Chapter One: Walk Away
The battle had gone splendidly, with much clanging of swords and macho grunting. Out on the ship, things were quieting down, renegade pirates were being rounded up, glared at, and in a few cases, handcuffed and tickled unmercifully. Some of the crew, staunch soldiers all, were nevertheless rather childishly imaginative when it came to corporal punishment.
On the island, the echoes were slowly dying away. Elizabeth, in a fit of pique, had killed the few pirates left, and she now slumped on a mound of treasure, methodically picking through the jewelry to find something that matched her newest dress. Jack prodded the inert body of Barbossa with his toe, sniffed thoughtfully, and meandered towards Will, who stood over the chest of accursed Aztec gold, staring down at it.
"Whatcher thinkin', lad?"
"I am glad it is over," said Will, fervently if somewhat ponderously. Jack snorted.
"Ye must not be a true pirate, then."
"I've always said I wasn't."
"A true pirate," Jack went on, squinting and holding up a declamatory finger, " 'd be thinkin' solely of how he could steal this very treasure again, hang th' consequences." The reflection of the gold danced in his dark eyes as he lowered his gaze down to the chest. "Hang th' consequences," he repeated ruminatively, and one hand dipped into the trove, coming up with a handful of the coins. In front of Will's eyes, Jack changed— a shaft of moonlight that centered dramatically over the chest revealed the curse it brought. His wiry body became even thinner, clothes hanging loose on the bones they covered. Those high cheekbones became even more clearly defined as the skin shrank away, and Jack's eyes looked oddly naked, unframed by lashes, lids, or kohl. The lipless mouth moved.
"Its not a bad look— is it?"
Will eyed him. "Jack."
"I mean, I could pull it off. 'ire meself out for parties on All Hallow's Eve."
"Jack—"
Jack looked down at his bony hand, at the gleam of gold that shone through it, and— tried to twist his mouth thoughtfully. It didn't turn out so well.
"'The immortal Cap'n Jack Sparrow'— 'as such a ring to it," he said, wistfully.
"Jack!"
But he was beyond listening to anything but the voice inside his head, and the voice was saying, "Walk away, Cap'n— just walk away. Take th' money and run!"
"Tell me true, son," he said, eyes fixed on the gold caught in his fist. "If I were t' go back, what'd I expect to find? A crew waitin' t' take me off into that horizon? Or a gallows waitin' t' send me t' that special hell, reserved for pirates as plied their trade with a will?"
"The crew is gorn," said the crisp voice of Elizabeth behind them. Jack whirled around to blink at her in surprise— how he managed this without any eyelids, no one was quite certain.
"Gorn!" he repeated.
"Quite gorn," said Elizabeth. Thoughtfully, she picked up one of the pieces of eight. The sight of his skeletonized love caused Will to turn pale and desperately retch over the side of the mound of treasure, while Jack looked on her with marked approval.
"Yer a bonny lass," he said, and grinned. "Not ter mention a bony one. I always liked yer spirit."
"Which spirit is that, then," she retorted. "Rum?"
"Aye, rum!" said Jack. "Arr! Aye! Rum! Will ye come with me, Lizbeth? Ye'll never have to wear a corset again, stripe me if ye hear me complain."
She sighed, and glanced at Will, who was breathing hard and still clutching his middle. She dropped the gold back in, and with a slight smile, tore off a hangnail. A drop of blood from her finger, a triumphant smile, and she was back to herself. "It's tempting, Jack, but I think fate has dealt me a different hand."
Jack took her hand and bussed his teeth against her knuckles gallantly. "I'll miss ye, lass. Let me know when ye set a wedding date an' I'll risk me life an' freedom to attend. I love weddings. Free rum. Also, I feel I should be on hand should anything go wrong— in case ye need me f'r anythin'. Ye never can tell who's going to turn out to be a eunuch." He jabbed a thumb at her beloved, who was still looking pale, and rolled his eyes expressively. Elizabeth smiled and shook her head.
"You forget, I'm engaged to Commodore Norrington. Surely you don't suspect him of being a eunuch?"
Jack thought for a moment. "No," he said finally. "I suspect him of being a full-fledged lass." Elizabeth laughed, then wondered why this was so funny when it was an issue she would actually have to deal with, eventually— and then she sobered rather abruptly. Jack grinned— when you don't have lips, there's not a lot else to do. "So, as I was sayin', if ye need my help— with anything— ye can always call— now where's that dinghy?"
They stood and watched him row away, a ghostly hum echoing back at them. Elizabeth spoke the words.
"And really bad eggs—"
Will blinked at her, and she smiled grimly before a thought struck her.
"He took the boat—"
"How do we get back?"
When she came to, she was dead as a doornail. This wasn't much of a surprise, thought— she was used to it. What she was surprised about was her location. In point of fact, she didn't know where she was. It was colorful enough to be the Land of the Dead, but everyone seemed to be alive. And it wasn't quite repressed enough to be Upstairs— everyone was colorfully and somewhat scantily dressed, loud and laughing and stumbling drunk. She wandered a little, sticking close to the wall, taking everything in, marveling at the sights. People leaned on each other and fell over and caught each other and pulled each other down and the people who stood walked on the others and everyone laughed as though it were hilarious— an answering smile appeared on her lips as she watched. Where was she? Certainly not anywhere she'd been before.
She felt her way further. A sign creaking above her— the Faithful Bride? A tavern? An omen?
Something suspiciously like a hand, apparently groping her backside. "Wait— yer not the doorknob. My apologies, sorry luv—"
She swung around, and her skeletal hand connected with something equally hard and bony. More of a crack! than a slap. A drink-slurred voice.
"I'm absolutely bloody certain I didn't deserve that!"