"I 'ates fog; normal or cursed!" Pintel muttered, crossing his arms over his chest as the Pearl began to sail through it.
He then frowned and looked up at the sky, narrowing his eyes in confusion.
It was starting to get dark all ready, even though it was only the middle of the day; the sun starting to set prematurely.
"Why is the moon comin' ou' all ready?" he wondered aloud, watching as the fog seemed to spread out to let the moonlight land on the deck of the ship.
"Master Pintel, it seems we have a problem." Barbossa said from behind.
"Wot kind o' prob..?"
Pintel froze, his eyes growing wide as he looked around at the rest of the crew.
Everyone standing in the moonlight was a skeleton.
No, no no' agin! We fixed this weeks ago!
"Bu'…Bu' we was cured!" he cried out helplessly. "We go' back the coins an' spilled our blood on 'em! There aint no way we kin be cursed!"
"Aye, but it seems that someone did not give enough blood! So the curse was only stopped for a few weeks and now it's back with a vengeance! Now everyone we came into contact with is also cursed…except for the one who didn't give enough blood." Barbossa said, walking up to Pintel as he adjusted his hat.
He then leaned forward, an evil glint in his eyes.
"Can ye think of anyone who might have done this?" he asked. "Can ye think of someone being so selfish as to not giving up enough blood?"
"No! I…"
But then Pintel's panic died down as he remembered and he shook his head slowly in despair.
"Do I 'as ta cut the palm o' me 'and, Pint?" Ragetti whimpered softly. "Et'll 'urt!"
"Rags, every person wot took a coin 'as ta cut themselves!" Pintel reminded him. "Or the curse won' be broken!"
Ragetti looked down at the ground, hugging himself.
"I don' see why I 'as ta cut me palm!" he insisted.
"Gi' me yer 'and, Rags."
"Ye promise et won' 'urt?" he asked fearfully.
"I promise."
Nodding, Ragetti held out his hand.
"I trus' yer, Pint." He said weakly. "I really do!"
Pintel nodded and he lightly pricked the tip of Ragetti's finger with the knife.
"Smear et good o'er the coin so et looks loik ye cut yer palm loik we all did." He whispered with a smile.
"Fanks, Pinters. I loves ye, ye know…E'en if I can' show et."
"I loves ye ta, Rags. We'll 'ave this curse done in no toime!"
"Rags…"
"Exactly!" Barbossa nodded. "Because yer matelot did not give up enough blood, we're all doomed to stay like this forever!"
"Bu'…There 'as ta be a way ta break the curse!" Pintel insisted, panic starting to make his chest tighten up.
The idea of being cursed like this forever was too much for the man to take. Ten years was quite enough of being devoid of all the good things about being alive! But forever? It would be like going to Hell.
Barbossa seemed to smile wider at this and he pointed over Pintel's shoulder.
"As a matter of fact, there is a way to cure us all for good!"
Looking over his shoulder, Pintel found Ragetti on his knees with his hands bound behind him, held still by Cotton and Gibbs.
"Pint…"
"Each one of us needs to smear the offender's blood on our faces if we want the curse to be lifted." Barbossa explained, placing a knife in Pintel's hand.
"And ye are the one who needs to slit his throat."
"Pintel!" Ragetti cried out.
"No…No, there 'as ta be another way!" Pintel said, shaking his head.
"There is no other way!" Barbossa said as Ragetti was dragged forward; crying out and struggling the whole way.
Stepping forward, Barbossa grabbed him by his hair and yanked his head back to expose his throat better.
"Now slit his throat, Master Pintel!" he shouted. "Slit his throat or be cursed forever!"
"Pinters!" Ragetti wailed.
"Remember what it was like? Not being able to eat or drink and enjoy it? Unable to feel warm flesh under yer fingers? Not being able to gaze at the stars with living eyes, only dead ones that can't truly appreciate the sight of them? Knowing that ye had become a monster and would remain as one forever?" Barbossa taunted him, playing on Pintel's fears.
"Do ye really want to be like that forever!? Slit his throat!"
"Slit his throat!"
It became a chant with the rest of the crew, drowning out Ragetti's sobs and pleading.
Pintel could do nothing but stand with the knife poised and ready.
He loved Ragetti…but how was he supposed to truly love him cursed as he was? Ragetti would live and die like a normal person while he was stuck as a cursed monster forever!
He was not willing to stay like this.
"Slit his damned throat, Master Pintel!" Barbossa roared. "Do ye want to be like this forever!?"
With a scream, Pintel swung the knife…
And he rammed it into Barbossa's open mouth.
"I aint killin' 'im! No' fer ye or any 'un else!" Pintel snarled. "I was terrified o' this curse, aye! Bu' I aint goin' ta kill Rags jus' ta 'elp meself!"
The fog suddenly grew too thick for him to see anything for a few minutes, but when it faded away; the scene had changed completely.
The Black Pearl had just left the fog behind and Pintel had just stabbed the mast of the ship with everyone staring at him in confusion.
Frowning, Pintel looked around and saw that it was still daylight out and that everyone was perfectly normal.
Except that Will was currently laying on his back and screaming for something to take Elizabeth's tongue and in the captain's quarters; he heard Elizabeth screaming for something to eat Will instead.
"Wot the 'ell jus' 'appened?" he asked aloud.
"Pinters!" Ragetti sobbed from down below and Pintel ran down to see what was wrong.