A really huge battle is the mother of invention. And when what you want is to intervene on the other side of a ruddy whirlpool, but, you know, don't want to actually put yourself in that kind of danger, shooting's pretty much it... unless there's a monkey that can't die with ideas of his own. Pintel and Ragetti scramble to load the cannon and light the powder as little Jack the monkey clambers into the barrel.

"Fire!" yells somebody, it doesn't really matter who at this point, and the shot explodes out across the gaping maelstrom, Jack shrieking joyously as he dives for a crewman's head, knocking them both over the ship's railings.