Power of the Sparrow

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 Title:
Time
and Time Again

Author: Hellborne (the_ferret_mom@yahoo.com)

Disclaimer: Characters, if you saw them in the movie
or if they're real people, not mine. See the Mouse and the Real People.
Story, mine, but I make no money. He does, but not on this.

Typing convention: / is used for thoughts. * - * - *
is used for scene changes and passages of time.

Summary: Will gives Jack a birthday present.
Unfortunately, it's cursed. J/W, O/J.

Warnings: Torture, N/C, SMBD, slash, H/C, angst,
lemon, major sadomasochism.

Betas: The two greatest BetaGoddesses in the world,
Pendragginink and Littlebird! You're both truly magnificent, and I
wouldn't be able to write half as well without you!

Admin Note:  As you know, Hellborne has
passed away, but the follow had been given to her Beta's and we wanted
to make sure we could share as much of her insight into the story with
you, her readers!

Chapter 20: Gift of the Dragon

As the Pearl sailed sedately through the curtain of light, Bill

disappeared and Will called all hands.

They dropped anchor not far from the dragon islet, and, as with the

previous visit, Jack and Will rowed over alone.

Standing once again on the dragon's snout, Jack bowed. "I'd like to

thank you for all you've done, Great Orm."

Will knew that Jack would never ask for what was necessary; Jack

loved Pearl too much, and he hadn't actually seen the horror of the

demonic transformation. "Milord Dragon, I must ask a question. The

ship we sailed here...is possessed by an unholy spirit. Would you

tell us about it?"

With a disgruntled snort, a blast of steam erupted from the dragon's

nostrils and the rock beneath them shook. "The spirit of your ship is

beyond ancient. Her name is Stheno. She is one of the three Gorgon

sisters. She has her mind set on destroying all aboard your ship and

taking this man's soul for herself."

"Is there a way to destroy her?"

"No mortal can do lasting harm to her."

"Can you?"

"I can but imprison her within the substance of your ship, as she has

bound herself to it. As long as your ship is whole, she is trapped

within it. Should you go through with your plan to destroy it, she

would be set free and her power would be infinitely more dangerous,

the creator of havoc far greater than you can possibly imagine." Jack

gulped at that; he could imagine quite a bit.

"Do you have a ship we could use in place of hers?

"I do. But it is not of your time, so it must be kept absolutely

secret, else it will cause time to bend too far and your world will

end. Therefore, I have put upon it a binding spell of Lethe, River of

Forgetfulness; anyone who sees it will forget its very existence

within an hour. Those who sail it are not exempt, so until such time

as you wish to be rid of it forever, do not leave it for a passage of

time exceeding an hour. Take care that you heed my words, for there

is no way back through the waters of Lethe."

Jack bowed. "Excuse me, but might this be one of those 'flying ships'

my friend Bill told me about?"

The ground rumbled and shook as the dragon chuckled. "No, my friend.

This ship does not fly, save beneath the surface of the sea.
Behold...Nautilus."

Jack and Will turned around just in time to see a large slice of

ocean start bubbling, the surface turbulent, roiling as if it were in

a pot over a fire. Slowly, an ominous ridged fin rose from the water,

followed by the rest of the creature. What ever it was, it was huge.

Jack had seen plenty of nautiluses while pearl-diving in Sunda Strait

near Java and on many a reef over the years; had even eaten them on

occasion, but he had never before seen one of its fellow mollusks

large enough to eat him. It didn't sound like something he would

enjoy. He glanced at the brightly glowing eyes of the immense

creature and turned back to the dragon, bowing again, more than a

little apprehensive. "Now that one's a bit of a wee beastie, isn't

it?"

Will looked amazed at the understatement and moved closer to examine

the leviathan from a different angle.

Jack chewed his lip as he considered all possible ways to get out of

this. "My name is Sparrow, Not Jonah, Milord Orm. I have no plans to

ride home in the belly of a sea serpent."

Will laughed, turning to his lover. "Jack, that's no sea serpent.

See? It's made of metal! The only thing I don't understand, though,

is how a metal ship can float." He turned back to the dragon. "Is it

magical then?"

The dragon's nostrils burst forth steam again in mirth. "No. It is a

machine from another time. All times gather in my realm."

Jack caught on to something. "So if we sail that...Nautilus?...out of

your realm, will we arrive in Port Royal in OUR time or IT'S?"

"There are always dangers of exiting my realm in the wrong time no

matter when you enter. The Gorgon controlled your egress on your last

visit. I cannot say in what year you shall return. Now see to the

souls on your ship. Any who stay aboard it shall be trapped here

forever."

Will promptly remembered something else. "Milord, you have done so

much already, but I need ask one more favor. When last we visited,

you did something to purify Jack's soul. I would ask you to please do

the same for my father. His spirit is aboard our ship; I know he's

done much to deserve the taint on his soul, but-"

"I see a spirit on your ship in great agony. The gorgon has recovered

and he has done much that displeases her. Is this the spirit of which

you speak?"

"Yes, Milord. He's my father, though I've never truly met him."

"Then return to your ship and move all souls, both the quick and the

dead, to Nautilus. There are many books and notes aboard, much

knowledge to master and I shall give you instructions personally to

help you get going. Take time to learn about her. Leave as soon as

you are able. You shall get to know your father, youngling. Friend

Sparrow, all luck and fair winds to you." The great stone eyes closed;
the dragon

exhaled with a deep, rumbling hiss.

When Jack and Will arrived back at the Pearl, Will was first up the

Jacob's ladder. At the top, he reached out with his stump for the

hand held out to him and was duly hauled aboard; he fainted as he saw

that the hand belonged to a now very much alive Bill Turner, looking

not too much older than Will himself. Jack climbed aboard, grinning

broadly when he caught sight of Bill Turner, fearsome pirate that he

was, tenderly carrying the exhausted and seemingly boneless 'Captain

Whelp' into the great cabin, cradling his fully grown son in his

arms, as if the blacksmith were a beloved child, once lost, since

found, which was in fact the case, all things considered.

* - * - *

TBC