(Untitled)

[bringmethatnpc]

Night has fallen, and the Black Pearl cuts through the still and glass-like waters of world's end with hardly a sound. There must be a small wind, their forward progress is proof enough of that, but the air feels stagnant and oppressive, weighing them down with the knowledge that they don't belong in this weird and haunted place

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[try_corsets]

The unexpected light of the lanterns, one in each small boat, draws Elizabeth's attention. She walks to the port rail, still deep in her own thoughts until one boat in particular catches her eye.

Not the boat, the passenger within.

Eyes alight with a fierce happiness, Elizabeth exclaims: "It's my father... we've made it back!"

The Locker, the gloom, and all her uncertainty about Will and Jack falls away. It doesn't matter any more. They're back, and her father is here to greet them.

[pirate_jack]

He steps from the shadows where he's been silently watching, coming up behind Elizabeth-- moving for all the world much like a shadow himself, or perhaps even a ghost.

Which he is, to make no bones about it.

Here in this half-world between the Locker and the living lands beyond, Jack Sparrow is one of the few best suited to know exactly what they're all seeing as they watch boats and bodies and the flickering (candle) lights guiding the spirits in from the cold and watery deep.

There's a dark, knowing gleam in the black eyes as his gaze rests on once-Governor Weatherby Swann, but Jack doesn't say a word.

[governor_swann]

It's been night a long time, but the boat's rocking is gentle and the star light gives him comfort.

Nothing matters anymore.

lap... lap... lap...

There are others here, in boats beside his, behind his. He doesn't speak to them, because they don't matter.

Nothing matters but the end of the journey which must come soon, mustn't it?

[try_corsets]

Elizabeth doesn't notice Jack. All of her attention is focused on the man in the boat, who doesn't seem to hear her cries.

"Father!" She lightly slaps the rail. "Father, here, look here!"

Why doesn't he look her way?

[governor_swann]

He hears something-

But no. It can't be.

He stares straight ahead.

[pirate_jack]

"Elizabeth."

Quietly said, and yet there's no denying the strange certainty in Jack's low voice.

He waits for her to turn, and meets her eyes when she does. When he speaks, it's not gentle-- there's nothing exactly gentle about Jack Sparrow any more-- but there's a rough sort of sympathy there all the same, at least in this.

"We're not back."

[turned_captain]

Will can't say anything. He's been fighting so hard for his own father, it's a shock to see hers, who they thought safe, and his first thought is for Elizabeth, to comfort her.

His heart is hurting for this, it can only be a fraction of what she feels.

He reaches out a hand to her, but Barbossa stands in the way, and he's still not sure whether she'd want comfort from him.

[try_corsets]

But that's... impossible. They have to be back. If they're not back, why is her father here?

Elizabeth stares at Jack as the only possible explanation begins to sink in.

He's dead.

Denying it, she jerks back and hurries to keep up with her father's boat.

"Father!" she cries again, desperate to get his attention.

[governor_swann]

He frowns, confused, and turns his head.

There's a ship there. It's much larger than the rowboats all around him. And- there are people- one of whom looks just like-

"Elizabeth?"

She shouldn't be here, should she? Because if she is-

"Are you dead?"

[try_corsets]

"No." She shakes her head, eyes wide with worry and disbelief, and keeps pace with the boat. It's a good thing she knows the deck well, because she certainly doesn't take her eyes off her father. "No!"

There isn't much time, and they shouldn't be wasting it talking.

[governor_swann]

It's strange how it doesn't bother him, the thought of his own demise. He rather thinks it would if she were, as well.

"...I think I am," he says.

[try_corsets]

"No, you can't be!"

Desperation fills her voice, as she struggles to believe her own words.

[governor_swann]

His face clouds with confusion. He's reaching for the memories, for the words to convey them.

"There was this...chest, you see. It’s odd. It seemed...so important at the time."

[turned_captain]

Chest?

Davy Jones' heart. Governor Swann died because he knew something about the heart.

Although he's still hurting for Elizabeth, Will finds himself listening intently.

[try_corsets]

But it's not important. Not now.

What's important is that her father is slowly drifting away.

Elizabeth slaps the rail harder, hoping it will help him focus, and yells,

"Come aboard!"

[governor_swann]

"And a heart. I learnt that if you stab the heart, yours must take its place. You will sail the seas for eternity. The Dutchman must have a captain."

He looks away, his gaze vacant and mostly unseeing. He adds, almost as an afterthought, "Silly thing to die for."

The lapping of the waves draw his attention again. He has somewhere to go. Somewhere Elizabeth cannot follow.