Author: immortaljedi
Pairing/characters: Bill, crew of the Dutchman
Rating: PG
Summary: In moonlight, he was no longer a skeleton
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
Author's notes: this was written for prompt #133 for potcfest which was actually prompt 106 from the first round, Bootstrap when the Aztec gold curse breaks.

Bootstrap Bill Turner shifted. He might not feel the wind, but he knew it was there. The Flying Dutchman was making her way through the Lesser Antilles on a moonlit night. Bill was on sentry duty, though most of the crew was on deck. The Captain was in his cabin.

In other words, everything was completely normal. Bill wondered just how long it would take before Clanker or Penrod played a prank. He glanced down at himself after he moved out of the shadows.

As always, his flesh had melted away and he had become a skeleton. A barnacle encrusted skeleton, for even like this, he showed the Dutchman's curse.

As he had wondered several times in the past years, he wondered how a man could be twice cursed.

Clanker looked up as he passed by. "You alright, Bill?"

"I'm fine," Bill said. "Things are quiet. No sign of any wrecks."

"The only thing we've found in the last week was that burnt out hulk of a navy ship," Clanker grumbled.

"Aye," Bill agreed.

He turned back around, glancing up at the moon that showed everyone what he really was.

He sighed again. This, all of this, was what he deserved for the mutiny. But sometimes he wished he hadn't sent that coin to his son.

He looked down at the evidence of the Aztec curse before continuing his path on the upper deck. He passed in and out of shadows several times. "Moon's bright today." Hadras mentioned as he passed by.

"Tell me about it," Bill grumbled.

Hadras laughed. Bill stepped out into the moonlight again.

The skeleton made his way past the mainmast and headed for the stern castle. The crew ignored how he appeared- they were used to it- or teased him about the moonlight.

Bill stopped and looked up, frowning. Something was… off. He had… and then his flesh returned and he looked to be an ordinary crewman of the Dutchman again.

He stumbled and fell. The pain in his hands convinced him this was real. The Aztec curse was broken!

"They found him," He whispered. "No. They found my son."

Clanker and Hadras were running toward him- no- to the wall. They faded into the ship and reemerged right beside him.

He didn't move as they stopped next to him. "Bill, what's going on?" Hadras asked.

"It's gone," He said brokenly. "They broke the Aztec curse."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"They found him."

Bill managed to stand up. He merged into the ship and reappeared in the hold. They had broken the curse, which meant they had found his son! Surely they would have killed his son- if only for more revenge on Bill. He should never have sent the coin to Will.

He drew himself up and faded into the ship once more. He needed time to think and grieve.

He didn't leave the ship for nearly a day. By then, the crew knew what had happened, though no one knew about his son. They didn't understand why he was so depressed.

I think I'll put all of these up as one shots. I'll be doing at least one more from potcfest this time around.