so was his love for his son.
He had seen everything and he refused to let the murderer of his son be left standing. With only a small dagger, however, he was no match for the cursed Captain. The battle ended too quickly with Bootstrap tossed to the side like a ragged doll.
Now free of annoying pests, the cursed captain decided to do a favour to the love-sick couple and simply allow Elizabeth to join Will. Halfway there, he was tackled by someone. He turned fast to stab the intruder, surprised to see Artemis in the middle.
His sword cut right through her upper torso and stomach, the tip of it coming off the other side with red blood dripping. The shock of being stabbed was visible on her face, the sharp pain of the injury surpassing even the one she felt when she almost lost her eye.
Davy Jones could not help but laugh some more, seeing the pained expression on her face. He chose to pull his blade back and end her, only to realise that he could not do it. Artemis' hands wrapped around his blade, holding it tightly and preventing him from pulling his sword back. Her knees shook but she planted her legs as firmly as she could against the wet wooden floors.
Her eyepatch was gone, white and blue eyes stared into the soul of the Cursed Captain as she refused to let him go. She was earning time, for Jack or someone to finish the job. With each pull, her hold weakened, her hands shook and bled from holding the sharp edges of the sword, but she stayed put; too stubborn to let go.
One strong pull and one knee was forced to bend but she kept standing with the other leg, refusing to go down just yet. Adrenaline cursed through her veins, numbing the pain and she gave it all to continue holding the grip; trying to keep the blade from escaping her bloody hands.
"You try my patience" the Undead Captain spat and lifted his hand, ready to hit her... when he felt it.
The sharp pain coming from his chest, the coldness that quickly spread across his body. He let go of his sword and took a few steps back. His eyes went to his heart which had been stabbed. However, it was Will who had stabbed it with the help of Jack, who had held and guided his hand.
But in the end, it was Will's hand that was around the handle of the broken sword and he would be the next to take the role of the Captain.
He stumbled more, his back finding the wooden railing. Looking up at the clouds, he could only say one word. "Calypso"
He then fell back, forever taken by the maelstrom and the raging waters...never to be seen again.
Jack quickly stood up and rushed to Artemis, who managed to pull the sword off her. However, when she did that, more blood rushed out and whatever strength she had, disappeared. She started to feel weaker and she could no longer support herself. She started to fall forward, only for Jack to catch her and ease her landing; preventing her from crushing against the wet wooden floor of the deck.
"Easy lass," he said, holding her head on his lap as she lay there, bleeding out slowly.
Her eyes looked at Jack, a single tear at the edges, threatening to roll down. The coldness spread, coming also from her wet clothes and the raging winds. His face bent over hers, hiding the pictures of the dark clouds, something she was thankful for. At that moment, she preferred to see the warm brown eyes of the man she loved and not the ominous black clouds that reminded her of her doom.
Her hand weakly pressed on her wound, and he felt his hand, being pressed on top. However, it was not enough and the blood kept running through their fingers, her strength slowly leaving away.
"Ja-jack" she muttered, her blue lips quivering from the cold and the shock.
She did not expect to go out this way, but she did not mind. She was in the arms of the man she loved, and his face would be the last one to see. She didn't feel scared, not like the time with the bomb and the pirates.
This time, she felt certain. She had done something to help and managed to save those that she truly cared for. Maybe not all, but at least some of them and that was enough to justify the sharp pain coming from her wound and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.
However, there was still a worry in her mind.
"...Ge-get...off..thi-this...ss-ship..." she stuttered, using every strength she had to put into moving her lips.
On cue, the two masts were freed since the Black Pearl shot a double-chained canon ball that broke through the woods. That meant that the Pearl was free and was already trying to escape.
However, the Dutchman headed straight for the endless abyss in the centre of the whirlpool.
At the same time, every cursed member started to slowly march towards the barely alive Will, chanting: "Part of the crew, part of the ship..."
Jack looked at everything and then at Elizabeth who kept shouting, begging Will not to leave her. He then looked down at Artemis who had a smile on her purple lips; a reassuring smile that everything would be alright.
Jack hadn't truly lost many people, for he had never truly opened himself to the point of caring to that extent. That was until he met her. From the moment at Port Royal, she had grabbed his attention and then each minute that passed with her; only made him want to be closer to her.
Now, after all, they had been through, their journey had to end and he felt it bitter in his mouth. He had other dreams for the two of them, when this battle would be over and when Jones would have long been defeated.
He took a deep breath, doing his best to remain strong for her. With their time almost up, he decided to give them one last parting kiss. Leaning forward, he gently placed his lips against hers, making sure to savour every moment of it.
It only lasted a few seconds but that was enough for them, for it looked like they would not have another chance together. Yet, as he looked down at her, he saw her giving a weak smile and it somehow eased the whole situation...just a little bit.
"...go..." her voice came out as a small whisper but he heard it either way.
Gently leaving her head on the floor, he rushed and grabbed Elizabeth from behind.
"Don't leave me! I won't leave you!" she shouted and tried to fight Jack but she couldn't. "Artemis!" she shouted, noticing the laying woman as she was pulled away, truly seeing that she had lost not one but two people she truly cared for.
The redhead turned her head weakly, keeping the same smile, giving it to the girl she saw as a younger sister for so many years. It ached to see the tears and hear her cries, having lost so many people in such an amount of time.
Yet, there was nothing to be done.
Jack managed to cut a piece of the ripped sail and use it as a parachute, letting the air shoot him upward and away from the ship. Elizabeth held tightly his waist and they both watched as the ship was taken by the waters, their loved ones together too.
EDITED: 12/3/2024