Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.


She wasn't talking to him.

As much as this should have seemed like a bad thing, Will took it as a good sign. It meant that he had broken through that impenetrable shield she put up around herself. Now as, she stood on the deck, taken over by the sun once more, he could just watch her without her trying to avoid him like she had last night.

After that amazing kiss.

He would never forget the feel of her lips against his, how her hand felt in his. . . . God she was beautiful.

"You've taken quite a fancy to her, haven't you, lad?" Will looked over, surprised to see that his Captain had come down from the helm. When Will didn't answer, Captain Sparrow grinned, golden teeth glinting in the sun. "Aye, first love is a beautiful thing."

"I wouldn't call it love," Will muttered but he wasn't sure what else he would call it. Attraction? Obsession?

"Well it is something." Jack watched him for a moment before he switched his gaze to Rebecca. "I would be careful about it if I were you lad. She's not from our world."

Will nodded and replied, "I know."

And know he did but he was sure that was what made her that much more exciting. She was alluring and mysterious and he was hoping that, maybe, one day, she'd let him into her world.

Captain Sparrow patted him on the shoulder, moving off to inspect the crew.

Suddenly, the light from the necklace disappeared. Rebecca gasped, her head falling backwards. Will jumped up from his perch on the rail, grabbing her arm as she fell, pulling her towards him. Her body crashed into his, knocking them both to the ground as around them, the sky became darker as if someone was turning off a light.

"Bring out the lanterns!" Captain Sparrow yelled. The crew stirred out of their confusion and began to gather together.

Rebecca stirred, sitting up. "What -?"

"You fainted," Will told her, his hand resting against her back to keep her up. "The light just vanished and now –"

"No." Rebecca's eyes had widened. "No. This can't be happening."

"What is it?"

Soon enough, the sun was completely blacked out, gone. Rebecca was getting frantic and in the light of the few lanterns he could see that her eyes were wide. "You have to get below deck."

"Below, but –"

Her hands gripped the front of his shirt, cutting him off. "Please Will, you have to hide. Tie yourself to your bed, stuff cotton in your ears –"

Laughter filled the air around them suddenly, soft and light, femininely. The ship went silent again and it seemed to not even rock on the water. Will got to his feet, Rebecca still clinging to his him. The laughter was getting closer, hovering above the ship. Will wrapped his arms around Rebecca's waist, pulling her closer to him. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest, echoing through her body. Her hands reached up suddenly, cupping his face. "Whatever you do I want you just listen for my voice. Do you understand me? Try to tune them out."

"Tune who out?" Will asked trying not to relish in the fact that this was the most physical contact she had ever voluntarily given him. "Rebecca what are you –?"

"Look there!" a voice cried out.

They all looked up towards the darkness. Green, smiling eyes glinted at them, glowing. Jives raised his lantern, revealing a gorgeous woman, her hair long, blond, and curly, wisps falling against her face. She sat naked, perched on the crow's nest, smiling down at them. The sound of rustling caused all the pirates to raise their lanterns. More woman, all naked, all beautiful were sitting on the ship's ropes and rails, grinning down at them. The men were mumbling, clearly appreciating the view. Women were rare commodities when all you did was sail the sea. They didn't even seem to care where the women came from . . . or see the wings that sprouted from between each of their shoulder blades.

Then, the women opened their mouths.

"Listen to me Will," Rebecca whispered quickly, quietly. "Listen to my voice only."

And that's when the music started.

It was magical, magnificent. It flowed over Will like warm water and he closed his eyes his head lolling back. There were words but they were indefinable, whatever they were. It didn't seem to matter though . . . all he could see was one brown haired, blue eyed angel, sitting on a rope just above him, beckoning him with a smile and her song.

"Will!"

The voice seemed to echo around him, whoever that was. What did they want? Couldn't they see that he was in love and determined.

"Will!"

There was something that he was supposed to be remembering, something someone told him to do but for the life of him he couldn't remember. His sword was pulled from its sheath but he didn't care. He was going to reach his angel even if it killed him.

Small hands grabbed at his wrist but he shook them away with a push. He bumped into someone else but that didn't stop him as he climbed up onto the rail, grabbing onto another rope so that he could shimmy up to the woman waiting for him. She held out a hand to him, beckoning him with a cocked finger and a delicate smile. How in the world had someone so beautiful been created?

"WILL!"

For a moment things around him didn't seem so beautiful anymore. He thought he heard a man scream and he looked down at the deck. Everything seemed blurry but he thought he saw a girl down there, waving up at him frantically. He thought he recognized her but he couldn't recall her name. She seemed worried, though, and Will started to climb down.

Two hands gripped the sides of his face and he felt sharp nails rake through his hair, unimaginable fear gripped at his heart but it disappeared as soon as he was looking back to his beautiful, brown-haired angel. He could have sworn they were flying as he looked into her gorgeous blue eyes. Will reached up, pushing her hair out of her face. She grinned at him, eyes wide . . . and then she was drifting father and father away. The earth was not beneath his feet anymore, moving swiftly beneath him.

Was this what love felt like?


Rebecca watched in horror as the harpy flew Will high above the ship and then dropped him. Damn him for not heeding her warning! She climbed up onto the rail as he had, just as Will's body hit the water. She wouldn't be able to swim as well in the churning water in this form, wouldn't be able to breathe but none of that mattered now as she dived in after Will.

The salt water burned her eyes fiercely and the ocean tousled her, but she forced her eyes open and swam forward towards Arthur's sinking form. Her lungs were starting to burn. If she didn't move faster, the both of them would die.

She kicked her feet harder, reaching for his hand. Her fingers brushed his and she pushed herself, grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards her. Rebecca gripped her arm around his chest, pulling the both of them up towards the surface. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst. She closed her eyes against the salt, focusing on kicking and pulling with her free arm.

The water broke over her head and she gasped for air, pulling Will up next to her. His eyes were closed but he coughed up water, his chest rising and falling slowly underneath her arm. The relief that filled her heart was utterly painful and she couldn't help but hate the fact that her happiness seemed to depend on his safety.

A screeching noise caught her attention, causing her to grip both her arms around Will's chest . . . but it wasn't him that they were after. Rebecca screamed as talons gripped at her shoulders, pulling her and Will from the water. For a moment, they dangled helplessly in the air before the harpy dropped them. They hit the deck of the ship, Rebecca still with her arms around Will. He was very still and that worried her.

"Nereid." Rebecca looked up into the face of one of the Harpies, who glared up at her. Around them, the other Harpies were still placating the men, singing softly in their ears. Even Captain Sparrow was staring longingly at the bird in front of him. Only Rebecca could see the truth. The Harpies were not beautiful, their wings not gorgeous golden feathers. They were women, yes, but with bald heads, grey skin, and bat like wings. Mottled feathers blotted their flesh, sticking up like twigs from their bodies. "You should not have interfered, Nereid. We have no quarrel with the water folk."

"You have quarrel with me for attacking this ship," Rebecca said, getting shakily to her feet. "It is under my protection."

"You have no claim over this ship!" She screeched, her wings flaring. "If you had, you would have stopped these foolish men from venturing this far."

Rebecca looked down, spotting the sword she had pulled from Will's sheath lying not far from her. "You are the next test then?"

"That we are."

"How do you expect them to face it if they are dazed out of their mind?"

"That is not our problem . . . and neither is it yours." The Harpy took a step towards her and Rebecca lunged, grabbing the sword off the deck.

She pointed it at the harpies, spinning slowly. "You will leave this ship at once!"

The harpy laughed, a high-pitched cawing sound. "You cannot make us leave. This is their challenge to face, not yours. We will have the boy."

With a growl of anger, Rebecca swung the sword in the direction of the head harpy , who jumped back, her wings fluttering. She snarled at Rebecca, revealing sharp teeth. "How dare you?"

With a screech she rose into the air before diving towards Rebecca. Rebecca jerked out of the way just in time for the Harpy to fly past her but the bird was fast; it spun back around, gripping Rebecca's arm with its talons, pulling her up into the air, above the crow's nest, above the ship. As they got higher and higher, Rebecca could feel the Harpy loosening her grip on her arm, threatening to let her fall and smash into the water below.

Unless. . . .

Rebecca's other hand still gripped tightly to Will's sword. Using all that was left of her strength, she swung the sword.

The scream that echoed through the darkness was horrible, loud enough to bring the dead to life. Below them, she thought she heard the groans of the men coming out of the daze placed on them. Rebecca was soon falling, the harpy on one side of her and its severed wing on the other, black blood trailing into the air.

As they fell back past the crows' nest, Rebecca stretched out her free hand, grabbing onto one of the ropes. Her hand burned, the flesh breaking as she slid down the rope. Halfway down, she let go, dropping into the shrouds, her body rolling down until she landed on her knees. The harpy fell faster, landing with a sickening crunch on the deck.

Rebecca pushed herself to her feet again, dragging Will's sword behind her as she made her way slowly to the harpy. The harpy looked up just as Rebecca raised the sword with both hands and plunged it into her chest. The bird's back arched as she gasped, then she fell back to the deck and moved no more.

Rebecca yanked the sword from the monster's chest and looked up at the others, who glared at her. One stepped forward, looking down at her fallen sister before looking back up at Rebecca. "The test has been met and completed . . . but Iris will not forgive this easily, Nereid. You are warned."

With that, the Harpies took back to the air, taking with them the overwhelming darkness that had covered this part of the earth. The setting sun was almost blinding in comparison; had they really been in the dark that long?

At her feet, the harpy she had killed was dissolving into black dust, which was gathered up and scattered back into the wind. It was like they hadn't even been there. All that was left was a lone, bloody, mottled wing.

"Rebecca?" The girl looked up into the eyes of the boy she had just risked her life for. He was sitting up now, as were most of the other men. Captain Sparrow had made his way down from the helm, his eyes roaming over his crew but every once in the while, they would land on her again with this shocked gaze that was common among the others and Will. She knew she must look a sight; wet and bloody, black blood on her dress from the harpy, Will's sword clenched in her fist.

Will was on his feet now and he held up a hand at the Captain, asking him to stop. He started towards her. "It's okay now, love. . . . They've gone."

Had they actually seen the Harpies? She wouldn't have known. But what if they come back? What if they come for her?

Mr. Gibbs picked up the wing. "By the gods," he muttered.

Will reached her, wrapping one hand around the hilt of the sword and the other carefully around her bloody one. "Come on, let go. It's alright now, Rebecca."

She looked down at the hand that clutched the sword and forced her fingers to let go, giving Will back his sword. He threw it behind him and it clattered along the deck but he paid it no mind. Instead, his free hand tangled itself into her hair as he pulled her into his arms. Her arms wrapped around him on their own accord and she collapsed against him sobbing. He held her, whispering into her ear. "It's okay. I've got you. You're safe. "

Surprisingly, in his arms, she knew she was.


A/N: Geez did I owe you guys a chapter or what? So here's the deal with Harpies: there are tons of different legends about them, some of which do tie in with the sirens and that is, obviously, the one I decided to go with for this story. I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thanks ever so much for reading :D!