Apologies again for the wait. There's a bit of death in this chapter, so ye be warned!

The crew of the Stampede were far too tired to notice or even care about the rabbit darting between their legs as she made her way down to the brig. She still made sure to peek around the corners, just in case Bogo was around one of them. Fortunately, her journey was unhindered but she slowed down as she neared her destination, not knowing who was in there. She didn't think there would be other prisoners, though she needed to consider the possibility of a guard. Carefully she opened the door and poked her head in.

"Hello?" she tentatively called out.

"Judy!" The pirates swarmed to the bars to get a better look.

"Are you alright?" Judy asked as she rushed over to them.

Flash raised a claw to answer her. "We...are...doing..."

"We're fine," said Finnick quickly. "As much as we can be stuck in a brig in the middle of a battle, anyway."

"What about you?" asked Honey.

"Father and I are fine. A weasel managed to break into our cabin, but we took care of him." Judy couldn't help but allow a small bit of pride enter her voice.

"Duke Weaselton," Finnick said, nodding. "Never liked him."

"You don't like anyone," said Bobby, rolling his eyes.

Judy scanned all of their faces to further reassure herself of their wellbeing. They still had the low spirits from when they had been captured earlier, but they all seemed pleased to see her. However...

"Where's Nick?"

"Gone," replied Finnick. "Said he was inspired by our stunt a few weeks back. Probably the one where we snuck aboard Boarbossa's ship."

Her eyes widened in shock. He must have managed to get aboard Boarbossa's ship somehow. That's why they stopped firing. Nick must have offered them some sort of deal. I have to help him!

"Come on! Let's get you out of here." She tugged on the cell door to test if it had any give. She stumbled back when it opened easily.

"Nick already picked the lock," explained Honey.

"Then why are you still down here?" asked Judy, confused.

The pirates looked at each other uneasily.

"The captain, like, told us to, you know?" said Yax.

"Well, let's go now!" Judy held the door wide open and gestured with her free hand. After that cell emptied, Honey made quick work of the lock on the second, and soon the entire crew was free.

"Almost everyone is in their cabins resting," Judy told them. "There may be a few sentries, so move quietly. I'll meet you on the Black Paw in a moment. I need to get something." When it was time to part ways, Judy sped off to her cabin.

She made it in good time and hastily opened the door, hoping that the weasel hadn't somehow managed to escape and attack her father. Instead, a different surprise awaited her.

"Ben?"

"Judy! There you are!" The cheetah ran over to her and picked her up in a hug. "I went to see if you were alright, but you weren't here, but this weasel was, and - "

"Calm down, Ben," said Judy. She quickly returned the hug when she was placed back on the floor. "I'm glad you're alright, too."

"Judy, do you know what's going on?" asked her father.

"Nick managed to sneak aboard the Bloody Tusk and convinced Boarbossa to leave." Judy went to her cases and started rummaging through them.

"Nick?"

"Captain Wilde of the Black Paw," answered Ben.

"You mean, the fox?" asked Stuart, scrunching up his face.

"Yes, father, the fox," said Judy, curtly. She pulled out the box Jack Savage had given her.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?"

The sadness in his voice had Judy's head turning towards him. He looked frightened and heartbroken.

"I have to save him, father," she said, pleading for him to understand.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he embraced her. "Don't let me lose you."

"You won't, I promise." Some loud sniffling caused the two rabbits to look up and see Ben wiping his face, failing not to cry.

Judy pulled back from her father and held his hands. "Look after each other. Give us some time and then tell Bogo about Weselton." She jerked her head to the tied up weasel, still unconscious. "He may have some useful information when he wakes up. And Ben, you remember how to get to the island and the cavern?"

Ben just about managed to nod before blowing his nose.

Judy extracted the pistol from the box and tucked it away, quickly said "I love you" and left the cabin before tears could escape her own eyes.

Caution overtook her again on deck. She could just make out a body lying on the floor which turned out to be a wolf. He was still breathing, and Judy reasoned the pirates knocked him out on their way to their ship. As she neared the Black Paw, she heard a small number of mammals moving about on it, and noticed the sails were being replaced. The two ships were tethered together with a rope, which she shimmied across without too much trouble.

"So you came back after all?" said a voice just below her when she boarded.

"Finnick?" It was hard to see in the low light, but there was no mistaking the voice. "Is everyone here?"

"Yep," answered Finnick, cutting the rope with his sword. "We're just about ready to cast off."

It was an agonisingly slow process, but little by little the Black Paw inched away from the Stampede and soon found itself a good distance away, though they waited until they had completely disappeared into the mist before they felt safe enough to talk.

"Alright everyone!" Judy marched across the deck, trying to get the crew's attention. "The Bloody Tusk headed off in that direction. We may not be able to reach them before they reach the island, but that means the ship will only have part of her crew, assuming they want to get to the treasure as soon as possible. If we drop anchor at a different side of the island, we can organise a small party to go ashore and find a way to save Nick." She turned towards them, about to ask whether they had any thoughts or ideas, but faltered when she saw a group of stunned faces staring back at her.

"What?"

"We can't just go up against Boarbossa!" said Finnick. "That'd be suicide!"

Judy gaped at him. "But we have to save Nick! Who knows what's happening to him right now!"

"He made his choice. He knew what he was getting into."

"Besides," added Honey, "we're no match for that crew."

"I know we're outnumbered," began Judy, "but if we all work together - "

Finnick huffed. "Flash is a sloth, Bucky and Pronk are dunderheads, and I don't think Yax has even held a sword!"

"I'm a strict pacifist," said Yax, shrugging.

"Our only two decent fighters are Nathan and Bobby, and that's two against thirty!"

"It's all well and good attacking merchant vessels crewed by lemmings," said Honey, "but we never risk anything bigger than that if we can help it. At the end of the day...we're cowards."

Judy continued gawking in disbelief. "We - we beat him before - "

"And we almost got killed!" snarled Finnick.

"And what about Nick?" Judy shouted back. "Your Captain! Have you no honour?"

"Honour?" spat Finnick. "We're pirates!"

"He's in danger! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

The crew shuffled uncomfortably, some of them having the decency to look shame-faced and guilty.

Judy jumped on to the bulwark and faced them with a fierce look.

"Maybe you haven't done anything like this before. Maybe you planned never to do anything like this, but life doesn't work that way. There will be times when you have to be more than you think you are, and for you, now is that time! Your Captain, your friend is in mortal danger, and only we can save him. I have seen this crew weather storms and sirens. It was thought that Captain Maul's treasure would never be found, and yet who found it? The mammals standing before me. We have done incredible things, and we can do it again. But we're not going because we can, but because we must. We don't know yet if we'll win, but the important thing is that we try. Who's with me?"

"Embleer pirates!"

Judy continued to grumble to herself as she continued rowing the longboat towards the island. She glared at the retreating Black Paw with contempt, but had to acknowledge they had been at least kind enough to take her reasonably close to the island before dropping her off. She had even been gifted some food by Yax and some musk mask from Honey, along with a blow pipe and a couple of darts laced with a sleeping agent that the badger had been saving for an emergency. They had been reluctant to let her go, but her constant shaming was soon too much to bear and they just wanted to be rid of her.

Eventually the shore became reachable, but she decided to keep circling the island until she found the Bloody Tusk. From there she wasn't entirely sure what her plan was, but kept going anyway.

"Well?" demanded Boarbossa.

Nick looked around the cavern, his eyes flitting from tunnel to tunnel. It was amazing how he was here only a short while ago, filled with brimming excitement and hope instead of encroaching dread. He briefly considered sending the boar down a wrong tunnel, but decided against it. Boarbossa would insist he lead the way down whichever path he pointed out, and he was determined to stay alive for as long as possible. He finally spotted the red paint Honey had left, but made a show of studying the markings above the tunnels before choosing. He needed to keep some sort of advantage.

"This way," he said as he moved forward.

"You're sure?" asked Boarbossa.

"Most definitely," replied Nick confidently as he entered. "You can send some of your lackeys down one of the others if you don't believe me." Boarbossa had taken most of his crew with him on this excursion, and they had been giving Nick the creeps the moment he boarded the Bloody Tusk. Any chance to lower their numbers would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, Boarbossa seemed satisfied with Nick's confirmation and they all followed the fox deeper into the labyrinth.

They continued through for some time, a few softly growling with impatience, but soon enough they came to the end. When they reached the treasure trove, Nick stepped to the side to let the others through and watched in amusement as Boarbossa and his crew stared in awe at the riches before them. One brave panther whooped and rushed forward, prompting the rest of them to follow suit. Nick hung back, wondering if he could quietly slip out when Boarbossa snorted at him to get his attention.

"You are staying with me," he stated. He jerked his head towards the open cavern and Nick took the hint, staying reasonably close while the boar wandered about the cavern, searching for something. As they travelled, Nick watched Boarbossa's crew root through the treasure, reminding him of his own crew when they had first seen it. He hoped they were OK and not doing anything foolish. Self-preservation is the way of the pirate, he told himself, before also telling himself that he was currently right next to a mammal who wanted him dead and he had chosen to be there in a desperate attempt to protect his crew. He found he didn't regret it.

He then realised they were getting close to the cursed medallion.

Before his panic had sufficient time to manifest, footsteps were heard thundering through the tunnel and a wolf burst out panting heavily.

"The ship's on fire again!"

Boarbossa's eye twitched. He whirled towards Nick, brandishing his sword. "You!"

"I had nothing to do this," said Nick, hurriedly, holding up his hands. "I've been with you the whole time."

The boar snarled in anger, then addressed his crew. "I want you all to get out and find those responsible! When you find them, kill them. And remember how you killed them, so you can tell their beloved captain later. You four!" He used his sword to point to a black bear, two tigers and a leopard. "Stay here."

The rest of his crew raced after the wolf out of the cavern. Once they were gone, Boarbossa snarled at Nick, though didn't say anything, and stomped back down the cavern once more. Nick gingerly followed, desperately trying to calm his breathing and hoping against hope his crew knew what they were doing.

Judy quickly paddled her longboat a safe distance away as she watched her handiwork from afar. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't come up with a better plan than setting the Bloody Tusk on fire again, but she couldn't fault its success. When she had eventually found it, it was just a matter of using the anchor chain to clamber up to a nearby porthole, sneaking to the gunpowder room again, lighting it, then diving out of another porthole to swim back to her longboat. Fortunately the ship had been even less guarded than before, and she was surprised Boarbossa had taken no action in protecting his ship from another explosion. The thought of treasure makes fools of us all, she thought.

Once she found a suitable hidden alcove to hide her longboat, she made her way ashore and ran into the jungle. She soon spied a wolf who was also racing through the dense foliage, occasionally stopping to sniff the air before moving on again. Deciding to trust his nose, Judy secretly followed him to the cavern's entrance and through the network of tunnels, silently thanking Honey for the musk mask. About halfway through, she veered into a different tunnel and sat inside as far as she dared go and waited. Her patience was soon rewarded when her ears picked up a large number of mammals charging through the tunnels. In their haste, they didn't see Judy hiding, and once there was silence again, she ventured out and continued towards the treasure.

Boarbossa's anger vanished once he found what he was looking for. Glinting in the torch light, the medallion grinned up at him, as if delighted to see him. As the boar reached out for it, Nick frantically searched the room for something that might help him, and his eyes fell upon an ornate sword nearby, held upright by a little mound of treasure.

"What's that, Captain?" asked one of the tigers eagerly, getting in close.

"This is the key to immortality," answered Boarbossa, taking the medallion and holding it reverently. "It protects the bearer from death, whether from age or sword."

"So...if someone took a swing at you, it wouldn't kill you?"

"That's the general idea."

The excited tiger reached his paw out. "Can I have a go?"

Boarbossa grabbed the tiger by the ear and pierced his throat with his tusks. The spluttering tiger clutched at the wound until finally falling to the ground dead.

"Oh, did you mean with the medallion?" asked Boarbossa. "My apologies." He wiped the splattered blood off the medallion and placed it around his neck. "Anyone brave enough to volunteer to test it?"

The remaining crew members shifted awkwardly and looked away, trying not to make eye contact. Nick inched ever closer to the sword.

Suddenly, there was a soft whoosh followed by a thud as the other tiger collapsed to the ground.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the bear managed to work his mouth enough to say "What the -?" before crumpling himself.

The leopard shouted in alarm and jumped away from his fallen comrades, his sword out and his eyes searching for the perpetrator.

Boarbossa also had his sword out. "Show yourself!" he demanded.

It was Nick who found her. His wide eyes locked on hers and she smiled at him. She almost looked a little embarrassed about the situation. Judy waved the blow pipe at him and then replaced it with a sword she had taken. Nick smirked in amusement and grabbed the hilt of the sword that he was near and winked. She nodded back and moved to position herself directly behind the leopard. Once they were both ready, Nick wrenched the sword from its place and slashed furiously at Boarbossa.

The boar parried just in time, and at that same moment Judy attacked the leopard, wounding his arm. It wasn't enough to incapacitate him however, and he fought back, forcing Judy backwards.

Meanwhile, Nick and Boarbossa exchanged blows, neither one refusing to let up. Enraged, Boarbossa let out a wide swipe which was easily dodged by Nick who took the chance to mount his own attack and managed to land a heavy stab through the boar's gut. Both mammals were surprised at the lucky hit, but their eyes widened further as the wound suddenly stopped bleeding. Boarbossa touched his stomach with his free hoof to find no injury and smiled at Nick.

"Thanks for the test," he said before striking again.

Across the cavern, Judy was having problems of her own. She had never had an opponent as large as a leopard, and once more had to rely on her speed to survive. She relied on dodging more than parries as she led the large cat on a merry dance around the cave just to stay out of his reach, and she quickly realised she had to get creative if she was going to win.

She grabbed a handful of coins and threw them at the leopard's face, but these were easily blocked by his large forearm. She moved the fight to more uneven ground, hoping for an opportunity to trip him however his feline balance kept him upright. Instead, it was her own foot that caught the underside of an upturned chest. She rolled with the fall, though sadly her sword had been flung from her paw and her opponent was nearly upon her.

Spying an elephant-sized ornate spear behind the leopard, she dashed beneath his legs and jumped as high as she could and grabbed the top of the shaft. She swung herself around it once then launched herself squarely into the leopard's shocked face. He crashed to the floor, out cold.

Some distance away, Nick was starting to get worried. Or at least, a bit more worried than he had been before. He was barely holding his own against the boar, and even he could land a hit it wouldn't do much good as long as the medallion was around Boarbossa's neck. It glinted at him from the boar's chest, mocking him. But how could he separate it from its master?

A particular heavy strike caused Nick to stumble, and that was all Boarbossa needed. He grabbed the fox by the shirt and pulled him close, impaling him through the stomach. Nick felt more shock than pain, though the latter soon made itself known as the sword was withdrawn and he fell backwards, his own sword clattering beside him. His mind only just managed to register Judy's shout as his body hit the floor.

He clutched at his wound, blood staining his shirt and paw. His breathing came out in wheezes and grunts, and he looked up to see Boarbossa standing over, a wide smile on his face and his blood-soaked sword held aloft.

"I should offer you the chance to speak your final words," the boar said, readying his weapon, "but I really don't like you."

BANG!

Before the boar could bring down his sword, something hit him in the chest, causing him to flinch. He raised his head to find the source and his eyes fell upon a grey rabbit, holding a recently fired pistol aimed right at his heart.

Boarbossa snorted. "Sorry to say you've wasted your shot. With my medallion, death itself cannot touch me."

"Oh, you mean this medallion?"

Boarbossa stared in horror at the medallion dangling from Nick's paw. His hooves grasped at his chest, missing a golden pendant but steadily seeping with his own blood. He gasped, his fearful face turning from his wound to the fox and then to the rabbit before he succumbed. He fell with a heavy thud and breathed his last.

Judy immediately sprinted to Nick and knelt beside him. Her paws shook as they neared the place he had been stabbed.

"Oh, Nick," she said despairingly, her eyes quickly welling up.

"It's alright, Fluff," said Nick, his voice strained. "I've had worse."

"How could you possibly have had - " Judy stopped when she noticed the wound suddenly stopped bleeding. She lifted his shirt to reveal his stomach. Before their eyes the wound shrank and soon there was no evidence he had been stabbed at all, except for the blood staining his fur.

"Wow, this thing's amazing." Nick twirled the medallion in his paw.

"I'm just glad you're OK," said Judy, her whole body sagging with relief.

"Aww."

Judy tried to give him an annoyed look, but couldn't help smiling back.

The glinting medallion caught her gaze. "We should probably put that back," she said. Though it had saved her captain's life, it still unsettled her.

"It's too late. I'm already cursed." Nick closed his eyes in sorrow. "I am now an undead creature of the night, doomed to walk the earth for eternity."

"Nick."

"My true form only revealed by the light of the moon!"

Judy finally silenced him with a swift punch on his arm, then with a sudden impulse hugged him fiercely. Nick hesitantly put his own arms around her, and they stayed like that for a few moments.

"So...where are the others?"