Escape in London

*"I may have unintentionally slighted some King or another.*"

The **Escape in London** was a small scale skirmish across the city of London in England carried out by Jack Sparrow, who had originally come to London to rescue Joshamee Gibbs from the gallows, however was himself captured by Royal Marines and presented to King George II who requested to Sparrow that he lead an expedition to the Fountain of Youth for the Royal Navy. Jack made his escape of the situation in a deadly chase across London, ending at the *Captain's Daughter* Tavern, where he found Angelica Teach acting as an impostor of himself. After escaping the final royal guards chasing him down with his impostor, Angelica kidnapped Jack and took his aboard the *Queen Anne's Revenge.*

## Prelude

##### Angelica Teach Impostor

Angelica Teach and Blackbeard had set out to find the Fountain of Youth, hoping to save Blackbeard from a prophecy that stated that Blackbeard would lose his life to a man with one leg. They heard tell that Jack Sparrow had found the Fountain, and thus set out to capture Jack and use his knowledge to lead them to the Fountain. Angelica went to London where she set a trap for Jack, taking his identity and posing as the pirate himself, hiring a crew and spreading word that Jack Sparrow had come to London in search of a crew to search for the Fountain of Youth.

##### The Real Jack Sparrow

The real Jack Sparrow had also come to London, yet unaware of his impostor. He came after hearing word that his old ally, Joshamee Gibbs, had been captured and set to be hung after being mistaken for Jack Sparrow. In order to rescue Gibbs from his grim fate, Jack came to the city to stage an elaborate rescue. The Courthouse known as the Old Bailey was the stage for the trial of Jack Sparrow, that was turned into a public event, with pirate merchandise and family attendees. Joshamee Gibbs had been held in a dungeon below the courthouse until he was presented to the courtroom, where he was announced as the infamous Jack Sparrow. Meanwhile, the real Jack Sparrow had infiltrated the courthouse and tied up Judge Smith in his offices. He took his clothes and his wig, taking his place so that as Judge Smith was announced, Sparrow took his place. Jack sat at his seat, beginning the court proceedings despite his fellow jury not recognizing him. Joshamee Gibbs recognized Jack and continued to try and tell the audience in the chamber of his real name, even saying that he would be happy to identify the real Jack if it were to help his case. Jack skipped the trial itself, asking the Foreman for their verdict. Desperate to see a pirate hang, the jury gave Joshamee Gibbs a guilty verdict despite his protests to say he was innocent of actually even being Jack Sparrow. Jack then announced that the jury had determined that Joshamee Gibbs was guilty of being innocent of being Jack Sparrow. Jack brought about a new sentence that Gibbs would continue to live the remained of his life behind bars in the Tower of London. Gibbs was removed from the courtroom as the crowd roused and protested, wanting to see him hang, throwing food at the judges. Jack left the courtroom, removing his disguise.

Joshamee Gibbs was brought to a transport outside the courthouse that would take him to the Tower of London. The driver had been bribed by Jack however to take them to their escape destination, outside London Town. Little did Jack know however that the driver had been bribed by yet another interested party, the British Royal Navy, who knew of Jack's whereabouts and wanted to bring him before the king so that they could bring him into the fold on their quest to find the Fountain of Youth, having heard that Jack was in town bringing together a crew. Jack leapt into the back of the transport where he described his plan to Gibbs. Gibbs then explained the rumor that he had heard about Jack, that he had been spotted in London with a ship and a crew, and was signing up men that night in a pub called the *Captain's Daughter.* Their trip ended as they began to discuss Jack's failure to find the Fountain of Youth. Jack opened the back door to find himself in the courtyard of St. James' Palace, surrounded by armed British guards. Jack and Gibbs were arrested again, learning that their driver had betrayed them.

Jack was taken to a regal room at a banquet table, where he was left to wait for an audience with King George II himself. Jack surveyed the room while he was alone, looking for an escape route. A door on the far end was opened to allow King George II to enter with his royal entourage, taking his seat at the table opposite Jack. King George II began by telling Jack that he had heard of him, and that he was in London to procure a crew for his ship. Jack tried to make clear that this was only rumor, that he was not in London for a crew, but was still Jack Sparrow. While he spoke, Jack deliberately annoying King George II with the rattling of his chains, moving them more and more, creating more and more noise. Eventually King George II's patience broke, getting the chains removed. They asked Jack about the Mao Kun Map, that they had heard he was in possession of. Lord John Carteret demanded that they confiscate the map and send Jack to the gallows. Jack realized that the Mao Kun Map had been taken by Gibbs during their transport ride to the palace during their conversation about the Fountain of Youth. Jack had to concede that he did not have the map. King George II revealed that he had received a report that the Spanish had discovered the Fountain, enraging him. The entourage revealed their hand to have Jack use his knowledge of the location of the Fountain to lead an expedition to find the Fountain so that King George II could drink from the water and earn eternal life. Jack stood and began to pace, placing a napkin on the floor to aid his eventual escape he had been planning in his head. He asked them if they would provide a ship and a crew. King George II also revealed to Jack that they would provide a captain: Privateer Hector Barbossa. Barbossa strode into the room, demanding that Jack be placed in chains, revealing to the pirate that he had now become a privateer on a sanctioned mission under the protection of the crown. Jack asked after the *Black Pearl*, learning that it had been sunk during the attack that had cost Barbossa his leg. Jack tried to leap over the table to attack Barbossa, but was detained by the Royal guards.

## Recount

##### Escaping the Palace

Jack, enraged by the sight of Barbossa alive and in the service of the crown, began his escape attempt, wrestling his arms free of the guards that held him. He took their guns and aimed them at the chains that held the chandelier in place, breaking them and causing the chandelier to swing across the room. Jack then ran to the window, breaking it open with a chair, grabbing the curtain rope and waiting for a guard to rush him. The guard came, slipping on the napkin that Jack had placed during their conversation, and falling out the window. Jack gave him the opposite curtain rope as he fell, causing him to lift Jack as a counterweight as he fell. Jack was lifted up onto a ledge near the ceiling, where he could grab the chandelier and swing across to an indoor balcony, where he escaped through an open door. He ran through the palace before finding a window he could open, escaping onto the flag display that hang over the street below. He was forced to hide as the royal guards chasing him down found the open window. Jack slipped, giving himself away to the captain of the guard, who immediately called for backup to help him deal with the capture of Sparrow.

##### Skirmish through the streets of London

The guards opened a near window, cutting away the rope that supported one end of the display. Eventually the final strength of the rope failed and snapped, causing Jack to fall and swing into a passing carriage of a noblewoman. He distracted her from her questions by kissing her ear, which in turn was a distraction from his theft of her expensive earring. He exited through the window, climbing atop the carriage roof. He was watched by all those gathered in the street as he passed by, balancing to stop himself falling into the muddy streets. A group of royal guards ran on foot behind the carriage in pursuit. Jack leapt from one carriage to another, eventually landing on a coal wagon. He took the reigns from the driver, and begin riding at an alarming quick pace. The captain of the guard caught up to Jack on horseback, chasing him down and opening fire. The gunfire caught the lantern hanging off the wagon, causing the coal to ignite. Jack drove the flaming wagon through the streets, spilling flaming coal into the mud. He was able to escape after leaving the central city into the outskirts. Here he came to find the *Captain's Daughter* Tavern. He leapt from the carriage and onto the pub sign, holding on as the carriage and it's pursuers continued on. Jack dropped down from the sign when he was satisfied that he was safe, only to discover that the captain of the guard had spotted his escape attempt and had waited for him on the street below. The captain prepared to shoot Jack, however was killed himself by Edward Teague, who shot the captain in the back. Teague stepped forward, revealing himself to Jack.

##### The *Captain's Daughter*

Jack took a seat with his father inside the *Captain's Daughter* pub, where Teague once again told Jack that he had heard rumor that Jack was in London looking for a crew. Wanting to support his son in his quest for the Fountain, Teague told Jack that he must first locate two chalices for use in a profane ritual before he could drink from the Fountain. He also told Jack that he would be able to find the chalices on Ponce de Leon's ship. With one final warning to Jack, Teague vanished into the foggy smoke of the pub. Jack decided he would investigate the rumor of an impostor. He went over to where the supposed crew of the impostor Sparrow sat singing, lead by Scrum. He went over to Scrum, saying that he had heard that Scrum had a ship. When Scrum saw Jack, he accused him of being an impostor. Jack quickly grew tired of Scrum and walked into the backroom where the impostor had been signing up sailors. After walking into the room he quickly found himself face to face with his impostor, their face covered in shadow. Little did he know that he was opposite Angelica Teach. He drew his sword and began a duel that carried them throughout the room. Jack took several opportunities to try and determine who the impostor was, leading them into the light of open flames in the room, unable to see clearly enough. He also grew agitated as Angelica continued to mimic his movements. Eventually, Angelica performed a move to disarm Jack, a move that Jack recognized as Angelica's. Having revealed herself, Angelica asked Jack if he was impressed. She removed her disguise and soon revealed that she had heard that Jack had been to the Fountain of Youth.

Before they can finish their conversation, the room is swarmed by royal guards searching for Jack. Scrum came running into the room warning both Jack and Angelica only moments before the guards came rushing in. The pirates fought back against the guards for as long as they could. Jack began splitting barrels, causing rum and wine to spill out across the room, knocking over the guards and creating confusion. Despite his efforts, the guards were still able to surround both the pirates and trap them in a corner... over a trapdoor. Angelica activated the door, causing them to fall down and into the river below the pub, where they swam to their escape. They washed up on the stone steps at an embankment in the city, climbing to the edge, where once again Angelica pressed Jack for information about the Fountain. He told her about the chalices and the ritual, to which she revealed that she knew about the ritual and that a mermaid was needed to complete it. Before another word could be put in, Jack was shot by a tranquil dart by the zombie Quartermaster. Jack passed out.

## Aftermath

##### Jack's Nightmare

Jack was taken onto the Queen Anne's Revenge where he was expected to work as part of the crew to aid in the search for the Fountain of Youth and help Angelica guide a path to the Fountain.

##### Gibb's Predicament

Privateer Barbossa ordered Joshamee Gibbs to be brought to the execution square of the Tower of London, leading Gibbs to believe he was to be executed. As he reached his terminal destination he was met by Barbossa who demanded to know the location of Jack Sparrow before he set sail in pursuit at first light aboard the HMS *Providence**.* Barbossa threatened Gibbs with an execution if he did not offer any information to Barbossa. Gibbs tried to persuade Barbossa to take him with him on the quest to the Fountain, revealing to Barbossa that he had the Mao Kun Map. Before Barbossa could take it, Gibbs threw the map onto the ground and smashing a lantern onto it, setting it on fire. He told Barbossa that he had spent his time in jail studying the map intensely, making every route and every destination safe in his mind. Needing Gibb's mind to find the Fountain, Barbossa welcomed Gibbs back to the Navy as a navigator aboard the HMS *Providence.*

## Appearances

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Indirect mention only)