Author: immortaljedi aka jedipati
Disclaimer: I don't own them…
Characters: Will, Bill, Davy, and the crew
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: some violence (but they're pirates, so what did you expect?)
Summary: What does Will choose?
Chapter 11
Will swallowed, tried to speak. He truly wished he was somewhere else right now- anywhere else. "Can you ask that of a man who isn't dying?" He finally asked.
The Captain scowled. "You would choose to be stubborn, boy," He muttered. "Very well, we will simply have ta force the issue. Hadras…"
"Aye Captain." Hadras pulled out his weapon. Will flinched back but Palifico held him tight.
"NO!" Will heard his father yell.
"Do not interfere, Mr. Turner!" Captain Jones ordered. Will twisted his head. His father had frozen, horrified.
Will meet Hadras' gaze. "Sorry, lad," Hadras said. Will lifted his head. He wasn't beaten yet. He twisted in Palifico's grasp- gaining a nick in the process- and punched the crewman hard in the gut.
Palifico let go of him. Will pushed him back into three other crewmen.
The four of them went down in a heap. Will spun around and he sprinted for the side. He had no plan beside "get away!"
He dodged Hadras and Clanker, but was unable to dodge Maccus in time.
Will bit off a scream as Maccus stabbed him in the gut. He tried to stay up, but couldn't. He collapsed and felt someone catch him. Weakly, he tried to push whoever it was away. "No." He gasped. "Please. I can't…"
"Oh, Will." He heard his father whisper close to his ear.
"Let me go…" Will barely managed to gasp out.
"Get him up." His father helped him sit up to face the Captain. Will leaned back against his father and closed his eyes. He was just so tired…
"Th' wound is fatal, lad," The Captain said. Will forced his eyes open. Captain Jones was crouched down in front of him, watching him closely. "You must make your choice. Will you serve? Or will you choose the Locker?"
The Captain had told him about the Locker. At the time, Will hadn't understood why. Now, his rapidly fading mind latched on to what he'd been told. His worst fears, tormenting him for eternity…
Will gasped for breath to speak. He had to answer! "I…" He gasped again. "I'll serve," He whispered. He couldn't speak any louder.
The Captain smiled. "Welcome to the crew, lad," He said.
Will gasped and jerked slightly as the pain faded. He shook his head and blinked in shock.
His father helped him to his feet. Will swayed for a moment as he felt… something… touch him. A second later, he smiled slightly. The Dutchman welcomed him.
He glanced up at the Captain. Around them, the crew was scattering back to their duties. His father stood beside him, still holding on to one shoulder.
"Mr. Turner, back to your duties. You can speak with your son later."
"Aye Captain," Bill said.
Will was left alone with his Captain. "I hadn't known what I would say," He finally said.
"When given the choice?" The Captain asked. "You had three days to think on it."
"I was focused on getting away." Will explained with a slight smile.
"That was very obvious." Captain Jones said. "But you had to know that you wouldn't escape."
"Well, no, or I wouldn't have kept trying, Captain." Will said. "I thought I could."
"Ye're not going to be allowed to forget that, lad," The Captain said. "The entire crew is going to remember the last few days." Will nodded. He knew, somehow, that he couldn't escape now. He didn't particularly want to. Then Captain Jones shook his head. "Do you know where Jack Sparrow might be?"
Will's eyes widened as he remembered exactly what Jack was trying to do. But should he tell… of course he should. He could feel something prodding him to speak. "The key… and the chest!" He exclaimed. "Jack's trying to… I forgot all about that!"
"What?"
"Jack sent me to that merchant ship- well; he said it was the Dutchman- to find a key. This key."
Will pulled out the drawing of the key.
"Where did you get this?" The Captain snarled.
"From Jack. I don't know where he got it. He's after the chest, too."
"Koleniko, chart a course of Isla Cruces!" The Captain shouted. He considered for a moment. "Prepare for a dive!"
Will's eyes widened. A dive? A second later, he felt the Dutchman touch him and he relaxed. He followed Maccus' example and grabbed the nearby rail as the ship tilted and… dove.
The water rushed around him and he couldn't help but smile. It was like he had come home.
The water settled and Will realized that the crew was continuing their duties, and he could still hear them talking.
He frowned as he didn't realize what his duties were. "Captain…"
"Right now, I want you to tell me everything you know about Sparrow's search for the chest."
Will nodded. "I gathered that he's been searching for some time now, perhaps since he got the Pearl back," Will said. "And, like I said, I don't know where he got the drawing of the key. That is the key to the chest, right?"
"Aye, it is."
"After I joined him, he bartered with me. I needed something from him, and he'd give it to me if I got the key for him." Will frowned. "We traveled to a swamp to speak with a woman there… she told us your story."
"How much of my story?" The Captain growled.
"Just why you keep your heart in the chest," Wills said. "She also said that the key was…" He frowned, trying to remember. "The key, he keep wit him at all times." He quoted. "We found the merchant ship, and Jack said that it was the Dutchman."
"As if I could run afoul of some reefs." Captain Jones muttered.
"Well, no, but I'm not… I wasn't a sailor," Will said. "You know the rest, but I think Jack is also chasing down the chest."
"It had best still be there," The Captain growled.
You all have no idea how tempted I was to leave the story at the last chapter, as if this was a "Lady and Tiger" story. But, obviously, I've posted this chapter, and early too!
