01. Shipwreck [Action]

[applepirate]

[Little did Captain Barbossa know that day at Tortuga that he won't exactly wake up in the same place he had fallen asleep in - that is, the captain's cabin on the Queen Anne's Revenge. So when his eyes snapped open, it wasn't the hull of the ship they were looking at, but instead it was several tall trees they saw looming over him, along with the overcast sky.

The pirate captain proceeded to stand up from the ground, immediately feeling a new sensation in his back - that of a... pair of wings?]

Shiver me timbers... What is this wretched place?

[Fittingly enough, it was then when a chill ran up his spine and caused his body to quiver, making him notice that he was also shirtless - save for the white cotton pants on his legs.

Wait... did that mean...

Yes, turning his head around, Barbossa also saw no sign of his hat anywhere in the forest he was now in. The hat he had only just regained possession of.]

Arrr! Where be me hat? I swear, if somebody took me hat...

[Speaking of, what had happened to his ship that he had just acquired? Did his crew commandeer it somehow and left him here to perish while he was asleep? Just what in the world had happened in Tortuga? And what was up with this drastic season change? And that journal lying on the ground, which he knelt down to pick up - it wasn't a treasure he remembered uncovering. He was too confused and angry right now to make any sense of it.

Was this all that scalawag Jack Sparrow's doing again? If it was, he should better pray that Barbossa doesn't get his hands on him. Just marooning him on that bloody island wouldn't do this time... No, his fellow pirate would remember him as the scourge of the seven seas...

The (former) captain was already walking through the forest, trying to find anything - a path, a tavern, a port. It's there where somebody could find him and possibly help him understand what's going on.]

Comments

[applepirate]

[Now you've got him so confused, Jack! You must be enjoying this immensely as well; the smug expression never failing to cause irritation.

At his words, Barbossa put down the bottle and simply stared at him for a few seconds. Was he just playing with him now? Was he lying? With Jack - everything was possible.

From what he knew right now, it wasn't possible to leave the enclosure - unless those scientists Malnosso took people to experiment on somewhere else.]

...Have ye, now? How, exactly?

[all7seas]

War, Hector. War. And other things, of course. [Jack personally finds war to be a huge waste.] They need me, you might say. Need my expertise.

[Nevermind that he had to serve as first mate to James Norrington on one draft, and spent most of it inspecting crates in the cargo hold of a giant metal uglification of a ship.]

Also, I've personally been the LEADER of a circus!

[applepirate]

[Of course. Missions, drafts, things of that nature. Barbossa hadn't really considered those - then again, a huge info dump had just been unloaded on him, and it was getting difficult to keep track of everything everyone had said to him. Perhaps a nice sleep would help process all of this.

Barbossa nodded at the man's words with his eyes wide and took another sip from his bottle of ale.]

Been keepin' yerself busy then, Jack. And certainly, who's better at devising escape routes and flights from combat in case folks need to retreat?

[An irritating grin spread on his face. At least it was a compliment, wasn't it? Jack's next comment about the circus amused him, though, and he let out a chuckle in response.]

Folks saw the potential in ye, didn't they? Well, I can surely see that ye would be a good choice to oversee an activity such as that. 'Tis a shame I missed it. [Not that he had any doubts that there would be more to come.]

[all7seas]

Runnin' a circus, runnin' a ship. What can I say, Hector? I'm a natural-born captain of....things.



And I'm certain you'll have a chance to prove your OWN leaderly ways, the way this place is run. Lord have mercy on us all.

[applepirate]

Hmph. Time will tell, I'd say.

[Another drink from the ale, followed by a lazy slouch on his chair. Curses, was it a long day.]

The folk here are some of the strangest I've met. [And that even counts the man he was talking to.] Certainly not like any of the crews that ye or I have had before.

[With that in mind, it was hard to picture himself commanding in Luceti, not that the idea was unpleasant. It was just different.]

[all7seas]

You'll be happy to know, mate, that strange is normal here. You'll fit in perfectly.





The monkey's not here, is he?

[Jack takes a swig of rum, preparing himself for the worst.]

[applepirate]

[So will the one beside him, certainly. Both were used to strange, but this Luceti place was something else.]

Afraid not. After all, if I recall correctly, yer namesake was trapped in a bottle, along with yer ship.

[There was a hint of lamentation in the old pirate's voice, clearly showing that he missed his pet even in his attempts to mock the one the monkey was named after. Perhaps he will be able to find it here in Luceti somewhere? He definitely hoped it would.]

[all7seas]

Aye. My namesake. On MY ship. [That was interesting. Hector knew about the bottle, the ship. How much else did he know?]

Wouldn't be IN that predicament if it hadn't been for you.

[Them's fightin' words. Jack's still more than sore about that issue.]

[applepirate]

[The older pirate couldn't help but give out a sigh as he put down the ale and leaned forward, looking at Jack and shaking his head a bit.]

Ye be suggestin' that if you were in command of the Pearl, ye would've somehow stopped Blackbeard's attack, hmm? [He then cackled as he gave the other man a grin.] I would highly doubt that, Jack.

Ye may have become the one-legged man yerself and brought the end to that bloody menace of a pirate that he so deserved, but the Pearl would've still been lost, I'm afraid. In the end, it's all his fault, is it not? [He wasn't cutting Blackbeard any slack - he might've been defeated in the end, but if it wasn't for him, Barbossa could still have had his ship and the leg that he lost.]

[all7seas]

Your fault for bein' still alive at all. [There is a juvenile so there tone to those words. Jack's not above being childish about things like this.]

Least HE'S not here.

[It has more than once occurred to Jack that Blackbeard might indeed show up one of these cycles. Small favors, really, that he hasn't.]

There WAS a Blackbeard here once. 'Bout eight foot high. Horrible breath. Everyone hated him. He wasn't OUR Blackbeard, though.

[applepirate]

[And that was why what Barbossa was going to do was simply ignore Jack's words, giving him naught but a brief stare of irritation, simply going on pretending that he had not heard him at all.]

Aye, that be true! [And that was most certainly a relief. Carrying out and fulfilling that prophecy once was enough, thank you.] This place is so queer, however, that I wouldn't be surprised to find him of all folk 'ere as well. After all, our mutual acquaintance James Norrington seems to be up and about, good as new, alive and kickin'.

[His eyes widened a bit in response to Jack's mention of the eight foot tall other Blackbeard.]

Heard about another Blackbeard meself already, as a matter of fact. Fearsome pirate like ours, yet supposedly the whelp didn't even have a bloody ship back in his own world. [It was clear that Barbossa did not think highly of whoever that was. At least their Blackbeard was a formidable foe and one that he took pride in killing.]

[all7seas]

[Ah, Norrington -- a much better subject than Blackbeard any day, and worth putting that subject on the back burner for.]

You've spoken to James?

[applepirate]

I exchanged some pleasantries with the Admiral, aye. [More like spiteful insults and petty affronts. Pretty much the same as before, really. At least nobody ended up dead, so that was a start. Well, the lack of any weapons on either side could have been the reason for that.]

Suffice it to say, he was not particularly thrilled to see me. [Norrington's reaction upon meeting him was still something that caused the pirate some amusement whenever he recalled it, as he did now.]

[all7seas]

I am not certain that "thrilled" is something Norrington gets. Least he didn't hang your hide.

[Though Jack knows that the last thing James would do here would be to hang anyone.]

[applepirate]

My apologies if that's what ye were hopin' for, Jack. [It was a curious thing that he didn't actually try to do anything or pursue him afterwards, but Luceti as a whole was a strange place to be in given what their predicament was. That, and Barbossa still had to actually read the guide in his journal. Too long.]

I'm sure yer first encounter with the man here didn't go too smoothly, either. [An unspoken question as to how exactly that went, because he was terribly curious to hear it.] Here we are though, both of our necks still intact. He must be feelin' generous. [He jokingly said it with a derisive chuckle.]

[all7seas]

[Would Jack at this moment do the honest thing and tell Hector that he and Norrington had LIVED together? Been housemates? Sailed together? Fought together? Dined together?

Jack twitched slightly. The answer, of course, was no. He had an image to protect. And that thought made him feel slightly horrible inside -- guilt. James Norrington had been a staunch ally and even a friend, though neither man would ever admit that. This was a betrayal. A flat-out betrayal.]

Perhaps this place has turned him into a lazy bastard. I don't know. But you ought to know, Hector, that things what die here? They come back. James Norrington knows that.

[applepirate]

[That would've certainly surprised the older pirate captain, and also given him lots of material to use against Norrington. Really, though, he'd think - what was the world coming to? The Admiral had somehow restrained himself from acting against his pirate nemesis all that time?]

Or perhaps it is so because he can't quite put a bounty on me head that is worth ten bloody thousand guineas 'ere now, can he? [Everything here was free and there was no real currency in Luceti - Barbossa knew that much, at least.]

Well, Jack, ye forget that ye are speaking to one of those "things". [If he was particularly impressed by this new piece of information, he didn't show it yet.]

[all7seas]

Oh no, Hector. I've never forgotten that. [He'd saved that one shot for so long.]

I've one ground rule: you stay away from a lovely creature named Buffy. And my boat. Don't touch my boat.





Two ground rules.

[applepirate]

[Of course he had. A well fired shot too, one would have to admit.

Barbossa scratched his beard a little as he regarded his fellow pirate with an amused expression, the last comment about people coming back from death here long forgotten.]

Are ye havin' as much trouble with the women 'ere as ye did in Tortuga, Jack? How long 'till this Buffy creature slaps ye in the face too, hmm? [He had lost count of how many times that had happened to poor Jack already. Surely the trend must have continued in Luceti as well.]

Ye don't need to concern yerself about yer boat. I heard about it, actually, and I'm not touching anythin' short of a ship. [Which led to the question that he had on his mind ever since he had the misfortune of coming here.] How does one exactly come to own one in these waters, by the way, I wonder?

[all7seas]

NO I'm not having troubles, blast it! [Though he'd had many. And many slaps. Yes.

And heavens forfend that Hector Barbossa ever discovered the Britannia.]

Don't have Blackbeard's magical sword, do you? [Triton's own blade, it was said. Jack hoped not.]

[applepirate]

[Barbossa could only grin at Jack's answer, momentarily bringing his attention back to the ale that he had almost fully consumed.

After taking another sip from it, he turned back to his fellow pirate.

He hadn't been to the item shop yet that was supposedly around here someplace... Perhaps it would have appeared there already. Would be a good idea to check, he'd definitely want it back, along with his hat.]

Afraid not, Jack. The sword of Triton is just as lost as the Queen Anne's Revenge seems to be, and probably nothin' short of Blackbeard's own appearance here would bring it back. [Leave out the fact that he hadn't exactly checked for it yet. Perhaps it shouldn't be wise to tell Jack everything, and goddamn it he was going to get his sword back if anything else. Jack wasn't going to steal it, never. Ever.] And we don't want that, do we?

[all7seas]

Pity.

[So not a pity. Barbossa might be able to find the Britannia, but without a crew or a magical sword he wouldn't be able to sail her.

Of course, Barbossa had a way of getting people to do what he wanted. He was a master, as it were -- possibly even better at it than Jack himself. He had convinced the crew of the Pearl to mutiny, after all.]

And no. We don't. Or his daughter.

[For Reasons.]

[applepirate]

[It would be a pity if he couldn't find it when he went to the item shop to check whether it was there, yes... But Barbossa was not going to reveal if he did get it anytime soon, at least, until he gauged what the situation in Luceti was a bit more.

And what Jack was thinking too, if that was even possible. Who had ever known what exactly was on that man's mind, and whose side he was on? He did apparently see this as a holiday, after all. What wasn't for him?]

Angelica, eh? [He had almost forgotten about the lass, but he grinned at the mention of her. He wasn't exactly sure what had been going on between her and Jack last time he saw them.] Afraid she's gonna chance upon Buffy, are ye? Seriously, what's one more slap gonna do to ye, Jack? [Nothing out of the ordinary here!]

[all7seas]

If she met Buffy?

[Jack's mind wanders off into that unwelcome scenario.]

It wouldn't be a slap. It'd be a gunshot.

[applepirate]

[Oh, Barbossa would certainly like to be a witness to that. Perhaps Angelica coming into Luceti was going to be a rather amusing scenario to see unfold, more so than he initially thought. The pirate captain couldn't help but give out a cackle again.]

Aye, I forgot she was a rather fierce one, that one.

[He could definitely imagine it playing out exactly like that, the thought clearly entertaining him.]

In which case, perhaps it would be in yer best interest for Buffy to find her first, eh? [He leaned his head forward a bit in Jack's direction, his brows lifted and his smile wide.] ...Unless she's also the same type of trigger happy lass that would rather shoot ye as well, hmm? Then it'd only be a question of who gets to do that first.

[Certainly wouldn't be the first time when women had teamed up against Jack.]