Revenge
Disclaimer: None of it belongs to me. (sadness)
Author's note: This started out as a one-shot about how Jack was disappointed with the way his revenge ended (which I might post separately later). Then I got another idea: what if Will actually did what he was told when Jack told him to "stay here, and try not to do anything... stupid"? And then I started wondering if the two could work together. Somehow it turned into a full-blown fic. Go figure.
Chapter 1
"Do us a favor. I know it's difficult for you, but please, stay here, and try not to do anything... stupid," Jack said quietly. He turned away, about to leave, but when he didn't get an answer, he paused and swung back to face the young man. "Will?"
Scowling, Will answered, "I know."
"You swear you'll stay put until I tell you to do otherwise?"
"As long as Elizabeth is safe, I won't move a muscle."
Jack spread his arms wide, as if begging Will to have a little trust in him. "Hey, it's me!" He crept away, tossing the young man a careless grin over his shoulder as he went.
Will watched him go, frowning. "That's what worries me," he whispered. But Jack was gone. Moments later, the pirate reappeared on the other side of the cavern, where he had a clear view of everything that was going on. Will turned his attention to Barbossa, who was still shouting at the crew.
Suddenly, he turned to Elizabeth, and Will strained to hear what he said to her. "... whole bushel of apples," he hissed. He raised the knife, and Will swung his eyes over to Jack, knowing that the pirate had to move soon or lose his chance. But Jack stood, watching intently, but absolutely motionless. Will grasped his sword hilt, ready to bolt out of hiding and risk everything, but suddenly... it was over. All he'd done was to cut her hand.
She was obviously just as surprised as he was. "That's it?" she demanded, looking up at Barbossa in fear and tentative relief.
The pirate captain leered down at her. "Waste not," he said simply. Then he forced her to release the bloodstained medallion into the chest, and shoved her away. Her part was done; the pirates had but to wait to feel the sweet sensation of breathing overtake them once again.
Nothing happened.
This, Will was sure, would be Jack's cue to move, but still the pirate did nothing. He frowned and glanced back up at the pirates. Did he miss something? Was there some other component to lifting the curse that nobody knew about? Well, he amended silently, nobody but Jack. Somehow, that man was always three steps and a couple of good jumps ahead of everybody else, even when it looked like he was at the end of his rope... literally.
The pirates were getting restless. Finally, with an expression of extreme annoyance, Barbossa reached for his pistol and shot one of his men. Will jumped, but the man was unharmed (except, of course, for the smoking hole in his chest). But it proved that the curse was far from lifted, and the pirates broke into a fierce argument.
This was Jack's cue to move, and move he did. With a nod and a sharp whistle, he jumped from his hiding spot, brandishing his sword in one hand and his pistol in the other. From other hiding places around the cavern, the rest of his crew followed his lead--Jack must have given Gibbs separate orders outside of Will's hearing. Will seethed, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides, it wasn't completely bad; Barbossa and his mates were surrounded.
Jack smiled. "Well, isn't this interestin'?" He clambered up next to Barbossa and glanced at Elizabeth. "Looks like the girl's blood didn't work, did it?"
"What the devil are you doing here?" Barbossa demanded.
Jack put on his best wounded look and said, "I'm tryin te help ye out, mate. What d'ye think I'm here for?"
"And how the blazes d'ye think ye can do that?"
Jack grinned. "Tha's easy. You give me the Pearl, and I give you the blood of Bootstrap Bill."
Will, still hiding where Jack had left him, jumped. He had known that Jack was going to use him as leverage of some sort, but handing him over to these pirates to be the sacrifice to... whatever it was that had cursed them--! There were only so many things he was willing to put up with, and now that he was relatively certain that Elizabeth was safe, sacrificing himself to some heathen god or other was not listed among them. They wouldn't get him without a fight. He stood up and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was ready.
Okay, I know that there wasn't a whole lot of originality in there, but I had to transition from the movie to my new plotline as smoothly as I could, and that means copying a bit of the original stuff. It'll get vastly different from here on out, trust me!
To those of you who are observant: there is a line in here from another movie that I love. First person to tell me what the line is and what movie it's from gets a cookie! :)
